Halloween Contest

This is a quick contest* in time for Halloween. Details are found in my newsletter, linked below. Bottom line, read a short excerpt and answer one question to be eligible to win a bunch of great books by authors Caitlin Kittridge, Sarah McCarty, Charlene Teglia, Jaci Burton, and more.

Click here for details...and don't wait! Only three more days 'til it's over...

*Note: winners outside the U.S. will receive an online GC to B&N.

A Contest, A Manuscript, and an Award? -- Oh My

Great news! No, I did not win Publisher's Clearinghouse, score a multi-book contract from Random House, or drop those many pounds I've been trying to lose forever. BUT... I've posted a new contest on my website in the October Newsletter. Yeah, I'm giving away a lot of brand new books to one lucky Continental US winner. Lest the non-US residents feel left out, be advised if you win, you'll get an online gift certificate to B&N. I don't discriminate by residence.

CONTEST INFO

I have been on a roll lately. I turned in my revised steampunk romance to Carina Press today. Though calling the book steampunk may be stretching it a bit, because though there are elements of steam in the book, there's a lot of other wacky stuff going on. Godbolts, blood ravens, Norse gods... and some sexy interludes between one hot westerner and an innocent easterner. Yum.

I also finished and turned in the first manuscript of my brand new (very loosely tied) series, Power Up! Psychics who leave DC behind and join forces out west in central Oregon, far away from politics and danger. Or so they think. The Lost Locket is a little over 50,000 words long, and a humdinger of a story between psychics Keegan Price, James Foreman, and Rory Taylor. A very tight threesome. :) [Note: Keegan and James are introduced in Gunnar's Game, coming in just two weeks to Loose Id, but the psychics are moving away from the Circs into their very own storyline.]

AWARD?

I also learned, via my friend Google, that Seriana Found is up for a Bookie Award courtesy of Authors After Dark. My futuristic novella has been nominated, along with 4 other stories, for best Fantasy Short Story. Not sure how my book fits the fantasy bill, but it was nice someone threw the title in there.

Meanwhile I'm pumped up yet another cup of coffee and very happy to have made some progress with work. I'm trying to get a lot done before the holidays hit. Next on my to-do list: Cougar Falls: Grady's story.

Great News! Dawn Endeavor to Print....

It's uber-late, and I should really be in bed, but I just finished a meeting with my writing buddy and best friend, Ayla Ruse, and I'm still buzzing on caffeine. So imagine my surprise as, sitting at my computer, I get terrific news.

The first two Dawn Endeavor books, Fallon's Flame and Hayashi's Hero, will be coming out in print in the omnibus volume, Dawn Endeavor: The Circs. I'm totally excited and thought I'd share the cover. Drumroll please...


I'm not sure exactly when the book will be out, but as I know more, I'll share more. Sometime in the next few months, so stay tuned. To read more details about the Dawn Endeavor series, of which Gunnar's Game, the fourth and final book, will be released in two short weeks, click here.

I Survived...

This past weekend was a study in survival for me. All thoughts of books and edits and scheduling were pushed to the side for three days while I took my boys camping during the GA-SC Scouts annual Spook-R-ee.

Holy crap. What a weekend. I did more on Saturday than I have in years. Helping my kids shoot bee-bee guns, sling shots, bow and arrows, canoeing, you name it, we did it. And all this despite the freezing night prior with shrieking kids and a camp site crammed with tents.

But the highlights of the weekend had to be my son screaming bloody murder that he would NOT enter the Haunted House we waited an hour to see. His screams were better than anything planned, because of the shrill, ear-splitting tonal noises coming from his throat. Good Lord, you'd have thought someone was ripping his toenails off. That loud was the scream.

So we avoided the haunted house. The kids and I still had a ton of fun... until Saturday night, when at 1am, my son had to go to the bathroom. I crept out the sleeping bag to take him to the rest room. We returned to the tent. Where he then moaned and cried because his tooth hurt. Now mind you, voices really carry at night. And I wasn't kidding about our tent being a foot from the ones next to and in front of us. After trying like crazy to get my kid to sleep off the pain, after brushing the offending tooth and seeing nothing there, I grabbed him and my 5 year old, shook them awake, dressed them, and we trudged the half mile back, through the dark, to the car. Yeah, at 2am. Then another hour in the car on the way home, driving slowly for fear of hitting one of the many deer along the way.

A crappy ending to what was a nice start. But all in all, the experience was fun. I made new friends, the kids made new friends, and they went without video games (and me off the computer) for two whole days. A record!

And now, back to my regularly scheduled programming...

Censorship...At Hitting the Hot Spot

I'm frothing at the mouth, er, I mean discussing censorship and that annoying concept called political correctness over at Hitting the Hot Spot today. Come on by and add your two cents. Unless you feel the need to censor yourself. Then just plain don't.

Book Club and a Recommendation

So last night I met with my book club. I'd already opted out of joining in discussion at the last meeting because I've been writing on deadline and refused to commit to reading anything but my manuscript. I could only add my observations on Stardust, by Neil Gaiman, as one who watched the movie and liked it. (Except for DeNiro. A gay pirate? Seriously?)

As soon as our Mexican dinner and discussion ended, I high-tailed it to Borders to pick up a copy of Venom by Jennifer Estep. I've been dying to read the book (the third in her series), and since I just finished my WIP, I rewarded myself by not only purchasing the book, but staying up late to read it.

I give it 5 stars, an A+, and a WOWZER. Awesome!

Man, I am so irked her next book in the series isn't out until next year. Two more books and the series wraps up, I think. But I'd read more if she wrote more. The characters and world-building in this urban fantasy are terrific, so much so that I don't even care that it's in 1st POV, which I normally don't like to read.

I highly recommend Jennifer Estep's Elemental Assassin series. It's urban fantasy with hints of romance, terrific characters, incredible action, and emotional growth. The heroine is one piece of vulnerability and kick-ass you don't want to miss.

Ch-ch-changes and a Peeve or Two

I've spent the morning fiddling around with this blog. I erased the long list of my books running along the side and replaced it with a slideshow of books courtesy of Photobucket.

Have you ever tried Photobucket? It's actually pretty easy. I finally figured out that Blogger likes Photobucket better than frickin' Flickr (note the alliteration), so now I've accomplished at least something today.

On another note, a few peeves:

1. The idiots on The View need to get a clue. Just because you disagree with someone does not mean you should walk off your own show. What ever happened to professionalism and encouraging dialogue? (And no, I am not a Bill O'Reilly fan.)

2. I'm losing another editor. This one is not so much a peeve as a lamentation. Because darn, she was good, and she'll be missed.

3. This is aimed at my publishers, all of them. If you have big news, stop teasing your poor authors about it and announce it only when you can! Authors are neurotic enough. My heart can't take it, even when it's good news. >:)

4. Howard Stern, stop screwing around and renew your contract. Your fans can't bear to lose you.

My Happy News

I've been putting this off for a while, waiting for all my i's to be dotted and t's crossed, but I am working on edits for the story and I've signed the necessary papers, so I'm going to share.

My story, Journeyman's Ride, an erotic steampunk novella, will be releasing from Carina Press in the spring of 2011. I'm very excited to join this cadre of authors, and I'm pleased to add Carina to my list of wonderful publishers. Carina is a division of Harlequin Enterprises, yet they're slightly different than the traditional romance powerhouse in that they're a digital-first publisher. They're growing in leaps and bounds since their opening in June 2010. Here's to the future, and to seeing whatever cover they come up with for my book. Because frankly, their covers ROCK, just as great as their stories.

******

Don't forget the Monday Author Blog Hop hosted by the lovely Lisa. You can visit her site for more details. But this is a great chance to meet new authors, new books, and really nice peeps!

If you're a published author or under contract, hop on below and don't forget to post the link on your blog page and grab this cute little author blog hop button. Easy as pie.

The New Keyboard

I've been having some major mouse issues lately. Not the mammal kind, the electronic kind. My cursor kept disappearing and sticking, and I'd changed batteries twice to be sure. I'm used to troubleshooting, and after some more sniffing around the problem, came to a sad realization.

It was time for the mouse and keyboard to go.

Heck, the letters on many of my keys were no longer visible, which isn't a big deal to me, but it would be confusing to anyone who DARED put finger on my computer. And none of my hotkeys worked, even after I'd programmed them many, many times.

I bit the bullet and purchased this handy dandy wireless keyboard and mouse set. The keys are extra quiet. Oooh. And it's curved and has a nice palm rest. Aaaah. And that cute little mouse...the little wheel is so smooth. It doesn't skitter around when I use it.

I feel like I just had my very own Christmas come early. Hurray for Microsoft. And yes, I really do mean that. Now I have a terrific incentive to type a lot tomorrow. Got to break in the new keyboard. Yeah.

The Sweet Sound of Silence

Music. It affects moods, elevates game play, and inspires creativity. I know a lot of authors who write with a play list. Others randomly select certain types of music depending upon what they're writing. Classical for an epic novel, alternative or grunge for YA dysfunction, country for, well, a western.

Me? I like the blessed sound of silence. Nothing but the low burble of a water filter in the fish tank that I can't for the life of me stifle. It became SO much easier to write when my youngest kids finally went off to school full time. Then I had a teenager drop in again when college didn't go so well, and the muted sounds of the television just outside my door drove me freakin' nuts. He's gone now, working and living successfully on his own. But the other teenager, recently graduated from high school, is still finding her way. Thankfully, she's as quiet as a church mouse, so no worries there.

To put together the right words for the right mood and tone, I need to concentrate. I have a difficult time doing that when my brain has to compete with lyrics to a song or the upbeat tempo of something lively when I'm trying to convey deep stillness or sadness.

I do like to listen to music and story-board when I work out though, and I often accompany a pounding techno beat to an imagined action sequence for a pending story idea. Since I like techno and rave, I often imagine kick-ass heroines pounding bad guys into the dirt. The music is like a personal sound track and gets my legs pumping and my brain thumping.

I've always been envious of other authors who can listen to music, have kids crawling over them, and create in a rowdy, raucous atmosphere, because I can't imagine it. My muse is strictly a no-noise kind of guy. And now, he's telling me I have to get back to my work in progress. I'm up to 37K words and still going strong. So much for ending at 40K.

As I end this post, I'd like to share a recent find courtesy of satellite radio. The song is an oldie but a goodie, and I'm totally into it. When I work out that is, not when writing. Enjoy the Sneaker Pimps' Spin Spin Sugar (Armand's mix)

Oh, and if you liked this, you might dig the Sneaker Pimps vs Ying Yang Twins too.

I'm at Denise Agnew's Blog Today

Today I have a guest interview at Denise Agnew's blog. Come on over and take a peek.

My First Audio Release! ENEMY RED

ENEMY RED releases today in audio. Click here for an audio excerpt. And here's a short blurb of the book, a werewolf novella.

The magic of love lies in the arms of his fiery enemy.

No one likes an arranged marriage, and Fenris, a golden wolf in the Silver Clan, plans to avoid it as long as he can. But the Wolf in the Forest has heard the prayers of another and grants the female her wish.

Unfortunately for Fenris, his destined mate is an alpha in her own right, and an enemy who plans on taking the Silver Clan, and Fenris, apart one bite at a time.

Until Fenris bites back.

Follow this Link

Okay, I'm cheating today. But a friend of mine wrote a really interesting post, so I encourage you to check it out. Ayla's a new author to Total E-Bound, and she's got some great posts on her blog. This one is entitled, Since When Is a Female Orgasm a Bad Thing? And if that title doesn't grab you, nothing will.

New Release: GALE SEASON

Now available from Total E-Bound, the third installment in the Storm Lords: GALE SEASON

Control is more about perception than reality, a fact Aerolus realises all too well about his affai, a woman crafty enough to challenge him to a game he has every intention of winning, for a prize no less than her heart.

