Alexa Bourne returns to Get Lost

Angi Morgan, your host

It's great to have Alexa back with us today to share her latest release.

Alexa Bourne is a teacher by day and a romance writer by nights, weekends, and all school holidays. She also teaches online classes for writers throughout the year. She writes mostly romantic suspense (some with paranormal elements!) and is thrilled to have the chance to share her stories with readers everywhere.

When she’s not concocting sinister plots and steamy love scenes or traveling and exploring new cultures, Alexa spends her time reading, watching brainless TV, and thinking about exercising. Okay, she also spends way too much time interacting with readers and writers on social media sites. But don’t tell her editors! Find out more about her and her books on her website.

Goodreads | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter: @AlexaBourne

Website | Blog | Contact

HEAR MY CRY

The Protector Cell series, book 1

Harper Monroe has simple goals- work her day job, pay her debts and finish college. But life rarely goes as planned. When two lunatics spouting off weird phrases attempt to kidnap her, Harper’s world turns upside down and she loses her hearing.

All bartender Scott Jackson wants after work is his couch, a Longhorn game and a cold beer. Instead, he reluctantly becomes Harper’s protector. As the two of them work to find out why she’s wanted, Harper’s hearing returns. Only now she can hear everything.

With more research, they discover Harper is a member of The Protector Cell, a secret society of men and women with superpowers. Harper refuses to accept her fate until The Collectors, the people hunting the Protectors, make her their number one target. Suddenly, Harper will have to choose: deny her frightening future or use her new skill to save the man she loves.

Read a little, Buy the book

Harper squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. What if she never heard another sound again?

A gentle hand brushed along her arm. Warmth seeped through the palm. Heat wasn’t what she needed, though. Did the person have any courage to share?

She opened her eyes. Gone was the stern looking doctor. Only her hero stood before her, with a soft glance of concern covering his features. Of course he hadn’t grown since she met him, but somehow he seemed taller, wider, more of a force to be reckoned with. Yet, he still held onto a boy-next-door look. His dirty-blond hair held streaks from where he’d run his fingers through it. The strands fell below the standard male cut, but still didn’t reach his broad shoulders. Across his chest stretched a black t-shirt decorated with the words The Stone Shelter Pub. From her few visits to the bar, she knew it was the shirt the staff wore. 

He pointed to her. Once he gave her the hand signal for okay, he held his hand out as though waiting for an answer.

Her all right? She had a couple who wanted to grab her, to use her as a test subject. Defending herself completely healthy was hard enough. With no hearing, she might as well put a sign on her back that read take me, I’m at a tactical disadvantage.

But she couldn’t tell that to an innocent stranger.

A slim smile was all she could give him. “I will be.” She had to be, right?

He reached behind him to the table to grab the notepad and pen. Don’t be scared, okay? Since there’s nothing physically wrong with you then it stands to reason you’ll be able to hear again soon.

He’d written the message, but Harper could see the doubt rumbling through his eyes.

When she pulled her gaze away, it fell on the bandage covering part of his forearm. An injury he wouldn’t have gotten if he had walked away. A knot clutched in her stomach. “What’s your name?”

Scott Jackson.

“Thank you for saving my life.” The admission brought a whole new wave of worry.

You were doing pretty good on your own.

With a light touch of her pinkie, she traced the tape around his bandage. “I’m sorry you got hurt because of me.”

He shook his head. You didn’t burn my arm. There’s no reason for you to apologize.

“But if I hadn’t stopped you…”

He held up one finger, close to her mouth but not touching. She pressed her lips together, and then he continued writing. My choice.

Rich green eyes stared back at her with strength and pride. Moisture gathered in the corners of Harper’s eyes. When she’d called out to him for help she hadn’t wanted him hurt. For her. “I’m so sorry.”

He brushed away the tears before they fell down her cheeks.

She knew it wasn’t fair, wasn’t right, but she didn’t want him to leave her alone. With his soft touch, his straightforward words, and his ability to hear, Scott Jackson was the only person who made her feel safe at the moment.

Amazon | Amazon UK | Evernight | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Hello! Thank you to the wonderful ladies of the Get Lost in a Story blog for letting me visit. While talking to readers, I get a lot of questions. So I thought for this visit I would share some of the questions and give my answers. Here we go!

READER: What is your writing schedule?

ALEXA: I have a day job (I’m a high school teacher!) so I have to find time to write around that schedule. Monday through Friday I write from 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. If I get to write any more that day, great. If I don’t, then I at least feel like I’m making some progress. I also write on the weekends around other activities.

READER: How much reading do you do?

