Jade C. Jamison's Blog, page 36

A Little Bit about Vagabonds

So…I’m 10,000 words into Vagabonds–and I know the entire plot, including a huge secret I’m not gonna tell you just yet–but I can’t come up with the blurb.  That’s okay.  I have plenty of time.  I’m not publishing till this summer.  I was originally aiming for a June release, but that’s just not going to happen.  It’s too big and I just don’t have enough time to write this epic story by June.  Maybe July?  August for certain.

This story doesn’t have the feel of my bestselling Bullet, but it’s got a young woman at the helm too.  And, also like Bullet, we see her pre-fame.  This story, however, will see her before, during, and after making it.  It will be gritty.  It will be like a rollercoaster.  It will be a hell of a ride.

I think the reason why I’m struggling with the description is because it is so big.  But stay tuned.  I’ll have one for you soon enough!

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My Worst-Selling Book

Okay, so Worst Mother isn’t my worst-selling book, but it’s close.  I know a number of reasons why, but I think the biggest reason why readers don’t read this book is actually a combination of two things:  the cover and the title.  I’ve considered changing both for that very reason, but I haven’t yet and I may not ever.  I don’t know that, at this stage of the game, it would help anyway.

I can tell you this much–my hardcore readers who have given this book a chance have loved it and wondered why they avoided it for so long.  It’s one of my biggest books (only overshadowed by Bullet, Fully Automatic, and Savage) and it’s a big story.  Basically, it asks the question what would you do if something bad happened to your child?  Randi Miller isn’t a bad mother, but she thinks she is.  She’s a single mom trying to make ends meet and trying to make a better life for herself and her kids.  I wanted to show the struggle single moms face, even when they’re trying to do everything right.

To celebrate Mother’s Day, I’m offering Worst Mother on sale for today, Saturday, and Sunday on all sites for 99 cents.  If this is one you’ve avoided because I’ve managed to scare you off with the title or the cover, maybe you’ll want to pick it up now.  Mary Lou, Page Princess, the book reviewer (who is now also one of my beta readers) had this to say about the book:

The truth is, i almost didn’t read it. Even though I am probably Jade’s biggest fan (no Kathy Bates jokes, please), I was intimidated. This was truly a case of judging a book by its cover. I have known enough trailer trash in my life, that i just didn’t see the merit in reading something about them……. There is no trailer trash in this story! …

After finishing this story, – which I read in one day because I absolutely could NOT put it down – I had a nice little cry, and then I read the prologue. As I contemplated it, I realized that “happily ever after” doesn’t mean you have had a fairy tale life, it just means you learned to smile again after the tears…and isn’t that what we all want?

I hope you’ll give the book a try.  I’d love to know what you think!

Blurb

Can she discover her daughter’s secret before it destroys their family?

When Randi Miller discovers that her daughter Sarah’s preteen behavior is more than typical hormonal angst, she struggles to get Sarah the help she needs while she watches the rest of her life fall apart around her. Randi has made some mistakes in her life, mistakes that she feels continue to haunt her. In trying to pick up the pieces, though, she feels that she has neglected her children; she works full-time, attends college, and maintains a casual friends-with-benefits relationship with a man she is hesitant to admit she loves, and in doing so, feels that she has missed the obvious signs that something bad has happened to her daughter.

Excerpt

As she came back in the kitchen glaring, Justin said, “Chill out, okay. I don’t need any shit from you.”

“It’s only fair, friend.”

He grabbed her around the waist. “I wasn’t kidding, you know.”

Randi managed to maintain eye contact and licked her lips. “It’s not going to happen.” And she meant it.

He continued to look straight in her eyes. He cocked an eyebrow. “You know I usually get what I want.”

“Not tonight. You need to go home.” She didn’t have the strength to push him away and wasn’t even going to try. Instead, she turned her head away. He started kissing her neck. Damn it—he always knew what to do. But she was still angry. She was not going to let him make love to her tonight. “Knock it off, Justin.” She brought her arms up to his chest and pushed against him half-heartedly. But he continued to kiss her neck. “I said stop it.”

“I know what you need. And no matter how pissed off I made you,” he said, his left hand moving to the front of her jeans; she hadn’t even realized that her hands had stopped pushing against him and were now up at his shoulders—still not holding him but no longer pushing him away, “I know you need a good lay. The last time was with that guy.” She felt the zipper on her pants slide down. “I can’t even tell you the last time we were together. You know you can’t say no to me, Randi. You’ve never been able to tell me no…”

Buy Links

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1qtpo0N

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/RDAd0M

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1jvFiTL

iTunes: http://bit.ly/1rOMw4y

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1wqyi0a

 

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Nina and the Zombies: How I Met Author Claire C. Riley

