Get Addicted To Anna Campbell!!!

Wah-hoo! It's gonna be a wonderful day! How do I know? Well, it's simple . . .

ANNA CAMPBELL is visiting us today!!

I've been a fan of Anna Campbell since I fell head over slippers in love with her dashing, but also very naughty Duke of Kylemore in Claiming The Courtesan. Whoa, Nelly! Talk about a man full of passion! What gal can resist one of those?!

Anna's latest release, MY RECKLESS SURRENDER, hit book shelves this week and is ready to steal your breath away. If you've got a sweet tooth for heroes who will make your knees buckle, then you're definitely gonna want to scope an Anna Campbell novel ASAP!

No use dawdling! Let's get the good times rolling! Here's Anna with . . .

Adopted Any Cool Secret Identities Lately?

Hi Sarah! Lovely to be here again! Thank you for inviting me!

This week I have a new book out. It’s called MY RECKLESS SURRENDER and it has a glorious yellow cover. You can read an excerpt here: http://www.annacampbell.info/recklesssurrender.html

It’s odd. When I have a new book out, I seem to look back on the ones that came before with a philosophical eye (well, actually TWO philosophical eyes, I’m being poetic, LOL!) seeking links and differences.

In MY RECKLESS SURRENDER, which is the story of a dangerous seduction in Regency London, my heroine Diana Carrick adopts a false identity in order to seduce the notorious Earl of Ashcroft, Tarquin Vale. In reality, she’s a hardworking, middle-class widow who helps her father run a country estate. Because she’s accepted a devil’s bargain from her employer, the Marquess of Burnley, that offers her everything she’s ever wanted in return for sleeping with Tarquin, she pretends to be a sophisticated, aristocratic lady with a mysterious past. The pretense doesn’t come easily to her, particularly the worldly part, and her ruse is further complicated when she falls in love with the earl.

He falls in love with her too – but the Diana he wants is an illusion, made up of self-serving lies. Or is she? Has something of the real Diana seeped through to enrich this affair? Would a man as smart as Tarquin fall so head over heels in love with a woman who offered him nothing genuine?

Can a secret identity reveal a truth about someone that everyday life might perhaps hide?

It’s an interesting thought, isn’t it? I hadn’t realized I was quite so enamoured of secret identity stories until I started to think about the previous books. Would you know EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM involves a masquerade of some sort? I’m not just enamoured of secret identity plots, I’ve married them and I’m having twins!

In CLAIMING THE COURTESAN, Verity masquerades as Soraya, courtesan extraordinaire. Her brother, who I feel got the short end of the stick, masquerades as the eunuch Ben Ahbood! In UNTOUCHED, the humble widow kidnapped off the streets of Bristol to keep a captive nobleman amused comes from one of England’s most powerful families. In TEMPT THE DEVIL, again, Olivia comes from a much more elevated background than she admits to the world. In CAPTIVE OF SIN, my runaway heroine uses a false name when she meets the hero and when they elope, they sign into the hotel under false names. And would you believe the book I’m writing at the moment also involves a secret identity? I’m addicted!

Of course, secret identities abound in Romancelandia, not just in Campbellandia! Why do you think they’re so popular? Do you have a favorite book that includes a secret identity plot? I can think of hundreds!

It’s no secret that my favorite comment wins a signed copy of MY RECKLESS SURRENDER!


Wowza!! Now that's what I call a sweet treat!! I'd like to thank Anna for both her time and generosity. If you'd like to know more about the lovely Anna Campbell, please click on over to her website: http://www.annacampbell.info/ Here's wishing you tons of success and sales with MY RECKLESS SURRENDER, Anna! :)

THANK YOU, TLN'ers!! Hope your weekend is straight out of a fairy tale! How about a little LOVE STORY with Taylor Swift! Enjoy your three days of R&R and remember to make some time for a little blinding passion, too! If you can't find your White Knight, pick up one of Anna's handsome heroes. Either way, you'll be in for a reckless surrender of your own! *wink wink*

A Debut Author To Watch: Meet Juliana Stone!!!

We're back and have another debut author for you to fall head over heels in love with, TLN'ers!!

