by Sarah | Mar 12, 2013 | Books, Changing Tracks, Hump Day Hook, Publishing Credits, Secret Cravings Publishing, Writing
Another Hump Day Hook! Changing Tracks has taken me on a whirlwind of joy this week. It showed up on Secret Cravings Bestseller list (#1 on the Historical Bestseller list still)…and got a Silver Star at All Romance Ebooks, indicating another best seller. I just got my first review & rating from someone unknown to me (and it was [amazon_link id=”B00BEMN5SC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]4 stars[/amazon_link]!). So it’s been a bang-up week.
So as a treat I’m going to give another little hook from Derailed (Dominion Falls Series #2). One you might kill me for…because it’s from a little later in the scene that I posted two weeks ago – but it’s just another tease:
She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. The tight grip his hand had on hers transferred his old panic and fear right to her heart. A soft gasp whispered through the room and she wiped at a tear, “You had no choice.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt her. I just was trying to get the knife.”
A small splash of salty sorrow landed on his stomach and curved along the lines to the bed beneath. “Cole.”
*~*~*
Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published. Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library! To see more participants, click on the HDH banner below:
by Sarah | Mar 8, 2013 | Blog Hops, Books, Changing Tracks, Contests, Giveaway, Secret Cravings Publishing, Writing
{WINNER – JL Hammer!!!}
I almost didn’t join this hop, after all my characters don’t inspire any great dessert recipes. There is no scene in Changing Tracks that talks about it, with the exception of one scene where Jane is offered a slice of apple pie.
However, I couldn’t resist showing this ‘outtake’ of sorts – one that Jane may never forgive me for – unless the ending is good enough for her to soften.
Please enjoy – and one lucky commenter will receive a copy of [amazon_link id=”B00BEMN5SC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Changing Tracks[/amazon_link], and a $10 Amazon (or Barnes & Noble, your choice) Gift Card! So leave a comment and then get hopping over to the Secret Cravings blog to find chances to win other great SCP authors books (or don’t, so my chances are better 😉 ).
Dessert Is On Me:
Jane threw the pan and everything on it into the water. The smoke that poured off in the resulting clatter and hiss added to the smoke already filling her house. Another attempt at cooking burst into flames—in rather spectacular fashion.
“I give up.” She sneered at the charred and drowning remains of her attempt at sweet cakes. Not even detailed instructions from Cora had resolved her inability to make what Cora had declared a simple recipe.
A knock at the door interrupted her attempt to glare the pan into cleaning itself. She spun and left the pantry. On her way past the stove she kicked shut the door. The whole way to the door she waved her arms at the smoke in a useless gesture of clearing the air.
When Jane yanked open the door, Cole’s lips were already quirked in a cockeyed smirk. His ice blue eyes twinkled without any restraint of his laughter. “I could see the smoke from half a mile back. Wondered if I oughtta call for help.”
“Hush.” She couldn’t contain her own grin at his amusement. “I wanted to try to cook again. Cora swore the recipe was simple, I think she lied.”
“Or you just can’t cook.” He chuckled and held up the bowl in his hand. “Think Cora ain’t too confident in your cooking neither. Sent ya some custard.”
“Good to know she has such faith in me. Too bad she didn’t send some sweet cakes. I prefer it to custard.”
“She did try. I told her to send the custard.” One long finger dipped into the creamy custard and he held it out to her. “It’s more fun.”
“I didn’t think about that.” Her heart fluttered and her womb clenched when he licked his lips. She licked her lips before leaning in to capture his finger in her mouth. The sweet treat melted smooth on her tongue, and she held still until his low groan.
When he took a step closer she swirled her tongue around his finger, flicking it across the tip. Slowly she pulled back, sucking gently until his finger was free.
She smiled and licked her lips. “I don’t remember custard ever tasting so good.”
“I wanna try.”
Blurb:
There’s nothing simple about forgetting your past.
Cole Mitchell runs the busiest saloon and brothel in Dominion Falls. He keeps his women at a distance, unwilling to relive a past he worked hard to forget.
Until the night Jane Doe falls into his saloon bleeding and near death. She wakes with no memory, only the firm belief someone tried to kill her. In the strange world of amnesia she manages to find solace in Cole’s arms and he finds home in hers.
While they work together to solve the mystery of her appearance, their pasts – her lack of, and his buried – build a barrier between them.
To make matters worse, Jane’s past isn’t willing to let her go. A stranger proves he’ll kill to keep his secrets safe. With those she loves in danger, Jane’s errant memory is all that stands between them and death. Cole can only do so much to protect her, will it be enough?
Buy Links:
Secret Cravings Website
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
All Romance Ebooks
Bookstrand
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Don’t forget to go over to the Secret Cravings blog for links to the other participants and their giveaways!!
*~*~*
*Winner will be drawn Monday, March 11th at 9AM. Winner will have choice of Kindle or Nook version (and choice of GC to Amazon or B&N).
by Sarah | Mar 8, 2013 | An Uncivil War, Books, Contests, Giveaway, HerStory - Pagan Writer's Press, Publishing Credits, Writing
In ancient times, women were regarded as sacred. They were thought to hold the mystical power of creation—responsible for the continuation of our species. With the rise of Science and Religion, these myths were dispelled and their plight began.
HerStory: Fiction Honoring Women’s History Month is a collection of Flash Fiction and Short Stories from today’s top authors featuring female characters that exemplify strong strength of mind, body, and character. Some of these tales are based on real people while others are purely fictional. However, all are standing up for themselves and what they believe in.
Grab yourself a glass of wine or favorite hot beverage and get comfortable as you read about the lives of women who will light the fire in your soul.
It’s finally here. HerStory. Available to the masses. And to honor release day, we’re having a party. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter to win some terrific prizes. *U.S. residents only*
Here’s what’s up for grabs.
GRAND PRIZE
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| First Grand Prize |
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| First Grand Prize |
Because they have the same agenda: empowering girls/women, Keira’s Kollection owner Mr. Wagstaff has graciously agreed to donate a Strong is Beautiful T-shirt. One very lucky woman is not only going to walk away with a paperback copy of HerStory and be empowered through words, but she will also be showing her empowerment right there on her shirt.
And that’s not all, the grand prize winner also gets a pair of earrings from Cathy from Etsy, who runs Yesware. The earrings sparkle one side and have a message on the other side: the greatest story never told.
Only, we’re telling it, the authors of HerStory. We are telling it.
SECOND GRAND PRIZE
Author Laura DeLuca has donated an incense diffuser to go along with some handmade soap from Greenchild Creations.
And we’re throwing an e-book into this mix. Why soap and diffusers? What does that have to do with women’s history?
In HerStory, Mathilda of Ringelheim runs a bath house. It seems appropriate to honor herstory this way.
AND as Mathilda seems to know, every woman needs soap and every woman needs time to relax. So one lucky winner will take a nice long shower with her fantastic handmade soap, set her diffuser on a table, and curl up with HerStory on her kindle. Who says you can’t be relaxed and empowered at the same time? (and smell good)
THIRD GRAND PRIZE
Another donation from Laura DeLuca: an ebook, a Japanese tea set, and an Oriental incense diffuser. How does this tie into HerStory?
In Please Stay, Asuka, a Japanese wife of the 1600s, is preparing the evening meal while awkwardly trying to discuss a matter–somewhat delicate–but of great importance with her husband.
As you get lost in your ebook, in Asuka’s story (penned by Becca Diane), you can pretend you are there. Perhaps you feel your husband’s penetrating stare. But you serve him his tea, straighten your spine, and say what needs to be said…then wait, breath held, for his reply, incense lightening the tension in the air…
FOURTH GRAND PRIZE
One lucky winner will have a chance to make their voice heard on the radio…with a $25 Amazon gift card burning a hole in their pocket!
HerStory goes behind the scenes to locate the stories of women who lived, laughed, and touched the lives of generations…
Now, here is your chance to have your story told to the world….or your mother’s…it’s your chance to talk about the most inspiring woman or women in YOUR life. Shout it out! Tell listeners everywhere about this amazing person. Honor her!
This prize is being donated by Indie Reviews Behind the Scenes.
PRIZE 5, FOUR WINNERS, FOUR TINS OF EMPOWERMINTS
Four of these tins of mints are being donated by the Unemployed Philosophers Guild. That means four lucky winners are going to win a tin of mints to carry around in their pockets and every time they look at the tin, they’ll be empowered!
The tin is also the perfect size to serve as a pillbox once the mints are gone. This is something you can keep for a LONG time.
PRIZE 6, TWO WINNERS, CROSS STITCH WALL HANGINGS
Author and editor Tara Chevrestt has a secret addiction and hobby. It makes her feel like an old lady, so she keeps it under wraps, but now the truth is out…
She likes to cross stitch!!!
Two lucky winners will walk away with these. They are 3.25″ by 6″ and have a hard backing so they may be placed on a wall.
PRIZE 7, ONE WINNER, FLAPPER-STYLE HATDonated from Rakestraw Book Design.
Toni Rakestraw, one of the HerStory contributors, is stitching this hat so one lucky reader can–in her mind–march in a suffragette parade as she reads HerStory. Or perhaps this is something Margaret Sanger would have worn as she leaves the workhouse in The Woman Rebel.
PRIZE 8, ONE WINNER, ONE PAINTING
You’ve heard the term multi-published and many of HerStory’s authors can place that before their name, but how about multi-talented?
Author Morgan Summerfield can not only write as she shoes us in Adella, but she can paint too! She is kindly donating a painting 27″ wide by 11″ high, titled Morning Poppies. The frame is handmade with real wood and she stretches all her own canvases. It is hand-painted-by her!-in multi media.
And last, but certainly not least, we have a lovely Coco Chanel quote pendant donated by the lovely Jewelry Designs by Lula. One winner will win this delightful pendant that says A girl should be things: WHO and WHAT she wants.
I could not have said it better.
Enter for all prizes using the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is for three weeks. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond with their snail mail addresses. After 48 hours, new winners will be chosen.
Thank you and enjoy HerStory! Be empowered! Learn something. Believe in yourself and womankind.
Buy links:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
a Rafflecopter giveaway
by Sarah | Jan 22, 2013 | Books, Changing Tracks, Publishing Credits, Writing
I’m so excited for this weeks Hump Day Hook – because it’s also my official Cover Art Reveal! I’ve been using a version of this for a few months now – but the finalized look is stunning! The design is mine, but the lovely Dawne Dominique worked with me and helped kick it up a notch to this stunning cover.
I don’t have my official release date yet, but I know that it will be out next month with Secret Cravings Publishing – that’s right, February!
Blurb is below the excerpt. It’s from one of my favorite scenes. It’s a little longer than a paragraph, so sorry…I usually try to keep it smaller, but this week is special.
Cole has been in trouble with Jane for 3 weeks. She has ignored him & all his attempts to get her to cave to his charms. All she wants is an apology for his behavior:
“Sorry.”
She grew still. It was an apology. Not a good apology, but she hadn’t really specified. Her hands rested on her hips, her resolve wavering.
“I said it. You happy?”
Frustration filtered into his tone. It had to be enough. Still, she waited. If he tried to walk away, she’d cave, she knew it.
He grumbled a curse under his breath and covered the distance between them in a heartbeat. Perspiration lit up across her skin. It was a hot day, but his presence made it scorching. His breath brushed her ear, “Sorry I laughed at the thought of you being a teacher. Even when ya told me to stop.”
Now that was good. Good enough. What now? She’d ignored him so long, how could she break it properly? Let him know exactly what she wanted?
“You ever gonna speak to me again?”
“Search me.” Perfect. The way his eyes lit up and he leaned closer, he got the double meaning.
*~*~*
There is nothing simple about forgetting your past.
Cole Mitchell runs the busiest saloon and brothel in Dominion Falls. He makes time with his women, makes a killing gambling, and exerts his power how he pleases. One thing he never does is let anyone in.
Until the day she falls into his saloon bleeding and near death. He saves her from the pine box, and finds he can’t walk away. The problem is, if he lets her get close he could relive his past – and he worked too hard to forget it.
She wakes with no memory, only the firm belief that someone wanted her dead. With no name she keeps ‘Jane Doe’ and tries to carve out a life. She finds herself drawn to Cole, and they start a fiery relationship that sets the whole town talking. Their pasts – her lack of, and his buried – keep them from admitting the depth of their feelings, but they find they only trust each other.
Through the chaos of renegade Indian raids, an abandoned husband and her recurring nightmares they fight to find the truth of what happened to her. She soon learns that sometimes the truth is the last thing you want to learn, and she starts to think it may be best to leave the past where it is.
That past isn’t that willing to let go. A stranger proves that he’s willing to kill to keep his secrets safe. If Jane doesn’t remember soon, everyone she loves will be in danger.
Changing Tracks is a 110k Historical Western Romance set in the Colorado Territory in 1871.
*~*~*
Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published. Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library! To see more participants, click on the HDH banner below:
by Sarah | Aug 7, 2012 | 45 before 45, All About Me, Books, Changing Tracks, Publishing Credits, Writing
My contract has been signed, my cover art questionnaire has been filled out, my blurb has been hacked down to size and all my ducks are in a row. I’ve been bursting with this news for well over a week now and I’m so glad to be able to finally share it!
Seven years ago I set out to get published – back before ebooks were in and before I knew what an adverb whore was or how to stop myself from being one.
Three years ago I abandoned my first novel and started on this one, on this series. Changing Tracks and its main characters, Jane & Cole have come to mean so much to me. All I have wanted for them is to give them the story they deserve and to see it published in print.
I have just signed with Secret Cravings Publishing to make that dream a reality. Even better they are using the cover art I made for the book three years ago.
In February 2013* Changing Tracks will be published in ebook format. Six months later, in August of 2013* it will go to print.
Now I’m setting out on the crazy ride of getting the book into print and I’m bringing you all along with me. For now, I’ll leave you with the (long version) of my back cover blurb.
*~*
There is nothing simple about forgetting your past.
Cole Mitchell runs the busiest saloon and brothel in Dominion Falls. He makes time with his women, makes a killing gambling, and exerts his power how he pleases. One thing he never does is let anyone in.
Until the day she falls into his saloon bleeding and near death. He saves her from the pine box, and finds he can’t walk away. The problem is, if he lets her get close he could relive his past – and he worked too hard to forget it.
She wakes with no memory, only the firm belief that someone wanted her dead. With no name she keeps ‘Jane Doe’ and tries to carve out a life. She finds herself drawn to Cole, and they start a fiery relationship that sets the whole town talking. Their pasts – her lack of, and his buried – keep them from admitting the depth of their feelings, but they find they only trust each other.
Through the chaos of renegade Indian raids, an abandoned husband and her recurring nightmares they fight to find the truth of what happened to her. She soon learns that sometimes the truth is the last thing you want to learn, and she starts to think it may be best to leave the past where it is.
That past isn’t that willing to let go. A stranger proves that he’s willing to kill to keep his secrets safe. If Jane doesn’t remember soon, everyone she loves will be in danger.
*~*
*Publishing dates are estimates and subject to change. Once I receive more exact dates I’ll share that news.
by Sarah | Jun 29, 2012 | Books, Publishing Credits, Sirens Call, Writing
I’ve been working at this writing thing for a few years now. Always looking for that day when I could go from being ‘writer’ to ‘published author’.
I am notoriously incapable of writing anything shorter than a full length novel. So I’ve been struggling to get anything out there.
Now I have bridged that gap.
With a piece of flash fiction.
500 words.
Not of romance – oh no.
Psychological horror.
In the June 2012 of The Sirens Call eZine “Obscure Ink” I have a piece. Page 48 contains my flash fiction piece entitled “I Win.”
Buy it.
Read it.
I might just creep you the hell out.
*~*~*
Really, it’s $2. Buy it. There’s a ton of amazingly creepy stuff in there.
*~*~*
I won’t be stopping here. While I’m still writing my romance pieces I have another horror short in mind to submit for one of their upcoming anthology open submissions. I’ve made the leap and now I’m hungrier than ever.
Another Hump Day Hook! Changing Tracks has taken me on a whirlwind of joy this week. It showed up on Secret Cravings Bestseller list (#1 on the Historical Bestseller list still)…and got a Silver Star at All Romance Ebooks, indicating another best seller. I just got my first review & rating from someone unknown to me (and it was [amazon_link id=”B00BEMN5SC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]4 stars[/amazon_link]!). So it’s been a bang-up week.
