Valentine's Day Giveaway!

Valentine’s Day – and I’m a romance writer!

 

February 14th – 1 plus 4 equals 5, so I’m giving away a PDF copy of one of my novels to five – yes five! – people who leave me a comment. For a chance to win, all you have to do is say which novel you would like – and why!

 

Here’s some information about each of them:

 

‘His Leading Lady’: Jess Harper's predictable life is turned upside down when she discovers that Lora, her twin sister, has disappeared. It's just a week before rehearsals are due to start for a new West End musical in which Lora has the lead role. Jess decides to pose as her sister in order to save Lora's career. This brings her into close contact with arrogrant theatre director Kyle Drummond. Attraction sparks between them but there's also evidence that he had been dating Lora. So is Jess simply a substitute - in real life as well as in the show? And what will happen when Lora eventually returns?

 

'Fragrance of Violets' is set mainly in England's Lake District, a beautiful area which I know and love. The latter part of the story moves to London's theatre world and also to Paris.

The title is derived from a quotation by Mark Twain - "Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it"

Abbey Seton distrusts men, especially Jack Tremayne who destroyed their friendship when they were teenagers. Ten years later, they meet again. Can they put the past behind them? Abbey has to forgive not only Jack, but also her father who deserted his family when she was young. Jack holds himself responsible for his fiancée’s death. He’s also hiding another secret which threatens the fragile resumption of their relationship. Will Abbey ever forgive him when she finds out the truth?

 

'Changing the Future': Lisa Marshall is stunned when celebrated volcanologist Paul Hamilton comes back into her life at the college where she now teaches. Despite their acrimonious break-up several years earlier, they soon realise the magnetic attraction between them is stronger than ever.

However, the past is still part of the present, not least when Paul discovers Lisa has a young son.

They can't change the past, but will it take a volcanic eruption to help them change the future?

 

'Her Only Option': Neve Dalton loves her job as a tour guide on a River Nile cruise ship as much as she values her independence. She isn’t ready to settle down with her Egyptian boyfriend, despite his repeated proposals and his father’s desire to see him married.

Nor is she ready to meet Ross McAllister, a compelling and fascinating archaeologist. She struggles against her growing attraction to him until she can no longer ignore what her heart is telling her. This is the man who sets her soul on fire.

When she starts receiving cryptic messages, and Ross’s work in the famous Valley of the Kings is threatened, Neve has to make a heart-breaking and life-changing decision which she feels is her only option.

Can they discover whose enmity is forcing them apart before it's too late?

 

Dream of Paris: Anna Richards has a dream of going to live and study in Paris, but when Matthew Carlton comes into her life, her dream changes direction. Attraction sparks between them, but Matt’s behaviour is strangely inconsistent. Anna is shocked when she discovers the reason and is sure there is no future for them. Can Paris work its magic and make her dream come true?

 

 

The winners will be chosen on Saturday February 16th, and you can enter more than once by leaving more than one comment, but don’t forget to say why you would like the novel – and please leave an email address too, so that I can contact you if you win!

 

Good luck! 

Weekend Writing Warriors

Here are eight more sentences from my contemporary romance 'Dream of Paris' (now released!)

Thanks to everyone from Weekend WritingWarriors (#WeWriWa) and/or the Six Sentence group on Facebook who have visited and left comments for me.

In last week's excerpt, Matt gave Anna a very passionate kiss, but then broke away. They leave the banks of the Seine, and he takes her to a small cafe on the Left Bank.


“Paris has gone to our heads, hasn’t it?” he said with a small smile.

She lowered her eyes and stroked her fingers up and down the stem of her glass. “Is that all it was?” Slowly she returned to reality, even though she tried to cling to the dream.

Her heart jerked when he put his hand very gently around hers. “Do you want it to be any more?”

She raised her head again until her eyes met his. “Do you?”

Dream of Paris can be downloaded for Kindle at Amazon USA, Amazon Canada and Amazon UK
Also available in various formats from Smashwords for Nook, iPad, Sony, Kobo, etc
Print version will also be available very soon!

Blurb:

Anna Richards has a dream of going to live and study in Paris, but when Matthew Carlton comes into her life, her dream changes direction.

Attraction sparks between them, but Matt’s behaviour is strangely inconsistent. Anna is shocked when she discovers the reason and is sure there is no future for them.

Can Paris work its magic and make her dream come true?

 

 

 For a chance to win a copy of 'Dream of Paris', leave a comment for me at http://catemasters.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/day-9-celebrate-amore.html

Dream of Paris - Released Today!

This week's ‘prompt’ for the GBE2: Blog On group is ‘Dream’ – which is a very easy one for me, since my new novel ‘Dream of Paris’ is released this week. It’s now on Amazon and also on Smashwords

 

It is a contemporary romance, set partly in an (imaginary) small seaside resort in South East England, and partly, as the name suggests, in the beautiful city of Paris.

