On Conversations: #author Mary Campisi

Please join me in welcoming author Mary Campisi to Conversations today! Mary is here to talk about her new release, Book Two in That Second Chance Series, The Way They Were. So be sure and check out the blurb, cover, and excerpt below!

Lisa ~
__________________________________________

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00613DZAW/?tag=crlaofsu-20

THE WAY WE WERE

It's all about that second chance...

The Way They Were is Book Two of That Second Chance Series. (These are standalone books tied together by a common theme—belief in the beauty of that second chance.)

They promised to love one another forever, but tragedy tore them apart. Now, destiny may just bring them back together.

At eighteen, Rourke Flannigan and Kate Redmond thought they’d spend the rest of their lives together—until a family tragedy tore them apart. Fourteen years have passed and they’ve both carved out separate lives hundreds of miles apart—hers as a wife and mother, his as a successful, driven businessman. But once a year, Kate pulls out a red velvet journal and writes a letter, which she’ll never send, to the man who still owns her heart. Once a year, on the anniversary of the first and only time they made love, Rourke permits himself to read the annual investigative report detailing an ordinary day in Kate’s life.


When a subcontractor at one of Rourke’s holding companies is killed, Rourke decides to pay the widow a visit and offer condolences, never dreaming the widow will be Kate. As they embark on a cautious journey of rediscovery, one far greater than they could have imagined, secrets and lies threaten to destroy their newfound closeness—forever.

Bonus included:
Outtakes from The Way They Were


Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iTunes  / Kobo

That Second Chance Series:
Book One: Pulling Home
Book Two: The Way They Were
Book Three: Simple Riches
Book Four: Paradise Found
Book Five: Not Your Everyday Housewife
Book Six: The Butterfly Garden





Excerpt from The Way They Were

        “He’s back.”
        Kate’s brush slipped, smearing red paint onto the gray siding of the miniature dollhouse. Damn. She snatched a rag and began dabbing at the red spot.     
        “Kate?”     
        She dabbed harder as if she could blot out Angie’s words. “I heard you.”      
        “And?”      
        Kate glanced up, proud of the outward calm she displayed when her insides were a jumble of panic. “And what?”     
        “Oh for heaven’s sake, it’s me you’re talking to here, the one who sat up with you for three nights straight after that jerk left.” Angie swore under her breath and muttered, “He didn’t even have the decency to say good-bye.”       
        “It was a long time ago.” Fourteen years in July.        
        “Sure.”         
        Angie Sorrento was a pint-size dynamo with a giant-sized temper who swore in Italian and English and could carry a grudge longer than anyone Kate had ever known. The only grudge larger than the one Angie had for Rourke Flannigan was the one relegated to the ex-fiancĂ© who skipped out on her three days before the wedding.         
        “Really, Angie. Fourteen years is ancient history.”        
        Angie’s dark eyes narrowed. “That’s what I’m worried about, Kate. Your history with Mr. Jerk.”        
        “There’s no need to worry.” Kate dipped her brush in red and filled in the trim along the roof. This house was a four bedroom cape cod, designed for Rachel and Jared Hennessy and their seven year old twins, Jeffrey and Jason. The family had relocated from Richmond, Virginia last year so Jared could teach sophomore English and coach basketball in Montpelier. Great family—devoted couple, beautiful kids, even a golden retriever named Jed.          
        Angie started up again. “Even if it weren’t ‘Mr. Holier than Thou, let me grace you with my presence in this Podunk town’ and even if said man-boy weren’t someone you’d been intimately involved with, I’d still be worried.”        
        “Unnecessarily.” Kate ignored the way her pulse skittered when Angie talked about him.
        “You’re vulnerable.”        
        “Stop.” Her pulse tripled.          
        “You buried Clay five months ago. That makes you a lonely widow. The perfect target.”         
        “You watch too many Lifetime movies.” Had he heard about Clay? That was ridiculous, how could he have heard? She had no idea where he lived and now, suddenly, he was here. Why?
        “Katie? Are you all right?”         
        No, she wasn’t. She hadn’t been all right since—Kate pushed the unwelcome truth away and glanced at her friend. “I’m fine.”        
        “Fine is code word for no. Look, I know you don’t want to talk about him, but there are some things you’ve got to know before this guy comes waltzing back into your life.”        
        “He’s hardly waltzing back into my life.”         
        “Steamrolling then. You just wait and see.”        
        “We haven’t seen each other since we were eighteen.” A marriage and child ago.
        “We’re strangers.”         
        “You were planning to marry the guy.”        
        Kate set down her brush and plastered the same expression she’d worn when well-wishers patted her hand and offered prayers for strength to endure her newly-widowed state. She’d never told Clay how much he meant to her, not really and now one freakish accident had stolen her chances of ever telling him.        
        “They say he kicks people out of their homes to get a deal.”        
        “That’s crazy. He would never—” She stopped. How did she know what he would never do? He was a man now, not a teenager.       
        “They say he buys the buildings dirt cheap, after he kicks the tenants out, and then renovates the places into posh apartments for his rich friends.” Angie crossed her arms over her small chest and tilted her head to one side so several black springs of hair bounced off her shoulders. “While you were watching Barney with Julia, I was watching him on E and seeing his face plastered in People.”
        Rourke had always hated media in any form, said they made it hard to find a nugget of truth in anything. Kate started to shake her head in denial and ended in a shrug. What did she really know about him anymore? The truth slipped out again. Nothing.


Mary Campisi writes emotion-packed books about second chances. Whether contemporary romances, women's fiction, or Regency historicals, her books all center on belief in the beauty of that second chance.

Mary should have known she'd become a writer when at age thirteen she began changing the ending to all the books she read. It took several years and a number of jobs, including registered nurse, receptionist in a swanky hair salon, accounts payable clerk, and practice manager in an OB/GYN office, for her to rediscover writing. Enter a mouse-less computer, a floppy disk, and a dream large enough to fill a zip drive. The rest of the story lives on in every book she writes.

When she's not working on her craft or following the lives of five young adult children, Mary's digging in the dirt with her flowers and herbs, cooking, reading, walking her rescue lab mix, Cooper, or, on the perfect day, riding off into the sunset with her very own hero/husband on his Ultra Limited aka Harley.

Mary has published with Kensington, Carina Press, and The Wild Rose Press. She has recently released A Family Affair: Spring, the long-awaited sequel to A Family Affair. This is book two in the popular family saga series, Truth in Lies. Mary is currently working on A Family Affair: Summer.


website: marycampisi.com
e-mail: mary@marycampisi.com
blog: marycampisi.com/blog/
twitter: twitter.com/MaryCampisi
facebook: facebook.com/marycampisibooks

On Conversations: #author Amanda DeWees

Please welcome the award-winning author Amanda DeWees to Conversations today! Amanda is here to talk about her new release, With This Curse. So be sure and check out the blurb, cover, and her "Story Behind the Story" below!

Lisa ~
__________________________________________

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I7H69AS/?tag=crlaofsu-20
With This Curse

In 1873 Cornwall, seamstress Clara Crofton gets a second chance at happiness... and peril. Eighteen years ago, the curse on Gravesend Hall killed the young man she loved and forced her into a hostile world alone. Now she has the chance to return to Gravesend as the bride of the heir, Atticus Blackwood. But is the curse finished with Clara—or does it pose an even greater danger than before?


Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iTunes




With This Curse: The Story Behind the Story 

        As a reader, I’ve always been crazy about gothic romances—the combination of love story, escapism, mystery, and a whiff of supernatural danger—and I love writing them as well. The tricky thing is that the gothic conventions have been so firmly established that it’s difficult to come up with a fresh approach to the genre... at least, one that plays fair and doesn’t leave readers feeling like they’ve experienced a bait-and-switch.
        In With This Curse, my solution was to swap the usual roles of hero and heroine. Traditionally, the gothic hero is emotionally damaged and as a consequence moody and difficult to get close to, while the heroine’s innocence and loving heart eventually bring him out of his personal darkness into a place where he can trust and love again. In my story, the dynamic is almost entirely reversed. Clara, the heroine, had her heart broken and her life overturned at a young age, and her struggles as a woman alone in Victorian England have made her prickly, guarded, and definitely suspicious of the hero, Atticus. For his part, Atticus is initially the more optimistic, open-hearted, and vulnerable of the two—so when a shocking event brings about a drastic change in his temperament, Clara is determined to unearth the reason for his transformation.

        I also delighted in bringing some humor into the gothic formula. As much as I adore the foreboding spookiness of gothic atmosphere, an unbroken diet of it can begin to wear on the reader (or author). Clara has a sense of humor, albeit a dry one, but it takes her some time to relax enough in Atticus’s presence to let it show. Take the scene where they discuss his proposal of marriage:
          
        “...That’s another difficulty,” I said. “My past. We can scarcely acknowledge that I was a servant for your family, nor that I have been earning my keep as a seamstress with a traveling theatrical troupe.”

        “A widow who traveled a great deal with her American husband,” he said promptly, making me wonder how much thought he had already given the matter. “A railway magnate, shall we say? They seem to proliferate in America. Apparently one can scarcely take two steps down any major thoroughfare without colliding with a captain of industry. They are a bigger nuisance than pigeons, I hear.”
        I laughed before I could help myself, and his cup paused on its way to his lips.
        “Your whole demeanor changes when you laugh,” he said thoughtfully. “I should like to see you smile more often… by which I mean at all.”
        Discomfited, I stared down at my lap. “One certain way to prevent my doing so is to make me self-conscious about it.”

        One of the fun things about Clara and Atlas’s odd-couple relationship is the humor that arises when Atticus’s warmth and enthusiasm crash up against Clara’s wariness. From later in the same scene:

        “I do accept the offer,” I said. “It is only that—”

        “I’m delighted to hear it.” The smile struck again, and I blinked; he seemed genuinely pleased, but why I could not fathom. “You have made me the happiest of men, my dear Clara. I may call you Clara?”
        “I suppose, if you must. But—”
        “Thank you, Clara.”
        “You are welcome. But—”
        “I hope you’ll call me Atticus.”
        “If you insist. But,” I repeated, “it would be foolish not to examine every area where my imposture may be exposed.”
        He considered this as he helped himself to more bread and butter. His appetite seemed to be improving now that he had his answer. I, on the other hand, felt some queasiness now that I had committed myself. “A very sensible attitude,” he declared. “I’m doubly fortunate in having won a wife as intelligent as she is lovely.”
        I gave him an even look. “Do you have many such pretty compliments memorized for this occasion, or shall I be spared further sallies?”

        Naturally it wouldn’t be a proper gothic without plenty of chills, portents, and emotional angst for my protagonists, and those aren’t lacking in With This Curse. My hope is that the combination of traditional, beloved gothic elements and new twists on the formula will reawaken readers’ love for this classic romance subgenre.


Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iTunes 


Amanda DeWees received her PhD in English literature from the University of Georgia and likes to startle people by announcing that her dissertation topic was vampire literature. Amanda's books include the widely praised historical gothic romance Sea of Secrets, winner of the 2012 RONE award in mystery, and the Ash Grove Chronicles, a captivating young adult "paranormal lite" romance series set in modern-day North Carolina. Besides writing, Amanda's passions include theater, classic film, Ioan Gruffudd, costume design, and the preservation of apostrophes in their natural habitat. Visit her at www.amandadewees.com for book extras and other delightful diversions.

www.amandadewees.com
Twitter: @AmandaDeWees
www.facebook.com/AuthorAmandaDeWees

On Conversations: #Interview with #AAMBookclub #author Jae Henderson

It is my pleasure to welcome AAMBookclub Author Jae Henderson to Conversations today. Jae's here to talk about her new release, Things Every Good Woman Should Know, Volume 1. So, check out the cover, blurb, and excerpt. And get to know Jae Henderson by checking out her interview too.

Lisa ~
_____________________________________________

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I5Y9WVQ/?tag=crlaofsu-20 Things Every Good Woman Should Know, Volume 1

If you could stop a woman from making the same mistakes you did would you—whether it be in love, friendships, profession, finances, or health. In “Things Every Good Woman Should Know Volume 1” Jae Henderson has crafted six inspirational stories designed to educate women on the importance of carefully considering your options when traveling through this journey we call life. Each character allows you to peek into their lives and experience the joys and the pains of love, sex, success, family, and more. These stories could be described as fables for adults. Just like the ones you read as children, except with adult content and real drama. You are invited to learn the moral of each story that will surely nourish the spirit and strengthen the soul.

You Are Beautiful
Take Care of Those You Love
Sex Is More Than Just Sex
Mentorship is Mandatory
Success Is the Best Revenge
You Reap What You Sow

Each story is firmly rooted in Biblical principles and is jam packed with exciting life-altering situations and life-applicable teachings. Once again, demonstrating that God is good. He may not always keep you from falling, but He can arrange for you to make a soft landing. Be inspired today!


