Life, Death & New Books

I've been having a rough time lately. Some of you might know that my Mom was diagnosed with cancer in October '09. She died two days before Christmas and I've been in a fog ever since. My Mom and I were closer than most mothers and daughters. We went to graduate school together and even worked together from time to time. She traveled everywhere with me and vice versa. We had a lot of fun and I never expected her to leave me this soon. It came as a total shock.

Now I'm trying to figure out how to carry on. My life didn't just stop. I have contractul obligations to fulfill and books that are coming out whether I have the time or energy to promote them or not. So let me take a stab at telling you what's been going on in my writing life the past few weeks...

HALF PAST DEAD came out at the beginning of the month and seems to be doing well, though it's too early to really know for sure. If you haven't gotten your copy yet, please look for it in your local bookstore. The 2-author anthology contains the first in my military-paranormal (zombie) stories, called SIMON SAYS. The first novel in the series will be out in March and is called ONCE BITTEN, TWICE DEAD.

On the ebook front, CAT'S CRADLE just came out and will be in print at the end of this year. It's the first in a planned trilogy of big cat shifter stories and you can get it at most ebook sales sites right now or at MBAM.

Here's to a better 2010 for us all.

Weresnakes are coming... whoo boy...

On January 19th, Entwined by Fate the first in a innovative and sexy new series from S.A.Price releases. This series breaks the accepted boundaries on what is familiar in the shifter genre, by having Ophidians, or weresnakes as a focus.

Thirty females of the Ophidian race have gone missing, most from the transient nest of Las Vegas, a rogue and unofficial nest run by the Saint, John Merrick. Believed to be dead by every Archon in the states, Merrick leads a quiet and unassuming life, saving those of his race that are lost and need it most. It's a solitary existence, one that he hates every day. He yearns for his mate, the woman he left over a decade before, and the woman who thinks him dead to this day.

When Elise Rizdon gets the official invitation to the Archon meeting in Ohio by the leader of a new Midwestern nest, she never expected to see the love of her life at the woman's side, a man she was told was dead and buried. She lost him once upon a time, and she never fully recovered. Focusing on the issues, and not the man that has always made her body burn is not going to be easy. A disturbing event is on the horizon, one that threatens all Ophidian's and their way of life. In order to survive they will have to work together, give up old grudges and take chances on the things that matter most. Love, life and the continuation of their race.

And the reviews have been amazing!

S.A. Price has written a winner! The taut plot line and the constant danger lurking at every corner increase the tension as the reader anxiously turns the pages. S.A. Price does a marvelous job at integrating subplots and smoothly fitting all of the pieces together. The secondary romances developing within the plot line make the happily-ever-after all the more satisfying. Brilliant!
~Recommended Read, Ck2s Kwips and Kritiques

“Move over werewolf’s there’s a new game in town!”
~ Smokin Hot Books

“It kept me captivated …I just had to know what was going to happen next!”
~Books, Books and More Books

"A sexy were species that really pushes the envelope! Who knew snakes could be so hot-blooded!?"
~Jennifer Armintrout, best selling author of the Blood Ties series

Interested? Check out why this book is getting such amazing feedback, and help us prove that weresnakes are sssexy and that scales could definitely be the new fur for you shifter readers!

JOIN THE REVOLUTION! You can read an excerpt here and you can buy the E book from All Romance E books and the print from Amazon.

Getting Ready for Authors After Dark

We have almost a year until the second Authors After Dark conference happens, but I've already started mapping out my plans for the weekend. I do know I'll sit on a few panels, particularly those relating to M/M and F/F writing, and there's a possibility I'll sit on the steampunk one as well. It's fitting, since I'm involved in all three genres at the moment. Through DLP Books and Phaze Books I have M/M releases, and three F/F shorts at DLP which are selling well. It's my hope to sell readers on eBooks in particular, and to take chances on independently published authors who write their favorite genres.

I will have a raffle basket for AAD again, though I'm not sure of the theme. Last year was a hodgepodge of goodies and free books, and as I usually do a theme for other events I should for this one, too. I'm thinking either a pink basket for breast cancer awareness (a favorite charity), or something seasonal. Either way, I hope it will inspire attendees to enter a draw for it.

As for future releases, I have quite a few coming. Enter Sandman and GPS are M/M shorts with Phaze and All Romance respectively, with the latter sold for the benefit of the American Heart Association. Coming Together As Onei will feature a menage short of mine, and Handle With Dare, a cougar story, is due in the spring. Of the group, Sandman has fantastic elements, and is part of a series. You're welcome to check my website and blog for updates.

Favorite Things 2009

Every year I think back over the new things I fell in love with over the previous twelve months. Past lists have included butter bells, bag balm, frozen pizza, and UGGS. Anyway, here are the things I loved in 2009:

~Snuggie – this is a recent acquisition…I just got it for Christmas. But I already love it! It’s surprisingly warm and soft.

~iPod Nano – My iPod was on my 2007 list, but this year I got a new one. It’s shiny pink, and the new features like the video camera are just awesome. I LOVE my new iPod!

~Sunbeam Electric Blanket – yeah, how sad is it to get excited about a bed blanket, but this is one of the dual control ones, so I can heat up my side of the bed and my husband doesn’t have to die of heat on his side. I love that!

~GPS – I kept telling my husband that we didn’t need one. He bought one anyway. And guess what? Yeah, I’m eating crow (tofucrow, cuz of the vegetarian thing,) because I adore the little device. It’s so awesome to enter in an address and have it guide you right to your destination. It’s also great for looking up places to eat and shop, which has come in really handy now that we’re new to the area.

~Just The Cheese Chips and Popcorn – OMG, it’s cheese! But crunchy! These little baked cheese rounds and nuggets are pure cheese (some with flavorings) so they’re low-carb and just totally yum. The popcorn cheese is phenomenal.

Okay, so that’s it for this year. Is there anything you got, used, or ate in 2009 that has become a “favorite thing?”

AAD is open for registration!

The Authors After Dark event is coming, and we want YOU to attend and help us make it the best convention of 2010!

This year will be held at the Harmon Meadow Holiday in Secaucus, NJ on September 16-19. As with last year, this is an event for READERS by AUTHORS, and is guaranteed to give you a weekend you wont soon forget!

Join your hostess, Jacquelyn Frank along with the Authors After Dark bloggers and friends for a wild weekend sure to delight the reader in you! This year, we will be opened to all genres of romance, as well as including a GLBT track!

Registration is now open! $140 gets you 5 meals, access to all the parties, mini events, classes and goodies! Rooms are $109 a night, double occupancy.

We are happy to announce these publishers and retailers as our fantastic sponsors: Kensington, Ballentine, Tease Publishing, Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs, Changeling, Phaze, MLR Press, Total E Bound, All Romance E books, Pretty-Scary.com, Dorchester and many more!

New this year, AAD will have a Con Suite, filled with gift bags, goodies, snacks and other such sundries, as well as a full Vendor room with 10 vendors! Also, several awesome workshops including Bellydancing, Meditations, Intuitive work and pod casting!

Saturday will have both a mass author signing, and a Masquerade ball! For more information, check out our website!

For up to the minute author participation, info on mini events, sponsors, publishers and all else, check out our website: http://aadromanceunlimited.com

A Wonderful Year

Wow, I can't believe the end of the year is fast approaching :( It must be true that the older you get the faster time flies...which is a a very bad thing considering how much I need to get done! It's been a fabulous year with many surprises and a great deal of happiness. As Christmas and the New Year approach I like to take time to count my blessings. And at the very top of my list are my lovely readers who have made my dreams come true! Thanks to all of you and my wish for a wonderful holiday season and a New Year filled with peace, happiness and security...oh, and a ton of fabulous books!!

Best,
Alex

Weresnakes are Sssexy! Help us prove it!

Hey All!

Well with January on the horizon, Audra and I are gearing up for our new release, Entwined by Fate, the first in our American Ophidians series. And what are we doing? TONS of fun stuff, and if you feel so inclined, you can help!

First, we have made some awesome sprouts for the book release. One is a countdown sprout, the other, a button sprout. Both are snatchable, and we are hoping you will take them and put them on your blogs and FB to show your support.





Second, how would you like to get promo goodies for the books in the mail? Well I'm starting our snail mailings this coming week! If your interested in getting goodies, send me your address to stella@stellaandaudra.com and I'll get some goodies out to you!

Third, and this is the most important, Buy the book January 19th! Don't worry, I will remind you guys, but this is paramount. See, we were told this book was a marketing risk, mostly because the reading public isn't ready for this kinda work, apparently they would, in the eyes of publishers, rather read the unending chain of werewolves and cats, and wouldn't wanna try something new, fresh or imaginative. So we would LOVE to prove them wrong, and you can help. On January 19th, please consider buying the book in print from Amazon.com (if we had the distro, it would be available in your bookstore, which is what we are trying for next book) and post to your friends and family about this book. This is NOT a self published book... but being with small press makes it REALLY hard to get the print out there. So please, help us change things, and get this book out there.

Until January, talk about the book, Make comments on the blogs that have done reviews, write about the different kinda romance out there on your own blogs, and talk about it in chats. Every word written and uttered about this book will help us reach our goal.

So guess what? We are running a HUGE contest giveaway as well! To help celebrate this awesome release, we are giving away tshirts, mugs, totebags, notebooks and print books of our other books to readers that havent ever heard of us or read us. How to win? For starters, post the sprouts anywhere and leave a link in the comments here.. For ever link, you get an entry.

If you blog about this book in anyway, post about it in the comments here as well. For every comment for that, its one entry.

When you buy the book, on the January blog post, post a comment, and you will get 2 entries for buying the book! We have over 50 goodies to give away, and 15 print books so there will be a LOT of winners!

Help us spread the word and win! Thanks to everyone!