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Happy Halloween 2013

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Happy Halloween! It’s the spookiest day of the year. Muhahaha. lol An excuse to dress up and eat candy? Sheesh, what’s not to like? I love Halloween. I like the trick or treaters. I like the grownup costume parties. I like it all.

Halloween always signifies the start of the holiday SEASON. You know the one with the capital S. It starts the Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas trifecta. One right after the other toward the end of each month. And mostly having to do with food. Again, what’s not to like?

So I did the Wicked Warriors Halloween Hop to give away my book FarSeen. I gave away two last time I participated in a hop. Gonna do it again this time. The winners are sandyg265 and Krysta B. I’ll get in touch with you by email or you can go to the contact page and drop me a line with what format you want. ** as an aside- if any of you who participated in the blog hop but didn’t win and you want an epub copy in exchange for a review, please let me know by leaving a comment or using the contact form or email. I’ve got one left.**

Thank you to everyone who participated!! I had a lot of fun doing the hop and I hope you did as well!!

Just a little news. I have this on my home page, but I signed a contract for my second book, Hat Trick,  in the Name of the Game series with Rebel Ink Press. I signed to have part 2 of a 2 part prequel released next year in March/April. Night Blind will be published by TEB and is part of my OtherKind series. I also had 3 short stories accepted into anthologies. Date Night, Homecoming and Show Me will be released at various times over the next few months by some really good people. October has been a month filled with treats for me. Lovin’ the awesome.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday Season. lol

Update 10/30/13

Status

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I’ll do a larger post tomorrow. I just wanted to briefly do a small status update today. Mostly because the blog hop is closing tonight. If you want a chance to win my latest release, go the Halloween Hop post and leave me a comment. I kinda think of these hops like trick-or-treating as adults go from one blog to another gathering chances for treats. lol

I will announce the winner of my giveaway tomorrow. Probably on the home page where I do most announcements. I might do more than one giveaway. It is Halloween after all and you never know what the spirit will move me to do. 😉

I think I might do nano. Although the work I’ll be working on is longer than 50k. So maybe I will use any 50k within the 92k-ish the novel will be as the barometer of whether I win at nano. I win. lol I like the sound of that. So if I can set shit up to make that happen more often than not, well, don’t shoot me if I do it. lol I should get one of those nifty word/progress bars to put in the side bar menu to track if I’m on target. But I am not doing this as part of the big nano. It’ll be a personal one. Just for me.

Cripes. November is almost upon us. I can’t believe how fast this year has gone. Halloween tomorrow. Then All Saints Day the day after. Should be a blast. Not.

 

Music Monday 10/28/13

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Justin Timberlake, y’all. Yes, yes I know. I’m sure some of you have strong feelings about my selection for this Music Monday. Don’t care. Not a me problem. He’s been on my mind lately. Not just because he has a new album out, but also because he’s been mentioned in a trilogy I was reading. Like worlds converging, yo.

See, I didn’t use to like JT. Not at all. I had relegated him to the corner of laughable boy band personas with lip syncing capabilities, pretty boy looks and easy docility. In other words, I wrote him off. Completely.

Then one night as I was on the way to the forum. No, not really. I just always wanted to say that. It was one night. But it wasn’t on the way to the forum. It was as I was hanging out watching HBO in my bedroom that JT came on in his FUTURE SEX/LOVE tour badness. He took over the screen. And he gave a helluva performance. Which made me rethink things about him. No, I still don’t think he has a great voice. But it’s passable. What he does have is the ability to perform and put on a show and entertain us. And that’s a talent. It takes skill. Charisma. He has it. He’ll never be a great singer. But he is a good performer.

So here are a few JT selections. Two from that concert I saw on HBO and one from his latest album. Enjoy!