ALEXA: It’s interesting. I can’t seem to really read much while I’m working on a book’s revisions. I have to be able to focus just on my own book. Once I turn in a book or complete a new version, I binge read. For example, I finished the second draft of The Protector Cell series book #2 and I took a break. I spent three weeks reading and read 6 books.

READER: Do you write stories of former secondary characters?

ALEXA:   I have, but not enough. I’ll write a book then fall in love with secondary characters and want to write their stories too.

READER: What kinds of snacks and drinks do you have when you’re writing?

ALEXA: As I get closer to finishing a book I spend a lot of time eating Peanut M&Ms and drinking Cokes. I also get a lot more fast food. Once the book is turned in I’ll celebrate with a fancy cupcake, a margarita or both!

READER: Do you base characters on people you know?

ALEXA: I don’t base them on people I know, but I do name some of the characters based on people around me. For example, many of my friends and coworkers have asked to “be in the book”. I ask if they want their character to be a villain or a good guy and most of them say a villain. I try to put part of his or her name into one of the characters. But I don’t think of my friends as I write the character. I have to have an actor or actress in mind for me to write the story successfully.

READER: Are any of your stories based on your own life?

ALEXA: No story is based on my own life, but I think most authors will agree that a bit of ourselves does end up in every book.

READER: Do you visit the places you write about?

ALEXA: Yes, I do. My current book, HEAR MY CRY, is set in a city where I lived for several years. Some of my backlist books are set in my favorite place in the world, Scotland. I’ve been very fortunate to have visited the country several times.

Thank you all for allowing me to visit today!

My birthday is in October, so throughout the month I’ll be celebrating with readers! I’ll choose two prize winners a week. Some of the prizes will be gift cards, Austin “stuff”, Scottish “stuff”, books and, of course, chocolate! There are several ways to enter the contest:

• ·         1st: Just by being a newsletter subscriber you have a chance to win!
• ·         2nd: If you post a review of any books on my backlist anywhere (and let me know) you could win!
• ·         3rd: If you post a review of HEAR MY CRY anywhere (and let me know) you could win!
• ·         4th: If you leave a question for me on this blog you have a chance to win!
• ·         And if you do more than one of these, you can get extra chances to win!

See? Easy! I'll announce winners each Sunday morning through the month of October. At the end of the month, I'll send a new newsletter with details of my writing news and all the winners listed. On October 9th, enjoy a favorite dessert to celebrate my birthday with me!

SO, WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU LIKE AUTHORS TO ANSWER? OR WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR ME?

Get Lost With Shari Elder!

Hi, folks! Please join me in welcoming a friend of mine, Shari Elder! Shari and I have been friends for a few years and often share writing information. Today we're sharing details of her brand new book!

 

WHO IS SHARI ELDER?

By day, Shari Elder saves cities. By night, she builds them—on Saturn’s rings, under a lilac bush, in a coral reef – then packs them full of shifters, vampires, Olympian gods, extra-terrestrials or whatever else comes into her head. In all these wondrous worlds, romance and passion blossom, since she cannot resist writing a happy ending, especially for those who have given up on ever getting one. Now that's satisfaction. 

Raised on science fiction and fantasy, fueled by coffee and red wine, Shari writes early in the morning, late at night, and in between crises at home. She lives, contentedly albeit crazily, with her teen-age daughter, teen-age dog, and the elderly cat who rules the roost.

 

THE STORY BLURB

On the night of the full moon, any male shifter can call the Trials to race against Talia Orion, alpha of the united wolf-eagle clans. Clan law requires Talia to marry the winner of the Trials, a grueling twenty-mile marathon through dangerous, rugged terrain. The product of an unhappy, political alliance masquerading as a marriage, Talia trains obsessively to ensure she avoids her parents’ fate.  Her newest vampire trainer, Hayden Mitchell, makes her powerful even as he knocks down her defenses, and finds his way, first, into her bed then into her heart.

Hayden has loved Talia since the first moment he saw her. As the destined ruler of the vampire clan, he has another agenda – to politically unite Talia’s clans with his own—what Talia fears most, and will never forgive him for.

 

READ A LITTLE, BUY THE BOOK

 

Amazon         |    All Romance     |     Bookstrand

             

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SHARI?
Email
Website
Facebook
Goodreads
Pinterest
Blog
Twitter:@ShariElderBooks

AND NOW…

ALEXA:What was the first story you remember writing?

SHARI: For a High School English writing assignment, I wrote what I thought was a masterpiece about General Strep’s defeat at the hand of the anti-bodies. Yes, it’s a story about what happens when you get strep throat. Creating non-human characters, building the world, organizing the plot – it was a total thrill, and what turned me on to writing. Even though it took me a great many years to embrace that side of me, I can point to it as the start of it all.

ALEXA:What’s the best birthday present you ever received?

SHARI: One year on my birthday, while I was out shopping, my darling daughter decided to surprise me. I walked into a house filled with posters, each saying something quite wonderful, such as I love you, Mom, Best Writer Ever, Best Mom Ever Sleeps here (hung over my bed), and You’re so pretty. The posters were interspersed with cut out and colored hearts in varied sizes. In addition to all of this, she gave me a hand-made coupon books full of free back scratches, do my laundry coupons, and perfect kid for a day passes. Best birthday ever.

ALEXA:What three things are, at this moment, in Talia’s, your heroine, purse, satchel, reticule, weapons belt or amulet bag (whatever she carries)?

SHARI: She has a phone, a back-up charger, and a scrunchie in her zipped workout jacket pocket. Since Talia is an Alpha shifter, who trains almost obsessively to remain strong, fast and agile, she does not carry a purse or bag. The only things she really needs is a good mobile phone, to stay in continuous contact with her clan. The phone also provides her with a camera and music among other key apps she’ll need during the day in various duties. She has the back-up charger to ensure she can always use the phone, and a scrunchie to pull her long hair back during a workout.

ALEXA:What is your favorite trait about Hayden, your hero in Shifter Trials?

SHARI: He has a special place in his heart for children. As one of his roles as heir apparent to the vampire clan leadership, he trains their disabled children, which are common in this world. When he was young, he was smaller and weaker, so he knows what it’s like to be pushed around simply for what he was.

ALEXA:Who’s your favorite villain?

SHARI: Hans Gruber from the film Die Hard. Suave, sophisticated, great dresser, charming, dropped a great one-liner, yet was pure evil. RIP Alan Rickman. We miss you.

ALEXA:What’s your favorite fairy tale?

SHARI: Mulan, the Chinese warrior heroine made into a Disney princess movie. She is one of my favorites because she takes the future in her own hands. As much as I like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White among others, it feels like they are being rescued. In Mulan, she rebels against her traditional role, and in doing so, because a heroine and rescues herself and others.

ALEXA:What’s the last show you binge watched?

SHARI: Doc Martin. It’s a British comedy-drama starring Martin Clunes and Caroline Katz with a host of eccentric characters in a small port town in Cornwall. It’s a cross between House (grumpy, anti-social doctor, exceptional diagnostician) and Northern Exposure (classically trained physician in small, quirky town, not fitting in and not really wanting to). I can’t wait for them to make the next season.

ALEXA:I LOVE Doc Martin! What’s your favorite rerun?

SHARI: There’s more than one, but there is a theme. I adore science fiction series. I can always watch Star Trek and Dr. Who reruns. No sell buy date. They always work.

ALEXA:What’s up next for you, Shari?

SHARI: I am finishing up a science fiction romance novel at the moment, called Race to Redemption. Here’s a quick summary.

Terran Alliancestorm racingchampion Elaina Carteret has it all—wealth, celebrity, respect and a god-of-a-fiancee—until betrayal and tragedy sends her into exile. Resurfacing as Lainie Carter, a medical transport driver on the isolated desert planet ofRanhar, her rule-bending approach to her job infuriates the med facility director, Dr. Erik Hansen, who runs the outpost with an iron hand, a permanent scowl and the tightest bod on the planet.

ALEXA’S GOTTA ASK, SHARI’S GOTTA ANSWER:

WHAT’S THE MOST ROMANTIC THING ANYONE’S EVER DONE FOR YOU?

This remains one of my most special and most poignant memories. When I was in college, I fell in love for the first time. We could not spend our first winter holiday together because my grandmother was taking my sister and me to Mexico for a special trip over Christmas break, arriving back home on December 30. When we returned home from the airport when the trip ended, there was a giant box in my driveway addressed to me. My boyfriend had driven to our house from another state and packed himself in the box to surprise me. He didn’t want us to be separated for our first New Year’s eve together. It was an amazing gesture, and I feel extremely grateful someone would have done that for me.

ALEXA:Okay, thanks so much for joining us today, Shari! Folks, Shari has a question for you and she will giveawaya Shifter Trial coffee mug to TWO commenters!

SHARI: What stories aren’t being written that you want to read?

Note: Please leave an email address for notification. Offer void where prohibited.Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only.Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the authormay not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

 

First Fridays with the Crew. Fool You Once...

April Fool's!

Today the crew is celebrating a day of light-hearted fun...or mean pranks, depending on your point of view.

