Introducing Emma Lang

He led her astray, and she never wanted to go back…

Sheltered all her life, Eliza Hunter never imagined herself alone in the vast Utah plains, much less trailing a mysterious, rugged man hired to hunt down her beautiful younger sister. Unable to reveal the truth about her pursuit of him, Eliza plays student to his teacher, transforming herself in the process. And when she finds herself sharing the warmth of Grady’s campfire, wrapped in his arms, hypnotized by his power, soon she is a naïve spinster no more…

Grady Wolfe is more than a loner, he’s a man forever on the run. With a body and soul finely honed from living off the land, Grady knows he should leave the irresistible woman alone, but she stirs something in him he hasn’t felt before. Now he’s lost in the woods for the first time in his life—with a dangerous job to do. And no one—not even the luscious Eliza—is going to stop him…

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Is it Beth or Emma? Or both?

I’ve been asked by many different folks about why I am now being published as Emma Lang instead of Beth Williamson. Here’s the scoop.

I am still publishing as Beth, but now I have another pen name, Emma Lang. She’s a bit sweeter than me, and pink is her favorite color (mine is purple). Er, I guess I do sound like I’ve invented an invisible friend, don’t I?

Well, she’s not invisible (since she’s wearing my 38DD bras) and she’s very real. I am she and she is me. How is that possible?

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Nancy Gideon: The Story Continues . . . Setting up a Series

SHE’S SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY

Mixing business with pleasure gets more complicated for Detective Charlotte Caissie when her sexy preternatural lover, Max Savoie, is accused of a high-profile murder.  To prove him innocent she must distance herself, but her tangled emotions don’t make it easy for her to stay away from him.  And neither does Max.

HE’S DESPERATE TO UNCOVER HIS PAST

Left in charge of a criminal empire and protector of a clan of shadowy shape-shifters, Max walks a precarious line.  Can he believe the cunning stranger who claims he can teach Max the things he needs to know to stay alive?  A con man who would betray anyone to make a profit, who may be a ruthless killer?

TOGETHER, THEY’RE TEMPTING FATE

The harder Cee Cee fights to clear Max’s name, the more he pushes her away.  He’s protecting a dark truth that could blow the top off her investigation.  And that means hiding his motives and lying to a woman who values truth above all.  The woman who can save him . . . if he’ll let her.

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Creating my BY MOONLIGHT series was like mixing together an action-oriented Stephen Cannell prime time cop drama with a complex character-driven Adam Sorkin saga then pouring on the emotional pathos of Days of Our Lives.  Though each very different in look and approach, all bring an important element to the series party.

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Shana Galen Talks Second Chances

A very dangerous attraction…
Julien Harcourt, duc de Valère, is more than willing to marry the lovely young lady his mother has chosen. Little does he know, she’s been sent to prove him a spy and a traitor.

And an even more dangerous secret…
Sarah Smith’s mission is to find out whether the duc’s trips to the Continent are as innocent as he claims, but the way he looks at her is far from innocent…

Their risky game of cat and mouse propels them from the ballrooms of London to the prisons of Paris, and into a fragile love that may not survive their deceptions…

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Thank you so much for having me here! I’m excited to talk about my new novel, The Making of a Duchess. If you don’t know anything about me, you might not realize I haven’t had a book out in several years. My last release, Blackthorne’s Bride, came out in November 2007. It was my best book to date and even garnered a nomination for the Romance Writer’s of America’s prestigious Rita award.

And then I sort of disappeared. I made some bad business decisions and was without a publishing contract for almost a year and a half. In that time I didn’t know if I’d ever be published again. I went back to teaching 7^th grade English, took up some new hobbies, and decided to start a family.

But I couldn’t stop writing.

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Victoria Gray’s Destiny

Emma Davenport was going to be a bride, and no one was going to stop her, not even an outlaw.  Bound for a forbidden marriage to her father’s sworn enemy, Emma’s scheme shatters when she is abducted and spirited away to a remote hideout.  Any proper young woman would be frightened out of her wits, but she challenges her daring, seductive captor at every turn.

Major Jack Travis was used to the battlefield, not stealing spoiled, sheltered women from trains, but the by-the-book officer never doubted his ability to carry out orders until he laid eyes on Emma.  His captive is intelligent, headstrong, beautiful – and forbidden. He risks his neck to protect her.  But how can he protect her from himself?

