Tori Tells All: November 2012

Thursday, November 29, 2012

New Release! The Christmas Wish

New Release! The Christmas Wish It's live on Amazon and Smashwords. B&N isn't working tonight, so I can't check it yet.

Merry Peterson is not a big fan of Christmas. Ever since she found out at the age of 8 that her parents had lied to her about Santa, the whole holiday thing lost its magic. Now she's a long way from home, alone, and missing her family. And then she falls right into Santa's lap.

Jason Wells might be a hard-working news anchor, but he still takes time to play Santa for the kids at Children's Hospital, collects toys for underprivileged children, and solicits donations for worthy causes. But Merry's assignment for Dallas Beats magazine is to expose the darker side of the Channel Six news team, and Jason just might get caught in the middle.

The Christmas wish is a 20,000 word novella about the true meaning of Christmas and how helping others can lead to a dream come true.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Which Would You Choose?

Which of these covers do you like better? Which would make you want to grab the book and read it? (Keep in mind, the gold frames are part of the blog, not the covers.) These are temporary picture files.
On the final cover, the Bigstock logo will be gone.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Coming Soon!

The Christmas Wish is finished, it's been through final edits and proofreading, and the cover is in production. As soon as we get that finished, The Christmas Wish will go live. Look for it by the end of this week on Amazon and B&N, and soon at Apple, Sony, Kobo, Diesel, etc.

Merry Peterson is not a big fan of Christmas. Ever since she found out at the age of 8 that her parents had lied to her about Santa, the whole holiday thing lost its magic. Now she's a long way from home, alone, and missing her family. And then she falls right into Santa's lap.

Jason Wells might be a hard-working news anchor, but he still takes time to play Santa for the kids at Children's Hospital, collects toys for underprivileged children, and solicits donations for worthy causes. But Merry's assignment for Dallas Beats magazine is to expose the darker side of the Channel Six news team, and Jason just might get caught in the middle.

The Christmas wish is a 20,000 word novella about the true meaning of Christmas and how helping others can lead to a dream come true.

Monday, November 12, 2012

The Next Big Thing

Thanks to Stacy Juba for inviting me to participate in The Next Big Thing. I have to admit I forgot all about it until Google Calendar sent me an alert. I have a good excuse, really. I'm writing two books at the same time.

What is your working title of your book?

I'm working on a Christmas novella titled The Christmas Wish and also on Book Three in the Lone Star Cowboys series, titled The Bluest Eyes in Texas.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

The Bluest Eyes in Texas is a continuation of The Lone Star Cowboys series, featuring Nancy Phillips and Cooper Saunders. Nancy is a nurse and a psychologist and Cooper is a bull rider.

What genre does your book fall under?

Contemporary Western Romance.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I have no idea. This is always a hard question for me because I don't watch that many movies with young actors. I tend to watch ones with older actors that wouldn't work for my books. But just as a guess, maybe Christian Bale as Cooper and Emma Stone as Nancy.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A bull rider is seriously injured in the National Finals and decides to come home after twenty years on the road, where he meets a nurse who wants to put down roots with a man she can trust to stay put.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

The Bluest Eyes in Texas, like the rest of the Lone Star Cowboys series, will be self-published.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

About two months. Hopefully. It's still a work in progress.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I have a hard time comparing my books to others. My closest guess would be Linda Lael Miller's McKettrick's series, but set in contemporary West Texas.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My readers. They wanted the series to continue with Nancy's story, and then Jean's to follow in book four. I have to admit, though, that once Cooper Saunders began to take shape, nothing could stop me from writing his story. Love those sexy cowboys.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

If you're a fan of cowboys, Texas stories, rodeo and/or bull riding, I think you'll like The Bluest Eyes in Texas. Or if you liked the first two books of the Lone Star Cowboys series, this book should be an enjoyable follow up, with Meagan, Logan, Katie and Charlie returning from Blame it on Texas, and Carol and Jake from Blue Moon over Texas playing a part as well. There's a lot of emotion in this story, and a lot of lovin'!

Look for The Bluest Eyes in Texas in December on Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, iTunes, Sony, Kobo, etc.

Next up, check out what Meg Allison is up to for her Next Big Thing.

About My Books

DOUBLE EXPOSURE

Wild child Lacy Fitzgerald may have made one bet too many. This time, the stakes are her trust fund, her freedom, and even her single status. To win, she must take her father's seed money and create a successful lingerie company in one year, and she must do it on her own. Six months into it, out of money and deeply in debt, she hires a handsome hunk to make her catalog sizzle and her sales soar.

But far from being a typical lingerie model, there's more to Gabriel Wallace than meets her eyes or her hands. Gabe isn't a down-on-his-luck construction worker standing in the unemployment line. He's not broke and desperate for any job, even one that has him posing in nothing but skin and his shorts. And he's most definitely not the kind of guy who wears skintight, heart-speckled silk briefs under his rugged jeans.

But for the chance to spend time with Lacy, Gabe will do almost anything. Anything, that is, except tell her who he really is.

To My Readers: Double Exposure is a story very dear to my heart. Lacy and Gabe deserve each other, but parental interference threatens their chance at happiness. How many of us have had the same experience? I hope you enjoy reading their story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

UNDERCOVER VICES

Desperate to break away from her overbearing mother and holier-than-thou sister, Cassie Mills takes on a moonlighting job she'd never have considered otherwise. But she needs money, and she needs it now.

Cassie runs afoul of an outdated and rarely enforced law when she decides to host Pleasure Parties. Reed Stevens is working undercover on the vice squad, not his favorite assignment, especially when he's assigned to what he considers fluff duty, cracking down on the home party sex toy business.

Cassie faces her greatest fear--what will her mother think?--and her aunt's Bridge Club. Reed faces a jealous and unstable partner, his ex-wife and her new love, and the wrath of Cassie's supporters. Neither one is prepared for the day when their professional paths cross. Shock, feelings of betrayal, lust, and love all intermingle until neither one is sure who is right and who is wrong.

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED

Caramia Kensington makes a living setting up seduction scenes for rich playboys. Imagine her surprise when her current customer turns out to be her old high school flame, Grayson Montgomery. And the woman he plans to seduce is Cara.

Cara refused to have sex with Gray when they were fifteen. She had plans and dreams for her life, and they didn't include risking an unplanned pregnancy. She made him a promise: if they were both still single at thirty, she'd have sex with him. And the next day is her thirtieth birthday.

Gray plans to collect on that promise Cara made back in high school. But his plans don't end with one night. Somehow he has to convince her he has staying power, that he will still be there in the morning, and for the rest of her life. Not an easy task when Cara has been left by every man in her life so far.

PERFECTLY SATISFIED

The sequel to Satisfaction Guaranteed

Regina Baker has loved Sam Hyatt since the third grade, but Sam has an ideal woman in mind, and Reggie doesn't even come close. As the heir to a sizable fortune, Sam has a responsibility to marry well. His wife needs to be well bred, well educated, and well heeled. As a poor preacher's daughter with a landscaping business that barely pays the bills, Reggie feels like a mangy mutt compared to Sam's current girlfriend, who has a pedigree a mile long.

Their matchmaking friends, Cara and Gray, arrange for Sam and Reggie to join them on a two week cruise, where Sam will have a chance to see what he's been missing without the society trappings he's normally surrounded by, and Reggie will have two weeks to win Sam's heart.

LONE STAR JUSTICE

Judge Madelyn Cooper never shows signs of weakness, but when a killer threatens her daughter's life, Maddie does what any mother would do. Run to the place where her daughter will be safe. And that place is Greendale, Texas. Maddie left Greendale fourteen years earlier, pregnant, broke, and without saying a word to Rand McCade. What could she say after her father killed his parents?

Rand McCade is determined to keep Greendale safe. As Sheriff, he promised there would be no repeats of the horrible day when his parents were murdered. Now Maddie is back, bringing trouble with her once again. And this time, she has a daughter. His daughter.

As a psychopath sets his sights on Maddie, Rand and Maddie must figure out who is after her, and why, before someone else ends up dead.

BLAME IT ON TEXAS

Logan Tanner shook the red dust of West Texas off his boots at the age of eighteen and hasn't looked back. When his father has a stroke, Logan is temporarily forced to return home and take over the family ranch. He still feels responsible for his mother's death when he was twelve, and has never gotten over the guilt. Now he's faced with having to protect his twelve year old daughter Katie and his sister and her friend Megan Flynn. It's nearly more than one man can handle. He can't wait to get back to Dallas.

Megan Flynn immediately falls in love with Morris Springs, Texas, population 976, when she delivers Logan's runaway daughter to his doorstep. Raised as a city girl, Megan has a dream of a few acres, a few champion Blue Heelers, and a small-town veterinary practice. The only thing standing between her and her dream is one stubborn, reluctant cowboy with an overprotective streak as wide as the West Texas prairie. But her stubborn streak is a match for his any day. And she's determined to prove it.

Blame it on Texas is a story of the power of love to overcome any adversity, the strength of family and friendship, and the joy that comes with being part of something bigger than yourself.

LEAN ON ME

From the softer side of Tori Scott, a story of two single parents brought together by a shared accident, a teenager with an attitude, and a little girl who steals everyone's hearts.

Sandy Morrow's four year old daughter is hit by an SUV as she's riding her tricycle down the sidewalk near her home. Her new next door neighbors, Hunter Thurman and his son Jason, had been arguing just before Jason jumped in the vehicle and took off without looking behind him. Now her daughter has a concussion and a broken leg,and Sandy has a sexy neighbor who will stop at nothing to make it up to her.Whether she wants him to or not.

Hunter Thurman has a mission: to fix the mess his son has made and to fix the mess he's made of his son's life. He is determined to take care of his next door neighbor and her daughter after the accident, but Sandy is independent and determined to take care of herself, insisting she doesn't need Hunter's help.

This book is dedicated to the men and women who leave homes and families to defend their country and champion freedom across the globe. You have our everlasting gratitude and we pray for your safety.

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