Thursday, February 16, 2017

Robyn Meets Curtis ★ THE BILLIONAIRE'S RUNAWAY FIANCÉE excerpt

Release week has been crazy busy! Today I'm letting Curtis and Robyn - & a giveaway - do the heavy lifting with this excerpt ::

“You’re late.”

Robyn Tindall stared at the back of the tremendous leather office chair. Since it just barked at her, she assumed someone sat there, but it was too big to be sure.

Wiping her damp palms against her black skirt, she took a deep breath. The temporary employment agency had warned her Golden City’s CEO burned through executive assistants daily. She got a full day’s pay no matter how long he kept her. So far, no one had made it to their coffee break. Robyn had no intention of kowtowing to someone who would fire her within the hour.

“Your clock’s off. My agency was told eight, and according to my watch I’m thirty-two seconds early.”

The black chair turned slowly, revealing the most gorgeous man she’d seen off a movie screen. Deep brown hair, a strong uncompromising jaw, and black-fringed eyes that sparkled a surprising aquamarine. She’d expected a crotchety old man. Her pulse jackhammered as a smile played on her lips. Too bad he didn’t have the same response.

“You think that’s funny?”

Oh damn. She’d make the record for being fired the fastest. She cleared her throat. “Where would you like me to start?”

“I don’t know. It’s your job, not mine.” He spoke with a mocking slowness that made her wonder if he was teasing or truly an ass.

“There’s a desk in front of your office door. I’m guessing that would belong to your assistant.”

“It did until two months ago when she retired.”

“She didn’t train someone before she left?” He must have run her off, too.

“There was no time. Her daughter adopted triplets, and if anyone can schedule three babies, it’s Carla.”

“She’s not coming back?”

He raised a straight eyebrow. “I’ve seen them. They’re cuter than me.”

Robyn smiled, doubting looks had anything to do with it. He wasn’t cute by any means. Handsome, jaw dropping, mouthwatering. Robyn sucked in a cooling breath and dragged her mind out of the gutter.

“And you have no idea what it was she did for you.” Fan-freaking-tastic. No wonder he’d been so short with the parade of assistants who’d been through the revolving door. Carla had made it seem effortless, so he didn’t consider it a demanding job.

“Not the first clue.” The sensual promise of his smile surprised her.

She pushed her wire-rimmed glasses tighter against her face, reminding herself men like him did not look at girls like her that way. He probably dated models and debutantes. Her last boyfriend had been a house painter.

“I’ll check out the desk and see what I can decipher.”

“Don’t bother. You’re not what I need.”


He turned to his computer and began to work. Robyn blinked and checked her watch. She’d been fired after one minute on the job. That had to be a record, and not one she had any intention of making. She’d never been fired before, and this clown wouldn’t break her streak, no matter how handsome or dynamic he seemed.

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Just Contemporary Romance: In Lieu of a Card...

Just Contemporary Romance: In Lieu of a Card...: With: Jenna Bayley-Burke


I’ve never been a fan of a card for every occasion. I have friends that are so up on that game, I don’t even try. They’ll have a gorgeous card for me to add my name to, not some 2 for a $1 thing from Dollar Tree that I’d show up with. They shell out $4 of these cards, sometimes more. And they’re fab, but looked at once and recycled...

Monday, February 13, 2017

☆★ THE BILLIONAIRE'S RUNAWAY FIANCÉE ★☆

The Billionaire is finally LIVE! Be sure to snag your copy of this sexy, sassy, friends-to-lovers romance with a fake engagement, hot boss, and a heroine with a Cinderella Complex!

THE BILLIONAIRE’S RUNAWAY FIANCÉE 
Invested in Love 2

A kiss can change everything...

Robyn Tindall’s new boss has a penchant for running off new personal assistants before lunch, but she’s not about to let herself be fired by the billionaire with a bad attitude, no matter how good he looks. She’s determined to be indispensable and unflappable, until he surprises her with a crazy proposal.
Curtis Frye is impressed with his new assistant’s dedication and decides she could be the answer to his publicity problems if only she’ll agree to marry him. It’s the perfect plan. He can offer her the world—everything he thinks a woman desires. But Robyn doesn’t want anything money can buy. She wants a happily ever after with a man who loves her. If only he can convince her love is off the table, not to mention convince his heart of that…


He's a jerk. She's a dreamer. Simple right? NOT! There is more to Curtis and Robyn. He wallows in regrets. She needs a reason to hope. Both are searching for that missing part of themselves. Perhaps, they've already found it. The Billionaire's Runaway Fiancee is part childhood fairy tale, part heartwarming romance. Ms. Burke is not afraid to blend the classics with the modern. She has a style that works for her and gets the heart involved every time

EXCERPT


Thursday, February 09, 2017

Wednesday, February 08, 2017

The Billionaire's Runaway Fiancée - How 'Bout That Title?

