A whole new online addiction: Pinterest!

I’ve recently developed a whole new online addiction: Pinterest!

I first joined several months ago and created a couple of groups of pictures (boards) based on my first two romance novels, The Royal Sheikh and Her Latin Lover. I also created a miscellaneous group of pictures that I just generally liked the look of. Having done that, I promptly forgot all about the web site!

Double, Triple Sheikh Romance Novel Giveaway!

What could be better this Valentine's Day than a free romance novel, except perhaps several free romances! This year I'm celebrating the release of my bestselling sheikh romance series by giving away a free ebook copy of the complete set, The Desert Sheikh (3 books in 1!) In addition, I'm also offering a free ebook copy of my first sheikh romance, The Royal Sheikh.


What are people saying about The Desert Sheikh?

The Desert Sheikh was filled with sweet romance and two people working to bridge the cultural gaps that kept them apart. A strong woman finds a strong man, and they come together to create a successful marriage of two cultures. Love is the best bridge between people. Highly recommended.
5 stars

I loved the way the author broke the novel into three different sections. These sections are about the same couple but during different phases of their romance. Each section has a different obstacle they have to face. I like how they are woven together and I have to admit I fell a little in love with the sheikh myself. Where do I find this guy?
5 stars


What about The Royal Sheikh?

The Royal Sheikh is a page turner that I read in one evening. I love romance and this book will warm your heart. Clare is an architect in training and meets Rafiq one evening while out with her friend, Louise. Rafiq and Clare meet in the most unromantic way, although he quickly becomes entranced by her. They are both intrigued by each other and secretly hope to see each other again.
5 stars

The book is a must read for the romantic at heart. I loved the turns and twists in the plot. When things were going right I felt like cheering, and when things were going badly I felt like crying. That is certainly the tell-tell signs of a great book. If you believe in romance then you will want to read this book.
5 stars

Hot New Release! The Desert Sheikh

This week I am super excited to see my latest romance novel, The Desert Sheikh, on the virtual bookshops where it is already selling fast!

What's it about?

The first book, Kidnapped By The Sheikh, is about a woman, Dr Sarah Greenwich, who is kidnapped on her way to the airport by a Bedouin warlord, Sheikh Akbar Al-Zafir, in the mistaken belief that she is the British Ambassador's wife. Eventually, the sheikh discovers that he has been tricked, but by then it is too late, he has already fallen in love with his captive. . .

However, in Book 2, Married To The Sheikh, Sarah quickly discovers that life in the desert is not as idyllic as it could be. Although the sheikh is a passionate, sensual lover, he is not the perfect husband. Also, there are other women who want to get into Sheikh Akbar's bed. Eventually, Sarah is forced to make a terrible choice. . .

In Book 3, The Sheikh's Son, Sarah and Akbar struggle to reconcile their completely different lifestyles and cultures: she's a doctor living in London, while he's a Bedouin ruler from the Arabian peninsula. However, the presence of Ali, their only child and the sheikh's heir, forces them into trying to find a solution. . .

Although each story stands on its own and can be bought separately as novellas, they are also published together as a complete book, The Desert Sheikh, so people can read them in order (and save money!!)

Triple Romance Christmas Giveaway!

#XmasGIVEAWAY

 

Gifting Books Christmas hop was organized by Reading Romances!

 

Christmas is a time for sharing and this year, thanks to two wonderful romance authors, K. E. Saxon and Jan Romes, I am giving away three romance novels to one lucky winner!

 

The first novel is the bestselling Scottish romance, Highland Vengeance, by K. E. Saxon.

 

Set in the turn of the thirteenth century Scottish Highlands, this is the story of Daniel MacLaurin, a handsome, rugged warrior-laird haunted by his past, and Maryn Donald, the beautiful, high-spirited lass destined to help him find his heart's ease.

After his mother and grandfather, the only family he has ever known, are viciously murdered in a surprise invasion when he is a lad of 13, Daniel spends years focusing on training as a warrior and rebuilding his fortress, determined to control the world around him so that nothing like it will ever happen again.

The Desert Sheikh - The Next Big Thing?

After The Royal Sheikh and Her Latin Lover, what’s next? Find out in The Next Big Thing! However, first I’d like to thank Elizabeth Amisu who tagged me on her wonderful website for this.

1) What is the working title of your next book?

I’m currently working on a book called The Desert Sheikh. It’s a trilogy of three stories called, Kidnapped by the Sheikh, Married to the Sheikh and The Sheikh's Son.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

The initial idea for this Sheikh romance was inspired by a story I heard many years ago about a family that was travelling to the airport in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, and on the way there, they were kidnapped by a local warlord. They were released two weeks later and reported that they had been treated very well by their kidnappers, more like guests than hostages. The memory of this story started me thinking about what would happen if the person who was kidnapped was a single woman instead of a family, and what would happen if she fell in love with the warlord? 

So You Want To Be A Bestselling Author: What Should You Write About?

Thousands of people, like myself, have published on Amazon in the last few years and many thousands more are planning to. However, if you’re a first time author, you might be faced with the dilemma of what to write. You know that you want to publish a book, and hopefully become the next bestselling author, another E L James, Amanda Hocking or John Locke, but where do you start?

Spring Giveaway! Win Two Romance Novels!

You could win a free copy of both my contemporary romance novels, Her Latin Lover, normally $2.99, and The Royal Sheikh, normally $4.99 (but currently on sale for only 99c!), a total saving of almost $8.00!

Just click HERE and head over to Ritesh Kala's Book Reviews before 5th May to take part in this great giveaway!

As part of this giveaway, I am being interviewed by the wonderful Ritesh Kala and talking about my life as a writer, my favourite characters in my books (and my least favourite!) and what I'm working on now. Click HERE to come and take a look. Hope to see you there!  

