A little Charm excerpt...

This week, I thought I'd post a little excerpt of my latest release. I hope you enjoy it! :)

***

She’s one of them, I’m sure about it.

Wes curved his sleek body into a tight ball as he kept one eye on the woman who called herself his owner. Even after all this time, she’d been very careful at concealing her name. She knew the power someone’s name possessed. The bitch never had any visitors and only stayed at each place she rented for six months at a time. She liked to move, ensure no one sensed her magical vibe. There weren’t many people capable of tapping into it, but even someone as arrogant as her knew it could take only one sensitive soul to figure her out. One capable of condemning what she’d forced upon him.

She stood in front of the door, staring out the peep hole. After several minutes, she turned around and huffed into the kitchen. Pots and pans rattled behind him but he had no desire to see what she was up to.

Somehow, she’d felt it too. He’d been hoping she wouldn’t notice the woman at the end of the corridor was one of those sensitive souls able to see beyond the ordinary. But now that she knew, the bitch he’d been referring to as Hag would soon do something about it. But he couldn’t let her.

There was a bright spark inside that friendly woman. A tiny coil ignited inside him. She was the type of woman who’d have captivated him if he’d still been completely connected to his human side. This urge could help reconnect him to everything he’d been so afraid to lose.

Everything that made him a man seemed to be slipping a little more each day. But as long as he refused the love Hag wanted on the night of every full moon, he’d stay this way and would someday become eternally trapped.

If that day came, Wes would be completely lost to Sylvester.

But not if he was right about the woman he couldn’t shake from his mind. He closed his eyes and dreamt of her long auburn hair and those shiny blue eyes. Could she see beyond his feline coat, claws and whiskers to see the man trapped inside? In his dream, she could.


You can read more about THE CAT'S CHARM here.

Yolanda
http://www.yolandasfetsos.com/

A thought-provoking Question

Lately, I've been doing some soul-searching. As a writer, I'm feeling some growing pains. This is good, because it means I'm growing, right?

Right.

Today, I decided to get back to the basics of storytelling. I started by asking myself a couple of key questions: What makes a compelling story? What makes a reader care what happens?

As I searched for answers, I found there were so many possibilities. You see, I'm thinking big-picture here, not the rules of good writing--show don't tell, never use adverbs, strike the word "was" from your vocabulary, etc. I'm setting the technical aspects of writing aside because IMO, not all great books are greatly written. And not all great books are loved by everyone. But compelling stories--great stories--do something the vast majority of books in our culture fail to do: they reach a large number of readers by making them feel something. Love. Curiosity. Anger. Fascination. Captivation. Fury.

Let me ask you: What makes one story resonate with you and another utterly forgettable? If you had to compile a list of characteristics that make a book great, what would you include? I'm anxious to read your answers.

Tawny
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Wicked-Hot Erotic Fiction
www.tawnytaylor.com

A Brief Break From The Paranormal

But not from the dark side. lol My love for the dark kinky side that is. My latest contemporary BDSM book released a couple of days early and i'm so excited since this is the beginning of a new series called Purgatory.

There is a regular fetish show that I go to every other month that is shutting down it's run in April. So in honor of that, which I am so going to miss, I have created a new series that focuses on different fetishes. It's going to be a lot of fun.

First up Rope...


Rope Dreams by Eliza Gayle

Welcome to Purgatory! A club for every fetish!

Katie has a fetish for rope and she's had her eye on riggers Leo and Quinn for quite some time. Week after week she goes to the club and watches them tie up women from afar, while she imagines their rough rope against her own skin.

Now the two hunky men have decided to make their move. But is plus-sized Katie ready to turn her fantasies into reality?

Excerpt

Katie watched Leo's hands stroke the woman's inner thigh with the rope as he tied it around her leg. She imagined the course texture scraping against her own sensitive skin, sending a shiver snaking along her spine. She continued to observe the twists and turns of the rope as they wrapped it around both her legs and waist. The girl giggled through the process but the lines etched in Leo's face showed just how serious he took his job. The loud beat of industrial music playing in the club pounded with her own heartbeat, pulsating through her body. Bodies crushed around her as the night's play got into full swing, but her attention remained solely on the rope.

She tuned it all out to focus on the station below. Soon both Leo and Quinn would hook the woman up to the swing and fling her across the club, but first he tied her. Wetness pooled between her thighs with the familiar longing to be the girl in Leo's hands, slowly tied from limb to limb until her freedom was stripped and her trust tested.

