Christmas on Pointe PreOrder Giveaway!!

GIVEAWAY!! PRE-ORDER NOW!! We're going to be back in Silver Bells Falls for Christmas this year!!
AMAZON: http://amzn.to/2cW8ODd
iBOOKS: http://apple.co/2cGuG96
KOBO: http://bit.ly/2c8DIGl
B&N: http://bit.ly/2d0DAh9
ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE: http://bit.ly/2dEuXr6

 

































From now until November 5th, you can enter to win some AMAZING prizes!!  All you have to do is check out the links and pre-order CHRISTMAS ON POINTE!

It’s Christmastime again in Silver Bell Falls and the whole town is getting in the spirit to help ballet teacher Abby Foster achieve her dream of opening her own dance studio!

Dancing has been Abby’s dream for her entire life – but more than anything, she wanted that dream in her beloved hometown of Silver Bell Falls. Teaching ballet to children at the community center is fine, but she’ hoping for so much more – her own studio, her own business…not to mention maybe meeting Mr. Right and having a family of her own. For almost a year, she’s been picturing Dean Hayes in that role and if he wasn’t such a darn recluse, maybe she’d have a chance.

Solitude and Dean Hayes have always gone hand-in-hand. It wasn’t by choice, but because of circumstances beyond his control. And once again, things are out of his control when he finds himself being named permanent guardian for his five year old niece just in time for the holidays. Dean had always imagined that he’d have a family of his own someday, just not quite like this. With the support of his hometown friends, he knows he’s going to be okay. But it’s Abby’s help with his niece that’s making the biggest difference.

This isn’t the Christmas either of them has planned, but maybe it’s the chance for the most perfect one yet!

My Halloween Addiction...

I'm going to start out by saying that I HATE Halloween.  I mean like seriously HATE Halloween.  I don't find it fun.  It's not enjoyable.  To me it's really just an annoyance.  We used to live in an area where no one came to trick-or-treat because we were off of the main street in town and everyone just went there.

And I LOVED it.

Now?  We're in a subdivision and have to deal with trick-or-treaters.  I have to prepare, buy candy and deal with the fact that the designated time that our town has set up for trick-or-treating is during our dinner our and part of my work time.

Seriously not amused and it's adding to my rage.

Add to that, the constant ringing of the doorbell makes my poor little dog lose her mind.  It's going to be a rough night.

However, the ONLY silver lining to dealing with this, are these:

No lie.
The ONLY thing that is saving me from having a complete mental breakdown over this holiday.

Ugh...thank God it only happens once a year!

ALWAYS MY GIRL is HERE!!!

I cannot believe that today is finally here!!  Honestly, this has been the longest wait for a book that I can remember.  But ALWAYS MY GIRL (Shaughnessy Brothers book #3) is here!! 

 Something about Quinn and Anna called to me from the first time I put them in a scene in the first Shaughnessy book - MADE FOR US.  And their story just was dying to be told.  I actually wrote about a quarter of it while writing book two - LOVE WALKS IN.  So it's been a long wait, a long process and now it's ready to be read by the world.

YEAH!!

So, friends to lovers.  What could be scarier?  If things work out, great.  But if they don't, you lose twice as much.  That's the dilemma faced by Quinn Shaughnessy and Anna Hannigan.  They've been friends since they were five and Anna's been in love with him for almost that entire time.  But as time goes by and Quinn shows no interest, she finally has to come to grips with the fact that it's never going to happen.

Until Quinn finally opens his yes.

That scene was the most fun to write because he literally falls on his ass when he realizes that his buddy, his pal, his girl next door is suddenly a very sexy woman.  I laughed the entire time I wrote it and every time I re-read it, it still made me giggle.  So you'll have to let me know if you felt the same way about that scene. 

Along with Quinn and Anna's story, you'll also get to catch up with the rest of the Shaughnessy family - Aidan and Zoe, Hugh and Aubrey, Riley, Owen, Darcy, and Ian.  I am so in love with this family and they are a joy to write and work with.  I hope you're loving them as much as I am!!