Let me tell you how I met Claire C. Riley. It was March of this year, and I had just sent out Savage ARCs. It had taken me so long to write, I was sending out beta copies at the same time I was sending out reviewer copies. I don’t ordinarily do that, but I felt so strongly about the story that I was sure anything my beta readers found would be minor and not enough to detract from the story as far as reviewers went. Well, lo and behold, one of my beta readers (a woman who is a voracious reader and a hell of a beta reader) messaged me shortly after she started (mind you, the folks running my blog tour had literally just sent out ARCs!) and told me to put on the brakes, that there was another zombie story out there with a main character whose name was Nina. Needless to say, it was too late to make the change. Not impossible, mind you, but I knew changing the character’s name at this stage of the game would A) possibly be confusing for readers reading a review about a character named Nina who was no longer named Nina; and/or B) look completely unprofessional for the promo company to email all the bloggers who had just received (and were possibly already reading) the first ARC. It was a hell of a dilemma. I didn’t know Claire at the time, but I have had similar things happen to me (where, as an author, you scratch your head and figure someone ripped you off). Thing is…it does happen, and most times I believe similarities are coincidental. That said, after much debating and gnashing of the teeth and discussing the situation with trusted advisors, I decided to keep the book as is…but I also posted a public disclaimer, in the event that Ms. Riley or her readers came across the book and thought I ripped off her idea.

Well, it turns out that one of her readers did read my blog post and pointed Claire in my direction…and Claire was amazingly cool and classy about it. It’s almost as if we were supposed to meet each other! Anyway, since then, I have purchased the first book of her Dead Saga (Odium) and have begun reading it. And I can already tell you it’s a hell of a story that I’m thoroughly enjoying! They are both books with a main character named Nina (a bad ass in both stories, by the way) surrounded by zombies…but I believe the similarities end there. My story is not a traditional zombie story, whereas Claire’s is. You’ve already read about Savage; read on to learn more about Odium and the Dead Saga!

Odium Synopsis

It’s better to die by the gun than die by the dead.

Nina’s life was irrevocably changed when humanity’s dead began to rise.

Now, she lives behind the walls.

The barricaded cities, erected by the government to protect the remnants of civilization, have become a brutal dictatorship- causing the inhabitants within to starve, steal and claw for survival. Life behind the walls has become as terrifying as roaming the zombie-ridden landscape beyond.

Citizens trade what they can to gain food, water, and shelter. Nina has only one currency—her body and she is tired of submitting herself to the greedy hands of the self-proclaimed leaders.

An opportunity to escape presents itself in the fate of a young girl named Emily-Rose. For the price of a stale piece of bread, she is set for banishment from the city, and most likely a horrific death at the hands of the deaders. Nina tells herself that it is sympathy and not self-preservation that makes her follow the young girl out of the walled metropolis, and into the overgrown world beyond.

Unused to fighting the deaders, Nina tries to scrounge for her survival and against her better judgment, begins to care for Emily-Rose. However, when you have a bread-stealing liability providing your only back up, survival seems even tougher. Nina is forced to fight for their lives, and with every zombie slain, she becomes fiercer, faster – a grim reaper with her not-so-sharp butcher’s knife.

Along the path to a safe-haven that might not exist, Nina and Emily-Rose meet Mikey who introduces them to a new life they could not imagine, a life above the ground. However, this new world brings new dangers, and darker shadows than she knew.

Nina finds out that the deaders aren’t the only thing to fear beyond the wall.

And that fear will not be ignored, or Forgotten.

Odium Excerpt

“Let’s go.” JD moves off round the corner, and we follow him as one and without argument.

There are stains smeared along the walls, handprints and the words help us written in dried blood. I shudder and look at Duncan. He lowers his gaze away from me and away from the words, knowing only too well that he caused this. He could have saved some of these people if he wouldn’t have been such a coward. Instead he locked them all inside and sentenced them to death.

There are the remains of a body or two on the floor, but not enough of either of them remain to be reanimated, and so JD kicks the bloody bones to the side and out of our way. We can hear more growling coming from behind a closed door; we seemed to have riled them all up, by the sounds of it.

“That’s the medic’s room,” Duncan whispers.

I want to shout out no shit, Sherlock! since there’s a big red cross on the door, but JD turns the handle before I can get my words out. I swallow them down and ready myself as the door opens inwards and reveals to us the five zombies within.

They head straight for us with long, hungry growls, as if mamma didn’t give them their last meal before bedtime. Sludge hangs from their jaws and a cold blankness fills their eyes. Their lips peel back to reveal blackened and broken teeth and they push and shove to get past each other and to their meal. Us. I shiver and swallow down the stomach acid that has worked its way up my esophagus and into my mouth.

“I got this.” Crunch steps forward, and with her two knives, she decapitates the first two zombies with relative ease (if there can be such a thing when killing the living dead). JD follows her in, and when a zombie lunges for him, he deals with it with a quick swoop of his scythe down its middle. From skull to stomach it splits, and everything left inside tumbles into a pile on the floor along with its body.

Crunch laughs as she circles another, kicking it away with her foot until it falls on its back. She stands above it, placing a foot on its chest, and drives her blade through its face slowly and with a maniacal glee that sends shivers down my spine. There is something like contentment in her expression as she pulls the blade back out, gunk spewing out of the hole left by her knife.

The last deader has reached the doorway, and Duncan takes aim with his gun.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers as he pulls the trigger and the zombie hits the floor.

A Little More about Claire!