I had the pleasure of "meeting" the wickedly awesome Juliana Stone over at the Total Exposure yahoo group. I instantly fell for the premise of HIS DARKEST HUNGER. Sexy shapeshifters and danger?? Sheesh! Sign me up!

Jaxon and Libby's love story is set to grace book shelves on March 30th! Lucky for us, Juliana found some time to give us look into her world of writing!


If you're done oogling that gorgeous cover, let's get rolling!


1)If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

Smart, Sassy and Clumsy as all hell.

2)Using three words, describe your voice.

Dark yet funny.

3)Novice writer to Published Author: How have you grown as a writer?

I think it’s hard to pin point exactly how I’ve grown. There was a lot of room for improvement! I think for me, a lot of technical aspects are much improved. I’ve finished a second book and after going through copy edits with the first, when I started writing the second book, there were already things I knew to change. A great copy editor can teach you a lot.

4)What's the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome in your writing?

For me personally, it’s been a lack of confidence. Though I dreamed of writing for a long time and dabbled in many forms of it, whether it was writing music or poetry, I’ve never had “schooling” so to speak. I had no clue what a lot of the technical terms meant. Imagine my first conference less than two years ago, I’d just signed with an agent, was meeting all these fabulous authors who were talking, Black Moment, deep point of view, and I had no clue what the heck they were talking about. It was quite intimidating. But, I was lucky to be surrounded by an amazing bunch of writer friends who answered any and all questions I needed to ask. Which I did. A lot.

5)Do you have any advice for aspiring writers on submitting to agents and publishers?

Do your homework. Make sure you research the agents and publishers you want to submit to. If you’re looking to sub erotic paranormal, you obviously need a house that publishes that genre and an agent that represents it. Once you have a shortlist make sure your query is sparkling clean, to the point. And if you’re lucky enough to get an offer of representation, don’t be afraid to ask questions….don’t be afraid to approach the agent’s other clients and find out if they’re happy. In fact, my agent was more than willing to give me contact info on her other authors.

6)Tell us a little bit about how you got "The Call".

Well, to be honest I was in the tub. Seriously, my agent had called the week before with the news that an editor at Avon loved the book and would call me Monday to chat (this was a Thursday night). So, Monday came and went. Tuesday came and went and I was a mess of nerves. I thought for sure it was a no go. My agent calmed me and told me things would be fine. Wednesday afternoon the editor called. We talked about the book. We talked about my vision for the series. We clicked. But she didn’t say I AM GONNA OFFER FOR YOUR BOOK. So, I hung up and waited and took the phone everywhere with me, even into the bathroom. And the next afternoon, a week after that initial call from my agent she called to put me out of my misery! Avon bought two books, and I can say that just recently, I was offered a second contract for 2 more books in this series….and the waiting was still gruesome! LOL, it does not get any better! In fact, for whatever reason, this second sale meant more to me.

7)What does 2010 hold in store for Juliana Stone?

2010 is going to be an amazing year of firsts for me. I has my first ebook release from Samhain Publishing in February, Black Legacy, and the first book in my Jaguar Warrior series releases from Avon in April, followed by the second in November! I feel really, really lucky to be able to do this, and am so incredibly happy that such an amazing house as Avon took a chance on me! The first book, His Darkest Hunger tells the story of Jaxon and Libby.

Blurb:

Jaxon Castille: jaguar shifter, warrior, assassin. He has long hungered for the chance to make his former lover, Libby Jamieson, pay for her deadly betrayal. After three long years he's finally found her. The hunt is over…

But the Libby that he finds is not what he expected. She has no memory of their tumultuous affair; of her treachery; of anything beyond her own name. A shadowy and deadly clan has marked them both for death, and in an instant the game changes: the hunter has become the hunted.

On the run, with the ghosts of their past between them and a dark, desperate hunger quickly reclaiming their bodies and souls, Libby and Jaxon must discover the truth behind the dark forces working against them. Together, they must grab hold of a destiny that has the power to either heal them or destroy them.

But the truth is far more shattering than anyone could imagine…

Yah-Hoo! Jaxon sounds as smooth as whisky and just as satisfying! You can bet I'll be swinging by the bookstore to nab my copy. I do so love my shapeshifters!

