Category: Giveaways

Posts in which we or our guests offer a giveaway.

99 Risky Books! and giveaway

Updated on September 27, 2013 by Elena Greene

This summer I was so busy finishing Fly with a Rogue that I didn’t have time to read for pleasure. By September I was starting to suffer withdrawal symptoms! Now I’m taking a short break between my own projects to refill the well, taking some time to catch up on movies I’ve wanted to see and books I’ve wanted to read.

So it’s a happy coincidence that I’m also catching up on a task I’d put on my back burner: finishing our Risky Books page. We’ve been pretty good about putting the latest releases up in our “Featured Books” section of the right sidebar, but I wanted to get together a more comprehensive listing of our books. As I was working on the page, I was stunned anew by our collective creative output. The listing currently includes 99 titles, and I’m not even done putting in all of Amanda’s books!

Pictured in this post are just some of the backlist treasures listed at Risky Books. So if you’re looking for something new to read, do check it out!

Also I have a few unclaimed paperbacks left of Fly with a Rogue from my giveaway here and another giveaway. If you’d like a copy, please email me at elena @ elenagreene.com (no spaces) and I’ll send them out on a first come, first served basis.

Happy reading, everyone!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com
www.facebook.com/ElenaGreene

Posted in Giveaways, Risky Book Talk | 4 Replies

Fairs and Giveaway Winners!

Updated on September 13, 2013 by Elena Greene

A few weeks ago I went to the New York State Fair. It’s become something of a ritual for my family; there are things we must do every time we go.

We eat lunch and dinner at the International Building, each getting different things and sharing. Sushi, falafel, pierogies…yum.

We always visit the Poultry Barn, where my youngest and I play a game she started as a toddler. Can we buy a (chicken, duck, bunny, racing pigeon)? My answer is just “No.”

We catch a little of whatever is going on in the equestrian arena in the Toyota Coliseum. This year it was six hitch Belgians and later, Percherons driven “unicorn” fashion (two behind, one in front). Gorgeous beasts, all of them.

Besides those things, we wander the various exhibition halls and watch whatever performers happen to be on, check out the sand and butter sculptures, etc… We end the day watching the parade and eating funnel cake.

Fairs in England started out as agricultural events: opportunities to buy and sell livestock. Entertainment was also important, but by the late eighteenth century it was a major focus of the “Fringe Fairs” around London, which included Greenwich, where I had the hero of Fly with a Rogue do a balloon ascension.

Here are some descriptions of Greenwich Fair from Sketches from Boz, Chapter 12 by Charles Dickens, 1836. According to other sources, his descriptions were valid for the Regency. He describes the entertainment, which included itinerant theatres, Wild Beast Shows, exhibitions of dwarfs and the like, and dancing at the Crown & Anchor.

Imagine yourself in an extremely dense crowd, which swings you to and fro, and in and out, and every way but the right one; add to this the screams of women, the shouts of boys, the clanging of gongs, the firing of pistols, the ringing of bells, the bellowings of speaking-trumpets, the squeaking of penny dittos, the noise of a dozen bands, with three drums in each, all playing different tunes at the same time, the hallooing of showmen, and an occasional roar from the wild-beast shows; and you are in the very centre and heart of the fair.

And here’s a bit on the food:

The entrance is occupied on either side by the vendors of gingerbread and toys: the stalls are gaily lighted up, the most attractive goods profusely disposed, and unbonneted young ladies, in their zeal for the interest of their employers, seize you by the coat, and use all the blandishments of ‘Do, dear’—‘There’s a love’—‘Don’t be cross, now,’ &c., to induce you to purchase half a pound of the real spice nuts, of which the majority of the regular fair-goers carry a pound or two as a present supply, tied up in a cotton pocket-handkerchief. Occasionally you pass a deal table, on which are exposed pen’orths of pickled salmon (fennel included), in little white saucers: oysters, with shells as large as cheese-plates, and divers specimens of a species of snail (wilks, we think they are called), floating in a somewhat bilious-looking green liquid.

I remember the hero of Georgette Heyer’s Fridays’s Child taking the heroine to a fair, but off the top of my head, I can’t remember other fairs in Regency romance. It wasn’t an especially proper thing to do, and could get a bit rowdy. Not to say that people of the gentry or aristocracy couldn’t go, but they’d plan accordingly.

Do you enjoy county or state fairs? What’s your favorite thing to do (or eat) there?

