Review for The Prince's Knight

Fallen Angel Reviews has given four out of five angels to The Prince's Knight.

"Watching Aric and Matthew's relationship grow and their need to protect each other was beautiful." --Teresa from Fallen Angel Reviews.

Here's the link to read the full review. She had a lot of great things to say about the book.

Yesterday, while I was trying to get some work done on the sequel, I found myself unable to concentrate. I'd just received an Advanced Reader's Copy of A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, so I pulled it out and soon found myself lost in a world of witches, daemons, and vampires. I haven't read too far yet, and it's a very big book, but I am thoroughly enjoying it. This book rekindled my desire to pull out my own somewhat finished vampire novel (Immortal Book 1: Blood Rage).


Now, after writing most of the book in first-person, I was having thoughts that I should switch to third. Personally, I had grown sick of the overabundance of first-person books clogging the paranormal bookshelves. Interestingly enough, A Discovery of Witches is written using mostly first person viewpoint (switching to third for certain chapters). So while I had rewritten the first three chapters of Blood Rage, I was no longer feeling the excitement. Of course, I had a copy of the original manuscript to refer to. I dusted it off, so to speak. Except for my notes, everything is electronic. And I began reading it, all the while thinking to myself: "Wow, this is really good."

I know I'm probably not exactly the most unbiased opinion when it comes to my own work, but I suddenly hated the thought of rewriting so much material when I enjoyed the first draft so much. When I first envisioned this product, I had a very clear picture of what I wanted it to be. Rewriting it would change all of that. I've decided to continue on with the project in first-person. I need to rewrite a major plot point, and hopefully add a lot more to the book in order to make it long enough for my ultimate publication goals, but I'm once again excited to work on the Immortal series. And I'd lost hope for that.

Oh, and A Discovery of Witches is set to release Feb. 8, 2011. I strongly urge anyone who likes paranormal books to pick it up.

Featured Author

Yikes! It's been awhile since I've been able to post anything. I don't have internet access right now, so I have to drag the laptop to the public library. Usually I have a list of things I need to take care of, and the blog is one of the last. My battery usually dies before I get to it.

Anyway, Merry Christmas! Hard to believe Christmas is already upon us. I wanted to get a holiday story out for the season, but that just didn't happen. I'll shoot for next year. Instead, I've started working on Royal Guard Book 2, which I've titled The King's Consort. I think it's going to have a lot more action than the first book. And the way things are looking, the story might drag out long enough to warrant a third book. I want to tackle my plans for this book first before I start worrying about that.

Today, I am the featured author on one of my friend's blogs. Tied to a Demon took a spot on her Great Reads page, so my blog spot talks mostly of that, while giving mention to The Prince's Knight, where inspiration came for Tied to a Demon, and how I first got interested in writing. Here is the link: http://charleneawilson.com/2010/12/20/373/.

I've also joined Romance Junkies Holiday Contest to give away a free copy of The Prince's Knight. I don't have any extra info about that yet, but once I know what's going on, I'll try to get it posted. The info will at least appear on my website.

Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays!

Deadlines

At this point, I'm really pushing to finish writing A Christmas Dream by the end of October. That gives me about two weeks. The deadline for submission to my publisher is Nov. 20th, so I'll spend at least one week revising and editing. I don't want to wait until the last minute to submit it, since it is a seasonal story.

I'm a huge procrastinator, so working under a deadline--even a self-imposed one--is challenging for me. But I think I do better when I work under that kind of pressure. It gives me a goal, something to shoot for. Otherwise, my books just tend to drift along, until I feel like working on them.

Once I finish up A Christmas Dream, I'll be starting work on Royal Guard 2: Untitled. I've started kicking around a few ideas for that, though I haven't gotten far in the brainstorming process. It was going to be this year's NaNo project, but with my holiday story taking top priority, I just don't think I can really commit to NaNo this year. We'll see how it goes.

Research

Never underestimate the importance of research. I've learned to love doing research. It helps add realism to any story, plus you can find just about anything you want to know on the internet these days. Sometimes I get so side-tracked by research that I have to pull myself away.

I plan for A Christmas Dream to be somewhere in the 15,000 to 20,000 word range, which isn't a whole lot. For those unfamiliar with that unit of measurement, in comparison a full-length novel averages about 80,000 words. So this will be a short story. I've hit nearly 7,000 words, but I've already researched 'Sandman,' quotes, spiders, dreams, different words for dream, including 'dream' in other languages, Cayden's boots, and pics for Cayden and Noelle.

