Thought It Would Be Fun...

...to post a new excerpt from my latest release, Confederate Rose.

Her pale cheeks turned a becoming shade of pink. She lifted one white, bare arm from the quilt to gesture at the clothing drying by the fire. "Now didn't you tell me to hang yer things out to dry?"

Alex grimaced. He had told her to do that. But he hadn't expected her to go through his pack. "So I did," he admitted.

She slipped her arm back into the quilt and lifted her chin. "'Tis an apology I should be expecting, Mr. Hart."

"Apology? You were going through my things."

"Because you ordered me to see to yer wet clothes."

Alex didn't think he'd win this argument. "Very well, ma'am. I apologize if I've offended your fine sensibilities in any way."

She straightened and hugged the quilt, eyeing him regally. "I accept yer apology, Mr. Hart."

"Well then." He hesitated and dropped his gaze. Her wide eyes drove his thoughts to ideas best left alone. That and the knowledge of what little she wore under the quilt. He cleared his throat. "I suggest we bed down for the night."

"Not until you get yerself out of those wet clothes."

His brows shot up. "I beg your pardon?"

"Ye'll surely not be sleeping in those wet things. 'Tis by the fire ye'll be needing to hang them."

His gaze settled on the clothes draped over the two chairs. Steam rose from them. "But those clothes aren't dry yet."

"Ye'll not be needing clothes to sleep." She grinned mischievously. "We've plenty of blankets."

Another chance to win!

Today is the official release day for my latest Civil War romance Confederate Rose from The Wild Rose Press!!

Join me today at Slip Into Something Victorian. I'm giving away an e-book copy of Confederate Rose. Just leave a comment on my post today and you'll be entered to win. I'll announce the lucky winner tomorrow.

Winners of Confederate Rose contest!!

Announcing the winners of my contest for the lauch of my newest romance novel, Confederate Rose.

1st prize - autographed print copy of Confederate Rose
Chris Mead

2nd & 3rd prizes: e-book downloads of Confederate Rose
Edwin R. Harrington & Margaret C. White

Congratulations to all the winners!!

Confederate Rose releases in e-book format on September 25th. And if you're not one of the winners, leave a comment on my release day post and you'll be entered for a chance to win an e-book download.

Win a Copy of Confederate Rose

I'll be launching a contest on my website on Tuesday, August 25th. All you have to do is read the opening paragraphs of Confederate Rose, posted on my site and answer one easy question. I'll draw from the entrants and pick three winners on September 23rd, two days before the official release from The Wild Rose Press.

While you wait to enter, here's the blurb and exerpt from Confederate Rose.

Disguised as a man to serve with her husband as a soldier in the Confederate Army, Irish immigrant, Katie Rose O'Reilly, vows to remain in the ranks and seek revenge on Yankees after her husband is killed at Sharpsburg. As she's transporting mail from Richmond back to camp, a stranger startles her, causing her to fall and almost drown in a swollen stream.Southerner Alexander Hart, a Yankee spy, saves Katie from drowning, then nurses her through a resulting fever. He must keep his identity secret from the beautiful Rebel soldier even as he finds himself falling in love with her.

Katie falls in love with the caring gentlemen stranger, only to later discover he's the enemy. Heartbroken, she turns him in to the Confederates, but then questions her goals and beliefs. Is it possible to put aside her quest for revenge to save the man she loves?

Excerpt:

"What? Are you telling me you were kissing him?" His blood heated at the thought of her moving on to another man.

"I was tryin' to escape."

"By kissing him?"

"Aye." Anger flashed in her eyes. "And it was working until you came along and hit the poor lad."

He grasped her forearm and pulled her from the guardhouse. They couldn't stay here debating. "Come on, we've got to get out of camp. I fear I've compromised my cover."

"But what about Nate?" she protested. "You may have killed him."

Sighing, Alex knelt and felt for a pulse. The lad's breathing was regular, his pulse steady. "Reckon he'll be out for awhile, but aside from a nasty headache and some bruising, he should be all right." He rose and glanced into the guardhouse. "They’ll reckon you clobbered him when he came for your dinner plate." He caught her worried gaze. "Now, let’s skedaddle."

She nodded, but eyed him again. "Why are you dressed as a priest?"

"It's a disguise. I'm ministering to the Rebel soldiers." His eyes roved to the white vee of her bosom. "Button your shirt before we go. We don’t want to attract any more attention."

