Written Fireside Blog Hop

It might only be August, but there's a reason Christmas has come early....

Fifteen HarperCollins authors have all been given the same opening paragraph and challenged to write a 'Christmas by the Fire' short story. That brilliant first paragraph was written by competition winner Georgia Beyers. To join in the fun follow the hop, read excerpts from all the stories and enter the giveaway and be in with a chance to win lots of books and a 70$ Amazon Gift Card!
To read the stories in full, look out for the Christmas e-book anthology which will be published later in the year. So, here's the opening paragraph, followed by a snippet from my story...


Charlotte sat at the bus stop wondering whether she would make the naughty or nice list this year. Last year she had rescued a stray kitten and therefore considered herself most definitely ‘nice’. This year she had broken Daniel’s heart into a million tiny pieces, so ‘naughty’ seemed to be the only answer. There’d be no Santa Claus coming down her chimney anytime soon. - Georgia Beyers

Threes…
 Charlotte sat at the bus stop wondering whether she would make the naughty or nice list this year. Last year she had rescued a stray kitten and therefore considered herself most definitely ‘nice’. This year she had broken Daniel’s heart into a million tiny pieces, so ‘naughty’ seemed to be the only answer. There’d be no Santa Claus coming down her chimney anytime soon.

Seriously though, naughty or nice, she seemed to be hurtling headlong towards the obligatory three bits of bad luck. Why did it have to come in threes? And why now, when she really could do with a bit of festive encouragement?

Actually, thinking about it, luck was a bit like buses, all or nothing, and right now her bad luck was piling up like a road block and the buses, well… there was a distinct lack of anything big, red and warm.
She glanced down at her watch, for the umpteenth time, if one didn’t come soon she’d be shattering (well shattering might be a bit on the strong side, severely denting more like) more than one little heart, and she’d actually BE blue, not just feeling it.
Although not as blue as Daniel. Poor, poor Daniel. No festive cheer for him. He was the first bit of bad luck, if you could call it that, some might call it clever engineering. And talking of engineering (or should that be mechanics?) black cloud two on her horizon was her car.
For the first time in like ever, their whole entire relationship, it had spluttered as though it had swallowed something down the wrong way, and then given up the ghost altogether. Which did just about sum up her past relationships (the human, not mechanical ones). The one with her car had probably been as good as it got.

 Maybe it was enough that her car had broken down just when she needed it most, leaving her waiting for a bus in the freezing cold. Maybe Santa could strike the Daniel thing off the list and call it quits – which left her in the good camp didn’t it? Well evens, because apparently the kitten wasn’t actually a stray. Long story, but hey she’d tried. And didn’t they say it was the trying that mattered? And it had been attempted rescue, she had climbed up the tree even if she’d missed the fact that the darn thing had decided a suicidal scramble down the other side was a better bet than being saved by her. Okay, so that left it about evens. Clean slate, hello Santa. Or maybe the third bit of bad luck would be no bus, and a lot of un-festive bad temper and maybe even tears.
 And the whole Daniel thing wasn’t really her fault anyway. Oh, why wasn’t life ever simple?

 ***

“Have you got any idea what you look like dressed like that?”
Charlotte instinctively jumped back as the car pulled in at the kerb, determined not to get her tights sprayed by yet another wave of slushy snow, then thoughts of Daniel, ungrateful kittens and naughty lists took a hike as she registered who it was.
“Like Santa’s little helper I was hoping.” She grinned at the girl inside the car, who had wound the window down and seemed to find the whole thing quite entertaining. Amy.
“And there was I just thinking green tights were the in thing this Christmas. Come on, get in, I’m freezing my bits off here.”
Charlotte pulled opened the car door and stepped as carefully as she could in, studying her by now drooping boots. Well, the perky points were drooping. Getting changed before setting off had been a good idea when she’d thought she had a car. Not so good when you have to trudge the streets.
“Crumbs it’s hot in here.” The tips of her fingers were already tingling seconds after she’d shut the door. “Don’t complain, if you’d stood out there much longer you would have either got picked up or arrested.”
“I wouldn’t say no to a nice policeman.”
“As in picked up, or arrested by?”
She shrugged and Amy laughed and steered her way back into the traffic. “I thought you were off men.” “Only other peoples.” Charlotte sighed and closed her eyes for a second, although surely the fact that Amy had turned up was a good sign. A sign that she may be forgiven? “And my look not touch policy is working just fine.”
“That so wasn’t your fault. And I can’t believe he actually cried. I mean cried. Real tears.” Her best friend glanced at her briefly, with a look of mock horror then turned her concentration back to the road.
“Real man tears.” She looked glumly out at the garishly decorated shop windows that were whizzing past in glorious Technicolor. “That, apparently, was one of the things Holly liked about him. His sensitive side.” “Until she decided to swap him for a fireman.”
“He has a big pole apparently.”
 Amy giggled, then beeped the car horn angrily as a man, half hidden behind a large conifer stepped out in front of the car. Charlotte made a grab for the door handle as the car shimmied on the ice, but Amy didn’t seem to notice. She was warming up to the subject. Holly assassination. “She is such a cow though, expecting you to do the dirty for her. Sorry, but she is.”
Diversionary tactics seemed in order. Much as Charlotte didn’t like the way her sister took advantage of her good nature, she was prepared to forgive and forget. The festive season and all that. “A lucky cow, you should see the fireman. And she probably knew Dan would cry, she only does soft sides when it works for her. I mean she just wouldn’t know what to do, would she? She’s not exactly the type to hand out tissues.” 

“More the type to give him the money so he can go buy a packet. I can’t believe you two are sisters. Here we go, grotty grotto time.” Amy pulled the handbrake on with a flourish and stared at the entrance door. “I suppose we should be thankful we’re not reindeers. The little horrors kept pinching Becky’s bum last year, they said they just wanted to see if her tail was real. One of them tugged it so hard she thought the elastic in her knickers was going to pop.”
“Knickers?”
“It was attached. Safety reasons. Elf and safety.” Amy giggled at her own joke.
“Very funny.” Charlotte passed Amy her elf hat. “Nor can I, believe we’re sisters I mean.” And sometimes she couldn’t. Holly was tall, slim, had perfect nails and breathtakingly outrageous dress sense. Charlotte stopped at outrageous. She was small, on the verge of a donut-too-many and generally wore the first thing that fell out of the wardrobe. Or, as in tonight, an elf costume. Holly would never be seen dead in green (despite her name), it clashed with her skin colouring apparently. And as for the curly toed shoes and the perky hat… “Hang on.” Somewhere from the depths of the elf tunic a merry Christmas tune announced an incoming text. “Oh.” She re-read the text just to be sure. “Apparently she’s moved on to the fireman’s mate now.”
 “So he didn’t light her fire exactly?”
Charlotte shook her head and tried to look disapproving. “You’re on form tonight.”
“It’s my mental preparation for coping with two hundred hyper kids. Shall we go find Santa?”
“I think my boots are running.”
“Sorry?”
 “The colour,” she swung her feet out of the car and watched the snow turn emerald. “It’s running. My feet are in a bit of a green puddle. Oh, shit.” Charlotte paused, half in and half out of the car. Which wasn’t a good idea as her feet nearly shot from under her on the ice. She straightened up reluctantly, which meant she couldn’t hide behind the car door any longer.
“What? Oh.” Amy walked round and stood at the side of Charlotte, and stared at Santa Claus, standing stock in the centre of the doorway. His white beard tucked under his chin. A bashful grin on his face. Amy wasn’t bothered about displaying herself in full elf costume to Santa. “Er, I mean oo.” She dropped her voice a notch, but it still seemed far too loud to Charlotte. She leant in closer, dropped to a stage whisper. “Well, I mean wow, but what is with the ‘oh shit’, girl? That is one hell of a Santa, Christmas has come early. I’m a believer.”

An InLinkz Link-up

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winter Warming Bargains! My top 5 sizzling stories reduced - one #FREE, three at under a $1!!

I'm finally getting into that festive mood, and I've got lots to celebrate - so I thought I'd kick off by adding to the offers that my publishers have put in place!

So here's a collection of hot and steamy stories to warm up cold December days (or just put you in the right mood for a fun and festive Christmas!)...

FORFEIT - now only 35p on Amazon.co.uk and $0.99 on Amazon.com
Break the rules, pay the forfeit....
Cat’s life is falling apart – her boyfriend’s dumped her, she’s lost her home and she’s about to quit her job. Her boss, Brent, has a solution: become his wife for a year, to help him land a big promotion. But Cat’s had a taste of Brent before, and she knows he’s a bad boy who loves women and leaves them. So she agrees to marry him, but tells him there’s to be no sex. He adds his own condition: if she as much as talks to another man in that time, she must pay, by acting out of 12 of Brent’s kinkiest sex fantasies. When she breaks the rule, the forfeit is on: but opening up and letting Brent into her heart, as well as her bed, could be the most dangerous game of all …

SUMMER OF SURRENDER - now only 0.99p in the UK

Sex is the only thing they have in common. Total surrender the name of the game.
James had it all. Good education. City job and a wife he would have been willing to die for. Their motto had been work hard, play hard, but she’d pushed the boundaries too far and he’d walked. Became the man he felt he needed to be. Detached. In control.
Free spirit Kezia lives each day at a time; sharing, loving and giving are unconditional. And sex is part of the sharing.
When fate leaves James and Kezia trapped together for the summer, her openness is an invitation he just can’t resist. The attraction is instant, the sex all-consuming. And as their fantasies become reality, James begins to realise that willing surrender is a far different pleasure to forced submission…

And because the complete 'Good Enough' series is now available, I want to say a massive thanks to everyone who has supported me, and offer you a chance to grab all three at a cut down price -

GOOD ENOUGH TO SHARE now only 77p on Amazon.co.uk and only $0.99 on Amazon.com
Would you dare to share?
One Christmas, four friends - but will they still be together by New Year?
Divorce wasn't part of the plan for Holly, but then again nor was spending the festive period with two sexy men and Santa's little helper! With a disastrous marriage behind her, and three good friends who are willing to share, moving on could be fun - if only she can accept that sometimes her heart is wiser than her head.
Dane doesn't do commitment, which suits Holly just fine. But when things heat up between the four friends, he's forced to face up to his past. Will realising he's good enough mean he no longer wants to share...?
Laid back Charlie knows that if his best friend becomes his lover he could end up losing big time. But can he resist? And when the girl he once loved comes back, who will he decide to spend the New Year with?
...And Sophie just wants to have fun. She's got the answers to everyone's problems, except her own .... is she the one who needs good friends most of all?
Will a caring, sharing, lust and love filled Christmas lead to the happy ever after they all desire?
WARNING - Christmas may never seem the same again!

GOOD ENOUGH TO TRUST now only 77p on Amazon.co.uk and only $0.99 on Amazon.com

Do you trust the boy you loved, or the man you might?
Sophie has only one thing on her New Year’s resolution list – sorting out her life.
But with a hunky farmer, his sexy brother and a herd of bullocks to deal with, how is a girl supposed to keep her mind on her mission?
Facing up to the man she once loved, and the family she lost, is something fun loving Sophie isn’t going to dodge second time round though. She always knew that retracing her steps was never going to be easy, she never realised that risking her heart again would be even harder.
And when there's two men to choose from will it be easier to trust the man she's never stopped loving, or the one that might give her the new start she needs?

My latest release MAKING IT GOOD ENOUGH will be on offer #FREE! Tuesday through Thursday, check it out on Amazon UK  and Amazon COM.
Holly is happy, or at least she thinks she is. Until Dane's glamorous ex-wife, Sally, arrives on the doorstep - and refuses to leave. With trouble brewing and secrets being uncovered, is his determination to spice up their sex life a smokescreen, or love?
Charlie’s got the girl he loved back. But this time can they go all the way – if it means accepting the lifestyle that he ran away from? Falling in love with Anna is one thing, but is a society wedding a step too far?
Who will be walking up the aisle? Will the friends get their happy ever afters – or will an uninvited wedding guest ruin it all?
With disastrous parties, lustful fantasies and alarming announcements, can any of them make it good enough to last?So, you can snap up the complete Good Enough trilogy for the grand total of £1.54 or less than $2!

*** I'm not sure how long the promotions will last - so grab them while you can :-) ***

If you're spoiled for choice then pop over to my website www.ZaraStoneley.com to read excerpts and reviews! (Or why not buy all five?!)

And now I suppose I really should start thinking about getting a Christmas tree, presents and cards!

12 Days of Christmas Tour with Jane Lark

12 Days of Christmas Tour with Jane Lark

Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas Tour with Jane Lark.

After signing with publisher Harper Impulse, Jane, author of the smash-hit Marlow Intrigues series, has decided to end 2013 with a bang! She’s gathered together some of the industry’s best authors to create one enormous Christmas giveaway.

The huge prize is made up of more than 30 books, a combination of signed paperbacks and eBooks, and two gorgeous book bags. It’s the perfect early Christmas present for any bookworm and all you’ve got to do to win is feast your eyes on the details below and enter via the Rafflecopter . . .

To kick off the prizes, Jane is giving away copies of her much loved The Illicit Love of a Courtesan and its highly anticipated follow-up The Passionate Love of a Rake

 

Jane's books have been a huge hit with fans, leading to an ever-increasing fan base and comments such as:

"Jane Lark has an amazing talent to draw the reader in from the first page onwards."

- CosmoChickLitan

And to celebrate her upcoming December release of NA novel I Found You, you could also win a unique rucksack.

The book is already causing excitement among readers and looks set to be the must-read NA of 2014.

