A Short Q&A with #MFRWauthor Karen Blake @KarenBlakehal

MEET MFRW Author Karen Blake-Hall.
Karen Blake-Hall’s sharp-bladed fiction cuts to the heart of the emotions driving her characters in desperate situations.

When she’s not at her day job she’s crafting more tales of love and crime or spending time with her husband and children. She lives outside of Toronto with her husband, The Professor.

She is a member of Sisters in Crime International; Sisters in Crime Toronto; Crime Writers of Canada; Romance Writers of America, Toronto Romance Writers.

http://www.karenblake-hall.com/
Blog: https://karenblakehall.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenBlakeHall.author
Goodreads:www.goodreads.com/author/show/7203856.Karen_Blake_Hall

A Short & Sweet Q&A.

Day or Night?Night for sure.
Pen and paper or Computer?Computer. I think fast and can type faster than I can write.
Fruit or Chocolate?Chocolate anything is the best.
Coffee or Tea?I can't get started in the morning with coffee.
Roller Coaster or Merry-Go-Round?Merry-Go-Round because I'm afraid of heights and can't do the Roller Coaster.
City life or Country life? Country Life
Ebook or Paperback? Both equal after all a book is a book
Cats or Dogs?
Again I love both equally.
What is your secret guilty pleasure?Getting a cup of coffee, some chocolate and a great book. There is nothing on earth quite like this.

You Are Mine
Karen Blake Hall

Single mother, Molly Jackson, wants to run the family freight business in the North West Territories and take care of her daughter and grandfather. When creepy letters start to arrive she knows she has a stalker. Can she protect her loved ones when she’s not sure she can protect herself?

When Gramps ask RCMP officer Brock Kingston to come home, he can't refuse the man who took him in. Now he has to return home and save the woman who broke his heart.

Will their rekindled love survive when the truth is revealed?

BUY LINK

Excerpt

"A movement by the shed caught her eye and Molly froze. She glanced at the clock on the wall beside the fireplace.
A rush of blood pounded through her temples as she stood. Walking over to the side of the window, she lifted the heavy brocade curtain, making sure she didn't touch the lacy sheer, not wanting her movements to be revealed to whoever was out there.
The figure of a man leaned against the shed, watching the office. Tightness cinched in her chest, as she held her breath. Could he be the one sending the letters?
She kept her eyes focused on the stranger. He was dressed like a local, with a red and black checked flannel shirt peeking out from under a down-filled vest. His worn jeans and scuffed boots resembled every male living in town, but unlike them he looked lethal.
His face was shadowed beneath a baseball cap, his eyes shielded by dark sunglasses. She couldn't make out any of his features.
She let the heavy curtain fall back into place and walked over to the fireplace, reached for the rifle over the mantle, checked for shells then crossed the room to the door.
Opening the front door, she kept a firm grip on the rifle at her side as she yelled, ""What are you doing here?""
The man shrugged. He took a step toward her. Dread lassoed her throat, cinching it closed.
He stepped out of the shadows into the bright sunlight. A navy duffel bag in his hand. Walking toward her he smiled as he removed the glasses drawing her into two, cool-blue pools. ""Long time no see.""
Not nearly long enough. She knew she should be relieved that he wasn't the stalker, but in some ways he was more dangerous.
Her worst nightmare had become a reality. Brock Kingston had come home.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Lady's Waver @GeorgieLeeBooks #MFRWauthor

Lady's Wager
by Georgie Lee
Regency Romance

Charlotte Stuart is an heiress who's been betrayed by the false love of a fortune hunter before. Lord Edward Woodcliff, made leery of marriage by his father’s disastrous second marriage, feigns poverty in order to find a woman who loves him and not his wealth. He loses his heart to the spirited Charlotte, but her fear of being betrayed, and his hesitation to make a matrimonial mistake, prove difficult to overcome.