So get your copy of ALWAYS MY GIRL everywhere today!!
Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1S3ZcXQ
B&N:  http://bit.ly/21uhqSm

iBooks:  http://apple.co/253fGE1
Kobo:  http://bit.ly/295e4Ee

Happy Reading!!!

Cover Reveal! This is Our Song

Isn't it beautiful!!  This is book four in the Shaughnessy Brothers series and this one focuses on rock-star brother, Riley.

She knows him by reputation

Making a name for himself as a musician wasn’t easy, but he followed his dreams to rock-star success. But the relentless expectations of fans is not helping the slump he's in now. So of course the person who attracts him is the woman who is not impressed by fame.

 Which gives Riley Shaughnessy a lot to prove

Entertainment reporter Savannah Daly is completely unfazed by pretty-boy rock stars. She’s just here to get her interview and write her story. But spending an entire month with the Shaughnessys is going to show Savannah a side of Riley she never could have guessed.

 

FRIDAY NIGHT BRIDES: It's All About the Girls Today!!

Sometimes you just need to try something new.

And sometimes you want to do that surrounded by your friends.

Today marks the release of FRIDAY NIGHT BRIDES and I have to tell you, I am BEYOND excited about this book.  I love all of my books and my characters that I create, but this book is just a little bit more for me. Why?  Because it's a little bit of a departure from my normal stuff.  This is more women's fiction than romance, for starters - although there is plenty of romance in it.  The book focuses more on friendship between four women more than anything else.

Hailey, Becca, Angie and Ella - Meet the girls.

The four of them have been friends since they were five and they have been modeling in Friday night bridal fashion shows since that time.  They've gone from flower girls to bridesmaids to brides and during this particular wedding season in the book, their lives really start to change and it's about more than bridal fashions.

I am all about my friends.  Seriously.  I have been blessed with some amazing friends and most of them I've known and been close to for most of my life.  I think that friendships are so important and for me - at times in my life when I wasn't close to my family, I always had my friends.  So this book is for all of them!

For an exclusive excerpt from the book, you can click HERE.

Buy Links:
Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1WRsh7A
B&N:  http://bit.ly/26Ooqir
iTunes:  http://apple.co/1W5YSu1
Kobo:  http://bit.ly/24lZAYn

Also, please join me Friday night over on Facebook for the celebration - FRIDAY NIGHT BRIDES:  Girls Night In!  We are going to be celebrating the book release AND all-things friendship!  I'll be giving away books and swag and fun things like Starbucks gift cards and little things to pamper yourself with!  Don't miss out!  You can hang out in your jammies and eat ice cream while sitting at your computer and no one is going to judge you - because we'll ALL be doing that!!  So RSVP today!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1719294635026352/

Have a great day and HAPPY READING!!

Adventures in Vegas - Day Seven

Okay, so basically this entire trip was about THIS day.  The big, giant book signing!  Woo-Hoo!!

There were probably about 600 authors there and it's a giant room and ticket holders come in and wander around and either buy books or bring their own to get signed.  It's awesome.  From 10-2 we sit and socialize and watch the craziness and meet and greet more people than you thought possible!  I love the energy in the room but I love it just as much when it's over and we can leave and go back to our room and kick my shoes off!  LOL!

Seriously, hubby was great because he knew when the signing was ending and he went to the bar and grill and grabbed us a table before the mass exodus could come through and crowd the place.  So all I had to do was walk that mile from the convention hall to the lobby!  I enjoyed my burger immensely!

As it was our last night in Vegas - the shuttle was picking us up at 5:25 a.m., I had wanted to go out with a bang, but I was mentally exhausted!  Getting old sucks!  So after lunch we relaxed a bit and then went and did a little bit of gambling, had a late dinner at Guy Fieri's again and then went back and packed.  I'm not gonna lie to you - I couldn't wait to get on the plane to come home.

Thanks for a great week, Vegas!!  I'm hoping to come back again just for the fun of it!!

The highlights:  The Grand Canyon was obviously the biggest one of the trip.  I would do that again in a heartbeat and next time I'd want to bring the kids.  Meeting so many amazing authors who I admire was next - Erin Nicholas, Candis Terry, Jennifer Bernard, Melanie Shawn, and Damon Suede (who I did NOT get a picture with but I'm totally crushing on!).  You guys ROCK!!!

