JHarte

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Meant to Be Facebook Party Author Lineup

JHarte Events, Giveaway/Freebies, New Releases, Southern Heat Meant to Be, new releases, Southern Heat 0

I’m giddy with excitement, not just because Meant to Be will soon be released, but also, because a group of my author buddies have agreed to help me celebrate it over at the Facebook Meant to Be Release Party on September 27, 2016, 11 am to 7 pm eastern*. I hope you’ll be there too.

Below you’ll discover the authors and times of their appearances on Sept. 27, so you can drop in, say hello. They’ll have fun activities and even cool giveaways.

* The event will remain open through midnight so if you can’t make it between 11-7, you can still come by and enter the giveaway contests. Authors will select and announce their winners Sept. 28 unless otherwise noted by them when they post their giveaway.

Jenna Harte

I’ll open the festivities from 11 to noon. You’ll want to stop by to see what giveaways are in store and get some insights into Meant to Be.

11:00 – noon eastern

Rachel Brimble

Rachel will be visiting us all the way from the U.K. sharing her new release, One True Love, and a whole lot more. Learn more about Rachel and her books at RachelBrimble.com.

12 noon to 1 pm eastern

Joanne Stewart

Don’t miss Joanne Stewart’s visit, where she’ll share her sexy Seattle Bachelor series. Visit Joanne’s website to learn more about her and her works.

1:00-2:00 pm eastern

Ellen Butler

Ellen Butler will be stopping by to share fun and information on her Love California Style series. Visit Ellen’s website to learn about her books.

2:00-3:00 pm eastern

Kelly Eadon

Stop by to learn about author Kelly Eadon and her books from the Belmont Beach series, and more. Learn more about Kelly and her musings at her website.

3 pm to 4 pm eastern

Megan Ryder

Stop by to meet Megan Ryder and learn about her Knights of Passion series, and other treats she has in store for you. Visit Megan’s website to learn more about her and her books.

4:00-5:00 pm eastern

C. H. Armstrong

C. H. Armstrong will join us for 20 minutes at 5 pm eastern. Come learn about The Edge of Nowhere and discover what interesting goodies she has in store for you. Visit C.H. Armstrong’s website to learn about her.

5:00-5:20 eastern

Bianca M. Schwarz

Stop by to meet Bianca, learn about A Thing of Beauty, an intriguing, historical romantic/suspense that is like no other, and more. Visit Bianca’s author page to learn more.

5:20-5:40 eastern

Catherine Haustein

Don’t miss Catherine Haustein’s visit to learn about her book, Natural Attraction, and her other great works, plus more cool stuff. Learn more about Catherine at her website.

5:40-6:00 pm eastern

And at 7:00 pm, I’ll be closing down the party, but the event feed will stay open through the night, so you can come in late to enter giveaways and join in on the fun. Authors will announce winners Sept 28 unless otherwise noted by them in their giveaway post.

A Second Chance at a Love that was Meant to Be

JHarte New Releases, Romance, Southern Heat Jane Austen, Meant to Be, new releases, romance, Southern Heat 0

I love second chance love stories. My all time favorite is Persuasion, by Jane Austen. I’m not sure why I’m so drawn to them, except I love the idea of a soulmate, and that even problems and time can’t prevent that love from existing.

On September 27, 2016, my homage to second chance at love hits bookstores. It tells the story of Mitch McKenna (Lexie’s brother from Drawn to Her) and Sydney Preston, who in college thought they had their lives all planned out, but it all came apart. Ten years later, they meet again, and while the attraction and longing is there, Mitch isn’t about to let his heart be broken again.

Stay tuned for excerpts, advanced reviews, and launch day plans that will include fun and freebies!

Meant to Be: Southern Heat Book Two

Charming and sexy, detective Mitch McKenna lets women into his bed—not into his heart. When his first love left him in a lurch, crushing his soul, Mitch swore off relationships and love. After all, any woman who chooses what her parents want over what she wants is not worth fighting for.

Or is she?

Successful New York doctor, Sydney Preston left the only man she ever loved to follow the path that her parents paved for her. When a tragic incident at the hospital threatens her life, Sydney moves to Virginia to rekindle the spark with her ex-fiancé.

But Mitch isn’t interested in reigniting the flame that fizzled out long ago. Will they both allow resentments and misunderstanding spoil their chance of discovering what was meant to be?

Meant to Be is available for pre-order at all your favorite online retailers:

Haven’t read Drawn to Her: Southern Heat Book One?

You don’t have to read Drawn to Her in order to follow Meant to Be, but you’ll be introduced to all the characters, and enjoy a fun, southern romance if you do. Learn more and read an excerpt of Drawn to Her.

It’s Hard to Kill with Mistletoe and Other Things I’ve Learned as an Author

JHarte Updates, Writing writing 0

There is a writing adage to “Write what you know.” While this is faster and easier, it’s also limiting. If I wrote only what I knew, Tess would wear plain old undergarments instead of expensive French couture lingerie. Jack would drive an old Honda instead of a Tesla. The only thing that I know is chocolate.

