Good Years

My first book published in 2007. Well, technically, Secrets Volume 18 was a December 31st, 2006 release, but since it wasn't available in stores or shipping until January, I consider it a 2007 release. In 2007, my ebook, Snowbound, also released, followed by my first NY book, Riding The Storm, by Sydney Croft, and then in December, Secrets Volume 21.

That was an exciting year for me. 4 releases!

But 2008 was even more special. It saw the release of three Sydney Croft books -- Unleashing The Storm, Hot Nights Dark Desires, and Seduced By The Storm. In addition, the print version of Snowbound was released. And the cherry on top was the release of my very first mass-market book under my own name, Pleasure Unbound.

I didn't think things could get better!

But just yesterday, Pleasure Unbound was chosen Best Paranormal Romance of 2008 in the First Annual Reviewer's Choice Awards at Romance Novel TV! And a couple of weeks ago, Michelle Buonfiglio of MyLifetime.com selected Unleashing The Storm as the best Erotic Paranormal Romance of 2008! How cool is that?

It has been a very good year.

But all the good luck makes me remember that it wasn't long ago that I was unpublished, submitting to editors and taking rejections -- just like so many writers. It's hard to look at the year in review and wonder if the next year is going to be THE year for you.

So I'm going to share my old ritual for everyone who is trying to get published. It's a small thing, and fun.

Every year, on January 1st (or 2nd -- somewhere early in January!) I bought a bottle of champagne. It was my "Call Bottle." I put it away, and this would be the bottle I opened when/if I got the call that year. If the year went by without getting The Call, then it became my New Year's Eve bottle. I drank that sucker at midnight, kissing the old year and no Call goodbye.

And then the next day, I'd go buy another Call Bottle.

So if you're hoping this next year will be YOUR year, this might be something fun to try. (And the Call Bottle of champagne on New Year's Eve really does help to cut the sting and give you a sense that yes, next year WILL be your year!)

Happy New Year, everyone!

New Year, New You?

Sorry I missed my post on Christmas Day, it's been a little hectic around here. With the kids out of school and the husband underfoot as well i'm a little stressed out.

As December rushes by and the New Year is almost here I am trying to ignore the automatic desire to start planning and making goals for next year. I made some goals for December that I am still trying to meet so 2009 can start fresh. For weeks people around me have been talking about their New Years goals and i've been doing my best to ignore it. Can you picture it? I've got my fingers in my ears walking around going la la la la la

But the compulsion to plan for a New Year will not die. In the back of my head little things are forming despite my good intentions and I guarantee before that clock strikes 12 on New Years Eve, I will have goals for 2009. Ack I just can't seem to resist the temptation.

How about you? Do you make New Year's resolutions or goals every year. Do you start creating new goals before the old ones are completed?

On a different subject...I had a new free read come out last week that is available at both Linden Bay Romance and All Romance eBooks. It's a short, HOT story to introduce readers to my new shapeshifter series coming out next month at Linden Bay Romance.



Restless and alone on Christmas Eve, Niki decides it’s time to scratch the itch and heads into a nearby town for some action. Once there, it isn’t sex she finds, but a fight instead, that is until tall, dark and handsome intervenes...

Dean recognizes the stunning but surly Cougar for what she is the minute she gets close. Now it’s up to him to show her just how far a night of passion can go.

Enjoy and see you next year!

Eliza

The Weather Outside is Frightful

Oy, I’ve been iced in for two days. Bleck. Yesterday we went without electricity for most of day and the roads are a mess. So, I’ve been trapped with my husband and two teenage sons without anything to distract us…I keep imagining Thunderdome…four people went in… Okay, it’s not that bad, yet.

On a much happier note, it’s time for the holiday festivities, and just as importantly the holiday movies to hit the theatres. Are there any flicks you intend to see over the next few weeks? I haven’t been paying enough attention to know what is even coming beyond The Spirit which I intend to see with my sons (it’s one of our crazy xmas traditions to see a violent, bloody movie together).

Beyond that I haven’t decided. Let me know if there’s something I just can’t miss!

