Blog Tour- THE ROMANCE NOVEL FORMULA by A.K. Leigh With An Excerpt & A #Giveaway!

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE ROMANCE NOVEL FORMULA by A.K. Leigh Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: THE ROMANCE NOVEL FORMULA

Author: A.K. Leigh

Pub. Date: December 7, 2021

Publisher: A.K. Leigh

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 151

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon

Is there a secret formula for writing a successful romance novel?

Backed by research and professional expertise, The Romance Novel Formula provides everything you need to take you from idea to first draft of your breakout romance novel.

Join best-selling romance author and academic researcher, Alicia Leigh, as you discover:
*How to take your love interests on the “lovers’ journey” – inclusive of ALL types of romantic relationships: ménage, alien, LGBTQI, polyamory, etc.
*A unique five-act structure to make your story easy to write and manage.
*The specific story “beats” exclusive to the romance genre (and which other books on writing typically exclude).
*The story and character arcs necessary to classify your book as romance.
*How to avoid stereotypes by focusing on archetypes.
*Popular romance tropes.
*Essential writing techniques.
*Advice on dialogue.
*The most common writing mistakes . . . and how to avoid them.
*Goal, motivation, and conflict.
*Fear, need, and flaw (what are they, and do you need them?).
*Much more!

Complete with checklists and over 30 writing exercises, The Romance Novel Formula is the new essential romance writing guide for aspiring and experienced writers, plotters and pantsers, and professional researchers. 

 

Excerpt

Introduction

“Romance novels are written to a specific formula.” The number of times I’ve heard this insulting and patronizing phrase throughout my career as a romance writer would fill its own book! Yet, regardless of urban legends and popular culture tales, the simple fact is this: There is no romance novel formula. Let me repeat that with emphasis: There is no romance novel formula. Now, it may seem I have contradicted the title of this book by saying that. However, there is more than one way to write a romance novel. This book is intended as a guide to assist you while giving you the freedom to find your own version of a formula. While there is no set formula per se, there is a structure you can follow that will aid you in writing your breakout romance novel. This structure isn’t used solely by romance writers. Different forms are used by all novelists (see, for instance, books such as Story, Save The Cat! Writes a Novel, The Plot Whisperer, and Story Engineering, which have a variety of formulas, guides and suggestions). In that regard, writing a romance novel is almost the same as writing any other novel. I say almost because the romance genre has necessary inclusions that are applicable to it alone. This applies to every genre. These are called genre conventions. Whether you are a novice or a seasoned writer, this book can lead you through the quagmire of structure and help you find the unique path for your characters to follow on what I call the lovers’ journey. 

 

About A.K. Leigh:

A.K. Leigh (aka Leigh Hatchmann) is an unrepentant dreamer and romantic, trauma survivor, writing teacher, and identical triplet. Her multi-genre fiction transports readers into a world of cozy mysteries, suspense, crime, the supernatural, and time travel––all entwined with a heart-pumping HEA romance. Her non-fiction titles (as Alicia Leigh) take readers on journeys to strengthen self-love, heighten creativity, and increase imagination. Find her books, and follow her, at: www.amazon.com/author/akleigh. Join her exclusive LOVELEIGHS CLUB at: www.fallinlovewithleigh.com/loveleighs.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of THE ROMANCE NOVEL FORMULA, International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One: 

12/6/2021	Mythical Books	Excerpt
12/7/2021	The Momma Spot	Excerpt
12/8/2021	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
12/9/2021	BookHounds YA	Excerpt/IG Post
12/10/2021	The Girl Who Reads	Review/IG Post

Week Two:

12/13/2021	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Spotlight/IG Post
12/14/2021	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
12/15/2021	perusewithcoffee	Review
12/16/2021	@coffeesipsandreads	Review
12/17/2021	Lisa Loves Literature	Review/IG Post

Release Day Blitz- WIDER THAN THE SKY by @kath_rothschild With An Excerpt & #Giveaway! @soho_teen, & @RockstarBkTours

I am so excited that the paperback for WIDER THAN THE SKY by Katherine Rothschild is available now and that I get to share the news!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes an awesome giveaway courtesy of Katherine & Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, check out the giveaway info below.

 

About The Book:

Title: WIDER THAN THE SKY

Author: Katherine Rothschild

Paperback Pub. Date:  December 7, 2021

Publisher: Soho Teen

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 288

Find it:  Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

In the wake of sudden tragedy, twin sisters uncover a secret that rips open their world. Katherine Rothschild explores the pain and power of forgiveness in a stunning debut novel that will shatter your heart and piece it back together, one truth at a time.

Sixteen-year-old Sabine Braxton doesn’t have much in common with her identical twin, Blythe. When their father dies from an unexpected illness, each copes with the loss in her own way—Sabine by “poeting” (an uncontrollable quirk of bursting into poetry at inappropriate moments) and Blythe by obsessing over getting into MIT, their father’s alma mater. Neither can offer each other much support . . . at least not until their emotionally detached mother moves them into a ramshackle Bay Area mansion owned by a stranger named Charlie.

Soon, the sisters unite in a mission to figure out who Charlie is and why he seems to know everything about them. They make a life-changing discovery:their parents were hiding secrets about their sexual identities. The revelation unravels Sabine’s world, while practical Blythe seems to take everything in stride. Once again at odds with her sister, Sabine chooses to learn all she can about the father she never knew. Ultimately, she must decide if she can embrace his last wish for a family legacy--even if it means accepting a new idea of what it means to be a family.

 

Praise for Wider than the Sky

“Sabine’s struggle to reconcile her memory of her father with the man he really was—and to make room in her life for his hopes as well as her own—cuts to the heart of what it means to love someone unconditionally. Wider than the Sky skillfully weaves multiple character arcs together to examine the ideas of home, hope, and family in surprising new ways.”—Misa Sugiura, It's Not Like It's a Secret

"Lyrical and lovely, Wider than the Sky is one of those rare books that has everything—masterful storytelling, a great love story, important themes, razor-sharp wit, and memorable characters. It's a gorgeous debut that will capture your heart."—Corina Vacco, Delacorte Prize–winning author of My Chemical Mountain
 
“I haven’t stopped thinking about these sisters since I first read Wider than the Sky. Sabine and Blythe will leap off the page and live in your memories like old friends. There is so much heart and humor in Katherine’s writing; even as her characters grapple with serious concerns and issues, she captures how life can slice us open and yet give us the ability to laugh and love and hope through the deepest pain and loss.”—Jennifer Chambliss Bertman, New York Times bestselling author of Book Scavenger

“Rothschild’s story showcases how secrets impede a person’s ability to see the world clearly and that self-acceptance and honesty are the keys to a happy ending.”—School Library Journal

“Change comes suddenly to the lives of 16-year-old Sabine and her identical twin sister, Blythe, when their father dies unexpectedly, prompting their mother and a strange man named Charlie to move the girls to the small town of Thornewood . . . Rothschild’s first novel is accomplished and nicely plot-rich with some interesting quirks, chief among them being Sabine’s deep-rooted love for Emily Dickinson’s poetry and her compulsive need to recite it.”—Booklist

“Kath Rothschild’s Wider than the Sky is pitch perfect! Young adult readers will fall in love with her wonderfully quirky narrator Sabine and her swoony romance with Kai. Combine that with family secrets and a mysterious stranger and you have the ingredients for a compelling read. I cannot wait to put it in the hands of my young customers!”—Kathleen Caldwell, A Great Good Place for Books (Oakland, CA)

 

Check out an excerpt of the book from Google Play Books Here!

About Katherine Rothschild:

Katherine Rothschild is a Lecturer in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford University, a former ballet and Arabic dance instructor, and an obsessive Twitter food truck-follower. Her first-person essays have been published on KQED/NPR, in The San Francisco Chronicle, and other Bay Area and California publications. She holds an MFA in Fiction Writing, a PhD in Composition and Applied Linguistics, has received artist’s grants from Vermont Studio Center and Kindlings West, and is a longtime member of the SCBWI. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family. Her debut novel is Wider Than the Sky from Soho Teen. Find her on Twitter @Kath_Rothschild.

Website  | Facebook  | Twitter  | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will win a hardcover copy of WIDER THAN THE SKY, US Only.

3 winners will win a paperback copy of WIDER THAN THE SKY, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour- GLORY BISHOP by @deborahloi With An Excerpt & $25 Amazon GC #Giveaway! @RAPublishing @RockstarBkTours

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the GLORY BISHOP by Deborah L. King Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: GLORY BISHOP

Author: Deborah L. King

Paperback Pub. Date:  August 22, 2019

Publisher: Red Adept Publishing, LLC

Formats:  Paperback, eBook

Pages: 342

Find it:  Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

Glory's mother will stop at nothing to keep her daughter from worldly temptations…

Glory Bishop lives her life in pieces. At work and with her friends, she reads novels, speaks her mind, and enjoys slow dances and stolen kisses with her boyfriend, JT. But at home, Glory follows strict rules and second-guesses every step. Though she dreams of going to college and living like a normal teenage girl, her abusive mother has other ideas.

When JT leaves to join the navy, Glory is left alone and heartsick. The preacher's son, Malcolm Porter, begins to shower her with lavish gifts, and her mother pushes Glory to accept his advances. Glory is torn between waiting for true love with JT or giving in to the overzealous Malcolm.

When a stranger attacks Glory on the street, Malcolm steps in to rescue her, and her interest in him deepens. But the closer she gets to him, the more controlling he becomes. Glory must eventually decide whether to rely on others or to be her own savior.

 

Praise for GLORY BISHOP

"Deborah King has written a compelling, thought-provoking novel that engages readers and made me wish the story would never end." -Chicago Writer's Association Windy City Reviews

"If you enjoy complex characters, you'll love this book. From a zealous and abusive mother to a free-spirited best friend much older than Glory, the cast is as engrossing as Glory herself. Deborah King maintains complete control of the narrative, manipulating perception of the characters even as their actions go in other directions. In some ways, you may even find yourself sympathizing with the violent boyfriend.  Deborah King wields the pen in such a way as to grab you by the wrist and pull you along like you're best friends. Glory Bishop is Chicago's answer to Judy Blume!" ---JORDAN EHMANN  - Indies today

"Glory Bishop is an enthralling novel, sad, yet hopeful, written beautifully and masterfully in a way only a true storyteller can accomplish. The characters are complex, and unravelling their motivations, desires, strengths, and weaknesses, will keep readers thinking about this novel long after the last page." ----USA Today bestselling author Kelly Stone Gamble

Glory Bishop is timely and timeless. This book should be required reading for every woman who thinks she must be obedient to be loved. Glory is a protagonist who has a lot going against her, but Ms. King makes her strong, and it is a delight to see where that strength takes her.--- Barbara Conrey USA Today Bestselling Author of Nowhere Near Goodbye

"From the powerful first scene of Glory Bishop to its emotional ending, I was all-in. Deborah L. King is a fresh and compelling voice in women's fiction."--- Jennifer Klepper, USA Today bestselling author of Unbroken Threads

 

Grab book 2 GLORY UNBOUND NOW!

 

Excerpt:

She was standing at a softly rumbling dryer, folding “mountain fresh” scented towels, when she heard the door opening behind her.

“Hello, Miss Glory.”

She continued folding, pretending not to hear.

“I said, hello, Miss Glory.”

She would not give that devil’s son the satisfaction of responding.

The door closed, and she hoped he’d gone, but then he was behind her… his arms around her waist… his lips touching her shoulder. “Remember the first time you let me kiss you? You said you’d be my wife.”

Glory shrugged off the kiss and tried to ignore him—tried not to notice his scent or relax in his arms. She tried not to respond to his voice… tried not to care.

His lips touched the back of her neck. “Remember the second time you let me kiss you? You said you’d be my girl.”

Glory deliberately brushed his kiss from her neck and moved to the washing machine, careful to keep her back to him.

“Oh… so it’s like that now, huh? No problem. I’ll just sit down and watch you work. I’ve got all night. And you know, I always did appreciate you from behind, too.”

Glory growled under her breath, taking her annoyance out on the wet towels she pulled from the washer. She heard him sigh loudly as he settled down on the old couch. She whispered a prayer for patience and strength.

“Know what?” he asked. “I feel like singing.”

Glory continued her work and tried to ignore him as he flubbed his way through “Ribbon in the Sky” and “Isn’t She Lovely,” but when he started singing “Brick House,” she threw down the towel she was folding and gripped the edge of the table.

“Josiah Jackson, you leave me alone. Right now!”

“Oh… so you’re talking to me now, huh? I win big. I get to hear your pretty voice and look at your fine a—”

“No!” Glory turned to face him, arms folded, seething, channeling every bit of hurt and anger into a glare that she wished would burn him to cinders. “No. I’m not talking to you. I’m asking the devil to leave me alone! I’m asking Satan himself to leave me alone and never speak to me again.”

“Well,” he said, standing and moving toward her. “Your prayer is gonna be answered. I’m leaving for the navy tomorrow.”

He smiled. He actually smiled. That no-good lying two-timing devil smiled his smug smile—that I’m the finest boy in the world, and I know you agree smile. That I win smile.

Glory hated that smile. And she loved that smile. And all she could do was squeeze her eyes shut to keep the tears from spilling out.

“How could you do that to me, JT?” she whispered. “How?”

“I’m sorry, Miss Glory.” He tried to take her hand, but she pushed him away. “I’m leaving in the morning and I need to make things right with you. Please, just listen to me. You don’t hafta talk to me. You don’t hafta forgive me. Just listen. Then if you still hate me, I swear I’ll never bother you again.”

Glory opened her eyes. The smug smile was gone—no mocking, no joking, only the slightest hint of a plea in his voice and in his eyes—the force of will that always made her trust him… or used to make her trust him.

Glory sat away from him on the couch, arms still folded, not looking at him. She listened to his tale of a weekend with his cousins and wine and reefa and the twenty-two-year-old next door and his not really remembering it until his aunt called his mother about a baby that looked like him. She tried to stay angry and to push him away when he knelt in front of her, begging forgiveness. She tried not to see the tears in his eyes.

 

About Deborah L. King:

Deborah King has been a writer and storyteller her whole life.  She published her first short story when she was seven years old. When she’s not writing, Deborah enjoys cartoons, cooking, photography, and Star Trek.  Born and raised in Chicago, Deborah has managed to achieve all of her childhood dreams and still lives in the area with her husband and two youngest children. According to her daughter, she has “literally aced her life!”

Website  | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Goodreads | Amazon |BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win a $25 Amazon GC, International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

12/6/2021	Rockstar Book Tours	Kickoff Post
12/6/2021	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Spotlight/IG Post
12/7/2021	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt
12/7/2021	BookHounds YA	Excerpt
12/8/2021	The Momma Spot	Excerpt
12/8/2021	Rae's Reading Lounge	Review
12/9/2021	@readingwordsmith	Review
12/9/2021	Emmiepooh2	Review
12/10/2021	Midnightbooklover	Review

Week Two:

12/13/2021	The Phantom Paragrapher	Review
12/13/2021	@coffeesipsandreads	Review
12/14/2021	Rajiv's Reviews	Review
12/14/2021	The Girl Who Reads	Review/IG Post
12/15/2021	perusewithcoffee	Review
12/16/2021	_bookbound_	Review
12/17/2021	@curlygrannylovestoread	Review
12/17/2021	Coffee and Wander Book Reviews	Review