Welcome special guest: author Liz Crowe ~ @beerwencha2 @GoddessFish #family #saga

Today we have author Liz Crowe visiting!
* Amazon best-selling author, beer blogger and beer marketing expert, mom of three, and soccer fan, Liz Crowe lives Ann Arbor. She has decades of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as a three-continent, ex-pat trailing spouse.

* Her early forays into the publishing world led to a groundbreaking fiction subgenre, “Romance for Real Life,” which has gained thousands of fans and followers interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”). More recently she is garnering even more fans across genres with her latest novels, which are more character-driven fiction, while remaining very much “real life.”
* With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, in successful real estate offices and at times in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are unique and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, frustrate and linger in the imagination long after the book is finished.

So, Liz Crowe, what/who inspired you to become a writer?
* I did, I guess. I was not someone who always dreamed of being a writer. But I have been a huge reader for a long time and I have spent a ton of years admiring the storytelling talents of people like Margaret Atwood, Anne Tyler, Stephen King, Diane Moriarty and others. So, I just sat down one day and wrote a scene…but that leads me to your next question I think!

When did you attempt your first story? What length was it? What's become of it?
* I wrote a scene between 2 high powered, highly strung, grown up real estate agents in the deserted hallway of their office in the summer of 2009. That scene became the first in a novel called FLOOR TIME that started life as a real door-stop of a book at about 175,000 words (it got divided into 3 books eventually). That book became the first of a 8.5 book STEWART REALTY series that really launched my writing career when it was published in 2012. It includes ESSENCE OF TIME, which is “book 4” of the series but is also the first “Stewart Realty Stand Alone Novel” that I recently re-released with a new cover and added scenes.

How many stories did you complete before you sold your first?
* The above mentioned Floor Time was not the first book I sold. It was “complete” (and dreadful as most first drafts of first novels are) when I sold a novella called “The Rookie.” That book is no longer available as I have plans to turn it and its subsequent “Brewing Passion” series into something much better---you will find them on Goodreads of course as those folks don’t seem to think they should pull them. It was published in 2010 but as I say, is no longer available. It was the 2nd book I wrote.

What are the best and worst pieces of writing advice you ever received?
* The BEST: Never underestimate the value of a legit, hard edit by a professional.
* The WORST: Write formula because it “sells.”

The book you’re promoting, is it a stand-alone story or part of a series?
* ESSENCE OF TIME is part of the larger, 8.5 novel story arc of the Stewart Realty series HOWEVER it is one of 3 “Stand Alone Novels” within the series. In other words, you can easily obtain maximum reading enjoyment reading ESSENCE OF TIME without having read the first 3 books as it is the story of a different “set” of characters you meet in the first 3 books. The other Stand alones include: MUTUAL RELEASE and GOOD FAITH.
* However, if you want the “full effect” of getting to know the characters early then reading “their story,” read in this order: 1. FLOOR TIME; 2. SWEAT EQUITY; 3. CLOSING COSTS; 4. ESSENCE OF TIME; 5. CONDITIONAL OFFER; 6. ESCALATION CLAUSE; 7. MUTUAL RELEASE; 8. GOOD FAITH; 9. HOUSE RULES (Jack Gordon prequel Novella)

What sparked the idea for the story/series?
* My world as (former) high powered, highly strung, successful real estate agent in Ann Arbor.

*** Now for some fun info… ***
Would you/have you own(ed) a snake or some other exotic pet?
* NOPE. I am terrified of rodents, snakes and wild animals.

Which do you prefer: rain or sun & warm weather or cold weather?
* Sunny and warm, hands down.

If you could live anywhere in the universe, where would it be and why?
* The coast of Turkey (I lived in Istanbul for a while) at the corner of the Mediterranean and Aegean seas.

If you were stranded on a desert island and were only allowed to have five modern conveniences with you, what would they be?
* My laptop, fast internet access, great coffee, great beer. I only need 4.

