Sunday 5th Anniversary

It's our 5th Anniversary! Celebrate Brunch and Reads with hosts Clover Autrey, Kathleen Baldwin and Nan Dixon 

We're celebrating our 5th anniversary at Get Lost in a Story with a combination

Facebook party and special anniversary blog posts all week. 

Today, we celebrate five years of fabulous books, and we'll share our best brunch recipes.  Bring your favorite brunch recipes and grab the book your currently reading.  Let's talk!!

Don't miss the Brunch and Reads party 

today 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. [Eastern Time Zone] Join: http://bit.ly/GLIAS_5thAnniversary  

Meet your hosts for the day:

Clover Autrey

Inspired by her love of Louis L'Amour heroes, Clover Autrey (yeah, that's her real name), packed up and moved to Texas where she found a real live Texan of her own. She's been there ever since where she and Pat (who else would a Clover marry but a Patrick?) listen to the coyotes howl at the trains each evening.

Clover Autrey’s books have been referred to as “Romance in the Safety Zone.” The pages are chock full of adventure, attraction, fantasy and love, safe enough to read with your daughter or your grandmother, yet not so sweet it will put you in a sugar coma.

Clover has had a love of stories and reading for as long as she can remember, especially inventing her own. She writes the kind of stories she loves to read, magical romance, where the hero and heroine must each make sacrifices to gain something even stronger.

At 9:00 Clover will be the host of the hour and she is giving away an ebook copy of her Highland Sorcery boxed set which includes the first four books in her bestselling Highland Sorcery series. That's four books! The latest in the series Highland Soldier just came out. 

Kathleen Baldwin

Kathleen Baldwin loves adventure in books and in real life. She roamed the Rockies, wandered the desert, enjoyed way too many classes in college, was stalked by a mountain lion, lost an argument with a rattlesnake, fell in love at least a dozen times, and married her very own hero. Together they've raised four free-spirited adventurous children. 

Kathleen is an award-winning best selling author of several adult romantic comedies.
A School for Unusual Girls is her first historical romance for teens. It is a Junior Library Guild selection. Publisher’s Lunch listed it as one of only 26 titles in their 2015 Young Adult BookBuzz. Scholastic licensed it for book fairs this fall. It was chosen for the 2016 Spirit of Texas Reading Program.  New York Times Book Review calls it, "enticing from the first sentence.”

At 10 a.m. Kathleen will be chatting at our facebook party and giving away a eCopy of A School for Unusual Girls. 

Nan Dixon  

Nan spent her formative years as an actress, singer, dancer and competitive golfer. But the need to eat had her studying accounting in college. Unfortunately, being a successful financial executive didn’t feed her passion to perform. When the pharmaceutical company she worked for was purchased, Nan got the chance of a lifetime—the opportunity to pursue a writing career.  She’s a five-time Golden Heart finalist and lives in the Midwest where she is active in her local RWA chapter and on the board of a dance company. She has five children, two sons-in-law, one grandchild and one on the way, and one neurotic cat.

Nan will be giving away A SAVANNAH CHRISTMAS WISH just released this week.  And encouraging you to participate in her  month-long drawing for a $50 Amazon Gift Card.  

Meet Our Guests

Nancy Robards Thompson

Laura Tretham

Award winning author Laura Trentham writes sexy, small town contemporaries and smoking hot Regency historicals. The first two books of her Falcon Football series were named Top Picks by RT Book Reviews magazine. When not lost in a cozy Southern town or Regency England, she's shuttling kids to soccer, helping with homework, and avoiding the Mt. Everest-sized pile of laundry that is almost as large as the to-be-read pile of books on her nightstand.

Slow and Steady Rush, Falcon Football Book 1

She lives by the book—and is still searching for her happily ever after. He knows how to play the field—and is no rush to settle down. But when it comes to love, sometimes you’ve gotta throw away the rule book to cross the finish line…

Laura is joining us at 11 AM CST and is giving away an eCopy of SLOW AND STEADY RUSH.

Chris Keniston

 USA TODAY Bestselling Author of 11 contemporary novels, including the award winning Champagne Sisterhood, Chris Keniston lives in suburban Dallas with her husband, two human children, and two canine children. Though she loves her puppies equally, she admits being especially attached to her German Shepherd rescue. After all, even dogs deserve a happily ever after.

The Champagne Sisterhood, A Family Secrets Novel

Since freshman year of college, Anna, Kat, Erin and Barbara’s friendship has survived time and distance. When Anna makes a deathbed promise to protect Barbara’s daughter, with the help of her friends and the baby’s handsome godfather, Anna faces her greatest challenges.  Learning how to care for a baby who can’t stand her is only the beginning.

Chris will be chatting with us at 1 pm, sharing recipes and giving away (2) audio books of The Champagne Sisterhood

Suzanne Ferrell

USA Today Bestselling author, Suzanne Ferrell discovered romance novels in her aunt's hidden stash one summer as a teenager. From that moment on she knew two things: she loved romance stories and someday she'd be writing her own. Her love for romances has only grown over the years. It took her a number of years and a secondary career as a nurse to finally start writing her own stories. Suzanne's sexy stories, whether they be her on the edge of your seat romantic suspense or the heart warming small town stories, will keep you thinking about her characters long after their Happy Ever After is achieved.

Close to the Mistletoe

 When teacher Holly Murphy walks into Westen’s only bar to help her friend celebrate a divorce, she doesn’t expect hot carpenter Nick Fisher to save her from an embarrassing situation. His heated kisses awaken something deep inside her, but when someone sets his sights on Holly, will Nick be the one to protect her close to the mistletoe?

Suzanne will be visiting the party at 2 p.m. central time and giving away an ebook copy of Close To The Edge and a $5 Amazon gift card!

Allie Burton

Allie Burton didn’t realize having so many jobs would become great research material for the stories she writes. She has been everything from a fitting room attendant to a bike police officer to a professional mascot escort. She has lived on three continents and in four states and has studied art, fashion design, marine biology, and advertising. When her kids asked, “when are you going to write a story we can read?” she switched from adult novels to Young Adult and Middle Grade and hasn’t looked back. Allie is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Romance Writers of America including the Young Adult, Dallas Area Romance Writers and Heart of the Rockies chapters. She is also a member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Currently, she lives in Colorado with her husband and two children.

Cleo’s Curse, Soul Warriors Book 4

An ancient knot entangling Cleo in a world of magic and power.

A driven leader intent on controlling a curse.

A disgruntled slave no longer willing to bow to a modern goddess.

Trapped in a strange world, together the two teens must secure the magic of the knot and become unbound from the relic’s powers. But they are being hunted by those who want them to disappear. Permanently.

Allie will be joining us at 4:00 (central time) and sharing a yummy hot chocolate recipe and anyone who signs up for her newsletter will second book in the series, TUT’S TRUMPET, as a gift. 

Patience Griffin

Award-winning author Patience Griffin has been sewing her whole life but

didn’t discover her love of quilting until her late thirties. She decided the best way to acquire her first quilt was to make one for herself. At nearly the same time, she started commuting three and half hours a day for her dream engineering job. To pass the time on the long drive, she got hooked on audiobooks—especially books with love stories. Within a couple of years, she was writing stories of her own. It was no surprise to her family and friends when she combined her love of quilting, her small town roots, and her obsession with Scottish romances into novels. She has gained some recognition with her September 11th Story Quilt which has toured the country as the property of the Pentagon. She has a master's degree in nuclear engineering but spends her days writing stories about hearth and home, and dreaming about the fictional small town of Gandiegow, Scotland.

Christmas in the small village of Gandiegow brings holiday cheer—and a chance for love between two strangers…

When her father is injured in an accident, Edinburgh engineer Pippa McDonnell comes home to Gandiegow to take over the family business, the North Sea Valve Company. Now she’s working overtime trying to fix NSV’s finances and find the cash to get her father proper medical care. One possibility is to accept a partnership with MTech, an American firm desperate to get their hands on her da’s innovative valve design. He was against bringing in outsiders, but Pippa is desperate enough to at least listen to MTech’s charming representative Max McKinley. As Christmas approaches and with the help of Gandiegow's meddling quilters, Pippa and Max slowly find themselves attracted to each other. Max seems honorable, but is he there to steal the valve design…or Pippa’s heart?

Patience  will be joining us at 5:00 (central time) sharing recipes and giving away a eCopy of ACCIDENTAL SCOT. 

