Oh Look! Another Contest!

Like contests? Want to win some free books?

If so, then have I got a contest for you!

Pop on over to the Aurora Regency/Aurora Regency Historicals blog and check out your chance to win five free Aurora Regency/Aurora Regency Historicals ebooks! The contest runs from now through March 31st and it's very easy to enter. So pop on over and take a look!

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. :)

Settling Dust

Whew... when things get hectic, they really get hectic. And lately, things have been hectic.

First, I want to apologize for my random posts. My mom was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, so I've been running like a madwoman, taking her to radiation therapy, for this test and that test. Then, this past Thursday, she went in to have a lung biopsy done. There was a complication that resulted in her needing a chest tube, which led to being admitted into the hospital for three days. But, she's home now and resting, so that's all good. She'll be going for a PET scan sometime this week, to see if the cancer's spread. So, if everyone could just think good thoughts for her, that would be great. Thank you.

I've also been working to get Playing with Fire finished and out to my editor and I'm happy to say that it's done. Yay! Just in time for me to begin the first edits on Devil in Disguise. Nothing like busy on top of busy, right? Keeps me out of trouble.

But tonight, I'm taking for me. I'm working on Aidrian's story and, of course, a new story idea hit late last week, so maybe I'll get that outlined or at least roughed out.

I'll try to get back to regular blogging, but right now, everything's so up in the air, that it'll be hit or miss at best. Once we get things settled with my mom, things should calm down a little (or so I hope) and with any luck, I'll even have ideas for blog topics. We'll see.

And now, since the Boy and the Girl are peacefully watching a movie (it's raining and gray outside today, unfortunately), I'm going to try to get some new words written.

I've missed writing new words. :D

A Quick Reminder

Beginning tomorrow (July 23rd) Aspen Mountain Press is beginning their fourth anniversary celebration! Please stop by the AMP Community Loop and check it out. Come and meet not only AMP authors and readers, but you'll get the chance to win some great prizes! Oh, and did I mention the premier of the Aurora Regency/Aurora Historicals imprints??? That's right, tomorrow marks the release of Marguerite Butler's Compromising Prudence, Arabella Sheraton's The Dangerous Duke, and yours truly's The Pursuit!

So, pop on over and said hi! We'll be there from 10AM to at least 7PM (EDT) and hopefully, so will you!

Running

Is what I've been doing for the last week. I thought it had been a lot longer since my last post, so I'm pretty happy to see I'm not really that far behind.

I've been working like crazy trying to finish the first draft of Playing with Fire - which my AMP/Aurora Historicals editor is patiently waiting for, so that's taken up a lot of my time. I can't say much about it - yet. But when I can... look out.

Also, there's quite a lot going on for me personally. I don't want to say too much just yet, but it involves someone very close to me, and someone I'm really worrying about. So, for the next week or so, I may be blogging sporadically at best. Come Monday I'll have a firmer handle on what's what.

So anyway, I'm here. I'm alive. I'm writing. Oh, and I have a book coming out in TWO DAYS! That's right - The Pursuit goes on sale at Aspen Mountain Press on Friday! Yay! :D

Shameless Promo, Part V!

Want to read some great excerpts?

Want to chat with some awesome authors?

Want a chance to win some super-cool prizes?

Well, today's the day!

Aspen Mountain Press will be at Loves Romances Cafe from 12PM-5PM EDT today to offer a sneak peek at the new Aurora Regency/Aurora Regency Historicals lines coming from AMP, and I will be there posting excerpts from The Pursuit, chatting, all kinds of fun stuff.

And, Aspen Mountain Press is hosting a contest to celebrate their fourth anniversary and you will have the change to win a first edition Georgette Heyer novel, a Nook ereader, and all kinds of other great stuff!

This is how it works (and how easy it is!)


From July 23-August 1, Aspen Mountain Press is conducting its big fourth anniversary bash and if you want the presents, here’s what you have to do.

1. Post a comment to Aspen Mountain Press blog.

2. Post a comment to the twin blog post at the Aurora Regency blog.

3. Sign up for the AMP newsletter.

4. Participate in the AMP Anniversary bash party on August 1 at the AMP Community Loop from 7 to 11 pm EST. We’ll have a thread specifically for entries there where you’ll have to shout out.

And that’s all you have to do to win a Nook e-reader from Aspen Mountain Press. Other prizes like downloads and gift baskets will be given away at specific chat events.

So, come join me and other talented authors at the LR&M E-cafe, the Aurora authors are chatting from 10 am to 5 pm. Your first chance to win is at the Aurora launch party–we’ll be giving away a “Good Night With a Historical Romance” basket with downloads, a hot chocolate set and a FIRST EDITION Georgette Heyer! Gift basket is worth $100! So show up at the Love Romances and More E-Cafe for your chance to win.

Next week, you can chat with AMP authors including Cynnarra Trenarth, Maura Anderson, Lena Austin, Lizzie T. Leaf, Celina Summers, Marguerite Butler, Kimberly Nee, Arabella Sheraton, Colleen Stormer, Dominique Eastwick, V. Mark Covington, Raine Delight, Kara Griffin, Viki Lyn, Cynthia Vespia, Jade Buchanan, Barbara Custer, Sloane Taylor and Chris Morrow. We’re giving away downloads from most and many other prizes as well. You can find them at chats–on July 27th at TRS Blue from 12 to 8, Romance Excerpts Only all day on July 28 and Love Romances and More on July 30 from 8 to 5 EST.

So the first step is to post a comment to the blog posts. Then the Aurora Regency/ Aurora Regency Historicals authors today at the Love Romances and More E-cafe! And good luck!

Hope to see you there!!!!

Come and Join Me

 on Thursday, July 15th over at Loves Romances and More Cafe! Aspen Mountain Press is having a launch party and gearing up for the sneak peek at Aurora Regency/Aurora Historicals line! I'll be posting excerpts from The Pursuit, and chatting with the other wonderful AMP/Aurora Regency/Aurora Historicals authors from 1PM EDT to 5PM EDT.

So, sign up, show up, and get ready for a fun afternoon of chatting, awesome excerpts, and a whole lot more! You don't want to miss it! :D

Shameless Promo, Part III!

 Here is a little peek at what you'll find over at LovesRomancesCafe!

   The Pursuit 

~ The Synopsis ~ 

Born into privilege, Katherine Bainbridge never thought the day would come when she would be happy to find work as a maid. But having fled London to avoid being tried, convicted and hanged for murder, she will take whatever work she can get, even if the offer comes from the most beautiful man she has ever seen.

Garrett McKenzie needs to staff his new home, but when he sees Katherine, the position that comes to mind does not involve mops and buckets. Determined to woo his lovely new maid into his bed, he will do whatever necessary to keep her there.

But when Katherine’s past comes back to haunt her, Garrett will do whatever he has to in order to prove to her that she can trust him with her life, as well as with her love.

~ The Excerpt ~

Garrett watched as the tall woman ran at him, priming himself for the imminent impact. A short, barrel-chested fellow was close at her heels, but Garrett wasn’t concerned about the man. Perhaps he had good reason to be chasing the lady. If not, Garrett would know soon enough and remove her from harm’s way before making scraps of the little bastard giving chase.

So he waited, his blood pounding in his ears, pulsing through his veins. A muscle tensed in his back, but then the little man looked up from his quarry. As quickly as he appeared, he halted his chase and simply melted away into the shadows.

Unfortunately, the woman failed to notice she was no longer being pursued. She didn’t so much as glance over her shoulder. Whump!

He caught her easily, although she slammed into him with hard enough to knock him back several steps. His left ankle twisted as he braced that foot to halt his momentum, but he held on. For a long moment, her body pressed against his. With her generous height, they matched up almost perfectly, setting off a ripple through his entire body. He savored the soft feel of her for an all-too brief moment. “Easy, love. Easy. I mean you no harm.”

Her body heaved against him as she fought to catch her breath, her arms limp at her sides. The peace only lasted a minute or so before she jerked free and shoved him away. “Unhand me!” 

