James by Callie Carmen from Rainbow Desire
Available Now Ebook and Paperback Rainbow Desire Anthology https://amzn.to/3ATp0jl
James Blurb
Friend to lover. James knows he can’t have what he wants, his best friend Sam, so he settles for an online relationship.
Sam is frustrated because his friend James keeps fixing him up with one hunk after another. But all Samuel wants is for James to dump his online boyfriend and finally notice the love he has right in front of his face.
Will these two ever figure out that they’ve found their soul mate? Or will their fear of losing their friendship keep them in painful silence?
Pick up your copy today!
Rainbow Desire is a celebration of life and love in its kaleidoscope of exotic rainbow colors. The stories within the book also reflect its vibrant shades of romance from light and dark. I hope you will enjoy the wealth of narratives in this glorious LGBTQ+ anthology.
Take a listen to the new Speak Seductively podcast. For all you podcast listeners this is sure to be a way to liven up the day. Here's the link to my one on two interview with Lilly and Kyle at: https://anchor.fm/.../episodes/Author-Callie-Carmen-e15gdun
Welcome! I’m delighted to welcome back, Callie Carmen with a ‘Music Monday’ themed guest post!
MUSIC MONDAY
As seen on ALTERNATIVE-READ.COM
Music Monday with Michael & Olivia
By Author Callie Carmen
Sassy Brit thank you for having me as a guest on your Music Monday blog.
Music is an important part of my family’s lives. We love going to concerts and mostly it doesn’t matter what type of music it is. However, our favorites are alt rock and country. I’m looking forward to attending the rescheduled Blake Shelton concert in the not-too-distant future. In most of my novels, I include a few songs that I enjoy and that fit into the storyline ride that my characters have taken me on.
Below are the songs that I included in my latest book, Michael, from the Risking Love series. Michael is available now publication by Black Velvet Seductions on 8/19/21. Michael is my usual passionate love story, but there is also plenty of suspense dished out by the woman that Michael is dating, the maneater. And by Olivia’s ex-boyfriend, because he may be released from prison earlier than his sentence.
I hope you enjoy these four excerpts from Michael that include songs from the novel. Please follow me at https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07BN5PXDF. Or at any of the social media sites listed at the bottom of the blog. I’d love to hear from you, especially if you have questions about my books or you have thoughts about them.
Excerpt From
MICHAEL
by Callie Carmen
It wasn’t so terrible being alone. Lots of people lived full lives on their own. I had good friends, family, my new field hockey program, and I had just gotten a hell of a promotion. Those things were nothing to sniff at. And besides, I couldn’t miss what I’d never had. That would be nuts. I thought of the song, You’re Beautiful by James Blunt. He sang about the one he loved that he saw with someone else. He knew he would never be with her, but he still loved her and knew she was an angel. That was how I felt about Michael. He was my angel, protector, and the love that I would never have.
Link to: You’re Beautiful by James Blunt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oofSnsGkops
Excerpt From
MICHAEL
by Callie Carmen
Gosh, what had gotten into me. For the first time in my life the thought of touching a man, kissing him, and making love with him was on my mind so often. Not just any man, only Michael; he drove me crazy. It was like the song, Write A Book by Maddie and Tae. Where just hearing him say babe lit up my inside with joy. When he took my hand, my body begged for more. With just one look, he made me burn with desire. I was his for the taking. Now if only he would take me and become mine like in the song I’d be in heaven.
Link to: Write A Book by Maddie and Tae https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K97Eud-4I5Q
Excerpt From
MICHAEL
By Callie Carmen
I’d been to the Henry Ford Museum several times over the years, but this was the first time I had been invited to an event in the elegant Lovett Hall. The lobby with its marble floors, high crown molded ceilings was lovely. But the grand staircase was marvelous and had me deep in thought imagining Michael and myself with our wedding party taking photographs there. Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t notice Violet and Bella come up alongside me. In stereo the two of them softly hummed Here Comes the Bride in my ears. I elbowed them both, and they giggled. I scanned the room and thanked God when I saw Michael off to the side of the room talking with Joseph, a Director at Ford and Joshua a Vice President at Ford. “You stinkers are lucky Michael wasn’t next to me during your duet.”
“Right, because we wouldn’t want him to know what you were thinking. Now would we.”
I stuck my tongue out at Violet.
Here Comes the Bride (Pipe Organ Solo) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6rX3wlDsV
Excerpt From
MICHAEL
by Callie Carmen
The heavy weight of panic was upon my chest. I couldn’t let fear strangle my chances of escape. Think. When a player fouled me from behind and wouldn’t back off, I jabbed them with the field hockey stick. Or I stomped on their foot. That might work to get Braylon to let go. The song Psycho Killer by The Talking Heads haunted my thoughts. It told me to run.
Link to: Psycho Killer by The Talking Heads https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKti7QixnJITo pick up your copy of Michael go to: https://books2read.com/u/4jAn6X
COVER REVEAL
MICHAEL (Book Six Risking Love)
Available Now Publication August 19, 2021
MICHAEL Blurb:
Olivia had spent enough time on memories of her ex-boyfriend’s abuse. She was going to put all of her efforts into her new business career. And try to convince her boss, Vice President Michael Evans, that the woman he’d been dating was nothing more than an opportunist and that she’d climb into bed with anyone that could get her to the top.
Michael, who lost his younger sister to an abusive relationship, was falling in love with Olivia. He kept his distance from her and waited patiently for a sign that she was ready for his love.
NEW RELEASE
Cowboy Desire
Cover by https://www.facebook.com/JessicaGreeleyGD
Cowboy Desire is an eclectic assortment of short stories.
It includes contemporary, historical, fantasy, and even outer space romance, Cowboy Desire offers fourteen stunning short stories.
These fourteen authors provide a range of sweet to sexy stories all with a Western cowboy theme. They feature strong men and women battling the weather and dangerous terrain, here on earth and in outer space.
The collection is as diverse as the authors who wrote them. Here’s a chance to discover new talented authors and the characters they create. Within these pages, there are blends of tender, often moving, thought-provoking and downright sexy stories.
AVA Blurb
A love lost and a new love found. Ava packs her bags and heads to Kentucky to get back to her roots. After losing what she believed to be the love of her life, she can’t stay in Michigan anymore. Determined to rediscover her passion for the arts, she opens up a full-time studio.
A man determined to ride to the top of the rodeo business. Colton is a Rodeo God, looking to use his fame to start his own company. When trouble hits home, he puts a pause on his success to help the family. As if the struggle to fix the family business and start his own isn’t enough, Ava waltzes in with too much attitude and all kinds of demands.
NEW RELEASE
JOSHUA
AVAILABLE NOW PAPERBACK AND EBOOK
Purchase Link https://books2read.com/u/bxjYko
POSTED IN#ALTREAD, MEME : MUSIC MONDAY
The #MusicMonday #Guestpost with #Author Callie Carmen~ @BVSbooks @Callie_Carmen
Welcome! I’m delighted to welcome back, Callie Carmen with a ‘Music Monday’ themed guest post!
MUSIC MONDAY
Music and Writing ~ #MusicMonday
by Callie Carmen
Sassy Brit, Thank you for having me as a guest on your exciting blog.
Music has always played a big part of my family’s lives. From childhood piano lessons to school band, lead roles in musicals, a rock band, and writing and producing songs for video games. It felt natural for me to include music in each of my books. When you read my novels, you notice that I have scenes with characters attending concerts and going out dancing. They also have situations in their lives that make them think of a song that feels like what they’re going through.
In my latest novel, Joshua (Book Five Risking Love), there were four situations where songs fit perfectly with the storyline. So I had no choice, I had to mention those four songs.
Olivia told Bella and friends about the dragon lady that her boss was dating. The woman was known as the ‘Maneater’ because she mirrored the female character’s actions in the Daryl Hall & John Oates song. Like the song, the maneater went from powerful, wealthy man to powerful, wealthy man. She’d taken all that they were willing to give in the form of expensive jewelry, cars, and even positions on prestigious company boards. Once a man wanted more than a pretty thing on their arm and started talking marriage, she’d moved on to the next victim.
“Maneater”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moxjveE7V0c
Bella wore a polka dot bikini on her date with Joshua. It covered very little of her gorgeous figure. It reminded him of the song the “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” that his mother used to play from her antique forty-five record collection. It made Joshua’s heart smile.
“Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge9Ou3-YyqU
The two women that were in love with Josh were in his truck with him at the same time. The song “I’ll Be The Moon” by Dierks Bentley with Marian Morris came on the radio. It had made Bella’s skin crawl. The woman in the song loved the man she was with, but she cared for another man too. To have her when she could, he agreed to keep their relationship a secret. It made Bella wonder about her and Ava. Could Josh have been with Ava all along and Bell was the dirty little secret? Or was Bell the one he cared most for, and Ava just found out how much Josh cared?
“I’ll Be The Moon”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63g7AVv-aGs
When Bella walked into her friend’s wedding, the DJ was playing the song that had tortured her all week, “Nobody But You” by Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani. Blake was singing about his love and the saying, “If you love someone, let them go. If they come back to you, they were really yours, but if they don’t come back, they were never actually yours.” In Blake’s song, he didn’t agree with that saying. He loved her and wanted her forever. So many times, Bell and Ava had wished Josh would have said those words to her.
“Nobody But You”
Check out this cracking book. Plus an interview with the character Josh, courtesy of author @Callie_Carmen.
POSTED ON 11/03/2020 BY @LOUISE_WISE
SPEAK SEDUCTIVELY PODCAST
GUEST AUTHOR CALLIE CARMEN
Do you have a thirst for romance, villains, and love triangles? Then this podcast is for you. Check out the hot new romance novel JOSHUA by Author Callie Carmen as we discuss the inner workings of the novel with the author herself. Don't miss out. You might just be RISKING LOVE. https://anchor.fm/kyle-canon/episodes/Author-Callie-Carmen-em43sk
CLICK LINK
Joshua (Risking Love Book 5)
by Callie Carmen
Automobile executive Joshua Winfield had no idea that he had two women in love with him. When he finally figured it out would he choose the new woman in his life that made him burn with desire? Or his childhood sidekick that had been his loyal friend for years?
Bella spent the last year with a man that barely touched her. It was high time that she got some hot, passionate sex. The only problem was it couldn’t be with just anybody. It had to be with someone special.
Should she choose the gorgeous club owner? Or the mysterious, sexy businessman? Which of them would let her explore a secret desire for a little non-vanilla passion in and out of the bedroom?
Joshua is the fifth novel in the Risking Love series. The stories chart a group of friends through life and love. These steamy stories will have you laughing, crying, and your heart racing.
And now, an interview with sex-on-legs Joshua!
What is your full name?
I’m Joshua Winfield, but I love when a woman calls me Josh, especially while making love.
What colour are your eyes?
I’ve been told they are the color of the Mediterranean Sea, which I suppose means, they are blue.
Who told you that?
I never kiss and tell. It did make me chuckle, though.
Where and when were you born?
I was raised by my parents on my family’s horse ranch in Kentucky. I loved riding the horses through the beautiful trails in the hills, but that was about all I enjoyed about the horse breeding business.
Cars and trucks thrill me the most. I love everything about them, so as soon as I had the chance to go off to college for engineering in Michigan, I took it.
A Kentucky horse ranch sounds impressive, and to replace that with machines and engines! Nah, I’ll never understand that.
It wasn’t just the ranch. I couldn’t wait to get away from my stubborn, old-fashioned father. All my life, I felt I was slowly dying inside. I wasn’t living on the ranch; I was following someone else’s dream. Anyway, I got the adventures I craved when I started traveling to different countries for my job.
Don’t you get on with your father?
In short, no. I didn’t go back home after college to help run the ranch, and the rift it caused between us is so huge that I haven’t been home since. I miss my mother, of course, and love when we talk on the phone.
Do you have a spouse or significant other?
‘If you climb in the saddle, be ready for the ride’. Sorry, darlin’, that’s one of my father’s many teaching tools on pretty much anything in life and what it means is, I haven’t found the one to get me on the saddle yet. I’ve had casual relationships, but some might think sex without commitment would be heaven on earth, but after a while, it isn’t satisfying.
Are you ready to settle down now?
You could say that I am. I’ve been busy working my way up the ladder in the auto industry, but I’m now at a point in my life where I’m looking for the love of my life. Sounds cheesy, eh? Well, I haven’t been able to get serious with a woman because I was never in one place long enough to settle down, but now that’s changed and I’m looking for someone that can match my passion for life.
To which social class do you belong? How does it make you feel?
I’m a Vice President in the auto industry, and I’ve been told that I’m considered well off, which would be great if I had the girl of my dreams to share it with. You interested, darlin’?
I might consider if your answer to my next question gets me tingling! Right, if you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, what would you do with the time you had left.
I would be with the woman I loved, we’d sail to a deserted island where we would make love in the heat of the sun, the waves would be lapping against our boat to serenade us. Then, after we’d explored one another’s bodies and I’d kissed every inch of her, we’d sail back to our cabin on the lake where I’d cook us our favorite meal.
Over dinner, we’d reminisce our wonderful life, then I’d blindfold her and carry her to bed where I’ll make love to every inch of her body until she whimpers. When she can take no more loving, I’ll take the blindfold off, kiss her lips, and thank her for making my life complete. Then we’d fall asleep in each other’s arms for the last time.
Okaaaay! Tingles are all in the right places!
Purchase your copy of Joshua
Joshua (Risking Love Novel Five)
https://books2read.com/u/bxjYko
AVAILABLE NOW PAPERBACK AND EBOOK
On Eileen Troemel’s Blog
Joshua
november 1, 2020 by eileentroemel, posted in book tour
Thank you Eileen for having me on your wonderful Dragon’s Den Blog today. I’m excited to share with you and our friends the book launch of the fifth book in the Risking Love series. Black Velvet Seductions Publishing is having a grand sale for the event. See the details below.
JOSHUA (Risking Love Book 5) Blurb
Bella spent the last year with a man that barely touched her. It was high time that she got some hot, passionate sex. The only problem was it couldn’t be with just anybody. It had to be with someone special.
Should she choose the gorgeous club owner? Or the mysterious, sexy businessman? Which of them would let her explore a secret desire for a little non-vanilla passion in and out of the bedroom?
Excerpt from JOSHUA
By Callie Carmen
She huffed out air at the sight of me and folded her arms across her chest. Her olive skin had a flushed pink tint, and I would have sworn that she was pissed at me.
Had I missed something? Had she wanted me to open her door? She didn’t seem the type that would like that kind of thing on such a casual type of date. I would have opened the door for her if we’d gone out to a nice restaurant, of course. But not here on the dirt driveway, with broken clam shells spread round.
“What’s wrong? Are you mad at me for not opening your door? Or what?”
She plopped her fisted hands onto her hips and gave me duck lips.
She looked so adorable in that stance, with her eyes shooting fire, that I wanted to grab her and kiss those plump duck lips. But the next thing out of her mouth was.
“Stai scherzando?”
If memory served, she had just asked, “Are you kidding me?”
Geez, was Bella going to be a high maintenance girl? I didn’t need a drama queen for a girlfriend. I was at a point in my life where I was looking for the love of my life. Someone that I had a strong connection with that matched both my passion and my intellect. I had thought that could be Bella, but now I wasn’t so sure, since she’d gotten her little panties in a wad over something so small.
As I was about to say something, I was sure I’d regret, she held her hand straight up and said, “Don’t talk to me.”
I wanted to take her over my knee to teach her a lesson. She was acting like a child. Then I remembered my mother’s favorite saying: Silence is sometimes the best answer.
