Lolita Lopez's Blog, page 7

Two Reviews for Between Friends!

 

Dianthus as Long and Short Reviews (LASR) reviewed Between Friends and gave it four stars. She called it one for the keeper pile! Woohoo! You can read more of the review here.

 

CozyReader at The Romance Reviews also read and reviewed Between Friends. "The sex scenes were so scorching hot that I am surprised that my e-reader did not go up in flames." SCORE! You can read more of the review here.

 

You can find Between Friends at Amazon, B&N and Bookstrand.

 

Clean Slate

 

I'm blogging at Silken Sheets and Seduction about clean slates, the New Year and how totally fabulous 2011 was for me. I'm so stoked about what 2012 has in store and hope to have some coming soon news in the next few weeks!

Come on over and say hi!

 

Santa Baby (Or How Mama Brought Sexy Back)

 

I'm blogging at Silken Sheets today about Eartha Kitt, naughty Christmas lists and bringing back that old bangin' sex life after adding a baby to the mix. So hop on over and let me know what you think!

 

Bringing Back the Backlist

Over the last few months, I've been asking for rights reversions on short stories I have with some publishers. They're all books that have reached the ends of their contracts or aren't selling for various reasons (poor pricing, bad distribution, etc) so it doesn't make sense to just leave them with publishers who aren't going to hustle to sell books.

 

I went back to the original files and revamped them before editing and formatting. I did the covers for Spurs and Sparks myself using what I learned in one of the super fabulous Not Going to Conference Conference workshops on Romance Divas. I went with simple designs because I have a theme in mind for my short stories that I'll be self-publishing. I want the covers to have a sort of uniform look, if that makes sense.

 

So anywho. Spurs and Sparks are available at All Romance eBooks (PDF, epub, prc, html, and lit formats,) B&N and Amazon. Once I work up the courage to tackle Smashwords, they'll show up on Apple, Kobo, Sony, etc. They're short stories (6000-11,000 words) so I've priced them at 99 cents. Anything else seems a bit too high, especially for previously published works.

 

 

 

Daphne never imagined the sound of spurs could make her so hot. She craves rough and tumble rancher Cord. The idea of burying her nose against his neck and inhaling that deliciously masculine scent of leather, sweat and cedar drives her wild.

No matter how badly he yearns to bring Daphne to his bed, Cord views her as strictly off-limits. She's just the sort of woman he could fall in love with–and that simply wouldn't do.

Daphne isn't so easily discouraged. He's exactly what she needs and she'll prove it to him with one night of raw, unchained passion.

Reader Advisory: This book features steamy trysts with a cowboy, light BDSM, a rather creative use of a belt and graphic language.

*Note* This book was previously published but has been revised and expanded for your reading pleasure.

Available at Amazon, B&N, and All Romance eBooks.

 

 

Oh-so-sexy electrician Logan Weatherly is the only man art gallery owner Bibi Velez wants heating up her sheets. For months, they've danced around their mutual attraction with playful smiles and teasing banter, both of them terrified to risk their friendship on a steamy fling.

But the sparks fly when a busted shower forces a naked and dripping wet Bibi onto Logan's porch in search of help. Their pent-up passion explodes in a night of wanton lust that leaves them wondering just what changes the morning will bring…

Reader Advisory: Contains a wicked hot tryst on a tile floor and one very inventive wake-up featuring super steamy anal play

*Note* This book was previously published but has been revised and lengthened.

 

Available at Amazon, B&N and All Romance eBooks.

 

 

Wax On, Wax Off

 

Today I'm blogging at Silken Sheets and Seduction about grooming and erotica. Yeah. I know. Weird topic but I'm kind of odd like that. Hop on over and let me know what you think!

 

 

 

 

Self-Publishing Success: Pound of Flesh

 

It's weird. I always thought I'd have to get a book deal with one of the Big 6 publishers or write a breakout book for EC to make it onto the Erotica bestseller list at Amazon but that's not how it happened. It happened with an 11,000 word short story about a kinky couple's love of BDSM that I self-published myself in May.

 

 

For the month of November, that short story has been hopping on and off of the bestseller list. The sales are fan-fucking-tastic and I couldn't be happier. This was a book I'd typically send to EC but I decided to take a chance in May and do it myself. This is my career, and I decided it was time to take charge and stop being so damn wishy-washy about everything. I think it's probably the safest bet to try to reach as many readers as possible in as many formats as possible. I want readers to be able find me easily and quickly. I want to offer them lots of sexy, sinful and entertaining content at a great price.

 

Self-publishing was something of an experiment for me. Lots of author friends were taking the plunge. Some reported amazing numbers, some awful numbers and some were right in the middle. I tempered my expectations and decided to put the story up without any promo or any of the other usual business just to see what was possible.

 

At first, I made the huge-o mistake of pricing the book in no-man's land:  $1.99. Seriously, no, no, no. That price point seems to make books invisible. I sold, like, 11 copies that first month. LOL. What a joke, right?

 

So I changed the price to 99 cents, played around with the blurb and added a subtitle in parenthesis (An Erotic BDSM Short.) Slowly, the story picked up steam and around late June it settled into the 14-20K range on Amazon. I was cool with that. It was doing better than most of my EC, Samhain, Liquid Silver, etc backlist books. I saw a little bump in sales any time I had a new release with EC or Siren. That proved to me that new releases are very important for maintaining sales and finding new readers.

 

And, then, in October, a lovely, random reader gave it a 5 Star review. I was over the moon, of course. I love knowing my stories resonate with readers. I mean, I wouldn't write them if I didn't want to entertain, right?

 

So that review showed up and interesting things started to happen. Pound of Flesh started to race down the rankings to the high 2000′s and 3000′s. I hit the bestseller list at 99 and then 81 and then 76. I was stunned. Had one review made all the difference? Or was it that Siren menage book that introduced me to a new pool of readers who seemed to connect with my work? I really don't know. All I know is that something totally awesome happened.

 

Pound of Flesh will probably sell right around 600 copies for the month by the end of tonight. I'd been averaging 100-150 copies a month. That's a pretty big jump. Do I think it will last forever? Nah. But–huge but–now I know what's possible. After four years of writing for large epublishers, I finally hit the bestseller list–on my own. That was a huge moment of validation for me, especially coupled with the fact that I was recently offered a nifty new short story opportunity. (Hope to have more details on that one soon!)

 

Does this mean I'll only self-publish from now on? Um, no. LOL. It's a lot of work. You have to write, handle the editing, find a cover artist, do all the formatting, etc. I can't imagine doing that with every book. Also, I really enjoy working with my editor at EC and I'm falling in love with the reader community at Siren. I've never had such amazing emails and messages!

 

I do, however, think I'm going to streamline in 2012. I'm going to write for Siren, EC, that short story opportunity, and myself. I have some pretty filthy bits that are similar to Pound of Flesh but longer. Those will probably go up next because that's what readers seem to want (and what I enjoy writing, lol.)

 

So. Anywho. I guess the point of this post is to say that all kinds of totally cool shit is possible now. You don't have to just go with a Big 6 or a big epublisher or a small press. You can do strike out on your own and make things happen. Or, you can do like me, and do them all. Why not, right?

 

 

Ultimate Prize

When luscious burlesque performer Yoli Ramirez sashays onstage, cage fighter Zel Tesla is rendered breathless. He’s never seen anything so exotic or tantalizing as Yoli swinging those voluptuous hips in an elaborate dance. As the curtain falls, Zel knows he must meet her.

The second Yoli claps eyes on Zel, desire blossoms. When Zel visits her dressing room, she surrenders to the irresistible lust and begins a torrid affair with the oh so delicious fighter. She’d never imagined meeting someone like Zel, a man who makes her wonder if maybe, just maybe, this is her chance for happily ever after. But the reality of Zel’s no-holds-barred profession threatens to come between Yoli and that elusive happiness.

Available in ebook format from Ellora’s Cave, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, All Romance Ebooks and more.

Pressing the Flesh

Heath Sanders is slowly going insane. He hopes an impromptu vacation to Mexico will get his mind off his object of lust—until she saunters past him in the resort lobby. It must be fate. Throwing caution to the wind, he decides the opportunity to taste his fantasy is too good to pass up.

Texas Senator Luz Hernandez is surprised by the attention from the smolderingly sexy, much younger man. Her job is too important to risk on a fling—but she’s far from the prying eyes of the press, and the hungry look in Heath’s eyes quickly convinces her to unleash her inner cougar.

When Luz learns that Heath is the anonymous blogger behind BeltwayBlitz.net, the most influential political blog in the country, she panics and bolts, certain she’s been set up. But now that he’s had a taste, Heath is determined to prove he’s not interested in her politics—only her passion.

Available now in ebook format from Ellora’s Cave, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, All Romance Ebooks, Apple and more.

Bad, Bad Things

Ofelia Brandt, D-list actress and tabloid princess, needs money—and she needs it fast. Her hot mess of a sister has gotten herself in deep with some really scary people. It’s up to Ofelia to deliver the money they’re demanding on deadline, or else. With her back against the wall, Ofelia knows she has only one choice. Blackmail.

Her mark? Sexy-as-sin Russian billionaire, Sergei Alexandrov, star of a kinky sex video that Ofelia went to great lengths to steal. After a steamy encounter in his car, Sergei agrees to pay for the video…but he wants one more thing. Ofelia. For one night. Preferably naked.

There’s always a price when you do bad, bad things…

Reader Advisory: Our heroine is what you might call a “free spirit”—as demonstrated in a hot-on-hot-on-hot scene with a couple of her girlfriends.

Available in ebook format from Ellora’s Cave, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, All Romance Ebooks and more.

Sparks

Oh-so-sexy electrician Logan Weatherly is the only man art gallery owner Bibi Velez wants heating up her sheets. For months, they’ve danced around their mutual attraction with playful smiles and teasing banter, both of them terrified to risk their friendship on a steamy fling.

But the sparks fly when a busted shower forces a naked and dripping wet Bibi onto Logan’s porch in search of help. Their pent-up passion explodes in a night of wanton lust that leaves them wondering just what changes the morning will bring…

Reader Advisory: Contains a wicked hot tryst on a tile floor and one very inventive wake-up featuring super steamy anal play

Available in ebook format from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, All Romance Ebooks, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords and more.