Swept Away-Crimson Romance Blog Hop

When you read a book, do you feel like you’ve escaped to another world? I do and that’s why I enjoy reading. To share my love of the written word, I invite you to discover the different worlds and stories of my fellow Crimson Romance authors by visiting their blogs.

Forty-six authors and dozens of giveaways including mine :).

Even better? Every blog comment you leave during the hop is entered into a drawing to win one of the grand prizes  – one Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift certificate for $100, and two gift certificates for $50 each! Click on the image to see the list of bloggers.

For a chance to win my prize, leave a comment and share what time periods you love to immerse yourself in or what subgenre of romance you’re currently reading.

In my younger days, I love the historical romances of Lisa Kleypas, Christina Dodd and Julia Quinn. My favorite tellings were the usual mistaken identity, arranged marriages, fall from grace, must marry for money, can’t marry for love, and Christina Dodd’s princess series.

Now I’m into paranormal romances, urban fantasy, and steampunk. My favorite authors are Meljean Brook and Nalini Singh. Why the change? I’d have to say the world building and the characters themselves. The worlds can be gritty, dangerous and elaborate. The characters also seem to mirror the worlds. I like my characters tortured, lonely, a danger to themselves or others, but they must have one important characteristic. They must be redeemable. Meljean and Nalini do a great job of this. Their characters can be the biggest bad asses, but by the end of the book, I totally dig them.

As a busy mother, wife, friend, RN, and author, I want to be transported to other worlds. For now, it’s the darker worlds that appeal to me. But you never know, in a couple of months, I might go back to cute contemporaries like Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s books.

 To acknowledge the setting of paranormal romance, Shadow Watcher, I’ve put together a swag of items from Seattle. Leave a comment and be entered to win the swag:

1. Bookmark from Seattle artist ReDeFind Vintage

2. Coffee beans from Seattle’s Caffe Vita- “Complex and lively, with aromas of honeysuckle, melon, and ginger. Flavors of marshmallow, dark  chocolate, and dried cherry are buoyed by lemon juice acidity and sustained in the sweet, persistent finish.”

3. Made in Seattle Theo Organic Salted Toffee Milk Chocolate

Good luck!