Jessica E. Subject's Blog, page 191

New Year Blog Hop – Memories & Giveaway!!

Welcome to Mark of the Stars! This year has already been super exciting for me, as I just released my third story, Unknown Futures yesterday. But more about that later.

First of all, thank you to Carrie Ann Ryan for organizing this blog hop!

Now, as part of the New Year Blog Hop, we are supposed to share our favorite New Year memory. Well, I have two.

The first happened on December 31, 1988. I received my first diary from my aunt. It is a place of heartfelt thoughts, and even poetry. Perhaps it was the beginning of my writing career. I laugh when I look back at the things I wrote though.

The second happened many years later. December 31, 1997. I went out to the bar with my cousin to celebrate New Year's Eve. She stopped to talk to one of the bouncers there. I didn't talk to him, but I do remember him well. In September of 1998, we started dating. Now we are married with two kids, and have spent every New Year's together since then. And the very last entry in my diary states, "He's the one!"

I wish you happiness and prosperity for 2012!

Giveaway!!

International!! Leave a comment telling me a New Year's memory for your chance to WIN an ebook copy of one of my 1Night Stand stories. Winner will be drawn January 5, 2012.

Unknown Futures

Attacked as a young adult, Jewel is left scarred and alone. She applies to the 1 Night Stand service, believing no one can see past her appearance to love her. But she doesn't expect to be sent to a space station where her date could be any number of unusual alien species.  

Flavia left everything behind to be one of five humans working for the Space Service space station. Extremely homesick, she is excited to learn she will be a guide to a woman from Earth visiting the station for a couple days. She is immediately drawn to the petite woman, seeing past her scars to her true inner beauty, stirring unforeseen desires.

Unfortunately, Jewel is there for a date which Flavia hasn't been told about. Can she contain her lust and simply show her a good time? Or will she let her desire lead them into an unknown future?

Buy Links Here: http://www.markofthestars.com/wp/?page_id=7671

Book Trailer:  http://youtu.be/HOBmZ9vKwYE

Beneath the Starry Sky – For both Tamara and Josh, letting go is the first step to love…with a little help from Madame Eve.

Blurb, book trailer, excerpt & buy links: http://www.markofthestars.com/wp/?page_id=7250

Celestial Seduction – Frey needs to convince Carrie that her perfect mate isn't human and that one night can lead to a forever love.

Blurb, book trailer, excerpt & buy links: http://www.markofthestars.com/wp/?page_id=6661

And don't forget to visit all of the other participating blogs!

Not only do you have a chance to WIN at the 65 participating blog, but each blog you visit and comment on gives you a chance to WIN one of two Grand Prizes:

A Kindle Fire!!


An $80 Amazon Gift Certificate!!

Here's a list of the participating blogs:

Unknown Futures…thank yous!!

My first release day of 2012 has been amazing! I thank you all for the congratulations and well wishes.

I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to my story.

First of all, here is the dedication:

To my mom who taught me from a young age not to judge.

And thank you to:

Rebecca Royce, Layna Pimental, Zee Monodee, Carol Levesque, and Kate Richards, my awesome critique partners and beta readers for this story.

Kate Richards, again, who saved me a step in the beginning and through edits helped this story shine. I always learn so much from my editors and appreciate all they can teach me. Thank you also to her and Valerie Mann for starting the 1Night Stand series.

Lisa and Heather, the owners of Decadent Publishing.

Fantasia Frog Designs for creating my fabulous cover. Once again, I can't find the words to say how much I love my cover. You're the best cover artist in my opinion!

Thank you to all those who have (or will) taken the time to buy, read and/or review Unknown Futures!

And as always, thank you to my husband and children who remain ever so patient with me. I'm glad you understand this is more than just a hobby.

You are all fabulous!

Unknown Futures is available in multiple ebook formats from Decadent Publishing and other ebook retailers. Please note: There are many free apps, such as Adobe Digital Editions that you can download to read ebooks on your computer and phone. Also, the PDF format is great for printing a copy.

Release Day for Unknown Futures!!

I'm very excited to announce my first release for 2012: Unknown Futures!!

Be sure to stop by the Decadent Publishing 1Night Stand blog and leave a comment for your chance to WIN a copy!

