Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Book Tour for Whispers at Ghost Point

Join Me!

     Have you entered the main Grand Prize drawing yet? The drawing will be held Dec 10 - so I can give you prizes on my birthday. Click HERE to get in - be sure to choose Whispers book tour and let me know which gift card you want! The prizes are shown above but that's not all...I've received three beautiful beaded book thongs from my cousin, Cindy, and will be giving those away at a few of the tour stops! The tour schedule is on the left - just click on over and follow us! There will be character interviews so you can meet my characters.

     Many of you know that I'm in Savannah GA this week and am having a great time. The best part - I got to roam around inside the Bohemian Hotel that's in the book and stand on the roof in the dining area to overlook River Street! OMG! I can't tell you more than that but as you read Whispers, you'll get to 'feel' what I'm referring to! I've walked the cobblestoned streets along the river, strolled up the cobblestone drives that take you from Bay Street down to river street, took a riverboat ride to view the shores and have ridden the trolleys! We're having a wonderful time and it's allowing me to transfer that into the book!

     I'll be sharing pictures with you later so please come back. I hope to see all of you entering the contests all month long! Thank you for stopping in!

Read more HERE!

Sunday, October 28, 2012

St Augustine Lighthouse!

Touring St Augustine Lighthouse

      First, just being in this historic city is amazing! St George Street is alive with tourists roaming little shops that offered items from talented store owners.

 
     The excitement continued as we took our Dark of the Moon Tour through the lighthouse and keepers' house with nothing but our tiny light stick. All of us were hoping to see and feel the spirits of past keepers and their children who had died there. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to experience that but you know I tried! I also made it up all 219 steps to stand on the lookout deck at the top! I’ll be sharing pictures later so please come back to check them out!

 

     We also toured the interactive Pirate Museum where I took more great pictures and some got to fire a cannon on deck a ship. We put on head phones and listened to pirates whisper in our ears in a dark room so we could experience what it might have been like down in the hold of a ship. Blackbeard whispered about how he slit the throats of those who tried to steal his loot and have their way with his barrels of rum.



       I’ll post again as we make our way toward Savannah to spend time with Louise James! Speaking of which, if you'd like to join me at my first blog stop for the Whispers tour, head over HERE and get in on the contest where Louise is hosting me on her blog! See you there!
     I hope you come back to enjoy what we get to see there. Thank you for stopping in and I’ll chat with you shortly!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Book Trailer for Whispers at Ghost Point!!


Mid-Nov Release!!

      My tour stops begin on Oct 28th! The tour dates are on the left with links. I hope you'll follow along, get in on the contests at each stop and have fun all month long with us. Soon I hope to have a picture of the Grand Prize necklace for the giveaway in December. To get your entry into the Grand Prize drawings click the link below - one entry per person please.
       Along the tour, you'll be meeting a few of the characters and get to know them a little better. I hope you enjoy meeting them. To get you started, here is a pic of Dana! Be sure to watch the trailer!

Watch the trailer HERE


Virtual Book Tour and Contest!!

     I'm also getting tour dates set up for the virtual book tour in November. The dates and links are over on the left under the schedule. Be sure sure to follow along on the tour and you will be allowed to enter each contest. There will also be a Grand Prize Tour Contest - I'm considering giving away a replica of the necklace in the novel! Who might want in on that??? I hope all of you! Thanks for stopping in and enjoy the book trailer!

Grand Prize Contest is NOW Open!!

Click the HERE to get your entry in! 




Still on Sale for .99!




Saturday, October 20, 2012

New Release by Tracy Krauss - Romance Author!


Released Oct 16!

     I'm pleased to share with you the new release by Tracy Krauss! Congratulations, Tracy! Readers, please take a few minutes to visit Tracy's sites and check out her newest, chart-climbing release!


