Manic Monday: Payson Book Festival this weekend

by with No Comment Blind Date BrideCher & DerrickMusings

Payson Book FestivalTalk about manic weeks… When I’m not at work, I’ll be running around getting ready for the first-ever Payson Book Festival.

The festival is Saturday, July 25,  from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Gila Community College, 201 N. Mud Springs Road, Payson, Arizona. All kinds of authors will be there. I’m sharing a table with RWA chapter mate Susan Haught.

Activities will include:

  • Book readings by authors
  • Storytelling for kids
  • Book signings
  • Author exhibit tables
  • Local food vendors
  • Musical entertainment

I’m looking forward to interacting with readers, for sure! If you’re in Arizona, plan on stopping by. It’s a beautiful time of year for a road trip to Payson!

Speaking of getting ready, I had to unearth my box of bookmarks and business cards. I hadn’t seen it since my move, and I had a moment of sheer panic last Thursday when I couldn’t find it immediately.

It’s my own fault, really. I snagged boxes from the Daily Sun office for my move. They were the perfect size — big enough to hold books and/or videos without being too heavy to move once filled. And they’re all stamped “Sedona Visitor’s Guide.” So I have a couple dozen boxes all with the same label … with no idea what’s actually in them. (Yeah, that’s a solid argument for labeling boxes as I pack them. I did that at first. Alas, when moving day came and we were still throwing stuff in boxes, the labels went by the wayside.)

Finally, I found my author promo items. Some other crap from my computer desk had been dumped on top of the precious stuff I sought.

My stash

If you stop by to see me Saturday, I’ll autograph a bookmark for you. I’ll also have copies of BLIND DATE BRIDE and HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS for sale.

Ready for Payson Book Festival

My Sexy Saturday: Our Sexy Thanksgiving

by with No Comment Blind Date BrideExcerpts

LynnSexySaturday_bannerI’m in the throes of NaNoWriMo…and way behind, so this blog post has to be quick. Friday was Day 21, and I just crossed the halfway mark (25K) Thursday. Needless to say, I don’t think I’ll make it to 50K

Chalk up another one for “plotting rules, pantsing drools.”

This week’s My Sexy Saturday theme is “Our Sexy Thanksgiving.”

Say what?

“… This week show us all the characters love family. Maybe it’s someone who doesn’t have one and suddenly they find themselves with one. It could be about someone who has always looked in and wanted a home with all the trimmings including a family. There are many ways to be thankful and we’d love to hear some of those wonderful stories.”

Okay. I think I can find something that fills the bill.

Blind Date Bride | Arlene HittleIn BLIND DATE BRIDE, Damien is the only child of college professor parents—and when he meets his reality TV wife’s family, he’s a bit overwhelmed. Her sisters ogle him, her brothers threaten him and he earns dirty looks for being a Cubs fan in a house full of White Sox lovers. In this seven-sentence snippet, Damien and Kari have arranged an after-dinner walk to keep her parents from watching the latest installment of “Just Married” (because it contains some embarrassing footage of Kari and Damien making out in his car).

A quick primer: Steve and Sean are Kari’s brothers. Claire and Shannon are her sisters. Frank and Sarah are her parents.

***

When they got back to the house thirty-five minutes later, Kari and Damien exchanged a glance. She took a deep breath and whispered, “Here goes nothing.”

Damien pushed open the door and was immediately greeted by Sean’s hostile stare. Steve, however, flashed him a thumbs-up, mouthing the words, “Good job.”

Kari’s other sister greeted them with a harsh laugh. “I stand corrected.”

Beside him, Kari’s face flamed fire engine red. Damien narrowed his eyes at the other woman. For some reason, he didn’t like this sister much.

It was then that Shannon came rushing to the rescue. “Mom, I have some bad news: The DVR malfunctioned.”

Sara Parker stamped her foot in frustration and looked at Kari. “I so wanted to see you in action, dear.”

Kari sucked in a breath at her mother’s word choice. Even Damien found it unfortunate. He was about to say something to come to her rescue when her brothers threw in their two cents’ worth. Sean tried unsuccessfully to stifle a snort and Steve quipped, “Trust me, Ma. You didn’t miss a thing.”

Find BLIND DATE BRIDE at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo, and in print at CreateSpace or Amazon.

My Sexy Saturday: Back in the swing of things

by with 3 Comments Blind Date BrideExcerpts

RWA14 was a blast—not that I doubted it would be. For me, it was a true road trip. Two of my chapter mates and I carpooled from Flagstaff to San Antonio (more on that soon). I caught up with friends old and new, and learned so much from the workshop sessions I attended. I went to so many marketing/social media sessions that my head threatened to explode.

One of the key points emphasized in many of them? You need a blog.

Umm … Does it count if I have a blog but post sporadically?

The experts’ answer, of course, is a big, fat “NO.”

So now that I’m back in Flagstaff, trying to resettle into what passes for a normal routine, I’m going to aim to blog more regularly. (How is it possible that my last post was in mid-June?) Blogging is heaped on top of all the Twitter/FB/Pinteresting things I should be doing—and none of them are as important as actually writing the next book.

Anyway …

LynnSexySaturday_buttonIt occurred to me that My Sexy Saturday is a great way to guarantee I post something fresh on my blog every week.

A quick refresher on the rules:

Post 7 paragraphs or 7 sentences or 7 words ONLY. The choice is yours. It can be from a WIP or something you already have published. Your post should be live by 9 am US Pacific Time on Saturday. Put those lucky 7s to work for you!

Here’s a snippet from my June release, BLIND DATE BRIDE. Who needs “Married at First Sight” when you have Kari and Damien?

***

Damien leaned across the table, and for a second, Kari thought he’d kiss her again. Her lips parted in anticipation. However, he merely turned her hand over, palm up, and ran his thumb over the skin at the base of her fingers. She watched it move back and forth, fast then slow, fascinated by the friction-generated heat.

His eyes never left hers, so she saw the instant his desire flickered back to life. Her thighs clenched as her body answered Damien’s call.

The dampness she felt provided a rude wake-up call. She clamped her knees together as she jerked her hand out of his grasp, ruthlessly reminding herself how badly her last run-in with lust at first sight had ended.

Seemingly undeterred, he grinned. “You ready to head to my place?”

“Y-your place?” Surely he wasn’t a mind reader.

“Or yours, I suppose.”

“My place?” This time, Kari’s voice came out in a panicked squeak.

Blind Date Bride is available now as an e-book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo, and in print at CreateSpace or Amazon.

Think it couldn’t happen here? Think again

by with One Comment Blind Date BrideMusings

Complete strangers getting married the first time they meet?

Sounds crazy, right? There’s no way it would happen in real life.

Umm … think again. Turns out the premise of BLIND DATE BRIDE isn’t so far-fetched after all. It was just years ahead of its time.

When I came up with the idea of two losers at love finally winning the “Get a Love Life” contest they never entered (way back in 1990-something), it might have been out there. Not so today, when reality TV show premises get nuttier and nuttier.

One of the latest? “Married at First Sight,” an A&E networks presentation.

Married, an adaptation of a hit Danish format, will also include four specialists who will create what they believe are three perfect couples based on scientific matchmaking. The first meeting for these couples, each comprised of people who’ve had no prior luck in the love department, will be as they walk down the aisle.

(Emphasis is mine.) Sounds vaguely familiar, doesn’t it?

Of course, my Kari and Damien don’t win the contest’s grand prize based on scientific matchmaking. They’re merely the folks with the worst love lives in America, as selected by a panel of experts that includes Dr. Drew and Danielle Steel. And they marry and live together to get the prize money, of which there appears to be none in the A&E show.

“Married at First Sight” premieres on A&E’s FYI network (formerly BIO) on July 8. Find more info here.

As a romance writer, I sincerely hope they succeed. Realistically, I know they probably won’t.

Luckily, my BLIND DATE BRIDE can satisfy your need for happily-ever-after. Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo, and in print at CreateSpace or Amazon.

Party time!

by with No Comment Blind Date BrideContests

I’m celebrating the release of BLIND DATE BRIDE with a Goodreads giveaway.

