Summer Loving for only 99c

We have a special deal for your summer pleasure... 

six romances for only 99c each (77p in the UK)

The romances on special from Monday 15 to Thursday 18 July only are:

Teresa Ashby - Love on Ice
Aimee Duffy & Michelle Smart - Once Upon a Twist
Claire Robyns - How To Love a Princess
Suzanna Ross - Hidden Heartache
Gina Rossi - To Hear You Smile
Rae Summers - Let's Misbehave

Find out more below...

Love on Ice - Teresa Ashby

There is only one person to turn to when Becky Hope leaves her dying husband at the hospice with his mistress at his side; her colleague Jake Lachlan. Only one problem, Jake doesn’t know she’s married and when he finds out, he wants to put as much space between them as possible.

He joins an Antarctic expedition as ship’s medic unaware until the last minute that the second doctor is the married heartbreaker he’s trying to escape from.

They do their best to avoid each other, but dramatic events force them together in the cold and hauntingly beautiful Antarctic.

Excerpt:

“I wasn’t told about this,” Jake said. “I just assumed . . .”
“What? That they’d conjure me up a spare cabin out of thin air?” Becky said, too tired to be bothered by it.
He could do without her mockery. He could do without her full stop.
She’d tossed her bag onto the bottom bunk and now she was opening it, taking out various bits and pieces and lining them up along what would double up as desk and dressing table. Her hands shook as she placed things down, but he wasn’t going to be fooled by her pretence of vulnerability. Not again.
That slender little neck held up a hard head.

Available from Amazon and Amazon UK.

Once Upon a Twist - Aimee Duffy & Michelle Smart

When the sun goes down, guess what's coming out to play...?

Glass Slippers and Combat Boots (Michelle Smart)

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, the creatures are coming...

In a land run by misogynists, where fair maidens are deemed liable to fall in a dead faint at the sight of blood, Prince Charming is worried - the creatures that have destroyed their neighboring kingdoms are coming for them. He judges it imperative to get all the females to safety, but first he needs to break the enchantment enslaving his One True Love to her hateful home. Oh, and there's the small matter of the Ball to get through too.

But when the creatures reach them ahead of their expected time, all plans are foregone. Can Ella break her wicked stepmother's enchantment? Can she save her handsome Prince and the kingdom before midnight strikes? And can she show his soldiers what it really means to kick a monster's butt? The clock is ticking...

Reunited With Red (Aimee Duffy)

Many, many years later...

When Ruby visits her grandmother in the deep, dark forest, she stumbles into a nightmare. Her grandma's been attacked by a wolf-like creature, and an ancient disease that turned people into monsters is back... and so is the cold-hearted ex she walked out on a year ago.

Now she has to either accept Jeremy's help or face becoming a monster herself. Fighting alongside the man she once loved isn't easy, especially when she discovers there's more to Jeremy than the cheating bastard she took him for.

As they fight to survive the disease and save those they love, can they keep from falling for each other all over again?

Available from Amazon and Amazon UK.

How to Love a Princess - Claire Robyns

Love exploded into the sheltered life of Princess Catherine de'Ariggo when she met Nicolas Vecca. But duty calls Catherine to sacrifice that love. Now, years later, she must be strong once more. Can she ignore the whisperings of her heart and stand firm in her convictions? Trusting in Nicolas, loving him, is a risk she dare not take.

When Nicolas sees Catherine again, he thinks he's looking at a ghost. Either that, or he has been cruelly deceived. Haunted love turns to hate. But even as he determines to remain unforgiving, his heart refuses to forget.

Excerpt:

He backed her up against the door, raising one arm above her to put his hand to the wall. His knuckles grazed underside her chin, then nudged it higher until she was looking into his eyes.
“What—what are you doing?” she stammered. She hated it when he did this. She swore he knew exactly how devastatingly he affected her, erased her mind and nullified her convictions. The barest hint of intimacy had the power to slam her straight back into the past.
He brought his head down, his lips a breath away from hers. His brown eyes were intense, burning a heat into her soul. “You made a pact with the devil four years ago,” he murmured, his fingers leaving her chin to stroke fire down the sensitive skin of her throat. “Maybe I’ve come to claim my due.”
She swallowed hard and tried to laugh, tried to pretend that everything was normal and her knees weren’t instantly hollow. “Do you have to be so dramatic?”
“You bring out the best—” His thumb pad paused at the base of her throat, applying a gentle pressure, “—and worst in me, dolce cuore.”

Available from Amazon and Amazon UK.

Hidden Heartache - Suzanna Ross

Dr Emma Bradshaw’s life is disrupted when Nick Rudd arrives back in town to take up a post at the GP practice where she works. The bad boy attitude is still very much in evidence, but Nick is a doctor now – against the odds – and Emma’s forced to work closely with him. Not so easy to ignore the love of your life when you have to see him on a daily basis. And Nick’s getting perilously close to breaking down the barriers Emma’s built to protect herself from the tragedy in her past.

Nick thought, as a doctor, it would be easy to command respect from the residents of his hometown – and most are pleased to see how well he’s done. But, the one person he wants to impress remains unmoved. Emma is keeping her distance. And she’s changed – the fun loving girl he knew has gone. She’s hiding something big, he’s sure, but she’s not telling. He can’t blame her – he knows he let her down badly in the past. But now he’ll do anything to rekindle the trust and love she once showed him.

Hidden Heartache is a sweet romance and was previously published as a My Weekly Pocket Novel.

Excerpt:

He took another step towards her and her gaze fixed on his mouth. She watched as he smiled again and a scar on his upper lip caught her attention. It was faded, barely there; if he hadn’t been standing so close she’d never have seen it. It was the type of scar that might have resulted from a childhood accident such as falling face first onto the corner of a table...

She drew a ragged breath as a wave of nausea hit her. She hadn’t seen that scar for fourteen years. She staggered back, came hard up against the side of her car and was grateful for the support it offered.

“Nick?” she queried disbelievingly.
“It’s been a long time, Emma. How have you been?”

Available from Amazon and Amazon UK.

To Hear You Smile - Gina Rossi

Disillusioned and dumped, Olivia Sinclair leaves London to hide out in the English countryside, unaware that handsome local stranger, Zachary Jordan, is a world class athlete. Deeply attracted to his intuitiveness and apparent sixth sense, Olivia nevertheless shuns him when he scares her badly on a date and, worse, when she finds out he has stolen something precious from her. Then she discovers the devastating truth about Zac. He's blind, and somehow, in their brief encounters, she hasn't noticed. She's determined to make amends, but Zac, crushed by her carelessness, doesn't want to know, and Olivia faces a gruelling uphill battle to win his respect and love.

Excerpt:

Olivia smiled. If this was how a guy made his move in the countryside, she was happy to give it a go. A fling with the village hunk might give her what she needed to draw a line under all that had gone before.

Available from Amazon and Amazon UK.

Let's Misbehave - Rae Summers

Passion simmers from the moment wild child and dedicated Flapper Gabrielle meets staid aristocrat Sebastian. When she discovers the adventurous spirit beneath his serious demeanour, she seduces him into a last fling before he settles for a loveless marriage.

His is a life of duty and tradition, hers is a pursuit of freedom and pleasure, so this can never be more than a brief affair.

But as the Twenties roar to their conclusion, will Gabrielle survive falling in love with the one man she cannot have? And will Sebastian be able to settle for less than the woman he loves?

Excerpt:

After dinner, they sipped Manhattans and listened to the music. Lights danced on the surface of the Thames, as magical as the fragile bubble that encased them.
If only this night need never end—but she knew too well that the good things in life never lasted. Which was why you had to grab them when you found them. A ray of sunshine, a favourite song, a desirable man.

Available from Amazon and Amazon UK.

Author Spotlight - Claire Robyns

Today's author in the spotlight is a friend of mine, a South African now living in England, and I am incredibly proud and pleased to be able to introduce her to you. Claire is celebrating the launch of her second novel through Carina Press. her first, Betrayed, is an historical romance set in Scotland, and her latest is a fun contemporary romance.

