Author Cheryl Brooks – Guest Post and Giveaway

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Today author Cheryl Brooks is here to celebrate her new release, FUGITIVE.  I just started reading this series and I am loving it! She is a talented author and wonderful person to chat with!  Here is what Ms. Brooks had to share with everyone!

Cheryl Brooks Guest Blog, author of Fugitive
Hello, there! My name is Cheryl Brooks, and I’m the author of The Cat Star Chronicles series of erotic futuristic romance. The latest installment, Fugitive, is now on the shelves, so I’m making the rounds of all the terrific romance blogs to promote its release. Today, My Overstuffed Bookshelf has asked me to discuss my favorite part about writing Fugitive and what my ideal writing day would be like.
Aside from all the steamy love scenes, my favorite part about writing Fugitive was creating the fun supporting characters. When I first began this series, I envisioned a species of alien men who were the best lovers in the galaxy, and I’ve got another hot one in Manx, but to add to the fun of Fugitive, I came up with the ultimate housekeeping droid, Klog. His name is an acronym for Keeping the Lid On the Garbage and though he doesn‘t talk, he‘s a terrific cook and always knows just exactly what you‘re craving. An astute judge of character, he instinctively knows the good guys from the bad, and if it comes down to a fight, he’s got your back. He can clean your house, wash and mend your clothes, smooth out the sand on the beach, squirt whipped cream out of his “finger,” and whip up one helluva margarita. And he does all of this while speaking only in beeps, chirps, buzzes, and mumbles. So far, every woman who has read the book wants a Klog and a Manx, in that order!
Then there is Zef, the eltran, who has a mouth like a drunken sailor and a heart of gold. He’s an ugly, lumpy, aging amphibian who looks like a mudskipper with a bad case of poison ivy. He loves to talk, and has taken on the role of matchmaker/go-between with Manx, the sexy Zetithian hero who has taken refuge in the jungle of Barada Seven, and Drusilla, a wildlife artist who has been too busy painting to notice the lack of love in her life. Writing Zef’s dialog was a liberating exercise in unrestrained comments on life, love, and the world in general.
As fun as it was to write Fugitive, the days that I spent writing it were far from ideal. Distractions and setbacks abound during the penning of a novel, but if I could just have that one perfect day—or two or three—just think how many books I could write in a year! I might even be able to keep up with my original attempt to write a 90,000 word book every three months. Alas, those days when I could just write books are a thing of the past. Now that I’m published, I’m writing blogs, editing, promoting, and revising all the time. But since I’ve been asked to describe my ideal writing day, I must ponder this question, so here goes:
That perfect day would be one in which I didn‘t get hungry—or at least had Klog here to do the shopping and prepare my meals for me. It would be a day in which the words would flow without interruption or hesitation. I wouldn‘t get tired and feel the need to dive into my bed (which is right next to my desk) when fatigue overcomes me. I would have brilliant ideas and always have just the right words to convey them to my readers. My feet would be warm. My hip wouldn‘t hurt. My chair would be comfortable. My computer wouldn‘t lock up. The phone wouldn‘t ring. Emails could pop up but would not tempt me away from my work. My puppy wouldn’t wet on the carpet, but would bark cheerfully to call me to the door to let her out. And above all, my house would be clean!
On that day, I wouldn‘t feel the need to check Facebook to feed my fish on Fishville or harvest my pineapples on Farm Town. I wouldn‘t fret over whether or not my editor will like what I‘ve written; I would simply write it the way I want it and not get upset when I have to make revisions. I wouldn‘t think of something else I needed to do and have to stop in the middle of a sentence to address the situation—like I just did while I was writing this blog. I could focus on one thing at a time, instead of having to multitask.
All that being said, any day spent writing is a good one. I enjoy what I do and wouldn’t have missed this experience for the world. I’ve loved interacting with my readers and hearing their comments on what I’ve written. Romance readers are the best fans in the world and they make it all worthwhile.
Now, if I could only find a Klog of my very own…
About the Author
Cheryl Brooks is an Intensive Care Unit nurse by night and a romance writer by dayt. Previous books in The Cat Star Chronicles series include Slave, Warrior, Rogue and Outcast. Hero, book six, will be in stores August 2010. She is a member of the RWA and lives with her husband and sons in Bloomfield, Indiana. For more information, please visit http://cherylbrooksonline.com/


FUGITIVE BY CHERYL BROOKS—IN STORES JANUARY 2010
When a Zetithian fugitive meets a beautiful Earth woman, their passion may cost them both their lives…
Manx is a Zetithian fugitive with a feline gene that gives him remarkable sexual powers. He has been in hiding in the remote jungles of Barada Seven ever since being marked for extermination by the violent Nedwuts.
Artist Drusilla arrives on Barada Seven, enticed only by the promise of finding a nature paradise there. But she discovers a wildlife she wasn’t expecting when she encounters Manx. Reckless with desire for the beautiful Earth woman, Manx risks his life to win her as his mate.
It’s only a matter of time until the Nedwuts find them, but it will take all of Manx and Drusilla’s passion, skill, and ingenuity to survive.
 
