Romance Through the Ages Writing Contest

The love of story runs deep in our souls. From tales around the campfire to a great book that makes us stay up all night, we long for narrative that makes us laugh and cry, that makes us believe and hope,that makes us eager for the resolution and yet dread we never want to reach the end.

A story is greater than the sum of its parts. A story that sweeps us along is what editors and agents look for; it's what readers crave.

Hearts through History, a Special Interest Chapter of Romance Writers of America (RWA) is focusing on story for its 2012 Romance Through The Ages (RTTA) contest.

The contest is open to both published and unpublished writers. Entries will be accepted today through the deadline and must be original works of Historical Romance or Romantic Historical Fiction not contracted for publication by the contest deadline of March 15, 2012. Entrants do not need to be members of Hearts Through History or RWA. Check guidelines on the website for full entry criteria. Entry categories:

• Ancient/Medieval/Renaissance
• Georgian/Regency/Victorian
•  Colonial/Western/Civil War
• Post-Victorian/World War 2
• Time Travel/Historical Paranormal
•  Historical Erotic

All entries must be submitted electronically and cannot exceed 30 pages. Entries must include a one- or two-page synopsis, which will not be judged. Entry fee is $20 for HHRW chapter members and $25 for all others.

Winners will be announced during RWA's annual conference, July 25-28 in Anaheim, CA, during the Hearts Through History's Annual General Meeting.

For more information or to enter, go to: http://www.heartsthroughhistory.com/rtta-contest/

HAPPY HUNKALICIOUS HALLOWEEN!

Win an e-copy of one of my latest releases, RESURRECTING THE BEAST!
And if you aren't the lucky randomly-selected winner of the e-book, you can win Romance Trading Cards (while supplies last)!

Here's how to enter...

I've decided to go calorie-free this Halloween. I mean, I could hand out small snack packs of carrots. But they're loaded with way too much sugar. And then I could opt for those mini boxes of raisins. But we're back to the sugar issue again. So, why not sending you on a Hunk Hunt for a little exhilirating eye-candy adrenalive rush? Now, you won't be going far or popping all over the Net. I just recently revamped my website, using the Hunks from my romance trading cards... So, all you have to do to win one of my prizes is choose the Hunk you like best from my trading cards, then hop over to my website, find the web page where he's the central eye candy, grab the page's title/url, and...e-mail that information to skhye@skhyemoncrief.com (Just click the E-MAIL SKHYE button there on my website--an option on the upper right transposed over the Hunk on each page when it loads!)

The calorie-free magic expires at midnight CST. So, don't wait to enter!!!

My Big Treat

"Sizzling sex and action that will keep the reader turning the pages." ~Candy, SensualReads.com

An e-copy of RESURRECTING THE BEAST, Book 2 in my WERESCAPE series. Doesn't everyone want to win a werewolf story on Halloween? The book is listed as carnal. But that's because the heroine has sex with the hero in his Wolfskin. And I'm not talking pretty wolf running through the snow...Think traditional werewolves from horror movies. But, hey, he's really awesome. ;) These werewolves are genetically altered by extraterrestrials during an alien invasion of earth. These big scary beasts actually are what's saving the remnant population of humans here on earth. So, the scary part of what they are is really a good thing! Oh, and it's good for the heroine too! *wink*

Treats for all!
I will be giving away Hunk romance trading cards with their heriones while supplies last. They will be awarded to participants in the order in which people enter my Hunk Hunt. And if I run out of eye candy, don't worry. I'll have more on Black Friday! ;) You can hang out with me then for more fun instead of standing in line wishing you were at home. OR stand in line instead with your iPhone, surfing the web to enter my contest!!!

But back to CANDY...

