SARA News - The Kicking-Off 2018 Edition

Dear readers, 

Happy New Year!  We here at SARA hope you saw in 2018 with a glass of something bubbly in your hand and possibly wearing someone else's t-shirt.  

Let's face it though, there's a good chance you were cleaning your teeth in your PJ's at 11:50pm, gave everyone a quick smooch at midnight, then raced off to bed to get to that book!

Or was that just me...?


The last few months since our previous post, the SARA's have been busy whilst making plum puddings and repainting the ceilings after the champers corks hit the roof on December 31st. 


Tess LeSue is on fire.  Bound for Eden, the first novel in the Frontiers of the Heart series, is available now.  The second, Bound for Sin, is due for release in September.  Get pre-ordering...

BOUND FOR SIN

WANTED: A resourceful frontiersman, for the purpose of matrimony…

When Georgiana Bee Blunt advertises for a husband, she’s not looking for a handsome man, or a smart man, or a charming man. What she wants is a brute. A no-nonsense, capable backwoodsman who won’t trouble her with talk of love; she just wants someone to get her and her fatherless children safely to California. Matt Slater seems to fit the bill perfectly. The man looks like he could wrestle a bear and not even break a sweat. The only problem is he doesn’t want a wife. Well, not the only problem…

Truth be told, Georgiana has more problems than she knows what to do with. Left holding a gold claim by her not-so-dearly departed husband, Georgiana finds her eldest son held ransom by the sinister Hec Boehm and his henchmen, and herself facing a journey of more than two thousand miles to rescue him. With four children in tow. And no nanny.

All Matt Slater wants is to be left alone. He’s spent most his life on his lonesome in the wilderness, and he’s comfortable that way. But then a widow with big blue eyes and the tenacity of a buffalo turns his entire life upside down and before he knows it he’s playing caretaker to a pack of kids…and trying not to succumb to their mother’s charms.

Virginia Taylor has a new release!  Golden Opportunity (Romance by Design) is now available where all good eBooks are sold.

The only thing Marigold Reynolds and billionaire Hagen Allbrook ever had in common was their attraction. Marigold made sure that never went anywhere by cutting ties with him six years ago. Now, however, she needs a job—and Hagen’s design assistant desperately needs someone to fill in for her at his family’s construction firm. Trusting that time has dimmed the electricity between them, Marigold accepts. But as she undertakes his challenging renovation of her own ancestors’ home, it’s soon clear she’s mistaken.

Amazon http://amzn.to/2sVQsd8
Bookbub http://bit.ly/2aANz7T
KOBO http://bit.ly/2CkKAS8
iBooks http://apple.co/2zO1HXl
Google http://bit.ly/2EglTVk
Nook http://bit.ly/2llurCu


Bella Bucannon is now on Facebook.  Find her here to keep up to date with all the latest BB news.

Captivated By The Enigmatic Tycoon Always on the outside looking in, as a ‘declutterer’ Cassie Clarkson spends her days helping others relish then relinquish treasured belongings. Until Jack Randell storms into her life, full of suspicion and brooding charm. ​As he’s the great-nephew of her new and beloved client, Cassie must ensure she doesn’t get on his bad side. But being on his good side is so much more dangerous to her heart! Can she take a risk and allow herself to be captivated by the enigmatic tycoon? Did the South Aussies amongst us happen to catch our Clare Connelly in the Sunday Mail recently?  Check out this Daily Mail article, too.  Go Clare! Until next time, happy reading.   Emmeline. x

SARA News - the Sassy September Edition

Dear SARA Readers, 

The daffs are flowering, the sun is stirring, the trees are leafing!  Spring is sprung!

What better way to bring in everyone's favourite season than with a book about a heiress garden designer and her sexy new neighbour, titled Perfect Scents (see what the author did there?)?

You're in luck, because SARA's own Virginia Taylor has a book just like that due out before the end of the month!  We just love books set in our home town.

Two unsuspecting lovers stumble upon the blueprint for love . . . 

From the moment Kell takes her in his arms, he knows Calli is more than just a fling. Then the blue collar bachelor learns he’s not sharing his bed with just any woman, but the wealthy daughter of the man who could make Kell’s construction business a success—and Kell the kind of well-heeled man worthy of Calli’s love. But he’ll have to be careful his ambitions don’t trip up his heart . . .

