Sunday, September 27, 2009

Cover for Samael

Big thanks to cover artist Anne Cain, who designed the cover for Samael. :)

I arrived in South Dakota, so I've been a little quiet. I'll be back in the groove in a few weeks. I have edits for Samael coming, and I still have to unpack and settle in.

Happy reading!

Friday, September 18, 2009

TGIF


Today I interviewed Katie MacAlister over at Embrace the Shadows. She answers questions about Steampunk Romance.

If you haven't stopped by Bitten By Books - A review site with bite - you might want to check it out. They have freebies ALL the time. You can chat with your favorite authors and check out all the hot new releases. It's a very interactive site. I promise you won't be disappointed. I did a little interview with them and had a blast. Check that out HERE.

On to my own news...I'm still waiting to hear back on a submission I sent a few weeks ago. (I can hear the faint laughing in the background. You can stop now.) I know a few weeks isn't very long, but it's been a while since I got nervous over submitting. I mean, they like it or they don't, right? You can stress over submitting your work, but really, what is that going to help?

I have been checking my emails a little more often the past few days. I can't seem to help myself. It's not stress...it's just curiosity. ;)

Happy reading!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Terry Spear


Terry Spear is over at Embrace the Shadows today. Drop by and talk about sexy alphas.

"Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high...take a look, it's in a book, Reading Rainboooooowwww." Series finale. Read article HERE. I adored this show, and I'm sad to see it go. Still, my kids weren't fans. They watch Hannah Montana and Britney Spears' sister...can't remember her name. Anyway, not exactly thought-provoking shows.

In other news, Diana Cosby had a photo shoot! I love her books. Take a look at the magazine she's in.

That's all for now. I have a few deadlines to hit.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Cheers!


Embrace the Shadows is now featuring authors who landed that first sale. These uplifting little segments will go up on the weekends. Today we have Sandra Sookoo, Susan Blexrud, and Kris Cook. Stop by and read the story on how they achieved that first sale.

Kate Angell will be at Plotmonkeys today, talking about The Muse. Stop by and say hi. She's giving away THREE awesome prizes to a lucky commenter. :)

On to my own news ~ Last night I was writing chapter four of my new WIP, and something kept holding me back from producing serious wordcounts. It feels very flat and explanatory to me. :( I copied and pasted my worst (what I considered my worst) paragraph into a chat room I was in. (A chat room full of writers - yeah, I have balls) My CP said that I had a lot of pronouns in it. He did...he was...he went...she turned. So I took another look, and damn, my CP was absolutely right. (God, I hope she doesn't read that last bit there.)

So, I know everyone says not to go back and edit when you're just trying to get the story out, but I have to go back on this one. There's another little, teeny, tiny issue. My hero and heroine don't have any conflict. Okay. So that's a big issue. LOL! But I can fix it. I already have a few ideas, so I'm going to go back today and try to work some magic. Another thing I'm going to focus on is my imagery. I've been slacking in that area as I try to 'get the story out.'

So, as I work on my crappy writing today, you all have a great weekend. :)
Happy reading!

Friday, September 11, 2009

More on Quartet Press

Little update. I saw this link in a yahoo group, and thought I would share it.

How I Spent My Summer by Kassia Krozser

All Fired Up to Win A Book?







I'm interviewing Kristen Painter over at Embrace the Shadows today. Stop by and leave a comment for a chance to win her new realease, All Fired Up.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

3 Free Samhain Books























Click HERE to get three free e-books from Samhain. The formats are Adobe Acrobat, HTML, Microsoft Reader, Mobipocket/Kindle, Rocketbook and Ebookwise. I'm not sure how long they'll be giving these books away for free, so go get your copy now.

Guest Blogger, Giveaway, and News


Today over at Embrace the Shadows ~ author Beth Trissel. She talks about her book, Somewhere My Love, and is giving away a digital download of her book to one lucky commenter. She's provided an excerpt, along with the insight on how she came up with the premise of her novel.

