Historical Romance Giveaway

Do you like historical romance? Do you want to try a love story with a touch of intrigue during a war? Then this giveaway might be for you.

I'm giving away 3 copies of each of my World War 1 series. Stop by for a chance to win.

Click here for more details

Seasoning Your Writing

No, I'm not talking about that kind of spice. I'm talking about the actual seasons.

And the holidays that go with them.

I'm a big fan of holidays, especially in books.

The book cover kinda gives it away doesn't it?

But it's not the whole story. I love them because I'm not the one trying to juggle everything while solving a mystery or embarking on a new romance.

Holiday themed books are a way to experience the best and worst of times without fearing the credit card bill after the new year.

We can relive memories, or create ones we wish we had enjoyed.

So next time you start writing a book, think of all those special times yet to come and sprinkle in a few.

And, when it's over a 100 degrees outside, Christmas in July might actually think it's cooler:D

Until next month..

Admit it. You Do It too.

Judge a book by its cover, that is. Covers can make or break a book. Sad but true. The majority of us won't even pick a book up unless the cover appeals to us in some way.

So when it came to my latest book, I knew I needed help. This new historical romance series is set during the Great War. I've written historical romances before but they have paranormal elements. I've written dark stories before but this one is a romance not an apolcalyptic adventure with romantic elements.

In other words, I needed something the same yet different. And it all comes down to that marketing thing called Branding. I'd done up some mock covers but just wasn't happy with the results. They were either too violent or too saccarhine. Plus there was the whole 24-36 books in the series thing. I needed a cohesive idea that would span the next 6 years.

Through my various writers loops, I began cyberstalking cover designers and butted against two problems—time and appeal. Time was short as my book will go live on the 21st and not many designers could fit me in. Second was appeal. Most designs were either too sexy or too light in terms of mood. As the series was set during the Great War, the romances are/will be dark themed, centered on dark events, and menacing.

I was fortunate enough that my first pick of designers, Gabrielle Prendergast of coveryourdreams.net was able to work within my time frame.

If you've been published before, you know that there's always an art cover form to fill out. It's a fairly simple step describing the hero/heroine/clothing etc as well as the time period, thoughts on the design and a scene from the book.

The hard part came in when she asked for a name of the series. Um, that stumped me and I came up with some really bad ideas that sucked even worse when i saw them on the mock cover. Ho boy. Given the size of the series, I really needed a name. Thankfully, my coworker let me bounce bad ideas off her until she said rather snarkily: how about Love's Great War. Ta Da! What a fabulous idea.

So now the series has a name, one to put in those little meta data tags to help folks find me at book sellers everywhere.

But it was Gabrielle who came up with adding poppies and barbed wire—both symbols of the Great War.

Originally we had planned to change the color of the background for each book and I wanted golden wheat in this one. Instead, she came up with the grayscale—something timeless yet modern for the coming years. This has the benefit of making the poppy stand out as both a symbol of the war and red for love. Lastly, she added an antique was to the model image to give it the historic feel.

And this was the result:

Except for the title and cover model, the cover layout will remain the same for all the books. Anyone will be able to tell at a glance they're part of a series and a small subtitle will pinpoint where the book takes place. Even better the grayscale will make it noticeable amongs all the very colorful romance covers.

So to sum up, the cover meets four marketing requirements:

1—It brands the series (recognizable at a glance)
2—It conveys the tone and genre (dark romance )
3—It subliminally taps into iconography of the war (barbed wire/poppy) and time period (antique wash)
4—Stands out from others in my market (gray scale has the added boost of being timeless and classy)

Makes me a little sad when I look at my other covers.

New Release!

I am thrilled to announce my new Valentine's Day paranormal romance is now available.

How's a girl supposed to stay single with the entire town wants her married? Alessa Lombard has a plan to avoid the marriage trap. It's not that she's opposed to marriage. Wedded bliss if fine for other people. Now all she needs is the help of the town's newest bachelor to help pull off a fake romance.

Determined to fall in love, Sloan Dugan immigrates to the magical town of Amores.  Surely in the town devoted to love, he'll find a woman who doesn't use trickery and deceit.

But Cupid has other plans. Soon Alessa and Sloan will find themselves playing the game of love. Will winner take all?

Culture Clash By Linda Andrews

Culture Clash

One world. Two alien races. And a secret that threatens to destroy everything.

The new colony on Terra Dos is fracturing. A band of civilians have rejected technology and the Syn-Ens--cyborg soldiers that protect them. Syn-En Admiral Beijing York knows it's his job to protect the civilians but his human wife, Nell Stafford convinces him to resettle the troublemakers before they destabilize the new civilization.

Yet, humanity is not alone on the planet.

Under the skin of the planet, an ancient race of aliens is beginning to wake from a century long slumber. The Skaterians will do anything to reclaim Terra Dos and enslave the humans crawling on the surface. Their mastery of technology quickly defeats Bei and his Syn-En army.

Alone on a hostile world, Nell forges a treacherous alliance to save her husband and people. But will it be enough to prevent this Culture Clash from turning into genocide?

Available now at amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords

Come see us at the Glendale Chocolate Affaire

The weekend before Valentine’s Day, Feb. 3-5, is a delicious delight for the senses as the Glendale Chocolate Affaire takes over downtown Glendale to create a chocolate-lover’s dream! Some of the gals from Much Cheaper Than Therapy will be there signing and giving workshops. Check out the website for times. http://www.glendaleaz.com/events/chocolateaffaire.cfm

Friday, Feb. 3, 2012, 5 - 10 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012, 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, Noon - 5 p.m.

Chocolate purveyors from Arizona and around the nation gather in Glendale for this award-winning festival, which celebrates not only chocolate, but romance and the arts as well. Chocolate confections will include items such as chocolate-covered bacon, chocolate-covered churros, chocolate-covered twinkies, chocolate-covered key lime pie, fried ice cream with chocolate and strawberries, chocolate-covered crepes and much more.

The Chocolate Affaire is sponsored by Arizona’s famous candy makers, Cerreta’s. The candy factory will offer tours all weekend, so visitors can get a behind-the-scenes look at how the chocolatiers create everyone’s favorite candy.

In addition, the festival has become the largest gathering of national romance novelists in the Southwest. This symposium of literary romantics offers fans the opportunity to get up close and personal with authors, as well as the chance to attend free writing workshops given by the experts.

Families with children will enjoy myriad activities, including hands-on arts and crafts, face-painting and a rock-climbing wall. Horse-drawn carriage rides will be available throughout the weekend to take couples or families on a scenic, charming ride through the historic Catlin Court district.

Event hours are Friday 5 - 10 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. The event is located in the heart of Historic Downtown Glendale, in Murphy Park, located at 58th and Glendale avenues.

Interview with our very own Linda Andrews

I’d like to welcome our very own guest today, Linda Andrews. It’s a pleasure having you come visit us at Much Cheaper Than Therapy, where chocolate is plentiful and advice is free. So grab some chocolate and a lounge chair. Your therapy session has begun.

I understand you have a new release out called Fiona. Can you tell us a little bit about your fabulous new book?

Fiona is the story of an American heiress who receives a telegram from her aunt and uncle requesting help speaking with the dead. Fiona accompanied by the spirit of her dead fiancé sets off to England. She arrives only to find her aunt and uncle missing after a shipwreck. Hoping to find clues to their disappearance, she has to enter London Society during the Season. Unfortunately, matchmakers and fortune hunters keep getting in her way. Enter Kingslea a destitute Earl whose past has given him a deep aversion to American heiresses and an even bigger one to the Duke of August. The very man who may be threatening Fiona's life.

Fiona is a very interesting title. How did you arrive at that name?

Well, I thought and thought and thought and then my editor just named the book after the lead character because she didn't like what I'd thought up.:-)

What made you decide to write in this genre?

I love ghost stories and the Victorian Era. And really there's no place that screams Victorian more than London. When I was doing my research, I discovered that many American Heiresses paddled across the pond in search of buying an English title. So what would happen if an American heiress traveled to London and had to enter Society, but everyone was determined to win her and her fortune? How would she survive the treachery and keep her reputation intact with only the ghost of her fiancé to protect her. And even he is determined to win her a husband.

What are your favorite paranormal research books or sites, and why?

I didn't really do a lot of research on ghosts for this book because it is a genuine interest of mine. But I love to visit ghost hunters website and love to follow Urban legends.

Which character did you like writing about the most, and why?

I loved to write Kingslea. He is in many ways a bit of an homage to Sherlock Holmes who donned fabulous disguises to blend in with his surroundings and get information. Of course, he is quite vexed when Fiona sees through each one.

Tell us about how you develop your characters. Do you create character sheets, do interviews, that sort of thing? How does your research and/or world affect your character development?

I'm not sure how I develop my characters. I'm pretty sure I just wait on the literary street corner until they come by and start talking to me. It is when I'm writing and they do/say/or act a certain way that I write it down. Habits, favorite phrases and mannerisms usually help the reader define the character and also gives a good indication of what they're thinking versus what they're saying. The Victorian era was quite constraining for American Misses, and Fiona is a departure in that she went into business, is willing to speak her mind (even if it offends some) and has an opinion. She is her parents' daughter although she fights to conform to Societies expectations. Kingslea is also bound by rules he doesn't like. He was a second son and never expected to inherit, but he fell in love with an American Heiress who threw him over for a bigger title. Now, he's determined work (Good heavens, the scandal!) except he deals in secrets of the nobility which puts him right in Fiona's path.

How do you go about building your world if you use one? Do you use maps, charts or drawings?
I have maps and charts of Victorian London, but I pretty much used the one that actually existed. Only the ghosts have been added, although I think England has it's share naturally (or supernaturally, if you want to get technical).

Do you have any authors that inspired you?

I grew up reading Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and MM Kaye. Lately I've been downloading a lot of indie authors and finding gems, but for the big names I always pick up Amanda Quick, Linda Howard, Julie Garwood and lately I found Gail Carringer.

What do you feel is the most effective promotion you have done for your book?

I really don't know what is effective or not. I just keep trying different things and hoping something sticks.

What do we have to look forward next?

Animosity is also out this month. It is a SciFi Romance set on another planet. Here's the blurb: Commander Brongill of DaHap and his Earthling wife, Alderina of Rutgers, crash onto a planet he never wanted to see again: His home world of Terrill. War has ravaged the landscape for more than a thousand years and both sides are still fighting to the death. While Ally’s children and Brongill’s crew have been taken prisoner by the defiant Neitz, Brongill and Ally are captured by the fanatical Isfer. Both sides demand, Brongill fulfill the Prophecy of Ages and vanquish their enemies once and for all.

For the sake of Ally’s children and his crew, Brongill is determined to forge his own destiny and unite the two sides in peace. But can he overcome centuries of hatred before the last habitable zones of Terrill are destroyed? For underground lurks an enemy with its own agenda: To see everything and everyone on Terrill erased forever.

Next year, I'll have the last of the Grey sisters out. This time I traveled to Egypt!

Thanks, Linda!

To celebrate her book release, Linda is offering a free ebook of Fiona to one lucky commenter on today's blog. (please check the blog Monday night to see if you won. Chances of winning determined by the number of entries.)

She will be around all day today. I'm sure some of you have questions or comments for her, so please ask away...

Linda Andrews lives with her husband and three children in Phoenix, Arizona. When she announced to her family that her paranormal romance was to be published, her sister pronounce: "What else would she write? She’s never been normal."

All kidding aside, writing has become a surprising passion. So just how did a scientist start to write paranormal romances? What other option is there when you’re married to romantic man and live in a haunted house?

Check out author’s website at www.lindaandrews.net