I wish you all a happy, safe and blessed holiday season…may it be filled with joy, peace, and great books!

Alex

Happy Holidays & New Print Release from Bianca

As the old year draws to an end, we enter one of my favorite times of the year. Lots going on, to be sure, including a print release this month (Davin's Quest) and a lot of writing. I'm scheduled to finish my next paranormal novel by Christmas and then do a quick polish on my next futuristic novel (Grady's Awakening) before I turn it in to my editor for her opinion. I expect to have both of those projects mostly complete by the New Year.

Then I plan to write the sequel to an as-yet unpublished cat shifter urban fantasy that is currently under consideration by a publisher I haven't worked with before. I'm hoping I'll have something to report on that front the next time I check in with you all, but these things take time. The part I hate the most about my relatively new writing career is the waiting. I'm not a patient soul, which is why epublishing appealed to me. Fast responses, fast turnaround - I'm spoiled by my early experiences with small press publishers. But if I want to reach a larger audience, I have to play the waiting game and believe me, it's the pits.

However, I'm putting a lot of stock in the old addage: "good things come to those who wait." Hopefully that will prove true in this case.

I should probably tell you a bit about my new print release this month, so here goes:

Which man will Callie choose, the alien or the warrior? Or can she have both?

For each Alvian, there is one perfect match -- a Resonance Mate whose soul blends in perfect harmony. Unlike the rest of his race, Davin has emotions and suffers for it. Without a mate, he is doomed to go mad. Searching for answers and understanding, he seeks out Callie O'Hara, a human woman with strong empathic gifts. Could this fragile human be his Resonance Mate?

Rick St. John is a tough-as-nails survivor of the Alvian occupation of Earth. He doesn't believe in much, but when he sees Callie for the first time, he starts to believe in love at first sight. The Governing Council is gunning for Davin, the upstart who dares to defy them. And they'll kill anyone who gets in their way. Davin and Rick must come to terms with their feelings for Callie in order to keep her safe, while she has to find a way to save them both with her love.

Order Now from Amazon

This book is a mixture of futuristic with psychic phenomena and really hot romance with multiple partners. Not your run of the mill romance novel, but it is definitely a romance. Even when I'm writing erotic romance, my emphasis is still on the romance and the committed love relationship between the partners.

So I guess that's it from me until next time, which will be next year. In the meantime...

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for a

Happy and Healthy New Year!

Bianca

http://www.biancadarc.com/

Contests, progress and lots to do before 2009

As usual... my post is going to be rife with information for you lucky lucky readers! December is already here, and Im super surprised this year flew by so damn fast! Im hoping 2009 is going to kick major ass though. This year was kinda blah for us writing (what with the wedding and me going to scotland for 21 days) so im hopeful for the future.

So, Shall I start with all the awesome news? Thought so! First, Im proud to announce that our were-snake novella's have found a home with Total E Bound! Starting in April 2009, we will have three highly erotic stories about the three bachelors from the Knossos West Were-snake compound tipping a hand to fate and finding their mates! The first twot you guys will get the nerve up t try them. Trust me, scales are the new fur!

Ok so on to my winner of last months contest. Since its the holidays, I figured I would give two gifties. The first is for the contest, a piece from my Stella by Starlight shop, Worth up to 35$. The winner is D. Durance. Congrats! (And for those who wanna know, the Stella by Starlight shop is offering free shipping and a free gift certificate for up to 20% at the shop when you order before the holidays!)

The second winner, is for a special piece from the Sanser & Piggle Collection, which just opened this past monday! This will be either a ring, or hair clips of my choice. The winner is A.J. O'Donovan.

Both winners, please email me at stella@stellaandaudra.com and send me your choice and/or address.

And just so you guys know Sanser & Piggle IS open, and taking orders for the girlie sugary glittery jewelry you loved in your teens, thats sure to get noticed now! Buy for you, or your loved ones, almost all the pieces are one of a kind!


So now that thats done. Audra and I have donated to the For Jo Leigh fund. We have a full set of our backlist in print, along with some awesome extra goodies, up for auction and I personally have a Graphics package up for auction as well. its for a great cause, and many other authors (some from this blog even) have dontated. Please show your support for the Romance community and bid!

