Exclusive Excerpt: BURN FOR YOU by J.T. Geissinger It was ten minutes before I could steal time away from the kitchen. When I stepped out from behind the swinging metal doors, I saw Pepper had followed my instructions. Jackson Boudreaux stood at the end of the bar, glaring into his drink like it had made a rude comment about his mother. Though the rest of the bar was crowded, around him there was a five-foot circle of space, as if his presence were repelling. I wonder if he smells? Judging by his appearance, it was a distinct possibility. The black leather jacket he wore was so creased and battered it could have been from another century. The thick scruff on his jaw made it obvious he didn’t shave on anything resembling a regular basis, and his hair—as black as his expression—curled over the collar of his jacket and fell across his forehead in a way that suggested it hadn’t seen a pair of scissors in years. No wonder Eeny had called him a werewolf. The man had the look of something wild and dangerous you might run across if you were out for amidnight stroll in the woods. He looked…

It’s a cliché that artistic people feel more intensely than non-artist types, are more driven by their passionate vision—and frequently live tragic lives. But in the process, they create work that enlightens and enthralls millions of viewers, listeners and readers. The novels we’ll look at here fully support the cliché. Whether the artist be painter, composer, or writer, the passion that consumes them often also brings heartache and disaster. While exploring the inner lives of these artists, the authors telling their stories also give us a vivid portrait of the age and the milieu that shaped them. What more can a reader ask of historical fiction? We begin with music in Janice Galloway’s CLARA, a novelization of the relationship between Robert and Clara Wieck Schumann. Clara’s demanding father, a piano teacher, set out to turn his talented daughter into a celebrated concert pianist—and succeeded. But his control over her began to weaken when pianist Robert Schumann became his student—and Clara fell in love with this man ten years her senior. Wieck vehemently opposed the love affair, refusing to permit them to wed after they became engaged when Clara turned 18. A court battle ensued, and two years later the couple…

Every writer is also a reader. I mean, if we didn’t love books, we wouldn’t spend our time trying to create more, right? So, I read fast and I read constantly. But, strangely, I find my choices are affected by the seasons. Spring is the time for something new and strange. Summer is the time for high-flying suspense and the dramatic thriller. Fall, though, is the time to get back to the classics. Collins. Dickens. Christie. Sayers. DuMaurier. Josephine Tey. Wait. Who? Josephine Tey. Quite possibly the best mystery writer nobody ever heard of. Tey was a pseudonym for Elizabeth MacKintosh. She wrote during the great heyday of English mystery, from the mid-1920s to the early 1950s. A playwright as well as an author, her output of mysteries was small, just seven books. But Oh! Those books! I discovered Tey in the back of Aunt Agatha’s bookshop, which is where I go when I want to find, well, anything mystery or crime fiction related. I picked up THE FRANCHISE AFFAIR, at random, and didn’t put it down. THE FRANCHISE AFFAIR a stand-alone English village murder mystery. It’s written in a clean, comfortable, infinitely, entertaining style that still comes across as…

Thank you for having me here today to discuss my Christmas novella, JOYFULLY HIS. Originally, I’d only planned three books for the Sterling Canyon series—one for each friend. But Avery’s twin, Andy, who first appeared in the first book when he injured the hero while driving home from happy hour, kept popping up. By the end of the third book, I felt he’d suffered enough and deserved his own happily ever after. At the start of this novella, Andy has just completed his yearlong probation following the accident mentioned above. His persona non grata status has made it difficult for him to find work and integrate back into the social fabric of his small Rocky Mountain town. What he really wants is his old job back as a ski instructor, but his criminal record makes that a near-impossibility. Enter Nikki Steele, his former boss and long-time friend. Unbeknownst to him, Nikki feels somewhat responsible for Andy’s predicament because, on that long ago evening, she’d left him at the bar instead of taking his keys. She’s also harbored a crush on him for many years. Due to these circumstances, she goes out on a limb with her boss to get Andy…

Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, Surrey UK. This is a sweet little house where Jane lived for a short period of her life. There is a tea room and you can tour the house and I posed at her writing desk when no one was looking! The Algonquin in New York City. This was the place where the famous Round Table met. I have been there several times for drinks and I always find it inspiring. Ernest Hemingway in Paris. To be fair the entire of city of Paris was an inspiration to the Lost Generation authors and I loved visiting Shakespeare & Company but at the Ritz they have Hemingway’s Bar where you can see a lot of Hemingway memorabilia they have collected over the years and after a pricey cocktail I decided to give his typewriter a try! Charles Dickens house in London. There are several blue plaques in London notated the different houses he lived in. One of them is an attraction where they have recreated the way the house would have looked when he lived there including his writing space. John Muir and the Sierra Nevadas. I have visited Yosemite a few times and found it…

With October comes Halloween, and with Halloween comes… SCARY MOVIES. * dun dun dun * Even though I rarely watch them anymore, I thought it would be fun to tell you about my top five scary movies that made me not want to watch scary movies anymore. 13 Ghosts. I don’t know why, but this movie MESSED me up. I was so scared after seeing this, and I still, to this day, get nervous when I go into a dark bathroom. I always look at the bathtub and picture that woman all drenched in blood staring at me. Shudders The original. I don’t even remember it, or much about it, but I know I watched it as a kid, and ever since I hate clowns. Always have. Always will. Pet Semetery. Dead pets coming to life and attacking people? Yeah. No thanks. I’ll pass. The Shining. Red-rum. Red-rum. Yeah, I’ll red-run my ass outta that hotel, thank you very much! The Ring. Yep, that one got me, too. I still don’t like the static sounds on TV, and get nervous when people talk about watching it. Like, ya’ll could die now. As a bonus, I’ll tell you about the Twitter…

Hi, I’m Rebecca Brooks and I have a confession: I love mountain men. Scruffy men, rugged men, growly men who aren’t afraid to get down and dirty. They’re sexy, strong, and powerful—and sweet as can be underneath the tough exterior they show to the world. Although I’m a city girl, my heart belongs outside. Any time I have the chance, you can find me hiking, skiing, kayaking, picking blueberries, or drinking a cold beer while watching the sun set. So it’s no wonder that I love writing books set in the great outdoors, with dirty-talking mountain men ready to sweep the women they love off their feet. But it’s not just incredible views and racing down ski slopes. Writing sexy books about mountain men naturally means one thing. Hot. Outdoor. Sex. The more creative the better, IMO! In MAKE ME STAY, Austin is an Olympic skier and racing coach. He and Samantha discover that up against a snowmobile is the perfect place to get it on—especially when they can warm up after with hot chocolate and round two in front of the fire. In MAKE ME BEG, chef Connor prepares bartender Mack a picnic—and feeds it to her blindfolded by…

My favorite scene is at Darach’s keep in his great hall when Caitlin’s worst fears come to pass—her uncle, who’d kept her under guard for three years with the intent of marrying her to the highest bidder, has found her and threatens to take her back. But instead of trusting in Darach and letting him handle it, Caitlin takes matters into her own hands. In the process, she messes up all of Darach’s well-thought-out plans and brands herself a besom in the hopes that she’ll be “ruined” in her uncle’s eyes, and he’ll leave without her. Her uncle’s jowls quivered with outrage. “She was a maid when she left my keep, I made sure of it. ‘Tis someone here who’s ruined her. I had other men lined up if Fraser fell through. Now who will want her?” “MacInnes,” Darach said, “I’m sure Caitlin isna a—” “I am,” she said, cutting him off in her haste. If she had no value to her uncle, maybe he would leave too. “None will want me now. My bastard children will roam the halls wherever I live. They’ll overrun your keep, Uncle. More mouths to feed and bodies to clothe. You best leave me…

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from THE DUKE KNOWS BEST by Jane Ashford When you’ve finished reading, please tell us what you think of Verity and Lord Randolph and you’ll be entered to win the first four books in the series! Verity Sinclair looked around the opulent drawing room, drinking in every detail of the decor and the fashionable crowd. She had to resist an urge to pinch herself to prove she was actually here, and not dreaming. It had taken her five endless years to convince her parents that she should have a London season. They hadn’t been able to see the point of it, no matter what advantages she brought forward. Papa and Mama were quietly happy living in a cathedral close and being held up as models of decorum for the whole bishopric. Verity, on the other hand, often thought she’d go mad within those staid confines. She sighed. She loved her parents dearly, but for most of her life she’d felt like a grasshopper reared by ants. Indeed, at age eight, she’d shocked her parents by asking if she was adopted. She hadn’t meant to hurt their feelings or to imply any lack of affection. Their differences…

The third book in my MURDER BY DESIGNS series, ONCE UPON A GHOST, has a pesky ghost who likes to wake up medium Bailey Burke by singing. Celine Dion off-key by a dead mobster at three in the morning is so not romantic, but it got me thinking about the power of music and love songs. For me, music has always been a huge part of my life and it inspires my writing. Since Bailey’s relationship with Marner heats up in this book here is my list of top romantic songs. I Will Always Love You. I do love the original Dolly Parton version, but the Whitney Houston version from the movie The Bodyguard is just stunning. Can’t Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley. This song is just so sweet and stands the test of time. I could see Marner secretly listening to some Elvis music. Your Song by Elton John. I always said that the first man to serenade me with this song would be my husband. Sadly, my hubby, who we call Mr. Writer, did not sing it to me at any point, but I did use it to walk down the aisle at our wedding. Love…