Heather Hiestand's Musings

Historical romances on #sale #.99

Heather Hiestand — Wed, 01 May 2013 06:49:00 GMT

Some selections from the BUFFET!

1. Regency Romance: To Dare the Duke of Dangerfield - Book #1 Wicked Wagers Trilogy (Top 5 Finalist in the Kindle Book Review Indie Romance Book of the Year 2012)

Blurb:

Let the Wicked Wagers Begin…

Lady Caitlin Southall’s temper has finally got the better of her. She’s challenged Harlow Telford, the Duke of Dangerfield, the most notorious rake in all of England, to a wager. She wants her house back. The one her destitute father lost to Dangerfield in a card game. But if she doesn’t win their bet, she not only loses her home, she loses her dignity and pride and damn it all, maybe her heart... For the handsome Duke has decreed, when he wins, she must spend the night in his bed.

Harlow Telford is amused by his hellion neighbor, Caitlin, or Cate to her friends, who seem to encompass everyone on earth except him. When she bursts into one of his private gatherings, he mistakes her for the entertainment. Her slap across his face sets him straight and raises the absurd desire to seduce the unconventional beauty into his bed. When she issues her daft challenge to win back her father’s pile of rubble, the terms are set. And he’ll do anything to win—except fall in love...

Log Line: Spirited heroine, rakish duke, and three wagers that will change their lives…

To learn more about Bronwen:

TWEET: Twitter handle is @bronwenevasn_NZ

Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/bronwenevansauthor

2. Rogue's Hostage by Linda McLaughlin

Colonial America

Blurb:

His hostage ...

In 1758 the Pennsylvania frontier is wild, primitive and dangerous, where safety often lies at the end of a gun. Mara Dupre's life crumbles when a French and Indian war party attacks her cabin, kills her husband, and takes her captive. Marching through the wilderness strengthens her resolve to flee, but she doesn't count on her captor teaching her the meaning of courage and the tempting call of desire.

Her destiny ...

French lieutenant Jacques Corbeau's desire for his captive threatens what little honor he has left. But when Mara desperately offers herself to him in exchange for her freedom, he finds the strength to refuse and reclaims his lost self-respect. As the shadows of his past catch up to him, Jacques realizes that Mara, despite the odds, is the one true key to reclaiming his soul and banishing his past misdeeds forever.

Log-line:

His hostage. Her destiny. In the midst of a war that threatens the fabric of her life, Mara finds herself torn between love and loyalty.

3. Tame a Wild Wind by Cynthia Woolf
Western Romance

Amazon Bestselling Western Author

Blurb:

Former Texas Ranger Sam Colter isn't looking for love. Neither is pretty widow Cassie O'Malley. But when a man stalking Sam for killing his brother kidnaps Cassie, Sam discovers it's more than duty that sends him racing to her rescue. Will Cassie realize the truth about her own feelings before it's too late?

To learn more: My facebook fan page is www.facebook.com/CynthiaWoolf

Twitter is @CynthiaWoolf

Book Lover's Buffet! May 1-3

Heather Hiestand — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:32:20 GMT

The Book Lovers Buffet $.99 cent sale presents Wear Black. Eilis Flynn and Heather Hiestand have released their first collaboration, Wear Black, a Victorian England-set paranormal historical with a romance subplot.

Amazon

Smashwords

OmniLit

Blurb:

Death did not end his service to the British Empire

Beneath Windsor Castle, a shadow network of immortals keeps the British Empire safe. Army captain Lucas Fitzrobbins becomes one of them when the cure for his mortal wound turns out to be a vampirism potion. He is abruptly inducted into the secret St. George Protector Society…and it’s not long before the Society’s newest recruit discovers it has dark mysteries as well…

Marked as a target

Hampering Lucas’s efforts to adjust to his after-life is An Tighearn operative Nellie Clifton, a beautiful and enigmatic assassin, who has marked Lucas as her latest quarry. But then…

Secrets are threatened to be revealed

A brutal killer stalks the seamy underside of London. Protectors and assassins alike must leave the shadows to find the fiend before their existence is revealed to the world. Tasked with the job of tracking down the murderer, Lucas discovers that the crazed butcher may have connections that go to the heart of the British Empire. One thing is certain:

The Queen must never know

Excerpt:

“We meet again, Mr. Dudley,” the black-haired stunner called out, her faint Irish accent

more pronounced now. “Sorry about your companion, but business is business. My name is

Nellie Clifton, in case you hadn’t been told. Pleased to meet you.”

Her tone was downright languid, the Irish clear in her words, even as she nearly twirled

her sword. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to die. It would be more sportin’ if I let you learn how to

use your sword first, but I see no point in delayin’ the inevitable, don’t you think?” She grabbed

the tabbed cord at the edge of her helmet and yanked it off, shaking her head to loosen her curls.

She slipped the goggles down her face until they rested around her throat.

“You indicated last time that you preferred to fight one-on-one, and yet here you are with

your allies,” Lucas shot back, keeping an eye on the flying archer and the other woman. “Afraid

of me, Miss Clifton?”

“I have me orders. I’m not a cruel person, you understand,” the woman explained, tossing

the helmet to the side. “But I have other errands to run, so I decided, let’s dispatch this matter as

soon as possible. I do apologize!”

See http://bookloversbuffetdotcom.wordpress.com/ for this and other specially priced books. Sale runs from May 1 to May 3, 2013.

Wear Black, #paranormal #historical #fantasy #novel, is released!

Heather Hiestand — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 23:00:40 GMT

Buy at Amazon
Buy at Smashwords

Wear Black by Eilis Flynn and Heather Hiestand:

Death did not end his service to the British Empire

Beneath Windsor Castle, a shadow network of immortals keeps the British Empire safe. Army captain Lucas Fitzrobbins becomes one of them when the cure for his mortal wound turns out to be a vampirism potion. He is abruptly inducted into the secret St. George Protector Society…and it’s not long before the Society’s newest recruit discovers it has dark mysteries as well…

Marked as a target

Hampering Lucas’s efforts to adjust to his after-life is An Tighearn operative Nellie Clifton, a beautiful and enigmatic assassin, who has marked Lucas as her latest quarry. But then…

Secrets are threatened to be revealed

A brutal killer stalks the seamy underside of London. Protectors and assassins alike must leave the shadows to find the fiend before their existence is revealed to the world. Tasked with the job of tracking down the murderer, Lucas discovers that the crazed butcher may have connections that go to the heart of the British Empire. One thing is certain:

The Queen must never know

Heather Hiestand's Marquess of Cake cover reveal!

Heather Hiestand — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 19:16:06 GMT

The Marquess of Cake, my first full-length Victorian romance, and my first novel for Kensington, is revealed today!

Please check out Heroes and Heartbreakers to see The Marquess of Cake for the first time!

The official release date for the electronic version is July 4th. I'll keep everyone posted when it goes up for advance ordering.

Download Claudia's Pleasure, an #erotic #romance

Heather Hiestand — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:15:33 GMT

FREE from Ellora's Cave!

Free Amazon link

Blurb:

Can a long-term relationship regain its sizzle? Claudia and her boyfriend Sam have been together since high school. Real life is setting in as they reach their mid-twenties. She loves him, but the sex isn’t what it used to be. Even worse, her gaze is straying to a handsome actor and a gorgeous architect. Los Angeles is full of man-candy ready to share her bed.Is Sam going to be enough for her, even if he’s willing to try anything to get them back on track?

Reader Advisory: Includes an M/M/F/M ménage a quatre with mild M/M interaction.

First in the Men of Myth series

New release: Successful Self-Publishing

Heather Hiestand — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 02:21:06 GMT

Just released this week and already a writing bestseller on Amazon! But you can get this collection of essays free as well...

Successful Self-Publishing: How We Do It (And How You Can Too) is an inspiring anthology of fifteen indie authors' paths to success in publishing, edited by #1 Amazon Authorship Bestseller Shoshanna Evers. Get ready to take your career to the next level!

Featuring the following essays by amazingly successful authors:

How I Make $20,000 or More a Month with my Self-Published Books by Kallypso Masters
We Can by Gia Blue
Th e Cover: Make it Professional! by H.P. Mallory
Th e Business of Publishing, an interview of Shoshanna Evers by author Cara Bristol
I Did It My Way by Liz Matis
Respect Your Readers by Katriena Knights
10, no 11 Successful Self-publishing Tips I Wish I’d Known by Heather Thurmeier
A Dog, A New Genre, and a Charity by Jennifer Probst
A Tale of Two Novellas by Skye Warren
Th e Sky Is Not Falling, or Why 99-Cent Books (Probably) Won’t Take Over the World by Jackie Barbosa
Why I Love My Crazy Indie Life by Donna McDonald
How I Sold 17,000 books in Four Months by Debra Holland
David Kazzie, Before & After by David Kazzie
Twitter 101: Five Th ings about Twitter Authors Should Know (and Five you Don’t Know) by Valerie Bowman
Marketing by the eBook by K. Rowe
Th e World of a Steampunk Indie by Heather Hiestand/Anh Leod .
Getting Published by Shoshanna Evers
Plus Helpful Links and Resources!

