Hot Summer Nights. Caroline Clemmons', Brazos Bride.

Welcome! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. A Writer’s Mind’s, HOT SUMMER NIGHTS BLOG EVENT continues today with talented author, Caroline Clemmons. She'll be talking about her latest release, Brazos Brides.

Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win an ecopy of Brazos Brides!

Let’s hear from Caroline…

Thanks to Sky for inviting me to join her today. Hope you’re surviving these hot summer nights by reading a hot book in cool air-conditioned comfort. Yesterday afternoon was 113 degrees F when I drove through downtown Fort Worth, Texas. Hero and I were wondering why we live here in summer. Whew! It’s air-conditioning for me!

Why would a writer focus on poison? No, I don’t plan to murder anyone in real life. I do love killing people in my books, though. Great way to relax. Joking, joking. Maybe.

I first became interested in poisons years ago from reading Agatha Christie’s mysteries. I still love her books and am fascinated with poison. Many plants have medicinal qualities and other seemingly innocent lovelies can be deadly. For instance, in Alexander Dumas’ THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, oleander leaves are ground and incorporated into food to murder. Foxglove can heal or kill, depending on how it is administered and to whom. While researching, I pour through books like DEADLY DOSES from Writers Digest Books and old herbals. My eldest daughter fed my fascination with HERBS AND THINGS by Jeanne Rose, a book on remedies that gives both friendly and unfriendly plants and their uses. Beth Trissel’s online course in herbs and flowers intrigued me. I believe there are still many so-called natural or accidental deaths that are engineered via poison.

Don’t get ideas, please. ☺This is not meant as a tutorial in ridding yourself of unwanted family members. Not even the ones who play mean practical jokes. Although, it doesn’t hurt to make a list. No, no, I’m only joking.

Time To Turn Up The Heat! Hot Summer Nights. Jennifer Jakes', Twice In A Lifetime

Welcome! A Writer’s Mind’s, HOT SUMMER NIGHTS BLOG EVENT continues. For those popping in for the first time, this event includes authors with stories that take place during those hot and steamy months of the year!

Today it’s my pleasure to welcome over talented author, Jennifer Jakes. She’ll be chatting about her latest title, Twice In A Lifetime and dishing out a fabulous prize. One lucky commenter wins not only an e-copy of Twice In A Lifetime but a $5 Amazon gift card. Thanks, Jennifer!

Let’s hear from Jennifer about why she wrote this book…

The dog days of summer are enough to make anyone wish for relief. The endless days of heat make me wish for refreshing tropical breezes, while the sultry, sweaty nights make me wish for...........well, more sexy, sweaty nights! *grin* I don't mind being kept awake for various reasons -plotting a new story being one reason - but one story in particular set in the Caribbean kept me awake for several nights until I finally relented and wrote it!! Why was I fighting the muse, you ask ? Well, the story, TWICE IN A LIFETIME, is outside my normal Western genre. There are no horses, no log cabins, not a tumbling-tumble weed in sight! There is, however, a pirate captain sexy enough to melt your panties! Throw in a sassy heroine and a high-seas adventure and I was happy with the outcome -- even minus my usual hot cowboy ;) The premise started with the heroine, Izzy, a stubborn stuntwoman who ended up on a 1768 pirate ship. After this idea took hold, the questions started: How did she get there? Why? What was she after...or running from? All these questions kept spiraling through my mind until I had the story............and a yummy hero named Ian.

I hope you'll like reading Ian and Izzy's story as much as I liked writing it!

TWICE IN A LIFETIME is a .99 cent novella. It finalled in the International Digital Books Awards!

Hot Summer Nights- Alisha Paige's, Voodoo Moon!

I hope everyone enjoyed a fabulous weekend! A Writer’s Mind’s, HOT SUMMER NIGHTS BLOG EVENT continues today with super talented author, Alisha Paige. She’ll be chatting about one of her latest releases, Voodoo Moon and serving up some refreshing summer beverages! Be sure to leave a comment to win an Ecopy of Voodoo Moon.


Let’s hear from Alisha…

A big thank you to Sky for this fun Hot Summer Nights Blog Event!! I'm thrilled to be here! I'm passing out virtual tropical drinks with the cute little umbrellas to everyone! Cheers!

A little background on my book. Voodoo Moon is based on the true life historic mansion, Rose Hall in Montego Bay, Jamaica where Annie Palmer killed three of her husbands and ordered her male slaves to her bed chambers. Annie was taught Haitian voodoo as a child by her black nanny and was said to be a powerful voodoo witch. A slave called to the White Witch’s chambers was a death warrant. After visiting Rose Hall, I was inspired to write a romance depicting the horror and terror of the infamous plantation. I still remember standing in Annie Palmer’s red bedroom, thinking of the poor black men who were forced to lie with her, thereby signing their death warrants.