What's your favorite Halloween candy? Mine is Brachs candy corn. My friend just saw a show about candy corn--our uniquely American treat--on CBS. Apparently, Brachs (1880's) and Jelly Belly are the two oldest companies to produce the tasty treat. Jelly Belly was the Goelitz company and produced candy corn as far back as 1898. The manufacturing three-pass process was unique in its day for producing the three colors. And if you line them up between your thumb and first finger (yellow side up), they look just like corn on the cob--which our young farming nation was so familiar with at the time. Cool, eh? And I like candy corn so much that I already had a picture in my photos. LOL Usually, I have to hunt something down. Not for candy corn!

I should warn you that eating a pound of candy corn in half an hour could have negative side effects...

And for the visitor who reads ALL THE WAY TO THE END OF MY POST, here's you some special eye candy. ;) As good as caffeine or sugar any day!

Shhh! I didn't tell our hostess that I had this kind of treat!
Bwa ha ha haaaaaaaa!!! ~Skhye

April Contrest Winner

Congratulations to Marybelle.  She won the April contest and will receive copies of UNTRACEABLE by Laura Griffin, RUNNING HOT by Jayne Ann Krentz, THE PERFECT POISON by Amanda Quick, I LOVE THIS BAR by Carolyn Brown, SKINTIGHT by Susan Andersen, and double feature: SIN CITY WEDDING by Katherine Garbera & THE FORBIDDEN PRINCESS by Day LeClaire.

Stay tuned, the May prize will be posted soon (which means as soon as I figure it out).

Anna Kathryn
www.aklanier.com

Brief RomCon 2010 Recap & Contest!

Hello everyone! My name is Meagan Hatfield and I will be hijacking Anna's blog today. Muah-ah-ah! :) I'll also be giving away one copy of my NEW dark paranormal romance, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE, so stayed tuned below for how to win.

So, this past weekend, I visited Denver, Colorado (well, sort of. We weren't exactly downtown, but close enough I guess) for the first ever Romance Readers Convention - RomCon. I had such a great time, I thought instead of rambling on and on about nothing like I usually do when I guest blog, I'd ramble on and on about my three days in Denver!

My Friday started at 3am...earlier if you count the hours my cat kept me awake. He saw the packed bags and just about lost it. I swear by Midnight, I sounded like Cartman from South Park - "Dammit, kitty I'm trying to sleep! Bad kitty! No kitty, this is my pot pie!" lol! Alas, I did manage a couple hours sleep and still made my 6am flight.

I had a layover in Milwaukee for almost two hours...just long enough to enjoy the breakfast of traveling champions - the Bloody Mary - at the airport bar. Mmmm. I also talked up my books to a few patrons, and even sold one to a fellow Bloody Mary enthusiast who downloaded it to her kindle. :)

After boarding a disturbingly small plane and a two + hour jaunt to Denver, we land in DIA...probably the worst airport on the planet. This opinion would only be reinforced later on my trip home.

Having been told that the hotel did not have a shuttle service, I hopped on a Super Shuttle.....headed downtown, an hour out of my way! Ack! Thank God I spotted my hotel's shuttle on the way, and that the driver was nice enough to go completely off her route and drop me off at the correct hotel. Which reminds me, I need to call someone about a refund...oh, anyway...

With an hour to spare, I check in and book it down to my first panel, "Anti-Heroes You Hate to Love." A fun panel with loads of great authors like Cindy Gerard, Jeaniene Frost, Jo Beverley, Lori Wilde and more! We paired off in groups and visited up close and personal with the attendees. Jessa Slade and I migrated from table to table of readers, chit-chatting about what makes a great anti-hero, the hottie Raylan Givens from 'Justified' and numerous other topics that came to mind.

At 2pm I sat the "Question and Answer chat with FF&P Authors" panel along with the amazingly talented and sweet, Christine Feehan, Nalini Singh, Jessa Slade and CL Wilson. I think I managed to say one coherent sentence during that hour. However, I can't vouch for the other ones that babbled out of my mouth. ;) How I ended up on that panel, I'll never know. But it was an absolute honor to chat with those ladies.

Christine, being the doll she is, was nice enough to tolerate me going "fan girl" over her and posing for a picture with me. She even bought a copy of SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE and asked me to sign it for her!! I about died.

