JLB Creatives: Author Splash

Monday, October 10, 2011

Author Splash - Judy Serrano

First and foremost I want to welcome and send out a huge thanks to all of the new followers over this past week, and another huge thanks to all of those who have been following since
Week 1 and beyond!

This week is something very special - it is the debut of the new blog feature I've titled Author Splash. Author Splashes are more than just interviews. They are a solid week dedicated to select authors and their wonderful talents. They should be tons of fun, highly informative, and once in a while even surprises not only for the viewers, but the authors as well!

With that said, grab a cup of coffee, a sugary piece of pound cake, and sit back to read and enjoy the new feature Author Splash.
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Introduction Video for:
Romantic Suspense author
JUDY SERRANO

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About Judy:

Judy Serrano is the author of Easter's Lilly and Brother

Number Three. She is currently working on books three and four of the series and a young adult spin off featuring one of Lilly's children. Judy graduated from Texas A&M University, Commerce with a BA in English. She is a member of The Romance Writers of America and the Dallas Area Romance Authors. She spends her days writing on her laptop and living in her imagination, when she can steal a private moment. Although originally from New York, she currently resides in Texas with her husband (who she says is her inspiration), four children (all boys) and five dogs. Judy is also a singer/songwriter in her spare time.

She was a singer/songwriter for many years but has turned that into a hobby these days due to time being a factor. Judy has been interviewed by Freda, from "Freda's Voice," Marilyn Shoemaker from "Romance Author Buzz," and Cathy B. Stucker of "Selling Books." For more information please visit http://www.JudySerrano.com.

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Judy Serrano's Press Releases:

BLACK ROSE WRITING

Presents

Easter’s Lilly by Judy Serrano

VARIOUS LOCATIONS, USA AND INTERNATIONAL (Black Rose Writing) December 16th, 2010 release – Black Rose Writing is pleased to announce that Book Title by Author is now available for review request or purchase from www.blackrosewritingbooks.com or any online bookstores.

The book is also available for direct order via the Ingram Book Catalogue and/or Books in Print. ISBN # 978-1-935605-90-4

SYNOPSIS:

It was Easter Sunday; the day Lilly’s life went from safe and comfortable to dangerously unfamiliar. Her transformation takes her from a small town girl having an affair with a low ranked gangster in the Montiago crime syndicate, to a woman of grace and fortitude married to the head of the organization.

Lilly tells the story of her life -- and the lives of her children -- with childlike innocence, yet she's desperate for security and companionship. The hint of forbidden love and betrayal that ultimately puts brother against brother adds to the suspense and intrigue. The syndicate engulfs the Montiago family as they turn each other inside out over the love of a woman.Easter's Lilly is an inspired journey from the idyllic to the darker side of self-discovery. Read as the over-privileged brothers embark on their journey that twists and turns down the road of unbridled passion in the first book of the series.

BLACK ROSE WRITING

Presents

Brother Number Three

by Judy Serrano

VARIOUS LOCATIONS, USA AND INTERNATIONAL (Black Rose Writing) June 16^th, 2011 release – Black Rose Writing is pleased to announce that Brother Number Three by Judy Serrano is now available for review request or purchase from www.blackrosewritingbooks.com or any online bookstores.

The book is also available for direct order via the Ingram Book Catalogue and/or Books in Print. ISBN #978-1612960371

SYNOPSIS

Coming in third place was something that was all too familiar to Hector Montiago. As his strength and grounding personality pushes him into first place with the woman he loves, lines are crossed and sides are chosen.

In this second book of the series, Brother Number Three depicts family ties in a light unequal to any other. Lilly tells the story of how the brothers unite in the effort to recover her missing son, as blood becomes both the indestructible bond that holds them together and the opposing force that pushes them apart. Read on as they fight temptation while the enemies of the Montiago cartel unleash their wrath, only to discover that the true danger lies within.

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FUTURE JUDY SIGHTINGS!

October 15, 2011

Texas HOPE Literacy is sponsoring a book signing

for Judy at the Plano Barnes & Noble

October 29, 2011

The Dallas International Book Fair

has invited Judy to join them for book signings

and to do a reading.

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Excerpts from author Judy Serrano:

Easter's Lilly is available as an

ebook or paperback and may be

purchased from the following links:

EASTER'S LILLY on AMAZON

EASTER's LILLY on B &N

EASTER'S LILLY: Excerpt #1

“Why didn’t you get a different kind of job?” I asked. “You seem capable.”

“I ask myself that every day,” he answered. “But now I know why,” he smiled at me. “Someone had to be here to take care of you.” He was still holding my hand and we were walking together like lovers through a meadow. It felt good and safe. He walked me to the back of the property by a creek. It was breathtaking. We sat on a couple of large rocks by the water and he let go of my hand. I felt a little sad when he did that. “I come here a lot,” he told me. “Sometimes just to talk to God and be with Him.”

“You believe in God?” I asked.

“Why so surprised?” He gave me a boyish grin that tickled a little.

“Aren’t you a hit-man?” I asked.

“Enforcer,” he said in a drawn out tone. “I prefer enforcer.”

We both laughed a little. He put his arm over my shoulder and pulled me close. “It’s going to be all right, Lilly.” I put my head on his shoulder.

“Have you ever been a bodyguard before?” I asked.

“No,” he answered. “But I do watch Diego’s back all the time. So, I guess I’m his bodyguard.” He picked up my chin with his fingers. “He’s a very powerful man, you know.” Actually, I didn’t know. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. “So, be careful with him.” I put my head back down on his shoulder and he held me for a while.

“Are you going to keep me safe?” I asked. I was worried now, about his brother.

“I will put my life down for you.” He pulled me even closer and rocked me a little. I never felt so secure before. You could smell the water as it cascaded into the rocks and made a swishing sound. It was heaven to me.

“Does Diego ever come out here?” I asked.

“I don’t think he remembers it’s here,” he answered. He gave me a knowing look. It was like this was going to be our spot.

Author Judy Serrano

brings Romantic Suspense to

a whole new level! If you

weren't hooked on Easter's

Lilly from Excerpt #1,

you will be by the end of

Excerpt #2!

EASTER'S LILLY: Excerpt #2

“I should just blow a hole through you and put you out of your misery.”

“Max!” I cried. “Stop!”

“I bet you want her too, don’t you? But you’re going to hand her over to him, just like I did.” Johnny was pretty smug for a man with a gun pointed at him.

“She’s not mine to give,” Max replied.

“But she could be, right Lilly?” Johnny asked. “You want her so bad…” he paused and smiled as though he knew what he was going to say would destroy Max. “You can almost taste her.” Max’s eyes changed when he said that. “And I don’t mean just her lips,” he continued. Max shot a hole through the wall inches from Johnny’s face. “I think I hit a nerve,” he said.

“Shut up, you idiot!” I screamed. “Max, is Diego on his way?”

He put the gun away and grabbed my hand. “Watch your mouth with my brother,” Max said to John. “He’s on his way and he’s not in a good mood.”

“You know, I’m right, Maxwell!” he yelled after us. Max opened the car door for me and we took off.

“Is what he said true?” I asked.

“Lilly, you need to promise me that you will do everything I tell you until Diego has calmed down.”

“Okay Max, whatever you say.”

“I don’t care what Diego says to you, you can not leave my side.”

“I can do that,” I said playfully.

“I’m being serious, Lilly. He’s going to think you slept with John and after he’s done with John, he’s probably going to think you slept with me.” I began to panic. “Baby girl,” he said. I loved when he called me that. “I will protect you. Just don’t leave me.” He grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

“You didn’t tell me if what Johnny said was true,” I reminded him. He was quiet for a minute. “Yes Lilly, every word.” We pulled into the driveway of my father’s house. Then he took my face into his hands and put his face close to mine. His breath on my face was warm. “Yes Lilly, sometimes I can almost taste you.” He let me go and my stomach leapt through the air. I never wanted him more. “Come on,” he said. “I need to see your dad.”

Reviews of Easter's Lilly may be found by following this link:

EASTER'S LILLY REVIEWS

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Excerpts from Judy's next novel in the series:

Brother Number 3

You may purchase

Brother Number 3 in

ebook or paperback form

from the following links:

BROTHER NUMBER 3 on AMAZON

BROTHER NUMBER 3 on B&N

BROTHER NUMBER 3: Excerpt #1

I lay in Little DiegEo’s bed all night hugging his teddy bear. Diego Sr. and Maxwell stayed with me for a while but eventually went off to bed. Max hired Mia right away to watch the baby. Mia was an FBI operative who was fluent in the martial arts and Spanish. I was afraid of her Mexican heritage at first but Max assured me that she had no history with his brother Jorge, or as we referred to him as, The Beast.

