May 29, 2013 | Life, Photos, Writing
Does anybody ever know what the future holds? I'm sitting here on my screened in patio, it's sunny and warm, and I can look up at the sky and clouds, and it just fills me with happiness. It's like the future is wide open with possibilities, and all I need is this laptop and my imagination to make it happen.
I don't think it's that easy, truly, but sometimes it feels that way. I've looked up at the sky in a hundred different places, and I've felt exactly the same: the future is filled with possibilities. I never know what will happen, but I feel like it has the potential to be good.
It's the dreamer in me, and I hope I never lose her. She always feels like amazing things are just waiting to happen. The practical side of me worries about everything and knows bad things happen too, but the dreamer doesn't want to think about it. I think we need the dreamer to keep us optimistic. The worrier keeps us grounded.
Today, the possibilities lie within this book I'm working on. I hope it makes readers happy when it's done and out there, but I won't know that for a while yet. Still, I do my best, and I hope you know that whenever you sit down with something I've written.
From my patio to yours, happy day!
May 28, 2013 | Books, News, Photos, Promotion |
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 | Books, Photos, Promotion, Events |
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?
May 11, 2013 | Photos, RT Convention |
Y'all, I had such a great time at the RT Booklover's Convention! It's always so much fun, and it always goes way too fast. Seems like I just get there and it's time to go home. In spite of my best intentions, I don't take enough photos, I don't get enough sleep, and I don't talk to everyone I want to talk to.
Tuesday, after all my flights were on time, I get to KC where the lovely Janette Kenny picks me up. We went to lunch and shopping at DSW, then off to the hotel where we got an upgrade. So far, so good! That night, we joined the Aussies for dinner at a nearby restaurant and I came home with a package of dark chocolate Tim Tams. Mmmmm.
On Wednesday, the official fun began. For the next several days, I went to the most awesome workshops, attended fabulous parties, talked late into the night with old friends and made new friends too. The vibe at RT was so positive. I told Mr. Harris that I felt as if I'd attended a revival. Everyone was happy, positive, and thrilled with the changes in publishing. I'm so very excited for my indie debut coming up. HOT PURSUIT is almost ready to go. I'm finishing up the edits, and I hope to have it ready for you sometime in the beginning of June. If you want to be kept up to date about it, please kept checking back or sign up for my newsletter here.
And now it's time for some pictures!
My display at RT.
With Janette Kenny, Kira Sinclair, and Andrea Laurence at the Ellora's Cave disco party. No, I am not bigger than they are — I'm just closer to the camera!
The amazing menu at Lidia's, where we had dinner Friday night.
At dinner. Janette Kenny, me, Andrea Laurence, Kimberly Lang, Amber Doremus, and Kira Sinclair.
And here I am at the giant book fair. I can't wait for next year in New Orleans! Every year is bigger and better, and I look forward to seeing what they manage to pull off in the Crescent City. Hope to see you there!
Apr 29, 2013 | RT Convention
Yep, it's that time, y'all! I'm off to the RT Convention in Kansas City this week. Hope to see some of my lovely readers there, as well as catch up with my author friends. If you're going to be there, look me up. I'll be at the Harlequin Series Soiree on Wednesday at 2:30, so stop by and say hi. I'll also be at the Giant Book Fair on Saturday, and the Fantastic Fan Day events that evening. Naturally, I'll be at the various parties and balls, so catch me there too.
Looking forward to a fun time, as always!
