trueromance

Setting: Contemporary U.S.
Hero: Alex Rocket
Heroine: Kate Rocket

One sentence summary: Betrayal is the story of how one man was betrayed by someone (a friend) just because they could.

Scene you like most and would never cut: The scene in Chapter One where Alex gets the phone call that ruins his life and his wife’s life as well.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: I forgive you.

What is your heroines occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Dog Breeder

What is your heroes occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: Dog Breeder

What you think readers will like best about this book: The ending or the outcome.

What’s next: LATE EDITION, the third book in the Godmothers series (Sept 11).

Question- About you.
What would you do if you woke up one morning happier than you’ve ever been in your life and then you get a phone call that shatters your whole life, a life you will never ever get to reclaim?

I would love to send one of my readers a free book so let me know if you are interested!!!

About Me:

1. What’s your favorite movie of all time? Casablanca

2. What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in? An espionage novel a la Robert Ludlum

3. What’s the first book you remember reading? A Nancy Drew book titled, “The Secret of the Brass Bound Trunk.”

4. What’s your favorite fairy tale? Rapunzel

5. What’s your favorite cartoon character? Casper the Friendly Ghost

6. What’s something you’d like to tell your readers? I love to read and I love to write novels.

7. What would your occupation be if you were no longer a writer? Either an FBI or CIA agent.

8. What do you do to unwind and relax? Play with my dogs. I have four.

10. What does love mean to you? Letting the other person see your vulnerability.

11. Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most? Anytime before the present. I love the current fashions. Who wants to walk around wearing forty pounds of cloth and lace up shoes? Not me.

12. What name have you been dying to use as a lead character, but haven’t found the right fit yet? Tiffany Provence

13. Dog person or cat person? Dog person but a stray cat found me and I’m starting to really like her.

Setting: A small town in west Texas
Subgenre: Contemporary Romance
Hero: Colt Lomax
Heroine: Hope Scroggs

One sentence summary: After her high school sweetheart marries a twin sister she didn’t even know she had, Hope Scroggs is forced to look elsewhere for her happily-ever-after—she just doesn’t plan on finding it with the bad boy of Bramble, Texas.

Scene you like most and would never cut: The Chevy scene where Colt and Hope steam up the windows. There is just something about a naughty bad boy wanting to see your panties.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: Hope has trouble admitting she’s wrong.

Tell us one quirky thing about your hero? Heroine: Hope makes lists for everything. Colt is a great dancer due to all the times he danced with his mama when he was little.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Hope is an out-of-work actress. Because of her love and devotion to her hometown, she should be the mayor of Bramble.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: Custom motorcycle designer and builder.

What you think readers will like best about this book: Colt and Hope’s struggles to shed the town’s labels and become their own people.

What’s next: Shirlene Dalton’s story. She’s Colt’s sister and Faith’s and Hope’s sassy, margarita-chugging friend.

Discussion: Make Mine a Bad Boy is a story about two people who let societal labels keep them from seeing each other for who they really are. Judging a book by its cover is easy to do. The first time I met my husband I thought he was a popular jock with a cute country twang who would never look twice at a skinny, flat-chested girl like me. Luckily, he looked more than twice.

Do you have any you-can’t-judge-a-book-by-its-cover stories? (Were you the book or the reader?) If you do, I’d love to hear about them.

The best story will win a signed copy of Make Mine a Bad Boy.

Do you read the author’s dedication when you start a new book? The dedication is always the first thing I read—and the last. I hope to gain a sense of the tone of the book by reading it before and I want a better understanding of who the author is by reading it after I’ve finished the book. That doesn’t always work because sometimes the dedication doesn’t convey much of the author’s personality.

Some dedications are profound, others downright silly. Mark Wahlberg, for example, dedicated his 1992 memoire to his penis!

Comedian/actor Russell Brand said, “For my mum, the most important woman in my life, this book is dedicated to you. Now for God’s sake don’t read it.” It makes sense to have a humorous dedication when your life is all about being funny.

Some of my favorite dedications are from Lemony Snicket in the “A Series of Unfortunate Events” books. Here are a few of the thirteen jewels, all to Beatrice Baudelaire, the subject of Lemony Snicket’s unrequited love:
“For Beatrice –My love for you shall live forever. You, however, did not.”
“For Beatrice –You will always be in my heart, in my mind, and in your grave.”
“For Beatrice –When we were together I felt breathless. Now, you are.”

The beauty of a dedication is that it is the only place in a fiction work where the author can speak from his or her heart about his own life and present it as such.

I dedicated my new book, Protective Custody to the memory of my grandmother because Megan’s grandmother figured prominently in the story. Her “Gram” is nothing like my grandmother, but the character and the real person have one thing in common—they were both very important and influential to a young girl. Gram raised Megan after both her parents disappeared from her life. Mine took in my father and I after my mother died when I was a baby. We lived with her until my father remarried, but I spent many weekends with her and she spoiled me wonderfully! There was never any question in my mind that I’d dedicate that book to her.

What about you? Do you pay much attention to an author’s dedication? Do you think the dedication should match the tone of the book or should it merely convey a heartfelt sentiment from the author? Do you always read the dedication?

Comment and I will enter you in a drawing for a $25 gift card to AMC Theatres.

Here’s an excerpt from Protective Custody:

Megan checked the clock for the hundredth time. Night shadows crept across the ceiling, and the wind whispered lonely strains that filtered through her windows. She pulled the covers higher, clear to her chin. Why had she insisted Will leave? Maybe she’d have managed to rest if he’d slept on the couch.

But the hole in her heart would have ached even more. God, she’d done her best to move on after she’d broken up with him. Memories of Will refused to stay locked away.

Gram had been furious when she’d called it quits with Jerome, said she’d thrown away her chance at happiness. But Megan refused to pretend. Jerome was an empty shell. A good-looking man with no ambition, no brains to speak of, and most important, he wasn’t Will. What she and Will had shared was the real thing. At least it had been for her.

The creaking of floorboards cut through the silence and had her holding her breath.

Waiting.

Listening.

Trembling, she peeled back the covers and sat up. She stood, mindful of the noisy springs in her antique bed. A grating sound drifted through the air as if someone were dragging a rake along the wooden shingles outside the house. She patted the night table for her cell but didn’t feel it.

Damn it. She’d left it in her purse. Her hands trembled so badly she wouldn’t be able to hit the buttons.

She tiptoed out her bedroom door, all her senses sharp. Footsteps crunched in the dry grass outside.

Oh God. She slapped her hand to her mouth, afraid she’d be discovered. A shadow stalked past the narrow windows flanking the front door. She tried to draw air into her lungs but only managed a single ragged breath.

It’s him.

Witness to a murder, but no one will believe her…

Shocked by the brutal crime she witnesses through the window of her small office, Megan Jackson calls the police and is devastated when they question the truth of her story. With no body and no evidence of a crime, she’s written off as a nutcase.

Megan suspects the killer saw her face. Terrified, she calls the only person she can trust—her ex-boyfriend and former police officer, Will McCoy.

Despite a devastating breakup, Will jumps at the chance to help the woman who broke his heart. When the killer ramps up the stakes, Will is forced to take her into hiding—where the passion they once shared reignites, deeper and hotter than ever. But can Will keep Megan alive long enough to win back her heart?

Greetings!

I’m Gianna Bruno. For years, reading science fiction, fantasy, and romance opened up new worlds to explore and introduced me to interesting characters. I grew tired of journalistic assignments. There are too many formulas, formats, recipes, and prescriptions. I suppose it was no coincidence that, when I started writing fiction in earnest about five years ago, I evolved into somewhat of a cross-genre queen.

There is romance in almost everything I write, as well as a touch of magic. But I favor real life settings, occasionally with a historical backdrop, and my characters are conglomerations of people I’ve met–some of them in the oddest situations and places.
I live in New York City, which is a treasure trove for urban fantasy and magical realist writers. But since I’ve lived a good bit of my life in southern New England: Boston, the North Shore of Massachusetts and Vermont, moving from urban to ex-urban settings, and from fantasy to reality, is so much a part of my life, I’ve learned to see the magic, taste it, feel it.

It doesn’t matter if I’m on a subway, exploring the back roads and byways in Salem and environs, watching hurricane driven surf crash onto a beach, or battling the wind to get down a steep, icy slope. The witches, fairies, ghosts, and occasional alien invade my subconscious and implore me to chronicle their stories and adventures.

My new Eternal Press release, The Journey, began as a dream about a woman walking through a snowy wood and meeting a fairy. Milena is a witch who lives on the outskirts of Salem just before the start of the Civil War. The fact that the Underground Railroad was active in that part of Massachusetts, best known for its prejudice against witches (though it had waned by that time), created an interesting twist and gave Milena a clear mission and sense of purpose.

The result was a traditional fantasy with splashes of fairy magic, witchcraft, voodoo, action, and adventure in a historical setting. I suppose I should mention it’s highly erotic–as a story that explores the dark depths of humanity needs to be.

Hot Chocolate Kiss, published in January 2010 by Eternal Press, has garnered some very nice reviews. Guys love this story because of the action, both on and off the ski slopes. Yes, there are witches and fairies, but they sneak on and off stage like a glint of light on the snow or a gust of wind.

I’m thrilled to be here today to chat with readers, both new and old, answer questions, and give away one of my gift packages: A copy of The Journey and Hot Chocolate Kiss, with a box of chocolates. Check back later for the contest question.

I do occasionally come back to the real world. My current work in progress is a collection of short stories At Home With Peter and Sandra, featuring a couple in the suburbs of somewhere trying to reinvent their relationship. It’s humorous, five flames, and I’m having a great time writing it.

Give away will be a copy of The Journey and Hot Chocolate Kiss, plus a box of chocolates.

There are trailers and excerpts on my website and blog. Please keep in touch and follow me on Facebook or Twitter.

Setting: Victorian Scotland, 1888
Subgenre: historical romance
Hero: Graeme Langford, Duke of Rothmore
Heroine: Vanessa Pembrooke

One sentence summary: Two adventurers search for a legendary treasure and find love on the shores of Loch Ness.

Scene you like most and would never cut: I would never cut the scene where Vanessa seduces Graeme on their wedding night. It was fun and sexy to write a seduction scene going in the opposite direction. I also think it’s a great scene that goes a long way in revealing both Graeme and Vanessa’s characters. She comes at the seduction from such a different angle (and I don’t want to give away any spoilers) but there’s something so charming about a woman who approaches passion from an intellectual standpoint.

What celebrity is your hero like: One of the very first things I do when creating characters is to cast them with a picture. It’s not so much that I find a picture of some famous person like Hugh Jackman and then Hugh Jackman represents that hero. It’s more about the specific image and the emotion that picture evokes. I’ve always looked for what I call the character’s essence – something in that glance or expression that really echoes the way the character feels to me. So when it came to casting my large hulking Scotsman, it was a no-brainer to Google the Scotty-hottie himself, Gerard Butler. But the particular picture that I found was special because it fully portrayed the direction I wanted to take Graeme’s character.

