Z.L. Arkadie's Blog, page 15

The Freed Billionaire Spencer Christmas Off To The Editor!

Yeah… So FYI, The Freed Billionaire Spencer Christmas books one and two are in the editor’s hands as of today. I have one more book to finish writing in the trilogy. If you’ve been reading my books for a while, then you know I love creating complex characters. In The Dark Billionaire Jasper Christmas, what we see of Spencer Christmas is surface but as the Freed Billionaire Christmas, I delve several layers beneath Spencer’s exterior. I answer the why and then the what. I know that’s cryptic and I’m sorry about that but you’ll know the meaning of what I just wrote when you read the book–I promise. Stay tuned to receive a hefty sample as well. The sample will probably be ready by early September. Anyway, this post is just to let you know that by September 30, 2019, you will DEFINITELY be reading my new series! Yay! Until my next post. Oh, and I’ve been thinking about The Exiled Billionaire Asher Christmas as well. More to come on that project too. Peace.

Intrigued on Apple Books IS AVAILABLE AGAIN!

As of 7/22/2019 – 2:36 PM Intrigued is now back on the Apple Store, All Stores! I had no idea what happened. I would like to know so that we can prevent it from happening again. So all’s well that ends well–that’s after I learned what happened.

Intrigued on Apple Books Momentarily Not Available

7/21/2019 – 1:33 PM Just a note. At the moment, Intrigued, The Dark Billionaire Jasper Christmas, for some unknown blank blank blank reason (I’m steaming hot about this) isn’t available on Apple Books. I put in a request, asking why. Today is Sunday so I can’t call them directly… Sigh… Stay tuned for an update. But… it’s always available on Amazon, Google Play, B&N and Kobo!

Romance Steals & Deals Promotion on Apple Books!

So, Apple Books has this great promotion on Romance ebooks I thought you should know about! You can also find A  Hollywood Love Story Duet, featuring Once Friends and Now Lovers for only $1.99 as well as a lot of other romances by your favorite writers! You can shop the sale by clicking on the button below. All books are $3 and less, and the sale ends on 6/26/2019. So don’t delay–shop now!     Have fun! And I’ll be back soon with updates on The Freed Billionaire Spencer Christmas! You’re going to love it! Z

Break Over! The Freed Billionaire Is Coming

Happy Saturday! I’m well into The Freed Billionaire Trilogy, featuring Spencer Christmas. As I continue writing, I’ll figure out if the story is a stand-alone, duet, or trilogy. If I think about all the stuff that has to happen, I lean toward duet or trilogy, I’ll see. But I just wanted to let you know that my brain has recovered and now I’m writing faster than I ever, which taking my story on an interesting journey. Hmm… I read this book by Chris Fox, “5000 Words Per Minute, Write Faster, Writer Smarter,” and it’s changed my life. I’ll use his technique to finish this series, but if I continue cranking it out like this, then the sky’s the limit! On another note, and I’ll write a post about it later, I’m changing the Parched Series to the Eternal Bonds Series. The latter suits the story. Okay, today I had a protein shake for breakfast with my morning tea. I’ll take my cod liver oil and B12, and then I’ll be continuing with my day. Just wanted to share with you that you can look forward to the Fall release of The Freed Billionaire (I may or may not add Christmas to the series title). People get confused and think they are seasonal books. I wanted the series to have a dual purpose in that manner, you know, “Get Christmas All Year Long,” BUT, perhaps it’s difficult to have my cake and eat it too. I don’t know; I have time to figure out the answer. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend! Best, Z

New Inspiration For Freed

As you know, I was working on The Freed Christmases, Enthrall and I’m positive that I hit a WALL long before I tried writing the first word. Then recently I announced I was not going to write that story and started another; it only took a few stabs at it to hit the same wall. That’s when I realized my issue was bigger than any story. So this weekend I traveled to North Carolina for a work party. When I returned home yesterday, I slept for fourteen hours straight, and I’m still tired. I arrived in NC on Thursday, and after an hour of being in the humidity, I was spent. It was as if I was constantly swimming through warm water. My body and brain rejected the moisture. But the experience made me realize something. I’ve been that exhausted, physically, and mentally for at least a month and a half. I’ve already written two books this year, and now I’m pressuring myself to write three more. I’m not one of those sorts of writers, who don’t have to think deeply before putting out a story. I have to feel the world, the characters, and the conflict deep in my bones. I have to know how to take them through on a three-dimensional basis if that makes sense. For the past month and a half, I hadn’t been able to go down deep enough to reach that sweet spot. So it was as if this weekend was like a stress chamber. From the moment I landed in North Carolina, the humidity grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go. Just sitting, I was sweating. And the party was so damn involved. The weather and activities nearly took me out. On Saturday night I had blurred vision, a headache and called it when Zuleika (that’s me) said to herself, “sorry sister but you’re not co-dependent so stop acting like it. It’s time for you to take care of ME. Go to the hotel room, decompress, and get ready for a long flight home.” And that’s what I did. After I woke up from those fourteen hours, I realized something else. I had been codependent with my career. I hadn’t been taking care of me in order to produce more books. And all that’s good and necessary but not at the expense of sacrificing the quality of my work, my mental state most importantly, the overall enjoyment that comes with creating fiction. The last three days in North Carolina was like a microcosm of the last month and a half. I believe it was divine intervention. So, I’ve been thinking about Spencer Christmas on my downtime. It’s not like me to run from the challenge of evolving him. I don’t believe once a creep, have to remain a creep. I also know for a fact no one is born a creep. A creep is made by nurture not nature.  I mean, Spener could stay a creep but that’s if he chooses to ignore the call to evolve, learn, grow and get help when life throws him another curveball.  I believe what he learned about his family at the end of The Dark Christmases would have a profound effect on him. Will Spencer Christmas be brave enough to take the call of life by the hand and be guided to his destiny? The more rest I get the more excited I become about answering that question. But first… I need REAL REST.  I’ll be spending the next week doing just that. If need another week, I’ll take it. After that, I’ll see which story rises out of the ashes. I hope it’s Spencer Christmas’. Okay. Time to continue resting. Good night!

No Inspiration For The Freed Christmases

So… I’m going to be honest with you. I’ve spent over a month trying to write The Freed Christmases, toiling until I finally hit my breaking point.  I simply don’t have the story in me. I ended The Dark Billionaire Christmases with book three of the trilogy and frankly that’s where I want to keep the family for now. I just finished writing that paragraph and I want to weep because I feel so free. My heart wants to undertake a project that’s been with me for a long time. I will still have books to release in the fall but they’ll be the first of that project. I’ll write more about it once I’m deeper into the stories. However, I just want to let you know that The Freed Christmases Enthrall is out for now. I don’t know, maybe in the future, I’ll want to write it, maybe not. The desire has to move into my body. And so, I don’t want to waste any more time trying to force a square peg into a round hole. I’ll be back in the future with information on my new project. Also, The Dark Christmases is in KU but I’m losing lots of money on that trilogy as I sit here writing this post. I’m still going to give it a few more days before I decide to pull it. KU has never been my friend, I think it doesn’t like me! LOL! So stay tuned for an update on The Dark Christmases going wide again. Not very many people are seeing book 1, visibility is sucking, but now’s the time to get books 2 and 3 while they’re in KU possibly for a few more days. Z

The Dark Christmases Trilogy now in KU

If you’ve been reading books for a while, then you know that sometimes I go in Kindle Unlimited, get cold feet and then come out fast. KU has always been a gamble for me, but as the market changes, and if I’m going to be successful at this and expand my readership, then I better kiss KU’s you-know-what.  I’m scared out of my mind right now. However, I’ve decided to stick with it for as long as I can. If it becomes clear that I’m going to lose way more money than if I was wide, then I’ll shoot Amazon another email and ask to pull-out. I’m biting my nails here and practicing intentional breathing to calm down. I know some of you are on my blog looking for one of The Dark Christmases books. I encourage you to download the Kindle app to get the series. And listen, it’s Saturday, 5-18-2019 today. If it becomes clear to me that this isn’t working by this time next week, then the trilogy will be wide again. So for those who have to leave their normal store to finish the series, I apologize for the inconvenience.  I promise you none of us are in love with Amazon’s exclusivity clause. However, they do the best job of nurturing their marketplace for books; after all, they started as an online book store. So here I am, giving it another college try. This time I’m going all out. Wish me luck! And now it’s bedtime. Good night or Good morning (depending on what time you’re reading this) Remember when I used to make posts this late or early in the morning in the past? I would always end by saying, please excuse any typos, I’m half awake.

NOW AVAILABLE! The Original Version of Find Her, Keep Her

That’s right, the book is now available. I will like to say a big thank you to everyone who loved this version. Romance readers can be some of the harshest critics. For many reasons, especially for the sake of promotion opportunities, it’s important that if you love a book, or like a book, then leave a review. It keeps us from trying to scramble and save a series–series that you might like and want more of. Your review doesn’t have to be very long. And finally, the Audible version is also the original.   Find Her, Keep Her (THE ORIGINAL)   Enough of you have asked for it, so here it is–the very first version of Find Her, Keep  Her. Sex scenes are frequent and written in graphic detail. Belmont is giving Daisy the full-on press, no holds barred.  So… ENJOY! Get It Now! Ebook Price: FREE (It may be 99¢ on Amazon until they choose to price-match)        

The ORIGINAL VERSION of Find Her, Keep Her

The original version of Find Her, Keep Her (A Martha’s Vineyard Love Story) will be available soon! I realize that a lot of you had fallen in love with the original tale about Daisy & Belmont’s beginning. So, I’ve dug the original out of the files and am re-publishing it. I let you know when it’s available. Stay tuned! Z