Hot Summer Nights!

 

 

Welcome to the Hot Summer Nights Blog Hop! We're excited to have you join us. We are going to also offering two Grand Prizes!! In order for readers to take part, they must leave their name and email address in their comments. Two winners will be chosen at random and notified no later than May 31, 2013.

1st Grand Prize: (1) Kindle Fire!

2nd Grand Prize: (1) $100 Amazon Gift Card

 

In addition to these fabulous prizes, I'll be giving away a $10 Amazon gift card and some book swag to one commenter here!

 

I'm not such a fan of hot summer nights, unless they include a hot guy by my side! I have to put up with summer heat that threatens to melt me. For the most part, I try to stay inside where there's air conditioning!

 

But my characters, on the other hand....

 

In my upcoming book, Carry Me Home, the main characters have a few steamy summer nights, for sure! Jamie and Mary MacDougall have been married for years, but their marriage is on the verge of collapsing. Mary left town to "get away" and has now returned, six months later, to force Jamie to sign divorce papers. But Jamie has other plans. He knows they are meant to be together and he has every intention of reminding Mary of that. He concocts a plan for an intimate weekend filled with hot nights and sweet days, everything his bonnie lass needs to feel loved and cherished once again. Here's a short excerpt for you!

 

Beads of sweat gathered along Jamie’s collar. His outfit smothered him, but it had been worth every ounce of discomfort. The look on Mary’s face when she saw him in his kilt would live in his brain forever.

And her own dress had left him speechless. Aye, him. The silky fabric clinging to hercalled to him, begged him to strip it off her. But he couldn’t. He had to bide his time. He absolutely could not mess this night up. It might be his only chance to save his marriage, to hold onto the woman who owned his heart.  
And so he’d pretended to be a complete gentleman all through dinner, had ignored his body’s urge to claim her once again, and had begun to believe he might have a chance to win her back.

While they waited for Berney to prepare the cranachan, one of her favorite songs came over the speakers. Aye, he’d planned the soundtrack for the evening, but he couldn’t have timed it better. As the first string of notes filled the air, she tilted her head to one side.

Jamie stood and held his hand out to her. "Come."

"What for?"

"A dance."

She hesitated, but only for a moment. As she slid her fingers in his and stood next to him, she said, "Only because you know how much I love this song."

"Fair enough." He tugged her into his arms. Her soft body entwined so perfectly with his, like the old days. They used to hold each other every chance they could get before their world fell apart. He brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek, along her jaw, down her neck. With his hand drifting to the nape of her neck and massaging there, he moved his mouth over her eyes, her nose, her lips. She openedher mouth to him, invited his tongue with her own, taunting, teasing, playing like brand-new lovers getting to know each other. He supposed, in some ways, that was exactly what they were.

But he’d not rush them. The marriage had taken time to disintegrate. He’d not be able to sew it back together in one more night. Perhaps, though, a long weekend of loving memories would reopen the doors to their love.

He pleasured her mouth, matching her tongue strokes and then taking his away, giving and taking. When the song ended and Berney brought out their traditional Scottish dessert, he guided her back to the table.

And when the meal was completely finished, he escorted her to her hotel room door, kissed her on the cheek, and walked away. Why? Because that was what gentlemen did, and his lass deserved to be treated like a lady.

Now, here's your question for the Blog Hop: What's the steamiest night or steamiest couple you've read? Come on, now! I need some book recommendations! 

 

Leave a comment (with your name and email address) and be in the running for both my prize and one of the grand prizes!

 

Remember, the more you participate, the better your chances are of winning a prize! Visit our other authors, comment and get in the running!

 

Talent Tuesday!

Folks, welcome back for another Talent Tuesday! For this segment, I have a lady I've known for several years, Vonda Sinclair! She's generously sharing some of her fabulous photography with us!

My love of photography started when I was a child. Although I wasn’t allowed to touch a camera then, one of my prized possessions was my photo album, which I still have. In college, I took a photography class as part of my minor in art. My husband, who was then my boyfriend, bought me a nice professional 35mm camera for Christmas (this was during the time before digital cameras.) I was hooked! Over the next few years I burned through hundreds of rolls of film. People had me photograph their weddings. You rarely saw me without a camera around my neck. When digital cameras arrived on the scene, I was thrilled. No more film to buy or having to pay for processing. No darkroom work, just photo editing software. (I love Photoshop.)

