then go to Rebecca Vickery’s wonderful blog - http://rebeccajvickery.blogspot.com/ and read an excerpt from my contemporary romance, YOUR PLACE OR MINE. If you comment on the excerpt on Rebecca’s blog, you will be entered in a drawing for a free download of this fun romance! Random winner will be chosen from those who comment. Drawing to be held on Thursday, September 2. The winner will be notified by email and posted here and on Rebecca’s blog!
Here’s a blurb:
Sydney Smith decides it’s time to move out of her tiny apartment and become a home owner. Blake Smith, no relation and a real hottie, also wants to see the duplex. A mix-up has them viewing it together. They both love the house. There’s also some sparks flying between the two of them, or is Sydney the only one feeling that way? A highly sensual story of fun, home-buying, and more…
Rebecca says this about Your Place or Mine:
Your Place or Mine contains tastefully complete love scenes and is a mix of humor, true-to-life situations, and emotional ups and downs. Diane takes home buying to a whole new level.
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Be sure to stop by on Wednesday, I’m going to share two new fantastic releases by Ceri Hebert and Jennifer Shirk!
Hi Kinzie! I’m delighted you’re visiting here today. Tell us a bit about your alter-ego, Kinzie Monroe, and what makes her tick?
Kinzie was born at the suggestion of one of my publishers because we didn’t want someone to pick up one of inspirational romances expecting mystery and suspense and be disappointed. At first I wasn’t too receptive to the idea but the more I thought about it I sort of liked the idea of having a split personality :-).
I love the premise of your new book, No Greater Love. It sounds like a wonderful inspirational story filled with emotion (the kind I enjoy reading), faith, and love. Please tell us about this book.
No Greater Love has many facets to it, and each one plays a vital role it the way the book comes together as a whole. It has romance, drama, salvation, and sacrifice. It gives a whole new meaning to what it means to lay down one’s life for a friend. Here’s the blurb: Attorney Kirby Shelton has met a lot of wackos in her life. But computer software queen, Leah Dalton, takes the prize. Leah, facing a losing battle with cancer, comes to Kirby with a plan to end her life on her terms. Leah invites Kirby and five of her closest friends to her estate, and offers to make one of them a multi-millionaire. All they have to do is kill her and make it look like an accident. Just as disturbing to Kirby are her growing feelings toward Leah’s ex-boyfriend, Jonas. Will one of Leah’s friends take her up on her offer? Will Kirby and Jonas’ love for one another survive the trials they face? Join Leah on an amazing journey that changes the lives of all those around her.
Your inspirational romance, Reservations for Two, has received awesome reviews. What do you do to celebrate when you get a new contract, fantastic review, or maybe meet a deadline?
I have a ritual I always do when I finish a book or sign a new contract. Go out and eat Chinese with a good friend. Boring, I know, but what can I say. I love Chinese and it helps keep me motivated.
I like your ritual - sounds like fun. Has being published changed you at all? If so, how?
Well, if you ask my friends, I’ve become more of a hermit. That’s only because I’ve had so many deadlines to meet this year. I have found I’m more motivated to keep writing though. And I’ve learned so much from some really great editors.
What advice would you give to a beginning writer?
Read a lot, write every day and never give up! Also, I have a little note on my refrigerator. I don’t know who the author is, but I have it memorized. ‘If you work hard dreams come true. Believe in yourself. Don’t let others make you doubt yourself or what you can do!’
I love your advice to believe in yourself and to never give up. It’s so true! Where can No Greater Love be purchased? And where can you be found on the web?
You can purchase the ebook here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/18418 or print here: https://www.createspace.com/3468867. You can also find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online retailers or you can order it from your favorite bookstore. Book blurbs, sample chapters and buy links for all my books can be found on my website: http://www.annepatrick.weebly.com. Kinzie, of course, has her own page there. And we have monthly giveaways. This month Anne is giving away an autographed copy of Lethal Dreams. Visit my News and Events page for details.
Thank you so much, Diane, for having me on your blog. You’re a wonderful friend and a very talented author.
You’re always welcome on my blog - I love having you tell about your awesome books. I’m glad we have some of the same publishers and appreciate our friendship. Readers, enjoy Kinzie’s trailer for NO GREATER LOVE!
Woohoo. I received my first round of edits for my story, A CHRISTMAS GIFT, yesterday. Melissa, my editor with Whimsical Publications, said, “This epilogue was so good. I cried through half of it.” So readers, get your tissues handy when you read this book of mine! At least I hope people will buy it!
I haven’t given a recipe for some time. I’m copying my favorite recipes and Emily’s in a recipe book for her. If you’ve eaten at Red Lobster, I’m sure you’ve enjoyed their cheese-garlic biscuits. This is the recipe for them.
CHEESE-GARLIC BISCUITS (As served at Red Lobster)
Heat oven to 450 degrees.
2 cups Bisquick Baking Mix
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Mix baking mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms; beat vigorously 30 seconds. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Mix butter or margarine and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Serve warm.
I’m happy to have Evie Alexis here visiting. I want to remind everyone if you leave a comment or have a question for Evie Alexis, your name will be entered in my blog contest. The winner gets to choose one book - either Killing Time, Retired and on the Rocks, Fire and Ash, or The Obsessive Compulsive Romance Novelist. The drawing will be on Friday, August 13th.
