Six Sentence Sunday

Available now at most online bookstores!

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know that every Friday I have a FRIDAY FIRSTS guest, and I post the first five sentences of his/her book, plus some interesting first facts about them.

But now I'm adding something new. Every Sunday, a bunch of writers post six sentences from their books on their blogs. I've decided to join them. For the next few week, I'll post sentences from my newest release, HER ONE-NIGHT PRINCE.

Here are the first six sentences of the book:

All Mitch knew about her was her first name. Lydia.

He wondered for the umpteenth time how he’d let himself be talked into this nonsense. She might as well have used the age-old description for a less than attractive blind date by telling him she had a good personality.

But this was no blind date.  Just a bad idea.

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You can order your digital or paperback copy here:

Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookstrand

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To check out Six Sunday excerpts from other authors, click here.

FRIDAY FIRSTS with author Lynn Crain

First Five Sentences of... A LOVER FOR RACHEL

“Come on, we’re going to be late! You’re the one who wanted to go to this thing. Besides, it’s the dead of night, so who’s going to see us?”

Rachel frowned at her best friend, Samantha Andrews, again. Yes, she was the one who wanted to go to the summer solstice celebration at Stonehenge.

Genre: Paranormal erotic romance

Publisher: Self-published

Smashwords|Amazon

Available now!

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FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT LYNN

1. What was the first Rated R movie you ever saw? Wow...are you trying to get me in trouble? LOL! In the little town we lived in they never checked IDs at the door. We got into tons of movies that we’d have been kicked out of today. My first R-rated flick was High Plains Drifter. I thought Clint Eastwood was so hot that I tried to write a book with a similar character. No, I didn’t succeed. LOL!

2. What was the first romance you ever read?

Now, this will be a three part question for me. The first book I read that could be considered a romance had to be Gone With The Wind. At the time, I didn’t consider it to be one but an epic Civil War novel. The first ‘bodice-ripper’ romance I ever read was The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss. Boy was that one hot...LOL! The first Harlequin Romance I ever read, about the same time as The Flame and the Flower, was called Castles in Spain. It was really sweet but still the HEA pulled me in. I have each and every one of those original books.

3. What’s the first thing you do when you start reading a new book?

Well, with ebooks I can’t do this so much any more...but...what I used to do was this: I’d look at the cover, I’d read the back blurb, I’d read the inside cover and usually a page at the beginning, middle and end. If I liked those, I’d buy the book. Now, I just look at the blurb, look at the cover and if they show a portion for a ‘look inside’ moment, I’ll read it.

More about Lynn: Lynn Crain realized at an early age she wanted to write. Taking the long way to being published, sha has done a variety of things like nursing, geologist, technical writer and computer manager all of which have added to her detail-oriented stories. She’s a full time storyteller and weaves fantasy, futuristic and paranormal tales as well as erotic stories for various publishers. She normally lives in the very hot southwest with her husband, son, two dogs, three cats and she’s gotten rid of her snakes. Don’t ask. Other members of her clan live nearby and include a son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons as well as various long-time friends. She is a past national board member of the RWA; founding president of Las Vegas Romance Writers Chapter of RWA; has held the positions of president, vice-president, secretary and contest chair of EPIC. Her latest adventure has taken her to Vienna, Austria with her husband as he works for a UN affiliated organization. You can find her hanging out at A Writer In Vienna Blog and various other places on the net (www.theloglineblog.blogspot.com; www.twitter.com/oddlynn3). Still, the thing she loves most of all is hearing from her readers at lynncrain@cox.net.

FRIDAY FIRSTS with Carla Angela

First Five Sentences of... FULL EXPOSURE

"Ridiculous! I mean, how does a guy think he’s going to attract a woman by giving her VIP access to his nostrils?"

Lake spun her laptop around on the glossy, white countertop to show the offending on-screen image to her friend, and business partner, Fenella. A determined flick of Lake’s chestnut plait over her shoulder served to emphasize her point.

Fenella, carrying a tray of freshly baked chocolate brownies, emitting an intoxicating aroma, peered at the screen from behind.

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Bookstrand

Amazon|Bookstrand|Barnes & Noble

Available Now!

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FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT CARLA

1.Tell me about your very first kiss.

Oh gosh, I wish it was more like the smooches I love to write about - knee-trembling, mind-blowing, head-spinning sort of kisses! But I didn’t see any stars when it came to my first time puckering up. No siree! My left foot didn’t kick up like in the movies nor did the Earth move beneath my feet...

It was New Year’s Eve. I was 16 and out on the town with my feisty cousin, who’d always push me to be a little more rebellious than usual. I got talking to a random guy and he asked if I’d kiss him. I accepted, because I was keen to get my first kiss over and done with – not because I was particularly attracted to him. All I remember was too much saliva and tongue. Then, a few minutes later, I saw the guy kissing another girl! Ick. Wish I’d waited for a better debut kiss.

2. What’s the first thing you do when you start reading a new book?

I like to check how many pages the thing is! I don’t know if it’s a sort of goal-oriented thing, so I can work out how long it will take me to read it first up, but it just makes me feel comfy knowing. I also love to read about the author, from the dedication at the front of the book to their notes at the end. I guess I’m just curious to find out what compelled them to write the actual tome and if real-life in any way inspired their scribblings! Sometimes though it can give away a little of what’s going to happen between the pages – a word of warning.

3. What’s the first thing you notice on an attractive member of the opposite sex?

I’m a sucker for a cheeky gleam in the eye, which can be a tell-tale sign of a sense of humour and an overall playful character! I like to know that a fella doesn’t take himself too seriously and that he’s an all-round nice guy. Showiness or superficiality definitely doesn’t do it for me. I also love the tall, dark, handsome stereotype (and, hence, married such a breed!)

More about Carla: Carla Angela is a freelance writer by day and erotic fiction author by night. Watching telemovies and obsessing over her star sign are guilty pleasures. More on Carla Angela can be found at www.carlaangela.com. 

*Lips graphic from happinessseries.com.jpg

FRIDAY FIRSTS with Cathy Perkins

The first five sentences of... THE PROFESSOR

The body lay in dappled shade. Patches of light caught pale flesh—an ankle here, a hip there. Resurrection ferns spread lacy fronds, partially concealing the limbs. Mick wondered if the irony was deliberate.

Publisher: Carina Press

Genre: Romantic suspense/mystery

Available Now

Carina Press|Amazon|Barnes & Noble

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FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT CATHY

1. Who was your first love?

My first love was Philip C. As long as I can remember, I’ve been a sucker for dark hair and blue eyes—and he had both. I don’t think we ever kissed, but it was True Love. We in first grade and were going to get married. I think it lasted a month. Which is an eternity when you’re six.

2. What’s the first thing you do when you start writing a new story?

My stories seem to grow out of day dreams, the snippet of an idea, a what-if. For example, my husband and I were hiking in a game refuge near our house. While pushing through dense undergrowth beside the Snake River, I glanced over my shoulder and said, “Wouldn’t this be a great place to find a body?” My current WIP grew from that What-if.

Once an idea takes hold, the plot and character evolve together. But – don’t throw things, Becky –  I’m a plotter, so the first thing I do when I think the idea has possibilities is sketch an outline of the plot. That outline grows and evolves as my characters’ personalities and motivations flesh out. Things that of course they’d do add layers or subplots as the story unfolds.

3. What was the first meal you made for your significant other?

I went to college on the combination of a scholarship and a part-time job, so I had no money. Seriously. None. My last year, I moved off campus into a tiny apartment and lived off things like peanut butter sandwiches and Ramen Noodles. My husband (who has dark hair and blue eyes, by the way) and I had just started dating when he brought over a bag of mushrooms. I had no idea what to do with them, but I had one, count ‘em, one cookbook. I thumbed through the index – the recipe had to be easy and couldn’t use a bunch of ingredients. And voila, stuffed mushrooms. Clearly, I’d never made this dish before, but apparently I did a bang up job because he still talks about those mushrooms. J

More about Cathy: Cathy Perkins’ suspense writing lurks behind a financial geek day-job, where she learned firsthand the camouflage, hide in plain sight, skills employed by her villains. Born and raised in South Carolina, the setting for THE PROFESSOR, she now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her work-a-holic husband and a 75-pound Lab who thinks she’s still a lap-puppy.

