Friday, August 2, 2013

A Few Lines from. . . Betty Jo Schuler

This week, a few lines from Finding Freedom by Betty Jo Schuler





                CELESTE HARTE GLARED at the twenty-nine candles on her birthday cake. She'd squandered her last fourteen birthday wishes asking for a fairy tale romance, and her life still read like an instruction manual. The frog she'd hoped would turn into a prince—God rest his soul—had been a cheating toad. Leaning her hands on her glass-topped kitchen table, she puffed out her cheeks and blew. I wish I'd meet a man who would turn my life into a sizzling romance novel.

            "Easy." Marianne Joest raised an auburn brow as she swiped cream frosting from her blouse with a manicured nail. Closing her eyes, she sucked her fingertip. "Mm. Next best thing to an orgasm."
     "My life is half over, I haven't made love in I-can't-remember-when, and you talk about orgasm?"
       "Half over?" Marianne snorted. "And I thought Susan was the drama queen." She cut two slices of cake and handed Celeste one. 
  
      Celeste shook her head. "It's loaded with fat."

        "Dammit, Cee. This is carrot cake, a vegetable with frosting. You're thin enough no matter what Harry said, and twenty-nine isn't the beginning of menopause."



http://bookswelove.net/bettyjoschuler.php

Come back next week for a few lines from Janet Lane Walters.

Friday, July 26, 2013

A Few Lines from Hazel Statham



Today, a few lines from His Shadowed Heart by Hazel Statham.

The shadows of the remaining light played across Caroline’s sleeping countenance and he smoothed a lock of hair that had strayed across her forehead. He knew the desire that his lips should follow his finger’s course, but even in his state of inebriation, he knew this would be foolish.

For several minutes, he watched his wife sleep, eventually placing his head upon the pillow beside her. His lips curved into a loving smile as his eyes drank in her sleep-softened
countenance and he felt her breath caress his cheek. The longing to hold her became an almost physical thing and his arms ached with the suppressed desire.

Eventually she stirred, muttering incoherently in her sleep, and he raised himself up. *What foolishness is this*, he thought. *I am acting like a callow youth, *and immediately he was on his feet. Snatching up the light, he went quickly out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.



Come back next week for a few lines from Betty Jo Schuler.


Monday, July 22, 2013

Books You'll Love from Books We Love: New Interview with author Sydell Voeller

Books You'll Love from Books We Love: New Interview with author Sydell Voeller: Sydell Voeller grew up in Washington State, but has lived in Oregon for over thirty-five years.  Throughout her twenty-...

Find Significance in what you create by Rita Karnopp

I wrote the following blog for another site - but I felt like sharing here, too.  I truly believe sometimes we fail to acknowledge our successes - and we should.  I hope this reminds you to give yourself major kudos every time you write 'the end.'  Rita
We write because we are inspired.  We have stories rambling around in our heads and we have this great desire to write them down, and share them.  We also have the desire and ambition for success.  We have goals to actually make money from our book sales.

After completing that first book - we are filled with incredible pride and joy.  We have every right to be.  Unfortunately, those feelings don’t last all that long.  An impending question pressures us into asking, “What next?”

A feeling of doom and gloom consumes us.  Why?  We are filled with mixed emotions; excitement, fear, anxiety, uncertainty, apprehension, and even frustration.  The proverbial question that is most daunting; “What if no one likes my book?”  It’s our insecurities that haunt us the most.

So many people say they are going to write a book – and never do.  You’ve done something fantastic. You were committed, worked hard, and sacrificed to accomplish this one thing.  Yet, you are allowing self-doubt, anxieties, and even fear, take you from euphoria to downright depressed.

Shake it off and step back.  Take time to compliment yourself on a job well-done.   Celebrate!  Nothing will feel like finishing that first book.  Take time to feel pride in yourself. Take time to share your success with your family and friends.  Take time to plant this feeling in your mind – so you can revisit it in the future.
There is no greater joy than to experience this sense of creativity, then sharing it with others.  The moment we think of asking, “what comes next,” deflates our exhilaration and changes to being overwhelmed – the excitement turns to uneasiness.

