Review - - Resurrection

Resurrection:a ROCK SOLID romance

By Karina Bliss

Publisher: Karina Bliss

Release Date: June 17, 2018

Reviewed by Janga

Once there was Stormy Hagen, a, breast-implanted, collagen-injected platinum blonde beauty, one-time girlfriend of rock legend Zander Freedman and paparazzi-fare after her breakup with Zander and her resulting self-destructive spiral. Stormy has disappeared, and in her stead is Lily Stuart, a pretty woman with understated looks whose hair is now a golden brown and whose breasts are all her. Lily is happy working as nanny for the children of a British family while completing an online degree in early childhood education. Her happy life is threatened when a sex tape made by Travis Calvert, the original Rage guitarist and certified creep with whom Stormy hooked up in her self-destruction, is stolen and posted online. To protect her new identity and to shield her employers from intruding paparazzi, Lily turns to her best friend Dimity Graham for help. Dimity offers Lily sanctuary at the secluded home currently being rented by Dimity’s boyfriend Seth Curran and his bandmate Moss McFadden.

Moss is a reserved loner who uses a surly exterior to protect himself from allowing anyone too close. He is still reeling from the repercussions after the Zander Freedman scandal and Zander’s ultimate decision not to return to his career, meaning the end of the new Rage. Wary of investing again as much as he invested in Rage, Moss maintains a distance even from the affable Seth and from the third member of their band, Jared Walker. Moss is also feeling the pressure of his position as lead singer for T-Minus 6, the new band. Still, he remembers the essential sweetness of Stormy and his feelings for her, and when it becomes clear that she will not remain unless she is paying her way, he offers her a job as his driver.

The job is not manufactured. Moss has lost his driver’s license, and having to depend on Dimity, who has enormous responsibilities as the manager of T-Minus 6 plus her continued work for Zander and his wife, writer Elizabeth Winston, leaves both Dimity and Moss short-tempered. Lily is relieved to find that the job is no sinecure. Unlike Seth and Jared who are happily domestic when not working on their music, Moss is living the bad-boy rock star life to the hilt, hitting the bars, hooking up with groupies, and staying out into the wee hours while sleeping in the next day. The schedule is a challenge for Lily, a morning person and one who knows from experience the shallowness of the bar scene.

Moss finds himself just as attracted to Lily as he was to Stormy, and on her part, Lily fights acknowledging her attraction to him, even when he invades her X-rated dreams. The two discover the common experience of a childhood physically and emotionally poverty-stricken, and Lily finds out there is much more to Moss’s night life than a rock star run wild. But the more they are drawn together, the more they are convinced that they can never work as a couple. When Moss is confronted with the greatest challenge of his life just as T-Minus 6 begins to achieve the success they have dreamed of, Lily is there to help him, and their lives become more entangled. However, Moss can’t believe he will ever be good enough to be the man Lily needs, and Lily fears that the repercussions of the sex tape, which have not disappeared as new scandals emerge, will taint Moss’s career and his life. Can these two wounded souls move past all the obstacles and prove to themselves and to those who care about them both that they can save one another?

The fourth story in Karina Bliss’s Rock Solid series is another winner. The title alludes to both the emergence of a new rock band from Rage and to the transformed lives of the protagonists. Bliss takes on standard stereotypes, the grasping, promiscuous groupie and the self-indulgent rock star, and turns them into multidimensional characters who win readers’ interest and affection. Lily and Moss are imperfect people who have made mistakes, but they earn the reader’s sympathy because the author shows their motivations and has them hold themselves accountable for their errors. I found Lily appealing from her appearances in early books, and I was invested in her story immediately in this one. It took longer for Moss to win me over because he is a darker character, but I trusted Bliss who had already proved with Rise that she could make me care about a character I initially disliked. I soon fell for Moss heart and head.

As a fan of the series, I was delighted to see more of Dimity and Seth (Fall) and Kayla and Jared—along with five-year-old Maddie and Rocco, almost two (Play). Even Zander and Elizabeth (Rise) are part of the story via modern technology. Series fans will also enjoy the triumph of T-Minus 6. Resurrection can be read as a standalone, but it will certainly be a more nuanced read for those who have read the earlier books.

I have found few of the rock-star books that have emerged in recent years that earned the status of keeper for me. Karina Bliss’s skills at creating characters who linger in my mind and her gift for lucid prose that sometimes becomes lyrical make this series a rare exception. I loved this book! I loved the series! In fact, I plan to make a reread, beginning with What the Librarian Did, part of my summer reading. I give Resurrection my highest recommendation.



Do you enjoy rock star romances?

Have you read any of Karina Bliss's books? Do you have a favorite?

We have an ebook copy of Resurrection for one randomly chosen person who posts a comment on this review. 

Karina Bliss Winner

The randomly chosen winner of an e-book copy of

FALL by Karina Bliss is:

erin

Congratulations!

Please send your email address to:

theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com

Review, Q&A, and Giveaway - - FALL by Karina Bliss

Fall

By Karina Bliss

Publisher: Karina Bliss

Release Date: November 15, 2016

Release Date: December 6, 2016

Dimity Graham has been personal assistant to rock legend Zander Freedman for three years, throughout the period of during which he reinvented Rage and introduced the new band to the world. Not only is Dimity totally immersed in her job, but she has also found in Zander and the band a version of family that works for her. She is fiercely devoted to this small group which has broadened to include Zander’s love, Elizabeth Winston, and Jared Walker’s wife Kayla. She refuses to even consider that Zander may not recover his voice after vocal surgery or that Rage may not be able to overcome the damaging publicity that resulted from Zander’s lip syncing the national anthem at a charity performance (Rise). Dimity is working to see that everything is in place for Rage to resume their tour once Zander is back and all the fires have been doused. She doesn’t have much of a personal life, but one night she is looking to celebrate the freedom that is hers now that her emotionally and financially demanding mother is remarried. Dimity’s idea of celebrating involves champagne and hot, hook-up sex. It does not involve Rage drummer, Seth Curran.

Seth is going through a rough time emotionally. His long-time girlfriend who broke up with him several months earlier has just told him that she is engaged to someone else. He is heartbroken and depressed. Nice-guy Seth and tiger-tamer Dimity have unexpectedly become friends and when Seth learns Dimity’s plans for the evening, he insists on going with her to help her with the hook-up search. Instead of finding a hook-up, Dimity and Seth get drunk together, she convinces him to let his ex think that Dimity is his new girlfriend, and the two, after a flirtation gains steam, have sex. Their night together proves more intense than either of them expected, and they are both worried about how it will affect their friendship. They try to act as if nothing happened, but their knowledge of each other has acquired an intimacy beyond the merely physical, and neither one of them can forget it.

When they arrive in New Zealand, Dimity is still acting as Seth’s girlfriend, so they spend even more time together. Although the plan is that Mel (Seth’s ex) will realize what she has thrown away and dump her new love to return to Seth, the chemistry between Dimity and Seth grows steadily more explosive. Dimity who has never known ordinary family life falls hard for Seth’s mom, who is everything her own mother is not, and for his sister and infant niece. She has no patience with his father who is still giving Seth grief for leaving the family firm to take a chance with his music. Dimity is angry that Seth is being hurt, and she doesn’t hesitate to let Papa Curran know what she thinks. But not even she can fix everything for Seth who ends up feeling as if his entire family has betrayed him. Dimity has her own earth-shattering news to deal with, and her reaction to it reveals a part of herself that she despises even as she embraces it.

Seth accepts that he has fallen in love with Dimity without a struggle, and he has no illusions about how difficult it is going to be. He understands how frightened Dimity is of loving and being loved, of knowing and being known. He is not surprised when her fear prompts her to run, but with a little help from their friends, his love may win his lady after all.

I surprise myself with how invested I have become in the characters from Bliss’s Rock Solid series. If my love for Fall is somewhat less than for the two earlier stories, Rise and Play, I nevertheless give it top marks. For me, Dimity is proof that I don’t have to identify with a heroine to love her story. She is an alpha heroine accustomed to being in charge. She tells Seth “I machinate” and continues to describe her favorite activities: “Scheme, plot, intrigue, devise, strategize, maneuver, conspire. Win. It’s my thing.” Of course, there is more to Dimity than she admits, more than she even realizes, but even so it is not always easy to like her, particularly when she is her worst self.

Seth, on the other hand, is immensely likeable. I’m a beta lover, and he is one of my favorite beta heroes ever. A nice guy who cares about people, he also demonstrates why it is wrong to conclude that betas lack complexity and an untamed core. He is such a nice guy that Dimity initially thinks he is too soft for the rock world. One revealing conversation shows that even after they become friends, Dimity doesn’t always understand him.

     “After your breakup, I couldn’t work out whether I admired or despised your willingness to suffer when you had so many women wanting to help you feel better.”
     He was silent a few seconds, then pushed his plate aside. “I’d gotten used to having sex with someone I loved. It was a tough habit to break.”
     His expression was so bleak that she had to look away. This was why she kept relationships transient. Love hurt.

He, however, understands Dimity. At the moment, he admits to himself that he loves her, he acknowledges the risk he is taking.

     Dimity would never love him back, never let him close probably. She was a complex, contradictory woman, casually cruel, implacably kind, blisteringly honest, and the queen of denial. She’d put up a wall a mile high between them tomorrow. She might even be ashamed of what they’d shared tonight. It was dangerous and foolhardy to fall in love with a woman who knew a thousand ways to leave a man.

     And he did it anyway. Knowingly, instinctively, deliberately. With no regrets.

All that—and he is a rare red-haired hero and a bit of a beast behind the drums and in the bedroom. (Big sigh!)

If you are a fan of the current trend for romances with a rock music connection, you will find that Fall and the connected books are among the best in the subgenre. If you are a contemporary romance reader who thinks rock star romance is not for you, you must not have read Karina Bliss’s Rock Solid books. I think Fall can be read as a standalone, but my recommendation is to start with What the Librarian Did (strictly speaking not part of this series) and move on to Rise, Play and Fall, in that order. Whatever the order, I highly recommend you read them all.

I plan to reread all four while I am waiting for the next book. I hope Luther’s novella will be next, but I am even more intrigued with Moss after Fall, and a second novel for Zander and Elizabeth sounds perfect. Whatever is next, count me among the readers.

~Janga

Q&A with Karina Bliss

Janga: Was Dimity a difficult character to write?

Karina: Surprisingly, no. I find that if I introduce characters as sidekicks in earlier books, they actually end up more complex and human. Go figure! I think it's because they're not carrying the mantle of  'heroine' or 'hero' on their shoulders. A lot of writer and reader expectations come with that label and that can weigh down the writing if I try and write them too soon. Instead, I write them outrageous in earlier books and spend their book finding out what made them so awful. It's not a method I'd recommend but it works for me because real people are complex and multi-dimensional and awful and kind and difficult and generous and I want that for my characters. And I want them to find love anyway, because at heart they're good people. My only concern with writing Dimity was not trying to soften her edges through the story to make her a more traditional heroine.

Janga: I confess that I was as surprised as Dimity by Zander’s decision. Without moving into spoiler territory, can you tell us whether this was something that you planned all along or something that evolved?

Karina: I was halfway through writing Rise when I knew Zander had to give up everything to deserve his HEA with Elizabeth. He was never going to be a quick fix, he'd been too selfish for too long. It was a sign of his growing maturity that he recognized Elizabeth alone was not enough to 'fix' him. And that he shouldn't expect her to.

And Zander's personality is not about half-measures. I couldn't imagine him saying, “Oh, I'll just work on changing one bad habit a week.” He throws himself into new adventures, boots and all. So personal growth is also on a massive scale (he's the bean in Jack & The Beanstalk). He's a character that needs to set big challenges for himself, so I gave him one.  (We're both hoping it works out).

Janga: Was Mel’s character inspired by someone? I must say I loved that she was a Paralympic athlete and it was no big deal.

Karina: I so admire Paralympians. Every interview I see with one motivates an attitude re-adjustment in my own life. I particularly admire Kiwi Paralympian champion, Sophie Pascoe's approach to life. My brother-in-law became paraplegic in his late twenties and had me researching diving and skiing opportunities for him while he was still in hospital. The human spirit recognizes no limitations. At the same time, you're still 'just you' to friends and family.

Janga: I expected Luther’s story and Moss’s story to follow, but the promise of a second book for Zander and Elizabeth seems like a splendid gift. Can you tell us anything about the story?

Karina: No! Right now, I have a lot of vague ideas that need to link magically together. I really wish I was a plotter but my natural inclination is to write and see what happens, (and then rewrite what happens a thousand times). I always appreciate reader feedback. Zander got his own book through reader requests. If you're reading this, and have ideas on what you'd love to see happen next for Zander and Elizabeth, email me! Seriously. My address is: karina@karinabliss.com

Janga: What was the hardest scene to write so far in the Rock Solid series?

Karina: Let me change that question to 'What was the hardest scene to delete? I wrote five scenes in Zander's point of view for Fall and then deleted/rewrote them on the advice on my editor. She made the excellent point that Zander had such a big story in Rise that giving him small relationship challenges in Fall read a little flat. Better to filter Zander and Elizabeth through Dimity and Seth in Fall and build to bigger challenges for Zander/Elizabeth in another book.

Janga: Do you have playlists for your novels and novellas?

Karina: Oddly no, considering this is a rock series! I've had 'theme songs' for two of my books. I played Evanescence's My Immortal constantly to channel the emotional angst for Mr Imperfect. In Bring Him Home, I used Pearl Jam's The End to evoke my heroine's conflicted feelings for her late husband, and Strobe (Adagio in D Minor) from the first Kickass movie to help me pace my battle scene prologue. It would be good to have theme songs for the Rock Solid Romance series though. Thanks for the tip!

PJ: Thank you for visiting with us today, Karina. Would you like to ask our readers a question?

Do you think romance readers are more forgiving of difficult heroes than difficult heroines? If yes, why do you think that is?

Thanks for inviting me to the Dish, PJ.

One randomly chosen person who leaves a comment before 11:00 PM (EST), December 10, 2016 will receive an e-book copy of FALL. 

Review - - You Had Me at Christmas

You Had Me at Christmas

By Karina Bliss, Stephanie Doyle, Laura Florand,

Jennifer Lohmann, and Molly O’Keefe

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: October 17, 2016
  

Anthologies of Christmas novellas have become common since the marriage of romance fiction and digital media, but there is nothing common about this anthology. It is an extraordinary collection by five talented authors of contemporary romance.

It gets off to a strong start with Karina Bliss’s “Play,” following Rise, the first novel in her Rock Solid series. Jared and Kayla Walker are high school sweethearts who married young. Kayla believes in Jared’s talent and encourages his dreams. When Jared won a spot in Zander Freedman’s resurrection of the band that made him famous with a new group of musicians, the resulting fame and all that accompanied it put a strain on the Walkers’ marriage. Having Kayla and the children join the tour was an attempt to relieve the tensions, but it backfired, putting their marriage in real jeopardy.