Hi Evie! Thanks for taking time for this interview! What inspired you to begin writing?
I’ve always loved to write, even at a young age. It proved a fun hobby. But I was very shy about my work. Teachers spoke highly about my work and always wanted me to share, which I did - reluctantly. It wasn’t until I began writing and posting some short stories for fun and generated some true buzz and interest in my stories that I began to think I could possibly do this professionally.
How did you and your husband meet? Did you fall for him first, or was it the other way around?
Yes, he fell for me first, LOL. My husband and I met at church in Sunday School. I was painfully shy about dating boys even at nineteen, and he was just shy, but not so shy that he didn’t approach me. After a four year courtship, which I’ve dubbed the “4 year plan”, we have been married for eleven years and have two beautiful boys.
That’s wonderful you met your husband at church in Sunday School. My husband proposed to me in church. That was a surprise! Tell three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
Have to really think about this one.
1) I am very clumsy. I once tripped over not one, but two chairs in a friend’s dorm room, did a pirouette in the air, and crash landed onto the industrial strength carpet. Had rug burn on my right arm and two legs for some time.
2) I am weaning myself from politics. It is a world marred by duplicity and extremism. It’s unfortunate though, because the politicians are the ones involved in the laws that affect our lives. If only they had the wisdom of Solomon.
3) I don’t know if this would surprise anyone, but I love the Lord with all my heart, my mind, my soul and strength. I’m never ashamed to admit it. It sneaks into my writing in some form, or is bold and blatant in the stories.
I’m glad you include your faith in your stories. Congratulations on your August release, And Café Con Leche. Why don’t you tell us about your newest release?
And Cafe Con Leche is a multicultural, YA novel that focus on the trials and tribulations of my latest heroine, Isabel Castillo. She has a mother that can make almost any and every teenage gal kiss their own, but as she comes to learn more about herself, her family and her peers, she begins to see how strong and independent she truly is - thanks to her impossibly strict parents.
And Cafe Con Leche sounds like a great book. Where can we purchase it as well as your other releases? And do you have a website we can visit?
And Cafe Con Leche is set for release for August 15. It will be available for purchase at eTreasures Publishing’s bookstore, as well as Amazon and other online ebook retailers. If you look me up under “Evie Alexis” you’ll see my books available at a number of places. As mentioned, Amazon, Fictionwise, and Class Act Books. I have an inspirational novel set for release, The Broken Road to Nowhere. That one will be available through Barnes&Noble and Borders.
Thanks for visiting here today, Evie! I enjoyed learning more about you and your writing! READERS, be sure to visit Evie’s website and blog to read her book excerpts.
I’m delighted to have Anne Patrick visiting my blog today. She has over a dozen romantic suspense novels that are either published, under contract, or in the works. Anne has a lighter side in the form of an alter ego named Kinzie Monroe who writes inspirational romance. If you leave a comment on Anne’s post, you’ll be entered for my August drawing on the 13th for a chance to win Anne’s ebook! Readers, enjoy learning about Anne’s newest romantic suspense release, Fire and Ash from Desert Breeze Publishing.
The inspiration behind Fire and Ash
Who could forget the stories of those brave firemen rushing up the stairs in the World Trade Center Towers as people were fleeing for their lives? It takes a certain breed to face a fiery inferno to save a strangers life, and their actions deservedly earn them the title of heroes. There is another type of hero who serves behind the scenes, seldom recognized for the lives they save, and that is the fire investigator. They’re the men and women who shift through the ashes of a fire to determine its cause. A fire investigator is part detective, scientist, engineer, and law enforcer. Exploring the origin and cause of a fire may not be as exciting, but it’s just as challenging as coming face to face with a fiery inferno. Every fire scene teaches them something new.
The idea for my book, Fire and Ash, was first planted after watching the movie Backdraft on DVD a couple of years ago. Yeah, I know, I’m a little behind in my movie watching. Anyway, I loved Robert De Niro in the part of the fire investigator and was really intrigued by what all goes into finding the answers to why a fire started. I then had the good fortune of meeting a real life fire investigator, named Keith Tarbox, who helped me get inside the head of my main character, Sadie McGregor. He also read over the entire manuscript to make sure the fire scenes were believable and that I did my homework.
Keith shared many of his experiences with me. Talked about the long hours he worked on fire scenes. The obstacles he had to overcome, and the many miles spent in route to a scene. It was a joy getting to know him. He left me with a great appreciation for the unsung heroes out there who dedicate their lives to finding the answers of how or why a fire started, and the danger that is sometimes involved.
Fire and Ash is a ‘sweet’ inspirational romantic suspense. My main character, Sadie McGregor, is called to her hometown of Emerald Point, Missouri to investigate a suspicious fire which claimed the life of a local college student. By appearance the fire looks like the girl was just careless. What Sadie and the handsome police chief, Quinn Harrington, discover will not only affect those close to them, but will rock the entire community of Emerald Point and put Sadie’s life on the line.
Sadie’s life isn’t the only thing at stake. Struggling with the guilt of having been responsible for the fire that killed her family, when she was only seven, Sadie doesn’t feel she’s worthy of God’s love and forgiveness. Will Quinn be able to prove otherwise before it’s too late?
