Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Win a $25 gift card - Gambling on a Dream by @sara_w_ellwood #ContemporaryRomance


Welcome to the fourth stop of Sara Walter Elwood's Book Tour for Gambling on a Dream! There are several stops on this tour so please be sure to check all of the below listed stops in the coming days. Plus every stop that you leave a comment at gains you one entry to win an Amazon or Barnes & Noble $25 gift card.  Until then, Sara shares with us... 
Siblings… Why I Love Writing These Incredible Relationships

Aside from the romantic relationship, I often include familial relationships in my stories. Siblings are one of my favorites—and the hardest—to write.

I think this joy and difficulty stem from the same personal source. We all know authors weave a lot of themselves into their stories, even if she/he doesn’t even realize it. I know this is true of my sibling storylines.
I was an only child until I was age six, then my brother was born. I would have had a sister, who would have been a year and a half younger than me, but she’d been stillborn eight months into mom’s pregnancy. I remember fantasizing what having a sister that close to my age would have been like. When my brother was born, I was ecstatic. I loved that baby to pieces and couldn’t wait for him to grow up so that we could play together. As children we had fun, but all too soon, I was too old to play his games, and he discovered the last person he wanted to be around was his bossy older sister. Then just as he entered his teenage years, I went off to college and we never saw each other except for holidays. After college, I married and moved two hours away from my hometown, while my brother finished high school and went to college. After that we only saw each other once or twice a year. Those brief meetings were usually full of meaningless chatter and my brother and I quickly became strangers.
After he married and moved to another state, he rarely came home. I think in the nine years he was married, I’d only saw him twice. I didn’t even go to his wedding because I couldn’t get leave from my job.
In September 2011, only a few days after his thirty-fifth birthday, my brother was killed in a house fire. I think I grieved him more for the relationship we didn’t have, then for the one we did. I regret never reaching out to him, never getting to know him better, and a million other things.
In Gambling On A Dream, both my hero and heroine have complicated relationships with their siblings, but at the end of the day, they are close to their brother/sisters. Despite never fully having a relationship with my own brother, I make sure my characters never live with the regrets that I have to.
Here’s a bit of the Wyatt’s and Rachel’s relationship…
“We’ll be eating in a few minutes. Why don’t you go get your sister? She hasn’t been out of her room all day.” He didn’t miss the sadness in his mother’s voice or the pleading in her faded denim eyes. “You’ve always been good with her.”
He left the kitchen and headed down the hall to stop before the door across from his. He’d packed up his dive of an apartment in Waco, sent his stuff to storage, and moved into his parents’ home temporarily to help with Rachel, but he wanted a place of his own.
He took a deep breath as the day his parents brought Rachel home from the hospital drifted into his mind. He and Audrey were only three, but they had both been excited to have a real live baby in their midst. Audrey wanted to dress her up like her favorite doll. He’d wanted someone else to play with, but to be honest, he’d been a little disappointed she wasn’t a boy. He’d never dreamed he’d become her protector. Although he loved his twin sister, and technically, was her older brother too--if you can count a whole four and a half minutes as being older--Rachel held a special place in his heart.
Sounds of his father chatting with his mother from the kitchen brought him out of his thoughts, and he knocked on his sister’s door. “Rach, Ma’s got dinner ready.”
“I’m not hungry.” Her voice sounded muffled and distracted.
He looked to the ceiling and sent a prayer to heaven to give him the strength and the knowledge to help his baby sister. “I’m coming in.”
When she didn’t respond, he turned the knob and entered the room. A modern-looking pine queen bed and Rachel’s sophisticated styles had replaced the twin canopy beds and white girly furniture. Everything that had been Audrey’s was long gone. After all, the few times Rachel came home from her stints as an Army nurse, this was where she’d come.
She sat huddled under an old crocheted blanket in a stuffed chair and stared out the window. What he could see of her face behind her short auburn hair was pale and splotched red, as if she’d been crying. Her hands were curled into fists and tucked in close to her body. Her prosthetic lower left leg sat in the corner with her crutches.
He let out a long breath and sat on the edge of her unmade bed. When he glanced up, he noticed what had her riveted outside the window. In the yard on the other side of the rail fence, two young children played on a swing set while their father and mother worked in the yard. A picture of the perfect family. He closed his eyes and hung his head low.
God, how much more can she take?
“All I ever wanted was a family of my own.” Her voice rasped as if coming from her soul.