Love Stoned/I Think She Knows

What Goes Around

Mirrors

Snippet Saturday- Homecoming

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holidayspice_smallHere’s a little treat from my upcoming soon-to-be released short story, HOMECOMING, put together by the good folks at Foreword Literary. It’s being released in a holiday anthology called HOLIDAY SPICE. I hear plans are in the works to have this out and in your grubby little hands by early November if possible.

I’ve seen the lineup of writers listed in the table of contents for this one and it’s a goodie. Should be some hot, hot, hot stories in there to help warm you up on a cold fall-ish/winter-y night. I’m pretty sure this is their first Holiday anthology. I’m betting it won’t be their last. It would be a good thing to get in on the ground floor and get the very first one and then each one every year after to make yourself a little collection. Plus, you might discover the next up and coming hot author in one of the anthologies. If my experience with past anthologies is any indication, then several of the authors you find in current anthologies will be the next Sylvia Day or something.

Anyway, here’s my story with blurb and snippet below.

Blurb:

Tessa’s known Nathan for most of her life. She should. He’s her younger brother’s best friend. Which means she’s also his elder by two years as well. They’re both home for the Christmas holidays. And for the first time, they’re together.

Tessa knows her brother isn’t going to react well. She doesn’t know how everyone else is going to react. What she does know is that she wants Nathan more than she’s ever wanted anything or anyone. This homecoming for the holidays could be the worst in the history of holidays, or it could be the best and the start of more yet to come.

 

Snippet:

“Babe, you look beautiful,” Nathan whispered from behind her.

She hadn’t heard him come up behind her.

Hearing his voice gave her an unexpected thrill. A fluttery feeling that began in the pit of her stomach and radiated out. God, she had missed him. Which was so funny. Nathan had been around her, her brother and in their home constantly when they were all growing up. Sure, she’d noticed he was hot and growing up hotter. But he was Rick’s best friend. So while she noted him in a vague sort of way because he was her brother’s friend, she hadn’t noticed. Not really

When he’d come and stayed with her for some job interviews in DC, she hadn’t seen him for several years. They kept missing each other at holidays. Not only had he grown up but he had become beyond hot. They’d gotten a little tipsy that first night and then everything had changed. She was pretty sure they hadn’t dressed or left her apartment the entire he’d been there. Ordering food in and staying in bed when they weren’t eating or showering. Or the few times he left for an interview.

Now he was moving to DC. He wanted to move in with her. And she wanted that too. She was just unsure of how their parents would react. And she was pretty sure that Rick would go ballistic.

Rick and Nathan had been best friends since grade school. She so did not want to get in the middle of that friendship. Not at all. But she refused to give up Nathan. Which meant that this Christmas was going to get tense.

“Hey, Nate.”

“I grabbed some mistletoe. Come with me. Let’s find a secluded place so I can put it over your head and you can kiss me senseless,” he said, his lips tipping up as he teased her.

“Nathan,” she admonished. “We can’t make out in my parent’s house.”

“Yes, we can,” he disagreed. “Either come with me and find a hidey-hole or I’m going to kiss you senseless right here.”

Wicked Warriors Halloween Hop 10/23/13-10/30/13

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I figured since I just had a release a couple of days ago, I’d join this hop to give away a copy. It is a Halloween Hop and my book is part of the Wanton Witches Collection by TEB. FarSeen has witches and magic and menage. With two wicked warriors, a girl’s Halloween is all about the treat.

I don’t know about you, but Halloween is one of my all time favorite holidays. I not only like getting tons of candy, but I like the whole dress up aspect of the the festivities. There is just something about it.

The Grand Prize for this hop is 5 autographed copies of Unbound AND a Kindle Paperwhite. This rocks. I’ve been lusting after a Paperwhite for quite some time now. So I am envious of whoever is gonna win the Grand Prize. Much envy.

My prize isn’t so fancy. It’s just my ebook, FarSeen, in whatever format you specify. I put the blurb below. So if you’re interested in winning a copy, leave me a comment. Any comment will do, but I would totally get a kick out of it if you’d tell me about your most memorable Halloween. Funny, Scary, Weird. Whatever.

