Tuesday, March 27, 2012

New Release Wednesday!!


Please help me welcome one of my favorite authors, RANDI ALEXANDER! Her writing is ...can you say, HOT, HOT, HOT? So without further ado........
Thanks for being here today, Randi!
New Release, Contest, and Book Giveaway!
I want to thank Jennifer for letting me guest blog today. I'm Randi Alexander and I write cowboy erotic romance. I'm published with The Wild Rose Press' Cowboy Kink line. My second Cowboy Kink, Her Cowboy Stud, was released March 23.
Jennifer and her readers know the appeal of a sexy cowboy. Whether they're riding the range today or did so hundreds of years ago, there's just something about a cowboy that makes us *sigh*
I enjoy watching cowboys when I go to rodeos. There are a lot of them in the stands. Young guys with their girlfriends, their eyes showing longing and envy as the bull riders take center stage. Older cowboys wearing their rodeo jackets filled with patches from wins they logged years ago.
Quite often, I'll strike up a conversation with a cowboy, ask about their patches, or comment on their boots. It's always followed by the powerful stink-eye sent my way by their lady friend. But when I mention I'm a writer, and doing research for my next book, the suspicious scowl turns to a smile, and I inevitably hear, "Oh, you could write a whole book on this one."
I've heard stories about cowboys saving livestock from raging rivers, saving people from stampeding cattle, capturing rustlers with only a flashlight, and taking down bank robbers who dared cross the wrong ranch.
And all of these stories come from the lady friend, not the cowboy himself. Cowboys are shy, for the most part. They don't brag about themselves to strangers, they think the extraordinary things they do are just part of their jobs.
And talk about considerate. They're nearly always gentlemen, raised to believe in courtesy and self-restraint. Their sense of responsibility – toward their families, their livestock, their land, and the environment – is admirable.
It's that inherent self-restraint that makes them such a fun mystery to solve. It makes me want to ask a hundred questions and try to get inside their minds. I'm heading to a rodeo in a few months, and I'd love to take your questions with me and get some real cowboy answers. What are the things you would ask a cowboy, if you had the chance? Leave a comment and you'll have a chance to win an e-copy of my first Cowboy Kink novel, Chase and Seduction.
Blurb: HER COWBOY STUD 
Trace McGonagall’s quiet life on his Houston stud ranch is shaken up when gorgeous Macy Veralta arrives to claim an inheritance left to her in his uncle’s will. Trace sees her as just another gold digger, but he also can’t resist her curvy body. When she hints at being the perfect submissive to his Dom, he has to have her.
Macy wouldn’t have been three months late to claim her inheritance if she’d known Trace was sin in jeans. The cowboy’s dominant bearing and the smoldering glint in his eyes send shivers to her toes and stirs images of being bound in his bed and disciplined at his hand. But could Trace’s perfect seduction be part of his plan to reclaim her inheritance?
EXCERPT: Over 18 only please.
A loud whinny erupted from a corral followed by male shouts. Trace stared over Macy's shoulder. “Sorry, I need to tend to this.” He glanced down her legs. “You bring any sensible shoes?”
She stared at her pink painted toenails. “Yes, I have—”
“Put ‘em on and head over to the first barn. I’ll meet you there.” He took off at a lope.
She hoped everything was okay. As she watched him go, her mind blanked. Wow, she could watch him from behind for hours. His form fitting jeans showed off his really nice ass. As he jogged, his thigh muscles bunched. Impressive. Not only was he built like a stud, he owned a stud farm. Ironic? Maybe.
Maybe not.
She popped the trunk, dug out her flip flops, and slid into them. Dusting off her “take me” sandals, she set them carefully in the trunk. If all went well, she’d get to wear them again today. It was getting late, the sun nudging closer to the horizon. Would he ask her to stay for dinner? Maybe after, he might offer her a tour and a leisurely walk around the grounds. His hand on her lower back to guide her…
“Ugh.” These fantasies she had going on in her head were getting her nowhere but into trouble. She did not want to appear easy to Trace. Nor would desperate, trampy, or horny be appropriate, either. She needed to get her mind off sex.
“No. Sex.” She stole another glance at the cowboy as he climbed over a fence.
She closed the trunk and headed to the corral where Trace stood holding a rope at the head of a regal black horse. Two other cowboys led a white and black horse toward Trace’s. The big white and black looked wild-eyed, reared up, stomping down hard, baring its teeth, and snorting.
The tail of Trace’s horse was braided. As the white and black horse danced closer, she looked at what protruded between its hind legs and… “Oh. My. God.” They were going to breed them. Right there in front of her.
Macy bit her lip as a flush of embarrassment warmed her neck. She glanced around, hoping no one saw her watching. It seemed so public. Shouldn’t they do this in a barn? With dim lighting and maybe—she grinned—soft music?
Breathing deep of the earthy scent of grass and animals, she murmured, “You’re not in Chicago anymore.” This was nature’s way, a beautiful thing. Animals did this in the wild all the time. It was only humans who had issues about the splendor of the body and its inherent sexuality. This should not shock and embarrass her. Especially in her line of work.
Trace’s voice rumbled low and calm as he talked to the female horse. Mare? She knew very little about horses, except what she read in books. The male horse—stallion—seemed out of control. The cowboys each kept a tight hold on their rope as they drew nearer.
The stallion mounted the mare, driving his extra-large penis home while biting the back of the mare’s neck. The mare seemed compliant. Submissive. She liked being held tight. Mischievous thoughts flooded Macy’s mind. Ideas of Trace and her tangled together, leather and ropes.
Macy glanced at Trace, and, of course, he was looking at her. Despite her nature-girl self-talk, her cheeks warmed at his stare. But she didn’t look away.
The act was over in seconds. The stallion dismounted and the two horses brushed their noses together for a short time before going their separate ways. No awkwardness, no promises to call each other soon. No hurt feelings.
Damn. Why did that depress her? She’d rarely indulged in one-night stands, but if this cowboy offered, it would be hard to say no.
Trace handed off his horse, walked toward her, and climbed over the fence. Macy enjoyed every move he made.
Even in his dressier clothes, he was all rugged cowboy. He'd rolled his shirtsleeves to reveal heavily muscled forearms with a light cover of dark hair. The way he walked, so self-assured, made her all gooey inside. As he drew closer, her heartbeat picked up, and a zap of desire shot through her.
“Enjoy the show?” he asked, a grin curving his lips.
*********
To celebrate the release of Her Cowboy Stud, I'm giving away, to one lucky *commenter, an e-copy of my first erotic romance, Chase and Seduction. Just leave a comment today and we'll choose a winner tomorrow. *Commenter must be 18 years of age or older to win.

I'm also giving away a custom-made messenger bag and a $50 gift certificate to Pureromance to one subscriber to my newsletter. For more details, and to sign up for this contest, please go to my website, RandiAlexander.com  And while you're there, you can read the first chapter of Her Cowboy Stud.
Good luck, and thank you!
Randi
Her Cowboy Stud available at The Wild Rose Press Wilder Roses
Kindle version is available at Amazon.com

Friday, March 23, 2012

Friday Fun- Meet author Cora Blu

Please help me welcome the talented CORA BLU to the blog today! She's brought her newest release, DAGGER, which is Book 1 of the BROTHERS OF ELEMENT SERIES. Cora has offered to give away 1 free e-book to a lucky commentator so be sure to include your email for the drawing. 
You can learn more about CORA at http://corablu.com/blog/


Welcome to the blog, Cora!



Thank you Jennifer for hosting me today.  
You’d asked how I came up with this story about six tiger shark brothers protecting their power to shift while finding their lifemate?
Depending on the age of your audience some may or may not remember,  but here goes.
My Brothers of Element Series evolved from two places. Having a love for Jacque Cousteau as a little girl, I was fascinated and scared of the water. Probably why I can’t close my eyes underwater, I like to see what’s going on at all times. Then there is my love of nature. Mutual of Omahas Wild Kingdom.
We have three ponds in our yard (hence the Series taking place within different bodies of water around the world) the largest pond has the largest koi with a blue spot on his back and a red spot on his head, like Jacque Cousteau’s knit cap he wore. My imagination took off watching the other fish follow him around. He would dart around the pump as if protecting it. (Where the idea of protecting their power to shift in the story came from.)
Once I married years later, we went to the Atlantic on vacation.  I fell in love with the vastness of the ocean and the wheels began to turn. The tiger shark was supposed to be my villain but at the aquarium, I became fascinated with him. Back home, reading up on koi food, my husband found out that blueberries would enhance their color (Blueberry koi food), this brought on the color of my main character, Dagger is blue.  Then to my horror, one morning I came out side and my seventy-five pound German shepherd was swimming in the pond and my nine year old was trying to fish the koi out with her Mickey Mouse rod and reel. (This added the anglers and poachers to my story). I’m glad to report Jacque survived the fishing expedition. In addition, Gunther, our dog, found out he wasn’t a bear, regardless of all the hair, and they weren’t salmon swimming upstream. (The pond filter worked overtime that day) From there evolved, Dagger, A Brothers of Element Series.
The brothers are named after a part of a weapon. Their legacy is to protect their power to shift. (Blade, Dagger, Ridge, Tipp, Edge and Dirk) Each brother receives a vision of his mate and he must find her and mate with her. In book one Dagger has to convince Drew a human what and who he is. The tiger shark she’s played with off the pier for ten years. She is the answer to their power to shifts survival.
Research was fun. The story centers around the power to shift (spoiler if I tell you how they shift) and its effect on the environment. If it dies, the ocean will begin to boil. In reality, the ocean is heating by a rate of two degrees a year killing vital organisms by the thousands.
Writing a love story, I had to learn the reproductive cycle of tiger sharks—can you say Oouch!! They have barbs or claspers.
Well, I put it through my sensuality filter and I’ll just say if my heroine had government secrets…she’d tell for a trip through clasperville.
Drew Hamilton, my heroine and marine biologist, is human and after losing her parents and fiancé to the ocean she’s looking for revenge or at the very least closure. For ten years, she’s made the tiger shark that visits her pier her pet by default. He wouldn’t leave so she started talking to him then tossing a beach ball out to him, which he would promptly return. When he shows up on her doorstep, seeking her help in saving the ocean, revenge may not hold the same allure as when presented with her heart’s desire—a family.  
Now what do I read for personal enjoyment: I love regency. Julia Quinn and Amanda Quick. I listen to Diana Gabaldon on audio.
I’ve met some truly wonderful writers, who guided me, along this highly subjective road, to not let the popular become my story, and tell the story keeping me awake at night. 
What I’m working on now? The novella (Max) to come out in late April. He’s a character in book I and also working on my Contemporary line, Midnight Moanings.
What music am I listening to? For my hero, it 2 Sides of Me, by Hinder. My heroine, Fallen, by Mya.
What did I do to celebrate being published? My husband bought us a new mattress and pillows. I had been up for two years writing this story, I needed a good night’s sleep.

Thanks you Jennifer for having me.
And until the end of the month it’s on sale for $3.99.
Thank you again, Cora. I would love to hear from your readers. 

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

New Release Wednesday!!

Please help me welcome one of my dear friends, LORI LEGER!

I've got guest author Lori Leger on my blog today. She's got four of the most heartfelt contemporary romances published from her La Fleur de Love series, all set in southern Louisiana. The last time she was with us, she discussed the first and second books in the series, Some Day Somebody and Last First Kiss. This time she's going to discuss her other books in the series, Hart's Desire and Brown Eyed Girl. You can learn more about Lori at
http://www.lorilegerauthor.com/default.html Or Leave a comment for a chance of 1 copy of the e-book of your choice.!!

Good morning, Lori.

Lori: Good morning Jennifer.

Jen: I see you've brought someone along with you, (you say, batting your lashes at the tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed piece of man-candy standing beside Lori.)

Lori: Yes, I've brought the male protagonist from Last First Kiss, Mr. Jackson Broussard.

Jen: Nice to meet you Jackson.

JB: Same here, Jenn. Lori's told us wonderful things about you and the rest of her Ass Cheek Angel friends.

Jen: *chuckles* Oh, we love our little group. *Clears her throat* Ahem, now why did you decide to accompany Lori today, Mr. Broussard.

JB: *Smiles* Mr. Broussard is my uncle, please call me Jackson.

Jen: *blushing* Okay then...Jackson..
.
JB: Well, Jennifer, Lori was rather upset one day about a reader's review and her comments about me. I was willing to let it go, but she insisted I have my turn at the podium, so to speak.

Jen: Ye..ee.sss, we all heard about that...alot. *grins over at Lori, who's surreptitiously checking her phone messages.*

Lori: *Looks up from her phone* What's that? Did you ask me something?

Jen: No...no...not at all...you go on about your business while I talk to Jackson.
So, Jackson, what do you think about the reader's accusation that you were cold at the scene of the accident that took your wife and your best friend's life?

JB: Well, I had a concussion, and was in shock from seeing what was left of my wife of fifteen years lying dead and mutilated on the highway.

Jen: *Tearing up* That must have been just awful for you.
JB: I'm not gonna sugar coat it, Jennifer…the sounds, the smells…it was terrible. At some point I remembered that Toby and Giselle had been just in front of us and all I could think about was that their two little girls would be alone if they didn’t make it. I lost both my parents just before my fifth birthday and I can still remember how devastated I was.

Jen: But you had your uncle to take care of you.

JB: Yes, thank God for Uncle Bill. Anyway, when I found Toby and Giselle and realized he was gone, all I could think about was getting Giselle some help so her girls wouldn't be alone. Toby was a great guy...a great friend. I didn't realize until much later that he knew how bad I had it at home with Chloe.

Jen: Ah, yes, Chloe...the bi...

JB: *quickly interrupting* ....piece of work!

Jen: Yeah, whatever. *Rolls her eyes*

JB: No need to speak ill of the dead, Jen. Chloe’s mom had a big part in making her the way she was.

Jen: *looking sheepish* You're right, I guess. So, were you and Toby really that close?

JB: Absolutely, even though I didn't want to be his friend at first, considering how I felt about Giselle and how bad she hated me. But every time we were at the gym he'd kick up a conversation—next thing I knew he was making me laugh. He was like a brother

Jen: So, what was life with Chloe like?

JB: The year we dated was great. She was a beautiful girl, healthy, fun, vibrant. Later, she decided she wanted to be model think. I thought she got too thin, but she wanted it that way. She was always a little cold to my best bud, Red, but I thought she'd get over that eventually.

Jen: Did Red ever try to warn you about her?

JB: Red isn't that kind of guy. He never once dissed Chloe to me, not even when she accused him of coming on to her a few nights before our wedding. He only denied it and said he'd never do that to me. I thought she was just a little jealous and it would blow over but Chloe decided I needed a new best man. Red  bowed out gracefully, to keep the peace. That's the kind of guy he is. I found out after Chloe died that she and my new 'best man' had sex during our wedding, and for years afterwards.
Jenn: Oh, wow...what a guy...and what a wife. So when did it turn bad with Chloe?

JB: After I switched jobs and moved us from Baton Rouge to Lake Coburn. She didn't like that at all and never hesitated to tell me. It was less money, but the hours were better and I figured when we had a couple of kids Chloe would need my help. When it didn't happen after a couple of years, I talked her into the two of us seeing a doctor.

Jen: And was there a problem?

JB: It turns out the only problem was that she was sneaking birth control pills for years because she never wanted children.

Jen: *mouth drops open in shock* Are you serious?

JB: Yep, she said it in the sweet little letter she left with the lawyer when we made our wills one day. I didn't read it until after her death by the way. She told me she'd been faking the bi-polar disorder symptoms for years to keep me in check. I also found out she was pregnant the time of the accident and she had an abortion scheduled the same day.

