Cyber Monday means Bargain Romance at .99! But don’t think you aren’t getting your money’s worth. Take a look at what’s in store for Andy and Julie with a free Sneak Peek above, just under a buck at Amazon and Barnes & Noble and everywhere tomes of this genius are sold.
Get crackin’ kids! You don’t want to be the last on you block to be one of the in crowd!
Here’s a post making the rounds of my recent Blog Tour. You know, in case you missed it. Doubtful, right?
It’s December and the Holidays are coming, a time for parties and family and my favorite part—lots and lots of cookies. Rather than get caught up in the chaos that befalls so many this time of year, and I simply let it all rumble past like a runaway train, and if something happens to fall out of the caboose for me, so be it. But if you believe the concept driving the season is peace and not what-piece-is-for-you, then here’s a few hints to let you know just how far behind you are:
Happy Holidays!
Ah, Thanksgiving! The start of the Holiday Season and the end of all sanity. But not me. I’m taking each day one at a time. Which means remembering there’s always tomorrow to resume eating right again. For now, at least for today, there’s the Jersey equivalent of seasonal weather going on outside, making it all cozy and warm in here. So I can ignore the fact it’s slowly turning from freezing rain to sleet, and will eventually end up as snow just when I’ll be leaving to pick up my niece from the train. Oh well. What are holidays besides family time, and we’d do well to remember what’s really important in life, and gather them around us. Like Yuengling and pumpkin pie. C’mere, you…
Happy Thanksgiving, to all!
When Rex Renaud, the COO of Mercier Shipping, is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, he knows he’ll need a miracle to clear his name … and sassy lawyer Charlotte Andreko is the perfect woman for the job. Charlotte has built her career defending pro bono clients against womanizers like Rex Renaud, and she’d much rather let him sweat it out in a jail cell than defend him in court. Yet Rex swears he’s been set up, and when he offers her a shocking sum of money in exchange for her legal counsel, the financial security is too tempting to resist. The court dubs Rex a serious flight risk—how many people have their own jet?—and he’s released on one condition: Charlotte’s his new jailer, and he’s stuck with her until his arraignment. But when a bomb threat sends Rex and Charlotte on the run, neither is prepared for the explosive chemistry and red-hot passion that flare between them as they hunt for the truth about his arrest.
BUY NOW at HarperCollins.com!
Ah yes, there I am in New York at BEA back in June, signing copies of Wanted: Wife at the RWA booth. I’m happy to say that I “sold” every copy HarperCollins provided for me. Okay, I’m lying. They were free, and three-quarters of the people asked for them not to be personalized. Kind of reminded me when I was at a BEA authors’ breakfast the year before, and I asked the same thing of Chris Matthews of “Hardball” on MSNBC. He laughed out loud in that inimitable Chris Matthews way and said, “Ha! Better to sell it on eBay!” No, I thought, feeling slightly chagrined. He was so mobbed, I was trying to save him some time. Even so, I was under no illusion my many “fans” were thinking eBay about me. Seems most of them were librarians or booksellers, and WW would soooo fit nicely into that raffle basket…
Not that I cared. Truly, I didn’t. At this stage of my career, I’m just happy you asked. Writers are funny that way. We can be a cloistered folk, especially when we’re deep into a project, but if you want to get a writer’s attention, just ask her what she’s working on. If the work’s going smoothly, she’ll jabber on about it. If it’s going badly, she’ll give you a scowl that’ll melt glass.
I’m kinda at the in between stage right now, just starting a new project, and just pushing one out in the real world on Tuesday, November 18th. That would be The Laws of Seduction, the third book in my “French Kiss” series, and a bit different from what I’ve written before. It’s somewhat darker, but it was written at a very dark point in my life. I started it the day before my mother died suddenly, and worked through and finished it while I was still in mourning. In fact, this picture was taken just six days after her death and three days before her funeral, and to tell you the truth, as excited as I was to do a signing at BEA, I was pretty much in a daze. But I soldiered on. I think Mom would have wanted me to.
