Sweet Winter Warm Up Giveaway

#HopswithHeart
Jane over at http://www.hopswithheart.blogspot.com/ invited me to take part in her Winter Warm-Up Blog Hop and I am so happy she did. I love giveaways and what better than to give the gift of books. Make sure you enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a $75 Amazon gift card.

I write romance. Contemporary romance of the sweet and spicy variety to be more specific.

Romance is such an important part of any relationship in my opinion. Without it, you and your partner become monotonous robots only working, eating and sleeping. Some people think romance is hard to sustain. It's not. Some people also think it only comes in the form of grand gestures. It doesn't.

The grand gesture is nothing to complain about and should be attempted every once in a while if possible. But the majority of us don't have time for grand gestures on a daily basis. What's important are the little things. Little things make all the difference in the world.

On twitter I try to regularly tweet my sweet and spicy tips. Feel free to follow me here.

Some days my tips are food related. For example: Add a dash of chili powder to your favorite hot cocoa recipe and enjoy a cup of Mexican Chocolate.

Other days my tips are more general. For example: Give a total stranger a compliment today. It will make their day and yours.

But most are romance related. For example: Make an effort to seduce your partner. Don't wait for your partner to initiate sex. Act now. Everyone wants to feel wanted.

All of these are just little ways you can sweeten or spice up your life.

This year I published a romantic short, Angels in Disguise, featured in Unwrapping Love, A Writing Wenches Holiday Anthology. Yep. I am a Writing Wench. Want to learn more about us? You can find us online at  http://www.writingwenches.com/

Twenty-one wenches, myself included, got together and created a holiday themed romance anthology. Twenty-one different authors with twenty-one very different stories, all in one great book.
We are all very proud of it. You can find it online on Amazon.

Make sure to check out our reviews on Amazon and GoodReads. You won't be disappointed.

My novel, Sweet Dreams, published in July, and I'm hosting my own little giveaway here on this blog hop. Click over to my Facebook Page and give it a Like and come back here and comment done and your number. I will choose a winner at random to receive a free Kindle copy of Sweet Dreams, and will announce the winner on my Facebook Page. You can find out all about Sweet Dreams, read the blurb and even watch the book trailer on my website at http://www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com/

Thanks for stopping by and make sure to enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win a $75 Amazon Gift Card. Happy Holidays.



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Blog Hop and Holiday Giveaway

Angels in Disguise, is my new holiday short featured in Unwrapping Love, a Writing Wenches Holiday Anthology. My story takes place on New Year's Eve in Santa Monica at a costume-themed  music festival. Why costumes? I have no idea how I came up with that. I guess I just like to dress up. Maybe I was thinking about Halloween. I can't remember, but I love the idea of costume parties. I admit the name choices for the title and the characters came after I had the basic concept for my story.

Our angel is Gabe and our little devil is Alex, or is it the other way around. I guess you will need to read it to find out. Here is the blurb and a little teaser:

Gabe and his friends and Alex and her friends all head to a New Year's Eve music festival this year looking for a good time. Gabe, a self proclaimed connoisseur of women, is looking for a fun New Year's hookup and Alex, is a good girl, trying to reclaim her fun side after a bad breakup. The two meet and soon friendly banter turns into an unexpected attraction. Who will end up with who at midnight? Who is the angel in disguise?

Here's the thing...When writing this story, it just flowed. I'm not really sure how the whole story line came together, it just did. And fast. I'm usually a plotter and I use outlines. The characters in this story, however, decided to tell me where they wanted to go. I ended up creating the outline as I wrote, just to keep the story straight. I learned something while writing this...There is no right way to write.

There are constantly debates in the writing world about "Pantsters vs.Plotters" and I never really understood how "Pantsters" could just sit down and write without planning. I do now.

I'm very proud of Angels in Disguise and all the stories you will find in Unwrapping Love. Each author took the same concept (Bad Boy/Girl falls for Good Guy/Girl over the holidays) and made it their own, with their own unique twist.

If you would have asked me if it were possible to write and publish another book in less than four months, after publishing my novel Sweet Dreams in July, I would have said you were nuts. But here I am, with two books published in 2014. Amazing.

To celebrate, I am hosting a giveaway. Enter below for a chance to win a Kindle copy of my novel Sweet Dreams, which is available for purchase as well at all online retailers. Here is the blurb:

Meet Jenna Morris or Jen to her friends - the clumsy, bug phobic, music loving owner of Sweet Dreams Café in the small town of Maple Grove. Jen spends most of her time working, occasionally dating and is generally content and happy. Life is good in Maple Grove.

When Jen unexpectedly finds herself in an elevator one day with Jacob Walker, A-list actor and sexiest man alive, she catches her breath, smiles politely, wishes him a good day and amazingly keeps the encounter with the megastar to herself. That night, she indulges in one of his films on DVD at home wondering what he could possibly be doing in her small town.

Showing up a month later one morning at Sweet Dreams, Jake orders a coffee and blueberry muffin to go from Jen herself leaving her dumbfounded and feeling like an infatuated fangirl.

Soon he becomes her regular early morning customer stopping in almost every morning for coffee and conversation while shooting his latest movie on location the next town over. The two form an unlikely friendship as sparks fly and the chemistry builds between them.

Knowing Jake won’t be in town forever, Jen keeps her attraction and her feelings for Jake to herself. She knows once he finishes filming he will leave and life will go on as usual.

Or will it?

Under different circumstances could the friendship between Jen and Jake blossom into something more or is it all just Sweet Dreams?

Rafflecopter Giveaway.


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Unwrapping Love, is available for purchase on Amazon. 21 authors, 21 amazing stories.

Make sure to check out posts by some of the other authors of Unwrapping Love below.

Happy Holidays from Your Sweet and Spicy Romance Author.

 

Kay Blake contributed Winter's Gift. Her site is http://www.authorkayblake.wordpress.com

Christine Cacciatore wrote Noah Cane's Candy. She blogs at http://poopwafoley.blogspot.com/ .

Patricia D. Eddy wrote On The Eve of Love. Her website is http://www.pdeddy.com/holiday-blog-hop.

C. S. Kendall is the author of Second Chance Girl. She would love it if you would visit her at http://www.cskendall.net

Tami Lund is the author of The Perfect Christmas. You can find her at http://tamilund.com/?page_id=91 .

Misti Murphy contributed Christmas Candy. Her site is http://mistimurphy.weebly.com .

Quenby Olson wrote First Position. You can visit her at http://quenbyolson.wordpress.com/ .

Keisha K. Page contributed Rhythm of Love. Her website is http://thewordmistress.blogspot.com/ .

Grace Ravel wrote Shut Up and Kiss Me. Her site is www.graceravel.com

Jennifer Ray wrote Declan's Special. You can visit her at www.adventuresinjentopia.wordpress.com .

A.E. Snow contributed Miles and Mae. Her site is at www.aesnowauthor.blogspot.com

Sheri Williams wrote Numb, and is sharing the blog hop from the Writing Wenches main website at www.writingwenches.com.

S. K. Wills wrote Hanley's Secret. Her website is http://skwills.com/blog/ .

Allison Winfield is the author of Stay With Me. You can find her at http://alwinfield.com .

Other stories in Unwrapping Love were contributed by:

Melody Barber
Sonja Frojendal
Melina Gillies
Michael Simko
Beth Stanley
K.R. Wilburn

Find me online at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com

Coloring Your Holidays

We all admire beautifully decorated trees. You know the ones. The perfect amount of lights, ornaments of different sizes and shapes, flawlessly balanced around the tree, with color combinations that match the gifts under the tree.

You admire them, but trimming your own tree to try and duplicate the effect at $5-$15 on average per ornament can exhaust anyone's holiday budget.

It doesn't have to. You do not have to buy a whole tree full of new ornaments to achieve this effect.

