Guest Blogger Janice Maynard

Thanks so much for the invitation to blog today. I’m celebrating the release of The Billionaire’s Borrowed Baby. But at the same time, I’m hard at work on Book 3 of a series called “The Men of Wolff Mountain” which begins in January 2012. In that vein, I have decided on the topic of today’s blog. I think I’ll call it “Life Happens”.

Have you ever pulled a thread in a garment or project and ended up with a big hole? That’s what happened recently to my daughter and her husband. They decided to rip up the old carpet in their downstairs and install laminate flooring. Nice idea, right? They picked out what they wanted at Lowe’s (within their budget) and settled on a delivery date. Lowe’s pointed out that if customers rip up the carpet themselves, it saves some money on installation. So my son-in-law spent hours tearing out dusty, somewhat dirty carpet and pad.

One tall bookshelf was bolted to the wall (for kids’ safety). When Jamie moved the shelf, he found a wall with mold. Next, out comes the sheetrock revealing a two by four that was black with mold. Somewhere from up above, a tiny leak had been doing slow, insidious damage. Several estimates later, it was established that the leak is probably from the kitchen drain.

Fix it – right? Not so simple. The kitchen floor rests on a concrete slab. In order to get to the bad pipes (old galvanized steel that needs to be replaced), the tile floor will have to be jackhammered up completely.

You may be wondering what this has to do with books or writing. Well, the last I heard was that the involuntary kitchen remodel will probably take 3 weeks. My daughter, son-in-law, and three adorable little girls will have to move in with us! (Breathe, Janice). I have a book due October 1, and I was already behind before this for a variety of reasons. Now it looks like I may have to take up residence in Panera every day to get finished.

I have to laugh just thinking about it. We all try so hard to make the world operate according to our specifications, but on any given day or week, life happens. All we can do is roll with the tide and try to keep our heads above water.

If you have a chance to pick up a copy of The Billionaire’s Borrowed Baby, I hope you enjoy the story of damaged pride and second chances and love that survives a ten year separation. I think you’ll find the hero as sexy and appealing as I do.

Do you have your own “life happens” story to tell? I’ll draw a name from one comment poster today and will give away a copy of the new book. And if you have a chance, pop over to www.facebook.com/JaniceMaynardReaderPage and “Like” it. On Sunday evening, the12th of September, I’ll draw the name of one “friend” and give away $50 cash. Nothing to enter. Simply being a friend makes you eligible.

That’s it for now. If you want to see more pics of those three cute little girls, check out http://www.janicemaynard.com/.

Thanks again for inviting me to play. :)
Janice Maynard

Guest Blogger -- Cat Schield

I’m very excited to be with you today to share my journey to publication. In my mind, it’s a lot like sailing. Both can be fun. Both can be scary. You get bruised. You can’t control the wind or the publishing industry. You can only adjust your sails or what you are writing to take advantage of the environment.

Rarely can you get directly from point A to point B. Both journeys might require a series of direction changes in order to draw ever closer to your goal. Most of the time, long periods go by where nothing appears to be happening, but you’re making headway. Interspersed with the waiting are short burst of frantic activity when you change the boat’s direction or do a quick polish on that requested manuscript.

Why am I making this comparison? Because if it wasn’t for sailing, I never would have sold my first book.

In 2006 a sailing buddy of mine, Erik Westgard, pestered me to write an article on our sailing adventure in the British Virgin Islands. He’d been writing for magazines for years, but had his eye on the glossy pages of International Yacht Charters and Vacations. To my shock, they chose my article for their June 2006 issue. I was going to be published.

Despite having tried and failed to sell a book at various times over the previous two decades, this pub credit gave me reason to believe in my chances of become a published author. My voice had matured. My dedication had ballooned. This time around I was going to sell or die trying.

I knew contests were a good way to get feedback and bypass the slush pile. In the fall of 2006 I’d finished two manuscripts and started entering them in contests. A lot of contests. To my delight, I made the finals in the the first two contests I entered. I was on my way. Or not. The next few gave me some eye opening feedback. Undaunted, I fixed my problems and got my first request for a full in the summer of 2007. And my first rejection. Slow pacing and not enough conflict.

