Julie Kenner's Blog, page 82

For the Freedom of the Mustangs: D’Ann Lindun’s Novel and her Activism

The days of wild horses are dwindling because of the use of corrals. D’Ann Lindun joins me on the blog today to talk about her passion for mustangs and their wide open spaces!

They DO Shoot Horses

Have your passions changed through the years? Or have they stayed basically the same? I have been passionate about horses my entire life. I began riding when I was three years old and don’t see myself without a horse and riding, no matter how old I get. For a time, I belonged to a trail riding club with several members in their 70s and 80s. So I don’t think I’m completely unrealistic.

From the time I was small, I have always been enthralled with wild mustangs. I loved reading about them, imagining them galloping free across this great country their ancestors helped settle.

The first time I saw a wild horse, a mustang, was about ten years ago while on a trip to Arizona. I live close to a refuge here, but have never seen the wild horses that live on it. During that trip to Arizona, we first spotted the band of mares and colts among the towering saguaro and Cholla cactus of the Tonto National Forest. I was amazed animals could live in that rugged environment.

Unfortunately, the wild horses have not always been undisturbed. Depicted in the Marilyn Monroe film, The Misfits, the mustangs have been rounded up and sent to slaughter. Thanks to Velma Johnson or Wild Horse Annie, Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed in 1971, prohibiting the round up and sale of mustangs on Federal land.

Unfortunately, this law isn’t upheld and nnowadays, the overabundance of horses are held in holding pens. Corrals. No freedom for the once wild and proud animals. Due to an overturn in the law, many will go to slaughter. To European and Asian dinner plates.

I am passionate that this does not happen.

So is my character Martin Castillo in Wild Horses. He’s willing to die to protect them. Are you that passionate about something? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Her family ranch outside of Payson, Arizona, is the last place Castaña Castillo thought she’d ever see again. But when her mustang activist brother goes missing, Castaña returns home to lead the search. Years of bad blood between local law enforcement and the Castillo men lead Castaña to believe the local cops won’t put out much effort to locate her brother. Especially since they think he murdered two federal wildlife agents.

Disgraced FBI agent Jake Breton needs to bring in Martin Castillo to redeem himself and resurrect his career. Falling in love with someone related to the suspect is the last thing he can afford to do. The last time he followed his heart, and not his head, it nearly cost him his life.

Danger, adventure, and death push Jake and Castaña together. Will they learn to trust each other and leave their pasts behind?

Falling in love with romance novels the summer before sixth grade, D’Ann Lindun never thought about writing one until many years later when she took a how-to class at her local college. She was hooked! She began writing and never looked back. Romance appeals to her because there’s just something so satisfying about writing a book guaranteed to have a happy ending. D’Ann’s particular favorites usually feature cowboys and the women who love them. This is probably because she draws inspiration from the area where she lives, Western Colorado, her husband of twenty-nine years and their daughter. Composites of their small farm, herd of horses, five Australian shepherds, a Queensland heeler, nine ducks and cats of every shape and color often show up in her stories!

She loves to hear from readers! You can contact her through Email, her Website, or Facebook.

Thanks to D’Ann for telling us about the condition of these great animals. Do you all have similar causes you are dedicated to?

P.S. - If you enjoy romance with a magical twist, my award-winning THE CAT'S FANCY is currently on sale for only 99 cents!  And it's also in the top 10 of several of the Kindle romance charts!  Woot!

And as a cool bonus, it's the prequel to my fun series of superhero romances that began with the USA Today bestseller Aphrodite's Kiss!  

I hope you check out The Cat's Fancy!

P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!

XXOO

--J.K.

Here’s a Stark Trilogy #StarkOnSaturday peek at Complete Me by J. Kenner (book 3)

Squee!!!  We’re soooooo close now to the release of Complete Me, book 3 of the Stark Trilogy by me (J. Kenner!)!

Just a few more #StarkOnSaturday posts until the release of Complete Me, book three in the Stark Trilogy that began with with Release Me, continued with Claim Me, and will conclude with Complete Me! )

(And thanks to my UK publisher, Eternal Romance, for the awesome graphic!)

 

I’ve been “steaming” at Disneyworld, so here’s a “steamy” excerpt!

 “I’m sorry I hurt you,” he says as he brushes the pad of his thumb across my lips.

