Lisa G. Riley's Blog, page 2
January 12, 2017
January 27, 2017: Mark Your Calendars
[image error]At long last, Acts of Wars, the sequel to Rumors of Wars is now available for pre-order and will go live on January 27th. Perish Blackburn, kick-ass bounty hunter, is back, baby! Read the summary below and then go pre-order it, now, now, now!
The year is 2075 and in a world where governments have collapsed, societies are crumbling and the number of paranormal beings is close to overtaking that of humans, bounty hunter extraordinaire (and paranormal super beyotch) Perish Blackburn never has a shortage of jobs to fulfill. Her last one, however, was a doozy. No bounty hunter who knows her worth would want to travel back in time to Nazi-era Germany on behalf of a wizard for what amounts to really just a pittance in the grand scheme of things. But Perish takes on the job, and per usual, she does it with her own brand of panache. So what if she pisses off a wizard, a fairy and a couple of werewolves in the process?
She’s got bigger issues to think about. To wit:
She learns some seriously disturbing information about the parents she’d never known and she has no idea what to do with it.
Her werewolf neighbors want her to help them take down one of the most powerful wizards in the world.
She may have a brand spanking new power lying dormant within her; all she has to do is convince it to show itself.
The werewolf who’s been her best friend since childhood is flipping the script on her.
His wild-eyed younger sister has decided to come out of pack-enforced exile, only to decide that the best place for her to stay is at Perish’s house… with her deathly ill revolutionary girlfriend and a dead-eyed assassin who wants to hang out in the basement.
The revolution is definitely heating up, and though it won’t be televised, it apparently was going to be strategized in her house, whether she liked it or not.
Amazon, iBooks, Kobo
To all Barnes and Noble shoppers, Acts of Wars will go live there on January 27th.
Tagged: Acts of Wars, eshu, fantasy, Of Wars series, Ominous Pride, paranormal, Perish Blackburn, Rumors of Wars, Thakathi
December 28, 2016
A Hitch in the Stride
Please don’t purchase any of my books from ARe (All Romance e-books). I’ve just learned that the site is shuttering as of midnight on December 31, and I’m taking a page from fellow writer, Roslyn Holcomb’s book and advising readers to not purchase any more of my books from the site. Also, if you haven’t backed up any purchases you’ve made there in the past, please do that as well, as you’ll lose access to any past purchases once the site has closed down. Thank you for being readers, and please know that my books will still be available at Amazon, B&N and at Apple iTunes.
Tagged: ARe, out of business, shuttered
September 5, 2016
Friends & Lovers Series
Caroline Singleton is a talented, successful artist who was raised in the lap of luxury in her affluent Chicago neighborhood. On her way to a promising second interview with an integrated marketing firm, she bumps into a man who takes her breath away, both literally and figuratively.
Brian Keenan is a former cop from a middle-class background who is shocked by the immediate strong feelings Caroline invokes in him when they first meet. Unbeknownst to either of them, she is interviewing with his firm, a firm in which he is a senior partner.
Caroline is confused and terrified of the immediate strong connection she feels to this total stranger. It is not until after she accepts the job with his firm that she learns who Brian is. Because of impropriety, she refuses to have a relationship with him. Brian, on the other hand, doesn’t agree with her and wants to move full speed ahead with a relationship. He feels the same connection Caroline does and doesn’t want to give up so easily on something so rare and beautiful.
Caroline soon encounters a bigger problem than her confusing and terrifying feelings for Brian, however. She is suddenly being stalked and she doesn’t know by whom, nor does she know why. Being an ex-cop, Brian wants to help and protect the woman he already views as his soul mate and partner. Can Caroline let go of her misgivings long enough to trust him to help her and perhaps save her life? (To be re-issued in 2017 with new material).
Tracy Adamson has had a passionate one-night stand in Paris with a Frenchman named Jacques. Mortified by her behavior, she flies home to Chicago. American by blood, Jacques is a federal agent and is only in Paris to track down an American fugitive, but finds himself irresistibly drawn to Tracy. Tracy, dealing with personal issues from her past, is reluctant to become involved with Jacques. Jacques must not only pursue the beautiful Tracy, but must also struggle to discover the whereabouts of Alexander Brickman, the criminal mastermind from At Last.
Caroline and Brian have been in love with one another almost from the second they met two years ago. Their life together is wonderful: they know without a doubt that they belong together; her career as an artist has taken off dramatically; his as the Chief Technology Officer and founder of an integrated marketing firm can only get better, and together they are ready to build a family.
Their life would be as close to perfect as one can get if not for Alexander Brickman. Drug lord, arms merchant, and international fugitive, Brickman has been in their lives so long that he’d practically gone on their first date with them. He wants Caroline, and has from the first moment he saw her. Accustomed to getting what he wants, he will stop at nothing to have her. He believes he’s finally come up with the perfect solution to accomplish his goal and is ready to put that plan into action.
