M.A. Church's Blog, page 96

Rights back on my ARe books

So the good news is I have the rights back on Nighttime Wishes, Nighttime Promises, Beyond the Surface, Riding the Tide, and Paws and Claws.

Sarah York is doing the covers for the Nighttime series. I'm really excited to see new covers for these books, and they have a wonderful sci-fi feel to them.

As far as the mermen series, I'm not tackling that right yet, nor Paws and Claws, because I have a deadline of February 1 for the dragon book that I have to get Dreamspinner on time.

I'm seriously thinking about putting the Nighttime series in KU, mainly because this will be the third time the book has been released.

Now, not so good news. I talked to a lawyer, and after much debate, decided to take the deal ARe offered in order to get my right back. So any money I earned for the fourth quarter is a dead loss. Yes, I could have sued. Yes, I could have joined a class action suit. The thing is, from Dec 28 until Jan 10th, those five titles were still up and earning money—money, it was becoming clear, I was never going to see.

So yes, I took a substantial hit by doing this, and it isn't the first time a publisher has screwed me royally. I'm damn well tired of people running off with my money. My blood pressure has also been through the ceiling pretty much since this blew up to. The day it happened was the day I was going in for my three month checkup, which is normal since I'm a stroke patient. It was 198/90. And no, that is seriously not good, especially since I am on high blood pressure medicine anyhow. *sigh*

Simple fact is, I can't allow my health to be affected in such a way especially since I'm already predisposed to stroke since I've had one. So I took the deal, and I have my rights back. The Nighttime series will be up just as soon as possible, as will the rest of them. :)

~M

Finicky Friday - CHICKEN & BROCCOLI ALFREDO WITH FETTUCCINE

Hey everyone, time for Finicky Friday again!



PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 15 MINUTES
SERVINGS: 6


INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 jar RAGÚ® Classic Alfredo Sauce
1 package (12 oz.) frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1 package (12 oz.) fettuccine pasta


INSTRUCTIONS
1. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken, in batches if necessary, stirring occasionally, until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove chicken and set aside.

2. Stir sauce and broccoli into same skillet. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered, stirring occasionally, until broccoli is heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Serve over hot fettuccine and sprinkle, if desired, with grated Parmesan cheese.

http://www.ragu.com/our-recipes/chicken-broccoli-alfredo-with-fettuccine/

Texting, Autocorrect, and a Prius is under contract with DsP!

Yay! Dreamspinner took the novella, and it's under contract now. The release date is July/Aug. This is the contemporary story based in a meme about texting.

Bass Pro Shop pics - A Country Boy at Heart

For those of you who read A Country Boy at Heart, here are some pics of Bass Pro Shop in the Memphis Pyramid. The family and I met with the in-laws in West Memphis New Year's Eve to eat lunch. After we were done, the hubby's brother came back with us. Since it was only ten minutes from Bass Pro Shop, we decide to stop.

There should be several things you notice from the book like: The General Store. That's where Lonnie got the fudge. And yes, I brought home a bag. Trust me, it's wonderful.

There are also pictures of the glass elevator where Sandy and Nick ended up trapped. The kids and I went up (the hubby didn't lol), and we went out on the observation deck. Unfortunately it was so cloudy you can't see the Memphbis skyline very well. And part of the floor is all glass... so you can look straight down. Yeah lol.

Hope y'all enjoy the pictures!



       Front of the store. :) We had a really close parking spot too!



     


















 Remember the hotel inside? This is it. They look like cabins and are on the third floor. Unfortunately, the kids and I never made it to the second and third level. We only had an hour to shop before the place closed for New Year's Eve. 





Courtney's fiancé being silly LOL.



 Huge fish tank. When we first arrived, there was a scuba diver inside. That was pretty cool.

















Remember I said there were man-made lakes all over the bottom floor for the Pyramid? Well, this is one of them.





Damn turkey scared me half to death LOL. It like perched up there looking down at you. o.o










And the glass elevator!!!! That's the one that Sandy and Nick got trapped in. Also, that really did happen Opening Day. Swear to God.


Very, very tall. Did I mention tall?





Going up in the elevator.



Don't look down!!!!




Okay, this is The Lookout. It's a bar/small restaurant and has a huge fish tank in the middle of the bar.










This is the Memphis skyline on the observation deck. Unfortunately, it was really foggy so you can't really see much of anything.