I don’t call myself a photographer. I’m more like an amateur photo bug. My husband is used to me saying, “Stop! I have to take a picture.” My only explanation for this obsession with photos is that I’m a very visual person. I love to look at beautiful scenes, settings, and colors. Simply gazing at a gorgeous photo gives me a lot of pleasure and it can even affect me emotionally. I often look at something, usually a landscape or maybe a collection of flowers, and think that would be an awesome photo. I compose it in my mind before I point the camera. I notice the details and the background.

I have two photos of flowers on display in a local area hospital, which I consider a great honor. One is a picture of foxgloves I took on Isle of Skye. And the other is black-eyed Susans taken in my garden.

I’ve also done drawing, painting, pottery, sculpture, flower arranging, jewelry making, candle making and various other crafts. But photography is the only one that has stuck with me so long.

My favorite place to take photos is Scotland. The country is so beautiful it would be difficult to take a bad picture there. The landscapes and natural scenery are breathtaking and atmospheric. The castles are often situated on islands, beside lochs, or next to the shore in amazing settings.

My favorite series of photos are ones I took on our last trip. One evening, we were returning from a hike in Glencoe, heading toward Oban, and driving along Loch Linnhe in Argyll. The sun’s rays sliced through the dramatic clouds. I had never seen anything so beautiful! I almost went crazy wanting to find a pull off and take come pictures. These are the moments photographers live for. I found a pull off and hurried as fast as I could to get out there beside the loch with several more people who were just as impressed as I was by the stunning natural beauty. We were hurrying because, well, who knew how long the scene would stay as it was? I took a few there, then rushed on a mile or two further to take some with Castle Stalker and the sunrays. I got some great ones. But I’m still kicking myself for not finding the side road to go down and take some of the castle from a different angle.

I also enjoy taking pictures of rainbows, which Scotland has a lot of, considering the amount of rain. Two of my favorite things—Scotland and photography—go wonderfully together!

 

www.vondasinclair.com
http://fierceromance.blogspot.com/
My Daring Highlander at Amazon http://amzn.com/B00C3ONO22
B&N http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-daring-highlander-vonda-sinclair/1114964693?ean=2940016715957
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/vonda.sinclair
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VondaSinclair
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VondaSinclair

Bio
Vonda Sinclair’s favorite indulgent pastime is exploring Scotland, from Edinburgh to the untamed and windblown north coast. She also enjoys creating hot, Highland heroes and spirited lasses to drive them mad. She is a past Golden Heart finalist and Laurie award winner. She lives with her amazing and supportive husband in the mountains of North Carolina where she is no doubt creating another Scottish story.   

Latest book: My Daring Highlander

Beautiful and fiercely protective of those she loves, Lady Seona Murray captured Keegan MacKay’s attention when she first set foot in Dunnakeil Castle. Though she is a chief’s daughter and forbidden, Keegan has fallen in love with her from afar and burns to possess her. But so does the clan traitor, Haldane, an obsessive outlaw bent on murder and kidnapping.

Sinfully handsome, Keegan MacKay is a fearsome guard as well as the chief’s cousin, but Seona’s father would never consider him a worthy husband for her because he is not a titled laird. Seona has secretly watched the sensual, tawny-haired warrior from across the crowded great hall for months, but when he is tasked with escorting her across Scotland, back to her home, their simmering attraction flames into sizzling passion with just one kiss.

Though she fears she is endangering Keegan’s life, Seona cannot resist his seductive charm or his spellbinding kisses. Keegan sets fire to the memories of her sad past and shows her what it means to truly live. But her father has other plans. He’s arranged for her to marry a wealthy Lowland laird. Is Keegan daring enough to steal her away? Or will the vindictive Haldane snatch her first?

Sneak Peek Sunday!

Welcome back to Sneak Peek Sunday, where authors post 6 paragraphs of a published work or a work-in-progress for your enjoyment! To see who else is participating, visit here!

Now, for my sneak peek.....

Last week I said I'd be sharing snippets from my upcoming book, Carry Me Home. This story is set in the Scottish Highlands and is a contemporary romance being released on June 5th! This sneak peek picks up from what I posted last week. Mary MacDougall has just gotten off the train in her Highland village after 6 months away. To read last week's snippet first, click here.

She crossed the brick bridge over the track, her heels clacking against the stone in time to the rhythm of the wheels of the case. By the door to the one room station house, she stopped. "You."