I originally wanted to name Cayden Dream, but Neil Gaiman's Sandman is already named Dream, so I wanted something different. I thought perhaps I'd choose something in a different language that still meant dream, but I didn't really like my choices, so I settled on Cayden, and I'm glad I did. I love the name.

Yesterday and today I spent some time learning about spiders. I absolutely hate spiders. Too many legs, too many eyes, blech! But I wanted to write: The spider's mandibles clicked together, so I wanted to make sure I got it right. Turns out that what I thought were mandibles are actually called chelicerae--something completely different. So I thought: what else am I mistaken about? I learned that most spiders have eight eyes and their sounds are usually inaudible to the human ear. Interesting stuff. I also had to suffer through lots of ugly spider pictures. *shudder* I might never be the same. Not a pleasant research experience, but necessary nonetheless.

The Importance of POV

I'm working on Chapter 4 of A Christmas Dream now. Usually when I start working on a project, the first three chapters are a breeze, because the story is just starting out. It's still young, fresh, anxious to grow. As soon as I hit the fourth chapter, the struggle begins. Now, I am climbing uphill, fighting a difficult battle to reach the top and slide the rest of the way to the ending.

I started the book in Cayden's point-of-view. He's a unique character, and I always do well with those. I understand them better and their thoughts are very clear to me. He's somewhat of an outcast, or at least he feels that way. Alone and lonely. I relate well to him. He wants something he thinks he can never have.

Chapters 2 and 3 were told from Noelle's POV, to introduce the horror elements of the story. She has no idea what's going on around her, whereas Cayden does. But with the lack of understanding, it's easy to weave in the horror in her chapters.

I started writing Chapter 4 from her POV as well, but started struggling at the start of the very first paragraph. I was no longer feeling the story. I wanted to continue the horror elements where I left off in Ch 3, but it just wasn't meant to be. Noelle was no longer speaking to me and I couldn't force her to. I can always tell when I've started writing a bad scene -- one that I'm going to need to go back and rewrite, which seems wasteful to me. I'd rather get it right the first time. But then I thought, why not switch back to Cayden's POV and see what happens?

So I did, and the story started flowing easily once more. Cayden needs to tell this chapter, to share some of his insights with the reader.

I know I talk as if these characters are living, breathing people. I'm not crazy -- I know a lot of writers are like that. The good writers are. If you can't hear your characters speaking to you, then you're just not listening clearly.

Building a Character Part 2

I was working on A Christmas Dream the other day, when I became stuck trying to describe the hero, Cayden. I wanted a description that would serve to bring him to life, but aside from describing the basics, hair/eye color, perhaps physique and height, it's hard for me to go in-depth. I hate descriptions involving lists of a character's physical attributes. What I really wanted was a way to describe the guy's profile (cheekbones, nose, that kind of thing). I've read descriptions of such things, without completely knowing what they meant. For instance, I like the sound of an aquiline nose, but wasn't completely sure what that meant. After looking it up, I decided that's not what I wanted at all.

So I decided to do something I haven't really done before. I hopped online (the internet is useful for so many things in my writing) and searched for an appropriate picture for the look I was going for. I just wanted a handsome face that would give me an idea of how to describe it. What I found instead was the whole character -- I even ended up changing Cayden's hair color to match the picture. Since I found the pic on a stock photo site, I won't post it here, but I can post the link if anyone wants to check it out:

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-26150902/stock-photo-young-handsome-man-thinking.html

I would love to somehow incorporate this picture, or at least this model, into the cover art, somehow. I don't know if that will be possible, but we'll see.

While I was at it, I also found a pic for Noelle:

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-34904140/stock-photo-portrait-of-a-young-and-beautiful-business-woman-thinking-in-something.html

I just thought it might be interesting to post some of my processes as I continue to work on this story.

Building a Character Part 1

I've started working on my first holiday novel, A Christmas Dream. At first, I was having trouble coming up with ideas for the plot, but I think I've figured out the problem. It was hard for me to connect with my characters until I actually sat down and forced myself to write the first chapter. All I knew about my hero, Cayden, is that he's a Sandman, charged with delivering dreams to people. Well, how was I supposed to take that and expand it into an entire story? How did he meet the heroine? What were his intentions, interests, and goals?

