Entangled~ By Maddie James ~The Soul Mates Series~ Bridging the Gap Promotions ~Interview ~ Giveaway

The Soul Mates Series

Entangled,  Book Three

By Maddie James

Giveaway:   $50 Amazon GC + signed copies of Entranced & Brazen. Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter.

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INTERVIEW: 

Crystal: Today I have the pleasure to ask Maddie James a few questions as part of this tour. Welcome Maddie! I am so happy to have you here today. Would you share a little bit about yourself with us today?

Maddie: Hi! First, I’m happy to be here and thank you for the invite! I’m Maddie James and I write romance. To date I have 36 titles in print in various subgenres of romance—from sweet to sexy, from contemporary to time travel, from romantic comedy to suspense. I don’t like to limit my options! In my personal life I’m a mom to two beautiful children, three grandchildren, and a few fur babies. I write full-time and love it that way.

Crystal: Do you have a favorite scene you would like to share with us?

Maddie: In Entangled, my very favorite scene of the book comes near the end, and has to do with the time travel element, but I think if I shared that one, it wouldn’t make much sense because you don’t know what came before. But it has to do with the sun rise, time travel, and a little boy. 
Here is one that I would love to share with you, however. This scene is with Kari, the heroine in the book, as a child. This book is set in a futuristic, post-revolution society. Here’s the scene: 

Fifteen years earlier…
The rock was smooth beneath her fingertips, and she made slow, lazy circles over its satiny surface. Kari stretched her fingers and laid her hand down flat on its top. Her right cheek rested against the cool stone—it felt good to the touch, she was hot from running—her lanky, twelve-year-old body lay tummy-down on the rock, curled slightly to her side. She looked toward the fields.
Although small and insignificant, she was snug and safe on her magic rock, smack in the middle of a field of poppies. The red flowers were her favorite, and she’d often steal away from the house and weave her way through the rows. She would pretend to get lost in the blanket of red, while searching for her magic place, but she always knew exactly where she was heading. Now, she was here, laying eye-level with stems, the blooms floating above her like a rolling sea. She loved looking up at the blue sky through a tumble of scarlet petals.
This was her place, where she came when she wanted to be alone. Away from Aunt Tassi who doted too much. Away from Richard, who wanted to be a father but wasn’t. Away from Tye, whom she hated with a passion, like most sisters would hate a brother. He teased and taunted, and she didn’t like it one bit.
But here…here she could be herself. Kari. She could lie on the rock, her cheek flat against it—like now—and feel her breathing slow, her worry go away. She was hidden, protected, and safe.
She’d run long and hard this morning, up earlier than everyone. The sun had not yet burned the dew off the petals, and her shorts and T-shirt were damp. She didn’t care. She wanted to be alone. Needed to be with her friend…
With him.
She didn’t want to face breakfast with Aunt Tassi, knowing she would bring it up. Six years. Six years today since her parents had died. Six long years.
She closed her eyes and a few tears spilled down her nose. Lifting her hand to her cheek, she swiped them away and then put her palm square on the hard surface again and rubbed her tears furiously into its porous face. In an instant, she choked back a sob and squeezed her eyes shut even tighter.
In her mind, her palm, soft and small, pressed into his from the other side.
Hmmm…? Who do you think is on the other side?

Crystal: Where did you come up with the idea for your current release?

Maddie: Entangled is the third book in a series that revolves around a little bit of pirate legend and lore and a lot of my own imagination. The first book in the series, Entranced, set the curse of Blackbeard’s chalice into motion, and this third book closes the curse. So, the idea was planted long ago with the first book and I felt the premise was strong enough to carry through two more books. The original idea came to me while vacationing on the east coast barrier islands of the North Carolina Outer Banks.

Crystal: What are you currently working on?

Maddie:  I am currently working on a story in the Ladies of Legend: Return to Legend series. The book is titled Starcrossed, and it’s about a woman who left the town of Legend, TN when she was eighteen, and who returns when she discovers her foster mother left something to her when she died. Of course, coming home means seeing people she left behind—and that includes the old boyfriend who never forgot her.

Crystal: Do you have any special routine that you follow when you are writing? 

