A Quick & Quirky Peek at #MFRWauthor Carmen Stefanescu @Carmen_Books

Carmen Stefanescu was born in Romania, the native country of the infamous vampire Count Dracula, but where, for about 50 years of communist dictatorship, just speaking about God, faith, reincarnation or paranormal phenomena could have led someone to great trouble - the psychiatric hospital if not to prison.

Teacher of English and German in her native country and mother of two daughters, Carmen Stefanescu survived the grim years of oppression, by escaping in a parallel world, that of the books.

She has dreamed all her life to become a writer, but many of the things she wrote during those years remained just drawer projects. The fall of the Ceausescu’s regime in 1989 and the opening of the country to the world meant a new beginning for her. She started publishing. Poems first, and then prose. Both in English.

We asked Carmen a Few Questions. Here's what She Said...
If money were not an object, where would you most like to live?
Somewhere where the climate is neither hot nor freezing, where there are no earthquakes, storms, tsunami, volcanoes. If there is such a place I want to live there.

If you were a tool, what would people use you to do?
People would use me to write their thoughts, dreams and whatever their muse whispers in their ears.

What song would best describe your life?
Show Must Go On

Picture yourself as a store. Considering your personality and lifestyle, what type of products would be sold there?
Books and computer games

What is your secret guilty pleasure?
Playing computer games

If you were stranded on a tropical island, who would it be with?
Stranded on an island would be no trouble if I had as company Zeus. He'd surely make sure I had everything I wanted!

Ebook or paperback?
Paper books are my favorite. Imagine the smell of ink on the paper, the sound of the pages we turn, etc

In December 2012, she released a Paranormal Young Adult (PG) Novel with Wild Child Publishing.

Shadows of the Past
When Anne and Neil leave on a one-week holiday hoping to reconcile after a two-year separation, little do they know that destiny has other plans for them. Their discovery of human bones and a bejeweled cross in the hollow of a tree open the door to the supernatural realm and the anguished life of Genevieve, a nun from medieval England.

Can Anne save her relationship and help Genevieve her eternal rest?

The twists and turns in this paranormal tale keep the reader guessing up to the end and weave themselves together into a quest to rekindle love. A touching story of loss, grief and the power of endless love and good magic.

Buy Links: Wild Child Publishing  |  Amazon

Book Trailer

Connect with Carmen
BLOG   |   FACEBOOK   |   GOODREADS  |  GOOGLE +

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Chaperoning Paris by #MFRWauthor @VictoriaPinder

MFRW Author Victoria Pinder released Chaperoning Paris, a Contemporary Romance, with SoulMate Publishing on June 11, 2014.

Gigi Dumont never forgot how she walked away from the only man she ever loved.
She’s a teacher who has led her students to the finals of an international French competition to be help in Paris. The night before the trip, the Principal tries to cancel the trip before he, in turn, loses his job to her high school boyfriend, Sean Collins.

Sean Collins has survived cancer, a divorce , and Gigi having aborted their child back in high school. He assumed he’d hate her, if they ever crossed paths again. But he discovers she’s exactly what he wants.
When Gigi and Sean are stuck together for a week in Paris, Gigi feels she has lost all her control. How can she survive her attraction to Sean? The man’s sexier now than he was back in the day, and once upon a time, he’d had her heart. She finds herself falling for him, even knowing forever is impossible.


EXCERPT

Payback time. Standing in his mother’s kitchen, Sean Collins smiled as he hung up the phone.
He hovered at the phone for a moment, then charged along the carpeted hallway to his bedroom. In a flash, he changed from his T-shirt and jeans into his black pin stripe king-of-the-business-world suit complete with black tie and shiny black shoes.
Finished dressing, Sean jittered at the door and listened to his son talking nonstop to his mother upstairs. His skin tingled and he closed his eyes. At least moving to his parents’ country estate where he had grown up on Cape Cod had been good for everyone.
Breakfast could wait. He grabbed the keys on the counter downstairs, and he called upstairs, “I’m leaving. I won’t be gone long.”
Last year, the school principal had fired him with bogus charges. Sean had sworn on every holy book that he’d been fired because his doctors had discovered cancer in a routine physical exam.
The sickness sucked. But he’d survived. And now he used his vast wealth to get what he wanted. No teacher should be treated so callously. He had taken the job at the time to prove to himself he had more choices than being the chief financial officer of his father’s corporation.
He set his jaw and walked outside to his car, where the smell of freshly cut grass hit his senses.
The moment he stepped outside and headed toward the garage, Sean stared at the vast forested area on the property for a moment and pressed his lips together. Trees made sense. Women never had. His luck with women had been bad from the start. His first girlfriend, Gigi Dumont, had left him for parts unknown, and then later his wife, now his ex, Jennifer, had also left. She’d played with a whole set of loose scruples. But Jennifer hadn’t hurt him, not like Gigi had. Sean rolled his shoulders. Why did everything in his life always seem to go back to Gigi leaving?
He fished out his keys from his pocket. And now Gigi had moved back into the house next door.
Sean opened the garage door. A quick click of a button and the gate lifted.
Last night he hadn’t slept. Today his shoulders were straight. This moment had nothing to do with women and everything to do with justice. His fingers traced the shiny finish of his brother Gerard’s Aston Martin. Without blinking, he opted to borrow the car. He’d be early and outshine everyone else. Gerard had offered to loan it to him specifically for today. Sean licked his lips and turned the key, igniting the engine, and took off.
A daydream flashed in his eyes. Principal Murray’s jaw dropped to the ground in shock the second Sean stepped inside the office with the papers.
Sean clutched the wheel. He intended to twist the knife even further. People like Mr. Murray gave businessmen around the world the reputation of cold, heartless automatons, especially when he claimed the firing had been over “job performance.” Every one of Sean’s students had passed the state assessments.
Now, Sean ran the finances for his parents, his father’s company, and his brothers. The support of his family to get him through cancer treatments had been phenomenal, but what if he hadn’t had that support? What if he’d had no money to pay for treatments? He’d be dead because the principal had fired him due to the insurance increases. Well, now Sean had a better solution.

ABOUT Victoria Pinder
Victoria Pinder grew up in Irish Catholic Boston before moving to the Miami sun. She always wrote stories

to entertain herself or calm down. But 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.

She is represented by Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency and she hopes to continue selling her novels.

Website: http://www.victoriapinder.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victoriapinder1
Twitter: https://twitter.com/victoriapinder
Blog: http://victoriapinder.com/?cat=6
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8120316.Victoria_Pinder

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Son of Dragon by #MFRWauthor @AndreaRCooper

MFRW Author Andrea Cooper released Son of Dragons (Legends of Oblivion, 2), a mainstream Fantasy/ Paranormal book, with Crimson Romance on April 28, 2014.

Shunned by her own people and weary-hearted from centuries of lost loves, Elvin warrior Mirhana scours
the land to silence the undead. Her heart has turned as cold as the sword she wields, until a prince seeks her aid.

Never has Prince Landon met a woman like Mirhana. Both beautiful and deadly, she haunts his dreams. The battle at hand becomes more enchanting than fighting to remain true to his unseen betrothed.

In a time of false peace, the dead rise as soldiers for the Warloc's scheme. For thousands of years he has stood ready for the final battle. Though the witch and her cursed Elvin have destroyed his physical body, now with his protégé, he has honed a new way to wage war.

When a traitor emerges, new alliances among the heroes are tested and the only remaining hope is to follow the prophecy and find the . . . Son of Dragons.

BUY LINKS
Son of Dragons Amazon: http://goo.gl/jWX0cO
Son of Dragons B&N: http://goo.gl/JfWm6Y
Son of Dragons iTunes: http://goo.gl/dvOJpu

WHAT REVIEWERS SAY...
"What a novel!  I felt like I’d walked into a fantasy right from the first page.  Cooper creates this vivid world in a seamlessly captivating manner.  Her descriptions paint it in your mind’s eye.  As a reader you can feel the shifting of dark and light in the author’s writing.  It heightens the sense of magic and surrealism.." - Pure Jonel

"Son of Dragons is a superbly written, fast-paced fantasy adventure with lots of twists and turns.For fans of Tolkein and romance, Son of Dragons will not disappoint. The world is rich and vibrant,..." - Kary Rader



EXCERPT

Clean from the bath, Landon let the air from the open window dry his hair. Dressed only in trousers, he leaned against the windowsill.
He thought he smelled the hint of roses and heat on the breeze. Movement from the street below caught his eye. He leaned out, squinting into the night.
Torches lined the cobbled street corners. A cloaked figure waited. Then the innkeeper rushed outside. His hands flew in gestures as the figure nodded.
Then he pointed to the window where Landon watched. At the same instant, the cloaked figure followed his finger’s path to Landon. Green eyes that seemed to glow met his.
Landon jumped up and cursed when his head hit the bottom of the window. When he looked back, both figures were gone.
Thinking the innkeeper would send guards, he waited with his sword in hand and his stare riveted on the door. No one came. He must be getting paranoid, thinking there was a ghost or enemy around every corner. His eyelids grew heavy as he waited for a fight that failed to materialize. Finally, he rolled his shoulders back to ease out the tension.
Still, he couldn’t stop thinking about those piercing emerald eyes. They’d belonged to a woman; he could tell. There was intelligence and cunning in them. Her stare felt as though she saw through the façade he often wore as prince and to please others, and into his kajh.
A woman who was not afraid, but used to being feared. It unnerved him, yet excited him. His pulse quickened and his loins tightened at the thought of those eyes filled with passion for him.
Better get some sleep before the night was gone. Tomorrow, he’d tell Gillespie about what he saw. He doubted he could explain those captivating green eyes that continued to haunt him even now.

ABOUT Andrea R. Cooper
Since childhood, Andrea R. Cooper has created characters and stories. She believes in the power of love and magic. Her favorite genres to read and write are fantasy, paranormal and historical romance.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndreaRCooper.author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndreaRCooper
Website: www.AndreaRCooper.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6934877.Andrea_R_Cooper
Blog: http://andrearcooperauthorblog.wordpress.com/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/andrearcooper/

#MFRWauthors Hook Readers on New Books! #MFRWhook

Welcome to Book Hooks!

This is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. It's a chance each week for readers to check out our authors. From their current WIPs, a previously published book or a sneak peak at a book soon to be released, readers get a sampling. The hooks are short so you can jump from one author to another.

Here's your opportunity to get hooked on a new author!

Book Hooks to See: