It's Always Hotter When You're In Texas...

Happy Thursday All,

Today is the one-year death anniversary of my friend, Sarah.

 

However, given that she was also a fan of Christie Craig, I can't think of a better day to post a book review of one of Christie's novels.

So I dedicate this review to Sarah. I think she would've liked this novel.

Christie Craig’s Hotter In Texas series kicked off with Dallas’s book, Only In Texas, continued with Tyler’s Blame It On Texas, and it finishes with a bang with Austin’s Texas Hold ‘Em.

Austin is a man on a mission. 

He and his buddies, Dallas and Tyler of the Only In Texas P.I. firm were framed for a crime they never committed. Swearing vengeance on the evil-doer, Rafael DeLuna, the trio vowed to bring the criminal to justice.

In order to do that they need info on DeLuna’s whereabouts. Roberto—a man with his own agenda—has been their informant, but Austin is concerned. He’s not sure whether or not the can trust Roberto.

So...

Austin hatches a plan. He decides to go and check out DeLuna’s half-sister, Leah Reece. 

Strictly business. No hanky-panky, and no falling for her. It's not going to happen, period the end...

Especially when

He finds out Ms. Reece is Dr. Reece of a cat-specialty clinic. And Austin is deathly afraid of cats. Having had his ear nearly scratched off when he was 4 years old, he’s learned to avoid all felines.

However, 

A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. So he pulls himself together and befriends Leah.

Leah never expected

to have such a good looking neighbor, or to even want to have anything to do with him. Her main priority is protecting her younger brother, Luis, and getting out from under her school loans so that her clinic can keep itself afloat.

She also never bargained 

on her apartment being bugged, or broken into…or falling for the hot neighbor.

Chaos, water guns, and cats collide in this installment of the Hotter In Texas novels.

The question is…

can love conquer all…and will justice be served? Or is it all just going to be one big catastrophe?

Find out in 

Texas Hold ‘Em, now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, also iBookstore, and All Romance, as well as Kobo.

Have A Thrillingly Tip-Top Thursday!

Spotlight On Author: Marie Hall

Happy Tuesday All,

Please forgive me. This post is several days late, and I'm embarrassed about that. Unfortunately, the day that I was planning to post it, I was too busy PR-ing this author's release (and a couple of other authors' releases) that it slipped my mind. Then Offspring got sick, then the weekend came (and I usually don't post on the weekends). However, I'm posting it NOW.

I met author Marie Hall through Facebook and Twitter after having enjoyed 1-2 of her titles. I've been reading her Kingdom novels, which are fairy-tale based. They deal with characters that are either seen as villains or not quite heroes. The first novel of hers

I read was Her Mad Hatter (which you can get on Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook--I think you can still get it for free, I haven't looked at the links in a while), and have since moved on to several of her other titles.

Marie is a fun, vivacious person and I was thrilled to pieces (figuratively speaking, I didn't actually break into pieces) when she agreed to this interview.

So without any further delays, I give you...Marie Hall:

Me:  You write a lot of stories dealing with fantasy, fairy-tales, and myths, what is it about those topics that made you want to write in the genres?

Marie:  I love Disney well, more than Disney I love fairy tales. Grimm, old legends, Disney, doesn't matter. I just love them, I love the darkness of them. And have always felt, even when I was little, that there had to be two sides to every story. So when I grew up I realized I wanted to explore that more, little did I know there were other readers just like me who had a soft spot for the bad boys of the tales.

Me:  You've got your heroes--Danika's "Bad Boys" novels (KINGDOM series) with Hatter, Gerard (note:  Gerard is from Marie's version of Beauty & The Beast), Captain Hook, The Big Bad Wolf, and a genie. I've noticed you mention Rumpelstiltskin being worked on and The Huntsman's book is out (available now) any others on the horizon? (And do you have a release date for Rumpelstiltskin's novel?)

Marie:  Rumpelstiltskin's novel will release in April as a matter of fact. :) As to who else will be in my books, I can tell you that I plan to return to the Sea of Seren, I love mermen and don't think they get nearly enough love. ;) I'm also very keen to explore other darker characters, but I won't be giving away their identities just yet as I've noticed that because my writing style is very organic, who I choose to write about switches from book to book. I leave myself open to the possibility of anyone and that way the monsters tend to surprise even me. :)

Me:  Do you have a favorite out of all your novels or is it too hard to choose? And if you do have a favorite, which one is it and why?

Marie:  If I had to choose based on what I've written in KINGDOM thus far I'd say Hook. I've always been in love with Captain Hook, mainly because I've felt he's gotten a seriously bum wrap thanks to that impish Peter Pan. But future characters, I'm seriously excited to explore Rumpel, he's just really a million shades of grey and that's exciting to me.

Me: What is your advice to aspiring authors?

Marie:  Keep writing. You only get better with each book, write what you want to read, and most importantly keep it fun!

Me:   Fun Question:  What special treat keeps you going?

Marie:  Fan email. I seriously thrive on that stuff. Writing is a really solitary profession. Interacting with readers, seeing how my books have affected them, man there is nothing better. Knowing that my books aren't just read in the States, or Canada, or Australia, but as far as the UAE, Poland, Lithuania, South Africa, Denmark, France, Brazil, Japan...wow, just wow, that's not even the half of the places I've gotten fan letters from. I can't believe how far my little books have gotten, makes me rather proud to know so many amazing men and women in so many different parts of the world!

Me:   What other stories are percolating in that incredible imagination of yours?

Marie:  This is the year I'll be focusing on my existing series. I plan to release a lot more KINGDOM and NIGHT novels, I also hope to wrap up my CHAOS TIME books.

Me:  What's your favorite thing about writing?

Marie:  That while it's a lot of work, it's so much fun I wake up each morning excited to get back to it. I'm living the dream and I'm so thankful for that.

Me:   Fun question:  If you could enter any fairy-tale, which one would it be and why?

Marie:  Ooh, toss up between Hatter and Hook. I love Wonderland and Neverland, so it really is a toughie.

Me:   Did you always want to be a writer?

Marie:  No, LOL. I actually did horrible in English in school. But when I realized that unless I started to write I'd never get to read fairy tale books like I wanted I decided it was time to learn. My first book ever written (Back in '99) was a very loose adaptation of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. The book is awful..LOL, as most first books are and it will never see the light of day, but it's also near and dear to my heart because that is the book that lit the fire and made me realize my calling in life. 

Me:  Anything else you'd like to add?

Marie:  If you'd like to know about me, my works, or if you'd like to sign up for my Newsletter make sure to visit my blog. WWW.MARIEHALLWRITES.BLOGSPOT.COM!

Happy reading!

Thank you so much, Marie, for taking time out of your very busy writing schedule (I've seen her Facebook posts, folks, and this woman is incredible!) 

I'm going to be reading (soon) Moon's Flower in preparation of reading her brand-new release (released on Feb. 10, 2014), Huntsman's Prey, available on Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook. (Marie actually recommended I read Moon's Flower before Huntsman's Prey, so that's why I'm going in that order).

Hope everyone has a totally terrific Tuesday!

Emotional Roller Coasters & News...

Happy Sunday All,

Normally I don't update on the weekends, but lately I've been super busy during the week and I'm about to be even more busy.

There's been a lot of emotions going on lately as I went through the holidays missing my deceased friend, Sarah. It's not over yet, because on February 20th, it'll mark 1 year since her death.

Today I went over to her and her husband's apartment to help him and Sarah's mom go through Sarah's things. There were some moments of laughter, some tears, and in some cases, emotionally distancing myself from the whole thing just so I wouldn't breakdown and cry too much. I was allowed to keep several items that had belonged to Sarah, which was a comfort. Currently, as I write this, I have a small, very soft teddy bear that I was given sitting on my lap. There's things going to other friends, that will be sorted more as time goes on.

However, after the emotionally exhausting day, a wonderful thing

happened:

I signed and finalized a 3-book contract with my publisher, Soul Mate Publishing for my New Adult (NA) Paranormal trilogy!

The titles have also been approved and they are (in order):

Immortal Dreams Book 1: Divine Love
Immortal Dreams Book 2: Astral Love
Immortal Dreams Book 3: Immortal Love

Each novel will be released separately. I don't have released dates, yet, but keep an eye out for updates.

I hope all has been well with you. Happy reading. :-)

Have A Surprisingly Special Sunday!

Christmas 2013...A Success! Also Writing Updates...

Happy Monday All,

I hope everyone had a wonderful and very Merry Christmas! We sure did.

Christmas Eve we attended church and then came back and relaxed a while before friends of ours came over for a brief visit. 

On Christmas Day, we slept in, (yes, Offspring does sleep in from time to time--which is lovely, especially when didn't have to get up

early!) We got up, Offspring and I ate breakfast, then we opened gifts (Husband opted to wait until after gifts to eat breakfast because he was going to have oatmeal and he said that took him a while to eat, and Offspring was going crazy wanting to open gifts LOL).

We spent the rest of the day just relaxing. Offspring and husband played in the backyard--I went out there for a while. I spent most of the day reading one of my new books, Katie McGarry's Crash Into You (She writes contemporary/romantic YA novels. I've enjoyed everything she's published so far).

Husband had to work the next day. I was supposed to be writing, but last week was a bust--I was pretty distracted (gee, I wonder why! New presents, and brain not focusing). I finished another book I got for Christmas last week--Jessica Day George's Princess Of The Silver Woods (I've read her other princess novels in that series and I really enjoyed it).