Maddie: I really don’t. I generally have to schedule time in and I prefer long blocks of time where I won’t be distracted with other tasks. So, sometimes that can be early in the morning and other times, just when the house is quiet. I don’t like a lot going on around me when I am getting into the story and prefer silence or instrumental music – or the Food Network.  LOL it’s the only show I can have on the TV that doesn’t distract me. Not sure why.

Crystal: Did you have to do a lot of research for this book or any other? If so do you have a fascinating fact that you have learned you would like to share with us?

Maddie: Early on I did a lot of research on pirates for this series, reading mostly about how they lived and plundered their way through the early 1700s on the east coast. For this particular book, which is sent in the near future, a lot came from my own world-building. I think the most fascinating fact about this series relates to the beheading of the pirate Blackbeard. It is said that his head was never found, and that perhaps it still exists today but the skull has been fashioned into a silver-plated cup….

Crystal: Who are some of your favorite authors that you like to read?

Maddie: I’ll be honest and say I haven’t been reading much the past few years, but when I do, I love to read Sandra Brown, Elin Hilderbrand, Anita Shreve, JC Wardon, and… (I could go on and on….)

Crystal:  Is there any genre you haven't written that you would like to try?

Maddie: I’m actually working on a women’s fiction novel which is a first for me. This novel will be centered around three female characters and romance will not be the prominent theme. I’ve just started it, barely three chapters in, and I look forward to digging in and working on this one.
Thank you, Crystal, for having me! It was a pleasure to visit with you and your readers. 



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Maddie James weaves a five book series that combines romance, paranormal, and spiritual elements—within historical and contemporary worlds—in a family’s quest not only to break a legendary pirate’s curse, but to bring the entire family together again. Full circle. The characters trip through time from 1718 to the future, and through spiritual worlds, to reconnect with their fated spirit mates.



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BLURB: Entangled,  Book Three

Can souls touch through dreams and find their way home again?
Jackson Porter seeks to fulfill his mother, Claire Porter's, dying request, and answers about the imaginary lover who haunts his nights. His future, he learns, is in a place called Ohio, miles and centuries away from his barrier island home in 1745. The land, his mother says with her last breaths, is his legacy and belongs to him. She urges him to claim it.

In the year 2032, Kari Upton is driven to fight federal sanctions to save her land and her valuable poppy crops. Her upcoming marriage is one of convenience. Marrying Tye Gentry will save her Ohio farmland. There is no other way to gain power than to marry him and ride on his father's political coattails to the state legislature.

And all would be perfect if it weren't for those erotic dreams of man with long dark hair who haunts her day and night....

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | IBOOKS | KOBO | SMASHWORDS

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BLURB: Entranced, Book One

Can souls touch through time and hold on, when all odds are against them?

Claire Winslow vacations on an East Coast barrier island, content with her life and her potential future—until the illusion of a man walking the misty shore haunts her. Then one kiss—a beautiful, soulful, stolen kiss in the night—and her life changes forever.
Nearly 300 years past, Jack Porter is in hot pursuit of his kidnapped wife. Not an easy feat considering the year is 1718 and the kidnapper is the notorious pirate Blackbeard aka Edward Teach. Determined to rescue his wife and take the pirate’s head in the process, Jack steals aboard the pirate’s ship to save her.
Entranced sends Jack and Claire on a wild search through time, not only for the resolution to a powerful attraction between them, but also for a historical artifact that holds the key to their future happiness—the coveted silver-plated chalice made from Blackbeard’s skull.

FREE now at Amazon

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BLURB: Brazen, Book Two

Can lost souls reunite across time when all hope at love has been abandoned, 
and demons of the past refuse to go away?

Pitched from a ship during a violent storm in the year 1746, Victoria Porter washes ashore, soon to be rescued by a man on a strange mechanical beast who whisks her into a world beyond anything she could have imagined.

In 2014, Colton MacKenzie fears he has written his last bestselling horror novel until he discovers two things—The Cult of Teach, and a tantalizing nymph wandering the Ocracoke Island seashore. Fascinated by the history that surrounds the Legend of Blackbeard’s Chalice, he seeks to learn more about these modern-day pirates, and hopefully write a bestseller using the premise. He’d planned on riding this ride solo until the strange waif on the back of his Harley touches him in ways his demons hadn’t let anyone touch him in a long, long time....


AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | IBOOKS | KOBO | SMASHWORDS | ALL ROMANCE EBOOKS

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BLURB: Wanderlust, Book Four
Coming soon….

Can wandering souls collide and tame their wanderlust long enough to fall in love?

Katie MacKenzie is a wanderer. With her mother dead, her father in prison, and her siblings scattered hither and yon, she refuses to risk the connectedness of a family again. Family means drama and emotions, good and bad. But when you are on your own, you have only your own drama to deal with. Family is the one thing she does not want.

But she’s pregnant. Alone. And for the first time in her life, more than a little frightened of her future. Her wandering days may soon be over, but that gut-wrenching search for… something, still nags at her. Calls her. And leaves her yearning for peace.

A peace that is difficult to come by. She is willing and prepared to go it alone. And all goes well, until a needy, homeless, and somewhat unworldly stranger enters her life….

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BLURB: Entwined, Book Five
Coming soon …


Can the bonds of parted spirit mates reconnect through the heart, when the mind and soul have forgotten they have ever loved?

Spirits often have purposes and Claire Porter’s is no different. She possesses a healing soul. God feels her spirit is needed on earth and delivers her a particular task—to seek out and heal a lost family; to reunite the siblings and bring them peace. What God doesn’t tell her is that this family is her own—those of her children. Jackson, Victoria, and Jeremiah, are scattered about in contemporary times, and know nothing of each other’s lives.

But the task comes with conditions. God erases any memory of her children, or of their father, and sends her to earth in a new body, a new name, new life. Trust your spirit and let it guide you, he tells her.

Just as he could not bear to watch his wife die, Jack Porter’s spirit cannot fathom that he will be separated once more from his beloved Claire. He begs mercy with the Heavenly Father only to be told that he should trust and be patient. Jack Porter is not a patient man. His restless soul aches for his lost love and he continues to test God’s resolve. So God gives him an ultimatum—he will send Jack back to earth but only under the same conditions as Claire. Jack agrees and God challenges him to the same quest, to find his spirit mate and reunite his family—with no knowledge of their existence.

Entwined brings The Soul Mates Series to a close as Claire and Jack again seek out their spirit mates, while reuniting their entire family in the same century.


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About Maddie James

Whether writing traditional contemporary romance or building paranormal worlds, bestselling romance author, Maddie James, pens stories that frequently cross a variety of romantic sub-genres. Sweet or spicy, suspense or comedy, western or time-travel, her heroes and heroines always chase one thing—the happily-ever-after—whether they realize it or not!

Maddie has over 40 titles in ebook and trade paperback print published worldwide, with foreign editions in French, German, Dutch, Russian, Spanish, and more. Her books have received numerous 5 Star and Top Pick reviews and have landed on various retailer top-selling lists. She has been listed as a Top 100 Most Popular Contemporary Romance Author at Amazon.
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Thank you for hosting me! Please visit my website at www.maddiejames.com, where you can find out how to connect with me in all of my other places! Be sure to sign up for my newsletter, because that’s where you get the goodies. Thank you!

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HEAT WAVE ~ Red: A Tale of Seduction By Maddie James ~ Bridging the Gap Promotions ~ Giveaway

HEAT WAVE

Six Sexy Stories for Sultry Summer Nights

Giveaway

On Behalf of the Heat Wave Boxed Set Authors, Turquoise Morning Press will be giving away…. A $25 Gift Card to the Turquoise Morning Press Bookstore. Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter.

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Summer. Hot. Sticky. Sexy.

Although not all of the stories in this collection take place in the summer, they are definitely hot, might make you a little sticky, and are unquestionably sexy. What is more perfect for a sultry summer night?

Seduction is the name of the game in some of our stories. Control, submission, and domination flavor a couple more. And the others? Just downright deliciously sexy, in multiple ways.

Grab your favorite ice cold beverage, ladies, and prepare for your own personal HEAT WAVE! With an introductory promotional price of $0.99, why resist? 

Retailer Availability:  Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, All Romance Ebooks, Turquoise Morning Press, and more

Promotional Price: $0.99

Future Retail Price: $3.99 (Fall, 2014)

Publisher: Turquoise Morning Press

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Red:  A Tale of Seduction

By Maddie James

Turquoise Morning Press

WHAT is a Rougarou? 