Claire C. Riley is a bestselling British horror writer whose work is best described as the modernization of classic, old-school horror. She fuses multi-genre elements to develop storylines that pay homage to cult classics while still feeling fresh and cutting edge. She writes characters that are realistic, and kills them without mercy. Claire lives in the United Kingdom with her husband, three daughters, and one scruffy dog.

www.clairecriley.com

www.facebook.com/ClaireCRileyAuthor

Oh, and if you’re wanting to pick up Claire’s books, you can buy them here:  Claire C. Riley’s Amazon Page

 

 

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Blast from the Past: Then Kiss Me

In a nutshell: Casey Williams has left a loveless marriage and is trying to rebuild her life. She finds that, even though you can never go home again, you can find lust again, and she finds a love interest in Scott, her coworker. She also discovers his secret, that he’s a drummer for a heavy metal band, and falls hard for him…just in time to find that, between his questionable friends and psychotic maybe-ex-girlfriend, he might not be the right guy for her. But her heart beats like a drum for him, and she finds herself willing to play with fire to get closer.

Trivia: I published this book in 2012 after giving it an extensive rewrite, but it’s actually the first book I wrote completely to the end from start to finish. That’s when I knew I was really a writer!

Cool facts: The model on the cover of the book is someone very close to me, but for many reasons, she wants her anonymity protected.

How Megan resembles Jade: Restaurant work? Been there, done that. If my familiarity with fryers seems a little personal, that’s because it is.

Characters:

Casey Williams: A twenty-something artist fresh out of a divorce forced to move home with her parents and hating every minute of it.

Scott Wardell: A coworker and a drummer in a local heavy metal band, Casey finds this hot guy irresistible.

David: One of Casey’s coworkers, David becomes her new best friend…but he’s also playing matchmaker, and Casey’s not sure how to take that.

Jim: A real sleazeball who gives Casey the creeps…and maybe with good reason.

Wendy: Scott’s maybe-ex-girlfriend, a woman who seems intent on nabbing Scott for herself or–short of that–convincing Casey that Scott with his questionable past should be avoided at all costs.

Teaser:

I made my way through a couple of groups of people, saying an obligatory hi here and there. I spotted Jim and Scott on the couch. Scott looked…delicious. He was wearing a white shirt with a skull design on it. His short hair was mussy in a sexy way and he looked like he was feeling extra devilish tonight. There was a sparkle in his eye that I could spot across the room.

The guys on the couch were watching a video on the television and didn’t notice me at first. Jim said hi and nodded his head my way as his elbow met with Scott’s ribs. Scott looked up and beamed. He stood up. “I didn’t know if you were coming.”

I teased, acting like I was offended. “I promised, didn’t I?” The two of them made room for me on the couch.

Scott held up a bottle. “We’re drinking schnapps. You game?”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’ll take a shot.” I promised myself that I would take one shot.

These two had never seen me drink before. At one time, I’d been able to hold a lot of liquor, but anymore, it seemed, I couldn’t hold much at all. I’d have to be careful. I picked up the shot and downed it in one gulp, then chased it with a swallow of beer. The warm liquid flowed down into my chest, spreading, tingling. I almost instantly relaxed.

Jim started pouring us each another shot of schnapps, and Cassie came and sat next to him. I waved at her. It was too loud to talk with the music and the crowd. Scott held the shot glass up to my face. I drank it, already breaking my promise to myself. I said something he didn’t hear, so I cupped my hands to his ear and said, “Are you trying to take advantage of me?” Oh…that had been a bad idea. I was too close, and I could smell his musky cologne…and him. Jesus…what a heady mix. I felt a quiver run through my body. I was going crazy. I wanted to touch him. But I had to reign it in.

He turned his head, and the look on his face was one of mild amusement. “You decide,” he said and held up the bottle again.

“In a little while,” I yelled to be heard over the music, but he poured it anyway.

I started to grow too relaxed and feared that if I didn’t get up and move around, I’d pass out after the long day I’d had. I used my empty beer cup as an excuse to get up.

I walked back to the kitchen. A few people had already left, so it was getting a little easier to move through the place. It was still packed, though. When I got to the kitchen, I saw David there, but he was standing on the other side talking to a small group of people. I’d fill up my cup myself then. I bent over to fill it up and it hit me. I was already getting drunk. I was pretty damned buzzed already. So I decided not to fill my cup. I stood up to get my bearings and instead walked to the sink to rinse out my glass and then pour myself some water. I figured out then and there that I couldn’t hold my liquor like I used to…as if the last party hadn’t taught me that lesson.

No matter, I thought. I was having fun. I stopped by the restroom to check myself. Nothing seemed quite real, but my makeup and hair still looked good. If I slowed down (or completely stopped) my drinking at this point, I should be fine.

I stumbled a little bit but was feeling all right. When I got back to the living room, I saw Wendy sitting between Jim and Scott. I stood there for a second and was getting ready to move forward when I felt someone’s hand on my shoulder. I turned around. It was Lee. “Casey, right?”

I smiled. “Right. Hi, Lee.”

“Did you hear our CD earlier?”

I cocked my head. “No…what CD?”

“We’ve put together a CD and so we were playing it for everyone. How long have you been here?”

“Half an hour maybe.”

“Oh…you missed it. Maybe we can play it again later.”

“That’d be great.”

I heard Scott’s voice. “Casey!” I looked over, and he was motioning for me to sit where he’d been next to Wendy. I looked over at Lee. “Hey…see you later, okay?”

He grinned, white teeth gleaming. “Sounds good. Nice to see you again, Casey.”

“You too.”

When I walked over to Scott, I asked, “You sure you want me to take your seat?” He nodded. “So I missed your CD, is that right?”

He smiled. “Yeah. I’ll give you a copy and then you can listen to it whenever you feel like it.” I smiled back. That would be f*cking awesome.

As I sat, I gave the expected hi to Wendy. She gave me a look I couldn’t quite figure, but I supposed she wasn’t very happy with me. Scott sat next to me on the arm of the couch. He asked, “You ready for another one?”

“No way. I need a minute or two.” He didn’t seem affected by the alcohol at all. Before I knew it, his hands were on my shoulders, squeezing them.

“You’re tense, woman.”

“Maybe so, but I don’t feel tense.” Maybe I was nervous. No, it was probably sexual tension.

He kept massaging my shoulders, and it felt like my bones were melting out of my body. His hands felt so strong on me and yet so gentle. “Wow–that feels incredible.” I let my head lull forward, relaxed. But I was aching for him. I wanted him to touch me all over, but I was going to enjoy the moment.

Wendy said, “Excuse me,” and got up, heading to the kitchen. Yep…just as I’d thought. She’d just been trying to scare me off so she could have Scott all to herself. I wasn’t that easy to scare, though. Now that she’d vacated my old spot, I moved over, and Scott slid off the arm of the couch next to me. I noticed that one of his arms was still on my shoulder, so I leaned into him a little.

Jim was playing a prank on someone across the room, laughing loudly enough that we could hear him over Slayer, the music that was blasting through their place. Scott said in my ear, “Come with me. I want to show you something.” I looked at him, curious. He grinned. “My new stereo. You like music, so I figured you’d appreciate it. It’s up in my room.” I chugged the rest of the water in my cup and then he grabbed my hand to lead me through the crowd. We headed up the stairs. I slipped on a step and then starting giggling uncontrollably. “C’mon, you nut.” I kept laughing but managed not to trip again.

We entered his room. I immediately noticed how much quieter it was once he shut the door. Sure, I could hear the music from the living room, but we’d actually be able to talk without yelling in here. His stereo, on the opposite side of the room, was decent size, but the f*cking speakers took up half of one wall. They were pretty impressive. I was drawn to it. “Looks great,” I said. My eyes took silent mental stock of his room. There was a bed (a double—thank God), a chair, a desk, some books and trophies. Tons of CDs. A small drum kit in the corner, but not the one he’d been playing at the party where I’d first seen him in action. All in all, it was pretty tidy for a guy’s room.

Scott was showing me different buttons on the stereo. Boys and their toys. My eyes wandered to the rows of CDs below and next to it and started looking at all of them. He had a lot of CDs of bands I liked and some I only knew by name, but I spotted Lamb of God’s Wrath, a personal favorite, and pulled it out of its place on the shelf with my index finger.

I handed him the case. “Oh, so you like these guys?” I nodded. “Yeah, there’s definitely hope for you, Casey Williams.” I giggled.

He put the CD in the stereo and turned it up–not too loud, but loud enough to drown out the noise below. The delayed guitar riff to “The Passing” started playing, sounding crisp and clear from those gigantic speakers. Scott leaned over and pressed the forward button so it skipped ahead to the next track, “In Your Words,” a heavier song that would better show off the capabilities of the stereo. I could feel the demanding music in my abdomen, in my heart. It was a visceral feeling that grabbed me deep inside and incited the beast within. “Sounds fantastic,” I said, closing my eyes to concentrate on the music.

I felt his hands slide around my waist from behind, and my abdomen, my thighs, my neck tensed in response. Oh, sh*t…I eased out a deep breath. He whispered in my ear, “You like it?”

Like what? The stereo or his hands on my body?

A shiver charged up my spine as my nipples hardened. I swallowed and forced my voice to stay calm. “Yeah. Great stereo.” My voice was coming from my throat–hoarse and gravelly. I got my composure and turned around, his arms still wrapped around my waist. He backed up a little to give me room, but we were close. God…the heat coming off him. I tried not to shudder. I was feeling playful, though, and I asked, “Are you coming on to me?”

He smiled back but kept his distance. “Maybe.” Then, “Why?”

“Because if you aren’t, I’m going to turn back around and listen to this CD. But if you are, I’m going to kiss you.” Holy s*it. Had I actually said that? My heart started beating more rapidly.

He stood there for a second, the smile on his face fading into something else. I saw his pupils grow darker as I sucked in a deep breath. “Then kiss me,” he said.

The post Blast from the Past: Then Kiss Me appeared first on Jade C. Jamison.

Blast from the Past: MADversary

In a nutshell: They make sweet music together, but can it last?

Megan Walker doesn’t plan to attend her high school reunion, but her best friend Lisa begs her to come along. Megan doesn’t want to risk running into her old boyfriend Tyler Green, a man who has since become rich and famous as the frontman of a heavy metal band called Madversary. Lisa convinces her that Tyler would never show up for something like a reunion, so Megan gives in, only to regret it. Because when Tyler does show up, the spark reignites, and she doesn’t know that she can bear letting him go again.

Trivia: The new cover of the book pictures the same model featured on the cover of Got the Life.

Cool facts: If you’re not familiar with the Colorado Springs area, you might not have known that The Black Sheep is a popular music venue in real life!

How Megan resembles Jade: My very first job was working in a library. Loved it!

Characters:

Megan Walker: A twenty-something assistant librarian, Megan does not want to attend her ten-year high school reunion. She tells her best friend Lisa, “I’ve stayed in touch with the people I’ve wanted to,” which amounts to Lisa and only Lisa. Megan is fed up with dating, but she definitely doesn’t want to chance running into her ex-boyfriend Tyler Green at the reunion.

Tyler Green: Frontman and guitarist for the heavy metal band Madversary. He and Megan had an amicable break up, and he’s looking forward to reconnecting with his old friend.

Lisa French: Megan’s BFF, Lisa is a little insecure and a lot obsessed with her weight. Lisa desperately wants to attend their high school reunion for lots of reasons, but she doesn’t want to go on her own. She wants the support of her best friend.

Tamara Dickens: If anyone could be considered Megan’s enemy, it would be Tamara. She’d dated Tyler back in high school before Megan had. She’d caused problems then and isn’t content sitting back now either.

Randy Butler: Once a basketball player during their high school days, Randy discovers he had hidden feelings for Lisa, and those feelings might be mutual.

Teaser:

Megan kept looking around. “Do you remember Lisa French?”

Tyler said, “Your best friend, right? How could I forget?”

“Well, she doesn’t look much different today. You’d recognize her. Have you seen her tonight?”

“No. Is she here?”

“Yeah. She’s my ride, but I haven’t seen her since we got here.” She stretched her back and then her neck, rolling it around. “Guess I’ll have to call a cab.”

Tyler slid his hand across the table and covered Megan’s hand with his. Oh, sh*t. She’d managed to keep most strong feelings for Tyler at bay all night and had, in fact, enjoyed how sweet he was. She’d started feeling that friends only was just fine, but feeling the heat radiating from his hand…

She looked up from his hand to his eyes. She thought he was feeling the same way now too, that there was a chemistry between them they’d forgotten about, and all it took was one touch. She looked in his eyes and forgot about him as an old high school boyfriend or even as a friend. She felt her pulse quicken and she was surprised he couldn’t feel it through her wrist. Her beating heart felt loud in her ears. She parted her lips to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. He asked, “Do you want me to call one for you?”

Or not. Yep, she was now in the friend zone. F*ck it. “No, thanks. I got it.” She stood and felt the effects of the alcohol. “It was nice seeing you again, Tyler.” She did a small wave and turned around.

Wobbly legs or not, Megan took a deep breath and forced her eyes open wide. She walked toward the doorway that would lead to a hallway. She only hoped she could find her way to the front entrance. It didn’t matter, though. She just had to get out of there…and fast.

“Hey,” she heard Tyler’s voice behind her as she felt his hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, you just got up all of a sudden. Why are you in a hurry now? Will your cab turn into a pumpkin or something?”

She forced a smile. She didn’t realize her emotions had been that close to the surface. She didn’t want to be that obvious. “No. I just need to get home. Feeling tired. It’s been a long day.”

“Well, let me at least walk you outside.”

No need to be a bitch. She said, “You can catch a ride with me to your hotel if you want.” She used her phone to find the number of the cab company in town.

“I’m staying here, so no need. But thanks.”

She nodded as they got close to the revolving door. She dialed the number and told the woman on the line where she was and said she needed a ride. The woman said, “We’ll have someone there in about fifteen minutes.”

Megan hung up the phone and walked farther out toward the pavement where someone stood at a podium. “Do you need your car?”

She smiled. “Nope. Just waiting on a cab.”

She saw the attendant staring at Tyler as he walked up behind her. She could tell the attendant recognized him. She looked over to Tyler and said, “Look, you don’t need to wait with me. I’m okay.”

“I want to, Meg. I don’t know the next time we’ll get to hang together, and I’d kinda like to maximize our time alone. The next two days…we’ll probably be bombarded with people. Tonight, though, everyone had certain people they were looking for and we weren’t on their radar.” He. He meant he wasn’t on their radar. Megan didn’t know that there would be lots of people searching for her.

She looked at the ground and kept walking. She didn’t want to be close to the attendant, have him scrutinizing their every move. She saw a park bench a few feet away and started walking toward it. She didn’t know what to say to Tyler. She only knew that he harbored no feelings for her, while she still had hidden feelings she’d forgotten about. She just wanted to go home and be alone. She might cry in her pillow or lie awake for hours, but that didn’t matter. She just needed to be by herself, whether she cried or not. Finally, reaching the bench, she said, “Suit yourself. I’m afraid I won’t be much company, though.”

