Laura Carter has quickly become one of my go to authors when I want to read an edgy contemporary romance. She writes from a British POV and her plots are filled with excellent writing and erotic dramatic suspense!

When I met her in person last year I was charmed by her personality and after reading the first book in her Vengeful Love series I became a fan. If you follow Laura on Facebook or Instagram you’ll really get to know her as she gives you an inside view of her island writing nooks and Friday celebratory cocktails. I try not to be jealous of all those beach pictures, but it’s hard! 

I’m excited to hand over my Sunday blog to Laura so she can also charm all of you, but more importantly so she can tell you all about writing, her books, and what’s up next! 

LAURA CARTER 

I first met Deborah at RT Convention in Las Vegas in 2016. We were taking two minutes out from the craziness of the conference, and inevitably started talking books.
We have stayed in touch since, and I was thrilled when she asked if I would be interested in commandeering The Reading Chick blog for a day. I was thrilled, not only because I get to support Deborah’s blog and hopefully introduce myself to new readers, but also because there will be many writers among you and I think it is helpful to hear how fellow writers became published. Similar blogs certainly helped me.

So, here is my story…

When I was a young girl (*looks wistfully into the distance*), I would write song lyrics and make up plays. I would perform for my family, forcing my sister and cousins to take part. So, naturally, I grew up and became an attorney.

I know what you’re thinking—the two worlds don’t exactly go together like salt and pepper or Bonnie and Clyde. But, you see, my day job meant that I needed an escape from long hours and heavy documents, and that I was armed with knowledge of cities and a corporate worlds.

In fact, my first trilogy, VENGEFUL LOVE, published by Harlequin’s Carina Press, is a dark, city-based, erotic romance. Book Page described VENGEFUL LOVE as, “[A]fast-paced, scorching romance that moves from boardroom to bedroom, to the darker corners of desire and retribution.”

The VENGEFUL LOVE series follows Scarlett Heath, a high-flying London lawyer, as she falls hard for her enigmatic, quietly dangerous, and downright HOT client, Gregory Ryans. Their love story will take you on an exhilarating ride through passion, angst and corruption.

Getting my first publishing deal was both incredible and incredibly surreal. It is an experience I consider myself very lucky to have been through. I didn’t do things the conventional way (i.e. find an agent, work on the manuscript together, find a publisher). I bought a copy of “Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook” and I researched publishers. I scoured their websites and narrowed down my list of preferred publishers to a handful, so to speak. I sent off whatever they asked for—often a synopsis and the first three chapters, sometimes the complete manuscript—and I held my breath.

I was fortunate enough not to have to wait long for my first offer. I then informed the other publishers that I had received an offer and, suddenly, I had five! At that stage, I had advances versus royalty only deals on the table and, frankly, I had no clue what to do next. I had no idea how to differentiate between publishers and deals. That was when I decided I needed an expert to help.

I only approached one agent, on the basis she represented an author whose work I knew well, and who wrote in a similar genre to mine. That agent came on board and the rest, as they say, is history.

Until…

I started to attend book signings and events, and fell quickly into the insane and fabulous world of books, readers, bloggers and authors. The more I spoke to people in the book world, it became clear to me there were advantages and disadvantages of both traditional and indie publishing. I realised that I could write quicker than I could seal my next traditional publishing deal. That, combined with the encouragement of indie author friends, led me to self-publish my next title, SCARRED BY YOU.

SCARRED BY YOU is the ultimate second chance romance. Dayna Cross and Clark Layton were always hot together, that hasn’t changed. But a lot of things have. These two characters will take you on a journey of twists and tears, through anger, lust, pain, love and hope.

Following the success of self-publishing SCARRED BY YOU, it is my intention to remain a hybrid author, bringing more books to the market than I might otherwise be able to if I were solely traditionally published. All the while, enjoying the knowledge and expertise that seasoned publishers can bring to my work.

So, what’s next for Laura Carter?

Well, I’m pleased you asked (you did, right?).

Earlier this year, I was fortunate enough to secure a new three book deal with New York publisher, Kensington Publishing. The deal is for three standalone romantic comedies, which are part of the BRITS IN MANHATTAN series.

The first book in the series, BALANCING THE SCALES, releases 21 November.

The BRITS IN MANHATTAN series follows a group of friends in New York as they cross paths with sassy Brits, who have the ability to get the hearts of my American heroes racing!

So, brace yourselves for the British Invasion! Expect comedy, heat and swoon-worthy romances.

BALANCING THE SCALES  

A Hotshot Manhattan Attorney. 

Drew Harrington knows exactly who he is—a legal shark with a love ‘em and leave ‘em attitude that works just fine in his cutthroat world. He’s on the cusp of promotion to named partner, but only if he can prove to his colleagues that he has a more human side.

A Sweetheart of a British Patisserie Chef.
Becky Fletcher is running from her past, so the last thing she’s looking for is love. What she does want is a friendly face in a cold city. Her sunny outlook is the sweetness Drew never knew was missing from his life.

One fateful meeting at a bagel cart.
They sound like a match made in heaven—or is it a car crash? If they have any chance of finding happiness, Drew and Becky are going to have to rethink their life plans. Until then, is there really any harm in having some fun between the sheets?

All’s fair in love and lox!

 You can pre-order BALANCING THE SCALES now:

 iBooks: https://goo.gl/0MLjEk

Barnes and Noble: https://goo.gl/0xaq5B

Amazon UK: https://goo.gl/AbwA8z

Amazon US: https://goo.gl/vCN42X

GooglePlay: https://goo.gl/he4H3O

Kobo: https://goo.gl/mlxcDH
 Before I hand the blog back over to Deborah, how about a Giveaway?

Win a $10 Amazon gift card AND one Laura Carter ebook of your choice!

 

 

To enter:

 (1) Like my Facebook author page

  www.facebook.com/lauracarterauthor.

 (2) For bonus entries, you can:

a. Sign up to my newsletter: www.lauracarterauthor.com/sign-up

b. Follow me on Goodreads: https://goo.gl/4GuJdd

c. Follow me on BookBub: https://goo.gl/6kND3X

d. Follow me on Amazon: https://goo.gl/hq3Tky

e. Join my reader group: www.facebook.com/groups/carterschiccats

 Competition closes at midnight (EST) Friday 26 May. Winner to be announced via the blog.

 It was great to hang out! Thank you so much to Deborah for hosting me.

 Come and chat to me any time about the publishing process and my story: www.facebook.com/lauracarterauthor

 You can join my virtual book club here: www.facebook.com/groups/carterschiccats (we read one book per month, chosen by poll in my reader group)