Read an E-book Week!

It's Read an E-book Week! There are all kinds of things going on to mark this event, you can find out more about them here:  http://ebookweek.com/index.html

I hadn't really planned anything for the week –last week was insane! Not only did I return to work after a wonderful week off, softball season started at the high school last week (daughter), the elementary school held their annual Theater Week (son). The day job was brutal - filled with webinar training on our new products. The significance of this week totally slipped my mind in all the mania. Until today, when thankfully, Twitter and a few other of my hangouts reminded me. Thanks everyone! So in honor of Read an E-book Week, I thought I'd talk about how to read an e-book.

I run into a lot of people who have no idea exactly what an e-book is. They ask me, "But how can I read it if it's not an actual book?" There's the first misconception – that because a book is digital, it’s not really a book. The old "if it doesn't have paper pages, it's not a book" argument. So I launch into my standard explanation: "Of course it's a real book. It has characters, a plot, and a well-written story. Just because it's in a different format, doesn't make it any less a book." And that 100,000 words I wrote – they're just as real as anything I'd submit to a print publisher.

The next argument I usually get is that without a reader, a person can't read e-books. Again, not true. Barnes & Noble has a free Nook application for your PC. If you have a computer, you can read any e-book – most are available in pdf format, which almost everyone can utilize, or there are, like B&N, applications to read e-books on your computer. If you have a smart phone, or a tablet, you can read e-books on those, as well. Seeing the comprehension clearing the blank stare is always an exciting moment. They understand! Hurray! lol

The conversation usually changes at that point – now they want to know what sorts of books are available in digital formats? The answer is - just about every single one. Almost every print book has an e-format counterpart available for purchase. Sometimes the digital format comes after the print release, sometimes at the same time. It varies – for lots of reasons. With publishers who are primarily e-publishers, obviously the focus is on the e-formats for the books, but many e-publishers also offer certain titles in POD (Print On Demand) format. The requirements for a book to be made available in POD vary by publisher.

The question I always get next is which reader I have. I prefer the Sony myself. The newest version is fantastic, has wireless functionality and so far, has an excellent battery life, loads fast and has lots of new features for notes and such. I actually do my editing/revisions on my books using the Reader. The pricing has gotten better as well – the Sony website currently shows a list price of $129. I know there are those who swear by their Kindle, or their Nook. I've never had either, so can't speak to that, but there are benefits to each device. It depends on what you want and what you need. But the biggest selling point for an e-reader always seems to be how many books it can hold. I hold up my slim pink Reader and proudly declare I have over 300 books on it at any given time. The understanding has now evolved into pure excitement. Telling a person who loves to read that they can carry that many books at the same time is like letting a kid loose in a toy store!

The portability of the e-reader is also a huge conversion selling point – you can carry it in your purse and read anywhere you happen to have a few minutes of downtime.  Hey, I've been known to read the back of a cereal box in a pinch and know many others like that. The evolution of e-readers has been a godsend to people like us! I am never without something to read anymore. On line at the inspection station, on breaks at work, waiting in a doctor's office, or to pick up kids. I pull it out and read a few pages where I can.

So tell me what reader you prefer and why. Do you have more than one? I know plenty of people who do. What turned you on to your reader of choice?  I'll be giving away a copy of one of my current titles to a random commenter – your choice of titles! You'll be all set to Read an E-book this week!

This Week's Update

A lot's happened in the last few weeks, much of it writing-related, some of it not. The timing couldn't be better either, as my day job has a shutdown this coming week, and the best part of that is my kids will be in school most days! So I get to work on various writing-related tasks, as well as catch up on a couple things around here I just haven't been able to squeeze in, despite the fast-reaching-desperate need to get them done. But I made progress on some cleanups for Warrior's Vengeance, and I got a lot of new stuff written for the current Marchand book I'm working on.