Calliope Allbrook takes a job in lovely, sunny Adelaide, Australia, hoping to lose herself in her work as a balm for her broken heart. And if it weren’t for the handsome hunk renovating the house next door, Calli would never even have looked up from the garden she is designing for her latest client. But rugged Kellen Dee is just the cure the beautiful heiress needs. After all, he has no idea who she is, so he certainly won’t see her as a meal ticket. Then there’s the fact that Kell’s deliciously sexy—and incredibly good with his hands . . .




If you just can't wait that long to really get your Spring on, check out book one in Virginia's 'Romance By Design' series.

Sets Appeal (did it again!) is available at all good eretailers now.  

In the cosmopolitan coastal city of Adelaide in South Australia, two theater lovers create a little drama of their own . . .

Twenty-seven-year-old divorcée Vix Tremain finally has her first job—as a theater-set painter—and is ready to leave the past behind. What better way to get her confidence back than a fling with a handsome stranger? She isn’t looking for anything emotional, she’s had enough heartbreak. Rugged Jay Dee, the set construction manager, fits the bill for no strings fun perfectly. What Vix doesn’t realize is that Jay is not exactly a stranger . . .

Jay would recognize wealthy, spoiled Vix anywhere. After all, she’s the ex-wife of the man who destroyed his career. Naturally, Jay wants a little sweet revenge—at first. To his surprise, Vix is far from the ice princess he expected, and spending time with her changes everything. Soon he realizes he’s actually falling for the vulnerable beauty. But becoming entangled with her will mean revealing who he is—and opening them both up to more pain. With their dreams at stake, is their connection strong enough to weather the truth—and take center stage?

Book three is due early in 2018.


Until next time, happy reading!

Emmeline  x

SARA News - The 'Whoa, is it August already?!" Edition

Dear SARA readers, 

Welcome to the latest edition of the well-overdue news!  Grab a glass of your favourite winter beverage and maybe a tim tam or two, and dive into the latest SARA happenings!


ROBBY DENNIS has released her first book in the last few days.  Love in Speranza is available now from Amazon AU.

When passion and culture collide, secrets from long ago are revealed, forever changing lives in the sleepy town of Speranza.

Australian author Gabby Craven travels to Speranza, Sicily, immersing herself in its culture. Enchanted by its beauty and friendly people, she quickly becomes entangled in their colourful lives. Especially that of the town’s sexy doctor Nic Ravisi. He’s the complete package, sending her temperature soaring. If only he didn’t keep retreating from her…

Dr Nic Ravisi is driven by his duty to care for the people of his home town. Turning his back on a promising career as a surgeon in the city, he chooses to live a humble life, costing him his first love. Despite the underlying pressure to marry from the well-meaning community and his mother, it’s the last thing on his mind. 

When his path intersects with Gabby’s, he finds it hard to concentrate on his priorities. She’s too hard to ignore. What good can come of a short-term fling?

After a chance meeting with a mysterious older woman, Gabby uncovers a tale of lost love and a secret that could turn lives upside down. Can Gabby help her to reveal the truth and set into motion the destiny that awaits, before she returns home?

Love in Speranza takes you on a journey of love in its many forms. Love, hope and second chances. 

SARAH GATES talks about her 'dream run' and everything you need to know to win a grant at The Writers Bloc.   This is the story behind her 2016 release, Love Elimination, and her winning the Carclew Colin Thiele Scholarship.  

Sarah is also excited to tell us that her Writing for Publication and Peace of Mind Workshop Series  at the Cove Civic Centre is SOLD OUT!  

LIANA SKRZYPCZAK has just had a short story accepted in the spring edition of Meanjin, entitled "Leaden Heart".  We look forward to checking it out!


AISLINN KEARNS' Station Alpha is just 99c now at Amazon AU.

A single phone call shatters her life…

Christine Ramirez’s phone rings in the dead of night. A man’s voice – unfamiliar and urgent – tells her to run.

She flees, but deadly, unknown assailants pursue her through the night. Her only saviour is the gruff stranger on the other end of the line.