At 3pm, the next panel I sat on was probably the most fun I've had at a conference workshop..."Build a Hero" again with Jessa Slade, who at this point no doubt thought I was stalking her. *smiles* Our table, the paranormal/urban fantasy table, came up with the uber scrummy dark fae hero, Shikar. We were robbed by the historical hero for the grand prize of best hero, but we definitely built the better book! Just look at those copious notes we took! Pretty impressive, huh? :)

Here I am with some of our "Team Awesome" gals at our table. And here is another one of me waiting to give our hero, Shikar, his moment in the spotlight in front of the room.

After this, I had a few moments to change before heading down to the bar for cocktail hour and dinner and the awards ceremony. A costume ball followed, you can see some of us below in our attire - I'm in the long black dress.

I was a Victorian Vampire (minus the fangs because they annoyed me) with a Zombie baby. He is one of my favorite Halloween accessories and was quite the hit - you can see a pic of him below.

creepy baby alert!

Saturday, I had breakfast with the lovely Jen (who is pictured above in the blue-ish corset) and then headed on down to the book signing. It was set up a little odd, what with the books not being on the tables beside the authors. But even with the snafus, I counted signing almost 20 books. Yay! :)

2:30pm I sat the Were-Squares panel, with Nalini Singh, Cathy Clamp, Carrie Vaughn & CL Wilson. It was a fun question and answer game and everybody walked away with books.

I did memory lane at 3:30pm - a table area set up where readers could come over and chat with authors. Unfortunately, the signage wasn't the best. Fortunately, I got to chat with one of my favorite authors ever, Terri Brisbin for almost an hour! :)

Thirty minutes later and it's cocktail hour and dinner again. I sat next to the lovely and funny, Carly Phillips, Monica McCarty, Veronica Wolff and Jami Alden. This time dinner was followed by a Black & White Masquerade. Here's a dorky pic Carly took of me in my costume:

haha, seeing that picture never fails to crack me up! But in my defense, my leg is in flamingo posture so she can see my platform boots - honest!

After another night of partying, Sunday rolled around. I sat with some more wonderfully, awe-inspiring authors for the "Speed Date a New Author" event, had a great catch up chat with Wendi Darlin' at Author Avenue and then it was off for the horrible DIA airport again. The lines were unGodly long and the flight overbooked, but I made it back to my corner of the world relatively unscathed. My cat was so excited to see me, my Sunday night ended much like my Friday one - with me doing my best Cartman impression as I begged my cat to be quiet so I could sleep. ;)

All in all, I had a fabulous time at the RomCon conference, saw some old friends and met SO many great new ones. I can't wait to do it again next year!

*CONTEST*

To be entered to win a copy of my July release, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE, leave me a comment telling me either your favorite or least favorite trip and why! That's it!

Can't wait to hear your stories and good luck!

Meagan~

How I got the call and a new release!

It was a chilly January evening. Thankfully, I was ensconced in my cubicle at work. I'm a tech support desk rep, so I was busy assisting a customer. For some strange reason, I decided I needed to check my email whilst the customer was busy typing something into her computer. If you all must know, I suffer from OCED (Obsessive Compulsive E-Mail Disorder). I notice one of the emails is a response to a submission I made to a publisher about a month or so before. My heart fell. In my experience, when they reply that quickly, the news usually isn't good. I've submitted materials to this publisher in the past and I was sent a form reply from the editor's assistant explaining they were not interested. This reply, though, came from the editor herself. Okay, so I admit, curiosity got the better of me, so I opened the email.

Bad move. Not because of the editor's response, but because of my response after opening the email. The editor informed me they wanted to publish my novel along with two subsequent novels. Now my brain has completely turned to mush. I struggled to assist my customer and fumbled with my words. I'm amazed I was even able to help her solve her problem. Can you say, "Worst call EVER?" So I finish up with the customer and take a breather off the phone. I think some jumping up and down and exclamations ensued. I’m fairly certain my co-workers thought I was a fry short of a value meal.

