Tuesday, November 27, 2012

A Middle Grade Book to Gift!!


I love to discover authors living their dream!  Rita is a great example and her middle grade book is one the child in your life that reads eBooks will enjoy!  The child in you will enjoy it too!  Yes, I confess...I read middle grade and young adult books for my inner-child!!!!

Rita Monette was born and raised in Southwest Louisiana. After retiring from her “real” job as an administrative assistant for the State of Michigan, Rita began doing what she always wanted to do…write and paint. Five long years later, Musa Publishing offered her a contract for her debut middle grade novel, The Legend of Ghost Dog Island, which also includes her artwork. Her stories are set in the beautiful, yet mysterious, bayous and swamps of her home state. Rita now lives with her husband, four lap dogs, and one lap cat, in the mountains of Tennessee. 

The Legend of Ghost Dog Island 

By Rita Monette

Book Genre: Middle Grade

Tagline:  Behind Every Legend Lies the Truth

Blurb:

Moving is nothing new for ten-year-old Nikki Landry. Her fisherman father relocates their raggedy old houseboat several times a year in search of better crabbing spots. However, their latest move has brought her to a mysterious bayou where she feels something is watching her from a nearby island.

Nikki learns of a local legend about something sinister inhabiting those swamps, stealing the souls of dogs…which would explain the strange howling sounds. Papa reassures her there’s nothing on the island but gators and snakes. He would know. He’s spent his whole life trapping and fishing those bayous and swamps. But Nikki and her new friends uncover strange happenings from years ago that may have started the old legend, and town folks aren’t talking. Then her beloved beagle goes missing.

Join Nikki as she seeks to discover the real truth behind the legend of Ghost Dog Island…before it’s too late.

Excerpt:

 Mama closed the door behind her. She knew once Papa got going on one of his tales, there was no stopping him.

The last traces of daylight seemed to disappear in a hurry, as if Papa had ordered it away. The glass globe of the kerosene lamp clinked. He touched a match to the wick and adjusted the flame until it filled the room with pale light and gray shadows. He motioned me to sit next to him on the worn sofa.

I hurried to his side, not knowing what spooky legend he was going to tell this time. But as scared as I’d get, I always enjoyed hearing ’em.

Mais, there’s a legend told around these parts.” That was how they always started out. He leaned down so the light from the lamp made eerie shadows across his face.

I rolled my eyes, determined not to get spooked this time.

“Folks say there’s something living out yonder,” he went on. “Legend has it the monster lures dogs to the island using evil spells. Then at the peak of the full moon, they’re turned into hollow spirits with glowing eyes.” Papa put on his eeriest sneer. “That there’s Ghost Dog Island.”

“Ghost dogs?” I pulled my knees up against my chest and wrapped my arms around ’em tight. My mind conjured up images of a huge monster with drippy fangs and dogs with bright yellow eyes. I thought about the feeling I had of something watching us. Was there really a creature out there? Did it have its eye on my best buddy? I shuddered.

IEEEOWWWOOOO-oooooooo! The howling sound echoed again across the bayou.

Links

 



Web site:  http://ritamonette.com

 

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Black Friday Book Signing!

I'll be hanging out with several of my author friends on Friday at Barnes and Noble at 9370 Sheridan Blvd., Westminster.  Hope you can stop by and say 'hi'!




Monday, November 19, 2012

Emerging Magic - Here at Last

Emerging Magic, the second book in the Magical Love series is out!  Yep, I'm happy dancing and on top of that I'm very relieved.  Due to the tight release schedule Barnes & Noble asked me to order copies for the book signing they've setup for the day after Thanksgiving.  Much to my relief the books arrived Friday afternoon!  Now if B&N's order doesn't make it through their system we can fill in with the copies I have on hand.

It has been a long haul in between book and I confess a lot of the blame is mine.  If I hadn't let certain issues put me a non-writing zone, the book would have been done and in my editor's inbox well before she got hit with some stuff that put her way behind.  But that's all water under the bridge.  Emerging Magic is out now and the third book in the series is coming along nicely!

So here's a little peek at Emerging Magic!  And if you live in the Denver area, hope you can stop by Barnes & Noble at 9370 Sheridan Boulevard Westminster, CO on November 23rd.  I'll be there with my author friends, Melissa Mayhue, Jenn LeBlanc and M.L. Guida. We'll be there from 10-3:00 so stop by and say 'hi'.

Emerging Magic
by Lizzie T. Leaf
Published by: Passion In Print Press

Blurb:
Against her will, the Cailleach puts into play the magic to unite another pair of soul mates.

Loneliness drives Cori Sparks to chocolate. The fledging witch's desolation also compels her to attempt using her emerging magic in the quest for love. Unsuccessful, she turns to a dating website and discovers what may be her perfect match.
Rob Vesha is tired of the money hungry women he meets. Given his gene pool he doesn't think the real 'him' would excite them as much, but he can't share enough to find out for sure. On impulse he turns to an internet dating site and discovers Cori.

