Friday 25 January 2013

Introducing Jadie Jones and her cover reveal...

Today it's a short post to help author, Jadie Jones reveal her gorgeous cover and sneaky book blurb to you all. Over to you Jadie...


Hey y'all!
Here are links for me:
Thank you so much for supporting me and my debut novel, now officially titled "Moonlit." The cover is truly spectacular, and I am so thrilled to share it. My release date is April 23rd, 2013, and my publisher is WiDo Publishing
You can find me on the links below:


***


Eighteen-year-old Tanzy Hightower knows horses, has grown up with them on Wildwood Farm. She also knows not to venture beyond the trees that line the pasture. Things happen out there that can’t be explained. Or undone. Worse, no one but she and the horses can 
see what lurks in the shadows of the woods.

When a moonlit ride turns into a terrifying chase, Tanzy is left to question everything, from the freak accident that killed her father to the very blood in her veins. Broken and confused, she turns to Lucas, a scarred, beautiful stranger, and to Vanessa, a charming new friend who has everything Tanzy doesn’t.
But why do they seem to know more about her than she knows herself?
***

Beautiful cover Jodie! I can see why you're thrilled with it. Keep your eyes peeled folks, as Jadie will be back nearer her book release date (23rd April, 2013) for an interview and some giveaways.
'Til next time!
Sam :-)X

Monday 21 January 2013

I'm no longer a "Donate Blood Virgin"

So, today is the first day of one of my new years resolutions. Those of you that know me well will know by now that I'm not really big on making new reso's. BUT. This year I wanted to try. I haven't really come up with a 'set' of resolutions as such, instead, I'm just thinking about them and ticking them as they pop into my head. Anyway, I'm digressing....

Today saw the first day of resolution number one become well and truly underway. 

What did she do, I hear you all say....

I GAVE MY FIRST BLOOD DONATION! 

And I feel fantastic! I don't care if I sound a bit over the top here, so please turn away whilst I big myself up for a moment.... I am so proud of myself! I rule! Oh yeah! Go girl! Well done! You've potentially saved a life somewhere down the line. You are a life saver and you should be incredibly proud of yourself.

There, you can look back now :-) Sorry, it had to be done. 

2013 sees the start of my ongoing resolution (for many years to come, I hope) with donating my blood to those that need it. Hey, who knows, one day it could be YOU :-) 

Give Blood @GiveBloodNHS


'Til next time 

Sam :-) 
X


Friday 11 January 2013

Guest blogger and writing royalty, Raven McAllan is with us today...(**Bows down**)


Eeeeek!!! I'm very excited BECAUSE, today I have the wonderful (somewhat raunchy! Wink, wink) Raven McAllan on my blog. That's right, I have a writing celebrity here on my little ol' blog! This has been a long time coming and I'm so happy that I finally have her here....So with further ado, its over to the lady herself....Take it away Raven.

What's in a name?

Vowels, consonants, a capital letter. What else?

Emotions, pictures, memories.

And?

Actually, that’s up to you, the reader.

Intrigued? Interested? Turned off?

That is what I mean.

A name of a house, a street, a book, or a character. Each and every one of us will have a different reaction to it. Even the label you put on something or someone will be different. (think the old terrorist or freedom fighter tags.) What you decide is relevant, is your opinion, not necessary the one of the man—or woman—next door. Or even the man on the Clapham Omnibus. (If you're not of a certain age, you might need a search engine for that.)

Which in a convoluted way is me asking you, do you have names of people or places, that turn you off. Or book titles that make you think yuk, not for me. Because names and titles are such personal things aren't they?

I may love a name for my hero. It might make you want to puke because it's the name of the guy who dumped you for your best friend. Or your dad. (I can't read about a sexy hero with my dad's name.)
Can you get round that? Because after all there's a hell of a lot of guys called Pete or Arthur or something. Just as some people might want to live in Acacia Avenue and others wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Subjective every time.

I've been accused in the past of not giving a detailed enough description of my hero or heroine. In my case that's deliberate. I don't base my characters on movie stars or rock singers or whatever. Very early on someone said to me, they nearly didn't read a book of mine because the guy on the cover reminded her of X and she hated X. It made me think.

I don't go to that extreme, but I do like to make my own mind up about the characters when I read a book. Give me hair and eye color, height and weight, and let me add all the little nuances.
So take Ruari and Seb in Teaching Teacher. You'll know their general features, however then you can decide if they resemble Brad Pitt or Joe Manganiello, or even the guy on the tube opposite you.
If you want Ruari or Seb…

Here's the blurb about their story—

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—

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?"

***

You can find out all about me on… www.ravenmcallan.com
And you can purchase Teaching Teacher from...

Breathless press
Amazon uk
Amazon com
Book strand 

Thanks for stopping by Raven and goodluck with Teaching Teacher!


Til' next time!

Sam :-)

Wednesday 9 January 2013

Christy's in the house to talk about her spicy new release!


Hi Christy! Great to have you here today.

Hi Samantha, it’s a pleasure to be here.

Congratulations on your new release, Her New Worst Enemy. Tell us a little bit about your lovely self…

I’m a full time mum to three wonderful children and I live in Bristol – which is a fabulous city, so vibrant and cool. Before I had my kids I worked as a video and radio producer, which didn’t leave much time for writing, so I’ve only been serious about getting published for the last few years. It’s been a long-held dream of mine to see my name on the front cover of a book, so I’m incredibly excited that it’s finally happened!

So, lets get straight to it….tell us about your baby (AKA Her New Worst Enemy)…

It’s a friend’s to lovers/older brother’s best friend story (my two favourite tropes). Ellie, my heroine, is in a bad place when we first meet her. Her ex-boyfriend dumped her for someone else and she feels as though her longed-for dream to have a family has been cruelly ripped away from her. On top of that, she’s afraid her best friend, Penny, is about to make a huge mistake in marrying a gold-digger. She needs help, but the only person she believes can get through to Penny is Gideon – her older brother’s best friend. Despite their differences, Ellie and Gideon are surprised to find they get on rather well as they attempt to save Penny from certain doom. Not only that, but they have a bit of trouble keeping their hands off each other.

How did you come up with the concept for this book? And how long did it take you to write your first draft?

The concept is an amalgamation of a few different ideas, one being based on an experience a good friend of mine had. I wrote the first chapter a couple of years ago, but it went in a virtual draw for a while. I dusted it off at the beginning of last year and wrote the rest in about six weeks.

Your Hero, Gideon and Heroine, Ellie, are they purely fictional or have they been based on someone you know?

The characters themselves are entirely fictional, although I’m sure there are a few characteristics that have crept in from people I know.

Tell us something about Ellie and Gideon that nobody else knows…

Hmm, interesting question. Ellie once stole a bar of chocolate on a dare, but she was so wracked with guilt that she took it back again the next day. Gideon is very skilled at archery.

Describe your book in just three words.

Spicy, snarky fun.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Getting lost in another world. I absolutely loved getting to know the characters in HNWE and I was really sad to leave them at the end of the story.

If your book was turned into a film, who would play Ellie and Gideon?

I would love Carey Mulligan to play Ellie, I think she could pull off her quirkiness. Aiden Turner would be my choice for Gideon, he’s got the looks and the charisma.

What question have you always wanted to be asked about your writing? And how would you answer it?

That’s a toughie! I’d quite like to be asked what it feels like to be an award-winning, multi-published author, but I’m probably going to have to wait rather a long time for that one.

Lastly, I saw this question in an article the other day and couldn’t resist pinching it…If you were to write a book about your life, what would the title be?

Good question! “Always look on the spicy side of life” would fit pretty well.

Now, would you like to share a little teaser of an excerpt with us lovely lot….