Right then, I felt something hit me in the head and drip onto my forehead. I looked at Bella. Her eyes were huge, and her mouth had dropped open. I swooshed my hand across my forehead and looked at it. There was a blob of bird shit.
Bella burst out laughing.
Figuring there was more than one way to deal with her bad attitude, I pretended like I was going to wipe my hand on her. She screeched and hightailed it down the path to the cottage. She laughed all the way there.
I’d be damned, I roared along with her. Maybe this would work out. I followed her but kept enough distance between us that she could have fun thinking she had kept away from me.
Joshua (Risking Love Novel Five)
https://books2read.com/u/bxjYko
PAPERBACK AND EBOOK AVAILABLE NOW
EXCITING UPCOMING NEWS
The first week of November I’ll be a guest on the wonderful podcast Speak Seductively with Kyle and Lilly. I hope you’ll be able to check it out sometime that week at: https://anchor.fm/kyle-canon/episodes/Author-Amanda-Sasha-Fino-elh232 . In the meantime, there are plenty of other great podcasts with talented authors, including a couple about Kyle’s exciting, spicy books and some other fantastic Black Velvet Seductions authors novels.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review of Anthony
Author Virginia Wallace rated it; it was amazing
It is a romance-novel cliché that that the hero must be a man of leisure, independently wealthy with a ton of time of his hands. It’s also a cliché that the heroine often begins as a ‘good girl’, and slowly becomes ‘bad’ as the story moves forward. Such tales are nearly always narrated exclusively from the heroine’s point of view.
Callie Carmen’s ‘Anthony’ turns all of those clichés onto their heads.
Anthony… is a chef. Successful, yes, but still a blue-collar fellow whose personality is firmly rooted in reality. He views the lovely Tessa as a spoiled ‘rich girl’, someone not to be trusted. In order to secure Anthony’s love, Tessa must change his perception of her.
The narrative of ‘Anthony’ rotates between Tessa and Anthony’s respective points of view, fleshing out the tale from both sides in order to tell a complete, balanced story. The genius of Callie Carmen’s writing is that it’s lush and descriptive without feeling surreal; one almost gets the impression that Anthony and Tessa are real people, that this story is actually happening.
‘Anthony’ can be read as a stand-alone novel, or as part of Callie Carmen’s ‘Risking Love’ series. (If ‘Anthony’ is any indication… it’s one hell of a series.) So check it out!
Thank you, Virigina.
ANTHONY books2read.com/u/bx81ze
Risking Love Novels http://amzn.to/3597Ug2
A wonderful blog by Virginia Wallace and a fantastic review of the Mystic Desire Anthology.
Check out Virginia’s other blogs by clicking Virginia Wallace below. They’re great.
‘Mystic Desire’: A Review
Virginia Wallace Uncategorized August 21, 2020
I signed on with Black Velvet Seductions (a romance publishing company) a couple of months back…
Of course, the first thing you do when you land a gig with a new publisher is get to know your co-workers. (Seriously, I wasn’t born yesterday. That’s just common sense. If our publisher sinks, we all go down. If we all work to promote our publisher, we all win!)
So I picked up a copy of ‘Mystic Desire’, an anthology of supernatural tales that features most of BVS’ authors.
Whoa…!
Just… wow…
Okay, some of these stories REALLY made me blush. But the diversity of subject matter/writing styles makes this book an EPIC collection!!!
So here, my dear readers, is my story-by-story review of ‘Mystic Desire’…
The Sweetest Magic of All by Alice Renaud – Witches are the backbone of many supernatural tales; everyone knows this. So to tackle such tried-and-true subject matter leaves one at risk of seeming trite… but Alice Renaud is anything but trite! Her heroine Sapphire is a genuinely sweet, vulnerable character, and her saga is truly one to savor.
Bewitching the Wolf by Zia Westfield – Like witches, werewolves are also the stock of supernatural fiction. If you’re gonna tackle the werewolf myth, you’d better know what you’re doing. Zia Westfield knows exactly what she’s doing! (I especially enjoyed her character Oggie, the drunken leprechaun. Very often, it’s the supporting cast that makes the story.)
An Awareness of Evil by Dee S. Knight – Psychics. A modern addition to supernatural archetypes, and a powerful one. This story would make a great ‘true crime’ TV special! Its twist ending is straight-up Alfred Hitchcock.
Love that Binds by Carol Schoenig – Sometimes it’s the unanswered questions that are the most intriguing. Is Ianthee a witch? Is she not? Honestly, do we really need to answer that question? The over-arching air of un-explained mystery really makes this one stand out.
Dream Catcher by Callie Carmen – This tale shines by virtue of its very unique subject matter: The Native American ‘dream catcher’ myth. Normally when you think ‘supernatural fiction’, you think werewolves, vampires, etc… but Callie took a completely different tack on the genre, and she nailed it. What really makes Callie’s tale stand out – even more so than her subject matter – is her writing style. Supernatural stories usually do – and should – have an ethereal, dream-like feel about them; they come across as kind of off-kilter. ‘Dream Catcher’, on the other hand, feels very, very real… like this is a story that might actually have happened.
Life Saving by Anne Krist – I have to admit, this story was my favorite. Not because Anne is any more – or less – talented than the other BVS writers, but because her story was reminiscent of another writer whose work I have always held near and dear. Her tale is straight outta Ray Bradbury’s playbook! (And anyone who knows me knows that’shigh praise!)
Unconditional Lust by Breanna Hayse – This one vividly captures the tension of sailing the high seas, and the fear of being pulled into the depths by unseen monsters. Except these monsters have an agenda, and they’re here to tell you that there are worse fates to suffer than death…
The Mortal Vampire by Suzanne Smith – What can I say? Real vampires are notsupposed to ‘sparkle’! Suzanne’s vampire doesn’t sparkle; he’s terrifying, and intense. Suzanne’s writing is right up there with Anne Rice and Bram Stoker’s, in my book.
Love from the Mist by Patricia Elliot – Water Sprites? Who thinks of a water sprite when asked to write a supernatural tale? Patricia did, apparently, and thus her contribution is truly unique. Her tale begins with a pulse-pounding action scene, and ends on a sweet note. It’s a breath-taking narrative, one that earns ‘bonus points’ by virtue of its sheer originality.
Love’s Ghost by R.M. Olivia – The sad, mournful characters really brought this story to life; it has echoes of Edgar Allan Poe all over it. (And I don’t compare writers to Poe lightly; you gotta earn that praise from me!)
Love Knows No Apocalypse by Patricia Elliott – George Romero, eat your heart out! This one’s an imaginative, character-driven story set in a familiar dystopian setting. It’s challenging to bring your leading lady to life when her supporting cast consists of brain-munching zombies, but Patricia figured out how. She’s quite an original voice on the modern writing scene!
Calling All Angels by Lora Logan – A tale of celestial beings set in a deceptively picturesque setting… and therein lies the story’s brilliance; it’s the odd juxtaposition of characters and scenery that makes the story shine. (‘Calling All Angels’ reminded me of the years during which I lived in New York’s Adirondack Mountains.)
The Anniversary by Richard Savage – Certainly the most edgy tale in the entire collection. It made me uncomfortable, and yet totally captured my interest! Richard delves deep into the admittedly-skewed psychology of his characters, and succeeds in telling a very, very unnerving story! I really liked that he didn’t reveal what was really going on until the very, very end; that lingering plot-tease kept me on the edge of my seat.
Through the Veil by Jan Selbourne – Is this a ghost story? Historical fiction? Hell, do we really need to answer those questions? Sometimes using deliberate ambiguity is the best way to tell a story. One doesn’t always need to have one’s curiosity satisfied; sometimes, ya just gotta meet the story on its own terms!
And that’s my review. S’all I have to say. But I will end my review with this comment: Many of the world’s publishing companies have guidelines that are so strict that they leave no room for individual creativity; their books are so market-driven that they’re… sterile.
Stifling, market-driven guidelines suppress individual creativity, and inevitably make for forgettable fiction.
Black Velvet Seductions…? Here are their guidelines: Gotta be a love story. Gotta have a happy ending. No perverts, please, and other’n that…
TELL US AN AWESOME STORY!!!
Those broad guidelines are, in my opinion, why Black Velvet Seductions produces excellent literature. I am grateful beyond words to have been invited into their circle. Thank all of you wonderful writers for taking me on board; I am honored to work alongside such fine storytellers.
Here’s to a bright future for us all!
To order ‘Mystic Desire’, use this link for Amazon: https://amzn.to/322Ziq3
Or this one for Barnes and Noble: books2read.com/u/4j1AD2
🔥BLOG: Author Callie Carmen is a guest on the BVS Blog. Find out what she learned about possessive characters in romance novels and in real life.
@ https://blackvelvetseductions.com/?p=4244
As a romance writer and reader, occasionally I come across possessive characters. They may seem charming, but often they turn into the type that smothers their partner.
🔥Callie Carmen is a guest on the wonderful Eileen Troemel Blog. Please check it out. She would love it if you commented & shared the blog❣️ Includes excerpts from the Risking Love novels.
https://eileentroemel.com/risking-love-series/?fbclid=IwAR3GBCNndWvj2yI1tyrUUPLJwyo-O0pjCePzt0OmUoS5qM8Qsawuiar4-50
🔥🔥PODCAST WITH❤️❤️
AUTHOR CALLIE CARMEN
GUEST ON
THE RIGHT BUZZ PODCAST
Wayne and Nicole will be talking with Callie Carmen about writing, romance and her latest novel in the Risking Love series, ANTHONY and much more. https://www.talkaboutitfridaypodcast.com/
Don’t Let Anything Stop You
Callie Carmen
Writing wasn’t something I ever imagined myself doing. I was a successful mother who worked for her local school, volunteered at book events, and raised three children at home. In my early life, spelling and grammar were difficult subjects for me. I was literally held back one year at the advice of my Catholic School teacher. I guess she thought it would help me improve but as my report cards show, it really did not.
After a dismal and confidence deflating experience in my elementary school, I transferred to a fantastic public school. There I ended up with a great group of friends and my grades improved. Again, writing was not on my radar as I went off to college to get a BS Degree in Business. However, I found a group of brilliant, beautiful, and sweet women that became my good friends and years later my muses when I sat down and wrote my first novel in the Risking Love series.
I sent my first book Patrick off to four publishers. The first publisher wanted my book to be in present tense. The second publisher wanted my book to be in third person. The third publisher said that having a serial killer in a romance novel wasn’t the right fit for them. Then I sent my manuscript to Richard Savage at Black Velvet Seduction and while I needed to go through editing, he really liked the storyline. Richard took a chance on me and he published my first book. He introduced me to a wonderful editor, Laurie Sanders who taught me a great deal about writing. I ate the entire process up like a bowl of chocolate ice cream.
Since then I’ve had published two stories for romance anthologies. A mobster romance in the Craving Loyalty Anthology by Crave Publishing. The other a supernatural romance in the Mystic Desire Anthology by Black Velvet Seduction (BVS). BVS fosters a family type atmosphere where authors work together as friends to promote each other’s books. We are a team that cheers each other on, and we learn from each other when one of us has a fresh marketing idea. Working on the Mystic Desire Anthology together made us all much closer than we already were.
There are three other titles in the Risking Love series that are available. Nicolas the persistent and sexy doctor. Joseph, the man that finds it hard to express his feelings but not in the bedroom. Anthony who wants nothing to do with another rich, spoiled woman like his ex-wife and Tessa comes from wealth. This fall book five Joshua will be available. Jessica Greeley, the Art Director at BVS, makes wonderful covers, and she’s done it again for Anthony.
Here’s the blurb for Anthony (Risking Love Book Four) Tessa seemed to have it all, her father’s fortune, men falling at her feet, and a fairly new but successful business. Secretly, all she longed for was her mother’s hug once more, her heartbroken, widowed father acknowledging her existence and the love of Tony.
Recently divorced, from a selfish, demanding ex-wife, Tony Telesco wanted nothing to do with a rich, spoiled, daddy’s girl, like Tessa. Would she be able to convince him she was not as she seemed?
Author Tip: Write every day and read as often as possible. Seek advice, take writing classes, and find a good editor. Before you ever get published set up your social media sites on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. Just about every publisher will expect that you already have a presence in the world of social media. If you plan to use a pen name, be sure to set those sites up in the pen name not your real name or you must start from scratch.
For the publication of your first book you have to set up Goodreads, BookBud, Amazon Author Central, and a Website. If you have the time to handle more media to promote your books set up Tumblr, MeWe, Pinterest, and if you’re really into it start a blog. If you have a good publisher like BVS, they will promote your novel, but they will also require you to advertise your books too. My motto: If you don’t promote your book how will anyone know to buy it.
March 17, 2020
Author Callie Carmen’s article titled, Don’t Let Anything Stop You, was published in the wonderful new magazine, TALK ABOUT IT FRIDAY.
https://drive.google.com/…/1mx5qjvnMKak7gIcqCqNG1wYMf…/view…
It is packed with amazing content spreading inspiration. Be sure to check out Author Dee S. Knight and Author Carol Schoenig's articles and much more.
MARCH 15, 2020
Unwrapping a Special Guest & Guest Post: Callie Carmen, author of the Risking Love series and the upcoming new novel,
ANTHONY With excerpt
New Release April 1, 2020 - Available now in paperback and ebook!
Today, I have a special guest visiting Unwrapping Romance. It’s been a long while since we’ve had a visitor so I’m most excited. Today’s guest is a fellow author, Callie Carmen.
I hope everyone will join me in making her feel very welcome.
Welcome to Unwrapping Romance, Callie…Callie:
Thank you for having me as a guest on your wonderful blog today.
Tessa and Anthony
Unwrapping Romance: It’s a pleasure to have you here. I understand you have a new book coming out soon in your Risking Love series.
Callie: I do. This is an exciting time for me as an author. My book Anthony (Risking Love Book Four) just became available in paperback and is on pre-order in ebook for only 99¢ until the publication date, April 1. Here’s a little excerpt from Anthony and some information that I found helpful on show-don’t-tell. I hope you enjoy them.
EXCERPT from ANTHONY
By Callie Carmen
Anthony
Late that afternoon, I entered the accounting firm. It was so quiet without James at the reception desk. I felt my racing pulse in my eardrums. This would be the first time I’d seen Tessa since I’d walked out on her at the wedding. My stomach was in knots. I looked down the hallway and saw that there was only one light on, and it was coming from her office.
God, if she was here alone I’d be tempted to pull her out of her chair, lift her into my arms, and kiss her until she couldn’t breathe. Then I’d lay her across the desk, lift her dress, take off her panties, and taste her.
I decided to skip warning her that I was there. I wanted to see her reaction when I entered her office.
Tessa hopped up from behind her desk as soon as I walked in. Her hands shook, and I could tell that she was as nervous as I was.
“H–hello, Tony, how are you?” Damn it, even her voice was shaky.
I shoved my hands in my pockets and felt a heaviness on my shoulders.
“Hey, Tessa. You’re looking beautiful as ever.” I looked her up and down as she put her hand across her desk for a business handshake, but her pupils were dilated and she looked full of hope or possibility. I wasn’t quite sure which, but I liked it. Maybe I could salvage the mess I’d made.
The men of the Risking Love series.
SETTING SIGHTS ON IMPROVING ALL THE TIME
by Callie Carmen
As a writer, I’m committed to improving my craft daily. I find so many ways to do that with articles, books on the subject, and blogs that authors have written. My editor, Laurie Sanders, is a wealth of information. She even teaches classes on how to become a better writer. My publisher, Richard Savage of Black Velvet Seductions always has helpful ideas.
And then there’s Google. It sometimes feels like a close intimate friend. One that I can ask just about anything. And believe me I do. If I showed my Google research history to any of my friends, they’d think someone that looks like me had replaced me.
Today, I was working on JOSHUA (Risking Love Book Five). I wanted a new way to describe puppy-dog-eyes. So I Googled it. I was pleasantly surprised to find this facial cheat sheet blog with pictures put together by Nicholas C. Rossis. It didn’t give pleading as an example, but I found these seven emotions shown as show-don’t-tell helpful. I thought you might too.
Show-don’t-tell cheat sheet: facial expressions
Mar 9, 2014 | Blog hops tours & reblogs, Writing
Authors often struggle with depictions of emotions. We’re supposed to show them, describe them. For example, “she was surprised by this” is a big no-no, and considered lazy writing. “Her eyes widened and her mouth slacked”, on the other hand, gives us the very image of surprise, without ever mentioning the word.
As you can imagine, this can be tough. But fear not, for thirty years ago, Paul Ekman did cross-cultural research and identified seven basic human emotions. He identified the seven basic emotions through facial expressions. No matter where in the world, what culture, class, race, gender, or lighting, these seven facial expressions were identified across the board:
Unwrapping Romance: Thank you so very much for the fun insight into expressions, Callie, and wishing you the best of luck with Anthony. Come back again, you're always welcome.
I hope everyone will check out Anthony as well as the other sexy men in the Risking Love series.
Happy Reading Everyone!
BOOKS CHARMING
INTERVIEW WITH
Name - Callie Carmen
March 11, 2020
Callie Carmen Interview On, Books Charming ,With Sassy Brit.
Q.1 Tell us a little about yourself?
A. Thank you for having me here.
My name is Callie Carmen. I’m a contemporary romance writer. My novels have spicy love making scenes that some may say move me into the erotic romance genre. You must read one of my novels to decide for yourself. Lol. I grew up in a small farm town on the east coast which I loved, but I’ve moved on to a cozy life in a small farm town in the Midwest.
Q.2 Do you have any upcoming books?
Yes, Anthony. It’s the fourth book in my Risking Love series. It can be read as a standalone or part of the series. The paperback is now available and the ebook publication date is April 1, 2020.
ANTHONY BLURB
Tessa seemed to have it all, her father’s fortune, men falling at her feet, and a fairly new but successful business. Secretly, all she longed for was her mother’s hug once more, her heartbroken, widowed father acknowledging her existence, and the love of Tony.
Recently divorced, from a selfish, demanding, ex-wife, Tony Telesco wanted nothing to do with a rich, spoiled, daddy’s girl, like Tessa. Would she be able to convince him that she was not as she seemed?
Q.3 When and why did you begin writing?
A. I started in the book business as a bookstore manager which was the perfect place for me since I was an avid reader. After two years, I moved to the corporate office as a buyer and eventually became a senior book buyer. It was a rewarding career that I loved.
When my third child came along, I became a stay home Mom. I couldn't give up working around books altogether. I volunteered to run the book fairs in my town six per year. I also started and ran, A Child Oasis Company, with the sole purpose of placing a small book library in the homes of all the needy children in the nearby city. As my children became teens, I found I needed more in my personal life than the volunteer Mom for the schools. I sat down at the computer one day and Patrick, book one of the Risking Love series, was born. Luckily, it was published by Black Velvet Seductions. Since then, I haven’t stopped writing.
Q.4 Among all the protagonists of your titles, who’s your favorite and why?
A. Joseph from the novel Joseph. He is quiet but sexy as they come in and out of the bedroom. Plus, Violet and Joseph have the most wonderful ending to their love story. I think it is my all-time favorite ending to a novel. To me it hits home, but I can’t tell you more than that.
Q.5 What about the supporting characters? Who does think is dearest to you?
A. Demon. I can’t tell you how many women have written to me asking if I’d write a novel with Demon as the lead character. He is the brother of Nicolas in book two in the Risking Love series. Several men want me to write a serial killer book because they loved and hated the serial killer in my first novel, Patrick. Oh my, I can’t forget Bella. She reminds me of an old Italian friend of mine that was the sweetest person I’ve ever known until you pissed her off. Then look out. Lol.
Q.6 How many books have you written? Which one is your favorite among them?
A. I have written a short mobster romance for the Craving Loyalty Anthology, which was my first romance published by Crave Publishing. I’ve written four almost five of my Risking Love series and another Anthology from Mystic Desire with my publisher and friends at BVS. There are two favorites. Joseph which I mentioned above and Dream Catcher from the Mystic Desire Supernatural Romance Anthology. The love story takes place on the Great Sacandaga Lake, where I used to spend my summers as a child through to my early twenties. I miss being there. It is a beautiful lake.
Q.7 What is the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
A. That would have to be what the male physically feels when making love especially during a climax. You should have been the fly in the room when I had to ask my husband questions about that. He did not want to discuss it. I had to beg, but the difficult conversation was worth it. Now I ask him questions like that just for fun. It makes him so uncomfortable that I get a kick out of watching and listening to him.
Q.8 How do you develop your plots and characters? Do you use any set formula?
A. I have what used to be a blank book. It is full of pages that describe my character's personality traits, looks and a brief bio for each of them. I also include the conflicts, setting, and any key items important to the story. I refer back to those pages often when writing my series as the same six female friends are in each of those romances.
Q.9 How do you select the name of your characters?
A. It depends on the book. If they are from a certain ethnic group like Irish or Italian descent, I usually use a popular name for that group. But at first I tried using relative names and my sister put an end to that in my first novel Patrick. I used her daughter’s names, and she told me in no uncertain terms that I was not to use her family’s names in my sex books. I explained that they weren’t sex books they were love stories, and she was having none of it. So names changed in that story and I haven’t done that since except with Joseph, which I named after my father who is no longer with us. I figured he can’t complain. Well, at least not until I meet up with him again in the afterlife.
Q.10 What do you consider to be your best accomplishment?
A. Finding and marrying my soulmate and having three wonderful children with him.
Q.11 Outside of your family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author?
A.That would have to be Richard Savage the publisher at Black Velvet Seduction. He believed in my writing, enjoyed my first romance, and hooked me up with a wonderful editor Laurie Sanders.
Q.12 Do you believe in writer’s block? If yes, how do you deal with it?
A. It has happened a few times. When it does, I have a discussion over dinner with family members and they give me ideas that help with a scene. This is rare. But what happens more often is I get distracted by marketing the novels I have already published and sometimes my friend’s books too. I have to pull myself away from social media and get back to work writing.
Q.13 Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with good or bad ones?
A. I do. I thank the person who took the time to write the review because I appreciate it so much. When they are good, it makes me so happy because I know that they have had a good time while reading my novels. Which is pretty much why I write them, so others can enjoy reading my stories. If they are critical of some aspect of the book, I think about what they’d written and if I agreed I learned from them. I then try not to repeat that same issue.
Q.14 Do you have any unique and quirky writing habits?
A. My seventeen-year-old Chihuahua has not been doing well for the past year. She wakes me several times during the night. After I take care of my little girl, I often grab my computer off the nightstand where I leave it each night and start working.
Q.15 Do you hide any secrets in your book that only a few people will find?
A. It depends on the story. In Patrick I gave clues who the serial killer might be, but those clues may have sent some off in the wrong direction and surprised the reader along the way.
Q.16 Who designed your book covers?
A. Jessica Greeley, she is an amazing graphic designer. She has the author give her a short bio on the story, describe the characters looks, and asks for any important aspects to the novel that you may want added to the cover. Then she comes up with a design that fits exactly what you had in mind or better. Her Mystic Desire cover is breath-taking.
Q.17 What advice do you have for aspiring authors?
A. Keep writing and take classes from successful editors like Laurie Sanders. I can’t stress enough that you should set up all your social media sites long before your first book is published. Start with three such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Master those then add others like Linkedin, MeWe, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc. And setting up a web page and possibly blogging. You’ll already have friends and followers to share your books with when they are published.
Q.18 Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?
A. No one comes to mind.
Q.19 What is your favorite book and why?
A. There are many, but the one that I first remember touching my heart was The Bridge To Terabithia.
Q.20 Share the experience of your journey so far?
A. I started out with little knowledge in writing novels and have learned a great deal since from the editors Rita Delude and Laurie Sanders. I continue to learn today and I know I will until the day I stop writing.
Share your social account links
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Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/calliecarmennovel/boards/
MeWe - https://mewe.com/i/calliecarmen
BookBud - https://www.bookbub.com/profile/callie-carmen
March 6, 2020
Callie Carmen was a guest on the Nomad Authors Blog. Check it out below.
The Women of the Risking Love Series
by Callie Carmen
Recently, I read an article by One Love Foundation titled, 5 Requirements for a Strong Friendship.
The first was “trust.” I had to agree wholeheartedly.
The six friends in my Risking Love series had that in spades. They have kept personal secrets for each other that one normally wouldn’t utter outside one’s family. From alcoholism to abuse. Being stalked or loving someone that belongs to another. And so much more.
The second was “equality.” While each of the friends in my stories are intelligent, kind women with strong personalities, they treat each other with respect. No one person in the group dominates the rest of the women. They may ask advice of each other, but no one ever demands that they should do it a certain way, their way.
The third was “compassion.” It doesn’t matter which one of the six friends they go to for help they are received with open arms. Sometimes they talk things out as a group and other times they seek the love and advice from just one of their friends. They have cried, laughed, and genuinely cared for each other’s precious hearts together.
The fourth was “honesty.” Sometimes honesty hurts, like what happens between Bella and Violet in the novel, Joseph. Or when one of them gets pregnant and the only one they can tell is their friend. The women of the Risking Love series have remained close even when honesty tugs at their friendship.
The fifth was “Independence.” Each of the Risking Love women is independent. They lean on each other, but they have other friends or family important to them too. Like when Violet was given a surprise party, and the room was full of friends that the girls were meeting for the first time. Or when Carlie got married, and the hall had an overflowing number of friends and family. It was important to me to keep these women’s independence of each other. They have a healthy and loving relationship with each other. But they also have a separate life that includes other friends and family.
These six women have a strong foundation of trust, equality, compassion, honesty, and independence with each other. Their friendship is healthy and should stand the test of time.
ANTHONY (Risking Love book four)
By Callie Carmen
Paperback publication available now. Ebook on pre-order until April 1, 2020.
In ANTHONY, my latest novel, Tessa would need all the help she could get from her friends to win the heart of Tony Telesco. And even they may not be enough to help convince him that Tessa is nothing like his selfish, demanding ex-wife. Tony wanted nothing to do with a rich, spoiled, daddy’s girl like Tessa. Would Tess and her friends be able to convince Anthony that she was not as she seemed?
RISKING LOVE NOVELS
Take a risk on the new Risking Love series. These steamy stories will have you laughing, crying, and your heart racing.
Read each one as a standalone or better yet as a series.
Book 1 PATRICK
Jaq had no interest in a serious relationship because life at an early age had taught her that men weren’t to be trusted. But she met Patrick who soon had her thinking about risking her heart. For Patrick the time for Jaq dating other men had ended. He wanted her all to himself. But would she stay if she knew the secrets of his past? Patrick wasn’t the only man who wanted Jaq, and the other man was willing to kill to have her.
Book 2 NICOLAS
Carlie planned to finish at the top of her class, get a corporate job, and work her way up the ladder. She refused to risk having a life of poverty ever again. Within her plans, there was no room for a relationship. So she had sworn off men; especially the good Dr. Nicolas Antonis.
Nicolas had other plans. They included her becoming his.
As if Nicolas wasn’t a big enough distraction; Carlie had to worry about her roommate’s, abusive ex-boyfriend, coming for her too.
Book 3 JOSEPH
Violet had experienced a lot of loss in her life. She wasn’t sure if she could ever trust love again. That was until she fell for Joseph. The problem was he belonged to her friend, Bella. Could Violet risk her friendship over a man? If she did break that friendship, would it destroy her relationship with her closest girlfriends forever?
If Violet risked her heart again and had a night of uncontrolled passion, would he abandon her like the others she had loved? Or would Joseph be her salvation?
Book 4 ANTHONY
Tessa seemed to have it all, her father’s fortune, men falling at her feet, and a fairly new but successful business. Secretly, all she longed for was her mother’s hug once more, her heartbroken widowed father acknowledging her existence, and the love of Tony.
Recently divorced, from a selfish, demanding ex-wife, Tony Telesco wanted nothing to do with a rich, spoiled, daddy’s girl like Tessa. Would she be able to convince him that she was not as she seemed?
Book Five JOSHUA: Coming Soon
Callie also has two other romance stories. Her first published story is in the Craving Loyalty Anthology and is a mobster romance titled, The Enemy I Know published by Crave Publishing.
The other is the Mystic Desire Supernatural Anthology published by Black Velvet Seductions. Her story is titled Dream Catcher. The other stories shared in this wonderful paranormal novel are written by a group of talent authors that have all become friends.
Anthony
March 6, 2020
The DEDICATION
Callie Carmen was a guest on Eileen Troemel’s wonderful blog.
march 1, 2020 by eileentroemel, posted in book tour
Eileen, thank you for having me as a guest on your wonderful blog.
My latest novel Anthony (Risking Love Book Four) is available for pre-order and has a publication date of April 1. I’ve included the dedication to my mother in today’s blog to show you where some of my inspiration comes from when I’m writing.
Dedication
My mother has many talents. I share some of them throughout my novels. For instance, she was Ellie, Joseph’s administrative assistant in my last book, Joseph, playing the part of a caring, motherly woman who was more like a good friend. In Anthony, it was my mother’s delicious Italian cooking that inspired my writing about Anthony’s amazing meals in his successful Italian restaurant. In Joshua, I show my mother’s creativity and personality in the many colors she uses around the family cottage. She used to take us on walks up at our summer home, looking for driftwood that she would turn into wonderful works of art.
When she wasn’t coaching me or my four siblings in sports, girl scouts or boy scouts, she was reading to us, knitting us hats and scarfs, making us gorgeous quilts, cooking delicious food, and teaching us how to swim or waterski.
She is in her nineties now. I know that someday I will lose Mom, the person I love most in the world besides my husband and children. But I’ll always have these amazing memories of her and so many more.
Chapter One
Tessa
After my business partner went home for the day, I called James, our receptionist, into my office. I prayed he’d help me. “You know that gorgeous friend of yours? The one with the blond hair and blue eyes?”
He stood in my doorway and raised a brow. “You must mean Samuel. Why do you ask?”
I rolled the straw wrapper from lunch that was still on my desk with my fingers. “I need a date for Violet and Joseph’s wedding this weekend.”
“Girl, you know he’s one of my gay friends, right? I thought that you’d been drooling over that hunk of a man, Tony.”
“Yes, and that’s why I need Samuel’s help.” God, I hoped this scheme my friends had concocted didn’t backfire on me.
He put his fists on his hips and looked at me like I was crazy. “Girlfriend, you’re not making any sense. I thought Tony was going to the wedding.”
My chest tightened. “He is, but… the man moves at a snail’s pace.” I crushed the straw paper into a ball and tossed it toward the trash. “He’s interested in me. My friends told me that they could tell by the way he acted and the things he said when he was around me. But he hasn’t made any attempt to ask me out. Joseph and Violet’s wedding would have been the perfect opportunity but he didn’t ask.” I combed my fingers through my hair.
I took a deep breath then huffed it out. “Jaq told us that he hasn’t dated since his divorce over a year ago. That he’s been working hard to make his restaurant successful.”
He swooshed his hand toward me. “He’s done that. So why wouldn’t he go after you?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Tony told Joseph that he’s taking his time this go around, so he doesn’t make the same mistake he made with his first marriage.”
“Are you telling me that hot man hasn’t had sex for over a year? His balls are going to shrivel up and die. Are you sure he’s straight?” He teased.
