Cardeno C.'s Blog, page 8
May 7, 2019
Upcoming releases from Sean Michael and Julia Talbot
Coming June 4 from Dreamspinner Press
Coming Tuesday May 14 from Julia Talbot
Preorders up as soon as Amazon and B&N stop fighting me. It's up on Kobo here!
XXOO
Julia
Visit our websites:
Sean's is http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com
Julia’s is http://www.juliatalbot.com
BA’s is http://www.batortuga.com
Kiernan's is www.KiernanKelly.com
Evil Plot Bunny: http://www.evilplotbunny.com/
Julia's Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TurtlehatSt...
Facebook:
Sean -- https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelW...
Julia -- https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbota...
BA -- https://www.facebook.com/batortuga
Kiernan -- https://www.facebook.com/kiernan.kelly
April 30, 2019
New YA trans story release from BA writing as Anne Key
BA has a new YA release as her alter ego Anne Key, writing with Gina Harris, who did the amazing lesbian YA I Kiss Girls
After his transition, Eli Green is stoked to finally have a body that matches the boy he’s always been. Freshman year was rough, so he’s moving to a new school a town over, where no one has ever known him as Elizabeth.
Samantha Moore has always been one of the bright and beautiful in her Texas high school: varsity cheer and advanced math. But when her momma dies out of the blue, Sammy’s familiar world dies too. Suddenly she’s living in New Jersey with a father she barely knows, thousands of miles from everything she understands.
After running into each other (literally) on the first day of school, Eli is fascinated by Sammy, who sparkles brighter than the bling on her jeans, but as their relationship deepens he knows he has to be honest with her, but he doesn't know whether he can trust her with his secret. Sammy’s still grieving, the boy she likes is hiding something, and she isn’t sure she gets that. If that’s not enough, secrets her family has kept for years are rising to the surface, and she's about to lose herself in all the drama.
XXOO
Julia
Look for Anne Key on the web
April 27, 2019
Social Media Can Break Your Heart By S.C. Wynne
Good Morning!
I was scrolling Facebook the other day and I saw a post from one of my good friends about an Internet couple who split recently. Dadsnotdaddies was the couple. They're an adorable couple that had been dating about three and a half years, and one of them has kids. They posted lots of cute photos and videos about their life, trying to show a positive gay family situation. It was wonderful, while it lasted. Unfortunately, they decided to split up.
It's not their breaking up that made me want to write this post, though, it was the enormous sadness I felt over their split. Two men I've never met actually depressed me for hours on end, when I heard about their breakup. Even though I don't KNOW THEM. lol
I've noticed that reaction in myself many times over the past year when couples on YouTube split up. These couples invite us into their lives, and we feel a part of their life. Mark and Ethan were another couple that broke my heart when they announced they were cooling off. Why do we get so invested in the lives of strangers? It's a very odd thing.
I suppose reality TV is similar to these YouTube, Instagram couples. We follow along with these people's lives as they face good times and bad. We feel bonded to these people, even though we've never met them. This phenomenon is something my grandparents would never have understood. I think they'd have been horrified at what reality stars share with the audience.
We don't just love people on social media and reality TV though. We can also hate people we see. We can actually loathe people we have never said one word to, based solely on whether or not we like what they do on TV. Let's not forget, this stuff is all edited. We're not seeing things unfold in real time. We're seeing what people want us to see.
I guess I just wanted to write this post because I find it odd how attached I am to people on YouTube, and wanted to examine why that is. I don't know if it's healthy to form attachments to people I've never met, but it certainly is entertaining.
S.C.
www.scwynne.com
April 26, 2019
Why do we write? By Felice Stevens
Of all questions I'm ever asked, one of the first is "What made you want to write?"
I can't honestly say there is any one thing. I knew from when I was young I loved to tell stories. My favorite one was about two girls, Rima and Charity who had magical powers and fought dragons and all the bad guys. My best friend and I would act out scenarios and I'd write them down.
Now that I'm entering my 5th (!!!) year of being a published author, I can say that the answer to what makes me write is that I have stories inside my head and I want to tell them.
