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Thursday, July 12, 2018

Retribution by Diane Demetre - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


Hello lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Diane Demetre and her new book, “Retribution”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Diane and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!


Retribution
by Diane Demetre

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GENRE: Romantic Suspense

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BLURB:


A gripping romantic suspense of betrayal, hope and love.

Jessie Hilton is tough. Since the age of fifteen, she has dreamed of being a principal dancer with the Australia Ballet Company. Now at twenty-four, she stands on the brink of fulfilling her dream unaware of a secret buried deep within her.

Ex-military officer, Brad Jordan is rebuilding his life with the help of his boisterous Border collie, Whiskey. After helping Jessie out of a tight spot, he discovers a kindred spirit in the ambitious ballerina.

But with the sudden attention of an unwanted admirer, Jessie’s life begins to spin out of control. Called back to her family home in country New South Wales due to her father’s unforeseen illness, she is torn between career and family. As her dream of being principal dancer fades, her stalker edges ever closer. But there is more to overcome than a lurking psychopath. Can Jessie and Brad confront their own past demons and finally be free?

Award winning author, Diane Demetre writes genre-busting stories which delve deep into the human psyche, and Retribution is no exception. Winner of Romance Writers of Australia Emerald Pro Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript, Retribution is her first romantic suspense. If you love a cast of complex characters, a slow simmering romance and an intriguing plot, don’t miss this page-turning romantic suspense with a twist.

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EXCERPT TWO:


“But I did find this.” He held up a sealed pink envelope that he’d skewered on the tip of one of Jessie’s kitchen forks. The wary expression on his face kindled a spark of fear in her. 

She eyed it with suspicion. “What is it?”

“I’m not sure, but it was propped up on the pillows on your bed and it’s addressed to you. I haven’t touched it.” His flinty gaze riveted her to the spot. An icy shiver skidded down her spine, leaving a path of cold, clammy apprehension.

“You open it.” She rubbed her arms a little too fiercely.

“Do you have any gloves? If this has got fingerprints on it, I don’t want to contaminate evidence.”

“Yes. Under the sink in my bathroom. There’re disposable gloves in a box.” She cocked her head in the direction, indicating he should go and find them. Her legs felt like jelly, and she feared that if she tried to go and get the gloves herself, she’d fall flat on her face.

Within a minute or two, he returned with a pair of gloves that he offered to her. “You’ll have to put them on. They’re too small for me.”

Jessie rubbed her hands, stalling for time. She reached for the gloves and braced herself as if expecting them to send an electric shock up her arms. Doing her best to remain calm, she pushed her hands into the gloves, finishing each with a snap.

He stared at her with an expression of grim determination. “You have to open it, Jessie. If you don’t want to read it, leave it on the table and walk away. I’ll read it if you like.”

Her hands trembled as she plucked the envelope from the fork. The back of it peeled up effortlessly, and she imagined the person who had left it licking it with their vile tongue and sealing it with just enough of their wetness, but not so much as to stick it tight. She swallowed down her revulsion before she gagged on it. Reluctantly, she opened the envelope and eased out an innocent piece of squarely folded pink paper. Flattening it out, she wrenched her gaze away, before she accidentally read its contents.

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GUEST POST:

The Craft, Business and Joy of Being an Author

Although I’d written articles for numerous magazines, stories for my children, professional documents, teaching curricula and business proposals for decades, I came late to my professional writing career. In 2014, I began writing fiction novels in response to reading Fifty Shades of Grey, the premise of which disturbed me. Having been a woman of the 1970’s feminist movement, the idea of a young woman giving away her power away to a damaged, abusive man irked me. Passionate about writing a counter book to FSOG, I wrote Dancing Queen; an erotic romance about a feisty empowered 42year old woman who goes out and has sex on her terms and lives life to the fullest. Published in 2015, Dancing Queen, Dance of Love, Book One was voted Luminosity Publishing Readers’ Choice Best Book and Best Cover for 2015. Tiny Dancer, Dance of Love, Book Two and Dance to a Gypsy Beat, Dance of Love, Book Three were published the following year and won Luminosity Publishing Readers’ Choice Best Book and Best Cover for 2016. I had never envisaged myself writing erotic romance, but these books just beamed in, giving me the opportunity to score a publishing contract which put wind under my authorly sails.

Being an author is firstly about the craft of writing. Initially, I enrolled in writing courses and programs, learning about story structure, characterisations, pace, tension, timing and development. The time and money spent was invaluable to what I learned and then applied. Honing my writing skills is something I practise every day with every sentence I write and read. It is a continual improvement process. Being a better writer is critical to writing better books. When authors first start out they want to get their books out there as quickly as possible. I know I did! But here’s what I learned and my tip to any aspiring authors. Even if you’ve had a professional editor edit your work. Stop! Do not submit your manuscript! Do not publish it…Yet. No matter how good you think it is, or your editor thought it was, you can always improve what you’ve written.

1.    Leave your MS alone,
2.    Learn more of your craft,
3.    Go back and tweak your MS again,
4.    Read voraciously,
5.    Go back and tweak your MS again,
6.    Leave your MS alone,
7.    Learn more of your craft,
8.    Go back and tweak your MS again,
9.    Read voraciously,
10.  Go back and tweak your MS again, and so it goes. There will come a time when it’s ready. You’ll feel it in your gut. Then submit and or publish.

Coming from a business background helped enormously when I then decided to self-publish my fourth book, Retribution, my debut romantic suspense. It won the Romance Writers of Australia Emerald Pro Award 2017 for Best Unpublished manuscript, and I wanted to give it the best chance in the marketplace. That meant I had to have full artistic and business control over Retribution. Only self-publishing offered me that opportunity. A word of advice though. The self-publishing industry is fraught with conflicting information and loads of hard work if you want to produce a quality product. So, take your time, go slow and outsource to professionals. Always have a terrific editor, book cover designer and become self-educated. Learn from the experts, do courses, get into groups, hang out with other SP authors and ask questions. The business of being an author actually takes up more time than the writing. So be prepared to put in those hard yards to build your business.

Lastly, the most important aspect of being an author is the joy of writing. It is the joy which inspires us to write in the first place. And it is the joy which keeps our writing alive, emotive and sustainable. Once the joy fades, so too will the stories. So if you intend to go down the gnarly path of being an author, remember be joyous every time you write. Then the muse will never fail you!

Happy writing and reading!

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AUTHOR BIO:


Being a passionate woman who’s always done things a little differently, Diane’s diverse career began as a school teacher before she moved into a full-time career as a professional choreographer, director and dancer, strutting her stuff on many stages throughout Australia. She was responsible for the original multi-million dollar extravaganzas at Conrad Jupiter’s Casino, Gold Coast—Starz & Galaxies.
       
Following her onstage career, Diane’s thirst for knowledge led her into the field of self-development. Using her highly developed communication skills and love of people, she spent many years as a stress & life skills therapist and life coach, teaching individuals, couples and groups the methodologies of personal success and fulfilment.
       
With her business acumen, Diane launched into the corporate arena, working in a variety of positions as a consultant in marketing, special events, tourism, business strategies, quality management and human resource management. Combining her entertainment and business backgrounds, she returned to the stage as a keynote speaker and corporate facilitator, educating business leaders in the ‘new mindset’ for business and relationship building in the 21st century.
       
Assuming the pseudonym of the Goddess of Love, she appeared as a guest presenter on Gold FM radio, Gold Coast, a national radio program broadcast to 1.4million listeners. Her weekly program proved popular with Diane providing empowering advice on life, love, sex and relationships, sprinkled with a good dose of humour. Her passion for life and compulsive sharing nature made her a great inspiration to her listeners. As the Goddess of Love she also appeared as a regular guest on the national television program Beauty & the Beast, where her practical insights were televised to viewers across Australia.
       
When she launched into a writing career, Diane’s debut erotic romance series, the Dance of Love was voted Luminosity Publishing Readers’ Choice Best Books and Best Covers for 2015 and 2016.
       
Her romantic suspense, Retribution won the Romance Writers of Australia Emerald Pro Award 2017 for Best Unpublished Manuscript. Diane loves to write genre-busting stories with a twist. Her works are packed with emotional punch and feature empowered heroines who live life to the fullest, much like the author herself.

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CONNECT WITH DIANE:

Website:

Blog:

Email & Mailing List:

Facebook:

Twitter:

BookBub:

YouTube:

Goodreads Author Page:

Goodreads Book Page #1:

Goodreads Book Page #2:

Goodreads Book Page #3:

Amazon Author Page:

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle:

Amazon Paperback:

Barnes and Noble:

The Book Depository:

BAM! Books-A-Million:

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Diane will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.


**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

7 comments:

  1. Hello Ally, thank you for having me on your blog. I'm delighted to be able to say hello to your readers. Unfortunately, I'm about to get on a plane to go on holidays, but I'll be back on deck in 24hours. I hope that's not too late to answer any questions your readers may have. But I'm more than happy to reply to any questions via the contact form on my website. Happy Reading Everyone.. and remember Leaders are Readers.
    With Love xxx

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  2. Thank you for this giveaway and the book description. It's always great getting to hear about a new book we didn't previously know about. Lots of readers in my family.

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  3. Sounds like a good book, thanks for sharing :)

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  4. Thanks to all the above readers for your comments....... If you want a Behind the Scenes Sneak Peek into Retribution, including my inspiration for the story and characters, you can grab your free copy here https://dianedemetre.com/sneakpeek/retribution/

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  5. This sounds like a really intriguing story.

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