Marshdale. Just a small farming community where nothing special happens.  A perfect place to start over… or get lost. There is definitely more to this prairie town than meets the eye. Once the meeting place of aboriginal tribes for miles around, some say the land itself was cursed because of the people’s sin. But its history goes farther back than even indigenous oral history can trace and there is still a direct descendant who has been handed the truth, like it or not. Exactly what ties does the land have to the medicine of the ancients? Is it cursed, or is it all superstition?
     Wind Over Marshdale is the story of the struggles within a small prairie town when hidden evil and ancient medicine resurface. Caught in the crossfire, new teacher Rachel Bosworth finds herself in love with two men at once. First, there is Thomas Lone Wolf, a Cree man whose blood lines run back to the days of ancient medicine but who has chosen to live as a Christian and faces prejudice from every side as he tries to expose the truth. Then there is Con McKinley,a  local farmer who has to face some demons of his own. Add to the mix a wayward minister seeking anonymity in the obscurity of the town; eccentric twin sisters – one heavily involved in the occult and the other a fundamentalist zealot; and a host of other ‘characters’ whose lives weave together unexpectedly for the final climax. This suspenseful story is one of human frailty - prejudice, cowardice, jealousy, and greed – magnified by powerful spiritual forces that have remained hidden for centuries, only to be broken in triumph by grace.”

Tracy's Site Links
 




Feel free to leave a comment,
Tracy just might stop by!

Thank you for reading about her new release!
 

Monday, October 15, 2012

Guest Author - Terry Spear - Paranormal Romance

Terry Spear
Paranormal Romance

     Welcome to our chat with Paranormal Author, Terry Spear! I'm not so sure we want to roam these woods with shape shifters hanging around but we'll see what happens.
      I'm honored to have Terry with us all week to help her celebrate the release of Savage Hunger - the first book in her new series. Bestselling and award-winning author Terry Spear has written a couple of dozen paranormal romance novels and two medieval Highland historical romances.
   Her first werewolf romance, Heart of the Wolf, was named a 2008 Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year, and her subsequent titles have garnered high praise and hit the USA Today bestseller list. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry lives in Crawford, Texas, where she is working on her next werewolf romance and continuing her new series about shape shifting jaguars.
     Please help me welcome her and have your questions ready so you can leave a comment for Terry. She's also having a giveaway on Saturday and will pick one winner from our RaffleCopter Center below - be sure to get your entries in and come back to earn more entries!

Deanna: Terry, welcome to my space. My readers are anxious to get to know you. Tell us a bit about yourself.


Terry:  Hmm, I don’t think I have any secrets any longer! Everyone knows my favorite candy is Haviland thin mints. That I love chocolate mint ice cream with Hershey’s chocolate on top. That I drink green tea. That I have no rituals when writing…just write. That I love storms and hate scorpions. I think everyone knows everything about me!

Deanna:  What happened in your life that made you want to become a writer?

Terry:  Ever since I began reading when I was little, I loved stories. My dad was a great oral storyteller and I loved to make them up as well. Even my mother had stories written down that she finally shared with me. So it seemed it was in the blood.
 
Deanna: Is there a certain type of character that is easier to write than another?

Terry:  PARA normal. I love writing everything, but I’m especially drawn to characters that are different, enhanced abilities, PARA normal.

Deanna: Do you read in the same genre that you write in?

Terry:  Not normally. I read a lot of historical, but not in the period I write. I write Medieval Highland romance. The books I usually can get my hands on are Regency or other periods of time. I do love time travels and have written a couple, but there aren’t as many available. I write fantasy, but I rarely read it, drawing on my love of fairy tales, folklore and fairy tales I read when I was growing up. I’ve read a couple of YA werewolf books, but don’t read adult ones, not wanting to pick up ideas from other authors’ works. And I haven’t read jaguar romances, though Feehan has some jaguar warriors in her stories. And I think Moning did too. But I pretty much stay away from reading books that I’m afraid might influence my own style.


Deanna:  Savage Hunger is the beginning of a new shifter series for you. What made it fun to write?

