EVOLUTION OF A COVER ~ LADY EVER AFTER (Releasing Fall 2016)

This episode of Evolution of a Cover brought to you by LADY EVER AFTER (Fall 2016), the rewrite of my 1997 HarperCollins medieval time travel romance, UNFORGOTTEN, featuring 15th-century Lady Catherine Algernon and twenty-first-century Collier Morrow. From start to finish, the process took approximately one week.

PART I: FINDING LADY CATHERINE ALGERNON ~ After another day in stock photo land, I presented my cover designer with this. Not exactly what I wanted, but if any graphic artist can make it uniquely Lady Ever After, it’s mine. And thank goodness she’s a first-rate photo manipulator since this model is now appearing in various poses on one romance cover after another.

PART II: UNIQUELY LADY EVER AFTER ~ Now for the magic. My cover designer found this gorgeous model. So…a face replace, a 15th century wardrobe change, and away we go!

PART III: ALL THE RIGHT ELEMENTS ~ I love how the elements of the story are represented–the portrait over Catherine’s shoulder and the pocket watches pouring from her hand to represent time travel. And that gown–wow! So now let’s darken her hair (in the portrait as well). As for those amazing pocket watches, they need to be more prominent, perhaps falling out of her other hand since they’re hard to see behind the title.

PART IV: HAIRSTYLE, HAND PLACEMENT, GOWN, AND PORTRAIT ~ The beribboned tress over her shoulder is lovely, but the style doesn’t fit the rest of her hair. More locks? More length? A braid? The pocket watches look better on that side, but the hand is too high and hard to see against the skin of her chest. Her right sleeve doesn’t match the left, not only in style but color. Now the portrait–can you narrow it so the subject appears centered in the frame and darken the lady’s hair a bit more?

PART V: PERFECTING LADY EVER AFTER ~ Hair color and style looking good, but the beribboned tress still doesn’t blend well with the shorter hair on either side of her face. This hand is much better, as well as its placement, and the sleeves match beautifully. Love the magical dust in the lower right corner. Can you add sparkle to the glow around the pocket watches, like on Dreamspell’s cover?

PART VI: TA DA! ~ The finalized LADY EVER AFTER. Happy dance time! Thank you for joining Lady Catherine and me. Now back to the rewrite!

EXCERPT: www.tamaraleigh.com

 

BARON OF BLACKWOOD RELEASES and KINDLE FIRE GIVEAWAY

BARON OF BLACKWOOD

#1 Hot New Release in Medieval Romance and Christian Historical Romance, now available at AMAZON, iBOOKS, BARNES & NOBLE, and KOBO

THE FEUD

England, 1308. Boursier, De Arell, Verdun—three noblemen who secretly gather to ally against their treacherous lord. Though each is elevated to a baron in his own right and given a portion of his lord’s lands, jealousy and reprisal lead to a twenty-five-year feud, pitting family against family, passing father to son.

THE PRIZE

England, 1333. When Lady Quintin Boursier leads an army against the Baron of Blackwood to demand the release of her abducted brother, she finds the same fate awaits her. Now she must free herself and discover where Griffin de Arell holds her brother before her family’s lands are forfeited. But as the long winter nights unfold and those prowling the black wood move the feud nearer its deadly end, Quintin realizes she may have wronged her captor. And he is as much a captive to her—she whose secret will spoil the prize others seek to make of a woman no man should want.

THE VICTOR

Baron Griffin de Arell protects those who belong to him, and now that the tempest who dared put a blade to his throat is his, he intends to protect her—if only from herself. However, Quintin Boursier yet has games to play. Though Griffin resists her wiles, when it appears her family’s lands are forfeited, a glimpse of her woman’s heart tempts him to make the lady his in truth. Now with the enemy responsible for inciting the feud determined to claim her as his prize, Griffin must join his grudging allies in bringing peace to their lands and protecting the woman who first set herself at his walls—then his warrior’s heart.

