Kaylea Cross's Blog, page 8

Justin Is Here!!!

The print copies of The Vacant Chair arrived last night and I was so excited to hold the book in my hands! Since I started writing this book back when I was 14, that makes it my first book and thus Justin was my very first book boyfriend. And so I thought it only fitting that I slept beside him last night :).

I woke up big weasel to show him the book. He smiled, studied the cover for a second and said, "That's supposed to be you and Dad, isn't it?".


O_o

I can understand why he'd think that, since his father dressed up in a Yankee cavalry uniform for our wedding reception and I wore a white lacy wedding gown. I love that kid!

Here's a shot of DH and I just after he proposed in the military cemetery atop Marye's Heights at the Fredericksburg battlefield in Virginia. We look like babies! He caught me completely by surprise by popping the question there, and it's still the most romantic memory of my life. I caught myself a good one :). (I said yes, by the way.)

Book Trailer

The Vacant Chair is live and available in both digital (only $2.99) and paperback! I've already ordered a few copies for myself and can't wait to hold them in my hands :). (It's an author thing.)

I got the most extraordinary e-mail from a reader the other day. She sent me the link to a Youtube video of a book trailer she'd made for The Vacant Chair. I was astounded that she'd go to such trouble, and extremely grateful that she did.

Here it is:

So cool! I plan to post many interesting things about the research I did for the book in the next few weeks leading up to my blog tour which kicks off May 27th.

Hope you enjoy it!
Kaylea 

The Vacant Chair

May 1st is supposed to be the official release date, but I uploaded the files for The Vacant Chair yesterday and it's already up at the Kindle store. I'm in the process of formatting it in paperback version as well, but that will take a while still, as will the e-book version appearing in other retailers such as Kobo and Barnes & Noble.

But hey, it's out!!!

I put so much work into the research for this one, more than in any other book, including my Bagram Special Ops series. I can't wait for you all to learn about the Michigan Wolverines and the ugly part of the war they were involved in. You'll also learn a lot about medicine during the Civil War, and what it was like for the citizens of Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, when the city fell to Union forces.

I'll be doing a proper blog tour at the end of May as well as a Twitter party, but in the meantime if you know any historical romance fans, I'd sure appreciate it if you helped spread the word about The Vacant Chair.

In other news, I finished up the first book of my new romantic suspense series (Incendiary), which I'm going to publish in July. This week I'm starting on the second of the series, so stay tuned for more details.

Happy reading!
Kaylea :)

The Latest

More news to update you on! I got a call last week from the New England Romance Writers of America chapter, telling me that Darkest Caress is a finalist in their Bean Pot contest. I'm thrilled! If you remember, Deadly Descent finaled in the romantic suspense contest last year. Fingers crossed for this year.

Also, my Civil War book ( The Vacant Chair ) is through edits and copy edits, and has been formattted. I'm getting ready to upload everything in the beginning of May, and my promo tour for it will start at the end of May. Exciting! I put so much work into the research behind this one, more than in any of my other books, so I hope that shines through.

And lastly, I'm just finishing up the first of a new romantic suspense series (I'm tentatively calling this one Blown Away ), and should be done by early next week. I'm really struggling with my decision about what to do with it, because my dream was always to find an agent and get a print deal with a NY publisher. That dream has now faded, and at this point seems impractical. Because I find it easier to write shorter length stories than longer these days, going indie will allow me to write the word length I want, plus control the cover and price, and when the books come out. Theoretically I should be able to put more stories out in a shorter period of time. On the flip side, I'll be all on my own for promo, which is kind of scary. (Eep!)

Ah, decisions, decisions.

Hope you're all doing well! I received a DVD with all six Inside Combat Rescue episodes on it, so I'm super excited to finally watch the series. Pararescuemen are amazing!

Grandma C's Apple Crisp

If you read Tactical Strike, then you met my grandma at the end of the book. And you'll likely never forget her now! That scene is based on a true story of the first time she met one of my sister's boyfriends and it's become family legend. She was such a force of nature, it's weird to think of her not being here anymore, but I know she'd be absolutely tickled pink at being included in one of my books.

I'll never forget when she called me after my first book (Out of Her League) came out. A few of my relatives had bought paperback copies to support me, and grandma, who was an avid romance reader, called me up one day. We didn't speak on the phone often because we weren't super close and only saw each other a few times a year. Still, while I was growing up, whenever she was in town she always made a point of coming out to watch my curling and softball games (sports she played herself, and curling at the national level!).

Anyway, during the conversation about OOHL, she says to me, "I didn't realize you knew so much about sex!".

