Asha King's Blog, page 9

What I'm Working On...

Well, I did take my self-imposed break after all the piracy and feel a bit better. Currently, STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU--the next Circle of Friends novella--is in progress. I'm also drafting up a new paranormal side project called CATS IN HEAT. Still on the brain is SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIl--it definitely won't be seen until the end of the year at the earliest. Novellas are just a lot easier to get through with working full time.

Speaking of, I found out today WILD HORSES was the Top Pick in the AllRomanceeBooks newsletter! Woot! It came with a wonderful review, and now the WH book page at ARe has a nifty little symbol to signify it. I'm so thrilled! It's always great to hear when people enjoy the work.

I have lots to get done and little time to do it in, so it's back to work with me.

Happy reading!

Asha

Taking a Break

Well...it's been an interesting week, darlings.

I started out SO excited. Wild Horses was *finally* coming out. This book took about three months for me to write--I had to revise things a lot of times, as a novel (even a short one) is an entirely different beast from a novella. You might know it was originally scheduled for a June 5 release but I got a two week extension because it wasn't ready in time. I really stressed over this book but, in the end, I was proud of it. I love the characters. I had a lot of fun writing the sex scenes. And I was really hoping it was one readers would love too, since they've been asking for longer works by me.

The day after Wild Horse was released, it was requested at a piracy forum (already pirating one of my novellas).

I won't get into complaining about this or explaining why it's wrong. Lots of others have before me and I'm nowhere near as eloquent.

The problem is that I politely wrote to this forum, explaining that I'm a new author, this is a new release not selling many copies, and could they please have some empthay for me and take it down--I'm trying to provide for my family here. Instead, one of the admins bought the book a few hours later just to upload it.

It hits like a punch in the gut, the wind knocked out of you. This book was so hard to write. And I know readers frequently complain they want longer books by me but...but I'm looking at my plans for the next Stirling Falls book, Sympathy for the Devil, and wondering whether or not it'll be worth it. Hopefully, a few royalty statements from now will show it *is* worth it despite the piracy and maybe Sympathy can be out by the end of the year. I hope so--I really want to share Tash's book with you.

The next Circle of Friends novella, Still In Love with You, was due out next month, but I think I'm going to grudgingly ask for another extension and take a bit of a break right now. I've had one release after another and this past week hit me really hard. I'm not ashamed to say I cried when they uploaded my new book--it hurt. Hopefully Kashayla and AJ's story will release in August instead and I'll get back in the groove of things again.

If you bought any of my books, I want to personally thank you so much. I wish more readers were like you and I really hope you enjoy my stories. <3

Asha

WILD HORSES - Links to Buy

It's live on all the different resellers now, so here are some links for you:

Phaze Books: You get a zipped folder with all the formats you could want or need (PRC, MOBI, HTML, EPUB, PDF). Also in print there now (with Near to You included as a bonus).

Amazon: for your Kindle (print coming soon).

B&N: for your Nook (print coming soon).

AllRomanceeBooks: your choice of ereader format.

Wild Horses isn't a novella like my other releases--it's a short novel (over three times the length of, say, Near to You), which is why it's $4.99. It has lots of sexy times, slightly less vanilla than my other work. I'm nervously awaiting both reader feedback and eventual royalty reports, as there are two more Stirling Falls books planned (and contracted), but my first foray into erotic novel writing took a LOT out of me (coupled with sending takedown notices for my other work--folks, please encourage your friends not to pirate, as it's very disheartening), so I'll see if it's worth continuing. I do hope so! It was lots of fun to spend more time with the characters--and come up with ways to keep the nudity interesting after a few times. ;-)

I hope you get a chance to pick it up and enjoy!

Asha

WILD HORSES Release Day!

I'm so happy this one is now available! You can find it at Phaze Books in various ebook formats as well as print (print also contains my novella NEAR TO YOU). It'll be at other sellers shortly.

I thought it would be fun to answer some random reader questions that I haven't, in fact, been asked yet, but seemed like they could be. (Most reveal I have the finesse of a spaz.)

1. Were YOU ever stepped on by a horse?
Yes! Um...three times so far. Nothing broken but it is PAINFUL. Especially when the horse won't move but just stands there, like your foot is comfortable to stand on.

2. Were YOU ever almost run down by a horse?
Yes! A few times. I've had to stand in doorwarys and block paths so they don't run in particular places. It's rather scary.

3. Were YOU ever dragged down a hill by a horse?
No, because I had the sense to let go of the lead immediately when in the field. They are pretty damn fast.

