Have a Happy!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Dare me!

I'm over at Killer Chicks once again, taking about doing forbidden things. Do you dare check it out?

The scattershot approach to writing

I have a confession to make. Stop by Killer Chicks today and find out what it is. And tomorrow, find out about JB Lynn's Confessions [of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman].

Are you Naughty or Nice?

Stop by Killer Chicks today and tell me which of Santa's lists you'll be on this year.

Book Lovers Buffet!

A group of dedicated authors have gotten together to provide readers with a smorgasbord of specially priced books for the month of December. [Click on the button or the link below]

http://bookloversbuffet.com/

At the Book Lovers Buffet, dozens of authors are offering their books at $0.99 each for the entire month.

You can find Contemporary, Erotica, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Historical, Inspirational, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Paranormal, Romance, YA, and Women’s Fiction all listed on the gorgeous blog site.

Each book can be found on sale at Amazon.com, BN.com and/or Smashwords and many at all three sites.

So if you’re looking to load up your Kindle, Nook or other e-reader device to treat yourself for the holidays, buy for friends or family or just to feed your need to read, visit Book Lovers Buffet and load up – you won’t gain a pound!

Special thanks to the talented ladies who designed the site and worked tirelessly to bring it all together:Carly Carson, Vivi Anna, Jennette Marie Powell, E. Ayers, Linda Andrews, Deb Hale, JE Hopkins, Jill James, Renee Pace, Barbara Phinney, Nina Pierce, and Stephanie Queen.

Happy Black Friday

Santa's Workshop

I promote retail anarchy each year by refusing to go shopping on Black Friday. I prefer to have Santa's eleves make my holiday gifts for me and deliver them via sleigh so my day after Thanksgiving is usually spent decorating at home and eating turkey leftovers.

How do you spend Black Friday? Are you up at the crack of midnight and off to the mall? Are you celebrating Cyber Monday early by doing your online shopping? Or are you just relaxing with a turkey sandwich and a Christmas movie?

And the winner is...

The lucky winner of my book giveaway has been posted at Killer Chicks! Maybe it's you!

Contest at Killer Chicks!

Who's your favorite vampire?

Visit my post at Killer Kicks between now and November 23rd and tell me about your favorite vampire for a chance to win a copy [print or ebook] of UNCROSS MY HEART!

What's your fantasy dream job?

I'm over at Killer Chicks today talking about what I would be if I could be anything in the universe. Stop by and tell me about your dream job.

Merry Halloween

I've never had to clean snow off of my Halloween decorations before.

I think Mother Nature has her holidays mixed up. It's supposed to know on Christmas Eve, not two days before Halloween. I hope our early Nor'easter is not a harbinger of the bad winter to come.

How are you spending your Halloween? I hope it isn't shoveling snow.

Good editing makes all the difference

This news story about a giant Lego man who washed ashore in Florida caught my attention this morning.

The 100-pound counterfeit statue [it's not really Lego, say spokesman for the company], is emblazoned with the words: NO REAL THAN YOU ARE. Which is good for a laugh if you think about it.

But imagine if someone had edited that to read: NO LESS REAL THAN YOU ARE.

Then it becomes a chilling philosophical comment about life, our perceptions and the nature of reality in general. Don't you think?

A good editor could have made all the difference.

The hardest part

Today I'm over at Killer Chicks talking about the hardest part of writing a book. Stop by and tell me what your greatest obstacle is to reaching THE END.

World ends at 10:00, Film at 11:00

In case you missed it when it happened "invisibly" back in May, the world will be ending again today according to our favorite crackpot evangelist Harold Camping.

So today would be a good day to buy a lot of books. With no world stuff going on tomorrow, or ever again, we'll all have a lot of time to read.

**Edited on October 22, 2011 to add: Hmm, I guess we missed it again. Darn these invisible endings of the world.

Cover art post

Don't mind me, carry on.

Dark Sins and Desert Sands

Alas, I did not win Book of the Week at the Long and Short Reviews, but kudos go to my fellow Romance Diva Stephanie Draven, who did with her Silhouette Nocturne Book: Dark Sins and Desert Sands.

Read more about Stephanie's book HERE. Congratulations Stephanie!

Book of the Week Nomination

INTERVIEW WITH A GARGOYLE, is up for Book of the Week at the Long and Short Reviews!
I'm in excellent company over there. Check out the list of nominated books and cast your vote for Book of the Week!

http://www.longandshortreviews.com/LASR/index.htm

The Long and the Short of It

Five Books!

The Long and Short Reviews gave Interview with a Gargoyle a positively glowing 5-Book review. Here's a snippet:

Interview with a Gargoyle is a super amazing story with fascinating characters and a love between two kindred souls. The details were superb, the editing squeaky clean, and the dialogue brisk, entertaining and insightful to the characters. There is nothing I didn’t like about this book.

Of course, this only means I have to work a lot harder on the sequel. Wish me luck!

** Edited to add - on October 11, 2011 INTERVIEW is #7 on the Samhain Best Seller list in some very prestigious company.

Rescue me!

I'm being interviewed today at Author Rescue, come by and say hi!

Interview with a Gargoyle

It's finally available! I'd like to thank everyone who pre-ordered INTERVIEW WITH A GARGOYLE. I hope you find it worth the wait.

So much work went into this book, it’s hard to believe I finally ended up with a finished product considering how many times I rewrote it, shifted scenes around, added and removed things. At one point, I was literally cutting and pasting – with scissors and tape – scenes in a new order so the narrative would flow better. I thought it was a risk getting into the villian’s head, but since that’s where the hero Blake spends so much of his time, I felt the reader had to be there with him to understand the madness and desperation behind the Witch Hunter’s curse. There are scenes in this book that still bring me to tears, years after they were first written.

Visit Samhain Publishing for an excerpt - and on Wednesday, stop by Killer Chicks to read an interview with the gargoyle himself, my hero, Blake DeWitt.

Twofer

I’m all over the place today – check out my post about hot alien anteater shifters at Lucy Woodhull’s Miss Worded Blog, and later today you can drop by Excerpt Monday for a chance to win a copy of INTERVIEW WITH A GARGOYLE, which releases tomorrow! It’s like getting two for one.


