Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Heart of Romance has won another award!

You read the title right! The LIEBSTER AWARD was given to me by my fellow Celtic Hearts author, RENEE VINCENT. Thank you Renee for honoring me with this!

You can find Renee Vincent at her blogs, Deep In The Heart Romance and Past The Print.


In keeping with the traditions associated with receiving the Liebster Blog Award, I must now convey the following:

Winners of a Liebster must:

1. Post the award on your blog and show thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them via the award graphic.

2. Reveal your top five picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog or send them a shout out on Twitter.

3. Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the Internet – other writers (and bloggers)

Those that I have passed this award on to:

1) Author Miriam Newman, fellow writer at Celtic Hearts, at The Celtic Rose

2) Author Melissa Stark, fellow writer at Celtic Hearts,  at Melissa Stark

3) Author Tami Dee, fellow writer at Celtic Hearts at Tami Dee

4) Author Beth Trissel, fellow writer at Celtic Hearts at One Writer's Way

5) Author Kristal Lee, fellow writer at Celtic Hearts at Kristal Lee Romances

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Totally HOT Thursdays

www.mhaipresodistriscio.blogspot.com
Today, I am presenting to you the very sexy:

PEDRO SOLTZ

I have to tell you that after searching high and low, I was not able to find out much about this handsome man, so here is the little bit I was able to find.

HEIGHT- 6'1"
BUST- 39"
HAIR- Brown
EYES- Green
BIRTHDAY- 1981
BIRTH PLACE- Brazil








www.angels-models.com
www.kultmodelagency.blogspot.com

www.amtvienna.com



**NOTICE- I do not own any of these pictures.**

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

New Jersey RWA Conference

I will be attending this conference. Hope to see you there.

 

NJRW's Put Your Heart in a Book Conference
Empower Your Muse!

October 21-22, 2011
Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel
Iselin, NJ

Don’t miss this opportunity to take your writing to the next level. This year’s Put Your Heart in a Book Conference is shaping up to be the best ever. We will be adding to the list of agents and editors, so please check the website frequently for updates!
All conference information and forms are on the conference drop down menu. Users have experienced issues seeing the conference drop down menu using AOL as their browser. Please log on to this site using either FireFox, Safari or Internet Explorer and click on the conference tab in the header to view all the information.

Our Featured Speakers

Keynote speaker — Suzanne Brockmann

Suzanne Brockmann

Luncheon speaker — Rachel Gibson

Rachel Gibson

Special Presentation speaker — Victoria Alexander*

Victoria Alexander
* For the first 100 people who sign up for the conference

Here is a partial list of agents and editors scheduled to attend:

Agents
  • Jessica Alvarez, BookEnds, LLC
  • Claudia Cross, Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. (panel only)
  • Jennifer Didik, Loretta Barrett Books, Inc.
  • Stephany Evans, FinePrint Literary Management
  • Anne Hawkins, John Hawkins & Associates, Inc.
  • Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency
  • Miriam Kriss, Irene Goodman Literary Agency
  • Denise Little, The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency
  • Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency
  • Beth Miller, Writers House
  • Lauren Ruth, BookEnds, LLC
  • Susannah Taylor, Richard Henshaw Group
  • Carlie Webber, Jane Rotrosen Agency
Editors
  • Lia Brown, Avalon Books
  • Karen Chaplin, HarperCollins Publishers
  • Kelli Collins, Ellora’s Cave
  • Wendy McCurdy, Berkley Books
  • Lauren Plude, Grand Central Publishing
  • Aubrey Poole, Sourcebooks
  • Latoya Smith, Grand Central Publishing
  • And 6 editors from Harlequin!
And, here is the list of our workshop presenters:
  • Tasha Alexander
  • Victoria Alexander
  • Laura Marie Altom
  • Toni Andrews
  • Gina Ardito
  • Marlo Berliner
  • Annette Blair
  • Terri Brisbin
  • Suzanne Brockmann
  • Mary Burton
  • Christine Bush
  • Dianne Castell
  • Karen Chaplin
  • Anna DePalo
  • Stephanie Draven
  • Cara Elliott
  • Marie Force
  • Jacquelyn Frank
  • Rachel Gibson
  • Laura Griffin
  • Winnie Griggs
  • Nancy Herkness
  • Kristan Higgins
  • Eloisa James
  • Sophie Jordan
  • Mary Kennedy
  • April Kihlstrom
  • Cindy Kirk
  • Eliza Knight
  • Caroline Linden
  • Denise Little
  • Kathleen Long
  • Janice Lynn
  • Kevan Lyon
  • Sally MacKenzie
  • Brenda Novak
  • Robin D. Owens
  • Tessa Radley
  • Isabel Roman
  • Renee Ryan
  • Ruth Seitelman
  • Karen Rose Smith
  • RR Smythe
  • Mariah Stewart
  • Hope Tarr
  • Stephanie Tyler
  • The Grammar Divas
  • Lauren Willig
Registration opens June 15th 2011!
NJRW Member: $190.00
Non-NJRW Member: $210.00
NJRW hotel room rate is $115, which includes guestroom internet access.

