December 30, 2008

New Year, New Goals

Well, it's that time of year again. Time to make my resolutions for the New Year. I usually break them by the middle of January, but hopefully, this year will be different. This year they're not resolutions. They're goals. And goals are easier to keep. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

This year's Goals:
Finish A Knight's Peace by April
Finish Rebel Union by August
Have both edited by December/January
Begin and finish Who I Am by December

This is no easy task, but I'm up to the challenge. I will reach my goals, darnit!!!
Her Cinderella Complex
She’s got the man—and the wedding—of her dreams. If only love were part of the fantasy.


Her Cinderella Complex is a sweet romance about a woman who is dreaming of happily ever after with a man who views their relationship as yet another business transaction. I enjoyed watching the development of their relationship. -- Gotta Write Network

"The characters were splendid and jumped off the pages. The whole concept of the story was very intriguing and was enough to keep me glued to the pages until I finished the book. Would this happen in the real world? It would be very nice if it did and I was Heather. The sexual tension was exactly where it needed to be." - Fallen Angel Reviews

"This is a fantastic story with very strong characters who were beautifully written and I immediately fell in love with both of them." The Good, The Bad, and the Unread

"Her Cinderella Complex was a wonderfully sexy and fun book...Their sexual encounters were extremely erotic...Her Cinderella Complex is the first book that I have read by Ms. Bayley-Burke and it won't be the last." The Romance Studio

"Her Cinderella Complex is a delightful gem that had me laughing out loud and rooting for these two people to make it. Just when I’d think I had the plot figured out the author, Jenna Bayley-Burke would throw me a curve, which kept me on my toes, and interested in finding out what happened next! The relationship between Heather and Curtis is a welcome and refreshing change from the typical alpha male and the all-too-willing-to-agree female pairings that tend to dominate these types of love stories. This is a fast-paced book that will not only have you smiling but enjoying the hot, steamy and sometime funny love scenes. At no point does the story drag. So do yourself a favor and treat yourself to having a good time while reading Her Cinderella Complex ." - Literary Nymphs

December 24, 2008

Grandma's House

Well, it's official. I am now "Grandma's House" where everyone gathers for the holidays. That's not what bothers me though. It's the fact that I'm old enough to be "Grandma's House". Shouldn't that designation be for someone MUCH older? I mean, sure I'm turning 40 next month, but good grief, that's not old. I'm still young enough to travel the world and do all the things I always wanted to do when the kids were little but couldn't b/c, well, the kids were little.

But I'll take the role and run with it. That way I get to be in charge of what we eat and what we do every holiday. Hmmm...not a bad trade off all in all.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

December 23, 2008

bs

How does a woman get past the shock of her fiancé leaving her at the altar -- for a man? For Kristen Carter, it involves throwing herself into her job as a journalist, and justifying that her life is much better without a man in it. Period. That is, until sexy and seductive construction worker Ayden McKenzie moves in next door. From the first moment she spies him naked through his bedroom window, she is instantly drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

But Ayden’s been around the block -- several times. Now he's craving the stability that a steady relationship can bring, and once he meets his next-door neighbor he feels he's finally met his equal. The problem lies in turning Kristen into a believer … even after an unexpected visitor turns their world upside down.

Read An Excerpt Here and Here

Book Length: Novella

Click Here To Buy!

December 16, 2008

Blue Christmas

Christmas is almost here. I haven't put up our tree yet b/c I'm afraid CDM might pull it over on top of herself. I'll probably put it up this weekend since Christmas is next week but I'm not really feeling it this year. Since the kids are all grown up and going their own way (JAM is in Iraq and can't be with us) now I just don't feel the draw that I felt when they were smaller. It's all about the gift now and not about the surprise like it used to be. I'll have CDM this year and that will make it a little better, but with the economy the way it is even she won't be getting as much as I'd like to give her.

Apparently I'm feeling a little nostalgic and depressed that I'm growing older and the kids are moving on with their lives. I know I'll get over it and Christmas will be great, but in the meantime I'm wallowing. So, sue me!

December 12, 2008

Come Over to the Dark Side

I've finally done it. I've brought my husband to the dark side.

He was searching the house for a book to take to work with him to read when he's between loads and I gave him a copy of Karen Rose's book "I'm Watching You" and he says he really likes it. Of course he did say it took him a bit to get over the fact that men investigating serious crimes are looking at possible victims and thinking how hot they are. But the detective work and the crime scene information has him drawn in and he can't put it down.

I've tried for years to convert readers over to Romance, but no one seems to want to believe that there are such great authors out there in the Romance Genre. There's a serious misconception that Romance is a bad genre to read but I, and all other Romance readers, know that the Romance genre is the best selling genre in all of the publishing industry.

And now, there is one more believer added to our group!!

December 11, 2008

Little Voices

I've obviously lost track of blogging every day and I don't even have the excuse of being extremely busy and not able to blog. I'm not even writing and that's got me disappointed in myself.

