Liv Rancourt's Blog, page 18

Valentine's #Giveaway with @Crimson_Romance

400 Crimson Romance books priced at $1.99 
The month of February is a fun one for Crimson Romance, because they always give so much stuff away. This year, their grand prize is a Kindle Fire and a bunch of their bestselling books. Entering is as easy as signing up for the Crimson newsletter, so jump HERE for a chance to win. They've also dropped the price on all their books published before 2015, and over 400 books have been reduced to $1.99 - or $0.77 for the 8-book bundles. That's a screamin' deal, so jump HERE to see what's what.

My paranormal romance Forever & Ever, Amen is one of the books priced at $1.99. I love this story because it's about grown-ups dealing with adult issues. More accurately, it's about a forty-some woman and an angel dealing with the problems created by a demon and a couple of teenagers. 

Because sometimes there's not all that much difference between a demon and a teenager.

Molly's great. She's not perfect, but she's resilient, and she loves her kids more than anything. Cass wears his heart on his sleeve, and even though he's spent eternity observing human behavior, he can't help falling for her spirit and sense of humor. Check out the blurb & excerpt, and if you're intrigued, there's a link down at the bottom to the book's page on Amazon. Thanks so much, and Happy Valentine's Day...
Liv


BlurbMolly, a forty-something single mom, tangles with the wrong guy and gets a hell of a hickey. That blotch is really a demon’s mark, and she’ll have to face the three things that scare her most to get rid of it.

First, Molly loses her job and then she has a near-sex experience with her philandering, not-quite-ex-husband. Worst of all, she has to sit by a hospital bed, wondering if her son is ever going to wake up.


The Powers That Be assign Cass to help her. He’s an angel who’s trying to earn a seat in the celestial choir by helping out a human in need. Vanquishing the demon would be his ticket up, but only if he plays by the rules. He’ll never earn his wings if he loses his heart to the lovely Molly. But she has even bigger things to worry about. She stands to lose her soul.


Excerpt
Molly ran her hands through her hair in frustration. “So far he’s cost me my job and nearly dumped me into bed with Ford. I do not want to live through whatever the third trial is.”
            “You don’t mean that.” Cass moved closer to her, nearly close enough to touch. He took a deep breath and reached out towards her.
            She automatically reached toward him, her fingers brushing through cool air where she saw his hand. Shit.
            His expression was as sad as she’d ever seen it. “Look under your pillow.”
            “What?”
            “Your pillow.”
            “Why? Are you the tooth fairy now?”
            Cass chuckled, sounding more like himself. “Just trust me.”
            The rich earthy smell of the forest got stronger. Molly raised an eyebrow and ran her hand under the closest pillow. Her fingers brushed against something cool and round. She pulled it out. It was a gold ring about a quarter inch thick and carved with a delicate vine and leaf pattern. “Wow,” Molly whispered. “It’s beautiful.”
            “Put it on.” 
            She did. It fit the ring finger of her right hand. She held her hand out, watching the way the light made the ring glow, just like Cass’s earring did.
            “Now sugar, this isn’t just an ordinary ring,” he said. “It’s sidhe gold, and while its magic won’t last forever, it’ll hold off Zepar’s last trial until you’ve had time to get your feet on the ground a little bit.”
            “I thought the rules said you could only talk and listen.”
            Cass shut his eyes and pressed an index finger to his closed lips.
            “Okay then,” Molly said. “I won’t tell if you won’t. I don’t have enough friends that I can afford to piss one of them off.”
            “We’re friends?” Cass sounded tentative, and Molly could feel him watching for her response.
            “I hope so.” She smiled.
            “Good.”
            “I do appreciate what you’re doing. You’ve been really…I don’t know how I’d be handling all this if I didn’t have you to help me work things through.”
            “Just listening and talking, right?”
            “Yeah, and keeping my daughter’s boyfriend in line and making me laugh.”
            “It’s always easy to help a pretty girl.”
            “You know, if I ever get married again, it would have to be with someone like you.” Surprise made Molly blush to the roots. She didn’t know where the idea had come from but knew to her bones that it was true. “I’m sorry, that was…”
            “You might want to find someone a little more substantial.”  Cass smiled, but he was blushing, too.
            “Yeah.”  Their glances met and held. Molly looked away first.

            “You sleep good tonight, Molly.” Cass bowed and disappeared.

If you'd like to read more, jump HERE to find Forever & Ever, Amen priced at just $1.99 from Amazon.

Endless as the Rain - Guest post with MS Kaye

Book One of the Taken Series
Upcoming release date 2/13/15
This week I'm so pleased to share a new-to-me author, MS Kaye. Her upcoming release is called Endless as the Rain, which feels all kinds of appropriate after the last couple weeks of Seattle weather. Anywhoodle, keep reading to learn more about Ms. Kaye and her new book...



Blurb
When Adriane Graham discovers a city councilman is part of an embezzlement ring, she doesn't realize her life is in danger until Alec Kadan, the son of a mobster, kidnaps her—not to kill but to protect her. But why? And how does he know so much about her, right down to her favorite books? In order to find out, Adriane must get past Alec's anger and secrecy to unravel his past and find the key to her own.


Author Bio:M.S. Kaye has several published books under her black belt. A transplant from Ohio, she resides with her husband Corey in Jacksonville, Florida, where she tries not to melt in the sun. Find suspense and the unusual at www.BooksByMSK.com.

To receive news on upcoming releases, sign up for email updates on her website. 
Contact M. S. Kaye at: 
Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Goodreads  ~  Amazon  ~  TSU  ~  Pinterest  ~  LinkedIn


Excerpt:The thought that was still eating at me was the possibility of rejection. I’d heard women talk about how almost any woman can get a man’s attention once, that men generally have a strong drive and will usually take most opportunities. But Alec was strong-minded. If he truly didn’t want a woman, I was certain he’d reject her.

It was a risk.

One I was willing to take.

I peeked into the hall to be certain no one was around, and then walked silently through the shadows. I turned the corner toward his room.

My mind couldn’t help but to wander. I began to see images—at first his surprise, and then understanding, and hopefully his arousal. I saw kissing and removal of clothes before lying down. I hoped he wouldn’t feel the need to talk or to ask why. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hide my true motivations.

My feet stopped.

I couldn’t do it.

I wouldn’t trick him like that—hide the truth from him just to have what I wanted.

Only a couple feet from his door, I turned, somehow feeling pride, shame, and disappointment all in that one turn.

The click of a door opening—his door.

I managed not to jump.

“Adriane?”

I turned half way to look at him over my shoulder. “I’m sorry I woke you. I was just feeling restless.” It wasn’t a complete lie.

As I looked at him, my resolve wavered for a second. His expression was beyond kind but with a little concern—for my sanity, no doubt. He still wore his slacks and dress shirt but barefoot, and his shirt was untucked and unbuttoned. His hair was a little disheveled, and what absolutely killed me was the slight sheen of his skin, as if I’d woken him from an intense dream. His skin seemed to glow in the faint light, and his eyes took on that deep shadowed effect. Why did he have to look like that? He was perfect in every other way. Why this too?

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

So as not to seem rude, I turned to face him properly. “No. I was just restless. Please go back to sleep.” And please don’t look at me too closely.

He took a step closer. At least it was dark. I ran my fingers through my hair to casually pull it back.
He took a breath.

“Are you sure?” he said.

I crossed my arms, pretending I was cold, but really trying to hide my chest. I worried, though, that I only succeeded in creating more cleavage.

Did his eyes just flicker? No, it was too dark to see his eyes clearly.

“I’m fine,” I said, “just a little cold.” I turned to leave.

He didn’t respond, and I continued my escape. Once my door closed, I pressed my back against it, head leaned and eyes closed. My heart pounded. It shouldn’t be legal to look like that.

Faintly, I heard his door close. Then I jumped at a loud pounding sound, like someone punching a wall, and his voice, though muffled from distance. “Dammit.”

It was only maybe ten minutes later that I heard his footsteps. The sound of his shoes, no longer bare feet, quickly moved down the stairs. It was only three in the morning.

Want more? Endless as the Rain is available for preorder from AMAZON!

What Makes A Good Romance?

For those of you who live in a box, fair warning. We're heading straight into Valentine's Day. The rest of you already knew that, and you're either quaking with anticipation or ready to find a box of your own.

I'm sort of in the middle. Twenty years of marriage'll do that to a person.

But enough about me. The preponderance of pink and red, heart-shaped tchotkies taking up space in every grocery store and all the adverts filling my email in-box with ideas for the perfect gift got me thinking. What IS romance, anyway? I write the stuff. You'd think I'd be able to come up with  good definition.

'Eh, that's what Dictionary.com is for.

Romance1.
a novel or other prose narrative depicting heroic or marvelous deeds,pageantry, romantic exploits, etc., usually in a historical or imaginarysetting.2.
the colorful world, life, or conditions depicted in such tales.3.
a medieval narrative, originally one in verse and in some Romance dialect, treating of heroic, fantastic, or supernatural events, often in the form of allegory.4.
a baseless, made-up story, usually full of exaggeration or fancifulinvention.5.
a romantic spirit, sentiment, emotion, or desire.6.
romantic character or quality.7.
a romantic affair or experience; a love affair.Really? 
I mean, really? The best you can do is natter on about literary forms until you get to #5? And we have to wait until #7 to get to the really important one: A Love Affair.

Because imho, all good romance is essentially a love affair. Whether it's you and your beloved (or be-liked-a-lot) connecting in a crowd, or that moment when you finish a book and immediately turn back to page one because you can't bare to be separated from the characters, it's all about the love.

So romance is a love affair, but what else is it? What are the other elements that make up a good love story, whether in real life or on the page?


Infatuation.Infatuation is the smoky lens, the amber glow, the filter between you and your beloved that turns every molecule of their being into perfection. You know how to test this theory? Go get your high school year book and open it to the picture of the person you were crushin' on back then. Now look at them.

Really look.

Utter perfection? Or are you asking yourself how you ever fell for a guy with a mullet? Because if you're got a crush on a guy with a mullet, you are seriously GONE, and more power to you.


Anticipation
Ahh...anticipation. Tom Petty spoke the truth when he said the waiting is the hardest part. Over the weekend I read Changing Plans by LA Witt. It's  series of novellas about a gay couple who meet in an airport when their flight is delayed. Even though contemporary society is way more open than it used to be, they couldn't just, like, throw down a smooch the first time the subject came up. They had to wait for a private moment, a private place, and OMG they took one of the longest elevator rides in my life.  Every detail - shoulders bumping, fingers brushing, an almost-growl when someone else got on - heightened the wanting, so when they finally got there...

Wow.


ObstaclesAnd I'm not talking obstacles like some clueless soul who gets on the elevator and keeps you from making out. I mean real, God-we-gotta-deal-with-this-shit obstacles, like, he's your best friend's younger brother, or she lives a solid six-hour drive south of you. Or one of you has an ex- who doesn't quite realize it's over. Or one of you thinks monogamy is for other people.

Or one of you doesn't know which forks go in which slot in the drawer.

Ahem.

When your infatuation filter is securely in place, it makes those obstacles look like tiny little pebbles, but even pebbles can hurt if they get stuck in your shoe. 


HeatYeah baby. This is where the fun begins. You and your beloved, or the characters in that book you can't bear to put down, need physical contact more than food or water or oxygen. And when bodies collide, the friction could light up Manhattan.

To illustrate the heat thing, I want to share the first real kiss between two of my favorite characters. In the novella "Shackles", from the collection Liberty & Other Stories by Alexis Hall, Milord is a prisoner sentenced to die, and Ruben is a defrocked priest. The way they drive each other crazy drives me crazy, and I absolutely love it.

Ruben cradled Milord's face between his hands and brought their mouths together. And they kissed and it was awkward, the sort of fumbling collision Ruben thought he had left behind with adolescence. But it was sweet, too, this fresh-born kiss, full of things unspoken and undreamed, and Ruben simply closed his eyes and let it bloom between them. Milord's lips softened under his and welcomed him, and together they gently learned the ways to move and give and take and dance, sharing breath and warmth and a slow, deep pleasure.


So there you have my thoughts on what makes a good romance. You need infatuation, anticipation, obstacles, and heat, and when you mix them all together, you may well end up with the real deal.

So what did I miss? Are there any pieces of the romance puzzle that should be included here? Do tell in the comments...

Happy Valentine's Day!
Liv

What I Shared This Week

Two of the prettiest things about the '80s
(& yes, I did share this on FB)
My Facebook stream is all about the variety, and this was a great week for sharing blog posts. Because there was so much good stuff, I decided to go back through my stream and list a few here. Most have a writing theme, addressing either/both craft or lifestyle. There's some great stuff, and I hope you check out a few of these posts.

1. Jump HERE for Margie Lawson"s post on writing writerly. I've taken several classes with Margie and heard her use the term "writerly", but this is the first time I ever really got what she meant.

2. Jump HERE for a post by Lisa Abellera on creating a sense of place. RelentlessWriters is a new group blog (and full disclosure, I'm a member), and there are a bunch of great posts to check out, but Lisa's post from yesterday really spoke to me.

3. Have you ever struggled with making writing a priority? Like, how can you spend time at the laptop when SOMEONE NEEDS TO VACUUM?! If that resonates for you, check out this post on letting go of guilt by freelance writer Sarah Hackley.

4. My friend Nicole Evelina wrote a thoughtful post on body image, body hatred, and the contortions/distortions we are all forced to live with. Jump HERE to check it out.

5. And because I can't resist a little self-promotion, this week marked another stage in my journey. My '50s-era m/m romance, Aqua Follies, is officially out on submission. Anyone who wants to light a candle or send up a quick Hail Mary will be my BFF forever. And while we're all waiting to see if it lands a contract, jump HERE to see the Pinterest board I created for the project. It'll give you a sneak peek into the world and the characters, and hopefully wet your appetite for the real thing.

And finally, I just had to share my new favorite song. Rock it with Bruno while you're checking out the links above, and have a great weekend!
Liv

 

Rose of Crimson by Zrinka Jelic

My friend Zrinka Jelic recently published her fifth novel, Rose of Crimson, and she graciously agreed to field a few interview questions to tell you all about it. Zrinka lives in Ontario, and her contemporary novels have a lovely paranormal slant influenced by the myths and legends found in her native Croatia. Zrinka's been a guest on my blog before, and I'm so happy to have her back. To prove it, I'll shut up now and let her do the talking...
The Interview
LR: What’s your favorite thing about Rose of Crimson? ZJ: My favorite thing is that’s finally written and published the way I wanted it to be. It’s a different in a way of jumping through the timelines. In many novels the character goes from present into the past and comes back, or timelines alternate from chapter to chapter, but in this book they are intertwined throughout the book.
LR: Why did you go with a prequel, and how do you think reading Rose of Crimson changes the impact of Bonded by Crimson? ZJ: I’ve decided to show how Kate and Matthias met. I’ve received some reviews on Bonded where the readers mentioned that there are unanswered questions, and those questions are answered in Rose. The dots are connected and things explained. 
LR: Which book or author has influenced you the most? What is it about their work that grabs you?ZJ: There are many fabulous writers that I find influencing, among them I’d point out Arturo Perez Reverte although his books are translated into English, I love his stories and adventures of Captain Alatriste. Also I’m getting influenced by George R.R. Martin. However no matter what, the only writer I’m striving to be is better one than I was yesterday. In another words, while liking the works of other authors, I’m trying to develop my own voice and not imitate others. I’ve read books where an author literally wrote the way his favorite author did, but the voice seemed contrived and unnatural. 
LR: Do you write full-time, or are you juggling a day job or other major time commitments? How do you make it all work? ZJ: I wish I could write the full time. No, I’m juggling a day job, household and family. My writing, though always on my mind, is probably the last thing I do in the evening. If I manage to put in a few words I consider that a good day. 
LR: Love it or hate it, promotion is part of the gig. What’s worked best for you? Do you have any secrets to share? ZJ: I don’t hate it, but I don’t like it either. I don’t know what works, only what doesn’t. Some people know how to play Amazon game and get their books into first 100 ranks, yet I read the very same book and frankly the book defies existence. It’s like the author woke up one day and decided to write a book then self-published it without any editing. Yet, there are many wonderfully written books that will never be discovered simply because the author doesn’t have a large following of friends and family and/or doesn’t know how to play the game. And the game is getting dirtier that at moments, it seems discouraging to keep going. Then I have to remind myself that I’m doing this for me and if there are people who like what I’m doing, great, those who don’t can keep away. 
LR: Since you’re pretty much a world traveler, describe your dream vacation. Where would you go if money and time didn’t limit you? ZJ: I’d love to sail around the world. Stay at ports, visit islands and little towns by the sea. That would be my dream life not just a vacation. 
LR: What’s next on your writerly horizon? Any little teasers you can share here?ZJ: I’m trying myself in a new to me genre, romantic suspense. My work in progress is titled In the Stars (as in written in the stars) and it’s a story of high school sweethearts separated 14 years ago by the heroine’s parents who forced her into a marriage with a man who lives half the world away. Now she’s back in town. Their love rekindles in an instant, but danger follows her, and she’s got a secret of her own. 

Zrinka, on Rose of Crimson... My 5th novel is titled Rose of Crimson and it was released by Secret Cravings Publishing on December 23rd, 2014. This is a prequel to Bonded by Crimson which was published on January 15th, 2012. I started working on the prequel the day I was offered a publishing contract for Bonded by Crimson. Then it got pushed to the back burner while I worked on other projects. Since then I wrote and published Treasured Chest, a pirate romance, Love Remains, a time travel romance and Deck the Halls, a Christmas novella. 
Rose of Crimson is based on a Croatian legend from late 17th century. Local people like to refer to the tragic love story as their Romeo and Juliet, only in this version the young lovers (Miljenko & Dobrila) are from feuding aristocratic families who would stop at nothing to keep them apart. Even when Dobrila’s father accepted offered hand of peace, he couldn’t with the fact that Miljenko won and took his daughter.
However, Rose of Crimson is not a historical romance. In the book the hero, Miles—he shortened it from Miljenko—telepathically projects his story onto heroine, Kate—who has a special connection with him through her ancestor. I wanted to present the passages of his past life differently than just jump from past to present through the chapters. I wanted a reader to know when we’re entering and exiting his story. Because, he sought her out to write down his story. Both books are stand alone, though the ending in Rose of Crimson may not leave you satisfied, Kate and Matthias do find their happily ever after in Bonded by Crimson.
And now the excerpt:           He had pulled the door open and there she sat, on top of the steps. Hadn’t he told her to go home and pack? Wait, something was different about her. She was younger, a child almost. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, her clothes…God almighty! She was naked, save for a few scraps. Could her breeches get any shorter? The threads hung loose form the frail hem, as if she put shears to her leggings. Her long, tanned legs were bare for all to see. Her shirt, if one could call it such, sleeveless, backless even, held by two thin straps tied around her neck, depicted a pony. Whoever put animals on their attire and with glittering mane of all things?
“Oh my God!” Kate screeched, but didn’t pull her hands out of his. “I remember this encounter. That’s me.”
“That is you. The last time I saw your great-great-grandmother was the first time I saw you.”
“Wicked.” Her voice carried her fascination. “It’s some kind of an omen.”
“Something or someone tried to tell me something,” he said. Maybe they were destined for one another, and nothing he did would keep them apart.
“Now I know why you scrutinized me as if I came from some other world. In your eyes, I did. To me you didn’t appear out of place. I thought you pulled your clothes from your grandpa’s chest for the local festivity. I figured the weakness that poured over me as a sign of heat or sunstroke.”
“How do you explain the rose I gave you?” He snickered at her last comment, the old clothes stored together with moth balls in squeaky chests with rusted hinges and used on occasions such as festivity to resurrect the old traditions and attract visitors.
Her long gaze and soft smile settled on him. If she was trying to play cool and not show how much she wanted him, her pretending failed. “My memory has faded a little since then, but I clearly remember you picking the flower and offered it to me. My mom is adamant that I picked it myself. She said good thing the custodian didn’t catch me.”
His heart sunk at the mention of the home he grew up in. It had been decades since he last touched its stone walls. The once mighty castle, closed for the family affairs, was now open for everyone to roam about for the price of the admission. At least the money generated was used to preserve the building and grounds, and employed a few people.
BLURB
KATE ROKOV‘s grades are plummeting. She needs to get the voice out of her head or she will flunk her finals.
MATTHIAS ZRIN, a three centuries old immortal, born into an aristocratic family as Miles Rušinić, is enthralled with Kate. It is his voice preventing Kate from sleeping and her ignorance is testing his limits. He wants her to write down his story to settle his wife’s earthbound spirit. His tragic love story has become Kate’s obsession since fifth grade during her summer trip to Rušinić castle.
Their coming together settles the old spirit and breaks an ancient curse, and in doing so, a flame spanning over three centuries reignites and burns with wild desire. In this tale of two life times and desire versus emotional need, both know some dreams will have to wait for the right time, but the magic between them is impossible to withstand.
You can pick up a copy for your...KindleKoboNookiPad

My Husband's Mutombo Moment

So at the end of the season in 1994, the Seattle Supersonics had the best record in the NBA. Their record was 63 wins to 19 losses, George Karl was their coach, Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton, Michael Cage and Nate McMillan, Sam Perkins and Detlef Schrempf were town HEROES. And I mean HEROES.
Much like the Seattle Seahawks this year.
Do you see where I'm going with this?
You probably don't remember 1994, or at least the NBA post-season that year, but I'll tell you what, if you followed the Sonics at all, you KNEW they were headed for the NBA Finals. No question. They were just that good. But wait. Do you remember the Sonics playing in the Finals that year?
Nope, you don't, because they lost before they got there. Not only that, they lost in the first round, to the number 8 seed Denver Nuggets.They won the first 2 games in the best 3 out of 5 series, and they LOST - the first time ever a number 1 seed lost to the number 8 seed. 
I was there for game 5. I may never recover.
Cut my heart out. Just do it.For those of us who were fans of the Sonics that year (and for years before that, and for years after until some a$$hole from Oklahoma stole them), the image of Dikembe Motumbo rolling around the court at the end of game 5 was the final nail in the coffin of our dreams, made worse by the fact that all his jubilation took place on the floor of Key Arena. See the Sonics green on the floor? It was our HOME COURT.
Jeebus. Twenty-one years later, it still twists something in my gut.
As I said earlier, I attended that game. It was a Sunday afternoon, and I had plans afterwards with my then-boyfriend, a tall, lanky musician who could tell the difference between a football and a basketball, but didn't pay much more attention to sports than that. I think I canceled our post-game date. I was just too upset to go out.
Despite that, he still married me, and a few years ago, a funny thing happened. Our son, who was then in 2nd grade, announced he wanted to play football with his best friend. And, like any rational, caring parent, I said,
HELL NO.
I mean, come on. 2nd grade? No way. I said NO when he asked again in 3rd grade, but by the time he got to 4th grade, I'd made as much peace with the idea as I ever will, and signed the permission slips. I figured he'd take a couple solid hits that first season, and decide swim team had more to offer. (Hello?! Girls in swimsuits!) He's a high school freshman now, and just finished his first season  of high school football. Apparently the idea of delivering solid hits to other boys outweighs the inevitable punishment involved.
Another funny thing happened. During my son's years in club football, my husband became a HUGE fan of the sport. My son's participation in the sport paralleled the Seahawks rise from perennial cellar-dwellers, and though my husband's enthusiasm started with the Lake City Braves, it has since generalized to include our local professional team.

Now, unlike almost EVERYONE ELSE IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, I had to work night shift this weekend, which meant I watched most of the Super Bowl alone in the comfort of my bed. My husband had a slate of parties to hit, and a brand new Pearl Jam Seahawks teeshirt to wear.  He's still a musician, after all.
I didn't watch most of the 4th quarter, because I was on my way to work, but followed along with my phone, so I saw the final score. And I was...bummed.
You know. 
My team lost the Super Bowl. 
But later, when I talked to my husband, he used a stronger word to describe his reaction. He called the end of the game "devastating". He sounded all hollow when he said it, too, like he couldn't quite believe what had happened. And I knew exactly how he felt. 
He was having a Motumbo Moment.
In all the years I've known my husband, this is the first time he's been passionately excited about a professional sports team, and last night was by far the biggest loss the team has suffered since he started following them. The team wasn't the only one suffering. While I was all, "Hey, I'd rather lose in the Super Bowl than not play in the game," he was alternating between shock and depression.
Poor guy.
I seriously don't think any pro sports gave will ever effect me the way that Sonics-Denver game did. After my Motumbo Moment, I simply don't get that excited about any team. Probably the only thing that would come close is if the Garfield High School Bulldogs lose in the State championship game. They made the playoffs this year, but were no where near the championship, so I think I'm safe. 
But anything is possible.
Anywhoodle, at the risk of sounding completely cynical, I do know the cure for a Motumbo Moment.
Next season.
It'll help to listen to the sportscasters post-game analysis and see the memes as they pop up on Facebook, but really, the best way to put last night behind us will happen next September. I mean, Pete Carroll has the biggest balls in football, and Russell Wilson's the BEST young quarterback out there. The Seahawks - and the city of Seattle - have a few more years before this ride is over.
What about you? Have you ever had a Motumbo Moment? Share it here!Peace out...Liv

Cover Reveal & #FridayFun!

Today's post has a little bit of everything. My friend Wren Michaels just got the cover art for her new novella, and it's SO cool! She was gracious enough to share it with me, and I must say it does justice to her story. I had the chance to read Unbearable a couple months ago, and loved it. So this is all about the win! Jump HERE to add Unbearable to your "want to read" shelf on Goodreads.


Blurb

Rose Red will stop at nothing to protect her sister, Snow White, from suffering the same fate as their mother. She vows to kill Hestor, the evil dwarf sorcerer responsible for her death. But a twist of fate lands her on the bottom of a riverbed, and her life in the hands of a mysterious stranger.
Marcus is a beast of a man. He is a bear by day, man by night, thanks to a curse from the evil Hestor. But when he rescues Rose from an icy grave, he unleashes the real animal. Falling for her is dangerous enough, as he must protect the secret of his curse. But she may just be the key to getting his kingdom back as she breaks one spell and puts him under another.
BioWren Michaels hails from the frozen tundra of Wisconsin where beer and cheese are their own food groups. But then a cowboy swept her off her feet and carried her away below the Mason-Dixon line where she promptly lost all tolerance for snow and cold. They decided they’d make beautiful babies together and so they did. And they got it right on the first try. Now Wren lives happily ever after in the real world and in the worlds of her making, where she creates book boyfriends for the masses to crave.
Wren's Contact Infohttps://www.facebook.com/authorwrenmichaels
https://wrenmichaels.wordpress.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24721125-unbearable
Twitter: @authorwren

My own work is going well. I'm following along my business plan, keeping up with three blog posts and about 4k words a week. My agent & I are prepping Aqua Follies to be released into the wild - or at least sent out on submission - and I have a cunning plan for the weekend involving my teenagers, my front garden, and a bunch of pruning tools. 

