Friday, December 28, 2012

Entangled in Romance: Potato Chips in cookies? #EntangledPublishing #CookieRecipes


People often tease me about my last name. At cocktail parties, the question most people ask is if I make cookies. No. I’m not THAT Mrs. Fields, but I love to bake.
I’m sharing one of my all-time favorite recipes from one of my favorite ladies who also gets teased about her last name when it comes to baking. Mrs. Crocker…thanks for bringing this recipe and your batch of cookies to that fun cookie exchange at Becky's house years ago (but she is not THAT Mrs. Crocker).
I hope you’ll stop by to check out this much-asked-for recipe. It’s my first official visit as a new Entangled Publishing author.
 
 
 
 

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Saturday, December 22, 2012

Falling In Love With a Ghost #Hereafter #SixSunday


Merry Christmas!!

Welcome to Six Sentence Sunday: Where writers share six sentences from their published or unpublished books.

In this snippet from my just-released novel, HEREAFTER, passion begins to bridge the huge difference between the hero and heroine…








   Rob faced Angie. Her gentle fingers held his chin captive, and he stared at her sea-green eyes in the candlelight. His gut pinched with sudden need for her.      
   She was as real as any woman he’d ever held, only better.
   She was a ghost.
   He didn’t care.



HEREAFTER Available now from Decadent Publishing
Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you and your family have a wonderful and Merry Christmas.


Please check out other  Six Sentence Sunday  posts and follow #sixsunday on Twitter, @6_Sunday.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

A Ghost and a Sexy Man: Romance Trading cards F R E E today! #HEREAFTER #NewRelease


 
 
They’re here! The Romance Trading cards for Hereafter have arrived and I think you’ll agree…they are sexy and fun!
 
 

 

To celebrate, I’m giving away a set of HEREAFTER trading cards to anyone who emails me at: joya (at) joyafields (dot) com . Be sure to include your mailing address. I’ll pay the postage, you get to stare at Rob and Angie, the hero and heroine. Hurry! This giveaway is for the first 50 people who email me.
 
HEREAFTER Available now from Decadent Publishing
Amazon and Barnes and Noble
 
 
Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Hate to break it to you....you're a ghost #sixsunday #newrelease

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Welcome to Six Sentence Sunday: Where writers share six sentences from their published or unpublished books.
 
I'm thrilled to share six sentences from my just-released novel, HEREAFTER this week. It's a contemporary romance with a ghostly twist. The hero is an accountant and the heroine...well, in these six sentences, she's about to find out she's not of this world.
 

  "I’ve been investigating your life." Rob stared at her.
   Well, he didn’t waste much time getting to the point. Lifting her chin, trying to brace herself for bad news, Angie nodded. "Tell me what you’ve found."
   "According to the police report, you killed yourself."



HEREAFTER Available now from Decadent Publishing Amazon  Barnes and Noble 

Please check out other  Six Sentence Sunday  posts and follow #sixsunday on Twitter, @6_Sunday. Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, December 14, 2012

Holiday Gifts of Love Blog H O P #prizes #holiday

Thanks for stopping by the Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Hop!

 What's so romantic about the holidays? Lots! Just check out all the blogs on this hop. Not only will you find great books and romance, you can win awesome prizes just in time for the holidays. Prize information is below.
I hope you'll enjoy this short excerpt from my new contemporary romance, Hereafter. It's a modern day ghost story where the impossible somehow becomes possible...


