Updates, Thank You, and an End of Year Blow-Out Giveaway

Well, it has been a hell of a year, hasn't it?

Raise your hand if you're glad it's almost over...

I won't kid you--this was a tough one for me. I lost Magic the Cat and her brother Mystic in early January, then my friend (and stepdaughter's mom) Jo in February, my friend Bethany in October, and one of my favorite artists, Gail, last month. And a friend lost his 10 year old son. Plus I had some unexpected health issues, and frustrations with my writing career, and you know, stuff.

But don't get me wrong. There were a lot of good things too. Time spent with family and friends, including a fun trip to Coastal Magic in February and to Stuart, Florida in September to hang out with my friend Terry (and do research for a book). And I got three new kitties!

On the writing front, I've had a blast working on the upcoming Everyday Witch Oracle Card deck with illustrator Elisabeth Alba, and of course, just signed a contract with St. Martin's Press for a goddess empowerment book for women that I will be starting work on in the new year. I'm hoping to write and self-publish another Baba Yaga book in 2019, too.

I am blessed with great friends, and readers who support me here, and on Facebook and Twitter, and over on my PATREON. I can't even begin to express my gratitude to you all. Authors are nothing without their readers. (Speaking of which, if you've read one of my books this year and liked it, I would be REALLY GRATEFUL if you could zip over to Amazon, Goodreads, or B&N and leave a brief review. Especially for the Little Book of Cat Magic, which only ended up with nine sad little reviews, probably because of the mess that occurred when it came out in October, and for Dangerously Driven, my most recent Riders novella. Pretty please? Thanks in advance!)

As a thank you, I'm going to do one more big blow-out giveaway to end 2018 on a positive note! There are going to be not one, not two, but FIVE prizes, so more people will have a chance to win. Check out this pile of goodies.

All the prizes!

The grand prize is a Fire Tablet! (You know, so you have something to read my books on...). There is also a $10 Amazon gift card (so you can buy more books), and signed copies of A Year and a Day of Everyday Witchcraft (to start your year off right), Circle, Coven & Grove (my first book), and Reinventing Ruby (my contemporary foodie romance). Plus some fun bookmarks and things.

But wait, you might say, two of those covers look different! Good eye. Thanks to my assistant Sierra, we've finally got Circle, Coven & Grove out in PRINT (I got my rights back from Llewellyn when it went out of print, but we hadn't gotten around to putting out a print version with the new cover by Mickie Mueller until now), and changed the cover of REINVENTING RUBY to something we thought better reflected it's romance themes. Don't they look great?

Ta da!

What do you think?

Tell me what the best part of 2018 was for you--and I hope to see you in 2019. Thanks again!

(To enter, simply fill in the Rafflecopter form. No purchase necessary.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Reinventing Ruby Themed Giveaway

It has been about a month since REINVENTING RUBY, my self-published foodie contemporary romance came out, and I'm pleased with the response. Most people who have read it seem to like it, even though there are no witches in it at all :-)

If you haven't given it a try yet, I hope you will! It is available as an eBook everywhere, and in print from Amazon (you can follow the link up above). If you did read it and liked it, remember that good reviews are really, really, really important for authors, and pretty please take a minute to put up a quick one.

As thanks for all your support, I decided it was time for a Reinventing Ruby themed giveaway. Since pomegranates are a big part of the book, I found some cool citronella and pomegranate tea lights, and a lovely pomegranate scented soap. Plus, there is a fun notebook with the book cover on the front.

Giveaway goodies!

I think Magic and Angus approve.

As always, to enter simply fill out the Rafflecopter form. Yes, you get credit for things you've already done (like following me on Twitter--you DO follow me on Twitter, right?) and no purchase is necessary. Although if you buy the book, it will certainly make my day.

So tell me, what is your favorite fruit to cook with? I love cooking with pomegranates and pomegranate syrup. There are even some of my favorite recipes at the end of the book.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Reinventing Ruby Out in Print!

For those of you who asked (and thanks to  my hard-working team behind the curtain), Reinventing Ruby is now out in PRINT!

It is unfortunately more expensive than the eBook, because Print on Demand costs a lot more, but I have kept the price as low as I could by taking only about a dollar in profits. I just want my paper readers to have the book too.

I hope you like it!
You can get it HERE.

Coming soon...blog post about my trip to RWA Nationals, and my day at Animal Adventure Park visiting April the giraffe! Plus, a giveaway...

(Also, a reminder that early reviews can make or break a book. Please take a minute to review the book if you like it. *smooches*)

Reinventing Ruby Celebration Giveaway

My new novel, REINVENTING RUBY went live on Monday, and I'm really excited about the positive reception it's getting. (Some of you have asked if it will be out in print, and the answer is "Yes, we're working on it. Soon.")

So I asked Magic the Cat how we should celebrate and this was her answer:

Kindle Fire!!!! (Ignore the messy desk.)

Yes, it's giveaway time again! I'll have another one soon with some themed items relating to the book, but I want to give people a little time to read first.

Read me!

As always, just use the Rafflecopter form below. (Yes, you get to take credit for things like following the blog if you've already done it.) No purchase is necessary, although of course I'll love you forever if you actually buy the book. It's also REALLY important to get those first few reviews out there, so if you did read it and liked it, I'd be seriously grateful if you'd put up a review at places like Amazon, Goodreads, and B&N. Just spreading the word is helpful too. Have I mentioned recently how much I love my readers?

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Reinventing Ruby Book Birthday!

My new foodie romance is out in the world! I hope you'll take a chance on something completely different from me. (And with this kind of switch-up, reviews are EXTRA important and I'll love you forever it you take the time to put one up after you read.)

Big giveaway coming this week! But for now, it's release day for REINVENTING RUBY!!!! I hope you love her.

Buy Links:

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073WQC793/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1499921047&sr=1-1

 

B&N https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reinventing-ruby-deborah-blake/1126745668?ean=2940154454084

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/735950

 

iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/reinventing-ruby/id1259222095?mt=11

 

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/reinventing-ruby

If you read it, let me know what you think!  

Sekrit Project Revealed

As those of you who follow me on Facebook or Twitter or read my blog might know, I have been working on a Sekrit Project for a while. I’m finally ready to share it with the world! (If you get my newsletter, you found out this morning.)

So, unbeknownst to most of my readers, I have been preparing to shift gears away from doing just Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy (although I will probably still be doing some of that) to writing some contemporary romance as well. I’ve wanted to write romantic comedy for years—who couldn’t use a laugh these days?—and it is finally coming back into the market. In addition, I like contemporary romance set in small towns, women’s fiction (especially if it has some humor in it), and of course, the occasional foodie romance.

What is a foodie romance, you ask? Pretty much what it says: a romance that is centered around food and cooking in some way. I wrote one a few years ago that I love, but we were never able to find the right home for it. So I finally decided to put it out myself. Introducing—drumroll please—

REINVENTING RUBY!

Here’s what it’s about:

Ruby Tate is a cautious and controlled woman; her only passions are cooking and her restaurant, Jewels. Unless you count the uncharacteristic one-night stand she had with a charming stranger the night of her sister’s bachelorette party. And she doesn’t. After all, she got out of his bed the next morning and returned to her real life—dealing with a failing restaurant, a not-so-silent silent partner, and a difficult family. And now there’s this new problem, like a ticking time bomb hiding beneath her white chef’s jacket.

Jonathan Gautier is a rising star in the culinary world. With three successful restaurants, a best-selling cookbook, and a new television show, he should be happy, but after six months on the road filming Seven Worth Saving and working in everyone’s kitchens but his own, Jonathan is burned-out and uninspired. The closest thing he’s had to a social life was one amazing night with a woman whose name he isn’t even sure of. All he wants is to wrap up this last episode and get back to his own kitchen. Maybe there he’ll be able to recapture his love of cooking, because if he can’t, he doesn’t know what on earth he’ll do with his life.

When Jonathan walks into Jewels, Ruby is horrified. She can’t believe that the famous chef who is her only hope for saving her restaurant is the man who gave her the best night of her life, and a little something extra. All she wants now is for him to help her save her dreams—and then go away. But Jonathan has other ideas. Lots of other ideas; most of which involve Ruby, food, and nakedness. And Jonathan didn’t get to be the success that he is by taking “no” for an answer. Together, they must find a way to save Jewels, even if that means completely Reinventing Ruby.

I really love this book and I hope you will too. I have to warn you, it is a little (coff) spicier than my Baba Yaga books. Let’s just say that all the heat isn’t in the kitchen! There are no witches or dragons, but there are some fun recipes as a bonus at the end. If you like my other books, I hope you’ll follow me along on this new adventure too.

Here are some buy links for the ebooks. The book releases on Monday, July 17^th, but the preorders are live now.

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073WQC793/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1499921047&sr=1-1

B&N https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reinventing-ruby-deborah-blake/1126745668?ean=2940154454084

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/735950

iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/reinventing-ruby/id1259222095?mt=11

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/reinventing-ruby

I know that some of you really prefer print books, so I’ll be making a print version available through Amazon’s POD (print on demand). It will have to be more expensive than the digital version because of the additional costs of the printing, but I wanted to at least be able to offer you the option. It may take us a couple of days to get the print version up there, but it is coming.

I'll be doing a giveaway sometime next week (I'm waiting for some special-order goodies), so be sure to check back. You know how I love my giveaways. I’d REALLY love it if you would spread the word far and wide. If this is a success, there may be a few more surprises for you down the road.

Thanks as always for taking this journey with me!

(And special thanks to pals Karen Buys, Sierra Newburn, and Kari Blackmoore, for editing, formatting, and the wonderful cover!)