Latest On The Nocturnal Nina Blog
A Kiss and A Dare
Ethan and Jasmine, my characters from TAKE ME IF YOU DARE, have been working together to make their long distance relationship work. A cheating ex-fiancé shattered her trust in the past. Jasmine knows Ethan is different, but when their New Year’s Eve plans fall through, she’s tested. Can love close the distance?
Read my free, short story hosted by Ramblings From This Chick Blog to find out:
A Kiss and A Dare
Naughty New Year
Nervousness=Apple Pie
Technically, I’m an introvert. As a child, I was so shy one-on-one conversations with peers terrified me to the point of mixing up my words. A loving mother—who encouraged me to stand up for myself, enrolled me in groups, and supported me when I chose to compete in pageants—as well as more extroverted friends helped me through the awkward moments. Eventually, I found my sanctuary speaking in front of groups, the larger the better. I found it easy to lose myself in the excitement of sharing topics I was passionate about with others. As an adult, I learned to harness that sense of certainty and enjoyment so I could give presentations, lead meetings, and consult one-on-one with clients.
Nervousness is still something I wrestle with, despite having anonymity as an author. Sending in a query can keep me up for hours. Submitting or receiving a draft from my editors has often required a glass or two of wine. And surviving a book release? Homeopathic anxiety remedy is my best friend, along with baking. This time around my sedative of choice was apple pie. Making the dough, cutting up apples, and assembling the pie were calming steps. Watching over the pie as it baked in the oven gave me something meaningful to tend to other than my worries. The scent of cinnamon and apples filling up every room in the house made me stop and smile. Eating and sharing it helped me remember good advice:
*Doing what you love is a gift you should gladly receive. Learn to accept that everyone won’t love what you do (or write).
*It’s not about the one but the many. Don’t stay so focused on the one thing, one step, or one accomplishment that you forget the importance of the entire journey.
*Pacing yourself for the long haul requires deep breaths, staying on task, getting up if you fall down, and resting when you get tired.
*Worry less. Happy dance more. (My personal resolution for 2015!)
I hope this post sparks a good thought you’ll keep in mind. I also hope you’ll join me in my latest celebration, and if you’re in the mood, feel free to enjoy a slice of apple pie this week. More importantly, stay worry free, expect the best, and enjoy the night!
Birthday Dare series by Nina Crespo
Book one: Take Me if You Dare
Book two: Naughty Little Wishes
and more to come!
Celebrate Bad Boys with Tessa, Nina and Friends
Let’s Celebrate!
*Chat exclusively with Nina Crespo 8:30-8:45 p.m. EST
Plus get Tessa Bailey’s HIS RISK TO TAKE for free! Lots of giveaways, plus enter for the grand prize iPad Mini giveaway! Click here for the event page. Click join to let us know you’ll be there and mark your calendars to attend.
Wait for it…
Finding out TAKE ME IF YOU DARE made it as a finalist in the BTS Book Reviews Red Carpet Book Rewards is an unexpected, pleasant surprise. They’re announcing the results next year. Patience isn’t one of my primary virtues, but it’s something I’m learning as an author.
The process of writing to the publication of a story takes time. If the muse isn’t cooperating, I have to find ways to coax her out again. When my characters stop talking, I have to accept the silence until they decide to show up. Ideas speed through my mind faster than my fingers can type. My manuscript isn’t the only one in my editor’s inbox so I have to wait my turn. The day before the release of TAKE ME IF YOU DARE felt like a week. No amount of clock watching could make midnight come any faster, but the second my book finally arrived on the scene is a moment I’ll never forget.
I won’t say that I’ve grown calmer about waiting, but I’d like to think I’ve become wiser. Waiting for something good isn’t dead space. It’s a pause to take a breath. To whoop it up with laughter, do a happy dance, and pop the cork in preparation for the big toast. It’s the perfect time to say “thank you” to the people who believed in the dream and supported you. To let them know that no matter what the result, you love and appreciate them for sharing knowledge, watching your back, setting aside “rant time” for you in their schedule, and providing a soft place to land when the winds of progress threw a curve.
In a world filled with constant noise, it’s easy to forget pauses and silences are important, too. Waiting gives you a chance to look and see what’s ahead, and plant your feet firmly on the road to your dreams.
I’ll post the outcome of the awards, as well as a few other exciting announcements on Nocturnal Nina and my newsletter. I can’t tell you all of the details, but here’s a hint. Things are about to get Naughty. Prepare for it with a Dare.
Sign up and stay connected. In the meantime, take a minute to appreciate the wait during your journey and enjoy the night.
Cover reveal & Pre-Order: SNOWY DAYS, STEAMY NIGHTS
Steam up your snowy nights with this new anthology of six deliciously sexy romances by the following bestselling and award-winning romance authors:
FROSTED, by Katy Regnery
GROUNDED, by Kate Forest
MELTED, by Jennie Marts
REKINDLED, by Susan Scott Shelley
SMITTENED, by Jamie Farrell
SNOWED, by Veronica Forand
To pre-order your copy of Snowy Days, Steamy Nights, click here.
FROSTED (Katy Regnery) – When Grace Luff’s children send her to a Silver Wings weekend at a luxury resort, they are hoping that the 56-years-young widow will meet a man to lift the loneliness she’s endured since the passing of her husband over three years before. Grace, who barely remembers how to date, doesn’t expect to meet anyone special, so she’s surprised that the owner of a local ski rental shop, Tray Bradshaw, makes her heart leap with interest and attraction. When a rogue snowstorm traps the pair in an abandoned cabin, they’ll get to know each other, and discover that it’s never too late to change…or fall in love.
GROUNDED (Kate Forest) – Biologist Julia won’t tolerate another frigid Chicago winter studying the frozen Great Lakes. But with every hour of her flight delay, her chance on a research voyage in Florida slips further away. Jeremy must get to Florida to sever the noose-like obligations of his family’s boating business so he can become curator of a Chicago museum. Stuck in an airport, waiting out the snowstorm of the century, can two travelers headed for opposite paths find love while trapped in Concourse B?
MELTED (Jennie Marts) – Painful memories from long ago resurface when Emily Wells travels to Colorado to clean out her family’s vacation cabin for its new owner. Strongest among them? Her recollections of Logan Chase, Emily’s first love, to whom she gave her heart one magical summer, only to have it broken when she never heard from him again. Logan had never forgotten that summer romance and can’t believe it when he finds Emily packing up the little cabin that he has recently purchased for renovation. Despite the passage of years and their stormy history, Emily and Logan can’t deny the fierce attraction that still sizzles between them…Will one snowy night together be enough to melt her frozen heart and give them both a second chance at love?
REKINDLED (Susan Scott Shelley) – Actress Gemma Norwood and carpenter Adam Hudson are thrown together four years after a gut-wrenching break-up. Both are looking to make major changes in their lives, but after one kiss, rekindling their relationship is all that matters. When family obligations and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities threaten to tear them apart again, the warm glow of a happily-ever-after seems as impossible as starting a fire in a snowstorm.
SMITTENED (Jamie Farrell) – Dahlia Mallard is determined save her ice cream shop by getting country music superstar Billy Brenton to attend her risqué flavor-tasting event. But the closest she can get to Billy is his drummer, the womanizing Mikey Diamond. The more she gets to know Mikey, the more she wants to save him from his bad boy ways. When he discovers she’s using him to get to Billy, will she still be able to have her ice cream and eat it too?
SNOWED (Veronica Forand) – Lorena Rubio’s life is turned upside down when she’s kidnapped by Andrés “Con” Conesa, right hand man for the drug lord who murdered her sister. Con, who is deep undercover for the FBI, must keep her at a cabin in the snowy Sierra Nevada Mountains until the rumor that she’s provided specifics about his drug cartel to the police is confirmed or denied. Their attraction ignites in the middle of this frozen hideaway, but Lorena is unwilling to offer her heart to a criminal. When the cartel boss arrives and wants Lorena put on ice for snitching, Con must decide whether or not to blow his cover for the woman he craves beyond reason.
*All stories included in Snowy Days, Steamy Nights are either short-story or novella length, giving readers the perfect opportunity to “meet” a new author or enjoy a sweet treat from a present favorite.*
To pre-order your copy of Snowy Days, Steamy Nights, click here.
Double Cover Reveal for Juliette Cross
SEALED IN SIN
The Vessel Trilogy, Book 2
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: April 21, 2015
Sin can look an awful lot like heaven.
One demon prince may be festering in the bowels of the soul eater Cocytus, but Genevieve’s troubles are far from over. Prince Bamal, demon lord of New York City, still wants her. But this time, he wants her alive, to control her inherent power as a Vessel of Light.
With Jude Delacroix off searching for the prophecy, Thomas—a guardian angel with sea-green eyes and an aura of winter woods—steps into the gap, offering her the power to protect herself.
Yet she hesitates, for the transfer of that power comes through a kiss. While Gen’s love for Jude is true, Thomas stirs a desire where there should be none. Thomas also knows Jude’s darkest secret and plans to use it, if necessary, to win Gen for his own.
While her Vessel power grows and more demon spawn creep from every dark corner of the world, one thing is certain—the Great War between the angels and demons is quickly approaching. And Gen is in a race against time to awaken her full power before the storm breaks.
Warning: Contains a demon hunter with dark secrets, a sexy angel with ulterior motives, and demonic creatures running amok.
SiS on Goodreads
BOUND IN BLACK
The Vessel Trilogy, Book 3
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: July 21, 2015
In the belly of the beast, strategy is useless.
Genevieve Drake is on a dangerous mission to find the soul collector, Lethe, and enter the deepest, darkest level of the underworld. No one has ever returned alive from the belly of a soul collector, but she will let nothing stop her from going after the precious treasure Lethe stole from her.
As she is tested against demon spawn and foul creatures of the underworld, each triumph strengthens her Vessel power—and drags her closer to a breaking point that could forever doom her to the abyss.
Meanwhile, with the full prophecy hurtling toward completion, the Dominus Daemonum strategize for the day Gen will battle Prince Bamal’s Vessel to the death, when the Great War between heaven and hell will begin.
But Bamal has a secret weapon. When he reveals it—and Thomas reveals his own hidden agenda—Gen may not have the strength to resist the temptation to fall into darkness, forsaking the fate of the world for her broken heart.
Warning: Contains malicious demons, sinister spawn, and a vengeful heroine with plans to send them all back to burning hell.
BiB on Goodreads
Author Bio— Juliette calls lush, moss-laden Louisiana home where the landscape curls into her imagination, creating mystical settings for her stories. She has a B.A. in creative writing from Louisiana State University, a M.Ed. in gifted education, and was privileged to study under the award-winning author Ernest J. Gaines in grad school. Her love of mythology, legends, and art serve as constant inspiration for her works. From the moment she read Jane Eyre as a teenager, she fell in love with the Gothic romance—brooding characters, mysterious settings, persevering heroines, and dark, sexy heroes. Even then, she not only longed to read more novels set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own.
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