Shannon Stacey » Book news

Kevin Kowalski hits the streets!

Shannon — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:18:08 +0000

It’s a big day for the Kowalskis! Today’s the release day for the paperback edition of Undeniably Yours from HQN, and I got my author copies of Yours To Keep, which means I now have the whole set on my shelf! (More about that after the bit about Undeniably Yours.)

“This is the perfect contemporary romance!” — RT Book Reviews

Print Cover

HQN paperback edition now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Book Depository and most places your favorite romances are sold.

Can a one-night stand turn into happily ever after?

Bar owner Kevin Kowalski is used to women throwing their phone numbers at him. Even if lately he’s been more interested in finding Mrs. Right than Miss Right Now. Enter the intriguing Beth Hansen.

Kevin and Beth may have started out all wrong, with an impromptu passionate encounter at a wedding followed by a walk of shame. Yet Kevin knows there’s more to their relationship than a one night stand. Especially when Beth turns up pregnant!

Kevin may be ready for the “next step,” but Beth doesn’t want a relationship with a former playboy, however irresistible he might be. And it’s going to take a lot to convince her to go on a second date with the father of her child…

If you prefer audiobooks, Undeniably Yours is available from Audible.com.

This morning I found out my box of Yours To Keep author copies had been left on my neighbor’s porch (freezing rain storm, covered porch and no stairs—she wins) but it was way too icy for me to carry the box in.

I came inside, made more coffee, and fired up the computer. But that box was calling to me and I just couldn’t stand it being out there, so I put on my husband’s snowmobiling boots and went to haul in my shiny author copies. Luckily, I managed to get it inside without breaking any bones or dumping the whole shebang in a snow bank. Which means…pictures!

Oh, and Yours To Keep is available for pre-order in paperback from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and Book Depository

Kowalskis down under

Shannon — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:42:43 +0000

If you’re in Australia, you can find Exclusively Yours on Harlequin’s site or at Booktopia!

I haven’t seen Sean’s Australian cover yet, but check out Joe’s and Kevin’s…

Mistletoe and Margaritas release day!

Shannon — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:15:59 +0000

Heating up the Holidays

Claire Rutledge still believes in love, despite losing her husband. So, after two years, she’s not surprised by the steamy dreams telling her it might be time to start moving on. But she didn’t expect her friend Justin to have the starring role.

Justin McCormick has loved Claire since the moment he first saw her, but his best friend got there first. Now that Claire is ready to move on with her life, Justin is finding it harder than ever to hide his true feelings. And when they both get caught up in the holiday spirits at a party, their simmering mutual attraction boils over into a night neither of them can forget…

If you prefer audiobooks, “Margaritas and Mistletoe” is also available in the Holiday Kisses collection at Audible.com.

“Mistletoe and Margaritas” is also available in the holiday collection Holiday Kisses, with “A Rare Gift” by Jaci Burton, “It’s Not Christmas Without You” by HelenKay Dimon and “This Time Next Year” by Alison Kent from Carina Press, Amazon, B&N or your favorite digital bookstore.

First chapter of Mistletoe and Margaritas

Shannon — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:47:51 +0000

I finally got the first chapter of Mistletoe and Margaritas up and you can read it HERE. It also has a Goodreads link and a link to preorder it for Kindle, if you’re so inclined. I’m stalking B&N, waiting for the nook preorder link.

Next week I have to buckle down and get my site in order. I need to add in the collection information for Holiday Kisses. And now all three Kowalski books each have two covers and two sets of back cover copy (though I don’t remember off-hand if all three were tweaked or not). I’ve been putting off dealing with how I’m going to organize that because it makes my brain hurt, but I absolutely have to do it…next week.

For now, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of Mistletoe and Margaritas!

It’s looking a LOT like Christmas!

Shannon — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:18:35 +0000

I probably shouldn’t say this, but I’m going to: I have loved all of my Carina Press covers. Madly. But this one, for Mistletoe and Margaritas, is my favorite. It’s simply a gorgeous cover and my first reaction to seeing it was, “Yes, that’s my Justin”.

Heating up the Holidays

Claire Rutledge still believes in love, despite losing her husband. So, after two years, she’s not surprised by the steamy dreams telling her it might be time to start moving on. But she didn’t expect her friend Justin to have the starring role.

Justin McCormick has loved Claire since the moment he first saw her, but his best friend got there first. Now that Claire is ready to move on with her life, Justin is finding it harder than ever to hide his true feelings. And when they both get caught up in the holiday spirits at a party, their simmering mutual attraction boils over into a night neither of them can forget…

The novellas are available individually, but you can buy the four contemporary novellas together in a collection (which, having read Jaci, HelenKay and Alison’s stories, I highly recommend):

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…Love!

A man gives the gift of trust and receives a second chance at love in return. A woman helps to heal the wounded heart of a soldier. A couple finds that true love knows no distance. And a young widow learns that there can be two great loves in a lifetime. Love, romance and passion come together in this collection of four seasonal shorts.

Anthology includes:
This Time Next Year by Alison Kent
A Rare Gift by Jaci Burton
It’s Not Christmas Without You by HelenKay Dimon
Mistletoe and Margaritas by Shannon Stacey

I’m hoping to have preorder & Goodreads links soon (they all release Dec 5th)! And as soon as I turn this book in (Mitch Kowalski’s story), I’ll get the first chapter of my novella up.

For now, I’m simply going to gaze adoringly at my cover a little while longer…

Knitting and news

Shannon — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:28:19 +0000

I’ve picked up my knitting basket again, after neglecting it for too long. In part because of mitten requests and, in part, because I’m trying to put the laptop down during prime time TV hours. I’ve been working on boiled mittens—a pair for the teen and a pair for my mom.

I’ve got the teen’s knit:

I’ve been putting off the boiling, though. Not my favorite part and I may as well wait until Mom’s are done, too. So, in the meantime, pre-boiling, they remain rather large.

I’m about 3/4 done with the first of Mom’s mittens.

I want to have both pair done and boiled before the weekend after next, when the teen and Mom have their next living history event. Pretty chilly outside the last weekend in October.

In other news, I have news!

NYT bestselling author Shannon Stacey’s novella, to Marsha Zinberg at Harlequin, as the headliner in ‘snow day’ themed anthology, by Kimberly Whalen at Trident Media Group.

I’m super-excited!

Back cover copy!

Shannon — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:08:42 +0000

Here’s the official back cover copy for Mistletoe and Margaritas, releasing December 5th from Carina Press!

Heating up the Holidays

Claire Rutledge still believes in love, despite losing her husband. So, after two years, she’s not surprised by the steamy dreams telling her it might be time to start moving on. But she didn’t expect her friend Justin to have the starring role.

Justin McCormick has loved Claire since the moment he first saw her, but his best friend got there first. Now that Claire is ready to move on with her life, Justin is finding it harder than ever to hide his true feelings. And when they both get caught up in the holiday spirits at a party, their simmering mutual attraction boils over into a night neither of them can forget…

Like last year, Carina Press will be releasing the four contemporary holiday novellas individually or you can buy them in one 4-novella anthology for a discounted price. Here’s the back cover copy for the collection, Holiday Kisses:

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…Love!

A man gives the gift of trust and receives a second chance at love in return. A woman helps to heal the wounded heart of a soldier. A couple finds that true love knows no distance. And a young widow learns that there can be two great loves in a lifetime. Love, romance and passion come together in this collection of four seasonal shorts.

Anthology includes:

This Time Next Year by Alison Kent

A Rare Gift by Jaci Burton

It’s Not Christmas Without You by HelenKay Dimon

Mistletoe and Margaritas by Shannon Stacey

Stories also available for purchase separately.

We hope to have covers very soon!

On a side note, I’m going to frame the collection’s cover (and I don’t even know what it looks like yet) just because being in an anthology with Jaci, HelenKay and Alison is not only a big thrill professionally, but personally. These three ladies have been a part of my life since before I was published and we’ve shared a lot of good times, not as good times, rough patches and laughs.

New covers for Kevin and Sean!

Shannon — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:11:14 +0000

Today I’m thirty-nine. The first day of the last year of my thirties. I don’t find this particularly distressing but it’s not exactly the most cheerful milestone I’ve reached, either.

But you know what is cheerful? The next two HQN covers to round out the Kowalski trilogy in print!

Kevin…

Available for pre-order from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Book Depository.

…and Sean!

Available for pre-order from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Book Depository.

I can’t wait to have all three of them on my bookshelf! Do you have a favorite?

A new Kowalski cover!

Shannon — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:55:07 +0000

When the HQN paperback edition of Exclusively Yours releases in January, it’ll have a new cover. All three of the Kowalski books will, actually, but I’m not going to share them all at once because I’m mean like that. Here’s Joe and Keri!

And it’s available for pre-order from Barnes & Noble, Amazon and Book Depository!

The Not-So-Super-Secret Kowalski Project of Doom (and a contest)

Shannon — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:46:59 +0000

In my after-hours, I’ve been working away on the SSKPoD (Super Secret Kowalski Project of Doom). I’ve also mentioned it on Twitter. So what is it?

It’s a short story (free read). (I don’t think it’s going to quite hit novella length, but you never know. The Kowalskis love to talk.) During the crazy DABWAHA voting I offered to, as a bribe, write the having-the-baby epilogue for Joe and Keri (Exclusively Yours). Their daughter was born between Undeniably Yours and Yours To Keep, so I thought it might be fun to back up a little.

I’ve also had a lot of readers ask me for Leo and Mary’s story. A lot more than I expected, to be honest. So I was taking part in the Sizzling Book Club chat for Yours To Keep at Smart Bitches, where talk of Leo and Mary’s story came up again. And, while the chat was scrolling by at crazy fast speeds, the story just BAM—in my head. So I’m trying to jot down a couple of notes, but the chat’s still scrolling and I have to pay attention so I’m trying to get my husband to write a couple of things down but he writes so slowly and I can’t read his writing anyway, so it was a little crazy.

So here it is: the coming soon* Not-So-Super-Secret Kowalski Project of Doom:

Nothing brings Leo and Mary Kowalski more joy than the impending arrival of their seventh grandchild, although they can’t help but wish their oldest son and his wife could have just one of their many false alarms while the sun’s still shining. Between Keri’s first-time-mom anxiety and Joe’s fiction-writing imagination, the hospital staff’s threatening to install a revolving door.

When yet another late night call brings everybody to the hospital with the promise Keri’s really in labor this time, the clock ticks past midnight and into the day marking the anniversary of Leo and Mary’s wedding vows. As they wait for the newest Kowalski to make a grand entrance, the baby’s grandparents remember back to the Northern Star Lodge in 1969, where an angry young man wounded his last week in Vietnam met a dark-haired girl with a dimpled smile and a stubborn streak that matched his own. He was forbidden to socialize with the daughters of guests and her parents had grand plans for her future, but Mary lost her heart to the boy with the pretty blue eyes and refused to give up on him.

The contest: Mary Kowalski needs a maiden name!

Just leave your suggestion for her maiden name** here in the comments (or, if you came here from my FB page because they’re being snotty about contests, you can suggest a name there). I’ve got a crazy, busy weekend planned, so ~~on Monday~~ on Wednesday evening (my time) I’ll announce two winners, each receiving a $25 gift card to their choice of Amazon, Barnes & Noble or All Romance eBooks. One winner will be the person whose suggestion I use and the other will be randomly drawn from everybody who enters.

* I don’t know exactly when this will be available yet. I’m shooting for no more than two months from now, but I have to make my word count on contracted books each day before I work on special projects.

**Mary’s background has never really been mentioned, so there aren’t really any guidelines for names. She’s a New Englander, but her family could originally have been from anywhere (and that backstory could possibly be decided by a really great maiden name.)

(Oh, and if you go to moderation, it’s okay. The last thing I do before I draw winners is check and make sure nobody got lost in there.)