Read the opening chapters at http://susanmacatee.com/confederateroseone.html

Promo Mania

I'm only two days away from my second book release from The Wild Rose Press. Erin's Rebel has been out less than two weeks and my short story in Northern Roses and Southern Belles, debuts on Friday.

I'm finding it hard to keep up with all the necessary promo and still make headway on my newer projects.

What I've had to do is compartmentalize my day. I try to fit in any necessary morning promo between my workout, errands and household tasks. After my lunch break, I reserve at least one hour for the first draft of my newest WIP. My daily goal is at least 1000 new words, and at least 5000 per week.

I'm also polishing up the opening chapters of my sci-fi WIP in the revision stage to enter in two separate contests. The deadlines are late August and early September, so I can't allow this to lapse.

And since I'll have two new releases out so close together, I've decided to promo each on alternate weeks. I've already gotten promo in for Erin's Rebel and now I'll concentrate on the anthology for the coming week. I'm so new at this book promo stuff as I only have one short story that was released over a year ago.

For all you promotion pro's out there who've had books out or have dealt with mutliple releases, I'd appreciate any advice you can give me. And my money flow is tight right now, so I'm looking for lost cost or free promo suggestions.

Thanks!

Win a Copy of Erin's Rebel!!

My debut romance, Erin's Rebel, hits the e-book shelves today. And in honor of American Rose month over at The Wild Rose Press, it will be discounted until the end of this month.

Also, everyone who leaves a comment to this post, will be entered in a contest to win a pdf copy of Erin's Rebel. I'll announce the winner here tomorrow.

Blurb: Philadelphia newspaper reporter, Erin Branigan, is engaged to marry an up-and-coming lawyer, but dreams of a man from the past change those plans and start her on a journey beyond time. After a car accident, Erin wakes to find herself living in the 1860s in a Confederate army camp.

Captain Will Montgomery, the man of her dreams, is now a flesh and blood Rebel soldier who sets her soul aflame. But the Irish beauty holds a secret he needs to unravel before he can place his trust in her.

Can she correct a mistake made long ago that caused his death and denied her the love she was meant to have? Or is she doomed to live out her life with nothing but regret?

Excerpt:

She gazed up into his dark eyes. Up close they were a deep, chocolate brown. He was so damned attractive in that uniform. Clearing her throat, she found her voice. "I appreciate what you did, Captain. That man's been harassing me."

"I suspected as much. Wagner doesn't seem to know how to be respectful to a woman."

She had trouble finding the words to reply. The aroma of sandalwood and his unique masculine scent that had floored her when he'd carried her into Doc’s tent left her flabbergasted.

"I'd warned Wagner to stay away from you," he said.

"He was so drunk, I don't think any warning would have stopped him."

"He didn't hurt you--"

She shook her head, noting the concern in his eyes. "All I could think to do was get out of the tent."

"That was wise, ma'am."

She glanced at the bundle he still held. "Are those for me?"

He grinned. "If you don't mind, ma'am. I have two shirts that need washing."

"My pleasure." When he handed her the clothes, their hands briefly touched. Electricity shot through her. She caught his gaze.

His eyes widened. He swallowed and backed away a few steps, then tipped his cap. "Ma'am." He turned away.

She watched him cross the camp and disappear from sight. If a reason existed for her coming to this time period, it had to be Will Montgomery. But why had this happened? Would she ever go back to her old life, or was she stuck here forever?

Although she'd tried to hold her emotions in check, the tension that had been building for the last few days caused her eyes to burn at the prospect. A sob built at the back of her throat. She dropped the clothing she’d been sorting in the basket and scurried into the privacy of her tent.

Erin's Rebel available today in both digital and print formats at http://www.thewildrosepress.com/

Contest Winners Announced!!

The results of my website contest are in.

Here are the winners.

#1 – Autographed print copy of Erin’s Rebel – Amy Smith

#2 – pdf copy of Erin’s Rebel – Judy Cox

#3 - $10.00 gift certificate to The Wild Rose Press – Karen Nutt

All winners have been notified and announced at www.susanmacatee.com/News.html

Congratulations to all the winners!!

And a big thanks to everyone who entered.

Erin’s Rebel will be available in both e-book and print tomorrow at http://www.thewildrosepress.com/

I’ll also be giving away another pdf download to one lucky person who leaves a comment here tomorrow, July 17th when I post a new excerpt. For more information on Erin's Rebel or to read the opening chapters, go to my website: http://www.susanmacatee.com/

End of January

Just realized it's already the last day of January. A good thing in my eyes, since it means we're just that much closer to spring. I had to look over my January goals to see what I've accomplished. Of course, I did get sidetracked by that galley for Confederate Rose, but that superceded all other goals, because now I've got that September 2009 release date.

