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Sea Panther by Dawn Marie Hamilton – Review, Interview & Giveaway

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Sea Panther by Dawn Marie Hamilton – Review, Interview & Giveaway

 

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Sea Panther
Crimson Storm #1
by Dawn Marie Hamilton
Genre: paranormal, Highlander, vampire, romance, time travel
Release Date: March 20, 2014

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Description:
Sea Panther ~ a Scottish inspired paranormal romance with a Highlander vampire shifter hero, a modern damsel in distress, adventure, suspense, and romance. And a wee bit of time travel—just for fun.

Can love mend a fractured soul?

After evading arrest for Jacobite activities, Scottish nobleman Robert MacLachlan turns privateer. A Caribbean Voodoo priestess curses him to an eternal existence as a vampire shifter torn between the dual natures of a Florida panther and an immortal blood-thirsting man. For centuries, he seeks to reverse the black magic whilst maintaining his honor. Cruising the twenty-first century Atlantic, he becomes shorthanded to sail his 90-foot yacht, Sea Panther. The last thing he wants is a female crewmember and the call of her blood.

Although she swore never to sail again after her father died in a sailing accident, Kimberly Scot answers the captain’s crew wanted ad to escape a hit man. She’s lost everything, her fiancé, her job, and most of her money, along with money belonging to her ex-clients. A taste of Kimberly’s blood convinces Robert she is the one woman who can claim the panther’s heart. To break the curse, they travel back in time to where it all began—Jamaica 1715

Review:
Sea Panther is the first book in the Crimson Storm series by Dawn Marie Hamilton.

Robert MacLachlan is a Scottish nobleman cursed by the Voodoo Priestess Zola.  He is now damned for all eternity to walk his life as a vampire shifter.  He has spent lifetimes searching for a cure to his malady.  Now in the twenty-first century his yacht is down one crew member.  His faithful servant and friend Colin MacEwen has placed and ad looking for said crew member.  The answer to the ad may be Robert’s downfall or his cure.

Kimberly Scot is a wanted woman. A wanted woman being tracked by the wrong man. A hit man to be exact.  A shady financial deal coaxed on by her now ex-fiancé has left her jobless, homeless, emotionally and financially ruined.  Desperate to escape her impending doom – she decides to answer an ad for a crew member on the yacht the Sea Panther.  Kimberly hasn’t sailed in years, not since her father death.  She swore she would never said again, until now.  Desperate to leave behind her life in ruins, she meets with the Sea Panthers captain and practically begs him to take her with him.

Once Robert meets his new crew member, a female, no less.  That is the last possible thing he needs right now! He can barely control both his inner vampire and inner beast from the moment he meets Kimberly. And one small taste of her blood convinces him that he has found his mate! But will Kimberly still want to be with him once she knows about the curse and the beasts within him?

I knew within the first few pages of meeting Robert that I was going to fall head over heels in love and that is exactly what I did. From the Scottish accent to his rebel attitude. The loyalty of his friends and crew only leave you wanting more.  His sister Raven left a lot to be desired at first but she quickly began to grow on me.  The relationship between Robert and Kimberly was romantic and mysterious.  Each page left me wanting more.  The tale of woven imagery was good to begin with with but throw in time travel and the Port Royal Harbor, Jamaica, 1715 and I was hooked.

After finishing this book I desperately searched for information on a second book and was so please to find that book two will be Raven’s book.  So look forward to reading that! And I would love to know more about Colin

Reviewed by Erin

Copy provided by Author

Interview 1

dawn_head_shot_small

 

The Reading Cafe is happy to welcome Dawn Marie Hamilton. Dawn is here today to discuss her new release, Sea Panther, as well as tell us what she has in store for us in 2014.

Let’s talk to Dawn.

 

TRC:  Please tell us about yourself

Dawn:  In pursuit of a longtime dream, I left a corporate career and became an indie author of Scottish inspired fantasy and paranormal romance. One of the highs on the roller coaster ride occurred when my paranormal romance ‘Sea Panther’ finaled in the Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® contest.

TRC:  Did you always have an interest in writing?  When and how did you first start writing?

Dawn:  My first foray into writing was short stories for a creative writing class in high school. I wanted to be a writer, but life and a corporate career got in the way. I traveled often for business and spent many lonely evenings reading romance novels. To pass time while traveling, I made up stories about couples lounging in hotel lobbies and airport waiting rooms. Stories about how they met, the conflicts they faced, and what their future would bring. While riding in a taxi in Brussels, a whisky billboard sporting a hunky Highlander caught my attention and I thought perhaps I could write stories about men like him.

TRC:  Sea Panther is the first book in your Crimson Storm series.  Can you please tell us the premise of the Crimson Storm series, and how you came up with the idea?  

sea panther smallerDawn:  The official blurb: In 1715, political unrest plagues Britain. Pirates haunt the waters off His Majesty’s island of Jamaica. And a Voodoo priestess unleashes an unholy ancient power, triggering a bloody Crimson Storm.

The inspiration for the series came during the writing of ‘Sea Panther’. It all started with wanting to write a vampire pirate series. Robert, the hero of Sea Panther balked. He didn’t want to be a pirate. While researching a Scottish connection for the story, I stumbled across an historical hypothesis that Lord Archibald Hamilton, Governor of Jamaica, had gathered together and commissioned a fleet of private warships in Port Royal, Jamaica, intended as a Jacobite navy. The Jacobites were from noble Scottish families, and along with many Englishmen were determined to place James Stuart on the thrown instead of George Ludwig, King George I, the German wearing the English crown. So Robert became a privateer, who during a botched Voodoo curse is transformed into a Vampire and a Florida Panther shifter.

For the series, each vampire shifts into a different animal—Florida panther, raven, wolf, jaguar, hawk.

TRC:  Can you please give us a brief description of Sea Panther?

Dawn:  Tortured by his vampire and Florida Panther shifter selves, Robert MacLachlan sails the Atlantic, seeking a way to reverse the black magic that cursed him. During a return trip to his compound in Florida where scientists and doctors work on a cure under the guise of a Florida Panther research facility, he becomes shorthanded to sail his 90-foot sailing yacht. Kimberly Scot joins the crew to escape a hit man. Sparks fly between the couple as they stop at several port of calls—Chesapeake City, Annapolis, New Bern, Charleston, St. Marys—and escape those who stalk them. At Robert’s compound in Florida they learn of a way to end the curse, but they must travel to Jamaica 1715.

TRC:  All your books take place in Scotland.  Is there a reason they are all things Scottish?

Dawn:  The Highland Gardens series of time travel romances take place in both the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and Scotland. The Crimson Storm series, although inspired by Scottish history, takes place in multiple locales around the world. I’ve always been enamored by the Scottish portion of my ancestry, and thread the history and culture of Scotland within my stories.

TRC:  When writing Hot Scottish hunks, what actors do you envision playing those roles?

Dawn:  This is a tough question. I would much rather read a book than watch TV and only occasionally watch movies, but here goes: Certainly, Gerald Butler. Perhaps Sean Bean, Hugh Jackman, or Kevin McKidd for a Highland chief. I’ve never seen him act, but I like the looks of Jason Lewis for Robert in ‘Sea Panther’

TRC:  What is your writing process? Do you have a favorite spot or time? Do you like to outline your stories or just go with the flow?

Dawn:  There is a really comfy overstuffed chair and ottoman in my office, which is my favorite place to write—usually during the day while my husband is out of the house. The process for writing each story is different, but all begin with the seed of an idea—a character, a setting, or a plot thread. I might start writing and research along the way or begin with research and move on to the writing. I start with a rough outline and use a storyboard to expand on the plot as I write. After a very rough draft is written, I go back and layer in more detail. The story gets passed off to critique partners then I edit, edit, and edit, before sending the manuscript to a professional editor for a couple of passes.

TRC:  You have written Fantasy, Time Travel romance, and Paranormal.  Do you have a preference, and are there any other genres you would like to write?

Dawn:  Never say never, but I write what I like to read. Genre lines are blurry, and my stories tend to bend the traditional rules. History, time travel, fantasy, paranormal, and romantic suspense merge.

TRC:  When not writing, what hobbies do you like to do to relax?

Dawn:  An avid gardener, I shed stress while getting my hands dirty. I enjoy cooking and sometimes share recipes on author Pat McDermott’s food website, Kitchen Excursions. I love the outdoors and camp, hike, bicycle, and canoe with my husband. Our recent favorite haunt is Shenandoah National Park.

TRC:  What are you currently working on?

Dawn:  Just Wait For Me, the third novel in the Highland Gardens series and a holiday novella are in the works in addition to Raven’s Revenge the second book in the Crimson Storm series.

TRC:  Is there a book or author that gave you the inspiration to write?

Dawn:  I can’t pinpoint a specific book or author. It’s been more of a culmination of all the books I’ve read by numerous romance authors over the years.

TRC:   Who are your favorite fictional character (male and female) (not your own)?

Dawn:  Wrath and Beth from the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J. R. Ward. I so enjoy revisiting with them in each book of the series.

TRC:   Would you like to add anything else?

Dawn:  Thank you for having me as a guest at the Reading Cafe.

LIGHTNING ROUND:

FAVORITE FOOD  Salmon

FAVORITE DESSERT  Smith Island Cake

MILK OR DARK CHOCOLATE  Dark

FAVORITE BOOK  Dark Lover  J. R. Ward

FAVORITE MOVIE  Somewhere in Time

LAST BOOK YOU READ  Edge of Darkness by J. T. Geissinger

CAT OR DOG?  Dog (Sheltie)

Thank you, Dawn for answering our questions. The Reading Café wishes you the best of luck with Sea Panther.

If you would like to learn more about Dawn, you can find her at the following links:
Blog  / Twitter /  Facebook  / Amazon  /  Goodreads

 

Giveaway

Dawn is graciously offering an e-copy of Sea Panther to one (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

1. Please register using the log-in at the top of the page.

2. If you are using a social log-in such as Twitter or Facebook, please post your email address with your comment.

3. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

 4. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

5. Giveaway open Internationally

6. Giveaway runs from April 27 to May 1, 2014

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Breakaway by Catherine Gayle-Review, Interview and Giveaway

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Breakaway by Catherine Gayle-Reviews, Interview and Giveaway

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Breakaway
Portland Storm #1
by Catherine Gayle
Release Date: December 20, 2013
Genre: contemporary, new adult, hockey,romance

Breakaway

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BREAKAWAY (Portland Storm #1) by Catherine Gayle

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 20, 2013

She’s reaching for a breakaway pass.

Dana Campbell has spent the past seven years in self-imposed isolation for a crime she didn’t commit. The danger is well in the past, but her panic attacks make it impossible to have a normal, healthy relationship with a man. Even her counselor has given up on her. She has to find someone she trusts to help her fight through the panic, or her seven-year ordeal will become a lifetime sentence. There’s only one man she feels safe enough to ask.

He got caught with his head down.

As the captain of the NHL’s once elite but now fading Portland Storm, Eric Zellinger knows a thing or two about keeping his focus on the job. Questions are flying about his ability to lead the team back to the playoffs. If they don’t make it, he might be shipped out of town. It’s the worst time possible for his best friend’s kid sister to divide his focus. How can he give her what she needs without jeopardizing both the Storm’s playoff hopes and his future with the team?

It’s her only chance, but it’s his last shot.

••••••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: BREAKAWAY is the first storyline in Catherine Gayle’s contemporary, new adult, series focusing on the fictional NHL hockey team the Portland Storm. This is the Storm captain Eric Zellinger and Dana Campbell’s story and a story that is emotional, heartbreaking and painful to read.

The premise focuses on Dana Campbell and the final step in a recovery process that has been years in the making. Following a horrific off-ice attack seven years earlier, the once and former upcoming woman’s hockey player has suffered horrendous PTSD and panic attacks, withdrawal, depression and flashbacks. Her inability to move forward has frozen Dana in a world where anything and anyone can trigger an attack. Knowing that to move on she must face her biggest challenge and she risks losing her best friend when she asks Eric Zellinger to help her overcome her fears.

Breakaway is a story about a woman who has suffered physically, mentally and emotionally only to find herself unable to move forward. The psychological ramifications and the character’s inability to interact with the opposite sex on any social level is frustrating, humiliating and debilitating-not only for Dana and Eric- but the reader as well. We struggle with Dana as she tries to overcome the traumatic hold that the attack has beaten into her psyche. It is heartbreaking to watch as one woman is unable to socialize, talk with or make eye contact with any male as well as the family who loves and cares for her. She will place her fragile and broken mind into the hands of the one man who believes he will be incapable of pulling away in the end.

Catherine Gayle has written an emotional storyline that focuses on one woman’s recovery and the people who make it possible. We are introduced to the men and women of the Portland Storm-the support system and the players who know that one of their own is suffering because of the woman he loves. In the end, we will get our happily ever after, but not before our heart breaks for a young woman whose life has been broken and destroyed.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy

Interview

TRC: Hi Catherine and welcome to The Reading Cafe. Congratulations on the release of BREAKAWAY.

Catherine:  Thanks for having me!

Catherine GaylejpgTRC: We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

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Catherine: I’m a full-time writer. Even though I live in North Carolina now, I’m still a Texan at heart and probably always will be. You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can’t take Texas out of the girl. I’ve been published for almost three years now, and I absolutely love my job.

TRC: You are primarily known for writing historical romance storylines. What factored into your decision to venture into writing other genres such as New Adult?

Catherine: In all honesty, I never thought I would write anything but historical romance until the day I started work on BREAKAWAY. I was in the midst of trying to write one of my historicals that was not moving at all, when the opening scene to BREAKAWAY hit me. It was fully-fleshed out right from the get-go, and I knew I wouldn’t get anything done the rest of the day if I didn’t at least write that scene. So I took an hour and wrote it, then sent it off to a few of my author-friends in the hopes that they’d tell me it was awful and I needed to put it away to get back to work on my historical. They didn’t. They told me the opposite, in fact. The next thing I knew, BREAKAWAY took over my life until it was finished.

BreakawayTRC: BREAKAWAY (December 2013) is the first instalment in your contemporary, new adult PORTLAND STORM series. Would you please tell us something about the series and storyline premise?

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Catherine: The PORTLAND STORM series will be based around an NHL team, the Portland Storm. Each book will have a different player on the team as the hero–no cliffhangers! BREAKAWAY is about the team’s captain, Eric Zellinger, and his best friend’s kid sister, Dana Campbell. He’s always had a thing for her, but she was raped several years before the story begins, and in the aftermath of being raped, she’s suffered from panic attacks when she’s around men. Eric has convinced himself he’ll never be able to have the sort of relationship he wants with her because of that, but Dana wants him to help her to get past the panic. The next book in the series will star Dana’s older brother, and I’ve already got ideas in place for several more books down the line.

TRC: The storyline focus is difficult and heartbreaking and, will be for many women who have suffered similarly. What challenges or difficulties (research, logistics, background) did you encounter writing this particular story and series?

Catherine: The biggest challenge for me in writing BREAKAWAY was that I took a piece of my own life–being raped and suffering from panic attacks afterward–and gave it to my heroine. I had to strike the right balance of capturing what Dana experienced without turning it into me and my life. There’s a fine line between conveying a fictional character’s emotional journey as honestly as possible and backing off from it a little too much because of what emotions it brought up in me.

TRC: Are any of the characters or premise based in reality or a culmination of fact and fiction?

Catherine: Dana’s rape and panic attacks are, as explained above, based on my own experiences. The rest of her character, and all of the other characters and situations, are purely fictional.

TRC: If you could virtually cast the leading characters in this storyline, which models or actors best represents your ideal image?

Catherine: Oh, wow. I’m so not good with this. LOL. I’d say Dana Campbell could be played by a younger Charlize Theron, and Eric Zellinger could be played by Ian Somerhalder.

Dana and Eric 2

TRC: How do you keep the plot unpredictable without sacrificing content and believability?

Catherine: I’m a character-driven writer, and that tends to lend itself well to keeping the plot unpredictable. In any situation my characters face, if I try to force them into actions just because it suits the plot, then the plot falls apart. I have to allow my characters the freedom to react and respond in a natural way.

TRC: Are you a plotter or a panster (write by the ‘seat of your pants’)?

Catherine: I’ve been a bit of both. With my historicals, I am very much a plotter. With my contemporary romances, I’ve found it is best to write as a pantser. I have an end-goal in mind from the beginning, but the path to getting there is up in the air.

To Enchant an EarlTRC: When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

Catherine: My characters direct the storyline. I always run into problems if I try to force them to adhere to a pre-determined plot point.

TRC: The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writers fail in this endeavor?

Catherine: I think that writers have to write honestly enough, to go deep enough into their characters’ heads, that THEY experience the emotions alongside their characters. Sometimes, we’re afraid to go there because of what it might bring forward from our own lives. But if we hold back from that, then we’re creating a distance between ourselves and our characters that will always transfer over to the reader, as well.

TRC: Writer’s Block is a very real phenomenon. How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of writer’s block?

Catherine: I have multiple series going, and so if I get stuck on one piece I’m writing, I always have some other project I can work on. It helps me to keep my sanity, and to maintain productivity.

The Devil to PayTRC: Many authors bounce ideas and information with other authors or friends and family. With whom do you bounce ideas?

Catherine: I’ve got some fantastic critique partners–Erin Knightley, Tammy Falkner, Ava Stone, Jessica Knight-Catania, and Jane Charles, just to name a few–who are always willing and able to help bouncing ideas around. I’ve also done a plotting weekend with Erin Knightley and Heather Snow, where we’ve helped one another work out ideas for our upcoming projects. Any time I get together with another writer, there is a great possibility of ideas being tossed around.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Catherine: I’m writing the second PORTLAND STORM novel, tentatively titled ON THE FLY, and brainstorming ideas for a historical novella, A DANCE WITH THE DEVIL.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Catherine: Thanks so much for having me!

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
Tex-Mex

Favorite Dessert
Creme brulee

Favorite TV Show
Downton Abbey

Last Movie You Saw
The Hobbit 2: The Desolation of Smaug

Dark or Milk Chocolate
DARK

Secret Celebrity Crush
Steve Yzerman (he’s a retired hockey player)

Sandy: OMG-love Stevie Y ( I am a diehard Red Wing Fan)

Last Vacation Destination
A cruise to the Bahamas

Pet Peeve
The screaming toddler next door

TRC: Thank you Catherine for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of BREAKAWAY. We wish you all the best for 2014.

Catherine: Thank you again! It’s been a pleasure.

giveaway

Catherine is offering a paper copy of BREAKAWAY to two (2)  lucky commenters at The Reading Cafe.

1. If you have not registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. Please comment and say hello to Catherine or let us know-DO YOU LIKE HOCKEY?

4. Giveaway is open to US and CANADA only.

5. Giveaway runs from january 19 to January 23, 2014

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