VANQUISHED and my other Men of Roxbury House Victorian-set romances, originally published with Medallion Media Group, are also available in French and Italian. As they say, it’s a small world. I am beyond thrilled to be able to share these beloved books with romance readers around the globe.

I’m thrilled to announce my latest—and until now Super Secret—project, SUGAR (Skyhorse Publishing, October 2013), a contemporary erotic romance with the incomparable Jenna Jameson!

SUGAR will be Jenna’s fiction debut, and I’m over-the-moon honored to partner with her in bringing her sexy and soulful story to readers.

SUGAR is a first for me as well: my hard cover debut!

The project is also my first teaming with another author, and I’ll admit I wasn’t quite certain what to expect. Writing is, by its very nature, a solitary profession. What would it be like to invite another writer into my Writing Cave? What would it be like to be a guest in hers? I’m happy to report the experience has been A+++ on all levels, an uncanny meeting of complementary minds, talents, and life experiences.

But then it’s no surprise that Jenna can bring the sexy and then some! Her 2010 memoir, HOW TO MAKE LOVE LIKE A PORN STAR, sold a quarter of a million copies and hit the New York Times bestseller list.

So what’s SUGAR about?

As my longtime readers will attest, second chances are a recurring theme in all my books, contemporary and historical, yet another reason I am so jazzed about SUGAR.

Like Jenna, the heroine of SUGAR is a former porn star, a smart, savvy, strong woman who’s taken total charge of her career and has now decided to refocus her priorities on her personal life. Fleeing the bright lights and big city of Los Angeles, she moves to Manhattan to reinvent herself. In doing so, she gets more than she bargained for—a lot more.

Cover reveal—trust me, it’s g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s and smokin’ hot—and additional details about the book coming soon!

* Jenna Jameson, Photo courtesy of IMDb.

5-8-13: Congratulations to my three winners: Blake K, Ayana F & Gloria W! Your Amazon Gift Cards are en route. Many thanks to all my readers for making the blog tour so much fun and please look for the Suddenly Cinderella series finale releasing Fall 2013.

To paraphrase the late great Agatha Christie, there is nothing like champagne on a champagne occasion.  Or, I would add, Amazon gift cards to sate the appetite of voracious romance readers!

And so I am celebrating the release of THE CINDERELLA MAKEOVER, Book #2 in my Suddenly Cinderella Series, with but one, not two, but three Amazon gift card giveaways. The cards, valued at $10 each, will go to three randomly selected winners.

To be entered to win, see the Rafflecopter form below for instructions — it’s simple, I promise!

May the odds be with you.

Hope

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I started off with a visit to RendezVous The Romance Bookstore where the lovely and knowledgeable Mirna Denic was holding down the fort–in this case the shop. Between fielding phone calls from romance enthusiasts, patiently steering each customer to the next perfect for them read, she chatted with me about my series. We even managed to squeeze in a bit of picture taking!

Next stop was Dymock’s where I chatted up the romance specialist on staff and left a stack of bookmarks for the romance fiction book club that meets monthly at the store.

A time out at the National Gallery of Victoria provided a pleasant two-hour stroll through the museum’s impressive collection of paintings, sculpture, and pottery by Australian artists.  The artistic foray was field work for an upcoming novel!

With Mirna Denic of Melbourne’s iconic RENDEZVOUS The Romance Bookstore.

All that walking can leave an author girl footsore–and feeling more like a stepsister who’d attempted to cram her hoof into a too tiny glass slipper than an actual princess. The remedy: a 20 minute foot massage at a local day spa!

Then it was off to dinner — a dozen local “pearls of the sea” plus a hearty steak at Pop in Hardware Lane.

Now its back to the hotel and an early lights out in prep for tomorrow’s trip down the Great Ocean Road, which follows Victoria’s ruggedly beautiful southwestern coast. .

I am writing this post from sunny Melbourne, the second stage of my Australian…progress.

My tour started with the third annual Australian Romance Readers Conference, ARRC2013, in Brisbane where I was honored to present our first ever overseas Lady Jane’s Salon. Four fabulous guests (Cathy Maxwell, Keri Arthur, Amy Andrews & Anna Campbell), an enthusiastic audience of more than 100 attendees, and a bistro style setting cleverly created by conference coordinator Debbie Jay et al. contributed to a rousing success. Read more about the Salon program here.

Following Friday night’s Salon, I took off my co-founder cap and put on my author tiara. Panels and a book fair rounded out the week.

Around the conference, I managed to squeeze in trips to Carrumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Mount Tambourine with fellow author, Cathy Maxwell. Cuddling koalas, hoisting wine glasses, and dining on Moreton Bay “bugs” (trust me, they’re a delicacy) made for a spectacularly fun week. Many thanks to the delightful Megan Bamford for her extraordinary hospitality and hostessing skills.

Before leaving Brisbane for Melbourne, I stopped by the legendary Rosemary’s Romance Books and visited with proprietress extraordinaire, Rosemary Potter.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Rosemary stateside over the years, usually at RT BOOK Lovers conferences but catching up in her beautiful store was truly special. Wood paneled book shelves, a fainting couch, and myriad romance novels, all meticulously cataloged and shelved, had me wishing I might make a day of my visit rather than an hour. Along with a huge hug, I left er with a stack of bookmarks for my Suddenly Cinderella series.

Tonight I am meeting local author Alison Stuart for a candlelit ghost walk of Melbourne city. Boo!

Our first ever overseas Lady Jane’s Salon for ARRC2013 was a huge success thanks to the organizers, the welcoming audience, and our four great guests. Left to Right, Hope Tarr, Amy Andrews, Keri Arthur, Anna Campbell & Cathy Maxwell

I was one of more than 65 authors signing at the ARRC2013 Book Fair.

Next week, I depart for Sydney. Please stay tuned for an article on my Australian trip for the print version of RT BOOK Reviews magazine this summer.

Good’ay!

Hope

My giveaway: one digital copy of OPERATION CINDERELLA,the launch to my Suddenly Cinderella Series of contemporary fairytale-themed romances. To enter:

Like my Facebook page

–or–

Follow me on Twitter @HopeTarr

Last night I took a break from working on revisions for Project Cinderella to attend the performance at the Broadway Theater. The music, cast, costuming, and set design were all fabulous. In addition to cherished numbers such as “In My Own Little Corner,” “Ten Minutes Ago,” and “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful” ((sigh)), there were some new-to-me songs that had been cut from the shortened TV version. There was also some updating of the storyline, notably Cinderella persuading the prince to permit democratic voting and then voting herself.

Cinderella as suffragette — why not? <g>

At the play’s end and after the cast took its final bow, “Prince Topher” called a couple up on stage. The gentleman, a NYPD officer, had arranged in advance to propose to his long-term girlfriend onstage–and on bended knee, of course. That he did surrounded by a glittering cast and a rapt audience, including several friends holding up signs, “Will you marry me?”

Happily she said yes.

It just goes to show that Happily Ever After beginnings aren’t just the stuff of storybooks. They happen in Real Life, too!

Glass slippers are so back–indeed!

Hope

Libros de Seda, my Spanish publisher, kindly forwarded me the book cover for VENCIDA (VANQUISHED) and well, I couldn’t be more pleased! The photograph was taken in 1920 in Trieste, Italy. As my hero, Hadrian St. Clare, is a portrait photographer hired to take a risque photograph of my suffragette spokeswoman heroine, Caledonia–Callie–Rivers to ruin her personally and discredit her publicly, having a photograph grace the cover of this latest foreign language edition feels especially fitting.

Still, all three covers are gorgeous, all unique and vastly different visual takes on the book. Which is your favorite?

Post your vote as a comment to this blog post between now and 12 midnight EST, February 1st . One randomly selected commenter will win a free copy of VANQUISHED–digital or print, your pick.

But there’s more…

The book is now up for TRS’s Five Star Sweetheart Vote, a “best of the best” award for those books that received  5-star reviews from the site. To vote, click here.

Voting closes on Sunday, January 13th at midnight EST, so if you liked the book, I hope you’ll take two ticks and cast your ballot.

Many thanks, TRS!

Hope

One of the ways I am launching this new year is by upgrading my newsletter system. (We began in late 2012 in prep). The new system requires all subscribers to re-confirm their membership on my mailing list. For those of you who have already done so, huzzah and thanks!

If you have not yet re-confirmed your subscription, please keep an eye out for a reminder email from newsletter@hopetarr.com. Don’t see it in Ye Olde Inbox? Please check your spam/junk folder, or you can re-subscribe directly at http://hopetarr.com/contact.html.

As most of you know, I keep Hope Tarr News super low key–I only send out updates prior to a book release or other “major” news. Newsletters never go out more than quarterly, often less. Still, it’s a great way for me to keep in touch with each one of you en masse and to share news in a meatier format than Twitter and Facebook allow.

I hope you’ll take two ticks and confirm. One click and you’re done–promise!

Any technical difficulties, please contact my web team at web@hopetarr.com.

Thanks–and let’s stay together in 2013!

Hope