AGENT SHOP pitch day w/ Sara Crowe! by Candi Wall

Yes, I’m a touch early for those of us on EST, but tomorrow’s looking nutty, so here it is a few hours earlier than Monday morning…

Let me start by saying I was BUMMED to have to cancel last month’s Agent Shop date.

But I did have a great conversation with Laura Bradford, who suffered from an internet interruption. She’s agreed to come back and do a different Agent Shop date. Yay! Agents are AWESOME! I mean really, all the agents we’ve had here have been stellar!

For this month’s Agent Shop, the awesome SARA CROWE from HARVEY KLINGER, INC., will be our guest agent!

And next week, I’ll find out who our spotlight author will be. So excited. I’ll update when I hear back.

So, here’s the details:

PITCH DAY – OCT. 23rd @ approx 10:00am EST. (Yep BEFORE Halloween, because we all know how crazy THAT can get.)

Wait for the word GO to appear on the main page of the blog BEFORE you send me your pitch. Send to candi_agent_shop @ yahoo.com Please remember to wait until after you see the word go. If it comes in before then – DELETE.

Please remember to read the rules under the AGENT SHOP tab above. I delete without mercy. Sorry, but it has to be done. Look at this as your first step toward following agent guidelines to the letter.

Don’t make me get my ruler out.

Very simple actually, but inevitably, I end up with one or two authors FURIOUS with me because their pitch doesn’t show up the next day. Sorry all, but I’m here to help, not hold hands.

BUT, since I’m all about the helping, here’s a morsel to chew on this fine Columbus day.

Columbus had a vision. He knew what he had to convince people of, was going to be difficult. He had to SELL his idea, his dream, his vision. He had to find the right words, the right people, the right timing, including making sure he could answer the tough questions someone was bound to ask. He had to convince people to give him, AND HIS IDEA, a chance.

SOUND FAMILIAR?!?!?!? Pitching’s been around forever, in so many different ways, yet with so many crazy similarities it’s astounding to think about it. If you’ve done your work, made it the best it can be, have passion and drive and the willingness to put yourself out there, eventually, you will get there. Just keep shooting for the unobtainable and building your way to reaching it!

I mean really, I bet the first being to create fire was looked at oddly by others.

I can hear it now…

Try #1 “Uh, grunt, oh-oh, grunt, ugh.”

Try #2 “Grunt, grunt, ugh, oh-oh, ugh.”

Keep at it, and someday you’ll convince that agent, editor, publisher, that you’ve got something special!

By the way, today is the LAST day to enter the Mills & Boon New Voices contest!

I’d love to have you stop by and read/rate my entry STAY. And of course, enter! There are more than 800 entries and it’ll be chopped down to twenty entries VERY SOON!

Good luck, and I’ll see you all soon.

More updates to come next monday!

Jumping The Gun by Candi Wall

Hopefully everyone’s had a wonderful and productive summer.

Mine wasn’t overly productive, as far as writing goes, but with work and kids out of school for the summer, I planned ahead. Or rather, I told myself to prepare for limited computer time. I’ve been working on the Agent Shop schedule though, and hope you all remember to check back and see who we’ll be having as our guest agents for the rest of the year.

Today I wanted to mention a topic that comes up often in discussion with agents and editors alike.

Premature submitting!

Jumping the gun!

Hitting that send button too soon.

I’m sure we’ve all been there.

It’s exciting – and scary – and that dream agent you’ve been keeping your eye on just opened back up for queries – and her tweets say she looking for just what you’ve written – and – and – and…

Yep, you got it. All that time spent writing, and the opportunity is there. You’ve poured yourself, your time, your heart, blood and tears into the manuscript. How can you let this opp go by??? You talk yourself right into it.

I’m here to tell you – STOP YOURSELF!

A rejection is hard enough to take, but one that tells you you’ve got a great idea but the writing just isn’t there…brutal. I’ve heard agents and editors both say they see this A LOT and many times, it’s because the author didn’t give themselves the time or the edits needed. Unless your work has been through the following AT LEAST, and probably much more, you’re shooting yourself in the foot.

• First round edit
• Crit partners
• A month where you don’t even LOOK at it
• Read it out loud
• Second round edit
• Contests are great at this stage too!
• Beta readers 2 or more
• VICIOUS edit (be brutal on yourself. If the sent makes you go ‘hmmm’ get rid of it or fix it.)
• A good dose of ‘this is crap, it’s great, it’s crap, it’s great’ limbo. (Okay, maybe that part was just me. But I find chocolate helps.)
• Final edit (and I highly suggest a final beta read)
• Make it shine

Quick and simple today. I have insanity clogging my to do list this week.

Happy writing, editing, revising, submitting or any stage in between!

UPDATE: I’m still waiting on confirmation from our guest agent this month…. Concerned that e-mails were lost in cyber space or spam…

Agent Shop day with Weronika Janczuk!

UPDATE:

MS. JANCZUK REQUESTED 7 PARTIALS FROM HER VISIT. E-MAILS WENT OUT TODAY!

Good luck to those who got requests and I’ll see you all at the next agent shop! As always – keep writing!

Congratulations to everyone that made it in.

I’ll make it quick as usual.

Here are the stats.

Pitches received: 72

• Pitches accepted: 30
• Pitches over limit:28

Pitches ditched: 14

• Too long: 6
• Missing info: 7
• NOT a pitch: 1 (Sorry folks, but a Bio & blog/website info inviting the agent to check you out, even in less than 200 words, doesn’t count.)

Not bad! If you’ve followed us for very long, you know I’ve had dates where the pitches I ditched outnumbered the pitches I accepted!

As always, if you didn’t make it in this round, look your pitch over. It may be something as simple as missing wordcount, or a title. You might have also come in after the first thirty viable pitches. Whatever the case, it’s important to look at:

• what might be missing
• if you’ve followed the guidelines

You might find some of the same mistakes in your query!

Okay, now that we have that out of the way, I know you’re dying to scroll down and see if your pitch made it!

Be patient!

We have to announce the winners.

The TOP PITCH slot winner is – well it’s the first one up. If it’s yours – congrats!

The winner of MISERERE is LINDA PENNELL! Please send your address to me at candi_agent_shop (@) yahoo.com and I’ll forward it on to Teresa Frohock. Congrats.

Now let’s welcome Weronika Janczuk.

It’s lovely to have you participate in Agent Shop, and I hope some of the pitches below catch your attention. If there are any you’d like to see more of, please e-mail me the pitch number, what you’d like to see from the author, and how the author should send it to you. (P.S. You can use the danci address we’ve been corresponding with.)

Enjoy!

*****************************************

TOP PITCH SLOT WINNER

#1

SIXTH SENSE

Romantic Suspense

90,000 words

Reluctant Psychic Katherine Crystal, dubbed “Crystal Ball Kate,” is thrust into the national spotlight when she accurately predicts that the five-year-old son of actor Vince Rivers will die in a plane crash. Skeptical Atlanta Police Detective Beauregard Lee Jackson Hale (Jack), who has a deep-seated distrust of psychics, is the by-the-book officer who ignores Katherine’s warnings when she calls to report her premonition. When they are sent toSydney, Australia, to help catch a serial killer, the chase leads to romance and the ultimate discovery of a mystery and a murder surrounding Kate’s birth in the spiritualist community of Cassadaga, Florida. Kate learns to accept her unique abilities and trust her sixth sense about love.

#2

DARK KNIGHT

Paranormal Romance

80,142 words

Dark Knight is about the faraway world of the Shadowlands, a world parallel to our own.  Creatures from the Shadowlands make their way into our world; sometimes simply to survive and sometimes to wreak havoc.  Vampires come from the Shadowlands into the outer world and are an extended human race that live longer, are stronger and possess abilities to control the human mind.  Ethan St. John (an agent working in the secret sector of the U.S. Government) a.k.a. protector and vampire hunter, and Gabriella Woods (a “starving artist” who possesses a unique gene that the vampires need), will evade the vampires, falling in love along their journey.  Gabriella and Ethan are on the run from a powerful vampire (LaCroix) and they visit faraway places like the Shadowlands and Egypt.  Throughout the story, Gabriella will learn how to control her mind and how to break through the strong barrier around Ethan’s heart. This is the first of many books in the Shadowlands series.  I’m currently working on the second book, Donovan’s Fumble, bringing many characters from Dark Knight back into the story.  Readers will follow many of the same characters while reading about the Shadowlands.

#3

LITTLE RED FEATHER

Contemporary fantasy/horror

95,000 words

A pair of werewolf brothers battle over a Montana Indian girl—one hungers for her love, the other for her flesh—in this retelling of the classic fairy tale.

When DENNY HOLT sells his soul and becomes a shape-shifter, half-brother ZACH gets caught in the magical backlash. Denny becomes a murderous black wolf by the full moon, but only Zach’s physical form is affected. Zach becomes a gray wolf and returns to human only when Denny is the black wolf.

One day LITTLE RED FEATHER GORDON, a teenage Blackfeet girl, finds a dying gray wolf and heals his wounds. As July’s full moon approaches Zach is determined to protect his Little Red Feather and reveal his human self to her. When Denny kills one girl and almost kills another, Zach’s plans fail. He’s forced to flee to Glacier National Park and become an alpha.

Zach returns before August’s full moon and defends Little Red Feather from Denny. They flee to Grandmother’s, a two-day journey, and spend the night at a cabin. Zach transforms and Little Red Feather insists they are married. At Grandmother’s Zach battles Denny, and with Little Red Feather’s help Zach slays his brother and breaks the curse.

#4

LIFE TAKE TWO

Women’s Fiction

85,000 Words

Marianne Larson brings a shocking end to her family life when she confronts her cheating spouse at his dominatrix apartment.  She begins her new life by returning to college, without the support of her mother and grown daughter. But secrets from the past, refuse to remain hidden and bring the three women back together to heal their broken relationship and create a new future.

#5

THE BLACK DESERT

Women’s fiction/ elements of suspense

95,000 words

Forty-eight hours into their Moroccan vacation, Julie’s best friend disappears, leaving a terse note of apology and a plea: wait for me.

Days pass. Julie’s anger fades to worry – then fear, when she realizes she is being followed. Then, a vicious attack meant for Julie kills an innocent woman. Julie bolts.

She has learned enough snooping through Fay’s luggage to guess her destination is Taghabene, a remote village. Convinced that Fay is heading into danger and propelled by her own jeopardy, Julie speeds south.

Dust. Wrong turns. Car trouble. Julie finally hitchhikes into Taghabene, but Fay has just departed for a desert camp. Snap decision time: hitchhike back to town and eventually bring help or hurry after her friend.

Julie heads into the desert – and blunders into a military patrol. Thrown into the same cell as Fay and three Moroccans, Julie’s relief at finding Fay is countered by resentment at her betrayal. As the army prepares to transfer the captives to a secret prison deep in the Sahara, Julie must set aside past hurts. Only escape matters. The captives pit their wits against the Moroccan army and the Black Desert in a fight for their lives.

#6

THE RELATIONSHIP COACH

Single Title Contemporary

85,000 words

When relationship coach Lacy Morgan meddles in Reed Hunter’s social life, he decides to use his vocation to expose her as the snake-oil selling fraud he believes her to be. Under the guile of filming a documentary, Reed watches her help her clients through their relationships, making him question his views on long-term relationships. He must choose between ending Lacy’s dreams with his negative slanted documentary, which would boast his career to Michael Moore notoriety, or reaching for the one thing he never thought would touch his life—love.

#7

SKINWALKERS

Paranormal Romance
80,000 words

Skinwalker [skin-waw-ker] (n.) – 1. A being capable of assuming the identity of an animal.  2. God of Norse Mythology 3. Shapeshifter

Werewolf hunter Jace McCannon has one loyalty: the Execution Underground, a council of supernatural hunters sanctioned to protect Rochester. Despite his half-wolf lineage, Jace devotes himself to his job, and he hates nothing more than the monsters he hunts. But when a search for a sexual sadist turns ugly, Jace finds himself with the werewolves’ packmaster, and he’s craving his sworn enemy.

The only alpha female to ever run Rochester’s pack, nothing stops Frankie Amato from protecting her clan. She’s set on massacring the rogue murdering women. Ascending into leadership following her parents’ murder, Frankie can hold her own without the help of any men—until a run-in with a handsome werewolf hunter leaves captive and begging for release.

Jace and Frankie work to end the murders, while battling their differences and growing attraction. Their fate falls on Jace’s shoulders; he needs to embrace his dual nature and shift. But when Jace’s attempts at shifting reveal an unknown bloodline, this news drums up Frankie’s own dark past, and she’d rather stand on the sidelines than at Jace’s side.

#8

DARK DEALINGS

Urban Fantasy

86,000 words

At thirteen, Micaela O’Brien was the sole survivor of a small plane explosion in the skies over Ireland.  She saw it in a vision that she never revealed to her parents, who perished in the accident.  Raised by her grandmother, Micaela fought to be like everyone else, but when your bloodlines go back to the ancient Kings and Druids of Ireland, it’s tough. She attends Ivy League schools and is a very successful investment banker.  On a visit to the Berkshires to see her grandmother, Micaela is called to use the gifts she ran from to find a missing friend.  This attracts certain unusual clients.  Clients with fangs and fur, and long histories.  Some of these vampires and shapeshifters possess a thirst for power that rivals their bloodlust. Others will become her allies and perhaps more. But Micaela insists on being rooted in the rational until she discovers one of her clients brutally murdered in his five star New York hotel suite, and is pursued by the killers to Europe.  More attacks occur around the globe until they return to Micaela’s doorstep.  If she is to survive, Micaela must accept the irrational and herself.

#9

DEMON REINCARNATE

YA Urban Fantasy
72,000 words

Finding a hunky, three-hundred-year old demon in your bed isn’t so bad. Stabbing that demon in the gut? Yeah…probably not the best way to make his acquaintance.

Lucky for Katriona McBain, the infamous supernatural hit-man, Demetrius Fall, is interested in more than sucking out her soul—he needs her to assume her role as the reincarnated Queen of the powerful, British Coven.

The only person who can stop an impending apocalypse and end a long waging, demonic war, Katriona is thrown head first into a dark, magical world she thought only existed in her nightmares. Together, she and Demetrius must search the globe for the four bewitched pieces of her royal ancestor’s necklace. Bringing the charms together and harnessing their power is the only chance Katriona has to destroy Narcissa, an evil succubus and leader of the Dark Coven. But as the clock ticks will Katriona uncover the charms in time, or lose something more precious than the war—her humanity?

DEMON REINCARNATE is the first novel of my YA urban fantasy series. Although DEMON REINCARNATE is the in a series, the story stands alone, and explores the uncertainty and change of being a teen on the cusp of adulthood.

#10

SIDEWALK FLOWER

Edgy Romantic Women’s Fiction

103,800 Words

A thirty-two year old musician assistant extraordinaire, Trista Hart knows she needs to find a way out of the nocturnally persuaded world of her best friend and boss, Jaxon James.  But no matter how dark that route has become lately, he and his band Sin Pointe are her family and she’s not prepared to leave them for Jaxon’s visiting cousin, Lucky Mason of Tennessee, if it’s just going to take her down another of life’s pot-hole littered highways.  She has valid reasons to question Lucky and his beloved south—having experienced at an early age the sometimes hypocritical underbelly of the region’s good manners and charm.

Her hourglass has been turned upside down and now with Lucky’s heartfelt proposal before her, she has to decide one for the other at the most inconvenient of times—just as Sin Pointe’s tour is taking off and on the heels of a horrendous late night attack on her and Jaxon that leaves her sure of only one thing…

It’s time for Trista to be her own savior.

#11

TROUBLE IN THE BREW

Young Adult 

88,000 words

Mrs. Ghoul was up late one night brushing her long stringy hair. She stops to place the hair brush down, as her eerie witchy nails scrap the top of the dresser. She gazes at herself into the mirror; her deceased mother’s reflection appears and disappears quickly. It was a sign of her mother to let know her know that her items are still very powerful. After that particular moment, she gets into a deep thought as she thinks about setting revenge on RayAnn to retrieve the magical items back.

Jake is a wizard, he came to live with his grandmother, in New England, after his mother was vanished into another world. He had no idea that his sweetheart to be lived across the street. Once he lays eyes on RayAnn for the first time, he knew they would have a magical connection between them.

RayAnn and Cindy have been friends for years. Together the girls go through some magical reject spells to try to defeat Mrs. Ghoul at her own game. Nevertheless, their magical adventure will intense throughout the story.

#12

THE DATING GAME

Single-Title Romance

100,000 words

Widow Jeannette Riley’s long-term boyfriend is running from commitment like an escaped convict desperate to stay free.

That’s what her brother implies when he makes her an unconventional offer of help to prove it. She tells him to mind his own business. But when she suggests to her boyfriend she spend an evening listening to his band play at an out-of-town club, he quickly discourages her. One quick phone call to her brother sets the plan in motion, a plan she hopes doesn’t backfire.

When Tyler Morgan’s fiancée chooses her dynamic career over their relationship, he thinks a distraction will help fill the void growing inside him. He believes it’s purchasing the classic car collecting dust in a co-worker’s sister’s garage. When he steps into what turns out to be Jennette’s backyard to ask if she’s willing to sell, what he gets is a case of mistaken identity and an intriguing offer he chooses not to turn down.

What neither Jennette nor Tyler expects is for a chance meeting and one simple date to grow into an all-consuming passion and love neither can deny.

#13

THE PIRATE’S DECEPTION

Regency with paranormal influence

90,000 words

Alexander Barrington flees his tyrannical uncle for the open seas and becomes a ruthless pirate who turns vampire.

Captured and sentence to hang for piracy, a fate he must avoid to keep his vampire self hidden, he gets a reprieve if he recues Lady Laurel Sinclair from French pirates and return her to her fiancé in England. He falls for the woman who sees him as a hero but he knows he is below her nobility status a pirate and must not steal her for himself.

In this Vampire Diaries meets Pirates of the Caribbean, he erases her memory of him so she can live a normal life though he doesn’t want her to go because she treats him like a human, making him feel alive again. Can he really have her without exposing what he is – a thief, the undead? The damned?

#14

GUITAR GOD

YA—Contemporary Fantasy

195,000 Words

Polly’s moment had finally arrived, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Barely a teenager, Polly had reluctantly accepted the role of human guardian of the Green. Now, about to begin college and leave her hometown and all the weirdness behind, fate calls her, except to save the Green she must defeat Isaac, the boy she loves.

Isaac was the kid nobody liked until a mysterious faerie granted him his greatest wish. Now bestowed with incredible musical prowess, Isaac is loved and admired by all. But there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Polly is the only one who can save Isaac’s soul, but her first responsibility is to the Green. Can Polly save the Green and save Isaac as well?

