blog hop – Norah Wilson Writes http://norahwilsonwrites.com/wordpress Just another WordPress site Thu, 21 Apr 2016 01:21:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.21 Hot Autumn Nights Blog Hop http://norahwilsonwrites.com/wordpress/?p=1004 http://norahwilsonwrites.com/wordpress/?p=1004#comments Thu, 29 Nov 2012 16:05:55 +0000 http://norahwilsonwrites.com/wordpress/?p=1004

 

Perhaps because I live in Canada where fall is already giving way to winter, the phrase “Hot Autumn Nights” conjures pictures of indoor activities for me. But before it reaches that point, I love walking in the outdoors. I’m lucky enough to live very close to a pine forest and open fields which I walk every night, although I’ll have to confess that after 30 years of marriage, my companion is usually my trusty dog, Chloe, not my husband. But I do love seeing people freshly in love out walking. It warms my heart, even if my fingers are cold.

 

 

Some other things that warm up a cool fall night for me:

 

Sipping the season’s first hot apple cider. Yum! It just feels so cozy.

 

Hot apple cider

 

Even cozier, sipping warm red wine in front of a fire with a special someone!

 

 

And of course, movie night with your significant other.

 

Couple Watching Movie

 

Speaking of watching TV on the couch, here’s a scene from Guarding Suzannah, Book 1 in my Serve and Protect series. Quigg and Suzannah aren’t as comfortable as the two pictured above. Far from it! Suzannah is attracted to Quigg, her self-appointed protector during a scary stalking situation, but she’s very skittish sexually. Quigg is a patient man and determined to show her it can be different. Let’s watch them get ready to get “cozy” on the couch:

 

 

 She held up a hand to stop him. “I know what I’m talking about, John. It’s not like I tried it once and decided okay, I guess sex isn’t for me. I do feel stirrings from time to time. I am human. And when it seemed like the right thing to do, the natural progression in a relationship, I tried it.” She dropped her eyes, twisting the delicate stem of the now empty wine glass in her hand. “It never got any better.”

“I don’t believe that for a minute,” he said. “The way you kissed me –”

“That’s why I was so upset last night. For a few minutes, it felt like I could … like I might want to….”

Her voice trailed off and the room was silent for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was a disbelieving croak. “And you don’t think you can get that back? Is that the trouble?”

She colored. “You don’t understand.”

“No, sweetheart, you don’t understand.” He stood and held a hand out to her. “Come here.”

She took a step back. “That was last night. I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to go to bed with you anymore.”

God, she was beautiful. And so earnest. She really believed she was frigid. “Who said anything about bed?” he asked, advancing a step closer.

“Have sex, then.” Her voice was tight as she retreated another step.

“Who said anything about sex?” Something leapt in her eyes, and he didn’t think it was fear, though she did take another step backward. He smiled. “Don’t you want to know if you can recapture the feeling?”

The yearning and fear that chased across her face made his heart squeeze. This time when he reached for her hand, she didn’t retreat, possibly because she’d backed herself up against the antique buffet and had nowhere to go.

“Come on, Suzannah, trust me this once,” he said. “No pressure, no expectation, just some good old-fashioned necking on the couch.” He stroked the inside of her wrist, where her pulse pounded madly, though with fear or excitement, he couldn’t say. But she certainly wasn’t indifferent.

She chewed the inside of her lip. “I don’t know.”

“What have you got to lose? If it doesn’t work for you, you can tell me to take my hands off you. How’s that?”

He was gratified to see her breath come faster, but still she held out.

“I don’t get it. What’s in it for you?”

He laughed. “Baby, if you still have to ask that when we’re done, you can give me a failing grade.”

“Won’t it be … frustrating?”

“That’s a small price, and one I’ll happily pay.” Especially since he’d been fantasizing about kissing that prim mouth into a flushed, swollen bloom since the first moment he’d laid eyes on her in the courtroom two years ago.

Still she hesitated.

“I won’t let things get out of hand, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Even as he offered the assurance, he prayed for the strength and patience he was going to need to call upon to keep his promise.

“I know.”

With those two words and the trust implicit in them, any doubts about his self control fell away. He’d damned well die of sexual frustration before he betrayed that trust.

He stroked his thumb along the inside of her wrist again, felt the heat of her blood, the strength of her pulse. “So, what do you say?”

“Okay,” she said, her voice high and thin. He felt her fingers flex around his. “Okay, let’s do it.”

