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Calisa Rhose welcomes Desiree Holt to the Round Pen #MFRWAuthor #Promo
Osiyo~
I have the uber talented and gorgeous Desiree Holt in the Round Pen today. Talk about a wonderful lady with a crazy sense of humor! She’s talking about writing and the need for research with her new book, Finding Julia so I’ll let her have at it. Check out her lovely cover on your way to the excerpt! 🙂
People say that writing is a solitary occupation and to a great extent it is. I mean, no one can do the writing for you, nor would you want them to. But it also takes a lot of research, especially for me. I am known as Miss Picky because I go to great lengths to get things right.
When I was writing Finding Julia, there were some specific scenes in the story that I needed details on. For example, there’s a cabin in the woods in Massachusetts. I had to know if there was still open land outside Boston, where it was, how much open space, all that good stuff. I managed to find a real estate agent who was willing to take time out of her busy day to answer my questions, although I think she was secretly hoping I was actually looking for property to buy.
There is also a scene at a restaurant called Harry’s House. Now this is of course a fictional place but it’s based on a real restaurant, Little Harry’s, a French colonial structure in Detroit with a lot of ambience. I lived in that city fir twenty-five years and Little Harry’s was a place where Detroit’s gentrified elite as well as their Mafia elite frequently dined. Media were strictly prohibited so it was a place where people could be assured of privacy, especially with the restaurant divided into small rooms.
Unfortunately it no longer exists. Singer Anita Baker bought it and planned to turn it into a recording studio. She ran into so much resistance she built an IHop instead. Kind of like when my late husband and I went to Texarkana to see some of the historic landmarks of his ancestors and at one spot found a Taco Bell.
Oh, well.
Blurb:
Sometimes life is not fair. For Julia Patterson meeting Luke Buchanan opened the door to a new life and brought her to life as a woman. In his arms she learns for the first time how real passion and emotion can enrich your life. He claims her body with the pleasure of erotic sex and his heart with unrestricted love. But Fate was laughing at Julia, just as she is about to step over the threshold into a wonderful new life. When her almost-ex-husband Charles is diagnosed with a fatal heart condition her divorce is put on hold along with the rest of her life. Turning her back on Luke and the intense passion and emotion they shared is the most difficult thing she’s ever done. But Julia has a secret, one that Charles has discovered and uses like a club. Thirteen years later when Luke walks back into her life the passion and emotion are just as explosive as ever. Will they finally have their chance at happiness or will her secret destroy it forever?
Excerpt:
“Our executive vice president is tied up in a meeting right now,” Howard whispered as the executive staff filed in. “He’s the one who says yea or nay. He’ll join us as soon as he can.”
Great. Would he expect her to do it all over again for him?
She sighed and began her presentation again.
It was well into the afternoon and she was pulling out copies of the proposed budget to distribute when the door to the boardroom opened quietly, and Julia’s stomach dropped to the floor. She felt as if an electric surge slammed into her, plucking at every one of her nerve endings.
The man who silently took a seat at the end of the table wasn’t necessarily handsome, but he was one hundred percent male. Liquid brown eyes were framed by the thickest lashes she had ever seen on a man. She noticed the strong jaw and the lines of character etched on an incredibly masculine face. Straight brown hair, a hint of silver reflecting in the lights, was worn just a little long, giving him a slightly rakehell look.
The classic dark business suit barely concealed the power he radiated. More than that, he exuded an aura of self, of authority, of comfort in his own skin few men were able to attain. She could think of only three words to describe him. Dark. Edgy. Dangerous. In her entire thirty years, no man had ever affected her the way this man did. Certainly not Charles. She clamped down on her reaction, forbidding herself to let her thoughts wander into forbidden territory. As she’d learned, her judgment where men were concerned left a great deal to be desired.
“Let me interrupt a moment.” Manning jumped to his feet. “Julia, meet Lucas Buchanan, our executive vice president. He’s been in another meeting until now.”
“I’m pleased you could join us, Mr. Buchanan.” Julia pasted on her professional smile and hoped her voice sounded firmer to the others than it did to her.
Lucas Buchanan nodded at her. “Luke, please. Sorry to be late. Please don’t let me interrupt.”
She struggled to pick up the threads of what she’d been saying, her brain suddenly addled, and her hands unsteady. It took every ounce of personal discipline to keep focused on her presentation.
Author bio:
Known the world over as the oldest living author of erotic romance, and referred to by USA Today as the Nora Roberts of erotic romance, Desiree Holt is three times a finalist for an EPIC E-Book Award (and a winner in 2014), a nominee for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, winner of the first 5 Heart Sweetheart of the Year Award at The Romance Studio as well as twice a CAPA Award winner for best BDSM book of the year, and winner of the Holt Medallion for Excellence in Romance Literature. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast, USA Today, The (London) Daily Mail, The New Delhi Times and numerous other national and international publications.
