The RWA, Romance Writers of America, conference in San Antonio was fabulous.  I had a blast.  There is nothing like getting together with ol’ friends and new friends who share the same sickness.  I’m talking about the writing bug.  This passion for writing makes us more than just friends, it sort of bonds us like family.  I’ve belonged to RWA for…oh, goodness, this is gonna show my age…for twenty-seven years.  Just remember, I was only ten when I joined.  LOL.  It is here that I found my education, my family, my critique partners, my assistants.  It is here that I found my career.  And each year, I’m given a booster shot of all I’ve attained from RWA, walking away with great tips for marketing and writing.

Being around all this creativity is amazing.  I really think we feed off each other.  We talk, laugh, commiserate about our career’s hurdles.  We drink wine, share meals, and talk late into the night.  Did I say we laugh?  One friend—and I’m not listing names—actually told me, “We have to stop laughing or I’m gonna pee in my pants.”  Frankly, she wasn’t alone.

I enhanced my vocabulary, learning a new word, “Dingle Butt.” Look for it in an upcoming book.  I made new friends, re-bonded with old friends, and got recharged as a writer.  Oh, did anyone else see the billboard sign on I-10 that reads:  “There is not a cop hiding behind this billboard.  I promise.  Texas Highway Patrol.”

It is times like this that I realize how wonderful it is to have these people in my life.  And I have to tell you, the camaraderie is part of the sisterhood that RWA has encouraged.  So, thank you, RWA, and thank you to all my friends who laughed, hugged, and celebrated the sisterhood of being writers with me.  I’m already excited about going next year.

CC

WINNER!  WINNER!  The lucky winner of the $50 Gift Card from last week’s blog is: Abby R.!  Email me at: christie (at) christie-craig.com with your preference!  Congrats!

As many of you know, last week I celebrated the release of my story Divorced, Desperate & Dangerous in the anthology Three Southern Beaches, along with Kathleen Brooks and Robyn Peterman.  Thank you for all the love and support, and if you haven’t picked up your copy yet, you can still get it for 99 cents!

http://tinyurl.com/ohw8bmw

Some wonderful reviews have come in already, but we’re especially excited about what Fresh Fiction had to say!  Check it out!

http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=44999

And, if you missed it, to help celebrate all of this, I’ve put Divorced, Desperate & Delicious up for FREE on Wattpad!  Pop over and take a look!

http://www.wattpad.com/story/19170371-divorced-desperate-and-delicious

Happy Reading!

CC

Today’s the day!  Three Southern Beaches is available now from all major e-book retailers!  It includes novellas from Kathleen Brooks and Robyn Peterman, as well as my next Divorced series installment, Divorced, Desperate and Dangerous!  I hope you enjoy it!

Five things you’ll learn from Divorced, Desperate and Dangerous.

1. There are other uses for petrified Dinosaur poop besides making jewelry.
2. The sound of the beach, a salty breeze, and a porch swing are enough to make any problem fade.  Especially when a hot guy is sitting next to you.
3. There is nothing scarier than a pissed off little ol’ gray-haired lady who has a black belt in karate.
4. A man who’ll let a cat take up residence in his lap can’t be all bad.
5. The price of a smile: Twenty bucks.  Getting one for free: priceless.
6. Sometimes it takes running away from home to find yourself.

This week, to celebrate, I’m giving away a $50 gift card to either B&N or Amazon to one lucky person who can tell me something you learned from a romance novel.  Oh, and tell me the name of the book. Come on let’s have some fun!

WINNERS!  WINNERS!  The lucky winners of Shauna Allen’s latest, Cupid’s Last Stand, are…Cathy Henderson, bn100, Becka Lynn, Monica C., and Robin Driscoll.  Email me at: christie (at) christie-craig.com with your preference of print or e-book and the delivery information.  Congrats!

Remember the Divorced & Desperate series? Three women, three hilarious stories.

Divorced, Desperate & Delicious: Macy, complete with talking furniture and a very annoying mother, is a photographer. She gets taken hostage in her own home by a good-looking cop on the run. Chase, a cop being framed, was looking for a safe place to come up with a plan…he found a safe place to fall in love. Remember the cat food sandwich scene?

Divorced, Desperate & Dating: Sue writes murder mysteries and suddenly someone’s out to murder her. Jason, a cop, a big guy with a bigger heart, was a foster kid, who is now afraid of commitment. Can he save Sue, and still walk away with his heart intact? Remember the tampon-used-as-a-gun scene?

Divorced, Desperate and Deceived: Kathy has a thing for the plumber? Only problem is he’s not really a plumber. Luke’s a part of the witness protection program, but he’s about to get out of town. The only thing he’ll miss is the sexy redhead and her kid. But before he can walk away, trouble finds him and Kathy just so happens to be at his place. To protect her, he has to take her against her will and tell her the truth. Remember the scene with the dead guy in the port-a-potty with the hat that read: Shit Happens and then you die?

Oh, yeah, I had fun with that series, and now it’s back. Well, the series is back with a new club: The No Ball and Chain Gang. Love went bad for Turner, Cary, and Danny, and they all have their own divorce decree to prove it. They swear to never let each other fall in love again. I’ll bet you know how that turns out for them, too! Love has never been so much fun.

Divorced, Desperate and Dangerous, a 30,000 word novella, will be released in an anthology, Three Southern Beaches, with two other stories from two other southern “B” writers, Kathleen Brooks and Robyn Peterman next week on July 14th. And the really great part is that for now, you can pick up the anthology for only .99. That’s right, you get three stories for less than a buck. Go order it now!  http://tinyurl.com/ohw8bmw

Three of the funniest bestselling romance authors have joined together to provide three novellas set on Hung Island, a fictional resort along the coast of Georgia.

Divorced, Desperate and Dangerous

Detective Turner Calder belongs to the No Ball and Chain Gang. Meaning, no way, no how will he ever let another woman into his heart. He hasn’t even been tempted after what his ex put him through. Yet while working undercover on the trail of one of Texas’ largest drug dealers, Reece Morris gets closer to him than any woman has in two years. Not that’s there’s a snowball chance in Hades it will lead anywhere once she discovers the truth. But two months later, when Turner realizes his now imprisoned suspect has hired someone to knock off witnesses and Reece is one of them, he’s dead set on saving her. If that means taking on her seventy-year-old grandma who has a black belt in Karate, a hired assassin–who scares him less than Granny–and the whole bat-shit crazy town of Hung, Georgia, he’s up for the challenge. Turner is about to turn over a brand new leaf, and get hung up on love.

All Hung Up A Romantic Suspense by Kathleen Brooks

When Trey Everett meets Hollywood star Taylor Jefferies for the first time in the small town of Keeneston, the normally outgoing college football star can barely put two words together. But after one crazy day together, Trey knows he’s found something special with Taylor. Six years have passed and they are both out of college and living out their dream jobs on a small island along the coast of Georgia. Trey’s ready to ask Taylor one little question to secure their happiness. The only problem stopping his fairy tale ending is that someone is determined to kill the mood . . . and the love of his life.

Ready to Were A Paranormal Romance by Robyn Peterman

I never planned on going back to Hung Island, Georgia. Ever. I was a top notch Were agent for the secret paranormal Council and happily living in Chicago where I had everything I needed – a gym membership, season tickets to the Cubs and Dwayne – my gay, Vampyre best friend. Going back now would mean facing the reason I’d left and I’d rather chew my own paw off than deal with Hank. Hank the Tank Wilson was the six foot three, obnoxious, egotistical, perfect-assed, best-sex-of-my-life, Werewolf who cheated on me and broke my heart. At the time, I did what any rational woman would do. I left in the middle of the night with a suitcase, big plans and enough money for a one-way bus ticket to freedom. I vowed to never return. But here I am, trying to wrap my head around what has happened to some missing Weres without wrapping my body around Hank. I hope I don’t have to eat my words and my paw.

So, pick up a copy and enjoy the return of a series that will remind you that nothing beats a good laugh or spending time with the one you love.

Happy Reading,

Christie Craig

P.S. You can read the first 30 pages of Divorced, Desperate & Dangerous right now for free on my website: http://christie-craig.com/dangerous.html

Hello, guys! I’m super excited about my upcoming release, Three Southern Beaches, with Kathleen Brooks and Robyn Peterman! I hope you’ve pre-ordered your copy for only 99cents!  Read the first 30 pages of my story here: http://christie-craig.com/dangerous.html 

This week, I’d like to bring back an author I’ve had on Laugh, Love, Read before so she can share a little bit with you about her latest release, Cupid’s Last Stand, which came out last week.  It’s a part of a wonderful, sexy and fresh series with tattooed men, feisty heroines and…angels!  Stick around and comment, I’m giving away five copies to some lucky winners next week.

Welcome Shauna Allen!

Thanks, Christie!  So thrilled to be here!

Well, like Christie said, I very proudly released my newest book last week.  Cupid’s Last Stand is the fourth and final novel in my Cupid Chronicles series, and I’m really proud of it.  I might even admit it’s my favorite book of the series, though I don’t want to make my other book babies jealous.  But, I love it so much for a few reasons…

First, I brought back a much beloved character from a previous book.  Tristan was just a wounded teenage boy in The Halo Effect, and I think I lost my heart to him a little back then.  I knew, almost right away, that he would be getting the last book in the series.

Second, I adore first love stories, and that’s exactly what I gave Tristan and the girl who never left his heart, Darby.  If you follow the series, their meeting is foretold at the end of Wounded Wings.

And, last, while it’s a little bittersweet to be writing the last book of the series, I think I went out with a bang, and I made sure to include glimpses of all my past couples and angels.

So, like I said, this book is about first love.  I’ll bet all of us remember our first…for good or bad.  But, I’ll bet with some degree of nostalgia.  I certainly do.  I’ve often contended if I hadn’t met my husband, I would’ve probably ended up with mine.  And, luckily for Tristan Blackfeather and Darby Deveraux, their love is meant to be.  A match made in Heaven.

Here’s an excerpt of one of my favorite scenes:

Darby’s eyes dipped to the carpet between her feet and her voice came out nearly a whisper. “Just because I never said it back to you doesn’t mean I didn’t feel the same way.” She used a hand to grip her temples. “God. I feel like an idiot. That was ten years ago.” She met his eyes, her expression fierce. “I was just a girl, Tristan. A shy girl who had a hard time saying what she felt and wanted. But I loved you. I loved you and you absolutely broke my heart. Is that what you want to hear?”

“No.” He reached out and brushed her cheek. “Not at all.”

Clearly emotional, she tipped her head down. “Well. It’s ancient history, right?”

His heart turning slow circles in his chest, he knelt on the floor and crawled until he was between her knees and cradling her face between his hands. “It doesn’t feel like history to me.” He pressed his lips to hers. “Far from it.” Drawing her bottom lip into his mouth, he suckled, making her moan. He took a chance and leaned in, cupping the back of her head to hold her close while he tenderly bathed her with kisses. Forehead, eyelids, the tip of her nose, cheeks, chin. Finally, her mouth, where she met him with a soft sound of acquiescence deep in her throat as she slid her tongue against his and they explored each other gently. Unhurriedly.

He dipped to her jaw. Then her throat, following the smooth column of her neck down to where it met her shoulder. “God, Darby,” he breathed against her skin. “It’s like I’ve been here with you this whole time.”

“Why?” she keened softly as she gripped a fistful of his T-shirt, yanking. “Why did you have to leave me?”

Were those tears in her voice?

Slowly, he drew back to take in her face. Her eyes fluttered open, and sure enough, tears were pooled in the corners and sadness exuded from every pore of her body. He pressed his forehead to hers. “I’m so sorry, baby. How can I make it better?”

She paused, her hot breath puffing against his cheek, her hands still clenching his shirt at his waist as she appeared to wrestle with something. Eventually, she seemed to come to a decision, and she released his shirt, only to slide beneath to the bare skin of his back and tug him into an embrace. “Don’t shatter me like that again.”

Tristan Blackfeather . . .

The wounded boy has grown into a man, and his ghosts continue to haunt him. Now, faced with the ultimate betrayal, he makes a break for it, only to find himself face-to-face with his first love . . . the one he never truly forgot.

Darby Deveraux . . .

Squelching every desire of her soul, she’s existed the best she can in spite of the hand life has dealt her. Now, the boy who shattered her heart has come roaring back into town, demanding a second chance . . . does she dare?

One last shot . . .

Luckily, an old friend is there to help guide these two together. But is their Cupid Michael up to one final mission? Can your first love be your last?

Available now at:

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/nwmdfer

B&N: http://tinyurl.com/jwh4m8c

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/cupid-s-last-stand

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/cupids-last-stand/id891340295?ls=1&mt=11

Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/4862835

So, tell us about your first love for your chance to win one of five copies of Cupid’s Last Stand.  Be sure to check back next week to see if you’ve won.  Good luck!

***

Shauna grew up an only child with two open and loving parents in Central Texas.  She’s married to her high school sweetheart and is the mother to three awesome teenagers, including one she’s about to send off to the Air Force.  She is the award-winning author of the Cupid Chronicles series, including the newly released Charlie’s Angel and Cupid’s Last Stand.  Shauna also writes emotional Contemporary YA novels as SC Montgomery, works as a freelance editor, and is personal assistant to two NYT Bestselling authors.  She loves all things sexy, sassy, and Gerard Butler.

Shauna would love for you to visit her at her website and blog at:www.shaunaallen.com

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/shauna.allen.12

Twitter : http://tiny.cc/s0dlmw

Goodreads : http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6916632.Shauna_Allen

Pinterest : http://pinterest.com/shaunaallen7/

You can also sign up for all the latest Shauna Allen news with her Angel Kisses Newsletter here! http://eepurl.com/D_RcP

You can learn more about her YA persona at: www.scmontgomery.com