Forsaken Beauty – Now Available!

The long awaited sequel to the USA TODAY BESTSELLING, THIEF OF HEARTS, is NOW AVAILABLE!

A good witch, a dragon sorceress and a princess in danger of losing her soul. All three are destined to play a part in the ultimate battle between good and evil. 

The good witch, Muriel, has been charged with hiding the infant princess of Lorentia after the child nearly fell into the clutches of the dragon sorceress during her christening. Accompanied by Allan A’Dale, a much too handsome and much too tempting warrior, A’Dale is to be her husband on this sojourn, but in name only. For Muriel must remain chaste in order to retain her power.

The pair must keep the child hidden for sixteen years. Sixteen years of constant temptation. Sixteen years of pretending to be husband and wife while never being allowed to consummate the union. It’s torture in its purest form. But it’s also a necessity, for if Muriel fails to remain pure, her magic will no longer be strong enough to hide the princess from the evil dragon-queen and all of the assassins commissioned to find them. If she fails to keep her feelings at bay, Lorentia will be lost and the continent will be faced with another dragon war.

Muriel cannot fail. Yet a surprise visit from the queen, the child’s mother, sets in motion events that make even the purest of hearts waver.

Available now at Amazon.com. FREE if you are a member of KINDLE UNLIMITED! Pick it up today!

 

THIEF OF HEARTS: UNMASKED Available Today!!

I must apologize…

THIEF OF HEARTS: UNMASKED should have been available March 14th, 2012. A last minute cover change meant that it did not go up for sale until today. Although I am thrilled with the new cover, I’m sorry for the delay.

The saga begins with THIEF OF HEARTS: WANTED…

THIEF OF HEARTS: UNMASKED description:

How could Zaina have made such a horrible mistake?

Lord Hood, her good and noble master, hovers between life and death because of Zaina’s betrayal. In order to save him, she must make a deal with a scale-covered-dragon-wielding witch–a potion to heal Hood in exchange for a vow to assassinate a king.

However Zaina may never get the chance to fulfill her mercenary task, for once Hood awakes–healed by black magic–darkness festers inside his soul and Zaina finds herself on the wrong end of the sharp tip of his sword. Not only is she fighting for her life, she must continue to keep her true identity a secret, no matter what her feelings are for Hood. If anyone should find out who she truly is, all those she loves will find themselves at the mercy of a horde of merciless dragons.

Hope you enjoy!

Living After Heart Disease

It was Mother’s Day, 2006—a beautiful spring day in the Okanagan. The air was heavy with the warm scent of blossoms, the buzz of bees and the graceful flutter of butterflies in and amongst the flowerbeds. Ron, Linda and their young son, Kristian, spent the day in their huge yard: cutting the lawn, pruning trees, weeding and playfully arguing over where to plant flowers. They had just bought a used play structure and Kristian—in his ‘big-boy-four-year-old’ way—helped Ron lay it out on the patio, even picking the color of the stain. They had planned to start painting that day; however, Ron was also preparing a wonderful home-cooked meal for Linda and ran out of time. He was confident he would get to it soon.  

After dinner, Ron finished up some work on the computer and went to bed around 11pm, complaining of feeling tired. Linda followed and while Ron fell asleep right away, Linda laid in bed, day-dreaming about all of their exciting reno projects. A short time later, Ron cried out in his sleep and sat up. At first, Linda thought he was having a nightmare, something that had been happening quite a bit, of late. What quickly became apparent was that this was not a nightmare.

This was something much worse.

Flipping on the light, Linda stood helplessly as her husband experienced a massive heart attack. The way she describes it, it was like he was wrestling an elephant off of his chest. His mouth was foaming and his eyes rolled back in his head. After a panicked call to 911, she did her best to calm him while waiting for the paramedics to arrive.

The first responder was the fire department. Unfortunately they did not have a defibrillator with them and were unable to do anything, except move him to the living room. By this time, Ron was unconscious. Linda has a vague memory of this time, of making phone calls, of neighbors and friends arriving and of talking to her unconscious husband, waiting precious minutes (that seemed like hours) for the paramedics.

As soon as the paramedics arrived, they rushed Ron to the hospital, but despite their efforts, it was too late. Ron could not be revived.

“I felt so helpless,” Linda says. “I felt like I should have tried something to save him. But I couldn’t…” she chokes up as she recalls that night. Even six years later, the experience haunts her. “It was so much more violent than I’d ever imagined. I’ve heard all these stories of people simply going to sleep and never waking up. It wasn’t like that for Ron. It seems so unfair.”

Ron was only 55 when he passed away so suddenly in the night. He was a victim of heart disease, a genetic condition that took the life of his grandfather, father and older brother. His father was only 42, his brother 38 when they passed away. Ron was with his grandfather, working out on the farm, when he died. Ron tried to resuscitate him; he was only 16 at the time.

“We knew he had this condition,” Linda tells me. “But we just lived our lives, I mean you can’t carry on your life waiting for death.” In fact, if you had met Ron, you would never have guessed he had a heart condition. He was vibrant and fit, looking much younger than his years. Linda, a massage therapist, was a conscientious cook, making sure to keep their meals healthy and heart-smart.

But at the end of the day, there was nothing they could do.

Six years later, Linda has courageously carried on, changing careers and raising Kristian on her own. She misses Ron every single day and grieves, not only for the loss of her husband, but for the loss of her son’s father. “Kristian was only four when Ron died. There were so many things Ron wanted to do with him, share with him.” 

Linda is one of the bravest women I know and she is also one of my dearest friends. I will never be able to understand how helpless she felt that night. To a much lesser degree, I’ve often felt helpless wishing I could do more for her as she has struggled to come to terms with ‘life after heart disease’.

So, in my own small way, I have dedicated, Thief of Hearts: Wanted to the memory of her husband, Ron. It’s a fantastical retelling of the story of Robin Hood – which is fitting because Ron was the kind of guy who would give his last dollar to someone living on the streets. In the same spirit, I will be donating $1 from every book sold between February 14th 2012, and March 14, 2012 to The Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Next Bandit Creek Release, today! HARD CANDY and PENNY CANDY!

Siren’s Song will be available for $0.99 for a limited time!  Pick it up today at Amazon.com or Smashwords.  In the meantime here’s an interview of Jade Buchanan, author of Penny Candy and Hard Candy, the next installments of the Bandit Creek Series.  Enjoy.

Carla Interviews Jade Buchanan About ‘Penny Candy’ & ‘Hard Candy’

Posted on October 7, 2011 by carlaroma

Hi, I’m Carla Roma and welcome to Bandit Creek, a small town with a mountain of secrets. The first time I spotted Jade Buchanan I knew I’d met a fellow adventurer. We were on a cruise that went up the coast of Norway, and on the day we crossed paths we were both standing in the mud room of the ship, ready to jump into the arctic cold waters off one of the islands in Svalbard. We quickly bonded over our shared experience of freezing our butts off! Jade has traveled the world; she lived in the Sultanate of Oman in the Middle East, has ridden a camel in the desert, tangled with sea snakes, eaten miscellaneous meat in more places than she can remember, and walked barefoot through glacial waters at the top of a mountain. Today it is my pleasure to interview Jade Buchanan about her two books, PENNY CANDY and HARD CANDY, the third releases in the Bandit Creek series.

Carla: Before I get to your contributions to the Bandit Creek series, do you want to tell the story of our arctic swim, or should I?

Jade: I better tell it. You’ve been known to embelish a time or two—

Carla: Ha! And you would never do that!

Jade: Of course not. I’m sweet and innocent. Really. No one believes me for some reason, but regardless, the day we met was one of many firsts. I had gone to Norway on my own and I swore I would try to do as many things as I could. Nothing was going to be off limits because I didn’t want to look back and regret holding back. Jumping into arctic cold waters was a thrill I actually want to repeat. Especially since they delivered on their promise of a shot of vodka for those of us who jumped! I don’t know if my body has ever gone through a shock like that before, but I couldn’t breathe when I hit the water. My mind hadn’t completely turned off, though, since I did an automatic swimsuit check when I came back up.

Carla: That would have been quite the show if you’d lost your swimsuit!

Jade: There were cameras on us, I wasn’t about to risk it!

