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Writer Wednesday: Constance Phillips

This week, help me welcome Constance Phillips to Writer Wednesday.

Constance is another of my Turquoise Morning Press sisters, and I visited her blog a couple of weeks ago to talk about Breaking All the Rules.

In her own words:

Constance Phillips lives in Ohio with her husband, daughter, and four canine kids where she writes contemporary romance novels and paranormal romance novels. When not writing stories of finding and rediscovering love, Constance and her husband spend the hours planning a cross-country motorcycle trip for the not-so-distant future…if they can find a sidecar big enough for the pups.

Her newest release (or re-release), Resurrecting Harry, sounds intriguing. The blurb:

In order to save the only woman he’s every loved from self-destruction, Harry puts his afterlife on the line by entering a wager with purgatory’s keeper, Jaden. He gives Harry a younger face and body, and a new name: Erich Welch.

If he wants to keep his new life, he must convince Bess to give up the promise she made to Harry on his death bed and call off the séance she’s scheduled on the anniversary of his death.

Will Erich be able to help Bess over her loss and will any good come from resurrecting Harry?

The book’s buzz is good, too. Some reviews:

“ This was a very fast read for me and kept me guessing to the very end. ” M. E. Wilson

“Theirs was a love story that Ms. Phillips delves into in her novel. ” R. Trogne

“Great story, new idea. All in all. Worth a read.” The Eternal Scribe

I can’t wait to add Resurrecting Harry to my TBR queue.

Now, let’s get to know Constance better with a round of “This or That.”

Coke or Pepsi? Coke, Diet Coke to be specific.

Baseball or football? Honestly, if I’m going to watch sports, it’s hockey. Between the two, I’d say football.

Bacon or sausage? As of late, I’ve been more of a bacon girl.

iPhone or Android? Android. Mac/Apple technology confuses me.

Vacation time: Beach or mountains? Hard choice, but I’m going have to go with the beach!

Night owl or early bird? It used to be the other way around, but lately I’m a early to bed, early to rise girl.

Resurrecting Harry is available for preorder on Kindle and Smashwords, and will be available again in most formats and in most online retailers April 30.

Manic Monday No. 4: Where in the world is Arlene?

I spent the weekend in my room in Flagstaff, sorting and packing — and still I barely made a dent. Packing up 15-plus years of accumulated crap is hard, y’all.

Okay, that’s not entirely true. I spent Saturday night and Sunday morning with trash bags and cardboard boxes. I also enjoyed a Saturday-morning gabfest/brainstorming session with my Northern Arizona RWA chapter mates. I’m telling you, knowing what awaited at home wasn’t conducive to getting my butt out of the Denny’s booth we were occupying.

I confess to being a bit of a hoarder, so paring down my stuff won’t be easy.

For example, I didn’t want to part with these …

… My first author business cards, which I designed after finaling in the Golden Heart in 2011.

They don’t take up much room. They also don’t match my redesigned website or brand, so there’s no reason to keep them … but it was so hard to just toss them in the recycling bin. I did hang onto about five of them—purely for archival purposes, of course.

Where else have I been?

I still haven’t seen my Writer Groupie interview in my iTunes podcast feed. Will keep you posted as soon as I get it.

JUST RIGHT was featured in the April Turquoise Morning Press newsletter, along with new releases by Bella Masters and May Williams. May’s “Playing the Piper” is another of the “and they lived Happily Ever After” tales.

That’s it. It’s been a pretty quiet week.

Soon, I’ll be ordering books for the Payson Book Festival. And—fingers crossed—moving into a new place.

Writer Wednesday: Jennifer Anderson

Today, April 15, is, of course, a day many people dread. Tax Day.

Whether you’ve A) finished your taxes and spent your refund or B) plan to race to the mailbox at 11:59 p.m., now’s a the perfect time to take a short break and enjoy my first-ever Writer Wednesday post.

I’m kicking off the series with fellow Turquoise Morning Press author Jennifer Anderson, who happens to be well-versed in firsts. Last month, she was the inaugural guest on Maggie Wells/Margaret Etheridge’s Monday Mayhem feature.

That was a lot of fun, and I’m glad to have her here. Let’s kick off Writer Wednesday with a bang, too.

In her own words, Jennifer is a ref, chauffer, master chef and booboo kisser. When she’s not wielding her super mom powers, she likes to weave sentences together and offer a little escape to her readers. You can usually find her sitting in the dark in front of her computer, falling in love with her characters. Send chocolate!

Her most recent release, Finding You, is new adult fiction. The blurb:

Jessica Crispin sets out to find her mom but discovers more than she planned.

A long-lost grandfather dies, leaving Jessica Crispin a sizable inheritance. The only catch? She has to find her mom, whom she hasn’t seen since she was two, and she only has thirty days to do it.

