Author Speed Dating – Kristina Knight

February 28, 2017January 25, 2017 by Dana Nussio

Author Speed Dating(1)

I love discovering new authors, so I wanted my blog to be a place where readers and my author pals could come together. Only we like to do this Speed-Dating style. Check out a new author and her work here every Wednesday, and if the spark is there, you’ll have a match.

This week’s guest: Kristina Knight

Kristi

HARLEQUIN SUPERROMANCE

15 Questions

1. If you were to make an appearance at Comic-Con, which Superhero costume would you be rocking?

Wonder Woman, naturally. (I could really use some super-cool bracelets, and that jet plane would mean no more long lines at the airport!)

2. At which time of day are you more productive as a writer, mornings or nights, and is caffeine a friend or foe?

As long as I have caffeine (ice-cold Coca-Cola, please), I can make any time of day work.

3. George Clooney or Bradley Cooper?

Although a little piece of my heart will always belong to Mr. Clooney, a bigger piece of my heart belongs to Bradley. Cooper all the way!

4. What is your biggest dream as an author?

I would love to someday hit one of the big lists, but, honestly, as long as people enjoy my books, I’m a happy camper!

5. Name a movie you’ve watched countless times but one you’ll still tune in to whenever it’s on cable.

“The Princess Bride.” I can quote it line-for-line, and I get sucked into it every time.

6. How many books have you published and in how many genres and sub-genres?

Thirteen, not counting various bundles of my series or boxed sets that I’ve put a book into. All are contemporary romance, but they run the gamut from cowboys to rockers, a billionaire or three…

7. Love It or List It or Modern Family?

Modern Family – love the banter and all the relationship dynamics. So much fun!

8. What is your favorite way to celebrate after you receive a new book contract or get a great review?

RadioMan and I always go to lunch, and then I pick a new bead for my book-charm-bracelet.

9. What is your best advice for new writers?

Just keep writing. There are experts who swear by this advertising or that blog tour, but the truth is that the next book is the best marketing you can have. So keep writing.

10. Extra-large French fries or a perfect square of dark chocolate?

Tough one! I’m going to go with French fries…mostly because I’m starving right now and that sounds like a good dinner option.

11. Which of your books gave you the most trouble, and what helped you make it to “the end”?

The book I just finished (the first book in my Slippery Rock series, which will be out later this year), took a couple of incarnations, and multiple character revisions…but in the end, I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

12. Do you have a music playlist for writing? If so, list some of your go-to artists.

I do! I make new playlists for every book/series. Right now I’ve got a lot of Dierks Bentley and Maren Morris in both of my playlists.

13. Virginia Woolf or Maya Angelou?

Maya. Her poetry is so lyrical, and I can hear her voice in my head as I read.

14. What do you do when you’re in the middle of a book and a new idea pops into your head?

I write it down, stick it in a folder, and get back to the book I’m working on.

15. Were there other authors who helped you along the way on your writer’s journey, and how did they make a difference for you?

My WordWrangler pals, and my local RWA chapter girls are all priceless for a variety of reasons – camaraderie, brainstorming help, butt-in-chair-ing, cheerleading, and picking up the pieces…I love them all.

***

Kristina book

Protecting the Quarterback

By Kristina Knight

“Jonas.” Her quiet voice snapped him back to the parking lot. “Why don’t you not take me home?”

His stomach muscles tightened as the words slipped from her lips in that slow drawl.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded, and he knew he wouldn’t take her home, not just yet.

When he was behind the wheel, Brooks took his hand in hers and turned her face to watch the buildings passing by. The sun was beginning to set when he pulled into the parking lot of the condo where he’d spent the first few years of his contract with the team. Several other players lived there during the season, but the place was mostly a ghost town now. He parked in his designated spot and then somehow they were inside the glass-and-chrome decorated living room.

Memorabilia lined the walls and a low, white couch sat behind a glass-topped coffee table. He cringed. It was too perfect. Too planned out.

