Winner of Aspen Mountain Press Birthday prize

Thank you everyone for all your comments.

And thanks for participating in the blog tour. Hope you enjoyed yourselves this last week.

After randomly picking a number from a hat, I’m pleased to tell you we have a winner.

CONGRATULATIONS to …

THE WILD TWO!

You posted comment number 26, and have won an e-copy of Visiting Paradise.

Thanx for leaving a comment – and may you get to go to Aruba one day.

Jess

Happy 5th Birthday Aspen Mountain Press

Hey there

I’m guessing if you’re reading this post you’re stopping by as part of the Aspen Mountain Press celebratory tour. WELCOME!

AMP is celebrating it’s 5th birthday – with some awesome prizes. One of those prizes… *ahem*… a Kindle. Another? An e-copy of my AMP book, Visiting Paradise.
Winning is real easy. Just read the blog, post your comment and move on to the next blog. Oh, and there is one essential other ingredient: HAVE FUN!

Remember, the blog tour officially starts on the 1st of Aug!

Visiting Paradise is a short story, set in the gorgeous Whitsunday Islands in Queensland, Australia. It’s no coincidence the book was set there. It was written a couple years after we holidayed on one of the islands, and had an absolutely amazing time! The Whitsundays are made up of 74 tropical islands, and each one is more beautiful than the next. Some are completely uninhabited, some have only one hotel on them, and some are more built up with several hotels and shops, private homes, etc.

The above images are of (from left to right) Daydream Island, Hayman Island and Whitehaven Beach. Look out for some of these in the book!

When we first planned the holiday, we had decided to rent a boat and cruise around the islands for a week. We’d been told that was the best way to see the whole area. There are several places were you can rent 4 or 6 sleepers (or larger boats), which gives you the ability to make your own way around the islands. But then real life happened and got in the way, and well, that never trip never took place. I never got over that disappointment. I decided then and there that if I couldn’t do the trip myself, I’d have to have a couple of my characters undertake it. And thus Joe and Beth were born…

Visiting Paradise: The Blurb

Beth Brown needs a holiday. She’s burnt out, single and madly in love with the man who pays her salary, Joe Bastion. Much as she’d like to act on her feelings, Beth’s learned the hard way not to sleep with the men she works for.  As far as she is concerned, Joe is off limits.
Sometimes, to get what you want, you have to chase hard. And  Joe wants Beth  He’s organized the trip of a lifetime for her. Beth’s about to set sail into paradise, and she has no idea Joe’s the one who’ll be taking her there.

Visiting Paradise: An Excerpt

He braced himself to catch her weight and she landed with a gentle thud against his chest.

She gaped at him.  “Joe-”

There was no time for explanation.  Her breasts cushioned his ribs, her legs were pressed against his and her mouth was open, exposing flashes of pearly-white teeth and the tip of her pink tongue.  For the life of him, he couldn’t answer.  He lowered his head to hers.

“Joe,” she gasped again, just before their lips met, and it did him in.  She said his name in the same breathless, fuck-me voice she’d used the night before.  He molded his lips to hers and slid his tongue into the hot, wet cavern of her mouth, taking full advantage of her open-mouthed astonishment.

The shockwave of awareness that jolted between them almost bloody electrocuted him.  The instant his tongue touched hers, she melted. Collapsed against him.  Tiny purring sounds escaped her as her body relaxed.  Her lips softened and she responded to his kiss with a hungry acceptance of inevitability.

This was where their relationship had been heading from day one.

Her kiss reverberated through him.  Heat curled through his stomach and inched lower, its fire consuming his oxygen.  He couldn’t breathe.  It wasn’t just his physical response to her.  Something else was at play here, something deeper, something more personal.  Much more personal.

The loneliness that had been his lifelong companion began to crumble and Joe, unused to experiencing anything beside the dull hollow in his heart, registered surprise as emotion began to churn in his chest.

This was right.  This was meant to be.

He pulled back, needing to look at her, to see if she felt the same way.

Her eyes were dazed; her chest rose and fell unevenly.  “Joseph…”  She breathed his name.

“Jesus, Beth.  You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

“You shouldn’t have.”  Had she not been so languid in his arms, he might almost have believed she meant it.  But her fingers toyed with the nape of his neck and her nipples had pebbled into tight beads beneath her damp top, her response at odds with her words.

