Five From Layla Wilcox

April 3, 2015 No Comments

Welcome to Five From Friends Friday!

Each week, I’ll share with you five quick and quirky questions and answers

from some of my favorite author friends.

I think you’ll see some familiar faces in here, too.

Quickies from Layla Wilcox

I met Layla when we were part of a promotion last February. We’ll also be working together in a box set this summer. I’m thrilled that she stopped by for a quickie. Or rather. . .for five of them. 😉

Q: Mulder or Scully?

Mulder. I was so pleased to see that the series is being brought back for another six episodes! Almost as exciting as the similar short, updated run of “24.”

Q: Your fairy godmother offers you a choice: a week in an English manor or a week on the beach in Maui. Which would you choose?

Tough choice! Probably a week in an English manor because I lived in a tropical environment for a long time (not as nice as Hawaii, but sometimes beach is beach, and I haven’t been to the UK).

Q: One of your books is being put on film. Would you prefer a feature film or a television series?

Oh, a TV series, especially if it could be adapted to a season’s worth of shows!

Q: You win a contest and can have either unlimited books from Amazon or unlimited coffee from Starbucks. Which one?

Amazon. I don’t even like Starbucks coffee. I’d much prefer to brew my own while reading my unlimited supply of books 😉

Q: Which movie star from before 1980 would you want for a night of. . .fun?

I gave this one lots of thought because… well, so many possibilities. After much consideration, I choose…Steve McQueen.

***

Layla Wilcox is a native New Yorker. She writes about strong women who like all things hot: weather, food, and men–and not necessarily in that order. When not writing erotic romances, Layla enjoys watching entire seasons of old television series on Amazon Prime while eating homemade vegan pizza, followed by dark chocolate.

Follow Layla: Facebook/Twitter/Google+/Newsletter/Blog

***

Satisfying the Billionaire Collection.

(Note: price will be reduced to 99cents as a Kindle Countdown on the date of this post.)

This Collection includes all four books in the SATISFYING THE BILLIONAIRE series.

A billionaire is driven by the need for more. Her one job is to satisfy him.

Barely out of high school, young Kelsey has a demanding job–keeping her middle-aged, billionaire husband Donovan James sexually satisfied.

Continually being prompted to raise the stakes in the bedroom, Kelsey dresses up for role-play games as his nurse, maid, cook, and naughty schoolgirl. But the insatiable Donovan pushes for more and sends her to act out her sexual fantasies with the help while he watches from a hidden location.

The pressure remains on Kelsey to run the show even when Donovan can’t be present. She must figure out how to record her sexual escapades as well as continually find new partners to seduce in front of the hidden cameras.

Sometimes even the best plans go awry, and the results can be devastating–or divine. Kelsey finds the future of her marriage hangs in the balance.

This steamy collection contains explicit sexual content and is intended for readers 18+ years of age.

Amazon US/Amazon UK

Teaser Tuesday

The Only One. . .Teaser #2

March 31, 2015 No Comments

One week from today, The Only One goes live on all venues! Are you ready? I know I am!

Today’s sneak peek features Rilla and Mason . . . she’s working for him, taking care of his daughter and his mother, and they’ve just come from dinner out. Something happened that kind of set Rilla off. Watch out for those quiet types.

“You’re crazy. Just flat-out, no-holds-barred insane.”

Rilla didn’t wait for me to open her door this time when I pulled the truck into the driveway. She jumped out and then leaned back to unbuckle Piper. “Come on, sweet pea. Let’s get you ready for a bath and bed.”

“Rilla, come on. We need to talk about this.” I followed her into the house. “Just wait a second.”

“No, thanks. I’m going to put Piper to bed, and then I’m going to help Naomi with her medicine and help her get changed for bed. And then I’m going to my room and going to bed myself. I suggest you do the same. Clearly you got too much sun today, and it fried your brain.”

“It didn’t go above seventy-two degrees today, Rilla. I don’t have heat stroke. I just—”

“No.” She stopped and spun on her heel, shooting me a stern, shut-your-mouth look that halted me in my tracks. “Not another word.” She turned around again, pausing only at the doorway to my mother’s room. “Naomi, as soon as I get the little one down, I’ll come help you, okay? You all right ‘til then?”

I heard my mom speak, cautious and curious. “I’m fine, darlin’. The bigger question is, are you okay?”

“I’m peachy. Be right back. Piper, say good-night to Nan.”

Rilla bent to set my daughter on the floor, and Piper scampered to hug her grandmother. She ran back to grab Rilla’s hand and marched up the steps.

I went into Mom’s room and dropped into the easy chair, rubbing the back of my neck.

“I’m nearly afraid to ask, but what happened? Here I was happy, thinking the three of you were off having yourselves a time, and instead Rilla comes home in a snit and you’re trailing her around, begging her to give you a minute of time.”

I sighed. “You’re not going to like it, and I’m not sure I can deal with another pissed female tonight. So let’s just say I said something that made perfect sense to me, but apparently was the last thing Rilla wanted to hear.”

Mom laid her head back against the chair. “Oh, son. ‘Fess up, now. Tell me what you did.”

I steepled my fingers and stared down at them. “I asked Rilla to marry me.”

Want to know what happens next? Preorder The Only One NOW and have it on your ereader in one week.

Amazon/iBooks/Nook/Kobo

Friday Free For All

Five From Olivia Hardin

March 27, 2015 1 Comment

Welcome to Five From Friends Friday!

Each week, I’ll share with you five quick and quirky questions and answers

from some of my favorite author friends.

I think you’ll see some familiar faces in here, too.

Quickies from Olivia Hardin

I met my dear friend Olivia through a writer support group on Facebook, which eventually pared down to eight of us who formed Romantic Edge Books. We discovered we had a great deal in common, including a love of history, a inquisitive spirituality and a wickedly irreverent sense of humor. Because we also realized that both of us had somehow missed on certain cultural phenomenon others in group had experienced, we like to joke that we lived under the same rock. It’s a very funny, safe and educational rock, let me tell you. I’m blessed to have Olivia in my life, both as a friend and as a fellow author. Here are her five quickies. . .

Q: Your sweet dog Bonnie Sue is given the gift of speech for five minutes. What is she most likely to say to you?

A: That little dog is probably the “loving-est” animal I’ve ever seen. In the mornings when we wake up she cuddles up and nuzzles our necks and whines and moans to us. I always imagine she’s saying something like: “Good morning, mom. Good morning, dad. I love you. I love you. Promise we’ll always be together. Promise I’ll always be your baby. Now can we get up and go outside? I love you mom and dad. Can we go outside now? Do you love me too, mom? Let’s go, let’s go! Yes, scratch my ears just like that, daddy. Its time to get up! Come on! Let’s go!”

Q: You win the HGTV Dream Home, which is in Martha’s Vineyard this year. Will you move there or sell it?

A: Uhm… I’m thinking I’d sell it. I’m a Texas-gal. I don’t see myself moving anywhere else. Although, maybe I need a second home…

Q:The zombie apocalypse is here, and you can only fit 3 books in your backpack (no Kindles). What books will make the cut?

A: Aztec by Gary Jennings, Glory Road by Robert Heinlein, and The Life and Times of the Thundergbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

Q: You’re granted the ability to live in the world of a television show for one day. Which one will you choose?

A: Hmmm… Probably Downton Abbey… that’s my absolute favorite show. The real question, is would I want to live upstairs or downstairs… decisions, decisions…

Q: Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa) appears at your door and offers to cook you any meal. What’ll be on the menu?

A: Well… I like to try new things, so I probably would let her choose a meal for me… Probably something with chicken or beef (no fish), some kind of a exciting potato or vegetable side and then a dessert that hopefully includes chocolate… oooh… and some sort of exotic beverage too!

***

When Olivia Hardin started having movie-like dreams in her teens, she had no choice but to begin putting them to paper. Before long, the writing bug had bitten her, and she knew she wanted to be a published author. Several rejections plus a little bit of life later, she was temporarily “cured” of the urge to write. That is, until she met a group of talented and fabulous writers who gave her the direction and encouragement she needed to get lost in the words again.

A native Texas girl, Olivia lives in the beautiful Lone Star state with her husband, Danny and their puppy, Bonnie.

Follow Olivia here: Website/Newsletter/Twitter/Facebook/Youtube

JUSTICE FOR ALL

Coming March 31st

Kay Rawley has plans. She might be the second child of an earl, but she wants a life away from her father’s estate in New Durma. She wants a life apart from her family’s name. Becoming a lawyer was a bright, shiny object she just couldn’t resist grabbing. Her classes are complete, and all she has to do is pass the bar to get permanent employment at the Dallas law firm where she’s been interning for the past year.

Kay’s been on Audrick Van Buren’s radar since the day she walked into his classroom two years ago. That admiration only grew when she came to work for his firm. But if there’s anything he recognizes, it’s a woman who’s driven–and Kay is definitely one. It’s all he can do to keep his distance and allow her the chance to come into her own. What Van doesn’t know is that someone else is watching Kay, too, and if he doesn’t step between them, that person might not only derail her career but threaten her very life.

Things aren’t always what they seem, and Kay’s about to learn that the best laid plans are so much better when they go astray.

Book Blog

#Monday Blogging: A Day in the Life

November 3, 2014 1 Comment

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” – Ernest Hemingway

That’s one of the most popular quotations floating around social media boards frequented by writers. And it’s true. Writing is only as hard as the author’s ability to be open, to lay herself naked to a world of readers.

Uncle Ernest had it easy. He lived in the days before the internet.

In so many ways, today’s authors are very fortunate. We can interact with our readers instantly; we don’t have piles of letters to answer, and we can share new information right away. But at the same time, that accessibility is a curse, because it can be a very big drain on our limit time and strength.

Let me show you what I mean. I wake up in the morning, and immediately I’m given a report on yesterday’s sales. That can be good news or bad news, but I know it, right away. And I usually wake up to messages and emails from readers (especially those around the world, whose time zone is different than ours), from promoters, from fellow authors and from other people in the industry. I respond to the ones requiring immediate answers and flag those I’ll handle later.

Each day, I chat with readers. That’s the part of the job I love. I follow up on the commitments I’ve made to bloggers and other on-line personalities. And then there’s the event work.

I’m committed to attend six events next year. Each event requires me to spend time promoting it to readers, building up ticket purchases and hotel reservations. I love to share the information with my readers, and because I care about the events and the people making them happen, it’s a privilege to do this. But it does take time. “Just five minutes” here and there turns into an hour.

I talk with new or about-to-be-new authors, giving them information and advice. I try to calm nerves and encourage.

I love what I do. Writing is a joy, and sharing it with others is beyond the telling of it amazing. Every part is something I enjoy doing. . .it’s just that when you put them together, they add up to a more than full time job. I’ve known authors who get so wrapped up in the extras, they lose sight of the reason they’re doing this. It’s important not to do that.

And now I’ve got to get back to it. To the pure writing part. . .which is the point of all of this, right?