Angel’s body tingled. Her skin rippled with electricity, and she recognized the signs that she’d be transported soon.
Yes. Finally. She closed her eyes, wishing she could rush the transition from her world to his. Cool air prickled her skin and she stood in the man’s dark apartment. With moonlight shining through the sheers, she could make out his form on the sofa.
He jumped up and faced her.
She wanted to speak, but she couldn’t.
“The electricity went off again,” he said.
She frowned.
He stepped closer. “Ghosts don’t exist.”
No. He couldn’t banish her again. She needed something in this world. The lights flickered, sizzled, and then went off again.
Please don’t tell me to go away; it makes me go away. She might not have a voice in this world, but she could at least think it. She would not go, not when potential answers waited in this place.
The man stepped closer. “What are you doing? Angie, why do you keep coming here?”
Don’t tell me to leave…don’t tell me to leave. Pictures flew into her mind. People smiling and laughing. A tree in the corner with white lights and boxes under it….
He’d called her Angie.
“You know me?” Her words came out a whisper, but at least they finally came out. Tears tracked down her cheeks. The electricity flickered on, and then, stayed off. The air stopped sizzling. She blinked to adjust her eyes to the darkness again.
“Christ, this can’t be happening.” He moved his fingers over something in his hand and then pocketed it.
She closed the distance between them and grasped his upper arms, pleading him with her eyes because her voice had left her again.
“Yes, I know you.” He glanced away and looked out the window, let out a huff of breath, and then gazed at her. “Your name is Angie Barsotti and you used to live here.”
No wonder the place felt so familiar. Her spirits lifted. He could help her find out who she was, help her find out what was going on.
“And,” he dragged a hand through his hair. “You died and I don’t believe in ghosts.”
Cold air, cold as ice tore through her, ripping her from the apartment.

HEREAFTER Available now from Decadent Publishing Amazon Barnes and Noble

Remember to check out the other blogs on this awesome hop! Check out these awesome prizes YOU can WIN!
Hop around, comment at each stop for lots of chances for the GRAND PRIZES: KINDLE FIRE or NOOK TABLET, $200 AMAZON/BARNES AND NOBLE GIFT CARD, AND SWAG. And, comment here on my blog for a chance at MY prize: a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card. Tell me why you think December is a romantic month. Be sure to leave your email address so we can contact you when you win!

 

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

International Jazz Sensation Deanna Bogart Visits Today! #jazz #newrelease

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Deanna Bogart: locally and internationally famous musician helps me celebrate the release of HEREAFTER, my latest novel.
 

Welcome my good friend Deanna Bogart to the blog today. Deanna is a locally and internationally famous musician who plays boogie-woogie, contemporary blues, country and jazz (which she calls “blusion”). She also makes a guest appearance in my newest release, Hereafter. Rob, the hero of the story, is listening to a Deanna Bogart song as he unpacks.

Without further delay, let me proudly introduce Deanna so you can find out more about her and her music…

Welcome! Thanks for taking time to stop by the blog today. Your music inspires many, many people. What would be the “perfect” writing conditions for you to create a new song?

hmm... I like to think it would be somewhere alone in the middle of the desert with my piano, my horn and lots of manuscript paper. That said,  the perfect writing moments tend to show up at some of the most imperfect times...it comes when it comes. Once I’ve committed to a tune, however, I covet absolute alone time with my dictionary/thesaurus/reference books/metronome until I’m content that there's no wasted note/word or space.
Haha! I can just picture you in the middle of the desert. Sounds like you're very good at listening to your Muse as you create. Do your songs “come” to you over time, or do they usually hit you all at once? How long does it typically take you to write a song?
 
Yes, and every other way. I’ve dreamed snippets of tunes, I’ve had a melody or lyric line literally haunt me until i surrendered to it...
Some songs seem to be born written, and others incubate somewhere inside for days/months/years 'til their time. Then it takes what it takes. I seem to work very well with an unrealistic, slightly psychotic deadline. I don’t know what this says about me...i time traveled for “said it wouldn’t rain."
Well, I know ALL about deadlines being an incentive to get "creative," I think that means the idea was there, it just needed a little persuasion to come out. haha! You work hard at your craft. What do you do to relax and unwind?
I don’t really think about it - I like to work. I write, practice and/or meditate while I run which is both relaxing and productive with the potential added bonus of better fitting jeans. I love games and traveling and reading, being with family, hanging with my daughter.....I’m a friendly hermit.
Oh yeah. I am very jealous of the way you look in your jeans and I agree that you're friendly! You’ve been performing for many years. Do you ever get nervous when you take the stage? If so, what do you do about those nervous feelings?
I always have stage fright and it’s uncomfortable - but I’m guessing that it’s my way of trying to keep the live musical experience scary and exciting like it was in the beginning. I just don’t ever want to lose those threads of uncertainty and fearless innocence if I can help it...that’s where the magic lives...
Wow. You look so confident on stage, I would never guess you were nervous. But I think that's awesome that uncertainty is where the magic lives. I never thought of it that way before. Well said!
How many instruments do you play and how did you learn to play them?
 
