FACEBOOK PARTY

Join me for fun and prizes to celebrate the release of BELOVED ENEMY Yesterday

https://www.facebook.com/events/1737929976436667/permalink/1739256826303982/

I'll be joined by Mary Ricksen, Paula Martin, P L Parker and Mac Crown

Do come along if you can - 6 pm Eastern time!
***
I was also invited by Paula to talk about the heroines in my books at HEROINES WITH HEARTS

it would be lovely if you could pop along and leave a comment if you have a moment

***

DON'T FORGET - you can purchase AN e-copy of  BELOVED ENEMY for a short while at HALF PRICE at

THE WILD ROSE PRESS.COM

Today is the day!

BELOVED ENEMY is released today from the Wild Rose Press

THE WILD ROSE PRESS

It is available in both paperback and Ebook and if you go to the Wild Rose Press site at the above link, the EBook is available at Half Price at the moment!

This is the blurb:

Cat Kincaid is obsessed with killing the man she believes is responsible for the torture and death of her sister, but when she eventually catches up with him, survival becomes a greater priority than revenge.

Kerry Marchant, haunted by memories, regret, and self-blame, shields himself from the pain of the past by committing himself totally to the starship, Destiny, of which he is part owner. However, the beautiful, red-haired woman who reminds him of his lost love, and who he suspects is working for a corrupt regime, represents a possible threat not only to the ship, but to his heart.

Marooned on an inhospitable planet, they need to work together to stay alive, fighting not only unknown assailants, but their growing attraction. But how can they learn to trust each other when he has vowed never to get close to a woman again, and she made a solemn pledge to destroy him?

And here are some teasers from Cat and Kerry

We're also celebrating with a fun 'out of this world' party at

THE AUTHOR ROAST AND TOAST

AND

you're all invited to a Facebook party tomorrow night

https://www.facebook.com/events/1737929976436667/

and finally, today is the last day of my Blog Tour with MY FAMILY'S HEART.

If you get a moment, I'd love you to visit some of the blogs taking part

ROOM WITH BOOKS

JUDE OUVRARD

WE READ WITH A GLASS OF WINE

RACH - HERE IS WHAT I READ

THE INDI BOOK FAIRY

ADDICTION TO READING

MY BOYFRIEND HEAVEN

SWEETS BOOKS

BOOKS AND WARPAINT

NICOLE'S BOOK MUSINGS

SHERYL BROWNE

HERE'S WHAT I READ

T & Ls BOOK REVIEWS 

RAMBLINGS FROM SEKS

BELLA'S BLOG

MY FAMILY'S HEART

TEATIME AND BOOKS

SSLY (REVIEW)

TRACI HADEN

DANIELLE'S DOMAIN

QUEEN OF ALL SHE READS (REVIEW)

MAGIC OF BOOK PROMOTIONS

MYTHICAL BOOKS

GIRL WITH A PEN (REVIEW)

MUFFY WILSON

ESKIE MAMA READS

MARY RICKSEN

J C CLARKE

LOUISA'S LOUISIANA HOME

DEAL SHARING AUNT

THE ITSY BITSY BOOK BITS

My Blog Tour starts today!

I'm so excited to be touring with My Family's Heart this week.  Every day this week up to and including 11th March - please follow along and leave a comment if you can.  today's posts are up at:

7th MARCH

ROOM WITH BOOKS

JUDE OUVRARD

WE READ WITH A GLASS OF WINE

RACH - HERE IS WHAT I READ

THE INDI BOOK FAIRY

8TH MARCH

ADDICTION TO READING

MY BOYFRIEND HEAVEN

SWEETS BOOKS

BOOKS AND WARPAINT

NICOLE'S BOOK MUSINGS

SHERYL BROWNE

HAPPY ST DAVID'S DAY

My Monday musings are turning into Tuesday ramblings!  My excuse this week is I had a guest post yesterday for a really helpful book if you're planning a virtual book tour.  I downloaded 'Secrets of Successful Virtual Book Tours'  by Roxanne Rhoads and it has some very useful tips.


Back to ST DAVID'S DAY.  I have hung out my Welsh Flag  as I always do on the 1st March, and it will only come down in October, on the day after my birthday. St David's Day always makes me feel even more homesick than usual, I love the way this Saint's Day is celebrated in Wales, most people wear a leek or a daffodil, many schoolchildren wear traditional Welsh costume  and there are concerts, called Eisteddfods, held in most of the schools, with traditional lunches of cawl, which is a kind of mutton or lamb soup with vegetables, served with cheese and bread, as well as other traditional Welsh delicacies, like bara brith, a fruit loaf,  and Welsh cakes, baked on a griddle on top of the hob.

