Thursday, June 27, 2013

Secrets and Sins: Gabriel Blog Tour and "Boston Strong" Swag Pack Giveaway!

The Secrets and Sins: Gabriel Blog Tour has officially started! The tour runs from June 24th through July 24th with various stops and blogs about secrets...sins...songs about stalkers... Hee-hee!

Up for grabs at the end of the tour is an Amazon Gift Card and Gabriel's "Boston Strong" swag pack, which includes a Boston Strong tee and matching tote bag! Just enter through the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here are the dates and places of where I'll be for the next month! Come visit me at these sites through the tour. I'd love to see you there!
Naima


Saturday, June 22, 2013

Flowers, George Washington and My Trusty Kindle!

Stop #3 on my When-I-Go-To-Boston-I-Must-See-This Tour!

The Boston Public Garden. While my husband abandons me to go and visit Fenway Park after I've dragged him to Sondra Celli's dress shop, The Freedom Trail and Charles Street for shopping, I would stop by one of Boston's famous parks, located right in the heart of downtown Boston. It's like an oasis of vibrant, colorful flowers and trees with a lake, beautiful bridge and swan boats.

And the statues. Sigh. Did I mention the statues? The towering bronze figure of George Washington on his horse, the stately image of Massachusetts congressman, Charles Sumner, and the adorable bronze figures of a mother duck and her ducklings all in a row from the children's story, Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. Just to name a few.

 
Oh yes. While the hubby basked in baseball heaven, I'd pick a bench, pull out a book--or a Kindle--then sit and enjoy one of Boston's beautiful landmarks--it's own slice of heaven.

So there's Stop #3! Remember, the GIVEAWAY for the Amazon Gift Card and Advanced Readers Copy of Secrets and Sins: Gabriel is still going strong until Sunday, the 23rd! You can enter through the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Gypsy Wedding Dresses &Freee-duum! (As Cried by William Wallace)

So Stop #1 on my trip to Boston:

Sondra Celli's dress shop. One of my guilty pleasures is TLC's My Big Fact American Gypsy Wedding. I'm just telling all my secrets! Hee-hee! Well one of the reasons I tune in is to see what over-the-top, outrageous creation dressmaker, Sondra Celli, will create for the American traveller community. She is amazing! And walking through her Boston-based store and work space would be such fun! I'd love to see where the magic happens!

  Stop #2:
 The famous Freedom Trail! I love history. When my husband and I go on vacation, it's almost always to cities rich in history--Savannah, Charleston, St. Augustine... Okay, I pick the cities but, anyway, he enjoys himself. I mean, that's what he tells me... Anyhoo, the Freedom Trail is a must-visit place for me. Walking in the footsteps of America's freedom fighters, seeing where this country's independence was hard fought for would be an incredible memory. Faneuil Hall, the Bunker Hill Monument, the site of the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere's home, the grave marker for Crispus Attucks. It would be like strolling through time.

 
So those are two of my When-I-go-I-must-see stops in Boston!  
Remember, the GIVEAWAY for the Amazon Gift Card and Advanced Readers Copy of Secrets and Sins: Gabriel is still going strong until Friday, the 21st! You can enter through the Rafflecopter below!
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, June 17, 2013

Giveaway! "Boston Strong"...and New Kids on the Block!

 

Throughout my lifetime—which has been admittedly short because I’m only, like, 25-ish—I’ve had obsessions. Some have waned over the years, but others have persevered. Twinkies. Michael Jackson. Corey Feldman. Coffee. Ireland. Vin Diesel.

While Twinkies, Mike and Corey have all fallen by the proverbial wayside—like in a deep, dark ditch never to be resurrected again!—my love affairs with coffee, Ireland and Vin (sigh) have survived the tests of time. Let’s face it. Coffee is God’s way of saying, “I love you!” every morning…and afternoon…and evening. Ireland is “God’s Country”, and Vin…Well, Vin is God’s Gift to womankind. Voice, muscles, bald head. *Squiggy knuckle bite*

But there’s been another obsession that started waaay back in the day. Hold up. Wait. How old am I again? Oh that’s right 24. So, y’know, it started a few years ago.

My love for the city of Boston.

Are you from Boston, you ask. Have you ever lived there, you wonder. Do you have family there, you inquire. No, unh-unh, and not even a play cousin. So how did my passion for this great city begin? Umm...cue hemming and hawing...
 
New Kids on the Block.
 
Fine! New Kids on the Block! There! I said it! I'll Be Loving You Forever. Please Don't Go Girl. Donnie Wahlburg--whom I still love, and if he showed up on my doorstep today, I'd tie him to my bed and show him I have The Right Stuff! Get it? Get it? The song The Right Stuff? *roll eyes* Yeah, you don't want to admit you get it, but you do! Anyhoo, I was a total NKOTB fanatic! I had the big buttons, t-shirts, bought the Teen Beat and Big Bop magazines to collect their pictures, dolls... Ayiight! Yes! I had a doll! Sheesh. I thank you not to judge.
 
But as I was saying, since I was in lu-uv with Donnie, I also fell in complete adulation with his hometown. I mean, it was where we'd move when we married. I'd spend hours writing love stories about us meeting (he was him and I was the lead guitarist in a rock band) and how he took one looong, hooded, sensual (yes, even at 12 I knew how a man in lust gazed at a woman!) look at me and couldn't do without me in his life. And of course my mad guitar skills just wowed the hell outta him! We'd date, fight, make-up, marry and move to Boston. So along with doctoring phoney birth certificates for our three children, I also researched the city of Boston, it's diverse neighborhoods and proud people. And though my obsession with the New Kids waned--a little--my love for Boston grew and lasted through the years.
 
Many of us first learned about Boston in grade school with the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Bunker Hill during the Revolutionary War. It's one of the oldest cities in the United States, and is so rich with history. From Beacon Hill to South End, to Dorchester to Jamaica Plain, the people are as diverse as the neighborhoods. I can imagine travelling from one end of the massive city to the other would be like sampling a smorgasbord of cultures. Italy, Ireland, Vietnam, Asia, India, South America... The city is saturated with colleges and universities, theatres, museums, and let's not forget sports. Although I would like to forget. I mean Troy Polamalu doesn't play for any of their sports teams... But as someone who is unwillingly entangled in the Auburn-Alabama feud just because of geography, I can appreciate the fierce pride Bostonians have in their sports teams. Don't understand it, but appreciate it... But like I said, Troy doesn't play, sooo.... 
 
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_Montage.jpgWhen the bombing at the Boston Marathon occurred on April 15, 2013, I was home, watching television and caught the first of the news footage only two hours after it happened. I was shocked and so saddened. First, because of the evil and complete disregard for human life that would allow someone to commit such a heinous act of terrorism. Second, because of the devastation, grief and loss that so many families would face in the aftermath. But as we all saw in the hours and days afterward, the people of this city rallied and demonstrated why they are "Boston Strong". The courage, tirelessness and strength displayed by Boston's people from law enforcement to every day citizens was not just phenomenal, but inspiring. My new release, Secrets and Sins: Gabriel, from Entangled Publishing's Entangled Suspense line is set in Boston. And while I love the city, after this horrifying event followed up by the power of the human spirit, I'm so proud of the setting for Gabriel, as well as the three other books in the series. There isn't a better, more beautiful, stronger city for a story of good triumphing over evil, hope, healing and love.  

Next week, I hope you join me on my blog tour for the release of Secrets and Sins: Gabriel where you can win Gabriel's Boston Strong Swag Pack and an Amazon Gift Card!
 
For this week--June 17th through the 21st--I'm offering a $15 Amazon Gift Card and an ARC of Gabriel! Join me here through the week as I add the places I would love to visit in Boston! I think you might be surprised! Think history, gypsies, wedding gowns and shopping!
 