I began to study craft and revise. More contests gave me more feedback and more full requests. Late 2008, after receiving great feedback on all my rejections letters, I got a form rejection. At a loss for how to move forward, I decided a change of genre was in order. So, I started writing YA. But I never lost my dream of selling to Silhouette (now Harlequin) Desire.

When I pitched to Kevan Lyon at the 2009 Nationals, I had a book at Harlequin and a two time requested manuscript I’d never submitted. She looked at both. And signed me. The editor who’d asked to see A Case of Meddling, my Silhouette Desire targeted book, had left by this time, but the new associate editor was happy to take a look. And to provide revision notes three weeks later. Believing this might be the one, I quickly turned around a revised manuscript.

To keep myself distracted while I waited to hear something, I entered the Golden Heart. In the past I hadn’t had much luck, but this year proved different. Of the two manuscripts I entered, I thought A Case of Meddling had the best shot. I was wrong. The book that finaled was Fake Fiancee, Real Love. And to my shock, it went on to win the Golden Heart for series contemporary romance.

A month later, Kevan called to tell me we had an offer. A Case of Meddling re-titled Meddling With A Millionaire hit the shelves as a Harlequin Desire this month. Dreams do come true. Sometimes you just have to be patient and believe.

Cat Schield lives in Minnesota with her daughter and their Burmese cat. Winner of the Romance Writers of America 2010 Golden Heart® for series contemporary romance, when she’s not writing sexy, romantic stories for Silhouette Desire, she can be found sailing with friends on the St. Croix River or more exotic locales like the Caribbean and Europe. Contact her at her website.
Or follow her on Twitter or Facebook .



Meddling with a Millionaire

No Man’s Bargaining Chip

Emma Montgomery wouldn’t be manipulated into marriage as part of Daddy’s business deal—even if he cut off access to her trust fund until she complied. The talented jewelry designer would just make her own way. Or go down trying. Too bad her intended groom--maverick businessman and former crush Nathan Case--made her stubborn stance so difficult. The heat of his touch had her nearly betraying herself at every turn. Resisting Nathan and regaining her money were the name of the game—but meddling with this millionaire might land her right back in his arms!

Tell us about how patience and/or belief paid off for you. One lucky commenter will win a copy of Cat's book!

Free Book Friday -- The Celebration Edition!

We're switching the schedule up a bit this week, and I'm hosting Free Book Friday today. In honor of Smarty Pants's recent sale to Harlequin Desire, we're having Free Book Friday -- The Celebration Edition.

And today's free books are... Desires! Two of them are from a while back, but absolute favorites of mine.

First we have THE SINS OF HIS PAST (an autographed copy) by Roxanne St. Claire.

HE HAD SOME ATONING TO DO
For one incredible night, Kendra Locke gave Deuce Monroe everything she had. Then he walked away without a backward glance to chase his big-league dreams as far as they would take him. Years later, after one daredevil stunt too many, Deuce was back in his hometown, ready to pick up where he left off.

Kendra had no intention of letting him. The consequences of that one night had shattered her dreams. Now what Deuce wanted threatened her future...especially when he tempted her with the sensual promise of more time in his bed. Could she be the one to walk away?

Next we have HIS STYLE OF SEDUCTION also by Roxanne St. Claire.

TAILOR MADE
When powerful businessman Jackson Locke found Lily Harper soaking wet on his doorstep, he couldn't believe his luck. Little did he know the dark-haired beauty had been hired to do a job and not the one Jack might have fantasized about. Now a storm had left them stranded, hot and bothered, and Jack was stuck between lust and pride. Lily's assignment was to change him into something he wasn't.

But Jack's destiny was to rock her world, and he intended to do it on his terms...

And finally, we have a brand new Desire from debut Desire author Cat Schield -- MEDDLING WITH A MILLIONAIRE, released just last week.

Emma Montgomery wouldn't be manipulated into marriage as part of Daddy's business deal — even if he cut off access to her trust fund until she complied. The talented jewelry designer would just make her own way. Or go down trying. Too bad her intended groom — maverick businessman and former crush Nathan Case — made her stubborn stance so difficult. The heat of his touch had her nearly betraying herself at every turn. Resisting Nathan and regaining her money were the name of the game — but meddling with this millionaire might land her right back in his arms!

To enter to win, comment with the phrase "Let's celebrate SP's sale!" One lucky commenter will win all three books.

And come back on June 22 when Cat Schield will be guest blogging with us.