GIVEAWAY:
Thanks to Soucebooks, I have 2 copies of Fugitive to giveaway.  This prize will come straight from the publisher!  So 2 copies means 2 winners!!

To enter the contest:
1. Be a follower of my blog!
2. Leave a comment with your email address and if you have a question for Cheryl or just want to say hi, give her a shout out!
3. USA and Canada only. No PO Boxes!
That’s it! Contest will end on Feb. 1rst, 2010 with the winners being announced the following day!

GOOD LUCK!

Thank you so much Cheryl for joining me at My Overstuffed Bookshelf today! I wish you all the success with your current books and all future books!

Guest Blog: Carolyn Brown and Giveaway

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Author Carolyn Brown is here for a guest post today! Let’s all give a warm welcome to an awesome author!  She wrote a guest post to share with all of you today and Sourcebooks was kind enough to offer a giveaway! 
Carolyn Brown Guest Blog, author of Getting Lucky
Good morning. It’s a pure pleasure to be here this morning at your website to talk about Getting Lucky and my favorite part about writing romance.
Getting Lucky is the third and final book in the Lucky Series. Lucky in Love came out last September and One Lucky Cowboy in November. Writing all three of them was so much fun that I hated to see the series come to an end.
My favorite part of any book is seeing the characters develop from the beginning to the end. They become more and more real from the first page to the last and when writing a series they get to come back for cameo appearances in the next editions so their characteristics develop even further. That’s the reason I read romance as well as write it. From page one I don’t even know those people. At the end of a good romance, they are my neighbors and we’ve had coffee together.
When they first dance through my mind they are little more than strangers. By the time I finish a book they are as real as the folks who own a ranch out east of town or the ladies down at the grocery store. They have their own quirks and personalities and I know them well enough to know exactly how they’ll react when I pitch a hurdle in their way as they try to get to the happy-ever-after part!
I knew Milli and Beau’s story (Lucky in Love) and how they had met two years before at a wedding in Louisiana but I didn’t know them personally. After the first couple of pages they made my office their home and sat on the futon behind me most of the time. Sometimes Milli actually crawled up on my shoulder and yelled in my ear when I wasn’t telling her story just right. When I finished their book I knew them as well as my own children and Katy Scarlett as well as my granddaughter that age.
Slade and Jane had quite a tale to tell in One Lucky Cowboy but again I didn’t know them very well. I’d met Slade at a barn dance at Beau’s place a couple of times but I’m not sure I even mentioned him by name. Then Jane was on the run from an assassin and wound up at Slade’s ranch. By the time the three of us had run all over Florida, Louisiana, Texas and parts of Oklahoma, we were pretty dang good friends. They’d developed from acquaintances to a couple that I’d take home to meet my momma but I don’t think I’d tell her about that incident in the tattoo parlor down in Florida.
Julie Donavan snuck up on my blind side one night. Griffin Luckadeau had this sweet little girl, Lizzy, that we met in One Lucky Cowboy that stole my heart. So I knew I wanted him to tell me more about his past and how that child inherited his white streak. But then before I could actually sit down and listen to his tale, there was Julie and her daughter, Annie, who had the same white streak, needing to get out of Jefferson where the gossip might hurt Annie’s feelings. Somehow both stories got all tangled together and nagged at me until I decided to get to know them all a lot better. So they brought Annie and Lizzy into my imagination and we began to write Getting Lucky!
All of them brought along their relatives and friends and for the better part of a year we’ve had the most amazing barn dances, cat fights, family parties and even poker games. Shhhhh! Don’t tell anyone that or those fellows in the white jackets will come and force me into group therapy. I don’t think they’d understand that I can’t do that without bringing my friends from the Lucky series with me! And there’s just not room on one of those leather couches for all of us.
Seriously, if I had to name one thing that I like best about writing romance it truly would be the character development, seeing them grow from people I barely know to my very good friends.
So what do you like best about romance? Besides those wonderfully sexy covers, that is!
GETTING LUCKY BY CAROLYN BROWN—IN STORES JANUARY 2010
Single mom Julie Donavan is looking for a place to start over. What she finds after buying a small house on five acres is nothing short of a nightmare.
Single dad “Lucky Griffin” Luckadeau has been crossing horns with his elderly neighbor for years. But when his daughter, Annie, decides she wants the new little girl who lives on the feuding property to be her friend, or better yet her sister, the sparks fly.
These two stubborn hotheads, who irritate each other beyond endurance, refuse to admit that it’s fate that brought them together. And running from the inevitable is only going to bring a double dose of misery…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carolyn Brown, an award-winning author who has published 36 romance novels for the library market, credits her eclectic family for her humor and writing ideas. She was born in Texas but grew up in southern Oklahoma where she and her husband, Charles, a retired English teacher, now make their home in the town of Davis, Oklahoma. They have three grown children and enough grandchildren to keep them young. For more information, please visit http://www.carolynlbrown.com/
 GIVEAWAY:
Thanks to Sourcebooks!  Here is what you could win:
1 set of Carolyn’s trilogy: Lucky in Love, One Lucky Cowboy and Getting Lucky. 
How to enter:
Leave a comment on this post!
Be a follower. 
You must live in the USA or Canada.  No P.O. Boxes.

