For Crown and Kingdom
//Month: November 2015
//Done Drafting Your Book? Hooray!! But NOW what??
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I’m over at Word Whores today, giving my secret (okay, not so secret) list of tics and errors I check for on my final manuscript polish.
Bestie New Releases!
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New releases today from two of my favorite people!
Katie Lane, member of my local RWA chapter, LERA, and a lovely person in every way, is kicking off a new series today. When she was first cooking up this idea, she talked about it to me as Duck Dynasty meets Victoria’s Secret.
I was all, yes, yes, yes!
Now A BILLIONAIRE BETWEEN THE SHEETS out in the world!
Overnight billionaires, the Beaumont brothers are thrust into life in the fast lane with exotic cars, private jets . . . and sex and success on their minds.
A commanding presence in the boardroom and the bedroom, Deacon Beaumont has come to save the failing company French Kiss. He was born to be boss in this glamorous new world of lacy lingerie and stunning supermodels. But one bold and beautiful woman dares to question his authority.
Olivia Harrington has dedicated her life to the company’s success. Just because Deacon is sexy as hell doesn’t mean he’ll make a better CEO. With a limitless supply of push-up bras and garter belts, Olivia turns her considerable feminine charms on Deacon to discover what makes him tick . . . and reveals instead the billion reasons why she wants him to stay.
Buy the Book
And the other release comes from online buddy and amazing author, Megan Hart. Seriously, Megan keeps me sane on instant messaging, even if she does bring out the all caps in me. I also love her stories and this is no exception. With a damaged heroine fighting to find a normal life, HOLD ME CLOSE will take your heartstrings in a fist and yank hard.
Apart, they are broken, but together, they are whole
Effie and Heath are famous. Not for anything they did, but for what happened to them as teenagers. Abducted and abused by the same man, they turned to each other for comfort until they were finally able to make their escape.
Now adults, their relationship is fraught with guilt and despair. Whether fighting or making love, their passion is strong enough to destroy them both—and Effie’s not about to let that happen. She knows it’s time for her to have a “normal” relationship, and Heath is nothing but a constant reminder of the dark past they share. Heath, on the other hand, knows Effie is the only woman he can ever love. She may want to forget what happened, but he’s convinced that they must face their past together in order to move forward. So while Effie continues to bring new men into her life, Heath becomes obsessed with proving he’s the one she needs.
Then a new crisis arises and Effie begins to lose every scrap of self-control she ever had. As she struggles against her desire to return to the one man who understands her, she discovers that sometimes the only safety you find is with the person who is the most dangerous for you.
Also, I should mention that my UNDER CONTRACT is on sale this week for only 99 cents! This is a great opportunity to pick up this most recent of my novel-length erotic romances.
The kinkier the sex, the higher the price tag…
Ryan Black has admired Celestina Sala from afar for years, her lush body and sensual nature calling to the dominant in him. For just as many years, Celestina was off-limits—married, proud and self-sufficient. But all that has changed, and now Celestina is in debt and in need…and available. Ryan proposes a contract: he’ll pay off her debt if she gives herself to him in bed, yielding control in exchange for the pain and pleasure he’ll bring them both.
There are words for women who take money for sex, and none of them are nice ones. Celestina never thought she’d have to sink this low, but giving up control sounds more enticing than ever before. And suddenly it’s not about having to give in to Ryan. It’s about wanting to.
But when Ryan’s dark past comes to light, they may both be in over their heads. The terms of his contract say her body is his…but her heart may be another story.
One thing is for sure—now that Ryan has Celestina, he can never let her go.
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Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!
99 Cent Sale!
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UNDER CONTRACT is on sale this week for only 99 cents!! Great time to pick up a copy. 🙂
Buy the Book
Do It, Baby – Make Me Hungry!
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I’m over at Word Whores, talking about books that make us literally hungry.
The Real Reason I Like Fairy Tales
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Look at the pretty!!! I got a whole stack of cover flats for THE PAGES OF THE MIND. I tried and tried to get a good pic that captures the truly gorgeous green. It looks olive on my screen, but it’s truly more of a deep emerald/light forest green. I love it so hard. Fortunately Past Jeffe was wise enough to save a pristine copy of each of the cover flats from this series. I’d like to get them all framed individually and create a wall collage of them. I hear the cover for the next book, THE EDGE OF THE BLADE, is another winner (according to my editor), but they’re still tweaking and I haven’t seen it yet.
[Open, open, open…]
So, I’ve started work on THE EDGE OF THE BLADE – none too soon, right? I should be on track to finish by the January 1 deadline, however. Up until now I’ve been working on a new contemporary/erotic novel that Agent Connor pronounced “wonderful” just yesterday and sent out on submission under the title FALLING STAR. (*happy dancing with crossed fingers*)
As I was writing on EDGE, a fairy tale trope blew through my mind and I considered weaving it in. Fairy tale tropes are great for that and, arguably, this entire series is essentially a fairy tale retelling, though the later books go farther and farther afield. (Books 4 and 5 are actually part of a new series called The Uncharted Realms, which reflects that.) But, because this and other stories of mine are rooted in fairy tales, I often get put on those types of panels at conventions, and a perennial question is why do I love fairy tales. I have any number of answers to this question, but the real one just occurred to me.
I was thinking about the story “The Red Shoes” – one I brought up at one of these panels, for the gruesome, punitive ending, which incited a discussion of the various endings. I was familiar with at least three that people mentioned. Then I realized that fairy tales were my first encounter with the idea that the same story could be told multiple ways. As an avid collector of fairy tale books even then, I quickly encountered the same story in different books. Finding there were various ways to tell the same story lit up something inside me.
Still does!
Happy weekend, everyone!
Sirens
//Sirens
Denver, Colorado | October 20–23, 2016
In fantasy literature, women are revolutionary. They are queens, dragon-tamers, witches, and monsters. They adventure, they conjure, they rise, and they rule. They are bold, clever, kind, and powerful. These women inhabit worlds different from our own, where women authors have given them extraordinary opportunities: to grow, to love, to fight, and sometimes to save the world.
Sirens is a conference dedicated to the diverse, remarkable women of fantasy literature: readers, authors, scholars, librarians, educators, publishing professionals, and characters. Sirens is a place where a woman can, without shame or irony, declare herself a queen, a dragonmaster, a general. A place where women aren’t constrained by what our real-world society demands. A light in a world that frequently excludes us.
For 2016, Sirens’s theme is lovers, as we examine the idea that in fantasy literature, as in the real world, whom we choose to love changes us—and helps us change the world.
Three Inspiring Thoughts on Writing
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I’m over at Word Whores, sharing my three (current) favorite quotes on writing.
Worldbuilders 2015 Fundraiser
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You can win a manuscript critique from me! Yes, I’m participating in Patrick Rothfuss’ Worldbuilders Fundraiser. I’m offering a First Chapter & Synopsis read and critique, along with a genre analysis. This will be particularly useful for those of you with romance or romantic elements in your SFF works. Lots of other authors, agents and editors are participating, too, so check out all the possibilities!
Also, in case you live under a rock and haven’t heard my non-stop shouting about it – THE TALON OF THE HAWK has been nominated for Best Fantasy Romance of 2015 in the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Awards! I’m really savoring this nomination because, as I told a writing friend, it’s such an honor to be listed with these other *amazing* authors, all of whom are much more likely to win. My friend asked, “why- who else is nominated?” I told her – Grace Draven, Sharon Shinn, CS Pacat and Robin Owens – and she said, “whoa, you’re running with the big dogs!”
Right??
Just so happy to be in the running. And, as Grace points out, she and I will be at the 2016 RT Booklovers Convention together in Las Vegas next April. If she wins, we’ll drink! If I win, we’ll drink! If we both lose, we’ll drink!
WIN.
Writing Bestsellers and Winning Awards!
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Okay, I haven’t written a bestseller (yet!), but I’m over at the RMFW blog talking about the desire to write one and how wanting everyone to love our books can get in the way of writing the stories we need to.
And I haven’t won an award (yet!), but THE TALON OF THE HAWK has been nominated for Best Fantasy Romance of 2015 in RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Awards. I’m in there with good friend Grace Draven, which is wonderful. She came up with a solid plan: if she wins, we’ll drink wine; if I win, we’ll drink wine; if we both lose, we’ll drink wine!! Love her to death. I have to tell you folks, seeing my name listed with all of these other writers is a thrill right there. Really doesn’t get better than that!