Katie Reus's Blog, page 38

My Strange Addiction

Please welcome the fabulous Wynter Daniels! Not only is she a very good friend of mine, she's a talented writer and I'm happy to be hosting her today :)



Thanks to Katie for having me here today.

I've had a secret for a couple years now. To be honest, I'm a little embarrassed to own up to my addiction but I've got to tell you—I won't give it up. It's not an illicit drug or a habit that will bankrupt me, but I do go into withdrawal when I can't get any.

I'm talking about a certain reality show that I have watched from day one—Celebrity Rehab. But hear me out before you judge me. I have always loved learning what makes people tick. I took several psychology classes in college and found them fascinating. Hearing people—celebrities or not—reveal the wounds that made them into what they are is heartbreaking, and it's what creating characters is all about.

Every character has a wound—or many of them—that make them behave a certain way. In the show, it's usually some sort of heartbreaking childhood trauma that led each member of the show's cast down the road to addiction and it is often the fighting spirit that emerged from that tragedy that makes them pull themselves out of the grip of addiction.

Getting to the heart of characters is what makes them flawed and what makes them real. In Sizzle at Sea, Kara Mikos is an heiress who's been burned in love. She was raised in the lap of luxury but all she ever wanted was some attention from her mostly absent

Here's a little about the book:

All incognito heiress Kara Mikos wants is a vacation cruise and a hot shipboard fling. When her father phones to say there's a plot to kidnap her, she brushes it off as another of his many attempts to control her life.

Private security expert Harper Long doesn't mean to fall for his client's sexy daughter but what better way to keep her close enough to protect? Granting his libido free rein comes with a price, though—a treasure he's not willing to lose.

Wynter Daniels lives in Central Florida with her husband of more than twenty years and their two nearly grown children. They are all the slaves of two very demanding cats. After careers in marketing and the salon industry, Wynter's wicked prose begged to be set free. She writes for several publishers including Carina Press, Ellora's Cave, Loose Id and Red Sage. Join her Facebook fan page HERE. She loves to hear from readers, but only if it's good. Find Wynter on the web at http://www.wynterdaniels.com/ Visit her blog at http://wynterdaniels.blogspot.com/

Book Lovers Inc. Tomorrow

Tomorrow I'll be guest blogging at Book Lovers Inc. and talking about villains! The villain in my upcoming release, Deadly Obsession, is a real baddy so stop by if you get a chance. You might even win a copy of Deadly Obsession ;)

Cover Love!

I've been meaning to post this for a couple weeks, but as you can imagine, having a little baby around definitely keeps me occupied. My fabulous editor gave me the go-ahead to post my cover for Alpha Instinct so here it is! I'm very happy with the outcome. I wasn't sure exactly what I was envisioning, but this is much better than anything I could have come up with. She looks exactly like I imagined Ana, my main character would look like (with the exception of the leather vest thing, lol). And see the tattoo on her arm? Before the art department had done anything my editor asked if I had any input on what I wanted the wolf to look like so I had my hubby sketch something and it looks like they used what he drew almost exactly. Very cool!


Later next week I'll have some more updates, but right now I'm trying to carve out some time to work on the 3rd book in this upcoming series. Since my little guy is sleeping I'm going to get back to writing, but I really wanted to share this awesomeness. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

I'm back (with a baby)!

I'd hoped to post this blog a little sooner but having a new baby in the house is really time consuming ;)


Last week I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy and am now I'm officially a mom! Since my little guy arrived we haven't had much rest which was expected. Without going into all the details there were complications with the birth (after a full day of labor) so I had an unplanned c-section. The actual c-section was really fast and kinda makes me wish we'd done it sooner. I didn't get to hold him that first night but the doctor did let me see my son briefly before they put him under the oxygen tent. The hospital where I delivered is absolutely amazing and the nurses made everything so much easier than it could have been. After my c-section I got a little disoriented and sick and they were such a calming influence.


A few days later we left the hospital we thought that would be it, but because his jaundice levels kept rising we were readmitted a couple days later. He did not like the bili light we had to put him under at all. Poor guy cried most of the night which was torture to listen to. Thankfully they let us take him home the next day and had a home health company send us a bili blanket to keep him wrapped in. He didn't like the constricting blanket either but he was much calmer. So, after a week of blood tests, pediatrician and doctor appointments he's finally home and healthy.


When he came out he was 6 pounds 14 ounces. He's got a ton of dark hair (just like his mom!) and my facial features but he's totally got his father's expressions. I can't stop staring at him he's so cute! I didn't think it would be possible to love someone so much.


Thankfully my mom is staying with us. My husband was working the night shift at the time our son was born and with me healing from a c-section, I don't think I'd have been able to do everything without help. I've since learned that babies take up a lot of space for being so tiny. For someone who likes things organized this has definitely been a learning experience and I've learned to relax more. ;)

Friday Updates!

If you follow me on twitter then you probably already know that a couple weeks ago I signed a two-story deal with Harlequin's Nocturne Cravings line (formerly their Bites line). DESTINED MATE, the first story is slated to release October 2011 which is pretty cool. I hadn't expected anything so soon but I'm definitely not complaining! I talked to my new editor this week and it doesn't sound like there's going to be a lot of edits so that's a huge plus.


Here's a very brief (unofficial) summary of what Destined Mate is about:


When Angela was turned into a vampire, she ran from her werewolf lover rather than face his disdain for her kind, but after her best friend turns up missing, she has no choice but to follow the trail straight into a den of wolves and the arms of the man she fears most.


The second story still has a pending title and when I have more details on that I'll post them. Writing for Harlequin has been a long time dream of mine, probably because I grew up reading them from my mom's secret stash. I wish I could play it cool but receiving that call from my agent was so exciting! It still feels a little surreal. Since I can't drink alcohol right now I'm definitely planning for some wine celebration once I'm able.


In other news, I've got two weeks until Baby Reus is due. He might come earlier but for now I'm playing catch up trying to get all my last minute writing stuff done. His room is ready and the hospital bag(s) are packed so I'm basically just waiting for him to get here. :)

Release Day + Giveaway

Today my alter ego has a release! Heated Mating, my first sci-fi story, is out from Ellora's Cave. It's a very short story and falls into the 'Quickie' length category.


To learn more about it and for two chances to win a copy, check out my guest blog spot at Cynthia Eden's blog.


Heated Mating Blurb:

Saroya has always been fascinated by Linc and never understood his reluctance to be near her. When he makes it clear he's sexually interested, she jumps at the chance to join him in bed. But things get more complicated in the light of day.


Linc has wanted Saroya from the moment he met her, and throughout her short mating with his brother. His culture might encourage two males to mate with one woman, but Linc could never share Saroya. Not even with his brother. When his brother dies, leaving her unmated, Linc intends to claim her. Before he can win that battle he'll have to swallow his warrior pride and win her heart once and for all.

Big Giveaway from Jax Cassidy!

Author Jax Cassidy's Shibuya Moment is now available and all proceeds of this story will be donated to the Red Cross and Shelterbox for the relief effort in Japan! The story is rated PG so it's suitable for almost anyone (over the age of 15). And it's only $2 and who can't donate that for a good cause and a chance to win a new Kindle!

Items included in the giveaway:

♦ Japanese tote bag
♦ Kindle 3G
♦ Amazon Gift Card
♦ eBook of all Jax's backlist
♦ USB jumpdrive with the original theme song for SHIBUYA MOMENT
♦ Japanese pottery
♦ Body pampering set
♦ Japanese snacks

.... And more! To check out all the details of the contest, please visit Jax's website here.

Everything to Lose - New Price!

Ellora's Cave is re-pricing Everything to Lose, one of my earlier novellas published with them (before I started writing all my erotic romance under the name Savannah Stuart). It's now available for .99 cents! Right now the price markdown is only visible directly at their site. Click here for further details. Eventually Amazon, B&N, etc. will catch up but if you're interested in purchasing it, definitely check it out directly from Ellora's Cave.

Blurb:

Sean Sullivan refuses to let his wife go without a fight. He made a mistake a year ago by suggesting they get a divorce. He only wanted to scare her into staying in town, so he gave her an ultimatum. No one was more surprised than him when she walked out the door and never looked back. Now that she's on the same continent, he plans to convince her they're meant to be together, and he's not above using sex to get what he wants. When killers target them to die, he'll use any means necessary to keep her safe. Even if he has to kidnap her and tie her to his bed to do it.

In other news, my alter ego released Taming the Alpha, a hot paranormal erotic romance novella and it's now available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Blurb:

After a year of lusting after his sexy employee, werewolf pack-leader Grant broke his no-involvement-with-humans rule and made a move on Talia. A month later the sex is still red hot and everything between them is perfect. Or so he thought. Until the night he shows up at her place expecting their usual ritual of mind-blowing sex and finds out she has other plans. And they don't include him.

When Talia announces she's tired of being his last priority, Grant realizes he might lose the only woman he's ever cared about. He has to do something fast to fix their relationship, but she's completely unaware that he's not human. He's not above using sex to bind her to him, but when she wants more than that he has a risky decision to make. If he admits the truth he risks not only his heart, but the safety of his pack and the existence of all supernatural beings as well.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Mine will be filled with edits and attempting to put a baby crib together. After having a mini-breakdown while trying to figure out the difference between the ridiculous amount of baby bottles out there (thank you for your help, December and Cynthia!), I'm hoping this little venture will go much smoother. :)

New Cover!

I just received my new cover for Deadly Obsession from Carina Press's art department and I love the tone. It definitely fits the story, which is a darker romantic suspense.

Still working on a ton of stuff and trying to get it all done before the baby gets here (9 weeks away!). I thought I'd be able to jump back into blogging but for the foreseeable future, this will just be an announcement blog. Later in August I've got some fun guest blog posts and giveaways lined up at other places, but I'll post about those much closer to the actual dates. So for now, I'll still be hanging out on twitter but only making announcements here!

COVER ART: Copyright © [2011] by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. Cover Art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. All rights reserved ® and ™ are trademarks used by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. or its affiliated companies, used under license.

Alter Ego Release Day!

My alter ego has a release today! Since I'm in the midst of crazy edits and moving this weekend, this one kinda surprised me.

Dangerous Craving, the 4th book in my Miami Scorcher series, is out! I feel like I wrote this story forever ago and I'm so happy it's here. Thomas is finally getting his story :)

Dangerous Craving Blurb:

A century ago, the only man Nissa ever loved turned his back on her when she needed him. Now that her life is in danger from one of her own kind, he may be her only hope for survival. As a full-blooded faerie and next in line to be queen, Nissa figures the last place anyone would think to look for her is with a pack of werewolves.

Werewolf Thomas Lazos knows he screwed up by letting Nissa go and he's suffered the consequences for too long. Now that she's finally back on the same continent, he shows her what she's been missing all these years. The sex between them is as scorching as ever and the seductive faerie is still the only woman who makes him lose control in and out of the bedroom.

When he learns that someone wants her dead, Thomas will do whatever it takes to keep Nissa safe and finally claim what is rightfully his, even if he has to use hot, primal sex as a means of persuasion.


Eventually it will go live at ARe and Kindle, etc, but for now it's available for purchase at Ellora's Cave.