Congratulations to the winners of my “An Indie Author Celebrates Independence Day” firecracker of a giveaway. And the winners are: Winners of a copy of LOVE’S COURAGE: April B. Dianne N. C. Heather S. Karen H. Winners of a Swag Bag: Catrina P. Amber T. Candy L. Lori S. Winners of a $17.76 Amazon Gift Card: Shonda F. Allan M. Vladimir P Susanti Thanks to all of you who followed, commented, tweeted, and joined in the fun. Happy July 4! Read More
Tag: American Revolution spies
An Indie Author Celebrates Independence Day
What better way to celebrate July 4th than by reading a book set during the American Revolution? InD’Tale Magazine gave Love’s Courage a 5 star review, calling it “breathless.” In celebration of Independence Day in the United States, I have a firecracker of a giveaway. Because we’re celebrating July 4th, I’m giving away 4 of each of the three prizes for 12 lucky winners! a Rafflecopter giveaway If, by chance you don’t win—or you can’t wait, you can read Love’s Courage now. Love’s Courage blurb: She had to leave him to save her father. He had to follow Read More
Do You Judge a Book by Its Cover?
Have you ever bought a book just because you liked the cover? Maybe it wrapped you in its magic and walked you to the check-out counter. Maybe it called your name and the next thing you knew you were hitting “Buy now with 1-click.” As a reader, I have done just that. For example, one cover that captured me was this classic cover of The Great Gatsby. I’ve had readers tell me they bought The Cavanaugh House because of the cover. My husband Rich created that cover from a photograph he took of the actual Cavanaugh House . . Read More
3 Inspirations that Did Not Lead to a Sparkly Vampire
Don’t you wonder how Stephenie Meyer came up with the idea of a sparkly vampire? How did Diana Gabaldon decide on a portal in a standing stone that whisked Claire off to a Highlander hunk named Jamie? And Hobbits? Really? Where do authors get their ideas? Well, I can only speak to what’s worked for me with Love’s Courage: a word, a photo, and a visit. A Word Rich and I are word nerds. Okay, I’m a word nerd and Rich indulges me. Every morning at breakfast, we look up Merriam Webster’s Word of the Day. On Feb. 26, 2016, Read More
Love’s Courage: Square Peg in a Round Hole?
Most romance readers prefer a particular heat level in romance. These levels range from inspirational, where there is no intimate contact below the neck, to sweet, aka “behind closed doors,” where intimacy occurs, but the reader uses her imagination. Next is sensual where romantic scenes are more detailed, but not as numerous as spicy, where heat level is high and intimate scenes are frequent. Finally, erotica, which burns up the pages (and the romance market). When I was having coffee with my editor, Julie Sturgeon, we had a conversation about these levels. She suggested that readers will read “down” according Read More