But the biggest news of the week is that Prince of the Universe, my first stab at a sci-fi, has been contracted by Renaissance Ebooks Sizzler Editions! I am super excited about this, because as much as I love this story, and these characters, I really don't know a lot about sci-fi. Seriously. I never even saw the first three episodes of Star Wars (which, BTW, I can't help thinking of as the second three, since the others I saw in the 70's and 80's were the FIRST THREE I saw. Still come first in my head). That's how bad it is.

Here's the thing – one of my favorite TV shows EVER is "The Universe" on the History Channel, followed closely (really, really closely) by "Through the Wormhole" on the Science Channel. The idea of other worlds out there fascinates me, and I do find it hard to believe that we are truly alone in this vast universe. So I watch those shows as much as I can (marathons are like a drug overdose! lol), and my writer's imagination goes to work after that.

I was able to incorporate some of what I've learned into this book, the rest - I kind of just winged it. Prince Vega, of the Planet Aldarra, is a human-like person who lands in Fair Ridge, PA, home of Meredith (Merry) Alexander, who just so happens to have had a really bad previous encounter with another Aldarran. There are a lot of reasons Merry fears Vega, but her compassionate heart can't completely abandon him. Even though she wants and decides to let him fend for himself, she can't cut him off, and once she makes her first move to help him, she's doomed. But Vega isn't like the other, and proves it, sometimes in a very arrogant and I'm-better-than-you-cause-I'm-royalty kind of way.

These two were fun to write – Merry, while she possesses a very legitimate fear of Vega, still has backbone and won't completely back down. She's funny, not afraid to speak her mind, and that compassionate heart of hers makes her a sucker for someone in need of help. Vega was a bit more complicated. He's a prince, in line to a throne, he's a warrior, and he has the capability of transforming into a hybrid man/feline creature with incredible amounts of strength and power.  Yet, he just wants to share his life with someone, just like anyone else. His goal to be king requires he have heirs. The Earth woman confounds him, but he can’t resist her. His perception of too many softer feelings for her is that it could weaken him, make him vulnerable. But he also discovers the motivation such feelings give him. Not that he ever loses that arrogant edge – he wouldn't be one of my heroes if he did!

Anyway, as I get more details, I will share them – such as a release date, a cover, and all the fun stuff. This week – getting down to editing. Part of me is dreading it a bit, the process is sure to induce quite a few groans and head-shakes, with thoughts of "What was I thinking?" but it'll be fun to work with these two again.

I've Been a Bad Blogger

I'm a terrible blogger. If you even half attempt to follow me here, you know, I am a HORRENDOUS blogger!

The thing is, time is at a premium for me – I work full-time outside the home, I have two children in school – one in high school, one in elementary. My day job requires me to travel 3 to 4 times a year. I don't really mind (a week in a hotel room all to myself is still one of my favorite travel perks! lol). One of the best things about the job is that I get to be online through Twitter and other places during the day (but Twitter is best, I can get in and out quick, and still keep up with my friends and such and it's not a huge timesuck on my job hours). 

At home, it is a very different story. With the exception of Friday evenings, most of my time at home is spent preparing dinner, picking up or dropping someone off, overseeing homework, bathing and various other tasks and chores, so by the time I'm done, it's nearly 10:00, I'm beat, but everyone's in bed, and the house is quiet.

For the last several months, I have made a deliberate point to spend my evening computer time devoted to writing. Well, except for Fridays. I am OFF from Everything on Friday nights! But for the most part, that's exactly what I've been doing at night, writing and editing. To the point where I missed the last couple of new Criminal Minds eps, and I'm kicking myself over it!!! I'll catch up on Youtube one of these weeks (months, years, etc.)

Anyway, I think many of my writing goals have been attained, though perhaps at the expense of being more promo-oriented and interactive than I am. But I have another full-length novel due out this spring or summer, and a lead short story in the very-soon-to-be-released Sizzler Editions anthology, Bound for Love (edited by the fantastic Sascha Illyvich). I'm on the verge of wrapping up edits on my sci-fi romance ms, have another lined up for editing, and am halfway through the next new Marchand book. And I keep telling myself the readers would rather have more books from me, instead of listening to me blabbing about the current hot topic of the day.

Although, again, on Fridays, it might not be a bad thing to steer clear of me – on many Fridays, I quote lots of song lyrics. And I'm a huge Bruce Springsteen fan – he shows up a LOT! Lol

So forgive me for being such an infrequent blogger, and while I intend to work on getting better at it, in the meantime, here's a snippet from my upcoming short story, Fantasy Unbound:

This could not be happening! Emily blinked back tears, and prayed she would wake up from this horrible dream. But the cold metal cuffs around her wrists assured her this was no dream.

"Okay, Ms. Valerian, come this way."  The female officer motioned Emily to follow.

Finally. Emily stood, her shoulders aching and numb from the length of time she'd been handcuffed.   "When are you going to tell me what's going on? You haven't explained the charges. I'm a police dispatcher in Tyrrell Gardens. I know you have to tell me why I've been arrested."

"Yeah, right. Nice try, lady. Come on."

She'd been kept cuffed and on the bench for far too long. She tried to insist further, but the officer merely told her to shut up. The uniformed woman was no better than the male officers, with their frightening sneers and muttered comments, such as "it's about time," and "it's all over now." Clearly they thought her to be someone else. But who? And what the hell had this person done to warrant such loathing? When she got out of this mess…

The female officer stepped behind her and unfastened the cuffs. Emily dropped her arms to her sides and they exploded into pins and needles. She dully obeyed the officer's orders and was fingerprinted, photographed, all on equipment so old, she'd never even seen the like in photos. And then, finally they allowed her to make her call.

She dialed the only person she could think of.

***

Devon slammed the car door shut and started the engine in one motion. He could still hear Emily's frantic cries, her sobbing voice rasping over the line as she tearfully explained her predicament.

"Devon, they arrested me! I think they think I'm someone else!"

The words echoed in an ominous loop, and his heart wrenched to think of his Princess being mistreated. Not that she knew he thought of her that way - they worked together on the small police force a few towns away from where she'd been booked.  Any relationship between them was impossible. He was a detective, she was a dispatcher. They'd worked together for two years now. A grim smile curved his mouth as he recalled anxiously awaiting any and all communication from her while in his car. But he'd never acted on his longing, for several solid reasons.

First and foremost, the department could fire them both. He wouldn't risk her job for his own selfish wants. So he'd spent the last couple of years being Emily's friend, though he wanted so much more from her. Hell, even if he had the balls to risk a relationship, once she found out about his sexual tastes, she'd run screaming from him as fast as she could.

Still, the notion that tonight's events could be used to his advantage wouldn't go away. He made a left at the next light and headed toward the highway that would take him to her. His gut twisted to think of how afraid she must be. Once he spoke to the idiots at Fair Valley PD, her ordeal would end. Or maybe not. He recalled his last encounter a few years back with the police force in this ultra-conservative, rural area. They had made their disdain for updated technology clear, and even then, they'd still been using equipment that had to have dated back to the Forties. Didn't matter, he'd get her out of this mess, and put an end to her anguish.

Why did he have the feeling his ordeal was only beginning?

Keep an eye out for the release date for the Bound for Love Anthology. I'll be sure to post the info here, as well as out on Twitter. Here's the sizzling hot cover. Enjoy!

Happy Holidays!

The holidays are upon us! Really – if you aren't already celebrating, you will be in a few days. The Christmas Spirit is alive and well in my house – how can it not be with a 15 year old and a 7 year old bouncing off the walls?

Personally, I do like this time of year – everyone is happy, generous, smiling. People say thank you and wish you a happy holiday. Most of my shopping is done, so I haven't had to deal with too many irritated shoppers – I take a day or two off every year in early December to do marathon trips, and this year, I was extremely successful on both trips and knocked just about everyone off my list. Everything else was purchased online.

The tree and Christmas City are set up, the cookies are baked, presents are in the process of being wrapped. Christmas songs, both traditional and modern, are being played most of the time. The Chipmunks are heavy in the rotation – with kids, what do you expect?

I haven't been this organized in several years. It feels weird. I'm used to having to run around for days for the one person who I can't figure out what to get. Scrambling to assemble plates of cookies to give, ship or bring. Making sure the kids have holiday clothes that fit for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  We celebrate both days equally – and the festivities begin after church on Christmas Eve.

With my husband's family, we do the traditional Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. Although, since certain people who were the only ones to eat certain dishes are no longer with us, a few of the fishes have fallen by the wayside – like the octopus cooked in its own ink. I still remember that first Christmas Eve with his family, when DH, who was only my boyfriend at the time, brought me into the kitchen to show me. His grandfather was the only one who ate that. I couldn't even look at it - and I'm a daring eater. I'll try/eat just about anything. Except spinach. And peas. But oddly, I love pea soup. Anyway….

After dinner, we all gather around and open our presents, then go back for dessert and packing up the mountains of toys the kids have accumulated. Get home around midnight, spend a few hours playing Santa and setting up, then fall asleep before we are awakened before dawn to see what Santa left.

After breakfast, we head out to spend the day with my family. My mother, being Irish, has her own take on the Feast. We call it the Feast of the Seven Potatoes. She makes mashed, candied sweets (though that has now become my responsibility), au gratin, and boiled. It's not really seven, but it's become a running joke in our little corner of the world. We could add fries, and maybe has browns, I suppose, but that would be overkill. Or maybe not. I'll have to bring that up and see how it's received. Of course, Mom serves lots of other things too – her Merlot sauce to accompany the filet roast is to die for, and she makes really awesome stuffing (to go with the turkey breast – there's a lot of us).  

When it's all done, and we're crashing back at home, it's hard to believe that for all the weeks of prep, it's over in two short days. You think back, and realize what a blur the month of December has been. The kids' excitement level lowers considerably, and the week between Christmas and New Year's is spent in a fairly calm manner. I especially like the fact my company shuts down every year for that week, so it's easy to recharge the batteries then.

In honor of this giving season, my gift to you is a copy of one of my titles - tell me about your traditions and you could win one of your choice. 

I wish you all a joyous holiday season and I hope you enjoy every moment with lots of love and laughter! And I hope the upcoming New Year brings lots of success and happiness!

Warrior's Vengeance

As we near the end of another year, I've found that I've made significant progress on wrapping up two manuscripts, starting a third and writing a couple of short stories. Not as bad as I thought when I consider how much valuable writing time was sacrificed over the year. One of the books I finished this year is a medieval-set erotic romance, Warrior's Vengeance. This story was a tricky one to write, and to be honest, at times it left me drained. Involving the kidnapping and forced seduction of the heroine, Marissa Langley, the tale skates along, and sometimes seems to cross, the lines of consent.

To be honest, the hero, Ian McCallum, does not treat Marissa nicely. Yet, to be fair, he harbors one hell of a grudge – she is the daughter of his enemy, a man whose warriors raped and murdered Ian's wife, murdered his small son, and basically decimated his village and clan. Kidnapping Marissa and forcing her to be his slave is justified, in his mind. Marissa, on the other hand, cannot believe her father could do such things. Truth is, back in 1307, that's exactly what men like her father did. They were ruthless, murdering and raping innocents, and generally not caring who got caught in the crossfire of their wars. Kind of similar to how things work in various parts of the world today. Certainly there were honorable men who sought to protect those who could not protect themselves, but even those men were merciless when it came to meting out the justice they felt was deserved. Ian is a man much like Marissa's father. One who employs brutal justice, and seeks revenge. Those goals held powerful sway on the men of that time, just as much as their lust for power and money.

But there is a difference in Ian. He feels guilt, true remorse over some of his ill-treatment of Marissa. Not that his guilt will turn him from his avowed path of vengeance - he will still do what he believes he needs to – but he does have regrets. Marissa, after learning what Ian's suffered, understands what drives him, what compels him to behave as he does toward her. She is, after all, a woman of the time. She happens to have been raised alongside one of her brothers, can handle a sword as well as any man, and knows what drives the men in her life, even if she believes them to be more honorable than is claimed by their enemies.

I've had very mixed reactions to this story from the various places it's been sent. Contests, editors, and some critique partners. There is no middle ground with this story – it's either loved, or reviled. I consider it to be forced seduction, and there were those who agreed. Then there were those who disagreed. Strongly, in some cases. I had an absolutely lovely rejection from an editor who explained exactly why she had issues with the content. One of the nicest rejections I ever received. And I understood her point, and why she felt the way she did.  In the contests I entered, overwhelmingly, the story was received very well. I did have an angry judge harshly reprimand me for the content, but others were salivating for more.  Perhaps because it was historical, and set in that brutal era, they were able to put aside the requirements of today's society for complete, clear-as-day consent. Perhaps it's just a fantasy they like to read about. Either way, they wanted more. With those reactions, I was torn as to what I wanted to do with the book. I could make drastic changes, but I wasn't sure I was up to that. Or I could see if I could find a publisher who wanted edgier, more raw stories. I decided I'd start with the latter option, and go from there.

Well, Warrior's Vengeance has found a home, and a bit quicker than I anticipated. Pink Flamingo Publications has accepted it for release sometime in the spring or summer of 2012. I have no other details at this point, but I'm just thrilled that Ian and Marissa's story will be available for readers who like a good, old-fashioned "bodice ripper."  Stay tuned – as I get more information, I'll share it here.

Happy Halloween!

Once again, this year the unusual is more unusual than ever. Last year, we missed the regular "school-parade-and-party-neighborhood-trick-or-treating" because we were in Disney. If you ever have the chance to go during the fall, I strongly recommend you buy tickets for the "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party." Everyone goes in costumes, the characters are all over hosting special events, the parades and fireworks are awesome, and they do have trick-or-treating. I saved the bags they give you, they were one of the best things of the night! To me anyway.

This year, the Northeast got pounded by a very early nor'easter that left power lines and trees down all over the place, worse than during Irene in the late summer. Basically, because the leaves are still on the trees, the wet, heavy snow on top made things worse than they'd usually be. I heard and saw several large tree branches, and in some cases actual trees, snap under the weight. Schools are closed, and all celebrations are, at the moment, cancelled. We will trick-or-treat, but we'll be done way before dusk because it's more dangerous than usual at night this year. Can't see those dratted power lines, never mind the melting snow will ice up over the roads and sidewalks.

Nevertheless, this is a particularly fun time for me anyway. I love all sorts of creatures of the night, and this is their season! The creepier and scarier something is, the more I like it. Not the gory, in-your-face, blood & guts scary, but the sort that leaves everything a bit blurred, letting your imagination take over. Nothing can be more frightening than what you imagine it to be.  Like the creaking of your house, the heat flaring on. Normal sounds, unless you're alone, at night, and you can't quite make out what that shadow is in the corner. A wisp of wind outside suddenly becomes ominous, and you find yourself huddled in a comfy chair, with every damn light in the house blazing!

I remember having Halloween sleepovers with my friends in grade school, and we'd always turn out the lights, tell scary stories, make each other do things like "Bloody Mary" in the darkened bathroom, or playing with a Ouija board, where nothing would happen, but we'd end up scaring ourselves silly despite the fact we'd imagined all of it. Or had we? Needless to say, the reason we didn't sleep all night wasn't because we were chatting.

