Monthly Archives: February 2014

Unforgettable Heroes–my 8 author friends!

 

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There is no doubt: success is like sunsets, smiles, and a bottle of hooch. Best when shared. I am so pleased to share the news that ALL 8 AUTHORS in the Unforgettable Heroes boxed set have made the top #100 list of Contemporary Romance authors at Amazon. This is a huge first for me, and I am thrilled to share this experience with talented fellow authors! Our publisher at Turquoise Morning Press was so excited she took screen shots and emailed them to us! Here are a few of them showing our top 100 status as of February 25, 2014.

 

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Thank you to the many readers who have downloaded our book from Amazon! We appreciate you and hope you enjoy hours of cozying up to 8 great heroes.

Guest Author: Ute Carbone

 

Dancing in the White RoomNew Release from Turquoise Morning Press: Dancing in the White Room by Ute Carbone. 

Just in time for the Winter Olympics!

 

 

Please welcome and get to know Ute Carbone in this Q&A: 

  1. Choose one: Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice or Mr. Knightly from Emma? Oh, tough choice. I think I’d have to go with Mr. Darcy, though. He’s so lovely and brooding, LOL.
  2. Choose one: Ranger or Morelli?  I love Morelli—he’s Italian, he can cook, he owns a dog. And he’s hot. What else do you need??
  3. Favorite book you WISH you had written?    There’s a looong list of books here. Most recently, The Light Between Oceans, which was such a wonderful emotional read.
  4. Favorite movie you would star in…if you were a movie star?. Maybe as Sally in “When Harry met Sally.” That might be fun.
  5. Favorite escape: (i.e., wine, travel, book)?   All of the above. I love to read, so Ute4smallcurling up on the couch with a really great book is a favorite thing to do. I love a nice glass of wine, red Italian is a favorite. And I’d love to travel more than I do. I also enjoy hiking in the woods.
  6. What is your favorite kind of cake? (I must ask…I’m a cake aficionado!)    I meet with writing friends at a café/bakery to write once a week. We say we go for the atmosphere (they have a really nice space where we can write) but honestly?? They have a strawberry chocolate cheese cake that is to die for.
  7. What is your creative outlet (aside from writing). I really enjoy music, but I’m not great at it. And cooking, when the mood strikes me. I like to dance, too. But only when I’m by my lonesome, Lol.

 And now about your books:

8. Tell me about your next book release.  Dancing in the White Room, is a contemporary women’s fiction with a strong romantic element.  The idea came, actually, from a non-fiction book by Jon Krakouer called “Into Thin Air” which isn’t about skiing at all, but climbing Mt Everest. In one very short sentence or two, he talked about how hard it was for climbers (mostly men) to maintain relationships with wives and girlfriends. It got me to thinking about the women on the other end of the relationship—and Mallory, my main character, came out of that. Since I don’t know a carabiner from a carburator,  I decided to change mountain climbing to extreme skiing.  I grew up around skiing, and a long time ago, I was on the volunteer ski patrol at a teensy ski area, so I knew I could draw on that experience. 

Dancing in the White RoomDancing in the white room is slang for skiing or boarding in deep powder snow. The dancer is PD Bell, one of the best extreme skiers on the planet. Mallory Prescott, the woman who lives with him and loves him, is used to Bell’s exploits. A patrol woman at Whiteface Mountain near Lake Placid, New York, Mallory is no stranger to risk. But this time Bell is taking on the West Rib of Denali, highest and most dangerous mountain in North America. It’s a descent that has never been done, though it’s been tried. Five years ago, Bell had tried it. The attempt nearly killed him. Five years ago, he promised Mallory he wouldn’t try it again.     
    Over the six weeks in which he’s gone, Mallory begins to question her relationship with Bell. Does he really love her? Is he in it for the duration? What has loving him cost her?  Mallory’s life choices are thrown into stark relief when her daughter Emily takes a terrible fall. Together with her life-long friend Creech Creches, she must work her way through a maze of uncharted territory at a hospital miles from home.       
      Dancing in the White Room is the story of the love we keep, the price we pay for that love, and the forgiveness it takes to hold on to what is precious.

