Brink of Passion Release Date Set!

A lot has been going on behind the scenes with Brink of Passion, Alpine Woods Shifters 6. It's with a heavy heart I announce that Kensington has passed on publishing the book. The reason (at least the one they gave me) is that due to the length between series books, they do not believe the market is viable for a continuation. While I understand and respect their decision, I disagree. My personal belief is that there is not only a market but a desire for the continuation of this series, and I believe there are readers out there as excited and anxious for this book as I am. So, after much consideration, I have decided to dip my toe into self-publishing.

It's scary. Nervewracking. There is a level of comfort with a reputable publisher behind you that makes you feel almost less exposed. Deciding to self publish was not an easy decision, and it's one that has left me feeling unexpectedly vulnerable. However, I have reread Brink of Passion with a more critical eye, and I truly believe it is something special. Since Arctic Winds, the very first book in the series, came out in 2011, I have looked forward to writing Laurie's story. She is a character who exhibits so much of who I wish I were. She's strong and clever and knows exactly who she is and what she wants. And she's found herself a perfect match in Max.

So even though this is a new and scary world I'm stepping into, the more I plan for this book, the more excited I become. This move is giving me the freedom of choice. The freedom to choose my release date, to have a larger part of the cover art and editing process, a process which I strongly believe is vital to the success of any book. Immediately after making this decision, I contacted the editor of my previous Alpine Woods Shifters book, Piper Denna, to see if she would be willing to edit, and was lucky enough to have her agree. I also am thrilled to have the same cover artist, Renee Rocco, designing the cover as she always does a truly extraordinary job. I feel truly blessed to have such wonderful and talented people working on Brink of Passion with me.

So, although the book is written, there are still many things left to do before it is ready to be released. I am determined not to slack on any one of them, and to make this book as polished as any released through a publisher.



The fun part (Release date):
Barring any unforeseen delays, I am officially setting the Brink of Passion release date for Wednesday, February 25, 2015! I hope that I have readers support in this risky move, and I hope you prove me sane in thinking there is a desire for the continuation of the series. So mark your calendars folks! Brink of Passion will be coming to major e-sellers at the end of February!

 

Wallbanger Giveaway

Alice Clayton was another new to me author when I saw her at Comic Con this year during the Smitten Word panel. To put it bluntly, she cracked me up during the panel, and the excerpt she read from her upcoming release did too. I knew I had to check out her books, and lucky for me, later that weekend she was signing copies of the first book in the series, Wallbanger, and I managed to snag one for myself and one for the blog.

This is another book I had a hard time putting down. The characters are well written, the dialogue is funny, and the sexual tension is thick. My one and only complaint is how long it took the characters to, ahem, break that tension, so to speak. Overall, a must-read book for any romance lover. And here is your chance to snag a copy signed by the author!



To Enter: 
 It's simple. Comment at the bottom of the blog. Doesn't matter what you write. Tell me about another must-read book. Share your thoughts on this one. Heck, tell me what you had for breakfast. Leave a comment and you will be entered into the drawing for a signed copy of Wallbanger. Giveaway closes Sunday at noon. Shipping within USA and Canada only.

Blurb (taken from Amazon):

 A bestselling hot, hilarious eBook by USA TODAY indie author Alice Clayton, the freshest voice to hit publishing in years. “An instant classic…highly recommended!” (New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Jennifer Probst).

Caroline Reynolds has a fantastic new apartment in San Francisco, a Kitchen Aid mixer to die for, and no O (and we’re not talking Oprah here, folks). She has a flourishing design career, an office overlooking the bay, a killer zucchini bread recipe, and no O. She has Clive (the best cat ever), great friends, a great rack, and no O. Adding insult to O-less, she also has an oversexed neighbor with the loudest late-night wallbanging she’s ever heard. Every moan, spank, and—was that a meow?—punctuates the fact that not only is she losing sleep, she still has—yep, you guessed it—no O. Enter Simon Parker. When the wallbanging threatens to literally bounce her out of bed, Caroline, clad in sexual frustration and a pink baby-doll nightie, confronts her heard-but-never-seen neighbor. Their late-night hallway encounter has…well…mixed results. Because with walls this thin, the tension’s gonna be thick. A delicious mix of silly and steamy, this is an irresistible tale of exasperation at first sight.

Sexy Saturday - First Kiss

I'm once again participating in My Sexy Saturday, and this weeks theme is a sexy first. 

The first kiss is always one of my favorite scenes to write. Will it be sweet? Passionate? Explosive? Or maybe a combination of all three. Today I chose a scene from The Wolf Within. In the scene, Julie drops a book on her foot, and Brendan hurries over to make sure she's okay, then takes advantage of the situation to give her their first kiss. 
 

"Well, at least let me kiss it and make it better." Brendan rose and brushed his lips against hers. A spark of recognition shot through him. As if his soul recognized the other half of himself. He could only hope she experienced it too. If she felt even half the desperate need he did, there would be no way she could deny him. Her hands flew to his chest, wrapping his t-shirt inside her fists. It was all the urging he needed.

 



Blurb:
Will his love be enough to keep her safe? 

Julie doesn’t know what to think when the man she’s had a crush on her entire life--a man she thinks is meant to be her sister's mate--starts flirting with her after she returns home from college. The harder she tries to distance herself, the harder he works to win her over. He cant’t want to mate with her...a freak born a full human among shifters. So why won’t he accept her rejection?

Brendan's waited years for Julie's return. Now that she’s finally home, there’s nothing to keep him from her...not even her three alpha wolf brothers. But he’s not the only one after Julie. Something is stalking her, and Brendan's protective instincts toward her kick in, but at what cost?
When the unthinkable happens, will Julie and Brendan's love give them the strength they need to persevere?

The Wolf Within is available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and other digital bookstores. 


Check out the other Sexy Saturday posts by visiting:

 

Belated Summer Reading Wrap Up

Since I've been away from the blog for so long, I thought it would be nice to talk about some of my favorite reads over the summer (and Sept and Oct). Unfortunately, there are too many to give reviews to all of them. So I will be doing a couple quick sentences only for the standouts (in alphabetical order).

 As many of you who have read this blog, or follow me on twitter/facebook, know, I am a HUGE Shelly Laurenston fan. Her book are always filled with unique (sometimes downright crazy) characters, and infused with enough humor to have me cackling like a mad woman. Bite Me did not disappoint. We first met Livvy in Wolf With Benefits and she was...crazy...in a fun loving way. Bite Me paired her with Vic, a half Siberian tiger half bear shifter. If you're a fan of shifter novels, this one is a can't miss.5 out of 5 stars.

 Drawn, His Secret Toy by Marian Tee - I picked up this book on a whim, but completely fell in love. I've read a few other books by Marian Tee before and although I enjoyed them, they didn't inspire me to go out and buy more of hers. THIS BOOK did. Although it takes place in a high school setting, the relationship between the two characters felt very mature. They dealt with real issues and the two characters fit each other well. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Edge of the Enforcer by Cherise Sinclair - I love Cherise Sinclair. Really, that pretty much covers it. She has such a way with words, and especially with creating the perfect dominant males. They are strong, stubborn, and edgy. Sometimes you just want to hit them, but always you just need to love them. Another strong title in her Doms of Dark Haven series. *on a side note, I'd like to applaud her for starting every book with a disclaimer about being safe, sane, and consensual. It shows a care for her readers that makes me like her even more. 5 out of 5 stars.




 

In Bed with a Highlander by Maya Banks - When I pick up a Maya Banks book, I know I'm going to get a good story with strong characters, hot love scenes, and an interesting plot. In Bed with a Highlander went above and beyond my expectations. I've been sitting on this book/series for awhile and wish I'd read it sooner. Highly recommended. 5 out of 5 stars. 

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs - The Mercy Thompson novels are favorites among my favorites. When I waiting at the car wash, or just want a good story, these are the books I pick up to reread. There really is not enough good things to say about them. Night Broken, the latest installment in the series, is perhaps one of my favorites. Just when you think Mercy has handled, and beaten it all, along comes something else to wreak havoc on her world and her pack. I cannot recommend this series highly enough (although I recommend starting with the first in the series, Moon Called). 5 out of 5 stars (If I could give six, I would for this one). 

Sweet Filthy Boy by Christina Lauren - Instead of a review on this book, HERE is a link to my Madly in Love Monday post and giveaway of a signed copy of this book. Head over there to check it out. Giveaway ends on Sunday at noon. 

Wallbanger by Alice Clayton and The Professional by Kresley Cole. Like the last book, I'm including these two to let all of you know about the giveaways I have planned for the upcoming weeks. Next week, beginning on Monday, I will be giving away a signed copy of Wallbanger, and the following week, a signed copy of the Professional. Check back then for a chance to win.

Your turn - what were your favorite recent reads?

What's Up Wednesday - Bring Me To Life

Since last week's What's Up Wednesday featured the latest installment in the Alpine Woods Shifters series, Brink of Passion, I wanted to take this week's post and discuss my work in progress, Bring Me To Life.

Bring Me To Life is a project I have been working on again off again for the past two and a half years, but I think I am finally ready to complete it. Unlike my other books, BMTL will be lighter on the paranormal aspects (although they will still be present) and also a softer romance than some of my others. Neither of the main characters will be paranormal, but will find themselves linked through a witches curse. Or more accurately, they were already linked, but will find themselves brought together through a witches curse.

I don't want to give away too much of the book at this point as it's still midstream. At the moment, I have about a fourth of the story written. And although I am not participating in NANOWRIMO (cheers to everyone who is participating), I'm hoping some of the writing energy and vibes comes my way. 

For now, here is a short *unedited* snippet from the beginning of the book.

She gazed down, giving him her profile, appearing almost shy, but the mysterious curl of her unadorned pink lips spoke of secrets and hidden sensuality. Somehow, he knew if he could only see her eyes, they would be playful and seductive. Was she thinking her lover? Perhaps an innocent flirtation?

            The woman drew him to the painting, as if he could reach out and caress her golden skin, or run his hands through her waterfall of hair. She was as real to him as any woman he’d ever taken to bed, even if she only existed in his mind.

What do you think? Also, if you are a NANOWRIMO participant, how's your WIP coming?

Be sure to check out Monday's post HERE for a chance to win an autographed copy of Sweet Filthy Boy by Christina Lauren.

Madly in Love - Christina Lauren Giveaway

It's back! Madly in Love Monday, where I share some books and authors that I am "madly in love" with. I'm so excited for today's pick, Christina Lauren.

Christina Lauren is not one, but two authors who collaborate to create some phenomenal romance stories. My first introduction to them was at Comic Con this year when they participated in The Smitten Word panel. I was desperate to go to the panel as Kresley Cole, one of my all time favorite authors, was participating as well. And as expected of a panel with four different romance authors, it was full of smutty humor, lots of laughs, and thoughtful insight. Naturally, afterward, I was struck with a deep desire to pick up new books, particularly from the three authors that I had not read before. And oh boy am I glad I did because I discovered new favorites.

I received Christina Lauren's book, Beautiful Bastard, for free during one of their signing sessions. That night, despite an early morning start the next day, I stayed up until 2am reading their book. I could not put it down. This prompted me to go to their next signing and pick up a book to give away to all of you and to share the amazing story these two created. Well, instead of Beautiful Bastard, I picked up the first book in a different series of theirs, Sweet Filthy Boy, which I proceeded to also download on my kindle.

As good as Beautiful Bastard was, and it was good, Sweet Filthy Boy was even better. The characters were rich, three dimensional, and genuine. Despite being put in a crazy situation, the characters made the book feel realistic. They are the kind of characters the reader wants to cheer for.

After reading these two books, I immediately downloaded the second book in the Beautiful series, the second in the other being released this week. Once I finish reading their backlist, I am certain that Christina Lauren will be an autobuy author for me.

Giveaway Details

So, if you'd like a copy of Sweet Filthy Boy autographed by the authors, leave a comment below. Your comment can be anything, tell me how much you loved the books, if you've already read them, or share a different book that you are "madly in love" with. The contest will end next Sunday at 12:00pm, so be sure to leave a comment before then. The winner will be announced on the blog next Monday, at which time I will contact them for their mailing address.

 Please help spread the word about the contest. Also, check back next Monday for yet another giveaway of a signed book, Wallbanger by Alice Clayton.

Sexy Saturday 11/01/14

Hope everyone had a good, safe Halloween last night! We had plenty of goblins and ghouls show up. It's so fun to see all the costumes.

Today, I'll be participating in the Sexy Saturday blog hop were authors from all over the web post seven paragraphs, sentences, or words from one of their works, published or unpublished. Each week has a theme and this weeks theme is date night. The snippet I choose isn't particularly sexy...but the scene starts and ends in sexy times, so I decided to go out on a limb and post this snippet.

Today, I thought I'd share a short snippet of Brink of Passion, the next book in my Alpine Woods Shifters series (no release date yet). I decided to choose seven sentences from my heroine Laurie's point of view after her mate, Max, displays his possessiveness while the two are in a restaurant full of shifters at a shifter convention.

She was going to kill him.

Silence descended in the restaurant. She didn't need to look around to know everyone was looking their way. Again. The only sound around them was the slight scrape of chairs against the wood floor as diners turned in their direction. Another scene to embarrass her pack. At least this time it was not her fault.

Hope you enjoyed this short snippet. Check back later for more information about Brink of Passion. And be sure to check out the other entries in the Sexy Saturday Blog Hop at http://mysexysaturday.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-sexy-date-night-mysexysaturday.html