I'd like to extend a very big Thank You to Juliana for letting me interview her. I can't wait to fall in love with Jaxon and know I'll be pining for the next book! If you'd like to get the 'deets' on Juliana Stone, please click on over to her website: http://julianastone.com/

Hope your week treats ya right, TLN'ers! How about a little Practical Magic to get your day going?! Here's STEVIE NICKS and CHERYL CROW singing IF YOU EVER DID BELIEVE.Congrats and Best Wishes, Juliana!!We're rooting for you, lady! :)

Get Captivated By Anna Campbell

Hi-Dee-Ho, Good Neighbor!

Ready or not, it's November! A heapin' helpin' of you out there have joined ranks and plunged into this year's NaNo contest. Wah-Hoo for you, mates!

Speaking of being inspired. . .give a lusty round of applause for ANNA CAMPBELL!

Her latest on dit, CAPTIVE OF SIN, released last week to those of us here in the States and has been officially added to my TBR list. Ain't that a hunky-dunkie piece of man meat kickin' it on her cover?!

Anna has earned oodles of awards and accolades for giving readers a love story with flesh and blood characters full of real life flaws. Her 'dark romance' Regencies are definitely worth a sneek-peek (psst, and so are her articles on writing!)http://www.annacampbell.info/

Bust open that package of Tim-Tams you've been hiding and get ready to fall in love with Anna Campbell!

1) If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

Hi Sarah, thanks for having me as your guest today! What a great question. Let me think…

Swept from her sheltered upbringing on the upper reaches of the Amazon to the whirling glamour of Regency London, beautiful heiress Anna Campbell’s only trusted companion is her marmoset Harold. When the rakishly wicked and wildly attractive Duke of Hotsex (it’s next to Essex – seriously, check it on the map!) pulls her into a broom cupboard at his annual Venetian breakfast and seduces her, marriage to the tormented, one-armed nobleman is her only chance to restore her reputation. But rumors abound that Hotsex has already murdered three wives and keeps their moldering remains in the tower where he sequesters himself every midnight. Even as Anna finds herself lost to passion in Hotsex’s single arm, she wonders can she trust him? Did he murder his three previous duchesses? Or will her dashing husband turn out to be ‘armless? And just why is Harold eyeing the duke in that lascivious way?

2) Using three words describe your voice?

Loud? Oh, you mean my writing voice! Emotional, intense, passionate.

3) What's the best advice you've ever received?

Ooh, where should I start? The wonderful Harlequin author Robyn Donald gave a talk at one of the Romance Writers of Australia conferences I went to where she said, “The people who fail are the people who give up.” At the time, it seemed obvious. But the fact is there’s a point where you’re close but you’re still not selling that book and yet you’re doing everything right. It’s like banging your head against a locked door. The give up comment made huge sense to me then! I remember going to a Donald Maass workshop where he kept saying “Make it worse”. Great advice for writing compelling fiction.

4) I love your concept of a 'dark romance'. What's your inspiration behind creating such out of the box characters?

Sarah, I LOVE flawed characters. Love, love, love them which I think you’ve probably already gathered. I think our flaws are what make us interesting, both in real life and in fiction. Flawed characters also offer the opportunity of a journey, a real character arc. You know, if there’s room for improvement, you’ve automatically got a story. I’m not quite sure where the darkness comes from although I was a devotee of gothic fiction when I was a teenager and I love dark and wildly romantic music and movies and books. In person, I’m not that dark at all! ;-)

5) What has been the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome in your writing?

I finished my first historical romance in between high school and university and it was twenty-seven years between then and when Avon bought CLAIMING THE COURTESAN in 2006. Yes, I am that old ;-) In all that time, discouragement and self-doubt were obviously obstacles I had to overcome. In fact, at one stage, I gave up because I decided being a writer was a childish dream and I ought to get a ‘real’ job instead of the jobs I’d taken because they left me time to write. But I couldn’t bear not writing so I came back to it with a renewed sense of purpose and a few changes in the way I did things that eventually led to publication. Phew! I always did pretty well in writing contests and that was one of the things that kept me going. You know, someone other than my mother and my best friend liked my work!

6) Time to dish it up! You've been a RITA Nominee, a Romance Writer's of Australia Romance Book of The Year nominee, a best first historical in the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Awards, and the list goes on! What does being an award winning author feel like? Is there anything you'd do differently if you had to start all over again?

Oh, I LOVE awards. Yeah, I know – you’re meant to say they don’t mean much but seriously it always gives me such a kick when I final in something. The RITA thing was a dream come true. In all those years of being unpublished, it seemed an impossible dream that I’d ever be up for a RITA. And then both first books were up for the RITA in 2008. A huge squee moment for this little Aussie! If I had it to do all over again, I’d join Romance Writers of Australia the moment I thought of becoming a writer. Or whatever is your national equivalent, RWAmerica, RWNew Zealand, Romance Novelists’ Association (UK). I spent most of those 27 unpublished years on my own without anyone around me who was interested in writing and hardly anyone who read romance. When I found a bunch of people who knew what I love about romance and what I wanted to achieve, it was like coming home. Joining RWA was one of those things I did after I gave up and came back that made a huge difference to where my writing was going.

7) What's up next for Anna Campbell?

CAPTIVE OF SIN, which was just chosen as one of Publishers Weekly’s top 100 books for 2009 (yeah, had to get that in!), has just been released from Avon. You can find out about the book here: http://www.annacampbell.info/captivesin.html My next release is in June 2010. It’s called MY RECKLESS SURRENDER (I love that title!) and it’s about a dangerous seduction in Regency London. Keep an eye on the website for an excerpt and a blurb.

Sarah, here’s a bit from the beginning of COS.

Winchester, early February, 1821

“Good God, what have we here?”

The man’s deep voice pierced Charis’s pain-ridden doze. She flinched, stirring from her cramped position. For one dazed moment, she wondered why she was shivering in fetid straw, instead of snuggled in her bed at Holcombe Hall.

Blazing agony struck and she stifled an involuntary moan. And a curse for her rank stupidity.

How could she forget the danger long enough to fall asleep?

But she’d been blind with exhaustion when she’d stumbled into the stable behind the sprawling inn. Unable to manage another step even though she hadn’t come far enough to be safe.

Now she wasn’t safe at all.

The light from the man’s lantern dazzled her bleary eyes. She discerned little more than a tall shape looming outside the stall. Choking with panic, she clawed upright until she huddled against the rough planking. Blood pulsed like thunder in her ears.

Muffling a whimper as she moved her injured left arm, Charis crossed shaking hands over her torn bodice. Scenting her terror, the big chestnut horse that filled most of the space shifted restively.

As the man lifted the lantern to illuminate Charis’s corner, she shied away. Beyond the ring of yellow light that surrounded him, menacing shadows thickened and multiplied up to the high pitched ceiling.

“Please don’t be frightened.” The stranger made a curiously truncated gesture with one black-gloved hand. “I mean you no harm.”

The rich baritone was sheathed in warm concern. He made no overt movement toward her. Charis’s crippling fear didn’t subside. Men, she’d learned from cruel experience, lied. Even men with velvet voices, smooth and cultured.

A sharp twinge in her chest reminded her she hadn’t drawn breath since he’d found her. The air she sucked into her starved lungs reeked of horse manure, hay dust and the sour stink of her own fear.

She turned her head and really looked at the man. Her throat jammed with shock.

He was utterly beautiful.

Beautiful. A word she’d never before associated with a male. In this case, no other description sprang to her churning mind.

Beauty as stark and perfect as this only stoked her alarm. He embodied the elegant world she must relinquish to survive.

Beautiful excerpt and brilliant writing! LOL I'm such a word geek! I can't wait to dig into one of Anna's romances. Hey, it's all about studying craft, right?!(That's what I tell the hubby-man anyway. *winkwink*)

I'd like to thank Anna for being here with us today! And THANK YOU, TLN'ers, for swinging by! You're all top shelf to me!

To send you off into the post-Halloween weekend, here's another awesome Aussie, Olivia Newton-John and her hit- PHYSICAL. Believe me, workin' out would be much easier if I had a hottie in a speedo to oogle! Talk about a Wow-wow-work out! LOL