E.E. Burke

Being a history geek, I was curious as to when all this foolishness originated. Here's what I found out…

References to April Fool's Day can be found in the early 1500s but these references were infrequent and often vague. It wasn't until the 1700s that detailed references to this curious tradition began to appear with regularity. But by that time, the custom was established throughout northern Europe and was regarded as coming from antiquity. How could a tradition be adopted by so many different European cultures without provoking comments in the written record?

April Fool’s!

Theories have been put forward about how the tradition began but few have enough evidence to back them up. So, the origin of the "custom of making April Fools" remains a mystery.

Let’s take a look at some of the most famous April Fool’s jokes.

Surely, you jest! 

I worked for the Associated Press for two years, so I know how seriously they take the news. But being the first to break a story sometimes leads to red faces later...

In 1983, Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University, provided an alternative explanation for the origins of April Fools' Day. He claimed to have traced the practice to Constantine's period, when a group of court jesters jocularly told the emperor that jesters could do a better job of running the empire, and the amused emperor nominated a jester, Kugel, to be the king for a day. Boskin related how the jester passed an edict calling for absurdity on that day and the custom became an annual event. Boskin explained the jester's role as being able to put serious matters into perspective with humor.

An Associated Press article brought this alternative explanation to public's attention in newspapers, not knowing that Boskin had invented the entire story as an April Fool's joke and the new organization was not made aware of this until some weeks later!

Taco Liberty Bell

In 1996, Taco Bell took out a full-page advertisement in the New York Times, announcing they had purchased the Liberty Bell to “reduce the country’s debt” and had renamed it the Taco Libery Bell. When asked about the sale, White House press secretary Mike McCurry replied that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold and would henceforth be known as the Lincoln Mercury Memorial. 

OK, now that you’re laughing, let’s get to my favorite…

Light on their feet.

In 1976, British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore told listeners of the BBC Radio that unique alignment of two planets would result in an upward gravitational pull, making people lighter at precisely 9:47 am that day. He invited his audience to jump in the air and experience "a strange floating sensation". Dozens of listeners phoned in to say the experiment had worked, among them a woman who reported that she and her 11 friends were "wafted from their chairs and orbited gently around the room.

The Brits will believe anything! 

Proof in point: This 1857 invitation lured many guests.

The "Annual Ceremony of Washing the Lions" at the Tower of London. Can anyone spell g-u-l-l-i-b-l-e? 

This month, I have a new book coming out. Patrick’s Charm, Book 2 in The Bride Train series. It's a story about a mummified mail-order bride who becomes a mortician's favorite piece of jewelry... 

April Fool's! 

OK, enough fooling around. Let’s see what the rest of the crew has to say about April Fool’s Day…

Clover Autry

I have a brother who was born on this date. He was the first boy after 5 daughters so when my prankster dad tried to tell my grandparents the good news, they were convinced it was an April Fool's prank. A boy? Right. They wouldn't believe it until they saw the baby for themselves. 

Here's a Time Travel "April Fool's"...

The Sweetheart Tree by Clover Autry

Not a history enthusiast, Bree doesn’t pay much attention while at the Civil War museum with her history-buff sister. Though letters behind glass and a multitude of initials carved into the Sweetheart Tree do cause Bree to wonder if she will ever find someone to love that wholeheartedly.

She never expected to be thrown back in time; or to find the answer in the warm gaze of a confederate lieutenant. A lieutenant who, should he live, will alter history

Alexa Bourne

April Fool's Day has never been very important in my world until my second year of teaching. 

I was teaching 2nd grade and I had a very rambunctious student, a little girl who acted silly, drove the staff crazy and had one of those smiles that made you forget all the problems she instigated. 

To Purchase

One day we were talking about birthdays and she blurted out that hers was April 1st. 

I thought she was playing a joke...until I checked her file in the office. At that point I thought if anyone should have an April 1st birthday it should be this child! For the record, she's now in college, we're still in contact and she's still a great person!

My latest release is about a psychic...no kidding... 

Avril Tremayne 

I'm sure there are many April Fool's jokes I've experienced in my life that I've blocked out of my memory banks as too traumatic! 

But coincidentally, at a recent family gathering, I asked the general question if anyone was planning anything special for April 1 2016, and the only pregnant member of the family - who works about 2,000 hours a day (slight exaggeration) and is planning on going on maternity leave only a few days before the due date in April - said she'd been pondering whether to pretend her waters had broken on April 1.

To Purchase

I can only imagine the pandemonium that would ensue!

Weirdly, one of my books has an unexpected delivery, which puts the heroine (a nurse) and hero (a TV star/Documentary maker) on the spot to deliver a baby at  home out of the blue - but it is no joke, I assure you.

