Love and Luck; Luck and Love

 

I was born and raised in the United States. But I have a long line of relatives born and raised in Ireland. So this time of year is my favorite. St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite holidays! I love to celebrate it and not by drinking. I love the food, the crafts, learning more about Ireland and my heritage in itself.

What does luck have to do with love? If you ask an Irishman he will tell you everything! If it weren’t for luck there would be nothing!

In my upcoming release, Claimed, luck had everything to do with Lysandra and Michael’s love. It was by luck Lysandra was at a club with her friends, the same club Michael was visiting, on the same night at the same time. Now that’s luck.

Want even more luck for the story. Lysandra’s friends told her she needed to get out and date more, she was too focused on work. They dared her to find a hot guy and ask for his number. She took them up on her dare and after searching the club she found Michael and there story started from there.

Was it luck that won me a publishing contract with MuseItUp Publishing? I have to say, yes a little, luck played in that I joined Marketing For Romance Writers just in time for a huge pitch event and Lea at Muse grabbed my baby up to publish!

So because of that and the fact I believe in the phrase ‘Luck of the Irish’ I am revealing my cover here, today for this blog hop, of my upcoming release, Claimed, with MuseItUp Publishing. Be sure to check back for an official release date soon!

 

 

 

To hold you over check out my release from Secret Cravings Publishing, Night Promises, the first in my Night Pleasures series.

 

Kelly O’Keefe first met a vampire when she was twelve. Now the pair are best friends and have opened Night Pleasures, an underground club that caters to vampires and their needs. When Kelly’s sister is murdered, she finds herself working with Connor, a vampire she's been in love with for months. Unable to trust men, let alone a vampire, can she let him help her solve her sister’s murder?

Connor has been watching after Kelly for seven months with the help of his sire and best friend Micah. Connor has kept himself at a distance even though he knows they are life mates. He's afraid of losing control and turning Kelly against her will. When he learns Kelly plans on investigating her sister’s death, he steps in and allows himself to get close to her.

But how close is too close?

Secret Cravings Publishing  |   Amazon  |  Barnes & Nobel

 

Giveaway time! Are you feeling lucky?

My contest is simple, go to my Facebook page and like it. Leave a comment here letting me know you liked my page. On the 19th I will draw a name. The winner can choose either of my releases. You will get Night Promises that day or you can wait until Claimed is through edits for your copy.

Either way leave a comment stating you liked my Facebook page and/or something you love about St. Patrick's Day, if you have been lucky this year, etc. Your comment also enters you into the big drawing which is:

1st Grand Prize: A $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

 

2nd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

 

 

There are over 300 blogs participating in this hop. The below link will take you to the main page of all the blogs hopping. You have three days to visit as many blogs as you can and comment for your chance to win tons of prizes and the ultimate prizes above! 

 

Is the luck on your side??

 

Find the other hoppers here!  

 

A Christmas of Our Own by M.S. Spencer

When I was ten years old my father landed a job with UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, at it's headquarters in Paris. Our family of five took the Queen Mary first class across the Atlantic, but that's another story for another time. We moved into a house in a suburb of Paris called Palaiseau. The town happened to be run by Communists, who, in order to prove how wonderful their system was, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, built a beautiful stade (recreation facility) and other amenities. What they didn't deliver was enough coal to heat the houses in what turned out to be the coldest winter since 1923. We lived in an ultramodern house reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright's less comfortable designs. It consisted of a square concrete block on stilts with large, uninsulated windows, so the cold wind not only swept around the house and through the windows, but underneath it. After a freezing night, we'd step from bed into icy puddles on the floor. To keep warm we used layers. And layers. And layers. So many layers that one night I heard a screech from the bathroom. My mother stood there, still in her underwear, soaking wet. She figured after shedding two sweaters, four shirts and five trousers she was clear and only learned her mistake when she stepped into the shower. To make matters worse, our trunks took six months to arrive, leaving us with only a few clothes and utensils, and of course none of our Christmas decorations. Us children (6, 10 and 12) figured whining would help and made a serious attempt to keep it up well into Christmas week. When even that failed we tried moping. My mother walked in two days before Christmas to find us in full mope mode. Without a word, she laid on the table several rolls of construction paper and glue, together with sparkly sprinkles and other small ornaments. "We're going to make our own decorations," she announced cheerily. A few hours later we'd made enough ornaments to cover the tree. My father found some real candles with little hinged holders and we attached them to the tree. It was magical! Little green paper pines with red polka dots, yellow stars, sparkly with silver sprinkles, and popcorn chains covered the little tree, all of it lit by golden light. At last we began to feel the Christmas spirit and went to bed with visions of roast chicken (no turkeys in France) and pain au chocolat (no Hershey kisses) in our heads. By the morning I was so excited my stomach hurt and I had to hold a gallon jug (no hot water bottle) on my lap. Despite-or perhaps because of-the absence of our store-bougth,factory-made, cookie-cutter American trinkets, it was the best Christmas we'd ever had. If you liked this story, please leave a comment. I will be giving away a lovely Christmas ornament to the first person who joins my blog site and can name all four of my titles! Merry Christmas, M.S. Spencer My Latest Release: Take lost masterpieces, brilliant inventors, and stolen prototypes. Add Three Sisters, Indian spirits who guard the Potomac River. Stir in three sisters and their lovers. Result? Jealousy, sex, genius, larceny and love. Who will end up with whom, and will the Three Sisters take another life as the legend demands? Triptych, by M. S. Spencer Released November 9, 2011 ISBN: 978-1-61885-064-5 68,00 words, M/F, Contemporary romantic suspense, 3 flames (erotic) Blurb

