Maine Romance Writers’ 2019
STRUT YOUR STUFF CONTEST
The 2019 Maine Romance Writers’ STRUT YOUR STUFF CONTEST is NOW OPEN!
And we’re excited to announce this year’s contest is open to published and unpublished authors!
~~~~~~~~~~
Authors whose published books become finalists will be entered in our online
Readers’ Choice Awards and have a chance to get their book in front of potential readers.
We are pleased toannounce that acquiring editor, DEBWERKSMAN of SOURCEBOOKS will be this year’s final round judge for unpublished entries.
~~~~~~~~~~
Eligibility:
** PUBLISHED BOOKS **
Books with an original copyright date of 2018 maybe entered in any of the four categories below.
** UNPUBLISHED BOOKS**
Any author may enter a blurb in the unpublishedportion of the contest as long as the book being entered has never beenpublished in any format and is not or will not be under contract, up forpre-order or set to be published before May 20, 2019.
~~~~~~~~~~
Authorsmay enter multiple books with separate entry form and fee for each title. Entries will be accepted until midnight EST FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 2019
No membership requirements
You can check out all the details on the MAINE ROMANCE WRITERS WEBSITE.
We hope you’ll consider entering.
January is a great time to begin fulfilling those 2019 New Years resolutions. If one of them is to get your books published, taking advantage of my formatting sale is perfect for you!
Schedule your formatting job for a January date and receive any Seaside Publications at a 25% discount!!
That means your print book will receive the same great formatting for only $75! Digital formatting for your novel begins at $30!
So what are you waiting for? Contact Nina (Nina@NinaPierce.com) to schedule your formatting job for this month!
This was a fun little Valentine writing exercise. I used a WORD GENERATOR to pick some words that I had to use in a romance story. A roll of the dice and we’re given three characters, mine were a BANKER, A COWBOY, and A BASEBALL PLAYER. I need to work in the adjectives PICKY, FAMOUS and ANGRY. And the whole scene needs to take place in a TAXI CAB. Well, okay, here’s my Valentine’s story writtene especially for my visitors. Please enjoy …
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The taxi driver set the gray-haired woman’s two oversized suitcases on the sidewalk of the Plaza hotel and handed the happy chihuahua’s leash to the doorman. She folded two bucks in his hand with a wink and a smile as if the five percent tip were an overpayment. He bent and kissed her on the cheek. “Happy Valentine’s Day Mrs. Bozeman. I hope you enjoy your second honeymoon with your beau.”
A sweet blush crawled up her cheeks. “Forty-seven years ago today Mr. Bozeman asked me to be his girl. Pinned me right there in the hallway before he went on to win the high school state basketball championship.”
This happens every once in awhile. The whole “to blog or not to blog” argument I have with myself. Yeah, it’s reared it’s ugly head … again.
This time it’s not just the fact that–in this time of 140 character (Twitter) or photo (Pinterest) updates–people are running around the internet looking for a quick way to keep in touch. I’ve come to realize that I have no platform.
No, that’s not the right word. It’s not like I want to be the voice of a “cause”. What I mean is, I’m not sure who I’m blogging for. I mean, who do I expect to stop by and read my posts? I know it’s mostly my writer friends (whom I appreciate *mwah*), though I get some people stopping by who aren’t part of the publishing world. So do they really want to read about editing or rejection? Perhaps they do. Perhaps they want to know about the life of the writer including it’s ups and downs.
Do I want to attract people with posts about my books or invite them to check out excerpts? Are people interested in that or is there just too much of that out in the cyber world?
Maybe the best I can expect is to just spew whatever is on my mind and hope to have different people stop by who are interested in that topic. Of course that means I have to talk about it on facebook and goodreads. I don’t know. But since you’re here, I’d love to hear what blogs you visit and why. Do you think blogs are going the way of the wall phone?
Thank you to everyone who stopped on the Just Romance Me Valentine’s Blog Hop and commented on my story. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
And without further adieu the winner of my three book Tilling Passions
sexy romantic suspense series is:
Heather
GRAND PRIZE WINNER of the NOOK TOUCH for the hop is:
Yadira
And the winner of Ripe and Ready and a $10 Amazon Gift card, chosen at random with random number generator.com, from all the commenters on my short story is:
Victoria from
Glen Rock, PA
Congratulations ladies! I hope you’ll all join in the fun on the next blog hop.
Welcome one and all. This weekend I’m doing something a little bit different. I’m participating in a blog hop with all kinds of authors offering all kinds of prizes. If you happened upon my blog first, please do start HERE and join in on the fun to be eligible to win a Kindle 4!
Since this is a Halloween blog tour, I can’t resist sharing some candy …
I have no doubt this tooshie is popular on our hop today. But isn’t he worth another look?
Ah hem, okay, back to our regularly scheduled tour … Participants were offered the opportunity to “roll” a scene generator and challenged to use the words offered in one scene. Of course working it into a Halloween theme gets me extra points. (I totally made that up! *vbg*) But here are my characters: VETERINARIAN, DEMON, BOUNTY HUNTER and I somehow I had to incorporate the personality traits SMUG, OBSESSIVE, SHIFTY and it all had to take place in a SALON. LOL! I’m always up for a good challenge. Leave me a comment to know what you think and you’ll be entered to win a set of my romance trading cards(which you can check out HERE) and an ebook of BLIND HER WITH BLISS, the first book in my Tilling Passions series.
Please enjoy my story …
I slammed into the salon, the cheery bells announcing my arrival.
The day had dawned way too early after a night that had ended way too late. But calves didn’t arrive at the convenience of veterinarians. It felt like I’d no sooner fallen exhausted into bed when the alarm screamed at me to begin another day at my practice. I’d started my morning under a cold spray of water from a water heater my landlord had yet to fix. Add the burned toast and grinds in my watery coffee and I’d barely been coherent enough to change the flat tire I’d no doubt acquired at Old Man Corey’s farm the previous night.
“What the hell, Delanie Shepherd? You look like something one of your horses trampled. And I wouldn’t call a flannel shirt and jeans much of a costume.” My best friend, Peggy sauntered out of the back room, the sexy demon costume hugging her curves, reminding me I’d forgotten to buy candy for the trick-or-treaters who would be knocking at my door tonight.
“Don’t give me a hard time. I’ve had a crappy morning and I’m already running late. I told you I’d pick up little Oliver on my way to the office.”
“Of course I remembered. I’ve got my little guy. We’ve done some special bonding this morning commiserating about his surgery.” Peggy was obsessive about her ten cats. As responsible as she was, she always felt neutering was cruel form of toruture. “Why don’t you give me thirty minutes to work at trying to give that hair of yours a little style and maybe find you a sexy doctor’s costume you can wear for the day?”
The bell over the door rang.
“No time this morning. I’ve got shots to give and testicles to remove. Busy. Busy.”
“Ouch! I’m glad I’m not one of your patients.”
A low groan rumbled in my chest. That toe-curling Irish accent could belong to only one man. So not who I wanted to run into after I’d barely gotten two hours of sleep. But I pasted on my best I don’t care smile and turned to find Heath McTabbit in all his six-foot-something-mouth-watering glory standing there in a Hans Solo getup. The Bounty Hunter costume made the local pediatrician appear even more dangerous. The smile he flashed seemed to reach down and grab the pit of my stomach, pulling it into a hot lump in my throat.
“Are you emasculating all males you come across today or targeting specific ones?” he asked.
“Only males with shifty eyes who have no control over the libidos.” I shot back.
“Dr. Heath,” Peggy cried. “I’m so glad you could stop by this morning to pick up our basket of goodies for the children’s party this afternoon. Let me get that for you.” Peggy disappeared into the back room.
I rolled my eyes at my dear friend’s obvious attempt at matchmaking. Happily married, Peggy hated that I hadn’t found my Prince Charming. “I think Peggy’s arranging more than hair today.”
Heath stepped closer to me, the heat of his body buffeting me through the thin flannel of my shirt. The fresh scent of his cologne assaulted my nose, making my knees go weak. “I for one am glad she did. You seem to avoid me every time we’re in the same room.”
I backed up, only to find he’d trapped me between the free standing hair dryer and the wall of his body. My heart hammered in my chest and I suspected by the way his gaze dropped to my throat that he could see how he affected me. “That’s not true. I do not avoid you. I’m just…a busy woman.” A lie. There was something about my younger brother’s best friend that I found unsettling. Heath McTabbit never missed an opportunity to single me out at parties. But our five year age difference made me feel awkward and uncomfortable. In our small town, I had no desire to be the grist for the rumor mill that never stopped.
He toyed with my hair, his mesmerizing blue eyes raking my face. “Prove it. Find some sexy costume and join me at the Halloween dance tonight.”
“Heath…” I dragged his name over my tongue, trying to make my lips form the word no even as my head screamed yes.
“Stop worrying about other people, Delanie. Don’t think what’s right. Think about this.” His mouth came down hard on mine, not some soft exploration, but a full on assault that had my eyes falling shut and overwhelming me with the dizzying softness of his lips. He tasted and nipped before slowly easing back enough to talk, his breath feathering over my swollen mouth. “Say yes, Delanie.”
My lids fluttered open, my mind overwhelmed by his heat. His taste. His smell. “Yes, Delanie.”
The smug smile lighting his face, stole what little breath I had left. “Then it’s a date,” he said dangerously quiet in that Irish brogue that promised wicked tricks and sinful treats.
