Catherine Bybee - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase: Married by Monday

The Showcase is a special feature of the Author's Spotlight. It is designed to highlight Spotlight author's NEW releases and their soon to be released novels.

The HBS Author's Spotlight SHOWCASES Catherine Bybee New Book: Married by Monday.

Romance

Married by Monday

Book Two of the Weekday Bride Series

Author: Catherine Bybee


AVAILABLE
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Carter Billings: Sandy blond hair and Hollywood good looks, Carter Billings could have any woman he wants. However, when he makes his bid for the Governor's seat in the state of California, he needs to settle down and become a family man. Eliza, the woman he secretly adores, embodies the perfect amount of spice and passion to suit his marital needs, but she’s not interested in becoming Mrs. Billings. She can't even stand to be in the same room with him. Eliza Havens: It’s much easier to drive Carter away than to give into desire. Matching couples is how she earns a living, but getting married isn’t an option. The secrets she carries are too dangerous to entangle anyone else. When her hidden identity and past threaten her future, she’s left with little choice. Carter is quick to offer solutions to both their problems, but saying yes could mean endangering the man she’s growing to love. Author of New York Times Bestseller, Wife by Wednesday presents, Book Two in the Weekday Bride Series

Excerpt:
He folded his arms over his chest. "I suppose you could say I'm following Blake's lead. Marriage solves a few fundamental problems in my career path."

She stared at him full-on now, not trying to look away. "You're problems. Not mine."

"Problems you helped play a role in." He saw the spark in her eye before she managed her first syllable of defense.

She sat the tea down and placed a hand on the counter. "That's low, Carter."

"And true, or you'd be the first to tell me I'm wrong. If I had a choice, I'd be married by Monday to help dispel all the media crap created by your and Gwen's night on the Texas town. I thought I could come to you and obtain a little bit of cooperation."

"A little bit of cooperation? Marriage is a tad more than a little big of anything." Her voice rose, and her knuckles started to grip the counter.

"Yet you earn your living arranging marriages or partnerships on trite reasons less important than mine." How dare she follow a moral high ground? Maybe she'd forgotten how well verse he was on her and Samantha's business.

"You forget that our clients have to approve of the relationships we arrange. They have to like the person—"

He laughed, interrupting her. "Do you really want to pretend we aren't friends to prove your point?"

Her cheeks grew rosy, which he had to admit was much better than the pasty color she'd been sporting when he walked into the house. He felt the fire burning inside her as she shot daggers with her eyes.

"You're my best friend's husband's friend. If you're looking for a wife, you might peek into your little black book, or whatever it is you use, and draw another name."

Carter let his arms drop and took two steps closer. The angrier she became, the more his blood churned. His body responded to her outrage, but not in anger. "I don't want to draw another name."

"Well, you need to. As far as I see it, you and I hardly get along. We have nothing in common and can't be in the same room for more than an hour without getting into an argument."

True. All of what she said was true.

He moved into her personal space, felt the heat of her skin, and sensed the spark of her temper. Her eyes shifted as he approached, but she didn't slide away. A stubborn woman, she simply glared, daring him to prove her wrong. Well, he intended to do just that.

"You're ignoring on thing that proves you're the perfect wife for me."

She tilted her chin in defiance. "Oh, yeah? What's that?"

"This." …

Author Genre: Romance

Website: Catherine Bybee
Author's Blog: Romance by Catherine
Blog: Google +
Twitter: @catherinebybee
E-Mail: catherinebybee@yahoo.com
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Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Pinterest: Check Out Pinterest


Author Description: New York Times bestselling author Catherine Bybee was raised in Washington State, but after graduating high school, she moved to Southern California in hopes of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the novels Married by Monday and Not Quite Dating. Bybee lives with her husband and two teenage sons in Southern California.


