Bri Clark's Blog, page 20

A Belle's Sultry Summer Nights Ignite Your Passions Blog Hop Post (8/22-8/29)

SULTRY SUMMER NIGHTS: IGNITE YOUR PASSIONS BLOG HOP TOUR
(AUGUST 22-29)
When I think of Sultry Summer Nights I think of air forces bases, muscle cars, baby tees and short shorts. My summers as a teen went from the back roads of humid middle Tennessee to the cool nights of North Carolina mountains. There was always somewhere to be and a cute guy to pick from. In my youth I lived for the moment and have the scars to prove it.



My favorite summer was the summer of my senior year where days were spent cruising, swimming or shooting pool and nights at the local club. On Friday nights eighteen and up got in and the dance floor opened at 10 PM. The bar tender was super cute and a little cleavage got you a couple of mixed drinks. To his respect it was never more than a couple.
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However the club was also up the street from an air force base. Note (this was before 9/11) Often times it would be too late for me to get home and back in time for work much less get any sleep. So a couple of good friends who were Airman would always let me crash in their barracks. Now as I'm older I realize they really put themselves out there for me doing that. But I also know they knew I just wanted to sleep and I wasn't the sort to cause trouble. They were good friends.


So whose up for some prizes?



TOUR RULES: 1) HAVE FUN!!!
2) INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!
3) THIS TOUR STARTS: Monday, August 22, at Midnight (Arizona Time) THIS TOUR ENDS: Monday, August 29, at Midnight (Arizona Time) Winners will be drawn and posted August 30th! ***
4) MEET AND MINGLE WITH ALL THE AUTHORS AND BOOK PAGES! EXPERIENCE A NEW PARTY DESTINATION AT EVERY STOP! PARTICIPATE IN EVERY BLOG CONTEST AND BE ENTERED FOR CHANCES TO WIN MULTIPLE PRIZES! EVERY BLOG VISITED IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WIN!!
5) PARTICIPATION AT ALL BLOGS IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED. REMEMBER, THE MORE BLOGS YOU HOP, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING PRIZES. EVERY AUTHOR AND BOOK PAGE IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW EVERYONE SOME LOVE!

6) Please have the courtesy if you enjoy the books you receive as a gift to review on Amazon and whatever sites you prefer. 
 DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN?
***Authors have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of win, whichever comes first. Anyone who participates in this blog hop tour is subject to these rules*** Belle of Boise Contest Rules
1) Click "Follow" on the upper left side of this blog! (I follow back!)

2) Leave me a question or a comment here at my blog below. Please also leave your email address so I can notify you in case you are a winner!

3)  Go to my fan page at:http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Bri-Clark-Author/150106235050819 and say hello. If you like what you see, become a fan by "Liking" my page and adding me to your favorites. If you would like to also add me as a personal friend, feel free to send your friend request to http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/TBriClark.

4) If you Tweet, click on my Twitter link and follow me at: http://twitter.com/#!/Bri_Clark 5) If you like what you see from me then check out my publisher's pages too. Stone House Ink and Astraea Press.
PRIZES FOR THIS CONTEST: Product Description
Antony is an Italian business man with conflicting upbringings...a child of a mafia don killed when he was an adolescent then the adopted child of hardworking Italian restaurant owners. When things don't go as easy as he likes he reverts back to family contacts to get what he wants and Antony wants Colleen.

Colleen is an average mother and wife living in Treasure Valley Idaho. Upon meeting a charming Antony Deluca in a coffee shop an emotional digital affair begins. However, Colleen's conscience intercedes and she ends communication with Antony. Then Colleen's husband produces a trip to Italy, Rome Italy. The very city Antony resides in.

