Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Max is baaaack! LIFE AFTER DEATH by Sharon Saracino



She's baaackkk! Max Logan returns...Happy New Year!
 
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy
Publisher: WhiskeyCreek Press
Release Date: January 1, 2014

Click to check out LIFE AFTER DEATH!
 
 
 
Maxine Logan made her initial debut in Death Benefits. She has a dry, edgy sense of humor that I grew to love and I can't wait to read more about her in Sharon Saracino's newest release, LIFE AFTER DEATH.
 
To help Sharon celebrate Max's return I've asked her to share the blurb and excerpt!
 
Life After Death:
 
After artfully arbitrating her return from the dead, Max Logan considers her experience with the afterlife a thing of the past. But Max's success as a temporary Superintendent of Spiritual Impediment was no accident as she discovers when the permanent SSI shows up in the middle of the night to reveal that Max has a genetic predisposition to a supernatural calling. When Max's ex-husband and current boyfriend, Roger-the-Proctologist is lost in a plane crash due to an inept Reaper gone rogue, Max has no choice but to venture back into the sweet hereafter in an attempt to rescue him. Throw in a freak blizzard, a hot Grim Reaper, and the last person on Earth Max would choose to save, and Max will be lucky to escape before her time runs out and she becomes a permanent resident of the Between.

Excerpt:

     The annoying luminosity I'd mistaken for the early afternoon sunlight was, in fact coming from Alicia who, when the mood struck her, could glow like a radioactive Christmas tree. On steroids. I hadn't seen or heard from her since that happy day months ago when I'd been relieved of my duties as SSI. It was a temporary position I'd been obligated to assume to regain my status among the living after my untimely Death in Error (D.I.E) caused by an overeager Grim Reaper in Training (G.R.I.T.). Turns out the bureaucrats in the afterlife are quite enamored with acronyms. Who knew? Anyway, I hadn't seen Alicia in all this time, and frankly, I hadn't exactly been complaining. Not that I had anything against Alicia personally, it was only that I preferred to relegate that period of my life -- or death, depending on how I chose to look at it on any given day -- to the been-there-done-that file. I mean, c'mon, wouldn't you? I'd never shared my life after death after life experience with anyone; not even Roger. First of all, even I wasn't completely convinced the entire episode was real after the fact. In the first place, my black Italian marble shower with the Chastings Corque Corian Square Ceiling Mount Showerhead and I came together quite dramatically in a completely involuntary manner that cracked my skull hard enough to scramble my brain into a convincing three-dimensional hallucination that could be misinterpreted as a near death experience. Secondly, who in their right mind would believe me? Sure, I'd emerged from the experience a kinder and gentler Max Logan, filled with insight and forgiveness, ready to own up to my own part in the misery that had become my everyday existence, but those who knew me best were far more likely to attribute it to a temporary psychotic break than any supernatural intervention.
     "Alicia, I'm going back to sleep for at least the next five hours. I'm returning to the place where I'm always thin, never run out of money, and am sitting on a private beach with hot cabana boys who bring me exotic cocktails with little paper umbrellas. Do not attempt to wake me again or my Teddy Bear will attack," I threatened in a sleep-thickened voice.
     "You don't have a Teddy Bear," my uninvited visitor pointed out reasonably.
     "Totally irrelevant, Glow Girl. Come back later."


Sharon Saracino
 
All roads lead to happily ever after, some just have a few unexpected turns!
 
 
You can follow Sharon here:
 
 
 
 
 

 

Sunday, December 15, 2013

A chat with Katheryn Lane!

Katheryn, welcome! So happy to have you here! You've written some amazing stories set in exotic locations with exotic men, and the Katheryn Lane dynasty continues with a cowboy in...

THE TEXAS COWBOY
 
 


 
 

Katheryn, can you whet our appetites by introducing your hero and heroine?
 
The hero's name is Jack Cassidy. An awful previous relationship has left him resigned to living the life of a lonely cowboy whose only female company is his horses. However, he meets Vicky and he begins to wonder if he should reconsider.
 
Vicky's from England where she has a low-paid clerical job. However, through a social networking site, she manages to contact a distant cousin who lives in Dallas and Vicky flies out to see her. Once in Dallas, Vicky is immediately thrown into a world of money, shopping and sexy cowboys!
 
What was your favorite thing about writing this story?
 
Although I live in the Middle East, I have visited Dallas several times and I really loved doing the research for this book. Amongst other things, I was lucky enough to visit a ranch and ride one of the horses. However, my husband said that getting together with a sexy cowboy was off limits!
 
The other thing I loved about writing The Texas Cowboy was seeing the hero and heroine overcoming their problems and falling in love with each other while I was writing (though this is true of all my books). There's nothing quite so wonderful in the world as watching two people finding the happiness that comes from being truly, deeply in love.
 
Do your characters have any particular quirks?
 
The quirkiest character is Cassie, Jack's ex. She's gorgeous - Jack and Cassie once looked like the perfect couple - but she's absolutely wild! I can't give too much away, but she has caused and continues to cause Jack endless harm.
 
The blurb for your book hints at a lot of conflict that your hero and heroine have to deal with. When you were writing this story, was there ever a point where you thought that these two characters were never going to resolve the obstacles?
 
There was! At one point I stopped writing and almost gave up as I couldn't see how Jack and Vicky were going to overcome their difficulties. As well as having to deal with Jack's ex, they also have to deal with Vicky's cousin, Laura, who does everything she can to stop Vicky seeing Jack. This is because Laura thinks that Jack is just a poor ranch hand and Vicky should be dating Laura's extremely rich friend instead.
 
Sometimes our characters take the story in a complete different direction than we planned. Did that happen to you with this story? If so, did you have to show them who was boss, or was it the other way around?
 
Before I start a book, I draft an outline of the plot. However, once I begin writing, the characters can take over. For example, as I'm writing, I realize that a character would never do what I originally planned, so I let them do something else which is more in keeping with their personality. For example, at one point in The Texas Cowboy, Jack is really upset. In the original plot he was meant to go out to the stables on his ranch to spend time with his favorite horse, but once I started writing the scene, I realized that he was too angry to do that; what he really wanted to do was have a drink. Therefore, instead of going to the stables, he searches around in his kitchen and finds a bottle of whiskey, an action which he regrets in the morning. Sometimes my characters take over, but not always to their benefit!
 
What project(s) are you currently working on?
 
I'm thinking of writing a sequel to The Texas Cowboy. Although it was originally written as a stand-alone novel, with Jack and Vicky finally together, their marriage is only implied. Since the book was published, several readers have started to ask about their wedding and if Vicky's cousin, Laura, will take over their wedding plans. I'm still trying to work out the details, but Laura will probably try to turn their wedding into a huge Dallas social event and Jack's ex, Cassie, will definitely make a dramatic appearance. At the moment, the book has the provisional title of The Texas Bride.
 
Thank you very much, Jan, for hosting me on your wonderful site!
 
About Katheryn Lane:
 
I'm a wife, teacher, author and mother of two boisterous boys, so most of my days are taken up with finding lost school shoes, getting stuck in traffic and wondering why I always join the queue that doesn't move in the supermarket. However, I try to forget these daily problems (and the fact that I burnt the toast again this morning) by losing myself in a good book and writing novels that give readers a break from everyday life.
 
Open one of my books and escape on an adventure to an exotic location, because it's easier to buy a book than it is to book an air ticket.
 
Have a break, read a book!
 
To find out more about me, you can:
 
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/KatherynLane
See my inspiration on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/KatherynLane
Visit my Goodreads page: http://www.goodreads.com/KatherynLane
 
About The Texas Cowboy
 
From the #1 Amazon bestselling author, Katheryn Lane, comes an unforgettable romance set in the heart of Texas.
 
Everything's bigger in Texas, including the problems.
 
When Vicky flies into Texas, she immediately falls for the charms of local cowboy, Jack Cassidy. However, her wealthy Dallas cousin, Laura, has other ideas and will do everything she can to steer Vicky away from Jack and into the arms of a rich oilman.
 
Jack is resigned to living the life of a lonely cowboy whose only female company is his horses -- that is, until he meets Vicky. However, Vicky isn't the only person with a claim on his heart. Jack wasn't always alone and his ex is about to make a dramatic comeback.
 
Every cowboy has a past and this cowboy's past is about to destroy his future.
 
The Texas Cowboy is available from all Amazon stores including:
 
 

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

MARRIED TO MAGGIE! (Texas Men Falling Fast series - Book One: Tysen)

MARRIED TO MAGGIE is coming soon. This is the first book in my Texas Men Falling Fast series. I'm so excited to do a series (my first) and I'm over the moon happy to share Tysen and Maggie's story!


This amazing cover was created by: