An Interview with Jen Black

Today we have a very interesting author with us. She has written some wonderful historical books, also a modern Romance Mystery that I liked very much. Here she tells us something about herself and those books. Check out her website.

Jen also takes lovely photos. I've used some of her squirrels on my blogs. See her on twitter too.


Tell us a little about yourself

Jen has always lived within twenty miles of where she is now in Northumberland. The only continent she hasn’t visited is South America – and she has no plans to do so! With a degree in English and recently retired from library management, she writes almost every day – sometimes contemporary ghost stories, but more often historical adventures. She keeps her blog up to date http://jenblackauthor.blogspot.com and send the odd missive to Facebook and Twitter (@speckledbirds).





What do you write?

Historical novels, historical romances and a contemporary romance with ghosts. I have a contract for an e-book called Reluctance to come out next April. It’s what I’d call a Regency story, even though it is set in 1803 about a couple who marry for convenience and then she decides it won’t suffice and tries to make him break his vow of celibacy.



Why do you write?
Because I love doing it. There isn’t another outlet for my imagination that gives me anything like the satisfaction writing does. Imagine being in control of what characters do and say! Giving them what they want, or stopping them from having it. We all indulge in it as children, play-acting and role-playing. Well, now I get to do the same as an adult. If I get my hero in a tricky situation, I can stop and think about how he’s going to get out of it, or what smart crack he’s going to come out with this time.







What are you writing now?
I’m resting, and promoting my latest – the contemporary romance with ghosts. Shadows is set in France. A couple of years ago this was briefly published by Triskelion before they went bankrupt, and the rights were tied up in limbo for over a year. During that time I re-wrote the thing, and added in another 30,000 words, making it much better than it was and then I sold it to another publisher. Finally, it is back out in the world again and looking for readers!

Here’s the blurb: Melissa and Rory met three days ago and already he’s ditched a girlfriend for her. Now he takes her to France on a pre-booked holiday. Once there, she loves the ancient water mill, but is annoyed when he assumes she’ll share the only bed. Opting for the sofa that night, Melissa finds her childhood proclivity for seeing ghosts has returned with a vengeance and she finds it very hard to convince Rory that anything is amiss.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGml0vxiJU8 Check out the trailer, or read an excerpt on my blog at http://jenblackauthor.blogspot.com







What kind of clothes do you like to wear?

Comfortable trousers and fleeces for when I’m lounging around the house, but I do own some smart clothes. I look fairly respectable when I go out to visit with friends or go into town. I recently bought a striped black and white top in the John Lewis sale, and wore it with black tights to visit friends for dinner. They were amazed at my boldness. ‘But you never wore short skirts when you were young and it was fashionable,’ they cried in disbelief.

‘Well, I am now.’

It doesn’t do to stay in the same rut, does it?





Are you in love? Have you ever been?

I love my husband dearly, and in my younger days before I met him I knew the sudden rushes of adulation and longing that most of us feel at some time or other, usually for a totally unsuitable man. There’s been heartbreak, too.





Do you have a dream lover – and what does he or she look like?

Naturally, I love whichever hero I’m writing about at the time, especially if I’m writing from the heroine’s point of view. He’s usually dark haired, but has been a red-head, but they are always the kind with a strong jaw and a stubborn streak. I don’t have to live with this man, you see, so I can have him as heroic as I like. If he has a fiery temper, I’m never going to suffer from it, as I’m in control of what he does. For a long time I was in love with Jerott Blyth and Francis Crawford in the Lymond series by Dorothy Dunnett. Sometimes I think I still am!





What kind of comfort food do you like best?
Oh, I have a long list. Sometimes it’s chocolate. Sometimes it’s scones, my own home-made fruit scones fresh from the oven. Garlic bread, Magnums, white wine, red wine, Kettle crisps with balsamic vinegar. Crisp Cox’s apples. Raisins. Toast with a scraping of butter and Marmite. The list is endless.





What makes you laugh? Cry?

Malapropisms. Inadvertent humour, usually. The kind where someone says the wrong thing, or trips over their own feet. The scene in Only Fools and Horses when Del leans on the counter that isn’t there. Doc Martin is a hoot and I can’t wait for the new series. I’ve watched the previous episodes until I know the dialogue off by heart.

Anything to do with animals can have me weeping. Don’t go there.







What do you do to amuse yourself when not working?
Do some gardening. Walk in the glorious Northumberland countryside, taking photographs and putting them on my blog. Reading, when I can find something that interests me. I enjoy Sarah Dunant, Nora Roberts, C J Sansom and Jude Morgan. Meeting like-minded friends for chats and meals. Skiing once or twice a year, spending part of the summer in France, and at this precise moment, acting as general apprentice-cum-dogsbody to all the DIY-ery work going on chez Black. It will all be worth it when we have a brand new bathroom.









What is it in a man or woman that turns you on? The clean version please!
Haven’t a clue. Women don’t turn me on, but I like looking at them as objects of beauty in the same way as I’d admire a painting or a statute. With men, it’s much more a matter of personal attraction. Do I like the way he moves, does his voice catch my attention, does he look healthy? Good health and fitness is a major thing. Clear skin, bright eyes, quick reactions - the same thing you’d look for in a healthy animal! But those are the things that attract from across a room, or a field, for that matter. The other attributes come later – is he kind, has he got a sense of humour, do we share any interests, do we actually like each other?





What do you hate about life?

That there’s so much misery and poverty, that people can seem a blight on the world when they cover it in smoke, oil and pollutants, when rivers are too dirty for fish and that soon we’ll have eaten every living creature in the belief that only we have the right to live.



What do you hope to achieve in life and when will you know that you have been a success?

My goals are small in the scale of things. I’d like an agent, and a publisher, please, and an audience who likes my writing. I’m not asking to be the next Gabaldon or Gregory, though that might be nice, but I’m happy as I am and I’ll keep on trying.



What are you going to write next?

I’ve recently finished the second volume of his trilogy, so far unpublished. It is set in 1543 in northern England. Matho is on a learning curve in his new profession as courier between the English Lord Wharton and the Scots Queen Dowager, Mary of Guise. Very soon he’s going to take her letters to France, and gets impatient when she asks him if he speaks French. ‘It canna be that hard to learn, surely,’ he snaps. Little does he know!



Jen Black

Banners of Alba, 2006

Dark Pool, 2006

Far After Gold, 2009

Till the Day Go Down, 2009

Shadows, May, 2011

Reluctance, coming in April 2012

Meet Sherri Dub

Today we have a new author with us. Sherri has written a remarkable first book and I predict she will become a favourite with ebook readers. Take a look at her website.


Tell us a little about yourself
1. I was born and raised in California, but moved to Alaska in 1990 with my 3 month old infant and lived there nearly twenty years. While there, I did an array of jobs: Bartender, commercial fisherman, dental assistant, and tour guide. I found and married my prince charming in 1995 and we are still happily married today. I earned my AA and BA degree in Anthropology from UAA and spent 4 years in college collections and 6 weeks in the field along the Kenai Peninsula. In 2008, after my son graduated high school and went into the USAF, my husband and I moved to Nevada and I began to write full-time.

What do you write?
1. I write anything to do with the Paranormal and all things romance. My debut novel: Goddess Cottage was released on April 21st of this year on all Ebook formats. It has been doing quite well, and I’m very happy that I braved the waters of self-publishing to get it out there.
2. I am venturing into YA Steampunk Romance trilogy this Fall and I am very excited about that.
Why do you write?

1. I write because the stories inside of me are my way of dealing with things I wish I could make happen in real life. If I see a young woman, devastated by a broken marriage, I’ll think up an idea about what could’ve happened to her if she moved into a haunted house and began a new life with a ghost as a companion.
2. Things like that always fascinate me, when it comes to human nature. I want to take care of everyone, write all the happy endings, but make them believable.
3. Also, I truly feel that there is more to life when we die, and that creates my desire to write about the paranormal and the supernatural.

What are you writing now?
1. I am finishing the edits and the cover proofs for my second Paranormal Romance: The Witch Ball. It is about a young woman who buys and sells antiques. She buys a child’s trunk from the Victorian era, and inside, she finds a witch ball. The item is a historical piece, which in the past was hung next to the fireplace and it was believed that if a witch came down the chimney, she would see her reflection and be trapped inside. In the story, the woman traces the ball’s history and breaks a chain of entrapment caused by a family of greedy men, by solving the mystery of the woman trapped inside. And, since it is a romance, first and foremost, the woman falls in love with the man that helps her throughout the story. It’s a fun story for me, because I used a setting that I grew up in around the El Dorado County in California.

What kind of clothes do you like to wear?
1. I love all things Victorian era, and Steampunk. The white gloves, the bustles and corsets and of course the shoes. I think if I had to choose a woman’s style that I can relate to; it would be Bette Davis in (Now Voyager) the movie. Fantastic hats, linen suits and pumps.
2. Today, I wear a lot of pumps and dresses and slacks with crisp line blouses. I am not a jeans type of gal and I absolutely will not follow trends that are too young for my age.

Are you in love? Have you ever been?
1. I am so in love with my Husband. But, seriously, it took some time. I doubt more and more, as I grow older, that I truly ever loved before this. We spent a year together, then married and fought to remain together for the past 16 years. It was tough, but worth every tear and all the memories. He isn’t just my soul-mate, but he is my companion and friend. It did take us a long time to get to this point.

Do you have a dream lover – and what does he or she look like?
1. Nope. I’m a very content and happy woman with my spouse. But, we work at it. We keep things spicy and fresh. We date a lot more now, then when we were courting. It’s crazy good. In fact, I just planned our first cruise together and we giggle about it like teens when we discuss how much fun we’re going to have. It doesn’t set sail until November.

What kind of comfort food do you like best?
1. My favourite thing to eat is nachos. I mean the very bad for you, yellow cheese and tons of hot peppers and onions over big corn chips. However, I’m curbing that, since I’m hitting the mid-forties.
2. I have a new blender and make a lot of fruit juice drinks and eat a lot of yogurt and cereals. I’m not big on red meat, but I love all seafood and chicken. Oh, and soups.
3. Also, as a side note, I may be crazy here for admitting this, but I don’t like eating out in restaurants. I like home cooked meals, and light dishes without the noise and dirty silverware. I’ll take a picnic or BBQ any- day, over a gourmet meal.

What makes you laugh? Cry?
1. I cry terribly when I witness TV commercials about starving children and homeless people. I grew up middle-class, so I’ve never really had that in my life, but it makes an impact on me in so many ways.
2. My husband and I have sponsored three children from Child Network groups in Africa, and we put one young girl all the way through college to become a teacher. I believe it is everyone’s job to educate, feed and care for all humans.
3. But, what makes me laugh is my family. I have two sister and two brothers. I am the second child, of a hilarious group of siblings ages 44-27 (all of us have the same parents) and our parents are still married. We always get together from our different corners of the world and make each other smile. We use SKYPE a lot and Facebook and the telephone. In fact, next week, one of my sister’s and I are spending a day in Disneyland, without anyone else, just to act like kids again. I love doing things like that.


What do you do to amuse yourself when not working?
1. I love to read, find new authors to chat with on Twitter and Facebook and I am a big fan of TCM movie channel. I fell in love with old classic films a long time ago and have never looked back. My favourite stars are: Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn, Bette Davis, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price & Robert Young. Horror films are my all-time favourite.
Also, I love to take day trips to places I can drive to and explore any museum, cave or haunted mansion available. I have spent the night in many acclaimed “haunted” houses and hotels. It’s a passion of mine.


What is it in a man or woman that turns you on? The clean version please!
1. The voice gets me every single time. I was born with a hearing problem and my parents didn’t realize it until I was nearly 5. I had my adenoids removed and tubes inserted, so I think sound is a major part of my senses. I can hear a voice, without seeing the face and know it if I’ve heard it before. So, in a relationship, I am most turned on by the timber and lilt of my husband’s voice. His is very deep, and I tease him that he sounds like an announcer on TV, but it’s sexy.

What do you hate about life?
1. Watching the demise of the planet and human compassion. I believe that Utopia is simply best described as a world where everyone is cared for, and materialism isn’t a factor.
What do you hope to achieve in life and when will you know that you have been a success?
1. I believe I’m a success at being a mother, grandmother, wife, sister, daughter and friend. Therefore, I consider myself pretty damn successful. I just strive to help out my fellow man, in any way I can. I donate a lot, here and there. I inspire when I can, and I always give off a positive vibe.
What are you going to write next?
1. I have a third Paranormal Romance I am fleshing out that is slated toward an Alaskan Native theme. It is about a fictional ritual that a tribe of reclusive natives continue today, using a single tourist as a sacrifice each year. I am pulling out all the stops, as far as my Anthropological skills go, and I am making the story as real as it can be, in a present day setting. It will be scary, but ultimately a romance.
2. After that, I am working into the Fall on the YA Trilogy with a Steampunk theme, as I’ve said before. It is my pet project, and one that I have been working on whenever I can. I really love the story, the characters and the concept I’ve been plotting.
3. Then, who knows. Hopefully, I will find an agent and Publisher to help steer my career. I joined RWA in 1997 and became a PRO member in 2008. I belong to FF&P, as well. I have a website: www.sheropatra.com and I can be found on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads as, Sheropatra.

Robert Appleton and Sloane Taylor!

Today I have two of my favourite authors here at the site to tell you about a book they have written together. Individually they have strong voices that are instantly recognisable and both are good on plots. I think this is going to be a fabulous book.

Read it and see if you agree.

CLAIRE DE LUNE
Robert Appleton & Sloane Taylor
ISBN-13: 978-1-61124-011-5 (Electronic)
ISBN-13: 978-1-61124-995-8 (Electronic)
Amber Quill Press – Amber Heat

Genres: Science Fiction / Futuristic / Action / Adventure / Mystery / Detective / Voyeurism
Heat Level: 2
Length: Novel (70k words

Buy Link http://amberquill.com/AmberHeat/ClaireDeLune.html

BLURB:
You’re invited to the galaxy’s most prestigious beauty pageant. Clothing optional. Romance and danger…fully provided…

Cocky young detectives Gerry Rappeneau and Sebastian Thorpe-Campbell arrive at the premier lunar resort expecting a week of eye candy and long massages. With a half-billion-credit purse up for grabs, this year’s pageant is the focus of a hundred worlds. And beauty isn’t the only thing in the eye of the beholder.

One contestant, Evelyn Lyons, is attacked and her assailant killed. Surely a simple case of a stalker gone mad, as nothing bad ever happens at the Selene contest. So the brochure says.

The closer Gerry gets to Evelyn, the more he is convinced she’s hiding something. His meticulous character sparks with her wild, sassy nature, and they embark on a torrid affair. Their forbidden romance isn’t the only thing set to ignite in Pont de Reves.

Sebastian’s infatuation with demure Claire Villiers, another contestant, threatens to put all four of them in harm’s way.

A deadly trail of corporate conspiracy, monstrous assassins and hot bikini wax is more than anyone bargained for in this incendiary erotic mystery. Get ready for some serious heat on the dark side of the moon.

EXCERPT:
Gerry raised his hand, then dropped it back to his side. Nervous as a teenager on his first date, he scrubbed his sweaty palms down his pant legs. A few deep breaths proved another fruitless attempt to calm himself. He stood straighter, ignoring the giggles from farther up the corridor, and cleared his throat. A few ahems later, he managed to find the balls to knock on Evelyn’s door.

His pulse quickened at the click of a switch inside the room. A trace of exotic perfume. The jingle of a purse chain. All familiar, but never old: the details preceding a first date.

A double beep signaled the door unlocking. Evelyn flung it open.

“Hey, thanks for being on time.”

Her greeting wasn’t the most romantic he’d experienced, but, Christ alive, her dress more than made up for it. A deep purple Aeon evening number, off-shoulder, the kind all the hottest policewomen wore to the annual ICLA social on Io.

He’d…um…encountered it before on a few occasions, but never on such mouth-watering curves. When she turned to lock the door, her pert ass and shapely hips, accentuated by a waist-hugging belt, roused his dick to Mach 9.

She wheeled around and flashed him a hungry glance. Her red lipstick, dark eyeliner, and blonde hair tied back, exposing her swan-like neck, conspired to steal his breath.

“You look lovely,” he whispered, ashamed it was the best he could manage without panting like a Labrador in heat.

“Thank you. Love that shirt.” She spun too quickly and almost clashed heads with him, before dropping her keycard into her purse and wrapping the chain around her wrist. She offered him her free arm and added, “Shall we?”

The touch of her soft white skin on his bare arm ghosted him for a moment as they walked to the elevator. He noticed her lip quiver—the girl inside the goddess—and it settled him into his old confident self. Charming, some might say. At the very least, a smoother groove from which to guide the evening.

“Where are we going?” she asked. “Not too far, I hope. We’re supposed to adhere to a strict curfew.”

“Farther than you’ve ever dreamed.”

“Goody. Rules are for wimps anyway. And you are my official bodyguard.” She squeezed his arm to her supple body, her soft breast pressing into him. “Is it expensive? Not that you should spend the Earth on me or anything, but—”

“It’s obscenely expensive. You’ve no idea.”

“Really? And a secret, I take it.”