“I didn’t say he hadn’t had sex. I’m saying he hasn’t dated anyone.”
He smirked. “And how does Jaq feel about you manipulating her brother? I thought she’d put up a roadblock when she found out because of your boy crazed days in college.”
“Good question. I didn’t get a chance to tell you what happened at dinner last night. My friends forced me to tell her how I felt about her brother.” The look on Jaq’s face had made me queasy. “I told her that I was head over heels crazy about Tony and that was the reason I hadn’t been dating.”
“Drama. You go girl. I want all the dirt.” He plopped down on the seat in front of my desk.
I smiled. I knew how much he loved to gossip. “At first, she accused me of secretly dating her brother and wanted to know why I would do such a thing.”
James slapped the top of my desk. “Oh, this is getting good. What did you say? Did you get angry?”
“I told her I would never do such a thing. Then she stuck out her chin and demanded to know what I was going to do about it.”
He grimaced. “What do you mean?”
I laughed. “That’s what I asked. She told me that he wasn’t a pursuer of women and never had been. He was a driven man who put most of his energy into his dreams of having a successful restaurant, and he was a painfully slow mover when it came to asking a woman out. Then she asked me again, ‘What was I going to do about it?’ At that point, my heart raced.”
Even now it raced from remembering Jaq’s words after I’d asked her if she meant that she was okay with me dating Tony. I leaned forward and steepled my hands.
“She told me that I was a good friend. And, sure, at the beginning of our senior year she’d been worried about my trolling for men. At the time, I had been dealing with my worst daddy-daughter issues.”
“Oh, please. Who hasn’t done some sleeping around in their younger years?”
I made duck lips at him because I knew Jaq hadn’t, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. He’d call my friend names, like prude, and most likely right to her face, and she so wasn’t one.
I melted back on my seat. “Well, it wasn’t my finest period in life. Then she said I was the nicest, smartest, most beautiful woman inside and out that she’d ever known.” My eyes welled up like they had last night at dinner.
James nodded. “Damn straight, you are.”
My heart smiled. “She wants me to date her thick-headed brother.”
“Of course she does. Your outgoing, fiery personality is what that man needs.” So how would having Samuel as your date help you get Tony?”
I leaned forward and took hold of his hand. “You’re not going to believe this, but, according to Jaq, we need to make him jealous enough to get him to ask me out.”
He gave me a devious smile. “Hmm, so Samuel would be the bait that gets Tony to wake up and get moving in on all the fineness that is you. I think you’re all nuts, but I happen to know that Samuel is free this Saturday, because he was going to hang with me until I had to leave for the wedding. I’ll hook the two of you up.”
“You’re the best.”
“I hope this doesn’t backfire on you. You could lose Tony if he doesn’t like being manipulated.”
“We’ll have to make sure he doesn’t find out. I’ve already waited seven months for him to notice me and to make his move. We ladies all think that’s long enough. Don’t you?”
“Yes, and that is why you should have taken all that fineness of yours and moved on to greener pastures. Stop waiting around for this guy. No matter how hot he is, no one’s worth waiting that long for.”
“I would normally agree with you, but there’s so much more to Tony than his good looks. I’m going to give it this one last try. If it doesn’t work, I’ll take your advice and move on. I’ll be heartbroken, but I owe it to myself to find what Jaq, Carlie, and Violet have. True love is out there for me too. I feel it.”
FIND OUT MORE
Purchase links:
PATRICK books2read.com/u/3krqEW
NICOLAS http://books2read.com/u/mqVGQv
JOSEPH https://books2read.com/u/3npADB
ANTHONY https://books2read.com/u/bx81ze
MYSTIC DESIRE https://amzn.to/322Ziq3
CRAVING LOYALTY http://getBook.at/CravingLoyalty
ANTHONY (Risking Love book four)
By Callie Carmen
Published by Black Velvet Seductions
The ebook of Anthony is on pre-order sale for 99c until the publication date of April 1.
Anthony
Saturday, October 19, 2019
🔥GUEST VISIT with Amy Valentini on her wonderful blog UNWRAPPING🔥
Unwrapping a Cover Reveal for JOSEPH, book three in the Risking Love series by Callie Carmen with Excerpt
JOSEPH the Risking Love series – Book 3 Callie Carmen
Available now in paperback and ebook at: https://books2read.com/u/3npADB
Cover by Jessica Greeley
Violet had experienced a lot of loss in her life. She wasn't sure if she could ever trust love again. That was until she fell for Joseph. The problem was he belonged to her friend, Bella. Could Violet risk her friendship over a man? If she did break that friendship, would it destroy her relationship with her closest girlfriends forever?
If Violet risked her heart again and had a night of uncontrolled passion, would he abandon her like the others she had loved? Or would Joseph be her salvation?
JOSEPH is the third novel in the Risking Love series.
The stories chart a group of friends through life and love.
These steamy stories will have you laughing, crying, and have your heart racing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
EXCERPT:
Violet
At the back of the church, I stood in the receiving line greeting all of the guests. “Violet, sei troppo bella.” I had to smile at Bella because she was always throwing out Italian hand gestures or words and we’d gotten pretty good at knowing what most of them meant, and in this case, she thought I looked beautiful. “At the reception, us girls would have to be sure to make time to hit the dance floor together.”
“Thank you, and as always, Bella, you look beautiful, too. I can’t wait to hit the dance floor with you and our other friends. Especially since I don’t have a date for this event.”
She leaned in and whispered, “Then you’ll probably have a lot more fun than me.” She slightly nodded her head to the right toward Joseph.
I grimaced. Clearly, she was over him. Thank goodness for that. Maybe if something happened between Joseph and me, I’d be able to salvage my relationship with Bella. God, I hoped so. It was important I talk with her about my feelings for Joseph as soon as possible. I wanted to be honest and upfront with her and let her know I wanted to be with him. Hopefully, she’d approve, but if she didn’t I had to follow my heart. She hugged me, then moved on to the next person in line.
I turned back to greet the next guest, and it was Joseph. He pulled me in for a hug, kissed my cheek, then whispered in my ear, “Sorry to hear that you don’t have a date. The single men will be lining up to dance with you.” His breath on my neck caused me to shiver, and I felt my nipples change into tight pebbled points. “Please save a slow dance for me.”
A nod was all I could muster to confirm that I would indeed save him a dance. When I looked down, I saw that my nipples looked like two missiles ready to launch. How embarrassing.
His eyes had followed mine to my breasts, and the sound of his elongated hiss shot through my body, ending at my clit. We lifted our gazes, and our eyes met. I saw that his were dilated and flashes of light were shooting through them like sparklers that would be lit later tonight at the Memorial Day weekend fireworks celebration.
Thank heavens, he kissed my cheek again and quickly moved on down the line. After that encounter, the rest of the guests who came through the line were a blur because my mind had moved on to fantasies of being wrapped in his arms on the dance floor. I felt like a character in one of the romance novels I like to read.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
I started in the book business as a bookstore manager which was the perfect place for me since I was an avid reader. After two years, I moved to the corporate office as a buyer and eventually became a senior book buyer. This was a rewarding career that I loved.
Along the way, I decided to become a stay home Mom. I couldn't give up working around books altogether. I volunteered to run the book fairs in our small farm town, six per year. At the same time, I started and ran for five years, A Child Oasis Company, with the sole purpose of placing a small book library in the homes of all the needy children in the nearby city. As my children became teens, I found I needed more in my personal life than the volunteer Mom for the schools. I sat down at the computer one day and Patrick, book one of the Risking Love series, was born. Book two, Nicolas is now available and receiving five star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Joseph book is now available for preorder. My latest publication adventure is Dream Catcher which is a short story as part of the Mystic Desire Anthology.
And be sure to check out Callie’s other books in this series.
PATRICK, book one by Callie Carmen
NICOLAS, book two by Callie Carmen
🔥NEW RELEASE🔥
October 18, 2019
JOSEPH book three (Risking Love series)
Ebook is only 99 cents until the BVS publication date on, November 14. Pick up your copy before it’s too late! Find out why this automobile executive is everything that Violet wants but can't have. Read as a series or as a stand-alone. Paperback coming soon. https://books2read.com/u/3npADB
🔥NEW RELEASE🔥
MYSTIC DESIRE has arrived. Available in ebook and paperback books.
Purchase your copy at http://amzn.to/322Ziq3
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September 23, 2019
Welcome to the latest Monday “Movie” book trailer swap. I’m delighted to welcome back, Callie Carmen with a ‘Monday Movie’ book trailer to share and fitting #MusicMonday guest post!
Here’s today’s ‘Monday Movie’ Book Trailer Swap!
Have you got one to share?
MYSTIC DESIRE https://amzn.to/322Ziq3
MUSIC MONDAY
Every Monday share one or two of songs you’ve been enjoying lately. It doesn’t have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favourites – just something you’d like to share with others. If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s).
Music and Writing ~ #MusicMonday
by Callie Carmen
Music has always played a big part of my family’s lives. From childhood piano lessons to school band, lead roles in musicals to a rock band and writing and producing songs for video games or for fun. As you read my novels, you will see that I have scenes with my characters going dancing, to concerts, and listening to their favorite songs. It just seemed like the natural thing for me to do as I wrote the stories.
My latest book release is Dream Catcher which is part of the wonderful anthology Mystic Desire.
Dream Catcher
Long ago a medicine man had made a matched set of dream catchers as a wedding gift to protect the Chief’s daughter and her warrior husband. He had called upon the benevolent spirits to keep the two soul mates safe and in a loving, healthy marriage.
It was foretold that if the two dream catchers were ever divided the new owners would be drawn together as soul mates. Was that possible?
Even in my short Dream Catcher story I couldn’t help to at least mention music. In it Jake the hero of the book is moving into a rental property on a lake. He is spending the summer there to get some quiet time away from the city, so he can focus on writing his latest romance novel. It was a long drive to the Great Sacandaga Lake from Southern Connecticut and Manhattan. It was giving him far too much time to think about his dream girl.
Here he is on the drive to the rental home:
Jake
The long drive to the lake at the rental cottage had been torture. Memories of Angel’s and my time together kept popping up in my head. I had to turn the radio up and sing along to some old rock songs to keep my sanity.
Joseph
In Joseph, book three in my Risking Love series there is a bit of a happy tear-jerker scene, that includes the song, In Case You Didn’t Know by Brett Young. I remember the first time I heard this song. I was in the car with my husband and he was generously letting me listen to country music and Brett’s song came on. The words pulled my husband in and he squeezed my thigh and said, “That is a beautiful song. It’s true, I don’t tell you enough that I’m crazy about you. I could never live without you.” My chest tightened like the scenes I read in love stories. I knew right then, that I had to replace the song title I had originally chosen for Joseph’s special moment. It is now: In Case You Didn’t Know.
Here is the link for, In Case You Didn’t Know:
I’m dying to use the song, More Hearts Than Mine by Ingrid Andress and I think I know just the story that it with fit. But you’ll have to wait and see.
Here is the link for, More Hearts Than Mine:
When I write for the most part I like silence. But when I’m working on social media sites I love listing to my playlist on Spotify.
Here are a few more favorites of mine:
Rainbow by Kacey Musgraves:
Butterflies by Kacey Musgraves:
Look What You’ve Done by Jets:
Author TAKEOVER Alert!
We are doing a Take-Over on Halloween October 31 for this wonderful supernatural romance novel. All the fantastic authors involved will be there. We’d love you to join us and maybe win some prizes. Come chat with the authors: Dee S. Knight, Zia Westfield, Lora Logan, Callie Carmen, Anne Krist, Patricia Elliott, Carol Schoenig, R.M. Olivia, Richard Savage, Suzanne Smith, Breanna Haynes Alice Renaud, Jan Selbourne
Here is the link to sign up for the event: https://www.facebook.com/events/363136690941011/
Find out more at:
Purchase links:
PATRICK books2read.com/u/3krqEW
NICOLAS http://books2read.com/u/mqVGQv
JOSEPH https://books2read.com/u/3npADB
MYSTIC DESIRE https://amzn.to/322Ziq3
CRAVING LOYALTY http://getBook.at/CravingLoyalty
Social Media Links:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011326206882 https://www.facebook.com/CallieCarmenAuthor/
Twitter https://twitter.com/Callie_Carmen
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/calliecarmennovel/
MeWe https://mewe.com/profile/5aea84c00dc9f110e68a9373
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17829431.Callie_Carmen
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/callie-carmen-72ba98156/
Tumblr https://calliecarmenauthor.tumblr.com/
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/calliecarmennovel/
Website link https://www.calliecarmen.com/
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07BN5PXDF
BookBud https://www.bookbub.com/profile/callie-carmen
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Cool, creative Callie Carmen caught in a Dream Catcher
Interview with Callie Carmen by Dee S. Knight at Nomad Authors Blog
September 21, 2019
I’m so anxious for the Black Velvet Seductions supernatural anthology, Mystic Desire, to come out (October 1)! One reason is, I want to read Callie’s story, Dream Catcher!
NA: Welcome Callie! What genre would you consider your books to be?
CC: First, I’d like to thank Dee for having me on her blog today. I appreciate it. [My pleasure!]
My name is Callie Carmen, and I write contemporary romance, suspense romance, and most recently supernatural romance novels.
NA: How did you get interested in writing this particular genre?
CC: Until 2015 I hadn’t read a romance novel. One day while traveling in my car listening to the Diane Rym show she had on a guest author of Fifty Shades of Grey. I found the conversation interesting, so I picked up a copy of the book and read it. While I didn’t go in that direction after reading it I enjoyed it enough to try Lora Leigh’s Nauti Boys series, Lori Foster’s Love Undercover series. her Visitation series, and the Maya Banks KGI series, and that was it, I was hooked on reading romance. From there, I sat at my kitchen table one day and started writing my first novel, Patrick from my Risking Love series. I enjoyed writing it so much that I kept on going.
NA: How important are character names to you in your books? Is there a special meaning to any of the names?
CC: I have to laugh at that question. I had used a few relative’s names in my first novel The Enemy I Know as part of the Crave Loyalty Anthology, all of which were already deceased. But in my Risking Love series, I started out using a few family female names, two of which were my sister’s daughter’s names. She was having none of that. She said there is no way I want my daughters in a sex book. I explained it was a love story, and she could have cared less. I ended up changing their names. Since then, I only use names that are family members that have passed away so they can’t complain. Lol. Or names that I enjoy, like Jake the hero in my latest novel, Dream Catcher, from the Mystic Desire Supernatural Anthology.
NA: Tell me about your latest book.
CC: Dream Catcher is the story of two lonely people that put work ahead of their personal needs like finding their true love. But when each of them purchases a magical dream catcher made by a shaman, they find themselves falling in love with their soul mate. Unfortunately, their soul mate is only in their dreams.
This is just one of fourteen wonderful stories by talented authors that have joined together in the Mystic Desire Supernatural Romance Anthology. I just know all who read this novel will thoroughly enjoy it. Below you’ll find the blurbs for each of the fourteen stories. Check them out, and you’ll see why I think you’ll love this book.
Join the authors of Mystic Desire on Halloween for a chat, fun, games, & maybe win prizes.
SIGN UP HERE.
NA: What is the hardest part of writing for you?
CC: Believe it or not, the blurb on the back cover of the novel is torture for me. Taking a 250-page book, and turning it into three short paragraphs is next to impossible for me.
NA: What do you consider to be your best accomplishment?
CC: Finding my soul mate and having a loving, happy marriage for over thirty years. Having three caring children with him, that turned out to be good citizens and that work hard.
NA: What’s the best thing about being an author?
CC: All the friends you make in and out of the publishing world.