Three print copies of the book are up for grabs. The giveaway ends July 10 and is open to readers in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. (Expanding my reach this time around …)

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Blind Date Bride by Arlene Hittle

Blind Date Bride

by Arlene Hittle

Giveaway ends July 10, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

If you don’t want to wait that long to read Kari and Damien’s brush with reality TV stardom, you can snag a copy from your favorite e-bookstore.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

One reviewer on Amazon gave BLIND DATE BRIDE a 5-star review and said:

“Ms. Hittle’s books are sassy, sexy and easy reads, perfect for the summer, the beach, a cabin, or just about anywhere.”

Confessions of a reality TV junkie

by with No Comment Blind Date BrideMusings

I have a confession: I love reality TV.

Well, not all reality TV. I’ve never watched a full episode of “Big Brother” or “The Amazing Race”—and I quit watching “Survivor” several years ago, about the time the networks decided to make me choose between it and “Grey’s Anatomy.”

But before my day job became a “night job,” forcing me to work through prime time TV hours, you could find me glued to shows like “Mr. Personality,” “Joe Millionaire,” “Temptation Island” and “My Big, Fat Obnoxious Fiance.”

Notice a pattern there? All FOX shows, the trashier the better. 😉 Seriously. If it had train-wreck potential, I tuned in and eagerly awaited the derailment. (Anyone remember “Playing It Straight”?)

My love of trash-tastic reality shows probably made it easier for me to dream up BLIND DATE BRIDE. I had no problem imagining a reality show run amok.

RealityTVbitesScreen

The story starts with two reluctant grand-prize winners in Romance TV’s “Get a Love Life” contest. Their “prize” for having the worst love lives in America—as selected by a panel of experts that included Dr. Drew and Danielle Steel—is a blind date wedding. To claim the prize money, Kari and Damien must marry and live together for ninety days.

When the ratings from the wedding special are through the roof, the network offers Kari and Damien another opportunity: More cold, hard cash to let a camera crew film them 24/7 for a “Newlyweds”-type show called “Just Married.” Because they both have plans for the cash, they agree.

And that, my friends, is where the craziness really begins. Because marrying someone you’ve never met before isn’t crazy enough, right?

BLIND DATE BRIDE, my first single title indie-pubbed novel, goes on sale tomorrow. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it.

Blind Date Bride | Arlene HittleThe blurb:

Nearly a decade ago, accountant Kari Parker shed 220 pounds of dead weight — her hulking, abusive college boyfriend. The last thing she wants in her life is another man — especially one as tall as a Windy City high rise. Yet when her best friend enters her in Romance TV’s “Get a Love Life” contest, another man is exactly what she gets. As much as she’d love to just say no, she can’t turn down the prize money that will allow her to help her parents save the restaurant they’ve run all her life. Sparks fly between Kari and her bogus groom, and as she and Damien share close quarters, intimate meals and — gulp — his bed, Kari doesn’t stand a chance of resisting his considerable charms. Even worse? She might not want to. But building a real future out of their sham marriage will be tougher than baking a wedding cake from scratch … with no flour … in a broken oven.

LynnSexySaturday_button

My Sexy Saturday: Blind Date Bride

by with 2 Comments Blind Date BrideExcerpts

LynnSexySaturday_buttonYou know what day it is, right? Saturday! That means it’s time for another entry in the My Sexy Saturday blog hop.

The rules are simple:

Post 7 paragraphs or 7 sentences or 7 words. The choice is yours. It can be from a WIP or something you already have published. Your post should be live by 9 am US Pacific Time on Saturday. Put those lucky 7s to work for you!

Blind Date Bride coverThis week, I thought I’d give you another peek at Kari and Damien from “Blind Date Bride.” I’m breaking the rules by serving up a couple of extra paragraphs — but since some of my lines are one or two words long, I think y’all can roll with it.

Kari and Damien, strangers who were married after becoming the lucky winners of a blind date wedding, have just agreed to allow cameras to film them for a “Newlyweds” type of show over the course of their network-mandated 90-day “cohabitation period.”

Kari agreed because the network offered them extra cash, but only hours later — when it’s time for bed — does she realize what the decision means for their sleeping arrangements. Her new roommate is now also a bedmate. With the camera crews around 24/7, they’d actually have to sleep in the same room — so she can no longer bank on coasting through the next 88 days or so by avoiding her unwanted husband.

***

Kari plumped her newly acquired pillow, stretched out on her back and stared up at the ceiling. The ceiling fan whirred lazily, making only a few slow circles before Kari was convinced that no one would be spending the night on Damien’s floor. The hardwood floor wasn’t just rock-hard; it was also freezing cold. Kari didn’t know how that was possible when it was in the low 80s outside, but if she didn’t climb into Damien’s bed soon, her boxer-clad butt was going to end up with a severe case of frostbite.

Her gaze flitted from the ceiling to the bed, where Damien still sat, watching her intently.

“Stop looking at me like that!” she snapped.

“Like what?”

“Like you’re on a diet and I’m a hot fudge sundae!”

Damien rolled his eyes. “You think you’re that irresistible, huh?”

“Well —” Kari began. More concerned with her own response to the look he was giving her, she hadn’t thought about how conceited the complaint would make her sound.

“Because I have news for you, sweetheart. I can resist — no problem.”

Kari stood up and sat on the edge of Damien’s bed opposite him, but not before scowling at him. “You don’t have to be such a jerk about it.”

He glowered right back. “Why shouldn’t I be? You’re basically saying you don’t trust me to keep my hands to myself, right?”

“Uh —”

“Because I’ve never had to force my attentions on an unwilling woman before, and I don’t intend to start anytime soon. So until you decide you want my hands on you, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Blind Date Bride” coming to e-bookstores everywhere in Spring 2014.

My Sexy Saturday #3

by with 2 Comments Blind Date BrideExcerpts

LynnSexySaturday_buttonIt’s Saturday again. You know what that means — My Sexy Saturday time. I totally forgot to take part last week … but I hope that’s the exception rather than the rule.

The idea is simple:

Post 7 paragraphs or 7 sentences or 7 words. The choice is yours. It can be from a WIP or something you already have published. Your post should be live by 9 am US Pacific Time on Saturday. Put those lucky 7s to work for you!

In honor of receiving the cover for “Blind Date Bride,” this week’s My Sexy Saturday entry is from that story.

Blind Date Bride coverA little about “Blind Date Bride”:

The last thing Kari Parker wants in her life is another man — especially one as tall as a Windy City high rise. Yet when her best friend enters her in Romance TV’s “Get a Love Life” contest, that’s what she gets. Sparks fly between Kari andher bogus groom, and as she and Damien share close quarters, intimate meals and — gulp — his bed, Kari doesn’t stand a chance of resisting his considerable charms. But building a real future out of their sham marriage will be tougher than baking a wedding cake from scratch … with no flour … in a broken oven.

The setup for these seven paragraphs: Their blind-date wedding now a bad memory, Kari and Damien have ditched the reception in favor of getting to know one another over coffee (at the nearest Starbucks, of course!). Kari’s having trouble concentrating on Damien’s words over the attraction she doesn’t want to feel for her bogus husband.

* * *

Damien’s eyebrows shot up. “You didn’t seem all that shy when you were kissing me.”

Oh, god. There was that directness again. Kari bit her lip. How could she handle a man who said exactly what he meant? “Call that an aberration.”

Damien shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Trust me. I don’t normally act like that.”

He leaned across the table, and for a second she thought he’d kiss her again. Her lips parted in anticipation. But he merely turned her hand over, palm up, and ran his thumb over the skin at the base of her fingers. She watched it move back and forth, fast then slow, fascinated by the friction-generated heat.

His eyes never left hers, so she saw the instant his desire flickered back to life. Her thighs grew damp as her body answered Damien’s call.

The dampness provided a rude wake-up call. Kari clamped her knees together as she jerked her hand out of his grasp, ruthlessly reminding herself how badly her last run-in with lust at first sight had ended.

“Blind Date Bride” coming to e-bookstores everywhere in late 2014.

Check out the other entries in the My Sexy Saturday blog hop here.