Too much like the other times he’d brought a woman here. Maybe he should have taken her to a hotel. There was still time, he could—

“Wow,” she said, drawing her index finger over the smooth surface of a table lined with photographs of him during games or at press conferences. God, he’d been such a schmuck with the decorating of this place. “This is not what I expected.”

“My interior designer has very specific tastes,” he said lamely. Definitely, definitely should have taken her anywhere but this condo.

She presented herself as the girl next door, but there was a little bit of siren in her now, which made his heartbeat kick up a notch. Brooks made her way around the room and he couldn’t take his eyes off her as she moved. Slowly and sinuously. Taking in everything around her. This was a different Brooks than the woman he thought he’d known over the past week. That woman was businesslike most of the time. The moments she let her guard down, like when she talked to the kids without that microphone in tow, though, she was irresistible. Impossible not to watch or wonder about. It was one of those moments that made him ask her out for dinner. That dinner had led them here.

Jonas met her at the kitchen counter, put his hands on her hips and turned her to face him.

“It was a date,” he said and bent his head so he could taste her lips. She was sweet, as he’d imagined so many times over the past few days. She wound her arms around his neck and slanted her mouth, giving him better access to the sweetness that was Brooks. He squeezed his hands around her waist and she shivered. “It was always a date,” he said again and began walking her down the hallway to the bedroom.

***

Protecting the Quarterback, a May 2016 release from Harlequin Superromance, may be purchased from these retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Harlequin, iBooks and KOBO.

***

About Kristina

Once upon a time, Kristina Knight spent her days running from car crash to fire to meetings with local police–no, she wasn’t a troublemaker, she was a journalist. Her career took her all over the United States, writing about everything from a serial killer’s capture to the National Finals Rodeo. Along the way, she found her very own Knight in Shining Cowboy Boots and an abiding love for romance novels. And just like the characters from her favorite books, she’s living her own happily ever after.

Kristina writes sassy contemporary romance novels; her books have appeared on Kindle Best Seller Lists. Stay in touch with Kristina through her website, www.kristinaknightauthor.com, or through these social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads and Google+.

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Author Speed Dating – MK Schiller

February 28, 2017January 18, 2017 by Dana Nussio

Author Speed Dating(1)

This week’s guest: MK Schiller

MK pic

15 Questions

1. If you were to make an appearance at Comic-Con, which Superhero costume would you be rocking?

It would be Wonder Woman. The girl is armed with a truth lasso and killer cuff bracelets. Bonus, she has a jet.

2. At which time of day are you more productive as a writer, mornings or nights, and is caffeine a friend or foe?

I think it really depends on what’s going on. I wish the moments I’m creative are scheduled. I’d say nights win though. Caffeine is a great pal, but red wine is a close friend.

3. George Clooney or Bradley Cooper?

Definitely, Bradley Cooper circa “Limitless” and “Silver Linings Playbook”. He always plays characters that make me laugh and feel.

4. What is your biggest dream as an author?

Well, if we’re dreaming big, I would love to see one of my books on the big screen.

5. Name a movie you’ve watched countless times but one you’ll still tune in to whenever it’s on cable.

“Forest Gump”.

6. How many books have you published and in how many genres and sub-genres?

It’s hard to believe, but 9 books with one on the way. They are all contemporary romances, but range with sub-genres of romantic suspense, new adult, and multicultural romance.

7. Love It or List It or Modern Family?

I’d have to go with Modern Family as it’s one of my family’s favorite shows.

8. What is your favorite way to celebrate after you receive a new book contract or get a great review?

Going out to dinner with my family and announcing it at our monthly Greater Detroit Romance Writers of America meeting.

9. What is your best advice for new writers?

Be encouraged by all praise and heed the criticism to help you become a better writer. But…do not let either define you.

10. Extra-large French fries or a perfect square of dark chocolate?

Chocolate every time, all of the time. Now, if we could make deep fried chocolate French fries, that would be something.

11. Which of your books gave you the most trouble, and what helped you make it to “the end”?

I struggled with the conflict and black moment in Where the Lotus Flowers Grow. It was almost too dark, especially for me. But in the end, I kept it because the whole theme of the book is that love can bloom in any dark corner. Just like the Lotus Flower.

12. Do you have a music playlist for writing? If so, list some of your go-to artists.

Absolutely. In fact, every book has a playlist and artists that helped me get through it. I love Indie artists like Hugo to classics like James Taylor. My playlist is super eclectic and frenzied just like my characters.

13.Virginia Woolf or Maya Angelou?

I’ve read both and enjoyed them, but I’d have to go with Maya Angelou. I read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in high school and it really resonated with me. After all, the beautiful heroine used literature to make her stronger in the face of severe trauma.

14. What do you do when you’re in the middle of a book and a new idea pops into your head?

I turn my head and mutter, “squirrel.” It depends if I’m under contract, but I might start writing the new book if the idea makes my fingers twitch enough.

15. Were there other authors who helped you along the way on your writer’s journey, and how did they make a difference for you?

There are too many to name. I was inspired by amazing authors I had read, but also by those who I had met through my local writing group from our knowledgeable speakers to our members. These brave and lovely authors helped pave my writing journey.

***

MK Cover

Where the Lotus Flowers Grow

By MK Schiller

Steam from the bathroom swathed him as he stepped out, a towel looped low around his hips. His naked chest, revealed muscles chiseled to perfection. I’d seen him when he arrived, but I wasn’t paying attention. And now my attention would not go anywhere else. His damp hair, the color a mix of sun with flecks of sand, lay unruly against his head. His expression conveyed annoyance. I pivoted, my bum backing into the bureau. He narrowed his eyes. Green eyes? Brown? They were both.

They were neither.

“I’m waiting for an answer.”

My fingers clutched the book, digging into the hardback cover, holding it against my chest as if it could shield me from his voice, deep and husky. I shrank back farther, praying the floor would quake open and swallow me up.

His eyes shifted to my hands. He blinked, staring at the book. As much as my eyes were absorbing, my mouth refused to work. What could I possibly say to him? There were no excuses. I’d trespassed and, as a result, I’d be sacked.

“I’ve frightened you,” he said, his voice a shade softer. He held up his hand. “Wait.”

He picked up a few articles of clothing from the open suitcase on the bed, then looked back at me. “Stay.” He closed the bathroom door behind him, disappearing into the diminishing poufs of steam.

I should run. But my feet were stuck to the floor, even though my legs were shaking. For once, I was grateful the sari would hide that.

When he came out a few minutes later, he wore soft, faded jeans and a green rugby shirt. He stood a few feet away, but I could smell fresh soap and sweet mint radiating from his body.

He slapped his chest three times. “My name is Liam Montgomery.”

I continued to stare, dumbfounded. Was he introducing himself to me as if we lived on the same plane? I had found comfort in being a maid because the attention paid to me was on par with my paycheck. That was my preference. My choice. Perhaps a penance in a way. But now…I had all his attention and no idea what to do with it. He sighed, shaking his head with disappointment. “Lotus Girl, why would you pick up a book you can’t read?”

Lotus girl? Was he talking to me?

“Let’s try this again. Mera Nam, Liam Montgomery,” he said in poorly pronounced Hindi.

“You don’t speak Hindi either?” When I didn’t respond, he picked up his phone and pressed a few buttons. “So many languages in this country. Rest assured, I’ll find yours.”

As if rest were a possibility.

“Ah, here we are.” He repeated the introduction in Punjabi, Gujarthi, Marthati, Tamil, Bangali, and even Sanskrit. Each time, he looked at me with a hopeful expression. With my continued silence, he grew more disappointed. Somehow, his desperation to talk with me made the tension dissipate just as the steam had. Finally, he threw his phone on the bed.

He shook his head in resignation, offering me a self-deprecating smile.

“That’s all I got. I suppose we shall never speak.” He stared at the book again. I held it out to him with both hands. He stepped closer, his bare feet oddly beautiful. Later, I would wonder why I didn’t just lay the book back on the bureau. His hands, large with long fingers, gripped the other edge and stilled the wobbling tome. I tilted my chin, forcing myself to look at his face. I knew I’d regret the moment if I chose to…squint.

He nodded toward the book, but kept us at a distance. “It’s a shame, really. This is my favorite Dickens’s novel. It’s almost an autobiography.”

He tugged on it. I wouldn’t let go.

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Why the hell I’m still talking to you when you can’t bloody-well respond, I have no idea.” He gestured to the door. “Either it’s heatstroke, or I’m going mad.”

“You’re wrong.”

He swallowed, his eyes widening. “I’m not going mad?”

“It’s not an autobiography. Dickens said his most autobiographical book was David Copperfield. Not Nicholas Nickleby.” I thought I’d said it in my head, but the way his jaw dropped made it clear I’d articulated the statement.

Liam smiled again, his expression a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.

“She speaks. And what interesting things she has to say.”

***

Where the Lotus Flowers Grow, a September 2016 release from Lyrical Shine, an imprint from Kensington Publishing, may be purchased from these retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million.

***

About MK

MK Schiller was born a hopeless romantic in a hopelessly pragmatic world. She has a full-time life and two busy teenagers, but in the dark of night, she sits by the warm glow of her computer monitor and attempts to conjure up passionate heartwarming stories with plenty of humor. She hopes you enjoy her stories and always find The Happily Ever After in every endeavor.

Stay in touch with MK through her website, www.mkschillerauthor.com, her Facebook author page and Facebook profile, her Amazon Author Page, Twitter and Goodreads.

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Author Speed Dating – Melinda Leigh

February 28, 2017January 11, 2017 by Dana Nussio

Author Speed Dating(1)

This week’s guest: Melinda Leigh

Author Melinda Leigh

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

15 Questions

1. If you were to make an appearance at Comic-Con, which Superhero costume would you be rocking?

Wonder Woman!

2. At which time of day are you more productive as a writer, mornings or nights, and is caffeine a friend or foe?

Morning and coffee is my BFF.

3. George Clooney or Bradley Cooper?

Matt Damon.

4. What is your biggest dream as an author?

I’m already blessed with achieving more than I ever imagined. I support my family doing something I love. It doesn’t get any better than that.

5. Name a movie you’ve watched countless times but one you’ll still tune in to whenever it’s on cable.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

6. How many books have you published and in how many genres and sub-genres?

12 novels, 4 novellas, and 1 short story, all romantic suspense titles.

7. Love It or List It or Modern Family?

Modern Family.

8. What is your favorite way to celebrate after you receive a new book contract or get a great review?

I don’t celebrate either of those things. They’re just business. BUT when I finish a book, I usually take a couple of days off from writing and clean my office. It gets a little chaotic in there during the final few weeks. I like to start each new project with a clean desk.

9. What is your best advice for new writers?

Keep improving your craft. I see too many new authors rush into self-publishing before their book is ready. I rewrote She Can Run four times before I got an agent, and it went through another solid revision before she sold it.

10. Extra-large French fries or a perfect square of dark chocolate?

Chocolate, but I can’t stop at one square.

11. Which of your books gave you the most trouble, and what helped you make it to “the end”?

Frankly, they’re all difficult. Contracts, deadlines, and self-discipline get me to the end. There are no other options. Writing is my job. The bills need to be paid, and I have two kids in college. I don’t make money on unfinished manuscripts.

12. Do you have a music playlist for writing? If so, list some of your go-to artists.

I often use music to help me get in the right mood for a scene. I listen to everything from The Black Keys and Coldplay and to John Legend and Bruno Mars. It all depends on the emotion/tone I’m trying to set.

13. Virginia Woolf or Maya Angelou?

Maya Angelou.

14. What do you do when you’re in the middle of a book and a new idea pops into your head?

That would depend if the idea pertains to the current book or a different one. If it’s for the current work-in-process, I stop to evaluate it. Can’t pass up on a better plot twist! If the idea is for a new book, I write it down in detail and get back to work. I keep notes in my phone for just this reason.

15. Were there other authors who helped you along the way on your writer’s journey, and how did they make a difference for you?

Writing is a solitary vocation. Authors need peeps. I have so many I can’t possibly list them all, but two besties I turn to for motivation and support on an almost daily basis are Kendra Elliot and Rayna Vause.

