Happy New Year!

Image Credit- Keattikorn from FreeDigitalPhotos.Net

Wow. I'm going to say that again: wow. 2013 was a wild year for me. One year ago today, I had signed my first publishing contract but I hadn't even begun the editing process. I had no idea what I was in for there. :) Now, a quick glance at Goodreads will show that I have four titles out there in the world. FOUR! Okay, one of them is a freebie, but it's a cute little story that I'm proud to share with readers nonetheless.

It's been a wild ride and sometimes it still seems unreal, but I've learned a great deal and made some wonderful friends. Who knew the romance writing world would be so incredibly warm and welcoming?

This is starting to sound like bragging and that is not my intent. What I want to say at the end of this wild year, and before I begin a new one, is thank you.

•  Thanks to all the readers, bloggers, fellow writers, editors and publishers who helped me get my stories out into the world. 

•  Thank you to each and every person who left a review on Amazon, Barnes &Noble, Kobo, Audible or Goodreads (yes, even the ones who didn't like the story). You are all part of a wonderful community that keeps books alive. 

•   Thank you to my husband, for being the best part of my happily ever after. 

•  Thank you to my family and friends for all their support. I couldn't do it without you.

   

  Best wishes to you all for a fabulous 2014!!!

Announcing the winners....

Hi all! It's time to share the winners of the A Late Thaw Blog tour giveaway!!!

 

The grand prize: a $25 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble goes to:

Sheila G.

Congrats to Sheila!

Morena B. has won an e-copy of The Best Man!

& 

Ashley R. S. has won an e-copy of Love and Other Games. 

Happy Reading, Ladies!

Check your email, ladies, for information on how to claim your prizes.

Autumn.

I'm getting pretty excited for fall.

For years, summer was my favorite season and maybe it still is, but fall is definitely starting to give it a run for it's money. It may have a lot to do with moving south. Summer in New England is lovely but below the Mason-Dixon line it gets pretty hot. It gets hot enough that I start dreaming about cool, crisp autumn evenings wearing fleece and snuggling with the hubby. Snuggling is less sexy when it's 100 degrees. It just is.

This fall is going to be especially awesome because I have two new books coming out, A Late Thaw and Worth More Than Gold, my addition to the Love and Other Games anthology.

So I was thinking about all the things I'm looking forward to this fall and I decided to make a list.

1.  Pumpkin Spice Lattes- I know, I might as well be drinking a candy bar, but they are so yummy. I let myself have one or two every year. Okay-maybe three. :)

2. Halloween- I love costumes, candy and jack-o-lanterns. We've moved recently and I cannot wait to see all our new trick-or-treaters.

3. Fresh Pumpkin to cook with. I think I'll make a pumpkin gnocchi this year. Definitely lots of pumpkin soup.

 Check out this recipe for Spicy Pumpkin Soup.

4. Apple picking. My hubby is tall and very good at reaching the high branches. I will reward him with an apple pie.

5. Sweaters
6. Nesting in our new home. (We haven't had a chance to finish unpacking, painting, etc. So it will be a busy fall for us.)
7. The scent of falling leaves.
8. TV!!! New Once Upon a Time, Grimm, Scandal, TVD, The Good Wife, Nashville, Hannibal, etc. Can't Wait.

9. Boots. It's too warm to wear cute boots during summer. I love cute boots.
10. Two new book releases!!!

And...extra awesome bonus-- we gained two new nieces this summer, so we now get to share all the awesomeness of Autumn with fresh eyes. 


So what are you looking forward to this fall?

The Next Big Thing

Melinda Dozier was kind enough to tag me for “The Next Big Thing”. It's my second time, so I assume it has since made it's way all around the internet. :)

The idea is simple: I answer ten questions about a current work-in-progress. I've been doing some edits on a story just this morning, so that's the one I chose. 

10 Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

1. What is the title of your Work In Progress?


I'm calling it A Late Thaw.

2. Where did the idea come from for your book?

I went to college in Vermont and it burrowed it's way into my heart. I was thinking about the old advice to write about what you know and I know Vermont. For the record I don't think we should all stick with what we know, if we did we'd miss out on sexy vamps, hunky shifters, steamy spies and time traveling adventures. But this time, I decided to write a love story for a place I love.

3. What genre does your book fall under? 

Contemporary Romance

4. What actors do you imagine playing your characters?

When I think Cole, I think Joe Manganiello, a young Joe Manganiello. He's got the right look and that easy, natural charm. Cole is the best type of Alpha, the kind that doesn't need to prove it all the time and Manganiello could easily play that. Also...yum, right? Honestly, I tend to be personally more drawn to sort of pretty, nerdy guys, but Joe is a force of nature. Or testosterone.

Kiley...hmmm, maybe Zooey Deschanel. She has the dark hair and blue eyes and the quirky charm that men can't resist. She'd need a more tom-boy wardrobe for the part though.

5. Give us a synopsis of your book?

Barret, Vermont, home to nearly as many goats as people. It was the perfect picturesque spot to stop for cocoa after a ski trip or to buy your Christmas tree from a hunky farmer wearing snug jeans and a pair of well-worn boots. Kiley St. Claire wasn’t there for either. She’d come home for one reason and one reason only: make enough money waiting tables at the local tourist trap to survive her final semester of graduate school. Of course she was going to have to see that Christmas tree farmer eventually. That was fine; Kiley wasn’t the same nerdy little girl he’d palled around with. Nope, she was done crushing on Cole Thomas. Totally done.

Cole thought he was ready, but seeing Kiley again is a punch to the gut. She’d rejected him and run away without explanation. The least she could have done was to have stayed away. Still, it’s good. Now he’ll have a chance to say what he’s needed to say for years and then, just maybe, he’ll be ready to move on. He just wished she didn’t look so damn good in her waitress uniform.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I'm polishing it up for submission to publishers.

7. How long did it take you to finish the first draft of your manuscript?

I wrote this one awhile back and thought it was done. I've since decided it needs a little something. I think the first, first draft only took a month or so. It's a short story-around 15,000 words.

8. What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?

Gosh, I don't know. It's a second chance, friends to lovers story. There are a bunch of those, but I think my voice is a bit different. There's a lot of humor in it. 

On a side note, if you're into second chance stories, you should keep a look out for Melinda's upcoming book, Time Changes Everything.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I suppose I just love the idea of people falling in love over years. Cole and Kiley were always together. It took them awhile to realize what they were to each other. My husband and I were friends for a decade before we tried dating. When we did, it was instant, everything clicked.

10. What else about your book might pique your readers’ interest?

It's a fun story; it takes place over the course of about eighteen hours and could probably be read in a single evening. There's a hot man determined to get the girl, a girl determined to hide her feeling, tacky German-themed knick-knacks, steamy sex, a bunch of mean chickens and an unfortunately named cat.

Okay. I don't have enough people to keep tagging more. Please, if you read this and have a WIP that you want to chat about, consider yourself tagged. Leave a comment and I'll add a link to your site.