Aerolus Storm, Storm Lord and Wind Mage, has no liking for the idea of marriage, and even less enthusiasm for the trouble-making female destined to be his. The Aellei are a mischievous race steeped in deception, with a true fondness for games. They make poor allies and even worse enemies.

Self-appointed protector Alandra le Aelle has no intention of making things easy for him, especially since every glance at her beauty shatters his control. Wading through her illusions will take all the skill he’s built as a mage, but finding the truth of her heart will take all the skill he’s learned as a man.

To read more, click here.

The Number 3

I remember back before ménage was popular within the romance reading community. What was once taboo has now become almost the norm when it comes to erotic romance. There's nothing unusual reading about three people having sex, though the trend seems to be partnering (for women readers) two men and one woman, as opposed to those X-rated movies featuring two women and one man.

But even more today, as societal climes change, the whole m/f/m story, in which both men pleasure the female but never touch each other, is being replaced more and more with m/m/f, a true menage in the sense that all partners touch one another. Man on woman and man on man.

I've always been drawn to stories featuring full threesomes, in which every partner shares with the other. How can you conceive of two men with one woman never rubbing body parts and getting excited? Physically at least, there will be some stimulation. And if you want to get graphic about how two tab Bs really fit one woman's slot A and slot A+, both tab Bs are going to have to touch at some point if all three people are moving. (Watch a movie and see if you don't believe me.)

But I admit I enjoy m/m romance, so I may be biased. To many women, the fantasy of strong men being intimate with each other is enthralling. Honestly, how often do men open up and share in real life? Now imagine doubling that and throwing in some steamy interludes. And even better, throw in a woman to muck up the whole affair and bring femininity to the relationship.

I'm currently working on a title for Loose Id called The Lost Locket, and it involves two men and one woman. It's an all out threesome, m/m/f, where everyone's into everyone else. I am loving that dynamic and just thought I'd share the idea with you.

One more day to the weekend. Enjoy, you're almost there...

Something Nice

This picture really needs no explanation. And it has nothing to do with my post today. I just thought I'd enjoy a silent moment of reflection while looking at something nice. I'd like to title this, Inspiration.

Ah yes, better than coffee. Almost.

And now back to your regularly scheduled program.

MONDAY: TO DO

Happy Monday. Yeah, right.

I woke this morning twenty minutes later than I wanted to and spent the morning arguing with my 5 year old to move his little butt or he'd miss the bus. (Thankfully the 7 year old only grumbled marginally as much as he usually does. We are NOT a morning-family.) After many tears, threats, and physically stuffing said 5-yr-old into his pants and shirt, the pre-bus morning ended with smiles, laughter, and running up and down the driveway while waiting for the bus to arrive.

I went out for some PT (physical training.) I'm getting started slowly on my new routine, so I went for a brisk 2 mile walk with the dogs. Some weights, leg lifts and sit-ups, and now I'm ready to drive downtown to the Scout store. sigh. On my To Do list, I have writing as #2 after PT, #1. Unfortunately, I won't be sticking to my list today, and that aggravates me. But I have to do these errands, so the work needs to wait.

I'm not a huge list person, but it does help motivate me to finish everything on the list. And thus far remaining, I have Wolf Wanted edits, Gale Season edits, update website, and work on current WIP.

I have yet to take a shower or fold any of the million articles of clean clothing now lying helplessly on my bed. I have a feeling it's going to be busy week. Hope you're Monday is going swimmingly.

Coffee anyone?

Just One Bite Story Contest! GO VOTE

All Romance Ebooks is having a killer contest. They're offering some nifty prizes for the top three authors in their contest, and they're giving readers 32 free short reads!

All you have to do to vote is log in, and that's a free sign up if you don't already shop at ARe. You then get to read free short stories and can vote if you want.

The stories range from 2500-3000 words, really short, and have a paranormal theme. They can be anything from sweet to sexy.

Mine in round 1 of the voting is number 12. There are five rounds, and I have to win each one to go on. So go on over and vote. Besides, I want you to read my story. And again, it's free. What do you have to lose?

Marie