Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Scandalous Redemption by Amanda Mariel Blog Tour



Scandalous Redemption
By
Amanda Mariel
Blog Tour
May 31 to June 4, 2016





Title: Scandalous Redemption
Author: Amanda Mariel
Release date: May 31, 2016
Heat Rating: 3



She never wanted him…
Ruined by scandal, Claudia Akford survived years of marriage to a cruel brute. Widowed, she is determined to regain her standing in society, but Lord Shillington personifies temptation. Kind and gentle, yet masculine and sinfully handsome, he would make the perfect lover, but he wants more than she is willing to give.
He needed her…
While Henry Shillington knows a little of the beautiful but notorious Lady Claudia Akford, he is struck by her kindhearted, accomplished, and witty demeanor. The more time he spends in her company, the more he dreams of a future with her. But the lady resists his honorable overtures, and a mistress will never do for him.
Can two wary people overcome past hurts, an old scandal, and social strictures to embrace true love?





Lord Henry Shillington strode across the music room of Lord and Lady Morse’s country estate intent on locating his sister. The force of someone bumping into him sent him stumbling backward. He whirled around, auburn curls catching his gaze as he reached out to steady her. “Excuse me.” He offered a slight bow but did not release his hold on her.
The lady peered at him through narrowed, fierce green eyes the color of emeralds. “You should watch your step. Kindly unhand me.”
Henry met her icy glare. She radiated the sweet scent of champagne. It clung to the air around her filling his senses as if she had used it for perfume. “Good God, you’re foxed.”
Her earbobs danced and sparkled as she leaned in close, the fire in her eyes growing more intense. “My state is not your concern.” She jerked free of his hold and took a step back. Her blue jewel-toned gown swooshed with the sudden movement.
He grabbed her arm, halting her. His pulse pounded through his veins. “You cannot stay here in your condition. You will cause a scandal for yourself and our hosts.”
“What concern is it of yours?” She rounded on him.
He had to prevent her from causing a scene. “Allow me to escort you outside. We can stroll through the garden.” Part of him worried for their hosts, Lord and Lady Wexil were dear friends, but, if he were being honest, he would have to admit he wished to know more about this beauty. Something about her captivated him. Perhaps her unusual eyes or the misery he saw in them.
A slow smile spread across her full lips. “Very well.”
She swayed and clung to his arm as he led her out through the veranda doors and into the country air. What would compel a lady to become foxed so early in the evening? The sun had yet to give way to the moon’s glow. And who was she? Surely, they had never met before.
He turned her down a path lined with flowers and green foliage. The details of who she was and why she’d overindulged did not signify. She was clearly in distress, and he intended to help if he could. He studied the profile of her delicate face.
“Might we sit...what is your name?” Her exhilarating laughter floated through the empty space.
He had never heard a sweeter sound. “Lord Shillington. And yours?” He stopped in front of a cast iron bench. He couldn’t look away as she lowered herself onto the seat in a flutter of skirts. She was a mystery he wished to solve.
“Do sit with me, Lord Shillington.” She patted the bench next to her.
Henry positioned himself near her, but not too close. Being out here with an unchaperoned lady was scandalous enough. It was not his desire to compromise her--or himself. Given her state, he had no choice but to remove her from the gathering. However, he also had a responsibility to control the propriety of his own behavior.
A cool breeze ruffled her elegant skirts, drawing his attention to her body. Heat fanned through him as he studied her. She was tall and lithe, yet she possessed curves in all the right places. He offered a polite smile. “Your name, my lady?”
She looked at him through hooded lashes. “Lady Claudia Akford.”
His heart skipped a beat as his throat tightened. The notorious Lady Claudia Akford.




Also available in Kindle Unlimited




 Bestselling, Amazon All Star author Amanda Mariel dreams of days gone by when life moved at a slower pace. She enjoys taking pen to paper and exploring historical time periods through her imagination and the written word. When she is not writing she can be found reading, crocheting, traveling, practicing her photography skills, or spending time with her family.
Amanda lives along the Lake Huron shoreline in northern Michigan with her husband and two kids. She holds a Master of Liberal Arts Degree with a concentration in literature and has a long-standing love affair with sugary junk food.

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Sunday, May 29, 2016

Waking Up in Vegas Book Review



Synopsis:

When what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay there…

It was supposed to be a wild weekend spent celebrating her best friend. But Kiera didn’t count on running into him. He was an annoying blast from her past, hell bent on pushing all of her buttons. But when sparks begin to fly, she starts to question everything she thought she knew about this man and herself. Business. It was always about business. When Andrew travels to Las Vegas for a meeting, he never counted on her. Some things never changed and it seemed like Kiera was still stuck in the past. But as things heat up, he starts finding ways to mix business with pleasure. And after an amazing weekend, he needs to find a way to convince the feisty red head that not everything needs to stay in Vegas.

Can Kiera and Andrew overcome the ghosts from their past in order to find a future together or will they bet on love and lose everything?


Amazon Affiliate Disclaimer
Same DiNamics Crochet is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.







***Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book for review purposes.***

Sexy! Beautiful! Fun! Smart! Those are just some of the words that come to mind when describing this book, Waking Up in Vegas. 

Sarah King has the ability to write and make you fall in love with the characters in her books. Her approach to writing stories is simple, take the reader on a wonderful and exciting ride while falling in love. 

Waking Up in Vegas is her sexiest book, yet. I was immediately taken to a new world (one that I've never been in, in real life) and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I just have one things to say "Andrew F****** Taylor!". When you read the book, and you should, you'll get that reference. 

I loved the relationship between friends, Keira and Michelle, and completely felt the reality of that friendship. It wasn't an over-the-top, often unrealistic expectations of friendships between women that I read about in other books. Their friendship was real and one that I connected with. And really, I wanted to be in Vegas partying with them. 

Waking Up in Vegas is a great summer read by the pool or at the beach. Be sure to take a hand fan with you to fan yourself because, damn.... some scenes will leave you sweaty and not because of the heat. 

Do I recommend Waking Up in Vegas? Oh I absolutely do! It's delicious! It's sexy! It's fun! And, it's hot! 


Tuesday, May 24, 2016

The Lady's Protector by Emma Prince Blog Tour



The Lady’s Protector
(Highland Bodyguards, Book 1)
By
Emma Prince
Blog Tour
May 19 – 29






The Battle of Bannockburn may be over, but the war is far from won.
Her Protector…
Ansel Sutherland is charged with a mission from King Robert the Bruce to protect the illegitimate son of a powerful English Earl. Though Ansel bristles at aiding an Englishman, the nature of the war for Scottish independence is changing, and he is honor-bound to serve as a bodyguard. He arrives in England to fulfill his assignment, only to meet the beautiful but secretive Lady Isolda, who refuses to tell him where his ward is.  When a mysterious attacker threatens Isolda’s life, Ansel realizes he is the only thing standing between her and deadly peril.
His Lady…
Lady Isolda harbors dark secrets—secrets she refuses to reveal to the rugged Highland rogue who arrives at her castle demanding answers. But Ansel’s dark eyes cut through all her defenses, threatening to undo her resolve. To protect her past, she cannot submit to the white-hot desire that burns between them. As the threat to her life spirals out of control, she has no choice but to trust Ansel to whisk her to safety deep in the heart of the Highlands…


 Get Your Copy Today!




Emma Prince is the Amazon All-Star and Bestselling author of steamy historical romances jam-packed with adventure, conflict, and of course love!Emma grew up in drizzly Seattle, but traded her rain boots for sunglasses when she and her husband moved to the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Emma spent several years in academia, both as a graduate student and an instructor of college-level English and Humanities courses. She always savored her "fun books"—normally historical romances—on breaks or vacations. But as she began looking for the next chapter in her life, she wondered if perhaps her passion could turn into a career. Ever since then, she's been reading and writing books that celebrate happily ever afters!Visit Emma's website, www.EmmaPrinceBooks.com, for updates on books, future projects, inspirations, newsletter sign-up, and more!



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Tuesday, May 17, 2016

The Master of Strathburn Blog Tour

the master of strathburn banner 2

The Master of Strathburn
By
Amy Rose Bennett
Blog Tour

  A sweeping, sexy Highland romance about a wanted Jacobite with a wounded soul, and a spirited Scottish lass on the run.  

