May/June 2013

WHAT'S NEW???

So much is new!  My Audiobook selection for my readers at ITunes, Audible and Amazon is growing. WHEN MOM MEETS DAD, a summer romantic parent-trap comedy, went live recently.  It joined NATHAN'S VOW, ALWAYS DEVOTED, ALWAYS HER COWBOY, WISH ON THE MOON, and TOYS AND BABY WISHES.  These audiobooks can be downloaded onto smart phones, Ipads, laptops and desktops for your listening enjoyment.

Also new this month are the buttons on my Facebook page. Now you can find a complete selection of my ebooks, print books, audiobooks, a reader letter as well as a signup for my newsletter, right on my Facebook author page!  I'm attempting to make interaction with my readers as easy as possible. Go here to take a peek. FACEBOOK AUTHOR PAGE

I've been multi-tasking over the past few weeks with several projects.  I just finished the copyedit of STAGED TO DEATH, my Caprice De Luca home-stager mystery which will be released in December.  To my surprise, you can preorder now on Amazon. I've included three recipes since Caprice likes to cook.  STAGED TO DEATH on Amazon

In the past week, I've completed the rough draft of Book 2 of Caprice's mystery series tentatively titled COLOR SCHEMER. I've been busy developing more recipes for this book, too. My husband and I and my neighbor taste test each time I make one as I adjust the ingredients. This is one of the benefits of having a sleuth and a family in the mysteries who like to cook. In the next month to six weeks I'll be editing book 2 to send in.

My next indie release will be a romance to fit into my FINDING MR. RIGHT series.  I'm trying to finish that book while I edit the mystery.  Diversification gives me a fresh take on both.  I'm hoping to have this romance released by summer.

AROUND THE HOUSE...

Zoie is growing up!  She's definitely a teenager now at least.  She's still cuddly and a sweetie.  Sometimes when she's walking past me I can't tell if it's her or Ebbie.  But Zoie's tail is longer and her eyes are golden instead of green.  So there's no mistaking one for the other after a good look.  And, of course, Zoie has white splotches on her chest and a crooked white tie under her chin.

It's tomato and flower planting season here.  Impatiens and geraniums really took off and I'll have plenty to plant in our gardens.  The tomatoes are a little later than I planned but they're growing, too.  They are all heirlooms--Ponderosa Red, Pink and Golden, Anna Russion, Big Italian Beefsteak, Watermelon Beefsteak, Bull's Heart, and a new one called Rose.

Our flower gardens need some work.  The ever blooming lilacs are beautiful and full of wonderful scent. We planted two new roses--Barbra Streisand and California Dreaming. Both have full hybrid tea buds and blooms as well as scents that carry.

SPECIAL THIS MONTH!!!

The prize this month is a $10 BURGER KING gift card and an ebook copy of ALWAYS HER COWBOY.  Use the button on the right to enter the contest.  Please only one entry per email address.  They are sorted.  The contest ends June 30 at midnight EST.  Winner will be notified by July 15 and will have to email me his or her snail mail address.  If winner does not respond by midnight July 31, a new winner will be drawn.  THE CONTEST IS OPEN TO US/CANADA WINNERS ONLY.  

Good luck!

Don't forget to drop by my blog CATS, ROSES...AND BOOKS!

For excerpts, short stories, bio and booklist go to Karen's Romance Website

Click here for Karen's Mystery Website

©2013 Karen Rose Smith

 

March/April 2013 Spring Special

                                                         Contemporary Women's Fiction


WHAT'S NEW???

I have a new release! HER SISTER is Book 7 in my Search For Love series.

I've always wanted to branch into women's fiction and here was my chance.  This book is about three women of different generations--Amanda, Clare and Shara--trying to find where they belong and who they might belong with! When Clare's little sister Lynnie was abducted from her house in the middle of the night, the world changed. Now 27 years later, the retired detective on the case brings them a lead. Lynnie might be alive. The Thaddeus family had been torn apart by divorce, teenage rebellion, and a sense of loss no one could heal. But now, they could be brought back together again in ways no one expects.  You'll recognize Gillian Bradley, Jake Donovan and Tessa Winthrop from other Search For Love titles.

HER SISTER on Amazon 

 
Also new in March is the Audiobook of ALWAYS HER COWBOY, book 4 in the Search For Love series. My Australian narrator is perfect for my hero Zack and does an excellent job of portraying all the characters in the book with emotion and storytelling talent. 

ALWAYS HER COWBOY on Audible

ALWAYS HER COWBOY on iTunes

ALWAYS HER COWBOY on Amazon 

WISH ON THE MOON and NATHAN'S VOW will be in audio this month. So watch for them on Audible, Amazon and Itunes.  I have several more in production. Choosing the right narrator can be a challenge. But I want to give my readers the best listening experience possible.  I've decided to use different narrators for each book so if you don't relate to one,  you might relate well to another!  Though, Johnny Peppers who narrates TOYS AND BABY WISHES will also be performing WHEN MOM MEETS DAD.

If you're wondering if there will be more books in my Search For Love series, I'm plotting Book 8 now.  My main focus is work on COLOR SCHEMER, Book 2 in my Caprice DeLuca Home Stager Mystery series.  Lots of family conflict in this one...as well as a murder to solve!  STAGED TO DEATH, Book 1 in the series, will be released in December 2013.  I'm planning promotion for that book now.

My new series--The Mommy Club--with Harlequin Special Edition will begin in August 2013 with WANTED: A REAL FAMILY.  In October, you will be able to find a new Montana Mavericks release.  I hope to have that title soon.  Check my Facebook page and Twitter for day-to-day announcements.

Speaking of announcements...
If you LIKE my Karen Rose Smith Author Facebook page, you will have a chance to enter a giveaway for books and an iTunes gift card.  Watch my Facebook pages for details.

Last but not least, I'm particularly pleased to announce that RILEY'S BABY BOY won Cataromance.com's Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Special Edition.


AROUND THE HOUSE...    

We've had a wintry mix of wind, sleet and minor snowfalls--lots of gray days that urge me to search for signs of spring.  Even though the temperature has been below freezing, I found these reblooming lilacs starting to bud!  I've also planted seeds for our summer garden, including impatients and geraniums.  A grow light and a heat pad do wonders.

Zoie is growing and becoming a beautiful cat.  See my recent blog (Zoie Blog).  Recently she "helped" make the bed.  I think she enjoys the process more than I do.

Ebbie and London are doing well.  Most of the time, Ebbie naps on her thermal heat pad to help her arthritic joints.  London stands in awe before our new refrigerator that must make a different noise.  They all are looking forward to more sunny days in spring.

SPECIAL THIS ISSUE!!! 



The prize this month is a genuine stone stretch bracelet with a sterling silver disc engraved with the word STRENGTH.  With it, I'll include a copy of my award-winning Special Edition, RILEY'S BABY BOY.  Use the button on the right to enter the contest.  Please only one entry per email address.  They are sorted.  The contest ends April 30 at midnight EST.  Winner will be notified by May 15 and will have to email me his or her snail mail address.  If winner does not respond by midnight May 31, a new winner will be drawn.  THE CONTEST IS OPEN TO US/CANADA WINNERS ONLY.  

Good luck and have a wonderful spring.

Don't forget to drop by my blog CATS, ROSES...AND BOOKS!

For excerpts, short stories, bio and booklist go to Karen's Romance Website

Click here for a preview of Karen's Mystery Website



©2013 Karen Rose Smith

February 2013

TOYS AND BABY WISHES now available as an audiobook

   View a Book Trailer for TOYS AND BABY WISHES audiobook

WHAT'S NEW??? 


Happy Valentine's Day!  
This month I'm excited to tell you that TOYS AND BABY WISHES is now available in audio.  I'm thrilled at the way this project turned out.  My narrator, Johnny Peppers, does a beautiful job of capturing the essence of the book with his voice changes and storytelling.  I've done an interview with Johnny on my blog (Karen's Blog).  The audiobook is available on Audible, Amazon and iTunes.  

 Hear a sample of TOYS AND BABY WISHES or buy at:

TOYS AND BABY WISHES Audiobook on Audible 

TOYS AND BABY WISHES Audiobook on Amazon

TOYS AND BABY WISHES Audiobook on iTunes

The narrator has finished production of ALWAYS HER COWBOY and we're waiting for it to go live.  More about this book next month.  I also have four more in production.  Finding the right narrator for each book is the challenge, but one I'm hopefully winning.

I've gotten the title and release date for my next Harlequin Special Edition.  WANTED: A REAL FAMILY, the first book in my Mommy Club series, will be released in August.  It is set on a California vineyard.

This past week, I took a research jaunt to Hollywood Casino.  I needed descriptions and atmosphere for a scene in the second book in my Caprice De Luca mystery series.  Tentatively titled COLOR SCHEMER, it continues to spotlight Caprice's family relationships and how she becomes involved in solving a second murder.  I don't want to give too much away, but in COLOR SCHEMER, Caprice does rescue another furry four-legged friend.

This spring, I will be releasing Book 7 in my Search For Love series.  It is a women's fiction novel.  Readers will recognize Gillian Bradley from other Search For Love books.


AROUND THE HOUSE...

The big news this month is that we had Zoie spayed.  You can read all about it at Karen's Zoie Blog.  Fortunately, we had the best experience with it we could have hoped for.  Zoie is still her affectionate, lovable self.  She, London and Ebbie are continuing to build their relationships.