Pre-conference Workshop

Emotion: The Heart of the Novel, with Brenda Novak (Friday, Oct. 21, from 9 AM to 12 PM) - $30.00

Donations Requested

Your help is needed! Donations for the 2011 Conference giveaway baskets can be brought to each NJRW monthly meeting and would be greatly appreciated. Items such as lotions, candles, chocolates, unused books, bottles of wine and, of course, large baskets would be very helpful. Complete theme baskets will also be accepted from individuals or a group of authors. Any questions, please contact Val Luna, Baskets Chair.
If you have questions, please contact: Marlo Berliner, NJRW’s 2011 Conference Chair, at confchair@njromancewriters.org or, Ruth Seitelman, Assistant Chair, at ruth.seitelman@gmail.com. For registration questions, please contact: LoriMarie LaSpada, Registrar, at registrar@njromancewriters.org.
Want to find out what you've been missing, or perhaps re-live a favorite session from a previous event? CDs are available for purchase from past Put Your Heart in a Book conferences.

Monday, September 12, 2011

WINNER!

 And the winner of the autographed picture of Brooks Johnson is................

CANDY!

We hope you had a "Happy Birthday!" and congratulations!!!!

Be looking for an email from me.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Totally HOT Thursdays

Today, I am interviewing BROOKS JOHNSON, the lead male cover model at Hot Damn Designs. I hope you will enjoy reading this interview.  Brooks was both very accommodating and a gentleman.



Welcome to Heart of Romance, Brooks! We are so happy to have you. Let me start off by asking the question I am sure everyone wants to know and that is, how did you get started in the modeling profession?

BROOKS- Hello! Well, at the time I was just a little peon intern doing an internship one summer for Enterprise Rent-A-Car while in school and waited on a customer who was a photographer. During the course of the rental process, my customer inquired if I modeled or not and I had to say, "No, but I have thought about it but never pursued it!" So that was the beginning and led to my first photo shoot or test-shoot.

What is Hot Damn Designs and how did you come to work for them?

           BROOKS-Kim Killion of Hot Damn Designs had contacted my Agency and discovered me that way, & I think my agent had told her I previously Competed in a Romance Competition & also had been at some Romance Conventions (back when I had SHORT Hair! Ha haa haa!)


  Can you tell us how many covers you have graced?

 BROOKS- I cannot say exactly, but somewhere in the range of 150-175.


 How many different places have you shot a cover or are all of them right there in a studio?

 BROOKS- I have shot in different locations, yes. Mostly indoors, but some outside by buildings, walls, fire escapes, and even a barn and stables!

                                                         What is your favorite role to portray?

  BROOKS-I actually like portraying them all, because they are all so different than what I know. I guess I just have an appreciation for many things.


 Is modeling the only thing you are doing at the moment?

 BROOKS-Currently yes, but I enjoy doing yard work outdoors for people & massage therapy work when there are opportunities to. I'm looking at accepting a job installing shower doors for a Glass Co. in October.



What does your future hold?

 BROOKS-I try not to trespass into my future. The way I look at it, if I would try to predict that, I would make God laugh!


  I see that you are an animal lover. How many dogs do you have and do you have other pets as well?

BROOKS-Yes, three Dogs....also I must mention I have a cat & two King Snakes to my name (one of the Kings is Albino).

          
What are the kinds of things you like to do in your off time?

 BROOKS-Relax and remember what if feels like to breathe deeply....& sometimes I am forced to breathe deeply during intense workouts     


We would love to know one thing about you that we wouldn’t find in your bio.

