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Hi, all.
I’ve
waited to the last minute to write this newsletter because there’s not
much going on AND I’m basically drowning in Nordic gods, so instead of
torturing myself a moment longer, I’m just going to do this…Here is the new cover for THE UNLEASHING  I love this. I think it's hot. Oh! And it's available for pre-order on Amazon, in case you're interested... And here's the new cover for the mass market re-release of THE MANE SQUEEZE out in January 2015:  Cool, right? I like this one, too. And that’s it. I’m done for the month. Seriously. Done. If I could, I'd go into an actual cave and blast anyone who gets too close with my mighty fire. But the dog, Gaius, he's against me acting like that. He likes being the center of attention and having unharmed humans around to give him love and affection. I don't know how I got this dog. We're exact opposites. Anyway, here's an excerpt from THE MANE SQUEEZE for this month. Talk to y'all next month! Hopefully I'll be a little less stressed out. Hopefully...wouldn't actually count on it, though. Heh.
--Shel./G.A
Feeling brave? Then join my loop: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shellylaurenston/
Copyright © Shelly Laurenston 2014
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Thursday, July 17, 2014
I had to share this from Shelly Laurenston!
What's new with Cathryn Fox
Invitation To Eden!
Ivy In Bloom by Vivi Anna writing as Tawny Stokes
An island getaway turns into a lesson in passion and surrender...
After
getting out of a bad relationship and dropping out of university, Ivy
Watts decides she needs some much needed stress therapy. So when she
discovers her parents have been invited to a luxury private island
resort called Eden, she manages to finagle herself her own invitation.
She expects to laze around on the beach with a drink in her hand and
figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life, but what she
doesn’t expect is to learn a few life lessons from the tall, dark ,
older handsome man in the penthouse suite.
Kindle Kobo iTunes
Dare to Surrender by Carly Phillips
After
ending a relationship to a cheating, domineering man, Isabelle Masters
takes off in her leased Mercedes, only to be arrested for grand theft
and hauled to a local police station. To her surprise, she is rescued by
the most unlikely person possible, Gabriel Dare, a man she’s been
attracted to for far too long. Gabe offers Isabelle freedom along with
an invitation to Eden, an exclusive island resort where everything and
anything is possible.
Although
Gabe yearns to possess Isabelle, he knows all too well he must fight
his primitive need to bind her to him, and instead help bring out the
independent woman she yearns to become – or risk losing her for good.
A
woman who needs to run her own life. A man who needs to exert control.
Can she surrender to his erotic demands without losing her sense of self
once more?
Kindle Nook Kobo iTunes
Second Glances by Elena Aitken
When
Kylie Wilson receives a mysterious invitation for an all expenses paid
trip to a tropical, all inclusive resort, there’s no doubt in her mind
who it came from—Marcus Stone, the only man she’s ever really loved. The
same man who’d promised her forever and then promptly left town to
pursue his dream without so much as a backward glance. Kylie owes it to
herself to take a chance, and despite her conflicted feelings, she
decides to risk her heart again and is soon jetting toward the island of
Eden and the man she hopes will finally fill the void in her life. But
when she arrives, all is not as she expected it to be. More to the
point, he is not who she expected him to be. And on an island that is
supposed to ‘know exactly what you need’, can Kylie open her body, mind,
and more importantly—her heart to someone and something, she’s never
considered?
Kindle Nook Kobo
Want to learn more about the island, check it out here, Eden.
Join the Smutketeers Invitation to Eden book club
Also, don't forget to sign up for the Invitation to Eden page on facebook and our Newsletter
The series began with a free read from Lauren Hawkeye.
You can find it here!