Okay, she'll probably kill me for posting that lol. We're on the observation deck, looking out over the skyline. Do you see you what they're standing on? That's actually clear glass. It was so foggy it looked opaque, but normally you can see straight down. LOL, can you guess how she felt about standing on that? :)





Yep, this is where that delicious fudge came from. Lonnie sure did like it. ;)




That's what I brought home. MINE!!!!!
Hope y'all enjoyed the pics. ~M

Happy New Year!

May it be a good for everyone!Love ya,~M

Happy New Year's Eve!

In Enemy Hands - Released from DsP today!

Blurb:
Two very different civilizations—one bathed in bright sunlight, and the other veiled in shadow.
Bad decisions, declining resources, and a king on the brink of madness force Prince Varo Kutchif, third son of the royal family and a starship captain, to attempt the impossible: barter for Black Phospolrock, an energy source the mysterious Helkan kingdom has in abundance. Varo opens a line of communication with Adlar, an intriguing Helkan who seems to reciprocate Varo’s interest. He hopes so, because if negotiations collapse, Varo has orders to attack.
The Helkans preside over a planet shrouded in perpetual darkness. Several species have tried to exploit its natural resources through trade with them, but all have failed. Adlar Mondur is the older brother to the Helkan ruler. An assassin of the highest order, he’ll do anything to protect his king and his people—including tracking down the Yesri prince who crash-lands on their planet, leaving an ugly scar across its untouched beauty.
Thus begins a journey where two men from disparate civilizations grow from enemies to lovers.


Release date: 30th December 2016
DsP: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/in-enemy-hands-by-ma-church-7942-b
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Enemy-Hands-M-Church-ebook/dp/B01MSXOUMK







Excerpt:Chapter One“Stars-cursed planet.”Snarling, Varo paced in his private bridge office. Jerking his luxurious cowlarium-hide desk chair around, he flopped down. Long white-blond hair fell over his shoulder. Irritated, he shoved it out of the way. He should’ve braided it this morning, but he’d gotten up late.He rested his chin on his knuckles and stared out the port window into the unrelieved darkness that was space, scowling. Planet Helkan was his focus—with its permanent swirling cloud cover that more times than not denied their in-depth scans.Its classification was that of a Darkrealm planet. Thanks to the cloud cover playing peekaboo, only filtured light got through. As such, its ecosystem either didn’t require much sunlight to live, or its fauna created its own photosynthesize non-visible light. No one knew much about the planet’s race since they didn’t travel off-planet much. The ones who did were said to be reserved, unfriendly, and uncommunicative. Cold, even.Varo picked up a report from his desk and scanned it once more. The description of the inhabitants as cold seemed appropriate. His reports said they were a tall, pale-skinned people with long black hair, pointed ears, slit pupiled eyes, and excellent night vision.Many of their cities were believed to either be located underground or built into cliff faces. Even though their technology was superior, that didn’t mean they weren’t barbaric and ruthless. Animals, really.There were also rumors others had attacked the planet at one point long ago. It was believed to be for the Black Phospolrock crystals. That prompted the Helkans to protect themselves in the form of a planetary grid.The Satellite Surveillance Network, or SSN, was a system of closely linked satellites that circled the planet. They formed a grid around Helkan. Beams of energy linked the satellites together. They incorporated their own shields so asteroids wouldn’t destroy them, but neither could a starship’s weapons system.Others had tried in the past. When ships encountered the grid, the main computers shorted out, leaving the crippled vessels to crash-land on the planet. No one had any idea what became of the survivors.When ambassadors from other planets tried to open talks about prisoners, the Helkans made it painfully clear they didn’t release hostages. Questions arose. Were they being treated humanely? Being taken care of? Were they given basic necessities like food, water, and shelter? Were they being tortured? Enslaved? If so, what did that slavery entail?More disturbing was the gossip Helkans had fangs and drank blood. As a race they had a terrible reputation, but they were reputed to be gorgeous monsters. Common sense said to avoid them since they were dangerous and existed solely on the fringe of society, but common sense often failed when greed was factored in.The whispered rumors they took prisoners and used them as a food source only increased other societies’ repulsion and curiosity. Varo shivered. Who knew what was true? Many reviled—and feared—the Helkans even as they tried to bargain with them. The fact they didn’t leave their planet often didn’t help the gossip about them either.When certain leaderships, like his father’s, became aggressive in their tactics, the Helkans closed their planet borders and refused outsiders the right to enter their space. How his father thought he could broker anything with a species as uncivilized as this one was beyond him. He’d been set up to fail, but failure was not an option. It did not pay to have His Royal Majesty discontented. The blood-soaked floors of his dungeons proved that.But that wasn’t what was most disconcerting. His orders—straight from the king himself—were to attack if no agreement could be reached. His targets were King Omori Mondur and his brother, Adlar Mondur.The very idea turned his stomach. While he was willing to die in the line of duty, murder was something completely different. If he attacked it would be considered an act of war. Lives would be lost—possibly his own. And over what? A stupid rock.But what could he do? His father made it perfectly clear he considered him dispensable. If he didn’t follow orders, His Royal Highness had been clear: his crew would suffer for his disobedience.He had a choice: murdering beings based on nothing more than their unwillingness to share their riches—and in the process, possibly forfeiting his own life along with his crew’s—or facing the insanity that masqueraded as his father’s rule.His Royal Highness’s plan was to disrupt the planetary government of Helkan with the murders of the king and his brother… then the Yesri would invade. The few advisors brave enough to point out the various flaws in the plan had been relieved of their duties—permanently. His father brooked no disagreement. Varo was doomed. If the Helkans didn’t kill him, then his father most assuredly would. After all, his father had an heir and a spare; he didn’t need Varo.He checked his comm. After making a pest of himself, he’d managed to attract the Helkans’ attention. He’d sent numerous hails requesting an audience with the king. Finally he received a message back informing him he would be granted an opportunity to speak.He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. This was it. One way or the other. Releasing the breath, he composed his demeanor, sat at his desk, and had the incoming message transferred to the on-screen viewer. The blurred images jumped and hissed across the screen and then cleared.And every thought he had flew out of his head.The breath froze in Varo’s chest as he stared. There on the screen was the most gorgeous creature Varo had ever laid eyes on. Long, glossy black hair cascaded over his shoulders and disappeared from sight.A narrow face that was hauntingly beautiful peered back at Varo. Full lips that tilted up in a slight smirk drew Varo’s attention. A tingle raced up Varo’s spine and nailed him in the back of the head. Varo was suddenly achingly hard and more than a little horrified by his response.But the otherworldliness of the face on screen was nothing compared to the eyes, the striking yellow eyes that studied and cataloged Varo too. The tremble that threatened to shake Varo’s frame caught him off guard. The look in that gaze was a mixture of scorching heat and frosty coolness—a predator who had Varo in his sights. The danger he felt flamed his body.“Captain Varo of Yesri, I am Adlar. How may I be of service?”The soft taunting voice and the hint of fang he saw snapped him out of his momentary distraction. Gathering his tattered dignity around him, he lifted his chin. “Greetings from His Royal Highness King Drea Kutchif, supreme ruler of the planet Yesri. I have been tasked with the mission of approaching your king concerning a possible agreement about obtaining rights to Black Phospolrock. Would it be possible to me to speak with King Omori?”Varo held his breath. Was this Adlar the king’s brother? Was that why he did not offer a last name? And if Adlar was royalty, why would he not announce himself as such? How… odd.“Unfortunately no. A small emergency cropped up and King Omori was detained. I would ask that in his stead, you deal with me. Tell me of this proposal you come bearing.”It was not what he hoped for, but it was better than nothing. As Varo recited the terms and stipulations, he wished desperately he could remove his uniform jacket. He knew perfectly well his office was climate controlled, but sweat was trickling down the small of his back, distracting him. His dry mouth certainly did not help his attempts to sound articulate. Stars, he hadn’t sweated like this since he was a cadet.As he rattled off the terms, he fought the urge to squirm. Adlar’s gaze unnerved him… and excited him. The brief glimpses of fangs were horrifyingly erotic, and a complete bewilderment as to why that affected him. For once he was thankful the screen only showed him from the waist up.Instinct told him Adlar would not only notice his arousal, but use it to his advantage. That was unacceptable. His voice roughened as he spoke. The situation infuriated him. He refused to let a certain part of his anatomy lead him around, even if his body had suddenly decided Adlar was the soon-to-be star of his fantasies.“I will speak with King Omori and bring your proposal to him. I’m sure he will have questions. May I contact you?”Varo couldn’t believe it. Of all the possible outcomes he envisioned, this was certainly not one. From all the things they’d heard about the Helkans, this reasonable response was confounding.“I would very much like to speak with you again,” Varo said. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to come here and speak face-to-face, would you?”“I’m afraid not. But thank you for the invitation.”Varo started to offer him assurances of his safety, but paused. If this Adlar was indeed related to the king, then he couldn’t in good faith do that. Stars knew if his king found out he had the brother of the Helkan king on his ship and didn’t take him prisoner… it didn’t bear thinking about.“I see. That’s too bad.” He refused to admit even to himself how badly he’d like to meet Adlar face-to face. “Please use this secured subspace frequency again for any questions you may have. And I thank you for your willingness to share my king’s words with yours.”“It was my pleasure.” Adlar nodded and then signed off.As soon as the screen went black, Varo stripped off his warm jacket and dropped it on the small couch in his office. After ordering up a glass of cool, fresh water, he released the tight hold on his body and slumped on the couch next to his jacket.Well, that short conversation had been a fountain of knowledge. The Helkans were not as obtuse as first thought. At least he hoped. He also learned the mental image he’d had of them as tall and wraith-thin monsters was also false. Inconceivably false, as his hard cock could testify.He glanced down at his dick, which was just now deflating. Why in the two moons of Helkan had his libido decided now to make itself known? And toward this race? He scrubbed his hands over his face. It was a fluke, nothing more. Lack of sleep and stress had finally gotten the better of him. That was all.It had to be.Several unit hours passed as he tried to distract himself. He checked over crew schedules and read through several status reports on various parts of his ship. He okayed an accident report, several requests for transfers to different ship departments needed to be read over and decided upon, and a note from the ship’s doctor that he was due for medical checkup he could attend to either here or on planet once they were back in port.The day passed slowly, even though he tried to keep his mind occupied with the daily happenings aboard the ship. By the time end of shift came, he was climbing the walls. He wanted to hear Adlar’s voice again. Maybe he needed to have his head examined when it came time for his medical checkup.Just as he was getting ready to leave his private office on the bridge, his comm signaled an incoming message. His heart pounded. This was past becoming ridiculous. The readout showed it was from Adlar. His heart rate increased as he transferred the message from his comm to his viewing screen.Then it dropped as he struggled to keep the disappointment from his face when the image on the screen was not who he expected. Instead it was King Omori. That was good. Very, very good. Maybe if he said it enough, he could convince himself of that.He quickly explained the reason for his mission and outlined the plan his king had given him.King Omori held up his hand and halted the conversation. “There seems to be some misunderstanding. We do not grant mining rights. Ever. The one time we allowed another race to come on planet and mine, the results were disastrous.”“But I outlined a plan to your spokesman, Adlar. We would only use as many miners as needed, use equipment that you sanctioned, and are willing to be supervised. It’s a very generous package.”“I am not sure if Adlar understood you were talking about mining rights. From what he told me, you were talking about the rights to Black Phospolrock. I assumed you meant you wanted to speak about an exclusive import agreement with us concerning the crystal.”“I… I….” Varo replayed the earlier conversation and was mortified to see he hadn’t specified mining rights. Was he so bedazzled by Adlar that he was careless in his negotiations? What had he done? “I apologize for not clarifying my intent. If it would be at all possible—”“Captain Varo, while I believe the sincerity of your proposal, I’m afraid the proposal isn’t possible. As I stated, we do not allow anybody on planet. At this point I’m also not convinced selling the Black Phospolrock is worth the headache it would entail.”“Your Majesty, please, if we could just—”“If we supplied one race, we would be opening ourselves up to sharing with many races. Which eventually would lead to having to deal with others coming on planet.”Varo couldn’t believe this was happening. “But—”“Eventually that’s going to lead to problems. It always does. One race is going to feel another race is getting more than their fair share, or is getting a better deal, or will have some complaint that, no matter how invalid it is, will blow up into a disagreement.”“Maybe not! We could supply guards to help control—”“That’s the last thing we want,” King Omori said. “Not to mention every time we send the shipment out, we would have to lower our planetary defenses, which opens up avenues for unscrupulous people to attack. I’m sorry, Captain Varo. The answer is no.”Oh goddess. He actually thought he was going to be able to negotiate this trade agreement, and now it was falling all the pieces. That left him with one option, an option he truly detested.“I also would ask that you leave our airspace immediately.”Well, decision made. “Is there not anything I could do to convince you otherwise, Your Highness?”“I appreciate your dedication, and I’m sorry, but the answer is no. Good day.”The view screen went blank. Varo had one unit hour. At the end of that time, life as he knew it was going to irreparably change.

Finicky Friday - New Year's Day Black-Eyed Peas

Welcome to Finicky FridayRecipe by: Roxanna Parks

We're doing it a little early since I have a release Friday. Oh, and remember, black-eyed peas on New Year's Day brings good luck for the entire year! 


3 h 15 m 16 servings 120 cals

Ingredients
1 pound dry black-eyed peas
2 cups chopped cooked ham
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch garlic powder
2 onions, diced
1 (14.5 ounce) can whole tomatoes


Directions
Place black-eyed peas in 8 quart pot. Add enough water to fill pot 3/4 full. Stir in ham and diced onions, and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Place tomatoes in a blender or food processor, and blend until the tomatoes are liquefied. Add tomatoes to pot. Bring all ingredients to boil. 
Cover the pot, and simmer on low heat for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until the peas are tender.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/16022/new-years-day-black-eyed-peas/?internalSource=staff%20pick&referringId=1043&referringContentType=recipe%20hub&clickId=cardslot%202

ARe Closing

I'm sure everyone has heard about ARe closing on 12/31/16. Make sure to download your library before the site closes.


Per Dreamspinner:
Announcement in response to All Romance eBooks closure notice: If readers pre-ordered Dreamspinner titles on ARe then you will not be able to download them upon release. If rumors are true, ARe will also not refund pre-orders. Therefore, Dreamspinner offers to fulfill readers' pre-paid Dreamspinner pre-orders from ARe. You need to forward the ARe receipt to contactATdreamspinnerpressDOTcom and the customer service department will be sure you receive the eBook at no additional cost to you. Thank you.


So... if you pre-order In Enemy Hands from ARe then let DsP know. I know Resplendence Publishing is doing this too for their pre-ordered titles, along with several others.

My self-pubbed titles are gone from ARe, and I think all of my DsP titles are too. Please, don't buy my ARe titles. I'm not getting paid for those *at all*. That's right. ARe is going to try to keep all those profits. And for all my other titles, the are only paying 10 cents on the dollar.

So yes, first Storm Moon screwed me over and now ARe is.

Please, guys, make sure to download your libraries there. Do it quick. Authors are pulling their books as fast as they can. If the site crashes, keep trying.

As far as ARe's last minute closing, I'm not making any comments until I find out what my options are. Nothing I say would be fit for y'all's ears anyway. I'll just leave it as I'm PISSED and so damn tired of this shit.

~M

Release day for Tre d'amore e di guai (Trouble Comes in Threes - Italian Edition)

Buy Link: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/tre-damore-e-di-guai-by-ma-church-8003-b


Una  tempesta di neve – la notte di Capodanno – non promette niente di buono. Dopo una relazione finita male e una serie di disastri domestici, Kirk è in attesa di essere colpito dalla disgrazia numero tre, che si realizza con l’arrivo di due gatti randagi che si mettono subito comodi a casa sua. Kirk ha il cuore tenero e decide di farli restare, anche se c’è qualcosa di strano in quei due mici così affettuosi.

Al riparo dal maltempo e sazi di tonno, Dolf e Tal sono contenti di stare al calduccio a casa di Kirk, ma quando il loro umano esce a prendere della legna per il fuoco e cade perdendo i sensi, i due sono costretti a rivelare la loro vera natura.

Quando Kirk si risveglia, scopre che i gatti sono in realtà due mutaforma che il destino ha scelto come suoi compagni. Per lui non è facile abituarsi all’idea di fare parte di un ménage à trois felino, inoltre la colonia da cui provengono Dolf e Tal ritiene che umani e felini non debbano unirsi. Anche se Kirk ha capito fin da subito che quei due gatti gli avrebbero portato dei guai, non sa che i guai veri sono dietro l’angolo.


Cover Artist: Paul Richmond

Translator: Emanuela Cardarelli

Genres Holiday / M/M/M or More / Werewolves/Shapeshifters