He held up both hands. “I said I’ll not hurt you.”

She spun about to stare into the shadows behind her. “Where is he? Sanders? Where did he go?”

“That I can’t say. He looked up, probably saw me, and thought better of continuing his pursuit. Disappeared into the darkness and skulked away, I assume.”

Her gasps slowed, and she shoved a loose curl away from her face. “Bloody hell…”

He tugged his handkerchief from the pocket of his frock coat to press into her hand. “Tell me, who was that you were running from? The devil, perhaps?”

“No. The devil isn’t nearly as frightening.” She snatched the handkerchief from him and dabbed it against her brow as she straightened. “I thank you.”

“Of course.”

The handkerchief came away from her face. “Did you say he disappeared?”

“I did, and he did. Now, do you wish to tell me why he was chasing you? Did you snatch something of his, perhaps?”

Her brows met as she scowled up at him. “Absolutely not.” She shoved the wrinkled handkerchief at him. “I thank you for this, apologize for running into you, and now I think I will go back inside.”

“Very well, if you didn’t steal something from him, why was he chasing you? Do you owe him money?”

At first, she seemed to be on the verge of confessing but caught herself, pressing her lips together. “Of course not. Now, if you will excuse me—”

He didn’t know what madness possessed him to lean toward her other than the overwhelming urge to feel her lips against his. An urge he couldn’t ignore, didn’t want to ignore. He wanted to kiss her. 

Lights exploded before his eyes and pain lit up the inside of his skull as her fist connected solidly with his jaw.

A perfect punch.

He staggered back a step. “Jesus!”

“There’ll be none of that now, sir! I don’t do that!” She shook out her hand as if the blow hurt her as much as it hurt him.

He resisted the urge to rub the sore spot on his jaw, even as bells clanged against the inside of his skull. “Beg your pardon, my lady, but I’m not about to rape you.”

Her hand went still. Wide-eyed, she stared at him. “Oh dear…I apologize, of course, sir. I—I suppose I panicked.”

He chuckled, giving into the urge to rub his jaw with one hand. “You hit the way a man would.”

“I apologized, didn’t I? Now let me see if I’ve done any damage.”

He got his first good look at her as she lifted her face to his. “You’re that barmaid, aren’t you? The redhead Jefferson was giving a hard time.”

She lifted her hand to his jaw, brushing him where her fist met his face moments earlier. “I do believe you’ve the beginnings of a bruise. Again, I apologize.”

“Please don’t. It’s nice to see you could defend yourself if the need ever arose—for the most part, anyhow.”

Her eyes glittered in the moonlight like black opals, but he knew they weren’t black. They were hazel. A lovely combination of brown and green, although earlier he thought they seemed more green than brown. “Even so, I apologize just the same.”

As his jaw hurt only a bit, he managed a smile. “There is no need. I must admit, this isn’t exactly how I hoped to meet you but the end result is what I wished for. Have you a name, then, my lady?”

“I thank you for catching me, but if you will excuse me, I must get back inside.”

He caught her by the wrist as she stepped back. “Ah, but you will at least tell me your name, won’t you? I did save you from a fate worse than death, didn’t I?”

“I suppose.”

He threw back his head and laughed. “So grateful, sweetheart. So grateful, indeed.”

She gave him a sour look. “My name is not sweetheart and I’d appreciate it if you’d not keep calling me that.”

“Then what is it?”

Taking a deep breath, she said, “Kat-ah, I mean, Katherine. Katherine Bainbridge.”

“Kat, eh?” He repeated it as if tasting it slowly. “I like it, even if it is unusual. It goes quite well with strong arm of yours.”

“Yes, I suppose it does.” She sighed, softening her sharp tone. “I apologize for my rudeness. I should be thanking you.”

“Think nothing of it. I’ll put it down to being frightened.” He offered her his arm. “Come, let me at least see you inside—to make certain no more harm befalls you. Tell me, did you know that man chasing you?”

“Oh, no. Not at all. I’ve never seen him before this evening,” she replied, averting her gaze and taking a quick step back. “Most likely one of Miller’s drunken louts who thought nothing of his pawing earlier or trying to take that pawing further still.”

