Contemporary romance spotlight

Winners of the Contemporaries to Covet giveaway!

9 Apr2013 posted by Kat

April looks set to be a contemporary romance bonanza, judging by the comments on last week’s contemporaries to covet post!

The winner of a $10 gift certificate to the online bookseller of her choice is…Natalija!

Congrats, Natalija! Email me and let me know where you’d like your g.c. for: romancingkatrina[at]gmail[dot]com.

Natalija said in her comment:

I’ve become a huge fan of Jane Graves after reading “Black Ties and Lullabies” and I’ve enjoyed each of the books I’ve read so far, but my favourite has to be “Tall Tales and Wedding Veils”. I love books set in Vegas
Looking forward to reading “Cowboy Take Me Away”.

Have a great week!

That means that Natalija also won a $10 g.c. for Jane Graves! Woo hoo! I’ll contact Jane and let her know.

Thanks for entering the giveaway, everyone!

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Filed Under: Contemporaries to covet, Contemporary romance spotlight, Giveaways, Winners

Winner of the Anne Calhoun giveaway!

2 Apr2013 posted by Kat

Thank you so much to everyone who commented on my interview with Anne Calhoun, and to Anne for her time and fantastic answers!

The lucky winner of Uncommon Pleasure is…Kathleen Kellenbenz!

Congrats, Kathleen! Email me at romancingkatrina[at]gmail[dot]com and let me know your mailing address.

Didn’t win? Here’s where you can buy it.

Uncommon Pleasure by Anne Calhoun

From a “fresh and imaginative” (The Romance Studio) voice in erotic romance come the tales of two women, each daring to challenge the toughest of men…but in these edgy, heated encounters, the greatest thing she’ll risk is her heart.

In Over the Edge, after a tragic incident during Ty Hendricks’ last tour of duty he cut off all connection with anyone he cares about—until a night with Lauren Kincaid draws him reluctantly back into the world. Lauren sees a wounded man in danger of losing everything to his inner demons, but the sensual, no-holds-barred fight for Ty’s soul could cost Lauren her heart.

In All on the Line, Abby Simmons fell hard for Lieutenant Sean Winthrop, but he sacrificed their relationship when he deployed to Afghanistan. Now he’s home, full of regrets and intent on winning back the woman he never forgot. Abby gives Sean her body but holds her heart aloof, until one night of pleasure forces her to choose her U.S. Marine…or life without him, forever.

Release date: March 5, 2013
Read an excerpt

Buy it at: Amazon | B&N

This week you can win a $10 gift certificate for yourself and a contemporary romance author who has a book coming out in April. Find out about other readers’ most anticipated April contemporary romances!

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Filed Under: Author interviews, Contemporary romance spotlight, Giveaways, Winners

Contemporaries to covet in April – & giveaway!

1 Apr2013 posted by Kat

Happy April, everyone! I hope the sun is shining wherever you are. Today is the first day for several days that we haven’t woken up to snow on the ground. It actually felt a little like Spring – hallelujah!

Since today’s the first Monday of the month, I’m doing my special Contemporaries to Covet giveaway. I’ll tell you which contemporary romance novels being published this month I’m most looking forward to. I want to know what you’re coveting, and I’ll choose one person to win a $10 gift certificate for herself AND for the contemporary romance author she mentions.

Giveaway details are below, but first, here’s what I can’t wait to read this month!

Love Irresistibly by Julie James

HE’S USED TO GETTING WHAT HE WANTS…

A former football star and one of Chicago’s top prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cade Morgan will do anything to nail a corrupt state senator, which means he needs Brooke Parker’s help. As general counsel for a restaurant company, she can get a bug to the senator’s table at one of her five-star restaurants so the FBI can eavesdrop on him. All Cade has to do is convince Brooke to cooperate—and he’s not afraid to use a little charm, or the power of his office, to do just that.

AND WHAT HE WANTS IS HER.

A savvy businesswoman, Brooke knows she needs to play ball with the U.S. Attorney’s office—even if it means working with Cade. No doubt there’s a sizzling attraction beneath all their sarcastic quips, but Brooke is determined to keep things casual. Cade agrees—until a surprising turn of events throws his life into turmoil, and he realizes that he wants more than just a good time from the one woman with whom he could fall terrifyingly, irresistibly in love…

My two cents
Julie James is one of my all-time favorite romance authors. When non-romance readers ask me why I love romance, she’s one of the authors I point them to. I don’t have many auto-buy authors, but she’s certainly one of them!

Publication date: April 2, 2013
Read an excerpt

Buy it at: Amazon | B&N | IndieBound | Powell’s

Winner of the Ruthie Knox giveaway!

26 Mar2013 posted by Kat

Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by to read and comment on my interview with Ruthie Knox - and, of course, to the lovely Ruthie herself!

