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8/31/2012

Romancing the Hop Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Romancing the Hop Blog Hop! Huge thanks as always to Carrie Ann Ryan for sponsoring it!



What is your favorite thing about Romance? Well, we authors are ready to share our romantic tips and favorite romance reads! Starting on Friday August 31st-Monday September 3rd, over 100 Authors and Bloggers will share their favorite things about romance, reading romance, and dating.

And while we do that, we are EACH doing a giveaway. Yep. There will be over 100 giveaways on each blog hosted by that Author or Blogger.

But that's not all....

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 100 times!

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet
2nd Grand Prize: A $130 Amazon or B&N Gift Card
3rd Grand Prize: The following Swag Pack!



This hop could NOT come at a better time for me, because my release from last week, NO FLOWERS REQUIRED, is all about romance. Specifically...my heroine, Alexa, doesn't really think she needs any in her life. She believes she just wants  some stress-relieving smexy times while she fights to save her business, but she's oh so wrong...as she soon discovers when she meets the swoony hero (at least I hope you think he's swoony!) Alexa's a florist who loves purple roses (which signify love at first sight - an important factoid from the book) but isn't attuned to her own heart - at least until Dillon helps show her the error of her ways!

Here's NO FLOWERS REQUIRED's (Love Required #2) blurb: 

Flower shop owner Alexa Conroy had it all before the recession hit and her customers fled to cheaper shopping grounds. Desperate to make ends meet, she sells her dream home and moves into the rundown apartments above her shop. When she spots six feet of sexy distraction—complete with muscles, piercings, and tattoos—ripping up flooring, Alexa knows the karmic windfall she’s due just landed on her doorstep.

And the attraction’s definitely not one-sided.

Dillon James, reluctant heir to the corporation about to foreclose on Alexa’s shop, is not about to jeopardize their scorching chemistry by admitting he’s not the building’s handyman. But with only weeks until her business goes under and his identity is revealed, Dillon must find a way to convince Alexa cooperation isn’t a dirty word, help her save the shop from his brother’s greed, and persuade her that he’s not the enemy…or risk losing the only woman who’s seen the real him.




Now...what prizes am I offering?

A $5.00 gift certificate and 1 of my ebooks to one winner!

All you have to do is:

1) Become a follower of the blog

2) Let me know if you'd like to receive my newsletter

3) Answer this question in the comments and leave your email address: 

What is the most romantic thing someone has ever done for you?
OR what is the most loving thing you've ever done for yourself? 

(Yeah, yeah, I'm an erotic romance author, LOL, but that can mean all sorts of things - like going for a massage, buying new shoes, etc!)


Ready to keep hopping? Check out the linky list below!


Welcome NYT bestselling author Jenna Bennett! And CONTEST!

Welcome to fellow Entangled Publishing author Jenna Bennett! Jenna is amazingly prolific and I have several of her books on my TBR. Leave a comment for Jenna (with your email) and you'll be entered for a chance to win a copy of her brand new release from the Covet line at Entangled, TALL, DARK, AND DIVINE!

Six questions for NYT bestselling author Jenna Bennett
1)      Tall, Dark, and Divine helped launch Entangled Publishing’s new Covet line. Can you tell us a little about the book?
With pleasure! Tall, Dark and Divine is about Eros, the Greek god of love, who’s on the rebound after the love of his life for the past three thousand years, Psyche, left him for a Viking warrior with more brawn than brains. Like any jilted husband, Eros drinks too much and neglects work. Of course, when Eros neglects work, the earth suffers, so the girls in the office—the Greek and Cretan minor and demi-goddesses who help him run his matchmaking agency—decide that the boss needs to get out of the house. They take him to Dionysus’s bar—yes, that Dionysus—where he runs into Annie Landon.
Annie is tired of looking for Mr. Right and is on the prowl for Mr. Tonight instead, and she decides that Eros fits the bills. But picking up the Greek god of love for a one night stand is easier said than done, especially when he’s determined never to get involved with another mortal. So Eros does his best to fix Annie up with Harry Mitchell from the accounting firm down the street instead, while Harry does his best to impress Britomartis, Cretan goddess of hunting, and while Brita has her eye on Dion, and Dion likes Ariadne, and Ariadne... well, you get the picture.

