Cruel Summer? More like Incredible Summer!

I'm so sorry I'm late with my newsletter, but I was getting my free download ready for you. Wait, don't guess yet! Not only am I bringing you a free short story, available only to my reader group, but there's an exclusive sneak peak at Vows Of Revenge, along with a cover reveal/sale price on Hustled To The Altar. Be sure to read the whole thing!


What's Cruel Summer?

Back in March, I started to write a short story for a contest with free promotional services as a prize. As the story took shape, however, I fell for Gavin. He had such a hill to climb to win back Chelsea, I couldn't bring myself to give him away. Not to a promotions company, anyway.

I spent a good month trying to decide exactly what I wanted to do with Cruel Summer. I loved that the story takes place in California and didn't want to change that. I didn't see an easy way to move it to Montana or link it to my Montana Born novellas, even though it fits the tone and style of those stories really well. At the same time, even though Gavin is rich—pretty much all my heroes are—I couldn't see turning the story into a Presents, either.

Serendipitously, I have been learning about ways to reach out to new readers. One suggestion was to give books to potential subscribers. The only book I have that is mine to give (not under contract with a publisher) is Hustled To The Altar, but there were problems with that. (More on that below.)

I decided I would finish Cruel Summer and use it as a giveaway, but I couldn't offer it to strangers without letting my fans have first peek. So here you are. Curious what it's about? Here's the blurb:

"Is there anything I could say or do to earn your forgiveness?"

Website designer Chelsea Parks grew up believing she would marry her best friend's brother. In college, she gave him her virginity and he broke her heart. She knows she'll have to face him, now that she's maid of honor at his sister's wedding, but she doesn't expect to sit next to him on the plane to California. Good thing she's so completely over him.

Architect Gavin Fairfield knows he screwed up, but he's matured. Standing in as Father Of The Bride because his dad recently passed, he's reassessing his future, realizing how short life is and how much he misses Chelsea. He can see now that they're meant for each other. Too bad she's so completely over him.

Staying at his family's summer home, revisiting their old stomping grounds, burns Chelsea alive in their old flames. Gavin is as easy to love as ever. She'd like to be friends again, might even succumb to a fling for old time's sake, but real relationship aren't built on a weekend of nostalgia. Are they?

Download Cruel Summer in Kindle or ePub here

If you have any issues with this free download, please check out the handy tips at the bottom of this newsletter.

And please forward this newsletter to any friends you think might be interested in reading Cruel Summer. I hope they enjoy it and decide to join my list!

I hope you enjoy Cruel Summer. Thank you so much for being such a loyal fan!


Hustled to the Altar — New Cover, New Price
$4.99, limited time!

What do you think of the new look?

As I said above, I thought about giving away Hustled To The Altar to increase my fan base. If I decide to, you'll be the first to know, but there are a few reasons why I didn't see it as the best option.

First, a lot of you have read it. I didn't feel it was fair to offer something for free to new subscribers, but give nothing to my most loyal fans. I wanted something completely new that I could offer to you first.

Also, I wanted to learn the entire indie-publishing process. I paid someone to do the original cover and formatting for Hustled To The Altar, but this time I wanted to learn those skills myself. Finally, as much as I love Hustled To The Altar, it's not a typical example of my books. Cruel Summer is very much the type of story you've come to expect from me (if shorter than usual). It's a similar heat and humor level as my Montana Born books and it's not too different from my Harlequin Presents. Hustled To The Altar stands alone in its zany plot twists.

Why the new cover?

I have felt for a long time that Hustled To The Altar needed a new cover. I love the shell-game solo cups and toy car. To me, they're very appropriate to the story, but I don't think it's as eye-catching as it could be.

Once I decided to invest in a new cover, I decided to drop the price for the summer and see if it appeals to new readers. If you haven't read it, I hope you'll grab it now and if you do, please consider leaving a review.



June Contest Winner

Congratulations, Charline B of Clarkrange, TN who won the signed copies of the first three Makricosta books in my June website contest. Thank you to everyone who entered!


Out and About:

I'm very excited to be heading to New York this month! One of my writing-related goals is to use conference attendance as a means to see more of the world (and drag my husband with me.)

I went to New York years ago for an RWA conference, but only left the hotel once for dinner in the village. I'm looking forward to doing more touristy things this time and I know MrC won't have a chance to get bored while I'm busy visiting my writing friends!

Any chance you'll be there? Come see me at the

Readers For Life Literacy Autographing
Wed July 22, 2015, 5:30 ‐ 7:30 pm
New York Marriot Marquis
1535 Broadway, New York, NY

Proceeds from the sales go to literacy organizations.