Regan Walker

This is one April Fool's joke that backfired on me. My son was raised to be unafraid of any critter. But for some odd reason he fears spiders. One April Fool's Day when he was about 8, I served up his breakfast oatmeal and said, "Oh dear, there's a spider in it!" 

He backed away from the bowl so fast he was a blur. His grandmother, sitting next to him, just smiled. (She wasn't afraid of spiders either.) 

I said, "It's April's Fools, honey. Not to worry!" Well, do you think he would eat that oatmeal after that? Not on your life.

My new release, coming in May, is REBEL WARRIOR, book 3 in the Medieval Warriors series, which can be read as a stand alone. A tale from Scotland of old where danger lurks in every corner with raiding Northmen, clashes with Norman knights and love’s betrayal in the king’s court—an adventure with true love as its end!

Have fun today! And don't get fooled!

First Friday With the Crew!

Happy March! I'm so excited to be here today! St. Patrick's Day is my second favorite holiday (behind Christmas). Yes, I love green beer, but I also love Ireland- the music, scenery, the accent. Plus, there's Irish heritage in my family background. So, for our March 1st Friday, I told the crew:

You've captured a leprechaun. For you to release him, he has to grant you 3 wishes. What would your 3 wishes be?

*************************************

Alexa Bourne:

Hmmmm, this is harder than I thought! My 3 wishes? I'd want the "good for the world" things- peace, all people treated fairly and given the basics in life- food, shelter, clothing, love- and no more global warming.

But I am human so I'm also going to add what I'd want for myself. A house in the Highlands of Scotland, one more conversation with my dad, and enough money to travel and explore the world.

*************************************

Angi Morgan:

If I caught a leprechaun’s pot of gold…  Wow…this is rather hard. I could go the altruistic route and say, peace, prosperity and health for everyone. But when it comes to leprechauns I always go back to the Disney movie, Darby O’Gill and the Little People. If you’ve never seen it…definitely worth your time. It’s Sean Connery’s first film and he sings! Anyway, wishes whether from genies or leprechauns always seem to backfire. So…I’d wish for:

1. the personal drive to get healthy and stay fit without being a muscle monster
2. enough money where I felt comfortable paying electric bills for those who couldn't
3. and, let's face it, I'm a writer... I need a personal assistant, a typewriter that can hear my thoughts, and ten extra hours in a day.

Think those will backfire?

*************************************

Nan Dixon:

3 wishes?

1.  My first wish would be for a safe, easy delivery for my 2nd grandchild due in April

2. Second wish --  I want to spend time with the daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law.  Unfortunately, she lives Massachusetts and I live in Minnesota but there has to be a way

3.  Then my third wish would be for me - a great book launch on the August release of Through a Magnolia Filter.  (It does have a St. Patrick's Day tie in.)

*************************************

Clover Autrey:

My 3 wishes would be:

Health

Wealth

and the Wisdom to know what to do with them. 

*************************************

E.E. Burke:

Three wishes? What? Does this leprechaun think he's a genie? He owes me a pot of GOLD! Pay up! And while he's at it, he can give me superpowers to be able to write fast without mistakes, and get a highly toned, foxy body just fro sitting on my duff. He does perform miracles, right?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

(Burke is Irish, you know. That means extra luck on St. Paddy's Day)

*************************************

Avril Tremayne:

I want to put on my Miss Universe cap and say world peace – but let's face it, that's a given, so I'm giving three selfish ones:

1. To be transported to 18^th century Cornwall, and steal Ross Poldark from Demelza.
2. To ride a dragon - or a broom! Either one would be very, very cool.
3. To become an IT wizard and understand every trick of all the computers and computer programs in the world.

*************************************

Jillian Stone

Three Hot Irishmen, please! 

I have three wishes for my leprechaun: George Clooney, Bradley Cooper and Colin Farrell. Three Hot Irishmen. And if he grants my three wishes, Guinness, all around. Cheers! 

  *************************************

 Regan Walker:

Yes, I, too, have some Irish blood running through my veins and lots of redheads in my family. And, like most of them, I believe there is a God even though I cannot see him and I believe there is love when I feel it not. As for my 3 wishes, I would want for leaders to be wise, for people to know truth and for all dogs to go to Heaven, where, I assume there is plenty of dark chocolate. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

*************************************
Lara Lacombe

My three wishes?  Hmmm... I'm just going to go with the personal, selfish reasons, since those are more fun :)

1) The ability to eat chocolate (or really, anything) without it adversely affecting my health and weight.
2) Sleep.  I have a 9 month old baby.  'Nuff said.
3) A few extra hours in the day.  So much to do, so little time! :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!  Hope you find your pot of gold!