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11/27/2015

Nan Dixon -- A SAVANNAH CHRISTMAS WISH is almost here!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Now that we've eaten our turkey, I can start talking about Christmas and I won’t feel like I’m rushing the season.

The release of A SAVANNAH CHRISTMAS WISH is four days away.  (I hear angels singing!)  To celebrate, I’m giving away both books in the Fitzgerald House series.  SOUTHERN COMFORTS and A SAVANNAH CHRISTMAS WISH.  Look for the Giveaway at the bottom of the blog.

I think I am more worried about this book than my debut, SOUTHERN COMFORTS.  With SOUTHERN COMFORTS the book went through eight major revisions.  People who had their fingers on it included, my critique group, contest judges, my agent and then finally my editor. 


A SAVANNAH CHRISTMAS WISH hasn’t had that kind of visibility—so I’m hoping the lessons I’ve been learning about writing a compelling book have taken root!  Who has seen it?  My critique group read the beginning, one daughter has read the entire book— (she couldn’t put it down---I wiped my brow in relief after she let me know) and of course my editors. 

So on December 1, 2015 my second book is heading out into the world.  (Take flight book!)  Okay, it’s apparently been out in the world via Harlequin’s book club, but beginning December 1st, the rest of the world can pick it up. 

Here's a little bit about the series.  

Fitzgerald House is a Savannah B and B, run by three sisters.  They all provide a different expertise:  Abby is a trained chef, Bess is a landscape architect, and Dolley is the technical/website/bookkeeper.  When their father died he let them in so much debt, that their mother began turning their family mansion into a B and B to survive.  Now that the sisters are running the B and B, they’re trying to finish the restoration work and open more rooms.

Here’s a little teaser from Book 2 – A SAVANNAH CHRISTMAS WISH

“Don’t shut me out. I’m here for you.” Bess took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I forgot our dinner.”
“That doesn’t matter anymore.” Daniel pulled her down an empty corridor and stopped by a small alcove.
Since they were alone, she hugged him. His arms hung at his sides and his muscles were rock. Her stomach twisted and turned like kudzu strangling a tree. What was going on?
“I need to be with my family.” Daniel put his hands on her shoulders and set her away from him. “We need to take a step back.”
“What?” Her hands shook. Couldn’t he tell how much she cared?
“We’re done.” His brown eyes were...dead.
This couldn’t be happening. Daniel needed her. She needed him. “I can help.”
“We got involved and look what happened.” His hands slashed, as if he was severing the ties between them. “I lost focus. I didn’t catch Nathan’s mistake. Now Pop’s in the hospital.”
“Daniel.” Her voice squeaked. “Please don’t do this to us.”
“I can’t keep all the balls in the air.” He shook his head. “I need to get down to basics, pare away the luxuries.”
“I’m a luxury?” She dashed away the tears backing up in her eyes. She refused to cry in front of him. “I can help.”
“Like you helped me the other night?” His voice was harsh. “I was waiting for you when I should have been making sure the plasterboard Nathan ordered was secured.”
“What?” She clasped her hands on her head. Everything was falling apart.
“Because of you, I failed to check the supply orders and deliveries.” His words were barbs jabbing into her body.
“But the plasterboard was Nathan’s responsibility.”
“But I didn’t check his work. Now Pop’s in the hospital.”
“Daniel.” She held out her hand. “Don’t.”
“We’re through.” He walked away and never turned back.
Her knees let go. She slumped against the wall. He blamed her for his father’s collapse? She loved him. Weren’t they better together than apart?
She held it together until she got to the elevator and punched the button. And stood. Her tears waited, held back by a floodgate. Not here. She searched for stairs, anything to get her off this damn floor.
There. An exit. She ran down the hall. Wetness streaked her cheeks and she swiped her sleeve over her face. She banged the door open and ran. One floor. Two. Three. Heading into the main section of the hospital, she sprinted to the exit.
Outside she stumbled, trying to find her car. Clicking open the locks, she slumped into the seat.
She pushed on the ache in her chest. She’d fallen in love and been slapped back—again. Fumbling her phone open, she started to dial Abby’s number and stopped.
Her breath shook. No one knew about them. Daniel had been her secret.
She had to bear this pain alone.


Here are the Buy Links for the eBook 

Here is the Buy Link for the Paperback and eBook at Harlequin.  If you purchase before November 30th - A SAVANNAH CHRISTMAS WISH is 30% off, all month long! Enter code XMAS1115 at checkout.

Don’t forget to click the Rafflecopter question to get credit for commenting on the Blog.  

Here's the question-----Tell me about a Christmas wish that came true for you.



  
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11/25/2015

Please Join Us


HAPPY THANKSGIVING from the crew!


This turkey might not be counting its blessings, but we are thankful for many things, including our wonderful readers. 


Next Week: It's our 5th Anniversary
AND
YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THE PARTY


6 days of
author games, chats & giveaways
December 1st through 6th


To kick things off, we're starting with $20 worth of digital books from authors who have been on Get Lost in a Story in the past 5 years.  Enter through the Rafflecopter below for multiple chances.
This giveaway ends at midnight November 30th.



Check out the party for some of the authors who will be stopping by. Keep your notifications turned on and close ... we don't know when someone will stop by bringing a present for the group.


Don't forget to invite your friends every day for more chances at the prize.
ARE YOU COMING TO THE PARTY?

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11/24/2015

E.E. Burke's BEST OF THE WEST: Meet Two American Mail-Order Brides and Author Ashley Merrick


American Mail-Order Brides, an unprecedented 50-book romance series written by 45 different authors. features mail-order bride stories from each state or territory in the U.S., circa 1890. The first book released Nov. 19, with books being released every day for fifty days thereafter. Over the next several weeks, we'll be featuring different books from this series and authors who've been involved (including yours truly), as well as running giveaways.

Today on Best of the West, I'll spotlight two books from author Ashley Merrick
Beth, Bride of Massachusetts, Book 6 in the American Mail-Order Brides series, releasing today, and India, Bride of Indiana, Book 19, coming out Dec. 7. 

Purchase from Amazon
Feisty Beth Mitchell lives in the Boston area, and is used to being in charge and taking care of people, especially her beloved mother, so when the factory in Lawrence, MA where she, her sister, India, and her mother used to work, burns down in a suspicious fire, they find themselves in dire straits. Circumstances dictate that Beth needs to become a mail-order bride, but it is with the understanding that her mother will join her. 

Business owner, George Montgomery, has no idea what he is in for. They both have secrets--he's filthy rich and needs to find a wife ASAP, because his sister and husband just died from the flu and he now has two small children to take care of. He wants to make sure he's not getting a gold digger, but someone who really is good with kids. 
He places an ad for a mild-mannered woman who loves children. Beth applies to every ad, hoping that someone will agree to take her and her mother. George is the only one who agrees, but she has a secret too--she's not exactly who she said she was. Beth has no experience with children, the very thought of it makes her twitchy and she's far from timid. In fact, she is determined to get to the bottom of who burned down the factory, and why.

Here's an excerpt:

The day started like any other. Beth Mitchell woke late and rushed around to get ready to leave for her job at the Brown Textile Mill. Fortunately, she was a fast mover and once she was up, she was out the door and on her way soon after. It was a beautiful fall morning, and the air was crisp. A cool breeze blew through her hair as she walked along Canal Street which overlooked the Merrimack River. She and her roommates, Lottie, Leora, Alice, and Judith, all worked together at the mill and shared a small apartment just a few blocks away. The girls walked quickly and mostly silently as it was early and they were all tired. The hours at the mill were long and the work was tedious. They were seamstresses and though Beth was more than grateful for the job, she dreaded each day because sewing didn’t come naturally to her— unlike her sister, India, and her mother, who both had a natural gift for it. Not that those gifts were appreciated—speed was valued above all and was the reason why their mother had been let go a year ago. Her eyesight had worsened and she had to go more slowly. If she’d kept her pace but the quality of work had suffered, she would probably still be there. 
Beth had the opposite problem. She tended to rush her work, wanting to get as much done as possible and to get it over with. Usually that was valued at the mill, but sometimes it caught up with her as her quality wasn’t stellar to begin with. 
“Miss Mitchell, the stitching on this shawl is unacceptable! Do this one over and mind yourself. If this continues to happen, you’ll be the next in your family to lose your job.” Bob Brown, the mill owner, was a vile man and he seemed to take joy in terrorizing ‘his girls’, as he called them. He stood behind Beth with his arms folded across his chest and his brow furrowed. 
“I’m sorry, Mr. Brown. It won’t happen again,” Beth said quickly. 
“For your sake, it had best not.” He stayed watching for a few more moments. Her hands shook with a mixture of fear and fury as she quickly undid the stitching, lined the material up precisely and began to sew again, taking great care to make it as perfect as she was capable of. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Mr. Brown turn and walk off toward his next victim. Her eyes welled a bit as she lost her focus for a moment and almost ran her own finger over. 
“Are you all right?” Alice whispered. She sat next to Beth and was her closest friend, besides her sister, India, of course.
“Yes. I’m fine. He’s just an awful man. I’d rather be anywhere but here.”
“Well, keep your voice down. You know he’d be only too happy to make that wish come true.”
“You’re right. I know you’re right. It wouldn’t be so bad if I actually was good at this. Like you.”
Alice chuckled. “I’ve been sewing for as long as I can remember. I know I’m lucky that I do enjoy the work.”
“Oh, no. Here he comes again. We best stop talking.” Both girls resumed their focus on their work. If they’d been caught talking, they would be in trouble. Mr. Brown didn’t allow for idle chit chatter as he called it. He said it slowed production. He was probably right about that. Beth had to agree, though it was a rule she broke as often as she could get away with. The days would have been intolerable, otherwise.
After a short lunch break, where the girls huddled outside against the side of the building and quickly ate their cold, leftover cabbage soup, they filed back inside and walked toward their work areas. As Beth passed by Roberta McDaniel’s office, she couldn’t help but notice that Roberta and Mr. Brown seemed to be having a heated discussion, perhaps even an argument. Robert was the mill manager and she was wonderful to work for, as long as Mr. Brown didn’t meddle—which he often did. Beth wondered what was going on. She knew that Mr. Brown was difficult to work for and imagined it was even worse for Roberta than it was for the girls. She had to deal with him more often and Beth didn’t envy that.
Once they were back at their stations, Beth didn’t give it another thought and the rest of the afternoon flew by—until they suddenly heard a loud crash and the sound of breaking glass. No one knew where it had come from. Roberta turned at the sound and went off to investigate. A few minutes later, Beth felt a shift in the air and a funny shiver ran up her spine as she caught a whiff of something unusual. She looked at Alice, who was oblivious to anything other than her sewing.
“Something’s going on. Do you smell anything?”
Alice looked up in confusion and then glanced around the room and her eyes widened.
“Look!” Beth followed her gaze and immediately stood up when she saw what had alarmed Alice. Just then, Roberta came running into the room.
“Everyone, exit the building as quickly as you can. There’s a fire!”

Next up: India, Bride of Indiana. 

Add caption
Inspired by the classic fairytale, Beauty and the Beast--with a holiday twist. 

Widower Richard Blake was badly burned trying to save his wife in a terrible fire. For the sake of his two small children, he sends for a mail-order bride. He can't imagine anyone could ever be interested in him though. 

Will India Mitchell see beyond his scars?

Meet Ashley Merrick

Ashley grew up on Cape Cod, MA and now lives in a seaside town half-way between Boston and the Cape. Her first paid writing work was in college when she wrote the obituaries and birth announcements for a local paper. That led to more creative writing--radio commercials and in recent years, some food blogging and writing for a Cape Cod newspaper. She loves all things food related and has always been an avid reader, across many genres, romance, mystery, suspense, paranormal and of course, historical. 

Find Ashley:



See all the books in the American Mail-Order Brides series, http://www.newwesternromance.com

Q&A


E.E. Why did you pick your states?
Ashley: I am actually doing two stories, Beth releases on November 24, and is set in Massachusetts. I picked that state because it’s where I live and there’s so much great history here. My other state, for India, is Indiana and I picked that one because I don’t know as much about it and thought it would be really fun to learn! India releases on December 7.

E.E.: How did you come up with the idea for your book?
Ashley: For Beth, I had just finished Maeve, which is book 6 in my Mail-Order Brides Club series and it had a mystery element to it which was really fun. So, I was still in mystery mode when I started writing Beth and had the idea that she was determined to figure out who burned the factory and why. I also added a twist that one requirement she would have for her groom was that he would agree to take her mother along as well. She knew that would limit her options, but her mother was a widow and she wanted to make sure that she would be taken care of as they are very close. The hero, George Montgomery is a businessman who is also suddenly a father of two young girls when his sister and her husband died from influenza. So, he is fine with getting a potential mother and grandmother figure for them. Beth isn’t completely honest though in how she presents her personality, so that is a bit of a surprise to him.

E.E.: How often to you get lost in a story?
Ashley: As often as I can! There’s nothing better than getting lost in a good story.

E.E.: What’s your favorite fairy tale?
Ashley: Beauty and the Beast. And that fairy tale inspired my second book in this series, India’s story. India is Beth’s sister and she answers an ad in the Grooms' Gazette from Richard Blake, who lives in South Bend, Indiana. She is intrigued by this man who is a widower—Richard lost his wife in a terrible fire and was badly scarred on one side of his body, including his face. He sees himself as a monster that no one could ever truly love again and he feels guilty for not saving his wife, even though he tried his best. He has two young children. Sam is only three and Julia is five and they are both missing their mother. He reluctantly agrees to send for a mail-order bride, but with the understanding that she will be a mother and not a true wife. India gladly agrees to this, but when she meets Richard and gets to know the beautiful man inside him, she surprises both of them by wanting more.

E.E.: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
Ashley: When Harry Met Sally. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen it. Friends to lovers is probably my favorite trope. For holiday movies, It’s a Wonderful Life is a favorite.

E.E.: Do you write while listening to music? If so what kind?
Ashley: I do. I always write to the Norah Jones station on Pandora. I love the soft, bluesy music in the background.

Today, Ashley is giving away an ebook, her latest novel, Maeve, to one lucky commenter. 

Also, she's celebrating her new release Beth today on the American Mail Order Brides Facebook page, so if you go over there afterwards and comment, you'll get a chance to win a pack of mini-cupcakes from BakedByMelissa and a $10 Amazon gift card.



11/23/2015

DECEMBER 1st

it's our 5th Anniversary
AND
YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THE PARTY

6 days of
author games, chats & giveaways


To kick things off, we're starting with $20 worth of digital books from anyone who has been on Get Lost in a Story for the past 5 years.  Enter through the rafflecopter below for multiple chances.
This giveaway ends at midnight November 30th.



Check out the party for some of the authors who will be stopping by. Keep your notifications turned on and close ... we don't know when someone will stop by bringing a present for the group.


Don't forget to invite your friends every day for more chances at the prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

11/20/2015

Tanya Wright

Tanya Wright filled notebooks with short stories for years as a way of creative release. She found her big break and graduated from spiral notebooks to paperbacks when she won SYTYCW 2013. She is originally from Florida, but after completing her college degree in Boston, she decided to stay. When she isn’t writing, she’s most likely preoccupied with her day job, her adorable nephews, or (let’s be honest) Netflix. 