 BROOKS-I am an avid health nut b/c of a close encounter with death & dying from Meningitis half way through my senior year in High School. I also have some Choctaw ancestry from the Original Band of the Mississippi Choctaw Indian.
Whoops, I guess that makes two things you know now!

SARAH- We are glad you recovered! How scary!


            Your stats: Age: 34

                              Height: 6’1”

                             Weight: 202 lbs.

                             Chest: 43

                             Bicep: 17 ½ in.



 If you don’t mind, here are some brief questions to answer.

Favorite meal? Homemade mac and cheese with white Parmesan

Favorite movie? Smoke Signals

Favorite past time? Canoeing!


Luck or Destiny? I believe in both.

 Mountains or Beach? I appreciate them both in different ways, so I would probably choose the one with the fewest crowds.

Hair-Long or Short? Long!

Eyes or lips? Eyes

Cover design by Kim Killion
Sunrise or sunset? Sunrise

Hot or Cold? Hot!

Bikini or One piece? Bikini

Silk or lace? Does it matter? They are both coming off anyways!


 If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go?

 BROOKS- New Zealand


Brooks, Thank you so much for hanging out with us today and letting me interview you.  I would like to leave some links for the fans to use so if they are interested in learning more about you, they can.



Okay everyone! Here is a special treat for you. Leave a comment below for your chance to win an autographed copy of a picture of Brooks!!!!

Cover design by Kim Killion

Photo property of Brooks Johnson

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

INTERVIEW with Author Laura Kaye

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR LAURA KAYE                          

Today I’m interviewing Laura Kaye. Her book, HEARTS IN DARKNESS is a contemporary romance and was released on April 20, 2011.



Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.  

I’d love to, Sarah! And thanks for having me here! HEARTS IN DARKNESS is about two strangers who find acceptance and dare to find love while trapped for four hours in a pitch-black elevator. Here’s the blurb:

Two strangers. Four hours. One pitch-black elevator.



Makenna James thinks her day can't get any worse, until she finds herself stuck in a pitch-black elevator with a complete stranger. Distracted by a phone call and juggling too much stuff, the pin-striped accountant caught only a glimpse of a dragon tattoo on his hand before the lights went out.

Caden Grayson is amused when a redhead literally falls at his feet. His amusement turns to panic when the power fails. Despite his piercings, tats, and vicious scar, he's terrified of the dark and confined spaces. Now, he's trapped in his own worst nightmare.

To fight fear, they must both reach out and open up. With no preconceived notions based on looks to hold them back, they discover just how much they have in common. In the warming darkness, attraction grows and sparks fly, but will they feel the same when the lights come back on?



Describe the genre of this particular title, and is the only genre you write in?  

HEARTS IN DARKNESS is contemporary romance, though in a pretty unique setting – a pitch-black elevator in which the characters can’t see each other for part of the book. Contemporary is just one of the romantic genres in which I write. I also have books in paranormal (Forever Freed, In the Service of the King), fantasy (North of Need), and erotic (Just Gotta Say) romance. I really enjoy exploring what these different genres offer to my writing, and hope to keep up the genre hopping as long as my career will allow!



When did you start writing toward publication?  

I began pursuing fiction writing a little over three years ago. Kinda weird story: I hit my head on July 4, 2008, and it ended up being a more severe injury than we initially thought. After several weeks of intense migraine-like headaches and changes to my eating and sleeping patterns, once I began to heal, I emerged from the whole mess with a very strong desire to write. The book that became my vampire romance, Forever Freed, was the first novel I wrote, and I had the draft completed in about 11 weeks. I’ve been pursuing publication ever since.



Did you have several manuscripts finished before you sold? If so, did you send them out yourself?

When I sold Forever Freed in the late winter of 2010, I didn’t have anything else written at that point—it was the first I wrote and first I sold. However, in the following year, I wrote and sold four more manuscripts, two of which are the first in series. I do not have an agent, so I did all the querying/submitting on my own.



Why have you become a published author?    

