Release Day - The Best Mistake

My quirky romantic comedy novella,
The Best Mistake,
is available in ebook TODAY from:

THE WILD ROSE PRESS

I best describe this story over on the interview I had this morning at A Tasty Read blog: http://atastyread.blogspot.com/.

Other than that, here's a little TEASER for you:


“If you don’t go out with me, you really need to come back to work.”

Deri sent him a startled look. “Are those my only two options?”

“Well…they’re the only two I’ll accept.”

His honesty startled and pleased her. She threw back her head and laughed.

Cole’s gaze grew hot as he watched. “You just had to go and do that, didn’t you?”

When he visibly swallowed and let out a little groan, swaying almost across the threshold toward her, she faltered. “D-do what?”

He rested the side of his face against the doorjamb as he stared with a yearning that made her mouth go dry. “I think I’ve become quite desperately obsessed with your laugh, Dericka Crandall.”

Oh, boy. She had to physically restrain herself from confessing she’d become quite desperately obsessed with pretty much everything about him.

“I…I…” She shook her head, at a loss for words.

He took a step toward her, his gaze vigilant, intent. “I’m just going to throw one more thing out there we both need to consider before you make a final decision.”

She licked her lips, more tempted by the second. “What’s that?”

“This.”

Before she could figure out what he meant, he eased one more step closer, barely entering her apartment. She could only gawk, mesmerized as he lifted a single hand and curled his fingers around the back of her neck to draw her close. Then she was against him.

As his mouth sealed over hers....read more HERE!





And here's a recap of where I've been the past few months, talking about my newest releases or giving away copies of them:

Right to Remain Mine & The Best Mistake Blog Tour Jan 24, 2012 - Interview at Books-N-Kisses Jan 31, 2012 - Guest Blog at The Rose of Prose Feb 1 - Feb 6, 2012 - Giveaway at The Romance Reviews (winners : Mrs AJ Ward & Teresa B.) Feb 5, 2012 - Giveaway at The Goddess Party Pavilion (winner : Marie Rose Dufour) Febr 6, 2012 - Interview at Joyfully Reviewed Feb 6 - Feb 10, 2012 - Guest Week at Novel Works Feb 6, 2012 - Release Day for "The Right to Remain Mine" at Champagne Books Feb 13, 2012 - Interview at You Gotta Read Feb 15, 2012 - Guest Post at Whispers Publishing Feb 17 - Mar 2, 2012 - Giveaway at Paperback Adventures (winner announced soon) Feb 20 - 24, 2012 - Giveaway and Guest Post at Romancing the Book (winners : Allie & Patti P.) Feb 24, 2012 - Interview at Fallen Angels Review Feb 24 - Mar 15, 2012 - Giveaway & Interview at For the Luv of Sanity (contest still open) Mar 6, 2012 - Interview at BookWenches Mar 6 - 14, 2012 - Giveaway at The Romance Reviews (contest still open) Mar 7, 2012 - Giveaway at Reading Between the Wines (contest closed) Mar 14, 2012 - Giveaway & Interview at A Tasty Read (contest open now!) Mar 14, 2012 - Release Day for "The Best Mistake" at The Wild Rose Press

Okay, with that, I'm finished with my Best Mistake announcements! This countdown is officially FINISHED!!!! WOO HOO!

Have a great Wednesday!

Cover - The Best Mistake

Here is the final cover for my humorous contemporary novella, THE BEST MISTAKE! It was designed by artist Debby Taylor.

When I first saw this cover a few weeks ago on her site, before any official cover was sent to me, ta different couple graced the forefront. But I guess that couple didn't past muster, because this is the couple that was on it when I got it.

I guess I could see why the first couple didn't work. The heroine was much too skinny, and my heroine is by no means a toothpick in the book. Then, the hero is supposed to have blond hair, which was extra dark on the first couple. (though I have to confess; I thought the first cover hero was better looking--I know, shame on me). The heroine on the first cover wore a beautiful blue dress, and the fancy dress she wears in the story is blue, so that actually fit better. But, I dunno. This is how it ended. So.... ta da!

I also have a release day for THE BEST MISTAKE. It will be available exclusively in ebook on MARCH 14, 2012 at The Wild Rose Press.

In other Linda Kage writing news, I found a new review on The Romance Studio website for The Trouble for Tomboys, which has been out for over a year now. What a happy surprise. Here's what Jaye over at TRS had to say:

"At first, B.J. Gilmore's rough talk put me off. However, I soon realized that, underneath the gruff exterior, was a kind, loving and very feminine woman. The author has done an excellent job in creating the backgrounds for the main characters. B.J.'s tomboy characteristics, which come from growing up with a father and brothers, but no mother, are well defined and natural to her character. The grieving widower's actions are also realistic and well drawn. The author has written two characters who balance each other beautifully. The settings are excellent, putting the reader right in the scenes, the emotions beautifully done. I loved the way the writer dealt with B.J.'s lack of knowledge of how a female should act. The main characters battle their way into loving one another, right up to a wonderful conclusion.

I really loved this book, and definitely grew to care for the characters."

Then to top that off, The Long and Short of it Reviews just contacted me with yet another review. My sweet romance, A Man for Mia, fell under the gun for this one. But, whew, she passed with a 4-star rating as well. Poinsettia had so many nice things to say, I can't post it all without having a super long blog, so I'll just show you a glimpse of the last two concluding paragraphs. And here they are:

"A Man for Mia certainly deals with a lot of serious issues. Infidelity, abandonment, and death are all touched on. However, I must say that Ms. Kage sprinkled in just the right amount of lighter scenes to keep the story from being too ponderous. I particularly like the scene when Mia and Drew go out on their “not date” and have pizza. When Mia and Drew finally relax and flirt a little, sparks fly. I really felt that was when they started to click as a couple, and I eagerly anticipated their happy ending.

I’m glad I had the opportunity to read A Man for Mia. I recommend it to anyone seeking a touching story of love, loss, and hope. Read it with a box of tissues close at hand."

The Skeleton in my Closet

Today, I'm talking about closets. Literal closets.

The first closet in this topic is my closet at home. After trying my daughter's Halloween outfit for this year on her, she for some reason ran into my closet and began to play. So, of course, I had to share a picture of the cutest little skeleton to ever invade my closet.

Isn't she just adorable? Well, I think so.

The second closet I'd like to discuss is my closet at work.

In the opening scene of my soon-to-be-released novella, The Best Mistake, my heroine is stocking paper in a supply closet. And it just so happens, the inspiration for that came from real life. My real life. As an assistant acquisitions librarian in an academic library, I am also in charge of ordering supplies. One thing I buy on a monthly basis is printer paper. The staff and students (needing to print assignments for classes) go through roughly a hundred reams of paper--give or take--each month. And if my student employee is on break or if I'm between employees, it is my job to stock the supply closet once a paper order comes in.

I was putting away paper one day when the magical scene in question came to me, which goes to show you, even my boring ol' life can come in handy every once in a while.

Something I discovered halfway through writing the rest of the manuscript, however, is that I have absolutely no talent in Math. Okay, fine, I always knew I had no talent in math, but for some reason I calculated each ream of paper weighing in at five pounds (this is after seeing how a ten-ream box weighed twenty pounds. I know, don't ask.) when in fact, a single ream only weighs two pounds.

That little eye-opener stopped my in my writing tracks. Technically, it wouldn't have altered much of the story if I had changed the poundage to the correct sum, though I kinda liked my heroine's fear of a half-ton truck falling on her. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to keep it 'as is' only for her to find out later on that she'd miscalculated in the very beginning, in effect helping round out her character as Deri "the Mistake" Crandall.

So actually, my mistake became Deri's mistake and in turn made her more realistic...and funny (I was totally going for humor in this novella).

And there you have it, the inspiration behind the Supply Closet of Death in The Best Mistake, which will be released sometime in the future from The Wild Rose Press!

Have you ever gotten inspiration from strange little moments like this?

Here's my very own Supply Closet at work!

===================
Blurb For:
THE BEST MISTAKE
by Linda Kage
===================

Deri "The Mistake" Crandall wants nothing more than the love and acceptance from a family. After her mother dies, she finally discovers who her father is—except he and his family aren't exactly everything she's dreamed of. Not about to let a little thing like that bother her, she strives her hardest to fit in. Though honest to a fault, she even lies to gain their affection. But who could have predicted the one man with whom she immediately clicks is the very millionaire her grandfather orders her to betray?


Cole Harrety’s life is all about work and ignoring play, until a petite, curvy bundle of quirky woman literally tumbles into his lap. From the moment he loses a staring contest with her, he knows Deri is exactly what's been missing from his mundane life and no other woman will ever compete with her.


With a web of deception already woven, can their new bond survive a shattered trust?



===================

"The" Supply Closet Scene From:
THE BEST MISTAKE
by Linda Kage
===================


She’d go down in the history books for this, she was sure.

She could see the headlines now: Deri Crandall, first woman to be squashed to death by printer paper. A noteworthy event indeed.


Deri cringed as the six-tiered metal shelf swayed and groaned after she hauled another three reams onto the second-to-top rung. On an average, the entire building of Harrety International used two hundred packages of paper each month. And it all sat right here, stored on this shelf in this tiny supply closet.


Figuring as she worked, she concluded at five pounds per ream, two hundred of these suckers would put her up there at a thousand pounds. The rickety old shelf she stocked didn’t look as if it could hold ten pounds, much less a whole thousand.

A thousand pounds of paper. That’d be like having a half-ton truck fall on her if this baby went down. Deri lurched back and eyed the support beams anew. No way could this rusted hunk of metal sustain an entire truck. She glanced at the five full boxes sitting on the floor, waiting to be shelved.


Patrick hadn’t warned her about over-piling when he’d told her to put the new shipment of paper away. Still, she had her doubts. Glancing at the doorway leading from the supply closet, she bit her lip. Temptation to flee seized her, but she remained rooted in her cheap flats, determined to proceed.

Careful to bend at the knees instead of the waist because the seams in her skirt had screeched in protest the first time she’d tried bending the other way, she scooped another armful of paper into her grasp, sneezing when cardboard dust fluttered up her nose.


The entire Beecham clan might think she was the family screw-up, but she was by no means a quitter. She’d see this through, just as she’d successfully find her way into her family’s acceptance. And if gaining their respect started in this tiny, airless room, risking life and limb by monotonously hauling stack after stack of paper onto a shelf, then by God, she’d do it.

If nothing else, maybe it’d prompt her father into attending her graveside service.

Half an hour later, the muscles in her arms wept while sweat made her cheeks glow an unhealthy puce, plastering her dark bangs flush against her forehead. But every ream lay in neat order on the shelves. And fortunately, she hadn’t needed to become a human pancake in the process.


After breaking down all the now-empty boxes that had held the paper reams and lugging them to the recycling room, she hunted up her supervisor, wondering what new and unique torture he wanted to afflict on her next......