Month: March 2009

Kimberley Troutte Visits Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Kimberley Troutte joins us on the blog to celebrate her first sale to Samhain Publishing. Way to go, Kimberley! Kimberley’s blogging about Getting the Call and her paranormal romance ebook novella, SOUL STEALER.

SOUL STEALER Blurb:

When Death falls in love with a saint, there’s holy hell to pay.

Sara Lane expects to die young, but when the time comes, she’s not ready. She needs two more weeks to finish a homeless shelter before winter sets in and people die on the streets. Who does a girl have to sleep with to live a few extra days?

How about the sexiest, most dangerous of all bad boys—Death himself?

Cain’s job as a designated death dealer is clear. Kill and move on. Don’t get attached. Don’t feel. But when Sara pleads to cut a deal for more time, Cain is tempted by an unexpected craving for this beautiful, courageous woman. As their lips meet, her life force shakes him to his bones, seals the bargain—and breaks all the rules.

Keeping Sara alive is a dangerous proposition. The Powers That Be are furious and unleash bloodthirsty demons to steal Sara’s soul from Death—the one man who’s hell-bent on saving her life.

Warning: This book contains the sexiest of all bad boys, a woman desperate to get what she wants, deadly soul-sucking demons, surprise visits by Biblical characters, frog grenades, very bad dogs, sacrifice, redemption and eternal love.

Read an excerpt on-line.

Tomorrow, please leave a comment to enter to win an ebook of SOUL STEALER. Entries will be accepted until midnight, March 23rd, Pacific Standard Time.

About Kimberley:kimberley_troutte

Kimberley Troutte was born a writer. Creating stories seems to be an unusual part of her genetic make-up. If she didn’t get those words on the page her head would probably explode. Happily, she writes everyday. Along the way to publication, she has been a substitute teacher, caterer, financial analyst for a major defense contractor, aerobics instructor, real-estate broker, homework corrector and caregiver to all the creatures the kids/hubby/dog drag in. She is living her dream with her husband, two sons, one dog, the goofiest goldfish still alive, and three snakes in Southern California.

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

Jamie, Jamie, Where Art Thou?

My buddy and former critique partner Jamie Sobrato of Harlequin Blaze and now Superromance fame has been absent from the blogosphere for a velly long time, but she’s back! Jamie has moved her website and blog to WordPress. Hop on over and say hello. Tell her I sent you.

Welcome back to the world of blogging, Jamie.

Good News for Penny

I had a full manuscript request for Penny yesterday. Yipseedoo! I spent the day re-reading the story, a single title, before emailing it to the editor. The full manu request was the result of a query from less than an hour earlier, which made me feel great. Okay, so maybe this editor always requests fulls instead of asking to read just the partial first. I don’t know, and I don’t care. I’m thrilled. 🙂

Cross your fingers for Penny!

Welcome Guest Jan Scarbrough

RESEARCH IS FUNscarbrough_pic1

My husband tells the story about going into a cubicle at work to see the ladies in accounting. We were dating at the time. The ladies asked him, point blank, if he was the model for all my romantic heroes and if he helped me research the love scenes. As he tells it, he blushed mightily and ducked out of the cube FAST!

That kind of exploration is fun. But investigating a book can open your eyes to other things too, which can be fun as well. For my recent release, KENTUCKY COWBOY, I learned about the Professional Bull Riders—scarbrough_ridingabout bull ropes and suicide wraps, “rank” bulls like the famous and dangerous Bodacious, and courageous cowboys like Ty Murray and the Brazilian Adriano Moraes.

Researching meant my husband and I had to take many enjoyable field trips to see PBR events. That’s me riding a stuffed bull at a competition in Nashville. How do you like my form?

Bull riding is “America’s original extreme sport” and it’s no job for the faint of heart. Like my hero Judd Romeo, the cowboys are in it for the love of competition and the love of the sport.

scarbrough_cowboy_coverCome to think of it, that’s why I write romance. It’s not because I enjoy deadlines and the editor’s edits. It’s certainly not because of the money. I write romance because that’s who I am—a writer. And I choose romance because I like happy endings. Too much in life is not happy and a good romance novel can take us away for a while and make us forget our problems.

KENTUCKY COWBOY is part of my series called Bluegrass Reunions:

They thought the boys they loved were out of their lives. They were wrong.

KENTUCKY COWBOY: She dumped him in high school because he was a risk-taker. Available in various electronic formats and in paperback in March 2009.

KENTUCKY WOMAN: She had his brother’s baby, but never forgot him. Available now in e-formats from Resplendence Publishing.

KENTUCKY FLAME: She had his baby and he left not knowing the truth. Available in May 2009.

I hope you join me in Kentucky—even if only through my books. And I hope you have fun when you research—no matter what kind of research you do!

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Please leave  a comment or question for Jan to enter to win an ebook of KENTUCKY COWBOY (available formats: Adobe PDF, HTML, Microsoft Reader, Palm-Mobipocket, Rocketbook, Fictionbook, and Blackberry file formats). Entries accepted until midnight PST.

Please visit yesterday’s post to read the back cover blurb for KENTUCKY COWBOY and to check out Jan’s bio. To learn more about Jan and the rest of the books in her Bluegrass Reunions series, please visit her website.

Jan Scarbrough Blogging Tomorrow

Resplendence Publishing author Jan Scarbrough visits the blog tomorrow to talk about researching her December 2008 release, KENTUCKY COWBOY, the first in her new Bluegrass Reunion series. Jan will give away an ebook of KENTUCKY COWBOY to a winner chosen at random from the Comment trail, so if you’ve yet to try an ebook, now’s your chance!

Blurb for KENTUCKY COWBOY:

A contender for the world title, professional bull rider Judd Romeo defies death for a living. Now he must deal with the death of his mother by settling her estate. Returning home to Kentucky, he runs smack dab into the arms of his high school sweetheart, a woman he has never forgotten. Veterinarian Mandy Sullivan learned early on that risk-takers are trouble. Having custody of her sister’s child, she is working hard to be both mother and father to the abandoned girl, and doesn’t count on trouble showing up next door.

Mandy discovers she can’t avoid the famous cowboy she’s never quite put out of her mind. When Mandy’s sister comes back threatening to take away the little girl she loves as her own, will Mandy realize Judd is not the same man he was back then?

About Jan:scarbrough_pic

A professional technical writer by day, Jan Scarbrough spends her nights writing romance. She is a member of Novelists, Inc., the Romance Writers of America, and the Kentucky Romance Writers, where she manages their award-winning web site. Jan has written for Kensington and ImaJinn Books, and currently has contracts with The Wild Rose Press and Resplendence Publishing. She is the mother of two grown children and is a very “young” grandmother. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky, and rides American Saddlebred horses for fun and recreation.

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