What are some of your favorite Halloween traditions? Do you carve pumpkins, go to a costume party, sit around telling scary stories? Let me know, and you can win a copy of any one of my books. With vampires and magic, they're perfect kinky reading for the season.  And in the same spirit, here's a couple of my favorite scariest magic folk, in pumpkin form:

Who's Your Favorite Vampire?

So, it's October. The time of year when all ghosts and ghouls and witches and monsters come out to play. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the fall, the weather turning colder always bums me out. Hey, what can I say? I'm a summer baby, born on the summer solstice, as a matter of fact, so I like my weather warm and my sun endless.

But I digress. This time of year is actually pretty cool, for one big reason. It's vampire season! As you've probably guessed, I'm a fan of all things vampires. Even as a kid, I was drawn to the bloodsuckers. Of course, growing up in the Twentieth Century, when vampires first started to become sexy to the population in general, helps with that. Prior to Bram Stoker's Dracula, vampires were pretty much reviled and feared. No one wanted to be seduced into an immortal life of darkness by one of the creatures. The perceptions of vampires back then were also very different – they were filthy, evil monsters whose only intent was to kill. People went to all sorts of crazy rituals to ensure dead bodies didn't come back to stalk the living. The natural effects of a body's decomposition also lent to the belief in vampires. Modern science has debunked a lot of the cultural beliefs about vampires by explaining this very process. Sort of takes the fun out of it, if you ask me!

Through the years there were several vamps who caught my eye. I do remember watching Dark Shadows with my grandmother, and though I didn't particularly find the Barnabas Collins of the 60's very sexy to my child's perception, I most definitely rooted for him to come out on top.

From there, my next big recollection was seeing the play Dracula on Broadway in the late 70's. I think I was 14. Raul Julia had just taken over for Frank Langella who had originated the role and then gone on to act in the movie. Can I just say, from that moment on, vampires had me hooked, and I was ready to be bitten! When they staked him at the end (my aunt still laughs about this), the entire audience heard me yell, "NO!" But who can blame me? I mean, really! Look at this guy! Is he one of the hottest vamps you’ve ever seen?

As soon as the movie version came out, I was there. And fell in love with The Count all over again:

 

Again, I ask, how can you resist? Seriously? To this day, I still find Frank Langella incredibly sexy. He’s one of the ones who I think has aged well over the years.

As time went on, and I watched/read lots of vampire tales, I found many really sexy ones, some others who made my skin crawl.

Of the ones I like, and always recall with fondness (and likely some drooling) there was this guy:

Yes, the remake of Dark Shadows, where I fell in love with Barnabas for real this time, and discovered Adrian Paul, yes, the Adrian Paul of Highlander fame and my obsession for most of the 90's and a good part of the early 2000's. And now, still, to be honest!

But Ben Cross made a fantastic Barnabas, right amount of tortured hero/vindictive villain and for all the right reasons! Sexy, yet unconventionally in a lot of ways.

But my true favorite vampire is this one:

Few people remember this show, which cast Geordie Johnson as The Count in a campy little TV series called, what else? Dracula: The Series. It was silly and sexy, at times solidly spooky, but always good fun. I thought the idea of Dracula living as a modern day businessman was a hoot. Then I thought, if he could do it, how many other vampires were there throughout Europe who had made a success of themselves as seemingly ordinary businessmen? Turns out, more than you’d think! At least in my twisted little mind. One of them in particular sprang to life and demanded I write his story - Adrian duLac. He is much older than Drac, nearly 2,000 years old, and though he may physically resemble this early 90's portrayal of The Count in some ways, he is not as much of a parody, and as Katerina Romanov finds out, quite capable of love. Not to mention, the man possesses some serious sexual prowess. After all, what kind of vampire would he be if he couldn’t kiss a woman senseless, among other things?

Anyway, in honor of Halloween and the recent release of The Taste of Magic, I'm giving away a copy. Tell me – are you a fan of vampires and the various desires they supposedly represent? Who is your favorite vampire and why? Comment here, and be eligible to win!