Book Festival Awesomeness!

This weekend was the Baltimore Book Festival - 3 straight days of all things book-related. My local RWA chapter has its own tent, and runs a full schedule of panels for the entire festival. That means not just our own outstanding members, but snazzy guest authors, editors, agents, publishers and bloggers from all over.

The good news: I got to be on television! The bad news? I had to get up at 4:15 in the morning to do the guest spot at 6:00 a.m. When you watch the clip, please keep in mind that I'm not a morning person. The bad news? I discovered by 10 a.m. that an epic head cold was marauding its way through me. But when you've got the opportunity to interact with authors from the entire Mid-Atlantic region, you don't let a little thing like body aches, fever and sneezes keep you down.

The great news? I was on a panel with Meg Cabot. MEG CABOT!!!!!! (See, I've got proof). Not only that, but I met her early and discovered just how much fun she is to chat with - I think we bonded over our mutual dislike for writing sex scenes. She was delightful and so generous of her time with our chapter on this last stop of her book tour. Go buy her new book - it'll be terrific. Plus our panel was all about chocolate and romance, so the audience was lulled into rapt attention as we read some sizzling scenes to them.

 The fun news? I got to hang with the wonderful ladies behind Read Love Blog. It is always so terrific to meet people in person whom you've only corresponded with online. They are awesome. As in, I might start a campaign to force them to move to Baltimore just to hang out with us all the time.

The panel discussions were lively. To say the least. We just about got physical in our throwdown over Pantsing vs. Plotting (go on, I dare you to start that debate in your chapter without a few smackdowns being tossed around). I could name drop a whole list of amazing people I was privileged enough to chat with over the course of the festival, but it'd just make you all too jealous. But the point of all this is that it is book festival season across the country. If you've got one near you, clear your schedule and go. It is an opportunity for free books, signed books, up close and personal, behind-the-scenes glimpses of your favorite authors. It is an opportunity to learn. And most of all, it is ten tons of fun.

Sexalicious #CoverReveal for East of Ecstasy!

Okay, I might be a little biased about this cover reveal because 1)I've ADORED every book in the series, and 2) I'm so darn proud of my friend, critique partner and chapter mate Laura Kaye. But seriously, this cover rocks. You get the swirling turmoil of the action-packed, sexy close to the series. See for yourself!

About East of Ecstasy:

Annalise Fallston made peace with postponing her big-city dreams to care for her ill father, but lately she’s been filled with a restlessness not even her beloved painting dispels. Worse, the colors don’t speak to her as they always have, and all her efforts produce dark, foreboding images of a dangerous man and a terrifying future.

Devlin Eston, black-souled son of the evil Anemoi Eurus, is the only one who can thwart his father’s plan to overthrow the Supreme God of Wind and Storms. But first, Dev must master the unstable powers he’s been given. Distrusted and shunned by his own divine family, he never expected to find kindness and passion in the arms of a mortal.

But Devlin’s love puts Annalise in the path of a catastrophic storm, and in the final Armageddon showdown between the Anemoi and Eurus, sacrifices will be made, hearts broken, and lives changed forever…or lost.

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Books in Series:

North of Need

West of Want

South of Surrender

 

About Laura Kaye:
Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen books in paranormal and contemporary romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

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Romantic Suspense That Will Get Your Heart Pounding!

You've often heard me say in this blog that my fellow Maryland Romance Writers are an extremely talented group of women. I say it so often because 1) it is true, and 2) they are so darn prolific that I get to announce a new release just about every single month! So it is my great pleasure to share with you the latest sexy and suspenseful book from my friend, chaptermate and critique partner Joya Fields:

Keely Allen’s life goes into a tailspin when her adoptive father is viciously attacked. And the detective who offers to help her? None other than the sexy, love ’em and leave ’em man who once broke her heart.

Homicide Detective Logan North carries a haunting secret that has always kept his emotions on lockdown. But when he is forced to work alongside his former lover, the heat is still there between them, burning hotter than ever. Logan is determined to keep the luscious and tempting Keely at a distance...but he made a vow not to leave until all are safe.

On their race to solve the tangled web of crime, drug deals, and human trafficking, dangers abound—both to their lives…and to their hearts.

