Sue Swift's Blog: Welcome Back, Suzie!, page 7
April 14, 2014
Would you dare to ride with the WILDE RIDERS?
FOUR WILDE BROTHERS…ONE WILDE COUNTRY BAND
WILDE RIDERS is the first novel in a spicy new contemporary romance series about four sexy brothers, their small-town bar and their local country band. WILDE RIDERS can be read as a STAND ALONE NOVEL or as part of the SERIES.
Cooper Wilde spent his entire adolescence counting the days until he could escape rural northwest New Jersey. Now at 26, he can’t believe he’s coming back. But his late father’s bar,
Wilde Riders by Savannah Young
Haymakers, is in financial trouble and his older brother, Jake, has asked for Cooper’s help.
Riley Smith, 25, is fresh out of her Ivy League MBA program and wants to make an impression on her employer, H & C Bank. Her first solo assignment is a fraud investigation on a business loan they made to Haymakers.
Even though Old Town is less than 90 minutes from New York City, Riley feels like she’s stepped into another world in this remote, one-bar town. Riley can’t wait to do her business and get back to the city as quickly as her sports car will take her…until she meets Cooper Wilde. He’s not like the other guys in this rural town and Riley feels inexplicably attracted to him.
If you like your trucks loud, your beer cold and your men hot…you’ll love WILDE RIDERS.
Here’s an excerpt:
The drive into New Jersey is exhausting. My only saving grace is that most of the traffic is going into the city instead of out of the city like I am. You’ve got to love those bridge and tunnel guys. I wouldn’t date one but I have a little bit of respect for them. The commute into Manhattan turns a nine hour work day into an eleven hour one, if you’re lucky.
I can feel my stomach start to knot as I get further away from the city and further away from civilization. Pretty soon I’ll be in the sticks surrounded by woods and farmland. I can almost smell the manure that will no doubt take days to completely rid from my nasal passages. I pray that I don’t run into any animals, especially cows, which are huge, smelly and completely freak me out. The only live animals I ever care to see have to fit comfortably in a handbag, like a Chihuahua or Teacup Poodle, for example.
I have an appointment with a man named Jake Wilde. He asked me to come early, before the place opened at noon, so he could give me his full attention. I try to imagine what someone named Jake Wilde would look like and all I can come up with is an old gunslinger like Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven.
As I pull into Old Town the place looks exactly like I thought it would. The buildings in the town square are old and I image the place hasn’t changed much in the last hundred years or so.
Haymakers isjustpast the town square, down the hill from the deli, next to the gas station. Those were the exact directions I was given, in those words. I take that to mean the town only has one gas station and one deli.
When I pull into the parking lot, there’s only one other vehicle sitting there. It’s an old beat-up Dodge Ram. Nothing like fitting the country bumpkin stereotype like a glove. Then I have a brief moment of panic and wonder if it’s safe to park my BMW in the dirt lot. Then I remind myself where I am. Who is going to mess with it in the middle of the day? A stray deer from the woods out back? The only thing I probably have to worry about is it getting dusty.
I take in a deep breath. I have to be thankful there’s no manure smell yet. The quicker you do this, I remind myself, the quicker you can get back to the lovely asphalt jungleyou call home.
I’m hit with a gust of wind as soon as I get out of my car. How is it possible that Old Town is even windier than lower Manhattan? I didn’t think I’d ever find a place windier than Wall Street. Even the Windy City didn’t seem this windy when I had business in Chicago.
When I enter the bar, I try to smooth down my thick hair, which I know is probably a complete mess from the gust. I’m surprised by the homey feel of the place. How could someone like me possibly feel at home in a country bar? Even if I was wearing jeans and cowboy boots, if I even owned jeans and cowboy boots, I wouldn’t fit in at a place like this.
I hear someone clear his throat and I turn to see a guy about my age, mid-twenties, standing next to me. I can’t help my surprise when I see he’s wearing khakis and a polo shirt, like he just stepped off a golf course. He looks as out of place in this country bar as I feel.
“Are you Jake Wilde?” I ask.
The guy gives me the faintest hint of a smile but it’s almost as if it pains him to give that much. His deep brown eyes look even more distressed and I can’t help but wonder what’s behind those sad eyes.
He rakes his fingers through his thick dark hair. “A little windy out, isn’t it?”
My hand automatically goes to my hair and I try to casually flatten it down again. I imagine I must look like I just stepped out of a wind tunnel.
“Your hair looks fine,” the guy tries to assure me. But he’s got that hint of a smile on his face again and it makes me wonder if he’s lying just to make me feel better.
“I’m Cooper Wilde,” the guy says as he offers a hand.
I don’t know why I suddenly feel nervous about shaking it. It’s a business meeting. That’s what people do. But the way this guy is looking at me gives me the feeling that he might be interested in more than just business.
But I’m not, I remind myself. Not only because I’ve all but sworn off men, I’m here to do a job. I’ve been working for H & C Bank for two years and this is my first solo assignment as a lead investigator. If I continue to do well, I’ll be well on my way to becoming a Vice President before I turn thirty. I don’t need a man to throw me off my career trajectory. And definitely not some guy in a country bar in rural New Jersey.
Here’s where you can get it:
http://www.amazon.com/Wilde-Riders-Town-Country-Romance-ebook/dp/B00IDWDWJ8/
Here’s how to stay in touch with Savannah Young:
Blog: http://oldtowncountryromance.tumblr.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SavannahYoungAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/karenmbryson
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7814077.Savannah_Young
Your blog hostess:
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance
Suz deMello
novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group page at https://www.facebook.com/redhotauthorscafe
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun and @Suzdemello
–Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/suzdemello/
–Goodreads: http://bit.ly/SuzATGoodreads
–Her current blog is http://www.fearlessfastpacedfiction.com
April 12, 2014
Demons in Texas? Not surprised. Get the 4-1-1–read “Fairy, Texas”
Fairy, Texas. A small town like any other.
Laney Harris didn’t want to live there. When her mother remarried and moved them to a town where a date meant hanging out at the Sonic, Laney figured that “boring” would have a whole new meaning. A new stepsister who despised her and a high school where she was the only topic of gossip were bad enough. But when she met the school counselor (and his terminal bad breath), she grew suspicious. Especially since he had wings that only she could see. And then there were Josh and Mason, two gorgeous glimmering-eyed classmates whose interest in her might not be for the reasons she hoped. Not to mention that dead guy she nearly tripped over in gym class.
She was right. Boring took on an entirely new dimension in Fairy, Texas.
Get it here:
E-Book:
Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Texas-Margo-Bond-Collins-ebook/dp/B00I7BTMJ4/
Paperback:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Texas-Margo-Bond-Collins/dp/1495419800/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fairy-texas-margo-bond-collins/1118584512
Books a Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Fairy-Texas/Margo-Bond-Collins/9781495419805
Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Fairy-Texas-Margo-Bond-Collins/9781495419805
Excerpt
Fairy High could have fit into one wing of my old school. The three-story, red brick building looked like it had been around for at least a century—it actually had carvings over two of the doorways that read “Men’s Entrance” and “Women’s Entrance.” I was glad to see that none of the kids paid any attention to those instructions.
“Counselor’s office,” I muttered to myself. At least I wasn’t starting in the middle of a term—though given the fact that there were fewer than 500 students in the entire high school, I didn’t think I was going to
Author Margo Bond Collins
be able to go unnoticed, even in the general bustle of the first day back from summer vacation.
I walked through the door marked “Men’s Entrance,” just be contrary, and faced a long hallway lined with heavy wooden doors. The spaces in between the doors were filled with lockers and marble staircases with ornate hand-rails flanked each end of the long hallway. Students poured in behind me, calling out greetings to each other and jostling me off to the side while I tried to get my bearings. None of the doors obviously led to a main office; I was going to have to walk the entire length of the hallway. And people were already starting to stare and whisper.
God. I hated being the new kid.
I took a deep breath and stepped forward. I made it halfway down the hall without seeing anything informative—all the doors had numbers over them and many of them had name plaques, but neither of those things did me any good since I didn’t know the name or office number for the counselor. I was almost getting desperate enough to ask Kayla, but of course she was nowhere to be seen.