You’ve finally written that book – now don’t let the panic of taking the next step stop you.   It’s often the fear of failure, the frustration of not knowing which way to turn, and even the dread of being told that what you just poured your heart and soul into is – crap.

Remind yourself, you didn’t work that hard or put that much love into a story to fail.  Don’t be satisfied, or settle for knowing you wrote it – and nothing more.  Learn what comes next, follow a plan and start submitting that book for reviews.  Take the feedback and comments that will make the story better (toss the others away) and rewrite.  Then move on to the stage of finding an agent or publisher.


Let me point out here that not all writers are as successful as Dean Kuntz or Catherine Coulter.  That does not mean you are not successful.  I don’t feel I’m a failure just because I haven’t sold millions of books.  My main goal was to see my name on the cover of ‘a’ book.  I now have fourteen published books!  I’m so proud of that success.  I refuse to tarnish that feat by comparing myself to writers who have accomplished more.

Don’t let a miss-guided sense of success take away from the significance of what you’ve accomplished.  Step back and remind yourself of the ‘joy’ you felt when you typed ‘the end’ and finished that first book.  Ask yourself why you write in the first place - this should determine the value you place on success.  Find significance in what you create and celebrate it – book after book.

(Note:  Yes - I did receive the New Covey Award.)

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Sneak peak Sunday, Designed for Love

 “What the hell?” My carry-on bag slid across the floor and slammed into the wall. My feet slipped out from under me, I landed flat on my back, and someone fell on top of me, pinning me to the floor. The breath knocked out of me, I lay still a moment.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I finally caught my breath and pushed him off. “Everyone’s always in such a big hurry.”
“Why’d you slow down? You darned near stopped in front of me.” He stood up, brushed himself off and held out his hand to help me up. “Sorry.”
I knocked his hand away, got to my knees and stood. I didn't need his help. Not his or anyone else’s for that matter. What I needed was to find my bag and get on to my gate.
“Look, I’m sorry. It was entirely my fault. I shouldn't have been in such a hurry.” He held his hand out to me again, but I ignored it. “Here, let me get that for you.” He hurried to pick up my bag, but I grabbed it first.


“Look, Mister, I have a plane to catch, so excuse me if I don’t have time to chat.” I straightened up my bag, grabbed the handle and started toward my gate. Good looking in a rustic sort of way, I had to admit. Probably worked outdoors or at least spent a lot of time outside. Not that it made any difference. I didn't have time for him. Or any man for that matter. I had a career to build, and men didn't figure into it. 

Available from: Books We Love Publishing

Friday, July 19, 2013

A Few Lines From. . .Kat Attalla

This week, a few lines from Kat Attalla's China Blue:


At eight p.m., he drove to the camp. The dark skies overhead made it seem later than dusk. Just to make sure he covered his bases, he ran his Jeep off the road in a ravine deep enough to need a tow-truck to get out. By the time he reached her Craftsman house, he was soaked to the skin. Damn! He never thought a summer rain could be so freaking cold. A woman who fed the squirrels and birds would not turn her back on a stranded motorist. Would she? 


He knocked on the door and waited. The air rumbled with a distant thunder. In the past decade, he had thought about her many times: The sad young girl with the magnificent eyes. So he wasn't prepared for the woman who opened the door. Her eyes were that same bright blue, but the rest of her bore little resemblance to the skinny teenager in that hospital
bed. Her hair had grown back and fell below her shoulders in thick black waves. Denim jeans molded long legs and a fitted tee shirt revealed a hint of cleavage at the scoop neck. But her most striking feature was the rifle cradled in her arms.


Please stop back next week for a few lines from Hazel Statham.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

kboards: "Night Corridor," by Joan Hall Hovey

kboards: "Night Corridor," by Joan Hall Hovey: Described by her readers as "Mary Stewart, part Mary Higgins Clark and in no small part, Stephen King," Joan Hall Hovey applies he...

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Meet Anne Van, author of BWL's latest release Toyko Dare

  

Anne Van is an artist, fashionista, turned writer. She has a Masters Degree in Fine Art and attended Waseda University in Tokyo Japan on a scholarship. She has exhibited her artwork all over the United States and one of her works was displayed in a museum in Picasso’s hometown of Malaga, Spain. After several years toiling as a fine artist, she switched gears to pursue another passion, fashion. Anne graduated from FIDM in Los Angeles and designed sportswear for major retailers. All the while she heard stories in her head. So one day she quit fashion and finally put her stories on paper. Since then Anne has published an article in a national magazine and an award winning travel story about her time living in Tokyo, Japan. She has also published short fiction. Anne continues to write the stories that fill her head. She lives in a Victorian home in a historic landmark district in Pasadena, California along with three rescue cats, including one that has six toes, and her TV composer husband who thankfully doesn’t. Anne loves to hear from her readers and can be contacted through her website: http://annevan.net  


Also visit:


Twitter: @AnneVanWrites






BWL: How long have you been writing and in what genre?

AV: I’ve been writing for six years. My favorite genre is Young Adult. Seems I never grew up.


BWL: Where you do you get inspiration?

AV: I’ve lived in Japan and travel a lot. I get my inspiration from the places I’ve been and the interesting things I discover along the way.


BWL: What about your next book? Will it be part of a series or standalone. Can you give us a taste to whet our appetites?

AV:  I’m working on book two of the Tokyo Dare series. Erin has her dream boyfriend and is doing well in her second semester at Seda Academy. She’s even making progress on her to-do list. But just when she thinks she’s settling into her life in Japan a string of events turns her world upside down.


BWL: Why did you choose to publish electronically?

AV: I like how quickly my stories can reach readers. 

BWL: What are your hobbies and interests?

AV: I love to decorate and have a passion for making beautiful spaces especially in historic homes. The Victorian era is my favorite. I’m an avid collector of decorative objects from the time. I was lucky enough to inherit some wonderful 1880’s furniture from my family. My Victorian house is the perfect place to display the antiques I’ve been collecting since high school.


BWL: What does the future hold for you?

AV: I’m working on the Tokyo Dare series and several other projects. I’m always developing new story ideas. My head is full of them.



Find Anne's BWL page here: http://bookswelove.net/van.php












Friday, July 12, 2013

A Few Lines From. . . Juliet Waldron

This week, A Few Lines from Juliet Waldron's  Nightingale          



             "By the Blessed Mother, I shall not be your slave forever.  I swear it!" 
              Max stopped at the door, one powerful hand resting on the high latch, gazing back at her.
              "The day will come when I shall relinquish you to whatever fate devises," he replied evenly, as if this, too, was an outcome he would control.  "But, Klara, haven't your teachers explained that words should be chosen precisely?  You are not my slave.  A more perfect metaphor would be that of a little brown nightingale kept in a fine and luxurious cage for her own good."
             "Your pet!"
              "My sweet, sweet songbird." Tenderness, for the first time in this encounter, entered his voice.  "My beautiful and wonderfully talented Nightingale."
              As she began to weep, he'd said, "Now listen to me, Maria Klara and listen well!  I charge you to always remember, I am the one who holds the key to your cage."

 
and/or



Coming next week, a few lines from author Kat Attalla.


Friday, July 5, 2013

A Few Lines From...Shirley Martin

This week, a few lines from Wolf Magic by Shirley Martin. 

(This scene takes place after the heroine
 has been jailed for stealing.)




He reached her cell and–
Annwn?
Shock rendered him speechless, his throat dry. His heart pounded wildly.
Sitting on the floor, she held her shift in clawed hands, her arms and legs covered with fur. Her face red with shame, she turned away from him. He heard her sobs, saw her trembling.
This is Annwn?
He clenched his hands, fighting for control. Helpless to do anything, he could only stare. He discarded his shock; his heart turned over with love and pity for her.





Juliet Waldron is next on July 16

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Rockets Red Glare! It's a Half Price Book Sale!

All Books We Love titles at Smashwords are 50% off for the month of July.

  Smashwords offers books in all ereader formats, and the majority of our titles are there. Look for the half price coupon code on each book's page.





Enjoy!


Friday, June 28, 2013

A Few Lines From . . .Pat Dale

A Few Lines From....Magic of the Chimes by Pat Dale

What is it with this guy and my chest?

His focus remained at that point when she set the food before him, random thoughts flitting through her mind.
“Here’s your breakfast, Mr. Williams. Howie. I hope everything is done to your satisfaction.” She knew instantly her choice of words was wrong again when he leered up at her.

“Oh, yes. Very much so.” Returning his focus to her chest, he added, “Full and firm, and very nicely formed.” He grinned and winked.

That did it. She’d begun to pour more coffee into his cup when her arm slipped. The hot brown liquid scored a bulls-eye in his lap.



 
http://bookswelove.net/dale.php

Please stop back next week for a few lines from Shirley Martin
.

Monday, June 24, 2013

A Date with a Vampire



 
by Shirley Martin
 
    Suppose you meet a vampire at a party, and you know he's one of the undead.  Now suppose he asks you for a date. Would you say (1) I never date vampires, (2) Let me think about it, or (3) Your place or mine?
    Within the last few decades, vampires have been portrayed as real sex symbols, handsome and debonair. But it wasn't always so. Centuries ago, people actually believed in vampires, creatures shown to be ugly and desiccated. In eastern Europe, especially, people dug up graves of anyone suspected of being one of the undead and drove a stake through the heart or burned the corpse. 
    All of that changed with the publication of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" in 1897. Now the vampire was portrayed as being more, well, human. At the time of its publication, "Dracula' didn't garner the fame that later years brought to the novel. Yet Stoker's novel set the standard for vampires that would last for years.
    With Anne Rice's publication of "Interview with a Vampire" the bloodsucker underwent yet another incarnation, this time as a troubled, introspective hero.  And since then, we have seen an absolute plethora of novels and movies centered around the undead. Now, we see the vampire as a sexy, romantic hero, one any woman would die for.
    In my contemporary vampire romance, "One More Tomorrow" my heroine, Stephanie (Stevie) doesn't at first realize that the man she has fallen in love with is a vampire. Imagine her shock when she finds out what he is and that he's over one-thousand years old. 
    Here is a truncated version of Stevie's reaction when she discovers that Galan, the man she loves, is a vampire.. . .
    Galan sat down on the bed next to her, but she slid away. "If only you knew how I wanted to tell you, how it hurt not to reveal what I truly am."
    "Yeah, I'll just bet that broke your heart."
    "Dearest, you are breaking my heart now."
    "You don't  have a heart."
    He nodded, pain and misery on his face. "My heart is not like yours. But this much I tell you, and I beg you to believe me. I never sought my vampirism. It was forced on my whilst I lay drugged and unconscious."
    "And you expect me to believe that?"
    "No matter, it's the truth." 
    She had to be by herself. It was all too much to take. If what he said was true--and she had to take him at his word--what a horrible burden to bear until the end of time.
    She raised a finger to catch a tear sliding down her cheek. "You'd better go now, leave me alone. And I think--" Her voice caught. "--and I think it would be best if we stopped seeing each other." 
    "You need time to get used to the idea. I'll call you later this week."
    "No!  You don't understand. This is 'goodby'.  I don't want to see you again."  
 
 
 

   Destined to live only in darkness Galan must defeat the evil Moloch to win the love of the mortal woman, Stephanie.
 
"--an enchanting book with the charm of a fairy tale and an ending that's pure gold."  Alma at Fallen Angel Reviews.



http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006WSJZLO

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