Christmas Giveaway!

It's the week before Christmas, and I've got a special gift for all my fabulous Readers! Starting tomorrow, December 20th, enter the giveaway below for a daily chance to win a copy of my Brides Omnibus! Then, on Christmas day I'll draw a name for the Grand Prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I can’t believe we are headed into Christmas. It seems summer always disappears suddenly and without warning. And the way the weather has turned, I am already looking forward to NEXT summer! I am especially anxious for the Romantic Times conference next May in Dallas, Texas, because there I will be pushing my 60th published book, DO NOT FORSAKE ME, a sequel to OUTLAW HEARTS, which will be reissued and published next June, right before the sequel. The covers for these books are outstanding {what do you think!?!}, and I am planning some wonderful promotional events for these two books, which I absolutely loved writing.

     

Haunted Open House Blog Hop!

Glad to jump into this Haunted Open House Blog Hop for Halloween in support of one of my favorite writers, Nancy Gideon! For more Tricks and Treats, visit Nancy's Haunted Open House - She'll be there all week with special guests and fun Halloween activities.

My all-time favorite movie is THE HAUNTING – the old 1950’s b&w version, not the newer one. That movie doesn’t need a screamer mask or bloody murders to be scary. I much prefer the “unseen” spirits that lurk dark corners or only as cold vapors. To me that is much more frightening. 

The Ideal Hero

After 35 years of writing, even more years of reading, and having completed 60 novels, I’ve come to the conclusion that most female readers’ ideal hero (and yes, male readers, too) is the alpha male who is tough and able on the outside, but vulnerable and tender on the inside. I absolutely love the “tough guy” persona, a man who’s strong and brave and can handle weapons and fists … but a man who would never dream of laying a hand on the woman he loves.

Don't Try To Be God

At the MMRWA's June meeting the discussion of omnipotence came up, and I have been thinking about that ever since because it’s a problem I had earlier in my writing years. Being the dense person I can be sometimes – as well as writing back when there was no help of any kind in this business and no opportunity to learn through others, I thought I’d share an article about this problem many writers have had, or still do have. I know it took me a while to catch on to what all this meant and if there is anyone out there who isn’t sure what omnipotence is all about, I thought I’d offer some help.

Review of DESPERATE HEARTS by Long and Short Reviews!

DESPERATE HEARTS received a 4 Star Review from Long and Short Reviews!

Review of DESPERATE HEARTS by Night Owl Reviews!

DESPERATE HEARTS received a 4 Star Review from Night Owl Reviews!

Book Signing This Saturday!

Mark your Calendars! I'll be celebrating the release of DESPERATE HEARTS and signing books this Saturday {August 30th} at Purely Michigan, 406 State Street Saint Joseph, MI. Purely Michigan is a fun store that "features everything/everyone 'Michigan'" -- Join us, then stroll the Regatta Craft Show on the bluff as part of the Labor Day/Tri-State Regatta weekend!

Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Desperate Hearts - Coming Soon! #Giveaway

DESPERATE HEARTS will be released September 2nd, but you can Pre-Order it at the links below! And, as some added excitement, I'll be giving away five copies of DESPERATE HEARTS to five lucky readers with a Grand Prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card awarded to one lucky fan!

I'm Visiting with Romance Books '4' Us Today!

I'm visiting with Romance Books '4' Us today, and I'm talking about my soon-to-be-released book DESPERATE HEARTS!

Stop in to see what my answer is to the Question: What's the top thing on my Bucket List!

Friday Teaser from Desperate Hearts!

Elizabeth sat up and just stared at Mitch wide-eyed, her face red from being half choked, tears leaving clean lines where they trickled through the dust on her face. Her ears rang from all the gunfire. Mitch scooped her into his arms as he rose and carried her down the middle of the street toward Ma Kelly’s. People stared and mumbled to each other about the new woman in town and how Mitch Brady had risked his life to save her … yet again.

Elizabeth laid her head on Mitch’s shoulder and sobbed. Mitch held her closer.

Getting “In The Mood”

Okay, I know that title sounds like it has something to do with sex, and in a way I guess it does because I’m talking about how certain songs get us in the right mood for whatever book/scene/character we are working on when working on a book. Sometimes the right music conjures up brand new story ideas.

Feature Friday Block Party Blog Hop - Week 2

Welcome and thanks for stopping by! This is the Feature Friday Block Party Blog Hop hosted by Buy the Book Tours and author MJ Schiller! Please #FF me on Twitter - My Handle is @RosanneBittner. Today I'm sharing some delicious Caramel Shortbread Squares and a teaser from my upcoming release DESPERATE HEARTS.

Caramel Shortbread Squares

Tuesday Teaser from Desperate Hearts!

Feature Friday Block Party Blog Hop!

Welcome - I'm attending the very first Feature Friday Block Party Blog Hop! Please #FF me on Twitter - My Handle is @RosanneBittner. Today I'm sharing melt-in-your mouth BBQ Ribs and a teaser from my upcoming release DESPERATE HEARTS.

Sweet and Spicy Barbecued Spareribs with a Touch of Rum

Tuesday Teaser - From Desperate Hearts!

The remaining two men stood frozen.

“You’d best drop your weapons,” Mitch told them.

Dear God, who are you? Elizabeth wondered.

Mitch glanced at her, and against a very tanned face his eyes looked as blue as the Montana sky behind him. That one look felt almost physical in its force, and it left Elizabeth breathless.

“Welcome to Montana, ma’am,” he told her in a deep voice. “You’ll be fine now.”

Elizabeth couldn’t find her voice.

Saying Good-Bye

Monday July 7th I will turn in my story DO NOT FORSAKE ME. It’s been a long journey, starting 20 years ago when I wrote the first book about Jake Harkner called OUTLAW HEARTS, which will be reissued next June, followed in July with its sequel, DO NOT FORSAKE ME. I have lived with these characters all these twenty years, and during that time I begged and pleaded and fought to be able to write this sequel and get someone to buy it and publish it. Finally Sourcebooks actually ASKED ME to write this book and wanted to reissue the first one, so that was like a dream come true. That was last December, and by March 2014 I had finished the book – all 563 pages! I have since been working on edits and re-writes, and now it’s finally ready to submit.

Procrastination – The Good Kind

Anyone who knows me knows that I do NOT procrastinate when it comes to ANYTHING. More than anything else, I never put off writing. If I procrastinate at all, it’s with housework, or accounting I should be doing for the family business, or washing the windows, or getting my flowers planted, or any number of other things all us women need to do in our daily lives. 

What’s In A Hero?

I have recently needed to re-read several of my older titles for conversion to e-books. After 60 titles and 32 years of writing, I can’t always remember exactly what happened in every book I wrote or who the hero and heroine were. So far I have been pleasantly surprised at how good the stories are and how “hot” the heroes and the love scenes are. Somehow I had the idea that “way back then” I was hesitant to get too racy with my love scenes, but gosh, they ain’t bad!

Who Wants To Argue With Ghosts?

Well, I know it’s time I did some blogging but I’ve been in “down time” after finishing DO NOT FORSAKE ME (coming in 2015). I am forcing myself not to start editing the book yet because I know that the minute I do, I’ll fall right back into not being able to get away from the story and I won’t get anything else done. I miss Jake so bad I can hardly stand it! But it’s spring, and believe me, this year spring means a lot here in Michigan after one of the coldest, snowiest winters EVER!!! Never have I so appreciated green grass and buds on the trees and warm air. Mother Nature has a way of beautifully recovering from such harsh winters, and everything is beginning to look normal again. I managed to get some spring cleaning done, both inside the house and in the yard, so it’s time to put out all the lawn furniture and hang some flowers and just sit outside and enjoy the sound of birds again. We have a row of huge pine trees along the border in our back yard, and the birds nest in there by the hundreds. It’s a wonderful sound. Rabbits also like to burrow underneath those trees in winter and now I’m seeing a lot of baby rabbits hopping around.

Blue Hawk Trilogy - Now Available for All E-Readers!

I'm so excited - They're HERE! My Blue Hawk Series books (with hot new covers!) are now available for ALL e-readers! Those of you who prefer print books can still order the iUniverse reissued print editions through Amazon. (Unfortunately, the new covers will be available for the e-reader versions only.)

Am I Losing It, Or Is This How It’s Supposed To Be?

I honestly think I might be losing my mind. I am so lost in the book I’m writing that it is affecting me emotionally. I wonder if that happens to actors when they “get into” the role they are playing. The last few days I have been a little down and unsure of the book I’m working on – and suddenly I am jumping-up-and-down happy and positive again.

I figured out why. For the last few days I’ve been working on a part of the book where hero and heroine are apart. He is very worried about her health, and she is (always) worried about him because he’s a U.S. Marshal in the unsettled Territory of Oklahoma. While they were apart, I was low. Now I am at the point where he’s coming back, and all I can think about is “he’s coming back to me!” And I’m happy again because they get to be together.

Work or Vacation? Sometimes They Are One And The Same . . .

By the time this blog is posted, my husband and I will be back home in Michigan – going from 80 degrees in Vegas to 8 degrees at home. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But I have a lot to catch up with at home, and I miss my very cool grandsons!

What a winter this has been – relentless cold and snow. Yet it seems like it went really fast and inevitably we’ll start seeing some green poke through melting snow in Michigan. Hard to picture right now, but it will happen.

Valentine's Party and Giveaway

I'm having a Valentine's Day Party this week to celebrate romance!

Please stop by my party site to see updated news about my books. And, while you're there, don't forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy of my latest release, Paradise Valley and a Kindle!

What Goes Around – Comes Around

When you have been writing as long as I have, I guess you have experienced just about every triumph and tragedy you can expect in the world of writing. I’ve written 59 books, working on #60 and hoping to reach 100 before I die. I started writing in 1979, sold my first book in 1981. It was published in 1983, and it was at that time the 9th book I had written in my effort to sell something. I re-wrote and sold only one of the other 9 books, the other seven becoming simply a learning process as I struggled to write something worthy of being published.

The Hero Who Never Was

I am wondering how many writers besides me live with a particular hero in their heads but never tell his story. I have lived with and loved Ben Colter for a good 20 years now. He’s the hero from the contemporary I have never written because I don’t feel confident writing contemporaries. More than that, though, it’s because I can’t pin the man down as far as who he really is. He is this “being” that haunts me almost constantly, asking me to tell his story, yet I don’t know what that story is, and this character is so special that I don’t want to mess things up by getting his story wrong.

E-Book Specials - January 5, 2014 Only!

Tomorrow, July 5th Only!
Wildest Dreams and Thunder on the Plains e-Books will $1.99