Just a quick FYI!

Knight Edition, Night Fall Book 5, just went live!

“…an action packed, fast paced, scorching, erotic thriller. With delicious love scenes, wry humor and non-stop thrills, [Knight Edition] is a guaranteed page turner that’ll delight the reader.”

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I swear half of the time I spend as a working writer is devoted to promotion. It’s sad, really. I’d love to write morning to mid-afternoon, and then have a “normal” life, but the nature of the publishing biz these days requires so much more of authors. We have to be multi-faceted, and some people do it really well. They make it look effortless. One of these days I’m going to kidnap one of those authors, chain her to my desk, and have her show me how she does it.

In the meantime, I limp through promotional activities. I have this blog and website (which is in serious need of updating!), and I spend time on Facebook, a little on Twitter, and too much on Pinterest doing un-authory things.

What I’ve really wanted to learn to do is make spiffy memes–you know those eye-catching advertisements authors produce. It gets very pricey having others do them, and while I bought a copy of Photoshop and uploaded it two years ago, I’m intimidated by it and haven’t used it even once.

A friend of mine, M.J. Fredrick, mentioned Canva. It’s free (gotta love that), and while it doesn’t do all the whizbang stuff Photoshop does, even a techno-moron like me can make some attractive ads.

Here’s what I’ve been playing with of late. What do you think?

For the Uncharted SEALs series:

Not ugly, right?

For the Night Fall series:

I missed doing one for Knight in Transition, but oh well. If you want to learn more about the stories, just click on my pretty memes. 🙂

Since I had an author bail on me at the last minute, I had an open spot…

So, since I’m being lazy—I was up at 6:30 to babysit the 2-year-old today, so I’ve earned it!—I thought I’d just post this reminder.

WOLF IN PLAIN SIGHT
Release date: September 22
Free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers!

To Super-cop Max Weir, the only good vampire is a dead one. Since his special police unit integrated with vampires, he’s had to suppress his natural hatred to work side by side with the undead to hunt down and terminate the deadliest killers. Now the unit’s hot on the trail of a new menace in town, a pack of werewolves prowling for vampires who don’t care whether humans get in their way.

When a stakeout goes awry, Max enters a bar looking for a fight or woman to help him blow off a little steam. What he finds is a winsome siren whose sexual appetites match his own.

Vampire Pia D’Amato is on a secret mission to take out Max—either by seduction or turning him. He’s become a liability to the Masters’ Council setting up jurisdiction in southern Florida, and she’s not leaving until she’s done the job. But Max is more man than she bargained for with a deadly secret of his own.

UPDATE: The winner of this contest is…Jean!

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Just thought I’d share a pretty new cover—and tell you about the great deal going on now.

The second book in the Night Fall series will be released toward the end of this week. Love vampires? Love sexy threesomes? Like a little suspense with bite? Well, you’ll love Truly, Madly…Deadly!

But before the book releases, I want to be sure you’ve read the Book #1 — Sm{B}itten! So, I made sure you have no excuses left for why you haven’t read Sm{B}itten—I entered it into Kindle Unlimited, so it’s FREE to KU subscribers, and just $0.99 for everyone else!

I’d love to hear from you. Have you read Sm{B}itten? Are you excited for Truly, Madly…Deadly? Are you ready for a fast-paced, paranormal series?

Comment for a chance to win a free copy of another Night Fall story, Silent is the Knight!

Here’s hoping you’ve gotten your copy and are happily reading it! If you have time, I hope you’ll post a review somewhere. Help another reader decide whether it’s worth their time and money! And if you haven’t bought your copy—the time’s now! It’s only $0.99, but that price won’t last long.

True love bites!

Emmy Harris knows she’s not perfect. She has a little extra padding and isn’t the brightest bulb, but you’d think she was a sexy rock star the way everyone at a certain night club treats her from the moment she walks through the door. In fact, the two sexiest men there can’t seem to keep their hands off her, until one of them sweeps her away to his private domain. A girl like her isn’t going to waste a chance like that! So he’s a little rough and likes to take a nibble or two while he pleasures her. For a girl who didn’t know she’d never experienced a full-blown orgasm before, Dylan’s eccentricities are delicious!

Dylan O’Hara only wants a night of passion to slake his lusts, but finds Emmy is a full-bodied, red-blooded siren whose innocence and humor draw this Master vampire like a moth to a red-hot flame. When Emmy attracts the attention of a serial-killing vampire, Dylan vows to protect her, but he fears he’ll lose Emmy once she discovers he’s not quite human…

Buy at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Reminder: Yesterday’s contest is still ongoing. A winner will be chosen tomorrow!

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I get that you think the title of Monday’s upcoming release is unpronounceable. I do. And it wasn’t that I couldn’t make up my mind between Smitten and Bitten, even though, in my story, Emmy Harris is both. I didn’t want to choose. I wanted both. Et voilà! Sm{B}itten! Next, you ask, why didn’t I use parentheses around the B? Simple, the squiggly enclosure is prettier! And there you were thinking there might be something deep or magical about why I entitled my book something so strange (you didn’t? I’m disappointed!). One thing’s for certain, you won’t forget it, right? Well, if you want to say my title out loud, you’re welcome to call it what I do: Smuh-bitten. 