Absolutely…

***
        Ellie Holdsworthy took another long, shaky sip of wine as she waited for the perfect moment to put her plan into action.
            From her vantage point at the restaurant bar she had a perfect view of Gideon and his date as they took turns impressing each other over their untouched food.
            He hadn’t changed a bit since she’d last laid eyes on him nearly a year ago. His short, pitch black hair shone in the dim light of the candles flickering on the table, and even from this distance she could make out the sharp contours of his cheekbones and the full curve of his lips.
            Her body thrummed with nerves. At least, that’s what she put the unsettling feeling down to.
            She continued to watch him charm his date, his athletic, rangy body draped comfortably over the chair. A couple of women on a table to his left were also surveying him surreptitiously, mesmerized by his striking looks and effortless charisma.
            Fools.
            She snorted with derision as he tipped his head back and gave a deep growling laugh at something his blond companion said. It was sad really, how the poor girl had no idea what she was letting herself in for.
            If she hadn’t known him since she was twelve and seen this very same act being performed year after year with a different woman each time, she might have been taken in herself. As her brother’s best friend, Gideon DeLancy had been in and out of her life now for seventeen years. She was well versed in his womanizing ways.
            Ellie knew why women fell for him. He was an amazing looking man, confident, funny...rich. In fact there wasn’t a single reason not to fall for him—if you didn’t mind your relationships short-term and emotionless. That was why she’d kept her own childish crush on him so well buried; there was no happy ever after with him. It was men like him who gave women like her false hope.
            A flash of scarlet skirt at his table brought her focus back. She watched as his leggy blond companion rose and sashayed off towards the ladies room, finally leaving him alone.
            Show time.

***

Thanks for stopping by. I wish you the biggest success with Her New Worst Enemy, I’m sure its going to be a huge hit!

Thank you so much! It’s been wonderful to be here.

Buy links: 



itunes

Saturday 5 January 2013

It's all about the Paella

Imagine you are soaking up the sun on a Spanish beach, blue skies above, Sangria in one hand and a maraca in the other (I don't know why you'd be holding a maraca on the beach, but hey, it's all I could think of at this moment in time!) Anyway, back to the scene, the sun is replenishing you with a generous dose of vitamin D, soft waves lapping at your feet...and then the waiter brings out your order...of Paella!

Okay, maybe the story was a bit far fetched, but it hasn't stopped me attempting a Paella recipe this evening! And it was SO good that I thought I would share with you good folk. I looked up a few different recipes online, took bits and pieces from them all and then added my own spin. So here goes...

Ingredients

Serves 4 people

(Sorry I couldn't figure out how to rotate the photo)
* 300grams of Paella rice
* 1 Litre of hot beef/chicken or vegetable stock
* 2 chicken breasts (cut into large chunks)
* Chorizo (As much as you like, cut into thin circular slices)
* A handful of prawns (Marinate in the white wine and the vinegar for a minutes)
* 1 Green pepper (Sliced)
* 1 Red pepper (Sliced)
* 2 large tomatoes (cut into small chunks)
* 2 small onions (sliced)
* 4 garlic gloves (crushed)
* Vinegar
* A few glugs of white wine
* Half a tea spoon on cayenne pepper
* 1 Table spoon of paprika
* 1 lime (sliced into four segments)
* flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
* Knob of butter


So, begin with slicing, crushing, peeling etc all your veg and meat.

Put the sliced chorizo into a pan and lightly dry fry for a couple of minutes until its natural oils start to come out. Once done, put the Chorizo aside.

Now put the sliced onion into the pan and the oil the Chorizo left behind. Fry for about 4-5 minutes. Then add the cayenne pepper and paprika, stir well and fry for a further 1 minute. Now add the chicken and fry further for 5 minutes or so. Put the onion and chicken aside.

Add the prawns, along with the white wine and vinegar marinade, along with the crushed garlic. Fry for a couple of minutes of a high heat. Then move them aside.

Put the butter into the pan, melt down and then add the 300grams of Paella rice. Cover with the 1 litre of stock and cook on a medium temperature for 10 minutes.

Now add the chicken, the chorizo, the onions, and also the peppers back into the pain, give a good stir and cook for a few minutes more. Add the prawns on the top (along with any of the wine marinade if left over), and the chopped parsley and the sliced lime.
                               
And voila! Simples! And I have to say it was amazing! Give it a try! I could just about taste the sangria and hear the maracas :-D Certainly brightened up my wet and dull English Saturday.

'Til next time!

Sam :-)
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