Release Celebration: All I Want

Releasing today: All I Want: The Anne Holly-Day Collection

New to paperback and ebook from Rebel Ink Press!

What happens when a band nerd sets his sights on the jock next door, a flighty witch thaws out a corporate stiff, or an uptown girl falls for a bartender? How about when a city slicker roughs it with a cowboy, a free spirited Spaniard seduces his calm and collected professor, or a fantasy writer teaches a no-nonsense doctor to see the magic around him?

Attraction, friction, and enough sparks to heat up the coldest winter!

Opposites attract under the spell of six different holidays in this collection of contemporary erotic romance stories from author Anne Holly, covering Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Eve, Valentine’s Day and St Patrick’s Day.

Each story is unique, reflecting the glow and lore of the holiday that inspired it, but the collection is bound together by a single thread – the joy of taking the plunge into sizzling romance.

~*~

Including the following six erotic-romances:

Like Magic, a story for Halloween

Ian Hannigan was having the worst day of his life. A real estate prospect turned out to be a prank, his car has been stolen, and he’s stranded in the worst neighborhood he can imagine on Halloween night. If he believed in magic, he would swear he’d been cursed. Nothing could possibly make this day any worse or better… That is, nothing but Raven, a mysterious occult shop owner who not only claims to be a witch, but insists that she summoned him as the answer to her aching loneliness. Ian’s night just got a lot weirder. And his love life just got a lot more interesting.

Five stars from Just Erotic Romance Reviews!

~*~

Charity, a story for Thanksgiving

Charity Miller has spent her whole life in an urban island surrounded by the wilds of Montana where she’s never ventured too far from her plans. But when she heads into the Big Snowy Mountains to square a land deal one chilly November, her normally-professional self fades away. Maybe it’s the mountain air or finally quitting her diet. Or maybe it’s “real-live-cowboy” Joshua Rollings and his many attractions that has her off balance.Whatever it is, this Thanksgiving could give her a reason to be thankful for the rest of her life.

Highly recommended by You Gotta Read reviews!

~*~

Good for the Goose, a story for Christmas

Successful scholar Dr. Natasha Mintz believes her divorce signaled the end of her romantic life. But when she gets snowed in one Christmas with a young Spanish grad student, she may want to rethink things. For Natasha, winter has never been so hot!

 Four stars from Just Erotic Romance Reviews!


~*~

Bubbly, a story for New Years

Beth’s had the best of everything and the worst of everything. From the outside, a poor little rich girl, hounded by the press, but, on the inside, bruised by dark memories. When she seeks escape from her suffocating world on New Years Eve, she accidentally gets a taste for how the other half lives. Rough bartender Tig Riley offers her a whole new outlook on life in his arms and maybe even a brand new future, if only she can trust him. Can he really help her heal herself?

Four stars from Sizzling Hot Book Reviews!

~*~

V-Day, a story for Valentine's Day

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.

One of The One Hundred Romances Project's top books of 2011!

~*~

And a new, previously unreleased story for St Patrick's Day: Cormack's Luck, exclusive to this anthology!

American writer Katie Cormack inherited more than a cottage from her wild Irish father, but also his wit, his stories and his family’s secret burden. Hiding away in the Irish countryside she’d always dreamed of, she communes with the fairies and beasts of her fantasy and folklore. When a local doctor comes down on her for filling his young son’s head with “nonsense”, Katie must show them both that not even St Patrick himself could drive all the dragons out of their imaginations. In the process, she might be able to reverse a wrong that has been hanging over the Cormacks for five generations, one that has brought them all together for the season of renewal.

*
I'm very excited to have another paperback in release, and I'm happy to see these stories find new life as an ebundle, as well. Each one was a fun, new challenge for me, and each one is an homage to various types of romance I've enjoyed as a reader. I hope you enjoy reading this collection!

Get it while it's hot!

Available at the following vendors in ebook:

Amazon US
Amazon UK
B&N
ARe
BookStrand
...and more!

And in paperback:

Amazon
B&N

New TODAY from:

Add the book on GoodReads, or find it on ManicReaders.
Available now to select reviewers in PDF upon request.

Releasing Tomorrow: All I Want, a Holiday Anthology

Coming October 3 to paperback and ebook, All I Want: The Anne Holly-Day Collection, including all five of my 2011 Rebel Ink Press erotic-romance holiday shorts, as well as an exclusive, new sixth story! I'll be here tomorrow celebrating!

What happens when a band nerd sets his sights on the jock next door, a flighty witch thaws out a corporate stiff, or an uptown girl falls for a bartender? How about when a city slicker roughs it with a cowboy, a free spirited Spaniard seduces his calm and collected professor, or a fantasy writer teaches a no-nonsense doctor to see the magic around him?

