Baring My Soul

This Savvy Saturday I bared my soul about writing for Champagne Book Group. While I have been blessed with great publishers, Champagne was my first home. I share a sneak peek about submitting and publishing for readers and prospective authors.   Check it out here:  Savvy Saturday: Rita Bay on Her Experience with Champagne Book Group   Later this week, I’ll have the cover reveal for my latest book with Champagne, Search & Rescue – a sizzling military romance with a twist.  Rita

My Last Orphan

   Ely’s Epiphany, my last Secret Cravings orphan, is a contemporary M/M military erotic Christmas romance. It is a humorous, scorching hot, stand-alone sequel to Search & Rescue that contains very explicit M/M sex scenes and graphic language. It is scheduled for release in November in Champagne Book Group’s Carnal Passions line. Ely and Todd, now living in a palatial home in South Georgia with Lexie (their former ward) and her new husband, are ex-Green Beret gay partners who are in the process of examining their relationship. It’s a difficult, at times humorous, proposition, since they’re not on the same page.Here’s the blurb:

    Will Christmas bring a breakup or a new beginning for ex-Green Beret partners Ely and Todd? For Todd Anderson, a West Point graduate from a wealthy family, it was love at first sight. Living with Ely wasn’t easy, but it was the only life for him. When Ely plays too nice, Todd fears his partner—his first and only lover who introduced him to the gay lifestyle and sizzling hot sex—is preparing him for a Christmas breakup. Will this Christmas be their last together?

     Ex-Green Beret Ely Locklear survived a childhood filled with poverty and abuse by building a wall around his heart. Although the millionaire mercenary and entrepreneur has a family and partner who love him, the wall and rough edges remain. When his ward’s new Army Ranger husband shows him that loving someone isn’t a weakness, he wonders if it’s too late for a fresh start with his partner.

In Ely’s Epiphany, Ely is a master chef. While I’m not a master chef, I love to cook and used my own recipes in the story. I’ll share them as we near publication.   Rita

My Orphans Have A Home

Great news (for me, anyway)! My two short contemporary military romances that were orphaned when Secret Cravings closed last year will be published by Champagne Book Group (CBG). The two-book series, “Lexie’s Guys,” will be published in CBG’s erotic line, Carnal Passions. Thanks to CBG for allowing me to expand and update both books. Check out the blurb for Search & Rescue, a sizzling M/F romance, which is scheduled for publication in October, 2016:

   Not every search ends with a rescue. One look at Captain Taylor Jackson at a Career Day at Spring Hill College and wealthy coed Lexie Carter knew he was The One. In six months they’re engaged and the wedding set for after graduation. When Taylor is reported killed in action in Afghanistan two months before their wedding, Lexie is devastated, her hopes for a family of her own crushed. Can she survive a future without Taylor or will she succumb to her grief?

   Army Ranger Taylor Jackson fell in love at first sight with young Lexie Carter. While on a mission in Afghanistan, he is captured by insurgents after taking his brother’s place on patrol. When Taylor escapes and returns home on what should have been their wedding day, Lexie has disappeared under ominous circumstances. Can he find her in time to rescue her from her fate?

I look forward to sharing an excerpt or two when edits are completed. Later this week, Ely’s Epiphany.  Rita

Celebrate the Past and Move On

   On my final non-patriotic post last year, I said farewell to one of my four publishers. Secret Cravings and Sweet Cravings closed last year – a real shame. Sandy treated her authors well, the contract was fair, and many new authors received a first chance to publish. The closing was a class act. Sandy, unlike some publishers I could name, kept the authors in the loop and made every effort to keep the finances fair. While the SCP site has closed, the authors stay close through Facebook, but it’s still time to move on.

   Every author remembers receiving that first offer to publish. Fourteen contracts later, I will always be grateful to Judy Gill, at the time the acquisitions editor for Champagne Book Group, for that first vote of confidence in what became Into the Lyons’ Den, the first book in the shapeshifter Lyons’ Tales trilogy. Again, though, it’s time to move on.

   Last Christmas (2015) Champagne Book re-published my sweet Christmas Regency story, Twelfth Night Queen’s Deception. (Read Excerpt or Buy Here)  Recently, Long and Short Reviews awarded the story FIVE STARS (Read the review Here). Loads of research on apple production and processing in Somerset and the traditions of the Twelfth Night Queen celebrated there went into the story. Here’s the blurb for Twelfth Night Queen’s Deception:

    Fontaines always married Westburys, until the Twelfth Night Queen rebelled. Amelia Fontaine had been betrothed to her cousin, Percy Westbury, while she was still in leading strings. When Percy and his family arrive for a long holiday visit, Amelia is dismayed by the prospect of the impending arranged marriage. With his estate in shambles, Percy flaunts his plans to use Fontaine Hall’s wealth to benefit his family’s fortunes. When Percy demands that Amelia end her friendship with her neighbor, Edward Thornton, will she choose to follow tradition or pursue happiness?

   Edward Thornton, the Earl of Bridgewater, couldn’t remember a time he didn’t love Amelia. He didn’t believe her grandmother would insist on an arranged marriage, until the entire Westbury clan invites themselves to Fontaine Hall. When Edward discovers Percy’s secret life and his sinister plans for Amelia, he embarks on a campaign to rescue her. Will the Twelfth Night Queen help him save Amelia from her cruel fate?

Next Post, More Writing News.

A Review: Castles Burning by Keith Wayne McCoy

In Castles Burning (Champagne, 2014) by Keith Wayne McCoy, a son is confronted with horrors he thought he’d escaped when he left home years before. Wil Warner returns home when he receives an imperious summons from his mother.

As a child, he had been manipulated by and pulled between both his parents. His mother, a narcissistic woman obsessed with possessions and maintaining the family’s prominent position at the top of local society, believes that everything and everyone has a price. To prove her point, she bought her husband, Wil’s father. Wil learned early from his father, a handsome man who had worked for the family, that the price of being bought was obedience to the whims of the one who pays the bills, his wife and Wil’s mother.

When his mother tried to exert the same control over Wil after he returned from college for a visit with his girlfriend, he rejected her attempts to control him and walked out of her life—until the summons arrived. Wil arrives home to realize that he must deal with his mother who has fallen into the depths of mental illness.

McCoy’s Castles Burning is a great read that examines how mental illness affects individuals and families, especially when the mental illness leads to horrific acts that defy belief. Castles Burning also addresses Wil Warner’s personal growth as he must deal with the mother who dominated him in his youth with her selfishness and meanness, which devolved into insanity.

BUY LINKS:  CHAMPAGNE BOOK GROUP / AMAZON

Rita Bay’s New Release

Thank you visiting  the MFRW Book Hook Hop. Please check out the blurb and excerpt from Conquering Cupid –  my new release from Champagne Books, then click link to visit the other authors.

Love and lust, the perfect mix for a happily ever after. When popular artist Diana Harper dumped her cheating fiancé and accepted an invitation “to attend a private event at Miss A’s island retreat to experience your most secret dreams and fondest fantasies,” her hostess gave her Teddy as an “attendant.” Despite his best efforts, Teddy is no submissive. Diana, however, plays his game for the profound passion, the best sex ever, and love that could last a lifetime.

Billionaire philanthropist Theodore Cooper “Coop” Bareston III fell in love with Diana when he saw her working out at his elite gym in New York City. He was willing to do anything to win her love, including wearing a skimpy thong in his “Teddy” role and posing nude in chains when Di’s interest in her art revived. As the sexual tension builds and passions explode, Teddy discovers he is intensely aroused by playing the submissive.

After moving into Coop’s East Side penthouse, Diana is sucked into a world inhabited by supernatural denizens with powers beyond her imagination. Can she survive the challenges confronting her to live in Coop’s world or will she turn her back on the extraordinary destiny within her grasp?

Teddy peeked at her over his shoulder. “May I speak, Mistress?”

She frowned, irritated by his interruption. “Keep it brief.”

He tossed back the curly dark brown hair that had fallen forward to cover his face. “I would have done anything to get you away from that asshole, Franklin Thompson.”

“Get up.” She tossed the riding crop on the bed, grabbed the back of his thong, and pulled him to his feet. “Play time is over.”

Teddy knew her rat bastard ex-fiancé? Exactly what was his game? “What in hell are you talking about?”

He sat gingerly on the bed, apprehension flickering across his face.

BUY LINKS Amazon  / Champagne  / AllRomance

Rita Bay WEBPAGE & BLOG / FACEBOOK / PINTEREST / AMAZON

Click here to visit the other Book Hook Authors…

An Author’s Desk: Hannah Lokos

I am so pleased to welcome Champagne author Hannah Lokos to “An Author’s Desk.” Hannah will share a bit about herself, Labyrinth of Lies – her debut novel of historical fiction published by Champagne Book Group, and the story behind the book.  BTW, Hannah’s the youngest guest to visit but she’ll tell you all about that. Meet Hannah …

I am a pre-med/biology college student, and as such, I have learned to write in a variety of places at a variety of times.  Honestly, I can write pretty much anywhere.  Sometimes, it’s my dorm room.  Other times it might be the school library, a different library, Denny’s, Starbucks, the stairs, or, if I’m at home, my couch.  I write whenever I have a spare chance, often as a study break from physics or organic chemistry, and often at one o’clock in the morning.   Even though writing and science are both intense and intensely time consuming, I am finding that, surprisingly, different types of insanity can actually work to balance each other out.  This has definitely been true in my case.   The cat in the picture is Chocolate.  She has been my faithful writing companion for the past twelve years.  When I’m writing at home, she often tries to squeeze onto my lap with my computer.

I wrote Labyrinth of Lies when I was eighteen years old. The idea came from an art history class I was taking.  I was already familiar with the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, which basically states that Crete went to war with Athens and won.  The cruel king of Crete, King Minos, demanded that the defeated king of Athens, King Aegeus, sign a peace treaty stating that, every year, he would send fourteen of his nation’s youth to Crete to be fed to the Minotaur, a vicious half-man half-beast that dwelt locked in the labyrinth.  The myth states that Theseus, the son of King Aegeus, eventually decided that enough was enough, so he sailed to Crete, killed the Minotaur, and freed his people.  This was all very well and dandy; nothing earth-shattering. But then I learned something: it was real.

Historical evidence indicates that Theseus may have been a real person.  King Aegeus was nearly certainly real; the Aegean Sea is named after him.  King Minos lived also; you can still tour the ruins of his palace (and see all the frescoes on the walls) at Knossos in Crete.  Crazier still, in the ruins, there was discovered to be a structure that resembled a labyrinth.  This really got me thinking.  We know there can’t be such a thing as a Minotaur.  It just isn’t possible.  Yet, everything else seems to be true.  So why on earth would you need a labyrinth if there was no monster to contain?  Why on earth would you kill fourteen innocent kids if there was no beast to eat them?  What was truly going on all those thousands of years ago?  And that is precisely what my book is about.  Theseus struggles to unwind a massive web of motives and lies to discover what truly lies at the heart of that infamous maze. What happens?  Well (cue maniacal laughter) you’ll just have to read it and find out!

Fun facts about me?  I like needlepoint and baking, but I also enjoy paintball and geocaching.  I have been stung by a jellyfish and I hate Twitter and cheese. Earlier this summer, I spent six weeks working overseas in Togo, West Africa, in a missions hospital.  Now, I’m studying for the MCAT and working on my next novel.  After that?  We’ll see!

 LABYRINTH OF LIES

Something foul is afoot in Ancient Greece. Athens is bruised from a previous war with Crete. Worse still, King Minos annually demands fourteen Athenian youths to be fed to the Cretan Minotaur locked inside a maze. When his own beloved, Zosemine, is taken to be fed to the Minotaur, Theseus finds himself at the heart of a web of conflicting motives, with the sense that even those closest to him cannot be trusted. Theseus must navigate the various plots, motives, and secrets through the labyrinth and see past the masks to slay the Minotaur

Buy Links for Labyrinth of Lies: CHAMPAGNE / AMAZON

Hannah’s Links   WEBPAGE /  TWITTER / FACEBOOK / PINTEREST / PUBLISHER PAGE / AMAZON /

Thank you for visiting, Hannah. All the best in your bright future.  Rita Bay

Thursday Redux: Keith Wayne McCoy’s Meet Jess Bennett

Keith Wayne McCoy is my first guest on Thursday Redux , where my favorite authors share their favorite posts. “Meet Jess Bennett” was first published by Keith as a character interview on fantasy author Olga Godim’s Blog on March 10th, 2014.

Meet Jess Bennett, a 78 years old protagonist of The Travelers, an urban fantasy novel by Keith Wayne McCoy.

1. Tell me a little about yourself—your name, profession, where you live, do you have a family, the usual.

My name is Jess Bennett and I am 78 years old. I was born and raised in a flat in London, England. World War II gave me an American GI named James to fall in love with and marry. After the war, we left England and my mother for New York on the ship of our destiny, the QUEEN MARY. We left Southampton with only each other but arrived in New York as a family after a North Atlantic encounter with an otherworldly, desperate mother and her two small children. My life began on that voyage.

2. What happened to you, so you ended up in this crazy adventure the novel talks about?

We began a life in southern Illinois in Jim’s ancestral Victorian farmhouse. It was heaven on earth, and I had never been happier. But when we lost our children just nine months apart, I fell off the path of the living and descended into the deathly world of bitterness and hostility. Losing just one of them would have been pain enough but both was simply too much, like a double amputation. My marriage disintegrated and despair leveled any hope of a normal existence and I became a recluse. Now, decades later, this young black filmmaker has brought Jim and I together again for a final reunion with that poor mother who has returned to shut doors all older mortals contemplate.

3. What is your biggest regret?

I lost the love of my life. I am happy Jim remarried but I absolutely hate his second wife because she has my man. I’ve never been with another man but have no one to blame for losing him except myself. I actually freed him because I knew I would never be the same. It was the hardest choice I’ve ever made, brave I tell myself, but it was necessary. But this young man has given me this final chance to find my way after all these decades and all I need before I die is to see that woman.

The Travelers

In 1947, the Queen Mary transmits a message which is intercepted by extraterrestrial intelligence. This errant radio signal serves as a beacon for a North Atlantic encounter between James and Jess Bennett, a GI and his war bride, and an otherworldly, desperate mother and her two small children.

In the present day, Guy Turner, a melancholy, black filmmaker, finds himself at the center of a supernatural mystery after a haunting prelude with the now elderly mother in a corridor aboard the retired liner in Long Beach, California. Standing at the edge of eternity, the old woman and the Bennetts have the complex task of setting certain aspects of the past in order as the doors to their lives are closing.

Guy is thrust into an unexpected and unwanted voyage of self-discovery as he is solely enjoined to bring the three together one last time.

Thank you for visiting, Keith. The buy info and links for The Travelers and Keith’s webpage and social media contacts are listed below:

Buy The Travelers at any of these sites: Amazon  / Barnes & Noble / Champagne Book Group

Note:  Visit Keith Wayne McCoy’s blog at  http://www.keithwaynemccoy.com where he shares some of his magnificent collection of Queen Mary memorabilia. Rita

Contract Announcement for Conquering Cupid

It’s my pleasure to announce that Champagne Book Group (CBG) has contracted for Conquering Cupid, the first novella in the humorous, Greek mythology-based, erotic series “Cupid’s Back in Business.” The series evolved from Her Teddy Bare (See cover), a sexy, humorous short story published by Champagne in their erotic series, “Aphrodite’s Island.” Check out the blurb for Conquering Cupid.

Love and lust, the perfect mix for a happily ever after. When popular artist Diana Harper dumped her cheating fiancé and accepted an invitation “to attend a private event at Miss A’s island retreat to experience your most secret dreams and fondest fantasies,” her hostess gave her Teddy as an “attendant.” Despite his best efforts, Teddy is no submissive. Diana, however, plays his game for the profound passion, the best sex ever, and love that could last a lifetime.

Billionaire philanthropist Theodore Cooper “Coop” Bareston III fell in love with Diana when he saw her working out at his elite gym in New York City. He was willing to do anything to win her love, including wearing a skimpy thong in his “Teddy” role and posing nude in chains when Di’s interest in her art revived. As the sexual tension builds and passions explode, Teddy discovers he is intensely aroused by  playing the submissive to his Di’s domme.

After moving into Coop’s East Side penthouse, Diana is sucked into a world inhabited by supernatural denizens with powers beyond her imagination. Can she survive the challenges confronting her to live in Coop’s world or will she turn her back on the extraordinary destiny within her grasp?

The novellas in the “Cupid’s Back in Business”  series will tell the humorous erotic tales of Theodore Cooper Bareston III who, after he finds love with artist Diana Harper, takes up his bow and arrows to bring passion and love into the lives of lonely people. While pursuing their own happily-ever-after, Coop, a closet submissive, and Di, a reluctant domme, must deal with a powerful pantheon of nosy and interfering gods and goddesses. Conquering Cupid is scheduled for release in December.

Check out the Cover & Story Inspiration on Pinterest

WEBPAGE & BLOG / FACEBOOK / TWITTER/PINTEREST/AMAZON

 

Feed Your Imagination with Fantasy Book Tour – Week 3

Join Champagne authors Rita Bay, Graeme Brown, L.T, Getty, and R.J. Hore in our Feed Your Imagination with Fantasy Book Tour from March 31st through April 25th. Through our tour host, Juniper Grove Book Solutions, we’ll blog, interview, and visit with book lovers across the internet. The schedule for the week is listed below. Our tour central page contains the full schedule and blurbs, excerpts, and buy links for the tour books HERE.

Our tour sponsor, Champagne Book Group (Champagne Books and Burst Imprints), is offering up five ebooks at the end of the tour. Enter to win at the bottom of the tour central page HERE . Check out where we’ll be this week.

RITA BAY’S WEBPAGE & BLOG / FACEBOOK / TWITTER

Monday, April 21	L.T Getty’s Guest Post at The Flipside of Julianne Laura’s Review of R.J. Hore’s The Queen’s Pawn at Trip Down Imagination Road
Tuesday, April 22	Patricia’s Interview of Rita Bay & Review of Finding Eve atRoom With Books Graeme Brown’s Guest Post at The Cheshire Cat’s Looking Glass
Wed, April 23	CCAM’s Interview of R.J. Hore at Mythical Books Rita Bay’s Guest Post & Deb’s Review of Finding Eve at Written by Deb
Thur, April 24	Laura Review of L.T. Getty’s of Tower of Obsidian at Trip Down Imagination Road Graeme Brown’s Guest Post & Deb’s Review of The Pact at Written by Deb
Friday, April 25	S. Cu Review of Graeme Brown’s The Pact at Cu’s eBook Giveaways Jaidis’s Interview of L.T. Getty at Juniper Grove