After that "ordeal," I queried several agents, including one who’d requested the first three chapters. I sent her the materials, explaining that I had an offer on the table. She emailed me back explaining my different options, which I thought was very professional. She emailed me again saying she read the three chapters I sent and that she liked my voice. She wanted to speak personally.

None of the other agents I queried expressed such an interest. I emailed several agents to keep my options open. The results were either they didn't like my voice, already had a similar project on the table or they didn’t response at all. So the following Monday, I spoke with the agent and got really good vibes. Also, one of women in my local RWA (Romance Writers of America) chapters is also one of her clients. With her good recommendation, I knew what I was going to do. I signed with that agent.

And a good thing I did too. My initial three book offer went up to four books. So that's the story about how I sold my book. If it can happen to me, it can happen to you. SO KEEP ON WRITING!!!!!

What have I learned from this? Don't open emails from editors while on the phone with customers.

What I really learned? Never give up. Keep on writing and submitting. You, too, will have a totally bizarre story to tell about your call.

To celebrate this awesome news and welcome my recently released fantasy erotic romance, Wings of Desire, I’ll draw one random commenter to receive a free copy of the book. Here’s a blurb and excerpt to whet your appetites…

BLURB:

Not the fairytale your grandmother used to read to you.

Rhiannon Kinsley's life goes from boring to downright crazy when a freak lightning bolt strikes her laptop. To make matters even more bizarre, strange words and symbols flash across the computer screen and she hears a mysterious voice. Time to call the men in white coats! Then Cerne Silverwing, an intriguingly sexy man, appears. He insists she’s a faerie princess whose fate will determine his own. What a crock! Now she knows who really needs those white coats.

With the Dark Faerie forces threatening his kingdom, Cerne kidnaps Rhiannon and brings her to Fey, a land where magic knows no bounds. He's performing a duty to save his kingdom and nothing more—a duty that will bring him his wings and the strengthened magic that comes with them. If he doesn’t unite with the princess as her consort, those wings will never grow. But this princess grew up in the land of laptops and instant messages, and she’s convinced they're both crazy. Despite their differences, the two are thrust together to defeat the whip-wielding Dark Faerie Queen before she takes over the kingdom. Passion and peril aside, will Rhiannon and Cerne discover their true destiny?

EXCERPT:

Cerne caught her hand in his and gave her a heated gaze. "I didn't want to resort to this,” he said, his voice thick and heady. "But I've run out of options.” He pulled her against his hard-muscled body. With his thumb and forefinger, he lifted her chin.

Clenching her fists, she bit her lip. Tingling numbness filled her every pore. She attempted to pull herself from his embrace, but her body wouldn’t cooperate.

"Let go! You're frightening me."

"It's for your own good and the good of your people, my sweet.” He traced a finger lightly over her lips. "Soon you'll understand.” He lowered his lips to hers and gently nibbled. Coaxing her mouth open, his tongue swirled with hungry strokes along hers.

She moaned softly as her traitorous tongue danced with his. Lessening his grip on her arm, he allowed her to press closer and rub her bikini-clad breasts against the hard ridges of his chest. Her nipples pebbled against the spandex of her swim top.

Stupid nipples.

She twisted her fingers in his dark mane, pulling him closer. Heedless of what she knew was right, she intensified the kiss. He hoisted her up onto his lap, letting her straddle the rock-hard erection that filled his trousers. Grinding her hips against his, she reached down to unfasten and untie the garment.

He pulled her hands away. "No, leannan. I just want to kiss. The joining must occur at Beltane—in Fey.”

"I'm not going to Fey—”

He reclaimed her lips. Intoxicating warmth spread throughout her body while he licked, sucked and nibbled. She gasped in pleasure and let his tongue probe the cavern of her mouth again. Light as a feather, she sighed in deep contentment. By God, was she floating? Closing her eyes, Rhiannon allowed him have his way with her.

"I'm sorry,” he breathed against her lips. "It was the only way.”