Well, I was already a published author before pursuing fiction writing. I’m an historian by training, and have published two non-fiction books in my field. However, I wanted to pursue publication of my fiction because, frankly, I thought it would be really cool and a lot of fun to see my book on bookstore shelves and to learn people were reading and talking about what I wrote. Plus, once you open your mind to characters, they sort of take over and demand to be heard! I’m also doing it now because I’m hoping that I can ultimately be successful enough in my sales to pursuing writing as a full-time career.



Do you have any rejection stories to share?

Every writer has rejection stories! I’m no different. Before I accepted a contract for Forever Freed at The Wild Rose Press, I queried agents widely over about a 9-month period. It was a total learning process for me, and I made a lot of rookie mistakes along the way. I had a lot of requests for partials and fulls, but ultimately no takers. I believe I queried upwards of 70 agents on that book. Then, the first publisher I queried, TWRP, offered a contract. Possibly the most disappointing rejection I’ve received so far was from a big name agent who read one of my manuscripts, totally loved it and raved about it in several emails, but ultimately decided to pass. However, she did say she’d look at it again if I revised this one issue that concerned her. So, it wasn’t all bad news. Now, to find the time for that manuscript!



What is your writing routine like?

I think describing it as a “routine” would be giving it a lot more order and structure than it really has! LOL I work full-time and am married with two children under the age of 7, so I write when the time permits itself, often after the girls go to bed at night. Sometimes I can sneak in some weekend time for writing, too. Otherwise, the only real routine I have is I usually need to reread the most recent scenes I’ve written to get my head back into the story before I can continue on with new pages. I tend to be a faster writer overall, and I don’t have to be in a special place or work in silence, etc., to do my thing!



What sort of promo do you do? Do you have help?

I make the greatest use of promotion opportunities that are free. I’ve been featured on probably 100 blogs since Hearts in Darkness released in April. I twitter and facebook like a demon, and have an active blog. I’m also involved in the forums/boards on amazon and on the kindleboards. Giveaways are a great form of promotion, and a lot of my guest posts include opportunities to win my books. I have purchased some swag items to send to readers, and so far have had romance trading cards made for all my books—I give those away for free if someone sends me a  SASE.



Having achieved your goal to be a published author, what is the most rewarding thing?    

Easy. The most rewarding thing is knowing people are enjoying your books. Knowing you made an impact on their lives in some way, even if small. I love that, and it’s what makes it all worthwhile!



Are you a member of any writing organizations and, if so, have they helped

I belong to the Romance Writers of America and quite a few of their local and “special interest” chapters. I find the RWA a great resource and networking tool. Second to that, I find Savvy Authors to be a phenomenal site for authors and encourage everyone to join.



Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract? 

Keep writing. Book one may not sell. It doesn’t, for a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean the time spent on that book was wasted. Writing book one honed your skills as a writer and gave you confidence you could finish a book. So, while queyring book one, start on book two—whether it’s the second in a series or something completely new. An agent or editor may decide they your first book doesn’t work for them, but they love your voice—and you want to have something else in hand to show them. Plus, writing is filled with so many milestones, keeping your butt in the chair and fingers on the keyboard will give you things to celebrate as the inevitable rejections roll in.



What’s next for you?

I have books releasing on September 30 (Just Gotta Say, contemporary erotic romance from Decadent Publishing) and November 1 (North of Need: The Hearts of the Anemoi, Book 1, contemporary fantasy romance from Entangled Publishing.) Currently, I’m writing the second book in the Anemoi series as well as completing revisions on the first in a vampire series with Harlequin that releases next February.



A little bit about the author

A multi-published author of paranormal, contemporary and erotic romance, Laura Kaye’s hot, heartfelt stories are all about the universal desire for a place to belong. Laura is the author of the bestselling contemporary romance Hearts in Darkness and the bestselling paranormal romance Forever Freed. Just Gotta Say is Laura’s third published book, and she has a fourth releasing in November 2011. Laura lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.



How can my readers buy your book?  


Check out my book trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEXtOvGJNl0   



You can find more information about Laura Kaye and Hearts in Darkness at

Thursday, September 1, 2011

WINNERS of Kim Killion books

I want to thank everyone who stopped in and left a comment. Kim and I really appreciate it!!

Here are your winners:

SiNn- wins a copy of Caribbean Scot

Patricia- wins a copy of Caribbean Scot

Dawn Hamilton- wins a copy of Taming a Highland Devil

Renee Vincent- wins a copy of Educating Aphrodite

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!