BN Kindle Kobo iTunes ARE Wattpad Smashwords
My story, BREAKING FREE, Invitaiton to Eden is still available Amazon Nook Kobo iTunes
Spring Break at college is supposed to be a time of fun and parties, but Alaska Rossi, AKA Jane Smith, is on lockdown thanks to her father’s mafia dealings. She wants only to party down with the rest of her classmates. At least her hot, darkly mysterious bodyguard—deep undercover as her dorm’s resident assistant—gives her something to fantasize about during her boring nights in confinement. When she wins a campus radio contest, and is gifted with a special invitation to an exclusive island, she knows it’s her chance to break free. After all, it’s a place where no one knows her name, so what danger could possible come to her? But when danger appears in the form of a masked man who takes control of all her pleasures, tapping into her darkest fantasies, she begins to wonder if her undercover lover, and the mysterious bodyguard who’s deep undercover, are one in the same…
Happy reading,
The Author is Interview Series by Molly O'Keefe
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THE AUTHOR IS...
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Susan,
I started reading your romantic suspense books first. (On Thin Ice is
my FAVORITE!) And when I picked up Baby I Am Yours — it was like meeting
your twin, or something. Your funny, zany sister. How did that
transition work for you? How did you manage those two voices? Why did
you decide to stop?
I didn’t so much decide as
have no choice. When the bottom dropped out of the Romantic Suspense
market in 1995 my publisher at the time closed their suspense line and I
was cut loose. Desiring to continue my very much stop and go career, I
chose to do three things. I reinvented my career, exchanged my first
agent for my current one and vowed to never again sell myself short.
(I’d already closed down the Popular Library line at Warner and signed a
ridiculously bad contract with the publisher that dumped me and was
beginning to realize if I didn’t take my career choices more seriously,
neither would anyone else).
I thought it might be a kick to write about twins who were worlds
apart personality-wise and then throw in that good old standby Mistaken
Identity. It didn’t occur to me that my voice diverged in the two
different styles, because more than anything my levity has always come
from the vastly different ways in which men and women view things, and
I’d incorporated that in my darker Romantic Suspense as well. In Baby,
I’m Yours and Be My Baby, however, I shot for a consciously lighter tone
when it came to the situations my characters found themselves in.
Your books are very funny. Do you brainstorm the funny bits, or do they happen while you’re writing? Or editing?
Its organic. I can brainstorm a situation that lends itself to a more light-hearted tone but funny is something I can’t force. I’ve always had a sort of skewed sense of humor so I chose to unleash it like so many flying monkeys. Some people really like it. Other’s go, “What the hell is she talking about? That’s not funny.”
You’ve
written books about competitive ice skating, Vegas show girls, Marines.
Your new book No Strings Attached has a DEA hero and a heroine who
spends three nights in a Bahamian jail on fake drug charges. All of this
to say — wow! That’s a lot of research. Have you ever shied away from
an idea because you weren’t keen on doing the research?
I haven’t shied away from
it, but my favorite way to research is talking to professionals. I’ve
been lucky on more than one occasion to be conversing with the right
person at the right time, only to discover they know someone in the very
field I want to write about. The first time was for Obsessed. In the
dressing room at the gym one day I got to talking to a woman I’d
exchanged chit-chat with out on the floor. I don’t usually like to talk
about my writing, as I’d rather write the entire book than have to
describe succinctly (a concept my brain can’t seem to wrap its little
head around) its core idea/theme/ whathaveyou. Yet I found myself
telling her I was working on a book whose hero was a detective in the
sexual assaults division—but I was writing blind and was unsure how to
go about getting the technical information I needed. Turned out she was a
cop and she hooked me up with a detective in the Special Assaults Unit
in the Seattle PD. Same thing happened with On Thin Ice. A long time
friend of my mom’s (and mine) put me in touch with her old school chum
who had skated with Shipstad and Johnson Ice Folliies, a now defunct
touring company, and was still active in the ice skating world. I’m
embarrassed to admit that I was so green in those days that I didn’t
even include them in the acknowledgments, an oversight I regret to this
day.
