New Release Wednesday!

Please help me welcome the talented LOUISA MASTERS! And be sure to check out her new release ONE NIGHT IN A BAR here
And leave a comment for your chance to win an e-copy!

Thanks for being here today, Louisa!
*****

All the best stories start with "So I was painting my nails sparkly green..." Seriously. They do.

So I was painting my nails sparkly green, watching Castle on TV and surfing facebook—just a typical Sunday night—when the power went out. Poop. Fortunately, the glow from the screen allowed me to put the polish safely on the table and fumble around for some candles. Unfortunately, I was missing one of the few TV shows I actually allow myself to watch and I'd just totally ruined my manicure.

I sat there in the candlelight, my laptop hibernating because I didn't know how long the power would be out and I didn't want to waste the charge, and I'm bored out of my mind. I wasn't in the mood to read—unusual for me, but typical for the situation—no TV, no laptop, not enough light for crafts or cleaning. I started thinking about stupid things, like if the blackout lasted until morning, how the hell was I going to get the car out of the garage (yes, I know there's a manual release). And that led to wondering what happens in hotels when the power goes out. Do those key-card locks release? Or are you closed out of your room? Do you wander the halls, lit only by the glow of emergency lighting, shadowy corners everywhere...

Ka-ching! Hello, new plot.

Still unwilling to risk the charge on my laptop, I pulled out a notepad and began to write longhand. I got very involved...in fact, I only realized how long it had been when the candles began to flicker. The story is still unnamed, but it started when I was painting my nails sparkly green—and it promises to be awesome!

My latest release, One Night in a Bar, was written in the normal fashion, on my laptop, but is still pretty amazing.

Ever had a one—night stand who didn't want to go away? What happens when your one-nighter comes back into your life...?
Karen comes home unexpectedly to find her boyfriend cheating on her with her (male) boss, and another man. Can she really be blamed for pulling out the mace when they invite her to join in?
She mourns the loss of her job at a bar, gets a little tipsy...and somehow, she ends up having sex in an alley with tall, dark, and sexy Daniel. Something she’s never done before. Good thing they'll never see each other again, right?
Wrong...
One month into a new job, she lands a fabulous new client, world—renowned sculptor Crogan. Except, Daniel Crogan turns out to be her one—hour stand. And professionalism is the last thing on his mind.
What's a girl to do in this situation? Should she insist on a working relationship only, or give in to the demands of her body? And what happens when Daniel wants to sculpt her...in the nude?

You can read an excerpt and buy One Night in a Bar here and please visit my site to see what else I'm working on. In the meantime, I'm giving one lucky commenter a copy of Inter-Office Relations.

Huge thanks to Jennifer for being such a wonderful host!

Friday Fun- Meet author Louisa Masters!

Good Morning, everyone! Please help me welcome, LOUISA MASTERS to the blog. This is the first time I've had the pleasure of her being my guest here ....But with a cover like this one, I think she needs to come back more often! *grin* (That is a hot cover, Louisa!)

Anyway, the first time I read the blurb for INTER-OFFICE RELATIONS, I put the book on my TBR list. 

You can visit Louisa anytime at her website http://louisamasters.com/

So without further ado, let's get to know Louisa a little better. Don't forget: Leave a comment for a chance to win and be sure in include your email addy so we can contact you:)

Thanks for being here today, Louisa!

Where is your favorite place to write?

I wish I could say I have a tidy desk where I sit in an ergonomic chair, but the truth is my apartment is so small there's no room for a desk. My options are the kitchen table or the couch, and sadly, my favorite is the couch. I put my feet up, settle the laptop in my—hehe—lap, and thrash things out. It actually led to disaster in 2010, what I call the Great Computer Crash.  I tripped on the power cord and the laptop crashed to the floor. Because I don't do things in half-measures, the hard drive shattered and I lost nearly everything. Thank heaven for back-ups!
What is the most difficult for you to write: Characters, conflict, emotions?

Emotions. I always go back and end up adding them in. My problem is that I find it so much easier to tell than show.

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Yes and no. I believe you can meet someone and instantly have a connection, a spark, and that it can grow into love, but I think you actually need to spend time with a person before love can grow.
How likely are people you meet to end up in your next book?

I would never put real people in a book. Erm. Well, not the entire person. Maybe just a couple of character traits. That's what I tell my family, anyway.

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

Persevere. And I hated it. I was convinced that it was the suckiest, crappest advice ever. I mean, how is that going to make me a better writer? How is it going to make publishers like my story?

Now it's the single piece of advice that I attribute my publication to. Rejection hurts. It made me want to curl into a ball and pull the covers over my head every time I got a "no, thanks." But I persevered. I reviewed and revised my story a thousand times. I kept on going, even when I just wanted to scrap the whole @$^&&#$% thing. And in the end, it got published. (wheee!)

Tell us a little about your WIP.

I'm currently working on an as-yet-untitled short about one of the characters in One Night in a Bar, which is due for release from Total-e-Bound mid-2012. Mandy is Karen from ONiaB's best friend, and when she recognizes former rock star Blake Hawley at the local watering hole, she fulfils a fantasy and propositions him: one hot night of sex. He turns her down. Drunk chicks aren't his style. But he gives her his number and a promise that he won't turn her down when she's sober.

You can read more about One Night in a Bar at my site, www.louisamasters.com, and I'll post updates on my WIP as I have them.
What is your favorite time of year?

Summer. Long days, vacation time, warm weather. Clothes are more comfortable, food tastes better. I can write outside. Spend time at the beach. Mmmm.
 Tropical or European vacation?

Well, seeing how much I love summer... Plus, I honestly believe that vacation is for relaxing, and the one time I was in Europe, I was up early every morning for a full day of sightseeing. So, definitely a tropical vacation.

Blurb:

With her resignation submitted, Jeannie Price has one last task she's itching to perform before leaving her job. After months of sitting next to hot, sexy colleague Tim Harding, it’s time to turn fantasy into reality with a scorching invitation to collaborate on matters of the flesh in Conference Room B. Then she can walk away without regrets.

Tim’s dreams of wild, sweaty sex with Jeannie come true when he accepts her offer, but he's stunned to learn she doesn't want to see him again after their steamy tryst. She may be trying to brush him off as just one more item on her To-Do List, but he’s determined to convince her there’s nothing taboo about inter-office relations.

You can read an excerpt on my site, or buy Inter-Office Relations at any of these retailers:

The Wild Rose Press

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

All Romance E-books

Big thanks to Jennifer for being an awesome host! Leave a comment and go in the running  to win a title from Jennifer's backlist—you have until midnight on the 1^st January.