Be sure to check out what they have coming next for their readers. I try to pick authors who are interesting studies and ask them unique questions for our Q/A section.
Check out the Showcase feature of the HBS Author's Spotlight. I have included those authors in this class. Also, we have added the Author Bundles we have posted this month.
Thanks to the following outstanding authors for a great month. Here is a summary of our February 2017 crew.
RJ Blain
Author Genre: Fantasy, Fiction
Author's Blog: RJ Blain Blog
Website: RJ Blain
Twitter: @rj_blain
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.
When she isn't playing pretend, she likes to think she's a cartographer and a sumi-e painter.
In her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Should that fail, her contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels and quoting James Bond villains until she is satisfied.
Reading is as important to RJ as writing. Here are some of her favorite authors in no particular:
Mercedes Lackey, Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Madeline L'Engle, Anne McCaffrey, Lois McMaster Bujold, Grace Draven, Julia Kent, and Jenn Stark.
RJ Blain also writes dystopian science fiction (with a touch of odd humor) under the name of Trillian Anderson.
Interview Excerpt
Next: Water Viper is currently being edited and should release in mid-March.
Social media relationships, no matter the source, are important. Twitter I grew fairly organically—by that, I mean I talked to people and tried to make friends. Nowadays, I’m pretty quiet on most social media. I’m too busy writing. But yes, social media did play an important role getting started as a novelist. A little bit of help from a few friends and fans can go a long way.
Great covers: My cover artist is Holly Heisey (hollyheiseydesign.com) and I absolutely love their work. Holly and I spend a great deal of time brainstorming on initial themes for the covers, but we’ve gotten to the point in our professional relationship I can often just ask Holly for a certain emotional tone, pick out some models, and suggest some colors I think would fit the book. I try to match the book with the cover as much as possible, so every cover has multiple elements matching the book.
I write the short stories and novellas for two reasons: to write something I simply couldn’t fit in the book, or give to readers of my newsletter. I don’t handle my newsletter the same way many authors do; mine is only for when I release a new book, and I always include a short story in the newsletter.
Bundling: I specifically price the box sets so they’re cheaper to purchase than the individual books. I did this to give new readers a chance to hope into the series with limited investment.
Giveaways experience: Really good. I love doing it, especially since I know so many people who love to read but simply can’t afford to buy books. I do sales and freebies, and both have worked well for me. When I do a free book giveaway, I’m hoping to attract KU readers, who easily pay for those who grab the book for free. And, I find I get a decent number of reviews when I do a book giveaway. I could do better, but it really helps.
Reader list: I have a newsletter, and I use promotions and giveaways to build it, and then I hope the short stories inside keep my readers engaged.
Author's Book List
Playing with Fire
The House Lost at Sea
Karma
Shadowed Flame
Pack Justice
Beneath a Blood Moon
Tales of the Winter Wolf
Tales of the Winter Wolf
Tales of the Winter Wolf
Tales of the Winter Wolf
Tales of the Winter Wolf
Tales of the Winter Wolf
Storm Surge
Blood Diamond
Winter Wolf
Inquisitor
The Eye of God
For the rest of the story...View RJ Blain - HBS Author's Spotlight
Charles Dougherty
Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Nonfiction
Website: C.L.R. Dougherty
Twitter: @clrdougherty
E-Mail: info@clrdougherty.com
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Charles Dougherty wrote quite a bit of fiction before publishing Deception in Savannah, his first novel. Most of his earlier fiction works took the form of business plans, written to secure funding for projects and startup ventures during his corporate and consulting work, but he put all that behind him when he wrote Deception in Savannah, a tongue-in-cheek crime novel.
Since Deception in Savannah was published, he has written a number of other books. The Bluewater Thrillers are set in the yachting world of the Caribbean and chronicle the adventures of two young women running a luxury charter yacht in a rough-and-tumble environment. The Connie Barrera Thrillers are also set in the Caribbean and feature some of the same characters from a slightly more romantic perspective. Besides the Bluewater Thrillers and the Connie Barrera Thrillers, he wrote The Redemption of Becky Jones, a psycho-thriller, and The Lost Tourist Franchise, a short story about one of the characters from Deception in Savannah.
He has also written two non-fiction books. Life's a Ditch is the story of how he and his wife moved aboard their sailboat, Play Actor, and their adventures along the east coast of the U.S. Dungda de Islan' relates their experiences while cruising the Caribbean.
He resides with his wife aboard Play Actor, sailing wherever their fancy and the trade winds take them.
Interview Excerpt
Next: I'm working on the seventh Connie Barrera Thriller. My working title is Under Full Sail, and I'm expecting to release it in late March. Connie and her husband visit Isla de Aves, a tiny, uninhabited island about 120 nautical miles west of Dominica in the eastern Caribbean. They find a semiconscious man stranded there. He's suffering from a head injury and amnesia. Because of the peculiar political situation of Isla de Aves, they're his only hope to get off the island. They soon become embroiled in his problems, which are more far-reaching than they could have imagined.