Yeah, me too. He swallowed hard, but his voice still came out sounding like a frog’s croak. “Ladybug, I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t know how to make this better.”
She turned red-rimmed blue eyes on him. “You haven’t called me that in years.”
He’d given her the nickname when she was only a baby because, with her bright red hair, she reminded him of a ladybug. For years, the whole family called her by the nickname. He sniffed and swallowed again. Damn, his sinuses burned.
“Everyone thinks it’s because of Audrey and Lance that I’m such a mess.”
“I know it has to be hard seeing them…”
She shifted her shoulders as if she shrugged, or maybe she took a deep breath. “The lieutenant colonel who was killed in the attack wasn’t just my commander.”
From the report, he knew Rachel had been attacked by an Afghani national who worked on the base where she’d been deployed.
She and a doctor had been working together late when the Afghani found them. He’d shot the lieutenant colonel and Rachel while they were talking in his office. She’d taken a high-powered bullet in the pelvis area and her lower left leg, which shattered the bone beyond repair. The doctor had died from his wounds, and Rachel had been flown to Landstuhl, Germany, where her leg had been amputated, her pelvis repaired, and her uterus, where the bullet lodged, removed.
The terrorist had committed suicide. His body had been found in his room along with the weapon he’d used to kill the doctor and to shoot Rachel.
Wyatt moved off the bed and kneeled beside her. He took her icy hands and held them. “You weren’t working, were you?”
She sniffled and shook her head. As she turned to look out the window again, she whispered, “Alex was my fiancĂ©. We planned to get married as soon as I could put in for promotion, but we had to keep our relationship secret since he was my commanding officer until then. No one can ever know about it. I’d never risk his name being dishonored.”
Which meant she would never discuss it with her shrink at the VA hospital. The air went out of him, and he bent his head over their joined hands. “Oh, God, Rach. I’m so sorry.”
“I wish I’d been killed too,” she whispered in a faraway tone that sent an arctic shiver through him.
He squeezed her hand and forced her to look at him by turning her head with his thumb under her chin. “Don’t you ever say such a thing. We love you. We need you here with us. You hear me? I need you.” He swallowed hard and sniffed back the hot knot clogging his sinuses. “I understand how you feel. But that isn’t the answer.”
She shook her head and yanked her hand from his. “How could you know what I’m going through? You have no idea what happened to me. What it was like to watch the man I love die.”
He glanced out the window at the happy family. The little boy was Mason, the girl Katie. He was five years old, and she was almost three. The same age his son would have been. He’d met the family on several occasions since they moved into the recently built home three months ago. “Dawn Madison and I were all but engaged while we worked vice on the PD.” He met his sister’s gaze. “She took a bullet that was meant for me and almost died.”
She huffed. “But she’s still alive. Alex is dead.”
“True.” He averted his gaze to his hands. “But I’ll never forgive her for what she did. She was five months pregnant and lost the baby.”
“Wy, I’m so sorry.” She took his hand and squeezed it.
He sniffed again, but he couldn’t look up. “She lost our son simply because she wouldn’t take herself off the case. The captain would’ve never allowed her on the sting if he’d known. Hell, if I had known about the pregnancy, I would’ve had her taken off the case.” He shook his head and wiped his nose with the back of his free hand. “I know that isn’t the same as what happened to you. But there isn’t a day that goes by I don’t wonder what my little boy would’ve grown into.” Or what life with Dawn would’ve been like.
“Why do bad things always happen to good people?”
The only answer he had was to take her into his arms and hold her as he closed his eyes against the tears he wouldn’t dare let fall.

“I don’t know, Ladybug. I don’t know.”

~~~~~

Gambling On A Dream
Colton Gamblers Book 3 by Sara Walter Ellwood
June 9, 2015

With Everything At Stake…
It’s been years since Sheriff Dawn Madison said goodbye to Texas Ranger Wyatt McPherson. She’s closed the door on the heartache of her past. But when the sleepy town of Colton, Texas, is rocked by a series of shocking murders, Dawn has no choice but to trust the man who broke her heart if she wants to protect the ones she loves…
All Bets Are Off
Four years have passed. But Wyatt hasn’t forgotten the bold, Native American beauty who stole his heart . . . and broke it. Losing her and the life they had hoped to share left him an empty shell of himself. But if he wants to stop the deranged killer terrorizing the innocent kids of Colton, he’ll have to let Dawn back into his life. It’s a risk he’s willing to take, even if heartache is all he takes home…

Excerpt:
When the door closed with a resounding click behind her brother, Dawn pounded a fist onto the table with enough force to rattle their coffee mugs. “Dammit, who is he protecting?”
Wyatt glanced back at the door. Her older brother Talon had always had it rough, but no worse than Dawn and their younger brother. Sure, being one of Jock Blackwell’s ill-begotten sons wasn’t something he’d wish on a rabid coyote. However, Tom Madison had treated Talon like a son all his life, even giving him a third of his ranch when he retired.
Talon had changed, and not for the better. His problems didn’t come from how he was raised, or even the occasional bullying. He was a troublemaker, and nothing would have changed him.
He sat in the chair Talon had vacated. “Or the question could be what is he hiding?”
She ran her hands over her dark hair to the tight bun at the base of her skull. With jerky movements, she pulled out the band holding the twisted braid captive. As she ran her fingers through the long mass of raven silk, heat coursed through him at the memories of all that hair covering him like a blanket while they’d made love. When she bent over the table and scratched her scalp in pure frustration, all he could think about was her hair hanging down her back to brush and tickle his thighs as she rode him--her favorite position--to orgasm.
The erection was fast and furious and nearly had him groaning. Thank God, he was sitting. He forced his numbed mind to focus on the case.
“We have to find someone else who may have seen or knows something.” She glanced across the table at him and straightened. If there was ever the perfect picture of a beautiful Indian maiden, it was Dawn with her hair down. Had she ever had the stuff cut? He swallowed hard and shifted in his chair as his jeans strangled his cock. How long had it been since he’d had sex? He couldn’t remember, but refused to believe he hadn’t been with someone since Dawn.
With swift, practiced motions, she broke the trance he was under by daftly braiding her hair and wrapping it into a bagel-sized knot at the back of her head. She snapped the hair band over the bun.
He cleared his throat. “When are we talking to Chris’s friends?” His voice came out sounding a bit husky, even to his ears.
She stood, taking their coffee cups with her, and refilled them. After she dumped that god-awful crap pretending to be creamer into hers, she handed him a mug of black joe. Sipping her coffee from the extra-large, bright green mug he’d given to her for her thirtieth birthday, she returned to her chair.
“Hendricks and Kennedy are getting a list, but according to Julie, he didn’t have many friends in Colton.”
“How about Justin Vaughn? He’s always been a known dealer. Maybe he knows something.” He sipped his coffee.
She smiled, and he almost choked as he swallowed the hot, bitter brew. “Haven’t thought of him. We should talk to him. They’re about the same age. Vaughn’s working over at his uncle’s farm and garden market.”
He set his mug on the table and glanced at his watch. “I can’t today.”
“Hot date?”
Grinning, he stood. “No. I’m buying the Estrada Ranch.”
Her dark eyes widened. “Really? I heard Luis and Stella were thinking of moving to New Mexico, but I didn’t know it was a done deal. I figured it would go to either Jose or Mary,” she said, referring to the Estradas’ son and daughter. “How long has their place been up for sale? I haven’t seen a sign in their yard.”
He shrugged and reached for his hat where it sat on the edge of the table. “Luis and Stella told Mom and Dad they planned to sell the place a couple of weeks ago while playing Bingo at the firehouse. When they told me, I called the Estradas and made an offer. It never officially made it on the market. I’ve been looking for a small ranch.”
“We’ll be neighbors when you settle in there.” She cocked her head to the side. “I never knew you wanted to be a rancher.”
“You never cared about a lot of things I wanted.” His bitterness surprised even him.
She stood and picked up her mug, leaving his where it sat. As she headed for the door, she nodded toward it. “We have a policy around here. We clean up after ourselves. Something I seem to remember you have a hard time with.”

Purchase Links:

About Sara:
Although Sara Walter Ellwood has long ago left the farm for the glamour of the big town, she draws on her experiences growing up on a small hobby farm in West Central Pennsylvania to write her contemporary westerns. She’s been married to her college sweetheart for over 20 years, and they have two teenagers and one very spoiled rescue cat named Penny. She longs to visit the places she writes about and jokes she’s a cowgirl at heart stuck in Pennsylvania suburbia. Sara Walter Ellwood is a multi-published and international Amazon bestselling author of the anthology set Cowboy Up. She also publishes paranormal romantic suspense under the pen name Cera duBois.

Author Links:


Gambling On A Secret, Book 1 and Gambling On A Heart, Book 2
For other links and book information check out my website page:  https://sarawalterellwood.wordpress.com/the-colton-gamblers-contemporary-western-romance-suspense/




Win an Amazon or Barnes & Noble $25 gift card

Don't forget to leave your comment below and visit the other stops in the tour to increase your chances of winning! 
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Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Cover Reveal: Dragon Guard Box Set by Julia Mills #Erotic #PNR @JuliaMills623

Dragon Guard - Box Set - Tour Banner copy

The Dragon Guard Series Box Set

(Dragon Guards #1-7)

By Julia Mills

Coming August 25th, 2015

Box Set JLM non 3D WEB 05292015



WLK synopsis
  Box Set 7 Books JLM WEB 05292015
Enter the World of the Dragon Guard…Forever be Changed.
All Seven Books in the Dragon Guard series in one place plus a BONUS NOVELLA from USA Today Bestselling Author Julia Mills!
There Are No Coincidences. The Universe Does Not Make Mistakes. Fate Will Not Be Denied.
Her Dragon to Slay – Revised, rewritten and re-edited!!!!!!
The chemistry between a strong-willed curvy girl and fierce warrior makes all the difference in the world where nothing is as it seems. The existence of an ancient race of honor-clad, tradition-bound protectors might be hard to accept but now the dead are coming back to life and holding a knife to her neck. Can these fated mates defeat their greatest enemies and get their happily ever after?
Her Dragon’s Fire - – Revised, rewritten and re-edited!!!!!!
Her brilliant blues eyes and luscious curves have fueled his fantasies for over six years. The guilt of his younger brother’s death a weight around his heart that kept him from claiming the one the Universe had made for him. Now, nothing was as he thought and the woman he believed was unattainable is within his grasp, if only he can keep her safe from those that would use her to hurt him.
Haunted by Her Dragon
Lance has spent his long life cracking jokes and making fun of his brethren as each succumbed to the sappiness of everlasting love with the one that completes them like no other. Now the Universe is the one laughing and his fellow Guardsmen are the ones making jokes as the mating call of his kin push him headlong towards the one that will bring light to his soul. He can no longer deny that he is meant to spend the rest of his many years with Sam but his obligation to eliminate any threats to her life must come first…right? For the Guardsman who has hot-dogged his way through one hundred and twelve years, one brown-eyed curly-headed doctor will make him rethink everything he ever knew.
For the Love of Her Dragon
Two souls…destined for a Great Love decreed by Fate. But Fate has Her hands full with this couple, and if that wasn’t enough, the traitor has an army ready to destroy all they both hold dear. Can Royce forget the past and believe in the future? Can Kyra forgive a betrayal that cuts deep and believe Love will always find a way? Can they defeat an evil with no conscience, only the desire for vengeance? The Universe, the Goddess and Fate have their work cut out for them if Kyra is to know the love of her dragon.
Saved by Her Dragon
Anya is the light of his soul and the only woman able to tame the beast within. Devon has the strength and knowledge she will need in the coming days. Together, they just may be the key to saving Dragon kin. All they have to do is defeat the traitor…but that means they have to find him first.
Only for Her Dragon
Nobody said it was going to be easy. The fight will be real. It will take compromise and a love created by the Universe. Only Charlie can take the leap of faith, and only for her dragon...
Fighting for Her Dragon
One doomed dragon. One very special woman. One destiny no one could have predicted. Will they save dragon kin or destroy it?
BONUS NOVELLA: Her Dragon’s Heart
What do you get when you combine one head-strong dragon shifter with a young woman whose past won’t stay hidden, add a coven of demon-raising wizards and a Fate that will not be denied? The perfect recipe for sizzling romance, spine-tingling intrigue, sword swinging action and swoon-worthy love.

PRE-ORDER FOR 99¢

(Price increases on release day 8/25/2015)

AMAZON US / AMAZON CA / AMAZON AU

DG - Teaser 1


DG - Tease 2


WLK Author Bio


Julia Mills - author_pic
Mom of two rockin' girls, Reader of everything, Author of The Dragon Guards series and many more surprises to come!
I am a sarcastic,sometimes foul-mouthed, not afraid to drink a beer, always southern woman with 2 of the most amazing teenage daughters,
a menagerie of animals and a voracious appetite for reading who recently decided to write the storied running through her brain. I read my first book, Dr Suess' Cat in The Hat by myself at 4 and was hooked.
I believe a good book along with shoes, makeup and purses will never let a girl down and that all heroes of all the books
I have ever read or will ever write pale in comparison to my daddy! I am a sucker for a happy ending and love some hot sweaty sex with a healthy dose of romance.
I am still working on my story but believe it will contain all of the above with as much SPICE as I can work into it. CHEERS!

WLK Giveaway

International giveaway of a Signed Fighting for Her Dragon Paperback, Dragon Guard Tote and Swag!

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Sunday, June 21, 2015

#FREE Romance Sampler. Discover top selling authors & scorching new reads! #Giveaway

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Cat Johnson: An Audible audiobook download of Kissed by a SEAL by Cat Johnson
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Donna Michaels: $25 Amazon GC
Nicole Morgan: eCopies of Sweet Redemption and Sweet Salvation (Books 1 and 2 of Sweet Awakenings)
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Jayne Rylon: an autographed collector guide and a One More Chapter, Biggest Lie Ever tote bag.
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Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Crossing the Line by @allyabishop Gift Card and Book #Giveaway

A new steamy romance novel from Ally Bishop... What happens when you meet who could be the right person...at the exact wrong time?
Get it on Amazon.

About Crossing the Line

I’ve never believed in love at first sight, which is probably why I write mysteries, and not romances, for a living. Besides, I’m too focused on expanding Elementary, a mystery dinner party business I own with my brother Noah. I don’t have time for romance. When the handsome and successful Ian Crane books our services, I can barely keep my wits about me. He’s setting fire to all my rules, and I can’t resist his flames. I don’t recognize the woman I’m becoming, but I don’t want to go back to who I was. There’s a part of me that can’t help wondering, what if he’s too good to be true? Because if he is, my heart will be nothing more than ashes. Heat rating: Toasty warm, with plenty of flames
Add Crossing the Line to your TBR list on Goodreads!
Note from the author Thank you so much for checking out my book, Crossing the Line! This is book 2 in the Without a Trace series, and tells the tale of Ella and Ian—it is a prequel to Inside the Lines. If you read and Lux and Fin's story, you'll recall these characters—you know the ending...but can you guess their beginning? Keep an eye out as books 3 & 4 in the Without a Series will be out this year!  

Special sneak peek:

Ch. 2: Ella is co-owner of Elementary, a mystery dinner theater company in Brooklyn, NY, and Ian Crane is their first high-profile client—and considered to be the one of the city's most eligible bachelors—and Ella's meeting with him to discuss his upcoming party...right, the party... After the brutal cold of the night, his apartment feels welcoming and cozy. He takes my coat, his fingers brushing mine. The unexpected touch sends delicious shivers down my back. I don't know what I'm doing here—he's a client, and an important one. We've been trying hard to get into neighborhoods like his. Plus, he's friendly and seems sincere—I don't want to ruin anything for Elementary. But there's something about him—and I don't mean the fact that he's stunning to look at—that makes me want to spend more time in his space. He's different. Most of the guys I've met here have been professionals, driven and goal-oriented. And they seemed to treat their romantic lives the same way. Ian feels more…relaxed. Maybe a bit impetuous? I don't know. But there's something here I haven't felt in a long time, and I've missed it. We make small talk about his firm while the coffee brews. He's hoping to be made a partner in the next few years, and he mentions a case he just finished. He's loosened his tie, shed his suit coat, and when we relax onto his leather couch with our respective mugs, the conversation slows as we enjoy the aroma and flavor of the drink. "My God, you weren't kidding." I sigh after I take another sip. "This is incredible." "I'm not sure if it's the machine or the beans she sent, but I haven't been able to stay away from the damn thing since it arrived." "I can see why." I imbibe a bit more before setting my mug next to his on the coffee table. There are several feet between us on the couch, and even though we were probably seated closer together at the Japanese restaurant, this feels very intimate. "You said earlier that you never gave much thought to going to law school. Where did you think you'd end up?" The gas fireplace crackles, punctuating my sentence, or perhaps mocking me as I'm trying to ignore what's going on and why I'm still in this man's apartment. "I never gave it much thought. Honestly, I was a stupid kid." His grin is a bit embarrassed as he stretches back against the couch cushions. "Between undergrad and law school, my father forced me to take a year off. When he retired, he'd decided to travel, but not in conventional ways. He visited friends working in third world countries and helped them treat those who couldn't afford medical care. So he dragged me along with him, as a payback for him paying for law school. It forced me to grow up…in a lot of ways." "Wow. Your dad was hardcore." "He was." He nods, his smile shrinking a bit. "But he taught me a lot. I grew up privileged. I had everything. And even though my parents tried to make sure I was brought up right and understood the world, you don't really get it until you see it. You know what I mean?" I nod. "I do. We were the opposite. My parents…they did okay for themselves, and they were smart. They got life insurance, so when Noah and I turned eighteen, we had college money and a little bit of a cushion to survive on. But our grandparents were poor. So we grew up knowing the price difference between frozen and canned peas and watching the coupon pages in the newspaper. But we knew we had more than others." "Exactly. We get comfortable in our lives here—and we should. That's part of living in this country. But it's dangerous when we assume everyone has that opportunity." The intensity of the conversation turns the silence afterwards reflective. We sit quietly for a few minutes, each lost in thought. "More coffee?" Ian nods to my cup. "Sure." I follow him into the kitchen, noting how well his suit pants fit his ass and the way his shirt clings to his muscled shoulders. Yummy, indeed. He's doing something with the coffee machine, and I lean back against the counter, trying not to stare at him. When he turns, he's just a bit too close, and then his mouth is on mine, soft yet demanding, and his hands slide up to my shoulders. It's a quick kiss, almost chaste, but the heat sears my lips. "I really hope you wanted me to do that." He drops his hands to his sides, his tone pensive. I bite my lip, still feeling his mouth. "I didn't stop you." My insides are turning to jelly, but all I want is to feel him against me again. So I do something I never do. I make the next move. He's taller than me by several inches, so I draw his face down to mine, lips teasing over his as I ease us into the next kiss. His mouth is hungry, but his touch soft as his hands slide over my back, pulling me against him. I lean in, enjoying the sculpted length of him against my body and the light scent of his aftershave. When my tongue teases the edge of his mouth, he answers in kind, deepening the kiss, his arms tightening around me. "Wow," I say when we come up for air. "That was…" "Unexpected?" His eyes crinkle at the corners, his expression hopeful. "Lovely, actually." We forget about the coffee, getting lost in the excitement of skin and heat. When his hand slides beneath my sweater, moisture pools between my legs. I haven't felt this turned on in a long time, and for once, my usual caution seems to have evaporated. He lifts me, setting me on his counter as he continues his exploration of my skin. I wrap my legs around his waist, enjoying the feel of his hardness against me. His fingers release my bra, and when his palm skims my breast, I suck in a breath, letting his mouth drop to my neck as I revel in the sensation. "I want to undress you," he whispers in my ear, sending a delicious chill down to my core. "It would be a lot easier in my bedroom." Want more Ella and Ian? Get your copy of Crossing the Line here! Newsletter-1-(CtL)   The Cast of Crossing the Line Ella Ella Ian Ian Noah Lux Lux The Playlist While I don't listen to music with words while I'm writing, I listen to it all the time when I'm thinking about how to create an emotionally relevant tale. :)  
About Ally Bishop When you do something effortlessly and people commend you continuously, you have found your gift. That’s what I tell people all the time. And it’s true.ally I get story. I always have. I started writing when I was 8 on a Smith Corona (the electronic kind — I’m not THAT old). I wrote stories in every spiral notebook I had. Eventually, I graduated to a Mac (yes, I’m one of THOSE people). I imagined new worlds, emotional conflicts, and HEAs while I waited at stoplights or wandered the grocery store. But here’s the thing: I didn’t just dream it up and write it down — I critiqued what I read. I knew when ideas were good, and when they stunk. I ran writing groups, judged creative contests, and eventually got two graduate degrees in writing. That’s right: I love it that much. So here I am, years later, writing kickass heroines and devastating good guys, along with some mystery and vampires thrown in (I promise: THEY’RE COMING). And what’s really cool? I do what I love. Wanna write a success story for your life: I promise you, that’s it. Do what you love. And hopefully, you can make a living at it too. That’s the golden ticket, Charlie. And chocolate doesn’t hurt, either… The serious stuff: I have an M.A. in creative writing, as well as an M.F.A. in creative writing with a focus in publishing. I produce two podcasts, host one, and am a freelance editor and publicist over at Upgrade Your Story. In my free time (what is that, exactly?), I read, workout, game, and converse. I’m a high introvert despite my extroverted behaviors, so you’ll find me behind my computer most days. I’m married to the wild and brilliant Billy Crash, have two dogs who are filing to change their species designation to “human,” and can often be found wandering Manhattan in search of the perfect writing spot. You can find me at Twitter at @upgradestory & @allyabishop, Facebook, Pinterest, and my website.