What celebrity is your heroine like: For Vanessa, I found a great shot of Evangeline Lily, the actress who played Kate on Lost. It was playful yet pretty and soft and exactly what I wanted Vanessa to be.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Vanessa is a scholar, in particular she studies fossils and bones. The science of Paleontology was fairly new in the late nineteenth century, and I wanted to have a heroine right on the cutting edge of that field. So when she flees from her wedding, she high-tails it to Scotland to hunt for proof that the legendary Loch Ness monster did, in fact, exist.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: Graeme, whom readers probably remember from the first book in the Legend Hunter’s series, Seduce Me, is well, a legend hunter. Or rather a treasure hunter. He’s looking for a specific treasure, the Stone of Destiny (sometimes referred to as the Stone of Scone) – it’s the big slab of sandstone that sits underneath the throne in Westminster Abbey. I suppose it’s worth noting that Graeme is also a duke and peer of the realm.

What you think readers will like best about this book: Readers will enjoy the adventure and the passion. The sparks fly between Graeme and Vanessa from the first moment they meet and neither one of them is quite sure what to do with the other. There is a treasure hunt, the return of the Raven (readers should remember him from Seduce Me), danger and intrigue, and enough passion to burn your fingers. One reviewer had this to say about Treasure Me: “tender and adventurous, and funny enough that you may laugh your nethers off.” It was a lot of fun to write, mixing the true history of the Stone of Destiny with my own twists and myths, and both Graeme and Vanessa were a hoot to work with.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: You know the reader mail I receive the most is about the missing fourth book in a series I did before the Legend Hunters. Everyone wants to know about what happens with Charlotte and the Jack of Hearts. It’s been almost four years since the third book in that series came out, and I still receive several e-mails a month asking about that book. It’s certainly a book I would love to have available to readers someday.

What’s next: I’m currently working on a new historical series that has danger and intrigue and all the hallmark characteristics of a Robyn DeHart book.

As the Legend Hunters trilogy comes to a close, I find myself a bit sad to leave that world and the men of Solomon’s. Writing my own versions of Pandora’s Box, Atlantis, and the Loch Ness Monster has been exhilarating and quite the adventure. I admit I never grow tired of stories spun around dusty tombs or mythical antiquities. So my question to you, dear readers, is what is your favorite legend? What’s that one subject that you never tire of reading about or seeing on the big (or small) screen? I have three copies of TREASURE ME to give away today so comment and you might win!

Thank you Sue for welcoming me to the Borders Book blog today!

I’m Lisa Kessler, an aspiring novelist working on getting my first book published. I met Sue through Twitter. If you’ve never tweeted before, I highly recommend it. In 140 characters or less, you can share your day with people from around the world. I’ve made some wonderful friendships and networked through tweets, including meeting New York Times Bestselling author, Teresa Medeiros.

As I continue my writer’s journey to publication, Teresa and Sue have both inspired me with their passion for books and the written word. But I never would have crossed paths with either of them if it weren’t for Twitter.

So if professional connections are enhanced by Tweeting, what about personal connections. Can you really find love in 140 characters or less?

Teresa Medeiros takes us on that journey in her new book, Goodnight Tweetheart. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a novel that is predominately told through 140 character tweets, but I’m happy to report I loved this book.

Goodnight Tweetheart is the story of Abby Donovan, an author who has been stuck on chapter five of her follow-up novel for over a year. She’s starting to believe that her nearly Pulitzer prize-winning, Oprah book club pick, first novel was a fluke. When her publicist encourages her to connect with her readers on Twitter, Abby is hesitant.
What difference could 140 character tweets make?

On her first day, she crosses virtual paths with a clever English professor on sabbatical, Mark Baynard. After he offers to tutor her in Twitter usage, they develop an online friendship that blossoms into something rich and real. Through sharing their favorite, books, movies and television shows they got to “know” each other without ever actually meeting face to face.

Although Goodnight Tweetheart isn’t a long novel, beneath the clever wit and pop culture references, it packs a power emotional punch that haunted me long after I read the last page.

Now I’m excited to welcome Teresa Medeiros to the blog to answer a few questions about the book and Twitter.

Thanks for being here Teresa! So how long were you on Twitter before the idea for Goodnight Tweetheart was born?

I fell in love with Twitter when I joined in 2009 and it was only a few months later that Mark and Abby started “tweeting” in my head and I knew I just had to tell their story!