“I can stop.”  His offer was reluctant, especially so as her luscious lips parted and her eyelids drift shut.

“You should.”  There was ambivalence in her voice.  She took a deep breath.  “Please…don’t.”

She reached blindly for his mouth and pulled herself into him.  As their lips touched, he groaned.  Why had it taken so long to reach this point?  All that wasted time.  He’d waited his whole life to meet the woman who could end his solitude, and when he finally did—she made him wait some more.  Made him suffer under the assumption she didn’t care, didn’t want him.  But she did.

He kissed her harder, crushed his mouth against hers, allowing all his suppressed passion to surface in his kiss.  She whimpered in response and before he realized it, he’d untied the straps of her bikini top.  It dropped to the ground between them and Joe pulled her closer, relishing her naked flesh against his, the soft, round breasts squashed against his chest.

The kiss was so sweet and so hot, it twisted his gut and played havoc with his balls.  He groaned out loud.  “You’re tormenting me, Bethy.”

————————–

So…interested in winning a copy of Visiting Paradise?

All you need to do is comment on which island you’d love to holiday on, or have already holidayed on. Or, if you’re not an island person, just lemme know what your dream holiday would be. It’s that simple.

Wondering where to go next? Check out MT Albright. You can find his blog here.

Good luck!

Jess

Tour Rules:
1) Tour Starts: Monday, August 1, 2011 at Midnight (EST)
Tour Ends: August 7, 2011 at Midnight (EST)
Final Celebration is August 7th from 6pm-11pm (EST) at the AMP Community Loop.
Grand Prize: a Kindle (Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6″ Display with New E-Ink Pearl Technology) is the Grand Prize. Drawing will take place and be announced on August 7, 2011 on the AMP Community Loop at 11pm (EST). Only comments posted before 10pm (EST) on August 7, 2011 are eligible to win the Kindle. Winner will be notified by email on August 8, 2011 if they are not present on the Loop for the announcement.
***Individual winners from author contests will be drawn and posted August 8, 2011 on their individual sites.***
2) Participation at every blog on the tour is not required but the more blogs a person comments on, the more chances they have to win. If a person comments on one blog, they are entered into the Grand Prize Drawing once. If they comment on ten different blogs, they will be entered into the Grand Prize drawing ten times. Only one comment per blog per person will be entered to win the Grand Prize.
3) The winner of the Grand Prize must be a resident of the United States with a US mailing address. Non-US winners will be eligible for $50 US in Aspen Mountain Press books from the AMP Website.
4) Prizes at individual author blogs are completely at the discretion of the individual authors and are not in association with Aspen Mountain Press and its prize system. To enter the contest on any given blog, you must follow their contest rules and objectives.
5) By commenting on any blog in the tour, the participant is agreeing to these rules and policies.
6) All prize winners will be chosen randomly by using Random Line Picker.

Visiting Paradise Is Now Available!

OOHMEGAWD.

It released, and I didn’t even know!

Visiting Paradise is now available from Aspen Mountain Press. And you can buy your copy right now by clicking this link!

Just in case you missed the last fifty times I blogged about the novella, here’s the relevant info:

Visiting Paradise: The Blurb

Beth Brown needs a holiday. She’s burnt out, single and madly in love with the man who pays her salary, Joe Bastion. Much as she’d like to act on her feelings, Beth’s learned the hard way not to sleep with the men she works for.  As far as she is concerned, Joe is off limits.

Sometimes, to get what you want, you have to chase hard. And  Joe wants Beth  He’s organized the trip of a lifetime for her. Beth’s about to set sail into paradise, and she has no idea Joe’s the one who’ll be taking her there.

————

Visiting Paradise is also available as part of the anthology, Boys Down Under, which you can also purchase from Aspen Mountain Press by clicking this link.

And now, for your reading pleasure, a teeny, tiny innocent little snippet from the book. Just to whet your appetite:

Visiting Paradise: An Excerpt

She laughed, flung her thongs off her feet, and spun a little faster.

“Watch out you don’t take off, Bethy.  The ceiling’s lower than it looks.”

Oh.  Dear.  God.

She came to a screeching halt even though the world continued to swirl around her. Only one person called her Bethy in that sultry tone.

“It’s the unexpected sense of freedom, isn’t it?  Makes you want to do crazy things.”

Suddenly, the prickly sensation in her back made sense.  That voice.  She’d heard it a million times in her fantasies, whispering erotic suggestions in her ear.  She grasped the edge of a nearby couch and turned around reluctantly.

His tall frame rested effortlessly against the wall, her bag sat at his feet.  In his eyes she saw the same lazy, seductive gaze he always regarded her with, the one that spoke of breathless moonlight sighs and indolent breakfasts in bed.  The one she suspected hid much more than it showed.

The air was whipped from her lungs, and her heart plummeted into her stomach.  He took her breath away.  In suits and ties, he set her pulse racing.  In nothing more than board shorts, he had her blood pressure rocketing into the danger zone.  If she continued ogling him she was going to have a stroke.

She could imagine the headlines: Woman found dead on luxury yacht.  Sexual frustration considered prime suspect.  Police too embarrassed by findings to conduct further investigation.

—————–

Go, buy the book. Go, now.

Jess

Delay in Visiting Paradise Release

I am really sad to say that there’s been a delay in the release of Visiting Paradise.

Unfortunately, Aspen Mountain Press has been having trouble with its web host, and so releases from last week still have not yet come out. That means this week’s releases are also postponed.

So for now, I have no actual release date.

Soon as I know something, I’ll scream it to the world.

Jess

Visiting Paradise Releases on Friday!

Wooo hooo!

I’ve just discovered I have a novella releasing on Friday!

Visiting Paradise, a short novella which is currently available as part of the Boys Down Under Anthology, is releasing as an individual novella on FRIDAY at Aspen Mountain Press.

Am I excited? You bet. I knew it was coming soon, I wasn’t aware how soon.

I have no link yet, but trust me, I’ll post one as soon as it’s available.

Meanwhile, here’s the blurb and a hot little teaser…

VISITING PARADISE: The Blurb

Beth Brown needs a holiday. She’s burnt out, single and madly in love with the man who pays her salary, Joe Bastion. Much as she’d like to act on her feelings, Beth’s learned the hard way not to sleep with the men she works for.  As far as she is concerned, Joe is off limits.

Sometimes, to get what you want, you have to chase hard. And  Joe wants Beth  He’s organized the trip of a lifetime for her. Beth’s about to set sail into paradise, and she has no idea Joe’s the one who’ll be taking her there.

VISITING PARADISE: An Excerpt

(Be warned this an adult excerpt!)

En route to the galley to get a drink, Joe heard her call his name.  He turned towards her cabin.  The door was slightly ajar and he hesitated as he lifted his hand to knock.  When he heard her call out again, he pushed the door open a couple of inches and stuck his head inside to answer.  His words died on his lips.

Beth lay on the bed with her eyes closed.  She’d pushed her nightgown up above her chest, leaving the rest of her body exposed.  He froze, convinced he’d burst a major blood vessel.  If the actual sight of Beth masturbating hadn’t given him the hugest erection in the history of mankind, the erotic sigh that escaped her lips would have.  Beth fingering herself was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

God praise the thirst that forced me out of bed.

He’d known all along her cool, aloof act at work was just that—an act.  The woman on the bed was on fire, so hot she was practically smoking.  She had him smoking too.

He knew he should reveal himself, should cough or something.  If Beth opened her eyes now…  However, at that moment, he would have chosen seven years of torture over disturbing his sweet Bethy.

The light in the cabin was subdued, flashes of color flickering from the screen the only source of illumination.  It made the scene seem surreal, unbelievable, and completely inflaming.  A burst of laughter from the TV sounded abnormally loud and he held his breath, praying it wouldn’t disturb her.

It didn’t.  One hand teased her rigid nipples, the other stroked her wet folds.  The flashes of color accentuated her dewy lips.  He would gladly have given his left testicle to replace her hand with his.

She trailed her finger up past her lips and stopped to twirl it around.  Her back arched and another moan escaped her.  He struggled to breathe.  She was playing with her clit.  How many times had he dreamed of licking her there?  Of drawing his tongue over her engorged bud until she screamed from sheer bliss?

Christ, he couldn’t think clearly.  His dick was so stiff he could have run a sail from it.

