Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Contract News!!

Sharing the news of book contracts are my favorite kinds of posts to write, so getting to blog about TWO new book contracts just doubles the fun.  :-) :-)

Earlier this month I shared the news that a story of mine, Campaigning For The Billionaire, had been accepted for inclusion in the Evernight Publishing anthology, His : Manlove Edition.  I'm thrilled to announce that Evernight Publishing is also going to publish my story, Chemistry With The Billionaire, as part of their Romance On The Go line.  Yes, I have a thing for billionaires and I'm happy I can sell the stories I make up about them.  :-D

I'm also super excited to announce that my story, Trusting The Army Captain, has been accepted for inclusion in Total-E-Bound's M/M military anthology, Stand To Attention.  I've been super nervous about this story because writing about the military is way, way, WAY out of my comfort zone, but I like challenging myself as a writer.  Besides, I like to change it up every now and then.  :)

Okay, here's the rundown:  Campaigning For The Billionaire ( His : Manlove Edition anthology) will be available next month, Chemistry With the Billionaire will be available in September, Led By Desire will be available in November, and Trusting The Army Captain (Stand To Attention anthology) will be available in January 2014.  Whew, and guess what?  I have more projects that I'm working on, so who knows...maybe you'll see me blog another "Contract News!!" post soon.  *crossing fingers*


Monday, July 29, 2013

Happy (belated) Anniversary!!

I meant to write a post on July 15th to celebrate a year from the date of my first submission to Total-E-Bound, marking my return to a 'professional' writing career.  About 10+ years ago, I used to write short stories for Sterling MacFadden publications, i.e. the True Confessions magazines.  I had a lot of fun and even made a little bit of money, but I eventually grew bored and stopped, focusing more on my day job.  However, I never totally gave up on my dream of turning my writing into a career.  I just decided to postpone it for a while until I could develop more focus and skill to write longer length and more complex stories.

In all that time, I'd never stopped writing, but spent more time reading different types of novels, trying to decide which genre I enjoyed the most.  Most writing books state you should write what you enjoy reading, but that's not easy advice to take when you read anything and everything like I do.  However I'm a sucker for romance, so I knew that's where I wanted to concentrate my efforts.  Around this time, I also read my first M/M story.  I'd picked the book, Supplicant by Gem Frost, up on a free ebook site thinking it was a typical M/F story with a hot guy on the cover.  But from the first page, I realized it not only wasn't a M/F story, it was a M/M story with some BDSM elements.  The super sexy erotic scenes hooked me and it wasn't long before I was reading every M/M story I could get my hands on.  From there, I made the leap from reading M/M stories to writing them.

After deciding that I was ready to get back on the submissions treadmill, I tried to find information for Sterling MacFadden but came up with nothing.  Apparently, they have been bought, sold, and bought again.  Even if I could have found submissions information for them, I don't think I would have pursued it because I came across many other publishers and submissions calls in the course of my research.  I hadn't realized how many opportunities existed now for all lengths of work, and how easy it was to get a foot in the door through submissions calls.

Total-E-Bound's Emergency Servicing anthology intrigued me because I love medical romances and I was eager to submit a M/M story to see if I really had what it took to write in that genre.  I submitted my story on the last day of the deadline, July 15th, and I received an email informing me the story had been accepted into the anthology on August 15th.  Since then, I've been a lot busier and had a lot more success than I could have anticipated.  There is still much more I want to accomplish, but I'm thrilled with how far I've come so far.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Harper Sloan's Axel Preview!

I'm thrilled to share a preview of Harper Sloan's latest book, Axel!  I hope you all check it out!



Fate hasn’t always been friends with Isabelle West. In fact, fate has been a down right bitch.
Isabelle has learned the hard way how hard life can be when fate isn’t by your side. It can hand you dreams on silver platters, but it can snatch them right back and hand you nightmares. One thing Isabelle knew for sure fate was consistent with was taking away everything she ever loved.
For the last two years Isabelle has been slowly clearing the clouds of her past. Happiness is finally on the horizon. She has a thriving business, great friends, and her life back. All she has to do is jump over the last hurdle…her ex-husband.
When problems start causing her to fear her new life, and memories that are better left forgotten start rushing to the surface the last thing she needs is a ghost from her past to come knocking on her door.
Axel never thought he would look into the eyes of Isabelle West again, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to now. He’s carried his anger for so long he isn’t sure he can just turn it off, but when he is faced with protecting her and an unexpected desire to have her again, life gets a little more complicated.

How will Axel and Isabelle deal when all their cards are put on the table and everything they thought was true blows up in their faces?

About the author:
Harper lives in small town Georgia just a short drive from her hometown of Peachtree City. She (and her 3 daughters) enjoy ruling the house they dubbed 'Estrogen Ocean', much to her husbands chagrin. Harper has a borderline unhealthy obsession with books; you can almost ALWAYS find her with her eReader attached. She enjoys bad reality TV and cheesy romantic flicks. Her favorite kind of hero--the super alpha kind!

Harper started using writing as a way to unwind when the house went to sleep at night; and with a house full of crazy it was the perfect way to just relax. It didn't take long before a head full of very demanding alphas would stop at nothing to have their story told.

Author Links:
Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/Harper_sloan
Amazon:   (will send out once it is live)
Twitter:  harpersloan
Instagram @harper_sloan
Email authorharpersloan@gmail.com

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Author C.A. Szarek guest post and Collision Force excerpt!

I'm so thrilled to welcome my fellow Total-E-Bound author C.A. Szarek to my blog and I'm even happier she's going to share an excerpt from her new book, Collision Force.  If you love the romantic suspense genre like I do, then this book is a must read!

And best of all, C.A. is giving away a free e-copy of Collision Force to one lucky commenter!  Please be sure to leave your email address so C.A. can reach you if you turn out to be the winner.  Good luck!


Book one in the Crossing Forces series

Bad boy FBI agent and feisty widowed police detective collide pursuing a human trafficker in small town Texas on their way to true love.

Bad boy, married to his job FBI agent Cole Lucas always gets his man. So when the unthinkable happens and one gets away, Cole grits his teeth and hunts human trafficker Carlo Maldonado all the way to Antioch, Texas, where he collides with Detective Andi MacLaren.

Cole doesn’t do small towns and doesn’t get involved with women he works with, but Andi tempts him in ways he doesn’t want to acknowledge.

Two murders, her partner shot and leading the investigation on her own, the last thing Andi needs is a cocky FBI agent who sees her as no more than a tagalong.

Widow and single mother Andi is used to being on her own. When Cole gets stuck without a place to stay, crashing on her couch puts them in dangerous territory.

Attraction and passion bring Andi to a place she’d left behind when her husband died. Her three-year-old son quickly wiggles his way into Cole’s heart, and he starts contemplating things—family, love—that he’d never planned for himself.

Can being forced to work together make them stronger or will their differences jeopardise their case and their hearts?



EXCERPT


“Goodnight, Cole.” Obviously, she didn’t want to talk to him about anything, let alone his overdue apology.
“So, that’s it? You’re not going to accept my apology?”
“Not tonight. I’m tired, and we have a long day tomorrow.” She turned to go.
“Andi, wait.” Why was he calling her back? He could respect that she was still upset with him—she had every right to be. He’d gone a bit overboard with some of the things he’d said.
Keeping Cass’ phone call from her had been unnecessary from the start. He hadn’t needed to carry it on in the car after they’d left the warehouse. It’d only served to get her so pissed off at him she’d barely uttered a word all day. So much for getting somewhere on the case.
Andi glanced over her shoulder and Cole grabbed her wrist. He yanked her into his arms and covered her mouth with his.
He hadn’t intended to kiss her but as her soft, warm lips caressed his, Cole couldn’t have changed his mind even if he’d wanted to. Her curves hit his chest with enough impact that should have jarred him back into his head, but he was lost and overheated immediately. He wrapped her in a tight embrace and kissed her harder.
She fought him, but his mouth was demanding over hers, and Andi opened for him, melting against him, surrendering to him. She slipped her arms around his neck and Cole bit back a groan. Her taste, sweeter than he’d imagined, was like ripe berries. He needed more.
Andi whimpered against his mouth, her tongue dancing with his. His cock stood at attention, straining against his zipper. He moaned as her body melded to his, breasts to chest, hips to hips. Cole had to have her.
As he walked them back towards the couch, she pushed hard against his chest, breaking the kiss and shoving him away from her. They both panted hard.
“Don’t…don’t ever do that…again,” she stammered, the gorgeous swell of her breasts lifting and pulling her shirt taut as her chest heaved. He could see peaked nipples. His erection throbbed and he struggled for coherent thought.
Cole dragged his gaze to her face. Blue eyes wide, cheeks rosy, freckles noticeable, her lips swollen from his. Though she’d been appealing before, how she stood before him now blew that out of the water. She was gorgeous.
He needed to say something. Anything. Apologise? He wasn’t sorry in the least. Speechless just about covered it.
She trembled and rubbed her arm. It took all he was made of not to pull her back to him and kiss her again.
There was no chance to answer. Andi turned on her heel and fled down the hall, slipping into the room farthest away from the living room. She didn’t even pause to look at him as she slammed the door.
He winced. What the hell should he make of what had happened? He stared down the hallway for a moment, his heart pounding. Never in his life, not even when he was a teenager, had one kiss stirred him to the point that Andi’s had. Then she’d run from him. His body shook with unfulfilled need.
Cole couldn’t blame her, really. No way should he have given in to the urge to kiss her. But he had the sinking suspicion he would have to do it again—and more. He wouldn’t be able not to. And hell, she’d kissed him back.
The voice of reason chided that he didn’t get involved with women he worked with, but his cock certainly disagreed. He ignored them both and dragged his hand over his face. The morning would bring complications.

Cole sighed and glanced at the couch. It looked comfortable, but would he be able to sleep?




Biography

Sword's Call is C.A.'s first book, and is the first in the King's Riders Series, published by Gypsy Shadow Publishing. C.A. also has a Romantic suspense, Collision Force (Crossing Forces Book 1), published by Total-E-Bound Publishing. BOTH ARE AVAILABLE NOW!

C.A. is originally from Ohio, but got to Texas as soon as she could. She is married and has a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice. 

She works with kids when she's not writing.

She's always wanted to be a writer and is overjoyed to share her stories with the world.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Review: Sorry, Bro by Genevieve Bergeron

About six weeks ago, I won a copy of Sorry, Bro by fellow Total-E-Bound author Genevieve Bergeron in  a contest she held while guest blogging at Pick A Genre Already, H K Carlton's website, who is also a fellow Total-E-Bound author.  A M/M/M novella, Sorry Bro is a sexy and emotional story with compelling characters which makes for a great read.

The story is told from the point of view of Bryce, a nurse who now works in a New Orleans hospital.  Eight years before, he'd abandoned his friends, family, and high school sweetheart in New York after a brief intimate moment with his best friend, Tim, left Bryce confused.  But even after all this time, Bryce finds he's not much happier than when he left New York, and being dumped by his girlfriend doesn't help matters, even if their relationship had been dead for a long time.  He is somewhat lifted out of his stupor by a growing attraction to Adrian a handsome surgeon at the hospital.  However, Bryce's world is upended on the night he's assigned to the surgical ward and realizes Tim is the patient on the operating table.  Tim's presence forces Bryce to come to grips with who he is and who he wants, and fortunately, both Adrian and Tim are willing to help him find out.