THE STORY BLURB
If only I hadn’t had that last drink…

It might be the toughest night of the year for Micah O’Shea, but one tequila too many and suddenly she’s seeing the world—and her best friend firefighter Josh Taylor—in a new light! Surely a bit of Dutch courage is all she needs to see if he tastes as good as he looks?

Why did no one tell her that the morning after is way more awkward when you’re friends with the man you threw yourself at? And that gets more awkward when you start having x-rated dreams about him? Perhaps Micah should stop saying “If only…” and starting saying “What if…?”

Read a little...buy the book
http://amzn.to/1HRa1bM

Jan Schliesman: How often do you Get Lost In A Story?
Tanya Wright: Just about every time I open a book. From time to time, I do stumble upon a book that’s hard to get into, but that’s such a rarity. I have my favorite authors, ones that I know will immediately draw me in and transport me to another time or another place. I become the character. I live the story. I can’t help myself. The End, for an author, are words of triumph. For a reader, they’re traumatic. With a good book, you never want it to end.

So You Think You Can Write LogoJan: You won Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write contest in 2013! How long had you been writing before you entered that manuscript?
Tanya: I’ve written short stories since I was a little girl, but it wasn’t until the beginning of 2013 that I decided to get serious about it. That was when I found a focus and a support system through Harlequin’s online community. Shout out to the “Work-in-Progress” board! Woot! Woot!

Jan: What types of stories stick with you the longest?
Tanya: The ones that have more of an emotional depth to them. The stories that make you feel something. And even after you’ve read the last line and closed the book, you just sit in silence and absorb all that you’ve just experienced. Those are the stories you’ll never forget.

Jan: Do you believe in love at first sight?
Tanya: Eh…Personally, I believe in lust at first sight. Maybe love after a conversation or two. As far as romance novels go, yes. Definite yes.
Twizzlers Twists Strawberry Licorice 7 oz 12 ct 
Jan: What snacks always occupy your writing space?
Tanya: I like to keep things interesting and change it up every so often. Twizzlers and gummy bears are a favorite. Chocolate is an obvious. White cheddar Cheez-its or tortilla chips when I’m feeling salty. And possibly an apple when I’m feeling healthy, which doesn’t really happen that much.

Jan: Favorite sports team?  
Tanya: Any team Tim Tebow plays for, which means I’m currently boycotting and probably will be for a while.

Jan: Are you an early bird writer or a night owl?  Do you try to keep a solid routine or is every day different?
Tanya: I wish I had a routine! I’m horrible about that. My days are all over the place, so I write all over the place.

Jan: Most writers juggle a day job with writing. Do you?
Tanya: I do. I work full time as a legal assistant. Thankfully, I have an amazing co-worker who loves to be my sounding board. We spend lunch brainstorming. Anyone who walks into the office would think we’d lost our minds.

Jan: Any rituals you following while writing a book?  Celebrate a certain way when it’s completed?
Tanya: I’m very particular in the research stage. I have to have a clear image of everyone and everything before I can begin. I have bio sheets, timelines, and outlines that have to be completed in advance. This is also my favorite way to procrastinate. As for celebrating, I usually have a little victory dance session with my mom and sisters.
  
Jan’s GOTTA ASK: 
Tanya’s GOTTA ANSWER:  Simple. Haagen-Dazs Gelato in Black Cherry Ameretto. Oh. My. Word. Holy mother of Pearl! It’s delicious!




FIND TANYA WRIGHT:
Website: www.twrightauthor.com

THANK YOU, Tanya, for sharing your writing world with us!  As a special bonus, Tanya is giving away an autographed copy of her Harlequin KISS debut, If Only!  Click on the Rafflecopter below for your chance to enter and WIN!

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