Guest Post: Carolyn Brown w/ Give Away

Good morning and thank you for inviting me to your blog today. It’s a pleasure to be here to discuss the inspiration for the heroines in the Lucky series. Getting Lucky, the final book in the trilogy hit the book shelves January 1. Lucky in Love was published in September and One Lucky Cowboy in November. Each sassy heroine was a delight to get to know and write about.

Who was the inspiration for the heroines? That question that comes up often when folks talk about my writing. Who inspired this or that character? Especially heroes and heroines. It always amazes me when fans ask how I knew their best friend, their boy friend or the sorry sucker who broke their heart. Sometimes they argue with me when I point to that page that says all characters are figments of my overactive imagination. They couldn’t be fictional characters because other than the name being changed to protect the guilty, they were exact matches to their acquaintances. It makes my day when they tell me that!

My heroines are inspired by women who are tough; those who overcome all the hurdles that life puts in front of them and cross the finish line with energy to spare. They are those who come to the end of their life and slide into heaven yelling for someone to open the gates and talking about what a wonderful ride they’ve had through life’s experiences. Those who grab the bull by the horns, look him right smack in the little beady eyes and dare him to charge. And who don’t run away from him when he does.

I’ve had the privilege of many strong women among my family and friends beginning with my grandmother, Bessie, who was blind but didn’t let that get the way of living. She picked cotton, raised six kids and later helped raise three of us grandchildren, cooked, canned in the summer time, did her own laundry and housecleaning and kept us all in line. When I was eighteen someone mentioned my grandmother’s handicap and I was ready to mop up the streets of Tishomingo, Oklahoma with their sorry hind end for saying that about my granny. She was not handicapped! I’m sure she slid right through heaven’s gates with a smile on her face! She might be the one who inspired Alvera in Getting Lucky.

And my mother, Gina, who raised three children back in the fifties and sixties. In those days it wasn’t as easy or as socially accepted as it is today to be a single parent. But dear hearts, she would have spit in Lucifer’s eye if he’d have crossed one of her kids. That’s an inspiration. She faced the bull and he turned tail and ran from her. And her sister, my Aunt Mil ― the two of them probably had a lot to do with Nellie and Ellen in One Lucky Cowboy and Getting Lucky.

My sister, Patti, who is a continual inspiration. She’s truly the wind beneath my wings. I’d say more about her but she’s my also my best friend and if I told all the reasons she’s my inspiration I’d be sliding into heaven’s doors a lot sooner than I’d planned. I still have a few more stories to tell so I’ll let it go by saying that together we have jumped hurdles so high that we couldn’t see over them. Sometimes I stood on her shoulders to get over the blasted things; other times she’s stood on mine. Her brassy attitude can easily be found in Jane in One Lucky Cowboy. She wouldn’t only face the bull, she’d spit in his eye.

My daughters, Amy and Ginny, went swimming in their strong ancestors’ gene pools. They are both mouthy, sassy and don’t take guff from anyone. Bless their hearts, they are an inspiration and their attitudes shine in my heroines pretty often. Combine the two of them and you have some of Julie in Getting Lucky.

Then there are those wonderfully brave women, both past and present, who continually blaze pathways for the rest of us to follow. Politicians, soldiers, doctors, nurses, cowgirls … the list doesn’t stop but continues to grow.

They are all inspirations for Julie in Getting Lucky, Milli in Lucky in Love and  Jane in One Lucky Cowboy.

Tell me, who’s been an inspiration in your life? If you wrote a romance book with a sassy heroine who spoke her mind and wasn’t afraid to stand up and fight for what she loved, who would inspire that character?

GETTING LUCKY BY CAROLYN BROWN—IN STORES JANUARY 2010

Single mom Julie Donavan is looking for a place to start over. What she finds after buying a small house on five acres is nothing short of a nightmare.

Single dad "Lucky Griffin" Luckadeau has been crossing horns with his elderly neighbor for years. But when his daughter, Annie, decides she wants the new little girl who lives on the feuding property to be her friend, or better yet her sister, the sparks fly.

These two stubborn hotheads, who irritate each other beyond endurance, refuse to admit that it's fate that brought them together. And running from the inevitable is only going to bring a double dose of misery…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carolyn Brown, an award-winning author who has published 36 romance novels for the library market, credits her eclectic family for her humor and writing ideas. She was born in Texas but grew up in southern Oklahoma where she and her husband, Charles, a retired English teacher, now make their home in the town of Davis, Oklahoma. They have three grown children and enough grandchildren to keep them young.

Thanks Carolyn for taking time to guest at my spot.  I love the series and am excited that Source books is sponsoring a give away, all three titles (Lucky in Love, One Lucky Cowboy and Getting Lucky) to one winner! USA and Canada Only.

To enter, you must leave a comment with a valid email AND answer Carolyn's question in red above.

Winner will be announced on January 18th.

Demon Inside by Stacia Kane

She will have to accept all of herself, including her past, if she is to move forward into the future.

Dr. Megan Chase is a psychologist and leader of the Yezer Ha Ra, demons that are the source of human misery.  Everyone has their own personal demon, even if they are not aware of it, except Megan.  She accidentally killed hers when she was younger, binding it to a minor Legion of Hell.  Now he is gone, but a small part of him remains in Megan from where he had previously possessed her.  She connects to the personal demons through that part of demon inside of her.

Greyson Dante is a demon.  He is powerful, handsome, and is Megan's lover.  He isn't one to really discuss his feelings, a paradox to Dr. Chase, but he makes up for it in the bedroom.  He just wants to keep Megan safe and will do everything within his power to achieve it.  Greyson is also the leader of his own demons and doesn't hesitate to use them to bodyguard Megan.

Something, though, is exploding the persona demons and it is not limited to just Megan's.  No one can figure out who or what is causing it to happen.  Megan is also undergoing some new desires, like wanting to taste Dante's blood.  Megan will have to find out the truth of her past if she is to be any help with the present situation.  She doesn't want to lead the Yeszer Ha Ra's, but will have to take on the responsibility if she wants to have a future.

DEMON INSIDE is charming, witty, and utterly imaginative! The passion between Megan and Greyson smolders with heat and the action packed pages had me up late into the night.  Stacia Kane is original and exciting and I can't wait for more!

*Courtesy of RJ

Heart's Blood by Gail Dayton

What you think you want more than anything may not be what your heart really needs.

Master conjurer Grey Carteret stumbles around drunk one evening and finds himself awakening the next morning face down in a muddy alley.  He knows he didn’t drink the night before so he is really confused.  Even more confusing is the lad beside him whom watched over him all evening.  The lad wants to be Grey’s apprentice, but Grey doesn’t take on apprentices.  When the dirty urchin reveals himself to be a young woman, Grey is adamnant about not taking her on. 

Pearl Parkin didn’t used to be poor, but circumstances have changed her life and now she is.  She wants to rise above it all and be whom she was meant to be, and she sees magic as her way out.  She has a gift for sorcery but she needs Grey to teach her.

A murder has transpired right around the corner from where Grey passed out.  The murder was deeply laced in magic, and Grey is instantly arrested since he was in the area of the occurrence.  Pearl blackmails Grey into taking her on as his apprentice if she is to find someone to post his bail.  He agrees, and before long he is out of the jail and the two of them are investigating the murder to clear his name.  Even though Pearl is learning what she has always desired, Grey and Pearl find their attraction hard to deny.

Set against the backdrop of London, HEART’S BLOOD shines.  The London slang lends credence to the setting and character dialogue, and I often times found myself smiling.  Ghosts, murder, magic and romance are blend wonderfully together for this fascinating paranormal historical romance.  Great plot, strong character development, and superb world building set the tone for this wonderful novel.  Paranormal and romance lovers alike will enjoy this one!

*Courtesy of RJ