Lori Brighton

The Mind Readers! Free!

2012-01-26T17:52:00.005-05:00

If you've never tried it and you have a kindle, it's the perfect time to download my (so far only) young adult book, The Mind Readers! All you have to do is head over to Amazon.

But the book will only be free for 2 days!!! Friday and Saturday. So get it while you can. Tell your friends, family, coworkers. Read the blurb below!

Cameron Winters is a freak. Fortunately, no one but her family knows the truth …that Cameron can read minds. For years Cameron has hidden behind a facade of normalcy, warned that there are those who would do her harm. When gorgeous and mysterious Lewis Douglas arrives he destroys everything Cameron has ever believed and tempts her with possibilities of freedom. Determined to embrace her hidden talents, Cameron heads to a secret haven with Lewis; a place where she meets others like her, Mind Readers.

But as Cameron soon finds out some things are too good to be true. When the Mind Readers realize the extent of Cameron’s abilities, they want to use her powers for their own needs. Cameron suddenly finds herself involved in a war in which her idea of what is right and wrong is greatly tested. In the end she’ll be forced to make a choice that will not only threaten her relationship with Lewis, but her very life.

Freebie!

2012-01-26T08:05:00.003-05:00

My friend and a fellow author, Harris Channing has a free Ebook on Amazon today and tomorrow, The Demon is in the Details! But it's only free today and tomorrow, so get it while you can!

Want to know more? Read the blurb below!

Stella Campbell has come back to Silverton, Georgia to bury her wicked witch of an aunt. But is she strong enough to endure what's to come?

Zane Weathers has been around a long time, like, two thousand years. But he's never met anyone who touches his warrior soul, like Stella.

Together they must face not only personal obstacles, but obstacles straight from hell!

Amazon Prime

2012-01-23T14:35:00.008-05:00

As you may or may not know, To Seduce an Earl was free for a few days last week on Amazon. How was this possible? Because I signed the book up to be in Amazon's KDP Select. What is KDP select? If you sign up for this special program, the author has the opportunity to make their book free for up to 5 days in 3 months. They also get to share a "pot" of money with other authors, depending on how many times a reader "borrows" your book.

The people who can borrow from this library of books are those amazon members who are in the Prime Program. They pay around 70 something a year and once a month they can check out 1 book. I know, 1 book a month doesn't sound that special. There are other benefits as well, although I'm not quite sure of them.

The problem? The author's book can only be on Amazon for those 3 months, nowhere else. In those few days that I had To Seduce an Earl for free on Amazon, there were over 23,000 downloads of the book. No, I don't get any money for those downloads. I wish! But now that it has switched over to paid, it's selling much, much better and has been number 3 in historical romance for 2 days now.

So why would an author sign up for the KDP?

1). If their book isn't selling well, or isn't selling well on other book selling sites.
2). They want to get their book to as many possible "fans" as they can. 23,000 is a lot of readers who might come back for book 2 or who might go after my other books.

Of course the reason a person writes a book is because they love to write. But as an author our goal it to grow our readership. And of course, we want to make money so that we can actually write for a living.

Yeah, it stinks that the book isn't on sites like Barnes and Noble, but unfortunately there are a lot of author's who aren't making much money on sites besides Amazon. For many authors, there isn't much to lose. Of course the downfall is that you can't have your book elsewhere for 3 months and you're basically making Amazon a monopoly.

To Seduce an Earl has been in the KDP select for a couple weeks now and it has helped my sales. Will this surge in sales last the entire 3 months? Probably not. But we'll see.

If you're one of my readers, you know my books don't typically fit into the norm, which is probably why some don't sell well. To Seduce an Earl is about male prostitutes in Victorian England. There are a lot of people who would read that blurb and instantly be turned off. But with the KDP free days, I was able to catch hold of people who wouldn't have normally read it, and gasp, they loved it and are eagerly awaiting book 2!

Because of To Seduce an Earl's success, I have decided to put another one of my books (which has gotten great reviews, yet hasn't sold well) into the program.

If the book goes through as planned... Starting Friday and into Saturday, my Young Adult novel The Mind Readers will be free for Amazon Kindle. Sunday it will go back to 2.99 (or Free for Prime Members). If you've already read and liked the book, you might want to download this version as it has a few added scenes. This means that Thursday will be the last time to get the book on Barnes and Noble and other sites other than Amazon for at least for 3 months. Don't worry, I will not do this with book 2, The Mind Thieves. It will be available at Itunes, B&N, Smashwords and Amazon.

3 Days Only!

2012-01-18T07:17:00.003-05:00

For three days only, my historical romance, To Seduce an Earl (Rated R) is free on Amazon! Yes, even Amazon UK, Amazon Germany and any other Amazon out there. But its for 3 days only!!! Get your Ecopy, tell your friends, have a parade! Do whatever you want, but you only have 3 days! Read the blurb and review below!

"Brighton provides an original story line, well-developed characters, and a plot-full of perfect amounts of sexual intrigue, twists, and lulls that allow the atmosphere of 1860s England to develop. The superb editing also shines. Fans of Johanna Lindsey will enjoy this work, which furthers the idea that self-publishing is not something to scoff at."—Library Journal

On the outskirts of London in a meadow of lavender, sits a house of esteemed ill repute. But this is no house geared toward pleasing men. No, this house is for women who have come to seek their own delight. And for three young ladies it’s where they’ll find something completely unexpected…true love.

Grace Brisbane will do whatever it takes to save her dying mother, but with a stepbrother intent on gambling and drinking, their funds have run dry. What’s a girl to do when she’s left poor and destitute? Seduce an Earl, of course. Handsome and rich, the Earl of Rodrick is the perfect target. Unfortunately, Rodrick despises innocent virgins. There’s only one place where Grace can learn the secrets of seduction… Lavender Hills. The moment Grace spots Alex, the man who will teach her the ways of intimacy, she knows she must guard her heart. Alex is charming and gorgeous and completely inappropriate.

As a young man, Alex Weston is blackmailed into working at Lavender Hills in order to save his family from London ’s prisons. There could be worse ways to spend his days and nights. Still, seduction has become a chore and thoughts of freedom keep him up at night. Until he receives a new client, the sweet Grace Brisbane. He should be thinking only of his growing need to escape, instead he’s captivated by the lovely Grace. The more time they spend together, the more he realizes that their brief meetings aren’t enough. For while marriage between a lady and a whore could never happen, Alex knows in his heart that he is willing to accept nothing less.

Magical Musings

2012-01-17T07:49:00.004-05:00

I'm at Magical Musings today and giving away 2 Ecopies of my newest release, The Demon Hunter (rated R)! Stop by and say hello for your chance to win!

Excerpt 2: The Mind Thieves

2012-01-15T20:58:00.003-05:00

I'm still hard at work on The Mind Thieves, book 2 in The Mind Readers series. But while we're waiting for its release, I have another excerpt to share!

A low rumble of thunder shook the sky. Maddox glanced up and smiled. “Excellent.”

“You’re excited that it’s going to rain?”

“Yep. Rain means people go inside. Those left outside avert their gazes, trying to keep the rain from their eyes. In other words, Sweetheart, we have less of a chance of being recognized.”

“Rain means we get soaked, Harriet the Spy, and we don’t have any other clothes,” I said, being a little more practical about the situation.

“Something I’m going to remedy right now.”

He steered me toward a booth selling carved objects in a dark wood. Typical island junk sold to tourists.

“What can I help you with?” the man behind the stall rubbed his hands eagerly while smiling at us under his bushy black mustache. His beady eyes darted back and forth between the two of us, obviously trying to decide who controlled the wallet in our happy little family.

“This will be an easy sale,” he thought.

Maddox picked up the statue of a pig. “We’re on our honeymoon.”

“Ahhh!” The seller clapped his pudgy hands together. “Wonderful! True love!”

I gagged.

Maddox threw me a threatening glare as he replaced the statue. “We want to find something special to remember our honeymoon, don’t we, my dear?”

I was saved from answering by the overly helpful salesman. “Of course, of course!”

He scurried toward a table holding wooden bowls. “How is this?”

“No, something else. Something…with a lid.”

What the heck was he doing? We were supposed to be running for our lives and he was buying a gift for someone? I glanced around, growing anxious. We couldn’t seriously be shopping, so what was Maddox up to?

Thunder rumbled menacingly again, making the earth tremble. Shoppers were fleeing to the few cafés on the corners.

I started to turn toward Maddox and urge him to hurry when someone at the red tent next to us shifted. I couldn’t say why the woman caught my attention, but she had. She was about my age, maybe a couple years older. Her blonde hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail that whispered across her tanned back as she sashayed away. The sundress she wore tied around her neck and hung low around her backside, showing lots of skin. I knew before she turned, she was gorgeous. As if sensing my attention, she paused.

I took a hesitant step closer, curious about her in some way I didn’t understand. Slowly, she turned. She wore sunglasses that covered her eyes, but it didn’t matter. There was something about her… about her face, her body, her very being that seemed oddly familiar. Her lips lifted into a smile that was more of a smirk, almost as if she understood my confusion.

Who was she?

“Here’s your new wardrobe.” Maddox stepped close to me, drawing my attention to him. He lifted the lid of the jar he held. A wad of bills were tucked neatly inside. It had to be thousands of dollars.

I gasped, shocked when really at this point nothing should have surprised me. “How?”

He winked. “I have my resources.” He closed the lid and glanced around. “You ready?”

Rain fell from the skies, pattering against the tents, soaking my sweatshirt. “I guess.” I glanced down the aisle, looking for the blonde girl. She was gone.

“What is it?” Maddox rested his hand on my lower back.

The base of my skull began to throb. “I thought…nothing.” I rubbed my neck and turned toward him. “I’m fine. Let’s go and get this over with.”

Places to go...

2012-01-12T23:23:00.004-05:00

I am determined to do more traveling this year. With that said...

This spring I'll be headed to two romance writer's conferences. The first will be in March, The Silken Sands conference in Florida. It's on the beach! How could I not go?! My friend and fellow author, Beverley Kendall will be the main speaker at the conference and Bev and I will be doing a workshop on Self Publishing. There will also be a book signing on Saturday where you'll be able to find me.

The second conference will be April in Chicago. I'll have to fly and I hate flying! Scary. This major conference is the Romantic Times Convention. I've never gone before, but have heard the R.T. Conference can be wild and crazy fun. I'll be doing another workshop on Self Publishing, this one with authors Jackie Barbosa and Kim Killion. Unfortunately, I won't be doing the book signing there, but heading out early Saturday before the signing.

So, if you're at either conference, please stop by and say hi! If we've met before, remind me! I've met so many people that it's hard to remember :)

Excerpt! The Mind Thieves

2012-01-10T22:04:00.002-05:00

I'm hard at work on The Mind Thieves, book two in The Mind Readers Trilogy. Because I just can't help it, here's a snippet of chapter 2! Look for The Mind Thieves in April!!!!

“Let go!” I screamed, digging my heels into the sand and arching against him.

“Not until you listen.” His sunglasses were gone, as well as his smirk. He looked annoyed, thoroughly.

At least I could take some comfort in the fact that I’d swiped that grin from his face. But as his grip on my wrists tightened, my gloating fled. I focused on his steel colored eyes, reached out with my mind, attempting to read his thoughts, but heard nothing. His brain was blank. Startled, I actually stopped fighting him for a moment. What was he? “Your father sent me,” he stated.

I jerked against his grip, seething, but my arms were pinned too tightly to the sand. “You’re lying. My father died years ago.”

The ocean breeze felt oddly chill against my clammy skin. Was he another mind reader? Could it be possible? I knew we weren’t the only ones, and, in fact, Grandma had finally admitted my father had been a Mind Reader as well. But I sure as heck had never expected to be tackled by one.

Another car zoomed by on the dirt road, oblivious to my struggle.

“We don’t have time for this,” he hissed. “You’re going to shut up and you’re going to come with me, got it?”

He was nervous a witness would come along, and he should be. There were many who walked the beach in the evening. But I wasn’t about to drag some innocent bystander into this mess.

Time to take drastic measures. I lifted my knee and hit him directly in the groin. Maddox sucked in a sharp gasp, his eyes going wide with surprise. He released my right arm as he stumbled to the side. It was all I needed. I jerked my left arm free and shoved the palms of my hands into his hard chest, throwing him off balance. Jumping to my feet, I didn’t dare look back, but raced up the beach, toward our cottage.

Hunter Series

2012-01-05T12:11:00.003-05:00

Now that The Demon Hunter is out (book 2 in the Hunter Series) you might be wondering if there will be a book 3. The answer? Well, as Justin Bieber says, never say never.

But... if I had to answer at this point I'd have to say .... No. The end. Done with the series. Why, you might be wondering? Well, for one I have other books I'd like to write.

But mostly it's because I have looked at how book 1 was received. Although I've had quite a few sales for The Ghost Hunter (book 1) and quite a few positive reviews, I've read far too many reviews that said "This is the worst book ever!" Frankly, I don't want to spend my time continuing a series that a lot of people seem to dislike. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to base my writing on what reviews say, and I'm certainly not telling you to stop writing reviews. What I am saying is as an author when you get more than a few 1-2 star reviews for a book, it's time to take a step back and pack your bags, show's over.

As I've stated before, reviews do matter, not only to the reader but to the author. As much as authors pretend not to, we do read reviews and take them seriously. I've learned a lot from the reviews of The Ghost Hunter; about what readers like and dislike. It's certainly been a learning experience for me.

So at this point, The Demon Hunter will be the last book in the Hunter Series.... in case you were wondering :)

New Release! The Demon Hunter!

2012-01-03T11:09:00.003-05:00

It's here! The Demon Hunter is available on Smashwords, Barnes and Noble and Amazon. Hopefully, it will be on Intunes as well within the next week or two.

