Saturday, 7 August 2010
The Reviews are in for Desert Breeze
"Helen Ravell shows in her elegant, expressive prose the stresses of a modern relationship...I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend Summer Wine."
Lindsay Townsend - Classic Romance Revival Reviews
Rating = 5 Wings
"... a very griping book, one that will hold a reader's attention until the very last page... most especially for the beauty of the author's writing style... Summer Wine is a perfect summer book, and one I definitely recommend."
You Gotta Read Reviews
I'LL DO ANYTHING
"I want to say wow, but I'm not allowed. So I will say that the passion and intensity of feelings portrayed appeals to that special place we all have locked inside us. Julia and Cade are both strong in public, but when behind closed doors, it is their vulnerability that makes them lovable. Ms. Kincaid has provided a rare story that needs not one but a box full of tissues.
Holly - Reviewer/Coffe Time Romance & More
Rating: 5 Cups!
Recipient of the CTRR Award!
THREE HEARTS
"Sue Perkins has written a lively story about a little girl who didn’t know any life except the one Darcy struggled to provide. They were both detailed in the book and were so loveable it was impossible to not be on their side. The chemistry between Darcy and Travis was electric... This book was a pleasure to read and I recommend it to all. It is light hearted and fun. It warms the heart. The happily-ever-after definitely presented some surprises."
Brenda Talley - The Romance Studio
Rating = 4.5 Hearts
THE SECOND TIME AROUND
"I couldn’t put the book down. I highly recommend it to anyone—even young adults. There is a beautifully sweet storyline. I can’t wait for the upcoming book to see who is next. Great job, Ms. Levigne!"
"Brenda Talley - The Romance Studio"
Rating = 5 Hearts!
Sunday, 17 January 2010
Meet Desert Breeze Author, Sue Perkins!

#1 - How long have you been writing? When did your muse come to visit? What is his/her name?
I've been writing for about twenty years now, with the intent of getting published I mean. I've always written for my own enjoyment but about twenty years ago I decided it was time to go out into the world and see if I was good enough to be published. I took a creative writing class to find out how to format and submit to publishers and this helped me a lot. I'm still friends with the tutor and regularly attend her writing retreats.
I don't really have a muse, well not one with a name. I can envisage my characters and story, but although something nags me to get on and write the darn book, the nagger has never actually introduced themselves to me.
#2 - I understand you live in New Zealand. Tell us a little about New Zealand. What do you love about it?
I was born and raised in England, but my husband and I decided to emigrate to New Zealand when our family was young. New Zealand has two main islands and we live at the top of the South Island on a three acre block. We have all sorts of scenery in this country from sub-tropical in North Island, through the thermal hot areas in the middle of the North Island, right the way down to the bottom of the South Island with the skiing and glaciers. I love living here with lovely blue skies due to very little pollution in our atmosphere, although we do have to be careful about UV. There's also the wonderful countryside, beaches and the laid back attitude of New Zealanders. There's a "she'll be right" way of looking at things which I think is also shared by Australians. Funnily enough my children are now grown and living back in England.
STEPH: New Zealand sounds cool. What an exciting background you have!
#3 - What was the last movie you saw?
That would be Wall-E. I love movies which are family entertainment. I don't go to the movie theatre much but the one before that was Mama Mia. Lovely film, the audience stayed way past the end of the credits, we could hardly believed it had really finished.
#4 - Who are your favorite authors?
Anne McCaffrey, David Eddings, Terry Pratchett, Trudi Canavan - can you see a trend here? All of these are fantasy authors who write about alternate worlds. I also love romance books, but now ebooks are so easily available I have far too many favourite authors to list them here although Julia Quinn and Janet Evanovich are definitely near the top of the list.
#5 - How many books have you written? What's your favorite genre to write?
Do you mean how many have I written or how many have I had published? I've written about twenty or thirty books, but so far have had seven published most in ebook and trade paperback. My favourite genres (more than one) are fantasy, romance and young adult fantasy.
#6 - Do you plot your books or do you write by the seat of your pants.
Definitely seat of the pants. I get a vague idea of a character and storyline and I let it stew for a while, usually because I have another book to finish writing. When I'm ready I start writing, and it takes on a life of its own from there. For instance my (then) two year old daughter saw a punk rocker on the London underground. She was fascinated by the purple spikey hair and in the end the young lady with the hair blushed like mad because this young child was staring at her. Years later I was telling a friend about this incident and it sparked off an idea for a book which became Three Hearts.
#7 - Tell us a little about Three Hearts, your Desert Breeze release. Do you have a book trailer you can share?
As mentioned above it started from an idea, which was then encouraged by an item on the news about an international custody battle. I was living in Timaru, New Zealand at the time so this became the setting. Darcy, the heroine, has looked after her niece since the child's mother died giving birth to her. Now Travis, an American, appears and claims Brooke is his daughter and he wants custody. The Pacific Ocean separates their homes which creates all sorts of problems.
I do have a book trailer and it can be seen on the Desert Breeze website page for Three Hearts. The link is http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-41/Three-Hearts/Detail.bok
#8 - Do you have any more books coming up?
I have a fantasy book coming out later this year with another publisher. I also hope to submit another romance to Desert Breeze in about another five or six months. This one is a World War 2 romance.
STEPH: World War II is such a rich goldmine for stories. I'm looking forward to it!
Thanks so much for this interview, this has been fun!
STEPH: Thanks for being here, Sue!
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
The Reviews are in for "Three Hearts" by Sue Perkins

