Reviews!

Hey look, a new post! Woo hoo!

Anyway, I recently received a couple of reviews back on After the Storm and thought I take a few minutes to share them!

From Sizzling Hot Book Reivews:

I liked that the characters earn what they get, you get to watch the people grow and develop here. Hugh and Miranda together are believable, both having lost their fathers, having a love for the Scotland’s countryside, horse riding for itself (not to show off or attract others), i.e. they share more than just a physical attraction

And:

 After the Storm is a rich story, with well develop characters and setting that make you want to read more like it.

 You can find the rest of the review right at Sizzling Hot Book Reviews

And The Romance Reviews gave it four stars and had this to say about it:

Kimberly Nee throws a huge twist towards the end of the book that completely blindsided me. I'm not going to divulge the twist in my review because I think everyone should read the book to find out what it is! All in all, this is a well-crafted book with many unforgettable characters. A must read! I can't wait for the next book!

Want to read the rest of the review? Check it out at The Romance Reviews!

 Anyway, it was nice to wake up to those sitting in my inbox!

And now back to your  regularly scheduled Sunday morning!

At Last! A Contest!

And it's a very simple contest. As I said in a previous post, I hate the title for The King's Bride and I need to change it before I submit it. Trouble is, no matter what, I can't think of anything better.

So, here's the contest - best book title wins a copy of Tiger Eyes and After the Storm (and an acknowledgment in the book when/if it sells!) I'll post the synopsis to the King's Bride, and all you need to do is come up a title for it. The contest will run through January 31st and all entries should be sent to kimberlynee AT gmail DOT com.

Good luck!!!

The King’s Bride

Synopsis

With his coronation imminent, Stefan Vanechka, the Crown Prince of Mordainia, has no choice but to accept the bride who has already been chosen for him, a woman he has never met. Faced with threats from both outside his kingdom, as well as within, he not only must do his duty, but he needs this woman. The woman chosen to be his bride is a Seer, and he will do what he must in order to protect his people and his throne.

Kristian Petroviya never knew she carried royal blood in her veins, and that she was betrothed at birth to the future King of Mordainia. Spirited far into the wilds of Mordainia as a child, she grew up knowing nothing of her heritage, or what was expected of her in regards to her gift. Rather, she was raised as being only one step above a peasant, reared by an aunt who used that gift for her own advantage, until Kristian was able to free herself  and begin her life anew. Marriage to anyone, least of all a future king, was the furthest thing on her mind and the last thing she wished to do.

Left with no choice but to accompany Stefan and his men back to Mordainia’s capital, Kristian is forced to accept a truth she’d never dreamed possible. And as they journey on, neither can deny the growing attraction between them. But when Kristian discovers the truth as to why he has come for her, and what her gift means for the future of his reign, it threatens to destroy not only lifelong friendships and growing trust, but Mordainia’s existence as well.

Edited: Please put Title Contest in the subject line of your email. ! :-)

Release Day and a Possible Contest!

Okay, I kind of forgot about the excerpts (sorry about that), but After the Storm is now available both in digital format and in print!

Here's the back cover copy:

When her father’s death leaves her in need of the protection of marriage, Miranda MacDonough travels from her home in Scotland to live in England with an aunt she hardly knows. There, she will learn everything necessary to make her into an acceptable society lady. The only problem is, the one man who makes her heart beat faster and her breath difficult to catch belongs to someone else.

Hugh Montgomery, the Duke of Thorpeton, has spent his life doing exactly what was expected of him, right down to the woman he is expected to marry, one chosen for him. What he hadn’t expected was to meet a woman such as Miranda, who will turn his world upside down and leave him torn between honoring his father’s dying wish or surrendering to his desire.

And here is an excerpt:

...she prayed time would halt but for five minutes. That was all she asked—five minutes more.

But time would not freeze and her absence would be noticed. “Hugh,” she whispered, “I should be going below…my aunt…you need to finish dressing and this is utterly improper. Why, should someone catch us…”

Hugh shook his head ever so slowly, still holding her gaze. “No one would dare enter without my permission. Not even my valet takes such liberty.” He stroked her thumbs again, his voice softer and deeper still. “I thank you for your help, Randi. There are those days when I miss my youth. When I needed no help. From anyone.”

