The Thin Person Inside by Rochelle Weber

Will Cinderella make it to the ball? She did in the fairy tale, but in these fresh takes on the original, just about anything can happen—and usually does. Fifteen romance authors have served up delicious samples of their Cinderella-themed stories, along with a feast of tasty treats and glitzy party ideas. Tap into your inner princess and indulge in excerpts sparkling with dream-come-true romance, nail-biting suspense, haunting magic, bubbly chick lit humor and tear-jerking heartaches.

After sampling our tasty morsels, you’ll find a treasure-trove of recipes and ideas to inspire your next party. Let the Glass Slipper Sisters style your regal table to perfection, thanks to the gorgeous, but quick and inexpensive adornments and easy-to-prepare scrumptious delights. You’ll even find a few party games that can be adapted for your royal guests whatever their age. Excerpts from the following books are included within the pages.

Cinder the Fae by Rebekah R. Ganiere

Cinderella Had it Easy by Jennifer Connor

The Cinderella Princess by Melissa McClone

The Cinderella Series ~ the collection by Kae Elle Wheeler

Cinderella's Enchanted Night by Amber Daulton

Fairy Tale Flirts! 5 Romantic Short Stories by Lisa Scott

Fooling around with Cinderella by Stacy Juba

Home Sweet Texas Home by Caroline Clemmons

Nobody's Cinderella by Joan Reeves

Pumpkin: A CinderMama Story by Ines Johnson

Savage Cinderella by P. J. Sharon

Second Chance Cinderella by Sharon Kleve

Spellbound Cinderella by Angela Ford

The Thin Person Inside by Rochelle Weber

Wishful Thinking by Lynette Sofras

You can get The Cinderella Treasure Trove for free at the following venues:

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/cttriwamz

BN:         http://tinyurl.com/cttriwbn

Kobo:     http://tinyurl.com/cttkobo

iTunes:   http://tinyurl.com/cttitunes

We call ourselves the #GlassSlipperSisters, and for the next few weeks, I plan to host each of my fellow Glass Slipper Sisters, and highlight her book. This week, I’d like to showcase The Thin Person Inside by Rochelle Weber. [Yup, gotta include my book, too!]

The Plot:

Kristen Jensen, a Navy veteran, is at the end of her rope. She weighs almost three hundred pounds, and she’s becoming a cripple. Desperate for help, she asks her VA therapist if she can go into treatment with the addicts and the alcoholics. In treatment, Kristen meets Sean Wesley. She melts when she sees his black hair, blue eyes and perfect body, and assumes the only reason he’s speaking to her is that she’s the only other person in the room. She has no clue, at first, who he really is, or what a rock star could ever see in her.

Sean thinks it’s tragic that a pretty girl is trapped inside such a huge body, and when she shares her story, he’s impressed by her openness and honesty. She’s the bravest person he’s ever met, sitting with her fruit and salad surrounded by people eating the day-old pastry donated by the local bakery. He finds himself drawn to her, but she’s had decades to build her layers of defense.

Bio:

Rochelle Weber is a Navy veteran with a BA in Writing from Columbia College in Chicago. Her novels Rock Bound and Rock Crazy are available in both e-book and print. Her third book, The Thin Person Inside, is available at MuseItUp Publishing, Inc. Ms. Weber edits for The Author’s Secret, and publishes the Marketing for Romance Writers Newsletter, winner of the 2013 Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll for Best Writers’ Resource. She also started Roses & Thorns Reviews and currently has two partners.

Ms. Weber battles bi-polar disorder, quipping, “You haven’t lived until you’ve been the only woman on the locked ward at the VA.” Her song, “It’s Not My Fault,” won a gold medal in the National Veterans Creative Arts Competition. She has lost over a hundred pounds and kept it off for four years. She lives in Round Lake Beach, Illinois with two cats who have her very well-trained.

Website:  http://www.rochelleweber.com

Buy Links:

Amazon:   http://tinyurl.com/rwttpiAmazon

Barnes and Noble: http://tinyurl.com/rwttpiBarnes and Noble

A Dose of Danger by Kim McMahill

Blurb:

When researcher Grace Talbot and her team discover a possible solution for weight loss, they are targeted by a group dedicated to controlling the multi-billion dollar a year diet-product industry. Her unsanctioned testing methods bring tragedy to the family ranch and the attention of the local sheriff’s deputy. With her colleagues either dead, missing, or on the run she soon realizes she must trust the deputy with her life, but can she trust him with her heart?

Excerpt:

She hadn’t heard Logan enter, but she didn’t object when he pried the handset from her fingers and put his arm around her shoulders.

“Hey, Moss. How are you feeling today?”

Grace could only hear one side of the conversation, but it was enough to know Moss wasn’t the only one who cared about her fate.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep her safe, I promise. Yes, I’ve noticed she can be a bit stubborn, but she knows when to cooperate and hasn’t given me too much trouble. No, I can’t give you any details. The less you know the better. We’ll leave as soon as the sheriff calls back with a location.

“You have what? Where? If we need it, thanks. If we don’t I never heard those words. Yes, I noticed the trailer lights aren’t working, and the clutch on your truck sticks a bit. I may be from Arizona, but I do know how to pull a horse trailer and operate a truck in four-wheel-drive. We better not tie up the line too long, but we’ll call as soon as we get to wherever we’re going. What? Yes, I’d be happy to do that for you. Take care.”

By the time Logan hung up, the tears were gone. Hearing Moss treating the big, strong deputy like a child made her smile. She missed her uncle so much it hurt. Even in a hospital bed hundreds of miles away, he was still trying to take care of her.

“What would you be happy to do for Uncle Moss?”

“This,” he replied as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. His lips moved slowly over hers until he felt her arms slide up around his neck. He deepened the kiss, and her response sent fire through his body. Even without his heavy coat on, he knew he would be burning just as hot. She fit against him like they were made for each other. When he finally let her go, she looked up at him with a wicked smile that made him itch to grab for her again.

As if sensing his intention, Grace took several steps back. “I’m fairly certain that wasn’t what Moss asked you to do for him.”

“Maybe he said something about giving you a hug for him, but I started tuning him out when he decided I needed driving instructions. Anyway, I didn’t want to disappoint an injured old man, so I winged it.”

Grace studied him for a moment. Maybe he won’t walk out on me, but even if he does, I might as well make the most of every moment we have together. She smiled and moved within reach.

Logan needed no further encouragement. He pulled her toward him. With one arm firmly around her waist, he ran his fingers through her hair. “Yes, those curls are just as soft as they look,” he moaned as his lips descended to hers, cutting off any response.

Bio

Kim McMahill grew up in Wyoming, which is where she developed her sense of adventure and love of the outdoors. Since leaving Wyoming she has enjoyed many opportunities to see the world, and has lived amid some of America’s most stunning landscapes. Kim started out writing non-fiction, but her passion for exotic world travel, outrageous adventures, stories of survival, and happily-ever-after endings soon drew her into a world of romantic suspense. Along with writing adventure novels Kim has also published over eighty travel and geographic articles, and contributed to a travel anthology and cookbook. When not writing, Kim enjoys gardening, traveling, and spending time with family.

Buy link

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Dose-Danger-Kim-McMahill-ebook/dp/B00V50EEBA/

Social Media

Website:  http://kimmcmahill.com

Blog:  http://kimmcmahill.blogspot.com

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/kimmcmahill.

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/849945.Kim_McMahill

2014 Writing Process Blog Hop

One of my goals this year is to do more promotion, and what better way to start, than by jumping onto the beginning of a blog hop that will hopefully run the whole year. I’d like to thank April Erwin for inviting me to join this blog hop, and introduce you to her.

April Erwin:

“I am a plethora of things in one. I love that word. Plethora. I heard it for the first time in The Three Amigos movie. I think it describes me pretty well. (Does that sound conceited? Hope not.) So, why am I a plethora? Let's see, I'm a novelist, a singer/songwriter, a certified graphologist, a photographer & Sunday school teacher. I love to read, scrapbook, travel, bake, & watch movies & TV. By day I write, and tutor reading and spelling to dyslexic and reading challenged individuals. Is that Plethorific enough?”

April’s Blog: http://www.projectinga.blogspot.com/

Here are the questions we’re each answering:

What am I working on?

My current WIP is the story of Kristen Jensen, a morbidly obese woman who goes through treatment with the addicts and alcoholics at the VA to treat her food addiction. The program is somewhat different from most in that it is based on SMART Recovery instead of the Twelve Steps. The book follows her through the program, outlining the basics of the program and digging into some of Kristen’s issues as she works the program and does her homework.

While she’s there, she meets Sean Wesley, lead singer of The Haystack, a country/rock band that’s been around for years. Although the VA doesn’t usually treat people with the kind of wealth Sean has, his manager pulled several strings to get him in there. Kristen has difficulty believing a handsome, successful man like Sean could possibly go for her, but he was a fat kid and he’s impressed with her intelligence, bravery, kindness, and sense of humor. He sees the thin person inside struggling to be set free.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Except for the romance, this book is very autobiographical. It chronicles my own obesity issues and struggle to lose weight. I am a Navy Veteran and I really did go through SMART Recovery at the Danville, IL VA. I have lost 140 pounds and I plan to include my before and after photos on the back cover of the book.

Why do I write what I do?

I have a degree in writing from Columbia College in Chicago. In my first class, my instructor told us to write what we know. I asked him what the difference was between writing about ourselves and fiction, and he said, “Write it the way you wish it was.” So, I guess that’s kind of what I do.

The first book I started that got published was about getting dumped by my husband in a town I’d never heard of hundreds of miles from home where the only other person I really knew was the woman for whom he’d dumped me. I actually started that book in that class. Twenty years later, after I’d been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, I added that to the mix. My ex said the reason he was leaving me was that he couldn’t stand my mood swings, and that had been an on-going argument between us before he accepted the job in that town. He worked outages at various nuclear power plants around the country and I had been begging him to settle down at one plant so we could have a normal family life. Well, Comes the Dawn turned into Rock Crazy. I moved it from Oswego, New York to Rockton, Luna. But instead of leaving his wife, Katie, for someone else, Scott McGowan dumps her to convince her to get a chip implanter in her brain that will cure her bi-polar disorder in hopes they can have a normal life and maybe even start a family. My life how I wish it could be—cured of my bi-polar disorder with something other than meds, not divorced, and settled in a community with friends and even a feeling of family.

However, Rock Crazy wasn’t the first book I published. I thought I’d write a paragraph or two about some of the background characters, and they took over and became their own book, Rock Bound. Frankly, I’m not sure where that one came from!

How does my writing process work?

I’m not sure I have a “process.” I’m definitely a pantser. I start with sort of a log-line in my head. I kind of need to know where I’m starting and where I’m ending up before I start writing. How I get there is sometimes a surprise. For instance, in Full Circle, one of the girls turns out to be a senator’s daughter and has a major argument with her dad. I didn’t see that coming; it just kind of happened. I guess I just sit down at the computer and words pour out of my fingertips. When I was in school we talked about our processes. I worked full time, went to school and was active in Overeaters Anonymous. I was a non-custodial parent, partly because I knew something was wrong with me, but not what. Anyway, we were expected to write at least sixty pages each semester. That was the minimum to pass our writing courses.

I left home at six-thirty/seven a.m. most days and got home at eleven-thirty/midnight most nights. My classmates talked about having to have just the right music or absolute silence; having to clean the house or pick the cat hair off the couch in order to be able to write. I wrote at work during my lunch break while answering phones and greeting clients. I wrote on the El on my way to work and from school. I wrote in restaurants. I wrote in the computer lab at school. I wrote wherever and whenever I could grab the time. Process? Who had time for a process? I had rent, tuition, and a long-distance phone bill to pay.

My process now that I’m “retired” is to just sit down and work at least a couple of hours each day. I also edit for Jupiter Gardens, am Editor of the Marketing for Romance Writers Newsletter, run the Roses and Thorns review site, and volunteer twice a week at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center. I like to stay busy. ;-D

Those were the questions we each received. It wouldn’t be a blog hop if you didn’t have someone to hop to, now would it. I’ve chosen three authors who will answer these questions in their blogs next week and each of them will introduce you to three authors. Here they are:

Beth Barany:

Based in Oakland, California, Beth Barany writes magical tales of romance and adventure to transport readers to new worlds where anything is possible.

She's the award-winning author of HENRIETTA THE DRAGON SLAYER, a young adult fantasy novel (Book 1 of the Five Kingdom series.)

In her off hours, Beth enjoys capoeira, traveling, and watching movies with her husband, bestselling author Ezra Barany, and playing with their two cats, Kitty and Leo.

Beth’s Website & Blog: http://author.bethbarany.com

Candy Caine:

With nearly 200 short stories and her third novel soon to be in print, sweet and spicy, Candy Caine keeps her husband, Robert, on his toes in their Long Island, NY home. Supportive of her writing career, he’s always willing to help her make certain the scenes in her stories are authentic. After all, technique is so important for good writing. When asked why she began to write, Candy says: “I’ve always loved books and my biggest thrill is to bring the joy of reading to others. That’s what writing is all about.”

Candy’s Blog: candycainescorner.blogspot.com

J.J. DiBenedetto

J.J. (James) DiBenedetto was born in Yonkers, New York. He attended Case Western Reserve University, where as his classmates can attest, he was a complete nerd. Very little has changed since then.

He currently lives in Arlington, Virginia with his beautiful wife and their cat (who has thoroughly trained them both). When he's not writing, James works in the direct marketing field, enjoys the opera, photography and the New York Giants, among other interests.

The "Dreams" series is James' first published work.

James’ Blog: http://www.writingdreams.net