LOL. At the time I'd been with my DH for 15 years and had a two and a four year old. *g*

Now, as much of a character as grandma was, she was known for having a good time and not for her cooking. In fact, my father still grimaces when he talks about the food he was forced to eat growing up. But there was one dish she made for dessert that's still my dad's favorite and my DH loves it too.

Here it is, grandma C's famous apple crisp recipe!

Filling
4 Macintosh apples, peeled, cored and sliced into small pieces
4 large Granny Smith apples, same as above (using the combo of the Grannys with the Macs is awesome because the Macs cook down into an almost applesauce consistency and the Grannys give it texture and tang)
sugar to taste (I don't like mine overly sweet, so I use only a few tablespoons)
cinnamon to taste (we like ours with lots of cinnamon!)
dash salt
zest and juice of one lemon (optional, but I like the zing it gives the filling)
-mix together in large bowl and leave to sit about fifteen minutes until the sugar and salt begins to draw the juices out of the apples
-stir well and pour into an oven safe dish. Remember, a shallow dish will give you a higher topping-to-fruit ratio (the topping's the best part, but you could use a deep dish and get more fruit per serving instead if you prefer)

Topping
1 pound of butter (room temperature)
3 cups dark brown sugar
2-3 cups of all purpose flour (will depend on where you live, how humid it is, etc)--start with 2 cups and add more as needed
-crumble all ingredients together with your fingers or a pastry blender in a large bowl until it holds together in clumps when you squeeze it in your hand. You don't want to over mix and make the topping a paste; it should still have texture to it
-you can add a handful of oatmeal or chopped nuts into the topping, but that's a big no-no in our house so I always just keep it plain
-this makes a big batch of topping, so freeze the leftovers in a Ziploc freezer bag for easy use next time
-sprinkle enough topping over the apples to make a one inch thick layer
-bake at 350 degrees for one hour
-cool a little and serve warm with milk, whipped cream or ice cream

Enjoy!

Last Day in Paradise

Today's our last day in Kauai, and we're on a red-eye flight late tonight so we'll be homeless vagabonds for the whole day once we check out of the hotel. We were here for my cousin's wedding last week and made a vacay out of it, only I got super sick and DH came down with it yesterday. It's like the plague, I swear. I missed several activities I've been looking forward to since last year, but there was no help for it as I spent two full days flat on my back in bed and still have a long way to go until I'm back to normal. I can't believe we're spending all this money to sit in our hotel room most of our stay! Gah.

I did have fun early on in the trip though. I finished up copy edits on Lethal Pursuit (out September 16th), then took both my boys out on a Zodiac whale watching tour with a marine biologist. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you already know how much I love humpbacks. Well. Not only did big weasel get to drive the same kind of boat the Navy SEALs use (holy awesome!), but the marine biologist had a hydrophone with her so we got to listen to the male singers sing beneath the water. So cool! (All humpback "singers" are male, but not all males sing, and they only sing in tropical waters. Also, the humpbacks don't eat while they're here, and won't until they go back to their northern feeding grounds for the summer in Alaska, etc. They fast for months while they're here to mate and give birth.)

I've been recording every documentary I could find about humpbacks for the past few months, so both the boys were well versed in whale trivia before we got here. We wound up seeing quite a few whales, and the most surface activity the marine biologist has seen all season long. Woot! I was a very wet, salty and happy camper. I hope the boys will never forget the experience, because I know I won't.

And look what I managed to catch on video! How amazing is that?! (I still get goosebumps watching this.)

The other neat thing that happened while we were here is that I received notification that Darkest Caress has been nominated for the best paranormal romance of 2012 by The Romance Reviews. I was pretty tickled about that. The paperback version goes out to Harlequin's PNR subscribers in June. Can't wait to hold it in my hands!

Once I get home I've got administrative stuff to catch up on, then I have to finish up my latest r/s manuscript and figure out what to do with it. Not relishing the thought of another long flight over the open ocean, so please flap your arms for us tomorrow night! (I love flying, I love flying, I love flying...)

Aloha! See you on the flip side ;).

Release Day!

It's been a long time coming, but Tactical Strike has officially been unleashed upon the world! There are a lot of military terms used in the story, but don't worry, because Ryan has thoughtfully included a glossary of terms at the end for your reference. What a guy.

Also, if you're on Twitter, I'm having a party there tonight and giving away prizes if you're interested in coming by (see details below).


Hope you enjoy Ace and Ryan's story!

Kaylea :)

New Books and Giveaways

I'm over at Just Romantic Suspense today, giving away books and the low down on USAF Combat Controllers and talking about the hero of Tactical Strike , Staff Sgt. Ryan Wentworth. (Yum!)