9. Who would play your leading man if your book gets picked up by Hollywood?  It would have to be a tall blonde dude. Maybe Chris Hemsworth from Thor, though he’s not quite blonde, he might do nicely.

10. Best advice you’ve gotten as a writer? Read a lot. Then write, write and write some more. Don’t give up.

How can readers connect with you?

My handles–

Web page:  http://www.utecarbone.com/

Blog: http://ute-carbone.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ute-Carbone/234417796596443

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wildwords2

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5114798.Ute_Carbone

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ute-Carbone/e/B005G7U8RM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Love Stories (available daily via Paper Li): http://paper.li/Wildwords2/1355247882?utm_source=subscription&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=paper_sub#

 

 

 

Guest author: Holly Gilliatt

Holly picPlease meet Holly Gilliatt in this Q & A where she shares some details about herself and her new release from Turquoise Morning Press. Love in Sight just came out on January 8th in e-book, and will be released in paperback soon. This book is women’s fiction with strong romantic elements.

 

1. Favorite book you WISH you had written?

The Time Traveler’s Wife

 

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

When Harry Met Sally

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

Surrounding myself in nature…the ocean or woods

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

I’m a purist…chocolate with chocolate icing. Classic, delicious.feb16cake

(note from Amie: Holly is my new best friend based on this answer)

5. What is your creative outlet?

Eat. And I’m really into music & have a very diverse collection.

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

Ooo…fun question! You can’t go wrong with Zac Efron. Or Colin Egglesfield.

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

If you care about your characters and let that come across on the page, your readers will care about them, too.

8. How can readers connect with you?

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

loveinsight-hgilliatt-lgNow about Love in Sight: 

Jason knows what he wants out of life, even if he can’t see it.

Like most people, Jason’s looking for that elusive happily-ever-after. But although he’s good-looking, athletic, funny and charming—he’s starting to realize that his white cane isn’t exactly a chick magnet. When he meets Heather, he can’t believe such a sweet, smart, beautiful woman is falling for him. Best of all, she doesn’t seem bothered by his occasional run-in with a low-hanging tree branch or inability to color coordinate. They soon become inseparable. But as they begin to negotiate their life together, they encounter obstacles even his white cane can’t navigate.

While Jason’s dreams seem to be slipping from his grasp, he’s forced to face his insecurities and accept who he is…and maybe see things more clearly than ever before.

Love in Sight is a novel about coming to terms with what you can live with and what you can’t live without.

 

 

Guest Author: Maddie James

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 welcome and meet author Maddie James!

1. Favorite book you WISH you had written?

 I adored Outlander by Diana Galbadon. Looking forward to the movie!

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

 Anything with Sandra Bullock. Okay, I like sappy. Hope Floats.

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

 A book. My couch. A warm blanket. Coffee.

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

 I love cupcakes! Of all sorts, flavors and design. I used to be an Iron Cupcake baker/blogger!

 5. What is your creative outlet (aside from writing). 

Ah. Well. There was a time when I painted. Someday, again….  I do enjoy crafty things but time has a way of slipping away from me lately.

6. Tell me about your next book release. For example: Genre, blurb, what inspired you to write it?

RR_MD2_grande I am excited about the release of the UNFORGETTABLE HEROES boxed set, with several of my fellow Turquoise Morning Press authors! My book is Rawhide and Roses, which has been a nice seller for me. The ladies do love the cowboys! This is actually the first book ever published by me, and probably one of my favorites. How can you resist a city girl who gets tricked into a trail ride into the Rocky Mountains with a stern-face Alpha cowboy for the trail boss?

 

 

revEntranced_LG_3I’m also eagerly anticipating the reissue (revised, new and improved!) of my time travel series starting in February 2014. I mentioned Diana Galbadon above, and have to say after reading her books, I was hooked on time travel. This series, The Legend of Blackbeard’s Chalice, has 5 books—three were previously publisher, but books 4 and 5 are brand spanking new! I can’t wait to share them all with my readers. Oh, and they are also retitled as: Entranced, Brazen, Entangled, Wanderlust, and Entwined.