Paul has a secret. He’s been watching her – maybe a little more than the assignment strictly requires. He shouldn’t reveal himself, but he can’t let anything happen to Christine. Even if it costs him the job that means the world to him.

With the mysterious villains still pursuing Christine, Paul whisks her away to a Soldiering On safe house. There, passion flares between them, hot and undeniable. And they are powerless to resist its lure, even as the villains get ever closer to finding them…

Check our VICTORIA PURMAN'S latest Tule Publishing novel, Long Hot Summer (Hot Aussie Knights Book 3).

It's going to be a long, hot summer in Reynolds Ridge… 

Hannie Reynolds has returned to the town she grew up in because no other place feels quite like home. But living in the stunning Adelaide Hills comes with risks--from the threat of bushfires that destroy everything in their path to the heart-stopping return of her high school crush. 

Firefighter Dylan Knight has come home too, and old memories flare when he sees Hannie again. Have they waited too long to rekindle their love? 

When they discover they were driven apart by a lie, they’re more determined than ever to fight for their second chance… until a bushfire threatens to destroy all they might share together and the very foundations of Hannie’s life in the hills. 

Has she lost everything … and has Dylan lost her forever?



Speaking of Knights, take a look at TRISH MOREY'S latest, Burning Love (Hot Aussie Knights Book 4) from Tule Publishing!

Caleb Knight’s ex accused him of being married to his firefighter job, and maybe she was right. He’s given up looking for happy ever after and finds what he needs between Ava’s scorching sheets. But lately, he’s wondering whether this thing with Ava might become more permanent…

Artist Ava Mattiske's ability to trust was shattered long ago. Her steamy fling with Caleb is perfect until he starts talking long-term. She puts on the brakes, but when a bushfire threatens her studio and Caleb is on the scene, Ava realizes that there is one man she can count on... But will it be too late?






CARLA CARUSO has welcomed a new book baby in recent times. Run For The Hills comes to us from Escape Publishing.

The Belshaw brothers are back in Balkissoch...

Bridie Porter is wearing her Vera Wang gown and veil in the back of her wedding limo when she receives a compromising text about her hotelier groom. Panicked, she tells the driver to keep going and she flees from Melbourne to the small town of Balkissoch in the Adelaide Hills.

It’s the perfect pit-stop to hide from her ex and the press and to earn enough cash to stay out of sight. Unfortunately, the admin job she gets is for a wedding photography business and she’s had her fill of weddings lately. But it’s slim pickings on the work front in a town so teeny. And her new boss is strangely compelling...

After the rush and adrenaline of his job as an LA paparazzo, the last place Cody Belshaw wants to be is back in the small town where he grew up. But thanks to a clause in his father’s will that amounts to blackmail, Cody and his two brothers are stuck running a wedding business for at least a month. If there’s one thing that he’s learned in LA, however, it's to keep business and pleasure very, very separate. Which makes his new admin employee the definition of temptation.

Bridie is desperate to stay anonymous. Cody seeks out secrets for a living. As they delve into the world of brides, boutonnières and dogs-as-best-men, both Cody and Bridie will have to decide if this is a fling...or forever.

Happy reading,
Emmeline.  x

SARA News - February New Releases

Wenna Chenoweth’s future is secure, until dashing Devon Courtney’s illicit flirtation gets her dismissed from her job as a lady’s maid. With nowhere to turn, Wenna is forced to accept Devon’s bold proposal: To be his bride. To enter society on the handsome aristocrat’s arm. To give him the heir he requires. It’s a foolproof plan. Except Wenna finds herself falling hard for a man who can never love her for who she is….

Wenna is passionate, mysterious, and ill-suited to the idle life of a society wife. She’s also exactly the kind of woman who could endanger Devon’s hopes to build his own future far from his family’s influence. For the spirited beauty has embarked on an unthinkable plan of her own—one that could lead him to surrender his resolve, and sacrifice everything he believes he holds dear….

Yet amid the wondrous landscape of colonial South Australia, anything is possible. Perhaps even love between two people the boundaries of society would keep apart….

BUY HERE

 Beth is a widow and Greg is an ex-con. They are two lost souls who have a random night of sex together. Nine months later they meet again—this time, she's giving birth to their son. Everything changes when Greg holds Josh, but this isn’t real, they're not married, or a happy family. Plus there are ghosts from the past who won't leave them alone. 

Greg can offer money, but can’t offer love. Their relationship should be doomed, but sometimes the most unlikely of partners bring out the best in each other...if they can only stay alive.

BUY HERE

Clare and her group of vampires,fae and werewolves want to live on Earth. To do that, they must heal the worlds they have been visiting through the portals. Vesi, is an albino vampire and Heln, is a white werewolf. Neither has been accepted by their own people. This unlikely couple tries to fight their growing attraction to each other while helping to save two worlds. On one world, a mist is closing in so nothing will survive. On the other, the High Priestess Sari is at war. Her power is failing and she wants to use Vesi’s blood so she can live forever. 

Can Heln save his love and help his friends save both worlds. Will their group ever get to Earth?

BUY HERE

Without a Season, Lady Isolde Worthingham captured the Duke of Moore's heart at a country dance. But on the eve of her wedding, a scandal that rocked the ton and sent her fleeing to Scotland alone and unwed, leaves her perfectly planned future in a tangle of disgrace and heartbreak.

Merrick Mountshaw, the Duke of Moore loathes the pitiful existence he hides from the ton. With a scandalous wife he never wanted, who flaunts her many indiscretions, life is a never-ending parade of hell. When the one woman he loved and lost returns to London, he knows he can no longer live without her.

But vows and past hurts are not easily forgotten. Love may not win against the ton when a too proper Lord and Lady play by the rules.

BUY HERE

How far would you go to save a child that wasn’t yours?

Mild-mannered kindergarten teacher Neve Botticelli leads a double life. Thanks to a childhood tragedy and her paranoid father, she’s a trained warrior with extreme survival skills who lives off the grid.

When self-made billionaire Micah Kincaid storms into town in search of his son, Rowan, he’s pushy, entitled, and stands for everything she despises. Micah can’t believe a kindergarten teacher is barring the way to him getting crucial information or even just a glimpse of the boy his cheating ex kidnapped. They share only one thing in common: either will do anything to protect the four-year-old, who they soon discover is being held for ransom by an outlaw motorcycle gang.

But as they work together to get Rowan back, they start to see beyond each other’s masks. Could falling in love be even more dangerous than hunting down deadly criminals?

BUY HERE

New Release from Sandy Vaile, Combatting Fear

Sassy in the South

Featuring Sandy Vaile

Book blurb

How far would you go to save a child that wasn’t yours?

Mild-mannered kindergarten teacher, Neve Botticelli, leads a double life. At home with her paranoid father, she is a combat trained survivalist who lives off-the-grid.

When self-made billionaire, Micah Kincaid, storms into town in search of his four-year-old son, Rowan, he’s pushy, entitled, and stands for everything Neve despises.

But something far more sinister than a cheating estranged wife, is lurking in rural Turners Gully, and it has its sights set on little Rowan’s inheritance. It turns out there is one thing Micah and Neve can agree on, and that’s keeping Rowan safe.

As they work together to free Rowan, they glimpse beneath one another’s guises, and realise that falling in love could be even more dangerous than hunting deadly criminals.

Combatting Fear Characters

Hi, I’m Sandy Vaile, and I’m not content with a story unless there’s a courageous heroine and a dead body. When I’m not devising horrible things to do to fictional characters, I write procedures for high-risk industrial activities, mentor new writers through the Novelist’s Circle critiquing group, judge romance writing competitions, present literary craft workshops, and write the odd articles and blog.

The South Australian Romance Authors group has been a source of information and support over the years, so it’s great to be here to give readers a peek behind the scenes with the hero and heroine of my new book, “Combatting Fear”.

Neve Botticelli’s life changed by a tragic car accident when she was twelve. She was pulled to safety while her mother and brother died. It meant having to live with her war-traumatised father on an isolated property.

Seeing as he was her only family, she didn’t begrudge giving up any chance of finding love, to care for him. Besides, she gets to interact with the real world, and enjoy a simulated motherhood, while working at the local kindergarten.

What she didn’t expect, was for Micah Kincaid to disrupt her peaceful life by dragging her into a hostage situation, or to find that he had far more attractive qualities than his money.

Micah is used to getting his own way. He wields a multi-billion-dollar empire, but is he man enough to accept her as she is? Here are Micah’s thoughts on Neve:

Their potent attraction had taken him completely by surprise, and no matter how much she denied it, he knew she felt it too. It was a magnetism that set his skin on fire and clouded his mind, but it had developed into so much more for him. She was everything he had never known he wanted: independent and fragile, stunning without the least bit of effort to flaunt it, she fought for her fundamental beliefs, and would challenge him on every level, but most importantly, she loved Rowan.

What’s next for Sandy?

I subscribe to Steve Job’s adage of “Bite off more than you can chew and then chew like crazy”, and always have lots of projects on the go. This year I am presenting five workshops, with the first, Show Don’t Tell is a Layer Cake, starting on 27^th February. Bookings via the Romance Writers of Australia.

In April I’ll be attending the Salt Festival in Port Lincoln. In May I have a glorious week-long writing retreat at a secluded beach, where I plan on writing the first in an erotic novella series called “Coastal Connection”. And hopefully by the end of the year I will make a start on another romantic suspense novel, about a bodyguard and a woman who runs a Riding for the Disabled centre.

I’d love to hear about the sorts of heroes and heroines you like to read. Leave a comment on this blog and get 1 entry to win the “Combatting Fear” eBook. Subscribe to my newsletter and get 3 more entries.

Stay in touch with Sandy via her website, Facebook or Twitter.

Buy “Combatting Fear” here…

Buy “Inheriting Fear” here…

SARA News - Releasearama!

Good afternoon, dear readers.

Here at SARA, we are fully cognisant of the fact that releasearama isn't a word.  We work in good, socially acceptable words all the time.  Releasearama isn't one of them.  

But for today, releasearama is our word of choice which we will use to describe the cavalcade of new releases that is spilling out of SARA right at this very moment.  We're drunk on creative power!  We're taking creative license!  We've lost our minds!  

As you will, when you see the wordy goodness that SARA is serving up to you, our beloved readers, in the near future.  


Tess LeSue, Amy T Matthew's alter ego, is releasing her first historical romance, Bound For Eden, coming out for Harlequin/MIRA next month. 

Here's what some very clever Australian authors had to say about it:


‘[Tess’s] writing is lively and taut and generates emotion. Her characters spring to life and her stories move at a fast pace.’ – Anne Gracie

 ‘I was blown away by the sparkling brilliance of Tess’s writing. She has a real gift for historical atmosphere, compelling characters, sexual tension and witty dialogue.’ – Anna Campbell

A rollicking, funny historical romance of mistaken identity, wagon trains and an irresistible attraction.

Fleeing from the murderous Grady brothers with a stolen fortune hidden in her luggage and her younger brother and sister in tow, Alex disguises herself as a boy to join a wagon train headed West … a wagon train captained by the irresistible Luke Slater. Alexandra Barratt has found the perfect man – it’s a shame he thinks she’s a boy.  

At first, Alex can’t believe the way every woman in town falls at Luke’s feet, including her suddenly flirtatious sister. But when she sees him naked in the bathtub, she finds herself swooning over him too. If only she could wash the muck of her face and show him who she really is…

As for Luke, he has no idea that the ragtag boy in his care is none other than the woman of his dreams. But when circumstances contrive to throw Luke and Alex into each other’s arms, their relationship becomes very complicated indeed. In fact, with the brutal Silas Grady in pursuit, keeping their secret becomes a matter of life and death…

Pre-order it now:  Amazon, iBooks, at Booktopia, Dymocks, Kobo, GooglePlay.

If you're that way inclined, you might like to head to Tess' book launch.  Details here.  It's at the Exeter Hotel.  Say no more, sistah.  

Victoria Purman is also welcoming a new book baby!

The Three Miss Allens is being brought by the stork in October (okay, by Harlequin Australia), and you can find out the details of the baby shower (aka book launch) here.  

How much of who we are is destiny and how much chance?

