Stephanie Queen

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5 Tips to Find Your Next GREAT Romance Read

February 1, 2018 By StephanieQueen

Even Sylvia Plath loves a good book.

EVERYONE loves a great read. I always crave a great romance read. But how do you find them? Especially if you’re like me, and you read a lot AND you want the best possible stories. Good books are hard to find. [CAVEAT: Everyone gets to define what constitutes a GOOD book for themselves. Even Myren, my chauffeur.]

What to do? There are millions and millions of fiction books out there. Last count on Amazon was over 1 million romances books alone.  Here are the SQ Tips to help solve this problem. [I just swatted Myren, my chauffeur, on the arm for laughing at me and he almost drove us into a mailbox on the side of the road. Writing can be a very dangerous business.] [Myren just accused me of being melodramatic. Should I hit him again? (Answer below)].

5 Tips to Find Your Next GREAT Romance Read:

  1. Personal Recommendation:  Narrow down your sub-genre. Pick one based on your mood right now. Got it? [I’m picking Romantic Suspense. I’m in the mood for danger for some reason…] Now ask your friends, your book-reading pals, book club peeps, local librarian or mother-in-law [do NOT ask your chauffeur] for a recommendation for the BEST Romantic Suspense novel they ever read. This happens to be the NUMBER 1 way readers buy books.
  2. Reviews:  Reviews can be anything from professional, like the New York Times Book Reviews (fat chance they’d review a romance novel) or Publisher’s Weekly or Romantic Times Book Reviews, to amateur reviews such as an Amazon reader review posted on the book page. The in-between reviews would be those on book blog sites and such. If you have a book reviewing source you trust based on past experience, check out these sources. My romance book review source is the book review blog Fiction Vixen Books & Beauty.
  3. Facebook Groups:  If you’re like me, you spend a good amount of time on Facebook. Besides checking out what the heck your friends were doing without you last weekend, you can find books. I don’t mean that you need to try sifting through the millions of Facebook ads. I’m talking about Facebook Groups. Facebook has interest GROUPS for EVERYTHING. If you want a quick way to find books in a niche you enjoy, like Romantic Suspense, especially if you want new releases or sale books, and you want to learn a little something about the books, this is the place to go. I regularly visit the Romance & Thrillers Group and the Romance Novel Junkies Group for info on what the latest and greatest romances are.
  4. Favorite Authors:  I have a list. So far it’s a mental list, but I don’t have to worry about forgetting their names. The authors on my list have made a big impression on me. When I’m in the mood for Romantic Suspense, some of my favorite go-to authors are Lisa Mondello, Jacquie Biggar, Mimi Barbour, Rebecca York , Taylor Lee and too many more to list. I’ll check out their author websites to see if they have anything new.
  5. Amazon: As a last resort, you can use Amazon’s search engine to find the top rated books in any category known to mankind. I say this is a last resort because you may not want to buy your book on Amazon. You may want to get it from your library or buy it from a book store or download it from an author’s website, for instance. [Myren is asking me why he can’t download books from my website and I kicked him and told him to mind his business. He has a creepy habit of reading over my shoulder while he’s driving. Maybe I should sit in the back seat…]

You get the picture. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Too bad there’s no sure-fire way to find that WOW! book every time, but as die-hard readers, we persevere and keep trying. [Myren pointed out that I’ve been redundant. I pointed out that I wanted to emphasize my point.]

If you have a good and quick way to find a fabulous read, please share it here.

Where do you go to find your next GREAT ROMANCE READ?

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Filed Under: Books, Myren, Quirky Commentary, Romance Reader Interest, Tongue-in-Cheek Tagged With: bargain books, bestsellers, books, Funny, Humor, humorous, Reviews, Romance, romance authors, Romance Novel, romance novels, romantic suspense, tips

A Christmas She’ll Remember – Available Now

October 25, 2017 By StephanieQueen

It’s not Christmas yet, but let’s warm up to the holiday and get in the mood with this gorgeous set of memorable stories by seven accomplished bestselling authors.

