Welcome! What a week. Got some snow here, so I’m not a happy camper. Damn groundhog.
So what do you think of the new background? I’m preparing for Valentine’s Day.
Favorite Song of the Week ~ DoZo (Guns For Hire), a song from by Puscifer. This is a remix of the song “Dozo” by Lustmord. I dig it.
Work in Progress News ~ I’m in the middle of writing a free read prequel to complement PreView. So a PreView Pre View. That should be a fun title to find. I’m doing this because my other free reads have been so well received! Check them out.
Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ This one makes me proud. “did adam and eve have navels bloom county” If you don’t remember Bloom County, then you’re not old like me. If you do, you might remember this particular strip, which is embedded in my wee little brain for all eternity:
What I’m reading ~ I re-read one of my favorites. This one was released back in early 2009, won a few awards, and re-released to its adoring public Perfect Strangers by Gem Sivad. Wow. If you haven’t read a Gem Sivad book, you’re missing out. She’s got a great knack for bringing the past to life. In all it’s gritty glory. These characters are very true to the time. One of my favorite books right here.
Howdy! It’s a wintery weekend here in Wyoming. I hope you’re all cozy and warm wherever you are. February is hot on my heels. I hope the groundhog sees his shadow. Or doesn’t see it. I always forget which.
Favorite Song of the Week ~ Ordinary Heroes by Howard Jones. A story about the hero inside all of us. This song is my inspiration for my current work in progress, about an injured K-9 cop.
Industry News ~ This is pretty interesting. A bit of a mind-boggle for you. According to this post on Ebook Newser,
“In a presentation at the Digital Book World conference in New York today, author/futurist David Houle shed some perspective on where the publishing industry is today, compared to its place in history. “There were more books published this week than there were in all of 1950.”
Wow.
Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ Pretty tame this week! Besides the usual fur-covered celebrity (I swear, I’m never going to live that post down). This week, it’s: “someone came but for a visit”. Well okay! I guess that’s you! Welcome!
What I’m reading ~ This week I read an alternate universe slash dystopian pseudo d/s book. Here’s part of the blurb: Trans-Global IT director Connor Witt is a rare and prized anomaly: the aggression centers in his brain have been suppressed rather than stimulated by the mutated crops that so recently took over the world’s food supply. Bewildered by his physical changes and terrified of a world growing more and more predatory, Connor risks harassment and worse until Trans-Global CEO David Martin collars Connor to protect him against men like security consultant Emmett Drake. Men who stalk Connor as sweet, sexy prey. Men to whom the newly submissive Connor feels irresistibly drawn. Really well written book, the characters grow and change, adapting to their new roles within the pages. I’m really liking Riptide Publishing’s stuff!
Hero Quote ~ Here’s a quote from Olivia’s next release from Dark Mountain Books. Company Ink will release 2/29/11. This sentence pretty much sums up the book:
“But when I’m this close to you…and I get drunk on your scent…I struggle to give a shit about my career.”
I guess that’s it for me. Everyone have a great weekend. Stay warm!
January is flying by. I guess that’s good, I can’t wait for warmer weather. I can’t complain too much though, this winter has been mild for the most part *knock on wood* Also, baseball season is coming up! I know you’re all as excited as I am about this. I’ve got a Swedish exchange student living at my house who has (get this) never seen a baseball game. Doesn’t that just hurt your heart? Don’t worry, I’m taking care of the situation.
Favorite Song of the Week ~ Etta James passed away early Friday morning. She will be missed. Here is the song that made her famous: At Last:
Work in Progress News ~ Still chugging away on Dean’s story. Book two in the Earth Scents series. I had a great name for my hero, but now I can’t use it. Lots of reasons why. I’m blogging at RomanceWritersBehavingBadly on Monday 1/23/12. You can help me out with my angst over there.
Industry News ~ Besides the big Apple announcement regarding a user friendly interface to upload ebooks to iTunes (which looks to be for textbooks, not fiction) the only news I have to share is that the big Print On Demand (POD) publisher Createspace (aka Amazon’s POD wing) did some tweaking on their end. This makes paperback books sold through them earn a lot more royalty! I celebrated by lowering the retail of all my paperback books some by almost three dollars! Plus, over at Dark Mountain Books, we’re offering a “buy the paperback, get the ebook free” promotion. It’s like buying a DVD and getting the digital format for your portable device!
Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ I’m sharing three this week. To this person: ”dowload tessa pride on to your nook for free”, I wish you wouldn’t (subtext implied) And ‘download’ has an N in it. To this person: “earth scents 2 brynn” I’m working on it! See above. To the two people who found my site by searching for “fun contemporary romance authors”, I love you.
