Get Swept Through Time with C.A. Szarek

She never believed in magic…

   Claire McGowan, Scotophile and historical romance novel addict, finally saves up enough for her dream vacation to Scotland.

   She never imagines she’ll get sucked back to the seventeenth century while running on the beach—that’s what she gets for exercising when she should be relaxing.

He knows with a harsh certainty magic exists...

   The Fae have taken his brother—Laird of his clan. Duncan MacLeod finds a bonnie naked and confused lass. He’s convinced Claire arrived in 1672 through the Faery Stones—a magical portal he’s been scouring the lands for over the past six months.

At last, he has someone who’s been through the Faery Stones and can help him find them—and get his brother back.

   Duncan promises to help Claire get home, even though his desire to have her wars with his vow.

   Torn between familiarity of the present and what she wants in the past, can Claire help Duncan find his brother and get back to the future? Will she even want to?

Book One in the time travel, fantasy romance series, Highland Secrets!   Excerpt

     

A bit about C.A. Szarek

Bestselling, award winning author of romantic suspense and epic fantasy romance, C.A. loves to dabble in different genres. If it's a good story, she'll write it, no matter where it seems to fit!

She's a hopeless romantic and always will be. Risking it all for Happily Ever After is what she lives by!

She's originally from Ohio, but got to Texas as soon as she could. She's happily married and has a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice.

She works with kids when she's not writing.

dabble in different genres. If it's a good story, she'll write it, no matter where it seems to fit!

Blog     Website    Facebook   Twitter   Goodreads

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

C.A. Szarek: All the time! I love to read as much as I love writing! So, I read often and diversely. Sometimes it takes me a while to finish a book since I write almost every day, but I’m always reading something.

CLOVER: What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?

C.A. Szarek: Cry. I hate that I’m admitting that, but it’s the truth. LOL. Then I jump for joy. If I was a drinker, I’d get drunk, but I usually physically jump for joy, and high-five whoever’s close. Then watch way too much TV before I dive into the next book.

CLOVER:  If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why?

C.A. Szarek: Easy. I would go to Scotland. Probably in the 17^th century, like my heroines in this series. That’s a fascinating time in Scotland’s history and the Clan system has always intrigued me. I would love to see it live, even though life for a woman in that time wasn’t always a piece of cake.  

CLOVER: I love that we are in a boxed set together with books focusing on time travel. Tell us a little about the book you have in this set.

C.A. Szarek: My book is about city girl from 2014 who’s fascinated by anything Scotland. Claire is from Texas and goes to the Highlands on vacation. She gets sucked into 1672 by accident when running on the beach, and meets Duncan. He changes her mind about the drive for finding modern times again. Duncan’s twin brother was kidnapped by the Fae, so Claire has to help him find him, and they fall in love along the way.

This was a super fun write for me, and this book is the first of a trilogy, there are two more stories, both of which I adore.

Swept Through Time

Time Travel Romance Boxed Set 

7 books by Bestselling Authors Tamara Gill, C.A. Szarek, Brenda Hiatt, Callie Hutton,               Clover Autrey, Laura Marie Altom, Louise Clark

Pre-Order at    Kobo     Amazon     iTunes    Barnes&Noble

C.A. will be giving TWO lucky commenters their choice of one of her eBooks.

Note: Please leave an email address for notification. Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. 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 author may 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.

Highland Moon Sifter Giveaway

At her movement the man, the Moon Sifter, turned, the sole person she left everything behind to come here to kill.

She snatched the blanket back up. “Where are my clothes?”

One shoulder lifted in a shrug. “I needed something to start the fire with.”

“The whole thing?”

The fire blazed behind him, fueled by varied sizes of split logs. He was being spiteful or…she studied his smug expression…he believed by taking her clothes away he’d make her vulnerable, having to hold a blanket up for modesty. Well, he’d underestimated her resolve. She had no qualms about killing him while bare-butt naked and then she’d take his clothes for her own after doing it.  Which, no time like the present.