The seven authors include Mimi Barbour, Patricia Rosemoor, Joan Reeves, Tamara Ferguson, Alicia Street, Ev Bishop and yours truly, Stephanie Queen.

The stories range from sweet to spicy with settings all over the map. The one thread they have in common is that each story is about a particularly memorable romantic Christmas.

This set of seven stories is available now at Amazon.

A Movie!

To really help you get into the spirit of the holidays, how about a video with Christmas music?

LOVEABLE CHRISTMAS ANGEL by Mimi Barbour

This heartwarming Christmas story takes place in Waikiki, Honolulu; a magical city where anything is believable. Because Angels really do love romance, Leilani is about to find out just how they scheme to make fantasies happen for those in their care.

CRIMSON HOLIDAY by Patricia Rosemoor

Passed out after the Westbrook Department Store Christmas party, window designer Shelby Corbin wakens only to trip over Santa, the store’s co-owner and Shelby’s boss. CEO Rand McNabb sees a dark-haired woman wearing a crimson party dress fleeing the scene. His romantic attentions both thrill Shelby and frighten her. Is the sexy CEO really helping her search for the truth about that fatal night, or does Rand have another reason for courting her?

NOBODY’S CINDERELLA by Joan Reeves

Darcy Benton is the oldest cliché in the world: a woman in love with her boss. Too bad she’s not even a blip on his radar. That’s about to change thanks to her scheming BFF, a couple of little white lies, and a wish on a Christmas star. Uh oh! She should have remembered that old advice:“ Be careful what you wish for!”

TWO HEARTS FIND CHRISTMAS by Tamara Ferguson

When Josh Loughlin, a blind wounded warrior, returns to his hometown of Crystal Rock, Wisconsin at Christmastime for his rehab, nurse Nina Chandler helps him confront the demons from his abusive past. But does an attempt on his life mean that his tarnished past has finally caught up with him?

THE CHRISTMAS SPARKLE TEST by Alicia Street

Star-crossed sweethearts get a second chance, but will the magic of Christmas be enough to rekindle their love despite the secrets of the past?

ONE TO KEEP by Ev Bishop

When chance throws Sophie and Jesse together at River’s Sigh B & B this New Year’s, they’ll each have to face their worst fears: their unacknowledged yearnings for love that lasts. Can love tempt them to commit? Maybe. If they’re brave enough . . .

CHRISTMAS SURPRISE by Stephanie Queen

Margo never expected to see George the third ever again. So when he showed up leaning against the doorjamb of her tiny apartment, surprise barely covered how she felt. Her life had changed in the three years since they’d parted ways, but had her heart stayed the same? More importantly, had George changed? Will a surprise at Christmas renew an old flame–Or extinguish it forever?

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Filed Under: Books, holiday, New Releases, Romance Reader Interest Tagged With: anthology, bestselling authors, books, box set, Christmas, holiday anthology, Reading, romance authors, romance box set, romance novels

Writing a Series: Beachcomber Investigations Behind the Scenes

December 18, 2016 By StephanieQueen

BeachcombersPrintBookA while back, a friend of mine called and asked me if I wanted to contribute a book to a boxed set she was putting together. I said, “Sure. What kind of book do you need?”

She said, “Think beach romance.”

I said, “Can it have suspense in it?”

She said, “Sure, murder and sex on a beach works.”

That’s what my inspiration was for writing the romantic suspense novel, The Beachcombers.

Now you ask, “I thought this was about writing a series?”

It is.

What happened next was that I fell in love with my characters. When I got to the end of The Beachcombers, I couldn’t say good-bye to Dane & Shana. So instead, I didn’t let them have the ever-after part of their happy ending. I left a relationship hook.

They were happy and outraged with each other at the same time, full of the potential and promise of bliss and spitfire.

The Series

Dane & Shana are a pair of romantic relationship-challenged investigators with muddy pasts. The beach in The Beachcombers is anywhere on Martha’s Vineyard, but the ‘beachcomber’ reference is more about a state-of-mind than anything else. For Dane, it’s an attempt to escape from the hellish missions of his special ops career. He’s not 100% successful at escaping from life’s dark side or the danger.

For Shana it’s about trying to escape the shadow of her cop father and prove herself to him at the same time. Problem is her father is dead.

Dane and Shana are too much alike to get along and too mesmerized by each other to stay apart.

I had to stay with them and now I write one book after another to see how it turns out. Each book can be read on it’s own, but there is a character arc https://www.acheterviagrafr24.com/achat-viagra-cialis-en-ligne/ that threads the stories together so they’re best read in order.

I probably should have written them in order, but that’s a story for another day.3d-cover-beachwedding

Amazon Series Page

New Release:

Beachcomber Wedding

Blurb:

While Dane and Shana are hired to protect a bride from a Russian arms dealer, will the idea of wedding bells inspire romance between the private-eye partners or will the notion of love and marriage scare them more than the threat of a bomb at the church?

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Filed Under: Books, Characters, Romance Reader Interest, Writing Life Tagged With: Beachcombers, romance novels, romantic suspense, series, writing, writing novels

Excerpt from the 2016 Love, Christmas Collection: Santa Baby – by Taylor Lee

June 19, 2016 By StephanieQueen

SantaBaby_CVR-2-200x300There’s an exciting new collection of Christmas novellas coming up this holiday season:  Love, Christmas. Each story will feature one of your favorite Christmas songs, and each is dedicated to a special reader who shares their love of the chosen song. I will be featuring a chapter one excerpt from each novella here weekly until our release of the boxed set:  This week’s excerpt is Santa Baby, one of my favorite Christmas songs and the novella is by one of my favorite authors, Taylor Lee.

Chapter 1 Excerpt

Zach took a hefty swallow of Makers Mark draining his glass. Plunking the empty schooner on the tableSantaBaby_CVR-2-200x300 top he reached for the bottle and poured himself a healthy portion. Not waiting for his buddies’ certain approval, he refilled Danny’s and Mark’s glasses with the amber liquid and raised his tumbler in a mock salute.
“Here’s to what, men, our fourth, or, is it our fifth Christmas, celebrating at the Xpose? Damn, I never thought anything could be worse than canned Christmas music everywhere from Walmart to the barber shop.” He shook his head and pointed with his chin at the stage. “But two nearly naked faux reindeer pretending to have sex to the beat of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer? Damn, that’s over the top even for the Xpose!”
When his buddies roared in agreement, Zach tried to remember when he’d been amused, hell, even a little intrigued at the Xpose’s Christmas decorations. Leave it to Lecherous Lenny, as he and his men had named the proprietor of the sleazy strip joint, to create the scene in front of them. Who else would decorate his fake Christmas trees with gargantuan silver and gold phalluses? Not to mention every kind of sex toy the most perverted imbiber of kink could imagine. Zach admitted that once he’d even been amused by the plastic breasts decorating the trees. In an apparent imitation of Rudolph’s nose, they were topped with pointed red nipples that blinked on and off.
Zach took another slug of the potent whiskey welcoming the harsh burn in his throat. With a heartfelt sigh

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he acknowledged that the garish sex-saturated displays were no longer funny, they were sad. Watching the women gyrating on the stage he shook his head. He knew that their glassy eyes and occasional stumbles confirmed that they’d deadened their bleak lives with the plentiful crystal Lenny provided to keep his girls in line. Disheartening as the women were, the ugly hoots of the drunken men egging them on, was sickening. Zach was about to finish his drink and call it a night when the girl-on-girl reindeer tableau came to a merciful end.
As he rose to his feet and was about to slap down a bill, another song hit the PA system. Instead of a cheerful, inappropriate children’s tune, it was Eartha Kitt’s taunting tribute to materialism, Santa Baby. But it wasn’t the saucy lyrics that made Zach change his mind about leaving. Rather it was the long-limbed dancer sauntering across the stage toward the brass pole in the center of the stage. Deciding that leaving was premature, Zach allowed himself to sink back in his chair and appreciate what was an anomaly at the Xpose: A stripper who knew how to dance. Zach marveled that the woman not only moved her beautiful body in the expected, provocative fashion but she did it with a sinuous grace that snagged his breath.
Danny’s appreciative whistle and muttered expletive confirmed that Zach wasn’t the only one agog at the apparition before them.
“Wow! I haven’t seen that little piece before. Don’t tell me Lenny the Lecher is adding quality to his lineup. Fuckin’ A, that babe looks more like a beauty pageant contestant than a stripper.” He added with a hearty laugh as the music throbbed, “Bet she’d win the talent portion if not the whole damn crown.”
Gratified that his cohort was as flummoxed as he was, Zach tried to figure out what was different about the dark haired woman working her way to the pole. Like all the other strippers, she was wearing Lenny’s sexy de rigour Christmas attire. A tight red low-cut halter captured her full breasts and skimpy boy shorts cupped her curvy ass. The red velvet stocking cap with the sassy white fuzzy ball on the end perched on the shiny curtain of curly black hair streaming over her slim shoulders and back. But unlike the other women, who looked sleazy not sexy, the new dancer almost looked proper. More like one of Santa’s prettiest elves, not a woman who was about to shed her clothes for the voracious men who were screaming at her to “take it off”.
The girl-next-door morphed enticingly when the dancer responded to the crowd’s lewd demands. With a flick of her fingers she allowed the straining halter to fall to the floor. Bodacious breasts topped with sparkling rhinestone pasties revealed a tantalizing glimpse of rosy nipples that stole Zach’s breath. The gasps from his hardened teammates confirmed he wasn’t the only one stunned by her lush body. He almost didn’t want her to lose the boy shorts, not wanting to share more of the erotic vision with the leering men. He was glad that the City fathers had decreed that no matter how loudly the crowd insisted, the remaining G-string would stay in place.
Zach watched in amazement as the stripper-turned-erotic-gymnast skillfully used the shiny pole to display her stunning athleticism as well as her beautiful body. She shimmied up and down the pole twirling from one gravity defying move to another. When she landed a flying breathtaking leap and stood once more upright on the floor, Zach captured her gaze. The look in her eyes when she met his open appraisal surprised him. It wasn’t only the sudden shyness that flickered across her face. Rather it was the fact that her expression changed dramatically. If he was any judge of women who shed their clothes for a living, and Zach most certainly was, he recognized her startled wide-eyed expression. He’d seen it far too many times in his line of work. It was fear, pure and simple. Seeming to realize that her mask had slipped, the accomplished performer quickly recovered her poise. She turned back to the chanting crowd and showered them with a cheeky grin. Tossing her head she shook her booty eliciting a thunderous roar from the appreciative audience. Then with an impudent wave she turned and literally dashed from the stage.

P. S. I love new readers. Please follow me on Amazon to find out about my latest releases as soon as they happen! Thanks. Taylor Lee

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Filed Under: Books, Excerpts, Romance Reader Interest, Stories Tagged With: books, romance novels, Romance reader

Sneak Peek: The Hunted in Summer Heat

May 18, 2016 By StephanieQueen

SummerHeat_BoxSet_MEDSoon, on May 24th, readers will get the chance to enjoy 16 new, never before seen, novellas from bestselling authors in the romance industry. Time for a peek now..

Today’s sneak peek into what’s available in this set comes from multi-award winning author, Jackie Ivie.

Her novella, The Hunted, is first in a new series, Chronicles of the Hunter.