So Audra and I have been multitasking recently, writing 4 scenes for 4 different books at the same time. its getting interesting, and Im hoping we finish this soon. Im eager to get to the villians side of everything for the main WIP. On the rest of the writing side, we have edits that need to be done (which is todays chore) and will have a new book out by January I think called London for the Holidays. The print version of the book will feature a short story, a kind of continuance of GIFTS for those who cant get enough of Marsh and Janey. Oh and its non- erotic. Whats the story about? a Conversation with the Devil called, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. its fun to let Lucifer out to play once in a while, and since hes in the next book, hint hint...

Anyway, my end of year contest is your opinion on the subject of were-snakes. We know a lot of people are scared of snakes (irrational fear btw... a werewolf would rip your throat out quicker then a snake could hurt you) and how do you feel about them used as a were-species? Audra and I have a firm opinion that snakes are sexy. Every culture has them in their religious rights, and every old culture uses them in their sexual rites and practices. Hell a penis has been called a snake from time to time, and a lot of you aren't scared of them *Wink*. So would you read a story about a were-snake? Have you read us before? Let us know. A winner picked at random will receive a piece from Sanser & Piggle in 2009, and possibly a free book...

So post away, and Happy Holidays!

I'm in Hell

A lot has gone on since the last time I blogged. The main focus of my life at the moment is food...or rather a lack thereof. And I don't think it's a situation that's going to change any time soon. I am currently on a liquid diet in preparation for my bariatric surgery. Today is day three and believe me, be very glad you don't live with me because boy howdy I am a bitch! Cranky as the day is long drinking these diet shakes and going postal if something so much as blinks at me the wrong way. I feel bad for my cats because they are the only critters around here at bitch central.

On the business end of things, ECSTASY is slated to hit the shelves December 30th. It's book one in my new series and I think you are going to enjoy it. And I am going to announce something here and now just to all of you all. I decided to wrap up things a little better in the Nightwalker series and am 1/3 of the way through book six. I wanted to stop at book five and deal with Ruth much later down the line, but the feedback from you all, my adoring readers, made me change my mind. Besides, I got this great idea! And, of course, we needed to give one last person a romance...just to teach her smart ass a lesson. Can you guess who it is?

Oh! I almost forgot to tell you! Noah has been nominated for the Romantic Times Best Contemporary Paranormal!! Yay NOAH!!

I am in negotiations for a new contract, I am selling a series that has nothing to do with the Nightwalker world and a couple of novellas to boot. You won't see any of these for a year yet, but I thought you might want to know.

Back on the home front, one of my kitties had a seizure. It was awful. I have never seen anything like it. I was a total wreck! I've seen adults have seizures, and to me it was no big thing because I know it's temporary and it's not hurting them and all that other medical logic, but the minute it was one of my babies I was utterly hysterical. His blood work was basically normal when I took him to the vet the next day and now I have to bring him to a specialist just to check and make sure there's nothing else going on. Needless to say, I am a very overprotective mommy these days. Plus, I'm finding it hard to kick him off when he's up in my face and being a mooch for attention, even if I am working.

I am not getting much work done. I've discovered the World of Warcraft. Which is good, believe me. I need something to distract me from the hell of starving to death. And it's only going to get worse after the surgery! At least I get one sensible meal right now. After surgery its nothing but clear liquids for at least three weeks. You may ask why I am doing this to myself...the answer is simple. I want to live. In every sense of the word. Longevity wise and quality of life as well. I can barely walk across a store the way I am now and it's only getting worse. My joints have had it. Goddess only knows what I am doing to my heart. But even though I have my mind and heart and body set on this course, it doesn't preclude me being grumpy about it. But I'll hang in there. Just you wait and see.

Meanwhile, how are you all doing? Leave me a little feedback. I am expecting ARCs of RAPTURE, book 2 in the Shadowdwellers series, in a couple of weeks. Maybe I'll give something away to a commentor!

Hugs and kitties
Jacki