Happy Mother’s Day!

All my best,

Barbara

There’s so much good news around here, I’m not sure where to start.

First off, we’ve revamped this blog and website, and I hope you like the new look!

And for updates in my writing life:

I’m thrilled to share the good news that the first Flagman’s Folly book, A RANCHER’S PRIDE, is a finalist for awards from two Romance Writers of America chapters:  the Reader’s Choice Award from the New England Chapter and the Golden Quill Award from the Desert Rose Chapter.

My latest book, THE RODEO MAN’S DAUGHTER, has been receiving great feedback from readers and reviewers.

And I’ve just received the cover for my upcoming Harlequin American Romance, HONORABLE RANCHER (August 2012).  Take a peek…

Thanks for dropping in to catch up with the news!

All my best to you,

Barbara

First, it’s my day at the Harlequin Romance Authors blog, and I’m sharing one the EASIEST–and best-loved–of all St. Patrick’s Day recipes. 

Stop by to take a peek and share some holiday traditions.

Also, I’m at the anniversary celebration at The Romance Reviews, where they’re holding a month-long party with games, chats, and drawings!  Check it out here! 

Hope to see you around today.

I also hope you have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day!

All my best,

Barbara

Erin, welcome and thanks for dropping in.  Take it away!

Barbara, thank you so much for having me on your blog today!  You have the nicest readers and it’s always such a pleasure to be a guest here.  I really appreciate the chance to talk about Haunting Warrior, Book Two in my Mists of Ireland Series.  (Re-released on Mar 6 in mass market paperback, available now wherever books are sold)

Haunting Warrior 

It started the night Rory MacGrath’s father vanished from the cavern beneath the castle ruins—sucked into another world, taking Rory along with him.  Somehow Rory’s sister managed to pull him back, but from that moment on Rory has never felt whole.  In fact, he feels like a part of himself was left behind.  And deep down, Rory fears it’s the most important part . . . the good part.

It was the moment Rory confessed this fear to me that I fell head over heels in love with him.  Disconnected from his past, his family, and even his heritage, Rory might have convinced himself that he doesn’t mind being alone and that he doesn’t long to be loved, but he couldn’t fool me.  I felt his pain. I knew his heart.

Tough on the outside and lost on the inside, I knew that all Rory needed was a woman who could help him see his own strengths—a woman who would challenge him to rise above the past that has crippled him emotionally and force him to step back into the circle of the living. She couldn’t be just any woman and she certainly wasn’t easy to find. In fact, Rory had to travel through time to reach her.

Thrust back in time to ancient Ireland, Rory opens his eyes to find himself in the body of another man—a man who is about to marry the very woman Rory has been dreaming about. Suddenly, Rory is fighting for his life—and the life of his new bride. Their enemies are everywhere and the odds of surviving dwindle with each passing moment. But now that Rory has met the woman of his dreams, now that he has touched, tasted, and made love to that woman, he realizes that he doesn’t want to be alone anymore. He will fight to protect her. He will fight to free them both from a fate the future feels determined to deliver.

He will be the warrior she needs him to be and he will fight for love . . . or he will die trying.

Here’s a brief excerpt of one of my favorite scenes.  Saraid’s people have been hunted down and all but annihilated.  In desperation, her brother has arranged for her to marry the enemy and make him their ally.  Terrified, but determined to meet her fate with dignity, Saraid agrees to become the wife of Ruairi the Bloodletter, named for his cruelty and violent nature.  But on her wedding day she discovers her new husband is not the Bloodletter at all, but someone who wears the same face and looks at her with a stranger’s eyes. 

Below is the scene when she first realizes there is more to her new husband than the cruel warrior she sees.  Her perceptions are filled with contradictions and I loved writing the complex emotions she experiences.

There were too many to fit into the tiny church, so they gathered on the pathway before it. For a moment, no one moved or spoke. Then Cathán pulled a blue ribbon from his tunic and stepped forward, giv­ing Saraid and the Bloodletter the signal to face one another. On wobbly legs, Saraid turned to the man she would wed. The monk in his long coarse robes emerged from the small gathering and stood patiently waiting for Saraid to put her right hand in the Bloodletter’s left. Her left in his right, wrists crossed. With a satisfied grunt, Cathán began to twine the ribbon around their hands, over and under until the knot of eter­nity was complete. She was numb through the monk’s speaking of the vows. If she did not know better, she would say the Bloodletter was feeling the same. There was a gleam of something that might have been panic in those blue, blue eyes. Did he dread this as much as she? But that would mean Ruairi the Bloodletter had feelings, and that could not be true.

She took a deep breath when he lowered his head to kiss her, feel­ing dizzy and sickened and something else she could not define. As if sensing the turmoil inside her, he caught her gaze and held it for a moment, his searching, probing. She felt as if he were trying to say something with those enigmatic eyes, and for a flashing instant she felt again that sense of another lurking behind the sky blue of them. What a frightening mystery this man was.

And then his mouth settled over hers and thought fled. His kiss was warm and soft when she’d expected cold and hard. The touch of his lips gentle and coaxing when she’d prepared for rough and inva­sive. The kiss was brief, and yet it felt that time stopped for the length of it, giving her the chance to feel every nuance, every unexpected instant. It seemed he tried to pull back and then hesitated, allowing just another moment of the contact that shocked her like a hot ember popping from a blazing fire to burn her. With their hands bound and trapped between their bodies, Saraid could do little more than allow it. She’d be allowing so much more later, when they were alone.

He pulled away, just enough so that he could look into her eyes again, and she saw something there that she did not understand. Con­fusion that matched her own. A need—but not the kind she’d ex­pected. Not lust, but longing.

Then he was stepping back and a mask came over his features once more. His father stared at him for a moment, the look hard and warn­ing, the message unmistakable. It was only then that it occurred to her that the Bloodletter might be as much a pawn as she.

Also new this month, look for Irish Mist, a e-novella quick-read for 99 cents. 

Amazon     

Barnes & Noble     

All Romance

~~~

Erin Quinn

is an award winning author who writes romance for the thinking reader.  Her books have been called “riveting,” “brilliantly plotted” and “beautifully written” and have won, placed or showed in the Booksellers Best, WILLA Award for Historical fiction, the Orange Rose, Readers Crown, Golden Quill, Best Books, and Award of Excellence. 

Go to www.erinquinnbooks.com for more information or follow Erin on FB http://www.facebook.com/ErinQuinnAuthor or twitter @ErinQuinnAuthor. 

~~~

Erin says:

Today I’m giving away an eBook copy of Echoes or Whispers (reader’s choice).   Tell me, what makes a hero sigh-worthy for you?

Barbara adds:

Erin, thanks so much for the wonderful introduction and excerpt!

Readers, didn’t I tell you to be on the lookout for yummy? 

Don’t forget to leave a response to Erin’s question for a chance to win your choice of one of her giveaway books.  The drawing will close Friday, March 16th.  Check back here on Sunday, March 18th, to see if your name was drawn.

Thanks for visiting the blog today!

Best,

Barbara

Read on to learn more about this beautiful story!

Queen in Exile 

by Donna Hatch

is the perfect

combination of fantasy and romance.

Don’t miss your chance to win this thrilling tale.

Rumors of war hang over Princess Jeniah’s peaceful country of Arden, a land that shuns both magic and warfare. Following a lifelong dream, Jeniah forms a telpathic bond with a revered creature called a chayim, who is prophesied to save her kingdom. But when a Darborian knight comes upon Jeniah with her chayim, he sees only a vicious monster about to devour a maiden, and he slays the beast.

Devastated by the loss of her chayim, and fearing that her own magic is evil, Jeniah doubts her destiny. When an enemy invades Arden City, they slaughter the people, storm the castle, and execute the entire royal family except the princess. Rescued by the knight who slew her chayim, Jeniah is now heir to the throne of Arden and the only hope for freeing her people from tyranny.

On the run and hunted by enemy soldiers, Jeniah must place her life and the fate of her kingdom in the hands of this trained killer. Torn between embracing her destiny as queen of Arden, and her love for a mere knight, she must ultimately rely on her magic to save herself and her people from death and tyranny.

Want to win one of three copies of Queen in Exile? It’s easy.

1. Visit the fabulous reviews and leave a comment letting us know why you’re excited to read Queen in Exile. Remember to include your email address.

2. If you tweet about the blog tour, post about it on your blog or facebook, or become a fan of  Romance Author Donna Hatch on Facebook, leave the link in the comments section and you’ll receive an additional entry.

All entries need to be left by Midnight MST, Sunday, March 18, 2012. 

Visit the Queen in Exile Tour Stops:

March 7 -  Peggy Urry
March 8 - Janette Rallison
March 9 - Lydia Lindsey
March 12 - Anna Arnett
March 13 - Barbara White Daille
March 14 - Valerie Ipson
March 15 - Valerie Steimle

Hi, folks!

I’m still on the blog trail to celebrate my latest release, THE RODEO MAN’S DAUGHTER.

Today we’re talking about gettin’ heroes into trouble.

What types of conflicts and problems do you like to see your heroes face?

Stop by and leave a comment for a chance to win a book!

All my best,

Barbara

Please stop by to check it out.

And have a great weekend!

All my best,

Barbara

I’m guest blogging at Fresh Fiction with a post about reunions.

Come share your story–good or bad.

All my best,

Barbara

This post is proudly a stop on the TEXAS TWO STEP Blog Tour. For a complete listing of all stops on this tour, please visit here. All contests are for U.S. residents only unless otherwise noted. Comments left on this blog will be counted toward the Texas Two Step Faithful Follower Gift Certificate. To see a complete listing of Blog Tour Prizes, click here. Be sure to check out the freebies. Yours for the asking as long as they last.

Hi everybody.

Thanks for coming to Barbara’s blog today! And a mega-hug and SUPER thank you to Barbara for hosting me today, especially since she’s on her own book release tour! I know how busy you are, Barbara. ;)  I appreciate you taking time for me.

(Barbara here:  Cynthia, you know it’s my pleasure!)

I hope you’ve been enjoying Texas Two Step-The Prequel. If you’re just joining the tour today for the first time, today’s episode of The Prequel will provide links to the earlier posts. Today’s installment is The Date-Part Three. Mitch has taken Olivia to the most expensive, most exclusive restaurant in Dallas. I called it The Fireplace Restaurant at Grayson Mansion. (See pictures.) The restaurant was modeled after The Mansion Restaurant in the famous (and fabulous) The Mansion at Turtle Creek.

Since doing my research on this restaurant and writing this scene, I’m sorry to say I won’t be eating there soon. The prices would give my husband a heart attack. When you read today’s episode, you’ll understand what I mean.

But writing this scene made me wonder about the ideal or fantasy date. I’m working on book two of the Texas Montgomery Mavericks Series and there has to be a number of dates in there. So dating and impressive dates are foremost on my mind.

So let’s talk dates today. Do you have a favorite date you went on? Or how about a date location you’d love to go on? Describe your fantasy date!

Today’s TTS Blog Tour Prize

Many guest bloggers can offer a copy of a backlist book to be given away as a potential prize for a blog commenter. As a debut author, I don’t have a backlist. But I do have some awesome author friends who have stepped forward and offered one of their books as a prize.  

Today’s TTS Blog Tour Author Sponsor is Harlequin American Romance Author Leigh Duncan. Leigh is offering her book, The Daddy Catch, to one lucky person who leaves a comment. To find out more about today’s Blog Tour Sponsor, you can visit her Website, Twitter or Facebook.  

To learn more about me check out these links:Website , Facebook. Twitter, Group Blog, and Personal Blog And if those aren’t enough, sign up for inside scoops and special contest by receiving the newsletter I share with my blog buddies.

Remember! Leave a comment for a chance to win Leigh’s book!

Texas Two Step is available for preordering at Samhain, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

I will be forever in your debt if you would buy it!

Tomorrow, I’ll be at my home base, Everybody Needs A Little Romance. Drop by. I’ll be posting a recap of the years from Mitch and Olivia’s meeting up to the day their worlds fell apart.

 Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.

Don’t forget to ask for the Texas Two Step freebies!

~~~

Barbara here again. 

Cynthia, thanks for stopping in!  Best of luck with your debut book and the rest of your tour.Readers, don’t forget to leave a comment or question here for Cynthia in order to be entered in her Blog Tour Drawing!

Thanks again for visiting.

All my best,

Barbara

Today at the Harlequin American Romance Authors blog, I’m talking about a real tour I took–and the lasting impressions I have from it.

Stop by and share one of your favorite travel memories!

Click here to join the conversation.

All my best,

Barbara