Victoria Danann's Blog, page 32
January 13, 2013
Romance Madness Blog Hop
I sometimes ask authors, “Are you a paranormal author who adds romantic elements or a romance author who adds paranormal elements?”
If I was asked that question, I would say the latter. I’m a romance author who works with paranormal elements to create romances that are much more potent than they would be if strictly combined to the realm of humans. Still, I love a good Scottish carry-me-away now and then.
January 25-29
Come back to enter. Prize will be posted on the 25th.
Vampires vs. Werewolves Blog Hop
NO. NO. NO. Everybody knows that the plural of vampire is vampire.At least Black Swan fans know that.
Vampires and Werewolves. They are two of the most well known and popular paranormal creatures today. Bones from Night Huntress (Chapter 32 anyone? *wink*) or Alcide Herveaux from the Sookie Stackhouse series, etc. This hop is all about the vampires and werewolves! Are you a vampire lover or werewolf lover?
If you had to choose would you cuddle up with your sexy dangerous vampire throughout the long nights or would you rather a sexy testosterone filled dominate werewolf that let out the most interesting of growls at *ahem* fun moments? (Actually, for readers of the Black Swan books, you know that there are other kinds of vampire and werewolves besides these two stereotypical renditions.)
But if you had to choose: vampires or werewolves?
Leave your comment to be entered into a Raffle for a chance to win a signed paperback copy of the collected tales, Books 1-3, 828 pages, $29.99. This prize will ship February 15.
Vampire and werewolves from an alternate point of view.
For more chances to win great prizes, visit my associates participating in this super fun blog.
January 10, 2013
Cursed by Blood Series FEATURED TODAY
Revenge. It’s a way of life for psychic, Lily Saburi. Haunted since the brutal murder of her best friend and partner, she’s obsessed with retribution—a vigilante bent on striking a blow for humanity against the shadowed world of the supernatural. Prey turned predator she aims to even the score—one bullet at a time starting with the beast that changed her life forever.
Prepared for Armageddon she’s in for the fight of her life. But when mortally wounded by a diseased and insane Were, Lily is rescued by a most unlikely savior—Were-hunter, Sean Leighton. Sexy and powerful, Leighton is charged with destroying anything infected with the deadly pathogen threatening the survival of his pack, and that includes Lily. But their immediate attraction leaves them both breathless and confused. As Lily grapples with truth about herself, Leighton is faced with the looming reality that he will most likely have to kill the woman he’s falling in love with. Only time will tell if they are destined to be together or if they’ll fall victim to the Hunter’s Blood.
ISBN: Hunter’s Blood paperback - 0-9884396-1-1
ASIN: Hunter’s Blood ebook - B009SGYO5Y
Psychic, Lily Saburi is no stranger to the supernatural. Tough as nails, she’s a hunter in her own right, a once self-proclaimed vigilante that has joined forces with the man she once sought to kill, and now can’t live without. Sexy, Sean Leighton, Alpha of the Brethren of Weres. Their passion surpassed every obstacle set in front of them, yet in the wake of a mysterious virus threatening everyone they love, they are embroiled in an unforgiving scheme of political double dealing, hidden agendas and assassination, with Lily and Sean as primary targets. To stay together, they are forced apart. But treachery follows hard on Lily’s heels when she returns home, to find New York City bathed in a series of bloodbaths. Baffled, the police have no leads, so they call in their last line of defense to work the case. Lily.
Thrown together with homicide detective, Ryan Martinez, dangerous sparks fly as the two uncover the undead truth behind the killings. Long hidden secrets are revealed, as are truths too unbelievable to accept when Lily is kidnapped and Sean and Ryan have to work together to find her. Revenge and the struggle for power all play a part in this urban fantasy suspense, taking you from the rocky coast of Maine to the heart of New York City, the NYPD and the vampire underground, where Weres and Vampires are forced to work together to solve the mystery of what’s tearing their veiled world apart from the inside out.
