Free For All Friday - Meet Author Liz Arnold!

Help me welcome fellow Wild Rose Press author, Liz Arnold today! Her story MESSAGE TO LOVE is one you historical readers don't want to miss:) The links to Liz's website and to purchase MESSAGE TO LOVE are listed below, but take a moment and get to know Liz.

Liz, thanks so much for being here today!

1.Was your road to publication a delightful stroll or a painful jog over hot coals?

My journey to publishing MESSAGE TO LOVE wasn’t an easy trip, but I wouldn’t change a thing that happened. The lessons I learned and the people I connected with along the way taught me many good things that I’m sharing with other writers such as what to do with a sagging middle. The answer is create more trouble!

2.Where is your favorite place to write?

My favorite place to write is in a coffee shop with a pen and a spiral notebook. I’ve tried taking my laptop but it doesn’t work. At home, I have an office jam packed with everything I do: write romance and non-fiction, freelance edit, teach college, and journal. I’m seriously into art journaling now and my office has a lot of art supplies in it besides research books and style guides (MLA, Chicago Manual of Style, etc.)

3.Tell us what’s next for you.

I’m working on an historical set in 1790 pioneer Ohio in Marietta during the smallpox epidemic and the Indian wars. My heroine is a young female “doctor” who travels to the Northwest Territory to find her family and discovers her little sister has been taken captive by the Delaware. Her only hope of finding her sister is with the help of a man known as White Night Tiger, so named after his years as a captive of the Shawnee tribe, but he doesn’t want to go back to that world. There’s a price on his head for killing members of the Delaware.

4.Describe yourself in 5 words.

I…am…a…linear…perfectionist.

(dammit)

***

MESSAGE TO LOVE

LIZ ARNOLD

THE WILD ROSE PRESS

www.thewildrosepress.com

Blurb

Audra Wakely’s father has been seized by Spanish authorities and imprisoned for sympathizing with Cuban rebels. Raising the money to bribe officials if necessary, she sets off for Cuba to rescue her father. She doesn’t bargain on the interference of any U.S. officials—that is until she meets Rollins McBride.

Lt. Rollins McBride of the newly designated U.S. Naval Intelligence service is assigned to track Audra on her journey. He’s to arrest Greg Wakely, a U.S. citizen, for treason and gun smuggling. His mission and his heart are taken by surprise by the feisty beauty who sets a stubborn path toward finding her father and proving he isn’t a traitor—no matter what or who gets in her way.

Sizzle, spice, and intrigue heats up the Spanish American War in MESSAGE TO LOVE.

Excerpt

“It was a dream, just a very bad dream.”

She stepped back out of his hold. Clammy spots of moist heat lingered on her arms where his hands had been.

“I’m all right now.” Audra reached for the door and noticed the sickly sweet odor of liquor on his breath. “You can leave now. I want to go back to bed.” She pulled open the door and gestured into the hall.

“Sorry, but this time you’re going, too.” Rollins strode over to the dresser and pulled out a drawer. “Better pack. We have just under two hours.”

“I’m not in the mood for comedy, Rollins,” she sighed. “I’m really very, very tired. I’ve got to get some rest. Now—”

“Let me make myself clear.” He sounded gruff. “I said we’re leaving, and unless you want to get on a ship bound for Santiago with your shirttails hanging out, better change and get ready.” He made to leave the room. “I hope you have a shawl or something. It’s gotten cooler out, and we have half an hour in a wagon to get to port.” Then he vanished into his own room next door, leaving Audra gape-mouthed in the hallway.

“Who does he think he is?” She growled as she stamped her foot against the cold hard floor. “Infuriating! He is absolutely infuriating!” Audra heaved the door shut with gusto. “These are not my shirttails, either!”

Amazon buy link (print and digital)

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=message+to+love+liz+arnold

The Wild Rose Press buy link (print and digital)

http://thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=495&zenid=5211e46f5b21103c2a01fe5c9b8df3ee

Liz Arnold is an author, freelance editor, and teacher living with her family in the mid-east.

Please visit my blog:

http://www.lizarnoldbooks.wordpress.com

Thanks, Jennifer!

Spotlight Wednesday!

STAKING HIS CLAIM by JM Stewart

The search for her mysterious past leads Cecelia Anton into the arms of her best friend, Detective Kyle Morgan, forcing both to reevaluate their relationship. But will the secret Kyle keeps from her destroy any hope for a future?

Buy Link :http://thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=88_119&products_id=4056

Free For All Friday - Meet Author Rachel Leigh!

How do you spell HOT? Today we're spelling it RACHEL LEIGH!
Don't you love this cover? And it delivers on the promise. The story inside is great!

You can learn more about Rachel at her website http://rachelleigh.co.uk/index.html
But be sure to come back and get to know Rachel a little better:)

Hi Rachel, thanks for being here today!

Thanks for having me.

What is the most difficult for you to write? Characters, conflict, emotion?

Conflict definitely! It is the vital ingredient to a successful story but keeping that momentum going so that you create the page turning quality every writer wants is serious hard work. In order to find the conflict that will sustain a novella length story I tend to start with the characters and complete a worksheet for the hero and heroine. Usually that throws up some internal issues they are dealing and I take it from there!

If you could time travel, would you go forward or back?

Back definitely – I am a Tudor enthusiast as well as being fascinated by anything to do with the Victorian era. They were both fascinating times in English history and I love reading Tudor and Victorian fiction & non-fiction, watching TV dramas and documentaries. I would love to go back and see what things were like.

Do you listen to a playlist when you’re writing? Prefer silence?

Silence all the way. I know lots of writers who listen to rock or classical music while writing but I find it a real distraction. I need absolute quiet to create anything of quality…and even then I doubt every word, LOL!

What was the best advice you were given leading to getting published?

To write! So many aspiring writers don’t actually sit their butt in the chair and write – and write and write. It takes a lot of commitment and a lot of hours to become a published writer. And the more you do it, the more you learn and the better you get. Writing is a craft and needs to be learned and practiced. No excuses.

What is your favorite dessert/food?

Dessert – Strawberry Cheesecake or the jam donuts that our local bakery makes, yum!

Food – Egg fried rice & chicken satay from my friend’s Chinese. I could eat and eat and eat so much of it , it’s ridiculous!

***

Here's a BLURB for EXPLICITLY ENGLISH: 

Laura Markham needs to forget - just for awhile.  Be someone else for change - live as her parents will never have the chance to.  And for Laura, that means leaving the City for the English countryside and doing just what the hell she feels like…wherever she feels like doing it…

          

British stockbroker, Stephen Cambridge knows by going home to his country retreat two days early, he's likely to surprise his contracted interior designer.  And when he finds out she's the woman who performed the solo masterbation show for him on the inward bound journey, Stephen will do anything to further convince her to miss the outward bound train and stay with him forever…  

BUY LINK: http://thewildrosepress.com/wilderroses/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&zenid=600abe5e58b30dc4727c64c9af8cbd63&keyword=explicitly+english&x=0&y=0

Spotlight Wednesday!

TEMPTING ADAM by Jill James

They both want the same thing – St. Eden Studios.

Corporate raider Yvette Giardino intends to bring St. Eden Studios to its knees.

Adam St. Eden wants one thing and one thing only – to protect the dream his grandfather began.

BUY from The Wild Rose Press: http://thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4395

Or Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Tempting-Adam-ebook/dp/B004O0VCWC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1299439312&sr=1-1 

Free For All Friday - Meet Author Emma Lai!

Hi everyone! I so excited to have my friend and fellow Wild Rose Press author, Emma Lai here today. We're featuring her story, TWICE IS NOT ENOUGH, a great hot read, just the right length for a bed time story;) http://thewildrosepress.com/wilderroses/
I think you will LOVE this story. It has the perfect blend of class and heat!

I had the pleasure of asking Emma a few questions, so grab a cup of coffee and let's get to know her better!

Where is your favorite place to write?

My favorite place to write is at my local Barnes and Noble, where I can get a cup of coffee, grab a table to spread my stuff out and immerse myself in a story world. The type of coffee I get depends on my mood. I drink coffee with a splash of cream when I’m in a serious mood; an iced vanilla latte when writing something spicy; or a cappuccino when I’m feeling a little frivolous.

What is the most difficult for you to write: Characters, conflict, emotions?

I have the most difficulty writing three-dimensional characters. I have to go through a story a handful of times to really bring the characters to life. Each pass adds depth to the character. At least, that’s how I feel.

Do you have critique partners?

Kind of. My writing has been sporadic and I have yet to enter into a commitment with another author. My mother-in-law, who also writes sporadically, offers critique, and my husband and step-father-in-law also read my stories. SFIL catches any grammatical errors Ieft behind after spell check and my own proofreading and hubby and MIL offer suggestions on where the story might need some polishing.

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Yes and no. I definitely believe in lust at first sight. An instant physical attraction so intense you’d do almost anything to have the other person. That’s how I felt when I met my husband. But, there was also something else there, a feeling of possibility. So, it wasn’t just lust.

Lady Minerva Peters, the heroine in my latest release, Twice is Not Enough, available from The Wild Rose Press knows all about lust at first sight.

How likely are people you meet to end up in your next book?

I have yet to write someone I just met into a story. However, many of my characters have traits of people I know.

If you could time travel would you go forward or backward?

Do I have to choose? If so, I’d go forward. I can open a history book for the past, but there’s no guide to the future. Though I would like to visit the English Regency period, which is the setting for Twice is Not Enough.

Twice is Not Enough Blurb:

After several disastrous engagements, Lady Minerva Peters is an expert at suppressing her own needs. Only in the darkness of night does she give in to her wanton desires with a fantasy lover. 

In the middle of a crowded ballroom, she learns her father is not yet ready to let her fade into spinsterhood. Humiliated, she ducks into a dark alcove only to find out she's not alone. Her hiding spot is occupied by a captivating stranger. Before she can escape, the two become voyeurs to another couple’s sexual rendezvous. The atmosphere heats up and so does her body, especially with the tempting offers whispered in her ear. 

Will Minerva deny her needs once again or will she embrace the anonymity of their seclusion and finally explore her basic impulses and the startling attraction to the compelling mystery man?

***

Thanks for being my guest, Emma!

For more information about Emma and her work visit : http://emmalaiwrites.wordpress.com/ 

or http://emmalaiwrites.blogspot.com/