Welcome, Emma Lane!

DARK DOMINO- EMMA LANE – A REGENCY ROMACE SHORT STORY. Published April 6th, 2012

TAG: Sarah Louise and Ethan have loved each other all their lives, but a war and time apart may have jeopardized their relationship.

BLURB: Ethan has been away at war for six long years—without a single letter to the young girl he left behind. He is certain she has forgotten him, but he is still drawn to her. Dressed for a masquerade in a dark domino, he leads her to the garden and tries to steal a kiss. Sarah does not know why the man in the dark domino is so familiar, and why a stranger should give her a feeling of home. When Ethan reveals his identity, Sarah’s anger and hurt overwhelm even her love. Can a new life be built on the foundations of a first love? Or will the Dark Domino remain alone forever?

EXCERPT: The mask he wore gave him a sinister look exacerbated by his luxurious dark hair which was worn too long for fashion. It framed his face and highlighted a square, firm jaw line. The slight smile he sent to her revealed white teeth in stark contrast to his tanned skin. She felt a chill run up the back of her neck. Did he masquerade as a poet—or a pirate?
The stranger held out his arm to her and for some reason she could not comprehend, she took it. He led her away from her friends and through the crowd toward a set of French doors at the end of the ball room. They stood open and she could see various couples strolling in the garden beyond.

“Do you mean to kidnap me, Dark Domino?” she asked looking up into his face. “Should I be fearful?” She was only half teasing.

“Do not be afraid. It’s cool in the garden. I thought we could get some fresh air.”

He talked in a low voice, but gruff as if he had a cold. She listened intently, but could not identify the man. Yet he seemed so familiar. Surely he was one of her friends intent on teasing her by making her guess his identity. Then she would play the game as well.

“Then lead on, Dark Domino. I will follow where you take me.”

She smiled gaily as they left the ballroom and entered the semi-darkness of the garden. The fragrance of late season roses drifted by them; candle-lit lanterns hung here and there marking the pathways. Abruptly the stranger swung them into an unlit pathway and pulled her toward a white bench set against a lush vine twirled around an arbor. A fountain gurgled nearby. He pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and swept the bench clean.

“My lady,” he said and bowed her onto the bench. She sat and looked up at him still standing before her. Tension tingled her senses; she was not really afraid, but the excitement of being in the semi-darkness with a strange man was beginning to disturb her.

“It is almost midnight, sir. Should we not reveal our identities a minute or two early?

“Yes, we can do that. But first…”

He pulled her up and into his arms. His head came down, his hand cupped the back of her head and his lips found hers. His other arm came around her waist and pulled her close. As their lips touched he released his breath in a long sigh and held her tenderly, not moving. Sarah Louise was too surprised to move. She did not feel afraid or offended. She felt comforted for some reason and rested against him with her lips pressed close. He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her closer.

Sarah almost swooned with the feelings that overwhelmed her senses. The Dark Domino suddenly increased the intensity of the kiss, roaming his lips around hers almost hungrily. He pulled her so tightly against him she gasped for breath. As she opened her lips, his tongue probed desperately into her mouth.

“Sir, you forget yourself!” Sarah pulled away almost reluctantly. Why had she felt so at home there in a stranger’s arms?”

DARK DOMINO, a Regency short story has recently been released by Emma Lane at MUSA PUBLISHING
She has a series of Regencies, The Vicar’s Daughters 3 there as well.
SANDPIPER AFFAIR and Coming soon its sequel GONE WITH THE DOGS, Contemporary Suspense, is available at Desert Breeze Publishing.

~*~*~*~*

Spring is here and with it the temptations to leave my desk and check out the daffodils at close range. I have work to do so I content myself with rereading the wonder poem by W. Wadworth.
Emma Lane
The Daffodils
by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee:
A Poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Emma Lane lives in Western NY near Lake Erie with her ever patient husband. She is part owner of a small plant nursery, an herbtique. She is a member of RWA and her local chapter WNYRWA.

Once again I’m taking part in a blog hop. This one is HUGE!! There are over 200 participants and a ton of stuff being given away!

Check out this link for a ton of great reads & hundreds of chances at awesome prizes!!!

Contest starts April 6, 2012 and ends April 8, 2012 at midnight.

Books range in all Heat Levels:

Sweet- 1 to 2 flames
Spicy- 3 to 4 flames
Erotic- 5 and up flames

So there is something for everyone!

Have fun “Hopping” & Happy Easter!!

For my giveaway – it is the winner’s choice of either of my Musa Publishing books in the e-format of your choice. Just leave a comment here to enter or at my facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/JuneKramin.