"You are hardly old, Your Grace.” Why was her breath so hard to catch? Another flutter through her belly and the breathlessness worsened.

“I am fraying a tad at the seams these days, I’m afraid.” His words were soft, and sadness tinged his grin.

A deep breath did little to quell that returning sense of wickedness as she bent forward to whisper in his ear, “I happen to like frayed seams.”

He turned, caught her completely by surprise as his lips found hers.

Want to read more (and you know you do!)?? You can find it in digital format at Amazon, and The Wild Rose Press. Want a print copy? Check it out here and here!

Now, I've been thinking of holding a contest to celebrate the releases of both After the Storm and Tiger Eyes. But then I thought, what if I announce it, and no one is interested (the horror!)?

So, I am going to do a little research (begging? pleading?) to find out if there's any interest. The idea was a Name My Next Book contest. The King's Bride is ready to go out on submission, except I hate the title. And since I suck at titles, I thought - why not pick everyone else's brains and throw in a few prizes for their effort? I'd post the book's synopsis, and offer copies of Tiger Eyes and After the Storm for the best title.

Interested? Let me know what you think!

You DO Remember Me, Right?

I certainly hope so. But, I won't fault you if you don't, so let me introduce myself again.

I'm Kimberly Nee. I write historical romances. Maybe you've read one (or two) of my books. I used to blog on a fairly regular basis. Then I vanished.

But now I'm back. I took a two month break from writing, worked on revising a few current projects, and basically just recharged my batteries. And it worked, since I started a new book last night and I can feel that need to just sit at the keyboard and write. It's been ages since that's happened and I forgot how much I really do love that feeling.

So little by little, I'm getting back into my old routine. I'm catching up on all the blogs I read, and will hopefully get back to commenting on them as well. I also discovered a few new blogs. But mostly, I'm writing again. Yay!

After the Storm comes out this Friday, and I'm pretty excited about it. I'll post a few excerpts over the next couple of days to pique your interest...

Taking a Break

From my NaNoWriMo project. I have to be honest, I hate the story. I hate the characters. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I don't want to write. I have to force myself to sit down and hit my word count each day.

I think it's partly because I didn't have time to do much more than a few paragraphs of a synopsis. Now, I'm not really a plotter. Never have been, though I've been leaning more and more toward it. But, I usually have a bit more of a skeleton, and I know the time period I'm writing about. But this year, I was editing two books during September and October, which meant I had no time to do even the most preliminary of research. As a result, my NaNo story, which is supposed to be an historical set in the Old West, reads like it could take place in any time, which is Not Good when writing an historical. Not Good at all. Yeesh.

But mainly, I think I'm tired. By the end of January, I'll have four books out (The Pursuit - July, Playing with Fire - November, Tiger Eyes - December, and After the Storm, January) with a fifth one coming as soon as I get a release date. Playing with Fire and Devil in Disguise (release date TBA) were the books I was working on in the run-up to NaNo (I also did first round edits on Tiger Eyes in there somewhere.) I finished The King's Bride. I started two other books in addition to everything else. It's been a busy few months, and that's without adding in everything that's been going on with my mom as well. Which all adds up to one tired writer.

So I'm looking forward to December. I'll take the month off from most of my writing (I'll have final edits on Tiger Eyes and that should be it for deadlines.) I'll work here and there on The King's Bride because I plan to start subbing that in the new year. I'll work a little here and there on my current WIPs, and I'll blog, but that's about it until sometime next year. I need a rest. I don't want my writing to suffer and I'm thinking that it's starting to do just that. And when the time comes that I have to force myself to work on a story? Yep, that's a hint.

So, I'm looking forward to my little vacation. I think I've earned it.

I'm BACK! didja miss me?

I've been running like a freak for the last two weeks. Way back, when contracts first crossed my desk, having several books coming out over a few months seemed like a good idea. Sure, get out there with new stuff, since it's been two years since my last release. Why not?

Seemed like a good idea at the time.


or so I thought.

Deadlines have overlapped. Major rewrites have come in all at once (eek!). But on the plus side - I kan haz kool kovers?

Check these out -

Playing With Fire ~ will be released by Aspen Mountain Press/Aurora Regency Historicals on Novemvber 26. And here is the smokin' cover...

And following that is Tiger Eyes, which is coming from Samhain Publishing on December 21, 2010. W00t!

Yowza...


And coming in January, 2011, from The Wild Rose Press:

And with a release date to be determined (but edits mercifully thisclose to done) is Devil in Disguise from the Wild Rose Press...

So this seemed like a great idea, like great exposure - and it was. But there was a lot of work and a lot of craziness on top of all the RL craziness going on in my word.

But now everything is thisclose to being finished. WHew.

Now I can begin working on my NaNo project. And then I'll tackle The King's Bride. Mary, my most awesome beta reader, gave me a lot to think about and made some great suggestions. So when those changes are made, The King's Bride will leave home to go out on submission.

Then I'll take a vacation. Maybe. :)

Imagination

When I first sat down to write this post, I planned to blog about imagination. But no matter what I wrote, it sounded ridiculous. Probably because it was ridiculous. What do I know about imagination? I know that I've always had a good one and sometimes it runs wild with me. :)

I never had invisible friends (either human or rabbit, and a cookie to anyone who gets the reference), but my favorite toys were my Barbie dolls. My best friend and I would play almost every day and we never played like those stupid Barbie commercials ("Barbie's a veterinarian!") We had storylines. And drama. And conflict. There were love triangles, and betrayals, and reunited lovers (oh, yeah... our Barbies were gettin' a little somethin'-somethin' as well. Hardly a surprise I grew up to write steamy romance novels, eh? :D) Kris's grandmother would come to watch her and her brother for two weeks every summer, and she said she preferred watching us to her soaps. Is it any surprise I'm a writer now?

I miss those days now - those Barbie games and their stories, laid the groundwork for the writing I do now. I learned all the basics just from my imagination, without even knowing I was learning and without ever thinking that it might be something I'd actually get paid to do.

Imagination is limitless. It's infinite. It's a gift. And it's a shame most people lose that gift, or let it fade away. The ones who retain it are the lucky ones.

A Quick Detour

I'm thinking of hosting a contest to celebrate the true releases of The Pursuit and Playing With Fire. Now they won't be out until later this fall, but it's never too soon to begin planning, right?

So, here is where I call on my wonderful readers (and I know you're out there!) to tell me what they think or what they'd like to see as prizes.

Right now. I have books to offer as prizes. I have ARCs (complete with editor notes that'll make you laugh or cringe.) I have earlier drafts loaded with my own revisions and notes scratched from front to back on page after page. If it's on paper - I have it as a possible prize.

But I also had an interesting idea. I've seen done before and wondered about holding a contest where the main winner - the grand prize, so to speak - is the winner appearing in a future book as a major secondary character. Now, I've never done a contest of this sort, so I'd love to hear some information either for or against such a contest. Pros and cons would be super appreciated, so anyone who has an experience to share - I'd love to hear it so leave me a comment!

I've got time, but it's going to go fast, so get your ideas in quickly! I'm dying to hear any and all suggestions!

Done!

First edits for Devil in Disguise, that is. Yay! It took me a while, as they arrived just as my mom was beginning radiation therapy, and then she ended up being hospitalized twice in the last two weeks. Fortunately, my Wild Rose Press editor, Christine, is an infinitely patient person and very understanding.

So that's done with, and now I'm back to work revising Dance with the Devil. This one is almost finished, so this should be the last go round before it goes out the door. Then, I think I'm going to plot out the next Montgomery book. This will be Daniel's story (he's mentioned, but not seen in both After the Storm and Devil in Disguise.) After that, I plan to re-write Elyse's story (she originally appeared as Kendra in Shelter From the Storm - which has since gone out of print) and that will most likely be the last book in the Montgomery series. It's been a great series to write, but all good things must end.

So that's my weekly update in a nutshell. I'm busy. Very. Busy. And that's a good thing. Work has been especially therapeutic during this time and I'm thankful for the distraction right now.

Just a Little More Shameless Promotion (Oh, and a Release Date!)

Have you gone and visited the new Aurora Regency blog? If so, let me know what you thought of it (or leave a comment there instead!) If not? WHY? The big day is right around the corner. Mark your calendars for July 23rd, when Aspen Mountain Press will be offering sneak peeks (and by sneak peeks, I mean, come and get some books!) at the new Aurora Regency and Aurora Regency Historicals lines. Go. Now. It's okay. I'll wait...