Guitar God is a Jewish, suburban rock and roll fantasy with a 1970s soundtrack. It’s urban fantasy in the suburbs. It’s War For The Oaks meets Portnoy’s Complaint. It’s crossover YA for teens and their parents. It’s a world where the faerie folk walk among us, but we don’t know it. It’s about the magical places where we grew up. Maybe we knew about them or maybe we walked by them every day without even noticing.

#15

THE WICKED BARGAIN

Regency

90,000 words

Haunted by a past as a sex slave, nobleman Ethan Warth returns to England as a male courtesan for rich matrons and runs a brothel for wealthy lords. Arabella Covington appears on his door, trained in the medical arts but unable to practice because she is a woman. He hires her to care for his ladies but her inquisitive nature and beauty make him desire to teach her the world of seduction.

Ethan, however, never counted on falling in love…

#16

BETRAYAL

Thriller

105,000 words

When Gerald “Jet” Jameson, an aspiring astronaut, loses control of his perfect life he agrees to murder innocents to stop an escalating nuclear war. His reward. Raising a son he didn’t want, doubting an ego he can’t risk, utilizing technology he can’t possibly understand, while hiding a secret where the only solution is a hangman’s noose.

Add in:

·      An engineered slate wiping virus

·      A world wide manhunt

·      A secret facility that uses humans as telepathic guinea pigs

·      A harvesting operation that steals organs from the dregs of society

·      An impossible space program sold as the only hope for mankind

·      and man’s first contact

This is BETRAYAL.

#17

MYSTERY ON THE COAST

Cozy Mystery with Romantic elements

70,000 words

Levi Mendenham thought taking flak for changing his parents’ Jewish bookstore into a haven for mystery readers was bad, but that’s nothing compared to being the prime suspect in the murders of both his fiance and an ex-  girlfriend. When the woman he recently asked out on a date goes missing as well, Levi, a former agent for the National Security Agency,  has to find a way to stay out of jail and find the real murderer.

#18

WITCH HUNT

Crime

85K words

The only white sheep in a flock of black ones, bank teller and human-lie-detector Lolita Vette aches for the guilty pleasure of a normal life. Instead, she works weekends exploiting her ‘gift’ as a psychic for an embarrassing and expensive family of wanna-be witches.

When she stops a bank robbery to save a mentally handicapped friend from going to jail, Lolita’s interrupted something bigger than a small town payday heist.  Kingpin Queenie Trent doesn’t appreciate the interference and puts the squeeze on Lolita: Break into the vault  or she and her screwy family will suffer the consequences.

Lolita refuses and Queenie sends trouble after her like debt collectors on a past due. She’s been assaulted, robbed, and now Tug Shelby–the man she hadn’t yet decided whether he belonged in a shallow grave or  her bed–is missing.  Leaving behind a little finger and a helluva lot of blood. Now even Lolita can’t help but pray for a little backwater magic.

#19

AMBUSHING THE HEIRESS

Historical/Regency romance

95K words

“The sacrifice of one spoiled heiress for the good of many…” at least that’s how tarnished war-hero Major Vicks Geale quiets his conscience. Newly returned to England, Vicks finds his pay and commission forfeited, he’s inherited a crumbling estate, worthless title and a mountain of debt. With a band of wounded men depending upon him, Geale chooses the feckless and rich Lady Evangeline “Mischief” Moorecroft.

Gorgeous over-indulged Lady Evangeline delights on dancing the razor’s edge between scandal and infamy. Unable to resist Geale’s bait of a notoriously naughty masquerade, Evangeline awakens to discover she’s been ambushed into marriage. As an uneasy alliance forms between them, Evangeline has second thoughts about dissolving the marriage.

Their fierce attraction is put to the test when Evangeline’s treacherous and well-connected mother, the Duchess, gives Evangeline an ultimatum: end the marriage or the Duchess will use her connections to end Geale’s life.

#20

A TASTE OF HONEY
Historical mystery romance with a paranormal element
70,000 words

Dirk McSwain, a gambler from new Orleans, has one goal, to save the family home. He buys first class passage on the Queen Mary ocean liner in order to make the big bucks in a hurry. Meeting a shy young psychic was not in his plans, but when a man he took for a lot of money is killed, Dirk must team up with Eden McGill to solve the case.

#21

HEAVEN SENT WARRIOR

Paranormal Romance

91,000 words

Henri Chevalier’s last memory, before awakening naked within a bronze statue in a museum’s moonlit garden, was Auguste Rodin’s studio in 1886 Paris where he had expected to die to escape his broken heart.

He soon discovers he must learn to use the unexpected powers Heaven has given him to succeed in his mission against otherworldly creatures, such as demons, faeries, and a delectable art museum curator named Annabelle Mackintosh.

Relationship-wary, Belle does not believe Henri’s strange words and dire warnings at first, but their relationship heats up when a demon escapes the underworld and forces Henri and Belle to learn to trust each other.

#22

SWORN TO LOVE

Historical Romance set in the Regency Period with elements of suspense
84,000 words

Before Lieutenant Colonel Amherst, a battle-weary hero, can return to the
fight and avenge the death of his men, he must first honor a promise and
watch over his best friend’s sister, Lady Juliette, an innocent beauty who
fears she may be coerced to marry a lecherous old duke, to save the family
coffers.

Unbeknownst to the ton, the duke’s vengeful sister and a scorned lover are
both desperate to make sure Juliette, and any other young lady, do not wed
him.  One wants her nephew to inherit the ducal title while the other wants
the duke to die a lonely, old man for what he did to her many years ago.

When Juliette unwittingly captures Amherst’s heart, he asks for her father’s
hand in marriage, but is one day too late, forcing Juliette into a world of
greed and murder and a guilt-ridden Amherst into a race against time to save
her and redeem himself and renew their love.

#23

SECOND CHANCE AT LOVE

Historical Romance set in the Regency Period 
85,000 words

Lady Beatrix, a strong-willed young woman, has no wish to marry for anything
less than love and becomes quite taken by Lord Whitby.  However, he is a
grief-stricken widower who has no desire to remarry for he feels responsible
for his wife’s death.  When Beatrix tries to warn him of a notorious widow’s
plot to trap him into marriage, she is the one caught alone instead with
him, and they must wed.  Enthralled by the independent beauty, Whitby never
expected Beatrix could free him from the chains that bind his heart and
cripple his spirit, nor did Beatrix expect a woman to come between them who
would do anything, even murder, to gain Whitby’s love.  United by passion,
Bea and Whitby risk their lives to save not only themselves but each other.

#24

THE ANGEL MADE ME DO IT  

Single Title Contemporary Romance

83,000 words

It’s time to unleash the angels.
This story is my sassy spin on Touched By an Angel meets L.A. Ink.  And when my angel – a 300 lb biker – is tasked with the Heavenly mission of playing cupid to a surly tattoo artist who wants nothing to do with love again, and an uptight accountant struggling to break free from her mother’s shadow, you might think this is a simple case of opposites attract.  Well, not so much.  You see, they both bring plenty of emotional baggage to the table and they simply can’t stand each other!  So, they force their poor cupid to work double time and come up with all sorts of creative ways to make sure the Divine Plan doesn’t fail.

I am a fresh, unpublished author and I’m looking forward to finding my niche.  And though I would never hold myself up to their caliber, I would say my writing sits comfortably somewhere in the pocket of romantic humor with authors such as my chapter mate Christie Craig or even Kristan Higgins, and I dream of someday being somewhere in their stratosphere.  I am also a PRO member of the RWA and the Northwest Houston chapter.

#25

COLLISION

Urban fantasy (with strong romantic elements)

85,000 words

Sienna Wolfe knows it’s going to be an interesting day when a man with golden skin and strange tattoos crashes in her backyard… and ends up tied to her bedposts. She likes her life just the way it is – simple, easy, relaxed. But when the gorgeous new alien in her life asks for her help in an inter-galactic war on a collision course with earth, she can’t say no… but she’ll soon wish she had.

Being the only human on a secret base full of ETs is complicated, especially when she’s sharing her bed with one of them. She struggles with her new, unpredictable world, which includes trying to protect earth from alien domination and dodging attempts on her life. And to make matters worse, her greatest enemy – with annoyingly good looks – offers her a double-edged proposal to end the war. All she has to do is give up her freedom and turn her back on the love of her life. Now it’s up to Sienna to pull off the impossible: save the world and – hopefully – live a little happily ever after.

#26

TROUBLE IN TINSELTOWN

Romantic Mystery

80K words

Dema Maria Morielli is running scared after witnessing her brother get gunned down on a lonely street in Venice, California. The down-on-her-luck actress is desperate to find Micah’s killer and stay alive in the process. There is only one person she can turn to and he’s the one person she is determined to keep out of her life.

Detective Raphael Villegas is harder then diamonds when it comes to law enforcement…and Dema, ever since the hot woman left his bed one morning after an insane night of sex, she has consumed his thoughts. But when his sexy obsession waltzes back into his life via a murder investigation, Rafe has no choice but protect her.

As the pair searches Tinsel town for Micah’s killer, they find a cover-up bigger than any backlot and a romance that burns hotter than a brushfire.  Now if only Rafe can keep Dema alive…and in his bed.

#27

DAUGHTER OF FIRE

Paranormal Romance

55K words

A rash of theft and the destruction of sacred artifacts have brought the wrath of the United States Geological Survey down on Dr. Jack O’Connor’s head.  The handsome volcanologist has been sent a mouthy new assistant to help him get to the heart of the vandalism. Kalama Young is like no woman he has ever known.

Kalama may look like your typical island girl but there is more to the Hawaiian beauty than meets the eye. A secret lies beneath the surface of her fiery demeanor. Kalama is the 230 year old half mortal daughter of Pele, the Goddess of Fire. In desperation, Pele has called Kalama home to Hawaii.

A force beyond anything the world can comprehend is threatening Pele. Only Kalama can stop it. Na-maka-o-kaha’I, the goddess of the sea, has been released from her watery prison at the bottom of the ocean by an earthquake. She wants revenge against her sister Pele and will stop at nothing to get it. Kalama and Jack must join forces and race against time to recover a sacred carving in order to save her mother and all of Hawaii. . For it is written, He who controls the carving, controls Pele.

#28

BRIGHT STAR

Historical/paranormal

98,000 words

Pandora Mavros is on the hunt for one of her own.  A high ranking Siren has gone rogue, murdering innocent men.  Her mission is to locate the rogue and the artifact she has stolen.  If she fails; the destruction of her people will follow.  The licentious and dashing Alexander is a complication she is definitely not looking for.  Could he be working for the rogue?

Alexander Knight is searching for his business partner who mysteriously disappeared and with him the ancient map of the elusive island of Eudora.  Alex doesn’t need the impediment of his desire for the mysterious and guarded Pandora, but something or someone is forcing them together.  Is she his salvation? Or the destruction of everything he holds dear?

#29

DIGGING DEEPER

YA

72,000 words

Ella has a secret. Problem is, she doesn’t know what it is. The car accident that killed her best friend and the two guys they picked up one stupid night after a party – is nothing but a foggy blur.

Her father’s too much of a drunk to help her figure it out, and her mother suffers from denial that anything could possibly be wrong in her perfect life.

That leaves the geeky school psychologist who still uses words like groovy and gnarly in an attempt to be ‘down with the kids’.

Welcome to Ella’s hell – join the club – they’ve got jackets.

Enter one of the dead boy’s older brother’s, and Ella’s secret turns out to be the reason he’s hunted her down.

#30

WHERE THE MAN LIED

Contemporary romance/suspense

89,000 words

What else would any red-blooded American woman with a shred of self-respect do, but sneak around for a night to see what kind of dirt she can find on her cheating, no-good, lying, SOB of an ex-boyfriend?

Okay, so it was lame. Dani Shaffer knows just how lame it is when she stumbles across the wrong place at the wrong time and witnesses the brutal murder of a young hooker.

With an ex-police father who’d shamed the family with his corruption, Dani’s faith in law enforcement is non-existent. Flip, witty, and okay, somewhat smokin’, Officer Hale Dennison, doesn’t do a whole lot to reaffirm her faith. But who else can she trust when the murderers decide she needs to permanently forget what she saw?

Agent Shop Results

Ms. Winston found SEVEN pitches she wanted to see more of this time around. Great odds folks!

Congrats to all of you who received an e-mail from me with the request info, and any who didn’t, remember this is subjective.

Next month’s attending agent is Stan Soper of the Soper literary agency. I’m especially happy to welcome Stan to our Agent Shop as I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know him through TextNovel and the Next Best Celler contest.

I would encourage any aspiring or published author in any genre, or writing level to take a look at TextNovel. Joining is free and even if this is a fairly new group, the number of members, readers and fans has grown exponentially over the last year.

TextNovel is a wonderful way to get your work seen. You can work on improving your writing, building a following, or even just throwing out a new idea to see what a readers response would be.

TextNovel

And they have contests!

So keep working on refining those pitches, keep writing and make sure you check back to find out who our future agents will be.

Happy writing.

Candi

Interview with Author, David Rocklin

•  Strategies for getting and keeping a qualified Agent.

•  “Taking the Long Way Home” with foreign publication.

Hello, everyone. Let’s welcome our guest today, David Rocklin, the author of “The Luminist.” His debut novel will be published overseas in Italy (Neri Pozza) and Israel (Kinnaret). It is to be submitted for publication in the UK, and is scheduled to make its first appearance here in the United States in 2011 (Hawthorne Books). It’s an elegant novel described by Mohrbooks as: “In the spirit of ‘The Piano Tuner,’ David’s first historical, ‘The Luminist,’ is a beautifully written, page-turner about politics, war, art, and family that will linger in your memory long after you raced towards the last page.”

Q: Welcome, David. Tell us a little about yourself.

I was born and raised in Chicago, and moved to Los Angeles in 1990 to pursue writing; I’d felt that I couldn’t write while living where I was originally from. I felt the need to see what I’d experienced up to that point from a greater distance. I have a degree in Literature (we with degrees like to capitalize the word) and went into law. I now mediate employment cases and write – not in that order, I’m happy to say.

Q: A successful attorney with a degree in Literature (notice the capitalization). I can’t imagine balancing time between two challenging careers. How do you manage? Was professional writing always your ultimate ambition?

It’s a challenge, mostly to keep my head on what I’m doing while not writing. The writing seeps into just about every facet of me. I stay up late, a lot. We also have a toddler at home, so I’ve become a bit adept at multi-tasking mentally.

Q: On any scale, I don’t think there’s one of us who can’t appreciate those challenges you describe. Multi-tasking and time-sharing seem a way of life for writers. Tell us about “The Luminist” and what inspired the story?

The Luminist was initially inspired by an installation of Victorian-era photography at the Getty Museum in Southern California. The character of Catherine Colebrook is very loosely suggested by the life and work of  Julia Margaret Cameron, one of the first photographic pioneers. Her pictures of children were especially haunting, at once warmly immediate and bittersweet; those lives are, after all, lost to us now. After the exhibition and a bit of research, I discovered (among other things) that Ms. Cameron experienced the death of one her youngest children, as did so many in colonial Ceylon. It struck me that Ms. Cameron’s stated desire to “arrest beauty,” to select a moment from the thousands comprising her life and hold it apart from mere memory, might have arisen from that grievous loss as much as from scientific curiosity and the will of a strong woman to escape some of the limitations of Victorian life. What followed – research into colonial life in Ceylon, the traditions of Victorian photography, a plunge (inadequate, I’m certain) into the religions, cultures and customs of India – really began there, with photographic relics and writerly imaginings about the woman who made them.

Though the novel deals with matters of history (figures such as Sir John Holland, who is based very loosely on the great Victorian scientist Sir John Herschel, and of course Catherine and her husband and children, again, loosely modeled on Ms. Cameron’s family), as well as the origins of photography (including its genesis from sunprints to glass and beyond) and India herself during the period in question, I have taken broad liberties with each. My apologies for any tampering with these worlds in the interests of fiction.]

Q: I see that the Luminist will soon be hitting book stores in the United States in early 2011, with allowances for marketing and promotion. How did this novel come to be acquired first overseas?

My absolutely incomparable agents (Christy Fletcher and Melissa Chinchillo/Fletcher & Co.) took the novel to the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2008, where the rights sold to Italy and Israel. At that point there hadn’t been a sale here in the States, and I’m told that foreign publishers do not as a rule acquire a title before English speaking rights are sold, both for copyright and marketing reasons. So I actually felt very good about those sales, as they represented two publishing houses who thought strongly enough about the novel to take that sort of chance on it. I will always remember that Italy and Israel came through before anyone else.

Q: It’s difficult enough for most writers to navigate the complexities of business here at home, but untangling foreign rules… It seems you’re destined to become literature’s Cinderella Man. The quote by Mohrbooks impressively describes your work as written in the spirit of “The Piano Tuner,” also a powerful historical and debut novel. With how far you’ve traveled on the path to publication, was there ever a reality check? How surprised were you to see your debut novel received so warmly?

I was thrilled and extremely gratified at how the novel was received. My agent  – to whom I had submitted via recommendation of a friend and mentor who in turn had read it and thought highly of it, thankfully – read it in a day, which is about as wonderful a thing as a writer can ever hope to hear. It did take a while for the novel to find a home in the states, having gone out to the US publishers right at the economic meltdown, which has and continues to have a disastrous impact on the publishing industry. But my agents felt so confident and were so irrepressibly bullish, that I frankly sat back, started working on a new one and let the novel find its way. I am very excited to be with Hawthorne. If your readers get a chance to visit their website (www.hawthornebooks.com), I think they’ll find a truly eclectic and praiseworthy body of literature.

I think we all have a way of tying our experiences, our hopes, our memories and emotions wanted and unwanted, to some sort of vessel in order to make sense of them – or to make them resonate even more deeply than they already do. A memory is enhanced, or even informed, by a song or a movie scene. The beginnings of a cherished relationship belong not just to us, but to the city, the apartment window, the favorite restaurant, that served as the paving stones we walked while feeling it grow.

For me, writing – my own, that of others – is and has been that vessel, that vehicle that allows me to see the world. If I can be that, for even one person, I will die happy.

Q: I think you describe, perfectly, the passion we all have for the craft. And your work is, indeed, in the company of impressive titles at Hawthorne. You describe yourself as, “Taking the long way home.” I think we understand the inference – the long journey of a dream about to become realized. Would you describe how your novel found a home with a U.S. publisher? For an author, how involved is the process of translation and editing?

It really came about because my agents simply would not give up. As a writer, you dream of finding agents and editors who feel the way you do, who also burn to get that writing out into people’s hands and hearts. The folks I’ve met thus far – Christy, Melissa, my editor/publisher at Hawthorne – are outstanding at what they do, and a joy to be able to work with. I’m lucky beyond belief.

The translation process should be interesting – right now, I’m in the editorial revision process, and we hope to have something in final form by late summer 2010, after which the process of marketing and promotion will truly begin. The final will also be sent to all foreign territories who have shown interest, and will be sent to the publishers who have acquired it. As I understand it, they will translate and will be in touch with me to go over passages, ideas or words that might not have an equivalent meaning, and we’ll work out the differences. Having spent a bit of time trying unsuccessfully to learn Mandarin, I know some things will literally be lost in translation.

The editorial process is quite involved. The more involved it is, the luckier the author – that means they have an editor who has done what the author did throughout the writing of their work. They’ve immersed themselves in the story, in the words, in the lilt of the language and the melody of the sentences as they run together. It’s a fantastic learning experience, and I know my next novel will be the better for it.

Q: We should all be as fortunate to discover an agent or editor who loves our work and brings that kind of imaginative persistence to the business. So, here’s what every aspiring writer wants to know – How did you hook your literary agent? And please share with us the details and tactics you’ve discovered for getting and keeping a qualified agent?

For “The Luminist,” I was lucky to have a friend and mentor, Susan Taylor Chehak (an extraordinary author – please do pick up one of her several novels) read the book. She was very excited about it and suggested that she let a good friend of hers read it – my agent, as it turned out.

I’ve been down both roads (recommendation, query) in terms of locating and acquiring an agent, having queried a fair number in connection with an earlier novel I’d written that was submitted and not published (probably for the best). It’s a daunting process, but one that a writer can accomplish successfully with just a few tips. First, really try to establish for the agents why it is that you’re querying them, and not the agent next door to them. Show them you know their work, their clients, and that you belong in their stable. An easy bit of research will help – most authors thank their agents on the acknowledgement page of their novel (if they don’t, they really should). Think about writers/books that you believe your own work should be placed in the company of (be realistic, and yes, you do have to pigeonhole your novel a bit). Find the agents’ names, or names that aren’t identified as someone’s wife, boyfriend or mother. Cross reference them using one of the many guides to literary agents, or search them on the web. Now you have targeted an agent, and you know something about them – who and what they represent.

Next, don’t send your book out before it’s really ready to be seen. Have it read, preferably by a good workshop peopled with writers who are passionate, well-read and deeply involved in the writing life themselves. If you don’t have access to anything like that, have it read by at least three people who aren’t your wife or mother (and therefore don’t feel like giving you critical feedback is tantamount to rejecting you). Listen and revise. My grandmother used to say, “if someone calls you an ass, they’re rude. If two people call you an ass, you’re probably an ass.” If you hear similar feedback from more than one person, you may be looking at an issue that needs to be revised no matter how strongly you feel about it, as it’s impacting the reading/reception of your work.

A perfect close. Sage advice that should be stenciled on every computer screen — Grandmothers always seem to know how to reach the core with an impressive economy of words. We should have her here as a guest.

Thanks for coming, David. It’s fascinating to watch the genesis of a talented new author and discover the inspiration behind the writer and his story. There’s something here for everyone. Your transnational experience, your steep path to publication, and your advice for finding and keeping the perfect agent offer keen insight for both the established an aspiring author. We look forward to seeing your title in the bookstores.

David’s Website is currently under construction, but until then, you can follow his progress  on Facebook. 

David is happy to answer all comments or questions below. And if you need legal advice from lawer, David Rocklin… well, he may have left that hat at the office.

News Flash: Sorry I missed this. David is offering a free copy of “The Luminist” to the first TWENTY-FIVE commenters. Yikes — Happy Holidays from David!

 

AGENT SHOP PITCH DAY

Hello everyone!

Hope you’re ready to pitch.

For this ‘Agent Shop’ session we welcome:

Kevan Lyon with Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

And today’s author spotlight is on: 

LAURA GRIFFIN 

UNTRACEABLE

BEWARE OF WHAT YOU LOOK FOR… YOU MIGHT FIND IT.

Private investigator Alexandra Lovell uses computer skills and cunning to help clients drop off the radar and begin new lives in safety. Melanie Bess, desperate to escape her abusive husband, was one of those clients. But when Melanie vanishes for real, Alex fears the worst and sets out to discover what happened. Using every resource she can get her hands on—including an elite team of forensic scientists known as the Tracers, and a jaded, sexy detective who’s helped her before–Alex embarks on a mission to uncover the truth, one clue at a time.

Look for UNTRACEABLE in stores on Nov. 24, 2009.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of UNTRACEABLE, and a $20 Broders Giftcard!

Thanks for visiting MuseTracks, Laura! We love getting to know our guests, so I hope you’re up for a little Q&A!

So tell us, have you always wanted to write?

Yes, since I was a kid. I began my career as a newspaper reporter, so I spent all my time writing non-fiction. My favorite assignments were always the crime stories and that’s when I started getting pulled into reading and writing suspense.

What was your inspiration for UNTRACEABLE?

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to just drop of the radar, and if that’s really possible. Turns out, it’s very difficult to do, especially because our lives are so intertwined with computers these days, but it can be done. In UNTRACEABLE, my heroine is a PI who helps women in dangerous situations to disappear and start new lives. It was such fun to research this book and learn the tricks of her trade!

Do you write hot, medium or mild?

I’d say medium, but based on feedback I get from readers, it seems everyone has their own spectrum.

 

What’s one piece of advice you’d share with any aspiring author?

Persistence is key. Expect some rejections, don’t get discouraged, and keep writing stories from your heart.

How many times were you rejected before you made your first sale / landed an agent?

I definitely stopped counting. At some point, I decided it’s better to keep looking forward.

Can you tell us what some of your other novels are?

THREAD OF FEAR and WHISPER OF WARNING both include characters you will see in UNTRACEABLE. My other novels include ONE LAST BREATH, ONE WRONG STEP, and the upcoming UNSPEAKABLE (summer 2010).

Okay, one embarrassing moment – especially if it has to do with writing.

Hmm… how about the time I went out for this formal business dinner with a group of authors and executives from my publishing house and accidentally walked into the men’s room. Yes, while people were in there.

What can we expect from you in the future? Any new WIP you can give us the skinny on?

UNTRACEABLE is the first in the Tracers Series, so I’m working on the subsequent books, UNSPEAKABLE and UNFORGIVABLE. The series is romantic suspense with an emphasis on forensic science as the characters chase down the bad guys in each story.

Do you have a question for our readers?

Yes, what are you guys reading these days? I’m always looking for my next favorite series (I love series books where I can really get to know the cast of characters). Any recommendations?

I’d like to thank Laura again for visiting. Please comment for a chance to win a signed copy of UNTRACEABLE, and a $20 Giftcard from Borders!

You can find Laura Griffin here:

www.lauragriffin.com

Here’s a Publishers Weekly interview with Laura Griffin: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6702113.html

Find UNTRACEABLE here at these direct links:

Amazon

B & N

Borders

And now, what I’m sure most of you have been waiting for: 

It’s  “GO!” time.

Agent Shop

This months ‘Agent Shop’ will host:

Scott Eagan from the Greyhaus Literary Agency.
http://www.greyhausagency.com/

 

Please visit his site and take the time to read his likes and dislikes. He is one of the few agents who really spell out what they are looking for or not looking for – VERY clearly.

 

August 2nd is “GO” day. Hope to see you all then!

 

Stop by and register at www.textnovel.com to vote.

My story, ‘STAY’ is currently in third place in the Next Best Celler Contest and listed first under the Contemporary Romance catagory. If you like what you read, give it a thumbs up, and click on the cellphone icon or the follow button to receive an e-mail when I post a new chapter. Every vote helps me get closer to the finals! Comments are welcome as well!

 

 

 

See you all on the 2nd.

Good Luck!

‘Agent Shop’ Month #2

Bitch Track: People really should have to suffer the cruelty they inflict on helpless animals! Where’s a judge who could make that happen???

Bliss Track:Add 4th of July fireworks, with happy 5 & 9yr. old sons, 1 teenage daughter (who got to hang out with friends) 2 nieces, 4 nephews, 20 boxes of sparklers – and you get to watch something better than most things in life. Ahhhhh, the innocence of children. They make the world such a wonderful place… (My five year old sees three other kids standing off to the side with no sparklers – he says, “Mom? Can I give them a box, please?” My pride cup runneth over!)

 

Okay, it’s time again.

 

Hope you checked your pitches to make sure they were within the rules…

 

Remeber, the pitches have to be sent to Candi_agent_shop@yahoo.com NOT posted on the blog.

 

Remember to check back to see when I post ‘STOP’ later, and as always, GOOD LUCK to all.

 

Ready…

 

Set…

 

“GO!”

 

I’ll have the pitches on the shelf Monday morning for Kimberley Cameron of The Reece Halsey Lit. Agency!

 

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Blurb This Winner

Thanks to all who entered the blurb contest.

It was fun to read the entries and I did get a few via e-mail that were fun as well.

Our winner is: VICKI!

Here is her post:

After her last earthly encounter went haywire, Jade Simmons receives one final chance to redeem herself and be granted another life. Walking into the church where she was murdered to rescue Anthony Raphael, a man with too many sins to count, has flames of desire igniting more than her soul.

Vicki, please contact me at candi_agent_shop@yahoo.com . You can send in your pitch any time and I’ll make sure it’s in the number one spot in the line-up.

Thanks again to everyone, and I hope to see you all here on July 5th at 10:00 a.m. EST when I’ll post the word go.

Our visiting agent this time is:

Kimberley Cameron from Reece Halsey Literary Agency

www.kimberleycameron.com

Here is what she had to say:

My interests are Fiction: Literary/
Historical/Mysteries/Women’s/Mainstream/Horror/Science Fiction/Thrillers
Non-Fiction: Biography/History/France/Current Events/Popular Science

 

Good luck everyone and keep those pitches coming!

Candi

Agent Days

Casualties: 22! That means twenty-two of the e-mails I received had something wrong with them. I did nothing more than check that the info I requested was included – Genre, Title, Word count, contact info and that the pitch was no longer than 200 words. Here is a quick list of issues that may have landed your pitch in the trash folder.

• Over 200 words – 6 (Some by as little as three words, while others….)
• No Genre – 5 (Sorry, but I’m not going to guess folks)
• Double entry – 1 (more than one pitch in an e-mail)
• No Word count – 8 (This is info an agent really likes to have)
• No Title – 1 (Pretty important)
• Missing more than one piece of info – 1 (Word count & genre)

So that’s the list this session. Now the Agents get a shot at the ones that made it in.

A big welcome to our guest agents.

We thank you for coming, welcome your comments and hope that you find something that piques your interest.

Pitches are numbered, with genre, title, word count, and of course the pitch. Please feel free to contact me if you wish to request more information on any of the pitches.

Just send me the number of the pitch(s) you liked, how you want the author to make contact with you, and I’ll pass the info along to the author.

Candi_agent_shop@yahoo.com

Happy shopping.

Candi Wall

 

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#1 – Paranormal Romantic Comedy
Title: KEENAN’S DILEMMA
85,000 Words

 

Keenan Swanson is your typical, everyday graphic designer. Well, except for the hundreds of pesky, prank-loving poltergeists that make his life interesting (in a Chinese curse sort of way). He finds his situation precarious yet manageable—until witty, smoking-hot coworker Isabella enters the scene and Keenan decides he wants her all for himself. With a horny succubus who has other ideas, a burly city cop determined to lock Keenan away, and an evil entity who’s hell-bent on using Keenan’s seed to create a living demon, the reluctant psychic realizes he just might not come out of this alive—or with heart intact.

 

I currently have four books published by small presses: STARSIGHT, VOL. I & II (epic fantasy), THE CENTURION & THE QUEEN (historical romance), and THE EDGE OF HONOR (historical romance). In November 2009 my first children’s book, A BOY & HIS WIZARD, will be released, followed next year by its sequel, A BOY & HIS LIZARD. Two additional STARSIGHT books are scheduled for release in March and November of 2010. In addition, I have a comedy contribution featured in A CUP OF COMFORT FOR SINGLE MOTHERS.

 

 

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#2 – Regency Historical Romance

Title: Above Scandal

Word count 87,000 approx

 

Constance Grange has a knack for trouble and with the nickname Pixie, is there any wonder? Ever since she arrived in London , it’s been one unfortunate accident after another. And when the handsome marquess keeps coming to her rescue, Pixie is in the most danger of her life. She’s falling for a man already betrothed to another.

 

Jack Overton, the Marquess of Frieth, was so certain he could ignore Constance’s presence in his home, but he’s not as immune to her charms as he had hoped. Given the fact she refused to marry him, he probably should not be in her bedchamber, or holding her, and certainly not kissing her. But she is the only woman in England who can melt the cold-hearted marquess.

 

As Constance negotiates the tricky world he lives in, Jack’s protective urges get the better of him. The trouble, it seems, is catching her before she falls: into the pond, off her horse, out of grace. That last one might be his fault though. He is not doing a very good job of keeping them both above scandal.

 

 

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#3 – Romantic Suspense with a futuristic twist

Title: EXPENDABLE

Word count: 82,000

 

Children with no birth records and a soldier with PTSD together must define the value of human life.

Within days of identifying her estranged sister’s body, Jenna Mosier is abducted at knifepoint, drugged, and left for dead on a mountain. She awakes in a remote mountain cabin with a man she’s never met. Her own life is now at stake unless she uncovers the mystery of her sister’s death.  Her only clue is the bloody note police found clutched in her sister’s hand asking for someone to save her baby. The problem is there is no record of a baby being born in the last ten years.

Former Marine Special Ops, Reed Adler, retired from the military after back-to-back missions in Afghanistan and Iraq . All he wants is to live away from the world in his mountain cabin in a small town. That ideal is shattered when he is faced with a dead body and a terrified ten year old boy practically in his backyard, along with a mesmerizing woman who’s tied to both. Soon he finds himself caught up in a dangerous mystery of seemingly expendable children that is more complex than any mission he’s faced before.

 

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#4 – Romantic Suspense with a Futuristic Twist

Title: ETERNITY

Word count: 95,000

 

Living 800 years is like the fountain of youth for some…and for others it’s worse than a death sentence.

Eternity is the owner of a virus that allows humans to live up to 800 years. Miki leads a rebel organization known as the Agers. Their purpose is to create a counter agent to reintroduce “natural” death, no matter the cost. When Eternity learns of the Ager plan, they send their best agents to infiltrate the Ager organization and to sabotage any efforts to distribute a counter-virus.

Rohin and Miki were science partners and passionate lovers when they originally discovered the Eternity virus in Antarctica two hundred years ago. But each chose a different path to fight Eternity. When they meet again, Rohin realizes he must rally his resources to stop the Ager virus or risk the only viable future he sees.

But no one can foresee the extent human treachery will go when there are astronomical profits and world-wide political power at stake. Will Rohin and Miki combine forces against a greater evil, or fight each other over prolonged life or natural death? Their decision will determine who survives—and, ultimately, the outcome of humanity’s future.

 

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#5 – Paranormal Romance
Title: Nocturnal Vengeance
95,000 words
 
 Tempeste is among the fiercest warrior vampires the hunters employ.  But her duty to her race is clouded by a personal agenda.  For forty years, Tempeste has been on a dangerous mission to avenge her parents.  The vampire who killed them is one of the strongest alive – and the male who once owned her heart.

            Vincent overcame tremendous odds to join the hunters.  Even after centuries of dedicated service, he was considered the blacksheep.  To most, he seemed the obvious suspect for the murder of two hunters.  Out to prove he didn’t kill them, Vincent made it his own mission to hunt the murderer while living on the run as a rogue hunter.

            Now Vincent is forced to cooperate with Tempeste – the female he’s always loved and the hunter assigned to kill him.  But convincing her of his innocence is the easy part.  Together they must destroy the man who killed her parents – a renegade with unheard of powers – before the hunters find themselves fighting to survive instead of fighting to protect.

            Nocturnal Vengeance is a paranormal romance approximately 95,000 words, and is the second novel in my exciting vampire series.  Thank you for your time and consideration. 

 

 

 

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#6 – Historical

Title: Hers to Captivate

75,000 words 

 

     Hers To Captivate is a completed historical Romance of 75,000 words.  In this Scarlett O’Hara/Magnificent Obsession story, Amalie Renard is a saloon singing poker player, who longs for respectability and a music hall of her own.  In the quiet town of Paradise Pines, she thinks she’s found the perfect spot to put down roots.  Though her past has made it almost impossible for her trust anyone, handsome hotelier Declan Grainger makes her heart sing.  When the jewels she counted on to fund her dreams are stolen a piece at a time by the Night Angel, the town’s self-appointed protector, she turns to Declan for help. 

Raised by wealthy foster parents, Declan Grainger repays their generosity by anonymously helping the town’s unfortunate as the Night Angel.  The moment he hears Amalie’s captivating voice, he knows she’s the woman for him.  He promises to build her a music hall as a way of keeping her close.  When he learns the jewels her dead husband gave her are stolen property, he uses his Night Angel disguise to take and return the jewels knowing he must protect her from prison even if it means losing her trust and the woman he loves forever.

 

 

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#7 – Paranormal Romance
Title: Nocturnal Born
105,000 words
 
     

Twelve hours ago, Alexis Worthington was content to keep her life predictably safe – as it had been for over a decade.  Now, she can’t leave the house without the threat of being abducted or even killed.  Her only hope of survival lies within a secret society of vampire warriors. 

What’s worse, she’s discovered she’s not entirely human!

           Cassius’s cold, calculated nature has given him the ability to be a fierce renegade slayer – until a half-blooded female swindles her way into his heart.  Cassius must keep Alexis close, even though the emotions she brings forth cloud his mind, and prevent him from being a ruthless hunter.            

The renegades have waged an offensive attack against the hunters in order to capture Alexis.  When Cassius realizes the strength of her powers, he understands why the renegades are desperate to get her.  She has the potential to annihilate the entire vampire race.  Alexis must rely on the protection of a domineering vampire who happens to be the same man who destroyed her father, and ruined her childhood.       

            Nocturnal Born is a paranormal romance approximately 105,000 words, and is the first novel in my exciting vampire series.  Thank you for your time and consideration. 

 

 

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#8 – Romantic Suspense
Title: Zackly Right
Word Count: 98,000

            Marley Dunbaughro pretended to be a stripper to get into reclusive millionaire Zack Pennimon’s apartment in search of a missing statuette.   Once in, he wouldn’t let her out.