I inherited most of my ornaments from my mother. I remember the toy soldiers and reindeer hanging from trees full of multicolored lights. I loved them, but I had always admired the way my cousin trimmed her tree, perfectly coordinated with the presents gathered around the base.

One year, after the holidays had passed, I was putting away the ornaments, and I decided to divide up my ornaments according to color. I boxed up my silver ornaments separately. I placed all of my gold ornaments in another box. Separated out the red ornaments, and filled up a huge box full of blue ornaments. The following year, I decided to decorate with a blue and silver theme, blue being my favorite color. It was easy. After stringing up the white lights on the tree, I pulled out the box labeled blue and the box labeled silver and went to town. That year I purchased silver wrapping paper and blue ribbon, and I had my first coordinated Christmas.

I usually buy one new ornament each year, but otherwise I use what I have to create a beautiful and elegant tree. For the gifts, I choose a paper that is one solid color and matches my theme, using big bows formed out of wire ribbon to decorate the packages.

You probably already have your tree up and done, but if you would like to coordinate with a color scheme next year, save a few gift boxes and use them to separate out your ornaments.

Here is the new ornament I bought this year which is very fitting since this is my first Christmas as a published author.

My color scheme this year is red and silver. I have silver paper and red ribbon, now I just need the presents. Happy Holidays.

Jennifer Senhaji
Your Sweet & Spicy Romance Author

Find me online at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com

Interview with Sheri Williams, author of Mad Magic

I loved this book so much I knew I had to blog about it.
Here is the blurb:

This is not your mother’s Wonderland.

What happens when you take a beloved children’s book character, give him a back story and a provocative demeanor, and update him to the 21st century? You get a thoroughly charismatic Mad Hatter that goes well beyond what Lewis Carroll ever imagined.

When Addy meets a mysterious man, literally from her dreams, she thinks she is doing a good deed by taking care of him, but, in the end, who is saving whom? In the fight to save Wonderland, Addy not only discovers a world that exists beneath her own, but the secrets within her as well.

Author Sheri Williams’ debut novel is sexy, fun, and adventurous. She artfully weaves a tale full of romance and action to set the stage for the beloved characters to come to life in a new and exciting way.

And here is my review from Amazon:

5 Stars-I loved this book. I was hooked from the beginning, when we meet Hatter who has lost his color. Hatter is an adorable and sweet gentleman, who has lost his memory. Addy is a strong and caring young woman who becomes the hero of our story, discovering a secret about herself and family that is the key to saving Hatter and Wonderland.

The author does a wonderful job blending elements from the original story into an entirely new romantic adventure. This book, however, in my opinion is not a re-telling, but an absolutely original work loosly based on the characters found in the classic.

Her strong female lead, wonderful writing, and loveable Hatter, have turned me into a fan. I will definitely continue to read other works by this author.

I was so thrilled when Sheri agreed to talk to me about this book, I jumped at the chance to interview her.

JS-Sheri, thank you for talking about Mad Magic, The Untold Story of the Mad Hatter. Let's get to it.
How did you come up with the idea to write a Hatter who had lost his color and his way?
 
SW-Um...I knew I wanted to write about the Mad Hatter, he’s my favorite literary character of all time. Him losing his color came from looking at some old photographs with my mother in law. It made me think about what my life would have been like if it had been lived in black and white.
 
JS-I love that, what a great way to use a thought like that and develop it into a story. Addy is a strong heroine. What do you like best about her?
 
SW-I have use for weak willed women. I don’t want my girls growing up like that. So you’ll never see me write about a woman who needs saving. I like that once she makes up her mind, she sticks to it. She might waver but she will never give up. That will probably be a theme through all of my books. Never give up, Never surrender (doctor who nerd)
 
JS-Yes, I love that. How did you pick and choose what elements to use from the original work into your story?

SW-I walked a fine line here. I wanted people to recognize the world and the characters but I didn’t want to rip it off completely. I have a huge respect for the original story, I hope I did it justice with the characters I came up with.

JS-Absolutely, I felt the connection to the original Alice in Wonderland, but this story also felt completely original to me. Is this a love story, a fantasy or both? Why?

SW-It’s both. A love story set in a fantastical world. Because both are important in our world. The earth would be a dreary place if people gave up on either.

JS-Nice. If Mad Magic was ever made into a film, who would you cast as Hatter? Addy?

SW-Um, Tom Hiddleston definitely for the Hatter. le sigh. Maybe Kat Dennings for Addy, smart and sassy. My kind of girl.

JS-Oh yes, I can definitely see Tom as Hatter. How long did it take you to write?

SW-It took me almost a full year. I worked on it off and on just for myself for a long time, but then I stumbled upon a publisher and I had to finish it, so I threw myself into it and finished it quickly.

JS-I am so happy you did. Which movie version of Alice in Wonderland is your favorite?

SW-Totally the cartoon Disney Version. I still watch it regularly with my girls. Although, I really enjoyed the SyFy channel's take on it with Alice. I think they did the best Mad Hatter.

JS-Oh, I love the Disney cartoon version as well. This is a standalone book, but would you consider continuing the story? Making it a series?

SW-I think I am going to keep it a standalone, in one aspect, but I do plan a trilogy of fairy tale retellings.  Started with Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and the Huntsman is up next and then I have the first kernels of an idea for a Peter Pan story. Because, mermaids :)

JS-I didn't know that. That is awesome, so exciting, I can't wait. Er...sorry for the fangirl moment. Back to business. What do you want readers to take away from the book? Is there an underlying message?

SW-Sappy, romantic me here, I really hope people take from it that you should never give up, specifically not on love. It’s too important. Also, I hope it’s just a good read.

 
JS- It is such a good read. And finally, where can everyone buy it?

SW- Thank you for asking. Here are the links:


Amazon for Kindle and Print
and on  Word Branch Publishing Book Shop

Thank you, Sheri. Love the hair. 

For more about Sheri, check out my Author Interview with Sheri on Writing Wenches, where she discusses all three books she has published in the last month as well as her writing style and other tidbits.

Check out Sheri's Amazon Author Page for all her current books.

You can find Sheri on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Williams.Sheri.Author and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mygirljuju

Happy Reading.

Jennifer Senhaji, Your Sweet & Spicy Romance Author

Find me online at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com

 

Unwrapping Love Release Day Giveaway

I'm excited to announce the release of Unwrapping Love, a Writing Wenches Holiday Anthology. Twenty-One authors have come together to bring you twenty-one contemporary holiday romantic shorts all in one huge collection. Unwrapping Love goes on sale today, December 1st, 2014 on Amazon. To celebrate the release of Unwrapping Love, the Writing Wenches are hosting a giveaway. You could win an Amazon gift card for $225 below. a Rafflecopter giveaway Here is an exclusive, never before seen teaser from my short, Angels in Disguise, featured in Unwrapping Love.

This holiday season, give the gift of love. Unwrapping Love, available now on Amazon. Find me online at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com

Cover Reveal for Dawning of Light By Tami Lund

I'm excited to reveal the cover for Book 2 in the Lightbearer Series, Dawning of Light, by Tami Lund. I really enjoyed Into the Light, the first book in this amazing paranormal series, and can't wait to read this next installment releasing December 15, 2014. I've read several of Tami's books, and love both her contemporary and paranormal romances.

Tami created Lightbearers in her first book in this series, Into the Light. The Lightbearers are a group of magical beings who have lived for five hundred years hidden away in their warded and protected coterie. Now that the princess of the Lightbearers is mated to a Shifter, their peaceful lives have been turned upside down.

Finnegan Hennigan meets his match in spunky Cecilia Druthers, a woman he can barely stand. Cecelia’s opinion of Finn? He’s an oaf and a killjoy. But, opposites can’t resist each other in Dawning of Light by Tami Lund. You’ll love Book 2 of Tami’s hot fantasy series, a saga about lightbearers and the shifters who hate to love them.

In this second installment of the Lightbearer Series, shifter Finnegan Hennigan is doing his damnedest to keep lightbearer Cecilia Druthers out of trouble. His job is made all the more difficult by the fact that Cecilia doesn't want to stay out of trouble.

Despite their mutual annoyance, sparks ignite between this odd couple. As it becomes increasingly more apparent that someone is out to get Cecilia, the flares of attraction become impossible to resist, and soon, Cecilia and Finn tumble into, well, a closet together. And then the bed. And if Finn wants to keep her there, he's going to need to keep her alive.

Which means figuring out who the hell keeps trying to kill her. 


Without further ado, I present the cover for Dawning of Light, by Tami Lund.

Beautiful isn't it. I love the colors. Great job, Tami.



Here is a few notes on the author, Tami Lund:

Tami Lund likes to live, love, and laugh, and does her best to ensure the characters in her books do the same. After they've overcome a few seemingly insurmountable obstacles first, of course.

Tami is multi-published, both self and with a few publishers, including Crimson Romance, Liquid Silver Books, and Soul Mates Publishing. Chances are, there is a new book coming out soon. Be sure to stalk her on social media, so you know when.
AUTHOR LINKS:
Tami is everywhere online including Goodreads,  Twitter, Facebook, and on her Website.

PRE-ORDER RELEASE SPECIAL:

Pre-order Dawning of Light and email Tami the receipt to be entered to win!

Pre-Order Here: http://amzn.to/1rlBxRc


 

And most important, if you enjoyed one of Tami's books, please let other readers know by leaving a review on the site from which you bought it, or on Goodreads. Otherwise, how will they know which book to read next?



Good luck and enjoy Dawning of Light.

Thanks for joining me for this amazing cover reveal.

You can find me online at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com

Moving Hell

Moving is always horrible. Last time I moved, the moving truck got stuck on the driveway up into my apt complex and had to be pushed by a tow truck. The clutch on the tow truck fell out of the tow truck 1/2 a block from us, and we had to wait for it to be fixed before he could help us. The moving truck finally got to the top of the hill and the breaks went out. Okay, fine. We unloaded, waited three days for the truck company to take the truck away and give us a replacement so we could move the rest of our stuff. I broke a tooth deflating my son's water wings and it was Ramadan-so my family, my husband's friends who were helping us, were all fasting.

Yeah, I'm chuckling to myself as I remember how bad it was, I had five days (three confiscated by a broken moving truck) to move and it was awful.

I'm moving again, four years later. I gave myself three weeks to move, slowly packing up stuff and taking a few boxes to the new house everyday. 

It's still horrible.

You know that episode of Friends, when they are moving the sofa that is too large for the hallway..."Pivot! Pivot!" Yeah that one. Funny on TV, not so much in real life. Not when you are trying to move a solid oak table (which was my grandfather's, so no way am I giving that up) and its matching credenza which each weigh a ton, up a narrow flight of stairs with a sharp turn. 

We did get all the heavy furniture moved, but the small stuff, oh my God. That is what takes forever. There is stuff everywhere, and we still need to make a few more trips.

Of course as a writer, the first thing I moved were all my books and my book shelf. Here is a tip: Use your luggage with wheels to move books. It's easier to handle books on wheels than in boxes.

Every muscle in my body is sore. As I type this now, my fingers ache. 

It's easy when you're young. All you have is a bed, your clothes and a TV. Not when you're an adult with two kids. So much stuff accumulates. 

This Thanksgiving, I'll be thankful that we are finally done and in a brand new house. (We better be done by then.)

God help me, I am never moving again.

Do you have a funny moving story?

Check out my website at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com for information on my books and what I'm reading now.

Just in time for the holidays, Unwrapping Love, a romantic holiday anthology by the Writing Wenches. Check it out on Amazon.