4. English or Western?
I spent a lot of time at a Western farm now but I was raised English.  ;-)

5. When does SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL come out? (Bonus totally non-horse related question.)
Not for a while yet. Tash's story is still forming in my head. Hopefully by the end of the year! I'm excited to get to this one.

Here's the link to Wild Horses: http://phaze.com/book.php?title=Wild+Horses Coming to other sellers soon!

WILD HORSES Excerpt!

Want to meet Danyiah and Adam from my upcoming novel, Wild Horses? Read on!


Chapter One
“I’m just saying, if I blogged about this, I bet my hits—”
“Then stop saying it,” Therese said sharply as she cut a look to the rearview mirror.
Danyiah’s dark brown eyes met her friend’s and she made a face.
“Mature,” Therese muttered.
“The reason Dani Girl is popular in the first place is because I talk about these things openly with my readers. Bad dates, bad job interviews, bad—”
“Stalkers?”
Danyiah pressed her lips together, crossed her arms under her breasts, and glanced out the side window to sulk. Rolling bright green hills, acres of fields, and thick wooded areas passed by. The sky overhead was a rich blue and cloudless, and sun beat through the car windows, warming her arm despite the blasting air conditioning. Still, the beautiful June day did nothing to brighten her sour mood.
“You heard Dr. Van Ike,” Randy said from the passenger seat as he glanced back at her. His auburn hair stuck up in all directions, and Dani had to suppress the urge—again—to offer him a comb. Randy’s glasses shifted and he pushed them higher on the bridge of his nose, then offered a half-hearted smile. “Discussing the threats publicly could trigger him.”
Right, so she was supposed to shut down her whole life? For how long? There was a big “ON HIATUS” notice at the top of her blog now. As of this morning, it had nine hundred and thirteen comments, and she hadn’t had time to read them all before her best friend Therese and boyfriend Randy were there to pick her up for the long drive into the country. And now her apartment was closed up, she was on a leave of absence from her part time job at a coffee shop—a job she actually liked—and with no idea of how long it would be for. Sure, the good doctor thought staying low while they collected her email and snail mail, intercepted her calls, and monitored her website was a good idea. They might be able to narrow down exactly who they were dealing with. And maybe he was right. But at the same time, she loathed the fact that some creep with too much time on his hands could run her out of her own life like that.
“She’s still sulking,” Randy said with a sigh.
“Of course she is,” Therese responded.
The problem with Therese was that she’d known her five years, Randy for three, and neither put up with her attitude.
She already missed her home in the city and they’d only left two and a half hours ago. The nearest town out here for miles was an itty bitty, country bumpkin place called Stirling Falls—a real blink-or-you’ll-miss-it kind of deal. She was going to lose her mind.
Danyiah flicked at the bright pink paint on her nails but it didn’t chip. How long that would last, she didn’t know—since everyone at Thompson Hills Quarter Horses had no idea why she was coming to stay there, the story passed around was that she’d be working. Dani had no problem with a hard day’s work; her blog picked up initially as she chronicled her days as a clown at a child’s birthday party, then a clerk at a sex toy shop, then the assistant for an eccentric modern artist, then during her very brief stint making donuts. No, her problem was that she had to be a farmhand and couldn’t document it, couldn’t talk about it—couldn’t reveal where she was, or why she’d gone, or be herself. After years of cultivating a persona and defining who Danyiah “Dani Girl” Jackson was, she had to stop.
Therese’s GPS announced that they were to take a right. Dani gazed between the seats and glimpsed the long, dusty road leading through tall gates. Log fencing sectioned off the front field and horses grazed over grass, some lifting their heads to face the approaching car and others preoccupied with food. Multiple buildings stood in the distance, barns tall and new-looking, and at the far end of the road sat the sprawling one story ranch house.
Car tires spit dust up as they rolled down the gravel road. Dani glanced around, nervousness rising in her stomach. Out in the middle of nowhere—they probably didn’t have WiFi. She might not even be able to check Twitter.
“I will give you a hundred million dollars if you turn around and take me home now,” she said.
No one responded.
“Please?”
Therese shook her head, long blonde hair swishing over her shoulders. “You don’t have a hundred million dollars.”
Killjoy. “Maybe I could get that in advertising dollars if I was allowed to blog about this.”
The car turned, swinging around and coming to a halt in front of the ranch house. It was moments before the dust settled outside her door. Dani grasped the strap of her pale blue coach purse, sighed, and hauled open the door.
Heat blasted her immediately from the hot sun overhead, and a cough sputtered past her lips—apparently the dust wasn’t that settled after all. She gave a groan of displeasure and stepped out of the car. Gravel crunched under her heels as she stood straight and shifted, smoothing her jeans subconsciously. She slid the strap of her bag over her arm and pulled the sunglasses off the top of her head down to cover her eyes, then kicked the door shut with her heel.
Therese and Randy rose as well, talking amongst themselves, and car doors slammed behind her as she took in a view of the farm again. The air was tinged with the scent of animals and wind blew, tossing her dark hair around her shoulders.
“Dani!” a voice called behind her.
She turned and waved over the roof of the car at Gus Campbell standing in the open doorway to the ranch house. He was an old friend of her late father’s, in his sixties with no family, and owned acres of ranch land. Gus had been kind to her for as long as she could remember and there seemed no better place to hide out for a while. He was taller than he looked, leaning heavily on a cane held in his left hand. The heat didn’t agree with him, dappling his broad forehead with moisture, and she figured he was doubly warm in the red plaid shirt tucked over his girth and pair of worn dark jeans.
Gus grinned broadly and then moved to talk to Randy, who carted her bags out from the trunk.
A Doberman came barreling out of the house past Gus, stump of a tail struggling to wag, and long pink tongue rolling form its mouth. It paused for a moment by Dani, let her give it a scratch behind the ears, then raced in the direction of the fields in the distance.
Well, she did like animals, and there were plenty to get along with. Danyiah took several steps from the car while Gus, Therese, and Randy spoke, glancing around.
Middle of nowhere.
Indefinite amount of time.
This will be unbearable with or without a dog to keep me company.
She had her laptop—she could journal still. And would. And maybe when everything was sorted out and they were able to catch and put a stop to whatever loser had been threatening her, she could post everything she’d documented. In fact, she’d be set for blog posts for maybe a month or so when she got back.
Unless this turns out to be the most boring place ever. Which was possible, but then Dani Girl was known for finding something funny with everything. Its writer stalked, threatened, sent into hiding, working as a farmhand? Oh yeah. It would be funny.
A pair of horses whinnied from the fence several feet away. She took a few steps toward them, grinning. One was a bay, the other palomino, both hanging their heads over the top of the fence.
“You angling for food?” she said softly.
Voices shouted in the distance and a steady thrum beat the ground.
Danyiah turned, frowned. The noise grew louder.
Around the side of the bright red barn ahead, dust flew and a huge brown horse came barreling toward her at full speed, blond mane flying and dark eyes wide.
Dani froze from head to toe, staring wide-eyed at the beast.
Behind it, a pair of men shouted, waving their arms. One deep voice carried over the beat of hooves, hollering for her to stop it.
Stop it? It was the size of a Mack truck!
Panic filled her, heart jumping up into her throat. As the horse neared, she squealed and covered her eyes, shoulders turning inward in a cringe as she braced to be run down.
Breeze brushed past her left side, whipping her hair for a moment as the horse passed. She peeled her fingers back one by one, glanced down to see she was fine. A little dusty, but all in one piece. She breathed out a sigh of relief just as the pair of figures beat around the side of the barn after the horse.
“He’s headed—” one started.
“For the grain—I got it.” A short, skinny guy ran past her, tipping his head in her direction with a grin. “Ma’am.” And off he went, in pursuit of the enormous horse who had his head stuck in a barrel against the side of the house.
Dani shook her head. It would make such a good vlog topic—she could get really animated in her telling of it and do sound effects and stuff.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
She snapped to attention again, turning back to face the other white man.
A black Stetson sat on his head, casting dark shadows over his face—but she glimpsed enough of his expression to see it was a scowl. Brows pulled low over dark eyes, and his chiseled jaw was scruffy with something well past five o’clock shadow. As for the rest of him, he stood over a head above her, and a white T-shirt streaked with dirt stretched over his powerful shoulders and chest.
If he hadn’t just snarled at her, she might’ve needed to pick her jaw off the ground; instead, she prickled with irritation and crossed her arms under her breasts. “Excuse me?”
“You hear us shouting to stop a horse and you cover your eyes? Just standing there? I repeat, what the hell is wrong with you?”
Dani ground her teeth. “Your freakishly large horse could’ve killed me! Was I supposed to grab on? Stop it with my mutant psychic powers or something? Create a force field?”
He stared at her. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you expecting some random person to—”
“Listen, princess—”
“No harm, no harm.” Gus ambled over, gravel crunching under his feet and cane. “Look there, Dewey’s got him. Everything’s fine.”
Only when Gus reached them and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder did she realize just how tightly she was wound. Dani sucked in a breath, trying to calm her nerves, but glowered still at the stranger who glared right back at her.
“This is my...well, sort of goddaughter, I suppose you could say,” Gus said, gesturing at her. “She’ll be staying here for a bit.” He turned to her next. “Danyiah Jackson, meet my head horse wrangler, Adam Cooper.”
Cooper did not extend his hand.
Neither did she.
“Erm...well.” Gus cleared his throat.
Steps approached and a moment later, the giant horse appeared in her peripheral vision along with the guy—Dewey, Gus had called him—leading him with firm hand on the halter. Cooper said nothing more, just reached for the horse and swung onto him bareback.
Once he’d settled, he glanced down at Gus. “I’ll discuss this with you later.”
Gus brushed his hand over his sweaty brow and nodded.
Cooper urged the horse on, not looking back once. Dewey jogged at his side, turning just once to nod again at Dani before catching up.
Dear God, I want to go home.
“Come, Dani.” Gus smiled at her and gestured for the house. “Let’s get you settled inside. Adam will warm up the more you talk to him, you’ll see.”
Danyiah sighed as she followed. “I think I’ll just avoid him.”
“Oh, that’ll be a bit hard considering he’s your new boss.”

