Sandra Sookoo, Author of Hollywood Dreams and Buttercream, Talks about Old Hollywood Movies

Thanks for hosting me today, and thanks to the readers who’ve joined up as part of the Hollywood Dreams and Buttercream virtual blog tour. This is stop #6. Be sure to visit all stops to better your chance of winning swag!

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Sandra Sookoo. I write romantic fiction, but over the course of the last year, I’ve primarily focused on contemporary and Regency romance. My latest book is a sweet contemporary.

I don’t know about you but I’m a sucker for old Hollywood movies. I’d say anything from the 1950s is my absolute favorite. When I set out to write this book, I had no idea I would include Hollywood trivia from that time period. One day, I had an urge to watch The African Queen, so I called it up on Netflix and became absorbed in the film. I’d seen it before, of course, and it always stuck with me (especially since bits of Disney’s Jungle Cruise ride are inspired by it) Anyway, I’m sure it comes as no surprise Gwynn and Cole watch this movie as part of the Movies in the Park in this book. It worked out surprisingly well and I’m very pleased with how it played out. I hope you will be too. (But you have to buy the book to find out what I’m talking about!)

Here’s the blurb for Hollywood Dreams and Buttercream:

Sometimes the sweetest things in life don’t have anything to do with dessert.

Gwynn Flannigan wants respect from her father and freedom from her big, loud family. The icing on her cake would be to win a decorating competition hosted by her favorite food magazine writer. Cole Marshall's one outlet from the stress of business life is writing his Cooking in the Buff feature. Who cares if he never has time for fun?

The answer for them both lies in the deep freeze at Sweet Endings, the struggling ice cream shop Gwynn manages and the one property Cole needs to secure a big promotion. He’s stuck in Madrigal, Indiana to unravel a knot of family drama that drives him crazy.

Things heat between Gwynn and Cole on the competition floor when Cole’s alter ego is revealed.  Cake and accusations fly while dreams and goals are left crumbling. In order to balance family, business, and love, Gwynn and Cole will need to work together and become partners—in more ways than one.

And here’s an excerpt:

"Cole, look at me." Her request came with a hefty dose of throaty suggestion. How did it get there and why couldn't she bring that out on command?

He turned his head. "Yeah?" His eyes glittered in the twilight shadows.

"You have a smear of icing on your mouth." Before her temporary injection of courage could dissipate, she dabbed at the frosting on the side of his mouth. Not having a napkin, she licked the sugary glob from her finger.

Cole twisted his body toward her, his gaze twin caldrons of smoldering green. "Did you get it all?" His voice was equally low but with a smoky quality that prickled the hairs on her arms and nape into heightened awareness.

Insanity ruled over common sense as she said, "Nope, there's still a little bit left." Gwynn leaned into him. Her palm grazed his cheek as she cupped it and fit her lips to his in a fleeting kiss, being sure to ply that spot in the corner with a leisurely lick. The slight rasp of his stubble against her tongue sent tiny tremors into her lower belly.

Cole pulled away, but not far enough that she couldn't feel the warmth of his breath on her face. He swiped a forefinger into the frosting of his cake then dabbed the icing onto the middle of his bottom lip. "How about now?"

"You know, homemade frosting is thick and stubborn. It clings to everything." Gwynn kissed him again, taking care to nibble the icing until not a trace of it was left. She slid her hand to the back of his head. His silky hair flowed over her fingers and invited more than a brief touch. Cole moved his free hand to her waist, insistent at the small of her back, setting off a host of tingles. He glided his mouth over hers with a gentleness she hadn't expected from him. Sampling chocolate from his lips was the sweetest thing she'd ever partaken of and she didn't want the intimacy to end. She cupped the side of his face once more, seeking to deepen the connection and find out if the heat threatening to melt her was definitely from him and not the summer temperature.

He broke the embrace, and she thought she caught a soft, shuddering sigh from him. "Well, that's one way of removing a smudge."

You can purchase this book at the following locations:

Desert Breeze: http://www.desertbreezepublishing.com/hollywood-dreams-and-buttercream-epub/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-hollywooddreamsandbuttercream-1230731-149.html

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-Dreams-and-Buttercream-ebook/dp/B00DVLQCMA/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373586343&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Hollywood+Dreams+and+Buttercream+by+sandra+sookoo

ibookstore: http://www.ibookstore.com/products.php?i=B00DVLQCMA

Have we connected on social media yet? If not, here’s my info. I’d love to talk to you!

Website:  http://www.sandrasookoo.com

Believing is Seeing blog:  http://sandrasookoo.wordpress.com/

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/sandrasookoo

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/sandra.sookoo

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2931453.Sandra_Sookoo

Giveaway information on this post: One lucky random commenter will receive a Hollywood Dreams and Buttercream swag pak. Be sure to leave your contact information.

Cover Reveal - Beasts of Burdin by Alexander Nader

Beasts of Burdin

Beasts of Burdin

by Alexander Nader

Release Date: February 10, 2014

Demon hunter Ty Burdin hung up his guns, knife, trench coat and fedora a year ago. Bags packed, hands washed of all demon politics, he’s done. Forever.

In fact, to get far far away, he dragged Nora, his rockabilly secretary, from Miami to the Tennessee mountains where he’s lived a life of peace—if peace can be defined as drowning in scotch and taking private eye jobs to keep the lights on. Jobs for real people. Not demons.

No demons.

He’s retired from that. Remember?

Demon hunters aren’t a dime a dozen, though, and when Ty’s brother asks him for a favor—just one—what’s a brother to do? Agreeing to take down one hillbilly demon shouldn’t take that long. In. Decapitate. Out. Favor complete. Back to the office where Nora and his bottle of whiskey are waiting.

Unfortunately for Ty, staying retired doesn’t seem to be in the cards, and an avalanche of bad luck draws him right back to an agency he despises and the career that nearly cost him his sanity.

This time, Ty has no way out and will have to face his own demons just to survive.

URL: http://www.jtaylorpublishing.com/books/38

Mything You by Greta Buckle

Mything You by Greta Buckle

Available at:

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Mything-You-Heroes-Greta-Buckle/dp/1479156671/

Blurb:

He wasn't looking for love. He only wanted to prove he was worthy of being a king's son.

Adventurer Theseus had dreamed of meeting his father, King Aegeus. As Theseus journeys to Athens, he meets his match in strength along the way. But is it the will of a beautiful young princess that puts this strong young man finally at his mercy? Or will he be able to conquer the princess’s heart?

She had settled for a life of unhappiness and believed a man who would love her for herself was only in her dreams.

Princess Ari has followed her father’s dictates all her life. On her way to meet her bridegroom, she is attacked. Saved by a handsome adventurer, Theseus, she tempts fate and follows him on his journey to Athens. Being with Theseus opens up a whole new world of opportunity for her. But will she allow her heart or loyal duty choose her life for her?

Excerpt:

Theseus’ entire body must have been made in the nectar of desire because she wished to bury herself in his arms. And he didn’t stop her from running to him. She jumped when a crash cracked through the air. Blinking, unsure of what happened, her body became rigid. Theseus pulled her into his arms and onto the ground seconds before the giant flew over the pair of them.

He took his hand off her head. He had protected her. Again.

Staring up at him stirred something unique inside her that she never believed could happen to her. She’d seen the plays and the tragedy that love caused, but never understood temptation. The fire in her belly burned into every part of her body from his smoldering eyes. He looked down at her as he cradled her in his arms. “That was Sinus. I don’t think he’ll kill anyone else ever again.”

“He won’t. How do you know his name?”

“He’s the reason I chose this path when I was fifteen. I had planned to prove my courage to my father, and take out the biggest villain on the road.”

“Check that off the list of goals then.” she said. “Good job.”

She continued to embrace Theseus, making her body tingle from crazy stirrings. What would he taste like? She’d die a happy death if he put his lips on hers. My, what was she thinking?

“I never believed you’d be here, or that my goal in that moment would turn to protecting you.” he said, pulling her closer.

She shook off her desires. She needed to let him go. She focused on logic instead of the male body in front of her. “I don’t know what to say. Today has been the craziest day.”

“It’s the middle of the night, little one.”

“You’re right. I don’t know what’s happening to me anymore. Theseus, this never happens to me.”

“What doesn’t happen to you?” he asked, smiling.

“I don’t know.”

He played with her hair, and straightened her clothes. “Your innocence and desire are a siren’s call to me, Ari, and you don’t have a clue, do you?”

“Who’s Ari?” She half expected to be disappointed with whatever he would say.

“You are. It fits you much better than Ariadne. Ari trembles for me.”

She licked her lips, wanting to kiss him. But she couldn’t. Theseus embodied a man out of her dreams.

She looked away thinking of what waited for her when her father’s men found her. “I don’t know my bridegroom. I’ve only ever known my duty.”

Theseus’ body tensed. “You’re betrothed?”

“I never agreed. The bride price, I’m told, paid for my father’s upgrade to the artillery. In the morning or someday soon, I’ll be found. But…can you do me one last favor?”

“What, little one?” His arms grew warm again, tightening around her. She dared for a different life, where she lived with a chance of walking next to him in life. Letting him go and going back to the life her father chose sounded cold and dreary. She couldn’t, not yet.

“Kiss me, Theseus, just once.”

Taking a step closer to him, she looked into his mesmerizing eyes. His strong hands framed her face, his fingers circled her mouth and his eyes darkened with tenderness. When he leaned into her, her eyelids fluttered shut. His light pressure sweetly opened her mouth.

Her secret wish had come true. The prison walls in Ariadne’s heart disappeared in her soul, and today Ari’s lips ached.

He bent his head close. Then, she felt his strong lips on hers, and she lost control.

Youtube: http://youtu.be/AgK0rkIjjgA

About the Author:

Victoria Pinder writing as Greta Buckle grew up in Irish Catholic Boston before moving to the Miami sun. She’s worked in engineering, then became a lawyer. After realizing she hates clients, she became a high school teacher. Teaching is fun, but writing is a passion. She wrote one hundred and one fan fiction stories online before deciding to transition into writing her own stories. Never ask her to republish her fan stories from age eleven- horribly written stories of princesses. Victoria dreams of writing professionally, where her barista can make her coffee and a walk on the beach, can motivate her tales. Theseus story came to her when she was a freshman in high school as her English teacher, the nun, told her how life was hard and tragedy teaches lessons. In 2013, she stopped indy publishing because she sold four novels to small presses and she’s super happy about this. Victoria’s love of writing has

kept her centered and focused. How is she crazy? The voices in her head are characters in novels and she’s not insane.

Visit Victoria Pinder online at:

http://www.victoriapinder.com

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Makeup May Change Your Love Life (Zoastra Origins Series) by Greta Buckle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006PBBX9U/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_Uj.3rb0GS0CYW

Right now, Mything You is $.99 cents! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009PV3HMI/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_Pk.3rb0ZR47BA 

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Successfully Untrunking a Story with Sandra Ulbrich Almazan

Never Give Up: How I Successfully Untrunked a Short Story—and a Giveaway!

A long time ago, so long I’m not sure of exact dates anymore, I had an idea to explore the background of Romeo and Juliet, using Cupid as a guide. I’m not sure anymore what inspired this combination; it may have been a story challenge, or it may have just been a random idea. Either way, I did the best I could with the story at the time, revising it, posting it on a writing workshop for feedback, and revising it again. Finally I felt ready to send it out, under the title of “Antidote for a Family Feud.” My records show I sent it out four times, getting rejections each time. Eventually I moved on to other projects and forgot about this story.

Years later, self-publishing became not only much easier than ever before, but also more desirable in some respects. I decided I would try this route with one of my works, then decided I liked self-publishing so much I wanted to do it with more of my stories. Now it was time to peruse the Folder of Forgotten Stories and decide which ones stood the test of time. “Antidote for a Family Feud” came to mind. I reread it and revised it again, then decided to post it to the same writing workshop I’d used years before. This time, one of the comments gave me a clue as to why the story didn’t work for that reader; the first-person narrative was too remote and distant. I thought at first that since I was writing from a god’s perspective, that was what I wanted. But after mulling it over for a while, I came up with a new way to use Cupid’s point of view while making it easier for readers to relate to him. He’d be separated from his wife Psyche, communicating with her only by letter. This required me to rewrite the story again, as it required a big change in format. However, now that I had a direction, I made quick progress with the story. I also found a new title: “Letters to Psyche.” After yet another round of passing it by my critique partners, I decided it was ready for the world. I published it first on Amazon, but it’s now available at B&N and Smashwords too.  It’s received good reviews so far, so readers must like it.

There are some half-forgotten, half-finished stories of mine that I may never return to or may never figure out how to make work. But time, constant effort to improve your craft, and a willingness to take a new approach to a project can sometimes lead to good results. This is true in many areas of life, not just writing.

Have any of you found time or a new approach was the key to making a project successful? Please tell me about it in the comments before midnight CST. I’ll choose a winner at random for a free eBook of “Letters to Psyche” in the format of your choice.

And another opportunity to win a prize!

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Sandra Ulbrich Almazan started reading at the age of three and only stops when absolutely required to. Although she hasn’t been writing quite that long, she did compose a very simple play in German during middle school. Her science fiction novella Move Over Ms. L. (an early version of Lyon’s Legacy) earned an Honorable Mention in the 2001 UPC Science Fiction Awards, and her short story “A Reptile at the Reunion” was published in the anthology Firestorm of Dragons. She is a founding member of BroadUniverse and a long-time member of the Online Writing Workshop for Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror. Her undergraduate degree is in molecular biology/English, and she has a Master of Technical and Scientific Communication degree. Her current day job is in the laboratory of an enzyme company; she’s also been a technical writer and a part-time copyeditor for a local newspaper. Some of her other accomplishments are losing on Jeopardy! and taking a stuffed orca to three continents. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband, Eugene; and son, Alex. In her rare moments of free time, she enjoys crocheting, listening to classic rock (particularly the Beatles), and watching improv comedy.

Sandra can be found online at her website, blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. 

Letters to Psyche Blurb:

When the Greek god Cupid visits Verona, he foresees no problems uniting the Montague and Capulet families. But when Elisabeth Capulet and Giovanni Montague's love ends in tragedy, Elisabeth places a powerful curse not on just the families, but Cupid himself. Unable to visit his wife Psyche, he sends her letters detailing his efforts to undo the curse. Can the two of them save another generation of lovers, or will Cupid and Psyche be forever parted?

Twinned Universes:

Paul Harrison always wanted to play Hamlet, but he never expected he'd live the role first.

In the aftermath of a family tragedy on 21st century Earth, Paul discovers he's the clone of Sean Lyon, his great-great-grandfather and a famous TwenCen musician. Suspecting his mother's death was no accident, Paul comes up with a plan to trick the answers out of the great-uncle who had him cloned. But in order to make his plan work, Paul needs help from Sean himself-and Sean's time is running out in the TwenCen universe next door. Although Paul's family lives on the spaceship that travels between the universes, he's never been allowed on TwenCen Earth. Now, with the help of his friends, his disguise-creating holoprojectors, and a quantum quirk, Paul must make his way to Sean while evading other time travelers who fear he'll change the history of the TwenCen universe. If Paul is to achieve justice, he must not only risk his own life, but the wormhole connecting the universes. "To be or not to be" was a simple question in comparison....

Amazon

B&N

Smashwords

Green River by Elizabeth Loraine

Aidan watched the girls cower on the bed as their father, in a drunken rage, beat on the bedroom door.   Drawn to the girls by some unknown power, he was irrevocably intertwined in their lives against both his tribe and his parents’ admonitions to “leave them to their own", but Aidan knew his mission was to safeguard Charlotte and Missy from the darkness that stalked them.  In her new Shifter series, author Elizabeth Loraine draws you to the seamy underside of Seattle and to the lush forests of the Pacific Northwest as Characters Aidan, Charlotte and Missy explore their complex bond, the mysteries surrounding their separate cultures and a common enemy. 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads 

I grew up in a small northern Minnesotan town married my high school sweetheart, had two beautiful children and as soon as we could we moved to a warmer climate. I have worked with my husband building and decorating custom homes for years. After loving every kind of vampire book, movie and series since I was a child, I decided that I wanted to know more. I can write a book I thought, how hard can that be? Well....it wasn't as easy as I thought, but I stuck to it, and finished my first book Royal Blood Chronicles Book One in August 2009. I now have six books in the series and am about to release book two of my new series Phantom Lives.   My parents always told me that I could do anything that I wanted, work hard, and do it right. I believe that, and live that every day. I started writing this new vampire series for teens and their moms because I wanted something different to read. I was tired of all the modern versions of vampire books, there had to be more to these long lived beings. Where had they been, what had they seen? I wanted, no I NEEDED to know more, so Royal Blood Chronicles was born!  As in Royal Blood Chronicles, Phantom Lives features strong female characters and action and adventure mixed with romance, friendship and a historical backdrop. I hope you enjoy them.

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