Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Rapid Promo's: Melange Books, LLC
Monday, March 18, 2013
Melange Books An Interview with Joanne Rawson
Interview with....
JOANNE RAWSON
When did you
first consider yourself a writer?
I saw someone lying on a beach in Goa, reading my first published short story, and laughing. To see the front cover with my name on it, and them enjoying the story was surreal; then I realized I was a writer.
I saw someone lying on a beach in Goa, reading my first published short story, and laughing. To see the front cover with my name on it, and them enjoying the story was surreal; then I realized I was a writer.
What do you do
for fun and relaxation?
When in Goa, our fun time is twice a week we bring out the Scrabble and while playing we watch music DVD's, we also spend long weekends on the beach in bamboo huts. In Malaysia, we love exploring new places, traveling by bus. To relax I love cooking, do yoga and swimming, walking. I love nothing better than reading a good murder mystery.
When in Goa, our fun time is twice a week we bring out the Scrabble and while playing we watch music DVD's, we also spend long weekends on the beach in bamboo huts. In Malaysia, we love exploring new places, traveling by bus. To relax I love cooking, do yoga and swimming, walking. I love nothing better than reading a good murder mystery.
Do you think
you'll ever retire from writing?
I can't ever see myself retiring; I have so many stories to tell.
I can't ever see myself retiring; I have so many stories to tell.
Where do you
see yourself as a writer ten years in the future?
Of course, I would love to be famous, but I hope in ten years' time I will have enough experience and success that I can pass on to new up and coming writers.
Of course, I would love to be famous, but I hope in ten years' time I will have enough experience and success that I can pass on to new up and coming writers.
What are you
working on now?
I am just doing the final edits for my next short story chic lit, Always Mr Wrong.
I am just doing the final edits for my next short story chic lit, Always Mr Wrong.
Provide
information about your current work in progress.
At the moment, I am in the planning stages of a new romance novel. My Chick lit short stories are always on going.
At the moment, I am in the planning stages of a new romance novel. My Chick lit short stories are always on going.
What do you
hope to write in the future?
I love writing romance and chic lit, I can't actually see myself ever changing from this genre.
I love writing romance and chic lit, I can't actually see myself ever changing from this genre.
What can
readers look for next from you?
Coming out next my first romance novel, For Better or For Worse, and a chic-lit short story No Strings Attached.
Coming out next my first romance novel, For Better or For Worse, and a chic-lit short story No Strings Attached.
Where can
readers/fans see about you?
Sunday, March 10, 2013
One week left on Pangkor Island
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Great location for making a start on my next book
Finally after three weeks of finishing my last chic -lit short story and edits for my next short story, Unexpected Blind Date, I now have made a start of my next story.
Can't think of a better location for thinking.
Pangkor Island Malaysia
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Snippet From Learner Mum (Having My Baby Anthology)
Having My Baby
An Anthology
by
Joanne Rawson
Imari Jade
Daphne Olivier
Tori L. Ridgewood
Learner Mum ~ Joanne Rawson
Polly Wilkins is a successful freelance journalist slash writer. She has been living with her partner Steve in what her parents call sin for the last eight years. But, to her parent’s disappointment, there are no signs of wedding bells or the patter of tiny feet on the horizon. Why? Because Polly, is not in the least bit maternal. Can this all change after Polly and Steve have a torrid weekend looking after her nephew? Or will Polly stick to her guns and loose Steve forever?
I love my life, my routine. There is absolutely nothing I would change, but then one weekend, I had a phone call that was about to change not only my sacred weekend but a part of me, too. For you to fully understand where I am coming from, let me tell you a little about myself, I promise it won’t take long.
I come from a very religious background. Regardless of my parents’ preaching hell fire and brimstone, I have spent my entire life rebelling, unlike my younger sister, Wendy, the role model of morality, who has done it all by the big black book: courted, engaged, married and now raising a family. Although I am a successful freelance journalist slash writer, when I introduced Steve to my parents, straight away they knew he was the ideal husband for their then-twenty five year old daughter. Finally, I had found a man who could add stability to my life of debauchery. Steve is a morning presenter on one of Nottingham’s local radio stations, and the only son of Clive Rutherford, MD and Susan Rutherford, a respected pediatrician.
However, Steve and I have been living in what my parents call ‘sin,’ for the past eight years. We are so happy with our life, but to their disappointment, there are no signs of wedding bells or the patter of tiny feet on the horizon. Why?
