Friday, November 29, 2013

Cover reveal - Karen and Brett at 326 Harper's Cove!

I promised, and I'm delivering - right now!



Karen and Brett at 326 Harper's Cove is the first of the Harper's Cove series. The novellas in this series are fun, short, erotic romps with the neighbors of Harper's Cove. They're $.99 each and sure to not only tickle your funny bone, but heat up your . . . well, you get the idea.

Gloria is the self-appointed gatekeeper and policing arm of the neighborhood. And she's just dying to find out what all of the neighbors are up to. She's especially curious about Karen and Brett Reynolds at 326 Harper's Cove, just down the street. They have some sort of party every Saturday night, and she's all but invited herself, but Karen has told her they're all close friends and she's sure Gloria would just feel out of place. And boy, would she ever!

Karen has done everything she can to keep Gloria away and keep her from knowing what they do with their "friends" every Saturday night. It's bad enough that Gloria obviously watches for her to come home from work so she can quiz her, but Karen's pretty sure Gloria's been spying on them. She knows if Gloria ever finds out what their parties really are, she'll tell everyone in the neighborhood, and they'll have to move. Their lifestyle might be popular within their group, but the neighbors would surely disapprove.

And anytime Gloria thinks she's discovered something, she runs right straight to her poor husband, Russell, and dumps it all on him. Problem is, she stays so drunk that Russell doesn't believe a thing she says. He's even told her to leave the neighbors alone or he'll send her back to rehab. But Gloria's having none of that, no sir. In her mind, apparently no one else cares that the neighborhood might be going to hell in a hand basket, and it's her job to find out what's going on and expose it.

When it comes to Gloria, Karen and Brett have their work cut out for them. Will they be able to continue on without letting Gloria find out? How far will she go to find out exactly what's going on every Saturday night? It's a good thing she can't see into their laundry room - ten sets of sheets to wash every Sunday morning would be hard to explain!

This book will be live on Sunday. The second Harper's Cove novella, Becca and Greg at 314 Harper's Cove, is being released next Sunday; visit here next Saturday for its cover reveal. You're gonna love this series!

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow!

And that's because tomorrow there will be a cover reveal! Yes, dear readers, you'll get to see the cover for the first Harper's Cove book! And that's because . . .

Dat-da-DAAAAAHHHH!!! The first Harper's Cove book will be out Sunday! I'm excited. They're so much fun, and I know everyone will enjoy them. Karen and Brett at 326 Harper's Cove will be a fun little romp that I know you'll love. I'll be launching it on all platforms simultaneously, so it doesn't matter what reader you use, it'll be available for you.

And tomorrow the costuming is supposed to be delivered for the cover of The Celtic Fan. That'll be fun.

Then next week, there'll be another Harper's Cove coming out! Yes, I've been busy over here. Still am. Will continue to be. All to bring you great reading. So show me how much you appreciate it by buying my books and recommending them to friends and such, please? I'll love you for it!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

I don't get it

I'm watching the books I've got listed on Amazon. They're selling. Matter of fact, by the looks of things, people are reading the prequel, then buying the first book and reading it, then going back and buying the second. However, I don't understand - they're not reviewing them. They obviously like them or they wouldn't buy the second one. I don't understand why they won't take that one tiny little minute to do a review. Are they afraid for anyone to know they're reading erotic romances? Are they afraid they'll sound stupid?

Can somebody help me out here? Because, just like the title of this post says, I just don't get it. Those reviews would help me get bloggers and reviewers to look at them, but nothing - zip, zilch, nada.

Makes me sad.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Done, done, and done!

As of right now, this very second, both of the first two Harper's Cove novellas, Karen and Brett at 326 Harper's Cove and Becca and Greg at 314 Harper's Cove, and the new novel, The Celtic Fan, are done. The cover art for the novellas is done as well. I'm waiting on artwork and a photo shoot to work up the cover for the novel. I ordered the costuming for the photos today and it'll be good. I'm looking to have the first of the novellas launched by this weekend, and the second one the following weekend. Fun!

In the meantime, I'm exhausted! I'm hoping to catch a couple of ballgames on turkey day, maybe do a little reading, and then back to the grindstone.

Tomorrow, it's that time of year - time to get my mamms grammed! Do it for yourself and for everyone who loves you and everyone you love (which are not always the same, know what I mean?). It takes less than thirty minutes, isn't that uncomfortable, and then you don't have to do it again for a good while. And it's worth it for the peace of mind.

Love you all. And if you need a pick-me-up, just go back to that post a week or so ago and check out my visitor's pic again. If his beautiful face doesn't give you a jolt right where it counts, well, I don't know what the hell will!

Working, working, working

I'm almost through with the last edit and proofing of The Celtic Fan. This book is one of those pieces that I think about most of the time. It has a haunting quality that just won't go away.

I'm hoping the cover will be the same way. If it comes out anything like the concept, not only will it be beautiful and eye-catching, but it will be haunting in its own right. I'm excited, and a little afraid, to think about it. I know in my mind exactly what it's supposed to look like, and I'm so afraid we'll never get it to look that way. But if we can, it'll be beautiful.

I'm going to bed. I've read until my eyes are crossing. But I'm hoping that by Thursday, it will be ready for me to add the front matter and all we'll be waiting for is to get the photos shot and the cover made up. And then I'll release it.

But I'll do a cover reveal first. Never doubt that. And you'll want to see that - trust me.

Monday, November 25, 2013

I've made my decision

I've officially decided that I'm hiring a cover artist to do/redo the covers for the first series. I'm tired of trying to do them myself, and I could use some help. They'll need to be somewhat uniform, and they won't be able to do that with the three I've already done, so I'll just have them do all five. If I like them, I'll have them do the Witch of Endor series.

I'll still do the Harper's Cove covers, and I have definite ideas for The Celtic Fan. The other two independent novels, maybe; maybe not. I'll decide that as I go along.

But know this: The first two novellas in the Harper's Cove series will be out in just a couple of weeks. I know, right? It's exciting! Maybe I'll give you some excerpts in the next couple of weeks. But I don't know . . . they're so steamy, I'm not sure I'd want to post any of that on the blog. We'll see.

Wish me luck. So far my attempts to hire people have been less than successful, but I think that's going to change. So here I go!

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Excerpt from the next novel!!!

I promised you an excerpt, and I'm determined to deliver. This is from The Celtic Fan, which I expect to release within the next two months (gotta get the cover art done). This excerpt will give you a taste for what the guys are up to. Enjoy!

*****

“Okay, okay,” Russ retreated, stroking his hand both slowly and vainly across his shiny head. “So I’m a client of ‘Hair Club,’” he chuckled. “Let’s get down to business. I've got a great idea for this year’s trip.”

“Fantastic!” Jim fairly stuttered, his cheeks rosy with excitement. “What is it, where are we going?”

“Well, that’s part of the problem,” he smirked. “I’m not really sure just yet. I've got some of my people working on it.” His people, right. He’s an artist in a graphics shop, for heaven’s sake. What people? “I know a guy who knows a guy, and he’s . . .”

“Oh, cut the crap, Russ,” Michael interrupted, the effects of the mixed drink kicking in. “What the hell is it? Where are we going?” He seemed a bit irritated, like a kid opening a gift on which Mom had used way too much really sticky tape.

“That’s just it,” he replied. “Did you read the book, Steve? Like I asked you to? Did you guys read it too? What did you think of it?”

By now I was getting a little testy myself. “Yes, Russ. I read the book.”

“And what did you think of it?” he repeated, looking out at me from under his brows with a goofy smile pulling up one corner of his mouth. Confusion clouded Michael and Jim’s faces.