Contest will end on Saturday, Jan. 30th. Winner will be announced on Sunday. Good Luck!

Thank you so much Carolyn for joining us today! I look forward to reading your books as you are a new to me author! I wish you the great success you deserve with your books that are out now and in the future!

INTERVIEW with Amanda Ashley

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Tuesday , Jan. 26th, marks the release date of EVERLASTING KISS by Amanda Ashley.  She was kind enough to do an interview with My Overstuffed Bookshelf for you to read and enjoy! So let’s give her a warm welcome and get started!


MOB: Thank you so much for coming Amanda and let’s get started!
To start off can you tell the readers a little about yourself?
AA:     Gosh, there’s not a lot to tell. I married my high school sweetheart. We have 3 grown sons, a Pomeranian, a tortoise, and a wild sparrow that I raised from a baby. I was fortunate that I didn’t have to work when my kids were little. I loved being a stay-at-home Mom and highly recommend it. I love reading, writing, walking my dog, going to the movies, and collecting Star Wars and Beauty and the Beast things.  

MOB: Can you tell us a little about your new or current releases?

AA:     You know, it’s easy to write the books but telling about them is difficult. I’ve never been able to do it coherently in a few sentences, so I suggest checking out my web site where readers can see covers, read reviews and excerpts. 

MOB: When you are not writing, what kind of books do you like to read? Do you have any favorite authors that are must reads?

AA:    I read mostly paranormal romances. My fav authors, in no particular order, are Charlaine Harris’s Sookie books, Patricia Brings’ Mercy Thompson series, Maggie Shayne, Jim Butcher’s Dresden files, Lori Handeland’s Nightcreature books, Patricia Simpson, and Michelle Rowen. Oh, and Kay Hooper. I just finished her book, Blood Sins, and loved it.  

MOB: What are 3 things that are “must haves” for you when you sit down to write a new book?

AA:         Chocolate, chocolate, and chocolate. 
MOB: List your favorites:
Snack– tangerines
Drink– hot chocolate 
Perfume– allergic
Candy– dark chocolate Dove bars 
Color- blue

MOB: I am a fly on your wall today. What would I see in the day of Amanda Ashley?
 
AA:    LOL. Depends on the day. Generally, I get up, feed the animals, feed my husband, read the paper, read my email, run whatever errands need to be done, clean the house. I usually do most of my writing at night while my husband watches football, baseball, basketball, golf, old westerns and the news. But I have been known to write most of the day and night from time to time.  
MOB: Which one of your books was your favorite book to write and why?
AA:      That is such a hard question! I think maybe Embrace the Night because it was such a change of pace for me after writing so many historicals, and because I adored my hero. Plus, it was fun setting it in the past and the present.  
MOB: Where can we purchase your books?
AA:     Bookstores You can also purchase them on Amazon or from my publishers online
  
    Zebra 
    
MOB: Do you have a blog or website that your readers can keep up with you and your books?
AA:       www.amandaashley.net
 
       I update my page every few days. I also run a monthly contest and give away one of my books, covers, and bookmarks. Nothing required except to sign my guestbook. I also have a newsletter I send out, usually when I have a new book coming out or if something really exciting happens.

WINNER of Entwined By Fate Gift Pack!!!

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The contest for the great gift pack from Stella and Audra has now ended.  I want to thank everyone for entering and to say thank you to Stella and Audra for allowing me to join in the promo tour for this awesome book!  I look forward to the great success it brings for you!
And the winner is:
 
Congrats! Please email me within 48 hours with your mailing address so I can get it to Stella so she can ship it out to you.  If I don’t hear back from you in 48 hours I will have to pick new winner!