Author's Book List
Fiance by Friday - Weekday Brides Series
From New York Times bestselling author Catherine Bybee comes the newest installment in her popular Weekday Brides series. Gwen Harrison: The beautiful, high-born daughter of an English duke came to America to take over her sister-in-law’s matchmaking business. But just because she’s the boss doesn’t mean she can’t fantasize about making her own perfect match with bodyguard Neil MacBain. Will the enigmatic man who haunts her dreams cost her more than she bargained for? Neil MacBain: The retired Marine can’t deny the effect blue-blooded Gwen has on his troubled soul or his battle-hardened body. But as a client, Gwen is off-limits—until a threat from Neil’s past returns…and Gwen is caught in the crossfire. Now to keep her safe he will risk it all: his career, his life…and his heart.
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Wife by Wednesday - Weekday Brides Series
The New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling novel that launches Bybee’s popular Weekday Brides series A wife by Wednesday…a love for a lifetime Blake Harrison: Rich, titled, and charming…and in need of a wife by Wednesday. Blake turns to Sam Elliot, who isn’t the businessman he expected. Instead, Blake is faced with Samantha Elliot, beautiful and feisty with a voice men call 1-900 numbers to hear. Samantha Elliot: Owner of matchmaking firm Alliance and not on the marital menu…that is, until Blake offers her ten million dollars for a one-year contract. And there’s nothing indecent about this proposal. The money will really help with her family’s medical bills. All Samantha will need to do is keep her attraction to her new husband to herself and avoid his bed. But Blake’s toe-curling kisses and sexy charm prove too difficult for Sam to resist. It was a marriage contract that planned for everything…except falling in love.
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Book Trailer: Wife by Wednesday
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Not Quite Mine
From New York Times, USA Today, and WSJ best-selling author of Wife by Wednesday, comes the second novel in her delightful, delicious Not Quite trilogy. Gorgeous hotel heiress Katelyn “Katie” Morrison seems to have it all. But when she crosses paths with Dean Prescott—the only man she’s ever loved—at her brother’s wedding, Katie realizes there’s a gaping hole in her life. After the ceremony she gets an even bigger surprise: a baby girl left on her doorstep. Determined to keep the newborn until she learns who her mother is, Katie has her hands full and doesn’t need Dean snooping around…especially when his presence stirs feelings she thought were long gone.. Dean Prescott knows Katie is lying to him about the baby. He shouldn’t care what the woman who broke his heart is up to…and he most certainly shouldn’t still be aching for her. Yet Dean can’t ignore the need to protect Katie—or the desire to be near her every chance he gets. But when he and Katie solve the mystery surrounding the baby, their second chance for happiness could be shattered forever.
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Not Quite Dating - Not Quite series
Waitress and single mom Jessica “Jessie” Mann is practical to a fault. Even if she had time to date, which she doesn’t, she’d be determined to provide her son with a more secure upbringing than the one she had—and that would mean a husband with big bucks. When Jack Morrison—a sexy-as-sin, seemingly broke customer with a cowboy hat and a seductive grin—tries to flirt with her, she shoots him down. She doubts a carefree dreamer like Jack can provide the financial stability she needs. Yet with Christmas just weeks away, and Jessie not wanting to spend it alone, the charming Texan is proving hard to resist. As the heir to the Morrison luxury hotel empire, Jack is used to being fawned over. But Jack needs someone who will fall in love with him—not his wealth. He’s set his sights on Jessie, though her hardened heart just might get in the way…To be sure, he conceals his true identity and offers to help Jessie find the rich husband she seeks. But Jack’s daring charade may rob him of the holiday wish he wants most of all…
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Book Trailer: Not Quite Dating
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Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble
Embracing the Wolf - Ritter Werewolves
Werewolves come in two different categories, good and evil. Although Richard Ritter's family has encouraged him to make the change for years, he never considered embracing his wolf until he meets Kate Davis. One night with her however, and his life changes forever. After a horrifying evening of violence, Kate Davis's life is turned upside down. Richard offers more than security; he offers her passion, someth ing she hasn't experienced in years. Falling in love with him was easy, but once she learns what he becomes every month her fear of the unknown threatens their future
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Highland Shifter
A mysterious Druid book and Helen’s sixth sense send her to Scotland in search of a missing boy. After being attacked by strange men dressed in medieval garb, a handsome, desirable hero answering to the boy’s name rescues her. No one is more surprised than she to find herself in sixteenth century Scotland. Unable to deny the reality of time travel, Helen discovers smoldering passion with a man destined to leave her. Simon has lived his Druid life in two very different worlds, two vastly different times, and when Helen practically lands in his lap, he knows his life is about to change forever. There are enemies in California lying in wait for her, and an army in Scotland closing in on his family. Simon is the only person who can protect her. But when she learns his most guarded secret, will she still want him? Can Helen love a Highland Shifter?
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Redeeming Vows - MacCoinnich Time Travels #3
For her own safety, modern day, single mom, Lizzy McAllister is forced to bow to the medieval men who surround her when she's thrust back in time to the sixteenth century against her will. When Lizzy finds herself trapped in time with Fin, the one man she finds both irresistible and maddening, she agrees to combine forces with him to rid Scotland of the evil witch, Grainna. Finlay MacCoinnich's attraction to Lizzy sizzles the very air they breathe. Tearing down the solid walls the woman has built around her won't be easy, but he's willing to do anything to keep her by his side. When a spell cast by their deadliest foe throws them forward in time, will they manage to find their way back in time to save their family from peril? And will Lizzy willingly stay in his time, or abandon him altogether?
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Silent Vows - MacCoinnich Time Travels #2
Myra, a medieval virgin druidess, flees five hundred years into the future to escape death at the hands of a cursed witch and lands in the arms of a handsome but cynical twenty-first century cop. Officer Todd Blakely knows Myra is hiding something , but can't resist her innocent charms. Destiny throws them both into a world of intrigue and mysticism. Can Todd be the true white knight she needs? Or will magic and the winds of time tear them apart?
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Binding Vows - MacCoinnich Time Travel - Volume 1
Duncan MacCoinnich's task... Travel to the twenty-first century Renaissance Faire, deflower the Druid virgins, and go home. Only his job is not so easily accomplished with the virgin in question, Tara McAllister. Time is running out. The evil is closing in on them both. Tara finds Duncan irresistible after what was supposed to be a mock Hand-fasting binds them. When Duncan whisks her to his home in Scotland she could accept that. But, can she forgive him for taking away her modern life when she finds herself in the sixteenth century? And is it love they feel? Or something else?
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Soul Mate
Kari Pearce lives the life of a lone werewolf. No one knows of her affliction, not even her sister. When she hears of a missing child up in the Sequoias, Kari goes on the hunt to find the child and her abductor before tragedy can occur. Saving the child is easy, avoiding the FBI agent associated with the case is not. Agent Nick Murdock knows he's seen Kari before, but damn if he can remember where. There's one thing he knows for sure. Kari Pearce, with her blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, is hiding something. And Nick is going to find out what.
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Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
eBook Author’s Corner
Mystery Reader’s Circle