Standing by the stairs to the parking lot with his hands behind his back was the man who’d stolen her heart and trampled it until there was nothing left. Jamie, her husband.

And yet, her old ticker still stuttered.

Damn. She had hoped to have at least a few hours to steel her nerves before confronting him. But no, here he stood, tall and big and so tempting. Her gentle giant with his well-trimmed beard and his wild red hair hanging too long.

"Hello, love." His smooth voice enveloped her like a perfect summer dress.

All she’d learned about herself over the last six months came to her brain. She was her own woman—confident, sexy, independent. He had lost the right to call her love when he'd all but forgotten about  her…back then. When she had needed his strong arms to hold her up, he jumped into work at the family’s pub and left her to deal with her pain alone.

Well? What do you think? Let me know!

A New Review On An Old Book!

Squeeeee! I just read this review on my second Honor Guard story, Fractured Paradise. It still tickles me to hear what people love about my books and I'm thinking that will never change. I'm so thankful to anyone who leaves an honest review anywhere other readers can see it!

Rachel is a headstrong woman determined to renovate her grandmother's house. Aidan is the man determined to buy it from her.

What I loved about this book is both Rachel and Aidan each had reasons beyond their own personal needs to buy and keep the house, and there were so many emotions that accompanied the reasoning: guilt, love & grief. The romance was steamy, and got hot. Then the author threw in a bit of danger and drama, and overall it was a very nice quick read that had emotional depth I could relate to with both Aidan and Rachel. A wonderful "beach read."

Thank you Carly Fall!

Non-Fiction Friday!

Welcome to Non-Fiction Friday! This is where I talk about my "real world", outside of my writing. I may eventually talk about non-fiction books I'm reading, but not today!

I'll be on a semi-vacation in just 2 weeks and 4 days! I say semi because I'll still be doing a bit of work. (Gotta promote the new book, of course!) BUT I do plan to be taking a break from writing and I plan to limit my online time to a certain amount each day and stick to it. I've got plans to go out with friends, hang with family and see some people I haven't seen in ages. I'm also planning to be a book nerd. I've got 3 books lined up so far for my vacation.

I bought One Summer by David Baldacci at my school's Scholastic book fair. I do like his work, the back cover blurb sounded good and I love the cover.

I'm also reading a copy of Can't Stop Believing by Jodi Thomas. I worked with Jodi when she appeared on my group blog, Get Lost in a Story before. She graciously sent me a copy of her latest book. I've read one other one, loved it, and reviewed it, so I'm excited about this one too!

This last book, A Year by the Sea by Joan Anderson, I found at a local book store, The Book Stop. My mom and I LOVE going to book stores together and we were in picking up a book she'd ordered. I promised myself I wouldn't buy anything new because I want and need to read some of the ones I have waiting for me, but I kept walking back to this book. I figured, at that point, that I'd regret it if I didn't buy it. Plus, it was on sale! So I bought it and decided it would be one of my vacation books! 

 

So, have you read any of these? Am I in for a treat? If you haven't read them and would like to find out more about any of them, I've included a link to the authors' web pages for you.

 

 

Way Back Wednesday!

Welcome back for Way Back Wednesday!

 

In 2010, I quit my teaching job. I thought I was doing the right thing. I expected to be under employed for a while and then I thought I'd find the perfect place for me to be. I didn't intend to teach. I wasn't sure what I wanted.

 

I had a lot of "growing up" to do.

 

Yesterday I signed a contract to teach 6th grade English (my favorite grade) for the 2013-2014 school year. I'm officially a salaried employee again. Or at least I will be come August. To say I'm thrilled is an understatement. I'm pretty sure teaching is where I'm meant to be. I'm in an environment that is supportive with so much to look forward to.

 

Many people will say I was stupid to do what I did (quitting without a job to go to), but you know what? I don't. I needed that change. It was the right decision for me at the time with what I knew. Yes, I would quit again if I had a chance to relive the last 3 years, but I would plan better, though.

 

Now, I feel I'm come full circle. I'm smarter, in that I know so much more about myself now. My gutsy, crazy decision in the summer of 2010 has done a lot for me as a writer, a human and as a woman. And THAT is a treasure I wouldn't trade for the world.

 

 

Talent Tuesday!

Welcome to Talent Tuesday! Today Gilli Allan shares her talent with us. Enjoy!

How My Art Fits Into My Life

My parents were both artists - my mother an enthusiastic amateur painter and my father a graphic designer, in advertising.  I am the middle child of three.  Before I had any sense of my own ability I was told I was “good at art”.  At infant school, when Miss Lawrence - my first year teacher - went round the class, asking everyone what they wanted to be when they grew up, I was aware of her surprise when I confidently asserted that I wanted to be a commercial artist.  
 
I also began to write “novels” before making the transition to secondary school, but this hobby was not taken seriously by my parents. Their interest and enthusiasm was captivated by the doodles and illustrations with which I embellished these growing tomes. They didn’t dismiss my writing, they simply ignored it, assuming it was silly, childish stuff and that I was headed for a career in art.  I accepted this without question.  Art was the only subject at school that I was unarguably good at, so I never for a moment thought that writing as career was open to me.  For one thing, I’d never finished one of the many novels I’d begun. And for another.....  Well, published writers were clever, educated people weren’t they? They went to Oxford or Cambridge and then worked in journalism or TV.  I left school at 16 with just enough exam passes to get me into art school (I now realise I am on the dyslexia spectrum) and I stopped writing.

 

After a few false starts, I eventually landed my dream job, working as an illustrator in an advertising design studio.  In due course I went freelance.  But advertising is a very pressurised world.  Jobs were typically wanted yesterday, and sitting for hours, or even days on end with nothing to do, and then working through the night on a job that had to be in by 9 am the following morning was not an uncommon experience. When I married and had my son I very much enjoyed being at home.  My only artistic outlet was to sign myself up for life classes (studying the human figure) which had been my favourite part of my art school curriculum. I started writing again when my son was four, hoping I could earn money at home by writing for Mills & Boon.  How difficult could that be?   Ha ha ha ha ha......  Of course, I now realise it is very difficult.

 

By the time I’d finished Just Before Dawn I knew the story was too challenging and off-beat to interest Mills & Boon, and when they rejected it I wasn’t surprised.  But a small publisher had just been established.  Love Stories, characterised at the time as “The thinking woman’s Mills & Boon”, were actively looking for books to fulfil a perceived demand for more unconventional, un-clichéd romantic fiction.  They published Just Before Dawn, and in due course, published my second novel, Desires & Dreams.  They already had a designer but they accepted my offer to produce my own cover art. But my publisher folded after about 5 years.  Unable to fight their corner in a fast-changing publishing world, Love Stories couldn’t achieve the promotion and distribution necessary to ensure success for itself or its writers.  (Some years later these two books were republished in paperback, by a POD publisher, again using my own artwork.)

 

I continued going to life classes and I continued to produce our yearly Christmas card, which I’d done for the family ever since I was 17. And I would always do small art jobs for friends and family, if asked.  But with two books published, I now thought of myself as “a writer” first and an artist second.  I was confident of finding another publisher but from then on I languished, unable even to interest an agent.  I wrote what I’d always written - challenging, edgy relationship fiction, always with a love story at the core - but not conventional “Romance”.  When the e-revolution began I wondered what this could mean for me.

Christmas 2010, my husband bought me a Kindle and with the realisation that anyone could self-publish to this device I began to investigate this option.  But, I am very un-technical and poor at absorbing and understanding instructions, particularly if couched in jargon and acronyms - a typical dyslexic trait - so getting my book, Torn, up onto Amazon Kindle was a very steep learning curve for me and involved a few false starts.  But one of the more enjoyable aspects of self-e-publishing is that again I can design my own covers.  For Torn, e-published in 2011, I went to Bigstock to find a royalty-free photograph.  I wanted an image of a barbed wire fence in a countryside setting. The image I found conveyed all I wanted to say about the story. The barbed wire in the foreground is a barrier to the idyllic sunlit field in the background. I designed the layout. This book is now also available as a paperback, published with CreateSpace.

 

Life Class - e-published in 2012 - was a title waiting for a story. To research one aspect of it I attended a sculpture workshop, where I took the photograph which I used for the cover design (first obtaining the permission of the nude model!). My son helped me alter the image and to achieve the effect now seen.  Life Class is also now available in paperback. In a few months (I don’t yet have a publication date) my book Fly or Fall will be coming out.  I have gone back to one of the royalty-free photo warehouses for the image, but I will be putting my own stamp onto the finished design. 

(All the images reproduced here are copyright, and may not be reproduced without my permission.)