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It’s Official! We Have A Winner Of Starla Kaye’s Quilt Commemorating The Release Of Rose’s Cowboys!
Congratulations go to Corinne Alexander who was Starla Kaye’s randomly selected winner. I believe Starla and Corinne have been in touch with each other and that arrangements have been made to get the quilt out to Corinne.
Congratulations Corinne. I hope you enjoy your quilt. 
Be sure to check out Rose’s Cowboy’s.
Here’s the cover blurb:
When both the marriage Rose had planned and and her career as a professional ballerina are lost to her she packs up and moves to a small town in Colorado to begin a new career as the town’s librarian. She wants a fresh start, to heal her emotional wounds, and to steer clear of relationships with men for the rest of her life. Then she meets two of the sexiest cowboys, notorious flirts who both pursue her…even boldly suggesting she consider a ménage a trois. She tries to resist. The idea is outrageous, wrong.
Camden and Doug, adopted brothers of Samuel Grayson, are a pair of emotionally troubled, but charming cowboys who excel at making women happy in bed. Neither of them are interested in settling down, not wanting to burden a woman they might love with their dysfunctional pasts. When they meet Rose she appeals to each of them in ways they can’t fight. They dare to ask her to have a relationship with both of them, willing to share her just so they can have her in their lives. But can it really work?
The Jewels of Historical Romance are offering an exciting opportunity for readers to enter to win a free iPad Mini. I thought I’d share the details here since it sounds like a fun contest with a great prize, and it’s fairly easy to enter.
What you’ll need to do is head on over to The Jewels of Historical Romance website where they offer full details.
Generally what you’ll do is head over to their site, read excerpts from 12 different historical romances. When you read the excerpt you will be looking for a jewel word. When you find the jewel word you’ll go back to the site, enter the word in a form and send the form to The Jewels of Historical Romance for entry. Sound easy? Sound worthwhile. I thought so. Good luck to all who enter.
We’re all in luck today as Marie Astor is here to share an exclusive excerpt from her novel TO CATCH A BAD GUY, which sounds like a great read. In addition Marie is giving away some sweet prizes during her tour. At this stop she’s giving away the red agate sterling silver necklace. Check out her other stops to register to win the items she’s giving away at those stops. You can check out the other stops at http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/12/virtual-excerpt-tour-to-catch-bad-guy.html
Prize 1: Citrine quartz and prehnite sterling silver necklace
Prize 2: Red agate sterling silver necklace
Prize 3: Onyx sterling silver bracelet
Prize 4: Smoky quartz sterling silver earrings
Prize 5: Blue quartz sterling silver earrings
To Catch a Bad Guy Cover Blurb
by Marie Astor
Janet Maple’s stellar career ended with a layoff and her boyfriend of five years told her that he wants to be just friends. When she lands a job at one of New York’s premier boutique investment firms, Janet begins to hope that her luck is finally turning for the better. Not only is she happy with her new paycheck, but things also seem to be looking up on the personal front, as the company’s handsome attorney expresses keen interest in Janet. However, her euphoria is short-lived, as Janet soon discovers alarming facts about her new employer’s business tactics. When her boss dismisses her suspicions as groundless, Janet finds herself confiding to a cute IT engineer, Dean Snider. The closer she gets to Dean, the more Janet is tempted to break her rule of not dating co-workers, but what she doesn’t realize is that everything she knows about Dean, including his occupation and even his name, is a lie.
Dennis Walker is a top-notch white collar crime investigator who will stop at nothing to put culprits away. When an opportunity for an undercover assignment at one of New York’s premier boutique broker dealers comes up, Dennis jumps at the chance, adopting a persona of geeky IT engineer, Dean Snider. While he may be an ace at his job, years of experience fail him when Dennis meets Janet Maple and finds himself torn between his professional obligations and his personal desires. Will he have to choose between his feelings and duty, or will he find a way to satisfy both?
An Excerpt From To Catch A Bad Guy
Dennis Walker surveyed the contents of his closet and reluctantly pushed away his tailored suits. His current persona as Dean Snider, Chief IT Analyst at Bostoff Securities, did not allow for dapper attire. Instead, Dennis reached for a brown Men’s Wearhouse suit in size forty two regular, while Dennis normally wore forty long. Next followed a shirt of swamp green Dennis had also acquired at Men’s Wearhouse and a mousy gray tie of fabric so stiff that it virtually would stand if one were to lay the tie down on the side. The one thing Dennis refused to give up was his shoes. His feet, after all, were important – he only had one pair for his entire lifetime, so he reached for a discreet pair of Johnston and Murphy’s. Last came a pair of glasses. The lenses were plain plastic, but their purpose was not to correct Dennis’s twenty-twenty vision, but to obscure the blue-gray of his eyes. It was a known fact that people rarely noted eye color behind corrective lenses. For the finishing touch Dennis slouched his shoulders and stuck out his neck. When he looked in the mirror, the transformation was complete: the suave charmer Dennis Walker had been replaced by a nerdy computer geek.
When Dennis had proposed his candidacy for the assignment at Bostoff Securities, his boss had shrugged him off as too good-looking and too suave. In the past, Dennis had impersonated traders, lawyers, company executives, and even aspiring political candidates. Any time an assignment required balls and charisma, Dennis was the ‘go to’ man. Without a doubt, those had been Dennis’s preferred roles, but the Bostoff investigation promised to be a career-making case, and Dennis was a careerist. Sure, he liked catching the bad guys, but he liked being recognized for his achievements even more. His boss was dead set on assigning the job to Peter Laskin. At thirty-five, Laskin was already balding, and the frames he wore had thick corrective lenses in them. Laskin, a forensic accountant by training, was a genius behind the desk, but his last assignment in the field had been over five years ago, and all it took was one hiccup – one slip – for a case to go down the drain. So Dennis took it upon himself to save the day. Not without much struggle, he abandoned his bi-weekly visits to his favorite hair stylist, opting for a local barbershop instead. He purchased the most horrible suit he could find on the sale rack at Men’s Wearhouse, ordered a pair of glasses with fake lenses in them, and worked on slouching and sticking out his neck. When, two weeks later, Dennis showed up in all his geek glory on the doorstep of his boss’s office, the Bostoff case was his and so was the office pool – to Laskin’s relief, Dennis had won the bet. Now he had to prove that he deserved the assignment.
About Marie Astor
Marie Astor is the author of contemporary romance novels This Tangled Thing Called Love, Lucky Charm, On the Rim of Love, romantic suspense, To Catch a Bad Guy, and a short story collection, A Dress in a Window. Marie is also the author of young adult fantasy adventure novel, Over the Mountain and Back.
If you would like to learn more about Marie’s writing, please stop by her website: www.marieastor.com or visit her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marieastorcollection
Books by Marie Astor
This Tangled Thing Called Love – a contemporary romance about overcoming one’s inhibitions, learning to tango, and finding one’s true love match.
Lucky Charm – a humorous contemporary romance about love, luck and friendship.
On the Rim of Love – a contemporary romance about the unexpected power of love.
A Dress in a Window – a collection of short stories about love, coincidences, and fate.
http://www.amazon.com/A-Dress-Window-ebook/dp/B004E112TO/ref=pd_sim_kstore_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2
Over the Mountain and Back – young adult fantasy adventure novel about a boy who takes his snowboard for a ride and finds himself in a magical, hidden world he never knew existed.
Social Media Links:
Website: http://www.marieastor.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marieastorcollection
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4665230.Marie_Astor
Twitter: @marieastor
Remember to leave your question or comment to enter to win the lovely necklace that Marie is giving away.
Starla Kaye, author of many, many books is visiting us today to celebrate the release of her most recent Black Velvet Seductions release, Rose’s Cowboys. To celebrate Starla is giving away a small memory quilt which she created specifically for the release. Read on for more about the book and the quilt.
Writing About Vulnerable Characters
By Starla Kaye
I love to write about characters that are vulnerable in some way, especially the ones who are strong on the outside and tender on the inside. Kind of like those M&M characters with the hard shell coating and the milk chocolate inside.
The three main characters in Rose’s Cowboys, my newest release from Black Velvet Seductions and the second story in the Devils in Denim series are like that.
This is a “hot” story with two emotionally wounded but charming cowboys and the also emotionally wounded heroine who finds their soft spot…who weakens the strong, carefree images they’ve built. There is an almost instant irresistible attraction between them, which she, particularly, tries to fight. But these handsome devils are persistent in their pursuit of her. The problem is they are both pursuing her. And she is drawn to them both, an idea which shocks her. Even more shocking is their proposal to her. Will she have the courage to accept it?
Cover Blurb From Rose’s Cowboys
When both the marriage Rose had planned and her career as a professional ballerina are lost to her, she packs up and moves to a small town in Colorado to begin a new career as the town’s librarian. She wants a fresh start, to heal her emotional wounds, and to steer clear of relationships with men for the rest of her life. Then she meets two of the sexiest cowboys, notorious flirts who both pursue her…even boldly suggesting she consider a ménage a trois. She tries hard to resist. The idea is outrageous, wrong.
Camden and Doug, adopted brothers of Samuel Grayson, are a pair of emotionally troubled, but charming cowboys who excel at making women happy in bed. Neither of them are interested in settling down, not wanting to burden a woman they might love with their dysfunctional pasts. When they meet Rose, she appeals to each of them in ways they can’t fight. They dare to ask her to have a relationship with both of them, willing to share her just to have her in their lives. But can it really work?
SPECIAL CONTEST
I love to make small memory quilts and have created one especially for the release of Rose’s Cowboys. If you would like a chance to win this unique gift, please leave a comment and tell me about a special gift someone has given you. Or you can tell me about something special you gave to someone else. One lucky commenter will be chosen on March 25.
As I mentioned earlier in the week, we’re taking a few days and doing something a little different from what we usually do here on the blog. This week we are pausing to share Paws With A Cause with you. To make it fun for you…and to give you something different to check out each day I will be sharing some pictures of my own pets and some of their stories here on the blog. But before I do that, let me fill you in on Paws With A Cause. You should note that the organizers of this blog hop have added another huge box of books and book swag to the prize roster so there are now 4 prizes for folks to win instead of just 3.
About Paws With A Cause
Paws With A Cause® enhances the independence and quality of life for people with disabilities nationally through custom-trained Assistance Dogs. PAWS® increases awareness of the rights and roles of Assistance Dog teams through education and advocacy. Founded in 1979, Paws With A Cause is dedicated to helping its clients who are challenged by many disabilities, such as Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Seizure Disorders, and Hearing Disorders to name just some. Each of their dogs are trained to meet the specific needs of their clients. Tasks may include opening and closing doors, picking up objects, pulling a wheelchair, turning lights on and off, and alerting a person to particular sounds like a telephone, doorbell, smoke detector and many others. Trained dogs change lives by enhancing the independence of people. By just opening a door, a dog opens up the world for a person with a disability. During this blog hop the participants will be sharing their own pets and their stories about them, but they will also alerting you to the financial needs of Paws With A Cause and inviting your donation. You can mail a donation directly to Paws With A Cause at the address below:
Paws With A Cause
4646 South Division
Wayland, MI 49348
The organizers of this blog hop have arranged a special contest for those special people who donate through the link associated with the hop. Unfortunately, in my state it’s illegal to have a drawing where people have to pay to or donate in order to enter a contest so I’m going to leave it to the other blogs to tell you how to enter the contest. You’ll find the entry information at most of the other blogs listed below.
Here on the BVS blog I will be giving away the prizes in envelopes 1-7. I’m not going to tell you what’s in the envelopes. The prizes will be a surprise. To enter the contest here on the blog simply leave me a comment telling me something about your pet or a pet you had as a child. You can also comment on my pet pictures or stories to enter. Though you don’t have to donate to enter the contest here, I do hope you’ll visit https://www.everribbon.com/PawswithaCause and donate. Be sure to check out the entry details on one of the blogs that are run from a state where it is legal to run a raffle without a special license so that your donation can qualify you for entry into the organizer’s drawing. They are giving away 2 $65 gift cards to the bookstore of your choice and a huge box of books and book swag. The book box is available only to residents of the US.
Let Me Tell You About Ozzie – He Was The First Of The Rescue Cats To Make It Indoors
I promised to tell you about a few of my own pets during the Paws With A Cause Blog Hop. I thought today I’d tell you a bit about Ozzie. He was the first of the formerly feral cats to make it inside.
To go back in time a bit, our 19 cats – at least 16 of them – began when I noticed a very thin cat in the back yard. I immediately put out some cat food, which that cat didn’t eat. I left the food out hoping the cat would return to eat it when I went inside. As far as I know she never did. 
But a very, very, very thin calico cat showed up and wolfed down the food as if she’d not seen a bite of food in weeks. I kept putting out food for her. 
Every time she was missing for a day or two I’d worry that she’d died of starvation because she was that emaciated. At about the same time a thin black and white cat started turning up to eat too. She was thin, very thin, but not as thin. I think she was a better hunter. Time went on and I worked with the cats, feeding them, planning to get them to a weight level where they could survive surgery and have them spayed. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your world view, both cats presented us with litters of kittens. The little Calico (since named Mama Callie – there’s a Callie Kitten too) had 4 and the black and white (since named Mama Kat) had 5. Ozzie was the runt of Callie’s litter. He was always hungry…which made him easier to tame than the rest of the cats.
My niece spent countless hours laying in the grass tossing bits of canned cat food into the bushes where the kitties were. She’d toss the food gradually closer to her till the kittens ran out where she could get grab them. Ozzie was the only one she was ever able to catch and I think it was because after he realized getting caught equaled getting his fill of the canned food he didn’t try too hard to avoid getting caught. He was utterly cute because he’d alternately bury his face in the can of food and growl and then purr. It didn’t take him long to learn that the price of dinner was to let us hold him while he ate. Not long after that he learned to beg. He’d come to the sliding glass patio door and peer in at us till we brought him food. Though I titled Patch and ambassador Ozzie really served as one too. There were times it almost seemed like the other, bigger cats, were putting Ozzie up to begging for all of them. The rest of the cats seemed to see that he was getting fed and living to tell the tale and that seemed to make them more relaxed with me. A little while after that he got to where he actually liked me and he’d greet me before he went to the food. That was about the time I decided to bring him indside.
He’s been an indoor kitty for about two and a half years now and loves the life. He likes to sleep in baskets and on shelves and he lives for our nightly TV time when he curls up on my lap and purrs.
One of the things he does which keeps us in stitches is to sprawl on his back on the floor…or on the desk between me and the keyboard. Now he’s got several of the other cats sprawling on their backs on the floor. Several others sprawl on the desk between me and the keyboard too. I try to make sure I close the computer windows when I leave the computer to make sure no one types, or buys things, or does any “creative editing” while I am away from my desk and they are sprawling on it.
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