YOU'RE INVITED TO A VALENTINE'S DAY PARTY

You are invited to our Valentine’s Day Party! We’re giving away an Amazon gift ecard (electronic gift card only, value $100 minimum) to one lucky reader and we’re giving away a lot of other prizes too!

Where is it going to be held?

The event will be held exclusively at our PARTY SITE.

When is it going to be held?

From February 10-14, 2014. Times? All day!

When will the prizes be given out?

The winner of the Amazon gift ecard will be selected at random on February 15, 2014. Other prizes from TRS and its participating authors will be assigned at each donor’s earliest convenience following the end of the event.

Okay so HOW do I enter for the Amazon gift ecard?

Our authors will be posting during the event period at our PARTY SITE about their latest books and other entertaining topics. Comment on any of the posts at any time during the event (should be at least acceptable/polite comments because comments in poor taste may result in exclusion from the event), and fill out the gift card entry form that will appear at the party, and you will be entered into the drawing for the Amazon gift ecard.

How do I enter for the other prizes?

For other prizes donated by TRS and all participating authors, there will be easy to use giveaway forms at the PARTY SITE.

What else? Like eligibility?

1) It must be legal to participate where you are.

2) You must be at least 18 years old to participate. Content on the party site may be mature in nature.

3) You understand that there will be one winner, chosen randomly from all acceptable comments during the event period and posted at the party site, who also filled out the Amazon gift ecard entry form, selected for the gift ecard.

4) Non-reviewing staff members from TRS are not eligible to participate.

5) By entering, you understand that there will be romance books and/or ebooks making up or included in the prizes. These will be of varying genre and heat level and by entering, you agree that TRS and its members and affiliates are not responsible for material the individual prefers and/or finds suitable or doesn’t.

6) No substitution of any prize, for cash or other products, allowed.

I have questions. Who do I contact?

Email us for any questions.

What authors will be participating in the event?

Tonya Ramagos, Victoria Vane, Eileen Griffin, Sam Cheever, Sultry Summers, Katheryn Lane, Naomi Bellina, Reese Ryan, Rosanna Leo, Carol Burnside, Annie Rayburn, Sean Michael, Susan Horsnell, Cassandra Dean, Lucy Felthouse, Vinspire Pub, Barbara Donlon Bradley, Donna Gallagher, Julie Anne Lindsey, Mary Eason, Emily A. Lawrence, Katherine Rhodes, Palessa, Sara Jay, Nikka Michaels, B.J. McCall, Haley Whitehall, Shiloh Saddler, claire fullerton, Alicia Sparks, Lois Winston, Allyson Lindt, Ginger Simpson, Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy, Teri Riggs, Natalie-Nicole Bates, Laura Harner, Denysé Bridger, Ranae Rose, Kristina Knight, Vijaya Schartz, Tory Richards, Tanya Hanson, Paige Tyler, Jodi Redford, Genie Gabriel, Alice Brown, Sami Lee, Kayelle Allen, Tina Donahue, Sharita Lira, JoAnne Myers, Gail Koger, Billi Jean, Eva Lefoy, Samara King, Shelley Munro, Christine Murphy, Beverley Eikli aka Beverley Oakley, Anne Kane, Marteeka Karland, Wendi Zwaduk, and Megan Slayer.

A NEW YEAR, A NEW BOOK...AND A PARTY WITH PRIZES!

Happy New Year! Author Lois Winston is celebrating 2014 with a new book, not one featuring moi, though. She took a break from mystery and my adventures, giving me a much needed rest from all the caca she constantly throws at me, and let her romance side loose for a change.

The magic of Valentine’s Day comes alive in Love, Valentine Style, a very special holiday anthology of never-before published novellas by six award-winning and Amazon bestselling authors. You won’t find these stories published anywhere else, and this box set is available only at Amazon.

To kickstart the launch of Love, Valentine Style, the authors are celebrating with a party over at Facebook. Stop by today from 10am-3pm to enter to win all sorts of prizes, including a Valentine cloisonné necklace that Lois is offering.

Win this necklace at the Facebook launch party
for  Love, Valentine Style

Stories in the anthology include:

Finding Mr. Right by Lois Winston

In this mini-sequel to the award-winning Hooking Mr. Right by Lois Winston (writing as Emma Carlyle,) editor Grace Wainwright, has taken over the role of bestselling author and romance guru Dr. Trulee Lovejoy. Thea Chandler, the original Trulee, is now married to her Mr. Right and is a successful cookbook author. She and Grace host the top-rated Love Recipes cooking show. When producer Becket Delaney announces the first two shows in February will have a Valentine’s Day theme, Grace freaks out. The worst day of her life occurred on Valentine’s Day ten years ago, and she wants no reminders of it.

Beck has his own reasons for hating the holiday, but the show must go on, and he absolutely refuses to deal with an uncooperative prima donna. When a citywide blackout traps him and Grace in his thirty-fourth floor office, their adversarial relationship really begins to heat up.

Be My Other Valentine by Jasmine Haynes

Grace is a baker and Sugar & Spice Bakery is her life. Five years ago she was given a sacred duty to perform by a mother dying of cancer: Every Valentine's Day, Grace must deliver one of her beautiful cake creations to a little girl named Valentine, and it must be addressed from the girl's mother up in heaven. But this Valentine's Day, Grace's delivery truck might finally give up the ghost before she drops off her precious cargo.

Brian lost his wife five years ago, and their little girl Valentine is all he has left of her. But what Brian has forgotten is that very special gift Valentine receives every year on Valentine's Day, and he's moved his daughter to a new house with no way to contact the mysterious baker who has followed his wife's wishes all these years.

In their quest to fulfill a dying woman's last request, can Grace and Brian find their own Valentine?

Hotel Amore by Pamela Fryer

After being jilted at the altar by her fiancé, Virginia Montgomery quit her job and moved a thousand miles away to manage Hotel Amore on Little West Cay, hoping she’d never see that no-good coward Thomas Bennet again. But Fate and Mother Nature conspire together and whip up a little Valentine’s Day magic to bring Virginia and Thomas back together.

You know what they say; Fate doesn’t take no for an answer, and it isn’t nice to mess with Mother Nature.

Civil War Valentine by Haley Whitehall

Recently divorced museum curator Charlie Bristol comes to Seattle to set up a display at the Fine Art museum chronicling the history of Valentine’s Day. The director of the museum surprises her with a package of Civil War valentines from an anonymous donor. She reads the heartfelt messages and is touched by his words. Does such powerful love still exist?

During a nap she dreams she’s alive during the Civil War and meets Elliot Lowery, the author of the valentines who mistakes her for his fiancée Charlotte. She and Elliot negotiate the murky waters of wartime romance. When she wakes she’s still under the dream's spell and Valentine’s Day love is in the air, but Charlotte has no reason to celebrate. The man she loves died 150 years ago. Unless love works some miracle even time and death cannot overcome.

Forever My Valentine by Raine English

She left him... He loves her... A snowy Valentine's gives them a second chance.

Returning home after a disastrous job relocation, Miranda is determined to avoid the man she left behind—and whose heart she broke. Until she finds a hidden treasure in a music box. An engagement ring engraved with a decades’ old date. And the only man who can help reunite the precious ring with its owner is the last man she wanted to see.

When Ian sees Miranda walk into his antique shop, his defenses go up. She walked away from him once without a backward glance. Since then he’s given up on love. But when their eyes meet and sparks fly, he wonders if maybe there’s a Valentine’s Day miracle in store for them.

A snowy night’s journey to bring the ring to its elderly owner turns into a second chance at romance for Miranda and Ian. But as the frost melts from around their hearts, it exposes old hurts and deceptions. This Valentine’s Day could be the start of something wonderful. Or the proof that their love was never meant to be.

Valentine Rules by Mel Curtis

What started out as an innocent assignment for work –accompanying a popular actress fresh out of rehab on shopping trips – has gained Gemma Kent regular makeovers by said actress and a sidebar photo on People magazine’s cover!  All the attention would be flattering, except she’s become famous as a mystery woman with the Twitter handle: GlitterfrostGem.  Everyone, even the local gossip column, is speculating about her identity.  In real life, Gemma wears combat boots, poindexter glasses, and a prickly attitude.  Now Randy Farrell, the man she can’t get out of her head, wants a date with Glitterfrost Gem!  Which would be great if he realized that invisible Gemma Kent and Glitterfrost Gem were one and the same.

So if you’ve recovered from last night’s festivities, and you’re tired of the football games blaring from the television today, check out Love, Valentine Style for a romantic getaway.

Buy Link 

THIS WEEK'S BOOK WINNERS

Thanks to all who stopped by Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers this week. We really appreciate all of our readers, and so do our guest authors. This week we had three guest authors who generously offered copies of their books as giveaways. Special thanks to Lisa Black, Barbara Quinn, and Mia Marlowe for joining us.

The winner of TRAIL OF BLOOD by Lisa Black is Rebecca Butler. The winner of SPEED OF DARK by Barbara Quinn is Liz V. And the winner of IMPROPER GENTLEMEN by Mia Marlowe is GayleC. Ladies, please contact me at anastasiapollack@gmail.com to make arrangements to receive your books.

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY -- GUEST AUTHOR PAT DALE

Pat Dale has been writing novels and short stories for over twelve years. After a career as a professional musician and educator, Pat has turned to the pen to craft more than a dozen mysteries, romances, and suspense stories. Her latest is Sleeping With Her Enemy. You can read more about Pat at her website. For today, she’s offering us what some of you might find a controversial guest blog on romance books. -- AP

What Defines a Romance?

I’ve been amused by some of the comments following the Cooking Channel’s ‘romance cover’ contest a few weeks ago, many of them questioning who told the cooks what romance is supposed to be. When I started writing romances, I thought I knew what constituted a ‘romance’ as opposed to just about any other genre. Take one girl, slightly addled, add a twist of longing, confront her with a slightly goofy guy, and mix thoroughly. Nothing to it. Right?