What writing isn't for me, though, is seeing what's the hot trend and jumping on it. That's called "writing to market." Someone in a professional loop I belong to stated that writing to market is simply writing what readers want to read. Ehhh, I'm not so sure I agree with that. Often, I don't know what I want to read until I pick up that blurb and am entranced enough to start reading the first few pages.
I don't ever write a book because a particular "trope" is hot. For those who don't know, a trope is a literary device or a theme, like forced proximity, daddy-books, friends to lovers. And please for the love of all things bright and beautiful, PLEASE stop saying that MM is a trope. Being LGBTQA is NOT a trope. It is a person's LIFE.
But I digress. I could never write to what's hot in the market because I don't craft my characters' stories around a hot trope. An idea will come to me and then I sit with the characters and their lives start to come to me. Or I brainstorm with my close friend and we go back and forth about what the characters' hopes and dreams are and what the black moment is....that kind of stuff. World building. Story building. Creating a character arc.
My characters start with an idea in my head but they come from my heart. They do not come from a fill in the blank template of how to write the next big thing. I belong to an on-line forum where this is a major discussion point. What's going to be hot? Does anyone have a plot template to write these stories? And there are links to actual templates where it's discussed when the first kiss should happen, in what chapter the first sex scene should occur...
And it makes me sad because where is the creative love for writing? Where are those moments where your fingers fly over the keyboard because the dam has broken and the words can't come fast enough? (Answer-those moments don't come often.)
Every book I've written has a personal meaning to me. My characters take me on a journey and I hope they do the same for the reader. People laugh at me when I say I love my characters but they become a part of me when I write them. They aren't simply another cookie in the assembly line I push out, to get the next one done. Do I want to make money? Of course I do. But I can't and won't push out a story simply because it's the flavor of the month.
You might say, "But Felice, you write so fast. You have so many releases I can't keep up." Lucky me, I have ideas. Are there stories I wish I could write? Yes of course. (John the bartender from Rescued—I'm looking at you but you're not talking to me. I'm waiting. I'll be here for you.) But if the emotional connection to the character isn't there, then I can't force it.
So I'll never write to market. Maybe if I did, I'd sell better. But one thing writing has proven to me is to be true to myself and who I am. I'm ALWAYS going to be that writer whose guys are super swoony. They will always be a little bit frustrating: they will have misunderstandings and not say the right thing and screw up or cut off communication. It's called life and that's real. They will always be hot as hell because I love writing the emotion that comes with sex. And of course they will ALWAYS have that Happily Ever After. But what they won't be is the trend. The hot thing everyone might be writing now. They'll be who they are because that's the only way I know how.
Here comes the part where I can tell you about what's new and upcoming:
Audiobooks
Second to None is out! Charlie David wraps up my Breakfast Club series with the audio of Marcus and Tyler and it is EVERYTHING!
You can find it on Audible: SECOND TO NONE
First Light, my second collaboration with Christina Lee is now on audiobook with a dual narration of Kale Williams and Michael Pauley. They knocked this one out of the park and into the next time zone.
You can find in on Audible here: FIRST LIGHT
Have you added Broken Silence to your Goodreads shelf? It's coming soon! The cover is to die for and this might be one of my most romantic books yet. A troubled student discovers an outlet for his pain in writing poems but the attraction to his professor is something he can't ignore. You can add to Goodreads: BROKEN SILENCE
I can't honestly say there is any one thing. I knew from when I was young I loved to tell stories. My favorite one was about two girls, Rima and Charity who had magical powers and fought dragons and all the bad guys. My best friend and I would act out scenarios and I'd write them down.
Now that I'm entering my 5th (!!!) year of being a published author, I can say that the answer to what makes me write is that I have stories inside my head and I want to tell them.
What writing isn't for me, though, is seeing what's the hot trend and jumping on it. That's called "writing to market." Someone in a professional loop I belong to stated that writing to market is simply writing what readers want to read. Ehhh, I'm not so sure I agree with that. Often, I don't know what I want to read until I pick up that blurb and am entranced enough to start reading the first few pages.
I don't ever write a book because a particular "trope" is hot. For those who don't know, a trope is a literary device or a theme, like forced proximity, daddy-books, friends to lovers. And please for the love of all things bright and beautiful, PLEASE stop saying that MM is a trope. Being LGBTQA is NOT a trope. It is a person's LIFE.
