12/29/2012

ELLE JAMES Gets Lost

GET LOST IN THIS STORY…

Billionaire Online Dating Service. It's new, it's exclusive. Let's test it!

How did Billionaire Cooper Johnson allow himself to get roped into testing a brand new online dating system? After making a fortune day-trading stocks, he's on track to accomplish all his life goals, except marriage and a family. As a billionaire, meeting the right woman is a minefield of gold-diggers, false eyelashes and surgically enhanced women. The Billionaire Online Dating Service matches hand-picked, screened clientele with the mates of their dreams. Or so the package was sold. As a favor for a friend, Cooper finds himself on the Rockin' J Ranch confronting his "date's" four tough looking cowboy brothers. When their girl-next-door, long, tall, gorgeous sister steps out on the porch, Cooper doesn't know whether to run to her or away. One date, that's all he's signed up for and he can be out of there. Or will one date be enough?

She had everything—a fiancé, a great future, love...until she lost it all

Still mourning the loss of her fiancé who died two years ago, Emma Jacobs can't imagine loving anyone else. But her four brothers won't quit pushing men her way. In a desperate attempt to throw her brothers off her back, she engages her friend's dating service to find a pasty-faced businessman sure to fail her brothers' husband criteria. Maybe then her brothers will finally back off and leave her alone.

Best laid plans tend to blow up in Emma's face. When her date turns out to be everything her brothers are looking for in a husband for Emma, she's got a bigger problem than she started out with. She lets Cooper in on her plan to have him date and dump her. Surprisingly he goes along with it. But Cooper has plans of his own. And they don't involve dumping the determined, sexy, independent cowgirl.

Note: Make a stop at Myla Jackson's Ugly Stick Saloon in this story and say hi to old friends.

Billionaire Husband Test
Billionaire Online Dating Service Series
Dec 2012




Since my spam filter was feeling very Grinch-like and I wasn’t able to get Elle’s post up in time the day after Christmas, I am re-posting Elle’s blog again over the weekend AND giving away 3 $10 Gift Cards to commenters’ bookseller of choice throughout the weekend! Take THAT, Grinch spam folder…

Now, onto the interview! Please welcome back Elle James to the blog today. This incredibly talented author needs no introduction, but if you’d like to see her past interviews to learn even more about her, you can visit them HEREand HERE!

Elle James aka Myla Jackson spent twenty years livin' and lovin' in South Texas, ranching horses, cattle, goats, ostriches and emus. A former IT professional, Elle is proud to be writing full-time, penning intrigues and paranormal adventures that keep her readers on the edge of their seats. She has 31 works with Harlequin, self published works under pen name Elle James, over 40 works with other publishers including Samhain, Elloras' Cave, Kensington and Avon and 18 works self-published under pen name Myla Jackson. Now living in northwest Arkansas, she isn't wrangling cattle, she's wrangling her muses, a malti-poo and yorkie. When she's not at her computer, she's traveling, out snow-skiing, boating, or riding her ATV, dreaming up new stories.


HEATHER: What’s your favorite movie of all time?

ELLE: I can't pick just one! I've always been a big fan of musicals, MY FAIR LADY and SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS will always be near and dear to my heart. I love, love, loved AVATAR. I think because my favorite color is blue (hehe), oh and it has a great storyline. And lately, I totally got into THE AVENGERS! Thor melted my bones, Iron Man has such great attitude, Captain America was a military man and Hulk? OMG, he cracked me up when he punched Thor...


HEATHER: How often to you get lost in a story?

ELLE:Because I have two pen names, I'm writing every minute of the day, or so it seems. I rarely have time to read. Lately, I read the advance readers copy of a great story coming out by my sister Delilah Devlin. It's a paranormal, Memphis cop story called SHATTERED SOULS. I couldn't put it down and lost two days of writing because I was lost in the story!

HEATHER: What’s your favorite “love” word?

ELLE:I love the word passion. It's stronger than the word love and makes me scoot to the edge of my seat when I hear or read the word. Passion can burn in one's heart for another person, an art, a way of life. Love is soft and fuzzy. Passion is hard, raging and intense. I like the intensity.

HEATHER: If you couldn’t be a writer anymore, what profession would you take up?

ELLE:I'd take up graphic art. I think it's the creative side of me. I like making beautiful things, whether it's a story that elicits emotion or a work of art that makes you look twice. I can't paint my way out of a box, but I love creating.

HEATHER: What is something that not a lot of people know about you but you WISH more people COULD know?

ELLE:I love to brag about my most interesting job. I worked one summer as a State Park Interpretive Naturalist. I led hikes, hayrides and nature talks. One of my duties was to give a slide show in the amphitheater and talk about snakes found in the park. We had a collection of snakes I would bring out for the patrons to see and touch. They called me the Snake Lady.

HEATHER: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

ELLE:I'm fortunate that I was able to quit the IT profession and write full time. I've always wanted to write, but until it paid enough, I couldn't do it full time. Now I can. I've also wanted to be a published author. I published my first book in 2005 and now have many books in print and in several foreign languages. I am able to travel a lot more. In the last 7 years, I've been to Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Guam, Virgin Islands, Italy, England, Ireland, Canada, Alaska and many states and provinces getting to and from Alaska on a 5-week trip. I count myself fortunate and think that my writing has given me the opportunities to go different places as well as some of the income needed to get there.

HEATHER: Dog person or cat person?

ELLE:I love both. But I have to think that the nurturer in me loves dogs more. They are a lot needier than cats and I need to be needed. As my children grew up and moved away, I found that I needed surrogate children. I have a Yorkie and a Malti-poo that are now my "children." Gotta love em!

HEATHER: How much money does it take to be happy?

ELLE:Just enough to allow me to travel. I don't have to travel first class and it doesn't always have to be to a foreign country. I love to explore different places and the people are always what makes the places so much fun and interesting. I don't have to live in a big expensive house, as long as I have a space for my office so that I can keep writing and weaving magical stories to get lost in.

HEATHER’S GOTTA ASK – ELLE’S GOTTA ANSWER J

HEATHER: What draws you to strong, earthy women and men?

ELLE: I grew up as a military brat. My dad wore a uniform every day but his roots were as a poor farm boy from Arkansas. I grew up the scrappy 3rd child of 4, living on Air Force Bases. We never knew a dull moment. We left the house practically at sunrise and didn't return until dark. If we did, mom was sure to put us to work. We hiked, biked, rode horses, swam and lived life to the fullest. Much of that time was spent in Texas, thus it appears as a setting in many of my books. When my father retired, we landed back in Arkansas on a small farm where we raised cows, chickens and dogs. We rode horses, canoed the rivers and swam in the lakes. More of a tomboy, I connect with women who aren't afraid to lift a bale of hay or ride the ornery horse. I like men with calloused hands and a strong work ethic and a way with gentling high-spirited creatures.

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?
ELLE: What do you like about cowboys and Texas?

WILL YOU HAVE A DRAWING FROM THOSE LEAVING COMMENTS?
ELLE: Leave a comment on what you like about cowboys and Texas for a chance to win one of 3 $10 Gift cards to your bookseller of choice!

TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR ELLE’S GIVEWAY, REMEMBER TO LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS ALONG WITH YOUR COMMENT!

FIND ELLE ON THE WEB:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

19 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Apparently so!! I love the wide open spaces of Texas & cowboys just melt my heart.

      marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

      Delete
  2. I like'em strong enough to lift me in my dreams, and wearing snug blue jeans doesn't hurt one iota.
    seytype at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love cowboys, they are strong and manly. I grew up watching westerns, Bonanza, Wagon Train, Rawhide and numerous others. I feel sorry for children nowadays because they don't know what they're missing.
    Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  4. What do I love about Texas....cowboys, certainly...but it's also the home of my favorite country music singers Willy Nelson and Waylon Jennings.

    Elle is a new-to-me author but after reading about her and her work here...that will change!

    kareninnc at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't just like cowboys I love me some cowboys. I have always enjoyed books set it Texas, maybe it was because my father always read cowboy books and it rubbed off on me. Cowboys are always strong heros and they really take care of their women. There is just nothing like setting down to a good western romance.

    quiltlady110 AT gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've read about billionaires and I've read about cowboys and to see them combined is so interesting. I really enjoy cowboy stories. I find the heroes very laid back, hardworking and relatable. Mainly they seem like family man too and these are all traits I appreciate in them. I can definitely see them existing in real life.

    Cambonified[at]yahoo[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like their loyalty.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for the great interview. I've actually just recently started reading books with cowboys in them. I love that they have manners and are super sexy.

    iqb99@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. I like that they get things done.
    I like that Texas has better winters than here.

    chey127 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think it's the idea, stereotypical as it might be, of the rugged, independent, capable qualities of a cowboy that capture me. Then, of course, the fictional ones ride horses shirtless, which has to be a plus. Tim McGraw sings about "the cowboy is us all," and I think that's an apt lyric--we all want to be that able.

    Now, let's see if I can post this--couldn't on my Kindle!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Work ethic , smart and strong , congers on the boo, great prizes thanks, have. A greaat week
    Kimh
    kimehak@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. I heard the saying that in Texas everything is bigger :D one of the things on my bucket list is to spend a week on a Texas ranch. Since I was a little girl watching the old western movies and then reading the cowboy romance books, I just love their down to earth attitude, being in tune with nature, also their strong characters and nurturing and loving nature.
    Thanks for the giveaway! Happy New Year!

    seelk67 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  13. I like their rugged Independence & their love of nature & the outdoors.

    thumbelinda03@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh... I like their strenght and alpha-ness... :)

    maybe31 at yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Mmmm....Texas makes me think of all things BIG! Lol, big steaks and BBQ, big cowboy hats and big sexy down an dirty cowboys! I would love to go there someday and just ogle the "scenery". Sounds like a great place! Can't wait to read the book! Sounds like a definite winner! Brat81978@aim.com.
    Thanks for the great interview, and love your movie choices above. I loved Seven Brides for Seven Brothers! ; )

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love books about Cowboys. They are great heroes.

    yenastone at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Congrats!

    Winner of Elle's giveaway is Seelk

    Winner of $10 gift cards:
    Quilt Lady
    Tammy Yenalavitch
    Chey

    ReplyDelete
  18. Yeah, thanks so much! I replyed to your email. I am so doing the happy dance right now!

    Congrats to Tammy and Chey

    ReplyDelete