Monthly Archives: January 2014

Today’s Guest: Renee Vincent

boxset2In honor of a great boxed set releasing this week, my first 8 authors featured for 2014 are the ones who have written about Unforgettable Heroes. You are going to love them!

 

Please get to know Renee Vincent through the Q & A below!

1. Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice or Mr. Knightly from Emma?

Without a doubt, Mr. Darcy. He’s got the bad boy look I swoon over. He reminds me of the tortured hero, Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights.

wolfskin2. Favorite book you WISH you had written?

Wolfskin by Juliet Marillier

3. Favorite movie you would star in…if you were a movie star?

PS I Love You – so I could be kissed in IRELAND by GERARD BUTLER (my two most favorite things in the world)

4. Favorite escape: (i.e., wine, travel, book)?

Horseback riding – we own 4 horses and live on a 100 acre farm

5. What is your favorite kind of cake?

Cheesecake – does that count?

Picture 0446. What is your creative outlet? Truthfully, my creative outlet is writing. I love to write and would probably do it even if I didn’t make any money with it. It’s what I was born to do, I believe.  Aside from constantly coming up with new stories, I’ve also wanted to learn to Crochet. I’ve never taken the time to learn, but have aspirations of finding the time one day. My grandmother crocheted a lot when she was alive and I’d like to teach myself in her memory.

 7. Tell me about your next book release.

Silent Partner was my first stab at a contemporary romance. After signing a three-book contract with Turquoise Morning Press for my Emerald Isle Trilogy at the West Baden Hotel in French Lick, Indiana, the three hour drive home alone gave me the time to conjure up the whole plot. I called my publisher as soon as I got home and pitched it. This story, like my Viking/Irish romances, has a twist at the end. It is also the book featured in the UNFORGETTABLE HEROES boxed set because Grayson Anders is truly an irresistible and unforgettable hero.  Many readers have remarked at how great this novel was and it’s Grayson’s story that was nominated for BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2011 by Long and Short Reviews, as well as a 5 Star Top Pick from Night Owl Reviews.

Silent PartnerAbout Silent Partner:

Grayson Anders has it all. He’s the co-owner of a happening nightclub in downtown Boston, he’s wealthy, and women practically throw themselves at his feet the moment he steps on the dance floor. But profiting from these obvious benefits is not his desire. His passion is dancing and he wants nothing more than to find the perfect dance partner.

Chloe LaRoche is a talented artist, but a failing entrepreneur. Her once thriving studio is now on the brink of foreclosure and unless she paints the next Van Gogh Starry Night, she’ll have to cut her losses and say goodbye to her quaint little gallery. Fearing her career is at an end, she drags herself to the local hot spot, determined to drown her worries in the bottom of a shot glass. At least that was the plan…until she lays eyes on a wickedly sexy, swarthy dancer in the club—Grayson Anders.

Unable to resist, Chloe finds herself in Grayson’s arms, indulging in a passionate, out-of-control, one night stand. And when they awaken the next morning, they are both consumed with inspiration.

Grayson finds his perfect dance partner and Chloe finally finds her muse. But, will her secret destroy both their dreams?

8. Who would play your leading man if/when your next book gets picked up by Hollywood?

Enrique Iglesias (he’s the perfect swarthy, wickedly hot Alpha male to play the part of Grayson – if he could act.) If you look at my cover, the cover model even resembles him.

9. Best advice you’ve gotten as a writer?

“Write that next book!” Nothing helped me to sell more books than to write the next one. My backlist has helped me more than anything I could’ve done. It’s a writer’s best marketing tool. To this day, Raeliksen (my very first novel) is still a best seller out of all my books.

10. How can readers connect with you?

You can find me at:

Website: http://www.reneevincent.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/reneevincentauthor

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ReneeVincent

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3005290.Renee_Vincent

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/reneevincent/

Email: rv@reneevincent.com

Guest Author: Amie Denman

 

boxset2

In honor of a great boxed set releasing this week, my first 8 authors featured for 2014 are the ones who have written about Unforgettable Heroes. You are going to love them!

Unforgettable Heroes boxed set available now!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASure I know it might be bad form to host myself on my own blog (is this like buying my own birthday presents?) but I have a great rationalization. If I’m going to ask my author friends a string of questions all year long, it’s only fair that I have to answer them myself. Right? In the spirit of getting to know people better–and having some fun–hence follows my maiden voyage of interview questions.

1. Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice or Mr. Knightly from Emma?

Darcy! He has more flaws. People with flaws make me look better by comparison.

2. Ranger or Morelli from Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series?

Can I alternate days of the week?

3. Favorite book you WISH you had written?

Who would ask such a hard question??? Geez.

If pressed, I would say Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck. I like dogs, driving around America, and making clever observations about people.

somewhere in time4. Favorite movie you would star in…if you were a movie star.

I would totally be romanced by Christopher Reeve in Somewhere in Time. And I would be as beautiful as Jane Seymour. (we’re fantasizing here, right?)

 

5. Favorite escape: (i.e., wine, travel, book)?

I love a glass of Reisling and a great book, but hitting the road with a full tank of gas is pure elation. People in my family keep a suitcase packed at all times. We have wanderlust.

cake15patbday6. What is your favorite kind of cake? (I must ask…I’m a cake aficionado!)

Chocolate with chocolate icing, especially if it’s birthday cake. Birthday cake tastes better.

7. What is your creative outlet (aside from writing)?

I love to knit. I MUST touch all the yarn at the craft store. I have enough yarn squirreled away upstairs to last me through the next ice age. I have enough knitting needles for an octopus to knit four sweaters at one time.

 And now about your books:

1. Tell me about your next book release.

will work for love coverMy next release is a novel set on the sunny island of St. Thomas entitled Will Work for Love. The book was actually released in 2012, but is being included in a boxed set with 8 other books with the theme “Unforgettable Heroes.” I sure hope my hero, a sexy man who owns a construction business on the island, is unforgettable! I wrote his story in my very cold little writing room (an enclosed second floor porch with no heat) while snow swirled outside. Dreaming of a hot man in a tropical climate warmed up my winter!

2. Who would play your leading man if the book were a movie?

A younger Brad Pitt–the way he looked when he was in one of my favorite movies A River Runs Through It.

3. Best advice you’ve gotten as a writer?

Keep writing! Write every day, even if it’s only a few words.

4. How can readers connect with you?

Please visit my website www.amiedenman.com or send me a tweet @amiedenman. I’m also on Facebook and Goodreads and love hearing from people who love to read!

New year, new goals for my blog

I had a wonderful time with last year’s New Years Resolution. I made 41 cakes and pictured them all! Luckily, I found family volunteers to help eat them all, too.

My resolutions are usually frivolous because–this will not shock you if you’ve been following me–I have a very hard time being serious. So…my resolution for 2014 is twofold:

1.Go barefoot more often

2.Run more

barefoot_bookstore_5_largeBarefoot is a great theme for me in general because I write for the Barefoot line at Turquoise Morning Press. Books that take place on or near a beach are fun to write and I have a new release coming in June 2014 entitled The Gull Motel. I can’t wait for you to read it!

Why running? Two reasons. I’ve been a pretty dedicated runner since I was 13 years old. We’re talking three decades of running, so I know what I’m getting into. I want to run several 5K races (fun ones only) and at least one half-marathon this year (I’ve done plenty of those in the past). It will help me burn off all the cake I ate last year. If there are costumes involved, even better.

One more goal for this year: I’d like to open up my blog space to include many of the wonderful authors I’ve met in the past few years. I hope to share their books and stories with you often!

Cake 41: Chocolate Swirl

jan1chocoswirl2Also inspired by the Martha Stewart Cakes book I received as a Christmas present, this chocolate cake with chocolate icing is pretty and very easy to decorate. Super-yummy, great for making an appearance on your kitchen counter or at a party!

Jan1chocoswirl

Cake 40: Chocolate forest

russiantreesIt just looks like a forest, it’s really a Black Russian cake baked in a very cool pan. Dusted with confectioner’s sugar, it will look like winter snowfall in a lovely forest!

Happy to share the recipe for this delicious no-fail cake. Just email me at author@amiedenman.com and I’ll send it to you!

Cake 39: Maple cake with maple icing

???????????????????????????????For Christmas, my husband gave me this lovely Martha Stewart cake book! I flipped through it three times on Christmas day while the kids played new xbox games. This maple cake was my first attempt from the book. Although I loved the icing, the cake was a little too dense for me. I’d make the icing again and put it on a white cake or maybe a spice cake? I’ll have to think about it.