Saturday, October 11, 2014

Meet Margaret Etheridge--Author

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I'm pleased to introduce author Margaret Ethridge!

Author of PARAMOUR 
Two men: one living, one dead, and both vying for her love. Camellia Stafford has never been alone in her room. For twenty years, she's been engaged in a fierce power struggle with her bedroom's previous tenant, Frank DeLuca, the ghost trapped in the light fixture above her bed.



Paramour was inspired by one of my favorite old movies, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Like Lucy Muir, I fell in love with the ghost of Captain Daniel Gregg. The bit when Anna told her mother that Captain Gregg used to visit her when she was a little girl and they had been friends stuck with me.

How cool would it be to be pals with a ghost? What if she grew up with that ghost in her room. Would she have fallen in love with him like her mother did? I also liked the idea of a tortured young hero trapped between worlds.
Here’s an excerpt from Paramour:
The scent was back, flooding her senses with the relief of homecoming. She wondered if he knew how many hours she’d spent at the men’s cologne counter sniffing samples, trying to place the fragrance. After twenty years of friendship, endless fights, and one unforgettable kiss, she’d wondered if she finally earned the right to ask questions.

“Are you really here?” she whispered, afraid she’d scare him away.

“Yeah.”

Their eyes met, and she tumbled into the depths of his dark gaze. Cam knew if she didn’t take the chance this time, she may never have another.

“What cologne do you wear?”

Frank’s eyes narrowed with typical caution. “Polo.”

“Huh. Smells different on you.”

His thick eyebrows rose, and a sardonic smile twitched his lips. “Might be because I’m dead.”

Cam swallowed hard and sat up. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Welcome home. I’m sorry.”

She shook her head, forcing a small, flirtatious smile. “Did you miss me?”

“Every damn day.”

“Then don’t leave me again.”

Frank raised his hand. His fingers twitched. She could feel heat radiating from his palm. Those warm fingers curved along the contour of her cheek. “I’ll make sure you’re never alone.”

Cam smiled, smoothing her palm over the rough hairs on the back of his hand. “With you around, how could I be?”

By day, Margaret Ethridge is buried in spreadsheets. At night she pens tales of people tangling up the sheets. The product of a charming rogue and a shameless flirt, you only have to scratch the surface of this mild-mannered married lady to find a naughty streak a mile wide.

Margaret pens tales of true-to-life women’s fiction, contemporary romance, and has been known to dabble a bit in the paranormal. She also writes steamy erotic romance under the pen name Maggie Wells.

You can find her online at: http://www.margaretethridge.com/
Twitter:
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Praise for Margaret Ethridge’s writing:


“Have you not read Margaret Ethridge? Hop to it! Although she is a new author, her work is consistently intriguing, even while writing different romantic genres.” – BookingIt.net


“Margaret Ethridge has such a knack for developing real, living, breathing characters that are so full of energy, so full of spunk, and so easy to relate to.” – Julie, Amazon review

“Margaret Ethridge was already one of my favorite authors, but this book put her in the very TOP of the list. (Above Nora Roberts!)” – R. Vincent, Amazon review

“Let's just say this--by the time I finish one of Margaret Ethridge's books, I'm in tears AND smiling. Every damn time. How does she do that?” – KBTaylor, Amazon review



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Thursday, October 09, 2014

Meet Jan Scarbrough-Author

I met Jan in 1996 at a writers' conference in Atlanta, and since then I've been proud to call her my friend. She and I had a few things in common. We're both romance writers, of course. We're both avid U of L Cardinal fans and we both call Louisville our hometown. She sat beside me at my book signing in 2007 when I launched my first mass-market paperback novel, RESTORE MY HEART. We shared a table in Radcliff, Kentucky.



She's one of my favorite writers, too. Jan's book, Timeless, is part of the new boxed set TIMELESS LOVER--TALES OF EVERLASTING LOVE. Available now for .99!





Welcome, Jan! Come chat with Cheryl and tell us what you learned from your research while writing Timeless

I lived in Louisville, Kentucky, April 3, 1974, when the tornado struck the city. That means I lived through what was known the Super Outbreak of 1974—148 tornadoes that tracked across 13 states between the Gulf Coast and the Canadian Border. The storms took 315 lives while injuring 6,000 more. Two people were killed in Louisville. I was at my mother-in-law’s home when it hit, not in the public high school where I taught. That part of town was devastated by the tornado.

Until I wrote Timeless, my ghost story set in Old Louisville, I thought the 1974 tornado was the only big tornado in Louisville history. Not so. There was another one in 1890 that killed over one hundred people. I read about it in The Great Louisville Tornado of 1890 by Keven McQueen. The tornado became part of my book.

Also a young co-worker explained a drinking game to me called Flip Cup. I’d never heard of it. I went to the Internet for research. It’s strange what a novelist needs when writing. Some of the things I learned about from the Internet were Baxter Square Park—Louisville’s first park—post-traumatic stress disorder, and details of September 11, 2001. I also researched a hill in Cherokee Park where people sled in the winter, but that is still called “dog hill.” I investigated carriages from the 1890’s and period clothing.

But most of all, when I wrote Timeless, I learned to trust myself. To let the writing flow. To let the characters come alive on the computer screen and drive the action. Now I try to let it flow like that with all my books.

When I mentioned Timeless to my medium friend Dale, she told me something fascinating. My spirit guides were helping me write it! And having a good time doing it! How cool is that?

The origin of the word “inspiration” is Middle English (in the sense 'divine guidance'): via Old French from late Latin inspiratio(n-), from the verb inspirare (see inspire).

As easy as Timeless was to write, who’s to say I didn't have supernatural help?


More about Jan:

Jan Scarbrough is the author of the popular Bluegrass Reunion series, writing heartwarming contemporary romances about home and family, single moms and children, and if the plot allows, about another passion--horses. Living in the horse country of Kentucky makes it easy for Jan to add small town, Southern charm to her books, and the excitement of a horse race or a big-time, competitive horse show.

Jan also contributes to the Ladies of Legend series, a collaboration with writers Maddie James, Janet Eaves and Magdalena Scott. Set in fictitious Legend, Tennessee, these romances bring together the small town family atmosphere so many readers enjoy.

Leaving her contemporary voice behind, Jan wrote a medieval called MY LORD RAVEN. Her first paranormal Gothic romance, TANGLED MEMORIES, was a RWA Golden Heart finalist, and she’s recently released a second romance with paranormal elements called TIMELESS.

A member of Novelist, Inc. and the Romance Writers of America, Jan has published with Kensington, Five Star, ImaJinn Books, Resplendence Publishing and Turquoise Morning Press. She has recently self-published another romance set in the Bluegrass called BETTING ON LOVE.

Jan lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with three rescued dogs, two rescued cats, and a husband she rescued fourteen years ago.



When Beth Abbott receives a surprise inheritance from her birth mother, she travels to the family’s nineteenth century mansion in Old Louisville, now a bed and breakfast. There she meets the resident ghost, a little girl whose crying scares, but intrigues guests. Beth sets out to discover the identity of the ghost and why she appears happy to Beth, not sad.
 Jeff Halstead, a man with several secrets, runs the bed and breakfast. But he’s more than that to Beth, and she feels their connection immediately. A psychic medium who doubts his skills, Jeff slowly uncovers the truth of their past lives. Will he be in time to reveal the identity of Beth’s enemy? Will the love they shared in the past follow them into the future?


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Monday, October 06, 2014

Meet J.C. Wardon--Author




JC Wardon is the author of the Mystic Waters Books, published through Turquoise Morning Press. As a lover of the paranormal romance, the psychological thriller, and the suspense of dangerous plots, all woven into one, JC creates stories that will curl your toes, and make your heart pound. JC's novel, Mystic Thunder, is part of the new boxed set--just in time for Halloween--titled ENCHANTED LOVER--TALES OF EVERLASTING LOVE. Available for a limited time for 99¢




Rayne Cavanaugh and her two identical sisters all have different inherited mystical gifts. Rayne is of The Devine, which means she is able to cast and conjure spells, but they each have another gift which manifests before they learn of this particular ability, and Rayne’s is to see and talk to ghosts. She flees to Mystic Waters, West Va., to hide from the notoriety she’s suddenly exposed to in LA, but what she finds when she gets there is a man whose nephew is missing, and a ghost who insists she follow him into the dark reality that someone has been murdering young men for years on Mystic Mountain. She must choose between protecting herself and helping the man she is falling in love with, while conscious of the three thousand year old curse that warns all Cavanaugh women to never fall in love.


 JC Wardon's Cavanaugh Sisters Trilogy kicks off a thirteen-book series roller coaster ride that will leave you captivated. Whether you’re titillated, tantalized, breathlessly horrified, or shocked to the core, JC’s books always conclude with a sneak peek into the next breathtaking trip.

As of this writing, seven of the thirteen Cavanaugh Series Books are in publication, with the remainder to come out over the next year. Though the trilogy: Mystic Thunder, Touch of Lightning, and Tempest’s Embrace novels must be read in order and in their entirety, to solve the two major quests the characters are burdened with, as well as set up the complicated foundation for the future Cavanaugh series novels, the remaining books can stand alone. However, each subsequent book’s characters build from the ones that came before. (They are a family, after all!)


Due to the time constraints of meeting publication deadlines, JC does not currently have a blog, but you can check out all her current and upcoming releases at: http://jcwardon.com where you are free to comment on your reading experience, or even ask questions.

or tweet her at: @jc_wardon

or drop by her FaceBook Author page (and feel free to “Like”): https://www.facebook.com/JCWardonNovelist

REVIEWS:
“I would say that J.C. Wardon is a shining new star in the paranormal genre.” Debra Taylor, The Romance Reviews

“Wardon has crafted a page-turner with the first of the Cavanaugh Sisters Trilogy.” Karen Sweeny-Justice, RT Book Reviews

EXCERPT:
Rayne broke free of the tangle of cars and sped-up to head toward the highway and home. Tears formed from both the pain in her skull and the realization that she was forever trapped by genetics that had finally exposed her to the world, and, not unexpectedly, ended what she’d hoped was a promising relationship.
She wanted to scream out her anger and frustration. She wanted to crash into something and shatter it to smithereens. After years of extreme caution, one persistent child ghost succeeded in making her break the first and most important rule her family lived by. She had failed to keep the secret that safeguarded them all. And she had to hurry home to let them know before they heard about it from someone else or saw it on the news.
The exit ramp leading to the highway was as congested as it always was this time of day, so Rayne ignored that route and kept on driving, ending up in the lower income side of the city few tourists ever saw. Los Angeles, the city of Angels, was not so angelic here.
Disreputable business establishments gave way to weathered homes with shabby yards, some with garbage littering streets and lawns, and many with rusting cars sitting atop concrete blocks. It wasn’t a part of the city she knew well. She kept on driving and continued wiping at her nose until the leather seat on the other side of the console filled with bloody tissues.
Rayne kept her speed down and her eyes on the residential road as she reached for another tissue, only to feel the box was empty. She pinched her nose with her finger and thumb, and was nearly gasping for breath as she glanced over to see if there was a used one that wasn’t too saturated. When she looked back up, her breath hitched as an image jumped in front of the car.
Slamming on the breaks flung the used tissues, the empty box, and her purse from the passenger seat onto the floorboard. Her heart beating wildly, Rayne stared at the large ghost before her as its glittering essence mingling with the heat vapors radiating from the hood of her car. Panic turned to anger and finally to despair as she recognized the pesky ghost who made a habit of harassing her.

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