“Well, honestly,” I hesitated, “I liked it. I didn’t think I would, but I did. I was, well, maybe, enthralled? I just couldn’t put it down. I don’t know how to describe it,” I admitted, stumbling and stammering for words to explain, to express how I’d felt. It was a little embarrassing, sounding like a 36-year-old housewife describing one of those paperback romance novels.

“What about you guys? Jim, what did you think?” he asked innocently.

“I loved it,” Jim gushed, wringing his hands. “I’d love that Claire, just like that Bill guy did. But I’d never leave her,” he added, looking as if he were about to cry, remembering the story.

“What about you, Michael?” Russ turned his attention to Michael, who was becoming visibly frustrated.

“What the hell difference does it make, Russ?” he exploded. “Let’s talk about the damn trip, okay? That’s what we came here for, isn't it?”

Russ laughed out loud, teasing the three of us with his eyes. “How would you like to be the first people to meet Nick Roberts, the author of the book?”

“Nobody knows who he is,” Jim offered loudly. “Nobody. No one’s ever met him. They don’t know anything about him.”

“What if I told you that we could find him?” Russ asked softly, leaning over the table like an international spy planning an act of espionage.

“Oh, hell, Russ, what have you got up your sleeve?” I blurted out, tired of the cloak-and-dagger bull. “What’s this all about?”

“Well, it seems my brother is working for the publishing house that produced The Celtic Fan,” he answered quietly. He cast a few anxious glances around to see if anyone at one of the other tables was listening. “He can find out where Nick Roberts lives. Then we could go out and find him. Think about it, Steve. What a great feature for your paper. A great piece, don’t you think? And you guys,” he said, pointing at Michael and Jim, “could say you’d met him, get his autograph and stuff. Have your picture made with him. Wouldn't that be something?”

Tempting. Very tempting. There had to be a catch.

“So, what’s the catch?” I quizzed, afraid I was about to be sold a chunk of the Berlin wall again. Probably had something to do with paying the brother off somehow or, worse yet, taking him along.

"No catch,” he insisted, trying to maintain a look of dignity and honesty. That was hard work for Russ. “My brother’s working on finding the information on the location, and the rest is up to us. Are you guys in?”

“Well, I guess so,” Jim responded, halting between words. “Maybe he can introduce us to the woman he modeled Claire’s character after.” Good old Jim, thinking about his annual conquest. Or at least an attempt.

“What about you, Michael?” he asked as he turned and stared into Michael’s tipsy face. “Are you in?”

“Sure, sure,” Michael sputtered, his speech somewhat slurred by the liquor. “Sounds good to me.”

“Steve? You with us?” It was hard for me to answer, my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth, my head buzzing. Meet Nick Roberts, the guy who’d written with such passion and imagination, the one who’d described the relationship between Bill and Claire with such power, such intensity, that I found myself longing to be with them, to be part of the love and energy they’d experienced. A writer whose work had affected me like no one else’s before, at least not in a long, long time.

“Um, you bet. You bet,” was all I could manage. I couldn’t wait to pack my suitcase, hop in a cab, and roll right up to his front door. This would be great. “Count me in,” I almost whispered.

“Okay! Good! I’ll tell Dave to proceed, and maybe we’ll have enough information by the end of next week to move forward with our plans.” He seemed pleased with himself. Unlike most times, he also looked sure, as though he knew this would be a do-able thing. “I’ll let you know as soon as I get something concrete.”

“I propose a toast,” Jim nearly shouted. In total synchronization, the three of us threw our fingers up to our lips, shushing him. “I propose a toast,” he began again, quieter, lifting his soft drink glass above the center of the table. “To Nick Roberts. May he be as surprised as we will be when we find him.”

Well, I hope to shout, I thought to myself as our glasses and bottles clinked together. I took a deep drag on the longneck. If we could pull this off, we’d be famous. And I’d have a great feature.

We were going to find Nick Roberts. We would succeed. We would meet him, and I would understand his talent. Maybe some of it would rub off on me. No matter what happened, I’d never be the same, of that I was sure.

I couldn’t possibly have known how correct that assumption would prove to be.