But I digress. I could never write to what's hot in the market because I don't craft my characters' stories around a hot trope. An idea will come to me and then I sit with the characters and their lives start to come to me. Or I brainstorm with my close friend and we go back and forth about what the characters' hopes and dreams are and what the black moment is....that kind of stuff. World building. Story building. Creating a character arc.
My characters start with an idea in my head but they come from my heart. They do not come from a fill in the blank template of how to write the next big thing. I belong to an on-line forum where this is a major discussion point. What's going to be hot? Does anyone have a plot template to write these stories? And there are links to actual templates where it's discussed when the first kiss should happen, in what chapter the first sex scene should occur...
And it makes me sad because where is the creative love for writing? Where are those moments where your fingers fly over the keyboard because the dam has broken and the words can't come fast enough? (Answer-those moments don't come often.)
Every book I've written has a personal meaning to me. My characters take me on a journey and I hope they do the same for the reader. People laugh at me when I say I love my characters but they become a part of me when I write them. They aren't simply another cookie in the assembly line I push out, to get the next one done. Do I want to make money? Of course I do. But I can't and won't push out a story simply because it's the flavor of the month.
You might say, "But Felice, you write so fast. You have so many releases I can't keep up." Lucky me, I have ideas. Are there stories I wish I could write? Yes of course. (John the bartender from Rescued—I'm looking at you but you're not talking to me. I'm waiting. I'll be here for you.) But if the emotional connection to the character isn't there, then I can't force it.
So I'll never write to market. Maybe if I did, I'd sell better. But one thing writing has proven to me is to be true to myself and who I am. I'm ALWAYS going to be that writer whose guys are super swoony. They will always be a little bit frustrating: they will have misunderstandings and not say the right thing and screw up or cut off communication. It's called life and that's real. They will always be hot as hell because I love writing the emotion that comes with sex. And of course they will ALWAYS have that Happily Ever After. But what they won't be is the trend. The hot thing everyone might be writing now. They'll be who they are because that's the only way I know how.
Here comes the part where I can tell you about what's new and upcoming:
Audiobooks
Second to None is out! Charlie David wraps up my Breakfast Club series with the audio of Marcus and Tyler and it is EVERYTHING!
You can find it on Audible: SECOND TO NONE
First Light, my second collaboration with Christina Lee is now on audiobook with a dual narration of Kale Williams and Michael Pauley. They knocked this one out of the park and into the next time zone.
You can find in on Audible here: FIRST LIGHT
Have you added Broken Silence to your Goodreads shelf? It's coming soon! The cover is to die for and this might be one of my most romantic books yet. A troubled student discovers an outlet for his pain in writing poems but the attraction to his professor is something he can't ignore. You can add to Goodreads: BROKEN SILENCE
April 25, 2019
April Releases
Hello Cafe. This week, we're featuring our books that are new releases for April. Two from John Solo, two from Seb Yarrick, and one from Nick J. Russo. April showers, and it's raining M/M! Happy listening!
Find more from JohnSolo, Nick J. Russo, and Seb Yarrick on Audible, and find Falcon Sound Company on Facebook.
April 23, 2019
New, working, and reading from BA, Julia, Sean and Kiernan
What are we releasing, working on, and reading?
Sean Michael: I'm between books at them moment - anyone have a suggestion for a book I can't miss?
Currently working on a new dragon series
That's my latest release! Find it here!
BA Tortuga
I'm working on a super secret project, and it's cowboys natch, and I can't wait to share. Later. I'm reading The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman.
Look at the shiny! Clicky to find it here!
Julia: Waves madly. I'm working on finishing up the next (FINALLY) Full Moon Dating book. I got depressed about that series when ARE went under and kinda took it with them. But we're back! I'm reading Tempted by the Badge by Deborah Fletcher Mello.
Kiernan is to be determined!
XXOO
Julia Talbot
Visit our websites:
Sean's is http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com
Julia’s is http://www.juliatalbot.com
BA’s is http://www.batortuga.com
Kiernan's is www.KiernanKelly.com
Evil Plot Bunny: http://www.evilplotbunny.com/
Julia's Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TurtlehatSt...
Facebook:
Sean -- https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelW...
