Saturday, 18 December 2010

Pure Passion 2011 : Romantic Novel of the Year Long List

The longlist for the 51st Romantic Novel of the Year Award has been announced:

  • To Defy a King by Elizabeth Chadwick (Little, Brown - Sphere)
  • The Good, the Bad and the Dumped by Jenny Colgan (Little, Brown - Sphere)
  • The Golden Prince by Rebecca Dean (HarperCollins)
  • Sons & Daughters by Margaret Dickinson (Pan MacMillan)
  • Kissing Mr. Wrong by Sarah Duncan (Headline)
  • A Perfect Proposal by Katie Fforde (Random House)
  • The Jewel of St. Petersburg by Kate Furnivall (Little, Brown - Sphere)
  • Amazir by Tom Gamble (Beautiful Books)
  • The Island by Elin Hilderbrand (Hodder & Stoughton)
  • The Queen of New Beginnings by Erica James (Orion)
  • The Way to a Woman’s Heart by Christina Jones (Little, Brown - Piatkus)
  • I Heart Paris by Lindsey Kelk (HarperCollins)
  • His Last Duchess by Gabrielle Kimm (Little, Brown - Sphere)
  • Christmas Eve at Friday Harbour by Lisa Kleypas (Little, Brown - Piatkus)
  • The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes (Hodder & Stoughton)
  • Virgin Widow by Anne O’Brien (Mira)
  • Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn (Little, Brown - Piatkus)
  • The Search by Nora Roberts (Little, Brown - Piatkus)
  • The Legacy by Katherine Webb (Orion)
  • Hope Against Hope by Sally Zigmond (Myrmidon)

It's great to see Christina Jones on the list as she is such a sweetie.

Huge congratulations to everyone and good luck with the shortlist. Wish you could all win.

Read more here.

Friday, 10 December 2010

Show a Zombie Some Love!

I'm putting my feet up and handing over my blog to Paige Tyler who has come along to tell us all about her latest book, which releases today!


Guest Post by Paige Tyler

Thanks so much for letting me guest blog today!

Readers often ask me how I come up with ideas for my books, so I thought I'd give you a little behind-the-scenes peek at how I came up with my new release, a paranormal erotic romance from Ellora's Cave called DEAD SEXY.

Before I say anything else though, isn't that cover too hot for words?! When the art department sent it to me, I probably gazed at it for a good ten minutes in mouth-drooling appreciation before I could email them back telling the artist it not only rocked, but totally fit the book. The hero is "Dead Sexy," after all!

Okay, back to the story and how I came up with it. First, to set the stage, I need to share a little something with you about myself. Well, about my hubby and me, actually. We love zombie movies, from the George Romero gems to Shaun of the Dead and everything in between, including "Walking Dead," the new series on AMC. You just can't go wrong with a movie full of walking dead people, can you? Well, if you've ever seen a zombie movie (or even you haven't), then you know the creatures aren't the heroes of the film. I mean, how can they be, right? They're all dead and decayed and downright unattractive, not to mention pretty damn scary. Which was why you can imagine my surprise when my hubby suggested I write an erotic romance about a zombie hero. I was like, you're kidding, right? What woman in her right mind would fall in love with a dead guy? No way could that possibly work, or so I thought.

Turns out, my hubby wasn't kidding. In fact, he started working up ideas for the story.

"The hero didn't have to be a zombie all the time," he told me. "Think outside the box - take a little literary license!"

Okay, I thought. I suppose I could be open minded.

My hubby told me that in his out-of-the-box world, the hunky hero got cursed by an evil Voodoo priestess and only turns into a zombie sometimes.

"I'm listening," I said.

"And when he does go zombie, he doesn't have to be like the kind in the movies," my hubby added. "Well, he has to look like one, you know all dead and stuff, but he doesn't have to be a mindless creature or attack humans or eat anything gross."

So, brains are completely out, thanks goodness!