Excerpt from The Hunted

She lifted her head. She might have glanced toward him. He didn’t check. He was in a realm of suspended motion, while pretending to regard the row of stalls facing them. She craned her

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neck, turning away to look over exactly what he was. And that just put her perfect bosom on display! Despite the idiocy of it, Kane glanced down. One breast was getting smashed and lifted by contact with him. The other was barely held in check by her little bikini bra. As he watched, the pink tone of her skin went darker. She turned back to him, but didn’t look up. She was focused on the approximate area of his upper chest.

“Oh. Geez. I am so sorry,” she whispered.

“You have to do something for me, LeeAnn. Okay?”

“I don’t know what got into me.”

“Don’t move. Okay? Don’t even twitch.”

“Kane. Um—.”

“I’m about to do something really stupid. Ill-advised. And dangerous.”

She lifted her gaze to his. Making eye contact with her was a huge mistake. Even through his dark lenses. The connection sent a swell of sound through his ears while a bolt of electricity shot through him, singeing skin the entire way.

‘What?’

Her mouth made the gesture. She may have said it. He didn’t hear anything except a long, drawn-out, perfectly pitched note. He couldn’t think. He just stood there, vibrating with the effort of keeping everything checked. Held in place. Locked.

Her eyebrow lifted as she waited. And Kane replied with something his mind hadn’t cleared.

“I am going to kiss you.”

She gasped. Her lips curved slightly in a smile. Despite the hold he exerted everywhere, he almost returned it.

“You are?” she asked.

He licked his lips. “Yeah.”

Oh. Shit.

She moved.pre-order-teaser

Summer Heat is available to order now

Join the authors of Summer Heat for the FaceBook Release Day Party on May 24th for fun and prizes!

Guaranteed to make your blood run hot. Passion, steamy nights, excitement, and suspense. Something to suit every reader’s taste. Grab a cool drink (you’ll need it!), find a hammock, and curl up for an unforgettable escape.

Amazon      Google Play:      Apple:      BN      Kobo      Goodreads

SummerHeatAuthors.com

Summer Heat Release Party FB

Jackie Ivie is a multi-award winning author of The Clans (a Highland historical series available from Kensington Publishing), creator and author of the best-selling Vampire Assassin league series, as well as the Brocade Collection, featuring edgy historical romances. She lives and writes in the enormous state of Alaska. THE HUNTED is the first book in her new series – Chronicles of the Hunter.

Website: jackieivie.com

 

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Filed Under: Books, Excerpts, New Releases, Romance Reader Interest, Stories Tagged With: beach reads, bestsellers, romance authors, romance novels, summer reads

Football v. Romance–AGAIN!

January 23, 2016 By StephanieQueen

This weekend in my house it’s all football, all the time.

Even when I duck my head to read, I’ll get a prompt, “Did you see that? Aren’t you watching? Put down that book–” Some football fans can be so pushy.

But in truth,

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I love football–almost as much as I love a good romance novel. So this weekend is a competition. It’s a big football weekend with the AFC championships and the battle between the golliath quarterbacks, the handsome Tom terrific Brady and the enigmatic Peyton adorable Manning.

I love Tom’s passionately competitive demeanor and that cute dimple. But who doesn’t love Manning’s understated cool and that sense of humor that comes across in all those fun commercials? This doesn’t even count all their outstanding achievements as football players–you know, all those passes and touchdowns and wins and MVP awards and Super Bowl rings–that stuff.

I have to admit, in the contest of which quarterback I like best, for any reason, I have to go with Tom Brady. After all, I live in New England and must bend to the winds of cherished local icons.

But in the contest of whether I like watching football v. reading a romance novel, it’s a much closer callGriff MontCover and the wind can blow either way. This weekend, I’ll be reading today and watching tomorrow, swaying back and forth between my beloved pass-times. Does this make me wishy-washy?

Not if I read a romance about a football player. Here’s one by a great author in case you have a similar dilemma between football and romance novels.

Griff Montgomery: Quarterback (First & Ten Series) by Jean Joachim

Rated 4.4 Stars by 55 Amazon Reviewers

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Filed Under: Books, Quirky Commentary, Romance Reader Interest Tagged With: books, Football, romance novels

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