Alexa Bourne

Come join the party for HER HIGHLAND CHAMPION, a brand new contemporary Scottish romantic suspense! Learn more about Alexa Bourne as she travels on a blog tour! Leave a comment and be in the running for a free copy of HER HIGHLAND CHAMPION, a $10 Amazon gift card, and a Scottish surprise! The more you comment, the better your chances of being the winner.

Alexa Bourne is a teacher by day and a romantic suspense writer by nights, weekends and all school holidays. She also teaches online classes for writers throughout the year. She is thrilled to be writing for Decadent Publishing and to have the chance to share her love of Scotland with readers everywhere.

When she’s not concocting sinister plots and steamy love scenes or traveling and exploring cultures, Alexa spends her time reading, watching brainless TV and thinking about exercising. She loves to hear from readers. To find her, visit www.alexabourne.com or http://alexabourne.blogspot.com, http://www.facebook.com/AuthorAlexaBourne or follow her on Twitter @AlexaBourne.

A typical day for me starts around 5:30, 6 o'clock in the morning. After breakfast and getting ready for the day, I get online and check emails. If I need to post blogs for the blogs I participate on or assignments for classes I'm teaching, I do that. I usually only spend about 10-15 minutes on the computer in the morning simply because I'm SO not a morning person and I'd rather sleep in until the very last possible second!

 

I'm a substitute teacher so I'm busy during the school day shaping the minds of our future leaders. (Some would say this is a bit frightening!) However, during the teacher's conference period I read or write.

 Once the school day is over, I either go to my part-time tutoring job or I try to get to the gym. I'm usually home by 8:30 at the latest, and that's when I get back online to check and respond to emails again. I'll also comment on some blogs and interviews (mine and those of friends, colleagues and my favorite authors.). From 9 to 11 (or midnight if I'm on a roll!), I work on either writing or promotional work depending on what's needed. Some days I'm home by 6 so I get to spend more time writing or on promo.

 My weekends are completely different. In the mornings I get up and watch English soccer (Go Liverpool!). Then I spend as much time as I can on writing or promoting my books, my colleagues or writing in general. I do try to go out and do something fun every once in a while too, like go to the bookstore or to the movies or meet up with friends. I also try to get some exercise in too. Every once in a while, usually when I need to procrastinate on my manuscripts, I clean the house. (If I'm really struggling with the current work in progress, I clean the car too!)

As a teacher, I have summers off. I do still work part time, but this is the point in the year when I get a lot of writing done. Last summer I wrote rough drafts of 2 new stories. I'm hoping I'll get the same amount of work done this summer too! I do try to increase the number of gym classes I attend and I also try to go on some vacation when I can. Other than that, I write! 

In the few weeks HER HIGHLAND CHAMPION has been on sale, I've learned very quickly that being a writer is very much like being a teacher. Neither job is just a 9-5 job. I'm always thinking and planning and doing, and when one activity is done there's ALWAYS something else to do!

Her Highland Champion

A Decadent Honor Guard story…. Heather Winchester leads a charming life. With good friends, a beautiful flat in one of the most amazing cities in the world, and a promising future once she finishes her Ph.D, she is finally pursuing her own dreams instead of catering to everyone else’s…except she doesn’t remember any of it. Malcolm Fraser has returned to his Highland village to forget his failings as a professional bodyguard. Believing he could just lose himself in the mundane activities of running his bed & breakfast, he finds a woman’s lifeless body by the loch instead…. Captivated by Heather as she regains her memory, Malcolm is thrown into the line of duty. As danger comes knocking on their doors, will he be strong enough to love her and keep her safe? Genre: Contemporary romance, adventure, suspense/thriller Heat level: 3 Word count – 23k

Champion Excerpt: She turned to the bedside. A man stood there dressed in dark green sweats, with both hands clenched around the silver bedside bar. He was handsome, with light eyes, dark hair cropped close to his head, and a firm jaw. It was his hands, though. They drew her attention. Clean skin, defined knuckles, large fingers. Hands rough from a hard day’s physical labor, and yet, she imagined, gentle enough to caress the afternoon’s sufferings away. “It’s good to see you awake.” He smiled. “You gave us all quite a fright.” Okay, the Scottish accent drew her attention, too. At once, it both melted away some of her fears and sparked a whirlwind of questions. “Where am I?” Her throat scratched like sandpaper. “St. Catherine’s Hospital.” She swallowed hard. “Where is that?” “Fort William.” He reached for something on the table by her bed and brought back a plastic cup with a straw. “Here.” “Thank you.” The warm water coated her sore vocal cords. She handed the cup back to him. Wait a minute. Fort William? The only Fort William she knew was in Scotland. “I don’t understand. How did I get here?” Ignoring the aches in her body, she pressed both palms to the sheets on each side of her and pushed herself up. The blanket fell away from her chest and a new chill surrounded her. “What’s going on?” Her arms shook, and she collapsed back to the bed. “Relax.” The man set his palm on her shoulder, as if to keep her flat against the mattress. The heat of his fingers seeped through her hospital gown and into her skin. “I found you unconscious on the beach in Glenhalish. I called for an ambulance, and they brought you here.” “I was in Glenhalish?” “Aye, on a three day tour of the Highlands. Do you not remember being there?” “No.” She squinted and studied him. No memories surfaced. “Do I know you?” He shook his head. “Only from the beach. I’m Malcolm Fraser.” She opened her mouth and then closed it again. Her gaze drifted to her lap as tears burned in the corners of her eyes. Panic swelled in her chest and into her throat. “What is it, lass?” he asked with such tenderness. “Can you tell me my name?”   Buy Links Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Highland-Champion-Honor-Series-ebook/dp/B007PJ1GM0%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAJBDF5XQBATGDX4VQ%26tag%3Dspea06-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB007PJ1GM0                                   Decadent Publishing: http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?cPath=75_197&products_id=508&osCsid=jh2l9gpp7ne49cevf4ujdcvrm1 All Romance Ebooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-herhighlandchampion-769535-149.html Bookstrand:http://www.bookstrand.com/her-highland-champion