All seems hopeless until Edward challenges Charlotte to a wager. If he wins, he gains her hand in marriage. If he loses, then Charlotte is free of him. Charlotte accepts the wager only to lose her hand and her heart to Edward. Now Charlotte must put aside her fears of being betrayed by love long enough to let Edward into her life and admit he is the man of her dreams.

An independent heiress and a stubborn Viscount stake their hearts and their futures on a wager. BUY LINK

Excerpt

“Miss Stuart, young ladies don’t usually frequent this section of Hookham's.”
The strong male voice startled Charlotte, causing her to drop her books. She spun around to discover Lord Woodcliff behind her, his blue eyes beneath his solid brow fixing on hers with stunning intensity. She’d been so lost in thought she hadn't heard him approach. Now, with him before her, every notion deserted her except for fascination with his smile and the way the light from the windows fell over the solid curve of his shoulders. He stood a good head taller than her, his chest wide and sturdy beneath his well-fitted coat of dark green wool.
He laid his book on the shelf then bent to retrieve hers from the floor. His arm muscle flexed beneath his sleeve as he held the weight of the tomes he stacked in the crook of his elbow. His strength proved as stunning as his sudden appearance, and the pull of his dun colored breeches over the curve of his knee. She shouldn't be admiring him, or allowing him to assist her, but she couldn't help herself. There was something about his confidence and the ease with which he moved which captured her attention.
He paused to examine the slimmest of the tomes then glanced up, one eyebrow arched. “I thought ladies shunned such subjects as surgery and disease?”
His comment snapped her out of her unexpected and unnerving fugue.
“I've heard a great deal today about gentlemen’s expectations of ladies.” Charlotte snatched the book from him. “Gentlemen would do well to learn not all ladies are hen-witted.”
“I’m glad to hear it, for society is already overrun with wet geese.” He rose and beneath the high linen of his cravat, his neck muscles tightened as he held out the stack to her.
Charlotte studied him in an attempt to discern if he was mocking her or if he was serious, but his expression held no hint of the arrogance he’d exhibited at the Royal Academy.

ABOUT Georgie Lee
A lifelong history buff, award winning author Georgie Lee hasn't given up hope that she will one day inherit a title and a manor house. Until then, she fulfills her dreams of lords, ladies and a season in London through her stories. When not writing, she can be found reading non-fiction history or watching any movie with a costume and an accent. Please visit  www.georgie-lee.com to learn more about Georgie and her books.

Meet #MFRWauthor @LiviaQuinn & Her First Knight

Meet MFRW Author Livia Quinn.
Livia Quinn is a D.C. native living in Louisiana. Her Storm Lake series was born after a layoff and a little known event called Katrina in 2005. With several interruptions in her career, all involving weather, it’s only natural that storms would be at the center of many of her stories. She's a business owner, professional singer, and salesperson; has been a plant manager, computer trainer, and mail lady.

She's written eight books based in the communities surrounding Storm Lake — an infamous, though fictional lake in Southern Louisiana — Destiny, Larue, Thunderpoint, and Campbell Glen.

http://liviaquinn.com |  https://www.facebook.com/liviaquinnwrites
http://pinterest.com/liviaquinn |  https://www.tsu.co/LiviaQuinn

Tell Us About Your Writing Schedule.
I write fairly fast but during my seasonal business I have little time so I spend twenty minutes in the tub in the morning with my notebook and continue on my forty-minute drive to work. That's how I completed my most recent book. Unfortunately, revising can't be done in the tub, or on the road ;)

How Do You Develop Your Characters?
Characters come to me in their setting or with their passion and they literally unfold the story to me. My Under-Cover Knights heroes, Luc and Ridge, surprised me with their devotion to others, for causes like disadvantaged teens and Veterans’ needs. Research for Her First Knight hit me so hard I decided in May and November all sales for this book would be dedicated to Wounded Warrior charities.

Do You Include Sex Scenes In Your Books?
I love a good love scene but I don't need the minute details. I'd rather feel their emotions and passion, not that I don't write and read hotter books. Undone was on the erotic side, but my priority was making sure Cass' passion for Elektra came across.