Why Novellas?

I get a giddy thrill every time someone tells me they've dug one (or both) of my two new releases.

And I feel bad when I get the a few complaints that the work is too short to enjoy.

I understand, I do. I love reading longer books. I love spending tens of thousands of words with characters and their stories. My favourite books are almost always super long novels.

But realistically, as a writer, novellas are enjoyable for me to produce. I like the challenge of telling a hot, complete tale in a limited number of words. Get the chararacters together, have some sizzling chemistry, get their clothes off, and ensure they live happily ever after (for now). I don't like manufactured, dragged out conflicts in romance--I know I differ from a lot of readers in that way, and I'm sorry, but I'd rather my h/h in a novella get on with the sexy times than mope and moan for however many words over a simple problem having an adult conversation can solve.

I'm also not fortunate enough to be able to write full time. I put in 45 hr work weeks and I'm pretty beat at the end of the day. This affects writing. Case in point: Wild Horses. A lot of you are eagerly anticipating this one and I'm thrilled about it, but it's very challenging working on a full length nove over a long period of time. I forget a lot of details and have to reread. There's a lot more buildup and tension before the naked parts (which admittedly I find easier to write). I'm going to be a lot more careful in the future before I commit to longer works (though I do have some planned).
As a new erom author who would risk losing name recognition if I went several months between releases, novellas--at this point--make a lot more sense for me to write. As often as possible, I'm going to try to write short series, where each novella touches on the same couple or characters (such as Circle of Friends is), so you print lovers will able able to enjoy them collected into paperback as well.

That's it for me today. I have Wild Horses to work on (still) and the next CoF novella (Shay and A.J.'s book, Still In Love With You) to finish.

Asha

New Release: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?A Circle of Friends Novella
Joshua Lee Merrill has been a playboy for years, never content to settle and convinced there’s no such thing as “the right one”—just “the right now.” For a while, his friends thought he had the perfect woman—until she summarily dumped him and gave his ego a severe thrashing. His group of friends are there to help with his broken heart...but it’s his old pal Derica who suddenly has him hot with desire.

Derica Washington nursed a crush on her friend J.L. for years while he went through a string of girlfriends and never gave her a second look. But now he’s broken-hearted, alone, and his sights are set on her at last. She’s determined not to give in to him, though turning the love ’em and leave ’em attitude on him is tempting. And it can’t hurt to indulge this once...can it?

You can get *all* your preferred formats at various resellers for your ereader of choice.

Phaze Books: http://phaze.com/book.php?title=How+Can+You+Mend+a+Broken+Heart%3F

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/How-Mend-Broken-Heart-ebook/dp/B0081LEHG8/

All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-howcanyoumendabrokenheart-789250-168.html

I was very nervous about this release--it's the first of three connected novellas (as you might guess from the titles, I was listening to a lot of old Al Green songs at the time), and I hope readers enjoy!

The Good News...& The Bad.

Well, due to a title having to be delayed and my next release all ready, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? is coming early! You'll get to read my next novella in less than a week, avaialble for sale Tuesday, May 8.

This is the first of three connected novellas and I'm very pleased to share it with you. I sincerely hope it's enjoyed as much as Near to You, and that you'll join me for future stories with the characters.

The bad news is that Wild Horses, tentatively slated for June 5, is being delayed. This is my fault, as I don't have the book ready yet and I don't want to rush my editor. I've been given a two week extention so hopefully you'll see it June 19 instead. I've been getting a lot of blog hits about it and I've heard the publisher has received several emails about it. I'm thrilled it's anticipated by readers and I'm sorry for the delay, but I promise I'll get it to you soon.

Well, that's it! I'll have butterflies well into next week, while I wait and see how the new story is received.

To everyone who stops by here, thank you for your support!

Asha

"Broken Heart" Excerpt

Release is less than a month away (May 15!), edits are turned in, and I thought it would be a good time to post an excerpt so readers can meet Derica and J.L. for the first time. :-)

Instead of the first chapter, here's a a glimpse of them from a bit later when they first start to get close...



(Mood music!)
---------------

Shivers danced down Derica’s back as warm fingers trailed up her arm, and then a firm hand clasped her shoulder to turn her around.

She’d danced in a group with him before. Never one-on-one, never to a slow, sensual number like this. But her hands moved up his arms to snake around his neck as he drew her close—very close. Her pulse thrummed wildly as he enveloped her in the heat of his strong arms, pressing her right up against his muscular chest. She averted her gaze, tilted her head down and to the side as they moved.

It took but moments to find their rhythm and then they moved in tune to one another, bodies molding together as if they’d been dancing as a couple for years. And of course, she was prone to wondering if such compatibility would extend to all coupled physical activities as well...

His breath stirred the fine hairs by her temple and the air was charged for a moment as she felt him about to speak. “They were getting to you too?”

Again, that deep voice dipped right under her skin and drove her wild. “Was it obvious I was bolting?”

“Probably not to them. And that kind of stuff goes right over Shay.”

But not him. So he willingly joined her away from the resident Adorable Couple. “Normally they don’t bug me, but...” She shrugged but still didn’t look up at him.

“But?” he prompted, lower this time and right above her ear.

Derica blinked, trying to regain her focus despite the feel of his hot breath caressing her skin. “But I guess I’m in a mood. I’d have stayed home and caught all the Thursday sitcoms if not for Shay calling.”

“Desperate to see me depressed?” He tensed, just slightly but enough that she felt it.

She tilted her head to glance up at him, a small smile taking her lips. “To see you cheered up.”

He held her closer and she felt the rather considerable evidence of him being “cheered up” pressing against her lower belly. Her heart kicked hard again. His eyes were heavy-lidded, staring down at her, but she didn’t linger on them for long; instead her gaze trailed down to his full lips for a moment before dropping again, and her face flamed.

“You’re pretty when you blush,” he said in a low voice and she could nearly hear the smile in his tone.

“I’m not blushing,” she said lightly. “It’s...warm. Poor air circulation with all these people.”

“Uh huh.”

Of course he didn’t believe her. I will not flirt with Joshua Lee Merrill...I will not flirt with Joshua Lee Merrill...

“We could head back to the table if it’ll cool you off.”

It sounded like a challenge—which she found impossible to resist. “If the heat’s a little too much, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

His arms tightened around her, big hands smoothing the material of her dress over her hips. “You do that, Washington.”

-------------

Book Blurb for HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART?:

Joshua Lee Merrill has been a playboy for years, never content to settle and convinced there’s no such thing as “the right one”—just “the right now.” For a while, his friends thought he had the perfect woman—until she summarily dumped him and gave his ego a severe thrashing. His group of friends are there to help with his broken heart...but it’s his old pal Derica who suddenly has him hot with desire.
Derica Washington nursed a crush on her friend J.L. for years while he went through a string of girlfriends and never gave her a second look. But now he’s broken-hearted, alone, and his sights are set on her at last. She’s determined not to give in to him, though turning the love ’em and leave ’em attitude on him is tempting. And it can’t hurt to indulge this once...can it?

New Novella Finished - And a Big THANK YOU to Readers!

The other night, I finished my next novella. It needs another readthrough and some cleaning up, but I'm glad to have it done. It'll be ready to send in to the editor shortly. I'm taking a little break and then I'll go on to finish Wild Horses and hopefully have that turned in by the end of April.

Busy busy!

I'd also like to send my thanks to everyone who purchased Near to You (though only those who stumble across my humble blog will see this): it not only has bestseller status on All Romance eBooks, climbing the interracial charts, but it also for a time hit #88 on Amazon's top 100 erotica list on Kindle.

Wow!

Thank you again, and I hope those who have read it sincerely enjoy it.

~Asha