Social media: Relationships that grew from social media connections were critical to my visibility when I self-published my first book back in 2010. Twitter and Facebook were the places I found my first readers. I still use them, but they're far less important to me now.
Great covers: Against all advice, I design my own covers. I've done some real duds along the way, but I've learned that simple ones sell better. I'm always looking for images that relate to my stories, past or future. I clip them and work on cover ideas in my spare time. I've heard all the arguments for professional cover design, but several of my books started with a cover idea. Developing covers is an integral part of my writing. I do listen to comments from readers and reviewers about my covers and my stories. That's one of the big reasons my covers have evolved over the years. It's easier to change a cover than to change contents, so story suggestions end up in later books, while cover changes to old books are quick to implement.?
Bundling Bluewater Thrillers: I bundled the first three Bluewater books because they're a trilogy. The plot line carries through all three books, and some of the conflicts that arose in the first book aren't resolved until the third one. I have used the bundle in promotions, as well.
Giveaways: Over the years, I've tried every giveaway scheme that I could find. They all worked to some extent. I do regular free promotions now and use paid advertising to boost the number of ebooks given away. I usually do one a few weeks before a new release, and one a few weeks after, giving away titles from the same series as the new release.
Reader list: I maintain a couple of lists. There's a mailing list of people who sign up for notifications of sales, promos, and new releases. That's fed by the link I included above. That link is on my web page and in every book I publish, as well as in my social media posts.
I have another list I maintain of people who are kind enough to email me with their comments and suggestions. I answer all emails from people who have read my books. I maintain long-term email dialogs with a few people whose suggestions range from flagging typos my editors missed to ideas for covers to worries about why a certain character is behaving in a certain way. I also listen carefully when they tell me what they'd like to see explored more -- or less -- fully.?
Reviews: You can never have enough reviews, but I do not seek professional reviews. I rely on the people who read the books to review them. I do ask for reviews in a note from the author in the back of every book, and any time I send a mailing to my email list I ask for reviews. I only send mailings to announce a new title or a special price or a giveaway -- never just to ask for a review.?
Lives and writing on a sail boat: Living on the sailboat in the islands gave me the opportunity to experience the islands of the Caribbean in a way that most people cannot. We stayed in some places for months, and returned year after year, forming relationships with communities and friendships with individuals. Living on a small boat made us approachable in a way that tourists are not, and we learned a lot about the way people in the islands go about their day-to-day lives. Our views on many things changed as a result.
Author's Book List
Bluewater Revolution
Bluewater Drone
Bluewater Jailbird
Bluewater Ganja
Bluewater Rendezvous
Bluewater Bullion
Bluewater Stalker
Bluewater Betrayal
Bluewater Ice
Bluewater Voodoo
Bluewater Vengeance
Bluewater Killer
Sails Job
Running Under Sail
Storm Sail
A Blast to Sail
Sailor's Delight
Love for Sail
The Redemption of Becky Jones
Deception in Savannah
For the rest of the story...View Charles Dougherty - HBS Author's Spotlight
Michael G. Munz
Author Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Humor and Comedy
Website: Michael G. Munz
Twitter: @TheWriteMunz
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
An award-winning writer of speculative fiction, Michael G. Munz was born in Pennsylvania but moved to Washington State at the age of three. Unable to escape the state's gravity, he has spent most of his life there and studied writing at the University of Washington.
Michael developed his creative bug in college, writing and filming four exceedingly amateur films before setting his sights on becoming a novelist. Driving this goal is the desire to tell entertaining stories that give to others the same pleasure as other writers have given to him. He enjoys writing tales that combine the modern world with the futuristic or fantastic.
Michael has traveled to three continents and has an interest in Celtic and Classical mythology. He also possesses what most "normal" people would likely deem far too much familiarity with a wide range of geek culture, though Michael prefers the term geek-bard: a jack of all geek-trades, but master of none--except possibly Farscape and Twin Peaks.
Michael dwells in Seattle where he continues his quest to write the most entertaining novel known to humankind and find a really fantastic clam linguine.
Interview Excerpt
Next: Right now I’m working on the follow up to my adventure comedy Zeus Is Dead. I hadn’t originally intended that book to start a series, but it’s by far my most popular book, and I miss working in that world, so I’m eager to visit it again. It lets me flex my comedic muscles in a way I just didn’t get to in my sci-fi books. My goal is to have it ready in late 2017 or early 2018.
Social media is a tricky thing, at least in terms of being able to measure direct influences on the success of books. It definitely helps me get the word out there, however, and to stay in touch with fans of my own work and just other people with the same geeky leanings as I do.
Great covers: They’re the work of Amalia Chitulescu (who did all of the New Aeneid Cycle covers), and Greg Simanson (who did Zeus Is Dead). As you can see, they both do fantastic work. With the New Aeneid Cycle covers, I worked with Ms. Chitulescu to flesh out some ideas I had for each cover, while trying to keep them all connected.
Short stories: Tracking the cause of novel sales is always a tricky thing, but I think Mythed Connections has helped grab at least a little attention for Zeus Is Dead. (I also use it as incentive for people to sign up for my newsletter, since you can get it free when you sign up!)
Story management: I know a lot of authors like Scrivener for that, but I mostly stick with notes written by hand or in Word. I sometimes augment those with Excel spreadsheets for things like tracking which characters are aware of which plot elements at a particular time, or their individual agendas/mindsets as things progress.
Reader list: I do maintain a list, at least in the sense of my aforementioned newsletter that people can subscribe to for information about my books (and a few other geeky things).
Getting reviews: When I’m preparing to launch a book, I’ll often tweet, post, and put out a newsletter saying that I’m looking for people to read advance review copies in exchange for an honest review. I’ve also queried book bloggers and highly ranked Amazon reviewers inviting them to read the book (again, a free copy in exchange for an honest review). I don’t pay for reviews, with the one exception of signing up for a service that listed my book on a website where reviewers could request it. (The fee paid for the listing only. The reviewers themselves received no compensation besides a free book.) I didn’t get a lot of reviews that way, however. The majority of the reviews my books have are from the readers themselves.
Author's Book List
A Dragon at the Gate
A Memory in the Black
A Shadow in the Flames
Zeus Is Dead
Mythed Connections
For the rest of the story...View Michael G. Munz - HBS Author's Spotlight
Cary Allen Stone
Author Genre: Crime, Thriller, Fiction
Website: Cary Allen Stone
Twitter: @CaryAllenStone
E-Mail: caryallenstone1@gmail.com
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Cary Allen Stone is a brilliant writer of psychological thrillers and murder mysteries. He writes with a keen eye for detail-the graphic violence is chillingly realistic. He delivers a taut, darkly introspective, cunning and well-executed plot by leaning towards the fallible side of his characters. He understands the criminal mind avoiding the stereotypes that dominate crime thrillers. There is a good balance of chemistry and conflict, good and evil that fans will find enthralling. His characters become embedded in our psyches and the pace of his unraveling of his thriller is a ride not easily forgotten. Cary Allen Stone is an important name to watch. This is one superb crime writer!--Grady Harp Top 100 ReviewerVine Voice 2014
Interview Excerpt
Next: The next Jake Roberts story, AFTER THE SENTENCE, will be an investigation into human trafficking. Who is involved in the trafficking, besides the mob and cartels will be a major surprise. The book will be released in January 2018.
Social media: It takes a while to build your Twitter and Facebook following. More importantly, I find a strong email list mostly beneficial. On Twitter, don’t look to be followed, but follow instead. Re-tweet all of your favorite authors and you will see your twitter following grow. And it isn’t how large your Twitter following is. It’s the dedicated twitter followers of your work that matter.
Great covers: I used to design my covers because as an Indie author every dime counts when you sell books for .99c. It took me years to let go and hire someone who makes professional covers. She’s excellent and the covers are great. They all do stay with the Jake Roberts theme and advertise they are a series. My coveress and I do it all over the internet and I have a lot of input. She has the skills to convert my thoughts onto the cover.
Audio books: Only the first Jake Roberts Novel, AFTER THE EVIL, is in audiobook. I should have the others done but the process is difficult. Finding the right voice and financial agreement takes up a lot of time. Sales were slow for a very long time and I thought I wouldn’t do it again, but recently sales have picked up. At ACX, they give you coupons to give out the audiobook free. I have posted that everywhere, but there has been little response. Then at the end of the year I received a 1099 for sales and was surprised.
Time management: Once you’ve been through the self-published obstacle course, you learn what to prioritize. I spent a great deal of time getting onto every site I could place the books. I paid for the ads. Try everything. I got involved in a box set with some romance writers. I learned a lot from them, they know the moves. But after twenty-five years, I’ve learned what NOT to waste time on. Concentrate on the story, then repeat all of your ads that work, end of story.
Free books: The first book in my Jake Roberts Novels is permafree. The rest are .99c. I give books for reviews and occasionally if you sign up for my email list. I’ll do an occasional Amazon Gift Card giveaway. One of the saddest things about being an Indie author is everyone wants free books––“To get your name out…” When you start out, sure give them away to everyone you can afford. Once your feet are planted, .99c isn’t unreasonable to ask for. Giveaways will spike your numbers for three days, after that you’re back in obscurity.
Reviews: I ask for ARCs, use my most loyal readers, and request Amazon TOP reviewers.
Author's Book List
After You're Dead
After the Kill
After the Goode
Mind Over Murder
After the Evil
Stealing Atlanta
Through a Mother's Eyes
For the rest of the story...View Cary Allen Stone - HBS Author's Spotlight
HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase
Niki Danforth
Featured Book: Searching for Gatsby: A Ronnie Lake Murder Mystery?
He’s handsome, wealthy, and oh so mysterious…but you can’t judge a book by its cover, right?
A fifty-something divorcée turned private eye, Ronnie Lake turns the pages on her current case with her beloved German shepherd at her side. Adultery, betrayal, and romance are the main characters until murder steals the scene and plunges her into the exclusive world of rare book collecting.