I’m somewhat better now, though I still miss her, of course. But out of all that sadness came something I’m pretty proud of. The writing, the plain work of it, got me through a very tough time by giving me something other than my grief to think about, and through it all, reaffirmed my conviction to the craft of writing. I knew then that if I could write through those dark days, I would never have an excuse again to not write when the times were so much better. Because as a writer, I was doing what writers do–write. I sincerely hope, with this next book, you’ll agree.
Haven’t you guessed by now? I’m all about strong women. Grrls aside, my female protagonists know that it takes a woman to make it in a man’s world, and even though they’re willing to compromise, that doesn’t include their principles. This includes Charlotte Andreko, Esq. in The Laws of Seduction, my latest in the French Kiss series, which will make its e-book debut one month from today on 18 November. You see, when Rex Renaud, the COO of Mercier Shipping, is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, he knows he’ll need a miracle to clear his name, and he calls on Charlotte, a non-nonsense feminist lawyer, to defend him. Why? Because truly strong men are attracted to equally strong women, and in Charlotte, he’s more than met his match in intelligence and wit. Read the first chapter here, then perhaps pre-order a copy. Watch for a blog book tour coming next month and as always, thanks for reading.
I’ll be hanging tomorrow at the Collingswood Book Festival in South Jersey, which for those latecomers is October 11, 2014. Be there or be square!
That’s right! You asked for it–you demanded it, and the yowling child always gets her wish! The e-edition for KISS ME, CAPTAIN, Book Two in the French Kiss series, will go on sale for the buy-me-NOW price of .99 starting on Tuesday, 23 September! Tell all your friends! Family! Co-workers! Heck–tell all you enemies! I’m fine with that! This is such a deal it’s like you’re stealing this book!
If you were a fan of Book One, WANTED: WIFE, then you’re no doubt wanting to know what happens with Andy’s little brother, Marcel, who is now CEO of Mercier Shipping. Well, I’ll tell you, it seems the lone female captain in all of his fleet has chained herself to the mast of her ship in fear of losing her job, and now it’s causing a media firestorm. Guess who’s going to cross the pond to Philadelphia and straighten the situation out? One guess! Click here on 9/23 to get to all the bookseller where you can find out!
And if you would much rather have the feel of cozy crisp paper in your hands, the paperback version of KISS ME CAPTAIN come out one week later on Tuesday, 30 September. Click here to reserve or buy your copy. And don’t forget to stop back after you’ve finished reading to tell me what you think!
Over the weekend my wit ‘n wisdom was featured in Chuck Sambuchino’s fabulous Writers Digest column. It’s called “The Writer’s Journey: How Much (can) Someone Possibly Stand?” What I’m talking about is how much a writer has to go through to get where they want to be, the hours, the sacrifices, the research, etc. Here’s a snippet:
So there’s this, there’s all of this, and yet as hard as you work, shuffling schedules to make room for those two blissful hours alone, polishing that manuscript until it screeches surrender, querying in bunches and crossing your fingers, there it comes again, that blasted, callous bit of communication that so effortlessly denies you entrance. So you steal more hours, polish some more and once again type that header: QUERY: Historical Thriller 80k–and it’s almost as if you’re stuck in a copier churning out denied, denied, DENIED.
DENIED. Yeah, we all know what that’s like. Rejection, requery, resubmit. So why do we do it? What pushes us on. You don’t the answer to that, right? If you don’t, then, ask yourself, why not?
I got a nice little surprise in the mail today from an anonymous source. Okay, it was from Avon, so one could assume it was from my editor. I’m just going to go and assume that–thanks, Nicole! Anyway, it was the print edition of Kiss Me, Captain, which is due to debut on September 30. The ebook edition has been out since August 26, but somehow this just seems a bit more significant. This is why print books will never go out of style, at least for me. It still floors me to hold this tangible compilation of my own thoughts and fancies in my two hands. There really is still no validation, no real thrill quite like it for a writer. Sure, everyone wants to make money, but put this is a writer’s for the first time and watch them cry like a baby. And realize to get that thrill, we’d probably even do it for free.
I said probably. But don’t get any ideas. We may be nuts but we’re not crazy.
Gwen Jones Writes 