Carla: Like me, I know you’re a bit of a world traveler. Do you use that in your writing?

Jade: I use anything and everything in my writing. I’m famous in my family for saying “that’s going in a book” whenever we get together and start acting like fools. I find the world fascinating and I want to see as much of it as possible. It helps that my tastes are incredibly eclectic, so I want to experience everything. It’s one of the reasons I was excited to be part of this series. So many books, all within different genres and with varying heat levels. It’s like taking a vacation and getting to experience everything at once.

Carla: Right, the books! We should talk about PENNY CANDY and HARD CANDY. First off, two stories?

Jade: Call me crazy, but yes!

Carla: How does that work?

Jade: When we first talked about Bandit Creek, I knew I wanted to write a story about a woman returning to her hometown and the man she once loved. Only, every time I tried to determine what would happen next, one of the characters would make a decision that would throw me into confusion. I finally realized that was what I had to write about. Our decisions shape who we are, who we end up with and where we end up. So, I wanted to write a story – two stories – that would explore that theme. PENNY CANDY and HARD CANDY are the result. Two parallel stories, two very different endings.

Carla: What happens in the stories then?

Jade: In PENNY CANDY, we have our heroine Penny Anderson coming home for two reasons. First, she wants to find out what happened to her mother so many years ago. Penny’s mom died when she was in High School. Her father quickly shipped her off to Houston and she’s only now returning to Bandit Creek. But, she’s also recently reconnected with her High School sweetheart, and Candy Store owner, Craig Baxter. Craig wants to rekindle their romance and Penny isn’t sure what she wants.

Carla: So, how is HARD CANDY different?

Jade: They actually start off the same way. Penny is returning home for the same reasons as she is in PENNY CANDY. The difference is one very big, handsome, bisexual one. Back in school, Penny and Craig had a mutual friend named Douglas McKenzie. Mack has a secret… he’s in love with Craig and he’s infatuated with Penny. In HARD CANDY I explore the dynamic between the three of them.

Carla: Who makes the decision that changes the story from a twosome to a threesome?

Jade: They all do, actually. Our lives are interconnected, after all, so in order for two people to become three there needs to be the right timing where all three are open to that kind of a relationship. I’m not sure if I’ll ever explore this kind of a dynamic again of writing parallel stories, but I’m still fascinated by the idea that our choices and decisions shape so much of what we become. I know, such a serious thought for someone known for her quirky and outrageous stories!

Carla: Definitely intriguing! So, inquiring minds want to know, what’s up with the GI Joes?

Jade: LOL! I was told years ago by Laura Baumbach that it can be a good idea to use GI Joes to mock up sex scenes so I went out and bought a few to help me picture in my mind where everything was supposed to go. Then I made the mistake of naming them and my boys took on a life of their own! Today they’re quite the characters, and I’ve added many more friends to their little group   You can find out more about them on my website: http://www.jadebuchananbooks.com/freereads.htm

Carla:  I’ll definitely check it out! Thanks, Jade! You can find out more about Jade Buchanan at http://www.jadebuchananbooks.com. Her two stories, PENNY CANDY and HARD CANDY will be available from Amazon.com and Smashwords.com on October 15th, 2011. If you have questions or comments for me or for Jade, please leave a response and we’d be happy to reply!

Carla Roma from Bandit Creek Books Interviews DL Snow about ‘Siren’s Song’

Hi, I’m Carla Roma and welcome to Bandit Creek, a small town with a mountain of secrets.  In all my travels I’ve found that the world is a paradox; both vast and diverse while somehow remaining surprisingly small.  A few years ago, I was on assignment in Japan where I was covering a story on the haunted forest at the base of Mount Fuji.  I ran across an English language newsletter and in the newsletter was a funny story by DL Snow.  Imagine my surprise to find DL and I hail from the same part of the world, although we didn’t meet until I returned to Canada.  Today, it is my pleasure to interview DL Snow about her book, SIREN’S SONG, the second story in the Bandit Creek series.

Carla:  Before we get to SIREN’S SONG, would you mind relaying the story I’d read about in the newsletter in Japan?

DL: My most embarrassing moment, you mean?

Carla:  That’s the one.