When I woke up, Mia was rocking the baby in the rocking chair and I heard the boys in the kitchen speaking in Spanish. Obviously they were up to no good or they would have been speaking in English. “Good morning ma’am,” Mia said to me. She was feeding Christian a bottle.

“Where is my husband?” I asked.

“They are all in the kitchen, ma’am.”

“Thanks,” I said. I never did shower or change last night. I was sure I looked a mess. I followed the voices into the kitchen. When they saw me they all got quiet. “Oh Lilly,” Max said. He walked over to me and hugged me. I think I looked worse than I realized at that point. “Why don’t you go take a shower while we head over to John’s house.”

“I am going with you,” I insisted.

“Absolutely not,” Diego inappropriately added. “He’s dangerous, Lilly. Haven’t you learned your lesson about him?”

“I will be the only one who can tell if he’s lying. I’m coming with you.”

“You might want to shower first,” Hector said trying to add some levity.

“If you’re going now, I’m going now. So… let’s go.” They all stood there, motionless.

“We’ll wait for you,” Max assured me. “Go clean up. You’ll scare him looking like that.”

I went into the bathroom to shower and got a good look at myself. My make-up was all down my face and my eyes were swollen from all the crying. How could someone just come into my house and steal my son? The desperation was written in blood all through my unidentifiable eyes. I took a shower and headed down the stairs. They were in the living room in silence waiting for me. We all got up and headed out. Max drove up in his shiny, nice new Beamer and we landed in front of John’s old house. It gave me the creeps, remembering the last time I was there. John was trying to convince me that I was still in love with him until Max busted in with his gun drawn, warning me that my psychopath husband was on his way. I shivered a little at first; but then I remembered what was at stake here. It was all carefully planned. Diego and I were to ring the bell while Hector and Max presented the danger. Same old, same old.

We rang the bell and a blond headed Irishman answered the door. He instantly recognized Diego. He put out his hand and said, “Diego, it’s been a long time.”

“Sean,” he said. “Where’s Rory?” Max slipped in at that moment and put his arm around Sean’s neck and put a gun to his temple.

“JOHN!” Sean screamed. Rory came down the hall and pointed the gun at Max. Hector walked in and said, “You obviously don’t know who we are.”

“Put the gun down!” Sean shouted in an urgent, anxious voice. “It’s Max Montiago, put it down!”

“I’m hurt,” Hector said putting his hand to his heart. He picked up his gun and pointed it at Rory.

“Which one?” Rory asked in confusion. “Which one is Max?”

Max and Hector both started to laugh. “It doesn’t matter who is who,” Diego stated. “They’ll drop you both in a heart beat if you don’t hand over the boy.”

Rory put the gun down on the floor and put his hands in the air. “We don’t have a boy. What are you talking about?” Then he yelled out, “JOHN!”

John came sauntering out of his bedroom and a girl in a bathrobe followed. “Some things never change,” Diego snickered.

“You mean like you and Max sharing Lilly,” John shot back. Diego picked his gun up from his waistband and pointed it at John. “Where is my son?”

Find Judy on the following sites:

Twitter

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BROTHER NUMBER 3: Excerpt #2

We waited until we heard the cars drive off and Hector motioned for me to come to him. He held me close. “You know how Max has his thing?” he whispered.

“You mean how he shoots people without any reaction time?”

“Yeah that,” he agreed. “Well, you are forgetting, little girl, that I have mine.”

“The bug thing?” I asked.

“The bug thing?” he laughed. “That’s what I am to you, the bug guy?”

“Of course not,” I blurted. “You’re way more than that to me, you know that.”

“That’s good to know,” he laughed. But I’m also the bomb guy,” he smiled. “I make and break bombs, remember?”

“You’re going to blow us up?” I asked in surprise.

“Lilly, Lilly, Lilly…” he sighed. “No silly, I’m going to blow a hole through the wall. But we’re not going anywhere until we’ve had lunch and made a little love first. Then we’ll go.”

“Oh for goodness sakes Hector, would you get serious.” I shook my head in disbelief. “Are you seriously thinking about taking your time?”

“We need our strength,” he winked and started going through what appeared to be a fully stocked fridge. “But I will make the bomb after lunch. We can leave the loving for tonight.” I laughed at his continued optimism. “We can’t leave until morning anyway. We drove for about an hour. The walk back will take us a bit and I want to make sure we have enough day light.”

“I’m sure everyone is worried sick by now,” I reminded him. “Max sent FBI to John’s and when they couldn’t find us…what do you think he did?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “But we need to get out tomorrow. I don’t want Max blowing the case just to get you back. I need to get you home.”

“What do you honestly think you can make an explosive from? Don’t you think they were careful not to leave anything like that lying around?”

“I am the MacGyver of bombs,” he replied. “I can make anything explode.” He smiled. “Isn’t that right, mi cielo?” I could feel all the blood rush to my face when he said that.

“I don’t remember,” I answered trying not to look at him. “It’s been a few years.”

“You remember,” he said with confidence. “You’re just in denial.”

“I don’t know how I ever put up with your enormous ego,” I told him.

“Tonight will probably be our last night, you know.” He put a sandwich in front of me. “We need to make it count.”

“I know,” I said. “So behave yourself.”

“You know you want me.”

“We were kidnapped and my husband is knocking himself out right now trying to find us.” I was trying to sober him up a little. “What you are asking me is wrong on so many levels?”

He sat down beside me with his own sandwich and put a glass of water in front of me. “Yes, it’s wrong.”

“Don’t you feel guilty?” I asked. “What if I had said yes?”

“Look,” he answered. “I will always love you. Any time I can have with you, I am going to take. So, if you want me to be the will power for the both of us…it won’t happen.”

We sat together and ate our lunch. “I’m sorry,” I said. “You know I still care for you.”

“I know,” he answered. “So, let’s just be happy we’re together right now. It is the high point of this whole experience.”

“Why are you always so cheerful?” I asked. “I should be terrified and crying but instead, I’m feeling hopeful and positive.”

“I am really not worried, Lilly. I’m glad they moved us. It will be much easier to get out of here.” He paused for a moment. “I just hope I can get the door open before they come back to get you.”

He got up and started cleaning the dishes. “Please,” I said. “I’ll clean, you get moving on that MacGyver thing you do.” He turned and kissed me gently on the lips. Then without further delay he began searching the kitchen for materials. I looked out the window and a wave of panic ran through my body. My adrenalin rushed as my heart began to accelerate. “Hector!” He turned and looked at me.

“Don’t worry, it won’t take me long,” he continued.

“How fast can you make a bomb?”

“Why?” He looked outside and saw what I saw. The forest was on fire.

Judy Gets Rave Reviews:

Fantastic read!

The name Judy Serrano strikes fear in the hearts of my husband and teenaged son, for they know now if I pick up one of her books, they will have to fend for themselves on cooking and cleaning. I become so absorbed in the Montiago's world that I cannot put the book down until finished! Judy paints her characters on the pages of her books like a master artist. They literally come alive, jumping off the pages to grab me and not let go! Her cliffhanger endings guarantee I will wait anxiously for the next book release! Hurry up, judy, and relieve this torture!

More Reviews of may be found by following this link:

BROTHER NUMBER 3 REVIEWS

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Follow Judy's Blog: WRITER's BLOG

Judy writes an interesting blog for writers dealing with the many issues authors deal with day in and day out. You will admire her welcoming personality as well as her extensive knowledge when it comes to the writing world. She has an knack of getting other authors to think about certain situations, keeping them from making hasty decisions. Even if you're not an author and you would like to discover some of the reality of the writing world, Judy's blog will not disappoint.

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Pic of the Week, Link of the Week

and Novel News, all from Janet,

will return to future posts so as

not to take away from the appearing

author on the new feature

AUTHOR SPLASH.

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SUMMARY:

I certainly hope you've found Judy to be an upcoming author you will consider when it comes to romantic suspense.

I cannot stress enough how important you, the JLB Creatives Blog Followers and Readers are when it comes to introducing upcoming artists who are worthy of discovery.

The best thing you can do to help Judy alongside buying her books, joining her blog, liking her Facebook Page, etc. is by sharing this post on the JLB Creatives Blog with your friends and family.

You may use the buttons either at the top of the page or below the post to Tweet, share on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. about this great romantic suspense author, Judy Serrano.

To all of my fans.

Those from the beginning

to the newest ones...

Thank you.

Until next week-

Stay casual - live life to the fullest - and have a piece of chocolate for me!

~Janet~