In 1934, the three Miss Allens - Ruby, Adeline and Clara - arrive in the seaside town of Remarkable Bay for their annual summer holiday. It’s the last time they’ll spend summers as a family. Adeline is engaged, Ruby is weighing up an offer, and Clara is just eighteen and about to start her life. But by summer’s end, the lives they have known will change irrevocably and a mysterious secret will tear the family apart.

Eighty-two years later, Ruby’s great-granddaughter Roma Harris moves to the now sleepy Remarkable Bay, retreating from tragedy. Roma’s distant cousin Addy arrives too, fleeing a life with too much drama. It’s only when the women discover an old guest book that they start asking questions about the mysterious third Miss Allen. Who was she? Why has she disappeared from the family’s history? 

If they solve this mystery from their past, could it change the women’s futures?

If you want to get your copy as soon as it’s released, pre-order now from iBooks, Amazon, Google Play, Kobo, Harlequin Australia or Booktopia.

Bella Bucannan also has her debut Harlequin novel arriving July 1st.  Releasearama!

Surrogacy is the closest Alina Fletcher dares get to motherhood. But when she tells tycoon Ethan James that she’s carrying his late sister’s child, his solution takes her breath away – a temporary marriage of convenience for the baby’s sake!
​
Alina knows it’s the right decision for her baby, but is marrying a stranger – especially one who makes her heart sing! – the right choice for her? Having loved and lost her own family, this proposal could be another chance at happiness…if only Alina’s brave enough to say ‘I do’!

You can pre-order it now here:  Amazon US, Amazon UK , Amazon Aus, Harlequin US, ​Mills & Boon UK. 

Sarah Gates is also launching her new book Love Elimination, out with Harlequin Australia on July 1st.

Love Elimination might be a hit new reality dating show, but Anna Hobbs isn’t in it for love.

Anna is a reluctant fill-in coerced onto the show by her sister, a producer. She dreams of owning her own dessert café; a dream that has taken years of hard work and strict saving. She knows reality TV is a big, manipulated lie — and gorgeous leading man Luke Westwood can’t possibly be for real. Can he?

Olympian snowboarder Luke Westwood thought he had retired from competition. Now he’s starring in the cutthroat world of Love Elimination, with twelve beautiful women vying for his attention against the backdrop of a tropical paradise.  With cameras in every corner, why is it only Anna — careful Anna with her bills and budgets — who Luke feels he can be himself with, at long last?

All Anna wants is a quick elimination, but with each date she is more reluctant to relinquish Luke to the conniving contestants — or even to the women who are starting to become friends. It doesn’t help when Luke insists on using the limitless television budget to indulge her heart’s desires. Or that the moments they’ve stolen, alone and away from the cameras, have sizzled with passion. As the dates wear on the evictions become more brutal and the contestants’ secrets are exposed. Will the pressure get too much? Or will love close in on Luke and Anna?

Looks fab!  Check out the June 30th launch details here.  

Virginia Taylor's Starling, the first book in the South Landers Series, is currently on sale for 99c!  It precedes Ella, Charlotte and Wenna (due early 2017).  Get yours while they're hot!  Links are to B&N, but find Starling at all good retailers!

An aspiring dressmaker, orphaned Starling Smith is accustomed to fighting for her own survival. But when she’s offered a year’s wages to temporarily pose as a wealthy man’s bride, she suspects ulterior motives. She can’t lose the chance to open her own shop, but she won’t be any man’s lover, not even handsome, infuriating Alisdair Seymour’s… 

To prevent his visiting sister from parading potential brides in front of him, Alisdair has decided to present a fake wife. He lost his heart once, and had it broken—he doesn’t intend to do it again. But stubborn, spirited Starling is more alluring than he bargained for, and Alisdair will risk everything he has to prove his love is true… 

Set against the sweeping backdrop of 1866 South Australia, Starling is a novel of cherished dreams and powerful desires, and the young woman bold enough to claim them both…

So pour a glass of local red, grab your favourite throw, and curl up in front of the fire to enjoy SARA's winter RELEASEARAMA*!

Until next time, happy reading, 

Emmeline. x

* We won't use it again.  Promise.  Unless we forget that we said we wouldn't.  Or we are hit with another slew of awesome releases.  

Mmm.  Let's face it.  We probably will.  Sorry in advance.  <3