Ava March's Blog, page 13

A Suit, Updates & an Excerpt

'Cause I love a man in a suit ;)

I've been rather productive lately. Reviewed the galley for Beyond Reckless, and did the edits for Bound Forever. All that's left is to tweak/revise the last chapter, and I'm on track to get it done by mid-Nov (my definition of 'mid').
As far as interesting news goes, His Client's release date has moved to January 11, 2011. Moved out just one week. And I do love the new date - 1/11/11 - has a lovely ring to it ;)

Beyond Reckless is up on Amber Allure's site under the Coming Soon books, with a blurb and excerpt. And yes, I've been by to visit the guys a time or two...or more. I can't help it. I get excited when blurbs and excerpts go up on a pub's site.

Speaking of excerpts, here's the excerpt from Beyond Reckless, which features a Regency-era adrenaline junkie and his inventive, indulgent lover.
(for those who don't like excerpts, here's your chance to avert your eyes)----------------------------------
"You may need to look for me."

The words echoed in his head. Martin had spoken so casually, but Rys should have guessed his lover had not been strictly referring to the crush of people who attended such functions.

A smile teased the edges of his mouth. An honest to goodness search. Definitely interesting.

He turned on his heel. The back garden and the balcony were out of the question. A light rain had just started to fall when his carriage had pulled up to the tidy mansion on the outskirts of Mayfair. Just to be certain, he paused as he passed the card room, but he knew the room would hold no one of interest.

No, not the general areas of the house. He would need to look someplace more…private.

The trace of frustration that had seeped into his veins when he'd entered the ballroom was now gone. In its place was the distinct spark of excitement. Of anticipation. Of the added thrill of the hunt.

And to think he had thought staid, old Lady Edgecomb's ball would be a thoroughly dull affair.

Deciding it best to avoid any diligent footmen, he slipped through a narrow door along the corridor. While he'd been to the house a time or two in the past, he had never before strayed beyond the ballroom. But all homes in Mayfair had similar qualities, including his own. A narrow door was akin to a sign that read Servants, and this one—he caught himself from stumbling on the first step in the dark passageway—led upstairs.

One hand before him bracing for the door, he went up the stairs. When his fingers encountered cool wood, he paused and pressed his ear to the door. Silence.

The door opened soundlessly on well-oiled hinges, revealing a corridor lit by gleaming brass sconces stationed at regular intervals along the walls. Should he go right or left?

His attention stopped on the partially open door across the corridor and down a bit, the room beyond it dark.

A bit of suspicion furrowed his brow. Would Martin have made it that easy?

No way to know unless Rys checked that room.

Plush rugs silenced his footsteps as he crossed the corridor, his blood pounding with an invigorating mixture of excitement and danger and the possibility of victory.

His senses on full alert, he hesitated just the barest bit as he crossed the threshold, then stopped a couple of paces inside the room and gave his eyes a moment to adjust. A pool of golden light spilled from the corridor, but otherwise the room was dark. He could just make out the outline of a settee and a spindle-legged chair. Likely a sitting room, and it felt distinctly empty.

Obviously Martin had not made it that easy.

His lips quirked. He would have it no other way.

He left the sitting room and proceeded down the corridor. Should he check the doors on the left or right first? A systematic search or a more random one and hope luck would be on his side? Usually was. If not, he likely wouldn't still be standing at the ripe old age of—he quickly checked his pocket watch—now five and twenty.

A large hand closed around his forearm and yanked sharply. The next thing he knew, he was pressed face-first against a wall, wrists held at the small of his back. A body even harder and stronger than his own covered him from behind.

A door snapped shut. He blinked against the sudden darkness and then his instincts screamed to the forefront.

He bucked back, tugged his arms. His gold cufflinks bit into his skin under the force of the man's hold and then that harsh grip shifted down. Bare skin slid against his wrists. In the back of his mind, it registered that the other man wasn't wearing gloves. He let out a grunt as the body behind him shoved his harder against the wall, pressing him flat so that he had to turn his head else risk breaking his nose. The grip on his wrists tightened to the point of pain before easing back to a secure hold.

Held tight, he shifted his weight, tested his bonds. He was certainly no slight slip of a man, but it definitely would involve a struggle to break free.

His heart slammed sharp and fast against his ribs, echoing in his ears. The man behind him shifted. A hard arch that could only belong to an obvious erection pressed into the crease of his arse. Lust shot to his groin. So thick and so heavy, he briefly squeezed his eyes closed against the force of it.

The scents of whisky, cheroot smoke and sandalwood drifted over his shoulder. The tendril of true fear, of uncertainty, vanished.

Warm breaths fanned his ear. "What have we here?"

Updates & Seven Nights to Forever

I try to limit mention of my m/f books on the blog, but it's new book release day and I can't contain myself. Seven Nights to Forever (written as Evangeline Collins) is now available! I will admit to visiting the local Barnes and Noble and gawking at the book on the shelf. I contracted the book almost 2 years ago then spent many, many months writing it. So yeah, I'm super geeked it finally made its way to the shelf.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. The edits for His Client are officially done. Next up, I'll dive into the edits/revisions for Bound Forever. I'm hoping to get it done within a couple of weeks. And at the end of this month, Beyond Reckless will release *g* Sometime before then, I'll share an excerpt on the blog. The book's a hot, fun short story featuring two wicked and naughty guys, so I'm hoping you all will enjoy it. I sure had fun writing it.

As a thanks for letting me squee about the m/f book, here are a few cookies. Enjoy!!

2011 Book Release News

I hope everyone's been having a good week. Fall has arrived here. The temps are dropping, the wind is picking up, and summer's now officially gone :( I miss summer already.
Enough whining about the fact winter will soon be here. I do have some news. Bound Forever will release in March 2011! Don't have an exact date yet, but it's in the schedule for March. Loose Id waits 2-3 months between author releases, hence the Mar'11 date even though I turned the book in back in Aug. His Client has a Jan'11 date, so that meant BF would get a Mar/Apr date. I'm happy it's going to be March. And that also means Convincing Leopold will likely release sometime in early summer 2011.
Given that, I have a new target date to complete Convincing Leopold - Feb/Mar'11 (yep, love those nice and open deadlines). Which gives me plenty of time to write it...and just maybe squeeze in writing another story this year. I'll see how long it takes to do the edits/revisions on BF, then see if I have time to write something new before going back to CL.
Enough about me. Shawn Lane is holding a contest on her blog for a copy of her upcoming release, Manfred's Curse. So pop on over and leave a comment if you want to throw your name in the virtual hat. Devon Rhodes is also holding a Halloween contest on her blog . Winner gets their choice of books in her backlist.
Hope everyone has a great Halloween weekend! Anyone have any fun plans? Hubby and I are taking the kidlet trick-o-treating. Kidlet is going to be a black cat witch. She wants to bring Kitteh along to complete the costume, but I'm trying to convince her that maybe that's not a good idea. Kitteh's pretty mellow for a kitty, but not sure she'd appreciate the whole trick-or-treating scene.

Cowboy Kitteh and The Prince's Issues

Where did the weekend go? I swear, it was just Friday. *sigh* Oh, and I need today's hottie to come to my house to do some painting. I haven't painted in like five years (coincides with when I started writing), and it's past time I changed up some of the colors around the house. I've been trying to nudge hubby to do it, but...so far, no results.
The writing is coming along, I even got all the forms done for Beyond Reckless and turned them in *pats self on back*. I've got the 2nd round of edits due for His Client at the beginning of Nov, so I need to finish them up. After that, I'll need to turn my attention to edits and revisions for Bound Forever. Yeah, revisions. :( But my editor's right, the ending needs a tweak and Oliver will be the better for it. Ollie's my boy, after all, and I'll do whatever it takes to show him the love. *g*
There were some interesting happenings in the kidlet's playroom recently. Kitteh proved herself quite the cowgirl.
When I saw this next one in the corner of the playroom, I will admit, I was struck speachless. Speachless in a 'what the??....oh, dear lord...' sort of way. I snapped a quick pic on my phone when the kidlet was out of the room, then casually asked her what was up with The Prince. Any guesses on her answer?
...."I couldn't get his pants on".
Ahhh. See, totally reasonable reason for him to be bent over Kitteh's scratching thinging with his bum hanging out. The nearby nekkid barbie - not sure what's up with her. Didn't ask. But I did fix The Prince's pants for him. This is not the first instance where the poor fellow's been left in the lurch. Clearly I need to get him some clothes that are easier for the kidlet to get on him.

Story Behind the Story - A Pint Light by Devon Rhodes

A Pint Light by Devon Rhodes

Stats - Submitted to Total-E-Bound Publishing on August 1st, 2009. Contracted on August 23rd, 2009. Released on October 26th, 2009.

Little Known Fact - I began writing this story on July 30th (see dates above)...yes, I went from conception to submission in two days (well, nights). Plus I was leaving on a month-long road trip the day I submitted.

Extremely Little Known Fact – Raine was almost a girl...for about three sentences. Then he said, hell no, and slapped me upside the head. Brie still hasn't stopped teasing him about it. She always wanted a sister.

How did I get the idea for the book? - I was browsing through TEB's website before bed (for something to read) and noticed their calls for submission for the first time. I immediately thought, so many vamp tales are dark and angsty and violent--wouldn't it be cool to write a humorous one? Not a parody, just with some warmth and funny moments. Then the title came to me, and almost simultaneously, the opening scene. I almost broke my fingers trying to get a new doc opened.

If I could edit the book now, what would I change? – The length. The word count was set by the call, and I was barely under the max as it was. Without constraints, I would pull it out to at least novella length and slow the pace down a bit. The world I built just begs for more page time, which is why I decided to use this as a springboard for the series, Vampires & Mages & Weres, Oh My!

Miscellaneous Stuff – You'll be seeing a bit of Raine and Val, Brie and Killian in the next book in the series this spring, and even more in Killian's story early summer. I can't wait, and neither can they!

Thanks bunches to my lovely Ava, who has been there from the start. Hard to imagine it's been over a year since all this started! Thanks for having me on, and I'd love to answer any questions from her readers (ask the right ones and maybe you'll get some spoilers). ;)

A Pint Light - Now available from Total E-Bound Publishing

Valerian stole Raine's blood, his magic...and his heart.

What's a vampire to do when every day is the same old dull quest for blood? Head to Maui, of course. But before Valerian can hit the beach, he needs to get rid of the sultry mage seducing him in his sleep. She may have fooled his subconscious, but he doesn't need a mate complicating his life. Imagine Val's shock when he finds out she's a he, yet still has the power to arouse him beyond anything he'd ever imagined.

Raine faints at the sight of blood and isn't looking forward to being a vamp's chew toy. Still, family duty calls, and Valerian turns out to be the hottest, and most powerful, male on two legs. Raine is crushed when the sexy vamp of his dreams runs from their rough play in horror. But his pride can't stand in the way when Valerian accidently steals his magic along with his blood.

Now, with time running out, Raine needs to seduce him one last time to even up the score, and maybe this time, they'll exchange more than blood and power. Magic is in the air, and sometimes love only needs a little nudge.

Brought to you by the letter A...

I've got nothing much exciting to report. Been writing, got edits for both His Client and Bound Forever in the 'need to do soon' queue, and misc promo stuff (like interview questions) for the upcoming m/f print book. Lots of stuff, but none of it very exciting.

So to compensate for my lack of exciting-ness, I'm sharing some cookies which start with the letter A. No specific reason for A, other than it's the 1st letter of the alphabet, and well, the 'A' cookies looked particulary yummy. *g*

Andrew O.
Andrew S.

