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SARA News - When One Finalist Just Isn't Enough...

16/3/2013

Thanks for joining us here at SARA News Central.

February and March have been busy months, so we'll wait a moment while you grab a coffee and a Tim Tam...before launching into our 'When One Finalist Just Isn't Enough" edition.

Congratulations to Claire Baxter on her latest release--More Than Just One Night (A Selwood Sisters Novella).

Cora, the oldest of the Selwood sisters, has been keeping the family business going since her husband died six years ago. She doesn’t need the distraction of secretly seeing a man who is too young for her, nor the gossip that will result if their relationship is discovered.

But what was supposed to be a one-night stand turns into so much more, and uptight, meticulous, conservative Cora finds herself unable to resist Alex, the laidback lawyer. Can he dismantle the barricades she’s built around her heart and help her see that she’s only living half a life?

A sweet contemporary romance and the first novella in the Selwood Sisters series.

This title has also finalled in the Ebook Indie Covers March monthly indie ebook cover awards. The cover is a Helzcat Designs production, which is our own Helen Katsinis. What a coup! Big congrats to you both.

In more great news for Claire, her romantic comedy Anybody But Him is due to be released in July:

A deliciously funny rom com from Random Romance. What happens when you fall in love with the man you hate?

Nicola Doyle's dating record is a disaster, and it doesn't improve when she returns to Redgum Valley, after an absence of twelve years, to look after her increasingly eccentric parents. There, she's thrown into regular contact with Blair Morrissey – the very reason she couldn't wait to leave town in the first place.

The decade-old scars are still raw from that humiliating day in high school – when Blair went from the boy she loved to the boy she hated.

Except Blair doesn't seem to be a ‘bad boy' any more – in fact, he's charming, infuriatingly helpful and extremelyattractive.

If only Nicola could forgive and forget . . .

Can't wait! While you're checking out Claire's new books, have a look at her gorgeous website!

Speaking of our talented web designer, check out Eleni Konstantine's newest release, a paranormal romance short, Sealed With A Kiss.

Can a gift from her grandmother protect Lise?

Lise doesn’t believe in vampires. Or so she tells herself. Though, she constantly wears the garnet necklace her grandmother gave her, which wards off the creatures. Andreas, the man she’s attracted to, seems more than a little interested in it. Could there be an ulterior motive?

How's this for cover fabulous? Trish Morey has recently revealed two new covers. Bartering her Innocence is out now from Mills & Boon Sexy, and Gorgeous Grooms contains a reissue of His Prisoner In Paradise.

In more finalist news-because one's just not enough!-the results are in for the Romance Writers of Australia Little Gems Contest-Sapphire. Three SARAs are in the mix this year and will have their short stories published in the 2013 anthology to be launched at the national conference in August in Fremantle.

Congrats to Harriet Jarvis & Ute Rozenbilds, who placed in the top fifteen. And a very gabberflasted Emmeline Lock placed second. ;)

We look forward to reading all of the winning stories in a few months.

Stay tuned for more Khloe Wren news. Until next time, happy reading!

Emmeline.

Is it the silly season yet?

18/11/2012

Or have I gotten silly early? Second thoughts, don't answer that.

As we stand at the precipice of Christmas 2012--and I'm finally over September's shock of seeing shiny decorations and red-and-green gift boxed chocolates in the stores--do you fancy taking a little time out and seeing what the SARAs have been up to over the last month or so?

Of course you do! Take down time when you can, I say.

Carla Caruso has been a busy little fairy.

Not only is she fielding fabulously awesome reviews of her new releases, CITYGLITTER (Penguin Books) and MOMMY BLOGGER (Eternal Press), but she's been hanging out in Kingston SE's little corner of the web, talking about the book she's currently writing.

Carla also has a short story available at Alfiedog.com. Check out The Grass Is Greener after November 18th.

If you just can't get enough of Carla (let's face it, I'm sure you're not alone), read her Blog Bite at the RWA Blog.

Lillian Grant has a new cover for HOT MALE, book three in her Reigning men series.

Ahem. Excuse me. Need a drink of water.

Given the covers of MALE ORDER (book one) and MALE REVIEW (book two), book three has always had very big shoes to fill, and I'm sure you'll agree that HOT MALE does not disappoint.

And you know what they say about big shoes...

Dy Loveday is giving away three copies of ILLUSION to some lucky commenters over at her blog--head over and score yourself a book!

Anne Oliver has just had her latest book accepted, MARRIAGE IN NAME ONLY?, out in the UK as a Mills & Boon Modern in April next year. Congrats, Anne.

Lilliana Rose has been hanging out where all good dark romancers do--at DarkSide DownUnder. Get in quick to win an ecopy of CREATING WINGS.

Eleni Konstantine continues to set the world on fire down at the Taverna, and you can catch Tamara Gill and all things historical at her blog.

Congratulations to Suzie Hindmarsh-Knights, who is among Alfiedog.com's top five authors for two months running. Head to her short stories here.

Finally, take a look at the Contest Divas blog, where they have compiled a list of 2011 romance writing contest winners. See if you can spot the awesome SARA girls among the winners--Bronwyn Stuart, Rebecca Sampson and Virginia Taylor.

Nothing like a great book or four to get your mind off the silly season.

Until next time, happy reading,

Emmeline x

Dy Loveday at the Romance Writers of Australia Blog

26/10/2012

Drop in and see what Dy has all over her walls...

SARA News - Baby, it's cold outside, but we've got HOT new releases here at SARA!

15/8/2012

Bronwyn Stuart's Scandal's Mistress is OUT NOW from Carina Press!

London, 1805

Justin Trentham, third son of the Earl of Billington, is determined to get himself disowned from his cold and unloving family. Despite his numerous affairs with questionable women of the ton, his parents continue to be dismissive of his ploys, but Justin spots the perfect scandal in the form of a beautiful, exotic Italian opera singer...

Carmalina Belluccini refuses to become his mistress, despite being tempted by his charms. But after losing her singing voice, she finds herself destitute. She agrees to be Justin's mistress for one month, until she has enough money to return to her beloved Italy.

She intends to keep their arrangement strictly business, but after witnessing Justin's vulnerable side, she finds herself falling more in love than in lust with him. Carmalina is having second thoughts about leaving England...but is their love strong enough to survive the scandal of the season?

88,000 words

Click on through to buy it from Carina Press, and congratulations Bron!

Lillian Grant has a new release out - Go with the Flo, from Liquid Silver Books

Nineties girl Florence Spring joined Avon to find her Edward Scissorhands but instead needs to rescue his porno alter ego.

Blurb

When Florence notices her eccentric ex-boyfriend, Eddie, isn’t putting on his usual show in the front window on Friday night she decides to investigate. She asks her best friend, Nelson Tyler, to help but he seems more interested in seducing Florence than in finding her personal flasher. Florence has no idea when she embarks on the adventure she will accidentally shoot an undercover policeman, or that her actions will lead to Nelson’s kidnapping. Now with two men missing she has no choice but to continue and thwart the plans of a psychotic soon to be divorcee. She needs to rescue Nelson because life without him is unbearable, especially since she’s discovered his long sensitive fingers are far more erotic than scissorhands.

Check it out at LSB and Amazon and congratulations, Lillian!

Lillian is over at Book N Kisses, talking about Male Review.

Tamara Gill has received a four-star review for A Marriage Made in Mayfair.

Here's an excerpt from the review by Cocktails and Books:

"...And the way all the characters interacted just felt very real. The romance between Suzanna and Royce is fast paced and very entertaining.

I give A Marriage Made in Mayfair four cocktails!"

Get your copy from Decadent Publishing.

Dy Loveday has a new release coming out in October with Liquid Silver Books: Illusion - Book One of Daughters of the Abyss.

Cool cover, no?

We look forward to hearing more very soon!

Suzie Hindmarsh Knights' Author Profile has been featured on Alfiedog's Bites. Head on over and see what inspires Suzie. (Photo courtesy Peter Knights)

Maggie Mundy has also finalled in the Ignite the Flame Contest. Stay tuned for more on that next time.

Finally, we wish all those people attending the Romance Writers of Australia's Annual Conference this weekend a smashing time! We wait with bated breath to hear about the R*BY and Award outcomes. Good luck!

Happy reading, Emmeline.

SARA News - read with care...

6/8/2012

There is so much news, we're bursting at the seams!

You might need two biscuits to get you through this one.

And you'd better make them Tim Tams. :)

Congratulations to Lilliana Rose, who has been selected as the Round 1 Writer in Residence at the South Australia Writer's Centre (SAWC)

This, from the SAWC Newsletter:
WRITERS IN RESIDENCE
SAWC is delighted to announce the first two writers who have been successful in our Writers in Residence Project. We will be welcoming Lilliana Rose (round one) and Dr Ianto Ware (round two).
Lilliana will be rewriting her YA contemporary novel during her residency, with a particular focus on character development. The novel has already received interest from a notable publisher. Lilliana is known for her published poetry, and is part of many strong writing networks.

SARAs are on a roll at the story website Alfiedog.com. Head over for some short story wonderful.

Here are the links:
Claire Baxter
Lilliana Rose
Maggie Mundy
Suzie Hindmarsh-Knights
Virginia Taylor

Congratulations to those ladies!

We also have a number of member websites that have gone live recently.
Check out:

www.suziehindmarshknights.com
www.maggiemundy.com
www.virginiataylor.com

While you're surfing, check out these new blog posts:
Lillian Grant (Win her latest release as she rampages around the blogosphere, performing a very enthusiastic bloghop!)
Eleni Konstantine
Tamara Gill (Includes a Goodreads giveaway of her upcoming release!)
Emmeline Lock

Excellent reviews for Bronwyn Stuart's Scandal's Mistress rolling in.

Have a look at this one from Night Owl Reviews.

And this one from Imagine A World.

In the lead up to RWA Conference, you might also like to visit Bron's blog and read her post on pitching: Pitching and queries and not wetting your pants.

Eleni Konstantine has a cover for her new Musa release, a novella called GATEWAY TO HELL, due for release on September 7th.

Congrats, Eleni!

While the adulation is heading Eleni's way, we should also blow a cornet for her Commended gong in the RWNZ's Clendon Award.

*TOOT!* :)

Tamara Gill also a has a new cover, this one for A Stolen Season, a regency time travel romance, to be released by Crimson Romance on August 27th. Congrats, Tam!

Archaeologist Sarah Baxter had a clear directive: travel back to nineteenth century London to retrieve the measuring device she left behind. But her bungled attempt at thievery left an English Earl dead and his brother bent on revenge. Sarah must once again go back in time to find the device and return to her own time before her tragic mistake puts a noose around her neck. Unfortunately, the only way to get close to the device is to befriend the very man who wants her dead.

Eric, the new Earl of Earnston, was determined to catch the woman who killed his brother, but she’d disappeared without a trace. Twelve months on and there are still no clues to her whereabouts. As luck would have it, he finds a distraction. A new family have arrived in town and Miss Sarah Baxter is a delightful diversion among the stale debutantes in the ton.

Sarah knows it is madness to seduce the man who would want her dead should he know who she was, but the Earl is an alarmingly persistent gentleman. Can Sarah procure the device without her secret being revealed? And what will the Earl do when he finds out the woman he’s in love with is not the woman he thought he knew?

Congrats also to those SARAs who made the RWA's Bestseller Lists for June:

Amazon US
Anthologies Top 100
A Captain’s Order – A Duke’s Command – Tamara Gill

Amazon US
Series Top 100
Forbidden: The Sheikh’s Virgin – Trish Morey

Trish Morey has been a busy little...writer. Not only was she recently in the US to celebrate her RITA nomination with A Storm WIthin, but she has a new release out! THE SHEIKH'S CONVENIENT VIRGIN is in the anthology Innocent in the Desert, HM&B Special Format.

Until next time, happy reading!

Emmeline. x

SARA News - Sales: Keep 'em comin'!

12/7/2012

Congratulations to Bronwyn Stuart, who has just accepted a contract with Carina Press for her second regency novel, Behind the Courtesan, due for publication early in 2013. Scandal's Mistress is out next month, also from Carina!

Here's the blurb:

Behind the Courtesan

When Sophia Martin returns to the village she once fled, she knows it won't be all sunshine and happy reunions but she also didn't expect the name calling and insults to come from her childhood friend. Blake Vale just can't accept the decisions she made, the courtesan's life she leads, or the fact he once loved a girl who no longer recognizes her true self. Plain old Sophie Martin has to be inside this hardened woman somewhere and he's determined to bring her out and make her see she doesn't need rich dukes to be happy and that the future has nothing to do with her past.

Eleni Konstantine has been a busy lady! Not only is she featured in the RWA Blog's Conference Spotlight recently, but she's also been nominated for the Lynne Wilding Award.

Don't know the award? This, from the RWA blog:
Established in 1996, this award’s intention is to recognise and honour an individual’s outstanding contribution to RWA. Named in honour of our first President, Lynne was the driving force behind this award. She understood the importance committed individuals can make to the lifeblood of an organisation.

Big congrats, Eleni, and best of luck! Very much deserved.

Amy T Matthews and her Dobbie Award shortlist nomination for End of the Night Girl have been featured on the Curtis Brown webpage.

Alfiedog.com has secured more short stories from SARAs!

Congrats to Suzie Hindmarsh-Knights, who has sold four shorts, and will be published from August 1st. She joins Claire Baxter, Virginia Taylor, Maggie Mundy and Lilliana Rose, who have stories to be released very shortly.

Speaking of Claire Baxter, keep your eyes open for WINNING WAYS, a short story to be published in That's Life Magazine Issue 23.

Aaaaand, speaking of Maggie Mundy, head on over to the AntipodeanSF website, where her science fiction short, THE THIRTEENTH DOME , is now live.

Trish Morey also The Heir From Nowhere coming out in a HM&B Bestselling Author's collection this month.

In great company there, Trish! Congrats!

Tamara Gill's A Marriage Made in Mayfair BlogHop continues!

Check her blog for dates.

Finally, Lillian Grant's been at Romance Junkies talking Fifty Shades...

Until next time, happy reading!
Emmeline.

SARA News - Release dates, new covers and bestsellers abound!

28/5/2012

WAIT NO LONGER! Lillian Grant's Male Review is available for sale from today (US time)!

How can you resist this hook?
A nymphomaniac octogenarian great aunt, a frigid mother, and a BDSM male strip club, what could possibly go wrong?

Get yours at Liquid Silver Books and where all good hot and steamy ebooks are sold.

You can also check out an excerpt at Lillian's blog. If you're over 18, of course. Otherwise, you'll have to wait. Poor you.

Scandal's Mistress, Bronwyn Stuart's debut novel, is due for release on August 13th, from Carina Press. Given that Bronwyn spent quite some time carrying the contest diva tiara and sceptre, we're delighted that her name will finally and deservedly be on eshelves very soon! And we love the cover! Big congrats, Bron!

Bron must be squirming in her skin with excitement almost constantly these days--her wedding is also fast approaching! Best wishes from all the SARA team to you and your family.

London, 1805

Justin Trentham, third son of the Earl of Billington, is determined to get himself disowned from his cold and unloving family. Despite his numerous affairs with questionable women of the ton, his parents continue to be dismissive of his ploys, but Justin spots the perfect scandal in the form of a beautiful, exotic Italian opera singer...

Carmalina Belluccini refuses to become his mistress, despite being tempted by his charms. But after losing her singing voice, she finds herself destitute. She agrees to be Justin's mistress for one month, until she has enough money to return to her beloved Italy.

She intends to keep their arrangement strictly business, but after witnessing Justin's vulnerable side, she finds herself falling more in love than in lust with him. Carmalina is having second thoughts about leaving England...but is their love strong enough to survive the scandal of the season?

Eleni Konstantine is also part of a Musa Publishing Memorial Day Blog Hop. Check out more at her blog. There's a giveaway involved! ;)

Finally, congratulations to those SARAs who made the Bestseller lists for April 2012:

Amazon US
Harlequin Presents Top 100
Fiancee for One Night – Trish Morey

The Ex Factor – Anne Oliver

Forbidden: The Sheikh’s Virgin – Trish Morey

The Ruthless Greek’s Virgin Princess – Trish Morey

Amazon US
Anthologies Top 100
A Captain’s Order - A Duke’s Command – Tamara Gill

See the Romance Writers of Australia blog for the full, exhilarating list!

Congratulations, ladies!

Until next time, happy reading.

Emmeline.

Bestselling SARAs for February

21/3/2011

Borders US (Historical) HIS LADY MISTRESS by Elizabeth Rolls

Amazon US (Anthologies) TO SIN WITH SCANDAL by Tamara Gill

Amazon US (Historical) A COMPROMISED LADY by Elizabeth Rolls

Amazon UK (Romance Bestsellers) THE HEIR FROM NOWHERE by Trish Morey

Amazon UK Kindle (Romance Bestsellers) THE HEIR FROM NOWHERE by Trish Morey

Congratulations to our bestselling SARAs!

More on Aussie bestsellers at the Romance Writers of Australia blog.

Lynne Wilding Award Nomination

20/7/2010

I have some good news of my own. I have been nominated for the Lynne Wilding Award. It is the award given by Romance Writers of Australia for service to RWA and it is presented during the Awards Dinner at the annual conference.

I'm still quite shocked but very very honoured to be in the company of such wonderful women.

I'm sure my fellow SARA members had a lot to do with this nomination, and I thank you ladies.

~Eleni x