Does Your Husband Read Your Books?
Ha! My husband's input on Her First Knight was about the cover. He couldn't understand why my cover designer couldn't remove Grigoris Drakakis' black leather coat. He said he needed more skin! But he doesn't read paranormal so he's no help there.

Do You Like Hearing From Readers?
I love hearing from my readers and enjoy their input and ideas but ultimately a writer has to write what's in her heart, and my characters tell me their story. I'm just kind of their biographer so there's not a lot I can do. <grin>

Tell Us About Your Latest Project.
I just finished book 4 in the Destiny Paramortals. Blame it on the Moon brings Jack and Tempe's coming of age arc to a head but their story and that of the other characters in Destiny - the paranormal end of Storm Lake - will continue. The further east you go on Storm Lake the less magic is apparent. Although Ridge from Her First Knight did make an important appearance in Blame it on the Moon. It will be available in May followed by a contemporary, the first Thunder Point book in August.

Her First Knight
Under-Cover Knights #2
Contemporary Romance
Campbell Hill Publishing

Ridge Romano was a genius inventor, military contractor and CEO of two billion dollar companies. He was on a mission for vets. Fun was not a word in his vocabulary. So how had he wound up on a stage between two cover models playing strip bingo, with a hundred women crying, “Take it off”?

He’d pay for this.
Buffy was looking for was the face of her franchise. At the conference she’d found her man. The late arrival had that 'je ne sais quoi' that would make her studio an immediate success. She had to have him. There was just one problem. He wasn’t a cover model, had 'more important priorities - veterans'.

Who was she to argue with such a noble cause? Buffy wanted Tucker. Could this be the first time a Calloway was wrong?

AMAZON Buy Link

EXCERPT

"He’s the one, isn’t he?” Her mother’s eyes lit with a strategic fire. “Isn’t he, Lana Jean Calloway?”Buffy hadn’t heard her full name in that tone of voice since she was eight. “No one’s keeping anything from you, Mom. I’m sure if you ask Ridge right now if he’s the one, he’d back out of here quicker than you could say gumbo. Please don’t blow it.” “You knew about this, Mother,” Pamela said.“Mom, it’s not quite time to go shopping for a wedding dress, ‘ya know?” She hugged her mother, but Buffy could tell she wasn’t about to give up. She gave Lillie a what now? grimace and Lillie patted them both on the back.“Come on, ladies. They could go on until next month about the wars and your Mr. Romano’s project but I think they could use a distraction. Buffy, grab the potatoes.”Lunch proceeded without a hitch. Ridge made the rounds thanking everyone for their support and promised to come back one day. This sounded too much like the distant future to Buffy. Shaking Earl’s hand he said, “Sir, my company has a more advanced prosthesis. I can arrange it for you if you’re interested; it’s lighter and more flexible than the version you have.” Earl narrowed his eyes and said, “Son, I’m ninety-three years old. This old arm and I do just fine. Getting a new one at this stage of my life would be like a woman gettin’ fake boobs when she’s past her prime.”“Old coot,” Ridge thought he heard Lillie say under her breath. “Watch it, Dad,” said Robert who just put his arm around a steaming Lillie and hugged her. “Ignore him, sugar.”“Now, Earl,” Roberta said, and her look seemed to be the only thing that made him quail.Buffy’s great-grandfather shook Ridge’s hand and, looking around him at Buffy, said, “You chose a fine man, youngin’.”Silence.Ridge turned slowly to look at Buffy. She shook her head, mouthed, Wasn’t me. She watched with an impending sense of doom as her mother put her hand on Ridge’s shoulder. “Might as well buy the ring, dear. When a Calloway tells you, you’re the one, it’s like saying, “If I tell you the moon is made of green cheese, get your crackers.”Buffy’s head sank into her hands. Why had she thought this picnic could take place without a bomb going off?