NA: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
CC: In a smaller home, on a lake, writing. I’ll be sitting in a screened-in front porch while listening to the waves lap up against my dock.
NA: If you didn’t like writing books or weren’t any good at it, what would you like to do for a living?
CC: Well, that calls for two different answers. If I wasn’t any good at it, I’d take a few classes to learn how to do it right. Or I’d get a fantastic editor like Laurie Sanders to teach me what I needed to do to improve. But if I couldn’t write, I would want to be a book buyer for B&N. I used to work as a senior book buyer for the other large book chain that sadly is no longer in business. I loved that career.
NA: Do you read reviews of your book(s)? Do you respond to them, good or bad? How do you deal with the bad?
CC: I always read them, so that I can thank the writer for taking the time to read my book and to review it. Not that many of us are willing to write reviews so I appreciate them and feel the kind individual should be thanked.
I have skipped writing to two individuals that both gave me my only one ratings. One said she looked at the first page of Patrick and refused to read the book because there was a serial killer in the story. I had to laugh at the fact that she wrote the review stating that she hadn’t read it.
The other person read the first few pages which happened to be the serial killer’s point of view, and she decided she couldn’t continue reading the story because of the creepy serial killer. Even though she gave me a one rating, I took that as a compliment because he was supposed to be scary.
NA: Where did your love of books come from?
CC: Both my mother and father read every day. My father loved westerns and mystery novels. My mother loved fiction and took my siblings and me to the library often. She’d bring home a few novels for herself and piles of children’s books to read to us. I remember Barbar books being some of her favorite kid’s books. I enjoyed them too and read them to my own children. I loved that they were done in cursive writing. So many schools now don’t teach cursive, which is unfortunate because all of our original United States documents were written in cursive.
NA: Of all the characters you have created, which is your favorite, and why?
CC: When I’m writing a novel, the main characters become my new favorites. So this is ever-changing.
At the moment, I’m crazy about Tony and Tessa from book four, Anthony. That man is the silent type except when it comes to the right woman. Then he has no problem letting her know exactly what he wants. He is also talented in the kitchen in more ways than one.
Tessa is a wealthy, but down to earth woman that would like nothing better than to play some football with all of her friends. She wants to be and independent, and a successful business owner to show her rich father she can do it on her own. And she loves making hot passionate love. The woman is hot to trot.
NA: Does writing energize or exhaust you?
CC: It’s not a curse; I love writing. Especially when I’m writing about things that have happened to me in my past. I have put on a bit of weight from the long hours of sitting at the computer writing, editing, and marketing my books on social media. So that’s a bit of a negative. Don’t you hate it when that happens?
NA: What is your writing Kryptonite?
CC: My eyes get tired after looking at the computer screen for too long. I end up falling asleep with my hands on the keys and waking to something that looks like this:
On my way homeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
That also happens to Jake in my, Dream Catcher, supernatural romance. He’s a successful romance author and spends a good deal of time at the computer. Once in a while, he falls asleep while writing. But he doesn’t mind because it gives him more time with his dream soul mate Angelica.
https://amzn.to/322Ziq3.
COVER and Banner by Jessica Greeley https://lnkd.in/ddmU9c6
NA: What one piece of writing advice do you have for an aspiring author?
CC: This might not be advice that newer writers want to hear, but it is essential for you to be as successful as possible. Set up your social media sites right away. That means do it before you even finish your first book. That is not to say that it is ever too late to do. It just has to be done. If you don’t advertise to let people know about your book, how will they know that it exists? Once they are set up, advertise your books on a regular basis. Set up social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Tumblr, Instagram, MeWe, Website, and Goodreads, to name a few. Pick three to start and master those before moving on to others, or you will be too overwhelmed.
Blurbs from all the author’s stories in the novel Mystic Desire.
The Sweetest Magic of All – Alice Renaud: When a sexy apprentice witch and a hot warlock go back in time to locate a magical amulet, they find more than they bargained for. It’s May Eve, the most magical night of the year, and normal rules don’t apply…
An Awareness of Evil – Dee S. Knight
Only two things stand between evil and a small girl: the visions of Amanda McMasters and Detective Brendan Gilchrist. Neither can afford to be wrong.
Bewitching the Wolf – Zia Westfield
The Witch, Alice Humphreys has poured her heart and soul into creating a magical B&B where guests experience the fantasy vacation of their dreams! Brodie MacEwan has been sent to investigate the mysterious death of his uncle. He never expected to discover his soul mate in his dreams. But is the illusion real? Alice knows that there is something all too predatory about the Scotsman and he makes her body tingle in places it shouldn’t!
Calling All Angels – Lora Logan
Elijah Baker, an immortal tasked with fighting against demons that exist on earth, finds peace when he meets his new neighbor, Celeste. But when he realizes that their love comes with a cost, he is faced with choosing between his calling and a chance at true love.
Dream Catcher – Callie Carmen
Long ago, a medicine man had made a matched set of dream catchers as a wedding gift to protect the Chief’s daughter and her warrior husband. He had called upon the benevolent spirits to keep the two soul mates safe and in a loving, healthy marriage. It was foretold that if the two dream catchers were ever divided the new owners would be drawn together as soul mates. Was that possible?
Life Saving – Anne Krist
Saving lives isn’t just for adults. Sometimes the innocent magic of a child can do the job better.
Love from the Mist – Patricia Elliott
When Jace Warden learns that his brother plans to announce his engagement at a family get together, he flees to the other side of the world to escape the joyous celebration.
Or at least attempts to… His plane never makes it, and he winds up trapped on an island. Little does he realize, he’s not alone; there’s a mischievous little entity milling about, and she wants to play.
Love Knows No Apocalypse – Patricia Elliott
Getting stranded in the middle of a storm was not Samantha Wheeler’s idea of an ideal situation, especially in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. But fighting zombies was the easy part; her heart, though, was a whole other matter. Thanks to a man named Steve Jones.
When they find themselves in danger, she has to decide what’s more important – dying for someone she loves or surviving.
Love that Binds – Carol Schoenig
On the outskirts of a small town where nothing grows, a young girl, Ianthee, is being bullied and accused of being a witch. Young Caleb, inexplicably drawn to Ianthee, comes to her rescue. Before they can explore their feelings, Caleb and his family disappear. What happened to him, and what part does a long-ago legend play in their lives?
Love’s Ghost – R.M. Olivia
“Sorry, babe. I know it hurts to hear.” John frowned. I’ll make this brief. I spoke to the man in charge and he is giving me one last chance.”
“Come again?”
“I’m allowed to make love to my wife one last time before I have to cross over. So, are you ready for your husband? Are you ready for me, Ingrid?” He lifted my chin up and ran his thumb along my lips. I felt a chill go down my spine. How could this be real? How could this be happening?
The Anniversary – Richard Savage
A cruel twist of fate wrenched Evelyn and Peter apart on their wedding anniversary. Evelyn’s life descends into darkness. James enters her life giving her a chance of happiness. Evelyn discovers a piece of jewelry, that has the power to grant her time with Peter on their anniversary. She adores James, but needs Peter. Can she ever really let Peter go, while there’s still a chance they can be together?
The Mortal Vampire – Suzanne Smith
Remy enjoys life as a vampire, never giving a thought to sucking every last drop of tasty blood out of his unfortunate victims and leaving them door nail dead. But his cold and carefree existence changes the day he crosses paths with the beautiful and mysterious mortal Angela.
Through the Veil – Jan Selbourne
A beautiful March day in 1875 ends in tragedy when the wagon carrying Helen and Marcus plunges down the mountainside. Generations pass before Rachel Finlay finds an old sepia photo of a man and woman. She knows them but she’s never met them and now, for the peace of mind she desperately craves, she goes back to where it began. In time, through the veil, knowing she may never return.
Unconditional Lust – Breanna Hayes
The massive, hideous merrow leader, Muruch, craves the taste of human flesh. Confined to the ocean, he feeds his horde with sailors from ships pulled into the maw of the Bermuda Triangle. When US Army Captain, Nurys Shaye, puts her life on the line to save him after being captured, his hunger for human flesh is shadowed by the desire for her body and her love. Will she be able to see past his appearance and trust him to break down her walls and teach her to feel?
Where can we buy your books?
PATRICK books2read.com/u/3krqEW
NICOLAS http://books2read.com/u/mqVGQv
MYSTIC DESIRE https://amzn.to/322Ziq3
CRAVING LOYALTY http://getBook.at/CravingLoyalty
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Laurie Reads • Visiting Author
September 20, 2019
Callie Carmen Visits To Talk About Dream Catcher
Please join me in welcoming Callie Carmen to the blog. Callie is here to talk about her story DREAM CATCHER which is in the Black Velvet Seductions’ Anthology MYSTIC DESIRE which is being released just in time for Halloween!
Thank you, Laurie Sanders, for having me as a guest on your blog and for working with me on edits for the Dream Catcher. I am thrilled to be part of the wonderful Mystic Desire, Supernatural Romance Anthology.
I’m delighted to have you here Callie. I hope you’ll have fun visiting here. Working with you on Dream Catcher was my pleasure.
MYSTIC DESIRE:
Mystic Desire is a collection of short paranormal romance stories. This is a chance to read and discover the work of a diverse group of very talented authors. The themes in this book are varied, as are the collection of characters and artifacts, including Native American dream catchers, mystical jewelry, and characters such as lustful vampires, hot warlocks, a grumpy leprechaun, a ghostly terrier, a zombie apocalypse and things that go bump in the night. From soft and tender love to hot passionate, kinky sex, there is something for everyone in this anthology.
DREAM CATCHER by Callie Carmen:
Long ago, a medicine man made a matched set of dream catchers as a wedding gift to protect the Chief’s daughter and her warrior husband. He called upon the benevolent spirits to keep the two soul mates safe and in a loving, healthy marriage.
It was foretold that if the two dream catchers were ever divided the new owners would be drawn together as soul mates. Was that possible?
WHERE DOES DREAM CATCHER TAKE PLACE:
My story Dream Catcher takes place at the lovely Great Sacandaga Lake that is nestled in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. This massive lake is 29 miles long, 42 square miles of surface area, and 125 miles of shoreline. It is one of my favorite places. Her is a link to one of the many islands on this wonderful lake. I have been to this particular island many times. As a young child, my parents would make a map of the island with a starting point which would have the clue of the next spot you would have to get to for the next clue, ten paces to the large rock, etc. At the end of the adventure, my siblings and I would find all kinds of goodies. My husband and I continued that tradition with our children. We hid kites, candies, Frisbees, and other goodies once a year. Our children loved going on the treasure hunt.
I hope you enjoy seeing this Youtube.com video of a small section of the Great Sacandaga Lake.
WHAT IS THE HERO LIKE:
The hero in Dream Catcher is Jake Miller a bestselling romance author writing under a pen name. He spends far too much time writing, editing, and marketing his many novels. This has left him pretty much on his own and a bit lonely. When he starts having hot, sexy dreams about a beautiful brunette, he is more than happy to fall asleep so he can see her again. If only she were real, he’d have all he longed for.
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CALLIE INTERVIEWED BY EMMA ELVEN’S HOT TEASERS BLOG
SEPTEMBER 20, 2019
First, welcome to HOT Teasers! My name is Emma and I’ll be your host for today.
I’m delighted to have you here and looking forward to finding out about your work, so without further ado, let’s get started!
How did you become a writer?
Thank you, Emma for having me here today. I started in the book business as a bookstore manager which was the perfect place for me since I was an avid reader. After two years, I moved to the corporate office as a buyer and eventually became a senior book buyer. This was a rewarding career that I loved.
Along the way, I decided to become a stay home Mom. I couldn’t give up working around books altogether. I volunteered to run the book fairs in our small farm town, six per year. At the same time, I started and ran, A Child Oasis Company, with the sole purpose of placing a small book library in the homes of all the needy children in the nearby city. As my children became teens, I found I needed more in my personal life than the volunteer Mom for the schools. I sat down at the computer one day and Patrick, book one of the Risking Love series, was born. Book two, Nicolas is now available and receiving five star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Joseph book three will be out this fall. My latest writing adventure is Dream Catcher which is a short story as part of the Mystic Desire Anthology.
I am lucky that I found my soul mate and married him. Like my characters, I am a firm believer in true love and love at first sight.
What’s today’s story about?
Dream Catcher by Callie Carmen
Long ago a medicine man had made a matched set of dream catchers as a wedding gift to protect the Chief’s daughter and her warrior husband. He had called upon the benevolent spirits to keep the two soul mates safe and in a loving, healthy marriage.
It was foretold that if the two dream catchers were ever divided the new owners would be drawn together as soul mates. Was that possible?
Dream Catcher is a short story in the anthology, MYSTIC DESIRE:
Mystic Desire is a collection of short paranormal romance stories. This is a chance to read and discover the work of a diverse group of very talented authors. The themes in this book are varied, as are the collection of characters and artifacts, including Native American dream catchers, mystical jewelry, and characters such as lustful vampires, hot warlocks, a grumpy leprechaun, a ghostly terrier, a zombie apocalypse and things that go bump in the night. From soft and tender love to hot passionate, kinky sex, there is something for everyone in this anthology.
Got a HOT teaser to share with us?
Jake
The haze before me cleared, and I saw myself climb up a two-step ladder that hung over the side of a dock. There was a woman in a blue and yellow polka dot bikini lying on her stomach reading a book. I stood alongside her thigh and watched with great interest the delicious vibrations of her butt cheeks each time she made another thrust of her pelvis against the beach towel upon which she lay. I found myself getting hard, even though I had just climbed out of the cold water.
I dared to take one step closer to see what she was reading that had that beautiful body so heated. When I saw the title of the book at the top of one page and my pen name on the other, I knew it was me, Jake Miller, filling her with a hungry need. It made my shaft jolt.
I wanted to reach down, lift her into my arms, and kiss the need right out of her. Droplets from my wet hair dripped onto her back and caused her to raise a bit from her towel. Her reach back to wipe what she must have thought was sweat from her own heated body gave me a perfect view of her naked left breast. I groaned at the sight of her pink, erect nipple, which made her jump to a seated position and squeal.
The sound woke me from a deep sleep. My head lurched off my arm that lay across my computer. I looked at the screen and saw a row of x’s spewed across the romance story I was writing. I couldn’t believe I’d been dreaming. It all felt too real. I recognized the Great Sacandaga Lake where I had just rented a cottage, but the reality ended there.
Where can we buy your books?
PATRICK books2read.com/u/3krqEW
NICOLAS http://books2read.com/u/mqVGQv
MYSTIC DESIRE https://amzn.to/322Ziq3
CRAVING LOYALTY http://getBook.at/CravingLoyalty
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CALLIE VISITED ON RUE ALLYN’S BLOG
SEPTEMBER 7, 2019
Please welcome author Callie Carmen who is here to tell us about her newest release. Here’s Callie. Thank you, Rue, for having me as a guest Ramblin’ Author Notes today.
I’ve enjoyed working with you.
When I first started working on my Mystic Desire supernatural romance novella, I got set on some form of a dream sequence. While I was out to dinner with my husband and oldest daughter, we started to discuss my idea. I had started with a theme of the heroine’s lover coming back to visit her during her dreams after he passed away. Both of my family members were grossed out by that plan.
So I asked, “What ideas for a dream romance do you two have?”
At the same time, they said, “Use a dream catcher.”
I couldn’t see how that would work, but I told them that when I got home, I would research dream catchers and the beliefs of the American Indians. When I was doing my research, I came upon a story of a shaman that made his magical dream catcher to protect the chief’s daughter and her soon to be warrior husband. That is where my supernatural love story, Dream Catcher begins.
