Surprise! New Release: Circe's Recruits:Zack & Ace

Due to some scheduling issues, Loose Id moved up the release of my highly anticipated (hey, I've been waiting to read it again) Circe's Recruits: Zack & Ace. So hang a right, then a left, and visit Loose Id.

Zack and Ace have been dancing around their "just friends" relationship for years. Being Circ means unavoidable intimacy when the mating heat strikes, and now that Kelly wants them both, it's making them see things in a new light.

New Cover: Circe's Recruits:Zack & Ace

I LOVE the new cover for CR: Zack & Ace. Just two more weeks until the release!
Here's s blurb...

In the three years since Project Dawn disbanded, Zack and Ace continue to fight the good fight. Now civilians, their squad--Circe’s Recruits--works for a private organization bent on cleaning up the mess left in the wake of Project Dawn’s rebirth. Run by Elliot Pearl, a ruthless millionaire, Pearson Labs continues to create Circs, people who have been genetically changed. When needed, these Circs take on an altered form, one neither man nor animal, but something in between. But unlike the squad, the Circs coming out of Pearson Labs aren’t sane.

Zack and Ace have been dancing around their "just friends" relationship for years. Being Circ means unavoidable intimacy when the mating heat strikes, and it puts a strain on their friendship. But just when they come to an understanding about what they truly mean to each other, Kelly, the woman they’ve been lusting after for years, is suddenly available in a way she's never been before. Lust and love confuse the issue, until wounded emotions pull the threesome apart, creating an opportunity for the enemy. As the Project Protection Agency grows more determined to capture viable Circs for their tests, Kelly lands on their radar. Captured, she’s taken to the Pearson Labs. Can Zack and Ace come to grips with their differences in time to save Kelly, or will their difficulties lose them the love of their lives, and each other?

Ex-haust-ed

I'm done. Kaput. Fatigued beyond rational. I finally finished CR: Derrick. I promised myself I'd finish the story this weekend. Well, I worked my *ss off today (Saturday), from a little past two in the afternoon 'til now, four a.m. I worked for 14 hrs straight, and I'm exhausted.

I'm going to reread and edit it later in the week. For now, I'm just glad to be DONE!!!

What's In a Name?

A short pet peeve of mine... weird names in romance books. Not sure if I talked about this before, but I thought I'd mention it again.

Now I've given my characters wacko names, but those are for men and women living in futuristic worlds. Aliens and creatures who live in dark places and parallel universes. But in my contemporaries, Ethan and Jewel (short for Julia), Gage and Hailey, Lilah and Rick (and Trevor) fall in love. It's a tricky thing to come up with a decent name that doesn't look bizarre or feel "unsexy." Look, I know a few guys named Larry, but I probably won't use "Larry" as my hero. It brings to mind the Three Stooges-- love 'em, but I don't think they're all that sexy. Likewise, I won't use Gertrude unless I can call her "Gerty" and give her a quirky background. Betty reminds me too much of my grandmother. Muriel's plain ugly. Sorry Mom, but it is (she goes by Mimi.) We all use personal choices when naming people, be they characters in a book, pets, plants or babies.

But I must ask the authors out there who toy with the simple "Sarah" and turn her into "Sarra," "Sarie" and "Sarrah", what are you doing? Why can't Sara/h fall in love with David? What's wrong with Mike obsessing over Jennifer--not Jeni, Jenniffer or Jeni Fer? This propensity to write character names in the oddest way possible strikes me as bizarre. Is the author trying to show how different her characters are from any other? Then make the story stand out. Because I get stuck on wacky names in a contemporary setting.

Don't get me wrong. When Wulfgar, an ancient Viking cursed to immortality, finds himself in the middle of Central Park fighting a gang for the honor of a woman named Amy, I don't mind at all. But my son doesn't go to school with Wulfgar, Zingo or Gren (okay, he was one of my heroes from a futuristic, but you get my point.) His friends are Alex, Abraham, Lucas and Megan.

I'm all for a creative book, but don't distract me from the story with a crazy name. Just my two cents, which is probably what this post is worth.

Torsos for Everyone

Well, the day didn't start out so well, so I think I'm entitled to look at a nice torso for a while. Oh yeah, that's much better.

A rundown of my morning:

• 0430 puppy decides he has to pee, even after going out four hours prior. Grumbling, I let him out... and eventually back inside.
  

• 0515 I finally fall back asleep

• 0600 alarm clock goes off, I hit snooze

• 0700 I wake from a nightmare where a serial killer continues to find me no matter where I run. Oh joy.

• 0702 husband nags the sh*t out of me to wake up 5 year old

• 0703 husband grabs 5-yr old out of bed, who screams at the top of his lungs that he wants Momma to carry him. Husband dumps him next to me.
  

• 0705 3-yr old joins me in bed, sandwiching me between him and 5-yr old, who hates mornings as much as I do

• 0715 I convince 5-yr old to wake up so he can catch the bus. 3-yr old refuses to go back to bed.

• 0750 5-yr old catches bus

• 0930 I take 3-yr old to Mother's Day Out

• 1315 I leave to pick up 3-yr old after screwing off all morning. Instead of writing, I dithered with my website, which is now black instead of red. And I had a field day at iStockphoto (see picture to the right). Why oh why am I putting off writing the last third of Derrick's story???????
  

Needless to say, I'm still smacking myself. I did, however, manage to run a mile after the boy got home from kindergarten and the teenager returned home. Took the kids to Monkey Joes to bounce, then the family out to dinner. Bought more Smart Water and Agave (alternative to sugar), and am set to write another chapter before I go to bed. All in all, not a bad ending to a crappy morning. Let's hope tonight my dreams are a lot less real. ack

Ye Olde Grindstone

In case you were wondering, that image to the left is a grindstone--as in, back to the grindstone, vacation's over!

The other day I bought a 2009 Sierra Club wall calendar. To my dismay, they no longer sell The Far Side wall calendars. Horror! I also picked up a new At-A-Glance Desk calendar. I bought a leather cover for it last year, and what do you know, I couldn't find any 2009 refills. So I now have a useless leather cover and a brand new plastic covered calendar. (I have to have the desk calendar, because I keep track of my work in there. Deadlines, important events, etc.)

So far in 2009, I've completed In Plain Sight, its synopsis, and sent it off to my editor at Samhain. I also finished post-proof edits for Circe's Recruits: Zack & Ace. I'm preparing to sign a new contract for The Thief of Mardu, in a general shift to move my futuristics to Total E-Bound. And I'm hard at work on Circe's Recruits: Derrick.

I've taken advantage of my vacation, however. I've already read Murder Game, by Christine Feehan (A+), Veil of Midnight by Lara Adrian (A), and Witch Heart by Anya Bast (A-). All really great books. I also purchased a bunch of books from Elloras Cave, since they're having a mondo close-out sale. I got a bunch of print titles for $3 and $4. What a deal! I also have two Shelly Laurenston books on order, a Christmas gift using my B&N giftcard.

Work to do, books to read, and the kids are finally back in school. Time for me to get my groove on. Cheers!

Feral Attraction Winner!

Congrats to ddurance. Deidre, you've won a copy of Feral Attraction. Shoot me an email at marie_harte@yahoo.com with your home address on it and I'll mail it out to you. You'll have it before it hits the bookshelves, Jan 27th! Congrats.

Your Nerves or Mine?

This has been bothering me for a few days, but I wonder if I'm just anal retentive, or if this is a topic that bothers other readers as well. The use of quirky language in books. And by quirky language, I mean the way the characters talk. Using wacko spellings to indicate brogue, Chicago-ese or my ultimate cringer, "gawd."

I truly believe in an author's right to be as creative as possible. Alternate worlds, species and hell, throw in genders if you want. But when I'm reading a book where the character says, for example, "Oh my gawd. He's so hawt," I can't help but cringe. Done once or twice I might let it go, but when the character says it every other line, I have to work hard not just to close the book, but to not throw the damned book/ereader across the room.

A bestselling book caught my eye at the store a few months ago. I'd been curious about reading it. The setting is cool, it's a kind of urban fantasy meets wizard world with a feisty heroine. Problem is, she's talks like she's stuck in a bad film noir set. Gangster lingo that drives me nuts. All I could see was James Cagney in a skirt. Not a pretty sight.

Hell, I had a hard enough time with one of the first historicals I read many years ago, where the author spelled out dialogue like " 'e's comin, miss. Whar can I put the bags, in 'ere?" Not sure if that was supposed to be cockney or what, but I had a headache by the end of the page. Now I realize the author was trying to go for authenticity, but since I live in the now, in America, it was awfully hard to understand, let alone follow what the heck was going on in the plot.

In my opinion, quirky is good, if not overdone. A character's oddities can be shown through action and yes, a bit of odd dialogue or slang, but too much can never be a good thing. Even in regular speak, when conversing with real people, I wonder about those I'm talking to that call me "babe" or "doll" or "honey." I'm just not used to talking to women like that in real life. Even my husband doesn't call me baby, though that I wouldn't mind so much.

So maybe it's just me, but the creative speech patterns of several of the authors I've read recently are just annoying me. Since dialogue is a compelling part of the book, when forced to skip it to go to narrative, I know that's not a good sign. But maybe I'm the only one that feels this way. Who knows?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, 2009! I cannot believe it! We've almost hit a new decade in this new millennium.

Hope everyone out there had a great celebration. I know I did. And a great big thank you to the inventor of the Cosmopolitan. Whoopee!

Marie

New Release: WILLA'S WISH

Willa’s Wish by Marie Harte

Previous Book: Satyr’s Mist
Genre: Multicultural Erotic Contemporary
Length: Holiday Kiss

Thanks to Tyrone's unasked for interference, his boss and friend, Rick Hastings, has finally found true love. With Rick stateside for the holidays, Ty is left to manage Satyr's Myst, an exclusive pleasure resort where anything goes. He's too busy to indulge in anything not business related, but Ty can't get his mind off of Rick's new hire, Willa Trainor.

Willa distracts him in way that makes him uneasy. More than her sinful body and alluring face, the beauty within the woman tempts him more than she should. She's a stranger, for all that he wants her. And Ty's been hurt before. But Willa isn't who he thinks she is. She's more than a sexy bombshell with a desire that matches his. She's the woman whose childhood crush blossomed into soul deep love.

Despite Ty's desire to leave the past in its place, Willa's not willing to be ignored. Because when the truth comes out, Willa's not taking no for an answer, not when she's finally come to claim her man.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, homoerotic sexual practices (m/m, f/f), ménage (m/f/m, f/f/m), voyeurism.

The book is short, but it packs a punch! You can find it at Loose Id.

Feral Attraction and a new contest

How exciting! I just received my copies of Feral Attraction from Samhain today, and they are beautiful!!! The book is supposed to be released Jan 27, 2009. I hope to do a few book signings to promote it, even though my last signing was nerve wracking. I'm not into pushing myself on others. "Hey, it's a good book. You want enjoyment, buy it. You aren't into romance, don't." Not exactly a killer sales pitch, but with a cover like this, I might not need one.

Two cat shifter stories bound together for one delightful read. Hmm, that sounds a little better..

To celebrate my new release, I'm going to give away a free copy of Feral Attraction. Simply post a comment on any of my posts this week to be entered to win. I'll announce the winner Friday. Good Luck!

What to Say

I posted yesterday at Hitting the Hot Spot. As the holidays draw near, it becomes increasingly hard for me to focus on the blog. Natural, I suppose, since the energy in the house is swirling around Christmas, presents, and the ever-growing naughty list Santa must be keeping.

My Christmas shopping is done. I wait until Christmas Eve to wrap presents, when I'm full of good cheer, some wine or kicked up eggnog, and Christmas music. It's hard this year because the weather turned from cold to warm and now it's veering on cold again. Growing up in the North, I was used to white Christmases. No longer, and it bums me out. Still, we have the entire family together for the holiday, and it's fun to see the college boy really hasn't changed all that much. He still needs lessons in hygiene (ech), spends too much time playing video games and is eating us out of house and home, despite his lean frame. The teenage girl is just as bad, and the youngsters nervous excitement continues to broil into fights, teary apologies and surprising laughter as they start a new game together.

It's nice to be with loved ones, especially during this time, and my heart goes out to all those who've lost someone special. Holidays can be good and bad. I'll wish my deceased Grandma a Merry Christmas, knowing she's probably up in heaven bossing around the kitchen staff. But that woman made a mean holiday soup, and she had a heart as big as the moon.

Here's hoping you all share a warm holiday. Drink some cocoa, play a few games with friends and get ready for a new year. And lest I forget the most important part of Christmas, God bless and happy birthday Jesus. To those who don't celebrate it, wishing you a wonderful season filled with joy.

Cheers!

Marie