December 22, 2016

Guest Promo (CLXXXVI) Leslie Ann Sartor



 Let's give  a warm welcome to Leslie Ann Sartor, a fellow author from the USA!   I’m sure you’d be interested in her topic. She speaks about her Christmas series books and, trust me,  they look tempting.



Thank you, Carmen, for hosting me on your blog. It’s truly a pleasure to be here.
I’ve written a couple of series and found that I absolutely love writing books where I can revisit characters that I’ve fallen in love with. I have the Star Light ~ Star Bright Series, set at Christmas and my Carswell Adventure series set around the world in exotic locales.
And I have two more coming. The Jenna Hart Cozy Mystery series set in a ski town in Colorado and the Ohana Romantic Suspense Series that I decided to make into a series once I’d written Dare To Believe, set in Hawaii, Colorado, and other cool places, (I’m always up for a trip, so give me suggestions J )
But since it’s the Christmas season, let me tell you how the Star Light ~ Star Bright series started.
I wrote a Christmas book several years ago, Be Mine This Christmas Night, set in my hometown of Boulder, CO. It did well, went to #1 on Amazon. And everyone, from my dentist’s receptionist, to my BFF told me it needed to be a series.  And I blithely thought, “why not.”
HA.
Book two needed to be written and I panicked. I knew it was going to feature Jennifer Malone, my first character’s BFF, but how, when, where…I thought I’d written myself into a box when I realized where Jen was at Christmas at the end of book one.  (No spoilers, all the books are on sale for 99¢, so you can snag them and read them and see what I’m talking about.)
I re-read book one, sticking post-it notes everywhere, then sat outside in the summer sun (not conducive to writing Christmas in Colorado) and just thought. I rarely give myself this kind of time, but I was still stumped. 
Then it hit me. I had her conflict already built in and the guy to go with it. Voila, I felt prepared to tackle book two, Forever Yours This New Year’s Night. Another bestseller on Amazon, hitting that coveted #1 spot.
By the way, I’m always blown away when a book sells well. I love it when it’s finished (and hate it because I’m SO tired of working on it.) But when it climbs the charts, I know it’s really not just me who loves it. So thank you all for making my dreams come true.
Okay back to the series, now I had to tackle book three. I had feedback from my readers that they wanted Mitch’s story. WOW! You’ll see why I panicked when you read book one.
But I couldn’t let his story end the way it did in Be Mine This Christmas Morn. Mitch was hurting and needed his own happiness. This was the hardest book to write, but I think you’ll be happy with the way Believe In Me This Christmas Morn came out. 
And I promised my readers that I’d write Caro’s story, you meet her via Brice in Forever Yours This New Year’s Night.  And finally, I have her story figured out. So next year, there will be another book in the Star Light ~ Star Bright Series.
It’s not nearly as easy as I thought it would be to write series. The twins in the Carswell Adventure Series were tough, tough, tough to write. And since that series, Stone of Heaven and Viking Gold are a blend of Indiana Jones and Romancing the Stone, they take huge amounts of research, so I can’t promise one a year. But I’m working on Book 3. All I have to do is find the perfect locale…Venice, St. Augustine, Fl????  It’s going to be a doozy of a story.
Thanks for reading my post, I hope you enjoy the books. And I love hearing from readers!!


                                          Be Mine This Christmas Night
Blurb
Children’s author Annie Hamilton’s dream of having a family resurfaces when Cole Evans moves next door with his two young boys during the Christmas season. But the lure of happily-ever-after with the brilliant scientist is overshadowed by the risk that revealing her secret will destroy this chance.
Buy:
  Itunes
  Kobo

                                    Forever Your’s This New Year’s Eve
Blurb 
Getting Jennifer Malone to test his new cyber defense system is Major Brice Young’s priority until he discovers she is so much more than the icy cyber geek she portrays to the world. Jen fights to keep her distance, despite Brice's undeniable charm. There is no way she ever mixes business with pleasure, especially with a recently divorced man…or can magic happen on this New Year's Night?
Buy:

                                       Believe In Me This Christmas Morn
Blurb  
It’s the week before Christmas and Belle Grantham has won the best gift ever from famed web guru, Mitchell Thomas—a website makeover she’s certain will save her struggling literacy nonprofit. Mitch is getting the Christmas present he so badly wants, an escape from snowy Boulder, Colorado, and its haunting memories.
Their wishes are threatened after a donor offers Belle financial rescue, but with unwanted strings…and a ticking clock.
Buy:
 Amazon  
 Kobo

L.A.’s Bio:
L.A. Sartor started telling stories before she could write. Her mom patiently wrote them down and L.A. scribbled the illustrations. She still has them. She’s written award-winning screenplays and has had a contracted adaptation.  L.A. will be starting a new Cozy Mystery series in 2017. Writing brings her enormous fulfillment and she truly loves hearing from her readers.
Find L.A.:
  Mailing list (Please join for the fun, goodies and gifts):
 Amazon  
 Blog

December 17, 2016

I gave my first interview in Romanian

Here is my first interview, as an author, in Romanian,  given to a Romanian blogger Mela  Ruja Diaconu from
http://recenziicartibune.ro


Interviu # 106 Carmen Ștefănescu


carmen
1. Ce este important de știut despre dvs?
ÃŽmi este greu să vorbesc despre mine. Ce pot să vă spun? Sunt o persoană obiÈ™nuită, ca oricare dintre cititorii acestui blog. Sunt profesor de limbi germanice, „rentier” în prezent. Adică la pensie, ceea ce îmi permite să mă concentrez asupra altor lucruri. Și, de cîțiva ani, autor. Cititul este prima È™i cea mai mare pasiune din viaÈ›a mea, secondată acum de scris.
2. Vă amintiți cum ați intrat în lumea lecturii?
Încă de mic copil am fost o cititoare avidă, familia mea având o mare contribuție la asta. Am crescut înconjurată de cărți. M-am născut într-o perioadă când cititul era cea mai la indemână și plăcută petrecere a timpului liber. În facultate am studiat de asemenea şi literatură universală și comparată. Acest lucru a sporit și alimentat dragostea mea pentru literatura de pretutindeni.
muse-vol-1
3. Cum aÈ›i simÈ›it nevoia de a scrie?
Pentru a nu plictisi cititorii blogului am să mă refer direct la ceea ce am scris după evenimentele din 1989.
In anii ’90, apariÈ›ia È™i la noi a internetului mi-a facilitat legătura cu lumea de afară. Am participat la un concurs de poezie online, am fost acceptată, È™i aÈ™a a reînceput atracÈ›ia mea pentru scris. ÃŽn limba engleză de data asta. Câteva din poemele mele au fost selectate în 2 volume de antologie de poezie contemporană în limba engleză. Ele au apărut în format de carte obiÈ™nuită/paperback, în anii 2002 si 2004. Am primit È™i un premiu, cupa de argint pentru poezie in 2002. ÃŽncetul cu încetul, această mică reuÈ™ită m-a insufleÈ›it să scriu mai mult. Mi-am lărgit sfera creaÈ›iei către proză.


Read the whole interview here:

http://recenziicartibune.ro/2016/12/17/interviu-106-carmen-stefanescu/

December 12, 2016

Guest Promo (CLXXXV) A Witch’s Holiday Wedding Tena Stetler





 Blurb:
Elemental witch, Pepper McKay and former Navy SEAL, Lathen Quartz have built Lobster Cove Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on enchanted McKay land. During a romantic interlude on Halloween night, Pepper happily agrees to become Lathen’s wife. What better day than Winter Solstice for their wedding in a town that loves celebrations and Christmas. However, planning a wedding and operating their wildlife center takes a toll on both Pepper and Lathen.

 When the couple takes a much-needed break for Thanksgiving with family in Colorado, a Maine snowstorm fills the center with injured wildlife. Lathen finds himself drawn into a covert military mission, while trying to deal with issues concerning friends and family. Pepper wants to cancel the wedding. Is she having second thoughts? Will the nosy McKay ghosts, Lathen’s werewolf pack, Pepper’s parents, and her best friend help or hinder the wedding and holiday plans?

Excerpt:
After she set her glass down, Lathen brushed a couple strands of hair out of her eyes and searched her face. “Are you all right?”

“I’m tired, my wedding is in a couple weeks, I have ghosts fighting over who is going to do what. Guests that have no idea the place is haunted and… Your family and pack, my parents, Gwen… To top it all off, the head of my clan, who is a ghost, is sitting in front of me wanting to know who is coming to the wedding and whether the ghosts will be outed. How could I possibly be all right?”

“When you put it that way.”Lathen chuckled. “It sounds just a bit… I don’t know…crazy?” His right eyebrow winged up. She saw mischief sparkle in his eyes. “We could still elope,” he offered.

“No sir. Not after all the trouble—Not on me watch.” Aidan shook his head so vehemently his ghostly upper torso blurred.




Buy links:
 Amazon
Kobo 
 

Tena Stetler is a paranormal romance and cozy mystery author with an over-active imagination.  She wrote her first vampire romance as a tween to the chagrin of her mother and the delight of her friends. With the Rocky Mountains outside her window, Tena sits at her computer surrounded by a wide array of paranormal creatures telling her their tales. Colorado is her home; shared with her husband of many moons, a brilliant Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a forty-year-old box turtle.  Any winter evening, you can find her curled up in front of a crackling fire with a good book, a mug of steaming hot chocolate and a huge bowl of popcorn.  

Contact Information:
 Blog
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December 1, 2016

Romania’s National Day

My best wishes to my fellow Romanians from all over the world, on 1st December, our National Day!
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