Blurb: Long ago, a medicine man had made a matched set of dream catchers as a wedding gift to protect the Chief’s daughter and her warrior husband. He had called upon the benevolent spirits to keep the two soul mates safe and in a loving, healthy marriage.
It was foretold that if the two dream catchers were ever divided the new owners would be drawn together as soul mates. Was that possible? This novella is part of the Mystic Desire anthology.
Buy link: Mystic Desire https://amzn.to/322Ziq3
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July 6, 2019
By Callie Carmen (Guest Blogger on Lisabet’s Beyond Romance Blog)
My first date with my husband, which I mention in my novel, Patrick, was at a Greek diner. The food there was excellent, so I was happy that he had chosen that restaurant for our brunch. The strawberry cheesecake and Spanakopita there were to die for.
Our next date was at an Italian restaurant which happened to be my favorite type of food - it better be as I am Italian. We shared a quite good pizza, but when my husband asked the waitress for mustard and then proceeded to spread it all over his pizza, I was appalled. I looked him in the eyes, and said, “Please don’t ever do that again when you are out with me.” He smirked then reached across the table with a slice. “Here take a bite then tell me not to do it again.” I leaned in and took that bite, and it tasted great. The smile on his face when he saw that I liked it was adorable.
Also mentioned in Patrick was the first and last meal that my husband had ever made for me. It was a few months into our relationship and was the worst meal I’d ever eaten, and I’ve tried my mother’s favorite food liver and onions which I hated, so that was saying a lot. He never cooked, so his effort in making that dinner was greatly appreciated and sexy.
Patrick did, however take Jaq on a dinner cruise and they had filet mignon, lobster, and wine and it was heavenly.
Nicolas, in my Risking Love series, was raised by his Greek parents that owned a successful Greek restaurant. Their cooking skills rubbed off on all their children, especially his brooding, hot brother Damon. Nicolas made supper for Carlie, and it was delicious. But when Damon, the chef of their family restaurant, cooked a meal fit for a king for her, she was floored. She yearned to be part of Nicolas’s lively, loving, family full of hot, charming men.
I hope you enjoy this Greek food excerpt from my book Nicolas.
Excerpt from NICOLAS
A large shadow hung over me. I looked up and saw who I assumed was another brother—the most gorgeous brother of them all. His shoulders were even broader than Nicolas’s. Even through the white chef’s jacket, I saw he had a strong muscular build. His brooding face and silence were a bit intimidating though. As if that wasn’t bad enough, when we locked eyes I saw that he was judging me. He made me shiver.
Their father saved me from his scrutiny as he swooped in and kissed me first on one cheek, then the other.
“Carlie, it’s so nice to meet you. Welcome to our home away from home. Nicolas has told us so much about you. I hope you enjoy your dinner, and if my Nicky gives you any trouble you come and see me,” his dad said with a wink.
I could see where his sons got their charm. I thanked him and took my seat, completely overwhelmed with the warmth of Nicolas’s family. They were all so outgoing, so accepting, and I could tell they were a close-knit family that loved to razz each other. I glanced back up and found that the shadow-maker still stood there with his stoic stare. Well, maybe they weren’t all warm and accepting.
Nicolas introduced his brother Damon.
“I’ll be making your dinner personally. If you don’t see what you want on the menu, feel free to make a special request,” Damon said, though it sounded more like a command.
“That’s so generous of you, Damon. I appreciate it. Nicolas told me that you’re an amazing chef. I’d love to hear what you recommend.”
I saw a little sparkle in his eyes as he gave Nicolas a smidgeon of a smirk. God forbid he lose the brooding look entirely.
“In that case, I’ll start you off with Garides Tourkolimano Shrimp cooked in a spicy tomato sauce, covered in feta cheese, and served with crusty bread to sop up the delicious sauce, with a drink of ouzo.”
I rubbed my hands together and said, “Yummy.”
“Next, I’ll serve a mix of side dishes and main entrées that you can both share—Souvlaki marinated pork tenderloin and grilled veggie skewers. Also Spanakopita —a rich pie stuffed with spinach, onions, cheese, and herbs in flaky phyllo dough. Then Baked Asparagus and Feta, with lemon and a little chili pepper kick.”
My eyes felt like they were growing bigger by the second as I rubbed my tummy and licked my lips.
“You have to try Chicken Kozani with prunes and onions to lend sweetness; paprika adds a smoky flavor served over steamed rice. Then I can’t let you miss out on Lamb Feta Peppers—a savory combination of lamb, rice and feta cheese, stuffed in sweet green peppers and smothered with sauce. All served with Greek wine.”
“Oh my God,” I gasped.
“And for dessert, Baklava—a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of phyllo filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with honey.”
I slumped down in my chair like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. How was I supposed to walk after eating all that delicious food?
“Damon, that all sounds amazing, but there’s only two of us. How could we possibly eat all that?”
“No worries. My brothers will stop by and pick at the food, as they torture Nicolas about bringing home a special woman for the first time. Don’t be surprised when Mom and Dad stop by again too. Anything you don’t finish I can send home with you in a doggie bag.”
At that point, my mouth hung open in disbelief. Here I was in a sea of gorgeous Greeks, with a man I’d only spent four hours with the night we met, yet they were treating me like I was someone special. I didn’t even know Nicolas. How on earth was meeting his entire family a good idea for a first date?
Nicolas reached over and gently closed my mouth by pushing my chin up. Then he chuckled.
One dish after the next came out of the kitchen, always with a different member of the family. Each time they’d tease and bust Nicolas’s chops, and the ouzo and wine just kept coming. I enjoyed the food and company so much; I couldn’t believe how relaxed and at home I felt with these boisterous, loving people.
My family was nothing like this. We were less talkative and a lot less outgoing and friendly. We were usually wary of strangers. Of course, in the neighborhood where my family lived, that was necessary, or you could find yourself in a lot of trouble.
One family member after the next had told me a hilarious story about Nicolas—from his diaper days all the way through his high school years. I learned so much about him. The more I learned, the more my heart softened toward him.
My favorite was the one Seth told about when they went to visit the Easter bunny at the mall. Nicolas, eight at the time, had claimed he was too old to believe in the Easter bunny. To prove his point, when the man wearing the suit bent down to pick up little Aaron, Nicolas had pulled the bunny head off the guy. There were screams from all the young children that were standing in line. Nicolas had been so proud of himself for being right that he hadn’t noticed his actions had terrorized all the other kids. He’d stood with his hands on his hips, a smug grin on his face, and eyes that had twinkled up at his mother and father. Priceless.
My sides ached from all the laughing I did. I could only imagine how his brothers were going to pay for their embarrassing storytelling. If they knew what was good for them, they wouldn’t bring a woman home anytime soon. Nicolas would make sure that what they’d dished out would be given back tenfold.
When I stood up to say my goodbyes, my body swayed a bit. Nicolas took me by the elbow and walked me over to each family member. When I reached Damon, he still had a brooding face, but I didn’t care one bit. His food had been too magnificent not to give the man a big hug and a kiss on the cheek to thank him.
He stood there, not making a move, except for a flinch of his cheek when I stood on my toes and kissed him. Aaron and Seth busted his butt, and Nicolas pulled me back to his side mouthing a silent “Mine” to his older brother.
Nicky’s mother smiled at her sons’ antics as she packed up enough food to last me the rest of the week.
I sighed. What I wouldn’t give to have a family like that.
NICOLAS (Risking Love Book 2)
Carlie planned to finish at the top of her class, get a corporate job, and work her way up the ladder. She refused to risk having a life of poverty ever again. Within her plans there was no room for a relationship. So she had sworn off men; especially the good Dr. Nicolas Antonis.
Nicolas had other plans. They included her becoming his.
As if Nicolas wasn’t a big enough distraction; Carlie had to worry about her roommate’s, abusive ex-boyfriend, coming for her too.
Nicolas is the second novel in the Risking Love series. The stories chart a group of friends through life and love. These steamy stories will have you laughing, crying, and have your heart racing.
Buy Link: http://books2read.com/u/mqVGQv
I hope you enjoy this first and last meal excerpt cooked by Patrick.
Excerpt from PATRICK
Oh, my goodness, Patrick's dinner was dreadful. He had fried the thick steaks instead of grilling or broiling them. It was like chewing rubber. I put my right index finger over my eyebrow, and the rest of my hand hung over most of my face so he couldn’t see my expression of revulsion. After gnawing on one piece for a good two minutes, I swallowed. I forced down another two pieces, then moved on to the spinach which I wanted to spit out. He’d poured it out of a tin can, and that was just how it tasted. My appetite was gone.
When I looked across the table and saw the dejected look on his handsome face, I gave him my brightest smile and said, “Thank, God, there's something you're not good at, and more importantly I’m a better cook than you. So there.”
He went from looking miserable to wearing a giant smile, then he leaned his head back and bellowed in laughter. This, of course, filled me with joy.
“You make me happy. I could kiss you.”
“Please do, but first what's for dessert? I'm back to being hungry again.”
He dished out two huge bowls of vanilla ice cream. Poured hot fudge, which was heated in the microwave, all over it.
“Yummy. It looks like you can cook after all.” He bent down and licked some hot fudge off my lips then gave me a sweet kiss. Something so simple yet desire shot through me like raging rapids rushing over boulders. Geesh.
PATRICK (Risking Love Book 1)
Jaq had no interest in a serious relationship because life at an early age had taught her that men weren't to be trusted. But she met Patrick who soon had her thinking about risking her heart. For Patrick the time for Jaq dating other men had ended. He wanted her all to himself. But would she stay if she knew the secrets of his past? Patrick wasn't the only man who wanted Jaq, and the other man was willing to kill to have her. Patrick is the first novel in the Risking Love series. The stories chart a group of friends through life and love. These steamy stories will have you laughing, crying, and have your heart racing.
Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/3krqEW
Coming This Fall JOSEPH (Book 3 Risking Love series)
Box Set Link: To pick up a deal on Patrick & Nicolas get the box set at https://amzn.to/2NXMDz9 at a discounted price.
About the Author
I started in the book business as a bookstore manager which was the perfect place for me since I was an avid reader. After two years, I moved to the corporate office as a buyer and eventually became a senior book buyer. This was a rewarding career that I loved.
Along the way, I decided to become a stay home Mom. I couldn't give up working around books altogether. I volunteered to run the book fairs in our small farm town, six per year. At the same time, I started and ran, A Child Oasis Company, with the sole purpose of placing a small book library in the homes of all the needy children in the nearby city. As my children became teens, I found I needed more in my personal life than the volunteer Mom for the schools. I sat down at the computer one day and Patrick, book one of the Risking Love series, was born. Book two, Nicolas is now available and receiving five star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.
I am lucky that I found my soul mate and married him. Like my characters, I am a firm believer in true love and love at first sight.
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What’s on your desk, Wednesday? Callie Carmen Reveals All…
BY SASSY BRIT, AUTHOR May 8, 2019
Hey Bibliomaniacs,
It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for my weekly spotlight features, “What’s on your desk, Wednesday?”, where we take a visit to see what’s on somebody’s desk and have a good old nose around. (No kidding!) So without further ado, let’s meet today’s desk, I mean guest…
Welcome to where stories are created, from the desk of Callie Carmen
Tell us about your writing routine:
My fifteen-year-old Chihuahua wakes me in the middle of the night wanting to go out. I bring her outside and get back in bed, but I usually can’t sleep because I’m now freezing, wet from rain or wide awake from the lights I had to turn on along the way. That’s true love. I pick up my computer and get some work done. An hour or two later I fall asleep.
A few hours later I wake up and start my marketing. When the first round of ads is done, I get up and get ready for the day including something to eat and walking the dog. Last week my closest sidekick while working, Misty, passed away in my arms. I’m still working on getting over that. I’m sure it will take some time.
Book three of the Risking Love series Joseph & the woman that drives him crazy Violet.
Then I get to work on edits my most recent work which at the moment is “Joseph” from my Risking love series or “Dream Catcher” a supernatural anthology from BVS that I’m doing with several other author friends. It should be fantastic as they are all wonderful writers. At some point, I take a break to do some cooking or housework, as little of that as possible. Oops, did I write that? Then another round of marketing.
In the evening, I get some more edits or writing done during the down time at soccer games or while watching TV with my family. Of course, there are those nights when my honey and I go dancing or to the movies and then I don’t get any work done, but the time away is more than worth it.
Nicolas deciding that he was going the make a change in his relationship with Carlie.
What’s the weirdest thing on your desk?
I have a list of Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives for writing romance on my desk. It has lovely words like ravish, swell, and full-bodied. I bet those words would be in a very spicy romance book.
The most useful item?
That has to be my headphones. Since I gave up my office a few months back to my now semi-retired husband, I’m located smack dab in the middle of the family room. In the past, I worked in silence with the occasional song to break up the day. Now I have family members coming in and out of the room, and they use the television. Ugh!
Three words to describe your desk?
Coffee-table when closed.
Where can we find out more about you?
Author Callie Carmen on Alternative-Read.com
I started in the book business as a bookstore manager which was the perfect place for me since I was an avid reader. After two years, I moved to the corporate office as a buyer and eventually became a senior book buyer. This was a rewarding career that I loved.
Along the way, I decided to become a stay home Mom. I couldn’t give up working around books altogether. I volunteered to run the book fairs in our small farm town, six per year. At the same time, I started and ran, A Child Oasis Company, with the sole purpose of placing a small book library in the homes of all the needy children in the nearby city. As my children became teens, I found I needed more in my personal life than the volunteer Mom for the schools. I sat down at the computer one day and Patrick, book one of the Risking Love series, was born. Book two, Nicolas is now available and receiving five-star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.
I am lucky that I found my soul mate and married him. Like my characters, I am a firm believer in true love and love at first sight.
Nicolas showing up at the bank where Carlie works and surprising her.
NICOLAS by Callie Carmen
Carlie planned to finish at the top of her class, get a corporate job, and work her way up the ladder. She refused to risk having a life of poverty ever again. Within her plans, there was no room for a relationship. So she had sworn off men; especially the good Dr. Nicolas Antonis.
Nicolas had other plans. They included her becoming his.
As if Nicolas wasn’t a big enough distraction; Carlie had to worry about her roommate’s, abusive ex-boyfriend, coming for her too.
Nicolas is the second novel in the Risking Love series. The stories chart a group of friends through life and love. These steamy stories will have you laughing, crying, and have your heart racing.
Nicolas book two in the Risking Love series.
Nicolas (Risking Love Book2)
https://amzn.to/2GkldCD
books2read.com/u/mqVGQv
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I hope you enjoy my latest Callie Carmen Author interview done by Fiona Mcvie. Thank you Fiona.
Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?
Hello, my name is Callie Carmen, and I write contemporary romance and suspense romance novels. The best I can do for my age is say I’m in my fifties.
Fiona: Where are you from?
I grew up in a small New England town that had one stoplight, with four stores on one side of the roadand four on the other. The next village was ten miles away and was where we purchased our groceries. My neighborhood was a twenty-minute walk to town, and there was a farm just down the street. Off the backyard were woods that I loved to explore several times a week.
In the summer, I’d spend every waking moment on the lake that was surrounded by magnificent mountains at my parent’s cottage. When it wasn’t windy enough to take out my small sailboat, I’d be in the rowboat with a fishing pole in one hand and a book in the other. It was heaven on earth.
Now I live in a lovely small farm town in the Midwest.
Fiona: A little about your self (i.e. your education, family life, etc.).
I was lucky enough to meet my soul mate while I was finishing up my economics degree in my senior year in college. We’ve been in love and in like for over thirty years. We have three adult children, two daughters that are graphic designers and our son that is just finishing up his game designing degree. Their talents never cease to amaze me.