And in case you haven’t noticed, the blog looks a little different. Blogger’s new design template attacked me out of the blue yesterday, so I had to do some last minute updates. I hope to get everything all spiffy again soon, so stay tuned.

Is this getting ridiculous?

I've been having to jump through hoops lately to post a comment to anyone's blog on Blogger. I've looked up the problem and solving it seems to consist of 'not clicking stay signed in' when you sign into your Google account. Not much of a resolution.

I'm wondering if this is why I get so few comments here and I'm seeing a drop in comments on other blogs.

Well, Blogger? Let's get off our butts and figure out why no one can post comments anymore. Obviously it's a widespread problem since it seems to be the top issue on the Blogger message boards. What's the deal?

What's the point of interactive blogs if people can't post comments to them??

The Devil made me do it!

My first review for Devil's Due is in! Sensual Reads gives it 4.5 stars and says:

"Alex is fantastic, he is cold on the outside but when you begin to understand his feelings he becomes an instant favorite."

Read the rest of the review here:

http://sensualreads.com/?p=7666

The art {or science} of promotion

I'm over at Killer Chicks today, wondering what types of promo work best. Put on your READER cap and come talk to me.

Guest Blogger-Lucy Woodhull

I'd like to thank my fellow Liquid Silver author Lucy Woodhull for stopping by today to talk about her new sci-fi rom-com release, RAGNAR AND JULIET!

Thank you so much, Jennifer, for allowing me to stop by to chat about my book, RAGNAR AND JULIET, a romantic comedy space opera available now from Liquid Silver Books. "Romantic comedy space opera" is a fancy way of saying "hot alien sexy times on thrusting star ships."

Here's the blurb:

RAGNAR AND JULIET by Lucy Woodhull

Bounty hunting is usually so easy. Flash a little cleavage, mix a roofie cocktail, and Juliet has her man right where she wants him: out cold, ready to be swapped for cash. Her passions are freedom, trashy clothes, and pie -- not necessarily in that order.

Hunky alien ship captain Ragnar doesn't deserve torture at the hands of the psychotic king who hired Juliet; he liberated one of William the Nefarious' illegal concubines. Juliet can't ignore such a noble act. She doesn’t trust men, but this one, with the kindest smile she's ever seen, picks away at her resolve to stay aloof and clothed. He's just so...nice! Crazy she can deal with; sincerity is terrifying.


Before she gives in to her irrational urge to get a timeshare with him (and his cute tail), they're caught by the bad guys. Ragnar disappears and abandons her to her disgusting captors -- so much for togetherness. Perhaps he’s not such a saint. Even worse, Nefarious William (who prefers "Bob") has nominated her for Concubine of the Evening. This dubious honor does not thrill her, and only a few hours remain before the king’s mind-altering drugs obliterate her free will.

Sexual slavery might not be fatal, but Juliet would rather die. Of course, the third option (run away to a beach and hump Ragnar silly) is the best, if they can live that long.


I think witty people are the sexiest, so I tried to give my hero and heroine (you guessed it -- Ragnar and Juliet) witty banter galore. Of course, a smart-mouthed hero is just as likely to get smacked as kissed, and rightly so. They don't teach it Biology 101, but I happen to know that the funny bone leads directly to the lady bits. Maybe we should call it the funny boner? How else to explain my illicit lust for Mel Brooks and Will Ferrell?

I sincerely hope that RAGNAR AND JULIET can give you a chuckle at the end of a long day. Or during a long day. Heck, just call in sick to work, draw a bubble bath, and read romance for eight hours. Dr. Lucy* says it’s okay.


*Not a medical doctor.


You can check out RAGNAR AND JULIET at Liquid Silver Books and read a sample. (http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com/books/ragnarandjuliet.htm)


Thanks so much for stopping by!


Lucy Woodhull

http://www.lucywoodhull.com/

Be sure to stop by Lucy's awesome blog, Miss Worded, to find out more about Ragnar and Juliet and Lucy!

First time for everything!

A pre-release review for INTERVIEW WITH A GARGOYLE [Samhain, October 4th]

Reviews are sometimes hard to come by, with so many books out there and reviewers' time at a premium, so I'm always thrilled to get a review - especially a RECOMMENDED READ!

Rose Nymph at Literary Nymphs had this to say about IWG:

Interview with a Gargoyle is a fantastically engaging story from start to finish. Melodie is a great character, full of spirit and humility. The hidden world that she is thrust into is gradually exposed and the reader travels the same journey into the underworld along with her. The conflict between Blake’s good natured soul and his desperate actions gives his character great depth. There is also a strong supporting cast of characters and the way this story ends makes me hope there could be more in store for some of them in the future. 

You can pre-order your copy for Kindle at Amazon.com or other formats from Samhain Publishing

Agent as Publisher?

I'm over at Killer Chicks today talking about the new trend of literary agents venturing into publishing. Stop by and tell me what you think.

One more re-release!

The last of my ‘out of print’ titles is now available!

On a cold December night Abby Shore saved Jake Beaumont’s life when she found him in the park, bleeding from wounds sustained in a mugging.


Now, three years later, she’s saving his life again, this time from a hired assassin. Herself. Abby is a vampire killer and Jake is her latest assignment.


The bonds of love and friendship that have held Jake and Abby together for three years are stretched to the limit when Abby learns the only way to save the man she loves is to give her heart, her soul and her very life blood for him. Together they learn there’s no way to avoid getting burned in the Bonfire of the Vampires.

Pick up your copy for $0.99 at:

Amazon.com

Smashwords

All Romance eBooks

Recasting a hero

Today I'm guest blogging at Paranormal Romantics about how sometimes as great as a hero is, he may not be the right man for the job. Come comment for a chance to win a book!

Rain, rain and more rain...oh...wait...

Evacuation procedures for Hurricane Irene drove us from the shore three days early, so I'm at home again, plugged back in and watchning it pour watching the sun come out.*

To everyone in the storm's path, stay safe and dry.