What I’m reading ~ I read a very good one this week. And again, it’s book two of a series, and I didn’t realize it until halfway through this one. It’s okay, it stands alone just fine. This is an older man younger man romance, and K.A. Mitchell is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Here’s a snippet that I just have to share. I don’t even need to set this up:
“C’mon. I’ll take you downtown for some pie.”
“How heteronormative”
“I can’t have pie on Thanksgiving because straight people do?
“Fine. Have pie. I want crepes.”
Anyone who can give her characters personality through four sentences is my kind of author. I’m off to read book one now…
Hero Quote ~ From the unnamed hero in the unnamed work in progress mentioned above:
”I’m not pouting about being single. I like being single. I just don’t want to see your lovey dovey crap. You’re my little sister for Christ’s sake.”
Okay boys and girls. I’m off to do wild author things (Twitter) so you all play nice. Have a great weekend!
Welcome! Halfway through January already! So far I’ve had a mild winter, weather-wise. I hope that translates to an early spring and a nice warm summer. Well, I can hope.
This picture was taken yesterday by author Gem Sivad from her back yard. I love birds of prey, they’re so majestic!
Favorite Song of the Week ~ Just try to watch this without smiling. Yeah I know, I’ve regressed in age here, but seriously. Fun song:
Work in Progress News ~ Can you believe I started two new wips this past week? Crazy. But I finally started Dean’s story, book two in the Earth Scents series. I’ve been meaning to write this one for years. It feels good to get some words down.
Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ Well, this doesn’t sound good, but okay: “his tongue was suddenly in my mouth “nasty” kiss”
What I’m reading ~ I read a few short stories this week, as well as re-reading some old faves. I think I might spend as much time reading as I do writing. That’s okay, right? So I reread Trina M Lee’s Once Bitten this week. If there’s ever anything that will help me clear my mind of all things contemporary romance, this will do it. Although this isn’t a romance, there are some very sexy scenes, and some extremely alpha male scenes:
Alexa O’Brien has never been like other people. A deadly assassin, she is a werewolf with extraordinary power. Power that fiercely draws her to Arys, a mysterious vampire who awakens her dark side. What they create together is dangerous and binding, forcing her to question the source of her abilities. She risks losing her remaining humanity as well as the one man she dares to love.
When Alexa’s womanizing former lover and pack Alpha is framed for murder, he turns to her for help. She would like nothing more than to watch karma at work but as the body count rises, long buried secrets are exposed. Alexa is forced to face the painful truth that not everyone is who she thinks they are. Not even her.
This is book one of an ongoing series. Not for the Twilight fan, I’ll tell you that.
Hero Quote ~ From Olivia’s book Last Call, coming March 27th:
“Now, I don’t know what your ex said to make you feel inadequate as a sexual being, but let me tell you something. You sure as hell know how to turn me on. You’re definitely a sexual being.”
All right, that’s all I’ve got for you this week. Thanks for stopping by!
What? The last day of 2011? It has been a good year to me. I’ve got three releases lined up for 2012, and plenty of wips to keep me busy.
Favorite Song of the Week ~ One Day, by Matisyahu, featuring Akon. This song was played at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics:
Work in Progress News ~ I came up with a brilliant plot idea. Unfortunately I can’t start writing it until I finish Wyoming Solace. I’ve really slacked over the holidays, and since the kids are out of school and it *is* a holiday, I’ve rationalized my laziness. I’m now about 3/4 done with it though, and I hope to finish by next Saturday’s status. Next on the list, a free read complementing Retreat. It will act as a prequel, maybe 10K or so, nothing big, but just a little taste of the book.
Industry News ~ Sorry. Again, I have no interesting news. I’m sure there’s some out there…
Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ 99% of the terms this week were pretty normal. This one stuck out: “i asked him to come on my face erotic blog”. I refuse to even find out where that took them on Olivia’s site. Now that I’ve posted that sentence, I’m probably asking for more of the same.
What I’m reading ~ Okay, so Santa brought me a Kindle. In fact, before he wrapped it and put it under my tree, he got on my computer and loaded my TBR pile onto it. He’s so thoughtful! So yeah, while I’ve been slacking in the WiP area, I’ve more than made up for it in the TBR area. I read a few Christmas shorts, nothing that thrilled me too awful much. I think my favorite of the last two weeks was Wanting, by Piper Vaughn. This is a freebie over at All Romance Ebooks, but I’d forgotten that when I started reading it. It’s very well written, and I enjoyed the premise. Kind of a May/December best friend’s little brother forbidden thing. Lots of little conflicts, and satisfying emotional scenes.
Hero Quote ~ From Cody, the hero in Wyoming Solace.
“I won’t hurt you, Elise. I promise. You’re in charge here. I’ll follow your lead.”
Okay, that’s it for me. Let’s hope that by next weekend I’ll be able to say that I’m finished with the rewrite. Everyone have a great New Year’s Day!
Happy Saturday! Busy weekend for me, along with working extra hours at the Evil Empire, the grade-schooler has some functions that should keep me out of all kinds of trouble. Not that I’m leaving my house to enter the deep freeze for anything except the most important things.
Favorite Song of the Week ~ I’m moving this feature to the top, so you can listen to the song as you continue reading the post. I just heard this today, thanks to Rhapsody’s Holiday Playlist. The First Noel by Toby Mac featuring Owl City There isn’t a video, so I didn’t even bother posting the visual. Have a listen! What do you think?
Work in Progress News ~ Currently about 2/3 through Wyoming Solace. I’m changing a few things, but I doubt anyone would notice except me. There’s a plot thread I snipped, so now I’m darning the weave back together. I’m also adding dialogue and some UST in the first few chapters. Let’s hope it all turns out. As an author it’s very hard to open a three year old file and re-work it to incorporate everything I learned since the book was first written. I’m trying my best to keep the story the same, just cutting some of the extra cheese.
Backlist News ~ Over at Dark Mountain Books, I finally put my indie books up at BookStrand and Google. I’m not sure how many readers I’ll find there, but this also puts the books into the Googlebooks database. Trina and I are also making plans for Holiday promotions, so stay tuned! Also, Olivia received the final versions of Last Call in her inbox yesterday. They’re all wrapped and ready for March!
Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ This week someone found my site by searching for “coca liar”. Liar is such a hateful label. It’s fiction, boys and girls.
What I’m reading ~ This week I’ve been so busy working on Wyoming Solace, I didn’t get a chance to read anything new. I hope I finish this rewrite so I can reward myself with some of my Cyber Monday purchases!
Hero Quote ~ Direct from Josh the cowboy hero in Olivia’s contemporary western Tessa’s Pride
“I’ve pulled the memory of that afternoon out more times than I can count. I’ll never forget the way you looked with your Stetson tilted over your brow. Your bare legs, so smooth…and your mouth… God, your mouth.”
Okay folks, get back to your holiday shopping! I’m right behind you.
I hope all my fellow Americans had a great Thanksgiving! I spent mine making a bunch of noise surrounded by my huge family. The best part is…I still have a whole pie in the fridge! Good times.
Work in Progress News ~ This week I’ve been going over my very first book, Wyoming Solace. I want to rework a few scenes before Linda, my editor over at Samhain gets a hold of it. There’s an entire plot thread I decided to remove. It might shorten the book some, but I think it will be a better story in the end. I’m only about 1/3 of the way through. I hope this doesn’t take me too long, because I’ve got new stories begging to be written!
Industry News ~ One of the scariest things to pop up in a long time, SOPA–the Stop Online Piracy Act–an anti-infringement bill that’s working it’s way through the U.S. House, while its companion bill PIPA–Protect Intellectual Property Act is in the hands of the Senate. Opposition has gone viral, with over a million emails hitting Congress. SOPA would give content owners the ability to shut down access to “rogue” sites, force Web registries to block entire domains, and force banks and credit card companies to stop doing business with sites accused of supporting or inducing infringement, with just a court order. This would mean no more picture sharing across the web, it could affect book excerpts on author sites…it could get really ugly. Even Wikipedia would be in danger, and I don’t know about you, but I LOVE my Wiki.
Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ I found it a little interesting that people found my site by searching for “silky red teddy” and another group of folks found Olivia by Googling “red satin background”. Coincidence? Yeah probably.
What I’m reading ~ I read two short books last week, one is Revealed by Lissa Matthews. It’s book three of a trilogy, but I didn’t realize that when I purchased it. Luckily the book stands on its own, I just missed a bunch of the sexual tension and first meeting of these two. I might just go back and read the other two now. And yes, one does wear a kilt. This is the halting/awkward beginnings of a D/s relationship between these two guys. I enjoyed reading their discomfort. I also read a quickie by Vivien Dean called Tis the Season. This one felt more like the beginning of a trilogy, as it left me begging for more. Two divorced dads meet after a school function for their kids. I really liked these two characters, and would love to read more about them –hint hint, Vivien.
Hero Quote ~ This is actually internal thought from Cody, the hero in Wyoming Solace:
You did it. You let her go. Congratulations. Now get your ass back on your horse and get the hell out of here.
Favorite Song of the Week ~ Okay, it’s the time of year where I break out the Christmas music! So you’ll see my faves here for the next six weeks or so. This one is great, it’s by Straight No Chaser, a twelve man acappella group. They have such fun with this song.
Wait, Thanksgiving week? For reals? I do love Thanksgiving. Food and I have a love/love relationship, so any day dedicated to stuffing myself silly is pretty much my favorite. Welcome back, I’m asking for reader help this week on a little side project. I’ll do my begging at the end though.
Work in Progress News ~ I just (literally, just three minutes ago as of posting this) wrote The End on Olivia’s short contemporary. It not only has a title, but it’s got an awesome cover. What do you think? Booknibbles does great work. I’m looking at a few publishers for this guy. For more info, and to read chapter one, visit Olivia’s Website. Next up–reworking Wyoming Solace for republication.
Upcoming Release News ~ Olivia’s Last Call got its new cover! Isn’t it pretty? Booknibbles tweaked the font a bit to show how HOT the book is! This book is coming out in March. I just received the ARC, and it’s beautiful. Samhain does lovely work.
Industry News ~ Kindle just announced their delayed gifting program. Now I can buy a Kindle book as a gift, and tell Amazon when to deliver it. This is great for Christmas presents! On that note, if there’s anyone out there who’d like to give one of my books as a Kindle gift, I’ve got cover flats I can sign and send to the recipient so they have something under the tree. Just drop me a line!
Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ How about “touch sexy in bus”? Makes you think of Alanna Coca, right?
What I’m reading ~ Usually before bed I like to read a bit. Often I pick books I’ve already read so I don’t stay up all night long reading something really good. Well, dumb me, I picked up Josh Lanyon’s The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks. I admit, when I first read the title, I pictured Tom Hanks and his one red shoe, that’s how old I am. Anyway, this is a great mystery, complete with a haunted house, seances, and a great cast of characters. Then the love story, which is a great tale of opposites attract. A very good read, but not when you think you can just read “a chapter or two and then go to bed at a decent hour”. That won’t happen.
Hero Quote ~ From Last Call, Olivia’s newly covered re-release:
“Look at me. You’re beautiful. Sexy. Funny. Smart.” He licked her lips. “And you feel damn good around me. If there’s a man out there who can’t appreciate you for all that I can already see, then he’s a fool that you’re better off without.”
Favorite Song of the Week ~ Nina Doesn’t Care. By Susan Egan, Disney’s Broadway Belle. Have a baby, it’s an ego-check.
Thanks for stopping by! Now for my favor…I’m doing a little something special for the Romance Times conference next year. Without giving the whole thing away, let me just say I have some cover photos, and I need some titles. Now, if they’re really good titles, I might actually write the book, but as it is, I just need the cover and title. I’ve got them posted on Google Plus and Facebook. If you could hop over to one of those sites and give me your opinions, you might win a backlist book! Thanks in advance. Have a great week!
Welcome! It’s a beautiful weekend here on top of this mountain. Well, as beautiful as it gets in November. I’m not complaining, there’s no white stuff.
Work in Progress News ~ Folks, I’ve been on a roll! I’m well over 13K in this book that I meant to be only 15K complete. There’s a “dead zone” between 15K and 17K as far as publishers go. Some don’t even accept books in that range, so I’ll have to tread lightly here. I skipped one sex scene, and I’m wrapping up the HEA right now, so we’ll see where it ends up. I’d love to write “the end” on this guy this weekend, but I’m scheduled to work at the Evil Empire, so it might not happen. Soon, though!
Industry News ~ It looks like Japan’s biggest internet retailer purchased the Kobo. Since Rakuten already owns its own ereader, the Panasonic Raboo, this acquisition should make Rakuten one of the biggest players in the ebook industry. They’re also opening up the Kobo to accept self-publishers like Amazon’s KDP program. Great news!
Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ Someone found my site by searching for “alanna kookblog”. Should I be offended? Naw…kook is good, right?
What I’m reading ~ Haven’t had much time to read, so I picked up one of my old favorites. Sometimes that’s just what I need to destress. It’s like putting on my favorite fuzzy slippers. Sweet Anger by Sandra Brown, originally published in 1999 under one of her pen names. This is just a classic romance. The hero falls for her first, and takes his time winning her *swoon*. The tension between these two is palpable. They really are at odds most of the book. My first copy of the book had the cover to the right. I’d read it so much I had to tape the spine together. Recently on Twitter, I won (yes! Really!) a new copy of Sweet Anger from Sandra, and I got her autograph! I’m such a fangirl.
Hero Quote ~ From the WiP I’m about to finish. Still untitled, labeled as Grant:
“Last chance. I’m about to kiss you. This’ll change everything.”
Favorite Song of the Week ~ An oldie, but one that still touches me. This one by Selena, released mere months after the singer’s murder.
Welcome! I’m having a real hard time with putting November in that title. I swear we just had Valentine’s Day! This year is passing so quickly! Sorry I missed last week’s update, but I was in the middle of a blog hop with a ton of other authors, so I put the status on hiatus. Now I’ve got two weeks’ worth of news to share. Kinda. Check out that wood pile. I’d be afraid to use any of that wood and ruin the work of art!
Work in Progress News ~ I did it again. I started a new book before finishing the one I was working on (or the other eight in the IP file) I wrote over 2K the first day I started it, so it felt good to get some words in. This one is filed as Grant, and it will be a short story by Olivia involving a boss and his employee. I like to have shorts in the IP file, so if I finish this one first, I’ll have to come up with another plot to keep my balance.
Backlist News ~ Retreat got a very nice five star review this week over at Manic Readers. Alberta says “I loved this tender and very poignant love story, Retreat that has loads of conflicts, differing goals that must somehow mesh if they are ever to find happiness together. I loved Jake as a modern day hero who would do anything to get Andria back in his arms. Five Stars.” Retreat is one of the books I wrote at the same time as two (maybe three?) others, and so often I forget that I even had anything to do with it. It’s like my shy quiet child being raised amongst wild monsters.
Industry News ~ Amazon announced its Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, which is a service for Prime members only, and not every publisher is on board with this, but think of Amazon as a digital library. Where you can only check out one book per month. And you have to be a club member to get in. But no late fees! I think it’s a great idea, and I hope my books are in the KOLL for the elite Amazonians out there. (Looking into this) Barnes and Noble made their own announcement. It seems that with the mid-month release of the Nook tablet (rumored to be $249) , the Nook color model will drop in price to $199. That’s good news for the nookies out there!
Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ This week Olivia got this one: “dot to dot pictures erotic”. I spent about five minutes staring at that search term, wondering what the person was actually looking to find. Then I started wondering if there were any out there. Then I got a piece of paper to make my own. Then I thought about my kid finding it and actually doing the dot to dot. Then I shook my head.
What I’m reading ~ I read Cat Grant’s Once a Marine this week. This comes from the brand new digital first publisher Riptide Publishing. After reading this, and now that they’ve opened submissions, I might just see what I can do to write something worthy. Once a Marine is a lovely story about a Marine discharged under DADT. This book is written in first and third person, that is to say the first person point of view for Marc, one hero, and the chapters in the other hero Cole’s point of view are written in third. You’d think this would be confusing, but it isn’t, it was very smooth. Once a Marine is getting rave reviews, and is a bestseller at Amazon. Cat sure did a great job making Riptide look awesome for their launch.
Hero Quote ~ From my newest WiP mentioned above.
“I notice the way your heart beats like a rabbit’s every time you come into my office. I notice how your pupils dilate when I get close to you. On the very best days I notice other things.”
Favorite Song of the Week ~ Jackson Foote and crew covered Lil Jon’s Get Low <–might want to watch this first to get the full effect. I can’t get enough of this one. Both versions NSFW!
That’s it for me, folks. I’m working all weekend at the Evil Empire, where they’ve already started piping in Christmas Music. I guess we don’t need a November anyway.
What I’m reading ~ I re-read one of my favorites. This one was released back in early 2009, won a few awards, and re-released to its adoring public Perfect Strangers by Gem Sivad. Wow. If you haven’t read a Gem Sivad book, you’re missing out. She’s got a great knack for bringing the past to life. In all it’s gritty glory. These characters are very true to the time. One of my favorite books right here.
Happy Saturday! Busy weekend for me, along with working extra hours at the Evil Empire, the grade-schooler has some functions that should keep me out of all kinds of trouble. Not that I’m leaving my house to enter the deep freeze for anything except the most important things.
Hero Quote ~ 
I hope all my fellow Americans had a great Thanksgiving! I spent mine making a bunch of noise surrounded by my huge family. The best part is…I still have a whole pie in the fridge! Good times.
Welcome! It’s a beautiful weekend here on top of this mountain. Well, as beautiful as it gets in November. I’m not complaining, there’s no white stuff.
Welcome! I’m having a real hard time with putting November in that title. I swear we just had Valentine’s Day! This year is passing so quickly! Sorry I missed last week’s update, but I was in the middle of a blog hop with a ton of other authors, so I put the status on hiatus. Now I’ve got two weeks’ worth of news to share. Kinda. Check out that wood pile. I’d be afraid to use any of that wood and ruin the work of art!
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