Friday, May 16, 2014

Desperate Measures -- Claire Firth

 As a fan of Claire Firth's The Reluctant Bride, I waited anxiously for the release of her Desperate Measures. This book is so right up my alley. I love this type of story where, per the description of the book, the characters are "two damaged people" who basically heal each other. Sigh! Do prepare yourself for a bit of steam -- it is an Erotic Regency Romance Novella, after all. But, in my opinion, the author writes extremely tasteful (still erotic) love scenes.

Read the synopsis below, then grab your copy on Amazon for just $1.25 (promo price, subject to change).

Synopsis: Desperate Measures:

Lady Isabelle Pennington has been put off men for life. Married off by her family to an abusive man 35 years her senior, she is now widowed and virtually penniless. His debauched lifestyle and treatment of her has left her deeply scarred and vowing that never again will she allow herself to be subjected to such abuse. 

Guy, Duke of Rotherham, has had one wife walk out on him and has no wish to enter the matrimonial stakes again. But when he and Isabelle are thrown together, he finds himself drawn by her calm demeanour and aloof beauty despite himself. 

To begin with Isabelle wants nothing to do with this imposing Duke who has dragged her into his life, but then to her shock she realises that he does not repulse her as her first husband had done. Indeed for the first time ever, she actually starts to enjoy the exquisite sensations he is able to arouse in her. 

Two damaged people, intent on maintaining their independence. But both turn out to be highly passionate - and once passion flares it is not easily extinguished!

US Link: http://www.amazon.com/Desperate-Measures-Regency-Undone-Claire-ebook/dp/B00JYPJX8M
UK Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Desperate-Measures-Regency-Undone-Claire-ebook/dp/B00JYPJX8M


While you're at it, grab your copy of The Reluctant Bride - another wonderfully steamy love story by Claire Firth.

US Link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Reluctant-Bride-Regency-Undone-ebook/dp/B00FK9D792
UK Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Reluctant-Bride-Regency-Undone-ebook/dp/B00FK9D792

Monday, April 14, 2014

Guest Post: The Writing Process of the outlandishly amazing Julia Mills!

Author Julia Mills and I hooked up when she was looking for a cover designer on her first book in the Dragon Guard series. It's an outrageously popular series that has taken the fantasy genre by storm, so I thought you might enjoy peeking into her writing world. After reading her post, I'm feeling quite forever indebted to her for her kind words about my writing. That always means a lot coming from someone who pens the most amazing stories! Enough from me though ... let's see what Julia has to say:

I was asked by the most amazing cover artist in the world, as well as a tremendously talented author, Linda Boulanger, to be a part of an author blog tour AND she let me hijack her blog!! I was lucky enough to have met Linda when I was looking for a cover artist for the first book in the Dragon Guard series last year. I had seen some of her work and it was love at first sight. She did NOT disappoint when designing my covers. Three books into the series and she still amazes me with her ability to bring my crazy descriptions of characters and stories to life. Then, I read her work and WOW! So if you haven’t read anything of hers yet…get on it! You will be as hooked as I am. Surprisingly, she thought y’all might like to know about my writing process. I think it’s a pretty cool idea since writing processes are as different and creative as each brilliant person that embarks on the incredible journey of writing anything and let’s face it…it’s pretty cool to find out how some of your favorite stories came to life.

So here is how it works. There are four questions and in my usually rambling, southern way I will attempt answer them all. Then you can follow the tag to keep the tour rolling.

Okay, here we go…

What am I working on? I have three projects going right now. Something that is not unusual for me. I tend to write a lot on one story and then take a little break and write on another. First of all, I am writing the fourth book in the Dragon Guard series, For the Love of Her Dragon. Each book in the series focuses on a certain Guardsman and how he meets the One the Universe has made for him. Although the couple is the focus of the book, each one includes all the members of the Force and gives the reader a great sense of family and community.

The second project is the beginning of the Knights of Blood series and as you can probably guess…it’s VAMPIRES! I love all things paranormal so this one is a lot of fun! It is also a little darker and very sensual.

Lastly, I am working on a YA/Paranormal with an incredibly special young woman that has actually drawn all the illustrations as well as a complete set of ‘my dragons’ from the Dragon Guard series for the book as well as creating all the characters. Elizabeth’s Guardians will focus on a young girl that has suffered loss and is now on the run from evil. Her guardians are none other than….DRAGONS! All proceeds will go the National Autism Association.


How does my work differ from others of its genre? The main difference between my books and others in the genre is the strong sense of community and family. All the characters are part of every book in one way or another. As a reader, I always get ‘involved’ with all the characters I read about and want to know what happened after their ‘starring role’ so when I began writing I decided to make sure they all stayed involved in one way or another.

Also, I have very strong female leads. They are not size zero, millionaire, stay at home girls. They are real people with real problems that have to learn to accept what fate has given them while maintaining who they are.


Why do I write what I write? This one is easy! I am a color outside the line, sky’s the limit kind of girl and my writing is the same way. I want to build a world where the reader really believes a man could turn into a dragon and that the Universe has made that one special person that completes him as no other ever can. Paranormal/Fantasy was not even a choice for me…I just started writing it. We all deserve a place to get away from everyday life. Reading has always been my escape and I want my readers to have that too.


How does my process work? Mine starts with a scene that runs on a loop through my head until I can actually ‘see’ it when I close my eyes. Kind of like that song you sing all day no matter how hard you try to think of something else. From there I picture the characters. What they look like, how they sound, who they really are and find a picture of what is in my head. I write the scene that is driving the entire book and then go from there. Sometimes it is the beginning of the book but many times it is buried in the middle and would seem like nothing more than a blip on the radar but is actually what spurred the whole thing.

The best example I can give you is this excerpt from Her Dragon to Slay…

The different textures of the skin along his massive shoulders she felt as she massaged the liniment into his beautifully battered skin soothed her as much as she hoped it did him. They tickled the pads of her fingers. There were patches of skin that felt softer on the surface but firmer underneath, almost like a scar but different somehow. She imagined him as a Guardian, a Commander of warriors, someone who had seen numerous battles, so in her mind it only stood to reason that he had scars. She didn’t even question where the image of him leading men into battle had come from. It was just a belief planted firmly in her mind, the longer her hands were on his body. She molded and massaged his massive muscles, his skin becoming warmer than its already elevated temperature and some of what she believed to be scars became more predominant. They seemed to take shape right before her eyes. As she focused on a particularly intricate set of lines on his back, she swore it resembled a large wing wrapping up and over his left shoulder. As she followed the line of that powerful wing it swooped down into a large powerful body with a beautifully massive wing coming out the other side. The longer she attended to his wounds, rubbing her hands over his amazing skin, the more intrigued she became by the picture taking shape right before her eyes. It was not until she looked towards his right shoulder that she was captured by the most awe inspiringly, majestic face she had ever seen. She met the creature’s eye and for a split second felt a caress all the way to her soul, a flash of recognition just like when she locked eyes with Rayne. It felt like the melding of souls, the calling of like to like.

From this description of his tattoo, the entire series started. Most think I am pretty crazy and they are probably right…lol…but I have a lot of fun!

I have had a blast talking with you and I hope it gave you a little insight into the wonderful world of my goofy mind!

Always remember…Believe in Magic! And Look for Dragons…They are everywhere!

Fate Will Not Be Denied!

Julia is tagging Sandra Love - YA Supernatural Author of the Broken Wing Series.
You can find Sandra on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/authorsandralove
Her writing process post will run on April 21, so be on the lookout for that!

Thank you so much, Julia! I loved learning about your writing process.
Readers, you can find Julia at https://www.facebook.com/JLakeMills
Her wonderful books are available at
   and at other book distributors.



Monday, April 7, 2014

Excuses and Covers Up

I desperately wanted to start this blog to talk about books, since books are pretty much my life. But, I've found that books are getting in my way ... book covers, to be precise. I'm almost afraid to count the number of covers I've designed lately. I know they are keeping me on my toes trying to keep up. And while I can't share them all either because of space or because they haven't been released by the authors yet, I thought I might share a few recent designs with you...






 I'll plan to share some of my designs from time to time, and I hope you'll plan to visit me at my Tell~Tale Book Covers site as well. I'm also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TellTaleBookCovers.




Friday, January 31, 2014

Crossing Bridges

Congratulations to Shawn Inmon on the release of his Second Chance Valentines mini-novella. This 11,000 word love story is the second story in his Second Chance Love series, and while the stories are about the same set of characters, each part can easily stand alone as its own story. Shawn's readers are loving this story. I love this story! In a nutshell, here's what this wonderful, little romance is all about:


Not everyone gets a second chance at love, but it's happening for Steve and Elizabeth. Separated for twenty years, they reconnected with each other through a Christmas miracle. Now they have a chance to find out what they missed out on decades earlier. Can true love bridge the space of the years that came between them? 

Just $0.99 over on Amazon (Second Chance Christmas, the story that started it all, is also $0.99)



To learn more about Shawn and his awesome writing, visit his website:
http://www.shawninmon.com/ and be sure to sign up for his newsletter while you're there. I have no doubt that once you read one of Shawn's stories you'll cross the bridge into being a fan, just as I have, and will want to be kept up to date on all things Shawn.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Welcome with a WOW!

Welcome to The Forget Me Not Book Garden! I'm glad you've chosen to journey along with me into my land of books, starting with the cover reveal for "Her Dragon's Fire", the second book in the Dragon Guard Series by Author Julia Mills.

I had the honor of designing this cover for Julia through my Tell~Tale Book Covers, and I have to say, I could not be more pleased with how it turned out. I love the emotions playing out in this cover and know the book will be filled with everything this cover promises. Congratulations to Julia Mills for a job well done.

The Blurb:
Her brilliant blues eyes and luscious curves have haunted his every thought for over six years. The guilt of his younger brother’s death a weight around his heart, keeping him from claiming the one the Universe has made for him and him alone. Aidan, a fierce Dragon Guardsman, now knows that nothing was as he thought and the woman he believed was unattainable is within his grasp, if only he can keep her safe from those that would use her to hurt him.

Grace is a successful lawyer, seeking justice for those that would otherwise be forgotten. Her incredible strength and intelligence make her a champion for the downtrodden. When she stumbles into a case that is so much more than she ever imagined, her very life hangs in the balance and the man whose scent sends her heart racing and her temperature rising is the only one that can keep her safe. Her life is irrevocably changed when she comes face to face with those hypnotic amber eyes.

There are no coincidences. Aidan will do everything in his power, including giving his very life, to keep his mate safe. The Universe does not make mistakes. Grace and Aidan are meant to be together in this life and the next but the forces both natural and magical that are sworn to keep them apart have been a step ahead of Aidan and the Dragon Guard all along. Can these fated mates defy all odds and live the life that is their destiny? Fate will not be denied.


"Her Dragon's Fire" by Julia Mills: available January 21
While you're waiting, enjoy the first book
of the Dragon Guard Series: "Her Dragon to Slay"
Available in multiple formats.
(Currently priced at $0.99!)