Who was St David, the Patron Saint of Wales?

He was reputedly born on a cliff top near Capel Non (Non's chapel) on the South-West Wales coast
during a fierce storm. Both his parents were descended from Welsh royalty. He was the son of Sandde, Prince of Powys, and Non, daughter of a chieftain of Menevia (now the little cathedral town of St David's). The site of Davids birth is marked by the ruins of a tiny ancient chapel close to a holy well and the more recent 18th century chapel dedicated to his mother Non can still be seen near St. 550.

David's Cathedral. Legend also says that St David was the nephew of King Arthur. He grew up to be a priest, educated at the monastery of Hen Fynyw under the tutorage of St. Paulinus. According to legend David performed several miracles during his life and it is said that during a battle against the Saxons, David advised his soldiers to wear leeks in their hats so that they could easily be distinguished from their enemies, which is why the leek is one of the emblems of Wales! Becoming a missionary David travelled throughout Wales and Britain and even made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem where he was consecrated bishop. He founded 12 monasteries including Glastonbury and one at St. Davids, which he made his bishops seat. He was named Archbishop of Wales at the Synod of Brevi (Llandewi Brefi), Cardiganshire in

St David died on 1 March 589A.D., at Minevia, allegedly over 100 years old. His remains were buried in a shrine in the 6th century cathedral.

So today, I'll be wearing my daffodil and thinking of my homeland, my heart is there even if I can't be there physically.  Happy St David's Day everyone and thanks to Tim Peake, way up there in the Space Station, for your lovely message to the Welsh people today. I can only imagine how beautiful Snowdonia must look like from space!

Acknowledgement: Thanks to Ben Johnson, Historic UK for some of the above information

SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL BOOK TOURS

Quick Tips for Authors Guide

Roxanne Rhoads

Book Description:

Are you considering a virtual book tour?

Not sure where to start or exactly what an online tour will entail?

Roxanne Rhoads, book publicist and owner of Bewitching Book Tours, shares her virtual tour expertise in this Quick Tips for Authors Guide.

Secrets of Successful Virtual Book Tours will guide you in utilizing the best marketing tool available- a virtual book tour, which can create online exposure for your book, jumpstart your book sales, help build your author brand, and expand your network.

In this guide you’ll learn:

·       what you should do before a tour

·       the components of  a great author website

·       the best social media outlets for authors to utilize

·       tips for building your author brand

·       how to write great guest blogs

·       what to expect from an online book tour

·       the secrets of successful book tours

·       how to schedule your own virtual book tour

And you’ll receive in-depth details about what to do during a virtual book tour to guarantee success.

Excerpt:

Excerpt Secrets of Successful Virtual Book Tours by Roxanne Rhoads
The world of publishing is continuously evolving thanks to technology and the Internet. It is now easier than ever to publish a book. But with the growing number of new books being released every day it is also harder than ever to get your book noticed in the crowd.

If your line of thinking includes- “If I publish it, people will buy it,” think again.
Indie publishing requires a dedication to self-promotion. Gone are the days an author hermits them self away to write, then hands the book to the publisher who does all the leg work for promotion. Even NYT Bestselling authors and those with contracts through the big publishers still have to do a certain amount of self-promotion.

There are many ways to promote:  social media, advertising on popular websites and blogs, print advertising in trade magazines, attending reader oriented conventions and events…but one of the best ways to get your book out there and build name recognition as an author is through a virtual book tour.

In this Quick Tips for Authors Guide, you will learn why a virtual book tour can be an author’s most effective marketing tool.

GUEST POST

I work with authors everyday- many first time and indie authors.

So I see a lot of mistakes, faux paus, and things that flat out make me cringe.

And no I’m not pointing fingers or trying to shame anyone because I’ve been there. I’ve made many of the mistakes, learned from them and moved on. Now I am sharing my wisdom with others.

Social Media Profiles

Do not make your Twitter name, Facebook profile or any other social media profile name the title of your book or series. Unless it is the only book you ever plan to write.

You should work on branding yourself as an author- all your social media accounts should be your name.

In fact everything should be your author name: your website URL, your professional author email, your blog, everything.

Example: I am Roxanne Rhoads across the board- all my social media accounts, my website, my email- it is all Roxanne Rhoads.  I can easily be found as Roxanne Rhoads when someone googles me or searches on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc.

Once you have started building your brand you can create pages, groups, etc. to promote a book or series. When promoting your book you can also hashtag the title.

Twitter Example: “New release: Hex and the City by @RoxanneRhoads Vehicle City Vampires Book 2 #hexandthecity #vehiclecityvampires”

Notice that I linked to my twitter profile and hash tagged both my book title and series name.

