Category Archives: Denny S. Bryce

COVER REVEAL: The BEST KIND OF LOVE by Kerri Carpenter

Denny (PortRoyale)Happy Day! It’s Mermaid NEW BOOK COVER REVEAL Wednesday! And the star of today’s special event is our own Kerri Carpenter’s THE BEST KIND OF LOVE, set to hit ebook shelves everywhere on December 10 from Soul Mate Publishing!

Drumroll, please!

Patience, Patience…

Okay, be patient!

First, here’s the blurb about Kerri’s second release of 2014:

THE BEST KIND OF LOVE

After twelve years away, organized consultant, Penelope Walker, doesn’t expect to return to Blue Lake, Virginia. But when her parents unexpectedly die, she returns to her hometown and finds out that general contractor and former love of her life, Ethan Callahan, is back too. Their relationship transcended the typical high school romance and his mere presence is enough to have all those feelings of passion return full force. Only she can’t forget that Ethan didn’t show up for their secret elopement and left her brokenhearted.

It doesn’t take long for Ethan to realize he wants Penelope back, but he knows she won’t let go of the past that easily. When she finds out what her parents asked him to do all those years ago, she’ll never let him back into her life. Even though he did all of it for her.

Penelope’s determined to unravel the mystery of their shared pasts, while Ethan wants nothing more than to move on to their future. If these two former lovers can learn to forgive and forget, will they be able to remember that they had the best kind of love?

Now are you ready?

Okay! Here it is!

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AND IT IS GORGEOUS!

And here’s MERMAID KERRI!

Mermaid Kerri

You can read more about THE BEST KIND OF LOVE (and her debut release, FLIRTING WITH THE COMPETITION) by visiting her Website, finding her on Twitter, or Facebook!

And don’t forget to mark your calendar for December 10. That’s the official release date for Kerri’s new book!

 

Reminiscing about Six Sentence Sunday and a SURPRISE GIVEAWAY!

Denny (PortRoyale)A few years ago there was this thing called “Six Sentence Sunday”, organized by a couple of authors who may not have realized at the onset they were creating a spectacular! It was fun and tons of folks participated. However, it ended officially January 27, 2013. I LOVED this weekly author share, and this morning when I started thinking about what I would post about, I decided to make today (sans alliteration) SIX SENTENCE TUESDAY:)! So, are you with me?!!!!

Here’s what you must do to play–pull six sentences from your current WIP (work in progress) and post in the comments below. That’s it. Only six sentences! I also am in the mood to giveaway some books because I’ve been to every conference, convention, retreat, in the continental US in the past year and have a ton of books. So, the lucky winner of the drawing can pick two of the following: J.R. Ward (CRAVE), Kendra Elliot (BURIED), Jenna Black (The Devil Inside), Laura Griffin (Twisted) and Kristan Higgins (Too Good to Be True).

To get the ball rolling, here are three of my Six Sentence Sunday snippets from October 2011, reposted today for your enjoyment!

From my paranormal romance Gideon about a vampire struggling to keep his promise to a witch:

An hour later, he held Rachel’s hand and recalled the day a hundred years before when a witch’s spell had stopped him from feeding on humans. Before that day, he hadn’t contemplated his destiny. Hadn’t worried about it. Killing was his art. He’d understood that with clarity since 1696—the last thing he’d ever wanted to be was necessary. Now he had no choice.

More from WIP Gideon:

Gideon made his way down the narrow hallway to an archway outside the kitchen and stopped. When he still killed, he never thought about how much the living hated dying. It took Rachel’s magic to remind him. Then the faces of the people he’d butchered crawled into his memories everyday, all day long. The terror in their eyes, as vivid as the night he’d held them by the throat, fangs embedded in their flesh, draining their lives into his belly. As he stepped into the kitchen, he saw this look in Alice Wilson’s eyes–although she was very much alive.

And the last Six Sentence Sunday blast from the past (and yes, Gideon – because I love vampires and this story, and vampires will be hot again soon, I swear!):

Standing, his legs unsteady, he gripped the bedpost and peered up at the painting of Rachel on the wall opposite his bed. He remembered the artist Matisse and the drink they’d shared in a small café near the Tower in Paris in 1890. The man was ill and hadn’t committed to painting yet, but he and Gideon discussed color, brushes and the effect of light on Rachel’s hair. He found her beautiful, too. Especially her brown, shiny hair that turned blood red when candlelight flickered nearby. That’s when Matisse told him, “Women with that color hair fuel life’s miseries more potently than most.” Gideon never understood what he’d meant until now.

Okay authors – it’s your turn! Give me Six Sentences NOW from your WIP!!!!!

And have a happy October – Halloween is only a few weeks away, you know!

And oh, one of the best TV vampires of all time – Angel from BTVS and ATS!