 
Twenty years ago, Leah Bannon’s beloved Uncle Richard vanished without a trace. Leah, now a private investigator, begins to suspect it was murder. When she reopens the cold case, Gabriel Devlin—-the man she loves but can never have—-inexplicably stands in her way.

Only four people know the truth about Richard’s mysterious disappearance—-Gabriel and three childhood friends...who have all sworn to take that secret to the grave. But a hidden enemy wants those shocking secrets brought to light...even if he has to kill to make it happen.

After experiencing an unimaginable loss two years ago, Gabriel refuses to put himself through the pain of loving someone who could be gone in an instant. But as he thwarts Leah’s investigation at every turn—-both to keep his friends’ pact, and to keep her safe from danger—-the sexy PI makes it impossible for him to protect his secrets. Or his heart...
 
There are several ways to enter my Goodreads contest through the Rafflecopter below..but don't cheat yourself, my publicist is gaw-geous, has a whip and isn't afraid to use it! LOL! She's a stickler for the rules and won't even let me peek until the contest is over! :D I'd love to hear your comments on Boston, New Kids on the Block, or how much you are soooo looking forward to Gabriel!

Don't forget! It would be a sin not to join me for the offical Gabriel Blog Tour starting June 24th! Mah birthday! Yaay me! *Jazz hands and kick* I'll be giving away a Boston Strong T-shirt, Secets and Sins: Gabriel swag pack and an Amazon gift card!
 
 
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Headed to God's Country! Ooh! And My New Cover!

Ireland, here I come!

Yes! I'm going back to Ireland! God's Country! Eire!

Sigh.

I love Ireland. The history. The beauty of the land. The people. I first travelled there in 2007, and have been so eager to return ever since.


St. Patrick's Bridge
Why Ireland? I've had a grand passion for this country for years, and the blame can be placed squarely on Nora Roberts' shoulders. I fell in love with God's Country from her Born In series. How she described the beautiful land and people, the myths and history... She made me believe I could find my own Rogan or Murphy in this land of tragic lyrics, haunting music and never-say-die warriors. Well, I ended up finding my hero in Alabama, but still...


St. Finbarre's Cathedral
I leave for Cork City this July, and one of the things I'm looking forward to is carrying my notebook around and jotting down notes about pubs, landmarks, people and stories. I want to capture my impressions of the historical structures to the sounds and accents on Winthrop Street. Because when I return home, all of it will be applied to a new book set in my favorite country! A brooding Irishman with dark hair and blue eyes. A sexy brogue. Green, patchwork fields and rolling hills. A large bed and roaring fire as rain falls and mists outside. Yeah... I have no idea what the plot or character arc will be but it will have my sexy hero with an accent and a big bed!

But before I bow out to go dream about my trip and new hero, guess who has a new cover and release? ME! That's right! The second book in the Dark Judgment series, Bitten by Ecstasy, is coming out on June 21 2013!


Blurb:
A brutal attack left Bastien Sarris for dead. But a chance encounter with a mysterious female drags him back from the brink of death—and transforms the hippogryph healer into a monster he doesn’t recognize. Now a terrible hunger consumes him—one that is becoming impossible to satisfy. Desperate for a cure, he hunts the cruxim who cursed him to a hellish existence. But the petite warrior ignites a fierce desire that overwhelms the sweet call of blood.

For three hundred years, SinĂ©ad lived and hunted as a cruxim—a winged vampire hunter. But one sacrificial act stripped her of immortality, leaving her human, vulnerable and unprepared for the reappearance of Bastien in her life. The hippogryph shifter is harder and colder than she remembers…and he triggers an onslaught of need that’s as powerful as it is unfamiliar. She craves his kiss, his touch. Yet even as she surrenders to this newfound passion, she faces a crucial decision—betray the man she’s come to love and regain her immortality—or save Bastien and condemn herself to a human life and death.