Until recently, I had two small dogs. Recently one left me while I held her in my arms. The other is fifteen-years-old, and her health seems to be rapidly deteriorating. I love them very much. They both kept me company while I wrote; now it’s just Chili keeping me company. I will be crushed when she leaves me, too.
Fiona: Tell us your latest news.
Nicolas, the second book in my Risking Love series, was recently published. To celebrate I ran a discounted boxed set promotion with book one “Patrick” and “Nicolas” combined.
I am deep into edits of book three “Joseph.” I’m finding that the edits are going much faster this time than the other two books. I hope that means that my writing has improved.
I just completed my first ever supernatural romance, “Dream Catcher.” It will be on pre-order sale come September 1 as part of the “Mystic Desire” supernatural anthology being published by BVS. Several of my talented BVS author friends will be part of the collection with me. I can’t wait to read their stories.
Coming this fall from BVS “Mystic Desire” Supernatural Anthology including “Dream Catcher” by Callie Carmen
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
Being an economics major in college and later joining the corporate world as a senior book buyer, becoming a writer was not on my radar. After my third child was born, I became a stay home mother. As rewarding as it was being a volunteer Mom running several book fairs a year, being on the athletic board, running the annual auction dinner fundraiser for sports, helping out with the band, drama, soccer, field hockey, football, I was ready for something else. I sat down at the kitchen table and started writing a love story that closely mirrored my own story with my husband. Patrick is of course fiction, but it does have a little bit of my life wrapped up in it too. I’ll never tell which parts. I was an avid reader, so that helped when I did start writing. No one was more surprised than me when I had my first novel published.
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When my first novel, “Patrick” was published by Black Velvet Seductions.
Patrick Book Link: https://books2read.com/u/3krqEW
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
For my first novel, the character was of Irish descent, so I wanted to select a typical Irish name. I had attended Saint Patrick’s school during kindergarten, so I chose,“Patrick.” The character’s full name is Patrick O’Connor. You can’t get much more Irish than that.
For “Nicolas” I had to go with a traditional Greek name as the good Doctor Nicolas Antonis comes from a big loving Greek family. Immediately the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding came to mind where the father Gus is introducing the family to the groom’s to be parents. “Welcome to my home. Over here is my brother, Ted, and his wife, Melissa, and their children, Anita, Diane and Nick. Over here, my brother Tommy, his wife Angie, and their children, Anita, Diane and Nick. And here, my brother George, his wife Freda, and their children, Anita, Diane, and Nick. Taki, Sophie, Kari, Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick, uh, Nikki, and I am Gus.”
Nicolas (Risking Love Book2)
https://amzn.to/2GkldCD
books2read.com/u/mqVGQv
“Joseph” which will be out this fall was named after my father’s. I miss him very much even though he passed away twelve years ago.
COMING FALL 2019
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?
When I first started writing, I thought their is no way I could write a hot, sexy love making scene. Sex wasn’t something I talked about with my family or friends so jotting it down on paper was not something I was looking forward to. I decided to use a first time experience that I had and found that by doing that the words just flowed out of me onto the computer. I had my husband read the scene, and when he was done, he told me,“I don’t smoke, but after that scene, I need a cigarette.” From then on I knew I could do this.
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
While the six heroines in my Risking Love novels are fictional, they do mirror in some ways five wonderful women that I knew during my college years.
Boxset includes book one & two in the Risking Love series and sells at a sale price http://getBook.at/CravingLoyalty
Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?
Not with the Risking Love series because it all took place in the college town and surrounding area where I grew up. I did some online research for legal advice when it came to the charges and penalties for one of my stories. I also had to get advice from an expert in the auto industry for a few of my stories.
“The Enemy I Know” took place in my grandfather’s and father’s tavern during the fifties as well as during the Korean war which my father fought in. Since I wasn’t alive at that time, I had to ask family members to fill in some of the details as well as some research that I did online. I enjoyed learning things about my father’s place and the war.
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
Jessica Greeley https://www.facebook.com/JessicaGreeleyGD/ She is an amazing graphic designer that has designed numerous covers for the Black Velvet Seductions publisher as well as others. I highly recommend her for ads, banners, bookmarks, logo’s, roller banners, websites, covers, etc.
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
That true love does exist. That working hard for what you want in life often gets you what you want. And that true friends are rare and when you find them keep them in your life even if it’s just a phone call once a year or a Facebook note asking how the family is.
Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.
Richard Savage the CEO at Black Velvet Seductions. He read “Patrick” and said he loved the story but that it needed editing. He explained what I needed to work on and hooked me up with Laurie Sanders a wonderful editor. I’ll always be grateful for his honesty and support.
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
No not as a career more of a friend that keeps my mind sharp and boredom at bay.
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Haha. There was one review that I received for Patrick where the reviewer mentioned that I had the characters brush their teeth before making love and she felt that was something we didn’t need to know. She also felt that Jaq who was dating several men at once should have been having sex with all of them. I wouldn’t change the sex issue. But if I could, I would take out the teeth brushing because it really bugged her. I figure if it bothered her that much, then it may have bothered others too.
Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?
I am always learning new things. The book that I just finished writing, “Dream Catcher,” required that I did research on dream catchers and medicine men. It ended up being a fascinating history.
Fiona: Any advice for other writers?
A writer must set up their social media sites right away; it is essential for their success. That means before they even finish their first book. That is not to say that it is ever too late to do this just that it has to be done. If they don’t advertise to let people know about their book how will readers know that it exists? Once the media sites are set up,they should promote their books regularly. Set up social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Tumblr, Instagram, MeWe, Website, and Goodreads to name a few. They should pick three to start and master those before moving on to others, or they will be too overwhelmed.
They should read the genre that they want to write in. This is important so they can understand what works and doesn’t work in that genre. Of course, they should keep reading other types that they enjoy too.
They should write about things that they know, they like, and the words will come to them more easily. If they write about something that they are not familiar with they have to be sure to do plenty of research, so the story is believable.
Do yourself a favor don’t have several named characters in your book because as soon as the editor gets their hands on it, you will be editing a lot of them back out again.
Fiona: Favorite foods, colors, music?
I love Italian, Mexican, as well as Chinese food. My favorite color is green, but I only own a few pieces of clothing in green. Mostly, I love green in nature.
I love country music. It is often about true love, lost love, and finding love, and to me, that sounds a lot like most romance novels. I’ve been to several country concerts, and the best one yet was a Blake Shelton concert. I also listen to alternative music.
Fiona: You only have 24 hours to live how would you spend that time?
I would spend it with my family especially with the love of my life, my husband.
Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events, and special offers?
I have a website at https://www.calliecarmen.com/ , and I have several social media sites:
Social media links:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011326206882
https://www.facebook.com/CallieCarmenAuthor/
Twitter https://twitter.com/Callie_Carmen
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/calliecarmennovel/
MeWe https://mewe.com/profile/5aea84c00dc9f110e68a9373
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17829431.Callie_Carmen
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/callie-carmen-72ba98156/
Tumblr https://calliecarmenauthor.tumblr.com/
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/calliecarmennovel/
Website link https://www.calliecarmen.com/
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07BN5PXDF
BookBud https://www.bookbub.com/profile/callie-carmen
Here are some purchase links:
https://books2read.com/u/3krqEW
Nicolas (Risking Love Book 2)
https://amzn.to/2GkldCD
books2read.com/u/mqVGQv
Box set (including both Patrick & Nicolas)
Craving Loyalty
http://getBook.at/CravingLoyalty
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INTERVIEW WITH CALLIE CARMEN
by eileentroemel, posted in author interview
I met Callie through Facebook as I was gathering in authors. I hope you’ll enjoy her interview!
Author Bio
I gave up a rewarding career as a senior book buyer to become a stay-at-home Mom. I had come home from work one day, and I found that the caregiver taking care of our children had slapped my oldest child age four at the time on the side of her head. The next day I went into work and gave my two-weeks notice.
I have always been an avid reader. As my children became young adults, I found I needed more in my personal life than being the volunteer Mom at the local schools. I sat down at the computer one day and book one Patrick, of the Risking Love series, was born.
I am lucky that I found my soul mate and married him. Like my characters, I am a firm believer in true love.
Tell us about yourself
I grew up in a small New England farm town. I spent a great deal of time in the summer months on a lake in a boat reading while waves gently rocked me. In the spring and fall, it was back to the farm town where I’d take long walks in the woods, find the perfect spot, and sit and read or draw the things I was surrounded by. Trees, birds, rabbits, flowers and rolling hills.
I moved to the Midwest for my job, as a senior book buyer, and found myself in a foreign way of communicating. On the east coast, you learn at an early age to get right to the point. State the facts, possible solutions, make a decision, and then you went and got done what needed to be done as quickly as possible.
Here in the Midwest, I was a fish out of water. Not because of the town we live in. That is lovely a small farm town similar to the one I grew up around. But I found that they like to talk around the actual problem at hand and have meetings to discuss the last meeting. Only to one day finally, get to why you were really there to solve that one issue.
That was so hard for my husband to deal with in the auto industry. He took to saying, “You’ll have to excuse me. I’m from New York, and there we get right to the point. So please don’t think me rude; it’s just the only way I know how to be.”
I found that funny because of course he could have changed and done things the way they do here in the Midwest. He just chose not to. I’m sure they were shocked by this at first, but they’ve gotten used to him over the years.
When did you know you wanted to be an author?
This may sound strange to so many authors out there who knew at an early age that they wanted to be writers, but for me, it wasn’t until my youngest child was in his last year of high school. All of the volunteer work I’d been doing around our schools here was coming to an end as most of it revolved around the book fairs, band, and the sports my children had been involved with.
So one day I sat down in front of my computer and wrote a love story that was near and dear to my heart. Much of it was fiction, but there was a good deal of my love story with my husband and myself. So the words just flowed out onto the pages. I remembered one of my English professors in college saying write what you know, so I did. I enjoyed it so much that I just kept on going until I got four and a half novels completed. Then asked myself now what do I do with them. I submitted Patrick, book one to four publishers and was lucky to have Black Velvet Seductions pick it up as well as the rest of the series.
What genres do you like to read? Are these the same genres you write in?
I used to read pretty much any novel that had something to do with the law. For example: John Grisham novels, but a few years back I started reading romance novels. I’ve been hooked ever since. All of my books are romance novels.
Is your book for adults, young adults or children?
For adults. All of my books are love stories with a happy ending. The lovemaking scenes are hot and spicy.
What is your current release or project?
NICOLAS Book Two in the Risking Love Series it is on pre-order for only 99 cents until the publication day of 3/14/19
Nicolas (Risking Love Book2)
https://amzn.to/2GkldCD
books2read.com/u/mqVGQv
Tell us about the key characters
Carlie comes from a life of poverty. She works hard in college and at her job to get away from that depressing life. She has no time to start a relationship, so when Dr. Nicolas Antonis shows interest in her, she turns him away.
Nicolas comes from a successful, outgoing Greek family. He has three hot and sexy brothers. My Beta Readers have already told me that I have to do another series that revolves around the Antonis brothers especially the brooding brother Damon. Nicolas has no intention of following the two-year plan that Carlie is so bent on pursuing. His plan includes her becoming his.
Nicolas (Risking Love Book2)
https://amzn.to/2GkldCD
books2read.com/u/mqVGQv
What is your blurb or synopsis of the book?
Carlie planned to finish at the top of her class, get a corporate job, and work her way up the ladder. She refused to risk having a life of poverty ever again. Within her plans, there was no room for a relationship. So she had sworn off men; especially the good Dr. Nicolas Antonis.
Nicolas had other plans. They included her becoming his.
As if Nicolas wasn’t a big enough distraction; Carlie had to worry about her roommate’s, abusive ex-boyfriend, coming for her too.
The six heroines of the Risking Love series.
Share an excerpt
Carlie
I turned back to the dance floor, and to the man I’d been watching. He moved a beautiful woman around like they had been dancing together for years. I hoped that wasn’t the case. Anyone who could move their hips the way he did, and glide a woman around with the ease he did, had to be an amazing lover. I imagined what it would be like to have sex with him and not have to fake an orgasm. My body heated.
Faking it had been required most of the time with my ex. But this man might be worth a bit of my study time. I fanned myself just as he made eye contact with me. I felt a shiver up my spine.
Of course, I shouldn’t have been having such thoughts. Being out with my friends for a bit of fun before diving back into my studies should have been all that concerned me. I’d learned my lesson in junior college that having a boyfriend interfered with my studies. Now, I had straight A’s with just two semesters to go. Thank goodness the transfer credits didn’t affect my GPA. My plan to graduate at the top of the class was definitely in reach. Any distraction could jeopardize that goal.
Yet, as he left the dance floor alone, I couldn’t help but wonder who he’d dance with next.
Nicolas
I’d gone to the club just to blow off some steam after another long medical residency shift at the local hospital. Besides long distance running, dancing was my favorite way to leave work behind. As I spun the woman in my arms around the dance floor, a gorgeous woman with sandy blond hair, dressed in a conservative pencil skirt and white blouse, caught my eye. She watched my every move. The more she watched, the more I wanted it to be her in my arms. When our eyes met, it felt like I’d been punched in the gut.
I wasn’t at the club to meet anyone. I was far too busy trying to impress the powers that be at the hospital. There was only one surgical position available—and I wanted it. It was down to one other resident and me, and I’d already decided I’d do whatever I needed to do to make sure the position was mine. Being a surgeon—saving lives—had been all I’d ever wanted. If I got to do it right here in my hometown, near my close-knit family, all the better.
As the song ended, I thanked the young lady for the dance and then went in search of the woman I’d been drawn to. She was too neat and tidy, with perfect hair, perfect makeup, and a professional outfit. It was almost business attire, except for the killer black stilettos and the extra unbuttoned button showing the start of her cleavage. I headed down the crowded aisle toward where I had last seen her. As I searched, I reminded myself that I was not in the market for a relationship.
Then I spotted her and observed those wary, beautiful blue eyes—and knew I was lost. I made my way through the sea of Friday night partiers. The closer I got to her, the faster my heart raced.
I had dressed in a dark navy suit, and I could see her taking in every inch of my attire. Hopefully, the spark that flashed in her eyes as she looked into mine meant that she liked what she saw and felt the intense attraction between us. I straightened my tie and gave her a slow, sexy smile.
Her eyes darkened.
When we were just inches apart, I took her hand, and spun her around. “My name is Nicolas Antonis. What’s yours?”
She cleared her throat. “If you must know, it’s Carlie Keith.”
Her sharp tone may have turned another man off, but not me. I wanted her.
“Carlie, this next song is ours.”
I tugged her toward me and started for the dance floor. The closer we got, the more she seemed to hesitate. I stopped abruptly and turned to see why she was straining to get away. But then she must have changed her mind, because instead of wrenching away she moved forward and fell into my arms.
Her eyes squeezed closed, and her arms wrapped around me. I told myself that I kept her tight against my body to keep her from falling. What I was actually doing was seeing if my touch could melt a bit of her coolness.
Her eyes fluttered open, and the heat coming from them nearly burned me. I was sure what they were saying was, ‘My name is Carlie Keith. Please take me.’ The fire building between us was melting her frost.
I leaned in and whispered against her ear, “What’s wrong? Don’t you like dancing?”
Her eyes drooped closed, and she gasped as a strand of hair on her neck stirred in the slight breeze created by my breath. Her reaction caused my dick to get semi-hard, and I still hadn’t moved away.
She exhaled and bobbed her head. “Yes, I do, but I’m afraid of looking foolish; I can’t do what you were doing.”
“So you were watching me?”
Do you have a favorite scene?
When Carlie meets Nicolas’s family for the first time. It is at their Greek Restaurant. The entire Antonis family is there to meet her. Carlie is overwhelmed by this, but thanks to plenty of ouzo and Nicolas’s hot brothers she ends up having a good time.