"What—” Her eyes flickered as spots danced before them—until darkness took over.

Cheers,
Arianna Skye / Sidney Ayers

For more information about Arianna, visit her website at www.ariannaskye.com
For more information about Sidney, visit her website at www.sidneyayers.com

Contest: A TISKET, A TASKET, PUT ROMANCE IN YOUR BASKET

Spring is in the air! Bees are buzzing. Children anxiously await the big morning where they can graze on candy all day. What about mom? We've got a treat for you! Come join a group of romance authors in celebration of spring. Enter to win a prize a day as well as enter to win the grand prize. All you need do is begin at Silver James' blog on April 1st at http://www.silverjames.com/. Silver will host the day's contest and provide the link to the next day's location. Don't forget to enter to win the grand prize!

A TISKET A TASKET, PUT ROMANCE IN YOUR BASKET Grand Prize:

To enter to win prizes from the authors donating treasures to the grand prize (see each day's post for what an author is donating to the grand prize), find the four Easter eggs in the A TISKET A TASKET, PUT ROMANCE IN YOUR BASKET blog event.

You will be searching for the above egg. Just visit all of the authors' websites, locate the 4 eggs, make a list of their locations by pasting the urls to the website pages in an e-mail, then send the entry to happyendings2007@aol.com by midnight CST on May 1st, 2009. The winner will be randomly drawn and announced May 2nd at http://blog.skhyemoncrief.com/. Tip #1, subscribe to http://blog.skhyemoncrief.com to learn if you're the winner! And don't worry.

If you start in on the blog event late, just head back to Silver James' blog on April 1st at http://www.silverjames.com/ to begin your website search for the Easter eggs. Don't miss the fun! See you next to the burgundy tulips.

A Cowboy's Dream - Coming Soon

Released on DECEMBER 17, 2008


Author Leah Smith has fantasized about her neighbor, Houston’s pro baseball player Marcus Slade, for years, but thinks it’s unlikely she’d catch the cowboy’s interest since her IQ is bigger than her bra size. Having already been hurt by a man who wanted size over substance, she’s not in a hurry to play in that ball field again.

When an unexpected opportunity gets Marcus inside his favorite author’s apartment, he’s not about to let a second chance at love pass him by. Their attraction is quick and electric and has him instantly thinking about something more long-term. But when a woman from his past intrudes, his hopes of a cozy Christmas with Leah are buried beneath her cold shoulder. Risking a strikeout, Marcus has one chance left...go for the grand slam of his life and crash Leah's annual Christmas Eve party in hopes of convincing her she’s this Cowboy’s Dream.


For this story, I broke the "rules." The hero is a pro baseball player and the heroine is a romance writer...two of the careers you're not supposed to write about. What odd or unusual career have you given a character or have read about in a book?

I'll have a special drawing on Monday for those who leave comments on this subject. You can win a 2009 "Spurs and Studs" calendar...twelve months of yummy cowboys for you to admire all year long!

~Anna Kathryn
http://www.aklanier.com/

Wednesday's Chow - Little Pumpkin Cups

Well, Halloween is just a couple of days away, so I thought I'd do a recipe in celebration of that holiday. I'll confess that I haven't made this recipe yet, but it sure sounds yummy and as it's from a cookbook for kids, it's very easy.

So, here's Little Pumpkin Cups from Betty Crockers' Cookbook for Boys and Girls, page 83.

Ingredients:

2 envelopes (about 1 1/2 ounce each) of whipped topping mix
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 can (16-ounce size) pumpkin (about 1 cup)
Candy Corn

Line 12 muffin cups with baking cups. Prepare the topping mix as directed on envelopes, using a total of 1 cup milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla, and add the cinnamon, salt, cloves, ginger and nutmeg before beating. Fold in the pumpkin with a rubber scraper.

Divide the mixture among the paper-lined cups. Decorate each serving with candy corn. Refrigerate as long as 2 hours or freeze as long as 8 hours and remove to refrigerator 1 hour before serving.

