Z.L. Arkadie's Blog, page 3

Cover Changes Alert!

Just a short FYI –  you’ll see many mismatch covers in the Lords of Manhattan and Romancing the Boss and Billionaire series for several days. This is what’s happening.  I’ve tested a boatload of covers over the past three months.  In The Lord Brothers of Manhattan Series (Crossing the Line, A Fake Love Deal, and Boss On Notice), there is a particular set of blue covers that have objects such as bras and ties, and one with an e-reader containing Lily’s letter to Orion, one with a note to Hercules, and another with a contract on the cover. Whenever a book is free, those covers secure the most free downloads; however, read-through is paltry because the imagery doesn’t accurately capture the feel of the story.  The covers with men whose faces are barely shown have the best read-through with TLBOM; however, CTL downloads are scarce.  And I was fine leaving them that way. The problem is Once Upon A One-Night Stand. The blue cover with the vector man and bra performs the best, and I stalled performance by changing it so much. I just wanted to make sure.  Go figure – it’s that one. It’s an attractive cover, but I’ll have to really give myself time to come up with a companion for Once Upon An Unrequited Love (Romancing The Billionaire). One of my favorite TikTok reviewers gave Once Upon A One-Night Stand two and a half chili peppers. 🙂 Guess how many Once Upon A Requited Love has? Answer below. So. Since we’re introduced to the Grove cousins in TLBOM, I figured the covers for both short series have to be in the same vein, which is why I came up with new versions of TLBOM covers. I have a Bookbub Featured Deal for Crossing The Line on Sept 20th (Also, I’ll be coming to you then with other goodies, so stay tuned!); however, I want to have the cover for that series right several days before the 2oth. So here are the covers I’ll be testing. If they’re not matching with ads, then don’t panic. It’s me!  I hope that these covers convey slow-burn spice, humor, but the story comes first kind of content. So, if these don’t sink me, then I’ll try making Once Upon A One-Night Stand and Once Upon An Unrequited Love more like this new iteration of TLBOM, which I LOVE. But of course, it’s not about what I love. I’m trying to find what you love; however, the image must accurately depict the stories.  About my next release… I will say that there is little to no strong language in Once Upon An Unrequited Love. Also, I’m focused on writing a great love story between two people. I have to be true to who Max and Lake are. It’s going to take more than sexual attraction to get these two between the sheets. There has to be more – so I need to get back to work stat. I had to take a break for about a week to finish tasks that were unrelated to storytelling, and I’m so missing their story! Oh, and my guess is that Once Upon An Unrequited Love will end up being one and half chili peppers. Lake has to get to the point where her grief isn’t a barrier to finding love – and she has to give into Max’s allure. Umm… 🙂 Thanks for reading my post. Have a great rest of your week. I’ll be back next week for that special announcement! Toodles,Z

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Author Update – 9-3-2023! Important Changes

Greetings! Okay, so I couldn’t skip this update today because I must announce that Romancing The Billionaire, Max Grove’s story, has a new release date. The new release date is October 17, 2023. I’m forced to change the date because I’m not finished with the story and must arrange editing and proofing. However, I use Grammarly more intensely these days, running all sentences through to ensure those pesky errors that humans often miss are discovered. Machines rule! But still, I would love to arrange human proofing and editing as well. This will be a long book, ya’ll – simply because I want to tell a complete, unrushed story. I will NEVER rush another book, ever. Plus, Lake has a lot of healing to do before she can give her heart to another. And Max, well… He’s complex. I never subscribed to the notion that a man needs fixing and brought down to size by a woman’s love. Love shouldn’t make you have to diminish yourself. So, Max does not need to be fixed. I want you to understand him. Is he perfect? No. Same with my heroines. They don’t NEED to be in a relationship. But when true love comes calling, they love how it feels. I think the release date change is the big announcement for today. So have a fantastic rest of your weekend and a lovely week to come. Much Love, Z

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It’s Been A While! 8-22-2023 Author Update

It feels like ages since my last update. So let’s get to it!   First, I apologize to those who purchased The Dark Billionaire Trilogy from Barnes and Noble for your Nook. In error, I accidentally uploaded Intrigue as the book file. The issue should now be resolved. You should have the new version. Thankfully, B&N automatically pushes updated content to those who purchased the book. Secondly – I changed the title to Once Upon A One-Night Stand. I figured I had a small window to decide what to do. The new title is Romancing The Boss, which is one-half of the current series title. I think a big mistake I make is titling a book before I complete it, and then, as I try to promote it, I find myself stuck in the box because of the title. I believe Romancing The Boss better reflects the story. That’s why I put it in the series title. However, content that reflects a book titled Once Upon A One-Night Stand differs significantly from one titled Romancing the Boss. And Lynx is THE Boss. He’s her boss. He’s everybody’s boss, and he’s on a quest to become the biggest boss of his life. And so that’s why I made the bold decision to implement the changes. The second book in the series will not be Once Upon An Unrequited Love. In an earlier post, I discussed why that title has always irked me. I don’t think Max’s love was unrequited. It wasn’t that severe for him. Also, he didn’t love Lake – he was attracted to Lake, and that’s a big difference. So, the interim title is Romancing The Billionaire, but I want to put an adjective between The and Billionaire. So, give me time!  The most challenging part about the title change was that I lost reviews and ratings, which were pretty awesome. I have to contact my ARC team for help because Negative Nancy loves a blank slate to barf her negativity.  You know Negative Nancy, right? She only writes one-star reviews for the most part. She loves to be first, so she dreams of all the people she hopes she detours from reading the book. And the rare two or three stars she does give is for romance that doesn’t challenge her existing worldview. And finally, I’m more than halfway done writing Max’s story. I’m moving slower than I want but not slower than necessary. I want to finish the book already, but I also want readers to have a deeply fulfilling journey. I can’t rush the story and do that too. This book has a twist: a revelation about the Lord Brothers of Manhattan and the series about the Grove cousins.  I’m not someone who ignores the times. And so, if the most vocal romance readers resist being reminded of the mountain, then in the reality of my characters, the mountain cannot exist. That’s a clue. And finally, as it stands, I’m keeping my Sept 26, 2023 release date, but I am not rushing this story. I’m taking my time and carefully crafting every scene and element of the story. My goal is to keep the heart involved as you read. And so, if I push the date back until mid-October, I’ll let you know! I can’t go past Oct 31, though. Any new release in November and December almost always bombs. lol But I’ll keep you updated. I hope to complete the first draft before this month’s end, which means I better get cracking! I went to bed at 5:00 a.m. and woke up at 1 p.m. I had to get some administrative work done after writing. Sigh… Okay! I’ll give you an update a few weeks from now! Best,Z.L.

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Sunday, July 15th Author Update!

Well, I would’ve loved to have completed the first draft of Once Upon An Unrequited Love by now, but I haven’t. I have four parts planned, and I’m at the beginning of part two, which will be the bulkiest part of the story. I actually deleted 2000 words yesterday because my goal is to constantly challenge myself.  That means writing the difficult interaction and remembering to make the story character driven.  I’m also, as I had in Once Upon A One-Night Stand for sure, using dual POV sparingly. When it’s time to get into Max’s POV it will be at the right moments.  I have the entire story mapped out though. So I know how it will end.  The good news is that I don’t foresee myself delaying the release date. I’ll be sticking to September 27th.  I want to write a Christmas romance book this year too.  While writing this book, I’m rediscovering my love for writing my brand of romance. And it’s okay to write my brand. All I have to do is stick to it! LOL! Consistency, Lady! Jeez. 🙂 Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I’m plugging away at my next new release. When it’s over, I’ll be done with the Groves and Lords, so I want to end with a BANG. That means, carefully crafting a superior story – no shortcuts or lazy writing. And I will DEFINITELY not rush the story. Okay, I’ll let you know when I’m finished with part two, and how I feel it went. I want to make sure I remember that I’m writing human beings here. And I know a lot of people read romance to escape but we all know that’s not what I do. My brand is giving the reader an experience – to put you in my characters’ shoes and take you for a ride. Until next time! Toodles!Z

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Author Update 7-2-2023!

Well, it’s finally July! I can’t believe we’re already in July, and I feel worn out. I’m still writing Max’s book. I’ve been all over the universe trying to find a title for the book, and nothing is beating Once Upon An Unrequited Love. LOL! Sometimes I tend to overthink things. Like, I go down this rabbit hole of If/then in my quest for truth and meaning. Here’s what I’ll say – the notion of Unrequited Love isn’t sharply delineated. It’s a simple phrase used to define when someone has feelings for another person who doesn’t have feelings for them. That’s it, Z.L.! Jeez. There’s no need to make it more complex than that. I talk to myself that way a lot. I feel like I’ve been on a quest to make the center, the middle, my norm. Have you read my Parched series? So, that’s WAY out there. I’m revising Once Friends right now as well by making it first-person present tense. I’ll figure out whether I should change any of the story elements as I go. I’m actually quite entertained by the story. I didn’t think I would be, but I am. Hmm… Anyway, so, that book will get a re-release in the next three to four months. Don’t worry; I’ll tell you all about it when I’m closer to the end. If you recall, I combined Once Friends and Now Lovers to make the story only Once Friends. Here’s the deal, though. I’m going to give you a little writer’s insight. This is an admission. Sigh… Okay, so, I remember, and I remember because it has been haunting me for years, but when I started Now Lovers, I was in a rush to get the book out for some reason. Not only that, but I felt like I  had already told the story I wanted to tell. Jay and Sonja had fallen in love already. So why in the world was I writing another book? I shouldn’t have written it. But I did. I could’ve written about their time making the movie, challenging myself. There could’ve been some tension between Sonja, the newcomer, and Jay, the big movie star. Let me say, today, many years later, and as someone who’s vowed to stop rushing stories and actually knows how to focus on the romance better, I would definitely do that. But I don’t know if I’ll change the story that much because the suspense elements, two people finding their way back together while trying to figure out the Hester women curse, are quite entertaining. However, I remember crafting with my feet off the ground back then. You know, making up poisons and stuff like that. That’s what I mean by my feet off the ground. It’s not even real. It’s in my head. And I’m being WAY too creative. Today, I craft with my feet on the ground – even though I capture that moment in people’s lives when the truth is stranger than fiction. Because that happens to us at least once or twice, maybe a little more, in life. Sometimes the rules and mathematics of how God made life always give us chances to choose what’s fated for us. A lot of times, we don’t even see it. That’s why I say sometimes, if we really look, we can see magic. And if we’re too stuck in our ways and refusing to leave our bubbles, we can miss the magic. That’s why I write characters who don’t reside in bubbles. Anyway… So – yeah. I’ve been changing my covers like crazy. Like, I’m so tired of having “the guy” on my covers. And then the city behind the guy or some scene behind the guy. And I don’t want to direct your imagination toward how a guy looks because I never put guys on my covers that match my imagination. That’s because we have to find them in stock images. They’re like the same dudes; frankly, I’m tired of looking at them. And do you really want to know the truth? When I write, I don’t picture any guy. Not often at least. Baron Ze Feldis – No. Belmont – No. Maybe Zach in Taming the Shrewd. I don’t know why, but I imagined a guy when I wrote him. But Jasper? No. Spencer? Not Asher, either. Max – YES. And even Lynx. Hmm… Hercules? No. Achilles? No. Kind of. A little, but not much. And Orion. Yes. Anyway, the process of writing Max’s story is moving along splendidly. However, and I’ve said this before,  if I go too fast, I’ll miss the story. Just a couple of days ago, I told myself, “Oh no. If I had gone beyond this point, I would’ve missed this! I would’ve missed these subjects that must be addressed between the characters. They must’ve had these feelings when their worlds unexpectedly collided earlier in the book. And I should flesh out certain encounters now that my imagination is putting meat on the bones and ensure they are all moments of evolution. Thinking this way – crafting this way is why you, as readers say, “I couldn’t put the big down.” The story is tight. This can’t happen without that. This portion is leading to that—no radical elements. And I will say this, I’m in the middle of my part one rewrite, and I’m blown away by this story. I’m so in. When I arrived at the end of the chapters, I pumped my fist and said, “Yes.” LOL. Basically, I think you’re going to love it. I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself to finish as well as I started. And so, that’s why I can’t rush it. And so, I said all that to say that the new release date is September 26, 2023. And you can now preorder the Once Upon An Unrequited Love on Apple Books only! I will not do a preorder on Amazon because it’s just too complicated with them. If you want to preorder on Apple, go HERE. Alrighty then. I’m writing this after midnight so it is a shower and bed for me. Although, I feel like I’m missing something. The heat has finally made its way to Southern California. Sigh… I loathe the heat. One day, I’ll move to a cooler climate—one day. Until next time! Enjoy the rest of your week. Z

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A Late Sunday Author Update – 6-18-2023

Greetings!   So, I’ve been writing Max and Lake’s love story while musing over them as characters and how they arrive at the moment in time for which I’m capturing. Thinking about them and the emotions that they are experiencing makes me emotional, though. Maybe because I’ve come to a personal realization, something I’ve never considered.  Here it is: Romantic love can never occur without attraction, but attraction doesn’t always lead to true love, although it can lead to commitment. Whoah! Right? Because there are a lot of stories ready to pour from that foundation. Because I know Max has always been attracted to Lake, but he’s not in love with her when the book starts, only attracted. So the title can’t be Once Upon An Unrequited Love. And the story would feel disingenuous for me to call it that.  Sigh…  So that won’t be the title. But getting back to what I said earlier. I will be writing my grandmother’s story soon. Well, my grandparents were married at seventeen. My grandma turned 100 years old last year, but she was married to my grandfather until he died at eighty-three. She has admitted to never loving him romantically. They were committed to each other, though. Even though my pawpaw cheated and had a son and daughter from another woman, who was my grandmother’s best friend, mind you. I saw his two children for the first time at his funeral. His son chews Juicy Fruit gum and likes butterscotch candies like my grandfather did. Weird, right??? Genes. I’m telling you this because I’ll be writing my grandmother’s story, and this will all be in the book. She said so! She gave me permission to write it all! My grandmother admitted to cheating, but only because he did it first. He humiliated her. But, they were forced into marriage because they were two seventeen-year-old kids who were attracted to each other and then had sex and became pregnant. And five kids and a bunch of grandkids later, here I am!  So… That’s a story about attraction and commitment, but not a romantic commitment. I will say that my grandmother did not grieve after my grandfather died, and that killed me because I loved him so much. He was a fantastic pawpaw. I do think my grandmother liked him to a certain extent, though. He wasn’t abusive to her. They got into this comfortable rhythm of life together. But he obliterated her trust a long, long time ago, and I don’t think that humiliation ever left her. My grandmother’s story is fascinating. I can’t wait to write her book, my next project after I complete Max’s story. I already wrote my first sentence, “Ina had gone too.” My grandmother was only ten years old when she lost her mother to tuberculosis, dramatically altering her life. So, I’ve concluded that pure romance should be a story about two people who are cosmically attracted to each other because attraction feels cosmic. But the main story should be about their attraction evolving into true romantic love, which involves trust, respect, and genuinely liking the whole personality of the other person, and that personality does no harm. That personality actually does good; it does growth, it does comfort. That’s love. So Max and Lake’s story has me thinking about love wholly and differently, and I love it! Anyway, if you don’t know by now, the entire The Lords of Manhattan series is available on Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, and Nook. They have been in Kindle Unlimited for three cycles, so I made Crossing the Line and Boss On Notice free to get the series rolling and new readers interested. Boss On Notice is only free until July 17th, so grab your copy today! Oh, and Amazon hasn’t price-matched on all stores outside the USA yet. But I’ll send them a request to price-match early this week. It’s a whole process. But you can always grab the books from Google Play and Apple Books. All right! Time to end my working day.  The writing process is going smoothly, so I think I will definitely make my deadline for releasing the book on August 31st. As I said, I don’t want to write a book too fast, but I know this story already. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. But I also want to make sure the story feels grounded to you. I want to give you sneak peeks, but I’m unsure. I want you to savor it all on release day. 😊 Alright then… Until the next time! Warmest Regards,Z

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Title Changed Back to Once Upon A One-Night Stand!

Okay, so that was a big mistake. And good thing I ate my pride and embarrassment and changed the title back to Once Upon A One-Night before slipping into oblivion. This is all too overwhelming for me… Sigh. Anyway, I’m still planning to go wide with the new book, I just want to have my new cover finalized first. I paid for it. And it actually fits perfectly. To be honest, I really don’t want to put human images on my cover. You might have noticed that I don’t add identity traits to my characters. I want my readers to see themselves in how my characters are portrayed. I can go on about this, but I’ll leave it there. So, I’m working on multiple projects at once. I’m hoping to have Max’s story written by the end of the month. That’s how great this story is going! Although, I don’t want to rush because if I barrel through too fast, then I might some exciting plot points. But I’ve gone through this story in my head way too many times to slow my pace. In my last book, Xena and Lynx were new to me. But I’ve known Max and Lake since the Playing with Fire series! I’m like a bull out the gate with this book! LOL! It’s refreshing actually. So, as soon m new cover is finalized, I’ll go wide with Once Upon A One-Night Stand. I promise you, one full book read gets me $1.64. It’s like robbery! What am I doing keeping my books in this program? If I’m not getting hundreds of book reads a day, then I need to scram, and the same with the other books. The problem is, I kept The Lord Brothers books in KU for too long. So I have to be patient and give them time to gain traction while wide. And work my BEHIND off to make that happen. I can do it. I will do it! Until next week. Have a great rest of your weekend or start of your week! All best, Me!

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Big Title Change Announcement!

I want to announce an important change I made with my recent release. I changed the title from “Once Upon A One-Night Stand” to “Romancing The Risk.” I did that because I felt Once Upon A One-Night Stand was too playful. I’m in the process of writing Max’s book. I want to be done by the middle of next month. If I work on it everyday, I can make it happen. This book can be written faster because I’ve been thinking about the story for months and I know it from beginning to end! I have the prologue which I will share at some point. I don’t want to share it too early or too late. So do you remember what Romancing The Risk is about? Here’s the description. If you have grabbed your copy yet, the link is below. In a world where Xena St. James always plays it safe, everything changes when she meets the mesmerizing Lynx Grove. Their scintillating romance ignites during a risky one-night stand, challenging Xena’s cautious nature. As the allure between them grows, Xena must decide whether to embrace the passion or retreat to her familiar world of safety. Will Xena and Lynx’s magnetic connection lead to true fulfillment, or will their collision of desire leave them both longing for what could have been? Get ready for a thrilling rollercoaster ride of love, temptation, and self-discovery in this captivating tale. AMAZON.COM AMAZON UK AMAZON CA AMAZON AU AMAZIN DE

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Now Live! Once Upon A One-Night Stand

When you’re the kind of girl who always plays it safe. But today at the office was long and arduous, and that’s why tonight you’ve had too much drink. In walks the most gorgeous guy in the world, crashing your girl’s night out with your favorite cousin. “Wet.” That’s the word that changes everything. Ebook Available only on Amazon And Free with KINDLE UNLIMITED Get Your Copy Today! AMAZON.COM AMAZON UK AMAZON CA AMAZON AU AMAZIN DE ENJOY!

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4 More Days Until Hot New Release!

Hold on to your hats because this time it’s happening! Once Upon A One-Night Stand will be released this Tuesday, May 16th!  It has been nine months since my last book release, and I’ve never taken the opportunity to let the story evolve like I had this time around. And since I rather enjoy the practice and the outcome, I’m doing it again with Max’s book.  I’m hoping to be able to release Max’s book in August or September of this year, but I’m not forcing it.  Once Upon A One-Night Stand is 442 pages, and I think Max’s book will be closer to 500 pages. I have the story mapped out, and no matter how many ways I run through the story in my mind, the one I’ve spent months conceiving in the back of my mind while writing Once Upon A One-Night Stand is still the story I want to tell. But anything can happen during the creation process–anything. Okay, so I added another goodie to hold you until Tuesday! Under Sneak Peeks And Other Goodies, you’ll find a chapter two excerpt of Once Upon A One-Night Stand! Also, I’m still planning to do paperback giveaways. We’ll see what the budget allows. And finally, I do have an audio recording of the rest of chapter seven, which is in Lynx’s voice. The output is slow though. I’ll add it on Monday. But whatever device you use to listen to audio, try to speed it up for a more pleasant listen. All right then! I’ll be back on Monday and Tuesday! There’s so much to be done before the release date! Until Monday! xx

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