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Thanks so much for having me here today to talk about some of the “firsts” in my life. You can find me here online:

www.cperkinswrites.com

http://facebook.com/CathyPerkinsAuthor

http://twitter.com/cperkinswrites



FRIDAY FIRSTS with Diana Ballew

First Five Sentences of...THORNS OF EDEN

“Oh, Father. If we’d only known,” Eden Blair whispered. A stiff poke gouged the small of her back. She turned around and glared at her stepmother, Ann. “Ouch! What did you do that for?"

“Father? Oh, do move on, Eden. It’s been a whole year, for heaven's sake.”

Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Amazon|Barnes & Noble|The Wild Rose Press

Available now

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FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT DIANA

1. What was the first romance you ever read?

Geez. We’re going way back. I was thirteen. I think I was feeling particularly rebellious that day because I checked out two books from the public library: The Exorcist (scared me silly!) and Coffee, Tea, or Me, a book about lusty “stewardesses,” as they were called back then. I kept both books stashed under my bed so nobody would find them. It didn’t take me long to discover Kathleen Woodiwiss, Rosemary Rogers, and one of my all-time favorite books, The Proud Breed by Celeste De Blasis. I loved that book so much I recently bought a used hardback copy on Amazon for my personal library.

2. Tell me about the first novel you ever wrote? What ever happened to it?

Thorns of Eden is the very first full-length manuscript I wrote. I actually started writing that book about twenty years ago (titled Heart’s Besieged back then) and stashed it away. In 2010 I plucked the manuscript from a dusty file in the back of my closet, read it, and realized it was a damn good start to a story. I finished the book, edited it, and sold it to The Wild Rose Press in 2011.

3.What’s the first thing you do after you wake up in the morning (other than using the restroom LOL)?

First thing: I have to have my coffee in the morning. No way around it—I’m worthless without that early jolt of java to my brain. While drinking my coffee, I check e-mails, Facebook, Twitter and then play some FarmVille and CastleVille. Yep, I love playing some early morning games to get my mind going. I play the same games in the evening, too. I find it very relaxing. Last year I gave up the online games for three months, thinking they had to be a waste of my time. I was surprised when I realized they actually helped me budget my time more wisely. I was more productive with my writing when I had online games in my life than without them. Go figure! I also love the social aspect of the Zynga games. Most of the people I play with are other writers.

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More About Diana: Her writing combines her active imagination with her love of history and research to create vibrant characters in sizzling tales blending vintage vixens with haunting heroes. Her debut novel, Thorns of Eden, is a steamy and suspenseful tale set in the American Civil War during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862.

Diana is an actively engaged member of Romance Writers of America and a member in the local chapters in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona. Additionally, she is a founding member and vice president of Evergreen RWA, located in Everett, Washington. You can find out even more about Diana on her website.

THE NEW YEAR BLOG HOP

1st Grand Prize is a Kindle Fire

2nd Prize (to a second winner) is an $80 Amazon GC

Everyone who comments on THIS blog is also entered into a drawing to win a $10 Starbucks gift card. (Make sure you leave your email addy so I can contact you if you win!)

Over 60 authors are participating in this blog hop. Each blog will offer a prize. And everyone who leaves a comment on any of the blogs will be entered to win one of the grand prizes. If you comment on each blog, that's 60+ entries into the grand prize drawing. See the links at the end to travel to the other blog sites.

What do I like best about ringing in a new year? A new year brings so many exciting possibilities. It’s a time to start over, to begin anew. January 1 is like opening the page of the next book on my TBR pile. I’ve read the back cover blurb, I’ve admired the cover, maybe I’ve read some reviews. I can’t wait to start reading. I start every new book hoping it’ll end up on my keeper shelf.

That’s how I like to begin my new year. I don’t really make resolutions, but I do journal and daydream about what I want to accomplish in the coming year.

Is every book I start reading my favorite? No. Sometimes, I don’t even finish. So it stands to reason that not every year is going to be as grand as I expect. But that doesn’t stop me from dreaming big.

My favorite quote: “Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.”  ~Les Brown

You can learn more about Rebecca at her website and her other blog, Once Written, Twice Shy.

Rebecca's available books are:

Her One-Night Prince

Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookstrand

Borrowed Stilettos

Amazon|Barnes & Noble|The Wild Rose Press