I got a bunch of new novels on one of my E-readers (we now how two) using a gift card I got from one of my friends. I read one of the short stories I got--Lisa Scott's Say My Name, which is a play on the Rumpelstiltskin story. 

Now I'm needing to read Rick Riordan's House Of Hades, then get moving on some of the other books I got on my E-reader until the

next round of library books come through here. (Yes, I both buy books and get books from the library--some books I own are books I first read from the library and liked so much I wanted my own copy). 

I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of all the awesome gifts I got, but I'll go ahead and list them:

1.  Several new books (as I said, gift card from one of my best friends).
2.  A blender from Husband and Offspring (to make smoothies)
3.  A board game called Damn You Autocorrect from one of my other best friends. I laughed when I saw the title. Looks like fun!
4.  Two pretty t-shirts from my parents
5.  Lounge socks, slippers, lip gloss, and a sample of lotion from my "lil sis" 
6.  10 Things I Hate About You anniversary edition DVD from one of my sisters (a sibling of mine has a program that takes me and my siblings, and our spouses' names and pairs us up with someone for Christmas)
7.  Perhaps Love Jonathan & Charlotte album from one of my sisters
8.  Kindle Fire for my family from my parents

I'm pretty happy with what I got. I really like that movie, 10 Things I Hate About You...husband and I both like it, actually. I'm looking forward to seeing the special features on it, too. It's also a movie my deceased friend, Sarah and I enjoyed.

Writing news?  I do actually have some. I may not have worked as hard last week on the writing as I intended, but I have made progress on TWO novels I'm working on:

*Book 2 of the Third Realm novels (Loralyn from All's Fair In Love & Lion story) has a few pages written (I still need to do a lot more work on that one).

*Book 2 of my New Adult (NA) Paranormal Romance has made some progress (and has some plot points for me to use for the rest of the novel--yay!)

I don't know when I'll have these two novels, done, but I'm glad they're moving forward.  There's been a few people who have asked about a book coming after All's Fair In Love & Lion--be patient, I do have plans for at least one. Right now, the New Adult series has taken a lot of my attention. When I have more news on that and other novels I'm working on, I'll let you know. :-)

So...

How was your Christmas? Do you have a favorite gift? If so, what is it?

If I don't get to posting before January 1st, Happy & Blessed New Year to you and yours.

Have A Marvelously Magical Day!

Christmas, News, Updates, & More...

Happy Monday One and All,

The Averie Household is in full Christmas gear-up mode. We've finished Christmas present shopping. The outside lights are up (sorry, I don't have pictures right now.  Our camera needs its batteries replaced and we ran out of the kind it uses. But once we get the batteries, I'll go out and see if I can get some pictures of them. We don't have a lot out).  Our tree has been up for a while, which has been fun--although the lights don't work on it, so next year husband has said he's going to put lights on it. Good thing we have some extra lights...hopefully we have enough. Have to find that out.

I've been enjoying The Florin Street Band's newest video/song, Winter Wonder.  I don't know how many of you remember their first song, My Favorite Time Of Year, but I loved it. It was an effort put together by Leigh Haggerwood, a singer/songwriter. He got a bunch of musicians and singers together and they dressed in Victorian era costumes. Really lovely. The songs are just so much fun.  Definitely suggest checking them out to get yourself into the Christmas Spirit.

Several authors are doing giveaways and freebies--if you're paying attention to my Twitter Feed  you'll notice I've mentioned some of them. There's some great deals this season, too, so keep those eyes and ears open. 

I mentioned on Facebook that Friday (Dec. 13th) when I went to my husband's work Christmas party I had an awesome fan experience. There was someone there who had read All's Fair In Love & Lion and really enjoyed it. This

person asked me all about my writing and future novels. It was such a great experience to interact with this fan. I appreciate each and

every one of you. Please, don't hesitate to email me, authors love to hear from their fans, and I'm no different. Commenting on here is also most welcome (no Spam, please, though).

If you're friends with me on Facebook, you know I've sent out the first book in my new series. This series is NOT connected with All's Fair In Love & Lion. It's an entirely new story. It's geared toward the New Adult (NA) genre (typically heroes/heroines are 18-25 facing new adult situations--this is the most basic explanation I have to offer at this time). I had a blast writing this novel. It's a different feel and style than All's Fair In Love & Lion. I do plan to get back to the Third Realm and finish Loralyn's story, just be patient--I have to write the 2nd book in this new series while the characters are hanging out in my head and there might even be a 3rd book. (But Loralyn is on my mind, too!)

Updates are up on my website (News and Other Projects) so feel free to check that out, too.

Stay tuned, folks...you never know what I'll come up with.