 

It's seed planting time again--heirloom tomatoes, petunias, geraniums and impatiens.  Today I planted a tray of geraniums since they take the longest to grow.  Petunias and impatiens are next.  As they grow, I'll snap some photos and tell you about the different varieties.

At least once a week, we make bread in my bread maker--plain white, French country and apple walnut so far.  Pizza dough will be next.  We can even make strawberry jam in this machine and we created our first batch.  Soups are on our menu a lot in the winter.  I developed a recipe for one that will appear in my December 2013 mystery, STAGED TO DEATH.

SPECIAL THIS MONTH!!!

Since my readers know I love cats and other furry creatures, many of the contest prizes this year will follow that theme.  I'm continuing with the kitty theme--a kitten opening a box of Valentine chocolates.  The "Sweet Surprise" figurine is three inches high and purr-fect for any nook or cranny.  With it, I'll be giving away either an audiobook of TOYS AND WISHES from Amazon OR an e-book version. Once contacted, the winner can e-mail me their preference.  Use the button on the right to enter the contest.  Please only one entry per email address.  They are sorted.  The contest ends February 28 at midnight EST.  Winner will be notified by March 15 and will have to email me his or her snail mail address.  If winner does not respond by midnight March 31, a new winner will be drawn.  THE CONTEST IS OPEN TO US/CANADA WINNERS ONLY.  

Good luck and have a wonderful, happy, heart month.

Don't forget to drop by my blog CATS, ROSES...AND BOOKS!

For excerpts, short stories, bio and booklist go to Karen's Romance Website

Click here for a preview of Karen's Mystery Website



©2013 Karen Rose Smith

January 2013

 

WHAT'S NEW??? 

A brand new year stretches before us.  I hope yours is successful and joy-filled.

Within January I'll have two new projects ready for readers.  I'm venturing into audiobooks.  In a few weeks TOYS AND BABY WISHES will be for sale as an audiobook on Audible, Amazon and iTunes.  It was such an exciting prospect to hear this book come alive.  I chose a male narrator--Johnny Peppers--who does a superb job with all my characters.  I have listened to hundreds of narration samples and, in the next few weeks, NATHAN'S VOW and ALWAYS HER COWBOY will also be in production.

I have put together boxed sets for my readers to make it easier for you to find my books.  My SEARCH FOR LOVE series is in two volumes (Search "Search for Love Boxed Set") on Amazon.  These are connected books with continuing characters.  I also have available two volumes of my FINDING MR. RIGHT series.  These are all stand-alone books with a common theme and a bit sexier than Search For Love. 

Search For Love Boxed Set 1 on Amazon
Search For Love Boxed Set 2 on Amazon

Finding Mr. Right Boxed Set 1 on Amazon

Finding Mr. Right Boxed Set 2 on Amazon

In the next few weeks I'll be editing my October Montana Mavericks release for Harlequin Special Edition.

With all the rest, I'm also trying to fit in time to work on Book seven of my SEARCH FOR LOVE series which will be a women's fiction novel.  In addition, I'm hoping January will see the e-publication of my nonfiction book for writers.

For my Nook readers...  ALWAYS DEVOTED, Book 3 SEARCH FOR LOVE, is only available at Barnes and Noble until January 14. 


AROUND THE HOUSE...

Our Christmas wall tree added a festive decor out of reach of the kitties

 
The gardens are quiet except for the beautiful ring-necked pheasants roaming through them.  Once in a while, deer scamper through the backyard.  This month I'll be choosing heirloom tomato varieties to plant for the season, as well as picking out petunia, geranium and impatiens seeds.  Once holiday decorations are stowed away, I'll plug in the grow mats and start some of the flowers for the summer garden.

One of my presents this year was a bread maker.  So far I've made two-pound loaves of white bread and an apple-walnut bread (made with applesauce and apple juice) that's lighter than an oven-baked fruit bread.  It goes well with soup and was a hit over the holidays.

The kitties are still integrating.  Zoie and London chase each other and, once in a while, take naps in the same vicinity.  Zoie and Ebbie nuzzle each other now and then, but Zoie still chases Ebbie, so Ebbie finds safe places where she can sit and nap without Zoie bothering her.  More about our cat family in my blogs. Cats, Roses...and Books!  

They all had fun with Christmas wrappings.   

Ebbie enjoying a peaceful moment with the crinkle of the wrappings

London investigating all the commotion

Zoie right in the middle of it all!

 SPECIAL THIS MONTH!!!