Attraction, friction, and enough sparks to heat up the coldest winter!

Opposites attract under the spell of six different holidays in this collection of contemporary erotic romance stories from author Anne Holly, covering Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Eve, Valentine’s Day and St Patrick’s Day.

Each story is unique, reflecting the glow and lore of the holiday that inspired it, but the collection is bound together by a single thread – the joy of taking the plunge into sizzling romance.

A Tempting Treat for Valentine’s Day

Welcome blog hoppers!

As Valentine’s Day approaches, it’s time once again to enter our kitchens and hit the bake pans, perhaps unused since the Christmas gorging. Today, I thought I’d share my favourite Valentine’s Day recipe...

Red Velvet cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1 stick of butter, softened

2 eggs

2 1/3 cups of cake flour

2 tablespoons of old fashioned cocoa powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of buttermilk

1 1/2 tablespoons of red food coloring

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar

Directions:

Set the oven to preheat to 350°F. Beat the butter and sugar very well (for about 3 minutes with an electric mixer), until smooth and light. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is mixed in evenly. In a large batter bowl, sift he cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together, ensuring there are no lumps. In another bowl whisk the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla extract, and red food coloring together. Add a handful or two of the dry ingredients and mix, then add a bit of the wet. Repeat, wet/dry, until it’s all completely mixed. Scoop into a muffin tin lined with waxed cupcake papers, about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate the pan after the first 15 minutes of baking to ensure even baking. Allow to cool in the pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. Top with your favourite cream cheese frosting, and some shaved dark chocolate and/or sprinkles. (Raspberries are also nice on top, if you prefer.)

For maximum wonderfulness, I enjoy my red velvet with a very milky cup of Chai tea, though hot chocolate, warm milk, coffee, or Irish cream works just as well.

Enjoy!

*

And now for a peek at V-Day, my erotic romantic comedy for Valentine’s Day:

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.

Excerpt:

Daniel retreated to the music room, thankful he didn’t have a class or a practice scheduled on campus today. He didn’t even have to give any lessons until next week. The weather really didn’t look all that welcoming and he was grateful he could huddle inside as his family bustled off to their various destinations. After school, his parents would be off for the weekend, dropping his sister and her flotilla of luggage off at Kayley’s so the girls could get ready to go to the dance together, which meant leaving Daniel officially on his own until at least Sunday afternoon. Glorious.

Allowing the noise of their departures to roll off him as he sat absently at the piano, he plucked out a few strains and watched the sun glint off the fresh snow in the backyard. It was really beautiful when you could view it from a cozy place.

Blah! Another Valentine’s Day. His nineteenth one as a single guy. And, he thought ruefully, his nineteenth year as a confirmed virgin.

Jesus, even his baby sister had more going on than he did. Selby, his girlfriend in tenth grade, had been about as close to any action as he’d ever gotten. Her pathological fear of pregnancy made it absolutely essential that he keep his pants on at all times. Other than that, any girl he’d ever liked had tossed him into the “friend” basket and never bothered to reassess him.

Kelly, his best friend, did that. After Daniel followed the cute redheaded soprano around for weeks like a puppy, she finally took pity on him and explained he was simply too nice to attract her. After that, they formed an easy relationship through which both had a pal, and a no-fuss “emergency date” when necessary.

Flipping open his phone, he hit Kelly’s number.

“This better be good,” she grumbled after the fifth ring.

“Hey early riser,” he chuckled.

“Well, if I had my mom bringing me my morning coffee in bed…”

“Okay, truce,” Daniel winced. “And my mom doesn’t let me drink coffee.”

“Why not? Afraid it'll stunt your growth, stretch?” Kelly asked with a crystal clear laugh despite having just woken up.

“Something like that,” he said, flecking a flower petal off the top of the piano. “Listen…You’re probably…I dunno…busy tonight, right?”

“Are you trying again, Danny?” she groaned.

“Well, no. I just thought if you weren’t, maybe we could do something.”

“I have a date.”

“Right,” he forced a chuckle. “Yeah, I figured you would.” He straightened in his chair. “Being Valentine’s and all. No problem, just wanted to check.”

“Ahhh, Danny,” she sighed. “What about you?”

“I got a hot date all weekend,” he said over a grimace. “With that friggin’ tango, I guess.”

“Danny, do yourself a favor,” she said firmly. “Go get yourself laid. I told you that’s what’s missing from your tango.”

“Well then,” he quipped. “Support the arts and break your date. I can be there in an hour.”

“Har har har,” she said and then laughed for real. “Seriously, go fall for someone. Preferably someone who will fall for you back.”

“Okay,” he agreed. “For you, I'll try my best.”

Daniel hung up and pounded out a few more notes on the keyboard in front of him, contemplating Kelly’s method music theory that said you could only sing or play what you’d experienced. If that were the case, his tango would remain a virginal one if his luck so far was any indication.

*

For more information about my adult (18+) Valentine’s Day erotic romantic comedy, V-Day, please see my holiday stories website: http://annehollyholiday.webs.com/valentinesdaytales.htm

GIVEAWAY!

Comment below, and tell us what your favourite Valentine’s Day treat is, and you will be entered to win any one of my currently-released titles in Amazon Kindle edition or PDF! One winner will be drawn at random, February 15, 2012. Contest is open only to adults, 18+.

Be sure to leave a comment, 

and then check out the other authors at:

http://thebloghopspot.com/event-page/

Anne Holly is a Canadian writer of romance and erotic-romance, as well as a mother and teacher. You may visit Anne at her blog or website, or find her on GoodReads, Facebook and Twitter  (@anneholly2010). Sign up for her newsletter here. Email: anneholly2010@gmail.com.

#samplesunday: V-Day

V-Day, an erotic romantic comedy for Valentine’s Day:

By Anne Holly

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.

Excerpt:

Daniel retreated to the music room, thankful he didn’t have a class or a practice scheduled on campus today. He didn’t even have to give any lessons until next week. The weather really didn’t look all that welcoming and he was grateful he could huddle inside as his family bustled off to their various destinations. After school, his parents would be off for the weekend, dropping his sister and her flotilla of luggage off at Kayley’s so the girls could get ready to go to the dance together, which meant leaving Daniel officially on his own until at least Sunday afternoon. Glorious.

Allowing the noise of their departures to roll off him as he sat absently at the piano, he plucked out a few strains and watched the sun glint off the fresh snow in the backyard. It was really beautiful when you could view it from a cozy place.

Blah! Another Valentine’s Day. His nineteenth one as a single guy. And, he thought ruefully, his nineteenth year as a confirmed virgin.

Jesus, even his baby sister had more going on than he did. Selby, his girlfriend in tenth grade, had been about as close to any action as he’d ever gotten. Her pathological fear of pregnancy made it absolutely essential that he keep his pants on at all times. Other than that, any girl he’d ever liked had tossed him into the “friend” basket and never bothered to reassess him.

Kelly, his best friend, did that. After Daniel followed the cute redheaded soprano around for weeks like a puppy, she finally took pity on him and explained he was simply too nice to attract her. After that, they formed an easy relationship through which both had a pal, and a no-fuss “emergency date” when necessary.

Flipping open his phone, he hit Kelly’s number.

“This better be good,” she grumbled after the fifth ring.

“Hey early riser,” he chuckled.

“Well, if I had my mom bringing me my morning coffee in bed…”

“Okay, truce,” Daniel winced. “And my mom doesn’t let me drink coffee.”

“Why not? Afraid it'll stunt your growth, stretch?” Kelly asked with a crystal clear laugh despite having just woken up.

“Something like that,” he said, flecking a flower petal off the top of the piano. “Listen…You’re probably…I dunno…busy tonight, right?”

“Are you trying again, Danny?” she groaned.

“Well, no. I just thought if you weren’t, maybe we could do something.”

“I have a date.”

“Right,” he forced a chuckle. “Yeah, I figured you would.” He straightened in his chair. “Being Valentine’s and all. No problem, just wanted to check.”

“Ahhh, Danny,” she sighed. “What about you?”

“I got a hot date all weekend,” he said over a grimace. “With that friggin’ tango, I guess.”

“Danny, do yourself a favor,” she said firmly. “Go get yourself laid. I told you that’s what’s missing from your tango.”

“Well then,” he quipped. “Support the arts and break your date. I can be there in an hour.”

“Har har har,” she said and then laughed for real. “Seriously, go fall for someone. Preferably someone who will fall for you back.”

“Okay,” he agreed. “For you, I'll try my best.”

Daniel hung up and pounded out a few more notes on the keyboard in front of him, contemplating Kelly’s method music theory that said you could only sing or play what you’d experienced. If that were the case, his tango would remain a virginal one if his luck so far was any indication.

*

For more information about my adult (18+) Valentine’s Day erotic romantic comedy, V-Day, please see my holiday stories website: http://annehollyholiday.webs.com/valentinesdaytales.htm

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!

General News

How can it already be mid-December? The days are simply flying past these days, even though my lack of sleep these days also make parts of the week crawl by. In Real Life, I am up to my neck marking, trying to get the term papers marked by this weekend so I can be shod of this class before the holidays. It's going slowly, but surely. At least the exams are all marked and done, so I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I also  finished my holiday shopping, aside from groceries, and am looking forward to getting in some R&R very soon.

In the meantime, I have some news that I felt I should quickly run down...

First, I have a new contract all signed and off in the post. It might have even arrived, depending on whether the snail mail cart was pulled by one mule or two. I have signed my newest full length novel off to Pink Petal Books, a new company to me - but not a new company, itself. In fact, it's fairly established for an ebook company, and I am very pleased. They seem to like the book, my editor seems friendly and enthusiastic, and the company seems to have a good reputation for contemporary romance, which seems to be fading with other companies. Yes, I am very pleased.

The book, currently entitled Textbook Romance, is the story of Liberty, an anti-romance university prof, and a wonderful single father who seeks to change her mind. I confess a lot of it takes place over Christmas, but I have opted to release it for Father's Day, since Seth's dadhood is such a huge, adorable part of his character. It will be out in ebook in June, with luck, and in paperback in September 2012. I am thrilled to have another contract to look forward to - I was getting antsy, since my Rebel Ink series finished off.

Second, I guess it was that ARe newsletter interview, and possibly all the appearances I've been doing, but Unwrapping Scrooge has taken off in a big way! I'm very happy, but a little confused, since the book came out last year. But, hey, I'm certainly not complaining - it's been great, and I'm seeing the sales in general go up. Perhaps someone liked Unwrapping Scrooge so much they decided to try the others? Who knows! Whatever is going on, I'm grateful.

Third, I have hired a PR company, Sizzling PR, to book a month long blog tour for me and my Valentine's Day book V-Day, so that's exciting. It sounds so grown up and professional, doesn't it? It was certainly affordable, so we'll see if it results in a few sales. V-Day is a good little book (in my humble, totally-unbiased opinion), so I hope it gives it the leg up it deserves. I am also running a month-long promo on TRR for Strings Attached all of January, so hopefully we can create a bit of synergy between all the books. I'm learning as I go.

(I am open to guest shots and interviews of all sorts for Jan-Feb, and then again all summer, so contact me if you have spots open!)

I will be around a lot over the next few weeks, still promoting the Christmas books, along with the New Years book. Please come on back this weekend for the blog hop, and keep an eye out for the other blog hops and blogfests and interviews and guest posts and reviews, etc, etc, etc, that I have going on. (See the "Events" tab above.) To be honest, I can't remember everything off the top of my head any more.

Well, back to marking. Thanks for checking in. I'm glad I managed a little news update today. Some fairly invigorating new developments, no?

Take care, and happy holidays to all!

Feedback Needed: Him for the Holidays?

As my series for Rebel Ink Press starts to wind down, with three released and two more waiting in the wings, it's time to start thinking of them as a series, including promoting them as a group and coming up with a title for the paperback release in 2012. *squee*

This "series" isn't a series in the traditional sense - they don't have the same characters or the same setting. In some cases, their styles and subgenres are even different, though they are all short erotic-romances (or romantic-erotica). One is semi-paranormal, one is comedy, one is cowboy, a couple have May/December themes, and one is glam.

What connects them is that they all take place around a holiday, and all of them have mismatched couples, combining types of people who normally wouldn't have found each other - a cowboy and a city slicker, a jock and a virginal musician, a prof and a grad student, a bartender and a socialite, and a yuppie and a hippie-witch. All of them have heroes that I adore.

In thinking about titles, one of my rough attempts has kind of grown on me, which emphasizes the lovable heroes and the gift of finding love:

Him for the Holidays

So... What do you think? Catchy? Trite? Overdone? Predictable? Cute? Annoying?

I'm totally open to hearing your reactions, criticism, or other suggestions. I'd like to settle on one quite soon so I can start thinking of them as a group.

Thanks in advance!
AH

Summer Wrap-Up: Updates/Forecast on the WIPs

It's been a productive summer, spent editing and writing.

The first month or so was spent re-writing my NaNo 2011 novel, Textbook Romance, with the help of five wonderful betareaders. Then, I spent some time re-editing Unwrapping Scrooge for a Christmas print anthology. Goose and V-Day were re-vamped and released by Rebel Ink.

I did  flurry of new writing in August. The Halloween short, Like Magic, was written, read by a couple sweet people, and submitted to RIP for my holiday shorts series. It's with the editors now. I also managed to finish the Thanksgiving installment, and got it in only a day late. (They were nice to me about that.) The Thanksgiving one, Charity, is a nice, sexy cowboy one; I hope you'll all like it. It started out with another plot, but I had to shelf that beginning and start over with something lighter and more doable in under 15k.

Now, I've outlined and started the New Years one (Bubbly) - this one is a whole lot hotter than the other episodes. It's about a divorced socialite and successful designer who ducks her own New Years party to give life and love another whirl with "the hired help." Just right for a sparkly, fantastic New Years Eve romp!


Textbook Romance is now off to two companies, and I'm submitting it to a third in mid-September or so (staggered according to their response times). I keep revamping the sub letters/synopsis as I go, and tweaking the manuscript. My fingers remain ever-crossed. As always, I'll keep you updated.

The past couple of days have been spent blogging like mad to keep up with all the guest posts and interviews I promised to do over the summer. It doesn't seem like much work when you say yes at the time, but if you let them pile up... Oy!

So, what's next? After Bubbly is submitted for editing at RIP (aiming for September 15, if possible), I'm on to my planned paranormal/shifter dark erotica short/novella, which doesn't have a name yet (though I do have a publisher in mind!). Then, I'll finish the romantic-fantasy novella I started writing back in June but had to put away for other obligations. That one involves an "angel" figure, and has been named After Life. (I have a publisher in mind for that one, as well.) So, that all will likely take me up to nearly-NaNo time! After NaNo, I have plenty more planned - just today, I added a Mountie romance! But, for now, let's just say I'll be busy for a while.

It's insane how fast the year is flying by. This year, so far I've celebrated the release of three books (two of them twice), and am looking forward to at least four more. I got some very nice reviews. I've sold a few, promoted some, and generally kept busy. I am very much looking forward to having more contracts, new covers and releases to share with you throughout the end of 2011 and well into 2012.

If you want to see my complete WIP list, you can find it here.

And, that's a little update on where things are. I'll be in touch as things develop, I'm sure. :)

Six Sentence Sunday: V-DAY

Hey, you know I like to shake things up, so this week I decided to skip the TL;DR humdrums and try Six Sentence Sunday instead of #samplesunday. It might become a permanent switch - though I have to admit it is not easy to pick out six sentences (exactly) of anything!

This week, my six sentences come from my newest release, V-Day - a cute little erotic romantic-comedy that won't change the world, but might fill your lunch hour pleasantly. I selected the passage from the "sibling banter" scene that has been well-received.

“Why would I want to spend Valentine’s Day weekend with Jason? He picks his nose…and eats it.” She shuddered deadly serious, as if she couldn't imagine a worse crime in the world.
“Daniel…” Judith turned to him after a moment.
“She’s right, Mom,” he said. “Cousin Jason is a chronic nose picker.”

As a fun fact, in my head Daniel's mother (a character I adore) is played by Marcia Gay Harden. Yes, I cast all the books I write in my head - and most of the ones I read, as well.

You can see a full Kindle sample of V-Day (or "Look Inside") on Amazon.

Winner!

The winner of the PDF copy of V-Day is:

Lisa Day!

Please, email me at anneholly2010@gmail.com to collect your prize.

Thanks, all!

New Release: V-Day

My erotic romantic-comedy V-Day returned to the living yesterday, thanks to the good folks at Rebel Ink!

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.

I have a real soft spot for this book. It was my first go at light humour blended into my erotica/romance, and I admit the hero is one of my favourites. Author Jasmine Aherne was kind of enough to read the ARC I sent her, and you can read the review here. I especially like that she enjoyed my description of Daniel as "a cross between Harry Potter and Franz Kafka". :)

So far, a few links (I will update this post as I find more, or more go live):

• Amazon
• ARE
• BookStrand

If you're interested, you can find an excerpt here.

I love new releases!

~*~

Comment below, and tell me something you like to see in a hero, and I will pick one commenter at random for a free PDF ARC of V-Day (will announce the winner here on Saturday night). 


You must be over 18 to participate. 

New Releases Coming Soon!

Good news! Good for the Goose and V-Day are being formatted as we speak, and should be hitting ebook shelves within a week!

I will update with links when I have them.

Sample Sunday: V-Day - Coming Soon! 18+

A small excerpt* from V-Day, a short erotic romantic-comedy for Valentines Day by Anne Holly – Coming from Rebel Ink Press, August 2011! (ETA: This story has since been released!)

Young violinist Daniel dreams of winning first chair of his university orchestra, and of finding love. For years, he’s adored the pretty physiotherapist who lives next door to his family home, where he lives with a mother who thinks Jello molds and sweaters are the height of cool and a father who has never been seen on the other side of a newspaper. He knows he wants his life to be different - passionate and creative. The trouble is, no girl has ever seen him as more than a friend, and the girl next door, Bronwyn, may never see him as anything other than the 14 year old peeking through her shrubs that he was when she moved in! One long Valentine's weekend, a serenade and a whim can change all that, but how can Daniel make it last more than three days?  

The rest of that day and into the evening was spent in bed, where Daniel learned more in one day than he had in years of sex ed. Always an eager student, he dedicated himself to learning every inch of her body, and every means by which he was able to give and receive pleasure. She wasn’t bashful about directing him, and for that he was grateful.

“Feel good?” She liked to ask him, taking obvious pleasure in all his firsts. She told him she loved how verbal he was with his feedback, and he bit his tongue against reminding her that it was a plus to dating someone who’d evolved the gift of speech instead of grunts.

They hadn’t mentioned Warren again, but it bothered him that the only reason he seemed to be in her bed was to chase away the thoughts of her recent breakup. He refused to think about it, and focused on enjoying making her happy.

“You know, I might be a little late with this…” he said, as they rested from another bout of excitement. “But I think I should ask you out or something.”

She laughed at his belated offer. “I’d say you kind of lucked right into the next step, there, kiddo,” she giggled, and flexed the hand she had cupped around his sensitive parts.

“Well, it’s Friday night. You wanna do something?” he asked, shrugging, eager to make the most of the weekend.

“Watch a movie?” she offered. “That way, we can stay in our jammies.”

“I don’t have any jammies here,” he reminded her. “And I’m pretty sure I might look kind of awful in any of yours.”

She bounced off the bed and retrieved a pair of loose gym shorts from her bureau. “Voila! Makeshift jammies.”

“Ah, yes,” Daniel said, crawling out of the warm nest they had made. “I forgot you athletic types always have formal wear on hand,” he teased, and Bronwyn hit him in the side of the head with a pillow for his back talk.

“Lordy,” he sighed, admiring his long, wiry form in the rather shockingly short red shorts.

“You’re adorable.” She laughed, and he flexed his rather unimpressive muscles in response, just to soak up more of her delight before slipping on the oversized jersey she handed him.

“What did I do to deserve you today, just when I needed you?” she asked, kissing him with a loud smack of appreciation before heading downstairs.

And what can I do to deserve you for longer than today?

There would be time for the “relationship talk” later. He hoped.

Watch for the first two installments from my Rebel Ink holiday series, Good for the Goose (Christmas) and V-Day over the next while, followed by Halloween (September 2011), Thanksgiving (October 2011) and New Years (December 2011)!

*Not yet finished editing for release. 

Without Further Ado... My New RIP Covers!

These are the new covers for the short romantic erotica books, Good for the Goose and V-Day, that are being re-released by Rebel Ink Press in August. 

Good for the Goose focuses on Natasha, a successful professor and recent divorcee, and the unexpected love affair she has one Christmas break with a fiery pursuer - a Spanish grad student more than a decade younger than she! Good for the Goose is both strongly erotic and passionately romantic, dealing with issues of rejection, regrets, fear of living again, and the persistence of young men with their minds set on the lady of their choice.  

This cover centers on Raphael, the young lover who brings Natasha the magic of Christmas despite the chill, as well as the fireplace they share while snowed in. The cover's black satin feel evokes not only the story's sensuality, but the dark moments of grief pinpointed throughout Natasha's journey. Plus, the boy's pretty cute, too, which never hurts at all! 

A quirky romantic-comedy erotic story told from the male perspective, the Valentine's installment V-Day is a lot less intense in many ways. Young violinist Daniel dreams of winning first chair of his university orchestra, and of finding love. He crushes on the pretty physiotherapist who lives next door to his family home, where he lives with a mother who thinks Jello molds and sweaters are the height of cool and a father who has never been seen on the other side of a newspaper. He knows he wants his life to be different - passionate and creative. The trouble is, no girl has ever seen him as more than a friend, and the girl next door, Bronwyn, may never see him as anything other than the 14 year old peeking through her shrubs that he was when she moved in! One long Valentine's weekend, a serenade and a whim can change all that, but how can Daniel make it last more than three days?  

This cover uses the imagery of Valentine's Day via the flower, melded with Daniel's two loves - his violin and the girl next door. The colours and brightness of this cover echo the lighter feel to the book. 

Good for the Goose and V-Day will release in August 2011. They will be followed by a Hallowe'en romantic-comedy erotica with witchy overtones, a romantic erotica featuring Thanksgiving for the salt of the earth, and a no-holds-barred New Years Eve tale told among the rich and famous. Five stories from August through December - all featuring mismatched couples and mirroring the best qualities of their respective seasons. 


The exact release dates are TBA at the moment. I'll be sure to let you know when these two holiday erotica tales, as well as the next three in the series, become available.

Thanks go to the art department at Rebel Ink Press.

Wild and Wacky Week Thus Far

I will continue on with the last entry in my three part series on editing sins tomorrow. Today, I wanted to update some recent happenings that you may or may not have noticed, depending on how closely you watch me... Is that you out there in those bushes, by the way?

Well, on Monday night, I received an email from one of my former publishers, reverting the rights to two of my short holiday stories back to me (V-Day and Good for the Goose).

The company's owner had come to what I am sure was a difficult decision regarding the structure of the company. That company (which I won't name here, since that is their news and not mine) is, from what I understand, no longer a publishing company, but a co-op through which authors may self-publish their own books. I may or may not work with that co-op in the future; I don't know right now, since I hadn't planned on self-publishing my genre fiction - at least until I am famous and can take a readership (and a lot more knowledge) along with me and afford quality help in doing so.

What this meant was V-Day and Good for the Goose had to be pulled from sales venues, and basically disappeared. They no longer exist for sale, or in those formats. From Monday morning's five-title-author, by Tuesday morning I was a three-title-author.

As you can imagine, this was a bit crushing, since V-Day had just started to chart on Amazon, and Good for the Goose had already earned three fairly decent reviews.

So, I did the only thing I knew to do - I posted an SOS on Facebook for leads on a company that would be interested in re-releasing V-Day and Good for the Goose, and possibly contracting the three subsequent holiday erotica tales that I had planned for that series.

Within hours, I had been put in touch with the lovely staff at Rebel Ink Press, an ebook company with which several authors I knew were now affiliated. Their offers and welcome were beyond enthusiastic, and I was overwhelming by their positive energy for my work. That they had even recognized my name was pretty thrilling itself!

As a result, I can now happily announce I have signed a five story deal with Rebel Ink Press. Even more exciting, the deal came with a firm offer for a paperback collection in 2012, which (I hope) will include a sixth, brand new, holiday erotic tale.

Along with Good for the Goose (Christmas) and V-Day (Valentine's Day), I hope to have Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving and New Years installments throughout 2011.

On Monday, I had just came out of my editing cave, and sent my new novel to my three wonderful betareaders, so the news about V-Day and Good for the Goose came as quite a shock. I am sagging with relief that Rebel came to my rescue so quickly and nicely. I feel renewed by this contract, and look forward to my planned releases through this small but strong company.

Thank you to everyone who helped me through this quagmire, and a great big cheers to my fellow authors at RIP and its staff. Here's to many sales and fine stories!

***

PS. I also got word this week that Unwrapping Scrooge gained a solid 4-heart review from Sizzling Hot Book Reviews. Also, today I was invited to join the RIP authors at a chat event at TRR on July 8, in the Erotica Lounge, so I hope you can all drop by and visit.

It's been a week of many ups and downs, but it's ending on a fine note. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Where Am I? Where Am I Going?

Run Down:

It's been a month of ups and downs in the Kindle business in the eight months since my first release last October, and recently my books have had some movement both up and down. I admit, I don't really understand the sales stats and such on Amazon, but these are the things that seem clear when I look at all of the sales and buzz info I have at hand:

• Unwrapping Scrooge had a strange off-season resurgence this month, including a boost in sales and some increased interest from reviewers. I plan on trying to make the most of that, to get a momentum going, and see if it can translate into a new marketing campaign for the book starting in October/November leading into the Christmas season.
• Waking Kara remains a consistent seller, especially through Amazon.com, even without any marketing or promotions behind it. This solid little number sells about 10 copies a month, on average, and has reached the 100 copies sold mark, according to my calculations. Now, I know that doesn't sound like much, but given the lack of promotion, that is not bad. Plan: Let's see if that can do a bit better.
• V-Day has recently made its first showing on the Kindle ranks stats, which is nice to see - I like this book, so I need to work on promoting it better. Due to other obligations at the time, I ignored it way too much when it was released - now the plan is to bring some attention to it, and get a review or two.
• Good for the Goose has seen some very moderate ups and downs, but remains fairly low. I have improved the sales profile of it by highlighting the reviews it got last December, in the hopes of reviving it for the Christmas season. Perhaps the idea for a "Christmas in July" blogging blitz might help a bit.
• Sadly, Strings Attached has failed to sell or to attract reviews. I continue to plod ahead, focusing on posting about it at ebook blogs and submitting it to reviewers. It has been out less than a month, so I have not yet given up on it.