I open my mouth, drawing him in, then close my eyes and savor the taste of him. “Aren’t you the one who told me that pain and passion go hand in hand?” I murmur when I finally release him.

I watch as his eyes darken, then gasp as he pushes me back onto the narrow bed. Desire—hot and heavy—slams through me with such force and power it makes me dizzy. I need him—I need his hands upon my breasts and his body against mine. I need his tongue in my mouth and his cock deep inside me.

I need to feel the connection between us. I need to revel in it, to bathe in it.

I need to feel what I already know—that Damien is mine, and that I am and always will be his.

His hands are holding fast to my wrists, keeping my arms stretched above my head. He holds me tight, and I wince from the pain of my skin twisting in his grip, then cry out again when he violently kneads my breasts through my thin cotton shirt. “Do you like that?” he asks.

“Yes, oh god, yes.”

He lowers his mouth to my breast, suckling through my shirt before shoving it up, then tugging my breast free from my bra. He is straddling me at the hips, and I am breathing hard, unable to move as his hands hold me down and his mouth closes over my now bare breast. He draws the nipple in between his lips, sucking so intensely that I arch up, then cry out when he bites down, his teeth drawing tighter than the little silver rings.

He pulls away, tugging the nipple with him, and I arch up, wanting more—wanting that sensual bite, that seductive sting.

“Tell me what you need,” he demands.

“You,” I say. “I need you.”

“Goddammit, Nikki,” he growls, “that’s not what I mean. Tell me what you need.”

And that’s when I realize—of course he saw the flute. Of course he knew what I was thinking. Damien knows; hell, he always knows.

“I need you,” I repeat hoarsely. “That’s all I need. I wasn’t going to do it, I swear. I thought about it, but I wasn’t going to do it.”

“Oh, baby.”  His mouth closes over mine, and he is kissing me, wild and hungry and with so much fervency I feel as though we will both get lost in it. His hands move over my body and I writhe under his touch, every sense firing. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I brought you there, and I’m so fucking sorry.”

“No,” I say. “It’s me. Only me. And you’re what keeps me strong. Oh, god, Damien, please,” I add, because I cannot have his hands on me and have this conversation at the same time. “Now, please, I need you now.”

And if you want more Damien and Nikki, why not pre-order Complete Me from Amazon or from Barnes and Noble! On-sale July 30!

And if you missed Release Me, you can snag your copy from your favorite retailers here:

Random House

Amazon (print)

Amazon (kindle)

Amazon United Kingdom

Barnes and Noble (print or Nook)

Books-A-Million

Kobo

iBooks

Indie BoundAnd, of course, you can get Book 2, Claim Me, from these great retailers:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

Random House

your favorite independent bookseller

in the U.K. from Amazon

 in the U.K. from Waterstones

 in the U.K. from WH Smith

More soon,

XXOO

P.S. - If you enjoy romance with a magical twist, my award-winning THE CAT'S FANCY is currently on sale for only 99 cents!  And it's also in the top 10 of several of the Kindle romance charts!  Woot!

And as a cool bonus, it's the prequel to my fun series of superhero romances that began with the USA Today bestseller Aphrodite's Kiss!  

I hope you check out The Cat's Fancy!

P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!

XXOO

--J.K.

Just some fun Disney pics!

Here are some of the pics from our trip! Tomorrow we’re hitting the wizarding world!

Meet J. Kenner (me!!) in Florida (Tampa), Texas, Georgia or New Jersey! Upcoming #StarkTrilogy signings and more!

I’ll be signing copies of the New York Times bestselling Stark Trilogy (and more!) at the following events around the country! I hope to see some of you there!

TAMPA, FLORIDA BOOKSIGNING:
SUNDAY, JULY 7 at 2 pm–?? (probably 4)

I’ll be signing the first two books in the Stark Trilogy at the Barnes & Noble in Carrollwood (the Tampa, Florida area).  Come by, say hi, get your books signed, and check out me all relaxed and slightly sunburned in my post-Disneyworld haze!

