Interview with Katherine Garbera

Katherine Garbera is the USA Today national best-selling author of more than 50 books. She started making up stories for her own benefit when she was on a competitive swim team in high school. She says that although she won lots of medals her heart wasn’t in swimming but rather in the stories she created as she swam laps. She later worked for Walt Disney World and did everything from touring around VIPs to being a production page on the New Mickey Mouse Club. She claims that it might be possible that Britney, Justine and Christina owe her a nod of thanks for keeping all those kids who had to go to the bathroom from interrupting their performances. Sounds like that was fun, Katherine, now tell us more. What made you want to write and how did you get your first break?

I have always enjoyed reading and after my daughter was born decided to try writing. I wanted her to know to always go after her dreams and I felt if I didn’t set the example by going after my own, then she might not go after hers. So I started writing about six months after she was born. I finished my first manuscript and then attend a writing workshop in South Florida where I lived at the time. I joined RWA and a critic group and three years later I made my first sale after winning the prestigious Maggie Award of Excellence for unpublished authors.

I can certainly empathise with that feeling. I started writing when bored by the nappy routine. Do you ever find yourself writing in odd places, like the bath? 

Nope. I pretty much write at my desk every day. One of my writing mentors said this, that writers write, they don’t talk about writing, they just put their butt in the chair and write every day. I have written in bed late at night when I’m on a deadline and one time I wrote sitting next to an Alpine lake in Yosemite National Park in California.

Have you ever taken part in the NaNoWriMo and written like mad throughout November? If so, did you find it effective?

I’ ve not done NaNoWriMo but I have written like mad at different times during the year and I have found it very effective. There is something freeing about just getting the story down and not worrying about editing it.

You sound fairly driven, but what do you do when the going gets tough? 

I go back to basics and remind myself why I love writing. I have a list of affirmations that hang next to my computer at my desk. And I re-read them when I’m a little lost and don’t feel like writing. It is the same list I’ve had hanging by my desk since I started publishing in 1997.

Writing is fun & easy for me.
I deserve to be paid well for my writing.
Everyone wants me to succeed.
My writing time is always well spent.
I know enough to write well.
Editors love to buy what I write.
My whole life nourishes my work, my work enriches my whole life.
My writing talent is a gift from God.
The writing I do is my gift to the universe.

A great deal is demanded of writers these days in the form of social networking, do you engage in any other kind of promotion? 

I like to design bookmarks and post cards and send them out. And I do enjoy being on Facebook and Twitter as well as a group blog site that I’m a participant at:
http://www.jauntyquills.com.

Thanks for that, it’s always interesting to learn of new sites. You clearly do signings too. Now tell us about your latest book, and what inspired you to write it. 

In the UK my latest book is REUNITED...WITH CHILD. Its the last book in my Miami Nights series about three brothers who own the hottest Cuban club in Miami. The story idea was inspired by Dancing with the Stars the USA version of Strictly Come Dancing. The heroine in the first book is a dancer in the club. REUNITED...WITH CHILD is a reunion love story set against the steamy nights of Miami and the glitter of Manhattan.

 
Strictly is very popular here in the UK, let’s hope your book does well as a result. And now for some more frivolous questions. What would you most like to find in your Christmas stocking? 

A trip to Paris and some yummy See’s Candies.

What is the craziest ambition you ever fulfilled? 

Earning a third degree red belt in Tae Kwon Do with my daughter.

What was your favourite book as a child?
My favorite book as a child was A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L’ Engle.

Are you ever driven to write by hand? 

No, I can’ t read my own hand-writing when I write fast and the words for my novels come to me in a stream that’s hard to keep up with when writing by hand.

Thank you so much for sparing the time to talk us Katherine, and for stepping in to fill a slot at the last moment. it’s been fascinating. 

I wish you every success with the books. 

Freda 

To find out more about Katherine visit her website: http://www.katherinegarbera.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Katherine-Garbera/15831806521

Twitter: @katheringarbera

Interviews on the RNA Blog are conducted by myself and Kate Jackson. They are generally for RNA members only, although we do occasionally take guests. If you are interested in an interview, please contact me at: mailto:freda@fredalightfoot.co.uk

Interview with Vonnie Hughes

We’re delighted to have with us today, Vonnie Hughes, who is a New Zealander living in Australia. She tells me that from the age of seven she wrote poetry and short stories for various publications. She now writes Regencies and romantic suspense novels and short stories.

Vonnie, some writers need silence, others prefer the bustle of a coffee shop, TV, or music playing. What is your favourite mode of working?

Silence. I just love silence, even though I have a musical background, music annoys me when I write because it intrudes. Also, sometimes I read some of my phrases out loud if they are giving me trouble, so music doesn’t work for me.

How do you begin when you start a new novel?

Usually a new novel has rolled around in my head for some weeks—just before going to sleep at night, when I am driving etc. So when I come to begin, I use some of those thoughts. I type out a quick story line (which will change a hundred times) and I also do character sketches for all my characters. The character outlines are quite detailed, since I’m a writer whose plot often springs from the characters’ motivations and background e.g. in LETHAL REFUGE my female protagonist is quite stroppy, hard in fact, and also secretive, because she’s had to be to survive. However the male protagonist is a deep thinker since he’s gone the privileged school-university-professional work route.
　
Which authors would you say have most influenced your work? And which do you choose to read for pleasure?
　
As a Regency writer, the obvious answer is Georgette Heyer. I was introduced to GH at the age of eleven by my brother. With my romantic suspense books, the influence is much more eclectic. Writers such as Karen Rose, Nora Roberts (JD Robb), Jayne Ann Krentz, Lee Child and Kay Hooper spring to mind. I’m much more open to new authors in this field for some reason.

For pleasure, basically I’ll read anything written by Jayne Castle/Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick because I utterly love her quirky, troubled heroes and her (usually) assertive, troubled heroines. She has the gift of writing into her books weird alternative worlds and introducing character traits that with another writer you might think: good grief, what rubbish! But with JAK you don’t even blink, because she writes so well.
　
Have you ever redeemed and published a piece of work you thought might never see the light of day?

Yes, THE SECOND SON which is to be released on December 16 by Musa Publishing as an e-book. This was the prequel to a hardback published by Robert Hale Ltd last year named COMING HOME and it covers the same group of people. I began writing it first and my Regency critique group thought the hero was too harsh.

How do you relax? What interests do you have other than writing? Do you think it is important for a writer to take time off?

Heavens, it’s essential to take time off from writing. Staleness creeps in otherwise and for me a certain resentment about it eating up my life and how stressed I’m becoming with deadlines etc. Remember that deadlines are not necessarily book publishing ones. Often writers get them for blogposts, library talks, attending or helping with conferences, online classes etc. Being overwhelmed is not conducive to happy writing.

I exercise since I’m a long distance runner from way back. Now I’m way too old to be pounding the pavements for marathons and ultras, but I’m a member of a 24 hour gym (very handy as you can come and go as you please) and our labrador needs a jog/walk every morning for at least an hour. Otherwise I read and read. Getting pickier though. Once I had a sort of Puritan idea that whatever I bought, downloaded or borrowed I had to read. After all, I’d paid for them. Now if I think the book falls short for any reason or if I just don’t like it, I no longer persist. As they say, life is too short to read bad books.
　
What do you enjoy about your particular genre? Are you a specialist or do you have another identity?

I write in two genres - Regency and Romantic Suspense and using the same name for both at the moment because that is my brand - Vonnie Hughes. I wanted to retain the name I’m known for.

With Regencies I enjoy the challenge of writing with restrictions. There is always a huge controversy going on about what Regency heroines could and couldn’t do. However I write less about the ton and more about the emerging middle class which gives me more scope. My Regencies contain a lot of suspense as I’m not that fond of comedies of manners. I like to have my heroines and heroes getting their hands dirty solving crimes.

For the contemporary Romantic Suspense I can set myself free with no behavioural restrictions, no plot restrictions, and really enjoy myself.
　
Are you involved in social networking and blogs? Any tips for other writers?

Way too many for my liking. Musa Publishing like their authors to be on Facebook, and The Wild Rose Press encourages their authors to do so as well, so kicking and screaming I ended up there. Then there are the blog. Each publisher has one main one plus others for their subgenres. I have one. You can spend hours dithering around on blogs but you can learn a lot from them. Skip the recipes and the Man Candy ones and spend time on those that advise about the craft of writing, or where to research something. Read interviews with respected authors. I am also on many writers’ loops and they are a great fount of knowledge. They are also great time-wasters, so I’d suggest go on Bulletin for most loops except the ones you consider to be most important, and then use your delete button.
　
Do you edit and revise as you write, or after you have completed the first draft?

Both. I write for about an hour, take a break, then I come back and write some more. After that I either write the book in my alternate genre or do some networking. The next day I open the document and go back to check. Sometimes I have an idea overnight and have to go back to the beginning to fill in relevant details here and there to tie it in before carrying on with fresh writing.
But when the book is ‘finished,’ that’s when the work really starts. The first draft is just a pale, empty thing, screaming to be filled with characterisation and layers. I do around four-five drafts before sending it to a publisher.
　
Tell us about your latest book and what inspired you to write it.
　
This is difficult, because I have three ‘latest books’ all coming out within six weeks of each other.

On 16 December, Musa Publishing will epublish a Regency. THE SECOND SON is how Lord John Trewbridge inherits a marquessate for all the wrong reasons. I found it a difficult book to write, since the sequel had already been published.

On 13 January 2012 Wild Rose Press will release as a paperback my New Zealand-set Romantic Suspense LETHAL REFUGE. I’d been thinking of writing a suspense novel set in my home country for a couple of years and this is the result. NZ is a small country rich in diversity. Its police force is based on British lines.

Finally, on 27 January 2012, Musa Publishing will release another Regency MR. MONFORT’S MARRIAGE. Matthew Monfort has two excellent reasons for loathing members of the ton, but thanks to his father’s machinations he finds himself inveigled into offering for Lady Verity Tristan. Anyway it’s time he married and she’s...well, different; in fact quite delightful...and intelligent...and sweet...but she needn't think she’s going to win him over. I had fun writing this book because Matthew had a lot to learn!
　
Thank you Vonnie for taking time to talk to us today.
To find out more visit Vonnie at
http://www.vonniehughes.com
http://vonniehughes.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/VonnieJHughes

Interview with June Tate

A warm welcome to, June Tate, who was born in Southampton into a seafaring family. She followed the family tradition and went to sea, working for seven years as a hairdresser on the Queen Mary, and then the Mauritania.

A creative writing night school class started June’s writing career. She wrote articles and short stories before moving onto novels.


June, you write wonderful family sagas and have enjoyed a very successful career, can you tell us how it all began? How did you get your first break?

I wrote five Mills and Boon novels which were rejected, then I wrote a saga and as a member of the RNA, I met Judith Murdoch an agent and asked her to read my manuscript. She liked it and submitted the final copy to two publishers who held an auction between them. Headline became my publisher.

How do you set about your research? Do you interview people for their memories, or rely chiefly on books?

I am obsessed about accurate research and have shelves packed with reference books. I also trawl the internet and talk to anyone who may be able to help me.

Tell us about your office and the favourite things in it. Do you have a view or do you work facing a wall?

My third bedroom is now my office. I have a huge table facing a wall, away from the window which faces the garden. Above my computer is a large black and white picture of the Queen Mary, which my daughter Maxine gave to me. It holds so many happy memories of my youth and when I had a waist line!

Do you edit and revise as you write, or after you have completed the first draft? Which method works best for you?

When I write I am constantly editing. I read through my novel at three different stages, and edit again, so much so, that the final draft requires very little, apart from the fine polishing.

What tips would you give an aspiring writer on dealing with rejections?

I would say learn from every one. If the editors have made suggestions, take them on board. If not ask yourself how can I improve this piece of work. Don't take it personally!


If you could know the future, what would you wish for?

Entirely personal. Health and financial security for both my girls. With this any curve life throws is easier to deal with.

Do you have an exercise routine to help you avoid writers’ back problems, and does it work?

As for exercise. I don't! However I am going to join a fitness class for the over 50's to rectify this.

What should every good writer avoid?

A good writer should avoid repetition and above all avoid boring your reader. Instead surprise them, intrigue them and make them want to turn the next page.

Where would you most like to escape to and write?

I need to write in my office. This is my work place. Anywhere else would be too distracting.

Apart from writing, of which accomplishment are you most proud?

Apart from the birth of my two daughters, being a hairdresser on the Queen Mary where I met many Hollywood movie starts and VIP's.

Thank you very much for talking to us June and we wish you every success with your latest novel 'Their Guilty Pleasures'.

To find out more about June’s work visit her website at www.junetate.info

Interview with Maureen Lee

We welcome Maureen Lee, one time winner of the Romantic Novel Award to the blog today. Maureen was born in Bootle, on the outskirts of Liverpool during the Second World War. Later, she attended commercial college and became a shorthand typist. She started with short stories around the time the children began to arrive, and, she says, being a rather inefficient mother, at least had a hope of getting these finished. 

In fact, Maureen sold about one hundred and fifty short stories, published in magazines all over the world, and also wrote two unpublished novels. These were followed by a successful full-length musical play, WHEN ADAM DELVED AND EVE SPAN, produced at a local theatre. 

However, it wasn’t until 1990, when the boys had left home, (one still regularly returns with his washing), that I rented an office and got down to writing full time. Four years later my first saga, STEPPING STONES was published by Orion. It seemed only natural to begin the story in Liverpool and, following this, Orion commissioned me to write a trilogy set in ‘my city’ during the war.Since then, I have had a saga published every year.

I admire your tenacity, Maureen, and it’s a lesson to us all that a writing career can take a good deal of time and effort to build. So, tell us about your latest book and what inspired you to write it.

My husband and I were on holiday in Paris and we walked past a very narrow street called La Rue de La Grande Truranderie. I decided immediately I must write a novel about it. I had often wanted to include something about the French Resistance during the war - somewhat difficult when my books have to be set in Liverpool. However, I was able to fashion a story set half in Liverpool and half in Paris. AU REVOIR LIVERPOOL was published this Christmas.

Is a sense of place important to you in your writing?

A sense of place is extremely important for me. I am easily able to go back to my childhood home in Bootle, Liverpool, and visualise living in a little terraced house in a working class area close to the docks. I know the house intimately, can actually remember sheltering beneath the stairs with my mother and brother when the bombs dropped during the war.

You won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year award in 2000. That must have been a great thrill, and certainly helped your career. 

I can honestly say it came as a total surprise to me. I didn't have a speech prepared, forgot everyone's names and made a terrible show of myself. However, since then, I have felt a sense of pride to see myself described as an 'Award Winning Writer'. I was also short-listed and long-listed for two other books.

Are your books generally stand-alone titles, or do you ever write sequels? 

I would love to write sequels. My second, third and fourth books formed a trilogy set during the war, so I knew what I had to do when it was started. However, I have tried a few times to write sequels because I get very fond of my characters - but find I have done all there is to do with them and can't go any further.

What are your views on the new digital revolution. How has it affected you as a successful writer?

Many years ago I wrote three thrillers - not the sort full of gruesome murders and lost body parts - but quite mild with a touch of romance. However, my publisher turned them down and they had been languishing in a drawer all this time, the print getting fainter and fainter. Then I heard about Kindle, discovered the thrillers had actually been typed on my first computer, an Amstrad that took 3" disks. I had the disks put on a CD and put one of the books, DUSK, on Kindle at 99p. But my publisher was upset and offered to publish it in print form one of these days, so I took it off. I do miss being able to check daily to see where it was in the chart - it reached fifteen. All my other books are on Kindle, but not so cheaply.

That’s an interesting take on it. A pity your publisher couldn’t see it as an advantage or form of promotion. But now for some less serious questions. Do you manage to ignore the housework?
I do very little housework, which wouldn't matter if I didn't fret about the place being so untidy.

Which is your all time favourite author?
Charles Dickens - I love his books.

Do you have any little quirks or habits you carry out before starting work each moring? 

I always start my writing day with a tiny bar of chocolate that is less than 100 calories.

Do you still have an unfulfilled ambition? 

I would love to see one of my stories made into a film or a TV play.

Any superstitions about your writing? 

I never tidy my desk until the current novel is finished.

That has been absolutely fascinating Maureen. Thank you so much for sparing the time to talk to us.  To find out more about Maureen Lee’s books, visit her website: http://www.maureenlee.co.uk/ 

Interviews on the RNA Blog are conducted by Freda Lightfoot and Kate Jackson. If you would like an interview, please contact me at:mailto:freda@fredalightfoot.co.uk

Interview with Natalie-Nicole Bates

I’m delighted to have Natalie-Nicole Bates on our blog today. Natalie is a book reviewer and author. Her passions in life include books and hockey along with Victorian and Edwardian era photography. Natalie contributes her uncharacteristic love of hockey to being born in Russia. She currently resides in the UK where she is working on her next book and adding to her collection of 19th century post-mortem photos.

You sound like a busy, energetic person, Natalie, tell us about your first book and the excitement of getting that call? 

My first book is a romantic contemporary called CHANGE OF ADDRESS.

Saved from a traumatic past and successful in her present, Josselyn Adler’s dream of home ownership are dashed when Dr Ben Parnell shows up on her doorstep claiming to be the rightful owner of the house—and Ben has a will to prove it! To Josselyn, the house represents a new start in her life. With a stable home, hopefully a much wanted family wouldn’t be far behind. After a near career-ending allegation is made, Ben has returned home to lick his wounds. Now he must prove Josselyn’s claim to be a fake. But as he gets to know her, he can tell by her shy, often standoffish behavior, that Josselyn is a woman who has been deeply hurt in her past. Although he is attracted to the dark haired beauty that has invaded his life, he is still suspicious of her true motives and her past involvement with his father. 

It was released December 16 at Secret Cravings Publishing. The most exciting part of the process was that the contract was offered only a week after I submitted. A week later, I was offered another contract for my paranormal short story, Antique Charming, which was released this past October by Books To Go Now.

Getting noticed with a first book is not easy but you seem to have succeeded wonderfully well. Are you involved in social networking and blogs? Any tips for other writers?

I currently use Facebook and Twitter. I highly recommend every author to do a blog tour when your next book is released. When ANTIQUE CHARMING was released, no one knew who I was. I booked a blog tour and visited 23 blogs in 7 days. Yes, it was a lot of work, but the exposure my story received was well worth it.

Third-generation funeral director Lizzie Morton is about to have her dream realized. She has purchased the long abandoned Nichols Funeral Home and its upstairs flat, determined to restore the funeral home to its once former glory. But a late night visitor, Adam Nichols, claims the funeral home still belongs to his family. Lizzie scoffs at his odd behavior and outlandish claims, but when a vintage photograph appears, she soon realizes, to her horror, that Adam Nichols did once own the funeral home—more than one hundred years ago—and now she has allowed this entity to pass into her home. 


 And here is the picture that inspired Natalie's novel.

What do you enjoy most about your particular genre?  Are you a specialist or do you have another identity? 

I started off as a contemporary writer. I like writing about the present and the everyday man and woman. But after I wrote Antique Charming and it was received well by my readers, I have developed a love for the paranormal as well. So I’m currently splitting my writing time between both genres.

Are you upbeat or concerned about the digital revolution? How do you think it might affect your own career? 

I love, love, love the digital revolution! I think that the internet has opened up publishing to a whole new list of great authors. E-publishing offers an author more freedom to express themselves—grittier heroes, darker subject matter. I could go on.

Can you tell us something of what you are working on now?

I am currently working on a contemporary that takes place in the same idyllic little town that CHANGE OF ADDRESS was set. The hero and heroine, Ryan Maine and Amii Sloane, made a brief appearance in that book.

My next book, BACK TO YOU, is out January 30 from Bradley Publishing.

On the surface, Lynsey Reznor seems to have it all. She is beautiful, brilliant, and a successful true-crime writer who has been living the past decade in Miami. But what Lynsey lacks is what she needs the most - a family. After the death of her mother, and yet another failed relationship, Lynsey makes an impulsive decision to return to her hometown of Unity. But Unity will present its own bittersweet memories, most notably, her first love, Nick Lincoln. Twenty years ago, Nick broke teenager Lynsey’s heart when he decided to marry another. He had his own private reasons - reasons he never explained to Lynsey. Now she is back, along with a chance to reclaim her love. But Lynsey wants answers from him that he may never be able to give out of duty and guilt. 

We’ll keep a look out for it. Thanks, Natalie, for sharing your views on writing with us. Now for some more frivolous questions:  

Do you cry over your own emotional scenes? 

I feel my scenes deeply, but never cried (I’m Russian—I’m tough!).

Do your family and friends get any sense out of you when you’re writing a book? 

I think I’m a little bit of each of my characters, so yes. I always tell everyone to watch what you say to me because it may just find its way into one of my stories.

What is the most you’ve written in a week, and how did you get through it?

I wrote Antique Charming in one day. Granted, it is a short story, 4000 words, but I’m the kind of gal who can’t sit still. What should every good writer avoid? Asking for too much critique! It will leave you more confused than ever!

Are you good at ignoring the ironing? 

Oh yeah…enough said!

Thank you so much Natalie, for taking the time to talk to us today. To find out more about Natalie’s books, visit her website: http://www.natalienicolebates.com 

Interviews on the RNA Blog are conducted by Freda Lightfoot and Kate Jackson. If you would like an interview, please contact me at mailto:freda@fredalightfoot.co.uk

Independent Releases

Many full RNA members have embraced the new technology in publishing and taken the opportunity to publish their back lists directly as ebooks as well as  new works. So each month on the 15th we will publish a list of independent releases by full RNA members. Full Membership of the Association is open to all published writers of romantic novels and full length serials of at least 30,000 words. (Vanity and self-publishing do not qualify.)

So here's the inaugural list which includes many titles that have come out in the past year....

Anita Burgh MOLLY’S FLASHINGS
ebook
January 2012
£2.20
An irreverent look at English village life where as everything changes everything remains the same.
www.anitaburgh.com

Eileen Ramsay LACE FOR A LADY

ebook

11.11.2011

£2.86

The Napoleonic War is raging and the impoverished but aristocratic Lydia Carpenter is desperately trying to provide for her sisters.  Her father has disappeared, and her once dearest friend, Lord Pittenmuir, has broken her heart. Defying convention she resurrects a smuggling ring, where the smugglers are men in women's clothes and she, the leader is a woman in men's clothing.  But is there a spy among her smugglers and is it her father or is it Pittenmuir? Will love find a way as Liddy's love, loyalty and courage are tested to the full? 

www.eileenramsay.co.uk

R F Long THE WOLF'S DESTINY (a Tale of the Holtlands, #3)ebook/Kindle
12/04/2011
 $3.99 / £2.94
Two lives, one love, one destiny.

In the wild north of Sheninglas, Jeren and Shan have finally made a home together. But the Holtlands are not finished with them yet. When an assassination attempt claims innocent lives, Jeren can stand it no longer. She must make a stand against the tyranny of her brother Gilliad before it is too late. Shan meanwhile struggles against the seed of darkness planted in him by the Fell’na sorceress and the growing knowledge that no matter what he does, he is losing his beloved wife. All their efforts to stay together just seem to tear them further apart, underlining the differences between them. When Jeren declares her intention to go to war, Shan makes one terrible mistake which changes everything.

Their destiny is written. How can it be changed again? 
www.rflong.com

Sheila Norton:  SOPHIE BEING SINGLE

Kindle e-book

28 December 2011

£2.05

At thirty-four, Sophie Jennings is still single – but that’s the way she likes it. She has her own flat, a good social life and a gorgeous boyfriend, Charlie, who feels exactly the same as she does – settling down, marriage and children aren’t on the agenda for either of them. She also has her own business, ironically doing wedding hair and make-up. While her married and attached friends think she’s weird and her family think she’s selfish, all her bridal clients for some reason seem to want to use her as an agony aunt! Hearing about their horrible husbands and bastard boyfriends convinces her she’s definitely best off as she is – satisfyingly single. Or is she ...?

www.sheilanorton.co.uk

Jen Black SHADOWS

Amazon Kindle

December 7^th 2011

£1.10/$1.72

A budding relationship. A young couple, shadowed in different ways by their pasts. A beautiful, but haunted, water mill in France.
Are the intense emotions Rory and Melissa feel their own, or those of the couple who haunt the mill?

Paula Williams  PLACE OF HEALING 

Kindle

December 24, 2011

£1.13

When talented cook Jess discovers her boyfriend had been cheating on her with her best friend (and getting creative with the chocolate mousse in a way that definitely wasn't on the menu!) she takes herself off to a remote corner of Somerset while she works out what to do next. But things don't go quite the way Jess planned and she finds herself caught up in family feuds and intrigues - while losing her heart to a big, barky dog called Benson.

www.paulawilliamswriter.co.uk

Nora Fountain CHAIN OF EVIL

Crime novel, with romantic thread

17 December 2011

£1.54 inc. VAT or $2.99

Adam and Rosie’s happiness is almost tangible. Rosie’s stepbrother, Greg Phillips envies them to the point of madness and schemes to get his hands on their money. Fuelled by drug addiction, he is prepared to kill to get what he wants, and he does.  His devious plot results in Adam being locked up for Greg’s crimes. Rosie befriends Cindy, who may be able to identify Greg.  Greg takes to stalking Cindy and injures her little boy.  He then turns up at Rosie’s isolated home, drugged to the eyeballs. From there he abducts her and forces her to face her worst demons.

www. norafountain.co.uk (in progress)

Anita Burgh LOVE THE BRIGHT FOREIGNER

Amazon Kindle

ebook

£4 . 31

Suddenly widowed, Ann Grange is convinced her life is over, but then she meets an enigmatic Greek, and her life changes.  But is it forever, or is her happiness an illusion?

http://www.anitaburgh.com

Anita Burgh LOTTERY

Amazon Kindle

ebook

£ 4.31

Can money make you happy, solve your problems?  Or does an excess of it create more?  Peggy, middle-aged, married, a mother, finds out.

http://www.anitaburgh.com

Anita Burgh CLARE’S WAR

Amazon Kindle

Ebook.

£4.31

Clare, alone in France, is involved in three wars within one; with the Germans, with the Free French and with herself as she changes from spoilt child to caring woman.

http://www.anitaburgh.com

Sheila Norton:  THE TROUBLE WITH ALLY

Kindle e-book

19 May 2011

£2.05

Ally doesn’t particularly want to turn fifty – but it doesn’t bother her half as much as everything else in her life is bothering her right now. Still smarting from the fact that her husband left her for a younger woman, she’s trying to cope single-handedly with a sick elderly cat, a sick elderly mother and a sick elderly car – to say nothing of two daughters who treat the house much like a comfortable hotel. And on top of everything else, she’s having trouble hanging on to her job.
So why does everyone else seem to think turning fifty is the trouble? And why does everyone seem to think she’s losing her mind? She’s not really going crazy ... or is she?

www.sheilanorton.co.uk

Sheila Norton:  OTHER PEOPLE’S LIVES

Kindle e-book

20 April 2011

£2.05

Beth Marston never imagined she’d be in this position as she approached her thirtieth birthday: on her own with a four-year-old daughter, working as a cleaner in other people’s houses. What happened to the dreams she shared with Daniel, the love of her life, when they were at university together with the world at their feet? Come to that, what happened to Daniel, to make him fall out of love with her and leave her for another woman?
Beth is sure she’s never going to trust another man. Her child, and her best friend Fay, are all she needs now. Besides, she has enough on her plate trying to make ends meet, and getting perhaps a little too involved with the lives of the people whose homes she cleans.
But when she falls out with Fay, everything suddenly seems to come crashing down. And if someone really wonderful came into her life now, to make it all better, would Beth really be able to resist?

www.sheilanorton.co.uk

Sheila Norton:  BODY & SOUL

Kindle e-book

26 April 2011

£2.05

Rosie has a lot of doubts about her life. She feels middle-aged, bored and frumpy, and it doesn't help that PJ, her friend and colleague at the hospital where she works, has compared her to a comfy old armchair! Her marriage to the so-predictable Barry seems to be hurtling towards the rocks, and when the new consultant, Mr Ashley Connor, seems to be taking an interest in her, the temptation to have a little fun certainly appeals. But where is this going to lead her? Surely not anywhere that a sensible, mature, medical receptionist and mother of three ought to be going! Would she, and her marriage, be able to survive the Ashley Connor experience? To say nothing of the hospital gossip! Or should she forget it and stay safe, comfortable and bored ... with her body and soul intact?

www.sheilanorton.co.uk

Sheila Norton:  THE TRAVEL BUG

Kindle e-book

9 June 2011

£2.05

Maddy Goodchild considers herself a Bad Girl. Bad girls drink, and smoke, and swear, and have affairs with married men, don’t they? They certainly don’t spend their time keeping their bodies fit, and pure, like Maddy’s best friend Rachel. Maybe Maddy doesn’t like herself very much, but then again, she thinks maybe she doesn’t deserve to be liked. Fast approaching her forties, the only good thing she’s done in her life is bringing up her daughter Sophie – but when Sophie goes off travelling for a year, Maddy’s bereft. So there’s only one thing she and Rachel can do when they have a moderate win on the Lottery: go off on their own travels together! What adventures await the pair when they set foot together on foreign soil? Will they survive Rachel’s terrible map-reading and fear of driving ‘on the wrong side?’ The trip holds a few surprises for them both – and not all of them are pleasant.

www.sheilanorton.co.uk

Sheila Norton:  SWEET NOTHINGS

Kindle e-book

22 June 2011

£2.05

What’s so special about Penny Peacham’s home-made bread pudding – the same old pudding that she’s been serving up to her husband Archie and the rest of the family for ever – that it suddenly seems to be getting everyone all worked up? Could it be that there’s really some secret ingredient in the recipe, something fruity or spicy that works wonders for people’s love lives?
Penny has no idea how the fuss started. Somehow, in the middle of an interview on local radio about the need for a bypass, she mentioned the pudding – and before she knows it, she’s becoming an accidental celebrity!
All this is no help whatsoever to Penny’s daughter Michelle, whose boyfriend Robbie has disappeared mysteriously in the middle of a pub lunch. Michelle’s not really sure how much this bothers her – but if there’s any love-magic in her mum’s famous pudding, she could certainly do with a serving of it herself!

www.sheilanorton.co.uk

Sheila Norton writing as Olivia Ryan:  TALES FROM A HEN WEEKEND

Kindle e-book

18 October 2011

£1.02

Katie Halliday’s off on her hen weekend to Dublin with her closest female friends and relatives. She’s hoping to relax, unwind, and try to forget the recent bickering with her fiancé Matt. But, encouraged by the alcohol and girlie banter, the other girls all choose this time to make some disturbing confessions about their own lives.
This series of shocks is bad enough for Katie to take on board, without the burden of keeping a shocking secret of her own. And it doesn’t help that she’s a little too attracted to gorgeous-looking Harry Cornwell, who’s been found by the girls as a ‘trophy’ for one of their hen-party games. But it won’t lead to anything – after all, Katie’s in love with Matt – isn’t she?
Katie begins to feel that she doesn’t actually know herself, any more than she knew her mum, her sister, or her best girlfriends. A hen weekend isn’t exactly the time to discover your world’s falling apart. But it might be the time to start putting it back together.

www.oliviaryan.com

Noelene Jenkinson OUTBACK HERO
Ebook - all formats Amazon Kindle & Smashwords
Release date - Feb 23 2011
$1.99
Photo journalist, Kate Reed, can´t forgive her neighbour, Matt
Thornton, for being the pilot of the plane that killed her mother ten
years ago. Now, with Kate´s family homestead in debt and up for sale,
Matt offers to buy it. Kate resists and leaves for her new job in
Paris to forget the man she has fallen in love with. Will their true
feelings for each other ever be revealed?
http://www.noelenejenkinson.com

Noelene Jenkinson A WHIRLWIND ROMANCE
Ebook - all formats Amazon Kindle & Smashwords
Release date - March 11 2011
$1.99
Working girl, Whitney Leighton, manages a small antiquarian bookshop
in Melbourne. One windswept Spring day handsome and wealthy Zach
Chandler calls in to collect some books. With just one meeting, he
asks Whitney for a date and, after a whirlwind romance, they fall in
love and Zach proposes. Can their love survive the many obstacles in
their path?
http://www.noelenejenkinson.com

Noelene Jenkinson STARTING AGAIN
Ebook - all formats Amazon Kindle & Smashwords
Release date - March 29 2011
$1.99
Under witness protection and relocated with a new identity, Clare
Rayne cannot release her fear of the past - until Blake Fielding
pulls up in her driveway. Clare discovers Blake is a counsellor sent
to help her and, as they work together, they fall in love. But Blake
resists involvement and leaves when their consultations are complete.
Will he return, or must Clare face her future alone?
http://www.noelenejenkinson.com

Noelene Jenkinson OCEAN BLUE
Ebook - all formats Amazon Kindle & Smashwords
Release date - Feb 23 2011
$1.99
Marine biologist, Sophie Brookfield, travels to the Great Barrier
Reef off the Queensland coast of Australia, to complete her thesis
research on green turtles. Attracted by helicopter pilot, Drew
Mitchell's magnetic charm, Sophie finds herself falling in love but
fights her attraction. Heartbroken, she returns to Sydney. Will she
ever see Drew again?
http://www.noelenejenkinson.com

Noelene Jenkinson NANNY WANTED
Ebook - all formats Amazon Kindle & Smashwords
Release date - March 11 2011
$1.99
Elly George, company CEO, offers to mind her godchild while her best
friend is in hospital after an accident. When she hires Rusty Webster
as a live-in nanny, attraction and romance blossom. But Elly isn´t in
the market for a husband. Can Elly overcome her doubts and take a
risk on happiness, and will Rusty change her mind?
http://www.noelenejenkinson.com

June Davies THE FAMILY BY THE SHORE (1994)

Kindle and Smashwords

09/13/11

£1.72 / $2.99

Contemporary Family Saga. An Air Mail letter and wallet of photographs bring unexpected – and shocking – news for Laura Robbins and her younger brother and sister at Spryglass, the tall old house facing the seashore. For Laura especially, everything changes forever. As well as great happiness, the months ahead hold heartache, conflict and tragedy for the family at Spryglass. Riven by doubts and regret. Laura unexpectedly finds consolation in the undemanding company of Shaun Pembridge. It is a friendship, however, which is to threaten Laura’s whole future.

www.junedavies.com

June Davies OVER THE HILLS (2010)

Kindle and Smashwords

09/18/11

£1.72 / $2.99

Historical Romance. World War II is over. Ellen Butterworth’s sweetheart comes ashore and they begin making a future together. Brian is restless and ambitious, however, finding it difficult to settle into civilian life. An urgent telegram from home sees Ellen travelling through the night across country, interrupting their wedding plans and leaving Brian alone and far away . .

www.junedavies.com

June Davies THE AMETHYST NECKLACE (2009)

Kindle

11/09/11

£1.72 / $2.99

Historical Romantic Suspense. The amethyst necklace had been at the heart of everything. Was at the heart of everything here at Blackthorn Manor . . . and had been for centuries. Meirian Penlan is drawn into a web of scandal, deception, blackmail and tragedy. Discovering a bundle of old love letters and a terrible secret, Meirian risks her life not only to right a dreadful wrong – but to unravel the mysterious disappearance of the precious amethyst necklace.

www.junedavies.com

June Davies THE DOG STAR (2008)

Kindle

11/21/11

£1.72 / $2.99

Historical Romantic Suspense. At Clockmakers Cottage on the rugged Lancashire coastline, Amy Macfarlene is apprehensive lest their father’s packet, Jenet Rae, doesn’t sail home in time for her sister Fanny’s wedding to Theodore Buxton. Something other than that causes Amy sleepless nights, though. She witnesses her fiery-tempered brother and Theo keeping a clandestine meeting at dead of night, and sees a bulky package, a purse of gold sovereigns and snub-nosed pistol changing hands . . but Fanny won’t listen, nor heed Amy’s warning.

www.junedavies.com

Jen Black FAIR BORDER BRIDE

Amazon Kindle

October 14th 2011

£2.06/$3.20

Harry Wharton, on a mission for his father, lies about his true name to Alina Carnaby. Caught up in the middle of a cattle raid he is left for dead. Alina hides him, but her father threatens to kill him because his family name is Scott.
An exciting historical romance interwoven with exploits of the Border reivers, outlaws and gangsters who terrorized the Anglo-Scottish frontier in Tudor days.

Nora Fountain BLACKTHORN CHILD

Historical romance

13 June 2011

£1.78 inc. VAT or $2.99

Henry, Lord Downley, and his French wife, Marie-Isabel, have everything except an heir.  Henry adores their daughter but longs for a son.  Their second child is almost due when Marie-Isabel takes a fateful trip alone into the woods she loves.  Caught in a snowstorm and in labour, she takes refuge in Betsy Sweetapple’s cottage.  Betsy, dismissed by Henry for immoral behaviour, has just given birth all alone to a stillborn daughter.   Impassively she watches Marie-Isabel die, producing a strong, healthy son.  Seeing a chance to avenge imagined wrongs, she swaps babies.  Julian, the ‘Blackthorn Child’, is eventually rescued from a hellish childhood but the estate has been vested in his sister’s line.  The truth emerges on Betsy’s death-bed.  Can the estate ever be restored to its rightful owner?

www.norafountain.co.uk (in progress)

Nora Fountain PICTURES IN PROVENCE

Originally Hale Rainbow Romance

28 August 2011

£0.89 inc. VAT or $0.99

Joanna is astonished to find a portrait of herself in an exhibition in a Paris art gallery.  The attractive gallery owner, Gilles Ledoux, invites her to the opera, but then tries to remove himself from her life.  When Joanna, a violinist, has an accident and injures her wrist, she accepts a summer job – at Gilles’ home in Provence.  She is in love with Gilles and believes he is attracted to her, but is that all?  And why won’t he introduce her to the artist whose exhibition she visited?  Could he be jealous?

www.norafountain.co.uk (in progress)

Nora Fountain LOVE THINE ENEMY

Second World War saga, originally Thorpe large print

9 September 2011

£1.78 inc. VAT or $2.99

In Paris 1939, with the world on the brink of war, Helen Latimer, of a good English family and Max, a handsome, wealthy young German, fall madly in love.  When Helen becomes pregnant they plan to leave France for neutral Portugal, but Max is kidnapped by his Nazi brother Hermann’s henchmen.  Helen’s brother, Charles, persuades her to return to England while Hermann convinces Max she has had his child aborted.  A devastated Max marries Margrethe, Hermann’s sister-in-law and, to avoid scandal, Helen marries Charles’s friend, Roland.  However, Helen and Max are destined to meet again…

www.norafountain.co.uk (in progress)

Nora Fountain STORM DAMAGE

Originally Hale Rainbow Romance

9 October 2011

£0.89 inc. VAT or $0.99

Guy Devereau erupts into Poppy’s life one wild October night, a casualty of the storm. The power lines are down, it’s freezing cold and, delirious, Guy hauls her into his bed. How better to obey doctor’s orders to keep him warm?

The following morning, Poppy discovers that Guy is the absentee landlord who wants her out of her cottage. His injury has affected his memory and he has no recollection of the previous night.

How can she remind him, when the glamorous Nerissa turns up to claim him as her fiancé? But why does Guy keep finding excuses to be with Poppy?

www. norafountain.co.uk (in progress)

Nora Fountain TO SARA – WITH LOVE

Originally Hale Rainbow Romance

15 November

£0.89 inc. VAT or $0.99

Sara unwittingly becomes embroiled in a feud between her old friend, Karen, and Karen’s stepbrother, Grant. She was doing Karen a favour so why is Grant hell-bent on punishing Sara?

www. norafountain.co.uk (in progress)

Anna Jacobs, MISTRESS OF MARYMOOR

2011  £2.55 approx

1759: A dark stranger, a moonlit horse ride, a crumbling mansion- is this a nightmare or a dream come true for DeborahJannvier, dependent on her stingy uncle? One evening, a handsome stranger arrives at the cottage, asking Deborah to accompany him by horse to Marymoor, where her great-uncle Ralph is on his death-bed. If she’ll promise to do whatever Ralph asks of her, she’ll be made mistress of Marymoor. She’ll have to leave tonight. Dare she trust herself to this stranger? And what will she have to do to secure her future?

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Mistress-of-Marymoor&bookID=20

Anna Jacobs REPLENISH THE EARTH

2011  £2.55 approx

In 1735 Sarah Mortonby’s mother dies in poverty, and a shocked Sarah finds she has inherited the family estate. Advised to sell the crumbling manor house to her neighbour, Mr Sewell, she visits it and decides to keep instead. Sewell is furious – and he is a man noted for getting his own way at all costs. Desperately needing help, Sarah proposes to her bailiff, Will Pursley. Can they save the estate together or will Sewll win? And will the fondness growing between them turn into love?

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Replenish-the-Earth&bookID=17

Anna Jacobs THE NORTHERN LADY (formerly A FORBIDDEN EMBRACE)

2011  £2.55 approx

Regency romance: When her mother dies, she arranges for Cassandra to have a season in London, with the family the cast her off when she married a rich northern millowner. Reluctantly, Cassandra agrees, but she’s no meek debutante. Unfortunately, her efforts to help her cousin Susannah avoid marriage to a man she’s afraid of, leave Cassandra so compromised she has to marry him herself. It’s all such a tangle. Can she find happiness with Simeon?

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=A-Forbidden-Embrace&bookID=15

Anna Jacobs PERSONS OF RANK

2011  £2.55 approx

Regency romance: “Persons of Rank do not fall in love!” declares the Dowager as she sends her niece Beatrice to London in search of a suitable husband for her granddaughter Eleanor. Shy Beatrice soon crosses every eligible man off her list, except handsome Justin Serle. Despite her own feelings for Justin, Beatrice is determined to save him for her cousin.

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Persons-of-Rank&bookID=55

Anna Jacobs MARRYING MISS MARTHA

2011  £2.55 approx

When Captain Merrivale dies, his daughters Martha (28) and Penelope (24) have only a tiny income. Millowner Jonas Wright is looking for a teacher/companion for his four young daughters, since his wife is a semi-invalid. The sisters are offered employment and decide to accept. In the dirty mill town they find challenges and danger – but will they also find love? And can a stubborn spinster be persuaded to marry?

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Marrying-Miss-Martha&bookID=25

Anna Jacobs, SEASONS OF LOVE

2011,  £2.55 approx

1835-45: Born to an impoverished clergyman with a joyless attitude to life, Helen Merling still manages to grow up with a loving heart and happy nature. When she meets an actor, she falls for his seduction and must marry. After several years of unhappiness, he dies in Italy. Two years later she meets Charles Carnforth, an older man who falls in love with her, and marries him out of friendship. When he dies, she goes back to England, where she falls in love with his heir. But the fact that she’s pregnant to Charles rather complicates things.

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Seasons-of-Love&bookID=14

Anna Jacobs AN INDEPENDENT WOMAN

1918: Serena has been waiting to turn thirty and come into her inheritance. She leaves home but finds her stepfather has stolen her money and is desperate to bring her back and keep the secret safe. Marcus’ life has also been changed by the War. His injuries will get better, but he has other problems and very little money. When he stops men from kidnapping Serena in the street, it brings him love but also puts his life in danger. How will the two of them survive a wicked man’s desperate attacks?

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=An-Independent-Woman&bookID=30

Anna Jacobs THE WISHING WELL

2011,  £2.55 approx

When her unfaithful husband, Craig, dies, Laura Wells decides to leave Australia and go back to her native Lancashire to help nurse her ailing mother. After all, Laura’s two children, Ryan and Deb, are grown up now, and Deb has made it plain that she holder her mother responsible for her father’s desertion and death. Laura needs a job and somewhere to live. When she meets a man near the wishing well in the park, she finds he needs a housekeeper. It seems her wish for a job has been answered. Kit Mallinder is a former journalist, convalescing after a car accident. Can the two of them help each other to build new lives, or will Laura’s children complicate matters?

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=The-Wishing-Well&bookID=26

Anna Jacobs FAMILY CONNECTIONS

2011,  £2.55 approx

Sorting through her father's papers after his death, Gina Porter discovers evidence of a secret in his past. It seems she may have family on the other side of the world, in the North of England. She decides to travel to England and meet these unknown relatives. At her home near Blackpool, Peggy Wilkes wakes every day to verbal abuse from her bullying husband. She too has decided that the time has come to make a new start. As these two women embark on their personal voyages of self-discovery, they meet new people and forge bonds which will reinforce for both of them the value of family connections...

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Family-Connections&bookID=35

Anna Jacobs KIRSTY’S VINEYARD

2011,  £2.55 approx

Kirsty has inherited a vineyard in Western Australia from Ed James, a lonely old man she befriended at the library. But there is a condition to his legacy. She must give up her quiet life in England and live at the vineyard for a least one year. How will a shy librarian cope on her own in a strange country? And Ed, a skilled matchmaker, has also suggestedKirsty consider marrying her new neighbour, Sam. This is going too far. She has no plans to marry again, thank you very much. Neither has Sam. But one thing is certain, Kirsty’s move to Australia will change her life for ever.

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Kirstys-Vineyard&bookID=39

Anna Jacobs THE CORRIGAN LEGACY

2011  £2.55 approx

Meet the Corrigans. Childless Maeve, though rich and successful, is dying of cancer. She wants to leave her business empire to one of the offspring of her two estranged brothers, Des and Leo. But which young relative should she choose? As the younger generation begin to gather around Maeve, old secrets are revealed, new allegiances made, and there are surprises for every member of the family - because the Corrigan legacy isn’t what it first seems.

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=The-Corrigan-Legacy&bookID=32

Anna Jacobs SAVING WILLOWBROOK

2011  £2.55 approx

When Ella inadvertently discovers that her husband Miles is planning to sell their farm without her agreement, it's the final straw: her marriage, already on the rocks, is over. Determined to save Willowbrook, and to protect her daughter Amy from a father who doesn't love her, Ella embarks on a mission to build the farm into a successful bed-and-breakfast business. But Miles hasn’t given up and she owes him money. Cameron O'Neal arrives in the Wiltshire village and offers to help Ella, she finds herself torn between a fear of getting hurt again, and a powerful attraction to a man whom both she and Amy instinctively like.

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Saving-Willowbrook&bookID=42

Anna Jacobs CHANGE OF SEASON

2011  £2.55 approx

If you take a devoted wife and mother, and push her out of her cosy home in Australia into a whole series of crises and new situations in England, don’t expect her to be unmarked by it. If this trusting wife then finds out about her husband’s philandering, you can expect big changes to occur - especially when she realises he’s just had an affair with her best friend. And if all this happens at a time when she is winning acclaim as an embroidery artist and has just come into an inheritance that will give her financial independence, then the outcomes of the trip may not be quite as her manipulative husband expects.

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Change-of-Season&bookID=22

Anna Jacobs CHESTNUT LANE

2011  £2.55 approx

When novelist Sophie Carr rescues a man hiding in her garden from a group of paparazzi, she finds that her new neighbour is ageing pop star Jez Winter. She's loved his music for years and knows he's had a tough time lately, with an intruder slashing his face, then a car accident putting his ability to play music at risk. Life's not been easy for Sophie either, losing her husband just as she was taking off as a novelist and having difficulties with her control freak son William and her daughter Andi, who is into recreational drugs. And Sophie also has a secret to hide, one which makes her very wary of getting involved with Jez or anyone.

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Chestnut-Lane&bookID=40

Anna Jacobs, writing as Shannah Jay, QUEST, #1 Chronicles of Tenebrak

November, 2010,  £1.92  approx

At fourteen, Katia is chosen to serve at the Sisterhood's temple in Tenebrak. But violent Discord engulfs the planet threatening the 20,000-year-old Sisterhood's existence. In a satellite far above Tenebrak, Davred, brilliant xeno-anthropologist, studies the Sisterhood, and risks everything by deciding to help them. But neither Davred nor the Sisters know all the secrets of this mysterious planet.

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Quest&bookID=49

Anna Jacobs, writing as Shannah Jay, LANDS OF NOWHERE, #1 Chronicles of Tenebrak

November, 2010,  £1.92  approx

The Kindred desperately need refuge from Those of the Serpent, whose incense-choked shrines worship pain and suffering, and from Robler, the insane Exec in charge of the Confederate satellite circling above them. In the legendary Lands of Nowhere the mysterious deleff have already saved the Kindred twice. But why are the deleff so reluctant to let them leave the closed community of Dsheresh Vale?

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Lands-of-Nowhere&bookID=50

Anna Jacobs, writing as Shannah Jay, SHADOW OF THE SERPENT, #1 Chronicles of Tenebrak

November, 2010,  £1.92  approx

When the members of the Kindred pass through a portal and are scattered across the twelve claims, they face the dark threat of being discovered by Those of the Serpent. As each group journeys towards the fateful rendezvous it finds unexpected allies. The depraved evil of the Serpent threatens to engulf them. Will their Quest against Discord be successful?

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Shadow-of-the-Serpent&bookID=51

Anna Jacobs, writing as Shannah Jay, PRICE OF WISDOM, #1 Chronicles of Tenebrak (shortlisted as Best Australian Fantasy Novel of 1996)

November, 2010,  £1.92  approx

Across the length and breadth of the Twelve Claims, the armies of the Serpent are massing. Their cult of evil and suffering threatens to spread throughout the Confederation. Discord is everywhere - even on the satellite circling the planet Sunrise.  In the High Alder the Kindred prepare to make their stand. Only Herra's wisdom can defeat the Serpent. But can the Kindred afford the bitter cost?

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=The-Price-of-Wisdom&bookID=52

Anna Jacobs, writing as Shannah Jay, ENVOY, futuristic thriller/romance

November, 2010,  £1.92  approx

All Channa Harknell knows is war. Yet now, as Shavlan Envoy to the Confederation, she must negotiate peace. The Galactic Confederation is determined to stop the war between the Shavlans and the Deorin. Its Mediator, Joran Lovrel, brings all his wiles and experience to beak down Chana's resistance to peace. But can Channa trust him? Isolated in the neutral territory of the Confederation's base, Mediator and Envoy begin a battle of wits more demanding than any military campaign. Meanwhile, in Shavla new allegiances are formed, fresh betrayals hatched. And in the name of peaceChanna must face more danger than she has ever encountered in a lifetime of war.

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Envoy&bookID=48

Anna Jacobs, writing as Shannah Jay, TENEBRAK: THE FOUNDING, Early Chronicles of Tenebrak

November, 2010,  £1.92  approx

How it all began: After Karialla’s village is destroyed by raiders, she braves many dangers to reach Tenebrak and complete her training as a healer. But the Healers’ Courts have been destroyed and she despairs. Then others join her one by one, helped by alien beings called deleff. The group must defeat a new group of raiders, then confront Rojan, who as a town elder is more interested in money than justice.

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Tenebrak-the-Founding&bookID=59

Anna Jacobs, writing as Shannah Jay, SWORD OF AZARAY (Young adult fantasy story)

November, 2010,  £1.92  approx

In Azaray a magic sword has sung all true Kings to the throne. But Pavros, a powerful wizard, has killed the true king and
scattered the sword across the ring of worlds. The hilt, scabbard and blade each lies on a different world. The true king’s children, two boys and a girl cross from one world to the next to rescue the parts of the sword, battling against fearsome enemies and the most powerful magician ever. Will they reunite the three parts of the sword and win through to Azaray?

http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=Sword-of-Azaray&bookID=58