Blog Archives
Calisa Rhose presents ~ UnCover Monday ~ #November2015 #MFRWauthor #CoverLove
UnCover Mondays on The Ranch!!!
Osiyo~
It’s that time again, time for gorgeous covers to take the spotlight in the round pen here on the Ranch! My sincere apologies for November’s late start, but remember, they run all month and beyond! So, please, enjoy more awesome cover art and the incredible authors, publishers and artists who made them possible for you to gaze upon this month and each month. It would be great if you leave a comment letting everyone know what you think about them and maybe even check out a few author links to meet those behind the books. Or just say hi. Don’t forget to tell your friends to stop by so they can appreciate some greatness, or get in on the fun, too!
This feature is only to highlight the authors and artists (though if you see one you want to buy I’m sure the authors won’t mind 😆 ). Enjoy this months’ covers to ogle and explore. If there is one provided, you can follow the artist links by clicking on the name, if there’s an artist link provided, to learn more about the amazing creators of these beautiful covers. If I have it, I link the cover to the artist, otherwise, it’s linked to the author. I think they deserve fair mention since they helped create the book!
There’s a heat level rating for covers, one through five scale, for your benefit. You should never see a *5* rating on the Ranch. If there’s anything else you’d like to know about covers being revealed here, please don’t hesitate to let me know. You can leave it either in a comment or by my contact page https://calisarhose.com/say-hey/. 🙂
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Captive of the Cattle Baron
Selkirk Family Ranch, #1
Author: Irene Vartanoff
Weblink: irenevartanoff.com
Genre: Contemporary romance
Heat Level: 1- sweet
Publisher: Irene Vartanoff
Cover artist: Dawn Charles
Release date: June 15, 2015
Abducted by rancher Baron Selkirk—okay, it was an accident, but now he won’t let her go—former TV child star turned horse whisperer Addie Jelleff enjoys a respite from the media circus that ruined her quiet retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, but she’s due back to town to defend her actor pal at his trial. Baron’s vast, isolated ranch is only one of his many attractions, but he’s awfully domineering and she can’t possibly give in to their growing attraction while she’s virtually his prisoner, can she? Baron sees the situation differently. Forced to drop his geology career and take over the family ranch, he’s frustrated by too many people saying no to him. Isn’t he in charge? Why is Addie so mysterious about her past and her commitments to another man? Why won’t she give in to Baron, when every time they touch, they catch fire? It’s a battle of wills—with neither one backing down. Addie can tame the wildest stallion, but reining in her own growing attraction to the high-handed rancher and keeping him from breaking through her defenses requires all her strength—and some help from unexpected sources.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Crashing Into Love
(boxed set)
Author: Jenna Jaxon, Daryl Devore,
D’Ann Lindun, Melissa Keir,
Brenda Dyer, Deb Julienne, Lisa Kumar
Weblink: jennajaxon.wordpress.com/
Genre: Action-Adventure Romance
Heat Level: 4-Hot
Publisher: The Authors
Cover artist: Kim Killion
Release date: June, 15 2015
Seven planes lift off…seven planes crash…seven stories of struggle, passion and love in the barren Canadian Wilderness, the coast of England, or the steamy heat of a tropical island. Romance hangs in the balance between survival and death.
Lost meets Romancing the Stone–action adventure, a dash of mystery, and romance to die for.
Brace for Impact by Daryl Devoré.
What could be simpler than a routine plane trip from Toronto, Canada to Caracas, Venezuela for rookie flight attendant, Lori, and sexy R.C.M.P. officer, Guy Lapierre? But Fate had other intentions.
Crashing into You by Lisa Kumar
When Ashlee Trent meets handsome businessman Kaiden West on a plane to Australia, he eases her fears even as he sets her heart ablaze. But after their plane crashes into the ocean and they wash ashore, will the secrets surrounding him send their budding relationship into a nosedive?
Crash and Burn by Melissa Keir
Can Rob and Keira’s second honeymoon lead to romance, or will it crash and burn? On the verge of a divorce, Rob and Keira Matthews book a second honeymoon at the urging of their counselor. Unable to conceive, they’ve pushed each other away in an effort to protect their hearts. Will a romantic holiday be the ticket to love or a plane crash in disaster??
Crashing Through Time by Jenna Jaxon
The most dangerous thing about time travel is knowledge of the past: does she save him and change history, or let the tragic events play out and lose the love of her life?
More than hearts can be broken when you crash through time.
Love Comes Crashing In by Brenda Dyer
Best friends find love in each other’s arms, but can that love survive reality?
Falling Hard by D’Ann Lindun
He craves solitude to forget what a woman did to him. She needs one last chance before her career ends. Can a plane crash in the Canadian Rockies show them what really matters?
A Splash of Romance by Deb Julienne
Who knew a plane crash would lead to romance? Hannah Parks is a trauma nurse on her way to a symposium at the Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute. She just started her bucket list and a plane crash definitely isn’t on it. Oliver Lawson’s divorce is final and he’s looking to start over. A tropical island, a gorgeous woman. Romance is one thing, getting there as a result of a crash landing…who knew?
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Falling Like a Rock
Author: Bonnie McCune
Weblink: bonniemccune.com/
Genre: Contemporary
Heat Level: 1- sweet
Publisher: Prism Book Group
Cover artist: Joan Alley
Release date: July 2014
When you’re ‘falling like a rock,’ you’ll risk anything.