Hmmm... back already? Okay, well, after a nice relaxing Fourth of July, I'm back. First off, I hope everyone's Fourth was nice (ours was wonderful, but man! Where the heck did this heat come from. It's ungodly out there. Blech.) Second, I finally had the chance to finish reading Stacia Kane's Unholy Ghosts. Remember the whole heroine-is-a-drug-addict kerfuffle over at Dear Author a few weeks back? Well, frankly, I don't see what the fuss was about. I think Chess Putnam's pretty cool, drug problem and everything. It was a great story, the world building was amazing, and as soon as I finished it (Saturday afternoon), I couldn't wait to read the next one - Unholy Magic. Fortunately for me, it came out yesterday - so guess what book is sitting on my counter, one chapter already devoured?


And lastly, After the Storm has a release date - look for it on January 21, 2011! Woo hoo!

Writing Again

So, I finished up Angel of Darkness. I finished up those damn edits **waves to AMP editor, just in case**. Now, you'd think I would take a few days off. Just kind of putz around. Enjoy some peace and quiet. Get back to work on the blankets I'm knitting for my nephew-to-be-named-later. He's due in August. I'm about 1/3rd of the way done with one, and about 1/10th of the way finished with the other one.

Am I putzing, relaxing, or knitting?

No.

Again -

No.

No, I'm not.

So, exactly what am I doing, you ask?

Writing.

**headsmack**

I've made three or four attempts at writing Aidrian's story. If you read Eden's Pass (and you have read it, right? And if you haven't... well... why not??? :D) - ahem -

If you read Eden's Pass, you might remember Aidrian from the end. Or you might not. After all, he was a newborn and had very little screen time.

Well, I planned on writing his story - came up with the idea last summer. But, other projects got in the way (and got sold, so really, I'm not complaining) so Aidrian and his story were shelved.

Until a few months ago, when ideas first began popping into my head. Only trouble was, none of those ideas got very far. I wrote out a few later scenes (including a couple of steamy hot love scenes), so I knew where the story had to do, I just didn't know how to get it there.

Until last week. I realized that Aidrian didn't belong with the heroine I'd created for him. Nope. But, then I stumbled upon the woman with whom he did belong. Since then, I've written nearly 10k word. Not bad. So, instead of putzing, relaxing, or knitting (and really, I'm running out of time with these blankets) - I've been pounding away at the keyboard.

Ah well... I'd rather have too many story ideas clamoring to get out, than not have any at all.

Or so I keep telling myself as I look at the too-big balls of yarn and too-small patches of already-knitted baby blankets.

Whew!

This was - as you know - a very busy weekend in my household. The Girl made her first Communion on Saturday and we had a beautiful day for it. Sunny and warm (actually hot is more like it. It was well into the 80s) and not much in the way of breezes. Unfortunately, the Boy came down with a fever on Friday, which resulted in my having to go pick him up around 10AM, so he and my husband had to miss the ceremony (is it considered a ceremony??) which really sucked. The Boy was still sick on Saturday, his fever went up to nearly 102 degrees, then came down, then went back up, until it finally broke for good Saturday night.

The Girl is also sick now as well. She started Saturday morning with not feeling well and by Saturday night, she was running a fever. She was out of school today and most likely out tomorrow as well. Sigh.

But I have to admit, for not feeling well, she stayed in pretty good spirits during the party. Her cousins were here, so she had a blast running around with them and I guess it's easy to forget how lousy you feel when you're having fun. The Boy was proof of that.

He went for his evaluation today with the pediatric neurologist, and I'm thrilled to say it is official - he is not  autistic. ADHD, most likely, but most definitely not autistic. My husband and I breathed such a sigh of relief because, until now, all anyone would say was they didn't think he was, but couldn't be certain. Now we are certain and it's such a weight lifted from our shoulders. Thank God.

