sassy . snarky . sexy . romance
See what Publishers Weekly called “an exciting and exhilarating ride” and see why Martini Times Romance Book Blog said “That cover! Oh sweet baby Jesus. The characters, the writing, hot sweaty sex in a thunderstorm. The adrenaline!! Perfect story that I couldn’t tear my eyes from. Holy crap. I found myself a new favorite author.”
Get you one!!
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1FMMVhE
Click here to read the book jacket!! 🙂
It’s almost here! August 25th is the big day, when my new Heart of the Storm series kicks off with LOVING THE CHASE!
Click here to read the synopsis. Have you preordered your copy of the ebook, paperback, or audiobook yet? 🙂 Let me help…
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1FMMVhE
Stay strong in the storms!
xoxo
Sharla
You posted all your most anticipated summer releases and I promised to post them, so here you go! Load up your bookshelf, Kindle, or wherever your TBR list is!
A Lush Reunion – Selena Laurence
A New Hope – Robyn Carr
About Last Night – Belle Aurora…
All the Ways to Ruin a Rogue – Sophie Jordan
Beat – Vi Keeland
Borrowed and Blue – Emily Giffin
Bound in Black – Juliette Cross
Brave the Heat – Sara Humphreys
Buddy Cruthers – Jean Joachim
Don’t Let Go – Sharla Lovelace (thx!)
Elude – Rachel Van Dyken
Ever After – Jude Deveraux
Flame – Erin Noelle
Forever Family – Sandi Lynn
Four Week Fiance – Helen Cooper
Hannah and the Highlander – Sabrina York.
Hard to Let Go – Laura Kaye
Heart-Shaped Hack – Tracey Garvis-Graves
Here Comes Trouble – Anna Stewart
If You Only Knew – Kristan Higgins
Inspiring You – Jessica Sorrenson
Kiss Me – Susan Mallery
Loving Lilly – J.M. Madden
Loving the Chase – Sharla Lovelace (thx again!)
Luck of the Irish – Sara Humphreys
Magic Shifts – Ilona Andrews
Maybe in Another Life – Taylor Jenkins Reid
Meanwhile, Back in Deadwood – Ann Charles
Nemesis – Catherine Coulter
Nobody’s Fool – Sarah Hegger
Pucked – Helena Hunting
Racing the Sun – Karina Halle
Reckless – Kimberly Kincaid
Rescuing The Bad Boy – Jessica Lemmon
Rev Me Up – Kylie Gilmore
Ride Steady – Kristen Ashley
Royal Wedding – Meg Cabot
Searching for Always – Jennifer Probst
Second Chance Summer – Jill Shalvis
Stop! – Alison Bailey
Sweet Sinful Nights – Lauren Blakeley
Sweet Southern Nights – Liz Talley
Taking the Heat – Victoria Dahl
The Allure of Julian Lefray – RS Grey
The Bourbon Kings – JR Ward
The Boyfriend List – Jeannie Moon
The Prince’s Runaway Lover – Robin Covington
The Reeducation of Savannah McGuire – Heidi McLaughlin
The Santangelos – Jackie Collins
The Secret Sister – Brenda Novak
Thrill Me – Susan Mallery
Truly Sweet – Candis Terry
Untamed – Diana Palmer
Water From My Heart – Charles Martin
What Janie Wants – Rhenna Morgan
When Cicadas Cry – Laura Miller.
Wicked White – Michelle Valentine
These are my heathens. 🙂 Up front is Demi, i.e. “Buffalo” and bringing up the rear about to tackle her for the attention she feels she needs 24/7 is Gracie, i.e. “The Beast”. Or “Flailing Mouth” as we’ve dubbed her indian name.
They are watching me work on my newsletter today, because it’s exciting like that. And….I think Gracie just ate something she shouldn’t….like fur off the tennis ball that she keeps pulling off….because she was chewing something and stopped when I gave her the eye. Like a little kid caught doing something wrong. Yep…..there’s the green fur.
So…I digress. Have you signed up for my newsletter? It is going out this week, with a TON of info on FREE BOOKS coming your way. Did you catch that? Free. Giveaways galore, a chance to read my new book before it’s out, and help me out along the way! So if you aren’t already on the distro, the link is right here, just click and fill out the quicky little form, and you’re good to go. I only send it out when there’s something to say, and I’ll never spam you. Pinky swear.
So what are you doing with your Sunday?
It’s about to get crazy in here….with DON’T LET GO rereleasing at the end of June with its sassy new epilogue, and giveaways all over the place…ALL month long! And then my new Heart of the Storm series kicking off in August with LOVING THE CHASE and giveaways for that one about to start up too. My newsletter will be going out the first week of June, highlighting all the lunacy, so be sure you’re signed up!
And YES I’m starting book three in the series right now….as in I wrote the first paragraph yesterday. Squee!!! Love this stage…like falling in love when it’s all sparkly and exciting before you get to know someone and they get comfortable farting around you. Yeah…
So…in the meantime, I’m also catching up on a little reading. And want to know what YOU are reading. Comment and let a girl know!
Maddi in Loving The Chase made these as a kid and still loves these today…. You can make them now!
9×13 inch pan
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup butter, melted
4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup all-purpose flour
5/8 cup lemon juice (can mix lemon and lime)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9×13 inch pan. In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups sifted flour and confectioners’ sugar. Blend in the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, baking powder and 1/4 cup of flour so there will be no flour lumps. Stir the sugar mixture into the eggs. Finally, stir in the lemon juice. Pour over the prepared crust and return to the oven. Bake for an additional 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until bars are set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.
Enjoy the yum!
If you haven’t heard…..meaning somehow you missed the loud whooping….
DON’T LET GO is coming out in print!
June 30th is the day, and I’m so excited to have Noah and Jules out in the world in print form. 🙂 In addition to that, there will be bonus content (in print and ebook)… an epilogue that picks back up with them a year later. On Seth’s birthday. And oh my my my… You know how crazy things always happen on his birthday!
It’s up for preorder now, and I hope you’ll pick one up and share the news!
See me back there poking my head through the TV? 🙂 I got invited to Skype in to a book club in Defiance, Ohio, today after they’d read DON’T LET GO, and what a hoot! So much fun to visit book club meetings, I always love it. Especially when I can go in person, but did you know you can just dial me up and I can pop right into your meeting just like this?
Yep. Just shoot me a message at sharla@sharlalovelace.com or use the form on my contact page, and we’ll set it up!
By the way, if I get to come in person, I love cake balls. Just sayin’…
Welcome to my new home!!! Isn’t it fabulous! Look around and play! I love it here SO much.
There are so many exciting things happening right now, I’m bursting with them! 🙂
First, my website got a gorgeous new pretty! Wheeeee!
Second, DON’T LET GO is coming out in print on June 30th with a brand new cover, but it will also have an extra perk….an added epilogue that wasn’t there before! It’s one year later. On Seth’s birthday. And I’m so excited to share that with you!
Third, I’m looking at covers for the first book in my new Heart of the Storm series, LOVING THE CHASE, due out August 25th, and OMG….fans self. Love. Love. Love what my publisher is doing. I can’t wait to share that with you too!
Stay tuned for all the shinies!!
Started writing a new book/series today. 🙂 Exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. Like getting on a roller coaster without seeing it first! Wheeeee!
And while that sounds exciting for some of you who love roller coasters, I’m one of those people who have to look at that beast. Study it for a while. See where the scary parts are going to be and really think it out. Because for one, I’m afraid of heights. Two, don’t like going upside down. And three, I only trust the ones that have those things that come down over your shoulders and clamp you in. Yes, I know that means they are going to do twice the damage to me in the height/going upside down arena, but those ones with just the little bar holding your thighs down completely freak me out. I came off the seat in one of those once, and….shudder.
So anyway…I digress.
Beginning a new book for me is scary like that, because I’m not a big plotter. I outline a little and make some notes, but then I have to dive in. I have to START and get the feel of things and learn my characters a little before I can plot out their whole story. Like getting on that ride, not knowing where the turns are, I have to knock out a few chapters, then go back to my notes and revise as the new ideas come. People say things, catch attitudes, maybe look at someone I wasn’t planning on them looking at…changing the game a little. I have to go back and revise again. I’ll get a rough synopsis going, but it’s going to change. Because somewhere around the halfway point, it all starts clicking and taking off like there are no brakes…
And I have to go back again and thread things through, and at that point I can pretty much plot out the rest of the book. And just write…and ride…and hopefully after some pretty hairy moments of “Oh dear God” and “I’m not going to survive this” I coast up at the ending.
So it begins today. Not only a new book, but a series, so I have much more to keep in mind. I’ll tell you about it soon. 🙂 Have a few curves to manage first.
Yes, it’s that good…
I shared this on my Facebook page, but since this is decidedly going in a book soon…maybe the next one…I think it deserves some bloggy presence. This dessert is so aptly named, it truly made my eyes roll back in my head 🙂 If you love pudding (and I do) you will adore this.
Sex in a Pan
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup pecans, chopped…
3 tbsp white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
Cream cheese layer:
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup whipped cream or cool whip
Vanilla pudding layer:
1 package of instant vanilla pudding (5.1 oz or 144 g)
3 cups milk
Chocolate Pudding layer:
1 package of instant chocolate pudding (5.1 oz or 144 g)
3 cups milk
Last layer:
3 cups whipped cream or cool whip
shaved chocolate (enough to cover. took me 3 Hershey bars)
Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Mix all the crust ingredients together and press the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Bake it for about 20 minutes.
Prepare the vanilla pudding as per the instructions on the package.
Prepare the chocolate pudding as per the instructions on the package.
In a mixer combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and the cup of whipped cream. Mix until light and fluffy.
Let the crust cool. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the crust evenly.
Spread the chocolate pudding over the cream cheese filling, then the vanilla pudding over the chocolate. (I sprinkled a light layer of additional chopped pecans between the pudding layers just because we are nutty freaks over here but that’s a personal preference)
Top with the whipped cream and sprinkle with the chocolate.
Refrigerate for a couple hours so that it sets.
You have a dirty little mind, don’t you? LOL, you’ll find out about that couch soon enough, but first….I’ve been tagged!!
Author buddy, Tracy Solheim has tagged me in a blog hop! She had a great analogy on her post about blog hops being like those old fashioned chain letters we all used to get/start when we were young. I remember my mother telling me “Don’t you dare pass that on!” Well, here I am, all up in the webby version of it, and yep, I’m passing it on. 🙂 And that’s okay, all I have to do is answer a few questions about my writing and then “tag” two other writer friends. Not a problem!
1.) What am I working on/writing?
Right this minute, I’m finishing up edits/revisions on STAY WITH ME, which takes place in the same fictional town of Copper Falls, Texas that DON’T LET GO did. STAY WITH ME is a lighter, bit edgier story about Savanna (Savi) Barnes, who with her dad runs an antique/junk business out of an old barn. Forty-three year old Savi is a former wild child who thinks she’s put all that behind her, just focusing on keeping her troubled business afloat, and falling for Duncan, the local veterinarian hottie across town. She’s settled into her life–until the fire to her gasoline rumbles back into town on a Harley. Ian McMasters was once the love of her life, and he crushed her heart when he left mysteriously. With Ian back in town, rumors, lies, secrets, and coverups run amuck. Chaos abounds as her family business is in trouble, people are suddenly not what they seem, and to top it off Savi has to fight the warring of her heart. Two very different men hold very different pieces of her. STAY WITH ME is slated to release later this summer, and I can’t wait to share it with you!
2.) How does my work/writing differ from others in its genre?
That is so hard, because everyone’s work is so unique and subjective. I will say that my romances teeter into the women’s fiction realm a bit. Only because my stories aren’t only about the romance. My characters have baggage, and issues, and major crap usually going on, 🙂 so they have a journey of their own outside of the love story. Also, I love writing in first person, putting the reader right into the story, so I think that gives it the deeper “womens fiction” feel as well. That being said, I could never be a pure womens fiction writer….I love those hot romances too much! I love sexual tension and the push/pull tease between two people who can’t get enough of each other!
3.) How does my writing process work?
I have a full time day job still (unfortunately) which while it pays the bills, it does cramp the writing style. LOL. So I write in the evenings when I get home, and usually half days or more on the weekends. I write something every day. And while I would love to say I have an office to do that in, I do not. I write on my (here’s the couch moment) living room couch, on my laptop, with my dog jumping on my head dangling her rope toy in my face wanting to play, and my husband coming in and out asking me random questions. Needless to say, I have learned to write steamy hot love scenes amidst chaos and SyFy marathons. Because yes, the 60 inch TV is in there, too.
Who’s up?
My tagged ladies are two amazing women I’ve been blessed to meet at RWA National Conferences, and live on two opposite coasts!
