Hot Fun in the Summer Time from the RB4U Authors is now available!

The weather is heating up, but it’s not just the sun and the sand which will keep you hot.

This summer anthology (sweet to sizzling stories) brought to you by the authors of Romance Books 4 Us will bring temperatures to your eReader that will set unheard of heat records. Burn the tips of your fingers while you turn the pages.

Sultry temperatures. 

Passionate couples. 

Unbelievable desire.

This is your ticket to… Hot Fun in the Summer Time.

Available exclusively on Amazon for a limited time

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RRRZP2Q/

This set includes:

Just Tell Me What You Want by Tina Donahue

Her wishes will leave him breathless…

Second Chance at Love by Marianne Stephens

Brian and Liz have a second chance to make their passionate, undeniable attraction for each other grow hotter than the summer heat.

Curating Love by Cara Marsi

Along the hairpin turns of the Amalfi Coast, a sexy Italian man shows a conventional American woman a colorful world of excitement and sensuality.

Pleasure Quest by Tina Donahue

She’s into virtue, he’s not. On a pleasure asteroid, he’ll show her what paradise really is.

Building Up To Love by Joanne Jaytanie

For something to last a lifetime it must start with a strong foundation and build upward.

Nailed by Cindy Spencer Pape

When shy scientist Karen Sikorski meets up with her college crush,

Warner Beckett, sparks fly, but she knows the handsome contractor would never fall for a plain nerd like her. Warner, though, has other ideas.

Dare to Feel by Nicole Morgan

When Brett walks into Tracy’s section at Platinum, she is faced

with the one love that she was never able to forget or get over.

More Than Friends (Friends to Lovers Book 1) by Krista Ames

One lust-filled night may prove more than they both expected.

Ripped at the Seams by Deelylah Mullin

When you feel each stitch in your life unraveling, sometimes it’s

better to give in than to be ripped at the seams.

Cowgirls Don't Cry by Janice Seagraves

Will Gwen’s empathic gift soften her future father-in-law’s heart?

Firecracker by Desiree Holt

Two men, one woman, and explosive heat.

Available exclusively on Amazon 

for a limited time

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RRRZP2Q/

Rebooting the Book

One thing that happens to authors sometimes is that their books, for one reason or another, drop out of publication. What do you do with a book that's already been published? Unless you're a household name, odds are, no major publisher is going to lift a pinkie finger to snatch it up, no matter how awesome it is.

The options left are limited:

1. Stuff it back in your shelf and forget about it: Once upon a time this was really the only option authors had. 
2. Self-publishing: Though the vanity press has existed for centuries, this has become so much more a thing during the digital age. It does, however, make the author responsible for every single aspect of the book--artwork, formatting, editing, and promotion, in addition to the actual writing. This gives you lots of control, and all the profits, if there are any, go straight back to you. But each aspect of the book can cost you hundreds, leaving the idea of profits slim, unless you're very good at the promotion angle.
3. Small Press: There are a bunch of publishers out there, primarily e-first companies that are perfectly willing to look at previously published novels, novellas, or short stories. You have to be careful though. Not all of them are honest and some of them couldn't care less if your book sells or not.

I'm at a position with my career where I have a lot of out-of-print material to handle, due largely to the dissolution of my largest pubisher. I've been really slow at getting the 30 or so works they had of mine back out, but I've taken a multi-prong tactic, basically including all 3 of the options above.

Why different options for different works? Here's a few things for anyone with that kind of backlist to think about:

• Cost and cost/profit analysis: These are not the same. Cost is straight up, do I have the money right now to pay a good cover artist? An editor, if the original wasn't that great (I'm lucky that way--most of my editors have been good.)? Promotion?  Cost/profit is figuring out if the book is going to eventually make back what you paid out. Both are important.
• Branding: Does the book still fit the brand you've established or are hoping to build? If not, the back of your hard drive might be where it belongs. At least one of my stories will not be going back up for sale, because it's just not where I want my readers to go.
• Series: Do you intend to write more, or is it being returned to you as a complete series? One reason I chose a publisher for my newest re-release is that I want to add more books to the series, and want an editor and cover artist, which I simply don't have the cash to pay out of pocket. It's a publisher I trust, run by people with both good romance pedigrees and good business sense. Yes, they take a chunk of the profit, so I am paying for all those things out of my sales. But their distribution department will help make sure my book reaches a wider audience than just my current readers.
• Updating, or putting it out as-is. I have a series of books which involve a lot of tech. Now that tech is 10 years out of date. So do I self-pub? The updates might actually change the plot. Would a publisher help me with that? I haven't actually made that decision yet.

At this point, I want to give a shout out to my newest publisher,. This coming week (Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019) one of my favorite novels is coming back out into the world. You'll be able to find it in e-book and print at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and Google Play. I'll come back in and post the links as soon as they're up! Hopefully a sequel will be scheduled later this year! It's so good to get back on the horse--or dragon--or dolphin again! Happy 2019, everyone!

Supernova distributes to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo and Google Play.

Dead! Well, not quite. Yet.

Heidi’s day started out well enough, studying dolphins with best friend and research partner, but things took a turn when they got caught in the middle of a drug exchange. Her friend is missing, probably dead, and Heidi was shot at and left to die, too.

Girl meets…guy?

Then the hottest boat bum she’s ever seen rescues her. Tall, dark and handsome, Jake is every girl’s dream. Still, the last thing on her mind is romance. The drug dealers figured out pretty quick she wasn’t dead. Now, they want to finish the job, and her mysterious, drop-dead gorgeous rescuer might not be able to save her—or himself.

Cursed!

Jake’s got a fishy secret of his own—complete with fins. He’s exiled from his colony and cursed to shapeshift with the moon. As a merman, Jake can’t afford to be around humans, especially a marine biologist who might discover his species. But he can’t throw Heidi to the men after her. He’ll fight drug lords, pirates and even the gods to protect her. Piece of cake, right? It’s easier than the other problem, the biggest problem of all: the massive attraction growing between Jake and Heidi, an attraction neither can deny.

A centuries-old merman and an air-breathing, very human scientist might fall in love,  but where would they live? And can that love even survive?

What am I?

My Rook grandparents, probably mid-1920s

Given my lifelong interest in all things historical, I've been gobbling up information from one of my cousins who did a geneology DNA test. We share my maternal and her paternal grandparents, and the main name, Rook, dead stops in early 1800s Kentucky. Did someone reinvent themselves under a new name? Anything is possible. It certainly happened. Or are there records out there waiting to be found? Time may tell.

Anyway, like everyone, we like to think of being related to someone important, don't we? I mean, my maiden name is Spencer. I figured if there were any big names to be found, it would be on that side of the tree, but so far, no one that I know of has gotten that far with any research. My Rook cousin, however is going at it like mad, and I'm so glad she's sharing it with me, just because I find it, well, interesting. Not to mention the zillion plot bunnies it's got running around through my head.

While the Rook line disappears, one of the maternal lines off of that takes us way, way back. There's a connection to the Adams family of Boston (Presidents would be my many-many-times cousins.) from there we go back to England and tie in with the rather famous Cromwell clan. Oliver (mostly remembered as a bad guy) would have been a cousin, but going back to the time of Henry VIII, his advisor Thomas Cromwell, (who like so many people close to Henry wound up headless) is a fascinating character. He's my 18th generation direct ancestor. What does that mean statisically? Basically 1 in (2 to the 18th power), or 1/262144 of  my genes could come from him. Hardly significant. Just--interesting.

Going even further back, I'm apparently a descendent of Emperor Charlemagne of France, meaning, even more amusing to my sense of humor, his father Pepin the Short. I'm 5'0". Seems appropriate.

me and my mom, 1990s

Also, we'd always been told there was some Native American in the family. Well, it seems not. Romany and Jewish, yes. No idea where the Romany ties in, but the Jewish names pop up in the 17 and 1800s. So that's cool, though I'm kind of disappointed about the (assumed) Cherokee. No Irish, which I always thought was a big component, but a bunch of German and Dutch and Scottish I had no idea about, and way more French. Parlez-vous francais? Oui, mais un peu, seulement. (I speak French but only a little.) Frankly I can't wait to get a test run myself. I'm sure about English, Irish and French on the Spencer side, but we'll have to wait and see. Oh, the plot bunnies! Better than the one who brings chocolate eggs!