Watch For:

Vows of Revenge

Release date: Sept 1, 2015

As soon as my author copies come, I'll set up a Goodreads Giveaway. Watch my account here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6572063.Dani_Collins. I expect it will be after I get back from New York, late July.

Meanwhile, here's an EXCLUSIVE sneak peek at Roman taking his revenge against Melodie:

"You're destroying my life," she informed him, heart beginning to tremble in her chest.

"Be sure to tell your father exactly how it feels."

"He wasn't going to hear her on the lack of communication between her and Garner. She wouldn't bother mentioning it again. This was happening. She could see his resolve and, if dealing with her father had taught her nothing else, she had learned to accept that there was evil in this world. The best you could do was mitigate the damage.

"Exactly what was the damage?

"What...?" She was afraid to ask. "What did you say about eviction?"

"He folded his arms, feet planted firmly. "I've made an offer to the owner of your building, one he can't refuse. It's on condition that your unit be made available immediately."

"Fury closed her fists into painful knots. "You can't do that."

"He didn't react beyond saying, "Your things are being removed as we speak."

"To where?" she cried.

"The nearest Dumpster?" he offered with a pitiless shrug.

"You—" Her voice caught and realization began to squeeze her in its icy fingers. Fine quakes accosted her. She shook her head in convulsive denial as the build-up of emotion threatened to break the walls of her control. One thought formed and clung like a teardrop to a lash. "You're having my mother thrown in the Dumpster. Is that what you're saying? What the hell kind of man are you? There are laws."

"His brows jerked together, the first sign of emotion since they'd been writhing with passion. "What do you mean?"

"My mother's ashes are in my apartment. You can't just throw someone away like that. You can't even—" Oh, what the hell did a man like him care about how hard it was to make the arrangements for scattering ashes?

"Anxiety brought tears to her eyes and she dashed them away, furious that she was breaking down, but this was the last straw. Losing things, starting over, having nowhere to live... Those were all problems she'd overcome before. Defiling her mother's remains was more than she could withstand. Her breath hissed in her pinched nostrils while her mind raced through all the hours of travel it would take to get back to Virginia to save her.

"I'll make a call," he said through gritted teeth.

"Because the wheels were already in motion.

"It hit her that he'd been making these arrangements yesterday, long before he'd kissed her in the cabana. He had set up all these horrible things, consigned her mother to the Dumpster, then had sex with her. She recoiled as she realized he'd already been filled with hatred and thoughts of revenge as he'd carried her to this bed.

"Her revulsion must have shown. He reacted with a dark flinch.

"I will," he assured her, glancing around as though he was looking for the nearest phone.

"You'll make a call," she repeated as she edged toward hysteria. "You're just full of consideration, aren't you? Lover." The word tasted like bile.

"His gaze flashed back to hers with warning. "Do you want me to do it or not?"

Vows of Revenge comes out Sept 1st. You can preorder here:

Amazon Australia / Mills & Boon: Not Available Yet


What's Next

Cruel Summer has kept me busy all through June. Now I'm ramping up for conference where I'll deliver a workshop entitled Synopsis For Success with Nancy Warren, Harlequin Blaze author.

When I get back, I'll be on deadline for my next Harlequin Presents. And, as I mentioned in my previous letters, I'm rewriting some older manuscripts for an as yet unknown market. With any luck, I will speak to an agent about them in New York. Oh, and I have begun developing an idea for a series.

A lot of authors say this is a great time to be an author and it's true, but having so many options is mind-bending. I often think I need a career counselor to help me stay focused! I have so many ideas and only so many hours in the day.

I hope you're having a great start to your summer. I'll tell you all about New York in my August letter and hopefully have lots of photos to share!

Hugs,

Dani

p.s. Here are the tips I promised for loading Cruel Summer onto your eReader:

Tips For Sideloading eBooks Onto Your Device:

Desktop, tablet or phone:

You will need the Kindle or Nook app, which is free from your app store.

Desktop: When my author friends send me an ebook, I can typically double-click it on my computer and it launches Kindle or iBooks, whichever is appropriate to the format and the book opens. It's just that simple!

Tablet or Phone: To get the book to my phone, I email the file as an attachment to myself. (You'll probably find the file in your downloads folder.) I then open that email on my phone. When I click on the attachment, it launches the app and I'm away to the races. As long as your email is set up on your tablet, I imagine it will operate in the same way.

I don't own a Kindle or Nook so I've found these more technical tips to get the book into your reading device:

If you're using a Kindle, Amazon has an app that uploads the file wirelessly. Find it here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/sendtokindle

There are also some excellent tips for other devices here:

http://www.galaxie.com/installing-ebooks

If you've tried all this and still have issues, get in touch with me. I'll do everything I can to help out, but I'm an author, not a tech genius. Your nearest and dearest teenager might be your best bet!

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