The winner of Along Came Trouble is…Cathy P!

Congrats, Cathy! It’s an ebook, so email me to let me know what format you’d like it in: romancingkatrina[at]gmail[dot]com

Didn’t win? Here’s where you can buy it.

Along Came Trouble by Ruthie Knox

Ruthie Knox’s Camelot series continues in this sizzling eBook original novel, featuring two headstrong souls who bump heads—and bodies—as temptation and lust bring nothing but delicious trouble.

An accomplished lawyer and driven single mother, Ellen Callahan isn’t looking for any help. She’s doing just fine on her own. So Ellen’s more than a little peeved when her brother, an international pop star, hires a security guard to protect her from a prying press that will stop at nothing to dig up dirt on him. But when the tanned and toned Caleb Clark shows up at her door, Ellen might just have to plead the fifth.

Back home after a deployment in Iraq and looking for work as a civilian, Caleb signs on as Ellen’s bodyguard. After combat in the hot desert sun, this job should be a breeze. But guarding the willful beauty is harder than he imagined—and Caleb can’t resist the temptation to mix business with pleasure. With their desires growing more undeniable by the day, Ellen and Caleb give in to an evening of steamy passion. But will they ever be able to share more than just a one-night stand?

Read an excerpt

Buy it at: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Random House

This week, make sure you leave a comment on my interview with erotic romance author Anne Calhoun. She’s awesome and she’s giving away her latest book, Uncommon Pleasure!

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Filed Under: Author interviews, Contemporary romance spotlight, Giveaways, Winners

Interview with Anne Calhoun – & giveaway!

25 Mar2013 posted by Kat

Erotic romance author Anne Calhoun has made me cry. And I’m not alone. Her novella Breath on Embers was released as part of a Christmas anthology from Carina Press last year, and I bought the story because of all the buzz it got on Twitter. Everyone said it made them cry, but I never thought I would. I was wrong. So wrong.

Anne’s here giving away her latest erotic romance, Uncommon Pleasure, to one person who leaves a comment. But first, welcome Anne!

1. For readers who are unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your stories? Do you often reduce readers to tears before you give them that extra-poignant HEA?

I’d describe my books as character-driven romances first, erotic stories second. As for reducing readers to tears…I think that was just BREATH ON EMBERS, and maybe my upcoming book UNFORGIVEN. I don’t aim for super-poignant moments all the time. Although…darn it, readers did seem to cry when Hunter told Lacey about his mom. Hmmmm…I’m contradicting myself. I don’t plan to do it! Honest!

2. You used to work for a Fortune 500 company and then you moved to the Midwest and started writing romance. What first drew you to writing, and why romance in particular?

I’m not one of those super creative people who’ve been writing since she was a kid. I read romances when I was in high school and college, but I stopped because they weren’t hot enough for my adult self. (Anyone remember back in the 90s when Susan Johnson’s historicals were shockingly racy?) But my husband, who is far more intuitive than I am, used to ask me why I wasn’t writing, and writing romances. That’s the story I always want to tell, the path to love. When I watched the Battlestar Galatica reboot, I sent my sister (who was a season ahead of me) a text telling her I was going to be super-pissed if Apollo and Starbuck didn’t end up together. She asked me if I remembered the torture scenes, the wrenching battles, the betrayals, a major character’s shocking death. “This is not a happy ending series, Anne,” she said.

I think a longing HEAs in stories is hardwired into me. As for writing…I didn’t do it for a long time, and wasn’t a particularly healthy person as a result. I’m better now.

3. If you could step into the shoes of one of your heroines for a day (or a night), which one would it be?
[Read more...]

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Filed Under: Author interviews, Contemporary romance spotlight, Giveaways

Interview with Ruthie Knox – & giveaway!

18 Mar2013 posted by Kat

I’m super excited about my guest today. Ruthie Knox‘s debut contemporary romance novel Ride With Me was published just over a year ago. Since then, she’s published another novel – About Last Night – two fantastic novellas and her third novel, Along Came Trouble, came out last week. It’s a good thing she’s so prolific because a lot of readers – myself included – are addicted to Knox.

Ruthie’s here giving away a digital copy of Along Came Trouble to one person who leaves a comment. But first, help me welcome Ruthie Knox!

1. I was lucky enough to get to read an advance copy of Along Came Trouble, and I loved it. Can you set the scene for readers who don’t know about your new Camelot series – where it’s set and the family it’s based around?

Sure! The Camelot series focuses on the Clark siblings – Amber, Caleb, and Katie – who grew up in Camelot, Ohio, a sleepy little village that houses a liberal arts college and not much else. Their father owns an aging apartment complex, and their mother works in the college admissions office, so the Clarks are decidedly lower-middle-class Midwesterners – basically all big-hearted, helpful people, but with the usual assortment of flaws.

How To Misbehave, the first novella, is set a decade earlier than the others so it can introduce Amber and tells the story of how a tornado and a power outage combined to throw her together with her husband-to-be, Tony—at which point the series jumps ahead to the present day, when Amber and Tony have three kids and it’s Amber’s younger siblings who are meeting their matches.

Along Came Trouble is Caleb’s book. After fifteen years in the Military Police, Caleb has moved home to help his family after his father has a stroke. He’s trying to get a fledgling security company off the ground when he meets Ellen Callahan and life-complicating fireworks ensue.

The third book, Flirting with Disaster, will be youngest sibling Katie’s. And there’s a fourth novella in the works that will bring Tony and Amber’s story up to the “present” and wrap up the Clark family saga. In the future, I’d like to do more Camelot books – some with Tony’s family, the Mazzaras, as well as at least one other family I have in mind. We’ll see.

2. One of the many things I love about your books is how human your characters are. They’re flawed yet endearing, and that helps me relate to them. But instead of asking about specific characters, I want to know about you. What would you say your most endearing flaw is?
[Read more...]

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Filed Under: Author interviews, Contemporary romance spotlight, Giveaways

Contemporaries to covet in March – & giveaway!

4 Mar2013 posted by Kat

Delft

How can it already be March? On Saturday, the sky over the Netherlands was covered by one thick gray cloud and it was just above freezing. Here’s a picture to prove it. Smarty Pants and I were in Delft this weekend, home of the painter Vermeer (The Girl With The Pearl Earring) and of the church where Dutch royals are buried. Here’s the tomb of William of Orange, who was assassinated in Delft in 1584 and was the founder of the current line of Dutch monarchs.

William of Orange’s tomb

Yesterday, there were a few patchy rain clouds but the temperature had risen a few degrees. I haven’t been outside yet today, but the sun is shining so hard it hurts my eyes – not that I’m complaining! Roll on, Spring!

Anyway, we’re not here to talk about history or the weather. Just like the first Monday of every month, I’m here to celebrate new contemporary romance releases. I’ll tell you below which March contemporary romances I’m most looking forward to. If you leave a comment and tell us which March contemporaries you’re coveting, you could win a $10 gift certificate for yourself AND the author you mention.

Giveaway details are below, but here are the books I’m looking forward to this month.

Thrown by a Curve by Jaci Burton
She thinks she knows this player—but he has a few surprise moves.

For Alicia Riley, her job as a sports therapist for the St. Louis Rivers baseball team is a home run—until she becomes the primary therapist for star pitcher, Garrett Scott. Out of the lineup with an injury, he’s short-tempered, hard to handle, and every solid inch, a man.

Right now, the only demand he’s making on Alicia is that she get him ready to pitch in time for opening day. Except the sexual chemistry between them is so charged, Alicia’s tempted to oblige Garrett just about anything. But both their careers are at stake—one bad move and it’s game over for both of them.

Garrett also feels the hot sparks between them, and the way he figures it, what better therapy is there than sex? Now all he has to do is convince the woman with the power to make the call.

My two cents
I’ve only read one Jaci Burton story – her novella The Best Thing in Carina Press’s 2012 Christmas anthology – but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Plus, as you know I’m a huge fan of sports romances, so this book is at the top of my I-Want list.

Release date: March 5, 2013
Read an excerpt

Buy it in print at: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Books-A-Million

Buy a digital copy at: Amazon | B&N | Kobo Books | iBookstore

Uncommon Pleasure by Anne Calhoun

From a “fresh and imaginative” (The Romance Studio) voice in erotic romance come the tales of two women, each daring to challenge the toughest of men…but in these edgy, heated encounters, the greatest thing she’ll risk is her heart.

In Over the Edge, after a tragic incident during Ty Hendricks’ last tour of duty he cut off all connection with anyone he cares about—until a night with Lauren Kincaid draws him reluctantly back into the world. Lauren sees a wounded man in danger of losing everything to his inner demons, but the sensual, no-holds-barred fight for Ty’s soul could cost Lauren her heart.

In All on the Line, Abby Simmons fell hard for Lieutenant Sean Winthrop, but he sacrificed their relationship when he deployed to Afghanistan. Now he’s home, full of regrets and intent on winning back the woman he never forgot. Abby gives Sean her body but holds her heart aloof, until one night of pleasure forces her to choose her U.S. Marine…or life without him, forever.

My two cents
Again, I’ve only read one Anne Calhoun story – and again it was a Christmas novella (Breath on Embers) from Carina Press. It made me cry, even though I’d been warned that it would and so I’d steeled myself against it. Anne Calhoun’s characters snuck past my defenses. I’m looking forward to that happening again.

I also look forward to having Anne as a guest on this blog. She’ll be doing an interview and giving away a copy of Uncommon Pleasure on March 25th.

Release date: March 5, 2013
Read an excerpt

Buy it at: Amazon | B&N

Winners of my Contemporaries to Covet giveaway!

26 Feb2013 posted by Kat

Wow, there were so many wonderful-sounding contemporary romances released in February! Thanks to everyone who stopped by to recommend one.

The winner of a $10 gift certificate to the online bookseller of her choice is…Wanda Barefoot!

Congratulations, Wanda! Let me know which site you want me to buy your gift certificate for: romancingkatrina[at]gmail[dot]com

In her comment, Wanda said:

I SOOOO want to reat The Best Man by Kristan Higgins! That is the one book I most look forward to. I fell in love with her writing when I read my first book, Just One of the Guys, and it’s still my favorite book. It had EVERYTHING. Lots of romance and I laughed and cried throughout the book. I feel like a broken record when I say this, but, it would make an awesome movie! (hint, hint all you producers out there!) If you haven’t read it I HIGHLY recommend it.

That means that Wanda won a $10 gift certificate for Kristan Higgins, too! I’ll email Kristan to let her know the good news.

Everyone, this week you can win A Fine Romance by Christi Barth - which is one of the March contemporary romances I’m looking forward to. Good luck!

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Filed Under: Contemporaries to covet, Contemporary romance spotlight, Giveaways, Winners

Contemporaries to covet in February – & giveaway!

18 Feb2013 posted by Kat

I’m sorry that I’m publishing this post half way through the month, friends! I usually publish my contemporaries to covet posts on the first Monday of the month, but this month I had a couple of interviews with the wonderful Manda Collins and Sarah MacLean that I wanted to get up right away.

For those of you who are new around here, every month I let you know what contemporary romance novels coming out that month I’m most looking forward to reading. Leave a comment telling us what February contemporary romances you’re coveting, and you could win a $10 gift certificate for you AND the author.

Giveaway details are below, but first here are the contemporary romances I can’t wait to read this month.

Hip Check by Deidre Martin

Esa Saari is a hockey player for the New York Blades with a bad-boy rep both on and off the ice. But when he suddenly becomes the guardian of his eight-year-old niece, Nell, he knows his excessive lifestyle is about to get body checked.

So he hires a live-in nanny. Her name is Michelle Beck, and she gets along great with Nell. What surprises him, though, is that he instantly hits it off with her, too. Getting romantically involved would be a bad idea, but he’s finding it impossible to ignore the intense connection between them.

Michelle, however, takes her job very seriously, and must decide whether to listen to her head or her heart. And Esa’s got to decide if he can give up his bad- boy image for the love of a good woman…

My two cents
I love sports romances and, though I’ve never seen a hockey game (either in person or on TV), hockey players are among my favorite romance heroes for some reason. Oddly, despite my love for hockey heroes, I’ve never read a book by Deidre Martin, who’s written twelve books about a hockey team. It’s high time I give her a shot.

Release date: Feb 5, 2013
Read an excerpt

Buy it at Amazon | B&N

Friday favorites: A Valentine’s novella giveaway!

8 Feb2013 posted by Kat

Last week I needed a quick, funny romance fix, and with Valentine’s Day in mind I bought Dodging Cupid by Kelly Fitzpatrick.

I’ve read Kelly’s novels and another novella, and I know she writes the kind of stories I love. She’s full of snarky humor and unusual characters.

I honestly couldn’t put Dodging Cupid down. I was completely charmed and can’t recommend it highly enough to anyone looking to cheer up their Valentine’s Day. For those of you who want the focus to be on the romance rather than the sex, it’s perfect. And for those of you who like dry humor, it’s also perfect.

Kelly has graciously offered to give away a copy to someone who leaves a comment here – woo hoo! Here’s some more info about the novella, and the giveaway details are below.

Dodging Cupid

After a string of disastrous Valentine’s Days, broken hearts and failed relationships, Jenna’s decided to spend this Valentine’s Day in the least romantic spot possible—the coin-op laundry.

No flowers. No candy. No annoying couples or romance of any kind. The only glitch in her plan is the leather-clad biker in heart-print boxer shorts who walks in as her washer starts. This just might turn out to be the best Valentine’s Day Jenna’s ever had.

Buy it at Amazon | B&N | Ellora’s Cave

Have you ever done something drastic to avoid Valentine’s Day? Have you had a Valentine’s disaster – or a perfect V-Day that you can share with us?

Giveaway!

Kelly’s giving away one digital copy (in either epub, pdf or prc format) to someone who leaves a comment here. I’ll randomly choose a winner on Tuesday February 12th so you’ll get the novella in time for Valentine’s Day. Good luck!