Don't forget to enter my website guestbook contest. All you need to do is log on and tell me one of my recipes for the month (including this on). The guestbook link is at the bottom of my home page: http://www.aklanier.com/. You could win a copy of Skhye Moncrief's "Naked on the Staircase" novella. And scoll down for more information on my other contests and for how you can help the Galveston Library recover from Ike.

~Anna Kathryn

Recipe - Chocolate Chip Pie

Here's a yummy dessert recipe my daughter made for us. It tastes like a chocolate chip cookie.

Ingredients:


1 stick of butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans
1 6-oz pkg chocolate chips
1 9-inch pie crust, unbaked

Preheat oven 350 degrees. In large bowl, combine the butter or margarine, eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla and salt; beat on high speed with electric mixer until well blended. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips. Pour the mixture into an unbaked pie crust. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.

***Remember by going to my website and clicking on my guestbook, you can use this recipe to enter my monthly drawing. Find out more at www.aklanier.com, the guestbook link is at the bottom of the Home page.

~Anna Kathryn

Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Inflammatory Breast Cancer may be rare, but when it does strike, it's very aggressive. This cancer had not had a lot of attention, thought that's changing now.

According to the National Cancer Institute, symptoms of IBC may include redness, swelling, and warmth in the breast, often without a distinct lump in the breast. The redness and warmth are caused by cancer cells blocking the lymph vessels in the skin. The skin of the breast may also appear pink, reddish purple, or bruised. The skin may also have ridges or appear pitted, like the skin of an orange (called peau d'orange), which is caused by a buildup of fluid and edema (swelling) in the breast.

For more information on IBC, go to the NCI's site: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/sites-types/ibc

Below is a 6 minute news report on IBC. It includes pictures of what IBC looks like. I encourage everyone to watch it. Six minutes is a long time, but not if it saves your life!

~Anna Kathryn Lanier

Win a Sony eReader

The Wild Rose Press's second round for the SONY eReader contest kicked off yesterday.

If you check out the website and click on the SONY eReader picture
that says WIN ME you'll find all the details but basically the rules
are easy; purchase any story from any of the participating authors
listed on the web site and you can enter to win a FREE eReader. Last
quarter's winner was Dianne Miley and she received a gorgeous dark
blue reader with a flash drive full of information from the authors
and a free book of her choice.

The contest began yesterday and will continue until Tuesday, December
16 when we will announce the winner in the chat that night. Anyone is
eligible to participate except TWRP staff members. Authors who are
involved in THIS quarter's contest should not enter but they can
participate in any others.

If you purchase several stories, you are eligible to send in several
emails to enter. Simply send an email to
SONYREADER@thewildrosepress.com and include your name, the date of
the purchase and the order number. You can do this even if you
bought it at a distributor, simply indicate where and when you bought
the title and the order number so we can verify you did purchase the
story.

www.thewildrosepress.com

I'm not on this list of participating authors (I was in the previous contest), but some of my good friends are. Information on how to enter without purchasing a story can be found on the website. But remember, for EACH book you purchase, you can enter....so if you buy 5 books, you can enter 5 times.

Jean Adams
Kim Amburn
Clare Austin
Clover Autrey
Carol Braswell
Sharon Buchbinder
Anne Carrole
Lynda Coker
Wendy Davy
Tabitha Gibson
Devon Gray
D.K. Harper
Cierra James
Paty Jager
Jennifer Johnson
Sylvia Kaye
Dayana Knight
Renee Knowles
Sharon Lanergan
Liana Laverntz
Hywela Lyn
Cara Marsi
Bess McBride
Lily Rose Moon
Skyhe Moncrief
Beth Morrow
E.G. Parsons
Victoria Pitts-Caine
Amber Polo
Sky Purington
Rynee Raines
Judith Rochelle
Jocelyn Saint James
Jan Scarbrough
Tarah Scott
Susan Shay
Patti Shenberger
Robin Shope
Linda Swift
Margaret Tanner
Sara Thacker
Pam Thibodeaux
Deborah Tompkins
M.K. Trent
Beth Trissel
Shereen Vedam
Lisa Wells
Anne Whitfield
Sandy Wickersham-McWhorter
Patrice Wilton
Michelle Witvliet

~Anna Kathryn
www.aklanier.com

It's been fun...

