With the help of our own MJ, I entered Amazon’s new universe Kindle Vella with three stories. I created covers for the stories on Canva, but they were the wrong size. Creating the covers was the limit of my knowledge, so MJ kindly resized them for me. She also, in steps as I ventured into the waters, answered my questions and offered extremely beneficial assistance! I posted Denouement, Haunted Summer and Gypsy Ribbons. Short descriptions:
Gypsy Ribbons – Lady Victoria Darby escapes London society as a spoiled brat. A moonlight ride on the moor and an encounter with a notorious highwayman will forever change the way she lives…and the way she dies.
Denouement – Ellen Tracy has lost her faith in the City of Angels until the Seraph Iofiel appears to rescue her from Armageddon, but she soon learns she has a starring role in the sequel to the end…
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Rose Mackie will be awarding a $30 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Clkick on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
*The planet Falosia has an excess of females. The planet Verit has a surplus of males. The best of each have been put forward to start a new colony and find mates, in a last desperate attempt to save both worlds. A scorchingly hot sci fi, alien romance. *
Denara barely survived her disastrous first attempt at marriage; for years she threw herself into her research, giving herself time to heal. When the opportunity arises to take up a position on the colony, she decides to take a risk for the chance to live, and love, again. Lucius has spent his life under the heel of the ruthless Matriarchs of Verit. Tasked with leading the males of the new colony, he reluctantly accepts the assignment. The last thing he wants is to tie himself to a scheming female through mating, but nothing could have prepared him for meeting Denara. Sparks fly, but can they overcome their pasts to find love? With the political machinations of two planets vying for control over the colony, perhaps together, they can bridge the gap between their worlds.
What to expect: Glorious world building, spicy alien romance, friends to lovers, enthusiastic consent. Recommended 18+ due to sexual content.
Read an Excerpt
“Would you like to see a trick?” He blinked in surprise. “What?”
“A trick? Something that Falosians don’t often show outsiders?” Not waiting for his reply, she stood up and walked to a nearby bush that bore large buds. “I have been analysing some of the flora that the bio teams have been bringing in, and if I’m not mistaken, this is a fruiting plant.”
She reached her hands out to cup one of the buds, and bent to place her lips next to it, whispering, bathing the bud in her breath. Lucius moved next to her, staring in rapt interest. He reminded her again of a huge jungle cat, eyes bright with curiosity. A few moments passed, and she opened her hands to show a peach-coloured fruit, covered in fuzzy blue hairs. She plucked the fruit, pulled her laser knife out, and sliced a section away to reveal the dark blue pearls within.
Lucius leaned in to sniff, his eyes flicking to hers at the sweet smell.
“Go on, it’s perfectly edible. They will start appearing on our normal food rotation soon, now that we’ve confirmed they are suitable for our digestion.”
He took the offered fruit and scooped out some of the pearls, dropping them into his mouth and popping them with his teeth. As he did, his mouth was flooded with a sweet, slightly spicy juice. “I suspect they will be very popular. This would make an excellent fermented spirit.”
Denara laughed. “I will start mixing hangover cures.”
“How did you do that?”
Denara smiled archly. “I said I’d show you a trick, not that I’d show you how I did it. You can’t expect me to show you all my secrets at once.”
About the Author:
Rose Mackie (she/her) is an Australian author who writes and loves sci-fi romance, paranormal romance and fantasy romance. Born in Scotland and living in Perth, Western Australia for the past 15 years, Rose loves nothing more than to hang out with her family and rescue cat, and create magical worlds of imagination.
All Rose Mackie books have an element of spice, kick-ass heroines, enthusiastic consent and happy endings. Rose has been writing for as long as she can remember, but has recently published her first book, Heart Fire. It still spins her out that people are reading the weird stories she makes up in her head!
Rose has fallen in love with writing, and loves seeing audiences connect with her work and characters, and hopes you’ll love them too!
Thank you so much, Linda, for hosting me on your blog today. For this post, I decided to interview Abby, the heroine of my latest contemporary romance, Unlock My Heart. I hope you enjoy getting to know her.
What is your occupation?
I just started a new job at Endicott Security as a computer programmer. It’s my dream job—the firm is the best in the business, and I’ve wanted to work here forever. It’s a small company, so I’ll get lots of hands-on experience and can show off my skills. Plus, the company culture is very laid back and casual, which is nice.
What is your motto?
I don’t know if you’d say it was a motto per se, but I value financial independence more than almost anything. I never want to have to depend on someone else for my livelihood.
How would you describe your childhood?
It was tough. I was raised by a single mom who had to—and wanted to—depend on men for everything. When I wasn’t at school, I was hanging out in the bars where my mom worked or in local arcades waiting for her to finish. We moved around a lot, especially when the men she fell for no longer wanted her. There wasn’t a lot of stability, although she definitely loves me.
When and where were you happiest?
When I was about ten or eleven, I went to the local boys and girls club and took a free class on computer coding. I was hooked. I loved every minute of it. My mom wasn’t a fan of it, but I knew that computer coding and programming was what I wanted to do in life. It would give me the financial independence I craved.
What do you consider the most important event in your life so far?
As part of the Endicott team, I get to go to a major technology conference in New York City. I’ve never been to either the city or the tech conference, so I’m really looking forward to it. I can’t wait to take the workshops, attend the presentations, and just be surrounded by all of the leaders in the industry.
What is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear is losing my source of income and having to depend on someone else to support me.
Who is the person you respect the most and why?
That would be Ted Endicott, the CEO and founder of Endicott Security. He’s brilliant and talented. He’s overcome obstacles, too—he’s hard of hearing, but he doesn’t let that stop him. And when you get to know him, he’s funny and kind.
Have you ever been in love?
Ha. Um, I used to say I don’t believe in love. It’s not part of my future goals. But lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time with Ted and…let’s just say I could see why some people are fond of it. I don’t want to fall in love with my boss, since when the relationship fails, I’ll be the one to lose my job. But I’m definitely closer to falling than I’d like to be.
What goal do you most want to achieve in life?
Financial independence and maybe, someone who values me for my intelligence and ability, in addition to my feminine assets.
~*~Unlock My Heart~*~
Blurb
Abby Marlow, computer security expert, lands a job at the best IT security firm in the country. Her sole focus is financial independence so she never has to rely on others again, especially a man. But why does her boss make her wires short circuit?
Ted Endicott, CEO and founder of the IT security firm, is hard of hearing. Although an expert in his field, he’s still uncomfortable admitting his difficulty hearing to his clients or employees. So why is he willing to accept Abby’s help?
As Ted and Abby work together, barriers fall away, and soon the lines blur between colleagues and lovers. But a security glitch in a client’s system indicates one of his employees is the hacker, and all signs point to Abby. Can they get past the suspicion and find a future together?
Excerpt:
Ted grasped Abby as she started to topple. Pulling her tight against him, he skated them to the rail and leaned against it, giving her time to get her feet back under her. Greg was right; Ted shouldn’t hold her like this, but no one was around and with Abby everything felt right.
And he was enjoying her body against his. He stifled a groan. Soft breasts, delicate bones, strawberry-scented hair. He wanted her, more than he’d ever wanted another woman.
She’d bragged about his success to her mother? For a man who’d grown up with a dad who called him stupid, Abby’s brag was more of an aphrodisiac than any sexy model ever could be.
He hugged her to him on the pretense of making sure she remained upright and waited for her to pull away.
Her lips moved, and he studied them, unable to hear her with the background music, the whoosh of air as they glided, the voices of the skaters, and traffic noise. He thought she said “thanks,” and he nodded. When she started to speak again, he took his finger and placed it over her lips. They were velvety soft and pink, and he would have given anything to kiss them.
Instead, he shook his head. “I can’t hear you. And lip reading is exhausting.”
He expected the usual shame to creep in. Maybe because she was out of her element here on the ice and relied on him. She clutched his hand as he guided them slowly over the ice. Maybe it was because he saw no pity. In fact, desire flashed. She blinked, and it was gone. But he’d seen it.
He could spend their entire time together wondering what conversations he missed. He could worry about what she thought, or about whether or not the CEO of the company should skate this close to his employee.
Or he could skate.
He held her close again, and they circled the rink. The cold air reddened her cheeks and nose. His hands should have been cold without gloves, but they weren’t. Holding Abby, melding their bodies together, created a furnace between them. He was surprised the ice beneath their blades didn’t melt.
They circled the rink once, twice, three times, and on their fourth turn, snowflakes fell. The sky glowed from the reflection of the lights on the clouds, which were so low, it seemed as if the tops of the buildings supported them. Abby shivered. He drew her close again as he stopped at the railing.
“Cold?” he asked.
She shook her head no.
If she wasn’t cold…he leaned toward her, and her eyes darkened. Her lips parted, and his heart thumped in his chest. He wanted to kiss her more than he wanted to be able to hear the sound of his name on her lips.
She reached out and traced her finger across his cheekbone. When she pulled back, there was liquid from a melting snowflake on the tip, and a blaze of heat across his cheek.
“…never…snow…”
He caught the gist, and his shock at her comment broke the spell. “You’ve never seen snow?”
She shook her head. He wanted to ask her where she’d grown up, but this wasn’t the place because of the noise of the tourists. Besides, it was late, and if he weren’t careful, he’d do something he shouldn’t.
Like kiss her next to the golden statue in Rockefeller Center.
He steered them toward the exit, and they returned their skates. Moving away from the noise of the rink, Ted took a deep breath when he could hear again.
“You want to walk in the snow or cab it?” he asked.
The look of joy on her face was contagious as she held her hands out to collect snowflakes. He’d grown up in Ohio. Snow was nothing new to him, although he remembered how much he’d loved to play in it. He’d built huge forts in the snowdrifts, where sound was muted and light filtered through the flakes. The snowy walls offered a natural barrier and allowed him to dream of days when he’d be far away.
Jennifer started telling herself stories as a little girl when she couldn’t fall asleep at night. Pretty soon, her head was filled with these stories and the characters that populated them. Even as an adult, she thinks about the characters and stories at night before she falls asleep or walking the dog. Eventually, she started writing them down. Her favorite stories to write are those with smart, sassy, independent heroines; handsome, strong and slightly vulnerable heroes; and her stories always end with happily ever after.
In the real world, she’s the mother of two amazing daughters and wife of one of the smartest men she knows. She believes humor is the only way to get through the day and does not believe in sharing her chocolate.
Jennifer Wilck is an award-winning contemporary romance author for readers who are passionate about love, laughter, and happily ever after. Known for writing both Jewish and non-Jewish romances, her books feature damaged heroes, sassy and independent heroines, witty banter and hot chemistry. Jennifer’s ability to transport the reader into the scene, create characters the reader will fall in love with, and evoke a roller coaster of emotions, will hook you from the first page. You can find her books at all major online retailers in a variety of formats.