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

Hm. If it were Jack in Entranced, it would definitely be Johnny Depp. If it were one of my cowboy books, a younger, but still scruffy, Sam Elliot.

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

 Just keep writing. The more you write, the better you get. Don’t give up.

About Maddie James:

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Whether writing traditional contemporary romance or building paranormal worlds, bestselling romance author, Maddie James, pens stories that frequently cross a variety of romantic sub-genres. Sweet or spicy, suspense or comedy, western or time-travel, her heroes and heroines are always chasing one thing—the happily-ever-after. Whether they realize it or not.

Maddie is a Food Network junkie, a wannabe gardener, a by-the-seat-of-her-pants cook, and a closet hermit. She works/writes every day in her converted sunroom office, and wouldn’t have it any other way. She frequently rescues stray pets and plants and an occasional antique wicker table. All of these quirky topics, and more, make their way into her books.

Her first book, THE WILD WEST, a Kensington Precious Gems romance, received a Calico Trails Cameo Award. RED: A SEDUCTION TALE, claimed first place as the Romance Book Scene’s favorite novella of the year. A four time nominee for a CAPA/Psyche Award from The Romance Studio, she wonders if she is the Susan Lucci of romance, although she has received a number of Top Pick, 5 Star, and Best Read reviews from various reviewers. Her books have landed on Amazon Top 100 Paid Bestseller lists, including BROKEN, a #1 bestseller in western romance, and CRAZY FOR YOU, which reached #8 in contemporary romance.

Visit Maddie’s website: www.maddiejames.com

Connect on:
Twitter  @maddiejames
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/maddiejames1
or https://www.facebook.com/MJNovelist
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/660725.Maddie_James
Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/MaddieJamesauthor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guest Author: Cat Shaffer

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 meet author Cat Shaffer!

Cat Shaffer is a native Buckeye who saw the light and moved to Kentucky over 20 years ago. Able to say “Louisville” like a native, she adores living in the land of beautiful horses and fast women … no, wait, it goes the other way around!

A member of RWA for over a decade and a Golden Heart finalist, Cat loves adventure, danger and those to-die-for heroes. Or writing about them, anyway.

Away from the keyboard, she’s a mother and grandmother who volunteers with the Red Cross, leads her church choir and has never met a house plant she couldn’t kill.

She also lives with a big Sheltie and a gray tabby who keep her humble by reminding her of her place as their servant.

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Hot nights, a double sleeping bag and a stranger for a husband…how much can one city girl take?

Lillian Osborne needs a husband for a weekend. Wesley Hatfield needs money to customize his beloved classic car before Detroit’s biggest auto show. The perfect agreement turns out to be anything but when their accommodations turn out not to be a luxury hotel with room service but a campground and a tent.

The big question may not be whether they can make it in the wild but if they can survive each other.

 

Visit Cat at http://www.amazon.com/CatShaffer/e/B0073XGRCM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

or http://www.catshaffer.com/

or http://www.turquoisemorningpressbookstore.com/collections/vendors?q=Cat+Shaffer

 

Guest author: Jennifer Johnson

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 meet author Jennifer Johnson in this Q&A!

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

Who? Haha. Just kidding. I’m not big into Jane Austen. I like my historical men more crazy like Percival Blackney in The Scarlet Pimpernel. Ooo, there’s a man. Brave, intelligent, and willing to risk his life for his beliefs, and he absolutely adored his wife, but he never compromised his ideals.

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

Ranger.

 3. Favorite book you WISH you had written?

The Princess Bride. And I’m talking about the whole book. William Goldman is so brilliant that I still don’t know whether there is an S. Morgenstern, of this this, too, is part of Goldman’s story.

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

Oh, dang it. That’s a hard one. I asked this on my Facebook, and my writing buddy John suggested I’d be a good lead as Sally in When Harry met Sally. Yeah. I can see myself in that role. I’m claiming Robert Downy, Jr. as Harry though.

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

Hole me up in a tiny cabin in the woods. Fireplace is not optional.

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

Cheesecake!!!!!

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

Other than the writing, I’m sort of a Jill of all trades, but mistress of none. I love to prepare certain foods such as broccoli salad, black-eyed pea salsa, and certain kinds of easy to make cookies. Mainly I cook out of necessity but I’m pretty good at it. I can play a little of the piano and banjo. I can knit a scarf—my present one I began over ten years ago. This is because I knit a few rows then get distracted by something else. Then I find the yarn and needles in the unfinished scarf and knit some more until I get distracted again. I fear the yarn will dry rot before I’m done.

 hero-28. Tell me about your next book release. For example: Genre, blurb, what inspired you to write it?

I’m quite excited about our Unforgettable Heroes collection from Turquoise Morning Press. My book is Holding Out for a Hero. What inspired me to write it? Hmm. Well, I guess I really like a hero who is a diamond in the rough. Scott is definitely that guy.

 Here’s the blurb:

Abigail Benton is a bum magnet, according to her dad, so when she becomes attracted to Eli, a homeless man at the community center where she works, Abigail wonders if what her dad says is true. But when Eli saves her life, Abigail decides she is going to return the favor and save his life by turning it around. Trouble is, Eli isn’t on board with her plan to find him a home and turn him into something he’s not. Or maybe Abigail’s plan to save him is bigger than they both realize.

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

If this book is made into a movie, I need a brooding actor, someone who is hot and tragic at the same time. Anybody got suggestions?

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

Show the reader. Don’t tell the reader.

 

How can readers connect with you?

I’m on Facebook often. Find me at booksbyjenniferjohnson. I also have a webpage—booksbyjenniferjohnson.com. Twitter is Jennifer Johnson@BooksbyJennifer. Do you see a pattern here?

Guest author: Margaret Ethridge

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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!

headshotPlease meet my fellow author Margaret Ethridge in this Q&A!

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

Mr. Darcy, but I love Mr. Knightley as well.

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

I am a Cupcake. Morelli for me, please!

3. Favorite book you WISH you had written?

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

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

I would want to be Miss Adelaide from Guy ‘n Dolls.

5. Favorite escape: (i.e., wine, travel, book)?c_sm_1024x1024

Book! Always a book.

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

Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

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

I do like to bake, but really only bake up a storm at Christmas time.

2LongDistanceLove-MKEthridge-MD_grande8. Who would play your leading man if  your next book gets picked up by Hollywood?

Oh, this is tough. I pictured Simon Baker when I was writing Jack from Long Distance Love, but he’s a bit older than Jack. Can I rewind Simon about 10 years?

Here’s a little more about Long Distance Love, Margaret’s book that is included in the Unforgettable Heroes boxed set:

A Christmas Eve snowstorm leaves newly single Ellie Nichols trapped in an airport terminal with only hunky FBI Agent Jack Rudolph for company.

Lucky Ellie.

For Jack, the passing of a long winter’s night turns into a New Year filled with possibility. State lines and hundreds of miles separate them, but the spark that flares each time they meet cannot be denied.

Can two ambitious, career-driven people find a way to make a long distance relationship work when matters of the heart bring them up-close and personal?

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

Write what you love and love what you like. If you’re not crazy about your characters, no one else will be.

10. How can readers connect with you?

 Website: http://margaretethridge.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMargaretEthridge

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MKEthridge

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4465188.Margaret_Ethridge

G+: mkethridge1

Guest author: Bobbye Terry

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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!

Please welcome and get to know Bobbye Terry in this Q&A:

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

Mr. Knightley because he is intuitive and follows his moral conscience. His love for Emma, however, is something which he has trouble governing, because he is encountering something he’s never felt. I find that to be a very romantic picture of a hero. Still, my favorite hero in this genre would be Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre, a man plagued by his past who still believes just maybe he can have the dream.  