*** About Liz Crowe’s book… ***

~ Blurb ~ * A “take life by the throat” philosophy has always served Rob well. It keeps him focused, forcing emotions and potential relationships to take a back seat to his aspirations. But once every obstacle has been conquered and he’s achieved his goal—executive chef at a famous Chicago restaurant—he must acknowledge that he has reached his mid-thirties very much alone.
* Blake has just jettisoned his dream job—head of a fast-growing craft microbrewery—to escape from the woman who shattered his soul. Arriving at a Chicago beer festival prepared to drown his sorrows before moving on he is miserable and numb.
* Fate throws the men together altering their respective worlds forever.
* Once Rob reveals the personal demon that has haunted him for years, Blake allows himself to fully trust again, and admits he wants a child. But a mutual attraction evolves out of a business arrangement with the woman hired as their surrogate, which has the potential to destroy an already delicate status quo.
* But time is of the essence, and becomes the one luxury they don't have.
* An honest depiction of a modern relationship mosaic reminding us to treasure every single moment we are allowed to love and be loved. ~ Excerpt ~ Rated PG 13 for language and implied ménage relationship
* Rob interrupted him, keeping his distance, his voice low and calm. “I don’t want to do anything that will make you unhappy. It’s all I do anymore it seems. I know, I know, me being sick doesn’t make you unhappy it makes you mad. Whatever. Listen,” Rob said, taking the few steps between them and pulling Blake to his feet. “You look like you’re about to walk in front of a firing squad. Fuck it. Let’s call it off.”
* “No.” Blake let himself be held a moment, listened to the sound of his lover’s beating heart, his arms wrapped around the man’s too-thin waist. “It’s okay. She’s…I mean, I think it will be fine.”
* Rob tilted his chin up. Blake studied Rob’s face, stared into his brown eyes, memorized it, for later. They both smiled. Blake pressed a quick kiss to Rob’s lips, then began to disentangle himself. They needed to get on with it. Lila would be sitting and waiting by now. It would be rude to…But Rob held onto him, his grip strong. The lips he pressed to Blake’s, parting them with his tongue were firm and had a familiar urgency.
* Blake broke the kiss first, held onto Rob’s face. “Keep that up and the poor girl will have to pay her own expensive dinner bill. Come on, let’s go. I’m tired of waiting on you.” He brushed a hand across Rob’s chest, and lower, grinning. “Save this. I’ll take some later.”
* The ride downtown shimmered with anxious energy. Rob hummed, a clear sign of his nervousness. Blake tapped his fingers on the armrest, fiddled with the window, the HVAC, the radio.
* “God damn it.” Rob smacked his hand away from the controls. “Cut it out. You aren’t making either of us feel any better.”
* Blake blew out a long breath. “It’s not like I know how to act here. I mean, what the hell are we supposed talk about? The bank transfer of the money? The process? Who gets her first? If she wants it in both…”
* “Stop it.” Rob’s voice was strained, his jaw clenched. “I don’t know either but I damn sure am not gonna ask her if she wants a DP. At least not on the first date.”
* Blake laughed so loud he snorted. Rob shot him a sideways look as he pulled the F-150 into a parking spot behind the restaurant and put it into park. They both sat, frozen with indecision and anxiety.
* “Do you remember Paris?” Blake put a hand on Rob’s thigh. The other man’s muscles twitched under his palm. “That girl, from the nightclub? Our first vacation?”
* “Yeah.” Rob kept his hands on the steering wheel, eyes trained straight ahead. “What about it?”
* Blake sighed. Rob’s body language, his clenched teeth and white knuckled grip only ramped up his own stress. But he needed them to get past this. They had to go into the restaurant, meet with Lila, eat, drink some wine then…possibly…go home and…He shook his head. He ran fingers through Rob’s hair, the silkiness of the new growth brought a smile to his face. “That was pretty easy. I mean, you know, my first time as three.”
* Rob turned to him, anguish suffusing every pore of his handsome face and filling his eyes. He gripped Blake’s hand, yanked him across the console and kissed him hard. When he broke away, Blake touched his face. “You’re the expert here. Not me. The ladies love your tall, blond, Germanic hotness. I’m along for the ride. I’ll…watch and learn.”
* “Don’t be an idiot.” Rob leaned his head back, hand over his eyes. “Jesus, this is…about as fucked up as it gets.”
* “No, it’s not. Even if you weren’t sick we would be doing it. You know that. We wanted a baby.”
* “You wanted a baby. I’m perfectly fine without…”
* “You told me a thousand times you weren’t doing this to humor me. Were you lying then, or are you lying now?” Blake’s ears got hot and his chest tightened but he clamped down on the anger. “All we have to do is figure out how to share. That is one thing we know we both need to….practice. I don’t want her to think we’re a couple of barely evolved Neanderthals.”
* Rob turned to him, his eyes still bright with unshed tears. “Even though we sort of are?”
* Blake shrugged, unable to resist a smile. Rob sighed and climbed out, meeting Blake at the back bumper. He grabbed his arm. “I love you Blake Thornton. God knows I do. So, let’s get on with this, shall we? Not quite the impromptu heat of a Paris nightclub but…we’ll make do with the Chop House.”
* The men walked around the corner and up to the restaurant in silence each deep in the mire of his own misery. They spotted her, seated at a table in the front window, before she saw them. Blake took a breath and leaned into his lover’s ear. “Don’t stand there and tell me that she is not beautiful. That she doesn’t do anything for you.”
* He put a hand on Rob’s back, as they walked towards her. She looked up and smiled. Blake felt Rob shiver under his palm. “The mother of our child, Rob. The child we both want,” he whispered, then stepped aside so Rob could give Lila a quick hug before he did the same.

***Buy Liz Crowe's book here***
Tri Destiny Publishing | Amazon | All Romance eBooks | Barnes & Noble

***Find Liz Crowe here***
Website | Blog | Facebook | Facebook Fan Group | Twitter | A2 Beer Wench Blog | Amazon Page

Thank you for joining us here today, Liz Crowe! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your work.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Liz will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave your name and email with your comment AND use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Also visit the other tour stops (find them here: goddessfishpromotions-virtual-tour-essence-of-time) for a greater chance of winning!

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A Look At Liz Crowe & 'Mutual Release' ( @beerwencha2 @GoddessFish @tridestinypub #FF )

Today we have author Liz Crowe visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?
* I’m Liz and I write books and own a microbrewery in Ann Arbor. I have a degree in English Lit, and have worked in public relations, marketing and sales my whole career. I am addicted to bikram yoga, walking my poodle muses, craft beer and writing kind of in that order. I’ve lived in 3 different countries with my spouse and 2, then 3, kids—Japan, Turkey and England. Was born in Nashville, raised in South east Kentucky, schooled at the University of Louisville and live in Ann Arbor, Michigan now. I love Saturdays during football season and the entire month of March for basketball PLUS the Spanish soccer league.
* Bio: Microbrewery owner, best-selling author, beer blogger and journalist, mom of three teenagers, and soccer fan, Liz lives in the great Midwest, in a major college town. Years of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as an ex-pat trailing spouse, plus making her way in a world of men (i.e. the beer industry), has prepped her for life as erotic romance author.
* When she isn't sweating inventory and sales figures for the brewery, she can be found writing, editing or sweating promotional efforts for her latest publications.
* Her groundbreaking romance subgenre, “Romance for Real Life,” has gained thousands of fans and followers who are interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”) Her beer blog a2beerwench.com is nationally recognized for its insider yet outsider views on the craft beer industry. Her books are set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch and in high-powered real estate offices. Don’t ask her for anything “like” a Budweiser or risk painful injury.