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What Are You Doing This Weekend? – Baltimore Book Festival!

imgresThe next four weeks are going to be CRAZY busy — just the way I like it.

The past two months have been insane. I’ve been buried in the writer’s cave with the occasional ‘break’ to attend events like the Writers’ Police Academy, and this weekend the Baltimore Book Festival, and week after that, PhauxCon (visit website for details:), and then the New Jersey Romance Writers Conference (RWA Chapter) — but in between the travel I am writing, plotting, researching — but it’s what I want to do (and love to do:).

But this weekend you should join me.

I’m a special events kind of gal. I like when people gather to talk about a common interest, to share what they know and care about with people who know and care about similar things, to me that is the heart of a conference – a gathering of people who want to learn, share, and meet! Well, if you’re into books – reading them, writing them, talking about them – you must leave your house this weekend and head to Baltimore, Maryland. The annual Baltimore Book Festival begins this Friday, September 26, and I’m going to be there all weekend! And yes, finding me is the main reason to come to the festival:). Okay, not really, but I am doing more than hanging out, I’m also going to be on two panels (and I’m really excited!).

Let’s begin with some highlights:

Location, location, location – New in 2014. This year the BBF is taking place in and around the Baltimore Inner Harbor (a part of the city I ADORE!). You’ll love it.

Maryland Romance Writers, RWA Chapter, has a full schedule of activities, panel discussions, reader events, and have invited special guest authors from all over. Spend a day or spend the weekend:).

There’s lots more than romance, too! And to make it easy to find EVERYTHING! They have a freaking app! I love tech stuff!

So please take a moment and check it out! But if you want to see me:)…you can find me Friday and Saturday – see blurb below!

Reflecting the World: Writing Diverse Characters

September 26, 2014

TIME
3PM
LOCATION
Maryland Romance Writers Stage
Fostering tolerance and exploring multiculturalism is one of the finest traditions in literature and may be more important now than ever before. Join six authors whose characters reflect a spectrum of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and sexual orientation.

Panelists: Denny S. Bryce; Robin Covington, Temptation; Ginger Jamison; Laura Kaye, Hard to Hold Onto; Lea Nolan, Allure; Damon Suede, Bad Idea

Page-Turning Suspense

September 27, 2014
TIME
3PM
LOCATION
Maryland Romance Writers Stage
Love thrills and chills? Meet authors whose books keep you turning pages at night and leave you a little bit afraid to turn out the light.

Panelists: Denny S. Bryce; Joya Fields; Avery Flynn, Enemies on Tap; Shelley N. Greene; Laura Kaye, Hard to Hold Onto; Nancy Weeks, In the Shadow of Pride; Rebecca York, Betrayed

Okay, there are TONS of panels, and LOTS of authors to see and if you want to indulge your inner romance author fan-girl (like me), this is the weekend to be in Baltimore!

So, will I see you this weekend? Hope so!

Denny S. Bryce

September: The Other New Year

Denny (PortRoyale)Okay, this blog post is going to break the rules. I’ve got three topics here and am giving each one it’s own spotlight. So let’s go!

I know a lot of folks, most of us, look at January 1 as the beginning of the new year and the perfect opportunity to make a fresh start. We have resolutions, new diets, we throw things out of the closet we don’t need or no longer want to indulge in, all of which makes sense. The beginning of a brand new year and getting started on the right foot is soothing and invigorating–and critical to the human condition. We aspire to change even if we don’t always succeed. But as much as I love the first day of a new year, I am a huge fan of September.

It is my favorite month (but the other 11 are  high up there on my list of good, too:), but September is the beginning of my ‘new year’. Of course, it stems from years of going back to school and raising a child and the excitement of a new school year. But I love the  gradual change in season. The visual stimuli of color and cooler breezes and the anticipation of change. It relaxes me and the pressure is off. I’m not competing with the rest of the world’s new year’s resolutions. It’s all about September to me:)!

So what do I have in mind for this fall?

The past nine months, I’ve been thinking, breathing, doing nothing but writing books, working on getting an agent, working on getting published, writing more books–you get the picture. The most important thing I’ve learned so far in my new full-time writing world (or almost full time:) is that writing requires physical energy. A back that doesn’t hurt, lungs that don’t split in half when you have a deep belly laugh (that’s a shout out to a friend who needs to take better care of herself), and having the patience and confidence to do what you know you can do. In other words, taking better care of me has moved up on the list of things that MUST get done. All of us know how easy it is to forget about ‘us’. Women forget routinely, men do too. So I declare September as the month for you to redo, re-commit, re-challenge yourself to do more for yourself! I know I am.

Guess what I learned this weekend at the Writers’ Police Academy?

I write romance. I love a good mystery, suspense or thriller, but I need the love:)! There was so much fantastic information at WPA14, I couldn’t begin to share half of it, which means if you write romantic suspense and give a damn about authenticity in your stories, you MUST sign up and support WPA. But I’m a romance writer. And there are only so many facts I will have on a page.  But later this week, I will be blogging at my website about WPA14 – so stay tuned.

Outlander on Starz…

There is no logical reason for me to write about Jamie Fraser here – except why the hell not? Obsession is a wicked, wicked, beast. But Jamie is a sexy beast of a man (on the page and on the screen)…that’s all folks!

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Mermaids & Friends: Piper Huguley

PreacherI met Piper Huguley in Atlanta at the 2013 Romance Writers of America National Conference. I can’t remember our first meeting, but I do remember running into her several times and doing what you do at conferences — talking about books, the conference, the workshops, the speakers, the authors. Everything you can chat about in five-minute encounters that take place waiting for elevators or chilling at the bar or a restaurant.

Oh, and I also knew she was a 2013 Golden Heart® finalist (now also a two-time finalist with her 2014 Golden Heart® finalist nod), so some stalking on my part might have been involved:)…

But she was always gracious and chatty, and funny, and we’ve been buds ever since. I may not be a regular inspirational romance reader, but I enjoy a good book, first and foremost, and I love her books, but also her marketing savvy, and her commitment to her Sunday blog posts! If you haven’t checked them out, please do — you’ll be wiser for reading them:)!

So, I invited her here to the Waterworld Mermaid pond to answer some of my questions about her newest release, The Preacher’s Promise, and in general share some of her awesomeness!

1). Denny asked: Tell us about your setting – time and location – how does setting help you tell the story of your protagonist?

Piper said: The Milford College series starts in 1866 Georgia. This is the Reconstruction Era that follows the end of the Civil War. It’s a time of great change, unrest and uncertainty.   I think it’s a lot like the Wild West where great opportunity existed alongside of turbulence and change. So when these forces of an educated African American woman comes in contact with a former enslaved blacksmith, there is bound to be conflict. They wouldn’t have come in contact at any other time.

2) Denny asked:  Pick a line from your book that you’d say ’nails’ the personality of your heroine and/or hero?

Piper said: Virgil says: “Don’t address people I don’t know by their first names. Especially not young women. I got manners.”

He won’t have anyone, not even the newly arrived schoolteacher, treating him as if he doesn’t know the rules of society. The line shows his pride, but at the same time highlights his vulnerability.

3)  Denny asked: You are a two-time Golden Heart finalist entering the world of indie publishing with two books debuting in six weeks, what’s next?

Piper said: Hopefully, people will be engaged in my series and I can continue to release Milford College stories. I’m still shopping my single title 20th century series and people will be able to learn about the Bledsoe Sisters.

4)  Denny asked: Name two books on your must-read shelf.

Piper said: Gone With the Wind.- Despite all of the difficulty with the way African Americans are portrayed, Mitchell still tells a captivating story. For me, the book serves as motivation—to tell a different kind of captivating story.Piper Huguley GH photo

Mules and Men – Hurston captures pertinent stories/reflections in the speech patterns of her fellow Floridians from the 1920’s and 1930’s and gives them their human dignity.

5)  Denny asked: What’s hot in historical women’s fiction and/or romance (besides your new book:)!

Piper said: The whole genre of “wife of” books seems to have cooled for the moment. I see a hopeful shift in readers being more receptive to a wider variety of time periods in historical romance. The genre will have a hard time continuing to thrive if people are not exposed to a greater variety of stories.

Thank you, Piper!

Now readers, Piper will be around all day so please ask away!

Piper Huguley is author of the “Home to Milford College” series, and to keep in touch, you can visit her blog, http://piperhuguley.com, or follow her on @writerpiper on Twitter, or find her at Piper Huguley on Facebook.The Preacher’s Promise (in print and on iTunes)

PreacherAmazon: The Preacher’s Promise (Home to Milford College Book 1) – Kindle edition by Piper Huguley. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

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LawyerThe Lawyer’s Luck (in print and on iTunes)

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Life on the Wild Side: My 2014 Summer PicSpam!

I take pictures, and during the past six months I’ve been on the road! From the WRW-DC Retreat in April, to RT Booklovers Convention in May, to RWA National Conference in July and then onto Las Vegas and then LA (GladiatorsUnite!). So for my post today, it’s a PicSpam!

Thanks to all of the folks I met for the first time, and for all of the friends I met again. And please feel free to “tag” yourself or others in comments. Or if you see a photo you must have, let me know, and I’ll email it!

I know most of the people in these photos, but see how many you can recognize! (And yes, there are a few repeats, I got lost in the maze of iPhotos:).

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Online Shopping: Convenience or a Disease That Must Be Cured!