The big cover reveal

by with No Comment Bethany & CodyBlind Date Bride

Anyone who likes my author page on Facebook has already seen the news … several times. I’ve also been showing everyone at the office — and the baristas at my regular Starbucks. Pretty  much anyone I can get to look at my phone is seeing my beautiful new cover.

To say I’m pleased is an understatement. “Pleased as punch” is, of course, a dreaded cliche — something the lovely Susan Haught keeps warning me I use too many of. She’s one of my NARWA chaptermates, and quite possibly my biggest fan. But she’s not afraid to point out where my WIPs need more W-O-R-K.

Anyway … back to the story of how I ended up with covers for two manuscripts that are NOT the one I plan to release first.

It all started last month, when I asked about cover artists — and the timing of cover purchases — on the Indie Romance Ink Yahoo loop.

Rogenna Brewer was one of many friendly, helpful folks who responded. She said that she was designing covers, and linked to her page of premade covers. That’s where I saw her. Bride.

Screen Shot 2013-07-11 at 1.19.53 PM

“If she were blonde,” I thought, “she’d make a great Kari.”

Kari is the heroine in “Blind Date Bride,” the tale of a guy and gal whose friends enter them in a cable TV network’s “Get a Love Life” contest in hopes of them winning lesser prizes. But when a panel of experts deems them to have the worst love lives in America, they win the grand prize — a blind date wedding.

So I emailed Rogenna to ask if there was any way to make the bride in her “Bride” cover a blonde. We started exchanging emails about “Blind Date Bride” and its sequel, “Trouble in Paradise.” Since the stories are related, I wanted covers that looked like they belonged together. The next thing I knew, I’d agreed to a deal — buy one custom-made cover, get one free.

The results:

Blind Date Bride cover Trouble in Paradise cover

I couldn’t be happier.

The photo Rogenna found for “Blind Date Bride” hints at so much — my hero, Damien, is a veterinarian, so the puppy is a fantastic touch. And obviously, this photo would have been taken toward the HEA end of the story.

The photo for “Paradise” is actually from Bora Bora, the island Beth and Cody visit to film the reality show that may kill the perfectly healthy relationship that Beth thought was headed south.

(Oops — cliche alert! Luckily, I’m pretty sure I never use that phrasing anywhere in the manuscript.)

Now that I have gorgeous covers, I have a lot of work to do. The first draft for “Paradise” hasn’t even been completely written yet — I have about 20K to go. This is the story that got decimated in the Golden Pen a couple of years ago. Judges hated my heroine. Said they had no idea why the hero was with her … Obviously, I have some rewriting to do.

And I will. But first, I need to polish “Home for the Holidays,” the novella I plan to release this November.

Rogenna’s already got some great ideas for that cover, too. Through the end of July, she’s running a deal for cover design clients: Buy 2, get one free. Check it out.

 

I’m a playwright

by with 3 Comments Blind Date BrideProgress

About 12 years — and four computers — ago, I submitted a one-act play to my theater group, to be considered for their one-act festival. Not long after that, I moved to Arizona and started writing a book based on that play.

That book is “Blind Date Bride,” to date my only single-title MS:

1 very shy accountant + 1 outgoing veterinarian + 2 meddling friends = 1 marriage of decided inconvenience

This week, I got word that the group plans to include my play in their one-act festival. (You might have seen my tweet or Facebook post spreading the news.) The news was completely unexpected — and thrilling.

To be honest, I forgot about the play … or at least forgot about submitting it to Civic Players of Logansport. But I’m honored that they kept it in their files all this time and decided to put it onstage.

It was designed to be about 10 minutes in length, with a cast of four and a simple set: just two doors, perpendicular to the stage, separating the heroine/her friend and hero/his friend. The friends were in the “hallway” together, with the leads shut in separate rooms in the church basement, complaining about the mess their friends have gotten them into.

The scene later became the first scene in my MS.

I’m bummed that I won’t be able to see it, since I’m in Arizona and they’re in Indiana. But they’ve promised to send me a DVD of the performance. I can’t wait to see my words brought to life.

Indiana peeps, you can see “Blind Date Bride” as part of “Theatre One: A Collection of One-Acts,” in March. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. March 9 and 10, and 2:30 p.m. March 11, in Logansport.