LILAS TAHA'S DEBUT NOVEL, SHADOWS OF DAMASCUS

Shadows of Damascus

by Lilas Taha

 Writing Quirks, by Lilas Taha

One of my own writing quirks is that I tend to stick to a scene or a chapter until I get the idea out. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but as long as I have the details down, I can finally leave my desk and take a breather. I go for a long walk, talk to my characters on the way, ask them questions about what I’ve written, then come back and inject what I find missing. It sounds crazy, and I’m sure that’s how it seems to people passing me by on the walking trail. Sometimes, when the topic is too sticky or embarrassing, I head for the bathroom instead and conduct my conversations there. I’m not crazy, I assure you. But listening to my words through the characters’ articulations helps me get a better feel for them, and paint a clearer picture.

Sometimes, after I’ve worked on a scene for a while, I brew a cup of coffee and stare into space for the time it takes me to drink it. The tension flows out, and my mind lets go. It’s like mental yoga. Other times, I watch some nonsense TV series, one episode after another to clear my head (thank God for Netflix and HBOGO). Then I go back to my work in progress, and I write some more.

I go to my critique group, present what I have, lick my wounds, and go back to revising and reworking what I’ve written. The process is time consuming and, sometimes, exhausting. Yet, oh, so rewarding!

One randomly chosen commenter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

SHADOWS OF DAMASCUS Blurb:

Bullet wounds, torture and oppression aren’t the only things that keep a man—or a woman—from being whole.

Debt. Honor. Pain. Solitude. These are things wounded war veteran Adam Wegener knows all about. Love—now, that he is not good at. Not when love equals a closed fist, burns, and suicide attempts. But Adam is one who keeps his word. He owes the man who saved his life in Iraq. And he doesn’t question the measure of the debt, even when it is in the form of an emotionally distant, beautiful woman.

Yasmeen agreed to become the wife of an American veteran so she could flee persecution in war-torn Syria. She counted on being in the United States for a short stay until she could return home. There was one thing she did not count on: wanting more.

Is it too late for Adam and Yasmeen?

SHADOWS OF DAMASCUS was  released by Soul Mate Publishing January, 2014.

SHADOWS OF DAMASCUS Excerpt:

PROLOGUE

YASMEEN

Damascus, Syria

Summer 2006

The seductive fragrance of Damascus roses drifted through the open window and flirted with fifteen-year-old Yasmeen’s olfactory senses. The potent flowers in her neighbor’s yard delivered the best awakening. She loved beginnings, especially early, mid-summer mornings like these. Stretching across the bed, her imagination raced with possibilities for the promising day.

Thursday. The day her older brother’s friends visited and stayed well into the evening. Yasmeen ticked off potential visitors in her head, dashing young university students who loved to talk politics with Fadi. Today, she would do her best to discover the name of the quietest member in the group, the thin one with round-rimmed glasses. On her nightstand, the sketch she worked on during the last visit waited for his name, and more details around the eyes.

Peeling off the covers, she tip-toed to the window. Lively noises matched her optimistic mood. Nightingales sang greetings. Clanging dishes and pots resonated from surrounding houses beyond high walls. Mothers called out for their daughters to get breakfast ready. Men’s deep voices describing fresh fruits and vegetables with tempting traditional phrases drifted above hidden alleys. One vendor claimed his cucumbers were small as baby fingers, and likened his ripe apples to a virgin bride’s cheeks. Another boasted his plum peaches shed their covers without enticement, and his shy eggplants hid well in a moonless night.

Yasmeen succumbed to the enlivening chaos spilling in from her bedroom window, her own special and personal opening to the world. Tilting her head back, she exposed her face and neck to the sun, allowing its invigorating rays to paint her cheeks.

Today, her mother told her she would be allowed to take a coffee tray into Fadi’s room once all his friends arrived. What would she wear? She should tell her best friend Zainab to stop by earlier than usual to go through her wardrobe. She could help her decide. Perhaps one of Fadi’s friends would notice her. More than one? Why not?

Draping her arms on the windowsill, she looked at the neighbor’s yard, counting the blooming roses, a ritual she performed each morning since the season started. In the north corner of the largest flowerbed, two violet buds grabbed her attention, their delicate petals about to unfold. Once they came to full bloom, their deep purple color would dominate the landscape.

A knock sounded at her door.

“I am awake.”

Her father walked in. “Good. We have work to do.” He held a hammer in one hand and a couple of boards in the other. “Move aside, Yasmeen.” He approached the window.

She stepped away and pointed at the boards. “What do you need those for?”

Her father closed the windowpanes, locked them, placed one board across the frame, and hammered it in place.

“What are you doing?”

“This window is not to be opened again, child.”

She could not believe her ears. “Why?”

“Neighbors moved out last night.” Her father nailed the second board in place. “Mukhabarat took over their house.”

Buy Links:

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Damascus-Lilas-Taha-ebook/dp/B00HUZUG8Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389749986&sr=8-1&keywords=Shadows+of+Damascus

Publisher:  http://www.soulmatepublishing.com/

Lilah Taha, Author

Lilas Taha is a writer at heart, an electrical engineer by training, and an advocate for domestic abuse victims by choice. She was born in Kuwait to a Syrian mother and a Palestinian father, and immigrated to the U.S. as a result of the Gulf war in 1990. She earned a master’s degree in Human Factors Engineering from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. There, Lilas met her beloved husband and true friend, and moved with him to Sugar Land, Texas to establish a family. She is the proud mother of a daughter and a son. Instead of working in an industrial field, she applied herself to the field of social safety, working with victims of domestic violence.

Pursuing her true passion for creative writing, Lilas brings her professional interests, and her Middle Eastern background together in her debut fictional novel, Shadows of Damascus.

Website: www.lilastaha.com

Author Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/LilasTahaAuthor

Blog: http://lilastaha.blogspot.com

Twitter: Follow @LilasTaha https://twitter.com/LilasTaha

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lilastaha

Email: info@lilastaha.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/Lilas_Taha

Facebook page for the book: 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shadows-of-Damascus/577132239031259

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FRANCES WITKOP SHARES WOLF LEGENDS

WOLF LEGEND (Legends Trilogy #2)

by Florence Witkop

How Living Where I Do Relates to Writing This Story,

Where The Inspiration Came From, and 

Challenges I Encountered

By Florence Witkop

I live in wolf country. Not a heavy population of wolves, but enough. We also live not too  far from a wolf research facility and withing a day's drive of the wolves on the wolf sanctuary on the Isle Royale in Lake Superior. So that's where my inspiration came from.

Those wolves on Isle Royale are protected and researched endlessly but I wondered . . . what if there were other islands in Lake Superior on which wolves also live only no one believes they exist because they've not been seen up close and are purportedly too large to be real? What then?

I knew that wolves normally don't do well on islands because there is too little large prey to keep a pack alive so I knew there'd have to be another explanation for them being there.To me, that meant something other-worldly, which turned out to be a portal on the island to another universe in which prehistoric dire-wolves roamed as they did on Earth some eons ago.

Then I wondered what would happen if one of those wolves came back to civilization. A huge prehistoric predator in today's world? Good or bad? I wanted to know so I wrote a book to find out.

Snowball, the wolf pup in WOLF LEGEND who came back to have an injured leg fixed just grew into her part as I wrote and ended up taking over the book. She wasn't intended to be the central character but she ended up being exactly that. After the book was finished and published, I realized her personality is that of our grandson's dog Bailey. Bailey is beautiful, unusually strong, bull-headed and intelligent . . . her vocabulary is amazing. . . and she's as sweet and caring and loving as a dog can be. But while I was writing WOLF LEGEND, I didn't know I was stealing Bailey's personality. (I hope you don't mind, Bailey.)

When I started this book, I thought I'd be writing a romance and even after it was done I thought that was what I'd written. Until I sent it to a publisher of romances who kindly and with great tact told me that WOLF LEGEND wasn't a romance. Instead, the editor said, it was the story of a dire wolf pup. And here I'd thought I'd written a romance!

But when I re-read it, I realized she was right. And I loved the story even more because I love the character of a loving, caring, wolf pup with a wonderful personality.

Quick Facts                                        

                                         

Release Date: January 6, 2014               

Genre: Fantasy, Urban fantasy/ magical realism/ modern fantasy

Formats to buy: Kindle, epub and smashwords formats

Blurb:

Jane, who dislikes wolves because they kill livestock, takes Buck Portman, wolf researcher and wildlife professor at the nearby college to an island for a week to seek out the huge wolves legend says have been seen in the area. 

She's skeptical until a huge wolf runs through their camp... and mentally connects with Jane. Both woman and wolf are startled by their mental connection. The wolf invites Jane to follow so they can sort out what's between them. 

Jane takes off after the wolf in the dark, followed by the confused professor. She follows the wolf through a cave and into another world, one populated by larger-than-life, dangerous animals, including the wolves of the legend. 

Her mental connection to the alpha she-wolf is all that saves their lives in that dangerous place. Days later, when they return to their world, at the request of the alpha wolf they take her wolf pup with a broken leg so it can be healed. Problem is that wild wolves are not allowed as pets in our world so the professor must technically care for the wolf with Jane's help. But he has reservations. The huge dire wolf pup is in the wrong world. As it grows, will it remain a pet or become a dangerous predator? As the attraction between Jane and the professor grows, so do the problems inherent in having a huge prehistoric wolf in today's world. 

Purchase WOLF LEGEND:

AMAZON

B&N

SMASHWORDS

WOLF LEGEND Excerpt:

 

I set the cup on the ground beside me to save the one last cold swallow for later when I turned in for the night.  Buck, watching, hooked his own empty cup over his belt and prepared to do the same.

As my cup touched the ground, the largest wolf I'd ever seen ran through our campsite.  Two 
hundred pounds at least, possibly three hundred, with black velvet, silver-tipped fur and yellow eyes that shone in the night. 

It was beautiful.  Awesome.  And it tore through the camp as if we weren't there, scattering plates and silverware every which way and making short work of the tent just because it happened to be in its path.  "Oh my God!"  My mouth dropped open because the wolf couldn't exist.  Not here, not anywhere on earth.  But it did.

The wolf heard.  Stopped.  Turned towards me.  Scared the crap out of me because it was larger than me, double the size of any wolf I'd ever heard of and a predator.  Tipped its head to one side and looked straight at me.  Stared.

Our looks met.  Connected.  My fear disappeared because it wasn't looking for food.  It was on its way home and in a hurry to get there.  The pups missed their mom, the rest of the pack was good, they took care of the pups, but they couldn't take the place of a real mother.  It should hurry home.

I blinked.  Tried to wrap my mind around what was happening and failed completely.  I couldn't know what it was thinking.  I couldn't be reading its mind.  Of course not, it was impossible to know what another human being was thinking, let alone a wolf.  Wolves were a whole other species. 

Except that I did.  I was doing precisely what I couldn't do, what no one could do.  I was reading its mind and was pretty sure it was reading mine and was just as surprised at being able to read my mind as I was to know what it was thinking.  We stared at each other, adjusting to this new reality.  Shock kept us both immobile for what seemed like minutes and was probably seconds.

Then the wolf turned away and disappeared into the night because she had a family and responsibilities and couldn't stay to chat, not even for a conversation as mind-blowing as ours.  Two separate species were communicating for the first time ever.  But she had things to do and places to go, a pack to care for and pups to feed.  So she left.

But as she ran into the growing dark, the silver fur blending into the black of the forest, she left a thought behind.  "Want to follow me?  Want to come for a visit?  Maybe we can figure this out." 

It was an invitation.  One I couldn't turn down.  So I rose and followed the wolf.

Author Florence Witkop

 

Florence’s stories begin as simple tales of contemporary life, often in small towns or the wilderness she knows so well. 

Where they go from there is what makes them special. There is always a strong sense of place. Sometimes they cross genres and contain paranormal, sci/fi, or fantasy elements. There is usually a romance and there are always characters her readers like and would enjoy having as friends.

Most of all, there is a story because what Florence does best is tell stories. Well plotted stories that carry the characters towards a logical conclusion that always includes a happy ending.  Stories that shine light on the human condition while they celebrate the world we live in.  Stories that her readers relate to and remember long after the reading is over.

She writes about people who are as normal as apple pie (most of them, anyway) who unexpectedly find themselves in the middle of situations ranging from the heartwarming through the difficult and all the way to the horrendous. But Florence’s characters choose to act instead of running away. In the process, they survive, thrive, overcome whatever obstacles large or small are thrown in front of them, and while they are at it, they find time to fall in love.

Florence was born in the city and has lived in the suburbs, small towns, the country and the wilderness area of northern Minnesota, where she still lives with her husband and a cowardly cat named Smoke.

At various times in her writing career she’s been a confession writer, a copywriter, a ghost writer and an editor. She writes short stories, novellas and novels.  Her work has been categorized as romance, science-fiction, fantasy, mainstream and eco-fiction, to name a few genres that it fits so beautifully into.


FIND HER AT: http://florencewitkop.com/

Other Books by Florence:

(press on the cover to go to Goodreads)

  

Giveaway:

- 2 winners

- International

Prizes: An ecopy of Wolf Legend and a $10 Amazon GC

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Thanks for stopping by!

EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT SISTERHOOD

In THE MOON SISTERS, her second novel, Therese Walsh  wanted to write about one sister’s quest to find will-o’-the-wisp light, which was her mother’s unfulfilled dream.  Also called “foolish fires”, these lights are sometimes seen over wetlands and are thought to lead those who follow them to treasure. Despite the promise, they are never captured and sometimes lead to injury or even death for adventurers who follow them. The metaphor of that fire – that some dreams and goals are impossible to reach, and that hope itself may not be innately good – eventually rooted its way into deeper meaning as the Moon sisters  tried to come to terms with real-world dreams and hopes,  and with each other, in their strange new world. Olivia and Jazz Moon are polar opposites: one a dreamy synesthete, able to see sounds and smell sights and the other controlling and reality driven. What will happen when  they are plunged into 24/7 togetherness and control is not an option? Will they ever be able to see the world through the other’s eyes and confront the things they fear the  most? Death. Suicide. The loss of faith and hope. Will they ultimately believe that life is worth living, despite the lack of promise? The writing of THE MOON SISTERS was a five year journey and at times author Therese Walsh felt like it was her own “foolish fire”. But remember, some fires are worth the chase!   Amazon link to purchase The Moon Sisters: http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Sisters-Novel-Therese-Walsh/dp/0307461602/ref=wri Enter a giveaway for THE MOON SISTERS both on this blog and on all the blogs participating in Everybody’s Talking About Sisterhood. A complete list can be found on The Muffin.    Therese's debut, THE LAST WILL OF MOIRA LEAHY, was named one of January Magazine’s Best Books of 2009, was nominated for a RITA award for Best First Book, and was a TARGET Breakout Book. Therese is the co-founder of Writer Unboxed, a site that’s visited daily by thousands of writers interested in the craft and business of fiction. Before turning to fiction, she was a researcher and writer for Prevention magazine, and then a freelance writer. She’s had hundreds of articles on nutrition and fitness published in consumer magazines and online. She has a master’s degree in psychology. Aside from writing, Therese’s favorite things include music, art, crab legs, Whose Line is it Anyway?, dark chocolate, photography, unique movies and novels, people watching, strong Irish tea, and spending time with her husband, two kids and their Jack Russell. She’s working on her third novel. Therese Walsh’s website: http://www.theresewalsh.com/ Theresa has some great book club materials here: http://www.theresewalsh.com/the-moon-sisters/book-clubs/ . We also heard a rumor that in the future there will be a contest just for book club members that includes a Skype visit by Theresa to their book club meeting   Personality Quiz – Find out which character from The Moon Sisters you are most like here http://www.theresewalsh.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Personality-Quiz.pdf   Name Generator – If you were a train hopper (read The Moon Sisters to learn more about train hoppers) what would your name be? Find out here http://www.theresewalsh.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Ng.jpg The Muffin features a book review of THE MOON SISTERS. The link is here: http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2014/02/the-moon-sisters.html Thanks for stopping by!

WELCOME MARCH!

March came in like a lamb Saturday, with a high of 81 degrees F. The lion showed up Sunday with rain, sleet, snow, and overnight lows of 14 degrees F.  Yes, this is normal for Texas.

Darling Daughter 2 remembers going to the movies with a date several years ago about this time. He wore shorts because the weather was pleasant. When the movie was over, temperature had dropped 30 degrees in the hour-and-a-half they were in the movies, and the guy nearly froze. Yep, more normalcy for Texas.

March is Irish-American Month. Many people in the USA are of Irish descent, so St. Patrick’s Day is a well-celebrated occasion. In San Antonio, Texas, the river through town runs green. In Dallas, there’s an Irish Celebration at the State Fair Grounds. On Dallas’s Greenville Avenue, there’s another St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Towns all over the country have parades on St. Patrick’s Day. I suppose the most famous is in New York City.

State Flag of Texas

March 2 was Texas Independence Day. Not a big holiday unless you live in Texas or are a displaced Texan.  “Remember the Alamo” has a great deal of significance to Texans, even to those like me whose relatives showed up in Texas a few decades later. I’ve heard that’s also where the saying “One Ranger, one riot” originated.

The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas

March is when the Susan G. Komen “Race for the Cure” is held to raise cancer awareness and research money. Darling Daughter 1 is a breast cancer survivor, , Hero is a subcutaneous lip cancer survivor, and I’m a thyroid cancer survivor. You can bet that we are in favor of cancer research and early detection awareness - and hoping Darling Daughter 2 escapes this disease!   

So, whether your weather is snowy or sunny, celebrate the month that finally brings spring on March 20th.

Please come back tomorrow for a visit with THE MOON SISTERS and author Therese Walsh.

Thanks for stopping by!

INTERVIEW WITH VERSATILE ENGLISH AUTHOR RACHEL BRIMBLE

Today, please welcome English friend Rachel Brimble. Rachel is an amazing woman who writes wonderful books in multiple genres.

Rachel and her husband at
Cherhill Manor in July 2013

Caroline: Tell us something about growing up and your life now.

Rachel: I have been married to my fabulous Mr. B for nearly 16 years and we have two teenage daughters. I grew up in the famous maritime city of Bristol and lived there until Mr. B and I moved to a small market town in 2001. I am lucky enough to live just a short thirty-minute drive from the beautiful, historical city of Bath which is just THE best place to visit and why I chose to set my Victorian novels there.

As for your bookworm or jock question….most definitely a bookworm. I considered my librarian one of my friends growing up. It’s a miracle how little teasing I had at school––I have loved books my whole life and still have to pinch myself that I am now a published author.

Caroline: Lucky you. I remember being on a hill and looking down at the sunlight shining on the city of Bath. What a beautiful city. Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres?

Rachel: My favorite authors are Nora Roberts, Jill Shalvis and Robyn Carr for contemporary romance and Philippa Gregory, Jean Fullerton and Jean Plaidy for historical novels. Romance is my favorite genre whether that be mainstream, romantic suspense or historical. I also love to read a lot of non-fiction and biographies about past British monarchs. Can’t get enough of Britain’s vast royal history!

Caroline: I am an anglophile and so admire Queen Elizabeth. What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge?

Rachel: Knitting in front of the TV – I watch far too much TV and more often than not have loads stacked up waiting for me. My favorite shows are US crime dramas like Rizzoli & Isles, Castle and CSI as well as UK period dramas like Downton Abbey, Ripper Street and Mr. Selfridge. Fabulous!

Caroline: I watch several of those shows, but am not familiar with Ripper Street. Do you have a favorite quote that sums up how you feel about life?

Rachel: “Set it up the way you want it to be.” Iyanla Vanzant

Caroline: How long have you been writing?

Rachel: I started writing when my youngest daughter started school full time in 2005. I am proud to say every book and novella I have written has been published. The Wild Rose Press published the first book in 2007 and now I write contemporary novels for Harlequin Superromance and Victorian romance for eKensington.

The dream to keep writing for the rest of my life – it is what I love most in the world. When I haven’t written for a couple of days, I turn savage!

Caroline: Where do you prefer to write? Do you need quiet, music, solitude?

Rachel: I need complete silence to write and my favorite place is on the sofa with the laptop and my black Lab snoring beside me. In the rare warm, summer days we have here in the UK, I always take advantage and take the laptop outside and write under the parasol. Bliss!

Caroline: I prefer my desktop PC to my laptop. Are you a plotter or a pantzer?

Rachel: I’m a combination of the two – I start each book browsing the internet for pics of my hero and heroine and then I write a two or three page synopsis and character sketches. After that, I write the first draft without looking back. The hard work comes in the second and third drafts! I usually hit a block around the 40,000 word mark but have learned to write through it because things usually come good in the end. The one thing I am certain of is this writing business never gets any easier, lol!

Caroline: So, true. In fact, I think it gets harder as we try to discover new twists and plots to stay fresh. Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration for stories?

Rachel: As I said earlier, Bath is the main inspiration for my Victorian romances and I fully intend to keep writing books set in this beautiful and fascinating city. As for my contemporary romances, I have used several real-life events in my own life as inspiration. The most recent with my second Harlequin Superromance, FOR A MAN LIKE HIM, I used the real life and terrifying experience of my family and I being rescued by helicopter from a hotel roof during the 2010 French floods. The opening chapters are almost an hour-by-hour account of what happened.

Caroline: I remember when I learned about your terrifying experiences in that flood. You shared the experience with readers on my blog. Do you set daily writing goals? Word count? Number of chapters? Do you get a chance to write every day?

Rachel: Every day I appreciate that I get to write full-time around the kids and husband – I treat my writing like a job and work every weekday from 8.30 – 3.30pm with a dog walk in between. Once the kids are home, it’s usually running around or grabbing moments on the laptop before dinner. After dinner, I might allow myself an hour before shutting down at 7pm – after that it’s family time.

Caroline: An admirable schedule. What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

Rachel: Satisfaction/belief in true love – I write for the romantic inside me as well as my readers. I think it’s vital an author believes in what they are writing if they have any chance of a reader coming along with them for the journey. The ultimate hope is someone picking up one of my books and enjoying it so much they look for my backlist. I love it when that happens for me with other authors…not so much the case as far as my husband’s concerned!

Caroline: I love reading a good book and learning the author has a long backlist, don’t you? What long-term plans do you have for your career?

Rachel: Writing is all I want to do for the rest of my life so the goal is to get better and better at my craft – and in turn, hopefully earn enough money that I can support myself and children. The best thing about having a successful writing career is surely the option to write anywhere. A cruise liner, a café in Florence, a beach in the Bahamas....yep, I most definitely have long-term plans ;)

Caroline: I like the way you think. ☺Would you like to tell us what you’re working on now?

Rachel: Right now I am working on the third novel in my series with eKensington. All my historicals novels are set in Bath or the surrounding towns and villages. The first two books (THE SEDUCTION OF EMILY and THE TEMPTATION OF LAURA) mainly take part in the city itself, but this third book will mostly be played out in a real village outside Bath called Biddestone.

The heroine, Monica, is a secondary character in THE TEMPTATION OF LAURA but as I was writing the book, I knew she deserved her own story. Luckily, my editor suggested it first so I knew we were on the same wavelength J

Caroline: What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

Rachel: Write! It really is as simple as that – you will never get a book published unless you finish one, first and foremost. I also recommend enrolling in as many online courses as you can afford. The Romance Writers of America chapters offer varied courses on dialogue, plotting, point of view etc. They certainly helped me when I was starting out.

The final, and most important, piece of advice – allow yourself to write a ‘crappy’ first draft!

Caroline: Good advice all around. What is a fun fact readers wouldn’t know about you?

Rachel: I haven’t had my hair cut professionally since my wedding day, almost 16 years ago! LOL!

My hair is so curly I can get away with my husband (and now my eldest daughter) giving it a trim with the kitchen scissors as and when I need it.

Caroline: How lucky, and your hair looks lovely in your photos. Can you give readers a blurb about your book?

Rachel: Here’s the blurb for THE TEMPTATION OF LAURA:

Laura Robinson has always been dazzled by the glamour of the stage. But perhaps acting and selling one’s favors are not so different—for Laura must feign pleasure with the men she beds to survive. Now, with her only friend at death’s door and a ruthless pimp at her heels, escaping her occupation seems impossible. Hoping to attract a gentleman, she attends the theater. Yet the man Laura captivates is no customer, but a rising star and playwright…

Adam Lacey has been driven to distraction since the moment he saw Laura. She is his ideal leading lady come to irresistible life—and so much more. Certain they can make the perfect team on and off stage, he is determined to win her heart—and discover her story. But that is precisely what Laura fears. And she has no idea that Adam harbors shameful secrets of his own. Will the truth free them to love—or destroy all their dreams…?

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Caroline: How about an excerpt?

Rachel: Certainly, here it is:

What was she doing inside Adam Lacey’s house, sitting upright and rigid upon a settee she could never afford? Laura crossed and re-crossed her ankles as she glanced around his drawing room. His home was masculine, bare of trinket or flower, but compared to her and Bette’s place, it screamed of achievement. He’d left her to go upstairs and change out of his wet clothes. She glanced at the wall clock. The ten minutes she’d been alone could’ve been an hour.

She needed to leave. Get out of there.

Standing, she stepped toward the door just as it swung open and Adam entered. Her breath caught. The man was ridiculously handsome. His dark blond hair was darker than usual, after his unplanned swim, and his face scrubbed clean. Her gaze drifted, of its own accord, to the smattering of chest hair just visible at the vee of his open-necked shirt. The man was unfairly relaxed. Laura inhaled. Handsome—stupidly, stupidly handsome.

He halted, his smile dissolving. “You’re leaving?”

He moved to touch her, seemed to think better of it and dropped his hand to his side. Their eyes locked and silence descended. Her heart beat fast with the knowledge she would’ve given the world to stay there. Eye to eye; toe to toe with a man who fascinated and intrigued her.

She stepped back. It was too dangerous. The atmosphere between them too potent. Her attraction to him kicked and punched at her heart. It was strong enough to make her want to kiss him, touch him and bring that dazzling smile to the surface over and over. For little more than another breath, she would risk everything to run her fingers over his biceps and up to the plane of his wide shoulders…

Laura blinked as her mouth drained dry. What had she been thinking by coming here? She hadn’t been thinking. In that moment when he asked her to accompany him back to his home––nothing but desire had whipped through her. Nothing but interest had leapt in her veins and obliterated her common sense. The fervor and lust in his eyes bespoke of a man who clearly had an agenda entirely different to hers.

Laura blinked and looked past him to the door. “I have a friend. She’s sick. She needs me and the medicine I bought before I came upon you at the park.” She brushed past him, through the door and into the hallway. “I shouldn’t have come here. I’m sorry.”

“Laura, wait.”

Ignoring him, she hurried toward the closed front door. She had to get out of there. If she looked at him again, she’d falter. Her rationale already hung on a hair’s breadth. His footsteps sounded at lightning speed behind her and when she clasped the door handle, his hand closed over hers. She stared at their joined hands and her body heated.

“Laura. Please. I need to talk to you.”

Swallowing hard, she forced herself to meet his gaze. His dark brown eyes shone with a pleading she hadn’t expected. How was she supposed to refuse? He was the first man in forever to make her heart pick up speed and flourish her hope for something more. She slowly pulled her hand from beneath his.

Caroline: How can readers learn more about you?

Rachel: At these urls:

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Caroline: Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about you?

Rachel: As well as THE TEMPTATION OF LAURA, the next installment of my Harlequin Superromance series is released March 4th, yay! WHAT BELONGS TO HER is available for pre-order right now.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Caroline: Wonderful, Rachel. Thank you so much for sharing with readers today. Best wishes for continued success in your career.

Readers, thanks for stopping by!

A FUN CHAIN BLOG FROM JACQUIE ROGERS TO ME AND ON

Today’s post is part of a chain blog. No, nothing like a chain letter. Jacquie Rogers tagged me and today is my turn. She is the author of one of my favorite ever series, the Hearts of Owhee series--or as I call them, the Much Ado series. The first is MUCH ADO ABOUT MARSHALS. Jacquie lives in Seattle now, but she grew up in Owyhee County, Idaho, and that’s where she sets her wonderful, funny, western historical romances. She comes from a long line of no-holds-barred storytellers. Even better,she’s a writer, and writers do tend to get carried away. Her parents actually owned a dairy farm in Owyhee County, Idaho, near Homedale and she grew up milking cows, breaking ice on the calves' water troughs and checking the bottoms of my shoes before entering the house. She says she doesn’t miss the frigid Idaho winters, but she does recall those soulful calf eyes with fondness. Nowadays, the only soulful eyes she sees are those of her husband when he pokes his head in her office for the tenth time and asks me when she’s going to fix dinner.

Those early farm days gave her a solid grounding in Real Life and provided endless fodder for her stories. Back then, she was a member of the Homedale Rod & Gun Club, Stateline Grange, and Sage Creek 4-H. She showed livestock, was the county fair queen, and garnered the title of girl's champion in the small bore rifle competition. (Now there's a scary combination!) She rode her horses to hell and back, with special emphasis on riding into the sunset while harmonica music played in the background.

For her complete bio, filled with her special brand of humor, go to http://www.jacquierogers.com/bio.html 

Oh, but wait until you’ve read this post and commented on it, please!

Jacquie said I have to answer the questions below, so here goes:

What am I working on?

My current work is GABE KINCAID, book four in the Kincaid series. Gabe is a second or third cousin of the other main characters of the series. His grandfather and Judge Kincaid are brothers and Gabe came from Austin to Kincaid Falls to work in the Judge’s law office. But even in the Southwest, we hold to the Southern tradition of treating distant cousins almost like siblings, so Gabe is close to the Kincaid Springs branch of the Kincaid family.  The heroine is Kathryn “Katie” Elizabeth Worthington, posing as a circus fortune teller to escape the influential men who killed her grandfather back in Savannah and want to make sure she doesn’t live to tell what she saw. In the meantime, she’s up to her ears in new trouble and must rely on Gabe and the Kincaids to help her.  

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Wow, this is a hard question. Each author, in my opinion, has a distinct voice and style that creates a particular difference from other writers. When I follow authors, it’s because of that voice. Other than that, all of my historical romance novels include murder and/or mayhem. They’re romances with mystery. The only exception is the novella HAPPY IS THE BRIDE, which is a wedding comedy of errors, written because my editor at the time wanted an historic wedding resembling “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” I don’t like that show, but I do like HAPPY IS THE BRIDE.

Why do I write what I write?

I write the type books I enjoy reading. Well, I enjoy other type such as Regency and World War II settings, but I haven’t written one of those—yet. I believe my love of western history began because my dad used to tell stories of his family after they came from Georgia to Texas in 1876. I loved those stories and never tired of hearing them. When you place your ancestors in historical settings, the history comes alive. That’s what happened for me. I absorbed a lot of Texas history for the last quarter of the 19^th century. That led me to research more and more. Now I feel comfortable writing about that era, but I’m still learning new things about that time. My first historical romance was THE MOST UNSUITABLE WIFE.

How does my writing process work?

First, I see an inciting incident in my head as if I were watching a movie. A lot of writers have this experience, by the way, so don’t call the men in white coats yet. The part I see shows the main characters, but it’s not always the first of the book. Sometimes, it gets moved as far as chapter three, but it’s always near the front. I use names from the time period in which the story is set, sometimes ancestral names so I can be certain they were around at the time. For instance, Cenora Rose from THE TEXAN’S IRISH BRIDE and Parmelia Bailey from LONG WAY HOME are family names. Writing a book takes me about three or months—unless life interferes. For my last two books, life played havoc with my schedule. I do plot my works, but also allow myself to deviate from my plot if my muse takes over and wants to include something new. The plot is like a roadmap, and I can take side trips but come back to the main highway. I write full time, from six to twelve hours a day. Unfortunately, that time includes marketing, which steals a lot of writing time. But I want readers to buy my books, so the marketing is necessary. I would write even if no one bought my books, but I’d much rather readers read my books and enjoy them. And leave reviews on Amazon. Reviews are important to an author.

Jacquie instructed me to find three authors to follow me with posts next week.

     

      Mary Alice Adair writes historical romance with Cherokee and English characters, PASSION'S VISION is the first of her Passion series. Mary used to be one of my critique partners, but she and her husband moved from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to the Cherokee area of Eastern Oklahoma. She has researched the Cherokee in colonial times and has become an authority on their lifestyle. For her research, she used a book written by her husband’s ancestor, James Adair, which is the definitive work of the time. Her blog is at http://www.authormaryadair.blogspot.com/

         Carra Copelin writes contemporary romance with suspense elements. She and her husband live in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. She is writing the Code series, the first of which is CODE OF HONOR. Carra is one of my critique partners who keeps me on the writing path. She also researches her books with care for detail. She’s President of the Yellow Rose Chapter of Romance Writers of America. Find her at http://carracopelin.com/blog.html

           Anna Jeffrey writes contemporary romance and steamy women’s fiction. Anna also is half the team of the Dixie Cash books. Yes, she is fun to talk to, much like the Dixie Cash books are to read. But her Anna Jeffrey books are great reads. Her latest is THE TYCOON, the steamy first of her Sons of Texas series. Her West Texas series and Idaho series are not to be missed. Find her at http://annajeffreyauthor.wordpress.com/

Thanks for stopping by!