Peggy’s squeeing brought me back down to reality. “Well it’s about time you two figured this thing out.” She held up a basket of cookies and the cat carrier.
Peggy may have been wearing the demon costume, but when Heath winked, I was sure I’d just made a date with the devil.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Enjoy the rest of your blog tour!
**** CONGRATULATIONS TO MY WINNERS ****
Julia Barrett
(Blind Her With Bliss and Romance Trading Cards)
Donna
(A set of Romance Trading Cards)
**** CONGRATULATIONS TO BLOG HOP PRIZE WINNERS ****
DJ – Grand Prize of the Kindle
Jessica Sutton – Winner of my “Bonded Souls”
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYONE WHO JOINED IN THE FUN!
Obviously I seem to be having a some crisis of identity. Some internal search to figure out my place in this world. More specifically, where I fit in this whole crazy-ever-changing-dear-lord-what-have-I-done world of publishing.
I’ve been thinking about blogs and the WIDE universe of the internet and how many people every day who are seeking our attention. I don’t take a lot of time surfing blogs. Very little as a matter of fact. Which I believe is directly proportional to the number of people who stop by The Block on a regular basis. (And I love and enjoy chatting with all three of you. *g*)
I have only a couple of blogs I visit nearly every day Julia Rachel Barrett because Julia blogs on everything from movies to television to interesting authors she enjoys reading. And Penelope’s Romance Reviews because I just relate. The rest of my blog surfing is done from recommendations. But since I’ve dropped out of most of my Yahoo loops, I don’t get many of those anymore either.
So what makes you visit a blog? Besides the three dear friends who come all the time … what brought you here today? Just curious.
And if you’re up for following me around the internet, I’m trying to do a bit of marketing at Hesperia Loves Books because she’s showcasing indie authors for the next couple of weeks. And also at The Tiki Hut, Author Island’s guest blogger hang out. I’ll be there all week.
Hope you’re having a wonderful week!
I’m going to admit I spend all day on the computer, but do very little internet surfing. I have places I hang out, but I don’t have a regular route of blogs I visit. I find posts via other people who post the links on the loops I frequent. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t see some really good, thought provoking stuff. I just want to share with you some great places I’ve been this past week.
Like Maureen Johnson’s great post on social media and a call to authors who choose NOT to brand themselves. (Note: This blog was posted in the summer, but this is the first time I’ve seen it.) This approach isn’t for every author, but she makes some great points. Everyone is screaming for authors to get out there and market themselves on every social media platform available. Yes, I believe it’s important to market onesself, but I really like Ms. Johnson’s take on things.
Julia Barrett did a great three part series on “The Secret Success of Romance”. Unfortunately, the people who need to see this post aren’t the smart and talented readers and authors stopping by. It really needs to get out to the people out in the blogosphere who still believe the romance genre involves Neanderthal Dukes bullying women and virgin waifs who do nothing but simper and whine. It’s a great series. You should check it out and then repost it … perhaps it will go viral and help educate the masses who wouldn’t pick up a “bodice ripper” novel if their life depended on it.
And this shout out goes to a good friend, Constance Ruth Clark whose debut release is coming out in May 2011 from Lyrical Press. She’s been blogging for awhile and now is on bed rest for a couple of weeks. Why don’t you head on over there and show her some comment love, she could use the company.
Of course I’ve got internet surfing on the brain as I’m gearing up for a two week blog tour (which is kind of like a virtually book signing without the fur of having cookies and coffee) to promote “Maid for Master“. Here’s the schedule:
Dirty Sexy Books: Jan 12 RELEASE DAY!
Amber Skyze: Jan 17
Tina Donahue: Jan 18
Adele Dubois: Jan 19
Romance Books R Us: Jan 20
Julia Barrett’s World: Jan 21
Taige Crenshaw: Jan 22
Francesca Hawley: Jan 24
Renee Vincent: Jan 25
I’ll be posting different guest spots and there will be a give away to one lucky commenter chosen from all the guest posts. So please stop by and say hello to my hosts!
And of course if you have some time on your hands, feel free to swing over HERE. It’s become one of my favorite places to hang out and drool. 😉
Wow! Thank you to ROSALIE LARIO and CLAUDIA CELESTIAL GIRL, regular visitors to The Block, who both honored me with this blogging award. *blushes* Awww … thanks ladies.
I started blogging when I signed my first contract. It just seemed like I had so much to say and just needed a place to get it all out. The fact that people take time and stop over to read my ramblings is pretty humbling. But it’s fun to chat with all of you.
Now, as I understand I need to share seven things about myself. Okay …
1. I LOVE Christmas and my cellar is filled with decorations which explode inside and out turning my house into a Christmas wonderland (except this year because it’s all packed. 🙁 )
2. I started dating Mr. Nina when I was 14 … a lifetime ago.
3. I used to be a teacher which satisfied the actress in me that needed an outlet. *vbg*
4. I’ve actually been in a cadaver lab in college and thought it was pretty cool.
5. I love wine. No, not just have a glass now and again … nothing makes me happier than finding the right wine to go with a meal.
6. I grew up in the country and my siblings and the neighborhood kids used to take our runner sleds out to woods at and sled down this HUGE hill into a field. Yep, we did this as teenagers. It was a blast!
7. I actually went to school for a year to be computer programmer, but I’m about as technically challenged as it comes. Yeeeah, teaching was a much better choice for me.
And now I need to pass this on to other bloggers that I enjoy. It seems many of the blogs I enjoy reading have already been bestowed this honor, but I did want to pass it on to a few of my favorites.
* Kathy Kulig
* Tina Donahue
* Lex Valentine
I hope you’ll take some time and visit these wonderful blogs and give them a shout out.
And my lastest news? I got the cover for my newest novella coming soon from Ellora’s Cave, Maid for Master Druuuuuummmm roll please …
Isn’t that just gorgeous? Syneca does an amazing job with all our covers. Mwah! Thanks!
And here’s the BLURB:
Treat herself to a carnal weekend at the hedonistic retreat, XTC Resorts? That’s not something Claire Calderwood, a three-time loser in the relationship department would ordinarily do. But at forty-one, having a successful cleaning business is no longer enough. She wants a chance to let go of all responsibility, submit to a stranger’s sexual demands and satisfy her darkest fantasies.
Jonathon Brierton has known his best friend’s sister long enough to recognize her submissive nature. He would like nothing more than to have Claire bound naked and at the mercy of his flogger as he teaches her the sensual art of obeying her Master. At thirty-something, he’s a successful real estate developer, owner of a BDSM resort—and hopelessly in love with the older woman.
When Claire follows him to his resort, Jonathon is certain he can keep his identity secret long enough to convince her that being restrained in his stocks is something that will satisfy them both. But lies, deceit and broken hearts may not be so easy to overcome.
I don’t have a release date yet, but I’ll keep you posted!
It hardly seems possible that THREE years has gone by since I started this blog. Wow! Seriously, just wow!
My first ever blog POSTS appeared the last week of November 2007. I remember frantically setting up a website (which has undergone two major renovations) and beginning to blog on my now inactive MySpace page as I try to establish my corner of the Internet as a new author. It was such a crazy time. My first book (then titled) “The Healer’s Garden” was scheduled for release at the end of December that year. Funny how that book has been re-released through ELLORA’S CAVE as “Healer’s Garden” and has also become my first book in print. Lots of firsts with that one. 🙂
Looking back it is amazing to me the things that I’ve learned in such a short time. The learning curve for an Environmental Educator thrown into the publishing world has been steep, but I really wouldn’t trade it. I love learning and being challenged by new things. But never would I have imagined this journey. I’m so happy to have it documented because even I couldn’t imagine the highs and lows of a writing career.
Hmmm, let me see some of the things I’ve learned and even taken time to blog about …
1. That being successful at a writing career means more than just writing … you gotta learn to market yourself as well
2. That the internet is full of people who want to help and eventually become really good friends
3. That sometimes RWA can piss you off, but by and large it’s a great organization
4. That being a contest slut can certainly get you some great and sound advice
5. That EDIT isn’t one of THOSE four letter words
6. That writing is rewarding … but it’s also really HARD
7. That sometimes in this business you have to have a REALLY thick skin
8. Even though you have plenty of excuses no one ever bought a story that was still in your head.
9. That editors don’t all do their jobs the same, but they sure are important to putting out a great book!
10. That writing conference are far from boring.
11. That sometimes writers aren’t who we may think they are
12. That despite advice from others sometimes you have to go with your gut
13. That everyone loves a little eye candy now and again!
14. That EVERYTHING changes even publishing
15. That cover day is just as exciting as getting the contract.
I’m sure there is so much more, but those are the bigger things.
Well, I just feel in the mood for something fun in celebration of my anniversary. I’d like to give something away to my readers and writer friends. I’ll pull together a fun little box of goodies from my promo closet (including a print copy of “Healer’s Garden“) and choose one person at random from those who comments on this post between now and noon DECEMBER 6, EST. And just because I’m feeling really generous I’ll also give away an ebook of “Hearts of Fire-May” which includes my vampire novella “Shadows of Fire“.
Just tell me something you’ve learned as a reader or a writer since you started following writers on the internet or began writing. Something that surprised you or made you pause or you thought … yeah, well, dur … what did you think? I’d love to hear from you.
Connect