Leann Harris

Leann Harris always made up stories. When she saw a movie and didn’t like the ending, she wrote her own.  She’s the author of 16 published novels with 2 more coming out in the next few months. She is a founder of both DARA and Ready Writers writing groups.  She is a teacher of the deaf, who taught math to high school deaf students and currently teaches writing at Collin College for their continuing education.

The Last Truth, Legacy of Lies, Book 2 - Bletchley Park series

Betrayed by her fiancé to the Nazis, Linette Van Linder escapes the clutches of the Waffen SS and runs into American reporter, Michael St. James. Michael refuses to abandon the woman who just ran into his life and knows he can’t allow her to be arrested for standing for justice. The only way he is able to save her is marry her to get the exit visa.

Their forced marriage becomes more than a simple means to an end, but two souls bound in the fires of war. Linette works as a spy for the British Army while Michael joins the American Army and becomes attached to Dwight D. Eisenhower. As Linette and Michael join the fight to win against the darkness that has settled across Europe, they struggle to come to grips with the people they’ve become. And wonder if their love will survive the struggle.

At 6:00 pm Leann will be at the party sharing an awesome recipe for Cranberry Christmas cake and giving away a eCopy of her inspiring book.

Sylvia McDaniels

Sylvia McDaniel is a best-selling, award-winning author of western historical romance and contemporary romance novels.  Known for her sweet, funny, family-oriented romances, Sylvia is the author of The Burnett Brides, Lipstick and Lead Series, Scandalous Suffragette Brides, The Cuvier Widows, and several short contemporary romances.

Katie, Bride of Virginia

A disastrous factory fire ends Katie Maverick’s livelihood and she must find something quick. Convinced to become a mail-order bride, she receives an offer of marriage from Daniel O’Malley. Could this sweet, innocent woman and his dead wife share a common goal to destroy him?

Sylvia McDaniel is our guest at  6:30 pm and is giving away a eCopy of KATY, BRIDE OF VIRGINIA

Sandra Owens  

A best selling, award-winning author, Sandra Owens lives in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Her family and friends often question her sanity, but have ceased being surprised by what she might get up to next. She's jumped out of a plane, flown in an aerobatic plane while the pilot performed death-defying stunts, has flown Air Combat (two fighter planes dogfighting, pretending to shoot at each other with laser guns), and rode a Harley motorcycle for years. She regrets nothing. 

Sandra is a 2013 Golden Heart® Finalist for her contemporary romance, CRAZY FOR HER. In addition to her contemporary romantic suspense novels, she writes Regency stories.

They call him Saint… He doesn’t smoke, curse, or drink. He avoids wild women like the plague…until her. For this former SEAL, she’s trouble with a capital T. She should be easy to resist, but when her past rears its ugly head, he becomes a man on a mission: Protect her at all costs. 

Sandra is joining us at 7 PM (CST) and will be giving away a signed copy of FALLING FOR HER!

Rebecca Adler

Rebecca Adler is the pen name of author Gina Lee Nelson. Gina grew up on the sugar

beaches of the Florida Gulf Coast. Drawn to the Big Apple by the sweet smell of wishful thinking, she studied acting on Broadway until a dark-eyed cowboy flung her over his saddle and high-tailed it to the Southwest.

Prior to writing women's fiction, Rebecca always found a way to add a touch of the dramatic to her life: dinner theatre in Mississippi, can-can club in Florida, flower shop in Germany, acting school on Broadway, sweatshirt boutique on Madison Avenue, all night dive on the Lower East Side, video series in Jersey, and a giant Furskin at the New York Toy Fair, plus the occasional play and musical.

Reporter turned Tex-Mex waitress Josie Callahan is about to go from serving queso to solving cases…

After losing her newspaper job in Austin and having her former fiancé unfriend her on Facebook, Josie Callahan scoops up her Chihuahua, Lenny, and slinks back to Broken Boot, Texas. Maybe working as head waitress at Milagro—her aunt and uncle’s Tex-Mex restaurant—isn’t exactly living the dream, but it is a fresh start.

And business is booming as tourists pour into Broken Boot for its famous Wild West Festival. But when a local jewelry designer is found strangled outside Milagro after a tamale-making party, Josie’s reporter instincts kick in. As suspects pile up and alibis crack faster than taco shells, Josie needs to wrap up this case tighter than her tía’s tortillas—before another victim calls for the check…

Rebecca will be joining us at 8pm CST after a long drive back to Dallas from a booksigning in Houston. We're so glad to have her. She'll be giving away a copy of her debut cozy mystery Here Today, Gone Tamale and sharing her recipe for Chili Rellenos. 

Amy Patrick

Amy Patrick is a two-time Golden Heart finalist (2013 and 2014) who writes Contemporary Romance and Young Adult fantasy/paranormal romance. She is the author of the Hidden Saga and the 20 Something series. Living in New England now with her husband and two sons, she actually craves the heat and humidity of Mississippi, where she grew up. She's been a professional singer and news anchor and currently works as a video host and voice actor as well as an audiobook narrator.

16 year old Ryann Carroll has just run into the guy who saved her life ten years ago. You might think she'd be happy to see him again. Not exactly. He's not supposed to exist. 

The first time I saw him, everyone convinced me he was a hallucination caused by hypothermia. It was the second time that messed me up. 

Amy Patrick will be joining us at 9 PM CST and will be giving away a paperback of HIDDEN DEEP (or if you already have that one and would like one of the others in the series that's fine.) If the winner is international, I will give them an e-book. 

Get Lost in the Hidden Deep with Amy Patrick

I'm so excited to have Amy Patrick here to talk about her Young Adult HIDDEN DEEP series.  The HIDDEN HOPE released last week, but when I finished HIDDEN HEART - here was my Tweet - 

Dang - just finished @AmyPatrickBooks Hidden Heart at lunch! Now I want the next book! #Hurry!

Yes I overuse exclamation points - but the books are that good! (See another exclamation point.)

I was lucky enough to be a Golden Heart sister with Amy two years in a row, 2013 and 2014.  We are Lucky 13s and Dreamweavers together.  And man, she weaves fabulous dreams, both in her YA and Contemporary Romance 20 Something Series.  She is an automatic buy for me!

MEET AMY PATRICK

Amy Patrick is a two-time Golden Heart finalist (2013 and 2014) who writes Contemporary Romance and Young Adult fantasy/paranormal romance. She is the author of the Hidden Trilogy and the 20 Something series. Living in New England now with her husband and two sons, she actually craves the heat and humidity of Mississippi, where she grew up. She's been a professional singer and news anchor and currently works as a video host and voice actor as well as an audiobook narrator.

Let's learn a little about about the HIDDEN Trilogy.

 

The first time I saw him, everyone convinced me he was a hallucination caused by hypothermia. It was the second time that messed me up…

It all started when Ryann ran into the guy who saved her life ten years ago. She wasn’t exactly happy to see him again. He wasn’t supposed to exist.

Lad knew the law of his people all too well—don’t get careless. And don’t get caught. It had allowed his race to live undetected in this world for thousands of years, mentioned only in flawed and fading folklore…

He wasn’t supposed to even talk to a human, much less fall in love with one, but his fascination with Ryann tempted him to break all the rules. Now they’re both caught up in an ancient battle between Light and Dark, and they’re not the only ones at risk. There are other people—and other hearts—involved.

The unsuspecting human population of the world hangs in the balance of an approaching war. Powerful fan pods have transformed the face of the country. The Dark Council’s plan is almost accomplished, and they are nearly ready to reveal themselves and take back rulership of the world, as it was in the old days, before the history books were written.

Ryann will have to learn to balance her own Dark and Light sides-- and somehow make the right choice between two tempting Fae guys-- or face the consequences of a wrong decision eternally and watch her family and the entire human world fall under the oppression of the Dark Court.

READ A LITTLE, BUY THE BOOK

Tempted yet?  Stop over at Amazon and read an excerpt of the first book.  

BUY THE HIDDEN DEEP SERIES

Amazon                                         

Barnes & Noble

Kobo 

FUN Q&A WITH AMY

NAN: How often do you get lost in a story?

AMY: I feel like I’m ALWAYS lost in some story, whether it’s the one I’m writing or something I’m reading. I take my kindle everywhere and read anytime I’m not actively engaged in something else. Standing in line at the grocery, waiting for an appointment, in the pick-up line at the kids’ schools—I’m never bored and I’m never irritated because something’s “taking too long” because it’s just another opportunity to read! Even when I’m driving around doing errands, I put on the text-to-speech feature and continue getting lost in a story. Much more entertaining than the car radio.

