Frances Pauli's Blog, page 21

Winners to the Left, Winners to the Right

Well I haven't squeezed in a Buffet quote in awhile. :)

I want to thank everyone for making the Fairies in February blog tour so much fun! I had a great time, and got to meet and visit with so many great people. Please, if you participated, go back to the blogs where you commented and check to see if you've won one of the many daily drawings for an ebook.

Our Final Drawing happened this morning, my three year old drew from a very full bag of names, and the winner of our Grand prize, all three Changeling Race books in print is:  MICHAEL
A huge congratulations and thanks for stopping on so many of the blogs to comment.

Everyone who participated in the Valentine's Day blog hop, please check the post directly below this one. I have three ebook winners listed this morning there as well.

Looking ahead: we have three scheduled guest authors in the next month, plus a special blog tour guest and and Easter blog hop coming up, so keep an eye out for more posts and visitors with give-aways.

We'll be kicking that off early next week with the FABULOUS and slightly wicked, Skyla Dawn Cameron.
(join me in a small squee) I managed to talk her into an interview of evil...so stay tuned.
I'll also be posting a bonus Fairy tour article in a day or so from one of our stops that fell through.

Here's hoping we're all winners out there and with a big thanks to all who follow along!

~Frances

Valentine's Day WITH LOVE Blog HopComment below for a cha...

Valentine's Day WITH LOVE Blog Hop
Comment below for a chance to win one of THREE ebook give-aways...Happy Valentines Day! 
Follow the hop links to a HUGE list of authors giving away prizes...and peek downat the post below this one to catch the last leg of my Fairies in February tour and enter to win some more!
~ Frances P.

Fairies in February Schedule

Fairies in Februarycome out and play with the
Changeling Race trilogy blog tour
Prizes!!Each day will be hosted by a different blog. Comment on the post to be entered into a daily drawing for a pdf copy of any book from my backlist. GRAND PRIZE: each stop you comment on will earn you one entry into the final drawing for print copies of all three books: A Moth in Darkness, The Fly in Paradise, and Spiders from Memory.
 Tour Schedule:
2/2  The Far Edge of Normalhttp://jaletaclegg.blogspot.com/
2/3 Kaye Manro's Bloghttp://kayemanro.blogspot.com/
2/4 Heidi Ruby Millerhttp://heidirubymiller.blogspot.com/
2/5 Adriane Ceallaigh's Bloghttp://adrianeceallaigh.blogspot.com/
2/6 Krista D. Ball's Blog http://kristadball.com/ramblings/
2/7 Skyla Dawn Cameron's Bloghttp://www.skyladawncameron.com/blog
2/8 Romance Lives Foreverhttp://romancelivesforever.blogspot.com
2/9 Kadian Tracey's Blog http://kadiantracey.blogspot.com
2/9 Pippa Jay's Bloghttp://pippajay.blogspot.com/ 
2/10 Greta van der Rol's Bloghttp://gretavanderrol.net
2/11 *Valentine Blog Hop Stop*http://Francespauli.blogspot.com
2/12 JC Cassels blog                                       http://jccassels.wordpress.com/
                                   2/13 Lisa Lane's Blog                                                 http://www.cerebralwriter.com/blog.html
                                  2/14 Writers Gone Wild                                       http://writersgonewild.blogspot.com/

Release Day: Changeling Race: book Three. Spiders from Memory

The last installment in the Changeling Race trilogy is now available.

Spiders from Memory

Blurb:


The Seelie court is gone, and the Tower has fallen into darker hands. Now nightmare creatures terrorize the Fey races, and the whole Fey world turns to frost and shadow.Liz Larson holds the last remnant of the Seelie Sidhe's power. The elves look to her for guidance, but all she has to offer them is the disturbing story of their origin, the final truth that will turn many of them against her. With her dwindling number of allies, Liz needs to reopen the borders, to find the missing Marcus Bramble, and to avoid the sudden, terrifying attention of the new Fey ruler, the Unseelie Speaker and new master of the Sidhe Tower.While her friends in Mundanity race to pry open the gates, and Marcus searches for the answer to a puzzle that could save or damn them all, the Unseelie Speaker marches north, bringing his army and his wrath to focus on Elizabeth.What can one, fairy-touched human do in the face of the Unseelie court's full fury? How can she fight when the enemy's anger is only partly blind, when she can see all too clearly the traces of justice behind it?

Excerpt:


Chapter OneHoof beats rang like gunfire down the alley. Their sharp echoes ricocheted along the side of the dumpster, rattling the metal and waking the woman who leaned against it. She groaned and wrapped the rags more tightly across her shoulders. Shadows wove across the alley, and the woman shivered against the cold as much as the unfamiliar sound of hooves on asphalt.She listened to the beats, pressed her thin frame closer to the brick wall and waited for the authorities to dislodge her. When the noise stopped and no cold voice shouted for her to be up and moving, curiosity got the best of her. She ventured a peek around the dumpster's rusted corner and squinted against the darkness until she'd nearly written off the sound to her unreliable brain's imaginings.Then the blackness snorted. It moved, shifting its weight from one gleaming hoof to the other. It lowered its head as if it knew she watched, as if it waited for her to move. She sighed. A wave of excitement swarmed from the depths of her despair, and she responded, drawn by the flick of an ear and the twitch of a velvet muzzle. Her hand reached out. Her fingers curled toward the temptation of horse flesh.The beast's nose stretched closer, and she caught the gleam of an arched neck, the cascade of tangled, black mane. Her hand brushed satin. One of the hooves stamped, loud and hollow against the night. The lips tensed and pulled back from a row of jagged teeth.The woman froze. She felt the first stutter of panic as the horse's head tilted to regard her with fiery, red eyes. The silky nostrils vibrated, and a snort like thunder echoed against the bricks. The lips pulled back further, killing the equine resemblance completely. She saw the shoulders, the broad ebony chest, and the thick thighs that bent in the wrong direction. Her panic exploded in a scream, cut short by the first flash of pointed teeth.****
More of chapter one at : http://mundania.com/book.php?title=Spiders+From+Memory

The End of the Story...

Well I got a bit of a start today when I noticed the date. Five days from now is the scheduled release of Spiders from Memory, book three in the Changeling Race. The final chapter. The last book in the trilogy. The end.

eeep.

It's been a long, crazy road, and one that was full of surprises, change, chaos. The fairies would be so tickled.
Anyway, I'll be having a tour, release etc in Feb. But I wanted to share the series video here... if you watch close, you'll catch a sneak peek at Spider's cover. :)

~ Frances

Guest Author, Kadian Tracey

I'm so tickled to be hosting today's guest, a fellow Devine Destinies/Extasy author and all-around wonderful person. Please join me in welcoming, Kadian Tracey!



Hi, My name is Kadian Tracey and I also write under the pen name, Kendra Mei Chailyn.First, thanks to Francis for letting me crash her digs. I really do appreciate it.  And Happy New Year to everyone! I am hoping this year brings you joy and happiness. 
What should I blog about today? Well, I stewed over the that and finally came up with second chances.  Many of you, who've been reading my stuff since my first release, know Destiny's Cowboy. It was my first everything lol. Once the contract was up--well a couple of years after the contract was up, I got the rights back from my publisher and was going to just give up on it.  Then you guys wrote asking if I was going to re-release it and well...voila! The brand spanking new cover done by my cover guru and new edits--it's now available for your Kindle. If you wish for paperback copies then I can make that available for you as well. The re-release for Destiny's Cowboy is the second chance--a chance to have new eyes see the work. I am so excited with that because, everything and everyone deserves a second chance. The cover makes me smile every time I look at it.
Ok, so here's the Blurb:The last thing, ex-football player Gage Everette wanted to do was go back to Montana and the Cold Blazes Ranch. But one can only run from their lives and themselves for so long. When he is forced to return to the Cold Blazes Ranch, he simply wish to do what is expected and leave again. But fate has a strange way of sticking it's nose in where it doesn't belong.

Jasmine Cole is running with her daughter Kleo. She is hurt, afraid and alone. Meeting the sexy cowboy with the icy blue eyes wasn't in her plans but when both her and her daughter begin falling for him she must now learn to trust him too and she was making progress--that is until an old flame turns up, turns her life upsided down and her baby goes missing. All the progress she's made with Gage goes out the window and things go downhill from there.

The buy link is: http://www.amazon.com/Destinys-Cowboy-ebook/dp/B00515LRYW/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1324745354&sr=1-3
Broken Wings was never with a publishing house.  There was a reason for that.  I wanted it to be personal--something from me.  A part of the story is my life story and a part of it is fiction.  I wanted it to come across a certain way and I didn't want all the language and accents and attitude and darkness to be edited out of it. It's not easy to put this story in a genre...it is romance with inspirational and general fiction attributes.  I took great pains into writing this tale--It took me almost three years from inception to actually sit down and began putting it on paper as they say.  I wasn't sure I wanted to do it but since I got the idea in church, I felt it would be kind of horrid not to actually use the inspiration I was given. Blurb: When Monique Winston's world collapsed with the death of her mother she knows now that she has to stand on her own two feet. But before her mother left this world, she taught Monique two important things. One, Monique should Never trust a black man. Two, Monique will never be good enough for any man. And if Devaughn Cole think he's just going to waltz in and murky her life more he has another thing coming.

Devaughn Cole is laid back, handsome and stinking rich. He is the latest brotha to leave the hood and make it big in the music industry. Afraid of loosing who he was, he returned to the hood to build a house. After his latest tour, he just wants to go home and relax. But when he meets Monique Winston, he finds that there's more to this full figured beauty than meets the eyes but she is broken, mind, body and soul.

Will he be able to fight her demon past? And can she open up herself to a whole new world of possibilities.

The Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Wings-ebook/dp/B006H4FZUS/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1324745856&sr=1-2
Made to Bend Not Break this story is one of my pride and joys. It's about a woman who loses everything--or think she did and what she had to do, the journey she had to take in order to pull herself and everything back together.  It shows that second chances may not come when you think its time or when society dictates it should. I wrote this story--well more like the story tumbled from me while I was in university, hearing of so many divorces and break ups.I recieved so many reviews for this. Majority of them are positive with room for improvement, some are just horrid. Well one was particularly bad because the woman who reviewed it bought the story without reading the description.  Her one and only complaint--or valid complainted was that there was no sex until the end...I'm sorry but if that's your beef with my work, I'm cool with that.  Anywho, I recieved one review from the ARE cafe that made my cry - in a good way. It was thorough and carefully written. The reviewer really saw what I was trying to put out there andw as appreciative of that.  Blurb: Macy Hines has the perfect marriage, a beautiful, Manga drawing teenage daughter and she lives in a town filled the perfect stepford wives--that is until her life takes on a dramatic turn. Her husbands leaves her for a younger woman, her daughter hates her, she becomes best friends with vodka, and the community she had been so involved with suddenly turns their backs on her. After trying desperately to put her life back together and failing miserably, Macy decides to take her best friend's offer of an all expense paid trip to Italy for all three of them in order to breathe and work out her issues. At this rate, it feels like it will take a miracle to save her.

Draco De Luca is at that age where he's looking for a woman to spend the rest of his life with and so far, he hasn't been having much luck. That is until he visits his mother's house for a dinner and meets the ebony goddess with the sad brown eyes. But her past demons are getting in the way--she has been damage and now he has to decide if he has to let her go to be whole again or should he help.
Excerpt: The breeze off the sea travelled upward and brushed over my face. I lifted my face and closed my eyes. I was so far into the simple pleasure of it all that when he walked up behind me I did not sense him."Buonasera." I gasped and swirled around. There he was. This time, however, he wore more than a speedo-esque bathing suit. He was dressed in a pair of jeans, a graphic t-shirt that I couldn't really see well in the dim light, and a suit jacket. His hair was finger-raked backward and he hadn't shaved. Draco De Luca cleaned up very well. I glanced around him, then up into his eyes. He was so tall. "Draco? What are you doing here?""My mother is this party's hostess," he explained. "Your mother? Who's your mother?""Capri."That rang false to me for Tricia never recognized him on the beach, yet she was such good friends with Capri. Of the five years Tricia had been visiting Camogli, had Capri not spoken about her son? That would seem strange, considering."You do not believe me. I can see it in your eyes. May I sit here?"I nodded feebly and shuffled over so he could sit and I could face him. I did not know if I liked a man who could read me so readily. It was quite unnerving knowing someone knew what you were thinking before you voiced it. It was as though he was snooping around in my head and I suddenly felt invaded. If it was anything I prised above all else, was the sanctity of my thoughts. Those were things that could not be taken from me no matter what else was stolen. "I met Tricia the first time tonight. For the first few years my mother spoke about this woman, Tricia Mantle, I was living in England. For the past couple of years, I started a business in Paris. Besides, I travel a great deal at the moment. This would be the first time that I am here the same time she is.""Oh." I felt like a fool. "I'm sorry. It's just that on the beach she didn't know who you were and I figured she would know you since her and Capri seemed such close friends.""No need to be sorry. Even if my mother had spoken about me, she probably introduced me as Dragon." He spoke so softly it was almost like a breath. My gaze fell to his lips and I found myself wondering what would happen should I just reach in and brush those luscious lips with my own. I jerked away when I caught myself and rubbed a hand over my face."I do not bite, Macy. I promise. I only seek conversation.""It's not that." I lied. "What would you like to talk about?"He smirked.My breath caught in my throat. "I am going to go out on a limb and say that talking about why I see fear in your eyes each time you look at me is off limits. How about you tell me a little about yourself?""There isn't much to tell." I turned from him. "I'm a mother.""A wife, I assume?""Not any more," I whispered. There—I said it. It was out in the universe and no matter how much I wanted to take it back, I couldn't. It felt like saying that I was no longer Kevin's wife made it true. The admission felt like I was speaking something dirty and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I wasn't sure if we were divorced yet for I had a chance to give Martin a call. It was pretty much a done deal since Kevin wanted Sharon and me gone. I took a deep breath and lifted my eyes to the dark spot where the ocean should be and stared."This may sound harsh, but I am happy you're no longer married," he said. I felt his breath against my ear and I shivered. I didn't jerk away, though for it felt so good. A little intimacy after so long felt like heaven. "Why is that?" I managed."I have travelled a lot, Macy, and I have met more women than I can count. But I have never met anyone like you.""I bet you say that to all the girls.""No. I do not speak just to hear myself or because I love the sound of my voice. I speak the truth. There is something so exotic and breathtaking about you…the way the moon glows off your dark skin, the look in your eyes when you are wondering should you kiss me or not.""Egotistic, much?""I saw the way your eyes trailed over my lips, Macy. Do you deny it?"What could I say? I could lie. He was so close, I could scarcely think. Each time I turned to him and inhaled his scent being carried on the air, filling my body, it drove me to dizziness. I couldn't deny it and on the same breathe I would never admit it. I couldn't. I refused to go there again with Kevin or Draco. My heart was on the mend and I could not risk it getting broken again."I fear I must let my intentions known," Draco said. He moved mouth from side to side so that his breath caressed my ear, my neck and behind my ear. "I have every intention of having you by my side, in my arms—in my bed.""You're full of yourself." I drew away reluctantly."No—just determined."
The Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Made-to-Bend-Not-Break-ebook/dp/B003TU24KM/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1324746078&sr=1-4So those are my stories about second chances. I hope you see something you liked. My website is at http://trueloveiscolourblind.yolasite.com and please join my blog is at http://kadiantracey.blogspot.com you can aslo follow me on twitter  @kendramechailyn
Thanks for stopping by! *hugs*Kendra Mei Chailyn/Kadian Tracey

Fairies in February Blog Tour

Well, the last book in the Changeling Race trilogy is coming out soon--very soon. I'm thrilled, and also, in mourning. So to celebrate, I'm having a Fairies in February blog tour. I'll be traveling the blogosphere chatting about the books and giving away copies and for one, Grand Prize winner: print copies of the entire trilogy.


I hope you all will join me. Ill be posting the schedule here on Feb. 1st so that you can hit as many stops (and enter as many times) as possible.

~ Frances

Interview with author, Jenna McCormick

I have the immense honor of hosting a stop on Jenna McCormick's blog tour for her brand new release, No Limits. Please join me in giving her a warm and enthusiastic welcome!


You write in a futuristic setting with a very original premise, can you tell us a little about the word and the different types living there?
No Limits starts out on Earth in New New York City at the dawn of the 22nd century. Technology has changed drastically, but people are pretty much the same. The biggest difference is that the advent of the personal health guard or, germ shield has virtually eliminated diseases and protection in no longer illegal. In fact, it's very mainstream, ordering up a lover for the night along with your pizza. Casual sex is no longer the taboo it once was and my heroine is something of a throwback because at the start of the book she's never engaged a male companion before.

What draws you to writing in the SFR genre? How did you get started there?
I'm one of those obnoxious people who needs a reasonable explanation for every plot twist. I don't accept much on faith alone and science fiction, when done well gives me that credibility factor that I really need to enjoy a satisfying love story.


What would you say is the most challenging thing about the genre?Finding readers willing to roll the dice! It makes no sense because romance readers are ravenous and science fiction readers are loyal yet the cross over between the two genres is small. But I have hope because well-established authors like Sherrilyn Kenyon and Suzanne Brockman are dipping into SFR, so I think the genre is growing!

Do you have a favorite SFR or SF series? (Movie/TV or book)I'm old skool,  Star Trek The Next Generation. The first Sci Fi Romance I ever loved was Peter David's Imazdi, which explored the history of Will Riker and Deanna Troi. Also a big fan of Firefly and Farscape.

Are you a planner or a pantser or a little of both?I'm a pantser who tries really hard to be a planner. LOL! But I have a hard time sticking to an outline and if I fight it the characters stop talking to me.
Your new release looks amazing, and I hope you'll tell us more about it below, what else are you working on now? Anything in progress or coming up you'd like to share?
I'm working on the sequel to No Limits, No Mercy, featuring Zan the Space Pirate (how can you not love a space pirate?) and Also the third installment of my post-apocalyptic novella trilogy, B Cubed Book Three: Borg. 
No Limits ISBN 13 978-0758272850All Genevieve Luzon wants is to be loved by one man, a seemingly impossible task in New-New York City at the start of the twenty second century. Sure, she can buy sex as easily as order a pizza on a Friday night, but finding a forever kind of love among her self-centered peers is no easy feat for the unemployed off-world vacation coordinator. When an old friend offers her the position of secret shopper to test out the male prostitutes, Gen can't think of a good reason to refuse. Hell, if she can't find Mr. Right, she might as well try on a sampler of Mr. Right Nows.
Yet the perks of her new position don't compare to the strange attraction she has, not for one of the prostitutes, but a candle that seems to warm places of her she never knew existed. When a man appears out of the flame, Gen is sure she's found the one. Rhys is an empath, made a slave by the Illustra Corporation and he's everything Gen could ever want. Except available. Because Rhys is on a mission. One that might claim his life. He must try to free his people, consequences be damned. Now, Gen must choose between turning her back on the only man she's ever loved and the monumental task he has set for himself. Should she risk her life fighting a war hidden from polite society against those who wish to control us all?Amazon or Barnes & NobleIs love really worth fighting for?


~Join the No Limits Blog Tour in January for a chance to win great prizes including a Kindle Fire! Visithttp://www.authorjennamac.com/ for more information!

Write 1 Sub 1

Sometimes when you procrastinate...it's a good thing.

I mean, not so much for productivity, but wandering aimlessly can lead you to all sorts of new adventures. I'm big on adventures, and I like new ones best of all.

Let me preface by saying, while I love Nanorwrimo with a passion, after five years of participation, and three years as Municipal Liaison, the event has dulled a bit for me. The luster has faded in the cultish popularity (which I'm allergic to) and the continuing celebration of ways to write as many words as possible with NO qualms about them being drivel. That's a great concept to get you started in the literary world, write fast, don't censor, fix it later...but as you go along--eventually--quality is supposed to count. The next step is supposed to count.

And like it or not, editing out five thousand words of recipes, song lyrics, or your comments to yourself that you "padded" your nano novel with actually makes things way harder than they need to be.

So, I've been feeling a bit luke-warm about the idea of doing nano next year. Also, I've been mourning that a little.

Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon Write 1 Sub 1 today. I was procrastinating. See above--it's what I do. Regardless of my short attention span, it worked in my favor today. One great blog led to another, and as I followed my nose, I found this: http://www.write1sub1.com/p/details.html

Yes, I'm repeatedly linking to it. I'm excited.

The idea is to write AND SUBMIT one story a week (or a month in the "lite" version) for one year.
It's like Nano with goals.

Let that settle in for a second. Okay, sure, its probably work, and it may be less fun--who knows?  But you also may get a bunch of stuff published, may build some pub credits, and probably will have the fun/great time along the way that most of these events seem to engender.

I'm pretty psyched. I'm going to try it and see how it turns out.

Anyone else want to play?



~ Frances

Holiday Romance Blog

I'm over at the Long and Short Reviews blog today, talking about holiday magic and *Romance.* Stop by and comment for a chance to win a copy of Twelve Dances.

~ Frances