If you’ve got some time, check out some of the other participants in the Hop and see if they have any themed prizes as well. Just because we’re grown ups doesn’t mean we don’t deserve to have a few treats show up in our bags as well. Halloween didn’t used to be all about the kids. And it shouldn’t be all about the adults. Let the kids have the candy this year as the adults collect delicious reading treats. And maybe a new Paperwhite to read them on.

The rafflecopter and link list to other blogs is at the end of this post. Have fun. Less tricks. More treats! 🙂

 

FarSeenBlurb:

Taking a break from finding the cure for a magic sickness killing witches, Evangeline (Evie) Parker picks up Drew for a night of hot sex. One night is not enough, however. In strange twist of fate, Trent, Drew’s partner also comes into Evie’s life. One night is definitely not enough when two becomes three. As they come together, they realize while separately they are good, together they are great.

All Hallows Eve is the time when the cure to the magic sickness is predicted to make itself known. Combining magic and sex on that special night cures more than the magic sickness afflicting the witch community, it also cures three lonely hearts.

FARSEEN is hot and sweet in a small tasty bite. It is filled with sex magic, lit up chakras and hearts slowly opening up to each other.

** Snippets can be found here, here, here and here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FarSeen Banner

Mixed Bag w/a Snippet

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I’m feeling all free form today. I’ve got a lot of shit to do. Although I am ever grateful that I’ve gotten a lot of shit done. I seem to write and be productive in cycles. Whatever. i was going to do my usual snippet today seeing as it’s Saturday. But I thought I do a few different things today. So in no particular order…

1. Scrivener is working out well so far. I’ve got no cause for complaints. I think the more I get into it, the more I’ll like it.

2. Began writing the first full length book in Steel and Stilettos. It’s been kinda cool working on two different interweaving storylines. It should be fun. And it looks like I will meet my end of the year deadline for getting my writing goals finished.

3. Edits. The bane of my existence. I would rather poke my own eye out than edit. Some people are naturally handy at this skill. I am not one of them. It is excruciatingly painful for me. So of course, I am currently editing Hat Trick and still awaiting edits on Driven and Homecoming. I do not like the current edit to writing ratio. 3-1 the other way would be okay, but this way… not so much.

4. Here is a small snippet from something I am currently working on. Don’t tell anybody. Shh… keep it between us.

They both looked up, their faces only separated by inches. She couldn’t resist. Not anymore. She closed the distance between them slowly. Giving him time to move if this wasn’t what he wanted.

He didn’t move.

She licked his lower lip then took it between her teeth, gently sucking it into her mouth. He tasted divine. She could feel his breath as he exhaled softly. She licked along the seam of his mouth, asking to be allowed entrance. He opened slightly.

She could have moved her tongue in fast and hard. It was what she wanted to do. She was greedy for a more complete taste of him. But she held herself back and went gently, moving slowly in. Sipping when she wanted to gulp.

 

5. I got a new chest of drawers. And now I must rearrange my clothes. It’s a task. I’ve been assigned it. There isn’t any escape.

6. Two more blog hops planned before the end of the year. One for Halloween to support my Wanton Witches Collection story, FarSeen. The other to bump up Home Run as well as hype the next book in that series, Hat Trick.

7. Did I mention, TEB contracted Night Blind? It’s being released next year. There is a lot of excitement going on over there. It should be a fun ride. We’ll see. They are looking at two more books in that universe. Got my fingers crossed.

8. Geez, I didn’t know I had so much crap all jumbled together to make up a writing life. Who knew? If I remember more crap, I will edit it in.

 

Winners Announced- Open Road

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I got so excited about this Blog Hop, I picked two winners for an ebook of Open Road.

By random drawing, the winners are:  strawberryrosered and Julianne

I’ve sent you both an email. Check your inboxes.

Thanks to everyone else who participated!!!

Six Pack Stud-A-Thon Blog Hop and Giveaway

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Six pack Stud-a-thon

Welcome to my Blog. And Thank You for participating in this blog hop. I hope you have a lot of fun and win some GREAT prizes!

I’ve always been an admirer of the male form. But it wasn’t until I started writing romances that I truly appreciated it in all its glory. I follow some great photographers on Facebook, both on my author page and on my personal page.Some do both fitness and fashion, while others focus on one or the other. What they have in common is the absolute clarity they bring to the human form. The male form, umm, cause I like dudes, yo.

I knew the human body was sensual and seductive. A veritable delight for the senses. But to see that shown with such skill is amazing. But skill alone doesn’t create all this goodness. Oh no. The owners of the bodies themselves are to given a LOT of credit. Because without these beautiful bodies as the foundation, incredible photographs that allow me to perv wouldn’t exist, couldn’t exist. And yes, women perv. Seriously. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. If they do, they’re lying. Totally lying. As a red-blooded heterosexual woman, I can attest that I like nothing better than a fit male body.

I was going to talk about a specific model or male body I though was fab-u-lous. But as I started trying to pick out just one, I couldn’t do it. I pick and choose the models I think are perfect for the story I’m currently working on. As a result, my choice in perv material changes– from day to day, minute to minute, story by story. Plus, if I chose just one, I felt bad about leaving out others. So instead, I picked up some pics without faces. Not because I think that all a man is good for is his… ummm… body… part… ummm… like his… *whistles as I think*… six-pack. Yeah, that’s the body part I’m thinking about. 😀 But really it’s that line on either side of the abs. You know–the V line– that leads to all things good in this world. Yum-frickin’-O. And let’s not forget the double veins that traverse that same direction right below the belly button. OMFG, I have this thing for veins. I must… MUST… lick them. Want to nibble compulsively. I think I have a vein issue or fetish or something because it drives me wild. Mad, even.

So in honor of all the male fitness and fashion models, who worked so hard to have such nice abs to look at, I’m giving away an ebook copy of OPEN ROAD. It first came out in the Hot Bods, Hot Rods anthology through Jupiter Gardens Press this past July. Come September 26, 2013, however, it will offered as a standalone novelette. It is a short story about three individuals who weren’t expecting each other. And it is the introduction to their lives together. Zoe starts out as a motocross racer and becomes a stunt woman. Deke and Nathan are bounty hunters. This story is about how they meet, with more stories to come. Because, one stunt woman and two hot bounty hunters in a menage as they hunt down criminals is too good to stop when they met. They story has to continue. And it will.

So… in addition to the grand prize you  are eligible for by clicking on the Rafflecopter link below, if you leave me a comment about your favorite male body part or anything else, you can get a ebook copy of OPEN ROAD and read as  Zoe, Deke and Nathan meet. I’ll announce a winner after the blog hop ends. Make sure to leave me you email addy and what format you want.

Also, don’t forget to check out the other blogs listed below for a chance to win other great prizes. Seriously, it should be fun for everyone. I mean, prizes and hot, hard men and their six pack abs at multiple sites? Come on now… it just doesn’t get any better than that!

Grand Prize

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Random Thoughts- Author Comment on Reviews

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So much talk about this subject. So many words flying around the internet and swirling around the inside of people’s minds. Jesus, you’d think this was something serious and shit.

Look authors write. Readers read and, sometimes, review. That’s just the way it is. People get butt hurt about a lot of things. So is it any wonder that authors get butt hurt about less than stellar reviews? No. Is it any wonder that readers get butt hurt about being called to the carpet over their less than stellar reviews? No. It is what it is.

The debate flying around is whether authors should reply to reviews- at all. Some take this even further and say authors shouldn’t even look at reviews. La-di-fucking-da.  Are you frickin’ kidding me? Really? This is akin to telling teens to just say no -or- to wait until marriage to have sex. Not. Fucking. Gonna. Happen. EVER. If you are of the opinion that it could/should/would… I have some swamp land in Alaska to sell you. No, no, I really do.

Now, keep in mind that the internet is full of rude, obnoxious people who are able to hide their identity. So… starting from the premise that not only are there assholes in the world, but there are relatively anonymous assholes that inhabit this world and you begin to see the dilemma before us. Being faceless on the web seems to give people the courage and/or stupidity they would not have or exercise otherwise. Because these people allow an endless amount of drivel and shit to spew from their fingertips.

Look, just because we can’t see each other–can’t see the hurt on the faces of people as we cause pain with our words– doesn’t mean the normal rules of polite discourse should be ignored. It shouldn’t. Childish rhymes notwithstanding, words can hurt and wound. Plus, you never know, the person you are directing your vitriolic garbage to might be unhinged and hunt you down like Predator did Alien.

That’s not to say that honesty shouldn’t be part of the internet opinion exchange. It should. If you think a book sucked. Say so. If it was great. Say so. Just don’t say it like a dick. And maybe focus on the book or the cover or that the moons didn’t align, and not the author. And if a reviewer is being dick and not focusing on the book or dim chakras or the use/non-use of a word, then I actually think it’s okay to call that reviewer out. But don’t be a dick back. A few non-dickish words to point out the focus of the the review wasn’t the book under review might be appropriate, or a hey sorry you didn’t like the book. Again, emphasis on not being a dick. By authors, readers or reviewers.  On the other hand, sometimes, it just spools up the dickish behavior even more. It’s a judgment call. On the part of the people involved in the book and the review. The rest of us can have an opinion on what’s happening, but really we should stay out of the fray and just watch the train wreck as it happens. Rubbernecking is a spectator sport, not a participant activity. Plus, when the spectators jump in, well, we become the de facto dicks. Don’t be a dick.

It should be the guiding principle on both sides of this debate- DON’T BE A DICK. And if you can’t figure out who the dickish asshole is in the melee… well, it’s probably you.

 

Series vs. Standalone Books

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I’m not sure how other writers write. But it seems as more time passes and more stories flit through my brain, one thing has become clear. I am unable to write standalone novels. I got nothing against standalone books. Nothing at all. But my mind seems to work in series. Either with the same character through multiple book/storylines or with the same interwoven characters but focusing on distinct characters within a storyline.

 

I’ve tried to write differently. There are lots of stories that I think will be a standalone, but by the end, I am spinning off other tangential stories. Apparently, this is just the way my brain works. Some series are just two books that pop in my brain. Other stories have an entire universe and a story arch that spans several novels. A few of those expanded storylines even have side novellas attached.

 

Take my newest soon to be released book FarSeen. Originally, I slated two novellas to the story. But soon, I realized that those two stories are the prequel to two distinct story arcs. One arc has a 3-4 novellas and about 4 novels in it. The second story arch takes a different turn with 3 novels and no novellas. But they are from the same universe and traverse the story arc at different points in the time line. And while I am pleased as all get out the I don’t see dead people, I gotta say having so many imaginary friends talking to me from a made-up universe can be a little crazy making. Or at least make people who see me talking to myself seem like I am cra-cra. I want to explain, sometimes, that I am talking to my characters or that they are talking to me. But then I realize that maybe, just maybe, admitting that would make me even crazier in their eyes. Regardless, I think all writers walk around talking to imaginary people who only exist in their mind until they are revealed in ink. Imaginary friends are the glue that unites authors. Who knew?

 

Several of my other stories also are laid out in series format. Like a motion picture running in my head, I can literally SEE them. Just once, I want to write a story that doesn’t have one before it or after it. But alas, that doesn’t seem to be in the cards for me at the moment. My only wish is that my universes are portrayed clearly, compellingly and with enough depth that my readers also end up talking to my characters. Now THAT would be a hoot. And a half.