Showing posts with label RITA finalist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RITA finalist. Show all posts

Saturday, April 28, 2018

FIVE DIAMONDS FROM THE LAND DOWN UNDER

Hi everyone!
It’s great to be back at Romancing the Genres. I hope you are all well and enjoying 2018 so far.
I’m back this month to introduce you to some of the fabulous authors we have Down Under in Australia. 
Just last month, the Rita finalists were announced. I’m proud to say that there were a few Aussies amongst those finalists. Aussies I know and respect when it comes to their writing. And then there are others I believe deserve recognition, despite not earning a mention in the Rita Awards to date.
So, let’s take a look at five amazing Australian authors whose work I love, and I hope by doing introducing them to you today, you’ll discover some new favorite authors to love and enjoy too.

1. AMY ANDREWS
 
Amy Andrews is an award-winning, USA Today best-selling author who has written sixty plus contemporary romances. Her books bring all the feels from sass and quirk and laughter to emotional grit to panty-melting heat. For many, many years she was a registered nurse. Which means she knows things. Anatomical things. And she’s not afraid to use them! 
Her extreme bull rider story, Troy has just been announced as a finalist in the 2018 Rita Award. 


Cocky, young Aussie bull rider Troy Jensen has been busted down to the pro-circuit. He needs wins and points to get him back into the big league and a shot at being crowned champ but an injury forces him off the circuit and into the arms of the woman fate keeps putting in his path.

The first time local Doc Joss Garrity meets Troy, she’s brandishing a lug wrench. The second time, he’s dragging her delinquent teen son home. The third time, he’s in her ER. How he ends up convalescing at her house she’s not quite sure. But it does make it hard to ignore him and their simmering attraction.

As Troy gets to know Joss, he starts to see a life after bull riding for the first time. But can Joss risk her heart on another man who may not come home one day?
2. AVRIL TREMAYNE


Avril was born into a big, chaotic, Italian/Irish family that was heavy on the laughs. She writes sexy, funny, modern romances, featuring strong, successful heroines who refuse to swoon, and heroes with enough alpha in them to make swooning a clear and present danger. Her hallmark is fast-paced, witty banter, which can tend toward the screwball, delivered with a strong emotional punch.

Avril's novel The Dating Game has been announced as finalist in the 2018 Rita Award. 
You need to learn the rules, fast!
Book two in the new steamy romance duet from Avril Tremayne!
Sarah’s brother Adam has been educating her best friend Lane in the arts of the Kama Sutra for weeks, all in the pursuit of Lane’s real target, David Bennet. So when Sarah finds herself alone with David at an exhibition, weeping over her own terrible dating history, they strike up a conversation. A budding artist, he wants to paint her, so she agrees in return for a guarantee that he’ll find her a relationship that can last more than three weeks (her rather dismal personal best).
She reassures herself that she isn’t betraying Lane. After all, Sarah wants marriage and 2.4 kids, and David has made it more than clear he will never want that. Plus he’s going to sleep with Lane any day now. Isn’t he?
3. P J VYE
PJ Vye lives on the plains of central Victoria where the sun shines nearly every day, even when it’s freezing. Her passion – when she’s not writing witty, off-the-wall romance – is gardening and transforming her six acres into a writer’s sanctuary.
Her debut novel, The Hermit Next Door, won Australia’s Emerald Award in 2015.
Smart, sassy and drop-dead insensitive, Pip Lessis has learned the only way not to upset colleagues is to work alone. She's completely unsuited to a job in the service industry, and yet when she inherits a funeral home, she figures it’s a good fit for her personality type. Dead people don't require small talk, right?
Pip discovers her new small town business can't prosper without the support of the community, and when she starts accusing the town folk of a murderous conspiracy - well they'd rather invite a serial killer in for tea and toast than trust an outsider.
Jaimes Everest, her largest competitor, seems determined to strike a deal, but when he reveals a surprising truth about his deceased wife, Pip believes he might be slightly unhinged. And why is it, slightly unhinged seems so damn attractive to her?
With one foot in the grave and one foot in her mouth, can Pip find a niche market in the funeral business, uncover a killer and find friendships worth risking everything for…without having to join the netball team?

I Bury Dead People is a cosy tale with a touch of romance, a touch of mystery and a hearse load of laughter.
4. STEFANIE LONDON
Books that make you laugh a little, and love a lot.
Stefanie London is the USA Today bestselling author of over fifteen contemporary romances and romantic comedies.
Originally from Australia, Stefanie now lives in Toronto with her very own hero. She frequently indulges in her passions for travel, good coffee, lipstick, romance novels and anything zombie-related.


Everybody's talking about the hot new app reviewing New York's most eligible bachelors. But why focus on prince charming when you can read the latest dirt on the lowest-ranked "Bad Bachelors"—NYC's most notorious bad boys.

If one more person mentions Bad Bachelors to Reed McMahon, someone's gonna get hurt. A PR whiz, Reed is known as an 'image fixer' but his womanizing ways have caught up with him. What he needs is a PR miracle of his own.
When Reed strolls into Darcy Greer's workplace offering to help save the struggling library, she isn't buying it. The prickly Brooklynite knows Reed is exactly the kind of guy she should avoid. But the library does need his help. But as she reluctantly works with Reed, she realizes there's more to a man than his reputation. Maybe, just maybe Bad Bachelor #1 is THE one for her.
5. SHANNON CURTIS


Shannon Curtis was born and raised in Sydney, Australia.
She’s always enjoyed reading mysteries. In primary school she hid her Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden books behind her textbooks in class, and her teachers just thought she was being studious. 
When she was old enough to realize boys didn’t have ‘germs’, she became interested in romance and used to ‘borrow’ her mum’s books and read them in her room while she pretended to clean it (Ahhh, the subterfuge!).

