A BRAVO CHRISTMAS WEDDING nominated for best Special Edition of 2014!

Wahoo!  Feeling proud and happy.  A BRAVO CHRISTMAS WEDDING has been nominated by Romantic Times BookReviews for best Harlequin Special Edition of 2014!

Happy Holiday, everyone!

Goodreads Giveaway: A BRAVO CHRISTMAS WEDDING

This giveaway is closed.  Thanks so much to all who entered!  We had more than 800 entries.  XOXO!

I'm giving away five signed copies of my December release, A BRAVO CHRISTMAS WEDDING, over on Goodreads.  

Click HERE to enter between October 11 and November 11.


Good luck!

Cover Reveal A BRAVO CHRISTMAS WEDDING

A December release.

I absolutely love this one!



Back cover copy is next post down...

Back Cover Copy A BRAVO CHRISTMAS WEDDING...

Here's the back cover teaser for my December release, A Bravo Christmas Wedding:

LOVE ON THE RANGE? 

Princess Aurora Bravo-Calabretti is wishing for a mountain man this Christmas! But her most unroyal crush—rancher Walker McKellan—insists that they remain "just friends." Now he's her round-the-clock bodyguard while she is the maid of honor at her cousin's holiday wedding. Rory can't resist this Colorado cowboy…but she wishes she was walking down the aisle to meet Walker at the altar! 

Both the best man to the groom and Rory's bodyguard, Walker can't shake his charge. As he begins to see Rory in a different light, a surprise snowstorm strands him with his princess…and sparks ignite into a holiday love affair! Can their Christmas passion blossom into a very Bravo happily-ever-after?

(*)

This book will be the last in my Bravo Royales series.  It will also introduces my next series of Bravo Family stories, The Bravos of Justice Creek, which will star the children of Franklin Bravo.  Frank's no longer alive when these stories begin.  He had two wives, Sondra Oldfield Bravo and Willow Mooney Bravo.  And he cheated on the first with the second, having children with both of them pretty much at the same time.

Here's a little more on that subject: 

From the beginning, thirty-four years ago, when he took up with 18-year-old Willow Mooney, everyone in Justice Creek knew that Frank Bravo had a well-bred heiress wife at home and a young thing on the side.  Then both women started having babies practically simultaneously.  And not only that, Willow called her children by the last name of Bravo and Frank openly claimed them; he was named right there on their birth certificates as the dad. So Frank not only essentially had two families, the man was bold as brass about it and didn’t seem to care who knew.  Everyone said Sondra ought to leave him, but she never did, just went on popping out the babies at about the same rate as Willow across town...

Goodreads Giveaway Closed....

     

Thanks to all who entered.  We had over 600 entries.  Check back at Goodreads in October, when I will be giving away 5 copies of my December release, A BRAVO CHRISTMAS WEDDING!

I'm giving away five signed copies of my October release, THE EARL'S PREGNANT BRIDE over on Goodreads.
Good luck!

Cover and Back Cover Copy The Earl's Pregnant Bride, an October 2014 Release

I love this cover, even though the hero really looks nothing like the hero of the book.





























Here's the back cover copy:

THE STICK TURNED (ROYAL) BLUE…

And now the princess is in a pickle. Because the night that Genevra Bravo-Calabretti and the new Earl of Hartmore, Rafael DeValery, turned to each other, it was for comfort upon the death of his brother—the man who was about to propose to Genny. It was not supposed to change their lives forever.

But it had. For Rafe, it cemented his awareness that he'd been in love with Genevra since forever. And for Genny, it made her realize that Rafe was not the second-chance brother, but the one who'd held her heart all along…now all she had to do was convince him of that. Hopefully before the new heir(ess?) to the estate arrived…

(#)

And what does Rafe actually look like, you might ask?

A cross between Jason Momoa: 

And Joe Manganiello: 

And yes, he's an English earl.  I know, he doesn't look very English.  That's because there are secrets in the story.  Deep, closely-held family secrets....

