RITA ® Award-Winning Author of Fantasy Romance
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Last week, to celebrate the release of THE TALON OF THE HAWK, I also released a prequel story to the series, NEGOTIATION, and set it to free. You can still download it free for a couple more days!
Our topic in the Bordello this week is Three Reader or Writer Cons/Events Near You (that you’d recommend). Love that Calendar Queen KAK tacked on “that we recommend.” I’ve bitched about cons I hated before, so it’s good to focus on the love.
Also, I’m going one step further and suggesting four!
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Lots and lots going on today!
WOW.
First off…
THE TALON OF THE HAWK IS FINALLY OUT!!!
People have been saying they’ve been looking forward to Ursula’s story since The Mark of the Tala first hit the shelves. Speaking of which, that book just finaled in Fantasy for FFP’s PRISM award.
Woo hoo!!!
In celebration of release day of The Talon of the Hawk, I’m also releasing the prequel story, Negotiation, as an ebook – and setting it free for a week!! This was previously in the Thunder on the Battlefield anthology. Download a copy! 🙂
Finally, I’m everywhere at once today. I’m at the Contemporary Romance Cafe, talking about the intersection of fantasy and contemporary psychology. Also, I’m at Here Be Magic, talking about why we need more superheroines.
A HEAVY CROWN
Three daughters were born to High King Uorsin, in place of the son he wanted. The youngest, lovely and sweet. The middle, pretty and subtle, with an air of magic. And the eldest, the Heir. A girl grudgingly honed to leadership, not beauty, to bear the sword and honor of the king.
Ursula’s loyalty is as ingrained as her straight warrior’s spine. She protects the peace of the Twelve Kingdoms with sweat and blood, her sisters from threats far and near. And she protects her father to prove her worth. But she never imagined her loyalty would become an open question on palace grounds. That her father would receive her with a foreign witch at one side and a hireling captain at the other-that soldiers would look on her as a woman, not as a warrior. She also never expected to decide the destiny of her sisters, of her people, of the Twelve Kingdoms and the Thirteenth. Not with her father still on the throne and war in the air. But the choice is before her. And the Heir must lead…
//////Wow – I can’t believe we’re almost to release day for THE TALON OF THE HAWK!
I’ve had this date in my calendar since my agent sold the trilogy in late 2012. It’s kind of like finally getting to go on an amazing vacation I started planning three years ago.
The most fun aspect is finally having people read the book – and talk about it! Here’s two great posts from the last couple of days.
Mala Bhattacharjee did an amazing First Look at Heroes and Heartbreakers.
And Veronica Scott has a terrific interview posted at the Sci-Fi Encounters column on the USA Today HEA blog.
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Guess what’s out today?? YES! The fourth book in Carolyn Crane’s Associates series, BEHIND THE MASK.
You guys, this story is so super hot, twisty and amazing.
You can take that with a grain of salt, as it’s no secret that Carolyn is my CP (critique partner) and bestie. However, that means two things – I read this story first, before ANY of you could (ha ha ha!) and I’m the one who egged her on to do more, go farther, give me that hot steamy dark smexy.
Let me set the scene. Carolyn was here in Santa Fe, visiting me last February. We went out walking, to see some art in the galleries, do a bit of boutique shopping. Then we settled into the bar at Inn at Loretto, which is one of my favorite bars in Santa Fe. We scored a table by the fireplace, drank wine, and I fed her notes from my Kindle about sex, death and other fabulously intense elements.
Sometimes I wonder what people at the other tables nearby were thinking…
Now, I’m not sure what Carolyn did with this and others of my suggestions, as I haven’t read her final version. However, I can’t wait to read it again and see! She’s such a brilliant writer and works magic in revisions. The story blew me away in rough draft – it might kill me in its final form. Which it sounds like it’s doing to others, like in this review at That’s What I’m Talking About.
At any rate, I’m giving away a digital copy in the format of choice to a random commenter! Tell me what intrigues you about this story by midnight US Eastern Time on May 21 and I’ll choose a winner. The official blurb is below.
When her long lost sister – a prostitute – is won in a card game by a brutal drug cartel, Zelda knows what she has to do: take her place. Save her. Focus on infiltrating the shadowy group on behalf of the Associates, and try not to think about why she left the spying game years ago. She’s slept with dangerous criminals before; she can do it again.
Hugo Martinez is one of South America’s most lethal and wanted men, a legendary mercenary living on a windswept mountain. Even at the height of the war he wasn’t in the habit of taking women captive, but the American whore has seen his face. And he and the orphan boy need a cook. He shouldn’t want this woman, but there’s something so unusual about her…
Little by little, Zelda finds herself falling for her captor…but is he the killer she’s been hunting all these years?
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So, yeah, okay – I’m still giddy.
Just look at the gorgeous trophy RT Book Reviews gave me for The Mark of the Tala. The Awards Night was amazing and fun. The whole conference was. I shall put up more pics and tell stories as I get back in the groove!
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I’m at the RT Booklovers Convention (#RT15) this week, so I’ve scheduled this post ahead of time. At any rate, the topic for this week in my future, your present, is Your Infrequently Asked Questions.
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I had the opportunity to chat a bit with Emily S. Keyes, an agent with my agency, Fuse Literary. Head over to the RMFW blog to learn a bit more about her before you meet her at the Colorado Gold Conference!
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I’m over at Word Whores today, talking about my formative influences in celebration of Mother’s Day. And also about the worst thing anyone has done to me on social media.