 

So, what’s you favorite way to heat up an autumn night? (Remember – keep it clean!) Post a comment below and you name will be entered in a draw to win one of two prizes:

 

  1. A signed copy of my newest romantic suspense from Montlake Romance, Every Breath She Takes (which is currently #1 in Romantic Suspense and #1 in Fantasy, Futuristic & Ghost!); or
  2. A USD $10 Gift Certificate from Amazon.com or another online bookstore of your choice that sells gift certificates.

 

Once you’ve commented, please continue on your way! There’s lots more fun to be had and prizes to be won, culminating with the main prize, the ginormous $155 Gift Certificate giveaway! If these links don’t work for you, please visit the bloghop host site, Bella Media Management, and pick up where you left off. Happy hopping!

 

  1. H.D. Thomson – Paranormal Romance Author   (Int)
  2. Bella Media Management
  3. Caris Roane
  4. Wendy Ely
  5. Dominique Eastwick   (Int)
  6. The Wiccan Haus    (Int)
  7. Romance Author Vanessa North
  8. The Beautiful People: A Writer’s Journey
  9. Bookswagger
  10. Malia Mallory
  11. Jannifer Labelle (Labelle Books)
  12. Discovering Nya Rayne
  13. June Kramin
  14. Tmonique Stephens
  15. Ann Montclair “Love Triumphs Past and Present”
  16. Author Nancy Lee Badger
  17. Kharisma Rhayne
  18. Happily Ever After Thoughts
  19. Janna Shay
  20. Kenra Daniels
  21. Kathryn R. Blake – A Writer’s Naughty Thoughts
  22. Sarah Gilman: A Thing for Wings
  23. CS Maxwell – Where’s My Muse?
  24. Confessions of a Writer
  25. A Page in the Life – Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy
  26. Kim Carmichael’s Blog
  27. Sandra Cox
  28. Dirty Details – Author Alyssa Turner
  29. Jezebel Jorge – Witch Lit
  30. Elizabeth Black
  31. Holly Adair   (Int)
  32. Juliette Springs – The Darker Side of Romance
  33. Natalie-Nicole Bates
  34. Imagination Gone Wild
  35. Writerwaitress.blogspot.com/
  36. Amber Kallyn   (Int)
  37. Lawna Mackie – Romance, Wolves and Christmas
  38. Dianna Venetta
  39. Ami Blackwelder’s Novels
  40. Norah Wilson Writes   (Int)
  41. Not Now…Mommy’s Reading
  42. Cassandra Dean   (Int)
  43. Loni Flowers – Contemporary Romance
  44. L.J. Kentowski – Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
  45. Journeys with Jana – Jana Richards
  46. Susan Frances, Romance Author
  47. I Smell Sheep
  48. Booked & Loaded   (US/CAN)
  49. Lexxx Christian: The Southern Belle from Hell
  50. Bloodthirsty Muses – Author H.A. Fowler
  51. Alt/Dark Romance by A. Sangrey Black
  52. Love is a Many Flavored Thing
  53. Sara Daniel Romance Author   (Int)
  54. Annalynne Russo Vampire Scribe
  55. Cinsearae S., Dark Para Rom/Horror Author
  56. Taylor Michaels
  57. The Jeep Diva   (US & Int)

 

 

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Heating up the Holidays! http://norahwilsonwrites.com/wordpress/?p=917 http://norahwilsonwrites.com/wordpress/?p=917#comments Sun, 11 Nov 2012 00:41:00 +0000 http://norahwilsonwrites.com/wordpress/?p=917 Blog Hop

Welcome to the Rock*It Reads Heating Up the Holidays Blog Hop. There are 15 stops on the blog tour. The more blogs you visit and comment on, the greater your chances of winning the grand prize, a $75 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble or Amazon, and a huge collection of books from the authors of Rock*It Reads. Smaller prizes will be available at each stop along the way.

Good luck, and have fun!

 

What better way to heat up your holidays than with the hot, sexy men of our romance novels?

 

I have to have a picture of my hero in my mind before I start. Sometimes that mental picture morphs a bit as I get deeper into the character, but sometimes the physical image of him holds for me through to the end. Here are two such cases.