“And a secret.”

At the elevator, he held the door open and gestured for her to go first. He then followed and pressed the button for the tenth floor. They were alone in the small space, which seemed to shrink as they climbed higher. He watched her reflection in the mirrored wall while inhaling the full body of her delicate honey scent. Delicious. He swallowed hard, mustering all his strength not to wrap her in his arms and kiss her senseless.

The doors pinged open and he led her across a beige carpet and into an elegant tunnel. Pastel murals of strange, exotic landscapes, encompassing all colors, morphed and blended into one another in a rolling three-sixty display that dizzied as much as it dazzled. Evelyn appeared fascinated as she brushed her hand in front of the imagery, wanting to touch those wild alien locales.

Gerry grinned to himself. So far, so good. If she liked this swirling intro, she’d flip for the full service.

LINKS:
Robert Appleton www.robertappleton.co.uk

Sloane Taylor www.sloanetaylor.com

It was great to have you here Rob and Sloane.

I can recommend Rob for his wonderful mystic creatures and thrilling descriptions. No one does Sensual better than Sloane Taylor.

Read this sizzling book for Christmas. Go on, treat yourselves. I'm going to.

All the best to everyone, Linda

Kristen Battestella

Ixnay the Glittery Vamps! Another letter of protest from beloved daughter of The Vampire Family, Victoria.

Every Autumn we go through this. This year my August hibernation was even ruined by the early commercialization of Halloween. Pushing out your Fourth of July clearance, really? Come on now. Now that our chronicler Professor James is hell bent on making his millions with Fate and Fangs, a collection of our journals and diaries (he already had the plastic surgery and gastric bypass so he has to pay for all that somehow!) the grating of vampire pop has returned. I can't go out to eat in the alley after having some merlot in a fine restaurant without pedestrians gawking and pointing, "Oooo like Twlight!". These little girls that they keep recasting are imitating me thankyouverymuch! In fact, here's the Professor's own words introducing Fate and Fangs as proof:


Lore:
Forward by Professor A. James
In 1975 I acquired a collection of antique, but damaged manuscripts after a mysterious fire beguiled the dim British authorities for four years. Somewhere along the frontier between England and Wales, in a crumbled vault beneath a burned mansion; dozens of leather bound journals, diaries, and books were rescued. Their contents were fantastical: histories, ages of vampiric accounts, coven wars, and abstract chronicles. The police, of course, uneducated in such matters of the occult or the unexplained, found the material rubbish against their modern case in need of evidence and forensics.
Fortunately, in my subsequent studies and adventures, I have found that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. You must forgive me the cliché, but my analysis and preservation of these personal antiquities has brought me to new heights of bizarrity, both on the page and in the flesh. I thought I was a wise, aware professor knowing beyond the day-to-day world before I came to read of this twisted Vampire Family. My pride was in err.
After several lengthy years of study and a very slow restoration process on the oldest documents, I succumbed to an offer of assistance from a student named Theodore Plunkett. A scholar of ancient languages, Theodore’s detailed list of degrees and credentials were too numerous for his youthful appearance. His intelligence was vast; yet he was a personal master at comprehending and restoring the fantastic tales of Antonio Welshire and his mad family’s descent into the dark world of vampirism. From patriarch Antonio’s brutal human days to the coven’s near destruction by the rival Lilithan vampires and the ambiguous Mestiphles’ meddling appearances and disappearances; this Vampire Family’s history is very well documented through some centuries and bare and bleak in others. Some journals are utterly disturbing in their tales of blood and mayhem while other diaries are strangely heartfelt, bittersweet, and uncomfortably endearing.
The fire that brought these texts into my possession was education blessing enough-the lifetime epitome of Tut and Troy to most scholars. Some library men would be content to sit behind their musky parchments and read the decades away. I, however, have had the unique privilege of authenticating these documents as truth. Of course, that wasn’t until many years later; when Theodore arrived at my office door looking as young as the day we first met. On the plane to Philadelphia, I never suspected I would arrive at the doorstep of sisters Samantha and Victoria Welshire. I had read over five hundred years of their tall tales; yet here the startling beauties were, living and breathing before me fangs and all. Only then did I begin to realize the full extent of this familial coven.
The academic community may disagree with my claims; but this dark, sensational and unbelievable underground lifestyle has afforded me considerable gains. Today I live a quiet life among the Welshires, and their vast knowledge of history and the world has blessed me intellectually as well as financially. In this simple, ignorant time obsessed with youthfulness and beauty, I’ve seen immortal creatures age, know love, feel pain-even die and regain their humanity. I myself have been able to change; embracing surgeries and procedures I would not have considered before coming to know the Welshires. With no evil or nefarious means, this vampire knowledge and power has made me a new man inside out. It’s something I could never have fathomed before these burned books first came my way.....

-PAJ

So there! If you want pop horror and scary comedy, join the Horrofest happening on The Vampire Family Facebook page. Our webmistress Kristin keeps up with the times. I of course, do not- so stop texting me. Do, however, sext me, as I like the vamp BDSM pictures. Remember there's no blood necessary for the participation in any virtual Vampire Family events. Yet.

Thank you,



http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Vampire-Family/157922293588

http://vampfam.blogspot.com

Kari Thomas

Today we have Kari Thomas with us. She has popped in to tell us about herself, her writing and her achievements. The books look good, Kari. We wish you well with them and much future sucess.







Writing keeps me sane! Honest! When people ask me why I spend so much time lost in my writing world I tell them that. Of course, they always want a better explanation (as they carefully back away from me! LOL!). The truth is, my imagination has no limits. I'm constantly thinking of new story ideas, etc. I started creating stories when I was old enough to write. My mom encouraged me --probably to keep me from driving her crazy too! By the time I was 13 I had finished a 300 page YA Mystery and sent it out into the publishing world. Of course, it was rejected. And my "future fame" as an author was nearly crushed. Still, after the initial shock of repeating the mantra: "WHAT! They didnt want my Best Seller book? What's wrong with them?", I finally went back to writing and creating more stories. Life intruded, as life does, and I found myself writing little spurts here and there. But it wasn't until years later that I finally finished another full manuscript (this time a Romance) and decided to submit it....while I held my breath and prayed a lot!


YAY! It was accepted. I was on cloud nine. And even though it's a much used cliche, "The rest is History" really does say it all for me. Now, eight published Books, and two Shorts later, I'm still writing and still managing to stay sane. If you knew me, you'd know that's a big accomplishment! LOL!


Along the way I've also managed to become a Freelance Editor for an Arizona Publisher, and a Book Reviewer for the major Romance Publishing Houses. I do the Reviews on my website, www.authorkari.com , under "Kari's Korner Reviews" page.


As for personal, I spend my time being my elderly dad's 24/7 Caregiver. I'm a professed "Book-a-Holic" with over 3,000 books in my personal Library (and counting!). I love to paint and I love working on my doll house miniatures ---both hobbies when ever I get the chance.


My latest Release is SPELL-KISSED, with www.blacklyonpublishing.com and like most of my books it's a Paranormal Romance. My last Release, UNDER A SHIFTER'S MOON won three Awards right after it was published.



Please do visit my site, www.authorkari.com and take a look at my List. I hope you find something that will catch your attention. I would love to hear any opinions: authorkari@yahoo.com

HAPPY READING HUGS, Kari




Thanks for sharing your time with us today Kari. Your books sound fascinating and your experiences of rejection and then acceptance may encourage young authors to do the same.

Vanessa A. Johnson

Hi Vanessa. Tell us a little about yourself and your books please.


Thanks Linda, Here goes:

About the Author

Vanessa A. Johnson, a life-long Louisianan began writing in 1994 after the untimely deaths of her mother and son. Her first book is titled, When Death Comes a Knockin’ a self-help, inspirational book about loss and grief. (Lulu Press, March 2005, ISBN 1-4116-2470-X)

Johnson is included in numerous fiction, non-fiction and poetry anthologies: Help, I’ve Turned Into My Mother, Strebor Books, 2005; The Purple Pen Anthology of Short Stories, AuthorHouse, 2005; BlackExpressions’ Songs of Hope Poetry Anthology, 2005; Living by Faith, Obadiah Press, 2004; Down the Cereal Aisle, Daniel’s House Publications, 2003; and the Celebrations Anthologies, Notes To My Mother, Notes to My Grandmother, Notes to My Father, Adassa Prendergast Publishers, 2006; with inclusion in three more books in the 35-book series. Johnson will also be included in the Second Chance Anthology of Short Stores and Gumbo for the Soul Anthology: the Recipe for Literacy in the Black Community.

Johnson first novel, Sacrifices In The Name of Love was published 06032010 by Red Rose Publishing in eBook format (ISBN: 978-1-60435-712-7). She is doing rewrites on book number three, Tempted By Love and has begun book number four titled, Black Sheep of The Family. She is available through her web site: www.vanessaajohnson.com, Email: vanessaajohnson@hughes.net and on Facebook and Myspace.

Sacrifices In 'The Name of Love Blurb:

What sacrifices could you make under the guise of love?

Trey Martin, a Black teenager and Tessa Phillips, a white teenager are about to find out in Sacrifices In The Name of Love. They are neighbors in a small Louisiana town where race mixing is still taboo in the 21st century. Despite the objections and beliefs of their parents, the two give in to the desires for each other. Tessa becomes pregnant and creates a web of lies to conceal the baby’s paternity because she fears the wrath of her self-professed racist father.

No longer able to hide the truth, Tessa will make some tough and painful sacrifices, all under the guise of love. Will she be able to live with those sacrifices? Journey with Tessa and Trey as they face challenges that include sex, death, lies, family secrets and forgiveness. Despite those challenges, Tessa is determined to right her wrongs.

Will those challenges make or break her as she faces her demons and those of her love ones, too?

Vanessa Johnson
vanessaajohnson@hughes.net
www.vanessaajohnson.com
www.facebook.com/vanessaajohnson
www.twitter.com/vanessaajohnson
Author, Sacrifices In the Name of Love
Ebook Available: RedRosePublishing.com & Amazon.com

Thanks for stopping by Vanessa. it was good to meet you

Cornelia Amirir

Hi Cornelia

Welcome to the blog. Please tell us about yourself and your books.


I’m romance author, Cornelia Amiri, and I wanted to tell you a little bit about my Celtic/Romance books. I love history, my favorite time periods and people are the Dark Age and Ancient Celts. It’s a time period few people have accurate knowledge of, so I have to make a world previously unknown to the reader, real to them, just like fantasy and sci-fi authors do. I use fantasy to bring the readers into the belief system of the characters. I want to make the druid teachings of the times come alive to the readers. So in my books, people can shapeshift, there are selkies, dead ancestors cross over to speak with you and help you out, gods fall in love with humans, and, from time to time, dragons visit from their alternate dimension. Drawing on my love of history and fifteen years of research on the ancient Celts, I write these tales of long swords, hot heroes, and warrior women. My nine Celtic/Paranormal/Romance books are:

Druid Bride --- The fate of Caledonia rests in the hands of the Warrior and the Druidess. Will they put their differences aside to fulfill their destiny?
Druid Quest - Relive the magic, myth, and adventure of ancient Britannia as two druids fight for their lives, their faith, and their love
Queen of Kings - As wild, strong, and beautiful as the land she rules, all men lust for her, warriors and kings bow to her might and magic, but one champion comes forth with a white bull and true love.


A Fine Cauldron of Fish - It's summer on the Isle of Man and Andrew’s looking for hot girls and good times when he meets Margaid. She lives in a cave under the sea, is invisible, and thinks that only Andrew's blood can save her from turning into a kelpie! But hey, whoever said love was perfect!?


The Fox Prince – Tryffin a Celtic prince searches for and finds his true love, Aelfrida, a Saxon slave. But Aelfrida is not sure about the match and must decide between vengeance or love.


One Heart One Way - An ancient god, a magic sword, and a hot prince, named Blaise.
Danger Is Sweet - From ancient druid lore, springs the tale of a mysterious, dark warrior, a fiery Pict Princess, and the shadowy secret standing between them.
The Vixen Princess - A ghost is called forth from the grave to bring a sword-wielding widow together with a dark, muscular warrior, and open their locked hearts with the magic of love.


Timeless Voyage - Love isn’t bound by the limits of time
My tenth book will be released 12/07/10, The Wolf and the Druidess - A god leaves the Otherworld and even risks his life … for love.

Druid Bride's publisher is Eternal Press - also for The Wolf and the Druidess, and Queen of Kings and A Fine Caludron of Fish.

Druid Quest, Fox Prince, Vixen Princess, One Heart One Way, and Danger Is Sweet, are published by Awe Struck Ebooks.

Timeless Voyage is published by All Romance E-books for the American Heart Association and all proceeds for that book go to the American Heart Association.






For more information please visit my web site at http://CelticRomanceQueen.com


It was nice having you here Conelia. Your books sound great and I wish you lots of luck with them. It is great that you have given your royalties on one of your books to the American Heart Association. Well done you!