SARA News - The "It's a real gem" edition.

Hullo, intrepid readery friends!

We do hope you've all been well and are enjoying a stellar beginning to 2016.  :)

Please, grab a coffee and a Tim Tam, and immerse yourself in the luminous, glowing sparkly wonderful that is the REAL GEM edition of the SARA News.


We begin with the news that both Emily Hussey and Emmeline Lock's short Sunstone stories have won places in the 2016 Romance Writer's of Australia's Little Gems Contest, and will be published in both print and ebook format later in the year.  Check that fab cover from Sheridan Kent, who has won the cover contest a whopping FIVE times.  Ah...  Makes me want to crack out the banana lounge.  What a gem!

Khloe Wren recently achieved a FIVE STAR review from The Romance Reviews for her Erotic Vampire Romance, Scarred Perfection from Evernight Publishing.  It's a Top Pick, too!  Read more here.  It's a gem!

Bronwyn Stuart has a shiny new release!  Mixing Business With Pleasure is out from Escape Publishing, and by Bronwyn's own admission, it's "hot, hot, hot!"

Alison Marcum loves her baby brother and would have done anything for him--until the day his loan sharks arrive on her doorstep and demand she pay them ten thousand dollars or else. 
With no way to repay the money, and not wanting to find out what they’re capable of, Alison transforms herself from boring social worker to smoking hot model--but getting work isn’t going to be the hard part for a woman who’d promised herself never to step in front of a camera again.
Sam Mason is overseeing a jewellery advertising campaign, and after spending ten minutes in the boardroom with a nearly naked Alison, he decides he might actually enjoy the job. Strictly business, though. Sam’s been burned by a model before and no matter how attracted he is, there’s no way he’s getting involved.
As the lies begin to unravel and the loan sharks get impatient, will they both risk it all to be together or lose it all in a bid not to repeat the past?


Bella Bucannon has a twinkling new website, ahead of her mid-year Harlequin release, Bound by the Unborn Baby.   Check out the pre-order link here.  Website designed by SARA's own HelzKat Designs.

"As far as everyone's concerned, Alina, this child is ours." 

Surrogacy is the closest Alina Fletcher dares get to motherhood. But when she must tell tycoon Ethan James 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"!

Good grief, these gems are so bright, I gotta wear shades.  :)

Until next time, happy reading!

Emmeline.  

SARA News ~ A lighter edition

Hi y'all. Welcome to the latest edition of SARA News! It may be a little light on the amount of news compared to our last edition but it still packs punch. 

First cab off the rank today is NA author Leesa Bow.

A charming release

Leesa's latest release was in September with Charming the Outback - the second NA story in the series that begins with Winning the Player. Although there is a mild sport theme the main theme is rural theme combined with the emotion of NA. Like WTP its a story about second chance love.


Blurb time:
When jaded city girl Maddy McIntyre packs up and leaves Adelaide for a new job in the country, it’s not only a chance at a fresh start. Six months ago, the first guy she’d ever loved shattered her heart before moving home to Broken Hill. Deep down inside, Maddy is hoping that living in the same town will give her an opportunity to prove to Luke that she’s one temptation he can’t resist.

But when she arrives in Broken Hill, Luke White is not the same guy she knew in the city. And it soon seems very clear that he doesn’t want her there. Although Maddy settles in quickly, excelling at work and partying with her new friends, she can’t understand why Luke is remaining so distant. Particularly when all her instincts are telling her that they’re meant to be together – and that he feels the same burning attraction.

As Maddy learns more about Luke’s family and background, she begins to understand that his mixed messages are caused by balancing what’s expected of him with what he really wants. Maddy gave Luke her heart long ago and, despite their differences, she knows she’ll only ever be happy with her hot country boy. But how can she convince him that she’s the risk he needs to take?

Don't forget to your copy at:

| Destiny Romance | Amazon | Amazon AUS | iTunes | Google Play | Kobo

Bundle me baby

But that's not all, Leesa also has a book releasing a NA bundle with seven (count them, 7) other NA authors! And it's Leesa first indie published work. 

Jardine will be released 15th December and has a cricket theme (how's that! :) )  It's the first book in a two book series. Boot two, Caught Out, is expected to be out in early 2015.

At eighteen, Ava is sure she has found her soul mate in Jardine. Convincing their friends and family that what they have is more than just a crush, however, is an entirely different story. Jardine’s parents have his life mapped out with plans that don’t include Ava.

Their plans to get into med school and start their future together crumble when cricket sensation Jardine is selected to play for the Australian team and expected to spend most of the year touring internationally. Ava knows since they agreed to follow their dreams, no matter the cost, she has to let Jardine go.

Ava also discovers a new inspiration to move on with her life. But can she keep it a secret from Jardine? If he discovers the truth, everything between them could be destroyed.

Busy busy busy for Khloe Wren

More this time around from the woman with multiple releases.

Novella accepted

Khloe was offered a contract on a new stand alone novella Tigers Are Forever, which is due for release in December this year.

Another hot release!

Tourmaline Truth: Gemstone Vampires Book 2 was released on the spooky date of 31st October!

Vampires are real... as is the fact they will only ever take one woman, their Eternal Bride. When Barret sees Sharon, he’s excited to have finally found his Bride, until they meet and he learns Sharon knows nothing of Vampires and is scared of him. Once he seduces her into accepting his claim on her, Barret falls asleep…only to wake to find her gone. Sharon had snuck out while he slept and ends up in the hands of the enemy. His rescue attempt ends badly and they are both caught by the evil Nobles. Twenty-seven years later they find themselves finally free. As they both struggle to adjust to the outside world, Sharon is on a mission to rescue the sons she birthed in captivity. Barret wakes to find Sharon has, once again, slipped away while he slept. Will history repeat itself?

Get your copy now at Amazon and All Romance Ebooks

Let your heart soar…

Virginia Taylor's upcoming release, Starling, has a new cover. It's the first in The Southlanders Series and will be released in April 2015 from Kensington's Lyrical. 

Let your heart soar…

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…

Check details now at Kensington Books

More to add to the 'To Get' pile..

Virginia also has two more in the series (Ella and Charlotte) expected in 2015 and 2016! 

And now for something a little different - cover design

HelzKat Designs (aka Eleni Konstantine) has been busy with her latest design for horror author, J.M. Thorne.

Scary huh?

That's it for us this time around. Until next time, happy reading!!

Southern Speak ~ Finding the Author 'you'

As part of my graphic design business run by my alter-ego, HelzKat Designs, I ask writers to think about the look of a banner or website/blog that I create on their behalf.

I get them to think about their author brand. To think about what public face and image they will have as an author. This is not the personal you. It's the professional you related to your writing.

Branding helps you and the reader know where you fit in. Humans love to categorise things. And because there are different ways to brand yourself, an author can find a way to market themselves that suits them.



Genre as your brand

For example, the author me writes mostly fantasy and paranormal stories, with the tagline, Doorway into Fantasy and Paranormal Fiction. I use a fairy as the avatar on my website banner and blog, and even on my business cards. I love the fairy as it indicates the fantastical, it can be bright and dark at the same time, which reflects my writing.

I've changed the look of my banner a few times over the years.

But early last year, I realised that I use the fairy for identiy on my business card and that I should change my banner it to reflect this.

My client and fellow SARA member, Maggie Mundy writes Dark Speculative Fiction and so the banner I created reflects this.

But how about if you are a writer that has many different genres?

That's okay, too. You don't have to be genre specific with regards to brand, though many authors like to keep their different genres seperate by different names.

For example, Nora Roberts writes her romances as Nora Roberts, but her futuristic crime series as J.D. Robb.

Jayne Ann Krentz writes as as Jayne Anne Krentz for romantic suspenses, Amanda Quick for historical romances, and Jayne Castle for her paranomal romances.

You know what type of stories you will get when you pick a book by the author name. This is reader expectation.


But as you can see with the J.D. Robb cover, Nora's name is mentioned - this is marketing and in the hopes of getting readers to pick up the book.



My client, Tracey O'Hara writes Dark Urban Fantasy but wrote erotic romance as Tracie Sommers. She's since changed this to have all her writing under one name - Tracey O'Hara - which is becoming more common. With the book cover to the right, I created the look of the short story that went with the rest of her Dark Brethren series.


Another client, Dakota Harrison writes both contemporary romance and fantasy/sci-fi. I created two banners for her to distinguish the two styles.

Your writing 'voice'
This can indicate your brand as well.

For example, Meg Cabot, writes adult, YA, and MG books. But it's her writing voice that makes it Meg Cabot. It's a fun, quirky style with bits of seriousness thrown in.



Cecilia Ahern writes quirky stories usually with romances and magical elements. Therefore the style of her website is generic but her books have an illustrated approach. The stories are set in this world but not quite of this world but in no means are what is called paranormal romance - that has a different connotation.

 





My client and fellow SARA Claire Baxter, writes fun, sweet, entertaining romance.  This is indicated with both her romances with publishers such as Random Romance and Entangled Publishing, but also with her self-published work such as More Than Just One Night.





You can go by theme

For example, Nikki Logan writes sweet romances, sexy romances, and romantic suspense under her A Romance with Nature tag. Her work involves nature in some way.

The name as the brand

Tara Moss writes both crime fiction and young adult paranormal stories. Her brand is her name - Tara Moss. This has seen her through her careers as a model, journalist, and TV presenter and most people relate to her.



Client and SARA member Virginia Taylor writes both historical romance and contemporary romance (with mainly a romantic comedy slant). Her  brand is her as is reflected in this design.

Rebranding

Fiona McIntosh (who will be a special guest at the upcoming A Fair to Remember) is now focusing her fiction on historical romantic adventures alongside her fantasy stories which she built her career on.




So have you thought about your branding?

SARA News ~ 2014's first WHOPPING issue

Have you got your SASS on? No? 

Well it's time to get SASSY with the first
SARA News for 2014. It's a beauty!

It's a Rosey ol' week

Lilliana Rose's No Friends hits the top 10 lists for Every Day Poet.

Join the crowd and read Lilliana's poem if you haven't already read it.

Not only that but she has a whopping cool cover for her novella, Circus Escape. It will be out in the 'A Loose Screw' collection with Less Than Three Press in April 2014.

Can you tell it's a steampunk? Yep? Well it's also a romance. Double yay!

V for Victoria

Our own Victoria Purman has been nominated for the Favourite New Romance Author for 2013 by ARRA (Australian Romance Readers Association).

Way to go Victoria!

Check out the full nominations here!

She was heat 3 in the Booktopia's Australia's Favourite Novelist. She even made the long list....











Not only that, but she was spotted in the Sunday Mail on Sunday 5th January.

Look out, Victoria is taking over the world.

Fire and Snow continues...

Khloe Wren's latest release is now the 2nd installment of the Fire and Snow series, Cinderella's Guardian out with Rogue Phoenix Press.

Blurb

After watching his older brother win the heart of his mate, Conner White can’t wait for his turn. When he finally has his first dream of his mate, he is both relieved that he knows who she is and worried as he hasn’t been able to get near her since he caught a glimpse of her at his brother’s wedding weeks earlier.

Tina Anderson is beyond miserable. Her mother abandoned her after a life altering injury that left the vibrant gymnast in a wheelchair. Her father has been forced to leave her to go work off shore. She’s been left in the care of a harsh bitter woman who is only after her father and will do whatever she deems necessary to take her place in his life. No matter the cost.

Conner and Tina’s road to happiness is filled with twists, turns and pot holes, but are they strong enough to pull each other through it all?

Buy links:  Amazon | All Romance eBooks | Barnes & Noble 

Now a little trailer love...

Carla's Catch

Carla Caruso's Catch of the Day was listed as a Best Summer Reads over at The Hoopla.

"If Summer Romance is where your heart is at in the holiday season, then Catch of the Day has to be the exact book for kicking back on the banana lounge with long cool drink and time on your side."

Go SA and Kingston. Speaking of Kingston, this month Carla had her first book signing in the small South Australian coastal town of Kingston SE, where her novel, Catch of the Day, is based (and also where my media career started). It was a sell-out and even made the local newspaper, Coastal Leader, where Carla used to work. Here are some piccies.

A Star is Born!

Susanne Hampton has a her cover for her debut release, Unlocking The Doctor's Heart, coming in March!

And it doesn't end there! You're all invited to her first book launch...

Scandalously Divine

Tamara Gill has signed a contract for her Regency time travel romance, A Stolen Season,  to Entangled's Scandalous imprint.

More details of this as it comes to hand!

Also here's the lovely cover for Fallen, Book Three in the Daughters of the Gods series - coming to us in March!

In Other News

We had our New Year's lunch and you can see piccies over on Facebook.


Eleni Konstantine as HelzKat Designs has designed a new cover for DarkSider Shona Husk.

What a wickedly great start to 2014!