Barnes & Noble, Carrollwood

11802 North Dale Mabry Highway

Tampa, FL 33618

ATLANTA, GEORGIA: “READERS FOR LIFE” Literacy signing,
JULY 17 from 5:30-7:30

I’ll be one of 450+ authors signing in the Atrium Ballrooms A-C at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis hotel.  The 2013 beneficiaries of the Literacy Autographing are ProLiteracy Worldwide, Literacy Action, Inc., and Literacy Volunteers of Atlanta.  Learn more at the RWA website.

AUSTIN, TX AREA:
COMPLETE ME RELEASE NIGHT SIGNING (WITH WINE!)
THE BOOK SPOT IN ROUND ROCK: TUESDAY, JULY 30 (TIME TBA)

1205 Round Rock Ave #119 · Round Rock, Texas · 78681

Come join the fun!

HOUSTON, TEXAS: TWO FAB EVENTS ON JULY 31!

First, a signing in Katy in the afternoon:

Booksigning at Katy Budget Books, July 31 12-2pm.  Come by and get Complete Me, hot off the presses!

And later that evening in the same area, the Eat Read Rate Summer With A Twist Dinner with me (Julie Kenner/J. Kenner/J.K. Beck), Sophie Jordan, Donna Grant, Tracy Wolff, Tessa Adams, and Tracy Deebs!

This will be a blast with a fab fajita dinner … but hurry!  Tix are sure to go fast, and ticket sales close July 24!

 

And in August … I’ll be at the Authors After Dark conference (details of the signing to come soon!) and in October I’ll be in New Jersey (details coming soon there, too).

 

Hump Day Books from Vivien Sparx, Barbara Rogan, LA Mondello, Lea Wait, Michele Stegman, Elaine Raco Chase, Donna Fasano, and Terese Ramin

Need a new read to fill those hot summer days? This week’s Hump Day Books are sure to please!

JACK STONE – WILD JUSTICE (The Dark Master Series)

Just Released!

Learn more at Vivien’s website!

Cafe Nevo

Available for the first time as e-book!

Learn more at Barbara’s website

Material Witness (Romantic Suspense) (Heroes of Providence)

Only $.99 for a few more days!

Learn more at LA’s website!

Shadows on a Cape Cod Wedding: An Antique Print Mystery (Antique Print Mysteries)

New Release!

Learn more at Lea’s website!

Conquest Of The Heart

New and unusual!

Learn more at Michele’s website

DOUBLE OCCUPANCY

56 weeks in FB’s Top 50 Books to Read after 50SofGrey – No bdsm!

Learn more at Elaine’s website!

Reclaim My Heart

New Release!

Learn more at Donna’s website!

The Sound and the Furry

A charitable anthology to benefit the International Fund for Animal Welfare!

Learn more at Terese’s website

If you would like to submit a book to the Hump Day feature, click here!

P.S. - If you enjoy romance with a magical twist, my award-winning THE CAT'S FANCY is currently on sale for only 99 cents!  And it's also in the top 10 of several of the Kindle romance charts!  Woot!

And as a cool bonus, it's the prequel to my fun series of superhero romances that began with the USA Today bestseller Aphrodite's Kiss!  

I hope you check out The Cat's Fancy!

P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!

XXOO

--J.K.

A Pre-Apocalyptic Tour of Los Angeles: Richard Preston on the Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin (and a contest!)

Those iconic places that make Los Angeles the place it is today – where did they come from? What will happen to them in 400 years? Today Richard Preston joins me to give us a fabulous tour of L.A. and introduce his apocalyptic series set there. Read on for the chance to win 2 of his signed books!

A PRE-APOCALYPTIC TOUR OF LOS ANGELES

Los Angeles, like every big city, has her share of famous landmarks.  I thought it would be fun to take a brief tour of the LA landmarks which appear (in vastly ruined and or altered form) in Romulus Buckle and the City of the Founders, which is set in a snowbound Los Angeles in the year 2432.

THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN

Probably the most enduring symbol of the American film industry, the genesis of the Hollywood sign had nothing to do with movies.  The first sign, designed by architect Thomas Fisk Goff in 1923, read as ‘Hollywoodland’ and was part of a real estate advertising campaign for a housing development in the hills above Chinatown.  Located on Mount Lee in the Hollywood Hills section of the Santa Monica Mountains, the letters were 50 feet tall, constructed of wood and sheet metal hauled up by mules, and lit with 4,000 light bulbs.  In the early 1940s, the sign caretaker Albert Kothe was drunk and drove off the cliff behind the “H,” smashing it along with his 1928 Model A (Kothe was not injured).  As the sign gained fame, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce ordered the “LAND” letters of the sign removed in 1949 so it would represent the town and not the housing development.  The sign was renovated in 1978 (rocker Alice Cooper led a huge public campaign to help restore it) and the new letters are 45 feet tall and made entirely of steel.

THE GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY and the ASTRONOMERS MONUMENT

Another huge LA landmark, located in the Santa Monica Mountains not far from the Hollywood Sign, is the gorgeous Griffith Observatory. The sprawling art deco structure sits on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, overlooking the Los Angeles basin.  Colonel Griffith J. Griffith donated the park land to the city on December 16th, 1896, and also provided funds for a public observatory, exhibit hall and planetarium.  The observatory first opened to the public on May 14, 1935.  The 12-inch Zeiss refracting telescope is always pointed at something interesting, and you can always take a look for free.  More people have looked through the Griffith observatory telescope than any other telescope in the world.

On the front observatory grounds stands the Astronomers Monument, a large concrete sculpture which pays homage to six of mankind’s greatest star watchers: Hipparchus, Nicholas Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton and William Herschel.  The monument was designed by local artist Archibald Garner; he and five other artists were commissioned to sculpt one astronomer each (one of the artists, George Stanley, also created the famous ‘Oscar” statuette for the Academy Awards).

PINK’S HOT DOGS

 

Located on N. LA Brea Avenue in Hollywood, this famous hot dog restaurant has been operating since Paul and Betty Pink set up a pushcart near the corner of La Brea and Melrose in 1939.  The chili dog—anchored by Betty’s homemade chili recipe and the mighty Hoffy-brand hot dog in its natural casing—could be had, topped with mustard and onions, for ten cents apiece.  The Pinks family built the current restaurant in 1946.  Frequented by celebrities, I heard that Matt LeBlanc used to purchase a dog there regularly.

THE LA BREA TAR PITS

The La Brea Tar Pits are located in Hancock Park (or, more accurately, Hancock Park was built around the Tar Pits) in Los Angeles.  Asphaltum or tar (brea in Spanish) has seeped up from the ground here for thousands of years.  The quicksand-like, watery-surfaced tar can either resemble a pond or be obscured by thin coatings of leaves, dust and debris so it looks like solid ground.  Thousands of animals were trapped and entombed in the tar, including mammoths, dire wolves, short-faced bears, ground sloths and the saber-toothed cat (Smilodon, the state fossil of California).  The George C. Page museum is dedicated to researching the tar pits and exhibiting the specimens found there.  The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is located adjacent—and dangerously close to the tar pits, in my opinion.  Anyone growing up in Los Angles will experience a class field trip (or several field trips) to the Page, and we all remember rolling down the steep, grassy embankments that flank it.

BUT, IN THE WORLD OF THE PNEUMATIC ZEPPELIN…

In the year 2432, over three hundred years after an alien invasion of Earth and the resulting apocalypse and ice age, the Hollywood sign still stands; it is the symbol of a clan territory now—the Alchemists—and they have refurbished it, largely with canvas and wood.  The patched-up ruins of the Griffith observatory now serve as the Alchemist clan stronghold and the telescope still functions, though its purpose has changed.  The Astronomers Monument is still there, weathered, but no one knows anything about the six male figures chiseled on it.  A collapsed building stands in ruins at the corner of Melrose and La Brea—the Pink’s sign still visible—but it means nothing to anyone who might see it.  In contrast, the La Brea Tar Pits are vital to the reconstructed metropolis known as the City of the Founders, which is built around the Page Museum.  We shall witness how the Tar Pits have shaped the Founders clan as their culture and society emerge in later books.  Also, a pack of nasty sabertooth beasties shows up in Book Two (Engines of War)—but they are alien creatures, not resurrections of our friendly neighborhood Smilodons from Hancock Park.

For a chance to win two signed copies of Richard’s books, click on a Rafflecopter giveaway and comment!

Richard Ellis Preston, Jr. is fascinated by the steampunk genre, which he sees as a unique storytelling landscape. Romulus Buckle and the City of the Founders is the first installment in his new steampunk series, The Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin. Richard has also written for film and television. He lives in California.

Visit Richard on his Website, @RichardEPreston on Twitter, or on Facebook.

Great thanks to Richard for such an interesting post! What is your favorite landmark? What would it be like to see it in 400 years?

P.S. - If you enjoy romance with a magical twist, my award-winning THE CAT'S FANCY is currently on sale for only 99 cents!  And it's also in the top 10 of several of the Kindle romance charts!  Woot!

And as a cool bonus, it's the prequel to my fun series of superhero romances that began with the USA Today bestseller Aphrodite's Kiss!  

I hope you check out The Cat's Fancy!

P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!

XXOO

--J.K.

Confessions of a TV Series Killer: Lynn Cahoon on Her Favorites and those Cancelled Too Soon!

Did your favorite show go out of commission? Was the plug pulled after only one season? My guest blogger today, Lynn Cahoon, thinks it’s all her fault – read on!

The Confessions of Lynn (or what happens when I fall in love with a series…)

Hi, I’m Lynn, I’m a series killer.

I’m not saying I’m bad luck. But I’ve got a lot of evidence to the contrary. If I find and LOVE a show, it gets canceled. Sometimes, I don’t even get a full season out of it.

There’s something about the odd that glues me to the television. The Dollhouse.  Loved it. Women programmed to fit a rich man’s fantasy?  You know there’s something sinister going on behind the scenes. And when the ‘dolls’ start to fight back?  Priceless.

It started way back – Kolchak: the Night Stalker – a reporter who investigated reports of the paranormal. I loved this mix of reality and paranormal. One season and gone.

More recently – A Gifted Man.  I loved this show. He’s a hot shot, self-centered doctor who meets his ex-wife for a drink, thinking that maybe they should get back together.  Then he finds out, she’s dead.  What’s not to love in that story line?  One season, gone.

Lie to Me – a team of investigators who can pin point a lie. Unless it’s his daughter or someone he loves. In Plain Sight – a federal marshal who’s home life is a mess. Love that character. At least Brothers and Sisters got five seasons – until the Sally Fields character started having a real life and falling in love.  I still love little brother Justin from that series.  Tortured hero material.

Ally McBeal, Judging Amy, Providence, The Profiler, The Medium, Saving Grace – All shows with strong female leads.  Saving Grace had a super strong female lead that you knew was messing up – heading right into the car crash, but I couldn’t stop watching. Even with all her faults. I wanted to love Men in Trees, but not so much.

If after this confession, I’ve convinced you of my series killing power and you’re worried, I’ll tell you a secret.  I haven’t started watching The Walking Dead.  I don’t want to curse the show for the rest of you.

So what’s on your list of cancelled too soon series?  And which one do you think I got wrong?

Return of the Fae, book 2 of The Council Series releases today, July 1st.

A witch in training, a hunter on the prowl, and a world in jeopardy.

Learning the rules of being a witch takes years, but Parris McCall needs to master them in only weeks. Ty Wallace is going mad with his desire for Parris, but she’s a distraction in his quest to find Coven X before they take The Council and everyone he knows down.

The couple searches for Ty’s mentor, but he’s disappeared. Their only clue comes from a banished witch. When they return, not only are their own lives threatened, but a new life hangs in the balance.

Buy Return of the Fae on Amazon on Barnes and Noble!

Lynn Cahoon is a contemporary romance author with a love of hot, sexy men, real and imagined. Her alpha heroes range from rogue witch hunters, modern cowboys, or hot doctors, sexy in scrubs. And her heroines all have one thing in common, their strong need for independence. Or at least that’s what they think they want.  She blogs at her website www.lynncahoon.wordpress.com

Thanks Lynn for your post! And no, none of us REALLY believe these cancelled shows were your fault! 

P.S. - If you enjoy romance with a magical twist, my award-winning THE CAT'S FANCY is currently on sale for only 99 cents!  And it's also in the top 10 of several of the Kindle romance charts!  Woot!

And as a cool bonus, it's the prequel to my fun series of superhero romances that began with the USA Today bestseller Aphrodite's Kiss!  

I hope you check out The Cat's Fancy!

P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!

XXOO

--J.K.

Why Terri Brisbin Wants To Make Millions of Dollars . . . (and a giveaway!)

