• Contemporary,  Double Feature

    Double Feature: @susanvaughn1124 and Books that’ll make you Fall in Love #RLFBlog #Contemporary

    Author Susan Vaughn joins us today with Books that will make you Fall in Love.

    Author Bio

    Romance Author, Susan Vaughn understood the meaning of sarcasm before she could walk.  Her childhood in the suburbs of Detroit was spent mainly trying to outwit her six creative siblings.  When she wasn’t working on the next soul crushing jab, she sharpened her imagination on romantic literature and day dreamed about her knight in shining armor.
    It didn’t take long for this hairdresser by trade to turn her passion for reading romances into writing her own unique love stories.  Susan lives her life finding laughter in all situations, and delights in marrying sarcasm with romance to create realistic falling-in-love stories in the unlikeliest of scenarios.  
    Susan lives on the shores of Lake Huron with her real life knight in shining armor and enjoys watching their three children learn the art of sarcasm and wit.

    Burning Desire

    Title Burning Desire
    Genre Contemporary Romance
    Author Susan V. Vaughn
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings G, PG, PG13, R): R
    A steamy night not forgotten…
    One night of passion with a handsome stranger compels Louise Piekartz to change her path. Instead of finishing law school at her parents’ urging, she chases her dream to Bay Shore and revives her grandmother’s bakery. Now that she has secured a life of her own, she won’t let anything get in her way. But can she resist the temptation of the man from her past, when he shows up to rekindle their love affair? 
    Ever since his father’s death, Isaac Rybak has a burning need to fix everything around him. But his mother’s addiction to drugs is not something he can cure. Consumed by his inability to stop his mother from using, he struggles with his inner demons—until the woman of his dreams walks back into his life, and all his efforts are focused on a battle he knows he can win: securing her heart. 

    Buy Burning Desire

    Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Burning-Desire-Bay-Shore-Book-ebook/dp/B01FQ2KCAY
    Itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/burning-desire/id1103018052?mt=11
    Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/burning-desire-susan-v-vaughn/1123657553?ean=9781622103546

    Irresistible Desire

    Title Irresistible Desire
    Genre Contemporary Romance
    Author Susan V. Vaughn
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings G, PG, PG13, R): R
    His playful seduction was hard to resist…
    Music teacher Ann Green moved to Bay Shore to protect her heavily-guarded heart. But when she meets a handsome fisherman who tests her resolve to stay single, she loses all control. Now she is stuck between the painful memory of her father’s betrayal, and the man who just might be her future.
    A boundless hunger has taken over…
    Andrew Rybak has taken care of his two younger siblings since his mother’s ongoing drug addiction began. But he secretly aches to escape Bay Shore, and leave all his responsibility behind, until a beautiful stranger moves into town, and opens his eyes to a new future. But will she trust him enough to open her heart? Especially as his inner passions are ignited, and everything he’s been holding back comes pouring out at once.

    Buy Irresistible Desire

    Itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/irresistible-desire/id1119366177?mt=11
    Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/irresistible-desire-susan-v-vaughn/1123866203?ean=9781622103560

    Author Social Media

  • Gay or MM

    Balancing Act: Shooting Stars Book 4 by @KimberVale #RLFblog #gayromance

    Cover Love at Romance Lives Forever is a short intro to a book and includes a cover, blurb, buy links, and social media contacts for the author. Today’s featured book is Balancing Act: Shooting Stars Book 4 by K Vale.

    About the Book 

    Title: Balancing Act: Shooting Stars
    Genre: Contemporary MM, Gay Romance
    Author: K. Vale
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): R
    K. Vale delivers a hot read in Balancing Act: Greg Dwyer and Kyrie Li are living the glorious couple life in New York City. Or are they? When struggling actor Kyrie lands a modeling job, he’s ecstatic to have extra cash to spend on his best-friend-turned-boyfriend.
    Of course, Greg is suspicious Anders Berglund, the gorgeous and androgynous Swedish cover model the designers love to pair with Kyrie, is after his man. And maybe Kyrie encourages a growing closeness with the guy?
    Greg is probably to blame if Kyrie is drawn to the openly gay and seriously beautiful Andy. With Andy, Kyrie can be himself, as loud and proud as he’s always been. But Greg’s sexuality stays firmly locked in the closest except when he’s with Kyrie’s supportive family or alone with the man he loves.
    To make matters worse, Greg’s out-of-touch mom meets with financial ruin and moves in with the couple, forcing him into the closet in his own home.
    Can Greg find a way to stand up to Mommy Dearest and win back a love he fought so hard to reach? He discovers the road to pride begins at home and with accepting oneself first. Otherwise, it’s just a dead-end street. Book 4 in the Shooting Stars series. 

    Buy This Book

    Author Social Media

    Amazon Author Page http://www.amazon.com/Kimber-Vale/e/B006HMAY06/

  • Sweet or Inspirational

    Letterbox Love Stories @DenyseBridger #RLFblog #romance #WRWbuzz

    Today’s featured book is Letterbox Love Stories by Denysé
    Bridger, part of the World Romance Writers.

    About the Book

    Title Letterbox Love Stories
    Genre Romance
    Author World Romance Writers: Denyse Bridger, Cara Marsi, Gemma
    Juliana, Helena Fairfax, Jenny Twist, Lindsay Townsend, Lynn Crain, Marie
    Laval, and Rose Anderson
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): G –
    PG
    What if a life-changing letter arrived in today’s mail? Now
    imagine it leads to love and adventure! From the northern British Isles, across
    the mainland of Europe, and on to Turkey, nine international Award-winning and
    Multi-published Romance Authors share spellbinding love stories told across
    time. This collection includes contemporary, historical and futuristic time
    travel romances touched by magic. And each begins with a letter…
    ALL OR NOTHING by Denysé Bridger
    Casino Coranthos is a playground for wealthy, bored people,
    but for some, it’s also a place where dreams and promises change lives forever.
    When a letter becomes part of an unexpected inheritance for Ryann Thomson, her
    aunt’s past brings her face to face with Ariston Katsaros, a man haunted by
    loss and driven by anger. As the attraction between them sizzles and grows, can
    Ryann convince him she isn’t looking to rob him or his father, or will she
    become a casualty of Ari’s vengeance? In this dangerous game of all or nothing,
    her heart and future happiness are at stake.
    Also: MORE THAN WISHES by Rose Anderson, SEALED WITH A KISS
    by Lynn Crain, COME DATE ME IN PARIS by Helena Fairfax, ABANDONED TREASURES by
    Gemma Juliana, SONS OF THE WIND by Marie Laval, CURATING LOVE by Cara Marsi,
    PLAIN HARRY by Lindsay Townsend, and THE MINSTREL BOY by Jenny Twist

    Buy This Book

    Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Letterbox-Love-Stories-International-Romance-ebook/dp/B01HJ41MKQ/
    Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/letterbox-love-stories-volume-i-nine-international-romance-stories-by-the-world-romance-writers-rose-anderson/1124017733?ean=2940158348877
    ARe https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-letterboxlovestoriesvolumei-2065262-166.html
    Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/letterbox-love-stories-volume-i
    iTunes  https://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/letterbox-love-stories-volume/id1130795539?mt=11

    About the Author

    As an award-winning, best-selling author, Denysé Bridger
    writes about a multitude of things, always with a touch of romance, passion,
    and fantasy. Her heroes are solid, driven alpha men who are willing to do
    whatever it takes to win the heroine’s heart and trust, while her heroines are
    strong, emotionally courageous women who put their hearts on the line for the
    men they love. Passionate, honorable characters drive Denysé’s stories, in
    whatever genre you find them in. 

    Author Social Media

    Newsletter  http://bit.ly/1L78zO2

  • Gay or MM

    Take Me (Sultry SoCal 1) @AuthorTBrooks #RLFblog #99cents

    Today’s featured book is Take Me Set by Taylor Brooks.

    About the Book

    Title: Take Me
    Genre: Erotic Romance, LGBT
    Author: Taylor Brooks
    Book heat level: R
    Clint Rodham has spent years being a loyal employee to Elite Imports. Despite being one of their top salesmen, his boss no longer sees him as the golden boy. Now being ostracized for his sexuality, he fights to keep the job that he not only loves, but is a natural at.
    Rick Tanner just moved to Southern California from Kansas. Being a homosexual personal trainer in a small town filled with old-fashioned people who didn’t understand his way of life left him with little career opportunities.
    One hot summer night, Rick is locked on the rooftop and Clint comes to his rescue. As a thank-you, he offers his hero a cold beer. With the California heat rising and desires building, the two find themselves in a storm of passion. Neither of them are able to resist. Neither of them want to. They both want to take what is within their reach, just beyond their fingertips.

    Buy This Book

    Exclusive Amazon 99cent sale – https://www.amazon.com/Sultry-Publishing-Everlasting-Classic-ManLove-ebook/dp/B00CP8WH3S

    About the Author

    Taylor Brooks first fell in love with writing when she penned her first book for Siren Publishing, Take Me. She’s also an avid reader and finds herself drawn to the stories of gay lovers, and finds the passion in such stories absolutely beautiful. This also explains why her genre of choice for her writing is GLBT.
    In addition to her Sultry SoCal, Rocky Mountain Man Hunt, and Z Pac Alpha Shifter series, Taylor has many stories brewing inside her head just itching to break free. Stay tuned for more as she strives for exciting ways to tease and please her readers.

    Author Social Media

    Website http://taylorbrooks.net
    Blog http://www.authortaylorbrooks.blogspot.com
    Twitter http://www.twitter.com/authortbrooks
    Facebook http://www.facebook.com/authortaylorbrooks
    Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/authortaylorbrooks
    Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/taylorbrooks
    Amazon Author Page http://amazon.com/author/taylorbrooks

  • Author Marketing

    Awake: Wild Love Series @RedLJameson #RLFblog #romance

    Who’s that Girl? Breaking Down the Romance Heroine

    As a romance writer, generally we call our female protagonist a heroine. She’s usually spunky—that characteristic probably evolved from Austen’s incredible work; young-ish—although, there are some brave authors who are trying to write heroines who are in their forties or older; and she’s usually open to having a relationship or already wants one but hasn’t found the right guy; or she’s at some kind of disadvantage where a hero can save her. She, in turn, emotionally saves him.

    This has been the standard for—oh, maybe—thousands of years. At least since Austen, which makes it more than two hundred years of this kind of woman as the central figure in the romance genre.
    Nothing wrong with that. If that’s what you like, it’s what you like. And I’m the last person to judge because what I want in a heroine, I do get judged for, even being called subversive for it.
    I want heroines who are perhaps too shy to be spunky. Or not young. Or maybe she doesn’t want a relationship because she’s tried her fair share of online and regular dating and it really, really, really sucks. Or maybe she’s incredibly rich and doesn’t have any need to be saved from financial doom by a hotshot duke. Or maybe, just maybe she’s emotionally secure and healthy and doesn’t need saving from herself. Maybe she’s complete, as is.
    Or sometimes I want heroines who make big mistakes. Colossal. And I want to read how they turn themselves around and become better people.
    But this latter example is controversial. In the movie Trainwreck, the character Amy is a drinking, sexualized, snarky woman who has to learn how to overcome her dysfunctions to become vulnerable with a man who loves her. Amy has to conquer her fears. She has to work at becoming a better person. She has to pursue her love interest when she realizes she could lose him. This kind of role is usually reserved for the male protagonist or hero in a romance.
    It’s a simple switcharoo of gender roles. Or is it? Or is it a lot more complicated than that?
    In Kameron Hurley’s latest article, “In Defense of Unlikable Women,” she compares the two protagonists of the movies Sideways and Young Adult. Both protagonists drink too much, one steals to help a buddy cheat on his fiancé, while the other actually tries to have an affair with a married man. One protagonist is male. The other female. The female character is called “thoroughly unlikable,” “angst-driven,” and “controversial.” The male character was “critically applauded.” In Jami Gold’s blog post, “Why is ‘Unlikable’ Often a Deal Breaker for Readers?” she also notes the double standard for hero and heroine characters, asking, “The majority of [romance] fiction readers are female, and the majority of those giving pushback to ‘unlikable’ heroines are women. So the question becomes: Why are we so hard on ourselves?”
    Excellent question that I don’t feel qualified to answer, except for myself. I do want a variety of heroines. I want to read about a forty-year-old woman falling in love with a twenty-eight-year-old man. I want to read about a heroine who saves the hero from financial ruin. I want to read about a quiet girl who gets the guy. Or the overweight girl who falls for the hot hunk who falls for her without requiring her to lose weight or thinks anything derogatory about her body. I want to read about a woman overcoming great obstacles, some she might have created herself, to find not just love for someone else but for herself too.
    Toni Morrison said, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” So, I do. That’s why I write because I want to read about women, real women who make mistakes, who pursue love, who chase after life and happiness with reckless abandon. I want to read about women like me.   
    Today’s featured book is Awake, Book 3 of the Wild Love Series by Red L. Jameson.
    About the Book
    Title Awake, Book 3 of the Wild Love Series
    Genre Contemporary Erotic Romance
    Author Red L. Jameson
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): R
    One, two, Secrets accrue; Three, four, Shame galore;
    Five, six, Add two men to the mix; Seven, eight, My life’s about to disintegrate…
    Off-limits.  Forbidden. 
    I shouldn’t have slept with him.
    Should never have fallen for him. 
    But I did—Secret #1
    And I’m drawn to someone else.
    He wants me too. This time, I do have an ounce of willpower.
    An ounce. 
    But it’s waning, deteriorating quickly—Secret #2
    Two secrets—secrets that are tearing me apart.
    And Secret #3 is the hardest to keep. 
    I’m not the “good girl.”
    I’m not the “sweet one.” 
    I hide behind a mask—a mask of lies.
    But something within me is clawing the mask off.
    Revealing the real me.
    And my secrets.
    Risking…everything.
    The Wild Love Series is set in Wyoming and Montana, where things are little more…wild, where love can never tamed. Each book within the series can be read as a standalone and intended for a mature and adventurous reader. Enjoy and fall in love!
    Buy This Book
    Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/28Y4epq
    ARe http://bit.ly/22w95Q2
    Kobo http://bit.ly/28ZBGgl  
    Smashwords http://bit.ly/28Y4yV5  
    About the Author
    Red L. Jameson is an award-winning and multi-published author. She writes in many genres. Her pen name, L. B. Joramo, includes the odd combination of historical and paranormal for the Immortal American Series. However, it is under her “Red” name, her nickname too, where all her stories are strongly laced with love, including contemporary, historical, time-travel, paranormal, and erotic romance. Red lives in the wilds of Montana with her family and a few too many animals, and is currently working on her next novel that she hopes will make her readers laugh, cry, think, and fall in love.
    Author Social Media
    Website http://www.redljameson.com     
    Amazon Author Page http://goo.gl/Gvd2vq
  • RLF Gems

    #Romance Lives Forever Top Bloggers @liviaquinn @susanvaughn1124 #RLFblog

    The Top Blogger for this month is Livia Quinn, who wins a month of free advertising on the blog. Our
    Top Blogger of the Year in 2015 was Sabrina York, who won a year of free advertising
    for 2016.

    About Livia Quinn

    Website http://liviaquinn.com
    Blog http://liviaquinn.com/blog.html
    Storyfinds https://storyfinds.com/author/15651/livia-quinn

    Top Five Bloggers for the Month

    Each month, the RLF Gems post ranks in the top ten, but is not
    counted, in order to focus on guests. The winners are judged by page views. Congratulations
    to each one! There was a tie in fifth place.
    1 Livia Quinn
    2 Kate Hill
    3 Susan V Vaughn
    4 Colleen Myers
    5 MJ Schiller, MS Kaye
    Honorable mention: Jennifer
    A. Provost, Alice Orr

    Top Chatters for the Month

    Because the person who gets the most comments in a month is not always the
    person who gets the most page views per month, I instituted the Top Chatter Award.
    This is the award for the person who receives the most comments. To win, a guest
    must have five or more comments (not counting the guest author’s). There can be
    up to three winners.
    This month’s winner’s are:
    1 and 2 Susan V Vaughn
    3 M.J. Schiller
    Romance Lives Forever features authors and new books. It has
    a blogger’s FAQ page with a downloadable guide and six optional interviews. Readers
    can follow via Google+, Networked Blogs, Linky Followers, email, an RSS feed, and
    there’s a blog button readers and authors can grab. Authors can share previous books.
    The blog uses author or publisher names as tags on posts, and author Twitter handles
    in the titles. The site is broadcast over Triberr with a potential reach of over
    3.5M readers via its Twitter-linked network. Twitter mentions are also gathered
    in several Paper.li ezines, giving the author additional opportunities for promotion.
    The Romance Lives
    Forever Paper.li ezine
    features only guest authors, and the day’s guest is on
    its front page every day.
    Each post is featured on the Romance Lives Forever Pinterest
    board within a few days after it goes live. http://www.pinterest.com/kayelleallen/romance-lives-forever-rlfblog/

    Share your book cover on Romance Lives Forever

    Limited spots to share book covers are available. Cost is $5
    per month, with a 20% discount for one quarter and up to one year. Covers can be
    changed monthly.

    RLFblog Admin – Nicole Morgan

    Author Nicole Morgan assists me with scheduling for Romance Lives
    Forever. She is the blog admin. Look for emails from her. Nicole and I want to ensure
    everyone who requests a spot on the blog gets a personal response. Please use this
    email if you have questions or need help: rlfblog-owner@yahoogroups.com We
    both receive email sent here. You don’t have to join a group or do anything special.
    This group simply provides a joint email for us and streamlines things for you.
    The email address is included in all downloadable interviews on the FAQ page.

    Sign Up for a Future Post

    Guest calendar http://bit.ly/rlf_dates
    My thanks to all who took part this month. You made Romance Lives
    Forever a great place to discover new books and authors.
    Other participants this month
    in alphabetical order by first name are: Barbara White Daille, Becky Lower, Brita Addams,
    Ciara Gold, Diane Saxon, Houston Havens, Kristina Knight, Kryssie Fortune, Lisa
    Carlisle, MS Spencer, Nicole Morgan, Olivia Night, Rosanna Leo, Sara Walter
    Ellwood, Shelly Alexander, Wendy Lou Jones