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Release Day for THE CINDERELLA MAKEOVER!

Posted on: March 12, 2013

Today was the release day for THE CINDERELLA MAKEOVER, Book #2 in my Suddenly Cinderella Series of contemporary fairytale-themed romances, and here in steamy Melbourne, Australia, I had quite a Princess-for-a-Day party!

I started off with a visit to RendezVous The Romance Bookstore where the lovely and knowledgeable Mirna Denic was holding down the fort–in this case the shop. Between fielding phone calls from romance enthusiasts, patiently steering each customer to the next perfect for them read, she chatted with me about my series. We even managed to squeeze in a bit of picture taking!

Next stop was Dymock’s where I chatted up the romance specialist on staff and left a stack of bookmarks for the romance fiction book club that meets monthly at the store.

A time out at the National Gallery of Victoria provided a pleasant two-hour stroll through the museum’s impressive collection of paintings, sculpture, and pottery by Australian artists. The artistic foray was field work for an upcoming novel!

Melbourne_RendezVous Romance Bookstore_Mirna_March_11_2013 — With Mirna Denic of Melbourne’s iconic RENDEZVOUS The Romance Bookstore.

All that walking can leave an author girl footsore–and feeling more like a stepsister who’d attempted to cram her hoof into a too tiny glass slipper than an actual princess. The remedy: a 20 minute foot massage at a local day spa!

Then it was off to dinner — a dozen local “pearls of the sea” plus a hearty steak at Pop in Hardware Lane.

Now its back to the hotel and an early lights out in prep for tomorrow’s trip down the Great Ocean Road, which follows Victoria’s ruggedly beautiful southwestern coast. .

Greetings from Oz

Posted on: March 8, 2013

Hi All!

I am writing this post from sunny Melbourne, the second stage of my Australian…progress. 😉

My tour started with the third annual Australian Romance Readers Conference, ARRC2013, in Brisbane where I was honored to present our first ever overseas Lady Jane’s Salon. Four fabulous guests (Cathy Maxwell, Keri Arthur, Amy Andrews & Anna Campbell), an enthusiastic audience of more than 100 attendees, and a bistro style setting cleverly created by conference coordinator Debbie Jay et al. contributed to a rousing success. Read more about the Salon program here.

Following Friday night’s Salon, I took off my co-founder cap and put on my author tiara. Panels and a book fair rounded out the week.

Around the conference, I managed to squeeze in trips to Carrumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Mount Tambourine with fellow author, Cathy Maxwell. Cuddling koalas, hoisting wine glasses, and dining on Moreton Bay “bugs” (trust me, they’re a delicacy) made for a spectacularly fun week. Many thanks to the delightful Megan Bamford for her extraordinary hospitality and hostessing skills.

Before leaving Brisbane for Melbourne, I stopped by the legendary Rosemary’s Romance Books and visited with proprietress extraordinaire, Rosemary Potter.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Rosemary stateside over the years, usually at RT BOOK Lovers conferences but catching up in her beautiful store was truly special. Wood paneled book shelves, a fainting couch, and myriad romance novels, all meticulously cataloged and shelved, had me wishing I might make a day of my visit rather than an hour. Along with a huge hug, I left er with a stack of bookmarks for my Suddenly Cinderella series.

Tonight I am meeting local author Alison Stuart for a candlelit ghost walk of Melbourne city. Boo!

LJS_Hope_w_Guests#1_March_1_2013 — Our first ever overseas Lady Jane’s Salon for ARRC2013 was a huge success thanks to the organizers, the welcoming audience, and our four great guests. Left to Right, Hope Tarr, Amy Andrews, Keri Arthur, Anna Campbell & Cathy Maxwell

Hope_Book Fair_ARRC2013 — I was one of more than 65 authors signing at the ARRC2013 Book Fair.

Next week, I depart for Sydney. Please stay tuned for an article on my Australian trip for the print version of RT BOOK Reviews magazine this summer.

Good’ay!

Hope

Entangled in Love Blog Hop & Twitter Par-tay!

Posted on: February 8, 2013

Join me and 49 other fab Entangled authors in celebrating the month of hearts & flowers with a blog hop!

My giveaway: one digital copy of OPERATION CINDERELLA,the launch to my Suddenly Cinderella Series of contemporary fairytale-themed romances. To enter:

Like my Facebook page

–or–

Follow me on Twitter @HopeTarr

Click here to check out what the other authors are giving away during the Entangled In Love blog hop!

~~~ ~~~

To kick off the hop, we also have a Twitter Party, details below:

Date : February 8th, 2013.

Time : 9pm EST.

Hashtag : #EntangledInLove

What : We’ll be asking Valentine’s day related questions and each question has prizes to be won! Answer right for a chance to win some of the many awesome prizes!

Where : Follow the instructions below!

1. Go to http://tweetgrid.com/party
2. Fill in the hash-tag as #EntangledInLove
3. Fill in the hosts
@entangledpub
@totalbookaholic
@babsbookbistro
@anjanavasan
4. Enter your twitter handle, follow the tweets, answer the questions and you may just get lucky!

Don’t forget to mention the #EntangledInLove hashtag in your replies!

A Suddenly Cinderella Night on Broadway

Posted on: January 29, 2013

For Christmas, my boyfriend surprised me with two tickets to see Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella on Broadway. It was such a great gift! Along with loving all things to do with the fairytale, I have fond childhood memories of watching the annual televised broadcast of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical with a very young, very lovely Leslie Ann Warren in the title role.

Last night I took a break from working on revisions for Project Cinderella to attend the performance at the Broadway Theater. The music, cast, costuming, and set design were all fabulous. In addition to cherished numbers such as “In My Own Little Corner,” “Ten Minutes Ago,” and “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful” ((sigh)), there were some new-to-me songs that had been cut from the shortened TV version. There was also some updating of the storyline, notably Cinderella persuading the prince to permit democratic voting and then voting herself.

Cinderella as suffragette — why not? <g>

At the play’s end and after the cast took its final bow, “Prince Topher” called a couple up on stage. The gentleman, a NYPD officer, had arranged in advance to propose to his long-term girlfriend onstage–and on bended knee, of course. That he did surrounded by a glittering cast and a rapt audience, including several friends holding up signs, “Will you marry me?”

Happily she said yes. 🙂

It just goes to show that Happily Ever After beginnings aren’t just the stuff of storybooks. They happen in Real Life, too!

Glass slippers are so back–indeed!

Hope

The Three Faces of VANQUISHED, Vote for Your Favorite

Posted on: January 20, 2013

A few years ago Medallion Media Group, the wonderful publisher of my Victorian-set Men of Roxbury House trilogy–VANQUISHED, ENSLAVED & UNTAMED–sold the books to publishers in France and Italy. And now there is a third foreign sale to report, this time to Spain!

Libros de Seda, my Spanish publisher, kindly forwarded me the book cover for VENCIDA (VANQUISHED) and well, I couldn’t be more pleased! The photograph was taken in 1920 in Trieste, Italy. As my hero, Hadrian St. Clare, is a portrait photographer hired to take a risque photograph of my suffragette spokeswoman heroine, Caledonia–Callie–Rivers to ruin her personally and discredit her publicly, having a photograph grace the cover of this latest foreign language edition feels especially fitting.

Still, all three covers are gorgeous, all unique and vastly different visual takes on the book. Which is your favorite?

Post your vote as a comment to this blog post between now and 12 midnight EST, February 1st . One randomly selected commenter will win a free copy of VANQUISHED–digital or print, your pick.

Won’t You Be My Sweetheart?

Posted on: January 9, 2013

Well, folks, 2013 is off to a bang up start! OPERATION CINDERELLA, Book #1 of my Suddenly Cinderella Series with publishing juggernaut Entangled — read the fabo breaking news about the company’s new joint venture with Big Six Publisher MacMillan here — received a FIVE Star review from The Romance Studio.

But there’s more…

The book is now up for TRS’s Five Star Sweetheart Vote, a “best of the best” award for those books that received 5-star reviews from the site. To vote, click here.

Voting closes on Sunday, January 13th at midnight EST, so if you liked the book, I hope you’ll take two ticks and cast your ballot.

Many thanks, TRS!

Hope

Let’s Stay Together in 2013!

Posted on: January 8, 2013

Happy 2013!

One of the ways I am launching this new year is by upgrading my newsletter system. (We began in late 2012 in prep). The new system requires all subscribers to re-confirm their membership on my mailing list. For those of you who have already done so, huzzah and thanks!

If you have not yet re-confirmed your subscription, please keep an eye out for a reminder email from [email protected]. Don’t see it in Ye Olde Inbox? Please check your spam/junk folder, or you can re-subscribe directly at http://hopetarr.com/contact.html.

As most of you know, I keep Hope Tarr News super low key–I only send out updates prior to a book release or other “major” news. Newsletters never go out more than quarterly, often less. Still, it’s a great way for me to keep in touch with each one of you en masse and to share news in a meatier format than Twitter and Facebook allow.

I hope you’ll take two ticks and confirm. One click and you’re done–promise!

Any technical difficulties, please contact my web team at [email protected].

Thanks–and let’s stay together in 2013!

Hope

Rounding Out the Holidays, Ringing in a New Year

Posted on: December 30, 2012

As I write this, we’re just about a day and a half away from 2013. That feels hard to fathom. I’m not much for making resolutions, but at the advent of every New Year I try to find a few quiet minutes to reflect on the prior twelve months. What were my triumphs? What were my challenges–and most importantly, what lessons have I learned to carry into the coming year and hopefully make it that much kinder and gentler?

I also use this time take stock of my blessings. Leading the list for 2012: we survived Sandy with our health and home intact. Many of my New York and New Jersey neighbors were far less fortunate. My heart goes out to those who are still without homes at the holidays.

For those who feel you can afford to give, The Red Cross continues to accept donations for Hurricane Sandy survivors here.

On the career front, I embarked on an exciting new contemporary fairytale-themed Suddenly Cinderella series with Entangled Publishing. Just over one year old, Entangled has taken the romance industry by storm, challenging often outdated conventions and even rattling a few cages, all in the very best of ways. I am blessed to be writing not one book but four for this forward-thinking and creative team.

Suddenly Cinderella Book #1, OPERATION CINDERELLA released in mid-October and the feedback from reviewers and readers has been overwhelmingly positive. For the most part, people seem to really like my opposites’ attract love story with elements of Cinderella and “Revenge” interleaved against a “Sex and the City” backdrop. Two more full-length novels, PROJECT CINDERELLA and THE CINDERELLA CAPER will release in 2013.

With so many people hurting financially and struggling to afford a nice holiday for their families, price point is more important to me now than ever before. When I agreed to add a winter holiday novella to the series, I asked the publisher to please consider pricing it at under a dollar. The fine folks at Entangled agreed and A CINDERELLA CHRISTMAS CAROL, a fun flirt holiday read, is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble for just 99 cents.

Many of the stops on my holiday blog tour offer either A CINDERELLA CHRISTMAS CAROL or OPERATION CINDERELLA as giveaways. I hope readers will take advantage of these chances to win free copies of my books as well as chime in and chat about everybody’s favorite topic: romance. Below are a few places to find me:

More stops coming through January 9th!

Lastly but far from least-ly, now that the holidays are (almost) over I hope you’ll take two ticks and give a listen to my interview with Romance Radio Network. A few weeks ago, I had the honor of being host Desmond Haas’ 100th interview, quite an honor indeed! Please take a moment to stop by and congratulate Desmond on his achievement.

With warm wishes for a New Year brimming with bright new beginnings and fairy tale dreams come true,

Hope

Naughty vs Nice: Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey

Posted on: December 19, 2012

For those who’ve read the E.L. James’ Fifty Shades trilogy, and admit it, you so have, at least book #1,you know that the erotic romance between fictional characters Christian Grey and Ana Steele definitely weighs in on the naughty side–fifty shades of naughty. Readers seem to fall into one of two camps: those who love the books and those who love bashing them. Regardless, the cultural conversation continues.

So now that you’ve read the book(s), how to keep the love–or hate–fest going?

FIFTY WRITERS ON FIFTY SHADES OF GREY (BenBella Books) is the brainchild of agent and publisher Lori Perkins, a savvy compilation of fifty “insider” essays examining various aspects of the Fifty Shades juggernaut. Contributors hail from erotic fiction, BDSM, fan fiction, pop culture and, of course, romance; the essays range from tongue-in-cheek humor to no holds barred detestation to steamy homage.

My essay, “Because Love Hurts,” examines Christian and Ana’s relationship through the dual lens of romance fiction and Freudian psychology, prominent aspects of my background and ongoing world view. Other contributors include M.J. Rose, Sylvia Day, Heather Graham, and publisher, producer, and radio talk show host, Judith Regan.

The plot twist at the end of Judith’s essay is–well, as this is a PG-rated blog, you’ll just have to read it for yourself but read it you must! ((winking wildly))

FIFTY WRITERS ON FIFTY SHADES is available as both a print and e-book at brick-and-mortar bookstores as well as from Amazon • B&N • IndieBound.

Hope

Entangled Under the Mistletoe Blog Hop

Posted on: December 7, 2012

Don’t forget to check out what the other authors participating in the hop are giving away!

In celebration of the Season of Ho-Ho-Ho, I am one of 50 Entangled authors participating in our first annual blog hop. The hop starts today and runs through December 14th, so plenty of time to visit some fab authors and win goodies and prizes.

For the Entangled Hop, I am giving away one copy of my Suddenly Cinderella Series winter holiday novella, A CINDERELLA CHRISTMAS CAROL. Christmas curmudgeon, magazine managing editor, Cynthia “Starr” Starling has reason to bah humbug the holiday, especially since it’s also her birthday–her 35th. Sexy seven years’ younger Matt Landry, the new art director, senses Starr may well be The One but getting her to give in and go out with him will require some serious Divine intervention–a pair of vintage red Cinderella slippers once belonging to a legendary Hollywood starlette and a Christmas spirit guide who happens to look, sound, and smell exactly like him!

Readers first meet Starr as Macie’s boss in OPERATION CINDERELLA, the series launch, available on Amazon Kindle and Barnes&Noble Nook Stores.

And while you’re visiting me, please take two ticks to enter my other two giveaways, independent of the Blog Hop. Prizes are: a Cinderella-themed gift basket (one winner) and three Amazon gift cards (three winners).

Wishing you a holiday season brimming with fairytale dreams come true!