Both Miranda Cabot and her sister Honor prefer their solitude to romance, Miranda having watched her husband die in flames on the Potomac River rocks called the Three Sisters. Not so the youngest, Sybil, who invites a mysterious Frenchman calling himself the Chevalier du bon Arnaque to stay with them in their mansion overlooking the Sisters.

Misgivings about the stranger’s intentions lead Miranda and Honor to ask their neighbors Dieter Heiliger and his grandson Corey to chaperone. Three beautiful, strong-willed women living in a house with three handsome, virile men results inevitably in an intricate web of jealousy, sex, and intrigue. Add in long-lost master artworks, stolen prototypes and a resident genius and you have a recipe for romance. Who will end up with whom, and will the Three Sisters take another life as the legend calls for?

Buy Links: http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=4&products_id=171 All Romance E Books: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-triptych-641725-148.html Book Strand: http://www.bookstrand.com/triptych Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Triptych-ebook/dp/B0067MSSO0/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1321481301&sr=1-4

Excerpt: "That's the car, Sybil! The plane must have arrived early. Go open the door." Miranda heard the pounding of excited feet on the stairs. She checked her hair and dress and prepared herself not merely to meet the Chevalier du Bon Arnaque, but to dislike him intensely. She called to Honor and stepped sedately down the long formal staircase to the centeral hall where Sybil was taking the coat of a very tall, black-haired gentleman. As she stood on teh last step, he turned and glanced up at her. A long pause ensued. Did my heart just stop beating? The house, the hall, Sybil, everything but the man faded into the background. She examined his face minutely, as though she had all the time in the world. ringlets of thick, glossy black hair twined over his forehead, the light catching highlights of silver at the temples and deep in his ebony eyes. Tanned skin stretched tight over his high cheekbones, reminding her of the portrait of a Highland chieftain that hung in her study. She could just make out a tiny upturn at the end of his nose that lent a fanciful air to his appearance. Perhaps not a clan chief but an elvish prince? Slowly she grew aware of Sybil's chattering. "Monsieur le Chevalier-see how well I pronounced it, monsieu? I've been practicing. I promise to be your best student ever! Oh, and this is miranda, my sister. Honor? Honor! Are you coming down?" Miranda took the last step into a new world. She faltered before this man who turned her inside out with a single look, and words failed her. As she struggled with an unaccustomed shyness he held out a friendly hand to her. She mustered up a firm shake from somewhere, noting the hard calluses that lined his palm. A work-hardened hand. Could it be he's not a leisure-loving gigolo after all? CONTACTS: Website: www.MeredithEllsworth.com Facebook Author Page:www.facebook.com/M.S.SpencerAuthor blog:http://msspencertalespinner.blogspot.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/msspencerauthor Author Pages: Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/M.S.-Spencer/e/B002ZOEUC8/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1277387999&sr=1-2-ent All Romance E Books Author Page: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=M.S.+Spencer

Kick off of 15 Days of Christmas with Cynthia MacGregor

Please welcome my special guest author, Cynthia MacGregor. Thanks so much for being her today, Cynthia, and for kicking off my 15 Days of Christmas Event!!

HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS

by Cynthia MacGregor

How does your family celebrate holidays...and not just "The Holidays"--the major ones that stare with Thanksgiving, end with New Year's, and include Christmas and/or Chanukah and/or Kwanzaa? I'm talking about all holidays, including the patriotic ones, the minor ones, and every other "special" day on the calendar.

If you have kids at home, you are probably interested in several things in connection with the holidays:

· Making the holidays meaningful--they're more than just a day off from school.

· Making memories that your kids will treasure long after they're grown: "Oh, I remember when we were kids, on Easter Mom would always __________."

There are two primary things you can do that will make holidays-any holiday-more meaningful and help makememories your kids will treasure. Pick either one. Pick both.

One is to initiate a custom that's specific to your family and centers around that holiday, be it Christmas or Thanksgiving, Presidents' Day or Valentine's Day, or even such occasions as the night of a full moon or the first day of spring. The other is to develop a ceremony for that occasion.

I happen to have written two books that touch on those two subjects-but whether or not you buy the books, I still urge you to follow their precepts.

The traditions you establish for your family need not be anything spectacular. They can be small and quiet...like always saying a prayer when you put your Christmas tree topper in place, and then observing a moment of silence, or hiding a child's birthday presents instead of giving them to him/her outright, so that she/he has the fun of searching the house, knowing the s/he is looking for five presents...but s/he has to find them before s/he can open them.

Family Traditions, Customs and Celebrations is a compilation of just such traditions that were started in real families all over and perpetuated through the years. Most are unique to just one family; none is a universal, widespread, time-honored tradition. Most of these ideas will be new to you, though you are welcome to borrow them to use in your family.

The ceremonies in Family Ceremonies for Life's Occasions celebrate not only calendar holidays such events as birthdays but also life's major and minor milestones from moving into a new house to paying off the mortgage, from celebrating the birth of a child to celebrating an engagement; and yes, there are even ceremonies for such sad occasions as the death of a pet. Even the day that a child gets his/her first driver's license can be solemnized by a ceremony...and maybe that will help the teenager remember to take driving seriously and not drive carelessly or foolishly.

Naturally, I hope you'll buy both these books, but even if you don't want to, you can still write your own ceremonies and invent your own customs and traditions. The important thing to remember is that they make your family special, draw your family closer together, and weave lasting memories that will warm your kids' hearts long after they're grown. "My family was really neat! I remember from back when Iw as very little, my folks would always ____________."

What will your kids remember? What makes your family special? What sets your family apart from others and creates special days that really are special and not just an excuse for a day off from school or a chance to get presents? Does your child get to wear a birthday crown and sit in a place of honor at dinner on his birthday? Does your child get to choose the dinner menu when he brings home a good report card? Do you create a family New Year's Eve celebration by sharing favorite memories?

What will your children remember from their growing-up years? What memories are you creating?

It's never too late to start.

* * *

If you want to order either of these two books, you'll find them at http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=products_all&filter_author=36

Happy Holidays...all the holidays! From my house and my heart to yours.

Cynthia MacGregor

Another Gret Review!

A Reader Review by Lynn Spangler Ms. Callihan’s Christmas short story “A Cowboy’s Christmas Wish” effectively captured my attention from the moment I read the story’s blurb. The story itself didn’t let me down. Her characters were believable from the first words. It was easy to slip into their minds and feel each emotion. The love scene made you feel the strong emotional and physical tie between Payton and Derek. “A Cowboy’s Christmas Wish” in my opinion was a very strong debut for this new author.

My First Review!!!

I just saw my first review as a published author...nothing gets better than this. Thank you Staci Bush for the great review of my free Christmas read, "A Cowboy's Christmas Wish" and of my fellow SCP authors! Check them out at http://www.stacibush.com

Christmas Free Read

My publisher, Secret Cravings Publishing will be offering Christmas Free Reads from their authors. I happen to be one of them. My story "A Cowboy's Christmas Wish" will be available for download around December 15. For each download my publisher will donate $1.00 to a charity of my choice. I pick Colon Cancer in honor of my mamaw Sarah Stamper who was diagnosed about three weeks ago. And in memory of my late Aunt Linda Callihan Hicks who lost her battle to colon cancer four years ago. She was my biggest supporter when it came to my writing and my biggest fan.

Thanks,

Tonya

I'm Part of Paranormal Blog Hop Week

Kelly O’Keefe first met a vampire when she was twelve. Now the pair are best friends and have opened Night Pleasures, an underground club that caters to vampires and their needs. Once Kelly’s sister is murdered, she finds herself working with Connor, a vampire she's been in love with for months. Unable to trust men, let alone a vampire, can she let him help her solve her sister’s murder?

Connor has been watching after Kelly for seven months with the help of his sire and best friend Micah. Connor has kept himself at a distance even though he knows they are life mates. But he's afraid of losing control and turning Kelly against her will. When he learns Kelly plans on investigating her sister’s death, he steps in and allows himself to get close to her.

But how close is too close?

