Flirting With Love Blog Hop Tour

FLIRTING WITH LOVE: 
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE ROMANCE

BLOG HOP TOUR (FEB 24-26)

I am so excited to join my first Enchanted Muse blog hop.  The “Flirting with Love” theme fits me perfectly.  I adore writing and reading romance in its many shapes and forms.  I love the sizzle of instant attraction, the conflict that makes the characters work against each other, the sexual chemistry that keeps them thinking about each other every moment of the day and night, the heartbreak that wrenches them apart, and of course the happily ever after that brings them back together.  I revel in the romantic journey where the characters flirt with love for the entire story until the very end when they embrace it and accept it for themselves, and love completes their lives.

What would you do if you got a second chance at love…with your husband's best friend?  Second Chance Valentine is a FREE romance short story.  Please download it and enjoy.  Yes, I am completely flirting with you, and I hope you fall in love with both the story and my writing.  My flirty pictures here all relate to Second Chance Valentine.  The beach, a rose, dancing in the dark—yep, they’re all in there.  Here is a quick blurb:

Rick has always been a shoulder for his best friend's widow to lean on, but to him she will always belong to his friend.  Gianna is ready to move on with her life, and no other man affects her like Rick.  To give them both a second chance at love and life, Gianna must convince him that her husband would have wanted him to be the man she moves on with.

 

Because I’m really getting into this flirting thing, leave a comment here, and I will pick one lucky random winner to receive a copy of my full length contemporary romance novel Mr. Forever.  “The only woman who can help Caleb bond with his son is on a mission to destroy the career he’s dedicated his life to.”

But remember, everyone is already a winner because of my flirty little gift to you.  Download Second Chance Valentine here!

**OFFICIAL TOUR RULES TO BE POSTED:**

1) HAVE FUN!!!

2) INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!

3) THIS TOUR STARTS: Friday, February 24, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
THIS TOUR ENDS: Monday, February 27, at Midnight (Arizona Time)

Winners will be drawn and posted Monday, February 27 at 8AM (Arizona Time)!*

4) MEET AND MINGLE WITH ALL THE AUTHORS & BOOK PAGES! EXPERIENCE A NEW DESTINATION AT EVERY STOP! PARTICIPATE IN EVERY BLOG CONTEST AND BE ENTERED FOR CHANCES TO WIN MULTIPLE PRIZES! EVERY BLOG VISITED IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WIN!!

5) PARTICIPATION AT ALL BLOGS IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED. REMEMBER, THE MORE BLOGS YOU HOP, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING PRIZES. EVERY AUTHOR & BOOK PAGE IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW THEM SOME LOVE!

6) DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN? WHOO! HOO!! HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!

***Authors & Book Pages have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of win, whichever comes first. Anyone who participates in this blog hop tour is subject to these rules***

Return to the Blog Hop here

http://enchantedmusepress.blogspot.com/2012/02/linky-list-for-flirting-with-love-its.html

I’m a winner. You’re a winner. Everyone’s a winner.

I’m a winner.  You’re a winner.  Everyone’s a winner.  Yep, that’s right.  I pay it forward, backward and every which way here!  Patricia Yager Delagrange won a copy of Mr. Forever from the Musa Blog Hop.  Patricia is the author of Moon over Alcatraz, a contemporary women’s fiction novel from Musa Publishing. Weston and Brandy’s marriage splinters beneath the burden of sorrow following the death of their child, and after an accidental meeting with her high school friend, Brandy ends up carrying more than just the weight of grief inside her heart.  Wow, that’s some heavy conflict.

While everyone was hopping to my blog, I was hopping around checking out everyone else’s.  And what do you know?  I won!  I won a copy of Arley Cole’s The Blacksmith’s Daughter.  She believes she is only a blacksmith's daughter, but he must discover the truth or risk losing his land---and his life.  This is particularly exciting for me because I have been sneaking guilty peeks at Arley’s new work-in-progress, and I’m loving it.  Now I get to read a complete book of hers from start to finish.  Woo-hoo!  I can't wait.

Remember I said everyone’s a winner.  My short story Second Chance Valentine is absolutely FREE.  Download it here. Then tell all your friends, so everyone can have their own copy!

Musa Books I Love -- Blog Hop

The first book I read from Musa Publishing was Shifting Hearts by Dominique Eastwick.  I fell in love with the cover first.  Okay, it was probably lust, but take a good look at this man and you’ll understand why.  He’s Rekkus, head of Wiccan Haus security, hot alpha male, and a were-tiger.  Mmmrrroeww!

Once I got beyond the cover to start reading, I immediately fell in love with the Wiccan Haus world.  The setting is a paranormal island off the coast of Maine that’s run by four siblings, all with different paranormal gifts that they use for spiritual healing of the humans and not-so-humans who vacation on their island for a week at a time.  Perhaps my favorite character from this quirky cast was the desk clerk Myron who’s constantly wearing the wrong name tag and consulting a deck of playing to cards to direct guests on where they should be and what they should be doing.

Another Musa book I read was Ivy League Cowboy by Helen Hardt.  Here’s another alpha man (hmm, do I sense a pattern?) who wants to take care of “his woman.”  I thought this was going to be a predictable cowboy-rodeo-save the ranch romance, but it was not.  The more I read, the more compelled I was by the story.  I can’t say more without spoiling the heroine’s secret, but suffice to say it was very satisfying read.

Just to mix things up, I also read the male-male More Love Notes anthology by Lydia Nyx, Scarlett Parrish, Viki Lyn and Jenny Urban.  It was HOT, and I loved the variety of stories.  I also read the male-male novella Simple Gifts by LB Gregg, which was wonderful and sweet and made me want to read everything LB has ever written.

I have the privilege of being published alongside these wonderful authors at Musa Publishing.  Here are the cover and blurb for my contemporary romance novel Mr. Forever:

Marriage therapist Caleb Paden has just found out he has a son from a one-night stand, making a mockery of his core belief of stable relationships--"friendship above all physical encounters." On his way to take the child for a paternity test, a snowstorm leaves him stranded with single mom Olivia Wells, who blames his advice for breaking up her marriage.  Caleb finds himself fighting the urge for the most basic of physical encounters.  Olivia would like nothing more than to destroy the career he spent a lifetime building, but her maternal instincts draw her to help Caleb bond with his child.  Soon, she finds herself falling for both of them.  Nowhere in any of his advice does Caleb have an answer for how to make a relationship work if he loses his heart to love.

Excerpt:

She shoved his hand away.  "Don't give me that mellow, understanding voice.  You're not my therapist."

"I'm not trying to be.  But if there's a problem with Forever, I want to fix it."

"That's not what you want."  Maybe coming close to her wasn't the best idea.  She was livid.  "You want me to tell you something I did, so you can prove your model's perfect and I'm at fault.  Yes, my marriage failed, and I carry some responsibility.  I blame myself for reading your books and believing they held the secret to everlasting happiness."

He'd met a lot of irate people over the years.  But they were angry with their spouses, themselves, parents, and bosses.  Not him.  He was the one with the answers, the one who redirected the rage into something healthy.  "I'd like to interview you after we've both cooled down and are well rested.  We'll go through the points of Forever one by one and determine where your marriage broke down.  If any problems surface with the model, I can address them in my next book."

"I'll tell you what's wrong.  You underestimate the power of sex."  She advanced toward him.

All the physical senses he thought he'd gotten under tight rein ran wild.  Caleb backed up a step, trying to regain his control, but came up hard against the counter.  Olivia kept coming, boxing him in.  He pulled on his tie again, hoping it was knotted tightly.  He needed his tightly buttoned image to remind himself he was a professional, and his question was strictly as a therapist.  "How was the sex in your marriage?"

"Sometimes mediocre.  Usually lousy."

With the unholy gleam in her eye, he had trouble comprehending the possibility of a sexual experience with her being less than earth-shattering.  Heat radiated from her.  His body was dying for her to lean her hips into his.

"How's your sex life?"  She reached up and unknotted his tie with deft, sure fingers.

"Good enough," he lied.  Too late he realized she'd broken the wall of one-way revelation he always maintained.  Even with his lie for an answer, she'd drawn him in and was consuming him with sexual fantasies.

"Since you're judging me, I ought to get a chance to judge your statement for myself."  She yanked the tie, sliding it out from under his starched shirt collar and heating the back of his neck.

"Stop it."  He was unnerved to find his voice wasn't quite steady.  Women who wanted to be part of his life wrote letters highlighting the benefits of friendship.  "Let's focus on what went wrong in your marriage."

She worked her fingers under his collar, pushing the top button through the hole.  "How can you stand having this so tight?  You can't take a full breath."

He'd been able to breathe just fine until her knuckles rubbed over his Adam's apple.  Her fingers were smooth and competent.  Despite his resolve, he could feel his arousal pulsing with each of her movements.

Return to the blog hop by clicking here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day!  I want everyone to be my Valentine today, so I have a special treat to give away.  Second Chance Valentine is an exclusive short story that I wrote just for you, and you can download it absolutely free onto your Kindle or Nook or as a pdf file here.

What would you do if you got a second chance at love…with your husband's best friend?

Blurb:

Rick has always been a shoulder for his best friend's widow to lean on, but to him she will always belong to his friend.  Gianna is ready to move on with her life, and no other man affects her like Rick.  To give them both a second chance at love and life, Gianna must convince him that her husband would have wanted him to be the man she moves on with.

http://www.musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=17&products_id=192

Enjoy!  And don't forget to let me know what you think!

Housekeeping

In the real world today I was wiping grape Kool-Aid and who-knows-what else off the living room wall.  Much more exciting, I was also cleaning and revamping my virtual world.  I added the amazing, awesome, hot, sexy cover of my March 23^rd release to my website.  I love it so much I’m going to plaster it everywhere!

I haven’t forgotten about Mr. Forever, though.  I’m giving away two copies this week.  First, I’m giving one away on Lizzie T. Leaf’s blog for her 14 Days of Love tour. http://lizzietleaf.blogspot.com/2012/02/14-days-of-love-day-10-sara-daniel.html  The winner will be picked on Tuesday in honor of Valentine’s Day.

The copy will be given away right here as part of the “I Love Musa Books” blog hop.  http://musapublishingbloghops.blogspot.com  The hop starts on Thursday, February 16 and goes through Sunday, February 19^th with the winner picked on Sunday.

But even if you don’t win or if you already have a copy (if you do, I love you extra!), I still have a freebie for you.  On Valentine’s Day, I am giving away an exclusive Valentine’s short story absolutely free to everyone.  You’ll be able to download it directly from the Musa Publishing website.

More details coming soon!

Win a Copy of Mr. Forever!

Lizzie T. Leaf’s blog is sponsoring 14 Days of Love in honor of that heart-shaped day that's right around the corner.  I’m honored to represent Day 10.  I’ll be hanging out there all day today talking about my first love and first kiss.  Leave a comment (on her blog, not mine) sharing your first love and/or first kiss, and on Valentine's Day I’ll pick a random winner from the comments to receive a copy of Mr. Forever.

http://lizzietleaf.blogspot.com/2012/02/14-days-of-love-day-10-sara-daniel.html

My Secret Alter Ego

This blog is mostly focused on my Sara Daniel romance happenings, but today I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

I write children’s chapter books under the pen name Sara Shafer.   I consider this my “side job” with romance writing as my “real job.”  The first book in The Bravest Squirrel series came out in September.  I’ll tell you all about it in a minute.

First, I have to tell you that I read the draft of the second book to my daughter this week.  We should have had two more evenings of reading, but she loved it so much that we finished the whole thing last night.  Naturally, her excitement (she was jumping on the bed cheering for Max!) made ME excited.

I can’t wait to polish The Bravest Squirrel in the Forest, so you can download it onto your hot little e-reader.  (That’s the 2012 equivalent of getting your hot little hands on the book, right?!)

Until then, you can download The Bravest Squirrel Ever right now!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OZ6X66

Pippi the squirrel isn't brave and has no interest in earning the title of "The Bravest Squirrel Ever."  Scared of thunder, lightning and being "flopped" by the humans, Pippi only wants to return to Mama's warm, cozy nest.  Instead, she stumbles on a better nest.  There's only one problem.  It's in dangerous, forbidden human territory.  The attic nest is too perfect for Pippi to resist, and she moves in.  The humans soon discover her. Instead of driving her out, they seal off her only exit, trapping her inside.  To escape and to survive, Pippi must face her fears and depend on herself for the first time in her life.  In doing so, she learns just how brave a little squirrel can be.

