Write Stuff: July 2017

Monday, July 31, 2017

Blog Tour: A Romantic Getaway with LA Dragoni, author of GUARDIAN'S TOUCH

A Romantic Getaway with LA Dragoni

When my husband and I got married (twenty-five years ago, thank you very much!) my then boss gave us a luxurious weekend trip to Monterey, California.

The hotel was right on the beach so we heard the shushing of the waves twenty-four hours a day. There was a small patio for us to sit on to enjoy the spectacular ocean view. The room was large with a separate sitting area and fireplace. But what I loved the most was the in-room Jacuzzi. It was more than a tub – it was a two person Jacuzzi smack dab in the middle of the room. I remember when I first walked in I was a bit taken aback by it being right out in the open. I’m a shy person and not prone to exhibitionism. But you know what? It turned out to be my favorite thing about the room.

I based the room Tamara and Dex stay in during their own romantic getaway in Guardian’s Touch on that visit, though Tamara and Dex are in the mountains, not seaside.

For our official honeymoon, my husband and I went down to San Diego and visited Sea World and the San Diego Zoo. But we’ve always considered that we had two honeymoons because that gifted trip was so wonderful.

Have you had the pleasure of a honeymoon? Tell us where in the comments. Or if you’re yet to have one, tell us your ideal trip. After all, around here money’s no object. Then be sure to claim all the entries you qualify for in the rafflecopter for your chance to win the swag pack.

GUARDIAN’S TOUCH by LA Dragoni

Life has returned to normal for Tamara and Dex after helping a horde of ghosts cross over. Their brush with the afterlife affirmed one thing: happily ever after is real.

When odd pranks around the farm escalate to destruction, Tamara fears mischievous teenagers are vandalizing the neighborhood. Then Dex starts to act out of character. Meanness slips into his usually playful disposition. One day he even ridicules a co-worker publicly. Tamara watches helplessly as he seems to lose the ability to control his own actions. When Dex’s abnormal anger turns violent—toward Tamara—their happily ever after is threatened. Desperate to help Dex and herself, she sends out a silent prayer for help.

She didn’t expect Cal to come to her aid.

Available August 1st on Amazon in print and for Kindle, pre-order your copy today.

Book 1 is 99¢ for a limited time
http://amzn.to/1G7ZpC4

a Rafflecopter giveaway ABOUT THE AUTHOR

LA Dragoni isn’t too particular about who falls in love or where they fall in love. Whether it’s paranormal, mythical, or time travel, LA simply considers it her job to divine their story and share it with you. She lives in Central Oregon with her husband and children, but haunts ghost towns and cemeteries throughout the west, in search of the next adventure to sift through her storytelling brain. Learn more about LA and her work at ladragoni.com

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Picture Post: #AuthorLife

By: Meradeth Houston on 8:26 AM

I'm late this week with posting, but thought I'd share some pics from my recent trip home to visit my family. Just a few little snaps from NorCal :)

My sister, as we loaded up on Halo Top ice cream :)

This photo doesn't quite do justice to how dirty these puppies got. They jumped IN the irrigation canal and then rolled in the mud. They had a blast, though I was just glad not to be the one having to clean them up!

One of the crops at home (we live in the middle of nowhere ag land), is sunflowers. This is from one of the huge expanses nearby. I love them! Even though before they are harvested they look terrible :)

Dip my toes in the pool at my grandma's. The pool was at 90F! That's a bathtub.

Out my mom's front door. I grew up in a 1904 farmhouse that's had all kinds of random changes and additions so that it looks very different, but the garden is amazing, and my mom spends a lot of time and energy making it look great.

Gah! I couldn't get enough!

I got to babysit these little pups (almost 7months old, and brothers, believe it or not). They were the best little guys and so much energy and love.

After Reading: DARK LOVER by J.R. Ward (and giveaway winners!)

By: Meradeth Houston on 7:49 AM

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you so much to all who entered the giveaway last week! The winners should be on the widget above and I've sent them all emails. It was great to hear from you all and hopefully I'll be able to do something like this again :)

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams. (Goodreads)

Okay, so I've been hunting for more books in this genre (paranormal romance) because lately some of my books have been drifting in this direction, but holy-gratuitous-sex Batman, I'm not sure about what to think. I mean, there were some interesting characters in this one, and some decent world building, but from the opening scene that involved a near-rape (which I will always find disturbing though turned into a pivotal part of the plot later), to the two main characters basically not even speaking before jumping each other, I did have my issues. Look, I understand chemistry's power, but to completely throw reason out the window? Like total and complete defenestration of any willpower? Come on! Also, this novel read a little too much like magically solving all of Beth's issues and fulfilling all her wishes. Never had a family? Poof, you did have a supernatural dad who watched over you forever and now are queen to a group of men who act like your family. Never had money? Poof, your dad was wealthy beyond all measure. Sigh, that's just dull to me. Make the MC work for it! (Not that I would, personally, ever turn down someone suddenly handing me millions of dollars...hell, even a dollar....) Anyhow, it was a decent read, but not enough to pull me into the next one, but good enough for hot summer nights :)

#Giveaway: THE CHEMIST by Stephanie Meyer #amreading

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:00 AM

A few weeks ago I wrote a review for The Chemist, which I found to be a super fun and gripping read. You can check out my review here. Basically, if you enjoy a fast-paced spy novel, with all kinds of twists and turns, along with a delightfully kick-butt female lead, this one's for you :) Seriously, people, this one was great!

Anyhow, so the paperback version releases tomorrow (Tuesday, July 11th), and I received an email from the publicist for the book, asking if I wanted to offer a couple of copies to my reader. Uhhh, duh! I know I have some regular readers who'll love this book.

I'm making this one easy: just leave a comment below about a book you've enjoyed recently (yay for summer reading!) and be sure to note that you entered in the rafflecopter! There are a few other ways to enter, too, if you want. That's it! *Please note the books can only be shipped to US and Canadian addresses!*

In this gripping page-turner, an ex-agent on the run from her former employers must take one more case to clear her name and save her life.

She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn’t even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning.

Now, she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They’ve killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.

When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it’s her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous.Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of. (Goodreads)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#InkRipples: Heroes and Villains!

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:00 AM

#InkRipples is a themed meme hosted by Mary Waibel, Katie L. Carroll, and Kai Strand. We post on the first Monday of every month. If you would like to participate compose your own post regarding the theme of the month, include any of the images displayed on this page, and link back to their three blogs. Feel free to post whenever you want during the month, but be sure to include #inkripples when you promote so readers can find you. The idea is that we toss a word or idea into the inkwell and each post is a new ripple. There is no wrong interpretation.

I am actually posting on the first Monday of the month for my InkRipples post! Woot! That almost never happens :) Anyhow, this month's topic is a good one, though I'm not totally sure where to start. Heroes. Villains. The two main components to a good story. Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is the Netflix show, and Marvel comic, Daredevil. I've been watching this lately while at the gym and rather enjoy it. Why? Because the villains are nicely nuanced, and the heroes aren't very clean cut. It makes for a great, layered, story that drags my mind away from the sweating I'm doing.

Anyhow, Wilson Fisk, the main antagonist from season one and two (sorry, that is a *bit* of a spoiler), thinks that he's out to be the hero. Daredevil sees his methods for what they are: perverse and harmful, and has to stop him. But that doesn't mean that Fisk doesn't see what he's doing as the right thing, the only thing, that has to be done to "save his city." There's a lot more that goes into it, but I do enjoy watching the interplay of two men, ostensibly doing the same thing, but being diametrically opposed to one another.

Okay, so if we're going to go this comic book route, the other end of the spectrum is Superman (well, most of the time). I've often heard the refrain that the Man of Steel is too goody-two-shoes about how he thinks about things. It's very black and white when it comes to who's the good guy and who is not. And at times that can be a little dull. The same goes for Supergirl, and sometimes the Flash--other shows that I find myself sweating to on the treadmill :) (Hmm, might be a trend there in my watching habits, huh?) The "bad guy" is almost always obviously a criminal, and almost always admits to being out to do something nefarious, whether that be rob someone/something or just create mayhem. It can kind of get a little old...

So, what's all this to say? That if I'm working on creating a villain, an antagonist worthy of going up against my hero, I want them to also have their world fleshed out just as much. Their goals and motives should be sound, and not just to create panic/terrorism/some other mayhem that's more a plot device than a story.

What about you--what's you're favorite villain/hero pair?