Is it fate... or something more sinister bringing them together?
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Product DescriptionMarie Kincaid is devastated after losing her family in a violent crash…so she runs. One morning, she awakes in an infirmary with total memory loss and a new power: Glazier. The cold frozen mists of Glazier's instincts enable Marie to embark on a new life free of pain but most importantly free of the past. Heightened senses, accelerated strength,speed, and learning abilities make Marie a perfect candidate to be a spy…also a perfect companion for Henry Tenison, the only other known Glazier.

Henry, a loner and proud rogue finds his world upended when his connection to Marie is forged. Unsure of how to progress, he endeavors to keep it strictly professional. As far away missions and romantic surroundings entice him into pursuing his deeper desires, he caves. However, Marie's love changes everything.

Determined to free them both of the spy world and the hold Glazier has over their lives, Henry implements a plot to disappear. However, when things become dangerous in their latest mission and memories of Marie's past surface suggesting another man…will Henry's efforts come too late? If Marie remembers her past, will she still want their future?
[image error] Product Description  Lucien Lemione the clan leader of the feared and revered Eternals
After losing her entire coven at the hands of the Eternals, Aisleen is the last of her kind. She retreats from the world to Trinity Forest where she is giving the opportunity of a lifetime, or perhaps a test of principles. It's there she discovers the man she heals is the Eternal that wiped out her people. Although she is bound as a healer, she could be creative in her revenge. Aisleen knows who and what Lucien his…but does not speak of it. There can be no future with Lucien for she can only be with a mortal man. Even if she wanted to be with him, can she forgive the man that caused the genocide of her people?

Lucien must act quickly for the survival of his clan is at stake. However, Aisleen's ethereal beauty and emerald eyes keep pushing those thoughts far from his mind. Determined to find out what secret she hides, he prolongs his time with her. When his people need him most what will he choose…duty, desire, or will he make his own fate?

You can choose love but you can't choose destiny. Grand Prize Winner: An eBook of each of my books including an ARC of my upcoming Halloween Novella Scent of a Witch. Those books included are Glazier, Cafe' Seduzione, Familial Witch and Scent of a Witch. 
First Place Winner: A print or eBook copy of Glazier Additionally for authors a first three chapter critique.
Second Place Winner: eBook of Familial Witch and if an author a review of their choice of book to be reviewed within two weeks of receipt of book.
Third Place Winner: eBook of Caffe' Seduzione and a shout out on all my social media encouraging friendship and following.IN CASE YOU'RE LOST
AND NEED TO GET BACK
TO THE BLOG HOP LINKY LIST,
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW:

BLOG HOP LINKY LIST

Feature Friday: Fallen Idols...Paranormal Novella to read

Product DescriptionFalling: A paranormal contemporary romance novella with a feisty heroine, an immortal hero, and their wee trip to hell and back The trouble with falling in love is the long drop down… Alexis isn't afraid of much. She's never met a cliff she didn't want to climb or a waterfall she wouldn't plunge over. Yet when her fiancé leaves and takes her daring edge with him, she swears off love…. Until one wild night out at San Francisco's latest hard-to-find, impossible-to-get-into new club where she discovers more than just a stiff drink awaits her inside, because the owner of this club is the sexiest man she's ever met—and the most dangerous. A few hundred years ago, Jason made a very bad bargain with a very vengeful goddess. Now it's time for him to pay up, either with his soul… or his heart. And when one long look at Alexis makes him understand just how hellish a life of unrequited love could be, suddenly the alternative doesn't sound so bad. Only it turns out, the alternative isn't just hellish—it is hell… and Alexis is the only one who can spring him loose. If, that is, she's brave enough to try…



I really like this novella because the protagonist was not your normal voluptuous or petite lovely heroine. In fact she's described as brown and 6'3...a professional thrill seeker. Amazing premise to say the least. The twin that is far from identical only added to the chemistry of all the characters. I really didn't like the villainous goddess. Of course she is the villain so that actually really great. My only sour note is I wanted MORE. Luckily there is a sequel.

Writer Wednesday: Google + Lets hang out. I'll bring the Sass.

So I've been hanging around Google+ a little. Let me tell ya...I love it. I'm still learning and can't do everything yet. But what I have learned I got from Novel Publicity. In fact since I totally jacked this idea from Emlyn Chand Novel's creator. I am going to share the link to check out Google+ basics etc.

Google+ a comparison to other networks

Google+ an introduction

Google+ Let's Hangout

And now for the blatant copy cat I have pulled. Google+ has this amazing feature where you up to 10 people can literally hangout. It's similar to a Skype Chat room experience. Emlyn has what she call's Office Hours every Wednesday from 12-3 where she will talk writing, marketing, blog tour, blogs, book trailers, etc in her hang out. You can catch her here.

So I shall do the same thing only it's going to be on Thursday from 12-2 MST. I'll call it Let's Sassafras where I'll talk writing, editing, marketing, finding time to write, publishing etc.

If you aren't in Google+ yet. Leave your email in the comments and I'll send you an invite. Hope to see you guys tomorrow for my first Hangout. Click here to participate.

Sweet Saturdays: Glazier Chills

This sample is from my Romantic Fantasy novel Glazier. Here is a touch of the fantasy part.




As the overwhelming force of being cornered enveloped me, that all too familiar cold crept inside and the chilling fear dissipated. All I knew was survival. A pulsing, hidden strength coursed through me, and just before I thought I would come undone, an officer came, wrapped his sausage-like fingers under my arm and pulled me up. He led me down a secluded hallway. At the end to the right was a door. Within it was a man I could only describe as a living serpent…and I loathed snakes.

 Check at the rest of my samplenistas here. And if you want more Glazier click the Amazon link below. 

BLB: Pepper Oneal "I've written under a barstool."

Welcome my fair readers. If you remember last week I reviewed Blood Fest by Pepper Oneal. Oh you missed it...well click here and then come back. I had a few questions for Pepper about writing in general and Blood Fest. Her answers were entertaining and surprising. Go check her out.




http://www.myballard.com/2010/03/08/d...


1. Do you specifically write paranormal?
No, not specifically. But so far that's the only fiction genre I've been published in. I've written an action/adventure novel about a girl on the run from a murderer (based on a true story, by the way) that I haven't found a home for yet. But I'm confident I will. Eventually. (I feel ya here. I write paranormal, fantasy and romantic suspense. I right what come in my mind.)

2. What fights with your attention in finding time to write?
If you had asked me that question before I spent several years working as a writer in third world countries, I would have told that I could write only under optimum conditions—when I had at least a couple of hours free to write, supper was over with, the dishes done, the neighbors quiet, But after writing in adverse conditions—such as sitting on a fallen log in the pouring rain; perched on a rock beside the campfire, fending off mosquitoes the size of small dogs with one hand while scribbling furiously with the other; having to fight cockroaches for a square foot of writing space; or hiding under a stool during a bar fight—I'd have to say I can write just about anywhere, under any conditions. (Okay I'm feeling a little self conscious.)

3. How do you overcome those distractions and write?
While working in the conditions I mentioned above, I had deadlines to meet, and if I had failed to meet them, I would have most likely been fired. Since I loved the job and the people I worked with, I was highly motivated to ignore the adverse conditions and write. Consequently, writing out of my home office with air conditioning in the summer, central heating in the winter—sans cockroaches and bar fights—is a breeze. Rather like combat soldiers that train themselves to sleep whenever and wherever they can, because if they don't, they may not have another chance, I've trained myself to ignore all distractions and write.(And now I'm thoroughly humbled...and now I'm not. A child just launched a box of cereal at another one.)