What advice would you give a beginner?
This might not be advice that newer writers want to hear, but it is essential for you to be as successful as possible. Set up your social media sites right away that means before you even finish your first book. That is not to say that it is ever too late to do this just that it has to be done. If you don’t advertise to let people know about your book how will they know that it exists? Once they are set up advertise your books regularly. Set up social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Tumblr, Instagram, MeWe, Website, and Goodreads to name a few. Pick three to start and master those before moving on to others, or you will be too overwhelmed.
Read the genre you want to write in. This is important so you can understand what works and doesn’t work in that genre. Of course, keep reading other types that you enjoy too.
Write about things you know, you like, and the words will come to you more easily. If you write about something that you are not familiar with be sure to do plenty of research, so your story is believable.
Do yourself a favor don’t have several named characters in your book because as soon as the editor gets their hands on it, you will be editing a lot of them back out again.
Social media links:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011326206882https://www.facebook.com/CallieCarmenAuthor/
Twitter https://twitter.com/Callie_Carmen
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/calliecarmennovel/
MeWe https://mewe.com/profile/5aea84c00dc9f110e68a9373
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17829431.Callie_Carmen
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/callie-carmen-72ba98156/
Tumblr https://calliecarmenauthor.tumblr.com/
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/calliecarmennovel/
Website link https://www.calliecarmen.com/
Purchasing links
https://books2read.com/u/3krqEW
Nicolas (Risking Love Book 2)
https://amzn.to/2GkldCD
books2read.com/u/mqVGQv
Box set (including both Patrick & Nicolas)
Craving Loyalty
http://getBook.at/CravingLoyalty
💙⭐ NEW RELEASE💙🎈
NICOLAS (Risking Love book 2)
The Doctor will see you now! https://amzn.to/2GkldCD
books2read.com/u/mqVGQv
Enjoy reading chapters 1 & 2 https://lnkd.in/e9WeEFx
Nicolas (Risking Love Book2)
https://amzn.to/2GkldCD
books2read.com/u/mqVGQv
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Interview With Callie Carmen!
By Richard Savage on BlackVelvetSeductions.com
Richard thank you for having me on your wonderful BVS Blog today.
Do you consider being a writer a gift or a curse?
No, not a curse; I love writing. Especially, when I’m writing about things that have happened to me in my past. If there is any curse involved, I have put on a bit of weight from the long hours of sitting at the computer writing or working on Facebook and Twitter. Don’t you hate it when that happens!
What is something you are good at that only a few people know about?
I’d have to say I’m good at cooking Italian food. It’s all about the homemade sauce. I cook mine for at least five hours. My mother taught me, and my father’s mom taught my mom. My grandmother was married to my Italian grandfather right from Italy, so it had to be a good sauce, or else. Three of my favorite dishes are my lasagna with meatballs, eggplant parmesan, and chicken parmesan. I make a huge pot of sauce and use it for three different meals.
What is the best compliment you have received about your writing?
Not that romance novels are all about the love making scenes, but it was what I was most worried about. I strong-armed my husband, with guilt trips, into reading the first book in my Risking Love series. He plays a lead role in that story. After reading my lovemaking scenes, he said, “I don’t smoke, but I sure need a cigarette after reading that sex scene you wrote.” At the time I couldn’t imagine a better motivation to keep writing.
But then I had to turn my book into my male publisher. He had no choice but to read the book. So I asked him what he thought of my lovemaking scenes? To which he replied, “They had the desired effect.” He couldn’t see my reaction because he lives in the UK and I’m in the US. Thank goodness, because he would have seen my happy dance and it’s pretty lame.
What is your most favorite line you’ve ever written and why?
That is an easy one. It is the very end of book one of the Risking Love series. It is something that was said by my mother when I was a child, and I continued the tradition with my family. You’ll have to read that book to find out what it is. And no skipping to the end to see. It drives me crazy knowing the ending of a book that I am reading or about to read.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
Five finished and two half books which are books five and six in my Risking Love series. I need to get better at continuing my writing of the unfinished books, while doing social media, and in edits for my next upcoming published book. If you know any tricks for that I’d love to hear them.
Do you google yourself?
I did once to see if my website came up when I keyed my name in. It did, and I was happy about that. I also found out that there was a stripper or hooker with the name Carmen Callie. I was so thankful to see that the name was reversed. Hopefully, by now she’s changed her name to something like Bambi.
What is your favorite childhood book?
As a young child, it would have to be Babar books. I used to sit on my mother’s, lap and she would read them to me. After that, the first favorite that I re-read so many times that it finally fell apart on me was Black Beauty the same thing happened with Bridge To Terabithia. Both of those novels made me tear up. But may favorite series was the Gregor the Overlander and Harry Potter books.
What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?
Don’t judge. I suppose if I knew it would help my writing I would give up my TV shows. They are all seasonal shows. Let me preface my answer by saying I grew up with parents that never missed the Lawrence Welk Show, Hee Haw, or the Ed Sullivan Show. All of which mostly revolved around singing. So that is my defense why I love, The Voice, and Songland. I might as well embarrass myself further I also watch the Bachelor and Bachelorette. What can I say; I’m a sap for people finding love.
Is there one subject that you would never write about? What is it?
Yes, that would have to be anything to do with a child being hurt like rape. I’m a big fan of the John Grisham novels, but when I picked up A Time to Kill and found myself reading a violent rape of a ten-year-old girl by not one but two men I had to put the book down. I couldn’t finish it. I went on to read so many more of his books and years later I got brave enough to go back and finish A Time to Kill. I am so glad I did because I think it was one of his best books.
What’s the sexiest accent? And have you included a reference to it in your books.
That would have to be a clear Irish accent. And I love the word lass. I think the movie The Quiet Man sealed the deal for me. Yes, in Patrick in the first book in my Risking Love series Patrick is of Irish descent and belongs to an Irish Club, but he was raise in the US so he doesn’t have the accent.
Do you have a day job? If so, what do you do?
At present, I don’t work outside the home. I used to. I had a dream job as a senior book buyer for one of the large bookstore chains in their corporate office. After raising my three children during their younger years I went to work for our local school district running their Community Education Department which was lots of fun because if was all about finding ways to entertain children and adults with sports, art, languages, cooking classes, computer classes, robotics, you name it if it made people happy or educated them in a fun way I had it in the community program.
Did you choose the genre you write in or did it choose you?
Both the Risking Love series and my first book The Enemy I Know chose me. Another author saw the request for writers to submit their books for the Craving Loyalty Anthology which had a romance theme with mafia and gangsters. She thought I’d be a good fit for that type of romance. Since my grandfather ran the Siena Tavern during the Korean War period, and some of the mafia gangsters used to often stop by his club in New England, I decided that she was right. I used my grandfather’s daughter as my muse in that setting. In no time, I had my first short story published. Patrick my first book in the Risking Love series just poured out of me because while it was fiction, it also had pieces of my own love story in it.
What are your favorite types of characters to write?
That is an easy one. I love to write about men that have a wonderful sense of humor, that are motivated, hardworking individuals, that are strong, confident, and hot as a habanero in and out of the bedroom. Women that work hard and become successful that can laugh at themselves, that are light-hearted, kind, and know what they want in a man.
Have you got any writing tips that you would like to share?
This might not be advice that newer writers want to hear, but it is essential for you to be as successful as possible. Set up your social media sites right away that means before you even finish your first book. That is not to say that it is ever too late to do this just that it has to be done. If you don’t advertise to let people know about your book how will they know that it exists? Once they are set up advertise your books on a regular basis. Set up social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Tumblr, Instagram, MeWe, Website, and Goodreads to name a few. Pick three to start and master those before moving on to others or you will be too overwhelmed.
Read the genre you want to write in. This is important so you can understand what works and doesn’t work in that genre. Of course, keep reading other types that you enjoy too.
Write about things you know, you like, and the words will come to you more easily. If you write about something that you are not familiar with be sure to do plenty of research so your story is believable.
Do yourself a favor don’t have several named characters in your book because as soon as the editor gets their hands on it, you will be editing a lot of them back out again.
All the reviews are 5 stars for Patrick on Amazon!
I really loved this book. The characters are great and the story flows nicely. The love between the main characters had depth and passion. The author kept you on your toes with the thriller aspect of a serial killer. I’m not a big horror lover, so I was hesitant to read this. The serial killer pieces are tasteful and just enough to add a thrill aspect with out going overboard. I am absolutely going to buy the next book in this series. Loved the other characters and I can’t wait for their stories. – Jessica
Patrick was a page turner. The combination of thriller suspense alongside a true romance portraying the excitement of real love is intriguing and hard to put down. Can’t wait for the next book in the series! – Jane
Not a book you can put down, will keep you up at night, looking for more!!!!! – Eileen
Patrick makes the hair on your arms stand up, makes you laugh and even may make you cry. It also leaves you wanting the second book in the series so you can find out what happens to Jaq’s five best friends. Oh, I almost forgot you will be fanning yourself during the lovemaking scenes. Patrick is the kind of man that many of us hope to find for ourselves. – Carlie
Just Terrific! – J
GOODREAD REVIEWS FOR PATRICK
45 Goodread reviews for Patrick with a 4.11 rating out of five
Callie Carman certainly puts her M/C through the emotional wringer in this, her first release. From the heady heights of true love to the hot roller coaster of lust. Jaq also has decisions to make; does she commit to her newest beau, or keep her old ones? And if that's not enough, their is drama in the air, as a one-night stand starts to push her to meet him again, but he's not too polite about it, scary indeed.
If you're a romance fan and like lots of spice in the mix. If you like to feel a tingle go up your spine as you read, and that can be for more than one reason, you're going to enjoy this read, but you might want to sit in front of your open freezer door when the action spirals into a tempest. You have been warned folks.
Charlie B.
This one got my emotions going. Jaq is an independent young woman who knows herself and what she wants. Patrick has less self confidence but he also knows what he wants and isn’t into playing games. Their love story itself was sweet but then we throw in the serial killer. That really kicked it up. I was worried about all the girls, Patrick, and Jaden. Every time I felt like something was going to happen I had to take a break. Overall I enjoyed this story.
Denise GremoryKohta
Patrick offers the contemporary romance reader all the excitement and romance that we've come to expect from these books, but new author Callie Carmen has also added a new level of excitement with a fascinating side story that runs throughout most of Patrick. While he searches for true love, the police search for someone else. A great read. Looking forward to the rest of the Risking Love series as this is book #1.
Author Rita Delude
Out Of Print
http://getBook.at/CravingLoyalty
THE CRAVING LOYALTY ANTHOLOGY
Publishing publication date March 27, 2018
THE ENEMY I KNOW
by Callie Carmen
Army Ranger Jake has to rescue his sister from the mob. He needs the help of the woman he left broken hearted. will Annie put herself in danger for the man that left her behind? Will their flame reignite?
Loyalty. Noun. 'A strong feeling of support or allegiance.'
For some, loyalty can be bought. For others, it's earned. But the thing about loyalty⏤ it can change in an instant. All it takes is one act, one decision, and loyalty shifts to betrayal in the blink of an eye...a sin which cannot go unpunished.
Not in this world.
But sometimes things happen beyond our control, forcing our allegiances to change. Like the mob enforcer who wants nothing more than to seduce the assassin hired to kill him. Or the FBI agent who falls for the woman whose past holds ties with the mafia.
Yet, no matter the reason or motive, the consequences of betrayal are always deadly. Because in this world everyone is... Craving Loyalty.
PATRICK
Paperback and Ebook Available
https://amzn.to/2D2BJFF
Publication Date May 25, 2018
Prologue and Chapter One:
http://blackvelvetseductions.com/latest-book-patrick-now-l…
PATRICK
Book one in the Risking Love Series
Risking Love Novels
Take a risk on the new Risking Love series.
These steamy stories will have you laughing, crying, and your heart racing.
Will they let the past dictate their future?
Or, risking love, will they find the passion they are missing?
After Jaq had come off of a three-year relationship that led nowhere, she was determined not to get tied down again. She even convinced the man that she saw that they should both date others. All the while Jaq kept her heart guarded because of her past trust issues.
Then Patrick O’Conner came along; sparks flew between them. Will her insatiable, sexual attraction to him be enough to make Jaq get over her trust issues? Could she finally let a man get close enough to fall in love, if that was possible, could she forgive Patrick for keeping his heart crushing past a secret?
She had all that to worry about on top of the serial killer that was on the loose. He may have been closer to home than she’d thought.
Patrick had gotten his life on track and felt good about his future. He just recently moved on from the woman who betrayed him and was not looking for a new relationship. Then Patrick became overwhelmingly drawn to Jaq Telesco. He had to have her, and he was not willing to share. Now he had to convince her that he was the one she could trust and risk loving.
Social Media Fun!
SURVEYS COMPLETED ON FACEBOOK
A special thank you to all of my friends that took the time to participate in the following surveys. I’m hoping that some of you romance writers will find this information helpful. And romance readers will see how their likes and dislikes fit in with some of the other readers.
Callie
Do you tend to be attracted to men in a particular line of work?
If so, what type of job, perhaps an:
Athlete, Cowboy, Farmer, Traveling Writer/Historian, Business, Construction, or other?
RESULTS ARE IN
Out of 74 surveyed, a few chose more than one career.
As you can see, an overwhelming number of voters liked all of the career choices. One may say, that voters just loved how all of the men looked, and didn’t even take note of the career options. I chose to believe that they like men in general and that it didn’t matter what their career was. Of course, if personality had been part of this survey the results may have been different.
Do you have an eye color preference?
If so, is it brown, green, blue or gray?
RESULTS ARE IN (Out of 136 surveyed)
The majority of us had no eye color preference. But for those of us that did it looks like the guys with baby blues have a slight advantage over the green and win hands down over the brown and gray. No wonder why so many of us have enjoyed watching the following men over the years.
Not necessarily the ones in the photo’s below, but which type do you prefer.
Type 1: fit man that's well-defined with visible muscles
Type 2: fit man that's lean, with athletic shape
RESULTS ARE IN
Out of 172 surveyed several chose both.
To most women in this survey, it didn’t matter which type of male was chosen. They were happy with both kinds. There were a few that said it didn’t matter at all how they looked they were only concerned with their intelligence and personality. The over all winner was a fit man that's lean, with an athletic shape.
If you read romance books, do you like a hot woman or a sexy man on the cover?
RESULTS ARE IN
Out of 150 surveyed some choice both.
*Out of the thirteen chosen for a woman on the cover four of those votes came from men and eight from women that selected either one. Their answers went in both columns. Leaving one female selecting the choice of only a woman on the cover.
I saw this cute survey that Whitney Perry posted on potions.
RESULTS ARE IN
Out of 52 surveyed a few picked more then one.
Out of the group surveyed it was clear that most people wanted to be able to teleport anywhere at the drop of a dime. That was the one that I picked. The close second was staying young forever. When that had come up in a conversation in the past, I had always thought of family and loved ones in my life. I had felt that I’d be in constant pain having to say goodbye to those I care for way too many times. That was not for me. Now if there was one that gave me the body I had at the age of twenty-five and I got to keep that shape until I died an ordinary death then sign me up. I’d love that, and I bet my husband would too. The one that I had felt was valuable was not one of the choices. It would be to speak, understand and write every language in the universe. Yes, I said universe just in case there are aliens out there and they decide to come to our world I’d like to understand what they are saying. Especially, if it involves taking over the earth. Or they decide humans taste like chicken. Lol.
Follow Callie Carmen by clicking on the links below for Facebook, Twitter or send her an email at calliecarmennovel@gmail.com.