What book are you going to tell us about today? Is it part of a series? If so, what's the order the books should be read in?
* MUTUAL RELEASE is the 7th book in the popular Stewart Realty series however, it is a stand alone novel and could serve as intro to the whole series if readers like my style.
* It’s a coming of age novel about trust, has elements of BDSM in it but not as the main story, merely as a way to show more about my characters’ psychology and motivations.

How'd you/your muse come up with this story?
* I have a habit (good or bad, who knows?) of writing secondary characters that end up compelling me so much I want to tell their story as well. Evan Adams is a law school buddy of Jack Gordon’s, the main male character of this series and ends up moving to Ann Arbor and buying a craft microbrewery there and making a go of it. Julie Dawson is the woman who ends up his life partner, after several missteps between them, and is mentioned in the series several times as a good friend to Sara Thornton, the main female character of the series.

Describe the hero in five words.
* Evan Adams is loyal, focused, honest, determined and a Dom (who has been known to switch).

Describe the heroine in five words.
* Julie Dawson is independent, stubborn, funny, driven and successful.

Who's your favorite character in the book & why?
* I love them both, really. But Julie is darn close to me in many ways, including her annoying habits.

What's your favorite line in the story?
* “Better put that thing away, Country Club. You’re scaring the natives.” Julie Dawson
* followed closely by
* “Are we really that screwed up?” Julie
* “I think maybe we are.” Evan

A look into the story

~ Blurb ~ * Disclaimer: This is an 18+ book with erotic BDSM scenes and explicit language.
* Can two dark souls ever make a light?
* As president of her own distribution company, Julie Dawson has all she ever wanted -- money, power, and respect. But her carefully crafted façade conceals a torment of abuse and helplessness. After years remaining emotionally aloof, she is finally independent, but alone. Because she refuses to rely on anyone but herself ever again.
* Evan Adams is no stranger to success, or personal demons. The horrific trauma that destroyed his twin sister, and tore his family apart, forced him to craft a new life from the ashes of the old. He's content enough, focusing ahead and not dwelling on his murky past. But something important is missing. He knows what that thing is but refuses to acknowledge it.
* When a chance encounter brings these two strong-willed but damaged people together , what seems like a long, erotic journey through hell could lead them to a match made in heaven.
* MUTUAL RELEASE
* A coming of age novel about trust...on the long road to love.

