Worthy Cause: Fill the Shelves!

Fill The Shelves is the brainchild of a small group of writers - but we were all readers first.  Kids who tucked into corners and forts and crannies at our school libraries, harassed the librarians for something new to read, fed our imaginations with the worlds we found in the pages.

Not one of us can imagine growing up without books.

The basics: School librarians compile Amazon wishlists for their school libraries. FTS puts willing donators in touch with these wishlists, the donors order the books and Amazon sends them directly on. It's a very simple way to help many, many children.

When I was a child, there were a simple handful of things that mattered to me: Writing, drawing, roaming outdoors, and, most of all, reading. I was blessed with a mother who read voraciously, and teachers and librarians who were there every step of my education with book recommendations. We were not a wealthy family, so I relied heavily on my school's library and our neighbourhood book mobile program to feed my growing interest in books. Through these portals, my life as a reader became essential to my life as me. If it weren't for books, I would not be who I am today.

Like the FTS organizers, I can't picture childhood without books.

This new charity came to my attention last week, as it was started by a number of indie authors I know online. I'm not affiliated it with it in any way, but I wanted to help spread the word. As readers/writers/humans, it is in all our best interests to engage kids with reading, to keep school libraries up to date, and to help teacher-librarians foster literacy. So far, the org has been a smashing success. As of last time I looked, $4,500 worth of books have gone to libraries in need!

But there are now three new school libraries added that need support.

If you're a school librarian or would like to help, please, check it out!

Promo: Not My Mother by Ashley Rae

Not My Mother: A Memoir

Genre: Memoir/Non-Fiction

Release Date: July 13, 2012

 
By the age of twelve, Ashley Rae had survived incest, child abuse, and the deaths of both her biological parents. Born to Baptists but raised by Buddhists, Rae found peace and healing on a Pagan spiritual path while obtaining her college degree and starting the career of her dreams.

Rae thought the hardships in her life were over...until she lost her job, started a new relationship, and found out she was pregnant with another man's child all in the same week. Terrified of cesarean surgery, Rae vowed to give birth to her child at home – but first, she had to find one.

Alternately haunting, humorous, and heart-warming, Not My Mother: A Memoir follows Rae over a nine-month quest to break her family's generational pattern of abuse and victimhood in order to become for her unborn child the mother she had always wanted for herself.

Excerpt:

From the moment Dad rushed us through the dark living room, too quickly for me to see her body, I'd been looking for my mother.  Even after her funeral in Virginia, I kept looking for my mother.  She came to me in my dreams and told me it had all been a mistake, and she wasn't really dead at all.  I'd wake up and jump out of bed in a hurry to continue our conversation, then freeze and fold in half, hyperventilating as reality hit me.

At twenty-two, I had not yet explored how the violence that I couldn't remember witnessing affected my life and my relationships.  Ike died when I was five.  Mom hated him.  His mom loved him.  I, on the other hand, had never given myself permission to have feelings about this man who'd loved me and killed my mother. Until I saw him staring back at me through my mirror in the flickering light of a white candle.

Buy Links:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords

Ashley Rae has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Central Florida and resides with her precious 3 year old in gorgeous Sarasota, FL.  She leads weekend retreats for psychics, kids, and writers, and teaches workshops on using writing as a self-healing tool, developing intuition, and about The Incredible Vagina, which is simply the best title anyone has ever come up with for any class, ever. She is presently working on her second memoir, tentatively titled “Sentence Interrupted: Memoir of a Moody Mama.” Also a professional psychic, energy healer, and a Love-Your-Life Coach, there is plenty to check out on her website at http://AuthorAshleyRae.com.

Love at First Bite by Jessica Coulter Smith

Today I have Sean from Love at First Bite with me.

So Brian, being gay in a small town must be hard. Have you ever wished you weren’t?

There were times in the past I wondered why I was born this way, but I’m comfortable being me. If people can’t handle the fact that I’m gay, that’s their problem, not mine.

So what’s it like being with a vampire?

Different. I can honestly say I’ve never with anyone like Brian before. But then, that isn’t just because he’s a vampire. I know the moment he enters a room, without even looking. And when he bites me – it’s incredible!

You wouldn’t change anything?

Well, the idea of growing old while he stays the same bothers me sometimes. We haven’t really discussed the possibility of him turning me, but I know it will come up in the future.

And it wouldn’t bother you to be a vampire?

Honestly? No. It would allow me to be with the man I love for eternity. What’s not to love?

You’re that certain he’s “the one”?

Oh yeah. I can honestly say that I can’t see myself with anyone else, ever. Brian is amazing, and I don’t just mean the intimacy,  but that’s pretty wonderful, too. He completes me.

 
Well, thank you for stopping by, Sean. I can’t wait to hear more about your story.

Love at First Bite by Jessica Coulter Smith

Available Now from Changeling Press

When Sean discovers Brian is a vampire, he’s ready for love at first bite.

Sean has spent his life in the small-minded town of Willow Grove. Given his preference in sexual partners, finding romance has always been a challenge – until Brian.

When Brian walks into Sam’s Place, the first thing he sees is Sean and he knows he has to have him. When he takes Sean back to his place, he reveals his true self and hopes that Sean will accept him -- fangs and all.

Excerpt

I glanced at my watch and realized I didn’t have much time before I had to be at work. With a groan, I slipped out of bed and dressed.

“What’s wrong?” Brian asked in a groggy voice.

“My car is still at the bar, and I’m going to be late for work.”

“So take mine.”

“Are you sure?” I couldn’t imagine driving the sleek machine he owned.

He chuckled. “Not like I’m going to use it anytime soon. I may not sleep all day, but I am stuck here until the sun goes down.”

“Thanks. I’ll bring it back as soon as I get off work.”

“Good.” He smiled. “I can’t wait to see you again.”

I warmed from the inside out at his words and knew I had a goofy grin on my face. Blowing him a kiss, I grabbed his keys and left. I had less than half an hour to go home, shower, change and get to work. I think it was safe to say I would be late.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot at work, grabbed my bag and rushed inside. I’d already called the secretary to let her know I was running behind.

Thankfully, she hadn’t asked any questions.

“Any messages, Jane?” I asked as I hurried by her desk.

“Just one, from some guy named Brian.”

I felt my face flush and grabbed the note from her. She gave me a knowing smirk as I walked off. Thank goodness Jane was cool with me being gay. If anything, it made me her favorite guy in the office. She never had to worry I would hit on her.

When I got to my desk, I put my stuff down and picked up the phone. Brian answered on the first ring.

“It’s about time,” he said playfully.

“Miss me already?”

“You bet.”

“I’ll swing by your place when I leave here, probably around five-ish.”

“Bring a change of clothes. I liked you staying the night.”

“Me too,” I murmured with a smile.

“So… I’ll see you when you get here.”

“See you then.”

He hung up and I logged into my computer. As I skimmed through my email, I saw something from my boss. When I opened it, I groaned. My project was now due tomorrow instead of next week. There was no way I could get the CAD drawings done in time. It would take a miracle. I’d been pacing myself for my original due date, not expecting such a radical change.

I picked up the phone and called Brian back. “Hey, I’ve had a change of plans.”

“Find someone hotter?” he joked.

“No, that couldn’t happen. But work did… I have a project due tomorrow that wasn’t supposed to be finished for another week. If I don’t stay and work on it, I’ll never get it finished.”

“So, I’ll bring you something to eat and we can spend a little time together later tonight.”

I smiled, glad he understood. “That would be great.”

After we hung up, I was still smiling. Not only was he excellent in the sack, but he was accepting and flexible with my work schedule. I couldn’t have asked for more in a partner. Not that we were at that stage yet. At least, I didn’t think we were. I hadn’t thought to ask when he saw clients, but I’d bet he saw them at night. Otherwise, how would he get to the office? I hoped I wasn’t cutting into his work time.

Textbook Romance is on GoodReads!

If you're interested in reading Textbook Romance, you can add it to your TBR on GoodReads, including the ebook, Kindle and now paperback editions. You can also review it there, too!

Chase after love? As a single mother, Professor Liberty Sullivan knows better. Between her flighty mother and a disastrous history with men, she's pretty much soured on the whole concept of romance. Personal freedom and self-reliance are her new guiding mantras. Raising her son and being a career star are the most important things now.

Then she meets Seth.

An ex-cop who’s making a new life for himself and his daughter, Seth Webster has every reason to play it safe. Then he meets Liberty. Prickly about love, following some crazy anti-romance curriculum, she still makes Seth's heart pound. And a lifetime of cop instinct tells him he's about to teach Liberty that this romance will be anything but by the book.

Thanks for reading!

Paperback(s) Update

Just a quick note to let you guys know how the upcoming paperback-babies are faring, since their due dates are fast approaching.

Textbook Romance is very nearly all set for its Sept 13 release in paperback! I spent a good portion of this week giving it another read through, and it's speeding its way to the print formatting process over at Pink Petal Books. The cover will stay the same, thankfully (I do love this one!), and I haven't seen the proofs for the back cover and such, yet. But, I am certain it's bubbling along as expected.

I really enjoyed the chance to re-read it, to be honest. It may be hard to believe, but once a book is edited and out, it tends to fade a bit in my mind as I move on to the next project. While the story and the characters leave fond impressions in my mind, re-reading these books after release is an odd blend of familiarity and newness.

As to the anthology, All I Want, which will also be releasing in an ebook bundle at the same time as in paperback, things are progressing for the Oct 3rd release. I am finishing up my last-chance read through on the five original stories in my Rebel Ink holiday series, making sure they're all in order, and will be doing some more serious edits on the new short next week. We've already seen the cover, and it is beautiful!

I'm looking forward to having more reading format options out there, and I can't wait to get my hands on those paper lovelies!

Have a great weekend, all, and thanks for reading.

Seeking Blog Guests

I'm opening the blog schedule up for visitors again, specifically from September until the end of December, 2012 (though a few shots in August and in 2013 can be arranged if needed).

Here's what I'm looking for:

• Guest posts on writing, publishing, reading, genre issues, etc.
• Guest posts on general interest, history, or anything else related to your work
• Guest posts on all things romance
• Holiday related posts
• Blog tour stops
• Book release celebrations
• Press Releases (mostly on Fridays)
• Giveaways
• "Behind the Books" essays
• Tribute posts to late authors
• Interview victims
• Short interview victims 
• NaNoWriMo guests (November 2012)
• Meatless recipes (particularly in Nov and Dec)
• Guest reviews of books, relevant products, or films
• Editorials/Opinion posts of various ilk
• Thurs 13 guests
• Travelogues
• Wordless Wednesday pictures
• Excerpt posts (for a few Fridays)
• Trailers and book spotlights (for a few Fridays)
• "Free Read" posts highlighting a story you have some place for free (a few Fridays)
• Holiday books to highlight all through December

Who I'm open to having:

• Authors
• Illustrators/artists
• Publishers
• Reviewers
• Readers
• Bloggers
• Basically anyone interested, particularly book people

What I need:

Email me with your request at anneholly2010(at)gmail(dot)com, with a general date preference or two. With your post or interview, I will need your bio, links, banner, pics, book info, etc, so please be sure to provide whatever you want me to post with your spot. I prefer to keep the blog reasonably "clean", though the audience is adult (so I can avoid one of those annoying Google warning pages). Any "pure promo" posts may be rescheduled to the next available Friday. I am open to having you over more than once, so let me know if you'd like to do more than one spot! 

This blog is equal-opportunity, so self-published, indie, and/or trad-pubbed authors are all welcome. Though I have primarily done romance, I am open to all genres, and welcome diversity.


Your post will be publicized on my Twitter, FB, Google+, GoodReads, RSS, and other feeds.

Preference is always given to aspiring, pre-published, or debut authors, so don't be shy!

Contact me, and we'll get something rolling!

Thanks!

New Release: Nardi Point by Nancy LaPonzina

Nancy LaPonzina tells us about her new release, Nardi Point, available April 17 from Rebel Ink on Amazon and other ebook retailers.

When a story appears that's shaped around reality that always doubles my interest level! I suppose because I like to learn a little something with a good book. Nardi Point is such a story. Set in Raleigh, North Carolina, listed in recent magazines as a city ranked in the top ten places to live in the United States, this women's fiction follows a successful Information Technology couple and their pursuit of a home and family.

Should the past make way for the present...

Stylish, brunette Laurinda Elliot is the type of accomplished business woman glossy magazines feature on their covers. Effectively managing a software product development team in Raleigh, North Carolina, Laurinda's drive and savvy delivers all the perks: an upscale townhouse, Porsche Boxer convertible and designer clothing. Yet she now yearns for a different success—one that brings surprising first time experience with vulnerability. Her uber software code developer partner Dan Riser, can't buy into the new direction she leads them, but goes along to keep the peace, and more importantly, beautiful Laurinda.

Or the present make way for the past—and love...

When prehistoric Native American pottery artifacts are discovered on the couple's North Raleigh building site in the Nardi Point subdivision, the ancient past collides with the present and Laurinda and Dan's relationship hangs in the balance. Laurinda must trump construction economics and greed to preserve commitment to her dream, uphold her friendship with holistic healing practitioner, Leyla Jo Piper, and answer to a new romance, all while attempting to conserve North Carolina history. Will digging up the past, bury her future? Nardi Point explores the thread of life that blends past, current, and future to recognize the importance of knowing who we are in the story of life.

You can't make this stuff up! Artifacts, both historic and prehistoric have been discovered in the Piedmont region, up around Falls Lake, north of Raleigh. Early Native Americans some 10,000 years ago followed trade routes that purposely led along the Neuse River to hunt and fish. This is particularly amazing since the Egyptian pyramids are only some 3,000 years old. They migrated to coincide to when fish heavily populated the river, then caught and processed the fish to store and trade. Some 41 sites around the lake were identified for archaeological exploration. And indeed, Prehistoric pottery sherds, pounding/scraping implements, and other primitive tools were unearthed.

The importance of carefully retrieving ancient artifacts from the earth has all to do with carefully examining where the artifact was found, and with what surrounded or accompanied the artifact. It's called provenience, or context. Archaeologists can determine for what the object might have been used if it's found near charred wood, for instance. Perhaps it was a cooking vessel or tool. In the case of irresponsible artifact hounds, or potstealers, the items are pulled from the earth, sometimes by large backhoes. This indiscriminate removal completely destroys any context for how or why an artifact was used–forever. There is no going back.

Laurinda Elliot faces the dilemma of her personal dream to build a home and start a family, securing her relationship with Dan, against the builder's greed to just build right over the artifacts discovered. This spring, Spike TV plans to air a reality series called American Digger. The American Savage team plunders archaeological resources across America. The cash they get from selling the artifacts to buyers and collectors is divided between the landowner and the team. Laurinda, with Leyla Jo, must confront this mentality and recognize their role in the human story of life — Nardi Point.

Find Nancy LaPonzina at:
Blog
Facebook
Twitter: @NancyLaPonzina
Or email her at: oywriter@embarqmail.com

PROMO: The Fever and the Fury, by Stephanie Draven

Revenge is a dish best served hot!

Phaedra, a fury, is bound to make Lieutenant Luke Lazaros atone for his supposed crime, but her usual method of inflicting pain doesn’t work very well on a phoenix with the power to be reborn every time he dies. However, each rebirth leaves him with an overwhelming need for sex. Phaedra’s new plan: to drive Luke mad with desire.

But Phaedra has never touched anyone—even herself—except to cause pain. She’s an innocent when it comes to pleasure…but Luke isn’t. His touch is a revelation, arousing a passion in Phaedra that is as delicious as it is terrifying. For no matter how much she wants Luke, giving herself to a man risks awakening her goddess’s wrath.

Stephanie Draven is a multi-published award-nominated author of paranormal romance. Stephanie’s critically acclaimed Mythica series asks: What if the monsters of ancient mythology still walked the earth...and what if you found out that you were one of them? Currently a denizen of Baltimore, Stephanie lives with her favorite nocturnal creatures–three scheming cats and a deliciously wicked husband. And when she is not busy with dark domestic rituals, she writes her books.

Website / Facebook / Twitter

*
Excerpt:

She'd already killed him twice this week.

Monday, the harpy bitch grabbed the wheel just as he was making a tight turn on a cliff-side highway. The car jumped the barrier and exploded in a fiery crash of glass and twisted metal at the bottom of Moraca Canyon.

On Wednesday morning, he'd chanced taking a shower and she dropped a hair dryer in with him, sending a deadly shock through his wet body.
It wasn't even the weekend and she was already trying to kill him a third time.

Luke had awakened to the sinuous slide of her body atop his and, for one groggy moment, he'd enjoyed the carnal sensation of a woman in bed with him.

Then her knee came crushing down on his windpipe.

Now Luke thrashed upon the mattress, grabbing at her supple thighs, trying to throw her off. The curve of her breast brushed his arm, her moist lips parted and she clutched at his face as if she were going to draw him into an intimate embrace…just before fingernails like talons cut his flesh to bloody ribbons.

Or at least that's what it felt like.

With the lightest touch, she could put an ordinary mortal man in complete agony. But he wasn't an ordinary mortal man and she should have known better than to touch him.

"Atone," the fury demanded, her voice driving needles of agony into his spine. “Atone!”

Luke was desperate enough to consider it. Anything to get rid of her. Anything to make the pain stop. Anything that might relieve him of the memories that haunted him. The blood in the sand and all the lies…

Take the money, Luke. There'll be more where that came from.

His traitorous lips parted in surrender, ready to tell the fury whatever she wanted to hear, but then he felt his square jaw clench tight in stubborn refusal.

No. Screw atonement and regret. Luke would rather die again.

Her lithe legs wrapped around his waist like a vise. They were locked together as tightly as lovers and in blind suffering he banged the back of his skull on the headboard. It started like a fever, a sexual rush of heat that seared its way through his veins, pulsing through his hammering heart, racing to his groin.

Damn it. He liked this villa, but he'd burn the place down to get free of her if he had to. Sparks leaped from his fingertips to the bedsheets and the scent of scorched linen rose to his nostrils. The fire would obey him—it was the one goddamned thing in his life he still had any control over—so Luke made the fire rise higher, engulfing them both in a flash of flames and searing pain.

His bones went white-hot, molten beneath his skin, and he screamed. He was turning to ash. He was burning her too, burning her alive. He could have held onto her. He could have forced her to share his torment to the bitter end, but he flung her away. And her tumbling body was the last thing he saw before he died….

Phaedra was accustomed to inflicting pain, not suffering it. But now every cell in her body screamed in protest as her burned skin rose up in blisters. She was immortal. She could never die. That didn't mean she couldn't feel pain, and making this man miserable had somehow become her own personal torment.

She lay dazed in agony on the floor, smoke filling her lungs while Lieutenant Luke Lazaros burned alive before her very eyes. Gods of Olympus, he was stubborn. He should have broken by now, but he was only getting more unmanageable. None of the men she'd been sent to torture had ever been so obstinate. Then again, she'd never been unleashed upon a phoenix before.

In the light of the crackling blaze, Phaedra's blistered body healed, new pink flesh knitting over the old with miraculous speed, and it occurred to her that the fire alarm wasn't shrieking. A quick glance up at the scorched ceiling told her that he'd disabled it. That he'd planned for this exact circumstance. He was handy that way. Good with modern gadgets. And a born strategist. He'd started anticipating her. Adapting…

All at once, the conflagration on the bed extinguished itself and a burst of air dusted her with Luke's charred human remains. A bit of stagecraft on his part.

Of course, she'd seen him do this before—rise from the ashes as a new man, his dark curly hair cut in sharp military style, his name and blood type displayed upon frayed patches on his desert fatigues. A backpack full of cash in his right hand.

This was how he looked the moment he was war-forged. The instant he stopped being an ordinary mortal man and became a monster. But as many times as she watched him die, she couldn't enjoy it. Watching him now, she took no satisfaction in his shudder of revulsion at the feel of a new body that wasn't his own. Nor did it encourage her to see the half hostile, half haunted look in his eyes as he tried to remember himself. Shaking his head as if to fasten upon his old memories, he caught her look of dismay and gave a dark smile-that-was-not-a-smile.

"What's the matter?” Luke asked. “Didn't expect me to be so hot in bed?"

Given that she was clutching the burned and blackened remains of her clothing against her body, Phaedra didn't appreciate the sexual innuendo. It didn't surprise her though. Every time the lieutenant was reborn, he battled overwhelming hunger. He'd be ravenous now, for food, drink…sex.

Still, he grabbed one of his white dress shirts from a drawer and tossed it to her. "Here. You can wear this."

The gallant gesture was starkly out of place considering their situation. Phaedra eyed her nemesis as she fastened the buttons, disconcerted by his scent on the shirt and how it mingled with the perfume of her newly healed skin. "Does this mean you're ready to be redeemed, Luke Lazaros?"

"Just means I was brought up right," Luke said through his teeth. "And that an officer falls back on his training in a crisis. Or maybe I've just always fantasized about a leggy woman wearing nothing but my shirt. Until I get rid of you, I might as well improve the scenery."

"How many times must we go through this?" Phaedra asked, ignoring the predatory glare in his eyes. She rose to her feet. She was tall, but he was taller. She was hard-bodied and imposing; even before they felt the torture of her touch, most men had the sense to cower. But not this man. "There is no getting rid of me, Lieutenant. Once a fury is unleashed upon a criminal, she's unbreakably bound to him until he atones or is driven to insanity."

"I'm not a criminal," Luke snapped. "And I will find a way to be rid of you."

I hope you do find a way, Phaedra thought. Because she was every bit as stuck with him as he was with her.

Let the Games Begin: V-Day Tour Kicks Off!

Today marks the official beginning of my month-long blog tour and general flog-til-you-drop fun times to promote my erotic romantic comedy for Valentine's Day - V-Day.

Some of my dates, events and hosts:

Rebel Reasoning - Jan 17
D.B. Moon - Jan 25
I'm a Book Shark - Jan 26
Lila Munro - Jan 27
Sample Sunday - Jan 29
Rebel Reasoning - Feb 1
Simplistik - Feb 2
You Gotta Read - Feb 9
Cerise deLand - Feb 10
Chastity Bush - Feb 10
Lia Davis - Feb 10
Valentine's Blog Hop - Feb 11-14
My Reading Room - Feb 12
Everyday is an Adventure - Feb 13
Ella Jade - Feb 13
W. Lynn Chantale - Feb 13
Ann Montclair - Feb 13
Sizzling Hot Books - Feb 14
Sarah Ballance - Feb 14
Books-n-Kisses - Feb 14
Mike Woody - Feb 14
Reader Girls - Feb 14
- And more!

So, to get things started:

It all started with a serenade…

A family like Daniel’s and the solitary pursuit of musical excellence is enough to make a young man crazy. No wonder all Daniel Vouks dreams of is getting away. He knows his violin will take him places in life, but the only place he really wants to be is next door. He’s been in love with his neighbor since he was fourteen, but can he ever make her see him as more than just a lovesick kid?

V-Day is the story of a Valentine's Day weekend Daniel fears he may regret, but will never, ever forget.

Available Now!

This Valentine's Day, Daniel is tired of playing solo.

If you'd be willing to have me over for an interview or a guest post, of if you'd like to review V-Day, please contact me at anneholly2010@gmail.com!

Chase's Love by Wendy Smith

New Release!

Rachel wasn't looking for love. As a matter of fact, she'd written off men altogether as the last thing she wanted in her life was another controlling jerk. At least that was the plan until the guy of her dreams walked into her life.

Chase Jamison had just got out of the military and was working toward expanding the business he started with his brother and best friends. He had a goal and he was focused. Never in a million years did Chase expect to find the sexiest woman on earth at his club.

As Chase and Rachel come together and try to find happiness, one question remains. Will Rachel's ex-lover step in and keep the pair from finding true love?

Available Now!

Strings Attached for only $3 at Coffee Time Romance: Sale Ends This Weekend!

How do you relate to a man who doesn’t want you to?

Josie Sergeant has learned one thing by carving out her living from the wilds of the Canadian north: perseverance, optimism and the willingness to do what has to be done can overcome even the harshest of obstacles. Life has taught Theo Sabich, a fellow rancher from Australia, that optimism is a fool’s hope.

When their beloved siblings’ impetuous marriage plans pit Josie and Theo against one another to defend their families, they find more than they bargain for. And when they start seeing each other as more than enemies, they face their greatest challenge – finding the courage to reach out for happiness.

Under the northern lights, their attraction ignites beyond their control… The trouble is a one-time “no strings attached” release of passion is easier said than done when love is hanging by a thread.

Just a little reminder for those of you wishing to save a few bucks on my new full length contemporary romance, Strings Attached, Coffee Time Romance has it as a July sales item, and I believe the sale ends this weekend.

Available in PDF and other formats, it is convertible to Kindle via Caliber. 

eBook Innovation: Disaster Thriller. Short story. German and two English versions in one eBook.

Author solves problem of language choices for eBook readers.

With eBooks crossing international English language borders, Declan Conner has come up with a novel way of overcoming the problem that creates much heated discussion on e-Reader forums.

Declan recently published 12 separate short stories to include both American and UK and Commonwealth translations in one eBook with internal links for the readers to make the choice.

To take this a stage further he has now published one of the stories with three-language choice to include a German translation. The End, or a New Dawn ( Das Ende, oder ein neuer Anfang.)

Declan Conner has released The End, or a New Dawn as an eBook and made it available in all e-Reader formats. Internal links will enable the reader to navigate the story and to make their own choice of language.

His disaster thriller The End, or a New Dawn reached the finals of a competition judged by Harper Collins editors and authors. The story is included in Lunch Break Thrillers, his UK bestselling short story compilation. Inspired by some of the notions in the bestselling book, Chariot of the Gods, by Erich von Daniken, the story is proving to be controversial in that the fictional scenario put forward extends the argument between creationists and evolutionists. At the same time, Declan uses known scientific facts to produce a scary prediction of a future climate disaster of biblical proportion.

Declan is excited about the project and plans to publish his twelve short stories in the same translated format over the next 12 months. He hopes that the eBook will prove popular, not only with readers of the genre, but also for students of German or English as a second language.

In addition to including three version of the story in German, UK and American English, Declan has provided hyperlinks to the articles that inspired the story. These links are intended to provide to ring of validity to his fictional scenario and to enhance the reading experience.

All books on Amazon.com      All Books on Amazon.com.de      All Books on Amazon.co.uk

Shameless Plug: Appeal to National Pride

What better way to celebrate Canada Day than to enjoy a relaxing novel written by a Canadian and set in Canada?

Take a look at Strings Attached!

Happy Canada Day!

;)

PROMO: Kinship Trinity (book 1) by J.L. Oiler

Time changes all. The world of humankind is gone, replaced by a landscape marred with the aftermath of war and disease. This is the world of the Were. However, even their existence hangs perilously by a thread. The ratio of males to females has become unbalanced and the ruling council is struggling to bring order to its people through the creation of strong clans. Clans lead by not one Alpha Were, but two.

Cirri works within the confines of the council hall, evaluating and confirming the rosters of each group seeking clanship. Knowing the day would come when she would be a claimed mate, Cirri just never expected it to be so soon. Or that her mates would take her to the edge of ecstasy and beyond.

Meru and Arcos have traveled to the remnants of the human city seeking clanship even though they've yet to find their perfect mate. Fighting for their right to keep their clan together, neither Were expected to catch the scent of the female who was destined to be their third. But when their clanship paperwork causes a stir within the council, Arcos, Meru and Cirri find themselves fighting for their lives and that of their followers.


Published by Rebel Ink, and available NOW!

You’ve Hit a Wall, Now What? Advice from Lila Munro

You know the proverbial wall I dare speak of. The one that is erected in front of every writer right in the middle of the greatest scene they’ve ever written. The one that muffles the voices of their characters that reside just on the other side of it. The one that they bang their head on wondering why and screaming at the muse gods. So, what does one do? Climb over, dig under, go around?

Well, I for one am not much of a climber. I’m short and well, too many chocolates have settled in my derrière. I’m not much of a digger. That requires some degree of brute strength, which I do possess some degree of but prefer to reserve for situations that actually require me to exert that sort of energy. Go around? That seems feasible with the appropriate GPS capabilities. But what are the capability requirements? Well, I think they are different for each individual person. I’ll share my techniques, then tell you what I think the universal cure all is for this dreaded WBD (Writer’s Block Disease), then I’ll let you decide for you what is best for you.

A few months back at the beginning of summer, I was stricken with such a case of this horrible disease I thought I should never recover from it. Many people know something of this story as I talked about it at length on my own blog as the events unfolded. You see, my heroes have always been marines. I’m married to one and that’s where I take my inspiration from for my military men in all the hot stories I write. In June, they completely annihilated my view of them as heroes. Well, that’s not entirely right. A few of the proud were responsible for it. A terrible accident happened on the beach (which happens to be my place of center) and I watched as eight or so of them stood by idly and did nothing to help. They didn’t even ask if they could help. It sickened me and rocked me to the core. These were not marines the likes of which I worship.

Needless to say, the novel I was working on had a terrific marine at its center, and he ran for cover as I raged about the events of that day and didn’t speak to me for a long time after. My place of center, the beach side, was also shattered and I couldn’t even go there to find my focus. I was adrift without a rudder and the paddle broke—not a good place to be. Well, my husband helped a bit with things—he listened to me yell for hours on end about the Marine Corps and its wavering values, then he did something so incredibly strong and heartfelt. He inadvertently took me to the shore. Yes, he tricked me. Once I saw the water again, I perked up and could feel myself righting again. With a lighter heart I came home and sat down at this keyboard, but Alec was still hunkered down behind the screen trembling. I told him, “Okay, Alec, I can do this with our without you, if you want a say in how you get the girl, you better come out.” Then I began to type—it took a few pages and he peeked around the edge of the screen and watched me whacking away furiously. Then he turned and looked up—unhappy with the way the events were unfolding he came out and started to talk to me again.

Bottom line—never let your center be rocked and keep writing no matter what. In other words, don’t let your confidence waver and even if you’re not in the mood…write, write, write. Even if it makes no sense, even if later you tear it all to pieces, write. Sooner or later your muse and your characters will get the picture, step off the picket line and help for fear of losing their jobs. I promise. It works.

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Now I’d like to introduce you to my new novel that hit e-shelves January 18 at ARe through Rebel Ink Press for $5.99. It is a 58,000 word contemporary romance with erotic overtones and is entitled A Slower Lower Love.

Here’s a bit about the story:

When running isn’t the answer,

Cait O’Kelley loved Bryce Delaney with all her heart. But loving him scared the hell out of her. She didn’t want to settle for being married to a cop and having his children. She wanted more. Unfortunately, more came with a price. After leaving her small home town for more glamorous life and working her way up the corporate ladder, a whirlwind affair with the boss’s son tears her world apart. On the brink of losing everything she’s worked for, she had to make a decision.

and going back seems impossible,

After eight years of living without her, Bryce finds himself tasked with the job of watching over Cait during her week long stay at her parent’s beach house in Bethany. She’s come there to sort her life out and while she’s contemplating her future, they discover the fireworks are still there. But can they ever go back to where they once were? As his secrets begin to surface, he sees only one way to save her. He disappears without a trace leaving Cait behind to pick up the pieces and deal with a whole host of new problems. One of which she can’t explain away or hide.

can you find middle ground?

With Bryce out of the picture, his brother, Kurt, finds what he’s wanted a lifetime handed to him on a silver platter. After watching Cait and Bryce toy with each other for fifteen years, he steps up to the plate. He’s always wanted her and now is his chance. But is he strong enough to ground Cait and keep her from making yet another mistake? Which brother will win her heart and show her that a slower lower love is enough?

I’d like to share a short excerpt with your readers, Anne. I hope they enjoy it.

The sound of seagulls screeching like nails on a chalkboard pulled Cait out of the peaceful place somewhere between sleep and wake she’d been dozing in and out of most of the morning. The raucous cacophony was far too close for comfort. Pushing up on her forearms in the warm soft sand, she peeled her eyes open. A summer browned boy that looked to be around ten or eleven stood a few yards away with a clear plastic bag full of bread crusts. The band of ivory and gray birds dipping and swooping behind him cast shadows over her and her fluffy yellow beach towel. Did the boy have no sense at all? Probably the offspring of interlopers, he obviously didn’t realize the scavenging birds would never leave if you fed them just once.

“Hey, kid,” she shouted. “Go somewhere else with your bag of bread.”

She didn’t want to share her space with a child and his flock of motley birds. Why wasn’t he back in school anyway? It was well past Labor Day.

He glanced over at her, pulled a piece of crust from the bag, and waved it in the air blatantly ignoring her wishes to be left alone.

Hating to be taunted, she started to get up. “I said get down the beach you scrawny urchin, this isn’t public access, so go.”

After watching him dart away with the gulls not far behind, she lowered herself back on her towel and closed her eyes again. She’d come here to rest and try to piece her life back together, not deal with truants.

It was her mother’s suggestion that she take a week at the beach house after the last holiday weekend of summer. She’d finally agreed after giving the idea some serious pause. There were too many memories here she didn’t particularly care to rehash. It had seemed at the time, however, a better alternative than being secluded in her town home for one more day alone. But if her first morning was any indication as to what her stay was going to be like, she might well change her mind and go back to Baltimore before sundown.

For now, at least, here she was. The very place that eight years ago she’d absconded like it was infested with the plague. Fled for a life outside the confines of small town life to anywhere bigger USA.

It just happened that anywhere bigger at the time was Pittsburg. She’d found a job and earned a degree at the university. Then she’d gone on to land a gig at one of the nation’s biggest marketing firms in Baltimore. After working her way up from the mail room, she’d been in charge of some very affluent client accounts. Always looking for more though, that hadn’t been enough fast enough. No. She wanted everything, and everything came with a price.

After practically throwing herself on him, she’d landed the bosses son. As far as Jamison Curtis and all their friends were concerned, they were a match made in heaven.

They both had good heads for business and eyes on the brass ring attitudes, and after a brief courtship they had been engaged to be married.

They weren’t a match made in heaven in her book though. He wasn’t much for wild abandon in the sack. In fact, he was more the missionary type, though she could concede it was usually satisfying enough. He liked the opera, while she preferred alternative rock. He wanted steak every night and she would have chosen boiled crabs anytime. On top of all that, she’d known she didn’t love him. What did she expect hooking up with someone that wasn’t raised on the eastern shore, south of the Mason Dixon, where life was simpler? But wasn’t that what she had run from all that time ago?

For her he was just a mere rung on the ladder of success, the toll to a better life. At least that was what she believed until three months ago when it all came crashing down around her like a skyscraper after an earthquake.

Feelings complicated things, and she didn’t want complicated. He, however, had apparently let himself fall hopelessly in love with her and it wasn’t until their engagement party at a five star hotel on the inner harbor that she fully realized that. She overheard him talking to his brother and inadvertently discovered how he couldn’t wait until they honeymooned in Paris, and actually hoped they came home expecting their first born. That she hadn’t counted on. After Jamison left Haden standing on the balcony overlooking the harbor, she had confronted him. They had already had the children or no children discussion and she had made it perfectly clear that they weren’t in the equation for her right now, and maybe indefinitely.

That led to an argument right there in the ballroom that escalated until all she heard was the sound of their two voices reaching a piercing pitch. The band had stopped playing and all their friends ceased what they were doing to stare at them there in the middle of the floor spearing each other through with glaring eyes. The silence had been even more clamorous than the sound of their arguing. That was the point at which the relationship had snapped in two like a dry twig. Pop! It was over.

She’d composed herself and tried to salvage some of her dignity. After apologizing to their guests, she made a hasty exit to take a cab home. Like a coward, she left Jamison there to put out the blaze she knew would consume Curtis Industries by Monday morning.

After ignoring his calls all day Sunday, the phone finally quit ringing. He hadn’t bothered leaving any messages. Nothing he could say, and nothing she could do, would make things right anyway. She’d torn another man down and crushed him. Only this time she was a grown woman and it was no longer a game of hurt feelings. Her livelihood would be affected by her stupid selfish actions.

Monday morning she’d slipped into the Curtis building downtown under the cover of pre-dawn. It only took minutes to clear her desk and type out her resignation.

She knew she could never set foot in the office again, and even if she could face the humiliation of it, chances were she’d be fired and asked to leave. After depositing the letter on Jamison’s desk, and laying the two carat Marquis cut engagement ring on top of it, she left like the coward she was and went home to try to figure out what to do next.

Three months later, she still hadn’t figured it out. She had no job, no Christmas wedding to plan, and, if the tides of fate didn’t turn in her favor soon and leave some source of income at her doorstep, she would soon have no gorgeous town home. Her
emergency funds were vaporizing and she had received so many rejection notices from prospective employers that she now suspected the elder Curtis of blackballing her all over Baltimore and a few other choice cities.

She squirmed around on her towel trying to root out a lump under her right shoulder and let out a loud sigh when she felt another shadow fall across her. That damn kid! She shot up fully ready to march him off and leave him with his absent parents, wherever that was. But when she looked up, instead of a four foot tall tow headed boy, a six foot tall dark haired man stood over her in blue board shorts with a matching towel slung over a very muscular shoulder. The sun wasn’t at its midday point yet and fell behind him shadowing his features, but she could plainly see that he was stacked to the nines. He sported chiseled biceps, his abs looked like a washboard, and every visible inch of his smooth skin was bronzed.

“Is this seat taken?” That voice. She couldn’t see him, but she would recognize that voice anywhere even though the years had deepened it to a low sexy pitch.

“What are you doing here?” she snapped.

“The same thing you are, Cait. Trying to relax. So do you mind if I join you?” He started to spread his towel.

“Yes, I mind. No, you may not. Possession is ninth tenths of the law. I’ve been on this piece of sand since dawn. Therefore, in this case, the law is on my side.” She plopped back down and crossed her arms over her ample breasts. “Now, go away, Bryce, my life is complicated enough as it is.”

“The law, huh? In case your mother hasn’t informed you, I’m a cop now. Your whole law thing doesn’t hold water with me. Have you forgotten our house sits just a few yards from yours? We co-own this stretch.” He continued to spread his towel and sink into the sand next to her.

“Fine, suit yourself. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that we’re here at the same time. Our mothers made sure of that didn’t they? I’ll try not to bother you.” She turned on her stomach and pointed her head in the opposite direction so she wouldn’t have to look at the fine example of a man Bryce Delaney had become. Her heart had done a familiar flip-flop at hearing him say her name and that really made her mad.

That was the problem with Bryce. He made her feel things she had no business feeling.

Thanks for hosting me today, Anne. It was a pleasure being here. Your readers may purchase A Slower Lower Love at www.allromanceebooks.com.

~*~

Lila Munro is a writer of contemporary romance currently residing on the coast of North Carolina. She is a military wife and takes much of her inspiration for her heroes from the marines she’s lived around for the past fourteen years. Coining the term realmantica, she strives to produce quality romance in a realistic setting. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading everything she can get her hands on, trips to the museum and aquarium, taking field research trips, and soaking up the sun on the nearby beaches. Her previous works include The Executive Officer’s Wife, Bound By Trust, and Destiny’s Fire. Anthology work includes a piece in All I Want for Christmas is Redemption. She loves to hear from her readers and can be contacted via her website, or her joint effort website.

Said Wendy from Happily Ever After Reviews about Bound By Trust:

Let me say, I loved the book and I fell in love with the characters. Their story is so realistic I felt as if they were my friends. Through all the hardships, Rafe is a man who Madi learned to depend on and love again. He made her feel like a woman cherished while teaching her what she craves is right in his arms. Theirs is a true love story with their share of disagreements and trials. The story had me from the first paragraph and is a must read if you want a real man falling in love with a real woman. 5 Teacups.