A 5-Cup Review for Renting to Own!

Renting to Own has received a 5-cup review from Coffee Time Romance and More. You can check it out here:

http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/rentingtoownbylindarettstatt.html

Linda

An Interview with Sandra Cox

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing multi- published author Sandra Cox. Sandra is quite prolific and has books published in several genres, including YA Crossover, Paranormal Romance, and metaphysics. Her latest book, Sundial, is a time travel romance now available at Class Act Books.


Thanks for being here today, Sandra. So tell us, how long did it take to get published? What was that experience like when you got the first contract?

A long, long time. When I finally did get an offer, it was a feeling of both validation and an incredible high.

What is your writing routine and the setting in which you usually write?

For the past several years, I’ve written in the Mole Hole. My office is in the basement. But lately I’ve been seduced by soft breezes, the sweet fragrance from the garden and the singing of birds. I take my laptop and go out on my screened in porch to write of an evening after I get home from work and on the weekends.

Do you belong to any writing groups or critique groups?

For several years, I belonged to FTHRW, an online critique group. I really feel it is thanks to the crit partners that I finally got published.

Has any of your work received an award?

Silverhills was an Eppie finalist. Shardai and Makita received Golden Wings, and Rose Quartz and Black Opal, Capa Nominations. Thanks for asking.

Wow, that's impressive, and you’re welcome. Now, tell us a bit about your most recently published book, Sundial.

Sundial a time travel romance has just been re-released with http://www.classactbooks.com/. It’s about Sarah Miles, a successful artist who specializes in painting gardens. While painting in a garden, she finds an old sundial with the words ‘fate cannot be altered’. Intrigued, she touches it and her incredible journey through time begins. (Excerpt at end of interview)

This sounds like a very engaging story. (LR adds to her TBR list) What are you working on presently?

I’m working on the third in my Hunter Series, about a young fashion conscious woman who is a vampire hunter.

What’s the most fun you’ve had when working on a manuscript?

I enjoy the Hunter Series. Zoe is a hoot. She’s a dedicated vampire hunter, but she refuses to leave the house with a chipped nail or shoes that don’t match her outfit.

Oh, she sounds like fun. I love characters who have distinctive quirks.

I know there are a number of writers who inspire me and have influenced my writing. Who are the authors you enjoy reading? Who inspires you with their writing?

Nora Roberts and Stephanie Meyer

How do you balance writing with promotion and the rest of life?

With great difficulty. Like most writers, I have a day job. My kids are grown so that just leaves the seven to ten animals that at any given time reside at our house. My husband and I have five cats, a dog, and foster cats for a local rescue group. I try to write every evening and on the weekends. If I drop a ball while juggling, it’s usually promotion. I really admire other authors that stay on top of this.

I hear you. It can be a true balancing act at times. Promotion time can be the first thing to go, and it’s so important. I struggle with the same thing.

Where can you be found on the web?

Thanks for asking.
http://www.sandracox1.com/
http://www.sandracox.blogspot.com/
http://www.downtownya.blogspot.com/
And I’m on Facebook and twitter.

And where can readers purchase your books?

The easiest place to get to is http://www.amazon.com/. The books can also be purchased directly through the publishers: http://www.cerridwen.com/, http://www.classactbooks.com/, http://www.wings-press.com/, and http://www.jupitergardens.com/.


What else would you like to share with our readers?

For a chance to win a ‘seeing’ necklace, a $10 Starbucks card and an autographed copy of Sundial, leave a comment at my blog: http://www.sandracox.blogspot.com/. Just mention Linda and Sundial in the comment section. The contest runs from October 15 – November 14 at 5:00 p.m. Sundial Tour Hostesses Are Invited to Enter the Contest.

Thanks so much for having me, Linda.

You’re welcome. It was my pleasure.

And, now, for your reading pleasure, here is an excerpt from Sundial by Sandra Cox.

Excerpt:

Sarah, her niece Meghan, and cat Monet have gone to a garden to paint:

A flash of color blinded her. Sarah blinked then squinted. For the first time, she saw that Monet was seated beside an old sundial.

“Meghan, come here. You’ve got to see this,” she called out excitedly, her headache forgotten. She heard an exaggerated sigh.

“You said not to come.”

“I’ve found an old sundial. Or rather Monet has.”

“A real one?” The rustling began again, as Meghan started pushing her way through.

“Appears so,” Sarah squatted down to study it. “Looks to be a hundred years old. I bet it’s valuable. You should see the intricate detail. This will make a great piece to paint!”

As Sarah studied it, she noticed the words. “There’s writing on it.” She read aloud, “Fate cannot be...drat, moss has grown over the rest of the words.”

A wave of superstitious terror washed over Meghan. Suddenly, the pieces all fell into place. And as the old woman had prophesied, she believed. “Sarah, don’t. Get out of there now. Please, Sarah, please,” she cried, her teeth chattering.

“What’s wrong with you?” Sarah asked irritably still studying the sundial.

“There’s actually heat radiating from it. Surprising, it’s not that warm out.”