Anna, thank you again for inviting me to be a guest on your blog. It's been fun and I've met some wonderful people.

I'd like to remind the readers that I am still awaiting interesting contest ideas and suggestions for my Tricks or Treats Blog Contest in honor of Halloween.

The idea I pick to use will win someone a free download of my newest release, Curse of the Marhime. No worries that I won't be here tomorrow. I am always available at my blog, so you can post ideas there or shoot me an email. All my contact information is availble on both my website and blog. I'll keep an eye out for suggestions through September 15th, at which time I will decide the suggestion I like the best and choose a winner. To register and list an idea please visit my blog or email me placing "Tricks or Treats Contest ideas" in the Subject line.

Thank you all for taking the time to join me here today, comment, and share a piece of yourselves with me. And good luck to you. May one of you win the drawing for the $15 gift certificate for Barnes & Noble that Anna is offering at the end of the month.

Please stop by for updates on new releases and check out interesting new contest information and some really great prizes at the below links:

www.dayanaknight.blogspot.com
www.romawolftales.com

Well, it's been fun but I will say good night now.

Dayana~

Name my Heorine Winners

After a close vote, well, actually, a tie, the winning name is "Dizzy Lizzy" suggested by Peggy. Peggy wins a copy of the book WILD, WILD WOMEN OF THE WEST, an anthology by Delilah Devlin, Layla Chase and Myla Jackson.

Peggy, e-mail me your address and I'll send you the book - annaklanier@aol.com

The winner for voting is Ciara Gold. Ciara, won TEXAS RAIN by Jodi Thomas (autographed, too). E-mail me and we'll arrange getting you the book.

Thanks everyone for your help. I was just really stuck on coming up with a name and I loved all the suggestions!

~Anna Kathryn

Dog Days of Summer Contest

Join me and 11 other writers celebrate the Dog Days of Summer with our contest, featuring more than 18 prizes, including a grand prize!

I'm giving away two prizes in this contest:

1) Stay Cool in the Summer gift package. It'll include a water bottle, chapstick, Bath and Body Works Cool Melon lotion and more.

2) A collection of Hot Romance Novels:

Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews
Taming Him by Kimberly Dean, Summer Devon and Michelle M. Pillow
Secrets Vol. 14 by Angela Knight, Alexa Aames, Leigh Wyndfield, Jennifer Barlowe

Tempting the Prince by Patricai Grasso

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell by Samantha James

Wicked Night Games by Kathleen Lawless

The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

The Priceless Gift by Anna Kathryn Lanier

Just find the picture of a dog (excluding any book covers) on the following websites to be in the running for prizes from 12 romance authors. To enter, visit each author's website, find the picture of a dog, and note that website page on a list that you will send to happyendings2007@aol.com by midnight CST, August 30th, 2008.

Get started at http://www.aklanier.com/

Skhye Moncrief

Sky Purington

Bess McBride

Anna Kathryn Lanier

Dayana Knight

Kyann Waters
Connie Rachal

Anh Leod

Aithne Jarretta

Donna Micheals

Tarah Scott

Alisha Paige

Have fun exploring our websites! And good luck.

~Anna Kathryn

Winner of Bess McBride Guest Blogging Day

Hi all,

I drew Virginia's name as the prize winner on my guest blogging day. Please contact me at bess @ gmail.com, Virginia, and we'll make arrangements for the delivery of the prize, a download of my newest release, A Trail of Love.

Bess McBride
www.bessmcbride.com

Win The Orchid Hunter by Sandra K. Moore

People have until midnight CST August 17th to enter to win THE ORCHID HUNTER by Sandra K. Moore. Just leave a comment on Skhye Moncrief's blog what you prefer in a romance: a kilt, a mystery, or sexual tension. ;) ~Skhye

http://blog.skhyemoncrief.com/2008/08/11/win-sandra-k-moores-the-orchid-hunter.aspx

So go stop by Skhye's place and enter for your chance to win this great book.

