Whisper of a Witch

Welcome to Suza Kate's blog tour.  If you came for Beyond the Book, scroll on down. Enjoy Suza's tour and Beyond the Book.
Suza is the author of Whisper of a Witch.  Please follow her tour and comment often. Suza will award signed cover flats and pens to a commenter at every stop, a total of five $15 Amazon/B&N GC to one randomly drawn commenter from this tour and her Name Before the Masses Tour, and gift basket from this tour and her Name Before the Masses Tour. You can find her schedule at http://www.goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/08/virtual-book-blast-whisper-of-witch-by.html

BLURB:

 

Biologist Shauni Miller, a beautiful as she is compassionate, harbors a secret that could alter her life forever. If she chooses to share it. Dr. Michael Black helps Shauni in her time of need, but sees more in the raven-haired temptress than she ever meant to reveal. He knows she’s hiding something, but then, so is he. Both Shauni and Michael have a role to play and decisions to make as a centuries-old prophecy has yet to be fulfilled. Only the fates know if they are meant to be together. Or if one of them has to die.

 

Excerpt:

 

“Anna shrugged. “Like I said before, magic likes its secrets and will only give us what we need when we need it. I don’t know the order of your trials, it will be revealed in time, as the power deems. There are pieces to this puzzle that even I haven’t found, yet. Things I won’t be allowed to know at all.”

 

Moving with grace across the dais, she bent to retrieve something from a stand between two of the chairs. She turned back with a chalice, silver and encrusted with precious stones of sapphire, garnet, and amethyst. A large round disc was on the front side as she carried it. From its swirling pattern and opalescence, Shauni guessed it to be moonstone. Usually found in necklaces and bracelets, it was a mineral worn for protection from harm. She had some herself.

 

“If you feel you are ready.” Anna paused for effect. “I can tell you the first.”

 

Claudia and Viv both cried out in the affirmative.

 

Willyn held her tongue, obviously unsure. She had a son to think of on top of everything else.

 

A few said, “Yes,” quietly, and the rest, including Shauni, nodded solemnly.

 

“Actually, you already know.” Anna’s lips curved with mischief. “You see, magic does the choosing.” She once again held up an open palm. “And it has made its choice.” She slowly pivoted until the vivid blue of her eyes rested on one witch in particular.

 

One by one, the gazes of the women followed.

 

They were all looking at the miraculous hummingbird still sitting on Shauni’s shoulder.

 

They were all looking at her.

 

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Suza Kates can’t remember a time when she didn’t love books, but two particular memories stay with her. “As a young girl I picked up Little Women, read it straight through, and promptly turned to page one to start all over again. The next book I did that with was Mind Hunter by John Douglas, tales about profiling serial killers.”

 

Thus a twisted romantic was born.

 

Throughout her teenage and young adult years, she read everything from horror to historical romance yet never imagined writing anything of her own.

 

It was during a long, cold winter in a tiny apartment in Germany that Suza picked up a pen and notebook to entertain herself. “The apartment was so tiny, my bed also served as my living room couch. Plus, I shared it with three cats.”

 

Missing the warmth, the hospitality, and the food of the South, she wrote about those things with a huge dose of family thrown in. She says she still has a sweet spot in her heart for her first book, Southern Moon, but to date, she hasn’t revisited it for submission to her publisher.

 

Suza followed her heart to Savannah, Georgia, and it was the gorgeous city with its moss-covered oaks and secrets of history that inspired her to consider paranormal romance. “I had an idea about sisters and magic, so I went to work on the first book of The Savannah Coven Series, Whisper of a Witch. The series is still going strong, and I am grateful every day that I took a chance on paranormal romance, a genre I wasn’t very familiar with and had never actually read before writing it.”

 

Suza has since joined RWA and can’t say enough about this organization. “The education and support are unparalleled. I am so grateful to all of my fellow writers who have offered advice.”

 

Suza still resides in Savannah and is currently working on her next book. She considers it a perfect day when she can sit at the keyboard with coffee in her cup and one of her cats purring in her lap. 

 

www.suzakates.com

http://www.facebook.com/authorsuzakates

 



Beyond the Book: Look At Her

Hello, readers. Thanks so much for coming to Beyond the Book.  My name is Kara Cochrane. I'm Elaine's heroine in Her Kind of Man. October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, and since we were looking for a puppy for our son, we went to the animal shelter and found this cutie. Her name is Sasha. Do you like her? I think she's adorable. If you're looking for a dog, check your local shelter and save a life.

Six Sentence Sunday: What a Dreadful Thing to Happen

Welcome to my blog. Today's six sentences come from Her Kind of Man.  In this excerpt, my heroine, Kara, just opened her Christmas present.  What she found is shocking to say the least.

Kara took the lid off the box and saw a card lying there on the tissue paper. She took it out of the envelope and read, Brittany, you make me red hot for you.

Kara almost cried, but she didn’t. Her eyes flashed as anger came to her rescue. She tossed the box to Ross who still sat on the floor beside the Christmas tree. “Next time be sure to have them wrap the presents in different paper.”

You can get the book at http://www.lachesispublishing.com/proddetail.asp?prod=HerKindofMan, at Amazon, and at http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b133189/Her-Kind-of-Man/Elaine-Cantrell/?si=0

Sweet Saturday Sample: You Haven't Seen Anything Yet

Welcome to Sweet Saturday Sample.  I'm so glad you're here.  Today's excerpt is from a book titled Blue 52. I submitted the book on Thursday night and am now waiting with bated breath to find out if they want it. First a blurb, then an excerpt.

blurb:
 

In 2016 the headlines read, First Lady Kills President Lovinggood.  In 2048 Hank Lovinggood embarks on a quest to prove his mother’s innocence and to find and punish the killers.  Together Hank and lovely physicist Dr. Kathryn Sinclair confront an implacable, twisted, and merciless enemy who’ll do whatever it takes to hide the truth forever.

 

Excerpt:

 

“I’ve never compared you to your father,” she whispered.  “I’ve never even met your father, but I know you, Hank, and I like what I’ve found out about you.”  Her eyes locked with his as she slid across the bed to within a hair’s breadth of him. 

“You smell faintly of lilac,” he muttered.

Kathryn ran her hand through her hair, releasing the lilac fragrance into the air.  “That’s the shampoo I used on my hair.  Do you like it?”

“Uh huh.  I like that clingy little robe too.  I’m trying not to stare, but those curves of yours are getting to me.”   

 Kathryn’s heart took off in a mad gallop.  “I tried not to think of those kisses we shared at the party, but I thought of them anyway.”

“Me too.”

Oh, glory be!  Look how his eyes were smoldering.  “They made my stomach feel fluttery,” she breathed.

“My knees got weak.”

A demure little smile curved Kathryn’s lips as she melted against him.  “So, kiss me again, and let’s see what happens.”

Hank’s eyes closed as he gently kissed her.  “Well?”   

“My stomach got fluttery again,” Kathryn sighed.

Hank gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.  “My knees might be weak, but I can’t tell because I’m lying down.”

Kathryn frowned.  “Oh, I don’t like that.  If you don’t know for sure I must be doing something wrong.  Let’s try that kiss again.”

Hank seemed agreeable.  He took her in his arms, but this time he kissed her the way a man kisses his true love, as if she was his greatest treasure in the world.  Kathryn shivered against his chest as fire raced through her veins.  “How are you knees?”

“Weak as water.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.”

“So, show me,” he retorted, and she did.

Fashionista Friday: Baroque

The last fall fashion trend I'd like to tell you about can be labeled baroque. What does that mean? Think lavish fabrics such as velvet and brocade, intricate lace, Renaissance inspired prints, and gilded details. Is this style for you?

Trend 5: Go For Baroque by netaporter featuring sling back shoes

Dolce Gabbana short dress
net-a-porter.com

Balmain
net-a-porter.com

Marni
net-a-porter.com

Donna Karan pencil skirt
net-a-porter.com

Dolce&Gabbana sling back shoes
net-a-porter.com

Oscar de la Renta clip earrings
net-a-porter.com

Can I have a jeweled dog collar?

Beyond the Book: Adopt a Shelter Dog

Hello, readers, Rascal here.  October iz Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. i wuz a shelter dog when i wuz a pup.  My mama says I'm the best dog in the world. When I'm hungry i take her hand in my mouth and lead her to the black box that she calls the refrigerater.  i bring her my rawhide bone an' she holds it 4 me 2 chew.  i tak her on walks 2 git exurcise, an' i keep the cats from bothering her.  i sit on her feet 2 keep them warm.  i like her fashun post on friday. my mama rote a story about a man who owned a dog.  The book is called Her Kind of Man.  Mama said i could share part of it with you so here goes.


NO. WAIT. Mama said furst i had 2 say who won her prize at blogfest.  it wuz Donna Smith the happy booker. Now let's read some stuff.

 

Ross set Justin down the minute he and Bobby stepped off the porch. The child took off running while Bobby and Ross sat down on the steps to watch him play.

Bobby leaned back on his elbows and crossed his legs. “She’s nicer than she used to be.”

 “Yeah, she is,”  Ross replied as he patted his big collie who’d ambled over for some attention.

“In high school she didn’t have much time for anyone outside of her own circle of friends, not even a good-looking kid like you.”

“Thanks for the compliment.” Ross laughed as he gave the dog one final pat.

“Don’t let it go to your head,” Bobby retorted. “Are you serious about her, or is too soon to tell?”

“I want her, Bobby.”

Bobby sucked in his breath. “Is she serious about you?”

“What is this, twenty questions?” Ross threw a scowl Bobby’s way, but it didn’t seem to faze him.

"It's me worrying about my kid brother."

Ross relented. “All right, I don’t think she’s serious about me yet, but I think she will be. Right now she’s hurt over Miles and her sister, but I’ve been able to make her enjoy my company anyway, so yeah, I think things are going to work out fine.”

Bobby picked up a pebble and tossed it across the yard. “Did you sleep with her last night?”

 

Ross iz Mama's hero. He and his bruther are talking bout Kara, the gurl Ross wants.  You can get the book at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2/182-7173664-2686632?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=her+kind+of+man

 

 

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Away From The Spotlight

Please help me welcome Tamara Carlisle, author of Away From The Spotlight.  Tamara's on a blog tour, and today she's talking about the setting of her book.  After we take a look at her post we'll talk prizes.  Tamara, thank you so much for including us on your tour.

In Away from the Spotlight, hero, Will MacKenzie is English.  To further his career as a movie actor, he primarily lives in Los Angeles while maintaining a flat in London.  As an actor, he films all over the world.  Part of the novel takes place in England when Will travels to London to shoot a film and Shannon Sutherland visits Will as part of her post-California Bar Exam travel.

In light of these facts, I see two questions here.  First, why did I make Will British as opposed to American?  Second, why did I choose locations in England (London, Cambridge and Berkshire) as settings in the novel?  The simple answers are that I wrote what I like and I wrote what I know.

Why is Will English?

My ancestors are from the Scottish Borders and the U.K. has always fascinated me as a result.  Because of that interest, I attended a summer program at Cambridge University after my sophomore year in college.  I returned to the U.K. the summer after college, the summer after taking the California Bar Exam and a few times after that before meeting my Scottish husband at The Ye Olde King’s Head Pub in Santa Monica (which served as the inspiration for The Royalist in Away from the Spotlight).  Marrying a Scot with friends and relatives all over the U.K. resulted in additional travel there. 

My initial idea for the story was for famous actor, Will, to meet law student, Shannon, and for Shannon not to recognize him, allowing Will to have a normal relationship for a while.  I layered this overarching plot on my experience as a law student and young lawyer.  At that time, Anglophile that I was, I often hung out at the pubs in the Los Angeles area.  In my heyday, a pub was a good place to meet people because the atmosphere was more casual and friendly than that in American bars.  Since American men were not commonly found at the pubs at the time I frequented them, it made sense to me to make Will British.  The fact that the tabloid frenzy over the actors and actresses in the Twilight films, including Englishman, Robert Pattinson, led to my initial idea in the first place served as one more reason. 

In terms of research, I performed research to find a location for Will’s flat and for its description.  Once I learned that a lot of famous people lived in Hampstead, including Liam Gallagher of Oasis (a favorite band of mine), I chose it.  I then looked at real estate listings to find an appropriate flat.  I also researched some of the affluent towns in the Greater London Area in order to select Will’s hometown, Shepperton.  With respect to using correct British idioms, I hoped that having a British husband and spending a lot of time in the U.K. helped to ensure its accuracy.  To the extent that I got it wrong, I would argue that Will and his British ex-patriot friends in Los Angeles worked with a lot of Americans and adopted certain American idioms.

Why Are English Settings Used?

I layered the overarching plot of Away from the Spotlight over the details of my personal experience graduating from law school, studying for the California Bar Exam, traveling to the U.K. and Europe after the Bar Exam, and commencing work for a law firm.  Since Will was British and Shannon would travel after the Bar Exam, I thought London and Cambridge (where I had studied as noted above) would be perfect locations for them to spend quality time while trouble started to brew.  With respect to the hotel in Berkshire where Will and Shannon stayed upon Shannon’s return from her Eurail trip, I based that upon Cliveden, where one of my best friends from college was married. 

A Romance Novel Is a Vacation from the Ordinary

A good romance novel serves as a nice vacation from everyday life.  For Americans, reading a romance involving a British actor and jet-setting around the world is a nice escape.  For the British, reading about living the Hollywood life in California provides that same escapism.  For readers in other countries, I suspect that both aspects are a nice change of pace.  Of course, I could have made Will an ex-pat from another country and used other settings that still provided that vacation from the ordinary, but I wrote what I like and what I know.

 

BLURB:

 

In the closing weeks of law school, Shannon Sutherland meets handsome and charming Englishman Will MacKenzie. Initially swept off her feet, Shannon finds that Will has a secret that, once discovered and the consequences realized, could destroy their fledgling relationship. Will and Shannon take great pains to have a normal relationship but, ultimately, find it impossible to do so. Will the pressures of their careers and the temptations of others drive Will and Shannon apart? Can Will and Shannon live a happy life away from the spotlight?

 

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EXCERPT

“I met someone.  His name is Will.  He’s English, I think.”

 

“That would be different for you.”

 

She wasn’t wrong.  I had very casually dated a number of men I had met in the various pubs in Santa Monica.  They were from all over Europe, but not one of them had been English for some reason.  There were Scottish, Irish and Welsh men among them, but never English.  I had commented on occasion on the fact that I never seemed to meet English men at the English pubs I frequented.

 

“I’m going to see him again tomorrow night.”

 

“What’s he like?”

 

“Drop-dead gorgeous, smart, funny and with excellent taste in music.  Just my type.  Well, better than my type, actually.  It’s hard to believe someone that perfect has any interest in me.”

 

“Please” Rachael said.  “You get hit on every time we go out.”

 

“That’s overstating things quite a bit.”

 

“You seem oblivious to it half the time.”

 

I guess I did ignore some of it.  When you spend time as part of a female minority in bars full of drunk men, it was hard not to think that some of them would have hit on me for no other reason than that I was female, regardless of how I acted, what I said, or what I looked like.  I therefore learned that getting hit on wasn’t necessarily a compliment and, the later it happened in the evening, the less of a compliment it was.

 

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 AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Tamara Carlisle is a former attorney and business consultant.  Away from the Spotlight is her first published work of fiction.  She currently is working on two additional novels:  one is about love in the music industry and the other is a work of paranormal fiction.  Tamara currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her British husband and daughter.  For further information, go to http://www.tamaracarlisle.com. 

 

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Away-from-the-Spotlight-by-Tamara-Carlisle/166846163445733

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6185721.Tamara_Carlisle

Shelfari:  http://www.shelfari.com/books/29531300/Away-from-the-Spotlight?amatc=kdp-c

Library Thing:  http://www.librarything.com/author/carlisletamara

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Tamara_Carlisle

 

Tmara’s Goodreads Author Page also includes a blog detailing trivia relating to Away from the Spotlight.

 Tamara will be awarding two $25 Amazon GCs to randomly drawn commenters during the tour so follow her tour and comment often.  You can find her schedule at http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/08/virtual-book-tour-away-from-spotlight.html