Jen: Wow! What’d you do?

JB: I kind of went crazy cleaning out the house. I got rid of everything except for my old bed from college and one chair. Then I got plastered.

Jen: *Taps her pen on the desk while nodding thoughtfully* So, you wiped her out of your life.

JB: I tried to. Turns out it’s difficult to get closure when the person you’re angry with dies. Nobody to blame but myself for letting it go on so long. So…I channeled all my energy into helping Toby’s girls go on without him. And man, did I ever fall in love with his two daughters.

Jen: What about Toby’s other girl?

JB: Now Jennifer, you know that would be a spoiler for those ladies out there who haven’t read the book.

Jen: *Nods and grins* Yep, you’re right again, Jackson. Is there anything else you’d like to say to our bloggers?

JB: Only that I’d love to see them again…between the sheets…of Last First Kiss… *Gives her a smile and a wink*

Jen:  *Fans herself*  Whoa…is it me or did someone turn up the heat?

Lori: *Rolls her eyes*  Do you want to hear about the other books now?

Jen: Ahem…whew…ahem…*pulls delicately at her collar*  Um….yes…absolutely! Tells us about book 3 and 4 of your series, Lori.

Lori: Actually, I call my short e-book, Hart’s Desire, book 2.5.  It’s sort of a prequel to book 3, Brown Eyed Girl.

Jen: Are they available in paperback as well as e-book?

Lori: Hart’s Desire is e-book only, but Brown Eyed Girl is both. Here are the blurbs and excerpts for them.

Hart’s Desire (Blurb)

It’s 1974, and a pregnant Melinda Dawson is whisked away to a home for unwed mothers in Dallas, Texas. Kept as a virtual prisoner, Melinda has no way of getting word to her boyfriend where she is or why she was taken away.
Greg Hart is left feeling alone and abandoned by the girl he would have gladly married, had he only known about the pregnancy. Six months of thinking she’s left town to avoid breaking up with him has taken its toll on him. He decides to soldier away his broken heart with a career in the U.S. Marines.  
After nearly dying in childbirth, Melinda wakes up two days later with no baby, and a one way bus ticket home to McCray, Washington. Unable to leave Texas without the daughter she’d given birth to, she stays there, eventually getting a job as a live-in nanny to a prominent Houston family.
Thirty years later she returns to McCray to care for her ailing father.  While shopping, Melinda encounters Greg, now retired from the Marines, and Mayor of the town. Sparks fly between the two, rekindling the physical attraction they’d both believed to be long dead.
Can the two of them by-pass the feelings of bitterness and abandonment in order to find the most precious part of themselves?
Hart’s Desire is part of my La Fleur de Love series, introducing characters you’ll meet in Last First Kiss, Brown Eyed Girl, and Heaven in Your Eyes. I can tell you they eventually find their child, but you’ll have to read the other books to discover her identity.
Excerpt: The book actually begins in 1974 with the birth of their child, but I’m using the scene where Melinda and Greg meet up again over thirty years later.