Enlisting her best friend Violet, Jessica sets out on a road trip determined to solve a mystery fed by deceit and misinformation from people she thought she could trust.

On the way, she meets Jackson, whose kindness and sexy pale blue eyes make her wish he would come along for the ride.

Clues from her mother lead her far from home and to a secret Jessica never imagined. And as the deadline looms, Jessica must make peace with the ghosts of her past and risk dreaming of a future pursuing her secret passion with Jackson by her side.

Jennifer took time out to answer a few “This or That”-style questions—and I discovered that in a lot of ways, we’re complete opposites.

Preferred breakfast: Sweet or savory? While I love a good donut, my diabetes keeps me from enjoying these so I settle for eggs. Not my fave.

Big purse or barely there bag? Big purse. I have 3 kids and while only the youngest really needs items when we go out, I am usually the keeper of all electronics and even my husband’s keys. Why fight it!

Your favorite writing spot: Home office or favorite coffee shop? I don’t get to make it out a lot to just write without a horde of kids with me, but I do aspire to do this once a year. Instead, I find comfort in my bedroom sitting in a glider and using a TV tray as my computer base.

Night owl or early bird? Unfortunately, a little bit of both.

Iron Man or Captain America? Ooo, that’s tough. But I think if you held a gun to my head, I’d say Captain America, or at least the current version!

Are you a city dweller or rural gal? More a rural gal. I don’t really like the country, or being in the country, but I like the idea of nature. I’m scared of anything that crawls. But I currently live along a river where I’m sure there is a snake (eek) sitting in my yard waiting for me to find him. I may not participate much in the outdoor stuff, I do enjoy the view!

Another way Jennifer and I are nothing alike? When it comes to promo, she has it all together — she even has a book trailer! You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY1ttbkhMGA.

Want to read Finding You? Get it here: IBOOKS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | KOBO

You can check out Jennifer’s other Turquoise Morning Press books here: http://www.turquoisemorningpressbookstore.com/collections/jennifer-anderson

Find her online at http://jenandersonauthor.com/ on Twitter (@JenniA8677) and on Facebook.

Join the discussion: Weigh in with your answer to one of the questions.

Manic Monday No. 3: A painless podcast and taxes done

How’s this for a manic Monday: I finally finished my taxes. Yes … #TaxesDone.

I’ve been putting it off for months, dreading the result. Fortunately, the experience wasn’t as painful as I’d feared it would be. That was a relief.

Another thing to chalk up in the “not as painful as I feared” category? Taping the Writer Groupie podcast with Kim Smith. Leading into Friday afternoon’s appointment, I was both excited and fearful. Since it was my first podcast — I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I shouldn’t have worried. It was…So…Much…Fun. Sitting down to chat with Kim was like running into a long-lost friend.

There’s always the chance I’ll end up sounding like a chipmunk on helium when I listen to the podcast. I’m not alone in hating the sound of my own voice, I know. I used to DJ at my college radio station, WUEV, and with a microphone in front of my face, my voice drops into a different register … one that had guys calling up to ask me out and/or say they listened to me in the shower. (“Do you know what that voice can do to a man in a shower?” Someone actually asked me that once.)

But Friday, I was just sitting in front of my computer — no microphone in sight. Oh well. At least I wasn’t coming down with a cold when I talked with Kim. No, that came on Saturday afternoon, evening … and now I have a head full of congestion. Ugh.

Here’s a link to the Writer Groupie Podcast on iTunes. My episode isn’t up there yet, but it should be later this week. I’ll keep you posted.

In other news:

— I added a “subscribe to my newsletter” pop-up box to my website’s home page. It’ll show up the first time you visit — but when you close it, it’ll stay gone for 30 days. Of course, I’d love for you to sign up for my newsletter. (Pretty sure once you do that, the pop-up will go away forever.)

The newsletter is still a work in progress. Right now, it only comes out when I have a new release … but I’d like to start putting it out regularly — maybe once a quarter or once every two months.

#MySexySaturday: Are You Sexy?

I won’t waste time with a long introduction. This week’s My Sexy Saturday snippet is from my newest release, Just Right, which came out on Tuesday. Callie, who’s pretty handy thanks to her handyman father, has volunteered to help the Behr brothers work on her house. Ty, the hero of the story, has asked oldest brother Will what she can do.

***

She felt Will studying her, sizing her up. She narrowed her eyes and drew herself to her full height, five feet, four inches. At times like this, when dealing with judgmental men who looked at her and saw nothing but a helpless female, she’d gladly give up stardom for six inches of height and ten pounds less hair.

Finally, he spoke. “You know how to swing a sledgehammer?”

