Aha! Shower Power

I was just thinking…

Well, actually I was just thinking that I do my best thinking in the shower. After spending hours working on a scene for a future book, my brain stopped cooperating. I tried everything to get my creative juices flowing  – eating chocolate, playing a couple of hands of FreeCell on the computer, and I even did forty-five minutes of step aerobics  – nothing worked. So I decided to take a shower and had planned to work on something else afterwards. And as usual, during my shower the scene I’d been working on became crystal clear, and the opening for the next scene materialized!

That whole shower episode is not out of the norm (for me), it seems I do my best thinking…in the shower. It’s amazing the things I come up with! How to work less and make more; how to re-organize the master closet without spending more money at my favorite store (The Container Store), and I came up with an idea of how to drop a few pounds before my vacation. Just last week while fine-tuning ideas for my next book series (The Jenkins Family), it was a shower that jump-started my muse and helped me complete the five-book series ideas. Go figure.

…if only I could figure out how to write in the shower without my paper getting soggy, or my laptop becoming water logged…

But what about you? When do your bright ideas or solutions pop into your head?

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And The Winners Are…

Congratulations to yesterday’s winners – Time To Celebrate…Again!

If you missed it – readers/followers were challenged yesterday (7/24/12) to leave a comment on my blog, “Like” my new Fanpage on Facebook, and join my mailing list for several chances to win a few prizes. Note: It was brought to my attention that the mailing list link was not cooperating (my sincere apologies for that). But no worries, for each step you took – leaving a comment and/or liking my Fanpage – your name was entered into the drawing.

The Winners Are:

Cindy C. – A copy of one of my e-books (or short story)

Shawnna W. – A copy of one of my e-books (or short story) AND a $5 gift card to Amazon.com

Antiniqua B.– A copy of one of my e-books (or short story) AND a $10 gift card to Amazon.com

Congratulations again! Just email me at sharon@sharoncooper.net for further instructions on claiming your prize(s), and congratulations again!

Time to Celebrate…Again!

I feel like giving away some prizes today!

To celebrate the success of Something New, and Blue Roses (Yay!!), I’m giving all of you a chance to win an electronic copy of either novel (note: you don’t have to have an e-reader). You also have a chance to win a $5 or $10 Amazon.com gift card, AND I’m giving away copies of my short story, Best Woman for the Job! NOTE: If you’ve already purchased your copy – thank you for your support! Feel free to use this opportunity to win a copy for someone else or as a giveaway on your blog.

Where most women would welcome love from a wealthy, good-looking man, Chicago-based investment manager, Dallas Marcel, is not one of them. She will never let a man control her life again. That includes handsome entrepreneur, Tyler Hollister. Dallas is on track to making partner and she’s not letting anything or anyone get in her way. But when her life is put in danger, and a Ponzi scheme ignites a SEC investigation of her firm, she realizes the one man she’d banned from her heart, might be the only one who can save her career and her life.

Tall, dark, and handsome, Tyler Hollister can have any woman he wants, but he only wants one – Dallas. When he starts talking marriage, she breaks things off between them, claiming she doesn’t want a romantic entanglement to hinder her plight to making partner. A chance meeting, six months later, brings them face to face and Tyler soon realizes the intense sexual attraction they once shared is stronger than ever. But he swore he was done with her. Except he finds out her life is in danger, and his protective instincts take over. Can he save her life without losing his heart … again? Read an excerpt

***

 Entrepreneur, Simone Edwards, did what any intelligent woman with a ticking biological clock would do: she asked her longtime boyfriend to marry her. Devastated when he turns her down, and fed up with dead-end relationships, Simone swears off men … and takes a vow of celibacy. How hard could it be? She soon learns it’s harder than she thinks when the most irresistible man in the world, Tim Hollister, shows up at her job. She hasn’t seen him in over ten years, and quickly realizes he is a temptation she doesn’t want to resist. But isn’t there some rule about dating your friend? Simone must decide if a romance with Tim is worth risking their friendship, and her reclaimed virginity.

Betrayed by his supermodel ex-girlfriend, who happens to be the mother of his child, Tim Hollister has placed a padlock on his heart. But when Simone, an old high school friend falls back into his life, he soon forgets his promise to stay clear of beautiful women. Simone was always like a sister to him, but he discovers that his feelings for her aren’t very brotherly. He’s captivated by the woman she’s become and wants to take their friendship to the next level – despite her resistance. Tim can’t avoid their new-found passion, and sets out to prove he’s the man for her. Read an excerpt

***

 NEVER SAY NEVER…

Cincinnati police officer, Craig Logan, needs a plumber, but not bad enough to hire a woman.  “No way am I letting some pint-size woman near my pipes!”

ESPECIALLY IF THE BEST MAN FOR THE JOB…IS A WOMAN…

When Toni Jenkins (TJ) shows up at Craig’s house to repair his plumbing issues, he thinks it’s a joke, but soon finds out the joke is on him. Not only is Toni the finest plumber he’s ever seen, but she’s good at what she does. Will he realize before it’s too late, that not only is she the best woman for the job, but she’s the best woman for him? Read an excerpt

Here are several ways to win:

1. For a  chance to win an e-copy of either book (or short story), “Like” my new Facebook Fanpage (see column on the right hand side of this blog or click on this link – http://www.facebook.com/AuthorSharonCCooper21?ref=hl)
2. For a  chance to win an e-copy of either book (or short story) AND a $5 Amazon.com gift card, leave a comment or a question below AND “Like” my new Facebook Fanpage
3. For a chance to win an e-copy of either book (or short story) AND a $10 Amazon.com gift card – leave a comment or a question below AND “Like” my new Facebook Fanpage AND sign up on my mailing list http://www.sharoncooper.net/contact1.html (don’t worry, you won’t be inundated with emails from me).

Note: When you leave a comment or a question, be sure to leave your first name and last initial within the comment. You have until 8pm tonight (EST) to enter for your chance to win. The winners will be announced on my blog tomorrow Wednesday, 7/25/12.

 

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

**Something New and Blue Roses will be in paperback at the end of August 2012 – Woo hoo!

***For those of you who have asked for more from the Jenkins Family – they are coming soon! The Jenkins Family Series is in the works. Oh, and yes, Craig and Toni will have their own book, especially since they both still have some issues to work out. If you haven’t met the Jenkins Family – purchase (or win) Best Woman for the Job for an introduction. Stay tuned for more information coming soon.

Make sure you subscribe to this blog or join my mailing list to be one of the first to know about what’s going on with Sharon C. Cooper!

GOOD LUCK! I HOPE YOU WIN!

Special Guest – Deatri King-Bey

It is with great pleasure that I introduce my special guest – multi-published and award-winning author, Deatri King-Bey! Deatri is the author of the Write Brothers series, but before she tells us about the Write Brothers series and her latest title, let’s find out a little about her. So Deatri, let’s get started:

Tell us a little about yourself. I started in the publishing industry as a developmental editor at Third World Press, Inc. a little over a decade ago. Their focus was nonfiction, so I moved onto freelance editing for several publishing houses. I’m also an avid reader and multi-published, award winning author with fifteen full length novels under my belt. I write romance and women’s fiction under my name and dangerously-sexy suspense under the name L. L. Reaper. On a personal note, I have three fantastic daughters who have given me the three greatest grandchildren ever. I also married my hero over twenty-five years ago and look forward to when we can both retire and can be the annoying older couple in the grocery store fussing over which bottled water brand to purchase.

What is your favorite book, and why is it your favorite? My favorite book changes depending on my mood. Today my favorite book is the historical romance Indigo by Beverly Jenkins. How can you not fall for a man who has a life of privilege, yet continually places himself in danger to help others?

I know, right! Deatri, you probably didn’t know this, but I absolutely LOVE Beverly Jenkins! She’s one of my favorite authors! Okay, but I digress. Let me get back to my questions.

What genre do you write in the most, and what is it about the genre that attracts you? I write romance with a good dose of reality and danger the most. Though romance is fantasy, falling in love is not. Watching characters overcome the odds to fall in love is something I can never tire of reading and writing. I also like to throw realism in there because we all have issues in our lives and we with the serious issues deserve to find true love, too. Then there’s the danger. That’s the fun part.

Here’s a topic that my readers and I discussed recently – Is there such a thing as too much sex in a romance novel? What are your thoughts? Yes there can be. Sex in a novel should flow with the plot, not be there for the sake of being Hot. If you want to sell scenes of sex, that’s doable in this day of eBooks and you’d make a lot of money at it.

Do you have critique partners or beta readers? I have the best beta readers. They have no problem giving constructive feedback. I love them.

Do you have a favorite hero/heroine you’ve written? What makes them special?  Jeanette Mason from the Black Widow and the Sandman I wrote with a partner under the alias L. L. Reaper. That title is a dangerously-sexy suspense, so I wasn’t confined by the rules of romance and women’s fiction. Jeanette was able to be free. I loved it. I enjoy writing romance because I love the challenge of creating original stories that fit in a formula, but sometimes I need the freedom to just write without so many rules.

What inspired you to write your latest release? I like to give myself challenges. Determined to write traditional romance and a series, I decided to combine those two challenges together. I truly admire people who can write traditional series romance consistently. The idea for the overall plot for the Write Brothers series came to me when I was watching my grandson play with the puppy in the yard. I could see a grandmother watching her grandson, wishing her sons were married. Next thing you know. Gloria Write was on a mission to ensure her sons had their happily ever after. One of my favorite aspects of this series is I allowed the readers to determine the order the books were written in. We had a BALL.

Okay,  Deatri, so now tell us about your latest title, Tease, the final book of your Write Brothers series. Oh by the way, I have to tell you – I am straight up feelin’ this book cover!

Lol! Okay,  allow me to tell you a little about my latest title, Tease:

After Eva caught her fiancé in bed with her cousin, she swore she’d never be played for the fool again. Now the ultimate bed-hopper—Tyler Write, has set his sights on her and she’s having difficulty resisting him.

Tyler can have any woman except the one he truly wants—Eva Simpson. Smooth lines and sweet talk won’t work with her. To have a chance at Eva’s heart, he’ll have to show her who he really is.

This eBook is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble for $2.99 and will be available in print in a few weeks.

Also available is Sons 4 Sale, an eBox set of the entire Write Brothers series for only $7.99 at Amazon, as well as Barnes & Noble.

Sharon, I hope you and your readers enjoy reading about this family as much as I enjoyed writing about them.  I also wanted to take a second to thank you for allowing me to monopolize your blog site today. I appreciate it.

It’s my pleasure, Deatri. I’m glad you had a chance to stop by to tell us a little about yourself and what you’ve been up to. Now, where can readers find you online?

They can find me at: http://DeatriKingbey.com, http://www.facebook.com/deatri,  and Twitter @deatrikingbey or @LLReaper

Sounds good. Thanks again, Deatri.

Okay readers, show Deatri some love by not only purchasing her books, but by leaving a comment below.

Available Today – Blue Roses!

I’m happy to announce the release of my latest novel – Blue Roses! This is the first book from my Reunited Series. Remember Dallas Marcel from my debut novel, Something New? Well, Dallas is back, and is as feisty as ever!

Blurb:

Where most women would welcome love from a wealthy, good-looking man, Chicago-based investment manager, Dallas Marcel, is not one of them. She will never let a man control her life again. That includes handsome entrepreneur, Tyler Hollister. Dallas is on track to making partner and she’s not letting anything or anyone get in her way. But when her life is put in danger, and a Ponzi scheme ignites a SEC investigation of her firm, she realizes the one man she’d banned from her heart, might be the only one who can save her career and her life.

Tall, dark, and handsome, Tyler Hollister can have any woman he wants, but he only wants one – Dallas. When he starts talking marriage, she breaks things off between them, claiming she doesn’t want a romantic entanglement to hinder her plight to making partner. A chance meeting, six months later, brings them face to face and Tyler soon realizes the intense sexual attraction they once shared is stronger than ever. But he swore he was done with her. Except he finds out her life is in danger, and his protective instincts take over. Can he save her life without losing his heart … again?

Here’s an excerpt from Blue Roses

“Man, where are you?”

“I’m on my way.” Tyler Hollister pinned his cell phone between his shoulder and his ear as he fumbled for his keys on his way out of the dentist office.

“You were supposed to be here a half-an-hour ago.”

“Q, I’m sorry. Is the meeting over?”

“Nah, but I don’t know how much longer I can stall for you.”

Tyler glanced at his Breguet watch and hurried to his truck. He knew how much Quinn, his best friend and business partner hated meetings. “Okay, give me ten minutes. My appointment took longer than I thought, but I’m … damn, I’d know that sexy walk anywhere.” He stopped in his tracks when his eyes zoned in on the beautiful woman on the other side of the street.

“What? Ty, dude what’s up?”

He continued to observe as she made her way to the middle of the semi-crowded block in downtown Milwaukee weaving around people along the way. True to form, she caught the eye of a few guys passing. Tyler chuckled when they turned and enjoyed one more view once she’d passed. She always did have that effect on men. It wasn’t until she stopped to throw something in the trash, that he knew for sure it was her. Dallas Marcel, his ex-girlfriend.

“Q, I’ll call you back.” He disconnected not giving Quinn a chance to respond, and shoved the phone into his pocket. Tyler moved in her direction, stepping around a broken orange and white road barrier sign that was lying in the center of the sidewalk.

He stole a quick glance at Dallas as she came to a stop at the corner to wait for the light to change. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to say hello, he leaned against the brick building to his right, ensuring that she would have to walk past him once the light turned green.

Still gorgeous. Tall, fierce, and dressed to the nines. He loved it when she wore her long, thick hair piled high on top of her head, the way she had it now, with a few curly tendrils hanging down. The look complimented her perfectly sculpted face and revealed her long, sexy neck.

He cursed under his breath and looked away. He didn’t want to still be attracted to the most bullheaded woman he’d ever met. Too independent for her own good, but one of the best investment managers in Chicago, she was a woman on a mission. Her goal in life, or as he saw it, obsession, was to make partner at her firm – which was why she turned down his marriage proposal. According to her, she didn’t have room in her life for a serious relationship, despite the fact that they were perfect together, in every way.

“She threw what we had away, so why am I standing here just to say hello?” He mumbled and slipped a piece of gum into his mouth, not understanding his need to see her again.

His cell phone chirped twice signaling a text message, and he pulled it out of his pocket, and scanned the screen. No need to come – postponed the rest of the meeting until next week. Headed to Bradley Rd. to check on the guys.

Good. One less meeting. Tyler deposited his cell into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and adjusted his tie. As a real estate developer, it seemed most of his days were spent in meetings, reading over contracts, or dealing with building inspectors.

He pushed away from the building and rolled his shoulders just as the light turned green, and Dallas stepped off the curb. Finally, he’d be face-to-face with the woman he’d tried hard to forget, but couldn’t stop thinking about. He took a few steps when suddenly their eyes met, and a sensuous light passed between them. All of the sexual energy, passion and love he once felt for her came rushing back to the surface, and his heart hammered double-time in response. Damn.

Dallas’s pace slowed, but she continued across the street, her magnetic brown eyes held his attention, immobilizing him. Less than twenty feet from him and it was as if he were seeing her for the first time. A raging fire grew in the pit of his stomach, his hands ached to touch her, and all it had taken was that one look. This is not cool. He quickly pulled his eyes away and looked everywhere but at her, feeling the need to regroup. I’m supposed to be over her.

After a long cleansing breath, he looked up again just in time to see a car barreling toward her.

“Oh shit. Watch out!” he shouted, and then sprinted in her direction.

Screeeeechhhhhh! Boom!

“Nooo!” He yelled as her body bounced off the hood of the car. He slid to a stop before he reached the corner, shock kept him from moving forward. It wasn’t until the four-door dark sedan sped away in the opposite direction that he moved into action.

“Excuse me, excuse me.” He pushed his way through the swarm of people. An icy fear crawled up his spine when he saw her lifeless body on the hard pavement, a puddle of blood painted the ground near her head. “Oh my God,” he whispered and fell to his knees. “Dallas. Baby…” He caressed her cheek, afraid to move her. His heart pounded against his chest, and beads of sweat surfaced on his forehead as panic rioted within him. “Get some help over here!”

Time ceased as a haunting sense of foreboding wrapped around him when he checked and found her pulse was weak. He needed to do something, but thankfully, in the far distance he could hear the sirens. “Hold on, baby, hold on.”

Get your copy today to see what happens next! All Romance e-books, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords

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A Time of Gratitude!

I was just thinking…

I feel so full and grateful right now. Not because it’s a holiday and I get some much-needed time off, but because of all of you! Over the past couple of months I’ve received sooo much love and support regarding this new venture of publishing some of my written work. A simple thank you just doesn’t seem to be enough! The thought of me actually having “readers” and people who care to hear (or see) what I have to say by following my blog (and purchasing my books) – blows my mind! It’s wild and I love it! And I love all of you! It’s because of you that I have been on Amazon’s top 100 best sellers list in multi-cultural romance for the past three weeks (off and on prior to that).

Check out some of the recent numbers:

Amazon Best Seller top 100 in Multi-cultural Romance

Amazon Best Seller top 100 in Religious Romance and African-American Literature

So thank you, thank you, thank you for your support and encouragement! You make me want to continue to develop my skills and write even stronger stories that will keep you coming back for more!

Thanks again and have a wonderful Fourth of July! As a friend used to say to me be good…and if you can’t be good – be careful! 🙂