Bella Street Romance Goes Retro

Men . They're the real reason we read romance novels, savvy? Of course we all love strong female leads, fast-paced plots, and exotic locales...but we really like the heroic honeybun hotties who populate the pages of our favorite novels. As a romance author, I will often peruse celeb websites looking for someone who matches my mental images of my characters. It's never the other way around for me--I don't use a celeb as a hero. I just try to find someone who's a close match. Scott Speedman For my Apocalypse Babes series, one of the male lead characters-- Trent --really reminds me of the guy in this picture. Not the guy in Felicity --at least personality-wise, but the way this guy on the right looks --cranky and delish. In my book Kiss Me, I'm Irish , I imagine my moody, Irish musician hero Liam to look something like the guy below in all his blue-eyed, scruffy yumminess: Matt Bomer If you'd like a chance to meet either one of t

Tell 10 of your friends to enter . Just kidding. Tell me a reason why you deserve to win . Also JK. Tweet to 50 people . Naw. This is an EASY giveaway! Just leave your name and email (just to contact you if you win) and one random commenter will be chosen to win a $20 Amazon or Nook (winner's choice) gift e-card. Winner chosen by Random.org and announced 7/23. Brought to you by I Am A Reader Not A Writer . And just like Death Therapy, "It's so...simple!" So leave a comment an hop on!

Please help me welcome Chicago Center for Literature and Photography author Mark Brand . The Chicago Center for Literature and Photography is an organization founded by Jason Pettus, a Chicago writer and photographer. The organization started as a small online publishing venture but now publishes several original titles a year in print and electronic form. The really cool thing about CCLaP is that all of their books are handmade and bound by the staff.  Mark is a sci-fi writer based in Chicago. Besides being a really cool dude, he is also a really good writer. CCLaP usually doesn't do sci-fi novels, but " Life After Sleep " is a book that would be enjoyable by even non-sci-fi buffs (and sympathetic parents of small children). The future Mark creates is interesting and definitely foreseeable.  Talk about the story behind the Life After Sleep . What made you write this novel? At the time the idea came to me, I was working in the medical

Comic Con --that massive confab that started out as a comic book enthusiast geek-out. It's always been my desire to go, but it hasn't happened yet. However, this year I had a little help.  The awesome ladies at Grub Street Reads went and helped to promote their endorsed indie authors...including me .  Woot! So Seffy and the gang went to San Diego and met these people...who will hopefully become Apocalypse Babes fans! I love that this lady is already wearing pink! And there was a bona fide zombie sighting, too. Luckily he's ready with his Apocalypse Babes accessories! Another T-shirt winner whose other outfit is a pink time-traveling tracksuit! Not sure what's going on here, but as long as The Z Word is a part of it, it's awesome! Even awesomer (yes, that's a word because I say so) is that The Z Word is free for the m

Ah, summer...sun, sand, surf. Or maybe for you it's more mountains, lakes, and fishing. Or mudding on an ATV obstacle course. Or sipping cafe au lait in Paris. However you spend your summer vacation, there's probably some reading involved. And that leads to the grand conundrum of 'what books to bring??' There's only so much room in a suitcase filled with flip flops, sunscreen, bug spray, fishing lures, and ATV helmets. In the spirit of that agonizing choice, I'm offering the blog hop winners a choice of prizes. If sweet paranormal romance is your bag, there's Kiss Me, I'm Irish . Or if gothic sci-fi floats your boat, I have a six book series called Apocalypse Babes . If 6 books seem too onerous (i.e a lot ), start out with the first book in the series: The Z Word . Which happens to be free for the month of July anyway. And if none of these titles toast your marshmallow, I'm offering the option of a $5 Amazon or Nook

Woot! My sweet paranormal romance Kiss Me, I'm Irish is a semi-finalist at Kindle Romance Review for romance novels! Thank you Kindle Book Review ! See my shiny new badge: Ain't it perty? Kindle Book Reviews has a selection of semi-finalists for Best Indie Books of 2012 in many genres (check the tabs in the header), along with daily Kindle deals and freebies. Sign up for their mailing list to get the latest Kindle book news. In the mean time, grab a copy of Kiss Me, I'm Irish and find out why it was chosen. Just maybe it will be a finalist for Best Indie Books of 2012 . Fingers and toes crossed!