'Text me' is on the Tour Bus!

You might well have been wondering if I'd disappeared down a black hole! I haven't - but there have been a hundred and one things happening in my life, including my son's GCSE exams (feel the revision pain!), preparing for the Festival of Romance (yeah, I know it isn't until November, but I am SO excited to be attending as an author - any tips on how to behave, what to wear and what to take gratefully received!), and trying to write despite various elements of chaos....

Anyway, I'm on the tour bus with 'Text me" this week...

If you've got time, please click here for a full list of stops and join me along the way! (I get lonely on my own!!)

Meet Téa Cooper and Lily!

 I was really pleased when I found out I was going to be sharing a release date with Téa, I've know her for a while now and there's no-one else I'd prefer to be popping a celebratory bottle of champagne with! 
I'm over at her place to talk about my new Lyrical Press release later in the week, but today she's here sharing a bit about herself and 'Lily's Leap'. And she'll be back on Thursday with news of another release - a busy girl!

 

Hi Tea, thank you so much for dropping by.

Okay, starting off with the book and some quick fire questions…

1. If you had to sum up Lily’s Leap in 30 words or less what would you say?

It’s a romantic romp through nineteenth century Wollombi…bushrangers, horses, dashing heroes and heroines, wonderful fun! Is that less than 30 words? Wollombi is in Australia, just north of Sydney – can I add that?

2. Lilibeth sounds intriguing (and determined!) – what do you most like about her?

Lilibeth Dungarven is very much her own woman but she’s had a heap of set backs - married, widowed, back under her father’s rule, all before her twenty-first birthday. But she has a dream: she is determined to breed the perfect racehorse and restore the Dungarven horse stud to its former glory.

3. Is there anything about her that frustrates you?

There is actually – she is totally incapable of giving in even when the cards are stacked against her.

4. Can you tell us a bit about Tom?

Tom is not what he seems to be – there is more to him than the devil-may-care image he portrays.

5. And is he the type of guy you could fall for, or would you steer clear?

No way would I steer clear of him and I really can’t understand why Lily keeps trying to.

6. What/who inspired you to write the story?

I work down at the local museum once a month – and I hate opening up. It used to be the old court house and goal. You can’t put the lights on until you’ve turned the alarms off and I swear ‘they’ are all telling their stories and I disturb them. There’s a clip on Youtube if you would like to ‘walk in my shoes’!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZskLLSjX7g

7. And what about the characters - are they a little bit you, people you know, or did they just leap out and grab you (metaphorically speaking of course!)?

They are not so much a little bit me as a little bit ‘them’. (see comment above!)

And we, sorry I, being naturally nosy would love to know a bit about you…

1. Favourite genre(s) to read and to write?

Historical first, but not usually Regency. 

2. What part of writing do you enjoy most, coming up with the idea, planning, research, writing it or typing The End?!

Love the planning and the research and the ideas coming together. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle but I always feel a bit bereft when I type The End. It’s like saying goodbye to old friends.

3. Sum up in 30 words or less what you want to be doing in 5 years time.

Pretty much what I am doing now I hope!

4. Favourite thing to do when you’re not writing?

My backyard is one hundred acres of virgin bush – I love to wander around there. There’s something rather special about thinking you might be standing on a spot no other human has ever walked on. Then there’s Wollombi – it’s a great village full of interesting people (besides those in the museum!), restaurants and wineries. I’ve really got it all on my backdoor step.

5. Who/what inspired you to keep on writing until you got published?

I had procrastinated for so long – I gave up work in 2011 determined to crack it. It was something I had wanted to do since forever.

Book blurb:

Born into privileged society, Lilibeth Dungarven finds herself married, widowed, and much to her distress, back under her father’s rule, all before her twenty-first birthday. But this spirited and independent young woman has a dream: she is determined to breed the perfect racehorse and restore Dungarven horse stud to its former glory.

When the devastatingly attractive Captain Tom and his mismatched band of bushrangers stumble across a mob of the best horses they’ve ever seen, and the daughter of the famed Dungarven stud, they know their fortunes have changed. Their catch is worth a king’s ransom. Surely it can’t be too difficult to contain this beautiful young woman with violet eyes and skin-tight riding breeches for seven days?

And before you run off, can you share a little excerpt?

Copyright 2013, Tea Cooper

All rights reserved, Lyrical Press, Inc.

Lily could see the pale ribbon of road below cutting through the trees and the bright blue expanse of sky wide-open in front of her.

“Nero. You can do it,” she whispered into his sleek, shiny neck and he snorted in response. Her thigh muscles burned as she tightened her grasp on his flanks. His muscles tensed in response, attuned to her body. She gritted her teeth and willed her shaking hands to steady. “We can do this, Nero. We have to.” Her heart hammered so hard in her chest she thought it might leap right over the culvert and down the hill ahead of them.

With barely a moment’s hesitation she dug her heels into the stallion’s flanks and urged him down the hill. The last trees cleared and the sudden heat of the sun stung her face, then she crouched low over Nero’s neck. The clatter of his hooves on the sandstone surface told her they had reached the road. The blood raced through her veins, pulsing in her ears, a violent and excruciating pounding raged through her body.

“Stop!” Tom’s command echoed around her as the blocks of the convict hewn, sandstone walls reared ahead of her. Surely it wasn’t such a huge jump for a horse like Nero?

She leaned forward in the saddle and her cheek brushed the dampness of his neck. Time slowed. With her eyes squeezed tightly shut she sucked in a great gulp of air and clenched her teeth tightly together. Nero lifted into the air. His muscles bunched beneath her and he flew over the chiseled blocks and down the slope. Her knees gripped the saddle and she dragged the reins almost vertical as they plunged down. Tufts of wiry grass and small rocks littered the route. She flinched as Nero’s hooves crashed across them. Gasping in a quick breath, she prayed for the terrain to level off.

Her lungs contracted like bellows and what little air remained, whistled out through her pursed lips. Nero tensed and she shuddered as he stumbled and then regained his balance. Her heart leapt to her throat and her wrists twisted as she wrenched on the reins to slow him. He quivered to a halt. Silver spots danced in front of her eyes and she gulped in a breath to feed her starving lungs. Nero’s muscled body trembled and quaked beneath her and white froth flecked his muzzle.

“We did it, darling Nero. We did it.” The salty tang of his body filled her nostrils as she leaned over his neck murmuring endearments. She swayed with exertion and forced her rubbery muscles to respond as she squinted into the sunlight. Figures on horseback towered above her, stalled on the road. She had an overwhelming urge to wave her hand and shriek in triumph.

But she resisted; this was her opportunity and she had no time to waste. She cut away to the right praying her memory of the maps was correct as she searched for the track leading her to Laguna.

“Lil-eee. Lil-eee.” Tom’s call bounced off the sandstone walls. Shading her eyes with her hand she stared back toward the culvert wall. It was empty.

“Lil-eee. Lil-eee.” The sorrowful echo reached her, resounding somewhere deep in her gut. Her sweat-soaked curls clung to her face as she shook her head, raging at her ridiculous foolishness. After such an exhilarating and successful leap for freedom why did she suddenly feel so melancholy? Her heels bruised Nero’s flanks and she urged him away in a fast canter.

Buy links: Lyrical Press: http://lyricalpress.com/lilys-leap/

                 iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lilys-leap/id607994639?mt=11

                 Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lilys-Leap-ebook/dp/B00CJTQ2A2/
 

Where can your readers find you?

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TeaCooper1

FB: https://www.facebook.com/TeaCooper

Blog: http://www.teacooperauthor.com/blog.html

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/teacooperauthor/

Bio:

Téa writes historical romance featuring strong-minded women and irresistible Australian men. Love and life in nineteenth century Australia wasn't always easy. Her heroes and heroines have to fight long and hard for what they believe in before they reach their happy ever after.

Lily's Leap is Téa's first historical romance and Harlequin Escape will release her second Matilda's Freedom on 1^st July 2013.

She has also written three contemporary Australia romances—Tree Change, The Protea Boys and Passionfruit & Poetry. She is currently working on her third historical romance set on a schooner somewhere between Sydney and Van Diemen's Land.

To keep up with all of Téa's news visit her website www.teacooperauthor.com where you will find links to her blog and social media pages.

Thanks for sharing Téa and good luck with Lily’s Leap – see you back here on Thursday!

'Text me, Tweet me, Need me' - available now!

The official release date for 'Text me, Tweet me, Need me', my contemporary romance novella, is 6th May 2013 - but you can buy it now, direct from Lyrical Press!




Blurb

Texting and tweeting can lead to trouble when the truth gets out…

Dating your boss is bad. Finding out he’s married with a baby on the way is a whole lot worse, but losing your job when you show him the door really sucks. And when he knows all your family secrets, there’s bound to be trouble. But the job Samantha’s got lined up can put her life back on track. One last date for research purposes before she can finish her article on online dating–then she’s a man-free zone, and it’s serious journalism all the way.
Ben has only one thing on his mind: to keep the promise he made to look after Sam. All he has to do is work out how he can support a girl who distrusts men, hates charity, and definitely doesn’t want rescuing. He thinks he’s come up with the perfect solution, until he realizes it’s his heart, not his money he needs to invest.
But can Sam see past the lies and learn to trust a man again? And more importantly…will Ben still want her when he learns about her past?
CONTENT WARNING: Contains hot texts, sexy showers, a girl who can pack a punch, and lasagne.

Excerpt
“You’re enjoying this aren’t you? Enjoying proving I’m an idiot you can’t trust.”
“No.” If she’d thought his voice was hard before, this was new ground. Granite. And he looked angry. “No, I’m not enjoying this. I thought we had an agreement.” He looked straight at her. “Sam, we’re only one day in and you’re lying to me. What am I supposed to think?” His dark gaze bit into her, and her insides squirmed into an ever tighter knot. “I thought that I was a good enough judge of character to ignore all the skeptics who were warning me to steer clear of you.”
“What do you mean?” Fear sharpened her tone. “What do you mean the skeptics?” The gnawing in her stomach increased.
Why the hell hadn’t she seen this coming?
She’d been a bloody fool again. This wasn’t about not trusting her or thinking she couldn’t do the job, it was about every last person in the industry who judged her by what her stepbrother had done. She hadn’t thought it was a problem until Andy had sounded off, had pointed out to her that she only had a job because of him. Without him she was nothing.
The lead weight sank deeper in her gut. He was going to throw her out and all she could do was sit here with bile in her throat, saying nothing. Bowing to the inevitable. Except this time she wouldn’t.
“Oh come on, Sam, you know as well as I do that everyone knows everything in this business.”
“So this is about Mike is it? One day you like my work, then all of a sudden it doesn’t matter how I write, all of a sudden the gossip matters. Well, that stinks. You know that?”
“Hold on Sam, why the hell has this all turned into hysterics about Mike?”
“I’m not hysterical.”
“As near as, dammit.”
“And why the hell shouldn’t I be? It’s you who’s decided to sack me because of him.”
“Sack you? Because of Mike? Is that what you think?” His voice was flat, but when she looked up the granite features had softened. It brought a hard lump to her throat. But she didn’t want pity. Pity would make her cry. Bring the tears she was fighting tumbling out. “I don’t get where you’re coming from, Sam. This is about you breaking our agreement, not about your family. You can be related to the pope for all I care.”
“Then what’s all that shit about the skeptics? About industry gossip?”
“Oh, Sam.” He sighed and leaned back resignedly in his chair. “You know people talk, and one or two mouth off about you two being related and what he did, but I honestly think it’s all crap. The whole Mike thing is a lot of fuss about nothing, Mike was Mike and you are definitely you. But then you do something like this and I just don’t get it. And,” he leaned forwards, elbows on desk, studying her, “I don’t get why admitting you were close to him is such a big deal.”
“Close? He was my stepbrother.” Mike was gone, but his legacy lived on.
“We all have the odd problem relative. That’s what families are there for.”
“It‘s not funny.”
“Not much is in your world is it, Sam?” His voice softened even further and she hated him for it. It was easy for him to sit there making judgment.

The 'Next Big Thing' blog hop - Text me, Tweet me, Need me

 SO WHAT IS THE 'NEXT BIG THING' BLOG HOP?

The idea is for me to answer ten questions about my latest book, and then tag three more authors in order to continue the 'hop'.

I was tagged by Suzanne Brandyn so here goes…

TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT... ‘TEXT ME, TWEET ME, NEED ME’

1: Was ‘Text me Tweet me, Need me’ always the title of this book, even when it was a work in progress?

It was. I find it very difficult to start writing until I have the title and the characters names.

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?

I’ve always believed that you’re most likely to find someone when you’re not looking – and I’m also fascinated by the idea that you can meet someone online who you can fall in love with, before you’ve even met them. So I thought what if I combined the two, two people meeting on the internet when it was supposed to be about work not pleasure!

3: What genre does your book fall under?

Contemporary romance.

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

Tricky one – read it and send me suggestions!

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Texting and tweeting can lead to trouble when the truth gets out….

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

Neither! ‘Text me, Tweet me, Need me’ is due for release 6^th May 2013 with Lyrical Press.

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

To be honest, I can’t remember! Originally it was planned out as a longer story with a very different plot (but with the same core premise) – and then it got put away for a while until inspiration struck and I dragged it out and rewrote it. Once I got going with the new storyline it only took a few weeks.

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

None in particular – other than it’s a contemporary romance.

9: Who/what inspired you to write this book?

I’ve always spent a lot of time online (working in IT before I was writing) and have met some very interesting people. But it made me wonder, is it possible to meet someone you really click with via the internet? How much can you really know someone – do we show more of the real us if we’re safe behind a computer screen, or less?

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

Skeletons in the cupboard, hot texts, sexy showers, a girl who can pack a punch, and lasagne… is that enough to be going on with?!

‘Text me, Tweet me, Need me’ is available from 6^th May at Lyrical Press – check out my website here for updates on other places you can buy from. And I just have to say (again!) that I love the cover, do you?

Tag time.... I tag Melissa Jolley, Ruchita Summer Vasudeva, and Anne Stenhouse

There's no TagLine Tuesday here this week, it will be back next week. But you can check out three more great, hot titles on my Zara Stoneley blog!