 About the Book:



The Master of Strathburn Cover


 Title of New Release: The Master of Strathburn Publisher: Escape Publishing (Harlequin) Release date: May 15, 2016   Blurb: Robert Grant has returned home to Lochrose Castle in the Highlands to reconcile with his long-estranged father, the Earl of Strathburn. But there is a price on Robert’s head, and his avaricious younger half-brother, Simon, doesn’t want him reclaiming his birthright. And it’s not only Simon and the redcoats that threaten to destroy Robert’s plans after a flame-haired complication of the feminine kind enters the scene... Jessie Munroe is forced to flee Lochrose Castle after the dissolute Simon Grant tries to coerce her into becoming his mistress. After a fateful encounter with a mysterious and handsome hunter, Robert, in a remote Highland glen, she throws her lot in with the stranger—even though she suspects he is a fugitive. She soon realizes that this man is dangerous in an entirely different way to Simon... Despite their searing attraction, Robert and Jessie struggle to trust each other as they both seek a place to call home. The stakes are high and only one thing is certain: Simon Grant is in pursuit of them both...

Pre-order Buy Links:

About the Author:


Amy Rose Bennett


Amy Rose Bennett has always wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember. An avid reader with a particular love for historical romance, it seemed only natural to write stories in her favorite genre. She has a passion for creating emotion-packed—and sometimes a little racy—stories set in the Georgian and Regency periods. Of course, her strong-willed heroines and rakish heroes always find their happily ever after. Amy is happily married to her own Alpha male hero, has two beautiful daughters, and a rather loopy Rhodesian Ridgeback. She has been a speech pathologist for many years but is currently devoting her time to her one other true calling—writing romance.   

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Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Inside the Writer's Mind with Tonya Brooks


Welcome to another edition of Inside the Writer's Mind with Tonya Brooks. She is the author of several books, that just by the cover they look oh so interesting, and she's here with us to talk a little bit about her books and writing. 

Want to catch up with Tonya Brooks? You can do so via her different social sites.
You can purchase her books via Amazon. Here are links for the 3 books shown
****This post contains affiliate links to Amazon. Affiliate Disclaimer** Same DiNamics Books is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com


Same DiNamics Books: Writing can be a daunting prospect, what made you decide to share your story with the world? 

Tonya Brooks: I had always wanted to publish, but had no idea how to go about it. The thought of finding a publisher, agent and the like was all very intimidating. Then an author that I follow mentioned self-publishing in a Facebook post and I'd had no idea such a thing was possible. After a short conversation with her I decided to go for it.

SDB: Who has influenced you as an author?
TB: Johanna Lindsey, Judith McNaught and Sabrina Jeffries are some of my all time favorites.

SDB: What is your writing method? Do you outline first or do you purge your brain on paper until your story is told? 
TB: A little of both, actually. I do a basic outline, but then my characters will deviate from it and do their own thing at random intervals. Rarely does a story ever begin and end the way I planned it. I've discovered it's easier to go with the flow and let them do what they want to rather than trying to force it back to the outline. Invariably, it's the characters story and they tell it much better than I do.

SDB: How long does it take you to write your story, from getting it down on paper to publishing? 
TB: It depends on the story. And the character. Sometimes they put up a good fight and refuse to cooperate.  I'd say an average three months from start to finish since I only write part time.

SDB: Can you tell me a little bit about your book(s) without giving away too much? Why should I read it? 
TB: The Bad Baker Boys series is about a group of four brothers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They were raised in a small Southern town by their tough as nails father, Jed, a former Navy SEAL. The series deals with real issues that real people face and also how they find the strength to overcome them. It has a lot of unexpected plot twists and some dark moments  interspersed with humor. Like a goat. On a leash.

SDB: How much of yourself is in your character(s)?
TB: Probably more than I should admit. My snark and slightly skewed sense of humor is very much in evidence. My female characters are all strong, independent women, who have overcome (or are in the process of overcoming) some pretty traumatic events. There's a little bit of me in every one of them.

SDB: What advice would you give to an aspiring author? 
TB: Write, write, write! Read everything in your genre, then write some more. Take classes if possible. Find a critique partner with a similar style. Hire an editor who will be painfully honest. Never, ever, give up.

SDB: Is there anything else that you'd like to share? 
TB: Because of my penchant for the unexpected, an author friend suggested I step outside of my comfort zone and delve into suspense. So I have just started a new series featuring a group of former military men and women who have formed a private security company. Since its still in the planning stage I don't have any details yet, but it's gonna be a wild ride!



Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Inside the Writer's Mind with Joyce Reynolds Ward



Welcome to another edition of Inside the Writer's Mind with Joyce Reynolds author of Netwalk's Children and Pledges of Honor; and many other books. You can check out her Amazon and Goodreads page to learn more about her books.






Same DiNamics Books: Writing can be a daunting prospect, what made you decide to share your story with the world? 
Joyce: I’ve wanted to tell stories ever since I started school. When I was in second or third, I wrote some sort of fanfiction about Mighty Mouse (thankfully now lost). In sixth grade, it was the novel about the palomino filly Golden Thunder and her girl rider Linda Vert who won the Triple Crown (my answer to Walter Farley’s Alec Ramsay and the Black Stallion; also now lost). In high school, I began work on the fantasy world that is now my Goddess’s Honor series. I also papered my locker with rejection slips my senior year in high school. I like telling stories and playing with words. I’ve gone for spells without writing fiction and been very sad as a result.

SDB: Who has influenced you as an author?
JRW: There are a lot of influences, some stylistic, others for plot and character, and still others for genre. I tend to fall in love with great landscape writers with American West settings, but you don’t always find that in speculative fiction writing. John Steinbeck was one of my stronger earliest influences, for his themes, his characterizations, and settings. Ken Kesey, especially in SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION, lays out a visual setting and characterizations that nail the Western Oregon of my youth. The political writings of Hunter S. Thompson inspired me during my political activist days, and Ed Abbey fed my love for desert spaces.

Alice Walker inspired me to think about feminism in a new way. Josephine Herbst pictured radical politics come to life in the early 20th century. Laura Ingalls Wilder and the biographies behind her stories which illustrated the struggles between mothers and daughter made me think about my own relationship with my mother and the family history on that side. Within genre, both Lois McMaster Bujold and C.J. Cherryh stimulated ways of looking at power dynamics as part of family life (especially Cherryh’s CYTEEN). Of course, for family interactions, there’s nothing like a good dose of Jane Austen.

And then there’s my friends, whose work I sometimes see or hear about in rough form. Sitting around visiting with other writers at science fiction conventions often provides good food for thought not just on story ideas but on techniques or approaches that I might be working with at a particular moment.

SDB: What is your writing method? Do you outline first or do you purge your brain on paper until your story is told? 
JRW: I’ve done both. Sometimes a difficult story needs to be written without structure until I reach a point where I draw the line and say “stop. It’s time to reorganize this mess.” Structureless can be an effective means of writing for me if I have a lot of time to fiddle with the idea—like several hours a day without distractions. These days, I do a lot of traveling as well as part-time teaching side work, so it’s harder to write and get my brain back in the flow if I don’t have a good solid external reference structure. Right now I have a short story that needs polishing and a novella that needs to be ripped apart and fixed for continuity before I finish it.

I wrote NETWALK’S CHILDREN in the middle of a move, and had character/timeline/event matrices with outlines down to a scene-by-scene level. It’s the most structured work I ever created, but it had to be since it was the third standalone novel in a series. Quite simply, my worldbuilding had reached a level where I needed to have continuity details readily at hand to keep the words flowing. That level of intensive structure meant that I could snatch a few moments out of the work of moving to get 1500-2000 words down to move the story rather quickly.

The novella I referred to above, BEYOND HONOR, is a prequel to PLEDGES OF HONOR in the Goddess’s Honor universe. It’s reached the point where I need to rip it up and impose a structure on it. The formless work is good when you are still worldbuilding, but it’s devilishly hard to maintain when you’re in the middle of a lot of distractions. But I needed to explore just how the relationship between Alicira, Heinmyets, and Inharise came about and who’s driving what, and it wasn’t responding to a more cerebral analysis. Inharise has been hiding from me and she finally came forward to be the driving character I knew she was. But the rest of the story’s a bit of a mess, and I need to do a lot of fixes to make it a tight little novella. I broke off writing just before the climax—now that I know what that is, I can go back and fix the story itself.

SDB: How long does it take you to write your story, from getting it down on paper to publishing? 
JRW: If I’ve planned it well, I can turn a book around in about eight months to a year. That’s two to three months of intense rough draft work, a month to rest, then extensive review and revisions followed by a submission to beta readers or an editor. My NETWALK SEQUENCE series has the same editor and gets priority for paid editor work, because the continuity is complex and I’m working on a multi-book series arc with standalone books that have their own individual arcs. This editing phase can take up to three months, while I’m preparing publicity materials including the cover. In some cases I do my own cover but in others I don’t.

That said, I can also produce two books in rough draft per year (at about 100,000 words), as well as some side fiction projects. Over the past few years most of my short fiction has either been aimed at expanding the Netwalk Sequence or in response to editorial request, so my short fiction production for other projects has fallen off. I hope to change that, plus produce more books this year. So I need to spend more time writing as well as doing other stuff.

SDB: Can you tell me a little bit about your book(s) without giving away too much? Why should I read it? 
JRW: My NETWALK SEQUENCE stories are a multi-generational cyberpunk family saga in a mostly Pacific Northwest future setting. They feature powerful corporate women interacting with a mysterious device that has its own plans and agenda. Each of the women has her own agenda as well, however, from Sarah the matriarch who tries to control everything via digital upload after her death to Sarah’s great-granddaughter Bess who just wants to be out in space and explore the universe. One of my friends calls this series “Regency cyberpunk.” I don’t quite think that label captures the essence of NETWALK SEQUENCE, especially since I think of it more as a futuristic DALLAS with dominant women in the place of the dominant men in that series. The most recent installment, NETWALK’S CHILDREN, passes the dominant role from Melanie, Sarah’s granddaughter, to Bess, Sarah’s great-granddaughter.

In NETWALK’S CHILDREN, the mysterious war machine device known as the Gizmo is getting restless and trying to use Melanie’s daughter Bess and her nephew Richard as a means of escape from its confinement. Meanwhile, problems arise with potential rogue Netwalkers tied not just to Melanie’s past but to her parents and the original capture of the Gizmo. Can Melanie work with her estranged Netwalker grandmother Sarah as well as Bess to stop the Gizmo and deal with past shadows that threaten to dominate Bess’s future? What are the secrets that may drive Melanie's mother Diana to try to take all three of her grandchildren? Come along for the ride as Melanie, Bess, and Sarah race to stop the Gizmo from breaking free from confinement as well as trying to save Diana from herself. It’s a fast-paced book with young adult as well as adult characters and I’d like to think it’s a nice quick read.

My other recent release, PLEDGES OF HONOR, is also part of a standalone series, Goddess’s Honor. This is a high fantasy series placed in a non-European setting which examines the choices a powerful sorceress, Rekaré, must make between political and religious power. What happens when she is intertwined in the ongoing schemes of Gods and humans? PLEDGES OF HONOR introduces us to Katerin, a wandering circuit healer seeking to avoid both her past and a prophecy that could mean her doom. But when the suicide of a village healer sweeps her into the intrigues of Gods and humans, she has no choice but to face past and prophecy to do what is right. Can Katerin forge an alliance with the dangerously attractive Metkyi, avoid the curses of her destiny, and help restore Rekaré to her rightful place? PLEDGES is another fast-paced read that I hope people enjoy and appreciate.

Both series are tales about worlds I enjoy revisiting and finding new snippets to share with others. I really hope other people enjoy visiting my worlds.

SDB: How much of yourself is in your character(s)?
JRW: I don’t think any more than any other writer usually does! Some of my characters like some of the same things I do, but more than that, I’d hope to have a quieter life than most of my characters do.

SDB: What advice would you give to an aspiring author? 
JRW: Be patient and keep writing. Practice, practice, practice, and find workshops and classes that help build up both your skill level and your ability to translate critique into productive rewriting. Find someone whose judgment you trust and get feedback from them about your work. Critique groups work for some authors, beta readers are better for others. Polish your work and make sure you put together an entertaining story. Learn what the clichés are for your chosen genre and avoid them.

Most of all, don’t stop reading. The best writers are also the best readers.

SDB: Is there anything else that you'd like to share? 


JRW: Go out and have fun with stories and words!