Thriller
Book Trailer
Logline: Helping your prisoner is one thing. Falling in love with her is another all together.

Blurb: Hunt is a small town Sheriff who finds himself in for more than he bargained for when he discovers Mandy beaten and unconscious. After repeated attempts of escaping him, he finds himself now her captive instead. Mandy convinces him she’s after her husband who has kidnapped their daughter and will stop at nothing to find her.

Although his instincts tell him differently, Hunt becomes involved with her and agrees to help. What he doesn’t know is there is no child. Mandy is hiding her involvement with the FBI and the mob, and after revenge. Hunt is in over his head tracking her husband to the isolated cabin and the backlash it causes a year later.

Buy Link Musa

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Romantic Suspense
Book Trailer
Logline: Bix finally won Ellie’s affection. Little did he know, that was the easy part.

Back Cover blurb:
Unable to make it home in a snowstorm, Ellie seeks shelter at an old farmhouse. When the owner’s grandson shows up and happens to be the man she had given the brush off to twice, it takes all they have not to kill each other during the snowed-in days that follow.

The last thing Ellie plans on is the relationship outlasting the storm. Bix’s persistence at a relationship and attempts to help her at her job with his computer skills proves to be more than Ellie can continue to push away. She finds herself where she never wanted to be after losing her fiancé a year ago. In love again.

When Ellie’s twin sister shows up and puts all their lives at risk, they must now weather a different kind of storm together.

Buy link Musa

Welcome, Wendy!

I’m a British author, now dividing my time between Andorra and the West Coast of Florida. I write both historical and contemporary romance, which works well until I get two books releasing at the same time, which is the situation I’m in right now. Nice work if you can get it!

When not writing I lavish love and attention on my adored rescued dog, spend a lot of time walking and cycling and also do more than my fair share of drinking wine!

The Perfect Impostor, my latest Regency romance is published by Carina Press April 2nd. I’m delighted with the cover. Carina artists do awesome work and I haven’t had a cover yet that doesn’t beautifully encapsulate the mood of the entire book. If readers do actually judge a book by its cover then I have high hopes for my little impostor.
What do you think?

Katrina Sinclair, recently widowed, is struggling to make a name for herself as a modiste. Her childhood friend, now a marchioness, could well make that happen when she asks Katrina to design her wardrobe for an upcoming society house party. One small snag though, Julia wants Katrina to swap places with her for the duration of that party. They did it often enough as children. No one could tell them apart then and can’t now.

Against her better judgement, Katrina agrees. What harm can come of it?

Plenty, as it happens. For starters, Julia’s husband, equerry to the prince regent, puts in a surprise appearance, expecting to spend the night with his wife. Katrina will do much to protect Julia, but sleeping with her husband is several steps above and beyond the call of friendship. How will she get out of that one?

Worse, Lord Leo Kincade turns up as well, supposedly on his way home from France. In actual fact, he’s been assigned to look into jewel thefts that are occurring at society gatherings such as the one Katrina’s attending. The proceeds from those thefts turn up in Napoleon’s coffers, making the lady behind the scheme a traitor to her country. Julia is a prime suspect.
Leo was once engaged to Julia but knows almost at once that the woman he meets at Lady Marshall’s isn’t Julia Dupont. But who is she? Why is she pretending to be Julia? Why is he drawn to her in a way that he never was to Julia? And what does she have to do with the thefts?

To add to Katrina’s woes, her late husband’s brother tracks her down to the house party too. He blames her for his brother’s death and is set on revenge…

The Perfect Impostor by Wendy Soliman available from Carina Press and all good ebook stores from April 2nd 2012 http://amzn.to/GEGuhy $4.79

With my contemporary hat on, The Name of the Game has just been released by SirenBookStrand and is my first effort at writing romantic suspense solely from the heroine’s point of view.

Ashley believes her boss when he says his marriage if over. They enter into a steamy affair and Ashley works her butt off to prepare the company for amalgamation with a rival so that she and Matt can go public with their relationship. But the bottom abruptly falls out of her world when Matt’s ‘estranged’ wife appears at the office, heavily pregnant.

Ashley breaks off the affair but Matt won’t let up on her. He convinces her that he isn’t the father of the baby but must stand by Eve until the amalgamation goes through because she owns a vital five per cent of the company’s shares that could swing the deal in either direction.

Someone is trying to sabotage the amalgamation. Ashley delves into the Templeton family’s affairs, uncovering deeply buried secrets that someone will go to any lengths—even murder—to protect. As she fights to save the man she loves from the brink of ruin, Ashley finds that she’s placed her own life on the line…

The Name of the Game by Wendy Soliman – Available now from SirenBookStrand $3.39

Check out my books on my websites: http://www.wendysoliman.com and http://www.wsoliman.com
Facebook
Or follow me on twitter @wendyswriter
Thanks for having me here. It’s been a blast.
Wendy

I know I’m supposed to be willy nilly here but I thought I’d offer you a deal instead!

I got a batch of ‘nekkid spines’ on the 2nd book in my Middle Grade series. I’m anxious to get a corrected order coming. If you want to start the series – I’m selling the pair for $15 +ship until I run out. I’ve checked a few zips & the easiest is actually going with the $5.20 priority box. Send me a message if you are interested. june [at] junekramin [dot] com

Of course I’ll sign them to whoever you want & add a couple bookmarks.

<3
Ann T Bugg

Welcome, Tracie!

Tracie Ingersoll Loy grew up in the Pacific Northwest and graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts which included creative writing. Upon graduation, her college room-mate said they must learn how to drink Scotch to be liberated women, so she did! Tracie ducked out of the corporate world of marketing and sales, where she saw lots of romantic interludes, to pursue her passion for writing. Her current work, SLIP INTO THE NIGHT, is her first book in the Hartz Island romantic mystery series taking place in the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest, a location dear to her heart.

Tracie now lives in Northern Illinois with her husband and two dogs, a sassy cock-a-poo named Tibby and a determined border collie named Ozzy. She takes them walking/running up at the Chain-of-Lakes St. Park where there are miles and miles of trails. If she doesn’t Ozzy nose butts her all day and Tracie can’t get her writing done! She is an active member of the Chicago North Romance Writers.

SLIP INTO the NIGHT is billed as a light mystery/romance taking place in Washington State San Juan Islands. After the murder of her husband, Jeannie Rogers retreats to Hartz Island to rebuild her life. She follows her dream and opens a small café, however after three years, Jeannie is at a crossroads. Her brother, a CPA wants her to sell her faltering café. Her daughter Betsy thinks she should date. Neither idea sounds good to Jeannie.

Retired Navy SEAL Commander Kip Hendricks has one mission in life and that is to stop terrorism. Kip Hendricks and his team arrive on Hartz Island to monitor ships from Indonesia suspected of smuggling in terrorists. All the ships must pass Hartz Island heading to their ports. When Jeannie heads to Eagle’s Nest Lodge to cater the evening meal little did she know her life was about to change when she lands in Kip Hendricks’s arms.

As the full moon beams down upon the islands, the mysteries are revealed. Life isn’t so innocent on Hartz Island!
Welcome Tracie. Is there a backstory to SLIP INTO the NIGHT? Yes. Jeannie lived in Seattle and was married to Brian Rogers, a Seattle Police Detective. Their daughter Betsy attended the University of Washington. During an investigation, Brian was shot/murdered by a sniper. Jeannie’s life came crashing down and emotionally she had to leave Seattle, so she retreated to Hartz Island that held happy memories. She loved baking and always dreamed of owning a small café.

How long have you been writing? Technically I’ve been writing for five years when my daughter left the building for college, but in my mind it seems like eons. When I traveled for my sales and marketing jobs I constantly took notes on what would make a great story. I’d study people in the airports or watch the office staffs. In my one sales job, my territory was Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. I came across beautiful scenery and some really juicy looking men! Some of those scenarios I’d like to put in my books. I still laugh at this one incident. Had I been a bit older I could have coped, but I was in my twenties. I was in Casper, Wyoming for work but I also had a girlfriend living there. She told me to meet her in the bar of my hotel. I didn’t think anything about it, but when I walked in, the bar was full of ALL MEN who worked out on the oil drilling area. I stood in the doorway and everyone of those men turned, stopped talking and just looked at me. I waved and retreated to the hotel lobby and waited there. NOW – I’d run right in there!

Why did you pick Jeannie’s story and have your characters in their 40’s? My girlfriends were in their 40’s and many of them were single via divorce or husbands dying and they were starting over. I’d listen to them talk about dating and love and I realized it didn’t matter what age you were, you still experienced all the heart throbbing and angst of a twenty-year old. I thought it was sweet and felt just because you were over 35 didn’t mean you didn’t feel the heat of the moment.
Of all the characters, do you have a favorite and why? I love Jeannie and Kip but Montana cracks me up. SLIP INTO the NIGHT is Jeannie’s story of overcoming her emotional fears and conquering the business world of ownership, but Montana well . . .she is the heart of the island and she is an odd duck and I like that.

If they made a movie of SLIP INTO the NIGHT, who would play your main characters? I’ve thought about this a lot. Kip is rough and tumble kind of guy, but has a soft side to him. I’m thinking Mark Harmon, Kurt Russell, George Clooney, and Hugh Jackman, if he can lose the Aussie accent. Jeannie Rogers easily could be Rita Wilson, Marcia Cross, and Julianna Margulies. Each actress expresses vulnerability like Jeannie but also has toughness underneath.

What are you currently working on? I am working on the sequel to SLIP INTO the NIGHT. A few of the mysteries were not solved in the first book and they are in the second, but also we have new characters with their own angst and fears. Montana plays a larger role but Jeannie’s café is still dishing out the cinnamon buns.

Do you have an advice for people who are writing or want to write? It seems like thousands of years ago, but my writing professor at the University of Washington said, “Write what you know and be true to yourself.” I think this is sound advice because if you don’t, there’s a falseness that rings through. It would be silly of me to write about vampires or even try. I know zilch about the subject. I know about women in their forties, I grew up in Washington State, boated around the San Juan Islands, I know about love and angst, I love to read a good mystery, and my favorite authors create full dimensional characters that keep showing up in their other novels. I like to think I did this with SLIP INTO the NIGHT. If you start a book finish the book. It doesn’t matter how good it is. You know you have accomplished something many people say they want to do. Then do it all over again and then again. I am told the 3rd book is usually the winner and it was for me.
Where can we buy SLIP INTO the NIGHT? Thank you June for sharing today. SLIP INTO the NIGHT is $4.99, and can be purchased from Musa Publishing and all the major e-book retailers including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple and Manic Readers.

http://tracieloy.com
http://www.musapublishing.com
http://www.facebook.com/TracieIngersollLoy
http://www.twitter.com/TracieLoy

I’m in the process of editing 2 of my releases for this year. Come & Talk to Me for May & Dustin’s Turn. It’s not due till Sept but I’m grateful for the early start. I think I’ve said that I blame two friends for their theories on who Frank was in Dustin Time – hence why the book was written. I’m hoping to give them time for a final read/opinion before it comes out. Hugs to a chihuey & Adam… or dang you… we’ll see how I feel when I get through the edits!

Now on to the lunacy. This says it all. Visit my blog at your own free will:

Because:

And I’m not just a satisfied customer, I’m also the owner.

Happy Hump Day!

Welcome, Mary!!

My latest book, Time Will Tell, is science-fiction, a new genre for me. Due for release by Musa Publishing Co. March 9, 2012, it tells the story of reporter Mona Stewart who has a car wreck and is brought back to life by outer-space creatures, called Svarians, so they can use her to enable their return to earth and share their knowledge about immortality. On Svar, however, they have to first deal with their enemies, the Aliens, who want their secrets for themselves.

In writing this book, while developing plot, characters and theme, I discovered another element that is all-important in science-fiction–setting. That wasn’t easy in this case because I’ve never been in outer space, nor have I read much about it. I have now. I did a lot of research but, in the long run, I had to use familiar situations and convert them to what might be “out there.”

Describing the terrain, the space ship and the creatures required drawing on my imagination. It became an interesting challenge. I also had to assume how people might feel, act and react in a strange environment. Except for astronauts, nobody has a clue. Even they don’t have many. Besides, that didn’t help me; I had no access to astronauts. My only recourse was using the familiar to describe the unfamiliar.

What did I do and how did I do it? I guess you’ll have to read Time Will Tell to find out. It will be available from Musa Publishing and Amazon.com

Mary S. Palmer is also the author of The Callings, False Gods, Quest for Forgiveness and To Catch a Fish. To Catch a Fish will also be released as an e-book by Musa Publishing Co. June 1, 2012. Her Web Page address is maryspalmer.com or maryspalmer.org. The blogspot address is maryspalmer.blogspot.com.

Willy Nilly Wednesday was put on hold. There was some issue with my server (not web-god) & my whole site was off line for a few days. Bad timing since I had a great interview over at Kayelle Allen’s blog ~ Romance Lives Forever ~ but I don’t think it would ever be a good time for the site to go down. The interview was a lot of fun to do & some great people popped in to say hi.

As for posting my ‘funneh’, there were too many great things this week to pick just one. Some writerly, some otherwise. Just wanted to share ‘em.

I’ve been in the mood to do re-read a few of my “still under lock & key” novels, so I haven’t had time to make or re-set anything, but I thought I’d share a few favorites anyway.

This is too fitting for me. Hubby will agree here.

*knock on wood* This hasn’t happened yet…

The leader of the pack!

And of course:

That’s it for now. Have a great weekend! I’m diving into edits for my May release. Wish me luck!

Welcome, Lauren! Lauren is a writer of romance novels, paranormal, time travel and regency with plans to write in a variety of other genres, including angel, ghost, and contemporary romance.