The Reviews are in for Sue Perkin's "Three Hearts." Sue's book was released in October and I thought I'd share these.
ABOUT THIS BOOK:
Travis Denton's arrival in New Zealand throws Darcy Farrell's life into turmoil. She's never met the man, so why does he dislike her so much?
Travis states he is the father of her eight year old niece Brooke. He initially tries to prove Darcy is an unsuitable guardian. His failure makes him more determined to get custody of the child and take her to America. Darcy is worried Travis might disappear overseas with the child. She makes a difficult decision. She must do what's best for Brooke.
Her choice brings her into close contact with Travis, which creates a problem when she becomes attracted to him!
*********
THE ROMANCE STUDIO
4.5 HEARTS
"This book was a pleasure to read and I recommend it to all. It is light hearted and fun. It warms the heart. The happily-ever-after definitely presented some surprises."
Here's a link to the full review:
http://theromancestudio.com/reviews/reviews/threeheartsperkins.htm
******
LONG AND SHORT REVIEWS
4 STARS
"This well-written tale will touch you and keep you engaged as these three characters interact in an entertaining unfolding of events."
Here's a link to the full review:
http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/2009/11/three-hearts-by-sue-perkins.html
Monday, 19 October 2009
October 2009 Featured Release - Three Hearts

Author: Sue Perkins
Category and Length: Contemporary - Novel
Rating: Sweet
ISBN: 978-1-936000-44-9
Photography/Artwork: Jenifer Ranieri
Release Date: October 2009
Travis Denton's arrival in New Zealand throws Darcy Farrell's life into turmoil. She's never met the man, so why does he dislike her so much? Travis states he is the father of her eight year old niece Brooke. He initially tries to prove Darcy is an unsuitable guardian. His failure makes him more determined to get custody of the child and take her to America. Darcy is worried Travis might disappear overseas with the child. She makes a difficult decision. She must do what's best for Brooke. Her choice brings her into close contact with Travis, which creates a problem when she becomes attracted to him!
Travis Denton leaned casually against the brick wall, his stare fixed on a villa on the other side of the street. The door of the house opened and a woman and child emerged. The golden-haired youngster skipped happily beside her companion and Travis smiled as the girl's chatter drifted across the road.
He switched his glance to the woman and his eyes clouded with confusion. The way she was dressed was startling. Legs clad in fishnet tights disappeared under a miniscule black miniskirt, which rose even higher as she strutted down the street. She turned to speak to the child, and he saw her lips were thick with bright red lipstick, which mirrored the colour of her spiky fingernails as they patted her piled-up dark hair. A laughing response to a comment from the child shook the cheap plastic earrings dangling from each ear, and they knocked against the turned up collar of her black leather jacket. A skimpy yellow rib top showed beneath the jacket and Travis noticed it stopped just below the breasts to expose a bare stretch of suntanned stomach.
Travis frowned. He had travelled to New Zealand from California to meet eight year old Brooke and her aunt, Darcy Farrell, but the sight of the woman in her flashy clothes and overdone make-up worried him.
His temper rose when a car pulled up and the woman bent down to speak to the driver, her breasts swaying enticingly. She straightened up, took a step backwards and stuck her leg forward then, with one hand on her hip, she lifted her skirt suggestively. The action disgusted Travis and left him with no doubt about her profession. How dare she ply her trade when she has the child with her! Grey eyes darkened with fury when both Darcy and Brooke got into the car.
He cursed under his breath. If what he'd just witnessed indicated the morals of Darcy Farrell, his reason for being here had become even more urgent. Travis wished he could follow them, but he'd been concerned about not being seen and had parked his car on the next street. Jaw muscles clenched. Now he knew he must win the battle ahead.
Still frowning, Travis walked back to his vehicle and returned to the hotel.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Born in Devon, England, Sue traveled the world with her husband, including two years living in the Middle East with her young family. A few years later the family moved to New Zealand. Sue, her husband and dog have settled on a three acre block at the top of the New Zealand's South Island. Their two children are now the globetrotters.
She loves reading, writing and most craft hobbies. Researching family history is another past time which holds Sue's interest. She works as a graphic artist for a local trade paper.
You can find Three Hearts in multiple formats at www.DesertBreezePublishing.com OR in KINDLE format at Amazon.com.
You can also find Sue on "Good Reads" at:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1014304.Sue_Perkins
Desert Breeze & Sue would love to hear from you!