After the scandal surrounding Zander’s lip syncing in an appearance and the scare about the star’s throat, no one is sure what is going to happen to the band. Jared is home, making a desperate effort to repair the damage to his relationship with Kayla. She is no less committed to the relationship, but her confidence in herself and in Jared’s love for her have been undermined by her experiences on the tour. Her doubts about their future as a couple cannot be easily addressed. Christmas is approaching with all the attendant pressures of excited kids and family gatherings, and Kayla and Jared find it difficult to find time for the two of them. Can they find their way back to each other despite the difficulties?

Karina Bliss is brilliant at creating characters who hook me head and heart, and her prose is always superb. These qualities have made her one of my auto-buy authors. Rise was my top contemporary romance of 2015, even though I was initially skeptical about Zander Freedman as a hero. I have been eager for more of Jared and Kayla’s story since I turned the last page of that book. I was a bit disappointed that it was a novella, but Bliss, who first gained attention as a category author, knows how to pack a lot of story in fewer pages. “Play” was all I hoped it would be.

It is obvious that Jared and Kayla are deeply in love with one another and want to salvage their marriage, but their problems are significant. There is nothing trite about the obstacles they face. Jared is no self-destructive rocker seeking absolution for his betrayals, but fame has changed him and the way he lives his life. Bliss wisely avoids the simplistic and makes the marriage in trouble a problem that requires both partners to grow in understanding of self and one another if their reunion story is to have an HEA. The story has humor (including a very funny sex scene) and poignance, appealing kids and marital passion, and the real feel of a family preparing for Christmas. I loved it! “Play” alone is worth purchasing the anthology.

It is not necessary to have read Rise to enjoy this novella, but having read the earlier book will enhance the reading of the novella. The second novel in the series, Fall (the story of Zander’s PA Dimity Graham and Rage drummer Seth Curran), is scheduled for release in next month. I can’t wait.

~Janga

Stephanie Doyle’s “One Naughty Little Christmas” is the second story. Alone on Christmas night and counting the hours to December 26 when life will once again be filled with the demands of work, Kate McCullen passes the lonely hours with a little wine and consideration of a new app her assistant had downloaded to her phone: “a dating app specifically for people over forty. A more serious, more mature group of single people looking to find each other.”  Tentatively, Kate opens the app and, after a few misses, sees a picture of a man that intrigues her. The two connect—cyberly, emotionally, and, in a move out of character for both of them, sexually. Kate never expected that her lonely Christmas evening would end with Internet sex.

Moving the relationship from the virtual world to the real one is more complicated. Regardless of their instant connection via the dating app, Kate and John are very different, and they have their share of baggage. Both have known loss, and both know that the real is riskier, scarier than a fantasy. Can they overcome their fears and give the love they have unexpectedly found a chance?

I love the developing trend of older heroines and heroes, so I was predisposed to like this one. I found Kate, a woman who had devoted two decades to building a successful career and is now questioning if it is enough, a particularly sympathetic heroine. The cross-class romance is one of my favorite tropes, and this was an interesting take on that one. For readers who like highly sensual romances, this one has some sizzling scenes. My one complaint is the title. To me, it suggests a rom-com rather than the considerably more substantive story Doyle gives her readers.

~Janga

Jennifer Lohmann is up third with "Twelve Kisses Until Christmas." Selina Lumina's dreams of leaving her small Idaho town to pursue a career in the art world have turned to desperation with the increasingly insistent drunken attentions of her abusive stepfather. With little money left from her waitressing job at the local diner after paying for one college course per semester and many of the bills at her mother and stepfather's home and no emotional support coming from her mother, Selina sees no way out of her dilemma. Her future looks bleak...until the morning a stranger walks into the diner and offers her the chance of a lifetime.

Recently selling the app he created with his good friend for millions of dollars, twenty-five year old technology whiz kid, Marc Murcowski is determined to enjoy his new-found wealth, driving around the country, exploring out the way places and every ski run he can find. Except, it's not fulfilling him like he'd anticipated. He's bored, lonely, and can't stop thinking about the sold app that he's confident he can still make better. The only bright spot in his currently dreary life is the cute but weary - and wary - waitress in the small Idaho diner where he's stopped to eat. An impulsive decision leads him to offer her a ride to Salt Lake City where she can pursue her dreams if she'll agree to explore the out of the way tourist attractions with him along the way. The offer is strictly platonic but as they slowly come to know one another on the trip will it stay that way? And once they reach Salt Lake City, will they be willing to say good-bye or will they have found new dreams to explore together?

Selina and Marc are both young but no less complex for their ages and experience or lack thereof. Selina, in particular, is wise beyond her years, no doubt due to having to mature quickly because of her family situation.  Marc, while the elder and more successful of the two, has more maturing to do, a fact that Selina recognizes even if Marc doesn't. At least, not at first. Lohmann does a good job of keeping the characters and their journey true to their age and experience, especially with the ending which I found very satisfying. This was my first story by Jennifer Lohmann. I enjoyed her writing and plan to seek out more.