But before we discuss, here are the winners of the paperback version of Fly with a Rogue:

Bonnie
Kathy
Stella
Sheila C
Mary C

Please send your snail mail address to elena @ elenagreene.com. Thanks for visiting!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com
www.facebook.com/ElenaGreene

Posted in Giveaways, Research | Tagged Greenwich Fair | 9 Replies

The Runaway Countess

Updated on September 11, 2013 by Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee

I’ve been so busy the last few weeks (trying to get ahead on the WIP, packing my 50 boxes of books for a move, taking care of a sick cat who has suddenly become very, very picky about his food….) that the beginning of September completely passed me by! And with the beginning of September I had a new book release. So I am talking about it today! Better late than never, right???

Wed to wickedness

In Society’s eyes, Hayden Fitzwalter, Earl of Ramsay and Jane Bancroft have the perfect marriage. But what can’t be seen are the secrets hidden behind closed doors. Believing Hayden will never renounce his dissolute ways, Jane flees to her family’s dilapidated estate in the country.

Years later, Hayden now longs to win back the only woman who has ever touched his heart. But first he has to convince her that this rogue is ready to be tamed….

BANCROFTS OF BARTON PARK …Two sisters, two scandals, two sizzling love affairs

This story felt very risky to me when I was writing it. I had never tried a “marriage in trouble” story before. My stories have always followed the general romance outline–meeting (or re-meeting), liking or hating, getting to know each other, falling in love, marrying. Maybe a villain or evil plot or two along the way! This time there was no meeting/falling (though I show glimpses in flashbacks, another risky thing for me, but I really wanted to show how happy they were at first, and what went wrong). This was a couple married in a time when marriage was nearly impossible to get out of, but who couldn’t bear to be together any longer. They felt broken. It almost broke MY heart, because I always want the best for my characters!!! It’s hard for me to be mean to them, even when it’s for their own good….

Unlike many historical romances, the bulk of the book is not centered on the couple winning each other into matrimony but on the healing of a struggling marriage, the revelation of their pasts (particularly Hayden’s) and how difficult it is to change even when that change is fervently desired. Add the mystery and danger of a hidden treasure and a truly distasteful man and McCabe has created an enjoyable romance with a different focus than most…I am eagerly awaiting book two. –Fresh Fiction

But honestly, Jane and Hayden needed to learn their lessons. It’s a story that’s common even now–they married young, in the first flush of new passion, naive and impulsive. Jane didn’t know how to be a countess; she had grown up in a ramshackle country house with an unconventional, scholarly family, taking care of her little sister Emma. Hayden saw no need to give up his wild life just because he had a wife. A few miscarriages drove them even further apart, until they had to separate. But a few years later, they’ve both grown up a lot, and can see the enormity of what they’ve lost.

I admit it–I cried a bit when they started to get back together. They were meant to be together, darn it!! They just needed to figure that out…

Hayden and Jane were truly a couple who belonged together. They simply did not know how to handle a marriage. Jane tried to explain what she needed, but Hayden had only his parent’s example and could not understand. As a result, thw two must face the question is love enough? Find out in The Runaway Countess by Amanda McCabe. A little maturity and a lot of love can make a difference. Amanda McCabe has penned an amazing historical romance with just the right touch of suspense, some surprise revelations and a highly romantic ending. –Cataromance

It was also a risky story for me in that I wanted to try an Austen-esque setting. Not in the style of Austen; I would never, ever be brave enough for that!! But a small village, where everyone knows each other and small-seeming concerns become large, where family relationships are important, and the house is a character in itself. (I wanted to go live at Barton Park, spend my days puttering in the garden and sewing by the fire…) I ended up having lots of fun with it, though I missed my Gothic storms and poison plots.

The life of Barton Park continues in December, with Emma’s story, Running From Scandal. She has to learn to grow up a bit, too–and might end up with a man she would never have dreamed of ever thinking about before, LOL.

The book is available on Amazon

And at eHarlequin

And my own website has excerpts and more info…

I apologize in advance, you are going to be hearing a lot from me in the next few months! I have releases every month until the end of the year. October brings the debut of my Elizabethan mystery series, written as Amanda Carmack, Murder at Hatfield House! I am sooooo excited about these books. November will bring a Christmas novella, A Very Tudor Christmas. And December Emma’s book. Whew!

In the meantime–do you like “marriage in trouble” stories?? What kind of dream house would you want, if you could choose any? (I am torn between a beach bungalow and an English country house. Or a Paris apartment with a view of the Eiffel Tower…) Comment for a chance to win a signed copy of Countess!!!

