I just came back from a book signing in Valley Forge, and, as usual, the hit of my table wasn’t my books or my writing, it was my patches.

I’m not sure how I got started buying them, but I’ve done it so many times, Amazon keeps showing me new ones I cannot live without. I use them to award to people who buy multiple books from me at an event, or sometimes just to award to an avid fan who stops by to say hi and already has all my books. Or just because I feel like being generous.
It creates quite a buzz at the table and we do attract attention.

Tonight at Kym Grosso’s launch party, I even gave away some Sugar Skull duct tape and stickers, in keeping with the theme.

Sometimes our guys and gals overseas can wear some of them. Most the ones I buy, like the ones I show here, not so much. Lots of my friends ride motorcycles and have them all over their jackets. I just like looking at them, and probably will make a nice display of them, right next to the police, firefighters and paramedic patches I’ve been collecting over the years. And why not.

We ladies (and gents) like to have fun, right? What’s life without a little kinky humor now and then. Sort of goes along with my Bad Boys of SEAL Team 3 navy blue condoms and my pink Stimulus Package ones.

Sharon’s new release, Love Me Tender, Love You Hard is in the brand new launch St. Helena Kindle Worlds, based on the small wine country town of St. Helena. Autumn In The Vineyards, Marina Adair’s book that is the basis for this World, is airing as a Hallmark Movie on Saturday October 8 at 9 PM on the Hallmark Channel. Enjoy!

Sharon Hamilton
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http://www.authorsharonhamilton.com
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Do they still make Love’s Fresh Lemon? Because sometimes I think I get a whiff of it—and bam, I’m back in my pale blue Dittos, the hot sun on my head, and a tube of strawberry Lip Smackers in my hand. Scents are like that, though. They take you back to a vivid moment in time.

Music, for me, is even more evocative than smell. A simple melody has the power to alter my mood—engraving its memory on me so that every time I hear it I return to that emotional place. I love that—the power of a song.

I first felt the impact when I was ten years old. The movie Friends by Lewis Gilbert came out, and the moment Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s title track came on, I got slammed. That soundtrack unearthed all the nascent feelings of yearning and want, the fierce craving for romantic connection I couldn’t even begin to understand at that age. And the funny thing is I don’t remember the movie at all. I don’t remember the actors or the story. It’s the music that stayed with me.

Music informs every book I write. No matter how well I map out the plot and character arcs, I can’t catch my groove until I figure out the tone of the story. And it’s almost always music that reveals it to me.

Years ago, I was several revisions into a book I couldn’t quite feel. I had all the details worked out, as I always do, but I was only skimming the surface—couldn’t quite pierce the skin and get inside the story. Until I heard the soundtrack for Elizabethtown by Cameron Crowe.  60B (Etown theme) plunged me into the reflective and nostalgic mood of my story world.

I’m not a fan of pop music, but A Thousand Years captured the tone for my new release YOU REALLY GOT ME. Sure, Christina Perri wrote it about Twilight. And, no, you won’t find vampires in my contemporary romance books—although, hey, vampire rockers? That could totally be a thing. But it wasn’t the lyrics that fit my book; it was the tune itself. The yearning, the want, the passion. Even now, two years later, hearing that song whisks me right back into the world of that book, with Slater and Emmie and the guys. Which, you know, isn’t a bad place to be.

While I always have music playing when I write, I can’t listen to anything with lyrics. First, I can’t stop myself from singing along with it. But, also, lyrics tell stories, and I’m a reader. I have to pull up a chair and listen.

I envy the way lyricists can tell a story in a few stanzas, deliver an emotional punch in a line or two. The song You Love Me by Kimya Dawson does exactly that. Personally, though, I seem to need more elbow room—like a whole stadium to accommodate my one hundred thousand words—to tell my own stories. Hey, it’s an emotional journey—it takes time to make it authentic!

So, basically, for as much as I love music, I’m locked out of the process of making it. I can’t sing, I can’t play an instrument, and I can’t write lyrics. But the artists who can? They rock. I wish I could do it.