Aaron

Alan On Tuesday 10/19, Devon Rhodes will be by to do a Story Behind the Story post for A Pint Light. So if you find yourself out and about trolling the internet on Tuesday, stop on by and check it out. A Pint Light is one of my fav books from Devon, and when I found out how quickly she wrote it (yep, I've already peeked at the post), I felt like a....what's slower than a snail?....in comparison. ;)

Cover Lovin' - Beyond Reckless

Squee alert! I love getting covers - it makes my little geeky heart smile. And today my email stalking paid off, and I received the cover for my 11/28 Amber Allure release, Beyond Reckless! Many thanks to Trace Edward Zaber for a fabulous cover.
You may notice a theme with most of my covers...nekkid men. It's because I ask for the nekkidness on my cover request forms. Yep, it's true. I've taken to shamelessly asking for nekkid hotties. Well, I don't actually type the words 'nekkid hotties' on the forms. I phrase it a litte differently, but the cover artists get the idea. If you all haven't figured it out by now, I have a thing for bare skin. ;)
Anyway, back to the squeeing. The book's now on the Coming Soon page for Amber Allure, too. And yes, I've visited the page quite a few times already today. This will be my 6th Ava release, and the thrill of a book first showing up on the Coming Soon page still hasn't worn off, and I hope it never does.

Here's the blurb for the book. I posted it a few weeks ago, and well, I'm posting it again, just because I'm geeking on the book.

It's the eve of Mr. Rys Palmer's 25th birthday. A significant birthday, for it's when he'll come into his majority and gain full control of the inheritance from his obscenely wealthy grandfather. But the promise of a fortune isn't what gets Rys's blood pumping.

Mr. Martin Trent's well aware of his lover's propensity for thrills. After four years together, he knows just how to indulge Rys without risking either of their reputations or their necks. But clearly Rys's taste for more than a hint of danger has rubbed off on him. Beyond reckless to ask Rys to meet him at a ton ball to give Rys his gift. Yet Martin can't resist the opportunity to give his lover a birthday he'll never forget.

Excerpt - His Client

In celebration of His Client's release in less than 3 months (...it releases on 1/4/11, since today's the 5th of Oct, it's officially less than 3 months), I'm sharing an excerpt from the book.

For those of you who don't dig excerpts, here's your warning to avert your eyes. Oh, and here's also the 'book is not fully edited' warning as well. So please excuse any typos or other errors.

----------------------
A hard, sweaty body slumped against him. Nate forced his hand to release Jasper's prick and then wrapped his arms around the man's waist. For a long moment the only sounds that broke the silence were their hard pants as they struggled to catch their breaths. Then Jasper shifted. Soft lips coasted up his neck, over his jaw and found his. Lazy and slow and oh so familiar, the kiss lulled Nate's senses, tempting him to remain right there, with Jasper in his arms, for the rest of the night. But…

Damnation. Keeping the groan inside, he turned his head, broke the kiss. That damn thundercloud of desolation settled right back over his head, dousing every last bit of the post-orgasmic euphoria from his veins.

He opened his eyes to find Jasper staring down at him.

"Something the matter?" Jasper asked, undeniable concern reflected in his heavily-lidded eyes.

"I have a supper I need to attend tonight. Need to celebrate Peter's last night of bachelorhood." The last thing he wanted to do, but he had given the man his word and couldn't very well back down now.

Jasper shifted off his lap, Nate's sated cock slipping from his body, and stood. A shrug of his shoulders and the torn shift slipped down his arms, falling to the floor. Turning, he reached down and picked up Nate's shirt then handed it to him. "Any plans besides supper to celebrate the dreaded event?"

Nate shrugged. "Likely he'll want to go to some gambling hell or other." The destination mattered not to him. Wherever they went would involve a long night of smiling and putting on an entirely false pretense of happiness. A long night of pretending as though his heart wasn't breaking.

He scrubbed a hand over his face and got to his feet to finish dressing. He didn't bother to take much care with the cravat Jasper handed him -- he'd need to stop at his apartments to change and clean up before going onto Peter's townhouse anyway. Hell, why did the man have to get married? And tomorrow… Christ, tomorrow he had to watch it happen.

And right now, even his bloody coat wasn't cooperating. Darn top button refused to slip through its hole.

"It will be all right." Jasper's words sounded quiet and sure, holding a wealth of compassion, but Nate found no comfort in them.

"No it won't. It will be terrible." Was that his voice? He sounded like a disgruntled adolescent. Hell, Jasper had just fucked him into oblivion, and now Nate was acting like a maudlin fool once again. Jasper had the patience of a saint to put up with him.