Garrett thought her reply a bit too quick, too vehement, to be the truth. But, if she knew the man, it was her business. If she wished to tell him, fine. If not, it was fine with him as well.

Katherine cleared her throat softly. “I do appreciate your catching me, however, Mr.—”

“McKenzie,” he replied easily, his gaze holding hers for a long moment. “Garrett McKenzie.”

~*~

Shameless Promo Part II!!!

Pop in and visit me (and a bunch of other great writers) over at the LovesRomancesCafe, I'll be dropping by to post excerpts from the Pursuit. It's a piece of cake to join, so come on over and take a look!

Shameless Promo!!!

Well lookee here! It's an interview with...

ME!

Go check out The Aurora Regency Blog and learn a little more about this awesome new line from Aspen Mountain Press!

Oh, and if you pop over here, to the Aspen Mountain Press Coming Soon page, you can read up on The Pursuit,  read an excerpt, and check out these other, equally awesome titles coming out in just a few weeks.

Go. Now. I command you. :D


Please.

My To-Do List

Okay, I don't actually keep a to-do list. I probably should, because there's always something that, at the end of the day, has me slapping myself in the forehead because I forgot to do it. It's usually something important - like feed the kids - or something that I know will hold me up (the doctor's appointment that, had I called to schedule today, would have gotten me in tomorrow. But since I forgot to call, said doctor won't have an opening for 18 months now.)

So, I should make a New Year's Resolution to create real, concrete, Post-It to my laptop monitor To-Do lists.

With that in mind, here it is:

1. Finish manuscript info form to send back on Devil in Disguise. I've been working on this for almost 2 weeks. Why so long? The damn cover copy. Here is a HUGE shout-out to Grace and Marguerite for helping me. Three paragraphs and it's taken me forever to write (and about 30 seconds for these two wonderful chicks to point out what was awful about it and help me fix it.)

2. Intro blog post for the Aurora Regency blog.

3. Interview questions that have been a-waitin' me for two days. I swear I'm getting to them before today is over.

4. Final edits on The Pursuit. Please, please, please don't let me find anything huge and glaring, error-wise

5. I'm the coordinator for the Paranormal category in NJRW's Put Your Heart in a Book contest. Apparently Paranormal is still hot, because I was swamped with entries. I have to organize and get the entries out to the first round judges. Without forgetting anything. God help me. :D

That's just today, and it doesn't include the non-writerly stuff I have to do. I think my head just might explode.

Then again, I'd rather have all this writerly stuff to do, than not have any of it. See how everything evens out in the end? ;p

Summer!

Yay! Summer's here! The kidlets wrap up school this week (yes, I know, it's late. My town has historically let out late for summer. When I was a kid, we swore someday it would be July before they let us out. Nice to know some things never change!) The weather's nice, even if it was a bit sticky yesterday. And our pool will be ready to go before the end of the week, or so I hope. We had to replace the liner and the pool guys were here Saturday to remove the old liner. They're due back sometime today to put in the new one. Right now, my pool is a freakin' huge hole in the ground. I should post pictures, really. It's amazing how huge this thing really is. I keep telling my other half I want to rappel down into the deep end and have him take a picture, for scale. It's enormous and I never really noticed it until the water was drained.

So, summer usually means rest and relaxation. And this year it will mean promos and book releases as well, not to mention the five gazillion other works in progress. But, there will be plenty of time for playing with the kidlets in the pool, cookouts, trips to the shore, and all that other summery-goodness that goes along with the heat and humidity. We have nothing planned aside from going to the shore to visit family. That's it. The Boy will be doing the special summer program again, so that rules out any serious vacations this year, which is fine by me. After all the running of the school year, I'm more than happy to kick back and just laze around. Ahhh... that's the perfect summer to me.


What about you? Any plans this summer, or are you a lazer, like me?

A New Cover!

The Pursuit has a shiny new cover!

Pretty cool, eh? I love it!

Can Flawed Characters Be Too Flawed?

There are certain blogs I read on a daily basis, or at least I try to read them on a daily basis. Some days are better than others. Kind of like me blogging, eh?

But anyway, one of those blogs is Dear Author, I like their book and movie reviews, their link roundups, and basically everything. So, they are a must-read.

Two days ago, they posted a review of Stacia's Kane's new release, Unholy Ghosts. Though the reviewer thought she loved the world building:

This is where my love for Chess Putnam ends, because Chess is a drug addict. I have a serious problem with a protagonist that is a drug addict. I don’t give a shit how magically gifted she is, how awesome she is without being MarySuetastic. If Chess wasn’t such an addicted fuckup I think I could really enjoy the superior worldbuilding, as gritty and ugly as it is, and possibly even enjoy being slightly scared outta my pants at times. I love a good post-apocalyptic urban fantasy, but to have the heroine portrayed as a drug addict makes it a tough pill to swallow.

Because of this, the book received a C rating.

And then it seems all hell has broken loose. I haven't read all the comments on the review thread, simply because I haven't had time. I did read that Ms Kane replied to the problem the reviewer had with the heroine's being a drug addict, and a warning Ms Kane posted regarding the book as well. And hell has broken loose even more. Yesterday, over at Dear Author, there was a post about a The Reader Responsibility to Author Direction and at last count, there were nearly sixty comments on that.

Now, I don't have a problem with the reviewer, or Ms Kane, or any of the responses. I don't really see the fuss over what Ms Kane said, which was basically, the heroine is a drug addict and if that is subject matter you find disturbing, don't read the book. She also posted on her blog a rebuttal of sorts. I haven't had a chance to read it in its entirety either.

But, the point of this post isn't exactly about the review, although I have to confess, it did make me want to read the book and I don't think I've ever read urban fantasy before. Nonetheless, I was intrigued, so I ordered it from Amazon and it should be here tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it!

The point of this blog was that the kerfuffle got me to thinking about character flaws. How much is too much? And I don't mean villains. I believe villains can be as flawed as possible, as evil as possible, as long as their motivation allows it. Any more than that, and you've crossed into cartoon territory.

But what about a hero or heroine? I personally don't have a problem (or, at least, I don't think I do. I'll let you know when I finish Unholy Ghosts) with a heroine or hero who has a drug/alcohol addiction. Now, I could be wrong, but considering Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City books have a LOT of drug use in them, and none of those characters are repentant about it (of course, they are set from the mid-1970s through the early 1980s, but still...)

So for me, I haven't come across a hero or heroine whose flaws are so terrible that it prevented me from liking a story. I've been more annoyed by ridiculous characters (TSTL heroines, for one) and idiotic plot twists that make no sense or go beyond my capability to suspend disbelief, than I have by character flaws. There are books by my favorite authors that I never finished (Johanna Lindsey's No Choice But Seduction being the most recent. Had a plot twist so unbelievable that I closed the book, put it down, and have not looked at it since, and that was last summer.)

But what about you? Would a character's being a drug addict be enough to make you dislike a story?

And Done!

Change finals to edits, and you have... ME!

ahem...


Okay - so I've had Angel of Darkness on hold for what seemed like forever. The characters (Gabriel and Regan) just wouldn't see reason, and I got tired of fighting with them so I shelved them. In the meantime, I've been busy with other, less frustrating projects. I've been editing. I've been revising (and how! My Aspen Mountain Editor is beyond tough. But, I have to admit, The Pursuit is going to be one kick-ass book when it's whipped into shape!)

Well, at the end of last week, I took a little break to prevent some serious burn out. For some reason, I decided to skim through Angel. It was the first time I'd looked at it since shelving it and I wasn't planning on working on it. I just wanted to peruse it.

Next thing I knew, I had a breakthrough and ended up adding about 10k words to finish the damn first draft. Yay! So that's one more project off my to-do list. My goal was to get all current projects finished in some way, shape, or form. Now I get to check this one off and there was a time when I wasn't at all sure it would ever even see the words The End tacked onto it.

Whew.

And now back to the revisions...

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...