Celebrating the release of AFTER THE SCANDAL

Welcome and Huzzah! Today I am celebrating the release of AFTER THE SCANDAL my 5th Reckless Bride novel. This novel is particularly dear to my heart, because it was the first novel I worked on in concert with the Plotting Princesses.

This wonderful group of authors got together to do what our title suggests: plot. This is a HUGE help to me, as I tend not to plot at all, but let my stories evolve as I go along, following where the characters lead me. While this is often lovely, and leads to wonderful surprises for both the reader and me, it is unfortunately dreadfully SLOW.

Enter the Plotting Princesses. I brought them my opening (already written) and gave them my inciting incident, and within a few moments they had given me so many wonderful ideas, and the biggest plot point—my hero and heroine needed to find a body. 

And off I went. While there are elements of a murder mystery to AFTER THE SCANDAL, I want to assure readers this is a love story first and foremost. A very fulfilling love story. :)

But you can judge for yourself. Here’s an exclusive excerpt of the opening:

    It's launch party time!

My latest release, Connor's Gamble, is available NOW!.  I'm shouting it from the rooftops, street corners, alleyways, and everywhere else. I'm so excited that this book is finally available!

And I'm having a launch party for all my friends on Facebook this Friday, March 28, 2014 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.  Lots of my author friends are showing up and there will be lots of prizes being given away through the part (meaning lots and lots of books and other goodies). 

Vicki Batman ~ Cover Reveal!!! Temporarily Employed

A long journey for my baby is paying off

and I'm delighted to share with you!

Here's a little blurb to whet your appetite:  

Hattie Cook's dream job is down the toilet and her new SUV violated. Desperate for cash to cover the basic necessities of rent and food, she takes a temporary job at Buy Rite insurance company where she uncovers an embezzling scam tied to the death of a former employee--the very one she replaced. The last thing she wants is to clash with By-the-Book Detective Wellborn, no matter how much he makes her heart pound.

Allan Charles Wellborn has secretly adored Hattie all his life.  He evolved from a pocket protector-wearing geek to a handsome police detective.  When the police determine there's more to the death of a former Buy Rite employee, he steps in to lead the investigation.  Overly dedicated, always perfect, he puts his job first, even if doing so ultimately hurts the one he loves.

Can the killer be found before Hattie's time is up?

Michelle Miles: New Release - A Knight Like No Other + Giveaway!

I’m really thrilled to have this book out into the world. This is the fourth book in the REALM OF HONOR fantasy romance series. But by no means do you have to read them all in order to get the story. ;)

I knew I had to write this book and give these two characters a happy ending. The bonus part, for me, was that I ended up giving another pair of characters a happy ending. Double your pleasure! But the central romance for this book features Sir Drake and the Elven princess, Sobriel. Their romance is forbidden in the Otherworld because he’s human. But when the princess’s life is threated by evil, Sir Drake will do whatever it takes to save her.

Below is the blurb and an excerpt. Plus TODAY I’m gifting ONE lucky commenter with an eBook copy. So leave a comment and tell me this: If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?

Where to buy:
Amazon | BN | Kobo

Will the knight of her heart be able to save her from evil’s plan?

By the king’s order, Princess Sobriel is betrothed to Lord-Regent Marath, an Elven noble with an evil agenda who’s manipulated his way into royal favor. Marrying him will be a fate worse than death, especially when Sobriel yearns for the sexy and irresistible Sir Drake—the knight who holds her heart. A knight she is forbidden to love. She flees her family to be with Drake, giving up everything she knows for him.

Enraged at her defiance, Marath summons a mage to kidnap and kill Sobriel. Drake, determined to protect the woman he loves, will stop at nothing to see her safe. Their desire for one another burns hot and nothing can keep the two lovers apart. Nothing but Marath’s evil plan to do away with the Fae and separate Drake and Sobriel forever.

The Plotting Princesses are enjoying tea and a chat with author Marilyn Baxter

Sometimes, friendships are formed in fun circumstances. PP gal Vicki met Marilyn online via the True yahoo group and got to know her better when she took Marilyn's writing short fiction class. Let's get to know Marilyn too!

Hi, Marilyn! How did you get from your day job to writing romance?  I went from writing without a day job to writing with one after a divorce several years ago.  In 2001 I discovered romance novels, and earlier than that I had dabbled in non-fiction writing.  After a few years of reading romance, the writing bug hit again, and I knew I wanted to write about happily ever after.  Between that decision and the sale of TEA FOR TWO, I also wrote for the confessions and romance magazines.  Most of my stories had some romance in them even while the heroine was overcoming whatever seemingly insurmountable problem I had saddled her with.

What are your three favorite books of all time?  Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard, Nobody’s Baby but Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Barefoot by the Sea by Roxanne St. Claire.

Morning, afternoon, or evening person?  Evening!  And thank goodness the day job doesn’t start until 1:00 p.m.

#FREE on Kindle: Dragon Lover by Karilyn Bentley

 Yep! You read that correctly! Dragon Lover, the third book in the Draconia Tales trilogy, is FREE today through Saturday, 3/15, on Kindle. This book ends the trilogy and wraps up the overarching villain. Not literally, but close. <g> I'm excited it's out and really excited about the cover. Isn't it gorgeous? Here's a blurb and excerpt to tempt you to stop by Amazon and pick up your FREE copy. And while you're there, check out Magical Lover and Warrior Lover, the first two books of the series.

Happy Reading!

Gearing Up For A Blog Tour---Or Not!!

In a few months JAILHOUSE GLOCK releases. You would think that since I’ve known this for –well, forever—that I would be better organized with the promo that I’ll have to do. In the past when I've had a book release, I would already have a six week schedule of marketing set up as well as a blog tour, several signings, and lots of contests and Facebook announcements. I remember being exhausted by the time I was finished, and I vowed never to do that again.

Apparently, publishing books is like childbirth—you forget how bad it really was until you’re smack in the middle of it again. I was all geared up to send out pleas for friends to have me on their blogs when I realized I have not budgeted much time for that. I just signed another two book deal and have a June deadline for the first book of that contract.

Plus, I am going to Malice Domestic in Bethesda the first week in May, to Marco Island for a week with my Bunko buddies the third week, and on a 7-day cruise with my family in June. There is no way I could fit in a grueling blog tour like I did way back when.

Then I read an interesting blog. Although it’s about the top self published authors who earn the most money, I found one very interesting point among the ten points listed that I swear was a gift from heaven to me. (Thank you, St. Jude.)

The Top Earners group spent more time writing than they did marketing, and those in the group who spent the least time marketing were making the most money. Out of all respondents, those who spent the most time marketing earned the least. 

Mardi Gras or Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

Happy Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday! The reason today is called Fat Tuesday is because it’s the last night of eating rich, fatty foods. Today in many cities across the world people are celebrating, dancing, drinking, wearing masks, costumes and many throwing their inhibitions out the window at least until midnight. At midnight, it all comes to an end, and the Lenten season of prayer and fasting begins.

This day is celebrated in many countries, including, Belgium, Brazi, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden and the United States. So why doesn’t every city in America celebrate Mardi Gras? The tradition is a French Catholic tradition and was brought to the United States in the late 17^th century by Pierre Le Moyne de’Iberville. There is even a point called Point du Mardi Gras where on March 3, 1699 they landed and claimed the land for the French. Of course that point is closer to Mobile Alabama than New Orleans. Later the capital was moved to New Orleans.