Starting September

Well, I have to say...that was about the fastest summer I've ever experienced. Seems like yesterday when my son was getting out of school, we were moving, and then voila! September is here.

The good news is that once school starts, I tend to get into a good writing routine, and I generally get a LOT more done than I do in the summer. And this year, since we live within a stone's throw (literally) of the YMCA, I've signed up for exercise classes three days a week, which should really help spark my mind. I've gotten a little...flabby...over the summer.

So anyway, excited to usher in Fall, and even more excited for winter to get here.

What about you? Are you glad to see the end of summer?

Oh, and don't forget -- today is the last day to enter my website launch contest!

Prize Pack Winner

Cyberclipper.

Congrats. You win a eververse goodie pack. I dont know whats in it yet, Since I havent gotten all my new promo in, but if you email me at stella@stellaandaudra.com your addy OR you have the choice of choosing three free e books. Lemme know!

OOh and guys watch for my next post... I got some great info coming!

End of Summer

Wow...can't believe that school is starting and summer is coming to an end. It always makes me a little sad, but this year I'm really too busy to take much notice :( There's just a couple of months until Darkness Unleashed will be hitting the shelves so I'm working on promo (I'll be doing some blogging and giving away a few early copies of Darkness Unleashed so check by my web site for details) and Levet has been out and about. He did an interview with the lovely Stella, stop by here and take a look: http://stellaandaudra.blogspot.com/ I did finish up Salvatore's story (whew) and I'm getting ready to plunge into the new anthology. I'm still debating whether or not Levet should be getting a role...he's such a prima donna :) Let me know what you think!

Enjoy these last days of summer,
Alex

New Books from Bianca D'Arc

I've got two new releases this month! First, GRADY'S AWAKENING will be debuting on August 18th from Samhain Publishing.

It's the story of Grady Prime, an alien super soldier who is beginning to learn what it means to be human. The story brings him together with Gina, a martial arts champion and spy, and her other true mate, Jim, the leader of a ragtag band of human survivors. Together, the three of them figure out how to live and love in the post-apocalyptic world where only the strong survive. You can read an excerpt online by clicking here.

Then I have another menage story coming out later this month. It's a short story that will hopefully be the start of a new series. It's called TAG TEAM and it will be released by Total-E-Bound on August 24th.

TAG TEAM is the first of my Gemini Project stories. The Gemini Project is an experiment to produce psychically enhanced warriors, who are able to share their thoughts in teams of two. They are invaluable as special operators, but what happens when they fall in love?

Check them out if you get a chance! I'm also happy to show off the cover for my first Kensington Brava release, a 2-author anthology called HALF PAST DEAD, coming in January 2010. Isn't the cover awesome?

My story in the anthology is called SIMON SAYS and it features a military hero battling a medical experiment run amok. Zombies are attacking people in the woods near a military base and it's up to Simon and his ex-girlfriend, a Navy doctor, to stop the killing and bring the situation under control. Of course, they didn't count on falling in love along the way...

I'm busy writing my first full-length zombie novel right now. It should be out in March 2010 from Kensington Brava. More news on that as it becomes available. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the new books this month! And don't forget to check out the contest we're holding for an ebook reader. Details are on my blog.

The heroes I love. Releases we have.

Ok so I figured I would post today about Heroes. Why? because on the whole, most heroes are cookie cutter and rub me the wrong way. Or, even worse, they are predictable as hell. So Imma list my favorite heroes here, for all the world to see, as an homage to my favorites. You should love them too.

First and foremost, Zarek from Kenyon's Dance with the Devil. PERFECT scarred hero, who even though he finds redemption (the best HEA in the series I think), hes still an asshole. Nothing changed him, and she remained true to the character. I love him and I live for his cameo's in her books.

Next, I love love love Bowen from Cole's Wicked Deeds on a Winters Night. Now I hate werewolves, but he is such a perfect hero, and I wouldnt even mind the wet dog smell when he came in from the rain. Just a completely fantastic character, and the lengths he went through to make her love him...

I also loved, back when he was still a human, Butch from the BDB books. Now, I dislike him greatly. What made his fantastic was his humanity, and the fact that he just didnt give a flying fuck if he lived or died. Tourtured soul, all the way, just the kinda guy you root for and fall for. Then turning him into a vamp was a little much and killed the kinda character he was. Still, early Butch, I loves you.

Also, Im in complete love with Devlin from Joey W. Hill's A Vampires Claim. Now lets throw aside the fact that hes major hung, but hes a FANTASTIC character. Hes thoughful, sexy, cheeky, an Aussie, and a bushman. Cant beat that. I'm in total love with him. Though I feel I have to mention Jacob as well, from the first too books in the Vampire Queen series. Jacob is the epitome of everything a woman wants in a man. Loving, loyal, hardcore, and he never lets her walk away mad. he's got a special place in my heart.

Ooh and I love love love Viper from Alexandra Ivy's Guardians of Eternity series. Why? Good lord hes a hottie, and he lets his mate keep a gargoyle around the house. *BTW, Levet is amazing, I love him too* and hes hot. did I mention that? Bonus.

Finally, though certianly not the last ever on my list, I LOVE Lorne from Larissa's next Demonica Book. Now we all met him in Wraith's book, but I have been fiending for this book since the second I found out it would be his. Audra and I have been arguing over him, she lurves him too, And neither of us can wait to get a piece of him... Ecstasy Unveiled cant come fast enough.

So these are my personal top pics. What are yours? I'm going to give away a small Eververse prize pack for the winner *drawn at Random* on August 30th. You got 20 days. Show me what you got.

Today we have a book releasing, the third in our snake series A Gift Of Daybreak. Its the final installment on the novella series, and We hope you will enjoy it. I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys have to say about the book, mostly because Audra and I aren't 100% sure we love it.


Saturday, all the goodness that is the Eververse series returns in the 4th novel! Masquerade will be available in both print and ebook on Saturday and we can't wait to see how our readers feel about Oscar and event Drake, whom you guys know I love. Check our bloggy On Saturday to enter to win some goodies from the Eververse to celebrate this release finally being available. And Yes, we will have Masquerade at AAD for sale.

Now that thats outta the way, I figured I would let you guys know that Audra and I are doing a special mini event on Friday at AAD. What is it? an hour meet an greet with us, for those who read up. Expect lots of talk about the characters, and goodies galore. Audra and I cant wait to actually meet and thank the people that have read us and helped in getting the books out there. Expect some wine too. LOL.

Getting Ready to Party!

October 21-23 in Suffern NY is the First Annual Authors After Dark Paranormal Weekend and some Samhain/Linden Bay authors are going to be there! It is an incredible list who will be attending, some I haven't met before, and can't wait to do so.

Did you know with three months to go, we're already knee deep in preparations? Oh yes, maybe even waist deep, but we are so excited about it all, we decided to go into the Samhain Cafe and drop some hings of what's going on.

So, come on over tomorrow, Thursday, August 6th, from 4-9:00pm est, and play. The hostesses with the mostest have given us permission to take over the Cafe and we intend to spread so fun.

Hang on, I keep saying "we" - who are the "we" that will getting ready to party in October?

Bianca D'Arc, Cat Johnson, Leigh Ellwood, Samantha Sommersby and me, Tilly Greene.

See you all there!

Tilly Greene
WARNING! Red hot romances ahead!
www.tillygreene.com

Beloved Vampire – Mason and Jessica’s Emotional Tango

I’m the type that, when I start to read a romance, I get irritated pretty quickly if I’m mired in pages of action, politics and world building. Introduce me to the characters from the very beginning, pull me into their minds, hearts, yearnings, and then build the plot around that. I’m like that weird Kohler commercial, where she wants the architect to build her house around her faucet choice – laughter. However, I think for romance, the relationship and character building is way more than one fixture – it’s the structure/frame of the house.
I’ve been writing paranormal erotic romance for the last few books. While paranormal does have the pesky problem of requiring politics, world-building and/or action scenes, it’s still quite possible to make romance the focus. It’s just a bit trickier. However, the beauty of a series is that, after a few books, you’re at home in that world, and sometimes the muse gives you characters on whose relationship you can focus far more exclusively.

Beloved Vampire, the fourth in my Vampire Queen series, offered that pleasure. Oh, and before you stop reading, yes, it can be read as a standalone, though there will be guest appearances by characters from the previous books. That’s another delightful side effect of writing series – those previous characters tend to jump into plots of your other books. Good friends who show up and say “What’re you doing today? Can I join you? Need any help? Can I add additional word count?” (laughter)

Let me tell you a little bit about the story. Lord Mason is a vampire who’s haunted the Sahara for three hundred years, guarding the tomb of his lost love, a young Bedouin girl. When someone breaks into the tomb, he’s more than ready to let them know the consequences of pissing off a nine hundred year old vampire. However, he finds Jessica, a fugitive from his own world.

For five years, Jessica was forced to be a second-marked servant to a brutal vampire master. She escaped him, but she is dying as the result of a partial third-mark he tried to inflict upon her before she killed him. While she had no control over any of that, she is determined to control one thing – where she dies. An archaeology student before her capture, Jessica wants to finish her life in the tomb of a Bedouin girl who sacrificed everything for love. While Farida’s story is reputed to be mere fanciful legend, her unwavering faith in Lord Mason’s love resonates with Jessica, because she lost her own fiancé to her vampire master.

It isn’t until she finds the tomb that Jessica realizes the tragic irony – her desire to die in the tomb has led her right back into another vampire’s hands. Though of course, she’ll find that Mason is an entirely different kind of vampire – one that a woman might trust and yearn to call Master in the end.

While all my work is character-driven (if I’ve done it right), every once in awhile, the characters lead even more than usual, the strength of their emotions, past pain, and intense need for one another centering the story on them even more tightly. Mason and Jessica were those kind of characters.

I love writing erotic romance because every story is like dancing a tango for the first time—the complex give and take, the provocative footwork, between two strong people falling in love. I hope you’ll enjoy dancing with Mason and Jessica. You can find the official blurb and a free excerpt at my website, http://www.storywitch.com/, under the Vampire Queen series link. Oh, and you’ll notice there’s a TwoLips scavenger hunt icon there – Two Lips reviews site is having a month long scavenger hunt with bunches of prizes available from over a hundred participating authors, and my giveaway is a signed copy of Beloved Vampire.

Counting the days until I get to meet you all at the Authors After Dark conference. Until then, happy reading!