Do you believe in falling in love over the internet? Can someone really love another person before they ever “meet” them in person?

One of our favorite couples from church met on the internet and didn’t come face to face until after they’d already made a commitment to one another. They both said they were looking for a “fellow geek”, someone whose idea of a good time was cuddling up on the couch to watch an entire season of Battlestar Galactica and they weren’t that concerned with physical appearance. As it turns out, they’re both gorgeous so it was like a surprise bonus! They’ve been happily married for several years now.

What are some of the best connections you’ve made via Twitter and social media?

As I said in Goodnight Tweetheart, Twitter is like a 24-hour cocktail party where someone is always saying something interesting! I just love trading quips and banter with all of my regular tweeps. I got a real thrill the other day when Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson from Little House on the Prairie) started tweeting with me. We vowed to buy each other’s books.

Do you think we’ll ever get a sequel to Goodnight Tweetheart to see how life turned out for Abby and Mark?

I’d love to see that happen but I also love the idea of each reader figuring it out for themselves. They’re already sending me some wonderful ideas for an Epilogue that involves Mark and Abby strolling on a beach somewhere.

What was the most difficult part of writing this novel?

Writing THE END. I just didn’t want to say goodbye to these fabulous characters. I felt as if I’d lost two dear friends.

Do you have a favorite scene from the book?

I loved it when Mark and Abby went on their first “tweet date”. I totally bought into their fantasy of sitting at some fabulous Tuscan restaurant asking each other those fun questions you can ask on a first date when you’re getting to know someone. Mary Ann or Ginger? Angel or Spike? And some of the later scenes ripped my heart out but I still loved writing them.

How can people find you on Twitter?

Just go to http://www.twitter.com/teresamedeiros and hit the FOLLOW button! And make sure and check out the Goodnight Tweetheart website where you can find all of the pics Mark and Abby send to each other, an iTunes playlist for the book plus tons of free extras: http://pages.simonandschuster.com/goodnighttweetheart

Thanks again Teresa for agreeing to be here and talk about Goodnight Tweetheart, and thanks to Sue Grimshaw for welcoming me to the Borders blog today! See you both on Twitter!

Lisa Kessler

Bio: Lisa Kessler has published multiple short stories in print anthologies and magazines. Her vampire short story, Immortal Beloved, was a finalist for a Bram Stoker award and has been reprinted in the Dead Souls anthology by Morrigan Books. Her novel, Moonlight, was a finalist in the Kensington/RT Writing with the Stars contest. You can find Lisa on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/LdyDisney

Setting: Virginia
Subgenre: Romantic Suspense
Hero: FBI Special Agent Kenton Lake
Heroine: Firefighter Lora Spade

One sentence summary: When a deadly arsonist sets the night on fire, FBI Agent Kenton Lake must join forces with sexy fire fighter Lora Spade in order to stop the Phoenix killer.

Scene you like most and would never cut: I love Lora and Kenton’s first meeting. He’s just rushed into a burning building because he wants to save his informant’s life. She’s just rushed into the same building because she needs to drag Kenton to safety. It’s fire from the first moment for them.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: Lora isn’t a delicate flower. She’s a fire fighter who isn’t afraid to face the things that she fears the most in this world, so Lora would never be caught standing back and waiting for someone else to come and save the day—or save her.

What celebrity is your hero like: Chris Evans (only less super-hero hot and more FBI-Special-Agent hot)

What celebrity is your heroine like: Kate Beckinsale, just Kate with blond hair.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Lora Spade is a fire fighter.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing:

Kenton Lake works for the FBI’s elite Serial Services Division (the SSD). He spends his days and nights tracking serial killers.

What you think readers will like best about this book:

I hope readers will enjoy the action and emotional intensity.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:

I’ve gotten a lot of email about FBI Special Agent Jon Ramirez. He’s the strong, silent, and deadly type, and I’d love to explore to see what darkness lurks inside of him.