Because, I hate babies. Well, perhaps hate is a little strong, and honestly speaking, how can I hate something I don’t know a bloody thing about? Don’t misunderstand me, of course I’m fully aware of the biological know how, of how one gets a baby. Trust me, I’ve had my fair share of the practical, but NEVER, NEVER, have I been tempted in the least to follow the experiment through. I personally think all men’s willies should be tattooed with a baby warning, like the stickers you see about dogs and Christmas in the back of a car window. It should read: A kid is for life, not for one night of sex.
And another thing, what is all this crap about my biological clock is ticking, or we just know when we are ready to start a family? So what do these people do? One night they are sitting watching their nightly soaps and the wife says instead of, "Shall I defrost a chicken for dinner tomorrow?" she says, "I think we should start a family." Then the husband considers for a moment, during an advert, and replies, "O.K. love, but after I’ve watched the news."
So now, you know that I, Polly Wilkins, am not in the least bit maternal.
You can Download Having My Baby From: www.amazon.co.uk www.melange-books.com
www.barnesandnobel.com www.allromanceebooks.com www.amazon.com
Snippet From For Better or For Worse
For Better or for Worse
By
Joanne Rawson
Take a trip to the steamy side of English suburbia. To the envying eyes of the locals, three ordinary women in their forties seem to have wonderful families and excellent careers. Or do they?
Annie Fitzgerald’s perfect marriage to the debonair Patrick falls apart when she discovers him having an affair. Struggling with a failed marriage, her world turns upside down. Suddenly being at home is not the ideal life she thought it would be. Annie finds solace in her salsa teacher. Patrick ends his affair, but with near fatal consequences.
Lorna Davies, mother of four children, is in a loveless marriage to Robin. Unexpectedly she literally runs into Ben Adams, an old flame from her teens. Secrets about her past that she has kept hidden for years are revealed, dramatically affecting her family, changing all their lives.
Celina Peel’s ex-husband, Ethan, arrives at her office after being gone twelve years. She truly believes him when he says he has changed. As Celina makes plans for the future with Ethan, she can not help wondering, has he changed or not? She encounters another problem, her son’s girlfriend. Unable to cut the apron strings, Celina has to accept Sam’s girlfriend or lose him forever.
To any passer-by, Rising Oaks was yet another suburban English village. However, Bishops Close, with its renovated cottages and small terraces converted into modern residences by couples escaping from the madness of city life, added a touch of wealth to the other grey houses and the ever-increasing rabbit warren of the housing estate. That is why, to the locals of Rising Oaks, it was a ritual to take daily walks or slow drives, straining to look into homes for ideas to take back to their shoebox houses and gardens, always in anticipation of a glimpse of three women. They really were just ordinary, but to the envied eyes of the locals, all had what seemed to be wonderful families and excellent careers, what most of the women of Rising Oaks aspired to have. These women, Annie Fitzgerald, Lorna Davies and Celina Peel, friends for years, seemed to be three perfect women, but in reality, each one had her secrets, trials and tribulations; what they never envisaged was how their lives would change one glorious day in June.
Lorna Davies weaved in and out of the traffic, with the dexterity of a Formula One driver, while at the same time on her car phone, apologised profusely to her boss for leaving the perspective buyers of 24 Madison Court in the lurch, assuring him that it would not happen again.
Battling through the one-way system, Lorna questioned herself about constantly pestering Robin to return to work, wondering now if she had made the right decision. Lorna openly admitted that her four children were not the typical role models, to any broody young mum, least of all to her new highflying boss at the estate agents where Lorna had just started to work. At her interview, Lorna made it perfectly clear that her four children were used to a working mother, and, with the nanny on hand, this job couldn’t be more suitable for her. Little did he know, Lorna thought as she sat, crossed legged, crossed fingered and appalled at herself, and at her blatant lies. Tara, seventeen now, had been a wonderful baby. Her nanny adored her. The birth of Lorna’s eight-year-old son Jason and twins, Wilson and Wayne, now six, not only gave Lorna and Robin a short sharp shock into parenting, but the nanny as well.
After her sudden departure, a succession of nannies had passed through their house. Timid Antoinette managed three weeks, finding Jason demanding twenty-four seven. Lorna had big hopes for Rula, but the day Lorna returned from work to find her bags packed in the hall, with a broken nose, and a couple of butterfly stitches in her eyebrow, she agreed that perhaps leaving was for the best. Heidi came with glowing references but was let go, no reflection on her work with the twins, but Robin seemed far too interested in the welfare of their pretty, blonde Norwegian nanny.
Just as Lorna was beginning to wonder if there was anyone out there that could cope with her children, the agency sent Comfort. Her name might be Comfort, but she ruled the boys and the rest of the family with a rod of iron. When the twins started school, she offered to stay, much to Lorna’s relief. Now here she was for the second time this month, leaving clients to rescue her boys, making promises she couldn’t keep that this would be the last time.
Lorna couldn’t understand what had spurred the boys’ latest caper. It had been a normal chaotic morning in the Davies house, Robin in his morning battle to pull Jason out of bed, Comfort in a frenzy packing lunches, kept one eye on the twins as they ate their scrambled eggs, making sure they were not sneaking it to Moggie their cat, while Lorna had yet another argument with Tara about spending the weekend in a tent with Thomas her new boyfriend at an animal rights rally. Then it all came to Lorna in a flash. "Of course, the little buggers. Tara and her animal rights issues." For one brief second, Lorna closed her eyes, knowing quite well that this last little escapade would cost either the boys having to leave St Thomas’ or put a big dent in last month’s bonus. As she opened her eyes, a four-wheel truck loomed up on her, stationary at the traffic lights. Standing on the breaks, the impact as she went into the back of the silver tank vibrated through her body, the sound of crushing metal sounded more expensive than the bribe for her sons’ misdemeanours.
"Shi ... shine a light." She unhooked her seatbelt, grabbed her bag then jumped out of the car.
Already the driver was out, slammed his door then gestured a finger of discontent to a passing vehicle sounding its horn.
"You stupid woman. What in the name ... "
"Sorry, it was totally my fault. There has been an emergency, and I need to get to my children’s school." Lorna started rummaging through her bag. "I’m sure we can sort this out amicably, without insurance. The last thing I need is an issue with my husband. Damn, where are my cards?"
Ben Adams assessed the damage to his precious truck, not at all interested in a dumb housewife’s domestic issues. Happy that there was more damage to her vehicle than his, he looked for the first time at the panic-stricken woman. Were his eyes deceiving him? After all these years of hoping, that on the off chance he would see her again? Maybe not quite like this. Ben had imagined he would see Lorna walking around a supermarket, perhaps seeing her from across the street, definitely not having her crash into him. Yet here she was, Lorna Miles, as she had been all those years ago when she left him broken hearted. The crash had just made his day.
"Not much damage. Just a scratch on the bumper and a crack in the brake light."
"Oh," was all she could say, amazed by his calmness, hoping that Robin would take the news of her crushed bonnet with the same composure, which was highly unlikely seeing, as Robin had zero tolerance with any women drivers. "Here’s my card. Whatever it costs, just send me the bill."
Lorna passed the card over, suddenly aware how her heartbeat had become rapid and strong, beating inside her chest. Without being too obvious, she moved forward to take a better look at him. If she were not so vain and wore her glasses, she would have recognized him right away. Her body began to shake inside, finding it hard to breathe, desperate to fill her lungs with fresh air. He was older. The once slender body now had muscles in all the right places. Was it really him? Most of all did he know it was her?
DOWNLOAD FOR ONLY 0.77p FROM: www.amazon.co.uk
OR: $0.99 FROM: www.melange-books.com www.barnesandnobel.com www.allromanceebooks.com www.smashwords.com
By
Joanne Rawson
Take a trip to the steamy side of English suburbia. To the envying eyes of the locals, three ordinary women in their forties seem to have wonderful families and excellent careers. Or do they?
Annie Fitzgerald’s perfect marriage to the debonair Patrick falls apart when she discovers him having an affair. Struggling with a failed marriage, her world turns upside down. Suddenly being at home is not the ideal life she thought it would be. Annie finds solace in her salsa teacher. Patrick ends his affair, but with near fatal consequences.
Lorna Davies, mother of four children, is in a loveless marriage to Robin. Unexpectedly she literally runs into Ben Adams, an old flame from her teens. Secrets about her past that she has kept hidden for years are revealed, dramatically affecting her family, changing all their lives.
Celina Peel’s ex-husband, Ethan, arrives at her office after being gone twelve years. She truly believes him when he says he has changed. As Celina makes plans for the future with Ethan, she can not help wondering, has he changed or not? She encounters another problem, her son’s girlfriend. Unable to cut the apron strings, Celina has to accept Sam’s girlfriend or lose him forever.
For Better or for Worse
By
Joanne Rawson
To any passer-by, Rising Oaks was yet another suburban English village. However, Bishops Close, with its renovated cottages and small terraces converted into modern residences by couples escaping from the madness of city life, added a touch of wealth to the other grey houses and the ever-increasing rabbit warren of the housing estate. That is why, to the locals of Rising Oaks, it was a ritual to take daily walks or slow drives, straining to look into homes for ideas to take back to their shoebox houses and gardens, always in anticipation of a glimpse of three women. They really were just ordinary, but to the envied eyes of the locals, all had what seemed to be wonderful families and excellent careers, what most of the women of Rising Oaks aspired to have. These women, Annie Fitzgerald, Lorna Davies and Celina Peel, friends for years, seemed to be three perfect women, but in reality, each one had her secrets, trials and tribulations; what they never envisaged was how their lives would change one glorious day in June.
Lorna Davies weaved in and out of the traffic, with the dexterity of a Formula One driver, while at the same time on her car phone, apologised profusely to her boss for leaving the perspective buyers of 24 Madison Court in the lurch, assuring him that it would not happen again.
Battling through the one-way system, Lorna questioned herself about constantly pestering Robin to return to work, wondering now if she had made the right decision. Lorna openly admitted that her four children were not the typical role models, to any broody young mum, least of all to her new highflying boss at the estate agents where Lorna had just started to work. At her interview, Lorna made it perfectly clear that her four children were used to a working mother, and, with the nanny on hand, this job couldn’t be more suitable for her. Little did he know, Lorna thought as she sat, crossed legged, crossed fingered and appalled at herself, and at her blatant lies. Tara, seventeen now, had been a wonderful baby. Her nanny adored her. The birth of Lorna’s eight-year-old son Jason and twins, Wilson and Wayne, now six, not only gave Lorna and Robin a short sharp shock into parenting, but the nanny as well.
After her sudden departure, a succession of nannies had passed through their house. Timid Antoinette managed three weeks, finding Jason demanding twenty-four seven. Lorna had big hopes for Rula, but the day Lorna returned from work to find her bags packed in the hall, with a broken nose, and a couple of butterfly stitches in her eyebrow, she agreed that perhaps leaving was for the best. Heidi came with glowing references but was let go, no reflection on her work with the twins, but Robin seemed far too interested in the welfare of their pretty, blonde Norwegian nanny.
Just as Lorna was beginning to wonder if there was anyone out there that could cope with her children, the agency sent Comfort. Her name might be Comfort, but she ruled the boys and the rest of the family with a rod of iron. When the twins started school, she offered to stay, much to Lorna’s relief. Now here she was for the second time this month, leaving clients to rescue her boys, making promises she couldn’t keep that this would be the last time.
Lorna couldn’t understand what had spurred the boys’ latest caper. It had been a normal chaotic morning in the Davies house, Robin in his morning battle to pull Jason out of bed, Comfort in a frenzy packing lunches, kept one eye on the twins as they ate their scrambled eggs, making sure they were not sneaking it to Moggie their cat, while Lorna had yet another argument with Tara about spending the weekend in a tent with Thomas her new boyfriend at an animal rights rally. Then it all came to Lorna in a flash. "Of course, the little buggers. Tara and her animal rights issues." For one brief second, Lorna closed her eyes, knowing quite well that this last little escapade would cost either the boys having to leave St Thomas’ or put a big dent in last month’s bonus. As she opened her eyes, a four-wheel truck loomed up on her, stationary at the traffic lights. Standing on the breaks, the impact as she went into the back of the silver tank vibrated through her body, the sound of crushing metal sounded more expensive than the bribe for her sons’ misdemeanours.
"Shi ... shine a light." She unhooked her seatbelt, grabbed her bag then jumped out of the car.
Already the driver was out, slammed his door then gestured a finger of discontent to a passing vehicle sounding its horn.
"You stupid woman. What in the name ... "
"Sorry, it was totally my fault. There has been an emergency, and I need to get to my children’s school." Lorna started rummaging through her bag. "I’m sure we can sort this out amicably, without insurance. The last thing I need is an issue with my husband. Damn, where are my cards?"