Well, that was before a full blown attack by the ‘fringe’ element. Oh, there have always been the ones who had to have ‘more explicit’ sex scenes in the books they read. For a time the battle raged on over introspection; should it be a quarter of the text, a third, half? Most sensible authors saw through that little spat and continued to write ‘show, don’t tell’ romantic tales that caught the hearts and imaginations of most of our romance readers.

Then came the ‘paranormal’ crowd, believing that anything natural and normal was just too dull. Oh, and the romantic suspensers (is that a word?) who spiced up their longing ladies’ worlds with uncertain outcomes and futures.

Then, and this is what I’m leading to, the bats came out of the belfries of the world and vampirism gulped down every bloody romance it could suck up. Now you know my beef. For crying out loud, how can an unreal character that holds nothing but an obsession to drink your blood be considered romantic? Come on, readers, are any of you—any—ready to bare your neck so some long-toothed creep can pierce your jugular and bleed you to death? If you are, please tell me how you can possibly think that lends itself to romance.

Oh, I admit, there are a couple of scenarios that a good writer can use to make a version of a vampire’s life romantic in some limited way. And they have done that. Sadly, over and over they’ve done it, repeated ad nauseum in my humble opinion. I don’t even want to get into werewolves and such. And don’t even mention the word zombie.

I’ll leave you with this thought; there are some days when I long to get back to writing the simple boy/girl love/fight/love HEA, that everybody agreed was romance. How about you? Cheers and happy reading,

Okay, readers, I know many of you are strictly mystery readers, but more and more mysteries are adding romances, and some have gone paranormal. So what do you think? Do you agree with Pat? Let’s hear from you! -- AP

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY -- GUEST AUTHOR TINA GALLAGHER

Today’s Book Club Friday guest author is Tina Gallagher. Tina writes contemporary romance novels and non-fiction. Tina began writing as a young girl. In-between softball, basketball, and music lessons, she and her best friend would create their own "happily ever afters" for their favorite soap opera couples. After a while, the soap operas lost their appeal, but the writing never did. Tina lives in Northeast Pennsylvania and is an active member of the Pocono/Lehigh Romance Writers. To learn more about Tina, visit her website. 

Tina will be giving away a signed copy of Misguided to one of our readers who leaves a comment this week. -- AP

Finding Inspiration

When people find out I’m a writer, they usually ask where I get my story ideas.  Actually, ideas come pretty easily…sometimes it’s as simple as reading a story and wondering “what if this happened instead of that?”  In fact, I often have snippets of potential characters’ conversations running around in my head as ideas come to mind. 

What I have more of a problem with in the writing process is the setting.  In fiction, the setting can be just as important as any character and needs to be developed just as well in order to make it come alive.  And it’s not just the city or town the story takes place in that needs to be described, it’s everything.  Unless my characters are going to have all those conversations that are running through my head in a one room shack, I need to find places for them to go, and I need to describe those places well.  

Since setting is so important, I try to notice things everywhere I go.  Restaurants, parks, schools, houses, hotels, roads…pretty much everything.  You never know what can be used in a story somewhere down the road. 

In my new release, Misguided, Jake takes Cassie for a romantic New Year’s Eve dinner at a hotel that was formerly a passenger train station.  While the town Misguided is set in is fictitious, the hotel is not.  I based it on an actual hotel located in my hometown of Scranton, Pa. 

The Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel was formerly known as the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad Station, whose routes stretched across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York.  This six-story landmark was constructed in 1908 and considered one of the most beautiful terminals in the East, having been built as a showplace for the company’s central business offices and doubling as a depot.  It has been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places since 1977.   

The last train left this station in 1970 and for ten years, the building fell into disrepair, falling victim to vandals and the elements.  After extensive renovations, it reopened on New Year’s Eve 1983, emerging with all the grandeur of the original station, plus so much more. 

The care that was taken throughout the restorations is evidenced throughout the building.  The Grand Lobby, which originally served as the station’s waiting area, boasts a barrel-vaulted Tiffany stained-glass ceiling, Siena marble walls, and a mosaic tile floor.  Surrounding the walls are 36 tile murals that depict scenes along the railroad’s lines, starting at Hoboken Station and ending at Niagara Falls.  Above the dining room walls are a dozen matching stained glass lamps, all but one is original to the old station.

Today, the Grand Lobby holds a fine dining restaurant and a wine bar.  This structure is truly a feast for the eyes.  If you’re ever passing through Scranton, be sure to make a stop at the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel.  Grab a cocktail, settle into a comfy chair, and check out the history.

Thanks so much, Tina! I will definitely have to put this train station/restaurant on my Must See Someday list. What about the rest of you? Want to have dinner at the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel? Let’s hear from you. Post a comment, and you could win a copy of Tina’s latest release. -- AP