Ella James's Blog, page 2

Crown Jewels: Excerpt 1

“Lucy… Lucy, Lucy…” His voice beside my ear is soft and gentle. Deep and low.

His arm around my waist is heavy and secure. He wraps his other arm around my shoulders, locking me against him.

“It’s okay…”

I feel his chin against my shoulder, feel his forehead brush against my hair as his arms gently squeeze.

For one long second, everything inside me bucks against him and the waves of horror rise. Then it feels so good that I can’t fight him. My muscles slacken and I relax against him, letting myself give in to the careful, whispered words and strong strokes of his hands along my arm and hip.

“Lucy Rhodes…I can’t believe you’re here. It’s gonna be okay. Whatever’s wrong…”

I shut my eyes. “Why do you like me?”

“What?” His tone is surprised, but his body doesn’t stiffen.

“Why?”

“What do you mean, Lucy?”

“You wrote me a letter one time,” I say hoarsely.

“Yes.”

Why did you do it? My throat is so tight, I can’t get the words out.

“Why do you like red, Lucille? The color red.”

“Because it’s festive,” I rasp. My voice is unsteady. How embarrassing.

“So is yellow.”

I shake my head. No, “yellow is bright.”

“Festive,” he says.

“Cheery. There’s a difference.”

“Is there?”

“Yes.” I laugh—because it’s so ridiculous, this conversation. The location of it, and the circumstances. “Did you get off your horse and onto mine?” I ask him, even though it’s clear he did.

“Learned it in the circus.”

“What?” I laugh.

“It’s true. I had a crush on this woman once. I was younger. She was a trapeze artist.”

“Seriously?”

“Oh, yes.”

I lean my head back, feel his cheek against my cheek. Then his lips against my cheek. The kiss is gentle. Undemanding. And yet, it makes me shiver.

I put my hand over his, over the one that’s cupping my hip. “Yellow is way different than red,” I murmur.

“I know.”

“You do?”

“Of course. That’s the point that I was making, Lucy. You like red because you like it. And you don’t like yellow. Not the same way.” His voice is husky, sending shivers over my arms. “I like you because I like you. I like that you eat your cereal dry and wear those little ribbons in your hair. I like that you ride well and your skin smells sweet like flowers. I like that you eat too much candy corn at Halloween.”

“You know that because of the show.”

“And?” His fingers brush over my hip.

“That’s cheating.”

I can feel him shrug behind me. “I don’t think that you’re the ‘feisty’ one. I don’t see you as one of the Rhodes. I understand what’s television.”

“Yeah…”

“Don’t be worried. Not here, while you’re with me. I’ll take care of you. I’ll give you what you need if you can tell me what that is.”

Stinging tears well in my eyes. “What if I can’t?” I whisper.

“I’ll figure it out.”

—

Pre-order on iBooks. Amazon and B&N links will be available on release day, November 20th!

—

Stay tuned for more excerpts! XO

 

Crown Jewels is coming Sunday!

After that close-up of his package on the sailboat in Morocco, TMZ started calling him Crown Jewels.

Not that I keep track of Prince Liam. Definitely don’t stalk him online like my friends do.

I’m out of that scene now. My family’s reality show might still be running, but I’ve been off-screen for a while. When people pass me on the sidewalk, they might squint, but most of them don’t scream “Lucy Rhodes” and ask about my love of Lucky Charms or how my broken toe healed.

Prince Liam—my stalking his Instagram—that’s just for fun. It’s my dirty little secret. Trust me, I’m the only woman in the world who doesn’t actually want him.

Except I’m back in the Hamptons for the first time in two years. I’m at a party, and Prince Manwhore is here as well. I tell myself that smile has no effect on me. That his ridiculous charisma is a parlor trick I see right through.

After our one night together, no one knows that I succumbed.

It doesn’t matter. It meant nothing.

Not until I see those two pink lines.

Pre-order at iBooks.

Add Crown Jewels to your Goodreads shelf!

Add my new release to Goodreads!

I don’t have a cover or blurb yet, but I do have a Goodreads page! Woohoo!

Add Crown Jewels!

On bestseller lists - and secrets

My new release, Sloth: A Sinful Secrets Novel, made the USA Today bestseller list today.

And here's the thing: I really dislike talking about sales and rankings. Not because they're not important, and not because selling a lot isn't an achievement. But because I feel like a lot of the time, the people who notice these sorts of posts are other authors, who may or may not be enjoying strong sales at the moment.

My take on this is that readers don't care so much if you've made a list, your friends know anyway, and fellow authors might find your success disheartening. Because the truth is, we compare ourselves to others. We all do. Anyone who says they don't is either living in a bubble, a zen master, or lying.

So I wasn't going to post about the list. My family knows, my friends know - great. I ordered cupcakes from this amazing delivery cupcake place. End of.

Except this is my sixteenth book, and I almost didn't finish it.

I've struggled through books before, but this was different. I spent last year writing mostly serials. Which is all well and good, except writing serials is not like writing full-length novels. I'm not saying it's easier or harder, but it's different. And that was what I had gotten used to doing.

I chose a topic for Sloth that was intensely personal to me - something I had never done before - and then decided to tell the story in a way I thought would be challenging for me as a writer. In retrospect, I probably took on too much, especially with the personal elements of the story.

I didn't give myself long enough to write the book, which was more of a problem than it might have been because I also didn't realize how long the book would be. (Very). I had trouble in my personal life. More than usual. I also had an undiagnosed thyroid issue, something women sometimes suffer in the year after having a new baby, and that led to a serious - and surprisingly sudden - depression.

But one of the main reasons I struggled to finish Sloth was because I was afraid no one would like it. It's a fairly standard romance novel in many ways, but for a few reasons, it felt to me like a step outside the box. Also (again) it was personal. The story. Writing Sloth felt a lot like writing about my life - and that was scary.

And then I missed my publication date. Not my deadline, but my actual publication date. I had to cancel a blog tour. Tell my readers. No one in my circle was quite sure what I should say. The consensus was that no one wanted to hear about my personal issues, or my depression, which at that time was severe. I wouldn't have known what to say about it anyway. I posted something short and simple on my Facebook page and stepped back from social media for a month.

In that time, I started dealing with my depression, but I found when I emerged that my confidence had taken a nose-dive. Writing books is my job. Not releasing them is not going to work. If I don't go to work, my family suffers. I felt pressured. Embarrassed. Lost.

The more like this I felt, the less clear I was on the book. I wrote 600 - yeah, 600 - pages that didn't end up in the book at all. I see now that I was probably suffering from "writer's block," but when you write for a living, you write - so I kept writing even though I felt that none of it was good. I wrote the book's ending seven different ways.

I struggled so much with Sloth, so hard, and for so long, I started wondering if I should find a new job. One I could do with greater ease: just walk into an office, sit down, and work. Reliably. But I don't have another profession. I'm not a nurse, a lawyer, or a teacher. I'm not organized. I make a terrible receptionist, an unconvincing salesperson. I used to be a journalist, but I hated the politics and felt sorry for everyone I wrote about. I don't like anything but writing.

But I could not finish this book.

No one around me knew what to say or do to help me get my mojo back. Several wonderful friends spent many hours listening to me talk about what wasn't working. Repeatedly telling me I could do it, even when, I have to imagine, they wondered if I could - or would. My readers' group was enthusiastic and kind, even though they probably thought I was a little crazy. And I kept struggling.

One day, one friend made a remark about the surprising number of people who finish all the classes required to get their PhD but never actually earn the degree because they get so bogged down in writing their thesis - the last step in the process.

I thought about this for a few days, feeling vaguely bothered, and eventually I realized why: I could, theoretically, never finish Sloth. In fact, in that moment, had I done nothing to reverse my course, I never would have. My inaction - or rather my inability to write THE END - would have charted a new course for me, just as powerfully as any action.

And still I struggled, because without hard evidence that I was a writer - evidence I could only find in successfully finishing and publishing books - I questioned my ability to do it. What if the first fifteen books were just a coincidence, and I don't really know how to write? I know... it makes no sense. Sometimes things don't make sense.

I have a writer friend who was previously a NICU nurse. With that as an option, I feel almost certain I'd have run back to the hospital. But I didn't have that option. I sucked it up, and I made myself finish - one, because I was terrified of allowing myself to quit, and two because I didn't have a Plan B. I had been "out of work" for about six months, and I needed to return.

When I released the book, I had no idea how it would sell. I was almost four months past my previously announced publication date. Some people seemed excited, but others had ridiculed my lateness. Until about a week and a half before the release, I had no real PR plan in place. I hadn't been brave enough to set one up. (I'm very thankful to the tour companies who helped me on short notice, and to several friends who helped me brainstorm. You know who you are).

I tried to keep my expectations extra low, but had the book not done well, I don't know what I would have done. So it wasn't a fun time. Not until I saw how many people were buying the book.

Why am I telling you all these things? Because when I see another author doing well, I often compare myself to them. What are they doing that I'm not? How much better are their books? What kind of ads are they running? They're doing so well - maybe at that moment, I'm not.

Writing is not an easy job. So much of it is playing mind games with yourself. Bluffing. You have to keep your balance. Don't look down. When it's your business, you try to measure the uncertainties, to keep the risks tightly contained. Until you can't. Because sometimes, life can't be contained.

At one point, when I was lost in the forest of Sloth, one of my friends told me about another author who'd missed her publication date. I heard of three such authors when I was feeling really down - all "big" authors, whose work I respected - and had they not shared their struggles, I would have felt more lonely.

So instead of sharing my screenshot of Sloth's spot on the USA Today list and saying, "Hey, look, my book made a list," I wanted to say something more real. Because I'm pretty sure there are other authors out there struggling through some project, wondering if people will like it, worrying over their sales, or feeling shitty about themselves. Like maybe they don't deserve to be where they are, or like any previous success is just a cosmic glitch that might right itself any time.

I didn't send out ARCs for Sloth, I spent almost no money on advertising, and the only early reviews I had were those from other authors and a few bloggers who happened to buy it on release day and like it. It's not the best book ever. I'm sure there are many better books that weren't on any list this week. But that's not the point. The point is that I finished it - and something happened. I'm thankful that it turned out to be great.

xox

Sloth Paperback Orders

Hi guys!

I've decided to open orders for Sloth paperbacks. They won't be available in any other capacity - except at signings - so if you're interested, this is the way to go.

You'll be ordering a signed copy, which comes with a book mark.

The order form is HERE. I'm not sure when I'll close orders yet, but likely late next week. I'll open them again on a rolling basis when I get my new web site up! :)

If you've bought Sloth and/or told friends to, I also wanted to say thank you. I've made no secret of the fact that I struggled with this book, and that it was very personal to me, so it's amazingly gratifying to see people enjoying it.

Never heard of Sloth? It's a romance novel, I swear. Check it out here.

Here are links to other vendors:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Sloth-Sinful-Secrets-Ella-James-ebook/dp/B01069Z6TO/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1435006833&sr=1-2&keywords=sloth+ella+james
Amazon UK:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sloth-Sinful-Secrets-Ella-James-ebook/dp/B01069Z6TO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435007283&sr=8-1&keywords=sloth+ella+james
Amazon CA:http://www.amazon.ca/Sloth-Sinful-Secrets-Ella-James-ebook/dp/B01069Z6TO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435007317&sr=8-1&keywords=Sloth+ella+james
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id10...
Amazon AU:http://www.amazon.com.au/Sloth-Sinful-Secrets-Ella-James-ebook/dp/B01069Z6TO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435007352&sr=8-1&keywords=Sloth+ella+james
Kobo:https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/sloth-a-sinful-secrets-novel
Nook:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sloth-ella-james/1122187701?ean=2940152148954
Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23716176-sloth?from_search=true&search_version=service 
I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend! Be sure to stop by my Facebook pages for giveaways. 
www.facebook.com/ellajamesauthorpagew...
xoxox,Ella

Sloth release party, Sloth paperbacks, and more...

Hey guys,

You probably already know, I released a new book this week. It's called Sloth, and it's the first novel in my Sinful Secrets series. Each novel is inspired by a sin and centered around a secret.

So today The Literary Gossip is helping me host the official Sloth release party on Facebook. The party starts today (June 25) at 6 p.m. EST, and if you click on the link, you'll see there are SO many amazing authors dropping by! It's going to be a really good time, so you should come check it out.

For people who have already bought and finished Sloth, there's a post-Sloth discussion group on Facebook where you can discuss spoilers and ask questions.

I have an amazing giveaway on my Facebook author page, which doesn't close until Friday. It's a gift basket filled with things that appeared in Sloth, and it includes awesome stuff like a LELO, a VISA gift card, ebook copies of the books Cleo reads in Sloth, a stuffed sloth, lavender massage oil, and all sorts of other stuff. The post is entitled "BIG SLOTH GIVEAWAY."

I also wanted to remind you guys that $2.99 is the -release day- price for Sloth. It's a 150,000 word book, so easily twice the size of most average-sized books. It's going up in price soon. I'm putting in for a price raise today. I said that yesterday, then decided to give everyone a little more time to get it at the low price. But today I'm really doing it. It takes Amazon between 12-24 hours to change the price, so just be aware that it will be increasing soon.

