Naughty and Nice Blog Hop

Welcome to the 2013 Naughty and Nice Blog Hop sponsored by Safari Heat Book Tours. The hop runs from Dec. 11-16th. All the rules and how the hop will work it listed on the Safari Heat site. Follow the link above.

Grand prize is a Kindle Fire HDX 7” plus books to go on the winner’s new Kindle.

Prize Rules:
Winners that win prizes that have to be shipped need to be in the US or Canada. Sorry this is because of shipping cost. But ebooks (and my e-gift card) can be won by anyone, anywhere. Winners are chosen using Random.org. All the prizes on the hop page except the books for the winner’s Kindle will be given daily. The hop coordinator, Carey, will be randomly popping into blogs to pick winners.

My prize is a $10.00 e-gift card of the winner’s choice: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, whatever, and will be awarded at the end of the hop.

For today, I thought I’d share some quick facts about the main character of The Best Present, my holiday short story in Sweetwater Springs Christmas: A Montana Sky Short Story Anthology by Debra Holland and Friends.

Ten-year-old Allison Harcourt's life has been turned upside down since her father lost his job and her beloved grandmother died. She's not looking forward to Christmas, especially since she can't figure out how to finish the scarf she's making for her mother. An unexpected stop in Sweetwater Springs brings her and her parents to the boarding house of the widow Murphy. Sometimes sweet things can be found in the most unexpected places.

Birthplace: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Current residence: Sweetwater Springs, Montana, but only for Christmas
Family: Mother and Father but no siblings
Nickname: Honeybee
Hobbies: Reading
Favorite book: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Talents: Baking and knitting (well, sort of, see blurb)
Favorite holiday treat: Fudge
Favorite carols: Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem and The First Noel
Pet peeve: Adults lying to children “for their own good”
Most treasured possessions: Books given to her by her grandmother
If you could ask your author one question, what would it be? Why didn’t we get to stay at the fancy new hotel instead of the old boardinghouse?

Sweetwater Springs Christmas: A Montana Sky Short Story Anthology is available at Amazon. 

What’s your favorite holiday treat? Leave a comment below to be entered in the drawing for the $10 e-gift card. If you’d like extra chances to win, you can follow this blog, like my Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter (@LyndiLamont). Let me know in the comments if you did any of the extras. (These last 3 are optional but the comment is not. You must comment for a chance to win.)

Comment Example:
Name: Jane Doe
Email: janedoe at yahoo.com
Comment: candy canes
Twitter: Followed
FaceBook: Followed
Blog: Followed
Country You Live In: USA

To keep hopping follow the link below:
http://safariheatbooktoursandauthorservices.blogspot.com

Happy holidays!

Linda McLaughlin

Read Tuesday

We have Black Friday and Cyber Monday, plus there's Read Tuesday, the day for buying and gifting books at amazing sale prices. Thousands of books will be on sale on Read Tuesday.

This is a great opportunity for readers to stock up on books from their favorite participating authors and publishers. You'll find more information at the Read Tuesday website, or you can join the conversation at Facebook or @ReadTuesday on Twitter.

Share the gift of reading.

Discounted books also make great gifts for the holidays. It’s easy to gift e-books, returns are not a problem with most retailers, the gift is delivered instantly (but you can schedule when to have it delivered), and there are no shipping and handling charges.

This is my first year to participate in Read Tuesday, and I have two discounted books available for you to choose from.

Lady Elinor's Escape
by Linda McLaughlin
Sweet Regency Romance

When a runaway heiress masquerades as a seamstress, she complicates the life of a tortured barrister who specializes in rescuing females in distress. Can he save her from a disaster of her own making or will the past repeat itself?

Amazon and Nook price: $0.99
Smashwords price $0.99 (Use Coupon Code: DB46R)

Note: Lady Elinor's Escape will be on sale through the end of the year!

Worth The Risk
by Lyn O'Farrell
(the writing team of Anne Farrell and Linda McLaughlin)
Contemporary Romantic Comedy

Children's librarian Amanda Lloyd values privacy above all else. Three years ago her wedding ended in disaster when her groom was arrested at the altar and the story of the 'Embezzler's Bride' appeared in the supermarket tabloids. The experience has left her determined to avoid being caught in the public eye again. Until she meets a sexy single dad with a scandalous past.