Amazon / Barnes and Noble / AAMBC


Excerpt from Things Every Good Woman Should Know, Volume 1

        When I got home, I decided to give some serious thought to if I wanted breast implants. In order to see how the other half lived, I put the DD falsies in my bra and went to the mirror to see the result. I wasn’t sure that I looked better with them, but I sure did look different.  The dust on the mirror reminded me that I hadn’t cleaned lately. The house was a mess. Tyler and I worked so much we didn’t clean up the way we should. I turned on Janet Jackson’s greatest hits CD to keep me company as I went about my duties.
        I decided to start in the kitchen and sang “Control” as I washed the dishes. I mopped the floor to “Rhythm Nation.” The mop doubled as my microphone, and I sang into the handle as if I was onstage performing one of my songs. At one point, I put the mop down and did the dance routine from the video that my friends and I once worked hours to perfect for a student talent show. I was surprised that I actually still remembered most of the movements. As I bounced around on our tile floor, I felt the rise and fall of the falsies against my own breasts. I barely felt anything move when I danced before.
        Our town house is small, but it’s a dust magnet, and having a cat doesn’t help either. I kept on bouncing as I proceeded to clean, dust, and vacuum the living room and dining room. Afterward, I headed upstairs to the bedroom. I stopped bouncing momentarily while I changed the sheets on the bed. I put on the bottom sheet, unfolded the top sheet, and gave it a good hard snap. As it fell into place across the bed, Tyler appeared on the other side of the bed with a large bouquet of flowers in his hands.
        I smiled and began to reach for them. He suddenly dropped the flowers on the bed, ran over to me, and exclaimed, “You look great! Why didn’t you tell me you were having surgery today? I would have come with you. How long until I can touch them? Do they hurt? I wondered what you would look like with big ole titties, and now I know. I got me a regular Pamela Lee Anderson. I can’t wait to show you off!”
        “You idiot!” I screamed. I picked the flowers up from the bed and hit him repeatedly in the face with them as hard as I could. He put his hands up as a shield and quickly backed away out of my reach.
        “What is wrong with you, woman?! Have you lost your mind?”
        I glared at him with my death ray vision and yelled, “No, but you are stupid!” I then slid my hand under my shirt, took out one rubber titty, hurled it at him as hard as I could, and followed it with the other. Unfortunately, I have bad aim and missed him entirely. One landed inside the closet. The other hit the dresser and tumbled to the floor near his feet. Our cat, Tabitha, thought it was some kind of toy. She pounced on it and swatted it in between her paws.
        The look of shock on Tyler’s face migrated into disappointment, and then shame. I really thought he had my best interests at heart. Maybe Tyler wasn’t the man I thought he was. I used to think I looked okay, but now I felt like Quasimodo in the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Does anybody know where I can find sanctuary? My feelings need protection. Was having small breasts that bad?
        He looked at me and said, “I’m sorry, Pussycat. I thought . . .” His voice trailed off.
        I looked at him and snarled. He’d better be quiet. There were no words to fix what he had done, and he seemed to know it. Tyler headed toward the door of our bedroom and before exiting he said, “For what it’s worth, you are beautiful. Big breasts or not, I love you, and my life would be empty without you.”
        I didn’t bother to respond. Instead, I turned around and finished making our bed. It now had colorful flower petals all over it that I had to remove.



Interview

After releasing three full-length novels what made you decide to write a book of short stories?
 
I was writing short stories before I began writing novels. I was actually going to release them first but after sharing that with a fellow author and receiving her feedback, I decided not to. It seemed best to let readers get to know me through longer works before I introduced them to my shorter works.


How many short stories does it contain?

 
It contains a total of six short stories. Six of them have been previously released individually and three of them are new.


Who should read this book?

 
Every woman over the age of 13 should read this book. It is full of great anecdotal stories that women can relate to and learn from. Women of every age group and every walk of life can take something of value away from each one.


You said three of the stories have already been released what kind of feedback did you get from those?

 
It has been amazing! I received tons of positive feedback after releasing the first story,” You are Beautiful” but one in particular stands out in my mind. I had a mother who read it and recommended it to her teenage daughter who was struggling with her self-image and self-esteem  because she wasn’t as physically developed as some of her peers. They both loved it! It also helped her daughter learn how to ignore the mean comments of other kids and realize that she is beautiful just the way God made her. They actually called me, and I wanted to cry because that is exactly why I wrote it. I wanted to tell people to stop comparing themselves to the media’s standards of beauty and use their own standards. We all have some part of our body we don’t like but that doesn’t make us inferior. Every woman is beautiful. We are God’s greatest creation.


I had one reader tell me that “Sex is More Than Just Sex” was ( I am paraphrasing here) the new age version of Dr. Juanita Bynum’s “No More Sheets”. She enjoyed my candid portrayal of sex–the good, the bad, and the ugly—and what can happen when indulging in casual sex. She said she didn’t want it to end and asked me to consider making it a novel.  I love Dr. Bynum so that was a HUGE compliment for me.


I know I’ve written a good story when people tell me that they don’t want it to end. I can’t wait for people to read the other three and tell me what they think of those as well.