At any rate, the book comes out on Monday. Not long now, and I’d like to give you a peek inside. Have you pre-ordered your copy?

True love bites!

Emmy Harris knows she’s not perfect. She has a little extra padding and isn’t the brightest bulb, but you’d think she was a sexy rock star the way everyone at a certain night club treats her from the moment she walks through the door. In fact, the two sexiest men there can’t seem to keep their hands off her, until one of them sweeps her away to his private domain. A girl like her isn’t going to waste a chance like that! So he’s a little rough and likes to take a nibble or two while he pleasures her. For a girl who didn’t know she’d never experienced a full-blown orgasm before, Dylan’s eccentricities are delicious!

Dylan O’Hara only wants a night of passion to slake his lusts, but finds Emmy is a full-bodied, red-blooded siren whose innocence and humor draw this Master vampire like a moth to a red-hot flame. When Emmy attracts the attention of a serial-killing vampire, Dylan vows to protect her, but he fears he’ll lose Emmy once she discovers he’s not quite human…

Buy at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | More venues are coming Monday!

Excerpt:

Be warned. Emmy Harris doesn’t think like most romance heroines. You’ll get a glimpse of her funny little mind here…

At his urging, Emmy couldn’t hold back another second. She dug her fingers harder into his hair and pulled. “Come with me,” she said, her voice tight. And then she whimpered. The experience was too much. He was too much—Mr. Stamina. Too hard and lean and beautiful. His lovemaking was astounding and—something she never thought she’d admit—too strenuous. She panted like she’d run laps, something she’d never ever do.

He shook his head and continued the deep thrusts that pounded against the gate of her womb. Buried to the hilt, he ground his pubic hair against her clitoris until she was so sensitive to the scrape, she thought she might come out of her skin. And she was right effing there, could feel the tension wind tighter in her core.

But she wanted him with her. This one last time, she needed the whole enchilada. “Baby…bite me.”

He stopped. His arms grew rigid and his nostrils flared. “Don’t move,” he said, his voice holding a note of desperation.

“I want you, Dylan. All of you.”

“Dammit! Emmy, do you even know what you’re asking?”

“For you to trust me to be strong?” She lifted her hands to his cheeks. “Do you think I haven’t seen your other face?”

His entire body shuddered, and he closed his eyes. “Then watch,” he whispered.

Breathless with curiosity and a tinge of fear, she held still beneath him. His eyes opened—not the dark orbs she knew were green—but glowing circles that reflected the waning moonlight, like an animal’s. The better to see me.

His cheekbones lifted, popping and cracking as his face reassembled into the monster mask, his skin stretched tight around it. His lips curved above teeth that slid over his human set, long and razor sharp, the longest at the four corners of his smile. The better to eat me.

The most miraculous part of the transformation was the muscle that grew rigid and strained beneath his skin, stretching him outward, turning the arms that held her knees to stone. And his cock was one of those things hardening and enlarging, pushing deeper without a flex of his hips. The better to fuck me.

A low growl rattled in his throat, and for a moment, Emmy had doubts she was really ready for this. Something was wild and primal about that growl. But then his tongue, longer, rougher, swiped along her throat. Her skin grew numb. She relaxed. He’d considered her comfort—part of the man was still inside the monster. Angling her head to the side, she held her breath.

His teeth sank slowly into her neck, burning at first, then he drew, sucking her blood, and pure sensual heat spread from her neck, moving downward and tightening her breasts and belly.

His enlarged cock pushed inside her, pulled out, and pushed again. His thrusts were so powerful her buttocks left the bed with each stroke. Still, he kept a steady rhythm that soon had her wishing he’d move faster, harder, rougher. And she told him so.

He growled in response—the Big Bad Wolf buried between her legs, and she reveled in the power to make him lose control and be the beast for her.

That she could inspire the beast in any man was a revelation.

UPDATE: The winner of this contest is Samantha Minter!

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I’m late posting this blog, but time slipped away. I got Sm{B}itten back from my wonderful editor, and I’m reading through it, looking for any last nits I need to fix. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed this story. Hence, the passage of time…

I wrote the first version of this book back in 2003, and All Hallows Heartbreaker was quite a hit. But twelve years is a long time, and it needed a little sprucing up. So I revised it, expanding it by a few thousand words, and now I’m getting ready to republish it, complete with a new title and new series name. More of the refurbed books are coming. When I’m done repubbing these stories, I’ll be writing brand new adventures in my Night Fall world. So, are you ready to take a wild ride?

Emmy’s a mess. My absolute favorite heroine, because guess what? She’s a reflection of my young, twenty-something self. I know her. Still think like her.

