Rock*it Reads: Guest Post with Margo Maguire + Giveaway

Margo Maguire is a new to us author who we've put on The List. She's a traditionally published author by Avon Books and her first book under the Rock*It Reads label is a novella, Brash. She writes historical which are our first love.

WELCOME TO THE BLOG MARGO!!!

Meet Margo:

Margo Maguire is a former critical care nurse who earned a degree in history, just because she liked it. Margo is the author of 19 historical romances, with two more to come from Avon Books in the next few months. Her books have been translated into 17 languages, including a few that have been turned into Japanes manga – animated books. She is the mother of three grown children and lives with her scientist husband in southern Michigan.

Connect with Margo: Author Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

I’m a Romance novelist, but I am also a voracious reader. I read pretty much everything I can get my hands on, and I have a particular liking for authors who are not big stars. And there are many really really good ones. You just don’t see them on the shelf at Target or the other big box stores because –well, space is limited. And in this economy, retailers are cautious. If Target knows for sure it can sell 100 copies of Nora’s backlist, why waste the space with a midlist author – regardless how talented she is. The same is true of most bookstores. A book comes out, it runs its 1-2 month course, and that’s the end of it. Which is a pity, because there are some great books out there, just waiting to be discovered.

It frustrates me that I find exactly the same thing when I go online and visit my favorite e-book retailers. The first two pages of available books are the ones written by the very same authors whose books populate the one paltry shelf of books at the big stores. But I want more. And I bet other readers want more, too. They just don’t know how to go about finding it.

That’s where Rock*It Reads comes in. I can’t tell you how exciting it is to be a part of this venture. When you go to the Rock*It Reads website, you’ll see an array of books and novellas to choose from. Everything on the website is self-published – because Rock*It Reads is not a publisher. We’re actually a “hub” site for readers where they can find excellent, quality romance books that were not produced or promoted by any publisher. Our work is original and it belongs to us – the authors – alone. We’re dedicated to writing quality work, based on the criteria of our NY publishers, so every Rock*It Reads book is going to be written and produced the way you’d expect any traditionally published book to be.

I’m energized by the prospect of writing books that might be outside the box– the NY box, that is. Sure, my Rock*It books will have all of the elements of my NY-published works. They’re going to be romance novels, after all –with hunky heroes, heroines with backbone, interesting villains, captivating plots, and of course, an HEA. But with Rock*It Reads, I’ll have a lot of leeway as I write for the edification of my readers and myself, rather than a publisher’s marketing department. Mind you, I don’t intend to change my brand and start writing alien-invasion romance stories (not that there’s anything wrong with alien invasion stories). But I’ll get to try out new locations and different eras than the ones NY typically likes. This kind of freedom is incredibly exciting for a writer!

At the moment, I’ve only got one book with the RiR logo – it’s a short novella called Brash, ($0.99) – but I can’t wait to get started on my first full-length, self-published book with our logo on it. I’m thinking of continuing my “Warrior” series that featured a race of Celtic Warrior-Sorcerers that become trapped for one reason or another in our own historical reality. So far, my Warriors have turned up in the early Regency and in the later 1820s. Maybe I ought to consider Medieval for the next one (bwa-ha ha).

I hope you will browse our Rock*It Reads website and take a few notes- not really. You can just click on the links to the online retailers and download the books that interested you. I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed.


BRASH:

When Lieutenant James Norris’s closest friend is killed in a horrible accident, he realizes life is far too short to spend it all in the post-Napoleonic navy. He decides it is time to marry, and he knows just the young woman he wants as his wife. Lady Virginia Barrington is charming and beautiful, and James travels to her family’s manor to ask her the most important question of his life.

Lady Stella Barrington was lame and sickly for much of her life. Now she walks with barely a limp, and she is ill no more than anyone else. She has been in love with James Norris for as long as her elder brother’s friend has been coming to visit at Barrington Manor. Stella cannot doubt that James has come to see her lovely but shallow sister. But Virginia is away, and if Stella wants to win the man she loves, she can be nothing but brash…

Get Your Own Copy: Kindle | Nook | Smashwords

Okay dear readers, does that blurb make you want to read it? Well, Margo is giving away an e-copy of BRASH to one(1) lucky reader. The best part? It's an international giveaway. Yay! Here's how to enter:

• Leave a meaningful comment for Margo about her books, the Rock*It Reads project or your favorite tropes to read.
• Fill out the rafflecopter form below. You must leave a comment. All other entries are optional.

Keep up with the fun posts by the ladies of Rock*It Reads here.

A huge thank you to Margo for sharing a bit about the Rock*It Reads project as well as the giveaway copy of Brash. 

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