Maria Geraci and I hit it off last year in Atlanta. We were nominated together in the same RITA category, and became fast friends. I’m convinced that if we lived closer, we’d be trouble. Maria was born in Havana, Cuba, and raised on Florida’s Space Coast. Her love of books started with the classic, Little Women (a book she read so often growing up, she could probably quote). She writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction with happy endings. The Portland Book Review called her novel, The Boyfriend of the Month Club, “immensely sexy, immensely satisfying and humorous.” Her fourth novel, A Girl Like You, was nominated for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award.
And then there’s Melissa Cutler. Melissa and I met two years ago in Anaheim, but we’d already kind of “met” on Twitter when she signed with the same literary agency I’m with. And last year, we had a blast in Atlanta as well, and we will be roomies this year in San Antonio! She’s a California girl, and another one that I know I’d get into trouble with if she lived closer. Hmmm. 🙂 Melissa says she has the best job in the world, dividing her time between her dual passions for writing sexy contemporary romances and edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense for Harlequin, Penguin, St. Martin’s Press, and Kensington Books. She was struck at an early age by an unrelenting travel bug and is probably planning her next vacation as you read this. When she’s not globetrotting, she’s enjoying Southern California’s flip-flop wearing weather and wrangling two rambunctious kids. Melissa’s latest book, How To Rope A Real Man, came out in May. And her new Bomb Squad Hockey Series kicks off in August with Risky Business.
Check out these two fabulous authors’ sites to see who they tag next!
A look at my favorite couple…
🙂
Read the rest at the Contemporary Romance Cafe, where I’m hanging out today!!
The day after a book release….
…is a mixture of breathing deeply again and panic. Whew! The rush is over, I can get up from the couch, I can stop obsessively watching the Amazon ranking fall, rise, fall, rise (dang it, quit rising!)
But none of it stops. None of it is over. You still worry “Did I do enough to market it? Is there something I’m missing? Why did so-and-so hit #49 when you hit #12049? You keep worrying and panicking and hoping and checking the Amazon ranking, but in the midst of all that, you go back to writing that next book.
Because when it comes down to it, if you score big and then don’t have another book coming…. you’re going to flop anyway.
So write.
Write.
Write. 😉
My newest book, DON’T LET GO is out and having a great time today! 🙂
It’s about first love, unspeakable choices, and second chances. Here’s a little teaser to pique your interest…
***
Morning? Really? I opened my mouth to say something back, but nothing came out, so I licked my lips and fidgeted with my robe like a crazy woman.
“Too early?” he asked, as if that were a normal thing to say to me as well.
A laugh-scoff-snort thing fell out of my mouth, which I chalked up to rounding out the perfect start to the day. I coughed and cleared my throat.
“No, I’m—just getting ready for work.” I stepped back so he could come in, and held onto the door for dear life as I glared at Harley for just sitting there on the couch like a diva. Some guard dog. She should have had his leg chewed off by now. “Come in. There’s still coffee if you want some.” Oh, what the living hell was I babbling about?
Noah stepped in hesitantly, as if maybe he hadn’t thought things out that far. Maybe he expected me to slam the door or not be home or God only knows what. He gave me a sideways glance as he passed me, and I caught a subtle whiff of soap and shaving cream. I stared at the door as I closed it, as if it had betrayed me too, and then I turned on my heel and put myself in motion.
I walked straight past him to the open kitchen, trying not to really look at him. I knew he’d follow. He knew the way around my mother’s house. My house.
Harley’s curiosity finally got the better of her and she followed on his heels, making him turn around to check out the beast stalking him.
“Hey there, killer,” he said, holding out a hand for her to smell him, and then scratching her ears. “Are you nice?”
“That’s Harley,” I said. “I’m afraid growing up with two women has made her a big wuss.” I took a deep breath. “Coffee?” I asked again, opening a cabinet.
When he didn’t answer, I turned around, and felt my heart slam against my chest. He was standing on the other side of the big island from me, where I’d seen him so many times before. Except he was a man now. With something in his eyes that resembled lost.
“What?” I asked, though not much of the word came out.
Noah shook his head, and his expression cleared a little. “Just weird being back here, I guess. In this kitchen.” He gestured with a small hand flick. “Seeing you here.”
“I know the feeling,” I said softly, turning back to grab a mug whether he wanted one or not.
“Linny told me you were living here again,” he said. “Sorry to hear about your mom.”
My hands shook as I poured the hot black liquid and turned to set his mug on the counter.
“Thanks,” I managed to push out. “Sugar and creamer are right there,” I said with a gesture.
