Treasure Maze: Paranormal Submission for Oct contest now open

Treasure Maze: Paranormal Submission for Oct contest now open: "Wow, I'm pleased to say that the response has been great for our promotional party starting this September. October marks the new monthly c..."

GetToKnowTheBook: Author Kaily Hart 'Picture This'

Writers. Where do we get our ideas? There’s no easy answer to this and you’ll probably get a bunch of different answers if you ask a group of writers. For me, it’s ‘everywhere’. Everything I see, read, feel and hear is potential input. It could be a funny expression, a piece of clothing, a snippet of a song, a hair style, a name on a sign, my reaction to something…literally anything can spark an idea and it can happen at any time. I may not remember names, I might forget my kid’s dentist appointments, I might not be able to repeat what my husband said to me mere minutes before, but I never, ever forget a detail I liked. And it gets filed away for later use. Someone recently asked me about the premise for Picture This, and how I came up with it. Honestly? I have absolutely no idea. Just for fun, I thought I’d take some of the elements of the book I can trace back and tell you about those:
The hero, Sam Steele’s name is similar to a guy my husband used to play golf with over fifteen years ago! Always loved the name ‘Steele’, but he looked absolutely nothing like Sam! See? Never forget a detail!
I have the denim dress Jillian wears to Sam’s house. Trust me, I’ve never gotten as lucky as Jillian does wearing it and ah…it probably doesn’t look as good on me :)
Jillian’s shaving mishap? Yeah, well, that can happen to anyone, right? Right? LOL
I might not have described the building where Jillian lives it in the book in much detail, but the visual I had is of an apartment building I used to actually live in, in downtown San Diego.
Ideas are funny things. Sometimes it’s easy to see what sparked one. Other times, I have no clue. One thing I do know is I have no shortage of them!

Blurb:

Desperate and young, Jillian Moore did something she knew would one day come back to bite her in the ass. She’d posed nude. For money. Years later, and on the fast track to a successful career, she’s still haunted by her mistake. She can’t help but wonder when her past will catch up with her.

Samuel Steele is not short on female attention, but the women who warm his bed pale in comparison to the fantasy he’s created of the seductive temptress in the painting hanging prominently in his bedroom. A fantasy that has ruined his once satisfying sex life. When he discovers that her exact likeness works in his building—for him—things get…interesting.


Excerpt R-rated

Oh my God, Samuel Steele was a walking, talking wet dream.
She’d drooled from afar plenty, but up close he was downright gorgeous. Every woman in the place, and even some of the guys, had checked out his tight butt, flat abs and broad shoulders, and although he’d never worn anything but a suit to the office, that didn’t stop imaginations from running riot. His hair was dark and thick, his skin tanned, and regardless of the time of day, his jaw always seemed darkened with at least a day’s beard growth. And his eyes. She’d never been close enough to make out their color before, but they were a dark, piercing gray. They should have looked cold, but the way he was looking at her made her wonder if someone had turned off the air-conditioning.


Author's links:

Book buy link - http://www.jasminejade.com/p-8437-picture-this.aspx

Web – www.kailyhart.com
Blog - http://kailyhart.blogspot.com/
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/kaily.hart
Twitter - http://twitter.com/kailyhart

Review: Flaherty's Crossing' by Kaylin McFarren

From Pacific Northwest's award-winning author Kaylin McFarren comes a powerful novel about love, loss, and the power of forgiveness...

Successful yet emotionally stifled artist Kate Flaherty stands at the deathbed of her estranged father, conflicted by his morphine-induced confession exposing his part in her mother's death. While racing home, Kate's car mishap leads her to a soul-searching discussion with a lone diner employee, prompting Kate to confront the true reasons her marriage hangs in the balance. When her night takes an unexpected turn, however, she flees for her life, a life desperate for faith that can only be found through her ability to forgive.


Reviewed by Author Betty Ann Harris
It was apparent to me as I read Flaherty's Crossing by Kaylin McFarren, that she poured her heart and soul into this story of love, healing, and faith. Ms. McFarren evokes strong emotional responses from her readers, and I can truthfully admit that I cried at the end of the story. Not tears of sadness, but rather, tears of pure emotion and a feeling that the author truly connected with me. And that I felt the same emotions while reading the book as she felt and wanted to convey while writing it. And isn't that what writers truly want to achieve? Well, Ms. McFarren accomplished that with her wonderful book, Flaherty's Crossing.

The main character, Kate, who grew up feeling unloved, almost loses everything because she is not able to forgive or trust those closest to her. It takes her father's death, a car accident, a good knock on the head, and her husband almost leaving her before she realizes what is most important in life. She learns to forgive and to trust her heart. And once she is able to do that, a whole new world awaits her.

I truly loved this story and the way it was written, with such depth and emotion. I give this a well-deserved five stars. It was a fantastic book!

http://www.flahertyscrossing.com
http://www.kaylinmcfarren.com

Champagne Books
ISBN: 978-1-926681-19-1
Publication Date: February 2010