When a priceless first edition vanishes, everyone becomes a suspect...and a target. But a literary shocker speaks volumes about an historic book series - curiously lost to time - that holds the key to it all.
Be sure to enjoy the eBook bonus prequel to Ronnie Lake’s story in the first several chapters of "Stunner" and the beginning of "Delilah!"
Author Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Author's Blog: Niki Danforth
Website: Niki Danforth
Twitter: @NikiDanforth
E-Mail: nikidanforth5@gmail.com
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Niki Danforth, daughter of a Cold War covert intelligence officer, has the “thriller/adventure” gene in her DNA. After a New York TV career, including as a director on Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous, this empty-nester has recreated herself as an author of suspenseful mysteries. And like her character Ronnie Lake, Danforth studied Japanese Aikido, earning a black belt in time for a decade birthday. Right now, she's plotting Books 4 & 5 in her Ronnie Lake Mystery series, while she writes Book 2 to follow her well-received children's mystery A Wild Ride: The Adventures of Misty & Moxie Wyoming.
Sign up for her newsletter at nikidanforth.com/delilah-az
and get a free copy of the short story Delilah: A Ronnie Lake Cold Case, #2 in the series.
Author's Book List
Searching for Gatsby
Delilah
A Wild Ride
Stunner
For the rest of the story...View Niki Danforth - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase
Nancy Gideon
Featured Book: PRINCE OF HONOR
Could the bargain they made to save their lives become their reality?
Turow . . .
Strong, silent man of integrity content to serve his new king as a prince in the turbulent shape-shifter House of Terriot. A tracker and relentless hunter, he’s used to running trails alone until charged with returning a traitor to their mountain top home to face the unforgiving judgment of their clan. Isolated with the bad girl he’s loved forever, the choice between duty and desire has never been more difficult . . . or deadly.
Sylvia . . .
Manipulative schemer or victim caught between a mother’s ambition and a rogue prince’s lust for power? Trust is almost as foreign as the idea of love, but to save herself from certain death, she must risk both on the good man who deserves them . . . from someone worthy. Trapped by the only one who believes in her goodness, she must betray him and run for her life . . . or stay and destroy him with a long hidden truth.
Deadly, Damaged, and Delicious!
House of Terriot
Brothers too H.o.T. to Handle!
Author Genre: Romance, Paranormal Romance, Romantic Suspense
Author's Blog: Tour’s Media Page
Website: Nancy Gideon - Romance… By Any Other Name
Twitter: @NancyGideon
E-Mail: nancy@nancygideon.com
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
With over 58 sales since her first publication in 1987, Portage, Michigan author Nancy Gideon's writing encompasses romance genres from historicals and regencies to contemporary suspense and the paranormal.
Under her own name, she's a bestseller for Silhouette Romantic Suspense, has written an award-winning vampire romance series and an nine book shape-shifter series. Also listed on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), she collaborated on Indie horror films In the Woods and Savage with screenwriting and ADR script credits, and even played a small role.
Writing historical romance as Dana Ransom, she's a "Career Achievement for Historical Adventure" and "K.I.S.S." award winner with books published in Romanian, Italian, Russian, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, French, German, Icelandic and Chinese.
As Rosalyn West, she's a HOLT Medallion winner with nominations for "Best North American Historical Romance" and "Best Historical Book in a Series."
A prolific writer, Gideon attributes her creative output, which once peaked at seven novels in one year, to her love of history and a gift for storytelling. She also credits the discipline learned through a background in journalism and OCD. The due date for her third book and her second son were on the same day . . . and both were early! When on deadline, she turns on the laptop between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. to get a chapter in before work.
Author's Book List
Prince of Honor
Unleashed by Shadows
Remembered by Moonlight
Prince of Shadows
Betrayed by Shadows
Seeker of Shadows
Hunter of Shadows
Midnight Enchantment
Bound By Moonlight
Chased by Moonlight
Masked by Moonlight
Midnight Crusader
Midnight Masquerade
Midnight Shadows
Midnight Redeemer
Midnight Gamble
Captured by Moonlight
Midnight Surrender
Midnight Temptation
Midnight Kiss
In the Woods
For the rest of the story...View Nancy Gideon - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase
Dianne Harman
Featured Book: Murder in Calistoga
When Nikki Evans is murdered in the sauna at the Serenity Hotel and Spa on opening day, Judy Rasmussen’s dream of owning a premiere hotel and spa in Calistoga, California, turns into a nightmare.
Her friend, Liz Lucas, an amateur sleuth who’s come to the hotel and spa for the opening weekend, has to find the killer before the new hotel and spa’s chances for success are ruined by the bad publicity the murder will bring. The murder victim was a guest at the spa and part of a group of five women who are there for a college reunion. But who would want the reunion attendee dead? And what is the motive? Was it her college roommate, who’d never forgotten what Nikki had said about her years ago? Was it her husband, who resented that he had to use her inherited money to pay back the company he’d embezzled from? Was it the winemaker who wanted Judy’s property, so he could grow more grapes? Or was it the owner of La Spa, who didn’t want any new competition?
Join Liz and her big boxer guard dog, Winston, as they try to catch the killer, but will they succeed?