Lately I've been making excuses not to write. The kids are getting on my nerves and I can't write. KAM & CDM are at the house and I can't write. I had a tough day at work and I can't write. There are so many excuses it's just crazy. But the truth is I just don't think I'm good enough. I read voraciously and everything I read tells me I have no idea how to write. It doesn't matter tha I love it and I want to so bad sometimes I can taste it. The only thing that seems to matter is the little voice in my head that says "you're no good at this so stop trying".

How on earth do I get them to stop whispering in my ear? How do I make myself sit down and write without that little voice telling me I can't? Why do all my insecurities come out when all I want to do is write? Arrrggg!!!

December 04, 2008

Gamble's Game

"One is fun, two is company, three is not always a crowd, but four is more, and more, and more! The idea for Gamble's Game came to me one day while I ate my lunch in a local grocery store. Inspired by my surroundings, I saw erotic potential in a stereotypically sterile environment (excluding the produce aisle, of course). " ~Tara ~

200 x 300 gg
Gamble’s Game

by Tara S Nichols

Now Available at Siren Publishing


Sensuality Rating: SCORCHING
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance with elements of Ménage a Trois M/F/M and Ménage a Quatre M/F/M/F
Length: 33,814 Words

A notorious player, Desiree Jones resists all attempts to trap her in a relationship. According to her, it's what made her parents miserable, and therefore, it is what would make her miserable.


Once a lover of Desiree's, Andrew Gamble doesn't agree and it is his hope to be the one who makes her see reason. Smitten from the first kiss, Gamble has not touched another woman since, so a bet to go without sounds more like an opportunity to seduce her to him.


Desiree's other competition is Joshua Tully, perpetually single and harmless, until the temptation of two week's wages are up for grabs. After that, it is open season, and the three of them do what ever it takes to push their pals over the sexual finish line. A parade of firemen visit Desiree's cash counter, a pretendsbian tryst is performed for Gamble, and a date is arranged for Tully.



Released December 1st, 2008 Siren Publishing!

Her Knight Before Christmas

ISBN Number: 978-1-897560-10-5
Genre: Time Travel Romance
Length: Novella

Heat Index: Hot with Explicit Language

Read excerpts or buy it here!



Dreaming of the past.

Hannah Falcon loves her job cataloging medieval artifacts and setting up the displays at the Natural History Museum in New York. What she doesn’t love is her father’s steadfast refusal to let her go on any of his archeological digs, or her friends insisting she date more. When a man dressed as a medieval knight shows up in the museum, Hannah mistakes him for her friend’s latest attempt at a blind date.

Sent into the future:

Sir Gavin of Rogueforth is a battle-hardened twelfth century knight, having seen and caused his share of death in the crusades. He expects nothing more from life than to live and die by his sword. After Gavin rescues a woman and her daughter from a band of highway thieves, she sends him through time to protect another Hannah, claim her as his own and fulfill his destiny. He doesn’t expect a woman who refuses to be protected.

Timeless passion:

Can a man in chain maille convince a twenty-first century woman to follow her heart? Can a modern day woman show a medieval knight there’s more to life than being a protector? When two people from two different times explore Manhattan during the holiday season will time be an obstacle or will they find the magic to span centuries under the mistletoe?

December 01, 2008

The House

Explain a dream you’ve had recently without using the words “I” or “me”. (with a few embellishments)

The house sat on the corner of Elm and Hickory, surrounded by a black wrought iron fence with little curly cue’s across the middle. The yard was overgrown and the paint was chipped and peeling. It wasn’t a particularly scary house, but the history of it was definitely juicy.

Mamie and Ashley Fellows grew up there and since Ashley’s death in 1965 Mamie had not left the house at all. Over the years servants had come and gone and rumors had spread as to the lonely inhabitant of the house. It seemed Mamie was not completely alone; young Ashley kept her company.

Melinda was sixteen when she moved to Evansville. The first time she passed the house on her way to school she fell in love and had to know more about it. Everyone she met was more than happy to tell her about the house and its history. The more she learned the more she wanted to see for herself.

Late one night Melinda and a young boy named David, who had lived in Evansville all his life, snuck into the house from an outside cellar door. They were eager to see Ashley for themselves but knew that if Mamie caught them they’d be in more trouble than either of them wanted to think about.

The inside of the house was just as run down as the outside. Since servants were hard to come by and Mamie was so old, the dust was caked on the furniture and cobwebs were abundant. Neither Melinda nor David realized they were leaving tracks behind them.

A scream tore through the house causing the hair on Melinda’s neck to stand on end. They stopped at the bottom of a curved staircase and looked up as a young girl in a mini dress and knee boots ran across the balcony overhead. As if an unseen force pushed her from behind, she fell over the railing to the wood floor below and disappeared. Before the two could catch their breath and gauge one another’s reaction, the scene unfolded before them again; the same girl, the same scream, the same fall to the floor below. Over and over Ashley, for it could only be Ashley, fell to her death.

Not once did they see Mamie come from her room to see what was happening. Having lived with it her entire life she probably no longer heard it. But Melinda and David could not believe what they were seeing. Ashley was killed in her own home. But why was she “reliving” her murder over and over? Melinda was determined to find out.

They left the house the same way they had entered and nearly a week went by before Melinda could get back in.