“Black’s fine,” he said.
I nodded and headed into the living room for my cup. Shit, Jules, breathe. I planned to come back, but he followed me. Shit. The kitchen felt more stable. We could stand up in there. Have the island between us. The living room was cozy and please-sit-and-stay-a-while. Granted, I did have to go to work—in an hour and a half. Shit.
I licked my lips again, and sat back down where I was earlier. Feet curled beneath me. Two pillows on my lap for security. I felt every centimeter of my nakedness under the robe, and wished for more clothing, but it was big enough for him not to know that. I just thanked God for giving me the wisdom to get ready early and not be sitting here with wet hair or raccoon eyes. And then I mentally kicked myself for caring. He didn’t. I wondered if his woman knew he was paying me a visit. Or if she even knew who I was.
***
Sound interesting? Well you can click right here to go to the book page for DON’T LET GO and purchase links as well as a free sample of Chapter One will be there if you want them!
Have a great day!
Then there’s the Sopapilla Cheesecake that Dani says is “death by butter,” and it is.
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a bowl, mix cream cheese, 1 stick melted butter, 1 cup of the sugar, and the vanilla until smooth and creamy (I use a mixer). Line bottom of pan with the sheet from one can of crescent rolls. Sprinkle with a little sugar and cinnamon. (mixing the sugar and cinnamon together first makes this whole prep a little faster) Spread cream cheese mixture over the rolls. Layer second can of crescent rolls over the mixture. Melt the remaining 1/2 stick of butter and pour over the top. Mix remaining sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. It will still look juicy, let it set for 20-30 minutes. Eat in denial.
There are a few tasty little gems in THE REASON IS YOU that I’d be wrong not to share. 😉
First of all, there’s the Hot Banana Pudding that Jason recommends…
Preparation
Combine flour and salt in a medium saucepan. Slowly stir in milks and yolks, then cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 8 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat, then add vanilla extract.
Arrange some of the vanilla wafers on bottom of 2 quart baking dish, topped with 1 cup banana slices. Spoon 1/3 pudding mixture over bananas; cover with more vanilla wafers. Repeat, then top with a third layer of pudding. Arrange remaining wafers around inside edge of dish and on top; gently push into pudding.
Crumble graham crackers or graham cracker crust generously over the top.
Preheat oven to 325°. Beat egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Add sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves, for 2 to 4 minutes. Spread meringue over pudding. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Let cool for at least 30 minutes.
Worth every friggin calorie…
Cream together:
Add:
Bake in a 9×13 pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. While hot, spread one jar of
marshmallow creme on top of cake and let cool (10 minutes).
Then mix this together separately:
Spread on top of cooled cake.
Enjoy!
Hey my friends!
Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve posted, and I’ve meant to come back in here and notify you all of the change, but life keeps pushing me around. 🙂
I’ve noticed that since getting published, time gets a little scarce. (Really? Duh!) And trying to do everything writing related, social media related, and promo related, while working full time and waving to my family on occasion –has made it difficult to stay on that roller coaster. Since my writing takes priority, and my family will find me (they know where I live) if I don’t put them even higher on the food chain, something had to give.
I’ve decided that blogging can go. I still contribute every 3 weeks to www.womenunplugged.wordpress.com and will guest blog on occasion when asked. Also, I will likely throw a post in here now and then for new releases and such. Just because that’s exciting and my family barely sees me on release day anyway. LOL.
So you’ll hear from me on here now and then, but for a daily dose of my musings, “Like” my Sharla Lovelace, Author page on Facebook and add it to your interest lists. I post something quick and short nearly every day, sometimes do giveaways, but really just have fun with my readers. It’s a couple of sentences and I can handle that a day. 🙂
Ciao!!
In my month of memories, today is about the Tree…as in with a capital T.
I tried to find a picture that really looked like our tree, but I couldn’t. I think this one is close though. It’s been a while.
Besides all that, the point is that we had a fake tree because of my brother’s allergies, and we had the kind that came in limbs marked in what looked like colored fingernail polish. You matched the colors with corresponding paint marks in the holes. It was my job to organize all the limbs and get it together as far as I could reach.
My mom kept that tree for probably 30 years. It was familiar. Why change? 🙂
Share something of yours!
Award winning author of sassy, sexy love stories. Texas girl. Wife of Superman. Frequently speak of coffee, dogs, TV shows & men with sexy eyes. {Read More}