Ex-racer Mitch Delaney is a public figure whose life has been plastered across the tabloids more than once. But he believes that anything worth doing is worth a risk, and he wants Amanda in his life. When they draw the attention of the tabloids, his custody of his son is threatened. Amanda has waited twenty-eight years for the right man. But will happiness come at too high a price?

Amazon and Nook price: $1.99
Smashwords price: $1.97 (use Coupon Code: EU36T)

And don't forget the Romance Super Bundle. Ten full-length romance novels for one low price! Available at Amazon, All Romance eBooks, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, iTunes and Smashwords.


Happy Reading!

Linda McLaughlin aka Lyn O'Farrell

Interview with Debra Holland

This month, I'm going to be featuring the authors of Sweetwater Springs Christmas in a series of blog posts, excerpted with permission from an article by E. Ayers in the December issue of HDR. 

Let's start by introducing Debra Holland, the driving force behind the anthology. She's the author of the Montana Sky series of western romances, which take place in the fictional town of Sweetwater Springs, Montana, in the late 1800's.

Debra, did you expect the Montana Sky series to have such longevity and so many successful sequels?

Debra Holland: I didn’t expect for the Montana Sky Series to become an “empire.” J  

Wild Montana Sky was the first book I’d ever written. I didn’t dream that there would be more. After I finished the first book, my critique group told me I needed to write a second book because, if I sold the book, my editor would expect me to have another book. So I started writing Starry Montana Sky.

Also, even though Wild Montana Sky won the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart award in 2001, no one wanted to publish the book. I had two agents try. But the book wasn’t sexy, so it received a stack of rejection letters. I started writing book three, Stormy Montana Sky, but set it aside after 50 pages, thinking, Why should I write a book in a series that isn’t selling?

It wasn’t until I self-published the first two books and they became successful (Wild Montana Sky made the USA Today List) that I started to think of other stories in the series. Now, I have enough ideas to write Montana Sky stories for years!

I sold the larger books to Amazon Montlake, and I self-published the smaller books, novellas, and short-stories. I was stunned when Amazon chose Starry Montana Sky in February as one of the top 50 greatest love stories, and Stormy Montana Sky made the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists.

That is quite a success story and shows the caliber of independently published books in the marketplace.

You're a successful psychotherapist, consultant, and speaker on the topics of communication difficulties, relationships, stress, and dealing with difficult people. You've written non-fiction so how did your Montana Sky series come into being?

Debra Holland: Many years ago, I started dating a young cowboy (and they are rare in Orange County, California.) My cowboy and I had nothing in common, but he was cute, and sexy, and fun. I started to think, If we lived one hundred years ago in the West, who he is and who I am just might have worked. And that’s how the idea for Wild Montana Sky came to me.

The Montana Sky Series in Order:

1890s
Wild Montana Sky
Starry Montana Sky
Stormy Montana Sky
Montana Sky Christmas
Painted Montana Sky
Sweetwater Springs Christmas
Beneath Montana’s Skies (Summer 2014)
Glorious Montana Sky (Fall 2014)

1880s
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Trudy
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Lina (December 2013)
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Darcy (Summer 2014)

I'm thrilled to be part of Sweetwater Springs Christmas: A Montana Sky Short Story Anthology 
by Debra Holland and Friends:
E. Ayers, Linda Carroll-Bradd, MJ Fredrick, Paty Jager, Jill Marie Landis, Trish Milburn, Linda McLaughlin, Bev Pettersen, Tori Scott, Cynthia Woolf 

Come celebrate the holidays in 1895 Sweetwater Springs, Montana, as ten Western Romance authors join New York Times Bestselling author DEBRA HOLLAND in telling SHORT STORIES of love and laughter, heartbreak and healing, and most of all, Christmas joy.

Available at Amazon.com

Later in the month, I'll share questions and answers from the anthology authors.

Linda