Enjoy the rest of this preparation time. Next week is Christmas! :-)

Are you all ready for Christmas?

Have A Marvelously Merry Monday!

Oh, The Christmas Tree!

Happy Tuesday All,

Yesterday I mentioned I had guest posted on Anna Kathryn Lanier's blog. In the blog post, I talked about ornaments that meant something special to me. I figured it was only fair I show you these ornaments and explain them.

Before I do that, here's our Christmas tree all set up and decorated (yes, this year's version):

The first ornament is in honor of my maternal grandfather. Grandpa died in 2004, 10 days before my birthday. He was a wonderful grandfather. Always full of stories (both true and made up), quick

to give you a $2 bill ("Never spend this and you'll never be broke.") He also was quick with a joke, which was followed by a smile and his deep, comforting chuckle. Growing up, my family had a Thanksgiving tradition called "The Turkey Contest".  After Thanksgiving meal we'd all sit at the table, and there would be jokes told. The person with the best--or sometimes even the worst--joke won and was called "The Turkey".  Grandpa won many of these. After his death, my mother gave me this ornament, and it gets a place of honor every Christmas season near the top of the tree.


The next ornament is one I didn't mention in the blog post. I put up my Christmas tree after the blog post. But this ornament is special to me. It's in honor of my mother's brother, my Uncle Jim, who died a few years ago (2 or 3 years ago).  Uncle Jim was also quick with jokes and laughter--he sometimes won the Turkey Contest, as well. Uncle Jim played guitar (as does my own father) and I remember especially him playing the Beach Boys' Sloop John B.  Uncle Jim was a wonderful man, whose memory lives on in the hearts of my aunt, and my cousins, me, my family, and other relatives. His eldest daughter was my maid of honor. So, because he loved to play the guitar, the guitar ornament represents him.


Last, but definitely not least among those special to me, is the ornament that represents my best friend, Sarah, who died earlier this year. Sarah was like a sister to me, and having her gone and facing this first Christmas without her has been rough. This ornament is the first ornament she ever gave me. It used to have a

heart that hung from the bottom and played music, but I lost that part (it could unhook).  She gave this ornament to me long before I got married and moved out of my parents' house, so it enjoyed several years on my parents' Christmas tree before coming along to my house and hanging from my tree. This year, these two fun-loving girls have a place of honor near the top for Sarah. I like to think in a sense this ornament also represents Sarah and I (although, neither of us ever was blonde LOL) and all the fun we had together.



Of course, the tree is never complete without the ornament one of my sisters gave me about 2-3 years ago that represents my character, Monroe from All's Fair In Love & Lion. As you can see, Monroe is in his lion form and gets to watch all the festivities and fun from his perch somewhat near the top of the tree. Not a bad place to get to view all the action of the season. (P.S. That heart ornament by Monroe? It's a mother ornament someone gave me a while back in honor of me being a mom, pretty cool, huh?)

And yes, the tree is covered in tinsel. To me, a Christmas tree needs tinsel to be complete. It just doesn't look the same without it.

There's no presents under the tree, just yet. I still have to wrap them and keep them hidden so that Offspring doesn't try to get a head-start on opening presents. LOL Offspring would probably hold off, but I'm a Mama who knows better than to press her luck! However, the presents will get under the tree in time to entice, at least a day or so before we actually unwrap them.

What ornaments are important to you and where do they go on your tree?

Have A Terrifically Treat-filled Tuesday!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Happy Monday All,

Hey everybody! I hope everyone is having a wonderful Advent. During this second week of preparations for Christmas, I'm looking at my shopping list going "Aaahhh, what do I do for so-and-so?" But I have a few ideas, so I don't have to completely freak out. At least, not yet. I hope.

Last week gave me a horrible surprise. I had an awful sinus infection. I'm doing much better, thank goodness, but I don't recommend getting one. It's not fun. 

The first book in the Immortal Dreams series has been sent to my editor. Already need to change the title (apparently someone else in the publisher's community has the same title of Dream Weaver, so now I'm working on that). I'll let you know what I come up with. (Please NO suggestions. I've got some people already working on it, and too many suggestions make it hard for me to make a decision--I do appreciate your desire to help, but this is something I gotta do on my own).  Hopefully editor likes the story. I really had a blast writing it. I'm working on book 2, which is coming slowly (unfortunately).

The post about my favorite Christmassy things is up, and Anna Kathryn Lanier is running a giveaway (there's still time to enter) details are found on the post. Click here to see what I said.

I've got several other novel ideas that are going (can't talk about them right now). 

In any case, it's a busy time of year for everyone, but I hope you take some time to stop and enjoy the season. Yes, it can be hectic, but don't forget to have some joy, too.

What are you doing for Christmas this year?

Have A Marvelously Merry Monday!