She slipped a finger between her lips and moaned.  “Joe…”

He nearly tripped over his chin.  She was fucking herself and moaning his name.  That was what he’d heard earlier, when she’d called to him.  A wave of hunger blasted through him, so powerful he was sure he’d come on the spot.  Without even touching himself, he’d belt his load clean across the dining room.

Jess

Preditors and Editors

Voting closes today, the 14th of Jan, for the Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll 2008.

As it stands, Boys Down Under is no 14 on the Anthology list. There are still a couple more hours to cast your vote if you haven’t already done so.

Just go to the Anthology Voting Page, select Boys Down Under, add your email address to the bottom of the page and hit enter.

Jess

Win a copy of Boys Down Under

Head on over to Bitten By Books for your chance to win a copy of Boys Down Under.

Our anthology is the prize for Night 11 of the 15 Naughty Nights of Christmas Contest.

Good luck!!!

Jess

Maggie Nash’s Boys Down Under Contest Winner

Okay….drumroll…..

The winner of a copy of Boys Down Under…which was randomly selected from all those wonderful people who posted a comment …is…

MAUREEN!

So Maureen…please email me at maggienash@gmail.com and let me know what format you would like…

Maggie

Spotlight on: Maggie Nash

Well, it’s the final day of the Boys Down Under author guest blogs. Today you’re in for a treat…Maggie Nash.

We all love Mags. Why? Well apart from the fact that she is an awesome author, she’s also the one who took us all under her wing and guided us through those tough writing times. If I had a question, I’d ask Mags. If I needed help…Mags. A shoulder to cry on or an ear to bend? You got it – Maggie.

Not only is she an extraordinary person, she has also single handedly initiated the Australian Romance Readers Convention. Without her, this exciting, groundbreaking conference, featuring hundreds of international and Aussie authors and readers would not be taking place in February.

To add to her wonderfulness, Mags will choose one reader who leaves a comment today to win a copy of Boys Down Under. So don’t be shy!!! Trust me – you want a copy of Boys Down Under.

I love her, and I’m sure you will too.

Heeeeere’s Maggie:

Maggie Nash:

Hi Jess!  Thanks so much for inviting me to chat at your blog today. It’s so exciting to have BOYS DOWN UNDER back on the published list. We had such fun when we were writing it ☺ I thought I might talk about a topic that is very dear to all of our hearts – reading romance!

I love romance and I’m proud of it!

You know before I became a romance writer I used to be a closet romance reader. There was no limit to the ends I would go to hide my secret addiction. I would read my treasured books in the privacy of my own bedroom. I would buy them from shops where no one I knew was likely to see me.  I even, and I am really embarrassed to admit, bought birthday cards and mothers day cards along with the books and pretended to by getting them as gifts. Can you believe that?  I was one sick puppy!

You know what it’s like.  Those looks of amusement accompanied by those superior attitudes.

“Oh, you’re reading one of those books are you?”

Then, the heated blush would appear out of nowhere.  My tongue would swell and dry at the same time and conveniently stick to the roof of my mouth.

“Ahh…yeth…well, no…ith’s a gift for my motttherrrr.”

Then came the knowing grin.

“Of course we all know those books are so degrading to women.  And the stories are all the same. You know they all follow a strict formula.  Anyone could knock one up on a weekend.”

Yeah right!

And so it went for so many years. Holding magazines up over the book I was reading in the train so no one would see the cover. Spending a fortune on greeting cards I didn’t need.

But one day all that changed. I decided to write one of my own.

I found kindred spirits. Hundreds upon hundreds of women (and men) worldwide who shared my passion.  They GOT me!

It was so amazing and such a relief to find out that I could converse about my favourite genre, or gorgeous hero in a safe environment where no one would show me scorn.  Yippee!

It was empowering. And with power, came courage.

As my writing became more serious and I started to think about getting published, I found that I wanted to let people know.

“What do you do for fun?” people would ask.

“I write fiction stories,” I would answer.

An interested gaze would follow. “Really? That’s great!  What sort of stories?”

This is when I would gulp, take a deep breath, and think to myself  – what the heck…”I, er…I write romance stories.”

I would then sit back and wait for the snarky remarks but guess what happened?

“You do?  That’s great.”

Then the person would move closer to me and whisper, “I love reading romances. They’re so relaxing aren’t they?”