 

Anna Richards has a dream of going to live and study in Paris, but when Matthew Carlton comes into her life, her dream changes direction. Attraction sparks between them, but Matt’s behaviour is strangely inconsistent. Anna is shocked when she discovers the reason and is sure there is no future for them. Can Paris work its magic and make her dream come true?

 

Here’s an excerpt – Anna and Matt's first kiss as they stand on the path by the Seine, in the shadow of Notre Dame Cathedral.

 

They slowed to a standstill as they drew level with the south transept of the cathedral, with its huge rose window. The streetlights reflected like silver pools in the river and, under the floodlights, the towers, spires, and flying buttresses of the cathedral stood in sharp relief to the dark sky.

 

Anna gazed across the river. “It simply defies description, doesn’t it? All that stonework and carving, all done by hand.”

 

Matt’s hand tightened around hers, but when he didn’t reply, she turned to him. The soft heat which simmered in his eyes made the hairs on her skin stand on end. Everything inside her did a double somersault, but she stayed motionless, mesmerised as he leant towards her.

 

Slowly, almost hesitantly, his lips brushed hers, in a brief and tender connection. Warm pulses of pleasure danced through her. When he moved fractionally away, she brought her hand up to grasp his arm. He let out a quiet groan and his mouth returned to hers, now intense and hungry.

 

Stunned for a split second, she clutched his shoulders as her whole body weakened. He wrapped one arm around her while the other slid into the hair at the back of her head, pulling her closer to him. The tip of his tongue explored her lips and ignited every nerve in her body. Closing her eyes, she returned his kiss, relaxing her mouth and letting her tongue meet his in a sensual union.

 

A raucous car horn sounded from the street above them and he broke away.

 

“Oh God,” he muttered.

 

Her heart beat like a tom-tom as he stared at her with what seemed to be a mixture of desire and contrition. After a few seconds, he shook his head. “You shouldn’t have let me do that.”

 

“Matt—” But no more words would come.

 

He let out a deep breath. “Let’s go for a drink.”

 

They didn’t talk as they climbed the stone steps back to the road, but his hand gripped hers tightly. Her mind reeled and she was unable to latch onto any coherent strand of thought. Everything seemed completely surreal.

 

When they reached the Café de l’Espérance, Arnaud brought them a bottle of wine without Matt having to order it.

 

She looked across the table at him, afraid he would tell her the kiss meant nothing.

 

“Paris has gone to our heads, hasn’t it?” he said with a small smile.

 

She lowered her eyes and stroked her fingers up and down the stem of her glass. “Is that all it was?” Slowly she returned to reality, even though she tried to cling to the dream.

 

Her heart jerked when he put his hand very gently around hers. “Do you want it to be any more?”

 

She raised her head again until her eyes met his. “Do you?”

Dream of Paris can be downloaded for Kindle at

Amazon USA, Amazon Canada and Amazon UK
Print version will also be available very soon!

 

Six Sentence Sunday

For these final two weeks of Six Sentence Sunday, I’ll give you teasers from ‘Dream of Paris’ which will be released next month.

 

Anna is a teacher at a high school, and is trying to quell her attraction to the new Deputy Headteacher, Matt Carlton. This excerpt takes place at the school prom when, to Anna’s delight, she finds herself dancing with Matt – even though they are swaying to the music about a foot away from each other. But then fate steps in -

 

When a group of girls started to back into them, Matt caught her hand and moved her sideways out of their way. At the same time, he slipped his arm round her and drew her closer. Automatically she brought her hand up to his shoulder, and he swung them both into a pivot, which carried them away from the other dancers.

 

His leg pressed between hers as they turned, and the melting sensation in her stomach became a flood of arousal. Hot pulses of pleasure throbbed through her, and her mind shut down, allowing a million pinpricks of desire to run riot.

 

He smiled down at her and his dark eyes softened as his arm tightened around her.

 

Here’s the (provisional) blurb for 'Dream of Paris':

Anna Richards has a dream of going to live and study in Paris, but when Matthew Carlton comes into her life, her dream changes direction. Attraction sparks between them, but Matt’s behaviour is strangely inconsistent. Anna is shocked when she discovers the reason and is sure there is no future for them. Can Paris work its magic and make her dream come true?

 

A huge thank you to everyone who voted for me in the Preditors and Editors 2012 Poll. When voting ended last Monday, 'Her Only Option' was in 1st place in the Romance Novel Category! The ‘official’ announcement of the results hasn’t yet been made but hopefully, once everything has been checked and verified, I’ll retain that top place.

 

Read more 6 sentence excerpts from the other Six Sentence Sunday authors here.