She caught his eyes and his were searching hers, looking for something. She felt her lips part slightly as though she wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out. There was a dull, throbbing ache in her core, and she felt like she’d starve the rest of her life without tasting him again. She took a deep breath of the cool night air and closed her eyes. It would be okay. Tyler Green would leave and her life would go back to normal.

But when she opened her eyes, Tyler’s nose was close to touching hers. He was leaning over, his body close, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her at the back. “That’s too bad,” he said, “because I was hoping to spend a little more time with you.”

All air escaped her lungs as Tyler’s lips met hers, enveloping them in a kiss. He was warm and electric, and she felt adrenaline rush through her veins, making her fingertips go numb and causing her to wake right back up. This was not the kiss she remembered, though. It was slow and sensual and, like the music he wrote today, more mature. His tongue explored her mouth, and she felt her nipples grow rock hard in response. But if she’d read Tyler right earlier, a kiss would be all she’d get.

So she planned to enjoy kissing him until her cab got there. Her hands finally responded to her brain’s demands and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her body right up to his, and Megan realized the Tyler Green of today was not the boy she’d dated back in high school. There was nothing sweet about his kiss; it was ravenous and greedy.

She was nearly breathless when the cab arrived and she didn’t know how she managed to become aware that it was there. She couldn’t bring herself to pull her body away from his, but she had to.

Tyler unlatched his lips from hers and whispered in her ear, “Should we tell the cab to beat it?”

That was all she needed to hear and it didn’t matter if she was just going to be the friend Tyler loved and left. She needed him and she wanted him now.

Stats: MADversary is my second-bestselling book and has climbed both the Amazon and Amazon UK charts with moderate success. It got as high as #373 paid in Kindle on Amazon and #303 on Amazon UK. It also topped out at #26 Books > Literature & Fiction > Women’s Fiction > Contemporary Women; #88 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Contemporary Fiction and #67 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Romance > Contemporary. On Amazon UK, it also ranked as high as #16 under Women Writers and Fiction!

*Please bear in mind I wrote these stats pre-Bullet.  Bullet‘s numbers put MADversary‘s to shame.

 

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Blast from the Past: Rock and Roll Romance

Jade makes no bones about the fact that she is a huge hard rock/heavy metal fan. Has been since she was a teenager and always will be, even when she’s in her eighties. And she makes no apologies for it.

I’d never read (until recently, of course) a book that talked about the bands I loved, and most of the heroines I’d read about loved pop music. Not my bag. It’s not that I couldn’t relate to their feelings, but they weren’t coming from the same place in the world I was. And it’s not just the music–it’s the attitude. I really can’t relate to a character who lives in Manhattan and vacations in the Hamptons. I’m a middle class girl from Colorado, a girl who never had a doorman or chauffeur. I had to take out the trash and do the dishes as a kid, and I had to help my dad work on my car when it decided to stop going. I realize that, for many female readers, the fantasy of being that rich girl living in Manhattan is fun, but it never worked for me. I’ve never been spoiled, and it’s hard for me to relate to that girl. So I write what I want to read–down-to-earth women facing real problems, living away from the big city, and finding a way to survive, not just in love but also in life.

That’s part of where heavy metal fits in. Instead of spending her hard-earned cash on upscale clothing while attending college, Jade spent her dough on music. Music has been a big part of her life, so big that she couldn’t write without it.

She’s written a couple of non-Tangled Web rock-and-roll books, with more on the way. So far, there are no other series planned, but who knows? She doesn’t ever plan to stop writing, so stay tuned!

Rock and Roll Romance books:

MADversary, February 2012

Then Kiss Me, August 2012

Trivia:  Bullet used to be on this list!

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Special Limited Edition of BULLET

I had already published about fifteen books when I was compelled to write Bullet. Little did I know at the time that it would capture the imagination of my readers like no other book I had written either before or since.  I still receive email, messages, and comments on various social media posts that tell me this book continues to be well loved by those readers whom it enchanted.

Since then, a lot of readers have gobbled up the other books I’ve written in the series, although there is one more coming (that would be Zane’s book, already plotted in my head, though I haven’t written a word about it yet).  If you’ve missed any, these are the books in the series thus far:

#1 Bullet

#2 Rock Bottom (a story about Ethan)

#3 Feverish (a story about Clay)

#4 Fully Automatic (Bullet retold from Brad’s point of view.  Some readers will tell you it is a simple retelling, but it is not!)

#4.5 Christmas Stalkings (a novella)

#5 Slash and Burn (a story about Nick…and one that apparently made several readers uncomfortable, due to the nature of the relationships in the book)

But I digress.  I started out this post with one thought in mind–to let you know of an idea I’d had to commemorate Bullet.  I am considering releasing a one-time-only special edition of Bullet.  This already huge book would come with a whole lot more in this special edition.  It would, first, be available only in paperback and every copy would be signed.  It would have a whole lot of extras–short stories and alternate point of view scenes.  It would also have an extra chapter that would only be available in this edition.  After all, if I’m going to make it special, I want it to be worth your precious pennies.  But I also understand that, no matter how readers feel about the book, many wouldn’t want to buy a special edition anyway.