Depending on who you speak with, or what website you hit, it could be anything from a Louisiana werewolf to a demon. It’s origins are European and French, and it’s legacy is buried deep in Cajun culture. 
According to www.werewolfpage.com, “In the Cajun legend, the creature is said to prowl the swamps around Acadiana and Greater New Orleans, and possibly the fields or forests of the regions. The rougarou most often is noted as a creature with a human body and the head of a wolf or dog, similar to the werewolf legend.”
That idea, combined with several trips to New Orleans, was all I needed to spin a retelling of the classic fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood. After all, there is a wolf, and the woods, right? So…
Did you ever wonder what happened when Little Red Riding Hood grew up? In the bayou? With a grandmother who used potions and magic and stuff? And a wolf who...?

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Here’s the story blurb: 

Garnet Boudreaux is going home. Not to her apartment in New York City but to her childhood home in the bayou. She doesn’t want to go, and isn’t certain what will be waiting for her when she arrives. But standing in the voodoo shop on Bourbon Street, in the middle of one helluva Mardi Gras party, she’s told by Madame Madeleine Dupuis that she has no choice. The witchy woman presses two pouches into Garnet’s hands, wraps a red cape around her, and tells her she must go—and go now—to see to her grandmother.
Max LeBlanc spies the auburn-haired beauty across the street and knows in a heartbeat she is the one. A rougarou always knows when he’s met his mate. Some may call him a lycanthrope, a werewolf if you will, but in Cajun bayou lands he’s known as The Rougarou. He’s waited several hundred years for this moment, and for her. There is nothing left for him to do, but mark her and claim her as his mate.
Tonight.

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And a brief excerpt:

Bourbon Street, The French Quarter
New Orleans, 10:39 p.m.

“Come closer, Red,” he rasped. “I want that burning-hot body next to mine.” The wiry stranger threaded his hot fingers through her hair at the nape, and his steamy breath snaked around her neck.
A carnival spun in Garnet Boudreaux’s head, and for once, she did not want to get off the ride. Was she drunk? Yes, somewhat. But it was okay, she was with her girlfriends, and they watched out for each other.
Right?
Were they watching his hands glide over her ass, too?
Hell, did she care?
Eyes the color of dark honey with flecks of gold pierced hers and held as he pressed closer. His lips scraped over her cheek, sending a shudder of want from the curls on her auburn head straight down to her scarlet toenails. Neon swirled as he led her out the door of the Cat’s Meow, spilling into Bourbon Street’s static currents, taking the lead as they dirty-danced their way into the crowd.
“My friends…” she breathed, wincing as he nipped her neck, his teeth clipping at the tender skin beneath her ear lobe.
“Back in the bar,” he growled.
Oh Damn. She shouldn’t leave Tiana and Kathleen behind. They needed her. Didn’t they?
Or did she need them?
Like a cat lapping at milk, his tongue laved her neck to cheek. “Give me your tongue,” he commanded. His hands rested under her armpits, cradling the sides of her breasts, thumbing her nipples through the red satin dressed she’d borrowed for this decadent Mardi Gras-type party on Bourbon her company insisted they attend.
Her mask. Had she lost it?
Dammit. She loved that mask. All lace and filigree, and made her look mysteriously sexy.
She glanced behind her, searching through the crown. He caught her chin between his fingers and forcefully turned her face back toward his.
“Me. I’m the one you are with. Forget the others.”
Her brain said no. The tingles racing up her spine and the heat gathering in her panties cried yes.
Yes.
His hips gyrated against hers and his dance swept her into a spiral of lights and hands and lips and skin on skin. He dipped his tongue deep into her cleavage and she resisted the urge to clasp his head against her chest and keep him there. He was hard against her abdomen.
Ready.
Waiting.
Primal.
Had he growled?
“Garnet!” A giggle of laughter exploded behind her as Kath, totally lacking in grace, grasped her forearm and spun her away from the man. “Come back inside! Tiana is giving Jell-O shots off her tits. You have to see this!”
For a moment, Garnet was disoriented, disengaged, trying to focus on being snatched away from her alluring dance partner and deciphering what Kath was saying.
Tia had Jell-O tits?
Too many Hurricanes. Damn that magic potion of rum and fruit juice, or whatever…
A low growl purred in her ear, like it was placed there on purpose. Calling her. Turning, she looked back.
He was gone.
At once she was cold. Empty.
With Kath still tugging, pulling her inside, she tripped backward. Frantic, she scanned the crowd until at last, a fixed set of brown-gold eyes stared back through the swarm and held for an eternal moment, then vanished.
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Whether writing traditional contemporary romance or building paranormal worlds, bestselling romance author, Maddie James, pens stories that frequently cross a variety of romantic sub-genres. Sweet or spicy, suspense or comedy, western or time-travel, her heroes and heroines always chase one thing—the happily-ever-after—whether they realize it or not!

A Food Network junkie who plots the way she cooks—by the seat of her pants—Maddie always has a delicious end product in mind (and she always follows a secret recipe!). 

Her first book, THE WILD WEST, a Kensington Precious Gems romance, received a Calico Trails Cameo Award. RED: A SEDUCTION TALE, claimed first place as the Romance Book Scene's favorite novella of the year. A four time nominee for a CAPA/Psyche Award from The Romance Studio, Maddie’s books have received numerous 5 Star and Top Pick reviews. Her books have landed on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo top-selling lists, and she is frequently listed as a Top 100 Most Popular Contemporary Romance Author at Amazon.

Maddie is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and its Published Author Network (PAN), Louisville Romance Writers (LRWA), Novelists Inc. (NINC), Kentuckiana Authors, and the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA).

Visit Maddie's website: www.maddiejames.com

Connect on:

Twitter  @maddiejames

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/maddiejames1

or https://www.facebook.com/MJNovelist

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/660725.Maddie_James

Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/MaddieJamesauthor

Google+ google.com/+MaddieJames

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Sex, Lies & Murder Boxed Set ~ Bridging the Gap Promotions Blog Tour ~ BOOK BLAST ~ Giveaway

Sex, Lies & Murder Boxed Set

Giveaway:

Register to win a $25 Gift Card to Turquoise Morning Press! Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter.

Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Turquoise Morning Press

Ebook Price: $0.99

(Special Promotional Price)

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE |  SMASHWORDS | PUBLISHER

Sizzling romance. Killer instinct. Which wins out in the end?

Four top-selling authors create a perfect escape as they take love to the edge of suspense and back, risking life, death, and emotional warfare. Sexy, edgy, and gritty, these four romantic suspense novels will keep you turning the pages, as plots rarely go according to plan, and dangerous situations delay the stories’ coming to climax.

This boxed set includes the full-length romantic suspense novels: According To Plan by Madison J. Edwards, Coming to Climax by Bobbye Terry, Emotional Warfare by Christina Wolfer, and A Perfect Escape by Maddie James.

ACCORDING TO PLAN 
by Madison J. Edwards

Shelby Stewart's been hired to find socialite Harrison Grant.  That's good.  Her ex-partner, Tank, is on the hunt for him as well.  That's bad.  Shelby will do anything to stay one step ahead of her uber sexy ex-lover, even play a tantalizing game of strip pool to knock him off his game.  Everything should work out, According to Plan.

According To Plan is a solid erotic romantic suspense with humor, mystery, action, a hot ALPHA man and a feisty, sassy, kick ass woman.  ~  Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

Fast paced with great emotional quality, this story keeps you on the edge of your seat with lots of plot twists and scorching love scenes.  Shelby and Tank's physical chemistry is off the charts sizzling ~ Long and Short Reviews

Madison J. Edwards All-Romance Bestseller, award winning author who loves writing a whole lot of spice into a relationship.  Her stories are filled with alpha heroes and the feisty women who keep them on their toes.

COMING TO CLIMAX 
by Bobbye Terry

Margaret Palmer returns to Climax, Virginia, where Southern charm hides long-buried
secrets and evil lurks just beneath the surface of the daily routine. Margaret’s
long-guarded secret now threatens to be exposed; but, will that no longer
matter when a psychotic killer’s target is Blue Moon, the one true love of her
life?

Double Finalist in Central Florida Romance Writers’ Touch of Magic and Yellow Rose Romance Writers’ Winter Rose contests. 

Bravo! Well, done!! I loved it! ~ Blue is absolutely fascinating! I am in love! 

Bobbye Terry is a bestselling contemporary romance writer with multiple awards for her contemporary romance, historical romance, romantic suspense and romantic comedy.

EMOTIONAL WARFARE 
by Christina Wolfer

When highly classified military parts go missing from Libby Aerospace Technologies, Dana Porter is sent to Wyoming to resolve the issues.  The further Dana digs, the  more dangerous things become, and when an ex-employee ends up murdered, she suspects someone is illegally exporting the goods.

Dana's past marital issues were handled competently and her romantic feelings for Nick added to the emotional warfare...the emotional push-pull of the protagonists is where Ms. Wolfer shines. ~ Amazon Review

Wolfer understands the human condition and breathes life and realism into her characters ~ Amazon Review

Christina Wolfer writes the spectrum of contemporary romance, from modern day westerns to murder and suspense.  She'll keep you guessing until the very end.

A PERFECT ESCAPE
 by Maddie James

Megan Thomas is running for her life. Smyth Parker is running from his. Their perfect escape to the solitude of uninhabited Portsmouth Island might temporarily solve their problems, but Smyth soon learns he doesn’t need a complication named Megan Thomas—especially when she brings more danger to his life than he could have imagined.

What a tangled web! An intricate plot of mystery and suspense. James deftly combines romance and suspense, so hop on for an exhilarating ride. ~ 4 Stars, RT Book Reviews 

A Perfect Escape is a well-written story that delivers great range of emotions, intense action at its best, and a great plot. Ms. James knows how to pen stories that engage the reader. ~ Fallen
Angel Reviews

Bestselling author Maddie James is the author of nearly 30 novels/novellas. Her books have received numerous 5 Star and Top Pick reviews. She is frequently listed as a Top 100 Most Popular Contemporary Romance Author at Amazon.

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The Matchmaking Chef Collection by MADDIE JAMES ~The eight novellas of The Matchmaking Chef Series ~ Bridging the Gap Blog Tour

The Matchmaking Chef Collection

by MADDIE JAMES

The eight novellas of The Matchmaking Chef Series

Giveaway

Maddie is giving away 1 ebook copy of The Matchmaking Chef Series Collection. Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter. 

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Interview:  

Crystal: Today as part of this Bridging the Gap Blog Tour I have the opportunity to ask MADDIE JAMES a few questions. Welcome Maddie, I'm so happy to have you here today. Would you share a little bit about yourself with us today?

Maddie: Hi Crystal. Thanks so much for having me here today. I’m excited to chat with you! A little about myself? I am a full-time romance author, but I also have my fingers in other areas of the book world pie. Besides writing, which I have done forever, I am also the owner/publisher of a small publishing house, an occasional book cover designer, and book blogger. I love living in the writing/books world 24/7 and I quite my day job in order to spend all of my time here! I write mostly from home in my sunroom office, where I have to negotiate with two cats and a dog for the sunny spot!

Crystal: Where did you come up with the idea for your current release?

Maddie: The Matchmaking Chef series is a spin-off of the Ladies of Legend series of books I co-author with my writing friends Janet Eaves, Magdalena Scott, and Jan Scarbrough. My first book in that series had a character I could not let go of. She eventually became the matchmaking chef, and before I knew it, I’d written 8 stories with her as the recurring character. 

Crystal: What are you currently working on?

Maddie:  A new series, actually. I just finished final edits on the first book in a time-travel series titled, The Legend of Blackbeard’s chalice. The first three books in this series are actually re-released titles, but there have been extensive revisions and changes in the books. The last two books in the series are brand spanking new. They will all come out in 2014 and the first book, Entranced, will be out in March. I am very excited to put this series out there!

Crystal: Do you have any special routine that you follow when you are writing? 

Maddie:  No, I really don’t. I am more of a by-the-seat-of-my-pants girl. I get up each morning and let the day unfold. I do have a few morning chores, but when it comes to writing, I don’t follow a specific routine or ritual. Some days I want silence. Others I will crank up the music. Often I write at the desk, sometimes with my feed up in my favorite “happy chair.” 

Crystal: . Did you have to do a lot of research for this book or any other? If so do you have a fascinating fact that you have learned you would like to share with us?

Maddie: For the Blackbeard series, yes, I did a lot of research and reading about the pirate era in the coastal Carolinas in the year 1718 (the year that Blackbeard was beheaded). This was a very interesting time, and yes, many facts and a lot of lore, that I have built into the first book. Did you know that Blackbeard’s head was supposedly never found? But that it is rumored to still exist as a silver-plated chalice, today? You’ll have to read the book to find out how I used that piece of legend in the book!

Crystal:  Who are some of your favorite authors that you like to read?

Maddie: I’ve been writing steadily for quite a while and I don’t read as much when I do. I do love Sandra Brown and have for a long time. Lately, I’ve been reading Lorelei James. I also love great women’s fiction like those written by Elin Hilderbrand and Anita Shreve.

Crystal: Is there any genre you haven't written that you would like to try?

Maddie: I write romantic suspense, but I have never written a pure cozy mystery. I have an idea for one that will take my matchmaking chef out of her comfort level a little bit…  Stay tuned!

Crystal: Do you have a favorite scene you would like to share with us?

Maddie: Sure! Let me give you a little set-up to this scene from Romancing The Scone, book 6 in The Matchmaking Chef series. Sydney is a baker and she has just won the Best Scones of the South award, and suddenly finds herself being “stalked” by the man who had won the award for the five previous years. As the title may suggest, Stone (Steve) Kellerman is out to “romance” the winning scone recipe from Sydney. 

Here is the scene:

“Sydney, I have to tell you that I am in love with that orange scone of yours. You have to tell me more about it.”

Okay... We’ll talk about the scone first. Not a bad idea. Could lead right into the line of discussion I want to start.

“Well, Steve. It’s simple, really.”

He chuckled. “Not simple. It has fabulous flavor. Very complex. And I love it with the coffee you served up.”

He noticed that. Hm. Good.

“I intentionally serve that coffee on orange scone day.”

“I figured as much.”

She leaned forward, loving this conversation. How often did she really get to talk about her scones? It made her almost orgasmic. “It’s the flavor combination, you know? People don’t realize it, but all they know is they want to come back for more.”

“It’s brilliant, actually.”

Satisfied, Sydney sat back and took another sip of her wine. “I thought so.”

“I get a hint of nut in the scone....it’s subtle, but noticeable. Yet, the texture is not nut-like.”

She smiled. He was good. “It’s the flour.”

His eyebrow peaked. “Oh?”

“It’s a nut flour.”

“Ah. Will you tell me what kind?”

Sorry, Buster, until I know more about you, that secret is safe with me.  Grinning, she replied,

“No.”

He grinned back. “You are a sly one, Ms. Sydney Schul.”

“I’ve been told that.” Her tummy did a little twitter.

He studied her for a moment. “It’s macadamia nut flour, isn’t it?”

She tried very hard to keep a poker face and wondered how she was succeeding. How did he guess that? “You are just thinking that because of the coffee. It’s Hawaiian, remember? It’s tricky.”

It was his turn to sit back in his seat now. “No... You’re trying to throw me off track. It’s macadamia nut flour. I’m certain. And I bet my bottom dollar that it’s Grand Marnier in the icing and not Curaçao.”

“You’d lose that last dollar then,” she countered.

“You’re certain about that?” Leaning forward again now.

She did the same. “Positive.”

For about ten long seconds, they sat there at the little table staring into each other’s eyes, then finally Sydney said, “Talking about food is a little like foreplay, isn’t it?”

Steve took a deep breath. “I have to admit, I’m a little turned on here.”

“You, too?”

“Well, Ms. Sydney, I do recall thinking to myself the other day that eating your scone was something akin to hot, decadent sex on a plate.”

Glancing down at their table of barely touched food, and then back up again into Steve’s eyes, Sydney mustered up everything in her and quietly said, with a tart hint of wicked in her voice, “Steve, eat my scone.”

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When Suzie Matthews (Bed, Breakfast & You) accidentally cooks up a scene that causes her sister to get back together with her high school boyfriend (Home for the Holidays), she wonders if she can help other singletons living in the small mountain town of Legend, Tennessee find the loves of their lives.

Being a matchmaker isn’t really on her list of things to do—after all, she has a bed & breakfast to run, cookbooks to write, and a television show on the Food Channel to keep up with. But baking is her thing, and perhaps matchmaking can be her thing, too. After all, there is a song going through her head that goes something like this…

Matchbaker, Matchbaker, bake me a match? No wait. Make me a match. Nevermind! You get the picture, right?

Welcome to Legend, Tennessee. And welcome to the matchbaking, er, matchmaking world of Chef Suzie Matthews.

Includes the 8 novellas: Perfectly Matched, Dates Du Jour, Hot Crossed Buns, Side Dish, Mate To Order, Romancing The Scone, Better Than Chocolate, and Hard Candy Kisses, @ 133,000

Novellas also available separately.

Available at the following retailers:  AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | KOBO | IBOOKS | SMASHWORDS | ALL ROMANCE EBOOKS 

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Blurbs from each novella:

Perfectly Matched, Book One

Suzie Matthews is hard at work on her new cookbook, Perfectly Matched, when she asks the local “wallflower” to help her with a project. Mary Lou Picketts dreams of falling in love with country music star, Nash Rhodes, but is ready to settle for Thurman Phillips down the street. But she doesn’t want to. Not really. When Nash comes to Legend for a music benefit and stays at the lodge, Suzie wonders if she can perfectly match this miss-matched couple.

Hot Crossed Buns, Book Two

Wild Katie Long, she’ll never settle down. But Chris Marks has had his eye on her for a long time. When Chris hires Suzie to set him up with a romantic dinner for two, Suzie does all she can to set the mood. Thing is, Katie isn’t about to be wooed and she’s hotter than hot crossed buns when she figures out what Chris is up to. Then Suzie turns the tables by supplying Chris with a couple of items that just might tame Katie after all—handcuffs and a leather riding crop.

Dates Du Jour, Book Three

Speed dating? Speed eating is more like it. When Suzie sets up lunch date after lunch date for Lyssa Larkin, Legend’s homegrown homecoming queen of 1992, she knows she’s bit off more than she can chew. Lyssa rejects dates in two bites and sends them on their way. Suzie wonders if she really wants to date or just eat two lunches, and worries that soon Lyssa’s hips won’t fit on her dainty chairs. That is, until Suzie takes a risk with a man that Lyssa knows, but doesn’t, and who is falling for her hard and fast.

Side Dish, Book Four

Becca North doesn’t want a boyfriend but her best friend Nora certainly does. Becca is soooo off men. But when Nora, owner of Nora’s Novel Niche, meets Suzie the Matchmaking Chef, during a booksigning at her store, she pays the matchmaker to arrange a romantic picnic date lunch for her—a blind date, no less. Nora drags Becca along all the way from Pigeon Forge for moral support and to check out her date. Thing is, Nora’s date would rather check out Becca, instead.

Mate to Order, Book Five

When Suzie’s success as a matchmaker hits the national scene about the same time as her debut cooking show on the Food Channel, her new producer comes to her with a list of requirements—not for Suzie’s job, but for a husband. Patricia Plum has a specific list and if Suzie really wants to make it big in New York City, she’ll make every attempt to deliver, Patricia’s “Mate to Order.”

Romancing the Scone, Book Six

High tea or sweet tea? As long as there are scones, it doesn’t matter. In fact, Sydney Schul, owner of Sydney’s Sugar Coffee Stop and Bakery, makes the best damned scones east of the Mississippi, and there was an article written about her in Southern’s Best magazine to prove it. All is well and life in Legend is good, until a mysterious male stranger comes to town, stalking her scones and coercing Legendarians to nab her recipe.

Better than Chocolate, Book Seven

When Scott Matthews escapes to Legend to visit his brother, Brad and his wife Suzie, he has only one request—he doesn’t want to talk, smell, or taste chocolate. Nor does he want to discuss getting fired as chocolate taster from world-renowned Bianchi Chocolates. What Jillian Bass needs is to make it in Legend. This Manhattan transplant knows nothing about small town living other than she wants to make it big here real bad. Forget New York, she’s trying to set up her small chocolate shop and impress the locals. And all is fine until she smacks straight into Scott.

Hard Candy Kisses, Book Eight

New Year’s Eve is just around the corner and Legend Elementary teacher Patti Jo Baker has tried every trick in the book to land a date for the annual New Year’s Eve Bash at The Lodge. This includes setting up a kissing booth at the Legend Elementary Winter Carnival—a booth which Principal Jim Hamilton promptly shuts down. Because if Patty Jo Baker is passing out kisses, any kind of kisses, he wants to be both first, and last, in line—and he definitely doesn’t want to sample them in front of the student body.

    

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