Congratulations Contest Winners!

Congratulations to my December and January contest winners: Sara W of Yorktown, VA and Sherry H of Judsonia, AR. Both Sara and Sherry correctly answered questions about my winter holiday release, A Harlequin Christmas Carol. The prize: one signed copy each of my contemporary romance, Strokes of Midnight featuring down-on-her-luck romance writer, Becky Stone.

Didn’t win this time ’round? No worries. The contest runs through May 31st, with one winner selected each month. Take two ticks to read the short online excerpt and correctly answer the contest question and be entered to win.

Happy Month of Hearts & Flowers,

Hope

Lady Jane’s Salon Recap & Video

Many thanks to everyone who took time out from their busy holiday season to turn out for Monday’s Lady Jane’s Salon. Once again we were at standing room only–a fine welcome to the winter holidays, indeed!

Our guest readers were Lauren Willig, Jacquie D’Alessandro, and Me! Lauren read from The Mischief of the Mistletoe. As the title implies, hers is a Christmas book. It is also the latest in her popular Pink Carnation series. Can’t wait for more! Jacquie and I each read from our Christmas novellas in A Harlequin Christmas Carol. Though Jacquie swears this was her first time reading her work in public, we don’t believe her. She was a total pro!

As a Salon Co-Founder, it’s always a special thrill to be a guest at m/our own party and Monday’s Salon was no exception. Check out the video from my reading of Tomorrow’s Destiny in A Harlequin Christmas Carol.

Happy Holidays!

A HARLEQUIN CHRISTMAS CAROL & December Lady Jane’s Salon

On Monday, December 6th, I’ll be reading from Tomorrow’s Destiny in A HARLEQUIN CHRISTMAS CAROL at Lady Jane’s Salon. Joining me will be Jacquie D’Alessandro, also reading from A HARLEQUIN CHRISTMAS CAROL, and Lauren Willig.

Salon hours: 7-9 PM at Madame X. Admission is $5 or one gently used paperback romance novel, with proceeds to support an end-of-year donation to a NYC women’s charity. Authors’ books will be available for sale and signing on site.

For a sneak peak into the behind-the-scenes for A HARLEQUIN CHRISTMAS CAROL, check out my interview with Morgan Doremus of RT BOOK Reviews.

Cooking Up the Love

Thanksgiving is mere calendar days away, perhaps not much of a revelation and yet amazing to me all the same. The day after, November 26th also known as Black Friday in the retail world, officially opens the winter holiday shopping season. The prospect of standing in long lines in overheated stores can bring out the “Bah! Humbug!” in even the most cheerful of hearts.

The_Heart_of_CookingEnter the antidote. The Snap4Kids “Celebrity” Cookbook, The Heart of Cooking, offers holiday shoppers more than 170 recipes from 130 authors including Yours Truly compiled into an attractive keepsake cookbook at $12.50/each ordered online. Proceeds support Snap4Kids, a 501c(3) assisting families of children with special needs, especially the physically challenged, in helping their child reach his/her maximum potential through information, referral, education, and modest grants for medical and therapeutic equipment, not covered by health insurance or in the case of no health insurance, throughout the United States, from birth to age 22.

Good eats for a good cause. And my recipe contribution, reduced fat artichoke dip, is heart-healthy, too!

Happy Thanksgiving,

Hope

Happy Release Day!

christmas_350My Victorian Christmas novella, Tomorrow’s Destiny in A Harlequin Christmas Carol officially releases today, November 9th! Though copies have been showing up in selected online retail stores and brick-and-mortar bookstores for the past week, I’m so happy to be able to officially announce the anthology in plenty of time for the winter holidays. And I have plenty of celebrating planned, so please visit my Media & Events page for information on my winter holiday Blog Tour–first whistle stop is RT BOOK Reviews Blog on 11-12–and in-person appearances. The latter include my December 6th reading and signing at Lady Jane’s Salon.

Some readers got the  ball rolling even earlier by entering my monthly contest and reading the online excerpt from Tomorrow’s Destiny. Congratulations to Theresa D of Monticello, NY, my current contest winner. Like many of you who entered, Theresa knew that in Tomorrow’s Destiny, my heroine, Fiona’s birthday is December 25th. Poor Fiona! It’s hard to keep up the Scrooge act when you’re a Christmas baby. Here at HopeTarr.com, even a whisper of “Bah! Humbug!” is strictly forbidden. In keeping with the holiday celebration theme, Theresa’s prize is a signed copy of my Scottish Christmas historical, Twelve Nights.

Hope signing Twelve Nights & Vanquished at Lady Jane's Salon.
Hope signing at last December's Lady Jane's Salon.

My new contest opens today and the prize will once again be Twelve Nights, so if you haven’t yet read Alys and Callum’s sexy Christmas love story, take two ticks and enter.

Wishing you a holiday season brimming with mistletoe moments,

Hope

Contest Winner!

christmas_350Okay, I’ll admit it. Sometimes life…make that Life gets away from me, if not a lot than certainly more often than I’d like. September was one of those months. What with promoting my Beer Gardens NYC iPhone app, Lady Jane’s Salon (October’s Salon was awesome!) and prepping for the release of Tomorrow’s Destiny in A HARLEQUIN CHRISTMAS CAROL a mere 30 days wasn’t nearly enough.

Consider the above as the preamble to a confession. I forgot to pick a contest winner for September. My bad–literally!

In the spirit of “better late than never,” belated but sincere congratulations to Marie E of Lathrop, CA, the winner of my September contest prize: a signed copy of my previous Christmas Scottish historical romance, Twelve Nights. As did many of you who entered, Marie correctly answered that in Tomorrow’s Destiny/A Harlequin Christmas Carol, my heroine Fiona’s eyes are green and blue.

For those who didn’t win, I hope you’ll take two two ticks to read the Sneak Peek of Tomorrow’s Destiny/A HARLEQUIN CHRISTMAS CAROL (due out November 10th) and enter my current contest. But lest we rush the holidays, for now…

Happy Halloween Weekend!