So here’s how you can help me. As much as I love this idea, I want to determine if it’s worth the time or effort or cost involved to create a special edition.  If you wouldn’t mind giving me another thirty seconds of your time to help out, that would be great.  I’ve put together a small survey in Google forms to help me make that decision.  It only has three quick questions and just two of them require an answer.  I tried to make it painless for you but helpful to me.

Want your say in what I do next?  Here’s your chance.  Take less than a minute and complete this form.  Share with friends you know also loved the book if you’re so inclined…and then keep your eyes peeled. 

Google doc questionnaire:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1caQLx4XfAC4PsqW5lnVGhLXYB6Dkqj8_ocLqQe6Ne14/viewform?usp=send_form

Thank you for your help!!!

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Blast from the (Recent!) Past: Slash and Burn

I’m still converting old pages on my website to blog posts.  Thanks for bearing with me.  This week, we’ll be looking at everything Bullet!

Blurb:

Is theirs a match made in heaven…or hell?

 

Nick Channing, drummer for Fully Automatic, has never taken relationships seriously. He’s had fun and met dozens of women—mostly one-night stands—and he prefers it that way. From his parents to his friends, he’s witnessed love and relationships firsthand and believes women are nothing but a headache.

 

Nick, Brad, and Val team up again to launch her new band Val Hella. There’s one problem, though: they still need a bassist. They audition dozens of women, trying to find the perfect one, and settle on Sabrina, known onstage simply as Sinna, a bad ass metal head who’s perfect for the band: pierced, tattooed, dressed in black from head to toe, and she handles her bass with precision. She is a force to be reckoned with and Nick is smitten.

 

When Nick gets her alone the first time to lay on the charm, he’s met with a coolness he’s never experienced. Sabrina is mysterious and thoroughly unimpressed with Nick and his behavior, and that’s when he decides he has to have her. As he falls headlong for her, he discovers her secrets, one dark shadow at a time. He thinks she loves him back, but he can’t be sure. By the time he’s completely down the rabbit hole, his heart’s so entangled, he fears he might not be able to save himself. Can she save him or will she wreck him for all time?

Excerpt:

“What tricks you got, babycakes?”

Brina’s voice was low, almost derisive. “I don’t need tricks. My playing speaks for itself.”

He couldn’t let that one go. “Yeah, and how many personal fans do you have, Sinna?”

She sneered—actually sneered—and, for some strange reason, Nick felt a twitch in his cock at the sight. He stopped himself from bursting into laughter, because that would have made her angrier. While he didn’t mind her angry, he hoped to be able to enjoy a real conversation. She took two steps closer to him and said, “I don’t count how many personal fans I have, if I even have any. It’s not about me, Nick, any more than it’s about you.” Her voice wrapped around his name like honey, but it oozed disgust. He still wasn’t sure if he found it hot or not. She continued, not giving him a chance to evaluate his emotions. “It’s about us as a group, as a band, and until we gel, there will be division, and if we’re not cohesive, what the hell kind of music are we gonna make?”

“I see your point, but I have a counterpoint. If you are all about the band and don’t give a shit about yourself, then where’s your pride? Your personal responsibility?” He stood up. He’d been joking before, but now he was dead serious. Some small part of himself felt like she might be questioning his integrity, and that pissed him off. “When you fuck up onstage—and you will—will you blame all of us? We’re a band, after all.” He couldn’t help the tone in his voice. There would be no way for her to mistake how irritated he was becoming. It had been cute before, but now she was pushing some button that set him off. He wasn’t sure if he was angrier with her for pissing him off or himself for getting mad at her in the first place.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, Nick. You know that’s not what I meant.” She got closer to him.

He closed the gap, so close that their noses almost touched. “How the fuck should I know that?” His eyes searched hers, trying to decide if she was wanting to start a war. But then, as he continued looking back and forth between those blue orbs, he saw them soften ever so slightly. He let his jaw relax a little then, but he still couldn’t quite read her.

Her words, however, were still acerbic. “Because you’re a smart fucking guy.” She cocked an eyebrow again. He couldn’t decide if he fucking loved the way she did that or if it was just another irritant. “Or so I thought.”

Nick tried once more to assess her and fell short. He could feel some kind of weird electricity sparking between them. At first, he’d thought it was the anger, but then he realized that maybe there was something more. He moved his head a few centimeters closer and she didn’t budge. His voice was barely a whisper when he said, “I am a smart fucking guy. I’m so goddamned smart that I figured out what this is all about.”

She furrowed her previously cocked brow, but he barely saw it as he brought his mouth down on hers. He knew that had to be the issue at hand—the sexual attraction between them both was interfering with their ability to communicate. It was making them angry, accusatory, and they weren’t acting like bandmates or even acquaintances. They were spitting at each other like they were mortal enemies. That might have been okay, but Nick definitely had other ideas about which way their relationship was heading.

He heard her mumble, “What the—?” Then he expected her to fight, based on her initial stance, but she let go and gave in, kissing him back.

It was an incredible explosion in his head, the sparks he felt because of the way their tongues danced together and the warmth of her body close to his. Feeling more in control then, he slid his hands around her waist and pulled her close…

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Blast from the Past: Christmas Stalkings

I’m still converting old pages on my website to blog posts.  Thanks for bearing with me.  This week, we’ll be looking at everything Bullet!  Today, a novella, Bullet 4.5, Christmas Stalkings.