What I find most difficult
is writing settings I’ve never personally visited. I wrote Be My Baby
without visiting New Orleans. I had immense help from a mystery writer
who lived there and a Seattle journalist with Sunset Magazine who
brought me back a huge stack of photographs. But I still stressed over
it and made it a point to visit the areas the books were set in from
that point. Of course, having said that, here I am, currently writing an
on-the-run book I’ve set in South America (starring Finn Kavanagh, who
featured in two of the Sisterhood Diaries Trilogy). I’ve never been to
South America, but I did a lot of library/online research—then made up
my own country based on what I learned.
I just wrote a blog post for Bobbi Dumas’ Read-A-Romance
Month about how reading romance and writing romance helps me celebrate
my marriage in that it reminds me on a nearly daily basis of what love
feels like and requires of me. And it made me think of you and your
soul mate/High School Sweetheart! How has this very bizarre career we
have played a part in your life? Enriched? Complicated?
In our day to day lives, it truly hasn’t played much of a role. He’s an engineer; I’m a writer. It’s just what we do. We arrived at the traditions that shape our marriage with a whole lot of raising each other and hit and miss experimentation.
On the other hand, it took
me almost eight years to sell my first book and, bless his heart, during
that time the soul mate displayed darn few douche moments. He was
supportive through the pre-sell years and through the first decade I was
published when I could have made a better living flipping burgers. My
all time favorite encouragement moment came long before I got my first
contract. I’d received yet another rejection of a manuscript I’d
submitted. I was totally discouraged and said (okay, wailed), “Do you
think I’ll ever be published?”
He just looked at me and said, “Hell, yeah. You’re too damn stubborn to ever give up.”
Perked
Me
Right
Up. The man took one of my character faults and turned it into a virtue. Gotta love that.
I
know when I answer the question “which of your books is your favorite?”
I almost always lie and say, all of them. Or the next one. When I know
the truth is that some books were easier to write than others. For a
multitude of reasons — life stuff and writing stuff. Some nearly killed
me. Some make me so proud I can’t even stand it. So, which book of yours
is your favorite? Which one nearly killed you? Which are you most
proud of?
I usually say the one I
just finished because the thing finally is done. The actual writing
makes my ears bleed. I’m not one of those authors whose words flow from
her fingertips in copperplate cursive. I write largely by correction so
where I shine is in the editing process. Getting my original idea down
hurts. Some books are far easier to write than others, but I’ve found
that some of the ones that came the hardest, that I thought were pure
crap as I was writing them, have surprised the hell out of me when I did
the final Prologue-to-The End polish. And picking your fave really is a
lot like saying who your favorite kid is (and I only have one, but I’ve
got a shipload of nieces and nephews and their kids). That said, a few
of my sneaking favourites are Exposure, Baby, I’m Yours, Coming Undone,
Just For Kicks and Some Like It Hot. Of those, the first three were the
easiest to write. The last two, not so much. Still, I’m pretty proud of
my body of work as a whole.
I got some GREAT reader questions mostly regarding brainstorming and your writing process:
Renee Page: How do you develop the plot and do you ever change the plot in the middle of writing the book?
When I started out, I was a
strictly a seat of the pants writer—I’d just make it up as I went
along. I was lucky in that I had the same editor for the first five
books. Book One was an entire manuscript. The next four I wrote
single-paragraph synopsises (synosi?) which said This is what I think
I’ll do and she trusted me to do it. But, believing she deserved a life
of her own., the darn woman got married and moved to LA.
That’s when I found out no
one loves you quite as much as the person who discovered you. My new
editors wanted to see actual fleshed out synopsi (Yep, going with that
for the plural). So I started brainstorming with my friend Caroline
Cross who wrote kick-ass Desires and taught me to write a decent
synopsis. Between us, we’d develop enough plot to score me an advance.
I’m a pantser by nature, though, so until I plant my butt in the chair, I
truly don’t know will come out of my head. Plus my books are more
character than plot driven. That generally means those characters hijack
my nicely thought out plot and take it in directions I never
anticipated. But that’s kind of the beauty of writing. Nothing’s quite
as satisfying as looking at something you’ve written, feeling your mouth
quirk up in a wry smile, and saying, “Huh. Who knew?”
