Megan Mitcham’s Base Branch Series Cover Reveal

Today I want to celebrate the upcoming release of my friend, Megan Mitcham’s Base Branch series (Coming October 2014!) and show off her beautiful cover art. You ready for this?

THE BASE BRANCH SERIES BY MEGAN MITCHAM

Serve in the name of honor. Battle in the name of love.

Known by few as the Base Branch, the United Nations’ Special Operations Forces provide globe defense against any who threaten the fragile balance of peace.

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ENEMY MINE
When friends become enemies and enemies become lovers.

Born in the blood of Sierra Leone’s Civil War, enslaved, then sold to the US as an orphan, Base Branch operative, Sloan Harris is emotionally dead and driven by vengeance. With no soul to give, her body becomes the bargaining chip to infiltrate a warlord’s inner circle, the man called The Devil who killed her family and helped destroy a region.

As son of the warlord, Baine Kendrick will happily use Sloan’s body, if it expedites his father’s demise. Yet, he is wholly unprepared for the possessive and protective emotions she provokes. Maybe it’s the flashes of memory. Two forgotten children drawing in the dirt beneath the boabab tree. But he fears there is more at stake than his life.

In the Devil’s den with Baine by her side, Sloan braves certain death and discovers a spirit for living.

justice Mine Draft01

JUSTICE MINE
For justice. For country. For love.

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STRANGER MINE
One takes control. One finds balance in letting go.

Megan
AUTHOR BIO

Megan was born and raised among the live oaks and shrimp boats of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where her enormous family still calls home. She attended college at the University of Southern Mississippi where she received a bachelor’s degree in curriculum, instruction, and special education. For several years Megan worked as a teacher in Mississippi. She married and moved to South Carolina and began working for an international non-profit organization as an instructor and co-director.

In 2009 Megan fell in love with books. Until then, books had been a source for research or the topic of tests. But one day she read Mercy by Julie Garwood. And Oh Mercy, she was hooked!

Megan lives in Southern Arkansas where she pens heart pounding romantic thriller novels and window steaming erotic romance.

Author links:

Monday Mayhem – Here we go again!

I feel compelled to warn you, I’m going to be bugging the bejesus out of you again. You see, I’ve found out that I will have two more books included in boxed sets this year. Yay!

First up, and coming very soon: Love Finds A Way – featuring Contentment!

LOVE-banner-comingapril29

Then later this fall, Paramour will be included in a set of romances with a paranormal bent. Whoo hoo!

Though it’s been a rough year for new writing projects, it’s shaping up to be a very busy year for my existing works. Thanks to the Unforgettable Heroes boxed set, Long Distance Love will reach thousands of readers who have never read one of my books before. I’m hoping Contentment and Paramour will reach new readers as well.

So this boxed set trend is a big thing now. What do you think about them? Good? Bad? Are you indifferent? Have you discovered any new-to-you authors you love?

 

Monday Mayhem – Reform Movement

I know. I know. I’ve been a pretty bad blogger lately, but I promise to reform. The problem is, most the time I don’t know what to write about. My life isn’t all that exciting. But I like talking to you each week. It’s true. I’ve missed you. And I’m going to do five things to make it up to you.

That’s right. Five things. Not bad, huh?

Each week that I don’t have something special to share, I promise to share at least five things with you. They could be five lines from one of my stories or five whats. What’s a what, you ask? They’re pretty simple:

What I’ve been working on:

What’s running around in the back of my mind:

What I’ve accomplished this week

What I accomplished this week:

What new goal I’ve set:

What I saw:

Since I’ve been a bad blogger, this week I will give you both.

Here are five lines from Long Distance Love:

“I’m being transferred to Louisville,” she said in a rush. Her statement landed like a punch to the gut. “Yeah. I just…I don’t see how….”

Ellie’s small, sad smile tugged at him, spurring him into action. “We’ll make it work.”

Not enough for you? Buy the book!

Long Distance Love – releasing THIS WEEK from Turquoise Morning Press:

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Love may be a many splendored thing, but it’s rarely convenient.

A Christmas Eve snowstorm leaves newly-single Ellie Nichols trapped in an airport terminal with only hunky FBI Agent Jack Rudolph for company.

Lucky Ellie.

For Jack, the passing of a long winter’s night turns into a New Year filled with possibility. State lines and hundreds of miles separate them, but the spark that flares each time they meet cannot be denied.

Can two ambitious, career-driven people find a way to make a long distance relationship work when matters of the heart bring them up-close and personal?

And here are my 5 whats:

What I’ve been working on: I’m working on love story for people who saw movies from The Breakfast Club era when they were first released. It’s a racy one, so you might be more apt to find updates on it at Maggie Wells’ website. 😉

What’s running around in the back of my mind: WWII – I have a WWII-era story flirting around the edges. Nothing concrete yet, just a bunch of plot bunnies hopping around in my head.

What I’ve accomplished: Did I tell you I’ve sold a story to Fictionvale Magazine? It’s the short story that sparked this WWII jones, and it will appear in the online magazine’s premier issue in November!

What new goal I’m chasing: At the moment I’m just trying to keep writing. The demands of the day job and the distractions at home have wreaked havoc on my productivity this year. I’ve recently tried to settle into a pattern where I’m writing a minimum of 500-1000 words per day and not beating myself up if I can’t do anything more. So far, it seems to be working. I hope to gradually build on that over the next couple of months so I’ll be back in fighting form for NaNoWriMo. So yeah…my new goal is balance.

What I saw: True love

boys

 

Don’t forget to click the envelope on the top right sidebar or go here to join my mailing list. Oh! And if you like my Facebook page, you can enter a contest to win a $10 gift card!

Your turn! What are your whats for the week?

Monday Mayhem – From this day forward….

Hi! I’m back from my excursion to the annual Reader & Author Get Together in Ohio. It was a great time, as always. The team of volunteers Lori Foster and Duffy Brown have assembled is top notch, and the staff at the Marriott spoiled us as usual.

The best part of the RAGT weekend is the casual atmosphere. I met so many awesome readers and fellow authors this weekend and also had a chance to catch up with some friends. I thought I’d share a few pics before I got down to today’s post.

Look! It’s Evelyn Jules! Squeeeee!

Evelyn

My fabulous editrix Lola del Sol!

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I photo bombed Julie Anne Lindsey during the signing

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And pillaged my favorite Viking princess, Renee Vincent

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I also got to show off the beautiful cover art for this week’s TMP release: The Wedding Day Collection!

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Love, love, love it!

Want a taste?

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, Maggie. I don’t care about the dress or if your hair isn’t perfect.” He smiled when she automatically reached up to tame her wild mane with her palms. The owner of a successful salon and day spa, beauty was no joking matter to Maggie. “You can’t tell me you don’t have make-up in your purse or the diaper bag. I’ve never once seen you leave the house with less than three shades of lipstick.”

“Not true,” she whispered. “I went into labor with only a Chapstick on me.”

“And you never looked more stunning.” The statement of fact came equipped with a charming smile. “You said you’d marry me, Maggie. I let you put me off and put me off—”

“Put you off? It’s been two weeks!”

Actually, it was three. Three weeks since another stick turned pink and his inner Ward Cleaver roared to life. He couldn’t help it. She was going to have his baby. Again. And damn it, this time he wanted to do things right. As right as he could make them at this point. Seemed the not-so-good Catholic boy in him joined forces with Ward to bring him to his knees. Literally.

That’s all I’m going to give you. I mean, it’s a short story. If you want to know what happens next, you’re going to have to buy the cow story.

Or catch a one of the copies my co-authors and I might be toss out there like a bouquets.

Last week, Louise won the drawing for an advanced read copy, and you can do the same!

All you have to do is comment below,share your favorite part of a wedding celebration, and I’ll draw another winner. Seriously, it can be nothing more than:

I’m in it for the cake!

See? Easier doing the Hokey Pokey!

Don’t be a Chicken dancer! All comment posted before 11:59 Wednesday, June 12th have a chance to win. Speak now or forever hold your peace….

Monday Mayhem – Turnabout, fair play, and breakfast cereal

I do a lot of talking about me on this blog, but let’s face it, I’m not that interesting. This fact was hammered home over the weekend as I tried desperately to come up with topics for blog posts that weren’t complete snoozefests.

Then I realized something. I may be boring (wake, work, eat, write, sleep – lather, rinse, repeat), but I find YOU infinitely fascinating. Therefore, I thought it would be fun to turn things around.

I want to interview you.

Comment below with your answers and I will draw the name of one lucky commenter on Wednesday, June 5th and send them an Advanced Read Copy of The Wedding Day Collection.

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This anthology includes Always a Groomsman – the story of Tom Sullivan and Maggie McCann’s (Commitment) wedding day!

You game? Let’s do this thing!

What’s the title of the last book you read?

What is the worst job you can imagine having?

What is your favorite breakfast cereal?

Name one thing you own that you wish you didn’t.

If you were famous, what would you be famous for?

 

Happy Monday, my darlings!

Monday Mayhem – Memorabling

The Gilmore Girls fans in the crowd will know that the title is no typo. The rest of you should go watch season 1. At least, I think it was season 1….

It seems my memory is shot these days. As a matter of fact, I’m feeling pretty proud of the fact that I remembered to do this post, since I’ll be car-bound most of the day. So before I forget, here are a few things I want to share with you:

Coming in June from TMP – The Wedding Collection. Includes my story, ‘Always the Groomsman’
WeddingCollection_MD
Want a taste?
Things weren’t going the way he planned, but Tom Sullivan was getting used to the phenomenon. Life as he once knew it went kerblewie the first time he kissed Maggie McCann. This latest spin in the cosmic Cuisinart should have been a cakewalk. Still, he stood there at the end of the counter befuddled, betrothed, and—if the woman currently kneeling on a grimy Dunkin Donuts bathroom floor had anything to say about it—possibly soon-to-be-beheaded.
Just finishing edits on Long Distance Love – the collection of Jack and Ellie stories. I think you’ll like the way their story comes full circle. Look for it in August 2013.
Working on Containment. That’s the best I can say at this point. It’s been a difficult story to write. I’ve hit a couple of walls, but I think I might have found a way to smash through. Stay tuned.
And last, but certainly not least, I want to take a moment to honor the memory of all the brave men and women who have given their lives to protect our way of life.
One day seems a humble thank you, but your legacy beats in the hearts of a grateful nation.
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Monday Mayhem – New release, fabulous weekend, & my bed

Soooooo much going on today. Are you ready for this?

Inamorata is now available in all ebook formats! Run, run read!

As I was scurrying about the interwebs this morning (posting links, updating this site, etc…) it suddenly struck me. Inamorata is my fifth…FIFTH…full-length novel released in just eighteen months. The third in 2012. No wonder I’m so damn tired all the time. It’s a sickness, I tell you.

Of course, you know what this means, don’t you? I need to stop screwing around on the interwebs and get to writing. More to come in 2013!

All this release day excitement on the heels of an incredible weekend at the Annual Reader & Author Get Together in Cincinnati. I had such a good time catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, and in typical Margaret fashion, making a fool of myself to score a laugh or two.

And THIS! Check out this fabulous blog post on the kindness of strangers – it features one of my best friends AND one of MY BOOKS!

And last night, I crawled into my very own bed with my warm and snuggly man. Could life get any better? I think not.

Whew! How’s your Monday going?

Here are a few pics from the weekend:

TMP Authors
Slept with my editor, the fabulous Lola del Sol, in order to earn extra commas.
Bribed Kim Jacobs, Publisher, with a ginormous Diet Coke from Sonic.
Mugged for the camera with Renee Vincent
Spent time with some of the best friends any woman could ever have.
Fangirled Jill Shalvis

Monday Mayhem – Let’s Play Catch-up

It’s bullet point day! I know you’re all as excited as I am, so let’s get to it. Here are the pertinent facts in the order generated by my highly disordered brain:

1) I just realized that Inamorata releases in two weeks! Woooot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) Went to a beginner yoga class on Saturday and it almost killed me. Seriously, my abs haven’t hurt this bad since I tried to follow Denise Austin’s Pilates tape (Yes, I said tape. I’m old.) I remember the night I was afraid I’d never pull myself out of the bathtub like it was yesterday. I saw myself dying there, shivering and shriveled, and still without a six pack. Oh, wait. That was yesterday…

3) Still running. Still hate the process and love the results.

4) Got the nicest email from a reader about Spring Chickens. Want to make an author’s day? (Any author – not just me) Drop a line, write a review, Tweet, FB, Pin, or smoke signal them and tell them that you appreciate their work. We are delicate little flowers. We need sunshine and love and a constant sprinkling of reassurance. Seriously, something as simple as ‘I loved it’ makes us want to dance. Sometimes I even jitterbug.

5) I’m moved into my new daytime digs and feeling my way through the new job. I’m on the opposite end of the building from where I spent the last 7 years. My parking routine is completely out of whack.

6) Monday. *sigh* I miss Castle.

7) Leo Sayer is playing on my iPod. Don’t judge.

8 ) I may or may not (that’s my oh-so-subtle way of playing it coy) be planning to write a little short story involving Maggie McCann and the Sullivan clan for an anthology. They’ve all been chattering in my head, making plans, vying for dialogue…the usual.

9) I’m heading to the Annual Reader and Author Get Together in Cincinnati June 1-2 at the Marriott north. I’ll be signing books Friday, June 1from 7-9PM. If you’re in the area, please come by and say hi! Here’s the 4-1-1!

10) Long weekend coming up! I plan to sleep, eat, and write. What are your plans?

Monday Mayhem – Guilt Offering

The dog ate my homework!

Okay, maybe not really, but the result is the same: I don’t have a post prepared. What can I say? I’ve, uh, been…busy. I am prpared to offer appeasment, though. No, I don’t have a Central-Eurpopean country to hand over, but I do have one more novel releasing this year. How about a sneak peek from Inamorata? Will that get me off the hook?

Warning: Frank DeLuca was never PG-13 and probably never will be. The potty-mouth…

Anyhoo…Here’s your bribe. Let me know what you think, and have a happy Monday!

Inamorata – Coming June 2012 from Turquoise Morning Press

After twenty-five years of cooling his jets in a wall sconce, Frank DeLuca figured the afterlife owed him a break. Hadn’t he been a model ghost? He didn’t possess little kids, screw up the television reception, or throw random objects across the room just to get attention. Hell, he never even made creepy noises in the dead of night.

All he asked was a peaceful existence where someone would turn him on every once in a while. The light, that is. He needed just a little bit of light in his afterlife.

Instead, he got a sullen, silent little boy who cried for his mommy every night. The kid came with a set of hyper-tense grandparents whose marriage was crumbling under the weight of old insecurities and words left unspoken. As if that weren’t enough to drive a guy to hide out in his light fixture, providence tossed in a little a spitfire of a girl who flipped his switch in every way. Gina Ferro turned out to be the kid’s mother. She also happened to be a ghost.

Thrown together by Fate and bound by history, Frank and Gina must learn to trust each other with the keys to their pasts in order to unlock their eternity.

Excerpt:

He let go, allowing the soul-crushing pain to swamp him, plummeting to earth once more. He couldn’t crash and burn any worse than he had before. Twice before. Once when he was living, and once long after he’d been dead. Frank blinked the glare from his eyes and focused on the blank wall in front of him. The rosebud wallpaper was gone. The sheetrock had been stripped, sanded, and painted blue. A blue that was just a half-shade lighter than the blue that coated the walls in nineteen-eighty-seven.

He shook his head to clear it. Finally, his gaze tracked to the right where he spotted a bookshelf loaded with books, games, and stuffed animals. At the very top, a collection of trophies like the one he once kept in this very room was proudly displayed. Tiny gold men holding bats glistened in the soft amber glow of evening. He gaped at them perched atop their faux marble and fake brass pedestals.

He could see it so perfectly in his mind’s eye. A spotless trophy, gleaming bright gold in the light cast from the cheesy 70s directional sconce mounted on the wall. His mother running her fingertip over the engraved plate bearing his name.

“Francis DeLuca.”

The name rolled off his lips even though he hadn’t spoken it aloud in nearly two decades. Not since the night he introduced himself to the little girl who moved into his room. Not since he fell in love with Cam.

His eyes locked on the gilt batter glued to the top of the tallest trophy. He couldn’t look away. Obviously they didn’t belong to the little guy snuggled into the race-car shaped bed. But something told him they belonged here, just like him.

He stared hard at that trophy, seeing his mother’s wind-up, flinching just as he flinched when she hurled it across the room, smashing the bulb in the brass-colored wall sconce to bits, stealing the last wisps of breath from his lungs, and sentencing him to an eternity as the middleman.

On August nineteenth, nineteen-eighty-seven, he died. That was the day he broke his mother’s heart. That was the day his fate was sealed.

Shaking his head, Frank glared at the woman perched on the side of the bed. She was tall and slim, her hair so blonde it was almost white, her skin as pale as milk. Long, graceful fingers fussed with the edge of a Thomas the Tank Engine quilt, but the backs of her hands were veined and dotted with sunspots. It was her face that called to him. Stoic. Silent. Stone-faced.

“Fuck. Here we go again.”

Monday Mayhem – A Hail of Bullets

This week’s stream of consciousness babble:

  1. Ran two miles – a few times. Also attended my second yoga class on Saturday. I’ve decided I like having an hour of quiet movement here and there.
  2. A new great-nephew due to arrive any moment. Will be smooching the sugar off babies this weekend.
  3. My awesome friend and invaluable critique partner, Julie Doner, signed her first publishing contract with Turquoise Morning Press!
  4. Less than 3 weeks until Spring Chickens is released! Bookmark this page!
  5. I’m addicted to almonds. I buy a pound of natural then roast them in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. I only allow myself 15 at a time for fear I’ll end up eating the whole bag.
  6. Speaking of food—72 hours until I get my Steak ‘n Shake. Not that I’m counting…
  7. The girl who works at the Khiel’s counter (*cough* my daughter *cough*) told me Kim Kardashian uses the stuff she sold me. I’ve been using it for two weeks and I’m still not a rich reality TV star. My skin is really soft, though.
  8. Tim Bunny has finally succumbed to my charms. It’s only taken six years, but I can now hold and cuddle my recalcitrant rabbit at will.  
  9. I’ve been dreaming about Chicago a lot lately. I blame all the Twitter chatter about the Romantic Times Convention, the untamed plot bunnies in my head, and Susan Elizabeth Phillips. In that order.
  10. And last but certainly not least…I have cover art for Inamorata (June 2012)! Check this out:

 

You like? Here’s the blurb:

After twenty-five years of cooling his jets in a wall sconce, Frank DeLuca figured the afterlife owed him a break. Hadn’t he been a model ghost? He didn’t possess little kids, screw up the television reception, or throw random objects across the room just to get attention. Hell, he never even made creepy noises in the dead of night.

All he asked was a peaceful existence where someone would turn him on every once in a while. The light, that is. He needed just a little bit of light in his afterlife.

Instead, he got a sullen, silent little boy who cried for his mommy every night. The kid came with a set of hyper-tense grandparents whose marriage was crumbling under the weight of old insecurities and words left unspoken. As if that weren’t enough to drive a guy to hide out in his light fixture, providence tossed in a little a spitfire of a girl who flipped his switch in every way.

Gina Ferro turned out to be the kid’s mother. She also happened to be a ghost.

Thrown together by Fate and bound by history, Frank and Gina must learn to trust each other with the keys to their pasts in order to unlock their eternity.

Heh. Never gets old.

That’s all I have for this week. Now hit me with your best shot!