Adventures in Vegas - Day Six

I seriously can't believe the week isn't over yet!

Friday was a weird day that turned into an awesome one.  We were able to sleep in this morning and pretty much skipped our trip to the Hash House a Go-Go.  I figured my scale would thank me.  I had a workshop to go to that my cover artist was leading so I got up and got ready for that and headed down for the long trek to the convention center.

And realized I should have grabbed a muffin.

My stomach was VERY loud during the presentation so I sort of slinked out and spotted my buddy Sara Humphreys and we went to grab a quick bite to eat before she went off to a workshop that she was on a panel for.  Hubby's debit card was hacked so while I was out being a social butterfly, he was walking all over the back streets of Vegas looking for a bank!  Yikes.  And didn't take his phone!  Double yikes!  Needless to say I was in panic mode when I couldn't find him anywhere and was THISCLOSE to calling the police.  Then he came strolling in two hours later like it was no big deal.

This was the face I gave him.

At that point, I was too annoyed to really do anything so we grabbed another quick bite and went up to the room to just relax.  There was plenty of stuff going on but this night we were going out with my cousin and his wife - who I hadn't seen in almost 15 years!  They live in Vegas so it was the perfect time to get together and visit.

They came and picked us up and we went to dinner on the strip and then went to the Fremont Street Experience.  If you haven't gone there, you should.  Old Vegas at it's finest and every stereotype imaginable.  Lots of crazy things to see plus a zip line overhead.  We skipped it since we were rock stars the night before!

All in all, another good day.  We were going to hit a few more sites but we gambled a bit - and I won a hundred bucks - but I was exhausted and had the giant book signing in the morning and desperately needed sleep.

Adventures in Vegas - Day Five

Okay, so by this point...I was seriously missing my bed.  Not that the bed at the Rio wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't mine.

And I was crazy-missing my dog.

Look at that face.  Can you blame me?

So Thursday was a crazy day.  But in a good way.  Plus, it was really the first day that kept me in the hotel all day long.

Today we started our day at - of course - the Hash House a Go-Go.  I seriously just like saying that name.  But this was no ordinary breakfast.  Nope.  This was breakfast with Susan Mallery!!  Holy crap, I kid you not!  It was a small group of us that Susan invited to breakfast and I have to say, it was glorious.  Just imagine sitting at the breakfast table with one of your idols and thinking, "Um...that's right.  We're friends."  That was me.  :)

I had barely gotten over breakfast when it was time to go and meet my publicist for lunch!  There was a great Chinese restaurant in the Rio and we met there to discuss upcoming plans for FRIDAY NIGHT BRIDES (coming May 3rd!).  We had never met face-to-face so it was kind of cool to just share a meal, get to know one another, and talk about this exciting new book.  And just in case you haven't pre-ordered it yet, here's the link:  http://fridaynightbrides.instapage.com/

Now - with a completely full belly - I had to run to the convention end of the hotel.  Did I mention that it's about a mile round-trip from the convention hall to my hotel room?  I got quite the workout this week!  But I ran down there for the spotlight my publisher was putting on.  It didn't require anything from me except to smile and wave once and listen to the presentation.  It was a great time to just relax and think about all the food I had already consumed.

And where was my loving husband during all of this running and eating I was doing?  Well, he did join me for breakfast but at noon we went our separate ways while he went and got a totally KICK ASS tattoo!!  I have to admit, I'm totally jealous because we've always gotten our tattoos together so this was the first time I wasn't with him or getting one beside him.  But check out how amazing it is!!  So while I was socializing and flitting around the place, he was getting new ink!  And what was worse, was that he wouldn't even send me a picture of it to hold me over until I got to the room so my curiosity was absolutely KILLING me!!  Such a brat.  But...it's awesome and it's one he's been wanting since forever and the quality of it far exceeds anything we've had done locally.  So that was his Vegas souvenir!

The day ended on a high note again with a fabulous meet and greet with my promo group.  We met up in the Masquerade lounge at the hotel where readers could come and have a drink and hang out with us.  It was awesome.  We had a lot of people stop by and we laughed and talked and I can honestly say that I met some wonderful people that are going to go on and be my friends.  I couldn't have asked for a better group of ladies to promote with so thank you Erin, Candis, Melanie and Jennifer!  Love you girls!!

But wait...there was ONE last little bit of fun to be had.  The VooDoo Zip Line!  That's right!  This crazy chick - who is afraid of heights - did yet ANOTHER high-in-the-sky event!  Five hundred feet above the ground is a line between two of the towers of the Rio Hotel and we zipped it!!  How badass are we???  I have to say, I loved it at first, then not so much.  Then I wanted to cry.  And THEN they made us do it in reverse!  GAH!  But I did it and I survived and I felt like a total rock star again!!  Woo-hoo!!

Adventures in Vegas - Day Four

I'm not gonna lie to you, this was the first REAL day of the convention and I was already exhausted!  LOL!  And this day was all about the food.

Our day started off with breakfast at the Hash House a Go-Go with my street team!  Well, not the whole team but three of my girls were there so we all got to hang out and have breakfast together!  Such a treat!  It's so amazing to me that I've been friends with these women for a few years now and we've hardly met!  Actually, one of my girls I met for the first time!  And I have to say, bonding with these wonderful women over our love of reading still just blows my mind!

I roamed the hotel a bit afterwards and checked out the convention area again - and finally got to meet another amazing author who I love - Susan Hatler!!  I LOVE her books and we went and hung out and had a few drinks and played some digital poker!  I won a nickel!  LOL!  Seriously, that was my first attempt at gambling and I won a nickel.  But I had a great time doing it!

I had dinner with Susan Mallery's assistant and one of the girls from my street team and - again - it is just amazing to me that I have such wonderful friends that I met through my writing and my love of reading!  RT is the perfect place to make new friends, but it's wonderful to be able to connect to those you chat and share with every day online but never get to see!!

Then it was time for the big show - the Vintage Vegas Casino Night!  This was a big party put on by RT and it was a lot of fun.  We dressed up (kind of) and there was an Elvis impersonator, showgirls, a male dance (or what was being coined as Chippendale's Plan B), a mini casino and multiple "lounges" that were sponsored by a bunch of the publishers - including mine!  So I hung out in the lounge and met readers, took a ton of pictures and unfortunately, we never got to gamble because the tables were all full!
                                                                                             
And I got to hang out with my girl, Sarah Humphreys! She had me taking pictures and doing things I would have probably skipped...but...it was all well worth it!  Now I have all of these embarrassing photos to look back on and laugh at!  She is the queen of shenanigans and I love her for it!  If we lived closer together, there would probably be a LOT of trouble!  LOL!

Hard to believe we're only halfway through the week!!

Adventures in Vegas - Day Three

It was going to be pretty hard to top yesterday's adventure, so we didn't even try! 

There is a great brunch place in The Rio - the Hash House a Go-Go - and we had breakfast there.  Hubby had a flapjack that was the size of his head!  And let me tell you, it was amazing.  Yes, he shared - not that I gave him much of a choice!  The portions were HUGE and we didn't need to eat again until dinner! 

After breakfast we took a shuttle to the Strip and decided to walk the hotels.  We walked through Harrah's and the Flamingo, we rode the monorail, we toured the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace and took a gondola ride at the Venetian!  We did a quick tour of the MGM Grand and then another quick ride on the monorail before heading back to the Rio.

My blogger buddy got me into the Harlequin cocktail party (which was really only for bloggers) and I FINALLY got to meet Susan Mallery!!  OH.  MY.  GOODNESS.  For those of you who don't know me very well, I used to be one of Susan's cheerleaders before I became an author.  And it had always been a bit of a dream for me to meet her in person.  And I did!  I got to talk to her - and her fabulous assistant (who I was even more star-struck by because she's always been so gracious to me!) for a little while before I had to head out to another event!

Then...and I wish I had captured this on video...I got to go and meet the ladies in my promo group - Erin Nicholas, Candis Terry, Jennifer Bernard and Melanie Shawn.   I cannot even begin to describe how amazing this was for me.  I am a fan of ALL of them and to know that they consider me a peer and want to work with me???  VERY cool.  We all talked and laughed and ate pizza together in Erin's room and it was just a wonderful way to get to know one another.

But alas, my husband was patiently waiting for me to come back and pay attention to him.  Lol!  So I had to leave the party and we went and rode the High Roller.  If you don't know what that is, be impressed.  Be very, very impressed.  It's the highest observation wheel in the world and so - for the second time this week - I had to overcome my fear of heights!  This giant wheel takes 30 minutes to go around once and at the peak, you are 550 off of the ground!  I did not go anywhere NEAR the glass and look down!  Each pod holds like 30 people so it's a large space and you get an amazing 360 degree view of Las Vegas, but...it's high!!

Afterwards, we walked around for a bit and even though it was only 10:00 at night, we were kind of proud of ourselves for being out late!  Kinda sad but true.

Adventures in Vegas - Day Two

I am not going to lie to you - this was an AWESOME day.

For as long as I've known my husband, he has talked about wanting to see the Grand Canyon.  It's on his bucket list and it's really the only place he's ever asked to go to.  Well...we made it happen on this trip.  We took a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon with a champagne picnic lunch in the canyon.  How freaking cool is that??

So a limo picked us up at the hotel and I have to tell you, I kind of enjoyed the envious looks we got from the people around us!  It felt very decadent!  We picked up another couple and then we were off to the air strip.  Our helicopter held 7 people - including the pilot - and honestly, I thought the ride was smoother than a plane!  Totally impressed.

Neither of us - hubby or myself - had ever flown in a helicopter so we were a little nervous about how we were going to be.  For me, it's a heights thing.  For him, it's just the overall feeling of flying in something so small.  But like I said, the ride was incredibly smooth and there was so much to see that you sort of forgot to be nervous.

Although I did almost cry in the first minute when we made a turn and I realized there was nothing for me to hold on to!  But I powered through the fear and just went with it.

We saw Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam and when we crested the rim of the Grand Canyon, the soundtrack turned to the theme from Indiana Jones!  It was awesome!  I looked over at my husband and he totally had tears in his eyes because this was a fulfillment of a life-long dream!  We landed in the canyon and had 30 minutes to walk around, take pictures and eat the lunch they had packed for us.  I wish that time - overall - had been longer.  An hour would
have been perfect.  We took so many pictures and just stood there in wonder that we ended up shoveling down our lunch in order to get back on the helicopter in time.

On the trip home, we flew right over the Strip and saw all of the hotels!  So really, I could say in all honesty, that I saw everything!  Seeing it from above was pretty damn cool.  Actually, we saw so much on the flight that it was hard to take it all in.  While wearing the headset, you listen to a running commentary on the sights and every once in a while, the pilot would chime in and share points of interest with us.  In between the dialogue, music played.  So it was both informative AND entertaining!  The pilot said we'd be able to hear one another talk if we spoke into the mic, but I didn't hear anyone but him!  Back at the airport, we got a wonderful plaque with our picture in front of the helicopter as a souvenir - and it is now sitting on our mantel in our living room!

And because that wasn't a magnificent enough day, we went to dinner with our friends again (LOVE them!) over at the Venetian at Carnevino - Mario Batali's restaurant.  We had the best steak dinner!  Funny story - we have the same anniversary date!  Found that out last year when we met at the RT Convention in Dallas!  So we went out to celebrate - especially since we had our hubbies with us this time - and even though it wasn't the "official" wedding date, we thought it would be cool to celebrate together.  We were dressed up and really, it just felt like we had stepped into someone else's life for the day!  It was a little "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous"!  But hey, it was only for a day so why not?

Adventures in Vegas - Day One

So I just got back from Vegas.

That's a sentence I never thought I'd write!  Lol!  But it's true, I just got back from a week in Las Vegas.  It was part business, part pleasure and totally exhausting!  I was there for the RT Booklovers Convention and my hubby and I decided to also make this our trip to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary - which is technically next month.  :)

Our first day was spent primarily getting to Vegas from North Carolina.  We landed at around four in the afternoon and then took the shuttle to the hotel - the Rio.  It was off the strip which was a little disappointing, but considering we'd never been to Vegas before, we were kind of okay with it and just happy to be there.

Our room had a great mountain view - not what you'd expect when you think of a hotel in Vegas - and we were excited to see it from the fourteenth floor!  Actually, we'd never seen a casino or a hotel quite as big as the Rio so we were totally walking around like dorky tourists for the first few hours!

Then I was so excited because a very dear friend - who I happened to meet at last year's RT convention - was already in Vegas.  She's a blogger and she's awesome and her husband was there with her too!  So we all met up for dinner and we went to Guy Fieri's place - El Burro Borracho - for dinner.  VERY yummy!  I'm a foodie so I was pretty psyched to go out and eat at some of the places Vegas had to offer and this place was wonderful.

After dinner we drove up and down the strip just to see what there was and to get an idea of where we wanted to start when we weren't so full - or tired! - and could walk around for more than a few minutes.  And even though we spotted someplace for dessert - Serendipity 3 - we never stopped.

Back at the Rio, we walked around and got the lay of the land and scoped out where the convention was going to be held and I was so excited to see the window cling that I was on going up!  And it was in the main hallway!  EEK!!  I went in on a promo group with Erin Nicholas, Candis Terry, Jennifer Bernard, and Melanie Shawn.  Can I just say what a HUGE fangirl scream I let out when I got asked to join that group of girls???

All in all, we didn't do a whole lot, but I knew we were off to a great start!

Come back tomorrow and hear all about our Grand Canyon adventure!!

FREE Book Alert!!

Sometimes you just never know when it's going to happen!  But it looks like for TODAY ONLY,  "Made for Us" - book one in the Shaughnessy Brothers series, is FREE!!  WOO HOO!!  Don't miss out on this chance to get it and get started on the series!!  Especially since book two - "Love Walks In" - just came out yesterday!!!

So what are you waiting for???  Go forth and read!!

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Zfg7FF
B&N: http://bit.ly/1psNham
iTunes: http://apple.co/1UeFvNI
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1XtOOYn

And in case you missed it yesterday, "Love Walks In" is available now too!

BUY LINKS:

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1TJ0YLB
B&N:   http://bit.ly/1LpuEOp
iTunes:  http://apple.co/1QWdVCA
Kobo:  http://bit.ly/1pmXWTq

Sunday Funday - Made for Us!

Sunday Funday

Peek into: Made for Us

Series: The Shaughnessy Brothers, Book 1

Author: Samantha Chase

Available NOW!!!

Buy Links

Amazon: http://goo.gl/jHIG91

Barnes & Noble: http://goo.gl/P955rn

Blurb:

Can't make time for love?

The Shaughnessy brothers have spent the years since their mother's untimely death taking care of each other and trying to make their father proud. Oldest son Aidan is hard-working, handsome, successful-and still single. Sure, he'd like to have his own family someday, but who has the time?

She'll show him how to find it

Zoe Dalton, a stunning designer Aidan meets on one of his construction jobs, has the beauty and heart to make Aidan realize how much he could be missing. But it's not easy to break down walls you've spent years building up. Now there's a major storm bearing down on the North Carolina coast, and it could be catalyst enough to force Aidan and Zoe into some major decisions of the heart.

Excerpt

“What are we doing?” she whispered. The smile he gave her in return finished the job of melting whatever parts of her were holding out.

“If you have to ask, then maybe I’m not doing it right.” Leaning his head down toward hers, Aidan stopped when there was barely a breath between them, his lips almost touching hers. “I’ve wanted to do this since I first saw you touching the flowers outside the model home.”

Zoe laughed softly, unable to help herself. She removed her hands from his and slowly looped her arms around his neck. “You wanted to invade my personal space and talk to me?”

He chuckled and rested his forehead against hers. “Yes. That’s exactly what I wanted to do. And now that I’ve done it, I guess I can move away.”

“Take one step and I may have to kill you,” she said with a small laugh of her own as she did her best to pull him closer.