“Desiree Holt is the most amazing erotica author of our time and each story is more fulfilling then the last.” (Romance Junkies)
Learn more about her and read her novels here:
http://www.facebook.com/desireeholtauthor
Twitter @desireeholt
Pinterest: desiree02holt
Also on LinkedIn and Google+
Thank you for visiting The Ranch, Desiree!
Dodadagohvi~
Spook or Treat Answers to Truth of Fiction! ~ Calisa Rhose
Osiyo~
I promised to reveal the truth behind my Haunted Garden Blog Hop post stories so without dragging out the suspense, here they are!
Answers to this post:
- Does tossing a coin in the sea while speaking a chant break a curse?
According to my aunt who fell ill many years ago- She told me she visited her Faith Healer and this was the remedy offered to her and which she followed to a T.
Another witch’s curse… I asked about that, but she just responded with this strange, almost secretive laugh.
This is a TRUE story.
- Will an egg under bed cure fever?
My aunt claims to have personal knowledge this works, having used the method on her own children over the years.
I’ve never tried it. If you do, come back and share how it turns out!
TRUE only because I have just her word for it. LOL
- Does having your photos taken steal your soul?
I personally don’t believe this one. If it is true, I don’t expect to have a lot of soul left by the time I die. I’ll say this is FICTION.
- Did the man suffer beatings while locked up ‘safe’ in a jail cell?
Auntie won’t say she was responsible, but she doesn’t deny it either. I have asked her outright several times if she did it and all she says is, “Someone put a bad curse on him.”
TRUE- it happened. Even my mother who saw him, heard his story too, couldn’t explain it.
But then ~
- It was also my mother who also told me about her sister the first time I heard that chilling story- but she’s not the only one who told a version of my aunt’s death. This is a story with many more layers and elements to it. As creepy as it may seem, as incredulous as it sounds, I grew up hearing this story from various family members and, though each story differs slightly on a detail here or there- each version of the base facts have remained constant over the years.
Men, people, really are this evil. My cousin (that aunt’s only daughter) and I have tried to research it, at her request, and as seems to happen often in small town rural Midwest America, the records that could clear this up (or add more questions) was conveniently flooded in the 70s–and the sheriff is long-dead–effectively destroying all paper trails and evidence.
What I’ve told you is completely TRUE. (and if certain family members read this I’ll probably get some serious flack for sharing a family skeleton. Lol)
So there you have it. The answers to my spook stories. Yes, my life is one thrill after another! 😆
Have a Happy and Spooky Halloween!
**I hope you’ll come back tomorrow when Nano 2012 begins. Are you participating in this furious and crazy contest? Is it your first time, your fiftieth? Come share your National Novel Writing Month experiences!
I’ll also have a surprise for visitors on the Ranch Monday. Shhh- It’s a secret you’ll have to come back then to find out what it is!
Dodadagohvi~
Clear As Day by Babette James!
Osiyo~
Oooh! I’m a horrible rancher! Bad- I tell ya. Someone get the rope! I offer profuse apologies to my sister Rose, Babette James! We were SUPPOSED to feature her debut release, Clear As Day by the Wild Rose Press on April 24th and I completely forgot to schedule her!!! Maybe I had a good reason for becoming totally Old Timers afflicted (my granddaughter lives with hubby and me and she fell at her Daddy’s Saturday the 21st and seriously broke her arm) but that’s still not an excuse. So I’m sucking the sour lemon of shame (because rose apples are just too gross), and apologizing to Babette and featuring her beautiful book now.
And Clear As Day really does have a lovely cover. Welcome Babette! Thank you for not boycotting the ranch for my blank-mindedness and sharing your book today.
Thank you, Calisa, for letting me visit and share a little about my debut novel, Clear As Day, a sweetly scorching contemporary romance from The Wild Rose Press.
Clear As Day is about two friends with benefits facing the fears and uncertainties of their changing relationship. I loved writing Clear As Day, it’s been a story of my heart in many ways, so seeing this story published is a dream come true.
When I was young, my family took camping trips every summer to Lake Havasu or Lake Mohave and I loved those scenic desert places. Later, when I was in college, remembering those trips, I wrote a short story, written from Kay’s first person point of view, as an exercise featuring that setting of the summer heat and cool waters of Lake Mohave, and the little story was born that would eventually grow into Clear As Day.
I never quite found a place for that short version, but in January of 2010, I took the story out once more, thinking to expand it into a small novella for a publisher’s call. I had fun with the story, adding in bits of my family’s trips to the river, other camping and fishing experiences, and my own enjoyment of watercolors, music, photography, and the desert. The resulting novella, now in Kay’s third person viewpoint, was rejected, but I received the nicest letter from the editor who took the time to briefly explain what she liked about the story and what she believed would improve the story. I took her comments and ran with them. The biggest change and challenge was adding in Nate’s viewpoint, and once I did that, the story just blossomed into the novel length it is now. Their simple friends-with-benefits relationship proved not so simple and from there grew the beginnings of their conflict, love story, and their tight-knit group of friends. I enjoyed exploring how Kay was the one resistant to commitment and how sweet and certain Nate was in his love for her.
There were more bumps and rejections in the road to publication, but I kept working to improve the story, and I didn’t give up, despite the doubts the rejections caused. The day I received that email from The Wild Rose Press saying they wanted Clear As Day was amazing. Now, with the 4 ½ star review from Romantic Times and being able to hold my book in my hands, I am so glad I never gave up on my story. I hope you enjoy Nate and Kay’s journey to love as much as I have.
Blurb:
What’s a girl to do when her summer lover wants forever?
Haunted by dark memories of her parents’ volatile marriage, artist Kay Browning keeps her heart locked behind a free-spirit facade and contents herself with the comfortable affair she has every summer with easygoing photographer Nate Quinn.
The only trouble with her plan? This summer Nate’s come to Lake Mohave to claim the lover he can’t let go. He’s done with the endless traveling and settling for temporary homes and temporary loves. Kay’s always been more than just a vacation fling, and now he must convince this woman, who sees love as a course to certain heartbreak, to take that leap of faith and learn how safe love with the right man can be.
Excerpt:
She trailed her fingers over his collection of pebbles on the table, polished by sand, wind and water. Be happy. Be happy. How could she feel so happy and terrified at the same time? You’d think one would cancel out the other.
She would be happy. They would talk. She would sort out her mind.
Don’t worry, be happy.
She slipped on her leather sandals and picked up her sunhat, sunglasses and beach bag. “All set.”
As Kay and Olivia arrived at Spider Camp, Nate was talking and taking casual shots of Dave sitting on his boat. Dave waved. Nate stopped talking the moment she came into sight, his attention fixed on her in a way that rushed heat through her and kicked a happy tumble in her heart.
He waved. “Hey, babe!” He raked his gaze over her. “Stop right there.” He raised his camera and made swift adjustments. “Okay, move.” Rapid shutter clicks followed his order. “Oh, yeah. Beautiful. Slower. Perfect.”
He met her halfway and kissed her hot and hard. “I was about to track you down. You look great.”
“And you look happy.”
“Life is good.” He gave her another quick kiss. “I took some awesome shots today.”
Be happy. Kay smiled. She just needed to practice. Starting now. “Want a beer then to celebrate?”
“Sounds great.” Nate slid an arm around her waist and whispered in her ear, “Damn, I love this suit on you. Why does it always make me want to peel you out of it?” He caressed his hand down over her bottom, holding her close. He softly nipped her earlobe. “Between this one and that yellow-dot one, I am one happy man.”
Desire twisted and heated through her. Wanting him was so easy. That, at least, she never doubted.
“Let’s go swimming, so I can play. Hmm?” he murmured, with more little nips. “Please?”
Go on, practice being happy. Go swimming. Play. Relax. Enjoy. Love.
What was so hard about all that?
Nothing.
Kay tugged the knot of her pareu free and tucked the wrap into his hand. “Okay.” She pulled away from him and strolled off, slipping off her shirt and tossing it, her sunglasses and hat on a chair as she passed, kicking off her sandals as she reached the damp sand.
Running feet pounded up behind her, and Nate scooped her up in his strong arms. He charged laughing with her into the water and threw them both in, the cool shocking splash against her sun-heated skin driving a giggling shriek from her.
Laughter and friendly catcalls rang behind them from their friends.
Nate tugged her to her feet, his body hard and warm against hers. He shook the water from his hair. A big smile, alive with affection and delight, lighted his face. Mischief danced in his eyes. “Come on, follow me.” He swam with lazy strokes toward the moored boats and flipped around, floating on his back, waiting. When she followed, he kicked farther on, putting Lloyd’s and Dave’s boats between him and the shore. She caught up with him. The water here was breast deep.
He snagged her wrist and drew her close.
Book Trailer:
Bio: Babette James writes contemporary and fantasy romance and loves reading nail-biting tales with a satisfying happily ever after. When not dreaming up stories, she enjoys playing with new bread recipes and dabbling with paints. A teacher, she loves encouraging new readers and writers as they discover their growing abilities. Her class cheers when it’s time for their spelling test! She lives in New Jersey with her wonderfully patient husband and three extremely spoiled cats.
Links:
Babette loves hearing from readers and you can find her at:
Website: http://babettejames.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BabetteJames
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BabetteJamesAuthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/babettejames
You can find Clear As Day at:
Come fall in love at the river.
Thank you for forgiving me, Babette, and for sharing the wonderful excerpt! Awesome! Congratulations on your release and I wish you many, many happy sales, my friend. 🙂
Dodadagohvi~
I write contemporary and paranormal romance, with sensuality as the key ingredient and spice for kick.
Pen of The Dreamer 