Saturday, April 28, 2012

Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Get to Know the Author


About SEP: Let's hear from the author in her own words, about things she wants you to know about her.  Nothing ordinary about Susan Elizabeth Phillips, so why should her bio run the standard course.

I MET MY HUSBAND on a blind date. He was in college at the time, studying engineering. I blush to confess that, as an arty ex-theater major, I wasn’t exactly sure what engineering was. To this day, he reminds me that I asked him if it had anything to do with “fixing toasters.” (Okay, I wasn’t too bright, but I had a good heart.)

I GOT PREGNANT the usual way. Bill and I had been married for two years and wanted to start a family. He was out of town on business the night I went into labor with our first son, but he made it back in time to witness the birth. He was also at my side when our second son was born. Today our boys are grown, and I couldn’t be prouder of them or their families.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Paranomal Romance with Jude Deveraux

Meet Jude Deveraux


Jude Deveraux is the author of fifty-seven New York Times bestselling novels. Although she is best known for her medieval romances, she has also written stories set in later time periods, as well as several time-travel romances, and her latest novels have had a contemporary setting. Many of her more recent books feature paranormal storylines. To date, there are more than 50 million copies of her books in print worldwide.

Many of her books follow the same family, the Montgomerys, through time and across continents.

She lives in North Carolina.

Someone To Love


It's been three years since his fiancee's mysterious suicide. and Jace Montgomery still hungers for answers. Stacy was kind, funny, and in love--why, on a trip to England. would she end her life in a room above a village pub? Then Jace stumbles upon a photo of a rambling estate tucked inside one of Stacy's books--and a cryptic note dated one day before her death: "Ours again. Together forever. See you there. . . ."

Drawing on his family's vast wealth, Jace returns to England to purchase the unsightly Priory House--and soon discovers it is haunted by the headstrong ghost of Ann Stuart. Unraveling the ties between past and present with the help of a beautiful local journalist, Jace must at last reconcile his heartwrenching loss and his own hopeful future.

Always


Darci has never given up searching for her kidnapped husband, Adam Montgomery. But her quest has taken her deeper into the world of psychic phenomena than she ever dreamed -- or dared to go. When the FBI enlists her help in locating the missing father of undercover agent Jack Rose, Darci signs on for the covert operation, not knowing that her attraction to handsome, sexy Jack is about to lead her into deadly territory -- and into an era long past.
For Jack has a protector, a mysterious nineteenth-century lady who pulls them into a time and place where Darci is stripped of her abilities. Can she find the key that links to the modern-day crimes she's set out to solve? And will a showdown with a wicked force from the past hold her hostage...for all eternity?

Forever and Always


Darci's psychic abilities have always guided her through hardship...and into a once-in-a-lifetime love with her rich, powerful husband, Adam Montgomery. When Adam vanishes in a mysterious accident, a grief-stricken Darci is left alone to raise their young daughter. But her instinct tells her the reports of Adam's death are untrue. When the FBI enlists her intuitive talents to solve a heinous crime, she agrees -- if they'll help to uncover the truth about Adam.

It may be a tougher deal than Darci imagined: she must go head-to-head with Jack Rose, a criminal whose mind power matches Darci's at every turn. Now Darci must discover if those in the highest circles of authority have her best interests at heart -- or if someone intends to sever the everlasting bond she shares with her one true love.



The Invitation
Jackie O'Neill was a daredevil pilot and a true American heroine...a woman so beautiful men stopped in their tracks to watch her walk down the street, her long confident strides eating up the earth. After years of nonstop excitement - of traveling around the globe in a chaotic rags-to-riches-to-rags whirl with her late husband, Charley - Jackie had returned to Eternity, Colorado, near her hometown of Chandler. She wanted to put down roots, start a business, maybe someday fall in love again.
But she never dreamed that the man who might make all her wishes come true was William Montgomery...little Billy, the lovesick boy who dogged her every step when she was a teenager...little Billy, who was now definitely a man, handsome, sexy, rich, and still madly in love with Jackie O'Neill....
This novel is classic Jude Deveraux. I came to this author as I met the Montgomerys and traveled with as they found romance and lasting love. If I can share a secret, Billy Montgomery is one of my ten favorite romantic heroes.  Read the book and you'll see why.


A Knight in Shining Armor
Dougless Montgomery couldn't believe it. She had tried to be the very essence of the modern American woman -- competent yet sexy, financially independent yet ready to love and be loved. She had planned this holiday tour with special care, wanting everything to be perfect for Robert, the man she hoped one day to marry. Yet here she was, after a stupid quarrel, abandoned in a church in the midst of rural England. Abandoned, with no luggage, no money, no credit cards, while Robert drove off without so much as a backward glance. As Dougless lay upon a cold tombstone, crying in fury and frustration, she longed for a knight in shining armor to save her from this abysmal mess.

Suddenly, as if in answer to her prayers, the most extraordinary man stood before her.... He was Nicholas Stafford, Earl of Thornwyck, who accodring to his tombstone had died in 1564. Tall, broad-shouldered, attired in gleaming silver and gold, he was magnificent. He stood in the dim light of the church, thunderstruck, drinking her in: her strange costume, the uncased hair that flowed to her shoulders, her long, lovely, BARE legs. He could scarce keep his wits about him, but of one thing he was certain -- she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Drawn to his side by a bond so sudden and compelling it overshadowed reason, Dougless knew that Nicholas was nothing less than a miracle: a man who would not seek to change her, who found her perfect, fascinating, just as she was. Yet she could not imagine how strong were the chains that tied them to the past... or the grand adventure that lay before them....

This is the first Jude Deveraux book I read.  It introduced me to a different element of romance and in this book I met the Montgomery family.  It was the begining of a love affair-Jude,the Montgomerys, and me.


Eternity
Here's another classic from Jude Deveraux.
Carrie Montgomery had grown up with seven adoring older brothers, and she was used to getting her way rather easily. Joshua Greene was looking for a hardworking, practical mail- order bride to help with the farm and feed and clothe his children. Yet from the moment Carrie saw his photograph, saw his devastatingly handsome, sorrowful smile, the petite and pampered beauty knew she was the perfect wife for him.

Josh didn't see it that way. Wed by proxy, he refused to be charmed by his new bride's blonde curls and effervescent laughter, or impressed by her trappings of wealth...even if his son and daughter believed she was a fairy princess come to life. He was furious -- and ready to send her packing, until a near tragedy convinced him that her beauty was more than skin deep. But even after he had yielded to the wild desire that surged between them, Josh could not admit how much he truly needed her. Then an old scandal threatened to re-emerge, and he realized that he could lose her forever...