My First New Release for 2009!

A widow, a medium, and a ghost... can only lead to passion.

Eve can’t let go of her dead husband’s memory. But can a shy neighbor offer her a way of spending one last night with him?

This is my first Wicked from Cobblestone Press. The Wicked stories are short erotica tales of different genres. Mine deals with a widow, the ghost of her husband, and a medium who gets caught in the middle.

I remember when the idea for this story struck me. I was falling asleep, and suddenly got a really vivid image of a woman getting the most horrid news. It was enough to make her world crumble around her. I felt her sadness, her desperation. It was so intense that the next day I started writing the story. Eve and Mitch came alive as soon as the words started pouring out of me.

The cover was made by Dan Skinner. Isn't it cool? I think it captures the atmosphere of the story very well.

PASSIONATE EVE will be available from Cobblestone Press this Friday. For $2.99, you can sample a raunchy, much hotter story of mine. ;) I hope you enjoy it!

Yolanda
http://www.yolandasfetsos.com/

Cover Art Christmas times TWO!

I love getting cover art, it's like Christmas all over again. And to get two new covers in one week has shot me over the moon.







The first is for my upcoming WICKED. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I wrote this short little piece of erotica just to see if I could. It was short, fun, and oh-so-sexy. Which is why, when I received this cover, I was THRILLED. Thank you Sable Grey!





The next one is for a paranormal romantic suspense set in my little fictional California coastal town, San Josue. This cover was predesigned by Frauke at Crocodesigns and when I saw it on the Cobblestone Press deviant art site, I had to have it. Too bad I didn't have a story written for it. I remedied that situation as soon as I could, and Beckon the Dark was born.





Hope you all have a great weekend. We are looking forward to watching The Grudge 2 tomorrow. And I signed up for Candy Haven's Fast Draft class in hopes of kicking my writing into gear for the new year. I'm on the 10 pages a day plan (there is no flipping way I could write 20 pages) and so far I've hit 24 pages on Day 3. We had a slight glitch on Day 2, involving drama from a most unlikely source. My mother! But I'll save that story for another day (or better yet, find a spot somewhere for it in a WIP!) So, I'm off to crank out some words...

A Reading Plan for 2009

Let me start with a few links. If you'd like to see a list of the books I read in 2008, you can see it HERE. You can also see the 2007 books list.

My only reading plan is to read 52 books during the year. One book per week sounds pretty doable. Right? Well, sometimes I go a few weeks without reading anything at all. And others I read about 3 or even 4 books in one week. It all depends on how busy I am with my own work. If I've got edits or revisions due, I like to get those done before anything else. Or, if I'm writing the first draft of a novel, I make sure I don't read any books in the same genre during the time it takes me to get the draft written.

Of course, afterwards, I reward myself by going on a reading binge. ;) I find it makes a great reward.

So, this year is the same. I'd like to get 52 books read, but there are a few other things I'd like to do within that too. Here's a little list:

* Catch up on The Dresden Files series. I've read the first 2 already and have the next 6 waiting. It's a great series, so I have no idea why I haven't caught up before. :/

* Read one Stephen King book a month. I pretty much have every Stephen King book ever released, and it's time to catch up on the older works I still haven't read. I've read a lot of his work, but still have a lot to catch up on, too.

* Make sure I read the first book in a series before buying all the others. I've done this a lot. I have 4 books in the series on my TBR pile before I start the first one. Lol.

* Catch up on my series reading from various authors.

* Read more eBooks.

I think that's the main stuff. Other than that, I just want to keep reading awesome books! I've been very lucky with the books I picked up last year. Pretty much every book I've been reading has been awesome!

So, how about you? Do you have any sort of reading plan? Do tell. :)

Happy Reading!


Yolanda
http://www.yolandasfetsos.com/

Booking It

Wow–another weekend gone. That means it’s time for a Booking It post, and, today, I’m just focusing on one author.

Tell me, have you read Kresley Cole? If you haven’t, you really, really should.