Her Latin Lover is Now Covered

My new romance novel, Her Latin Lover, now has a great book cover thanks to Judy Bullard at http://www.jaebeecreations.com. I love the cover she did for my first contemporary romance, The Royal Sheikh, so I asked her if she could design one for my next book, Her Latin Lover. It is set in South America so I wanted a slightly different feel to the previous cover, e.g. the font that she used for the title had to change, as did the background image. However, she kept the same font for my name and placed it at the bottom of the cover as before, so that there would be some consistency between the two books. Hopefully this will help people see that they are by the same author, though this time Judy gave my name a slight pinkish hue which I think looks great. Thank you Judy for the gorgeous cover!

Her Latin Lover has been picked over by several editors, which is always a nerve-wracking process, but they said they loved it, just as long as I made the changes they suggested! It is now with a professional proofreader, but as soon as I get it back and change any errors (hopefully there won't be too many of them!) the book will be published on Amazon.  Watch this space!


Stop Press! Her Latin Lover is now available on Amazon! Click here to grab your copy.

Lots of Free Love to Celebrate Valentine’s Day this February!

With Valentine’s Day, February is the month of love, so I’m giving everyone heaps of chances to win some FREE romance novels this month with not just one, but four giveaways! Here’s how you can win loads of great romance this month:

Great Book Giveaway! Angels and Romance for Christmas

Christmas is just around the corner and the festive season is here!  To celebrate, I am following up Ellen Gable's recent offer of a free copy of In Name Only, with the chance to win not just one, but two free books this Christmas!

The Royal Sheikh - The Facts Behind the Fiction

My contemporary romance, The Royal Sheikh, is based in a fictitious country in the Middle East and in the words of a recent review on Readers Favorite, it mixes 'fantasy and fiction'.  But what is life really like in the Middle East?  Rather than write about it myself, as I might slip back into the realms of fantasy, I asked Chris Combe, an experienced expat author, if he could give my readers a glimpse into life out here and he kindly provided me with this excerpt from his best-selling guide to living in Dubai, 'One Year in Wonderland':

Upgrade your life!

UPGRADE has been upgraded

Stephen Hise has recently upgraded the book cover for ‘Upgrade’, a romantic suspense novel about a man who decides to upgrade his life. Personally, I love the new cover and it reminded of when I upgraded the cover for my book ‘The Royal Sheikh’ (see my earlier, rather succinct post, ‘New book cover’).  It also got me thinking about the whole topic of ‘upgrades’.

What Does Romance Smell Like?

I love perfume!  I think I have worn perfume almost everyday of my life since I was a teenager, my first one being Blue Grass, which my mother bought for me during a trip we made to Paris.  Whenever ever I smell it, I am instantly taken back to a time when I was young and my mother was showing me how to dab the scent carefully onto my wrists and behind my ears.  As well as taking us to difference points in our lives, perfume can also evoke different people.  My father always wore Eau Savage by ChristianDior and every time I smell it, I am always reminded of him. 

Classic romance

Many thanks to Romance Novel Junkies for reviewing 'The Royal Sheikh' .  In short, they thought the book was 4/5 stars and likened it to 'a classical romantic read'.  The also said that 'If you feel in the mood for something romantic, nothing hardcore, then this could be your read' which I think is a good summary of the book.  It's the type of romance that you could share with your mum.  In fact, I did share it with my mum! Click here if you want to read the full review on Amazon.

We love a good classic romance!  In fact there are a lot of classics that we like, such as a Kelly handbag, a Chanel suit, a Rolls Royce, a Tiffany's diamond braclet, a Hermes scarf, the list goes on (only wish I had some of them!)

No time to pack

Having published, 'The Royal Sheikh' all my time is now taken up with marketing it, which seems to involve learning countless new forms of technology!  This has meant that I've spent no time getting ready for my holidays and will probably have to pack at the last minute.

A friend of mine once packed for a business trip to the States in a hurry and it was only when she arrived at Heathrow that she realised that she'd forgotten to pack her clothes!  She spent the whole of the 1st week in LA wearing the same thing to the office each day (she said that there was no time to shop until the weekend).

PS The woman in the picture is not me.  It is is how I wish I looked at airports: calm, relaxed and smartly dressed.  Sadly, the reality is always the opposite.

Great Summer Sale!

You can now get over 25% off The Royal Sheikh at Smashwords as part of their July sale, but you'll need to hurry as the offer runs out on 31 July.

Personally I love a good sale and I'm looking forward to picking up some bargains in this year's summer sales. I'll mainly be looking for clothes (my husband says I desperately need some new ones - he's probably right). Also, while I'm on holiday, I'll check out any local second-hand and charity shops for books, jewellery, silver etc. I'll let you know if I find anything interesting.

A good read

The Royal Sheikh is now available on Smashwords, which means you can download it in lots of different formats, e.g. as a pdf file, and also in some formats which I've never even heard of, like Palm Doc - what's that?!?  There's also an option to read 20% of it for free to see if you like it (I hope you do). 

I like the idea of a 'free sample', as who hasn't read part of a book in a store before buying it?  Have you ever read the whole book in a bookshop?  My brother once tried to do it in WHSmiths in the UK.  I think he was on the last chapter when they kicked him out.  Undeterred, he returned the next day and finished off the book.  That was many years ago (he was about ten at the time).  Nowadays, bookstores seem to positively encourage it by having comfy chairs and coffee shops in-store.  I presume this is to encourage customers as they face ever-increasing competition form online retailers like Amazon.  I for one, love a good bookstore and will continue to visit them as well as buying online - that way I get the best of both worlds!

New book cover

The Royal Sheikh now has a new book cover, thanks to a great designer and my editor's advice. It should be 'live' on Amazon in the next day or so. What do you think?