I shop online. And the Internet knows. It follows me to every site I visit. Facebook. USA Today. The Astrology page. The little box in the corner with my latest purchase haunts me. Reminds me. Yes, I did spend that money. Yes. I did buy that dress. Or even worse – No. No. No. You forgot to buy it! And here’s your chance to correct your mistake. Shop. Shop. Shop…

And don’t tell me to turn off the Internet. Don’t tell me not to visit all the places I love to visit. And don’t tell me to stop shopping (Bank of America has already got dibs on that, thank you very much). What is it about online shopping that makes it so – dang easy to spend money!

I was do some research for one of my WIPs, and learned about the DARK NET. It’s a place hackers go to hang out and create mayhem. Shouldn’t online shopping be considered some sort of black hole that eats money?

But worst than shopping online – I GO TO THE FREAKING MALL, too!

And OMG, two weeks before RWA Nationals? Have you started packing? Did you buy the new shoes? That great jewelry? What?

No, I know, I should be revising, and writing, and doing what aspiring authors do – searching for a dress to wear to the awards ceremony on July 26. That’s what! Right? 

Okay, I just took a deep breath. I’m almost done ranting, so I can get to the good part:)…would you like to see some of the things I didn’t buy? And no, this is not an add for Nordstorm’s, it’s just the store where I window shop…and okay, shop, occasionally.

Now confess! What’s your online bad habit (or good habit) – it’s all a matter of perspective . Darn! I just bought something while writing this post!…and I shop to relax, by the way…not all the time…and I can control it…(sounding more out of control with every word I type..:)…

 



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I’m in New Orleans at RT Convention!

New Orleans has one of the most intriguing and unique neighborhoods in the USA–The French Quarter. It  only encompasses a few blocks, but it attracts millions of tourists every year. This is my 10th trip to New Orleans, and I am excited this trip is all about reading and writing romance! Here’s a brief pic-spam from my first day and a half at RT.

My first RT Convention has  started  with a bang. I hung out with Cherry Adair and met debut authors Stella Barcelona and Tina deSalvo – and visit Tina’s website for more information about  Friends Fight Together.

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Those are raw oysters, but look at the gigantic oyster in the middle – it’s like the Godzilla of oysters!

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 And yes, that is Ms. Avery Flynn herself, taking a bite out of Godzilla and texting about it!

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Monday I was sitting on a bench in the  hotel lobby and ended up meeting a few dynamic historical romance authors (three of whom are alumni Golden Heart Finalists!) From left to right (First Row): Erin Knightley (who I met at RWA Orlando and who took this group selfie!) and Heather Snow and Second Row from left to right: Jade Lee, (moi), and Elizabeth Essex (who has cool luggage tags:). 

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Today I’m spending a few hours with Cherry Adair and Avery Flynn (and likely a few hundred others:) for Ms. Adair’s day-long workshop entitled Pre-Con Intensive Plotting Program. (So excited!)

Are you at RT? Find me @dennysbryce and include the hashtag #RT14!

Marketing 101: What in the Heck is a Gif (Not Gift Misspelled Either!)?

I woke up in a sweat. There were video images racing through my mind, short, no sound, with words moving across the bottom, or sides or the top, and sometimes with thought bubbles – words and images capturing a feeling, an energy, a world of emotion in one quick glance, and you were like yeah, that’s it.

But darn it, what was it and why do I need to know MORE?

Well, they are called GIFs, the latest craze (actually a very old craze on the Internet), but with YouTube, Tumblr, and Google+, even Facebook, is playing with ‘motion-oriented’ images. In the realm of social media, GIFs have leapt to the forefront of marketing, making GIFs the hot new darling of 2014.

So what does it mean to authors marketing books, or social media mavens who want to use the latest, greatest – you need to know what you’re working with for one…

GIF – the definition – animated image file formats. Sounds simple enough. There are a lots of websites and easy programs to use in creating your own GIF or going with some of the existing that fit the mood you’re in, or … whatever:)…see examples below…

Hopefully no-one notices how much weight you’ve gained over the weekend. You only ate one chocolate egg after all, right?

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 It’s 5.55am, and here you are. Look how happy and relaxed you are…

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 There are a  bunch of websites where you can find GIFs and use them on with favorite social media tool. But also think about the fun you could have with characters from your book if you also knew how to make your own GIFs. There are some spots on the internet that explain how with and without Photoshop…

http://www.buzzfeed.com/katienotopoulos/how-to-make-a-gif-without-photoshop

Or just Google GIFs – thousands of stuff out there to work with…

Read more at http://www.reactiongifs.com/heeeeyyy-f-you/#yR8hQyZsMy6pBvgY.99

WHEN SOMEONE YOU DESPISE WAVES AT YOU

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 Or what I should be doing instead of googling GIFs for two hours, right?

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Okay, I’m having way too much fun writing this post. Feel free to respond with your favorite GIF, or share ideas on ways you can add them to your social media marketing toolkit! It will grab readers’ attention…