Although, now that I've looked, I see I neglected to post my goals for January. I just have a list of what I want to accomplish this year. So, I'll list what I did get done this month.

1. Finished galley work for Confederate Rose and got my release date of September 25, 2009.

2. Finished revising my short vampire story, Sweet Redemption. All I have to do now is give it a final polish and send it back to the editor.

3. Wrote most of the first draft of my short Civil War Christmas story, The Christmas Ball. I'm working on the final scene now. Why, oh why, do I have such a hard time writing those final scenes?

4. I'm re-reading the partial first draft of my full-length science fiction romance, Moons of Cynara to reacquaint myself with the story. I'd written the first 200 pages before I had to stop to work on the Confederate Rose galley. And I just can't resist doing a bit of editing as I go along.

Looks like I did accomplish a lot this month. My goals for February will be to:

1. Finish up and re-submit Sweet Redemption.

2. Finish the first draft of The Christmas Ball, take a two week break from it and revise.

3. Start back on the first draft of Moons. Not sure how many pages or words I'll have time to write for it, since I'll be working on it between other projects, but if I can complete another 100 pages by the end of the month, I'll be happy.

2009 Goals

So, what do I want to accomplish in 2009?

First of all I want to finish the projects I'm working on at present.

• complete outline for short Christmas story
• write first draft
• revise and polish, then submit by April 1st
• complete first draft of science fiction romance, Moons of Cynara
• after a long break from it, I'd like to revise, polish and search out publishers to submit to
• submit partials to selected publishers
• revise short vampire story, Sweet Redemption and resubmit to editor
• finish proofread of galley for Confederate Rose
• work with editor on contracted anthology story
• start on promo for Erin's Rebel close to the release date of July 17th

Well, that's my list for now. All of these are projects already contracted or in development. It looks like a lot, so I'll see how it goes.

Release Day for Erin's Rebel!

I finally got it. My release day for Erin's Rebel is officially set for July 17, 2009. I am so excited, because it will be released in both digital and print on the same day. So, it's time for an excerpt. Hope you enjoy.

Erin's Rebel

Time Travel Romance

The Wild Rose Press

Blurb: Philadelphia newspaper reporter, Erin Branigan, is engaged to marry an up-and-coming lawyer, but dreams of a man from the past, a Civil War captain, change her plans and start her on a journey beyond time. After a car accident, Erin wakes to find herself living in the 1860s in a Confederate army camp.Captain Will Montgomery, the man of her dreams, is now a flesh and blood Rebel soldier who sets her soul aflame. But the Irish beauty holds a secret he needs to unravel before he can place his trust in her.Can she correct a mistake made long ago that caused his death and denied her the love she was meant to have? Or is she doomed to live out her life with nothing but regret?

Excerpt

"Ma'am," someone called, startling her. "I'm mighty pleased to see you're up."

She turned in the direction of the deep voice. Am I dreaming? She licked her dry lips as she stared into the dark eyes that had haunted her dreams.

"Ma'am? You look a might peaked."

As he moved closer, her knees turned to jelly. Strong, hard-muscled arms embraced her, offering support. Her head spun. She lifted a hand to stop the motion and encountered wool, a double row of metal buttons and a rock-hard chest. The enticing aroma of sandalwood mixed with a musky, masculine scent, plus a tinge of wood smoke invaded her senses. Had she hit her head harder than she'd thought?

She gazed at his lightly tanned face. Firm lips tilted upward slightly at the corners surrounded by a thin chocolate-colored mustache curving into a neatly-trimmed beard covering only his chin. Thick, dark hair brushed his collar and curled from beneath a broad-brimmed black hat. Her pulse raced as she leaned against his long, solid frame. Night after night in her dreams she'd run her hands through those curls.

"How can you be here?" she murmured.

"Pardon me, ma'am?"

"I don't understand." She tried to wrench from his grasp, but he gathered her close, lifting her into his arms. "What are you doing?"

To read the opening chapters, click here: http://susanmacatee.com/erinsrebel.html

September Goals

Haven't posted my September goals yet, mainly because I can't figure out what I want to do.

Currently I'm waiting on the galley for Erin's Rebel. When that comes in, my main goal will of course be to get that done so I can get my release date.

I'm also waiting for word on two full-length manuscripts I've submitted to The Wild Rose Press.

Meanwhile, I'm waiting for critiques from my group on the last chapters of my anthology story and I'm purposely waiting before I start revisions to the first draft of my new vampire story.

A lot of waiting!

So, the only project I'm not stuck waiting on right now is the outline for my new science fiction romance. For now, my goal will be to complete the outline by the end of this month, if nothing more urgent comes in.

My First Ever Review!

I just got my first ever review. It was for my new release, Eternity Waits. Three and a half books out of five from The Long and Short of It.

Here's the link: http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/2008/04/review-eternity-waits.html

Time For Another Excerpt

Eternity Waits come out next Wednesday. Yay!

I've waited so long for a new release. Can't believe it's so close.

Here's another excerpt to whet your appetite:

Eternity Waits

North of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
July 1, 1863

Caleb Weathers tensed at a rustle behind him. He swung his Enfield rifle in the general direction. A hoot, followed by the rustle of large wings left him staring into the wide-eyed gaze of a Barn owl. When the bird took flight, he breathed a sigh of relief. The scents of pine and fetid soil calmed him a bit.

The thickness of the forest made him all to aware of how vulnerable he was to attack despite the weight of his weapon. Caleb sensed a presence behind him. He broke into a sweat and the hairs on the nape of his neck rose. He whirled and aimed the barrel of his rifle at the form that appeared out of nowhere.

"Who are you?" he asked. "Where'd ya come from?"

The woman smiled. Blood-red lips and luminous blue eyes captured his gaze. Her raven hair glinted in the moonlight.

"I am Alexandra." Her low, throaty voice held a guttural accent.

What is a beautiful woman doing in camp alone in the dead of night? She couldn't be up to any good. And yet, as he watched her, a thrill of anticipation raced through him. Something about her seemed familiar. A memory he couldn't quite reach.

He swallowed. "You'd best skedaddle, ma'am. You can't come through camp without a pass."

"I can for you, my darling." With one fluid motion, she moved closer.

He cocked his rifle. "Stop right there."

Her exquisite lips drew into a pout. "I would never harm you, Dimitri."

At the sound of the name an eerie sensation swept over him.

"Who the hell is Dimitri?" he asked. "My name's Caleb."

Contest Starts Today!

Here's your chance to win a $10.00 gift certificate for The Wild Rose Press!

Just leave a comment on any of my blog posts between today and April 19th and you'll be entered in a drawing to win.

The winner will be announced here on April 21st, two days before the release of Eternity Waits. So, if you leave a comment, be sure to check back to see if you won.

Here's the blurb and excerpt for Eternity Waits again:

Alexandra Ivanov has wandered the night alone for the past three hundred years. The only man she truly loved had been taken from her on a bloody battlefield centuries ago. Now she finds herself drawn to Caleb Weathers, a virile soldier who sets her heart racing.

Caleb, a Confederate soldier stationed in Gettysburg in 1863, is intrigued by the beautiful, exotic woman who calls him by the name Dimitri. When she touches him, she sets his body on fire. But is she the devil in disguise?

Excerpt:

Alexandra rose from the cave where she'd slept and stretched luxuriously. The moon beckoned, a pale, silver glow. He awaited her.

Her mind called out to him. Dimitri.

And he answered her. Alexandra, lyubof, come to me.

A chill raced down her spine as she thought of her lost love. How could it be him? Was it possible for the soul to be reborn in a different body? Her mere existence proved stranger things possible. Was she deluding herself? The young American couldn't possibly be Dimitri. But she'd felt his presence since the first time she'd come upon Caleb guarding the outposts of the Rebel camp. She watched him from the shadows, his body taut, on alert. He stared at her, then lowered his gun and reached for her.

She moved toward him, a question in her eyes.

"Dimitri, my Dimitri," she murmured into his ear. Their lips met. She took his mouth greedily. Memories of Dimitri lying beside her, his body entwined with hers, sent her passion soaring. She slid her lips along his throat.

I'm Having a Contest!

In honor of the release of Eternity Waits on April 23rd, I'm having two separate contests here and on my website: http://susanmacatee.com

Prizes for both will be a $10.00 gift certificate for The Wild Rose Press.

The contest for both locations starts on March 31, 2008. And it's easy. All you have to do is leave a comment on any one of my blogs from March 31 to April 19th. So, be sure to come back and pay a visit.

And if you enter my website contest, too, you'll have a chance to win another $10.00 gift certifcate.

Details for my website contest are at: http://susanmacatee.com/News.html