Writing Romance, Meeting Great Friends, and a Gift Card Giveaway!


Thanks to my good friend Natasha Moore for having me on Fierce Romance Author Blog today. I am so excited to announce my debut book, Random Acts, will be released tomorrow by Samhain Publishing. And I owe Natasha a huge mwah for that. Let me give you some background. See, I met Natasha some years ago at our local RWA chapter meeting and we became friends. Natasha had success much sooner than I and I hear she just signed her twentieth contract. Twenty! Wow! Congratulations, Natasha!

Over the years, we’d often brainstorm ideas and she’d graciously read my manuscripts when I needed an objective eye. I write romantic suspense and Natasha was always quick to remind me not to forget the romance. I had a knack for getting caught up in plotting the suspense and forgetting the hero and heroine hadn’t been together in oh, say five chapters. :) So, I’d tweak the manuscript, making sure to keep the romance front and center even while the villain lurked in the shadows.

Last summer when I was at a crossroads with my current manuscript, Natasha recommended I submit it to Samhain. My first reaction: “Uh, Random Acts doesn’t have any S-E-X in it. Remember?” I write sweet romances. I knew Natasha wrote smokin’ hot romances for Samhain. After she pointed out that Samhain also published sweet romances—and two were on the bestseller list that very week—I contacted my agent and the rest, as they say, is history.

Since then I have sold two romantic suspense novels to Samhain. Both are considered “sweet” on the heat level. I am thrilled that the initial reviews for Random Acts are positive.

This romance with a slightly inspirational flavor is recommended for readers who are looking for a sweet, “clean” romance that still packs an emotional punch. The suspense angle works, too. This reviewer caught the red-herring but didn’t uncover the real perpetrator until the very end. Well done, Stone. ~ From Library Journal

Built with elements of suspense, emotion, a little bit of inspiration, and characters that are well worth reading about, Ms. Stone creates a heartwarming and intriguing tale in Random Acts. The pacing flows great, there's not a moment that's dull, and I was left guessing until the very end. ~Long and Short Reviews

The beautiful thing about romance is the vast selection of subgenres: from romantic suspense to paranormal, from sweet to hot and everything in between. A wonderful thing about my path to publication has been the friends I’ve made along the way. Here’s a big kiss kiss to my good friend, Natasha. Thanks for the hot tip! I probably owe you lunch or something. :)

If you’re in the mood for a little something sweet, check out Random Acts. Tomorrow is the big release day.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on your favorite type of romance. Or perhaps you like to mix it up and read in different genres. One lucky commenter will win a $5 gift card to Samhain Publishing. (Winner will be selected from all comments made prior to midnight EST April 27, 2012.) Be sure to leave your e-mail in the comment section so I can contact you if you win.

Author Bio:
Alison Stone graduated with a degree in industrial engineering from Georgia Tech. After working in Corporate America for a number of years, she retired to raise her young family. Soon the writing bug bit. After years of conferences, critique groups and writing, Alison sold two manuscripts that will be released in 2012. She claims it was easier to earn her engineering degree. Random Acts is her debut novel. To learn more about Alison Stone please visit www.AlisonStone.com.


Blurb of Random Acts (available April 24, 2012):

Second chances can have a terrible sense of timing.

As a child, watching her mother always pick the wrong man left Danielle Carson wary of opening her heart to anyone—except Patrick Kingsley. But circumstances came between them and left Danielle with a broken heart. Now she buries the pain of what might have been by channeling all her energy into her career. When a family crisis brings her back to her hometown, she is forced to face the past—and the disturbing fact that her sister’s car accident was staged to mask a brutal beating.

A police officer and widower, Patrick guards his heart as fiercely as he guards his beloved daughter. Seeing Danielle again unexpectedly reignites their old flame, but no way will he introduce a woman into his daughter’s life. Certainly not one whose values on faith and family are so different from his own.

Despite their best intentions, they are drawn together—until Danielle learns Patrick had a hand in putting her sister in harm’s way. Her fragile trust is crushed, but Patrick is the only man who can help her stop the villain before everything they both love is destroyed. Faith, family…and their second chance at forever.

Random Acts available at:

Samhain Publishing
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

31 comments:

Alison Stone said...

Thanks for having me Natasha! :)

Jennifer Blackstream said...

I also have a friend who had to kick me in the butt as far as the romance in my stories go. I write paranormal romance and I often got so caught up in the mythos that some issues were neglected. Specifically, she was always saying "But why does the hero/heroine fall in love with this person specifically? Why not someone else?" She's always going on about how important it is to show the little things they have in common so that the reader can really believe the romance will last past the HEA.

Jennifer Blackstream said...

Forgot my e-mail >blush< jblackstream@yahoo.com

Dani Marie said...

Congrats on the book, look forward to reading it. Will definately check out your website as well. Good luck!

Suzanna said...

Congratulations on your debut release! Random Acts sounds like a great read.

(suzanna @ suzannamedeiros . com)

Dani Marie said...

Argh... I forgot to add my email too. dani@danimariebooks.com

Tina Green said...

Congratulations on your debut release. Looks like it will be right up my alley. I'm looking forward to reading it. :)

twmgreen71@gmail.com

Alison Stone said...

Thanks for stopping by!

Jennifer ~ Yes, it is so easy to get caught up in plotting the "other stuff" in the novel and forget the romance. Natasha always gets me back on track. (However, now I can hear her voice while I'm writing. :))

Alison Stone said...

Thank you for the kind words, Dani Marie, Suzanna, and Tina. I hope you enjoy the book. So far it has gotten some great reviews. Phew!

Kaily Hart said...

Congrats on your release. I think Natasha is pretty darn awesome too :). I bet you get to number 20 in no time!

Kate Pearce said...

congrats! I have a crit partner who came to romance writing from cozy mysteries and suspense and I used to read her synopsis and say this is lovely but where the romance arc? She's awesome at it now and does the opposite to me when I write my straight mysteries. :)

Jill James said...

This sounds like an awesome story. I love romantic suspense. On my to-write list. LOL

jill @ jilljameswrites.com

Natasha Moore said...

Love having you as my guest today, Alison! LOL about you hearing my voice as your write now. That's kinda scary :)

Alison Stone said...

Thanks Kaily. I love your optimism!

Alison Stone said...

Kate ~ it's a great thing to have "fresh eyes" read our manuscripts to see where we're falling short. Sometimes we're too close to it. However, I think I am getting a hang of the romance part. :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Alison Stone said...

Thanks, Jill! And thanks for taking the time to comment.

Vonda Sinclair said...

Welcome to Fierce Romance, Alison! Congratulations on your new release!

Mackenzie Crowne said...

Love the blurb, and your personal story brought a smile. I'm releasing my debut title myself, the day after tomorrow, and know how exciting and scary tomorrow will be for you. Best of luck to you.

Oh, and I love the look of your blog, Natasha.

maccrowne@gmail.com

Alison Stone said...

Thanks for having me, Natasha. Yes, I do hear your voice. It reminds me that it's a romance, dummy. Okay, I might have added the dummy part. I tend to be hardest on myself. :)

By the way, the comments will be open until Friday, April 27th, then we'll pick one lucky winner.

Alison Stone said...

Thanks, Vonda!

Alison Stone said...

Thank you, Mackenzie! And good luck to you. It's the the next step on the journey...

Dariel Raye said...

Nice post, Natasha and Alison. Congratulations on your debut release, Alison! RANDOM ACTS sounds like a great story :-)

Stevie Carroll said...

I'm a big fan of historical mystery series with an ongoing and evolving relationship between the central characters.

stevieDOTcarrollATdormouseDOTmyzenDOTcoDOTuk

Alison Stone said...

Thanks, Pen.

Alison Stone said...

Stevie ~ thanks for stopping by. I love the different worlds books open to us.

Joanne said...

Congrats on the new release. Can't wait to read it. Sounds like an amazing book.
I will read almost any kind of genre. Before, I started reading romance books, I loved reading mystery/suspense novels. I still do on occasion.

e.balinski(at)att(dot)net

Alison Stone said...

Thanks for stopping by, Joanne. I will try different genres, too. Mystery/suspense is always a favorite but I prefer it with a romance. Nothing like falling in love while in jeopardy.

Fedora said...

Great to "meet" you, Alison! Congrats on your Samhain debut, and yay on finding a home for your RS stories! Sounds like you've got some fabulous stories to share with us readers! RS is such a great mix of an exciting read with a dash of romance!

joye said...

Enjoyed reading the comments.
I like romantic suspense books best. I read all genres of books.. I just love to read, period.

Alison Stone said...

Flchen1 & joye ~ Thanks for stopping by. So glad you both enjoy reading RS. :)

Alison Stone said...

Happy Saturday! I used a random number generator to pick the winner of the $5 Samhain gift card. Drum roll please...

Mackenzie Crowne!

I will contact you via the e-mail you provided to arrange your prize. Thanks again everyone who stopped by!