I should have the final edits on After the Storm turned into my (very patient) editor by the end of the week, and then I should have a release date shortly thereafter. Yay! And then I begin another round of edits on The Pursuit. And then, hopefully, I will  be able to share the news I've been sitting on for so very long... or so I hope. :D

Quick Update

I'm running like a madwoman, since the Girl is making her First Communion this weekend. We're expecting almost 40 people (and they are all immediate family only.) And that is this week's excuse for not posting regularly. :D

I'm still revising The King's Bride (which is seriously in need of a new title. I hate this one. Hopefully, a new one will come to me.)

I'm awaiting the next round of edits on After the Storm and The Pursuit. And Murphy's Law will go into action, which means, they will arrive on the same day, within an hour or so of each other, and I will spend the two following weeks ripping my hair out because there are only 24 hours in a day. :D

I'm also sitting on that news. As soon as I can share, I will. Promise.

Dance with the Devil is almost finished. Well, the third draft, anyway. I decided I need a little break this week, so I'm working only minimally, seeing as how I'm spending most of my free time cleaning.

Soon this will all be over. Then I can go back to Tara...

Edits

I haz them.

I just finished up edits for After the Storm and I'm just beginning edits on The Pursuit. Oy. It's funny, but when I get those first edits, I have to wonder how the heck I managed to sell the damn book in the first place. The red - it burns! But, my editors are good at what they do and they are right more often than not. As a result, each book is the best it can be, and that makes me happy. :D

But it keeps me busy. And of course, the muse showed up the other night just shouting her head off about this new idea she had for me and didn't I want to write at that moment?! She's so fickle, that damned muse. But since I'd be sunk without her, I gave her a cookie and wrote a few pages to make her happy. It seemed to work. Whew.

It's been a great couple of weeks, it's spring, it's getting warm (although, last night was awful. It's been 80+ degrees and sunny here all week. Perfect. But last night it was hot and sticky. I must have woken up half a dozen times from the stupid heat. At least that's gone today. Whew), my daffodils are blooming, I planted my spring flowers. Everything is as it should be.

Only a little crazier. 

And now, back to work.

Waiting

I have two subs out, which means the waiting game has begun. It's not a fun game to play, but it's a biggie in this field. Waiting. Patience. Resisting the urge to check the email every fifteen seconds or so.

In the case of Submission #1 - the wait will last another few weeks. In the case of sub #2, it shouldn't be quite as long. Either way, if I still bit my nails (a habit long since broken), I'd have chewed them into nubs by now. I'm not a patient person by nature, and this only makes it worse.

While I'm waiting, I'm working on the outline for the book I mentioned a couple of posts back - the Western. I've got a basic skeleton of an outline from beginning to end. It isn't anything terribly detailed, just notes like: Hero and heroine meet. Or, heroine has a secret that will be revealed in later chapter (followed later by, heroine reveals secret) and I'm not really sure what that secret is yet, but it will impact the story, for better or for worse.

I tend to think of it as a basic pencil sketch - and as I revise it, I'll add the details in as I learn them. Right now, I don't know much about the hero and heroine, so as I get to know them, those details will come to light. It's been a while since I've written something where I didn't know the h/h already (After the Storm, Devil in Disguise, Dance with the Devil, and Tiger Eyes are follow ups to other novels, so even though they focus on what had been secondary characters, I still knew something about them when I began each book.) And it's a change I've really needed, as I've grown a bit weary of dealing with the same families (Montgomery, Montgomery, Radcliffe, Sebastiano - in that order) over and over.

So I'll be putting my waiting time to good use. I hope.

And now, it's time to see if I have any mail. You never know...

A New Cover!! (Redux)

Okay - it looks as though I prematurely debuted the cover for After the Storm - as I mentioned to my editor I wasn't entirely happy with the font for the old cover. I love the picture, but thought the font gave it a contemporary romance feel to it.To my surprise, she went back and had a new cover done - same picture, different font:

What do you think?

I like. It's much closer to what I imagined and I think it captures the feel of the book better than the original.

And now, back to the edits. They're almost done and I want to have them back to my editor before the end of the week. Once that happens, I should be able to resume regular blogging. Or so I hope. =)

After the Storm

Here's the cover for After the Storm. It's pretty close to how I imagined it, and I'm pretty happy with it, I gotta admit. Yay!

Hopefully I'll have a release date soon and when I know, I'll post it as well (because I just know ya'll are dying to know, right? Right?!)

Anyway, this just came in and I had to share. Let me know what you think...