"Isn't it about time you quit watching and started feeling, Katie?" The familiar timber of Quinn's voice whispered in her ear as his arms grabbed the railing on either side of her, trapping her in his embrace. Her pulse skipped as she sucked in a shallow breath of surprise. "That could be you down there, feeling the rope across your belly, wrapped around your wrists and totally at his mercy." Her nipples peaked against her shirt at the mere image his words brought to mind. She screwed her eyes closed tight, as she tried to stop the effect he was having on her.

"Shouldn't you be down there helping out your partner?" She tried to concentrate on her breathing but the man pressed against her back made her heart race and her body burn with renewed need. The heat alone was enough to make her weak in the knees.

"Come with me, Katie. Let me tie you."

You can buy it here http://allromanceebooks.com/product-ropedreams-14942-146.html?oid=77

The Hunter up for Cover of the Month!

The cover that I designed for THE HUNTER is waiting for the Big Vote for 2008 Book Cover of the Year at Erin Ailsinn's site!Every voter will be entered in a drawing for the winning title. Votingis simple, and the instructions are on the voting page

at: http://www.erinaislinn.com/BookCoveroftheYear2008.htmVoting will run through April 15.I would really love your support for this cover award. . It won a cover of the month and nowis one of the covers up for cover of the year.

The Hunter is an awesome book written by Yolanda Sfetsos, published at Cobblestone Press, and I created the cover using several stock images and ALOT of manipulation.This would be a wonderful win for both myself and for Yolanda, theauthor. Please take the time to hop over and vote for us!

-Sable

Free Downloads from Sable

Hi Everyone. I'm very excited to share with you some free downloads available from me right now:

Demon Heart - Erotic Paranormal Romance

Adrian Black IS a sex demon who has once again been kicked out of hell. So he's out to find a key to let himself back in and a soul to smooth things over. He finds them both in the same place, but the soul is attached to Annie Sellers, a dangerous woman that could make him give the hell he loves for a little piece of heaven.

Fire Awakened - Erotic Futuristic Fiction
Based loosely on a dream I had.

Blurb: In a devastated world, the hopeless exist only to continue the survival of mankind. John Miller faces the horrors of the world daily and his soul is as cold as the oceans he sails upon...until he meets Amy. This young woman warms his body and awakens a fire that he thought long dead inside of him.

Christy's Ghost - Historical Time Travel Romance with paranormal elements

Blurb:Two very different women, Christina Hale and Christy Monroe, both caught in arranged marriages, find their way across two hundred and fifty years to step into one another's lives. Cast into strange and terrifying environments, the women are surprised to discover passions that make them both pray never to return to the lives they knew before.

Sable Grey Magazine

An online magazine available for free download.

Features:

Rediscover the Magic of Xanth - a look at the best selling
Xanth books by Piers Anthony

Author Interview with Denyse Bridger

The Proposition, romantic fiction by Denyse Bridger

Being Sable Grey interview

All can be found on my website at http://www.sablegrey.net/

Also check out my ebook club where we read as a group a new ebook every month!

-Sable

The Cat's Charm

Wes is enslaved and trapped in his cat guise by a witch with selfish motives.

Lea has always had an uncanny connection to cats.

Now, they’ll need to depend on each other to survive the witch’s evil plan. One that will destroy both of them.

At the end of this week, my first Shifter story will be released by Cobblestone Press. Yay!

Do you like the cover Sable Grey made? I found it very inspirational and pretty much included everything on the cover in the story - the hot guy, the full moon, and even the bushland you can see in the background.

I'm very proud and excited about this eBook's release, and I hope that if you're in the mood to read a little tale about a hot guy trapped in his black cat form, you'll consider checking this one out. ;)

Have a great week!

Yolanda
http://www.yolandasfetsos.com/

What makes a keeper?

Ah, the immortal question. What is it about a book that earn it a slot on your keeper shelf? I was thinking about this topic because two new books have recently earned their happy way onto my keeper shelf. :-) So, I thought I might list a quick 5 reasons for why a book is a keeper:

1. I can't put the book down. I will skip food and sleep to get reading because the story is that good.

2. I consider swapping my husband for the hero. You know...cause the hero is so awesome.

3. The pacing awes me. There is never a moment of down time--go, go, go!

4. I cry, in the good way. :-)

5. I don't want the book to end--ever.

Those are my keeper reasons...wanna share yours?

Losing It?

I hate Blogger...although, I'll truthfully admit that this is probably an operator error situation and not the fault of Blogger...I write a post, think I save it as a draft and then endeavor to schedule it to post. I go around the entire day thinking the post is there, announcing my words to everyone who stops by. Then, the next day I get to thinking...did I do it right? I stop by and what do I see?