Music always sort of made sense to me intuitively and I played by ear. Traditional lessons didn’t quite work for me and it’s only in the last decades that I’ve embraced the theory, mechanics and technique involved so I could be a better composer and bandleader. At 2, I was drawn to the family piano, then at about 12, I took over my mom’s acoustic guitar. When I was 26, I bought my first horn - 15 years after the 5th grade band teacher told me “girls don’t play the saxophone”...showed him....haha
That is amazing! Girls don't play the saxophone? Yeah...you showed him all right!! What’s the best part about being a performer?
 
Music has always been my therapy - where I emotionally balance myself. It’s my safe zone...and then there’s the incredible moments I get to have and share musically and personally with people all over the world. I’ve played a gig in every state and I’ve been able to travel abroad to places I never thought I’d touch...what a gift.
 
You have such an appreciative, postive attitude about your life and your gift. No wonder people all over the world respond to you and your music. What’s your latest release and where can we get it?
 My latest release is called Pianoland on Blind Pig records and it’s available at Blind Pig Records Amazon  iTunes and of course Deanna Bogart's web site
 
 
Thanks so much for stopping by today, Deanna! And thanks for inspiring the music behind Hereafter, my latest novel.
 
About Deanna:
When it comes to Deanna Bogart, everyone wants to claim her as their own -- her hometown, her fans, her fellow musicians and even her instruments. She's that good–and that good-natured.
Born in Detroit, Deanna spent her early years in Phoenix and New York City, climbing on any available piano bench to plunk and play with preternatural panache. Around the age of six, she was "gently removed" from the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music for playing piano by ear instead of learning to read music. While in middle school, Deanna yearned to play the saxophone. Typical of those times though, she was told, "Girls play the clarinet, not the sax." Thankfully for us all, that tide has changed.
Today, Deanna Bogart is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist and multifaceted musician whose fans value the diversity of her genre-free zone. As a bandleader/singer/songwriter/producer/pianist/sax player, Deanna combines the best of boogie-woogie, contemporary blues, country and jazz into a splendid blend she calls “blusion.”
Deanna's fusion of blusion -- spontaneous, sophisticated, fearless and fun -- has garnered her three consecutive Blues Music Awards' Horn Instrumentalist of the Year for 2008, 2009 and 2010 and an endorsement contract with Rico Reeds. She has won, at last count, more than 20 Wammies, the music awards for the hotly contested Washington, D.C. region.
Recognized for her dazzling keyboards, soulful saxophone, smoky vocals and cut-above songwriting, Deanna easily wins the hearts of fans on land and at sea on chartered cruises. She is a featured player in the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Revue, jamming with Tommy Castro, Magic Dick (founding member of the J. Geils Band), as well as prominent guitar slingers. Deanna remembers well her early years as a budding musician and is an avid educator and mentor, sharing her insight and wisdom with students of all ages.
Perennially popular with a knack for engaging her audience, Deanna has played for U.S. troops in Iraq, Kuwait and Egypt as part of the “Blues on the Nile” tour, including performances at Cairo University, the Cairo Opera House and even a historic concert at the Great Pyramids.
Deanna Bogart's latest ventures include Blind Pig Record's "Pianoland," a newly minted DVD called "Everybody Has A Story," and “11th Hour,” a CD released on Vista Records, a company she co-founded.

Release Day for HEREAFTER & I'm Celebrating on Laura Kaye's blog! #newrelease #romance

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-->Click Here for the Winter Wonderland Scavenger Hunt<--


I'm hanging out with my awesome friend Laura Kaye (who just happens to be a NYT and USA Today Bestseller) today to celebrate release day for HEREAFTER, my contemporary romance with a ghostly twist. Come party with us and enter for a chance to win a Charm City charm bracelet!

Laura Kaye's Blog


HEREAFTER Available now from Decadent Publishing  Amazon Barnes and Noble 

Monday, December 10, 2012

My Favorite Song Ever (and why it is) #deannabogart #songwriting

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Playlists are great…this song is the BEST!
I have playlists for every book I write because music inspires me and embodies the mood. It's a great way to "set" myself before I sit down to write. With all these playlists and artists to choose from on my iPod, you would think each song would get a lot of play.

Nope. The most frequently played song on my iPod is "They Said It Wouldn't Rain" by Deanna Bogart. And it was the only song I listened to while writing my latest release Hereafter, a contempory romance set in a haunted downtown apartment building. Rob, the hero of the story, even listens to Deanna's music in the book.

"They Said It Wouldn't Rain" has been my favorite song for at least ten years. But here's where I'm lucky: Deanna perforoms all over the world, but she lives near enough to Baltimore that I get to see her perform at least once a year. Not only do I get to listen to her song over and over each week, I get to listen to her sing it live. And what an experience that is!

What is it about this song? Besides her sultry voice and the smooth sound of her piano and saxophone, "Said it Wouldn't Rain" is a love story. Don't we all go into a relationship thinking it will be great...hoping it will be great? But it doesn't always work out that way. And the hero in my book believes he'll never find love, that he isn't really deserving of love. Rainy relationships are all he's ever known.

I'm thrilled that Deanna has agreed to be a guest on my blog this week as part of the release week celebration for Hereafter. Please check back to find out more about the Deanna Bogart Band and their music on December 12th. In the meantime, check out "They Said It Wouldn't Rain:"
Click Here to Listen to They Said It Wouldn't Rain

Countdown to the release of Herafter:

Connect with Joya
Twitter: @joyafields
Goodreads
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Amazon Author Page
Purchase Links for Joya's Books
Amazon Barnes and Noble The Wild Rose Press Decadent Publishing (on 12/11/12)

Friday, December 7, 2012

Christmas Wishes Blog H O P #prizes #newrelease

A Little Christmas Joy…A Little Fun…And a Lot of Romance
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YOU can win these awesome prizes:

-GRAND PRIZE: A Kindle Paperwhite, A Nook Glow, a $90 giftcard for your choice of Amazon/BN. Both tablets comes with a book bundle!

-Joya's Blog Prize: $25 Amazon or BN Certificate
Details are listed below...and in the meantime, please help me celebrate the release of my latest book HEREAFTER! It's a contemporary romance with a ghostly twist and will be available on December 11th!