Unloved and unemployed. That’s Elaine Svoboda, after she’s sacked, then flees across country to her boyfriend who drops her flat. Teetering on the abyss of disaster, she calls an old friend who invites her to a tiny mountain town with fresh prospects. There she meets rugged, hunky Joe Richter-Leon, mayor of Falling Rock.
Maybe he can help her find a job. Maybe they can become friends, even share romance. Sparks fly immediately, but major obstacles make a new life on the ashes of the old appear impossible. Joe’s consumed with challenges like the dismal local economy and an impetuous sister. Elaine butts heads with him at every turn in the rocky road. Are her bungling attempts to help the problem? Or does she remind him of a greedy, selfish ex-wife?
Before they can build a new life on the ashes of the old, she must overcome a few obstacles like a broken ankle, an eating disturbance, his stubbornness, and her own fears. She’s smothering her hopes when a battle with a forest inferno illuminates their true feelings and desire.
Funny and frank, poignant and perceptive, in this heartfelt romance, when two people are “Falling Like a Rock,” they learn surrender sometimes means victory.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: For Women Only
Antonello Brothers 2
Author: Kayelle Allen
Weblink: kayelleallen.com/bro
Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Heat Level: 2- sensual
Publisher: Romance Lives Forever Books
Cover artist: The Author’s Secret
Release date: August 17, 2015
When Fawni Ruh, a Kin ambassador, visits the capitol planet of the empire, she meets security expert Khyff Antonello, a human. A death in her family forces Fawni to return home, but she can’t bear to part with Khyff, and takes him along. Her family demands she cast out the human, or abdicate her future rule.
Fawni searches for an alternative, and stumbles upon Khyff’s secret. The cover-up, if exposed, will betray her world to its enemies, and bare her family to open shame. Her duty is clear. Yet how can she leave Khyff to suffer in the darkness that binds his heart?
His secret truth is her people’s darkest lie.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Loveland
Author: Andrea Downing
Weblink: andreadowning.com
Genre: western historical romance.
Heat Level: 3- steamy
Publisher: Amazon Encore
Cover artist: Debby Taylor
Re-release date: September 2015
When Lady Alexandra Calthorpe returns to the Loveland, Colorado, ranch owned by her father, the Duke, she has little idea of how the experience will alter her future. Headstrong and willful, Alex tries to overcome a disastrous marriage in England and be free of the strictures of Victorian society –and become independent of men. That is, until Jesse Makepeace saunters back into her life…
Hot-tempered and hot-blooded cowpuncher Jesse Makepeace can’t seem to accept that the child he once knew is now the ravishing yet determined woman before him. Fighting rustlers proves a whole lot easier than fighting Alex when he’s got to keep more than his temper under control.
Arguments abound as Alex pursues her career as an artist and Jesse faces the prejudice of the English social order. The question is, will Loveland live up to its name?
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: The Chosen One
Author: Joanne Sexton
Weblink: josextonbooks.com
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Heat Level: 2-Sensual
Publisher: Tirgearr Publishing
Cover artist: Tirgearr Publishing
Release date: June 17, 2015
Twenty year old Sera’s life quickly becomes surreal when she discovers she’s not just human, she’s a princess from a realm so full of magical folk they give credence to every fairytale she’s read.
The realm is in danger, a wicked warlock has kidnapped a princess and it will take all seven princesses to save her. Transported to this celestial environment Sera is immediately captivated by the elf Keelor. It is love at first sight. He’s infuriating and aloof, but chemistry sizzles despite their attraction forbidden by law and lore. In a battle for peace, threatened by evil on every side, this dynamic duo go through every tribulation in their gambit for love.
It’s impossible to adapt, Sera’s heart is destroyed more than once, and she faces sure death when kidnapped by vampires. This is a magical adventure which will make you fall in love, into despair, and fall into enduring affection for the intoxicating inhabitants of this wondrous realm.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Timeless Honor
#3, Mirrors of Time series
Author: Amber Daulton
Weblink: amberdaultonauthor.blogspot.com/
Genre: Historical Romance
Heat Level: 3
Publisher: Books to Go Now
Cover artist: Books to Go Now
Release date: August 25, 2015
Jaye Ramsey decided to prove to her eccentric grandmother that time travel only existed in movies by vacationing in Bolivia with her friends. When she woke up in Hawksatter, England, 1735—the same town her grandmother supposedly vanished from as a young woman—Jaye found refuge at a hunting lodge but the strapping, reclusive baron who took her in reminded her all too well she was a lone woman at his mercy.
Accused of murdering his newly-wedded wife a decade earlier, Lord Lucas Kenway closed the family farm and shut out the world. He never expected the little spitfire he claimed responsibility for would turn his quiet life upside down. Pushed together by fate and his meddling servants, Lucas wanted Jaye on his own terms and refused to surrender his hardened heart.
Then a mysterious wise man offered Jaye a way home.
Should she return to the future and the only life she’d ever known, or stay in an uncertain past as a stranger in a new world?
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
I want to thank all the authors who submit their covers and make this a special place to share!
To see YOUR cover here visit my UnCover Monday page for detailed instructions.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Calisa Rhose presents ~ UnCover Monday ~ November #MFRWAuthor #CoverReveals
UnCover Mondays on The Ranch!!!
Hey-Ho cover oglers! To satisfy your stare reflex urges–here’s October’s awesome cover art and the super authors, publishers and artists who made them possible for you to gaze upon this month. It would be great if you leave a comment letting everyone know what you like (or don’t like) about them and maybe even check out a few author links to meet those behind the books. Or just say hi.
Don’t forget to tell your friends to stop by so they can appreciate some greatness too! UnCover Mondays on The Ranch!!! This feature is only to highlight the authors (though if you see one you want to buy I’m sure the authors won’t mind 😆 ). Enjoy this months’ covers to ogle and explore. If there is one provided, you can follow the artist links by clicking on the name, or if there’s an artist link provided, to learn more about the amazing creators of these beautiful covers. I think they deserve fair mention since they helped create the book! As always, click the covers for author websites to find out more. I wish everyone a fabulous 2014!
I’ve added a heat level rating for covers, one through five scale, for your benefit. If there’s anything else you’d like to know about covers revealed here, please don’t hesitate to let me know. You can leave it either in a comment or by my contact page https://calisarhose.com/say-hey/ with what you’d like to know. 🙂
*I know, I know. These were supposed to post this morning and I thought I’d already scheduled it to post until I checked in after a long day of running non-stop. Not only had I not scheduled it, I hadn’t even set it up yet. I apologize profusely and hope these lovely covers will sooth the wrong. 🙂 If not…enjoy anyway! 😆
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: A Marquis For All Seasons
Author: Renée Reynolds
Weblink: www.obstinateheadstronggirl.wordpress.com/
Genre: Historical Romance
Heat Level: 2- Sensual
Publisher: Rock Creek Publishing
Cover artist: Lily Smith at Covers by Lily
Release date: May 2014
She wants one more Season to pass without acquiring a husband.
Lady Miranda Leighton accepts she will have to marry someday, but she wants one last Season to be mistress of her own life – to go where she wants, when she wants, with whomever she wants. The lure of one more adventure is nearly irresistible. Unfortunately, her family has run out of patience with her as she unintentionally loosely courts scandal. She needs a plan, and needs it quickly.
He wants one more Season to pass without his mother harassing, debutantes stalking, or sanity deserting him.
Roman de Courtenay, Marquis of Stafford, accepts he will have to marry someday, but his immediate focus is set on managing his estates, pacifying his family, and being otherwise left alone. The lure of saddling his horse and fleeing to the country is nearly irresistible. Unfortunately, his mother wants him to find his marchioness, produce an heir, and let her settle into an anticipated and comfortable life as a dowager. He needs a plan, and needs it quickly.
Thus a lady and a lord with a similar problem hatch a mischievous scheme: to use each other as shields against marriage and the plans of their families, with a dance here and a meaningful look there. All goes well – for a time – until the constant company and camaraderie of their ruse give rise to some very real feelings.
So what happens when you set out to fool society, but only end up fooling yourselves?
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: A Question of Boundaries
Author: Sandy Bruney
Weblink: www.sandrazbruney.com
Genre: Pararomal Romance
Heat Level: Sweet
Publisher: Astraea Press
Cover artist: Cora Graphics
Release date: August 24, 2014
By 1895, the United States is in the 80th year of the isolation imposed by King Thomas I and upheld by his successors. But, some are chafing under the shortages and restrictions, and when inventor Dr. Featherstone declares he has found a way to override all borders, there are those who applaud the discovery and those who fear it.
When Dr. Featherstone fails to return home for an important scientific gathering, his daughter Caroline enlists the help of the Member of Parliament from Charlotte, Nathan Llewellen. As the two search for the kidnappers, Caroline is plunged into a world where travel to other realities is possible in the blink of an eye, and people can assume the forms of fearsome as well as familiar animals…and where love comes at the most unexpected times and places.
Nathan’s peculiar gift might cost Caroline her life, but she has already lost her heart.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Dearest Darling-TWRP- Love Letters series
Author: Andrea Downing
Weblink: www.andreadowning.com
Genre: western historical romance.
Heat Level: 3 flames/sensual
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Cover artist: Debbie Taylor
Release date: October 8, 2014
Stuck in a life of servitude to her penny-pinching brother, Emily Darling longs for a more exciting existence. When a packet with travel tickets, meant for one Ethel Darton, accidentally lands on her doormat, Emily sees a chance for escape. Having turned down the dreary suitors that have come her way, is it possible a new existence also offers a different kind of man?
Daniel Saunders has carved out a life for himself in Wyoming—a life missing one thing: a wife. Having scrimped and saved to bring his mail-order bride from New York, he is outraged to find in her stead a runaway fraud. Even worse, the impostor is the sister of his old enemy.
But people are not always as they seem, and sometimes the heart knows more than the head.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Dragon Destiny
Author: Helen B. Henderson
Weblink: www.helenhenderson-author.webs.com
Genre: Fantasy romance
Heat Level: 3 flames- Steamy
Publisher: High Eyrie Publications
Cover artist: Fantasia Frog Designs
Release date: June 2014
Branin is the last dragon shifter born in over three hundred years. As a dragshi, he can take the form of his dragon soul twin, Llewlyn and knows the freedom of flight, but not happiness. Both are the last of their kind and have waited millennia for their mates.