~Anna Kathryn

Vote for my heroine's nick name.

The heroine in my WIP is a highly intelligent woman, who has a lot of self-doubts and is very klutzy. Her name is Leslie McAllister. I can change the last name, but not the first. Leslie is a character in my Christmas story release - A COWBOY'S DREAM. I asked a few days ago for some suggestions. All of them were great. Thanks for taking the time to help.

I then asked a few friends of mine to read over the suggestions and pick their top three. I'm posting them here, so you can vote on them.

Dizzy Lizzy
Hurricane Leslie
Miss Accident Prone
Grace
Messy Lessy
Klutzy Lutzy

Please vote once and by midnight, Friday August 15th. The person who suggested the winning name will receive WILD WOMEN OF THE WEST an anthology with stories by Delilah Devlin, Layla Chase and Myla Jackson. This book is rated REALLY HOT.

Thanks!

~Anna Kathryn

Bess McBride Sails into the Sunset

Just as a reminder, I'm running a quick prize giveaway for whoever goes to my website at http://www.bessmcbride.com/gpage5.html, watches my new book trailer for A Trail of Love, coming out on August 16th, and posts a comment on Anna Kathryn's blog with the name of the handsome bear ranger. The deadline is midnight tonight Hawaii time. For all I know, that could be sometime tomorrow! :-)

I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Bess McBride
www.bessmcbride.com
www.rvromance.com

Good Morning from Guest Blogger Bess McBride

Good morning (afternoon to some of you) all!

Anna has graciously allowed me to guest blog today! Since it's 11 a.m. Mountain Time, she must be wondering if I was ever going to show up! But you all know how it is...I wanted to get my e-mails out of the way before I settled in for a visit.

I've "known" Anna for, oh, about nine months now when I first joined a multi-author contest she was coordinating. I've been a contest addict ever since. I have to tell you an insider tip though! Anna and Skhye give away the best prizes! Okay, nuff said. Can't reveal any more than that!

And speaking of prizes...Anna asked me if I wanted to give away a prize today while guest blogging, and I said...sure! So, the prize will be a free download of my upcoming release, A Trail of Love, my contemporary romance set in Glacier National Park featuring a woman running from a painful past, a handsome bear ranger, grizzly bears and love, love, love.

But what's the contest part, you say?

Hmmm...thinking.... Okay, got it! I just finished the book trailer for A Trail of Love, and (not to overuse the word), I "love" it! Love those book trailers.

Here's the link to the book trailer page on my web site http://www.bessmcbride.com/gpage5.html. Go ahead and give the trailer a look see, and tell me what the handsome bear ranger's name is.

You've got till midnight tonight (let's make it Hawaii time) to post the answer in a comment to this blog!

I'll be back in a few!

Bess McBride

"Romances for Armchair Travelers"

www.bessmcbride.com www.myspace.com/bessmcbride

www.rvromance.com

Love of My Heart available now

A Sigh of Love available now

A Trail of Love coming August 16, 2008

A Train Through Time coming August 22, 2008

Caribbean Dreams of Love coming December 12, 2008

www.thewildrosepress.com www.amazon.com

A Love Story

A Love Story

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived:

Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others including Love.

One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all repaired their boats and left.

Love wanted to persevere until the last possible moment. When the island was almost sinking, Love decided to ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?"

Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel, "Vanity, please help me!"

"I can't help you Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked for help, "Sadness, let me go with you."

"Oh....Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her!

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come Love, I will take you." It was an elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that he even forgot to ask the elder his name. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went his own way.

Love, realizing how much he owed the elder and asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who was the person who helped me?"

"It was Time," Knowledge answered.

"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"

Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because, only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is."


~Anna Kathryn (who didn't write this, but is just passing it along)