Here's the excerpt from Hereafter...releasing 12/11/12

Angel’s body tingled. Her skin rippled with electricity, and she recognized the signs that she’d be transported soon.
Yes. Finally. She closed her eyes, wishing she could rush the transition from her world to his. Cool air prickled her skin and she stood in the man’s dark apartment. With moonlight shining through the sheers, she could make out his form on the sofa.
He jumped up and faced her.
She wanted to speak, but she couldn’t.
“The electricity went off again,” he said.
She frowned.
He stepped closer. “Ghosts don’t exist.”
No. He couldn’t banish her again. She needed something in this world. The lights flickered, sizzled, and then went off again.
Please don’t tell me to go away; it makes me go away. She might not have a voice in this world, but she could at least think it. She would not go, not when potential answers waited in this place.
The man stepped closer. “What are you doing? Angie, why do you keep coming here?”
Don’t tell me to leave…don’t tell me to leave. Pictures flew into her mind. People smiling and laughing. A tree in the corner with white lights and boxes under it….
He’d called her Angie.
“You know me?” Her words came out a whisper, but at least they finally came out. Tears tracked down her cheeks. The electricity flickered on, and then, stayed off. The air stopped sizzling. She blinked to adjust her eyes to the darkness again.
“Christ, this can’t be happening.” He moved his fingers over something in his hand and then pocketed it.
She closed the distance between them and grasped his upper arms, pleading him with her eyes because her voice had left her again.
“Yes, I know you.” He glanced away and looked out the window, let out a huff of breath, and then gazed at her. “Your name is Angie Barsotti and you used to live here.”
No wonder the place felt so familiar. Her spirits lifted. He could help her find out who she was, help her find out what was going on.
“And,” he dragged a hand through his hair. “You died and I don’t believe in ghosts.”
Cold air, cold as ice tore through her, ripping her from the apartment.
HEREAFTER is available now!
 Decadent Publishing  Amazon  Barnes and Noble
 
Connect with Joya
Twitter: @joyafields
Goodreads
Shelfari
Amazon Author Page
Purchase Links for Joya's Books
Amazon     Barnes and Noble    The Wild Rose Press Decadent Publishing (on 12/11/12)
Giveaway Details:
-For the GRAND PRIZE : Simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below!
-For Joya's Prize of a $25 Amazon or BN certificate: 1. Follow this blog 2. Leave me a comment about your favorite Christmas cookie! We'll all get a little hungry from reading the comments. LOL.


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Thursday, December 6, 2012

ASK HER AT CHRISTMAS: A Christmas romance that will warm your heart! #newrelease #romance

It's the perfect time of year for a little Christmas and a lot of romance. Here's a sneak peek at Christi Barth's holiday release.




About Ask Her at Christmas

Caitlin McIntyre's heart stops when her best friend drops to one knee and proposes. Kyle Lockhart never once hinted over the years that he has any idea she's in love with him. Not wanting to jeopardize their friendship, she's never let it slip. Good thing, too, since it turns out he's only practicing—he's about to propose to someone else.

A business merger might not be the most romantic reason to propose to a woman he barely knows, but Kyle's determined to win the respect of the dying father who's never seen him as quite good enough. Kyle's always depended on Caitlin's friendship, while trying to ignore the physical response she arouses. So he turns to her when it comes time to craft his proposal, not realizing his decision will affect their relationship, forever.

This Christmas, Kyle and Caitlin get one last chance to admit their feelings for each other, and find a mutual happily ever after, before he commits his life to another woman and Caitlin leaves town and him…for good.