 

Here's a peek at the story:

   Wishing she didn’t look so good in a pair of worn jeans and an old red University of Maryland sweatshirt, he slammed the door and set the lock.

   “Keely.” He stood by the door, afraid to trust himself around her. He had to keep her at a distance. As teens, he’d been too wild for her, as adults, he couldn’t give her what she wanted.

   Anger grew in his gut. What if she’d been attacked in his own neighborhood, on her way to see him, and he’d been inside watching a movie? He faced her, using his best cop tone. “Do you know how many muggings there were on the next block last month?” He could have bought a house in a safer neighborhood, but he liked the fact everyone knew he was a cop. His presence kept crime down on this block. But he’d never expected women to come over at odd hours in the night.

   She didn’t even have the grace to look chastened as she took a swig of beer and shrugged. “So, I see you still like Louis L’Amour movies.” She smiled and pointed at the television screen with her beer bottle.

   He forced himself to take a slow, calming breath, counting to ten.

   “Logan?” A furrow formed between her brows and she stood. Her long brown hair, damp from the rain, clung to the sides of her face. A loose tendril fell across her cheek.

He wanted to step forward, brush it aside, grab her face in both hands, and kiss the hell out of her.

   “Why didn’t you return my calls when I reached out to you a few years ago?”

   So that was why she was here. To finish the conversation they’d started earlier, before the street outside her dad’s house had erupted in chaos.

   She set her bottle on the table and took a step closer to him.

   His gaze dropped to follow her pink-painted fingertips as she reached for the hem of her sweatshirt. Surprise shot through him as she yanked it over her head, tossing it to the sofa. She wore a thin beige halter and no bra. He stared at the pert outline of her nipples, and his mouth went dry. Oh, holy shit.

   With every ounce of willpower he possessed, he forced his eyes higher and stared back at her. But focusing on her eyes didn’t do him much good. Her blue eyes sparkled in the dim lamp light, sending him signals he knew only too well.

   She hadn’t come over solely to get the answers to her questions. She’d come here to seduce him. And God help him, he didn’t know if he had the strength to resist.

Reunited in Danger buy-links: Amazon / Kobo / Barnes and Noble

Joya Fields Bio:

Joya Fields has had over 100 stories and articles published in local and national magazines. Her debut novel was a NJRW GOLDEN LEAF WINNER FOR BEST FIRST BOOK OF 2012 and is nominated for RT Book Reviews 2012 Indie Press/Self-Published Contemporary Romance award.

     Joya has taught arts and crafts, worked in public relations, helped her children raise prize-winning 4-H livestock, competed in three marathons, and even spent a year as a Baltimore Colts cheerleader. She loves hanging with her high school sweetheart/husband of over twenty years, two very supportive children, and a pug who follows her everywhere.

Friends To Lovers #Cover Reveal!

I'm thrilled to share with you the cover for Friends to Lovers, book 3 in my Aisle Bound series. I adore all my books, but I have to admit that the hero in this one is my absolute favorite. Gibson Moore can-and does-get any woman he wants. He's sexy, charming, and has a yummy British accent. This man is so irresistably good that once he sleeps with a woman and immediately dumps her, they still stay friends. But what he doesn't realize is that his best friend that he's never slept with would like nothing better than to climb between the sheets. Here's the blurb:

As florist and co-owner of a successful Chicago wedding planning business, Daphne Lovell has been there for the happiest days of other people's lives. As for her own life? Well, it's hard to be perfectly happy when you're carrying a torch for your sexy, womanizing and oblivious best friend. So when the lights go out on New Year's Eve, she seizes the opportunity to kiss him senseless.

British expat Gibson Moore has a lot on his plate. The hotel he manages is being bought out, his family is crazy and someone just kissed him in the dark. When the lights go on, he searches the room, trying to find the mystery pair of lips. Only, he never thinks to ask the woman standing by his side. He's shocked when he discovers that Daphne is the woman he's been searching for. But Gib's also eager to act upon the attraction for her he's always fought to ignore.

It takes trust to move from friends to lovers, and as Gib's work situation worsens, he is no longer sure he can risk the friendship he relies on most. It's up to Daphne to convince him that some things are worth fighting for...

 

Be sure to pre-order your copy at Amazon or Barnes & Noble!