Romance is Bliss Event with Barbara DeLeo

Meet Bliss author, Barbara DeLeo.

Barbara DeLeo’s first book, co-written with her best friend, was a story about beauty queens in space. She was eleven, and the sole, handwritten copy was lost years ago, much to everyone’s relief. It’s some small miracle that she kept the faith and is now living her dream of writing sparkling contemporary romance with unforgettable characters.

After completing degrees in Psychology and English then travelling the world, Barbara married her winemaker hero and had two sets of twins.
She still loves telling stories about finding love in all the wrong places, with not a beauty queen or spaceship in sight.

Barbara’s first Bliss – “Last Chance Proposal” - is out December 2013.

Places to find Barbara:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter |

First Loves, Losses, and Why I Write Romance.

I love reading stories about how people came to be writers. Some have dreamt about it from when they were very small, others came to it through a love of books when they were older. I came to write category romance for a whole lot of reasons, but I’ve stayed with it for a reason I could never have imagined in the beginning.

I read my first category romance as a new mum. They weren't too long - I could finish one and still remember the beginning by the time I got to the end, despite being interrupted a zillion times. They had a happily ever after - so lovely to think about in the middle of an all-nighter with tiny babies. And they focused on adult things like relationships and conversations, not baby vom and nappy rash.

I used to think about those reasons a lot during my first writing attempts. Now I think about Di.

Di is the mother of my very first boyfriend. He had jet black hair and big blue eyes, and he wrote, “Love, Mark” in my birthday card when I was 13. I can still remember the thrill of opening that envelope and keeping it carefully stowed in my “treasures” for years. I lost touch with Mark after leaving school, but later learned that at twenty-six he’d had a catastrophic accident and was left a quadriplegic with a severe brain injury.

A few years after I’d begun writing, I met Mark and his mum again. Mark couldn’t speak, but Di was adamant that he remembered me - she said she could see the twinkle in his eye. I happened to tell Di I was hoping to one day be a published romance author and her reaction blew me away.

For years, Di told me, category romances had been her lifeline. Through the agonizing initial days and nights waiting for Mark to wake, and then the endless anguish as the extent of his injuries became known, the promise of love, hope, and a happily ever after kept her going. She'd carry those books with her to physio appointments, insurance meetings and therapy sessions, and she'd dip in and out when she could. For Di, the achievement of finishing another category romance, losing herself in a story, was a small but significant one.

Sadly, Mark died last year. When I visited Di at home shortly after, I could still see the space the hospital bed had taken up, the hooks in the ceiling that had held hoists and monitors. But around the walls were Di’s category romances - hundreds and hundreds of books, their slim spines speaking of tycoons and babies, doctors and daring. The authors of those books, Di says, are like old friends, women she can count on to transport her from the ups and downs of everyday life and give her hope when she needs it.

I hope I can bring half the amount of joy to my readers as all those women before me have done for Di.

I'd love to know how you came to read romance and what it is that keeps you coming back for more. My first Bliss – “Last Chance Proposal” – comes out next month ,but one commenter will win BOTH my previous books, “Contract for Marriage” and “Dishing up Desire”.

Image consultant Blake Matthews is facing his toughest PR challenge yet: salvage the image of celebrity chef Kirin Hart. Once he does, he’ll be able to acquire LA’s most successful PR firm. But Kirin’s no easy fix. She’s stubborn about changing her comfortable homemaker image, and is being sued for sexual harassment by a junior staffer. She needs a PR lifeline fast. Only problem is Blake wants more than to make her over...

Kirin doesn’t need a makeover—her fans love her as she is. But she could lose everything if the sex scandal and reputation that has followed doesn’t get quashed right away. Kirin agrees to let model-perfect Blake work his magic for two weeks, but things get complicated when she can’t deny the way her body flares to life whenever he’s near.

Purchase: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes |

Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 1 eBook copy of both Contract for Marriage + Dishing up Desire

To Enter: 

• Please leave a comment or question for Barbara.
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

**Don't forget to enter the grand prize giveaway!

Good Luck! 

Special thanks to Barbara DeLeo for sponsoring this giveaway.

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