I know plenty of authors prefer to sit down and map out every aspect of each character's personality, but I've never been able to work that way. Often, that means inconsistencies pop up during the first draft that I have to alleviate during re-writes, but I've never found plotting things out to be successful. For me, writing is very fluid. Things change from one moment to the next. Even if I decide I want my character to behave a certain way, that's really up to him in the end.

So I sat down and hammered out the first chapter, focusing on what I wanted to introduce in the story. Cayden's character would fall into place, and it has. I can see him clearly now, when I couldn't before. The boots helped. I wanted a distinguishing look for him, something Noelle would notice right away, something that would make her think Who is this guy?

The boots are a bit much for my taste, but they're unique and set Cayden apart. They'll also serve to give Noelle pause. After all, any guy that wears spikes on his boots could be automatically classified as a bad boy. (His black clothes and leather jacket don't help.) Such things make it hard for Noelle to trust Cayden, which is fine with him, since it makes it easier to keep his distance.

Once I had Cayden figured out, it was much easier to come up with Noelle's characteristics. In the first chapter, we're in Cayden's viewpoint, so we see Noelle through his eyes, which might be a bit biased. In the second, which is almost finished, the story takes on a bit of a horror spin, with Noelle fighting for her life. Now I'm looking forward to working on the rest. While Demon's Torment had horror-themed elements to it, it wasn't really as scary as I wanted it to be, since I focused so much on the romance. Hopefully things will balance out nicely in A Christmas Dream.

New Contest

Life for me has been crazy busy lately, since my husband and I have been house-hunting. That still isn't resolved, so I'm not on the computer as much as I'd like to be. This makes writing a bit difficult, but hopefully things will be ironed out no later than the end of November. Fingers crossed.

I've signed on to be a part of LASR's Halloween Scavenger Hunt. The Hunt will last for two days, Oct. 30th & 31st, and one lucky winner will receive a free copy of Tied to a Demon. Visit their site for more details by clicking on the banner below:

I admit I'm struggling on writing anything right now. I'd like to get a Christmas story completed for my publisher by the end of November, but it's been hard for me to find the right motivation. I've never been a big fan of Christmas stories in the first place, and this could be a part of the problem, but as long as the story has strong paranormal elements to it, I should be able to cope. I've settled on telling the story of a Sandman, someone who travels the world, bringing people good dreams. He's become fixated on Noelle, a woman who literally doesn't even know he exists. He can tell she hasn't enjoyed an easy life, but he's determined to show her the meaning of Christmas, a holiday he's always enjoyed.

The Prince's Knight

Royal Guard Book 1: The Prince's Knight is now available at Purple Sword!
Genre: Fantasy Erotic Romance
Price: $4.99
Warning: Book contains m/m erotic scenes and one m/m/f scene


Blurb:


Becoming the prince’s bodyguard was supposed to be easy. No one warned him to guard his heart...


After receiving a crippling injury, Sir Aric finds himself reassigned to the crown prince’s royal guard. He thinks it will be an easy job, but Prince Matthew turns out to be a spoiled brat, too used to getting his own way. Within the first week, the prince disappears and almost gets himself killed in his desire to be a part of the ongoing war effort at the southern edge of the kingdom. Matthew’s brief taste of battle is more than enough, making him ready to settle down and attend to matters of state. Marriage tops the list of those, but in the meantime, Matthew and Aric find themselves drawn together by irresistible forces. Until Matthew’s chosen bride arrives.

Excerpt:


He scanned the visible windows, not seeing anyone. One little kiss couldn’t hurt, could it? He’d given her the ring, asked her to marry him. There was no taboo against one little kiss. Besides, he’d already kissed her once. This wasn’t much different; there were just more potential witnesses.


“All right,” he agreed. His hands rose to grasp her upper arms.


Before he could change his mind, he leaned forward, his lips brushing against hers. So soft! He deepened the kiss, pulling her closer, dragging her against his suddenly hard length. He was attracted to her—there was no doubt about that.


“Am I going to have to pry you two apart?” a deep voice asked.


Matthew released Jessa abruptly. She stumbled against him before regaining her balance.


Aric stared at them from two feet away. Every muscle was taut with anger. Or jealousy. He took two quick steps forward. “I know your decision,” he hissed. “You don’t have to taunt me with it.”


“Aric,” Matthew said with a clear warning in his voice.


“What? Afraid Jessa might guess your dirty little secret?” The knight sheathed his sword and turned away to pull his shirt on.


“Shut up! You will respect your king!”


The cold look Aric gave him sent shivers down Matthew’s spine. The knight stepped closer, his tone dropping to a dangerous level. “The same way you respect your lover?” He shot a glance at Jessa.


“Actually, I already g-guessed.”


“Ah.” Aric leaned back. “Well, let’s get everything in the open then. Your groom is a jackass.”


“You’re the jackass right now,” Matthew sniped back.


“S-stop it!” Jessa’s raised voice stopping them both in their tracks. Both men stared at her, wide-eyed. “You’re both behaving l-like children.”


Matthew sighed and ran a hand over his face, taking a step back to gather himself. “Aric, you know how I feel about you. What will it take to make this easier on you?”


A sly look appeared on the knight’s face, and Matthew knew he was in trouble.


“I think it’s only fair I get a kiss, too.” Aric’s gaze slid from Jessa to Matthew.


“Absolutely not!” Matthew exploded. “That’s completely inappropriate.”


“Not from her.” Aric sidled closer. Now his expression could only be considered smoldering. “From you.”


Matthew retreated from the knight’s advance. “You’ve kissed me plenty of times,” he mumbled.


“Then it shouldn’t be a big deal.”


Matthew glanced at Jessa, but there was no help to be found there. “I th-think you should. I don’t want to come between you two.”


A triumphant smile lit Aric’s handsome face. He reached out, his hands fisting into the fabric of Matthew’s tunic. Displaying his strength, the knight dragged him back into a corner created by one wall of the castle and a towering turret.


“Prove to me you don’t want me,” Aric challenged, and then his lips descended on the king’s. Matthew’s thoughts dissolved. No longer did he worry about their audience, or whether or not anyone could see them from a castle window. The kiss was rough, bruising, but he only wanted more. His wilting erection grew hard and firm, pressing against the thin leather of his trousers.


He took over, pushing Aric hard against the unforgiving stones of the castle wall. Had he thought he could live without this passion? He’d been so wrong.


Finally, Aric pushed him away with a smirk on those beautiful lips. Matthew was breathing hard, and when he glanced at Jessa, ashamed that he’d lost control so easily, he saw that she didn’t look entirely unaffected by the display.


“I want love like that,” she said, breathless.


Aric turned away from Matthew to throw a companionable arm around her shoulders, steering her towards the front of the castle. “Then you’d better hurry along those wedding plans, my dear. It’s inappropriate for Matthew to kiss you like that.”


“And doubly so for you.” She ducked under his arm and skipped to the front door, laughter trailing behind her.


Both men stared after her for a moment, perplexed.

Tied to a Demon review

Romance Junkies has given Tied to a Demon 4 blue ribbons.

"Rachel D. Thompson creates delightful characters."

Read the full review.

Contest and Contract

It's August already! That means LASR's scavenger hunt has started. Three lucky winners will win Nooks at the end of the month, and all you have to do to enter is find the hidden Nook on a participating author's website. Easy. Check out LASR for full rules and details.

I've also signed a contract for my next book, a gay erotica fantasy romance. Yeah, it has a lot of labels. (I feel the need to warn people that it's not strictly gay romance, as it contains one menage scene.) It's called Royal Guard Book 1: The Prince's Knight, and it's releasing Sept. 1st at Purple Sword. Hopefully people will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Here's the official blurb:

Becoming the prince’s bodyguard was supposed to be easy. No one warned him to guard his heart...
After receiving a crippling injury, Sir Aric finds himself reassigned to the crown prince’s royal guard. He thinks it will be an easy job, but Prince Matthew turns out to be a spoiled brat, too used to getting his own way. Within the first week, the prince disappears and almost gets himself killed in his desire to be a part of the ongoing war effort at the southern edge of the kingdom. Matthew’s brief taste of battle is more than enough, making him ready to settle down and attend to matters of state. Marriage tops the list of those, but in the meantime, Matthew and Aric find themselves drawn together by irresistible forces. Until Matthew’s chosen bride arrives.

Oh! And the cover art:

I plan on penning the sequel in November, but in the meantime, I'm working on a vampire book, tentatively titled Demon's Tattoo. I'm three chapters in so far, but I think I've just started hammering out some of the plot, and I'm pretty excited to get more work done on it once I've got that all figured out.

New Submission

I've submitted my latest completed novel to Purple Sword. While I'm waiting to hear back, I've started working on an untitled vampire book. I'm currently two chapters in. I expect this one to hit around the 30,000 word mark, as most of my recent interest has been in creating enjoyable novellas. But I don't really have the details of the book worked out yet. Generally, when I start something new, I jump right into the first chapter and think about plot later, as the book comes together.

I look at each chapter as having a plot itself, so by the time I reach the end of a chapter, I know how I want it to end. I settled on the last line of the first chapter before I had completely gotten to that point. I like crafting hooks that make the reader want to stay with the story rather than putting it down and moving on to other things. This is very important to me, so I hope that in most cases I succeed. Now, I've got a tentative plan in place for chapter 3, which I hope to sit down and write within the next few days. Progress has been good so far, though I also plan on working on Immortal Book 1: Blood Rage, when I'm not working on this new book.

I want to wait until I hear from my publisher to mention more about my latest submission (I'm a little superstitious like that). But if it's accepted, I plan on tackling the sequel during November, as part of National Novel Writing Month. After last November, I had decided I wouldn't participate this year. The stress always wears me out, especially during the holidays. By the time July rolls around though, I'm usually ready to gear up for the challenge. I'm not sure I'll be shooting for 50,000 words this year. I will be happy if I hit 30,000, which I expect will be enough to finish the planned sequel. We'll see what happens after that.

My Coffee Corner

I've just opened my own forum over at Coffee Time Romance, to more easily communicate news, announcements, and contests with readers. Click on the graphic to go check it out.

Inspiration

Inspiration

What inspires me?

For a writer, inspiration can be found just about anywhere. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing – sometimes it’s even hard to pinpoint where an idea came from, but here are a few things that inspired the books I’ve written.

Demon’s Torment

I’m an active member of an online writing community (Writing.com). A while ago I entered a scary story contest that had to include certain words in it. The words were: red dress, party hat, cake, surprise, balloon, and confetti. Now how do I get a scary story out of that? By throwing a macabre birthday party for a demon, of course. Daemon (the male lead of Demon’s Torment) was born! Of course, he’s changed a lot since that short story, becoming a kinder, gentler demon – though he can still be scary from time to time! The short story actually appears in the final book in an altered form. Yes, I kept the creepy birthday party idea.

Tied to a Demon

I’m pretty sure this one came about simply because I wanted to write another demon book. This one would be a shorter length, and heavier on the romance, plus I wanted to set it in a fantasy world. I decided I wanted a witch to summon an unwanted demon and deal with the consequences.

Royal Guard

This is the one I’m currently working on (hoping to submit it to my publisher soon). It involves a crippled knight being reassigned to become a spoiled prince’s bodyguard – yes, it is a romance, and a bit of a departure for me. I wanted to get away from demons for awhile and try something new. This idea came to me after looking for another contest to enter. This one just wanted a story about a bodyguard. I never wrote anything to enter in that contest, but the idea would not leave me alone, especially when I came up with the m/m romance angle. Having a crippled knight fall for a prince sounded like a great story to me.

I like thinking back over the things I’ve written and remembering how inspiration struck me. It’s sometimes amazing what a person can come up with, especially when they least expect it.

What do you think?

What inspires you?

Ambiance

Ugh. I meant to post this about a week ago, but I just recently moved, and started working at a new place, so life has been hectic to say the least.

Ambiance

Ambiance is all about setting the mood. Paranormal often involves things that go bump in the night. Even though my books deal with romance, they still have elements that add to the ambiance. I like things that send a chill down my spine, things that make it difficult to turn out the lights. As a writer, I’ve given myself goose bumps – that’s the best way to tell when a piece is truly scary. I try not to make my creatures too scary. After all, I want people to like them! But there were a couple of spots in Demon’s Torment that gave me chills while I was writing them. If I can’t move myself, how do I ever expect to move others?

So how does one write an ambient scene? Having a character stumble through a dark room is good. Added details make it better. Perhaps the flashlight glances off something strange – a picture that looked different a second ago, shadows that move. Face it, darkness is terrifying. These days I’m scared of zombies hiding under my bed, even though I’m really too old to think there might be monsters living under there. What about strange creaks and groans? Lots of old houses have them. In the dark, a commonplace noise takes on horrifying implications.

What do you think?

So what scares you? Ever read a truly terrifying book that had you leaving the lights on?

Paranormal Creatures

Creatures

First of all, what, exactly, constitutes paranormal? Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranormal) describes it as an experience that defies normal experiences or scientific explanation. UFOs and ETs are lumped into this category, although in the realm of writing, those are more commonly referred to as science fiction. But still, a lot of creatures appear in paranormal writing and lately, this genre has been saturating the market. Take a trip down the fantasy/science fiction aisles of any bookstore and most of the books you’ll find will actually be paranormal. Sadly, this usually isn’t recognized as a major genre, falling under the category of fantasy. 

My two favorite paranormal creatures are vampires and demons. These are the creatures I like to read about and they’re the ones I prefer to write about. With two published demon books out, as well as a planned series consisting of at least six books about vampires, this should be easy to see. What’s my obsession? Far from being the monsters first depicted in old movies, both vampires and demons have become undeniably sexy. And I’m not the only one that loves reading about bad monsters trying to do good, searching for redemption.

There are less werewolf books out there. This creature seems to be perfect for the realm of e-books though. Take a search online and you’ll come across plenty of books about shapeshifters. I’ve never been a big fan of them. I’ve tried taking a stab at my own werewolf story, but that project has stuttered, stalled, and been shelved indefinitely. While I like to think I create strong heroes in my books, there’s something about the completely alpha male of the pack that turns me off. My werewolf character is a bit of a challenge because I want him to be a dominating presence, even though he’s far from an alpha male. 

Witches rank with werewolves for me. I hate them. I generally won’t read anything involving a witch as a main character – with good reason. The few books I have tried didn’t endear me to such a character. It’s probably the magic; fine in a fantasy setting, not so great in the Manhattan of the new millennium. This is ironic, though, considering both Tied to a Demon and Demon’s Torment feature witches as the main heroines. I’m a contradiction like that, so apparently I can make witches work for me. And some writers out there pull it off. Kim Harrison comes to mind. I also enjoy L.J. Smith's witches.

Finally, there are ghosts. This is perhaps the creature people think of first when hearing the word paranormal, thanks to TV shows like Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures. I’m trying my hand at a book featuring a ghost, but it’s been put on pause while I work on some other projects. Ghosts don’t seem to be used too often, especially as main characters. More often they’re the scary monsters no one sees – the poltergeists and cold drafts.

What do you think?

Your chance to sound off. Which paranormal creature is your favorite and why? Did I forget or neglect to mention a creature that you’d like to talk about?

Contest coming soon

June will be a busy, stressful, hectic, scary month for me. Yes, all those adjectives and more. But I'm still planning a paranormal contest that will run throughout the month, so check back then.

I am moving back to the state of my birth at the beginning of the month, so my internet might be a bit spotty at first -- I don't know yet what the plan for internet access is, I only know I can't live without it for very long. It's like water to me. I need it to survive. ^-^

I've changed the title of Personal Protection to Royal Guard Book 1: The Prince's Knight. I was, at one point, toying with the idea of lengthening the book, which stands at a little over 30,000 words right now, and turning it into a 60,000 word plus epic. But it would still be split down the middle into Parts 1 and 2, and since the first half is nearly complete I'm going to go ahead and release it as two separate books since I haven't even started thinking of book 2, which might prove to be longer than anticipated, therefore inspiring the need for a third book. Here's my thought on sequels. If you're going to do a second book, you might as well do a third and create a trilogy. But we'll see how the second book ends. I haven't gotten that far yet. The ending of the first book really surprised me, creating a need for the second to finish the story -- or at least take a stab at finishing the story.

I really want to share a wonderful book with everyone. I just finished it and I really enjoyed it. The best part? It's available for free on Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/58. It's called Mortal Ghost, and while there were some confusing bits, especially regarding the main character's past, it is definitely worth the read, as well as the surprise ending. I haven't found many free books on Smashwords that I actually enjoyed, but this was one that stood out for me.

Cover Art feature

The cover art for Demon's Torment is currently featured on Judge a Book by the Cover. It's accompanied by some of my comments about the artwork.

Romance Junkies requested a copy of Tied to a Demon for review, so hopefully that will be posted within the next couple of weeks. I'll get the link up once I get it.

I'm also cooking up a paranormal contest for the month of June, because I would just love to give away a copy of one of my books.

More good news: Tied to a Demon is holding strong at #3 on Purple Sword's bestseller list.

Purple Sword Blog

Want to hear all the news about Purple Sword's new releases when they happen? Subscribe or follow their new blog for up-to-date release info.

Personal Protection status update

I'm hard at work on Personal Protection. Just finished combing over the first six chapters, so I've got them in a pretty good spot and I'll continue working on the book through the next couple of months, though I don't know how far I get as life is going to get pretty crazy for me soon, as we are planning a little vacation at the end of this month and then a big move probably at the end of May, so my writing time will be limited, but I'll do what I can.