Check out the index of other Spotlight authors. Spotlight Index.

Rob Cornell - HBS Author's Spotlight

Today our blog puts the Spotlight on Author Rob Cornell. He is a bestselling author of The Lockman Chronicles and Ridley Brone mysteries.

Author Genre: Mystery, Dark Fantasy

Website: Rob Cornell
Author's Blog: Rob Cornell - "News" page
Twitter: @RobCornellBooks
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Pinterest: Check Out Pinterest


Author Description:
An accidental nomad, Rob Cornell grew up in suburban Detroit, then spent five years living in Los Angeles before moving to Chicago to receive a BA in Fiction Writing from Columbia College. He has traveled full circle, now living in rural southeast Michigan with his wife, two kids, and dog, Kinsey--named after Sue Grafton's famous detective. In between moving and writing, he's worked all manner of odd jobs, including lead singer for an acoustic cover band and a three-day stint as assistant to a movie producer after which he quit because the producer was a nut job.


SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author

Good luck with your new book, Red Run. We highlight it below. So what’s next? Do you have another book on the horizon? Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?

Actually, I just released the third book in The Lockman Chronicles last week, Darkest Hour. It continues the adventures of ex-government agent turned paranormal vigilante, Craig Lockman, as he struggles with the tragedy from the previous book, Dark Legion. He faces his most dangerous—and personal—enemy, who threatens to destroy everything Lockman stands for, and everyone he loves.

Coming next is the fourth book in the series, Darkness Returns. This book rounds out the arc started in the first book, Darker Things. I say “rounds out the arc” instead of concludes the series, because I think there could be more dangers in store for Craig Lockman, just different dangers. We’ll see. I try not to plan too far ahead. But you can expect Darkness Returns to hit stores this summer (fingers crossed).

You have a great twitter following. How important have your social media relationships been? Do you see a carry over to your writing success? Do you rely on social media for your book launch process?

I took to Twitter pretty hardcore early on, using all the tricks of building a network of like-minded folks, mainly by following people who followed people I liked. It’s a tedious process, and doesn’t always work. The more followers you gain, the more spam you have to combat. I recently spent half a day going through and trying to kill spam accounts following me because they were getting in the way of my interacting with the real people.

It’s gotten better, but it’ll never be like it was. With so many following/followers, continuing any meaningful interaction is tough. And I really don’t want to turn into a spammer myself by only talking about my own books.

With that in mind, I’ll be doing quite a bit less with social media. Frankly, I’m one of those writers that believes the best way to build a readership is to give them lots of stuff to read (i.e. write more). That said, I will continue to use Facebook and Twitter to announce launches and any sales/promotions I do. Because I know for a fact that I gained a number of readers through Twitter.

Facebook? Not so much. I use that more to keep in touch with writer friends.

Do you do book signing, interviews, speaking and personal appearances? If so, when and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?

Normally, no. I’ve done blog interviews like this one, but not for a long, long time. And that’s it. Ironically, I do have another interview on April 1st, this one on blogtalk radio, so people will get to hear my voice. That’ll be new. Other than that, I have nothing else planned. I prefer to spend the time writing if I can.

You have great covers. How does your book cover creation process work? Do you hand over the basic theme or do you have more of a hands-on approach? Do you get your readers involved in its development?

Thank you! My covers are all DIY. Early on, I received a lot of help from my wife, who has an art degree and some design experience, mostly in the marketing field. But I’ve since taken over the cover process. It was a painful learning curve, and I’m nowhere near the level as some designers. At the same time, I find the work enjoyable, and I’m slowly getting better.

Quick tip for other DIY cover designers: The art’s important, but the typography is everything. Bad typography will ruin a cover, and will give you away as an amateur more than anything else.

You have used a book trailer for marketing before. (See links below.) Do you know how much impact it had on your book’s success? Tell us about the process that you used to create your trailers? Do you use the trailer in your character development? Are the pictures and background the way you see your characters and scenes?

LOL! I forgot about that thing. The “trailer” I did for Darker Things was actually me trying to be funny. I don’t have the time or tools to put together a real trailer—and I don’t think they’re worth the investment, frankly. However, inspired by indie publishing guru, Zoe Winters’s, Zoe Who? Videos (http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/6788485/zoe-who), I put together one of those Xtranormal movies. Technically, it is a plug for my book, but I highly doubt it convinced anybody to go out and buy a copy.

What kinds of writer support groups do you belong too? Do they help with the writing, marketing and the publishing process?

I received a BA in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago. There I met a group of talented writers who all wanted to write popular fiction. An instructor of ours put together a group that met at her house, and that group ran for a little while. A lot of talent there. Some names you might even recognize who’ve gone on to great success. But since I’ve moved out of Chicago to rural Michigan, I don’t have a group, except for those I stay in touch with online. I don’t believe in critique groups. I’ve learned the hard way that they do more harm than good. But having a network of like-minded people who understand a writer’s mindset is invaluable.

Those are the writers I connect with on Facebook.

I also continue to take online craft workshops, and I have a week-long intensive writing workshop on the Oregon coast I’m going to this summer. You can never stop learning as a writer. I don’t care if you’re Stephen King. You never stop learning.

Has the advent of ebooks changed anything in your writing, getting the book to your readers and the relationship with your readers and fans?

Not anything. Everything. I could write a short book about what electronic publishing has done for me. The doors it’s opened. The readers I’ve found. The actual money I’ve made. I can’t imagine ever going back to the old way.

What has been your experience in giving your books away free? Have you been involved in any other type of giveaways and how did that work out? What was your main goal in doing this? Did you run into any obstacles?

I’ve had mixed luck with giveaways. This is an area I’m still learning, though I have made up my mind about a few things. The Kindle Select program can be very powerful. I made a killing over the holiday season by offering books free and reaping the rewards on my other titles, as well as increased sales on the free title when it returned to paid status.

On the flip side, one giveaway I did had no effect on sales, and only a few hundred copies were downloaded. The trick is getting the word out. The other trick is being lucky. I’m not a very lucky guy, so I don’t like to depend on that to make my career.

That said, starting on April 1st, my crime thriller, Red Run, will be free for five days. So if you’re reading this interview and thinking about picking up a copy, I’d wait a couple weeks and snag a free one off Amazon. The book features a single father of two teens whose daughter is murdered and his son is the prime suspect. Readers who like Harlan Coben or Linwood Barclay should enjoy this one.

Do you publish your books in other languages?

Nyet. However, if anyone out there wants to purchase translation rights, contact me and we’ll talk. (grin)

Between your book writing, social media, marketing, family and all the other things that can get in your way, how do you manage your time? Do you have a set schedule or do your sort of play it by ear? How do you have time to keep up with your followers?

This is the magic key to success. A schedule. Put writing at the top of it—which doesn’t mean do it first. It means do it when you are at your best. Leave everything else for those times of day when you feel blah.

I have three kids and a tricky health issue. So having a schedule, setting protective boundaries around my writing time, helps keep the work going. Then I have to remind myself that I have three kids and a tricky health issue, so sometimes the schedule has to break.

But if I make sure to have time for the most important part of my job—the writing—the other stuff tends to fall in place.

You are the second author in the HBS Spotlight that named their dog after something in the writing world. How did you chose Kinsey (named after Sue Grafton's famous detective) and do you have a picture?

Kinsey just seemed to fit. It felt unique and had a tie to one of my passions, detective novels. And since she’s a girl, we couldn’t name her Scudder or Spenser or Archer, which would have been my first choices for a boy dog.

Alas, I do not have a picture of her handy. But she is a cross between a Jack Russell and an American Eskimo. We call her a Jackimo.



Author's Book List
Red Run
Any father's worst nightmare.

A knock on the door in the middle of the night.

A police detective tells you your daughter's been found beaten to death and left in the Red Run Drain.

When you go to tell your son, he's missing.

Evidence links your son to the killing.

What will you do to prove your son's innocence? Will you sacrifice your own?
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Darkest Hour - The Lockman Chronicles #3
An enemy so close...

Craig Lockman has always protected the world from evil. Battled wicked creatures with an unquenchable thirst to destroy our world. Stood against the darkest of the darker things.

Now his most dreaded enemy lurks closer than ever before.

It's a horror he's not prepared--much less equipped--to fight. And if he doesn't prevail, the future of everyone he loves will fall into darkness.

For the first time in his life, Lockman feels afraid.

He is about to face his Darkest Hour.
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Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Smashwords
The Hustle - A Ridley Brone Mystery
Three years after the case that changed Ridley Brone forever, Ridley has cobbled together a life he can deal with, working as a PI out of the office above his karaoke bar, the High Note. Then Eddie Arndt walks in.

He wants Ridley to investigate his family’s murder-suicide from twenty years ago. Eddie insists his father could never have killed his mom and little brother, no matter what the police say. But to Ridley, it doesn’t sound like there’s much to investigate. He passes on the case until he receives a peculiar phone call.

Cryptic, vulgar, and disturbing. the caller threatens the one thing most precious to Ridley. Something very few even know about.

Ridley uses Eddie’s case as a distraction from the continued harassment by the strange caller. But when Ridley learns Eddie has a caller of his own who claims to be his family’s real killer, Ridley can draw only one conclusion…they’re both getting conned.

The search for who’s hustling them and why leads Ridley down the twisted trails of both their pasts. What he discovers will force him to question every assumption, and lead him to one hard truth…

The easiest targets are those with the most to lose.
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Dark Legion - The Lockman Chronicles #2
Craig Lockman Returns...

The Agency taught him how to fight monsters, not a war.

How to protect his country, not those he loved.

How to kill, not how to live.

Now Craig Lockman faces a legion of vampires led by a self-proclaimed vampire king. Never before have these creatures amassed in such great numbers. Their goal is uncertain. Their reach unknown.

And while Lockman's training can help in the battle against this dark legion, nothing can prepare him for the sacrifice he must make in order to defeat its king.
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Darker Things - The Lockman Chronicles #1
Craig Lockman...

No one had called him that in fifteen years.

Not since his days at the Agency. Not since he was trained to kill creatures that were supposed to exist only in nightmares.

Yet the teenage girl on his doorstep not only knows his real name, she claims she's his daughter.

Before Lockman can learn how the girl found him, he's attacked by a black-ops team of assassins. But these aren't ordinary killers—they're heavily armed vampires sent by his most hated enemy.

Forced on the run, Lockman protects his daughter from an onslaught of horrors while searching for who betrayed him and why. The investigation leads him to Detroit, where he unwittingly sets a plan into motion that could trigger a paranormal apocalypse and cost him his soul.
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Book Trailer: Darker Things
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Order the Book From: Amazon - Smashwords
Last Call - A Ridley Brone Mystery
Just ask Ridley Brone, a California private investigator who returns to his Michigan hometown when he inherits his estranged parents' multimillion dollar estate. The songs his mom and dad wrote made them rich, but their popular karaoke bar, the High Note, made them famous. Now Ridley owns a bar he doesn't have a clue how to manage, and his every effort seems only to further tarnish his parents' legacy.

Then Ridley's high school love, Autumn, shows up asking for help. She suspects her husband of having an affair and wants Ridley to find the truth. Itching to do the kind of work he knows, Ridley takes her case. But after he finds her husband murdered, the karaoke bar feels like vacation compared to the hard job of proving Autumn's innocence.
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Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
eBook Author’s Corner and
HBS Mystery Reader’s Circle