ISBN: Twice Cursed paperback - 0988439603
ASIN: Twice Cursed ebook - B009RYG86U Smashing Reads
Author Name: MARIANNE MOREA
Author Location (for press releases) NEW YORK
Name of series and book number in series: BOOKS ONE AND TWO in the CURSED BY BLOOD SAGA
Genre: URBAN FANTASY
P ublisher: COVENTRY PRESS LTD.
Date of Publication:
1) HUNTER’S BLOOD Special Edition – OCTOBER 2012
2) TWICE CURSED - NOVEMBER 2012
Cover Artist: FANTASY FROG DESIGNS with MARIANNE MOREA (I designed the cover and Tara from FFD cleaned it up and added the sparke. LOL!)
Marianne Morea is a New Yorker, born and bred, and for the most part her stories and characters embody the grit and complexity of the city. An avid traveler, she uses her experiences from around the world in all her books. There isn’t a place her characters live or travel that she haven’t been herself, and through her words, tries to transport my readers. Like most authors, her love affair with the written word started as a child with the books she read. Even today, she loves to read almost as much as she loves to write. Marianne’s favorite stories are the ones that transport her, that bring her to places and introduces her to characters that leave readers breathless…the ones that spark the fire of her imagination, allowing her to dream in the world of ‘what if?’ She’s always been a scribbler, and from the time she could write her name, Marianne has been making up stories. So it was no surprise to family and friends when she earned degrees in both Journalism and Fine Art, but after working in the trenches of Madison Avenue as a Graphic Artist, she decided to do what she loves most fulltime. Write.
Her dark paranormal romance, Blood Legacy, is the first book in her Legacy Series, and takes you from New York City to the Costa del la Luz in Spain, to foggy London and the romance of Rome. The story also takes you back in time 300 years to a place rife with conflict and brutality, bringing an historical edge to my vampires, their lives, a love that spanned the centuries and the search for absolution and redemption that carries death in its wake. Hunter’s Blood and Twice Cursed are books one and two in Marianne Morea’s contemporary shifter series, Cursed by Blood. The story is set on the east coast of the U.S., taking you from the rocky coast of Maine to the heart of New York City, the NYPD and the vampire underground. Revenge and the struggle for power all play a part in this urban fantasy suspense, where Weres and Vampires are forced to work together to solve the mystery of what’s tearing their veiled world apart from the inside out.
In the meantime Marianne is also a founding member as well as a former President of The Paranormal Romance Guild, a not-for-profit organization for readers and authors of the genre. She’s now a PRG Board Member and Co-Chair of the PRG Event/Marketing Team. She is still writing, and when not sitting ‘bichok’ (butt in a chair hands on keyboard), she’s spending time with her husband and three kids, traveling to exciting, romantic places …for inspiration, of course! Who says dreams can’t come true?
January 9, 2013
Blood Shadows FEATURED TODAY
Blood Shadows
Blackthorn Series Book One
Lindsay J. Pryor
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Bookouture
ISBN: 9781909490000
ASIN: B00AAMO252
Number of pages: 380
Word Count: 117,000
Cover Artist: Henry Steadman
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/PKxHJfXeqW0
Book Description:
For vengeance – would you trust a vampire?
For justice – could you betray your family?
For love – are you ready to question everything you believe in?
Gifted with the ability to read the shadows of ‘third species’ beings, Caitlin Parish is the Vampire Control Unit’s most powerful agent. Despite that, her mission to hunt down Kane Malloy – a master vampire – comes with a death wish. Many have tried, but few have survived.
For Caitlin, tracking Kane is about more than just professional reputation. With her parents both mysteriously killed 7 years apart to the day, Caitlin knows that without Kane’s help she is next.
She has four days to make a deal with the wicked, the irresistible, the treacherous Kane Malloy. The vampire who despises everything she stands for.
Or die.
INTERVIEW with Lindsay J Pryor
1.) Are you a romance author who likes vampires or a vampire author who likes romance?
I’m a romance author who likes vampires. My Blackthorn stories are, at the heart, romances. Despite the thriller and horror elements, it is the romance that is core to the character and plot development in my books. To say I’m a vampire author would indicate the vampirism is the driving force behind the stories whereas, though integral, it plays a secondary role.
2.) Who are your favorite authors?
I have a real passion for classic authors – Emily Bronte, Bram Stoker and John Milton amongst others. I love the pace and page-turning quality of James Patterson and the twists in the tale of Roald Dahl. I adore J.R.R. Tolkien for his world-building and Stephen King for his characterization. The authors I’ve read most are Anne Rice, James Herbert and James Patterson.
3.) What’s the most satisfying thing about having a book out there?
The most satisfying thing is most definitely getting the Blackthorn series into the hands of readers – especially those who have been waiting a long time for the books to come out. The fantastic feedback and reviews since have been one of the most rewarding aspects of finally being published. On the flipside, reviews can also be the most terrifying and potentially crushing elements of having a book out there. I always brace myself every time a new review comes my way.
4.) What is the one question you’re always hoping someone will ask and never does?
That’s a toughie. I’ve had quite a few interviews over the last couple of months and have been asked a broad range of questions in that time. I can’t think of a specific question but, in terms of topics, I rarely get asked personal questions or anything about my perceptions, views or experiences. I guess people are cautious about how much probing they do, which is understandable. I like deep and meaningful though, so I always hope to find one or two of those types of questions when I open an interview proposal.
You can read the first three chapters on Scribd for free:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/113060932/Blood-Shadows-FREE-extract
January 8, 2013
The Newfoundland Vampire FEATURED TODAY
The Newfoundland Vampire, Book One
Charles O’Keefe
Genre: Horror/Paranormal/Vampire
Publisher: Penumbra Publishing
ISBN: 978-1935563853
ASIN: B007TRWUCS
Number of pages: 224
Word Count: 86,737
Amazon US Amazon UK Kindle Amazon Canada Amazon Kindle
Book Description:
Like every other geek alive, Newfoundland native Joseph O’Reily secretly wants to be a superhero. At thirteen he fantasized about being a vampire, and ten years later he’s still fantasizing – but mostly about a beautiful redheaded woman who has eyes only for him. The one thing different about Joseph’s adult fantasy is that, amazingly, it comes true one night when he goes to a local university pub. Cassandra Snow, literally the woman of his dreams, invites him to her place for an evening of personal pleasure. Of course he’s not going to say no. But when strange things start happening afterward, Joseph quickly learns that not all dreams should come true.
About the Author :
Charles O’Keefe lives in the beautiful province of Newfoundland, Canada, with his wife and two feline ‘children,’ Jude and Esther. He works as an inventory manager and enjoys many hobbies and activities that include writing, reading, watching fantasy/science-fiction movies and television shows, gaming, poker, walking, acting, and of course fantasizing about vampires.
http://twitter.com/#!/TheNLVampire
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=826155483
Stranded Temptation FEATURED TODAY
Stranded Temptation
April Angel
Blurb
Stranded together, their passions will run wild.
Kara has a deep dislike for her boss, Max. She also wants him so badly it’s making her nuts. He’s a workaholic, a robot man. And he’s never shown the least bit of interest in her or anything else that wasn’t recorded in the corporate minutes. But when their plane crashes on the way to a meeting, leaving them stranded on a deserted island…just the two of them, all alone with all that ocean around them…Kara decides it’s time to start living. And by living, she means using Max for all the hot sex she’s been denied.
Max wants Kara—has wanted her for a long time. Unable to come out and cross the line between professional and personal, he makes her accompany him on business trips just to have her around. When they crash land and Kara shows him how much she wants him, he decides to quit being so professional and take the woman of his dreams. After all, what happens in the middle of nowhere, stays in the middle of nowhere. Until they’re rescued.
Back in the real world, things aren’t as easy. Kara is afraid to start a relationship with a man who completely ignored her until she took off her clothes, and Max is afraid she’ll never be able to trust him. But when someone makes it clear that Kara’s in danger, Max has more to protect than Kara’s feelings. And now that he has her, he’s not about to let her go.
Excerpt:
Gentleness she’d never noticed before in Max was evident in his eyes. She watched him curl his large hand over her much smaller one. Her heart beat so loudly in her ears she feared he might hear it. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. Fire roared in her blood, and her breath hitched. He turned her hand over and brushed a warm, firm kiss over her palm while they stared at each other.
“I’d never put you in danger.” Deepened to rough gravel, the sound of his voice made her pussy throb and blood thicken in her veins.
Somehow she knew what he said was the truth. “Kiss me, Max.”
The words were barely out of her lips when he dragged her onto his lap and their lips met in desperation. Her arms twined around his neck. Pulling him closer, she brought her chest flush to his. Heat took over every cell of her body. His kiss devoured her. Lord, the man was a kissing god. With soft strokes of his tongue, he caressed the inside of her mouth. Whimpering in the back of her throat, she moved restlessly on his lap. The long, steel length of his cock was poking at her ass. He glided his hands under her top, making her belly flesh quiver. When his warm hands touched her skin, desire increased inside her tenfold. Breaths turned to pants. Her body thrummed with arousal. She tuned everything but the sight of him out of her mind.
She pulled back and smiled. “I want you, Max.”
He frowned and took a deep breath. “Kara, you’re in shock—”
Determined, she shook her head and cut him off. “No, Max. I’m alive.”
She smiled again and pulled off her top. Her bra was now the only barrier between her breasts and his hands. Swollen into tight points, the peaks of her nipples called for his touch under the satiny material. A combination of lust, hunger, and desperation flared in his eyes. His usually light gray eyes darkened to that of a murky, stormy day.
“Fuck, Kara. I want you too, but I don’t have condoms.”
Air fought its way into her lungs. “I’m clean and on birth control.”
He continued to frown. “I’m clean too, but are you sure?”
In a smooth move worthy of any professional stripper, her hand reached behind her back, unsnapped her bra, and pulled it off. “Fuck me, Max. I want you inside me, right now.”
His hands curled around her head and held her immobile. Raw hunger made her body shudder. Their kiss turned into a greedy need to consume each other. Moisture gathered in her pussy, and an incessant throbbing took hold between her thighs. In a frantic mating, their tongues danced, rubbed, and curled over each other until passion overrode all else. Blind lust shot through her when she rocked her hips over his hard cock.
He kissed wet trails from her jaw to her breasts until he was sucking on one of her erect nipples. Her pussy clenched when he enveloped her breast with his firm lips. Soaked in her cream, her thong became a new point of friction on her swollen pussy lips. She tore at his shirt. A wanton urgency took hold of her and guided her actions. To feel his skin on hers became her only mission.
When he helped her take the shirt off, she splayed her hands over his bulging shoulders and sighed. When his warm muscles contracted, she groaned. He was a work of art. His chest was corded with muscles and bronzed to perfection. Just looking at him made her pant. Whimpers rushed past her lips when his teeth grazed her turgid nipple.
“Oh, yes. Do that again.”
Again, he sucked and then nipped at the tight bud. She moaned and pushed her chest further into his face. He released her nipple from his lips and rolled the wet tip between his finger and thumb, tweaking the sensitive flesh while his mouth latched onto the other one for a taste. She dug her nails into his shoulders, holding him in her grip while rocking her hips over his cock. Movement made her open her eyes. Max had made the seat flatten back so that it was the size of a double bed.
A smile curled her lips when she gazed into his almost-black eyes. He motioned for her to stand. Once she did, he moved his hands to her white pants and slowly pulled the linen material, along with her thong, down her legs. With every inch of skin he exposed, he placed a kiss on a body part. First it was her stomach. Then it was her hip when he lowered the material down her legs. Her knee came next and finally her calf. Afterward he kissed his way back up to her stomach. She groaned and stood in place. He licked circles on her stomach and around her belly button. He caressed her breasts, down the sides of her breasts to her waist, and squeezed the flare of her hips. She took a choppy breath. He fluttered his fingertips down from her hips toward her core, and she bit her lip to keep from moaning. When he massaged her thighs, she was ready to beg him to touch her. Before she had a chance to, he moved a hand between her legs and dipped his fingers between her waxed pussy lips.
He groaned. “Fuck, Kara. You’re so hot and wet. Is that for me, baby?”
“God, yes. Just for you.” She moaned.
Each dip of his fingers into her wet sex made her whimper louder.
He stood, and she had to tilt her head back to look him in the eye. His eyes were sexy, stormy. He put his arms around her waist and held her tight to him. Their hearts beat in a furious, identical gallop. He switched their positions and pushed her to lie on the bed.
Buy Links:
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Stranded-Temptation-ebook/dp/B00AK0L9QY/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_1
ARe
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-strandedtemptation-1013358-149.html
Barnes and Nobles
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stranded-temptation-april-angel/1113910063
Author Bio:Want to know about me? April Angel (aka Milly Taiden) was born in the prettiest part of the Caribbean known as the Dominican Republic. She grew up between New York, Florida and Massachusetts. Currently, she resides in New York City with her husband, bossy young son and their little dog Speedy.
She’s addicted to shopping for shoes, chocolate (but who isn’t?) and Dunkin Donuts coffee.
A bookworm when she can get her hands on a good story, she loves reading all Mina Carter, Cynthia Eden, Laurann Dohner and Dianne Duvall among others.
Contact Info.
Email: millytaiden@gmail.com
Website: http://www.millytaiden.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/millytaidenauthor
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/millytaiden
Other Books by April Angel:
Mr. Buff
As Milly Taiden
Sharp Change
Halloween Heat III – Mate Event
Fate’s Wish
Wynter’s Captive – coming soon
January 7, 2013
Waterfall FEATURED TODAY
Waterfall,
A Dragon’s Fate Novella, Book 1
Lacy Danes
Genre: Romance, Alternate Worlds, Paranormal, Steamy/Erotic
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Number of pages: 138
Word Count: 38K
Cover Artist: Kanaza http://www.kanaxa.com/
Book Description: It’s easy to fall in love. Destiny requires tooth and claw.
Curses are designed to be cruel, but the one afflicting Jordan and his brothers is almost beyond bearing. A dragon born by blood magic, he is an immortal trapped in human form, with only one hope of finding his eternal mate. He must bite her—and pray she lives.
One dark night, he senses the wounded heartbeat of a woman in the shadows, begging him to end her life. Ever the gentleman, he chivalrously obliges her wish. Only to discover three days later that she lives. And has married another.
Celeste always dreamed of marrying for love, but the nightmare of living in her father’s home drives her to wed the Duke of Hudson. Yet on her wedding eve, she is compelled to follow a mysterious man who professes to know her secret. A man with curious blue scales on his muscular arms—whose shadowed eyes reflect a dangerous mix of destiny and desire…
Warning: This novel contains explicit sex, sex in water, four super-hot dragon brothers, and a curse born from magical power that has left them wondering who they are all their lives.
About the Author :
Lacy Danes made a New Year’s resolution to write a hot, historical romance.
A year and a half later, she achieved her goal. She lives in Portland, Oregon, where besides writing she enjoys playing cards, chasing her kids around, and savoring a great martini with the man of her dreams all while watching the world go by.
Visit Lacy at her web site. http://www.LacyDanes.com
https://www.facebook.com/LacyDanes
January 6, 2013
Kym Grosso and Immortals of New Orleans FEATURED TODAY
erotic paranormal romanceKade’s Dark Embrace on Amazon.
After a series of girls are ritualistically murdered on the cold streets of Philadelphia, seasoned detective, Sydney Willows, is forced to work with sexy, alpha vampire, Kade Issacson. While working the case, Sydney finds herself inexplicably drawn to Kade, fighting the passion she feels towards him. Kade, determined to solve the case and mete out justice, is captivated by the independent, fiery detective. As he attempts to protect her from a very real murderer, Kade grows concerned that the beautiful, but very human detective, could easily end up dead should she tangle with supernatural forces that are beyond her control.
The investigation leads them into a dark and dangerous world, deep in the heart of New Orleans, where together, they search for the perpetrators of the Voodoo killings. Sydney soon becomes the target of the killer and ends up fighting for her life and love in the Big Easy. If she makes it out alive, will she give into the intoxicating desire she feels for Kade?
Luca’s Magic Embrace on Amazon.
Sexy vampire, Luca Macquarie doesn’t do love; especially not with humans. Yet, ever since he rescued Samantha Irving, he can’t deny the enigmatic attraction he’s developed for the alluring mortal woman. Concerned for her safety, he’s determined to bring Samantha back to her coven. His mission is to go find the novice witch and bring her home, nothing more, nothing less; falling for her is not supposed to be part of the plan.
Samantha doesn’t want to be a witch, yet that’s exactly what she is. After failing to elicit her magic, she escapes to the mountains in an attempt to resume a semblance of her previous human life. When an arsonist torches her cabin, Samantha’s worst fears are realized. Aware that her life is on the line, she reluctantly agrees to return to New Orleans with Luca.
In the Big Easy, Samantha and Luca embark on a spellbinding journey, searching for a mystical amulet that promises to release her obligation from an ancient, lethal vampire who’s been threatening her life. With cryptic clues and clandestine allies, will Luca and Samantha destroy the dangerous amulet before others acquire it, setting forth a chain of catastrophic consequences? And will Luca give into his erotic desire for the witch who magically captures heart?
Email: Kym.Grosso@AutismInRealLife.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KymGrossoBooks
Twitter: @KymGrosso
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5785692.Kym_Grosso
My Autism Website: http://www.AutismInRealLife.com
Links to Recent Author Interviews:
Beach Bum Reads
Deep In The Heart Romance
On The Broomstick
Pinky’s Favorite Reads
Romance Book Junkies
The Full Fang
Vampire Romance Books
REVIEWERS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS
As part of my morning routine, I look at reviews and check my rankings in various categories on Amazon. After being out there in authorland for seven months, I had begun to think perhaps there were no more ANTICS for reviewers to get up to. I was wrong.
This morning My Familiar Stranger got a four star review from someone who downloaded A FREE COPY. I could editorialize, but have decided to simply cut and paste.
4.0 out of 5 stars Looks like a good book, January 5, 2013
By Glendora Pierce (Liberty, MO USA) – See all my reviews(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
This review is from: My Familiar Stranger – A Paranormal Romance (The Order of the Black Swan, BOOK ONE) (Kindle Edition)
I download a lot of books to my Kindle Fire, but since I work full time I don’t get to read as much as I would like to. Therefore I have not read this book as of yet, but am looking forward to doing so. I would not have purchased this book without reading the description of the book, so feel this will be a good one when I get around to reading it.
A 4 star review goes down a lot easier when the reviewer actually read the book and cites reasons why they are giving the rating they’re giving. When I looked at this person’s other reviews on Amazon, I found no books (other than M.F.S. – which wasn’t read) and a total of three DVD’s (2 Sons of Anarchy and 1 Vampire diaries).
Like I said, reviewers say the darndest things.
- Victoria Danann
January 5, 2013
Sophronia and the Vampire FEATURED TODAY
Sophronia and the Vampire
Jacqueline Farrell
Genre: paranormal romance
Publisher: Lyrical Press
ISBN: 9781616503918
Number of pages: 230
Word Count: 87000
Cover Artist: Renee Rocco
Book Description:
It’s been a while since witches had to worry about being burnt at the stake…
Forty-nine, English and a professional crone, Sophronia is touring America when she is forced to spend the night at a run-down motel on the Californian coast. Her expectations aren’t high- – if the bed’s clean and the toilet flushes she’ll count herself lucky. But events are about to become far more interesting. The motel owner is a juvenile witch unaware of her heritage and in dire need of help, especially when vampires turn up…
BN Amazon iTunes ARe Lyrical Press
Interview with Jacqueline Farrell:
1.) What made you want to include a vampire in your work?
My heroine Sophronia answers this question quite neatly near the beginning of the book. I was just coming up to my 50th birthday and when I saw the big 5 – 0 come rolling towards me, it occurred to me that I wasn’t immortal and I couldn’t help thinking about all the questions that I’ll probably never get the answers to in my lifetime, like if there really is intelligent life on other planets and what they’re like; whether the Loch Ness Monster or the Yeti exists; whether we finally achieve world peace. Admittedly Hagen, my vampire, has been around for two thousand years and he hasn’t had the answers to any of those questions yet, but at least he’s got the chance of finding out. I was also intrigued at the idea of creating a character who’s been around for so long. It was fascinating to try to work out how such a creature might tick; after all, he was human once and has some memories of how we behave, but his motivations and ours haven’t been the same for a long time and I couldn’t help thinking we must get more difficult to understand with every century that passes. Plus, next to a two thousand year old, 50 doesn’t sound nearly so bad!
2.) What questions, either about your writing or your books, never get asked that you would LOVE to answer?
I’m really happy to answer any questions, since I can talk for England about writing, but the question I was once asked which I really enjoyed answering was ‘How did you feel when you finally had a submission accepted?’
I had been writing for years on and off, at first for my own amusement, certainly never telling anyone, because I couldn’t escape the feeling that respectable people didn’t write books. Then, as I got more confident, I decided to try my hand at finding an agent or a publisher and I got to experience first-hand the soul-crushing humiliation of rejections. Oh, the shame when the postman hands you yet another bulky envelope with your address written in your own handwriting and you’re convinced he knows exactly what it is and he’s laughing at you. But take it from me; this gets less humiliating with time as you get more thick-skinned.
The fun really starts when you’re so blasé about rejection letters, you start to categorize them.
There’s the common ‘Dear “fill in the blank in almost illegible handwriting” ’ whilst every other word is typed, the sub-text of which is ‘I haven’t even bothered to read your letter, let alone your manuscript’;
the ones where some care has been taken to personalize your rejection letter which makes you feel good for a while until you get about four or five where the wording is almost identical and you realize it’s some kind of form letter all the agents use;
the genuinely weird ones – my favorite was having my MS returned after a year with no covering letter at all, just a strange scrawl at the top of my own submission letter which after ten minutes of serious study I finally worked out read ‘not for me’ and absolutely nothing else; no date, no signature, no name, nothing. It took me another week of intense research to work out who I’d sent it to in the first place.
That lasts a few years until you start to get a few that, while still being rejection letters, tell you things they quite liked about your novel and how you might improve and you know they’ve read it because they actually mention characters’ names and they’ve spelt them correctly. Then finally, hallelujah, one day you get a letter. A letter, not a bulky envelope that you stamped and addressed, full of unwanted dross, but a real letter in a normal sized envelope that somebody else has taken the time to write your address on and add a first class stamp as well, not just the cheapest rate you could find. A letter telling you you’ve finally done it; you’ve made the grade, you’ve written a story that someone thinks is worth publishing and that other people apart from your mum and your best friend might actually want to read. You’re a real author, you’re going to have your name on a book cover, you’re really going to make some money back, after all the sweat and cursing and hundreds of times you’ve felt a complete fool for even thinking you could do this.
That was the long answer to the initial question. The short answer is – after giving birth to my babies, it was the best feeling in the world.
Excerpt
Professional crone Sophronia lets her heart rule her head when she meets juvenile witch, Charlie. Then the vampires turn up…
The figure turned and I got my first sight of the vampire. Tall and good-looking in the sharp, defined way they all are, he had dark blond hair and eyes that were a fabulous ultramarine blue… He smiled as he studied me, like a cat that’s just seen a very juicy mouse…
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my dear Mrs. Sheridan.” He loomed over me. Vampires have no concept of personal space. “Charlotte has told me so much about you.”
“How nice, although there’s so little to tell.” “Charlie, what have you been saying about me?”
Despite my urgent tone, Charlie ignored me and I winced when I saw the dreamy adoration in her eyes. You never look in a vampire’s eyes if you can help it. It’s how they get that first hold over you.
“Nonsense. It’s been enthralling.” He smiled, showing lots of white teeth, but no fangs as yet. “Although apparently you weren’t very keen to meet me.”
“Goodness, who said that? I love meeting new people.” I projected the lightest, airiest of insinuations at him. “There’s no point bothering with me. It would be a waste of your valuable time”
The vampire turned back to us, all dark charm again. “Ladies. I invite you to my home.”
“You mean The Cabal?” From the excitement in Charlie’s voice I didn’t need to be a mind reader to know she’d suddenly forgotten all about her vampire boyfriend.
“Of course. Do you like champagne?”
“I’ve never tasted it,” she said and I wanted to hit her over the head with something. At this rate he wasn’t going to have to compel her even slightly.
As they walked toward the car, I hung back. “Um…I’ll stay here if you don’t mind.”
The vampire turned round. “I do mind,” he said, with considerably less charm, not that Charlie noticed.
“You gotta come, Mrs. Sheridan. It’s the biggest casino this side of Crescent City. It’s got a nightclub and a sports complex and the shopping mall is fantastic. All the biggest designer brands have a–”
“It sounds lovely,” I lied, “but I’m feeling rather tired. You go on, sweetie, and I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Don’t you want to come?” She sounded amazed but, before I could reply, the vampire patted her arm.
“That’s fine, Charlotte. If Mrs. Sheridan is too tired, of course we mustn’t insist. Anton.” He snapped his fingers and the driver got out the car. He was a vampire as well, of course, and I could see another one sitting on the other side. Suddenly the place teemed with them.
“Anton will get you settled, my dear,” he said and Charlie got in without a murmur. “Let me just say goodbye to Mrs. Sheridan and then we’ll go.”
He smiled paternally at her before returning to me. The look on his face sent me scuttling into reception as fast as I could, though it was pointless. The place didn’t belong to me and Charlie had already invited him in. I’d barely blinked before I found myself pinned against a wall. My personal space thus invaded, the vampire dropped all pretense at being civilized. His eyes seemed to darken.
“Sophronia,” he said, the growl in his voice very pronounced, “there’s an acquisitive Russian back at my house, sizing up my possessions and growing more confident every second I’m away. I don’t have time for a scene.”
“And I don’t want to make one, honestly, Hagen,” I pleaded, doing my best to appear meek, “but I am very tired. Tell you what, I’ll come tomorrow. How about that?”
He narrowed his eyes. “You think I don’t know that if I leave you alone for a second you’ll be away as fast as you can?”
“Absolutely not, Hagen. I wouldn’t dream of–”
“Sophronia, you have a choice. Either get in the car of your own volition, or I’ll have you put in the trunk and you can travel to my House that way. But I warn you, if that happens it will make me very unhappy and you won’t like me when I’m unhappy.”
I didn’t like him now. “Hagen, I absolutely swear to you that I won’t go anywhere. I’ll–”
“I’m walking out the door, Sophronia,” he said. “What’s it to be? Are you joining me or should I instruct Torsten to start making room in the trunk for you?”
I wondered if I could make it to my own car in time but then yet another vampire appeared near the entrance, his eyes reflecting red in the night. Since I had no choice I walked out to the car.
The vampire didn’t even have the courtesy to look surprised.