Can their love survive his family reunion in Transylvania?
EXCERPT:
Cori attempted to quell the butterflies in her stomach. Agreeing to this meet up could prove to be the smartest thing she’d done recently, or get her certified for the state mental hospital in Pueblo. Either way, game on. Her lists of ‘if onlys’ hadn’t prompted her to cancel which was a major step for her, though admittedly she’d come close a couple of times.
ScottishRab, or Rabby as he signed his email appeared to have his shit together. Like her, he owned his own company, though Cori was still unclear on the type of business. Definitely good looking, even if the facial hair would need to be discussed. Still there had been some magnetism about him; maybe it was his eyes that drew her—sad and intense. His rich baritone had her at the first hello when he called last night. Brief as it had been, their conversations gave her more thrills than a box of chocolates. No matter what the connection proved to be, she hadn’t hesitated very long before saying yes when he suggested they meet for coffee.
When Cori’s feet carried her through the doors of the coffee shop directly across the street from her travel agency, she questioned her logic in setting this as their meeting place. She stopped and took an inventory of the customers sipping their caffeine of choice and chatting. A long hiss made her realize she’d been holding her breath. Chill! It looked like she accomplished her goal to arrive first. Ordering a non-fat latte, she located a table against the back wall that offered a little more privacy and less noise.
If only I’d lost another ten pounds before I agreed to meet him. Though I did get into this outfit. It’s been hanging in the back of the closet so long I’d forgotten about it. The pencil skit had skimmed over her hips with ease and the scooped neck top showed off the girls without screaming porn queen.
Still, doubts nagged at her. A quick glance around didn’t show any signs of her coffee date and thankfully, none of her staff. She had time to get out if she acted quickly.
Keep your ass in that chair! You’re playing the “if” game again and it ain’t gonna do any good, sister. You agreed…you’re here! Now suck it up. You threw the friggin’ whip of self-flagellation in the trash weeks ago.
Okay, she surrendered. Her inner voice always won these arguments anyway.
But what if he cruised by and decided he didn’t like what he saw? There you go again! Girl, do you need to be bitch slapped to get your head straight? Could be…
“Cordellia?”
Pulled from the latest battle with the voice in her head Cori looked up; suddenly grateful her behind occupied a chair. The dark mustache from the picture no longer perched over his full, sensual mouth and the over-bleached hair was now black. Up close, the chiseled jawline appeared strong enough to be carved from granite. That jaw, combined with soulful dark brown eyes left no doubt her meet-up had arrived. Instead of the haunting expression she’d viewed in his picture, tonight his eyes held a twinkle, but sad or laughing, they still managed to probe into her soul.
“Rabby?”
He offered a sheepish grin as he set his coffee on the small bistro table and pulled out the chair across from her. “Actually, people call me Rob. Rabby is a childhood nickname.”
The pink tinges that crept up to color his high cheekbones delighted Cori. Goddess, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen a man blush. “Not a problem. My friends call me Cori. Cordellia is just for the official documents.”
Surprised at the ease they lapsed into conversation, Cori couldn’t believe it when Rob suggested dinner. Her watch verified the time and a grumble from her stomach confirmed the need for food.
The staff at the downtown pub appeared to know Rob. Greeted by a friendly server who led them to a table in a secluded corner, he questioned Rob on what he thought about the Rockies  chances for the upcoming season.
When they finished their baseball analysis, the man handed over the menus and Rob quizzed him. “How’s the Scottish Salmon, tonight?”
“Great like always, Rob. Shall I have the kitchen set aside a serving for you? And do you want to start out with a Scotch Egg like usual?”
Does he take all his dates here? Just my luck, a hunky, woman-hungry jock!
“We’ll look over the menu before ordering anything, but thanks. It’s not just me tonight.”
That answers the date question. Rob’s including her in their food selection gave Cori a warm sensation.
He directed his attention on her and grinned. “I grew up mostly in Scotland and miss the food, though I confess this is a little more gourmet than the home cooking I ate as a child.” He squeezed Cori’s hand. “Am I too presumptuous in assuming you’d enjoy coming here?”
“I enjoy foods of the world. That statement would earn her a liar, liar, pants on fire comment from Emma if she’d heard it.
As long as I’m not another notch in your ‘man belt’ I can fake drooling over fried bugs if I need to.
And for that thought, her sister would smack the shit out of her demanding to know why the hell she’d give up her own choices to please a man.
She pushed thoughts of her sibling away and turned to focus her attention on her date. Lost in the intensity of his gaze Cori had to remind herself she’d known this man a few days and all of their conversations had been through emails or phone. No way in hell could she feel something all ready? Love at first sight didn’t happen in her world. Okay, but maybe lust at first sight does. I can go with that.
http://www.passioninprint.com/ShowBook.php?CR=LTL_EMERGEMAGIC

http://www.amazon.com/Emerging-Magic-Lizzie-T-Leaf/dp/160820376X/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1353333276&sr=8-16&keywords=lizzie+t+leaf

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/emerging-magic-lizzie-t-leaf/1113769362?ean=9781608203765

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-emergingmagic-1005809-140.html

Monday, November 12, 2012

Whet your Regency Appetite with Captive by Vonnie Hughes!