Ben Adams assessed the damage to his precious truck, not at all interested in a dumb housewife’s domestic issues. Happy that there was more damage to her vehicle than his, he looked for the first time at the panic-stricken woman. Were his eyes deceiving him? After all these years of hoping, that on the off chance he would see her again? Maybe not quite like this. Ben had imagined he would see Lorna walking around a supermarket, perhaps seeing her from across the street, definitely not having her crash into him. Yet here she was, Lorna Miles, as she had been all those years ago when she left him broken hearted. The crash had just made his day.
"Not much damage. Just a scratch on the bumper and a crack in the brake light."
"Oh," was all she could say, amazed by his calmness, hoping that Robin would take the news of her crushed bonnet with the same composure, which was highly unlikely seeing, as Robin had zero tolerance with any women drivers. "Here’s my card. Whatever it costs, just send me the bill."
Lorna passed the card over, suddenly aware how her heartbeat had become rapid and strong, beating inside her chest. Without being too obvious, she moved forward to take a better look at him. If she were not so vain and wore her glasses, she would have recognized him right away. Her body began to shake inside, finding it hard to breathe, desperate to fill her lungs with fresh air. He was older. The once slender body now had muscles in all the right places. Was it really him? Most of all did he know it was her?
DOWNLOAD FOR ONLY 0.77p FROM: www.amazon.co.uk
OR: $0.99 FROM: www.melange-books.com www.barnesandnobel.com www.allromanceebooks.com www.smashwords.com
Snippet from No Strings
No Strings Attached
by
Joanne Rawson
Wedding invitations are supposed to bring a smile to your face, with thoughts of a happy occasion that two people would be joining in Holy matrimony, publicly declaring their love for each other. However, for Laura Lee, it was just confirmation that at thirty-three, she had spent all her time and efforts on her career and is still single.
After finding out that her ex will be attending the same wedding, Laura Lee has three days to find herself a date. In desperation, she calls on the help of her best friend Lisa, the who’s who of Nottingham’s eligible bachelors.
Discovering that Nottingham’s most rich and handsome men find her icy, Laura has to take her only option, the man she most despises, her work colleague, Adam Ford.
No Strings Attached - Joanne Rawson
It would almost be about a month, yes a month ago now. I arrived home from work, a pile of mail greeting me on my doormat. Sifting through the usual bank statement, household bills, and a whimper at the balance of my credit card bill, I winced at the next letter, a thick cream-colored expensive envelope, striking thick black letters, bearing just my solitary name, MISS LAURA LEE.
It suddenly dawned on me, it was the month of May. Inwardly I groaned, knowing that by the end of September, I would have a line of these cream cards, embossed with gold letters on my mantelpiece, inviting me and one guest.
Wedding invitations are supposed to bring a smile to your face, with thoughts of a happy occasion that two people would be joining in Holy Matrimony, publicly declaring their love for each other. But for me, it was just confirmation that at thirty three, I’d spent all my time and efforts on my career, and before you get any preconceived ideas, I’m no super model, fashion editor of a glossy magazine, or a world renowned surgeon, I’m a plain Jane, boring auditor for a large chain of bars and restaurants, who has fought her way through a world of male bureaucracy, thus enabling me to buy my own house, and filling it with cherished belongings, in the process having forgotten my main cherished possession, a man to share it all with. It seems I would spend a lifetime receiving invites to Miss Laura Lee and guest.
There had been one man, three years ago—Robert—that after years together, I thought would be a lifelong possession. However, my friend, (now ex friend) had swept him from under my nose, like a professional
bargin hunter at the first day of the Next sale. You know what I’m talking about, ladies, don’t you? Having admired it for weeks, but you knew it was way out of your price range. Then for hours you stood in the queue waiting, knowing exactly what you want, and then, when you finally see it on the rack, you can’t believe that it is still there. You take a minute to admire it, knowing it fits perfect, makes you feel good, and then, before you know it, some silly bitch snatches it from your reach. You also know bloody well, that in a few weeks, she will toss it aside, unwanted, and soiled. Well, that is exactly what Marsha Doyle did to me, the bitch. She’d always wanted everything I had, and when she finally got her perfect manicured claws in Robert, she played with him like a cat with a mouse.
So here I am, a month later, and only three days to my cousin’s big event. Not that I’m counting. Normally such trivialities as a wedding would be pushed to the back of my mind, if it hadn’t been for the phone call.
DOWNLOAD FOR ONLY 0.77p FROM: www.amazon.co.uk
OR $0.99 FROM: www.melange-books.com www.amazon.com www.smashwords.com www.allromanceebooks.com
Happy Reading Joanne
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