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Elizabeth McKenna

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Elizabeth McKenna

Category Archives: Release Blitz

Holiday Fake-Out: 22 Fake Holiday Dates to Heat Up the Season

07 Thursday Oct 2021

Posted by Elizabeth McKenna - Author in Book Tour, Release Blitz

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Giveaway, holiday, Romance

Holiday Fake-out: 22 Fake Holiday Dates to Heat Up the Season
by Heather Graham, Carmen Falcone, Victoria Pinder, Christine Glover, Ann Omasta, K.L. Brady, Michele De Winton, Kristin Wallace, Rossie Cortes, EmKay Conner, Jodi Linton, Melanie Rose Clarke, Lyz Kelley, Marcia King-Gamble, Brynn North, Cindy Redding, Kathleen Lawless, Laurel Greer, Dee J Holmes, Emma Lee Jayne, Cara Carnes, Kat Baxter, Kara Kendrick

About Holiday Fake-Out


Holiday Fake-Out: 22 Fake Holiday Dates to Heat Up the Season
Holiday Contemporary Romance
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Love in a Book (October 19, 2021)
Number of Pages: 500
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08WM377B8

Need a date for the holidays? We’ve got you covered with 22 fake holidates to heat up your season!

Travel from small towns to cosmopolitan cities, snow covered mountains to gorgeous mansions. You’ll meet sexy billionaires, brainy tech gods, buff journalists, sinfully cocky athletes, and sizzling hot chefs. They’re naughty and nice (and everything in between) and they’re enough to fulfill any romantic fantasies.

These 22 swoon-worthy heroes are ready to be your *fake* plus-one at holiday events, from Christmas weddings to Chanukah and Kwanzaa celebrations. Each starts out as a charade, and though they might lie to family, friends, or co-workers, they won’t be able to fool themselves when a very real romance develops.

Escape into addictive tales of second chances, sweet new beginnings, secret crushes, friends to lovers, love triangles, and forbidden rendezvous. Throw in a mix of suspense, laughs, passion, and temptation, and your holidays are set.

Pre-order HOLIDAY FAKEOUT now to get the season started. The tingles, butterflies, and swoons brought on by these sweet and scorching stories will have you wondering which book boyfriend you should bring home for the holidays.

About some of the authors

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
(From Amazon)

Cindy Redding
Cindy Redding
EmKay Connor
EmKay Connor
Marcia King-Gamble
Marcia King-Gamble
K. L. Brady
K. L. Brady
Ann Omasta
Ann Omasta
Melanie Rose Clarke
Melanie Rose Clarke
Christine Glover
Christine Glover
Lyz Kelley
Lyz Kelley
Carmen Falcone
Carmen Falcone
Laurel Greer
Laurel Greer
Brynn North
Brynn North
Kara Kendrick
Kara Kendrick
Emma Lee Jayne
Emma Lee Jayne
Cara Carnes
Cara Carnes
Jodi Linton
Jodi Linton
Kristin Wallace
Kristin Wallace
Kat Baxter
Kat Baxter
Victoria Pinder
Victoria Pinder
Purchase Links – Amazon – iTunes– KOBO– B&N– 99 Cents

Click here to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway

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 The History of Romance Novels and Fairy Tales – Guest Post by Bruce Calhoun

05 Tuesday Oct 2021

Posted by Elizabeth McKenna - Author in Book Tour, Release Blitz

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Fantasy, Guest Post, Historical Romance

                      

I’d like to welcome author Bruce Calhoun – a fellow Wisconsinite! – to my blog. Today is release day for his new novel Ardennia, which is a unique retelling of the Cinderella tale. I love it when author’s reimagine the classics, so I was very happy to help Bruce promote his latest creation. Good luck, Bruce!

~Elizabeth McKenna

Romance novels have a long lineage.  They date back to the medieval age and were labeled romance novels not because they were about romance, but because they were written in the French vernacular and not Latin.  Thus, they were called romances because French is a romantic language.   The romances were wildly popular with the French nobility, and because no one else but the clergy could read or had access to rare and expensive books, the stories were always about kings, queens, knights, ladies and clerics.  The Arthurian tales based on legends written in Latin are a prime example.  Chrétien de Troyes’ was the first writer who used the French language to elaborate on these tales. 

The formula for these romances was pretty basic:  Everything is copasetic, some kind of problem or need comes up, the hero goes on a quest, the quest is successful, the hero finds love with his lady and the tale ends happily.  The earliest romances were based not only on local legends, but on the great epics like Virgil’s Aeneid.  However, as they evolved, the heroes of these tales had to exhibit gallantry to the ladies as well as martial prowess.  It was no longer sufficient to slay foes on the battlefield; a warrior had to win hearts in the boudoir.

From the courts of France, romances conquered the rest of Europe with the help of such patrons as Marie de Champagne and Eleanor of Aquitaine.  The names of most the authors of these works have been long forgotten.   One name, in particular, has not:  Geoffrey Chaucer.  His Canterbury Tales contain several romances, though he is best known for establishing the sub-genre of the satire.

During the late medieval age, the invention of the printing press and the emergence of the middle class resulted in the inclusion of common folk in romances.  Books like Sir Amadace portrayed a merchant as a hero, and women also came into their own.  In Amoryus and Cleopes, a lady defeats a dragon with her wiles much to the delight of its readers – who were mostly women.  Taking it one step further, authors began to write about peasants.  They often featured peasant children in “fairy tales” like Jack and the Beanstalk or Goldilocks and the Three Bears. 