She flung herself at him, leaving blanket behind, intending to knock him off balance into the hearth where he’d either fall in the fire or hopefully knock his head against the stone mantle. Either way, it would give her enough of a distraction to grab up his blade again.

Except her forward momentum came to an extreme stop. One second she was moving, the next she wasn't, hands flat and arms jolted against an immovable chest. Holy crap. What was he made of, unbreakable granite?

His arms swept up, long hands clamped around her. Flat gray eyes glared down at her and she swallowed. Fear, or something else, swirled in her belly, rising upward into her breasts.

Had to be fear. Or the sudden chill, though she had to admit there was something uncharacteristically strange happening to her, something sensual and unsettling about being so close to the Highlander while he was fully dressed and she was completely bare.

She shook her bangs over her eyes, hiding the only way that she could.

I'm ecstatic to offer the 4th book and conclusion to my Highland Sorcery series. So I want to give at least 3 commenters your choice of a digital copy of any of the books in the series, whether you want to start at the beginning with Highland Sorcerer or any of the other books in the series. 

  

Amazon       Barnes and Noble      Blog      

  

How did I treat myself after finishing a series, you ask? I went flying...

Note: Please leave an email address for notification. Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. 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 author may 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. 

DON'T FORGET to FOLLOW us on Twitter #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our guest authors and their prizes.  And join us tomorrow for a special hosting with the Group.  ~ Clover 

Highland Moon Sifter Release

Bekah McRafferty has one goal. Travel back in time and kill the Moon Sifter Shaw Limont so that billions of the human race can survive.

Yep, that's the plan until she actually meets the Highlander. He’s not exactly the evil guy history makes him out to be. Creator of monsters that nearly eat mankind to extinction? Well, maybe. Maybe not.

But now that she’s jumped into 13^th Century Scotland with the future of humanity depending on her to kill the guy she’s rapidly falling for, and with monsters on her tail, trying to stop her, what’s an assassin from the future to do?

Highland Moon Sifter brings to a conclusion the 4-part series  within the Highland Sorcery novels, featuring the sibling guardians of magic Toren, Edeen, Col, and Shaw Limont.  Sorcerer, Empath, Shapeshifter, and Moon Sifter. 

Amazon                           Barnes & Noble

DON'T FORGET to FOLLOW us on Twitter #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our guest authors and their prizes.  And join us tomorrow for a Highland Giveaway  ~ Clover 

Melissa Mayhue

GET LOST IN HIGHLANDER'S CURSE...

The magic of one woman’s love could save or destroy him.

When Colin MacAlister is cursed by the Faerie Queen and ends up in the bed of a twenty-first century woman — who also happens to be the most beautiful creature he’s ever laid eyes on — he’s torn between anger and lust. Colin is determined to see Scotland free of English control and must return to the fourteenth century, yet he cannot forget the woman who haunts his dreams and stirs him with scorching desire.

Abigail Porter can’t believe her luck. After making a wish to find her Soulmate, she wakes up to find a gorgeous man in her bed! Can he really be a medieval Highlander summoned by her Faerie Magic, however? It seems crazy, but when Abby discovers someone wants to enslave her because of her Faerie heritage, she agrees to flee with Colin to 1306 Scotland to avoid capture.

Thwarting danger at every turn, Abby and Colin surrender to an irresistible passion. But is the magic of true love powerful enough to save them?

Melissa, thank you for joining us today. Congratulations on your RITA nomination! I've been a fan of your writing for years, and before you leave us today, I hope you'll share your recipe for Million Dollar fudge. But I'll get to that later. Without further ado, let's ask the Get Lost in a Story fun questions: :)

DONNELL: If you could live anywhere on earth, where would it be?

MELISSA: I’m amazingly lucky because I already live where I want to! Of all the placed I’ve lived or traveled to, Colorado has been my favorite. Now, in a perfect world, I’d also get to spend at least two months out of every year in Scotland!!