Allow yourself to be held captavie by Vonnie Hughes and her stories!  Vonnie shares a little about herself and her latest release at Aurora Regency.  The title alone is enough to make me want to read the book!!!

 Bio: 

Vonnie Hughes is a New Zealander living in Australia. She loves animals and jogging. Vonnie writes Regencies and romantic suspense novels along with short stories. She is presently working on a romantic suspense, working title: Innocent Hostage and a Regency novella, working title: A Tale of Two Sisters. 

Her earlier book Coming Home is about a soldier and a nurse, thrown together during the Napoleonic wars, who find more danger on their return to England than they ever did on the Iberian Peninsula.  

The Second Son is actually a prequel to Coming Home. A second son, filled with angst, stands to inherit a title and property through the death of a brother he has always loathed and mistrusted. A young disabled woman teaches him how to find his self-respect and how to love.  

Another Regency Historical, Mr. Monfort’s Marriage, has businessman Matthew Monfort inveigled into marrying an earl’s daughter. With good reason he loathes the ton, so his new wife needn’t think she’s going to win him over, even though she’s quite delightful…and intelligent…and sweet…However Verity shows him that not all members of the ton are idle layabouts and that he can do much good with his largesse and with—shock, horror—the unexpected and embarrassing title conferred on him by Prinny.

CAPTIVE

By Vonnie Hughes 

Tagline: 

When Alexandra Tallis sets free the attractive man her sister stupidly tried to hold captive, her actions lead not only to a love she never thought to find, but also to a horrific family secret that threatens that love.

BLURB:

When Alexandra Tallis discovers that her witless sister has imprisoned their father’s nemesis, Theo Crombie in their attic, she quickly frees him, fighting an unladylike impulse to keep him as her own special captive. Despite the brutal beating she receives from her father for her actions, Alexandra continues to yearn for the delicious Mr. Crombie even though she knows that nothing will ever come of her dreams.

Injured and shackled in a stranger’s attic, Theo unexpectedly discovers the woman of his dreams. But how can he pursue those dreams when her bizarre family’s complex relationships threaten the very foundation of his existence? Somehow Theo must find a way through this maze to claim his lady.


 EXCERPT:

“Oh, no, Emmaline! Please untie him. Let him go.”

Whatever would her sister do next? At seventeen, she was an eligible man’s worst nightmare. And this latest escapade—

“Don’t be such a bore, Lexie. ’Tis a great joke! For once, Papa will thank us. Especially when he finds out who it is we’ve trussed up.” Emmaline laughed her silvery, seductive laugh that drove men wild and irritated women.

“Thank us? He is more like to beat us. You cannot capture someone and bring him here and…and just tie him up!”

“Of course I can. I already have. I shall lock the two of you in here together and then raise an outcry. Papa and the servants will come running and—,” she waved her pretty hands in the air, “—the rest will take care of itself. Papa’s investment problem will be solved, and with a bit of luck, you might even be married by next week, sister.”


“Are you out of your mind?” rasped an angry voice from the darkest corner of the garret.


“Ah, you’re awake!” trilled Emmaline.


Alexandra Tallis gulped. She was doing her best not to look at the near-naked man half-hidden in the shadows. But her eyes refused to behave. Stripped to the waist he was a wondrous sight, all muscle and taut sinew. His arms tensed and strained as he struggled to escape.


“Get me out of here,” he snarled.

Alexandra blinked and looked more closely, but her eyesight was not the best. She lifted a candle from the wall sconce and took a step forward. And another.


“You’re bleeding!”


He swivelled his head to look in her direction. “Sense at last. Yes, I’m bleeding. I’d be obliged if you’d free me from these bl—these ridiculous bonds.” There was a clank and rattle as he tried to move.


Gracious! Emmaline hadn’t just tied the man up—she had chained him. Alexandra closed her eyes for a few seconds.


“Emmaline! How on earth did you manage—?”


“Davy did it for me. Well, he would fight, so Davy had to subdue him.”


“What did that witless boy do? Shoot the poor man?”


“Yes, actually. He did,” the man muttered.


 Aurora (Regency)
Captive
http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14&products_id=435
 


Learn more about Vonnie Hughes on her website http://www.vonniehughes.com and blog. http://vonniehughes.blogspot.com.au

Stay connected on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VonnieJHughes and Goodreads.