I turned back from scanning the halls for her and caught sight of the first adult I’d seen—and almost screamed. As it was, I gasped loudly enough for a guy walking past me to do a double take. The man standing in the open doorway was tall, over six feet, and way skinny—so emaciated that it looked like you ought to be able to see his ribs through his shirt, if his shirt didn’t hang so loosely on him. He had white hair that stuck out in tufts, thin lips, a sharp nose, and pale blue eyes that narrowed as he watched the kids walk past—and all the kids gave him a wide berth without even seeming to notice that they did so. He stood in an empty circle while students streamed around him in the crowded hallway.
But none of that was what made me almost scream.
For a moment, just as I’d turned toward him, I could have sworn that I’d seen the shadow of two huge, black, leathery wings stretched out behind him.
Ooo-kay! That sure doesn’t happen every day!
BTW Margo gave me this book for review and I really enjoyed it. First of all, it’s in my fave genre, YA paranormal fiction. Secondly, the writing was very good. Can’t stand bad writing. I won’t read a book if it’s badly written. All I do is grind my back teeth all the way through as I mentally edit it. Not fun at all.
And Margo took the familiar trope of “new girl at school, finds herself in a nest of weird creatures” (Twilight, anyone?) and did a great job of using the inherently gossipy nature of small towns (and smaller high schools) to advance the plot. Well done, Margo!
Your blog hostess:
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal,
Suz deMello
mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group page at https://www.facebook.com/redhotauthorscafe
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun and @Suzdemello
–Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/suzdemello/
–Goodreads: http://bit.ly/SuzATGoodreads
April 10, 2014
You are hereby “Summoned”…
Here’s the blurb:
Summoned by Rainy Kaye
Twenty-three year old Dimitri has to do what he is told—literally. Controlled by a paranormal bond, he is forced to use his wits to fulfill unlimited deadly wishes made by multimillionaire Karl Walker.
Dimitri has no idea how his family line became trapped in the genie bond. He just knows resisting has never ended well. When he meets Syd—assertive, sexy, intelligent Syd—he becomes determined to make her his own. Except Karl has ensured Dimitri can’t tell anyone about the bond, and Syd isn’t the type to tolerate secrets.
Then Karl starts sending him away on back-to-back wishes. Unable to balance love and lies, Dimitri sets out to uncover Karl’s ultimate plan and put it to an end. But doing so forces him to confront the one wish he never saw coming—the wish that will destroy him.
A dark twist on the genie folklore, SUMMONED follows a reluctant criminal as he unravels the mystery of the paranormal bond controlling him.
Warnings: 18+, adult content, mature themes, strong language, violence
Find out more at http://www.summonedtheseries.com
Buy it here! http://www.amazon.com/Summoned-Rainy-Kaye-ebook/dp/B00JAZT88G/
Note: SUMMONED is around 90,000 words and has been edited by three editors. While there are other Summoned books in the work, this one stands complete on its own (no cliffhanger).
Author Bio
Rainy Kaye is an aspiring overlord. In the mean time, she blogs at http://www.rainyofthedark.com and writes paranormal novels from her lair somewhere in Phoenix, Arizona. When not plotting world domination, she enjoys getting lost around the globe, studying music so she can sing along with symphonic metal bands, and becoming distracted by Twitter (@rainyofthedark).She is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA.
Your blog hostess:
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor,she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently
Suz deMello
Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group page at https://www.facebook.com/redhotauthorscafe
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun and @Suzdemello
–Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/suzdemello/
–Goodreads: http://bit.ly/SuzATGoodreads
April 6, 2014
The Goodreads Effect and Desire in Tartan
There’s been much discussion among authors regarding Goodreads. The essence of the chatter seems to come down to the question: is this site good or bad for authors?
The writers who dislike Goodreads have apparently been burned by bad reviews. Some go so far as to label them “author bullying” when they focus on the writer rather than the book. Even a non-writer called some reviews “vitriolic.”
The pro-Goodreads authors are those, like me, who feel that any publicity is good. We know that some folks will read a negative review and think, “Well, I won’t bother with that,” while others will respond with, “I don’t believe everything I read, and I like this sort of book so I’m going to check it out.”