~PJ

I discovered Laura Florand earlier this year and she has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary authors. "Snow-Kissed," the fourth novella in this anthology, brilliantly showcases why all contemporary romance readers should have Ms. Florand on their reading list. This novella was previously published September 1, 2013 as the first story in Florand's Snow Queen duo.

Kai had once been a woman full of joy who was head over heels in love with her husband. She taught him how to smile, how to have fun. He was her world, as she was his, and then it all fell apart. Overcome with grief, unable to function any longer in her everyday life or find forgiveness, for either of them, Kai turned her back on Kurt and their marriage and escaped to his mother's cabin in the mountains. It had been 18 months since she walked out on their marriage and her soul was still as cold as the snow falling outside the cabin window when Kurt arrived at the cabin. She wasn't ready to see him; wasn't sure if she would ever be ready, knowing how she had ruined the love they once had.

Kurt had never stopped loving Kai during the long months they were apart. He knew he hadn't been there for her in the way she needed when her world fell apart but he didn't know what else he could have done. She retreated into her grief and guilt to a place he couldn't reach, didn't fully understand. When they are snowed in at the cabin, Kurt knows it could be his last chance to break through the wall she's erected around her heart, heal the rift in their marriage, and rediscover the joy they once shared.

In "Snow-Kissed," Laura Florand has created an exquisitely written, heart-wrenching tale of love, loss, grief, hope, forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation. It's one of the best, if not the best, second-chance love stories I've ever read. I was held spellbound by the imagery, the language, the fragility of these characters, the deep anger and feelings of helplessness, the tenuous hope as they cautiously reach out to one another, the gentle care and sensuous desire. The intimacy and emotional depth of this story is incredible. I didn't so much read it as I absorbed it at a gut level. It was as if I knew these characters, knew their pain, their anguish, and ached with them. In my opinion, "Snow-Kissed" is as close to perfection as a story can get. It has my highest recommendation.

A couple words of caution...
You probably don't want to read this novella on a crowded airplane (yes, I did and it wasn't pretty) and I strongly encourage you to have a full pack of tissues handy before you begin. There's a reason "Snow-Kissed" was voted Biggest Tearjerker of the Year in the annual AAR reader poll.

~PJ

Molly O’Keefe’s “Christmas Eve: A Love Story” concludes the collection. This is a reissue; the novella was briefly available in Sweet Talk, the limited edition collection released in May 2015 by Brenda Novak's Online Auction for Diabetes Research.

Trina Crawford and Dean McKenzie grew up on neighboring spreads in Dusk Falls, Wyoming. Best friends, they spent every Christmas Eve at the annual Christmas party thrown by Dean’s wealthy parents. Part of the tradition was the playing of Christmas carols by Trina on piano and Dean on guitar. That tradition, along with the Crawfords presence at the party, ended when Roy Crawford and Eugene McKenzie clashed over the ownership of a piece of land at the boundary of their properties, but even feuding fathers could not stop Trina and Dean’s friendship. Dean was there on the Christmas Eve when Trina’s mother left Dusk Falls forever, leaving Trina with her silent, drunken father. Dean understood Trina’s determination to escape Dusk Falls and her father. He too had plans to leave the town and the father he could never please.

The ties of friendship stretched but never broke as Trina left for college and law school and Dean studied land management in Laramie. If they each dreamed that there was more than friendship between them, the time never seemed right to speak of those dreams—not until as adults they found themselves back in Dusk Falls. But their idyll and their friendship were shattered by a double betrayal. It will take a Christmas Eve miracle of forgiveness to bring true reunion and an HEA.

Molly O’Keefe’s newest novels have been erotic romance, not a subgenre I read, so I loved this reread of a story that is a combination of sweetness and substance and characters so real I wanted to give them a hug. Friends-to-lovers and reunion stories are my favorite tropes, and this novella is a bit of both. I don’t rank this one quite as highly as O’Keefe’s Rita-winning Christmas novella “The Christmas Eve Promise” (2009), one of my perennial Christmas rereads, but it is a wonderful story and a sigh-worthy end to this excellent anthology.

~Janga

Have you read any of the authors in this anthology?

Do you enjoy Christmas themed romances? Do you like them light and comedic or deeply emotional?

Two randomly chosen people leaving a comment on today's post will receive an e-book copy of You Had Me at Christmas. (winner's choice of epub or mobi format)

Today's Special - - The Outback Bachelor Ball Review & Giveaway

The Outback Bachelor Ball

By Joan Kilby, Karina Bliss, and Sarah Mayberry

Release Date: October 20, 2015

 

The Outback Bachelor Ball consists of three connected novellas. Ellie McFarlane, Jen Tremaine, and Beth Walker have been besties since their boarding school days fourteen years ago. Now each needs to conclude a chapter in her life. Ellie has declared a moratorium on pining for a cowboy who treats her like a kid sister, Jen has just been dumped by a colleague who has fallen in love with his ex-wife, and Beth has been publically humiliated by a country music-star ex-husband whose cheating ways are notorious. When Ellie proposes a reunion that includes attending the annual Dubbo Outback Bachelor and Spinster Ball, they not only agree but add a dare for each of them to make things more interesting. Ellie agrees to a makeover, Jen plans to attend in a cow costume, and Beth promises to dance with every half-way decent male who asks her. None of them expects to find their very own Prince Charming at the Outback ball.