Caroline and Brian are not so willing to go down that easy, however, and they’ve got plans of their own to not only finally catch the madman who has striven to make their lives hell, but also to make sure he never bothers them, or anyone else, again. Who will win this high stakes battle — one that touches the tranquil and tropical shores of Procida Island, Italy and the hot beaches of Sonora, Mexico, only to be decided in the trenches on the beautiful American Mackinac Island? Will Brickman meet his Waterloo, or will Caroline and Brian get the nearly perfect life they so desperately crave?
Tracy Adamson loves Jack Winthrop. There’s no doubt about that. The words should be carved into a tree, or written in wet cement. She hadn’t loved him from the moment she’d met him, no, but she’d felt an undeniable attraction that had her sleeping with him only three days after meeting him in a Paris cafe. Now, here they are two years later and they’re engaged to be married. She’s proposed to him, moved in with him, and spends almost every waking moment thinking about him. YET, she cannot set a date to marry the man. The man that everyone in her life knows is a good man, heck, a great man.
It’s the usual problem: issues. Tracy has issues, and she fears that these issues will make the one man she’s sure she’s supposed to spend the rest of her life with walk right out the door. Damn. Life would be so good if she could just get out of her own way.
Jack is engaged to a competitive, neurotic woman and he knows it. He’d known what he was getting into when she’d proposed, but he’d said yes because of his love for her. He hadn’t been able to imagine his future without her. But he’s afraid of losing her, and is starting to wonder if love is enough, if he is enough to help Tracy fight off the demons from her childhood that prevent her from moving forward. He certainly wants to be, but realizes that this is something Tracy has to figure out and want to figure out alone. He hopes she does, because something Has. Got. To. Give. Or else both of their worst fears could be realized.
Buy the books: Kobo, amazon, ARe, Barnes & Noble, iBooks
Home, Single Titles, Christmas at the Meadowlark Series, Of Wars Series & Eshu Chronicles, Sheffield Chatham Cozies
Tagged: At Last, Brian, Caroline, Caroline&Brian, Caught Up, Friends&Lovers, Jack, Mighty Good Man, Tracy, Tracy&Jack, You are Mine
September 2, 2016
Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara is a beautiful, peaceful city and I had a lovely time. Stayed just a few blocks from downtown in a quaint B&B.
The restaurants are amazing, as is the beach. Loved the courthouse and the museum. Downtown was so clean and spacious and the city is extremely walk-able. The week I spent there was just what I needed to recharge my batteries. I had a lovely time on the “American Riviera.”
Not all of the pics are from Santa Barbara. The very first one (black, beautiful and mysterious) is an image from Cimarron, NM and the picture that looks like land baked so long that it cracked is in Sherlock, KS. I took those pictures from the plane.
Tagged: beauty, life, peace, Santa Barbara, vacation
May 16, 2016
Branding and the Independent Creative
Infographic courtesy of Tom McCall.
I recently attended a panel discussion designed to help the independent creative — musician, writer, performance artist, artist, photographer, etc. — learn how to brand herself. It wasn’t meant to be just about branding, but also about distinguishing one’s self above all the other artists who are also on their independent grind and who are all flooding social media platforms with their brilliance, and drowning would-be consumers with choices. A herculean task, no?
Though the panelists, all in marketing or PR, could not drill down and give specific solutions for each and every industry and certainly not specific individuals, they did offer professional suggestions that could be applied by anyone and that struck a chord:
Find your tribe, or as one panelist put it “who are your people?” Connect with those who like your work and with those who are in your same industry.
Do the groundwork. Figure out who your audience is and the best way to reach them.
Have a plan. Have a team.
Remember that social media platforms are not the only platforms that reach people; use every resource.
Get out and connect. Go to events specific to your industry and network, as human contact is still the best resource.
What I took away from the discussion is that there’s nothing new, there’s no magic trick to it. There is some luck involved along with the hard work, and that the traditional/old school methods are still quite viable.
Tagged: branding, business side, industry, publicizing
April 17, 2016
Today at the Lakefront
In recent years I’ve mostly used Chicago’s lakefront for utilitarian purposes: running or walking. I’ve rarely gone to just hang out and enjoy the day. I’m always too busy. In years past, especially when one niece in particular lived in the city, we’d go there almost weekly to sit on the rock croppings to talk, be quiet or just enjoy nature as we watched the waves crash or the sail boats glide by. Even when she was a tiny thing, she’d always ask for a trip to the rocks, even occasionally — very occasionally — foregoing a trip to the nearby playground for quiet contemplation in front of the water.
Today I decided to just go hang out and it felt so very good. I was out for about four hours and I loved it. Granted; a significant chunk of that was spent on a phone call with one of my sisters, but still. It was such a pleasure and I realized that I’m going to need more of that — more contemplative time where I just sit and be quiet. It doesn’t always have to be at the lakefront, but I will have to be more deliberate about taking the time.
OLD LAKEFRONT:
NEW LAKEFRONT:
YUMMY MEXICAN FRUIT SALAD (I could only finish half):
Above are pictures from today and days’ past. Due to erosion, the lakefront has changed drastically just in the past 18 months. The new look is definitely a lot blander, but I understand about conservation and they have re-purposed the old rocks so that we’re still able to enjoy them. I’ve also included a photo of the awesome Mexican fruit salad I was able to buy from a pushcart — something new this year I think. My mouth watered as I impatiently watched the vendor cut up the fresh fruit (pineapple, jicama, melon, watermelon, etc.) and then season it with fresh lime juice and cayenne pepper. The result was 16 oz of heaven.
Tagged: lakefront, leasure, life, meditation, self-care
March 22, 2016
Catch up on The Meadowlark Saga
Sometimes the best family is the one you make for yourself…
Leonie Brooks will never forget the day she and her three sisters were put into “the system.” At twelve, she’d been the oldest, and used to being in control and responsible for them all. The day that control was snatched away was the day she promised herself that she’d send the world to hell before she’d ever let herself be put into a situation where it could be stolen away again.Sixteen years later Leonie is flying high and riding on a wave of success in the exclusive private equity firm she works for.
She realizes she’d been lucky to have been placed in the foster home of the owners of The Meadowlark, one of the finest restaurants in Atlanta and will be forever grateful for having found another family that supported her and helped her get to a place in her life where she has control. Her hard-won control is as precious to her as a baby is to its parents. The one person she can see herself willingly giving it up for is the boss’s son and it terrifies her, which is why she has made it a point to keep him at arm’s length.
Buck Kilpatrick, IV has loved Leonie almost since the moment he met her when they were 21-year old summer analysts in his family’s firm. He doesn’t know everything about her, but he knows that her past is what’s keeping her from letting go just a little bit and embracing a future with him. She knows they’d be good together, but is too afraid to try, and while he loves their friendship and the sexual teasing they engage in, he wants more — so much more. He has a decision to make, and so does she: continue with the status quo, or cut ties completely.
She had known him for most of her life…
Having suffered horrific abuse as a child that left her deaf, Tabi has worked hard to assert her independence and learn how to survive and thrive as a deaf woman in a hearing world. Her foster brother Scrapper has always been there, lending his support and protection. He’s been both playmate and Knight in Tarnished Armor. One mistletoe-fueled kiss changes all that and now Tabi finds herself struggling with new and unexpected emotions. Intrigued by her attraction to Scrapper she wants to explore those feelings, but there is one major barrier; Scrapper.
Having lived most of his life in foster care Scrapper knows what it is to have nothing and no one, not even his own name. His foster family is the lodestar of his life, the foundation that helps him contain and conceal his deep-seated fears and insecurities, and he is determined to hold onto it at all costs—even if it means he can’t have Tabi, the only woman he has ever loved.
But wait! There’s more! Oh, What a Christmas comes with a FREE BONUS BOOK, Rumors of Wars.
Bounty hunter Perish Blackburn has an unquenchable need to make money. The world is a dark, dangerous place in 2075, a place where only the strong and the wealthy survive. Perish is strong, but she wants to do more than just survive. And to do that, she needs money. Those without money are little better than slaves, a fate she is determined to avoid. Fortunately for her, in a world where paranormal beings are literally falling at her feet, she has a unique arsenal of skills.
Her talents are quite valuable, especially for someone who isn’t squeamish about putting those abilities to use, or particular about whom she uses them for. Things are going quite well and she’s on her way to accumulating another sizable sum of cash when she comes to the attention of the one organization that can totally derail her plans, end her life, and quite possibly, the world, in the process. They have need of a talent Perish has just discovered she has, and given that they’re not the kind of people you can just say no to, she has to figure out a way to say yes and live to tell about it. She’s pretty sure she can, even with the unwanted help of a werewolf with the disposition of an Old World gentleman, a housemate who can only be described as eccentric and a couple of relatives who have been dead for centuries…
BOOM! There you have it: A fabulous way to keep yourself fabulously entertained for several hours, and all for less than six bucks! You better get you some!
Tagged: bwwm, Christmas at the Meadowlark Series, Christmas Wishes & Kisses, interracial romance, New Releases, Oh What A Christmas
March 19, 2016
Please Accept Our Sincere Apologies
As Ros said, those of you who pre-ordered the book from amazon, please accept our sincerest apologies for this debacle.
If you pre-ordered Oh, What a Christmas and/or Christmas Wishes & Kisses from Amazon you did not get the entire file. There were changes made that for reasons we don’t understand did not go through. THIS IS FOR THE PRE-ORDERS ONLY.
We apologize for the inconvenience, but in order to get the corrected books, you’ll need to return and then re-buy them. Again, we are so sorry this happened.
Hold on to those pre-order receipts and we’ll make it up to you on the next book in the series, Putting the EX in Christmas. Again, this is for the pre-orders only from Amazon. All other copies of the book are fine.
March 16, 2016
Woot, Woot!
Coming to an online bookstore near you March 18th!
March 11, 2016
Very Last Day for Fabulous Prizes
Just in case you forgot to enter to be included in the drawing for this awesome binge reader sustainability kit, here’s the easy way to do it: Pre-Order Oh, What a Christmas and Christmas Wishes & Kisses and send me the receipts at lisa@lisagriley.com.