What’s next: I’m excited to say that I have back-to-back DEADLY releases. On March 1, 2011, the third installment of my Deadly series, DEADLY LIES will be released. DEADLY LIES tells the story of Special Agent Samantha Kennedy and her lover, Max Ridgeway. Though Samantha has already survived hell once, she finds that she has to face death once more when a sadistic killer targets her lover.

Valentine’s Day has just slipped past us—the most romantic day of the year. What gift did you get this year? And how did you spend this special day? Three commenters will be selected to win copies of DEADLY HEAT.

Author: Sue-Ellen Welfonder
Title: Sins of a Highland Devil

Setting: Scottish Highlands 14th C. The Glen of Many Legends is fictitious but based on a remote and rugged area known as the “Rough Bounds.”

Subgenre: Scottish Medieval Romance

Hero: James Cameron

Heroine: Catriona MacDonald

One sentence summary: A warrior chieftain must fight for his beloved glen only to discover that winning the heart of his enemy’s sister is the sweetest victory.

Scene you like most and would never cut: This is tough because I love the entire book. If pressed, I’d say a scene in chapter four when James is leaving Blackshore Castle, Catriona’s home. He’s hailed by her brother Alasdair and also meets Alasdair’s dog, Geordie. This encounter shows how heroic and noble these two men are.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: She’d never burst into tears. And she’d never say surrender.

What celebrity is your hero like: None. I don’t keep up with celebrities, so my characters aren’t fashioned after anyone. If James answered this, he’d say he is himself and that’s good enough.

What celebrity is your heroine like: Catriona would give you the same answer as her hero.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Catriona is a chieftain’s sister and busies herself with the day-to-day running of Blackshore Castle. Such a responsibility was considerable and required great organizational skills, the ability to act as hostess to a wide range of visitors. She’d also ensure that everyone in the clan was well looked after. And, of course, she’d be capable of holding the castle in her brother’s absence.

If Catriona lived in modern times, I could see her as a renown violin soloist. As fiery and passionate as she is, she’d use her acclaim as a virtuoso to support her beloved Highlands. I’d love to see her play Mendelssohn’s Overture “The Hebrides.”

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: James is clan chieftain and devoted to his people and land. His main goal is to save his glen and make certain his clan isn’t banished from their beloved home. As chieftain, his duties are vast and important. Along with seeing to everyone’s good, he acts as arbiter of all disputes within the clan, metes out punishment when required, protects all, is self-reliant, and holds the support and love of his people.

If James was a modern man, he’d still be in his glen. Loving his land as fiercely as he does, he’d surely work as a conservationist, dedicated to preserving the Highland glen that is his life. As a hobby, he’d collect medieval weaponry and perhaps even be a master sword-maker.

What you think readers will like best about this book: The honor and passion of the characters. And the sweeping Highland setting which, I hope, will transport them right into the pages of the story.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: This is hard to answer as Sins of a Highland Devil hasn’t yet released. Of the Highland Warriors trilogy, I am betting readers will ask for Grim’s story. He’ll appear in the second book of the series, Temptation of a Highland Scoundrel.

What’s next: The second book in my Highland Warriors trilogy releases in August 2011. Temptation of a Highland Scoundrel is the story of Kendrew Mackintosh and Isobel Cameron. Kendrew is a wild man, a medieval bad boy. Isobel is just the heroine to tame him … or, better said, to tempt him.

Question/Giveaway: Rather than ask what you love about the Highlands or if you’d enjoy slipping back in time to medieval Scotland, my ice-breaker is more specific….

So many people love Scotland and two comments often appear when romance readers gush about Highlanders: men in kilts and Scottish accents.

Tell me which you prefer and why: kilts or the burr?

Readers commenting have a chance to win one of three signed copies of Sins of a Highland Devil and one grand prize of a Scottish Breakfast Gift Basket.