The first book that I read by Kresley was A HUNGER LIKE NO OTHER. This story introduced me to her Immortals After Dark series. What a series! These are dark, edgy paranormals. Complex plots. Gripping characters. Ah, the stories that keep you up at night. (They keep me up!)

This week, the latest installment, KISS OF A DEMON KING, hits shelves. Here’s the blurb:

After Sabine, the Queen of Illusions, lures and traps Rydstrom Woede in her lair, the ruthless warrior fights to resist her seduction.But his fierce demon nature lusts for her delicate body and won’t be denied. Even as Rydstrom plots to escape, he still intends to claim Sabine as his own—on his terms.

Her downfall: the battle-scarred demon who vows to keep her at all costs.

When Rydstrom breaks free, her abducts Sabine, turning the tables. Now she’s the one struggling to resist his delicious torment. With each relentless encounter, Sabine hungers more for her merciless adversary.

They were never supposed to want each other this much…

If they can defeat the sinister enemy that stands between them, will Sabine make the ultimate sacrifice to save her demon? Or will the proud king lay down his crown and arms to keep his sorceress?

***

Come on…that just sounds good! And here’s the cover:

Yeah, I’m buying this one as soon as possible–and probably reading it all in one sitting.

And what’s on your reading agenda this week?

Happy Friday...

It's been a long week here in the Scott household. Drama Teen went back to High School this week, which has involved a severe learning curve of how long it takes to get ready and have her hair just perfect in the morning before she walks through 30 mph winds to the bus stop. LOL. I'm glad it's Friday. Tomorrow, said Drama Teen and I have a date with my friend and her granddaughter (Tall Teen) to see Twilight. I know, we're probably the only two red-blooded females in the state of California that haven't seen the movie yet...but better late than never. I'm just hoping the movie will spur my daughter into finishing the books so that I can read them...

It's also an extra long weekend...so I'm looking forward to having my hubby around on Monday (and sneaking an extra day in to sleep in). Especially since he's going to be gone the week after next for training. I don't have to do solo parent very often...thank goodness.

This month seems like a bit of a lull. Finally finished with Christmas and I'm looking forward to February as I have three...yes, count them THREE, releases coming out! And believe me...there's something for varied tastes...


If you like a straight, dark, thriller with no sex, try The Stranger in My Bed.




If you like very sexy vampires, try The Lady is a Vamp




And if you like WWII time travels, Out of Time should fit the bill.



And, I've just begun plotting another full-length novel. As I'm determined that this is the year I will FINISH writing one. Wish me luck!

Have a great weekend~

Ericka

Some Great News & Some New Covers!

Hey! How's everyone doing today? I've been having a great week. Lots of different stuff going on at the moment. :)

Well, I'm going to get started. I'd like to announce that I've just signed a 3-book contract with ImaJinn Books. Yay! As you can imagine, I'm very excited about this. Very. It's an urban fantasy trilogy set in Sydney, Australia. And I've dreamed of selling it since the moment I finished it. The heroine and the cast of characters have a special place in my heart, and I can't wait to share their life, struggles, triumphs, and darkness with everyone.

At the moment, that's all the details I have, but it's enough for me! So cool. Of course, I'll keep you posted as things progress.

Okay, now it's time for some covers. I've actually got 3 to share! Yeah, 3 seems to be the number, so far this year. So, let's get started...

This gorgeous cover was made by Cris Griffin. SEALED WITH A DEMON'S KISS is a Tryst about a pentagram witch whose life depends on a demon sent to protect her from a bunch of warlocks.

This one was made by Asharceneaux, and it's super creepy. BEFORE BLAZE is a collection of three short stories about the three mortals who help Blaze in her quest to get home in my novel, HELLBLAZE. They take place before HB:

This awesome Shifter cover was made by Sable Grey. THE CAT'S CHARM is the tale of a gorgeous black cat, who also happens to be a sexy man.

Well, this is my awesome news for this week! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Yolanda
http://www.yolandasfetsos.com/

Words In Motion

Do you write paranormal or urban fantasy? If so...you should be on Main Street at Cobblestone Press for the 2009 Words in Motion conference!