Martina
Chees: How much time does she spend on brainstorming the idea for book
in comparison to writing it? Is it harder to think of a good story or
to write it?
I spend waaaayyyyy more
time writing than brainstorming. I’m a slow writer. I so wish that was
an exaggeration, but unfortunately it isn’t. Every now and then an idea
will come to me full blown (Burning UP) but that’s rare, rare, rare.
Mostly I find the difficulty level in a dead heat between thinking of a
good storyline and writing it.
And Finally Fill in the Blank THE AUTHOR IS... sometimes stoked, but too often frazzled
Susan’s next book NO STRINGS ATTATCHED will be released on July 29! You can read the prologue on her website:
http://susanandersen.com/index.php
And if you’re not following on her on Facebook — you need to fix that because she’s always got the good stuff on her page!
https://www.facebook.com/SusanAndersenFanPage?fref=ts
While you’re at it — come and find me on Facebook and let me know what you thought of the interview!
https://www.facebook.com/MollyOKeefeBooks?ref=hl
or send me an email: molly@molly-okeefe.com
Next month I’m interviewing Sherry Thomas — find out more about her on her website: http://www.sherrythomas.com/
The Boys of Bishop Are Coming!
Wild Child — October 2013
Never Been Kissed — June 2014
Between The Sheets — July 2014
Life. Not as it seems.
Wild Child — October 2013
Never Been Kissed — June 2014
Between The Sheets — July 2014
Life. Not as it seems.
See who's making a buzz at Fresh Fiction!
Spotlight on Tracy WolffADDICTED |
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Buy ADDICTED today
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As Chloe Girard discovers, there's love . . . and then there's addiction. Ethan Frost is everything a woman could want in a man. He's rich, gorgeous, powerful, one of the most eligible bachelors in the world. But that's not why I'm with him. I love Ethan for all the things no one else gets to see: his innate kindness, his reckless spontaneity, his unwavering determination to use his brilliance for good. I love the way he looks at me, the way he touches me. The way he makes me forget the wreckage of my past and the twisted fear that still lives inside me.
But sometimes it
terrifies me how much I crave him, how much I need him just to breathe. I
always thought it would be my past that ruined us, but there's a
darkness in Ethan I never dreamed existed. Can we survive as his secrets
surface—threatening to unravel us both?
Sneak Peek of ADDICTEDEthan. Ethan. Ethan. His name is pounding in my blood, a mantra in my soul. Ethan. Ethan. Ethan. All that work. All those hours and days of trying to move on. All those assurances to myself that I had this, that I could do it. All of it blown out of the water in one fell swoop. Ethan. Ethan. Ethan. He's here, right here in front of me. And despite everything, it's all I can do not to fall straight into him. I don't know what to do, what to say, how to act. There's a part of me that wants nothing more than to run across the room and throw myself into his lap. To bury my face in his neck and beg him to never let me go. To pretend that the last two weeks never happened and that, somehow, someway, all the pain, all the agony, was nothing but a nightmare gone awry. But there's another part—equally as big and equally as important—that wants to run away. Or at least dive behind the nearest chair and not come out until he's gone. Until he's no longer looking at me like he saw a ghost. Or worse. Of the two choices, the second is definitely the smarter one. Humiliating, yes. Unprofessional, absolutely. But still so much better than standing here remembering what it feels like to be held by him. To be loved by him. And yet, even knowing what a terrible idea it is, I can't stop myself from taking a step toward him, then another and another. In seconds, I'm standing right in front of him, close enough to touch his soft hair and smoothly shaven cheeks. Close enough to register the uneven rise and fall of his chest beneath the navy silk of his shirt. More than close enough to feel his heartbeat if I just reach out and stroke my hands down his chest as I'm longing to do. "Ethan." His name is a tortured sound ripped from me, half whisper, half sob, but I can see by the way his eyes narrow and his fists clench that he hears me. Can tell by the way he looks at me that he understands all the things I don't have the words to say. He doesn't react for a long time, doesn't so much as move a muscle. Then, suddenly, he's leaning forward in his chair, and I think that he's going to be the one to do it, to break the oh-so-fragile understanding between us. To touch me the way I've been longing to be touched from the moment I left him in that parking lot. But then his eyes go blank and he's looking through me like I'm not even here. Or worse, like I never was. Download ADDICTED: Kindle | nook | iTunes | Kobo | GooglePlayAlso in the Ethan Frost series: RUINED by Tracy Wolff, currently on sale at just $1.99! |
