Win free romance books in June!

ROMANCE GRAB BAG GIVEAWAY

Fill your eReader with a blind romance three-pack from your favorite genre!

https://ellenmint.blog/romance-mystery-bag-giveaway/

Fifty-one authors have teamed up to bring you an amazing opportunity to fill your e-reader with hot romance, but it’s a mystery what waits inside the bundles.

You can WIN a three-book grab bag from the three categories: Contemporary, Paranormal, and Historical. You can enter whichever genre is your catnip, or go for all three if you love all things romance.

There will also be THREE grand prize winners of ALL the books in the Contemporary, PNR, or Historical categories.

Enter now and roll the dice to be swept off your feet.

The giveaway is sponsored by these wonderful authors:

Ellen Mint • Tember Sapphire • Cynthia Terelst • V.J. Allison • Jane Maguire • Amber Daulton • Seelie Kay • Jennifer Wilck • Courtney McCaskill • Charlie Lane • Kathleen Ayers • Tanith Davenport • S J Coles • Ella Cooper• Rosanna Leo • Maggie Sims • Sheri-Lynn Marean • Tina Gallagher • K.E. Turner • Will Forrest • M.C. Roth • Maren Jenner • Cass Scotka • Tracy Sumner • Robin Jeffrey • LS Phoenix • Catherine Peace • E. Rose Lynn • Collette Cameron • TJ Finn • Megan Slayer • Kristian Parker • Erin Zarro • Merry Farmer • Amy Craig • Celia Breslin • Aubrey Wynne • Zoe Dawson • Karenna Colcroft • Michelle McCraw • C. J. Burright • Katherine Grant • Andie James • Amber Night • Sandra Carmel • Anna St. CLaire • Andrea Jenelle • Kelley Heckart • N Dune • Cassie O'Brien • January Bain

This week in The Loft: Author Anne Hamilton Fowler!

Joining me today in The Loft is Canadian author Anne Hamilton Fowler. Anne traveled many paths before writing her memoir, "I've Worn Many Hats." Anne began her work life as a nurse, but soon moved on to a position as a flight attendant at American Airlines. She left the airline to found Hamilton Enterprises, a well-known personnel agency located in Toronto.  In 2000, she semi-retired to pursue philanthropic projects in Honduras, where she now lives six months each year. The mother of two, Anne enjoys spending time with two grandchildren and two grand dogs. She has also outlived two ex-husbands! 

Author Anne Hamilton Fowler

S:  Good morning, Anne. Thanks for joining me in The Loft today!

How did you prepare to write your book? Did you outline the details or "shoot from the hip?"

A:  The plot was my life. People have asked how I could possibly remember so many details. Of course, we all know that when one reaches a certain age, they may not remember what they did yesterday, but can clearly recall incidents of 50 years ago. I kept notepads around the house and when I thought of a memory, no matter what time of day or night, I wrote it down. As you can imagine, this led to copious pieces of paper/notes scattered about. I knew the book would be written in two parts--before and after Honduras. About once a week, I would gather up my paper trail, decipher the sometimes illegible notes, and enter the information into the appropriate section of my outline. But what no one had warned me about was that the hard part was yet to come--formatting.

S:  Obviously, that method worked for you.

What would you like to people to know about you?

A:  I’ve always enjoyed writing although this is the only book I’ve done. Throughout my life I wrote many business proposals/speeches, weekly newspaper columns, several cookbooks, and as far back as Grade Four, I wrote a mystery play to be performed by classmates. I suspect at age 83, my days as an author are over, but I just might be convinced to compile a collection of stories written by our young international volunteers recounting their tales of adventure in Honduras.

S:  That would be an interesting book!

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

A:  That despite many missteps and sometimes inappropriate, outrageous behavior, I managed to raise two children into outstanding, responsible adults. They are not only wonderful parents but all-around good people. The work I have been doing in Honduras for almost 30 years is just icing on the cake.

S:  That must be gratifying. A life well-lived.

What do you want inscribed on your tombstone? How do you want to be remembered?

A:  I want to be remembered as someone who not always made the best decisions but lived life to its fullest, doing it my way. At the end, I will leave without regrets knowing that in spite of mistakes, I did manage to do some things right and succeeded in making a positive impact on many lives.

S:  What inspired your book, "I’ve Worn Many Hats?"

A:  There were several factors. For one, I was tired of listening to friends urge me to write my life story and was dabbling in putting something together to raise funds for my Honduran programs. Then COVID hit and in 2020, I was stranded in Honduras for 19 months. Unable to return to Canada, my projects were on hold and so I finished what I had started. The book got done.

S:  Is there anything special you would like people to know about "I’ve Worn Many Hats?"

A:  "I’ve Worn Many Hats" has been called, “An entertaining book that once started can’t be put down.” I wrote about events in my life that I’d never before had closure on. It was incredibly cathartic. Plus, I totally unexpected the reaction/dialogue initiated by some readers. This is the beginning of one of those conversations I received via email. “I’ve Worn Many Hats is a truly inspiring memoir written by a remarkable woman who survived terrible traumatic events by entering into a reckless way of living. What I read on the recommendation of a friend, and expected to be just another memoir, turned out to be so much more! Entertaining? Yes. As you laid out your life experiences--romantic, criminal, tragic--so honestly, I found myself identifying with them. For the first time in many years, I was encouraged to finally open up and share with friends my own damaged past. It was liberating! You are indeed an inspiration.” I have received many such responses from women who experienced trauma in their past but had been reluctant to talk about it. As well, I heard from family members and friends of women who had suffered in silence. It is my hope that our conversations have helped to give closure to a few of these people.

Here's the blurb--

This memoir is the no holds barred account of my unorthodox life lived in a manner regularly viewed as risky and on the edge, frequently laughable, on occasion full of hardship, but never boring! The candid account that spans decades of a long bumpy life evokes many emotions; laughter, empathy, shock, admiration. As you read the first half, you may find yourself going back, re-reading and thinking, “she did what?!” In the second half of the book, you will discover what inspired me to make such a drastic life change, leaving behind a long successful career in Human Resources to pursue philanthropic work with the people of Honduras.

S:  Where can readers buy "I've Worn Many Hats?"

A:  It's available at--

Amazon Canada:  https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1778350321

Amazon US:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1778350321

Amazon UK:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1778350321 

Amazon Germany:  https://www.amazon.de/dp/1778350321

Amazon France:  https://www.amazon.fr/dp/1778350321 

Amazon Spain:  https://www.amazon.es/dp/1778350321

Amazon Italy:  https://www.amazon.it/dp/1778350321 

Amazon Australia:  https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1778350321

S:  Anne, I'm so pleased that you could join me today! If you'd like to learn more about Anne and her book, please visit http://anne.honduranhope.net.

This week in The Loft: Author Kim West!

Joining me today in The Loft is fellow Extasy author Kim West. Her new contemporary romance book is her first foray into the romance genre. Previously, she published a book on Pilates and stretching exercises. Kim turned to writing romance after the COVID pandemic forced her to close her Interior Design business. She now writes full-time. The "mother" of three cats, Kim lives in Hout Bay, a picturesque fishing village in Cape Town, South Africa.

Author Kim West

S:  Good morning, Kim. Thanks for joining me today!

Why write romance?

K:  We live in an ugly broken world where people need to escape and dream of beauty. What better way than with a steamy erotic/romantic story? Sex is part of everyday life and I love to write about it. Sex is classy, beautiful, and stimulates the senses. It also makes us feel alive and it is an escape mechanism. When a man and a woman meet and are attracted to each other, they want to explore, and touch and feel, and in return, that makes them feel desired and attractive. Sex is also a much-needed physical activity to reduce stress. In short, we as humans need sex, and that is why God gave us sex. Like all else in the world, it must be treated with respect, and that is what I like to portray in my books. Sex is beautiful, wonderful, and aromatherapy for mind, body, and soul.

S:  I think all romance books offer an escape from reality, no matter the sub-genre. They are aromatherapy for the mind, body, and soul.

How do you develop your characters? Do you use photos or a vision board?

K:  Neither. I have a wide circle of friends and know a wonderful collection of spectacularly outrageous people that I have met through the years. I love using them as my role models, or I dream them up.

S:  I tend to write about lawyers for that very reason. I have met a broad range of people with a fascinating collection of quirks and foibles. Great fodder for my stories.

Do you outline the plot for your stories before writing?

K:  Yes, I do, but it invariable changes. I start with an idea but as the plot develops, I will embroider as the story unfolds and evolves, and then it usually changes direction

S:  I always say you can't write the ending until you understand the journey and that can't happen until your characters actually complete their journey.

What do you write first? The blurb or the book?

K:  The book. I have no idea how it is going to develop.

S:  Do you write in other genres?

K:  I compiled a book with motivational inspirational stories about life after divorce. So, I do write in other genres. I also wrote a children’s book a few years ago, but never submitted it for publication and would love to do that now. I just need to find the time to finish it.

S:  What famous book did you wish you had written? 

K:  "The Prince of Tides" by Pat Conroy. He has an unbelievable way to describe something. He has a way with words that I have never found with another writer. Each to his own, but he is really one of a kind.

S:  I enjoyed that book as well!

What do you want inscribed on your tombstone? 

K:  "Here lies a lady that inspired and motivated others to be the best God made them to be." I would like to be remembered for humility, kindness, empathy, and that I always respected other people in every way.

S:  What inspired "Yes?"

K:  Me! My fantasies.

Here's the blurb--

Although happily married, Cara felt there was a void in her life. Is she unconsciously looking for someone to fill this void? And will she find it?

Cara Belmond is a successful fashion designer and owns Cara’s Collections. She’s married to Rudolf, an artist, and together they own the Belmond Art Gallery. Beautiful and successful, they’re regarded as the golden couple of Cape Town. Cara and Rudolf are very much in love and have a very active sex life, but sometimes—just sometimes—she wonders if she doesn’t need a little bit more. Maybe a little harder.

That is until one night at one of their art exhibitions where she meets Mario Perez. Mario is Spanish, dangerously attractive, and arrogant. He invites Cara for coffee, and instantly fascinated by him she accepts. Will he be what she needs?

S:  That sounds like a steamy romance! Where can readers buy "Yes?"

K:  It's available at all major booksellers including--

Extasy Books:  https://www.extasybooks.com/Yes!

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Yes-Kim-West-ebook/dp/B0CLKBRJ8B

Barnes & Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/yes-kim-west/1144324937

Kobo:  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/yes-53

S:  Kim, I'm so happy you could join me today. Good luck with your book. If you'd like to learn more about Kim and her books, please visit--

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/kimwest2024/

This week in The Loft: Author Lyndi Alexander!

Joining me today in The Loft is author Lyndi Alexander. Lyndi always dreamed of faraway worlds and interesting alien contacts. That's why she writes Sci-Fi romance. Now retired, Lyndi writes full time, when her nine cats allow her to reach the keyboard. In her spare time, she fosters kittens and cats for several local shelters, gardens and harvests at least one herb per summer, and volunteers at the local autism family support organization and ECOexplore, a science program through the North Carolina Arboretum.  Lyndi lives as a post-modern hippie in Asheville, North Carolina, the single mother of her last child of seven, a daughter on the autism spectrum. She finds that every day feels a lot like first contact with a new species!

Author Lyndi Alexander

S:  Good morning, Lyndi. Thanks for joining me today!

What do you think is the biggest issue facing romance authors today?

L:  The sheer numbers of books that are competition for each one we write. Eighty years ago, the competition was more in the being accepted by a publisher end. By 2000, the self-pubbed authors became a threat to the trad-pubbed authors. Not in an evil way, but there are plenty of people publishing first-draft, non-edited pieces of dreck that are clogging up the way for all of us. Now ads tout the possibility of AI-generated books that can help anyone write their novels and get them in print. It’s hard to rise to the top.

S:  It is difficult to get your name and your books out there.

If you could change one thing in the book publishing industry, what would you change?

L:  I’d love to see publishers have a standard marketing support plan to help authors—I get it that we know who our fans are and can pinpoint the right areas to target, but with so much competition out there, any little bit would help.

S:  You're right. It would be great if publishers offered marketing programs we could share or buy into.

Have you ever attended a writer’s retreat? Did you find it helpful? 

L:  I have, and I enjoyed it immensely. I get a great deal from co-working with other authors. Besides that, it’s nice to spend time with people who are my particular kind of crazy. No one in my family is particularly supportive of my writing, so being able to talk to folk who are is great.

S:  How do you develop your characters? Do you use photos or a vision board?

L:  I have begun to use Pinterest to gather inspiration. Character pictures, location sites, other details that might pertain. I personally could care less what I wear, but the heroine in "Cruel Charade," which comes out this summer, is a real clothes and makeup hound. So I picked out her outfits and pinned them as well. Readers can view my process at https://www.pinterest.com/lyndialexander/five-things/  I was all prepared to name this book "Five Things," after the grounding technique Bet uses in the story—and then a book with the same title came out about three months before I was finished.

S:  Do you utilize tropes when writing romance? 

L:  I end up there sometimes. But I don’t set out to write “friends to lovers” or “second chance romance.” Once I have a setting and characters I like, then I start feeling out what plotlines will work out with those. Then I can tailor the story to fit something into blocks that I can explain to an editor. I tend not to write to formula, but prefer to write unique storylines.

S:  What do you write first—the blurb or the book?

L:  Definitely the book. I hate writing blurbs and put it off as long as possible.

S:  Do you write in other genres? 

L:  I do. As I said I write the stories that come to me, not anything in formula….so the stories that come are in romance and romantic suspense as Alana Lorens, and sci-fi/sci-fi romance and fantasy/YA as Lyndi Alexander. "Betrayed" is my most recent novel, and it’s the 28th published by small press. It’s a science fiction romance about a space detective who gets way too close to her case.

S:  What would you like to people know about you as a person or as a writer?

L:  That I’m a nice person despite all the disease and death and killers and other dark things I write about.

S:  What is the best/worst thing that has ever happened to you as a writer?

L:  I had a great experience at a book signing yesterday. I had a bunch of Lyndi Alexander books on the table, and someone stopped and said, ”Oh, I have a series of hers about a young Chinese girl!” I asked, “The Color of Fear series…right? Did you ever meet the author?” She said no. “Would you like to?” I stuck out my hand. When she realized I was right there in front of her, her face just lit up. That was amazing.

S: What inspired "Betrayed?"

L:   This story owes a debt to my Maquis Universal cohorts, a group that went for about 10 years online. Kylie and Griff’s characters were formed and fleshed out over the years of online RPG. Once the RPG closed, I wanted to memorialize the love story in writing even after the split from my ex-husband Eric. I will always appreciate and give credit to Eric, who created Griff from thin threads of imagination, and then made him worth loving.

S:  Lyndi, as always, it was great to chat with you. If you' like to learn more about Lyndi and her books, please visit--

Website and Blog:  https://lyndialexander.wordpress.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/lyndialexander13/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4185290.Lyndi_Alexander

Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/Lyndi-Alexander/e/B005GDYPU2/

BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lyndi-alexander

Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/lyndialexander

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/alexander_lyndi/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/AlexanderLyndi