Join Griffin and Quintin in the third and final book in this best-selling medieval romance series as the Boursiers, De Arells, and Verduns seek the light at the end of their long, dark feud.

To ORDER: Amazon ~ Baron Of Blackwood

iBooks ~ Baron Of Blackwood

B&N ~ Baron Of Blackwood

Kobo ~ Baron Of Blackwood

To READ AN EXCERPT, visit: www.tamaraleigh.com

INSPIRATIONAL ROMANCE SUMMER GIVEAWAY

ENTER TO WIN A KINDLE FIRE ~ To celebrate summer, I’ve teamed up with 40+ inspirational romance authors to give away a huge collection of romances, PLUS a KINDLE FIRE to one lucky winner.

You can win BARON OF GODSMERE, the first book in The Feud series, plus books from Rachel Hauck, MaryLu Tyndall, Susan May Warren, Melissa Tagg, Becky Wade, and others.

From August 1st through August 8th, enter the giveaway here: INSPIRATIONAL ROMANCE SUMMER GIVEAWAY

LADY UNDAUNTED Audiobook Now Available!

So very pleased to announce the Audiobook release of LADY UNDAUNTED, narrated by the beautifully talented Mary Sarah Agliotta.

USA Today Bestselling author Tamara Leigh returns with a tale of betrayal, vengeance, and forbidden longing in Lady Undaunted, her latest historical romance set in medieval England.

BETRAYED
Declared illegitimate and denied his inheritance, Sir Liam Fawke has given six years of his life in service to his younger brother for the promise of being named heir to the Barony of Ashlingford. But when he is summoned to his brother’s deathbed, he learns his treacherous kin has secretly wed and fathered a son. Vowing to claim what is rightfully his, Liam contests his nephew’s succession. And not only finds himself at dangerous odds with the boy’s lovely, spirited mother, but attracted to one who is forbidden him—one whose son is the means by which he could twice lose all.

FORBIDDEN
Three years ago, Lady Joslyn struck a desperate bargain to wed a nobleman and provide him with an heir. Now widowed, she must protect her young son from her husband’s vengeful brother who will stop at nothing—including murder—to take what does not belong to him. But when she seeks an audience with the king to secure her son’s inheritance, she discovers Sir Liam may have the stronger claim and that the truth of him could make lies of all she was led to believe. More unsettling, she is drawn to the man beneath the anger who can never forgive her for the part she played in his brother’s deception—nor forget to whom she first belonged.

Preview an audio sample at: Amazon.com, Audible.com  iBooks Store

Read an excerpt at: tamaraleigh.com

 

 

 

Powerful Women (Part 1)

I love celebrating people, so today I honor women who have impacted me.

Source: Powerful Women (Part 1)

SCAVENGER HUNT IN PROGRESS!!! OVER $500 IN PRIZES ACROSS 32 AUTHOR SITES

Join me and 31 other inspirational authors for a Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! I’m hosting the amazing Robin Lee Hatcher at my site: www.tamaraleigh.com. Be sure to start at Lisa T. Bergen’s Stop #1 and collect the clues through all 33 stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 3 grand prizes! Here’s the skinny:

~ The hunt BEGINS with Stop #1.

~ The hunt is BEST VIEWED using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer)

~ It is open to INTERNATIONAL entrants.

~ PRIZES include 3 sets of all 32 books, $500 in Amazon gift cards, and many authors are offering additional prizes.

~ There is NO RUSH to complete this hunt—you have ALL WEEKEND. So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way. Our hope is that you discover new authors/new books you might want to learn more about!

~ Submit your ENTRY for the GRAND PRIZE at Stop #33 (back on Lisa’s site) by Monday night (4/25) at midnight mountain.
INTRODUCING ROBIN LEE HATCHER

LADY UNDAUNTED ~ NOW AVAILABLE $4.99

LADY UNDAUNTED Now Available at AMAZON, iBOOKS, KOBO, and Coming Soon to B&N ~ $4.99

USA Today Bestselling author Tamara Leigh returns with a tale of betrayal, vengeance, and forbidden longing in Lady Undaunted, her latest historical romance set in medieval England.

BETRAYED

Declared illegitimate and denied his inheritance, Sir Liam Fawke has given six years of his life in service to his younger brother for the promise of being named heir to the Barony of Ashlingford. But when he is summoned to his brother’s deathbed, he learns his treacherous kin has secretly wed and fathered a son. Vowing to claim what is rightfully his, Liam contests his nephew’s succession. And not only finds himself at dangerous odds with the boy’s lovely, spirited mother, but attracted to one who is forbidden him—one whose son is the means by which he could twice lose all.

FORBIDDEN

Three years ago, Lady Joslyn struck a desperate bargain to wed a nobleman and provide him with an heir. Now widowed, she must protect her young son from her husband’s vengeful brother who will stop at nothing—including murder—to take what does not belong to him. But when she seeks an audience with the king to secure her son’s inheritance, she discovers Sir Liam may have the stronger claim and that the truth of him could make lies of all she was led to believe. More unsettling, she is drawn to the man beneath the anger who can never forgive her for the part she played in his brother’s deception—nor forget to whom she first belonged.

To ORDER: Amazon ~ Lady Undaunted

iBooks ~ Lady Undaunted

Kobo ~ Lady Undaunted

B&N ~ Coming Soon

To READ AN EXCERPT, visit: www.tamaraleigh.com

LADY UNDAUNTED: $2.99 Pre-Order Sale ~ $4.99 Release Day

LADY UNDAUNTED, releasing April 19, 2016, now available for PRE-ORDER at Amazon for $2.99 ($4.99 release day). Coming soon to iBooks, Kobo, and B&N.

USA Today Bestselling author Tamara Leigh returns with a tale of betrayal, vengeance, and forbidden longing in Lady Undaunted, her latest historical romance set in medieval England.

BETRAYED

Declared illegitimate and denied his inheritance, Sir Liam Fawke has given six years of his life in service to his younger brother for the promise of being named heir to the Barony of Ashlingford. But when he is summoned to his brother’s deathbed, he learns his treacherous kin has secretly wed and fathered a son. Vowing to claim what is rightfully his, Liam contests his nephew’s succession. And not only finds himself at dangerous odds with the boy’s lovely, spirited mother, but attracted to one who is forbidden him—one whose son is the means by which he could twice lose all.

FORBIDDEN

Three years ago, Lady Joslyn struck a desperate bargain to wed a nobleman and provide him with an heir. Now widowed, she must protect her young son from her husband’s vengeful brother who will stop at nothing—including murder—to take what does not belong to him. But when she seeks an audience with the king to secure her son’s inheritance, she discovers Sir Liam may have the stronger claim and that the truth of him could make lies of all she was led to believe. More unsettling, she is drawn to the man beneath the anger who can never forgive her for the part she played in his brother’s deception—nor forget to whom she first belonged.

To PRE-ORDER: Amazon ~ Lady Undaunted

To Read an excerpt, visit: www.tamaraleigh.com

Another Round of Edits (AROE) ~ LADY UNDAUNTED

Now for another installment of “Another Round Of Edits (AROE)” in which this author edits the full manuscript of LADY UNDAUNTED. The following is from the second and most intensive round–there will be at least one more–to ensure LU is ready for her Spring 2016 release:

PAPERBACKS ~ BARON OF GODSMERE and BARON OF EMBERLY Now Available

BARON OF GODSMERE and BARON OF EMBERLY now available in real, live, crisp, smell-good, feel-good paper. Finally! DREAMSPELL coming soon!

THE FEUD

England, 1308 ~ Three noblemen secretly gather to ally against their treacherous lord. But though each is elevated to a baron in his own right and given a portion of his lord’s lands, jealousy and reprisals lead to a twenty-five year feud, pitting family against family, passing father to son.

THE DECREE

England, 1333 ~ The chink in Baron Boursier’s armor is his fondness for a lovely face. When it costs him half his sight and brands him as one who abuses women, he vows to never again be “blinded” by beauty. Thus, given the choice between forfeiting his lands and wedding one of his enemies to end their feud, he chooses as his betrothed the lady said to be plain of face, rejecting the lady rumored to be most fair.

THE ENEMY

On the eve of the deadline to honor the king’s decree of marriage, the fair Elianor of Emberly takes matters into her own hands. Determined none will suffer marriage to the man better known as The Boursier, she sets in motion her plan to imprison him long enough to ensure his barony is forfeited. But when all goes awry and her wrathful enemy compels her to wed him to save his lands, she discovers he is either much changed or much maligned. And the real enemy is one who lurks in their midst. One bent on keeping the feud burning.

Excerpt: BARON OF GODSMERE: Book One

Purchase: BARON OF GODSMERE: Book One

A WARRIOR DANGEROUSLY IN CONTROL

England, 1334 ~ In the second book of The Feud series, Baron Magnus Verdun is a warrior whose handsome face gives little indication of the darkness he struggles to contain. While pursuing the murderous brigands who plague his lands, he becomes the unwitting savior of the woman the king has decreed he wed—the reckless Lady Thomasin, whose very presence threatens his carefully ordered life. And more so when she proves outspoken beyond what is required of a dutiful wife. Can he tame this woman whose willful ways ought to offend, but instead captivate? More, dare he allow her near and risk exposing the secret that could push her away?

A LADY PERILOUSLY IMPROPER

Despite efforts to make a proper lady of her, the illegitimate Thomasin de Arell knows she is no match for the Baron of Emberly. Though she expects her new husband will think her beneath him, she is unprepared when he insists on separate chambers. When he also demands she control her behavior, the spurned Thomasin rebels—and unknowingly becomes the pawn of forces determined to further the feud. But upon finding herself in Magnus’s arms, she discovers he is not as indifferent as he would have her believe. And when she glimpses his torment, she is determined to shine light on his darkness. Will he let her in? Or will their enemies use the distrust between husband and wife for their own ends?

In this sequel to the bestselling medieval romance, Baron Of Godsmere, join Baron Verdun and his lady as they discover that true love seeks first the soul, and is as easily seen in the dark as in the light.

Excerpt: BARON OF EMBERLY: Book Two

Purchase: Amazon ~ BARON OF EMBERLY: Book Two

RESTLESS IN CAROLINA: Book 3 Now Available!

RESTLESS IN CAROLINA, the third and final book in the Southern Discomfort series is now available at Amazon, iBooks Store, Kobo Books–and coming soon to Nook.

SHE’S ALL ABOUT GOING GREEN. COULD HE BE HER WHITE KNIGHT? OR WILL HE MAKE HER SEE RED?

Tree-huggin’, animal-lovin’ Bridget Pickwick-Buchanan is on a mission. Well, two. First, she has to come to terms with being a widow at thirty-three. After all, it’s been four years and even her five-year-old niece and nephew think it’s time she shed her widow’s weeds. Second, she needs to find a buyer for her family’s home–a Biltmore-inspired mansion surrounded by hundreds of acres of unspoiled forestland. With family obligations forcing the sale, Bridget is determined to find an eco-friendly developer to buy the land, someone who won’t turn it into single-family homes or a cheesy theme park.

Enter J.C. Dirk, a high-energy developer from Atlanta whose green property developments have earned him national acclaim. When he doesn’t return her calls, Bridget decides a personal visit is in order. J.C. Dirk is neither amused nor interested when Bridget interrupts his meeting–until she mentions her family name. In short order, he finds himself in North Carolina, and Bridget has her white knight–in more ways than one. But there are things she doesn’t know about J.C., and it could mean the end of everything she’s worked for…and break her heart.

To read an excerpt, visit: Tamara Leigh ~ Restless In Carolina

To purchase a copy, visit: Amazon, iBooks, Kobo Books and soon at B&N