2. Choose one: Ranger or Morelli from Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series?

Probablly Morelli, but Stephanie’s heroes aren’t my type. I go more for the polished brooding male with a major character flaw he has to overcome.

3. Favorite book you WISH you had written?

Gone with the Wind.

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

Probably something Kathryn Hepburn did, like Philadelphia Story, later made into the musical High Society.  Of course, being opposite Cary Grant back then wouldn’t have been a terrible hardship.

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

I love warm beachy locations. My favorite travel retreats are the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Lake Tahoe, one for each coast.

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

I’m really a pie girl and love Lemon Icebox Pie. Let me see, I’d have to say Lemon Pound Cake, from scratch of course, with plenty of real butter.

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

I’m a cook and a baker. I won a city award once in my hometown for my Cream of Broccoli soup. I do bake a killer cream cheese pecan pie. I also like photography and concentrate on landscapes and lots of sunsets and sunrises.

 8. Tell me about your next book release.

Part of the upcoming blockbuster boxed set, Unforgettable Heroes, This Magic Moment is the tale of two workaholic executives who have a hard time relinquishing control to fall in love. Here is the blurb:

 Zack Graham, CEO of Scrumbles Snack Cakes, is energetic, magnetic and forget it—no women for him, except to relive an occasional sexual itch. He’s a workaholic who refuses to let a woman make a fool out of him again. But what about Crandall Drake, the CEO of Pretzelicious Pretzels? He tells himself all he wants is sex. His heart is telling him it wants more. Is he about to change his mind?   

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

Oh, I think Channing Tatum would do.

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

BICHOK, Butt in Chair Hands on Keyboard. That’s the only way you finish a book.

 How can readers connect with you?

 BobbyeT@msn.com, www.facebook.com/bobbye.terry, http://twitter.com/DarynCross

Guest author: Janet Eaves

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!

 Janet Profile FacePlease welcome and get to know Janet Eaves in this Q&A:

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

Mr. Darcy!

2. Favorite book you WISH you had written?

Michael’s Wife (a very long time ago)

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

One of the dance movies (like Step Up)… I can’t dance like that but can always fantasize!

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

Time alone – which never happens

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

Seven layer

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

Remodel rooms in my house.

7. Tell me about your next book release. 

81z61gX4HEL__SL1500_The upcoming Ladies of Legend novella CROSSROADS is a contemporary story set in the little town of Legend, Tennessee. As reviewers for our boxed set LOVE IN A SMALL TOWN repeated said “… I hope there are more,” after reading the nine books of the boxed set, Jan Scarbrough, Magdalena Scott, Maddie James, and myself decided to write one more each, immediately, in appreciation of the overwhelming good tidings from our readership. I had to stop writing another book that will be out later this year to do this, so it is definitely a labor of love.

CROSSROADS is about the woman who was a teenage girl in the very first book of the Ladies of Legend series. Her reputation was less than sterling when she left Legend, Tennessee all those years ago. But now, brought back by desperation, obligation, and an inheritance she never expected, she has to face her past and the people in it, then she plans to get out of town as quickly as possible. Her plans change when she finds herself falling for the new doctor in town, but she must decide if blossoming love is strong enough to defeat the darkest secret of her past once it suddenly comes to light.

This novella, Sins of the Father, is inspired by the classic tale Sleeping Beauty. Just like that Princess, Aurora’s life doesn’t really begin until her heart is awakened by a handsome struggling artist (her prince). But, with her life in danger, Aurora must hide who she really is. Unbeknownst to her, her struggling artist isn’t who he appears to be either…. Is he friend, lover, or foe? Her very life may depend on which Phillip turns out to be.

 

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

Channing Tatum – I think his versatile acting and looks would fit the hero perfectly, and frankly, if I was a few decades younger….

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

Write what you love to read.

 How can readers connect with you?

Readers can connect with me anytime on my facebook page @ www.facebook.com/janet.eaves.