Annie Palmer was killed in a slave uprising and is buried in an above ground tomb on the plantation where it is said her soul cannot escape to torture again. However, her ghost still roams the great rooms of Rose Hall. If you ever travel to Montego Bay, I encourage you to pay a visit to the White Witch’s former home.

I wrote Voodoo Moon because I love a great ghost tale! If you love stories full of magic, ghosts and romance, read a sample of Voodoo Moon at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

WARNING: THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. GOTHIC GHOST ROMANCE SET ON THE BEAUTIFUL ISLAND OF JAMAICA.

Hot Summer Nights- Beth Trissel's, Enemy of the King

Happy Monday! I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful weekend.

It’s time to continue A Writer’s Mind’s, HOT SUMMER NIGHTS BLOG EVENT. For those popping in for the first time, this event features stories that take place either during those warmer summer months or in parts of the world where it’s hot all year round. Authors will be dishing out all sorts of great info. about their titles.

Today it’s my pleasure to welcome over extremely talented author, Beth Trissel. Beth will be giving away an ecopy of her latest work, Enemy of the King to one lucky commenter. Be sure to read what she has to say at the end of this post about her contest!

Let’s hear from Beth now…

Thanks to Sky for having me on her fabulous blog.

Fascination with colonial America and the high drama of the American Revolution drew me to write adventure/romance novel Enemy of the King. Opening in sultry South Carolina in the summer of 1780, the story focuses on the Southern face of the war. Heard of Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox? That’s his stomping ground and where some of my forebears ventured. Years ago, while researching my early American Scots-Irish ancestors, I came across frequent references to a battle fought during the Revolution called the Battle of King’s Mountain. The name alone drew me. I vowed to go back later and research it more in-depth and uncovered fascinating fodder for the imagination. Needless to say, that battle plays a significant role in the story, and, being drawn to mysterious old homes and the notion that those who’ve gone before us aren’t always gone, I included a ghost.

I also suspect my ancestors are speaking to me, as I have a colonial forebear named Jeremiah Jordan (the hero) and discovered an early Meriwether (the heroine) in the family. Not to mention a British general whose grandson was fighting with George Washington. My journey back through time gathered intrigue, and I wondered how the people who lived through anything as all-consuming as the American Revolution ever got their lives back to normal. The ripples from that enormous upheaval are still flowing out in concentric circles. They’ve certainly encompassed me, and now I’m at work on the sequel.

Hot Summer Nights- Babette James', Clear As Day

Welcome! Today is the first day of A Writer’s Mind’s, HOT SUMMER NIGHTS BLOG EVENT.

This sizzling hot event will run throughout the summer and feature many best-selling authors. Of course, all participating stories include hot summer nights! Keeping in theme, they either take place during the steamy summer months or in parts of the world where it’s toasty all year round. And, naturally, every author will be giving away a little something extra to those of you who comment!

Today it’s my pleasure to welcome over romance author, Babette James. She’ll be sharing a bit about why she wrote her latest novel, Clear As Day. It sounds amazing! Don’t forget, one lucky commenter wins an Ecopy of this book.

Let’s hear from Babette…

Thanks so much for letting me visit today and share a little about my debut novel, Clear As Day, a sweetly scorching contemporary romance about two friends with benefits facing the fears and uncertainties of their changing relationship.

Clear As Day began life as a short story years back when I was in college, an exercise featuring the July desert heat and cool waters of Lake Mohave, a reservoir downstream from the Hoover Dam formed out of stretch of the Colorado River by the Davis Dam. I grew up in Southern California and I’ve always had a love of the deserts of the Southwest. I had fun with the story, adding in bits of my family’s trips to the river, other camping and fishing experiences, and my own enjoyment of watercolors, music, photography, and the desert. Lake Mohave is a starkly beautiful location and lets you feel you’ve gone somewhere completely remote even though it’s accessible in only a little over an hour from Las Vegas. My cover shows a glimpse of the shoreline. The backcountry camping site in Clear As Day is only accessible by boat and there are no amenities beyond the sparkling, cool lake water, scenic desert, and wide blue sky. You pack in what you need and leave only your footprints behind when it’s time to head home. It definitely provided a challenge for more intimate scenes!

But a story needs more than a setting, and my artist character Kay appeared in her lakeside campsite, already independent, reserved, and commitment-shy. Then the man who would become easy-going, globetrotting photographer Nate showed up to disrupt her careful, comfortable rut in life. Their simple friends-with-benefits relationship proved not so simple and their conflict, love story, and their tight-knit group of friends they meet every July to get away from it all for two weeks of fun, fast boats, and fishing turned the once sweet short story into a fun, spicy romance novel.

I loved writing Clear As Day, it’s been a story of my heart in many ways, so seeing this story published is a dream come true. Being able to hold my book in my hands and receiving the 4 1/2 star scorcher review from Romantic Times truly have been a thrill. I hope you enjoy Nate and Kay’s journey to love as much as I have.