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Thanks, Fatin, for inviting me to discuss my new historical romance release.  Destiny is a Civil War-era historical that blends romance with adventure.  Emma Davenport, the sheltered daughter of a powerful Northern senator, runs away to marry Christopher Staton, a charismatic businessman  – a traitor with his own ruthless reasons for wanting Emma as his bride. Traveling to her rendezvous with Staton, she’s abducted by a daring train robber with a bitter grudge against the man she plans to marry.  Unknown to Emma, Jack Travis isn’t what he seems – he’s a cavalry officer tasked with keeping Emma out of Staton’s clutches.  Driven by duty and a deep-seated hatred of Staton, Jack risks his life to protect Emma, even as he falls in love with his spirited, challenging captive. She’s forbidden to him, but sometimes, even a man on a mission has to follow his heart.

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A Dream Comes True for Marie Force

On the morning of the most important vote of Senator John O’Connor’s career he is late—again. His best friend and chief of staff, Nick Cappuano sets off to O’Connor’s apartment expecting to roust him from bed and hoping he is alone. But what Nick finds is that O’Connor, the handsome, amiable Senator from Virginia, has been brutally murdered, and Nick’s world comes crashing down around him. Complicating the disaster, the detective assigned to the case is none other than Sam Holland, Nick’s one-night stand from six years earlier, the woman who broke his heart and haunts his dreams. With six years worth of unfinished business hanging between them and more than a few scores to settle personally and professionally, Nick and Sam set out to find the senator’s killer while trying—and failing—to resist the overwhelming attraction between them that seems to have only grown over the years.

It soon becomes clear that the senator’s past holds secrets that not only led to his death but now endanger Nick and Sam as well. Working together to find a killer and to rediscover the love they thought they lost long ago, they must put the past behind them and build a future that offers a world of new opportunities for both of them—including an offer from the Virginia Democrats for Nick to finish the last year of John’s term.

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I woke up today to a dream come true. You see I’d written this book, Fatal Affair, and it came together just the way I wanted it to. I’d created characters I’d fallen in love with and set up a potential series I wanted to write so badly. And then a funny thing happened on the way to my dream coming true. The book was well received by my agent and several of the editors we sent it to. However, the idea for the series was not. I wanted to write about a Washington, D.C. power couple. He becomes a United States senator. She’s a homicide detective. I figured Washington would provide me with an endless number of stories and situations to put them in. I was disappointed when the series idea turned out to be a stopper because romance editors want a new couple in the second book.

And then came Harlequin’s new digital arm, Carina Press, and they were determined to shake up all the established formulas.

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Donna Lea Simpon’s Love & Scandal: The Book that Found a Home with Carina Press!

Love & Scandal

By Donna Lea Simpson

Nothing sells like love & scandal…

Collette Jardiniere writes of passion and seduction, but has experienced neither. Her pseudonymous novel, The Last Days of a Rake, has shocked Victorian society and become a runaway bestseller. Infamous rouge, Charles Jameson is “revealed” as the author, and Collette is outraged when the cad does little to curtail the gossip.

Intrigued by the book the tabloids claim is his thinly veiled autobiography, Jameson tries to find the real author. Returning to London after an unsuccessful hunt, he is pleasantly distracted by a plain country miss reading the wicked book.

Collette is dismayed when she learns the identity of the devastatingly handsome man who kissed her senseless. And Jameson cannot believe that she wrote The Last Days of a Rake. As Collette tries to convince him of the truth, their mutual attraction reaches a fever pitch, and soon they find themselves in a real-life scandal!

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The Last Days of a Rake

In Love & Scandal, Collette Jardiniere is outraged when notorious roué Charles Jameson appears to take credit for The Last Days of a Rake, a novel she wrote under the pseudonym Colin Jenkins to satisfy Victorian convention.

Can a rake be true to himself, yet remain free from sin?

Albert Lankin has lived the life of rake, a man who cares for nothing but the pleasures of the flesh. But it is the seduction – and abandonment – of a gentle maiden that turns him from mere gadabout to immoral cad. Too late, Lankin realizes his self-centered ways have left him incapable of finding enjoyment in anything. Now on his deathbed, he relates the shocking tale of his wasted life to John Hamilton, a school chum who chose a different path.

In telling his story, can Lankin find redemption for the trail of ruined lives he leaves behind?

Companion piece to Love & Scandal by Donna Lea Simpson

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Love & Scandal (Carina Press – June 21^st, 2010) lived as a story long before it was accepted for publication by Carina Press. I know other authors have this same scenario; you have a story in your heart, and it demands that you write it. But once you’re done, it doesn’t really ‘fit’ with the rest of your career, so it languishes on the hard drive. Every once in a while you return to it, polish it, admire it, and then sigh about how great it is, but it just doesn’t fit!

