Tessa Dare- Spindle Cove Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway

Any Duchess Will Do
Tessa Dare
On Sale Date: May 28, 2013
ISBN: 9780062240125
ISBN: 0062240129

Today Pauline is just a serving girl in Spindle Cove but tomorrow... she'll be a Duchess?! It's a Spindle Cove Pygmalion story as only New York Times Bestselling author Tessa Dare can tell it.

What's a duke to do, when the girl who's perfectly wrong becomes the woman he can't live without?

Griffin York, the Duke of Halford, has no desire to wed this season-or any season-but his diabolical mother abducts him to "Spinster Cove" and insists he select a bride from the ladies in residence. Griff decides to teach her a lesson that will end the marriage debate forever. He chooses the serving girl.

Overworked and struggling, Pauline Simms doesn't dream about dukes. All she wants is to hang up her barmaid apron and open a bookshop. That dream becomes a possibility when an arrogant, sinfully attractive duke offers her a small fortune for a week's employment. Her duties are simple: submit to his mother's "duchess training"… and fail miserably.

But in London, Pauline isn't a miserable failure. She's a brave, quick-witted, beguiling failure-a woman who ignites Griff's desire and soothes the darkness in his soul. Keeping Pauline by his side won't be easy. Even if Society could accept a serving girl duchess-can a roguish duke convince a serving girl to trust him with her heart?

“I thought you didn’t have noble impulses.”

“Believe me.” He stared into her eyes and spoke the words without lewdness or irony. “I don’t.”

If he possessed a single grain of decency, he would have set her down long moments ago. Wicked as it made him, he loved the way she was clinging to his neck. As though the world around them were a vast, frozen waste and sharing the heat of his body was her only chance to survive. It was so easy to believe, for this moment, that she needed him. Needed his touch, his mouth, his heated breath. His bared, feverish skin all over hers.

Amazing, what acrobatic contortions the lusting male mind could achieve. He’d almost convinced himself that kissing her lush, sweet lips was the noble thing to do.

Almost. But not quite.

“I’ll put you down now,” he said.

She nodded.

And then she pressed her lips to his.

Praise and curses be heaped. The girl kissed him.

Beauty and the Blacksmith
Tessa Dare
On Sale Date: April 30, 2013
ISBN: 9780062238849,
ISBN: 0062238841

Take a trip to Spindle Cove in New York Times bestselling author Tessa Dare’s gorgeous and sexy Regency romance.

Beautiful and elegant, Miss Diana Highwood is destined to marry a wealthy, well-placed nobleman. At least that’s what her mother has loudly declared to everyone in Spindle Cove.

But Diana’s not excited by dukes and lords. The only man who makes her heart pound is the village blacksmith, Aaron Dawes. By birth and fortune, they couldn’t be more wrong for each other ... but during stolen, steamy moments in the smithy, his strong hands feel so right.

Is their love forged strong enough to last, or are they just playing with fire?
How could she help staring? The man had wrists as thick as her ankle.

As always, he wore his sleeves rolled to the elbow, exposing forearms roped with muscle. He pumped the bellows, commanding the flames to dance.

Broad shoulders stretched his homespun shirt, and a leather apron hung low on his hips. As he removed the glowing bit of metal from the fire and placed it on his anvil, his open collar gaped.

Diana averted her gaze—but not fast enough. She caught a moment’s glimpse of pure, superheated virility. Sculpted chest muscles, bronzed skin, dark hair...

“Behave yourself,” he said.

The words startled her breathless.

He knows. He knows. He’s realized that refined, perfect gently bred Miss Highwood comes to the smithy to gawp at his brute manliness. Behave yourself, indeed.

She felt ridiculous. Ashamed. Exposed.

And then—suddenly—relieved.

He wasn’t speaking to her. He was speaking to his work.

“That’s it.” Perspiration glistened on his brow. With a steady hand and a low, rich baritone, he finessed the broken clasp. “Be good for me now.”

Diana turned her gaze downward, focusing on the floor. Neatly swept and fitted stones paved her half of the smithy, where visitors waited for their work. The ground around the forge was packed with black, smudgy cinders. And the border between the two could not have been more stark, or more meaningful.

Here was the division between customer and smith. The line between the world of a gentlewoman and a working man’s domain.

“There we are,” he said. “That’s the way.”

Oh, goodness. She could look away from this thick forearms and his muscled chest. But that voice.

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Exclusive Interview & Giveaway ~ Author Amanda McIntyre "Rugged Hearts"

Bestselling author Amanda McIntrye has a Sizzling New Series- The Kinnison Legacy! 

Today she stops by FBL for a little Q & A's and if you scroll down you can enter to win a copy of her latest book:     RUGGED HEARTS—Book I:

 

Rugged, quiet, hardworking, Wyatt takes his position as head of the Kinnison family seriously. But the scars of betrayal by the women to whom he once trusted his heart now prompt his stark, simple game plan, and no one in hell is going to convince him any differently. What matters most, besides the welfare of his brothers, is to manage the ranch left to him and never risk his heart again to something as foolish as love—but after meeting Aimee, Wyatt begins to realize that a man should never say never to a determined second grade teacher.

When vivacious, resilient Aimee Worth loses her twin sister in a tragic accident, she makes the choice to live out her sister’s dream of teaching in the small mountain community called End of the Line, Montana, never suspecting she’d meet her Mr. Right in the middle of nowhere—he just doesn’t know it yet. Used to challenges, her spirit shatters the perceptions that have kept him isolated from living life beyond the ranch, proving to him that when it comes to love, the greatest risk is not taking one.

Thanks for stopping by!!

How did you get interested in writing this particular genre?

Thanks Kat, for having me! 

My very first book was a contemporary “rural” romance actually called Unfinished Dreams, featuring a farm foreclosure situation. Growing up in a small town, leaving, getting married and returning to the same small town for the past twenty-some years has also endeared me to the great wealth of stories to be derived from small towns and what I like to call “country boys.” More specific, this series was born of a combination of a short novella I wrote called ‘Stranded with Children” and a holiday article I wrote for the newspaper once called “The Cowboys Christmas.” From there, was launched the fodder for three unlikely brothers, raised by a man who was not their father and how they came to be his legacy and fulfill his dream for the Last Hope Ranch.

What kind of research did you do for this book?

Just knowing the people I’ve grown up around small town life, farmers and cowboys—and men with the heart of a cowboy all of my life. I also researched specific areas of Montana, the old mining towns and how many of them are having to find alternate ways of surviving in this economy. Included as a part of my story are the artisans and beliefs of the American Indian tribes of the area and also I researched cattle ranches and watched a lot of RFD TV. I have never been to a working dude ranch, but it’s on my bucket list of things to do.

What do you think is the greatest creative risk you've taken in this book? 

Great question. Probably not knowing how it would be received in a particular time when it seems that Fifty Shades style books, and YA are the big draw. I am strange that way—I rarely choose to write in whatever the popular genre of the month is.

What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

There were a number that I really enjoyed, but perhaps the most poignant, where I see a huge evolution in my heroes character and my heroines, is when he is reading a story to the kids who’ve become stranded in a storm at his house. In particular, after the harrowing life and death experience they’d all had earlier in the day. Just seeing how he responds, the realization and growth he goes through in this scene,  mostly internal, but critical to his redemption.

Do you write detailed character profiles before writing, or do you find the characters come to life as you write?

I usually gather a few pictures first and create a collage of sorts. I love hands and eyes on a man, the nuance of an expression. Because most art forms from publishers ask you to give a physical description for use on cover art, I’ve already mapped out a number of details in my mind. However, there are many times when an unexpected obstacle, or twist will come up in the process of writing that may change the character either physically or mentally. To answer, you question, I guess I’d have to say both ways have happened to me, and usually in the same book.

You have a very sexy cowboy for your book covers! Can you tell us how the process works in selecting these gorgeous men for your cover? 

With the Kinnison series I chose the cover art and had it commissioned by P & N graphics, because I wanted a very specific look for these covers. Most generally, authors fill out a detailed “art form” for publishers to work from to create the cover. I’ve been very fortunate in my writing career. The Cover art gods have been very good to me;)

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?  

I have been snowed in, unfortunately not with a hawt cowboy, but with children;) But honestly, in this book there was a lot based on my (hopeful) skills in storytelling;)

How do you market your work? What avenues have you found to work best for your genre? There is honestly no sure fire marketing aspect. Its always changing, depending on the event, the number of readers, where your budget is, so many , many variables. There are street teams to help authors get the word out about their books. There are conventions, large and small, where readers can participate in events where they can meet readers and industry personnel. However, what I’ve come to realize is that the BEST marketing tools are the ones that place you in direct contact to the readers. Only then are you going to be able to find out what readers are looking for in reading.

Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to get published? 

Yes, more than one actually, but one in particular, and one of these days I intend to publish it, because there is a readership for it. It simply doesn’t fit into the marketing templates of many traditional publishers.

Tell us what you next releases or what you are currently working on?

My current release was the special e-book launch of Rugged Hearts, Book I in the Kinnison Legacy series. It was released to be made available at the RT Booklovers E-Expo. FYI, it’s launch was not directly responsible for the brief snowstorm in the KCMO area that week.;) The print book will release in late summer amid the release of other pre-holiday books. I am currently working on a number of stories. The second book in the Kinnsion series (Rustlers Heart) and also a short contemporary novella as well as an historical erotic thriller story that I hope to have out this year. I have just released my very first full length book, Unfinished Dreams, a sensual, contemporary rural romance at Amazon Kindle.

Today Amanda is giving away a signed hardcopy ARC of Rugged Hearts to one lucky person leaving a comment on 

"Why you love cowboys!" 

Continental US only, please.

A staunch believer in potential and possibility, best-selling, multi-genre author Amanda McIntyre has succeeded in an office career, as a mother, a newspaper columnist and now fiction writer.

Since 2001, Amanda has enjoyed writing and receiving awards for numerous novels, novellas, short stories, anthologies ,as well as non-fiction books. Her readers and reviewers describe her work as "highly sensual and character-driven" She is currently working on her next novel.    

Visit Amanda on her Website

Buy links for Rugged Hearts:   Amazon       All Romance e-Books 

Amanda’s next appearances:

Lora Leigh’s Reader Weekend, Sept 19-22

Heather Grahams New Orleans Writers Weekend, Dec. 13-15.

Review and Book Giveaway ~ Summer in Napa (St. Helena Vineyard #2) by Marina Adair

I am excited to share the latest book in the St. Helena Vineyard series by Marina Adair. Summer in Napa is the second in the series.  If you missed my review of the first book in the series, Kissing Under the Mistletoe, you can find it here.  Continue reading... as you scroll down, you will find my review and a chance to win a signed paper.  More  details below...

Summer in Napa (St. Helena Vineyard #2) by Marina Adair

Published May 14th 2013 by Montlake Romance
ISBN:1611099730 (ISBN13: 9781611099737)

review courtesy of author

Six months ago, New York restaurant owner Alexis “Lexi” Moreau walked in on her husband, Jeff, and their sous chef mixing business with pleasure. Now, Lexi is back in her hometown of St. Helena, California, rebuilding her life and hoping to turn her grandmother’s patisserie into the bistro of her dreams. All she needs is luck, lots of hard work, and a way to avoid the thirty blind dates her matchmaking grandmother arranged. Enter Marco DeLuca — Jeff’s handsome, commitment-phobe best friend who has always had his sights set on Lexi. In high school, Marco convinced himself that Lexi was off-limits. And she still is, especially since Marco’s family’s wine business all depends on a deal with Jeff. But a fake summer romance is the perfect way for Lexi to distract the would-be suitors her grandmother has set up for her. A perfect way for Marco to realize she’s the only one that ever mattered. And a perfect way to fall deliciously in love.

My Review:

Two words... LOVED. IT. I went back to the first book, so I can get a feel for Marco.. soo many books, I was started to merge my characters. Its a great story line and sometimes I was thought I knew how it would end but I didn't. Lexi family and friends mean well but the minute she moves back home after leaving behind her restaurant, her recipes and her cheating husband... the matchmaking begins. And it gets old fast.., so to keep her family and friends at bay she partners up with sexy Marco and makes them assume they are a "couple".. A couple with "benefits".  The love story between these two is hot and you want them to reunite at least to have hot steamy sex.  Both were very strong characters and I couldn't put it down. I immediately disliked her husband, what a loser.

In all honesty I will put this on my Read Again pile.  If you are sorting through new release and can't figure out which book to read next, put this one up on the top of the pile.  Enjoy... Summer can't get any hotter than this book.   

My Rating:

                    

For one lucky winner, Marina is offering a signed paperback ARC to one US follower. Contest runs until 12:00 am EST, Wed, May 22nd. 

To be eligible, leave a comment below and tell us what you.....

Love About Summer...

You must add your email address in the comment, so I can contact the winner...