Time Travel Romance ‘The Coffee Shop’

Blurb:

If Derrick thought experiencing alternate timelines and glimpses into the future was strange, then he had no idea it was about to get a whole lot more strange.

When Derrick Sloane meets Annie Maddock and falls madly in love, he believes he’s met the girl of his dreams. Only he then awakes to discover she is exactly that…nothing more than a dream. Disheartened, he goes to the first coffee shop he can find. There he meets Annie. She is at the same table, reading the same book, and he fast realizes his dream has shown him his own future. But when a misstep alters that perfect future he tries to fix it, every attempt only making it worse.

Dreaming the future can be a nightmare when you see what’s coming…and can’t do anything to change it.

Excerpt:

She could see the top of the stairs just there before her, and trying to step up to grab the post her ankle gave out, her body crumpling under the weight as she fell down onto the steps. Her grasp on the railing giving way as the full weight of her body pulled her back onto the stairs behind her.
“Annie!” Derrick ran quickly up the steps and grabbing hold of the banister he reached out bracing himself to grasp her as she came falling towards him. Slipping his arm around her waist, Derrick caught her. “Annie, what are you doing? I told you I would help you.”
“I thought I could do it. It wasn’t until I was half way there that I realized I couldn’t.”
“But why didn’t you say something?”
“By the time I realized, it was too late. And there wouldn’t be anything you could do.”
He held her to him, his breath coming in short little gasps, and closing his eyes he tried to calm himself.
“I’m fine.”
“You could have been killed.”
“But I wasn’t. And I’m fine. I’ve been in worse scrapes and I’ve always come out all right.”
“Worse than this?” He shook his head. “But that doesn’t mean you will continue to. You can only push your luck so far and then…”
“It runs out?”
“You could say that.”
“Hmm.”
“What?”
“Oh, I was just thinking, depending on the person one would say that’s pessimistic, whereas another would say it’s realistic.” She felt him relax, his face pressed into her neck.
“Let me guess, you would be the one to say, it’s realistic.”
“Yes.”
“I thought you were an optimist.”
“Oh, that. That was more a moment of hopeful thinking, on my part.”
“But then it passed, and you got better?”
She laughed, but then her gaze caught his, and he looked serious.
“Well, how’s this for real.” He lifted her up into his arms and gazed down at her. “Annie, I love you. If anything had happened to you just now…I don’t know what I would have done. The idea of losing you…”
“Whoa, Derrick. I’m fine. I’m…” The warmth of his mouth on hers went right through her. His lips caressing hers as he gently kissed her. He pulled back, their eyes meeting and it was then that she knew everything was different. He carried her up the stairs, pausing at the top as he looked once more into her eyes, and then turning to his door he carried her inside.

#11 on the Goodreads list ‘The Very Best Time-Travel Romance’

Available in Kindle, Nook, and PDF.

Musa Publishing

Amazon.com

For a complete list where you can purchase a copy go to my blog

Twitter

Lauren Hunter Fan Page

Lauren Hunter Facebook

Web site

Yes, this will make it’s way to my t-shirt stash. I’d probably have more to ha-ha about if I wasn’t so peeved at everything regarding networking right now. Sorry in advance for the rant.

I know it takes a lot to complain about something that is free but for starters, I’m really miffed at facebook for the changes they are making. I DO NOT like the new layout for pages. Like every other “upgrade”, most do not want it & you are not given the choice. When I go to people’s pages that have timeline, I’m confused as hell. There is no method to the madness. They are making changes to fan pages as well & I just have too much on my plate to take the time & figure it out. Kinda pissed, but again it free. Guess I’ll have to take the time & learn how to adapt. I just don’t understand the need to continually screw with what isn’t broken – especially when a huge percent protests it.

There is something else that you may or may not notice is missing from my blog now. The “follow me” widget. In their infinite wisdom, google has removed it from non-blogger blogs. I really don’t see the benefit for anyone & wonder what the purpose is there. Are they trying to get everyone over to blogger? It’s free as well. People click the “follow me” so they can read blogs they want on google reader. Why take away that option? There are a ton of people that don’t go to blogs – they just go to reader. My posts will no longer show up unless I move my blog. Again, I don’t have the brain power to figure out what to do. I can add a widget to have my posts e-mailed to people but that’s not really an equal option.

Other than trying to help pimp my writer friends, I haven’t been blogging enough to really worry about it. I guess I can just continue to post links on facebook … as long as I can get my layout to resemble something I want to stick with.

Sorry for the rant on what should be a Willy Nilly Wednesday. Change makes me cranky!!!!!!!!