In the sixteenth century, the intellectuals of the humanist period began disparaging romances.  One such intellectual, Michel de Montaigne, called romance novels “wit-besotting trash.”  Another, Juan Luis Vives, warned that romances engendered “beastly and filthy desire.”   The church got into the act by prohibiting some romances.   This only made romances more popular, and they remained in fashion up to the early modern era.  Sadly, most of these books are lost to posterity.  But they were the antecedents of fairy tales, the novel and today’s fantasy fiction.  We owe much to the old romances, and many of their plots and characters live on in the works of such writers as Shakespeare, Goethe, Sir Walter Scott and Jonathan Swift.

My tribute to the old romances and the fairy tales that sprang from them is a unique retelling of the Cinderella tale; described below.

Ardennia: The Unlikely Story of Cinderella’s Prince is a Cinderella story like no other that captures the magic, brutality and earthiness of the medieval ages.  This first book in a series chronicles the many adventures of Cinderella’s Prince as he undergoes his baptism of fire in the Battle of Paris, is charmed by Cinderella at a masquerade ball, and sets off on a quest to find her after she flees the ball at the midnight hour.  The quest takes him through strange lands supposedly inhabited by ogres, pixies, hobgoblins, man-eating plants and giants, and peopled by extraordinary characters that include an epileptic bard, a bean counter who wagers his gold tooth in a dice game, a merchant who can never be too prosperous, a little girl who has a running feud with three bears, pilgrims that argue over who is the most pious and a beggar who has been cursed with leprosy for committing all the cardinal sins.  Be on the look-out for a bit of Chaucer-like satire.

My Bio

I am a literature-major drop out who received a Bachelor’s degree in biology and science education from the University of Wisconsin.  I taught marine biology in Puerto Rico, worked as a diver for the Australian Institute of Marine Science, wrote an award winning play, and founded Save the Rainforest in 1988 www.savetherainforestnow.org.  In my spare time, I read, bicycle, cross country ski and write plays and novels. 

To get the book, follow me, or read reviews of Ardennia, go to:

https://www.literaryworksbrucecalhoun.com/novels.html

Excerpts from the book:

“This one’s the daughter from his first marriage.  Her father spoiled her awfully.  Those days are over I can tell you,” Lady Tremaine had said, referring to Cinderella.

The eldest daughter disappeared up the stairway leaving Lord Phillip alone with Cinderella who was on her knees scrubbing the floor.

It had been years since the brother of the King had made use of ‘the maiden’ and the hinges of the door had creaked as it was opened to reveal the spikes in the door and the rear casement.

King Charles, flanked by the Count, Henry and Guy, led the cavalcade out of the castle through the gatehouse and down the hill to the village. 

 “You are about to become a very wealthy buffoon if you play your cards right.”

But Guy had only pretended to fall asleep, and when the hobgoblin tiptoed into the camp to steal Adele (his goat) Guy caught it red-handed.

The Baron led on, and soon they entered the crypt where the salted remains of several former barons and baronesses were on display.

Guy’s first instinct was to draw his sword and smite down the ogre.

“My mother would be glad to hear you say that because she wanted nothing more than for me not to be an idiot,” said Henry.

When it came time to go abed Guy warned that this would be an especially bad night for pixies and that they should plug their ears with extra beeswax.

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Essence of Fear by Bethany-Kris – Cover Reveal and Giveaway

19 Friday Jun 2020

Posted by Elizabeth McKenna - Author in Release Blitz

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Tags

Adult, Erotic, Giveaway, Organized Crime, Romantic Suspense

ESSENCE OF FEAR

by Bethany-Kris

A Boykov Bratva Novel

Cover Credits: London Miller

Publication Date: June 21, 2020

Genres: Adult, Romantic Suspense, Organized Crime. Erotic Romance, Standalone

The allure of fear is learning to love it.

Viktoria Boykov has heard it all—cold they call her. The spoiled bratva princess. She knows very well what people say when her back is turned. She doesn’t mind; let them talk. It’s better for people to assume what they want about her than for them to know the truth … until him.

Pavel Kotov knows what people say—death they call him. The Boykov dog. He’s heard all the whispers locked away in the cells of the Compound. As the reaper for the bratva, his life owned by someone else, he knows what they say doesn’t matter. His life has never mattered … until her.

He’s terrifying.

She’s terrified.

Viktoria only wants to keep running from her past. Pavel doesn’t have a life to run from. Freedom is the one thing they both crave—for entirely different reasons. But this life is vicious, and scars like the ones they wear will never fade.

Together, they could have everything.

Or are they just pawns to a bigger game?

Note: Essence of Fear is a Boykov Bratva standalone. 

BUY LINKS

iTunes: https://apple.co/30y6Rrq

B&N: https://bit.ly/2zpC5FW

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2UAN8Uj

PREORDER LINKS

Amazon: https://geni.us/EofFear

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/37G0KD3

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2Naixsn

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2AOYWvo

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3ek3XdS 

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here to enter the giveaway:   http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/5440a3541894/

 

AUTHOR BIO & LINKS

Bethany-Kris is a Canadian author, lover of much, and mother to four young sons, one cat, and two dogs. A small town in Eastern Canada where she was born and raised is where she has always called home. With her boys under her feet, snuggling cat, barking dogs, and a hubby calling over his shoulder, she is nearly always writing something … when she can find the time.

To keep up-to-date with new releases from Bethany-Kris, sign up to her New Release Newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bf9lzD

Website: http://www.bethanykris.com/

Blog: http://bethanykris.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bethanykriswrites

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bethanykris

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/bethanykris/

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1I6VcSP

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1TcDSLo

Amazon Author Profile: http://amzn.to/2ay9Gel

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethany.kris/

Bookbub: https://bit.ly/2JleBSF

 

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In a remote lodge in northern Wisconsin, friends gather for a festive, New Year’s Eve weekend. When a blizzard traps them with a murderer, who will be left to kiss at midnight?

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