The challenge of making things up when you write is being as accurate as possible. To that end, sometimes I need to do research. While research in school was tedious and boring, research for writing fiction can be very interesting. Here are a few cool things I’ve learned when doing research for my books:

You can’t poison someone quickly with mistletoe, which is why Santa was stabbed in Death Under the Mistletoe.
Stabbing someone in the mid-back on the side can still be fatal. I had to figure out where to stab someone in the back to avoid a fatal injury for Meant to Be: Southern Heat Book Two.
Chocolate with nibs is yummy. Scharffen Berger’s chocolate with nibs makes an appearance in for Deadly Valentine.
There’s such a thing as Moonpie Moonshine, although I haven’t been able to taste it yet. Moonshine shows up in Meant to Be: Southern Heat Book Two.
I hate to fly (like Jack Valentine), but I learned how to fly a Cessna through a Youtube video for a new cozy mystery I’m writing.
I have learned how to make a chocolate martini. You can find the recipe in ‘Til Death Do Us Part: A Valentine Mystery Book 4.
I knew the French Blue eventually became the Hope Diamond, but learned that when the original stone was cut into the French Blue, there weren’t enough cuttings to make more jewelry. The French Blue shows up in With This Ring, I Thee Kill: A Valentine Mystery Book 3. I also take some liberties with the cuttings.
The Grimms were disturbed brothers. I have a new character who likes fairy tales, so I’m reading Grimm’s’ stories and others.
The southern accent is the most similar to the English of our forefathers than the accent in other parts of the U.S. I used this plus other cool stuff I learned about the southern accent in a free ebook How to Speak Southern.
There’s a mystery surrounding the Confederate treasury and gold. I have been thinking of using it in a Delecoeur novella, but I might save it for something else.
It’s legal to make beer and wine at home for personal consumption in Virginia, but not moonshine.
Franklin County, Virginia is the “Capital of Moonshine.”

Writing Great Love Scenes

JHarte Romance, Romantic Couples, Writing romance, writing 0

I’ll be on a romance writing panel with fellow authors Ellen Butler and Kelly Eadon at the Virginia Writers Club annual symposium. While romance doesn’t get much respect in the writing field, it’s the most popular genre fiction. Why? I think it’s because it’s loaded with emotion. But many might argue it’s sex, even though not all romances have, or even allude to, sex.

However, while many romance readers like intimate scenes, sometimes kinky ones even, they don’t want them just for sex sake. If that was the case, they’d read erotica or watch porn. Good love scenes in romance aren’t just there for the titillation; they serve a purpose to the plot and character development. Love scenes shouldn’t be written as a play-by-play of a technical manual: Touch here, insert there.

After studying my favorite romance authors, I’ve learned that what makes a great love scene isn’t so much the mechanics, as much as it is the emotions and sensuality. Some of the best love scenes in books don’t mention body parts hardly at all, and yet, they’re sexy and sensual.

Today, when I write love scenes, I start with the frame of mind of the characters. Are they making up? Are they feeling sad and lonely? Are they playful? Are they needing connection? In Worth the Risk (free novella with my newsletter subscription or membership in my street team), Max and Madeleine have several love scenes. The first is about discovery and finally giving in to the attraction. The second reveals deeper feelings, and yet, a fear of sharing them. The reunion scene is all about reconnecting and filling the void at the loss they felt when they separated. So not only are their bodies touching, caressing etc, but their minds are at work as well. We can feel the longing and the desire, which increases the sensuality of the mechanics. At least that’s now I see it.

With the release of Fifty Shades of Gray, we’ve seen the popularity of highly explicit romances rise. Having read a few of these, I find my concept of a good love scene holds true. Yes, these books show more sexy details, provide a greater diversity of positions, and use courser language, but ultimately, what makes them sexy and romantic is what’s going on in the characters’ heads and hearts, not just what’s happening between their bodies.

What do you think? What aspects do you like best about a great love scene?

Drawn to Her Release Day Giveaways!!

JHarte Giveaway/Freebies, New Releases, Uncategorized Drawn to Her, events, givaway 0

It’s here! Drawn to Her, book one in the Southern Heat Series is finally available.

To celebrate, there’s a ton of stuff going on including a Kindle giveaway, free ebooks with every order (and pre-order), fun activities, blog tours and much more. Check out all the fun and activities in store today:

FREE ebooks with every purchase of Drawn to Her. EVERYONE who buys a copy (or pre-ordered) of Drawn to Her can also pick up the following for free:

How to Speak Southern – A fun and informative guide to the south to compliment some of the southernisms in Drawn to Her.
Worth the Risk – Delecoeur Adventure Book One
Endangered – Delecoeur Mystery Book Two
On the Rebound – Excerpt of Jim Cangany’s wonderful romance

Visit the Drawn to Her Goodie Giveaway page for details on picking up your free ebooks. You can pick up your copy of Drawn to her at your favorite retailers: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, iBooks

Win a Kindle, plus other great prizes, meet and mingle with other authors and have fun at the Drawn to Her Facebook party. From 11 am to 7 pm eastern standard time, visit the Drawn to Her release party on Facebook to join in on all the fun, and enter to win cool stuff, including a Kindle!