I have lots of fun facts about squirrels and more information about The Bravest Squirrel series on my website.  http://www.SaraShafer.com

Do you have secret you're bursting to tell or a fun squirrel story? My ears are twitching.

Reviews and a Surprise

I’ve gotten a couple really nice reviews for Mr. Forever that I wanted to pass along.  Click on the links for the full reviews.

Heather from Sizzling Hot Book Reviews gushed over my “fantastic…fiery and fierce” heroine and added “Caleb and Olivia had some fantastic chemistry.”  http://www.sizzlinghotbooks.net/2012/01/mr-forever-by-sara-daniel.html?zx=bcc6cb7a74444fd4

Tana Rae gave me a lovely review here.  http://tana-someofmyfavoritebooks.blogspot.com/2012/02/mrforever.html  “Sara Daniel's writing was great and I definitely would read anything else she has written. This book was fantastic and I would recommend to anyone who enjoys romance novels.”

Wow!  I think the word of the day is FANTASTIC.  Thanks Tana and Heather.

Okay, now are you ready for the surprise?  On Friday—yes, this Friday—I will be giving away a copy of Mr. Forever on Lizzie T. Leaf’s Blog.  http://lizzietleaf.blogspot.com/  I’ll be Day 10 of her 14 Days of Love.  Read all about my first love and first kiss, and then leave a comment on her blog telling me about your first love and/or first kiss.  I’ll pick a random winner from one of the comments.

TMI

Everything you want to know about me (and probably a lot of things you didn't want to know) are available for your reading pleasure on the blog of fellow Musa author Elizabeth Ashtree.

http://elizabethashtree.blogspot.com/2012/02/ten-questions-answered-by-sara-daniel.html

Thanks Elizabeth.

Dawn's Reading Nook

Today I am talking about Mr. Forever at Dawn's Reading Nook.

http://dawnsreadingnook.blogspot.com/2012/02/getting-to-know-sara-daniel-today.html

Dawn is the very lovely owner of the Love Romances Café yahoo loop and a wonderful supporter of the romance genre.  I am extremely honored to be her guest today.

Here's another set of links where I like to hang out:

My Facebook fan page:  http://www.facebook.com/SaraDanielSaraShafer

Facebook friend page:  http://www.facebook.com/SaraShaferDaniel

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/#!/SSaraDaniel

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/SaraDaniel

My New Home

I'm new to having my own blog, but I'm not new to blogging.  Five years ago I was part of a group blog advising beginning writers, but I quickly realized I'd rather write than explain how to write.  A couple months ago, I started guest blogging.  I enjoyed connecting with readers and other writers at each blog, but I needed a place to call home.  So, here I am in my new home.

Where have I been in the past two months?  Here's a list:

December 16, 2011 Author Interview on Annie Seaton's blog

http://annieseaton.blogspot.com/p/friday-friends.html

December 23, 2011 Sledding! (Mr. Forever release day at Musa Publishing)

http://musapublishing.blogspot.com/2011/12/mr-forever-by-sara-daniel.html

January 3, 2012 Scones Recipe -- Tasty Tuesday at Musa Publishing

http://musapublishing.blogspot.com/2012/01/scone-sorceress-and-mr-forever-by-sara.html

January 12, 2012  My Scones Adventure on Marilyn Brant's blog

http://marilynbrant.blogspot.com/2012/01/mr-foreverand-quest-for-perfect-scone.html

January 19, 2012  Goals, Motivations & Conflicts for Aspiring Writers

http://aspiringromancewriters.webs.com/apps/blog/show/11718083-goals-motivations-and-conflicts-oh-my-by-sara-daniel

January 26, 2012  Interview with Dr. Caleb Paden (aka Mr. Forever)

http://musapublishing.blogspot.com/2012/01/mr-forever-character-interview.html

January 28, 2012  First chapter of Mr. Forever

http://dreneebagbypresentsfirstchapters.blogspot.com/2012/01/mr-forever-by-sara-daniel.html

Of course, you can always find me on my website.

http://www.SaraDaniel.com