If I could, I would’ve written these three songs that pack the emotional wallop of the best romantic fiction. Tell Her This by Del Amitri is filled with regret and longing. It’s about a man who can’t get past his own demons (STAND BACK—romance writer coming through—I can fix him!). And You Just Forgot by Mindy Smith kills me every time I hear it. This girl is hanging onto a love long past its end date. I can totally fix her problem! Just give me a hundred thousand words and access to the man she loves. And then Wicked Game by Chris Isaak. Is this guy not the classic bad boy hero? Do NOT make me fall in love with you because you are going to tear my heart out…just like my mother who left me/ex who cheated on me/babysitter who abused me. I got this—just let me at him!

Now, of course music isn’t just about connecting with deep emotion and creating a compelling mood. It moves me in other ways. Ways that make me get up and shake my booty. Can you sit still when Jump Around by House of Pain is playing? Yeah, didn’t think so. How about Insane in the Brain by Cypress Hill?

And sometimes songs serve no other purpose than to turn your frown upside down. Like Be Okay by Oh Honey. I won’t believe you if you say your heart didn’t soar just a teeny bit with that one. And Thunder Clatter by Wild Cub. You’re smiling right now, right?

I can’t carry a tune, and I can’t play an instrument, but music has had a profound impact on my life and my work. I’ll bet you feel the same way.

What songs move you? Do any in particular stick with you, reminding you of an important time in your life?

From the award-winning author of the Rock Star Romance books comes a sizzling new series about the O’Donnell siblings. The pull of wild love is irresistible.

She’s had enough drama in her life.

Nicole O’Donnell is more than ready for the fresh start college offers. After a lifetime of trying to help her alcoholic mom and ex-boyfriend get sober, she’s finally learned her lesson: people don’t change. They certainly don’t change for her.

He can never leave his drama behind.

Thanks to his mom’s substance abuse issues, Dylan McCaffrey’s persona non grata in his hometown of Gun Powder, Colorado. So when he scores a free ride to the top university in the country, he’s determined to make something of this fresh start. But his mom has always relied on him, and she’s not handling his absence well at all. If he can just keep up his grades, pay her bills, and come home every break, he might be able to pull off this opportunity.

True love won’t be denied.

No matter how determined they are to steer clear of each other, their combustible connection explodes, especially when Nicole offers Dylan the one thing he can’t bear—hope. Once he has a taste of it—and the irresistible force of her—there’s no going back.

But when he falls too deeply, when he loses sight of his priorities, he might just lose it all.

You can get MINE FOR NOW here: http://amzn.to/2cIopY6. 10% of pretax income for all Erika Kelly books goes to the Semper Fi Fund. It provides immediate financial assistance and lifetime support for wounded, critically ill and injured members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families, directing urgently needed resources to post-9/11 service members. I hope you’ll check them out: https://semperfifund.org/

Social media contact information:
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When I was a kid, my favorite stuffed animal was a lion. As a pre-teen, my favorite YAGA t-shirt (dating myself *ehem*) had a lion on it. One of the first chapter books I read was Born Free, the big cats are the first thing I visit at any zoo, and when my daughter was ready for her big girl bed, guess who found an antique iron bed with lion heads? That’s right, this girl.

I, Sukie Chapin, am a crazy cat lady. Maybe not what you imagine when you hear the term, but it fit, nonetheless.

Oh, yes, I have a domesticated fur baby, too. Her name is Posie, and she’s a wonderful pain in my butt and the best writing buddy a girl could ask for. But my first love is the big cats, the exotics, the lions and tigers and cheetahs, oh my!

The term crazy cat lady carries a certain connotation. Single lady, maybe getting up there in age, perpetually in pajamas, curlers in her hair, surrounded by a myriad of cats and not much else. Sometimes I think it’s used to hurt. And I’m not okay with that. I say be proud of what you love, whether that’s cats, coffee, or good books. Wear it as a badge of honor.

So when a group of writers began toying with the idea of a Crazy Cat Lady series, playing on the stereotype and showing just how incorrect it is, I pounced at the opportunity. Right up my alley, folks. But part of me wondered if we could do it justice. Would we fall back on the outdated and inaccurate depictions of feline aficionados?

But I’m so proud to say that we didn’t. Most of the authors who contributed to the Crazy Cat Lady Anthology are crazy cat ladies themselves. And you know what? We’re all as different as our stories are from one another. And our heroes and heroines reflect that. We have kickass, strong heroines who know what they want in life. Each loves their life with their cats, but the cats aren’t the only love in their life.

When I say that there’s something for everyone in the Crazy Cat Lady Anthology, I mean it. From sweet to steamy, big cats to small, suspenseful to laugh-out-loud funny, even a shifter or two. Whatever tickles your fancy, we’ve got a taste of it.

And the best part? You can get it in your hot little hands on Tuesday, October 11^th. Just around the corner, y’all.

And the even better bestest, best part? We had so much fun writing our stories and putting them together that we decided to make a freebie as well. Wooing the Cat Lady in Your Life is your one-stop-shop for dating rules and tips for cat ladies. It’s pretty awesomely hilarious, if I do say so myself. So follow this little linky, and get your copy today. For FREE!

Freebie Link – Wooing the Cat Lady in Your Life: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/5I7pI

The Crazy Cat Lady boxed set lets 9 new purr-fectly wild romance stories out of the bag. We hope you enjoy these paw-some tails from New York Times, USA Today, & other authors.

Amazon US – http://bit.ly/CCLAmzUS
Amazon AU – http://bit.ly/CCLAmzAU
Amazon CA – http://bit.ly/CCLAmzCA
Amazon UK – http://bit.ly/CCLAmzUK
iBooks – http://bit.ly/CCLiBooks
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Okay, guilty pleasure admission coming in three…two…one: I completely love hearing about other people’s fur babies, so leave me a comment and tell me about yours! The quirkier, the better! 😉

I can’t start things off without thanking Delilah for this opportunity. For a debut author, getting to guest blog on a well-known, established author’s blog is a BIG deal. So, HUGE thank you!

I’m a little nervous, to be honest. I spent more than a few days trying to come up with something to blog about. I finally asked another author what I should talk about and she said share what people are saying about your book. Well, you can go read the reviews for yourself, so I won’t rehash that, but one of the things that keeps coming up in reviews is the relationship between my heroine Bree and her best friend Denise. So I’m going let you in on some of the inspiration that drove Bree and Denise.

Bree and Denise met in Iraq while deployed…just like me and my best friend — we’ll call her Sue (no, that’s not close to her name). Sue is badass. Seriously. If Special Forces had been open to women when she was younger, she’d have kicked all their asses. There is a lot of Sue in Denise. We were trailer mates for more than six months. We saw each other at our best and our worst and we came out the other side stronger for it.

She is my heterosexual life mate (kudos if you get the Jay and Silent Bob reference). We’ve already planned it out — when I retire, I’m going to build a house on part of her five acres and we’re going to raise our kids village style.

Bree and Denise’s friendship is as important to the story in Stitched Up Heart as the relationship between Bree and the hero, Jase. So with that, here’s one of my favorite scenes between Bree and Denise:

“Uh huh. You’ve got it bad, sister. I’ve never seen you like this. Not even when we got tasked to that SEAL team for two months in Jalabad.”

Bree stared off into space. “Mmm…that was good times.”

“My point is you’re completely distracted by Jase.”

“I know.” Bree folded her arms on the stall door and rested her chin on them. “He’s only been gone a few days. It’s ridiculous. I feel ridiculous and I don’t know what to do. I’m being all… what’s the word for it?”

“Girly.”

“Girly!” Bree snapped her fingers and pointed at Denise like she had just solved the world’s energy crisis. “How do I quit being all girly and emotional?”

“Don’t look at me. I haven’t done girly since I went through puberty. I’m void of emotions.”

“You do emotions,” Bree said.

Denise lifted the latch on the half door and entered the stall. The dog’s tail thumped on the ground as Denise knelt next to her head. “I do some emotions, none of which are girly emotions. My emotions usually involve fireballs and razing insurgent strongholds to the ground.” Denise pat the dog on the head and checked the water and food bowls.

Bree quirked her mouth. “Valid point. Either way, I need to figure out how to quit doing them.”

“Why?” Denise asked.

“Why?” She opened the door for Denise. “Because I don’t want to be girly. I don’t want to moon over some guy and lose who I am in the process.”

“Who says you have to lose yourself?” She swung the door closed and checked the latch. “Why can’t you figure out a way to be who you are and still fall in love with Jase?”

“Um, first, no one said anything about being in love.”

Denise gave her that look again.

“Fuck.” Bree drew the word out as she groaned. She hated it when Denise called her on her bullshit. It was easy to avoid the truth without her around. “I can’t. It’s way too soon.”

“Not according to Gran it’s not,” Denise pointed out.

“Okay, Gran lived a fairy tale. We know that’s not how life really works.”

“Says whom?”

“Says everyone except Gran. Hell, even Elsa said you can’t fall in love with someone you just met.”

“You’re referencing animated characters again.”

“Hello? Fairy tale?”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Whatever. You love my face.”

“At the moment, I want to high-five your face,” Denise told her.

*~*~*

I hope you read Stitched Up Heart and at some point call your best friend and say, “Listen to this, it’s so us!”

Thank you for having me!

Tarina

Stitched Up Heart

As an Air Force medic, Bree Marks saw the worst the War on Terror had to dish out. Now a physical therapist, she uses her experience to help other veterans heal from their physical wounds; while she battles her own emotional damage.

Blaming himself for his best friend’s suicide, former Army Ranger Jase Larken, retreated from life. To honor his best friend’s memory and assuage his guilt, he started an outdoor adventure company to help veterans with PTSD.

Bree had better things to do than catch her cheating fiance in bed with another woman. Jase is something better – for a night at least. For the first time in years, Jase wanted more. When he finds her again, he doesn’t give her another chance to run.

Jase’s protectiveness grates on Bree’s independent nature. She’s dealt with her fair share of alpha-male, door kickers and doesn’t need one telling her what to do now. But as a new danger emerges, Bree and Jase must face their pasts, before someone’s obsession with Bree destroys any chance they have of a future.

Add it to your TBR: http://bit.ly/2bRg3fa
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Love the feel of this song. Always makes me feel dreamy. Rob Thomas’s voice has always done it for me. And doesn’t he look so much better than he did in his final scene on I, Zombie? Enjoy!

Hey there! If you saw my post the other day, you know life’s crazy around here right now. First, the 7-year-old is doing well after her surgery. A metal plate was installed in her leg, a donor fibula replaced the tibia she lost to cancer, and bone material from her pelvis was inserted into the donated bone. We’re hoping it will “take” and grow. She was playing video games hours after the surgery. Nothing keeps her down.

My grandmother is surprising everyone with her recovery after breaking vertebrae in her back. The doctor saw her yesterday and said he’d thought she’d be there longer, but she might be home in a month. She wants to be back sooner.

Today, I’m doing my part, babysitting the little one while my daughter’s at the hospital. I’m not getting much done. I had to wait until she took a nap before I could post this blog. September was a wash, but I’m hoping October will be better. I’ll try to post my monthly recap later.

In the meantime, here’s a reminder that my friend, Lindsay McKenna’s latest romantic suspense released yesterday! Go get your copy!

Unbound Pursuit

Captain Talia Culver risked her heart again for Navy SEAL Wyatt Lockwood. The brave, cocky Texan was worth the risk and Talia couldn’t be happier. Still recovering from injuries she received from her last mission in Afghanistan, Wyatt whisks her away to meet his family on their sprawling Texas ranch. But things don’t go as planned when Wyatt hears the local gossip that his drug dealing ex-friend is out of prison and planning a drug run across the Lockwood ranch. Wyatt wants to enjoy some hard-earned down time with Tal, but he can’t ignore the danger at his backdoor.

As Wyatt plans a dangerous operation to catch the drug dealers, Tal fears she could lose the man she loves.

Get your copy!

Oh, the dark Jean-Louis and the blond Nik.

