The Office Dictionary

That would be me. I'm a good speller. Always have been – it's a natural instinct for me. It's very rare that I'll spell a word wrong, though it does happen on occasion. It's something that my colleagues all picked up on very early in my career at the day job. I can guarantee that at least 4 or 5 times a day, someone will ask me to spell a word. I can rattle it off without even looking up. I admit it's something I am proud of.  I can usually give you the definition in some form, and a few other words that might work in their place, as well. There are advantages to being a word person, as opposed to being a numbers person. Ask me how to spell and/or use a word, no problem! Just don't ask me to add more than 2 and 2 without a calculator!

I love it when they ask me to spell a word, and I tell them, and then they ask "Are you sure?" My reply was usually, "Do a spell check, you'll see!"  It's happened more than once, and my response is now condensed to a withering stare. It's enough.

Anyway, because I am picky about words being spelled correctly (perhaps because I've always had a name difficult to spell and/or pronounce), I notice it when other people don't spell the words right. Guaranteed to make me cringe – especially when people mix up there, their and they're, or to, two and too, and others. What I've noticed lately is that it seems to have gotten worse. It's most noticeable in handwritten notes.  And thanks to a conversation with a co-worker, I know why.

Spell check. My very response to someone questioning my spelling skills. I pointed out a misspelled word and the response was "I didn't have spell check on my pen."

It's true – people can be lazy and let their word processors do the work. Now I understand there are people that need spell check, or they'd never even spell "the" correctly. But people run a spell check and automatically accept the change, without bothering to see which way is the right way to spell a word, or even if the corrected version being suggested is the right word. So when writing a note by hand, though it's rare these days, it's often riddled with spelling errors. Because the author never bothered to learn the correct spelling. That's what annoys me – spell check is there for a reason (though I still haven't been able to get the stupid French dictionary to turn off on a few of my documents, so it appears those files are full of errors). Spell-check is supposed to be a back-up. Not the answer. And sometimes, a typo is actually a real word, but it's the wrong word, and can throw the context of your entire message off.

Of course, our culture of "text speak" doesn't help either. I received an email from a salesperson at one of my distributors that literally read "Can u pls chek stock 4 me?" Seriously. In a business letter (never mind that isn't even my job function anyway). I was horrified.

Text speak and abbreviations have their place – text messages, Twitter, and the like. I use those abbreviations in those places, just because of size limitations. Those tasks require the use of creatively spelled and used words. Not business communication. Ever. It doesn't happen often, but enough that truly alarms me. When did it become acceptable for all communication to devolve into this? I think one of the basics taught in school now need to focus on this very issue – and emphasize the proper place and time to use this new version of our language.

But maybe it's just me.

Publisher Woes Part 2

Here we go again. I spoke a couple of months back about the implosion at Noble Romance. Jill Noble pulled a major flounce (not my term, but it certainly fits! Don't remember who used it first, but thank you and if you tell me, I'll update here! :D) and then proceeded to publicly dump on all the authors, calling them trash, recruiting her daughter to get engaged in the public name-calling and smear tactics, etc. It pissed me off – after all, despite what Jill & Co. might say publicly, I did nothing wrong. Well, other than bug her for my owed royalties. BTW, in case you haven't heard, Jill is now an agent – representing authors! Ain't that a hoot? I wonder how many will want to work with her after seeing how she treated her authors previously.

In any case, after that initial brouhaha, the powers that be at Noble hired a new CEO. I have to say, he made getting royalties paid a priority and he did it fairly quickly considering the disaster he stepped into. I sent off an email explaining my issues with Noble. I didn't rant, or threaten, didn't act out of line, but strongly pointed out my serious concerns about the company. I didn't hear anything back, but information started to filter through and I decided before I went the certified letter route, I'd watch and see if anything looked to be improving. It wasn't.

So I typed up a very professional letter, stating my issues in a very business-like manner (I've written a ton of business letters – 23 years in sales & marketing for a global corp. gave me a lot of experience). I took it to the post office, paid for it to go certified, with return receipt and tracking. And off it went.

It sat in the PO box for some time before it was finally signed for. I do have my receipt in hand now, in my file with all the other documents. However, after several weeks, there has not been a response. Granted, I gave them the contract-required 90 days to resolve the issues, but I expected at least some sort of reply. Something to indicate they received my letter and are reviewing my issues. Nothing. As I thought on it, I realized the people running this company have no idea how to be professional in any way.

I shouldn't have been surprised. Some of what I heard he had to say about dealing with the Noble authors truly disturbed me. Who did this guy think he was to tell us how we should react and behave? There is no doubt after being royally screwed over by Jill and Noble in general that several authors, including myself, are angry. We have a right to be. But that doesn't mean we behaved less than professionally. And for the CEO to insinuate that, and further alienate the very authors that provide Noble with their product, was not a smart move. While I can't speak for them, I strongly doubt many of the current Noble authors are planning to ever send any more manuscripts to them. I know I'm not. Poor marketing - hell, poor organization and business management, period - lack of communication, truly horrible POD's and a general contempt for the authors have made them a serious NEVER AGAIN on my list of publishers.

But what has really sent me over the edge is the latest information from various sources. It has come to my attention that our new CEO, Jean Marc Philippe Gombart, has no intention of responding to certified letters (or even reading them), or to anyone who expresses any anger. Um, excuse me? Does he not realize there are serious breaches of contract going on here? I am owed royalties on each of my books – one of them for over a year now! That's MAJOR! I don't have the proper forms for the IRS (I don't care what the hell stupid phrase you put in your contract, the IRS regulations trump that and if I get fucked over because Noble refuses to provide me with form 1099's, it won't be pretty).  Piss-poor POD formatting and lack of author copies in all available formats (outlined in my contract as due to me) I can see being a minor point of contention to someone who HAS NO PRIOR PUBLISHING EXPERIENCE AND STILL NO CLUE HOW PUBLISHING WORKS. 

I can deal with the "minor" issues - I admit to being willing to work with a learning curve (23 years of business experience has taught me that as well). But this guy is a seasoned businessman according to the press release. Knows how to run a business. Is that so? By allowing the lack of payment to continue, and flouting IRS regulations? Not smart business-like behavior to my perspective. In fact, it's foolish. Because if I complain to the IRS that Noble hasn't provided me with all the forms I need to have for accurate files, the IRS is going to be going after Noble. Not me. Not paying me the money I am due on the books that I sweated over is going to get them a letter from a lawyer. Not me. (Okay, the IRS might look closer at me, but I have a really good CPA - my sister. And I keep copies of everything. I'm clean!)

Yes, I am contractually obligated to give them 90 days to resolve the breaches (you wouldn't believe the list I now have of contract no-no's. I learned, sadly, the hard way). But if they're not even going to read my letter, then the 90 days becomes irrelevant. How can you fix the breaches if you don't know what they are? And how in the fucking hell can you expect to keep my rights with such grievous breaches?

The sheer arrogance of this man boggles my mind. When authors send him an email he lowers himself to actually read, his response is "Call me."  Shouldn't that be the other way around? My 23 years of experience in business (yes, I am repeating it again – I'm not a green newbie in every way) have taught me that the new boss reaches out to the employees, (in this case, the authors, though I wouldn't exactly say we're employees), not the other way around. Besides, someone like me, who works that FT job, can't make calls related to writing on work hours. My boss and coworkers support my writing career – as long as it doesn't interfere with the job that actually pays my mortgage and covers my kids' health insurance. When I get home from that paying job, it's too late to call, business has ended for the day. Besides, there is no way in eternal hell I am racking up long distance charges for someone who can't even be bothered to read a certified letter concerning major breaches of contract.

The unethical and downright rude behavior of the management at Noble (TIIC) is appalling. Sneering at authors and acting like they're gum stuck on your shoe is not the way to win loyalty.  This lesson has been a costly one for me, but I am now wiser. While the loss of unpaid royalties will not get my electricity shut off, it will do that to others. Now I have to say – how dare they trifle with people's lives as if they mean nothing? I seriously feel like I'm dealing with a Leona Helmsley-type here – self-centered, vain and arrogant, everyone should show them respect. No way. Not when you don't give me that same respect. It's clear from what I've learned in the last few months the people who provide Noble's products are somehow viewed by management as inferior and not worth dealing with. You know, eventually, all those contracts will expire (have no doubt, the letter intending not to renew my contracts is drafted and ready to go, even if it has to wait. For now, anyway). And all those rights will legally revert to the authors. Does Noble's management not worry about that? Do they truly think the continued lack of communication is going to make the authors want to keep their work there, and submit more? And do they really think anyone in the publishing universe will forget what has happened? Actually, on that last point, they do seem to think that. I find that rather amusing – no one ever forgets (or forgives) in the internet age.

If they do truly think all those things, then I have to believe we are dealing with very ignorant and clueless people here. If this type of behavior continues, my guess is that Noble won't survive for much longer anyway.