Blurb:

Val, Brad, and the kids decide to take a short but needed winter vacation to get away from it all and enjoy each other’s company, but one thing is stopping them from relaxing like they should. Since fronting her new band Val Hella, Val has discovered the darker side of fame—she has a stalker, one who seems intent upon stepping up his game to get what he wants, and the ruin of their vacation becomes the least of their worries.

Excerpt:

“What’s going on, Val? You’re as white as a ghost.”

I blinked several times, almost unable to speak. Finally, I sucked down a deep breath as Brad rushed to my side and I pointed at the newspaper. “He’s here.”

He looked confused at first, but then he looked at the bottom half of the paper, after the fold. Written in blue ballpoint ink were the words I AM HERE FOR YOU. Always.

It looked like the same stilted writing from the note I’d gotten before, like someone who was actually right-handed was trying to write with his left, and it was the same creepy message—nothing actually threatening but bone-chilling as hell.

Suddenly, my brain felt like it was going to collapse in on itself. I’d been feeling stressed and edgy the last few weeks at home, and the past twenty-four hours had been heaven—soothing, no adrenaline pulsing through my veins like I needed it to live, utter calmness. But in just a few seconds, reading those six words made my blood pressure increase and my body go into hyper-vigilant mode again. Where exactly was this fucker and why wouldn’t he leave me alone? Why the hell had he followed us here?

That told me my stalker was a lot more serious than I’d initially thought. It was much worse and lots scarier now.

Brad went into protective mode. “Hold the baby,” he said, handing Hayley to me and double timing it to the door. He was wearing nothing but the pair of pajama bottoms and had no weapon. He was in a guard mindset, moving on instinct and base emotion. He should have at least grabbed a knife out of the drawer before bolting out the door, but I hadn’t been thinking either. Once he made it there, he unlocked it and threw it open, so if nothing else, he had the element of surprise.

I might have been holding Hayley, but it didn’t stop me from following Brad. By the time I got there, he was walking quickly down the hall toward the area where there were no rooms. Instead, the space overlooked a large open area around a spot where there were meeting and conference rooms, no doubt for corporate guests who couldn’t resist turning their vacation into a tax deduction. He held onto the railing while peering over, trying to see into the hallway below and then he continued walking down the hall to the glass door at the end. I called to him. “Brad.” He was a man on a mission, though, storming through the door…

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Blast from the Past: Fully Automatic

I’m still converting old pages on my website to blog posts.  Thanks for bearing with me.  This week, we’ll be looking at everything Bullet!  Today, Bullet #4, Fully Automatic, where you finally get to see things from Brad’s point of view!

Blurb:

You might think you know rock star Brad Payne’s story, but think again. There’s so much more to his story than what Valerie knew. See Brad before Valerie came into his life and, when he was playing back burner to Ethan, see what Brad was up to when no one else in the band was looking.

Valerie might have thought she and Brad were inevitable and maybe, in the back of his mind, Brad might have felt that way too, but he didn’t just sit around waiting for her. See the secret side of Brad that you had no idea existed. What kept the driving force behind Fully Automatic focused even while his heart was breaking?

Excerpt:

When Brad caught Nick outside the apartment after work, he asked him to take a walk. He was still wearing his work coveralls, but he needed to feel everyone out. “How you feeling?”

“What do you mean?”

“The past few weeks have been pretty emotional. You holding up okay, man?”

“Yeah.” Nick shrugged. He was quiet for a little bit but then said, “Things have been a little weird, though.”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I was thinking about calling a meeting.”

“You think that would help?”

Brad took a deep breath. “Honestly? I have no fucking idea. But…I hate the idea of waiting for the next time, you know? I’d like a promise from Ethan that we’re done with this phase of our lives.”

“You don’t really think he’d make a promise like that, do you?”

“No. Wishful thinking.”

They walked in silence for a minute and then Nick said, “You know what’s going on with Val and Ethan, right?”

A ringing started in his ears, and he felt dread as a shiver tickled his spine. He knew he wasn’t going to like what Nick had to say, but he needed to know. “What?”

Nick stopped walking and Brad turned to face him. “I’m only telling you this because it’s only fair to you. I’m not sure what all is or was going on between you and Val, but I don’t want—anyway, uh…Ethan proposed to Val.”

It felt like the air had been knocked out of his lungs. When he got his bearings, he sucked in a deep breath of air. Had he heard Nick right? “What?”

“Ethan asked Val to marry him. I, uh…don’t know if it’s totally official yet, but…”

Brad couldn’t hear him after that, and it felt as though the world turned black. He already knew. If Ethan proposed, he knew Val accepted. He felt numb.

Somehow he had the presence of mind to say, “Don’t say anything about me and Val to Ethan. That shit’s over.”

“Yeah. No way. It’s not like she was cheating on him.”

Brad felt like he was going to throw up. He grew quiet, walking back to the apartment with Nick, but his mind was trying to find a way to deal with the worst news it had ever received…

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