I learned so many thing while the Lovely Editor and I reworked Her Cinderella Complex into The Billionaire's Runaway Fiancée. SO MANY!

  • My writing has improved like whoa.
  • It's stupid hard to change a character's name. 
  • Commercial real estate is a crazy lucrative business. 
  • A fiancé is a man; fiancée is a woman.
  • Only editors know this. And Amazon. Go on, search for The Billionaire's Runaway Fiancé - you need the extra e to find it.
  • The easiest way to make the é thing is to Google fiancé then copy & paste. 
  • A copyeditor can enter eleventy billion semi-colons into your mss, and you have to pick them out one by one. Like burrs. 
  • Adding extra scenes is so much fun! And reader driven. Yes, I do keep those emails. 
  • I remember the story in books, not how much sex is in it. Hot damn.
  • I need to bring Mrs. Rutledge into more of the Invested In Love books. I like her. And Delia.
  • Maybe I'll just spin off Curtis' whole family. Find the original Jason Frye. 

I am sure there are more. But I started to wander at the end there. Probably because I wanted to share an excerpt and haven't done it yet. Let's get to it, shall we?

The Billionaire's Runaway Fiancée


The water lapped at Robyn’s body like a hypnotic haze, soothing her desire, drawing out her every sensual reaction. Nearly weightless, she stared up at him, his light eyes shining an intense aquamarine that punctuated the hunger in his gaze. He stood above her, so big, male, and mesmerizing she couldn’t take her eyes off him. His defined chest with a fine spray of dark hair trailing over his flat stomach and lower… She dragged her gaze back up his body, meeting his eyes once more. The only thing that would make him look better would be if he were dripping wet.

She floated back a little to cooler water. She was deep under the spell of the sensations of the currents pushing around her, reacting to her every movement, luxuriating in the arousal.

“You should join me.”

“I will.” He looked at the far end of the pool, then back at her.

“What are you waiting for?”

“I’m trying to think of the best way to get in.”

“What is it? Can’t you swim?” She splashed at him playfully, slightly worried she might have hit the mark.

“Oh, that’s how it is?” He smiled down at her, warm and wicked. He took one step back, then cannon balled into the pool, sending water flying everywhere. Robyn ducked down to avoid the spray, but Curtis beat her beneath the surface, his hands on either side of her face as he pulled her to him, and they met in an underwater kiss.

She gave herself over to the exhilaration, their bodies floating together as their mouths met without friction. Breaking the kiss, he released her, leaving her alone to break the surface.

She swam to where she could anchor her feet on the pool floor, her head and neck above water. She’d made a silly list of fifty things to do in her life back in college, and kissing under water was right below skinny-dipping in the moonlight. She hadn’t thought of the list in years, until he was kissing her, making her wishes come true. Two for two on the day.

Water slid off her hair, across her face, as she tried to find her bearings. This felt real, yet maybe it was a vivid dream. The items on the list sped through her mind.

Fall madly in love. She was crazy to be in love with him, that’s for sure.

Have a fairy-tale wedding. Almost got that one, too.

Water rippled behind her, warning her before Curtis was there, sliding up her body so close she could feel the heat coming off him without his even touching her. One large hand snaked around her middle, pulling her back against him, so near she felt every muscle of his hard body....SHOOT. HAVE TO PG THIS PART.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he whispered against her ear, nuzzling her neck.

“You didn’t.” Her hand drifted down, against his firm thigh, the sparse hair the only friction between them. “I just remembered something.”

“What?” He peppered her neck and shoulder with hot kisses, the warmth moving down her body, anticipation building between her thighs.

“I made a list of things I want to do.”

“Am I on it?”

She couldn’t help but laugh, looking through the water to watch his hands drift up her body until ...AND HERE TOO

“Am I the only thing on it?”

“You are so arrogant.” His laugh vibrated the water around them, turning her desire up another degree. “I wrote it before we met, in college. I haven’t thought of it since.”

She couldn’t stifle a moan as he ...OOPS. ANOTHER ONE She rested her head back against his shoulder, letting him support her before she continued.

“Skinny-dipping in the moonlight was on the list, but I didn’t think of it until you kissed me underwater.”

“I didn’t think it would take my breath away. We can try it again tomorrow. Right now I’m too worked up.” SO, YOU KNOW THE DRILL BY NOW “Forget everything. It will be there tomorrow.”

He was right. Reality never left, but fantasy was fleeting. “I wanted to kiss in the rain, too, and beneath a waterfall.”

She turned easily in his embrace, the water making her slippery and slick. Her arms went naturally around his neck, his chest hair teasing her beaded nipples as she pressed against him. He took her lips between his, capturing them in a heated, promising kiss. She barely noticed as he lifted her up, her feet drifting as he moved them to the side of the pool, pressing her up against the wall. He pulled his lips away, taking her CURTIS IS A FILTHY BEAST
“I wanted to make love in a pool.”

He grinned, wicked and dark, before dipping his head to run his tongue THIS GUY IS MESSING WITH MY EXCERPT

“And on the beach.”

YES. THIS WHOLE BIT

“And in the rain.”

Again he rewarded her with more attention, more pleasure.

“A bed of roses.”

She tried desperately to remember the list, to keep the pleasure coming at a steady stream. “On a train. Under the stars.” She writhed against his onslaught. “On a yacht. A rooftop. On the grass.”

Oh sweet heaven, he switched CURTIS, WOULD YOU EASE UP She closed her eyes and envisioned all the places she’d ever wanted to knock him to the ground and take him.

“On your desk.” The moaning need in her voice must belong to someone else. “In your bed.”

“Yours is better.” He barely moved, the tension swirling deep in her belly.

“It is?”

“Trust me.” He played OKAY, SERIOUSLY DUDE “Is that all?” he asked, barely letting up. “Because we can have all that done before the end of the week.”

Think. It was nearly impossible when she was about to come undone. “On the kitchen table.”

“In every room of that house.”

“There are twenty-seven rooms in that house.” She ROBYN IS A HORNY TOAD TOO. .

“It will barely take the edge off.” His hand slithered down her body, cupping her SO MAYBE THIS WASN'T A GOOD CHOICE FOR AN EXCERPT

He had a point. She had nearly a year of frustration to work out. The house was just the beginning. “On a trampoline.”

He released her BLEEP BLEEP, straightening up. “Where do we get a trampoline?”

She was not thinking logically just now. “I was fantasizing.”

He shook his head. “This is a planning session. You want love, Robyn, we’ll make it.”

Copyright © 2017 Jenna Bayley-Burke
All rights reserved — Entangled Publishing

Monday, February 06, 2017

With Love for Books: With Love For Romantic Books Cold - Snowed In by J...

With Love for Books: With Love For Romantic Books Cold - Snowed In by J...: Check out this great review for Snowed In, and don't forget to enter the giveaway!

"There are quite a few heated and hot scenes and even though Scott and Marissa are snowed in they don't notice the cold, because inside the cabin there's fire."


Giveaway
One very lucky reader of With Love For Books will receive Women's Winter Screentouch Gloves (or equivalent if the winner lives outside the US) from Jenna Bayley-Burke.
The winner will be notified by email and has 3 days to respond. Please add withloveforbooks@gmail.com to your list of approved email addresses. All of our giveaways are international.

Friday, February 03, 2017

♥♥ Warm Up Your Winter With a Love Note from Scott to Marissa ♥♥

True Story Book Blog had a great idea for the Valentine's season - inviting authors to write a love note from one of your characters! So fun, and hard to choose which one! I went with Scott from Snowed In because he is all about making Marissa feel appreciated. Surf on over to find out just how romantic Scott can be.


Thursday, February 02, 2017

Do Authors Need a Media Kit?

Since I had a few emails about creating a Media Kit, I thought I'd share mine. I only did it because of my Social Media 12-month Challenge. Like I mentioned in my re-cap - I've never been asked for one, you probably can skip it, and do you SEE why I need to give social media some effort? Those numbers are low. 