You have launched your ebook with the theme Love Thyself. What is that about?


My books typically come out in February, which is the month that includes Valentine’s Day. I wanted to remind women that they should always love themselves. Relationships with someone wonderful are great but you are your most precious commodity and we should each make sure that we are treating ourselves well.  One good way to do that is by arming ourselves with knowledge that can help us escape many of the common pitfalls of life. I believe that reading my books is a great way to assist with that. So love thyself by reading “Things Every Good Woman Should Know, Volume 1”.


What’s next?

 
I am still working on a couple of new novels. Although, I have no idea when they will be released just yet. I’m also working on “Things Every Good Woman Should Know, Volume 2”. I’ve been submitting my short stories for other compilations by other authors and publishing companies as well. In the coming months, I really want to branch out and expand my readership.


What do you want people to know about you?

 
I’m a woman of God who loves to write to encourage and inspire others within entertaining tales.



After embracing careers as a radio talk show host, marketing and media professional, and voice over artist, Jae Henderson decided to add inspirational romance author to her roles.

She first displayed her witty way with words and keen insight into the human emotion through her inspirational romance trilogy: “Someday,” “Someday, Too” and “Forever and a Day”. She most recently released her first book of short stories, “Things Every Good Woman Should Know, Volume 1”. It contains six inspirational stories to nourish the spirit. Her entertaining tales about the astounding power of love and God’s ability to care for us in the midst of life’s storms have been warmly received by readers of all ages.

Jae Henderson is a graduate of The University of Memphis where she earned a BA in Communications and an MA in English. She is the former host and producer of On Point, a once popular radio talk show geared toward youth and young adults. Other accomplishments have included serving as a contributing writer for the award-winning, syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Showand a success as a voice over artist. Her signature voice has been heard in hundreds of commercials and even a couple of cartoons. When Jae isn’t writing, she works as a public relations specialist and college professor. She currently resides in her hometown of Memphis, TN.


Find the author:
www.jaehendersonauthor.com
www.imagoodwoman.com
www.facebook.com/imagoodwoman
www.twitter.com/jae_henderson
www.instagram.com/jaehendersonauthor
Blogs
www.mysideofthesinglelife.com
Amazon.com

www.amazon.com/Jae-Henderson






On Conversations: #author Lois Winston

Please welcome the award-winning author Lois Winston to Conversations today! Lois is here to talk anthologies and a new release, Love Valentine Style. So be sure and check out the blurbs, cover, and her great guest post!

Lisa ~
__________________________________________
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HK4RQFQ/?tag=crlaofsu-20

Love, Valentine Style

How do you get readers to notice your books? That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? And it doesn’t matter whether you’re traditionally published, indie published, or both. Except for a small number of lucky authors, traditional publishers have pretty much walked away from marketing their authors’ books, leaving it all on the authors’ shoulders.

A few years ago authors turned to social media to help get the word out about their books, but lately authors are coming to the realization that social media really isn’t selling books. People might like your Facebook posts, pin your covers, retweet your tweets, and comment on your blog posts, but how many of them are actually buying your books? Sadly, for the majority of authors, the numbers are slim.

So in a never-ending quest to get noticed, authors are banding together to produce anthologies. The hope is that if a reader buys an anthology because she’s a fan of one of the authors, she’ll be introduced to the other authors in the anthology and hopefully, become a fan of those authors.

Guess what? It seems to be working. Authors I know who have participated in anthologies are finding sales of their other books are on the rise. In October I joined in, publishing a romance anthology with nine other authors. The Romance Super Bundle was a great success for us, shooting us up to bestseller status on Amazon. All the authors saw their ranking improve and sales increase.

Now in time for Valentine’s Day, I’m part of another anthology, this time with five other authors. The magic of Valentine’s Day comes alive in Love, Valentine Style, an anthology of never-before published novellas by award-winning and Amazon bestselling authors.

You won’t find these stories published anywhere else, and this box set is available only at Amazon.

For my offering I’ve written a sequel to one of my romantic comedies:

Finding Mr. Right by Lois Winston
In this mini-sequel to the award-winning Hooking Mr. Right by Lois Winston (writing as Emma Carlyle,) editor Grace Wainwright, has taken over the role of bestselling author and romance guru Dr. Trulee Lovejoy. Thea Chandler, the original Trulee, is now married to her Mr. Right and is a successful cookbook author. She and Grace host the top-rated Love Recipes cooking show.

When producer Becket Delaney announces the first two shows in February will have a Valentine’s Day theme, Grace freaks out. The worst day of her life occurred on Valentine’s Day ten years ago, and she wants no reminders of it.

Beck has his own reasons for hating the holiday, but the show must go on, and he absolutely refuses to deal with an uncooperative prima donna. When a citywide blackout traps him and Grace in his thirty-fourth floor office, their adversarial relationship really begins to heat up.

The other novellas in the anthology include:

Be My Other Valentine by Jasmine Haynes
Grace is a baker and Sugar & Spice Bakery is her life. Five years ago she was given a sacred duty to perform by a mother dying of cancer: Every Valentine's Day, Grace must deliver one of her beautiful cake creations to a little girl named Valentine, and it must be addressed from the girl's mother up in heaven. But this Valentine's Day, Grace's delivery truck might finally give up the ghost before she drops off her precious cargo.

Brian lost his wife five years ago, and their little girl Valentine is all he has left of her. But what Brian has forgotten is that very special gift Valentine receives every year on Valentine's Day, and he's moved his daughter to a new house with no way to contact the mysterious baker who has followed his wife's wishes all these years.

In their quest to fulfill a dying woman's last request, can Grace and Brian find their own Valentine?

Hotel Amore by Pamela Fryer
After being jilted at the altar by her fiancĂ©, Virginia Montgomery quit her job and moved a thousand miles away to manage Hotel Amore on Little West Cay, hoping she’d never see that no-good coward Thomas Bennet again. But Fate and Mother Nature conspire together and whip up a little Valentine’s Day magic to bring Virginia and Thomas back together.

You know what they say; Fate doesn’t take no for an answer, and it isn’t nice to mess with Mother Nature.

Civil War Valentine by Haley Whitehall
Recently divorced museum curator Charlie Bristol comes to Seattle to set up a display at the Fine Art museum chronicling the history of Valentine’s Day. The director of the museum surprises her with a package of Civil War valentines from an anonymous donor. She reads the heartfelt messages and is touched by his words. Does such powerful love still exist?

During a nap she dreams she’s alive during the Civil War and meets Elliot Lowery, the author of the valentines who mistakes her for his fiancĂ©e Charlotte. She and Elliot negotiate the murky waters of wartime romance. When she wakes she’s still under the dream's spell and Valentine’s Day love is in the air, but Charlotte has no reason to celebrate. The man she loves died 150 years ago. Unless love works some miracle even time and death cannot overcome.

Forever My Valentine by Raine English  
She left him... He loves her... A snowy Valentine's gives them a second chance.
Returning home after a disastrous job relocation, Miranda is determined to avoid the man she left behind—and whose heart she broke. Until she finds a hidden treasure in a music box. An engagement ring engraved with a decades’ old date. And the only man who can help reunite the precious ring with its owner is the last man she wanted to see.

When Ian sees Miranda walk into his antique shop, his defenses go up. She walked away from him once without a backward glance. Since then he’s given up on love. But when their eyes meet and sparks fly, he wonders if maybe there’s a Valentine’s Day miracle in store for them.

A snowy night’s journey to bring the ring to its elderly owner turns into a second chance at romance for Miranda and Ian. But as the frost melts from around their hearts, it exposes old hurts and deceptions. This Valentine’s Day could be the start of something wonderful. Or the proof that their love was never meant to be.

Valentine Rules by Mel Curtis
What started out as an innocent assignment for work –accompanying a popular actress fresh out of rehab on shopping trips – has gained Gemma Kent regular makeovers by said actress and a sidebar photo on People magazine’s cover!  All the attention would be flattering, except she’s become famous as a mystery woman with the Twitter handle: GlitterfrostGem.  Everyone, even the local gossip column, is speculating about her identity.  In real life, Gemma wears combat boots, poindexter glasses, and a prickly attitude.  Now Randy Farrell, the man she can’t get out of her head, wants a date with Glitterfrost Gem!  Which would be great if he realized that invisible Gemma Kent and Glitterfrost Gem were one and the same.

Buy Love, Valentine Style on Amazon HERE!
 


Award-winning author Lois Winston writes romance, romantic suspense, mystery, chick lit, women’s fiction, and non-fiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Visit Lois at www.loiswinston.com, visit Emma at www.emmacarlyle.com, and visit Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog, www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com. Follow everyone on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Anasleuth and Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/anasleuth

DAKOTA HEAT

http://www.amazon.com/Dakota-Heat-Book-Hearts-ebook/dp/B00H2W66H0/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1389043721&sr=8-10&keywords=lisa+mondello
Dakota Hearts Series - Book 3

Hotshot Sam McKinnon was always leaving town, chasing another fire until his own hometown became vulnerable during the fire season after a devastating winter flood left debris and destruction in its path. He didn't expect out of town dispatcher, Summer Bigelow, to catch his eye or his heart.

It hadn't been Summer's idea to move from Providence to South Dakota, but when a serial murderer suddenly turns his attention on Summer, her boss insists she leave town...at least until the heat dies down. She's dealt with high tension, life or death situations many times in her job. It isn’t until she meets Sam McKinnon and falls for the sexy Hotshot that she really begins to know fear. The fear of losing someone she loves.


Genre: contemporary romance
ISBN: 978-1-940512-02-0
ASIN: B00H2W66H0
Word Count:  23,000 words
Cover Artist: Purple Girl Design


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Excerpt from Dakota Heat:

The girl was new.  Sam walked around the Interagency Fire Crew basecamp with familiarity.  He saw faces he recognized from working in different locations over the past few years.  But the girl…  Yeah, she was new.  He doubted he would forget the soft blond color of her hair or the slight tilt of her head as she read through paperwork, pretending she didn’t notice the people around her.
He grabbed two water bottles from the bucket full of ice in the back of the Quonset hut and walked toward her.  She didn’t look up until he held the water bottle in front of her.
Blue eyes met his with a mixture of irritation and surprise.
“You’re dropping ice pieces on my paperwork,” she said.
He noticed the smooth as silk sound of her voice before the water splatter on the top page of her paperwork.  He immediately pulled the water bottle back a few inches. 
“Sorry.  I thought you might like something to drink.”
Her face softened as quickly as it had shown irritation.  She reached her hand out and took the water bottle, and then placed it on the bench next to her before shaking her hand of the residual moisture the bottle left behind. “Thank you.”
“You’re new here,” he said as he sat down next to her.  
Not looking up, she said, “So are you.” 
She smelled like soap and lavender.  After breathing in smoke and dirt for so long, it was refreshing to breathe in the sweet scents of a woman.
“Not exactly.  I grew up in Rudolph.” 
That earned him a lingering second glance.  One that afforded him a few seconds to really look into her eyes, at her face.
“Really?”
“My whole life.”
She glanced around quickly.  “When I got in last night I was told the basecamp here was new this year.  I didn’t realize South Dakota had a dedicated fire basecamp.”
Sam had never worked fire duty in his home state before.  And he’d never come to a new location and been so familiar with faces as well as the location.  His reason for wanting to come back to South Dakota this year was personal. 
A lot of his friends who worked with the Interagency Fire Crew were still reeling after the deaths of nineteen Hotshot firemen in Arizona last summer.  Some had quit fighting fires altogether at the urging of their family.  Sam’s own mother had tried her best to do the same during many phone calls since the tragedy, but Kate McKinnon settled for having him come home to Rudolph to work. 
“This was just constructed this year.  The Black Hills are a hot spot this year because of all the flood and ice damage that occurred over the winter.  When I found out they were setting up a base here to do fire control for the season, I put in a request to work here.”
She nodded.  “Must be nice to be home.  At least for the season.”
She glanced down at her paperwork again.
He chuckled at how quickly she fell into her reading again.  “You’re looking at that like you’re cramming for a final exam.”
She shrugged.  “I feel I am.  This is my first season working fire dispatch anywhere.”
“Ah, then that explains it.”
“Must feel good to be home after—” 
“Summer?”
Both Sam and the girl looked up to see the chief calling out from across the tent.  The girl quickly collected her paperwork and stuffed it in a folder.
“Be right there,” she called out.  She turned to Sam, lifting the bottled water in her hand.  “Thanks for the water.”
“No problem.”
But she was already trotting over to the superintendent’s office.  He hadn’t even had a chance to get her name.  But he would before the day was done.  This was one woman he had a feeling he wanted to get to know.
 

On Conversations: #Interview with #AAMBookclub #Author Lae'Zriah Justice

It is my pleasure to welcome AAMBookclub Author Lae'Zriah Justice to Conversations today. She's here to talk about her new release, Dilemmas (Part 1). So, check out the cover and blurb. And get to know Lae'Zriah Justice by checking out her interview too.

Lisa ~
____________

Dilemmas (Part 1)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DGHN718/?tag=crlaofsu-20

WARNING: The contents of this book are for audiences 18+. Strong sexual language in contents.

When Maurice is sent on an extended mission to retrieve missing information from his organization’s former employee; he finds himself falling in love with her. His target, located at a safe house, tries to keep her relationship with Maurice sexual, but she finds herself drawn to him as well. Not realizing Maurice is sent to kill her, she allows her love for him take control and let down her guard. She refuses to pay attention to the warnings her family give her about her love for Maurice as well as his intentions. She instead rebels and accepts him with his flaws, his cheating ways, his sexual appetite and his commitment to her girlfriend-his wife. Although he is unhappy in his marriage, he tries to stay for the sake of his children. He begins to lose focus on his mission because of his love for his target. After the death of one of their rival organization’s members, things begin to change. Secrets are revealed, things turn upside down. Maurice finds himself caught between his job, his hatred for his wife, his love for his children, his love of sex with all his women, and his love for his mistress. Faced with the reality he is still on a mission to kill his mistress, he finds himself in a…Dilemma.


Amazon / Barnes and Noble / AAMBC





Interview

New York City native Lae’Zriah Justice is an emerging erotica author. She was raised in various parts of the United States and abroad. Faced with dramatic situations in her life as a young child, she began to use writing as her escape out of the situations. She holds a Bachelors in Business Administration and a Masters in Human Resources. She is the first of four children, a devoted mother, and the author of her debut book, Dilemmas (Part 1). Get to know the author:

What genre are your books? What draws you to this genre?

My books are erotica. I enjoy erotica because I can be a very sexual person and I love spontaneity. Those two characteristics about myself drew me to the erotica genre. I like to think and do things where others do not think of or rarely think of which are displayed in my books. Some feedback I receive is about how realistic the intimate scenes are but those scenes are more realistic than one would think. At least they are in my world.

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?

My work depends on what I am writing. I have never used an outline but I always have to have a plot. The plot comes to mind before anything else does and I build on that. Sometimes, the plot may change but the ideas flow from the plot. In some cases, I have actually drawn the floor plan of the character’s homes, their office setting and even their vehicles just to visualize what I am trying to write.  In other cases, I have just keep the thoughts in mind as I write.

Do you ever experience the dreaded writer’s block? If so, do you have any tips on how to get through the block?

Yes I do. The first time I experienced it, I had no clue what it was and was online looking up what was wrong with me. I still have had a little issue with writers block but I am realizing that it is coming from things that go on in my life. I am a very busy person and I wear many hats. I have learned to step back and get myself together in order for the ideas to flow. My way of working through the blocks may not work for everyone but the first thing I do is try to write through the block. Even if it is just a sentence a day. I also take more personal time out to unwind with soft music, candles and just a sip of wine (because I am not a drinker). I exclude everything from social media to a television when I unwind.

What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews?


There will be some who love your work and some who do not. Of course I love a good review but I welcome all truthful reviews. I am very new at being an author and I do not expect to grab everyone’s attention however, those that I do grab, if they feel that there is something  missing or something is not right, I welcome those comments because I can learn from them to help me become a better author.

What are your views on social media for marketing?

I believe social media can have a positive impact, if it is marketed correctly. Millions of people use social media on a daily basis. I know for myself, there are certain products, restaurants and even books I probably never would have heard about if it weren’t for the person or company advertising on a social medial outlet. Repetition is also important in social marketing because when a person notices the same item or product repeatedly, they are much more inclined view the ad.

Are you currently working on any projects?

I am currently working on a book called Tangled. Is about a woman who has some psychological issues which has her perceptions of things not exactly accurate.  However she is somewhat clueless about her real situations. She has the ideal marriage, and a very unhappy, devious best friend. Her past begins to catch up with her when she feels betrayed and commits some unthinkable acts. Tangle has a lots of twists and turn in this book, a little like Dilemmas but it has a different pace. Tangled should be out by the summer. I am also working on Dilemmas Part 2 which should be out by summer as well.

Do you have any advice for potential authors seeking to publish their first book?

The only advice I can give is to make sure you are doing it because you are passionate about it not merely because of monetary gain. Once you realize you want to write because it is deeply rooted in your heart then DO IT!
 


Lae’Zriah Justice has had a passion to write ever since she was very young. As a child, she wanted to escape certain situations, and, with her vivid imagination, she began to write her way out of them. As an adult, she felt her sexual desires may have been too much for many people to understand, so she began to write about the sexual events she imagined. She decided to make some of her thoughts and ideas public so that others could enjoy the world of imagination with her.

 

"Sometimes we need to get away; what better way than with our imagination?" ~LaeZriah Justice

Find the author:
http://www.laezriahjustice.com
www.facebook.com/laezriahjustice
www.twitter.com/laezriahjustice

http://www.laezriahjustice.blogspot.com/
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