            Lonely and curious, at first he’s only teasing.  He could have her arrested for ransacking his apartment, but he’ll let her off if she becomes his love slave.  Though Marley has been known to do some silly things ranging from accidentally riding an elephant through an elite, planned community to falling out of a stolen van onto a cop car, she takes her work as a private investigator very seriously.  She won’t be his love slave, but she’s more than willing to be his body guard.

            When Zack was a child he watched kidnappers take his father, then return him piece by piece.  Now those kidnappers have escaped from prison and are determined to kill him for taking the witness stand.  In fact, they’re right outside. But Zack doesn’t hire Marley to keep him safe.  He hires her so he can keep her safe.  He should have known what she’d do when she found out.

 

 

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#9 – Women’s fiction
FOREWARNING
92,000 words

She had no choice. She had to help the injured man. The price proved higher than Kasey ever imagined, and led to danger and death — and healing and love.

FOREWARNING is a 92,000 word woman’s suspense novel about Kasey Martin, an alternative healer, who must face her past and regain her dormant psychic abilities in order to protect herself and those she loves. It has finaled in three writing contests and speaks to the growing interest in all things psychic.

Grieving and guilt stricken after her husband’s suicide, Kasey Martin had closed her energetic healing practice and retreated to her Oregon horse ranch. One night she rescues a badly injured man, and, at an unexpected cost to herself, uses her neglected skills to save his life. This starts her on a journey of healing and danger. Helping on her path is Jim Bradley, an old friend who has long been in love with her. When criminals looking for her patient invade the serenity of her world, she must use her skills to save all three of their lives.  In doing so, she again opens herself to love.

 

 

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#10 – Contemporary paranormal romance
Title: The found girl
Word Count: 100,000

Jonas Kavanagh’s life has been predetermined. One day he will be king to a magical elf kingdom and he will also be the first in the royal line to take a human as queen. Only two complications stand in his way. First, the human woman fated to be this queen doesn’t believe in love, magic or even the prediction. Second, and far more difficult to overcome, the person assigned the task of finding this human wants nothing more than see Jonas joined with someone else and he possesses enough power to accomplish this.

Alvina McKellen’s life has been one loss after another. Orphaned and unwanted by relatives forced to care for her, then framed by a man who said he loved her, she seeks a new life far from where she began. She sure never expected that new life to involve a frightening man with strange abilities and an unexpected marriage to a supposed king.

Together, a reluctant elf king and a lost girl find passion, love and their destiny together, something not even the most powerful magic of one who would tear them apart can destroy.

 

 

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#11 – Young Adult Fiction Romance (Suspense)
Title:  Surviving Truth
Word Count:  55K

When troublemaking fifteen year old Tina Lilly is sent to live with her grandmother, she has trouble adjusting to the slow way of life in small town Texas .  Things suddenly take a turn after she discovers an old journal in the attic which reveals a murder her grandmother committed fifty years earlier..

 

In this “My So-Called Life meets Veronica Mars” coming of age romantic suspense novel, Tina will learn that sometimes living a lie is the only way to survive the truth.

 

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#12 – Contemporary romance
Title: In the Heart
Word Count: 140,000

After a tragic shooting claims the life of her fiancé, Celia Bailey returns to her small hometown vowing one day to find love again. A year later, she’s finding it difficult to keep that vow when the one man occupying her thoughts and haunting her dreams is a man she knows shouldn’t get involved with.

 

Toby Colton is about to find life as he knows it turned upside down. He has a steady job as a prison guard and is forming ties in the close-knit community he recently moved to. However, a chance meeting on the side of a road might change all this. It is literally love at first sight when he stops to help the stranded young woman who is mysteriously evasive with her identity.

 

As the daughter of the warden, Celia refuses to get romantically involved with a prison employee. When Toby learns Celia is also the sister to his new best friend, he promises his interest in her does not extend beyond friendship. But love doesn’t always follow the rules. And when Celia’s life is on the line, Toby risks his own to save the one woman he knows he can never live without.

 

 

 

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#13 – GLBT Romance/Contemporary/Rock Band

Title:  Shattered Glass
Word Count:  60,527                  
                   

                    AP/UPI Newswires

             Rock’s Glass Cracks

Shattered Glass, the Hard Rock Band famous for Liam O’Shea’s haunting melodies and Milo Stamis’ soulful lyrics; shocked fans today, issuing a terse statement through their manager, and former drummer, Sam Stein.

Mr. Stein announced Liam the was no longer with the group, citing “creative differences.” The hotel media center exploded in a cacophony of shouts.  Mr. Stein waited for the din to die. “No further comment at this time.”   

As Sam stepped down from the podium, a stringer for a grocery rag grabbed his arm.  “Doesn’t Liam owe his fans an explanation?” He shouted into Sam’s ear.

Stein’s tone and stare conveyed enough ice to freeze the Sahara, “His music speaks for him.” Sam turned on his heel and left the stage.

The PR rep from their label stayed behind and pulled Sam aside as he attempted to exit the room.

“Come on, Sam…at least tell me the truth, off the record.  Were they lovers?  Rumor abounds of a blowup at the rehearsal and some physical altercation.”

“No comment.” 

The rep gone, Sam stood alone, shook his head and thought, “The truth is more complicated than you could imagine.”

 

 

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#14 – Historical

Title: Honor Bound

Word Count: about 124,000 

 

As William the Conqueror’s sons battle for his throne, Vesper must prove her honor to others and her worthiness to herself. To keep her estate, she gives her oath of fealty to the new king. Once she is bound to obey him, he commands her to wed against her will and uses her in his fight to save his throne from his brother’s efforts to supplant him.

Grim Eryvine, the warrior she is forced to marry, believes women have no honor and the strategically located Havre de Grace needs a warlord, not a woman. Even as they engage in a battle of wills, Grim is irresistibly drawn to the headstrong demoiselle. As the web of longing for her tightens around him, he grows to fear that she loves her estate more than she could love any man.

Because of her work for the king, Vesper finds herself entangled in the schemes of Odo, the Bishop of Bayeux. The devious bishop leads the rebellion and seeks to suborn Vesper into treason with a tantalizing promise. In exchange for her help, the usurper will grant her control of her land unencumbered by an unwanted husband. Vesper must now choose: honor or treason.

 

 

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#15 – Historical Romance/Georgian

Title: Proof of Love

80,000 words

On the evening that Lady Susan Lanier was made the laughingstock of polite society, she gave up on love. The Duke of Danesleigh, an eminent scientist, never believed in love in the first place.

But a duke needs a wife, and Susan needs an escape from a father who can’t forgive her scandalous past.

Both get more than they bargain for when the Duke’s theories on choosing a mother for his heirs bring them together. Can Susan move out of the shadows that darken her life to prove to the Duke that love may be the greatest experiment of all?

 

 

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#16 – Young Adult Fantasy with Romantic Elements
Title: The Horse Charmer
63,925 word count

Princess Cassia’s world turns upside down when her father is murdered and she must marry a neighboring Prince to keep the peace. Cassia runs away the night before her wedding using her remarkable horse charming gifts to escape and sets out to discover who killed her father and why. Nothing is as simple as it seems with unusual powers and political intrigue from all sides shadowing her on her search for the truth.

 

 

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#17 – Romantic Comedy
Title: “Of Vice and Men”
Word Count 90,000

 

Fifteen years ago, Chace Viera read Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”.  Now a widow at age thirty three, Chace begins a quest for her own Mr. Darcy in Jennifer Hilt’s romantic comedy “Of Vice and Men”.

Her journey begins at her Aunt’s Sante Fe, New Mexico Ranch, already quite a change from her Rhode Island small town life.  When Chace’s aunt mysteriously disappears after her arrival, she must manage the ranch alone.

Luckily, there’s no shortage of men.  A perpetually shirtless twenty something boarder at the ranch vies with the local hot tamale Sheriff for Chace’s affections. 

Suddenly her dance card is pretty full. She’s dealing with nosy RV park neighbors, her roller girl team and rogue prospectors on the property.  Not to mention a kennel full of dogs.  

Eventually, Chace happily settles in the buff arm of the law.  And she learns Mr. Darcy looks great in chaps.

 

 

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#18 – Historical/Paranormal Romance
Title: The Midnight Dance/the Devereaux Chronicles
70,080 Word Count
 

It is the 1800’s in the heart of New Orleans, where above ground graves guard their secrets with moss cloaked tenacity, and where Deidre Devereaux has not only inherited a plantation, but something more…something wicked…something long dead…something that wants her… and her soul.

                                                                                                        

Deidre is a strong willed beauty whose presence is felt by everyone who comes in contact with her.  Her life has been out of her control for years, but now she has decided to do whatever it takes to regain it.

 

Roark Sullivan, Deidre’s first love, is a wealthy entrepreneur who has returned to New Orleans after a prolonged absence.  He returns, knowing doing so will cost him, possibly beyond the grave.

 

 

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#19 – Romantic Women’s Fiction

Title: HEALING NOTES

Word count: 75,000

 

Forgiving yourself is the first step, but helping others forgive may be just too hard.

 

Rachel Cullen grew up in Scotland with a fiddle in her hand from the age of four. She couldn’t imagine life as anything but a musician. When her husband brought her to America she was immediately embraced by the Celtic and Bluegrass communities and built a career with the Sweetwater Canyon Band. But her life is a mess. A divorce, followed by a year of trying to prove that she’s woman enough for any man left her reeling. Just as her confidence returned, a vicious rape leaves Rachel believing that love is a fantasy that only fools would indulge.

 

When Rachel meets Noel Kershaw, a High School English teacher with a young child, she is drawn into their lives. Suffering from his own divorce and very demanding in his criteria for a new mate, this new relationship sends all the wrong signals. Rachel must reconcile who she is, what she wants, and how to get there before taking on Noel and his daughter. And when she does, will Noel be able to overcome his own past and love her?

 

 

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#20 – Historical Romance

Title:  A Sensible Arrangement

Word Count:  93,000 +

Serena Middleton is intelligent and practical.  So, when her life takes an unexpected turn, she can accept that an arranged marriage to Edward Sterling is a necessary and logical choice.  Her common sense, however, warns her to guard her heart against this handsome and charming womanizer.

Edward’s life is going according to plan.  Until, that is, his wealthy uncle is murdered at Edward and Serena’s engagement party and suddenly Edward is the prime suspect.  Although Serena suspects Edward is incapable of remaining faithful to his marriage vows, she is certain he is not capable of murder.  Or is he? 

Edward and Serena work together to unravel the mystery.  Betrayal, blackmail, espionage and family skeletons muddy the waters, but eventually the murderer is revealed.  Along the way, they discover their marriage will be much, much more than just A Sensible Arrangement.

 A Sensible Arrangement is a historical romance and a murder mystery that takes place in Regency England.

 

 

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#21 – Romantic Suspense

Title: FOUND

Word count: 100,000.

 

Murder, betrayal, and fear, that is what Alexander Baker’s has life consisted of for the past four years. But after meeting sexy cattle rancher Colt Bryan, excitement, love, and smoking-hot sex is what her life consist of now. Colt shows her that she doesn’t have to run from her past any longer. She shows him how fun loving Cajuns enjoy life and helps to heal his bruised and battered heart But before Colt and Alex can ride off into the sunset they must face her past and her sadistic estranged husband whose looking to kill her and anyone who tries to stop him.

 

 

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#22 – Historical romance

Title: The Devil’s Daughter

100,000 word count

The Eve every man imagined entered the Whiskey Spades saloon and left Gade Ryder with the bill to her drink. Only he’s not in paradise and he plans to make the little Devil’s Daughter pay him back in full.

Returning to Eden, Texas after a twelve-year absence Gade reluctantly agrees to help save the family ranch from rustlers. Had he agreed out of a misplaced family loyalty or had the compelling mystery of the Devil’s Daughterenticed him to stay in a place he didn’t want to be? When the little criminal is accused of murder, Gade realizes his growing attraction for her could not only cost him his freedom, it may well cost him his life.

On the run from her outlaw past, Blaze Marie Austin needs to find a gang of rustlers to repay a debt. She’s stunned to learn she’s suspected of aiding the rustlers and accused of murder. Now, she must choose to trust in a man who’s convinced a leopard can’t change its spots or keep running from a past she can no longer hide.

Will secrets from her past ruin any chance she has of becoming this angel’s wife?

 

 

 

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#23 – Erotic Romance/Paranormal, Contemporary

Title: Midsummer Night

Word Count: 71,000

 

Beltane (ISBN 978-1-897559-57-4, Eternal Press, October 2008), an erotic, contemporary paranormal romance, introduced Zen Van Zandt, a witch who uses her gift of empathy to tell fortunes at her shop on Milwaukee’s eccentric Brady Street. Zen’s twin sister Allie unexpectedly found the love of her life.

 

In Midsummer Night, Zen has fallen in love with biology grad student/modern Pagan Ramesh Sudhra. One thing stands in the way of their happiness: his traditional Indian-American family doesn’t welcome Zen. Between his stern mother’s disapproval, Zen’s one-year vow of celibacy, and her assistant’s romantic troubles with a wild new witch, Zen’s life may never be the same.

 

Midsummer Night is the second book in the 12-part Pagan Spirits series.

 

 

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#24 – Historical romance

Title: The Devil’s Dynasty

85,000 word count

 

One man’s revenge becomes one woman’s salvation in my story Rio Ryder had ulterior motives when he accepted the job to find a gang of cattle thieves; revenge against the man who’d killed his family. His priorities changed and he added seducing the boss’s daughter to that list. His investigation exposes her scheme to steal her own father’s cattle. Dark family secretes are revealed and a suspicious murder forces him to make a choice. Un-heroic, Rio’s always lived selfishly, now he must choose the revenge he’s longed for or save the life of the woman who’s managed to turn his world upside down.

Georgia Devlin has lived her life trying to prove herself to her father. When he remarries a woman who only wants to sell her beloved ranch, George concocts a plan to steal the cattle in order to buy the ranch back. Only her plan backfires when her stepmother hires a ranch detective. She struggles to guard her secretes from the handsome stranger but fails to guard her heart. Now she must choose to trust in the Detective to save her from her own good intentions.

 

 

 

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#25 – Romantic Suspense  with supernatural elements

Title: Faerie Cake Dead

Word Count: 65,000 words

 

 

When divorcee Luna Devere , owner of Faerie Cake Junction, meets general contractor Devin Radford, chaos reigns. While Devin wreaks romantic havoc in Luna’s life, Luna finds a dead man sitting in her tea shop awaiting his tea.

The tea shop is surrounded by faerie folk who have befriended Luna. They know who did the deed, but aren’t saying. The sheriff is convinced Luna’s the culprit, Devin wonders just how odd Luna is even though he’s drawn to her and Luna’s ex-husband tries to incriminate her for reasons and purposes all his own.

 

 

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#26 – Regency Romance

Title: Margaret’s Rematch

Word count: 70,000

 

 

Margaret Fairfax – young, handsome, of independent fortune – must settle in her new life at Northbrook Hall – the country estate of her brother-in-law – upon her sister’s death. There she faces a major challenge of proving to Mr. Westfield, whose morals are of a rather rigid nature and whose dislike of her is legendary, that she is worthy of his regard and affection, despite some unfortunate rumours that had followed her from London.

However, when it looks like the matter of his opinion is splendidly resolved in her favour and his heart is on its way of getting firmly attached, Margaret’s complacency is shattered by the arrival of her deceitful friend, who poses a serious threat to the promotion of their relationship to the next level, employing her extensive knowledge of Margaret’s past and her cunning mind to discredit her in Mr. Westfield’s eyes once and for all.

 

 

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#27 – Romantic Women’s Fiction

Title: UNDERTONES

Word count: 95,000

Balancing a career and a relationship is never easy, and it’s even harder when you are on the road and everyone wants a piece of you.

Becoming a member of an all-woman acoustic band on the bluegrass festival circuit was certainly not what Michele Scott had envisioned for herself as a young music major. A pop star is what she’d set out to be. Instead, she found her soul in an upright bass and the mountain music that some called “hick.”  As the bass player with the Sweetwater Canyon Band, Michele has enjoyed the new found sisterhood of the other muscians, and no time for dating suits her just fine.

Three weeks before Michele’s band sets out on tour she collides with the mesmerizing and irresistible Jason Blackstone—a man whose startling blue-green eyes and commanding presence make her insides melt like a spent candle. But Michele’s last romance ended in heartbreak over her choice of career. She’s worked far too hard to risk trying to manage a career and life on the road with a long distance relationship. But Jason makes her question that balance in her life and her band mates don’t make the decisions any easier.

 

 

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#28 – Romantic Suspense
Title: Target of Betrayal
89,000 words

As a widowed mother, Kathleen Landon knows all about pain and suffering.  But when an ex-boyfriend returns under false pretenses, she learns her deceased husband’s bizarre construction accident was an attempt to cover up a horrendous crime spree being operated by a traitor inside the FBI. Now she’s under the protection of a handsome U.S. Marshal and searching for incriminating evidence to expose a cold-blooded killer before becoming his next target. 

 

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#29 – Historical
Title: A KISS IN THE WIND
71,000 words

Pick-pocketing Marisol Castellan will do anything to find her missing brother, including murder.  A clue leads her to a treasure-laden ship off the coast of Hispaniola and the man sent to protect it. Libertine pirate, Captain Blade Tyburn, discovers the knife-wielding Marisol has stolen his precious cameo and suspects she is behind the bizarre disappearance of his silver shipment. Keeping the thieving temptress close has unleashed a firestorm of peril, treachery, and unbridled passion as they embark on a chase after a mysterious ship thought to hide the riches. Amid a whirlpool of deadly deception, will the thief and the pirate learn to trust one another and conquer the veiled enemy hell bent on crushing them all?

 

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#30 – Contemporary Romance
Title: What She was Missing
89,900 words

Someone once said, ‘Running from your problems never solves anything’.

That someone – was a liar.

After four years of hiding, Alisa Leighton is just as sure of her decision to run as the day she’d left. Sheltered in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, she’s opened a haven for abused women, giving them a chance to start over.

But the affects of domestic violence radiate, touching everyone in their sphere and when Donovan Marshall comes into town, Alisa finds it impossible to walk away from the pain and desperation she recognizes in his eyes – especially since she harbors a deep guilt for turning his little sister away – a week before her murder.

Alisa’s touch and her offer to show Donovan a better way to honor his sister’s memory, pull him into her world. Attraction, indecision, and guilt tug at the scattered emotions inherent in trusting again, until Alisa and Donovan must find security in one another as a deadly threat to one of the women puts all their lives in danger.

 

 

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Thank you!