 

 

But that's not all folks! As if Jane's books weren't enough, check out the other amazing books included in the prize pot, you're sure to find one or two of your fav authors getting involved . . .

   

Entry to Jane Lark's 12 Days of Christmas giveaway extravaganza is easy, just follow the authors on Facebook or Twitter, plus maybe give the comp a shout-out tweet (or two) all via the Rafflecopter below and you're golden. But don't forget to keep your fingers crossed too!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please take a moment to read through the giveaway terms and conditions:

This is an international giveaway.

Signed paperbacks are to be sent from the authors themselves. Jane Lark, BestChickLit and/or any authors involved accept no responsibility for delivery failures. The winner must be open to accepting eBooks in any format i.e. Kindle copies and via iTunes voucher, from different sources. In the event of .mobi copies, the winner must have an Amazon Kindle account and be prepared to add selected addresses as approved emails on their Personal Document settings.

Some of the books involved in the giveaway contain adult and sexual content and this should be taken into consideration before reading. Jane Lark, BestChickLit, Harper Impulse and any of the participating authors are free to amend any of the giveaway details at any time.

Good luck!

Shocks, Sex and Sharing... 'bye, 'bye to 2012

It's been a bit of a shocker (in a good way) 2012, so I thought I'd have a very quick run down of 'my' 2012 and look at some of my resolutions, good and bad, for 2103.

So, the shock bit first.... Well, on the personal front I was offered my first publishing contract - minor shock - and it was for a (very) erotic romance - bigger shock. I've been writing fairly spicy contemporary romance for a while, but an Xcite Books competition tempted me to write something a bit naughtier, and it erm, came naturally!
'Forfeit' was written in February 2012 and hit the virtual shelves in April, followed fairly closely by 'Freefalling' and then 'Riding High'. I also had my first short story published in an anthology, and my erotic Christmas romance 'Good Enough to Share' hit Amazon and a Bestseller list in December. (Big smile!)

My first paperback will be out next spring, which is quite special, and I've also just signed a contract with Breathless Press. Phew... So, 2012 was big on the shock and sex and ended with some great sharing!! If you've not read them yet, and have a new kindle dying out for some stories, why not check out my books and reviews here on the blog, or on my website?

Quite a few people have asked about the impact of 'that book'. Well, I don't write BDSM, but I'm sure that love it or hate it, it hasn't done any harm! The rise and rise of e-book readers has had to have had an impact on sales of erotic books - they're more readily available, easier to buy and can be read discretely, but yes, maybe all the hype has made it acceptable to admit to reading something a bit naughty!

On the less erotic side, I've signed a contract with Lyrical Press for a contemporary romance, 'Text me, Tweet me, Need me' to be published as Susie Medwell, and am looking forward to seeing that hit the shelves in the Spring.

And what's up there on the 2013 list? Well, I'd say shocks, sex and sharing should still feature! I've decided 2013 should be the year for working hard and playing hard (I'll try my best to keep up).

If you're one of the people who've been asking about a a sequel to 'Riding High', then it's on the way. How could I possibly keep James to myself? He's a story that's just crying out to be shared. I just love my dark, strong, sensitive, mysterious men. And, James is one hell of a strong, silent type with a hurt that's buried so deep inside that.... okay, I'll stop there, but I promise you'll be able to find out more soon.

And once again, thank you so much if you downloaded a copy of 'Good Enough to Share' and helped send it straight on to the Bestseller lists. Book 2 in the series is on the way, look out for a few teasers early next year, followed by the next episode in the lives of the four friends. (I promise you will have learned so much more about them by this time next year).

I've also got another contemporary romance simmering away, which will follow on nicely to 'Text me, Tweet me, Need me' .....

Soooo.. I'm going to have to strictly limit my time on Facebook and Twitter, and hope that 2013 brings longer days!

If you've not checked out my new website yet then have a peek, and keep an eye on it as I'll be making announcements there about new books, as well as here on the blog. And on that note I'm off to make the most of what remains of 2012. It has been a great year, and I'm looking forward to all the challenges of 2013.

Massive thanks to everyone who has shared 2012 with me, I've met some wonderful new friends, had some great guests on the blog and visited all kinds of people in all kinds of places!

I hope you've had a great Christmas - and may 2013 be a brilliant year for you,
Zara x

Need something spicy after all that turkey?! - Come talk to Raven McAllan!

Well, I just knew that inviting Raven over here would be a brilliant antidote to that over-full partied out feeling - so I'll hand over to her! Hope you had a brilliant Christmas, Raven, take it away!

So… Susie (I also write/chat on FB as Susie Medwell!) said, come on the blog and write what you like…

Does she know what she said???

