Raine Miller's Blog, page 7

Exclusive with Mr. Blackstone

Here is the link to the first exclusive conversation with the  he-can’t-possibly-be-real Ethan Blackstone.  Becca the Bibliophile was lucky enough to snag an interview with him and posted it on her blog.  *lucky girl* Click right here: Exclusive Interview with Ethan Blackstone.

I hope you enjoyed that.  *snickers*  Brynne sure has her hands full with him.  *very lucky girl*

~Raine

Tagged: Becca the Bibliophile, Blackstone Affair 3, Ethan Blackstone Interview, Eyes Wide Open

Blackstone Book 3

I keep getting messages from fans asking about the release of Eyes Wide Open, part 3 of Blackstone Affair, and it occurred to me that there may be incorrect information out there.   Remember that the Blackstone Affair series was sold to Atria/Simon & Schuster earlier this month.  The switch from indie to traditional publishing means that the publisher retains control over release dates and pricing.  Atria has set Spring 2013 for the release of Part 3, and since they are a mainstream publisher, the book will be available for pre-order this time.  I hope to post the beginning chapter of Eyes Wide Open when we do the cover reveal.  I don’t know the exact date right now, but when I do, I will certainly tell everyone!

In the meantime, enjoy this lovely picture of my vision of Ethan and Brynne as we left them at the end of All In.  He has her safe in his hands and she’s holding on to him.  I want you to imagine them just like this in your mind.  Do it.  *stern look with eyebrows*  It will help with the waiting…  Raine knows what she is talking about.

Tagged: Atria Books, Blackstone Affair Part 3, Blackstone Part 3 spring 2013, Eyes Wide Open release

Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays, my dears.  Here is a little Christmas story I wrote for you.  It takes place about five months before the events in Naked.  There’s a little surprise in there too.  *grins*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

London, 24 December, 2011

The street was remarkably sparse considering it was Christmas Eve.  Probably because it was so damn freezing cold outside people were smart enough to stay in.  I know it’s totally cliché to be shopping for a gift at this late minute, but here I was pushing my way through the doors of Harrod’s in hopes of something really perfect for my aunt Marie.  I better get my ass in gear too, because I would be spending the day with her tomorrow and had nothing to show up with.

Marie was hard to buy for because she was so unique and unconventional it was ridiculously difficult to top her lifestyle.  She also had money enough to get anything she desired.  She reminded me of Auntie Mame from the movie in a lot of ways.  From the exotic travels, to the rich, dead husbands, to the fantastic dresses in her wardrobe.

After three quarters of an hour I gave up and headed outside.  I stopped for a mocha coffee in the food court first.  I needed the caffeine and the warmth.

I strolled and I sipped and looked into shop windows from the street for anything of interest.  The bite from the cold air was going to put some color in my cheeks I was sure.  Well, at least I had hot coffee and the Christmas carols piped out from somewhere sounded nice.  Very Christmas Carol-ish.  I’m sure Dickens would have approved to know that 250 years later, some of the same songs were still playing.  I loved history and it made me smile to think some traditions hadn’t changed hardly at all in those long years.  Change isn’t always a good thing.  It spoke to a stiff character to know that some things were strong enough to withstand the tests of time.  I wish I could be more like that.

Some days I wondered if I would last a long time.  Despite my determination to be on my own in London, I missed my parents.  The decorating, and the baking, and the parties…

Well, maybe not the parties.  Parties were not really my thing anymore.   And I seriously wondered if I’d ever step foot in San Francisco again.

Move on and change the subject–that one’s pretty tired.

I came up to a shop window that looked intriguing.  Like a flea market or secondhand shop.  The name on the door was etched, Tucked Away.  And it certainly was.  There were tons of these small shops in London and some of them were beautifully arranged.  This was one of them.  I stepped inside and heard a bell jingle from a catch on the top of the door.

“Happy Christmas,” a cheerful voice called out.

“Happy Christmas,” I returned, to the smiling face of an older gentleman, in Brit uniform of sweater vest and tweed jacket.

The shop smelled good.  Like cinnamon.  I would bake at Aunt Marie’s tomorrow and I looked forward to that.  I loved to cook, but it lost something when there was nobody to cook for.  I felt a sigh coming and suppressed it.

I gravitated toward a section of soft knits.  These were obviously consignment of some sort.  Not antiques.  Scarf and hat combos in so many colors.  I pulled out a dark purple set and fingered the scarf.  It felt like cashmere, it was that soft.  Probably lambs wool though.  I checked the price and raised a brow.   I wanted it.  Hell, I needed it on a day like today.  I looked at the price again and decided it was okay to splurge on myself.  It was Christmas after all.

Who in the hell are you kidding, foolish woman?  You still have nothing for Marie.

I think I was starting to panic a bit.  I sighed and kept looking.

I drifted around the shop, found nothing and decided it was time to leave.  I stepped up to the counter to pay for my hat and scarf and caught the display of costume jewelry under the glass.  Now we’re talkin’.  It was very pretty stuff for one thing—vintage Bohemian fit Marie’s personality like a leather glove.  Score!

One piece stood out clearly to me and it was perfect.  A dove pin.  Silver with seed pearls on the wing and tail, a black crystal eye and a tiny heart charm dangling from its beak with a blue crystal in the middle.  A dove symbolized peace and God knows the world could certainly use some of that.  The best part was that I could picture my aunt wearing this pin.  I knew she’d love it.

I paid in a rush, almost giddy to have struck gold in my labors of gift-buying-angst.  Checking my watch, I knew I needed to get going and saw it was a bit of a walk to my Tube station.

It was cold.

Frickin frigid.

Cold enough that I pulled on the new hat and wrapped the scarf around my neck right then and there on the street.  I checked my face real quick in the window of a parked car just to make sure there wasn’t something stupid looking in my appearance, not that I cared too much when it was so freezing.

I walked another couple blocks until I couldn’t stand the cold another second.  I pushed into the first place that had a door with a ‘We’re Open’ sign.  Fountaine’s Aquarium.  I was in a pet store.  Or more correctly, a tropical fish shop.  Worked for me.  It was warm and quite dim inside, the earthy smells of humidity from so much water made the air a pleasant change from where I’d just been.  I unwound my scarf and wandered around, stopping by each tank to observe and read the names of the fish.

The saltwater section reminded me of the trip to Maui when I was fourteen.  I’d gotten to snorkel and see some the same fish that were in these tanks.  I didn’t  know it at the time, but that vacation had been the last one for me with both of my parents together.  My mom and dad separated soon after, and there would never be another trip for all of us as a family unit.  Sad.   They had to fight to be civil to each other now.  Well, isn’t that the perfect oxymoron… ‘fight to be civil.’

I stopped at one particularly interesting fellow.  It was a lionfish.  They are something else up close.  All those spiky fins hardly look real.  This guy seemed curious and came right up to the edge and fluttered  at me as if he wanted to have a conversation.  He was cute.  I knew they were poisonous to touch, but still captivating to watch.  I bet that a saltwater aquarium was a great deal of work to maintain.

“Hey Handsome,” I whispered to the fish.

“Can I help you with anything?”  a young guy asked behind me.

“Just admiring.  He’s really a beautiful fish,” I told the store clerk.

“Yeah, he’s been sold actually.  The owner is coming to pick him up today and take him home.”

“Ahhh, well I hope you’re happy at your new home then, Handsome.”  I spoke to the fish.  “Hopefully it’s someone who’ll spoil you with treats.”

The clerk agreed with me and chuckled.

I turned away from the tank, deciding it was time to brave the outside cold yet again and head home to my flat.  I still needed to wrap Marie’s gift and I had plans to bake tonight—some sugar cookies that I would take over there tomorrow.  It was a little tradition that we’d started and it was really fun piping on the frosting and sprinkles as we decorated the cookies.  My favorites were the snowflake ones.