Up till now, I have not spent a single dime on marketing or promo. Unfortunately, I am not really in a position to do so now. However, if some of my plans come through, it might be time to resort to paid promotional activities in the fall. I refuse to become a gambling junkie about it, dumping good money after bad into useless ads in the hopes of striking the jackpot. Nevertheless, a few well-placed ads and spotlights might be helpful, if placed strategically and designed well. We shall see.

~*~

Looking Ahead:

What is bugging me the most at the moment, however, is not my low sales, but the fact that I have no new releases planned in the foreseeable future. This is not good.

My next task is to complete the renovations of my 2010 NaNo project and find it a solid home, so it can see daylight. Then, of course, the marketing and promo will start all over again, and I hope it will have a solid landing strip already laid by my first five available works.

Along side that, I must keep chugging along on my new fiction project, which is proving to be a challenge but an exciting one - I will share details soonish, I promise. Today, I spent four hours writing on it, and I feel like a million bucks!

Constantly pushing finished product is not healthy. If I am not producing, I am merely a former writer, and not a writer in the present. Stats and sales are great - but nothing beats looking forward to a new release!

So, that is the state of the union at the moment.

More details as they come...

Checking In

Hi folks. Still busy, busy, busy, but with some luck I will have a trailer to show to you soon, as my new Valentine's Day story releases on the 11th! I have finished up the edits on that book, so expect an excerpt or two soon. Also, I have just begun my edits on the full length novel for May, so we should soon see some polished bits from that.

I am over at Lila Munro's blog today, talking about non-traditional leading men, if you want to stop by and say hi!

What's Up in Anne's World?

So, yes, these past four or five weeks, I admit the daily blog thing hasn't been happening. This term, I am teaching two courses, with a total of 160 students, so my time is tight - mixed with my actual writing, my son, my academic and freelance writing, several flus/colds, and general life stuff. Blogging seemed to be a low-maintenance victim to the need to sleep occasionally. I have some hope of things evening out now that a few projects have been beaten into submission, but there's always another project, right?

I very briefly considered getting out of blogging altogether - and, indeed, out of writing fiction for publication, since it (along with the required hours of promotion and networking) seemed to be a full time job in itself, which would make it my third full time gig.

However, I am still around. Actually, I have been fairly productive, just perhaps not in ways that are readily visible at the moment.

So, I would like to share with you some nice news - I have another release coming very soon; a Valentine's Day erotic-romance short, with heavy doses of comedy, called V-Day, which will be released by Wicked Nights on February 11! The cover looks pretty great (see above), and I have to give lots of kudos to the brave folks at Wicked for accepting a book that is... well... Non-traditional is one way to describe it. You'll see when you read it. It's not your common erotic-romance.

V-Day is told through the eyes of a lovesick young man, Daniel, who spends his life in pursuit of musical excellence, hemmed in by his nutty family, who could all use a bit of a break from each other. V-Day is the story of a Valentine's Day weekend he will never, ever forget, where he becomes decidedly un-Daniellike. And it all starts with an impromptu performance of one of my favourite pieces, Beethoven's Romance No 2 in F Major.

Even if I do say so myself, that scene is particularly sweet.

In other news, my novel, Strings Attached (Wild Horse Press) is still planned for release in May 2011, which is fast approaching, at long last - edits and such will continue, and I really hope you like it. Soon, I hope to have another full length ready to submit. And, with V-Day, I am continuing on my planned five story holiday themed series for Wicked, and am already formulating something really grand for St Patrick's Day.

I am also gearing up for some major website revamping over the next little while in anticipation of promoting my full length, so I will be sharing some news about that as the next month or so rolls along.

I also got a few good reviews recently, which really made my day, and I look forward to getting my work out there a bit more, and will really try to do some more guest blogging very soon. Unwrapping Scrooge (Decadent Publishing) got three cups from Coffee Time Romance, and reviewer Patrizia Murray at Manic Readers gave Good for the Goose 4.5 stars out of 5, calling the sexual buildup "mesmerizing" (which I think may be the nicest compliment my writing ever received). These were great boosts for me, and weighed positively in my decision to stay in the ring a bit longer.

As long as people are enjoying my writing, I am glad to keep doing it.

Anyway, so that is what's up around here. My son and I are starting to defeat the random colds and flus, and things are getting back on track. I am so grateful to all the authors who have visited the blog and kept it alive during my radio silence, and I hope you enjoyed meeting some writers, and continue to discover some new favourites through their posts on this blog.

I hope all is well out there, and please stay tuned for more from me as the weeks progress - including new excerpts, trailers and news!

Hugs and kisses,
Anne