Was I wrong?” she asked. The uncertainty in her voice produced a slight quaver. “I thought you wanted me, too. It’s like I conjured you. You’re everything I ever wanted, and there you were. Just for me. Just in time.”

He liked the way she talked, the cadence of her voice, her airless sentences strung one after the other. Trying to follow them made him dizzy. “What a coincidence. I thought you’d been made for me.” Dylan’s hand fisted in her hair. “I may hurt you.”

A sweet, seductive smile tilted the corners of her mouth. “I’m counting on that fact. Seriously, if what’s pushing against my belly is any indication, I think you’re going to ruin me for any other man.”

She enters the vamp world, completely clueless, but adapts. Her curiosity about things that go bump in the night, and her voracious appetite for sex with Dylan always make me smile. It’s why she makes an appearance in every book that follows. I can’t let go of her.

If you never read All Hallows Heartbreaker, or if you’d like to reacquaint yourself with the series, now’s the time. I have it up for pre-order now for only $0.99. That price won’t last long. It’s a longer story than my usual. Not quite full-novel length, but the what’s called category length. You won’t be disappointed. And more stories are following. You won’t have to wait long to continue the ride.

And don’t you love the title? I had fun with it, I’ll admit it.

And I pronounce it, Smuh-bitten. 

Release date: March 30th!

Emmy Harris knows she’s not perfect. She has a little extra padding and isn’t the brightest bulb, but you’d think she was a sexy rock star the way everyone at a certain night club treats her from the moment she walks through the door. In fact, the two sexiest men there can’t seem to keep their hands off her, until one of them sweeps her away to his private domain. A girl like her isn’t going to waste a chance like that! So he’s a little rough and likes to take a nibble or two while he pleasures her. For a girl who didn’t know she’d never experienced a full-blown orgasm before, Dylan’s eccentricities are delicious!

Dylan O’Hara only wants a night of passion to slake his lusts, but finds Emmy is a full-bodied, red-blooded siren whose innocence and humor draw this Master vampire like a moth to a red-hot flame. When Emmy attracts the attention of a serial-killing vampire, Dylan vows to protect her, but he fears he’ll lose Emmy once she discovers he’s not human.

Pre-order at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | More venues are coming!

Contest

For a chance to win a free copy of another Night Fall story, Silent is the Knight (or if you already own that, one of my latest shorty releases), let me know if Night Fall sounds like a series you can sink your teeth into!

Check update at the bottom of this post!

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It’s the 20th! I can’t believe how fast this month has flown! Do you have all your gifts bought? I had one last thing to buy, for my dd, and I decided not to buy anything at all. I have to gift some of my family treasures sometime, so I thought, why not start now? Besides, it’s dreary outside. I want to stay in my office wearin’ my jammies where it’s toasty warm and sip hot chocolate while I work. Sound like the best job ever? It is. 🙂

I wish I’d be writing new words today, but I have some administrivia to finish up today. Cleis Press approved a line up for the upcoming In Vikings’ Arms anthology, so I have to send out notices to the authors. Once I’ve notified everyone, I’ll post the list on Facebook. I don’t have a publication date yet, but at least you can salivate over the authors’ names.

Also, I need to finalize my 2015 writing/production plan. I’ve been playing with it all month. I think I’m close to having a list of projects I’m excited to work on. And about time. I hate to wait until the last minute. I want to start the year the way I intend to work it—with fierce determination!

In case you weren’t aware (and I know, I need to update my website this weekend!), I had a new release this week. Or a new old release? Anyways, a story I published years back, a vampire Christmas novelette, has been reworked and republished. Best yet, it’s only $.99! Here’s where you can find it:

In the aftermath of a terrible hurricane, Noelle Moyaux questions her gift of sight until a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger sets her on a path to save his soul.

Magnus Thornton is a millennium-old vampire who has found evidence of an old foe’s evil at work in the demolished city of New Orleans. Weary of the fight, he decides to greet the coming dawn after a night reveling in his favorite indulgences—a bottle of wine and a willing woman.

What starts as a night of sensual delights ends in a revelation of mutual discovery when Noelle quickly creeps into his heart. The ancient vampire, so jaded from life he never speaks, must now persuade her to flee the city before it’s too late.

Buy Links:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

So, I have a question for you…

The next Night Fall book will be another in the revised series. I’m retitling it and I have this title, it’s a little quirky: Sm{B}itten. The {B} part would be in ghostly, faded gray on the cover. I think it’s fun, but my dd isn’t sure you’ll get the joke. I think it’s perfect for Emmy Harris’s book. She’s a ditzy blonde—me at 20, folks—who enters into the dark world of vampires quite by accident.

What do you think of Sm{B}itten as a title?

Oh! And if you happen to pick up Silent is the Knight to read, would you mind posting a review somewhere or telling a friend? Self-publishing success depends on readers’ word-of-mouth. If the refurbished series does well, I’ll be writing new installments!

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UPDATE! I’m pleased to announce the final lineup for my next Cleis Press anthology, SEX OBJECTS! Congratulations to all the authors!