Catherine Bybee's Blog, page 34

On Tour

I'm on tour today... a virtual tour that is. Claire Ashgrove has graciously asked for me to come on over to her blog for a chat. Claire is a multi-published author with a very exciting 'coming soon' list of titles.

So stop on over and wave.

Re-Release Day for Soul Mate

I'm very excited to see Kari and Nick get back out in the world to make people happy again. As some of you know this novella, Soul Mate, was previously released with a different publisher. After some time and effort I received my rights back and asked my publisher over at The Wild Rose Press if they would re-release it. So now, with a very hot cover and a couple of added scenes I present to you Soul Mate...
Kari Pearce lives the life of a lone werewolf. No one knows of her affliction, not even her sister. When she hears of a missing child up in the Sequoias, Kari goes on the hunt to find the child and her abductor before tragedy can occur. Saving the child is easy, avoiding the FBI agent associated with the case is not.
Agent Nick Murdock knows he's seen Kari before, but damn if he can remember where. There's one thing he knows for sure. Kari Pearce, with her blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, is hiding something. And Nick is going to find out what.
Download your copy today at: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/
***Dark Diva Reviews 5 Delightful Divas and Top Pick from Original Release"...Ms. Bybee has a definite winner on her hands with Soulmate."
***4 1/2 Bitten By Books Reviews from Original Release"...For a novella, Soul Mate delivers a knock-out punch."

Title Help Please!!!

So here is the deal... I'm going to jump into the world of self publishing a few of my stories. My contemporary and sassy heroines don't all jump back in time. Some of them stay right here in the twenty-first century and don't have one paranormal bone in their body.

As I push my way into the contemporary romance market, I need amazing titles for my books. That's where you come in. I'm going to give you a blurb of the book, give you titles I'm considering, and ask for your feedback. If another title comes to you as you're reading my blurb, shout it out. If I use your title I'll send you a free download of said book when it's published.

Okay, here we go. The working title for this book has been Ten Million Dollar Bride - But I'm not sure that's working for me.

Here is the blurb:

Blake Harrison, the Duke of Albany, needs to secure a bride to inherit the bulk of his father's fortune. The last thing he wants is any emotional attachment so he hires a match making firm to find a suitable wife for a year. When Sam Elliot turns out to be Samantha Elliot, engaging and spunky with a voice men call 900 numbers to hear, Blake offers her marriage in return for ten million dollars.

 Samantha is responsible for her younger, disabled sister, and ten million dollars will take financial care of things for years to come. All she needs to do is keep her attraction to her husband to herself and avoid his bed. But Blake's toe-curling kisses and charm proves too difficult to combat, now she needs to protect her heart so she can walk away when their mercenary life together is over.

Now, here are some title ideas:
 
Ten Million Dollar Bride
Temporary Bride
Temporary Duchess
The Duchess Wore Sweatpants
Bride For Hire
 
 
I need more ideas.

I haven't fallen in!

Such a quite blog... I'm so sorry folks, but I've been stupid crazy. The kids are on their final week of summer break and we're trying to push a few things in.

Not to mention that I'm working on some revision requests that Harlequin asked of me. Hopefully I'll have some good news to share with all of you soon on that front.

I do have a re-release of Soul Mate coming next week. I'll be blogging more then and will keep you posted of that schedule.

Stay cool out there and enjoy the rest of your summer!

Caridad Pinero's The Lost

I'm giving a shout out to my friend and fellow author, Caridad Pinero on her latest release, The Lost. If you're a paranormal fan, and I know that many of you are, and you're not familiar with Caridad's work, you soooo need to check her out. And isn't this a yummy-ass book cover? Yum!
I had the pleasure of meeting Caridad last spring at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in LA and can tell you she's as genuine in person as she appears online. I'll be having Caridad over here on my blog for a little chat very soon.

The future of print books.

As I walked around Barnes and Noble today I asked myself if I'd be doing this again a year from now. All those lovely paperback, hardback, and coffee table books tucked into every square inch of the store put a smile on my face and a twinkle in my heart. (Not sure what the heck a twinkle in my heart is… but it sounds good) Still, with the closing of Boarders, and the utter devastation of all the Mom and Pop bookstores of years gone by, I wonder where the future of bookstores is headed.

I know first hand the digital market is where we are right now today…and where we will be in the future. Hell, my 12 year old son said and I quote "Books are soooo 3000 years ago, Mom." Smart A$$...still he has a point and a very perspective view on what's going on, even when the big publishing world doesn't. B&N tapped into the Nook long after the Kindle took off. One has to wonder if Borders would have had a different outcome had they not placed their heads in the sand years ago when digital was in its infancy.

If a 12 year old isn't inclined to pick up a paperback to get his information, chances are he isn't alone. When he goes to college… "Please, Lord let him go to college." His textbooks will be on a Kindle or a Nook and his newspaper will be delivered automatically to the same digital format or directly to his inbox. Either way, the paper trail is ending my friends. I think we'll always see 'some' books in print. A coffee table book about our National Forests simply wouldn't be the same if not in print… thought even I have seen those futuristic coffee tables at Disneyland where they have pictures and a touch screen below your coastered drinks. Those blockbuster authors will have books in print… but have you noticed how many of said authors are self-publishing (taboo until the last couple of years) their books via the digital format? Who knows, maybe even they won't have print books 10 years from now.

As an author, I hate to see print go. I love holding my own books… probably because this is what I grew up with. I'd imagine a musician my age misses vinyl. Kinda hard to picture a platinum hard drive framed and hanging on a wall. LOL - *sigh*

The big six publishers are cutting back, (can't blame them when they aren't making the money) and not signing back their mid-list authors… said authors are self-publishing the work their publishers won't buy and making a good living for the first time ever. And you, the reader, are able to eat up books for under a buck on your e-readers.

Where are we going to be a year from now?


*sigh*

My Blog and My Website---

I'm a matchy kind of girl. I like my earrings and my necklace to look like they were bought with the other in mind. I like my book covers for my trilogy to have a similar look... And I like my blog and my website to appear married.

Now they do!

Thank you Crystal.

www.catherinebybee.com

Six Sentence Sunday

I wanna play... I wanna play... Here are my six sentences from by novella Before the Moon Rises

Max Ritter wakes up naked in an Emergency Room...

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"Maybe I can explain my, er, situation over eggs benedict."


She was tempted, even dressed in a hospital issue gown open in the back, she was tempted. "I don't think so."

"Why not? You said yourself I'm good looking, and I know you're curious about why I ended up here."

Janet slid the paperwork she held in front of him and handed him her pen. "Even if I wanted to, I make it a rule not to date my patients."

"Humm..." He took the paper and signed his name, then pushed it in her direction. "I'm no longer your patient."

Silent Vows 1st Place

[image error] I won, I won.... I won...


Silent Vows won 1st place in the Paranormal category of the More Than Magic RWI contest. It's the first and only contest I've entered on this level and couldn't be happier with the results.

Home!

Sixteen days away from home, traveling this vast country in an RV... Yep, I'm crazy!

I didn't get online very much during my journey, at least not to blog. I did keep my facebook pics flowing, and a few bits of 'Where is Catherine Now" going on. Stop by my facebook page and glance at some of the pictures I sent along the way.

I'm a west coast girl. I was raised in Washington State and transplanted back to So. California after High School. Washington is a very green and wet state where California is very brown and dry. I take for granted the dry heat of So. Cal. and it isn't until I'm surrounded by humidity that I realize how lucky we in California are for our weather.

State by state... lets go over the highlights:

California - Needless to say driving through the California desert is as boring as it comes. And don't do it on an empty tank of gas, cuz the stations in places like Ludlow are really going to 'sock it to ya'! I read A Tale of Two Demon Slayers by Angie Fox and glanced up from my seat...

Arizona - We found the heat... dry heat, but things started to heat up in Arizona. Once you've driven Arizona... you've 'done' Arizona. I finished A Tale of Two Demon Slayers here and moved on to High Octane by Lisa Renee Jones. I figures since we were headed toward Texas, reading a Texas Harlequin would suit.

New Mexico - There is a little more to see in some places of New Mexico... but again, dry, hot and I've so 'been there - done that'!!!

Texas - Sorry, but I don't get Texas. Okay, it's big... but the humidity started to climb yet there wasn't as much green as you'd think. The drivers here were rude, sadly, and stayed that way throughout our journey. In fact, while on the East Coast when someone would cut us off, they had Texas plates on their car. The rest stops were huge, and amazing... and as we drew closer to the East of Texas, they doubled as tornado shelters. Which is weired for a California girl to see. The Alamo was an interesting piece of history, but I like the Missions of California better. The river walk in San Antonio was worth the stop. We ate Alligator, and yes, it tasted like chicken. LOL. We started to hear the Southern accents which made us smile. Read Taming the Texas Playboy by Crystal Green

Louisiana - OMG... what a green and beautiful state. Yes, the humidity stuck to your skin, but it was worth it for the landscape. Note to all RVers... Don't try New Orleans in an RV. There is no place to park. Fork over the bucks to stay in the only RV park close to the French Quarter so you can see that city. I wish I'd known before making it to New Orleans that the majority of the Plantations proceed the Big Easy on the 10 freeway. When the day comes to go back, I'll definitely book tours of the old Southern Plantations and spend the day in the city. We went on a swamp tour and learned a lot about the culture there. The bugs weren't even all that bad even though it was hotter than hell.

Alabama - Sneeze, there it goes... Beautiful state, but didn't see much of it along the 10. Fireflies! I know, those of you who live with them think what??? But we don't have them here so when I see them I go all mushy and watch them for hours. Read To Save the Devil by Kate Moore

Mississippi - I'm always in awe of the big river as we cross it. The swamp land is king along the 10. The bridges going over the bayous run for miles and provide plenty of pictures for the scrapbooks.

Florida - The pan handle is long and wet. We decided to move north on our trip instead of hit the Florida beaches. We didn't think this would be a problem... Oops!

Georgia - I was shocked to see the large clear cutting of trees throughout the south. And the drought going on has water levels in the lakes and rivers at a low. No, I didn't eat one peach in Georgia... bummer! Bugs! OMG the bites on all of us where crazy here. We visited Fort King George and just about lost a pint of blood each.

South Carolina - The Texas drivers are having a run for their reputation with the drivers of So. Carolina. We stayed at Hilton Head in an attempt to get to a true Atlantic Coast beach... what we didn't know is that the east coast beaches aren't a lot like those in California. There is a lot of marsh land that follows the coast and it isn't easy to access the sandy beaches in an RV. Still, this was a beautiful state even if they have road signs posted that you'll go to jail for 30 days if you speed inside a work zone. WHAT? Crazy that, huh?

No. Carolina - Finally the heat started to fade and a few showers started to follow us around. We went to the Baltimore Estate. Home of the Vanderbilt's. Wow! This is a must do for anyone visiting here. The house was amazing, the grounds spectacular. The library alone is a place this author could stay for a month... or a year!

Tennessee - Dodging lightening and distant tornadoes.... Dorothy, where's Toto? When the weather is blazing hot one minute, and coat-worthy the next, I get scared. I felt relatively safe in the Great Smoky Mountains but as we started down them I started to stress. Memphis looks like it's a dying city. Sad, but so much of it was abandoned and boarded up. We took a 'riverboat' on the Mississippi and stayed along the banks of the muddy river over night. The Tom Sawyer campground had recently opened back up after the flood. Nice people everywhere! I'm not a big Elvis fan, so we skipped Graceland.

Arkansas - This is one of our favorite states. The people are friendly and the state is beautiful. My husbands family is from that part of the world so he has many fond memories of trips there.

Oklahoma - Big, flat, and full of lightening while we drove through. Oz started to look good. Read Ransom for a Prince

Then Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and home. Read In Good Hands by Kathy Lyon

So, that's six books and 5372 miles.

So, dear reader... do you RV?  What do you love about it? What do you hate about it?