~ X-Rated Excerpt ~ * A leather chair appeared from the gloom. Evan looked around, then took the seat, disappointed but intrigued. He could hear Jack’s voice, his laughter low and inviting. What the fuck? Was Gordon getting in on action while he had to watch? Then he heard Jenna’s annoying giggle and realized the club must be making her watch too, only she got to do it with her date. He sighed, leaned back, and prepared himself to be underwhelmed.
* “No,” a sexy, rough female voice broke through the clamor in his head. It must have surprised everyone because all the people on the couches glanced up. “I want him. Out here.” Evan looked straight at her and saw the hot-as-shit Domme point her bullwhip right at him. He gulped, actually looked around like a dork, thinking there must be someone behind him. He was no sub.
* She crooked her finger, her ruby-red moist lips drawing his gaze and making him feel positively hypnotized. His cock kept up its painful pressure along the inside of his zipper. A drop of sweat formed on his temple but he couldn’t move his arms to brush it away. All he knew… was her.
* “Mr. Adams,” the disembodied voice said. “Your presence has been requested by our Mistress. Please. Do not make her wait.” The sheer curtain separating him from the crowd parted as he stood. Shoving his hands in his pockets and no longer aware of anything at all but what he wanted right now, he took the few steps down to the main floor.
* “Stop!” She held up a hand. “Do not come any closer until I tell you.” She snapped her fingers. A tall man dressed only in leather pants emerged from somewhere to her left. A woman approached him, smiling and holding out a tray filled with… He stared, then shook his head, backing away, his brain on fire and his body in flight mode. “Where are you going, slave?” The woman cracked her whip. Evan sensed its bite near his cheek.
* “I am no one’s slave,” he croaked out, sounding like a whiney kid.
* “Perhaps. But I am not just anyone.” Before he could catch a breath, the woman was in his space. He kept his hands at his sides, knowing if he touched her he would be punished. Her full lips were inches from his. She leaned in, placed a tender kiss on his cheek, then stepped back.
* “The Mistress has chosen!” the voice boomed and the room heaved a collective sigh. Evan whipped his head around, suddenly terrified and hornier than he had been in his entire existence. He closed his eyes as a loud whooshing sound started echoing around in his head in perfect time with his heartbeat. He held his ground, biting the inside of his cheek raw to keep from falling to his knees and kissing his way up her shiny patent leather shoe. The woman stood, the cape-like cloak draped around her tall, perfect body. He couldn’t move and had no idea what to do now anyway.
* She took two long steps and was back in his space, tugging his tie, lifting it free of his collar and letting her lips linger over his, tempting, teasing, and bringing his body to full attention from his scalp to his toes. What in the hell was going on here? He was a sub? But the whooshing sound would not stop; it deafened him and he started to shake. The woman put her hands on his shoulders and kept kissing him just enough to make him insane. Disembodied hands removed his suit coat. Then, with a powerful jerk, She ripped his dress shirt into two scraps of expensive cotton that hung from his wrists.
* His nipples hardened, his skin broke out in goose bumps. More bodiless hands unfastened his cuffs and took what remained of his shirt away. The woman kept smiling, trailing her fingertip down his chest. Evan’s lungs hurt he was breathing so hard.
* “You are very…” She leaned in and touched her tongue to a nipple, making him gasp. “In need of…” She licked her way across his chest to the other hardened nub of flesh and bit, hard, making him yelp and grunt to distract himself from coming in his trousers. “A lesson in what it means to wield control.”
* She unfurled the whip, keeping her lips on his skin, licking and nibbling her way up his neck as he stood, fists clenched and teeth grinding. Then she bit down on his lower lip, bringing tears to his eyes and yet more urgency to fuck. What was happening to him?
* “Sit.” She shoved him down. Evan dropped, hoping someone had put a chair there. His ass hit leather and wood. Watching mesmerized as she dug a sharp heel into his still-covered thigh. The pulsing behind his zipper had reached a level he’d never experienced. It was as if he were already coming, in his head, trying to relieve the pressure without actually ejaculating. This was a total goddamn trip. He sighed, looked up at the ceiling.
* “Don’t look away from me, slave.” Her rough voice made the whooshing sound return between his ears. She snapped her fingers. Two nearly naked women scuttled to his side, undid his belt, unzipped his pants, and pulled off his shoes while removing his trousers, leaving only his tie and boxers.
* “Holy fucking mother of… ah!” he cried out, unable to stop when the woman stood over him, her warm, inviting sex right at his eye level. Other hands rubbed, teased him through his underwear. But he kept his eyes trained up as he sucked in a lungful of her heady scent.
* “You think this is all there is, don’t you, boy?” The woman’s voice filled his head. “Your giant cock and what you can do with it.” She stepped away from him, flicking her whip at his inner thighs, breaking up the pleasure with a bite of pain that made him curse and lean forward. The lovely, soft hands that had been on his aching shaft disappeared. “Oh no you don’t. You sit; you take, and you do not come. For any reason. If you do, I will make you very,” she slid the handle of the whip along his reddened inner leg, “very sorry. Are we clear? Dear?”

Buy Mutual Release here...
Amazon
All Romance eBooks
Barnes and Noble

Find Liz Crowe here...
Website
Blog
Beer Wench Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Facebook: Group - Romance for Real Life
Facebook - Jack Gordon Realtor

Thank you for joining us here today, Liz! It was a pleasure getting to know about you and your story.

Welcome special guest: author Liz Crowe ( @beerwencha2 @DecadentPub )

Today we have Liz Crowe, who is also known as “Beer Wench” or just “E.T.” in her role as microbrewery owner/marketer, visiting. Microbrewery owner, beer blogger and journalist, mom of three teenagers, and soccer fan, Liz lives in the great middle west, in a Major College Town.  Years of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as an ex-pat trailing spouse plus making her way in a world of men (i.e. the beer industry) has prepped her for life as erotic romance author.  When she isn't sweating beer inventory, sales figures or promotional efforts for her latest publication, doing pounds of laundry for her sweaty athletic children, watching La Liga on the Fox Soccer Channel, or trying to figure out what to order in for dinner, she can be found walking her standard poodles or doing Bikram Yoga.  Liz loves her Foo Fighters Pandora station, and watching reruns of Deadwood, when there isn't any decent European football on the telly.  If you want a beer education follow her: www.a2beerwench.com.  For writing related stuff, including her backlist, go to: www.brewingpassion.com.

* When did you attempt your first story? What length was it? What's become of it?
I wrote my first story during the summer months of 2009. It was a monster of a book, full of forbiddens:  head-hopping, passive voice, skewed timelines and some of the hottest sex scenes I’ve yet written.  “Floor Time” has since been critiqued, Beta read, revised and re-written—frankly I shudder at the thought that I believed the thing was worth publishing in anything like its first iteration.
     It was a 100k+ novel that has been whittled down to about 65k and sits in a few AE inboxes.  Got a request for a “full” on it a couple of weeks ago!  Yay me.
     It’s a 10-year span in the life of one young woman Realtor and the men in her life.  It’s worked into a trilogy of novels, each at about 70k words.  Fingers crossed, true?
* How many stories did you complete before you sold your first?
See above: I wrote this massive novel first then started another: The Tap Room.  I pulled a few chapters from it and submitted them as shorts.  It’s now available as a “choose your romance” novel along with its 3 and soon to be 4 “shorts” that serve as missing chapters, or side stories.  I sold the first one in April of 2010 and it was published September 2010.
* What genre(s) do you write in? What drew you to write in it/them? What’s your favorite genre of all to write in?
Contemporary erotic romance is what I write and what I prefer to read although I’m hopelessly and embarrassingly addicted right now to the JR Ward Black Dagger Brotherhood series.
* What are the best and worst pieces of writing advice you ever received?
Best: Never Give Up.  And Get a Real Critique Partner.
Worst:  don’t waste time on the internet.  Just write books.  WRONG.  Unless you are already Stephen King or whatshername with the caterer mystery solver ones.  That is flat out unrealisitic in this day and age and in our crowded genre.
* How do you celebrate/deal with acceptance/rejection letters?
I’m lucky really.  The only flat out rejection I got turned into an acceptance for the very series I’m pimping here today.  Decadent took a pass on the massive realtor novel (see above) and I used that frustration to give it an even better spit shine before sending in on elsewhere.  And I channeled the rejection frustration to finally use my experiences living in Istanbul Turkey to create a series of hot stories about one Turkish family: The Turkish Delights series.
     I don’t kid myself though.  Rejections are part of a writer’s life.  I’m crushing my own hands sitting on them trying not to hound the publishers I subbed to over the summer…patience, grasshopper.  Patience.
* In regard to the book you’re promoting, which actor and actress do you envision playing the roles of your hero and heroine? If there’s a villain or other characters who are pertinent to the story, who would play those parts?
Well, my heroes and one of my heroines in the series are Turks.  I have picked out some pretty hot Turkish actors to thrust into the limelight of my best selling, and soon to be blockbuster movie:
COMING SOON TO A THEATER NEAR YOU:
Emre/Tarkan: Mert Ocal a former model turned TV actor in Turkey. Yeah. I’m gonna pluck him from obscurity and Make Him a Star (wouldn’t you? RAWR)

Ellery Kensington: I love Elizabeth Moss.  She is the perfect combo of tough and needy for my tough as shit CEO and woman seeking love without releasing it.