If you've read book 1 of the Hunter Series, The Ghost Hunter (and if not, it's free, so download it!), you'll remember Devon, a secondary character. Devon is now the hero in The Demon Hunter.

Read the blurb below to see if it might be your cup of tea.

Ellie has always been different, from playing with fairies as a child to fighting demons as an adult. She grew up wondering why no one else seemed to notice the oddities of the world that she came into contact with on a daily basis. When she is the only witness of a demon attack and the police suspect her, Ellie skips the country heading to England where she plans to keep a low profile. Everything is going fine, until Devon appears, stumbling around her garden like a drunken fool, and completely naked no less.

Six months ago Devon sacrificed himself to bind the soul of a demon and save the world from certain destruction. Thanks to a spell gone awry, Devon is back. But Devon hasn’t come alone. The very demon he tried to destroy has returned and is wreaking havoc on earth. When Devon meets Ellie, he instantly recognizes another supernatural being. Ellie may just be the only person who is strong enough to destroy the demon, if the demon doesn’t destroy her first.

The Demon Hunter

2011-12-31T10:24:00.003-05:00

I've noticed a lot of people searching for The Demon Hunter. I know I said it would be out in December, but it will be more like beginning of Jan. I hate, absolutely hate, going back on my word, but I've been deathly ill. Okay, maybe not deathly, but very uncomfortably ill, which has prevented me from getting the book done. But it will be out within the next few days! I'm merely going through it now for any final touches :)

Meanwhile, have a wonderful and safe New Year! I'll be on the couch in my pajamas coughing up my lungs! Woohoo!

Freebies

2011-12-16T16:58:00.010-05:00

In case you haven't noticed, I have a variety of free stories up and about. Which books?

Love Letters, which has two short stories, both historical romance.
Smashword Link
B&N Link

Wild Passion, which is a short story (historical paranormal) and connects to my other books, Wild Heart and Wild Desire.
Smashword Link
B&N Link

And just recently, the Ghost Hunter, a full length contemporary paranormal and the first book in a series, has been marked free. The second book, Demon Hunter, will be out in a couple weeks!
Smashwo rds Link
B&N Li nk

You can find all three stories free on Itunes/Apple, Barnes and Noble and Smashword. Why not Amazon? Well, because Amazon won't let an author mark their own book as free. They find the freebie and price match it. Even though I have told them they're free elsewhere, they have yet to mark them down. But funny enough, Love Letters is actually free on Amazon UK.

So, if you'd like to get them free on Amazon, I suggest emailing Amazon to let them know. On the book's Amazon page, there is a link you can click on that says "Tell us about a lower price." All you have to do is put in the lower price and the link to it. Hopefully Amazon will lower all three soon. Until then, if you have a kindle, you'll have to head over to Smashwords for a free download.

Happy Holidays!

Update: Wild Passion is now free on Amazon for Kindle!

Winner!

2011-12-15T21:19:00.001-05:00

The winner of the necklace and bracelet is...

blackroze37 !

Please email me your address and I'll mail that out.

Thanks everyone!

Wordless Wednesday; Charleston, S.C.

2011-12-14T07:41:00.016-05:00

Giveaway!

2011-12-05T17:15:00.008-05:00

Long post, so prepare....

The Demon Hunter (the second book in my Ghost Hunter series) is finished and receiving the final touches! It should be out toward the end of December.

Meanwhile...
I've got a special treat, two actually. The first is an excerpt! Read a few pages below to see if the Demon Hunter might be your cup of tea. After reading, make sure to go to the bottom of the post for a special giveaway.

There was no doubt about it, Ellie’s life was a cosmic joke.

A bad sitcom that refused to end. And apparently nothing had changed since leaving the familiarity of the U.S. and taking a job in England. Another country, another culture… all the same. Ridiculousness followed her even across the wide expanse of the ocean. But this—this newest episode in the comedy of errors that was her life—definitely took the prize.
She thought about nudging Miranda, but decided that interrupting her coworker mid-speech would only draw unwanted attention from the small crowd before them. Best to keep everyone oblivious as long as possible. Thank God for the cloak of night.

“And some say,” Miranda said to the clueless tour, “he still haunts the place even to this very day.”

There were a few ooohs and aaahs as the visitors mulled over the possibility of the former owner haunting the estate. If they only knew what really lurked behind them, those ooohs and aaahs would turn into screams of outrage, or even worse, horrified laughter.

Miranda’s speech finished, Eloise finally nudged her in the side and gave a discreet nod toward the man stumbling through the grass behind their group. Miranda followed Eloise’s gaze, confusion marring her elegant face. Spotting the man, her almond shaped eyes widened. Ellie looked away, giving a discreet cough to cover her laughter.

“Feel free to study the statue,” Miranda blurted to the crowd, pointing at the life-sized marble icon of the former owner that stood beside them.

Holy hell, she didn’t get paid enough to deal with this. As the visitors strolled around the grounds, dipping their fingers into the fountain in the middle of the garden, their shadows barely visible against the dark background of night, Eloise leaned close to Miranda, attempting to draw the least amount of attention she could. As if the huge Victorian gowns they wore didn’t draw enough attention. Lord Templeton insisted they dress in character to make the tours more authentic.

“Miranda, I’m not seeing things, right?” It was a legitimate question, for she had, upon occasion, seen things others didn’t. Her first foster family had called her insane. Perhaps, but she’d learned to accept her insanity, which was more than she could say for most people.

Miranda shook her head, the dark, silky bun at the back of her neck falling into a lopsided donut. “Nope. That’s one naked arse of a man.”

Ellie pulled the straw bonnet from her head and tossed it to the iron bench nestled between two yews. “Probably hazing from the university.”

Ellie wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry. She resigned herself to sighing long and loud, thankful that their small tour of five was focused on the statue and hadn’t noticed the man stumbling around like a naked mole rat that had seen too much light.

As if she hadn’t enough to deal with. Lord Templeton was making veiled threats to send her back to America, refusing to renew her work visa. The old grump didn’t care for her “Pollyanna” attitude, as he’d called it. Apparently he expected her to be dour and bitter, like him. Perhaps she was overly positive, but when one had been through what she had, it was either curl up and cry, or laugh. She chose to laugh. But laughing now would certainly not help matters. No man liked to be laughed at, and certainly not when he was naked.

“What should we do? Call the police?” Miranda asked with a casual disinterest that said they’d experienced way too many weird things since starting work at Crestmoore Manor.

Like they needed another police record. That would make five in one month. Just last week they’d had to call the cops because two women had gotten into a cat fight, claws and all, over whether ghosts were real or not.

Of course it had been her fault because she couldn’t control the crowds. It didn’t matter that it had been her idea to add the evening ghost tours to the house museum, doubling Lord Templeton’s pathetic income. According to Lord Templeton, they hadn’t had any mischief until Ellie had started work here. Yep, she was a troublemaker. Sadly, it wasn’t the first time she’d heard the word used to describe her.

Their naked intruder stumbled into a patch of moonlight, the eerie blue highlighting his body with a magical glow. Ellie stiffened, for a moment unable to breathe. No, not just a naked man, a hot naked man. So hot that she forgot her train of thought. Forgot everything around her, including their tour group.

Tall, blond, Nordic almost. He was like some Viking lost in time. Perhaps he was.
The man stumbled into the shadows, losing balance and falling into a yew tree.
Eloise cringed.

“Yikes,” Miranda murmured, crossing her arms over her mauve bodice. “That’s going to leave some marks and it’s definitely a shame. I might be a lesbian, but even I have eyes and he is gorgeous. Absolutely looks like that guy from that vampire show.”

She sure as hell couldn’t argue with that statement. Ellie glanced back to make sure the tour group was still enthralled with the small rose garden. “You get the group to the side of the house before they notice. I’ll take him to my cottage, see if I can figure out where he’s from.”

They watched him upright himself, then spin around again, as if looking for the culprit who had pushed him. Yep, drunk all right. A typical, drunken college student. Eloise brushed back a lock of brown hair that had come loose from the bun she’d attempted. She supposed in a situation like this it was best to think rationally, but that was rather hard to do with a naked man fumbling around in front of you. Thank God thick gray clouds were currently making their way across the bright moon.

“You sure that’s safe?”

Ellie almost snorted. If Miranda had any idea of the things she’d come into contact with. One man, even if he was rather tall and muscled, didn’t frighten her. “I’ll be fine, but if I’m not back in five, call the cops.”

Miranda winked. “Or I’ll just assume he’s even better looking close up. If the cottage is a-rocking…”

She rolled her eyes. “Miranda Chin, he might be hot, but I’m not that desperate.”
Miranda raised a dark brow, giving Ellie a dubious glance. Her friend had made it clear upon many occasions that Ellie needed to get out more… date… get laid. But it didn’t matter how annoyingly blunt Miranda could be, nor did it matter that they’d only known each other for three months, Eloise still loved her like a sister.

Fortunately Miranda kept her impure thoughts to herself and instead, merely clapped her hands like a teacher attempting to gain the attention of wayward students. “All right, let’s move forward then. Hurry now.”

The crowd followed Miranda’s wide mauve skirts, oblivious to the fact that there was a naked man behind them. As the crowd faded, headed toward the side of the building and taking their murmured conversation with them, Ellie edged ever closer to her target, cringing when her green gown rustled with the movement. Sort of hard to do a sneak attack when dressed like Cinderella’s ugly stepsister. Until she knew otherwise, she’d treat him like a wild animal… no sudden movements, keep a distance.

Her gaze traveled his lean body, appreciating the taunt muscles of his back. As he turned, ever so slightly so the moonlight hit his back, the dark shadows burst into tattoos… wings. She’d never found tattoos sexy, but these were… stunning. He was like an archangel…a fallen angel.

The intruder latched onto the branch of a yew tree and paused, his back to her. His broad shoulders rose and fell with each harsh intake of breath. Dark shadows marred his skin. Confused, she stepped even closer to get a better look. Perhaps he wasn’t drunk, maybe injured. Her annoyance shifted to concern.

She pasted on her best Pollyanna smile. “Hello, there.”

The man spun around, eyes flashing, private parts dangling. Impressive private parts.

“Oh…oh wow. Okay.” She held her hand in front of her face, peeking between her splayed fingers. Crap. Miranda was right; he was hot. Really, really hot. Firm, kissable lips, square jaw, straight nose…and sweat… sweat glistening across his forehead, down his broad chest.

She cleared her throat and forced her gaze upward. “You realize you’re not wearing any clothes, by chance?”

He moved faster than she thought humanly possible. Suddenly, he was in front of her, latching onto her arm and jerking her forward. In a dizzying whirl, Ellie found her back to his chest, one of his arms around her neck, the other around her waist. Stunned, she didn’t dare move.

His warm breath caressed her cheek. “Who the hell are you?”

Now for the giveaway...

No book this time. I'm actually giving away a necklace and bracelet made especially for the Demon Hunter. You'll have to read the story to see how they relate to the book.

If you'd like a chance to win, just leave a comment and a way for me to get ahold of you. Overseas entries are fine. Chains are sterling silver, although pendants and charms are not.

Necklace: Chain is about 16 inches long, so sort of short. Pendant is a quartz crystal and a bit large at 1in x 3/4s in.

Bracelet: Chain is about 7 inches long.

As I said, just leave a comment. The 1 winner will be picked Thursday, Dec. 15th and receive both the bracelet and necklace.

No refunds, returns or exchanges :)

Wordless Wednesday: Islands of South Carolina

2011-11-29T22:09:00.019-05:00

Freebies!

2011-11-17T20:32:00.008-05:00

I'm slowly getting two of my short stories up for free, but it's taking awhile to get through the systems. First, is Love Letters which has two short stories (historical romance) and has been out for awhile. Right now it's free on Smashwords and Itunes/Apple. I'd link Itunes if I knew how :) Hopefully sometime soon it will be free on B&N and then Amazon.

Update! Love Letters is now free on Barnes and Noble! Hopefully Amazon will find it soon and mark it free as well :)

The second short story is Wild Passion which is the last installment of my Wild Series (Wild Heart and Wild Desire). This short story was originally in the Kiss Me, Kill Me anthology. If you haven't had a chance to read the short story, you can get it now for free on Smashwords and Itunes/Apple. Again, hopefully it will eventually be free on B&N and Amazon.

On a side note, I'm still hard at work on the Demon Hunter and I'm hoping it will be out toward the end of December.

Wordless Wednesday; Ft. Walton, Fl

2011-11-15T22:54:00.002-05:00

Guest post: Jackie Barbosa

2011-11-10T07:05:00.001-05:00

Hi all! Jackie Barbosa is guest blogging at Magical Musings. There is also a link to her free short story! Make sure to stop by and say hello :)

http://magicalmusings.com/2011/11/10/guest-blog-jackie-barbosa/

Wordless Wednesday; Ft. Walton, FL

2011-11-09T09:06:00.002-05:00

God Save the Queen!

2011-11-03T21:44:00.002-04:00

My lovely friend Nadia sent this to me and I had to share :) All in good fun, of course!

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

In light of your immediate failure to financially manage yourselves and also in recent years your tendency to elect incompetent Presidents of the USA and therefore not able to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy).

Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated sometime next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').

------------------------

2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.'

-------------------

3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

-----------------

4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not ready to shoot grouse.

----------------------

5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

----------------------

6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

--------------------

7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.

-------------------

8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed, not with ketchup, but with vinegar.

-------------------

9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. New Zealand beer is also acceptable, as New Zealand is pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

---------------------

10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Mac Dowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.

---------------------

11. You will cease playing American football. There are only two kinds of proper football; one you call soccer, and rugby (dominated by the New Zealanders). Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

---------------------

12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the Australians (World dominators) first to take the sting out of their deliveries.

--------------------

13. You must tell us who killed JFK.

It's been driving us mad.

-----------------

14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).

---------------

15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

God Save the Queen!

Is 3 the new 4?