Great Review of The Prince's Cinderella Bride

“Prince Maximilian Bravo-Calabretti’s marriage was a lie, even though he allowed the world to think otherwise. A true-hearted, sexy former nanny might  just test his vow to never marry again. Lani Vasquez’s first love ended in disaster, which is why she’s never walking down the aisle.  But a handsome and honorable widowed prince may change her mind.  Rimmer’s latest Bravo Royales romance is set amid fictional opulence, rich with tradition, secrets and tragedies.  The author handles it all eloquently with a commanding and expressive narrative.  Her couple overcomes major emotional hurdles through sympathy, empathy and a healthy dose of humor as evidenced by their everyday interatcts and lustful, lively love-play.”

                                                          --Debbie Haupt, RT BookReviews, 4 ½ Stars!

Cover Reveal: The Prince's Cinderella Bride

This is my May 2014 release.  Back cover copy next post down.

This didn't work for me at first.  The people look nothing like what I pictured.  Nothing.

That said, it's growing on me more and more. I put it up on Facebook--and everyone loved it.  So hey.  What do I know? ;)  Also, it has a certain tender quality that  I do like.

For fun, below are the images I sent the art department to show what Max and Lani look like:....Henry Cavill.  Yes!

And Danna Garcia for Lani

Ah, well....

Very cool thing:  I now get NYT Bestseller Billing.  Yay!

What do you think?

What's New for 2014?

Happy New Year, everyone!

This year, I'll have four books coming out, all from Harlequin Special Edition.  I'll be winding up the Bravo Royales series and starting out The Bravos of Justice Creek series, featuring a whole new branch of the Bravo family.

First off, in May 2014, look for THE PRINCE'S CINDERELLA BRIDE.  This is Max's story. He's the oldest of the Bravo-Calabretti siblings and the heir to his mother's throne.  I have back cover copy for this one:

                             
                                         From Texas nanny…to palace princess! 

It should never have happened—the night of forbidden magic that turned Lani Vasquez and Prince Maximilian Bravo-Calabretti into lovers. After all, Lani knew all too well that an affair between a lowly nanny and the heir to the throne could only end in heartbreak—her own. Which was why she had to end it before she lost her herself completely… 

His New Year's Eve with Lani had rocked Max's world—and now the Texas beauty wanted to be just friends? The single father had sworn he'd never marry again, but Lani had charmed his children and awakened his guarded heart. Will the prince catch his Cinderella before the clock strikes midnight?

Then in July, I'll be launching the 20-year anniversary of Harlequin's Montana Mavericks series with MILLION-DOLLAR MAVERICK.  In this one, I get to take the villain of last year, Nathan Crawford, and turn him into a hero.  It was a tough job, but somebody had to do it.  Nate has a tragic past and a lot to make up for and his heroine, Callie Kennedy, is just the woman to help him with that.

And in October watch for THE EARL'S PREGNANT BRIDE.  I like to think of that one as my Downton Abbey Bravo Royale story.

Finally, in December, Aurora, the last of the Bravo Royales, gets together with the new branch of the family, The Bravos of Justice Creek, in A BRAVO CHRISTMAS WEDDING.  Aurora comes to be the maid honor for a Colorado Bravo cousin--and gets in deep and fast with mountain man, Walker McKellan.

All around, a fun year, I think.  I'll be posting everything you could want to know about these upcoming releases as information comes in at my website, ChristineRimmer.com

I hope this message finds you well and happy and surrounded by the ones you love.  May your New Year be filled with love, laughter--and great books!

Got special plans for New Years?  Leave a comment here before January 2--and I'll draw a winner from the comments for a $10 Amazon gift card!  Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

Almost Autumn....

I can just feel fall in the air about now.  We get the sun peeking through the clouds now and then, but it's generally grayer than sunny here in the Pacific Northwest.

At left, a little vase of sunflowers to remind you that summer isn't that far gone.

Here in my office, I'm well into my current series for Harlequin Special Edition, the Bravo Royales, about the princely branch of the Bravo family.  Nine stories in all in this group.  Holiday Royale  --cover at right, top--will be book six in the series.

