The Winner for Jenny Schwartz's Giveaway Is....

Yay!  The e-ARC/bookmark giveaway for Jenny Schwartz is now closed.  The winner is Mrs. Kendrick, commenting on December 14th.  Congratulations to her, and thanks for everyone who stopped by to get a look at Jenny's wonderful new release, DRAWING CLOSER!

BLURB:

A story about taking love off the page and into real-life…

Zoe Loyola is keeping a secret between her and her sketchbook. She loves sculptor Nick Gordon. Her drawings of him are hot…and naked!

Nick has a secret, too. He’s being blackmailed. Protecting his family means ignoring his desire for Zoe.

But in the world of art, passion breaks every rule and secrets are made for sharing.



BUY LINK:  Amazon

Celebrating FINDERS KEEPERS Release, Interview/GIVEAWAY with Author PG Forte!

 

I’ve been lucky enough to meet some talented writers, but there are only a handful I view as “sisters.”  PG Forte is one of them, a lovely woman whose passionate, deeply emotional work has reduced me to a blubbering mess on more than one occasion.  So, it’s with great pleasure I now welcome PG to my humble cyber-home on a very special time for her—we’re celebrating the release for her latest book, FINDERS KEEPERS!  Welcome, PG, make yourself at home. :D

 

PG: Aww, thanks Sis and right back atcha. It’s great to be here and so much fun to be once again promoting holiday stories with you. Congrats on your new release as well! 

 

 

SG: Thanks, and smoochies, sweetie!  Okay, down to business...We met last year during the release of your steamy steampunk novella, THIS WINTER HEART, a deliciously angsty story of love lost and found again.  In fact, it made me sniffle in the best possible way at the end! *warm fuzzies*  Can you tell me a little about FINDERSKEEPERS, and will I need a box of tissues for this one, or a cold shower?  Or both?

 

 

PG: Well, the cold shower for sure. lol! But probably not a whole box of tissues…I don’t think. Although it does get a little angsty at times. FINDERS KEEPERS is a whole bunch of love stories all rolled into one. We have friends-to-lovers story, another lovers’ reunion story (yes, my favorite!) and a second-chance-at-love story. The story is science-fiction, set in the not-so-distant future in a California that exists as its own republic following the break-up of the United States.  The political upheaval of the 2010s is only touched on in the book, but the collapse of the global economy paved the way for the privatized military complex to step in and “own” most of the technological advances in the world.

 

This is SO beautiful. Especially the abs. :D

SG: The artwork on this work in AH-MAYYYYY-ZING.  There’s just something about it…one, two three.  Wow, three people!  That immediately sets the temperature soaring! :D  Is this your first ménage?  Are there different challenges in writing a ménage love scene as opposed to a “conventional” two-person love scene?

 

PG: Isn’t that a great cover? I absolutely love it. And, I tell you, ever since I got it, I’m feeling a little less covetous of your beautiful cover for HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS.

This is my first finished ménage—and my first m/m/f. I have another in the works, but that’s m/m/m and that’s challenging just due to the pronouns alone! The challenges in FINDERS KEEPERS came from the characters’ personalities. One of my heroes was dragging his feet a little when it came time to commit to the whole ménage scene. But the others eventually won him over.

 

SG:  *fans self*  Man, that sounds sooooooo good, and I love the concept of a reluctant ménage guy.  LOVE.  I have to ask, how did the idea for FINDERS KEEPERS come about?

 

PG: Would you believe I dreamed it? True story. I woke up one morning with the first three chapters in my head—along with a clear idea of the dynamic between the three characters. But I had a lot of other projects I was working on at the time and this story probably would have stayed on the back burner for a while if it weren’t for you and JK Coi and Jenny Schwartz. I had so much fun with you all promoting our anthology last year. When I realized I could get this story finished and out in time for this Christmas—that we could both have sci-fi Christmas stories? (and gorgeous blue covers—what are the odds?) Well, I just had to re-order my schedule and get it done ASAP.

 

SG: I love it when plots come about in dreams!  Though I think you might be the lucky one here, as my dream-plots usually wind up with me naked-skating (talk about a nightmare *shudder shudder*)  So, now that you're traumatized with that horrifying mental image, let's switch gears!  I’m so curious about your main characters.  Would you mind telling me a little about each of them?

 

 

PG: Ooh, not at all! I love talking about my characters and these three were just so much fun to write.

 

Aldo is an undercover cop back home in Northern California after a stint in the military. Fifteen years earlier, Aldo had volunteered for a special-ops program that left him a changed man. To quote from the book: “His consciousness had been purposely and methodically expanded, and his brain reconfigured to the point where he could easily exert control over his brain waves and sympathetic nervous system.” After the death of his estranged husband, Aldo had grown disillusioned with the military and bought out his commission.

When he and Caleb meet, Aldo is immediately attracted to the other man. It comes as a huge shock to realize that this attraction might not be reciprocated. But that’s nothing compared to the shock of learning that Caleb might have designs on Aldo’s best friend, Sally.

Sally is the widow of Aldo’s late partner, Davis. She’s been in love with Aldo for a long time, but she knows it’s a hopeless cause. When Aldo invites both her and Caleb to his ski cabin for the holidays she’s pretty sure her best friend has matchmaking on his mind. It never occurs to her to wonder whether Aldo might have other ulterior motives or even an agenda of his own.

Caleb is also a product of military tinkering. Currently he’s on loan to the Oakland PD, where his job is to assist Aldo undercover. Caleb has no memory of his past and doesn’t understand his conflicted reaction to Aldo whom he simultaneously loathes and lusts after.

His feelings for Sally are a lot more straightforward—she’s the first person he’s been drawn to in as long as he can remember.

SG:  Oh, that sneaky Aldo!  And I'm already in love with Caleb, who sounds like he's just trying to find his place in the world. <3  Is there any one particular thing you really want to make sure everyone knows about FINDERS KEEPERS?

 

PG: FINDERS KEEPERS turned out to be a surprisingly nostalgic story. For all its heat, it’s a heartwarming holiday tale of love, forgiveness and family. Because family is at the heart of the holiday spirit.

 

SG:  PG, Thanks so much for dropping by to gab about your latest release, FINDERS KEEPERS!  This sounds like just what the doctor ordered when it comes to some steamy escapism during the hectic holiday season.

 

PG:  It was great chatting with you Stacy—as always! I always look forward to seeing what you’re up to next.

I’d just like to remind your readers that I’ll be running a different contest every week this month. They can use the form below to enter this week’s contest. And check out my blog www.RhymesWithForeplay.blogspot.com (I have a very special guest visiting me there today, by the way!) or the Calendar of Events on my website http://www.pgforte.com/CALENDAR.htm for links to future contests.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Buy Link for FINDERS KEEPER:

Loose Id

Interview/Giveaway With Jenny Schwartz, Author of DRAWING CLOSER!

A year ago I had the great fortune to become steampunk anthology sisters with a wonderful lady by the name of Jenny Schwartz.  In our group we all had our roles to play—I usually (and totally on accident) played the role of comic relief, while Jenny became the heart and soul of who we are today.  Without this incredibly talented, multi-faceted woman, we probably wouldn’t be the tight-knit group we became. *hugs Jenny*

SG: Jenny, welcome to my humble blog home! 

Jenny:  Stacy, as bright and funny as you are, you weren’t “comic relief”. Nope. You’re totally an adorable goof … and an extremely talented author that I’m honoured to call a friend. Thanks for having me on you blog, and for the kind words that have made me cry. Good tears. Kinda like the tears I cried reading “How The Glitch Saved Christmas”.

 

 

SG: (*sniffles*  I LOVE YOU, JENNY!)  Okay back to the interview... *dons professional hat* Have you noticed you seem to always be busy this time of year?  Last December you launched WANTED: ONE SCOUNDREL, the first steampunk novella in The Bustlepunk Chronicles series published by Carina Press, with the 2^nd book, COURTING TROUBLE, releasing this past October.  And now here you are again, with yet another December release on the horizon!  This time, though, you’re flexing your contemporary romance muscles with a brand new publisher, Escape Publishing.  Can you tell me a little about this new publishing house?

Jenny:  Escape Publishing is Harlequin’s Australian digital romance imprint. It’s all about bringing Australian voices to the romance world, and wow, some of those voices are amazing. When I read the launch books, I knew I’d joined a great group of authors.

Something that American and Canadian authors probably don’t think about much is the timezone challenges of communicating with their editors. For me, in Australia, I tend to be about half a day ahead of my editors. So conversations have a day’s lag. Editors answer my questions while I’m sleeping. With Escape Publishing, editors are pretty much in my timezone and we can chat through the day (ahem, yes, Twitter is my procrastination tool of choice).

LOVE this cover. Kiss her, Nick! <3

 

 

SG: I’m so over-the-moon excited to read your latest work, DRAWING CLOSER!  You have such a strong writing “voice”, I know I’ll be happy to devour anything you write. Can you share a little bit about the plot? (No spoilers!)

 

Jenny:  Well, Nick’s a potter. What is it about potter’s that make them so sexy? Is it the clay, the muscles from heaving the clay around or is it their creativity? Whatever it is, Nick is my dream man. And have you seen the cover for “Drawing Closer”? Yeah, definitely dreamy.

Um. I think I got a bit sidetracked. I’m like Zoe: Nick-obsessed. At least I haven’t sketched him naked—yet!

Zoe’s another artist, a painter. She and Nick share studio space. He’s a long-time friend of her cousin, but she’s desperate for him to see her as more than a “kid sister”.

I adore the friends-to-lovers trope and had great fun writing Zoe and Nick’s bumpy journey.

 

SG:  (Great, now I'm distracted over thoughts of drawing a hunk like Nick in his birthday suit *sigh*)  Was it difficult switching mental gears from steampunk to contemporary?

 

Jenny:  I cheated. I used the same setting for my contemporary romance that I used in my Bustlepunk Chronicles: Fremantle, Australia. It was fascinating to write romances over a hundred years apart, but walking the same streets.

 

SG:  I wouldn't call that cheating, I'd call that brilliant!  Now, let's focus on your other main character...Zoe Loyola is the heroine in this latest project, and I have to say I LOVE that name.  Can you tell me a little about her, and is there any significance in her name? 

 

Jenny:  Zoe is a name I’ve been wanting to use for a while. It means “life” and I think romances are life-affirming. So Zoe named herself when it was time to write “Drawing Closer”. The only problem was finding an Italian surname. I guess my Catholic upbringing then revealed itself: Loyola floated up from the memory banks and sounded so good with Zoe that it got the tick of approval.

 

SG:  If you were told to describe your hero, Nick Gordon, in just one word, what would that word be, and why does that one word typify him?

 

Jenny:  Committed.

To be a successful creative artist, like a potter, you have to be a hundred percent committed to your craft, and Nick is. He’s also committed to his family and friends. His dad’s pretty much a billionaire, but all that wealth doesn’t define Nick. He could have been a playboy. Instead, he’s a guy who says what he means and delivers on his promises.

 

SG:  If there was one thing you’d like every reader to know about DRAWING CLOSER, what would it be?

 

Jenny:  “Drawing Closer” is a short story, about a fifth as long as a category romance. That makes it a great length for a stolen hour of reading. What I’m hoping people get from “Drawing Closer” is that shorter doesn’t mean less emotional intensity. The romance is there, the characters are struggling, hoping and fighting for one another. In fact, the passion burns brighter for being condensed.

 

SG:  I couldn't agree more.  Thank you so much for dropping by today to talk to me about DRAWING CLOSER, Jenny!  With all the rush-rush chaos during the holidays, it’s nice to carve out a little quiet “me” time with a story that’s long enough to help us escape the madness, but short enough to fit the holiday schedule.  DRAWING CLOSER is a perfect mental getaway for this time of year, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

 

Jenny: Thank you, Stacy! and Happy Holidays, everyone J

I’m giving away a copy of “Drawing Closer” and a couple of Aussie art bookmarks to celebrate the season. Just leave a comment on this post, as well as an email address. I wish I could shout you all holidays for an Aussie summer Christmas. One day!

Buy links for DRAWING CLOSER:

Escape Publishing  Amazon

The Reviews are in! A GALACTIC HOLIDAY Received a "Recommended Read"!

BEHOLD.

  

 



Much to my surprise, A GALACTIC HOLIDAY showed up on Dear Author as a Recommended Read!  If you'd like to read the post by Jayne in its entirety, you can find it here.  I'm just thrilled people are reading it.  Thank you, people! *happy dance*



Another fabulous review comes from author Tori MacAllister, who summed up A GALACTIC HOLIDAY like this:

Overall, I would actually say this anthology was the best holiday one Carina has put out this month, with three stories of truly outstanding quality from three relatively new writers who I hope are destined to produce many more stories for our consumption. Turn on the tree lights and snuggle up with some hot chocolate and your ereader to enjoy this fabulous addition to the holiday romances out this season!

And about HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS:

Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod. If you don’t find yourself falling for both Edison and Reina, then you have a heart colder than any android I know. In a richly painted world (and one I hope to see much more of in future stories), Edison and Reina are caliente hot despite a Chicago blizzard outside. Gail’s writing is strong and tight with her novella showing that mark of truly outstanding writing in that you don’t feel anything is missing – we see each emotional step of our hero and heroine unrushed and each plot point is fully fleshed out. It’s masterful enough that I’m buying the other Gail stories listed on Goodreads to see if her writing holds up elsewhere. Color me her newest fan!

(Thank you, Tori!)





Bookswagger Gave A GALACTIC HOLIDAY 4 Crowns!  Quote from Bookswagger Marcia:

Bookswagger Marcia: Four Crowns, good read, on the way to swagger. I loved, A Galactic Holiday, I even got a little misty eyed (I did not cry, you cannot prove it).

(Yeah, but I bet you did, just a little. Hee. ^_^)




Butterfly-O-Meter gave A GALACTIC HOLIDAY 4 Butterflies! :

All in all, this was a great romantic read for the Holidays, I recommend it warmly since it's fun, interesting, positive and sort of sweet, just the kind of state of mind you'd want for this time of year.

(I like the idea of butterflies, don't you?  So pretty <3)




Book-A-Holic Anon also gave us 4 Stars:

 This is an excellent read for any sci-fi/fantasy fans who also like a bit of heat and romance.


What she had to say about HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS really made me smile:

 The case itself was interesting and I won’t give it away but what I liked best was the fact that both main characters acknowledged their weaknesses and were willing to see the others side even if it wasn’t what they would have chosen for themselves. There seemed to be a good balance between them and that at times is missing in romances… Also let’s just say the ending made me do a bit of an Awwww …. I will definitely keep my eye out for more by Ms. Gail.

(Squeee!)


Mixed Book Bag gave A GALACTIC HOLIDAY 5 stars!  *spazzes*  She wrote:

If you are a Science Fiction Romance reader A Galactic Holiday is a must read. I hope each of the authors will write additional SFR romance stories. Full-length novels would be great.

(Hmmm, full-length novel, you say?  That sounds doable. :D)



There are more reviews coming in every day, but no matter what they say--love, hate or indifferent--I'm grateful to any reader who takes the time to give their attention to A GALACTIC HOLIDAY.  Anna, Sasha and I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it!

~~~~~

Buy links for HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS:

CARINA PRESS | AMAZON | B&N | ARe | GOOGLE PLAY | eBOOKS. COM| BOOKSTRAND |  KOBO



For a closer look at HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS as well as my other published projects, please feel free to look at my Pinterest storyboards.



A Day In The Life Of My Brain--or, The Voices! AHHHHHHH!

Ever wonder what goes on in a typical writer’s head?  Me too!  Because honestly, I have no freaking clue what it’s like to be typical.  Maybe it’s my perpetually loud/wild/crazy family, or maybe it’s those three concussions (I’M A GOOD FIGURE SKATER, DAMMIT!), but there are times when my writing comes about in a somewhat...er...bizarre way. 

Every now and again, I get bullied by my characters.  O_o
 

Take Reina Vedette, for instance.  She’s the main character of HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS, and she’s been poking at me for about two years now, right along with Edison.  Reina named herself early on—that’s how forceful her presence has been.  Reina = queen or queenly; Leonida = lioness, or the embodiment of ferocity; Vedette = sentry, or sentinel.  (Trust me—by the time I’m through with “The Glitch” series, all three names will make boatloads of sense.) 

Edison was also a no-brainer.  One of my personal heroes is Thomas Edison, a man who embodied perseverance.  According to good ol’ Thomas, he’s the guy who didn’t fail 10,000 times while trying to invent the light bulb, but rather he found 10,000 ways of how a light bulb wouldn’t work.  Edison is a name that equals superhuman relentlessness to me, so when a character suddenly adopted that name and hung around with a smart mouth that didn’t know when to quit, I knew I had trouble on my hands.

Are you weirded out yet that I have characters who name themselves?  It happens every so often with me.  That’s when I know they’re special.  But, uh, when they start talking to me…?  Yeah.  Maybe it's time for medication.

 

Reina:  Hey.

 Me, studying figure skating field moves:  Not. Now. Dammit.  I’m busy.

Reina:  Lucky you.  You’ve got a life.  Me?  I've got nothing.  You wanna do something about that?  I’m not getting any younger, you know.

Me:  Cry me a river. I just found a gray hair and I now suspect my life is officially over.  Go away.

Reina:  Buy a box of Sable Brown #150 and throw yourself the world’s biggest pity-party AFTER you’ve written my story.  I’m slated to be the last, best hope for humankind, right?  That’s going to look SO good on me.

Me: Well…eventually this might come about.  Maaaaybe. But first you have to discover that the Christmas spirit didn’t die with your parents, and that the greatest gift--spontaneous, passionate, all-consuming love--can come into your life wearing the face of someone you might not expect.

 Edison:  And who might that be?

 Reina:  Amscray, Edison.  We’re girl-talking, and you have a penis.  Go bother someone else.

 Edison:  Ah, Vedette, you charmer, you.  You thinking about my penis again?

Me: Okay, that’s it.  I’m out.

 

But they don’t stop, of course.  They haven’t stopped squabble-flirting for months.  I’ve had other writing projects ahead of them, with characters who were just as strong, just as vocal.  But always Reina and Edison have been there, hanging out on the fringe and bugging the absolute crap out of me.  They haven't been patient, and they sure as hell haven't been good sports about being put off, so it is with great pleasure (and relief) that I can now proclaim, it’s their turn!  I’m starting them off on their rocky road to Happily Ever After in HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS, but I have a feeling it’s only the beginning with them.

After all, they haven’t stopped talking to me. ;)

Blurb for HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS:

Reina Vedette chose principle over position when the Chicago police department ordered her to accept performance-enhancing body modifications or lose her rank. Demoted to a level one detective, Reina's stuck chasing a bizarre, Grinch-in-reverse break-in case with fiery bod-mod enthusiast and level five top detective Edison Wicke.

Wicke has had his eye on Reina for ages, and as the two of them hunt down the benevolent burglar, they take turns warming each other with body heat in the subzero Chicago winter. Despite professional friction and their opposing views on bod-modding, Reina soon has to admit that she and Wicke are perfect for each other.

But when they track down their philanthropic quarry on Christmas Day, an unexpected glitch in a homemade android brings out Reina's emotional side, and she and Wicke must decide whether love between a Neo-Luddite and a "walking toaster" is a gift that either of them can give.

34,000 words



Buy Links:

CARINA PRESS | AMAZON | B&N | ARe | GOOGLE PLAY | eBOOKS. COM| BOOKSTRAND


For a closer look at HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS and my other upcoming projects published by Carina Press in 2013, please feel free to visit my Pinterest storyboards.

It’s Out! HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS/A GALACTIC HOLIDAY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yippee!  At long last, it’s December 3^rd—release day for HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS and A GALACTIC HOLIDAY!  This is the day I’ve been waiting for since May 10^th, 2012—the day I got “The Call” from the editor of this project, Angela James.

 

How did that call go, exactly? Um… Let me set the background first.  Earlier in the year (April 13^th, to be exact), I was in Chicago for business, doing the everyday job at a figure skating competition.  RT Con was also taking place AT THAT TIME, and IN THAT CITY.  Whoa, right?  Talk about stars aligning! 

Since this was the coincidence of the century, I let Carina Press know that while I wasn’t attending RT, I’d be in town.  I was thrilled when I got an invitation to a Carina Press “Authors Only” cocktail party, and that’s where I got to meet so many fabulous people who are also incredibly talented writers.  This is also where I met Angela James, and the first thing I noticed about her were her smexy Queen of Hearts shoes.  Seriously y’all, this chick has earned her shoe rep honestly.  I’m still suffering pangs of shoe envy. :P

 

After some mingling and shop talk with everyone—and my first chocolate martini where I discovered there are some alcoholic beverages I really like—I got my sleeve tugged on by Angela, who said she needed to talk to me before I left.  Had she noticed I was tonguing out the chocolate syrup left in the martini glass? (Yeah, that’s me, Ms. Elegant *snort*)  But of course, in the back of my mind was the list of manuscripts I’d already sent to her.  One had been there since November, one in December, and a couple more, including GLITCH, since March.  I knew she couldn’t tell me anything about GLITCH, as it was an open-sub call that had a specific time when all entrants would be notified.  But the others…

We moved to the front of the restaurant, and she smiled casually while I was dying inside.  Maybe she really was about to yell at me for tonguing the chocolate.  Oh God, did I have a ring of chocolate around my mouth…?

 

“Soooooooooo…We would like to acquire all three of the manuscripts you sent us.  Is that all right?”

 

It was like an out-of-body experience.  Every writer DREAMS of being told, in person, by a stellar editor, at a cocktail party overflowing with awesome writers and alcohol-infused chocolate, that multiple projects are being snapped up.  It was a perfect moment.  Nothing could spoil it.

 

Until…

 

“Oh, fuck.”

 

I heard someone swearing.  How rude.

 

“Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!”

 

Oh my God, that someone was me!

 

And I wasn’t just swearing.  Oh, no.  I was dropping the F-bomb.  Wait.  No, again.  It was SO much worse than that.  I was CARPET-BOMBING Morton’s Steakhouse with the F-bomb.  Also, just to make sure my idiocy had reached its zenith, I was jumping up and down like I was on the frigging Price Is Right and I’d just guessed the closest price to a front-load washer/dryer set.  All I could do was pray Angela would get a convenient case of amnesia and forget ever meeting me.

 

Which leads me right back to The Call on May 10^th.

 

I love doing open-sub calls, because there’s a set time.  This one from Carina was simple—get the story in by the second week in March, hear back by the second week in May.  So, like everyone else who subbed a project, I began carrying every type of phone I could with me around May 7^th.  Ironically enough, I wasn’t quite prepared when the call did come.  But when I realized it wasn’t an irritating telemarketer, but rather Angela calling to ask how the weather was—tornado watch or warning, I can’t remember which—my heart was in my throat.  But!...I wasn’t going to blow it this time.  I could show that I was capable of holding onto my composure.  As God as my witness, I would act in a dignified manner!

 

Angela:  “Soooooooo… you probably know why I’m calling, but just to make it official, we would like to acquire HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS, if that’s all right with you.”

 

Me:  “……wwwWWWWHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh fuck, that’s awesome!”  Then I gasped.  “Shit, I’m sorry!”  That wasn’t much better.  “I…I’m just…AHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” <--Hysterical cackling for approximately two minutes straight. (For those of you who know me personally, you know what this sounds like.  For those of you who don’t, I once had a skating student secretly record one of my laughing fits so she could have it as her ring tone.  Teenagers.  Hmph)

 

I remember very little of the conversation after that, except for her dry comment, “Since I’ve seen this in person, I can totally picture you now.”  I’ll bet she was picturing me doing The Price Is Right bouncy thing.  And...yeah, I'll admit it.  I was bouncing right out of my flip flops.

 

So here we are, at long last, the release day for HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS!  My editors now know me a lot better than they did a year ago, but I'm still determined to make a good impression.  I'm going to RT Con this year, my first convention ever, so I'm hoping I can just be a quiet mouse in the corner and watch how it's done--no squealing, no jumping up and down, no F-bombs.  Just dignity.


And did I mention one of my books is releasing today?  WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! *streaks*



Buy links for HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS:


CARINA PRESS | AMAZON | B&N | ARe | GOOGLE PLAY | eBOOKS. COM| BOOKSTRAND

Hello? Is This Thing On? Give A Listen to A GALACTIC HOLIDAY! Plus, One Last (HOT!) Excerpt

 
Can you believe a mere two weeks ago I was learning that Audible had decided to pick up A GALACTIC HOLIDAY?  How well I remember it…I showed the world I was a bad email reader AND I don’t know how to count.  Good times.

 

Here we are, fourteen days later, and lo and behold, Audible has already gotten A GALACTIC HOLIDAY up for pre-order on their website! (ßSee?  I wouldn’t lie to you :D)

 



Still can't believe Crime Wave In A Corset
is a 2013 EPIC Finalist! *spazzes*



I’m so excited to once again have a project with Audible.  Last year was my first encounter with audio books.  The steampunk holiday anthology of which I was a part, A CLOCKWORK CHRISTMAS, had been chosen to become an audio book, and I couldn’t wait to hear my novella read aloud in someone else’s voice (FYI, I do aloud read-throughs of all my works before I send them off to my editors). 

 

It’s pretty freaky to hear your own words read back to you, with inflections and accents that are slightly different than what your inner voices have been whispering for months.  I really lucked out with my voice actress; Karen White was the talented lady who did my steampunk Christmas novella, CRIME WAVE IN A CORSET, and she nailed Cornelia Peabody's Irish accent to a T.  Thankfully Karen had an Irish grandmother, so all she had to do is think of her, and Cornelia's accent flowed forth like magic.  Thank you, Karen!

 

There’s a totally different accent and feel found in my latest holiday novella, the uber-urban sci-fi holiday novella, HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS.  It takes place in a futuristic Chicago, a mega-city that, in my mind, has that gritty feel to it that is unique to concrete jungles around the world.  And of course, Reina Vedette and Edison Wicke have definite accents—Reina came from New York, so in my mind she sounds like pure Brooklyn.  Edison is a native of Chicago’s future mean streets, so he’s rough around the edges and has that accent that the Gecko from Geico tries to nail.

 

 

Is HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS going to sound the way I’ve been hearing it?  Honestly, I don’t expect that AT ALL.  What I do expect is to marvel over the fact that the words I painstakingly threaded together are going to become an audio book, a book anyone can download and listen to--and, I hope, enjoy.

I also expect something else.  I’m going to laugh my frigging ass off at the sex scenes.

 

And speaking of… One final excerpt from HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS!

 ~~~~~~~~~

For a cocky, Grade-A specimen of magnificent manhood, Reina couldn’t help but be surprised at Edison’s flare of insecurity, even as it touched a soft spot she didn’t know she had. Never before had he taken her teasing to heart. It was almost as though he needed her to admit she wanted him. Needed him. Desired him with a force so profound it could change the course of her life.

It was almost as though what she felt mattered to him.

As she pushed him under the steaming spray and his ferocious gaze crashed and slashed into hers, Reina found it mattered to her as well. So much.

His breathing was shallow, disturbed. An echo of her own. Those cyberized ears of his had to be picking up on the thundering of her heart, because she could hear it, too. For two years she’d made herself ignore him when she could get away with it, compete with him when she had to, and prove herself to him whenever the opportunity arose. Because deep down, she’d wanted to impress him. Just as much as he impressed her.

Now it was time to impress him in a new way.

She didn’t speak as she slid her hands up to the exposed skin of his chest, then down to the juncture where the shirt remained fastened. For just a moment she tried slipping the button through the wet fabric, then looked up at him when the damn thing decided it wasn’t going to be cooperative.

“I promise I’ll buy you a new one,” she said simply, then yanked with all her might.

A groan escaped him when buttons flew everywhere, the skittering of them lost to the hiss of the water. He closed his eyes, his head falling back against the marbled wall in a lush surrender even as she drank him in first with her eyes, then with the helpless, needy hunger of her mouth. He couldn’t have been more stunning if he’d sprung fully formed from her deepest fantasies. His skin tone was several shades darker than her own three-days-dead paleness, and stretched tautly over a warrior’s frame that could have come from the era of gladiators. A light dusting of hair veed across his chest to arrow down his stomach, growing darker as it dipped under the waist of his pants in a trail that beckoned her to explore. And she would. But first…

With a sigh that was borne out of pure relief, she pressed her lips to where his chest shuddered with each earth-shaking beat of his heart. It was a dream come true to open her mouth against his skin and taste him, swirling her tongue to savor his clean flavor. One of his hands came up to plow through the heavy mess of her hair, pressing against the back of her head in silent encouragement to explore him to her heart’s content. His other hand pressed against the small of her back to grind her into the stiffened length of his staff, a gesture designed to both please himself and to show how her mere presence was enough to put him in such a helpless state.

It was a state she was only too happy to keep him in for the foreseeable future.

A delicious pulse between her legs began to throb even as she let her mouth wander up to the defined ridge of his collarbone. Her teeth were a gentle threat as she pushed the wet material of his shirt along with his coat off the solid expanse of his shoulders. When the sodden material caught at his elbows, he shook off the restrictive binds like he was shaking off shackles. His torso was a living sculpture, but so much more inviting as he shivered with eagerness beneath her hands, goose bumps breaking out wherever she touched despite the heat of the shower. Helpless to stop herself, Reina learned the texture of his hair-dusted skin, knowing that even if she looked the world over she would never find a man more perfectly suited to her own finicky tastes than Edison.

Buy links for  HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS:

 

CARINA PRESS | AMAZON | B&N | ARe | GOOGLE PLAY | eBOOKS. COM | BOOKSTRAND

For a more detailed look at HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS, as well as CRIME WAVE IN A CORSET and my other projects, please feel free to visit my Pinterest storyboards.