Julia -- https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbota...
BA -- https://www.facebook.com/batortuga
Kiernan -- https://www.facebook.com/kiernan.kelly
April 20, 2019
Footsteps In the Dark By S.C. Wynne
Good morning everyone!
I'm honored to be taking part in an romance/mystery anthology organized by Josh Lanyon.
The anthology has so many wonderful authors, I just can't say enough about these wonderful ladies! The other authors are Josh Lanyon, LB Gregg, Nicole Kimberling, Zam Maxfield, Meg Perry, C.S. Poe and me! :D
My story is called Reality Bites. It's a romance/mystery that is based on a murder that takes place on the set of a reality TV show where someone is attacked by a tiger. Sound interesting? lol I would hope so.
I absolutely LOVED writing this book. I fell in love with my two MC's and I kind of had a book hangover, which is unusual for me when I'm actually writing a book! lol I've had them when reading books, but not when I'm writing. For whatever reason Detective Decker and Jax just stole my heart.
The release of the anthology is supposed to be May 2019 and I can't wait for you to read all the wonderful stories.
S.C.
www.scwynne.com
I'm honored to be taking part in an romance/mystery anthology organized by Josh Lanyon.
The anthology has so many wonderful authors, I just can't say enough about these wonderful ladies! The other authors are Josh Lanyon, LB Gregg, Nicole Kimberling, Zam Maxfield, Meg Perry, C.S. Poe and me! :D
My story is called Reality Bites. It's a romance/mystery that is based on a murder that takes place on the set of a reality TV show where someone is attacked by a tiger. Sound interesting? lol I would hope so.
I absolutely LOVED writing this book. I fell in love with my two MC's and I kind of had a book hangover, which is unusual for me when I'm actually writing a book! lol I've had them when reading books, but not when I'm writing. For whatever reason Detective Decker and Jax just stole my heart.
The release of the anthology is supposed to be May 2019 and I can't wait for you to read all the wonderful stories.
S.C.
www.scwynne.com
April 18, 2019
New Audiobooks and a Freebie! by Felice Stevens
I'm so thrilled to finally have The Breakfast Club series in audiobook back up for sale, and finally the third book. Charlie David does an incredible job bringing all the guys to life. So many of you were waiting for Marcus and Tyler's story and you will not be disappointed!
You can find Second to None on Audible HERE as well as all my other audiobooks.
I finally got Amazon to cooperate and now Austin, the prequel Book 1 to the Man Up series is free on ALL platforms! Start the series and meet the dancers of Man Up as they find love in NYC.You can find Austin and the rest of the Man Up series here:AMAZONAPPLE BOOKSKOBO B&N
You can find Second to None on Audible HERE as well as all my other audiobooks.
I finally got Amazon to cooperate and now Austin, the prequel Book 1 to the Man Up series is free on ALL platforms! Start the series and meet the dancers of Man Up as they find love in NYC.You can find Austin and the rest of the Man Up series here:AMAZONAPPLE BOOKSKOBO B&N
Throw Back Thursday
Happy throwback Thursday in the Cafe! This week, we have the audiobooks released in April of 2018. Check out what you might have missed, two books from author Susi Hawke and narrator John Solo, Nick J Russo read D.B. Reynolds' vampire epic, and two action adventure titles from Dreamspinner Press, Colin Darcy narrates Elle Brownlee's wilderness mystery, and Andrew McFerrin read Dirk Greyon's dynamic thriller. Fall in love with a new-to-you romance!
Omega Remembered Micah is a young alpha on a mission to find the infant daughter of an old friend. When he also finds two other lost little angels, he has no choice but to rescue them as well.Aries is an omega whose babies were stolen from him. He's tried to stay strong, but the pain of their absence haunts him every moment. When he discovers that his children have been found, and an alpha is already on the way to deliver them into his arms, Aries is beside himself.
What he doesn't expect is that the alpha is the one man that he has reason to hate. Neither of them expected to see their fated mate when Micah arrived with the children.
Can these two men who have zero respect for each other find their way to somehow form a family together with the children that they both adore?
