Tomorrow I’ll welcome my second-to-last guest blogger for 2010. Yes, you heard me, only two more opportunities to win free books from talented authors. So please drop by tomorrow and join me in welcoming paranormal romance author Annette McCleave. Annette is blogging about Boys and Their Toys and will give away an autographed ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of SURRENDER TO DARKNESS, the third book in her Soul Gatherer series. SURRENDER TO DARKNESS hits stores in January, 2011.

About SURRENDER TO DARKNESS:

As an immortal, Jamie Murdoch has spent lifetimes battling demons. But he’s cursed with an inner berserker, and his expertise as a Soul Gatherer is overshadowed by uncontrollable rage. Sent to Japan to investigate a mystical weapon that can destroy demons, Jamie feels out of place in a society that values tranquility and self-control.

Kiyoko Ashida has dedicated her life to fighting evil. Now she’s dying, and her remaining days are linked to a mysterious artifact, which is the only thing keeping her alive. Still, her path is clear—until the day a valiant Soul Gatherer storms into her life and, with one fateful touch, steals her heart.

The Veil is both destroyer and healer, and Jamie knows Kiyoko cannot survive without it. But when the malicious ambitions of a fallen angel target the artifact, he’s torn between fulfilling his duty and saving the life of the woman he loves.

About Annette:

Annette McCleave is the award winning author of the Soul Gatherer series—paranormal romances about immortal Soul Gatherers who battle demons for the souls of the dead. Mother of one, pet owner, and former high tech executive, Annette currently writes for NAL Signet Eclipse.

To learn more about Annette and her books, please visit her website.

By Elisabeth Naughton

Thanks so much to Cindy for having me here today!

My second Eternal Guardian book – ENTWINED– recently hit store shelves. For those of you new to the series, the Eternal Guardians are seven warriors descended from the seven greatest heroes in all of Ancient Greece. Zander, the hero in ENTWINED, is a descendant of Achilles. He’s the oldest guardian, the one rumored to be immortal, the fiercest warrior and the only one with nothing to lose. I fell in love with Zander when I was writing MARKED – book one in the series – so I’m excited for readers to finally get their hands on his story.

People ask me all the time, why Greek mythology? I don’t have an easy answer except to say that I love the tales from Ancient Greece. Always have. Epic wars, tragic love stories, conniving gods and danger lurking around every corner. When I was researching STOLEN FURY (my 2010 double RITA nominee book), I found myself deeply immersed in the characters and narratives centered around the great culture, and I thought, “It would be really fun to develop an entire series based off these myths.” MARKED was the result, and the series grew from there. I love taking traditional myths and characters and shaping them into my world. I love the variety of people, beings and magic that can be found in the legends. I love being able to put my own spin on these classic tales and seeing where they take me.

In my series, the Eternal Guardians are battling an evil goddess who was once a hero like them but sold her soul to Hades for immortality. She’s cunning, dark and willing to do whatever she can to reach her goal. But she’s not the only villain in this series. There are many devious gods and goddesses in addition to mythological beings skulking in the shadows, waiting for their chance to shine.

And of course, there are plenty of hot guys. At least seven, to be exact. A few more who hang on the periphery and are as intriguing as the warriors themselves. So far I can guarantee at least five books in the series – hopefully more. Because I’ve switched publishers there’s a slight delay in the release of the next book. TEMPTED (book 3) will be an October 2011 release, followed closely by ENRAPTURED (early 2012). I realize this is a bit of a wait for fans, but it couldn’t be avoided. After that I’m back on a six months or less release schedule so I hope readers will understand. To tide fans over, I’ll be posting a few free reads on my website over the next few months, so if you haven’t already signed up for my newsletter do so soon so you don’t miss out!

Today I’m giving away either a copy of MARKED (book 1) or ENTWINED (book 2) to one lucky commenter (winner’s choice!). Simply tell me, what’s your favorite myth from Ancient Greece?

 Happy Reading!

 Elisabeth

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Please leave a comment to enter to win a copy of ENTWINED or MARKED. If you’re reading this blog through a feed at Facebook, Goodreads or another social network, please note you need to leave your comment at www.museinterrupted.com to enter.

The back cover blurb for MARKED and ENTWINED, links to excerpts, and Elisabeth’s bio, can be found in yesterday’s promo post. Visit Elisabeth’s website to learn more about her and her books.

Tomorrow I’ll welcome paranormal romance author Elisabeth Naughton to the blog. Elisabeth is blogging on Why Greek Mythology? and will give away the winner’s choice of either MARKED (May 2010, Book 1 in the Eternal Guardians series) or ENTWINED (August 2010, Book 2).