And this was not an isolated response. Even the men I confessed my secret to were so very supportive. In fact one even asked me for help with his own romance novel.

Who would have thought?

These days I don’t hesitate at all.  I tell everyone who asks (and many who don’t ☺) – I write hot erotic novels, and steamy suspense.

And you know what? I’m proud of it!

Maggie Nash
www.maggienash.com
www.maggienash.blogspot.com
www.leagueofamazingwriters.com

And just in case you’ve forgotten what the Boys Down Under cover looks like…

Remember to leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of the anthology

Spotlight on: Kate Murphy

Please join me in welcoming Kate Murphy to my blog. Kate was one of the first writer friends I made, and I love her madly. Yes, she’s been rather quiet since Triskelion closed their doors, so it’s awesome to see one of her stories available again. Havoc Retreat is available in the Boys Down Under Anthology. Oh, and just in case you’ve forgotten what the cover looks like, I’ve attached it for you at the bottom of the post.

Jess

Kate Murphy:

Well I wanted Havoc Retreat to be a comedy of errors – everything that can go wrong – does. Anything planned is thrown out the window.

Havoc Retreat is set in current times and based in the Barrington Tops in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia. The Barrington Tops is Heritage listed and if you have a look at the pictures, you can see why. I tell you, it’s like walking into another world at the Barrington Tops. The air is so crisp and clean – I actually felt light headed for a short time. And the flora and fauna is just breathtaking – how could I not write a love story with this setting!
The characters, Katie and Matthew, are in their late 20s, and Matthew is looking for the perfect place to propose to Katie – but a rascal of a possum has other ideas! I do enjoy writing a romance with just that little bit of spice!
I had such a great time working with my fellow authors and have developed some great relationships.
Hope you enjoy the anthology just as much as we had working on it!

Havoc Retreat: An Excerpt

“Don’t walk too quickly for me, I’m not used to walking in this sort of stuff,” she called as Matthew walked ahead and out of her line of sight. The foliage seemed to shift back into place as Matthew passed, giving him the cloak of coverage.
“I’m just here,” he said in a frustrated tone.
Katie quickened her pace to reduce the gap between them. The tall trees prevented her from seeing anything other than foliage. Stray branches and shrubs with spiky prickles scraped and snagged against her pants.
“Slow down Matthew,” she snipped as she struggled to keep her balance on the narrow path. The added weight on her back didn’t assist with a smooth jog.
She rushed through the thick forest into a clearing but didn’t anticipate the path taking a steep decline. The toe of her boot caught under a stray root and the next thing she saw was the sky followed quickly by the dirt track.
Sky, trees, dirt. Sky, trees, dirt. Sky, trees, dirt.
She was sure a scream made its way from the pit of her stomach before the backpack and the force of landing knocked the breath from her lungs. She heard Matthew calling her name as the sky flashed by one more time before she landed on her side in thick shrub that cushioned her final stagger. She rolled across the bush onto her back as she caught her breath. She was taking a moment to register for any pain that panged through her body. She closed her eyes and forced her lungs to take in air.
Katie remained spread eagle as the sound of Matthew’s shoes crunching on the ground got louder.
“Katie! Are you okay? Talk to me.”
She slowly opened her eyes and wriggled to get off the shrub.
“I’m okay,” she said breathlessly. “Oh my God! I didn’t expect the ground to be so steep.”
She was on her feet when Matthew jogged to her side.
“And if you waited for me I wouldn’t have had to run, and I probably wouldn’t have fallen.”
Matthew flinched from the back of her hand hitting his upper arm before it returned to her stomach. A short pain pulsed through her shoulder, wrist, knees and left ankle.
“I was right there,” he said reaching his arms out to her as she started to rub and pull the clothing to reveal injured parts of her body.
“Bloody hell.” She stretched out her back and hobbled near her landing spot. “This back pack feels like its broken my back.”
“The pack must have been ripped open.”
“What?”
Katie didn’t need for him to answer; she could see the majority of the contents of her backpack were strewn down the hillside. Her pajama pants hung over a low shrub while the frying pan was further up the track.
“Oh fuck it all,” Katie sighed with a shake of her head. “Perfect. Just perfect.”

Kate Murphy

http://www.penscrolls.blogspot.com/