Thursday, December 13, 2012

Featured #Author: Chicki Brown ~ Ain't Too Proud To Beg

 
Today, I'm featuring best selling author and good friend, Chicki Brown! She has been an inspiration to me and one of the wonderful people who encouraged me to take my writing career in my hands. I don't only love her cos she's just fab. I also love her writing. Her books are entertaining and deep. She tackles subjects that makes you take notice.

And her latest book has hit the shelves!

AIN'T TOO PROUD TO BEG is a story about Hollywood film star Vaughn Breland, and physical therapist Trenyce Clark. When a man loses everything he values, can he find something more precious in return?

Hollywood film star Vaughn Breland has wrecked his beloved Lamborghini, lost his latest movie role, the use of his legs and possibly his fabulous good looks. He’s depressed and mad at the world then he meets Trenyce Clark, his new physical therapist. Trenyce, and her beautiful three-year-old daughter, give him a new outlook on life.


EXCERPT


Dr. Liu’s assistant called to say his surgery ran longer than expected, and he wanted me to go ahead and introduce myself to Vaughn Breland. I hated to admit it, but the prospect of meeting the handsome actor jangled my nerves. In order to appear cool and professional, I would have to put on my game face and approach him as I would any other patient.

Still amazed at the news of my prospective patient, I sat at my desk and studied Vaughn Breland’s file. His injuries were extensive, but from what I read, it appeared that Dr. Liu had done his usual marvelous job in surgery. A knock on the door interrupted my contemplation.

“Excuse me.”

Oh, my God. This couldn’t be happening. I recognized the trademark heavy baritone without even looking up, because I had just heard it a few nights before. It belonged to Devon Burke!

“Hope you don’t mind, but I asked at the nurses’ station where your office was. May I come in?”

I glanced up, smoothed my hair and smiled, conscious to keep it from being too wide. “Of course, Mr. Burke. What can I do for you?”

Dressed in a body-hugging black t-shirt and jeans, he entered my small office, instantly increasing the ambience in the room one thousand percent. He took a few steps toward the desk then paused.

He’s waiting for you to invite him to sit, you idiot. Pull yourself together.  Please, have a seat.” I pointed to a chair.

“Call me Devon, please. We might as well be on a first name basis, since we’ll probably be talking to each other a lot.”

 After an unsteady plop into the chair, I managed to fold my hands on top of the blotter to keep them from shaking.

“You haven’t met Vaughn yet, but Dr. Liu told me you’ve been assigned to his case. I need to explain a few things to you, if you have the time right now.

“Of course. What do you need?”

“He wants to be transferred back to L.A., and according to Dr. Liu, that would not only be expensive but could also be disastrous. Could you try to talk some sense into him about coming back to Cali? He has no family there to look after him, but he has an opportunity to stay here in Telluride for as long as it takes to get back on his feet. Will you convince him this is the best route for him to take right now?”

The pleading look in his deep-set dark eyes showed the depth of concern for his friend. “I can only stay here for another day, and if I don’t do everything I can to get him straight before I leave, Shontae – my wife – will kill me.”

“That’s right. You’re married to Shontae Nichols, the author. I’m reading one of her books right now.”

He smiled, and it seemed as if the entire office lit up. “Really? Which one?”

“The latest one, Standing in the Shadows of Love.”

“Wow, what a coincidence. I’ll have to tell her.”

“I’ve read her last three.”

“Is that so?” The brightness in the office increased again when his smile widened. “She’ll be pleased to hear that.”

“I’d be glad to talk to Mr. Breland, but the decision is up to him. We can’t force him to stay here.”

Devon leaned forward and clasped his hands on the edge of the desk. “Vaughn can be really stubborn, but he’ll usually listen to reason


Grab your copy of Ain't Too Proud To Beg from any of these outlets:

Amazon.com *~* AmazonUK *~* Kobo *~* Nook

Monday, December 3, 2012

More Than Friends Hit The #Amazon #Kindle #BestSellers List!

It's a rainy, dreary Monday morning, but I have a smile on my face and a skip in my step because I had a wonderful Wedding Anniversary/Birthday weekend!

Why? You ask?

I shall tell you! My weekend was ab-fab because MORE THAN FRIENDS made it as far as #4 in the Top 100 Humor list on .com and #9 on .co.uk; and #51 in the Top 100 Kindle Free list on .com and #65 on .co.uk!

Yes, I'm sad enough that I took screen shots and all. I was mega disappointed, though, because while I have screen shots to prove More Than Friends hit #51 from the link thing on the book page, Amazon never refreshed the listing when it was at #51 so I have no pix of my book cover with 51 beside. I checked not long ago and they haven't removed the book from the Top 100 Free Kindle list, yet, and it still shows at #83/#65. 

All in all, a smashing weekend and a wonderful birthday prezzie.

I'd love to thank all of you who purchased More Than Friends, then told me how much you loved it and wanted more.

This got me thinking and you know us authors...the imaginative brain wheels started turning and I think I have an idea for Book 2!

STAY TUNED!!

Again, thanks to everyone who made my birthday so very special by downloading MORE THAN FRIENDS! Hope you all enjoy this friends to lovers romantic comedy.

((((Hugs)))) to you all! See you tomorrow for this weeks episode of Sebastian's Hart x

 

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Six Sentence Sunday 02/12/12 ~ MORE THAN FRIENDS #FREE


Today is my Birthday and I want to give YOU a present... MORE THAN FRIENDS!!

You can grab a FREE copy of MORE THAN FRIENDS until midnight PST today! So if you've been meaning to buy this friends to lovers romantic comedy, don't miss your opportunity to get your copy on me! It's my birthday gift to you :0)

She just broke the Best Friends’ Code of Honour!
 
What do you do when your best friend’s fella dumps her?

You get drunk, catch a cab to his place, offer to bop him on the nose, then... sleep with him?

Lily Harper should have taken her secret attraction to Justin Knight into consideration before rushing to his swanky apartment. Now she’s caught in a dilemma. Lose her best friend, or the out-of-this-world sexy guy who could be The One.

Justin fell for Lily almost from the moment he met her, but she was with someone else and he'd just started seeing her best friend. Now Lily is available, and so is he, only, he isn’t having much luck making her see that sometimes when loyalties collide, a girl has to choose love!
  
SUNDAY SIX:
 
Would you like to tell me what’s going on? You can’t deny that last night was mind-blowing, yet you’re skulking off like we did something dirty.”
 
“How can you not see that what we did was wrong?”
 
“Everything about last night felt right to me, so tell me which part was wrong, because I’m having a hard as hell time figuring it out.” 
“It doesn’t matter what we feel. All that matters is that I do the right thing now.”
(c) Monique DeVere 2012
 
 
Amazon Customer Review Says: 
 
A Great Read and Very Realistic 
 
What makes this a page-turner is the passion the two have for one another even though they know this is territory, which could make them lose all the friends they have. (N. Hardin--Amazon.com)
 
 
Get You FREE Copy TODAY From :
 
 
 
 

Thursday, November 29, 2012

MORE THAN FRIENDS IS A #FREE #eBook ALL WEEKEND!

This weekend is my 22nd Wedding Anniversary and also my... umm...22nd Birthday! They say 40 is the new 20 so I'm going with that. :0)

Remember when you were a kid and on your birthday your mum would send you to school with sweets to share with your classmates? I'm doing something similar this weekend with my new Romantic Comedy MORE THAN FRIENDS.

This whole weekend ~ from December 1st to midnight December 2nd MORE THAN FRIENDS IS FREE! And to help me celebrate, a couple of my author friends have joined me and will also be giving away free copies of one of their books. 

Celeste Jones ~ The Birthday Wish

Kathy L Wheeler ~ Quotable
 


I cordially invite you to download your FREE copy of MORE THAN FRIENDS this weekend, and would you please tell your friends? My birthday wish is to have MORE THAN FRIENDS rank in the top #20 eBooks at Amazonplease make my wish come true. :0)

 




More Than Friends Amazon USA Link

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Six Sentence Sunday 25/11/12 ~ DIVORCE ETIQUETTE #1

This Sunday's six comes from my contemporary romance. Divorce Etiquette is Michelle & Andrew's reunion story, published by The Wild Rose Press.


They're breaking every rule of divorce etiquette!
Sometimes, a whirlwind marriage doesn’t lead to happily-ever-after…Nor does a quickie divorce.

Turnaround expert Andrew Boston can turn any failing business into a huge success, but he couldn’t fix his marriage. A family tragedy left Andrew unable to commit to fatherhood, but he can’t let Michelle walk away. He’s determined to win her back and prove a relationship between the two of them can work perfectly well without bringing children into the equation…
      
Corporate lawyer Michelle Boston divorced Andrew two and a half years ago—and for good reason. She learnt a whirlwind marriage did not mean happily-ever-after. Nor, unfortunately, did a quickie divorce.

Especially when neither Andrew nor Michelle can stick to the first rule of divorce etiquette: no kissing! 
 
 
SUNDAY SIX:

"I brought you something you forgot at the house this morning."

Michelle continued to frown as she ran through the few items she’d had with her yesterday—namely the clothes she’d been wearing, and she’d put them all back on.

Hadn’t she?

"Really?" She could barely bring herself to ask. "What’s that?"

"This." His warm lips covered hers.

Copyright (C) Monique DeVere 2009

This weekend DIVORCE ETIQUETTE is 35% off at The Wild Rose Press (TWRP)



Two Lip Reviews says: Divorce Etiquette is a well-written story that kept me riveted to its pages and I enjoyed the taste of England that Ms. DeVere provided so vividly. (Reviewed by Sal from Two Lips Reviews)



Thanks for stopping by to read my Six. Should this have whet your appetite for more, you can purchase Divorce Etiquette from:

Please also check out this week's other participating authors on the official Six Sentence Sunday site HERE.
 
 

Monday, November 19, 2012

The Next Big Thing: That Weekend at Shangri-la


Welcome back!

Today, I get to play with a few of my fellow authors. The two who tagged me, and the five I'm about to tag! 

The Next Big Thing is a blog circle where authors tag each other, giving fellow authors an opportunity to share their current Works in Progress (WIP).

Judy Baker and Celeste Jones tagged me, so I'm grabbing the baton and off we go! Thanks, ladies! :)


Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:




What is your working title of your book?


That Weekend at Shangri-la.
 
Where did the idea come from for the book? 
 
It’s not so much where the idea came from, but how it came about. I’ll elaborate when I speak about what inspired me to write “That Weekend at Shangri-la”.
 
What genre does your book fall under?
 
Rom-Com Christian Romance with a dash of mystery/suspense.
 
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
 
I think Stacey Dash and Matt Bomer.
 
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? 
 
When a young Christian couple, on the verge of divorce, finds themselves unexpectedly sharing their holiday cottage the weekend of their tenth wedding anniversary, they have to find a way to hide their secrets—and resist each other.
 
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
 
I’m going to self-publish. "That Weekend at Shangri-la" is a Christian romance with flavor! Meaning, I’m leaving the bedroom door wide open. I don’t think I’ll find a publisher who would ever consider publishing a Christian romance that features fully depicted love scenes. I’m not a fan of rejection, so I’ll save myself the heartache and go Indie with this book. :D
 
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
 
 I’m in the process now. I started the MS on November 5th.
 
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
 
I don’t know of any comparisons. I haven’t found anything like it.
 
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
 
My inspiration for this book came about one morning while I was in my Morning Devotional prayer time. God showed me how sin opens doors for the enemy to control you (Genesis 4:6). Then the idea for a series of Christian romances hit me. Why don’t I write about this? We all have to deal with anger, jealousy, envy, un-forgiveness, lying, lust, pride etc. It is part of living in a fallen world, but if we can understand how the enemy uses these sins to defeat us, perhaps we would be able to work smarter to win the battle.
 
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
 
Like I said, I’m leaving the bedroom door wide open! I believe love is a beautiful thing. God made man, then He made woman and He gave them to each other. He also gave them an amazing gift—the ability to enjoy procreation!
 
Why shouldn't lovemaking be included in Christian romance? It’s not the work of the enemy—it’s a beautiful gift from God. Let’s celebrate it.
 
Include the link of who tagged you and this explanation for the people you have tagged. 

Tag, you’re it!

Ednah Walters
Teresa Blue
Georgina Sellwood
Chicki Brown

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Six Sentence Sunday 18/11/12 ~ More Than a Playboy #1

This Sunday's six comes from another of my romantic comedies (a sweet one this time). More Than a Playboy is Sandy & Cameron's Cinderella story, published by The Wild Rose Press.

 She has a shield...he has one too...and they’re both hiding secrets

Serious-minded Sandy Donovan has one unbreakable rule—never fall for a rich playboy. Falling for a playboy destroyed her mother and ruined Sandy’s childhood. She’s determined never to let the same thing happen to her. Unfortunately, the only man to make her hormones sit up and take notice is a playboy who doesn’t know the first thing about taking life seriously.
 
 A lonely, miserable childhood taught Cameron Berkeley-Scott to hide his feelings in humour, but his comic nature is pushing away the one woman he wants to draw near. She thinks he’s a playboy—a title he has no desire to have—and ignores his outrageous flirting.

Now it’s time for Cameron to show Sandy he isn’t the irresponsible pleasure-seeker she thinks—but will she run when she finds out who he really is?

SUNDAY SIX:

She held his hungry gaze and swallowed hard. The truth was she liked being in Cameron’s arms, enjoyed the sensation of his hard shoulder muscles moving beneath her hand as he guided her around the dance floor. 
 
Sandy hated to admit how much she loved his intoxicating scent, and the rumble of his laughter vibrating from his chest to hers almost made her forget he was the last man with whom she should get involved. 
 
He held her so close she was fully aware of every inch of his body pressed to hers. Aware too, that she affected him on a sensual level as much as he did her. She wanted him to kiss her, and if he weren’t Cameron Berkeley-Scott, rich playboy, she’d be jumping his bones right now.
Copyright (C) Monique DeVere 2010
 



Siren Book Reviews says: More Than A Playboy is a wonderful and well written story. Monique DeVere’s character development and story premise are fantastic. This is a truly enjoyable story. Bits and pieces of each character are revealed slowly adding depth to a very emotionally moving book.

As the reader, you just can’t help but fall in love with Sandy and Cameron, and feel for both their plights in life. They are quite a comical couple, and I thoroughly enjoyed their witty repartee. Their encounters had me laughing out loud and crying.

More Than A Playboy has surprising plot twists and turns that will keep you engaged and unable to put it down. I highly recommend this romance story for anyone that likes a hopeful and happily ever after ending. (Stacey Krug--Siren Book Reviews)


Thanks for stopping by to read my Six. Should this have whet your appetite for more, you can purchase More Than a Playboy from:
 

 
Please also check out this week's other participating authors on the official Six Sentence Sunday site HERE.
 
 

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Six Sentence Sunday ~ 11/11/12 ~ More Than Friends #4

This week's six sentences is from my new rom-com, MORE THAN FRIENDS. Hope you enjoy the snippet! :)

“Justin, we can’t,” she said again. Her words said one thing, her action another. She continued to drive him crazy with her caressing hands and the way she rose on tiptoe and danced her hips against his arousal.

“Then make me stop, Lily, because I don’t think I know how to stop kissing you now I’ve started.”

She moaned and tugged at his shirt until he heard the telltale pop of stitching giving.

He slid his hands into her honey hair, framing her face with his palms. 




 Buy For $1.99 at SMASHWORDS

Be sure to check out this week's other participating authors on the official Six Sentence Sunday site HERE.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Dialogue vs. Conversation


Dialogue vs. Conversation

Do you know the difference?
 
Have you ever had a critique partner tell you that the communication between your characters is conversation? 
 
Nobody wants to read conversation. Conversation between the pages of a book is boring. Conversation is what happens in real life and while it works perfectly well there, it doesn’t when translated to story form.
 
According to Thesaurus.com, this is the difference between dialogue and conversation
 
Synonyms for Dialogue

Talk, chat, colloquy, communication, confab, confabulation, conference, conversation, converse, dialog, discourse, discussion, duologue, exchange, flap, interlocution, lines, parlance, parley, powwow, rap, rap session, remarks, repartee, script, sides, small talk.
 
Synonyms for Conversation

Dialogue, discourse, chat, colloquy, comment, communication, communion, confab, confabulation, conference, consultation, converse, debate, discussion, exchange, expression, gab, gossip, hearing, intercourse, jive, observation, palaver, parley, pillow talk, powwow, questioning, remark, repartee, speech, talk, talkfest, tète-à-tète, ventilation, visit, yak.
 
On the surface, not a lot of difference. So why am I saying there is? Because we are speaking in terms of creative writing and when we create a story, we want it to SOUND like real life, but if we imitate the way people speak for real, we’ll end up with dialogue which is hard to read.
 
Listen to people having a conversation. I’m sure you’ll notice how they barge into each other’s points, cut across, leave thoughts half said and ramble all over the place. And don’t forget all the what’s its, thingies, and thingamajigs we use to substitute for things we forget the name of.
 
Don’t get me wrong, using a smattering of this can add depth to a novel, but too much will kill it.
 
So we’re talking about dialogue vs. conversation. Although the synonyms for both  are pretty much the same. The difference is this: Dialogue does a job. It must provide the reader with information that advances the plot, foreshadow a coming event, add subtext, and show characterization, which makes the reader believe these people could be living right next door to her. It should be crisp and unique to each character.  
 
This is a scene between one of my heroines and a housekeeper, taken from Ty’s Plaything, a full-length romantic comedy/suspense I’m currently working on. 
 
Mia kept her attention on her bowl of fruit. She speared a cube of melon. “What did you say?”
 
“I told him I don’t know. It ain’t none of my business. Mr Manning pays me to look after his house and his guests—nothin’ else.”
 
I think you can notice a difference between these two characters, even with so few words spoken.
 
Conversation is idle chitchat—padding—and if it doesn’t do a job ie make a point, it needs to be removed. For instance, having two of your characters in a coffee shop chatting about the purple-haired woman three tables away is idle, gossipy chat if your only goal is to have your characters yak about something for a bit before you get into why they’re really meeting at the coffee shop. However, if the purple-haired woman is concealing a gun, that’s a completely different deal. Now we have a purpose—besides her shocking hair!—for the characters to notice the woman. I imagine the conversation would switch from why would anyone want to be seen in public looking like that, to why would she be carrying a gun?
 
Just like how you wouldn’t let your character chat about the weather for no reason at all, don’t let them chat about anything for no reason!
 
Do you see what I mean? Make your dialogue worth reading. Be firm with it, give it a job and make it deliver.
 
Dialogue should sound natural. The reader shouldn’t notice you giving information a mile off. Obvious dialogue for the purpose of imparting information is distracting. 
 
Example: “Hey, Rita, remember that time you broke your leg and had to spend all those weeks walking around on crutches?”
 
“Yeah, I remember. It still plays up when the weather changes.”
 
Can you say yaaaawwnnnnnnn? This is idle conversation and obvious information. DON’T DO THIS!
 
If we were writing a disaster weather story, this info would be importanta way of foreshadowingbut even so we'd need to deliver it with a touch more skill.
 
You want your reader to sink into your book and lose herself between its pages, so write dialogue that sounds like conversation, but isn’t idle chitchat.
 
Like scenes, let your characters’ dialogue do double duty.
 
To summarize: dialogue serves a purpose while conversation is idle chitchat, and dialogue without a purpose is conversation.
 
Hope this clarifies the difference. See you at the next Pull Up A Chair With Mon post. Until then, happy writing!