Chapter 1
June 4th, 2005
Gregory Hart cringed at the door’s jingle signaling the presence of another customer. It was Friday afternoon before a much needed weekend, and all he wanted was to go home and pop a top on an icy longneck. He shook his head but didn’t look up from the spreadsheet on his computer screen.
Days like this...hell, weeks like this made him want to pack up and sell the place. Just take off and drive somewhere, anywhere, to get away from here, where everywhere he turned, something or someone reminded him of the wife he’d lost to cancer a year ago.
“Excuse me, where do you keep the batteries?” a woman’s voice asked from the end of the aisle to his left.
“What do you need them for?”
“A television remote control...um...triple-A, I think.”
Without looking up, he reached up to the counter display on his right and pulled a pack. “Will these do?” he said, sliding the pack to the end of the check-out counter.
“That’s just what I needed. What do I owe you?”
He glanced up, thinking her voice sounded disturbingly familiar. His gaze landed on a pretty lady, with curly hair and green eyes that sparkled with curiosity. The breath left him in a rush the moment recognition dawned. He stood, speechless, staring at the woman who’d left town as a young girl of seventeen, taking his heart with her. Thirty years had changed her, of course, but not enough to keep him from knowing the first woman he’d ever loved.
“How much?” she repeated, her Texas accent sounding breathless and rushed for time.
“Oh, about two bucks...and one broken heart.” He watched as she froze, her hand shoved deep inside her purse. “You’re looking good, Melin.”
She raised her wide eyed gaze to him and immediately flushed a becoming pink...some things never changed.
“Greg?”
“Yep...what brings you back to this part of the world?”
“My...my mom passed,” she said, sounding flustered. “Dad...Dad needs me here to take care of him.”
“So you’re not here visiting?”
She shook her head slowly. “How long have you been back here? Last I heard you’d joined the Marines.”
“I retired with twenty-five and came back in 2000. I figured I gave the U.S. military enough of me, it was time to live my own life. I married a year later.”
“Oh. You hadn’t married before then?” she asked.
“Nope. Kept waiting to hear you’d come back to town, but you never did.” He pointed a long finger at her. “You’re the reason I made a career of the Marines.” Just for a moment he felt guilty for the comment when her face paled, but her next words made him swallow the apology he’d considered.
“You’re the reason I never came back,” she said, her voice an icy statement full of bitterness and anger.
Before he could reply, she’d spun on her heels and walked out, leaving the batteries there on the counter. The only sign she’d even been there was the echoing jingle of the door’s bell and the fragrance of her perfume, Chanel No. 5.
Some things never changed.


Brown Eyed Girl (Blurb)
You’d think Dr. Tiffany LeBlanc would breeze through life with no worries. Although practicing in Lake Coburn, Louisiana, she and her handsome fiancé, Tanner Collins, were both reared in Houston’s elite circle of social snobbery.  Life could be so perfect…if she could just keep her cheating fiancé in check, and get her parents approval for once in their miserable lives. Her only moral support is her brother, Drake, a practicing Houston attorney, other than the loving, but relocated, nanny who raised them both.
Scott `Red’ McAllister comes from much different stock. Raised in a large, boisterously lovable, but hard-working family in a tiny Louisiana farming community, he’s a highly respected business man. The owner of one successful club in Lafayette, his second is under construction in Lake Coburn. His free-wheeling, single man lifestyle comes to a screeching halt after meeting the good doctor several months earlier. He decides then to steal her away from her unappreciative fiancé, his old college nemesis, Tanner. 
Just when it looks like he’ll have it all, the tide turns ominously for Red. One mysterious phone call promising disaster for him, leads to another, each more baffling to the business man. The loss of his club due to fire is only the beginning of someone’s plan to ruin him.
Will the promise of new love triumph over hardship, or will revenge forge its own trail of death and destruction?
Excerpt:
Red walked Tiffany to her car. “So, how about it Doc, are you glad you came?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “I am. It felt good to let go and have some fun. Thanks for letting me be a part of this today.”
“You’re welcome here anytime—I hope you know that.”
She gazed up at him, her face a study in curiosity. “What about Tanner?”
He bowed gallantly. “If you must,” he said with an exaggerated sigh. “I’d be civil for your sake, and I promise not to break his nose, Tiffy.”
She poked him playfully in the chest. “Don’t call me that again.”
“If it’s good enough for Tanner, it should be good enough for me...Tiffy,” he taunted.
“Stop it,” she said, this time with more conviction.
“Aw, but Tiffy is such a cute little nickname…like Buffy or—”
“I’m warning you, Red!” she said, her anger plainly evident.
“You don’t stop Tanner from saying it, why should you stop me, huh Tiffy?”
Before he knew it, she’d popped him good on the mouth.
“Stop it!” she snapped.
He grabbed her wrist in one swift movement. “You know, Doc, that’s the second time you slap me in less th—” His accusation trailed off as he witnessed something else, something just as heated, replace the fury in her eyes. His heart pumped furiously as he stepped closer, pressing her back firmly up against the car. His breath quickened, matching her own rapid panting as she gazed up at him with eyes the color of rich, melted chocolate.
Damn it all, but I could get lost in those eyes. Without a doubt, he’d never wanted someone so bad before.
“Doc...” Not wanting to scare her off, he lowered his mouth to hers in an agonizingly slow movement. In a perfect world that would have been enough and she’d have let him kiss her. But this was reality, and a second before their lips would have met, her whispered plea stopped him.
“Don’t Red, please.”
Red paused, pulling back enough to watch her long eyelashes flutter closed. He let go of her wrist and slowly, gently, moved that hand behind her head to pull her up against his chest.
Stiff with tension, she clenched the sides of his shirt until the tension eased slowly from her body. Her hands slid to his back as she finally settled comfortably against him.
Red brought his right arm around to pull her closer and they stood, holding each other, surrounded by the quiet sounds of late autumn. The north wind whipped through the yard full of pecans, oaks, and silver leaf maple trees, sending the dry leaves skittering across the ground around their feet.
“You feel so damn good,” he whispered. “Like you belong here.”
“Oh God…don’t say that,” she murmured into his shirt.
He moved his hand to the back of her neck, gently massaging, as he pressed the softest of kisses upon her crown. “Doc...Please don’t marry Tanner,” he whispered, not caring if his plea sounded desperate. He was desperate—desperate to make her see how good they’d be together—desperate for her to give him a chance to prove it to her.
She buried her face in his shirt and spoke through muffled sobs. “Oh God, please don’t say anything more, Red. I have to go.”
He took a deep breath to fortify himself. “I know,” he said, as he reluctantly released her and backed away so she could get into her car.
She started the engine, avoiding eye contact with him as she shifted into drive. Keeping her head lowered, she sat there with her foot on the brakes, the steering wheel tightly clenched in both hands. He tapped lightly on her window with his knuckle then flattened his palm on the glass.
Tiffany looked up, her eyes wide with agonized longing. Red’s breath caught painfully in his chest as he caught the shimmering of tears on her long lashes. Just as he reached for the door handle, she released the brakes. He stood, hands shoved deep in his pockets, watching the slow progression of her car, every second taking her further out of reach.

Thanks for having me yet again, Jennifer! Now that I’ve quit the J.O.B. maybe I’ll have time to get my own blog up and running again so I can invite you ladies over.


You can  find the BUY LINKS at AMAZON !

Thanks for being here today, Lori!!


Thursday, March 15, 2012

Friday Fun - Meet author Lisa Mondello!



Please help me welcome the talented LISA MONDELLO to the blog today:) 
You can find our more about Lisa at http://www.lisamondello.blogspot.com/
But come on back, grab a cup of coffee and visit with us!

Thanks for being here today, Lisa:)

Hello everyone!  I want to thank Jennifer for having me on her blog today!  And as a thank you for visiting I will be giving away an e-copy of HIS HEART FOR THE TRUSTING to one commenter.  So don’t be shy.  Leave a comment for a chance to win!

Today I want to take a moment to talk about research.  It doesn’t matter what genre or sub-genre an author writes, research will be involved.  How you get the details for a book is as individual as each author!

I know of an author who took up fencing in order to get into the head of one of her characters for one of her historical books.  Another author needed to learn about barrel racing and thought the best way to do it would be to actually take lessons in barrel racing to get the full feel of how to do it.  As for myself, I have the benefit of being married to a police officer.  So any story I write that features a cop I start with my husband.  But I have heard of authors going through the police academy to learn about the ins and outs of the law and what police officers do.

We live in an age where information is right at our fingertips.  You don’t even have to be writing a novel to learn something new on the Internet.  Youtube is my best friend these days.  If I want to learn something new, Youtube is the first place I go.  For my book HIS HEART FOR THE TRUSTING, I needed to know about Native American customs at Powwows.  The Jiggled Dance was a specific type of dance that was important to my story.  Although I’d written HIS HEART FOR THE TRUSTING over 10 years ago when Youtube was not available, Youtube gave me a way to check my research when I went to release the eBook.  It brought what I’d researched and written to life! 

HIS HEART FOR THE TRUSTING is book 2 in my Texas Hearts series.  Her Heart for the Asking is book 1 and is available for just 99 cents for Kindle, Nook, Kobo and Smashwords.

Check out the excerpt for HIS HEART FOR THE TRUSTING below and leave a comment for a chance to win!

My best,
Lisa Mondello

Blurb for His Heart for the Trusting

Ever since Mitch Broader set foot in Texas, he dreamed of owning his own ranch. Now that he’s bought a share in the Double T Ranch, he’s one step closer to the dream. Then his past greets him in the form of a baby basket, complete with infant and birth certificate naming him as the father. He can’t change diapers and work toward his dream at the same time.
When Sara Lightfoot, “Miss Hollywood” in Mitch’s eyes, rescues him with her particular knack for handling his precocious son, he hires her on the spot as a temporary nanny. No matter how much Sara’s dark eyes and warm heart make this bachelor think of making their arrangement permanent, she’s made it perfectly clear she has other plans that don’t include him or his dreams.
Sara Lightfoot never thought she’d return to her home on the reservation. Now she plans to reclaim the life she left by going back to the reservation as a Native American storyteller, teaching the Apache children stories of their culture. She didn’t expect Mitch Broader’s sexy smile or job offer as a live-in nanny to derail those plans. After all she’s been through to come home, can she open up her heart once again to love?
EXCERPT:
Still dancing in circles, Midnight eyed Mitch, seemingly aware of his every move.  Mitch turned his back to the mare and played with the bridle, as if ignoring the horse.  Finally, Midnight stopped running and with cautious steps, she moved forward, stopping every so often and taking a side step, bobbing her head or giving a neigh, as if calling Mitch to pay attention.  Eventually, she stepped up alongside him and gave him a quick nudge with her nose.  Then another until she was settled alongside Mitch.
Ever so softly, Mitch stroked her head and neck and front legs with long, easy strokes.  He smiled his pleasure and crooned softly.
Without even realizing how he'd done it, the bit was in Midnight's mouth and the bridle was around the mare’s head.  Mitch let the reins fall and allowed Midnight to get use to the bit.
Such trust.
“That's amazing,” Sara said quietly.     
“Not really,” Mitch said, glancing up at her as he kept his attention on the mare. 
She turned to him.  Mitch was looking at her, his eyes filled with the same questions she’d seen in the kitchen.  
Then he said, “She still could bolt at any time.”
Sara gripped the splintered rail.  “But she hasn't.  She came to you when she could have easily just kept running in circles.”
“Trust isn't an easy thing for her.  She still doesn't know what to think.”
“She let you put the bridle on her.  You didn't have to chase her.  She came to you.”
“I have to win her trust.  And when I have it, I can't abuse it or she'll never give it up again.”
Mitch carefully took the bridle off Midnight and took a few steps away.  Midnight followed like a stray dog.   
“Does she trust you now?  Enough to ride her?”
Mitch shook his head.  “We still need a little time together before she'll allow me put a saddle on her.  Right now, she's letting me know her boundaries.”
“She let you put a bridle on her as if she didn't even know you were doing it.”
His face was bright with a smile.  “Oh, she knew.  But she's still making up her mind.  She wants to trust me.  I can tell.  And maybe one day she will.”
“Mitch?”
He looked up at her again from across the corral.  He was incredibly handsome.  His dark hair was the color of mica in the fading light, and his eyes had turned from blue to a smoky gray.  He stood tall, his weight shifted to one hip as he held the reins of the bridle.
Such strength.
Sara remembered all too well how it had felt earlier to be in Mitch's arms.  Her heart still raced with the memory.
“What if she's never ready to trust you?”
Mitch's expression grew serious, pulling her into his gaze.  He took a few steps closer, his boots kicking up dust from the ground as he walked.  He stopped a good ten feet from where she was standing and said, “I can wait as long as it takes, Sara.”