DONNELL: What is your favorite room in your house?

MELISSA: My living room. Lots of big windows to let the sun in and a wonderful fireplace for those cold days. And best of all? A corner of my sofa that is just perfect for curling up with either my laptop to write or a good book to read!

DONNELL: Introvert or Extrovert?

MELISSA: Introvert. Definitely.

DONNELL: Which of your characters would you most/least to invite to dinner, and why?

MELISSA: Most like to invite to dinner – that’s a tie between Rosalyn MacKiernan MacAlister, a woman who knows much more than she ever tells, and a brand new character, Elesyria Al Byrn, a Faerie who knows much more than she ever tells… or at least she thinks she does.

Least like to invite to dinner – Reynard Servans. That’s one scary Faerie.

DONNELL: Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

MELISSA: I do read reviews and I do pay attention to them, though I do my best not to let them influence my writing. I respect every reader’s right to share an opinion of what they’ve read, even if I don’t necessarily agree with them all.

DONNELL: What’s in your refrigerator right now?

MELISSA: So much stuff!!! It really needs a good cleaning… and that’s on my list of things to do just as soon as this book is finished! J Newest, favorite thing in the fridge right now: a gallon of Sweet Tea picked up fresh this afternoon from Chick-fil-a.

DONNELL: Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

MELISSA: It happens to all writers on occasion, I believe. Some type of change usually helps me. A long, quiet ride in the car usually works to unblock the dam -- especially if I don’t have any paper to write ideas down on! Another trick I use is to go someplace different, like Starbucks, for instance. And using a pad of paper and a pen instead of a keyboard can make a difference sometimes, too.

DONNELL: Favorite tradition from childhood.

MELISSA: Making Million-Dollar fudge at Christmas. In fact, pretty much everything about Christmas.

DONNELL: What’s the first thing that you do when you finish a book?

MELISSA: Check to see how long I have to wait for the next one after that.

DONNELL: Coffee or Tea?

MELISSA: First thing in the morning it has to be coffee [with hazelnut creamer]. Mid-morning or afternoon it’s tea.

DONNELL: E-Reader or bound Book?

MELISSA: Bound book. Though I have an E-Reader and I’m slowly accumulating a wealth of research books on it and enjoy using it, I still reach for a bound book when I sit down to read. At least for now.

DONNELL: What dreams have you realized as a result of your writing?

MELISSA: Seeing a book with my name on it on the shelf at my local grocery store!!! That was a big one for me. More recently, getting that early morning call to tell me A HIGHLANDER’S HOMECOMING is a RITA finalist.