Last week I got some good news, and found out that Darkest Caress is a finalist in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence contest! Yay, Daegan and Liv!

Also two of my favorite authors have new books out today. The first is Mating Instinct , by Katie Reus. This is the 3rd book of her paranormal romance Moon Shifters series, and Jayce is my favorite hero of the series. Gah! He's so macho-alpha-protective-smexiness.

Blurb: Surviving for centuries, powerful lupine shifter Jayce Kazan managed to stay away from humans until he met Kat Saburova and was consumed by the need to protect her. But while Jayce shared his passion with the human seer, he refused to make her his bondmate--a refusal that caused the end of their relationship.

A year later, an attack that left Kat near death has resulted in another lupine shifter turning her. Furious that he wasn't the one to save her, Jayce is determined to show Kat that he is the one she should rely on. But the newly turned shifter is still traumatized and worried that she'll hurt those she loves, unless she can learn to control her inner wolf.

And as Jayce struggles to protect Kat from her own worst instincts and convince her to rekindle
their love, the extremists who almost killed her are looking to finish the job...

Click here for the Kindle link. 

The second book is Uncommon Pleasure , by Anne Calhoun. I adore Anne's writing, and so far my favorite book by her is Liberating Lacey . I can't wait to read this new book!

Blurb: In “Over the Edge,” after a tragic incident during Ty Hendricks’ last tour of duty, he cut off all connection with anyone he cares about—until a night with Lauren Kincaid draws him reluctantly back into the world. Lauren sees a wounded man in danger of losing everything to his inner demons, but the sensual, no-holds-barred fight for Ty’s soul could cost Lauren her heart.

In “All on the Line,” Abby Simmons fell hard for Lieutenant Sean Winthrop, but he sacrificed their relationship when he deployed to Afghanistan. Now he’s home, full of regrets and intent on winning back the woman he never forgot. Abby gives Sean her body but holds her heart aloof, until one night of pleasure forces her to choose either her U.S. Marine...or life without him, forever.

Click here for the Kindle link.

Tactical Strike Blog Tour

Tactical Strike releases in one week! I'm celebrating with a blog tour, and at each stop I'll be giving away books, so I hope you'll stop by to enter the giveaways. Here's the info:

Tactical Strikeby Kaylea CrossMarch 4 – 15, 2013  [image error]

[image error] Gunship pilot Captain Candace Bradford has worked long and hard to earn her rank and position within the male-dominated world of Air Force Special Operations. She’s not about to let anything or anyone jeopardize that, let alone one sinfully tempting man who seems determined to cause her nothing but trouble. Even if she’s starting to fall for him.
As an elite Combat Controller, Staff Sergeant Ryan Wentworth is used to overcoming adversity in order to complete a mission. Breaking through Candace’s prickly exterior and into her heart is a challenge he can’t let go. But just when he’s begun to gain her trust, they’re thrown together in the field facing an overwhelming enemy force.
Candace and Ryan find themselves on the run, searching the skies for an emergency extraction. But one dangerous enemy has an agenda in mind and he’ll use whatever means necessary to achieve it, including using American forces to do his dirty work.
[image error]
Website   |    Blog   |   Goodreads   |   Twitter   |   Facebook Tour Stops:
Week of March 4:

3/4: Book Lovin’ Mamas
3/5: Just Romantic Suspense
3/6: My Reading Obsession
3/7: Thoughts in Progress
3/8: Hesperia Loves Books
3/9: Ramblings From This Chick
Week of March 11:

3/11: Book Lovers Inc.
Twitter Party tonight!! 7-8PM EST #TacticalStrike
3/12: Butterfly-o-Meter Books
3/13: Cocktails & Books
3/14: Ex Libris
3/15: The Book Pushers

No Rest For the Wicked

Well, it's been a very busy few weeks for me lately. I received edits for two books last Monday and that's been keeping me plenty busy with the boys' homework and activity schedule.

Lethal Pursuit (Maya and Jackson's story) is off to the copy editing department and right now I'm working on revisions for The Vacant Chair, my Civil War romance. I'm planning to put that one out on June 1st to coincide with the battle of Cold Harbor and my hero's wounding (because I'm a geek), and Lethal Pursuit will be out September 16th.

Tactical Strike is now up on Netgalley, and its March 11th book birthday is coming up fast! 

In addition to my upcoming blog tour and Twitter party for Tactical Strike, would anyone be interested in me posting my playlist for the Bagram series or each of the books in particular? I could put up a list of songs and tell you which scene or character they made me think of while I was writing the books.

Hope you've all read some fabulous books lately!