“I think I can manage.” It couldn’t be much harder than swinging a twenty-pound kettlebell, right? She could do that in her sleep—and sometimes did, when premiere parties ran long and interfered with her workouts at four in the morning with Gunnar Glory, personal trainer to the stars. She’d completed more than a few sweat sessions less than half awake.

He nodded. “Good. You can help Ty knock out the kitchen cabinets.”

Ty looked worried. Probably afraid she was going to clock him with the sledgehammer.

His words confirmed her suspicion. “Isn’t there something…easier she can do?”

Perhaps clocking him was a good idea. Might knock his sensibilities into the new millennium.

Like what you read? Just Right is available now at Turquoise Morning Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes, All Romance eBooks and Smashwords. Or add it to your TBR list on Goodreads.

Friday Five: Terrible titles

I’m celebrating this week’s release of JUST RIGHT by bringing back the “eight terrible titles” game that made the rounds on Facebook a couple of months ago. But since this is “Friday Five,” I’m only going to list five terrible titles.

Umm…have I mentioned I’m mathematically challenged? 😀

Just to catch you up, JUST RIGHT is the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, reimagined. Callista Gold escapes from Hollywood—and the scandalous photos hackers leaked to the tabloids. She buys a cottage in northern Arizona, sight unseen, and heads for what she thinks will be a mountain retreat. But like her now-tainted reputation, Rosewood Cottage needs some major fixing-up. Contractor Tyler Behr—one-third of Behr Construction—is just the man for the job. Problem is Ty had other plans: buy Rosewood and flip it. He agrees to work for the frosty beauty, with thoughts of delaying the project long enough for her to get bored and go back to wherever she came from.

But Callie is no prissy miss. She jumps in to help with the renovations, perfectly at home with construction—and one particular construction worker. Sparks ignite between them with every swing of the hammer, until a photo of Ty and Callie in a compromising position creates another scandal for her and a dilemma for him. He’s never been big on sharing, not even something as simple as loaning power tools to his own brothers. How can he share the woman he loves with the movie-going public?

1. Battered Plastic Trash Can

2. Caught with Her Pants Down

3. The perfect potato

4. Falling for His Brother

5. I’ve Seen Her Handle a Sledgehammer

Intrigued yet? I would be.

Snag JUST RIGHT at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and iTunes.

Just Right is in the wild

My grown-up Goldilocks tale, Just Right, has hit all the major booksellers, and I couldn’t be more thrilled!

Just Right is my fifth book with Turquoise Morning Press. It’s available now as a standalone, and at the end of the month, it’ll be released as part of the “and they lived Happily Ever After” boxed set.

Fairytales are hot right now, what with ABC’s “Once Upon A Time” and NBC’s “Grimm.” I had a blast brainstorming my own adult twist on the stories I grew up hearing.

Here’s the scoop:

America’s Sweetheart, Callista Gold, needs an escape from Hollywood—and the scandalous photos hackers leaked to the tabloids. She buys a cottage in northern Arizona, sight unseen, and heads for what she thinks will be a mountain retreat. But like her now-tainted reputation, Rosewood Cottage needs some major fixing-up. Contractor Tyler Behr—one-third of Behr Construction—is just the man for the job. Problem is Ty had other plans: buy Rosewood and flip it. He agrees to work for the frosty beauty, with thoughts of delaying the project long enough for her to get bored and go back to wherever she came from.

Available now at Turquoise Morning Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes, All Romance eBooks and Smashwords. Or add it to your TBR list on Goodreads.

Manic Monday No. 2: I’m going to be on the Writer Groupie podcast (& other sightings)

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a relaxing and rejuvenating Easter weekend. I picked up the milk to make myself one of those Cabury Creme Egg Egg Creams, but have yet to pull the trigger. Maybe tonight after work …

Okay, in truth, even though I’m sure it’ll taste ah-mazing, I’m the tiniest bit scared. I’ve tried escargot, frog legs and alligator, but scrambling a Cadbury Creme Egg makes me quake in my hot-pink Reebok Skyscapes. Go figure.

With JUST RIGHT coming out tomorrow, it’s going to be a busy week for me. (Not that I’ve been counting down or anything …)

If getting your name out there is half the battle, I should be winning this war. I feel as if I’ve been screaming my name from the top of the Empire State Building and scattering my book titles to the wind.

Among the places I’ve been popping up:

• Abigail Sharpe’s newest newsletter. Abs and I go way back. She’s the one who called me to tell me BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER finaled in the FCRW Beacon. The phone rang as I left the post office with receipt in hand for mailing BEAUTY to RWA HQ for the Golden Heart. (Yes, in 2010-11 you still had to mail hard copies.)

I love the idea of including friends’ releases in my newsletter, so I might just steal it. You’ve been warned.

• I’ve been invited to be a guest on author Kim Smith‘s Writer Groupie podcast. My first podcast — and I’ll be doing it via Skype, so it’ll be on YouTube, too.