Author Genre: Romance and Literary Fiction
Author's Blog: Dianne Harman Author
Website: Dianne Harman Author
Twitter: @DianneDHarman
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Dianne Harman draws her stories and characters from a diverse business and personal background. She owned a national antique and art appraisal business for many years, left that industry, and opened two yoga centers where she taught yoga and certified yoga instructors. She's traveled extensively throughout the world and loves nothing more than cooking and playing with her new puppy, Kelly.
Being a dog lover and having attended numerous cooking schools, she couldn't resist writing about food and dogs. She is the author of three cozy mystery series: Cedar Bay, Liz Lucas, and her newest, High Desert. Each of these books contains recipes from her travels. She is also the author of the award-winning suspenseful Coyote Series.
A number of books in her cozy mystery series have been designated by Amazon as All-Stars because of their sales, and Dianne has been named by Amazon seven times as one of their most popular authors.
She invites you to visit her web site at: www.dianneharman.com and sign up for her newletters. You'll receive a free book and have a weekly chance to win an autographed boxed set of the Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series.
Author's Book List
Murder in Calistoga
Trouble at the Animal Shelter
ALEXIS
Murder at the Polo Club
Murder at the Clinic
Murder on the East Coast
High Desert Cozy Mysteries #1
Murder at the Big T Lodge
Murdered by Country Music
Murdered by Words
Trouble at the Kennel
The Blue Butterfly
Murder in Cuba
Murder & the Secret Cave
Murder At The Bed & Breakfast
Murder & The Monkey Band
Murder at the Cooking School
The Death Card
Murder in Calico Gold
Murder and Brandy Boy
Murder in the Pearl District
Murder in Cottage #6
Marriage and Murder
White Cloud Retreat
Murder at Jade Cove
Kelly's Koffee Shop
COYOTE SERIES
CORNERED COYOTE
Coyote in Provence
Blue Coyote Motel
For the rest of the story...View Dianne Harman - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase
J.Z.N. McCauley
Featured Book: OAK & MISTLETOE
A Druid Curse, A Prophesied Love, A Consuming Vengeance…
Catherine Green, along with her twin sister and older brother, travels to Ireland on a college graduation trip. Her vacation takes a permanent turn when she lands her dream job at an art and history museum on her beloved Emerald Isle. She meets a handsome stranger named Bowen, an expert of sorts on local ancient studies. Though their first meetings are turbulent at best, Catherine finds herself drawn to him.
Unaware that she is the key to breaking a hidden curse, Catherine unleashes the evil madman Conall and his druid followers, imprisoned since ancient times. Tragedy and loss ensue, sprouting within Catherine the deep seeds of rage that thrust her onto the damaging path of vengeance. Confused by the enigma that is Bowen, his mixed signals, and her own feelings, she is swept away with him on an unexpected journey surrounded by myth and long-forgotten knowledge. In order to stop the evil plans of Conall and his reunified army, Catherine must entwine her fate with peril. Her survival is trivial to her as long as Conall dies. She’ll do whatever it takes.
Author Genre: Fantasy
Author's Blog: J.Z.N. McCauley
Website: J.Z.N. McCauley
Twitter: @JZNMcCauley
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
J.Z.N. McCauley resides in lovely New England, where she loves wearing jackets and boots in the unpredictable weather there. She is a wife and mother who enjoys life to the fullest. Also, being a nerd across many genres is something she expresses openly. McCauley spends most of her spare time writing, drawing, or reading. She loves archeology, mythology, history, music and many other forms of art as well. Always having a variety of interests and talents, she could never pick just one. When the chance pops up to travel to any of her favorite places, she takes way too many pictures. Otherwise she is exploring a mystical land in a daydream. Which all provides fuel to her immense joy of writing.
Author's Book List
OAK & MISTLETOE
For the rest of the story...View J.Z.N. McCauley - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase
Elizabeth Meyette
Featured Book: BURIED SECRETS
When Jesse Graham almost runs over a “body” in the road one night, she is plunged into a labyrinth of secrets, lies and murder. All Jesse wants is a simple life teaching at St. Bart’s… and a chance at love with Joe Riley. She realizes that plan has been thwarted when puzzling occurrences at St. Bartholomew Academy for Girls get increasingly dangerous. The danger doesn’t just spring from the ghost who haunts the grounds of St. Bart’s, but from a sinister presence that is not ghostly at all. As she digs into the mystery, threats on her life and the life of her student escalate.
Which danger threatens her life the most? The ghost haunting her student or the secrets buried in the school?
Author Genre: Mystery, Romance, Paranormal
Author's Blog: Elizabeth Meyette Sharing the Joy of Writing
Website: Elizabeth Meyette
Twitter: @efmeyette
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Author, blogger and believer in dreams-come-true, Elizabeth Meyette fell in love with books as a child when her sister read her Goldilocks and the Three Bears. "She had me at 'Once upon a time...'," Elizabeth admits. A native of upstate New York, Elizabeth now lives in West Michigan with her husband Richard. She retired early from teaching to pursue her passion: writing. "Yes, I hear voices in my head and I give them names and call them characters."
Author's Book List
Buried Secrets
Love's Spirit
Love's Destiny
The Cavanaugh House
For the rest of the story...View Elizabeth Meyette - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase
Ty Patterson
Featured Book: Death Club
U.S. Special Forces operative Zeb Carter didn't know about the Death Club when he stumbled across the dismembered body, left to desiccate in the Oregon high desert.
But the body wasn't his problem—for once, he could hand it over to the local sheriff and trust in his competence.
At least, it wouldn't have been Zeb's problem, if he hadn't found out who dead man was and what he meant to his teenage daughter.
Now he's asking questions—and the wrong people have noticed.
No, Zeb doesn't know about the Death Club.
But it knows about him.
It's already tracking him.
Author Genre: Thriller & Suspense, Crime thriller
Author's Blog: Ty Patterson - Taking the road less traveled
Twitter: @pattersonty67
E-Mail: ty@pattersonty.com
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Ty has lived on a couple of continents and has been a trench digger, loose tea vendor, leather goods salesman, marine lubricants salesman, diesel engine mechanic and is now a thriller author.
Ty lives with his wife and son, who humor his ridiculous belief that he's in charge.
Ty is currently working on Defending Cain, the second book in The Gemini series.
Author's Book List
Death Club
Defending Cain
Dividing Zero
Zero
Hunting You
Behind You
Flay
The Warrior's Debt
The Warrior Code
The Reluctant Warrior
The Warrior
For the rest of the story...View Ty Patterson - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase
HBS Bundles and Co-Authored Showcase
Featured Set: Valentine Pets & Kisses 2
A Boxed Set of Eight Sweet Valentine Romances
AVAILABLE at Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO Store
Cupid worked overtime to deliver this Valentine's Day treat. Cuddle up with a heartwarming collection of dog tales, kitty and horse stories, and true love with these all-new sweet romances penned by USA Today and international bestselling authors.
Victoria Pinder — Keeping the Spy
A retired CIA spy returns to his hometown and finally works up the nerve to go after the girl he’s dreamed of since high school. Her beloved dog and the target on her back complicate this Valentine’s Day.
J.L. Campbell — Cupid’s Gift
Heartbroken single parents, Melanie Peterson and Bryce Nevers, aren't looking for love. Cupid has other ideas plans when he turns things upside down after Bryce’s goofy dog blasts through Melanie’s office, leaving behind mayhem and a reminder that love can show up in unexpected ways.
Jade Kerrion — Nurtured
High-flying corporate lawyer, Nicole Lefton, has neither the space nor time for distractions, but a car accident saddles her with the unexpected company of a large dog and the attentions of a handsome vet.
P.C. Zick — Love on Trial
Lawyers arguing a case on opposite sides disagree on most everything, except the love they both feel for their dogs, a Boston terrier and a Jack Russell terrier. Loneliness and their dogs bring them together in a surprising way on Valentine’s Day.
Sydney Aaliyah Michelle - Your Loyal Fan
A year later, Noah, Callie, and their little dog Nip are in relationship bliss, but a Valentine's Day weekend in Los Angeles stretches their loyalties. Is their bond strong enough to survive the celebrity wedding of the century?
Caroline Bell Foster — The Kitty Effect
Stumbling across an abandoned cat and her kittens, Mateo and Willow have to embark on a crash course of parenthood in more ways than one.
Tina D.C. Hayes — Sweethearts and Paw Prints
Kaylee fears losing the two guys she loves with all her heart: Carter to another woman and her Yorkie to his previous owner.
Jeanne Bannon — Love Bites
Jack has a tried and true system for determining whether he will continue to date a woman. He brings his dates home to meet his dog, Phil. But none have yet to pass the Phil Test.
Author: Victoria Pinder
Author Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Paranormal
Website: Victoria Pinder
Author's Blog: Victoria Pinder
Twitter: @VictoriaPinder
E-Mail: victoriapinder01@gmail.com
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Author Description:
USA Today best selling author, Victoria Pinder grew up in Irish Catholic Boston before moving to the Miami sun. She’s worked in engineering, after passing many tests proving how easy Math came to her. Then hating her life at the age of twenty four, she decided to go to law school. Four years later, after passing the bar and practicing very little, she realized that she hates the practice of law. She refused to one day turn 50 and realize she had nothing but her career and hours at a desk. After realizing she needed change, she became a high school teacher. Teaching is rewarding, but writing is a passion.
During all this time, she always wrote stories to entertain herself or calm down. Her parents are practical minded people demanding a job, and Victoria spent too many years living other people’s dreams, but when she sat down to see what skill she had that matched what she enjoyed doing, writing became so obvious. The middle school year book when someone wrote in it that one day she’d be a writer made sense when she turned thirty.
She’s always been determined. She is amazing, adventurous and assured on a regular basis. Sign up for her newsletter at http://victoriapinder.com/returningforvalentineshorttimeoffer
Member of Florida Romance Writers, Contemporary Romance, Celtic Hearts and Savvy Authors.
Author: J.L. Campbell
Author Genre: Romance, Women & Gender Studies, Young Adult
Website: J.L. Campbell
Twitter: @JL_Campbell
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
J.L. Campbell is an award-winning, Jamaican author who writes romantic suspense, women's fiction, new and young adult novels. She has written thirteen books, four novellas and two short story collections.
Her novels include the Island Adventure Romance series, which currently has five exciting, stand-alone stories and features feisty women and determined men. Campbell's mission is to write stories that entertain and educate readers. She also writes under the pen name Jayda McTyson.
She is a certified editor, who also writes non-fiction.
Author: Jade Kerrion
Author Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy
Website: Jade Kerrion
Author's Blog: Journey Through the Language of Love…
Twitter: @JadeKerrion
E-Mail: jade.kerrion@gmail.com
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Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
JADE KERRION is the author of the Double Helix series, which has won a total of eight science fiction awards, including the Gold Medal in Readers Favorites 2013. Her Guild Wars fan fiction was accused of keeping her readers up at night, distracting them from work, housework, homework, and (far worse), from actually playing Guild Wars. And then she wondered why just screw up the time management skills of gamers? Why not aspire to screw everyone else up too? So here she is, writing science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance novels that aspire to keep you from doing anything else useful with your time.
Author: P. C. Zick
Author Genre: Literature & Fiction
Website: P. C. Zick
Author's Blog: Living Lightly
Twitter: @PCZick
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Author Description:
P.C. Zick describes herself as a storyteller no matter what she writes. And she writes in a variety of genres, including romance, contemporary fiction, and nonfiction. She's won various awards for her essays, columns, editorials, articles, and fiction.
The three novels in her Florida Fiction Series contain stories of Florida and its people and environment, which she credits as giving her a rich base for her storytelling. "Florida's quirky and abundant wildlife—both human and animal—supply my fiction with tales almost too weird to be believable."
Her contemporary romances in the Behind the Love trilogy are also set in Florida. Her most recent works are set in the Smoky Mountains. All of her books are stand-alone reads, even if they appear in a series.
Her novels contain elements of romance with strong female characters, handsome heroes, and descriptive settings. She believes in living lightly upon this earth with love, laughter, and passion, and through her fiction, she imparts this philosophy in an entertaining manner with an obvious love for her characters, plot, and themes.
Author: Sydney Aaliyah Michelle
Author Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Website: Sydney Aaliyah Michelle
Author's Blog:
Twitter: @sydneyamichelle
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Sydney Aaliyah Michelle is a Contemporary Romance writer, a voracious reader and movie fanatic who hails from Texas.
After surviving 5 1/2 years living in China, she had the courage to finally pursue her passion and become a writer.
Sydney has been blogging at sydneyaaliyah.com for three years, where she interviews people about their tattoos, discusses her favorite movie quotes, and journals about her writing and editing process.
Sydney's novels tackle that dramatic world that is college and professional football and she writes heroines that love their men and the sport that they play.
She identifies the sci-fi action flick "The Matrix" as the best representation of her life in the past. She is now blessed to be awake and doing what she loves.
She can recite the entire script from the 80's teen comedy/drama "The Breakfast Club" and loves any and everything associated with the Avengers Movie, especially Tony Stark.
Author: Caroline Bell Foster
Author Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Multicultural & Interracial
Website: Caroline Bell Foster
Twitter: @cbellfoster
E-Mail: caroline@carolinebellfoster.com
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Caroline Bell Foster was born in Derby, England and with her family went on a six week holiday to Jamaica. She stayed for 18 years!
Ever the adventurer Caroline bought her first pair of high heels in Toronto and traded her pink sunglasses for a bus ride in the Rift Valley at 18. She wrote her first short story on that bus and had it published the following year in a local newspaper.
Caroline has always written in one form or another from a very young age. She started her first diary at age 7 and short stories and articles kept her occupied throughout her teens. Feeling the restrictions of short stories for newspapers, Caroline switched to full length novels letting her creativity flow.
Caroline is also known as 'The Caribbean's Leading Lady of Love' as her novels Ladies' Jamaican, Caribbean Whisper's, Saffron's Choice tend to reflect her love for the Islands. Caroline's fourth novel Call Me Royal has just been released.
The author now lives in Nottingham, England with her husband and two children.
Author: Tina D.C. Hayes
Author Genre: Romance, Suspense, Mystery
Website: Tina D.C. Hayes
Author's Blog: Tina D.C. Hayes
Twitter: @Tina_DC_Hayes
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Tina DC Hayes writes romantic suspense and cozy mysteries with a paranormal twist. She lives down a little country road in western Kentucky with her husband and four children. A few pampered pooches and two parrots keep her company while they stand guard against writer's block. In her spare time she reads, hangs out with friends and family, watches movies, plays guitar, and indulges her inner Foodie in the kitchen and by chowing down at cool restaurants. Currently up to her elbows in diapers, she's an expert at 4 a.m. bottle feedings and Patty Cake.