Here's a picture I took at the beach, showing one of Irene's advanced scouts checking out the territory.

Note the tiny funnel cloud - obviously a harbinger of the doom to come.

*As of 10:30 am maybe we're in the eye of the storm, but everything looks rather benign here. I realize there were places hit hard by the storm, but once again, it seems the media has given itself something to do by going right to reporting gloom and doom rather than sticking to the facts. Sure, storms are unpredictable, but you would think the technology that allowed them to decide 65 million people would be effected by the storm, would also be able to tell them by the time it hit Northern NJ it would be little more than an average rainy day.

Unplugged

I'm on vacation this week!

After seven days of bumming around at the beach, hopefully I'll be raring to start writing again and all ready for fall.

How are you unwinding this summer?

It goes without saying [but I'll say it anyway]

I’ve been following the Publish America vs. JK Rowling train wreck this week, and I have to admit it boggles my mind that anyone would fall for the claims made by PA and plunk down money for a chance to have anyone who is not an agent or editor read their work.


Think about it – they’re saying for $49, they will ‘bring your book to the attention’ of a famous person. [Ms. Rowling isn’t the first. They’ve apparently done this with others, including the President]. Now, ask yourself, what does ‘bringing to the attention’ mean?

They could simply jot your title down on a cocktail napkin and slip it under the stall the next time she’s in a public restroom. There. Brought to her attention. They could – and I suppose this is what PA clients were thinking – arrive for lunch at her castle in Scotland with a box of books and discuss each work individually for a moment or two over tea and scones. Yeah, because JK Rowling has time for that. She also has time to read a truck load of books and comment on each one [that’s part of the deal – you write her a short note and she’ll comment back.] Think about it. Please.

What busy celebrity or public figure, whether it’s the President of the United States, a well-known actor or a successful author, really has the time or the inclination to sit down and read dozens or hundreds or, heaven forbid, thousands of books and make personal comments on each one? They have lives and jobs and families, and while I’m sure they read for pleasure, they don’t have time to give individual authors bragging rights. ‘JK Rowling read my book and liked it!’ ZOMG!

And even if they did, [which is beyond unlikely], having an author or well-known person read your book is not the path to literary success. Sure, it’s nice to know someone who might be inclined to provide you with a cover quote, but that’s about all they could do for you. If anyone thinks JK Rowling or Stephen King or any author is going to phone their agent or their publisher and even vaguely recommend you get a publishing contract, or worse, SHOW your book to their publisher, you’re sadly mistaken. This is NOT HOW IT’S DONE. It’s just not. It’s a sad cliché perpetuated by movies and television shows. The hopeful author hounding a famous writer, asking them to read their manuscript in hopes of getting it passed along to someone who can actually write them a check – is a plot device, a trope. Maybe it happened once in the history of the industry, but like the Big Bang, it’s not something you see more than once in a gazillion years.

So, though it shouldn’t need to be said, please don’t fall for anyone promising to show your work, published or unpublished, to a celebrity. It’s useless, even if, on the outside chance, they actually do it, you’ll get nothing valuable out of it. If you’re looking for literary success, send your book to a reputable agent, or the appropriate editor at a well-known publishing house, not to JK Rowling, President Obama or, heaven forbid, Publish America.

HAES and the art of surrender

I’m over at Killer Chicks today talking about knowing when it’s time to quit. Come find out what I quit doing and why.

Get some Fresh Blood on your Kindle!

Fresh Blood is now available from Amazon.com!

A desperate call from her missing sister sends Erica Talbot on a dangerous rescue mission. Determined to prevent her twin from becoming a feeder, Erica steps out of her quiet, lonely existence and into a dark underworld where vampires make the rules.

Maxwell Hart is a vampire investigator. Part of his job is to protect humans. The moment he lays eyes on Erica, he knows she doesn’t belong in his world, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting her there.

With Max as her guide, Erica descends into a world where humans willingly give up control to their vampire masters. Posing as Max’s submissive feeder, Erica discovers a strange freedom in relinquishing her hard won self-control to Max.

After just one taste of Erica’s blood, Max finds he hungers for no one else. How can he possess her when drawing her deeper into his dark world will change her forever?

 
Don't forget, if you like Fresh Blood and want follow Elena's story - pick up a copy of La Vida Muerta!
 

Release day!

Available today!

Who would you sell your soul to save?

For Ceara Landon, the answer to that question is easy. She would do anything for her younger brother Kevin, even if saving his life means shattering his dreams.

On first glance it seems the skyrocketing success of Kevin’s band, Pillars of Stone, is a dream come true, but Ceara sees the truth. His increasing drug use will destroy him and ruin any chance he has for lasting happiness.

Ceara traces the source of Kevin’s dubious rise to fame back to night club owner Alexander Quinn. The gorgeous entrepreneur hides a terrible secret. He buys souls for the Devil, and he purchased Kevin’s in exchange for fame and fortune. In desperation, Ceara offers her own soul in exchange for Kevin’s, and for the first time in his lonely existence, Alex risks everything to refuse. He agrees to help Kevin sober up and guide his band to true success, but the price for Ceara is high. She’ll have to bargain with her heart to save her brother along with the man who wants to possess her body as well as her soul.


To find out more about DEVIL’S DUE visit

http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9482-devils-due.aspx


Be sure to stop by Killer Chicks tomorrow to read an exclusive excerpt!

Have you visited Excerpt Monday?

For a sneak peek of the cover art for my August release, Devil's Due, drop by the Excerpt Monday blog today. A comment enters you to win one of two gift baskets, one of which features both a copy of Devil's Due and Seven Days in Sydney.

Stop by and say hello!

Nothing like a good stretch

I wish I could get this comfortable under the dining room table. Or anywhere.

New Release!

If you could be someone else for a week, would you want to? What if you could be someone else forever?

Researcher Tess Ronson has been given a golden opportunity. When she agrees to have her consciousness downloaded into a prototype android body, she’s thrilled by the scientific and medical possibilities. The body, nicknamed Sydney by its creator, is physically perfect and stunningly beautiful, two things Tess is not.