Well, I know what I don't see...MY POST. Grrr.

So, here I am, a day late, announcing my very sweet (well, very hot) new release Losing It.

Will the man of her dreams live up to her fantasies?

On the eve of her birthday, Penny Granger is desperate to lose 'it' before she becomes a forty-year old virgin. After a sexy stranger drops his business card on her tray, she throws caution to the wind and fills out an application to e-bootycall.com. Time goes by with no response.

Is there really a shelf-life on virginity and once it’s old, no one wants it anymore? Then, on the eve of her ‘big day’, she gets a birthday surprise. For the sexy man she’s matched with is someone she's been fantasizing about for years. Her boss!

Have a great Valentine's Day!

XOXO XO

Ericka

Enjoying the time off!

Yep. I've been enjoying my time off with hubby a lot. Of course, although technically he's on holidays, we've been doing plenty of stuff around the house. As a result, both of the bedrooms are now re-painted, have new carpet, new furniture, and look a hell of a lot tidier. I love them!

We've gotten rid of most of the clutter, which is what we were trying to do.

Of course, I've still got a bunch of writing papers, research and notes I need to go through, but most of it is done. Or hidden away inside our wall of bookshelves. ;) Every single one of my books now has a home. Yay!

Oh, and I've caught up with some reading. These are the books I've read so far in 2009:

THE UNNATURAL INQUIRER: Simon R. Green

LORD OF MISRULE: Rachel Caine

THE DARKEST FIRE: Gena Showalter

DEAD TO ME: Anton Strout

THE DEVIL TO PAY: Michele Hauf

STRAY: Rachel Vincent

ROGUE: Rachel Vincent

PRIDE: Rachel Vincent

SUPERNATURAL ORIGINS: Peter Johnson & Matthew Dow Smith

WONDER WOMAN DOWN TO EARTH: Greg Rucka

Everything I've read so far has been awesome! I love having an awesome reading run. This'll be my last week reading urban fantasy books before I take a small break from them. Next week I'm going to tackle the final revision of one of my UF novels and will probably read YA until that's done. It's just a little rule I have: No same genre reading while writing the first draft or doing revision. ;)

Anyway, I'm off to enjoy the rest of the week. I hope you do too!

Yolanda
http://www.yolandasfetsos.com/

So many paranormals to choose from...

As I am busy writing the last of my Black Cougar trilogy for publication later this year, I have let thoughts of what is next drift in. And well, it ain't pretty. lol

I am loving the big cats and while I hadn't planned on writing beyond the trilogy, I have written this last one in a way that I can spin in another direction if I wish to continue. However, I have not heard from my publisher that they would be interested in more so i've let the other ideas float on in. Big mistake.

About the same time as I started this series I entertained and even researched extensively for a Savannah vampire series. Then I sold the cougars and the vampire got put on hold. But with all good ideas comes that subtle nagging at the back of your mind, reminding you that you had another plan. And I did so love the work I came up with for the southern vampires. Then came more word from publishers that vampires were dying and then came True Blood (southern vampires in new orleans on TV) and I decided maybe vampires weren't such a good idea.

But they persist. Which brings me to my dilemma. I have three projects to choose from and it's a tough choice. Demons, Faeries or Vampires.

I think I would be happy working on any and/or all of the projects so tell me...if you had your choice of those to pick up and read what would you choose?


Eliza

Road Trip, Baby!

Well, we were supposed to go camping this weekend to a local ghost town. I was looking forward to doing lots of research and spending some quality time with my Alphasmart in the great outdoors. Mother Nature had other plans.

Rain.

Hey, it isn't supposed to rain in Southern California, right? But raining it is. We didn't call the trip off until this morning, but Mr. Scott, being the genius that he is...had Plan B.

Las Vegas! I'm so excited.

It's one of my favorite destination spots. So much so, that my release this week, The Lady is a Vamp, is set in that glitzy, glamorous, romantic city.



A professional poker player takes the biggest gamble of his life - falling in love with a vampire.

Under the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas is a dark underworld of vampires. Their salvation lies in the hands of a most unlikely pair - a professional poker player and the vampire who loves him.

One year ago, Kylie McKenzie was just a casino poker dealer. However, after being bitten by a rogue vampire, she lost not only her life, but the love of her life. Now, one year later, the man she was engaged to is back. She is determined to stay away from him - but someone else is equally determined to use her to manipulate the outcome of the World Poker Tournament Championship.

Last year, Royce Whittier not only lost his fiancée, he also lost the championship. Determined to get back in the game, he is sidetracked into looking for the origin of a tarot card depicting a woman who looks amazingly like Kylie. In doing so, he stumbles upon the secret vampire society and the slayer who stalks them.

***

As for me, I'll be stalking an idea for my vampire book...tentatively titled Spelled to Death...

So, until next week!

Ericka Scott
www.erickascott.com

A little Wicked excerpt...

As I mentioned last week, my first Wicked is now available from Cobblestone Press, so I thought I'd share an excerpt today.

I hope you enjoy it! This story's a spicy one. ;)


Anyway, here it is...

When Eve turned away from her reflection, her gaze paused on the alarm clock. He should’ve been home an hour ago. Walking over to the dresser, she picked up the phone and dialed his cell number. It went straight to voice mail.

Ignoring the small tug of dread that stirred inside her gut, she flattened out the crimson sheets. The bed was open and ready for business—not that she intended to only use the bedroom. There were plenty of other places around the apartment to have fun together.

She slowly wandered out into the living room and swayed her hips to the sultry music she had playing on the stereo. This would get anyone in the mood. Hell, where was he? She really needed to feel his touch on her body, his lips all over her skin. Desire was choking her, and she wanted release.

Her arms slowly wrapped around herself as a small breeze stirred around her. She spun around in a half-circle. There was no one there, but the candle flames on the dining table swayed a little. She was tempted to put them out but couldn’t bring herself to. They were part of the romantic mood.

It was probably just the warm wind coming in from the open window, anyway.

The sheer black lingerie didn’t feel as if it covered enough of her skin. She shivered when her breath misted in front of her.

A knock on the door roused her from her wild, confused thoughts.

She sighed. Why was she spooked? Owen was home now. Maybe he was in the mood for some role-playing, and that was why he’d knocked. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d played the handyman or plumber.

Eve giggled at the memory. Excitement coursed through her body, flooding it with unquenchable desire. The unease slipped from her as she released a steady breath.

She slowly headed towards the door in short, sexy paces. Her spiked heels pressed against the carpet. Owen was going to love this. Her fingers gripped the door handle as her other hand unlocked it.

When she pulled it inward and shouted, “Welcome to the home of pleasure!” Eve froze.

It wasn’t her husband at the door.

She quickly reached for one of the coats on the rack beside her and held it in front of her body. Everything she was wearing was see-through.

“Mrs. Tellman?”

She stared at one of the two police officers with wide eyes, her heart pounding. A mixture of emotions and dread raced through her system. She was embarrassed, scared and confused. Words failed to spill between her lips, so she nodded.

“We’re sorry to interrupt,” he continued, averting his eyes, “but we have some bad news.”

“Bad news?” she echoed his words in a raspy whisper.

The second policeman shuffled his feet, avoiding eye contact. She knew they weren’t here for a happy reason.

“I’m so sorry, there was an accident. Your husband, he was—”

The policeman’s voice faded. His mouth still moved, but she couldn’t hear a word of what he said. Eve already knew what he would say next.

Everything that could have fallen apart in her life just had. Owen was her everything. Not only were they happily married, but they were best friends and had so much fun together. He couldn’t be… gone. No, not Owen.

Tears refused to fall, but her wonderful and happy world came crashing down around her.

Every bit of heated desire she’d wanted to pursue slipped from her cold body. She fell back and wished she’d died with him.


If you'd like to read a longer excerpt, you can HERE.

Yolanda
http://www.yolandasfetsos.com/

Small Conferences vs. Big Conferences

I'm the conference chair for my local RWA group's 2010 Silken Sands Conference. That means I'm busy planning for workshops, getting speakers, doing agendas--and all that fun stuff. As I'm planning for the conference, I'm also scheduling my trip to the RT convention.

So, with so much conference info running through my mind, I'm wondering...what kind of conference setting do you prefer? Do you like the smaller (say 100 or less attendees) events? Or do you prefer a big event like the RWA National Convention?

I think both types have pros and cons. In a smaller setting, you can have a chance for more one-on-one time with editors and agents. In the big events, you have the chance to meet more folks--thus more writers, more editors, etc.

If you're a bit of an introvert, I could definitely see a preference for the smaller event. And, of course, smaller events save you money--generally, you can drive to a small conference because it's close by and you don't have to pay the high convention costs.

But...please tell me your thoughts. What do you like better--the small conference or the big event? Why?