Author: Jeanne Bannon
Author Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Website: Jeanne Bannon
Twitter: @JeanneBannon
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Author Description:
Jeanne Bannon has worked in the publishing industry for over twenty years as an editor and writer.
Featured Set: High Desert Cozy Mysteries #1
Dianne Harman
AVAILABLE at Amazon
Set Includes the following full-length novels:
Murder & the Monkey Band
Murder & the Secret Cave
Murdered by Country Music
Three fast-paced cozy mysteries by seven time Amazon All-Star. Join Marty Morgan, an art and antique appraiser, her friend Detective Jeff, and her pink bootie-wearing black Labrador retriever, as they search for murderers..
She has some help from her psychic sister, Laura, and the other residents of the high desert compound she lives in outside of Palm Springs, California. Native Americans, antique Meissen figurines, and a musical festival are all part of this best selling series. If you like food, dogs, quirky characters, and guessing whodunit, along with mouth-watering recipes, you don't want to miss this boxed set!
Author: Dianne Harman
Author Genre: Romance and Literary Fiction
Website: Dianne Harman Author
Author's Blog: Dianne Harman Author
Twitter: @DianneDHarman
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Dianne Harman draws her stories and characters from a diverse business and personal background. She owned a national antique and art appraisal business for many years, left that industry, and opened two yoga centers where she taught yoga and certified yoga instructors. She's traveled extensively throughout the world and loves nothing more than cooking and playing with her new puppy, Kelly.
Being a dog lover and having attended numerous cooking schools, she couldn't resist writing about food and dogs. She is the author of three cozy mystery series: Cedar Bay, Liz Lucas, and her newest, High Desert. Each of these books contains recipes from her travels. She is also the author of the award-winning suspenseful Coyote Series.
A number of books in her cozy mystery series have been designated by Amazon as All-Stars because of their sales, and Dianne has been named by Amazon seven times as one of their most popular authors.
She invites you to visit her web site at: www.dianneharman.com and sign up for her newletters. You'll receive a free book and have a weekly chance to win an autographed boxed set of the Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series.
Title: Murder & The Monkey Band
Author: Dianne Harman
Marty Morgan is a recently divorced antique and art appraiser who moves from the Midwest to live with her sister in High Desert, California, just outside of Palm Springs. Since their early childhood days, her sister has always possessed unexplained psychic abilities that often enable her to predict future events.
An antique appraisal in the home of a recently murdered woman puts Marty at the center of a search for the killer. Who did it? The woman’s son? The well-known collector of antique Meissen china? A professional art and antique thief? The owner of Mai Tai Mama’s Restaurant?
And just what part did the collection of Meissen Monkey Band figurines play in the murder? Detective Jeff Combs is just as determined to develop a relationship with Marty and her dog Duke as he is to solve the crime. Will the psychic abilities of Marty’s sister help her find the killer?
Available at Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Title: Murder & the Secret Cave
Author: Dianne Harman
Who killed Randy Jones?
Was it Dr. Rosenbaum, who would do anything to get the Native American artifacts he desperately needed to add to his collection? Was it Richard Sagebrush, a Native American whose one goal in life was to return stolen artifacts to their rightful tribes? Was it Randy’s son, Luke Peterson, who was still angry his father had abandoned him forty years ago? Was it Colin Sanders, who dealt in black market Native American artifacts? Or even Mary BirdSong, the woman who had lived for ten years with Randy in his rundown desert shack until one day, without any explanation, he kicked her out?
Randy Jones was an old desert rat with a secret collection of Native American artifacts that was worth millions, but can you put a price on an illegal collection? That’s the dilemma Marty Morgan finds herself in when Randy asks her to appraise his collection, but the meeting leads to more than an appraisal – it becomes a meeting that ends in murder – Randy’s.
Join Marty, her boyfriend Detective Jeff Combs, her psychic sister, Laura, and her black Labrador, Duke, who refuses to set foot on desert sand without his pink booties, as they search for the killer before he murders Marty. Another dilemma Marty faces is deciding whether she wants her relationship with Jeff to go to the next level.
Available at Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Title: Murdered by Country Music
Author: Dianne Harman
What part did mollies and Fireball whiskey play in a murder at a country music festival held outside of Palm Springs, California? Why was the celebrity chef, Jacques Rushon, owner of the French Food Obsession food truck murdered? The suspects at the top of the sheriff's list are Marty Morgan's friends John, the owner of The Red Pony food truck, and his assistant, Max.
Or was it the ex-wife who was owed back child support? Food truck competitors John and Max? The owner of the White Stallion Ranch where the music festival was held? Jacques' drug dealer? Jacques' partner in the food truck, Ned? Or Ned's wife, Rita? In order to save her own life, Marty has to solve the murder mystery. Fortunately, she has a little help from Jeff, her police detective fiance.
This fast-paced cozy mystery gives the reader a behind the scenes look at music festivals and food trucks. As always, there's lots of food, recipes, and a black Labrador retriever who refuses to give up his pink booties!
Available at Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Authors Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
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Thank you so much for featuring Valentines Pets & Kisses 2 - it's a box set sure to make you smile!
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