But sales are good so... not sure it matters. Or maybe I'm just telling myself that. 


Wednesday, February 01, 2017

Social Media Challenge: To Update Your Website... Or Not

Remember all those New Year's Resolutions I made? I made great progress on one, and the other...lasted 6 days. I'm going to try it again, because self-care matters. I was planning to do yoga, but I'm having surgery (today, in fact) so that will have to wait until March. I may double-dip and do a 30-day Declutter Challenge - because I got planner stickers for it.


I am using my planner...kinda. If I put the family stuff in there, it would fill it up and I want to keep it focused on work. Hmmm, the declutter challenge my help clear out my office, making the planner easily accessible. I tend to avoid my office when other schizzle is in there.

And now for the Social Media 12-month challenge I took on.... I think I did a pretty good job. For January I chose to focus on my Website, because that's what I think is most important. No reason for this other than that websites are what I use for info on the authors I love. 


Top 10 pages your author website needs ::


  1. Home page - the most important information goes here. Often it's the only page readers see.
  2. About - Let reader see who you are and what motivates you as a writer. I put affiliations and my media kit here. (more on that later)
  3. Bookshelf - A listing of your books, usually in release order. 
  4. Book Pages - A page for an individual book or series. This is where ISBNs, blurbs, reviews & accolades go, as well as buy links.
  5. Contact - A form for readers to fill out and ask questions, or let you know about a review or event. I have my newsletter sign up and media links here as well.
  6. Social Media links - Could be on your contact page, or in the header of every page. 
  7. Blog link - if you blog, make sure to connect it to your website. My blog isn't part of my website, mainly because I've had it here forever and have no reason to change.
  8. Newsletter button - Odds are, if they took the time to look though your website, they want to hear about your happenings and new releases. 
  9. Policy, terms & disclosures - This is something most gloss over, but after reading up on it, I decided to include one. 
  10. Images - Your photo on the About page, book covers in the bookshelf & book pages, graphics from contest wins and reviews. These seem like little things, but your website needs a little pop. You can even include promotional graphics where appropriate.
What worked for me : My watercolor website was pretty... but I wanted a fresh look more in line with what I write. Something to show immediately what to expect from me.


I didn't change the template because I find it useful, and went with black & white with pops of color because my book covers are trending white. I changed the look of the blog at the same time (I did change the template here), and my Facebook header so everything would be cohesive (though Facebook will change to reflect new releases). 


I have a Pinterest board to collect social media advice. Most info on making websites came mainly from articles about starting a blog. I'm sure there is website specific stuff out there, but bloggers' social media is on point, so they show up first in searches. 

Some of the things had never crossed my mind, like a privacy statement which is a must for anyone with a newsletter. Jade & Oak explain it best. Happiness is Homemade has a fantastic overview for those starting out. She has some great links about design as well

I use Wix for my website...everything really. The editor is drag and drop, intuitive, and reasonably priced. I find HTML and Wordpress confusing, thought Wix does have HTML options. I like that I can change the page templates within my theme, & that I can copy pages. This is a HUGE time-saver for new books. Another bonus? I can update it myself at any time, unlike webmasters who charge per change (spendy when you release often).

What was a time-waster  
  1. Thinking the privacy statement was an immediate need when it's a must-do when you have a moment. (same with a disclosure & copyright statement) 
  2. Looking at site templates. I had better luck by looking at other authors' sites & realizing mine worked for me. 
  3. Updating the About page. Holly Castro has a great video about it, but it is the least visited page on my website. (Wix has analytics too) As long as you have one & your life hasn't changed dramatically, it doesn't have to be a priority.
  4. Media Kit - Unlike the privacy statement, which everyone needs, this was an eh for me. If you're looking for a way to productively procrastinate, sure. I've ever been asked for one. Joyfully Mad makes it easy if you want one.
  5. Maybe updating!?! I know, I know. But I didn't see a bump in site visits, which could be due to not having an active marketing campaign, or that the change didn't effect my readers. 
I have a new release this month, plus a sale, which leaves me torn on what to work on next. I'll be doing a bit of everything, but I think Facebook should be February, and then building a Newsletter mailing list in March. Maybe


Be sure to check out the release of  
The Billionaire's Runaway Fiancée
& the $1.99 sale of Just Married.