She's given me free rein… ohhhh.

But hey no I wouldn't do that to her. No, not really. However… let's face it, there's so much I can chat about I personally don't need to be naughty… Them there others can do it.

After all the sweet, rich food and treats over the festive season, now it's time for something hot and spicy!

Yes, you've guessed it (or maybe you haven't, but don't worry I'm going to explain); Teaching Teacher is now published! Hot and spicy the perfect antidote for too many sweet things. Oh I'm not saying Seb and Ruari aren't sweet, sure they are. However the heat and spice overwhelms everything else. And ohh, well…. aahh.

Darn it there's a lot of oh and ahh-ing going on, and I'll stop immediately. Sufficient to say, Teaching Teacher is about two hot-bods, who have to fight more than their growing attraction to each other.

Here's the blurb…

Finding love in a new town had not been in Seb's plans. But life has a tendency to throw you curveballs – like Ruari.

When the new head teacher walks into his bar, Ruari knows he has to have him, and damn the consequences. When lust turns to love, nothing else matters. Together they will overcome, no matter what. Or will circumstances drive them apart?

And a wee tease for you…

Ruari's head was spinning, his arms were stiff, his cock ached, and he wanted to be alone with Seb. It seemed like hours, but was probably no more than forty-five minutes, before he judged they could leave his bar staff to finish off. He swung behind the bar, grabbed a surprised Seb, and kissed him full on the lips. Cheers and catcalls sounded from the people around the bar.

"You." He finished off with a squeeze to Seb's ass, "are a fucking star. Definitely, a fucking star."

"Too much info boss." Dave was smirking at him.

Oh fucking shit. He realized where he was. Bollocks and buggery and any other appropriate epithets. How the hell was he going to sort this monumental cock-up out? He chanced a look at Seb's expression, and sighed inwardly with relief. Seb was laughing.

"Feet. Mouth into?" Seb asked him.

He nodded. "As Ever. Okay we're finished here. Coffee?"

Seb nodded. Kizzy, who had walked up to them unnoticed made a face, and sniggered. "That is the most pathetic euphemism I've heard boss. Coffee. Hah!" She carried on past them, still sniggering.

"Gotcha there, Boss." Dave patted him on the back. "Take yourself off for er coffee. Don't forget the Swiss roll with it."

"Hells bells." Ruari almost pushed Seb through the door and into the stairwell of his flat. "Are you sure you still want to take a chance on me. I shouldn't be let out without a keeper. And my lips sealed."

Seb pulled him tightly towards his body. Cock found cock and reacted in the best possible way. "Oh, you're not reneging now, boss man." Seb moved so his cock surged upwards. "All that is so easily arranged."

"Huh?" He was so caught up in the sensations of Seb hard against him, he'd lost the thread of the conversation.

"Lips sealed and a keeper. I'll be happy to be in change of all that. Soon." Seb said.

"Okay, so, first we have coffee?"

Seb smiled and squeezed Ruari's arm. "Coffee, where's your car?"

www.ravenmcallan.com

and you can find me on facebook and twitter.

Teaching teacher is available from

http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=1&products_id=391

Allromance ebooks, bookstrand and Amazon

Yay! Christmas Six Sentence Sunday #SixSunday

Hi everyone, hope you're having a great Sunday, I'm going to try (oh, yeah) and relax a bit before chaos rules tomorrow!! My six this week is from my #1 Bestseller (whoopee! Massive thank you to everyone who has bought it), a hot erotic Christmas romance 'Good Enough to Share'.

Enjoy :-)

He still had his hand in my hair and I felt like I should be running, before this all went wrong, but I didn’t want to. Then he kissed me. He’d kissed me before, on the cheek, on the head, even on the lips. But this was different. His perfect lips met mine with the lightest of touches, but it was like a deep caress, it filtered through me and there was no way I could move. The tip of his tongue skated along my lower lip and I needed him so much it made me feel hollow inside.

Click here and check up all the other great six sentence Sunday snippets!

Six Sentence Sunday #SixSunday

Hi everyone, hope you're having a great Sunday! My six this week is from my recent release, a hot erotic Christmas romance 'Good Enough to Share' (which has hit the #1 spot on a kindle UK romance bestsellers list this morning!).

Enjoy :-)

“I never abandoned you.” The husky edge to his voice is doing strange things to my insides. His hand is warm against my cheek, his thumb rough as he strokes over my burning skin.

“I can’t do this.” Tears are prickling hot against my eyelids and when I open my eyes and look up I can feel them spill over. I know now why I’m scared, it’s because I want him so much and I already know it would never work in a million zillion years.

Click here and check up all the other great six sentence Sunday snippets!