Happy 2nd Birthday Desert Breeze Publishing

Today it's my turn to host the Desert Breeze Birthday Blog Tour

In my mind I imagined myself sitting in a circular room with no doors. Reflected on the walls were all the ideas I needed to put onto the computer screen. I knew an unfinished manuscript would not find a publisher. At last a ray of light broke through. I had been offered my first contract.

Further down the track a strange restlessness came over me. I had been treated well but read about other authors experiences. No support and very little input into cover design. Food for thought. Should I search for a second publisher? 

On the writer’s groups I read and asked questions of editors who were invited to answer questions regarding submissions to their particular company. There were none who specialized in sweet romance. 

A light appeared appeared at the end of the tunnel when Gail of Desert Breeze Publishing answered questions on one of the loops. Her company only published sweet romance and its sub-genres. Gail sounded friendly and her answers were very informative.

I sent an query email. Would Desert Breeze be interested in a novel previously published but now out of contract? Gail replied promptly and asked me to send the manuscript. I settled down to wait for her response. To my surprise she offered me a contract for Three Hearts within 24 hours. Her promptness, businesslike manner and friendly attitude were amazing and very reassuring.

Later I found that Gail’s partner Jenifer to be equally dedicated to presenting Desert Breeze, its authors and books in the best possible light. Jenifer does the cover art - and does it beautifully I might add.

I’ve never regretted my decision to sign with Desert Breeze. Thank you Gail and Jenifer for being so supportive. Desert Breeze will release my 20th Century Historical Romance Blitz on the 1st May. Leave a comment on my blog today you will be in to win an ARC copy of Blitz.

Velma’s large family refuse to accept she is now a young woman. She falls in love with Jack and her family discuss whether he is a suitable husband for their youngest sister. She is determined to show her siblings she is now an adult and can make her own decisions. 

World War II is declared. The engaged couple are forced to cancel their white wedding only days before the service. This puts a strain on the relationship between Jack and Velma. She must choose whether to let Jack go to war as a single man, or to marry in a registry office without the support of family and friends. Can Velma survive the worry of Jack being at the front? Will it be easier to cope if they are married.

Buy Link (as from 1st May):  http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-157/Blitz-Sue-Perkins/Detail.bok

Continue with the Birthday Blog Tour - Monday 25th travel on to STEPHANIE BURKHART’s blog at http://sgcardin.blogspot.com

Welcome Wendi Zwaduk

Welcome Wendi as you pass through on your blog tour. I understand today is also the day your book "Careless Whispers" is released. Congratulations. Visitors to my blog have come to read what you have to say, so I hand the baton over to you Wendi.

What I Wouldn’t Give...

I would like to thank Sue for having me. I’m thrilled to be here at her blog and can’t wait to answer any questions or chatter back and forth with comments.

But I’m here to guest blog, too. I should get to that.

There are always things we wish we could either go back and change or things we’d like to have done. Lost chances, passed up opportunities... When I was writing “Careless Whisper” I had those themes running through my brain.

We’ve all had them. I know there were times I thought, gee, if I’d just gone back and gotten another gallon of milk, I’d have saved a dollar. Or what if I’d asked my high school crush on a date? That’s a time I’d like to go back to, if only to be a fly on the wall. 

In Ryan’s case, he’s got moments in his past where he wished he’d paid more attention. Times he would’ve acted rather than stood back and watched.  As I penned his story, he kept saying, what I wouldn’t give to go back and love her a little stronger. It was hard to write and put the true emotions in the way he wanted. But I did.

And that’s one of the joys or hardships of writing. There are times when I think, gee, what I wouldn’t give for this scene to go smoothly and to just write itself. Other times, it’s what I wouldn’t give to be done. But really, the times I seem to struggle are the times when the story is so wrought with emotion that I have to let it go minute by agonizing minute. Does it always turn out good? Nope. That’s another irritation of writing. It won’t always go well. Sometimes the struggle is just that. A struggle. And those moments I’d like to be done? Yeah, those are a little out there, too. Just because I want the story to be done, doesn’t mean it is. Ryan’s story started out much simpler. He wanted his ex back. Problem? She’s dead. For some paranormal stories, that would be the jumping off point. For me it was, but not in the logical sense. I had him grousing he wanted wifey back, but wifey...well, she wasn’t interested. So my ending quickly and writing a short little story wasn’t going to happen as planned.

I rather like it that way. 

The story is more complex and really, I have very little to say, gee, I wish this had gone this way...

Ryan gets to deal with his lost chances just as I did. No, I never really said more than hi and bye to the HS crush, but I went back and worked out “Careless Whisper”. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it. 

Do you have any moments you’d like to go back and fix? Revisit? Chances you’d like to have? I’d love to know about them.

Tag line: 

He’s her kinkiest desire, if she’s willing to open her heart and believe in him.

Blurb:

The dead don’t always rest in peace. Some stick around to make the lives of the living hell on Earth. Ryan Black knows the frustration of dealing with the dead. He’s a Ghost Explorer. He’s conquered houses filled with apparitions, abandoned school buildings that house angry vermin, and managed to woo the female population of Snake Falls, Ohio. But he’s about to face his toughest challenge, convincing sceptical Samara Jacobs she not only shares his gift, but holds his heart.

Women fall at Ryan Black’s feet and Samara’s determined not to be one of the many—that is until she’s forced to work with him. He’s certain ghosts exist and willing to prove it. The more she gets to know the man behind the television persona, she decides the handsome klutz who chases things that go bump in the night isn’t so silly after all. But is he worthy of her love?

Excerpt One (PG): 

          “Look around at the scenery. Ohio girls are the stuff of legend. For example, Meredith has those legs a man fantasizes having wrapped around his waist.”

“Engaged.”

“Well, then there’s Caren. She’s got a nice rack and she’s single.”

“Implants.”

“Pick nits.”  Eddie snorted and shook his head. “You’ll shoot down all my ideas just to be right.” He scoped the cafeteria room once more. “What about Samara? She’s cute in a girl-next-door kinda way. All peaches and cream. I’ve caught her checking you out once or twice—a day for the last year.” He pointed to Ryan. “She’d make a perfect forever girl.”

“I had my forever girl. But I could be wrong.” Samara checked him out? Hmm... Kinda nice to know the attraction wasn’t a figment of his undersexed imagination. He’d spent many a night fantasizing about her, holding her, making love to her, waking up in the morning and seeing her smile.

At her table across the room, Samara curled up in her chair, paperback book propped in one hand and concentration written on her face. From his position, he couldn’t read the title, but he’d passed her desk enough times to know she liked romance novels. In the two years he’d worked in the same building with her, he’d heard her speak a total of three times but he knew her voice like his own.

“Ryan?”

         “What? I’m checking out the scenery. It’s—” he drew a breath, feeling more than the oxygen stirring something within his body. His sex drive? He shifted in his seat. Yeah, there was a definite tingle below the belt. “It’s intriguing.” 

More about Joselyn Vaughan

To wet your appetite a little here's more information about Joselyn and her blog tour.

Joselyn received a Blue Ribbon review from Romance Junkies for her debut novel CEOs Don't Cry: "Enhanced by humor, a captivating plot, well-drawn, complex characters, witty repartee and true love, this story is delightful. In fact, I read it in one sitting."


Joselyn will also be giving away a copy of her book to one randomly chosen commenter. Remember you have to leave a comment to be in to win. Visit my blog on the 20th or any of the other blogs in the tour as listed below.

Joselyn Vaughan - Blog Tour

I'm honoured to have Joselyn Vaughan visit my blog on the 20th January. Please come back and read Joselyn's excerpts of her novel "Courting Sparks". Below are the other blogs Joselyn is visiting. Leave her a comment so she knows you've visited.

January 7: Goddess Fish Party Pavilion
January 10: Grace Elliot - gripping historical romance
January 11: The Life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object
January 12: D. Renee Bagby Presents First Chapters
January 13: Long Live Chick Lit
January 14: Jennifer Shirk
January 17: Authors by Authors
January 18: Just Views
January 19: The Skylarverse
January 20: Sue Perkins, Fantasy, Romance & Young Adult Author
January 21: My Odd Little World

See you next week.

Blog Events

I intend to get this blog up and running a bit better and to this end I've put  calendar at the top. This will show blog events on my blog, and also blog events I've been invited to on other blogs. Plus various events I think others might be interested in. Should be interesting.