I haven't read many menages but I really enjoyed Sorry, Bro because it did such a skillful job at taking me on Bryce's journey from trying to convince himself that he was straight to eventually accepting and acting on his attraction to men.  The sex scenes are both vivid and sensual, and Genevieve Bergeron writes convincingly of Bryce's transition from reluctance to enthusiastic participant.  This is where the heart of the story lies, seeing Bryce acknowledge and accept his true feelings, and he gets to do it with two hot friends!  I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it to anyone who wants a sexy and emotional read.


Tuesday, July 9, 2013

News and Updates

I swore I'd write at least one genuine blog post a week, not just all 'catch this sale' or 'read this review' posts.  Yet, the 'catch this sale' posts capture more views than my usual ramblings so maybe I should do more of them. ;-)  But I'm exhausted, so the genuine blog post will come a little later in the week.

However, I do have a few tidbits I wanted to share.  Led By Desire, my M/F story for Total-E-Bound's Lust Bites line has just been sent for final edits (yay!) and will be available for pre-order in November.  Campaigning For The Billionaire, my M/M story for Evernight Publishing's anthology, His - Manlove Edition - Strength Meets Innocence anthology will be 'available' in August.  I say 'available' because I don't have confirmation outside of what's in my contract, and that's just an estimation. *shrugs*  I'm finishing another M/M story, I've outlined a M/F story, and I'm working on a romantic suspense M/F novel.  Whew! I told myself that once I finished the M/M story, I would focus solely on the novel, but I got an email about a submissions call, my brain started churning out ideas, and next thing you know, I have another manuscript to complete on my plate.  I'm really happy to be busy, and juggling three manuscripts is forcing me to become a better multi-tasker. 

I also wanted to mention that next week on Wednesday, July 17th, author C.A. Szarek will do a guest post to promote her book, Collision Force, the first book in the Crossing Forces series and will share an excerpt.  I'll looking forward to having her and I hope you all are as excited by her visit as I am.  :)

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Celebrate with 30% off all e-books at Total-E-Bound

The sales at Total-E-Bound just don't stop!  To celebrate their sixth anniversary, Total-E-Bound is slashing the prices of all e-books by 30% today and tomorrow!  If you missed their 4th of July sale, this is a great time to snap up all those books you meant to buy, like Trusting The ER Doctor, Designs For Him, Emergency Servicing anthology, or Promoted By The Billionaire anthology.  A 30% off sale doesn't come around that often so I hope you take advantage of it.  :-D



Thursday, July 4, 2013

Celebrate the 4th of July with 25% off all Total-E-Bound books!!

If you love a sale as much as I do, you should definitely check out Total-E-Bound today because they are slashing their prices by 25%!  It's a great time to stock up on all your favorites, like Emergency Servicing anthology, Promoted by the Billionaire anthology, Designs For Him or Trusting The ER Doctor.  :-D


Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Learning From Blog Post Comments

I know I've said this already but if you're not reading A Newbie's Guide to Publishing, then you're really missing out on a great education in writing and publishing.  Even if you're not interesting in self-publishing, there are a lot of great tips for how to market your book, both in the posts AND in the comments.

I've been paying more attention to the comments lately because the blog's host, Joe Konrath, has been letting a series of guests post of the blog, each sharing their path to publication, or their thoughts on publishing in general.  There's one author who's made a nuisance out of himself in the comments (just my opinion), whining about how his books aren't selling.  The other commenters basically told him that it's a crap shoot and to focus on writing the next book, but the author didn't really want to hear it, preferring to keep obsessing over what was wrong with this book.  I sympathize a little because I have a tendency to obsess over things I can't control either, but I try not to inflict my neuroses on other people either.

What struck me in particular was that the author had published four or five other books that were successful and he was getting hung up on the sales of his latest book.  I've published two stories so far, with a third (!) being available for pre-order at the end of November.  I can understand being disappointed in sales, especially if you want to make a living from your writing, but there really isn't time to mope about it.  With publishers releasing new books every week, the best way to deal with disappointment from your last book is to write another one.  That's one lesson from the blog post comments I can definitely take to heart.