Please note, this book is also available as a FREE pdf download at www.SelfPubBookCovers.com

TRS 10th Anniversary Celebration

Heather Hiestand — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 07:31:00 GMT

Come celebrate with The Romance Studio. Many authors including me will be there chatting and doing giveaways!

I'm offering the first story in my Steampunk Smugglers series. Maybe I'll even do a tease of my July Victorian historical release, Marquess of Cake, since I'm working on the copyedits right now...

Heather's Amazon page

Heather Hiestand's Series Writing: A Family Forest

Heather Hiestand — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 22:20:02 GMT

I'm currently re-editing book 2 of my upcoming Cake series for Kensington Books post beta-reads, while writing the first/second draft of book 3. I've hit that common conundrum with series efforts--how much do you explain about reoccuring story characters?

I just read a blog by someone saying that she's revising book 12 in a series to make the first 3 chapters much more than a static retelling of the first 11 books. That I understand.

But it never crossed my mind to blatantly explain that the hero of the first book is the brother of the hero of the second, for instance. How often do you retell a minor character is a main character's sister or brother? Every time? Most times? Does it depend on how many times they are mentioned? Probably.

I think I need to set a hard limit on how many characters can even be IN a chapter 1. I've written about admiring authors who handle that well. Chapter 1s are such a challenge. They may all but write themselves in the first draft, but they come back to haunt you. And haunt you. Each and every time the story is read by someone you know.

Maybe this is why long established series (like Laurens's Cynsters) have a family tree at the front of the books. I need one of those! Such an elegant shorthand solution for this problem. Of course, I would need a family tree for three different families...

I need a family forest!

#free #romance #amreading on #kindle Captain Gravenor's Airship Equinox by Heather Hiestand

Heather Hiestand — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Captain Gravenor's Airship Equinox on Amazon

Last time free on Amazon! December 8-10

Holiday Delights Holiday Cookie and Holiday Story Blog Hop

Heather Hiestand — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 07:10:00 GMT

Welcome to National Cookie Day! Here is a favorite I enjoy making during the holidays.

Chocolate-Mint Layer Cookies

350 degree oven

2 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Melt chocolate and butter together. Beat eggs and sugar together. Mix all ingredients into the egg/sugar mixture. Pour into greased and floured 8x8 pan. Bake 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Let cool.

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp soft butter
2 tbsp light cream
3/4 tsp peppermint extract

Spread this mixture on top of cooled base.

2 oz dark chocolate
2 tsp butter.

Melt together. Drizzle over chilled layer.

I love writing Christmas stories. My most recent Christmas release is my novella, "Captain Andrew's Flying Christmas."

Blurb:

Housemaid Linet Fenna would rather be an air pirate than a servant. When she finds the ladder to an airship dangling outside her garret window on Christmas Eve, 1892, she ascends to the skies above London on her late father’s flagship dirigible, the Christmas. The new captain is someone she never expected to see again, a dangerous, sexy foe. Is the Fenna family nemesis offering Linet her heart’s desire or a dastardly trap?

Captain Andrew’s motivations are as foggy as the coal-soaked sky. Prime Minister Gladstone’s Blockaders, a horde of automen and a teenage girl named Hatchet want Linet to fail in her quest to discover what happened to her missing family, but she is determined to have a happy Christmas.

$.99!

Links:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Continue the hop for more great cookies!

Autumn Jordon

Jane Wakely

Jessa Slade
Karen McCullough

Laurie London

Lily Rede

Mona Karel

Paty Jager

<a href="http://www.shelleymunro.com/blog/2012/11/28/its-time-for-a-sugar-rush/" target="_blank">Shelley Munro</a>

<a href="http://tawnyweber.com/2012/12/04/yummy-time-national-cookie-day-blog-hop" target="_blank">Tawny Weber</a>

<a href="http://vanessakellyauthor.com/holiday-cookie-blog-hop/" target="_blank">Vanessa Kelly</a>

December 1st, a #poem

Heather Hiestand — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 22:16:25 GMT

December First
by Heather Hiestand

December first is a day
When some houses have Christmas decorations
Some houses have jack-o-lanterns
And some have both.

My child wears a Santa hat
And winter coat, no mittens
To puddle jump through leaf-strewn sidewalk marshes
Under a leaden, two-tone sky.

Heather Hiestand: Story Prompt 14

Heather Hiestand — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 07:34:00 GMT

She's in the grocery store, having a few minutes of quiet perusing the book rack. The first page of a new romance doesn't interest her, so she tosses the book down in disgust, when one of her neighbors pushes by with a full cart. When she glances over, she sees a box of condoms in the cart. Now, she lives in the kind of neighborhood where everybody knows one another's business, and this woman's husband had a vascectomy. Why does she have condoms?

This weekend's #fantasy #romance #read

Heather Hiestand — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 07:00:00 GMT

FREE!

Amazon link

Heather Hiestand's Winner...and her holiday reads

Heather Hiestand — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 17:18:54 GMT

And the winner of the Haunted Garden Halloween Hop is... Adila!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and entered the contest.

Here are my holiday reads, for those who are starting to get into the mood!

Amazon link

Holiday in the Heart

Link

Heather Hiestand: A Haunted Garden Halloween Hop

Heather Hiestand — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 07:00:00 GMT

It is the season for Halloween. We inherited a couple of tot-sized Halloween costumes a while back. My ason wore a generic dinosaur costume last year complete with hat frill, and was quite content with it. We assumed we'd go with another hand-me-down this year.

Recently though, his grandmother saw Buddy the T.Rex costumes advertised and we thought he would love it, since he'd become a fan of the TV show Dinosaur Train. But, by the time I'd received the costume, my son had fallen in love with his Superman pajamas complete with cape, to the point where he wants to wear them 24-7. I did allow the shirt to go to Wal-mart, but generally, I battle to have them only be for bedtime. I questioned whether he'd be willing to wear anything else for Halloween though, given his obsession.

But good news! We tried on the Buddy costume over the weekend, and he loved it! Of course, he didn't want to take it off, even the oversized-head, which is utterly impractical and unwearable. He would not unfold the claw hands so he could use his own hands. The poor kid was covered in sweat from wearing three layers of clothing by the time I persuaded him to take the costume off.

At least there is a chance he's going to school as Buddy today, rather than as Superman-in-pajamas, since it is school costume day.

What are you or your family dressing up as this year?

My Blog Hop winner, chosen from the commenters on my blog, will be posted on November 1st. The winner will receive my latest release, Captain Gravenor's Airship Equinox, or a back story ebook of their choice, such as my TWRP story Victoriana Adventure, if they have the latest already.

Continue hopping!

http://rebeccajclark.blogspot.com
http://wilderroses.blogspot.com/
http://www.robenagrant.com
http://bethtrissel.wordpress.com/
http://www.ceradubois.com/blog/

Monday: @hahiestand Story Prompt 13

Heather Hiestand — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:34:52 GMT

She is late for work and rushes to the car through the pouring rain. When she backs down the driveway, the car goes over a definite bump that wasn't there before...

Heather Hiestand: My Victorian #romance heroine can wear a bra?

Heather Hiestand — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:27:51 GMT

I opened my Archaeology magazine today to discover exciting news. Archaologists have found evidence that cloth and lace bras were being worn six hundred years ago in Europe.

How much easier it would be for my hero to disrobe my heroine if she was wearing this instead of a corset. Although the terminology of "breast bag" does sound far more clinical than "stays."

Picture of medieval bra

What do you think? Is it time to write some medieval German or Austrian romance fiction? At least the heroes would have easier access to their lady loves...

Monday: @hahiestand Story Prompt 12

Heather Hiestand — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 07:45:00 GMT

She is sitting in front of her boyfriend's fancy entertainment unit, watching a movie. All of a sudden, she notices the shape of a man's torso in the highly polished surface of the stereo speaker. The shape is coming closer...

Heather Hiestand: Prophecy or Coincidence? #amwriting

Heather Hiestand — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 07:22:00 GMT

After my son started crawling then walking, my once lovely office turned into a storage room, as he was and sometimes still is, the kind of kid to topple furniture and eat everything. But since I started working on my Cake trilogy for Kensington, I had to muck it out and get back to work in the room.

Just today, I opened the top drawer of my desk, and I found this unbelievable photograph. Here I am, working on a story where the main characters meet daily at Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square (in 1887), and I have one photo in this drawer - the scene from my story! Shivery funny, is it not?

I took this picture in 1985, when my mother took teenaged me to London for eight glorious days. All these years later, that trip is still fueling my imagination.

I wonder why and when I put that one photo in my desk drawer...was I planning Judah's story all along? *cue spooky music*

Monday: Story Prompt 11

Heather Hiestand — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 07:32:00 GMT

She's a single mother, at the grocery store with her two-year-old daughter. The little girl wants to push the cart so she's standing next to Mommy. Mother turns to take a box of cereal from the top shelf and when she gets back to the cart, the toddler is gone. She can see a flash of red, the toddler's coat?, at the end of the aisle, then it's gone...