Jun 17, 2013 | Writing, Photos, Books |
As I move closer to releasing HOT PURSUIT, I've realized a few things. First, I *love* writing these books about my strong alpha military guys. I've neglected them for so long, but now it's possible to share these stories with readers without needing a publisher's approval first. And I have to say that the initial reviews on this book are making me very happy. I know there will be people who don't like it, but right now there are people who do — besides me and my family and friends — and that's a thrilling thing.
But as I watch the reviews come in, and hear that people are loving the hot military action and romance, I'm realizing that I have to get these books out pretty darn fast. The only way I'm going to get the HOT books done, and meet my Harlequin obligations too, is to write on more than one project at a time.
I usually immerse myself in one book and write until it's done. But, no more. Today, in fact, I worked on two books. This morning it was a hot Greek CEO. This afternoon, it was a hot military operative. Fun!
I love both kinds of books, and I hope you do too. I know as a reader that I prefer certain kinds of books from certain authors, so it won't surprise me if some of you prefer the Harlequins over the HOT series and vice versa. But I hope you'll give them all a try! I promise you the usual sexy and exciting read, no matter which type of book you choose.
Finally, I have to tell you how much fun writing the HOT series is for me. It's freeing in ways I didn't expect. It's exciting. I love my Harlequin billionaires, but writing these military guys takes me back to my roots. To the way I grew up and the way I lived most of my adult life: as a military dependent. Mr. Harris isn't in the military anymore, but that life is never far away when I work on these books. I adore it, and I adore the men and women who choose to serve their country. Make no mistake, the spouses and children serve too. Anyone who has ever been a part of that life knows it. I spent years following my husband from base to base, but I wouldn't change a thing about it. It was an awesome way to see the world, and a thing that fills me with pride too.
All right, so what's coming next? Sometime in August, prepare for HOT MESS, a novella set in the HOT world! This one is about Sam McKnight and Georgeanne Hayes. There's a lot of heat in this story. I think you'll enjoy it — I sure enjoyed writing it! I plan to have Book 2 in the HOT series ready to go by Christmas, so keep an eye out for that one, and then I have two Harlequins out this fall as well – look for new books in October and December! I'm still working on next year, but you can expect four Harlequins (May, July, December, and as yet undetermined) and of course more HOT books! It's going to be a busy year, but I couldn't be happier about it. I hope you're as excited about it all as I am!
Jun 7, 2013 | Promotion, Photos, News, Contests, Books |
Welcome to all the new subscribers to this blog! I'm astounded by how many of you have joined up lately, and feeling a little guilty that I haven't posted anything fabulously interesting recently. How about this for interesting?
One of the things Harlequin does extremely well is translate books into foreign languages and distribute them in lots of global markets. I *love* getting copies of my translations! Here's my first Korean translation: THE MAN WITH THE MONEY, book 5 in the Notorious Wolfes series.
Something you may not know about me is that I love Korean food! I spent two months there back in 1998/1999, and I fell in love with the food. Bring on the kimchee, baby! Love it. One of my favorite things is Yuk Gae Jang, a very spicy soup that just makes me so happy when I have it. Mmmm.
Quick couple of announcements: if you haven't subscribed to my newsletter yet, you should! I'm going to start holding a drawing on the first of every month for a $50 gift card to Amazon, B&N, or Kobo. All you have to do is be a subscriber. Nothing else.
Secondly, if you haven't gotten a copy yet, MADDIE'S MARINE is now FREE on all the major outlets! Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iTunes, and Smashwords. I'm not sure the price change has trickled out to international outlets yet, but if not, you can always get it free right here on this site or from Smashwords, which has no geographical restrictions.
Now isn't this cover pretty? 🙂
May 28, 2013 | Photos, Promotion, News, Books |
Hey, y'all! I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend! I worked on my books this weekend, because I have no time to goof off and still get these stories out, but I also had a great day yesterday when the family went out to a nature trail and then to the botanical gardens. First up, Mr. Harris had been hearing about this covered bridge from a coworker, so he wanted to take pictures of it. Here's one he took of me, and I really like it! I wasn't dressed up or prepared, so I'm glad it turned out.
But that's not what this post is about, right? This post is about hot military heroes and summer publishing plans! First up, if you haven't yet gotten my free read, MADDIE'S MARINE, you can get it at several different places.
First, there's Smashwords, where you can download it in any format you wish: http://bit.ly/12VEvQJ
Then there's Kobo, where it's totally free to download: http://bit.ly/14HXZu3
Amazon has it, but they haven't price matched it to free yet. They still want .99, so be aware of that. You might want to wait until they drop the price, unless you just can't wait: http://amzn.to/12CawNg
Apple will have it quite soon! I'm waiting for it to go live there. Barnes & Noble will also have it, and I'm waiting not-so-patiently for that to happen as well. You can also, and always, get the story right here on my website for free, though you can only read it online if you do.
Another thing you can now do is add HOT PURSUIT to your Goodreads TBR shelf! Go ahead and put it on your shelf so others can see it's coming! 🙂
Now, as for the plans. Plans are always subject to change, based on deadlines and all kinds of other things, but here's what the tentative plan is. On June 1st, you can get my digital exclusive short story from Harlequin (no military hero in this one). HIS ROYAL LOVE-CHILD is about a prince and a commoner and what happens when they are reunited after 10 years apart!
In July, HOT PURSUIT will be available for your downloading pleasure! I don't have an exact date, but we are aiming for July 15th. Then you can read all about Matt Girard, Evie Baker, and the Hostile Operations Team! I'm so excited about this book and I can't wait for you to be able to read it! I know MADDIE'S MARINE is short, and it has that teaser excerpt for HOT PURSUIT — but never fear that HP is short! It's nearly 100K, so you'll get plenty to read!
After HOT PURSUIT, I have a novella coming called HOT MESS. There's no information on this one yet, as I am writing it right now. But I can tell you a little about the hero. He's Sergeant Sam McKnight and he's one bad ass soldier. He's from Texas, he's big and hot and tattooed, and he's focusing all his attention on the absolute last woman he can ever have, much to his chagrin. She's the little sister of his best friend growing up, and she's off limits. But then he has to get her out of a spot of trouble, and she's very inconveniently refusing to let him treat her like she's his little sister too. Which just leads to trouble of all sorts. 😉
Want a taste? Here's an exclusive peek just for you:
“I’m sorry about Sergeant Hamilton, Georgie. But I won’t let anything happen to you. You can count on that.”
“I know it.” She reached out and ran her palm along his jaw. She’d been aching to touch him. His eyes darkened, became hot pools she wanted to drown in. “I trust you, Sam. Completely.”
He caught her hand and pulled it away from his skin. “You can trust me with your life, Georgie. But don’t make the mistake of thinking you can trust me with anything else. I’m not that good, believe me.”
“Maybe I don’t want good,” she said on a soft breath. “Maybe I want you to be as bad as you can be.”
She didn’t think it possible, but his eyes grew even darker. His expression was taut. His voice, when he spoke, sounded choked off. “Don’t say shit like that to me. You know I’m not going there.”
Georgeanne pushed herself upright, skirting him as he continued to kneel where she’d just been. “You keep forgetting something, Sam. You keep forgetting that I don’t give a fuck what kind of twisted up logic you’ve got going on in your head about me. I’m not your sister, and I’m not thirteen anymore. And my brother has absolutely no say about what I do or whom I do it with.”
And there you have it! More HOT military heroes, a Harlequin Prince, and lots of plans in the works. This fall, I'll have two books from Harlequin (three, really, because you'll get a bonus book in December!), and hopefully another HOT book. So long as y'all keep reading, I'll keep writing!
Happy reading! 🙂
May 20, 2013 | Events, Promotion, Photos, Books |
How on earth do those two things go together, you ask? Well, they don't really, but my weekend involved both! On Saturday, I went up to Franklin, TN, to a Meet & Greet with my Music City Romance Writers chapter. It was held at the main library in Franklin, which is a gorgeous town. We signed books and talked to readers for three hours. It was a lot of fun! We also gave away prizes, and one of the ladies who won a prize from me was the amazing Melinda Doolittle of American Idol fame.
In Season 6, the first season Mr. Harris and I ever watched it (after years of being overseas), we were awed by the talent of two particular women. LaKisha Jones and Melinda Doolittle. Week after week we tuned in and watched these ladies wow us with their voices. Simon never had a bad word to say about Melinda's performances, if that tells you anything. 😉
So, yeah, I had a fangirl moment when I realized that the lady who'd won my bag and books was Melinda. She came in third that year, and she's had an amazing career since. She is also sweet, polite, and very unassuming. I may have shocked her just a little bit with my fangirling, but I was truly excited. She graciously posed for pictures with me, and here's my favorite! Isn't she lovely?
The other thing I have to tell you about today is my adventures with Smashwords. Yes, I finally figured out how to format MADDIE'S MARINE properly, and I uploaded it to Smashwords. It's totally FREE, as always — and you can now download it on your preferred ereader! Simply click here to choose! It will eventually make its way out to all the e-tailer outlets for direct download, but right now you can get any format you wish from Smashwords. It's a very short story, but I still love it and I hope you will enjoy it. Here's the fab cover that my lovely web designer made. Doesn't it just make you want to go somewhere tropical with your own handsome hero?
Apr 4, 2013 | Writing, Books |
I've discovered I'm impatient. Well, maybe I always knew it, but my brain is whirling with so many thoughts these days and so many plans and I am IMPATIENT as hell for them to come to life. First, I am about sick with impatience waiting to get HOT PURSUIT out to you. It's still in editing, and I know that will make it an awesome book in the end, but I want to share it with you! I've been waiting for so long. I've had a cover for months — and yes, I've held back showing you. Unless you're on my Street Team, Lynn's Lovelies, and then you saw it a while back. 😉 (Hint: Join my Street Team for exclusive peeks, excerpts, and goodies! We have a secret Facebook group, and I will be happy to invite you in if you're on Facebook — just send me a message over there and I'll make it happen.)
I have more books to write in that world, and I have three more Harlequins due quite soon. Next year, I'll have a sheikh duo coming out. No titles yet, though I have titled them myself and I hope I get to keep them! Because, for once, I think I did a good title job! I'll also be participating in another continuity series (like last year's Santina Crown and this year's Sicilian Corretti Dynasty), and my book will be the final book in December 2014. No idea yet what my book will be about, but I've heard hints about a Don Draper-like character. Yum!
You see why I'm impatient? I have so much going on! And, aside from my military books, I have another series I want to write. This one involves four brothers, a small town, and some dark secrets. When will I ever get the time to write them all?
All right, enough whining — here's what you need to know: HOT PURSUIT is tentatively scheduled for May. There will be a cover reveal soon! There will also be a prequel novella and at least two other books in the series. I hope to have the novella to you by summer's end, and then the next book perhaps by Christmas. I hate stretching them out so far, but I have to fit them in with the Harlequin work.
While I'm not revealing the cover yet, here's the blurb. I hope it interests you! Matt is seriously hot, and I think he'll take your breath away. Which is why I'm getting so antsy about this! If you want to know more, like when the book finally hits stores, sign up for my newsletter (scroll to the bottom of this page and type your email in the box) and be among the first to know when the book goes live. I'll also announce it on Facebook, Twitter, and this site. 🙂
The last man she ever wanted to see…
Evie Baker’s luck just ran out. Thanks to an ex-partner with organized crime ties, she’s lost her restaurant, her money, and nearly all her self-respect. Forced to return to her hometown and work as a shampoo girl in her mother’s salon, she doesn’t think her luck can get any worse.
But then someone starts shooting at her, her sullen baby sister is suddenly missing, and the high school heartthrob who stole her heart—and her virginity—is the only man big enough and bad enough to help.
Might be the only one who can save her…
Captain Matt “Richie Rich” Girard can’t afford to get involved. He’s already on the verge of a court-martial after a Top Secret op gone wrong, and he’s been ordered to stay out of trouble while he’s home for his sister’s wedding.
But when Evie’s ex-partner turns up dead, staying out of trouble is the last thing on Matt’s mind. He failed Evie once before; he can’t fail her again. If he’s going to protect her from a killer, and find her sister before time runs out, he’ll have to risk his entire future—and both their lives—to do it.
Things are about to get HOT in the bayou!
Mar 5, 2013 | Books, Promotion |
If you've been waiting for A GAME WITH ONE WINNER in the UK, you can now get your copy a month early from the Mills & Boon site! I've been told it's also shipping from Amazon UK. This is the story of sexy Russian Roman Kazarov and heiress Caroline Sullivan-Wells. The cover copy alludes to a secret, but I have no idea why they just didn't tell you the darn secret up front — it's pretty obvious! Caroline has a son who just so happens to be about nine months younger than the breakup between Caroline and Roman five years ago! Now that's a secret worth reading about. Because what's going to happen when Roman realizes the truth, eh?
Hope you enjoy!
Here are the US pre-order links for you too!
Amazon
Kindle
B&N
Nook
There are more buy links on the book page, so click the title in red at the top of this post and it will take you there. 🙂