***

MidnightObsession-21526-CV-FT-c2r3

Midnight Obsession

By Melinda Leigh

There wasn’t anyone around to hear her scream.

Her knees wobbled as she climbed out of the van. The cold punched through her coat and shook her to the marrow.

He handed her a flask. “Drink.”

Taking it, she tilted it to her lips and sipped. Whiskey burned a fiery path through the center of her body but didn’t manage to warm her.

“I have a script for you to read.”

Great. He wanted to role-play in the middle of an Arctic front. What was up with him? Her creep meter kept waving back and forth between He’s OK and He’s going to kill me.

“Can’t I read this inside the van?” She shivered, her teeth clacking like castanets.

“No. It has to be here. But I promise it won’t take long. Afterward, I’ll make sure you get home.”

She took the sheet of paper. The wind kicked up, fluttering the corners of the page. Cold tears blurred her vision. The man shined a flashlight on the page.

“Read it,” he demanded in a voice that sparked a hot prick of renewed fear in the pit of her belly.

This was wrong. All wrong. Without lifting her head, she surveyed the area again, but the piles of dirt all around the site blocked the view. There was no one around. She was on her own.

Her gaze dropped to the page. The three short, strange sentences sealed her fate.

This was it then. The end, and she’d meet it alone and cold. Made perfect sense. That was how she’d spent most of her life.

Her voice trembled. “I see my master in paradise. He calls to me. Take me to him.”

His next moves were smooth and sure. He stepped around her. One hand grabbed her hair and pulled her head back, exposing her throat. Her scalp stung. A flash of metal shone in the corner of her eye. She knew what it was and what was about to happen.

Her instincts told her to run, but resignation and terror held her feet in place, like hands gripping her ankles. Panic raced through her veins, her heart beating so fast and hard it felt as if it would crack through her ribs, burst from her body, and fly away. Tears slid down her cheeks.

The slice was mercifully quick. She barely felt the cut of the blade or the gush of her blood onto the white snow at her feet. The liquid flooded her body with warmth.

But with every beat of her pulse, her heart squeezed more life from her body. Every beat of her heart brought her closer to death. Weaker. More distant. Distress slid away as her body drained.

She fell to her knees. Dropping to the ground behind her, he grasped her shoulders. He pulled her back to his chest, supporting her against his body. His hand stroked her hair away from her face, his touch loving.

Reverent.

As her vision dimmed, she sagged sideways. He cradled her in his arms. Leaning over her, he pressed his forehead to her temple and whispered, “You are home.”

***

MIDNIGHT OBSESSION, a January 2017 release from Montlake Romance, may be purchased from these retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million.

***

About Melinda

Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh is a fully recovered banker. A life-long lover of books, she started writing as a way to preserve her sanity while raising her kids. Over the next few years, she learned a few things about writing a book. The process was much more fun than analyzing financial statements, and she decided to turn her hobby into a career. Melinda’s debut novel, SHE CAN RUN, was nominated for Best First Novel by the International Thriller Writers. She is a RITA® Award Finalist and has earned three Daphne du Maurier Award nominations, two Silver Falchion Awards, and two Golden Leaf Awards. Melinda’s eighteen romantic suspense titles have sold 2.5 million copies.

Melinda holds a 2nd degree belt in Kenpo Karate. She’s dabbled in Arnis stick fighting, studied Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and taught women’s self-defense. She lives in a messy house in the suburbs with her husband, two kids, a couple of shelter dogs and two rescue cats who clearly run the show. With such a pleasant life, she has no explanation for the sometimes dark and disturbing nature of her imagination. Find out more about Melinda by visiting melindaleigh.com, and stay in touch through Facebook and Twitter.

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Author Speed Dating – Rosanne Bittner

February 28, 2017January 4, 2017 by Dana Nussio

Author Speed Dating(1)

This week’s guest: Rosanne Bittner

15 Questions

1. If you were to make an appearance at Comic-Con, which Superhero costume would you be rocking?

Sorry, but I watch very, very little TV. I don’t know what Comic-Con is, but if I wore a superhero costume (actually I hate dressing up in costumes and never do it – ever) – but if I had to, I would probably be Catwoman.

2. At which time of day are you more productive as a writer, mornings or nights, and is caffeine a friend or foe?

I am most productive in the wee hours of the morning – like 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. Caffeine is my best friend. I probably drink too much coffee. I am not a heavy sleeper and never have been. Four to five hours is enough for me, and I’m always up by 5 or 6 a.m. even if I go to bed at 4 a.m. At 72, I have too many things I want to do in this life and too many books I still want to write to waste my time sleeping.

3. George Clooney or Bradley Cooper?

Bradley Cooper in a New York minute. He’s gorgeous, and he seems like an ordinary man. And his acting in American Sniper was phenomenal.

4. What is your biggest dream as an author?

My biggest dream as an author has already been realized – to actually make a living writing and to write many, many books. I’m up to #65. My only other dream would be to have a movie made out of one of my books.

5. Name a movie you’ve watched countless times but one you’ll still tune in to whenever it’s on cable.

Oh, my gosh, there is more than one movie I watch over and over and never get tired of it. The Shootist is one, for so many reasons. It was John Wayne’s last movie, and just like the character, he, too, was dying of cancer. And it reminds me of how my outlaw character would want to die if he knew he was already dying. Jake Harkner would have to go down with guns blazing. I always ball my eyes out at the end of The Shootist. How very fitting it was for John Wayne. I also love Pale Rider with Clint Eastwood, and The Big Country with Gregory Peck – and my favorite comedy would have to be Rat Race. I laugh ’til I cry. I could name so many more, probably at least 25.

6. How many books have you published and in how many genres and sub-genres?

My one and only genre is historical romance – I love, love, love American history and the magnificent western landscape. My Christmas story coming in October will be book #65, and I have many more I want to write.

7. Love It or List It or Modern Family?

Again – I don’t watch TV. I don’t know what Love It or List It is. I have seen some episodes of Modern Family and I loved it, so I’d have to say Modern Family.

8. What is your favorite way to celebrate after you receive a new book contract or get a great review?

My favorite way to celebrate after signing a new contract? I sit down and start writing. By the time I sign the contract, the book it is for is usually already half written, and I’m relieved it’s truly a done deal because I love every story I write and am always thrilled it will finally be published. I “live” in my stories, and my greatest pleasure is being with my characters as I write. I’m not outwardly effusive, and I don’t drink, so I just get busy writing.

9. What is your best advice for new writers?

My best advice for new writers – WRITE WHAT YOU LOVE!!! DO NOT WRITE FOR THE MARKET. And if you are a born writer, you will never struggle with ideas and you will never look at writing as work … and you will never come up with excuses as to why you don’t have time to write.

10. Extra-large French fries or a perfect square of dark chocolate?

A perfect square of dark, dark chocolate – at least 75% cacao.

11. Which of your books gave you the most trouble, and what helped you make it to “the end”?

I never have trouble finishing a book. I start a story (no outline) and just let things happen. It almost always works out. I guess if I had to pick one that gave me trouble it would be WHERE HEAVEN BEGINS because the hero had to have a redeeming moment that turned his life around at the end of the book. (It was an inspirational story.) All the way through the story I had no idea what that redeeming moment would be or how it would happen. I just trusted that it would come to me when I reached that point, and it did. God was guiding me.

12. Do you have a music playlist for writing? If so, list some of your go-to artists.

Oh, yes, I definitely have a music playlist. Too many artists and themes to list. It depends on how I picture the characters and what the theme of the story is. I have several albums (in my iPhone of course) from the great westerns of the past, and I listen to those a lot. I sit at the computer with earphones on to drown out the TV while I write – or, of course, I write deep in the night when it’s nice and quiet. My favorite would have to be the theme from The Big Country.

13. Virginia Woolf or Maya Angelou?

Actually, neither one.