I wrote the first draft during the 2009 NaNo, along with Tied to a Demon. Both books finished at just under 30,000 words which was my goal for both. While Tied to a Demon, after revisions and rewrites, stayed at that word count, Personal Protection left off on kind of a cliff-hanger, so I'm trying to decide whether I want to finish this book and then write a second one, or if I'd rather just continue adding onto this book until it's completed. By my estimations, that might be another 30,000 words.

The book is a bit of a departure for me. I know I've been focusing a lot of my publishing efforts on demons, but who doesn't like a sexy demon? Personal Protection, however, is completely fantasy-based. Even more striking it contains a gay romance, my first stab for that genre, but it went so well that I doubt it will be my last. Even one of my vampires in my Immortal series was shaping up to have homosexual tendencies before I shelved that project to work on some shorter books.

Fans of vamps will be happy to know I plan on going back to work on Immortal just as soon as Personal Protection is finished. I just can't stay away from them for much longer, especially since I've decided Book 1: Blood Rage needs a complete rewrite. I originally wrote it in 1st-person viewpoint, but after thinking about it from just about every angle, I've decided to change it to 3rd-person. Personally, I am sick to death of books written in 1st-person. Generally, they annoy the heck out of me these days. And after rewriting the first chapter of Blood Rage, I think 3rd-person will serve the books so much better. I had planned on two trilogies, with the first told from Elliot's point-of-view, while the second would focus on his brother, Carter, but be told in 3rd-person anyway. It doesn't make any sense to have one trilogy written one way and the other to be completely different. So I've made my decision and I have a lot of work ahead of me as far as that goes. I'm looking forward to diving right in, though. In fact, I can hardly wait.

Tied to a Demon Release Day!

My latest paranormal romance, Tied to a Demon, is now available at Purple Sword Publications. Here's the official excerpt to put you in the buying mood:

“Are you all right, little witch?”

She wasn’t. A demon stood so close to her she could feel the unnatural heat baking off his skin, coming off him in waves. Her muscles had tensed up so much she didn’t think she could move, even to defend herself. Of course, any spells she’d memorized had flown right out of her head anyway. They wouldn’t do her any good.

He picked her up before she could fall again and retrieved the jar from her limp grasp. He set it back on the shelf.

“Clumsy little witch.” She gasped as he slung her over his back, steadying her with a hand on her rump. He took the stairs two at a time, and she bumped along with his unsteady gait, her view obstructed by his back.

They passed through the kitchen and into her bedroom. Dried potpourri filled the air with the scent of lilacs, an aroma she favored. He unslung her and after a short ride through the air, she landed on a soft surface. Her bed. She grabbed handfuls of the yellow comforter, sure it would soon be splattered red.

His face appeared in her view at the side of the bed, his forehead wrinkled. “You okay?”

She scrambled backwards, rumpling the sheets and comforter into a ball around her feet. Her head banged against the wall. “Ow!”

Rubbing the back of her head and trying to hold back a sob, she stared at the demon. His image doubled in her vision as tears threatened.

“Why don’t you just kill me and get it over with?” she choked out.

He cocked an eyebrow. “What makes you think I’m going to kill you?”

She thought that should be obvious, but maybe he needed clarification. “You’re a demon.”

He sighed and shook his head. “I’m not that kind of demon. Tell me something, little witch. Why did you summon me?”

The question caught her off-guard. She sniffled. “What?”

“It’s a simple question. Demons are usually summoned because the summoner wants something. What. Do. You. Want?” He enunciated each word, as if speaking to a half-wit.

“I didn’t mean to summon you.”

“Oh. I see.” He sat on the bed with his legs folded underneath him. Then he smirked. “Then you shouldn’t have drawn my symbol within the circle.”

“I didn’t—” she began, but he cut her off.

“I’ve been summoned by many witches. But never accidentally.” He gave her a sly, sidelong glance, his eyes smoldering.

The temperature in the room rose about ten degrees. He got off the bed so he could execute a sharp bow. “If I’m an accident, allow me to introduce myself. I am Alecandros. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

After giving her sore head one more rub, she folded her arms.

“Do you even know what you’ve summoned, little witch?”

“It doesn’t matter. As soon as I figure out how to send you back to wherever you came from, I will.” The brave words lost some of their edge when her voice wavered.

“And why would you want to do that?” he asked in a dangerous tone.

She sounded uncertain even to herself. “You’re a demon. You belong in another dimension.”

