Thursday, July 7, 2011

Newsletter -- July 2011


TEMPTRESS IN TRAINING has hit the shelves! I'm so excited to finally give Sophie Darshaw her happily ever after. And have you seen the beautiful cover? Sophie and Lindley are pretty special to me, and I hope readers love their story. Can I tempt you a bit?

Sophie Darshaw has earned her keep in Madame Eudora's brothel by sewing unique and intimate articles for Madame's particular clients. But Sophie dreams of a better life and embarks on a scheme to make herself respectable. She ends up privy to a murder plot and in possession of a mysterious locket that may hold the key to her father’s life—or death.

Lord Lindley lost his family when a plot by some Napoleon sympathizers went awry. It has been his life’s goal ever since to bring these men to justice. He’s been stalking one man in particular—Philip Darshaw. Lindley's determined to learn just how much of her father’s criminal past Sophie has been involved in. He'll stop at nothing to get what he wants from the secretive seamstress. Sophie's creative stitchery, however, might just unravel his plans.

And yet another Happily Ever After!
Several, actually. I'm honored to have a short story in a really fun anthology put together by Fiction Flurry, a group of writers from my own hometown. It's called Tales of Summer Romance and it's full of short little stories about--you guessed it--summer romance. It's available at Smashwords and a portion of the proceeds will go to a community-based charity. Here's the link if you'd like to check it out: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/69671

What's next?
PASSION AND PRETENSE will be my next release, scheduled for April, 2011. It follows the story of Lord Rastmoor's little sister, Penelope. She's grown up a bit, but still the same unconventional mischief-maker we came to love in DAMSEL IN DISGUISE. Originally this book was to be called PARAMOUR BY PRETENSE, but the marketing department asked me to come up with something a little sexier, so I did.

MISTRESS and DAMSEL are still out there making appearances at local booksellers. If you've missed MISTRESS BY MISTAKE or DAMSEL IN DISGUISE, check with your local bookstore, library, or look for them online at Amazon.com and the usual places.

RWA National Conference
I've been making some appearances, too! I just got back from the Romance Writers of America national conference where I participated in the annual booksigning to benefit literacy. Also, my publisher held a free booksigning open only to conference attendees. What a blast to sign books and give them out for free!

This year's conference was in exciting New York City. Wow, this was my first time in the Big Apple and I loved it! That place really doesn't sleep--and I don't think I did, either. But I came back all full of plans and ideas for what to write next so I'm raring to go. Even with all the changes in the industry, my agent and editor were very upbeat and excited.

While there, I was privileged to be a part of two Author Workshop Panels. With authors Courtney Milan, Kris Kennedy, Susan Sey and Tiffany Clare we discussed The Seven Deadly Sins of the First Book. Great insights for new authors! With Kit Wilkinson, Lynette Eason, and Christie Craig, we discussed Riding the Contest Wave; how to make writing contests work for you. Good stuff!

Upcoming Events
In August I'll be making several appearances here in Ohio. I'd love to see you if you can drop by!

Wednesday, Aug. 3, 12:00 - 3:00 pm
Guest Speaker, Cambridge Writers Group
Crossroads Library
63500 Byesville Road
Cambridge, OH

Saturday, Aug. 13, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Booksigning (with author Donna MacMeans)
Barnes & Noble, Easton Town Center
4005 Townsfair Way
Columbus, OH 43219

Saturday, Aug. 20, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
"World Building for Writers" Author Panel
Buckeye Library
6625 Wolff Road
Medina, OH 44256