"Think Jensen Ackles or Jared Padelecki, with a really, really, really dark tan - (yes, my hubby knows I've got a thing for the Supernatural hunks!) - well, maybe more gray and black than tan, but you get the idea."

I thought about that for a minute. "So, the hero's dead, but he's still sexy, is that what you're saying?"

"Exactly," he said, giving me a grin as my eyes lit up with understanding.

By that point, my hubby had pretty much sold me on the idea. Of course, I knew if I ran with it, I was going to have to sell it to a publisher, and I knew that could be tough since the hero is a zombie. But I ran with it anyway and ended up with a full-length novel. And it came out pretty damn good, if I do say so myself! I still had to find a publisher for it, though.

About this same time, It just so happens that several of my other books were in the process of being picked up by Ellora's Cave and I thought what the heck? Why not pitch it to my editor there and see what she thinks? So I did, and she told me to send it to her. She was interested to see how I handled the whole zombie-thing. Well, long story, short, she liked it. A lot! My zombie romance with it's dead-sexy hero had a home! I was thrilled and my hubby walked around for a week with a smug, "I-told-you-so" look on his face.

I've been getting the word out there about DEAD SEXY ever since I signed the contract for it and I'm thrilled with the interest from readers who can't wait to get their hands on it! I can't wait for them to read it, too!

Now that I've revealed the story behind the story, I thought I'd share the blurb and an excerpt just to whet your appetite for more!
Blurb:

Romance author Simone Kent thinks she might just have found the most perfect guy in all of New York City - in bed and out. But Drake Parrish is about as far from perfect as any man can get. Eight years ago, he was cursed by an evil Voodoo priestess to live part of his life as a zombie. Since then, he has lived like a recluse on New York’s Upper East Side, afraid to go out for fear he’ll suddenly turn into one of the walking dead.

The sex if the hottest either of them has ever experienced and Simone discovers just how naughty she can be with Drake, while he finds himself feeling things for her that he hasn’t felt in a very long time. When the Voodoo priestess learns of their relationship, however, she comes after him again. She is determined to make sure he won’t have a future with Simone, even if that means killing both him and the woman he loves.

You can read an excerpt from DEAD SEXY here

Hope you enjoy the excerpt and that you can't wait to read more! You can get DEAD SEXY from Ellora's Cave

You can also check out the trailer here!

If you decide to pick up DEAD SEXY, let me know how you like it!

*hugs*
Paige
http://www.paigetylertheauthor.com
http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com


Thanks so much Paige for stopping by, and wishing you all the best with your new book.

Wednesday, 1 December 2010

The Hating Game - Take on Amazon Web Splash


Help Talli Roland's debut novel THE HATING GAME hit the Kindle bestseller list at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk by spreading the word today. Even a few sales in a short period of time on Amazon helps push the book up the rankings, making it more visible to other readers.

Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com

No Kindle? Download a free app at Amazon for Mac, iPhone, PC, Android and more.

Coming soon in paperback. Keep up with the latest at www.talliroland.com.

About THE HATING GAME:
When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy.

After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £2000,000 prize?

Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes.

Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end?
You can read my review of The Hating Game here.

Monday, 29 November 2010

Book Review: The Hating Game

I'm feeling a little bleary eyed at the moment as I stayed up way past my bedtime the last few nights reading Ms Roland's debut novel "The Hating Game".

The Hating Game
Talli Roland

Published: 15 November 2010 by Prospera Publishing
Format: Kindle ebook
ASIN: B004CLYIO2

Published: 9 March 2011 by Prospera Publishing
Format: Paperback
ISBN-10: 1907504036
ISBN-13: 978-1907504037
Summary:
When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy.

After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £50,000 prize?

Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes.

Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end?
[Goodreads]
Review:
Think Blind Date meets Big Brother meets I'm a Celebrity and you've pretty much got the idea of the sort of game show hell Mattie Johns finds herself in.

She's asked to do some embarrassing things during the course of the game show. You expect her to refuse, but she's so determined to save her business she just takes a deep breath and gets on with it. Albeit, with some fabulous putdowns to anyone who annoys her.

I thought I knew how the story was going to unfold but I was wrong-footed by something that happens towards the middle of the book. Several twists and turns follow, which kept me guessing to the end.

Mattie isn't the usual ditzy, chick lit heroine. She is feisty with a capital F. She's also rude and abrasive. At the beginning of the story I found it hard to warm to her, but it soon becomes apparent the 'ball-breaker' image is an act to protect herself from getting hurt again and it wasn't long before I was firmly on her side. It's very hard to make a reader care about an (initially) unsympathetic heroine but Ms Roland pulls it off brilliantly, revealing layer after layer of Mattie's personality.

This is a delightful rom-com, full of wit and with some great, laugh out loud one-liners. If you like Marian Keyes then you're going to love Talli Roland. Remember the name, as I predict we'll be seeing a lot more from this talented new writer.

Rating:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and give it 5 out of 5. However, I'll never be able to look at a cocktail sausage the same way again!

Sunday, 28 November 2010

NaNoWriMo Update

Unless I can write 10,000 words a day between now and Tuesday I think it's safe to say I won't be completing NaNoWriMo this year. But, rather than beat myself up about it, I shall do my own writing month in January, which is traditionally the time of year for reassessing goals and starting new projects. Plus there are 31 days in the month instead of the 30 you get during Wrimo.

A huge pat on the back to everyone who has completed or is on track to complete Wrimo. Well done!

Wednesday, 24 November 2010

New Release: Carolina Pearl


Carolina Pearl
Sela Carsen
A family legend could lead to a treasure more precious than pearls…or get them killed.

Between babysitting her very pregnant sister-in-law and fending off her mother’s nagging about her marital status, Blair Moreau is going insane. Her only hold on sanity is her daily walk for a guilty peek at her crush, the sexy neighbor who’s fixing up the old Cotesworth place.

Conn Lucas, the bastard son of Culford’s leading family, got way out of town a long time ago. When the only relative who didn’t despise him leaves him her 250-year-old house, Conn plans to refurbish it, flip it, and get back to Connecticut as soon as possible. Until a local beauty with a rare talent for DIY gives him a hand with some stubborn siding.

When he makes her mad enough to swing a two-by-four at his head, he realizes Blair is better than perfect. Especially when his efforts to keep her from killing him explode into an erotic rush of adrenaline that unleashes desires they’ve both kept hidden.

Breaking through Conn’s tough shell isn’t as difficult Blair’s next hurdle—telling him she’s a werewolf. First, though, they’ve got to deal with meddling ghosts and a bad ol’ boy cousin who isn’t above taking what he wants at nail-gun point…

Product Warnings:
This book contains a smokin’ hot werewolf chick with serious DIY know-how and a man who thinks that’s sexy; illegal use of nail guns; things to do in a claw-foot tub; pirate references; piddling Dobermans and meddling ghosts. Which is better than meddling Dobermans and piddling ghosts.


Read an excerpt!

Buy now!

Tuesday, 23 November 2010

New Release: Sleeping With The Wolf

Sleeping With The Wolf
Maddy Barone

ISBN 978-1-59578-777-4 Sterling Silver title
Rising country music star Carla boards a plane in the year 2014. But it crashes in the future, fifty years after Armageddon has destroyed technology and plagues have reduced the female population to a precious few. She finds herself offered as prize in a Bride Fight, where only the strongest and fiercest men are allowed to compete to win a wife. Alpha werewolf Taye knows Carla is his mate. He wins the Bride Fight and takes her to his den, ready to give her everything, even his heart. Will Carla ever be ready to give him anything?

Read An Excerpt Here

Word Count: 42500



BUY IT HERE
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