Deciding he'd have to make do with one less button done up, he gave his coat a sharp tug to straighten it and looked up.

With a faint click, Jasper set the brandy decanter back on the silver tray on the cabinet. Bare as the day he was born, he turned to face Nate. Occupied with locating Nate's clothes and righting the room, he had not yet pulled on his own trousers. His limp cock hung between his legs, but Jasper made no move to cover it. Nate found the man's ease in his own skin…comforting. A reminder there were no secrets between them. Nothing to hide. Nothing to shield from prying eyes. They accepted each other as they were.

"Thank you for tonight."

Jasper lifted one bare shoulder in a half shrug. "Anytime. You know that."
* * * * *
Jasper watched Nate's retreating back as he left the room. The door snapped shut. He grabbed the torn shift from the floor. As he tossed it into the bin beside the washstand in the corner of the room, he glanced into the oval mirror. The dark tousled waves of his hair hung over his brow. His cheeks were still flushed with a hint of color from the orgasm Nate had given him. And faint smudges of rouge were smeared around his mouth.

He winced. It wasn't that he did not adore playing with Nate. Rather, the image in the mirror was a harsh reminder of exactly how Nate saw him -- as a whore and nothing more.

His shoulders slumped as pain began to wrap around his chest once again. He hoped to God Nate would let Edmonton go and move on. But even if he did, what then?

Story Behind the Story - Not Anymore by Em Woods

Not Anymore by Em Woods
Stats - Submitted to Total-E-Bound Publishing on March 22, 2010. Contracted on April 1, 2010. Released on September 27, 2010.

Little Known Fact - Logan and Dan were so easy to write. They practically poured onto the paper! But they started out in first person. Which turned out to be both a blessing and a curse. LOL. On one hand, oh man, it needed work! But on the other, the editor from another digital publisher thought it was worth enough to send a page & a half rejection letter , which basically said, "Go third person and this is a winner". She was right.

Extremely Little Known Fact – Logan's name started out as Matthew. As it turns out, the only request dear hubby has ever made is related to this. He read the opening scene and said, "Honey, I love you. But can we not name characters after our kids?" Um…. Yeah. I can accommodate that. LOL.

How did I get the idea for the book? - I frequent a Writer's Digest blog called Promptly, and one of the prompts there sprouted this story. It's truly a testament that you never know where a great idea or story will come from. This one came from five-hundred words or less.

If I could edit the book now, what would I change? – Hhmm… I have to say that I'd like to describe the waterfall scene in more detail. And to make it longer. Logan and Dan are so amazing that I would have liked to give them more airtime. But there's a next in that series with their friend Jared… so we'll see them again!

Miscellaneous Stuff – I received the offer for the book just after midnight on April 1st… I swear I sat and stared at the email for hours waiting on the words to change or a follow-up email saying, "April Fool's!" *grin* But all that came was the contract. Whew!
And of course, I have to echo Andi Anderson's words in that Ava is a wonderful person who encourages newbies like us to keep at it. Thanks, Ava, both for the encouragement and the opportunity to guest blog today.

Not Anymore - Now Available from Total E-Bound
Programmer Dan Perry needs a vacation. He talks his boss into giving him a week off to fly to Hawaii with his sister and her boyfriend. He knows he'll be the third wheel but he has to get out of the office and away from his abusive ex.
As the second partner in the software firm where Dan works, Logan has wanted him from a distance for over a year. Now, Logan intends to make his move but things heat up when Dan is abducted. Can Logan save Dan and convince him that love is worth a shot?

Updates and Shiny, Pretty Things

Since football season is starting up, I thought today's cookie would be fitting. I don't watch much football, but I have been known to occassionally pay attention when a game's on TV. Hot, muscular men in tight pants? Kind of hard to resist sneaking a peak. When they do the hike thing...that's my fav part. ;)
Not much going on with me. I'm currently working on Convincing Leopold and it's going...slowly. Usually does when I first start a book. So nothing unusal there. I get most of my...