***

From now through the end of March, one of my most popular books ever, Steam & Sorcery, the bestselling and EPIC award winning starter of my Gaslight Chronicles series, is on sale, only at Kindle, for $1.99. This book got 4.5 stars from Romantic Times, and Library Journal called the series "Probably the ultimate in steampunk romance." Get it here.

Friggatriskaidekaphobia

Friggatriskaidekaphobia: fear of Friday the Thirteenth. We’ve all heard of it. But why?

There are multiple theories on the origins of Friday the 13^th as a day of bad luck. A common Christian belief is that it originates from the painting of the last supper, with Jesus and his 12 disciples. The day after the meal, a Friday, he was crucified. But fear of the number 13 may go back far earlier. Just as many hotels skip a floor 13, the ancient Code of Hammurabi skipped the number 13 when setting out its list of laws. In Western culture, 12 is often a number of completion: 12 apostles, 12 days of Christmas, 12 to a dozen, 12 dozen to a gross, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 shillings to a pound, and so on. So maybe the number after “completion” just meant messing things up. Odds are, we’ll never know for sure. (Pun intended)

As for adding Friday into the mix, the Bible is often pointed to again with the crucifixion and other bad stuff occurring or speculated to be occurring on Friday. Freya or Frigga, the goddesses referenced in the word Friday neither have any association with bad luck, so it wouldn’t come from there. If we had a Lokiday in the week, then we might have cause to believe the stories. Or, if the association came about later, the Knights Templar were disbanded (and generally sentenced to death) on Friday, 13 October, 1307, which was a pretty big deal at the time.

Superstition doesn’t need a reason, of course. It’s self-propagating. Over time, anything bad on a Friday the 13^th was used to shore up the belief.  Sept. 13, 1940, Buckingham Palace was bombed, Nov. 13, 1970, a cyclone killed over 300,000 people in Bangladesh, a Chilean Air Force plane disappeared somewhere in the Andes mountains on Oct. 13, 1972, Tupac Shakur was shot on Dec. 13, 1996 and a cruise ship, the Costa Concordia crashed of Italy, killing 30 on Jan. 13, 2012. All of those were Fridays. Add in the fictional horrors, and you’ve got a pretty well-entrenched superstition.

While I’ve never written a book set around a Friday the 13^th, (although now I may have to—it’s a great idea!) I have used a holiday that's also rife with superstition: Halloween, coming up later this month. My very first erotic romance story, formerly titled Between a Rock and a Hard-On, was set at Halloween 2007. In the spirit of the holiday, I’ve re-released it this month as an Amazon exclusive. I had so much fun writing this—I did it in one weekend, giggling maniacally the whole time. I hope you enjoy it too—it was also my first shifter dragon story. And you know I loves my dragons!

Best of luck on this Friday the 13^th, and Blessed Samhain or Happy Halloween as you prefer!

* * *

Between a Rock and a Hard Dragon

By Cindy Spencer Pape

Story #1 in the Love Me Like a Rock collection.

On Amazon

What happens when you mix a half-dragon, a pixie and a little sex magic in a wooded park on Halloween? Neither Bram nor Twyla have any idea but when it all comes together the magic explodes in a frenzy of hot sex and sizzling romance.

* * *

Major sources used above:

History.Com

New York Historical Society

Let's Just Be Friends...NOT What You Want to Hear From Someone You Love!

"Let's just be friends."

Good Lord. Those four words can send you into a tailspin, crushing your world and causing you to crash land while your heart breaks. It signifies the other person doesn't feel the same "need, want, desire" for you as you do for him or her.

Relationships are so stressing, especially if one person is more committed to it than the other. If one seeks "more" than the other is willing to give, the "just friends" words will end whatever hope for a future the dreamer has.


Sometimes romance books have the hero and heroine begin as friends...and sometimes they're not exactly enemies but end up on opposite sides of arguments. The ones that are friends, seem to fight the attraction pulling them closer together, as if they need to avoid that giant step to a more committed relationship.

Friends can lead to a more promising relationship...romance and love...if the chemistry is mutually attractive. Authors strive for this HEA, and romance readers love these stories!

Entice Me - Luscious Love Stories Anthology, is now available!  Buy LINK
Visit: http://www.romancebooks4us.com for details and a great contest to celebrate the release of Entice Me!

Blurb: BELTANE LION by Cindy Spencer Pape
Rhodri of Llyan has returned from the Crusades a cursed man.  On the way home to Wales, a young friend is sorely injured. Rhodri seeks the aid of village healer, Selene, whose gift for healing is as uncanny as her beauty. Selene’s magic can cure wounds, but she isn’t sure she can break the curse or heal the wounds on Rhodri’s heart?
Originally published in a shorter form by The Wild Rose Press as Beltaine Bargain ©July 2007
Genre: Historical Romance



photos: Flickr: Tiago Riberio and bobafred's photostreams.

The Healing Power of Love...

This month’s theme resonates with most romance readers because deep at our core we do believe that love embodies the total acceptance of another person and grants an ease that allows the emotional wounds of the past or present to be soothed.

People who share an experience often find common ground and begin their journey of discovery and healing together. We all carry around secrets but what if the discovery of that secret brought more pain before an actual healing could take place? The willingness to go the extra mile to help someone we love is, at least for me, the basis for a wonderful romance.

I have always loved a mysterious hero because there are so many layers to each individual that peeling them away becomes an adventure in itself. It doesn’t matter if the wound is physical or emotional; love can work its magical healing power—even for a plain Jane USO hostess and an elusive army lieutenant with a forty-eight hour pass and a secret he can never share.

I’m very happy about being part of the first Romance Books ‘4’ Us anthology, Entice Me, with my 20^th century historical/paranormal romance, I’ll Be Seeing You. Available October 10, 2015…

Blurb:

Jack Howland, part of an elite group of OSS special agents can’t resist the pull of the moon or widowed USO hostess, Lulu Lane. After the war, while chasing a Nazi war criminal, their paths cross again. Will the truth about what Jack is send Lulu screaming into the night or back into his arms?

Excerpt: Heat level 2 chili peppers (mild)

She wasn’t used to having someone pay for a cab or open the door of the small cottage she hadn’t shared with anyone else in three years.

The young lieutenant had barely closed the door before pulling her into his arms and kissing her—hard, as if he’d wanted to imprint his mark for all time instead of forty-eight hours. She pushed the thought away. He’d made his intentions very clear. Lulu had come to terms with the fact that forty-some hours with Jack Howland was worth more than a lifetime of regret.

She hadn’t been kissed in a very long time or been pressed against a wall while large, masculine hands swept over her bare flesh. His mouth tasted of cigarettes and coffee, unfamiliar and delicious. His touch, tender and demanding, sparked a need she barely remembered but knew, after this night, she’d never forget.

Her experience had been limited to a young husband whose enthusiasm often over-shadowed anything she might have desired, if she’d been brave enough to ask. Much like their dance, she followed where he led and was surprised by the stray tear he kissed away and didn’t ask her to explain. He’d glanced at Toby’s picture on the fireplace mantel and held her while she explained her two-week marriage and being widowed when the Arizona sank.

Jack was tender and passionate and she had to keep reminding herself that their time together was temporary, but she’d never been kissed so intimately or devoured so completely; consumed.

As much as he gave she couldn’t help but feel that there was part of himself he held back and she found herself wishing that might come before their time together ended. If it didn’t, she couldn’t fault him. He hadn’t made any promises past forty-eight hours and she didn’t expect any. He attended to her protection without comment and she was alternately grateful and sad. A child would have been impractical.

She thought she’d convinced herself that the last thing she needed in her life was the complication of a romance during this damn war until at the end of their time together, he kissed her goodbye and climbed into a cab while the radio played Jo Stafford singing “I’ll Be Seeing You” in the background.

He didn’t look back until she turned to go inside. One last glimpse found their gazes locked as they had been only hours ago. If she lived to be one hundred, she was never going to forget the desperate sadness he’d refused to explain.

It would have made a great movie scene. A real tearjerker, if her reaction was anything to go by.

I hope you enjoyed the blurb and excerpt for I’ll Be Seeing You, and my nod to a generation that made this country great. If you’ve been enticed (sorry, I couldn’t resist) you can pre-order the entire collection that also includes stories from Cindy Spencer Pape, Marianne Stephens, Jean Hart Stewart, Janice Seagraves, Gemma Juliana, Denyse Bridger, Rose Anderson and Cara Marsi here http://www.amazon.com/Entice-Me-Luscious-Love-Stories-ebook/dp/B015YEHP9U/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF

So many luscious love stories for such a great price! What, I didn’t mention that it was only $.99? With a heat rating of 1-5 chili peppers, you’re sure to find something to enjoy while you curl up with a cup of your favorite tea or coffee and nibble something sweet!

Until next month,

Happy Reading!

Paris Brandon

http://parisbrandon.com

http://twitter.com/#!/ParisBrandon

https://www.facebook.com/paris.brandon.author

Amazon Author page:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00N3M7EEM

Firemen are HOT!

This week, my latest story, Where there’s Smoke, opened for pre-orders at most major e-tailers, as part of the boxed set, Into the Flames. With seven stories about smoking-hot firemen, by seven incredible authors, (well, six plus me.) it’s already climbing the lists at Amazon and All Romance e-Books.

• Slow Burner by Sam Cheever
• FireBrew by Liz Crowe
• Hook Me Up by Adele Downs
• Flashpoint by Desiree Holt
• Where There's Smoke by Cindy Spencer Pape
•  Uncontrolled Burn: by Nina Pierce
• Rescue Me by N.J. Walters 

 

Here's some Fun Facts about the 1920s and Where there's Smoke

1. Where there’s Smoke was Cindy Spencer Pape’s first book set in the 1920s, but it won’t be the last!
2. The town of Carstairs, Michigan, in Where there’s Smoke, is fictional, but it is based on numerous beach towns along the Lake Michigan shoreline.
3. The Michigan side of the Lake Michigan coast has beautiful beaches and has long been a popular location of summer homes for Chicago’s wealthy.
4. In the 1920’s only the major cities had paid fire departments. That’s why Eli, in Where there’s Smoke, is a volunteer fireman, rather than a professional.
5. Not every girl in the 1920’s bobbed her hair. It was considered a little racy. Since Nettie is an old-fashioned girl in many ways, she’s chosen to keep hers long, which means she still wears it up every day.
6. Nettie wasn’t an uncommon name for a young woman in 1926. I chose it because both my mother and my father, who lived in two different countries, each had an aunt named Nettie, (one short for Arnetta, one for Annetta) both of whom came of age in the 20s.
7. During Prohibition it was quite common to have a doctor prescribe alcohol for medicinal purposes. An unethical physician and an unethical pharmacist in cahoots with a supplier, could easily keep the local drunks lubricated.
8. Much of today’s firefighting equipment has its origins in the 20s. The pump and ladder truck was a new innovation, as were heavy leather helmets and the concept of chemical extinguishers. Fire hydrants weren’t around yet, except in the largest cities, so chemicals were used unless a large water supply was at hand.
9. This was the first time since the Georgian era, where women can openly wear makeup. Lipstick and mascara and eyeliner headed the list. Max Factor and Elizabeth Arden were among the first major brands. Deodorant had been invented but wasn’t available in the stores yet, so ladies used scented dusting powder to absorb any “glow”.
10. Big cities had newsstands where people picked up any newspaper that wasn’t delivered to their doorstep, particularly those from out of town. In smaller communities, the local bookstore often did double-duty. Eli chooses not to get his local paper delivered because it gives him an excuse to see Nettie every day.

You can order your copy at:

Amazon: http://amzn.com/B014V84EUI
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/into-the-flames/id1036986607?mt=11
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/into-the-flames-3
All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-intotheflamesboxedset-1881916-166.html