And remember how Billy Wayne got his start…it would be nice if we all put one back.

A few missed loan payments, and a family of Brazilian vintners stands to lose the fruits of four generations of labor. To save the business, devoted daughter Eliana Menino strikes a deal of her own to work off the family debt in service to the man she calls demonio—devilishly handsome private investor Hale Forester. Uprooted from her childhood home in exotic Brazil to work for Hale at his sprawling Napa Valley estate, Eliana soon realizes that the ruthless man who can make or break her family has a secret past … and the power to break her heart.

“I became enthralled with the idea of writing a vineyard romance after seeing the film version of Nicholas Sparks’ A Walk in the Clouds and the romantic comedy French Kiss,” says first-time author Rhiannon Ellis. “Winemaking is such a perfect metaphor for the birth of romance—how the tiny seed becomes a juicy grape and finally an intoxicating potion. I wanted my book to be more than just a sensual love story with a romantic setting. There’s also a feminist component. The heroine doesn’t need rescuing, but is in fact the real savior of the story. She cooks and cleans and even develops feelings for her alpha-male employer, but she never debases herself, and she never loses her determination to save her family’s vineyard.”

Rhiannon Ellis is a voracious reader and researcher. Writing began as a hobby, became a passion, turned into a career, and now is all three. Although raised in the south, Rhiannon now lives in the Midwest with her husband and their young children. When she isn’t writing, cooking, cleaning, or chasing her kids around, she can usually be found curled up with a good book. You can find Rhiannon on the Web at RhiannonEllis.com.

Bonded in Brazil is available in Kindle ($4.95) and print editions on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr and Amazon Japan. Bookstores and libraries can order by contacting info@camelpress.com or through Ingram or Baker & Taylor. Other electronic versions can be purchased on Smashwords or at any of the major online ebook stores.

ABOUT Camel Press—Based in Seattle Washington, Camel Press is a new imprint owned by Coffeetown Press. Camel Press publishes genre fiction: romance, mystery/suspense, science fiction, horror … or any combination thereof. We publish the books that grab you and hold you in their grip long into the night.

Four days after Seattle’s Camel Press released Alpaugh’s novel it rose to #3 on Amazon.com’s Bestseller List for its genre. The book is a modern fable about lovable misfits, both animal and human, whose fates become intertwined in a ragtag circus troupe.

“A deftly written story driven by raw and vivid characters and rich with evocative language and colorful descriptions,” author Rhiannon Ellis said of Alpaugh’s book. “With every page another layer is peeled back as this fascinating, magical tale unfolds–sad or humorous, but always thoughtful. Alpaugh’s writing does not rely on cheap tricks or predictable plot points, but slowly pulls you in and compels you to stick around for a while. Rest assured, in The Bear in a Muddy Tutu, you will constantly be surprised by what happens next.”

Alpaugh began his newspaper career in the early 1980′s, at a daily paper on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where he covered everything from bake sales to KKK meetings. He moved on to a paper in Massachusetts to specialize in feature essays, where his stories on a Hispanic youth gang and the life of a Golden Gloves boxer won national awards. His most recent newspaper job was at a large daily in Central New Jersey, where he was given the freedom to pursue more “true life” essays, including award winning pieces on a traveling rodeo, and an in-depth story on an emergency room doctor. The physician’s story was nominated by Gannett News Service for a 1991 Pulitzer Prize. Alpaugh also did work for two Manhattan-based news agencies, covering conflicts in Haiti, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and guerilla raids conducted out of the refugee camps along the Thai/Cambodia boarder. His work has appeared in dozens of magazines, as well as most newspapers in America. Alpaugh is currently a freelance photographer and writer living in Northeast Pennsylvania, where he also coaches his daughter’s soccer team. Find him online at ColeAlpaugh.com.

The Bear in a Muddy Tutu is available in Kindle ($4.95) and print editions on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr and Amazon Japan. It is also available in print and Nook versions at BarnesAndNoble.com. Bookstores and libraries can order by contacting info@Camelpress.com or through Ingram or Baker and Taylor. Other electronic versions can be purchased on Smashwords or at any of the major online ebook stores.

For more information, contact the Homosassa Public Library at (352) 628-5626, or the Coastal Region Library at (352) 795-3716.