Thayer King's Blog, page 2

Reviews and Other Stuff

For the first couple of weeks after a book release, I readreviews to see what people liked and what they didn’t. It helps shape future booksin a small way.

Currently, Her Perfect Mate only has two reviews. The 1-star reviewsent me for a tailspin of checking the book for errors. I can’t argue with opinion, but I can dispute facts. Missy’s eyes are brown. I’m not sure where the reviewer got the idea that they were blue. Both Missy and Rick have brown eyes. All myfemale main characters, with the exception of Veracity in Dark, have had browneyes. That kept me up last night. Now that I’ve gotten that off my mind….

I’m working on the next Bioexpa book. Thus far, it’s slow goingas I get caught in a loop of obsessively checking on a recent release.

I’m thinking of either deleting or simplifying the Books tab asI am doing a terrible job of keeping it updated. Every time I even think of updatingit, I put it off for another day. Also, I don’t like the appearance of it. Thepage is glitched.

On a personal front, I’m trying to work out a time to take myNewfoundland for her summer haircut and bath. She’s beautiful as she is but she’llbe more comfortable with a little less fluff. 

Until next time, everyone enjoy your summer!

Another Her Perfect Mate Excerpt

Her Perfect Mate is coming out this Friday and I'm so excited. Before it comes out, I thought I should post another excerpt to give everyone a small preview. Enjoy!

     He stood and rounded thetable so that he towered over her. Missy resisted the temptation to back away.This close, he was overwhelming. And despite this conversation, she hadn’t madeany decisions yet. Rick was essentially proposing marriage. She’d met him only yesterday.The man was a stranger!

     The craziness of it hit her at once andshe stumbled back a couple of steps. It was pointless. Rick pursued her,keeping their proximity close.

     He stroked her cheek with the backs of hisfingers. “You’re so beautiful. More so than I could have ever imagined wheneverI thought of taking a mate.”

     “Thank you,” she replied automatically.She’d been complimented on her looks her entire life. She knew she wasbeautiful. Though she couldn’t quell the satisfaction of knowing that Rickappreciated her appearance, her beauty wasn’t an accomplishment that she’dearned. It simply was and therefore, she took no real pride in it.

     “When I take you, I’ll roll you onto yourbelly and raise you onto your knees.” With a gentle touch to her shoulders, herturned her from him and wrapped his arms around her waist. Missy inhaled ashuddering breath as he trailed his lips up her neck. His voice was thick witharousal as he continued, “And when you’re screaming my name while your pussysucks all the cum out of my dick, I’ll sink my teeth into the tender flesh ofyour neck, claiming you forever.” He traced two fingers over the area where hislips had been. “Right here,” he said, indicating the spot where her shoulderand neck met.

     “Will it….” She stopped, clearing herthroat. “Will” made it sound like a foregone conclusion that she accepted himas her mate. “Wouldn’t that hurt?”

     “No. You’ll love it.” His arm tightenedaround her waist, and she could feel him, hard and thick against the curve ofher bottom.

Pre-Order

 

Her Perfect Mate went live and is available for pre-order at Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

Her Perfect Mate Excerpt

I'm still working on edits, but I thought I'd pop in to post a brief excerpt. I still haven't decided on a release date. It's looking like late this month or early next month. Enjoy!

     Whenhe pulled up to the house, Melisandre stood on the porch, unlocking her door.

     Rick glanced at the little yellow car withfalse eyelashes as he walked past. He smiled. No wonder he’d been so entrancedby the driver’s lips even as Robin had sat at his side. It had been Melisandre,his mate.

     As he’d approached, she’d let herself intothe house, but she paused at the threshold, making him proud of her bravery.He’d expected her to slam the door in his face after what Halle had told him. Takingher history into consideration, he slowed his gait and halted at the base ofher steps. Keeping his distance was best. It gave her the impression of safetyand if he got too close, he’d be unable to resist touching her.

     He stared up at her. She was fuckingbeautiful. He’d never really cared about looks, but he wasn’t blind. “Fateloves me,” he murmured reverently as he took her in from her bounty of thickblonde curls all the way down to her slender sneaker shod feet. And it was along way down. She was tall for a woman. As he recalled, she reached his chin.She was slender but curvy with full breasts and rounded hips. Her legs were long,and he couldn’t wait to feel them wrapped around his waist. He wet his lips.“Melisandre.”

     “Everyone calls me Missy.”

     He nodded. “I’m not everyone.” He cockedhis head to the side as he mulled it over. “Though it’s a bit of a mouthful forwhen we’re in bed.”

     She placed her hands on her hips. “How didyou find me?”

     “Dade.”

     She huffed. “Just because you declare meyour mate doesn’t make it so. I have a choice in the matter.”

     “Yesterday, before I caught your scent, Iwas at a traffic light. You were in the car behind me. Just the sight of yourlips moved me. I wanted to see more. We’re meant to be, Melisandre.”

     She rolled her large expressive eyes.“That’s physical.”

     He acknowledged the truth of her wordswith a brief nod. As a beautiful woman, she’d probably heard all manner ofcompliments about her appearance. “You’re right. It starts there, but itdoesn’t end there. We’ll learn about each other over time. I wouldn’t be hereif it were just about your beauty.”

     “And I suppose the fact that I’m humanmeans nothing to you.”

     He smiled. “It means you’re going to tryto deny this, but that’s okay. I like the chase. It means that the first timewe fuck, I won’t put you on your hands and knees because you’ll need a littlemore time to submit to me.”

     Her breathing sped up and she trembled.And while he caught a spark of irritation in her eye, he could smell herdesire. He was happy to note the absence of any scent of fear. “Submit? Never.”

     Rick groaned. He was a perverse bastard.His dick actually jumped when she denied him. Fuck, he really loved achallenge. He couldn’t recall when he was last presented with one. “Have youeaten dinner?”

     She blinked and shifted from one foot tothe other. “No.”

     “Let me take you to dinner.”

     She licked her full lips, and he swalloweda growl. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

     That wasn’t a “no.” He could work withthat. “I’m not going to change my mind about you being my mate. You need toknow me before committing? Have dinner with me.”

     Expelling a huff, she shook her head andmumbled, “Hell, might as well get it over with.” Rick hid a grin. He didn’tbother to mention that with his werewolf hearing he would hear her clearly. Tohim she said, “Give me a minute.”

Her Perfect Mate

I should have read last year’s post about finishing that Bioexpa book because I completely forgot my intentions. Instead, I finished the sequel to Her Sweet Alpha because I was further along in the writing process. As much as I like to keep my word, I’m thrilled to be finished with anything. (Don’t worry. I still plan on writing more Bioexpa books. I love matchmaking books. They’re sweet fun.)

I just finished writing Her Perfect Mate yesterday. I’d thought I’d be finished a couple of months ago. But…life. In the coming weeks, I’ll try to keep you posted as things develop and share the blurb and some excerpts. I’m hoping the entire process will be finished in a few weeks and that Her Perfect Mate will be out as early as next month. I’ll post when I have a definite release date.

For everyone who is reading this, I want to thank you for your patience. Hopefully, in future, neither of our wells of patience shall be so thoroughly tested.

This Year's Plan

The saying about making plans…yeah, that really got me last year. I’d planned to publish at least two more books—a sequel to Her Sweet Alpha and another Bioexpa book.

And then we moved at the end of summer. Moving is stressful. I don’t recommend it. In our case, it seemed everything was destined to go wrong. The truck we’d rented was suddenly unavailable. My brother, who was the only person to volunteer to help us move, came down with Covid. At the time, I’d jokingly said, “Why does everything have to happen to me?” I realized the selfishness of this thought and giggled for a long time. (Thankfully, my brother was fine. He was vaccinated. After a visit with his doctor, he was well enough in a few days to be out mowing his grass while confined at home.)

I’m adjusting to our new environment. We’re in a one story now instead of two. The cat that used to fear our dog now harasses her whenever she’s hungry (which seems to be always). It’s just pure crazy. I admit the cat is overweight, but she’s no competition for an also overweight Newfoundland. My dog’s head is bigger than the entire cat, yet the cat will actually go after her as if she can win this fight. My Newfie usually turns her head or tries to get away. I’d film it, but I’m more concerned with breaking up the potential altercation. A well-placed leg usually does the trick.

I did get around to taking down my Facebook page. I was fed up with having to fight just to sign in. Writing has been slow going. I’m surrounded by family again. Which is lovely, but so very distracting.

This year’s plan is much the same as last year’s—finish the sequel and the Bioexpa book. Hopefully, this year will stick to the plan.

Dark Cover, Release Date, and Excerpt!

 

Phew! Edits of Dark are done. We're looking at a possible publication date of July 16. If you're thinking, "But that's Friday!" then you're not alone. Here's the teaser that will appear on the Evernight website:

“You called, Veracity.” 

She whirled around in time to see Dark materialize from shadows in a far corner of her bedroom. She grabbed her chest. “You couldn’t appear in front of me?”

He arched one dark eyebrow. “You called me. Why are you surprised?” Her gaze flickered over him, and she bit back a lustful sigh. Dressed in all black, he was as tall as Gaedrian. He wasn’t as broad, but he’d filled out since she’d first seen him three years ago. His shoulders were wider. His arms and legs rippled with muscles as he moved closer and then leaned casually against a bedpost. 

She was as mesmerized by his beauty as she was the first time they met. When his second brow rose to meet the other, she realized she was staring and she hadn’t answered his question. “I’ve never … um … summoned you. I didn’t know if you’d come.” 

He always responded to Whimsy’s calls, but then, she was his queen.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“You’re under no obligation to come when I call.” She took a step toward him on legs that trembled. She’d never been alone with him. She’d never been alone with any man other than her father. 

“I will come when you call,” he replied simply.

She nodded. “Thank you. Um, why weren’t you there when we landed?”

His silver eyes bored into her. “People tend to be terrified of me.” He tilted his head. “But you’re not.”

“My sister isn’t afraid of you.”

“She was.”

“But now you’re friends.”

He nodded. “Still, it’s not exactly wise to invite me into your bedroom. Alone.”

“You wouldn’t hurt me.”

His gaze dropped to her chest where the bodice of her dress clung to her generous curves. She felt his gaze like a physical touch as it flowed down her waist, over her hips, and back up again. He’d never given her the impression he was interested in her in any way. His treatment of her had always been polite but distant. He probably hardly thought of her existence at all.

Her feelings for him were far more complicated. From the beginning, she’d been struck by his beauty. She admitted to having a girlish crush without knowing a single detail about him. But as the time passed and she did get to know him better, the crush didn’t fade. Instead, she feared it had bloomed into something more. She admired his kindness, his loyalty, and his strength of character.

Veracity had been careful to hide her continued feelings for Dark. She’d been silly at seventeen, mooning over him. Many boring lectures from her mother later, she’d learned never to mention his name or to show any interest in him around her parents.

“Veracity, your colony values chastity. I do not.”

She lifted her chin. She knew he wasn’t a virgin. She didn’t like it, but she had no claim to him. “Are you trying to scare me off?”

“Do I need to scare you off?”

She bit her lip and took another step, this one placing her within touching distance. She would never think to approach him without some encouragement. Until a moment ago, there had been none. He’d always been friendly but … distant. “You know that I … admire you, don’t you?” He had to know. Whimsy said that he could read minds.

He nodded. He caught her hand in his when she reached out to him. His thumb caressed her palm, sending a flood of warmth to her belly and below.

Finished Again

When I said “sort of,” I really meant it. The very next day I went back and added an epilogue. Next day, same thing. I just kept feeling like the story wasn’t done. Hopefully, I’ve covered all the bases now. I was happy with the conclusion.

I’ve spent the week reading through it and looking for mistakes. I finally finished today and submitted it to Evernight Publishing. While I’m waiting for them to get back to me, I’ll going to go back to work on Rick and Missy’s story.

Well, I cannot get into my Facebook page at all currently. If I ever get in again, it may be just to delete it.

Dark's Story

I’ve officially “sort of” finished with Dark’s story. I’m at the end, but not quite sure if I’m finished. I’m going to step away from it for a few days before doing a read through it. If inspiration strikes, I can add to it. There’s always something more, but for the most part, I think I’m done.

From here, I want to work on Missy and Rick’s story and another Bioexpa story. Time passes so quickly. It’s been forever since there’s been a Bioexpa story. I’m really looking forward to working on that.

I hope everyone enjoys their holiday. Stay safe!

A Few Announcements

It’s been an unusual year. That’s putting it mildly. I hope all of you have kept happy and well. I popped in to drop a few announcements.

If you haven’t read it, Her Sweet Alphais a Kindle Deal this month and is available for 99 cents. Ideas for a sequel kept poking at me and I’ve worked on a few chapters. It features Halle’s cousin Missy and Rick, the mechanic who fixes Halle’s car.

My main concentration has been Dark’s story, the final book in the series that began with Whimsy. I’ve found Dark’s story a challenge to tackle. He’s a superhuman character who somehow has to be vulnerable to be relatable and flawed enough to allow a plot to develop. (I was working on it this afternoon but was interrupted by my daughter with English homework. The struggle of schooling at home continues.)

I’ve also been working on another Bioexpa tale. Every once in a while, I’ll get a request for another one. I truly enjoy writing these. I like that though they’re set in the same universe, they are standalone stories.

I have a Facebook page that I’m thinking of deleting. Ever since they updated, I’ve had difficulty getting the page to load without going through a couple of extra steps. Even so, I can’t get into my inbox. If you’ve left me a message in the last couple of weeks, I haven’t seen it and I’m sorry for not being able to respond to you. You can always reach me here or you can follow me on Twitter @ThayerKing.

So, that’s what I’ve been up to of late. Stay well everyone!