Creating 3 Dimensional Characters for Paranormal Worlds Special Presentation by Patti O'Shea

www.cobblestone-mainstreet.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=569



Character Development for Urban Fantasy Special Presentation by Yolanda Sfetsos

www.cobblestone-mainstreet.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=568



Developing Believable Wolf-Shifting Heroes Special Presentation by Loribelle Hunt

www.cobblestone-mainstreet.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=570

And for readers, there's contest where you can win free books just by leaving a comment about your favorite movie, cowboy line, or ghost story.

So, what are you waiting for?

2009 & Stuff

Happy 2009!

How's everyone's year going so far? Mine's been exhausting and filled with jobs to do. I get through one, and another pops up. Lol.

I haven't assigned any new projects for this month. I never do. January is usually a time of catching on bits and pieces. It's also the month my daughter's home for school summer holidays, so I only have several hours a day to devote to anything too detailed. She's good with watching a movie or shows for a few hours before it's time for us to get together and do something. At least I get that, I suppose.

So far this year the hubby and I have renovated our bedroom - which consisted of painting the walls, getting new carpet put in, buying and setting up an entire wall of bookshelves, sorting through all my books and finding a spot on the shelves, and clearing up the mess left over from all that. It's taking a while. I've still got a few homeless things I'm hoping to put away before the new week gets here.

It's been a lot of fun, but also very tiring. And on the upside, the room looks awesome. I love having bookshelves with doors on them. ;)

Asides from that, I've also been re-working a novella. I finished that yesterday, as well as updating my website. Today I need to get my newsletter done and sent out. Phew!

Anyway, I hope you all have a productive week!

Yolanda
http://www.yolandasfetsos.com/

Booking It and a writing contest

Hi, everyone! Let’s talk books.

Ellie Marvel has a new interactive book out now. Oh, yeah, I said interactive. Remember those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books? (I devoured the books as a kid.) Well, Ellie has used ebook technology to create an interactive adventure for romance lovers. Here’s the blurb for MEGAN’S CHOICE:

Megan Malone, the quadrant’s fastest zip ship pilot, is overworked, overtired and craves the surf, sun and sex of a paradise planet vacation. When her employer receives an urgent commission from the government requesting Megan’s services on a diplomatic mission, she’s all set to refuse–especially when she finds out her domineering ex-lover Yusef Gunnen will be part of that mission. But what Megan doesn’t know is that she’s no longer calling her own shots. You are calling the shots. And what you decide Megan will do at the end of each episode will change her life forever.

* * *

I think Ellie has a brilliant idea with this book. Choosing my adventure? Controlling the characters? I am so there.

Anya Bast has a new paranormal out (okay, it comes out on Jan. 6). WITCH HEART is the third book in her Elemental Witches series. I love Anya’s witch stories. Great books with lots of action and twists. You can’t go wrong with a Bast book.

And, if you’re looking for a sexy book that is filled with emotion, then Megan Hart has the story for you. Megan does sensual, emotionally gripping stories like no other writer I know. Her latest book, STRANGER, is available now (and was chosen as a Top Pick by RT!).

Anyone else want to make some book recommendations?

And, if you’re a writer (one who writes hot romances) then you should definitely check out the 2009 Manic Readers Romance Novel Writing Contest.

Ready for the end and free books!

I've reached that point of the holidays where I am sooo ready for things to go back to normal. Kids go back to school Monday so that helps but hubby is home for another week.

My January goals are in place and my work schedule is loaded so let's go 2009, I'm ready.

One of my early 2009 goals is to completely replace my print TBR pile with eBooks. It's a lot of books. Hundreds I would guess. So I have started doing contests on my MySpace blog to give away some of these books.

Right now there are 20 paperback books up for grabs, most of them paranormal. So hop on over there and check it out.

http://blog.myspace.com/elizagayle.

Have a good one!

Eliza

May 2009 be the best ever!

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