Life could be a lot worse!

And, in honor of a certain football game that's going to be played on Sunday, I thought I'd throw this in so you can see where my loyalties lie. Go Seahawks!

 

#MFRWHooks Hot Hook Wednesday

My last post was all about issues and ideas - jump HERE if you want to see what I'm talking about - but today I'm taking things a little easier. Welcome to another round of #MFRWHooks, where a group of bloggers get together and share tiny little snippets of their current releases. Below is a snippet from my $0.99 novella, Between the Sheets. This happens in the first scene, when our heroine Maggie is out for a beer with her best friend Krista. Maggie hasn't had a date in a while, and Krista has a problem with that...


“You know what I love?” Krista started yapping as soon as the waitress left. “The feeling when a guy first slides himself in, you know?” She faked a shiver. “You might not remember this, but the first long thrust, when everything is tight and you have to work it in. It’s so…yum.”

 Aw, now she’s playing the sexy card. I blinked once. Twice. I fought to keep my eyes from widening and bit down on the tip of my tongue. Hard. She did the fake shiver thing again, her chin jittering on the inhale. I couldn’t help myself. I laughed, coming very close to snorting beer out my nose.

“You are so full of shit.”
Maggie called that right. Krista's full of something!

Maggie does find the opportunity to change her dateless status - it's a romance, after all - and if you'd like to find out how, check out one of the buy links below. And while you're at it, check out the linky list of all the other participating bloggers. There's some fun stuff out there!
Peace,
Liv


BlurbLife for music teacher Maggie Schafer has been full of flat notes lately. Sick of being single and celibate, she vows to get her groove back at the upcoming Western Washington Choral Directors Annual Retreat.

Too bad the only guy who seems interested is a pompous dork who thinks he’s God’s gift to women—and the music education world. When he gets a little too arrogant and crosses boundaries, gorgeous pianist Randy Devers swoops in to run interference. After sharing a shockingly hot kiss in front of the whole conference, Maggie and Randy come up with a plan to pretend they’re dating.

However, the more time they spend together—and the more physical their “pretend” relationship gets—the more she wonders if there could be anything beyond just smoking chemistry and a friendly agreement between them.

Maggie’s got history, Randy’s got baggage, and they’ve got a weekend to get their rhythms in sync and figure out how to turn their solo lives into a beautiful duet.



Buy Links
Goodreads   Barnes & Noble    Kobo    Google   Amazon 

What Does Facebook Owe Us?

Is this porn? Artwork by Jay Aheer - Simply Defined Art
What about this? Michael Stokes image cropped from Facebook. Here's a link to his website.The artist who created the first image, Jay Aheer, got a take-down notice from Facebook, on the grounds that the image violated community standards for nudity. The artist who created the second image, Michael Stokes, is currently on a 30-day suspension from Facebook, because apparently his work doesn't meet Facebook Community Standards, either.

Screenshot from 1/26/15
Lately, there's been a lot of chatter on my Facebook stream about people having their work taken down or their accounts suspended because they've run afoul of the Community Standards police. However, that police force is primarily made up of other Facebook users, who report images they find offensive.

And one person's pornography is another person's art.

In the discussions on my Facebook stream, words like censorship, harassment, and homophobia get tossed around. Digging a little deeper, I learned that if I knew where to find them, I could see pages dedicated to antisemitism, violence against women, child pornography, and animal abuse.

What do Facebook's Community Standards have to say about that?

Here's a link to the Facebook Community Standards page. According to the opening statement on the page, the goal is to...

"...help you understand what type of expression is acceptable, and what type of content may be reported and removed."

The list of standards include statements about violence and; threats, self-harm, bullying and harassment, hate speech, graphic content, and nudity, among other things. It all makes perfect sense, until you consider that it's possible for someone with a set  political agenda to target specific users by reporting images or content that doesn't fit their ideology. Here's are some excerpts from an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg, written by author Sara York regarding the Michael Stokes suspension:

Michael Stokes, a photographer out of Los Angeles, California, was targeted by an individual and told that she would “ruin him” because he posts artistic photos of male models. 

Yes, we all know Facebook has community standards, however Facebook’s standards are double standards, allowing abusive photographs of women, pornography of women, images depicting women in demeaning situations, and other abuses to stay on the site and yet photos of two men fully dressed but kissing are deleted. Do you really want to be known as the company that supports abuse towards women and gay men? 

Stop allowing people who habitually report clean gay images and images of the male form from trying to “ruin” good people who are working to foster equality.

(You can find the full letter HERE.)

I've recently read a number of news articles and blog posts from people who have had images or other content taken down by Facebook, and the process appears to go something like this: a user posts something, another user sees it, takes offense, and reports it, FB takes it down, and then FB researches the content to see if it really does fail to meet their standards. Sometimes content is restored. Sometimes it isn't. And not all take-downs get researched, because the number of reports exceeds the capacity of FB to handle them all.

So one user with an bee in their blister really could make a lot of trouble. Which had me asking myself a question.

Why does it matter?
Because really, Facebook is a business, and businesses are allowed to make their own rules about how their business is conducted. Facebook doesn't charge users for it's service, so if their business model doesn't allow for woman's nipples or two men kissing. it's their prerogative to limit that kind of content.

Right?

Except Facebook isn't like any other business. This quote from the post Fascist Facebook attempts to explain why...

Facebook is a not just a private corporation; Facebook is a crucial component of contemporary popular culture. Facebook is a place and an activity that large portions of the world use today. According to a 2013 Pew study on the social networking practices of Americans, as of September 2013, 71% of online adults use Facebook (the numbers for young adults are even higher). For many people, Facebook is essentially a required social activity. ..

...When such a critical part of global human culture, when the world’s de facto social media platform, is privatized, monetized, owned by a private company whose primary concern is not creating a safe, non-oppressive environment in which individuals can share their experiences, interests, and ideas with one another without fear of harassment or attack, but rather extracting profit from every possible social interaction, there is great reason to be concerned. 

Now that's the rub, isn't it? Almost every single person I know has at least some interaction with Facebook. My kids have FB accounts, as does my mother. And Facebook is making money off of every single one of it's users. They make billions (yep, that's a B) of dollars from advertising revenue off their 1.35 billion (yep, another B) active users.

I figure if they're going to make money off the time I spend on their site, they better treat me the same as every other user.

That's why FB should work to prevent an individual or small group with an agenda from interfering with other users. While there's a place for standards, most questionable content can be handled with the "hide this post" feature, and I think Facebook should do more to keep targeted harassment from happening.There are several concrete suggestion for how to limit abuse in this petition created by Taylor Law, found on Change.org - Change the Reporting Policy to Prevent Harassment and Bullying. Among other things, the petition suggests flagging users who report more than five posts in a one-week period to help identify users with an agenda. There are over 13,000 signatures on this petition, and it'll eventually be sent to Mr. Zuckerberg.

Because all we want is a level playing field.

What do you think about Facebook's standards? Have you had your content reported? Thanks for reading along.
Liv

Debra Presley's "Finding Us" Cover Reveal

Book Title: Finding Us
Author: Debra Presley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 2015
Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions
Cover Designed by: Cover Me, Darling

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Pop star Abby Murphy has fame and fortune and handsome boyfriend and guitarist, Sean. That changes the night she finds him in the arms of another woman. But Sean won't accept the breakup, and she soon finds out he's working with her mother, who's also her manager, to keep him in her good graces.

As Sean ratchets up his threats against her, Abby turns to her bodyguard, Danny Nucci, who will do everything in his power to keep her safe.

But when Abby realizes her feelings for Danny run much deeper than she'd like, she pushes him away as much to keep her own independence as to protect him from Sean's machinations.

When Abby finally finds the strength to confront all that is wrong with her life, she seeks refuge with Danny, but is it too late? Has she pushed him away one too many times for him to trust her now? Or can he put his own demons aside to help repair them both?



 





 







Debra is a native New Yorker who made her escape to the suburbs. She often visits her hometown to enjoy a bagel with butter from her favorite deli, because there’s no better bagel than a New York bagel. When not in search of bagels, Debra spends her time running Book Enthusiast Promotions, an online promotions company that helps indie authors spread the word about their books. She’s also the owner of The Book Enthusiast blog.

She started writing lyrics in her wall-to-wall NKOTB bedroom at the tender age of thirteen while dreaming of the day she’d become Mrs. Jordan Knight. That dream never came to fruition, but she has continued to write. Now she’s working on her first novel.
 








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