Caleb Blessing: Yeah, Matthew…Hot for Teachahhhhhhh. He is PERFECT for Caleb.

Adem Broussard: Kivanc Kasabli

Lale Deniz: Noomi Rapace. Period. She is PERFECT.

Andreas Michos: Uber smoking hot Greek actor Giannis Spaliaras.  You don’t know him….yet.

* The book you’re promoting, is it a stand-alone story or part of a series? If it’s part of a series, please list the order the books need to be read in for maximum reading enjoyment.
It is a series.  It is withing a series already: the very popular 1NightStand series wherein all stories must adhere to a theme—that of “magical dates” arranged by Madame Eve.
I love to read series and have created a bunch of them.  I think they give the reader more opportunity to be involved in the story.  And I have been told (again by editors and readers) that many times my secondary characters are so strong they DEMAND their own tale.  So I gave it them with this series and Decadent likes it so much they have accepted the PREQUEL to the whole story.  “The Diplomat’s Daughter” is a novella, not a part of the 1NS series and will release in early 2012.
*** Now for some fun info… ***
* Are you a cat, dog or both kind of person?
Dogs!  I have 2 standard poodles—my muses.
* Are you a morning person or night owl?
Night Owl, for certain. I despise mornings.  It’s a well-documented fact.
* What’s your favorite day of the week?
I own a brewery and a bar and so my favorite day of the week is FRIDAY—it’s our busiest night!  Second fav is Saturday during football season. The energy of a college town with a Big Time football program is second to none on game day!

*** About the stories… ***
~ Blurbs ~
TURKISH DELIGHTS:
The fifteen year age difference between Elle Kensington, ex-patriat American executive and Emre Deniz, son of Istanbul's most successful businessman, has not kept them from becoming fast friends as they tour Istanbul together. But the time has come for him to return to the U.S. to finish his master's degree and she has just been named CEO of the pharmaceutical company that brought her to Turkey in the first place. Elle adores her adopted country, and is alarmed to find herself falling in love with the young man who's been her impromptu guide for the last few months.
But she knows they can never be. She will return home to California within a month, leaving behind all she loves about the ancient city. In a rare fit of spontaneity, Elle has contracted with Madame Eve's OneNightStand dating service to hopefully find a way to forget the dark, handsome young man who has captured her heart. Little does she know what awaits her in the ancient recesses of the Ottoman palace turned luxury hotel under the hands of her one night stand masseur.
BLUE CRUISE:
Caleb and Tarkan were an odd couple, men from two different cultures, but so in love they were determined to overcome any obstacles. Fate had different plans.

Two years after tragedy strikes, Caleb is still a hollow shell of himself, alone and miserable. Adem Broussard is happy enough, as owner and chef of his restaurant on the Turkish southern coast. But a tall, American Adonis he saw once, years ago on a Turkish Blue Cruise haunts his most erotic dreams and he hopes contracting with Madame Eve's 1NightStand service for an unconventional date will help him forget.
When Caleb caves in to his friend Elle's insistence that he return to Turkey and exorcise some of the demons that haunt him, he reluctantly climbs on board a private yacht for a special 1NightStand Blue Cruise. There he comes face to face with the man who remembers him well, and wants to help him heal.
TULIP PRINCESS:

Lale Deniz, young, drifting and prone to wildness that her Turkish family doesn't understand is seeking something to help her reestablish control over her life. Her beloved brother Tarkan has exited her life. His twin, Emre lives far away in America with his growing family. When Elle, Emre's American wife has a scary brush with death giving birth, Lale is dispatched to California to help with their five-year old daughter. But a recovering Elle has plans for Lale that involve a magical 1NightStand.
Andreas Michos, Greek former NFL star, now athletic director at UNLV also floats through life, unsuccessfully seeking satisfaction. His former wife and sexual sub left him when he took away the limelight of football stardom. He doubts his own abilities anymore and has given up finding an outlet for his natural Dom.
Set against a backdrop of ancient cultural clashes and Mediterranean family dynamics, Lale and Andreas do meet in Las Vegas at the famous Castillos resort for a date. But it seems destined to fail. Unless they are both willing to relinquish control and discover what can be found inside the soul of another.
~ Turkish Delights excerpt PG ~