Terry: Researching a new kind of predator, their environment, their quirks and incorporating that into a human-jaguar shifter being. I didn’t want to go far out in left field, so I stuck to the same world as far as humans don’t know they exist in my werewolf tales and I tied in some of the South American culture with jaguar gods and goddesses into the mysticism of the story. You never know when the jaguars and werewolves might chance to run into each other, even though both know the other is just a fairy tale.

Deanna:  What did you not like about writing the story?

Terry: Well, you see, I asked for volunteers at the library where I worked to go with me to the Amazon. I couldn’t get ONE taker. Cowards. Now when I asked about going to Scotland, every hand went up, including some patrons’ hands. So I had to rely on a lot of second-hand eyewitness accounts of what people saw and felt and smelled in the jungle. I’ve been in the jungle-like swamp across from my home in Florida when I was a kid and teen, but no monkeys swinging from the trees. I did listen to tapes on jungle sounds, what noise the frogs make and monkeys, different kinds of birds, and bugs.
     But I can tell you if you sit out on the Texas patio in summer, the cicadas can be deafening! Much the same was it was in Florida. And when we lived there and here also, mosquitoes would eat you alive. We had a lot of problems with no-seeums also, and they have that in the jungle. They have scorpions and ticks and chiggers. We had a lot of trouble with all three of those critters when I lived in Eastern Oklahoma in the hills and trees. No boas or monkeys…but we had enough of the other stuff to make up for it!

Deanna:  I've always had an interest in the jungle, the wild animals, the rainforest, but not sure I could pull off a paranormal story let alone a series. Congratulations! As the series continues, what differences will readers see?

Terry:  Thank you, I love the genre. In the first story, Savage Hunger, I wanted to show their world when they were connecting with their primal self, FIRST. I wanted to give the feel of the jungle, that they were happy to be what they were, that they’re loners for the most part (as jaguars are) except that Connor and Maya are twin sister and brother and have always been close. In the next story, Jaguar Fever, coming August 2013, she discovers they have cousins, and that there are more of their kind, elusive like jaguars are. They don’t run in packs like wolves do. But they do exist. So I had fun expanding more of their world in the second book. The third book? Have no idea yet!
     So if you had a chance to meet up with a sexy jaguar shifter, would you go with me to the Amazon to find him???    
     Thanks for dropping by and commenting, and thank you, Deanna, for having me here this week!


SAVAGE HUNGER 
BY TERRY SPEAR

IN STORES OCTOBER 2012

     USA Today bestselling author Terry Spear has captured hearts worldwide by wrapping the realities of nature into the glorious romance of the wild. Now, she turns her award-winning imagination from the sexy werewolf hunt to the intense sizzle of jaguar shape-shifters.

As a jaguar he is graceful and gorgeous..
Speedy and stealthy...
Fierce, independent, and wild...
As a man he is passionate and powerful...
Willful and wonderful...
And he'll stop at nothing to protect what's his...

Terry's Websites

Twitter, @TerrySpear
 
 To purchase Savage Hunger
 please visit 

and all other major booksellers.


Coming August 2013!


Contest:  For a chance to win a free copy of Savage Hunger - pls enter the RaffleCopter Contest below! US/Canada addresses only.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, October 8, 2012

Meet Mary Ann Bernal - Historical Romance Author

Mary Ann Bernal
Historical Romance Author


     Welcome to my interview with Mary Ann Bernal, author of The Briton and the Dane trilogy. I'm honored to have her as my guest author this week as we ride aboard a longship. Mary Ann has set up the locale for you: Imagine us aboard a Viking longship, crossing the stormy North Sea heading towards Britannia, while Prince Erik’s oarsmen battle against the raging waves, rowing furiously to reach shore before nightfall.  We admire the grim countenance of the flaxen-haired Helmsman, muscled and ferociously determined, as he steers his proud ship through the towering breakers while we talk quietly of the momentous events that shaped The Briton and the Dane.


      After the interview, be sure to get in on the drawing because Mary Ann will give away a Kindle copy of The Briton and the Dane:  The Complete Trilogy!

Deanna:  Mary Ann, I'm honored that you've taken time from your busy schedule to be here with our readers this week. Tell us a bit about yourself.


Mary Ann:  Thank you for having me this week, Deanna. Being an avid history buff, and obsessed with the Viking Age, my trilogy is set in Anglo-Saxon Britain during the reign of Alfred the Great.  In addition to my writing career, I am also a passionate supporter of the United States military and have been involved with letter writing campaigns and other support programs since Operation Desert Storm.  My evenings and weekends are filled with supporting my grandchildren’s activities.  You may find me in the stands cheering on my grandson’s baseball, football and basketball teams or sitting in the Music Hall for my granddaughter’s dance competitions.  Originally from New York, I relocated to Omaha, Nebraska years ago to spend time with my son and his family, and the adventure continues.

Deanna:  Grandchildren are fun to be around and I'm glad you're close enough to do that. Mine are 2,000 miles away but I do Skype with them. We all need down time. What do you do to relax?

Mary Ann:  Traveling is my favorite relaxation.  I have been to the United Kingdom, Ireland and Rome and will be traveling to Greece later this month.  And since I have 8 GB worth of memory cards for my Canon Rebel, rest assured I will take my 2,000 pictures - yes, that’s right - my “norm” for these trips.

Deanna:  I can only imagine the video library you have that has to include gorgeous pictures! Wow, enjoy your trip to Greece! As authors, we’ve sometimes been accused of being several people. How many personalities live in your mind?
 
Mary Ann:  Too many to count, Deanna.  Only kidding.  Seriously, however, I do believe that each character harbors some part of the author’s personality, no matter how slight.  Since our characters live in our minds, they do take on their unique personalities that do incorporate some of the author’s persona.

Deanna: What is your strongest area in writing: plotting, character personality, dialogue, etc?

Mary Ann:  I tend to enjoy writing dialogue the most since I love to have the reader delve into the mind of the many characters involved in my trilogy.  Perception plays a major role in the myriad of themes throughout the trilogy.  The intrigue and treachery takes on a new meaning when you have the villain’s point of view, and suddenly you find that the issue isn’t clear-cut, which tends to gather sympathy for the character.

Deanna:  How many plots do you include in one of your books?

Mary Ann:  I have multiple storylines going on in the trilogy, which is why the original novel, The Briton and the Dane became a trilogy.  Too many characters demanding their own storyline, and of course, being sympathetic to my characters, I did acquiesce.  For those who’d like to watch the book trailer, click the link below but do come back for  the rest of the interview!




Deanna:  How long does it take you to write a book?

Mary Ann:  From start to finish, it takes me about ten months. This time-frame includes my research and setting up my characters and storyline.  The trilogy did take three years, but it was a wonderful experience and because I did not wish to leave King Alfred’s Wessex, my next novel, scheduled to launch in early 2013 is The Briton and the Dane: Concordia.

Deanna:  What is your editing process?

Mary Ann:  I edit my work twice, one on the computer screen, then print that version and read, before sending the manuscript to my editor.  I do, however, have “work-in-progress” readers who will point out anything that might be confusing, especially since I know my history and tend to forget the reader might not be familiar with the time period.  This system has worked well for the trilogy and for “Concordia.”

Deanna:  I also use the "work-in-progress' readers who help immensely. Readers like to get a peek into what we do as authors and how we go about writing our books. Tell us about a typical day in your life as a writer.

Mary Ann:  My typical day starts with a morning of marketing, since published authors need to aggressively promote his/her work.  Once I take off my marketing cap, that’s it for the day, and after lunch I wear my writer’s cap, until dinnertime.  I do limit my time on the computer so I won’t go blind or get carpal tunnel syndrome and all the other ailments associated with prolonged computer usage.

Deanna:  Good schedule and it's sometimes hard to take off the marketing cap! Do your books have a common theme or are they all different?

