Welcoming 2020 with a Giveaway

For a chance to win a Kindle copy of my new release LORD OF DRUEMARWIN,

head over to Long and Short Reviews Winter Blogfest on Friday, January 3. I'll be sharing a favorite family holiday recipe and inviting comments. To enter, simply comment on the post. I'll be drawing the winner by the end of the day January 4. Here's the link: https://wp.me/p2ZcT9-n0k
Remember, it doesn't go active until January 3. Good luck and hope to hear from you!

Release Day -- Lord of Druemarwin!

It's a party the rest of the week.

Celebrate with me today, Dec. 18, at Tena Stetler's blog: https://www.tenastetler.com/interview-helen-c-johannes-author-of-lord-of-druemarwin/

Join me on Friday, Dec. 20, at Jana Richard's blog: https://janarichards.blogspot.com/2019/12/new-release-from-fantasy-romance-author.html

LORD OF DRUEMARWIN - PAGES FROM THE HEART Winner in Fantasy Romance

Tag line: In a world of lies and betrayal, can they trust each other?

Blurb:

Lady Raell can fight, ride, and argue politics as well as her brothers. Only being mistress of her father's household keeps her in skirts. In Naed, the new Lord of Druemarwin, she has found devotion, a kindred spirit, and a marriage promise. But when a forgotten and unwanted betrothal comes to light, she has no choice but to run.

Amidst sweeping revolution, Naed must rally his people, fend off assassination attempts, and fight against claims he's a traitor. Then he discovers everything about his lineage and family is a lie. And his beloved belongs to another.

With lives and a kingdom at stake, Raell and Naed must find a way to protect the innocent and save their love.

Excerpt:

“Raell, now is not the time—”

Aye, it wasn’t. They stood in torchlight on an open parapet while assassins stalked them, but this might be her only chance to reach him across that precipice he’d thrown up between them, to secure the future they were meant to share.

“Does my honor mean naught? When weighed with D’nalian honor, is mine lesser because ‘tis a woman’s honor? Or because ‘tis a Tolemak’s honor? Be honest and tell me that.”

The world had gone silent; Raell could hear nothing over the rush of blood in her ears, the terrible heavy beats of her heart while she waited, dizzy with fear, breathless with longing, for the man she loved to respond with a word, a look, even a blink. Even a shift of his gaze she’d take as a sign he’d at least heard, mayhap begun to consider—

“Yes, be honest, Lord Naed,” said a voice she’d heard but once, a voice that raised all the fine hairs on her body and made her innards contract into a cold, tight knot. “Tell us both how much honor means to a bastard who’s betrayed his countrymen and his blood.”

Free Holiday Cookbook!

My publisher The Wild Rose Press has collected recipes for all kinds of holiday meals and treats from its authors and compiled it into a fantastic FREE cookbook.

For a free PDF download, email me at helen.c.johannes@gmail.com and I'll send it on to you. Be sure to check out my recipe for Beef Noodle Bake, a quick and easy holiday meal. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Magic

Last year we flew to Philadelphia to visit family. It was our first visit to the City of Brotherly Love, and we just happened to choose their coldest Thanksgiving ever. Being from northern climes, we knew how to dress for our typical get-around-town-in-the-car routine. But that didn’t prepare us for the ‘big city’ and having to walk 10-30 min. everywhere because parking is next to impossible. Brr.

We enjoyed the obligatory Philly Cheesesteak, visited the Liberty Bell, saw Ben Franklin’s grave, toured the fascinating Philadelphia Mint (amazing how they make coins), and learned how to use the commuter trains. Having visited London and ridden the Tube, this was pretty familiar territory. So was the basic drab, utilitarian nature of most stations and cars.

After a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner (which I didn’t have to make—yay!), we decided to spend Black Friday not shopping but seeing the Christmas offerings downtown. So we trudged 10 min. through the coldest morning of our stay, boarded the drab commuter train, and rode to see the Christmas Village, the Comcast show, and the Macy’s Dickens Village, stopping for supper at Reading Market. Exhausted by our full day out in the cold and wind, we trudged once more to the train station where we encountered…Thanksgiving Magic.

The drab, utilitarian train we’d ridden earlier that day had been transformed into a gift-wrapped wonder. We rode home in thankfulness for those who’d performed this magic.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

(This post was originally posted at The Wild Rose Press Blog on Nov. 23.)

Books for Holiday Gift-Giving

Find my books and others on Northern Lights Book Heaven's new Holiday Gift Guide: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/holiday-gift-guide

If you're like me and trying to make gift-giving easier this season, consider the gift of books: e-books, print, and audio. There's nothing like a good book to transport us out of our daily lives and into another world where anything is possible.

Sale, BLOODSTONE E-book + Audible

Celebrating Halloween with a 99¢ sale on BLOODSTONE e-book now through Nov. 8 on Kindle and Nook. Plus, get Audible audio book for only $7.49 more. Save $13!

Petrified dragon's blood. A beastly Shadow Man. A beauty, lost but unafraid, in the dreaded Wehrland, where magic is more than legend and dragons might not all be dead. High fantasy, real romance. 

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Bloodstone-Helen-C-Johannes-ebook/dp/B00G8GTHRC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bloodstone-helen-c-johannes/1118715556?ean=2940148119272

Cover Reveal--LORD OF DRUEMARWIN

Coming soon from The Wild Rose Press, THE LORD OF DRUEMARWIN, Pages from the Heart Winner in fantasy romance.

In a world of lies and betrayal, can they trust each other?

Lady Raell can fight, ride, and argue politics as well as her brothers. Only being mistress of her father's household keeps her in skirts. In Naed, the new Lord of Druemarwin, she has found devotion, a kindred spirit, and a marriage promise. But when a forgotten and unwanted betrothal comes to light, she has no choice but to run.

Amidst sweeping revolution, Naed must rally his people, fend off assassination attempts, and fight against claims he's a traitor. Then he discovers everything about his lineage and family is a lie. And his beloved belongs to another.

With lives and a kingdom at stake, Raell and Naed must find a way to protect the innocent and save their love.

The long-awaited sequel to EPIC winner, THE PRINCE OF VAL-FEYRIDGE. Stay tuned for a 2019 release date.

Find me now on Bookbub

Just set up my profile on Bookbub, another site that links authors and readers with book reviews, recommendations, and notices of sales and specials. If you'd like to join me/follow me and see who I'm following or check out my recommendations and reviews, here's the link: bookbub.com/authors/helen-c-johannes

BLOODSTONE -- Today only on LASR Anniversary Blogfest -- Prizes!

Visit BLOODSTONE's guest appearance today at https://wp.me/p2ZcT9-mh8 for a chance to win lots of prizes in Long and Short Reviews Anniversary Party. Up for grabs are $100 Amazon/BN gift cards in this rafflecopter. Lots of ways to enter, so don't be shy!

Hooray for Women's Soccer!

To all those who think soccer is boring: you should be watching the FIFA Women's World Cup. These women are amazing. The action, the athletic ability, the stamina simply required to run and run and run for 90+ minutes in 90+degree heat is incredible and inspiring. And the fans...waves of national colors and face paint. Women and girls everywhere have to be energized to watch these amazing international performances. Hooray for everyone at home and abroad who stand behind, stand up for, and support these opportunities for women all over the world.

Welcome to SHADES OF DARKNESS: Paranormal Romance Sampler

I'm pleased to announce that BLOODSTONE is included in the new paranormal romance sampler from The Wild Rose Press. There are 10 authors and books featured in this collection of sample chapters. Now available for pre-orders, the sampler will debut June 26 on Amazon: Shades of Darkness for Kindle

Check out the cool cover!

Audio Book Month Giveaway

June is Audio Book Month. Since I've dipped my authorial toe into the world of audio books I'm celebrating with a giveaway. The winner will receive a promo code for BLOODSTONE, narrated by the amazing Dawson McBride.

What do you have to do for a chance to win? Simply comment here and tell me what you love/like about audio books and/or why you listen to them. Leave your comment and your email address between now and Father's Day, June 16. The winner will be randomly drawn soon after. Only the winner will be contacted and congratulated.

Check back again for more news and giveaways to come. Happy Listening!

Ch-Ch-Changes...

Amazon Encore ended its program last month. That means BLOODSTONE, which had been a Kindle exclusive, is now fully back with The Wild Rose Press and open to being available in more e-book formats in the future. That's a plus.

For now, the immediate change is a reversion to the old AISN and a change in Amazon page/search, making the old page 'not found' and requiring additional searching to get to the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Bloodstone. Audio and print editions remain available as before linked to my Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Helen-C.-Johannes.

Having BLOODSTONE as an Amazon Exclusive was nice while it lasted, but it's also good to be back fully with The Wild Rose Press.

Watch this space for more exciting news soon!

Snow Blues? Have a Giveaway.

The snow keeps coming, another 4-5 inches overnight. Officially, February is the snowiest month EVER as well as the snowiest February on record for our neck of the woods. My guess is at least 3 feet for the month, at least 45 inches since Jan. 1. We're running out of places to put it.

Here's the view this morning from our kitchen window.

Note that there is indeed a pickup beside the garage, although you'd never know it under all that snow. 

Here's the front yard. Those bird feeder poles are shoulder high on an adult, believe it or not. Driving is a true tunnel experience, especially at the corners and ends of driveways.

There's nothing to do for it but have a giveaway.

On Tuesday, March 5 only, I'll be offering a Kindle copy of BLOODSTONE as part of The Romance Review's month long 8th Anniversary Party. Go over to http://www.theromancereviews.com/ on Tuesday, March 5, and log in to play trivia for a chance to win. Best of luck, and keep warm!

Return of the--gasp!--Polar Vortex!

We are midweek into the longest school closings in recent memory (four days, counting tomorrow, which has already been announced), and now the US Postal Service is breaking its own motto and refusing to deliver mail. Even some stores and restaurants are closed.

No wonder as the wind chill last night was 52 below zero. While you absorb that outrageous figure, consider what I heard on the radio this morning: The temperature on Mars is only 80 below, a mere 28 degrees colder. (Hey, NASA, if you're prepping for humans on Mars, you can start training them here.)

Now we're used to cold up here. Subzero temperatures are the norm in January. Five years ago, in the first appearance of the Polar Vortex the first week of January, we had 30 below temps and a long stretch with no daytime temps above zero. But that was without the dangerous wind chills present this time around. The weather experts are saying we won't break daytime cold temp records--those were set back in the '90s--but we're breaking recorded wind chills.

My coping strategy? Stay inside. Bake something. And make soup.

This is what happens…

Don’t adjust your color; these cookies are indeed blue.

This is what happens in mid-January when the temperatures are below frigid, a lunar eclipse of a super moon is about to occur, I need to bake cookies, and I’m looking at a Blue Velvet cake mix.

I’m calling them Blue Moon Cookies.

They’re healthy (oatmeal, dried cranberries, chocolate chips) and simple to make (cake mix and margarine, plus the aforementioned 3 items) and surprisingly tasty.

This is what happens when my creativity needs someplace to go.