I headed for the door to leave, adjusting my hat and re-wrapping the scarf halfway up my face, when someone entered the shop.  I stepped aside to let him pass and was impressed with an image of a tall person and a nice coat, but I didn’t look up at him.  My eyes were focused on what lay beyond the open door of the shop.

Snowflakes.

It was snowing on Christmas Eve in London!

“It’s snowing?”  I muttered in amazement.

“Yeah…it is,” he said.

I stepped out into the white and caught the most appealing scent on him as we passed by each other.  Like some exotic spice mixed with an indulgent combination of soap or cologne.  It was nice when a man smelled so good, I thought.  Lucky girl…whoever she was getting to smell that all the time.

I went up to the window of a black Range Rover HSE parked on the street and checked my hat in the window’s reflection like I’d done before when I’d started out.  It wasn’t really my vanity, but more that I didn’t want to look like a dork on my walk home.

The snow had started to fall heavier now, and I could see some flakes beginning to settle on my new purple hat, even with just the reflection in the Rover’s window.  I smiled into the window glass as I turned to go.

I was cold on my walk home.  Cold…but strangely content.  Snow for Christmas, for a California girl, all on her own in London at the holidays.   Something I never expected.  But I realized another thing on my way home.  The small things in life are sometimes the most precious gifts we are given, and when you recognize them as they arrive, then you are truly blessed.

The End~

Tagged: Brynne Bennett, Christmas Eve, Christmas story by Raine Miller, Ethan Blackstone, The Blackstone Affair

A new home for Blackstone~

Well, the news is out and I can finally open my mouth about it.  I’ve been sitting on this for a couple of weeks and the wait has been killing me, but now I can break the silence.  I am thrilled to share with you that The Blackstone Affair has found a new home with Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, and has been welcomed by the same house that publishes the likes of Colleen Hoover, Jamie McGuire, and Vince Flynn!!!  Needless to say, I am grinning like a Cheshire cat since I’ve received the offer and I couldn’t be happier to be working with Atria Books and am in utter awe of my superhero agent, Jane Dystel of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.  Wow and a head shake is all I have to say about that.

Here is the link to the press release that Publisher’s Weekly put out in an exclusive on December 17, 2012.  A very nice early Christmas present I would say.

So what does that mean for my series?  Well, it means that The Blackstone Affair Parts 1 – 3, are no longer indie/self-published, and it means the books will be in bookstores, in actual print that you can hold in your hand!!!  *somebody’s pretty excited about this little bit*

Naked and All In are already up under the Atria imprint and Eyes Wide Open is still to come of course, as I am working hard to finish the manuscript in the time frame I’ve set for the book.  Having a publisher also means that the book will be available for pre-ordering when the time comes and you won’t have to worry about “when” once Atria announces that date.  *Please don’t shoot the messenger…I just write the books now, not publish them*  That was a joke and I hope you’re smiling.

I think this calls for a little celebration.  *pouring some Blackstone Malbec and tipping my glass to Ethan and Brynne*

xxoo Raine

Tagged: Atria Books to publish Raine Miller's Blackstone Affair, Blackstone Affair sold to Simon & Schuster, Publisher's Weekly

Moving forward…

A dear friend found this picture and it just seemed too perfect for our lovers from The Blackstone Affair to pass up.  Ethan is cherishing his girl, and Brynne is holding on to his back just above where his scars would be.  *sigh*  Ethan cannot change how he feels any more than he can stop time.  He’s just moving forward in the only way he knows how to.  I hope you are enjoying the journey of these two.  I know I am loving writing it.

Status update:  Still very busy writing Eyes Wide Open and taking my time to make it the best book it can be.  You wouldn’t want anything less and I wouldn’t dream of delivering less.  There will be some wonderful news coming early next week that I’m looking forward to sharing, but until then, it’s back to the writing cave for moi.  I have a list a mile long of things that need doing that definitely don’t get done on their own.  Like Christmas shopping for a couple of young men I know.  *Dreams of having an app that takes care of my to-do list for me*

I hope everyone is gearing up for the holidays and enjoying this time of the year with family and friends. *blows a kiss*

Blessings, my darlings.

Tagged: Blackstone Affair 3, Eyes Wide Open

Interview with Raine Miller, author of The Blackstone Affair

Interview with Raine Miller, author of The Blackstone Affair.

Tagged: Indie Author Land interview, indie writers, Raine Miller, Raine Miller interview, The Blackstone Affair

Lady Percival’s Portrait

Self portrait, Ann Mary Newton (1832-1866)
National Portrait Gallery, London

Since the release of All In, I’ve had several people ask me about the painting of Lady Percival that Brynne is conserving.  Lady Percival is not a real painting but rather a figment of my imagination and a character in another book I’m writing.  It is a historical erotic romance that I hope to get out some time in 2013.

The artist, Tristan Mallerton, is also fictitious and someone you will meet in yet another historical romance I am releasing in early 2013.  My fictional Mr. Mallerton has painted many portraits of the heroines in my books and when I started The Blackstone Affair, it was fun for me to link the two time periods with the art that I love to write about.  You will be hearing his name over and over again, especially in Gabrielle and Ivan’s–The Rothvale Legacy series as it gets going.

I studied Art History at San Diego State and still have the utmost respect and love for art and especially Romanticist works of painters like John William Waterhouse and Jean Fragonard.  I can also find a ton of inspiration for my books just from looking at a painting and even found my inspiration for Naked when I saw the photograph I ended up using on the cover of the book.

I did find a painting that is my vision of how Lady Percival might look.  It is a self-portrait by Ana Mary Newton (1832 – 1866) and is on display at National Portrait Gallery in London, which is the setting for a scene in All In.  I like that it was painted by a woman too.

On a side note, I am hard at work on Book 3 as we speak.  I plan a December 31, 2012 release of Eyes Wide Open, The Blackstone Affair, Part 3.

*Hugs and blows kisses*

Tagged: art as inspiration for writing, Lady Percival, The Blackstone Affair, Tristan Mallerton

All In ~ Buy Links!

Here are the links for All In, The Blackstone Affair, Part 2

Amazon:  Kindle

Smashwords:  Kindle, Nook, iPad

Barnes & Noble:  Nook

Happy Reading!

Tagged: All In amazon.com, All In buy links, All In release date, All In Smashwords.com, All In The Blackstone Affair Part 2

All In releasing November 9th!

Available November 9, 2012

My dear friends.  I have good news.  Part 2 of The Blackstone Affair is complete and in the final editing stage.  We have a release date of Friday, November 9th on Amazon and Smashwords.  *Raine can hear the yelling and screaming*

You can’t pre-order but look for the book to be up by that day as I will do the upload on Thursday night and it takes about 12 hours to go live.  Barnes & Noble takes a bit longer for some reason, but it will be up there too, and if for some reason it isn’t… you could still get the epub from Smashwords and have it on your Nook.  ;)

To celebrate the release of All In, The Blackstone Affair, Part 2, I will be having a virtual party on Facebook put on by Release Day Diva that is a public event.  If you are on Facebook and want to join just click on the link below and hang out with us.  There will be fun games and great prizes and tons of Ethan pics to drool over.

All In Release Party ~ Monday, November 12th @ 12:00 pm P.S.T. on FACEBOOK

The book is nearly twice as long as Naked, coming in at over 61,000 words…and barely qualifying for novella status at this point.  *shrugs*  Oh well, what can I say?  Ethan had a ton on his mind.  I hope you will enjoy reading their story from Ethan’s head.  I know I enjoyed writing every word!!!

Raine~

Tagged: All In, All In release date, Raine Miller All In release Nov. 9th, The Blackstone Affair Part 2

Raine Miller answers your questions!

I hunted her down and cornered her.  Yes!  I did that.  *you’re welcome*  I sat the elusive Raine Miller down and fired away.  I asked her questions and forced her to answer them.  I am pretty good.  *buffs nails*  So here you go.  Our interview from Saturday morning, October 27th, 10:18 a.m. in her home out in sunny California.

Raine, what is going on with All In?  I have all these people asking day in and day out. They say they NEED to know and it’s driving me nuts.

*she gives me a tolerant look*  It’s almost done.  Almost, as in I am writing the final chapter now.  Once finished, the book has to go to edits which will take a couple weeks.  I can’t give an exact date because things could happen to change the release and I don’t want to be sent to the brig by my fans.  *Raine gives me another look like that first one*

Why has this book taken longer than you anticipated, Raine?

Well, Ethan’s book is much longer than Part 1.  Like nearly double.  Part 1 was 35,000 words.  Part 2 is 60,000+ words.  *she tilts her head*  Longer books take longer for Raine to write, you see.  I heard that fans of Blackstone Affair wanted a longer book and they are getting one.  Poor Brynne got shortchanged with her book though, she’s been glaring at me for it too.  I’ll have to make sure she gets her voice back in Part 3.  She has A LOT on her mind these days.

Ohhhh really?  Like what?

*Raine smiles sweetly*  You’ll have to read the book to find out.

Do Ethan and Brynne get back together?

*Raine looks at her watch*

What can you tell us about Part 2, Raine?

I can tell you that All In is entirely from Ethan’s point of view.  The story moves forward from where Part 1 ended and things happen pretty quickly. Most of the questions about their pasts will be revealed, and you’ll understand more about Brynne and Ethan, and what’s shaped them.  All In is very much a man’s book though.  You are hearing the story from a man’s head.  It’s different for that reason.

Does Ethan still have his potty mouth?

*she grins and nods*  Oh yes.  Potty mouth and potty thoughts…

Raine, are there any new characters introduced in the book?

Why yes there are.  Thank you for asking.  You’ll meet Ethan’s family and Brynne’s Aunt Marie, but most notable will be Ethan’s cousin and whole lotta sexy fun in a very nice package–Ivan.  *Raine gets a wistful look in her eye*

Why can’t readers pre-order All In, The Blackstone Affair, Part 2, on Amazon or Barnes & Noble? 

Great question.  It’s because I am self-publishing the series.  Wholesalers like Amazon and B & N only set up pre-orders with big six publishing houses.  Since Raine Miller Romance is the publisher there is no platform for pre-ordering books before they are released.  Sorry.

Will stalking Amazon three times a day and posting comments on your blog demanding to know when, help the book to come out faster, Raine?

*gives me the look again*  Ummm…no.

How come Goodreads has All In listed on their site with the cover and everything?

I have no control on content at Goodreads.  In fact there are a couple quotes attributed to Naked that are NOT in Naked, nor are they quotes from All In either, posted up at Goodreads.  I have no answers for you there.  People can put up anything they wish and rate books before they are released.  *stoneface from Raine*

But, how will we know when All In is up for sale?

*smile from Raine*  I will keep people updated on this blog and on Facebook when I send it off for edits AND when it’s ready to upload onto Amazon and B & N.  You will know when it is available, I assure you.

Will the books ever be in print, Raine?

I hope so.  That is my plan, but not until Part 3 is complete so the whole series can go into one printed book.

When will Part 3 of Blackstone Affair be published?

*forced smile from Raine*  My “goal” is to have Eyes Wide Open done by the end of the year…as in December 31, 2012.  Please remember this is a goal and not a promise.

Are you going to torture your fans with another killer cliffhanger at the end of All In like you did with Naked?

Nope.

Can you tell me more, Raine?  PLEEEEEASE?

No.  *she looks at her watch again*  I have to get back to writing now.  It’s been lovely talking to you but I really need to get going. *she’s up and moving out the door*  Please tell the magnificent fans on Facebook and Twitter and my blog that I love them for wanting the next book and they really make this all worth it for me.  They are the BEST.  FANS.  EVER.  *she blows a kiss*  Here’s a little gift for you.  My muse for Ethan in a reflective pose worthy of the thoughtful, Mr. Blackstone…the sublime, David Gandy.

Tagged: All In, All In release date, Ethan Blackstone, Raine Miller, Raine Miller interview, The Blackstone Affair Part 2