Giveaways And Prizes—Not To Mention Romance, Royalty, and Rhinovirus...

myBook.to/HeartOfAHostage

Gah! No nonsense this week, as I've been felled by a bug that's been doing the rounds of OH's office. Now I (and the next generation) have been felled by it, too.

It would happen, this week of all weeks. On Friday, the third book in my Princes Of Kharova series for The Wild Rose Press, Heart of A Hostage, is released. If you join the Goodreads giveaway before December 2nd, you can be part of the draw for a free signed copy of Heart Of A Hostage.

As part of The Wild Rose Press's holiday season, you can get 40% off the ebook versions of the first two books in the Princes Of Kharova series, His Majesty's Secret Passion and Her Royal Risk, but you'll have to be quick. This is a time-limited offer!

It's Advent Sunday today, so in the spirit of the festive season I'll be holding a draw for subscribers to my newsletter. Sign up to my mailing list here before December 2nd, and you'll be entered in a draw to win two signed books—a copy of both His Majesty's Secret Passion and Her Royal Risk, so you can catch up with the romantic excitement in Kharova before Heart Of A Hostage is released on Friday.

In my Christmas newsletter, there's a competition to win all three of the Princes Of Kharova books in one romantic bundle along with other prizes, so sign up here today!

Heart Of A Hostage—Three Chances Of Winning A Free Book!

Find out more here 

How would you like to win a copy of my new book? The 4th December sees the launch of my next book, Heart Of A Hostage. To be in with a chance to win an advance copy of the ebook, or one of two signed paperbacks, read on...

Heart Of A Hostage is the third book in my Princes Of Kharova series for The Wild Rose Press. The ruling family of Kharova has already been rocked by abdication, riot and revolt in the first two romantic novels in the series. His Majesty's Secret Passion was the story of how businesswoman Sara turned King Leo's life upside down, while he changed her future. Her Royal Risk pitted perfect personal assistant Krisia against career soldier Prince Athan, while Heart Of A Hostage gives  Leo and Athan's younger sister Princess Maia a chance to shine. You can find out more about all three books at http://bit.ly/1GEkZkJ.  

I'm running a Goodreads Giveaway for two signed paperback copies of Heart Of A Hostage right now, over at http://bit.ly/1T2SK0w. My previous book, Her Royal Risk, ended with rebels disrupting the King of Kharova's coronation. Princess Maia is taken hostage after the celebrations. Hidden away in the rebel stronghold of Castle Dukagjini, she gets the better of her captor after discovering his terrible secret—and discovers a lot about the nature of independence, too.

You can find out more from The Wild Rose Press.

Meanwhile, here's a little taster..

She couldn’t pull back. Mihail was crossing more lines than she could count, and his deadly smile was a reminder of exactly how much trouble she was in...

...and there's a longer extract from Heart Of A Hostage here.

I'm also running a separate draw for readers of this blog. The prize is a pdf copy of Heart Of A Hostage. Just post a comment here, and I'll announce the winner next Friday, 27th November. 

Good luck!

Goodreads Giveaway: His Majesty's Secret Passion...

myBook.to/HisMajestysSecret 

I'm running a Goodreads Giveaway this week over at http://bit.ly/1PBDK9H, with the chance to win a free copy of His Majesty's Secret Passion. That was the book which launched my Princes Of Kharova series for The Wild Rose Press, and you can find out more about it in my blog post  Writing A Series.

The Goodreads giveaway is running ahead of the launch on 4th December of the third book in the Princes Of Kharova series, Heart Of A Hostage. His Majesty's Secret Passion is the romance between King Leo and Sara, the career girl who captures his heart. Heart Of A Hostage is the story of King Leo's younger sister, Maia. She's heading for an arranged marriage into a horrible, money-mad family of social climbers. She must obey her brother the king's command, but secretly dreams of breaking free to find her independence. There's no hope of that, short of a miracle...

...and then, on the way back from celebrations for her brother's coronation, Maia's car breaks down. She's stranded in the middle of nowhere, alone, until a strangely familiar figure strides into view. It's Kharovan royal family's sworn enemy, gorgeous rebel Mihail.

Here's an extract from Heart Of A Hostage to whet your appetite...

myBook.to/HeartOfAHostage 

“What’s the matter?” His voice was as rough as his stubble.

“I want to go back to my car.”

“Not possible. Sorry.” 

That must top the chart of most insincere apologies, ever.

“My driver and my bodyguard…they’ll be worried.”

“Not about you. They've got other things to think about, such as their own skins. I’ve got lookouts posted everywhere. They’re busy taking your vehicles to a place of safety.”

“You mean they’re stealing them.”

“Haven’t you heard the saying ‘all’s fair in love and war’?”

 Maia looked him up and down. There wasn’t any room to hide a weapon in his white tee shirt and tight jeans, so she lifted her chin and tried to calm her breathing.

  “This is neither. You’re a rebel and a thief, Mihail Dukagjini, and I want to go home.”

“No. And I haven’t stolen anything for years.”

He reached out, ready to trail his fingers down her cheek. Maia recoiled. Truffle tensed, and she waited for the  little dog to lunge at her attacker, but he wasn’t going to challenge Mihail. Petrified to have someone stand up to his threats for once, Truffle turned tail and hid. 

To find out more, and to order Heart Of A Hostage ahead of publication, go to myBook.to/HeartOfAHostage 

NaNoWriMo 2015: The Writing Begins!

A wintry mystery...Pic by Alexas Fotos

I’m posting my blog a day early today, as the first of November marks the start of NaNoWrMo—(National Novel Writing Month). The Na should properly be Int, as it’s an international  phenomenon now!

I’m going to be pretty busy for the next month, trying to hit an average word count of 2,100 per day. My project for this year’s NaNoWriMo is the first draft of Wolf's Bane, the second book in my Brackenridge trilogy of romantic novels.  I want to reach a total of 63,000 words by the end of November. It’s a mountain to climb, but that’s the beauty of NaNoWriMo. By breaking the task of producing a complete manuscript down into individual bite-sized chunks, it doesn’t feel so hard. That’s the theory, anyway... 

Finishing the first draft is one thing. There’ll be plenty of polishing to be done, but that can wait. NaNoWriMo simply gets the framework in place. I’ve already filled out character sheets for my protagonists, Sophia and Josh, so I know how they'll react to whatever is thrown at them while I'm writing at speed. You can find out more about how I develop my characters here.


Josh and Sophia met in Love Lies Bleeding, a contemporary crime novel which is currently in post-production. In Wolf’s Bane, the perfect new life Sophia has built for herself is leaving her faintly dissatisfied. She’s spent years dreaming about becoming a lawyer, then she does a good turn which makes her question her motives—and makes Josh realise that danger haunts them both, every moment of every day. Dark secrets and ancient legends are a deadly combination...

Have you tried using NaNoWriMo to help you make a start on writing your book? There's a copy of my Romance Review's Readers' Choice Nominee, His Majesty's Secret Passion, on offer for a comment drawn at random on 7th November.