Finding Cupid's Arrows Blog Hop

It's Valentine's Day week, and do you know what that means? It means the ladies responsible for Cupid's Conquests want to make sure you get a present this year! It also means that, like our devilish Cupid, we want to play a game with you. Let's call it Fact or Fiction. Ready to play?

There's nothing like a girlfriend saying, "Hey, my ex and his friend want to meet at the bar. Will you go with?" to set a ridiculous chain of events in motion.

Of course, being me, I said "Sure!" to the bar. Who cares about her ex and the friend? It was an excuse to go drink and dance. So I went, and sitting across from me was this guy (her ex). Let's just say he wasn't the type to get my attention. A little too quiet, a little too buttoned up, a lot too skinny. But the friend. Holy shit was the guy obnoxious. So, while Mary talked to him, I tried to make small talk with her ex.

No harm, no foul. We made it through the night without any real kerfuffles, so I called it a win.

Then somehow we ended up hanging out with them...a lot. I found out all sorts of things about her ex (and his two girlfriends) while she was off getting chummy with his friend. Meanwhile, my own personal life had taken a hit and I was all about teaching a guy a lesson. With Mary's blessing, I set out to seduce her ex with the plan of making him fall for me and then ditching him so he'd know he shouldn't be toying with multiple women.

Somewhere in there...he and I started to actually talk. Not the bullshit conversations with a stranger at the bar. Real stuff. Deep, meaningful stuff. And when the time came that he said he only wanted to see me, my cut and run plan flew out the window. (This was a grand total of six weeks after meeting.) I'd fallen hard for the guy.


So hard in fact, that a month later after a party at his place, we were snuggling and he asked me to marry him. Not many things can make me speechless, but that did. I kissed him--hard--while I tried to figure out just how crazy the entire idea was. Of course I couldn't marry him! We'd known each other less than three months. It was crazy.

But when I opened my mouth, the word that came out was "Yes."

Apparently when Cupid's arrows hit, it's not just your heart that gets stolen, but your sanity and ability to form words too. Sneaky little god...



So here's the question! Was this story of one of Cupid's crazy Conquests real or a fabrication? Answer in the comments below for your chance to win a copy of either of my Cupid's Conquests titles: GunShy or Love & Other Indoor Sports. Then hop along to the other blogs participating. And make sure to enter the Rafflecopter drawings for our grand prizes! 

It's a small blog hop, but it's all about Cupid and you, so follow the links below and be sure to hit everyone for more chances at great prizes!



Yay for giveaways! There are TWO Rafflecopters below. The first is for the beautiful lariat style arrow necklace (from Chainchainchained on Etsy) and the second is for the $25 Evernight gift card so you can get your fill of Cupid and romance. The best part? Entries are the same for BOTH, so make sure you click on all the good stuff for both giveaways :)
a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also, if you're in the mood to spread some love to a bunch of kids, please click on the Evil for Crestline link to your right. On February 3, Crestline Elementary in WA burned to the ground. A bunch of authors, crafters, and other talented people are raising money to buy them some much needed school supplies. (There are also links to donate directly to the school.) Thanks! And Happy Valentine's Day!

Evernight Publishing's Birthday Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Evernight Publishing birthday blog hop!

Evernight Publishing opened its doors two years ago. In those two years we’ve signed over one hundred and sixty authors and published over three hundred books. From paranormal to contemporary, we’ve had more best sellers than we can count and made thousands of people smile, sigh and gasp. So, as a thank you to all our readers and everyone who has supported us, we’re holding this blog hop and we have a whole lot of prizes to offer you.

Here's how it works... the more blogs you hop to (shown below) the more chance you have of winning prizes. Each author on the hop is offering a prize and Evernight is offering the following grand prizes, a Kindle, a $100 Amazon gift certificate, two Evernight swag bags (which includes a tote, a tee, vouchers, a mug and other coolness) and a personalized Facebook banner. To be in with a chance of winning the author prize simply follow the blog you're visiting and leave a comment which includes your email address. Each entry on each blog is then counted towards the grand prize draw. The more entries you have, the better your chance of winning a grand prize! You also get extra points for liking the Evernight Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/evernightpublishing. Just make sure you let us know in the comments that you've done so.

Good luck and happy hopping!

For my part, I'm giving away the winner's choice of either of my Cupid's Conquests books (GunShy or Love & Other Indoor Sports). If the winner already owns both of those books, we'll work something out ;-)

(ALSO, GunShy is still 99 cents on Amazon right now, so you might want to grab that one ASAP!)

So, follow my blog and make a comment (with your email address, please), and I'll get you entered. Entering at each blog also gives you another entry for the grand prizes! So get hopping :) 

Woot and Woohoo! And Why It Matters

A lot of an author's job is done in relative solitude. We write alone, we edit under direction but essentially alone, we pimp and we promo while sitting at home at our desks/kitchen tables/sofas... alone. Our human interaction is generally of the digital sort. That's the sort of connection we have to others in the business when we start freaking out that our work sucks. And I don't know an author who doesn't go through the "my book sucks ass" phase at some point. So we run to the other people who have been there.

But in the back of our minds, there is always this little voice that reminds us how easy it is to lie on the internet. That doesn't even touch on the fact that authors are career liars.

So, while the conversations have the climb down off the ledge effect, we still make a mental note of exactly where that ledge is because we know we'll be back. Then the book comes out and reviews start coming in (possibly before release even). This stage of the game is like peri-menopause on crack. They loved it! They totally got what I was going for turns into Oh my God! They hated my main character and said she was too stupid to live with the next review. And it's up and down like that at every turn. This one swooned over my hero!!! ...Oh no, this one said the romance was completely unbelievable. 

And I say all that while loving reviewers for giving my books their time anyway. (We will not get into the reviews are not for authors thing here. I know it, you should know it, and I don't even rant in private about reviews. I just panic a little.)

But even if the vast majority of reviews are of the "liked/loved it" variety, authors know that the point has come when stuff is completely outside their control. I can't make anyone buy my book anymore than I can make a reviewer like it. I want you to buy, sure, but I can't make you. So, we stand there (virtually) with a tray of goodies, waiting to see if anyone wants them. We don't shake, we don't stutter. At least that we let anyone see. Inside, we're a quivering mass of nerves.

That's how the publishing game goes. You have to be a little bit of a masochist to love that feeling.

But every once in a while something happens that stops your heart for a second and makes you jump up and down screaming "They like me! They really like me!"

While I was in Disney, I found out I was up for Book of the Year at The TBR Pile. The first round of voting was reader-driven. My readers had to go there and vote to get me in the finals. I told people about it, but it was... nerve-wracking. There were some great books in that group, and I didn't know if I could squeeze into one of those top three slots. My fans came through though, and I was a finalist! Woot!

Honestly, I thought it was over then. The finals were judged at The TBR Pile and based on some formula that I don't know the ins and outs of that dealt with the initial review, sales numbers and I have no clue what else. So, I wrote off the competition then, and thanked everyone for their support.

Now I have to switch over to a different part of the story (which I was told I could share). While the person in charge of notifying the winner was waiting for the results, she decided to clean her house (I so know that excited cleaning thing). In the midst of cleaning, she ran across a DVD of an old Sandra Bullock movie. The name of the movie? Gun Shy. She got the results right after that and contacted me to not only tell me my own GunShy had WON Book of the Year but to share the story too.

Yep, you read that right. Cupid's Conquests #1 won Book of the Year. (It even says so right over there in the sidebar.) This award means the world to me as I've been struggling with some decisions regarding my writing career, and it helped remind me that I might not know all the people who love my books, but that's kind of the point. If reading my words touches one stranger, brightens their day for even a little while, that is why I'm in publishing and not just writing for my close friends.


Thank you, TBR Pile, for the honor and for the reminder. :)  

Birthday Winners!

First, I want to thank everyone who stopped by my blog during the last week. I got swamped with regular life and didn't manage to come back and comment (which I normally try to do :( ). I hope some of you will stop by on Tuesdays (starting again next week), which are my regular blogging days here. I also hope you all took advantage of the great sale on Saturday--I know I did :)

Now, to what you really want to know, we'll start with the winner of GunShy...

Nay Nay!!!!

Congrats! If you're around to comment, you can let me know if you would prefer PDF or EPUB format, otherwise, I'll be sending you an email today.

Next up, the $5.00 gift certificate from Evernight Publishing...

Anna Keraleigh!!!!

Evernight has your email, so you should be hearing from them soon.

And now, the moment we've all been waiting for, the grand prize winners...

Uh...

I've been scooped on this one. *sigh* To find out if you won the grand prizes, you need to go to Evernight's blog. Congrats to the winners here (and there), and Happy Birthday, Evernight!

Happy Birthday Evernight Publishing

As a mom, my kids' first birthdays hold a special place in my heart.

My son wanted nothing to do with his cake. He didn't want to touch the frosting. We had to dunk his fingers in the frosting and actually smear it on his face for him so we could get that required first birthday picture. To this day, he still doesn't eat frosting--he scrapes it off cake.

My daughter, on the other hand, was a sugar-junkie from the beginning. The main reason she had so little frosting on her face was because it all went in her mouth. It's at the point where the two of them basically split cake when we have it. He eats the cake, she eats the frosting.

Saturday, October 1, is Evernight Publishing's first birthday, and I can't wait to see how the party turns out. If you've paid attention to the books they put out, I'm pretty sure Evernight is going to be the kind of toddler that savors every delectable bite of that cake...and you can bet it'll be rich and chocolatey.

With this party on the horizon, it is my pleasure to announce that I've signed my third contract with Evernight. The follow-up to last year's holiday story, Yes, Alana, There Is a Santa Claus, will be included in this year's holiday anthology. Making the Naughty List will be part of this year's anthology Stockings and Suspenders.

This story follows a different narrator, an elf named Daisy. She's not exactly your stereotypical elf. Brady picked her off the streets of Detroit years ago, and now with him dating Alana, she feels left behind. So, Santa sends her on a mission of the utmost importance. She needs to get a man named Gage Thomas off the naughty list...by whatever means necessary.

So, in celebration of Evernight's birthday and my new sale, I'm giving away a copy of my latest Evernight release, GunShy. (I'll be choosing a winner on Friday.**** CORRECTION: The contest runs through the weekend. Winner will be drawn on Monday!****)

And... Evernight is also going to choose a winner from commenters here for a $5.00 Evernight gift certificate.

AND...every time you comment on one of the birthday blogs, you're entered for the grand prizes as well.

In order to enter for all of those goodies, just follow my blog and post a comment (and don't forget to include your email). It's a birthday party, so tell me your favorite memory of a birthday, favorite party game, favorite kind of cake... I'm pretty open as long as it has to do with birthdays :)

Oh yeah, and on their birthday, Evernight will be marking down ALL of their books, including GunShy, by 75%! That means even if you don't win, you can still get it at a great price.

Blues and News

First and foremost (since people have been asking), I'm doing better with the depression. I'm not back to my normal (I use that term loosely) self, but I'm getting there. Thanks for all the *hugs* and happy thoughts and love. Every bit of it helps and is appreciated :)

I am a little melancholy today though. It's the first day of school. The Boy is a fourth grader, which means in two short years he's going to be in middle school. I'm pretty sure that means I'm old, but I'm going to try to ignore that fact and just do my thing. But...Mini-Me started first grade this year (and she got her ears pierced in celebration of becoming a big kid). She's been doing half-days for a while now, but this will be the first time in almost ten years that I've been alone all day every day. I'm not really sure how it's going to go. On the plus side, more time for writing! On the down side...yeah, we're just going to pretend the depression thing doesn't worry me.

In the meantime though, I have news!

Remember a couple weeks ago when I announced that Evernight Publishing had picked up GunShy and the Cupid's Conquests series? First, I have a group of authors hard at work on more stories for the series which has me totally geeked. Second... my editor and I busted through edits, and they bumped up the release date. So scratch November. GunShy is coming...*Drum-roll*... September 16! Yes, it will be available ten days from now. I'm crazy excited and I really hope people love this story.

In other news, authors from Decadent Publishing (including me) will be at The Romance Studio chat room tomorrow night at 9pm eastern time (6pm Pacific... hopefully the rest of you can figure it out from there). Please stop by! I'm pretty sure the people in charge are doing giveaways (*hint* Check out which authors are there and have their websites at the ready to search for answers to questions... at least that's how they did it last time :P)