     “I miss you already,” Emre said, with his usual candor. “I can’t believe I just met you and now we must part.” He finished his tea and signaled the waiter for another. Before she could lean back, he reached over the tiny table and captured her hand, putting it to his mouth. Elle’s entire body zinged. His lips were gentle, soft but with a firmness that spoke of his potential talents with them. Exactly as she thought they would be, even if only pressed to her hand. She bit her lip, no longer caring what the gawkers around them thought, as she pressed her thighs together to ease the ache building between them.
     “I know.” Her voice was a whisper. “It’s been…nice getting to know you.” Lame, her brain screamed. Just kiss him, for crying out loud. You are the newly-named CEO of a major pharmaceutical company. You eat fear for breakfast. What the hell is your problem?
     She stood, pulling up her bag. Emre remained seated, staring at her.
     “I’m not what you think,” he said, as he stretched long legs out in front of him.
     Her face flushed with anger. Good. Now I’m on familiar ground. Mad at a man for assuming things about what I think.
     “Just what do I think, if you don’t mind sharing.” She used her coolest-cucumber voice, and it pleased her to see the young man frown. Anger she could cope with. Besotted was beyond her, especially since she felt the same damn way about this boy nearly fifteen years her junior.
     “Never mind.” He stood, towering over her even as she stood in her highest heels. “Let’s not fight. It’s our last day together, no?”
     The urge to run a finger down his strong, stubbled jaw was intense. She clenched her hands together so hard they hurt. He put a familiar arm around her shoulder, nearly bringing her to her knees with lust. The smell of his subtle cologne, mixed with the exotic manliness she’d come to associate with him in his element at his grandfather’s spice booth nearly sent her over the edge. She shut her eyes, leaning into his strong torso ever so slightly. Was it her imagination, or did he flinch? She drew away, ashamed at herself.
     “I should get back,” Gesturing in the general vicinity of where her car and driver waited, she gasped when Emre held her close then dropped to one knee right onto the cobblestones. Embarrassment and excitement fought for her brain. He took her hand, kissed it, held it to his heart.
     “You are the most amazing woman in the universe. It has been my honor to know you. I wish….” He blinked, and she used the opportunity to pull her hand away. “I just wish we’d known each other sooner.”
     It was Elle’s turn to blink. Realization rushed through her, heating her face. He knows damn good and well I’m a dried up specimen, too focused on my career to find and keep a man or sustain any relationship beyond the office. Fists clenched at her sides, she tried to calm her breathing.
     You are a fool, Ellery Kensington. He knows you’re a horny old lady. And he might oblige you between the sheets, but get the foolish romantic bullshit about spiriting him back to the States with you out of your head. That’s patent nonsense and you should know better.
     Finished with her self-lecture, she squared her shoulders and leaned in to press her lips to his jaw. Closing her eyes against the chemical reaction she had to him, she stepped away quickly.

***Find Liz here***
If you want a beer education follow her: www.a2beerwench.com.  For writing related stuff, including her backlist, go to: www.brewingpassion.com

Thank you for joining us here today, Liz! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your work.

Liz will be giving away:  three Turkish themed prize packages to randomly drawn commenters which may include, but aren't limited to:
* a holiday stocking made from authentic Turkish kilim rug
* a mug with the Turkish "evil eye", meant to ward off said evil
* a pewter dish, that is traditionally used to hold "lokum" or the actual Turkish delight confection/candy
* a box of traditional lokum
* a small Turkish kilim rug (reversible--authentic)
Please follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:  http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2011/10/virtual-book-tour-turkish-delights-by.html