• RLF Gems

    RLF Gem Award: Top Bloggers Jan 2014 Romance Lives Forever #RLFblog

    Last month, Romance Lives Forever had 30 posts in a 31 day month.
    This was the first month
    using new interviews for 2014.

    Top Five Bloggers for the Month

    RLF Gem Award 
    (judged by page views) There were four ties with each author
    gaining the same number of views. This many ties has not occurred before on
    RLF. Congratulations to each author!
    1. JD Faver
    2. Mary Marvella, Tina Donahue
    3. Charlie Cochrane, Danita Minnis
    4. Babette James, Starla Kaye
    5. Sydney Jane
    Baily, Saloni Quinby
    Honorable mention: Lucy Felthouse
    Romance Lives Forever features authors and new books. It has a
    blogger’s FAQ page with a downloadable guide and optional interviews. Readers
    can follow via Google Friend Connect, Networked Blogs, Bloglovin’, Linky
    Followers, email, an RSS feed, and there’s a blog button readers and authors
    can grab.. RLF takes up to three images per article, so authors can share
    previous books. The blog uses author or publisher names as SEO tags on posts,
    and author Twitter handles in the titles. The site is broadcast over Triberr
    with a potential reach of over a million readers via its Twitter-linked
    network. Twitter mentions are also gathered in several Paper.li ezines, giving
    the author an additional opportunity for promotion.
    The Romance Lives Forever
    Paper.li ezine
    features guest authors on its front page every day. The Yahoo Group Romance Lives Forever has
    nearly 1200 members, and is Kayelle’s private group. It is open once a month to
    authors who have been guests on the blog. Guests get one day to post info,
    share news, book releases, offer contests, and so on. For that day, the group
    is open and members are allowed to reply and take active part. It’s like an
    old-fashioned chat, where you can share and answer questions. Only authors who
    have reserved the day are allowed to post, so it’s exclusive. There is no
    charge. You can read more about it here: http://is.gd/rlfauthorday

    Share your book cover on Romance Lives Forever

    Limited spots to share book covers are available. Cost is $3
    per month, with discounts for covers posted for one quarter and up to one year.
    Covers can be changed monthly.

    Sign Up for a Future Post

    Guest calendar http://is.gd/rlfdates
    My thanks to all who took part this month. You made Romance Lives
    Forever a great place to discover new books and authors.
    Other participants this month in alphabetical order by first
    name are:

    Angela Smith, Aria
    Kane, Ashley York, Audra North, Brenda Sparks, Cassandra Carr, Chris Redding, D
    Renee Bagby, Diana Green, DP Denman, Heidi Lynn Anderson, Jana Richards, Kayelle
    Allen, Kent
    duFault, Kristina Knight, Nicole Morgan, Pippa Jay, Sherry Gloag, Wendi Zwaduk
  • Character Interviews,  Contemporary

    Character Interview: Christopher Gordon from Summertime Dream @BabetteJames #RLFblog

    Summertime Dream 
    Genre Contemporary Romance
    Author Name Babette James
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): R
    The Fourth of July is over, but for these summer lovers the fireworks
    have just begun.
    An unexpected inheritance brings business consultant Christopher
    Gordon from Los Angeles to quaint Falk’s Bend. He’s carved a week from
    his demanding schedule to list his great-grandparents’ house for sale and explore
    his roots. However, disturbing family secrets and the sweet temptation of writer
    Margie Olsson derail his plans, challenging him to seize the elusive dream missing
    from his hectic life— love.
    A recent brush with death shook Margie’s life, but not her dreams
    and she’s ready to move forward. Only, standing up to her loving, over-protective
    family isn’t easy. Helping Christopher explore the derelict mansion and unravel
    his grandmother’s mysterious past should be a harmless fun taste of independence.
    But when her experimental summer fling ignites into unexpected love, how can her
    small town dreams work with his big city life?

    Buy This Book

    Amazon http://amzn.com/B00HJDS3E6

    Interview with Christopher Gordon

    What is it that you want,
    but cannot have? Authors call this the conflict of the story.
    A life with contentment. A life involving more than constant
    work and running. Contentment eluded me. I took pride and pleasure in my work and
    my business successes, but couldn’t say the last time I’d been content outside of
    those two weeks a year at Mohave. Even there, moments of contentment were hard-won
    in the effort to downshift from work mode to vacation mode and then, all too soon,
    leave and swing into full-speed work again.
    What’s your external complication?
    In the story world your author created, explain what it is you fear most.
    I came to Falk’s bend to unload a house I didn’t need and didn’t
    want. I was curious about my unknown relatives, but I only had a week to spare from
    my schedule. The first complication was Margie. I took one look at her and I didn’t
    know what hit me. Then there was the house! What a mess. Margie’s brother was an
    arrogant pain in the ass, too. My schedule was sent into shambles, I found myself
    falling for this woman and this town and the people. I told myself getting attached
    to any of it was a big mistake. What did I know?
    Tell us about your significant
    other, that person who makes living worthwhile.
    Meeting Margie turned my tidy, well-planned hectic life on end.
    If someone had told me I’d meet the love of my life in a place like Falk’s Bend
    I would have said they were nuts. I used to think I wanted a cosmopolitan woman
    in tune with my face-paced business world. I thought I could settle for like. I
    was wrong. I learned I needed a woman who’d be my home and ground my life. I needed
    love. Margie’s beautiful, sweet, optimistic, energetic, brave and smart. She writes
    these great cozy mysteries and makes an awesome apple pie. She’s definitely made
    my life worth living.
    What is your family like?
    It’s just my mom and I these days since Dad passed. She and I
    are close and talk often, and I visit her as often as I can. Dad was career Army
    and we traveled often, and while it made slipping into a rootless life too easy,
    it bonded us as a family. I miss him, but I’m thankful for the values he instilled
    in me and the freedom he gave me to make my own path in life. He understood when
    I chose against following in his footsteps and family tradition into the military.
    Are you happy with the
    way your story ended? Why or why not?
    I’m very happy with the way my story ended. I have Margie, I
    have love, I have contentment, and I’m learning to make room in my life for things
    other than work. Some of the facts I learned about my family were disturbing and
    a shock, but it’s better knowing the truth.

    About the Writer

    Why did you choose to
    write about this character?
    I fell for Christopher when he and Margie were just secondary
    characters in my first novel, Clear As Day. He was the quiet friend of Nate and
    Kay and so sweetly besotted with Margie. Originally I had no plans to write a story
    for them because they were already married and happily in love. I was pondering
    some backstory information for the new River novel when several ideas collided and
    Christopher and Margie’s story took off like a firecracker. I had a blast learning
    more about Christopher. He’s solid and kind, and has a good sense of humor. He’s
    tough and dogged when he must be, and gentle enough to be the man Margie needs in
    her life. He appreciates a smart woman and the quiet everyday pleasures in life.
    He believes in love, and yearned for it in his own life.
    Was there anything you
    discovered about this character that was a surprise to you?
    Discovering his grandmother’s mysterious past was a fascinating
    surprise and I enjoyed writing that story thread along with the main romance thread.
    What other character from
    this book do you want to write about? Care to tell us why?
    I have a short story idea tickling me for Margie’s brother and
    sister-in-law and their road back to healing their marriage. I really felt for them
    and I’d enjoy writing their happy ever after.
    Are any sequels planned
    for this book?
    Summertime Dream is the prequel to Clear As Day, the first novel
    released in my River series and I’m nearly finished with my next novel in this series,
    Love Burns, so fingers crossed for that one to be submitted soon. That story takes
    off right from where Clear As Day ends. I love this couple’s chemistry, and while
    it’s been a challenge to complete, I’ve enjoyed seeing their story come to life
    as they work through their personal trials and find their own happily ever after
    together. I have four other stories started for couples from the circle of friends
    in my River series.

    Author Bio

    Babette James writes sweetly scorching contemporary romance and
    loves reading nail-biting tales with a satisfying happily ever after. When not dreaming
    up stories, she enjoys playing with new bread recipes and dabbling with paints.
    As a teacher, she loves encouraging new readers and writers as they discover their
    growing abilities. Her class cheers when it’s time for their spelling test! Born
    in New Jersey and raised in Southern California, she’s had a life-long love
    of the desert and going down the shore. Babette now lives in New Jersey with her wonderfully patient husband
    and extremely spoiled cats.

    Author Social Media

    Amazon Author Page http://amzn.com/e/B007KDJWV8