And for your another chance to WIN Unknown Futures, stop by The Romance Studio's New Year's Party. Comment on any of my posts to be entered to WIN! (January 2-4 – My name will be in the right sidebar. Click on my name for a list of all my posts.)

Blurb:

Attacked as a young adult, Jewel is left scarred and alone. She applies to the 1 Night Stand service, believing no one can see past her appearance to love her. But she doesn't expect to be sent to a space station where her date could be any number of unusual alien species.

Flavia left everything behind to be one of five humans working for the Space Service space station. Extremely homesick, she is excited to learn she will be a guide to a woman from Earth visiting the station for a couple days. She is immediately drawn to the petite woman, seeing past her scars to her true inner beauty, stirring unforeseen desires.

Unfortunately, Jewel is there for a date which Flavia hasn't been told about. Can she contain her lust and simply show her a good time? Or will she let her desire lead them into an unknown future?

Book Trailer:

Now Available From:

Decadent Publishing (multiple ebook formats)
and more coming soon

Sale!!

And right now all Decadent Publishing books are Buy 1, Get 1 FREE through January 4, 2012. My books, including Unknown Futures, are listed here: http://bit.ly/sfWqPg

To claim your FREE book(s), buy 1 (or more) book at the Decadent Publishing  website, email them your transaction number (decadentpublishing at gmail dot com), and they'll send you* one Decadent Publishing ebook of your choice FREE for each book you purchase!

*Please be sure to include name, email address, transaction number, book choice, format choice.

For more information, please see the recent Decadent Publishing newsletter: http://conta.cc/uDSO1s

The Importance of a Writing Family by Layna Pimentel

Please welcome Layna Pimentel to my blog. Author of paranormal and historical romance, she is one of my critique partners and a great friend.

My Writing Family

By Layna Pimentel

I wanted to take a moment and thank our hostess for asking me back. Without Jessica, who is also my critique partner, I don't even want to hazard a guess of where I'd be today. She's as genuine as they get, and hell, one of the most patient people I know.

[image error]Writing can be comparable to an intergalactic space odyssey that you may or may not want to do, ever again. Unfathomable things will happen to you; your mind, body and soul, soon become their own entities and will have you speaking in jargon or swearing. Post-it notes are plastered everywhere imaginable, and you'll forget to add the Eagle Brand to your pumpkin pie. You'll hear your kids asking you if they can go hang out with Jane and yet the only thing swimming in your head is how the heck you're going to fill a plot hole the size of the bloody Milky Way. Your husband will nag you to death if you've started the wash yet, and then you suddenly become inspired by the empty space on top of the washing machine. Spin cycle anyone? LOL And this folks, is why my Writing Family rocks, and why we all need one.

They ground me when I'm ready to give up, they give me tough love when I need it and most of all, they CAN relate. No matter, how many times I beat myself up and want to throw in the towel, these wonderful people instill motivation, cheer you on, and listen. There isn't anything that you've done, that they haven't experienced.

[image error]Now, this post is not to discount my poor husband who passes the tissue box and cautiously gives me a hug when things aren't going so well, but without those talented writers whom I consider my Writing Family, I'm pretty sure I'd be headed to nowhere land. On that note, a huge part of meeting these folks was via Twitter. It's been a pleasure to make these new associations and bear witness to a variety of opportunities coming from some social networking. In addition, joining organizations such as the RWA have been instrumental and a never-ending source of information.

Take a leap of faith; meet people, join a writers group, or offer to beta read for others. You'd be surprised at some of the lifelong friendships you'll make along the way, learn even more about writing and find some satisfaction knowing that you've made it this far.

Find Layna here: blog, twitter, facebook

2011 In Review and Tons of fun in the New Year!

[image error] Happy New Year!!
Sale!!

All Decadent Publishing books are Buy 1, Get 1 FREE through January 4, 2012. My books are listed here: http://bit.ly/sfWqPg Learn how to claim your FREE book(s) in the newsletter: http://conta.cc/uDSO1s

My Writing

2011 was a fabulous year! I signed my first writing contract (and four more after), had two stories released (and another releases in two days), but most importantly, I've met a great group of supportive people who get me through the highs and lows of this industry.

Celestial Seduction released July 1, 2011 with Decadent Publishing
Beneath the Starry Sky released December 16, 2011 with Decadent Publishing
Unknown Futures releases January 3, 2012 with Decadent Publishing
Never Gonna Let You Go (The Underground, book 1) , coming soon to Decadent Publishing
The Zurian Child (Mark of the Stars, book 1), coming soon to Silver Publishing

My Blog

In April, I celebrated my one-year blogoversary, and after that everything changed. I thank each and every one of you who has joined me over the past year, whether just lurking or continuously commenting on my posts. I appreciate all of your support!

Coming up on my blog this month:

January 2 – "My Writing Family" guest post by Layna Pimentel
January 3 – Unknown Futures release day celebrations
January 4 – New Year blog hop
January 5 – Guest Post by Deborah Cooke
January 21 – Winner's will be announced for Beneath the Starry Sky blog tour with Sizzling PR
January 23 – Guest Post by Rebecca Royce
January 24 – Guest Post by Liz Crowe

As always, I will be participating in Six Sentence Sunday, sharing excerpts from various stories, published and unpublished. Thank you to Sara Brookes and the rest of the crew for all of their hard work each and every week!

This month I'll be visiting a bunch of other blogs, promoting my new releases with many chances to WIN goodies. Here's where I'll be:

January 2-4 – The Romance Studio's New Year Party
January 6 – Guest Post at Kaye Manro's blog
January 9 – 20 – Sizzling PR book tour for Beneath the Starry Sky

January 9 – Books-n-Kisses
January 10 – Realmantic Moments
January 11 – Rage, Sex, and Teddy Bears
January 12 – Sizzling Hot Book Reviews
January 13 – Decadent Decisions
January 16 – Galadria Inn Books And Reviews
January 17 – Books Read N Makeup Done
January 18 – Reading Between the Wines Book Club
January 19 – For The Love Of Reading
January 20 – Hesperia Loves Books









January 10 – Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event
January 11 – Guest post at Zee Monodee's Author's Corner
January 12 – Blogging at Daily Dose of Decadence
January 20 – Blogging at Daily Dose of Decadence
January 24 – Guest post at Brewing Passion
January 25 – Interview at The Galaxy Express
January 25 – Guest Post at Lisa Fox Romance
January 26 – Guest Post at Selena Robins Musings
January 27 – Interview on TBR the blog
January 30 – Guest Post at Four Strong Women
January 30-February 10 – Sizzling PR book tour for Unknown Futures (more details soon)

January 30 – Aspiring Romance Authors
January 31 – Anne Holly's blog
February 1 – Everyday is an Adventure
February 2 – Lia Davis's blog
February 3 – Sharon Owen's blog
February 4 – Carrie Ann Ryan's blog
February 5 – Mike Woody's blog
February 6 – Chastity Bush's blog
February 8 – Books-n-Kisses
February 9 – Romance Book Junkies
February 10 – All I Want and More Books








Books

I don't do book reviews anymore, but I wanted to share some figures about the books I've read, along with my list of favorite reads from 2011 (not necessarily released in 2011).

92 fiction books read this year
79 (86%) of them were ebooks
11 (12%) were YA (young adult)
71 (77%) were romance (incl. all subgenres except YA)
23 (25%) were science fiction/dystopian (incl. YA & romance)
20 (22%) were 1Night Stand stories

Favorite Reads of 2011 (in the order read):

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Alien Tango by Gini Koch
30 Pieces of Silver by Carolyn McCray
XVI by Julia Karr
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Indivisible by Jessica McQuinn
Initiation by Rebecca Royce
Club Shadowland by Cherise Sinclair
Confessions from the Carnivore Club: Dave and Nancy's Story by Kate Richards
Walking the Edge by Zee Monodee
Just Gotta Say by Laura Kaye
Blown Away by D.L. Jackson
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Tulip Princess by Liz Crowe

2012 promises to be another great year, and I can't wait to see what it brings.

So how was your year? What are you looking forward to in 2012?

Six Sentence Sunday: 01/01/12 – Opening Six from Unknown Futures #sixsunday

[image error]Happy New Year!! Thank you to everyone who read and comment on my excerpts each week. I'm excited to announce that Unknown Futures, my F/F scifi romance will release on Tuesday of this week.

Here are the opening six from Unknown Futures. (blurb here)

"Miss Jewel Barnaby?"

Her eyes darted toward the tall, austere man in surprise, nervous tension knotting her shoulders. She almost didn't respond. No one had called her Jewel since she'd left the hospital two years ago. Instead they called her ugly, freak, or monster. The doctors had done all they could, but despite the several surgeries and multiple, painful skin grafts, everyone in Prescott, Ontario would always know her as the girl who was splashed in the face with acid on the biggest night of her teenage life.

Visit http://www.sixsunday.com/ to find out who's participating in Six Sentence Sunday this week or follow the #sixsunday hashtag on twitter.

Reclaimed: A Paranormal Romance by Diane Alberts Only $0.99 on Amazon!!

Blurb

After moving to England, Sabrina tumbles into an unknown world when she meets the man of her dreams, literally. As a writer, her overactive imagination makes her believe the impossible, but recovering from shock, she wonders how Isaac could appear in her nightmares—when she's never met him in real life. Until now.

The staggering events catapult her into a world where ruthless creatures roam freely along unsuspecting humans, and battle lines are clearly drawn.

While embarking on a dangerous and passionate affair, a bitter enemy appears from Isaac's past that will stop at nothing to remove Sabrina from his arms. Permanently. In order to establish a foreseeable and solid future, she must first deal with tumultuous occurrences. Navigating a shadowy world she never knew existed, Sabrina fights for her newfound love…and her life.

Buy Now!!

Amazon, Amazon UK - Only $0.99 this weekend only!

Decadent Publishing - Buy 1 book, Get 1 FREE (details here)

Smashwords All Romance

Excerpt

A strange stillness sat in the air outside Sabrina's house. No trees swayed in the breeze, no animals scampered in the forest, as if the world itself had come to a halt.

Uneasiness rolled over her, and she studied Isaac out of the corner of her eye. Surprisingly, he seemed to be as tense as her. He gripped her arm tighter than necessary, and his lips were pressed together as well. She could feel the tension pulsating off his body, and she got taken back into her dreams. For the first time in real life, he made her shiver in apprehension. As if sensing her fear, he shot her a quick grin.

"Well, I had a lovely evening." He spoke over his shoulder as he practically dragged her to the door. She stumbled in an attempt to keep up with his pace. At the door he pointedly stared at her, causing her to realize he waited for her to open it. She fumbled through the mess she called a purse to find the key. She turned to him and smiled as she studied him through the cover of her eyelashes.

"Would you like to come in for a nightcap? I have wine…or coffee…or tea, or…." She stuttered to a stop, unsure of what to say.

God, she sounded like such an idiot.

Nightcap?

Who the heck said nightcap anymore?

"While I'd love to take you up on that offer, I have something I have to take care of tonight. Could I get a rain check? For say,tomorrow night? We could do a movie and wine? Or is tomorrow too soon in the dating world?"

"No, not too soon at all. I'd love to see you tomorrow."She tried to hide her disappointment behind a bright smile. "You can call me,and we'll firm up a time. Good night."

She turned to go inside and got caught off-guard when he grabbed her elbow and spun her to face him. It happened so quickly she leaned back against the door in confusion; one hand on the doorknob and the other braced against the cool steel of the door. He moved his body closer to hers and placed his hand at her head. His other hand cupped her cheek while his thumb stroked her jaw line. All thought fled as his body pressed against hers, and a small swoosh of air escaped her lips at his touch.

"I didn't think it even possible for you to grow more beautiful, but you have proven me wrong." When his lips met hers, she lost all thought, all ability to move. She'd somehow been tied to this spot—this man.

Trailer

Reclaimed: A Paranormal Romance by Diane Alberts

Blurb

After moving to England, Sabrina tumbles into an unknown world when she meets the man of her dreams, literally. As a writer, her overactive imagination makes her believe the impossible, but recovering from shock, she wonders how Isaac could appear in her nightmares—when she's never met him in real life. Until now.

The staggering events catapult her into a world where ruthless creatures roam freely along unsuspecting humans, and battle lines are clearly drawn.

While embarking on a dangerous and passionate affair, a bitter enemy appears from Isaac's past that will stop at nothing to remove Sabrina from his arms. Permanently. In order to establish a foreseeable and solid future, she must first deal with tumultuous occurrences. Navigating a shadowy world she never knew existed, Sabrina fights for her newfound love…and her life.