Check back soon for excerpts and a contest:) This is the first book in my Night Pleasrues Series, Night Promises, comes out January 5, 2011 from Secret Cravings Publishing

My Blurb

My official release date for Night Promises is January 5, 2011 from the publishers website http://www.secretcravingspublishing.com for 30 days before moving on to third party stores.

Kelly O'Keefe first met a vampire when she was twelve. Now the pair are best friends and have opened Night Pleasures, an underground club that caters to vampires and their needs. Once Kelly's sister is murderd, she finds herself working with Connor, a vampire she's been in love with for months. Unable to trust men, let alone a vampire, can she let him help her solve her sister's murder?

Connor has been watching after Kelly for seven months with the help fo his sire and best friend, Micah. Connor has kept himself as a distance even though he knows they are life mates. But he's afraid of losing control and turning Kelly against her will. When he learns Kelly plans on investigating her sister's death, he steps in and allows himself to get close to her.

But how close is too close?

Also check out the Secret Cravings website, they have an amazing contest going on. You won't want to miss it!!

My First Book Release

Hey Guys,

The day has come...finally. I am getting published. Secret Cravings Publishing has accepted my paranormal erotic romance series, Night Pleasures, book 1: Night Promises is set to be published January 2011!!!

I'm floating on cloud nine right now.

Tonya

Exciting News!!!

Hey Guys,

Well on Wednesday I had my first pitch session with a couple of publishers. I was really nervous about pitching my story, mainly because I had never done a pitch before. I submitted a short excerpt from my story and a brief synopsis.

Well, to my surprise Secret Cravings Publishing, Senior Editor, Beth, was interested in my pitch and requested the full manuscript. I have until Monday to send it to her. This weekend will be spent going over my book.

What story did I pitch?

I have a 3 book Paranormal Erotic Romance series titled Night Pleasrues, Book 1: Night Promises, is about Connor and Kelly. Book 2: Night Seductions is about Micah and Mac, and Book 3: Night Temptations is about Cammie and Angelo.

Here is a brief overview of Book 1:

Kelly’s life has been revolved around vampires since the age of twelve, when she met a real vampire. After that she made it her life goal to research and find out as much as possible about the creatures. As she gets older the vampire she met at twelve becomes her best friend. Eventually the pair go together to open an underground club, Night Pleasures, which caters to vampires and the few humans who are associated with them.

Because of her night club her sister is murdered. Kelly blames herself and is now determined to find the person responsible. In order to find her sister’s killer, Kelly O’Keefe must work side-by-side with vampire, Connor Graham. There growing attraction for one another has kept them at arm’s length. But now that Kelly is risking her own life Connor can’t help but stick close to her side.

Connor works with his sire and best friend Micah to find Kelly’s sister, Tammy’s murderer. They are both certain it was a vampire, the body was drained of blood and reeked of vampire scent. There only problem was placing that scent with the vamp who killed her.

As Kelly and Connor work together they become closer and learn secrets about one another they never before discovered. Kelly learns about Connor’s life as a human, how he was turned into a vampire and what it’s been like for him to live for eternity. She also learns about life mates.

Not wanting to ask Connor any questions about life mates, Kelly asks her best friend, since the age of twelve and vampire Mac. Mac assures her that life mates don’t exist, she doesn’t believe a vampire can ever settle down with one person, especially a vampire. To her vampires drink blood and have multiple sex partners. And what’s the fun with settling down?

Soon Kelly realizes that Mac was only using it for a cover as she begins to realize the interaction between Mac and Micah. She believes they are life mates and only grows to believe it to be true when Connor tells her the story of the two vampires and how they have the same sire and are connected for life.

Eventually Connor and Micah find the vampire responsible for killing Tammy, they also learn he was hired by someone else to complete the job. When he refuses to give up a name they place him somewhere private and safe, hopping that once he’s hungry enough he’ll give up a name.

As time ticks by Kelly starts to feel really unsafe, she felt like the vampire who targeted her sister was warning her. But what were they warning her for? Will she ever find out why and who killed her sister?

She also knows that she has fallen madly in love with Connor, but he hasn’t expressed them having a future together. He hasn’t talked about the possibility of her turning into a vampire. Could she really have a life with a vampire?

Unfortunately the vampire Connor and Micah held captive escaped or was helped to escape, leaving everyone wondering what was going to happen next.

Other than the killers being lose everything else seems to fall into place for Connor and Kelly. They talk about there future and decide to take things as they come and see where things lead them. Connor is certain Kelly is his life mate, but Kelly is still unsure if she wants to become a vampire.

I'm not sure if I can share an excerpt or not since the publisher has requested it. I'll check on that and keep you updated on the status of my series.

Happy October,

Tonya