2011-11-03T10:12:00.002-04:00

Way back when people first started reviewing books you'd see a lot of 4's (on a 1-5 scale). A 4 meant the person liked the book. It was good, but not perfect. Lately, I've noticed a shift in scores. There are a lot more 3's (and even 2's) out there with comments along the same lines that we used to use for 4's, "good, but not perfect."

Technically, a 3 is average (in fact slightly above). Let's face it, most books probably are average for a reader. But average isn't bad. On Goodreads, a 3 means "I liked It." Not too shabby at all. If someone said to me, "I liked your book," I'd be thrilled! But let's face it, if you went to Amazon looking for a book, you most likely wouldn't buy a book that had an average of 3, or even a 3.5. At least I don't. Unless I've heard crazy things about the book, or bought it before I saw the score. But if I'm looking for a certain subject and don't know the book or author, I look at the score and the amount of reviews.

Maybe a 3 seems bad because its so close to the dreaded 2. So I'm torn about the number 3. What's your opinion?

Wordless Wednesday: Jekyll Island

2011-11-01T22:24:00.002-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T12:45:00.006-04:00

Going Ons

2011-10-13T13:16:00.004-04:00

I've been hard at work on a variety of books. I'm the sort of author who can work on more than one book at a time. In fact, I enjoy writing that way, at least for the rough drafts. I like to be able to take a break with one book and clear my mind by working on another. So right now...what am I working on?

The Demon Hunter, which is book two of The Ghost Hunter. The Demon Hunter will be out in December and stars Devon (from The Ghost Hunter).

A Night of Redemption, which is book two, following A Night of Secrets. This will star Beth and Nate who are introduced in A Night of Secrets. A Night of Redemption will be out in Spring of next year.

The Mind Readers 2! I don't have a title yet. It will most likely be self published (as is book 1), but I am looking into making both book 1 and 2 available in print as well as ebook. I'm hoping it will be out in Spring as well.

And a new book titled The MatchMaker, a contemporary paranormal and new series. Not sure when this book will be out, but definitely by spring.

Eventually I will start work on the second book in the seduction series (To Seduce an Earl, book 1). I also have many, many other ideas as well. So come back for more updates! Or feel free to email if you have any questions!

All of my self published books are still only 99 cents! Make sure to get them while they're on sale!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-11T23:22:00.004-04:00

Ebook Sale!

2011-10-09T23:13:00.004-04:00

Here in the United States, we're getting ready for a slew of holidays. First, comes Halloween. If you don't know what it is, Halloween is a night when children (and some parents) dress in costume and go door to door asking for candy. Halloween goes back to old Celtic times, but we won't get into that just yet.

To celebrate Halloween, I decided to lower my paranormal self-published Ebooks to 99 cents for a limited time! So, for the next couple weeks, you can get The Mind Readers, A Night of Secrets, The Ghost Hunter and even To Seduce an Earl for 99 cents. To Seduce an Earl isn't exactly paranormal, but that's okay. Just follow the links below!

The Mind Readers: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

A Night of Secrets: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

The Ghost Hunter: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

To Seduce an Earl: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

In other news, I'm still hard at work on The Demon Hunter, the second book in the Ghost Hunter series. And it will still be out around December, just in time for Christmas:) Have a great week!

Review!

2011-10-05T21:39:00.004-04:00

Last week I got an amazing review from the esteemed Library Journal! It's the first review I've received from them and what makes it even better was that it was for one of my self-published books. Interested? Read it below!

Brighton, author of five other books (e.g., Wild Heart; Wild Desire), focuses her most recent novel on a world rarely evoked in historical fiction: male prostitution. As odd a subject as that might seem, it makes for one surprisingly engaging story. At the core are Grace, a penniless member of the ton, and Alex, a man who escaped from his past by joining a brothel.

Verdict Brighton provides an original story line, well-developed characters, and a plot-full of perfect amounts of sexual intrigue, twists, and lulls that allow the atmosphere of 1860s England to develop. The superb editing also shines. Fans of Johanna Lindsey will enjoy this work, which furthers the idea that self-publishing is not something to scoff at.—Audrey M. Jones

Being compared to Johanna Lindsey?! I'll take that!

If you haven't had the chance yet to read my historical romance, To Seduce an Earl, leave a comment! I'm giving away an Ecopy or two!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-05T06:56:00.001-04:00

Giveaways!

2011-09-27T09:59:00.002-04:00

Hi all! Hope you're doing well. I'm on two blogs this week and doing giveaways.

Offbeat Vagabond

and

Magical Musings!

So, stop by to say hi or for your chance to win books!

Available Now!

2011-09-09T09:31:00.003-04:00

Entangled is now available! I've been reading the short stories and they're super fun! It's definitely worth the $2.99. If you don't know about Entangled, read below!

Authors4TheCure Donating Book Proceeds To Breast Cancer Research

Eleven authors have banded together to support breast cancer research with their writing. Authors4theCure, which includes award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors, as well as two breast cancer survivors, is donating proceeds from the sale of their paranormal anthology, Entangled, to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF).

BCRF-funded research has helped save lives and improved the quality of care and rate of survival for tens of thousands of breast cancer patients in the past decade. Their research has revealed that the "cure" is a mosaic made up of as many approaches to diagnosing, treating, preventing and surviving as there are different types of breast cancer. The anthology is also a mosaic made up of many stories donated for this worthwhile cause.

Entangled includes ten suspense-filled paranormal stories from authors Lori Brighton, Michelle Diener, Cynthia Eden, Jennifer Estep, Misty Evans, Nancy Haddock, Liz Kreger, Dale Mayer, Michelle Miles, and Edie Ramer, plus a novella by Allison Brennan. Stacia Kane contributed the foreword and the book’s formatting and cover art were also donated to the project.

Entangled is available as an ebook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and other online retailers.

Interested in the stories? Read the blurbs below!

HALLOWEEN FROST by USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Estep (author of the Mythos Academy, Elemental Assassin, and Bigtime series) — It's Halloween at Mythos Academy, but Gwen Frost and her friends are in for more tricks than treats when they run into a mythological monster intent on killing them.

THE FAT CAT by Edie Ramer (author of Cattitude, Galaxy Girls) — In a battle for the souls of seven women, a wizard has the god of war on his side; all the witch has is a fat, black cat.

MEDIUM RARE by Nancy Haddock (author of the Oldest City Vampire trilogy) —What’s spooking the spirits of St. Augustine? As the witching hour of Halloween approaches, ghost seer Colleen Cotton must team with a by-the-book paranormal investigator to locate the one ghost who can save the city’s specters. If she fails, her own great grandfather’s spirit may be lost forever.

SWEET DEMON by Misty Evans (author of the Witches Anonymous series) —When Chicago’s vampire king insists Kali Sweet join his empire, the vengeance demon must rely on her ex – the half-human, half-chaos demon who left her at the altar three hundred years ago – in order to escape the vamp’s clutches.

SIAN’S SOLUTION by Dale Meyer (author of the Psychic Visions series) — When a vampire discovers the human man she loves has been captured and hung in a blood farm, she goes against her own kind and risks everything to save him.

A BIT OF BITE by Cynthia Eden (author of NEVER CRY WOLF and ANGEL OF DARKNESS) — A killer is stalking the streets of Crossroads, Mississippi, and it's up to Sheriff Ava Dushaine to stop him. But when suspicion falls on werewolf alpha Julian Kasey—Ava’s ex-lover and the man who still haunts her dreams—Ava knows that she'll either have to prove his innocence...or watch the whole town go up in flames.

SINFULLY SWEET by Michelle Miles (author of the Coffee House series) — When Chloe bakes a little magic into her pastries, she attracts the attention of Edward, the sexy half-demon, half-witch, who’s come to warn her those who murdered her sister are now after her.

A NIGHT OF FOREVER by Lori Brighton (author of A Night of Secrets and To Seduce an Earl) — Who is Aidan Callaghan? Mary Ellen James is intent on uncovering the truth about the mysterious man, but as she soon finds out, some things are best left buried in the past.

FEEL THE MAGIC by Liz Kreger (author of the Part of Tomorrow series) — Jenna Carmichael’s magical attempt to rectify Jessica Manfield’s birth identity takes an unexpected turn when the past comes back to haunt her.

BREAKING OUT by Michelle Diener (author of the Tudor-set historical suspense novel In A Treacherous Court) — Imprisoned in a secret facility, powerful telekinetic Kelli Barrack and two other 'special' inmates grab a chance to escape, only to confront their worst nightmares on the outside.

GHOSTLY JUSTICE, an all-new Seven Deadly Sins novella by New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan (author of the Seven Deadly Sins series) — Demon hunters Moira O’Donnell and Rafe Cooper are dragged into the dangerous world of nocturnal predators to find “Ghostly Justice” for a virgin sacrificed to an ancient blood demon.

A New Version of Belle

2011-09-08T13:26:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Cousin Aaron (my cousin, not yours), who sent me this clip, we have a new and hilarious version of Beauty and the Beast, my favorite Disney movie! The maker, Wehoguy, is awesome! And let's hope he does another remake! Warning, there is cursing :)

Coming Soon!

2011-09-07T19:45:00.004-04:00

I heard your pleas for Devon's story, and I'm happy to tell you that I'm currently hard at work on the Demon Hunter!

This book two in the Hunter Series, will star Devon (first introduced in the Ghost Hunter) and Ellie, a brand new heroine!

Check out the cover! I can thank the wonderfully talented Kim Killion at Hot Damn Designs for the cover.

The Demon Hunter will be out in December of this year!

Huge Giveaway at The Season!

2011-08-22T09:00:00.003-04:00

Author Beverley Kendall is having a huge giveaway at her site, The Season. Read the info below and follow the link if you're interested!

This week The Season is celebrating its 2nd Anniversary and I'm throwing a HUGE Giveaway Bash.

From August 22nd - 26th, I'll be giving away 125 print books - 5 winners a day will receive 5 books each. On Friday, I'll also be giving away digital books.

Correctly answer the daily questions posted on the blog and you'll also have a chance to win 2(two) $15 eGift Cards and the Grand Prize-- an eReader. Winner gets to pick between a Nook, Kindle or Kobo Touch.

Check out The Season to find out more!

Coming Soon!

2011-08-09T11:32:00.004-04:00

Awhile back, the lovely Edie Ramer asked me if I'd like to provide a short story to an anthology she and some other authors were writing for charity. I readily agreed and that anthology will soon be released! Interested? Read the press release below!

Authors4TheCure Donating Book Proceeds To Breast Cancer Research

Eleven authors have banded together to support breast cancer research with their writing. Authors4theCure, which includes award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors, as well as two breast cancer survivors, is donating proceeds from the sale of their paranormal anthology, Entangled, to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF).

BCRF-funded research has helped save lives and improved the quality of care and rate of survival for tens of thousands of breast cancer patients in the past decade. Their research has revealed that the "cure" is a mosaic made up of as many approaches to diagnosing, treating, preventing and surviving as there are different types of breast cancer. The anthology is also a mosaic made up of many stories donated for this worthwhile cause.

Entangled includes ten suspense-filled paranormal stories from authors Lori Brighton, Michelle Diener, Cynthia Eden, Jennifer Estep, Misty Evans, Nancy Haddock, Liz Kreger, Dale Mayer, Michelle Miles, and Edie Ramer, plus a novella by Allison Brennan. Stacia Kane contributed the foreword and the book’s formatting and cover art were also donated to the project.

Entangled will be released September 12, 2011, and will be available as an ebook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and other online retailers.

How cool is that? Designer Laura Morrigan donated the cover and I just adore it! I believe most of the stories will be contemporary paranormal romance, but my short story will actually be a historical paranormal, staring Mary Ellen from A Night of Secrets. So, make sure to mark your calendars. And as always, if you're a reviewer and would like a PDF copy for review, feel free to email me!

What's Next?

2011-08-07T18:49:00.003-04:00

I get a lot of questions asking when my next book will be out. Since I'm self-publishing, its pretty much up to me, but I'm trying to be fair by going in order.

So...

Right now I'm working on the second book in The Ghost Hunter series. Book two will be called The Demon Hunter and should be out in November or December. This book will star Devon, who we met in The Ghost Hunter.

Second on my list will be book two of the Night Series. Book two will be called A Night of Redemption and will be out in late Spring of next year. Book two will star Beth (from book 1, A Night of Secrets).

Then, the second book in the Seduction series (To Seduce an Earl, book 1) will release in about 9 months to a year. Yikes! I know, its a long time. Sorry! The second book will star Gideon.

And finally, The Mind Readers, which is still the book I get the most questions about :) As you may or may not know, The Mind Readers is in N.Y. Yes... still.... That's the way of N.Y. They take forever. Because it sold to Brazil, I decided to get an agent and we decided to try and sell it to N.Y. so it could get to more readers. So basically The Mind Readers is tied up in N.Y. and will be for months. I have started work on book 2 and there will be a book 3 as well. So no matter what happens, if N.Y. buys it or not, the other two books will be published.

Of course I have plenty of other books just waiting to be written; historical romances, contemporary paranormal and young adult books.

New Release!

2011-07-27T15:55:00.004-04:00

*Sorry! Sale is over :(

My newest historical romance, To Seduce an Earl, is finally available on Smashwords, Barnes and Noble and Amazon!

For a limited time this Ebook is only 99 cents! This sale will only last this week, so if you want a copy, get it before the price goes up :)

Read the blurb below to see if it's your cup of tea.

On the outskirts of London in a meadow of lavender, sits a house of esteemed ill repute. But this is no house geared toward pleasing men. No, this house is for women who have come to seek their own delight. And for three young ladies it’s where they’ll find something completely unexpected…true love.

Grace Brisbane will do whatever it takes to save her dying mother, but with a stepbrother intent on gambling and drinking, their funds have run dry. What’s a girl to do when she’s left poor and destitute? Seduce an Earl, of course. Handsome and rich, the Earl of Rodrick is the perfect target. Unfortunately, Rodrick despises innocent virgins. There’s only one place where Grace can learn the secrets of seduction… Lavender Hills. The moment Grace spots Alex, the man who will teach her the ways of intimacy, she knows she must guard her heart. Alex is charming and gorgeous and completely inappropriate.

As a young man, Alex Weston is blackmailed into working at Lavender Hills in order to save his family from London ’s prisons. There could be worse ways to spend his days and nights. Still, seduction has become a chore and thoughts of freedom keep him up at night. Until he receives a new client, the sweet Grace Brisbane. He should be thinking only of his growing need to escape, instead he’s captivated by the lovely Grace. The more time they spend together, the more he realizes that their brief meetings aren’t enough. For while marriage between a lady and a whore could never happen, Alex knows in his heart that he is willing to accept nothing less.

As a warning, this book is rated R and for adults only!

Guest Blog

2011-07-21T08:28:00.002-04:00

Hi All! I have a guest blogger at Magical Musings today, author Beverley Kendall. Stop by and say hi if you have time!

The Ghost Hunter Goes to Brazil!

2011-07-16T17:19:00.004-04:00

As I mentioned awhile back, I sold The Ghost Hunter, The Mind Readers and A Night of Secrets to Brazil. Well, just recently I noticed The Ghost Hunter on their site!

I have no idea what it says, nor do I really get the cover with the palm tree, but I don't mind! It's still fun to see!

In other news....

To Seduce an Earl will be available within the next week or so! This is the first full length Ebook I've written that is a straight historical, no paranormal. I'm eager to see what people think of Alex (who is most definitely not an earl) and Grace (who needs an earl to save her family). The book has a little humor, a little spice and a lot of emotion!

Of course I'll announce the release as soon as it's available and I'll probably give away an Ecopy or two ;)

Giveaway!

2011-07-05T08:57:00.003-04:00

Hi All! I'm over at Magical Musings today and giving away a signed copy of Ally Carter's Heist Society! Stop by and leave a comment for your chance to win!

Winners!

2011-06-07T09:36:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone! Hope you're doing well :)

A special thanks to designer Betsy for guest blogging! And now... the winners of the necklace sets from Coconut Beach are...

Edie
and
Blodeuedd

Remember, if you didn't win you can still use the coupon to get 15% off! Just type in ROMANCE when ordering (caps).

Today I'm blogging at Magical Musings and giving away a signed copy of Wendy Wax's Ten Beach Road. So stop by for your chance to win!

Interview and Giveaway with Betsy from Coconut Beach!

2011-05-30T08:10:00.015-04:00

I've said it before and I absolutely mean it, the best thing about writing are the people I meet! Betsy, from Coconut Beach, is one such woman I met awhile ago and fortunately we've kept in touch. She is one of the sweetest and most generous artists I know! Betsy has started her own business designing clothing and jewelry, perfect for the beach! And you all know how much I love the beach!

Not only has Betsy agreed to an interview, but she's also giving away a necklace and earring set to two people who leave a comment!

Join me in welcoming Betsy to the blog!

Tell us about your company: Coconut Beach is a new-age paradise for coastal lovers. The products are hand-made with a lot of love and the spirit of the ocean is imbued into everything I make! Essentially I make seaside inspired clothing and accessories for women, but I hope to expand in the future to include a line for children, men & mommies to be.

Have you always been creative? Yes, always! I’ve always had an artistic life-style, but I wasn’t able to bring my vision to life until recently. That’s where Coconut Beach came in. All my beachy items reflect it too!

You design jewelry and clothing. Do you have a favorite?

That’s a tough one. When an idea comes to me, I put so much love into it that I end up adoring each and every piece I make. If I had to choose one piece of jewelry it would be the nautical bracelets with rare glass beads. A friend taught me how to make them and it was the first thing I ever made. As for clothing, I have a new “Beach Couture” line coming soon and I love everything in it!

I love those bracelets too! One of my favorites. Where do you get your inspiration? Mainly from the different beaches I’ve been to. Also the fact that I’m from the islands, my husband is a surfer and my brother’s hobby is sailing might have something to do with it. The fabrics and beads inspire me too. That’s usually where an idea starts for me. And music inspires me!

What advice would you give aspiring artists?

Be creative! Put your ideas on paper and believe with your whole heart you can do it. Also let your family be the basis of your support.

What do you do when you’re not working? Any hobbies?

Well being a mom, a wife and a new designer doesn’t leave much time for hobbies, but I do LOVE my Romance Novels! When I do take time off, I like to do projects like decorating, making furniture, gardening and painting.

Since many of my visitors are readers, what do you like to read?
Historic Romance Novels are my absolute favorite! (Need I mention that my favorite all time author is Ms. Lori Brighton?) I also enjoy reading inspirational books, but Romance novels are my one true love, my guilty pleasure.

Where can we find you on the web? (facebook, etsy site)
coconutbeach.etsy.com
bebebets@facebook.com

What can we expect from you in the future?
I would love to make coastal household Items in addition to what I make now. It would be a one stop shop for all things coastal.

* I know this isn’t the Oscars but I’d like to thank Ms. Lori Brighton for believing in me. She told me about Etsy and motivated me to open up a shop. I’d also like to thank my mom for giving me my very own sewing machine and for being my guide. My brother for inspiring me & supporting me constantly. My husband for taking countless pictures in the hot sun and for financing this venture. My sister for being my jewelry mentor. My sister in law for inspiring me with her impeccable sense of style. My cousin for reminding me of my love of beachy jewelry. Thanks to my Etsy mentor for all her marketing tips and motivation. She's the sweetest! My uncle for being a web genius and sharing his wisdom with me. And most importantly, I’d like to thank my hero, my son who gives me inspiration, motivation and support on a daily basis. I love you. All of you have helped make my dream a reality. From the bottom of my heart, Thank you!

A special thanks to Betsy for stopping by and for the giveaway!

Remember to leave a comment for your chance to win a necklace and earring set (see left and right)! Remember to leave an email so I can get ahold of you. Also, one more special treat.... Betsy is giving my readers a coupon for 15% off their purchase! Just type in ROMANCE when ordering (caps). This coupon is good until the end of June! Contest ends Friday.

P.S. Once again Blogspot is behaving badly. If you can't get your comment to stick, email me! loribrighton(at)yahoo.com

Just Released: Love Letters

2011-05-21T14:06:00.005-04:00

Hi all! My Anthology, Love Letters, is now available for 99 cents on Smashwords, Amazon and Barnes and Noble! Read the blurbs below. The first story was on my website at one time, in case it sounds familiar. The second story is new!

These two short stories will delight the lover of historical romance!

The Art of Seduction

Clara Cameron will do anything to escape her impending marriage to the odious Lord Desmond, even if it means posing nude for artist Brendon Evans, the man she once loved. It’s been years since they’ve seen each other, but Clara’s love for Brendon hasn’t diminished. Will Brendon recognize Clara and admit his feelings for the woman before Lord Desmond comes calling, claiming Clara for his own?

Meant For Me

For years Cynthia Shaw has replied to Gabriel Baston’s letters, pretending to be his fiancé, Cynthia’s wretched cousin Helen. When Gabriel appears at a masked ball and mistakes Cynthia for Helen, she can’t help herself and gives her innocence to the man she has loved for years. Will Lord Kennwick realize Cynthia was meant for him before it’s too late?

This anthology is approximately 30,000 words and is appropriate only for adults!

Want a chance to read the two short stories? Just leave a comment and I'll pick a couple winners in a few days!

Coming Soon, Part 2!

2011-05-18T21:48:00.006-04:00

I have two short stories that never sold. One you might have read, it used to be on my website. The other has never been read. I decided I might as well throw them together and put them on sale! So starting this weekend, they'll be posted together on Smashwords, Barnes and Noble and Amazon as an ebook. Two short stories, historical romances, about 30,000 words altogether at 99 cents. Want to see the cover? My friend and fellow author Harris Channing designed it for me!

Look for Love Letters soon!

P.S. Harris has links to two free short stories on her blog! Download them while you can!

Winner and Magical Musings

2011-05-10T07:28:00.002-04:00

Hi all! First, I'll announce the winner of Saving Grace and Must Love Kilts...

StacieDM!

About a month ago I started guest blogging at a site called Magical Musings. If you haven't been there, I highly suggest visiting. I'll be on that blog about once a month and I'd love for you all to stop by. Today I'm there talking about romantic books and giving away two historical romances, The Secret Duke and Taken by the Prince. Stop by for your chance to win!

Coming Soon!

2011-04-27T19:14:00.006-04:00

I haven't mentioned much about my next release, but since I now have a cover, I thought I'd share! The cover was made by the amazing Kim Killion at Hot Damn Designs. It's a historical romance and I'm a bit nervous because it's the first historical romance I've written with no paranormal! Just straight romance! I so love the hero and heroine and hope you will too! It will be out in two to three weeks, Ebook only, unfortunately. If you're interested in To Seduce an Earl, read the blurb below!

On the outskirts of London in a meadow of lavender, sits a house of esteemed ill repute. But this is no house geared toward pleasing men. No, this house is for women who have come to seek their own delight. And for three young ladies it’s where they’ll find something completely unexpected…true love.

Grace Brisbane will do whatever it takes to save her dying mother, but with a stepbrother intent on gambling and drinking, their funds have run dry. What’s a girl to do when she’s left poor and destitute? Seduce an Earl, of course. Handsome and rich, the Earl of Rodrick is the perfect target. Unfortunately, Rodrick despises innocent virgins. There’s only one place where Grace can learn the secrets of seduction… Lavender Hills. The moment Grace spots Alex, the man who will teach her the ways of intimacy, she knows she must guard her heart. Alex is charming and gorgeous and completely inappropriate.

As a young man, Alex Weston is blackmailed into working at Lavender Hills in order to save his family from London ’s prisons. There could be worse ways to spend his days and nights. Still, seduction has become a chore and thoughts of freedom keep him up at night. Until he receives a new client, the sweet Grace Brisbane. He should be thinking only of his growing need to escape, instead he’s captivated by the lovely Grace. The more time they spend together, the more he realizes that their brief meetings aren’t enough. For while marriage between a lady and a whore could never happen, Alex knows in his heart that he is willing to accept nothing less.

There's still time to enter to win 2 Medieval romances! Read the blog below to enter.

Headed Back In Time

2011-04-20T22:19:00.008-04:00

It's time for the annual Renaissance/Medieval festivals to start! Here in the south, we have a lovely fair with permanent buildings made to look like the English Tudor style. If you've never been to a Renaissance Fair, I highly suggest attending. They'll often have deals, such as two for one on tickets, which makes it worth going. The jokes and attendees can be raunchy, the woman's clothing can be gaudy and low cut, but it's still fun! A Renaissance Festival is one place where adults can dress up.

There are a variety of things to buy, foods to try and shows to watch. Of course you must see the jousting! It's not a real Renaissance festival without a joust! Usually there will be a Bird of Prey show as birds were often used to hunt during the time period. Children love to see the birds swoop and fly over the audience. We also saw a sheep herding demonstration. And there are plenty, and plenty of comedy shows.

Because I'm in the Medieval mood, I'm giving away two Medieval books! The first is Saving Grace by my favorite author of all time, Julie Garwood, who made me fall in love with romance novels! She writes the absolute best heroes, imo. The other book is a new release I found while searching the store, Must Love Kilts by Allie MacKay... a real, actual time travel! Remember those? They still do exist! So just leave a comment and I'll pick 1 winner in a couple days.

P.S. These are romances for adults.... so rated R!

Email

2011-04-16T15:52:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! Hope you're having a great weekend. Just a quick note to let you know that if I haven't responded to an email, its not because I don't want to! A few times now I've responded, only to have the email bounce. I don't know if its because someone typed their address incorrectly, or if its something wrong with my site. If it's important and I don't respond, email me again, or leave a comment in one of the newest blog posts. And to the person who emailed me today, yes, there will be a Ghost Hunter two. Just not sure when it will be out yet :)

Magical Musings

2011-04-12T08:13:00.003-04:00

My friend and fellow author Edie Ramer invited me to join her group Magical Musings. Although I'm so busy I barely have time to sleep, I knew I had to jump at the chance to join these wonderful, talented women. So, today is my first post there! Stop by and leave a comment. I'm giving away Wild Desire and some Ebooks.

Winner!

2011-04-11T09:31:00.002-04:00

The winner of Wild Desire and Archangel's Consort is.... The Itzel Library! Send me your mailing address and I'll get those to you.

New Cover

2011-04-05T15:35:00.004-04:00

I recently had the cover for The Ghost Hunter remade by the fabulous Kim Killion at Hot Damn Designs.

To celebrate, I've lowered the price of the book to 99 cents! You can find the Ebook on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords. But the 99 cents is only for a limited time!!!

There's also still time to enter the contest in the blog below!

P.S. It may take a day or so for the new price to show up so keep checking back on the sites listed!

Giveaway!

2011-04-02T07:11:00.004-04:00

Okay, giveaway time, just because :)

Which books? Well, I'm giving away a signed copy of Wild Desire and a copy of Nalini Singh's Archangel's Consort.

Just leave a comment and email addy! I'll pick 1 winner next weekend.

In The News...

2011-03-25T20:30:00.003-04:00

First, I want to thank everyone who has emailed me about my books. You don't know what a thrill it is to receive positive feedback. When I worked in the Museum they told us that the thing you'll hear most often is negative feedback. I'm sure those of you who work understand that. Well, for an author it's the same. Often it seems like we hear mostly negativity. So when a reader takes the time to write an encouraging email or review, you don't know how much we appreciate it!

With that said.... I've gotten more emails about The Mind Readers than all of my other books put together. Everyone wants to know about a book 2! There will be 3 books in all, although book 1 is only available right now.

As you may remember, awhile back I mentioned that I signed with a new agent. I did this because I had gotten such an amazing response for The Mind Readers and I've had quite a few people ask me if it will ever be in print. An agent would be able to try to sell it to a N.Y. Publisher who would put it in print and get the book to more readers. An agent would also be able to sell overseas rights and movie rights. How cool would a Mind Readers movie be?!!!!

So this week my agent sent The Mind Readers to N.Y. It's with quite a few editors. If someone buys the book, they will publish the series. If it doesn't sell to N.Y., no need to worry, I'll still self publish book 2 and 3.

The N.Y. version actually has a few minor changes; added info, added scenes. Nothing major, but just a little extra. If it doesn't sell, I'll upload the new version as well.

I'd love for it to sell to N.Y. because it would be in print and Ebook format, it would get to a lot more people and I'd have a better chance at Overseas and Movie sales. But if it doesn't sell, that's fine too! Book 2 and 3 will still be available sometime in the future. They're all planned out, by the way, so I do know what will happen! Oh, and to let you know.... just recently I sold the Ebook rights to Brazil! The Mind Readers' first overseas sale!

Winners!

2011-03-24T21:37:00.005-04:00

I have a couple winners to announce. First, the winner of Harris Channing's The Demon Is In The Details....

Blodeuedd!

And the winner of Kelly Moran's Summer's Road is...

Tea!

Please email me so I can contact the authors. A special thanks to the authors for stopping by and to those of you who left comments :)

Interview with Kelly Moran

2011-03-17T09:10:00.012-04:00

I've known Kelly for awhile through her awesome blog where she has many author interviews and giveaways. If you haven't visited, I suggest you stop by! You never know who will be there.

But Kelly doesn't just promote other writers, she's also an author of romance and children's books. Join me in welcoming Kelly to the blog!

Tell us something about yourself that you’ve never told in an interview.

Hmm. Like what? Like... Peanut butter and pickle sandwiches are my comfort food? Or I think Lady Gaga and Katy Perry are talentless hacks? Or the show Forensic Files calms me down and helps me sleep? Oh, I know! I have a tattoo of a lizard on my ankle! How's that?

You work part time, you have an amazing blog, you’re a book reviewer, you write your own books and you’re a mom. How in the world do you manage it all?

Well, if you promise not to tell the government, I secretly cloned myself so I can get everything done. LOL. Seriously, I just manage my time really well. I work part time in healthcare, so everything else except the kids goes around that. I feel like my interviews on the blog and book reviews help me be a better author. Ergo, I have my author schedule set up far in advance so I just have to post it come that time. I read my review books before going to bed. I write a little of my own manuscripts every morning and weekends. And spending time with my kids is rewarding and gives me inspiration to keep going. I feel showing them how hard I work at my dream teaches them a valuable lesson in how to obtain theirs someday, whatever that may be. (Currently they both want to be Spiderman.) To each his own.

Is there a dream author you’d love to interview on your blog, or one you have interviewed?

I've interviewed NY TIMES bestsellers Karen Rose, Larisa Ione, and Caridad Pineiro twice each. Which was so cool. But I'd love to have Carla Neggers or Nicholas Sparks one day. I've reviewed several of their books for their publishers, but haven't been able to get them on. They did both however send me a nice email and signed the guestbook on my site.

You write children’s books, poetry and woman’s fiction (romance). Okay, tough question time… if you had to pick just one, which would it be?

LOL. Believe it or not, this isn't a tough one. Romance was always my true calling. When I was a kid I began writing poetry as an outlet, and eventually had some published. When I had my kids, I started writing kids books and love it. But romance... there's thousands of plots and characters in my head for future books.

For your children’s books, how do you find an illustrator, or do you draw the pictures yourself?

Actually, I've known my illustrator most of my life. She's my best friend and an uber talented artist. She has a graphic design degree from UWM and works as a veterinary assistant. I tell her my ideas for a kids book, and like the story comes to me, the pictures come to her. It's a great fit. She has a page on my Web site with some of her art if interested. http://www.authorkellymoran.com/

Can you tell us about your newest release?

Summer's Road is a single title contemporary romance set in beautiful South Carolina. It's not only a story about finding love right in front of you, but about home, grief, friendship, and forgiveness. Here's a blurb:

After her father’s death, Summer Quinn realizes just how alone she feels in the world. With no family to fill her life now, she finds comfort among friends, but yearns for true love, contentment, and family. When her boyfriend, Matt, suggests they raise their relationship to a higher level, Summer jumps at the chance to get everything she’s always wanted. Only, she doesn’t expect the heat arising between her and her best friend, Ian – a man who never seems to settle down. A man the complete opposite of what she’s looking for. But when her estranged mother reappears after twenty-eight years, Summer’s world completely flips upside down. As secrets from her family’s past and Ian’s true feelings for her emerge, Summer’s now faced with choices she’s not sure she can make. The rest of her life’s happiness hinges on her confronting a past she’d rather deny and legitimately opening her heart to love, even if it’s not where she expected to find it.

What other books do you have available?

Idle Thursday (2009) is a literature novella told from the viewpoint of a dead housewife. The Tiny Caterpillar and the Great Big Tree (2009) was my first kids book about how the physical differences between us do not define who we are as an individual. And When the Leaves Stop Falling (2007) is a romance about four friends who are brought together by fate and their only chance for happiness is to forgive. That book placed was a finalist in the 2008 Best Books Awards and is being rereleased in hardcover soon.

What are you working on now?

I'm working on a non-fiction memoir that someone contacted me about back in August. I don't normally write outside of romance or children's books, but I couldn't pass up this opportunity as it was once a high profile case. It's near complete, and then we'll start submitting. That's about all I can say for now on that. I'm also halfway through a romantic suspense called THE DRAKE HOUSE, and my second children's book called ALL THE COLORS OF MY FEELINGS.

Thanks so much Kelly! To find out more about Kelly, visit her blog and website!

Leave a comment! Kelly is giving away 1 Ecopy of Summer's Road!

Wild Desire Ebook is FREE!

2011-03-15T12:27:00.002-04:00

I have no idea why it is or how long it will last, but on Barnes and Noble Nook and Amazon Kindle, my second Kensington book, Wild Desire, is free! Just Ebook.

As I said, no idea how long it will last so download now and tell your friends!

Where Do You Come From?

2011-03-10T13:50:00.009-05:00

Let's face it, most people in the United States are mutts. Mixed heritage from all over the country. Which is probably why here, more than anywhere, we've become obsessed with tracing our lineage. Perhaps it's something innate; perhaps we're born with the need to feel like we belong. Or perhaps it's because more and more people are moving away from families, floating into a sea of stranger-filled suburbs. Who knows.

But I've always been fascinated with other countries and cultures, which is why I went into Anthropology in college. Over the years I've attempted to search for my lineage, but mostly hit dead ends. My friend and author Harris Channing (and btw, her contemporary paranormal, The Demon is in The Details, is only 99 cents right now as an Ebook! Check out that cover, creepy cool!) is great at tracing lineages. I knew very little about my father's side of the family. One night I decided to try and trace them. Frustrated, I gave up after a few hours on the web and went to bed. Before going to sleep I had shot Harris an email telling her that I couldn't find anything. When I woke up the next morning she had found a site that traced the paternal side of my father's family all the way back to 1600s England. I was shocked and thrilled.

Ancestry.com is a great place to search for information and I hear it can become addictive. But it costs a monthly fee. Harris gave me two other sites great for researching: Family Search, and Roots Web (part of ancestry.com).

So what is my family lineage? Well, my father's father's side came here in the 1600s from Somerset and Thornbury (Gloucestershire) England area. When they arrived, they settled in Massachusetts.

His mother's side is much more complicated as her father came from Sweden when he was only around 14. That's all I know about them, other than their last name was Olsen (or Olson), which I've heard is a rather common name over there.

It's the opposite on my mother's side. I'm not sure where her father's family comes from, although I'm guessing England.

As for her mother's side... Norway (Last names of Gunderson and Rierson) and... of course, England. In particular Great Baddow, in which they apparently left because they were Puritans and settled in Massachusetts in the 1600s. Hmm, who knows maybe they knew my father's side. I believe my great great great Grandfather on my mother's side came from Germany.

There were a few things that have surprised me so far. One, is my father's side. I thought both his mother and father were from Sweden, so it was rather surprising to find out that only his mother's side was. The German blood! I didn't realize that I (probably) have German in me. It makes me wonder why all those German classes in High School didn't catch on. And another thing I found interesting... how many times women named their daughters after themselves. Or a son's middle name might be the mother's maiden name.

As I sit here typing, I can't help but wonder what my Puritan forefathers would think of my romance novels :)

So I'm curious to know... where do you come from? Leave a comment and one person will win an Ecopy of Harris Channing's The Demon is in The Details!

Winner!

2011-03-09T23:53:00.002-05:00

The winner of a signed copy of my book Wild Desire and a copy of Julie Anne Long's What I Did For A Duke is ...

Kati!

Please email me your mailing address.

And if you didn't win, I'll be doing another giveaway soon!

Giveaway!

2011-03-07T19:58:00.006-05:00

Okay, let's do another giveaway just because!

A signed copy of my book Wild Desire and a copy (not signed) of Julie Anne Long's What I Did For A Duke, just because I've heard it's a great book!

Leave a comment and I'll pick a winner in a couple days :)

In The News....

2011-03-05T20:48:00.002-05:00

I keep getting emails about The Mind Readers, so I'm going to keep you updated here about the series.

As some of you may know, most authors have an agent who sells their books to N.Y. I did have an agent for awhile, but she didn't work out. We parted ways and for a long time I had no agent. That's what was great about self publishing, you don't need an agent.

But just recently I got a new agent at Trident Media. She enjoyed The Mind Readers and wants to try and sell it to N.Y. so it will be out in print. The only problem with N.Y. is that they work rather slow compared to self publishing! But the good news is that if it sells it will be out in print, as many of you have asked for. She is having me make some very minor changes, mostly adding a couple scenes. Even if it doesn't sell to N.Y. I'll upload the new version and still write book two as an Ebook.

So there's where I'm at right now. I'm making the minor changes and going to send that to her. While she's looking it over I'll write up the synopsis (outline) for book 2 and 3. Then, she'll send it to N.Y. So there you are. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Meanwhile, I will still be self publishing book 2 for The Ghost Hunter and A Night Of Secrets.

Winners!

2011-03-03T07:27:00.002-05:00

The winners of Wild Desire are...

Heather
JCP
StacieDM

Please email me your address so I can mail those asap.

And if you didn't win, no need to worry... you can visit author Ashley March's blog for another chance to win! And this weekend I'm giving out a two more copies (along with some other books) so come back in a couple days!

Wild Desire Release Day!

2011-03-01T08:04:00.005-05:00

Today Wild Desire is out! Woohoo! It seems like it's been forever, but finally it's here! Read the Blurb below:

In what feels like a moment, Beatrice Edmund goes from being a proper lady cooped up in a stuffy Scottish castle to travelling miles from anything she's ever known, in the midst of the wildest adventure of her life. And at the centre of that adventure is the most infuriating, puzzling scoundrel on earth. She cannot take her eyes off him.

Colin Fitch cannot deny he's drawn to Beatrice - but lust is all he could possibly feel for the sharp-tongued minx. Still, if there's a chance she can help him stop the madman he pursues, he must withstand her obvious disapproval. Yet withstanding the longing he feels for her is growing more troublesome by the second. And Colin has never been terribly good at staying out of trouble.

You can definitely read Wild Desire if you haven't read Wild Heart. And if you like the Wild series, you have to pick up the anthology we wrote for charity, Kiss Me, Kill Me, because a short final novella for the Wild series is in there, Wild Passion! Read the short blurb below:

James is a treasure hunter intent on collecting a deadly, priceless statue. Then he meets Adelaide, a stubbornly beautiful and mysterious woman who knows more about the statue than she admits. Suddenly, James is tempted to give up everything for the one treasure he can’t seem to own … Adelaide.

So, to celebrate I'm giving away 3 signed printed copies of Wild Desire and 3 Ecopies of Kiss Me, Kill Me! And remember, Kiss Me, Kill Me is only 99 cents and all proceeds go to charity!

New Releases!

2011-02-26T22:39:00.005-05:00

Tuesday is the day! Wild Desire, the spinoff to Wild Heart ,will be available in print and Ebook format! Read the blurb below!

In what feels like a moment, Beatrice Edmund goes from being a proper lady cooped up in a stuffy Scottish castle to travelling miles from anything she's ever known, in the midst of the wildest adventure of her life. And at the centre of that adventure is the most infuriating, puzzling scoundrel on earth. She cannot take her eyes off him.

Colin Fitch cannot deny he's drawn to Beatrice - but lust is all he could possibly feel for the sharp-tongued minx. Still, if there's a chance she can help him stop the madman he pursues, he must withstand her obvious disapproval. Yet withstanding the longing he feels for her is growing more troublesome by the second. And Colin has never been terribly good at staying out of trouble.

But the Wild Series doesn't end with Wild Desire!

As I mentioned awhile back, I participated in an anthology with a variety of other self-published authors. This anthology called, Kiss Me, Kill Me, contains 9 paranormal romances! And there's something for everyone! Contemporary, Young Adult and even a Historical Paranormal. Yes, the historical Paranormal is mine! Wild Passion is a short, final installment to the Wild Series!

Even better, the anthology is only 99 cents and all proceeds from Kiss Me, Kill Me go to charity! The book is available on Amazon, Smashwords and will be on Barnes and Noble soon! Want to know more? Read the short blurbs by the authors below!

A Ghoulish Valentine by H.P. Mallory:
Dulcie O'Neil can't help her attraction to Knight Vander, much though she tries to fight her feelings. When she begrudgingly accepts his invitation to dinner and a movie, the last thing she expects is that she'll be defending herself against a cemetery full of hungry ghouls and one incredibly sexy man.

Cat Fight by Zoe Winters:
Cat Fight takes place in Zoe Winters' "PretVerse". Greta is a cat therian (shifter). She's been involved with Dayne, a local sorcerer since she sought his protection from her murderous tribe. After a fight, Greta shifts into cat form and refuses to come back out.

Impulse Control by Susan Bischoff:
In the world of the Talent Chronicles, kids born with supernatural powers are taken from their families and forced into government research facilities called State Schools. At one such school, a group of Talents must work together to stop a dangerous experiment that’s already killed two of their peers and threatens others. If they’re caught they face Detention, and Detention at a State School has a whole different meaning.

Wild Passion by Lori Brighton:
James is a treasure hunter intent on collecting a deadly, priceless statue. Then he meets Adelaide, a stubbornly beautiful and mysterious woman who knows more about the statue than she admits. Suddenly, James is tempted to give up everything for the one treasure he can’t seem to own … Adelaide.

A Fairytale Ending by M.T. Murphy:
An unlucky actress discovers that there is no good and bad when it comes to vampires and werewolves, only bad and worse.

Blind Sight by Kait Nolan:
Isla’s ability as a Seer has made her a life-long captive of a paranormal crime lord. Fae assassin, Ransom, offers her a chance at escape, but when she touches his hand she sees only blood, horror, apocalypse. What reason can Ransom have for wanting to rescue her, and can she possibly trust a man who deals in death?

The Sacrifice by Toni LoTempio:
After a chance meeting with the mysterious Alfred Barstow, Jennifer is swept off her feet by his whirlwind courtship of her, so much so that she accepts his proposal of marriage. Leaving her boyfriend Peter behind, she heads off to start a new life in California, unaware there’s more to Alfred than meets the eye – and a sinister plot behind his proposal. The Sacrifice is a story about what happens when the man of your dreams turns out to be your worst nightmare…and then some!

Until the Breaking of the Day by Daniel Arenson:
The Underground. A realm of flame, blood, and knives in the dark.When its prince returns from exile, a young demon girl will learn his secrets.

If You Leave by Stacey Wallace Benefiel:
Despite their devotion to one another, Gabrielle and Jorge have been living separate lives. That is, until Gabrielle's life ends. Reunited and it feels so...complicated?

The Pricing Game

2011-02-24T20:37:00.004-05:00

One of the most difficult things to figure out in this new self publishing world is what price to give your book. Forums are abuzz with ideas of ways for the author to make the most money at the right price. And the reason why authors are so excited about self publishing is that it has the possibility to make authors money...real money.

I've never made it a secret how little most authors make in N.Y. The majority get about 8% of sales. So Wild Desire will be out next week, hooray! It's priced at about $6.99 and I will make 8% of that 6.99 for each book sold. You don't need to be a math genius to realize that ain't much. 8% is typical. Sucky, but typical.

So how is self publishing better? Well, if you price your book at 2.99 or higher, the author makes 70% of that 2.99. Yes. 70% compared to the 8% you get with N.Y.

70% versus 8%... again, you don't need to be a math genius to see why the idea of self publishing is taking off at a dramatic rate. Because authors get such a great percentage, they can afford to have their books a little lower than N.Y. prices their books.

You may have noticed quite a few self published books priced at 99 cents and you might think that the author is still making a decent price. Think again. If you price your book below 2.99 you only make about 35% of royalties. So those authors who price their books at 99 cents are only making about 35% of that 99 cents. So why would an author price her/his books at 99 cents? I mean, if you think about it, the price is a little ridiculous. About 6 months of work for only 99 cents? But if an author's book isn't selling, pricing it at 99 cents can spur sales. If you're not making much money anyway, then dropping the book to 99 cents (even though you have to take a drastic cut), won't hurt much.

So just recently I dropped all three of my self published books to 99 cents. The Ghost Hunter has been my best seller, by far. The Mind Readers isn't selling so well even though it's gotten amazing reviews. And yes, I know A Night of Secrets hasn't been out long, but it was barely selling. So I took the plunge, deciding to see how the 99 cents would influence sales.

Results...

Oddly enough The Ghost Hunter isn't selling as many at 99 cents as it was at 2.99.
The Mind Readers sales have risen slightly.
Sales for A Night Of Secrets have taken off dramatically, selling so much that I can say lowering it's price to 99 cents has definitely been worth it.

As for The Ghost Hunter... not so much. Sales have either remained relatively the same or tapered off depending on the site. So what to do? Well, even though A Night of Secrets has started selling, its not enough to make up for the lowered price, lowered percentage and fewer sales of The Ghost Hunter. So The Ghost Hunter price is going back up. It's all a big pricing game and we're still trying to figure things out.

99 cents and 2.99 have become so familiar with self published books that some are starting to think that those two prices may do harm to sales. Many readers still have problems with self published books and if they see that 99 or 2.99 price perhaps they might avoid the book, knowing it's not N.Y. published.

Here's something else odd... when you drop your price to 99 cents you tend to get worse reviews. Why? We're not sure. Perhaps because you're getting more sales and so naturally you'll find more who don't like your book. Perhaps because when people see 99 cents they have preconceived notions that the book won't be good and have already made up their minds. Or perhaps because the reader wouldn't typically read that type of book, but only bought it because it was 99 cents. Who knows.

As more and more N.Y. authors are entering the self publishing world, be prepared to see self published prices on the rise. I've been listening to the chatter and many N.Y. authors aren't willing to price their books much lower than what N.Y. charges.

I sure as heck don't want to price my books too high, but I want to make money. I know that might sound greedy but my goal in life is to make a living off of writing. I haven't even come close. Hell, I haven't even made enough for it to be considered a part time job, even though I write and edit as much as a full time job. So who knows what my prices will end up being. For now I'm just testing the waters to see what works best for all.

Typoes...er...Typos

2011-02-23T19:49:00.005-05:00

I have to admit something. It may come as a surprise... please bear with me...

I'm not perfect.

There. I've said it.

I know, you're shocked. Some of you may be crying out in denial right now. Deep breaths, we can make it through this difficult time together.

As some of you may well be aware, one of my weak points is grammar. As you can imagine, this isn't good considering I'm self publishing and in charge of my own editing. There are some readers and writers out there who think that if you self publish it's your duty to make your book grammatical perfect.

Okay. Well, since no one in this world is perfect, there is no way that's going to happen. It's just not possible to write a grammatically error free book. And yes, I could hire someone to read my book for errors, but that would cost me a minimum for 300 bucks. Minimum. Add the (at least) 100 bucks for a book cover... and bam. No longer are my books 99 cents... or even 2.99. Just like N.Y. I'd have to up the price to make up for overhead costs.

Perhaps because I'm not a grammar aficionado, grammatical problems don't bother me. When I read a story and I'm into the story, it would take a missing sentence to pull me out. In some instances a missing page. And even then I'd probably just shrug and move on. But I am aware that for some, grammar problems are like the end of the world. All I can say is sorry; at this point I'm not willing to pay hundreds of dollars (that I may or may not get back) to try and catch them. If I ever start making more money, then yes, I might.

The great thing about self publishing is that there are no overhead costs and therefore we can price the books low. The downside with low-priced self published books is that they may not be as well edited as you'd like.

Just recently I purchased this wonderful thing called Text Aloud which reads your book aloud. Yes, the voice is very much like a computer, but it helps find those things like "heart" instead of "heat." And yes, I do have critique partners, but they have their own lives and can't read as fast as I can write. And, oh yeah, they're not perfect either and miss things.

I'm not complaining about the few people who have emailed to tell me of my errors. Relax. You ladies are fine. No hurt feelings and when you point out specifics, I'm actually grateful because I can fix them. But I am pointing to those people who mark self published books down because of errors.

If you want a professionally edited book then pay triple the price and buy a N.Y. book. There. I've said it. But don't expect those N.Y. books to be perfect either. In fact, Wild Heart had plenty of errors that my many N.Y. editors missed. Because, yep, that's right... not even N.Y. editors are perfect.

For now, just know that I do edit the books to the very best of my ability. I really do. But when you are as close to your work as a writer is, it's very hard to see typos. And before you become all offended, I'm talking about minor problems here. I'm not talking about books that are ridiculously problematic.

If you're the kind of person who notices every little thing, you might want to skip my books because I can guarantee you that they will have errors.

Now I have to go; America's Next Top Model is on :)

99 Cents!

2011-02-18T10:32:00.003-05:00

I've lowered my YA, The Mind Readers, to 99 cents. Not sure how long it will be that way, but feel free to pass the info along!

Also, I've gotten a couple emails in which the person has typed their email addy incorrectly. At least I assume so since I can't respond. I want to respond, I do! So please make sure your email addy is correct if you want me to reply. And along the same lines.... I've been ridiculously busy lately, but that will taper off next week. So if you have contacted me about anything and I never responded, I'm so sorry and send me another email if you need to!

Here's my book... Now Give Me a Review

2011-02-17T09:26:00.003-05:00

I was just chatting with a fellow author and we were discussing the fact that the success of books has somewhat to do with reviews on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. When you go online you can't help but notice those damn stars next to the book you're thinking of buying. In fact, I noticed one day that in a review for my YA book the reader said she bought the book because of all the positive reviews. So its obvious reviews help.

I know of a lot of authors who ask for reviews from those people who have won their books, and I have once in awhile. But I'm from the Midwest and in the Midwest we are rather humble and maybe even a bit introverted. It's never sat well with me to basically say, "Here, you won my book, now give me a review." Imo, it sort of takes the fun away from winning the book. At the same time, an author relies so heavily on promotion and it's obvious the authors who have more/better reviews sell more. So what to do?

It's one thing to contact people and ask for reviews, but another to ask people who have won your book. But this is just my opinion. There are authors who will ask anyone and their readers happily oblige. But I want winners of my books to enjoy the win and not feel indebted. Perhaps I'm being silly and my sales will hurt for it, but it's just not natural for me to ask those winners.

One thing I did start doing (which probably goes against Goodreads rules and I'll end up getting kicked off) is that I've started messaging people on Goodreaders and asking if they want to review my book. This, I don't feel so bad about.

But I am curious about how you feel when you've won a book and the author asks you do review? Do you not care, you're happy to. Or do you feel indebted and put on the spot?

Winner!

2011-02-16T08:18:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! Hope your week is going well. The winner of Wild Desire, DayHunter, and When Good Wishes Go Bad is....

Mariee!

Please send me your mailing address!

So I noticed a review the other day on Goodreads in which the person gave one of my adult books a low score because it was "extremely inappropriate" and "it said paranormal romance, not pornographic romantic!"

I found this review a little surprising and a bit amusing, mostly because she's implying that paranormal romance is supposed to have no sex. If you're a reader of romance, and you've read my books you probably think they're typical, as far as the level of intimacy is concerned. Or, perhaps, even a little tame compared to a lot of romances out there.

The problem is that I think people are confusing Paranormal Romance with Young Adult Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy. Romance has been around for a long, long time. Romance novels were in vogue before YA and UF. Typical romance novels have scenes of an intimate nature. Lots, in fact. So if you're going to buy a YA paranormal romance and don't care for those intimate scenes, make sure it says YA.

So yes, in my adult books there are scenes of an intimate nature. But you know what? If my book says its a romance, it is. That means that in my books, whether they're YA or Adult, my characters are in love and they are faithful to each other; that is the typical romance novel that has been around for decades. I do find it amusing that in the U.S. especially, we can read books in which people are murdered and tortured and no one bats an eyelash, yet throw sex in there (sex between two characters in love, no less) and suddenly the book is corrupting society.

To be fair this reviewer probably read my YA and grabbed my other book thinking it was another YA. If you've never read a true romance before, I'm sure they might be rather shocking. I remember reading my first romance at 16. Instead of being shocked, I was more intrugued. lol. I'm not angry at all at this reviewer; I find it more interesting, if anything. In fact, I blame myself for not using a different name to write my YA and I'm sure I'll get hate mail eventually from some angry parent saying I write porn. But I promise you that in the publishing world my books are not considered porn and in fact, are very typical for the majority of romance novels.

If they only knew what was really out there ;)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T08:20:00.006-05:00

Hi everyone! Hope you're all having a wonderful day. Today is Valentine's Day for the U.S. Which means buying gifts and cards for those you love. Thinking about today made me curious as to how far Valentine's Day reaches. Is this merely a U.S. and perhaps European holiday? So, just out of curiosity, if you're from another country, let us know if you celebrate the day! As with many of our holidays, the roots go back to Roman days and I'm sure you can find plenty of information on St. Valentine.

But here, now, I'm just going to give away some books! So leave a comment and 1 person will win a signed copy of my book Wild Desire, a signed copy of DayHunter (the second book in the Dark Days Novel), and a signed copy of When Good Wishes Go Bad.

The winner will be picked Wednesday!

Winners and Other Things

2011-02-11T12:44:00.007-05:00

First of all....

The winners of Wild Desire are...

Runner10

Raven99

Mariska

Please email me your addresses so I can send the books.

Wild Desire is being given away on Goodreads as well. So you can try there. Wish I could give everyone a copy, but we only get a limited supply. :(

With that said, if you signed up to win Wild Desire and didn't, you can have an Ecopy of my newest historical paranormal, A Night of Secrets. Just email me and I'll give you an coupon so you can download it.

Some of you may have read my young adult book, The Mind Readers. I've received more emails for this book than any of my other books. So to answer your two most common questions...

Yes, there will be a book two. In fact, there will be 3 books in all.

And no, sorry, it's not available in print.

Here's the thing, The Mind Readers was with 3 publishers, but they all ended up rejecting it, which is why I self published it in Ebook format. So, don't blame me for the lack of print, blame New York! lol. There is a way to self publish a print book, so I may look into that in the future. But for now, sorry, it's only available in Ebook format.