2)      Tall, Dark, and Divine revolves around Greek gods. So fun! What was your inspiration?
I blame Gena Showalter for this one. I was reading about the Lords of the Underworld—Greek mythology-based paranormal series, quite a bit darker than anything I write—and thinking that it would be fun to write something like that, but light and funny. That’s where the original idea came from, for Eros and his modern-day New York City-based matchmaking agency. I guess even before that, it probably came from a long-held love of mythology in all forms.

3)      You write in several genres—mystery, contemporary, and paranormal—and maybe even some I don’t know about! Do you have a favorite?
Let’s see now... you don’t know about the science fiction, or if you do, you didn’t mention it. Of course, there are those ideas for historicals floating around in the backbrain, too...
No, I don’t have a favorite. It depends on my mood. I can’t stick with anything for too long, in reading or in writing, or I want something else instead, which is why I try everything in turn. I’ve been writing nothing but romance for the past six or eight months, so I’m getting in the mood to write another mystery soon. I can feel the ideas starting to percolate. When you’re a mystery writer, you can only go so long before you feel the need to kill someone, you know.

4)      You’re a super prolific author. What keeps you going when the well runs dry? (Though I’m guessing that doesn’t happen often for you, considering all your releases!)
LOL! There’s no such thing as a dry well. If I never have another original idea for as long as I live, I can spend the rest of my life writing the ones I’ve already had. Not that I’m worried; I have new ideas all the time.
I do need downtime, though. And I need to change things up. Too much of one thing and I hit some sort of wall and can’t keep going. The science fiction series is about as dark as I ever get in my writing, and after six months of writing nothing else, in late April, I couldn’t do it anymore. So I stopped writing halfway through the second book and started working on other things instead. That’s where the light paranormal romantic comedy and the contemporary romance came from: a change of pace from the darker subject matter of the science fiction.

5)      Just for fun: Tall, Dark, and Divine includes a matchmaking agency called Made in Heaven. If you could design your own dream date, what would he be like? Any celebrity inspirations?
No real celebrity inspirations, I think. I’ve always had more literary crushes than movie or TV ones. Vicariously speaking, I tend to go for the bad boys. Tall, dark, dangerous. The kind of guy who—in real life—I’d last five minutes with, before I’d fall into temptation and smack him for his chauvinistic, bossy tendencies. In real life, I tend to be attracted to charm—not the smarmy kind—a sense of humor, kindness, an even temper... all the boring things that make a guy nice to be around.

6)      Please tell us what’s next for you and where we can find you on the web.
Sure. Well, the 6th DIY mystery, Wall to Wall Dead, will be released September 4th. The 5th hit the extended New York Times list last year, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed we can do it again.
In October, my first contemporary romance will see the light of day. Friends With Benefits is a Cinderella type story about a pregnant waitress who marries her nice but boring next door neighbor for his health insurance—friends with benefits, see?—and who ends up falling in love with him.
And then in November, it’s the first science fiction romance’s turn. Fortune’s Hero is about Quinn Conlan, the captain of a smuggling ship called the Good Fortune, and his efforts to get his crew out of prison, his ship out of impound, and everyone out of orbit.
On the homefront, I’m doing a lot of promo for all the books that are being released, I’m in the editing phase of both Fortune’s Hero and Friends With Benefits, and I’m getting back into finishing Fortune’s Honor, the second SFR. After that we’ll see what’s next on the docket.
You can find more information about all the books and releases on my website, www.jennabennett.com, and I do yap on Twitter quite a bit when something exciting is going on. I have two twitter handles, and I do suffer from the occasional bout of split personality—i.e., I’ll tweet from the wrong one—so it’s probable safer to follow both @JennieBentley and @Bennett_Jenna. Other than that, I blog on The Naked Hero on the 21st of every month.  
Thanks so much for visiting, Jenna! Now it's YOUR turn...comment for a chance to win!
Thanks so much for having me!


About the author
Jennie Bentley is the author of the New York Times bestselling Do-It-Yourself Home Renovation mysteries from Berkley Prime Crime, while Jenna Bennett writes the Cutthroat Business mysteries for her own gratification. Jenna is also the author of the upcoming Soldiers of Fortune series of futuristic romances from Entangled Publishing. The first book in the series, Fortune's Hero, will debut in November 2012. In addition to futuristic romance, Jenna also has the first books in a contemporary romantic suspense series and a paranormal series coming from Entangled Publishing in fall 2012.

8/30/2012

Welcome erotic author Rachell Nichole! And CONTEST!

Welcome erotic author Rachell Nichole! Rachell just released her debut book from Loose Id, and I can't wait to read it! She's also a member of my local RWA chapter and she's a great person to get to know! Read on for how you can win a copy of the book!


Hi Cari, and hello readers,

My name is Rachell Nichole and I’m an erotic romance author. Thanks for having me stop by today Cari, and thank you readers for joining us today. Cari asked me a brilliant question to talk about with you and it was exciting to consider. She asked e to talk about what my hero would do for a romantic evening with my heroine.

So first let’s start with a bit about my hero and heroine and my new book, An Affair Across Times Square. Here’s a blurb…
Layla Morgan is tired of getting into trouble, and getting hurt. And she fears her wild nature is going to strike yet again. But maybe this time, she’s finally met the guy that can stand close enough to touch her inner flames, and still not get burned.

Tyler Lachlan doesn’t stand a chance of resisting the delicious distraction of the mystery woman across Times Square. He’s sure there’s more to her than her sultry voice and mahogany thighs, but he doesn’t know if he’s willing to risk his career to find out.

Could what began as a voyeuristic affair across Times Square develop into something more?

So now that you know a bit about the book, and my characters, let’s chat about the romantic evening Tyler would plan for Layla. There’s a scene in the book where he sets up a romantic dinner with her through the windows of his office and her hotel room. And I’ve got to say, it’s extremely romantic! Layla has all of these rules about how they can’t meet in person and go on a real date, and so Tyler gets the staff at the hotel to deck out her room in flowers – yellow roses and lavender. He orders them a spread of food and has the hotel bring it up for her and set a table. Then he calls her on the phone and they have a beautiful dinner through the window. Below is the love letter he writes her to invite her on the date…

Dear Ms. Marietta,

First let me say I did not break any rules. I spoke to a very polite man at reception about a good friend of mine in room 1823 that I wanted to leave a surprise for. I did not ask him for your name, per your wishes, nor did I accompany anyone to the room after they told me you would be back later this afternoon. I handed him a list of instructions and hoped they would be followed. If you’re reading this note, it means they were.

Secondly let me say that while I realize this borders on stalker tendencies, I felt it was worth the risk of scaring you away. I have never been quite so amazed or intrigued by a single person in my lifetime, and I was anxious to let you know that in any way I could.

Thirdly, and finally, please go into your hotel room at your leisure, and if/when you are ready, please open the curtain and join me for dinner through the window at seven o’clock.

Sincerely,
Mr. Times Square

I think ideally, though, Tyler would have taken Layla out to his favorite restaurant in New York and had a lovely romantic dinner with her in person. They both get to know one another a little better through their phone conversation at dinner, but Tyler would have taken her out to eat if it hadn’t been for Layla’s rules. He’s definitely a romantic at heart, and he spends most of the book wooing Layla and trying to convince her that he cares for her. He’s such a sweetie, really.

Eventually, of course, he wins Layla over with his sweetness and his continued attempts to sway her. Anyone else in love with Tyler yet? I sure am!

Thanks again Cari for having me stop by and thanks readers for checking it out. If you’d like to win a FREE copy of An Affair Across Times Square, leave a comment and include your e-mail. All comments will be added to a hat and I’ll draw a name on September 3 and e-mail you a copy of the e-book.

~ Rach

See, don't you want a copy of An Affair Across Times Square? Leave a comment with your email for your chance to win!