About ENTWINED:

ZANDER — The most feared of all the Eternal Guardians. It’s rumored he can’t be killed, and he always fights like he has nothing to lose. But as a descendant of the famed hero Achilles, he’s got to have a vulnerability… somewhere.

Forces of daemons are gathering and have broken through the barriers of the Underworld. Now more than ever the Eternal Guardians are needed to protect both their own realm and the humans’. Zander can’t afford to think about what might have been with the bewitching physician he once regarded as his soul mate. But with eternity stretching before him, he also can’t fathom spending his life without the one woman who makes him feel most alive. Perhaps he’s found his weakness, after all…

Read an excerpt

About MARKED:

THERON — “Dark haired, duty bound and deceptively deadly. He’s the leader of the Argonauts, an elite group of guardians that defends the immortal realm from threats of the Underworld. 

From the moment he walked into the club, Casey knew this guy was different. Men like that just didn’t exist in real life—silky shoulder-length hair, chest impossibly broad, and a predatory manner that just screamed dark and dangerous. He was looking for something. Her. 

She was the one. She had the mark. Casey had to die so his kind could live, and it was Theron’s duty to bring her in. But even as a 200-year-old descendant of Hercules, he wasn’t strong enough to resist the pull in her fathomless eyes, to tear himself away from the heat of her body. As war with the Underworld nears, someone will have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Read an excerpt

About Elisabeth:

A previous junior-high science teacher, Elisabeth Naughton now writes sexy romantic adventure and paranormal novels full time from her home in western Oregon where she lives with her husband and three children. Her debut release, STOLEN FURY, heralded by Publisher’s Weekly as “A rock-solid debut,” was recently nominated for two prestigious RITA® awards by Romance Writers of America in the Best First Book category and the Best Romantic Suspense category. When not writing, Elisabeth can be found running, hanging out at the ball park or dreaming up new and exciting adventures.

Learn more about Elisabeth and her books at www.elisabethnaughton.com.

By Susan Lyons/Fox

Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas? Not for me, because I have a brand-new release—THE NAUGHTY LIST, Brava’s 2010 holiday anthology. This is my first multi-author anthology for Brava—and I’m thrilled to be there alongside stars Donna Kauffman and Cynthia Eden.

When Kensington asked me to be a part of this holiday anthology, I immediately started playing with ideas.

The last Christmas story I wrote, “Unwrap Me” in UNWRAP ME, was set in Vancouver, BC. I live in Vancouver and love it, but we’re not exactly known for snowy Christmases. This time, I wanted a holiday story set in snow country.

And the setting was obvious, because I was brainstorming this novella in the build-up to the 2010 Olympics in Whistler. Whistler, when the Olympics aren’t happening there, is perhaps an even more intriguing community. It’s a small town—yet it’s an international resort.

As I started thinking about characters, I realized it was the small town aspect I wanted to focus on. I love “going home” stories, such as “you can never go home again” or “you have to go home again.” In “Tattoos and Mistletoe,” I chose “you have to go home again.” In other words, if you’ve had a really rotten past, you have to come to terms with it before you can be a truly whole person and move on to build a happy future.

So I found (because characters and I find each other, it’s not like I actually “create” them) Charlie Coltrane. The girl from the wrong side of the tracks who…well, I’ll let her say it in her own words, if you’ll pardon the language.

People had assumed the kid of two loser drunks had to be a loser, too. That gave Charlie two choices: let them know she gave a fuck, or tell them to fuck off. She’d had enough pride that the first choice wasn’t an option.

A graffiti artist, arrested, suspended from school, almost raped by her date at the Christmas dance, orphaned at Christmas, then shunned by her remaining relative, no wonder she dropped out of school, left town, and vowed never to return.

Of course, I had to force her back there—courtesy of the aunt who’d shunned her, who at the end of her life was suffering from guilt and, just maybe, the urge to matchmake. How the aunt and I finessed this… Well, let’s just say there’s one very hot tool-belt guy involved! A guy who just happened to play a role in Charlie’s past.

Don’t you think high school geeks deserve happy endings? Those genius science nerds whose brains were overdeveloped but who kind of lagged behind in other areas? The ones who had crushes on the very baddest girls—like Charlie Coltrane? Yeah, that’s LJ Jacoby, and man, did he grow up fine!

As I had fun getting to know Charlie and LJ and the two of them got to know each other, we all found out that sometimes, if you work through the baggage you’ve dragged around from your teens, you can envision a brighter future than you’d ever dared dream. Especially if there’s a sprinkle of Christmas magic, and a big bunch of mistletoe!

What’s your view on baggage from the past? Should a person just toss it off the bridge and forget all about it? Could you do that? Or do you figure that, at some point in a person’s life, they’re going to have to come to terms with it? And, as a second question, if that one’s too heavy for you, when do you think publishers should release their holiday books? Is late September too early?

Someone who comments will receive a copy of  THE NAUGHTY LIST—autographed by all three authors!

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Please leave a comment to enter to win THE NAUGHTY LIST. If you’re reading this blog through a feed at Facebook, Goodreads or another social network, please note you need to leave your comment at www.museinterrupted.com to enter.

To read the back cover blurb for THE NAUGHTY LIST or to read Susan bio, see yesterday’s post. Visit Susan’s website to learn more about her and her books.

Romance author Susan Lyons/Fox visits the blog tomorrow. Susan’s blogging about Christmas-themed stories and will give away a copy of THE NAUGHTY LIST, her September 2010 Kensington Brava anthology featuring “Tattoos and Mistletoe” by Susan Lyons writing as Susan Fox, as well as novellas by Donna Kauffman and Cynthia Eden.

About “Tattoos and Mistletoe”:

Why would you ever want to go home again, when the town treated you like trash? Yet, in Susan’s “Tattoos and Mistletoe,” Charlie Coltrane has to return to Whistler this Christmas and supervise renovations on her aunt’s B&B if she’s to inherit the money to open her own tattoo parlor in Toronto. What a surprise that the contractor in charge of the renos is LJ Jacoby, high school geek transformed into the town’s hottest bachelor. LJ’s about to teach Charlie that sometimes you have to confront your past to find your future—and that Christmas really can be the most romantic time of the year.

About Susan:

Susan Lyons/Susan Fox is the award-winning author of sexy contemporary romance that’s passionate, heartwarming, and fun. She is published by Kensington Brava, Kensington Aphrodisia, Berkley Heat, Harlequin Spice Briefs, and The Wild Rose Press. A resident of both Vancouver and Victoria, B.C., Susan has degrees in law and psychology but would far rather be writing fiction than living in the real world.

Visit Susan’s website to learn more about her and her books.

By Maureen McGowan

If you watch movies that feature characters who are authors, nothing seems more exciting or glamorous than being a published author. And occasionally there is a real life publishing fairy tale, like Stephanie Myers’, where an author’s first book gets published relatively easily and then goes on to make a huge amount of money and launch a highly successful movie franchise. Or even the J.K. Rowling story where getting published was not such an easy path, but once published, the books took off, making her one of the richest women in the world.

Those outlier stories perpetuate the myth of the glamorous, hit-the-jackpot world of publishing.

But alas, for the vast, vast, vast, (vast, vast, vast), majority of authors, the publishing experience is nothing like that. We spend hours and hours (years and years) toiling away on our books, learning our craft, pouring our very hearts and souls into our stories, only to be met with slaps of rejection, bad luck and disappointment.

But the combination of the lure of that rare fairy tale happy ending, and/or the satisfaction of the journey, keep us going.

My first two published novels, CINDERELLA: NINJA WARRIOR and SLEEPING BEAUTY: VAMPIRE SLAYER, are launching a new series TWISTED TALES aimed at girls aged 11 and up. They’ll be released in Spring 2011 by Baker & Taylor Publishing Group. Yippee!!!

While this particular publishing journey started off like a fairy tale—a two book deal based on a short proposal done on a whim—it quickly developed into a story with obstacles worthy of the scariest fairy tale witch.

Oh, that sounds so dramatic. LOL. It wasn’t that bad. But to sum things up, just as I was putting the finishing touches on these two stories, admiring the covers, and basking in the glow of seeing them up for pre-order at all the major book retailers, the publisher shut down. Bang. Closed. Publishing dream dead.

The happy ending is that the books quickly found another home, and from what I’ve seen so far, a home worthy of any fairy tale princess’s dreams.

When Cindy first invited me to guest blog, I’d hoped to be offering copies of these books as a giveaway, but alas, they won’t be available for several months, yet. I haven’t even seen the new covers, yet, but based on the mock ups, I am very excited.

And fret not. This blog giveaway story has a happy ending, too! In fact, the winner of this giveaway will win stories by twenty different authors. I’m giving away a copy of THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE, an anthology of short stories that was released last December. It’s full of great stories and I hope it will tide you over until my YA novels are released.

When you were young, what was your favorite fairy tale? Do you look at the story differently now?

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Please leave a comment to enter to win THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE. If you’re reading this blog through a feed at Facebook, Goodreads or another social network, please note you need to leave your comment at www.museinterrupted.com to enter.

To read the back cover blurb for THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE or to read Maureen’s bio, see yesterday’s post. Visit Maureen’s website to learn more about her upcoming Young Adult novels.

Tomorrow please join me in welcoming paranormal romance and Young Adult author Maureen McGowan to the blog. Maureen’s blogging on the topic Publishing is No Fairy Tale and will give away a copy of THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE (Running Press, December 2009), which includes her story, Lost and Found.

About Lost and Found:

“Lost and Found” is a mash up of Groundhog Day, The Time Traveler’s Wife and Life on Mars. In 1967, Jake falls asleep on a bench in New York’s Central Park and becomes trapped in a seemingly endless time loop. Every day he wakes in the same place, in the same clothes, on the same date—just in a different year. Can finding love give him an anchor in time?

About THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE:

Time has no meaning for true love.

Twenty tales of swashbuckling adventure and passionate romance from some of the most exciting names in romantic fiction. Join the heroines in this delightful anthology as they step backwards—or forwards—in time, transported to the Scottish Highlands of yesteryear, the Wild West, or the distant future. Propelled through time into situations rich with possibility and fraught with danger, these sexy, sassy heroines each seek their dreamed of happy ending.

Will souls separated by time be reunited—or kept apart—forever?

About Maureen:

Maureen McGowan has twice been a finalist in the prestigious Golden Heart® Competition, (2007 and 2010), and in 2008 was a finalist in the Amazon Breakout Novel Competition. Her short story, “Lost and Found”, was published in THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE in December, 2009. Her first two young adult novels, CINDERELLA: NINJA WARRIOR and SLEEPING BEAUTY: VAMPIRE SLAYER will be hitting the shelves in Spring, 2011.

Maureen has always been making up stories—her mother called it lying, her teachers creative talent—but sidetracked by a persistent practical side, it took her a few years to channel her energy into writing novels. Before seeing the light, she was: an auditor, a knowledge engineer, a software development manager, a product development director and a hedge fund CFO.

She finally pummeled her sensible side into submission to let her creative side run free. Aside from books and writing, she’s passionate about art, dance, films, fine handcrafted objects and shoes. She lives and writes in Toronto, Canada.

To learn more about Maureen and her writing, please visit her website.

By Jeanmarie Hamilton

In romance, the tortured hero, or probably more accurately, the tormented hero, provides a main character with a dark, and possibly mysterious past. He may also have a physical problem, or in the case of werewolves and other shape shifters, an other-worldly characteristic, as in MOONLIGHT DESPERADO.

We want to know how in the world he deals with his challenges, how the heroine responds to him and his actions, and how the story problem is resolved at the end with a happily ever after ending. 

At the start of the story, he has shown us at least one good quality, and his dark moods and sometimes harsh words for the heroine don’t fool us. Deep down, he’s a good guy with big problems to overcome.

What drives him? His problems usually stem from something that happened to him in the past. Most of the torment for the hero is mental and emotional. His past keeps him from enjoying the life and love others around him seem to have.

What happened to him? We readers, and writers, want to know. How will he overcome his past that’s still tormenting him? How will the heroine save him, or prove to him that he’s worthy of love and can love her?

What conflict keeps the hero and heroine apart? Usually a tortured/tormented hero doesn’t feel anywhere near worthy of the heroine. The hero’s torment will influence his life on many levels including decisions he makes regarding his behavior toward the heroine, and what he mistakenly believes is “best” for her.

He wants to protect her. He pushes her away for that very reason, to protect her. She deserves the best, which he isn’t in his eyes. He doesn’t believe he deserves her.

The hero fights his demons but doesn‘t believe he can conquer them. The reader hopes he will be successful and the heroine will win her man. Why? When the characters reach success, it makes us feel good and maybe even gives us a sense of everything is possible if we try.

The tortured hero provides the writer and reader escape from daily routines of life, like washing the laundry. (Mine is in the dryer now.) Characters sparring with each other may have you gripping your book, asking the question, “Will they find happiness together?”

The escape for many readers takes the emotional form of angst which is eventually eased with that sense of  success and emotional relief.

When the tortured hero makes the decision to leave the heroine in order to protect her, the heroine will fight against all odds, no matter what they face, to bring the hero back to her side where he belongs.   

The tortured hero drives the journey toward success, for both the hero and heroine, and makes for an edge of your seat emotional experience with an awesome conclusion.

What is your take on tortured heroes? Or heroines? Have you written one recently? Are they your favorite read?

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Please leave a comment to enter to win MOONLIGHT DESPERADO. If you’re reading this blog through a feed at Facebook, Goodreads or another social network, please note you need to leave your comment at www.museinterrupted.com to enter.

To read the back cover blurb for MOONLIGHT DESPERADO or to read Jeanmarie’s bio, see yesterday’s post. Visit www.jeanmariehamilton.com to learn more about Jeanmarie and her books.