Many thanks for dropping by to my blog.
For further information please visit my website http://www.michelle-smart.com/

Friday, 10 May 2013

And the Winner is...

Thank you to everyone who voted - the outright winning title for the Cinderella story in our anthology,  Once Upon A Twist, was Glass Slippers & Combat Boots, so many thanks to Jane Hunt for suggesting it, and many thanks to all of you who voted for it!

As promised, I stuck all the commentators names in a hat and got my eldest munchkin to pull a name out. The winning name, the person who shall receive a copy of Once Upon A Twist is.... *drum roll please*... Jane Hunt!!! Yep, not only did Jane come up with the winning title, but she also won the random draw too.

Again, my thanks to everyone who voted and commentated, and as a taster for what you can expect from Glass Slippers & Combat Boots, here's a little something the incredibly talented Aimee Duffy made for me (speaking of Aimee, don't forget to head over to her blog to see the winning title for her book and the winning commentator by clicking here):


Take care all xxx

Friday, 3 May 2013

Once Upon a... Competition!

At last, the day you've all been waiting for has arrived! Fret no more; all is about to be revealed (think I might be suffering delusions of grandeur).

As you most likely know, Aimee Duffy and I are publishing an anthology called Once Upon A Twist.

We have each rewritten a fairy tale - I've done Cinderella, and Aimee's done Little Red Riding Hood. For me, this was the most fantastic opportunity to write something 'different' - and I promise it's completely different to anything I have ever done. I had a blast writing it, and Aimee did too!

All that we're missing are titles for our individual books - and we want your help in selecting them...

Here's the blurb for Once Upon A Twist:

Cinderella (my book):

Once Upon A Time in a land far, far away, the creatures are coming…

In a land run by misogynists, where fair maidens are deemed liable to fall in a dead faint at the sight of blood, Prince Charming is worried – the creatures that have destroyed their neighbouring kingdoms are coming for them. He judges it imperative to get all the females to safety, but first he needs to break the enchantment enslaving his One True Love to her hateful home. Oh, and there’s the small matter of the Ball to get through too.
But when the creatures reach them ahead of their expected time, all plans are foregone. Can Ella break her wicked stepmother’s enchantment? Can she save her handsome Prince and the kingdom before midnight strikes? And can she show his soldiers what it really means to kick  a monster’s butt? The clock is ticking…


Little Red Riding Hood (Aimee's book):



 Many, many years later…
 
When Ruby visits her grandmother in the deep, dark forest, she stumbles into a nightmare. Her grandma’s been attacked by a wolf-like creature, and an ancient disease that turned people into monsters is back… and so is the cold-hearted ex she walked out on a year ago.
 
Now she has to either accept Jeremy’s help or face becoming a monster herself. Fighting alongside the man she once loved isn’t easy, especially when she discovers there’s more to Jeremy than the cheating bastard she took him for.
 
As they fight to survive the disease and save those they love, can they keep from falling for each other all over again?
 
So there you have it! We each need a title and this is where you come in. We need you to vote for your favourite - we have both thought of two. Here are my choices for Cinderella:
 
Kickass Cinderella the Undead Killer
 
Saving Charming
 
Or maybe you have a better idea? All you have to do is leave a comment with your favourite title (if you have a better one, leave that in the comment section and people can vote for that too). The title with the most votes will be the title I go with. Yes, my destiny is in *your* hands! (Drama Queen? Moi?)
 
As a thank you, everyone who votes and comments will have their names put in a hat and one of my squabbling munchkins shall choose a winner. The winner will get the very first copy of Once Upon A Twist - before any reviewer or anyone (apart from the winner on Aimees blog, that is). 
 
The competition closes at Midnight on Thursday 9th May (English time!) and the winner will be announced by the end of Friday 10th May, so get voting! And when you've cast your vote here, head over to Aimee's page and vote for Little Red Riding Hood's title - yes, you have TWO chances to win! I know - our generosity is limitless!
 
Take care all xxx






Thursday, 2 May 2013

Come Back Tomorrow

On the off-chance you've clicked onto the site hoping I've announced the  news about mine and Aimee Duffy's upcoming release early, then bad luck. Come back tomorrow - our super-duper, fandabidosi competiton news will be available then! In the meantime, here's something to keep you going if the excitement of it all is getting too much.

 
 
Until tomorrow!
 
Take care all xxx

Monday, 29 April 2013

Once Upon A Secret

I few posts ago I dropped a little hint (a hint as subtle as a flying brick) that I have a secret. Being rubbish at keeping my own secrets, I've told anyone who cared to ask what that secret was, and now I can reveal it to the rest of the world. And the secret is this...

Yes, Aimee Duffy and I are releasing an anthology together on June 3rd. We've each rewritten a fairy tale. I've done Cinderella - I'll let you guess what Aimee's done. I bet, looking at the cover, that you haven't the faintest idea which fairy tale Aimee has reworked!

I'm not going to give much else away other than that these are stories you definitely won't be reading to your kids at night. But... I can tell you that come Friday, Aimee and I will be running a special competition connected with our book (I can hear the squeals of excitement already!).

I'd like to give a massive thank you to Dee Tenorino who designed our cover for us, and who has the patience of a saint. I really can't recommend her highly enough.

Until Friday!

Take care all xxx

Friday, 26 April 2013

Yes, the time has finally arrived when Blood Roses, the second installment in the fabulous Blackthorn series created by the genius that is Lindsay. J. Pryor, releases. I have to admit to a definite dose of excitement here and am currently waiting (impatiently) for the postman to deliver my pre-ordered copy. He'd better pull his finger out or there will be blood (oops, already getting carried away by the *bloody* excitement of it all).




The Blackthorn series is NOT for the faint hearted. It is dark. It is twisted. It doesn't take the easy options. But... it is also a series of books you will find impossible to put down, with characters that will stay with you forever. Don't believe me? Think I'm exagerating? Well consider this - in 2010 a certain lady called Lindsay. J. Pryor entered a competition called New Voices, which was run by Mills & Boon. She entered it for their Paranormal line with an entry called Blood Roses. I entered that same competition. I remember reading Lindsay's submitted chapter. When I failed to final, I didn't care - Blood Roses did make it into the final four and I didn't have to think twice about casting my vote. Alas, it didn't win and now I am so glad it didn't. Everyone knows my love for Mills & Boon is infinite, but the Blackthorn series deserves a showcasing of its own. I NEVER forgot the Blood Roses chapters Lindsay submitted. And now I can finally read it in its entirety - and so can you. Read it. Please. I promise you won't regret it.


"She was supposed to kill vampires, not save them. Those were the rules. That was the lore." A rare and powerful witch whose blood is lethal to vampires, Leila has always viewed her serryn abilities as a curse. After seeing her mother slaughtered as a child, Leila longs for a safe, quiet life. That wish is shattered by Caleb Dehain - a vampire with a dark past and a darker heart. The most feared serryn hunter of his generation, Caleb now needs the help of one of the witches he despises to save his dying brother. A serryn who has no reason to help him. Except that he has her sister. Caleb and Leila are each other's worst nightmare- but the slow-burning spark of attraction between them is undeniable. Will Leila's blood be his damnation? Or could her kiss be his salvation? 

You can purchase Blood Roses by clicking on the following links:
     Amazon.com: Blood Roses (Blackthorn) (Volume 1)      
     Amazon UK: Blood Roses (Blackthorn)  
     Barnes & Noble


Thursday, 18 April 2013

Bucket List & Giveaway

Today I'm welcoming back the lovely Aimee Duffy to my blog. Aimee's new book, Never Say Never, released on Monday and is already garnering some excellent reviews (including from moi! I loved it). More on the book will follow (yes, and the giveaway - it's coming, I promise but you have to keep reading to get there!).
 
As my regular readers will know, convention bores me, so instead of getting Aimee to answer questions she must have been asked a gazillion times already, I've got her to write her Bucket List - or in this case, the Ten Things To Do Before She Hits Thirty.
 
So, over to Aimee:

Ten things to do before I’m…thirty. Ok, here goes:
10. Quit my addiction to…chicken paste on toast. Good substitute for smoking in a way, but a killer on the waistline. Yummy too.

9. Visit Egypt. I’ve always wanted to go, but no one wants to go with me. Although I don’t want the package holiday experience. Gimme a backpack and a map, I’ll make my own way down the Nile thank you very much. Do you think that’s why people are adverse to the idea? I believe the words my ex used when I begged him were “over my dead body”. Hmmm. Can you see why he’s my ex?
8. Write an erotic novel. *Gasp* I know. I want to try at some point, and there’s no time like the present, is there?

7. Get back into my sixteen year old self’s jeans. (I can dream, can’t I?)
6. Join in at a stand-up comedy show. Not that I think I’m funny (in fact, I’m often told I’m not) but it’s one of those things I’ve always wanted to do, and only nerves are stopping me.

5. Learn to play a musical instrument. I did play the piano and guitar as a child, but have forgotten how. And when are guitars not cool?
4. Build up a tolerance for…wine. Not because I want to be an alcoholic, more so because after one glass I’m anybody’s. So that doesn’t go over well on works nights out, and with a bunch of lawyers jagerbombs and vodka are not an option. Poo!

3. Walk the West Highland Way. I’m not into the roughing it for a week part, but would like to do it. What an incredible achievement (if I didn’t pass out and need airlifted to a hospital mid-way, that is).
2. Read more books. I’m getting into paranormal these days, and this year alone have devoured all of J.R Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood books. Any good recommendations? Yes Linday Pryor, I am eagerly awaiting my next fix of Blackthorn. Hurry it up will you?

1. Get married. Okay, I can’t even keep a straight face typing that. Maybe one day, but no rush. Actually, I’d much rather travel the world. America is the place I want to start. Who knows, maybe I’ll be back on Chelle’s blog in three years typing from the States, or Egypt or Japan or Istanbul (it could happen).

Aww - maybe you'll be back on my blog in three years, posting from some exotic locale while on honeymoon...
As promised, Aimee is doing a giveaway. Never Say Never is book 2 in The Price of Fame series and she is giving away one copy of the book that kicked off this fab, glamorous series, The Monster of Fame. To enter to win a copy of The Monster of Fame, all you have to do is leave a comment, and we'll get one of my kids to pull a name out of hat (can't say fairer than that can I? The only real problem will be letting the kids decide who gets the job. There may be tears.).

Blurb: 
When pretend turns to desire, heartbreak is unavoidable.
Sander Chase needs a date for his ex-fiancĂ©e's engagement party, but he doesn't have time for a woman in his life. Between working on the TV show Do You Have What It Takes? and his band reforming, he's too busy for a relationship. What he needs is a pretend girlfriend. He thinks he may have found the perfect woman for the job, and the bribe he offers means she's sure to accept.
After losing her job in the film industry, breaking up with her movie star boyfriend, and finding out her mum has dementia, Chloe Butler returned to the UK determined to put her life back together. The last thing she needs is to parade around London on the arm of a celebrity, and after the heartbreak caused by her ex, she swore she'd never again date a star. But when Sander offers her a chance at her dream job, it's not something she can turn down.
As Chloe gets to know Sander she learns he's nothing like her scumbag ex. But she struggles to fight her attraction to him, knowing their relationship is only for show and their separation date is closing in fast.
Ignoring the insane chemistry between them should be easy for Sander, especially since he carries a secret that means there can be no future for them, but the more time he spends with Chloe, the harder it is to keep his hands to himself.
Content Warning: contains more denial than you'll find in a courtroom, more sexual tension than most people could handle, and explosive sex that some readers may find long overdue.
Author Links:

Monday, 15 April 2013

A Brief Respite.

So the Tempted by Trouble Blog Tour is finally over and sanity can now resume!

For those who have never done a Blog Tour before... DON'T DO IT! Okay, I'm joking (kind of). It is an enormous time-suck, not just with the writing of the guest spots and the answering of the interview questions, but also with the need to respond to the people kind enough to leave a comment. I got about a quarter of my usual writing done. However, I can't blame it all on the tour itself, because it was my own reaction to it that caused the biggest time-suck - I've never had a book published before, I've never been interviewed before and I've never been able to click on someone elses website and see my own ugly mug staring back at me. And I've certainly never been able to spend hours at a time watching my Amazon ranking go up and down. My poor little head was spinning with the wonder of it all!

But it was completely worth it. I have 'met' some lovely people on the tour, blog hosts and readers alike, and I want to thank everyone who commented, supported, tweeted... Thank you all you lovely, lovely people. The Rafflecopter has also selected its random winner from all the entries - congratulations Karen Haas!

Before I toodle off, I am happy to say that a couple of weeks ago I was offered a new four-book contract with Harlequin Mills & Boon Modern/Presents. I bet you can't guess what my response was. (Hint, my poor ed is probably still suffering from ruptured eardrums).

One final thing... I also have some other 'news' that I will be announcing very soon (no, I'm not pregnant).

And on that bombshell,

Take care all xxx