Buy links:

Test Shot (Hot Shots, book 1) is NOW AVAILABLE

My m/f/m erotic contemporary novel, TEST SHOT, book 1 in the Hot Shots series, from Loose Id is now available! Check out the GORGEOUS cover from Ms. Valerie Tibbs! The blurb and a link to an excerpt are below.

Layla Palmer is starting over in New York City with a new job at Hot Shots, an agency that specializes in hiring talent for jobs with an erotic bent. Happily engaged, she writes off the changes in her relationship with her fiancé, Aidan, as growing pains. But that all comes into question when her beloved fiancé comes up with a startling suggestion: he wants to watch her have sex with another man.

Aidan's a man on the edge, fighting demons he won't name in fear of losing the woman he loves forever. But the game he's playing can only continue for so long, especially when the man they decide to invite into their bed turns out to be Layla’s newest prospective model, Sawyer Blake.


Passion explodes between them, threatening to spill over and burn them all. Soon Aidan and Layla's already incendiary relationship hits the boiling point. Now she's fighting her own battles, including the conflicted feelings of lust and love she harbors for both men. But how can she figure out who to trust when everything she ever knew is changing, including herself?


Loose Id buy link and link to excerpt: Click HERE 
Amazon buy link: Click HERE
  • All Romance ebooks: Click HERE
    I'm going to be doing a couple blog tours for both this and my other new release, NO FLOWERS REQUIRED, so watch out for lots of fun prize posts coming soon!




8/27/2012

No Flowers Required ~ Contest!


Many thanks to the incredibly talented Taryn Elliott for the banner!

It's a busy month for me! Within the next month, the three books in the banner have/will release. I have lots of contests and fun stuff planned, so keep your eyes peeled!

I have a brand new release, NO FLOWERS REQUIRED, book 2 in the Love Required series from Entangled Publishing. WOOT! To celebrate, I'm giving away two brand spanking new ebook copies of the book to 2 readers who are interested in leaving honest reviews on Amazon/Barnes & Noble. To whet your appetite for the story, here's the blurb and a little excerpt:


He’ll give her everything she desires…except his identity.
Flower shop owner Alexa Conroy had it all before the recession hit and her customers fled to cheaper shopping grounds. Desperate to make ends meet, she sells her dream home and moves into the rundown apartments above her shop. When she spots six feet of sexy distraction—complete with muscles, piercings, and tattoos—ripping up flooring, Alexa knows the karmic windfall she’s due just landed on her doorstep.
And the attraction’s definitely not one-sided.
Dillon James, reluctant heir to the corporation about to foreclose on Alexa’s shop, is not about to jeopardize their scorching chemistry by admitting he’s not the building’s handyman. But with only weeks until her business goes under and his identity is revealed, Dillon must find a way to convince Alexa cooperation isn’t a dirty word, help her save the shop from his brother’s greed, and persuade her that he’s not the enemy…or risk losing the only woman who’s seen the real him.



Chapter One
This was officially the crappiest day of Alexa Conroy’s life.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Harvey Walton, her real estate agent, asked. He’d called to make sure she was happy with how the sale of her home had gone, and she’d yet to do little more than answer in short sentences.
She’d sold her dream house for a very good price in a depressed market. How could she complain? The discount-store violet Harvey had sent didn’t exactly thrill her, but she couldn’t fault the gesture. Nope, it was the obvious red-and-white sticker of her nemesis, Value Hardware, on the bottom of the pot she faulted, not Harvey.
The only good thing about her new apartment was that she wouldn’t have to see her nemesis down the block unless she pressed her forehead against the window. And since said window had enough grime to reduce the outward view significantly, she wasn’t going to touch the thing, especially with her face.
“No, thanks,” she said, setting the violet on the windowsill. Judging from its wilted state, it would probably be dead in a couple days. “Out of curiosity, why did you choose to buy the violet from Value Hardware? I assure you no one on their staff knows flowers like I do.”
At Harvey’s silence, she gusted out a sigh. She didn’t need to take out her frustration on him. It wasn’t his fault that if she saw one more of Value’s signature smiley-face balloons around town she’d probably go postal. Or was it floral, since she operated a floral shop?
“I’m sorry, Harvey,” she said, pressing her fingertips against her forehead. God, she needed a massage. Not in the budget, buttercup. “I appreciate all your help. You made the whole process painless.” As painless as it could be to sell the house she’d hoped to live in for the rest of her life. But she’d done it for the right reasons, and that made all the difference. No doom and gloom here. “So I should receive the check by next week?”
“By the end of next week, definitely.”
Her brain blinked out on his talk of administrative procedures as she noticed the large spider building a tapestry—screw calling it a web, this thing was big enough to occupy a wall of a museum—in the closet where she’d planned on putting her clothes. Her designer wardrobe just happened to be the last shred of her freewheeling, party-girl lifestyle. She didn’t even get to have the sex that went with it anymore, since she’d involuntarily taken up celibacy as a participant sport.
Despite her general malaise lately, she wasn’t going to balk about killing one of God’s creatures out of misplaced sympathy. There was a line that couldn’t be crossed by man or nature. Infringing on her woefully inadequate closet space was it.
“Alexa?” Harvey asked. “Are you still there?”
“Yeah, sorry. I have a situation to attend to. But thanks again, and I’ll be sure to call the next time I have a real estate—” She broke off. Uh-uh. No. The only real estate she had left was her shop, and that was rented. She had no intention of looking for new retail space, so she would have no use for Harvey. Ever. “Take care, Harvey,” she said with her brightest smile as she clicked off.
Time to do some bug excavation.
She sidestepped her marmalade cat, Trixie, who seemed intent on tripping her, and seized her damp sponge and bucket. The whole apartment needed a thorough scour before she settled in, if she even could. She certainly didn’t have many comforts of home yet. Her flat-screen TV, long leather couch, Tiffany-style floor lamp, and two end tables, plus her queen-size air mattress and the battered kitchen table left from the previous tenants, filled most of the space.
Oh, and she couldn’t forget the contents of her “bedroom.” She winced at the curtain of purple beads she’d jerry-rigged to section off the alcove that contained her air mattress. All she needed was a lava lamp and a black light and she’d be in her own sixties nightmare.
Narrowing her eyes, she studied the spider and its spindly legs. Already she could feel her resolve wavering. She glanced at the windows. Maybe she could dump the spider on the fire escape.
She glanced at her fat sponge. Or she could smash it and move on with her day.
Pretend it’s Value Hardware. That she could do.
All she had to do was visualize the hardware store’s sterile white walls and its annoyingly efficient robot-slash-droid-slash-checkout people, who were only too happy to load discount flower displays into the backs of minivans. After all, they had half an aisle of hastily assembled arrangements. Why visit Alexa’s store, Divine Flowers, when a person could make do with something that cost half as much?
Craftsmanship and exquisite blooms didn’t mean much in a crappy economy, and she got that. Hell, her own personal economy was currently in the shitter, so how could she quibble?
She needed to off the happy little spider—which really wasn’t that monstrous in the right light—and get cleaning the rest of her new dwellings.
Water. That would kill the spider more humanely. Right.
Determined, she marched into the bathroom to turn on the faucet, prepared to soak her sponge and kick spider ass. A gush of liquid fountained down her front. “Holy shit. Seriously?”
Grumbling, she knelt to study the pipes, sure she could figure this out on her own. Was a washer loose? Maybe if she dug her screwdriver out of her pink ladies’ toolbox she could tighten something. Or screw something. Or something something to stop the damn water now trickling on the floor.
She’d been a homeowner and she ran a business, solo. Surely she could—
At the sound of water burbling in the pipes, she squealed and overcompensated, falling back on her butt. Over went the bucket and sponges she’d dropped the first time she’d gotten sprayed. Her ass hit the cracked tile floor hard, jarring her bones and bruising her in unpleasant places.
Before she could be treated to any more impromptu baths, she crawled up on her knees and turned off the spigot. The chlorine-scented water had already made the place reek like a pool house. She rubbed her damp forehead and caught her breath. Or tried to.
First she’d discovered that the air-conditioning was undependable at best, and it was only mid-August. Now this. What if this was just the beginning? If there were water issues, how would she wash her dishes? How would she bathe?
“Oh my God. Breathe.” She rose and willed herself not to have a panic attack. She hadn’t had one in years, and now would not be a good day to start.
Everything was fine. First day in her new place and she had an extra from Arachnophobia chilling in her closet and a nonfunctional sink. No big deal.
“You forgot that tonight you’re sleeping on an air mattress shielded by a beaded curtain,” she muttered at her reflection, taking in her lopsided topknot and the streak of dirt on her cheek. She’d also developed a few more wrinkles since this morning, which probably wasn’t too surprising.
She smudged the lines on the mirror and noticed they came off on her fingertips. At this point, she almost preferred thinking her age-relief face cream had failed. Otherwise it meant she’d moved into a serious dump, and if so, whose fault was that?
The afternoon she’d signed the rental agreement—the day she’d put her gorgeous mountain hideaway on the market—came roaring back with sterling clarity. The only thing that had mattered was finding a cheap, affordable apartment close to work. Couldn’t get much closer than two flights above her store, right? The rest of the building looked snazzy enough—on the outside. On the inside, it was a big ol’ mess.
But she wasn’t going to stand for it. She’d be damned if she dealt with face-eating spiders and bathroom flooding in the same day.
She refastened her sloppily chic bun. Her makeup had worn off hours ago and her cute purple top no longer looked so fresh. Especially not with the giant water splotch over one breast. Too bad she didn’t have the time or energy to change. Besides, the odds were slim she’d encounter a hot guy on her way to speak to the scarily efficient-looking building manager.
Her long skirt clung to her legs, but it didn’t alter her single-minded march across her apartment. She had her game face on, and she was prepared to do battle. They wouldn’t railroad her into accepting deplorable conditions. She’d just demand that her sink be serviced immediately. Then she’d do a quick tidying job on the apartment, clean herself up, and go have dinner with her best friend, Nellie.
She headed down the hall, only wobbling a bit on her waterlogged Christian Louboutins. The audible squish really didn’t add anything to her mood, but she had more important things to worry about at the moment.
Abruptly, Alexa stopped in front of an open apartment door and widened her eyes. Who was that?

Buy link: http://www.entangledpublishing.com/no-flowers-required/

Intrigued? Just let me know in the comments or send me an email through my site and you'll be entered to receive an ebook copy of the book!

Want extra chances to win? Tweet or Facebook this message and let me know you have in the comments: He'll give her everything she desires...except his identity. NO FLOWERS REQUIRED: http://www.entangledpublishing.com/no-flowers-required/

Also, I'm getting ready to send out my first quarterly newsletter! Want in? Just let me know in the comments!

8/26/2012

Wife for Hire by Christine Bell-Guest Post w/Giveaway

 

First off, I’m so happy to be at Cari’s blog today, because I’m such a huge fan of her writing. But also because, WHOOHOO! This is the week I’ve been WAITING FOR! Wife for Hire is finally out with Entangled Publishing’s Indulgence line and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m running an epic blog tour featuring Let Me Indulge You contest, so stick around for details and to comment!

The concept of Wife for Hire was brought about by a hilarious conversation with my husband and kids one night when we lost power(that I’m sure ALL of us have had at one time or another) about what we would do for money. We went back and forth, lobbing one unlikely scenario after another at each other. It went a little like this:

Kid 1: Would you eat a spider for twenty bucks?

Me: No.

Kid 2: Yes

Kid 3: Do I have to chew?

Kid 4: Alive or dead?

Hubs: Twenty bucks? Seriously?? Who would do that for twenty bucks.

Kid 2: It takes me four hours after taxes to earn twenty bucks. I could eat a spider in like three seconds.

Kid 1: What if it was dipped in mayonnaise?

*dead stares from all in the room as we cannot figure out whether this is supposed to make it more or less palatable*

Me: No.

Kid 2: Thirty bucks. I hate mayonnaise

Kid 3: But do I have to chew??

Kid 4: Could I make it into a sandwich? And is it alive or dead?

 

And so it went. From being buried alive for 24 hours (bidding on that one started at 100k and topped off at “there is no amount of money”) to swimming with sharks (with much debate about time of day, size of shark and whether there was a chubbier, slower swimmer in the water with you). We laughed and groaned and pointed fingers and had a rip roaring good laugh.

It got me thinking about people and how differently they value money depending on their circumstances in life. Kid #2 would eat spider for twenty bucks because he makes minimum wage, and that’s a decent amount of money to him and he places no moral cost on the action of eating the spider. Then you’ve got kid #4 who’s a vegetarian. The morality of eating a spider if it was alive makes it a whole other can of worms. So that’s how Wife for Hire jumps off. Not with worms, of course, but when Belfast billionaire Owen Phipps offers Lindy Knight twenty-thousand dollars, she’s not in a position to say no. She’s got seven puppies and a little old lady counting on her. After some ill-advised small business ideas went bad, she’s hanging onto her house by a thread, so when she comes across a cryptic ad on Craigslist looking for an actress to do a three-week gig, she responds (in spite of her concern that it might end up getting her serial-murdered). What she gets is gorgeous Owen on her doorstep needing a fake wife to help him infiltrate a couple's retreat so that he can catch the conman who broke his sister's heart (and bank account). Hilarity, sexy times and a wee bit of intrigue ensue.

 

Check out the blurb!

 

He needs a wife for three weeks…

Owen Phipps is out for revenge. His mission? To expose the man who stole his sister’s money and dignity. All he needs is a “wife” who can play along. Too bad his last best hope is an actress who tries to mace him with perfume when he offers her the role of a lifetime.

 

Lindy Knight is a real sap. She loves too hard, feels too deep, and often finds herself saying yes when she should be saying “Let me think about it.” She can’t believe her good fortune when Owen offers her more than enough money to hold off foreclosure until she can find a job. Three weeks at a resort, money she desperately needs, and she gets to help bring a criminal to justice? Score.

 

It seems easy enough until the first time a couples bonding game turns intimate, and they realize how dangerous their mutual attraction could be. Can they keep their hands to themselves long enough to find the evidence Owen needs? Or are the close quarters more temptation than they can handle?

 

Sounds fun, right? So tell me, blog readers! How much would it take for you to eat a spider? Does the mayonnaise help or hurt? And if a gorgeous Irish billionaire wanted you to be his wife for three weeks, what would you say?

 

I’ll be giving a $10 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to one commenter! Winner will be selected on Tuesday, so stop back to see if it’s you!

 

 AND I’m also running a Let Me Indulge You contest. If Wife for Hire gets onto the Amazon OR Barnes & Noble top 500 list by September 18th, I will be giving away a $250 gift card to the salon or spa of one lucky winner’s choice. Sign into Rafflecopter below and every comment from my blog tour will be counted as an entry. Follow my whole blog tour? EACH comment = another entry! Extra entries will also be given for tweeting or posting the link to the book on your Facebook page:

 
You can find Christine and her books here:




 
 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

8/24/2012

Welcome erotic romance author Nona Raines! CONTEST!

Welcome back to fellow CNYRW member and wonderful erotic romance author, Nona Raines! She's here today to talk a bit about her latest book, UNCOLLARED, available now from Loose Id! Read on for how you can enter her great contest!


Thanks so much for letting me be here today, Cari. I'm eager to tell readers about my new BDSM themed erotic romance, Uncollared.

Submissive Mia Manetti is devastated when her first Master uncollars her just as she was hoping for a permanent relationship with him. Trying to move on, she agrees to sub for a powerful and sexy new Dom.
Chess Ryan has wanted Mia from the first moment he saw her at Club Restraint, but it was always "hands off" because she belonged to his friend Philip. Now, thanks to that friend's maneuvers, Mia is finally his. But only for a little while.
Mia finds it increasingly difficult to keep her feelings in check as she experiences erotic delights with Master Chess, sensual and sexual fantasies that she's never known before. Is she setting herself up for another heart ache?
Guilt, secrets and misplaced pride all keep Chess and Mia from being completely honest with each other. As they connect sexually and emotionally, they realize their relationship has grown too serious to be called "play". How far are they willing to go as Master and slave?

I really enjoyed creating the story and discovering more about the characters as I wrote. Though Mia is a sexual submissive, she has a lot of strength. She's a rock for her family and friends, as well as for her social work clients.  Chess, a Dominant, seems to be strong and in charge. But there's a secret he must keep at all costs if he wants to hold on to Mia.
One of the scenes I had fun writing involves sex, spanking and ice cream!

When the pulsations subsided, Mia sank against him, her legs as soft as the cooked pasta they’d eaten for dinner. Sighing, she allowed Chess to drape her over the counter once more. She closed her eyes, pressing her cheek to the cool granite top as Chess moved away. Mia somehow grew conscious of the sound of the refrigerator door opening and closing. A few moments later, she yelped as something icy cold pressed against her burning-hot butt.
“What?” Her eyes flew open. Chess held a quart of ice cream.
“We haven’t had our dessert yet,” he said, grinning. He pressed the carton to her ass again, and she squeaked. A moment later, she sighed.
“Feels good?”
“Mmm.” The cold ice cream certainly eased the burn. If only she could sit in a kiddie pool full of the stuff…
He chuckled and tugged on the back of her blouse. “Stand up now.”
Mia did. When she faced him, he was just putting a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. “Lift your shirt.” His words were a bit garbled.
When she raised it to just below her breasts, he gestured with the spoon. “Higher. I want to see those pretty breasts.”
She bunched the fabric higher until her lacy white bra was exposed.
Chess flicked open the front fastener of her bra. “Mmm.” He smiled, admiring her rosy-brown nipples, which were hard and aching for his attention. He pushed the spoon deep into the ice cream, pulled it straight out. A thin layer of the dessert coated the spoon. Without warning, he pressed the spoon to her areola.
“Yah!” Mia jumped, the cold metal freezing and burning at once.
“Easy.” He painted her nipple with a thin white smear of ice cream. Then he licked it off, his tongue swirling her flesh until he’d removed every speck. He suctioned her nipple into his hot mouth for a sucking kiss and seemed reluctant to let go.
“Delicious.” He pulled back and stared into her eyes. She trembled, suddenly feeling connected to him in a way that frightened her.
If he realized it, he pretended not to notice. “Here.” He scooped out some ice cream and held the spoon to her mouth. “Have some.”
She opened her mouth, and the cold, sweet flavor filled it. She giggled as she looked at the carton.
He smiled. “What?”
“It’s vanilla!”
“I like vanilla…” Chess gave his eyebrows a wiggle. “When it comes to ice cream.”
****
Ice cream, yum! Did you know some form of it dates back to ancient times? Emperor Nero (he who fiddled while Rome burned) was said to have enjoyed a combination of ice and fruit or juices. As time went on, variations of ice cream could be found around the globe, including China, Italy, France and England. In the United States, Thomas Jefferson had a recipe for the vanilla ice cream that he served his guests and First Lady Dolley Madison served a strawberry ice cream dessert at the White House.

In celebration of Uncollared's release, I'd like to give away one digital copy of the book and a ten dollar gift certificate to Amazon or Barnes and Noble to two random commenters. To enter, please just leave a comment telling us your favorite flavor of ice cream! Mine's coconut. And please don't forget to include your email address.

Thanks so much, all, and have a wonderful weekend.

Uncollared may be purchased at:

No Flowers Required is now available!

Lots to catch up on, including contest announcements and sending out prizes, but I have a fun new announcement!

No Flowers Required is now available! What do you think of the cover? Gorgeous, right? It's designed by Heather Howland, my awesome editor at Entangled Publishing.

Here's the blurb and buy link and link on Goodreads if you'd like to add it to your shelf! Watch this space next week for more great announcements and LOTS of contests to celebrate the release!

http://www.entangledpublishing.com/no-flowers-required/

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15846230-no-flowers-required