Since my readers know I love cats and other furry creatures, many of the contest prizes this year will follow that theme.  I'm beginning with a purr-fect one--a Snowbaby with a kitty on her shoulder and books in her lap.  It's called "So many Books, So Little Time."  With it, I'll be giving away a copy of RILEY'S BABY BOY (Reunion Brides, Book 4).  Use the button on the right to enter the contest.  Please only one entry per email address.  They are sorted.  The contest ends Januuary 31at midnight EST.  Winner will be notified by February 15 and will have to email me his or her snail mail address.  If winner does not respond by midnight February 28, a new winner will be drawn.  THE CONTEST IS OPEN TO US/CANADA WINNERS ONLY.  

Good luck and have a wonderful new year.

Don't forget to drop by my blog CATS, ROSES...AND BOOKS!

For excerpts, short stories, bio and booklist go to Karen's Romance Website

Click here for a preview of Karen's Mystery Website



©2013 Karen Rose Smith

HOLIDAY EDITION 2012

WHAT'S NEW??? 

So much is new and I know I'm late!  So this will be my "holiday" edition that will take us through December.

The biggest news is that I have a release date for my mystery--December 2013.  I don't have a title or series title yet, but I'm hoping I will soon.  If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, I will announce it as soon as I have it.  I'm so excited about my first Caprice DeLuca home stager mystery.  You can take a peek at what Caprice is all about at my mystery website.  She takes in stray animals, comes from a large Italian family, likes to cook and is an experienced home stager who uses unique themes.  In the first mystery, Camelot is the theme to sell the mansion that resembles a castle. Who is murdered? Who did it? Does Caprice fall in love? Mystery with a touch of romance next December.

Also new are boxed sets for my SEARCH FOR LOVE series with continuing characters throughout all the books and my FINDING MR. RIGHT series where all my heroines are trying to find Mr. Right.  I boxed my ebooks so readers can find them more easily.   

Search For Love Boxed Set 1 on Amazon
Search For Love Boxed Set 2 on Amazon

Finding Mr. Right Boxed Set 1 on Amazon

Finding Mr. Right Boxed Set 2 on Amazon

As you can see from the holiday banner above, many of my ebooks have holiday themes.  The holidays present a wealth of emotions, scents and descriptions to work with so I love doing those books.  I hope over the holidays you have a chance to read one.  

I'm working on my Montana Mavericks release for October 2013.  Rust Creek Falls has been devastated by a flood and Thunder Canyon residents rally 'round to go to the small town to help.  In this book, a volunteer form Thunder Canyon, Jazzy Cates who you might remember from previous series, falls in love with a cowboy/veterinarian.  Actually they wed in a marriage of convenience while they are falling in love!

I'm also working on edits for the first book in my MOMMY CLUB series for Harlequin Special Edition.  More about that next year.  It looks as if the release date might be late summer 2013.     





AROUND THE HOUSE...

The hurricane whipped up the east coast, but we were fortunate not to have any damage.  Usually we have flowers in the fall--late zinnias, marigolds and stray petunias--but the storm ended their growing season.  A few mums did survive and it's nice to see their color in the gardens.  It's leaf mulching time here and the color on the trees brightens up fall. We brought in our herb bin and the pineapple sage is blooming. So pretty to have bright color there.

We had an early Thanksgiving with friends and family so the holiday will be quiet for us.  Apple pie is always a favorite.  We had a ham dinner instead of turkey because the kids really like it.

My potting bench has transformed in to a wrapping bench.  I've already started because I like to enjoy the process.  With three kitties who would love to "help," I decided to take the process to the basement this year. I've been using the rose petals and buds I gathered this summer to make sachets for Christmas gifts.

Zoie, Ebbie and London are becoming real sisters.  Zoie and London have a run-and-play friendship when London will cooperate.  Zoie and Ebbie are still working on what kind of relationship they will have, but they spend a lot of time napping in the same room.  This time of year, all of them like to chase rainbows from my suncatchers.

Zoie discovered running water!

Zoie and London napping together

Ebbie chasing rainbows

SPECIAL THIS MONTH!!!

For the contest this month, I'm offering an artisan-crafted suncatcher from Sedona, along with a $15 Burger King gift card and a copy of RILEY'S BABY BOY (Reunion Brides, Book 4).  Use the button on the right to enter the contest.  Please only one entry per email address.  They are sorted.  The contest ends December 31at midnight EST.  Winner will be notified by January 15 and will have to email me his or her snail mail address.  If winner does not respond by midnight January 31, a new winner will be drawn.  THE CONTEST IS OPEN TO US/CANADA WINNERS ONLY.  

Good luck and have a wonderful holiday season.

Don't forget to drop by my blog CATS, ROSES...AND BOOKS!

For excerpts, short stories, bio and booklist go to Karen's Romance Website

Click here for a preview of Karen's Mystery Website



©2012 Karen Rose Smith