14. What do you do when you’re in the middle of a book and a new idea pops into your head?

If a new idea for another story pops into my head while I’m working on a book, I simply create a new document and record the idea so I don’t lose it. Sometimes I even give it a title. Believe me, this happens a lot. I have trouble shutting off my brain. New ideas just keep coming. And, by the way, I never start a book without a title. For some reason, I have to settle on a title before I can write the story.

15. Were there other authors who helped you along the way on your writer’s journey, and how did they make a difference for you?

I need no inspiration from other authors to sit down and write – and when I started writing back in 1979, I didn’t know any other authors. I wrote about 12 books before I even met another published author. There were no writers’ groups like Romance Writers of America – no help or guidance of any kind. I wrote on a manual typewriter and just picked out publishers who published the kind of books I wrote and started sending out my manuscripts. I had probably at least 70 rejections and had written 9 books before I finally sold one. It was that 9th book that sold, and the publisher asked if I could turn it into a series of 4 books and I said “yes” with absolutely no idea what I would do. It ended up becoming my 7-book Savage Destiny series, which to this day are still my best-selling books even though they are over 30 years old!!

***

LOVE'S SWEET REVENGE COVER

Love’s Sweet Revenge

By Rosanne Bittner

[Note: Here Jake is all man and “there” for his wife. This has nothing to do with sex. This is a very serious moment, as something terrible has happened to Randy and Jake needs to be strong for her. Most of their married life it’s been Randy who is strong for Jake because he is an emotionally unstable man who is often visited by his dark past and lives on the edge of sanity and insanity because of his incredibly cruel childhood. Now Randy needs him in a way she’s never needed him before, and he has to stay right with her on this and see her through it. Jake loves this woman so much that he rises above his own needs to be the strong, supportive husband she needs right now.]

He held her tighter. “Who do you belong to?”

She jerked in a sob. “I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do,” he said softly. “Say it.”

She hugged him tighter around the neck. “You.”

“Say my name, Randy. Who do you belong to?”

She curled so tightly against him it was as though she wanted to crawl inside him. “Jake Harkner,” she whispered.

“You bet. Nothing has changed that, and nothing ever will.”

“Tell me you’re not in trouble, Jake.”

“I’m not in trouble.”

“You won’t go away?”

“Never.”

“No one is coming to get you?”

“No one’s coming to get me.”

“I was always scared you’d … never come back … back in Oklahoma. Don’t take that job, Jake … that ranger job. I don’t want you to go away.”

“I’m not going anywhere.

“Don’t let go. I love … being in your arms.

“And that’s where you are right now.”

“I knew you’d come.”

“I’d walk through the fires of hell for you.”

***

LOVE’S SWEET REVENGE, published by Sourcebooks Casablanca, may be purchased from these and other retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million.

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About Rosanne

USA TODAY best-seller Rosanne Bittner has been writing almost 40 years. SWEET PRAIRIE PASSION, her very first book, was published in 1982. That was 66 books ago, and she promises more to come! Rosanne’s first love is American history, especially the Old West and Native Americans. In March, 2017, a new Native American romance by Rosanne, CAPTURE MY HEART, will be published in print and e-book by Amazon. Rosanne writes well-researched books that have won numerous awards, including the prestigious WILLA award from Women Writing the West. She was named ”Queen of Western Romance,” by Romantic Times Reviews, who nominated her second “Outlaw” book, DO NOT FORSAKE ME, for “Best Western Romance for 2015”. Nearly all of her novels have garnered great reviews by Publishers Weekly.

Rosanne belongs to several writers’ groups and historical societies. She and her husband, Larry, have been married almost 51 years. Together they have traveled the west for over 40 years, mostly for research for Rosanne’s stories. Her newest novel, LOVE’S SWEET REVENGE, is the third book in her acclaimed “Outlaw” series, with a fourth book coming in September, 2017, THE LAST OUTLAW. In October, her Christmas story, “A Chick-A-Dee Christmas,” was published in an anthology called CHRISTMAS IN A COWBOY’S ARMS.

Learn more about Rosanne through her website, www.rosannebittner.com, and blog, www.rosannebittner.blogspot.com, and stay in touch with her by email or through these social media channels: Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter.

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