Author Email

A big pet peeve of mine is author emails- I understand you work with pen names or perhaps you’ve had a certain email address forever…but you really need something professional and something easy to remember when someone in the professional needs to email you.

Example if someone were to email me, they could easily remember that I’m roxannerhoads@bewitchingbooktours.com. It would be harder to find me if I was cutebunny67@yahoo.com.

Sure that email address might have been cute when you were 18 but now you’re trying to be a professional.

When I am emailing an author I work with I type in their name and hope autofill or my contact list pulls it up. If they have some weird, out there address it won’t show up. If they use their name, bingo it pops up, easy peasy -saves me having to search for it, professionals love things that are streamlined and make their jobs easier.

Please grab a professional email address. You can get them free through numerous sources. And don’t use your real name address if you are working under your pen name. That is confusing, too. Create an email specifically for your author name.

If you buy a domain name you can even point it to that. I have a domain name and pay Gmail for their email service to point to my domain- roxannerhoads@bewitchingbooktours.com

It streamlines everything.

Amazon    BN    Kobo    Scribd    iBooks

Smashwords    Inktera     Createspace

About the Author:

Roxanne Rhoads has been working in the world of online book promotion since 2005. She has worked as a freelance writer, author, book reviewer, book blogger, editor, self-publisher and book publicist. She has a unique advantage of knowing how multiple sides of book publishing and promotion operate.

Roxanne understands how book bloggers work and what they want to make their jobs easier while also understanding that authors need promotion to be streamlined, easy, and less time consuming.

Roxanne shares some of her knowledge in her latest release, Secrets of Successful Virtual Book Tours.

Author Website  http://www.roxannerhoads.com

 

Bewitching Book Tours www.bewitchingbooktours.com

Bewitching Blog http://www.bewitchingbooktours.blogspot.com/
Twitter @RoxanneRhoads

http://www.facebook.com/RoxanneRhoads http://www.facebook.com/BewitchingBooktours 

Tour Giveaway: Bewitching Book Tours' Release Day Blitz or Cover Reveal (winner's choice) ebook copy of Secrets of Successful Virtual Book Tours

a Rafflecopter giveaway    

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Secrets of Successful Virtual Book Tours

by Roxanne Rhoads

Giveaway ends March 28, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Oath of a Scottish Warrior by Sky Purington - Blog Tour and #Givaway

I'm thrilled today, to be able to feature my friend Sky Purrington's latest release in this fantastic series!

Oath of a Scottish Warrior
The MacLomain Series
Later Years
Book 3
Sky Purington     

Genre:  Time-travel Fantasy Romance
Date of Publication:  February 23, 2016
ASIN:   B018GRRH5O
Number of pages:  280
Word Count:  90,000
Cover Artist:  Tamra Westberry

Book Description:

Haunted by childhood memories and the fact she is likely going mute, Erin embraces a quiet life in Vermont away from all the mistakes she has made and the people she’s hurt. A peaceful existence with her horses. A cynic by nature, she doesn’t buy into what she soon learns. Apparently she’s part of an unending connection between twenty-first century Broun women and medieval MacLomain men. When a Claddagh ring crosses her path, she’s compelled to steal it. A bad move because the ring is meant to find true love. Something Erin feels she stopped deserving a long time ago. 

Of dragon blood, Chieftain Rònan MacLeod is by birth, half MacLomain. While raised to protect the future King of Scotland, he lives life with an open mind. The

idea of a ring binding him to one lass seems far-fetched. However, when a woman named Jackie calls to him from the dark edges of the Celtic Otherworld, he swears an oath to save her. That means traveling to the future to protect her before she’s taken by the enemy. The only problem? She is not where she should be. Instead, he finds a beautiful, defiant lass named Erin. Now he must make a choice. Continue seeking out Jackie or protect the one he’s with.


Thrust back in time to ninth-century Scandinavia, Rònan and Erin find sanctuary with his Viking ancestors. With help from not only King Naðr Véurr Sidgir but his offspring, they learn more than anticipated. Something that will either damn them or set them free. Drawn to one another, heat flares. A fire neither could have imagined. Scorching. Searing. Unavoidable. One they must fight if they want to save those they care for most.

Will they be able to protect wee Robert the Bruce from evil when they end up back in Scotland? Or will their repressed feelings be their ultimate doom? After all, it’s supposed to take the oath of a Scottish warrior to save a future king. Not the oath of a warrior who ended up forsaking all because he lost his heart along the way.

Amazon    iTunes    Kobo    BN

Excerpt:

Erin almost overfilled the mug as she watched him out of the corner of her eye. Damn, he was hot as hell. Desire flared as she eyed his snug leather pants, and broad, muscled, tattooed chest and arms. She swallowed. Maybe leaving him outside would have been a smarter move.

Rònan inhaled sharply then released a long, slow breath as he closed his eyes, shook his head, and whispered, “Gods give me strength, you smell good.”

Doing her best to keep her eyes averted, she held out a mug. “Here, drink. It’ll help warm you."

“Many thanks.” He took the mug. “Will you not look at me then? You did so outside and we managed through.”

“Likely because I had a blade to your neck,” she reminded.

“If I’ve the strength to look at you then you’ve the same strength, lass,” he said. “Please.”

“Not gonna lie. I’m too damned aroused.” She shook her head and turned away. “Drink your ale and warm yourself, Rònan.”

He growled in frustration. “We need to push past this if we’re to protect the Bruce as we should.”

“We don’t need to look at each other to protect Robert.”

“Aye, but we do.” He downed the ale in a few gulps. “Especially if we’re to battle alongside one another. Eye contact is important.”

She hated to admit it but he was right. “I’ll get there. Promise. It just doesn’t look like it’ll be happening right now.” Though it was about the last thing she wanted to say for more reasons than one, she said, “Why aren’t you still with the redhead? After you warm up, it might be best if you rejoin her.

“Nay.” He refilled his mug and handed her one as well. “While she was pleasant enough, I couldnae seem to muster desire for her."

Erin almost cursed when a rush of satisfaction blew through her. “You two seemed to be doing just fine dancing.”

“Only because I meant to make you jealous,” he whispered. “Because I felt the same when I saw you with Darach and the Vikings.”

Though she should have been surprised by his bluntness, she wasn’t. Like her, he accepted what simmered between them for what it was. Simple lust based on dragon blood.

“Well, you’ve got nothing to be jealous of because Darach and I are just friends and me and my Viking posse have an understanding.” She took several sips as she navigated around him to the fire without meeting his eyes. “All that aside, we both need to remember that not only is what we’re feeling nothing more than a dragon thing but that Jackie’s out there somewhere waiting for you."

“Viking posse?” he murmured. “Is that what you’re calling Tait and Bjorn?”

“Yup.”

“Why did you not take Tait tonight?” Rònan’s question was a deep rumble close to her ear as he moved behind her. “I know he offered and I know you were tempted to accept."

Right. Because their thoughts mingled.

“You know the answer to that,” she said softly because she didn’t trust her vocal chords.

“Aye,” he said. “You think it would have complicated things had you taken Tait to your bed but I dinnae ken that. Mayhap it would have eased the ache you suffer now? Would easing that ache not make it easier to focus on what lies ahead?”

She was tempted to turn and confront him but stayed put. “Not if I ended up having stronger feelings for him because of it. Who knows, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t want to leave here if I did.”

“I saw how you were with the wee Bruce earlier,” he said. “So I dinnae doubt you would do whatever was needed to protect him.”

“How did you see?” she started then shook her head. “You never really left with the redhead did you?”

“I dinnae want the redhead,” he murmured, words still close to her ear, his body a warm wall at her back. “I want you, lass.”

Erin closed her eyes and focused on breathing evenly. “No, you want Jackie.”

“Aye, part of me,” he admitted. “But it feels more like desiring a figment of my imagination. ‘Tis nothing like what I feel now. Here.” His hand fell on her shoulder. “With you.”
Hell, this was pure torture.

Blood rushed through her veins so rapidly she grew lightheaded.

“I can’t.” She shook her head but couldn’t manage to step away, could not get her feet to work.

“What if you and Jackie are meant for one another? I love that woman to death and would hate myself if…”

Save for the crackling fire and howling wind, the room grew quiet as her unsaid words hung in the air. As if his feet were as glued to the floor as hers, Rònan didn’t move for several long moments. Yet he eventually stepped away, his voice soft. “You’re right, lass. ‘Twould not be right.”

About the Author:

Sky Purington is the best-selling author of over twenty novels and several novellas.

A New Englander born and bred, Sky was raised hearing stories of folklore, myth and legend. When combined with a love for nature, romance and time-travel, elements from the stories of her youth found release in her books.

She loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at Sky@SkyPurington.com. Interested in keeping up with Sky's latest news and releases? Visit Sky's website, http://www.skypurington.com to download her free App on iTunes and Android or sign up for her quarterly newsletter. Love social networking? Find Sky on Facebook and Twitter.

Website:   www.skypurington.com  
Blog:   www.skypurington.blogspot.com
Twitter:   www.twitter.com/skypurington
Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sky-Purington/260484263999780
Pinterest:   www.pinterest.com/skypurington
Newsletter: http://www.skypuringtonwrites.blogspot.com/p/newletter.html

Tour giveaway
$25 gift card to winner’s choice of Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
a Rafflecopter giveaway