When a faint thought impinged on Branin’s mind, hope for an ending to eons of loneliness soared. Plagued by doubts because no signs of a dragon shifter’s birth have been seen, he searches the world for the mysterious girl he only knows by the name, Anastasia.
However, the firebrand raider, Lady Broch of Ky’port has her own plan–to wed the dragon lord — with or without his willing cooperation. And she will not tolerate anyone, not even a dragon lord or his twinned soul, from standing in her way.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Dream Home, #7 Dream Series
Author: J.J. DiBenedetto
Weblink: www.writingdreams.net
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Suspense
Publisher: Writing Dreams
Cover artist: Emma Michaels
Release date: May, 23, 2014
Dr. Sara Alderson thought she was securing her and her family’s future when she moved them to a small town in New York and took a job as Chief of Pediatrics at the local hospital. Unfortunately, things aren’t going quite according to plan. For one thing, she has enemies at work who resent her from the moment she sets foot in the hospital.
For another, she’s visiting the dreams of an old man who’s seeing nightly visions of a storm that will wipe out the entire town. He’s convinced that the visions are true – and as winter closes in, Sara is starting to think he might be right.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: In the Dark; The Cities Below, Book #1
Author: Jen Colly
Weblink: www.jencolly.weebly.com
Genre: Paranormal romance
Heat Level: 1- sweet
Publisher: Lyrical Press/Kensington Publishing Corp.
Cover artist: Renee Rocco
Release date: November 3rd, 2014
Soren and Faith must find a way to survive the evil and darkness.
Faith’s spur of the moment vacation, meant to free her and boost her spirits, has left her lost on the streets of Paris. And apparently, Paris is populated with something more than just humans. Vampires, suave, seductive and oh so sexy, and one such warrior vampire has set his sights on her.
When Soren hears Faith’s terrified screams, he rushes in and saves her life without considering the consequences. Two problems: one, she’s a human and clearly aware of his vampire qualities, and two, the men who attacked her were not men at all, but demons. Their target, his beloved underground city of Balinese. He can never let Faith go home again, but can she learn to love his people …love him?
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Second Chance, Chances trilogy #1
Author: Martha O’Sullivan
Weblink: www.marthaosullivan26.wix.com/
Genre: Contemporary Romance, HEA ending
Heat Level: 4 flames
Publisher: Red Sage
Cover artist: Lacey Savage
Release date: September 2013
Lindsay Foster has convinced herself that marrying Paul Webster is the right thing to do. But she and Brian Rembrandt have some unfinished business. And Brian never met a rule, or a woman, that couldn’t be broken. So when Lindsay won’t come to him, he goes to her. But this love triangle has an extra side. And even Brian is no match for what happens next.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Never Pick a Pretty Woman;
Book I in Crystal Ridge Western series.
Author: Mary M. Forbes
Weblink: www.marymforbes.wordpress.com
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Heat Level: Level 1 – Sweet
Publisher: Mary M. Forbes
Cover artist: Mary M. Forbes
Release date: June 15, 2014
“It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.” ― Leo Tolstoy, the Kreutzer Sonata. Tolstoy helped create the idea for Never Pick a Pretty Girl. I would change one word in his quote – “It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is shallow.” for today’s world.
Disillusioned with love, career and life in general, Sophie Donnelly retreats to her childhood home. Back in Crystal Ridge her plan is disrupted by the man next door. Her senses are assaulted by the ruggedly handsome, hard-working Jake. How can she convince him she is not just another pretty woman?
Jake McCallum wanted Sophie in high school. Sophie all grown stirs his heart. But he has decided he needs a plain, practical gal who can help run his ranch. Sophie is too pretty to be practical. His head says so. Which will he follow? His head or his heart?
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: The Jerusalem Connection
Author: Janis Susan May
Weblink: www.JanisSusanMay.com
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Adventure
Heat Level: 1 flame- sweet
Publisher: Sefkhat-Awbi Books
Cover artist: D C Charles
Release date: July 30, 2014
When their original leader falls ill choir director Robin Sabine reluctantly agrees to accompany six teenagers to a musical competition in Jerusalem. The simple purchase of a souvenir for her boss’ wife plunges her into a nightmare of danger, kidnapping and almost certain death. The unexpected appearance of a former boyfriend turned enemy unnerves her, and the attentions of a suave, sophisticated British diplomat turn her head even as she wonders if she can trust him.
After her unscheduled shopping trip in the Old City Robin discovers that there are a number of people inordinately interested in her movements. Her room is searched. She has difficulties with the competition. Neither man in her life trusts the other and after being ruthlessly kidnapped, Robin realizes that a number of people – including her teenaged charges – believe she is a spy.
Conflicting loyalties and the specter of international terrorism make her doubt everything she ever thought she knew. Worst of all, the teens who have been put in her care disappear even as Robin’s own life is threatened. If she is going to survive and rescue all entrusted to her, Robin will need all the wits and courage she can muster.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Unexpected Metamorphosis:
Book One, Alissia Roswell Series
Author: Tianna Holley
Weblink: www.tiannaholley.com
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Heat Level: 3 flames – steamy
Publisher: Canton Walk Publishing
Cover artist: Jera Publishing
Release date: July 24, 2013
Alissia Roswell had worked hard to overcome her past, and she took immense pride in her independence. Just when she thought she was truly satisfied with her life, she wakes up to find herself in another reality. As she searches for answers, her body begins to change in mysterious ways, and for the first time in her life, she is forced to rely upon others. As everything spins out of her control and danger lurks around every corner, her heart begins to betray her, and her mind haunts her with memories of her past.
Join Alissia on her perilous quest full of adventure, magic, and romance as she travels the challenging road of finding one self, maybe even love along the way.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
I want to thank all the authors who submit and make this a special place to share their work!
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
To see YOUR cover here visit my UnCover Monday page for detailed instructions.
† Special Note: Some covers might suggest more heat than the actual content of that book. Please take note of the heat level rate on those.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Calisa Rhose presents ~ RNC Convention according to Andrea Downing
Osiyo~
I’m handing the Ranch reins over today to friend and sister Wild Rose Press author Andrea Downing to share a little about RNC convention, founded by the awesome cover model, Jimmy Thomas, in Las Vegas and two of her awesome books. Let’s settle in and hear what she has to tell us!
It’s all yours, Andi!
CONVENTIONAL VEGAS
I never wanted to go to Vegas. Not only was it NOT on my ‘places I’d like to visit’ list but it was actually at the very top of my ‘places I never want to get caught dead in’ list. Okay, so if someone offered me a free ticket to meet Tim McGraw backstage and sit in the front row of his show in Vegas I might’ve accepted. Or possibly a front row seat to the Professional Rodeo or Bull Riders’ Finals. But Vegas as in Las Vegas—no! My last trip to Nevada was to go to a working cattle ranch 70 miles from the nearest town and 40 miles up a dirt road. That’s me. Not Vegas. Sin City sits like a scar on the desert landscape, mountains draped in the background against an endless blue sky. It is a concrete mass of high rise hotels, multi-story parking lots and neon, like a misplaced scapulae on the back of Nevada. So, what finally got me there? My historical western romance, Loveland, was nominated for Best American Historical at the RONE Awards, to be given out by InD’Tale Magazine at the Romance Novel Convention. And as my daughter pointed out, if I won, I’d be sorry not to be there.
Babette James, Rolynn Anderson, Andrea Downing at Romance Novel Convention 2013 Las Vegas
I made contact with two fellow authors, Babette James and Rolynn Anderson, and I was off. Unfortunately for them, I knew ahead my neuroses about Sin City were going to drive them nuts, but then, it was only 4 nights and they’d survive. But would I? Even before you leave the airport, one-armed bandits are aiming to take your money. The long haul to baggage claim (purposefully designed to scoot you past this slot machine line-up?) meant I made the first of numerous phone calls to Babette to keep her informed of my progress. Whether or not she cared, I never discovered, but eventually we met for dinner and a much-needed bottle of wine.
The hotel was a world in itself. Two thousand four hundred rooms means there are a lot of people around, a lot of shops, and a helluva lot of gambling. Okay, so I’m from New York but I never choose hotels with more than about 100 rooms, and this place had endless noise, lights and…a shark tank? Yup, right in the middle of the hotel was the pool area with a shark tank, along with a water slide so you could…Well, you get the picture. And outside? Outside was Fremont St. with a continuing light show, strippers and more noise and flashing lights.
Andrea with T.J.
So, was this convention in Vegas worth attending? Well, let me say straight away that LOVELAND did not win the RONE but then, I sort of knew that beforehand. I had read the winning book and thought it was wonderful, so I certainly didn’t mind, and the honor of being a finalist kept me happy. Of the sessions I attended, I took copious notes in one, a fair amount of notes in another, sat through a third and walked out of a fourth, while a fifth just left me speechless. I enjoyed meeting T.J. MacKay, Editor of InD’Tale Magazine, and her staff. I had some really great meals in restaurants I just managed to somehow find in the melee, along with Babette and Rolynn. I sold a couple of books at the Book Fair on the Saturday, and had a fun time out on Fremont St. with the girls. But best of all was just being with fellow authors, getting to know the faces behind the emails, meeting with people who know exactly what you go through each and every day. Thanks, ladies, you’re the best!
And, oh yes!! I got home in one piece, fifteen dollars richer.
That’s sounds like an awesome experience, Andi! Where can readers find you now that you’re back home?
WEBSITE AND BLOG: www.andreadowning.com
Twitter: @andidowning
Email: andidowning@gmail.com
&&&
And now about those books?
LOVELAND:
When Lady Alexandra Calthorpe returns to the Loveland, Colorado, ranch owned by her father, the Duke, she has little idea of how the experience will alter her future. Headstrong and willful, Alex tries to overcome a disastrous marriage in England and be free of the strictures of Victorian society –and become independent of men. That is, until Jesse Makepeace saunters back into her life…
Hot-tempered and hot-blooded cowpuncher Jesse Makepeace can’t seem to accept that the child he once knew is now the ravishing yet determined woman before him. Fighting rustlers proves a whole lot easier than fighting Alex when he’s got to keep more than his temper under control.
Arguments abound as Alex pursues her career as an artist and Jesse faces the prejudice of the English social order. The question is, will Loveland live up to its name?
***
&&&
LAWLESS LOVE: (Available NOW on KDP-full release Sept. 4)
Lacey Everhart has carved out a tough existence in the wilds of 1880s Wyoming, working hard to build a secure life for herself and her younger brother, Luke. She will stop at nothing to protect what’s hers and keep them safe. Even if it means keeping a secret that could destroy their lives.
