Fictionwise Releases

New releases from Fictionwise. Duncan's Descent and Creation's Control.

Duncan's Descent is a paranormal offering courtesy of Samhain

Creation's Control is a futuristic m/m romance from Total E-Bound.

A New Week

A new Monday, a new week. My goal is to finish Creating Chemistry by Friday. Another two chapters and I'm done. I'm listening to Howard Stern on my Sirius radio while I make breakfast. Kids are in school, and I'm gearing up to write.

I'm feeling good.Let's hope the words flow today.

And Heroes is on tonight. Gotta love it.

Losing It

I must be seriously losing it. Twice this week I missed blog days, days I have on my website and penciled into my calendar. I almost missed taking my son to a birthday party because I though it was tomorrow, not today. (We did get there--a miracle in itself.) I'm not sure what the heck is happening with my brain. Ever have one of those moments? I'm having a week of them.

Maybe physical stress is getting to me. I've started on an exercise kick I should have started long ago. It's making me sleep well through the night, and my muscles are sore, in a good way. I've also been clearer when writing. I'm halfway through Creation's Control and still going. Now if I could just stop forgetting things this week...

Scooby Doo, always a classic

So in a toss up between Scooby Doo Alien Invaders and Scooby Doo Zombie Island, the 3 year old picks Alien Invaders. Good choice. Apparently the wee one shares my passion for aliens. And there's something dynamic about the gang and the grand Mystery Machine. Five friends investigating mysteries, eating good food (go Scooby snacks) and making eyes at one another (hello Fred and Daphne.)

I always loved Scooby Doo for the monsters and good mom that I am, I have my kids hooked on the super sleuths. They could watch the Doo-meister for hours. But you know, it's not uber-violent, there are no curse words or sexual vibes glowing from the cartoons, and they make monsters neat.

What's not to love? I dare you to find anyone who DOESN'T like Scooby Doo. And there's your thought for Friday.

Big News: A Storm Is Coming

Great News! The Storm Lords are back! Storm Lords: Guardian's Redemption, will be coming out in November from Total E-Bound. Read it as a continuation of the Storm Lords or as a stand-alone. Questions asked will be answered. Allies will be revealed, and a final battle between the Storm Lords and 'Sin Garu, an evil Dark Lord out to annihilate anything Light will settle who rules the magical land of Tanselm once and for all.

I've had the book done for over a year. It's been through rewrites and critiques (thanks, Rae!) and I'm happy to say it's finally coming out. Thanks for your patience, and to everyone who kept asking me when Arim will get his story, now you know. NOVEMBER 2008.

To read an excerpt of the novel, click here.

The Eve of Distraction

Okay. I'll admit it. I have to work to stay focused on a project when other, easier, pleasurable entertainment is so close at hand. And I don't mean my husband. I'm talking TV.

The fall season is officially back. For me it started last Thursday with the premier of Supernatural. And that show just keeps getting better! Tonight is Heroes. Then there's House. A new show called Fringe. Sons of Anarchy. Stargate Atlantis. Heck, if I worked at it, I'm sure I could come up with a show for every night. Which would all be very bad for my writing since I'd never get anything done.

But if you're jonesing for something decent to watch, I highly recommend the following to fulfill your craving: Supernatural (paranormal/horror), House (medical), Sons of Anarchy (biker drama), Stargate Atlantis and upcoming show, Sanctuary (Oct 3rd) (both Scifi), Fringe (Lost meets Xfiles), Heroes, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang, Bones, I could go on and on.

Oh, and Gemini Division, a new web-based thriller is just awesome. And I think that's enough.

Sunday Humor

Meet Slim

I'm not a huge dog lover. I like cats. We do in fact have one dog, a black lab named Floyd, along with two cats, Molly (who hates everyone) and Annie. I had no intention of getting another pet. Like I said, I'm not into dogs except for Floyd.

So today my husband comes home from some volunteer thing my daughter was doing. He told me about a woman who had labs to give away to a good home or they were going to the Humane Society. She just couldn't afford the dog food anymore with seven dogs on her farm.

I'd always fantasized that if I did have a dog of my own, I'd have a vanilla lab who would walk next to me on a leash, vice dragging me for walks as Floyd does. I decided to go look at the 5 month old puppy. Big mistake. Now we have a new dog, my dog, that I named Slim. My husband hates the name, but he looks like a Slim to me. He's adorable. A mix of Labrador and Australian Shepherd, so we'll see if he starts herding us in a few more months.

Take a peek at my new golden boy. And gee, he matches my sons for light colored locks. What a coincidence...

Emergence Winner

Congratulations to Cherie J. She is the lucky winner of a copy of Emergence.
Thanks all, for playing!

Marie

Quickie Contest: EMERGENCE

Want to win a free copy of Emergence? Simply post on today's blog. Random thoughts, a response to this post, anything at all. If you found out about the contest from Romance Junkies, let me know that too. I'll draw a random winner tomorrow at noon EST, so as long as you post before then, you're good. The winner will be announced on this blog.

Here's a blurb about the book, my second vampire novel to date.

Since humanity accepted the existence of vampires in their midst, life has become impossibly more difficult for Deacon Cain, former Marksdale police officer and current member of the Nox Squad. Nox Liberi--Latin for Night Children--the politically correct term for vamps--are running amuck in the city turning humans into mindless addicts. Vamps have turned their alluring pheromones into a profitable enterprise, a rising street drug known as vamp venom. And for an ex-cop like Deacon, the existence of vamp venom is one he can't and won't tolerate.

Joining Perimore Corporation to fight in the Nox Squad, Deacon spends his time putting rogue vamps behind Perimore's bars and ridding the streets of venom. But a mission gone wrong leads Deacon to Hope Bradley, a vamp with secrets that might be Perimore's downfall. Because Hope is Deacon's future, and she'll lead him on the path to a truth that will change his life and his world forever.

Click here to read an excerpt.

Forcing It

Yep, she's forcing it alright. Just like the last book I read. I was spoon fed information in dialogue, in narrative, and heck, just about everywhere else the author could shove it at me.

I'm not dense. When characters converse, I'm assuming they're going to tell me something crucial to the story. But being told the plot and background of characters in bullet-like fashion just killed the story I just bought and couldn't finish.

You hear a lot in the business of writing: to show, not tell. This means the reader wants to know what happened by seeing it happen. If something happened in the past, characters may discuss it, but usually in context to what's happening in the present. For example, I wouldn't just blurt out to my children that I broke my left toe fifteen years ago. But if my son stubs his toe today, I'd be justified in telling him the pain will go away, because I too had an injury some years ago when I broke my toe. Or if I needed him to know about his grandparents' history, it would be in context to something else imporant in the story, and not necessarily as a blurb that jumps out of nowhere, and as a vehicle merely to fluff the plot.

Unfortunately, the book I recently read plotted out the story line by line, in between sex scenes, in both dialogue and narrative. The characters might as well not have been there for all that the author seemed to be speaking just to me. The hero has people after him. They are called XXXX and they are after him because YYYY. Then he unzipped his pants and gave it to the heroin all over again. Geesh.

I don't often see this kind of poor storytelling anymore, simply because I'm selective about what I buy. I know which epublishers I like, as well as certain print publishing houses. I'm always happy to take a chance on a new author, but it's times like these when I realize I've wasted my money and my time. That's five bucks I'll never see again. *sigh*

But if I'm going to be all Pollyanna about it, I should think that reading blatant material like this is actually another opportunity to learn--to make sure I don't do in my own stories. God forbid. An opportunity for me to continue to improve my craft.

Just another day in the life of a writer who should be writing, and not reading so darned much.