I've already written book seven, which is the story of Maximilian Bravo-Calabretti, the heir to the throne of fictional Montedoro, first-born of the Bravo Royales  After that, two more and I'm on to the next branch of the Bravo family, the children of Franklin Bravo.

I've just finished putting together my material to take with me to plot group for a few days in October.  We'll be brainstorming the newest group of Bravo stories.  Working title for this series is The Bravos of Justice Creek.

In publishing, the author is always way ahead of the release schedule.  I'm already planning the next series and half of the Bravo Royales have yet to come out.

Notice the new cover style on both How to Marry a Princess and Holiday Royale--more mainstream-looking, without the usual blue half-frame Special Edition has been known for.  Do you like it?  Or do you prefer the older style?

Hope this blog finds you well and happy--and that you're enjoying cooler days and getting lots of reading done.

Happy New Year!

Time to take down the tree and ring in the New Year.  We'll be celebrating at home this year.  Just the way I like it. A little hot cider by the fire.  May your New Years dreams all come true.

Your resolutions, too!

This year I will have four books on the stands, three new Bravo Royale stories and one fun Montana Maverick tale, all from Harlequin Special Edition.

In April, watch for Rhiannon Bravo-Calabretti's story, HER HIGHNESS AND THE BODYGUARD.

I have back cover copy for that one:

CALABRETTIS MARRY FOR DUTY-BUT BRAVO-CALABRETTIS MARRY FOR LOVE 

Marcus is the best man Rhia's ever known, and she's never gotten over their breakup. Now, he's practically strapped to her side. It's like a dream come true...or a nightmare. Because Marcus is as stubborn as ever: she's a Bravo-Calabretti, he's a lowly security guard, and they can never be equals. Ever.  

Then a breathless night that should have brought closure brings something else: a baby. Marcus insists that no child of his will grow up without its own mother and father. Well, Rhia has her own requirement: her child will be raised on love, not the dry bread of obligation. And Marcus has made it abundantly clear that his duty to Montedoro comes before everything-especially his own desires.

                                                                                                                       ***

Then, in July, the launch of an all-new Montana Mavericks series with STRANDED WITH THE MAVERICK.  And finally, in November and December, two more Bravo Royale books: HOW TO MARRY A PRINCESS and HOLIDAY ROYALE. 

HER HIGHNESS AND THE BODYGUARD  and STRANDED WITH THE MAVERICK are already written.  I'll be starting on HOW TO MARRY A PRINCESS the day after New Years.  Can't wait.

Here's to much success for everyone in 2012!

Happy Holidays, Everyone....

...and a Joyous New Year to you all!

Right now, I have a Christmas book, The Rancher's Christmas Princess, in stores.  I hope you'll give it a look.  On Kindle, it's currently available for $1.99!

Also, as it happens, I'm writing a proposal for next year's December release.  this will be book 5 in the Bravo Royales series, Prince Damien's story.  Damien is the player of the family, who will finally meet his match in sweet Lucy Cordell, the long-sheltered little sister of Noah Cordell, who will find his true love in How to Marry a Princess, which will be out in November of 2013!

I have a general idea of the direction of Damien and Lucy's story.  It's kind of a Pygmalion story, a My Fair Lady story.  Lucy needs Damien to teach her to be smart and sophisticated so she can win the heart of another man who won't give her the time of day because she's such an innocent.  Damien may be a player.  But he has a soft spot for sweet Lucy and has proved in the previous book that he's willing to help her get whatever she needs.  Or desires.

But you know how it goes.  Writing is a layering process.  And I'm seeing that there's a layer missing in this story.  Another element that will really make it work.  I'm thinking it's a child.  Because, after all, there's nothing like a precious child.  Especially at Christmas.....

Cover The Rancher's Christmas Princess

Totally in love with this one!  Feels like the holidays are coming early, somehow.

Scroll to next post down for back cover copy...

Almost Like Fall...

It is!  Almost like fall around here.  The False Solomon Seal, at left, has bloomed, shed its petals and brought out the fall berries--which as you can see, are half-eaten already by local wildlife.

It's gorgeous here this time of year.  Brisk clear nights and days warming into the '80s.  The Northwest version of paradise.

My flame maple in back is looking pretty red.  It's a big sapling, still, so it's not that showy.  But it's definitely showing me its version of Autumn.

It's been one super-busy summer around here, rushing to meet deadlines, attending the big Romance Writers of America conference in Anaheim.  Great fun.  Photos on my website, here.

I was up for the RITA award twice.  Didn't win.  But sure had a lovely gala night at the awards dessert party.  My younger son came to visit for a few days.  So good to see him.  We showed him the sites of Portland.

And now we're into our big master bath remodel.  (Pictures later) and I'm off soon to plot group to plan more books.

And speaking of books...

Two in a row comin' right up.  In November, The Prince She Had to Marry.  Here's the cover:

I love the look the two of them are sharing.  And her cute little baby bump.  She's about three months pregnant in this scene.

Back cover copy reads:

FOR HONOR.  AND FOR LOVE?

Cold, distant Alexander Bravo-Calabretti was the last man

Liliana of Alagonia had ever imagined marrying! After all,

even a princess longs for happily-ever-after. But when a

one-night fling with her nemesis led to a royal baby-on-the-

way, only a wedding would satisfy their disapproving

families. So with a fast, secret ceremony, they were joined

for life.

Alex had agreed to make an effort for the sake of the

baby, even though letting the lovely Lili close was a threat

to the barriers he’d long struggled to maintain. But the

future of the throne—and his royal honor—was at stake.

And when he and Lili posed as happy newlyweds for the

paparazzi, he found himself wishing that their marriage

could be for real after all….

Then in December, The Rancher's Christmas Princess.  I don't have the cover for that yet.  But here's the back cover copy:

A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 

FROM THE PAST.

Arabella Bravo-Calabretti came to Elk Creek, Montana, with a secret to deliver and a job to do. Being a Bravo Royale, she was going to do it right. Before she handed her best friend's darling son, Ben, over to his unwitting father, they would all spend Christmas together. Only then could she be absolutely sure that rancher Preston McCade was ready to be a dad.

Or...was that really the reason Belle was hanging around?  She and Preston were practically from different planets, yet the attraction was undeniable.  Before long, someone was utterly in love with a rancher--and Christmas in Montana was presenting one suprise after another.

I do love the copy on both of these.  You can click on the titles to order from Amazon.

Happy Reading everyone...and now, to clean up this office a little....

Gone to the Beach...

Or rather, I was gone. This weekend.  It was lovely, just me and my husband.  We walked and we enjoyed the small fishing town of Garibaldi, Oregon.  This picture was taken on the beach at Oceanside.  What a great time we had.

And now...back to work. A proposal to write for book four of the BRAVO ROYALES and then on to write the mauscript for book three.

We had a week of gorgeous days here in Portland, but today we're back to rainy with clouds.  It's okay.  It's sunny in my heart!  ;)

To the left?  Driftwood on that same Oceanside Beach.

Wanted to take the train tour of Tillamook Bay.  But the tours don't start till next week.  So I settled for standing on the steps....

FFFt on New Look...

Blogger?  Hello?  Dynamic Views?  Not so much.  So I'm back to the old layout with a pretty forest background.  Yay!

And here's a forest view from out my living room window. Soooo beautiful here.  In the '80s today.  Enjoying every minute of this sunshiny week.

This is cleanup week after the big push to get the most recent book in--which was book 3 in The Bravo Royales series.

Now I'm doing the line edit for the Book 2, THE PRINCE SHE HAD TO MARRY.  And then filing and all other manner of glamorous stuff.  (not.)  And shopping.  Gearing up for the trip to Anaheim in July for the big Romance Writers of America conference.  Rooming with my longtime buddy, Susan Crosby.  It's going to be great fun.

Hope it's sunny where you are!

On to the next book...

To the left?  Cats in the sun.  We don't get a whole lot of sun around here this time of year, so they never miss their chance to lie in a spot of sunshine when it finally becomes available.  That was last week sometime.  Today, it's rainy and gray again.  I'm glad I took that picture to remind me of the last sunny day.

It's fabulous being a RITA finalist (see previous post).  But in the end, the working life of a writer is about...the writing.

So I've moved on to the next project, for which the title has actually been formalized.  THE RANCHER'S CHRISTMAS PRINCESS will be on stands in December of this year.  This will be the third in The Bravo Royales series, the first where the heroine is one of the five Bravo-Calabretti princesses.

Princess Arabella's best friend has recently and tragically died.  So Belle comes to Montana to find the father of her best friends eighteen-month-old son.

I'm writing the scene where she tells the hero that he's a dad.  He's not taking it all that well--which makes for fast, emotion-packed writing.  My favorite kind!

Snowy March Day! And thoughts on plotting.

So I put up a new green, lush forest background for this blog.  And then yesterday?  Snow.  Yep.  In March.  It was kinda pretty, though.

Played back the first of my two taped plotting sessions from Plot Group.  Always interesting what great ideas I get from the group.  And then the way I see the story moving after I've played the tape back.  usually, we plot the heroes a little harsh.  I find more and more I like to dial them back a bit.  Make them more sympathetic.

Well, sometimes.  LOL  In this story--working title: Her Highness and the Bodyguard--the hero, Marcus and the heroine, Rhiannon (yes, a princess) have history.  We plotted it so that Rhia loved Marcus madly in the past and he walked away for duty's sake.  I think I'm going to say they BOTH walked away.  That she had things she wanted to do and marrying at the age of 18 (when they first hooked up) wasn't one of them.  But then they get trapped in a car in a Montana snowstorm.  What do you know?  Nature takes its course...  Mwahaha.

Montana?  you might be wondering.  A princess and her bodyguard in Montana?  Well, see, in the previous story (The manuscript of which I will be starting next week), the heroine, Belle, went to Montana to honor a friend's dying wish.  There she met horse rancher Preston McCade and...

Wait. You don't need to read all that.  Not now.  Later.  Like in December, when Belle's book will be on the stands.

It is a bit odd, talking about books that aren't even written yet.  Odd, but wonderful.  At least to me...

Travels to Vegas

Back from plot group.  That would be four days in Las Vegas with four other authors.  10 plotting sessions, 2 books each.  Lots of Starbucks and way too many tortilla chips on the two nights we ate Mexican.  I love salsa.  I also love guacamole.  We had both.  That's my excuse.  Mwahaha.

The picture to the left?  Yours truly, Teresa Southwick and Kate Carlisle, three of the five of our crew.  Missing from this photo?  Susan Mallery and Maureen Child.

Now I'm home, catching up madly.  I finished the edits that were waiting for me from my publisher.  And Monday?  On to the next proposal.  That will take up to a week.  I love writing proposals because I start by listening to the tape of the plotting session from plot group.  I love not only the great ideas I get from my plot mates, but also the jokes we are constantly cracking as the session progresses.

Once the proposal is outta here, I'll write the third in the Bravo Royales series.  Title: THE RANCHER'S CHRISTMAS PRINCESS.  You'll never guess.  It's a December release.

Here in Portland, the sun is out.  Loving that.  Hope it's sunny where you are...

Back Cover Copy--The Prince's Secret Baby

I so wish Blogger would let me upload a PDF file, so I could show you the whole cover flat on this book.  Really nice, with the heroine in her white dress and veil, carrying a bouquet of yellow roses on their wedding day.





I like the back cover copy a lot, too:

“BE MY BRIDE.”

Only a matter of urgent Bravo family business could bring

Prince Rule to America. And he wasn’t leaving until he met

Sydney O’Shea…

…who happened to be the mother of Rule’s toddler son.

Rule didn’t expect the firestorm of desire the regal Texas

attorney stirred in him. With Montedoran law decreeing that

he wed or lose everything, the captivated prince came up

with the perfect solution. Propose marriage, now. There

would be time enough later to tell all…

wouldn’t there?

The Bravo Royales: When it comes to love, Bravos rule!