Elle Hill

I woke up this morning in a foul mood. How dare morning come before I was ready? Do the neighborhood dogs  ever  stop barking? What had possessed me to leave dishes in the sink last night? How did I let myself run out of coconut milk coffee creamer? Why do showers have to be so  wet ? And why, why do so many letters of the alphabet rhyme? You know that bleary scowl so many of us have upon cracking our eyelids? Yeah, mine never left my face. Something like this. After my fiancé scurried off to work and my cats abandoned me to my glaring glory, I ordered myself to stop being such an epic grump. Then, much to my chagrin, what vision should dance like a sugarplum in my head? Of all things, a Facebook meme, background all peaceful, words in a soothing font, saying something about when you’re feeling like the Grinch Who Stole Sunshiny Happiness, make a list of all the things for which you’re grateful. So I did. A few hours later, I’m back to my smiling self, so perha...

I know I've been an unfortunately absentee author lately. I've been dealing with some health issues -- a beloved kitties', not mine, although as any Crazy Animal Lady can attest, I'd much rather it were me. Anyway, I'm back, and I'm bringing tidings of free-ness. I don't know for how long, but for at least a day or two, and possibly more, The Tithe is free. You may notice it's just in time for the holidays: Hanukkah starts December 16, Winter Solstice lands on December 21, Christmas lumbers onto the scene four short days later, and the following day sees the beginning of Kwanzaa. Buy a copy for you. For your mother. For your partner, your boss, your BFF, possibly your next door neighbor, the one with enough holiday lights on their house to confuse passing aircraft.  Click here to snag your freebie. And in case you've forgotten, I present to you The Tithe 's hook: " Every seven years, the towns sacrifice their sick and disabled. No one h...

You can't make this up, folks. When I bought it, the walls of my new house gleamed gold upstairs, khaki downstairs, and bright pink in places. The accent wall in the dining room featured yellow and gold striped walls on top and mottled maroon on bottom. I considered it a community service to repaint those walls, perhaps even a patriotic duty. After poring through endless colors in catalogs and online, I finally decided on a very light, cool gray throughout. The paint’s name? Passive. Perfect name, I thought. It’s a cool neutral, a shade that facilitates other colors without conflicting with them. It’s beautifully, harmoniously passive. Plus, and this is just between you and me, it tickled me that my new walls celebrate one of my treasured personality traits. I’m a passive person. When conflict comes along, I go all roly-poly. Rather than demand or confront, I instead encourage and suggest. Yes, I teach and yes, I have some pretty powerful political beliefs, but...

Highland Deception by Meggan Connors Heat Rating : Sensual Genre : Historical Romance Buy Link : http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J3D2JS6/ Blurb: When Kenneth Mackay, long-banished rogue and thief, returns to the Mackay holding at the request of his brother, he has no idea what he might find. He certainly doesn’t expect to be confronted with his twin’s imminent death, or with the plan his brother has concocted. Ten years before, Malcolm made a tragic mistake, and, to preserve the family name—and his own skin—he allowed Kenneth to take the fall. Now that he is dying without an heir, Malcolm plans to atone for his mistake: by giving Kenneth his life back. All Kenneth has to do is assume his brother’s identity. But complicating matters is the unexpected return of Lady Isobel Mackay, the daughter of an English marquess and the wife Malcolm didn’t want. Isobel barely knows the husband who abandoned her even before their marriage, and she’d long since given up hope o...

I accept sympathy in the form of chocolate. And yes, my poor hand is seeking comfort amid kitty fur.  So I just broke a nail. Seriously. Like below the quick and everything. It throbs like a whiny emo album. Of course, being the responsible nail enthusiast I am, I immediately clipped and filed it, and now it just throws off the look of my entire left hand. I can practically feel the sea salt wetness of your sympathetic tears bathing the pain of my abused pinky nail. This little splash of beauty horror reminds me of my activities upon awakening this morning. Here’s a snapshot: Yaaaaawn. Stretch just enough to encourage blood flow but not enough to disturb strategically tucked, feline body warmers. Through gummy eyes, glimpse the make-up bag, placed last night next to the Kleenex box for this very moment. Fumble for the bag, finally snag it. Fish out the pocket mirror and tweezers. Commence the excruciating ripping of hairs from the tender brow ridge. This, ...

Confederado do Norte by Linda Bennett Pennell Genre :  Women’s Historical Fiction Due for Release : July 2014 Other Books :  Al Capone at the Blanche Hotel   now   available from Soul Mate Publishing Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLindaBennettPennell Website:   http://www.lindapennell.com/ Twitter:    @LindaPennell Back Cover Description for  Confederado do Norte : October, 1866. Mary Catherine is devastated when her family emigrates from Georgia to Brazil because her father and maternal uncle refuse to accept the terms of Reconstruction following the Confederacy’s defeat. Shortly after arrival in their new country, she is orphaned, leaving her in Uncle Nathan’s care. He hates Mary Catherine, blaming her for his sister’s death. She despises him because she believes Nathan murdered her father. When Mary Catherine discovers Nathan’s plan to be rid of her as well, she flees into the wi...

Love, Encoded Book 1 in the Selected Evolution Series Sandra Harris Genre : Science Fiction Romance Heat Level : Sizzling Website : http://www.sandraharrisauthor.com Buy Link : http://tinyurl.com/pz2b22u Blurb : Do you really know who you are? What you are? Earth: Near Future Experience has taught Sarah Rasmussen that hot guys don’t go for geeks like her. Their retreat speed is usually proportional to the value of her IQ. However, for every rule it seems there is an exception—or in her lucky case, two. When confronted with the disturbing fact she has been genetically manipulated in order to save an alien race stranded on Earth for a thousand years, she needs the strength of the men’s devotion to deal with the life-changing news. But when she learns that the love of the two men she has come to care for deeply is not quite as it appears, it could shatter her heart forever. Nick Bannister and Adam McKeoun will never stop fighting to convince Sara...

As The Tithe says in its dedication: “To all people with differing physical and mental appearances and capacities. We deserve a story in which we’re the heroes.” Truth is, I’m tired of reading about characters who don’t look and think like my loved ones and me. Since I’m a writer and the god of my own, tiny, made-up universes (it’s good to be queen!), I realized I have the power to, as the way-overused quote* says, be the change I want to see in the world. Yeah, I know romance novels exist to provide us with escape pods from our dull, non-HEA lives. This is why sheroes’ flaxen hair so often billows in the breeze and heroes’ pecs are pronounced enough to carve open cans of green beans. But, you know, I like my fantasy with some reality sprinkled in. I want to interact with people who look and act like, you know, people. I almost never find representations of non-normatively-able-bodied peeps in media. When I do, they’re almost always using a wheelchair, which is visuall...

And so it begins. Starting tomorrow, and for the next couple of weeks, usually once per day, reviewers and authors will feature on their blogs my interviews and guest posts.  Wanna know more about me? Wanna hear how I dreamed up the wonderfully weird, post-apocalyptic and "utopian" world of Joshua Barstow, the librarian who has touched an angel? Wanna read some insights into my writing processes?  Hello? Anyone there? Let's start again. Hey, peeps! Wanna revel in the wonders that are The Tithe and me and win a $50 Amazon gift card? Aw! I'm flattered. It's super easy to get entered into the drawing. Simply click on the links below (on the correct day, of course), comment on blog posts, like me on Facebook and on Twitter, etc., and then tell Rafflecopter (links are on the websites) about it. If in doubt, click a link below and follow the instructions. The virtual book tour schedule is below. Please feel free to visit as many of these blogs as you'd like. ...