VISUAL EFFECTS by Joyce Holmes

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Charlotte Copper

Please join me in welcoming back Joyce Holmes. Joyce is on my blog today with her latest release, VISUAL EFFECTS.

Will their emotional firestorm leave nothing but ashes or can love emerge victorious?

First the Blurb:
Drey Winston is a fierce competitor who enjoys challenging her mind and body. But when it comes to her heart—no one ever gets close enough to compete for it. Having grown up believing she was an unwanted burden to her parents, she prefers to keep her feelings well hidden. Just when her hard-fought goals are finally within reach, the audacious Jesse Devlin comes along to breach her carefully guarded defenses.

After a disastrous marriage early in life, Jesse Devlin prefers strings-free relationships. Confident and outgoing, he gets along well with women, but his natural charm can’t seem to penetrate Drey Winston’s aloofness. While attempting to win her over, he’s the one who ends up losing his heart.

Can this commitment-phobic bachelor convince the stubbornly independent woman he loves that his feelings—and hers—are the real deal?

And to entice you further, an Excerpt:
Jesse leaned against a tree to draw in a few deep breaths. As he straightened, he plucked his ball cap off his head and wiped his forearm across his brow, then hooted a victory cheer. “Hard work’s over. Time for the reward.”
He dropped the cap onto the sand and emptied his pockets into it. Then he pulled his T-shirt over muscled shoulders, dropped it onto the sand on top of his cap, and made quick work of his footwear. Drey stared in disbelief as he beelined down the beach and ran straight into the low surf. When he was hip-deep in the water, he slipped smoothly beneath the surface. He reappeared several feet out and turned to wave.
“Join me,” he called. “The water’s great.”
“Not a chance. The ocean is cold in summer, I can only imagine how frigid it must be today.”
“Wuss,” he scoffed and splashed water in her direction.
Shivers that had nothing to do with feeling chilly shot through Drey as she watched him emerge from the water a few minutes later. Rivulets ran down his chest, following the ridges and planes of his brawny body. Wet shorts clung to muscular thighs.
He ran his hands over his face and then shook himself like a playful pup. “You don’t know what you missed. Nothing like a dip in the salt chuck to get the heart pumping. Well, almost nothing.” He stalked deliberately up the beach toward her, and the look on his face made her back away, but she didn’t react fast enough. He caught her up in his arms, laughing at her shrieks of protest.
“Lemme go, Jesse. You’re cold. Come on, Jesse, lemme go. You’re getting me all wet.”
“That’s the whole idea. Get you wet and me warm.”
She gave him a firm push in the wrong direction as she sprinted down the beach. “Not if you can’t catch me,” she threw over her shoulder as she went.

Want to read more? Buy Links:
WILD ROSE PRESS
Amazon.com
Amazon.ca
B&N

Author Bio:
Joyce Holmes lives with her husband and very small dog in the beautiful Okanagan region of British Columbia. The award-winning author is happily living her dream of being a stay-at-home writer. Photography and blogging about her travels are two of her passions, along with visiting her kids and grandkids. When she’s not dreaming up stories in her head or planning her next great adventure, she’s off enjoying the great outdoors.

Author Links:
http://JoyceHolmes.wordpress.com

Joyce M Holmes

https://twitter.com/Joyce_Holmes
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6431862.Joyce_M_Holmes
http://www.amazon.com/Joyce-M.-Holmes/e/B008H5HTV8

Author Bio:

Joyce Holmes lives with her husband and very small dog in the beautiful Okanagan region of British Columbia. The award-winning author is happily living her dream of being a stay-at-home writer. Photography and blogging about her travels are two of her passions, along with visiting her kids and grandkids. When she’s not dreaming up stories in her head or planning her next great adventure, she’s off enjoying the great outdoors.

Author Links:
http://JoyceHolmes.wordpress.com

Joyce M Holmes

https://twitter.com/Joyce_Holmes
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6431862.Joyce_M_Holmes
http://www.amazon.com/Joyce-M.-Holmes/e/B008H5HTV8/

Cover Reveal…Strawberry Summer

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Charlotte Copper

I have to say that my new YA publisher, Boroughs Publishing Group, did not let me down with my new cover.
They sent me a draft, took my advice for one tiny change, and voila.
So happy with the results.

SCHEDULED RELEASE FOR STRAWBERRY SUMMER: JULY 10TH 2015.

THE SHORT STORY

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Charlotte Copper

I write novellas. Some would call them short stories. Some say novelette. Whatever you want to call these stories between 7,500 and 20,000 words, that’s what I write.

I was flipping through the May 2014 Romance Writers Report…somehow it ended up in the TBR pile with a bunch of lesser read magazines…and I found an article “Don’t Shortchange the Short-Story Market” which I thought offered some interesting insight into the short story market.

“…toward the close of the 20th century, printing costs rose and advertisers diminished. Distractions such as television and computers arose, and short stories all but disappeared…But, then, like a shining knight on a white horse, in galloped independent e-publishers” (thank you Wild Rose Press!) ”Riding atop that horse, armor gleaming and lance at the ready, were romance writers. We created the market for e-books, and now, it appears, we’re reconstructing the market for short stories.”

So, true. Unless you could get into an anthology, the market for short stories was all but nil until the e-reader came along.

The article went on to say “it’s harder to write them [short stories] because you have to do more in fewer words and then you get paid less”.

Well, I’d disagree on the first part. I can’t imagine sitting down and writing an entire 100,000 word novel. (I read a lot of novellas for the same reason…time.) As for the money part, well, yeah, obviously if a book costs less, you make less.

What I appreciated the most about the article was the conclusion. “Short stories are enjoying a renaissance, and romance authors are driving their new found popularity…short stories are a time-honored writing tradition that’s languished and struggled but never died. And that says something about how much people love to read them, how much authors love to write them, and , just maybe, what their future may bring.”

A renaissance thanks to e-readers and iphones. While I love the convenience of my Kindle, I don’t always have it with me. But, and I loooove this app, I have my Kindle synced to my iphone and if I suddenly find myself with the need to fill time, voila, I have my book right in my hand/purse/pocket.

So take a chance. Download a novella or short story to your e-reader, computer or phone. Wild Rose Press has a lot of shorter length stories to buy. Want to try one for free? My short story EMERALD EYES is a free download available from Wild Rose Press.

Emerald Eyes Buy Link