My friend and fellow Whiner joins us today to talk about one of my favorite guilty pleasure shows (well, I watched the CA version)!!!  Please welcome the awesome Terri Brisbin – and be sure to leave a comment! One lucky commenter will win a digital copy of Highlander!

Oh I’m sure that everyone can come up with lots of reasons to make lots of money – family, vacations, charities, health, fun, and so many more that even I would agree with. But the reason that I hope my books sell tons of copies and make me millions of dollars? Three words –

Million Dollar Listings! Well, four if you count the NY abbreviation!

I am, to my chagrin, addicted to this show on Bravo. I, the one who has ignored pretty much every reality show made (except for TOP CHEF, but that’s for a different blog!), have fallen hard for this funny, over-the-top show about over-the-top real estate brokers with big personalities and lots of drama in the Big Apple.  I kind of happened upon some episodes from first season while I was traveling and stuck in a hotel room and quickly got caught up – and hooked!

The three guys this season are Ryan Serhant, Fredrik Eklund and Luis Ortiz – Michael Lorber was on the first season but hasn’t returned for the second. Though I have my suspicions, I have been wondering!  Anyone know why?  So each of the guys are so very different in personality but each is completely driven by the need to succeed:

– Ryan goes for the sexy, suave approach to everything, except that is offset by the pet pig he was given as a gift by a client and which blows the whole debonair thing to heck! But the music video he had made to show off one of his listings – and he appeared in – with Mary C and The Stellars – showed off his sexy side nicely! (it’s on YouTube – search for “Love Automatic” – uh huh!)

– Luis pulls out all the stops when it comes to his Puerto Rican background and culture, but he is such a baby-faced young man that he’s probably still ‘carded’ at bars and comes off as trying waaaaay too hard to get respect. But he knows all sorts of great drink recipes. And,

– Fredrik – what can I say about Fredrik? Well, he is over-the-top in everything but my favorite part of the show is just watching his facial expressions! A poker face? Not this guy! When he raises his eyebrows and purses his lips, I start laughing.  But watching him with his husband can be heartwarming and funny, too.

The amount of money they handle – the prices of the houses, apartments and buildings they rep to rent or sell—is over-the-top, too. Prices that make me gasp are routine for them. One night Fredrik sold out a building of apartments that cost over $7 million each! And that’s not unusual for the properties they sell. (It’s kind of like watching ANTIQUES ROADSHOW when you think that vase is worth $3.50 and it’s a priceless Ming vase worth hundreds of thousands of $$! I’m always wrong….)

And the houses and apartments and buildings can be anything from fixer-uppers to lavish penthouses with scenic views of the city below. From fully-furnished luxury apartments to ready-to-finish lofts…but as the title says they’re going to be worth at least $1million.

So, there you have it – the reason I need to make millions of dollars on my books. I want to be able to go to NYC and hire one of these guys to find me the appropriate apartment for my little ‘pied-à-terre’  in the city! (Really, don’t I deserve a ‘pied-à-terre’ ?? Really, don’t we all deserve one??)

Do you watch Million Dollar Listings NY or the LA version? Who’s your favorite real estate broker? Which deal made you gasp? Or are you caught up in another reality show? Please let me know! I’ll pick one person who leaves a comment to win a digital copy of my latest release – HIGHLANDERS, a Scottish historical romance anthology featuring stories by me and Michelle Willingham and Brenda Joyce!

 In her previous lives, Terri has lived in ancient Egypt and medieval Scotland, but in this one she’s stuck in the wilds of southern New Jersey with a hubby (wonderful one!) and kids (three adorable and finally grown sons!). When not living the life of a glamorous romance author or suffering through deadline-binges-o-writing-mania, she spends some of her time as a dental hygienist.

    Terri’s had more than 30 historical and paranormal romance novels, novellas and short stories publishing since 1998 and has a bunch more swirling around inside her brain, just waiting to come out. She has releases from Harlequin and NAL coming out from now until 2016! And you can find out more than you need to know about Terri on her website (www.terribrisbin.com) or her FB page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Terri-Brisbin/).

 

 

 

 

 

It’s #StarkOnSaturday! A snippet from Stark Trilogy Book 2, Complete Me!

Thanks to Eternal Romance for this awesome graphic!

Wow! We’re getting closer and closer to release day! Here’s another #StarkOnSaturday to enjoy as we continue the countdown to Complete Me, book three in the Stark Trilogy that began with with Release Me, continued with Claim Me, and will conclude with Complete Me!

And remember, there’s still time to enter the fabulous Stark Trilogy/iPad contest!

Enjoy!  (FYI, I edited this to leave out “her” name…can’t have spoilers, after all!)

Despite my bliss, her words come back to me, and I cannot help but be struck by how they mirror my earlier dark thoughts. That once reality pokes it’s head in, things start spiraling out of control.

“What is it?” Damien asks, his eyes intent upon my face.

I do not want to bring a dark cloud between us, but I also don’t want to hide my fears from Damien. Not when I know that he is the only one capable of soothing them.

“Stupid stuff,” I say. “I was thinking about what she said. About reality.”

“She’s a cold bitch. And the only reality I know is you. Don’t tell me you doubt that.”

“I don’t,” I say emphatically. “But Damien, all the noise outside of us. I don’t want to feel like we’re living in a fantasy bubble, but sometimes I think that we are, and that reality keeps trying to break through. The trial. Stalker mail and texts. The press. And now your old girlfriends.”

“Fuck them,” he says.

“Damien, I’m serious.”

“So am I,” he says, his expression as intense as I have ever seen it. “At the end of the day, it’s just you and me. We make our own reality, Nikki. And no one can take it from us.”

And if you want more Damien and Nikki, why not pre-order Complete Me from Amazon or from Barnes and Noble! On-sale July 30!

And if you missed Release Me, you can snag your copy from your favorite retailers here:

Random House

Amazon (print)

Amazon (kindle)

Amazon United Kingdom

Barnes and Noble (print or Nook)

Books-A-Million

Kobo

iBooks

Indie BoundAnd, of course, you can get Book 2, Claim Me, from these great retailers:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

Random House

your favorite independent bookseller

in the U.K. from Amazon

 in the U.K. from Waterstones

 in the U.K. from WH Smith

More soon,

XXOO

P.S. - If you enjoy romance with a magical twist, my award-winning THE CAT'S FANCY is currently on sale for only 99 cents!  And it's also in the top 10 of several of the Kindle romance charts!  Woot!

And as a cool bonus, it's the prequel to my fun series of superhero romances that began with the USA Today bestseller Aphrodite's Kiss!  

I hope you check out The Cat's Fancy!

P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!

XXOO

--J.K.

What Do Dystopians Teach Us? PJ Sharon on her Trilogy, YA Readers, and the Message Behind It All

With all of the hype about the end of the world lately, what do we gain from the doom-and-gloom of popular Dystopian novels and movies? Young Adult writer PJ Sharon shares her thoughts with us today, with a great take-home message!

Dystopia in TV Land

Thanks for hosting me today, Julie. I’m excited to be here. I wanted to ask your readers if they are enjoying the wave of Dystopian entertainment that seems to be busting at the seams of late. From World War Z to After Earth, and Falling Skies to Revolution and the Walking Dead, fans of Dystopian gloom and doom are getting their fill. If you haven’t, just wait for this fall when The Dome (based on Stephen King’s novel) comes to TV. Of course, end-of-the-world and post-apocalyptic entertainment has been around for some time, all the way back to H.G. Well’s Time Machine and Ray Bradbury’s Farenheit 451, but recent literature and film has cashed in on the trend toward obsession about the topic.

When I read Hunger Games three or four years ago, it seemed we were just on the cusp of a new wave of dystopian books, movies and TV shows. As a writer, I could appreciate the “jumping on the bandwagon” effect, but it seemed like more than that to me. Forgive me if this sounds a bit frou-frou to some of you, but I’ve felt an energetic shift happening in the past five years or so (we massage therapists can sense these things), and I wondered if this idea of an imminent end had become part of the global consciousness. You know…like how the Mayans and the Egyptians were building pyramids at the same time on opposite sides of the world. Maybe somehow, we are all connected, and we are all getting the same message at the same time. At least I and Jerry Bruckheimer were. (There are an appalling number of similarities between my books and the TV series Revolution—including names, places, and scenes—and yes, WANING MOON came out the week before the show began last year).

I haven’t read a lot of Dystopian literature because, a) It seems unlikely that it will be uplifting, and b) I really like the HEA ending rather than an ambiguous, safe-for-now kind of ending that I usually see in Sci-fi and dystopian lit. And frankly, life is depressing enough most of the time. So how on earth did I start writing a dystopian trilogy? I assure you, it wasn’t because of the success of the Hunger Games or any desire to hop onto the “dystopian bandwagon.” I was simply compelled to write it.

Here’s why:

I moved out to the Berkshire Hills about seven years ago and began writing romantic fiction. It took me a few years and a few full length manuscripts to decide that I wanted to do this for a living and that I actually had enough talent and drive to do so. It also took me that amount of time to find out that my writer’s “voice’ was most suited toward writing for teenagers/young adult readers. I had plenty of real life experience from which to draw, and some valuable lessons and wisdom to impart. Writing YA was a way for me to give something positive to a future generation without being preachy. My first three published books came out of those experiences. They were contemporary YA romances, although one could argue that they are more New Adult than YA based on the gritty subject matter.

But about that time, I also began hanging out with folks who were prepping for the “collapse” and sounding less extremist and more practical as I watched the future unfold over the next few years in some scary ways (the Wall Street crash/banking debacle in ’08, the decimation of our environment because of climate change and man’s negative influences, increased intensity and frequency of natural disasters, ie: Katrina, the earthquakes in Asia, South America, and Haiti, etc., and the increased threat of global terrorism and political unrest around the globe). I’ve had lengthy discussions with people a lot smarter and more well-informed than me, and I shudder to think of the looming catastrophe if the scale tips one more inch in any direction. If you want to see what that might look like, just turn on your TV or go to a movie. Although zombies are our least likely threat, replace zombies with a “Super-bug,” collapse of infrastructure, or catastrophic climate change and the zombies might seem preferable.

I can recommend a few good books on all of the above subjects. Most are pretty grim. But what I’ve noticed they all have in common, is the idea that humans can…and will survive. I’m not naïve enough to think that desperate people won’t revert to their baser natures given the right circumstances, and I’m one who likes to prepare for worst case scenarios, but I do think that we have an opportunity to show our children that doing the right thing will never go out of vogue, and that each of us has gifts that we can use to overcome the most desperate of times.

So here’s the thing. Like most of these other writers of dystopian fiction, I’m an optimist. I believe humanity has the capacity to pull together and heal this planet, or at least survive the fall out of our self-destructive path once we are forced to make a drastic change. I often ponder what it would take to survive, and it comes down to one thing for me…love. Love of the planet, love of life, and love for one another. I’m still a romantic at heart and believe that “Love conquers all,” and that we are all capable of heroism. That is the message that I want to impart to our next generation. And that’s why I wrote WANING MOON and WESTERN DESERT, with the culmination of the trilogy coming out next spring.

Basically I wrote the Chronicles of Lily Carmichael trilogy to show readers that no matter how tough life gets, there is always hope…because every teen deserves a hopefully ever after. Don’t you think?

PJ Sharon is author of several independently published, contemporary young adult novels, including Molly finalist, HEAVEN IS FOR HEROES, FAB Five finalist, ON THIN ICE, and SAVAGE CINDERELLA, Winner of the 2013 HOLT Medallion Award and the 2012 National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award. She is excitedly working on The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael, a YA Dystopian trilogy. WANING MOON, Book One, is a finalist in the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Awards for the YA Category. Book Two, Western Desert is also now available.

Writing romantic fiction for the past eight years and following her destiny to write…because every teen deserves a hopefully ever after, PJ is a member of  RWA, CTRWA, and YARWA. She is mother to two grown sons and lives with her husband in the Berkshire Hills of Western MA.

Contact PJ by E-Mail: pjsharon64@gmail.com

Check out her website, Facebook, and Twitter!

I just love PJ’s message and her reason for writing dystopia! What do you guys think about this current trend of books and movies?

P.S. - If you enjoy romance with a magical twist, my award-winning THE CAT'S FANCY is currently on sale for only 99 cents!  And it's also in the top 10 of several of the Kindle romance charts!  Woot!

And as a cool bonus, it's the prequel to my fun series of superhero romances that began with the USA Today bestseller Aphrodite's Kiss!  

I hope you check out The Cat's Fancy!

P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!

XXOO

--J.K.