An Excerpt from Ask Her at Christmas



“Caitlin McIntyre, will you marry me?”
Her heart didn’t pound, it slammed to a standstill. It probably left thick red skid marks all over her lungs from how fast it threw on the brakes. Kyle Lockhart, her best friend in the world, was down on one knee in front of her station at the gift-wrapping booth. Which meant it was okay her heart had stopped, because she had to be dreaming. Her heart didn’t need to pump in a dream, right?
There was no other explanation for why Kyle would propose to her. Not that she objected in the least. He was super handsome, in a casually elegant yet decidedly sexy manner. His designer suits covered a body like those of the models in perfume ads, the toned and tanned men who dove into swimming pools shaped like a perfume bottle and came up glistening and wet. Thick black hair set off his blue eyes, and you could probably chisel a sculpture off his sharp cheekbones and jaw. Kyle was yummy from head to toe, and Caitlin had wanted him almost her entire life.
Of course, he didn’t know about her massive crush. She’d never hinted, never let her hands linger for an extra second on his abs when they shared sunscreen at the tiny strip of sand along Lake Michigan they called a beach. She’d never leaned over after splitting a bottle of wine and trailed a finger across the lips she would kill to have touch hers. No, Caitlin played the part of the best-friend-and-nothing-more-than-a-friend to the hilt. Because it would absolutely devastate her if she revealed her longing and he didn’t feel the same way. In a perfect world, guys always made the first move. In Caitlin’s world, it was the only way not to jeopardize the most important relationship in her life.
But how on earth did he leap from never once looking at her with a sexy gleam in his eye to going down on one knee in the middle of the Water Tower Place mall? If all the planets had magically aligned, all the gods smiled down on her and all her karmic balance suddenly tipped to one side, then Kyle might, just might finally see her as a woman and ask her out. Proposing marriage, though, was impossible. Which meant she was either fast asleep in her bed, or she’d slipped and hit her head getting off the El this morning. Ice coated the Chicago sidewalks from an early December sleet storm. A concussion would explain this. Or a hallucination from a brain hemorrhage. That would definitely explain the impossibility of Kyle’s proposal.
So if it was nothing more than a dream, why not enjoy it? Caitlin looked around, but all the other volunteer wrappers were busy putting away their supplies for the night. The wrapping booth was a fundraiser to purchase art supplies for local high schools, so the volunteers ran the gamut from tweens to grandparents. Crowds had finally thinned once it hit eight o’clock. Closer to Christmas that wouldn’t be the case, but with eighteen shopping days left, people weren’t yet panicked. She put down her roll of wrapping paper and looked at Kyle’s beaming face.
“This is so sudden.” She made a point of switching her gaze to his empty hands, folded on top of his knee. “How am I supposed to take your question seriously without a huge, shiny diamond ring to seal the deal?”
The smile disappeared faster than the stack of cashmere sweaters she’d seen on sale at Macy’s this morning. “You are so right. I’m an idiot. Of course, I should’ve brought a ring. But I’ll get one. Pretend I have a ring. Will you marry me?”
It sounded just as magical—and unbelievable—the second time he asked. If this was really a dream, wouldn’t her subconscious have made sure he brought along a one-carat, cushion-cut solitaire in a robin’s egg blue box? Now she leaned more toward concussion as an explanation. Clearly the drugs the hospital gave her must be interfering with her creative juices.
“Kyle, you’re my favorite person in the world. You’re smart and funny and movie-star handsome. What girl in her right mind wouldn’t want to marry you?”
“I agree.” He flashed her the smile that always turned her knees into pudding for a second and stood, brushing off his trousers. “But I’m worried that Monica might not be as cognizant of my charms as the two of us are. That’s why I need you to help me with my proposal. This was a test run.”
             Oh. Not a dream after all.







You can purchase Ask Her At Christmas by itself, or as part of the anthology, Romancing the Holiday.


Monday, December 3, 2012

Cover Reveal! Hereafter will be available on Dec. 11th #romance #ghosts

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HEREAFTER, a contemporary romance with a ghostly twist, will release December 11th. Check out this awesome cover by Decadent Publishing artist Angela Anderson.

Hereafter is the first in the trilogy Hauntings at Inner Harbor--a series about a haunted downtown Baltimore apartment building.

 



When by-the-numbers accountant Rob Morrison, a skeptic of all things paranormal, moves into a new apartment and discovers it is haunted by the corporeal ghost of a beautiful woman, he must hastily reconsider his beliefs and revisit his painful past.

With no memory of her time on earth, Angie Barsotti doesn’t understand why she’s compelled to visit the same apartment every night as a ghost caught between two worlds. If she’s to have a chance to move on, she needs to find the missing pieces of her life and death through the man who lives there…if only he’d believe in her.

Together they struggle to find the truth about her death and stumble upon a very pleasurable way to time travel, hopeful they can prevent her death. But someone doesn’t want them to discover the truth. And if she’s human again, will she have any memories of her time as a ghost…and more importantly, will she remember the man who helped her find her way?
Hereafter...available December 11, 2012
 
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