Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Best of 2014 Blog Hop

Welcome to the Best of 2014 Blog Hop hosted by Bookhounds & I Am A Reader.


I’m a voracious reader so I’ve wracked up an impressive number of reads this year. Choosing one is hard…but I’ll try.

My pick is In Your Dreams by Kristan Higgins. It’s a story about a guy (Jack Holland) who spent his whole life waiting to be a hero. Then when he finally gets his chance things go horribly wrong. He needs to escape town and all the folks who think he’s a hero. Emmaline Neal needs a date to a wedding…her ex-fiancé’s wedding. Jack is perfect, and as it turns out, he may also be perfect for her. This book is funny and poignant and sweet.

Kristin Higgins is one of my favorite authors. She is a master at humor but also manages inject the perfect emotional note. She can make you laugh and cry on the same page. She is the kind of writer I want to model myself after.

So my giveaway is a print copy of In Your Dreams AND a print edition of my latest book By Christmas a sweet holiday romance and Book 4 in my Covington Falls Chronicles series (don’t worry each book works as a stand alone).

Blurb:

Jilted bride, Noelle Robinson, had planned to leave town and skip the holidays. A family crisis changes everything, and now she’s out to save the family business and Christmas for Covington Falls. Soon she’s dealing with parades, a cantankerous ass (the animal kind) and negotiating disputes with Santa’s elves. But it’s Michael Campbell, the brother of the man who shattered her dreams, who is threatening to disrupt her peace on earth…and claim her heart.

Enter now for a chance to win!


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Monday, December 8, 2014

Debut Release - Saffron Crocus by Alison McMahan

I am thrilled to spotlight author Alison McMahan as she talks about her young adult novel, Saffron Crocus! I'm especially excited because she is a friend and fellow member of my local writer's group, Florida Romance Writers.

Blurb:

Venice, 1643. Isabella, fifteen, longs to sing in Monteverdi’s Choir, but only boys (and castrati) can do that. Her singing teacher, Margherita, introduces her to a new wonder: opera! Then Isabella finds Margherita murdered. Now people keep trying to kill Margherita’s handsome rogue of a son, Rafaele.

Was Margherita killed so someone could steal her saffron business? Or was it a disgruntled lover, as Margherita—unbeknownst to Isabella—was one of Venice’s wealthiest courtesans? Or will Isabella and Rafaele find the answer deep in Margherita's past, buried in the Jewish Ghetto?


Isabella has to solve the mystery of the Saffron Crocus before Rafaele hangs for a murder he didn’t commit, though she fears the truth will drive her and the man she loves irrevocably apart.


Excerpt:

Who knew a singing career would be this much trouble?

“Rafaele!” She flew into the garret. “Piero, it was so wonderful, wait until I tell you!”
The stool next to the bed was knocked over. The tray with the genepy bottle was on the floor, one of the cups broken. The fat candle that had been burning next to Rafaele’s bed had been flung to the other side of the room.. Canvases were strewn all over the floor, some of them slashed, and many of Master Strozzi’s jars of paint elements were broken.
Did Piero and Rafaele have a fight? She quickly suppressed the thought. Who would get into a fight with a man who was already injured?
Something else must have happened.
She walked across the garret. “Piero? Rafaele, are you here?”
Rafaele was not in the bed. The sheets and blankets she had piled on top of him were strewn everywher. Blood-stained sheets spilled over the edge of the pallet. There was a pile of clothes on the floor.
She walked around to get a closer look.
Not clothes. It was Piero. Face down, one arm stretched out before him, as if in supplication.
A puddle of blood under him.
Dead.

Buy Links:


KUDOS for The Saffron Crocus

"I adored this beautifully written, passionate book. The Saffron Crocus is a glittering, thrilling opera of a novel that plucked my heartstrings and kept me reading at fever pitch. Brava, Alison McMahan! Encore!"
 ~ Nancy Holder, New York Times Bestselling Author of the Wicked Saga

WINNER: 2014 Rosemary Award for Best Historical for Young Adults

About Alison

Alison McMahan chased footage for her documentaries through jungles in Honduras and Cambodia, favelas in Brazil and racetracks in the U.S. She brings the same sense of adventure to her award-winning books of mystery and romantic adventure for teens and adults.

She loves hearing from readers. Contact her at...