DL:  (sigh) Okay.  It was a beautiful day, the orange blossoms were in full bloom and I was riding my bike home for lunch from the high school in Wakayama prefecture where I taught English.  I was wearing a breezy, cotton skirt that day and was feeling rather romantic as it blew in the wind while I rode down main street…that is until the skirt got caught in the spokes of my bike and was torn completely from the waistband, leaving me…ahem…semi-naked.

Carla:  Oh dear!  What did you do?

DL:  Well, the wheels wouldn’t turn and the torn skirt had me trapped on the bike.  So, I picked up the bike and, with it stuck between my legs, waddled backwards off the street and up against a building hoping to hide the fact that I was clad only in my underwear.  Unfortunately, I had backed myself up against the glass window of a café.  Not pretty.  In an effort to get away from the window, I fell over.

Carla:  Did anyone help you?

DL:  (groan) Yes.  Some men were working on a building across the street and came running to my aid.  I yelled in English for them to go away and then yelled a few random Japanese words, “Mikan dai yo!”  Which means, ‘Big orange, I assure you.”

Carla:  So, how did you get out of it?

DL:  Honestly Carla, I don’t remember.  I think I’ve blocked the rest of the experience from my memory.  But, when I returned to school after lunch, teachers I barely knew came up to me asking if I was okay and why I’d changed.  Word travels fast in small town, Japan.

Carla: I love that story.  Can we talk about SIREN’S SONG now?

DL: Please!

Carla:  Joss Jones is the main character in SIREN’S SONG and she travels back in time.  Can you tell me about her?

DL:  I don’t know about you, but I think most people secretly – and often not-so-secretly – want to be famous.  Well, Joss Jones has been famous since she was a kid and now she’s convinced herself that all she wants is to be normal, so she moves to Bandit Creek.  There’s only one problem…

Carla: …Bandit Creek is anything but normal?

DL: Exactly!  From the moment she moves in, she’s being followed around by a ghost.  Then she’s sucked back in time to Bandit Creek, 1899.

Carla:  What happens when she arrives?

DL:  First of all she thinks she’s lost her mind.  Then she tries desperately to get back home.  Finally, she tries to figure out why she’s there.

Carla:  Why is she there?

DL:  I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you that Morgan Hawes is either the key to her finding her way back home or he’s the reason for her to stay.

Carla:  Who’s Morgan Hawes?

DL:  Morgan Hawes is the tall, dark mysterious man Joss believes is responsible for her being sucked back in time.  He has a habit of showing up at both the best and worst times and Joss thinks he’s another time traveler.  She’s pretty sure she’s supposed to help him get back home but he’s not very cooperative.

Carla:  You’ve written this story in first person.  Was that done for any specific reason?

DL:  Yes.  I felt first person fit this story best because I only wanted to show Joss’s point of view.  I wanted the reader to wonder, alongside Joss, whether Joss is simply crazy, half-dead and hallucinating or if she’s truly traveled through time.

Carla:  What was your inspiration for writing a time-travel?

DL:  Plenty!  One of my favorite romances as a young adult was A Knight in Shining Armor, by Jude Deveraux.  Then there’s The Terminator – loved the premise of that movie and in my opinion the first and second were by far the best.  Lately, I have been devouring Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series.  If you haven’t checked out these books, you must!

Carla:  What is your favorite scene from SIREN’S SONG?

DL:  I’d have to say that the last two scenes are my favorite (sorry, I know you only asked for one).  I still get chills when I read those scenes and I hope the reader will feel the same way!

Carla:  Thanks, DL.  Do you have any final words?

DL:  Yes, two things actually.  First of all, I want to thank Carla Roma for inviting me to join this wonderful group of Bandit Creek authors, I’m thrilled to be part of this project.  Secondly, I want to remind people to make sure to wear clean (and pretty) underwear whenever you leave the house…you never know when your skirt will rip off.

Carla:  Thanks for coming by today, DL.  You can find out more about DL Snow at www.dlsnow.ca.  Her book, SIREN’S SONG will be available from Amazon.com and Smashwords.com on October 1st, 2011. If you have questions or comments for me or for DL, please leave a response and we’d be happy to reply!