For a week she lives a life she’s only dreamed of and learns far more about her own burning sexuality and untamable spirit than she thought possible. But after seven days in Sydney she also discovers the consequences of giving herself over to her every wicked desire.



Excerpt:



“She’s stunning.” Tess Ronson adjusted her thick-rimmed glasses and tilted her head as she circled the seven-foot-tall glass cylinder in the center of Gentron Inc.’s Level 4 Security lab.


The naked female form currently suspended by delicate silicon wires within the cylinder was a work of art as well as cutting-edge robotic science.


Long, copper-colored hair swirled around her pale shoulders. Dark pink areolas surrounded her distended nipples, tipping breasts that looked to be perfect D-cups. Her hips flared from a tiny waist, and her flat abs sported a tight slit of a navel. Between her slightly spread thighs sat a triangle of neatly trimmed auburn curls. Long, long legs stretched down to delicate ankles and dainty feet.


Her eyes were open, revealing light blue irises circled by a fringe of burnished lashes. Arched brows gave her a patrician appearance. Her lips were the perfect shade of pink.


Beside Tess stood Dr. Jared Simon, head of Gentron’s robotics division, hands clasped behind his back, preening. This was his triumph, and he looked about to crow.


Behind him, two other members of his top-secret research team lingered, also staring at the body in the cylinder. Melissa Stanz, PhD held a clipboard in front of her. Her dark eyes studied Tess more than the exquisite construction in the sterile tank. Next to her, Marc Roker, MD, more mechanic than physician, gaped likewise at the culmination of Simon’s last ten feverish years of work.


“She’s even more perfect than I envisioned her,” Simon announced. His eyes shimmered a bit in the fluorescent lab lighting. Pride mixed with something akin to worship made his normally stoic features seem to glow.


“Have you completed your checklist?” Melissa asked. She scribbled a few notes on her clipboard. The clinical psychiatrist disdained electronic input devices, so while everyone else employed at Gentron, Inc. walked around with iPads and BlackBerrys, Dr. Stanz carried paper notebooks and ink pens, leaving her overworked assistant the task of typing up all of her daily notes.


Tearing her gaze away from the tank, Tess nodded. “I told all my family and friends that I’m going to a symposium in Detroit for the week. I’ve recorded a couple of voicemails I can send remotely so people will think I’m calling in but missing them. I had my snail mail stopped, but I’ll be keeping up with e-mail since I’d do that anyway. Everyone I know is aware that I’ve got a coworker named Sydney staying in my apartment while I’m gone.”


“You sound excited about it, but I have to be sure you’re ready for this. You can still change your mind.” Melissa met her gaze. They’d been discussing the next phase of Dr. Simon’s experiment for months now, and if Tess had to reassure anyone one more time that she was ready to have her consciousness transferred into the beautiful body in the stasis tank, she’d scream.


This was a dream come true, not only for Jared Simon, who would get to see his most advanced android construction finally walking and talking and interacting with the world, but for Tess who, for the space of seven days, could escape her slightly plump, mousy-haired, nearsighted self and see the world through the robotic eyes of a supermodel.


“I’m one hundred percent ready for this, Dr. Stanz. This research is my life’s work too. All I can think about is how this technology will help burn victims, paraplegics, people with catastrophic injuries who’ll be able to walk around and live and work and communicate with their families while their real bodies heal. If this experiment works—”


“Not if, Tess. There’s no room for if in my work,” Dr. Simon reminded her sternly.


Chastised by his tone, she backtracked. “Of course. I meant when—”


“Once this phase of the research is concluded, we can consider the implications for life extension. No one will ever be trapped in a dying or dysfunctional body again. There will be no incurable illnesses, no irreparable injuries. Maybe even no such thing as death.”


Tess’s entire body tingled at the thought. Sydney represented the ultimate medical intervention, the answer to every disease and disorder known to man. What couldn’t be cured, one day, could simply be discarded, and an ailing person’s mind could be uploaded into a perfect, healthy, strong, disease-free biomechanical casing customized to any desired outward appearance.


The four people in this room stood on the frontier of science and technology so advanced it would transform the world the moment it was revealed to the general population. Tess felt there could be no higher honor. The mere suggestion of backing out made her ill.


Melissa glanced at Dr. Simon. “Then let’s get started.” She backed away from the tank, still making notes.


Tess’s heart rate soared. This was it. She’d dreamed of nothing else for weeks.


While Marc and Dr. Simon opened the stasis tank and began removing the suspension wires from the android body, Tess moved to one of the two diagnostic beds at the far end of the lab. A dozen different monitors and life-support devices surrounded one of the beds. Tubes and wires and electrodes hung from a metal pole along with bags of saline, antibiotics and a concoction of extraordinarily strong drugs that would keep her fragile human body alive for the next seven days while her mind resided inside the supercomputer resting within Sydney’s titanium skull.


By outward appearances, Tess would be in a medically induced coma, but on a deeper level, she’d be functionally dead, her bodily functions controlled by machines. Even coma patients, research had shown, possessed some awareness, if not of the world around them, then of a plane of existence constructed in their own subconscious. They still resided in their bodies even though those bodies were unable to respond to outside stimuli. Tess’s case would be different. Her mind would be gone, not just hiding in a little-used section of her brain.


Tests had determined the human body could only sustain itself in this state without irreparable damage for just over seven days, even with catastrophic medical intervention. So at the end of the week, Tess’s mind would be transferred back into her body...or sooner if they ran into any problems.


Eyeing the equipment around the bed, Tess unbuttoned her lab coat and shrugged out of it. She placed that and each item of her typical working uniform—black slacks, a plain white top, white socks and soft-soled sneakers—on a straight-backed chair next to the bed. She glanced around to make sure Marc and Dr. Simon were occupied before removing her bra and panties and sliding them surreptitiously beneath all of her other clothes, as though no one might suspect she actually wore underwear. She slipped on the surgical gown Melissa had provided for her and climbed into the bed to await the injections that would knock her out and begin to loosen her mind’s hold on her body.





Seven Days in Sydney is my first all-erotica title. To find out more, visit:

Smashwords


All Romance eBooks

Amazon.com

I've been interviewed!

Come visit Riverina Romantics Blog and learn all about my upcoming releases!

Unveiling

Today I unveiled my new cover art for my October Samhain release, Interview with a Gargoyle over at Killer Chicks along with some other headline news for July.

Here's the gorgeous cover... but you have to stop by Killer Chicks to find out everything else.

Get it while it's free!

For the month of July Smashwords is offering Married to the MIB for free!

Just enter the Coupon code SSWSF at checkout to get your copy for a whopping $0.00 - hurry while supplies last. {That's supplies of days in July, by the way}.

July 1 - July 31 - FREE at Smashwords!

Spence is a MIB, a special agent dedicated to protecting Earth from extraterrestrial threats. Three years ago, he fell in love with Dulcie, an alien abductee. Now the fate of an empire rests on Dulcie’s hidden memories of their affair. It’s Spence’s mission to retrieve them. It should be easy, but will Spence be able to remain objective when the love of his life experiences total recall?

New ink!

No, I didn't get a tattoo. I just signed a contract with Ellora's Cave for my paranormal novel The Devil's Due.

Blurb:

Who would you sell your soul to save?



For Ceara Landon, the answer to that question is easy. She would do anything for her younger brother Kevin, even if saving his life means shattering his dreams.


On first glance it seems the skyrocketing success of Kevin’s band, Pillars of Stone, is a dream come true, but Ceara sees the truth. His increasing drug use will destroy him and ruin any chance he has for lasting happiness.


Ceara traces the source of Kevin’s dubious rise to fame back to night club owner Alexander Quinn. The gorgeous, blue-eyed entrepreneur hides a terrible secret. He’s a soul broker – he buys souls for the Devil, and he purchased Kevin’s in exchange for fame and fortune. In desperation, Ceara offers her own soul in exchange for Kevin’s, and for the first time in his lonely existence, Alex risks everything to refuse. He agrees to help Kevin sober up and guide his band to true success, but the price for Ceara is high. She’ll have to bargain with her heart to save her brother along with the man who wants to possess her body as well as her soul.

The Devil's Due will be part of EC's Blush line, my first Jennifer Colgan title with EC. Stay tuned for more updates.

Friskies Buffet

Shortly after this picture was taken, Topper [green collar in front] decided he was too good to eat with the riff raff and stormed off in a huff. Ranger [middle] proceeded to eat from both his and Topper's bowl. Onyx [background] remained oblivious.

New Release now avialable!

I’m thrilled to announce the release of my sci-fi rom-com novella, MARRIED TO THE MIB!

Handsome, blue-eyed Spencer Ward stirs feelings in Dulcie Crandall that she can’t quite explain. Spencer feels it too, but he knows why pretty, vivacious Dulcie seems so familiar. She’s his wife.

Spence is a Man in Black, a special agent dedicated to protecting Earth from temporal and extraterrestrial threats. Three years ago, he met Dulcie, an alien abductee, during a daring rescue from an Umayan organ harvest ship. His employer, the Insterstellar Security and Time Agency, had Dulcie’s memories of their whirlwind courtship and alien wedding ceremony blocked before they returned her to Earth. Now ISTA needs the memories locked in Dulcie’s subconscious, and Spence and his half-alien shapeshifter partner, Ruben “Ruby” Throckmorton, have been assigned to retrieve them.

It should be easy, but will Spence be able to remain objective when the love of his life experiences total recall of the time she spent married to a MIB?

Excerpt:

All around Dulcie, geysers of foul-smelling steam belched from dripping pipes. Unidentifiable machinery hissed, and lights flashed in macabre shades of crimson and purple. She wasn’t supposed to be here, hiding in this dank place all alone, driven by fear and some deep, desperate need to survive at all costs.

She’d come here, though, to escape someplace much worse. If only she could remember exactly what she was running from.

Just when she’d reached the point where her only option was to scream—not for help, but for the sheer, utter hopelessness of her predicament—he appeared. He swept out of the hot, churning mist, the broad-shouldered silhouette of a man backlit by a strobe of acid green. He reached for her.

Some strange instinct bade her to take the hand he offered, but rather than rise with dignity from her hiding place and let him lead her out of this neon hell, she flew into his arms, shivering and sobbing.

He murmured something soothing while she buried her sweat-dampened face in his neck. His scent curled into her lungs on her next shuddering gasp of breath, and she calmed. Strong arms lifted her from the darkness, and Duclie melted into his muscular caress. He smelled like sin, a curious mix of male sweat, danger and an intoxicating cologne.

There was something about that smell—familiar and wonderful—that told her everything from here on in was going to be just fine. She tightened her arms around him, and he scooped her up as if she weighed nothing. The steam faded then, offering a momentarily clear view of the place. This time Dulcie tried to pay attention to what she saw.

Miles of coiled wires, rusted pipes and twisted fingers of metal and smoky crystal stretched before them. In the still-shrouded distance a white light cut through the gloom.

“That’s the way out,” he said. His voice, like his scent, penetrated her weakened defenses and left her dreamy-eyed and breathless. Beneath her splayed hand the muscles of his chest, hidden under a black T-shirt, rippled as he strode toward safety. “We have to hurry.”

“Hurry.” She nodded, but for some reason all the urgency she’d felt a few moments ago had faded. She’d have stayed in his arms forever, cradled against his rapidly beating heart, cherished in his embrace.

“Hurry…” Dulcie awoke with that word on her lips. Again. This was the third time this month. She might have been more concerned about the details of the recurring nightmare, except it always ended the same way, with her daring rescue.



To read more about MARRIED TO THE MIB, you can visit:


Smashwords

All Romance eBooks

Amazon.com

All Romance eBooks

I spent Sunday uploading my self-pubbed titles over at All Romance eBooks - so if you're looking for formats you might not get elsewhere, or you're a fan of ARe, go check out my pages:

Jennifer Colgan

Bernadette Gardner

You might just find a hidden gem if you go looking. :)

Happy Release Day, JB Lynn!

Today my good friend and fellow Killer Chick, JB Lynn is launching her first Carina Press release. Her book is scary, smart and full of suspense - if you want an exciting read that'll leave you afraid to sleep with the lights off, check out...

The First Victim by JB Lynn

Fifteen years ago, Emily Wright barely escaped from a serial killer dubbed the Baby Doll Strangler. She wants nothing to do with the small town she grew up in, but when her father is hospitalized she reluctantly returns home to care for her teenage sister.

When a friend of her sister is killed and left in front of Emily’s house, Emily begins to relive the nightmare she endured long ago. Soon she realizes that her sister too is in danger from the killer – and the only person who can help is the man Emily left behind: Deputy Bailey O’Neil. Together, Emily and Bailey must discover the killer’s identity before he claims his next victim…

“Does your palm itch? Emily?”

Engrossed in paperwork, it took Emily Wright a moment to realize that her assistant, Ruth, was talking to her. She looked up at the older woman as Ruth placed a cup of coffee beside Emily’s telephone. It was only then she realized that she’d been rubbing her left thumb across her right hand.
“Does your palm itch?”

Emily nodded. “Thanks for the coffee.”

Ruth beamed. “That’s good news. It means you’re going to come into money.” Her unspoken message was that it boded well for the presentation Marisol, Emily’s business partner, was probably making at this very moment. All nine of the advertising firm’s employees were eagerly waiting to hear whether they’d landed their biggest client ever.

“Do you really believe in those old superstitions, Ruth?”

“They can’t hurt. Can I get you anything else?”

“No. This is great. Thanks.” Watching her newest employee, a woman old enough to be her mother, leave her office, Emily secretly hoped she was right.

She looked down at her palm. The scar that stretched across it had faded over time and was now nothing more than a thin raised line. No doubt there were a hundred doctors in Manhattan who could remove the physical reminder of what she’d suffered, but to her the scar tissue was a talisman of sorts, proof that hope could triumph over evil.

She’d learned an invaluable lesson the day she’d earned this scar. She’d learned that she was capable of more than she’d ever imagined, that help came from the most unexpected places and to never give up. Those lessons had served her well, which was how she found herself a co-owner of a Manhattan ad agency, waiting to hear whether they’d landed their first national account.

Feeling the distant rumblings of a tension headache, she rubbed at her temples, and then made a grab for her coffee cup. She needed caffeine!

Her cell phone buzzed. Hoping that it was Marisol calling with good news, she snatched it out of her purse. An icy tingle of fear ran down her spine when she recognized the area code. Home.

It rang three more times before she took a deep breath and answered.

“Hello?”

“You’ve got to come home, Em.” Bailey O’Neil, her childhood friend and teenage crush who still made semi-regular appearances in her dreams, didn’t offer a greeting, ask how she was or even identify himself. Not that he needed to. Even though it had been close to fifteen years since they’d had regular conversations, she’d recognized Bailey’s voice immediately.

It transported her from behind her desk to a dock on a lake’s shore. In that instant it was easier to believe she was a confused fourteen-year-old girl rather than a driven, thirty-one-year-old businesswoman.

“There’s been an accident.”

He’d called and said the same exact thing two years earlier, but that had been a lie. Her mother had overdosed, and no one would ever convince Emily it had been an accident.

With Marisol, who was not only her business partner but her best friend, in tow for moral support, Emily had returned to Lakeside Acres, Pennsylvania for the funeral, choosing to stay at The Garden Gate Bed and Breakfast rather than the house she’d called home as a child. She hadn’t been back since, not even to see Laurie.

“Em?” Bailey still used the shortened version of her name, just like he had when they were kids. It almost sounded too familiar, since it suggested that they knew each other well. That was another lie. “Em? Did you hear me? I said you’ve got to come home.”

“I heard you. How’d you get this number?”

Ignoring her question, Bailey told her, “There’s been an accident. Your father’s been hurt. It’s pretty bad. They’re not sure he’s going to make it.”

“So?”

She heard Bailey’s sharp intake of breath. He probably thought she was a stone-cold bitch. So be it. She’d decided long ago that she didn’t have to explain or justify her relationship, or lack of relationship, with her dear old dad. If Bailey O’Neil didn’t approve of her reaction, that was his problem.

Bailey, though, didn’t miss a beat. “Laurie needs you.”

Try as she might, Emily didn’t hear any judgment or condemnation in his tone, only a genuine concern for her younger sister. Doing her best to ignore the twinge of guilt she felt for not immediately inquiring about her only sibling, Emily asked, “Is she hurt? What happened?”

“Your father was out on his boat. I don’t have the details yet. Laurie wasn’t involved, but she’s scared, Em. She needs someone. She needs you.”

Emily’s gaze settled on two tiny framed photographs perched on the corner of her desk. They’d been taken more than two years earlier when Laurie was thirteen. She and her sister had crammed into one of those tiny booths at a mall, made a bunch of silly faces and ended up with a strip of four, slightly grainy, black-and-white photographs. They’d torn the strip in half, each taking two of the pictures. Besides the funeral, it was the last time she’d seen her sister. Their father had seen to that.

“Em?”

“Okay. I’ll be there in a few hours.”

“Swear?”

An image of Bailey solemnly staring at her popped into her mind, not this adult version of Bailey who was just doing his job, but the boy she’d played freeze tag with.

“Em? Swear?”

“I swear.” She severed the connection.


You can learn more about JB and her books at:
Killer Chicks
Website
Follow her on Twitter

Here comes trouble!

Right now his name is Rio, but he'll be getting a new name once he comes to live with us. My good friend "R", the troublemaker, has a mess of kittens and she offered us one...well, actually two, but this little guy won me over the minute I saw him. He's got one black ear and one white ear and he looks like a Dalmatian.

How could I say no?

Now what?

I'm over at Killer Chicks today talking about my process - what happens after THE END.

Hovering

In between working on edits of my soon-to-be-released sci-fi novella and working on an erotica novel, I've spent much of my week haunting the Amazon Kindle Erotica Bestseller list where Hunter's Moon and Hunter's Mate have been hovering in the Top 100.

A screen cap from 5/23 [click on the picture for a larger view]

and a screen cap from 5/27.

I'm thrilled to say my self-pub experiment is working out well, so you'll be seeing more from me available through Smashwords and Amazon.com in the coming months.

Stay tuned for news about my upcoming releases...

I'm still here, are you?

At around 6:00 PM local time yesterday, the sky darkened with ominous clouds. Rain began to fall steadily, and after about twenty minutes...

...it let up and the sun came out again.

So much for the much publicized coming of the Rapture and the beginning of the end of the world. How many failed doomsday predictions do we really need before people actually figure it out?

While the media probably made this 2nd spectacularly failed attempt of a televangelist to predict Judgment Day into a much bigger deal than it needed to be, the amount of people who supposedly bought into the reworked calculations of 89-year-old millionaire preacher Harold Camping speaks to a pretty sad state of affairs.

While it's very, very easy to poke fun at these people, some of whom dumped their life savings into billboards and religious tracts in a last ditch effort to save a few extra souls before zero hour, I can't help but feel sympathy. To anticipate the violent end of life on Earth with any kind of glee or excitement, to me, identifies someone who is deeply troubled and desperately disappointed with their lives.

Today, I have no doubt these people woke with a sense of foolish disappointment. How hard must it be too look people in the eye after you spent your last weeks saying goodbye and telling them how sad you would be to leave them behind when you ascended to heaven? How hard it must be to carry on living a life that's clearly so dismal you can't wait for it to end.

While the 'true believers' hoped that their endgame proselytizing would lead people to examine their own beliefs and make the 'right' choices that would save their souls, I hope this latest prophet-for-profit debacle will lead some people to re-examine their need to hope for the end of everything and find a more positive way to spend their time.

If reality doesn't make you happy, at least give fiction a try.

Crime and punishment

My co-blogger JB Lynn and I are talking about the season finale of CASTLE over at Killer Chicks today. Come give us your verdict.

Genre Hopping

Hop on over to Killer Chicks and talk to me about genres and how many it's okay for a writer to have.

One week left

So, in case you haven't heard, Judgement Day is coming. Next Saturday, May 21st will be the beginning of the end.

On October 21, 2011 the world will end. So you'd better stock up on your ebooks now. Otherwise you might not be able to get any, you know, after the world ends. That would suck, not being able to read, especially if there's nothing else to do. With the world being all...you know...gone and all.

If you missed any of the last times the world was supposed to end, you can read about them here:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/end_wrl2.htm

They wonder why

Welcome to my rant for the day.

One of my jobs for today was to set up a bunch of doctor's appointments - all the yearly checkups are due, pediatrician, dentists, eye doctors, orthodondist etc. So I dutifully made a list of six doctors and their phone numbers, got out my calendar and sat down with the phone to try and arrange dates that don't conflict with school, work, other appointments, vacations, etc.

Out of six phone calls, I was able to reach one office and actually make an appointment for my daughter and myself at the eye doctor. Everyone else had an excuse:

computers are down

office is closed today

office is closed this morning

too swamped to make appointments at this time

constant busy signal

It's ridiculous. You'd think since doctors are so deeply entrenched in the idea of having patients show up constantly and pay them money that they'd actually make sure someone was available to answer the phone and make appointments on a Monday morning.

If was just for me, I wouldn't even bother calling back, but as a Mom, I've got to keep my kids medical records current and make sure they're up to date with checkups. Sigh. You'd think they'd be a little more anxious to get people into the offices.

/rant, now back to our regularly scheduled blog

What's your weakness?

I'm over at Killer Chicks again, collecting data for national security purposes. Come spill your secrets to me.

Have you met Mary Sue?

I'm over at Killer Chicks today talking about Mary Sue. Come gossip with me.

The Big 1000

I just stopped by to write a post apologizing if I'd scared anyone with that Skynet report. I didn't want anyone to run screaming into the wilderness - just to be aware that killer robots from the future could very well be on their way here RIGHT NOW!

Anyway, I dropped in and realized that my next blog post would be my 1000th!

I can't believe I've written a thousand blog posts already. Do I really have that much to say? I must, I talk all the time, just usually to myself.

How many blog posts have you written? Did you celebrate any of them?

Just so you know...

On Tuesday, April 19, 2011 - Skynet became self aware.

It's all over but the crying now.

The slippery staircase

I'm talking about a weird dream I had over at Killer Chicks today. Come analyze my writer's brain.

The missing park

DS and I took a walk today to the local park and found it mssing. Apparently the torrential rains yesterday flooded the place. The turtles and the ducks were having a wonderful time, but the joggers, bikers and walkers were more than a little dismayed.

Flooded playground

Flooded walkway

Hopefully the water will recede soon. It's amazing what one day of rain can do. 

Poll: What's in your glass?

Come over to Killer Chicks and tell me if your glass is half full or half empty.

They say it's my birthday!

Mario and his mushroom friends stopped by last night for some cake. Today I'm going to listen to an audiobook on my iPod and work on a final round of pre-submission edits for my new novella.

I know I'm old - now that I have to check my birth certificate to make sure of my age. (And when I have to edit this post twice to fix the mistakes.)

Sneak Peek at Killer Chicks!

I'm over at Killer Chicks today, posting an excerpt from my upcoming Samhain release, INTERVIEW WITH A GARGOYLE. Come take a peek!

Naked Numbers - Self publishing experiment

I'm over at Killer Chicks today, with a totally naked body scan of my self-publishing numbers for the months of February and March. Come take a peek.

Size doesn't matter

Really, it doesn't. I got my birthday present early this year [git yer mind out of the gutter!] - It's an iPod Nano and it's an itty-bitty little thing, but it can hold like a gazillion songs. I've loaded up about 9 CDs worth of music and only dented the memory.

It looks big here, but it's really only a little bigger than a square inch. It has a clock, a pedometer, a radio and it can hold photos too. I never fail to be amazed by technology. If they make these things just a little bit smaller, we won't have to carry them at all, we can just swallow them. Talk about marching to your own inner drummer.

Now Playing: Kiss Me by New Found Glory [one of my favorites because there's an excellent Jack and Gwen fan video set to this song]

How big is yours? [Your MP3 player, that is?]

Naming Names

Today I'm over at Killer Chicks, naming dropping...come over and drop some names with me.

This hardly ever happens

Today is an unsusual day for me. Why?

Yesterday I finisihed a rough draft of a story I've been working on for...ever.

It's been a long time since I finished something. In fact quite a while since I wrote on a regular basis due to RL stress and constant other things needing to be done. The incessant hammer has finally let up and I've been able to sit down and concentrate. It's a great feeling and I've missed it.

So today is a 'cooling off' day. I'm leaving the draft alone for a bit so I can look at it with fresh eyes. Today I get to figure out what project I'm going to tackle next.

What do you do when you finish a draft? Do you celebrate? Do you let it cool? Do you dive right into edits or into a new project?

The curse of the fluffy subplot

I'm over at Killer Chicks today talking about fluff. Come visit!

Is it just me?

Or does the clock change knock you for a loop too?

I'm a long time arch enemy of Daylight Savings Time. I believe all it does is screw up everyone's circadian rhythm.

Now I look like this guy all day long. Though my fangs aren't quite as sharp.

Are you lucky enough to live somewhere they DON'T insist on messing with time twice a year?

Obsess with me

I've got my crystal ball out and I'm making predictions over at Killer Chicks today. Come look into the future with me.

One for the 'To Be Read' List

Fellow Romance Diva Paige Tyler has a new book out that I'm dying to read...

GHOST HUNTER
New from Ellora's Cave!
It's got a hunky hero, a kick-A** heroine and a serial killing ghost that's scary as hell! Not to mention a smokin' hot cover!


BLURB:

Almost getting murdered by a serial killer gives Cassidy Kincaide a new lease on life and convinces her to go ahead and tackle that ghost-hunter novel she's always wanted to write. So, she hooks up with a gorgeous paranormal investigator named Trace McCord to do some research.

Cassidy and Trace rub each other the wrong way right from the beginning, but they have to put aside their differences when the serial killer who attacked her comes back from the grave to continue his string of grisly murders, with her at the top of his list.

Trace has to keep Cassidy close to keep her safe, and as they try to stay one step ahead of the ghost while figuring out how to stop it, he and Cassidy end up in each other’s arms. While Trace has a whole list of reasons why he shouldn’t get involved with her, he finds himself falling in love with the beautiful blonde anyway. And even though Cassidy started out thinking he was a jerk, she learns that underneath the rough ghost hunter exterior, he’s just the man she’s always been looking for. Now, all they have to do, is live long enough to be together.


Read an Excerpt!
http://www.paigetylertheauthor.com/ExcerptGhostHunterforHire.html

Watch the Trailer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7c6DgZ-fHs

Get your copy of GHOST HUNTER at Ellora's Cave!
http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9148-ghost-hunter.aspx


I'm off to hunt me up some ghosts!

The bugaboo

I'm back at Killer Chicks today, talking about the bugaboo and how it's worse than a zombie. Gear up and join me for some monster tackling.

What Gwen said

Come visit with me at Killer Chicks today as I interview debut YA author Gwen Hayes!

Read Across America

I'm at Killer Chicks talking about what inspired me to become a reader and a writer. Come tell me what inspired you.

For those who asked...

For everyone who's asked about a sequel to my Free Read at Smashwords...

if you've read Fresh Blood and enjoyed it and you'd like to revisit my vampire world, you can get another taste in La Vida Muerta available at Amber Quill Press.

Elena Talbot betrayed her sister for a chance at immortality. Now, ensconced in the dark world of Chicago’s undead, she clings to the person who helped her find herself and her sanity after the gut-wrenching, soul-stealing transformation from human to vampire.

Vampire investigator Lucas Vitale has gotten used to having Elena in his home and in his bed. She’s always ready for his lusty games, but she’s still afloat in a sea of self-doubt and confusion about her new existence. She wants the one thing he can’t give her, a purpose.

When Elena’s quest for fulfillment brings her too close to Lucas’s long-hidden secret, he casts her out. Only after she’s gone does he realize there’s no point in living “the dead life” without her...



Trending now: Zombies

I'm over at Killer Chicks today talking about how much I'm over zombies. Come tell me what you think about the walking dead.

Hunting for good reads...

I did it again. I uploaded more of my 'out of print' titles to Smashwords.

He’s never been with a human female, she’s never been with a man she can trust. Alliana and Adam are from two different worlds and when he’s stranded in hers, she begins to realize it might be time to take another chance on love.

Hunter's Moon at Smashwords

When she’s chosen for an alien breeding program, Victoria Cambridge finally meets the mate she’s been longing for. Unfortunately, his mission is to prevent the consummation that could join their two races

Hunter's Mate at Smashwords

The Nature of Work

I'm over at Killer Chicks today trying to figure out how to define "work". Stop by and bring your dictionary.

Got Blood?

My vampire novella Fresh Blood has been available as a free read from my wedbsite in .pdf format for a while now, but this weekend I uploaded it to Smashwords, so now it's available in the e-reader formats as well.

Visit Smashwords for your FREE copy in html, JAVA, mobi, epub, pdf, lrf or Palm.



A desperate call from her missing sister sends Erica Talbot on a dangerous rescue mission. Determined to prevent her twin from becoming a feeder, Erica steps out of her quiet, lonely existence and into a dark underworld where vampires make the rules.



Maxwell Hart is a vampire investigator. Part of his job is to protect humans. The moment he lays eyes on Erica, he knows she doesn’t belong in his world, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting her there.


With Max as her guide, Erica descends into a world where humans willingly give up control to their vampire masters. Posing as Max’s submissive feeder, Erica discovers a strange freedom in relinquishing her hard won self-control to Max.

After just one taste of Erica’s blood, Max finds he hungers for no one else. How can he possess her when drawing her deeper into his dark world will change her forever?

Battling addiction

Today I'm over at Killer Chicks talking about my latest addiction. Come help me kick the habit.

Farewell to an old friend

Saber

1998-2011