Marshal Dylan J. Kane is a man who considers everything as black and white, right or wrong. He’s never seen life any other way until he sets eyes on Lacey. Suddenly the straight and narrow that he’s followed has a few twists and turns. Loving Lacey offers the home life for which he hankers…but can he really love a woman who seems to be plain lawless?
***
Thanks for sharing, Andi! How fun to get to meet other WRP authors! And it looks like you all had a great time.
Dodadagohvi~
UnCover Reveal Monday ~ Book Covers ~ Calisa Rhose
UnCover Mondays on The Ranch!!! Enjoy this weeks’covers to ogle and explore. I’ve added two more for a total of EIGHT TEN each month instead of the six Istarted out doing. You can follow the author links by clicking each book cover to learn more about them and see what other books they have to offer. If you click the cover it will take you to the cover artists’ pages. I think they deserve fair mention since they helped create the book! Be sure to return on alternate Mondays for some amazing banners and video trailers by authors!
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Cowboy-Sexy [Honky Tonk Hearts Series]
Author: Donna Michaels
Website: www.donnamichaelsautor.com
Genre: Contemporary Western
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Artist: Tamra Westberry
Release Date: January 2, 2013
Finn Brennan was used to his brother playing practical jokes, but this time he’d gone too far–sending him a woman as a ranch hand, and not just a woman, but a Marine. When Lt. Camilla Walker’s CO asks her to help out at his family’s dude ranch until he returns from deployment, she never expected to be thrust into a mistaken engagement to his sexy, cowboy twin–a former Navy SEAL who hates the Corps. The Corps took Finn’s father, his girlfriend and threatened his naval career. He’s worked hard for another shot at getting back to active duty and won’t let his brother’s prank interfere. The last thing he needs is the temptation of a headstrong, unyielding, hot Marine getting in the way.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Heaven Sent
Author: Sarah Hoss
Website: www.sarahhoss.com
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Artist: Debby Taylor [no link]
Release Date: December 19, 2012
When forgiveness heals the soul, love heals the heart.
Flight nurse Tenlee Hawkins is used to making quick decisions, but one decision she made the Christmas day her mother died haunts her. Wrestling with the past, she spirals into depression—until the day she finds a man unconscious in her woods and saves his life. When Sam awakens in the hospital with a concussion and no memory, Tenlee rescues him again. She takes him into her home and her life. But as Sam recovers and remembers who he is, he’s torn. A guardian angel isn’t supposed to fall in love. As the promise of true love grows, Tenlee realizes that Sam has helped her much more than she ever helped him. But Sam is filled with guilt knowing he must soon leave. Will it take a Christmas miracle to find the life with Tenlee he’s always wanted?
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Going After the Heart
Author: Kristen Beairsto
Website: www.KristenBeairsto.com
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self
Artist: Self
Release Date: December 18, 2012
Lizzy Bergstrum thought she finally reached a point in her life when she could honestly say she had it all. A thriving writing career. A wonderful daughter. And a marriage to the love of her life. But looks can apparently be deceiving because her husband just walked out on her and their eight year old daughter hates her. Gavin Bergstrum can’t handle the direction his life has taken. Not only did he get laid off from his job, but his wife seems to barely remember he exists. Convinced he’s tried his best to change things, he begins to wrestle with the possibility of divorce. But he can’t think straight in the same house as Lizzy. Hating to leave his daughter, but needing time to think and come to terms with what he feels he needs to do, Gavin decides to return to his small home town in Oregon and stay at his family ranch with his father and brothers. In shock, Lizzy gives Gavin his space. But as time passes and he doesn’t say a word about their marriage, Lizzy decides it’s past time she takes matters into her own hands. Without a word, she follows Gavin to Oregon. Now facing a daughter who blames her for everything, an irritated husband, and a small town that feeds on the drama, Lizzy finds herself trying to figure out how to convince Gavin to give her another chance, teach her daughter it takes two to make a successful marriage, and overcome her own insecurities – all without compromising who she is.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Coming Home [Book One]
Author: Paloma Beck
Website: www.palomabeck.weebly.com
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing
Artist: Dawne Dominique
Release Date: November 9, 2012
Rachel Porter, a romance writer, has told her three sons tales of finding their true love since they were just boys. She believes there is just one match for every person. Now as men, they have yet to discover their soul mates. That is, until they come home… Ryan Porter, Rachel’s oldest son, needs a change from his busy city lifestyle. After five years of living in New York and establishing his own real estate firm, something is still missing. When a family tragedy brings Ryan back to his family’s rural home, he meets Tyra. She just might be the catalyst for the change he needs, redirecting the course of his life; but first he has to accept his relationship with his parents and embrace Tyra’s secrets.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Cade [The Morgans of Rocky Ridge]
Author: Margery Scott Website: www.margeryscott.com
Genre: Western Romance
Publisher: Self
Artist:
Release Date: January 2013
When revenge leads Cade Morgan to hold up a stagecoach and kidnap his childhood friend, Isabella Morrow, he discovers his feelings for her are stronger than ever. He suspects Bella feels the same way, so why is she intent on marrying another man? And what kind of future can he offer her now that he’s wanted by the law?
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Dancing with Detective Danger
Author: Lynn Crandall
Website: www.facebook.com
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Artist:
Release Date: January 21, 2013
Uncovering secrets and exposing truth are all in a day’s work for private investigator Sterling Aegar. But when her latest case threatens to reveal her own buried feelings for an old love, Sterling runs for cover. A body in the bathtub and pleas from a jilted wife to find her wayward husband mean a welcome break from the usual humdrum cases Sterling and her sister, Lacey, are called to investigate. But when Sterling’s old flame, Detective Ben Kirby, walks into the murder scene, she feels her world spin out of control. Danger from thugs and murderers poses no greater threat than the peril she’d suffer if she lets daredevil Ben get too close. Seeing Sterling for the first time in two years is for Ben like drinking in a healing tonic. He could never forget the way it felt to run his hands over her delicious curves or the way she touched his soul. She remains the one person who can make the emptiness in his gut go away. Finding the murderer is his job, but protecting Sterling from seriously dangerous people is his mission. As the case unfolds, Sterling and Ben not only solve the murder and locate the missing husband, they confront secrets that set them each free from a painful past.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Dangerous Relations
Author: Marilyn Levinson
Website: www.marilynlevinson.com
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Uncial Press
Artist: Judith B. Glad
Release date: October 11, 2012
After Ardin Wesley’s cousin Suziette is murdered, her widower, Brett, asks Ardin to help him adopt Suziette’s little girl, whom he’s grown to love. Trouble is, no one knows the identity of the child’s natural father. Ardin decides she wants to adopt Leonie, and take her to home to Manhattan.<.p> Although she is drawn to Brett, an abusive husband turned Ardin against love and marriage. Brett feels betrayed when he learns of her plans to adopt the child. When someone sets fire to Ardin’s aunt’s house, she barely escapes with her life. Despite their differences, Brett offers her shelter and together they work to create a secure home for the bereft little girl and to discover the identity of her father before someone else dies to protect his terrible secret.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Loveland
Author: Andrea Downing
Website: www.andreadowning.com
Genre: Western Historical Romance
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Artist: Debbie Taylor
Release Date: August 12, 2012
When Lady Alexandra Calthorpe returns to the Loveland, Colorado, ranch owned by her father, the Duke, she has little idea of how the experience will alter her future. Headstrong and willful, Alex tries to overcome a disastrous marriage in England and be free of the strictures of Victorian society –and become independent of men. That is, until Jesse Makepeace saunters back into her life… Hot-tempered and hot-blooded cowpuncher Jesse Makepeace can’t seem to accept that the child he once knew is now the ravishing yet determined woman before him. Fighting rustlers proves a whole lot easier than fighting Alex when he’s got to keep more than his temper under control. Arguments abound as Alex pursues her career as an artist and Jesse faces the prejudice of the English social order. The question is, will Loveland live up to its name?
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Love’s Destiny
Author: Elizabeth Meyette
Website: www.elizabethmeyette.com
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Artist:
Release date: June 4, 2012
The simmering rebellion in the American colonies is the backdrop for this smoldering romance thwarted by a dying father’s wish and opposing loyalties. When Jonathon Brentwood, captain of the Destiny and committed patriot, becomes the guardian of Emily Wentworth, a young English woman, each expects to meet someone very different. Emily is not the child of her father’s stories, nor is Jonathon feeble and old as she had imagined. Instantly attracted, both try to honor George Wentworth’s dying wish and maintain the relationship he envisioned. As passion overcomes them, their pasts and the future of a young country stand in the way of their destiny.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Title: Old Dogs
Author: Debi Matlack
Website: www.debikm.wordpress.com
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Amazon Create Space
Artist: Self
Release Date: October 2012
After a bitter divorce from her snobby, unfaithful husband leaves her with the dog and only enough possessions to fit in her Chevy Vega, Valerie Roark retreats to the dark water and pine woods of her Central Florida childhood. In spite of her overprotective and loving family’s well-meaning efforts to draw her out, Valerie only wants to hide away and lick her wounds in private. She’s discovered a benefit to living a hermit’s life: no one can stomp on your heart. She didn’t expect to become friends with her new next door neighbor. Daniel Hollingsworth is kind, handsome and British, the embodiment of Valerie’s weakness. But Daniel is nursing his own wounds–the death of his wife–and plans to move back to England soon. Neither is looking for a relationship, but when a surprise from Valerie’s past plays a visit, both realize that a good friend is what they really need, and friendship can transform into something more…
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Loveland- what a western should be!
Osiyo~
I’m so lucky to have Andrea Downing with me in the Round Pen today! I get to torture her. *evil grin as hands rub together* But Andrea has bravely taken the challenge so lets get on with it because she also brought us a sample of her new release, LOVELAND.
- Which comes first for you—plot or characters? I’m a pantser so it has to be characters—they write the book themselves, the story just sort of evolves. I always know the beginning and I know the end, often writing the ending before anything in the middle. How I get from A to Z is a mystery to me!
- What aspect of writing comes easy to you? What is difficult? I find dialogue quite easy because I hear the voices so clearly, the conversations. I’m not big on long descriptive scenes, though I am getting better.
- Where in the world would you want to visit (all in the name of research, of course) and why? I’d love to get to Australia for a really long vacation and visit the ranches in the outback. Since I’m very keen on all things western it would be great to compare the two cultures, though I don’t think they are that different. I rode with an Australian stock saddle once and it was very comfortable so I can see riding out through those great distances would be a wonderful experience, especially as I think the scenery will be very different from out west. I don’t see why an Australian outback romance couldn’t come of that!
- What obstacles have you overcome to get where you are, and what advice do you have for anyone in a similar situation? Oh dear oh dear. I’ve had to overcome myself I think! I’m basically very shy and for years was completely in dread of showing my work to anyone. Finally, I decided I had nothing to lose and just sent it out. I think the internet has helped because so much of querying/editing/publishing in general is done via email now; it’s like a little protection. My only advice to writers feeling similarly frightened of showing their work is, truthfully, you really do have absolutely nothing to lose!
- What did you enjoy most about writing your latest work? Finishing it!! No, really, I don’t mean to be flippant here– I loved the ending and had it in my mind and wrote it as a separate scene fairly early on. The last line I never changed at all. So when I finally got there chronologically I was absolutely ecstatic because it’s at that stage that the whole story has come together.
Some optional fun questions:
- Favorite television shows? Can I list every western that’s ever been on tv? And costume dramas like ‘Downton Abbey’. I’ve been told I was born in the wrong century so perhaps that gives you an idea of my viewing taste!
- How do you pick good fruit? Uh, the opposite to the way I’d pick a man—it has to be soft to the touch (Oh, goodness, did I say that? Was that really me? Is that x-rated?)
- Salty, sweet, or both? CHOCOLATE—dark and rich. Is that sweet? It can be salty or even have chilli in it. My name is Andrea and I’m a chocoholic….
BLURB:
When Lady Alexandra Calthorpe returns to the Loveland, Colorado, ranch owned by her father, the Duke, she has little idea of how the experience will alter her future. Headstrong and willful, Alex tries to overcome a disastrous marriage in England and be free of the strictures of Victorian society –and become independent of men. That is, until Jesse Makepeace saunters back into her life…
Hot-tempered and hot-blooded cowpuncher Jesse Makepeace can’t seem to accept that the child he once knew is now the ravishing yet determined woman before him. Fighting rustlers proves a whole lot easier than fighting Alex when he’s got to keep more than his temper under control.
Arguments abound as Alex pursues her career as an artist and Jesse faces the prejudice of the English social order. The question is, will Loveland live up to its name?
EXCERPT:
As the round-up wound down, the Reps took their stock back to their outfits, and soon the men were back at headquarters or at the camps. Alex
knew word had more or less got out and found the punchers were gentler now around her, had a sort of quiet respect for her, and she hated it. She tried to bully them a bit to show them she was still the same girl, jolly them into joshing with her as they had before. It was slow work. At the same time, she
yearned to see Jesse, to speak with him, to try to get life back to the way it was before the argument at the corral, and before he saw the scars. The
opportunity didn’t present itself. She would see him from a distance some days, riding with the herd, sitting his horse with that peculiar grace he had,
throwing his lariat out with an ease that reminded her of people on a dock waving their hankies in farewell. Hoping to just be near him, she slid into
one of the corrals one evening to practice her roping.
The light was failing and the birds were settling with their evening calls. Somewhere in the pasture a horse nickered. She sensed Jesse was there,
watching, but she never turned as he stood at the fence. She heard him climb over and ease up behind her. He took the coiled rope from her in his left hand and slid his right hand over hers on the swing end, almost forcing her backward into his arms.
She thought of paintings and statues she had seen, imagining his naked arms now, how the muscles would form them into long oblique curves,
how he probably had soft downy fair hair on his forearms, how his muscle would slightly bulge as he bent his arm. His voice was soft in her ear, and she
could feel his breath on her neck like a whispered secret.
“Gentle-like, right to left, right to left to widen the noose, keep your eye on the post—are you watchin’ where we’re goin’?”
He made the throw and pulled in the rope to tighten the noose. Alex stood there, his hand still entwined with hers and, for a moment, she wished
they could stand like that forever. Then she took her hand away and faced him. For a second he rested his chin on the top of her head, then straightened again and went to get the noose off the post while coiling in the rope. She looked up at him in the fading light and saw nothing but kindness in his face, simplicity and gentleness that was most inviting. A smile spread across her face as he handed her the coiled rope and sauntered away, turning once to look back at her before he opened the gate. Emptiness filled her like a poisoned vapor seeking every corner of her being, and she stood with the rope in her hand listening to the ring of his spurs as his footsteps retreated.
****
Contact: http://andreadowning.com
Buy links at: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=991
And:
Andrea Downing has spent most of her life in the UK where she developed a penchant for tea-drinking, a tolerance for rainy days, and a deep knowledge of the London Underground system. In 2008 she returned to live in the city of her birth, NYC, but frequently exchanges the canyons of city streets for the wide open spaces of the West. Her love of horses, ranches, rodeo and just about anything else western—especially cowboys (not one in particular, sadly, but still looking…) is reflected in her writing. Loveland, a western historical romance published by The Wild Rose Press, is her first book. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Women Writing the West. Her WIP is contemporary women’s fiction with a Texas Hill Country meets the New York Hamptons setting.
This sounds wonderful. Thank you for being my guest today Andrea. Good luck with your new baby!
Dodadagohvi~
I write contemporary and paranormal romance, with sensuality as the key ingredient and spice for kick.
Pen of The Dreamer 