Starting today, I'm taking orders for the Sloth paperback for a limited time. I'll probably close the ordering period at the end of next week. You can order a signed Sloth paperback right here.

The paperback will not be available on Amazon. FYI.

And last but not least, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who's already bought the book. Sales have been strong and you guys have left some really nice reviews - which makes me very happy! Thank you.

Okay...I think that's all!

I hope everyone is having an awesome week!
~Ella

GET SLOTH ON SALE FOR ONLY $2.99

SLOTH: A Sinful Secrets Novel, is live everywhere but the iBookstore. There was a delay there. It should be live tomorrow. Don't forget the $2.99 price point is very limited time due to the book's length. :) 
Thanks for a great release day, guys! 
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Sloth-Sinful-Secrets-Ella-James-ebook/dp/B01069Z6TO/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1435006833&sr=1-2&keywords=sloth+ella+james
Amazon UK:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sloth-Sinful-Secrets-Ella-James-ebook/dp/B01069Z6TO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435007283&sr=8-1&keywords=sloth+ella+james
Amazon CA:http://www.amazon.ca/Sloth-Sinful-Secrets-Ella-James-ebook/dp/B01069Z6TO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435007317&sr=8-1&keywords=Sloth+ella+james
Amazon AU:http://www.amazon.com.au/Sloth-Sinful-Secrets-Ella-James-ebook/dp/B01069Z6TO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435007352&sr=8-1&keywords=Sloth+ella+james
Kobo:https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/sloth-a-sinful-secrets-novel
Nook:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sloth-ella-james/1122187701?ean=2940152148954
Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23716176-sloth?from_search=true&search_version=service 

Sloth is LIVE on Amazon!

SLOTH IS LIVE on Amazon, and available for $2.99 for a very limited time. 

It's a 150,000-word novel with lots of twists, one big secret, and no cliffhanger ending. It's erotic (for sure) but has a very romantic storyline, so I'm not sure if the romance or the steam is more dominant. There's lots of both.

My Facebook page is a crazy land of giveaways right now, so you might want to check that out. You probably can't friend me, but follow me and I think it's basically the same thing! ;) 

I'll post links to Sloth at other retailers as soon as I have them. The book file is very large and Apple says they're having some issues getting it up at the moment. 

Here's a tease of one of the more erotic parts of Sloth! 

Sloth blurb

There is now a blurb for Sloth!



Dear A. – I am writing to express my gratitude for your gift. There are no sufficient words, but please accept my sincerest thank you.
Yours,R. 
She writes me back. I didn’t expect that.
She tells me she’s a lover of chicken pizza and video games, a hot sorority girl with the nickname Sloth. She wants to know something about me in return. She says I owe her.
This is how she saves my life. She doesn’t even know it. We’ve never even seen each other. But I need a reason. Just one reason to continue. She becomes mine.
The anonymity is good. She doesn’t need to know me, but I need her kindness. We both live our lives: a letter here, a post card there. For three years, I escape my demons. And then one day I’m pulled back in.
I’ve resigned myself to what I know is coming. Until the girl I’m spanking gives her safe word: Sloth.
And then the lie I’m living starts to unravel.
--
Sloth is an erotic romance. It’s a dark mystery, so if you’re sad, read another book. This one is real, and hard. Not that kind of hard. (That kind of hard, too). Consider yourself warned.
P.S. The book ends on a beach. That’s all I’m saying. As for an HEA, you’ll have to read and see. 

P.S.S. Sloth is long—about 500 pages, or 150,000 words. It was supposed to be short and quick. Instead it’s a behemoth that consumed its author for six months. As such, the price is going from $2.99 to $4.99 shortly after release.
If you want to add it to your Goodreads TBR, you can do that here. It releases 6/22. 

Sloth release date

Hi guys,

You might remember, I was supposed to release a novel called Sloth back in February. I had some personal things come up with my family and the release was pushed back quite a bit. I've finally set a new release date of June 22nd!

I'm going to post excerpts and teasers from the book between now and then, so check back here for those.

If you're a blogger and want to sign-up for the release day blitz, you can do so here and/or here. The Gossip Girls PR sign-up is also for a tour!

Thanks so much for your support of me and my books. I can't wait to share this one with you!

-Ella

P.S. You can add it to your Goodreads TBR pile here, and sign up to receive a release day alert right here.