And the Winner is…

Congrats to Jessica Kennedy for winning the Valentine Blog Hop Contest!  Jessica will be receiving a signed set of my novels What I Meant…, Over My Head and Drawn, plus a box of chocolates.  And she is now entered into the grand prize drawing for a $75 Amazon gift card offered through Book Luvin’ Babes. Yeah!

To enter the contest, folks had to leave comments about their favorite romantic movie or book.  Jessica’s favorite movie is Moulin Rouge, which she called “brilliant, beautiful and heartbreakingly wonderful.”  She had too many favorite romantic books to just pick one, so she included The Perfect Chemistry series by Simone Elkeles, The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning, The Blackdagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward, and just about anything by Gena Showalter.

My own personal favorites? I have to admit that I find works by Nicholas Sparks too cloying. Sorry, Nicholas…I’m sure your sales aren’t suffering from my opinion, considering just how many contest entrants listed The Notebook as their favorite book and movie. My favorite really romantic novels are A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux (some similarities to Drawn, perhaps?), and The Time Traveler’s Wife (yes, definite Drawn connections!). And my favorite romantic movies include Ever After, Bridget Jones’ Diary, and The Time Traveler’s Wife.

And for those of you looking for a new romantic movie or book, here is the list of folks’ all-time favorites (in no particular order):

Escape with these Romantic Books:
Pride and Prejudice
Gone with the Wind
The Notebook
Drawn by Marie Lamba 🙂
The Time Traveler’s Wife
A Knight in Shining Armor
The Perfect Chemistry series by Simone Elkeles
The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning
The Blackdagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward
Wolf Tales, series by Kate Douglas
Until there was You by Kristan Higgins
Persuasion
Twice Loved by LaVeryl Spencer
Jane Eyre
A Companion or Life by Cari Hislop
Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews
One Day
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon’s
Loving Frank
Anna Karenina
Desperate Dutchesses series by Eloisa James
Authors: Lora Leigh, Maya Banks, Diana Palmer, Gena Showalter

Fall in Love with these Romantic Movies:
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Bridget Jones’ Diary
Ever After
Gone with the Wind
A Walk to Remember
P.S. I Love You
Somewhere in Time
Excaliber
You’ve Got Mail
Sleepless in Seattle 
Breakfast at Tiffany’s 
Must Love Dogs
Moulin Rouge
The Notebook
Life as we Know It
Pride and Prejudice
Meet Joe Black
Dr. Zhivago
Ever After
A Moment to Remember (Korean movie)
Love Actually
Shakespeare in Love
Return of the Living Dead 3, and Frankenhooker (this recommendation courtesy of a horror writer!)
The Way We Were
Love Story
Casablanca
Ghost

Enjoy, with love! Marie

Feeling the Love!

This week, with Valentine’s Day less than a week away, I’m really feeling the love!

Over at my Valentine Blog Hop giveaway page, you can too.  All you have to do is click here and then leave a comment on that page about your favorite romantic movie and book. Then you’ll be entered to win a complete signed set of my novels What I Meant…, Over My Head, and my new paranormal novel Drawn, plus a yummy box of chocolates. PLUS you’ll be entered for a chance to win the Valentine Blog Hop grand prizes of a heart necklace or a $75 gift certificate. But you gotta hurry, cuz this giveaway contest ends on February 14th…

And speaking of love, and of Drawn, this week has been filled with some truly love-filled reviews of my new novel.  Share time!  Here goes:

“A fun, historical time travel full of creativity, beautiful scenes, and an engrossing mystery…I fell in love with the entire story…the setting was mostly amazing. The castle that Michelle meets Christopher in is spectacular.  And going back in time during that setting? Brilliant…I haven’t read too many time travel books and none that had such pure romance and a true mystery element to it…Their romance was very beautiful and endearing. I didn’t want to see it end. 5 STARS” — The Cozy Reader

“A clever and enjoyable paranormal romance with a love affair that fans of the genre are sure to swoon over.” — Tara Calaby, Agrippina Legit

“Drawn has it all, 3 guys who are completely different, a castle, ghosts, an Earl who is in a spot of trouble, lest he know it, a girl who has a complicated family and a love that can endure centuries…an enjoyable read.” — Novels on the Run

“This is one of those books that has it all: romance, adventure, time travel, some creepy elements, a plot steeped in medeival history, and ghosts. What really makes the story work though is a lead protagonist that is impossible not to love. Her life is filled with adversity, from her psychic mother who left her to her grieving father to trying to fit in at school, and her troubles only increases when Christopher starts appearing to her. Yet she never backs down, and while uncovering the secrets of Christopher’s past, she also starts to make sense of her own life.” — Lucas Mangum’s Dark Dimensions

Plus some reviews have popped up on Goodreads.com saying, “A clever tale about family loyalty in both feudal England and the present day, the ending satisfying enough while hinting at the possibility of a sequel…Overall rating: Page-turner,” and “This book was so unexpectedly amazing…The plot was so fresh and new, unlike many other paranormal stories just being recycled and the characters were realistic…I really hope there will be a sequel, don’t get me wrong I love a stand alone novel but this one was so great I didn’t want it to end…”

To check out all the great Goodreads reviews (plus to find info about the giveaway I’m running there through the end of Feb.) you can visit Drawn‘s Goodreads page here.

So REALLY feeling the love!  Hope you get a chance to read Drawn and share your thoughts about it, and, of course, the LOVE.

Happy reads,

Marie

 

This Week’s Highlights!: DRAWN Blog Ghost Tour Continues

First, some quick updates:

*Drawn ebook is still on sale for just $0.99…but for a limited time…links are here.

**Also, through Valentines Day, you can enter to win all of my books signed, plus chocolates, plus have a chance at a grand prize…entering is as easy as leaving a comment: click The Valentine Blog Hop for the details.

AND NOW: News from the road…

The Drawn Blog Ghost Tour road, that is.

This week I’m criss-crossing the globe…I’ve packed my wrinkle free clothes, my passport and my writing journal… Well, okay, since this is a BLOG tour after all, maybe I haven’t packed anything. Maybe I haven’t left the country. MAYBE I’m sitting in my studio in my jammies all week long.

So? I’m STILL crossing the globe on this week’s tour, making not one but TWO stops in Australia, then racing back to the U.S. for the balance of this week.

But can’t we imagine that this author is wandering through cyberspace, a fashionable carry-on over one shoulder, and a well-read copy of Drawn under the other?  We envision this author as unstoppable. Her business-like heels click clack through the world’s airports.

Her passionate mission? To spread the word about Drawn, her new paranormal novel about a timeless love between teen artist Michelle, and Christopher, the medieval ghost with a sketchy past… Our world-traveling author won’t rest until everyone knows it’s gotten amazing reviews, like last week’s rave from The Author Chronicles, who said “If you’re looking for a book with an engaging protagonist, captivating plot, and paranormal twist, this is for you. Just make sure to clear your calendar first, because once you start, you won’t want to put it down!”

Our jet-setting author wants people to realize that if they like Twilight, Hush Hush and books by Beth Fantaskey, that they will fall in love with Drawn…

Our trail blazing writer wants…well, she wants to get out of her jammies and into real clothes at some time this week, but never mind that.  On to this weeks highlights (the fourth week of the tour!), brought to you by the fabulous book bloggers on the Drawn Blog Ghost Tour!:

February 6th:  That’s today! Say a hearty g’day to our down-under blogger Novels on the Run as they host my guest post “Any Time but the Present.” I share why I think time travel is so seductive, plus some tasty excerpts from Drawn.

February 7th: Still in awesome Australia is blogger Agrippina Legit, who will feature a review of Drawn and an interview with me with that “Land Down Under” spin.

February 8th: We zoom back to the U.S. where The Cozy Reader posts her review of Drawn plus my  guest blog “Writing Magic,” where I share some of my own techniques for writing believable fantasy scenes…with examples from Drawn.

February 9th: Take a walk on the dark side at Lucas Mangum’s Dark Dimensions blog, where he’ll post his review of Drawn plus run an interview with me exploring the fascination with darkness and the paranormal…and the darkness that winds through Drawn.

February 10th: Twimom101 features a quirky Top 10 Q&A with me. I reveal some stuff… Er, hope I didn’t embarrass myself? If I do, please tell me!

As with any of these posts, leave comments and I’ll be sure to comment back.  See how dedicated I am? Even with ALL of this travelling.  Even with spending all day in my fuzzy slippers…er, I mean, my business-like heels…

Ah the glamour of being an author on tour!  Truly, there’s nothing like it…

To catch up on any of the fun you missed in the past few weeks on the tour (from authentic ghost photos, to reviews and interviews and posts that are illuminating and/or bizarre) just click here or on the Drawn Blog Ghost Tour tab at the top of my website at any time, and follow the links.

Bon voyage!

Win Prizes at Valentine Blog Hop!

Like a touch of romance? Like Chocolate? Like WINNING stuff? Then you need to go to THE VALENTINE BLOG HOP right away!  From February 1-14th, I’m happy to be a part of this hop with 30 top romance authors!

Here’s how you can win: Just click here to go to my VALENTINE BLOG HOP page, then leave a comment on that page about your favorite romantic book or movie. That’s it! You are entered to win!

Here’s the prize: A signed copy of each of my novels: What I Meant…, Over My Head, and my newest paranormal novel Drawn, all mailed straight to you with a yummy box of chocolates too!  Imagine keeping warm this February by nibbling fine chocolates and reading about bad boys, heart stopping lifeguards, and about Christopher, the hot medieval ghost with a sketchy past.

But wait, there’s more!

The Grand Prize:  The winner of my contest will be entered to win the Valentine Blog Hop Grand Prize: a $75 gift certificate to Amazon.  There’s even a second prize: A lovely heart pendant necklace. 

But you have to be in it to win it… Wow, I sound like a lottery commercial, but you get my meaning. Seriously folks.

Want even more chances at the Grand Prize, plus OTHER PRIZES TOO?: Then visit every author on the Valentine Blog Hop by going to the main site link here or through the link on my Hop page, and entering the drawings of each author on the hop.  You’ll not only have a shot at more prizes, you’ll also find out about a slew of fabulous authors writing heartfelt fiction…and that’s why you really can’t lose!

Thanks so much to Book Luvin’ Babes for pulling this hop together!