Friday, February 14, 2014

Reading Round Up


Erin - Just read Double Down on a rec from Kelly Jamieson... She was reading it while we were in Nashville and shared some good parts out loud and I had to get it :)  http://www.amazon.com/Double-Down-Vegas-Top-Guns-ebook/dp/B007HQZ1HC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392136548&sr=1-1&keywords=double+down%2C+katie+porter


Kate - Loved Bollywood and the Beast by Suleikha Snyder. Currently reading High Seduction by Vivian Arend. Yum! http://store.samhainpublishing.com/bollywood-beast-p-73228.html

Kelly -  I'm reading Bound by Lorelei James...hot hero! Weirdly, it is reminding me of my next release Sweet Obsession... O_o http://www.amazon.com/Bound-Mastered-Lorelei-James-ebook/dp/B00E8OLJJA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392158407&sr=8-1&keywords=bound+lorelei+james

Kinsey - Raw - Mark Haskell Smith - talented writer ghost writes a novel "by" a hugely popular reality TV star and feels like he's selling his soul while a snooty book blogger/frustrated writer is going crazy at how trashy the culture is (she's got a 900 page manuscript but there's just nowhere to cut it - turned down by dozens of agents and when one of them tell her the ms. is "commercially impossible" she takes it as a compliment.)

Smith writes absurd romps kind of like Carl Hiaasen. All his books have one word food/taste titles - Baked, Delicious, Moist, Salty, now Raw. Just hilarious and fun.

Meg - I just read Grace Burrowes Lady Jenny's Christmas Portrait, which worked really well last weekend since the characters and I were both flumping through the snow. http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Jennys-Christmas-Portrait-Windham-ebook/dp/B00D2XA156/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392141034&sr=1-13&keywords=grace+burrowes

PG -  Just finished the first two books in KJ Charles' "A Charm of Magpies" series,(m/m fantasy set in Victorian England) REALLY good. Reminded me a little of Lyn Viehl's Disenchanted & Co--a recommendation from Kinsey Holley that I also enjoyed. http://www.amazon.com/The-Magpie-Lord-Charm-Magpies-ebook/dp/B00C6ZTNAU

Skylar - Read quite a few duds lately...but I got my hands on the new Kit Rocha novella"Beyond Temptation" in the MARKED anthology. http://kitrocha.com/book/beyond-temptation/

Sydney - Recently I read Finding Cinderella and Slammed by Colleen Hoover. Finding Cinderella is actually free in eBook and was a really funny and enjoyable read. Definitely worth checking out! http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Cinderella-Novella-Colleen-Hoover-ebook/dp/B00FNWRSCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392381646&sr=8-1&keywords=finding+cinderella

What about you guys? What have you been reading lately?

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Thursday Quiz: Which ZVCSWB character are you?

Maybe you're strong and manly like Rock Fangsworthy, or you go all "ooooh, shiny" over every rich man you meet. Figure out which character from the Zillionaire Vampire Cowboy's Secret Werewolf Babies you're most like!

Take the quiz here: http://snack.to/qhnavfs9



Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Baby, You Can Drive My Car

As I write this, it's 9:50 pm and I'm sitting in a creaky, threadbare recliner in the lobby of an old storefront. Two of the three kids are with me - Midkid is watching Doctor Who on a smart phone, while GPS reads Catching Fire. FutureStar is deep in saxophone lesson territory in the room down the hall.

Earlier tonight, I drove FutureStar to pep band, then picked up the other two and delivered them to their music teachers, followed by another trip to the high school to get FutureStar AGAIN, driving from pep band to lessons.

Meanwhile, one of FutureStar's classmates came out of his lesson, walked to his car, and drove home.

I had two reactions - sadness that I didn't get to chat with his mom during lessons, and overwhelming jealousy. Because she didn't have to sit in the recliners of dubious origin waiting for her kid to be done.

And it's not just lessons. Zero hour jazz band. Running to the store. Sports practice. School group projects. So many activities to chauffeur, so little time. 

So while I was a bit wistful when FutureStar started driver's ed a few months ago, I'm now counting down the months until that license is a reality.

Because this time next year, when the kids have music lessons, I can hand over the car keys and say, "drive safely, honey."

And some other parents can take over the slightly scary recliners.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Guest Blogger Nancy Corrigan - Beautiful Mistake

Beautiful Mistake
Book 2, Royal Pride

Lena will do anything to protect the shifter child her family takes in, even turn herself into bait. Although she knows better than to fall for a shifter, Devin, the man who captures her, is unlike any she’s ever tangled with. Their desire is unquenchable and the draw to him is undeniable, but their relationship is riddled with mistakes and loving him has the potential to destroy her.

After shouldering his twin’s torture, Devin hovers on the verge of insanity. His life revolves around his family and recovering kidnapped shifter children. He never thought he’d have a mate or kids of his own until a rescue mission turns deadly. The beautiful female caught in the crosshairs stirs his mating instincts and tames his wild nature. Only her confusion over their intense attraction stops him from finishing their bond, but Devin’s persistent. He’ll convince his stubborn female that he’s the man she’s been waiting for—one passionate encounter at a time.

A Romantica® Paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Love letter from Devin to Lena

Dear Lena,

I wanted write you this letter because I have a hard time expressing my feelings. Yeah, I get that I don’t need to. With your soul bonded to mine, you know how I feel about you, but I’ve been told human females like these. So…here’s mine to you.

I don’t deserve you, Lena. I know what I am—a broken male who isn’t worthy of heaven. When I took Mira’s punishment and emerged from the shifter prison with a splintered mind, I thought I’d given up the chance for a family. It hurt knowing I’d be alone forever, but I accepted my fate because I knew I’d saved Mira from suffering. Three hundred years I existed, not lived. I went through the motions of living. I dallied with women. I laughed and joked with my pride members. I protected my loved ones. But not once in all those years did I know what true happiness was, not until I looked into your chocolate, angel eyes.

You’re my sanity, sweetheart. You’ve gathered the shards of my shattered mind and built them up around you. Your mere presence gives me peace. But your love? That, baby, has given me heaven. You are the center of my world. Everything I do from now until the world ends will start and end with you in mind.

I know I’m not the easiest male to live with. I’m possessive and obstinate. It’s my nature and something I can’t change, but you own me, Lena. Your scent, your touch, and your voice have tamed me. I’m as much yours to command as you are mine. We’re two halves of a whole and neither of us will ever be complete with the happiness of the other.

So we have eternity now to love each other and I promise you I’ll send every moment of it worshipping you. That, my angel, is my promise to you. I love you and thank you for making me into the male I was always meant to be.

Devin

About Me

I've always been an avid reader and encourage everyone to escape the hectic daily grind with a few minutes a day in your favorite book.

I'm lucky enough to share my cat's home with my three wonderful children, husband, dog and snake. When not writing, I work as a chemist in a pharmaceutical lab.

My passions beyond reading and family include music, classic cars, tattoos and animals (all of which have found their way into my writing in one form or another).

So that's a little bit about me...

Nancy

Monday, February 10, 2014

You Really Got Me







I’m on a blog tour this week talking about my latest release You Really Got Me. If you’d like to know more about the setting (California wine country), making wine, the “guilty pleasures” in the book, why the first scene of the book is my favourite and how it had to be rewritten (with a sample from the cut version), I hope you’ll stop by and check out some of my posts.

So I’m a little blogged out about this book right now, but one thing I did want to repeat is that if you found me through my book Rule of Three, or through my hockey books, you’ll find this one quite different. It’s about a BDSM relationship, where trust is so crucial between Dom and sub. Kendall and Jason's developing relationship gets twisted up in a murder investigation and the fragile trust growing between them is challenged. 

One thing I didn’t mention in any of the other posts is the music in the book. I don’t always listen to music when I write, as I find lyrics sometimes distracting from the words I’m trying to type. But there are times I listen to music to set the tone for a scene. For example, that opening scene in the book…the songs that are mentioned in it are songs I was listening to as I wrote it. They’re very evocative — as Kendall says, they make you feel things. :-)

Because Kendall loves sixties music, I listened to that too, sometimes. So many great songs are mentioned in the book. I created a playlist at Grooveshark to make it easier for me to listen to them. Here’s the link, you may enjoy listening to the music as you read.



Blog Tour – You Really Got Me by Kelly Jamieson

 

http://www.authorsangels.com/2014/01/30/blog-tour-you-really-got-me-by-kelly-jamieson/

 


Check out the YOU REALLY GOT ME Blog Tour – Kelly is giving away a grand prize –  Bondage in a Box from Babeland

2/10/2014 Confessions of 2 Book Lovers  Redheads Review it Better What’s On the Bookshelf 

2/11/2014 Read More Romance Tattooed Book Review Kinky Book Reviews 

2/12/2014 Cocktails and Books Readers Confession deal sharing aunt 

2/13/2014 The Book Enthusiast  The Pleasure of Reading Today Smut Book Club 

2/14/2014
Dirty Girl Romance
All Is Read with LexyPat
Nina’s Literary Escape 
Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews





Friday, February 7, 2014

Some of My Favorite Things...

Now Comes the Night, the third book in my Children of Night series released this week in print. This has had me thinking about some of the reasons I love writing this series (yes, even during weeks like this when it's making me tear my hair out!).

So here they are, in no particular order...

1. Vampire single dads. Some of my very favorite scenes EVER to write have been those that featured Conrad and Damian struggling with parenthood. I don't know why that is, exactly. Perhaps it's because they're two deadly vampires, not to mention two hot and sexy, stubborn alpha males. Perhaps it's because NOTHING that's ever worked for them up until now works at all in this scenario. Perhaps it's because the twins have them wrapped around their tiny little fingers right from the start. Perhaps it's because, after one hundred and thirteen years of stubbornly not speaking to each other, they are finally forced to remember how to work as a team. And they do. And I love them for it.

2. Time travel...well, sort of. I love that this series lets me go back in time. Yes, the 'travel' consists of writing scenes from my characters' pasts. I'm not actually going anywhere but into their memories...and those memories are totally made up! But, for several of the books--one, three and four, so far--the years I'm re-visiting are years I actually lived through. Playing the music that I might have listened to then, recalling the mindset, the morals, the fashions, the socio-political mood of the times, it's been like a mini-vacation. I haven't always wanted to come back. (except, hello? internet!)

3. Holidays. I love writing books and scenes that are set around holidays. I have no idea why that's such a powerful draw, but almost ALL my books have some holiday reference somewhere--a fact I really hadn't thought about until I started writing this post. As a matter of fact, now that I think of it, quite a few of them have more than one holiday. Since my vampires have been around for awhile, it's not surprising that most of the Children of Night books have multiple holidays too. For Now Comes the Night and Ashes of the Day (which started out life as one book and then got split in two when it grew too long) there are many, many MANY New Year's Eve celebrations. Together, the two books span forty-something years of New Year's Eves...although, thankfully, I don't detail ALL of them.

4. Cookies. I honestly don't know how it started, but my vampires love to bake. Well, to be accurate, Damian loves to bake. Julie might like it too, for all I know. And Armand is occasionally talked into it. So far, the rest are pretty neutral about the whole subject. But, again, watching these hot, sexy, usually completely in charge tough guys fall apart in the kitchen...well, lets just say that writing scenes like that just about makes my day.

5. World building. There's always a certain amount of world building that goes on in most books. This is especially true for those that are not straight-up contemporary stories. It's been a lot of fun creating my own particular vampire rules--deciding what they can and can't do. After awhile, it becomes so real to me that when I read someone else's vampires I sometimes forget that they don't have to follow the same rules as mine do. Even better, of course, is when readers accept my world-building so completely that they start to question other authors' rules if they differ from mine. Bwahahahaha! I do try to keep the power from going to my head, but it's not always easy.


Home is where the heart bleeds.

Children of Night, Book 3

Growing up, vampire-born twins Julie and Marc Fischer were taught one simple fact of life: you can choose your food, but not your family. Six months after moving to San Francisco, though, the new challenges and choices each are facing are a Gordian knot of complicated.

Marc must decide whether to stay with Conrad and Damian, the only family he’s ever known, or embrace his destiny and the unexpected family—the ferals—that comes along with it. Meanwhile, Julie is forced to deal with the unpleasant realization that the man she loves isn’t necessarily the man who’s best for her.

For Conrad and Damian, the holiday season is stirring up bittersweet memories, and neither can keep from revisiting past passion and pain. 

Faced with new mysteries to solve, new alliances to forge, new secrets to keep, and old relationships to rebuild, it’s no wonder the Fischer-Quintano vampires long for the good old days—when food was food and family was all that mattered. 

Product Warnings
If you’ve previously suffered from Disco Fever, this book could precipitate a relapse. Extreme care is recommended for anyone with a pronounced weakness for mistletoe, fang play, pretty young men of either species or extremely dangerous alpha-male vampire single dads. May contain trace amounts of polyester. 

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Which Disney Villain are You? The 9NN reveal all...

CAVEAT: There may have been wine involved in this plan...

To jazz up our Thursdays, we're going to be sharing the results of some personality quizzes. Why, you may ask? Well, first, because we want our readers to really get to know us--and what better way than to share which Disney villain you're most like? Second, because we want to get to know our readers. So take the quiz yourself and share your results on the blog or social media. Third? Reasons. Reasons involving Skylar drinking wine and having too much fun, and the Nine Naughty Novelists thinking this sounds like a graaaaaand idea.

This week we're revealing (drumroll please....) our Disney Villain personas!

Skylar: I'm Gaston! I'll try not to take it personally.
Erin: hahaha! I'm Maleficent! Nuh, uh!!
Skylar: my biceps are bigger than yours!
Erin: bahaha! But I have horns... or a hat with horns anyway!
Skylar: Oh Erin...I can't help myself. Does that make you...horn-y?
Erin: I would have been disappointed if you let that one go!
PG: I'm Ursula, which is so perfect (hello? Pisces!) it's scary.
Kinsey: Oh my gawd - I'm Ursula. I can actually kinda see that...
Kate: Cruella De Vil. Which, other than the furs thing, I'm okay with that.
Sydney: I'm the Evil Queen. I know Erin must be crazy jealous of my crown
Meg: Queen of Hearts. Well, I've got a crown.
Kelly: Maleficent! "I have no time for stupidity"...so true.

Don't forget to take the quiz yourself!