I do have a couple signed books left from the RWA conference I went to this past summer and I believe I'll give them away on Monday. So come back Monday to enter and possibly win some more books!

Have a good weekend :)

Wild Desire

2011-02-09T12:42:00.003-05:00

I just got a box of my author copies for Wild Desire! Of course I want to give away a few. Leave a comment! I'll pick 3 winners!

The teal and pink look so pretty together. And the title and my name are even embossed! Hooray! I'm excited :)

P.S. This is an R rated book ;)

A Night Of Secrets!

2011-02-08T17:44:00.004-05:00

A Night Of Secrets is now available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble! Interested? Read the blurb below:

Grayson Bellamont has spent years on the Continent, fighting a war he cares nothing for. It is only while in the chaos of battle that he can hide what he truly is, a Vampire. Returning to England, he finds his sister murdered and his seven-year-old niece missing. All over the country Vampires are mysteriously dying. Grayson sets out to uncover the truth and locate his niece before it’s too late. All leads point to Meg James, a Vicar’s daughter. Instinct tells him Meg is innocent, but the clues he uncovers warn she’s guilty. One thing is clear, Meg awakens a warmth inside of him he thought long dead and Grayson is torn between a sense of duty and his desires.

Vowing to honor a promise, Meg concocts a lie to keep a stranger’s child safe. She had no idea that protecting the child would mean putting her own life in danger. When Grayson arrives asking questions, Meg’s unease flares. Who is this mysterious man who seems to appear and disappear as quickly as a spirit? A man with strength like no other? As he pushes ever closer, taking over her senses with his touch, his kiss and his unexpected honor, she realizes she has even more to lose. Meg is falling in love with Grayson, but will he believe her when the truth will condemn the one person he trusts the most?

Leave a comment for your chance to win a free download of the Ebook!

P.S. If you have a review blog, feel free to email me with the link for your blog and I'll send you a copy for review. But remember, this book is for adults!

This and That

2011-02-04T17:22:00.004-05:00

Hi all! So I had briefly mentioned that I'd be doing a Q&A at a B&N near Atlanta this Saturday. Unfortunately that is a no go. It's been canceled. Hopefully I will be able to do the Q&A another time.

I'm also guest blogging at two places, Ex Libris and She Known As Jess. Of course I'm giving away Ecopies of my books.

In contest news... my friend and fellow author Beverley Kendall is giving away a Kindle on her site, The Season. So stop by for your chance to win.

And finally, I'm still hard at work on A Night of Secrets and it's going to be out sooner than I had expected! In fact, it will probably be up by the end of next week!

New Blog, New Site!

2011-01-30T20:58:00.002-05:00

You might have noticed I have a new blog and I also have a new website, thanks to my husband. I needed a new site with different pages for my YA books and my more Adult Romance, so those wishing to only read YA would know which books to get!

Meanwhile, I'm still hard at work on my novella and the new historical romance, A Night of Secrets! Only a month until their release!

March Release!

2011-01-21T22:49:00.004-05:00

First of all, I have a winner for Never Resist Temptation and Hell Fire.

Raelena at throuthehaze!

Please email me your address so I can mail those to you.

It's pretty hard to miss the book to the right. Well, I finally have a cover for my March release, the historical paranormal romance I told you about. I had to share it with you! Kimberly Killion at Hot Damn Designs did the cover and she's pretty darn amazing! As I mentioned in the previous post, this book will be out around the beginning of March, available as Ebook on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords. I'll post a blurb a little later!

Mad as a March Hare!

2011-01-20T10:53:00.007-05:00

March is going to be a crazy month for books! First of all, my second N.Y. Published book, Wild Desire, will be out March 1st. This book is a historical paranormal with lots of suspense. You can preorder it now on Amazon and B&N as either a print book or an ebook!

I'm also doing a short story that will be in an Ebook anthology for only 99 cents with other self-published authors like H.P. Mallory and Amanda Hocking. All stories will be different, most based on spinoffs of our other books. My story will be a spinoff of Wild Heart and Wild Desire! These short stories will be around 10,000 words each and will be available at the beginning of March!

And speaking of Ebooks.... Around March I'll also be releasing a brand new historical paranormal, the first in a 3 book series. I have one word for you, Vampires! The amazing Kimberly Killion at Hot Damn Designs is currently working on the cover. As soon as she's done, I'll post it along with a blurb.

These three are all books that are more for adults, but I have started The Mind Readers 2! I'll let you know at at later date when you can expect that release.

And, just because I haven't given away a printed book in awhile, I have 2 N.Y. Printed books to give away! These are not YA books so please be at least 16.

So what are they? A signed copy of Never Resist Temptation and a signed copy of Hell Fire. So leave a comment and an email addy so I can email you and get your mailing address. One person will win both!

Pirates

2011-01-19T09:18:00.002-05:00

Well, The Mind Readers is popping up everywhere...but not in a good way. It's been coming up on quite a few pirate sites... places that steal books and give them away for free.

Because print authors make a lot of their money through printed books, it might not influence their pay as much as it would an Ebook author. It's particularly upsetting for me because The Mind Readers hasn't been out long and really, to be honest, I haven't made that much money on it. If people can get it for free, why would they buy it? In other words, I worked on a book for four months and probably won't make much money at all. Fun! Honestly, its so upsetting that for a brief moment I thought about giving the book up and not writing book 2. But I won't do that to the readers who have emailed me, loving the story and asking for book 2.

This book, more than my other books, seems to be running rampart on piracy sites. The only reason I can think of is because I got lazy and instead of giving reviewers/book winners the coupon so they could download it from Smashwords, I sent them the pdf directly. I could be wrong, but just in case it's because of the pdf's, I won't be sending pdf's any longer to reviewers/book winners. Of course I'll still be giving the coupons so you can download it for free from Smashwords.

As I've said before, I don't mind when readers share a book with their mom or sister or friend, but I do mind when someone takes my book and gives it to the world for free. Sure, it would be nice if authors worked for no money and just handed out their books, but its a job, and to be able to write, we need to make money so we can support ourselves and our families.

Tell Your Friends!

2011-01-11T13:32:00.002-05:00

I just posted on Facebook and Twitter that the first 25 people who email me get their choice of a free download of The Ghost Hunter or The Mind Readers! Tell your friends!

We're snowed it. What can I say, I'm bored :)

Giveaway

2011-01-08T17:28:00.003-05:00

Hi All! Sheesh, I've been neglecting this blog.

Now that The Mind Readers is out, I'm hard at work on another book, a historical paranormal. It is with a publisher in N.Y. but honestly, I'm thinking of self publishing it. Why, you might ask? Well, here's why..... money, time and control.

Money... I've never made it a secret that I've gotten very little on my first NY published book. In fact, I've made more on The Ghost Hunter in the four months since I self published it than I have on Wild Heart in the two years since I signed the contract.

Time... When you send a book to an agent or editor, you send only the partial at first, which is the first 3 chapters. They might read it immediately, but usually it takes a couple months... usually more. After those couple months they will reject it or ask to read the full. Once they have the full, again, it can be a couple months... usually more... until you hear if they want it or not. If they want it, your book most likely will not hit bookstores for another year... usually more. So you're talking about a year and half before you will see your book in stores and that's a quick turn around. That's a year and half I could be making money if I posted it now, as self published. What's even worse is if you send your book to an editor, wait months and months to hear back and they reject it. Which to be honest, happens the majority of the time. That's a long time, wasted, when you could have self published it immediately.

Control... The control is somewhat obvious. You decide when your book comes out, what's in your book, how much it will be priced at.

I love printed books, I really do. And it makes me sad that there are so many readers who can't read my books because they are in Ebook format. But sometimes there's no other alternative.

Anyway....

Back to The Mind Readers. I keep noticing this theme in reviews that state The Mind Readers is a short read. Honestly, the Young Adult book world is new to me. But when I started studying YA books, I noticed most YA publishers wanted books to be between 60,000 - 90,000 words.

Here's Harlequin's guidelines, which actually say 50,000 to 100,000. When I wrote The Mind Readers, I wanted a good in between and I thought I had done that, writing a book that is actually about 73,000 words.

Anyway, as for the giveaway from my last post.... the winners are.... everyone!

If you left a comment in the previous post, email me and I'll send you a code so you can download The Mind Readers for free! Thanks to all who stopped by!

Reviews

2010-12-20T18:15:00.003-05:00

I have finally started getting reviews in for my YA book, The Mind Readers. It's a great time, hopefully, for sales as people will be getting Ereaders for Christmas, but a bad time for reviews as everyone is so busy with the holidays. So hopefully I'll have some more in the New Year. But so far no one has hated it, which is always a plus :)

My first review came from Ramblings From A Chaotic Mind. Here's just a snippet:

"I want to cuddle up to this book and never let go! Ok, that sounds strange…eh….I love this book! It was so good! The mystery, the intrigue….THE ENDING *sigh*."

Blodeuedd from Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell had this to say:

"There is romance, suspense, and more conflicts to come. Because at the end there is a cliffhanger, that is not a cliffhanger, but still feels like a cliffhanger. Confused, well, ok, it ends well and peaceful, but then something happens, something that could mean another book. And that makes me curious."

And today I just received this review from Tiger at All-Consuming Books:

"I thought this was going to be a quick, cute paranormal read, and was I ever wrong. It's quick, and has some cute moments and some funny moments, but the themes here aren't at all frivolous. Cameron's character development is very powerful and believable, and she has to make some very tough lose/lose decisions. She moves from (mostly) accepting that what her Grandma says is true to wholeheartedly accepting what her new friends say is true, to truly thinking for herself. Cam has this absolutely wonderful strength that is seldom seen in YA, and it's hard-earned, to boot. The ending of the book contains a nice parallel to the beginning, the love story is considerably more complex than it initially looks, and I simply can't wait for volume two."

So, I must say, I'm a rather happy camper right now! To celebrate, I'm giving away a couple copies of The Mind Readers. Just leave a comment, but remember, this is an Ebook only. I'll announce winners after the holidays. Take care everyone!

Last Day for 99 cents!

2010-12-19T10:13:00.003-05:00

Today is the last day you can get my YA book, The Mind Readers, and my adult paranormal, The Ghost Hunter, for 99 cents! Find them on Smashwords, Amazon and Barnes and Noble! Tomorrow they'll go back up to 2.99.

So, as you may or may not know, I currently live in the Southern U.S. but I'm from the North where we get plenty of snow and ice. Well, last Wednesday we got a little ice here in the South. It hadn't started when I left to take my son to indoor Soccer. The drive to soccer takes about 40 mins. Since most people told me they didn't think it would get bad, I went ahead and left home. It started raining/sleeting halfway into practice and so I decided to leave a little early. It didn't do any good. It took us 5 hours to get home!!!!! Now for the next 10 days, according to Weather.com, its going to be near to 50 degrees here. Crazy weather in the South. You never know what you'll get!

Piracy...Not The Fun Kind

2010-12-12T14:13:00.004-05:00

Recently on my author loops there's been a lot of talk about piracy, and not the swashbuckling, peg leg kind. I'm talking about the kind in which people illegally download books for free. It's a topic that comes up often on authors loops. Authors get rather upset when they find their books on pirate sites, and although I think it's sort of a waste of time to worry about something you can't do much about, I certainly understand why they're angry.

I've made it no secret as to how much I've made on my first and so far only New York published book. I'll tell you all again in case you've missed it. Since I signed my contract for Wild Heart two years ago with a New York publisher, I've made a little over 2,000 dollars. I'm hoping to get another check in a week or two, but I'll be lucky if it's 1,000. After that, I'll be lucky to make anything more, unless I sell the book overseas. So imagine working 6 months on a book, making less than 3,000 and then you see your book being given away for free. Of course authors get upset.

As for me, I certainly don't love the idea, but I also know that there's not a lot I can do about my books being pirated. I'd rather focus on the positive and write. I also don't think, at this point, that enough books are being pirated to make a huge difference. In other words, I don't think I'm losing that much money. Most of the sales for my N.Y. books come from printed copies. But that could change in the future as it did with music and movies.

But now that I'm writing primarily Ebooks, I'm a little more nervous about pirated books. I have no printed book sales to fall back on and I have no big name publisher to fight for my rights. What money I make is totally up to me. Recently, I sent out a bunch of pdf files to reviewers for my newest book, The Mind Readers. And yes, I am a bit worried that these might be pirated. Most of these reviewers I totally trust, but many are also new to me.

And maybe you are one of those people who think its fine to get books for free and honestly, that's okay. But here's the thing I'll leave you with... If an author writes a book for a New York publisher and the first book gets great reviews, people love it, you love it, but the sales aren't great because people are getting it for free and that publisher isn't making any money, that publisher isn't going to recontract that author. Which means no book 2 of that series you loved.

And it's the same with self publishing. I've had many people ask me if I'll be writing a book two for my self published books, and I always say the same thing: it depends on sales. Sorry, but I'm not going to waste my time writing a second book if the first didn't sell well. So yes, you shouldn't pirate books because authors lose money, but it's more than that. It's about sales figures and recontracting. Honestly, if you share a book with your sister or mom, I don't care at all. Most author's don't. It's the people who purposefully go to pirate sites and bitterly feel that they deserve free books, who are upsetting.

Okay, that's enough on my soapbox :) I'm off to do something productive...like writing!

Only 99 Cents!

2010-12-10T14:03:00.002-05:00

Well, I did it...decided to put my newest release, The Mind Readers, at only 99 cents. Yes, both The Ghost Hunter and The Mind Readers are only 99 cents! But only until Dec. 20th so tell your friends to get their copies now! Some of my fellow writers think I'm insane, but hey, it's the Giving Season! Why do they think I'm insane? Because when you drop your book below 2.99, the royalties you get drop by like 40%. So not only are you getting less for your book, but also for your royalties, which is why I can only do the 99 cents for a limited time. It may take a day for the 99 cents to show up on Amazon and B&N :)

There's still time to leave a comment on H.P. Mallory's site and I'm on Fresh Fiction today and doing a contest there.

The Mind Readers

2010-12-09T15:33:00.004-05:00

Hi all! I know I've been neglecting my blog lately but I have good reason...I've been writing! My first Young Adult Ebook, The Mind Readers, is now available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, as well as Smashwords!

I'm also interviewing at H.P. Mallory's blog and giving away a copy to 2 readers. So stop by for your chance to win.

And one more thing...to celebrate the release of The Mind Readers, my contemporary paranormal romance The Ghost Hunter is only 99 cents!!! This will only last until Dec. 20th so tell your friends to get their copy now!

Interested to know what The Mind Readers is about? Read the blurb below!

Cameron Winters is a freak. Fortunately, no one but her family knows the truth …that Cameron can read minds. For years Cameron has hidden behind a facade of normalcy, warned that there are those who would do her harm. When gorgeous and mysterious Lewis Douglas arrives he destroys everything Cameron has ever believed and tempts her with possibilities of freedom. Determined to embrace her hidden talents, Cameron heads to a secret haven with Lewis; a place where she meets others like her, Mind Readers.

But as Cameron soon finds out some things are too good to be true. When the Mind Readers realize the extent of Cameron’s abilities, they want to use her powers for their own needs. Cameron suddenly finds herself involved in a war in which her idea of what is right and wrong is greatly tested. In the end she’ll be forced to make a choice that will not only threaten her relationship with Lewis, but her very life.

Interview

2010-11-30T07:46:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! If you're from the U.S. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. We went to Savannah and Tybee Island for a few days. I'll tell you more about that trip later.

For now, I've done an interview and giveaway over at QuillsandZebras. Stop by if you want a chance to win The Ghost Hunter.

This and That

2010-11-18T10:22:00.005-05:00

Hi all! It's been awhile. Hope you're all doing well. First of all, author and blogger Kelly Moran has interviewed me. So stop by for a chance to win an Ecopy of The Ghost Hunter.

As some of you may remember, this summer I went to the Romance Writers Of America conference. The first night there they had a huge book signing. Across from me was a Young Adult author I'd never heard of, Ally Carter. Her line was crazy long. Well, I feel like an idiot now because she's hugely popular. They gave away a copy of her book, Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover, which is part of a series. I just recently got around to reading it. I loved it! I totally understand now why she's so popular. Unfortunately, it's the third book in the series, so I'm not sure if the first 2 are just as good, although I'm sure they are. But I wanted to tell you all about it and it gave me an idea to start something on my blog, my top book picks; books I enjoy and you might as well. So look for that in the future.

And speaking of Young Adult books....

I will be publishing my Young Adult novel, The Mind Readers, within a month. Like The Ghost Hunter, it will be available on Smashwords, Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Hopefully next week I'll have a book cover and blurb for you.

Chances to Win

2010-11-02T08:33:00.003-04:00

Hi all! If you'd like a chance to win The Ghost Hunter....I've got a couple more interviews/guest posts. The first is with Misha at My Love Affair with Books. The second is with Nikki at Ramblings from a Chaotic Mind.

Stop by if you want a chance to win!

Update...Nikki's contest is over, but Misha's is still going on!

Interview

2010-10-30T20:57:00.001-04:00

Hi all! Hope you're having a great weekend. I'm over at Lov Liv Life Reviews and giving away copies of The Ghost Hunter. Stop by if you have a chance!

How A Picture Becomes A BookCover

2010-10-29T11:27:00.003-04:00

Some people don't realize that those embracing couples you see on romance covers are actually real people. That's right, models come into a studio, they're dressed and photographed. Then an artist takes those photos and makes a cover out of them, either by painting or more likely now, computer animation.

Fellow Kensington author Kimberly Killion is super talented when it comes to computer designs. For awhile now she's been doing websites and bookmark designs for authors. Well, just recently she hired some models so she could make her own stock designs for book covers. I'll most likely be hiring her for my next self published covers. But, if you want you to see how a photo becomes a cover, go to her site here. The transformation that takes place is pretty interesting. I have no clue how she does it, but I'm impressed! She also has photos of her models on her facebook page, in case you're curious.

I just find the whole process so interesting, so thought I'd share!

P.S. I'm over at Romance Roundtable today and giving away two copies of The Ghost Hunter!

Short Story

2010-10-28T12:39:00.002-04:00

Hey all! Sorry I haven't been around. Been busy promoting and writing, but I wanted to tell you about a short story I wrote. Velvet from vvB32 Reads asked me to do a short story with a theme that revolved around Aliens but somehow connected to my story, The Ghost Hunter. lol. Yeah, you could say I was scared to death. Aliens?! Actually, once I got started it was rather fun. So, if you'd like to see what I came up with, you can go here!

Guest Blog

2010-10-19T06:31:00.003-04:00

Hi All! I'm guest blogging with one of my favorite bloggers today... Cecile from All I Want and More. She's super sweet and super smutty! Stop by if you have the chance. And of course I'm giving away copies of The Ghost Hunter!

Blogging and Contest

2010-10-15T08:06:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! Today I'm at RomCom, blogging and giving away 2 more copies of The Ghost Hunter. So feel free to stop by.

I also wanted to tell you about a contest my friend H.P. Mallory is running until Oct. 31.
H.P. is going to pick one lucky reader to star in her next book. So if you'd like to have your name used for a secondary character, head on over to her blog and read the rules!

Interview

2010-10-14T09:46:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone! Hope you're having a good week. I'm over at Romance Reviews Today and giving away two Ecopies of my newest release, The Ghost Hunter. Stop by if you have a chance!

Interview and Winner

2010-10-06T12:33:00.002-04:00

Hi all. I'm a little late announcing the winner of Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz. So, finally the winner is...

Edie!

Send me your address and I'll mail that out.

Today I'm visiting one of my favorite artists, Heather, at Audrey Eclectic. Stop by and leave a comment. I'm giving away 2 Ecopies of The Ghost Hunter.

Things to Do in St. Augustine

2010-09-28T10:59:00.013-04:00

First of all, the winner of On The Steamy Side by Louisa Edwards is...

Laurie Faelan!

Now, more on St. Augustine. As I mentioned, we arrived in St. Augustine, Florida on Saturday. That evening we went on a ghost walking tour. Even if you don't believe in ghosts, I highly recommend Ghost Tours as you learn so many unique facts about the history of a place. In fact, St. Augustine is apparently the third most haunted City in the U.S. after Savannah and New Orleans.

Sunday we visited the Fountain of Youth. Being that I've worked in a museum, I tend to notice things others might not. There are a few indoor buildings/exhibits at the Fountain. If you're reading, owners, your place could do with a touch of remodeling and updating. Still, the grounds are beautiful, with peacocks roaming freely. Also, the people who were working there that Sunday were great! Super friendly, so a thumbs up for the staff. You have to go because, well, it's the Fountain of Youth!

A bit on the history of the Fountain of Youth. Apparently the King of Spain (in the 1500s) was obsessed with finding a cure for his aging body. He sent Ponce De Leon into the world to find a cure. Now, the Spanish at this time were usually 5 feet tall or shorter and after months at Sea, probably a bit sickly. They landed on the coast of Eastern Florida and met the Native Indians, who were over 6 feet tall, some even seven. These friendly Natives frolicked and drank from a nearby spring. This spring, Ponce De Leon, considered to be the Fountain of Youth. Now the fountain, isn't actually a fountain. Originally it was a stream. That dried up and so the current Fountain of Youth is actually a well that was dug in the same area as the spring. There are little cups of the water from the well that you can drink. Funny story, at first my son (who is 6) didn't want to drink the water because he was worried he'd stay little forever and therefore have to go to school forever. Shows you how much he likes school.

Right next door to the Fountain of Youth is the Prince of Peace C hurc h and grounds. I'm not Catholic, but you don't need to be to appreciate this place. The grounds are free, although they do have a donation box. The grounds are beautiful and peaceful. There's a huge Cross (over 200 feet tall) that marks the area of the first Catholic mass. But most beautiful to me was the Chapel of Our Lady La Leche, a tiny stone building. The original chapel was built in the 1700s but was destroyed, I believe, 4 times. The last time it was erected was in the early 1900s. As I said, its a very peaceful place to visit and one of the oldest spots in the area.

Next we went downtown to the Fort. As I mentioned in the last post, the Castillo de San Marcos fort was established in the 1600s to keep those pesky invaders out. Although the walls seem low, when you climb to the top you'll have a wonderful view of the bay. Definitely worth visiting.

Speaking of views...if you want an even better place to see the town and ocean, head a little out of the downtown area to the Lighthouse. I'm not positive, but I think it was built in the later 1800s. There are over 200 steps, but plenty of spots to rest along the way up and the view is amazing. There is a height regulation, so little kids (under 5 years) may not be able to climb.

Being that we love nature, we also went on a boat ride with Eco Tours which was very fun. These are either done in Kayaks or small boats that hold up to 6. Our captain, Zach, was great and informative. We saw plenty of water birds and dolphins and even stopped at a small island where we saw hundreds of tiny Fiddler Crabs.

As for the beaches...

I'll be honest, if you want clear, warmer water with lots of shells, go to the gulf coast. The water on the East coast is a bit rougher and colder. Still, it's the beach and it is beautiful. We did discover that if you head north, toward Vilano Beach, you'll find less crowded areas, more shells and even areas marking Sea Turtle nests.

So that's about all we saw while we were there. If you live in the U.S., especially if you go to Florida, you need to visit St. Augustine. Not only is it fascinating and beautiful, it's really such an important part of our history and the history of the world.

Now, I'm going to give away another book! A signed copy of Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz. So leave a comment. Winner announced Friday.

St. Augustine, Florida

2010-09-26T09:58:00.017-04:00

So last week we went on vacation to St. Augustine, which is located on the northeastern coast of Florida. Years ago I'd heard that St. Augustine was the oldest continuously occupied European city in the U.S. and that had immediately captured my interest. I was determined to visit and finally we did. I was not at all disappointed.

There are plenty of lovely beaches along St. Augustine's coast, but it is the town itself that brings in visitors. The downtown city isn't on the ocean, although it is visible from parts. But its on a bay, still a beautiful setting.

A little history about St. Augustine. The city was founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer Pedro Menendez de Aviles, although the area was first explored in 1513 by Ponce de Leon. Yes, the Ponce de Leon who attempted to find the Fountain of Youth. More about that on another post. Since then the city has been attacked by French, English, Native Americans, and yes, those nasty Pirates. And while you're walking through town, you can totally imagine pirates walking the same street!

When you enter the town the impressive skyline of spires and towers is the first thing you'll notice. Stucco, brick and stone buildings (of English and Spanish influence) line narrow cobbled streets. There's plenty of shopping and a variety of places to eat. We were there for 3 full days and could have easily been there another 3 and still not have seen everything. The town was originally surrounded by a stone wall, there for protection. Today, only the entrance remains. Directly across from town, on the bay is the fort. Built in the 1600s, the Castillo de San Marcos fort was established to keep those pesky invaders out.

Now for the downsides. We got there on a Saturday and it was crowded. Although we did hear that September and May are the best and least crowded times to go. I can't imagine what it's like when its busy season! The weekdays were much better. So if you can, go during the week in May or September.

I'll be totally honest with you, there were a few homeless people, which I wasn't expecting to see since the town isn't all that large. If you're from a larger city, you probably won't even notice. And to be fair, they didn't bother us at all; no one asked for money.

Even with the downsides, this town is definitely one of my favorite places. I would move to St. Augustine in a second if I could. The pictures really don't do it justice and I highly recommend you visit!

And just because, I've decided to give away a book left over from the conference back in July. This is a signed, contemporary romance titled On The Steamy Side by Louisa Edwards. And it is steamy! Leave a comment. I'll announce the winner on Wednesday.

I'll also post more about St. Augustine and the things to do and see while in the city. And perhaps I'll give away another book ;)

How to Help

2010-09-23T14:06:00.004-04:00

So as you all know, this Self publishing thing is new to me. I'm learning as I go along. The most important thing for sales on Amazon is how high your book is placed when people search. How do you get your placement up? So far I've learned two things: reviews and tags.

Apparently the more reviews you have on your book the better. So if you have the time and you've read The Ghost Hunter, I'd love a review!

The second important thing is a lot easier, tags. Tags are those words about halfway down the page that describe the book. If you click on the link for The Ghost Hunter, you'll see my first tag is paranormal romance, followed by urban fantasy and so forth. Clicking on those tags helps place my book higher in searches. So, again, if you have the time, please tag my book! I so appreciate it!

Blog with Magical Musings

2010-09-23T09:00:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone! Hope your week is going well. I just got back from vacation. I'll tell you more about it a bit later and perhaps give away a couple books I have left over from the conference I went to months ago.

For now, I'm over at Magical Musings and giving away two copies of The Ghost Hunter! Stop by if you have the chance.

Guest Blog

2010-09-20T08:43:00.002-04:00

Hi all! Hope you had a good weekend. I just want to thank all of you who have stopped by my interviews and left a comment. I really appreciate it! Today I'm over at Harris Channings blog. I've posted a little info about why I decided to self publish. And of course I'm giving away 2 Ecopies of The Ghost Hunter. So stop by if you have the time!

Interviews

2010-09-17T19:13:00.002-04:00

Okay, so here's the information you need:

There's still time to win a printed copy of Wild Heart along with an Ecopy of The Ghost Hunter at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell. Winner will be announced Sept. 19th.

We're giving away two Ecopies of The Ghost Hunter over at A Buckeye Girl Reads.

And if that isn't enough, we're giving away two more Ecopies of The Ghost Hunter over at Paromantasy.

So please stop by if you have the chance!