Congrats

Whoops. I meant to post this at noon, and so caught up in my son's birthday party preparations, I forgot. Congrats to Sara W. who's won a print copy of I Dream of Dragons Vol. 1, from yesterday's Angels and Demons party at the Samhain Cafe.

Come on over to the Samhain Cafe

Check out authors Meg Allison, Marie Harte (me), Melissa Lopez, Sydney Somers and Ann Somerville at the Samhain Cafe. Today is Angels and Demons Day. We've got great excerpts, contests and chatter about the angels and demons making the end of summer even hotter to handle. Come on by, win a free book, and take a look.

Samhain Cafe

Flashback: The Talsons

For some odd reason, I was looking through my older books yesterday. I reread my fourth, unreleased Talson book, entitled Talson's Match. Man, I really liked these! Years ago, I wrote a short story, really short, like 6K words, for the now defunct Venus Press--Talson's Wait. (The incredible Dan Skinner did the covers. Check out Cerberus Inc. for more of his work.)

Anyway, my idea was for an alien race to come to earth. They looked just like us but had enhanced psychic powers. My books took place years after the Otra had landed on the planet. (Otra means "other" in Spanish. The Otra first landed in Mexico--backstory never expanded on in the books.) The titles concerned the Talson brothers. Roarke, Zaret, Val and Romy.

I pushed the envelope (so I thought) writing menage stories for the last three brothers. At the time, threesomes weren't the norm. I also had thoughts on expanding the intended four books into five or six, to include a few secondary characters in their own stories. But just as I was getting ready to submit my fourth book, Venus Press had some major issues. The VP of the company was a great businesswoman and editor, and I had no problems getting my rights back to those stories.

I've wanted to put all the stories together for resubmission elsewhere, but I'd need to totally expand the first book and reedit and revise the other three as well. I still plan to do this, but I'm so busy on other projects right now my poor Talsons fall short. Anyway, I thought I'd revisit these forgotten books for just a moment. A sentamenal "I miss you" to my old friends, the Talsons.

And just for kicks, here's the original Talson's Wait (for a limited time) if you're interested, minus Dan's cover, unfortunately, because I don't own the original artwork. Click here for Talson's Wait.

Happy Wednesday.

Angels and Demons, oh my!

Don't miss Angel and Demon Day at the Samhain Cafe on Friday, Sept 12th. We'll be posting excerpts and giving away prizes and downloads. So make sure to be there. Again, it's an all day event, so feel free to stop by at any time




.

Website

Hi. I've been tinkering today. Sometimes that can be a good thing. I've updated my website. Had a few folks comment that the white background was a little boring, which had frankly always bugged me. I like it to look clean, but a little color helps.

Let me know what you think.

Marie

Blogging at Samhain

Blogging today (it is after midnight as I type this) at the Samhain blog.
Stop on over for a peek. And have a nice weekend!

Thursday Ranting--warning, this is an idiotic post

I didn't get much sleep last night, so I really shouldn't be posting right now. My son had a nightmare that wouldn't go away, and when he could finally get to sleep, I was stirred up, not able to rest. So now I'm crabby, in one of those, "everything annoys me" moods. But what the hell, this might be entertaining.

Rant #1: My three-year-old hates naps. Great. He'll complain for 2 freakin' hours about how he doesn't need a nap, so that if he does actually go down, he'll be up all night. And if he stays the course and doesn't nap, he's a real pain in the behind later in the evening. (Yeah, all of my family does poorly with little sleep.)

Rant #2: I was doing some blog hopping today, because I'm not writing. And that annoys me. Can't get in the right frame to finish my @#^%&*! book. Everywhere I see other people ranting about stupid crap. Okay, this is a stupid blog too, so wow, I just joined the multitudes out there.

Granted, I'm only hearing one side of an argument reading a blog, but come on. One lady is pissed a review site hasn't posted her paid-for advertising. She paid them, sure, so she deserves her stuff advertised. But waiting two days to hear back and then going off because she hasn't? Hello? My own editors sometimes take three days or more to get back to me, and those are decent, professional folks (NCP excluded--that's a whole other rant.) Now I happened to have some insider scoop on this one blog post, so I'm irked that this person is making a huge fuss because no one got back to her right away. I also happen to know she was given some freebie stuff to make up for having to wait a whole week before hearing back from someone (not necessary but shows the review site is attempting to make right a perceived wrong.) But the ranter never posted about any of that. If you're gonna blackball somebody, give everyone the bigger picture and let them decide. Why does this irk me? Read on and you'll see.

Rant #3: I hate having to watch what I say on my own blog. I once posted about people using excessive--note, EXCESSIVE--profanity. I thought they were ignorant of good words to use, having to rely on f*ck to get them through a conversation. I'm not sure how, but some people read the post, took offense, and managed to turn my words back on me. Apparently, I'm a prude and intolerant of real words used everyday in the English language by intelligent, educated folks. Like all of my heroes scream, "Darn it, you doodlehead of a villain! Put that gosh-golly gun away." My blog post was quoted out of context and put up on an RWA bulletin board, whereby lots of folks added their two cents without reading what I really wrote here. (Yes, this event happened a while ago. Hey, I'm Sicilian. We hold grudges, especially when no one ever apologized for making a big stink out of nothing.)

Rant #4: I've gained a ton of weight, need to exercise, and have no energy. I'm ranting about this too. A woman + poor body image= typical reason to bitch. My ass is becoming a permanent fixture in my desk chair, and unfortunately, is beginning to share the same width as said chair!! Horror!

Rant #6: I have so many things I want to write, but not enough time to get to any of them. And with my previously mentioned cute little monster of a 3-yr-old not wanting to nap, I'm losing more time during the day when I SHOULD be writing. So why are you typing here on your blog when you should be writing your story, you might ask? ACK!!! Good point.

Rant #7: The cupboards are becoming bare. I need to go grocery shopping. I HATE grocery shopping. I actually loathe it.

Rant #8: If I find one more empty Coke can around the house, I'm going to bend my husband over and shove it up his *ss. 'Nuff said.

It's scary to think I could go on, but I need to let go of this stress and just write for the small half hour I've got until the next child comes home from school.

I've had better days. But I'm not that much of an idiot that I'm not grateful for (knock on wood) a healthy family and steady finances, enabling me to watch my little monsters during the day. I feel better for ranting, and if you don't like my post, feel free not to comment. I would say f*ck off, but I'm a bit prudish about those kinds of words, didn't you know?

Have a nice day.

The 3rd Quarter Prize

Congrats again to Cathie M. for winning the 3rd Quarter Contest. I laid it out so the books were visible. There are also a few pens and bookmarks, as well as a nice bag to hold everything in. Lots of books, compliments of RWA!! Enjoy, Cathie, and thanks to everyone who participated in the contest.

Spotlight at REO Today

Come on over to Romance Excerpts Only, where I'm spotlighted today. I'll be posting excerpts out the ying yang. All you have to do is read a few and shoot me an email to be entered to win some free downloads. I have over twenty-five books out now, so I've got plenty of stories to share. See you there!

New Release: Creation's Control

Now available from Total E-Bound, Creation's Control.

A futuristic m/m romance

It's all about control...

Now freed from the labs where he was created, tested and tortured, Ryen can't cope with the violent needs pressing him. The men on planet Mardu can't fight worth a damn and he can't chance sex with the females because he doesn't want to hurt anyone. Then there's Drekk, always bugging him, pushing him, attracting him...?

Drekk knows what it's like to have the needs only a Creation can experience. He's learned to blend in with the populace and balance a Creation's desire to submit with his own powerful personality. He'll teach Ryen the same, but it won't be easy. With the help of some 'tough love', he's sure he can show Ryen a measure of peace. In the process, he'll find himself both the master and the slave when he submits to the connection growing between them and falls in love.

To read an excerpt, click here