Also, if you're a member of the FF&P Special-Interest Chapter of RWA, Scott Eagen is taking 3-line pitches at the member's only blog, The Edge. If you're not a member of the FF&P, you can go to his website to find out more information on how to submit to him. Right now he's looking for contemporary, women's fiction, historicals, paranormal (no psychics, vamps or werewolves), and romantic suspense.

My own news: I just bought Night Keepers by Jessica Anderson. (Awesome website, BTW) I'm probably going to snuggle with the hubby on the couch and read it tonight. Well, most of it, since it's a pretty thick book. Jessica Anderson guest blogged at Embrace the Shadows a few weeks ago. Click HERE to read that post.

Also, I've been searching for articles about Quartet Press, and why it ceased operations. I found this article today. Apparently, seven authors had signed with them, though they will receive the full rights back to their work. This news has started a few conversations online about e-publishing and the risks an author takes when signing with an e-publishing house. Some say the e-pubs come and go, and I agree to a certain extent, but there are some great e-publishing houses out there - ahem - Samhain. :) From what I've read (and heard through the grapevine), Quartet had some heavy-hitters on its payroll, and were thought to be a rising star in the e-pub community.

One last note...I'll be interviewing Kristen Painter tomorrow at EtS blog. Be sure to stop by and say hi. :)

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

No Launch for Quartet Press

I was very surprised to see this. Follow the link for the entire story.

LINK

Check This Out


I've read so many paranormals lately, I was getting the worlds the authors created confused with one another. I figured a detour into a straight contemporary romance was in order. When I received my RWR in the mail (the magazine RWA puts out), Sliding Home by Kate Angell was the first cover I saw. The sexy slugger caught my eye, and within an hour I was at the bookstore looking for the novel. Now I have an entire series I need to read, because this book was fantastic. It's amazing how this author delves into the male mind. The hero, Kason, is a very private man who happens to have a very public job. When he comes home after spring training, he finds a woman living in his double-wide - uninvited. (I'm sorry, I just have to stop here real quick and say that this author had me at double-wide. LOL!)

You can read an excerpt HERE.

In other news, the kiddies went back to school yesterday. I swear my youngest daughter's backpack was bigger than she was when she came home from school. I remember having homework, but on the first day of school? And with the time I spent filling out the paperwork my daughters brought home, I could have written a novella. Next will come the fundraisers. Fun times.

Over at Embrace The Shadows, Barbara Hancock is announcing a new segment we have going on. Do you have a First Sale to announce? Follow the link to EtS and you can send Barbara an email, and possibly be featured at the blog.

Happy reading!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Review for Heaven Sent

I've put several reviews up on my website recently, and have forgotten to post about them here. A few days ago I received another review. This one is from NovelSpot. Here's a snippet...

Heaven Sent is true to its name where paranormal romances are concerned. Vamps, demons, and Lucifer bring on the sexy and humor. Action, and hot romance fill every page of this attention-grabbing novel. Dawn McClure does a fantastic job and I will be recommending this one to all my friends. Reviewed by Pam.

It still tickles me to see Heaven Sent 'out there.' It was the first novel I completed. Seeing the great reviews trickle in is wonderful. :)

To read the review, click HERE.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

South Dakota



South Dakota was very pleasant. The people were nice and friendly, the scenery was ... well, there were a lot of cornfields. Lots of cows.


A storm rolled through as we were leaving, and of course a tornado warning was issued. I wasn't particularly thrilled with that, but otherwise I could see myself living there. There's definitely a 'homey' feel.


So the hubby and I are on the way home, and I have to say, having Internet capability in the car is something I ADORE. There are days I absolutely love technology. As I type, the hubby is cruising down the Interstate. We passed the Iowa border about an hour ago. It's going to be a long ride home, but we just want to hurry up and get home, so we're going to drive through the night.


Overall, it was a great trip. :)