4. I love the half/ware ideas. How did you come up with the premise for this novel?
I really wish I knew. My storylines usually come to me in my dreams, or else they pop into my head in the shower or when I'm driving, but when they come, they come complete with basic character sketches. In this case, I knew Roman was a vampire, but he didn't feel complete until I combined him with a sweet, shy, wild wolf I met in a remote area in Southern Mexico. (He used to sneak into our camp and steal tuna fish sandwiches.) So it seemed only right to make Roman half vampire, half werewolf. (Same way...in the shower, at a basketball game, in a meeting with a teacher while I'm half listening.)
5. Your characters were amazing and connectible...do you have a process?
I don't know that I would call it a process, but I try to model my characters after real people—and animals—I know. This makes it easier for me to connect with them and to imagine how they would react in any given situation. It also makes my characters more real to me, so they are naturally going to be more real to my readers.

Thanks a lot Pepper. Great book and thanks for sharing your experiences and process with you. 
So fair readers where is the craziest place you've written?



PS...You can find out more about Pepper Oneal

Writer Wednesday: Writing it's the B word.

No not that b word! But to some authors it's just as offensive. Business Yes my fair reader it is and today I will address it. Well not so much I will address rather I'll quote and link to a couple of very successful people in the industry who put it out there clear and concise.

Often I'm asked How are your books doing? or Are you doing well? Which are just cloaked questions that really are saying Are you making any money?

I'm great at deflection so I usually do that and leave the conversation without really answering but the asker thinking I'm doing great. Because really I am!

I'm still in my first year since I landed my first contract as a published author. By the end of 2011 I'll have nine publications to add to my platform, as well as a successful blog, four professional websites I review four, I contribute at Ravencraft's Romance Realm twice a month (that's a very new one), as well as being regularly sought after for a guest poster on other blogs. And that's just what I do other than writing. To top it all off in less than a year after attending the Idaho Book Extravaganza (a conference I highly recommend) I will be participating now as a featured speaker.


But that's the business of writing right now. You are everywhere all the time. Marketing, networking, and writing those are the expectations set for authors.

To Quote Aaron Patterson Amazon best selling author and owner of Stone House/Stone Gate Ink from his Business of Writing blog post.

"As I look around the book world I see a business. The authors who sell a ton of books are themselves marketing crazy people or have someone who is being crazy on their behalf."


And Literary Agent Jessica Faust, of BookEnds, LLC said it stone cold clear in her Building a Career post.

"As an entrepreneur I'm frequently asked for advice about starting a new business, and there's one thing I always say, "Give it five years." A new business is a tough thing to start. It takes time, commitment, energy, and frequently lots of work for little to no pay. Guess what? Starting up a writing career is no different. In fact, starting a writing career is the same thing. It's starting a new business, and to truly succeed you need to give it time."

So what are your thoughts on your writing career

Six Sentence Sunday:Halloween Novella Scent of a Witch

Unable to look away he watched as she moved her feet in and out of the water allowing him a generous view of long shapely calves that flowed seamlessly into milky white thighs. His throat tightened as desire burned in him. She leaned forward reaching out with her right arm bending her right knee in. So enchanted by the movement of the graceful beauty he didn't see the dagger that appeared in her left hand until it took off a lock of his hair before firmly ending in the tree behind him.  
The realization that he almost died startled Fionn out of his daze. The wild haired woman let out a 

particularly unladylike old Gaelic curse as her eyes looked all around as if seeking escape. 

That's from my current WIP hopefully releasing with Astraea Press around Halloween. It's a cross genre paranormal/historical romance entitled Scent of a Woman. And true to form I can see a series spurring from the one novella like my Familial Witch novella. 

Don't forget to head back to Six Sentence Sunday for even more appetizers. 

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Familial-Wi...

Saturday Sweets: Sezuzione is Italian for Seduction

Image cutesy of http://www.lifeinitaly.com/fashion/ma... knew that their first meeting was by chance. It had been at her favorite coffee shop. She'd spilled hers on his expensive Italian shoes in her hurry to get lost in the latest romantic thriller. When she apologized, his smile was lopsided, like her brother's. The rest of Antony, though, was sublime…the epitome of Italian masculinity. A professionally tailored suit fitted around his broad chest left little to the imagination. She melted under the heat of his well-traveled brogue. Her blush enticed the Italian businessman because it made the cream of her skin fairer, bringing out auburn highlights in her hair. Before he could speak further, she excused herself. Not much later, he found her in her corner and ever so gently pushed her book down, his eyes meeting hers. He asked to join her." 