Omega Stolen Jake is an alpha wolf on a mission to find his missing sister. What he didn't expect to find was a whole group of omegas being held captive along with her. When he catches the scent of his fated mate among the group of omegas, he knows that he will do whatever it takes to get them all to safety - even if it means taking them all and forming their own pack a thousand miles to the north.
Kai was shocked when his own father sold him for a paltry sum. He is befriended by the group of omegas who are also being held in captivity. That is, until the night that a gorgeous Alpha appears looking to rescue his sister. He takes all of them to safety, along with his studly posse of alpha wolves, moving them all to form a new pack.
Deception Kauai, tropical paradise, vibrant jungle, turquoise sea...and sensuous nights that hide vampires so powerful they can change the world.Raphael - powerful, extraordinary, arrogant. He’s determined to demolish the Europeans who think they can steal what he’s worked for centuries to create.
Cynthia Leighton - Raphael’s human mate, beautiful, smart, and deadly when threatened. She doesn’t trust anyone, much less a powerful vampire
Cyn is proven right when it all falls to her - to find Raphael, to save the thousands of vampires who will die if she doesn’t succeed...and to kill every single being, who gets in her way.
Staggered Cove Station Rescues are wild in the Alaskan terrain. So is romance in this coast guard rescue novel.California guardsman Dan Farnsworth might be at home in the water, but he’s out of his element at remote, rugged, and freezing Staggered Cove Station. Acclimating proves hard enough, but he’s also digging into how the station’s previous rescue swimmer was lost at sea. Was it an operation gone bad or something more sinister? Add to that the instant tension between him and his partner, no-nonsense, Alaskan Karl Radin, and Dan has his hands full.
As suspicious events escalate to sabotage, Dan starts to fear that he and Karl won’t get the chance to become more than reluctant coworkers.
Day and Knight As former NSA, Dayton "Day" Ingram has national security chops and works as a technical analyst. He longs for fieldwork and an attack gives him his chance. But his opportunity comes with a hitch. His partner, Knighton, "Knight", is a real mystery. Despite countless hours of research, Day can find nothing on the agent including his first name.A former Marine, Knight is offered one last chance: along with Day, to stop a terrorist threat. To get there, Day and Knight board a gay cruise, where they must pose as a couple. Tensions run high.
After drinking too much, Day and Knight wake up in bed together. As they near their destination, they must neutralize a plot aimed at America's technological infrastructure. If they hope to have a life after the mission, one that might include each other, they must learn to trust and rely on each other.
Find more great audiobooks at Falcon Sound Company. Happy listening!
April 13, 2019
New Audio Available by S.C. Wynne
Good Morning all!
I've been on vacation in Catalina and busy busy with deadlines, so I've skipped a few times posting. Forgive me! :)
I wanted to let you know that the second book in my psychic series, Shadow's Return is now available in audio!
BLURB:
In Book Two, Psychic Liam Baker and Detective Kimball Thompson have embarked on a romantic relationship after battling the deadly and powerful psychic, Steven Pine months ago. They ended his brutal killing spree of young male prostitutes, and he’s safely in jail.But when someone starts murdering young college girls, some disturbing clues seem to lead back to Stephen Pine. But he’s locked up and awaiting trial. There’s no possible way he could be involved in the new murders.Yet Liam can’t shake the chilling feeling that Pine has somehow figured out a way to reach out from his jail cell to continue murdering innocent victims.
Hope that sounds interesting!
S.C.
www.scwynne.com
AUDIBLE
EBOOK
I've been on vacation in Catalina and busy busy with deadlines, so I've skipped a few times posting. Forgive me! :)
I wanted to let you know that the second book in my psychic series, Shadow's Return is now available in audio!
BLURB:
In Book Two, Psychic Liam Baker and Detective Kimball Thompson have embarked on a romantic relationship after battling the deadly and powerful psychic, Steven Pine months ago. They ended his brutal killing spree of young male prostitutes, and he’s safely in jail.But when someone starts murdering young college girls, some disturbing clues seem to lead back to Stephen Pine. But he’s locked up and awaiting trial. There’s no possible way he could be involved in the new murders.Yet Liam can’t shake the chilling feeling that Pine has somehow figured out a way to reach out from his jail cell to continue murdering innocent victims.
Hope that sounds interesting!
S.C.
www.scwynne.com
AUDIBLE
EBOOK