MELISSA'S GOTTA ASK QUESTION: My turn! Since I write time travel, it only makes sense for me to ask readers… if the Fae offered, when and where would you want to travel in time? Why is that your choice? And, most important… how long would you want to stay there?

~~~~READERS, TODAY'S COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS WILL ENTER YOU IN A DRAWING TO RECEIVE A SIGNED COPY OF HIGHLANDER'S CURSE BY MELISSA MAYHUE...SO COME ON DOWN~~~~

MELISSA MAYHUE began her writing career in 2005 after a vacation to Scotland and a hike on the Black Isle inspired her with the perfect setting for the characters running around in her head. Her resulting debut novel, THIRTY NIGHTS WITH A HIGHLAND HUSBAND, won the Holt Medallion and Book Buyers Best awards in 2008 and made the finals of the Colorado Book Awards.

Since then, her imaginary world of Faeries and Mortals has continued to grow. A HIGHLANDER’S HOMECOMING, sixth book in her award-winning Daughters of the Glen series from Pocket Books, is a 2011 RITA finalist in the Paranormal Category.

Married and the mother of three sons, Melissa lives in beautiful Northern Colorado with her family and two very spoiled Boston Terriers.

You can visit her on the web at: www.MelissaMayhue.com or join her on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/MelissaMayhue

Sandy Blair

GETS LOST IN TIME

The ghost and the legend have influenced MacKinnon heirs’ lives for centuries…and not for the better. Now the ghost and a new heir love finally have an opportunity to put the fear to rest.

“How bad could it be?” That’s all Sarah Colbert had thought when she agreed to chaperone her sixth grade students’ field trip through Edinburgh. She’s about to find out when she and her students find themselves trapped in a Highland glen that time forgot with a battle-scarred warrior they’ll never forget.


GETTING TO KNOW SANDY
Sandy Blair is--to me--first a friend and then an amazing author. We were lucky to have her in Texas for a number of years and it’s a darn shame (for her chaptermates) that she moved closer to her family (definitely lucky for them). This is her daughter's home...Sandy's moving nearby.

I remember performing a skit with Sandy many many moons ago at our chapter to demonstrate what NOT to do at an editor appointment. Sandy & I both were chosen (or volunteered) to do it incorrectly. I smacked gum, came in sweats, kind of was totally unprepared. Sandy--well, every time I read Silhouette, I remember her mispronouncing it Sil-ho-EEtEE. I nearly swallowed my gum. She obviously learned enough appointment etiquette to succeed in the publishing industry.

Sandy has slept in castles, dined with peerage, knelt in cathedrals where kings and queens have been crowned, floated down Venetian canals, lost her husband in an Egyptian ruin (she denies being the one lost) and fallen (gracefully) off a cruise ship.

Winner of the National Readers Choice Award for Best Paranormal Romance, the Golden Quill for Best Novella, and nominated for a RITA, Sandy Blair loves writing about Scotland’s past, its brawny men and the stalwart women that captured their hearts and minds.

Pictured here in 2005 with Author Jo Beverly. (Notice Sandy's RWA RITA flag? Ask her what she wore to pick up her Golden Heart award.)

~ ~ SHORT & SASSY Q&A ~ ~

ANGI: How often to you get lost in a story?
SANDY: 95% of the time. The rest were too painful to finish.

ANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading?
SANDY: Wild Fire by Zane Gray

ANGI: What’s your favorite “love” word?
SANDY: Cherish

ANGI: What’s your favorite fairy tale?
SANDY: Beauty and the Beast

ANGI: What turns you off like nothing else?
SANDY: Bad breath

ANGI: Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?
SANDY: Wish there was.

ANGI: Where do you read and how often?
SANDY: I read myself to sleep every night.

ANGI: What sound or noise do you love?
SANDY: The surf, and one of the reasons we just moved to the beach.

ANGI: Die Hard or Die Harder?
SANDY: Die Hard

ANGI: What was the first story you remember writing?
SANDY: The Dragon’s Legacy, an Irish tale

ANGI: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
SANDY: While You Were Sleeping

ANGI: Is writing or story-telling easier for you?
SANDY: If you mean which is easier; the literary factor or the telling of the tale, then the telling of the tale is the answer.

ANGI: What’s something you’d like to tell your fans?
SANDY: I love hearing from them.

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: So, Sandy. You write Scottish stories and heroes. Tell us about a trip to Scotland, some hunk you met there who just had to go into a story. There is one, right?
SANDY’S GOTTA ANSWER: Actually I took the Highlander hunk with me. He’s 6’ 5”, broad shouldered, handsome, funny, and of the Stewarts of Appin…my dh.

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?
What is it about Highlanders and/or historicals that attracts you? I’ll draw from those leaving a comment for a copy of my new release, Her MacKinnon in the Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance.

UPDATE: Amy G you're the winner. Get in touch with us at GetLostInAStory@gmail.com with your info.

STAY IN TOUCH WITH SANDY: Find castle photos, writing tips, and more on at www.SandyBlair.net

DON’T FORGET to check back tomorrow for another Scottish author, Diana Cosby AND on Friday when we visit with Cara Elliott. AND for the winner of Sandy’s latest book.

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.

~~Til next week, Angi

AngiMorgan.com