What is your writing process?

I don’t do detailed plotting up front. An idea usually comes to me slowly and in stages. Sometimes it’s a character, sometimes a plot arc — once it was just the title of the book. As I muse over the idea, which can be anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of years, the plot and characters take direction and start to form a cohesive story. Note, I say ‘start’… because once I start writing, nothing’s set in stone. Most times, it’s not even set in jello.

Everyone who writes knows it's not easy - what methods do you use to keep at it on days when it would be so much easier to go shoe shopping?

Is this where I admit how much I hate shoe shopping? I can never find what I’m looking for and usually come home grumpy and empty-handed!
But, if I’m struggling, the only thing that helps me is to write. Doesn’t matter if it’s only a couple of sentences a day, doesn’t matter if I end up deleting everything, just the processing of hitting keys and getting words out usually seems to start the rhythm again pretty quickly.

Keeping fit: Do you have an exercise regime to counterbalance all those hours sitting at a computer?

If lifting my arm up and down as I slurp coffee counts, then, why, yes, I do have an exercise regime, LOL

Do you believe in writer's block?

Whatever you call it, I think it’s natural for many writers to go through a dry spell where either ideas aren’t coming hard and fast, or the ideas are there but not the words to tell them with.
I do believe that any kind of block can be persevered through, be it by some free-writing, a change of scenery, maybe changing up your genre even with a short story, or whatever else it takes to push through. We’re all human, and sometimes we just overload ourselves.

Have you ever used an incident from real life in a book? If so, did it get you into trouble?

I just did, in Second-Guessing Fate 
I’m a total fortune-teller sceptic, exactly like Gemma in Second-Guessing Fate, but many years ago a friend dragged me, kicking and screaming, to her personal fortune-teller. I came away from that experience vaguely intrigued, but still a whole lot sceptical. I’ve always remembered the experience, though, and years later it wormed its way into my plot.
However, I’m more likely to use real-life incidents to spark a plot or character and that’s as far as the resemblance goes, not nearly real-life accurate enough for anyone to recognise themselves or confront me on the subject. So far…

In what way is being a published writer different to how you thought it would be?

Well, I’d been writing (let’s call it honing my craft) for about 8 years before I contracted my debut book. That’s a lot of time I spent hanging around with fellow aspiring authors and ‘stalking’ published writers. Also, because of the internet and especially the fantastic romance authors out there always ready to share their experiences and answer questions, by the time I finally sold a book I had a pretty accurate idea of what to expect after the champagne bubbles have fizzled out i.e. triple the work with edits and promo on top of the current WIP, but no hope in sight of giving up the day job to free up more time 

Promotion is no longer a dirty word. In what ways do you strive to reach more readers?

I guess I don’t do anything unique or different from other authors. After a year of running a website and a blog, I’ve combined the two to make it easier to manage. I’m on Facebook but I’m far more active on twitter than anywhere else. I find twitter great for chatting with other authors and connecting with reviewers and readers.

What is your top promo tip for other authors?

Well, sometimes for me promo feels like preaching to the converted. One of my biggest challenges is reaching audiences beyond my usual circle. This year I’ve joined in Rachael Harries’ Platform Building Campaign, which has proved great so far in connecting with bloggers beyond my usual scope. In a similar vein, I think Blogfests are also good for this.

What did you learn while writing this book?

With my historicals, I always learn heaps because of the research required. This book, being a contemporary, I learnt more on the editing side than during the actual writing. As Second-Guessing Fate is set in Manhattan, my New York savvy editor helped out a lot and I learnt all about the Manhattan way of life.

What was the most fun part of writing this book?

Oh, I had such fun writing about Gemma’s antics as she attempts to get herself dumped. The whole situation was so bizarre that I could allow my imagination to roam free, the crazier the better 

And just for fun: what would your hero’s honeymoon destination of choice be?

PARIS
Why? Because he’d ask advice from his buddies, of course, and here’s what they’d say…
Jackson: Paris, man, don’t even think about taking her anywhere else.
Billy, nodding sagely: Women really buy into that stuff about it being the City of Love. A little suffering up front goes a long way.
Gus: And don’t forget the kiss at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Chicks are weird that way. Do this right and our Saturday poker nights will be safe for at least the next year.

Tell us about your book.

Can She Outwit Fate? 

Gemma is on a collision course with heartbreak. At least, according to the fortune-teller her best friend drags her to see. Gemma doesn't believe a word of it, but when other predictions start to come true, she begins to suspect that gorgeous, gray-eyed Nick is the man foretold to break her heart before she can find her soul mate. Too bad she's never met a man she's wanted more, because now she has to get him to dump her before she falls too hard.

Nick has plans of his own. He's ready to settle down with Ms. Right, and everything points to the beautiful Gemma. He's determined to prove to her that he's the perfect boyfriend—even if she does seem to be trying her best to scare him off…

Thanks for having me here, Minxes 

* * *

Second-Guessing Fate is available wherever eBooks are sold. You can find it at Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble and direct from Carina Press.

You can also catch up with Claire on her blog and on Twitter.

Author Spotlight - Claire Robyns

Today we welcome one of Carina Press' launch authors, Claire Robyns. Claire's historical romance novel, Betrayed, is now available on-line here. I am especially delighted to be introducing Claire as she is a fellow South African (albeit living now in England).

Claire, thanks so much for joining us here today. Now let's get onto those Minxy questions ...

Where were you in your writing career five years ago?

I’d been concentrating on writing and submitting category romances (no luck yet), learning the craft with shorter titles and spending a lot of time in the eHarlequin forums. Interestingly, it was around 5 years ago when we moved from South Africa to the UK, I had several months off work to settle the family in and grabbed that opportunity to try my hand at a longer length book and started writing Betrayed.

Where did you get the idea from for this particular book?

I’ve always loved reading historical romances. After a writing session where I was once again trying to rein in those pesky secondary characters, it struck me that historical romance is the one genre where intruding secondary characters are welcome and Betrayed was born. Literally. The title came to me first, and I built my story and characters around that. Most of my plots come to me as a title or single-line blurb, and then I weave the story and characters to fit in. My writing life would be a lot easier if the full story came first in a dream and I just had to think up a good title to match.

Where do you hope to be in 5 years' time?

My ultimate dream is to be a full-time writer. Not because I hate the day-job, but because I love writing more and there are just not enough hours in a day. That’s what I hope for, anyway. What I know for certain is that in 5 years I’ll still be writing because I cannot imagine not doing it.
Betrayed is also my debut book, so I hope to have built up a backlist of sorts in 5 years time.

Which was the last book you read that you wish you'd written?

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl. Not the whole book, just these few lines…
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.
I never even saw it coming.

I can’t get over how those lines hooked me in while I was flipping through the book in the bookstore. If I could ever have that effect on my readers, I’d be a happy gal!

Was there any particular author or book that made you want to be an author?

I could give you a long list of authors I love… Karen Marie Moning, Judith McNaught, Virginia Henley, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Liz Fielding, Trish Wylie… I’d better stop now, but the list is nowhere complete.

But I’d have to say that all authors out there made me want to be a writer, because it was my passion for reading that one day turned into a passion for writing… and that started when I was about 6 years old reading The Secret Seven and The Famous Five.

Do you find writing love scenes giggle-worthy or cringe-worthy - or neither?

I used to find the idea of writing love scenes cringe-worthy, but when I eventually wrote my first one, I found that it wasn’t at all.

Currently I’m finding the idea of readers reading my love scenes cringe-worthy, friends and family in particular – hopefully once Betrayed is released and being read, I’ll discover that it isn’t at all.

What's the most romantic moment of your life so far?

Ooh, this is an interesting one, because I didn’t particularly find it romantic at the time. My husband proposed by tossing the engagement ring into the deep end of the pool and suggesting we go for a swim. It was the middle of winter.

Me: Are you crazy? It’s the middle of winter.
Him: It’s refreshing.
Me: I don’t think so.
Him: Just give it a try. Come on, it’ll be fun. Don’t you trust me?
Me: Um, no!
And so it went on until he was finally forced to admit what he’d done and that this was actually a marriage proposal. I should add that we had a couple of friends around at the time for a dinner party.
Me: What? You’re asking me to marry you?
Him: If you—
I have no idea how that sentence ended. I was underwater. He joined me and we had to dive a couple of times to find the ring, lol.

Thanks to a few too many glasses of wine, afterwards I actually thought it was a pretty fun way to propose. It was only years later, once we’d been married for a while, that I started to regard that proposal as truly romantic. Because it was so typical of my husband. Everyone who’s known him in Cape Town jokes about his tendency to swim all year round, usually in the middle of the night. And he made sure our close friends been invited that evening to share the moment with us.

Now when I think back on that proposal, I get a warm smile in my heart that I would not feel had he done something totally out of character like take me to a fancy restaurant.

What do you wish you'd known about being an author before you were published?

Well, this is something I’d been told many times, but never really believed it: The fear of rejection doesn’t stop once you’re published.

Now I know it’s true.

In fact, I’m dreading rejection now far more. Before, it was only a nameless face writing a form rejection slip out there somewhere. No one beside me knew about it or cared. But now I’m worried about a reviewer slamming my book on a public blog. I’m worried that readers will hate it, or worse, what if no one bothers to actually buy my book? Will my publisher realize too late that they made a huge mistake in thinking my writing had any merit? Will my editor love the next book I’m working on or will she totally hate it?

The fear of rejection doesn’t end when you’re published. Believe it!

What's the best writing advice you've ever been given?

Take what good you can from a rejection and then toss it aside and don’t look back. If you’re a writer, you’re going to get rejected again and again and again. It’s not easy to keep the belief in yourself and it’s important to remember that every rejection is subjective and not necessarily based on the quality of your writing and story content. I had this repeated to me many time over through the years and it really helped to keep me believing in myself.

Tell us about your latest release.

Betrayed is a medieval Scottish romance set in the reign of the first King James I, shortly after his release from England.

Two Feuding Families
Amber Jardin has no taste for the bitter feud started before her father’s banishment. But now that he’s passed, she’s had to return to Scotland and his barbaric people. After her bloodthirsty uncle kidnaps one of the family’s rivals, Amber is in turn captured by Krayne Johnstone, the enemy laird. Despite their enmity, their attraction is immediate—and unfortunate, as Amber has sworn to escape.

One Lusty Temptation
Krayne is amazed at the wildcat’s repeated attempts to flee. He should steel himself against her beguiling ways—yet with time, he is driven more witless with lust. When the ransom exchange fails and Krayne is left with Amber, he finds he cannot tolerate the thought of her with another man—and she cannot tolerate the thought of returning to her uncle’s home.

Will passion and love win out over mistrust and betrayal in time to prevent an all-out war?

Krayne Johnstone became laird of Wamphray at the age of 12. He’s a man shaped by the harsh land. His heart is for pumping blood to his sword arm and nothing else. Before he could even start to fall in love with Amber, I had to teach the poor man what love is. But he is honorable and noble, and he has excellent reasons for distrusting scheming women.

Amber Jardin has led a pampered life in England and is totally unprepared for the barbaric realities of Scotland. But she’s not one to simper and bemoan her fate. She’s determined to shape her future and use whatever means on hand to do it. In this case, it’s her body. Amber is not perfect, far from it, but then I’ve never liked my heroines flawless. I don’t necessarily approve of everything she does, but I admire her courage and determination.

You can read an excerpt at http://www.clairerobyns.com/Betrayed.html

What's next for you?

I’m currently working on another medieval Scottish romance, although this is not a sequel. Different set of characters, and set in the reign of Queen Mary of Scotland.


Well, it’s been fun and thanks again to the Minxes for having me here.

Betrayed is available now from http://ebooks.carinapress.com/026A5BD8-2831-404E-82AF-1C9903BC944C/10/134/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=9127C110-9462-4474-876C-C00F3C131E37, on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.

You can connect with Claire Robyns on
Website: http://www.clairerobyns.com/
Blog: http://www.clairerobyns.blogspot.com/