 

The first hero I’ll tell you about is Tommy Godsoe, a police dog handler who has been sidelined by injury, from my book Protecting Paige (Serve and Protect, #3). It was important to the story that he be quite a bit younger than the heroine, Paige, a youthful-looking single mother. I also wanted him to be very attractive, with sensual features and a slightly dissolute look. He had to be very lean, with the body of a runner (K-9 handlers have to be extremely fit). As I searched my memory banks—and countless celebrity image sites—I found the perfect match: Jakob Dylan, of The Wallflowers. Here’s a YouTube clip of Jakob (it starts to close in on his face about 42 seconds in, if you want to advance it).

 

 

No doubt listening non-stop to Red Letter Days, my favorite CD by The Wallflowers, as I wrote the book contributed to Jakob’s image persisting throughout. But when it came to creating the book’s cover, unfortunately Jakob wasn’t available. ,-) I really like this cover, but it’s an example of the compromises you have to make. I’ve yet to land a cover where the hero truly looks the way I imagine him. That being the case, what I strive to do is capture something true about the story. I think this does that nicely.

 

 

Another character whose image I had firmly in my mind was Cal Taggart, the hero from Every Breath She Takes. He’s a former champion bull rider who has retired from the rodeo to run a cow-calf operation in the Alberta foothills. Most bull riders are very compact men. The tall, rangy ones tend to get whiplashed and battered. Cal’s not especially short, but he’s compact and wiry. I also didn’t want him to look like a stereotypical cowboy. I wanted him to have a sort of edgy cool factor where you could imagine him in a leather jacket astride a motorcycle as easily as on horseback.  This time, I looked to television/film and found my model in a guy with a similar name—Callum Keith Rennie, affectionately known by fans as CKR. In fact, when I settled on my model, I decided that Cal would be short for Callum as a tribute to CKR. Here’s a Youtube homage appropriately titled “Callum Keith Rennie is Awesomeness”.

 

 

This cover was created for me by Montlake and I think they did a great job. You can’t really see a lot of detail of the hero in this picture, but they nailed the emotion.

 

Cover - Every Breath She Takes

 

Of course, the way I see the hero of my books might differ wildly from the way you see him, and that’s okay. That’s more than okay. And hey, if you’ve read either of those books, I’d love to know who you imagine as the model for either Tommy or Cal. Seriously!

 

Both of these guys are very lean, Tommy in a taller, rangier way, and Cal in a more compact, powerful way. But I’ve cast heroes who are as big and robust as Russell Crowe, as pretty as Jude Law, and as rugged and … well, craggy as Daniel Craig. It’s not really about body type for me. I appreciate a wide variety of men. What about you? Are you as eclectic as me, or do you have a particular look you favor? A guy who’s just your type? Let me know in your comment below. From the comments, I will draw three random winners, for the following prizes:

 

  • $10 Gift Certificate
  • Signed print copy of my Rock*It Reads book Guarding Suzannah, the first book in my Protect and Serve series; and
  • Signed print copy of my newest release from Montlake Romance, Every Breath She Takes

 

 

Leave a comment below to enter for your chance to win!

Don’t forget to visit the other authors on the Blog Hop for more chances to win!

Kris Kennedy Bonnie Vanak Erin Kellison
Sharon Page Lila DiPasqua Elisabeth Naughton
Norah Wilson Jennifer Lyon Monica Burns
Vanessa Kelly Mia Marlowe Joan Swan
Pamela Clare Margo Maguire Rock*It Reads

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day! http://norahwilsonwrites.com/wordpress/?p=243 http://norahwilsonwrites.com/wordpress/?p=243#comments Thu, 15 Mar 2012 05:00:25 +0000 http://norahwilsonwrites.com/wordpress/?p=243

Haven’t you heard? Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day! Or so it seems, judging by that sea of green clothing as everyone gets into the act.

Here in my city (Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada), the preferred place to be on March 17 is the Lunar Rogue Pub. It has everything you could possibly want in a pub. Over 200 whiskies, an excellent selection of wines, and just about anything you could want on tap. And on St. Patrick’s Day, it has Celtic music and green beer! Yes, it’s the place to be. For everyone but me. LOL! It tends to be a little too busy (okay, jammed!) for my tastes on the big day.


But any day of the year, the Lunar Rogue is my absolute favorite pub in the world. They have the best nachos anywhere, and the peeps are great. Special shout out to Michelle and Marianne! You guys are the shiz!

Speaking of Fredericton, I’ve actually written a series of romantic suspense books – my Serve and Protect series – set right here. Here’s a blurb for the first book in that series, Guarding Suzannah:

Criminal defense attorney Suzannah Phelps is the bane of the Fredericton police department (they call her She-Rex for her habit of shredding cops in the witness box). She is currently being stalked, but is reluctant to report it to the police, whom she half suspects of being the perpetrators. But when Detective John (Quigg) Quigley learns of it, he’s determined to protect her, at considerable risk to his career. They’ve struck sparks off each other in the courtroom, and he’s burning to do the same in the bedroom. When the danger escalates, he has the perfect excuse to pose as her boyfriend, but the closer they get, the more the lines between pretense and reality blur.

In honor of this St. Patrick’s Day blog hop, I am giving away an electronic copy of Guarding Suzannah to a winner to be drawn from those who comment on this blog. In addition to the book (in the ebook format of the winner’s choice), the winner will also receive a $10-gift certificate to the online bookstore of their choice.

And here’s the best part — your comment on this blog (and every other stop on this blog hop) — gives you a crack at two grand prizes. One winner will receive his or her choice of a Kindle Fire or a Nook Color! A second winner will score a $90-gift certificate  from his or her choice of Amazon or B&N. The more stops on the blog hop you make (leaving a comment at each, of course!), the more chances you have to win. Up to 120 of them!

So … have at it! Leave a comment. Tell me what you do on St. Patrick’s Day, or tell me about your favorite pub (Irish or otherwise), or just say, “Hey, I’d really love to win your book and snag that gift certificate!” On St. Patrick’s Day, it’s all good.

Last but not least, here is the list of other sites on the Blog Hop. Have fun and good luck!

Name Link
Carrie Ann Ryan www.carrieannryan.blogspot.com
Lia Davis www.authorliadavis.com/blog/
Jesse Kimmel – Freeman http://bellanottethebook.weebly.com/blog.html
Heather Thurmeier heatherthurmeier.com
Gem Savid www.gemsivad.com/blog/
Emily Cale www.emilycale.blogspot.com
Kharisma Rhayne www.kharismarhayne.com
Megan Slayer http://theauthormeganslayer.blogspot.com/
Wendi Zwaduk wendizwaduk.blogspot.com/
Marie Dees mariedees.com
Cassandra Carr http://www.booksbycassandracarr.com/wordpress
Cynthia Woolf www.cynthiawoolf.com/blog
Sandra Bunio Sandrabunino.com
Vannessa Kelly/VK Sykes vanessakellyauthor.com/vanessa-blog/
Tracy Sumner tracysumner.com/blog
Lousia Bacio louisabacio.blogspot.com
Kacey Hammell http://kaceyhammellkreations.blogspot.com/p/st-patricks-day-blog-hop.html
Casia Major caseamajor.wordpress.com/
Eliza Gayle www.elizagayle.net/blog
Natasha Blackthorne http://natashablackthorneblog.blogspot.com/
Allison Merritt havenovelwilledit.blogspot.com
Sandra Sookoo sandrasookoo.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/st-pattys-day-blog-hop-its-not-easy-being-green/
Tara Lain taralain.blogspot.com
Lila Shaw http://lilashaw.com/2012/03/16/st-patricks-day-blog-hop/
Dianne Hartsock diannehartsock.wordpress.com/my-blog/
Ella Jade http://www.ellajadeauthor.blogspot.com/
Bella Street http://www.bellastreetwrites.blogspot.com/
In a Dream Beyond inadreambeyond.blogspot.com
Jessica E. Subject markofthestars.com
H.D. Tomson www.hdthomson.com
A Girl with a Computer http://www.agirlwithacomputer.blogspot.com/
Dakota Trace alittlebitofnaughty.blogspot.com/
Stephanie Draven www.stephaniedraven.com
Welcome to the Island (DX lux) welcome-to-the-island-of-dxluc.blogspot.com/
Chrisinte Quintessence christineleovlealand-author.blogspot.com/
Tommy Bull Qutntessence http://bullprotettoremurdermysteries.blogspot.com/
Stephanie Queen www.StephanieQueen.com
Leigth Ellwod leighwantsfood.blogspot.com
Linda Andrews http://lindaandrews.wordpress.com/
Lizze Star – Starry words starrwords.blogspot.com
K.E. Saxon www.kesaxon.blogspot.com
Skye Warren skyewarren.com/blog
Veronica Scott veronicascott.wordpress.com/
Lissa Matthews lissamatthews.com/blog
Life is a First Draft (Rebecca Clark) rebeccajclark.blogspot.com
Keta Diablo ketaskeep.blogspot.com
Victoria Adams victoriaadams.blogspot.com/
Daryl Devore myeroticnotions.blogspot.com/
Adriana Kraft adrianakraft.com/blog
Kaye Manro kayemanro.blogspot.com
Amber Kallyn amberkallyn.wordpress.com
Romance Book Club (Joyce) blog.romance-book-club.com/2012/01/st-patrick-day-bloghop-gift-card.html
A Writers (Kathryn Blake) kathrynrblake.blogspot.com/
Pippa Jay pippajay.blogspot.com/
Erica Pike eripike.blogspot.com
Diane Alberts dianealberts.com
Michael Mandrake tabooindeed.blogspot.com
Nikki Brandyberry nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/
Gabrielle Bissett gbisset.blogspot.com/
Tamaria Soana tamariasoana.blogspot.com/
Katey Hawthorn www.kateyhawthorne.com/
She Likes it Verbal (Sarah Bella) http://shelikesitverbal.com/blog/
Ranea Rose www.ranaerose.blogspot.com
Selah Janel www.selahjanel.wordpress.com
Zilah Anderson http://zillahanderson.wordpress.com/
Cari Quinn cariquinn.blogspot.com
Briana Courtney brinacourtney.blogspot.com
Jorja Lovett jorja-lovett.blogspot.com/
Get Intimate with History (Anna Markland) http://annamarklandromanceauthor.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Lynne jenniferlynne.com.au/blog
Breathless Press www.breathlessblog.com/
Stephanie Haefner http://www.stephaniehaefnerthewriter.com/
Lisa Kumar lisakumar.blogspot.com/
Close Encounters (Nikki) http://closeencounterswiththenightkind.blogspot.com/
Liana Brooks www.lianabrooks.com
Tory Michaels www.torymichaels.com
Best Erotica (Jemma) best-erotica-books.blogspot.com
Wendy Smith http://www.wendysmithbooks.blogspot.com/
SL Carpenter slcarpenter.blogspot.com/
Day Dreaming daydrmzzz.blogspot.com/
The Ebook Reviewers (Viari Rose) http://theebookreviewers.blogspot.com/
Dark Haven Book Reviews http://www.darkhavenbookreviews.com/
BooksAreCool www.booksarecool.com
DC Juris dcjuris.blogspot.com/
Roz Lee www.authorrozlee.blogspot.com
Le Ann Sontheimer Murphy http://leeannsontheimermurphywriterauthor.blogspot.com/
Realmantic Moments http://realmanticmoments.blogspot.com/
Angela Stone http://www.angelastone.ca/blog-3
Brea Essex breaessex.wordpress.com
Writing Utopia, One Word at a Time
Beth-Ann Mason http://www.bethannmason.com/st-patricks-day-its-all-about-the-tradition/
Jennifer Lowery http://jenniferloweryauthor.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/st-patricks-day-blog-hop/
Harlies Books harliebooks.blogspot.com
Modern Mythic Romance http://www.sherifredricks.com/apps/blog/
JM Madden jmmadden.blogspot.com/
Lucy Francis www.lucyfrancis.net
Jennfier Probst www.jenniferprobst.com
Aine Massie apmassie.com
Vickie Taylor www.VickieTaylor.com
The Regeny Inkwell http://theregencyinkwell.wordpress.com/
A Diamond in the Dark www.akmarshall.com
Michele Hart http://michelehart.blogspot.com/
Vicki Batman vickibatman.blogspot.com
Kristine Cayne http://kristinecayne.blogspot.com/
Norah Wilson http://norahwilsonwrites.com/wordpress/
Angelique Armae http://angeliquearmae.blogspot.com/
Lisa Mondello www.lisamondello.blogspot.com
JL Oiler www.joiler.weebly.com
Linda Frazier lyndafrazier.blogspot.com
Stacy Juba stacyjuba.com/blog/blog/
Liz Crowe www.brewingpassion.com
Heaven Oshey http://theworldofheavenoshey.blogspot.com/
Patricia Green www.patriciagreenbooks.com
Cat Kalen www.catkalen.com/blog/
Madeline Sloane www.madelinesloane.com/
Jenna Jaxon jennajaxon.wordpress.com
Dianne Ventta www.diannevenetta.com
The Jeep Diva www.thejeepdiva.com/
Margay Leah Justice margayleahjustice.blogspot.com
Leia Shaw www.leiashaw.blogspot.com
JoAnne Kenrick www.joannekenrick.com
Rose Gordon http://rosesromanceramblings.wordpress.com/
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