Nan: Wow.  I thought I read everywhere, but you outdo me!  I don't take it grocery shopping.  Oh wait - I try and avoid grocery shopping!

NAN:  How did you come up with the idea for your Hidden series?

AMY: I was a HUGE Lord of the Rings fan growing up. Of course, unlike many readers of the trilogy, I realized it was *actually* a romance. ;) I wondered what it would be like if beautiful and powerful Tolkien-esque elves existed in our world today. That thought is what inspired my stories, in which powerful Fae use glamour enhanced by modern technology to hide their real identities and get whatever they want from the unsuspecting humans.

Oh, I love the elves in Lord of the Rings and I love the use of glamour in your books.  And the fan pods!

NAN: In addition to this series, you’ve also written a contemporary romance series about twenty-somethings in the world of TV news. The two genres are so different. Which do you prefer writing-- contemporary or young adult fantasy/paranormal?

AMY: I love both. It’s been fun switching back and forth—very refreshing. Whichever one I’m writing at the time feels like the most fun. So at the time, the Hidden series is my favorite.

Nan:  And I love this series too.

NAN: What has been your most rewarding publishing moment?

AMY: This has been a very good week! With my series starter HIDDEN DEEP free for two weeks, the book reached the top 100 bestsellers overall on Amazon and #1 in its category of Teen and Young Adult Paranormal/Urban Fantasy. And both books 2 and 3 reached the top 100 in their category on Amazon. With 4 million books per year being released, it feels pretty fantastic to make those lists and be selling so well. Plus, the reviews where readers say they are finding the series and reading all three books in three days are so thrilling. J 

Nan: I'm so happy people are finding your books.  They will love them.

NAN: Complete this sentence. When I want to relax, I. . .

AMY: Have a glass of wine and watch a movie. I am a movie fanatic. My faves are sci-fi and anything romance-y (with a happy ending please.) And much to my sons’ delight, I love the Marvel movies. The more Thor the better. J

Nan:  I'll join you with a glass of Prosecco!

NAN: What is your biggest vice?

AMY: I am an irredeemable Coke Zero addict. I’m trying hard—keeping it to two a day.

Nan:  Tea is mine.  (And maybe that Prosecco.)

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

AMY: I just re-watched all 6 seasons of Lost, one of my favorite TV shows ever. It was still just as good-- what amazing writing!

Nan: I never watched that one, but I have lots that I love.  Castle -- for the writing.

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

AMY: Because I write in two genres, I get to choose two! Avatar for fantasy/sci fi and When Harry Met Sally for contemporary romance/romantic comedy.

Nan:  Nice.

NAN: Who's your celebrity crush and why?

AMY: Sam Heughan who plays Jamie Fraser on Outlander. Why? Um… how much space do we have here on the blog? Let’s see- the smile, the chin, the hair (!) the eyes, his voice, his hands, his sense of humor. And of course the character he’s portraying is, in my opinion, one of the greatest romantic heroes of all time.

Nan:  He is absolutely gorgeous!!

NAN: GOTTA ASK:  Benedict Cumberbatch or Chris Pine?

AMY: GOTTA ANSWER:   Oh, Chris, for sure. Those eyes! And the funny. 

Nan:  His eyes are amazing.

WHAT’S NEXT

Now that the Hidden trilogy is complete, I’m getting a lot of questions about possible future stories in the Hidden word. I’m happy to say I’m working on a new trilogy set in the Hidden world. The first book will release in early 2016 and be entitled Hidden Darkness (The Dark Court, Book 1) 

Nan:  As a fan I am soooo happy!

FIND AMY PATRICK:

Contact: amypatrickbooks@yahoo.com

Website: www.amypatrickbooks.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmyPatrickAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmyPatrickBooks

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3247178.Amy_Patrick

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AmyPatrickBooks/

Blogs: http://amypatrickauthor.blogspot.com/

AMY PATRICK WANTS TO KNOW:    

Some of the characters in the Hidden series possess glamour—special abilities such as musical glamour, mind control, emotional acuity. If you could choose a glamour for yourself, what would it be? 

AMY PATRICK  is giving away a paperback of HIDDEN DEEP, BOOK 1 OF THE HIDDEN TRILOGY to any commenter. (North America)

International winners are eligible for an e-book of their choice from either of Amy’s two series.

Nan:  Amy, Thank you for joining the crew today.  I loved having you.