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Buy RUINED today
Ethan Frost #1
e-Book |
About RUINEDHe's the last man Chloe Girard should love . . . but the first she ever could.Ethan Frost is a visionary, a genius, every woman's deepest, darkest fantasy—even mine. And, somehow, I am his. He stole into my life like a dream. Turned my reality upside down and made my every desire come true—especially those I never knew I had. He demanded everything I had to give and gave me everything of himself in return. But dreams don't last forever, and ours is no exception. Because my nightmares are darker, and my wounds deeper, than I could ever reveal. And as much as Ethan wants to protect me, the secrets we share will only tear us apart. Praise for Ruined"Tracy Wolff knows how to steam up the pages, and she proves it again in Ruined. If you're looking for a hot read, curl up with Ethan Frost."—New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J. Kenner"Fall in love under the spell of a master. Tracy Wolff knows how to keep you panting for more and utterly satisfied all at once."—New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Beth Kery"Heat sizzles off the page and the oh-so-sexy Ethan Frost will make you swoon!"—USA Today bestselling author Stacey KennedyAbout Tracy Wolff |
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 Sexy Men. Bold Women. Wicked Romance. |
Connect with Tracy Wolff   |
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Tracy
Wolff collects books, English degrees and lipsticks and has been known
to forget where—and sometimes who—she is when immersed in a great novel.
At six she wrote her first short story—something with a rainbow and a
prince—and at seven she forayed into the wonderful world of girls lit
with her first Judy Blume novel. By ten she'd read everything in the
young adult and classics sections of her local bookstore, so in
desperation her mom started her on romance novels. And from the first
page of the first book, Tracy knew she'd found her life-long love. Now
an English professor at her local community college, she writes romances
that run the gamut from contemporary to paranormal to erotic suspense.
Fresh Press monitors more than 65 nationally broadcast television and radio programs each day and delivers a comprehensive listing of the books and authors featured in a daily newsletter. Sign up for Fresh Press by subscribing today.
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Fresh Sizzle Romance, sensual and erotic. If you like the "hotter" books, this monthly newsletter is for YOU! Don't miss anything! Sign up for Fresh Sizzle by subscribing today.
North Texas Readers Get the scoop on local author visits, signings and many many reader events in North Texas including our annual Boas and Tiaras Tea and the annual Readers 'n 'ritas Conference. Sign up for North Texas Readers today!
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What's new with J.T. Ellison
Gentle Readers:
Pre-order Paperback! eBooks:   also available at: Walmart | Target | East Side Story Mysteries and More | Parnassus Reading Rock |
Pre-Order Today! |
I hope your summer has been
amazing thus far! I’m writing to you from inside Hurricane Arthur, our
first big storm of the season. We’re just getting some nice wind and
waves, perfect writing weather. The Australian pine off the deck is
whipping around, and the fish spout gutters are gushing, but the storm
will be moving north soon, getting stronger and making July 4th
interesting for the OBX. Sorry, guys!
I’m still hard at work on WHAT LIES BEHIND,
starting into the frenzy of deadline. My editor has the first 150 pages
and I’m cooking now, so I’m hoping to make it on time. (I moved my
deadline up, which might have been a dumb thing to do, so we’ll see if I
regret it and have to extend to the original deadline or not. Put it
this way, if my deadline was in the original spot, I’d be crowing about
what great shape I’m in. So...)
The only reason I’m worried is that RWA is in a few weeks, so I’m
going to lose quite a bit of writing time. Catherine and I are doing a
workshop on co-writing, and of course, there’s the literacy signing (see
deets below), so if you’re in San Antonio (or want to make a road trip)
come by and see us!
Also, WHEN SHADOWS FALL
comes out in paperback next month (August 26). I’d love it if you
pre-ordered from your favorite bookstore. And, if you’re a book blogger
who is interested in reading WHEN SHADOWS FALL for review, please contact media@jtellison.com with your website, credentials and recent reviews to request your digital epub copy.
Tours
If you’re in San Antonio or
thereabouts, I will be attending RWA this year, and signing at the
“Literacy for Life” event July 23. The RWA 2014 Literacy Autographing will be held on Wednesday, July 23, 2014 from 5:30 ‐ 7:30 p.m. at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter Hotel in the 3rd floor ballroom. This event is open to the public.
Get Thee to a Bookstore
It’s halfway through the
year, and looking at my challenge, I’ve read 28 out of 60 books, which
in truth is a little short, because I’ve read several books for blurbs
and one for critique, so I’m really at 32 or 33. Not bad, right on
schedule. I haven’t had a vacation yet this year, so I’m looking forward
to plowing through a ton of books next month. But for now, this month’s
additions were all stellar:
Catherine Coulter — POWER PLAY
Jeff Abbott — INSIDE MAN
Megan Abbott — THE FEVER
Meg Gardiner — PHANTOM INSTINCT
Diana Gabaldon — AN ECHO IN THE BONE
Joelle Charbonneau — GRADUATION DAY
Lauren Oliver — PANIC
E. Lockhart — WE WERE LIARS
Jeff Abbott — INSIDE MAN
Megan Abbott — THE FEVER
Meg Gardiner — PHANTOM INSTINCT
Diana Gabaldon — AN ECHO IN THE BONE
Joelle Charbonneau — GRADUATION DAY
Lauren Oliver — PANIC
E. Lockhart — WE WERE LIARS
I’ve made a commitment to track all my reading this year, so if you’re on Goodreads, friend me, and follow along. I’m always interested in what you’re reading, too!
July Contest
July Contest
The July contest is live now, enter to win a signed paperback copy of Kim Law’s HOT BUTTERED YUM plus a $10 gift card (winner’s choice of Amazon or Barnes & Noble).
Enter here to win.
Enter here to win.
July Recipe — Bread and Butter Pickles
I rarely share recipes that
I haven’t already tested, but I’ve been wanting to make pickles and
haven’t had a chance to spend the appropriate amount of time on them. So
I’m stealing a recipe from a friend of mine, Anna Benjamin, who
graciously shares her finest on Facebook. I’ve benefitted from her
luscious recipes before (bourbon vanilla extract, anyone?) and I can
trust whatever she’s put together will be delicious and easy. So, here’s
Anna’s adapted Bread and Butter Pickle Recipe. Which I will be making
soon!
Makes 2 quarts
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Kirby cucumbers
- 2 medium white onions, sliced
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 4 whole cloves
- 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
- ½ tablespoon celery seed
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
Directions
- Slice the unpeeled cucumbers ¼ inch thick.
- Combine the cucumbers, sliced onions, and salt in a large bowl. Cover with 2" of ice cubes and refrigerate for 3-4 hours, adding more ice as it melts.
- Drain the vegetables in a colander and rinse with cold water.
- In a large pot, combine the sugar, vinegar, and spices. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat but DO NOT boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the cucumbers and onions.
- Heat until the mixture returns to a gentle simmer, then immediately remove from heat.
- Cool, then transfer to covered containers and store in the refrigerator for up to a week. (I put them in sterilized glass mason jars while still warm and keep them for as long as they last.)
*This recipe was originally from Tyler Florence’s “Family Meal”.
That’s it from me, chickens. See you in August, when we’ll be talking more about the mass-market paperback release of WHEN SHADOWS FALL! The kitten minions send their love (and elk-flavored kitten breath kisses). Keep reading!
xoxo,
xoxo,
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