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Linda is the winner of the giveaway here! Thanks to everyone who commented and joined the blog train. So fun to be able to talk covers and stories with you!
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The Big Boy cover is here, and we’re giving away five full sets of the Strangers on a Train stories to celebrate!
Big Boy
A Strangers on a Train story
Meet me at the train museum after dark. Dress for 1957.
When Mandy joins an online dating service, she keeps her expectations low. All she wants is a distraction from the drudgery of single parenthood and full-time work. But the invitation she receives from a handsome man who won’t share his real name promises an adventure—and a chance to pretend she’s someone else for a few hours.
She doesn’t want romance to complicate her life, but Mandy’s monthly role-playing dates with her stranger on a train—each to a different time period—become the erotic escape she desperately needs. And a soul connection she never expected.
Yet when she tries to draw her lover out of the shadows, Mandy has a fight on her hands…to convince him there’s a place for their fantasy love in the light of day.
Warning: Contains sexy role-playing, theatrical application of coal dust, and a hero who can rock a pair of brown polyester pants.
69 pages; 17,000 words. ISBN: 978-1-61921-530-6. Published April 2, 2013.
See the book’s page for an excerpt of the first chapter, or check out the preorder and Goodreads links below—
Tell me what you think of the cover in the comments to enter for a shot at winning a set of all five Strangers on a Train stories.
Then hop on the “blog train” and visit Serena Bell’s website to see her cover and enter again — and keep hopping from there to the sites of authors Donna Cummings, Samantha Hunter, and Meg Maguire. If you visit all five sites to see all five covers, you can enter five times for five chances to win! (Whew. That was a lot of fives.)
Contest runs through Friday, December 7. Randomly chosen winners will be chosen and announced on each site the morning of Saturday, December 8. Please leave an e-mail address in the e-mail field (not in the body of the comment) so I can reach you if you win!
Wow Ruthie that sounds really hot. Plus, I love cover.
Thanks! It’s a fun, sexy little story.
Finally the hero with the brown polyester pants is here! *g* I love the whole train setting and the cover is gorgeous (I could have done without his hat, though)!
Yay for the polyester! I love it, too — and the hat fits the story (the meet scene), though I understand hats aren’t for everyone.
Polyester pants! That’s how we know you’re a good author, you can make polyester pants sexy. I hope no one gets itchy because of them, though.
They won’t be on long enough to make anyone itchy.
*coughs delicately*
I vote for hats! And train stories. Husband and I rented a sleeper car once and went across the country one winter break. The sleeper car beds present Honda Civic-like challenges.
That sounds like fun! Not the Honda Civic part. I actually *have* a Honda Civic, and … no. But the cross-country train journey part? Yes, please.
This is gorgeous ! I totally love it! Thank you for a really fun contest !
Loove, love, LOVE it!!
When I glimpsed it in the newsletter I was all giddy and happy to see a sexy story set in the roaring ’20s, ’30s and then I saw the text saying these were contemporary novellas… which I don’t mind (that much) but the cover had that retro old school elegant yet casual feel to it, and then here came twist No. 3 when the premise said “Dress for 1957″ lol. So now I’m back to anticipating a somewhat historical/”time travel” story and looking very much forward to it!! (and Ruthie, please didn1t you ever wanted to write a story set in the ’20s? imagine all those great flapper dresses, Great Gatsby parties and such.. so, tempted? inspired? *hint hint* lol)
But seriously I am amazed and so grateful that you are such a prolific author and will have yet another story out soon, so thank you!! Looking very much forward to reading Big Boy, it looks and sounds amazing! (and I LOVE the cover!
)
Not so tempted by the 20s, but I do play with history a lot in this story. Every month, they have a date on a different train, and they dress for a different time. It’s lots of fun!
It sure sounds like a lot of fun, I can’t wait!!
I like this cover a lot! And I like the story idea even more so I cannot wait to read it. Thanks –
Thanks, Suz!
I’m completely intrigued by this cover!!! Can’t wait to get to read this one!
xo
jaime
Thanks, Jaime!
Great cover! It sets up the time period perfectly. I love the female models hairstyle. I’m looking forward to reading this. The two books of yours I’ve read were breaths of fresh air in a genre that can sometimes get stale.
Thank you, Carrie! I’m flattered. And I love her hair, too. I’m so pleased with this cover!
What a great idea for an anthology. I love trains! I have to say, that sounds like a very creative way to fit the train aspect in. I can’t wait to read it.
Thanks, Jen! It was Twitter-born.
Wow, awesome cover and sounds like a fun premise– you had me at “theatrical application of coal dust, and a hero who can rock a pair of brown polyester pants” — I’m super excited that y’all are doing this together– Donna is one of my Beta partners!
I love Donna! It was so much fun to write the stories together.
Ooh, I love the cover and the excerpt! Please enter me in the giveaway.
Thanks!
There is something very romantic about steam engines. The feeling of massive power as the huge pistons move and the smoke and steam puff into the air. Definitely a fertile place for love to blossom!
My goodness! Talk about evocative…
Hmmmm… With a cover like that I’m expecting big things… Wait, I didn’t mean that the way it came out, really… I didn’t.
Looking forward to it.
I don’t think you’ll be disappointed, Kim. Whichever way you meant it.
The picture has lots of warm/red overtones. The models look fantastic but for me, it’s the sky in the background that sells the premise of the story. It’s smoky with a hint of turbulence so I’m expecting lots of heated passion from you.
And you may have it!
Great cover!! This looks like a fun book, too.
Thank you!
WOWW..! “PLAY IT AGAIN SAM:D!” SEXY COVER BRILLIANT IDEAL;D!
redz041@yahoo.com
Thanks, darlink!
Ruthie,
I love the cover! Looks so awesome! As always I can’t wait to read this!
Thank you kindly!
I love the warning! That is what always sells me on Samhain books. They have the best warnings.
It doesn’t hurt that the blurb sounds great and the cover is gorgeous as well. I can’t wait to read it!
Aren’t the warnings fun? And they let you go wild, which is great.
This sounds like such a fun series Ruthie, I love the fact that they dress up from different time periods for each date! What a fun idea
I can’t wait to start reading this series!
It’s a lot of fun! Born on Twitter, of all things.
You’ve got to love twitter if this is the kind of results it comes up with! I’ll be interested to see what story it gets you writing next LOL
Love the cover. Hero looks very Cillian Murphy-esque. Which I like
I hadn’t seen Cillian Murphy before, so I had to look him up. He’s lovely!
This sounds fantastic, Ruthie! Thanks for the heads up and the contest!
My pleasure.
I’m intrigued by the description of this book. I will definitely look for its publish.
The man looks a little too pretty boy for my taste. Not that I would kick him out of my bed or something else drastic
He is pretty, I agree. This hero is a bit, too. But he has hidden depths.
Anyone who can rock a pair of polyester pants has got my attention!
Amen!
I love the retro look of that cover, and the book sounds great, too. Even the last few years of suffering English trains haven’t managed to kill the idea in my mind that there is romance in train travel!
Thanks! Yeah, I find the romance of trains endures even despite the decidedly non-romantic aspects of actual train travel.
Very cute! Love the hate.
Ack! The hat, the hat!
I’m sure that was a Freudian slip of some sort.
Hi Ruthie, I love the cover and I can’t wait to start reading.
Thanks, Kelly!
This sounds so good!! Can’t wait and I love the cover!
Thanks, Laura!
Love the cover, =) can´t wait for my chance to read. Gives a kind of Bogart feeling, that one.
best wishes & Happy Wednesday!
//Linda
It does! Love the old-black-and-white-movies feeling.
Wow…love the cover. The book sounds like it’s going to be one smokin hot read! I like that you have created something so different instead of riding on the “50 Shades” theme. I am so over it.
Squee!!! I love the cover, sweetie! Love this story and can’t wait to add the anthology to my Nook.
LOVE the cover, love the blurb! Looks and sounds like a steamier version of Bogart and Bacall. Can’t wait to read!
Cover looks great! I can’t wait to check this out. I love everything I’ve read by you so far. I know that this will not disappoint.
For a second there, I thought the book is actually set in 1957!!! I can’t wait to see how you’ll handle the whole online dating thing. If anyone could make it work, its you ;D
(also, the guy model kind of reminds of Chris Evans from the side!)
Nice cover.