At least, that's what I'm hoping. Yeah, I know, I'm coming off like a bitch. Hell, I am one, usually! lol But I don't care anymore. I will never send them another word of my work again, and I will, one way or another, come hell or high water, get my rights back and leave them in a trail of dust so big, they'll be choking for weeks!

Changing of the Seasons

Not really a complete change though – technically the cooler fall weather and the leaves turning won't really start for a few more weeks around here. But summer vacation is ending, school is starting in a few days, so to me that signals the change. And I'm hoping it will bring a little more order to our little corner of the world.

It's been a busy and eventful summer. On the home front, I can now honestly say I can't wait for my daughter to get her driver's license. The chauffeuring gets old fast, and somehow she had somewhere to go nearly every night. Much easier when her friends come over here, but that brings its own set of dilemmas. At least now, I can say no to Tuesday night guests and not be made to feel like I'm the evil stepmother in Snow White!

I turned a lot of my focus toward revising my next vampire story, The Night Club. It's just about finished - I'm still doing some final revisions and adding a couple new scenes and just trying to get everything clean and logical. Which got me thinking ahead to my next vampire book. I actually began sketching it out. Just jotting down some ideas of what I think should happen, no real writing. Yet. You may remember Josh and Sophie from The Taste of Magic – well, they have their own tale to tell. So I started my spreadsheet for their story.

In the midst of that, I also began the sequel to Warrior's Vengeance. Rowan Langley is the hero in Warrior's Wrath, and if you read WV, you know him as Marissa's brother. He learns a few things about himself that turn him very angry and bitter. This doesn't bode well for the heroine, Aeron, a Welsh woman who steals from him. I'm having lots of fun getting this first draft down, and hopefully will complete it quickly. At the rate I'm going, there's actually a good chance of that.

I'm also doing some minor work on the sequel to Prince of the Universe. I had lost my fire for that story a couple months ago, but it's back. Christina and Reygar's story is a bit more difficult to pinpoint. I'm focusing on world building at this point, and making my usual lists - these are of various cultural customs and societal norms. With each one that becomes clear, the trouble between the Aldarran and "Earth Woman" gets stronger. This book will be set entirely on the planet of Aldarra – and civilization on that planet is very different from Earth's.

Lots of irons in the fire, which is kind of crazy, considering the insanity and chaos of the rest of my life. But my mind just works that way – I suppose because I'm a Gemini and there are way more than two of me in here! :D Each part of me wants to be focused on something, so to appease them all, I spend a little time on each planned book, at least so when I finish the two I'm neck deep in, I'll have at least two more to get to work on. The madness keeps me focused – I get 2 to 2 ½ hours a night to write, so I've been trying to use it wisely. With school starting, I may even gain another hour – no more kids staying up late because they don't have to get up in the morning! It's really hard to concentrate on medieval England when Mario's in the background trying to save the Princess!

Reviews - Taking the Bitter with the Sweet

When a book releases, reviews usually follow. Sometimes quickly, sometimes not so quick. I found a lovely review for In the Devil's Arms a good year after it was released. So these things do take time.

I've had a couple of recent releases in the last few months, and I've sent them off with a fingers-crossed silent prayer that whoever reads them loves them. I've been lucky for the most part – most of my reviews that came from review sites and blogs have, overall, been very good.  I know not everyone will love my books, and I usually have a pretty thick skin. I love the feedback, even it it's not as good as I'd hoped.

 

Prince of the Universe was my first stab at sci-fi. Generally, I'm not a big fan of the genre, a few movies here and there, and an occasional book by a favorite author are about it. But the idea came to me, and I ran with it. I had a blast writing the story. It was a lot of fun, although I did have to do a bit of double-checking on certain things that had to be accurate. The rest, I kind of went with what I envisioned in my head when the first pieces of the story came together. I loved Merry, and wanted to give her the happy ending she deserved after what she'd endured. Same for Vega, even though he was a pompous, arrogant fool at times, he genuinely cared for Merry.  He needed her as much as she needed him.

Apparently, though, I bored the reviewer. Ugh! Bored? Gah, that's like the kiss of death for a book. I've had people trash my characters, my plotlines, even my writing talent. But no one ever said they were bored before. This was new. I sulked for a bit, and lost all desire to continue working on the outline for PotU's sequel. Logically, I know the book just wasn't for that reader. It happens, and everyone's opinion is important. And the review was not done in a mean-spirited way. It was honest. I appreciate that. It's been some time now, the sting has softened a bit, but the worry remains that people will read that review and steer clear. It happens, and I can't dwell on it. I have decided I will go ahead and write the sequel. This book will take place entirely on the planet Aldarra, and I'm liking how the plot and conflict are coming together.

My other recent release, Warrior's Vengeance, was a title I had lots of worries for. I've mentioned before the reactions to this book have been extreme, no middle ground. My hero, Ian, can be cruel, and doesn't always treat the heroine, Marissa, very well. But I wrote this book knowing I was keeping it in sync with events and the people of the times. Of course, I've had a few things brought to my attention that I never thought of as I was writing the book, but that's okay. I kind of expected to be beaten down by readers and reviewers for some of the content, anyway, so those complaints were almost minor. They also spurred a couple of "D'oh!" moments. Haven't heard the term "bodice-ripper" in a while, but I'll admit, I liked hearing it. :)  

I have a plan for a sequel to this book too, and there are ideas for more books set in 12^th/13^th century England and Scotland, bringing in some of the paranormal elements I like so much to play with. I truly enjoy that time period, the location, so I want to explore more of the people. I will definitely be producing some more "bodice-rippers" in a similar vein and can only hope they do as well.

Anyway, it seems I needn't have worried too much about this book – this story resonated with the reviewer. It touched others as well – one reader admitted she had a hard time with the story. I get that – it's not a light, fluffy story by any stretch of the imagination. But she was honest, and straightforward in her review, and rated the book very highly. I got her point, and it was a pleasure to discuss that with her a little. You can't ask for more. 

Now, the general rule is, don't respond to reviews. But I always think it's nice, when a reader says my story touched her deeply in some way, that I should at least thank her. And it often leads to new experiences I might not otherwise have had. I like to think my instincts are good, and while I don't often respond to a review, there are those that warrant it, and I'm always glad I did afterward.

Don't get me wrong – there are a few places I avoid getting in too deep reading reviews. When a reviewer reports my work is poorly written and needs editing, then lists Fifty Shades as one of her Top 10 All Time Favorites, well, I can't take that reviewer too seriously. Sorry for anyone who's a fan of those books – I am not. I tried, I really tried, but that's a topic for another blog post.

In any case, seeing the reactions to Warrior's Vengeance was a huge bright spot in a gloomy last couple of weeks, which sadly, look to be getting gloomier. I have some thoughts on that, but I don't know if I'm inclined to share them here yet. I've been holding off and taking a wait-and-see approach, but I think that time has come to an end. In the meantime, I'm just trying to keep up with getting two books done – one revised, and one new. And trying not to think too far ahead.

Publisher Woes

The past week has been surreal, to say the least. I have to wonder though, why these sorts of things happen whenever I go on vacation. Strange coincidence.

In any case, as many of you already know, last week, Jill Noelle Noble left Noble Romance Publishing. When I opened the email, I suspected it was an update to an email received a few weeks earlier. Boy, was it ever! To say I was stunned would be mild. Wow, what the hell does that mean now? So I posted my very nice thank you to her – after all, for those who may or may not know, until Noble accepted In the Devil’s Arms, I was literally about to throw in the towel on pursuing publication – and wished her well. But then the loop exploded with questions, and I had a real big eye-opener.

See, for some time, I’ve always felt like I was an inconvenience. My emails went mostly unanswered, commitments were made that were not upheld, and when I did receive responses, I felt like I was being a nuisance. I figured, hey, my books aren’t selling all that great, so maybe that’s why. Or maybe, based on my editing experiences, she just really didn’t like my work and wasn’t interested in anything further from me. Which was fine, I’ve sold a few other titles since then to other publishers, so that was some validation. But a couple of my issues were more than asking when I would see my PODs, or who I should send my next manuscript to.  In those cases, I continued to send a very nicely worded, “when you have a moment, can you please let me know?” email every week or so. I got one response, with a promise to resolve the issue by a certain date, but that deadline passed with nothing.

I’ve come to learn I am not alone on the receiving end of this general lack of regard. And as I learned more, the more shocked I was at how bad the whole situation had become. Authors were then prevented from discussing genuine grievances with each other, when our private loop was shut down. So a few authors opened another. We learned we had a mole – who shared our *private* comments publicly. Then went so far as to insult and make threatening comments to people who were reasonably trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

A Noble employee sent out an email which was meant to appease and calm our jitters. It did nothing of the sort – in my opinion, the fact the owner did not in some way attach his name to that message indicated a further lack of respect for the hard-working authors whose work Noble depends on to actually be in business. I mean, if no one writes any books for them, exactly *how* can they stay in business?

To be fair, I am not in as deeply as others – I have only two books with them and a short story. Others have so much more invested in Noble, and are suffering by not getting royalty payments in a timely manner or having their legitimate issues addressed.  To top it all off, there now appears to be some sort of effort to turn our valid grievances into us being a bunch of unprofessional, untalented losers. Criminals tend to try and blame the victims of their crimes for committing them in the first place. That’s what this feels like. We have been victimized, yet somehow, it’s our fault this is the situation we’re in.

Clearly, there were significant issues to cause this massive implosion. I get that, but when the people most severely affected by that are not allowed to question and demand answers as to what the future holds for their work and careers, well, to me, that’s what I call unprofessional. Immature. Foolish. When the people who actually caused the train wreck then try to pin the blame on others, their pathetic actions show how desperately they are trying to save what’s left of their reputations. Not to mention, their behavior reeks of pure arrogance.

I’m still feeling a lot of emotions, as are many others. At this point, I just want my rights back. I have other places I can place these books where they won’t languish. There are further books in the series that will just gather dust until I can free the first two. After that, I want nothing more to do with anything related to Noble and its current and past management. I deserve more respect and I can and do get it elsewhere.

Here are links to others’ blog posts about this debacle. Some are Noble authors, some aren't. But I think they explain it far more succinctly than I can, and give much better insight into what really was going on behind the scenes. This isn't a complete list, I know I'm missing a few, but I will update as I can (at work and some sites are inaccessible to me at the moment)

Bryl Tyne
J.S. Wayne
Bianca Sommerland
Brita Addams
Lindsay Marene Ordone
Aleksandr Voinov
Erastes
Karen Knows Best
Two Old Farts Talking Romance
Vacuous Minx
Ellie Writes

Age Brings Wisdom, Right?

Today's my birthday. I usually love my birthday, even if it does signify getting older and all that goes along with that. This year, I'm not as enthralled as I usually am, even if I am only 29! I refuse to divulge it even in my own home because my son is a blabbermouth - no chance of his learning my real age until he's at least to this point, so I will always ever refer to myself as 29. Though he's likely to remind me that now I'm 30.

I don't know if it's because I've finally reached the point that I don't care anymore, the day is no different than any other, or the fact that I'm approaching a milestone that I really don’t want to approach. Maybe it's because I still need to lose about 30 lbs. and start working out regularly, like I used to (curse you Curves, for closing all the damn locations near me!), because I need to start feeling younger again. Or maybe the fact that I now need glasses and will be getting them in a week or so is hitting home. The tests the doctor wants me to take. Hey, other than the standard female things, when did I start needing a doctor regularly, damn it?

Lately my 16 year old heart has been feeling more 30-ish and that can't be a good thing, can it? Somehow, it bugs me. I want to hold onto my youth and keep partying like I did when I was 19, and I find it's not so easy anymore. Not that I'm going to give that up – just have to get and keep my partying self in better shape, for better stamina! :D

One thing I've also noticed is that I've been making my heroines a little older than I used to, well, except for Marissa in Warrior's Vengeance and the heroine(s) to come in the sequel/prequels, the time period kind of needs them to be fairly young. Not sure why my more modern heroines are older, and the really odd thing is I find myself feeling more maternal toward my heroines rather than identifying fully with them. It's weird, how my perception of them has changed. There's less of "me" in them than there used to be, and they have complete personalities of their own. Maybe I've finally gotten to be old enough that I realize that fairy-tale ending ain't never gonna happen for me, so I'll give it to them.  Or maybe it's that I've changed so much over the years that the parts of me that are in my heroines are not parts of me that are still relevant to me today.

Maybe I'm just getting better at compartmentalizing and sorting. Though I would rather have this skill applied to my home and office, rather than the emotional and rambling train of thoughts, thank you very much. I find plotting comes a little easier – is that because I've garnered enough knowledge in my advanced years to be able to make sense of things that I used to just wing without any sort of reasonable explanation? (Is that last sentence even grammatically correct?)

Anyway, a lot of this has come to me over the last couple of days, as I approach my day, realizing how short the span is separating me from that horrifying number and fighting it as hard as I can. But there are positives, especially when it comes to writing.

I'm better disciplined (though not by much), and I am honestly secure in knowing what I put into words is thousands and thousands of times better than what my first attempts look like. I'm good, damn it, and it may have taken a while to get to that point, but every minute, even the depressing I'm-giving-it-up-can't-do-this-anymore ones, were worth it. I feel confident in giving advice and support to newer writers. I didn't have that confidence for a loooong time. I feel like I know what I'm doing, more often than I feel like I don't. Why the hell did it take so long to tip the scales the other way?

As for acknowledging today, I'm going to do my best to keep the day in general low-key, though I'm not past using it to my advantage when I need to. ;) But I want it to be a regular day amidst the insanity of all the others. We'll see how that pans out. Since everyone except me and the little guy have plans tomorrow, the odds of it being a quiet normal day are actually pretty good. I'm hoping, anyway!

And since it’s a birthday, it's time for presents! I'll give a few commenters a copy of any one of my titles, winners' choice.

Warrior's Vengeance - Available Today!

Today is release day for Warrior's Vengeance. I'm very excited about this book – my CP's know the trials and tribulations I went through. Lol 

This book is grittier and a bit darker in tone than other titles, It's what I like best about it – I didn't hold anything back (okay, maybe a little – gotta save something for another book, right?) and let Marissa and Ian go at it! I had fun with most of it, other times I was left a bit drained. Mostly I had a blast writing the book, though. I've mentioned before about the extreme reactions I've received. While the positive reactions were awesome, the negatives spurred me to think about using a warning for those who might not be comfortable with some of the scenes, and I've done so in a few places. Having said all that, I must also say publishing it is certainly the best validation. :D

Aside from the sexual content, another reason I enjoyed writing Warrior's Vengeance is because of its time period. I am a big fan of that time – I've written two other books that take place during the reign of Edward I, and I consider them the prequels to Warrior's Vengeance. I'm considering rewriting them, and I have a basic outline for a sequel, with the main character one of the minor ones from Warrior's Vengeance.

Back on point, romances from the period beginning with 1066 and the Norman invasion through about the time when Robert The Bruce defeated the English take up quite a lot of space on my bookshelves. I've read historical romance of all times - the entire range from pre-Viking England to the glory days of the American West (which is probably favorite #2 – how can anyone not drool over hot cowboys?), but always, my heart is drawn to this time, particularly the later Plantagenet years. I also have an extensive library of non-fiction about the period, which makes DH insane when I start pulling them out to research something! For some reason, all the romance books I read that took place in that period always seemed to draw me deeper into them, and I could picture everything so vividly, I was enraptured until the end, and at that point, probably a little disappointed it was over!

A couple of favorites are of course Kathleen Woodiwiss' The Wolf and the Dove. I can still see the scene where Aislynn is sure she's lost her son, and she's crying to Wulfgar. It still brings tears to my eyes. The Conqueror by Brenda Joyce. Rolfe is positively abominable to Ceidre but you can't help rooting for them, even during some of the most torturous interactions and events. Johanna Lindsey wrote some marvelous ones, and all the Catherine Coulter's Song series books in the house are rather weathered!

Anyway, here are the cover and blurb for Warrior's Vengeance, and the link as well, for those who are interested in checking it out. It will be on Amazon as well, I'll keep you posted. For those of you who enjoy this type of gritty sexual tale, I hope you like this book too! Leave a comment about some of your favorite historical romances, and I'll reward a random commenter with a copy.

Near the Scottish border during the reign of Edward I, Marissa Langley, daughter of a powerful English earl is captured by a band of marauding Scotsmen. Completely at their mercy, she is desperate to escape. When the leader of the group saves her from certain rape, she believes she will be freed.

But Ian MacCallum is no savior. He takes her for his own, seduces her then makes her a submissive. Her collar and chains are part of his vengeance on her father—the man Ian claims is responsible for the death of his beloved wife and son.

But her immediate death is not Ian’s plan. He subjects her to daily suffering and punishments and goes so far as sharing her with another clansman. Yet, her spirit will not be broken. He finds himself drawn to that core of strength within her; finding it most exquisite as it cannot be violated.

When danger from within his clan threatens her, Ian protects her, discovering at the same time that he does not want to lose her, ever.

Marissa makes her own discovery: she comes to crave Ian’s torturous touch. When she learns the source of his hatred, she is certain he is wrong. Her father would not commit atrocities. She waits for the moment when she can escape and prove her father’s innocence. But that would mean leaving Ian when she is no longer sure she wants to be free.

Includes: Bondage, collars, spanking, multiple partners and so much more!