A while back, TPTB at one of the Goodreads groups were kind enough to feature one of my books as their group read. I had high hopes for this venture, envisioning hundreds of faithful Goodreads followers snatching up my book (thus elevating my royalties and enabling me to pay my VISA bill) and starting lively online discussions about the characters, their conflicts and, of course, about my fantastic writing.
What I got was…nothing, nada, zilch. I don’t remember observing either a jump in sales or any meaningful discussions. (But heck, that could be due to memory loss LOL).
A number of people think that Goodreads is a real influencer. Jeff Bezos must, as Amazon recently purchased Goodreads (which is more of a commentary on Shelfari than anything else IMO).
We’ll see. As my British-born mom says, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.”
So, while I’m delighted and honored that Desire in Tartan is this week’s group read, I’m keeping expectations lowered while hope is rising. After all, hope springs eternal, right. Or is that…infernal?
Your blog hostess:
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal,
Suz deMello
mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group page at https://www.facebook.com/redhotauthorscafe
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun and @Suzdemello
–Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/suzdemello/
–Goodreads: http://bit.ly/SuzATGoodreads
Curves Rule Parkinson’s Awareness Week
The blog hop Smut for Good: Curves Rule is the invention of the ever-creative and generous Victoria Blisse, who with Lucy Felthouse have edited this anthology, the profits from which will go to fund Parkinson’s research.
Smut for Good: Curves Rule is a blog hop with prizes galore to raise funds for Parkinson’s UK as this is Parkinson’s Awareness week. To find more curves, and seek out further prizes please visit http://smutters.co.uk/smut-for-good and if you can take a minute to please visit the Smut for Good: Curves Rule Just Giving Page at http://www.justgiving.com/curvesrule and donate whatever you can to help us reach our target of £100 to raise awareness of Parkinson’s and to support the charity Parkinson’s UK http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/ who help those with the disease learn to cope with the challenges, give out information and search for a cure.
To encourage your generosity, I’ll give away a digital copy of my forthcoming Rakes in Tartan, to be published on April 18th. After the blog hop concludes I’ll choose randomly from the comments that are left.
Here’s a sneak peek at Rakes. First, a little info about the book:
Setting: London 1816
The social season promises both sex and danger for Torquil Kilburn and Andrew MacReiver, Highland heirs arrived in London to seek brides. The Scotsmen must negotiate the complicated morés of high society to woo and win an exquisite debutante and her passionate, unconventional mother while keeping their vampire heritage a secret.
But evil stalks the ballroom at Almack’s, the streets of Piccadilly, the drawing rooms of the ton. Headless bodies have been found drained of their blood, for another vampire
Rakes in Tartan, available April 18, 2014
haunts the streets of London, murdering noblemen. As he draws ever closer, Tor and Andrew must fight not only for love, but for their lives.
And here’s a snippet…with curves :)
Dagmar grevinne Draugursdatter stared at herself in her cheval glass. It also reflected her room, luxuriously appointed in purple and gold, with a smoldering coal fire at one end and a large four-poster bed in the middle. When she’d bought it, she hadn’t truly believed she’d exercise her predilections while in London. Now she felt she might have half a chance of getting what, or rather who, she wanted in that bed.
She ran her hands up and down her long, naked body, loving herself. She cupped her large breasts and flicked the nipples with her thumbs, watching as they hardened.
She turned to look at her rump. It sported purpling bruises, ovals where he’d clutched hard, holding her fast as he’d swived her.
Andrew MacReiver.
She closed her eyes and breathed, reliving the moment he’d pushed his delightfully thick rod into her for the first time. Heat snapped along her veins and she staggered, catching the edge of her dressing table for support.
He was a rake, of course, and therefore she could not depend upon him. But she did not need him for anything essential…except her happiness. She shuddered.
She was the daughter of dragons and owner of the night. She would not, could not allow anyone to have such a hold over her.
Like what you read? On and after April 18, you can get it here:
http://www.ellorascave.com/rakes-in-tartan.html
Your blog hostess and author of Rakes in Tartan:
Suz deMello
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group page at https://www.facebook.com/redhotauthorscafe
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun and @Suzdemello
–Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/suzdemello/
–Goodreads: http://bit.ly/SuzATGoodreads
Capture AJ Williams’ Final Bounty!
Title: His Final Bounty
Series: Bounty for Hire #4
Author: AJ Wiliams
Release Date: 3/24/14
Publisher: Self
Genre: Contemporary Spicy Romance
Blurb:
Eva Rosenberg hacks a secret file of Jefferson’s and discovers the man who shattered her heart and her world has one giant secret.
Jefferson Anders’ current bounty hunting status has allowed him to hide in the shadows, never forcing him to face the secrets of his past. Having spent five years hiding the truth, he never dreamed the secrets of his past would catch up to him. Secrets which cost him both the love of his life and connection to his family. Now, he must face the mistakes of his past.
With a confrontation looming with Eva and a possible death threat, they must work as a team to find forgiveness and defeat the enemy that waits in the shadows.
Purchase Links:
Author Website: www.ajwiliams.com
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/his-final-bounty-aj-wiliams/1118956354?ean=2940149395361
All Romance Books: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-hisfinalbounty-1459230-149.html
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/421479
About AJ Williams:
AJ grew up in a small southern town in Missouri. It was there that she discovered her love of writing. Having the ability to create a story from nothing into something held her spellbound. She holds a bachelors degree, and will on occasion find it useful. Currently, AJ lives in Kansas City, Missouri, with her husband, their two small children and two dogs.
AJ loves learning about new things, playing games with her family, and listening to music. She loves romantic movies as well as science fiction. If truth be told, she loves fantasy and science fiction movies just a little bit more.
At given time she can be found letting her kids believe she has super powers.
Author Links:
Website: www.ajwiliams.com
Blog: http://ajwiliamsromanceauthor.blogspot.com/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AjWiliams
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJ_Wiliams
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/AJWiliams
Pintrest: http://www.pinterest.com/ajwiliams/
Excerpt:
Eva wasn’t sure when it happened, but her body called to her in a way that she hadn’t felt in years. After all this time, he still wore Ralph Lauren Polo Black. She loved that smell. Her reaction to him spurred her body closer to his, lightly brushing her nipples against his side. Every sensation from Jefferson rubbing her back, to her tracing circles on his chest increased her breathing. Her nipples tightened and the dampness increased between her legs.
“Jefferson.” Her voice was soft as she moved her finger to his nipple in a sensual circle.
“Eva,” his growl pressed her to continue. There was something about the way he growled her name that caused her to stop circling and started to use her fingers to rub his nipple with her thumb and finger.
“You have to stop.”
Lifting her head up from his chest, she kept rubbing his nipple as she looked into his eyes.
“Tonight, please just give me this one night. After that, we will go our separate ways. I just need to feel you.”
“There will never be ‘just one night’ with us, Eva. If we do this, it’s for keeps. Do you understand? I could never let you walk away, nor would I allow myself to walk away from you again.”
His word slammed over her. His eyes danced in the light. She could see that he too needed tonight. As much as she wanted more nights, she didn’t think she could ever give him more. Then again, maybe she could, but it all depended on him. She had the truth, but it didn’t really ease the hurt she still felt in her heart.
She didn’t respond at first, as her thoughts rolled through her mind.
“Tonight please, Jefferson. Just tonight.”
“I’ll give you tonight, but we will talk,” he declared.
She didn’t want to talk. She wanted all or nothing and tonight it was all. If she couldn’t have tonight, then she could go back to having nothing in her life. She’d had five years of practice. What was another fifty? She nodded edging closer to his body.
“I mean it, Eva.”
She didn’t trust herself to say anything, afraid she might say no talking, just fucking, because that’s all she wanted. She nodded again, placing a light kiss on his chest.
Lifting her head up she gazed into his dark eyes, waiting to see if he understood or at least accepted her response. He moved over, roaming her face and then his eyes narrow for just a second.
Please, she begged silently for him to just give her now.
She touched her lips to his. It was ecstasy. His full lips upon hers. At first, he didn’t move, so she gave his nipple a pinch, causing him to open his mouth.
Link to a giveaway!
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/ZTZjY2RhMmQ4ZjUzNDBkMjBlYmRmNzkxOGRjYjdmOjg=/
Your blog hostess:
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group page at https://www.facebook.com/redhotauthorscafe
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun and @Suzdemello
–Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/suzdemello/
–Goodreads: http://bit.ly/SuzATGoodreads
March 30, 2014
Writing Process Blog Hop Begs the Question…
Writing process? There’s a process?
People seem fascinated by what we do. Here’s a graphic that describes what we do and what people think we do:
But really, it’s rather dull. I sit in front of a computer. It usually has a blank screen, reflecting the state of my mind. If I’m really lost, I go for a walk, which shakes the cobwebs loose and brings forth a few words.
Here are some of the questions folks are most prone to asking:
1. What am I working on?
I’m in the midst of writing a novella in my series, Highland Vampires. The series follows a clan of vampires living in the far northwest Highlands, though the forthcoming Rakes in Tartan takes place in Regency London. Here’s the Rakes cover:
Rakes in Tartan, available April 18, 2014
The book I’m writing is a medieval, tentatively entitled Viking in Tartan. I’m also writing a manual entitled Plotting and Planning, which should provide the basics about writing a book. It’s a companion to Write This, Not That!, which I published last year—it reached #2 on Amazon’s list of writing references.
Here’s Write This, Not That! It’s available at http://bit.ly/WriteThis
Write This, Not That!
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
My vampires are special, not because they’re Scottish or hot, but because I didn’t use a lot of the traditional vampire memes. I imagined vampires as they’d be if they really existed, so they don’t have superpowers. My vamps don’t turn into bats or live forever. They’re perfectly able to eat garlic and walk around in the sun.
However, they do have a taste for blood. They’re immensely strong and fast, and because of their strength, they can perform feats ordinary humans cannot—such as tear off the heads of their enemies and drink their blood, their preferred mode of fighting.
And because of their strength, the can appear to fly, even though they’re actually jumping long distances while using the wind and a cloak to travel through the air.
Their lives are unnaturally prolonged because of their taste for blood, which can keep them alive for centuries. However, their minds shatter after about a century or so—they tend to go mad and become very dangerous.
3. Why do I write what I do?
After seventeen books, a host of short stories and articles about writing, I make a lot of choices to keep myself entertained. I can’t write the same book over and over again, even though many writers find financial success in doing just that.
Vampires interest me and have for a long time. I was raised on those awful Bela Lugosi B movies and then found myself fascinated by the stage play Dracula and Anne Rice’s vampire novels.
I love history and imagine that’s why I’ve gravitated to writing historical romance, though previously I’ve written across the board in just about every subgenre of romance. I love to learn about how people used to live—their food, their clothes…even minutiae about furniture. For example, in a museum, I saw how beds were constructed a couple of centuries ago and that information showed up in Desire in Tartan.
Here’s the cover to Desire:
4. How does my writing process work?
There’s a process? Really?
Honestly, it’s hard to describe how I do what I do. That seems to change over time. My first manuscript was very off-the-cuff and instinctive. That became a book called Walk Like A Man. It was first published as a hardcover for the library market by Five Star, and was recently turned into a digital ebook.
http://bit.ly/
WalkLikeAMan
I didn’t know much about plotting or craft, two subjects that now fascinate me. Later books, especially the ones I wrote for Harlequin/Silhouette, were highly structured because that’s what the short romances I wrote needed. Everything had to fit into less than 50,000 words for Silhouette Romance. I used to plan out each chapter—the number of words/pages, where turning points, the midpoint, the dark moment, the climax and the denouement would take place and the number of words/pages these scenes would take.
Digital publishing has changed everything. The reason the Silhouettes had to be so structured is because cover flats were a specific size, and all the words and pages had to fit inside that cover flat. Digital publishing has liberated writers. I can write my story without worrying about its length, and my publisher, Ellora’s Cave, will price it accordingly.
I tend to think in scenes, and often I’ll imagine a later scene before a previous one. But generally I have an idea of how the story is going to go. I write that down, figure out what the meet, the midpoint and the dark moment are, and everything flows from those three major events. I generally start at the beginning and write to the end, editing as I go. I slot in any scenes I’ve written out of place and then fill in the blanks.
This sounds a lot easier than it is! There are times when writing feels harder than digging ditches with my teeth, but generally, I love what I do. I couldn’t stop if I tried! And I wouldn’t want to.
This is a blog hop, so…
I’m tagging three other writers. Don’t forget to check out their blogs in a week!
Antonia Van Zandt
Antonia van Zandt grew up in the ancient city of Salisbury, England and is related to deposed European royalty. She now lives in Vienna, Austria with a collection of family paintings and a menagerie of cats. She writes Paranormal Erotic and Paranormal Romantic Fiction. Her novellas, VIENNA VALENTINE and SEDUCING AMANDA are both available in the usual ebook formats, including Kindle. Her short story, SERENA, has been published in the HALLOWEEN HEAT III anthology by Etopia Press. She is currently working on a new Paranormal Romantic novella.
Don’t forget to visit Antonia’s blog on April 7!
http://antoniavanzandt.blogspot.co.uk/
Wt Prater
Wt Prater has published four short stories and currently has fifty eight (58) works in progress. His motto is: Love. Above all things. He is also a blogger with Just Write and SO Gay, which gets updated as often as he can. In 2013, he co-founded Writer’s Online Network and and now serves as Executive Producer of WON Radio on Blog Talk Radio. He tries to maintain active social networking on Facebook, Twitter, Fetlife, Linked In, Tumbler, Goodreads, and Meet Up.
In real life, he stays just as busy bouncing around in his non-profit volunteering from the GLBT community to the BDSM community to church community. Spiritually speaking, he is an active part of the Uniteran Universalist church as part of various committees. With his life experience and knowledge, he has lead panels at various conventions including Connooga, Chattacon, OutlantaCon, Hypericon, GMX, DragonCon, and Whedonfest. He has also gotten back into the Thespian Scene recently after a slight case of retiring.
His blog is at www.jwasg.blogspot.com
P. J. Fiala
She says: Having always dreamed of becoming an author, I found myself making excuses when it came to writing. I didn’t know what to write about. I didn’t have the time… and so on…on and on. In 2012 I took a job that made me cringe just walking in the door. I dreaded the atmosphere, the work, well simply, everything, except the few friends I had made there.
That’s when I decided to start writing. Now, I can’t stop. I think it was God’s way of helping me find my “time.”
When not writing, my husband, Gene, and I are on our motorcycles exploring new places, meeting new people and creating new memories.
Website and blog: www.pjfiala.com
And here’s a little bit about me:
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor,
Suz deMello, bestselling erotica author
she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group page at https://www.facebook.com/redhotauthorscafe
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun and @Suzdemello
–Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/suzdemello/
–Goodreads: http://bit.ly/SuzATGoodreads
March 29, 2014
I Got a Liebster Award!!
What’s that, you ask? Just as I did when the talented and beauteous Antonia Van Zandt gave it to me.
A liebster is a tasty treat, a little morsel of goodness. (OMG! I’m a little morsel of goodness?!?!? Who knew?)
The meat of the matter is an interview. But not just any interview…oh, no.
Here it is:
1. If you could live at any time in history, when would it be and why?
Right now, or sometime in the future. I love to learn about history, and a little time-travel might be amusing, but I like hot showers, clean water and antibiotics, thank you very much. I lived in China for nearly a year, where a person can’t drink the water without becoming ill. Believe me when I tell you that having to boil water several times daily to drink and to wash one’s food is a giant pain in the arse.
2. Which of your characters do you most identify with, and why? Wow… tough. I love all my babies!
I’d say maybe Dana Newcombe from The Wilder Brother. Here’s the blurb so you know what it’s about:
Genre: contemporary romantic comedy For Colton Wilder, the invitation to his brother’s wedding is an invitation to trouble, because Colt, having boinked the bride, knows what she’s really like. He doesn’t want his brother, Max, marrying selfish, manipulative Nicole Newcombe, a famous supermodel. In his view, Nicole stole the groom from her sister, Dana.
For staid scientist Dana Newcombe, the invitation to her identical twin’s wedding is an invitation to humiliation. While Nicole was conniving to steal Max away from Dana, Dana had wild monkey sex in a glass-walled elevator with his brother, Colt… And when they meet again at the wedding, she doesn’t want to want Colt, but she can’t help remembering and re-enacting their earlier sexy tryst.
***
Dana begins the book as a geek. She’s pretty but has always emphasized her brains, and often felt overshadowed by an overwhelming sibling and a demanding mother. The hero, Colt, does a good job bringing out the wild woman inside, which supports her shaky self-confidence.
And yeah, I started off life ans a shy, bookwormy geek, and eventually developed into a kick-ass trial attorney with a 2d degree black belt. I have traveled all over the world and lived in some dicey places. But no–A guy didn’t do that for me. I did that for me.
3. You have won two tickets for a romantic weekend at a destination of your choosing. Who would you take and where would you go?
I’d take my ex (for whom I’m still torching) and I’d love to go to Venice, but time would be an issue. So I’d say Vegas–I haven’t been there since I was a child, and we could party all night, then hike all day. I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, which would be a fun place to share.
4. Which book have you read that you most wish you’d written?
Is it cheating to pick three? Or more? If it’s okay, I’d choose Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea Trilogy. It’s so evocative. Or Pavane, another rich, well-written fantasy–it’s an alternate history. Maybe Alice in Wonderland. Peter Pan is a play, so I can’t pick that.
Wow, tough question.
5. What are you currently working on?
I rarely discuss my works in progress. If I talk about my writing with anyone but my critique partner, it seems to suck the life right out of the story. I’m willing to say it’s a medieval set in Scotland.
6. What is your idea of heaven?
Being alone with a lover on the beach with a good bottle of bubbly, a blanket and two sets of snorkeling gear.
7. Who inspires you, and why?
If it isn’t too candid to say–because I write erotic romance, whoever is my lover at the time is my main inspiration.
8. Which of your books are you most proud of?
#1 ARE bestseller featuring Kieran Kilburn
I love all my books, but I have to say I’m most proud of Temptation in Tartan. It’s a full-length vampire historical novel set in mid-18th century Scotland. I had never written a book in that setting, so it really stretched me. And it’s a great book. Lots of plots and sub-plots, cool characters and unexpected events. Hot sex and a fabulous romance.
The cover art perfectly captured my hero, Kieran, Laird Kilborn. I asked the Art Department at EC for the name of the cover model, and they refused to give it to me–I think they guessed I’d stalk him. They were right.
9. have you ever had a recurring dream? What was it about?
A while back, I had a recurring dream that I was escaping from a war-ravaged city. I think it was the result of a book I’d read about WW2 Budapest.
10. What comes first for you as a writer – the plot or the main character(s)?
The characters, generally. I may have some vague notion of a plot, but the characters come before. Often a setting will come first. With the Highland Vampires series, which follows a clan of vampires through the centuries, the setting definitely comes first–Britain in whatever epoch I want to choose.
And here are the authors I choose and their ten questions:
Jackie Leigh Allen http://jackieleighallen.blogspot.com/
Margo Bond Collins http://margobondcollins.com/
Adriana Kraft http://adrianakraft.com/blog/
***
1. Assume reincarnation exists. What animal would you most wish to become?
2. What was the last poem you read?
3. How far away from your hometown have you traveled? Where were you?
4. What is your greatest regret?
5. What is your darkest secret? If you don’t want to reveal it, make something up but make sure it’s funny, or at least interesting.
6. Beatles or Stones? Why?
7. If you were a literary character, who would you choose to be? Why?
8. If you were a historical figure, who would you choose to be? Why?
9. What is your earliest childhood memory?
10. What is your wildest dream?
Your blog hostess:
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and
Suz deMello
suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
–For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com
–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group page at https://www.facebook.com/redhotauthorscafe
–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun and @Suzdemello
–Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/suzdemello/
–Goodreads: http://bit.ly/SuzATGoodreads
March 28, 2014
New Release ~ Blood is Thicker ~ Suz deMello (#MFRW_org)
New Release ~ Blood is Thicker ~ Suz deMello.
I’m a guest at the SSLY blog today–the acronym stands for “Smile, Somebody Loves you.” What a great sentiment!
Thanks for hosting me :)
Welcome Back, Suzie!
In any event--today I'm bloggi ...more
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