Win Me by Joan Kilby

Ellie McFarlane has been in love with Rick Drummond, the manager of her father’s cattle station, for what seems like forever, but Rick persists in treating her like a younger sister. Ellie still cringes with embarrassment when she remembers the one time she tried to prove to him she was no longer a kid. She returns home to Australia after six years in Wyoming to discover that absence has not made Rick’s heart grow fonder. He not only still treats her with the casual affection of an older brother but he is considering buying the homestead that had been in his family for generations before it was sold after his father’s death and leaving Coolibah. Ellie knows it is time to move on. And the Outback Bachelor and Spinster Ball is just the place to prove she’s all woman and not anyone’s kid sister.

When Rick arrived at Coolibah fourteen years ago, Ellie was just a kid. He understood when Ellie’s father warned that the five years separating Rick and Ellie made her off limits. Even when Ellie was no longer a kid, Rick found it easier to think of her as one. She was still his boss’s daughter, and he was a guy with nothing much to offer. But seeing just how sexy Ellie is dressed for the ball and just how jealous he is at the thought of her with someone else threatens his resolution. But even stargazing and hot sex aren’t enough to ensure an HEA. Sometimes a man has to speak his heart to win his lady.

Woo Me by Karina Bliss

Scarred by her parents’ acrimonious divorce, Jen Tremaine has made sure her head was in control when it came to matters of the heart. She was careful not to date her co-worker Karl until two years after his divorce, after his rebound flings. She still ended up feeling like the other woman when Karl and his ex-wife got together again. She even resigned from a job she loved to keep his children from being confused and hurt. Although she is thrilled to be reunited with Ellie and Beth, she has no interest in hooking up at the ball. Of course, dressed as Clarabelle the cow, she probably won’t find that an issue anyway. But then she meets the luscious Logan Turner, a security guard who wreaks havoc on the guards cautious Jen has set in place.

Logan agreed to security guard duty only after his youngest sister begged for his help. A former Special Forces soldier, he is at loose ends, unsure of his future. The only thing he is certain of is that the Outback Bachelor and Spinster Ball is a terrific site for a man who has been celibate too long. When he first sees the person in a cow costume, he thinks the creature is male; his interest is focused on the two beauties with the cow. But by the time he comes to the rescue on three occasions, he is charmed by her wit and humor; and by the end of the night, Logan is thinking of a future with Jen.

But what Logan sees as a beginning, Jen sees as a single, perfect night. After all, she’s leaving Australia for New Zealand and a new job, and everyone knows that long-distance relationships never work. And she is afraid to risk her heart. But what if the biggest risk is losing all the happiness that love and Logan promise?

Wait for Me by Sarah Mayberry

Beth Walker is in serious need of distraction. She returned to Australia after her four-year marriage to a country music star imploded under the weight of his numerous infidelities. Not only is Beth broken-hearted and disillusioned, but she is also filled with self-recrimination and weary of running from the relentless paparazzi. Australia offers the unwavering love and support of her best friends. But beer and half a dozen dances have done nothing to make her more attuned to the festive spirit of the Outback Bachelor and Spinster Ball. Beth is ready to leave when she spots Jonah Masters, an old friend who, along with his band, was once an opening act for her ex.  The last thing she wants is to see pity in the eyes of Jonah, who was on the scene when Beth heard the first rumor of her ex’s unfaithfulness and refused to believe it. But Jonah insists they have coffee, and Beth, who is finally and unexpectedly distracted by the feelings Jonah awakens in her, agrees.

Jonah knew from the moment he met Beth that she was the woman his heart was seeking, but since she was married, he settled for being her friend. Now that Beth is free and fate has placed them both at the ball, he feels as if he has been given a second chance. But even though their one night together ends with her agreeing to go with him to inspect the home he is thinking of buying, Jonah knows Beth is still not ready for a new relationship. Waiting may be wise, but it is hell—and there is no guarantee  that it will end in lovers meeting. Regardless, Jonah is willing to wait, and Beth is eager to heal.

I love a well-written novella, and I was intrigued by the three-blackbird idea of connected stories occurring simultaneously. I also loved the modern Cinderella-at-the-ball motif with best friends instead of wicked step-sisters, a ute instead of a carriage, and a trio of hot, rugged Aussie heroes instead of a pretty prince. Then, there was the fact that the stories were written by authors who had added books to my keeper shelves. Nevertheless, I was a bit concerned that the length would mean lots of insta-lust and scant character development.  I’m happy to say my fears were groundless.

Win Me and Wait for Me feature couples who have a history when their stories begin, and although Jen and Logan in Woo Me do meet at the ball, they develop a friendship with a surprising degree of intimacy before they become lovers. I found all three couples engaging, and the enduring friendship of the three women was not just a device for getting them to the ball but an integral part of all three stories. The Outback Bachelor Ball  was a winner for me. If you like contemporary romance with characters who are likeable and real and whose stories truly are about love rather than merely lust, you should add these three novellas to your to-be-read list ASAP.   

Note: I don’t know if it was intentional or coincidental, but I got a giggle out of the fact that all three heroes gave articles of their clothing to the heroines. In one case, it was literally the shirt off his back. :)

~Janga

Cowboy, musician or ex-Special Forces? Which hot Aussie would do it for you?

Jen attends the Outback Bachelor and Spinster Ball dressed as a cow. If you were attending a ball in costume, what costume would you choose?

One randomly chosen person leaving a comment will receive the awesome Outback Bachelor Ball Survival Pack below! Deadline for giveaway comments is 11:59 pm (PST) October 22nd.

The Outback Bachelor Ball Survival Pack includes: an e-copy of each of our novellas: a bar of Whittakers chocolate (New Zealand's finest) to enjoy while you're reading them; and an Outback Bachelor Ball branded mousepad (note: you'll have to catch your own mouse).


Click on each name for more information about Joan Kilby, Karina Bliss and Sarah Mayberry.

Karina Bliss Second-Chance Winner

The giveaway from our February 9th Q&A with Karina Bliss has not been claimed so

we have chosen a new winner.  The new winner of a print copy of Rise is:

Carol L.

Congratulations, Carol!

Please send your full name and mailing address to us at

theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com

Karina Bliss Winner

The winner of a print copy of RISE by Karina Bliss is:

Suzie Quint

Congratulations, Suzie!

To claim your book, please send your full name and mailing address to us at

theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com

Today's Special - - Karina Bliss

Last week we posted Janga's Top Dish-5 Star review of RISE, a new contemporary romance. Today we're delighted to host the author of RISE, Karina Bliss. 

New Zealander Karina Bliss’s debut, Mr Imperfect, won a Romantic Book of the Year award in Australia, the first of eleven books published through Harlequin SuperRomance. Her most recent release, A Prior Engagement, was a Desert Island Keeper at likesbooks.com. Her new release, Rise, is a single title, self-published contemporary which continues the story of Zander Freedman, who first appeared as a villain in Karina’s bestselling title, What the Librarian Did. 

To find out more about this talented author from New Zealand check out her website and connect with her online at Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Please join me in giving Karina a warm welcome to The Romance Dish! 

PJ: Welcome, Karina! We’re pleased to have you visit with us today. Your new book, RISE is the story of a much talked about secondary character from your popular 2010 Harlequin SuperRomance, What the Librarian Did.  Please tell our readers what they can expect from this book.

Thanks for inviting me here, PJ, I always enjoy the reviews and commentary on the Romance Dish.

RISE is a redemption story of a guy literally and figuratively at ‘rock’ bottom. The only pure thing about rock icon Zander Freedman is his voice and he’s given up booze and drugs to protect it. Unfortunately they’ve been anesthetizing his conscience for the past twenty years. I like to think of the story as a Glee-style mash up between Sleeping Beauty and The Matrix. Here’s the back cover blurb:

Acclaimed literary biographer Elizabeth Winston writes about long-dead heroes. So bad boy rock icon Zander Freedman couldn’t possibly tempt her to write his memoir. Except the man is a mass of fascinating contradictions - manipulative, honest, gifted, charismatic, morally ambiguous.

In short, everything she sought in a biography subject. When in her life will she get another chance to work with a living legend? But saying yes to one temptation soon leads to another.

Suddenly she’s having heated fantasies about her subject, fantasies this blue-eyed-devil is only too willing to stoke. She’d thought self-control was in her DNA, after all she grew up a minister’s daughter.

She thought wrong.

Zander Freedman has been an outlier - many would say an outcast – for most of his life. But there’s no disaster he can’t overcome, from the break-up of his band to the fall-out on his reputation. His Resurrection Tour is shaping up to be his greatest triumph - if his golden voice holds out. Contracting a respected biographer is simply about creating more buzz; Elizabeth's integrity the key to consolidating his legacy as one of rock’s greats.

All the damn woman has to do is write down what he tells her. Not make him think.

Or encourage the good guy struggling to get out. And certainly not to fall in love for the first time in his life.

Turns out he is scared of something - being known.

PJ: I’ve read that you were certain Zander, described in the blurb for RISE as “manipulative, honest, gifted, charismatic and morally ambiguous,” could not be redeemed. What convinced you to give him a chance?

Readers made me take another look at him. When one reader asked for Zander’s story I privately wondered if she needed therapy, but after a dozen asked, I started wondering if I was the crazy one. What did these smart women see in Zander that I couldn’t? So I let him wander into a couple of books to see if we could work together. He made me laugh and that was it.

Janga, who recently reviewed RISE for us, has a few questions for you.

Janga: I had a real attraction-repulsion relationship with Zander before this book and for a few chapters into this book, but I ended up loving him. I really was seduced by this hero. How did you do that?

What helped was that I started from the same point you did, disliking Zander. But I’ve always loved the Henry Wadsworth quote: “If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.” So I began digging for reasons– not excuses–that would explain the way he was, without changing his backstory, or essential character. Zander owns his mistakes and flaws, and I think that's partly what makes him likable - his willingness to shoulder the burden of his past sins. He's already changing for the better as the book begins (admittedly as a byproduct of giving up booze and alcohol to save his voice), and the heroine accelerates that change. Elizabeth doesn't 'save' him. I felt he needed to be active in his own redemption, and his relationships with his ex girlfriend, PA, and new band were there to show his evolution into a better man.

Janga: I totally bought into the worlds of this book. What kind of research did you do?

Lots! I read biographies of rock stars, watched rock documentaries and did internet research on voice issues, pastor’s kids and female biographers as I needed it. I live with two keen guitarists and they were a great resource. The deluge scene when Elizabeth gets stuck in traffic and waterlogged at Zander’s Auckland concert was taken from my own experience at a Foo Fighters concert!

I do think getting the facts straight is important, because readers will then believe the emotional truths you're trying to convey in the story.

Janga: What writers have influenced you most?

An early influence was Susan Elizabeth Philips, I loved her blend of humor and emotion in the Chicago Stars series. Georgette Heyer is my all time favorite writer, I reread her constantly. Larry McMurtry, Laura Kinsale, Joanna Bourne, Betty MacDonald, Sarah Mayberry, Molly O’Keefe, Robyn Carr….I could go on forever. I’m always inspired by books written with no regard for whether they’ll sell or not – I’m thinking of Last Hour of Gann by R. Lee Smith and The Motorcycle Man by Kristen Ashley, writers who didn’t worry about the market (though Ashley invented one), but wrote what they needed to. Probably all the writers I’ve mentioned push themselves like that. And sometimes it pays off and the book is wonderful and sometimes a book doesn’t quite hit the mark. But I'd rather fail big, than succeed small. Of course there's probably not a viable career in that...G>

PJ: As mentioned above, Zander is a bad-boy rock star. Did you play music while writing this book? If so, what songs were on the playlist?

Karina: I have had a playlist for other books, but oddly I didn’t for this one. In my imagination all the songs were originals so playing someone else’s music seemed counter-productive. I did try and write lyrics for Elizabeth’s song and they were horrendously bad! One of my beta readers, author Sophia James, said, ‘let me try,’ and produced brilliant lyrics within ten minutes. With her permission, I used them in RISE.

  

PJ: I have to say, I do love the cover of RISE! Did you have any input into its development?

I’m delighted to say I did! I knew exactly what I wanted - spotlights, a stage, a man’s naked back, a stance and an attitude. But cover artist Amber Shah of Book Beautiful took my concept 'to infinity and beyond.'

PJ: RISE kicks off your new Rock Solid series. Are you able to share information about future books in the series and when we might expect them?

I hope to have Jared and Kayla’s ‘rock marriage in trouble’ novella out in June. I’m thinking a love triangle – Jared has to convince Kayla that the rock star he’s becoming will be a more exciting husband than the shy musician he was when they first married.  Dimity’s story is probably next in the queue but I can’t decide whether to pair her with Moss, Luther or someone new. All opinions welcome!

Let’s talk about you for a bit.

PJ: Where’s your happy place? (for me, it’s the beach with a cold margarita and a good book)

Twilight anywhere, with a glass of good red, a good book, and a good day’s writing behind me.  (I can usually manage two of those – okay fine, it’s the first two).

PJ: You live in the part of the world that most people have on their vacation bucket list. What countries are on your bucket list?

The South Island of New Zealand (I live in the North Island). All my travel money goes on overseas trips and I keep hearing from foreigners how beautiful that part of my country is. I really need to get there.

PJ: What (or who) do you enjoy reading when you’re not busy writing your own books?

Craft books on writing still thrill me (sad, I know), and I love historical romance. Julia Spencer Fleming who writes ‘novels of faith and murder for readers of literary suspense’ was my last glom. It must have taken WEEKS for her publishers to come up with such a painstakingly accurate description. She’s my favorite kind of writer, one who can’t be neatly pigeon-holed!

PJ: Where can readers find you online?

www.karinabliss.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarinaBlissAuthor
Twitter @BlissKarina

PJ: I understand you’re working on an anthology with Sarah Mayberry and Joan Kilby. Are you able to share any information about the project with our readers?

I’m thrilled to be working with such talented writers. Our novellas will be linked through our heroines, who went to an Australian boarding school together. Each is at a romantic low point in her life when they reunite to attend a Bachelor and Spinster ball in the Outback. My heroine meets the security guard hero while wearing a cowsuit. It’s a lot of fun to write. 

PJ: Thank you so much for visiting with us today, Karina. We wish you all the best with RISE and your other future projects. Is there anything else you’d like to add? Would you like to ask our readers a question to start the conversation rolling?

Thank you for having me here! 

I’d love reading recommendations from readers on books they’ve enjoyed that don’t fit tidily into one genre, (like Last Hour of Gann or Gabaldon’s Outlander series). Or a book they're passionate about because it was different to what they expected.

One randomly chosen person leaving a comment on today's post will receive a print copy of RISE from Karina Bliss. Open internationally.