Category Archives: My Book Stuff

Great Weekend and The Week Coming Up

Life in Motion, My Book Stuff, Writing & Publishing

I had such a great weekend. Saturday, Biker Dude and I set off mid morning and had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Really, what more can I say other than yummmmm? Great place to eat and phenomenal cheesecake. After that we did a little shopping, then stopped off at the local casino for a bit of gambling. We did pretty good, won some money and left smiling. Always good to leave with more than you came with. We’re smart enough to know when to quit, too…that helps. Heh.

After some whirlwind grocery shopping at the hell that is Wal Mart on a Saturday (on Valentines Day, no less, where there were many men holding roses and oversized teddy bears–always amusing), we finally headed home. College girl was home for the weekend so she picked up our granddaughter since we were supposed to babysit and we spent a fun evening hanging out with them. Always enjoyable to spend some time with our girls.

I also came home that day to discover that I’d won two CAPA Awards from the Romance Studio! One for Best Contemporary Romance for DARE TO LOVE, the other for Best Erotic Anthology for UNLACED.
daretolovemed2 unlaced-med1

Wheeee! Thanks so much to the reviewers at THE ROMANCE STUDIO for these awards! I was so thrilled.

Sunday was all about work for me. I finished a novella (yay!), started on galleys that came on Friday and worked on a huge ARC mailing project that needs to go out the door this week.

And then it was time for NASCAR…the launch of the racing season with the Daytona 500, which turned out to be wrecks and rain and I napped during part of it. Bleh. So kind of a dud ending since they called the race due to rain, but hey Matt Kenseth was happy since he won.

And then last night I started on my Super Sekrit Project and made some headway on that. VERY excited about it! Wheeee!

All in all, a really great weekend. This will be a short week for me because we leave Thursday for vacation–Vegas! It’s kind of a combo birthday present for Biker Dude and I since his is in December and mine is this Wednesday and we decided to take a trip to celebrate both. So very excited to take a few days of fun and downtime (though I am doing some book research while there…everything is about work ya know :giggle: ). I really really need some time off though. Bff Angie and her hubby are going to meet us there and since we haven’t seen each other in awhile I’m really looking forward to it. Can’t wait. :boobie:

The Things An Author And Her Editor Discuss

My Book Stuff, Writing & Publishing

daretolovemed

So I got this awesome blogger review from Dev for Dare To Love. Thank you Dev!

And in a little “P.S” at the bottom of her review, Dev mentioned that she wanted a trampoline. Heh.

Yeah, there’s this great sexy trampoline scene in Dare To Love. And the funny thing is, my editor Angie and I argued about that scene in a very amusing way when she was editing my book.

Now full disclaimer here: Angie and I are very good friends. We go way back, knew each other and were friends before she ever became Executive Editor at Samhain. But when we edit a book together, it’s all business and pretty much no holds barred. She tears apart my work, insults are hurled, plates fly….(okay, kidding…mostly :giggle: ). But the completed book is so much better for the editing we do together.

Except when she told me that I should take the trampoline out of the scene because it was an insurance liability for kids and I should instead use a bouncy house.

Dude. The trampoline was an integral prop in a very sexy and romantic scene. It HAD to be left in the scene because no way in hell was I going to have my hero and heroine sliding around some vinyl bouncy house. Um…so not sexy, ya know? :hide:

So we argued (Angie and I argue in a fun way….really). In the end, we compromised and had the bouncy house for the little kids and the trampoline for the older kids. I even indicated the adults gave the trampoline a try. Heh.

Now I know those of you who haven’t yet read DARE TO LOVE are dying to read that trampoline scene, aren’t you? 😀

DARE TO LOVE is available as an ebook here at Samhain Publishing, and will release in print in May. You can find print preorder info and read an excerpt here

And thanks again Dev! :doglick:

My Year In Review

My Book Stuff

Every year at the close of the year, I like to take a look back to see what I’ve done, and a look forward to see what I’m going to do next year.

For 2008, I wrote 4 novellas and 2 single titles. That’s over 300,000 words.

I released 8 books this year:

Riding Wild (Berkley) February

Nothing Personal (Samhain) June

Dare To Love (Samhain) July

Riding Temptation (Berkley) October
Forbidden Fantasies (Ellora’s Cave/Pocket Books) October
The Darkest Touch (Bantam Dell) October

Holiday Seduction (Samhain) November

Unlaced (Berkley) December
Unraveled (Samhain) December

So I wrote over 300,000 words and released 8 books. No wonder I’m so tired. :giggle:

In 2009, I have the following on schedule to release (tentative):

January – Sneak Peek print release from Samhain

April – Riding on Instinct – Berkley

May – Dare To Love print release – Samhain

July – Taken By Sin – Bantam Dell

September – Holiday Heat print release – Samhain

Tentative Winter Release for Riding The Edge, a Wild Riders novella to be released in an anthology with a Lora Leigh Nauti book from Berkley.
Tentative Winter Release for Unbound, another anthology like Unlaced from Berkley

So far, I’m scheduled to write one novella and two single titles next year. And I have a proposal I need to write for a new series.

I’m going to be busy. Again. And I’m ever so grateful I get to be busy. I thank my readers for that. Without you, I wouldn’t get to live this dream of mine.

I hope you have a wonderful 2009, and that your favorite authors put out some incredible books for you to read.