Thursday, July 26, 2012

WINDSWEPT by Cynthia Racette

 
 
BLURB:
Windswept is a family’s beloved sailboat and the story of that family’s fight to keep alive what the boat represents – , love, family, and solidarity. David and Caroline Hartford have been together for 20 years and have a 14-year old daughter named Lily. David and Caroline take their marriage for granted and they are on parallel but divergent paths. When another woman offers him what he’s been missing in his relationship with Caroline, he starts an affair with her. Then, thoughtlessly he takes his mistress out sailing on Windswept, breaking Caroline’s heart and destroying the connection he shared with Lily. When David’s best friend Matt starts pursuing Caroline, sparks and fists fly and the problems escalate. Will David and Caroline find their way back to each other? Or will a freak waterspout on Chesapeake Bay destroy everything before they have a chance?

AUTHOR:
You can find Cynthia at her web site www.cynthiaracette.com

BOOKS:
You can buy Cynthia's book at:


Monday, July 23, 2012

What is a Baldric?

Have you ever hear of a baldric or a backadder?

Also spelled bawdrick, bauldrick, or baldrick, this is a belt worn diagonally over the shoulder to hip to hold a weapon, most commonly a sword,  or in some case a bugle or a drum.

Baldrics have been around since ancient times and were mostly used in military dress. Now in modern day, this belt is mainly used as ceremonial. The baldrick provided the wearer easier access to the weapon and the ability to carry the weapon comfortably.

Sometimes a baldric would be ornately decorated.


Thanks for stopping by and visiting with me today. I hope you learned something new! Have a great Monday!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Interview with Author SHELLY BELL





Social Media - Where to Start?

A few years ago, my best friend told me about this cool website called Facebook. I moaned. I groaned. I was not going to subject myself to making friends online when I didn’t like it in school. Then a funny thing happened. I joined. I don’t know why. I just did it on a whim. I became addicted to it, searching for people I knew, playing games, and taking quizzes. I connected with old friends from middle school and stayed in touch with friends who moved away from Michigan. When Twitter became the rage, again I moaned. I groaned. I refused to join. Somehow, I got sucked in and this time, it had nothing to do with my friends. In addition to Facebook and Twitter, I use Google Plus. While it’s not as popular as the others, it has some benefits.

When I began my foray into the social media world, the thought of becoming an author hadn’t entered my mind. Now, I can’t imagine my life without it. I still use social media to network with friends, but mostly, I use it for my career as a writer.

On Twitter, I follow agents, editors, publishers, and other authors. The biggest mistake I see on Twitter is that people use it solely to promote their books. There is nothing more annoying to me than to receive a tweet an hour with a link of how to buy their book or a direct message thanking me for following them and encouraging me to buy their book. Twitter is meant to communicate information and connect. It’s fine if you want to tweet that your book is on sale, but it means a lot more if you add a personal memo to it. For example, I’d let people know how excited I was to get my printed copies of A Year to Remember in the mail or how I’ve got a wrist cramp from signing the ten copies of A Year to Remember for my Goodreads contest which ends on July 19th. I didn’t ask anyone to buy it, although I may add a link just to make it easier if they want to. The other thing you need to do on Twitter is respond to other people’s tweets. Don’t let anyone intimidate you. I’ve actually read that some agents will pay closer attention to a query if it comes from someone they interact with frequently on Twitter. I’m looking forward to going to RWA Nationals to finally meet some of the people I’ve communicated with through Twitter. I’m even going to add my Twitter handle to the badge. So if you’re an author and you’re not on Twitter, I highly recommend it. If you’re a reader, authors want to hear from you! It’s a great way to tell them how much you loved their book or ask when the next one comes out.

For Facebook, I still have my personal page which I use to talk to friends and family. I also have my author page which I only use for book related communications. You can tie it to your blog so your followers know when you have a new post. You can run a contest through it. And use it to update your fans on the newest developments such as release dates. Personally, I think it works better than a newsletter because you can relay all the same information but without the cost or time commitment.

I love Google Plus, although most authors haven’t joined the bandwagon. Anytime you use a Google product, it’s integrated with the other Google products and that’s helpful for optimization. I also love the cell phone application. It displays beautifully. There are other benefits including speaking with your fans through a Google Chat Room. I don’t have fans yet, but if I did, at least I could chat with ten of them at a time. A great idea would be to throw a book chat or hold a contest in which ten fans win a chat with you to ask questions. Give it a few more years and Google Plus will rule social media.

I’m on Pinterest and I know so many people, including authors and readers, who love it. I don’t get the appeal. I’ve used it to keep track of my family’s horses and make boards of who I’d cast in my books. Maybe I’ll get more into it in the future, but with all the others, who has the time?



