Leah Braemel's celebrating her birthday by offering YOU prizes!!

When I say this is a HUGE giveaway, I'm not kidding. You can click here to see the full extent of the prizes, but here's a picture I borrowed of the prize package...

In addition to all this, there are ebooks and a gift certificate, too...

You can get the full list of what is being given away by heading over to Leah's blog here...

And you can see a full list of the authors who signed the Samhain bag here... (I'm one of them!)

And you can enter the Rafflecopter either at Leah's blog or here. Tons of chances to win and an AWESOME birthday giveaway.  Very happy birthday, Leah, and best of luck to everyone who enters!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You have the power!!

When I was a kid, He-Man and She-Ra were popular. I grew up watching Princess Adora shove her sword up at the sky, chanting, "By the power of Grayskull, I ha-a-a-ave the Pow-wah!!"

I wasn't a fan. (Sorry, He-Man/She-Ra fans...) My kid sister adored them. I liked them okay and I thought Bo was hot (yeah, cartoon...don't pretend you've never seen a hot cartoon.) but I identified more with Cattra or however you spell it than I did with the pretty princess. I actually really preferred Voltron.

My point in bringing this up is that, as readers and friends and fans...

You do have the power.

I write books. Some of you read the kind of books I write, some of you don't.

But a few of you have asked me, "What can I do to help you? I wish I could support your dreams, but it's just not my thing..." or whatever variations on that we've discussed.

So, well, I figured I'd do a blog on what you CAN do for your favorite authors (and this goes for musicians, movies...any artistic medium.) if you've a yen to support them.

If you've bought the product, you can leave reviews/ratings on most online sites. 

You don't have to. I get annoyed when people suggest that this is some crazy responsibility of readers/fans...
But you CAN. They don't even have to be glaringly loving ones...the way some of these sites are set up is by algorithm and ANY reviews and ranks help the sellers that you're ranking/reviewing. This goes for small shops on sites like Etsy, too. If you like a product, vote with both your wallet and your voice. BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO. I'm just throwing it out there for those who think these things don't matter. They don't--to you. But if there is a product you want to see more of, supporting that product is a way to ensure it sticks around.

You can share on social networks.

But, but...Virg! I only have like forty friends! I wish I could help people I like, but what good does it do for me to tell twenty of my family members and twenty people I went to school with?

You've heard of things going viral.

This happens when someone shares something. In turn, someone else sees it and shares it. Etc.

It only takes a couple snowflakes to start an avalanche. Just sayin. I'm not saying people should become spambots--PLEASE, don't do that crap.  But if there is something you see that is funny, you'd share it. If you've a yen to support a business or musician or artist or writer...

Share something from them once in a while. It's free and even you, Joe Schmoe with the two fb pals, matter. You have a voice. NEVER feel like you don't have a voice. <--this counts="" do="" every="" level="" life.="" matter.="" of="" on="" p="" you="" your="">
You can talk about the things you like.

I have this one friend (Miss Heather, I'm referring to you.) who talked my books up for the past...I dunno, YEARS? Her support might not make me the next Nora Roberts or Rowling, but it makes me feel warm and fuzzy to know someone is excited about what I'm doing.

Does it translate to sales and help me get rich enough to just sit and write All the Books and do nothing else?

Probably not. But supporting artists isn't always about making sure they're making money. Sometimes it only takes one word of encouragement to change someone's day. Your friend the artist/musician/writer/whatever might be doubting their dream, teetering on giving up or keeping on with it...Your one word of encouragement could be the difference they needed in their world. And smile at each other...just because you should.

Don't mistake this blog for anything but what it is...I'm not begging for reviews or back patting. I'm super lucky in the review department since I have some of the greatest readers any author could hope for. But for those of you who've asked...this is how you can support your creative type pals.

You DO have the power.

Skin trailer ~ Coming soon from Lydia Michaels

Keep an eye out for this book, coming in August.

Fantastic message from a fantastic writer. For more about Lydia and her work, check out her website,
http://www.lydiamichaels.org

My worst and meanest critic...

I've figured out, with old age bringing wisdom and all that, who my worst and meanest critic is.

It's me. I'll post a picture of my head on facebook and all the nice folks tell me how prettiful I look and I check out the picture again, to see what they're seeing.

What I notice? Well, look...my eye and one side of my mouth aren't even with the other. The lack of symmetry is the facial droop left from my strokes. Gah, what is up with my googley eyes? Why did I post this?

I write a story and I then shoot the file off to my crit partners. After clicking send, the waves of regret hit. Man, I should have run another round of edits on that before I sent it out. And my premise? What was I thinking? It's too weird, I don't have the voice for that story...my characters? Gah, who can identify with her? She's a twit!

I've even been known to do it while speaking. Did I really say that out loud? *headsmack* Oh, no, I shouldn't have headsmacked. Maybe no one noticed that I should walk around with a ball gag in my mouth to protect the public from my raving stupidity...oh, no, here it comes.

Now I'm laughing. Crap. I'm braying like a donkey being beaten. Fudge.

I know I'm not the only one constantly beating myself up. We're programmed to do it.

Still, I work on lifting others up. I hope I'm a generally nice person and that I'm much kinder to others than I am myself.

Do you guys silently holler at yourselves, too?

Cover Art Reveal- Runaway Groom!

Runaway Groom is the first book in my Watkin’s Pond series and I’m super happy to have the cover to share with everyone. So, for the cover reveal… *drumroll please*

About the Book

On Sale: January 2014

Book 1 of the Watkin's Pond Series. "Small town can mean big romance."

The groom is back in town.

Abigail lost her best friend years ago when he ditched her at the altar like a loaf of stale bread. Now he’s back and determined to do whatever he has to—even lie, apparently—to get under her skin. Although he makes her hormones rev to life in a way that no one has since he left, she is equally determined not to fall for his boy-next-door charm.

His bride-to-be is somewhat reluctant.

Braxton Dean was too young and stupid to know better when he walked away. Years of trying to fill the Abby-shaped hole in his heart have left him empty, and now he’s going to win back his girl—or get over her. But first he needs answers. Particularly why she never responded to any of his letters.

It might take a whole town to make this wedding happen.

With the help of their friends, the two battle it out. The army? An entire town of busybodies. The prize? Happily ever after.

Warning: Contains indignant old ladies, steamy sex (but not with indignant old ladies), seduction cake, and condom bouquets. Yes, we went there.

About the Author

Virginia Nelson spends her days chasing three very active kids around.  When she is not doing this, or plotting taking over the world, she likes to write, play in the mud, drive far too fast and scream at inanimate objects.  She can often be found listening to music that is far too loud and typing her next fantastic tale of blood, sex and random acts of ineptitude.  Romance, in Ms. Nelson’s opinion, is not about riding off into the sunset on the back of a horse with the knight in shining armor— it is about riding the dragon.  If the knight can keep up… well, that is love.

Find Virginia Nelson online

Books for sale.  Snark for free.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Marie Harte has a new release!!

TIED AND TRUE

releases today!!

Available at Amazon | B&N | All Romance eBooks

Lindsay Riordan has had it with the rumors and innuendo that dog her professional steps. Being born a blond should not automatically designate her the office bimbo. So when she overhears the sexy new office wunderkind spouting untruths about her, she decides on some payback.

Jared Hunter is a man on a mission, but his mission is proving to be a lot harder to complete than he'd expected. He couldn't have anticipated that in the course of finding the truth, he'd wake up to find himself tied naked and spread-eagled on his bed, and that the person behind his restraint would be none other than the woman he's been lusting after since he first saw her. A woman who's got vengeance on the brain. What's a guy to do when he's fit to be tied? 

Note: this title has been previously released but has been reedited and revised

It's the first in the Satyr's Myst series

For an excerpt, click here

Find Marie Harte Online!

Website | Blog | Facebook       

Ten things you didn't know about me...and a contest

1. I wrote my first book when I was nine. It was called Dare to be a Daniel and it was HORRIBLE.

2. In high school, my best friend Trishie and I used to swap a notebook back and forth in the halls. In it we wrote stories and I first learned to write to please myself and to work around unexpected things happening (When you have something in store for the characters and the other person veers hard away from that plan...you learn to stretch fast.) I don't remember all of the stories, but one was about a house of Immortal teenagers and they weren't half bad stories.

3. I was that kid. You know, the one who yells at people for swearing. Super wholesome.

4. I have two poisonous frogs. They like crickets and long walks in the dark.

5. I have a fondness for mangoes and for cauliflower. Since I usually only talk about chocolate and coffee...this might surprise some.

6. I have a poor sense of personal safety. When my bio says I like to drive too fast? I do. The picture of the tornado? I took it. I'm of the opinion you only go around once and therefore...Poor sense of personal safety.

7. I have an entourage. Once I get really famous they'll actually be at conferences and such with me. For now, you can only see them on facebook.

8. I really, really, really wanna go to Ireland. One of my goals is to find a reason to do so or afford to just do it.

9. If someone invited me on an all expense paid trip to Ireland tomorrow, I wouldn't be able to go. I don't have my passport.

10. This kind of ties into #9--I procrastinate.

Just a little about me blog. Tell me something about yourself in the comments section below and I'll pick one commenter between now and Saturday 7/20/2013 to give a PDF of winner's choice of one of my books.

Variations on a poem by a Longfellow...

Year in Review

On July 12^th of last year, I first sent out Runaway Groom on submissions.

That book is now contracted with Samhain and will release in January of 2014.

Without further ado, let’s do the year in review: Releases are blue, contracts are green, new words orange, travel yellow.

2012

June

Clothing Optional released
Rumor Has It contracted

Wrote Runaway Groom (31,148)

Submitted Runaway Groom

Wrote and submitted Rumor Has It (10,700) 

August

Wrote and submitted Dom of the Dead (8,500)

Selfpubbed Lips of Velvet and Accidental Pirate

Taking Control released

Edits/Started The Were, the Witch and the Baby (19,713) and Tourist Trap (2,073)

September

Wrote Catching Death (8350)  

Hypnotist released.

October

Wrote Taming of a Sex God (5,100)

November

Contracted Dom/Taming

December

Sent Hunting for Love (9k) to crits, Odd rereleased

Started Best Man (6,286)

2013

January

Turn Me On released

Contracted Catching Death

Magical Curves (33k)

Catching Death released

Started Rumpling Riley(10,303)

February

Traveled to San Antonio for Naughty Sleepover

March

Sent proposal for project/accepted …Taming of a Sex God released

Finished Rumpling Riley edits

Wrote Sugar on Top (11k)

Wrote a 3k paper for history…brain mush.

Submitted Sugar  

Submitted Rumpling Riley

Traveled to EpiCon in Vancouver, Washington

April

Sugar rejected/resubmitted elsewhere

Rumor Has It released

Traveled to Orlando, Florida, for minicon

Started Lasso the Bride (21,444)

Started Twofer (6,316)

May

Sugar on Top released

Hunting for Love contracted

Started Penthouse

June

Traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio for Lori Foster’s RAGT

Dom of the Dead released

Submitted Penthouse (57,601)

Hunting for Love released

13 total books released in the past year,  15 written, traveled coast to coast…

All while being a single mom to three wonderful kids, one of which is going to an online school, and being a full time student at a nearby university and being an editor/acquisitions editor. 

Not bad. I'm kinda proud of me.

I can’t wait to see what next year has in store!

Spotlight on...Celia Breslin!

I'd like to introduce you all to a new author who wrote a book I really enjoyed reading...

Vampires, love, and mayhem...from Celia Breslin

Haven

Tranquilli Bloodline Series, Book 1

by Celia Breslin

Blurb

San Francisco nightclub owner Carina Tranquilli works hard, plays hard, and never allows the death of her parents and her twelve-year memory gap to get her down. But her life takes a left turn when a witch attacks her on her twenty-fifth birthday.

Three hauntingly familiar vampires emerge to reveal she possesses a latent power. To protect her from their enemies, they admit to wiping her memories clean and abandoning her as a child, but now they need her help. As she struggles to evade her new protectors and even newer enemies, she meets Alexander, an enigmatic, undead musician. Insta-lust flares, leaving her wanting more.

With evil’s minions hounding her every move, and everything she thought she knew turned on its head, Carina must harness her burgeoning power, unravel her vampire family’s web of deceit, and fight to have a love life...without getting killed in the process.

Buy Links

Amazon | All Romance Ebooks | B&N | Champagne | Smashwords | Kobo

Excerpt

Turn around.

I froze, my moment of weakness chased away by a jolt of adrenaline. I resisted Adrian’s pull. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Silence.

“Nothing, I guess.” A wave of energy rolled into me, curled itself possessively around my body, and gave me one hell of a head rush. “Oh, wow.” I bit my lip, bracing against reaction.

Adrian tightened his grip on my waist. “Rina?”

Mark and Ren stalked over, faces grim.

“Did—? Do you—?” My mouth was so dry I could barely speak. “Do you guys feel that?”

Adrian squeezed, capturing my wandering attention, concern etched in the stern set of his jaw. “Feel what? What’s wrong?”

I started to tell them the Invisible Man hugged me against an electrified fence, but a second wave of energy bowled into me, making me tingle from head to toe. The sensation walked the line between pleasure and pain. A moan escaped me.

Mark took me from Adrian. “That’s it. We’re out of here.” He tried to pick me up, but I shook my head. Bad idea. Dizziness took the hall, and me, for a little spin.

Turn around. Turn. Around.

Was it a voice or instinct urging me on? Either way, the desire proved irresistible. I pulled away from Mark, pivoted, and forgot how to breathe.

The electric energy pulled back. The dizziness abated. All extraneous noise and people drained out of my perception until there was only Him.

Tall, fit, and bad-boy handsome with skin like pale honey, his thick, walnut brown hair hung tousled in a sexy, I-just-got-out-of-bed way. A hip, black, button-down shirt accentuated a sculpted upper body before it tucked into slacks painted on long, lean legs. The whole package made my mouth water.

Hot. Yummy. Totally my type.

“Who are you?” I whispered.

His mouth twitched in a hint of a smile as if he heard me—impossible given the distance between us. Heat spread, loosening my muscles, and my pulse sped up. Nerves. What’s wrong with me? Guys never made me nervous, not even gorgeous ones.

I nibbled my lower lip, mind racing to make sense of my reaction. His gaze tracked the movement and then slid back up. The heat from his stare hit me full force, driving a shaft of need through me. Energy rocked me again, a warm, electric breeze bathing my skin. My eyes widened in comprehension. The energy came from him.

About the Author: 

Celia Breslin writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance. She grew up enchanted by stories of vampires and the Fae, including her Irish grandma’s encounter with a Banshee in her root cellar. Imagination fueled, she penned many stories as a youth. She later earned a masters degree in French Lit. and worked as a teacher, producer, (nonfiction) writer, editor, and copyeditor, but vamps and the Fae kept calling her back to fiction writing. Celia lives in California with her family and two feisty cats. When not writing, you’ll find her exercising, reading a good book or indulging her addiction to Joss Whedon’s TV shows and movies.

Find out more online!

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads