Friday, May 31, 2013

J. Annas Walker Blog Tour, Scion's Avalon

Welcome again to J. Annas Walker who's here to give us a peek at her new release, Scion's Avalon! Read on to get a peek through her excerpt and make sure you enter the contest for a chance to win a $15 Gift Card and some awesome swag.



Scion’s Avalon
Genre: Paranormal Erotic Romance
Flame rating: Sorching
Released: 5/23/2013
Publisher: Siren BookStrand
Tour long Giveaway: $15 GC and swag pack

Videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=affjqh2nPvY

Bio:

Born and raised among the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, J. Annas Walker was brought listening to oral history and traditional storytelling. Her hobby of writing short stories bloomed out of this tradition. With the encouragement of her sisters, husband, an aunt, and a very supportive cousin, she took a chance to turn her hobby into something larger.

After acquiring a bachelors of science in civil engineering technology, she worked for a number of years as a transportation designer. Designing road construction projects by day, she continued writing by night. Today, she writes more than she ever did and blends fantasy and paranormal into romance storylines. The fanged, spectral, magical, and furry have become everyday life.

J. Annas Walker lives with her husband, two teenage sons, and her cat/office assistant.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/J-Annas-Walker/374381472619499
https://twitter.com/jannaswalker
http://www.goodreads.com/J_Annas_Walker
http://www.amazon.com/J.-Annas-Walker/e/B009G2FJNQ
http://www.manicreaders.com/JAnnasWalker/
http://www.vampirebookrealm.com/j-annas-walker.html


BLURB:

Three years have passed since vampire princess Cassy Daniels, Scion of the House of Dracul, gave up her title to turn and marry David Ashe. Together, they live in exile with the Council of Crones, a group of elder witches. Isolated from the world, they found bliss. However, vampire politics soon intrudes.

Born vampire women are being kidnapped, and Cassy’s next on the list. After a failed attempt to take Cassy from the Council of Crones’ estate, magical portals lead back to the missing women. Cassy and David are tasked with bringing them home. David is sent after Elisabeta, Cassy’s sister-in-law, who is still on Earth. Cassy, however, has what it takes to enter the elf-kingdom of Avalon and retrieve the other three vampires.

Can Cassy and David hold onto their bliss or will Avalon’s magic lure her from home?

Buy Link: http://www.bookstrand.com/scions-avalon


EXCERPT -PG13

David shifted to place Cassy behind him. The prince gave a smirk at the obvious movement. Lady Helena laid her hand on David’s shoulder as if to restrain him. He relaxed but still blocked Cassy from the prince’s immediate grasp.

Cawing from the window ledge drew everyone’s attention to the crow. It spread its wings and gave another loud caw, leaning forward in a clumsy bow. It waited until Lady Ursula held her arm and beckoned it to her. Flapping feathers swooshed over Cassy and David’s head.

The bird landed with more grace than its bow. It leaned its head as close to the elder witch’s face is it could and still remain on her arm. A series of clicks and soft caws added to a set of guttural noises as the bird communicated.

The witch nodded and pulled a treat from her pocket. “Thank you, Obsidian. That was most informative.” She gave the crow its reward and held her arm up higher. It flapped several times before launching itself into the air. It took laps around the tall ceiling and headed back out the window.

“It seems, Prince Vlad, we have a common problem. One of our Mothers has been reported missing in New Atlanta, but we have a magical trace,” Lady Ursula said.

“And vould you be so kind as to tell me vhere the trace led?” Vlad requested.

“To Avalon,” she replied.



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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Muffi Beyer Scavenger Hunt




I'm so happy to welcome Muffi Beyer for a stop on her Exile Scavenger Hunt! In case you haven't heard, I really LOVE this book, as you can see from my cover quote below *grin*. So, here's how this works...I'll start you out with the Super Duper Important Scavenger Hunt Instructions, along with the clue and the list of stops on the tour. The grand prize giveaway for this tour is a $20 Amazon or B&N gift card. Read on to find out more about Muffi and her amazing book!

Super Duper Important- Scavenger Hunt Instructions:

There are 15 (fifteen) stops for this Scavenger Hunt. Each stop contains a picture/button with a letter on it. All 15 letters form a message or phrase that is associated with the book. The letters are scattered randomly to the hosts. You will need to collect all 15, unscramble them, and then enter the decoded message in the Rafflecopter for the ‘extra entries’. Good luck!

Bio: 

Muffi Beyer grew up on the beaches of Malibu and has spent her career writing for Hollywood. Her credits include Days of Our Lives, Santa Barbara, Nash Bridges, Doc, Sue Thomas FBeye, and My Friends Tiger and Pooh. She has also produced several reality shows including The Real World, Road Rules, and Project Runway Allstars. She currently spends her days writing her next paranormal trilogy, hanging with her kids and husband, walking her overweight Italian Greyhound, and recording her dreams for future projects. This is her first novel.

Author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Muffi-Beyer/549879745043402
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MuffiBeyer
Website: http://www.MuffiBeyer.com

Blurb: 

Exile is a deeply romantic psychological thriller that will take you on a roller coaster exploration of grief, logic, and the transcendental nature of love…”

Anya Richards, Best-selling author

Reeling from the loss of her son and her ex’s indifference, Rachel, a successful film director, heads to Ireland to shoot her next project. Once there, she’s plagued with vivid dreams and a gnawing sense of déjà vu. But Rachel’s tough exterior really begins to crumble when she spots a statue in the town square and is shocked to realize it’s the exact replica of the man who has haunted her dreams for months—a handsome stranger for whom she feels a deep and mysterious attraction…

Will Rachel choose love even at the expense of her own sanity? Or is her love for the man of her dreams more real than anything here on earth…?

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Exile-ebook/dp/B00CB4YJEG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365705228&sr=8-1&keywords=exile+muffi+beyer

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/exile-muffi-beyer/1115098446?ean=2940016749693&itm=1&usri=exile+muffi+beyer

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/305085

Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Exile/book-EOu_tM-HkkOcZKuKVRNbIw/page1.html

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Being Busy is Good

I like when I'm feeling productive, even though I sometimes grumble about not having time to scratch my butt. I've been editing for some awesome clients since the beginning of the year and that took up most of my time. I'm in a little lull now (I try to schedule in a few weeks where I'm not editing, so I can catch up on other things) and have been able to write a novella and a half, a short story and hopefully will get the fourth book in the Unveiled Seductions series finished soon too! :) Makes me happy.

I also heard that Ellora's Cave will be putting the first two books in the Unveiled Seductions into a print anthology! No word yet about when it'll be released (I'll be going to Romanticon this year, so it may be then) but it's still exciting. I love e-books like cats love arrogance, but there's still something really thrilling about holding a book with my name on the cover in my hand!


The two novellas that will be in the anthology are Fleeing Fate and Stone-Hard Passion, with two of the most awesome heroes I've ever written--Jakuta, my West African storm god and Vidar, the shy and gorgeous troll. The heroines are no slouches either, Grainne the banshee, looking to find and hold on to emotion, and Jasmina, the strong, sexy jinn who doesn't think she's capable of love. When the couples come together, magical sparks fly, in more ways than one!

Monday, May 20, 2013

More About Plants

Today I'm over at the Darker Temptations blog, talking about which author I'd like to be (or not) and even there I had to bring gardening into the discussion LOL! I'm rather plant obsessed at the moment, so forgive me! I'm finally in a south-facing apartment and I'm all excited about the prospect of having plants again. Spent way more than I'd planned at Home Depot yesterday, but it makes me so happy, it was worth it I think.

So, just because, here are some pictures of my fledgling garden, both indoors and out. The Hibiscus will winter indoors, and hopefully between now and then give me some blooms! I love them because they remind me of home, where they grow wild and sometimes are used to create arches over walkways and things like that by twisting the branches together. Nothing like that possible here, but I'm not complaining.

So, here's the indoor garden so far:

And the outdoor planter, not quite complete yet:


And my hibiscus, sans flowers at the moment, but full and lovely all the same:

Oh, and a little correction to a previous post about the cherry trees. Apparently the tree I was photographing closely is actually a crab apple! My friend corrected me on that and, taking a closer look, I realized there is quite a difference, although not to my untrained eyes' first glance. I tried to take a picture of two of the trees together, but it's not as clear as I'd like. The cherry tree is in the forefront, with the lighter blossoms. The crab apple is a little hard to see, but it's just behind and has the darker pink blooms.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

New Release from Missy Jane!

 
Available from Ellora’s Cave on May 15th! The final book in the Love Beyond Barriers series by Missy Jane, Too Much to Lose.

Blurb:

Shayla loves her life in New York. She loves her job, her freedom and her friends. What she doesn’t love is going home to an empty bed every night. There’s definitely a solution for that in Texas…Ben. The only problem is she’s not certain she’s ready for another serious relationship.

Ben fell head over heels for Shayla almost from the moment they met and it was obvious the attraction was mutual. However, great sex is all she’s willing to give. She tests his patience at every turn and his endurance whenever they’re alone together. He doesn’t know what more to offer.

It might take a force of nature and the emotional past coming back to haunt her before Shayla realizes what they have is definitely Too Much to Lose.

A Romantica® erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Buy it here: http://www.ellorascave.com/too-much-to-lose.html


Bio:

Ms. Missy Jane is the alter ego of a married mother of four who was born and raised in Texas. A few years ago she finished reading a book by Mercedes Lackey and thought "Now, what if..." and a monster was created. Missy now spends most of her time lost in worlds of her own making, alternately loving and hating such creatures as vampires, shape-shifters and gargoyles (to name a few). When not writing, she spends her time reading, taking photos of her beautiful daughters and training her husband to believe she's always right.

Excerpts from Missy's paranormal and erotic tales can be found at http://www.authormissyjane.com and http://msmissyjane.blogspot.com/.

Missy can also be found online at:

https://twitter.com/msmissyjane & https://www.facebook.com/pages/Missy-Jane/208776832491620

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Heidi Lynn Anderson's Maggie's Desire Tour

Today I'm welcoming Heidi as she tells us a little about herself and about her new release, Maggie's Desire! Enjoy the interview below and read all about her book.



Title: Maggie’s Desire
Series: Welcome to Paradise: Book 2
Genre: Contemporary FMF Menage
Flame rating: Scorching
Released: 5/4/2013
Publisher: Silver Publishing
Word count: 25K

Interview:

Do you prefer strong women for heroines, or the ‘damsel in distress’ type? I like the strong heroine. I think all women have weak moments, but are still strong. I try to use that when developing my heroines. You can be a strong woman and need someone to lend you a hand. If that someone happens to be a sexy man so be it. ;-)

What was your favorite subject in high school or college? Science

What is one place in the world you’d love to visit which you haven’t already been? Ever since I read Nora Roberts Irish Jewels trilogy I’ve wanted to go to Ireland.

What are you currently working on, or what’s on the horizon? I’m working on a story called In Bed with Mr. Perfect. After that’s done, I’m going to start in on Julie’s Paradise.

What do you do when you’re not writing? My bills like to be paid, so I work. When I’m not doing that, I like to find new adventures and go on them with my family.

Quick Questions:

Coffee or tea? Tea
Wine or beer? Neither Diet Pepsi
Beach or mountains? Both
Summer or Fall? FALL
Pedicure or massage? Massage
Paper or plastic? Paper. Most preferred is the green bags you bring with you. I try to save the Earth one bag at a time.
Cats or dogs? Cats

Bio: 

By day, Heidi Lynn Anderson is a wife, mother, and owner of a small Green-Cleaning company. By night, she spins erotic tales featuring hunky heroes and the women they love. When not working or writing, Heidi likes spending time with her husband and son, doing what Florida has to offer.

Website: http://www.heidilynnanderson.com/

Maggie’s Desire

Welcome to Paradise 2

Blurb:

Who would have thought a plan to get the attention of one man, would have Maggie Blake taking two men to her bed?

Maggie Blake has one desire, to experience what the way-too-sexy Brian O'Malley has to offer in bed. Too bad, he thinks of her as an annoyance and not as the hot willing woman she is.

Brian has one rule in life. Never let a woman too close, but club Paradise's sassy little bartender threatens to change that rule and wiggle her hot little ass into his damaged heart.

Purchase Link: 

Silver Publishing 


And check out Welcome to Paradise 1:

Ava’s Pleasure 

Blurb:

When prim proper Ava stumbles into a Miami sex club, she isn't expecting to find the man from her dreams. Navy SEAL Logan is just wasting time between missions until this naïve and innocent woman turns his world upside down.

Of all the sex clubs, she had to walk into his. How was Ava Cullen supposed to know her prim and proper aunt was part owner of the premier sex club in Miami and a top-notch Dominatrix? When she stumbled into club Paradise and came face to face with her dream man, she had a feeling she stood on the precipice of something life changing.

Navy SEAL Logan Turner always knew he needed more out of life than the next mission. That's why he opened Paradise with his best friend Julie. It didn't hurt that he could reap the benefits of owning a sex club. That was until a sexy, doe-eyed woman walked in, making his control slip for the first time ever.

Purchase Links:

Silver Publishing

Monday, May 13, 2013

To Jump on the Bandwagon...or not

It seems everyone is self-publishing these days, or considering it, and I'll confess I'm no exception. However, being the kind of person I am, there's an awful lot of thinking going into the decision. I often wish I were one of those people who was comfortable just jumping in to things, but unfortunately I'm not! There are pros and cons to everything, and self-publishing is no different. Yes, you have a great deal of autonomy over what you produce, where you publish it, what the cover looks like and all of that. But as an editor I know there are costs newcomers to the concept often don't think about.
Editing can cost you a pretty penny, as can a professional cover and the proper formatting. You, the author, are in charge of ALL advertising and promotion, which can cost both time and money. And unless you have a loyal following already, you don't have a reputable publishing house's name attached to the project to let people know what quality to expect. On top of all that, it seems to me there are still an awful lot of people out there who expect a self-published book to be as close to free as to be insulting to the author.
Of course, there are ways around many of these things if you have the time, energy and skill to do a lot of it yourself or, like me, hope to eventually bribe one of my kids to do some of it for me. Editing I have worked out (and no, I'm not taking the chance on trying to edit my book myself! I'm not stupid...even editors need someone else to look at their work!) and I've sourced some reasonably priced cover artists. The formatting and loading I'd pass to my son to do for me, because I have neither the time nor the patience. As for the rest, if I do decide to self-publish, I'll have to work it out as I go along.
I can't help looking at the publishing world right now as the Wild West... and I'm not sure I'm enough of a gunslinger to survive!

Saturday, May 11, 2013

I love spring...except maybe today

I've been loving the advent of spring...warmth and flowers and all that stuff...but today it's cold and windy and walking the dog is not just a chore but the kind of chore that stays with you, leaving eau de soaked chien  wafting through the house.

But it did give me an excuse to stay in and finish a novella I'd been working on, and got me thinking about some pictures I'd taken during the week. I know they are the bane of gardeners life, but I quite like dandelions, seeing them as "you take your beauty where you can find it in the city", like here:


And here is a close-up of some of the little darlings. Of course, they won't look that way for long, but for now, I <3 them.


I'm also fascinated by the cherry trees around the area where I work, so I took a picture on Tuesday of last week of one of the branches, where the buds were just beginning to open.

And these are pictures of the same tree, three days later.

 


And a close-up:

I'm hoping that the tree won't either have passed it's full-on flower or been battered bare by the rain over the weekend, so I can take some more pictures. And, here's proof that there are no colour clashes in nature...

As I said, we take our beauty were we can find it in the city...and sometimes you have to get right down low to see it. Wildflowers and variegated clover.

Just some of the reasons I love spring. :)