I was in that situation with Love & Scandal. You see, I’ve spent most of my years as a published author writing (at first) traditional Regency romances, and then paranormal Georgian-era romances. Love & Scandal is neither! It is a Victorian-set romance novel that takes place in the mid-eighteen hundreds, the golden era of novel publishing, when books by the Brontës, Thackeray, Dickens, and (within a few years), the inimitable George Eliot, were being written and published.

I’ve always been fascinated by the time frame because of the eloquence of the writing, but I often wondered why it was considered unthinkable that a woman not only write a novel, but put her name on it. Writing was considered a scandalous career choice for a woman; not quite as bad as being an actress, perhaps, but almost! Women weren’t supposed to think deeply, and their reasoning was considered just superior to that of a pretty pet pug. Women of deep intelligence existed, of course, but they were regarded with resentment and some hostility. It was antithetical to womanhood and even dangerous for women to involve themselves in the wider world when their sphere was the home and bearing children, or so said most men.

I wondered, too, what would happen if a woman wrote a book using a male pseudonym, only to have some man claim to be the fellow who wrote her novel. What would Charlotte Brontë have done if a fellow popped up, claiming to be Currer Bell? Charlotte was no one’s pushover; I believe she would have marched to London, tracked him down, and given him a piece of her mind.

So Love & Scandal is the result of that game of ‘what if’. I had a grand time writing it, but I thought it was doomed never to see the light of day. Then I heard about Carina Press, (Harlequin’s new all-digital imprint) and how as an electronic publisher they were open to different sub-genres of romance, and different time periods for historical romances. So I sent Love & Scandal in and kept my fingers crossed.

And something wonderful happened; I got an enthusiastic email from Carina Press’s editor Angela James telling me they wanted the book. I was ecstatic! Then, as we began to go through the editing process, something else wonderful happened. They came to me with an idea; what if I were to write the scandalous book, The Last Days of a Rake, that Collette Jardiniere is supposed to have written in Love & Scandal? They wanted to offer it as a free companion book to Love & Scandal. I jumped on the idea! I already knew quite a bit about the book because Collette discusses it throughout Love & Scandal. And so wrote The Last Days of a Rake, a supposedly Victorian-written novella about a rake in Regency England. It was so much fun!

Beyond adding to the reading experience for those who buy Love & Scandal, I think it serves another purpose, too; if readers have been wondering if they’ll enjoy eBooks, or if they’d like to see one before buying, they can download The Last Days of a Rake and see what a Carina Press book looks like!

But I’ve been warning everyone: when you read The Last Days of a Rake, don’t expect a romance; it is intended to be a serious Victorian novel with a moral at the heart of it. However, when you read Love & Scandal do expect a romance! Collette and Charles make a charming and quarrelsome pair, and I hope readers enjoy them!

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I do hope you enjoy the books!

Check out my webpage: http://www.donnaleasimpson.com

Check out my blog at: http://donnaleasimpson.wordpress.com

Best regards to all,

Donna Lea Simpson

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Many thanks to Donna for being our guest today. Leave a comment for the chance to win a download of Love & Scandal. For an excerpt of the book, you can find it here.

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Ashlyn Chase Says: Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut

He’s looking for peace, quiet, and a little romance…

There’s never a dull moment when hunky all-star pitcher and shapeshifter Jason Falco invests in an old Boston brownstone apartment building full of supernatural creatures. But when Merry MacKenzie moves into the ground floor apartment, the playboy pitcher decides he might just be done playing the field…

A girl just wants to have fun…

Sexy Jason seems like the perfect fling, but newly independent nurse Merry’s not sure she’s ready to trust him with her heart…especially when the tabloids start trumpeting his playboy lifestyle.

Then pandemonium breaks loose and Merry and Jason will never get it together without a little help from the vampire who lives in the basement and the werewolf from upstairs…

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My bio usually begins with: “Ashlyn Chase describes herself as an Almond Joy bar. A little nutty, a little flaky, but basically sweet wanting only to give her readers a scrumptious experience” and it’s true. I write hot romantic comedy. Usually, I’m a little off-the-wall and that, in my opinion, is when I’m at my best. I have so much fun with my stories, fellow writers, and fans it should be illegal.

But sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you don’t.

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Sara Lindsey Talks Traditions in TEMPTING THE MARQUESS

The Weston siblings have been blessed with Shakespearean names and an affinity for impropriety. Prepare to fall in love while discovering how the Westons are won.

While Olivia Weston loves matchmaking and romantic novels, she intends to make a suitable match. But first she wants an adventure, and when given the opportunity to visit a reclusive widower living in a haunted castle, Livvy can’t possibly resist.

After his wife’s death, Jason Traherne, Marquess of Sheldon, shut his heart to everyone but his son, and until now he has succeeded in maintaining his distance. But there’s something about Livy – her unique blend of sweetness and sensuality – that tempts him beyond all reason.

Though there’s nothing suitable about the feelings he inspires in her, Livvy can’t help falling for the marquess. But can she persuade him to let go of the past and risk his heart again?

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It’s great to be here at RR@H Novel Thoughts & Book Talk. Many thanks to Fatin for inviting me to come talk about my new historical romance release, Tempting the Marquess, the second book in my Weston family series which follows seven siblings with Shakespearean names and, much to their mother’s dismay, a definite affinity for impropriety.

Tempting the Marquess features hopelessly romantic, yet utterly pragmatic Olivia Weston. Livvy is preparing for her upcoming Season, but she knows marriage in real life will never measure up to the passionate romances she loves to read.

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Jessa Slade Wonders: How Do You Like Your Books?

The war between good and evil has raged for millennia, with the Marked Souls caught in the middle, but the new girl doesn’t play by old rules…

Liam Niall never meant to be a leader.  Barely surviving the horrors of the Irish Potato Famine with body and soul intact, he escaped to Chicago…where he lost half his soul and gained a wayward band of demon-possessed warriors.  Now, as the talyan face a morphing evil, Liam grows weary and plagued by doubt—until a new weapon falls into his hands.  Her name is Jilly Chan.  To save her demon-ridden soul, Liam must win her to his battle…and his bed.

Waging a one-woman war against the threats to the street kids she mentors, Jilly won’t be any man’s woman or weapon.  But Liam—with his hard eyes, soft brogue and compelling hands—is a danger to her rebellious independence…and her heart.

These two halved souls sharing one fierce passion will sear a fresh scar across the city.  Who’s in danger now?

“[F]or readers who love J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood, the Marked Souls series will hit the spot.” 4 Stars RT BookReviews

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Hello, Mad Fatin of the many books!  Thank you for hosting me here at RR@H Novel Thoughts & Book Talk again.  I was here in October last year with my debut urban fantasy romance SEDUCED BY SHADOWS, and I’m thrilled to be back with book 2 in the Marked Souls series, FORGED OF SHADOWS, which follows the continuing war between demon-possessed alpha warriors and the forces of evil.

Since I write about demons and demonic possession, a potential reader recently asked me how gory are my stories.  Which stopped me for a moment.  I don’t consider myself gory at all.  Although I admit FORGED OF SHADOWS does open with a fight scene between my bewildered but quickly armed heroine and a few bad demons.  Jilly is joined by an unknown-to-her man who brings a hammer to the fight:

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Talking Weddings With Debra Mullins

A MOST IMPROPER ALLIANCE

Two years ago, dashing Captain Samuel Breedlove disappeared without a word. But he’s resurfaced in London a wealthy man, only to discover his fiancée planning to wed another. Now Samuel needs to restore his good name and expose a villain–and tempting, temptable Cilla seems an ideal accomplice.

Priscilla Burke knows the marriage of her charge, Annabelle Bailey, to the Earl of Raventhorpe must be perfect. It would be madness for her to even consider doing anything that would mar this beautiful day and destroy her fledgling career as a wedding planner. Why then is she so drawn to this irresistible stranger who insists she help him sabotage the impending affair?

But a proper lady’s desire is nothing to toy with. And a man whose character has been questioned cannot allow himself to dream of happily ever after. This not-so-innocent seduction may have unforeseen consequences…

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It’s June, and weddings are on the brain. That makes it the perfect time for the release of TEMPTING A PROPER LADY, the first book of my Brides of Nevarton Chase series.

In book one of this new Victorian trilogy, American sea captain Samuel Breedlove is determined to stop the wedding of Annabelle Bailey to his enemy, the Earl of Raventhorpe. But no one will listen to him when he tries to tell them that the earl attempted to kill him……no one except Cilla Burke, the woman planning the festivities. She agrees to help him stop the nuptials—in exchange for private lessons about men and the world of sensuality so that she might more wisely choose a new husband.

Warning: Widow meets sailor=HOT!

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