Then she discovered romantic mysteries, and an entire new world opened up to her. How could she not write a genre that encompassed her two loves: romance and crime? 

She'll do whatever it takes to track this killer ...
Harmony Talbot's world is destroyed when she arrives home and discovers her cousin's dead body, left with a single white rose as the killer's calling card. Lightning shouldn't strike twice, but this is the second unsolved murder in Harmony's family. Harmony is determined that this time there will be justice, even if she has to track down the culprit herself.
Homicide detective Bern Knight is good at catching criminals. Though meaningful, his work leaves little time for relationships, and the last thing he needs is a beautiful, bumbling amateur sleuth getting herself into trouble. Whoever committed this crime is no ordinary murderer; he's a ghost, leaving behind no evidence until more bodies with the same sadistic markers start turning up.
As a digital forensic investigator, Harmony has a special set of skills that she's fully prepared to use, no matter how much the stern detective is against her interference. Tracking the killer is no easy feat, but Harmony lures him out of hiding. Except now she's the one in the killer's crosshairs…



And there you have it, five fab Aussie authors with five fabulous stories.
I hope I’ve introduced you to one or more authors who may just become one of your new go-to’s or favorites. If so, I’d love to know, no matter how far down the track J
Have you heard of or read any of these books? Do any intrigue you more than others? Have you read any other Aussie-authored novels that you’d recommend? I’m always looking to expand my horizons J
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Michelle xx

 
Michelle Somers is a bookworm from way back. An ex-Kiwi who now calls Australia home, she's a professional killer and matchmaker, a storyteller and a romantic. Words are her power and her passion. Her heroes and heroines always get their happy ever after, but she'll put them through one hell of a journey to get there. 
Michelle lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her real life hero and three little heroes in the making. And Emmie, a furry black feline who thinks she’s a dog. Her debut novel, Lethal in Love won the Romance Writers of Australia's 2016 Romantic Book of the Year (RuBY) and the 2013 Valerie Parv Award. 
You can find out all about Michelle, her adventures and her books at www.michelle-somers.com
Please pop by and say 'hi' 😊


Sunday, May 15, 2016

What's Two More Books For Your TBR Pile?--More Bliss

Romance reads keep my world going around and around in happy bliss.  There's nothing better than sharing that vibe with you in the form of my book recommends.

To my reader-holics, I know your TBR is bubbling over with gems. But what's one, maybe two more for your unforgiving appetite.

First up -- Phyllis Bourne's Between A Rock and Hot Mess. The title alone should tell you that it's going to be filled with humor. Phyllis writes great romantic comedy and is one of Romance Writers of America 2016 RITA finalists in contemporary romance.



Buy link: Amazon
Buy link: Barnes and Noble

Riley Sinclair has man problems. Trouble is, everyone has one but her. 

After years on the sidelines at weddings, the head of Sinclair Construction now sits home alone on what used to be girls night. Her only companions are television, a bottle of wine and a crush on a stranger she doesn’t have the guts to approach. Too bad she isn’t more like the daring heroine of her favorite show Hot Mess. Men want to bed and wed the glamorous Delilah Cole, while rough-around-the-edges Riley is relegated to the friend zone. 

Enter the perfect solution - an interactive app where the star of Hot Mess dishes style, beauty and relationship advice guaranteed to transform any woman into a man magnet. Riley re-invents herself, and thanks to the app, is on the brink of landing her dream man…and another she didn’t count on. Soon Riley’s embroiled in her own hot mess and has to choose between the Cinderella fairytale with the man she wants or the soul deep passion found only in the arms of the man she needs. 



In The Arms of A Donovan is A.C. Arthur's latest installment of the widely popular Donovan series. But I'd also recommend starting with Heart of A Donovan to catch up on the ongoing plot line. And if you're into sexy shapeshifters, then check out her series with St. Martin's Press - The Shadow Shifters.



Buy link: Amazon 
Buy link: Barnes and Noble


When the safest place she knows… 

The last year of Amber McNair’s life has been a whirlwind of jet-setting back and forth across the country, smiling for the cameras and speaking on behalf of full-figured women worldwide. While grateful for the opportunity to become a national foundation’s spokesperson on the growing obsession with body image, Amber is exhausted and hasn’t had a moment to enjoy herself in far too long. The final leg of the promotional tour being held on a seven night cruise was a godsend. The sexy guy on the boat that takes her breath away from the first second she sees him, is a delicious perk; but Amber’s been heartbroken before, so this time, she’s not so sure she should indulge. 

…is in his arms. 

Brandon Donovan is at his company’s annual morale-boosting and celebratory event. After years of attending the boring weekend-long stays at some secluded resort, this time, Brandon finds himself on a Caribbean cruise. Timing could not be worse for him to be somewhat off the grid, considering what he and his cousins have just learned about the Senior Donovans, but meeting the charming and beautiful spokesperson for a national company is refreshing. Spending a sultry and sensual night with her was more rewarding than he could have ever imagined. Until he learns that she may not be who she says she is and that her true identity may lead him to the man who claims to be a Donovan. 


Enjoy!  Happy Reading.

Michelle
P.S. I'm working hard on my next project. Stay tuned.

Michelle Monkou writes for Harlequin Kimani, Evernight Publishing, and her indie pursuits with Stella Maris Publishing. Michelle’s website is michellemonkou.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook.