Sunday, June 30, 2013

New Romantic-Suspense SPLIT DECISIONS by bestselling author Carmen DeSousa is now available!

Split Decisions is a follow-up novel to the romantic-suspense bestseller She Belongs to Me. While you do not have to read the first book to enjoy the second, we believe you should have the option, so click here to avoid spoilers.

If you’re still here, read on for a first peek at Split Decisions and a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card.

Book Description:

Sometimes you want something so badly you are willing to abandon everything you’ve ever known—including yourself.

Eighteen years ago, Jaynee Monroe married the man of her dreams, became the mother of four, and fulfilled her career goals. About to turn forty, she senses something is missing from her idyllic life. While Googling her name in an attempt to find herself, she unearths something so impossible, she contemplates her own sanity. Seeking answers, she embarks on a journey to discover the truth, only to end up abducted by a deranged stranger who insists on calling her Caycee.

Caycee took the road less traveled. Rejecting a marriage proposal from the only decent man she ever knew, she ventures to California to become famous. Eighteen years later, success has left her alone and miserable. Attempting to locate her lost love on Facebook, she discovers his infatuation with her. Not only does his presumed-dead wife have Caycee’s uncommon middle name, it appears he has photo-shopped her face over hers.

Never could Caycee and Jaynee have imagined decisions they made years earlier would threaten not only their lives but also their loved ones. Caycee must now reunite with the southern gent she dismissed eighteen years ago and convince him to accompany her to New York to locate his wife, the most important person in both their lives.

Download Split Decisions here:


Now all you have to do to register to win the $10 Amazon Gift Card is share this page via Raffle Copter. Contest ends 7/1/13 at 12:00 a.m. EST and you can share daily if you want. Good luck!


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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Oswald & I - Cover Reveal and Book Trailer

It is a rare event when you are fortunate enough to be a part of releasing a piece of history to the public. My publishing imprint, RMSW Press, falls into that category. While conducting research for a historical novel I am currently working on, a chance meeting took place with Daisy McDonald, the widow of former Dallas Police Officer Maurice N. “Nick” McDonald. Mr. McDonald had written his memoirs about how his life was impacted from the moment he arrested Lee Harvey Oswald at a movie theater in Dallas. Sadly, Mr. McDonald passed away in 2005 and his heartfelt, 300+ page story sat unread inside a thick binder.

I met Daisy McDonald in Hot Springs, Arkansas in April of 2013 after a speaking/fact finding engagement. After the meeting, she approached me with questions about my experiences in publishing. We immediately hit it off and talked several times over the course of the next few weeks when she offered me the unimaginable: she wanted RMSW Press to publish her husband’s work.

So, it is with humility, thankfulness and a sense of duty to honor one of Mr. McDonald’s dying wishes that I bring to you the amazing cover (designed by the team of professionals at Blue Harvest Creative) for Mr. McDonald’s memoirs, Oswald & I, as well as the book trailer. Look for the paperback and ebook on Amazon, Barnes&Noble and Kobo November 2013.


Book trailer:

Thursday, June 13, 2013

I HATE peas...ergo, so should you!

I can hardly stand to even look at this picture! Thank goodness that smell-o-vision isn't a technology that is available yet or I would be trying to type while forcing the contents of my stomach to stay put. Looking at the little green morsels is bad enough but smelling them? NO WAY! I don't even allow a sealed can of evil things in my kitchen cabinets. I despise, no, I abhor, no I detest peas. Why do I hate them with such fervor? Goodness, where to start?

I've already mentioned their sickening stench so I will move on to the--gag--taste. If you are looking for a great form of torture then just plop one of them into your mouth. Not only will your taste buds suddenly be accosted by the nasty goo but you also will experience the sensation of the little bugger squishing in your mouth! Yuck! One bite and the orb becomes a mash of baby food. Really, does this look appetizing? (If it does, you need therapy. Stat.)
Ever since my first introduction to these little balls-o-blech I have hated them. Perhaps when I was but a mere babe did I eat the things without throwing up--but then again, I don't recall. Maybe I suppressed those wretched memories. I hope the answer is that I launched them back at the hands (and face) that fed me in the same style as Linda Blair and was never fed the Pisum Sativum ever again. Good grief, even their scientific name WARNS you they taste like....well, you know. It is my job, nay my DUTY, to sound the alarm to the unsuspecting masses! Oh, you may think that you like them. You might even have a can or two in your kitchen because they aren't 'that bad.' But what if someone is standing in the vegetable section at their favorite market RIGHT NOW reading this blog, vacillating between loading their cart with peas or spinach. Let me help them make that choice! Trust me, I am an expert on Peas...TAKE THE SPINACH!
Did my eloquent soliloquy, full of righteous indignation at the audacity of the pea even being allowed on this plant to defile the world simply by being in it, help to sway your opinion of peas? Did you drop that can in the aisle and run before spending your hard earned cash on the little green tidbits of horror?

Okay, enough ranting on the poor peas. No, I haven't lost my marbles (although that is always a distinct possibility with a writer--we can crack at any moment) or gone off my medication (nor need any, thank you very much). My little rant, full of pompous arrogance about my views/thoughts/opinions on peas being superior to the masses and thus, strictly adhered to is my way of dealing with the few less-than-stellar reviews I have received during the last two years as a published author.

I knew that because of the graphic nature of the story line that some individuals would not care for it. I also was aware that the language might be a bit of a stretch for some to handle. I figured that some people might not like my work, which was fine. But the vicious and sometimes personal attacks against me threw me for a loop. Some of them were so ridiculous that I laughed out loud. Some were obvious trolls and appeared the minute I hit #1. Those I let slide off my back (the skin of which has gotten much tougher in the last twenty-four months).

But others--they hurt. Simple as that. As a writer, you release your blood, sweat, tears and heart onto the pages, creating a fully grown, living piece of yourself built from words. Then someone comes along who can't stomach your book and decides to shred you to pieces. These lovely souls are known as 'critics' in polite society. Behind closed doors, they are known by much harsher names. Words truly are powerful. Depending upon how they are written, they are capable of uplifting, positive thoughts or negative, hateful ones. They can be strung together in a way that causes the reader to cry, laugh, scream, shake or hold their breath. Oh, but if they are written with the sole purpose of shredding someone to the bone, it only takes a few sentences to flay someone.

Try to remember that before you write or speak something negative today. Because what goes around ALWAYS comes back...sometimes twofold.

Upcoming release of Operation S&D

I am so excited to announce the upcoming release of Operation S&D . This book starts where Operation DFC ended and is quite the thrill ...