Both of the leaders of the Kandesky Vampire family are delicious and dishy, but after finishing the ninth book in the saga, SNAP: I, Vampire, I had to take a hiatus to wear my other hat…murder mysteries.

As much as I love the international scope, the incredible wealth and the beyond-sexy vampires in the Kandesky Chronicles, I also love the puzzles and suspense of the world of mystery.

I write the Amy Hobbes Newspaper Mysteries, a series about a small-town newspaper editor who works to understand the “why” behind dead bodies popping up.  This took me—and almost 2,000 others—to New Orleans last week for the granddaddy of all mystery conventions, Bouchercon.

But New Orleans, the home of voodoo, vampires and other undeads. What a draw!

As much as I wanted to sit in cemeteries, search for love potions, spend the night in haunted houses, I was good and focused on mysteries. And was rewarded.

Lee Child, Harlan Coben, Walter Mosley, Alexandra Sokoloff, David Morrell (of Rambo fame), Michael Connelly, C.J. Box, Caro Ramsey, Catriona McPherson, Charlaine Harris. On panels, meeting in the elevators, sitting next to them at dinner. And I can get fan-girl with the best of them.

Lee Child

Whether you’re a writer, wanna-be writer or fan, conventions are a shot of adrenaline. Every fiction genre has them. Sci-fi and fantasy, romance, LGBTQ, thrillers. Throughout the year, fans and authors of these books get together, swap ideas, tell stories, sign books and talk to fans. You’ll come away exhausted but the high will last for days. Pictures of you and your favorite authors, autographed books, programs and announcements, t-shirts, buttons, book bags and books…lots of books.

Unlike other industry get-togethers (the Oscars, Cannes, Grammies), book conventions are places where the authors and the fans come together to celebrate stories, ideas and talk about the written word.

Your feet will hurt, your back will be sore from lugging around a ton of books, but you’ll come away with memories that last…until next year!

I recommend them.

About the Author

Michele Drier was born in Santa Cruz and is a fifth generation Californian. Her Amy Hobbes Newspaper Mysteries are Edited for Death, (called “Riveting and much recommended” by the Midwest Book Review), Labeled for Death and Delta for Death.

Her paranormal romance series, SNAP: The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles, was the best paranormal vampire series of 2014 from Paranormal Romance Guild. The series is SNAP: The World Unfolds, SNAP: New Talent, Plague: A Love Story, Danube: A Tale of Murder, SNAP: Love for Blood, SNAP: Happily Ever After?, SNAP: White Nights,  SNAP: All That Jazz, SNAP: I, Vampire .

Visit her webpage, www.MicheleDrier.com facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/AuthorMicheleDrier or her Amazon author page, http://www.amazon.com/Michele-Drier/e/B005D2YC8G/

EXCERPT

From SNAP: I, Vampire, Book Nine of the Kandesky Vampire Chronicles

CHAPTER ONE

Sandor, the chief demon and our sometimes butler, hit a button on the remote and the interlocking metal shutters slid smoothly down.

I started to say, “Wait…” then remembered.

Jean-Louis and I had been lazing in the big bed, the centerpiece of the room, and watching the faintest pink wash across the top of an Alp. Lolling to watch the sunrise had been a part of my life with this man, signaling the end of our time together until night came again. Now the present slammed back to me. My slip of memory was natural. After all, both of us were sleepy and sex-logged.

“Wait for what?” my love, my husband and now my fellow vampire said, raising one eyebrow, stroking my cheek. “Did you forget?”

I buried my head in his chest. “Um humm…”

He pulled my head up and watched me with those glorious dark blue-verging-on-violet eyes. This time, there was a hint of mirth and a slow smile.

“Quit mumbling. Did you forget?”

I had forgotten. My thirty-two years of waking and watching the sun was pulled from my inherent memory. Only for an instant. Even though we’d been lovers for the better part of three years, now was different. Jean-Louis had wanted to marry me. In my mind, that meant I’d have to let him change me. It wasn’t fair to either of us for me to stay a regular.

A few weeks ago I’d said “yes”. Yes, to marriage and yes to change.

We’d had a lush and beautiful wedding at winter solstice and were on our honeymoon…and I was a vampire.

The sun I worshipped all my life in southern California was now anathema.  Jean-Louis, like all the others in the Kandesky family, spent most of his time working with regulars. He’d adapted an ability to survive small doses of sun, meaning I wasn’t totally cut off from what had been my passion. I’d exchanged passions. He meant more to me than the sun.

The family members used underground garages; heavily-tinted windows in their Mercedes; drapes over windows; dark, dark sunglasses and dinner parties to conduct business. And business was their business. The Kandesky family owned SNAP, the world’s largest and richest celeb gossip news network with TV and magazines that covered the Western Hemisphere and most of the Eastern one, as well.

Now, I was a family member.

Since Jean-Louis and I had been living together, a honeymoon seemed a quaint ritual. He insisted. “You’ve been through mind-shattering changes.” He held my hand, opened it and kissed my palm. “Thank you for saying yes. I want this to be the best for you.”

Then he licked my palm and gently sucked the webbing of my thumb, leering up at me. “Not to mention all the years we’ll have…” The rest of “in bed” was understood.

Winter solstice was the major celebration for the Kandeskys, the longest night of the year. After the ceremony and reception, with close to a thousand guests, Sandor bundled us into a Mercedes for the short trip to an Alp. Not just any Alp, this was in the Bernese Oberland, with Jungfrau barely looming over us. Jean-Louis knew a guy. He always knew a guy. But this guy owned a chalet on one of the lower slopes.

We were helicoptered in and met by two demons and some servants whom Sandor had sent ahead. After the helicopter left, a storm blew in and we had three days cocooned in rustic luxury and warmth.

“You probably didn’t know I controlled the weather,” Jean-Louis said last night and handed me a glass of Bulls Blood, my drink of choice now. “This was to give us a few days with no interruptions.”

“Do you think we’ve had enough?”

His eyes softened. “A millennium with you wouldn’t be enough,” he said, as he kissed me. Our tongues twisted together, heat soared through my body. I felt as though sparks were streaming from my fingers and toes.

“You have a slight glimmer.” He broke the kiss, smiled at me and carried me to the bed where we spent a few hours exploring every inch of each other’s bodies. I loved his long, expressive hands and what he did with them.

His was a well-muscled body, toned by work more than five hundred years ago. Thighs and calves defined from riding horses, back and arms from lifting heavy bales of cloth. Jean-Louis was in his late twenties when Stefan Kandesky turned him, and maintained his young male body. Even his scent, musky male overwritten with a hint of sandalwood soap and shampoo, made me shiver.

Last evening made me so sated and sex-drugged it was an instinctual reaction to try and stop Sandor from closing the shutters. In my haze, I reverted to my previous life as a sun-worshipper.

Once the shutters came down, Jean-Louis turned on a bedside lamp. “We need to talk.”

We need to talk? Wasn’t that supposed to be my line?

“I thought we’d been talking. What about?”

He reached over to pull my head onto his chest, which was sinful. I could feel his voice as well as hear it.

“Our idyll here.”

I tried to sit up, but he held me. “What about it? Aren’t you happy? I thought this was what you wanted.”

He twisted a hand in my hair and raised my face to give me a soft kiss. “I did.  I thought getting us away for a few days on top of an Alp would help you adjust to your new self. I’m surprised you had a flash of your regular life.”

Was he telling me I’d failed some test that I didn’t know was coming? Did he feel my momentarily forgetting was a repudiation of him? Of the Kandeskys?

“No, Maxie. Not that at all.”

Crap, I didn’t think about his non-verbal communication skills. The vampires couldn’t mind-read, exactly, but watched body language, facial expressions and mixed it with a vast collective unconscious. Most times, they used this to communicate with one another. Jean-Louis had been teaching me to control my mind and thoughts, but it seemed I had a way to go.

“Do you want to leave?” In truth, this time was magical and cemented my relationship with Jean-Louis. But I’m a woman of the twenty-first century and need to have adrenaline and stimulation for my mental health.

“I know that, my love. I’ll never be without you, ever. We’ve shut ourselves away for days from our outside lives. I think it’s time we get back.”