Posted in Giveaways, Risky Book Talk | Tagged The Runaway Countess | 16 Replies

Cover fix and giveaway

Updated on September 6, 2013 by Elena Greene

The cover for the paperback version of Fly with a Rogue is fixed now. It took a little longer than I’d hoped, but that’s what I get for finding problems over a holiday weekend! Anyway, the paperback is available at Createspace right now and will be up on Amazon soon. Which means I can do a giveaway.

I never did talk about what is risky about this book. Basically, the whole premise seemed risky to me, based on the lukewarm response I got from the few industry professionals to whom I pitched the idea, years ago.

One told me I needed a sexier idea than a balloonist hero and suggested I try writing a courtesan story. The problem was that I’d read some good courtesan stories and couldn’t think of a fresh take on the concept.

Another seemed puzzled by the combination of my hero Gil’s military backstory and ballooning. The mix of dark and light elements didn’t make sense to her. I probably didn’t pitch it well, because at the time I didn’t have a clear idea of where the story was going. Most of my stories emerge in the writing.

But this story was the one I really wanted to work on. Once my husband had recovered enough from his stroke that I had a few hours here and there to write, I resolved to make those hours as fun and fulfilling as possible. I decided not to worry about the market, because who knew if or when I would ever finish. I’m still not sure Fly with a Rogue fits with market trends—not a duke or duchess in sight, though I’ve been seeing “rogue” in a lot of titles lately. I’m just glad I finally managed to give Gil and Emma their happy ending.

So, for the chance to win one of five paperback copies, let me know what trends you enjoy in Regency era romance. Anything you’d like to see more of? I’ll pick winners next Thursday and announce on Friday.

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

P.S. I still haven’t heard from the following winners of the e-book version: bn100 and Annette. Please email me at elena @ elenagreene.com (no spaces) and let me know if you prefer Kindle, Nook or a Smashwords coupon.

Posted in Giveaways, Risky Book Talk | Tagged Fly with a Rogue | 24 Replies

New Book Time!

Updated on September 3, 2013 by Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!! I confess–I ate too much junk food, and laid around reading too much when I have a lot of work to do. Oops. But this is a new week, and the WIP is moving forward! In the meantime, I forgot last week was release week for my new book, The Runaway Countess (Book One of The Bancrofts of Barton Park!). I am sooooo excited to talk about it here today, and also to give away a signed copy to one commenter….

Wed to Wickedness….

In Society’s eyes, Hayden Fitzwalter, Earl of Ramsey, and Jane Bancroft have the perfect marriage. But what can’t be seen are the secrets hidden behind closed doors. Believing Hayden will never renounce his dissolute ways, Jane flees to her family’s dilapidated estate in the country.

Years later, Hayden longs to win back the only woman who has ever touched his heart. But first he has to convince her that this rogue is ready to be tamed….

Bancrofts of Barton Park

Two Sisters, Two Scandals, Two Sizzling Love Affairs….

“I really loved this story, the gentle pace of the story along with a couple making it a go at it to heal their broken hearts proving that Happy Ever After does take work but it well worth it when she share it with the ones you love.
I’m looking to reading about Jane’s sister and the trouble no doubt she’ll get into!”–Goodreads review

We love to talk here about “risky” books (both reading and writing!), and this book felt very risky to me when I was in the middle of it. It was really the first time I tried an Austen-esque setting. Not an Austen-esque style, because that would be way too scary, but a setting much like Emma or Sense and Sensibility, a small country village and a few estates, with neighbors and families who knew each other well. Jane and her sister Emma have taken refuge at her father’s old estate, Barton Park, and it’s like many people going home as grown-ups–comforting and awkward at the same time! It was a challenge to get to know all these people and the dynamics of their lives together.

It was also the first time I have ever tried a “marriage in trouble” story. The hero and heroine are married for the whole story, but are sadly estranged. They married too young, too quickly, with no realistic idea of how a marriage partnership between them could work. They needed time and patience to realize what went wrong–and how to win each other’s hearts all over again. I admit I really ached for Hayden and Jane! I wanted so much for those two crazy kids to make things work, and once or twice I was sure they never could….

I loved spending time in this Regency world, getting to know these characters! I hope readers enjoy it too.

I’ll be giving away a signed copy to a commenter on this post today. Do you like marriage in trouble stories? Austen-esque stories of country settings and families? Speaking of families–what are you plans for the fall and all the holidays coming up???

Runaway Countess at Amazon

At eHarlequin

Info at my own website (covers, excerpts, etc)

Posted in Giveaways | 10 Replies