Monday Morning Post: Release Day Edition

So the other day my buddy Jillian Chantal's Facebook update said something like, "Yikes! They've moved my release day from June to May 14!".

That's what happens when you're organized and get your edits in on time.

Of course, I shot her an email to see if she wanted to post something here. She was game, and so here's a spicy little excerpt from Season of the Witch for you to check out. Haven't read it yet myself, but will be adding it to the TBR pile soon.
Peace,
Liv

~ Excerpt ~

He turned to her and she had to force herself from gasping at his beauty. He was most certainly not old. He looked at her with eyes the color of a glacier. She was immediately transported in her mind to Glacier Bay in Alaska, where she’d seen the calving of the ice into the ocean. His eyes pierced her soul. They seemed to see into the depths of her mind.

“Are you all right?” He peered at her. He spoke with what sounded like a Russian accent.

She shook her head as if to clear it. “I’m fine. Sorry, I was just gazing into my crystal ball. I’m still in a sort of trance. She hoped the lie wasn’t obvious.

“So, you are a seer then?”

“Do you need some help?”

He walked toward her. “I do. Have you heard about the recent cat killings?”

Again, she had to stop herself from gasping. This was exactly what she was trying to investigate on her own. “Yes. As a matter of fact, I have heard of these horrible ritualistic killings. In fact, when you came in, I was looking into my ball to see if I could see anything at all related to who may be behind it.”

He stepped closer until he was in her personal space. “What did you find?”

She took a step back, flustered by his masculinity and something that seemed vaguely feline. She tossed her head for clarity. “Nothing. I got nothing.”

“Hell. I need to get a lead on this. I was hoping you could help me.”

“I wish I could. I’m also trying to figure out who’s behind it. If it’s one person or an organization.”

“Why? Why are you involved?” He looked around the shop, “Do you think it’s witchcraft?”

“Uh-uh. Not necessarily. Just because my shop is called The Season of the Witch and I sell herbs and New Age items, doesn’t make me think everything is related to witchcraft.” She went behind the counter to get more distance from the man who was decidedly too disturbing to her senses. “And besides, wouldn’t it be a cliché for ritualistic killings of cats to be related to satanic worship?”

“No. I mean, why do you care? Why are you investigating?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” She leaned on the wooden top of the counter.

“I asked you first.” He winked and leaned in from his side of the counter until his nose was almost touching hers.

Wanna read more?  Season of the Witch is available from Secret Cravings Publishing.

Monday Morning Post: Romance Mash-up

Last August I saw a call for submissions for a Christmas themed anthology that was being put together by Still Moments Publishing. At the time I was in the process of editing A Vampire's Deadly Delight and wanted to work on something completely different. I remember sitting on the deck of a swimming pool at my son's swim practice, texting my sister and brainstorming short story ideas. One thing led to another, and, to make a long story short, I found a whole bunch of new friends. Getting my story published was almost beside the point.

This month, Still Moments is celebrating their first anniversary. They're running a blog hop - of which this post is a part - as well as a scavenger hunt and  a series of fun interviews at The Author's Den. A full list of anniversary celebration activities, including the Pitch the Publisher and Ask the Editor Contests, can be found here.

And HERE, on this blog, is a mash-up of blogs from some of the fabulous authors that are with Still Moments Publishing. This isn't an exhaustive list, by any means, and it's not in any particular order. You'll notice some of the names appear as guests on one blog and hostesses on another, and many of them have appeared here before, so it might feel a little in-bred. Oh well. What can I say? We all like each other!

To start us off, Denise Moncrief' has a lovely interview with Darlene Henderson. These two both have short stories appearing the in recently released Unleashed Hearts anthology from SMP.

And to spread the love a little further, Krista Ames posted a charming interview with Denise Moncrief on her blog A Passion For Romance.

You can catch a taste of Ceri Herbert's fabulous work with this Six Second Sunday post.

Jennifer Daiker blogs at JenUnedited, and her  Wednesday Wordies feature games and giveaways using the first lines in YA & romance novels. She's a very clever girl, and these are fun posts.

Check out Shannon O'Brien's post, Yeah, I'm That Kind Of Irish Girl ...because there always has to be a kick-ass party chick in the crowd.

Now you know Jillian Chantal is always up for a challenge, and her page is called Romantic Adventure With International Flare. You'll want to see what I made her do...

On the blog Decadent Decisions, W. Lynn Chantal has lots of interesting guests. Look for this post, Word Junkie Anonymous. It's an interview with SMP editor AJ Neust (and while you're there, keep your eyes peeled for Tyrell sightings).

New SMP author Tudor Robins captures the heart of the SMP experience in this post, Finding Community.

And one of the first SMP authors, Liberty Blake, blogs at Liberty's Spells. Here she's got an interview with Mackenzie Crowne.

Mac gets two hits, because this post on blog Mac's Mad Mania just plain cracked me up. You Might Be A Romance Author If...
Leave a comment if you pass the test...or even if you don't. One lucky commenter will win a copy of Spellbound Hearts, or their choice of any of the other Still Moments releases. Thank you Darlene, AJ, Annie & the rest of the SMP team. Working with you guys is an awesome experience.
;)
Peace,
Liv


(And if I forgot anyone, I sincerely apologize. Ping me and I'll be happy to add you to the list.)

A Tale Of Two Heros

I'm very pleased to welcome back my friend Jillian Chantal. She's been a busy (busier?) lady for the last couple weeks, promoting her two new releases, Sebastian's Salvation and "The Coroner's Heart", a short story in Valentine Delights: Be Mine. The excerpt of Sebastian's Salvation that I saw totally raised my blood pressure, and "The Coroner's Heart" is a truly charming love story that proves that a woman can be strong, smart AND loveable. Thanks, Jillian, for stopping in and telling us about your newest work.

Thanks for the invitation to come by and chat a bit with your readers.   

 What do a war wounded Green Beret and a blood expert who works in a crime lab have in common?  You might be surprised.  The first thing they have in common is that they each sprang from the same mind. The second thing is that they are both romance novel heroes. The third thing is that both of their stories were released on the same day. Now, you're probably asking if there are any things these guys have in common other than those innocuous ones.  Yes, indeed there are. 

Sebastian is the hero of Sebastian's Salvation and Adam is the hero of The Coroner's Heart.  Both men are fiercely loyal to their friends, family and coworkers. Both men are very competent at their jobs. Both men find themselves attracted to a strong woman. Both of them have a hidden soft side; Sebastian hides his under a suave painter persona and Adam hides his with the use of sarcasm and wit.

While each of them have a different story and a different route to happiness, each of them are heroic in their own way. It's important to me as a writer to be sure my heroes never act in a way that would violate the "hero code" as I see it. I love both of these guys for different reasons.  Sebastian has a lot to overcome and his way of coping with his issues endeared him to me. Adam, on the other hand, has had a much easier life and it shows in his more easy going manner and banter.  His dialogue was fun to write.

I think both heroes are smart, witty and kind. I hope the readers love them as much as I do.

I'll leave you with a few lines from each hero to give your readers a little peek into these guys and the buy links.  Thanks again for having me pop in. I enjoy your blog and am thrilled to be here. 

The Coroner's Heart:

Finally, in exasperation, Elspeth turned and her face almost collided with his. “Crap. Back off. What’s wrong with you?”

The driver snickered when Adam replied, “Just smelling your lovely perfume, Doc. What is that? A mixture of some kind of burnt sugar and dead body?”

“Shut up.”

Adam turned to the driver. “I must admit, it’s a strange but powerful concoction. Must be some of that new pheromone stuff.”

Sebastian's Salvation:

Sebastian looked up from his chili. “Bet I could get any of the three of you naked in two minutes flat. All I’d need is a paintbrush in my hand.”

Victoria blushed as Joanna looked him in the eye from her end of the table. “Best watch out with the bets, Bast. You already lost one to me today.”

Sebastian raised one eyebrow. “Did I, now?”

“You know you did. I beat you down the hill best out of three runs.”

“And what did you win, Lady Joanna?”

“The right to have you paint my portrait.” Her face registered triumph.

“You mean the right to get naked in front of me?”

Joanna and her two friends both gasped.

   Sebastian took a bite of his chili and once he swallowed, he looked at Hugh and asked, “See? All it takes is a paintbrush. Want me to teach you?” 

BUY LINKS: http://www.bookstrand.com/sebastians-salvation

http://www.stillmomentspublishing.com/p/ebook-store.html

www.Jillianchantal.com Visit me anytime!  

Thanks again for posting, Jillian! It was fun to learn more about Sebastian and Adam.

Peace,

Liv

Sophie's Snow Day

“A snowstorm can be a life changing event. Just ask Sophie.”

I'm very happy to welcome another one of the authors from the "Snowbound Hearts" anthology, Ms. Jillian Chantal. Jillian's story, Sophie's Snow Day, takes the anthology's theme in an unexpected direction, and will warm you up better than a fire in the fireplace.  I won't say any more, because I don't want to give anything away. The picture to the right of this post hides a link to the SMP site, so you can check it out for yourself. 

Thanks so much, Jillian! Maybe next time I can come visit you for reals on a beach in sunny Florida.

Peace,

Liv

Thanks for having me here as a guest, Liv. I’m always happy to visit my friends and chat a bit. I’m Jillian and I have a story in the Snowbound Hearts anthology published by Still Moments Publishing. My story is called Sophie’s Snow Day. Since the anthology consists of stories of people caught in a snow storm or snowed in, I thought maybe most of the submissions would relate to the remote cabin in the woods type of snow-in, so even though I love the idea of that(and the cover photo makes me want to snuggle under blankets in a cabin), I decided to make the setting of my story a city. Snow plows sometimes take their time clearing the roads and I thought that would be a different spin on the snowed-in theme.

I love a crackling fire and a cold day. I live on the Gulf Coast of Florida now and we very rarely get snow but I’ve lived and traveled to other places where it snows and always enjoyed it. As to driving in snow, not so much love there and I’m grateful that I don’t have to do that. When it snows in my town, the whole place shuts down. We don’t have the equipment to deal with it since it’s such a rarity. So, I guess I can say I have been snowed in. Of course, 2 inches to you folks in the north is just a bit of precipitation just like to us down here in hurricane world, a tropical storm is merely a slight breeze. It’s funny how perspectives are different across the globe. I love that.

I’m thrilled to be in the great company of the other writers in this anthology. I think all the stories will be wonderful. If you read Sophie’s Snow Day, I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Sophie is a sassy girl and Tobias is, well, Tobias is just Tobias. I think you’ll like him.

Thanks again for having me here, Liv. I love to hear from readers. You can find me on the web at www.jillianchantal.com or Twitter at twitter.com/JillianChantal.

Bio: Jillian Chantal lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida, home of the sugar white sands and a little piece of paradise. She has a husband and two sons. In no particular order, she loves cats, travel, chocolate, theatre and boots. If she's not lounging by the pool or writing, she can usually be found shoe shopping.