Product DescriptionAntony is an Italian business man with conflicting upbringings...a child of a mafia don killed when he was an adolescent then the adopted child of hardworking Italian restaurant owners. When things don't go as easy as he likes he reverts back to family contacts to get what he wants and Antony wants Colleen.

Colleen is an average mother and wife living in Treasure Valley Idaho. Upon meeting a charming Antony Deluca in a coffee shop an emotional digital affair begins. However, Colleen's conscience intercedes and she ends communication with Antony. Then Colleen's husband produces a trip to Italy, Rome Italy. The very city Antony resides in.

Is it fate... or something more sinister bringing them together?

BLB: Blood Fest You had me at British Hero

Product DescriptionShe didn't know what she was—or that what she was could get her killed...

A struggling private detective in Los Angeles, Chase Alcott has no idea about her unique genetic makeup. So when she takes on a new client—an old man with ulterior motives—she's unaware of the danger she'll soon face. Traveling to England to solve a mysterious murder at the request of her new client, Chase encounters terrifying creatures she thought only existed in her nightmares—only to find out she's one of them. Caught in a web of evil and deception after learning some terrifying truths about her long dead parents, Chase doesn't know who to believe. Does she dare trust the enigmatic Roman, a man with dark secrets of his own?
He knew what she was—he just had no idea what to do about her…

English nobleman, Roman Fernwood, half-werewolf/half-vampire, doesn't want a mate, especially not a half human/ half-weretiger with no knowledge of what she is. But there's something about Chase, Roman can't resist in spite of his determination not to fall in love. Is it her fascinating American spunk and courage, or her stunning cinnamon eyes? Or could it be the passion he senses just beneath her calm, unruffled demeanor? Whatever it is, Roman must keep her safe from those who want to kill her while finding a way to show her what she is without driving her into the arms of the other were who also want her for a mate.

Fate should have considered the consequences before messing with Mother Nature.

A paranormal romantic suspense for all adventurous readers.

Review

Through my status as a reviewer at Book Lovin Bitches I received this book. Pepper Oneal is a fine author and this was a first for me from her. Not to mention I'm into this kind of Historical Fiction mood so I was thoroughly surprised to get into Blood Fest: Chasing Destiny. A sucker for an alpha and a Brit to boot....purrrr. I also love my witty, feisty heroine.

This book had that and so much more. The characters from the protagonists to the gay PI partner to the eccentric mortal father of Roman Fernwood were a true joy. While paranormal romance's definition is so broad but Pepper has a definite signature that sets her apart and ahead.

Chase and Roman are both half breeds of species that don't usually get along but that only adds to the tension along with a good mystery wrapped into a stunning romance. My suggestion is read it and enjoy.

Astraea Press Submission Calls...

Greetings huns...One of my dear publishers is seeking submissions...Here are the details.


Permission to forward granted and encouraged


Astraea Press is looking for Halloween reads as well as Thanksgiving,
Christmas and Valentine's Day in all genres!

Details:
15K and up, not to exceed 100K
Does not have to be solely on the holiday but rather include some element of
it
Keep Astraea Submission guidelines in mind:
All genres of fiction acceptedNo open door sex (unless they're married) and even then no "pink parts". Sexual tension is more than acceptable, as is kissing and playing, providing again, there are no "pink parts".No graphic languageNo graphic violenceHFN is acceptable
Deadlines:
Halloween: August 31st
Thanksgiving: September 15th
Christmas: October 31st
Valentine's Day: December 31st


Write a story for us, we dare you! 
Send to submissions@astraeapress.com