Buy Now!!

Amazon Decadent Publishing Amazon UK Smashwords All Romance

Excerpt

A strange stillness sat in the air outside Sabrina's house. No trees swayed in the breeze, no animals scampered in the forest, as if the world itself had come to a halt.

Uneasiness rolled over her, and she studied Isaac out of the corner of her eye. Surprisingly, he seemed to be as tense as her. He gripped her arm tighter than necessary, and his lips were pressed together as well. She could feel the tension pulsating off his body, and she got taken back into her dreams. For the first time in real life, he made her shiver in apprehension. As if sensing her fear, he shot her a quick grin.

"Well, I had a lovely evening." He spoke over his shoulder as he practically dragged her to the door. She stumbled in an attempt to keep up with his pace. At the door he pointedly stared at her, causing her to realize he waited for her to open it. She fumbled through the mess she called a purse to find the key. She turned to him and smiled as she studied him through the cover of her eyelashes.

"Would you like to come in for a nightcap? I have wine…or coffee…or tea, or…." She stuttered to a stop, unsure of what to say.

God, she sounded like such an idiot.

Nightcap?

Who the heck said nightcap anymore?

"While I'd love to take you up on that offer, I have something I have to take care of tonight. Could I get a rain check? For say,tomorrow night? We could do a movie and wine? Or is tomorrow too soon in the dating world?"

"No, not too soon at all. I'd love to see you tomorrow."She tried to hide her disappointment behind a bright smile. "You can call me,and we'll firm up a time. Good night."

She turned to go inside and got caught off-guard when he grabbed her elbow and spun her to face him. It happened so quickly she leaned back against the door in confusion; one hand on the doorknob and the other braced against the cool steel of the door. He moved his body closer to hers and placed his hand at her head. His other hand cupped her cheek while his thumb stroked her jaw line. All thought fled as his body pressed against hers, and a small swoosh of air escaped her lips at his touch.

"I didn't think it even possible for you to grow more beautiful, but you have proven me wrong." When his lips met hers, she lost all thought, all ability to move. She'd somehow been tied to this spot—this man.

Trailer

Happy New Year? by Misa Buckley & Giveaway!!

Happy New Year?

So, 2012. The weather is screwy, we're being buzzed by asteroids and dire predictions that the world is going to end abound. So are you making resolutions regardless or just planning on hiding in a hole until the year is out?

This past year has seen me straddle the hurdle of publication: Ironhaven (ironically a romance set at a time when the world is ending) was put out by Decadent Publishing. As with many life experiences, being thrust out into the literary world has had good points and bad, but I've learnt, grown up a little and plan to strike bigger and better in 2012.

I've sold a Paranormal Romance to Champagne Books. My sneaky acquisitions editor took a peek at my National Novel Writing Month page when I Tweeted about winning and is bugging me about the Science Fiction Romance that was up on there. There's a second SFR that I'm in the process of rewriting (save, save, SAVE your in-progress manuscripts – unless you want to rewrite 20K+ worth of story) that I also plan on offering.

And that's not all! I'll also be editing a SFR anthology – Venus Ascendant – as well as self-publishing my web-serialised novella, Paradigm Shift. And in the midst of all this, there will be cover art to discuss and edits to make on Eleanor's Heart ahead of its release in July!

So there's no hiding in a hole for me – if the world is going to end, then I'm going out doing what I love. Writing (well, it's that or I'll watch Stargate SG-1…)

~Misa Buckley http://misabuckley.com/

Ironhaven blurb:

Earth is dying, and Lucian Hoyt is going to die with it thanks to his parents cancelling his pass aboard the last shuttle off the planet.

There is hope, though – a brilliant inventor has come up with a plan to build a ship to evacuate those who've been left behind.
That inventor turns out to be Genevieve Scott, Lucian's bitter ex-fiancee. If they're going to work together to get off this planet, they need to put their past aside, but even melting the ice between them can't erase all the scars.

Giveaway!

Leave a comment before January 1st for your chance to WIN a copy of Ironhaven. Winner will be chosen at random.

When You're In Space, Nobody Can Hear You Scream … by Marva Dasef

When You're In Space,

Nobody Can Hear You Scream…

Happy Holidays!

Christmas, Hanukkah, and Eid Al-fitr are behind us, at least on the Earth calendar, and almost to New Year's Day. When writing science fiction, dealing with multiple worlds and cultures is common. The question is how do these people coordinate between each other.

In my SFR, "Ultimate Duty," human space is under the power of the monolithic SemCorp. Created when the Semyon-Bratva Cartel merged with Canopis Corporation, SemCorp evolved into the de facto government. Eventually, twenty-three inhabited worlds merged into a massive commercial enterprise. At first, the individual planets maintained separate governments, but over the years, they became superfluous and all but disappeared.

I had to decide how the disparate worlds kept on a schedule. After all, merchant freighters have to know when to make pick ups from one world, and the destination for the merchandise needs to know when it will arrive.

The easiest method, and one enforceable when all the planets are under the thumb of a single entity is to set every planet's "clock" in relation to each other. I settled on using earth time because I found it easier to deal with as a writer, and readers didn't have to figure out some esoteric clock/calendar system.Obviously, those twenty-three worlds will not only have a different clock depending on the rotation of the planet on its axis, but each will also have a different length of year. So different days, different years. How do you keep a calendar so you know when to celebrate New Year's or the Chairman's birthday or whatever?

Feeling the holiday spirit yet?

Another characteristic of the worlds is that each was settled by a particular earth group. My heroine's home world, Acadia, was originally by French speaking people are Canadian, French, and Cajun people of the old (defunct) United States. The hero is from a Brazilian-based planet called Brasilia. New Mecca became home to Muslims. Deutchlund inhabited by Germans, and so on.I thought not, but let me forge ahead anyway.

You'd think that all the settled planets would be a mixture of all kinds of earth races (extraterrestrials haven't made an appearance yet, but who can blame them). And hundreds years after settling, most of the planets are as polyglot as many countries are today.

But people tend to hold to traditions, so it's easy to imagine that the French, Brazilian, and German based planets still celebrated some type of Christmas holiday. The only religion I comment on is the Muslim population of New Mecca. There's a reason for that which you'll discover if you read the book. And to that purpose, I'll be giving away an ebook or two. Just leave a comment with some facsimile of your email address to win a PDF of "Ultimate Duty."

ULTIMATE DUTY

by Marva Dasef http://marvadasef.com/ http://mgddasef.blogspot.com/

Publisher Eternal Press http://www.eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781615722280

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxaTLrg5c5A

Amazon ebook: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004ASND8O

Blurb:

Remy Belieux, a woman born into a life of servitude on a repressive factory planet, is desperate for a different life. When she's accepted into the Space Service Academy, run by the organization that enslaves her planet, she discovers the truth behind generations of rebellion. Now, she must decide what to believe, where her ultimate duty lies, and fight for more than her life against impossible odds.

Excerpt:

Remy and Garrett arrived at the outer wall path that led to the dock ports. Remy hoped at least one shuttle was still attached to the station. She dropped to the floor and peered down the slope of the passageway. Two guards stood at the entrance to bay 5. Luckily, they faced the opposite direction. Remy slid back and pointed silently, then held up two fingers. Garrett nodded and pointed left and then at himself. Remy nodded.

With no way to get any closer unseen, they must use speed instead. Both stepped back a couple of paces, so they'd hit the corner at full tilt. A nod from Garrett, and they sprinted through the twenty meters separating them from the guards. One guard turned to look only when Remy and Garrett were close enough to attack. The guard yelled, "Halt!" as he raised the barrel of his blaster. The second guard turned with a confused expression and didn't manage to raise his own weapon before Remy reached him.

Remy felt her mind and body slip into fighting mode. Time slowed for her, and she noted every detail of the guard's stance. She leaped high in the air, her legs coiled like springs. The second guard finally lifted his rifle but never had the chance to fire. Remy drove both feet into his abdomen, slamming him against the wall with the force of her strike. In the low gravity she landed easily on her feet crouched and ready. She crossed her arms against her torso, grabbing the guard's belt with her left hand and prepared to strike with her right. The man's eyes widened when Remy's backhand arced toward him. The force of the blow across his jaw sent him tumbling to the floor.