“Sarah, please,” Meghan pleaded. “Don’t you remember what the old lady said?” She fought her way through the overgrowth, not feeling the scratches a thorny branch left on her face or the warm blood trickling down her cheek. But it was as if the thicket conspired to keep her out.

Tears streamed down Meghan’s face as she pushed at the bracken separating herself and her aunt. She broke through just as Sarah reached down to brush the moss from the sundial.

“No, Sarah, no,” she screamed. Later her mind would play the scene over again in slow motion: Sarah’s hand reaching out; Monet jumping playfully at her fingers, bringing them both in touch with the sundial; the boom; the jagged streak of white; and then nothing. They were gone, leaving Meghan alone in the clearing with the sundial.

Special Promotion for Breast Cancer Research

Between now and December 31, 2010, a special promotion is being offered by Champagne Books and myself. Next Time I'm Gonna Dance--a fictional story of one woman's determination to not only survive, but to thrive, following a second bout of breast cancer--will be offered at a 20% discount. In addition, all royalties from promotion sales will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

Here is your chance to read a remarkable story of courage and determination (don't take my word for it--read the reviews on my website: http://www.lindarettstatt.com/), and an opportunity to give to a wonderful cause.

Purchasing a copy (or copies) of Next Time I'm Gonna Dance is easy. Go to my page at Champagne Books and select either trade paperback or your e-book format. Use the code Cure010 (Cure zero one zero) to receive your discount and register the royalty donation. It's that simple. And since the promotion runs through December, it's a great time to shop for Christmas!

Linda

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Be sure to order your copy of Next Time I'm Gonna Dance now. And, if you can, support events in your area such as Race for the Cure to help raise funds to eradicate this disease.

Unknown Authors Are Like Broccoli

When you’re looking for something new to read, where do you look? Most people check out the new releases in their local bookstore, glance at the NY Times Bestseller List or the bestseller list on Amazon.com. Some look for new releases from their already-known, tried and true, favorite authors. I have my favorites whose new releases I watch for, also—authors like Lisa Scottoline, Sherryl Woods, Elizabeth Berg, and Janet Evanovich.

As readers, have you considered the lesser known authors published with small presses who just might have a gem of a book waiting for you? I never did until I became one of those small press authors. Now I have occasion to read excerpts and novels by my fellow authors whose names may still be unfamiliar to you. Reading material can be an acquired taste.

I never tasted broccoli until I was twenty-two. Seriously. Didn’t know what it was or how it should be prepared. My mother was a meat-and-potatoes kind of cook. Our most exotic vegetable was glazed carrots. I lived for a time with friends who had more eclectic tastes and broader culinary experiences. And I discovered broccoli—and cauliflower, and asparagus, and kiwi, and a whole new menu of foods that I enjoy.

Why not make a resolution to broaden your reading menu in the coming year? Sample a new main course. You don’t have to give up steak and lobster. But add something new to your plate. When you order your next Tami Hoag or Linda Howard , have a side of Lynn Romaine. Check out her romantic eco-suspense, Long Run Home. How about Deborah Hale or Cathryn Fox with a helping of Carol McPhee? Try her romantic suspense novel, A Structured Affair. You might enjoy Kris Radish or Nicholas Sparks topped off with Linda Rettstatt's women's fiction for dessert. Something like Shooting Into the Sun. Have an appetizer of Kimberley Dehn 's romantic comedy, Southern Exposure before diving into your latest Mary Kay Andrews or Jennifer Crusie.

I know some of you are saying, “But I don’t like broccoli.” Well, I’m sure a few folks shook their heads and hesitated at the first presentation of Cherry Garcia ice cream. And it’s now one of the bestsellers for Ben & Jerry’s.

So, go ahead. Dig in. Visit the websites of these authors and check out the links below of just a few e-publishers and small presses. You just might add new flavorites to your reading menu. But, like broccoli or Cherry Garcia, you don’t know until you taste for yourself.

Wings ePress
Champagne Books
Class Act Books
The Wild Rose Press
Turquoise Morning Press

Happy reading!

Linda

New Review of Shooting Into the Sun

Shooting Into the Sun has been reviewed by
NovelTalk. Here's a snippet and the link to the
full review:

"Linda Rettstatt brings together two sisters in this story. It’s a very emotional journey for them both. I thought she did a fantastic job of bringing Rylee’s photography into the story as well. I really didn’t feel meeting a hitchhiker was an ideal way to bring the hero into the book but she skillfully drew me in to the idea. The hero and heroine were perfect for each other."

Reviewed by Dyan Hunter

Click here to read the full review.


Linda

Love Sam - The Cover is In

It's here--the cover art for Love, Sam, coming in November from Champagne Books.








Here's a blurb:

Love, loss, grief--human experiences that cross all boundaries of age, race, or gender. Love, Sam is the story of Trish Garrity, a young woman who has to find a way to go on after the tragic loss of Samantha Preston, her partner of six years. Facing death, Sam writes twelve letters—one to be opened on the first of each of the twelve months following her death—intended to help Trish become more self-accepting and to guide her through grief.

Kudos to artist Trisha FitzGerald--once again.

Linda