Gulp. On video, I can’t hide the extra pounds I’ve picked up since taking my author photo …

Seriously, though. I’m both nervous and excited. Now that the antenna fell off my car and I can’t get it to stay on, I’ve only recently started listening to podcasts. Some radio stations still come in, but they fuzz in and out, so I’ve been listening to podcasts on the drive to work, or on longer drives out of town.

I find them informative, inspirational and entertaining. If I can manage to be one of those three, I’ll consider my podcast debut a #win.

We’re set to record the interview Friday night, around 5 p.m. my time. I’ll link to it when it’s ready.

• BREAKING ALL THE RULES is now listed on Night Owl Reviews.

It hasn’t been selected for a review yet (that I know of), so if you know anyone who reviews for Night Owl and likes romcom with a geeky bent, feel free to talk it up.

• BREAKING ALL THE RULES got its first review on Amazon — four stars!

Thanks, sjh in SLC!

• The 2015 Goodreads Author Cyber Convention starts Friday.

Click the banner to visit the fairgrounds. My “booth” is here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2223533-let-the-games-begin-arlene-hittle-s-contemporary-romantic-comedy.

I’ve promised to give away a $5 Amazon gift card to a new newsletter subscriber … so get on it. (You can subscribe using the form to the right of this blog post.)

• I joined Camp NaNoWriMo. Been adding new words to an old, old story that I’m revamping as a Harlequin Blaze. I submitted the first chapter last month during the #BlazeBlitz on Twitter, and now have everything crossed in hopes that they like it and want to see more. I could handle being a Blaze Babe.

Happy Easter

May your day be filled with reflection, rejoicing, fun and as many Cadbury Creme Eggs as you’d like!

If you’re as big a fan of Cadbury Creme Eggs as I am, you might want to try CCE Egg Cream featured on Buzzfeed. (Thanks to Avery Flynn for pointing this dream of a drink out out in a Facebook post.)

Erm … you can’t tell I’ve been spending too much time on Facebook, and not enough writing, right?

Don’t forget Lizzie Shane’s giving away a copy of DIVA IN THE DUGOUT. Today’s the last day to enter; she’s picking a winner Monday morning. Click here to enter.

#MySexySaturday: A Long, Sexy Time

Welcome to this week’s My Sexy Saturday blog hop. The theme, “A Long, Sexy Time,” is designed to spotlight love that has been around for a while:

“… It’s all about those who have loved another for a long time. This love could have started when they were kids, when they were dating or even from afar.”

That pretty much leaves my couples out. They tend to meet and experience love — or hate — at first sight, and then overcome whatever obstacles are in their path to happily ever after. Dave and Melinda from DIVA IN THE DUGOUT are the closest I have to a couple who’s known each other for a while … and that’s only if you count a one-night stand, nearly five years ago, as knowing one another.

In this scene, Dave and Mel are trying to get along for their daughter’s sake. He’s just landed in Amarillo so he can meet Mel’s parents — something she’d denied him years earlier by not telling him she was pregnant. Keeping Tara a secret was a decision she had what she thought were good reasons for, but is now starting to regret.

Enjoy!

***

Mel bounced from foot to foot in the arrivals area of the Amarillo airport Wednesday afternoon. The steady flow of travelers slowed to a trickle before Dave strolled through the gate.

Damn, he looked fine. He walked tall and proud, his shoulders impossibly broad in a burgundy suit jacket. He carried a duffel the same color as his coat—his team colors.

When, for once, her smile didn’t feel forced, Mel realized she was glad to see him. “Welcome back, Muscles.”

He studied her for a moment before dropping his bag at his feet. Then he stepped up and folded her into a hug. His arms circled her waist, pressing her tightly against his flat stomach and broad chest. Her nerve endings started to sing, especially the bits of her rubbing all that hard muscle. Mmm.

“You feel even better than you look.” The thought popped out of Mel’s mouth before she could stop it. Her cheeks burned, and she could only hope the words were too muffled by his jacket for him to hear.

No such luck. His chest shook with laughter. “If I’d expected such a friendly greeting, I’d have come back sooner.”

Mel flattened her palms against his shoulders and he let her go. What the hell had she been thinking, falling into his arms like that? Just because he was trying to build a relationship with Tara didn’t mean he wanted one with her. After what she’d done, she was probably the last person he’d consider getting romantic with.

DIVA IN THE DUGOUT, the first book in my All Is Fair in Love & Baseball series, can be found at Turquoise Morning Press, Smashwords, All Romance Ebooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and iTunes.

P.S If you liked this snippet, my friend Lizzie Shane is giving away a copy of DIVA on her Facebook page this weekend. She’ll draw a winner Monday morning. Click here to enter.