Giveaway! First chance to read ONE DANCE…

May
2010

Warning: Loooong post ahead. But so worth reading to the end. 🙂

I returned from RT on Sunday – and what did I find awaiting me? My first two print copies of One Dance with a Duke!
There is something so special about seeing your book in its bound form for the very first time. A big part of me just wants to clutch my preciouses to my chest, but instead I’m going to give at least one of them away. Today! Here! But that’s not all!

You see, I worked very hard on One Dance with a Duke, and I am so proud of it–as I am of all the books I’ve written for Ballantine. But while I was at RT, it also hit hard for me how very proud I am to be a Samhain author. It was just about a year ago that my very first published work, a tongue-in-cheek novella called The Legend of the Werestag, was unleashed on the world as an ebook from Samhain Publishing. As a small press, Samhain is on the cutting edge of innovative romance. I tell you, the editors and authors were everywhere at RT, just bubbling over with excitement about new titles, print programs, awards.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Kate Davies, who won the 2009 RT Reviewer’s Choice award for Best Indie Press Contemporary Romance, for Lessons Learned. Kate (pictured left, next to author Wendi Darlin) was kind enough to sign a copy for me at the Bookfair. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but hello–it’s an RT Reviewer’s Choice winner, which means it must be fabulous. (And I am so not saying that because I also won an RT award.)

While in Ohio, I also had the pleasure of having lunch with Janie Mason (and why didn’t I take her picture?), the author of one of my favorite Samhain titles, Servicing Rafferty. This is a sexy, charming friends-to-lovers romance featuring characters who have stuck with me ever since that first read.

Blogger Lisabea, who writes m/m (male/male) romance as L.B. Gregg, was my partner-in-crime for the champagne reception and Mr. Romance pageant. (The champagne would be responsible for our “rosy glow” in this picture, I think!) After leaving RT, I bought her Samhain release, Catch Me if You Can, figuring if Lisabea was even one-tenth as entertaining in prose as she is in person, I knew I would in for a treat – and I was sooo right.

Then yesterday, Leslie Dicken‘s fabulous Beauty Tempts the Beast came out in a print edition. I read this last year as an e-book, and I loved it. It’s a sexy, gothic historical romance–think Daphne duMaurier, only scorching hot. A funny coincidence is that her hero is named Lord Ashworth. That’s the title of my own scarred, tortured hero in Twice Tempted by a Rogue, so I felt an immediate kinship. 🙂

And I can’t forget Lorelie Brown‘s amazing Jazz Baby! What could be more sultry and smoldering than a romance set in the Prohibition era? Jazz, gin, a speakeasy, bootleggers, and a hot undercover agent. Oh, yeah. 8)

I could go on and on. So many good books!

So to recap, here are the books I’ll be giving away:

One Dance with a Duke (print, exclusive early copy!)
Lessons Learned (print or ebook, winner’s choice)
Servicing Rafferty (ebook)
Catch Me if You Can (ebook)
Beauty Tempts the Beast (print or ebook, winner’s choice)
Jazz Baby (ebook)
The Legend of the Werestag (ebook)

To enter, just comment and list the three titles that most tickle your fancy. Clicking on the titles above will give you blurbs and excerpts. (And no, you will not be disqualified if One Dance with a Duke is not in your top three. 🙂 ) Using Random.org and some kind of alchemy, I will create a list of winners. Because these are but a fraction of the awesome titles Samhain has to offer, there will also be two $10 gift certificates to My Bookstore and More in the pot.

This is a one-day contest. For serious. Entries will close at noon Pacific time on Thursday, and I will post winners Thursday night so I can get to mailing prizes on Friday. So get the word out and get your entries in!

(Note: Please don’t hesitate to enter if you don’t have a special e-reading device. All Samhain titles are available in DRM-free HTML and PDF formats, which means they can easily be read on any computer. If you’re reading this post, you can read a Samhain ebook.)

Amber E.
May 5th, 2010 at 5:37 pm · Link

Hi Tessa! Congratulations on your upcoming release, I can’t wait.

The three books that tickle my fancy are:
1) One Dance with a Duke
2) The Legend of the Werestag
3) Lessons Learned

Thank you for the chance to win such a great giveaway!

Jane
May 5th, 2010 at 6:11 pm · Link

What a great giveaway. My three choices are:
1. “One Dance with a Duke”
2. “Lessons Learned”
3. “Servicing Rafferty”

Aemelia
May 5th, 2010 at 6:27 pm · Link

Sounds like RT was a blast, and you got a chance to meet some great people…since I already recieved an ARC of “One Dance with a Duke” – great read, btw 😉 it made it a little easier to pick “just” three:

Lessons Learned
Jazz Baby
The Legend of the Werestag (ebook)

Rosie
May 5th, 2010 at 6:54 pm · Link

Wow…quite some competition for One Dance with a Duke. 😀 Here are my choices, and thanks for the cool contest:

1. One Dance with a Duke
2. The Legend of the Werestag
3. Beauty Tempts the Beast (print)

Sue Liong
May 5th, 2010 at 7:00 pm · Link

Awesome!

1. The Legend of the Werestag
2. One Dance with a Duke
3. Beauty Tempts the Beast

Rowena
May 5th, 2010 at 8:21 pm · Link

1. One Dance with a Duke

2. Beauty Tempts the Beast

3. Lessons Learned

Barbara Elness
May 5th, 2010 at 8:53 pm · Link

I’d love to have:
One Dance with a Duke
Beauty Tempts the Beast (print)
Jazz Baby

Thanks for the chance to win, especially your new release.

etirv
May 5th, 2010 at 10:33 pm · Link

What a fun post!
My picks would be all print books of One Dance, Beauty Tempts and Lessons Learned!

Babs
May 5th, 2010 at 11:45 pm · Link

Oh, how to choose? Guess it would have to be:

1. One Dance with a Duke
2. Jazz Baby
3. Servicing Rafferty

Annie
May 6th, 2010 at 2:25 am · Link

I am ridiculously excited to read One Dance With a Duke! It’s torture waiting for the end of the month and the release date, so…

1) One Dance with a Duke
2) Legend of the Werestag
3) Catch Me if You Can

YAY! 😀

Layla
May 6th, 2010 at 7:42 am · Link

One Dance with a Duke
Beauty Tempts the Beast
Lessons Learned

They all sound so good!

Takyra Morgan
May 6th, 2010 at 7:49 am · Link

Hi, Mrs. Dare,
Thanks so much for the giveaway I thoroughly enjoy your books and I can’t wait to read this next series. My three choices would be:
One Dance with a Duke (print)
Lessons Learned (print)
Beauty Tempts the Beast (print)

Sharla Long
May 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am · Link

Thanks for a fun contest and I look forward to reading your latest!

One Dance with the Duke
Beauty Tempts the Beast
Lessons Learned

michelle santiago
May 6th, 2010 at 8:27 am · Link

thank you for this giveaway!!!

1. One Dance with a Duke (print)
2. Lessons Learned (print)
3. Beauty Tempts the Beast (print)

Ny
May 6th, 2010 at 8:31 am · Link

One Dance with a Duke
The Legend of the Werestag
Serving Rafferty

Amber Mc
May 6th, 2010 at 8:34 am · Link

My top 3 would have to be:

One Dance with a Duke
Jazz Baby
Beauty Tempts the Beast

What a fun contest!

Deborah Hughes
May 6th, 2010 at 9:22 am · Link

Was intrigued with them all but since I have to choose only three:
One Dance With a Duke
Servicing Rafferty
The Legend of the Werestag

Christina B.
May 6th, 2010 at 9:38 am · Link

My three choices would be:

-One Dance with a Duke (I’m so looking forward to this one!)

-Jazz Baby

-Beauty Tempts the Beast

Also, this doesn’t have anything to do with the contest, but can I just say how much it tickles me that your website book pages match the colors of your books? I think you have a very cool site!