Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Yummy!

I just received my cover for my April release at Ellora's Cave! Looks a little similar to A Helping Hand because it is a kind of sequel. Jeremy in A Helping Hand ended up the third wheel and alone. Now he finds comfort and more in the arms of another neglected secondary character--David from Hidden Force!

Hidden Hands
Coming to Ellora's Cave on April 3rd!

Detective Jeremy Lawson doesn't expect anything from his one night stand except sex. What he gets is a shooting, a mystery plus some of the best sex he's had in a long time. Somewhere along the way, he also finds some tenderness for a lost soul in need of rescuing.

David March has let his troubled past blind him to any kind of happy future. But when a one night stand turns out to be a cop in shining armor, David begins to think differently about his life. As in, he wants one. But to have one, he has to stay alive.

Note: For maximum reader enjoyment, we suggest reading Hidden Force (David) and A Helping Hand (Jeremy) where our two heros were secondary characters.

Click Here for Excerpt

Click here for larger version

Friday, February 13, 2009

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

New Release Tomorrow!

Positive Possibilities
Ellora's Cave

Chicago attorney Gabe Layton’s life has just turned upside down. His lover of six years is cheating and his supposedly straight best friend of twenty-something years claims to be in love with him. Throw that his cheating ex has possibly exposed him to HIV, Gabe’s world is a confusing place.

Paramedic Dean Bannon has always been attracted to both sexes but after seeing his lifelong friend Gabe deal with prejudice and hate, staying on the straight and narrow seemed an easier path. But his deepening feelings for Gabe push him to reveal his hidden side. Now to convince Gabe of the positive possibilities of taking their friendship to another level.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

A Quick Update!

Seems I haven't posted in a while. AGAIN! I don't know how I get so far behind. I try to read blogs every day but I can't seem to write my own! LOL

So, this week went by in a flash and a half! The weather was a biyotch for part of the week. We had ice on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday afternoon started warming. Today, I think we hit 70 degrees. Arkansas weather is a total pain.

This week I worked on a query and synopsis for Harlequin Blaze. I mailed it Saturday. *crosses fingers* I've been rejected by Harlequin twice already--once by Romantic Suspense and once by Spice. Let's see if third time's a charm!

Today, I've concentrated on a concept, world building and synopsis for a scifi series. This series will not be erotic, nor gay. Not to say there won't be sex scenes or gay characters. Scifi has always more explicit sex than mainstream novels. Plus gay characters aren't unusual in scifi. But I want to do something with more mainstream appeal. I probably won't use my Shayla name but I don't think I'll be keeping the new name a secret.

The big plan is to polish this sucker to death then work on getting an agent. We'll see. I have an appointment with an agent at a conference the first weekend in March. By then I want the premise (blurb), synopsis and about 25k words of book one done. Plus, I'd like a premise for at least book two and three. In my head, I have ideas for the second book. Just need to think that one through so I can come up with book three. The characters in book one will probably show up in book three. I also need a snazzy name for the series. So confused! LOL And I've left myself very little time for all of it.

Of course, if I wasn't committed to working for the old day job all this week, I'd have a better chance of getting everything done. Plus I'll be working odd days through February because the audit starts this month.

I'll just have to work harder to get everything done. I have a rough premise and I'm about two chapters into the synopsis now. I plan to do a complete detailed synopsis--nothing I'd send to an editor or agent--like a map of the book for me. Hopefully, I can finish the synopsis this week at night. Writing a synopsis is a lot of "telling" words. Writing the actual book needs "showing" words. Much harder to come up with. Plus I don't need to worry about all the details. If I can finish the synopsis, I can start the book next week when I don't have the day job to deal with.

Oh, and I had a new sale! Ellora's Cave offered for the fourth book in my Eternity series, Fighting for Eternity! We haven't started editing yet so I don't have a release date or anything. Here's the blurb (also unedited):

Searching for a murderous rogue vampire, Watcher Estefan Garza’s life is turned upside down by tragic loss and a surprise from his past. His bone chilling loss is warmed by fires of passion reignited by vampire Karl Brandt.

On a quest to destroy a former friend, Karl is startled by Estefan and his mysterious companions. Karl can’t understand why Estefan hasn’t aged in seventy years. Unwilling to let him leave until Karl discovers the truth, he offers Estefan and his friends refuge and assistance for their common mission.

As a bloody battle for Memphis ensues, Karl and Estefan bond between danger and destruction until all that remains separating them is a fight for eternity.

So there you have it. A short summary of my life. Back to work now! I need a little more to finish the second chapter synopsis!