If you are not using social media and you’re a published author, you should pick just one to start. I’d recommend a Facebook author page. If you’re an unpublished author, I’d recommend Twitter. You can learn so much about the publishing industry reading the tweets. If you’re a reader, you should definitely check out Twitter and Facebook for your favorite authors. Don’t be shy! Find me. Tweet me. Friend me. Follow
                                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




Shelly Bell

A Year to Remember

Genre: Chicklit

Heat Level: some sex and conversations about sex, ages 18+

Currently available in e-book and print



Book Trailer for A Year to Remember



Book Blurb:

When her younger brother marries on her twenty-ninth birthday, food addict Sara Friedman drunkenly vows to three hundred wedding guests to find and marry her soul mate within the year. After her humiliating toast becomes a YouTube sensation, she permits a national morning show to chronicle her search. With the help of best friend Missy, she plunges head first into the shallow end of the dating pool.

Her journey leads her to question the true meaning of soul mates, as she decides between fulfilling her vow to marry before her thirtieth birthday and following her heart’s desire. But before she can make the biggest decision of her life, Sara must begin to take her first steps towards recovery from her addiction to food.



Soul Mate Publishing

E-BOOK EDITION ISBN: 978-1-61935-075-5

PRINT EDITION ISBN: 978-1-61935-098-4




Buy Links:

For e-book:

Soul Mate Publishing

Amazon

Barnes and Noble



For paperback:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble


Bio:
Shelly Bell started reading at three years old. In elementary school, the librarian gave her books to test out for the school library. As a teenager, she spent her allowance each week on romance novels, enjoying both young adult and adult romance.

Married to Jason in 2003, they have two children and reside in the metro-Detroit area, where she reads on her Kindle each night when her family falls asleep.

She is a member of Romance Writers of America and writes both women’s fiction and paranormal romance.



Follow her:

www.ShellyBellBooks.com

Twitter Facebook    

Pinterest LinkedIn     

Google Plus Goodreads



Excerpt



Plunged into darkness as the door closed behind me, I couldn’t find the light switch. I hit my knee against a chair and groaned from the pain.

The door opened and someone entered the room. I assumed it was Missy coming to rescue me once again.

"I can’t find the light switch, Missy. Do you know where it is?"

Without warning, someone yanked me tightly against his warm, solid body. I heard his slight intake of breath and then he kissed me.

I know I should have fought against it, but whoever he was, he kissed sinfully well. At first, his soft lips whispered lightly against my own, seeking permission. When not only didn’t I stop him, but made a little moan of approval, his tongue caressed my lips until I opened my mouth. Only then did he allow his tongue to touch mine, first tentatively exploring the hidden depths of my mouth, and then hard and passionately, as though he’d never get enough of me.

He tasted like a heavenly combination of whiskey and cake. His tongue teased mine in sweet caresses, heating my blood to a fevered pitch.

Desperately needing to learn the identity of my mystery man, I lifted my hand to touch his face. He grabbed it away, nibbling on each fingertip then gently brushed his fingers across my cheek. I licked my lips in preparation of more kisses, but instead of kissing me, he spun me around in circles, confusing my sense of balance. As the world tilted on its axis and I tried to regain my bearings, he silently left the room.

For a few minutes, I stood rooted to the spot, attempting to recover from the encounter and craving more from my mystery kisser. Blushing from my response to him, I knew although I never saw his face, I would have made love to him if he asked. Before him, no one in twenty-nine years made my body burn that way.

Suddenly, I remembered the room’s two floor lamps. I floundered around the room until I smacked into one. After finding our coats, I left the synagogue with Missy.

Ending the evening of my twenty-ninth birthday with a kiss from my mysterious suitor should have thrilled me. Instead, I wondered why he (as drunk as I was, I was pretty sure I would have noticed if it was a woman) didn’t unmask his identity.

Was he married?

Self-conscious?

Fifteen or eighty-five years old?

Or even worse, embarrassed to be discovered kissing me?



Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Interview with Author MANDI CASEY

 
Betrayal Bites is the 2nd installment in the Tales of Sydney Sedrick. I decided from reviews that Bizarre Life of Sydney Sedrick that the next book needed more heat, and that's exactly what I gave the readers ;) The whole tone of Betrayal Bites is that you never know where betrayal in your life is going to come from, to expect the unexpected. Sydney's powers get stronger, some of the Others form unlikely bonds, and the air heats up between Sydney and Blake, the heir to the local werewolf pack.

Blurb:
Sydney Sedrick, cursed with the powers of the Selected, is monitored by the vampires and werewolves who covet her abilities to rid the city of one another. Sydney receives a summons to attend the Blood Rites Ball, an Elder vampire ceremony to determine her fate. The Midwestern Werewolf Pack demands her loyalty, while Blake, the heir to the wolf pack, is adamant she is his life-mate, meant to be together, forever. To make matters worse, an insider is betraying the vampires, leaking information to the rogues, who want Sydney dead.
You can find Mandi Casey at her blog www.whoareyoucallingavampire.blogspot.com or on Twitter @pararoma.

Thursday, July 5, 2012





Thanks Sarah for having me on your lovely blog. I am excited to share about one of my favorite novels and time periods, the high drama and romance of the American Revolution. Colonial American Romance Novel ENEMY OF THE KING, a fast-paced Adventure Romance, is my version of THE PATRIOT.

“AN AMAZING AND VIBRANT LOOK INTO THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION…THIS SEXY HISTORICAL IS A MUST READ!”~Five Cups From Coffee Time Romance & More!


1780 South Carolina, spies and intrigue, a vindictive ghost, the battle of King’s Mountain, Patriots and Tories, pounding adventure, pulsing romance…ENEMY OF THE KING.



Story blurb:

1780, South Carolina: While Loyalist Meriwether Steele recovers from illness in the stately home of her beloved guardian, Jeremiah Jordan, she senses the haunting presence of his late wife. When she learns that Jeremiah is a Patriot spy and shoots Captain Vaughan, the British officer sent to arrest him, she is caught up on a wild ride into Carolina back country, pursued both by the impassioned captain and the vindictive ghost.

Will she remain loyal to her king and Tory twin brother or risk a traitor’s death fighting for Jeremiah? If Captain Vaughan snatches her away, he won’t give her a choice.



Book Excerpt:

Captain Vaughan escorted Meriwether back over the path she and Jeremiah had walked not long ago. Yet everything changed. Apart from the staggering disclosures Jeremiah had made and their impassioned encounter, dragoons and Loyalists now accompanied their return. She and Vaughan led the way. Jeremiah followed slightly behind them in the middle of the pack. The clink of swords and tread of boots betrayed her silent companions, as if she could forget they were there for an instant.

Meriwether hadn’t any idea what Jeremiah had in mind by way of escape, only that a way must be found. Wild to reach the kitchen and the Daws family, especially Keith, she half-trotted at Vaughan’s side, her satin slippers wet and ruffled hem dipping in puddles along the path.


“Why the hurry, Miss Steele?” Vaughan asked as he slid his fingers up her bare arm.


She shrank from his touch and reined herself in. “No reason,” she said and shivered.


“You’re covered in goosebumps. We can’t have you taking a chill.” He stopped and the assembly halted as he removed his coat to drape the resplendent garment around her shoulders.


The wool was still warm from him and the tight weave had kept the rain from soaking through, but she had no wish to be so familiarly outfitted by the bold captain. “Thank you, sir,” she made herself reply.


Jeremiah said nothing. He didn’t need to. His anger radiated from behind her like a scorching hearth. “This way, Captain, please. I must speak with the cook,” she said.


“If you like. I’ve no objection to instructing cooks.”


She knew Vaughan wasn’t easily fooled, however. She must tread with care and refrained from tugging at his sleeve as he walked with her over the brick path between the herb and vegetable beds in the kitchen garden. Ordinary things like beans and squash seemed out of place at such a dire time. It would be more fitting if the earth opened up and swallowed their most unwelcome visitors.


A gust of wind blew hair into her eyes, and she battled her flapping skirts down with her hands.’


Vaughan chuckled. “Would that it were not so dark and I could better see you, Miss Steele.”


“Would that I had a sword to better slay you,” Jeremiah growled.


“What makes you so certain you would triumph if you did?” Vaughan flung over his shoulder.


“Try me and see,” Jeremiah challenged in turn.


“Why bother? You’ll soon have Cornwallis to deal with."


And you have me to battle before you take him, Captain, Meriwether vowed.


Tumultuous passion, pounding fear, and the urge to break free from Vaughan all seethed inside her. Like a hunted fox, her senses were heightened. The stars seemed brighter, the wind crisper, and the tang of smoke from the chimney sharper. Pungent aroma rose from the feathery dill as the wet foliage spattered raindrops against her. Forever after, whenever she smelled dill, she would remember this night.~


***Intriguing 'bad boy' Captain Vaughan is the hero in the sequel to Enemy of the King I'm at work on entitled A Traitor's Legacy.


Award-winning historical romance novel ENEMY OF THE KING at a significantly reduced price. Normally 4.99, the ebook is .99 at Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nookbook, Fictionwise,and All Romance eBooks from July 3rd through the 17th!


The sale will run at The Wild Rose Press ebook store from July 6th--the 9th.



ENEMY OF THE KING is on:

The 2009 Publisher’s Weekly BHB Reader’s Choice Best Books and Best Romance Novel List at Buzzle!


For more on me and my work my blog is the happening place: http://bethtrissel.wordpress.com/




Wednesday, July 4, 2012

 I want to wish you all a wonderful 4th of July. I hope you have a safe holiday!
Remember to thank your service men for fighting for our freedom. Liberty, justice, and the pursuit of happiness still ring true. Let's keep it that way!

Happy birthday America!!!!!!!