Little Tidbits about my Crescent Bay Series

Tugging on your heartstrings . . . 

Okay, Regency readers, just remember this:  I love you all and I love that you love my Regency romances!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  But my poor contemporary romances are languishing on the digital shelves . . . sigh!  :-(    Why?  I'm not sure because my beta readers and those who've reviewed them seem to like them, and I certainly enjoy writing them "almost" as much as I do my Regencies.  

So, I'm asking:  can you give them a shot?  These are not trashy stuff, I assure you.  Hey, I attended Catholic school from elementary through high school!  God forbid Sister Mary Joseph ever found out, I'd be dead meat .  . .

To start you off, my Crescent Bay series, book #1 and #2, go on sale tomorrow (May 2) through May 7 -- both will be free on Apple, B&N, Kobo and more -- here are the links for Hold You in My Heart and Straight from the Heart.  Unfortunately, Amazon will not let me reset the price to free unless I'm a "select KDP" author.  However, if you show them the offers at their competitors, I believe they'll honor the sale.

And, as so many of us Indie Authors ask, if you would leave an honest review on either or both, I would truly appreciate that.  So many of us depend upon reviews for future sales.

But now let's have a little fun, shall we? 

In Hold You, Amanda Gallagher opens a vintage home decor shop and her family members help her create various "rooms" throughout the shop.  Her cousin, Giana, creates a Boho corner (vintage hippie style) and I got the idea from a website and Justine Blakeley's book, Jungalow.  Awesome book!  Here's an example:

Takes your breath away, doesn't it?  Of course, my husband would run from the house screaming if I did this in the living room -- ha!  But I just love the bold designs and colors, especially during a dreary New England winter.  

Here's another image that inspired the side garden to Amanda's house where several scenes take place:

Not sure about the umbrella but you get the idea -- private, romantic and cool during the hot summer months.  The perfect setting for a romantic interlude, right?  

And who are Amanda Gallagher and Nate Russell?  

Sometimes a writer has images already in her head about her heroine and hero; sometimes not.  The two characters organically form as you write.  But for Amanda and Nate, I did have two distinct ideas for my characters.  Here are the posted images from Instagram:

I hope you'll give them a chance and read Hold You in My Heart.  Each time I finish a romance, I find myself a little sad to say goodbye to my characters.  If I can bring them back in the next book, great, and I think that's one reason so many authors create series -- they're reluctant to let go!  

Next blog posting will feature Giana and Ryan - completely different from Amanda and Nate, but just as much fun, in Straight from the Heart.  And naturally I'm already making notes for book #3, Heart's Journey, featuring Simone and Marc.  But in the meantime, I'm writing the final romance of my School of Sophistication, featuring Lady Caro and her long lost love, Julien Roberge, which should be ready for release in early June.  

Happy Reading!

Claire H.  

Nate's "Slutty Brownie"

 In Hold You in My Heart, Nate Russell starts his quiet campaign to entice Amanda Gallagher during a scene where his daughter, Maddie, is present.  So his tactic needs to be subtle -- and there's something about this woman that just seems to bring out the beast in him.  Something that hasn't happened in years.  

And luck is with him because the local ice cream shop owner is a bit, shall we say "off the radar" and periodically hosts "adult only" evenings at his shop, giving special names to his concoctions.  Need I say more?  

Slutty Brownie or Slutty Sundae came up several times when I was trying to get a handle on this scene and did my search via Google.  Here are some examples I came across -- but beware!  If you're hungry or have a real sweet tooth, this could be dangerous!

This is an example of a Slutty Brownie taken from KevenandAmanda.com -- looks soooo good, doesn't it? Can you just picture Nate tempting Amanda with this? As they refer to it on their site, it's "an indulgent, outrageous, illegal in 48 states, ridiculously decadent brownie", which is how it got it's name. Now a Slutty Sundae is a bit different and, as Rosie from www.Londoner.me refers to it, it's "pure unadulterated filth!" Yes, but it's delicious filth, right?

So there you have it -- slutty ice cream. Makes you wonder why no one has come up with these concoctions and titles before, right? And my last comment: Did Nate's erotic act of eating and talking about slutty desserts win Amanda over? Well, you're just going to have to read the book! 

 HAPPY READING (AND EATING)! 

Claire H.

 

Update on My New Romance Series

An indie author wears so many hats -- writer, marketing and publicity guru (hopefully!), sometimes her own graphic designer, webmaster and more. And naturally, things fall through the cracks just as in other parts of our lives. So now that summer is little more than a memory and here in New England, we're hitting the height of 'leaf peeping season' and Halloween is only ten days away, I thought I'd mention that "Hold You in My Heart" offers a lovely summer setting with steady doses of funny, steamy scenes!

So here's Nate Russell -- 6'4" of lean muscle, turquoise blue eyes and dark, wavy hair that's a bit too long. He builds racing craft, is a single dad and has a ten-year-old daughter who he loves dearly. His only real hang-up is that he doesn't trust women, especially beautiful women as his wife up and ran off nine years ago. Trust issues, for real. But along comes Amanda Gallagher and he feels the ground under his feet slipping and sliding, not to mention she makes his motor race like a NASCAR contender!

Amanda is from the NYC area -- smart, feisty and sexy. She's also confused, frustrated and attracted to that grumpy, quiet Nate Russell whose sending all her lady parts into a tap dance! And how the heck does he make eating ice cream an erotic act? Join the fun as Amanda and her BFFs tangle with the hunky Maine men in this new series!  And book #2,"Straight from the Heart" will release later next spring!

Happy Reading and, as always, an honest online review

is most welcome!  Thanks for stopping by and don't 

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