Mary Ann:  All my books are set in Ninth Century Anglo-Saxon Wessex during the reign of Alfred the Great.  However, my short stories are contemporary, and have been accepted into various anthologies, three of which have been published and another three are in the process of being published.

Deanna:  That's an exciting time period and had to be fun to research as well as being a huge, on-going history lesson. Tell us a little bit about the characters?

Mary Ann:  The first book of the series, The Briton and the Dane begins with a headstrong girl named Gwyneth whose impulsive nature gets herself into a lot of trouble, from rescuing a wounded Norseman, named Erik, on the beach, to being kidnapped by a Danish warrior, Odulf, and brought to King Guthrum’s encampment, while her father, Lord Richard,  brothers, Stephen and David, and her betrothed, Cerdic, a man twice her age, attempt a rescue.  When King Alfred and Gwyneth’s father arrive at King Guthrum’s camp, both kings learn of Cerdic’s treachery, since the Saxon had sworn fealty to both kings and had taken a Danish wife, Helga.  Throw into the mix unrest in Wales and an unknown prince rallying support to usurp King Guthrum’s throne, and the epic adventure begins.
     In the second book of the series, The Briton and the Dane: Birthright, King Guthrum learns that his bastard son, Rigr, is raising an army to usurp his father’s throne.  Treachery and betrayal  affect both courts as the stage is set for the final battle between father and son. 
     In the final book of the series, The Briton and the Dane: Legacy, betrayal and treachery intensifies, and King Alfred faces a new Danish threat, but he decides to fight the Norsemen at sea, knowing Erik must fight his brother, Sven.  Add excessive storm tides and fire ships hurled about by excessive winds, and suddenly both sides find themselves fighting for survival. 

Deanna:  I've been an historical romance reader for many, many years, Mary Ann. Thank you for adding a few more to my TBR list! Has there been anything unusual or exciting that has happened to you since you’ve been published?

Mary Ann:  Appearing on a local TV talk show was an adventure. As I mentioned earlier, I am an avid supporter of the United States Military and my novels are dedicated to fallen soldiers who have died protecting our freedom. I was interviewed on TV for my volunteer work with the military programs, and my books were featured on the program, being displayed on the coffee table, right in front of the camera. One of the best surprises was delivered via Federal Express when I received a thank you signed by the marines serving aboard the USS Ronald Reagan along with a lovely blue throw blanket with the USS Ronald Reagan emblem stitched into the fabric.  How cool is that. Mail call is a major morale booster, especially when letters are written by strangers on a weekly basis without expecting a reply. In addition to sending letters, I also donated copies of my novels, which were circulated amongst the crew, and found myself with many new fans of my work.

Deanna:  Wow! That would be a surprise and a thrill! I can't imagine how exciting that had to be for you. Congratulations on receiving such a gift! What is your next project?

Mary Ann:  Thank you. The Briton and the Dane: Concordia is set to launch in early 2013.  Concordia comes of age in this story, and is kidnapped by Saracen pirates while en route to Rome.  Will she be rescued or forced to live in a country where the penalty for following her religious beliefs is death.  No spoilers...you’ll have to read the story to find out.

Deanna:  I love it! Historical readers, mark down that date! Where can we find out more about you?

Mary Ann:  Please visit my webpage and while you're there, please note on the “Resources” tab, I have downloadable pdf files of the characters and maps for each novel, along with a glossary.







Deanna:  Readers, check out that Resoure Tab for sure! Where can we purchase your books?

Mary Ann:  Links are available on my webpage and LitUnderGround.
 Readers, thank you so much for stopping by to read about my books! I love hearing from readers so please don't hesitate to contact me and stop by my blog.
Buy Links







CONTEST:  Mary Ann will give away a Kindle copy of The Briton and the Dane:  The Complete Trilogy to one lucky commenter. Be sure to get into the RaffleCopter Contest so we get your email addy. Also, please note in your comment what your favorite historical time period is when you're reading.

a Rafflecopter giveaway