“I do?” He spread his arms. “Do I look like a demon to you?”She stared at him. He looked a few years older than she did, and his blue eyes had adopted a more innocent look. No, he didn’t look much like a demon now. Until his eyes flashed to black and back again.

“Let me show you what witches usually use me for,” he whispered, sliding closer. His hand on her ankle made her jump.

“Stop it.” Her voice sounded strangled, even to her.

His hand slid higher, bringing her skirt with it as he leaned over her. “Why? I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

April Newsletter

New contract announcement!

I'm very excited that Tied to a Demon is 100% completed and now contracted with Purple Sword Publications. The release date is scheduled for April 14, 2010. Here's the official blurb:

Shanna dreams of becoming a level-five witch. Only one thing stands in her way—her ability. Attempting to conjure a low-grade imp brings forth a terrifying demon straight out of the nine hells. Worse yet, he claims to be tied to her through a contract formed with her late father. Who is the demon Alecandros really? He seems to know far too much about her...

I will be hitting the 'promotion circuit' this month to promote the new book. Hopefully I'll be able to get some chats scheduled for either April or May.

March Newsletter

February came and went in a flash. I got a promotion at work so that's where I've been concentrating most of my energy.

Tied to a Demon is nearing the final stage. I've revised through Ch 10 and since I decided to rewrite the last few chapters completely, I think I'm going to end with 12 chapters rather than 13. I don't really see a need for the final chapter anymore, and with the plot changes I've implemented, 12 should be enough, unless the climax takes longer than I expect. In either case, I'm going to try to push myself to be done by the middle of the month so that it can be submitted to my publisher by the end of March.

I realized something this morning. I've always known I've had a thing for bad boys--in movies, in books, sometimes I find myself rooting for the villain. Well, it seems I implement that penchant in a great deal of my writing. I tend to write about bad guys trying to do good, or heroes struggling for redemption. I've realized it's sort of a theme of mine. What's the point of a story if the hero doesn't struggle a little? Of course, my demons are obvious representations of this, in both Demon's Torment and Tied to a Demon. But this theme is constantly repeated in most of what I write, so if you like your heroes with a little 'bad boy' in them, you've come to the right place.

"What are you so afraid of?" he whispered. "The worst thing in your life right now is already inside your house."
--excerpt from Tied to a Demon, spoken by the demon Alecandros.

February Newsletter

After a month of (mostly) relaxation, I am now ready to jump back into the fray. I'm working on mustering up the energy to plunge back into writing. I'm up to Ch 5 for revisions for Tied to a Demon (out of 11). Not bad. Almost half done.

To help with relaxation, I spent the last week of January chilling out in Las Vegas. My first time there. It was amazing and a lot of fun. Even managed to catch a show--Bite. It centered around my favorite creatures--vampires.

After that I'm ready to delve back into revisions and hopefully have them finished by the end of February. It's a short month so I'd better get cracking!

I love February--the month of romance. My husband and I don't really celebrate Valentine's day, but I love the cute pink, red, and white merchandise stores come out with, probably because I can be such a girly-girl at times.

Everyone should check out my friend's webcomic: Impure Blood. Apparently they're going to be attending the Spring Con in MN this year. I'd like to attend, but I don't know if I'll be in MN that weekend (May 15-16). Anyone who is should stop by to support them.

Happy Valentine's Day everybody and have a good February! Mine will be spent at my computer and I wouldn't have it any other way.

January's Newsletter

Happy New Year!

2010 is upon us. Can you believe it? I don't really believe in New Year's Resolutions. They don't seem to work for a lot of people. If I had a resolution it would be the same it always is. Write more. I think I succeeded last year. This year it's more about getting some more books on the market.

For Christmas I finally got an e-reader. My husband bought me the Sony e-reader Touch and I love it. I have a few series that I've started collected that I'd like to keep buying in paperback, but lugging around boxes of books is starting to get old. Having an e-reader is really convenient. My husband doesn't really understand my reading and writing habits, but at least he puts up with them. Sometimes.

I'm still working on revising Tied to a Demon. I'm now shooting for finishing by the end of January. End of February at the absolute latest. It's difficult because I have other demands on my time, as well as other interests. By setting goals I hope to get more accomplished.

At the end of January I'll be in Vegas for a week! I've never been there so I'm super excited. So yeah, it's probably more realistic to expect Tied to a Demon to be finished by the end of February, but I'll keep plugging away whenever I have some free time.