Giveaway and Guest Posts for Pleasures to Seduce Blog Tour!

Today, I'd like to welcome two fantastic historical romance writers to In the Hammock for guest posts! 

Jennifer Haymore is the author of "Pleasures of a Tempted Lady" and Nina Rowan is the author of "A Study in Seduction." Both novels are new releases from Forever Romance. As part of the Pleasures to Seduce blog tour, I also have a giveaway for a copy of each book!

 

Procrastination

By Jennifer Haymore

As a writer, it’s so easy to procrastinate. There are so many ways to do it! Perhaps worst of all, much of this procrastination can be done in the name of “promotion” or “research,” making it so easy to rationalize the time that’s spent away from writing. And that time commitment can be absolutely enormous! In fact, I think between promotion and research, I could make “procrastination” a full-time job!
First and foremost, I know my number one priority is to write the best book I can. But once that book is written, I need to promote it. I need to research the next one. I need to continually work on improving my craft.
Here are some of the ways I engage in “productive procrastination”:

(1) Research and Skills
*reading fiction
*reading non-fiction
*Browsing google books
*conferences
*Romance Writers of America chapter monthly meetings
*Specialty groups (mainly historical) chat lists
*Keeping apprised of the state of romance and of technology in publishing
*Critique groups – returning critiques and beta reads others have done for me
*Mentoring new writers

(2) Social Groups and Promotion
*Group blogs & lists (I’m a member of the Dangerous Women group of authors)
*Guest blogging (how can I say no?)
*Interviews
*Appearances and book signings
*Reader chat groups (for Dangerous Women and others)
*Twitter (www.twitter.com/jenniferhaymore)
*Facebook (www.facebook.com/jenniferhaymore-author)
*Emailing readers
*Snail mailing readers
*Coming up with new ideas for contests and managing them
*Responding to blogs
*Updating my website, keeping it fresh and current
*Writing groups-the social aspect
*Writing newsletters
All of this is important, right? I do think, in this day and age, most of it is necessary. And sometimes it can be a really fun diversion from the comparative loneliness of writing. But as a writer with a young family, it can be an incredible challenge at times to balance it all. I’m definitely trying! What are some of the ways YOU procrastinate? 

Victorian Entomology

By Nina Rowan

A dark, dangerous secret…an explosive passion…a clash of brilliant minds…a provocative scandal, and….insects?

When I started writing A Study in Seduction, I was mired the story of Lydia and Alexander’s intense, passionate relationship. I certainly didn’t expect to delve into research about Victorian entomology, the scientific study of insects, but when I started to write the character of eleven-year-old Jane Kellaway, she led me right toward butterflies, bees, grasshoppers, and all sorts of other creepy-crawlies.

“Ew,” I said.

“Oh, come on, they’re fascinating!” she replied.

She was right. The nineteenth-century obsession with nature is evident in many Victorian pastimes, including fern-collecting, nature painting, gardening, bird-watching, and amateur entomology. Sketchbooks and diaries abound with drawings of various insect species. The collection and display of insects, especially butterflies, was also a very popular pastime.

While many Victorian women studied nature in one form or another, one woman in particular made important scientific contributions to entomology. Eleanor Anne Ormerod (1828-1901) had an early interest in insects and eventually published entomological journals and handbooks. She became the consulting entomologist to the Royal Agricultural Society and lecturer at the Royal Agricultural College. With her shared love of insects, I like to think that Jane might grow up to be a scientist like Eleanor!

The other characters in A Study in Seduction are well acquainted with Jane’s scientific fascination. In one scene, Alexander gives Jane a collection of books by John Curtis called British Entomology, a catalogue still considered to be one of the greatest nineteenth-century entomological works. With detailed text and exquisite engravings, the final product comprised sixteen volumes covering 770 insect species. Needless to say, Jane is thrilled to receive such a gift, especially the volume on her favorite butterflies.

I share Jane’s appreciation of butterflies, having fond memories of visiting Pismo Beach, CA, where monarch butterflies migrate each year. Thousands of orange-and-black butterflies cluster on the eucalyptus trees in a vibrant display of color. Jane would most certainly love it.

Do you have a favorite insect? Do you think of them as pests or, like Jane, as objects of fascination?

Thank you, so much for stopping by, Jennifer and Nina! It was great having you here!

I also had a burning question for Jennifer that I just had to ask. I've read all the books in this series, and since book one I've held on to hope that Meg would return!! I mean, it's possible! So I am THRILLED that she is back and reunited with Captain Langley in "Pleasures of a Tempted Lady." So here's my question for Jennifer:

Did you know all along that the lost sister Meg would return?

Jennifer's answer: I didn't. When I was writing the beginning of CONFESSIONS OF AN IMPROPER BRIDE and thinking where the series would go, I had a lightbulb moment and thought, wouldn't it be great if I could bring Meg back for book 3? The more I thought about it, the more my imagination ran wild and the more excited I got. I was afraid of asking my editor about it, thinking that she wouldn't go for it. But she did, and I was so excited to get to work on PLEASURES OF A TEMPTED LADY (but I still had books 1 and 2 to finish at that point!).

 
GIVEAWAY RULES:

Forever has generously provided 2 sets of both books for a lucky reader of my blog! The two winners will each receive a copy of "A Study in Seduction" and "Pleasures of a Tempted Lady."

All you have to do is follow my blog publicly and fill out the Rafflecopter form below! Please follow publicly or I can't tell that you are following :)

• US and Canada only
• Must be a follower to enter
• Books will be mailed out by the publisher
• Must be 18 or over 

• Ends Fri Aug 31

Thanks to everyone for entering! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway