Christi Snow's Blog, page 18

Either...

Friday Five...All the happy in life

I know...late again, but it's still Friday, so it completely still counts, right? Besides, by being late, it means I can add last minute additions like #1 on today's list...



New Music

This album dropped at midnight last night and I'm listening to it right now. So good. I love the Chainsmokers...all their songs have a story which I find really inspiring for writing. I highly recommend this one!!


New Release Book
I'm going to have a couple of book shares today. The first is a new release from Mia Downing. It's only $.99 right now and features the ultimate bad boy...a demon tasked with stealing the heroine's soul. You can read my review of it HERE. But know, it's really good. Oh, and check out the amazing trailer....https://www.facebook.com/TBCTrailers/videos/764044560417282/

Twisted Luck by Mia Downing When I told him to go to hell, I never realized it would be a trip for two.

All I wanted was luck—the good kind. I’d lost my job, a jerk hacked my bank account, and I caught my best friend screwing my fiancé. When stood up by my Internet date in a bar, I met the perfect man—tall, dark, and handsome in the most expensive suit. He was out of my league, but I didn’t want forever. 

I barely remember the words he whispered under the veil of sin and seduction. I didn’t believe in Satan, God, Heaven or Hell. I thought he was kidding. A figment. A dream.

I was wrong. With one, breathless yes, my fate was sealed.

Businessman by day, demon by night, Leo Weston now owns my soul in exchange for good luck. Time is ticking as he works to secure my mother’s soul, too. Somehow, I have to take him down despite him being so damned gorgeous, glib, and devious. Will my gift of twisted luck be enough to save her and protect my heart?

Self CareThis has been an admittedly rough week...lots happening, lots of stress from outside stuff that I have no control over. There's nothing I can do about the stressors. So, this week I've had a few moments when I've had to practice self care. 
For me that means giving myself permission to take the night off to read with no guilt.
And this is my post for you to remind you to do the same. 
Take care of yourself...that means both mentally and physically. You deserve moments to calm your mind, to calm your soul. Read.Sit back and drink a cup of coffee or tea and listen to music.Take a bubble bath.
Do something to make sure you're in a happy place. Because nothing in this life is better than that. Keep your head space clear and happy.You deserve that! [image error]


Reading and Writing RomanceY'all know. There's a bit of a stigma with the romance genre. It's sometimes really frustrating (like that time I was at my local writer's meeting and one of the members wouldn't read my submitted piece for critique...which was completely innocent... because "I don't read pornography.")*clenched teeth grin*
So, yeah...stigma.
There was an incredible article about that very thing that I saw for the first time this week by Sarah Maclean. So, I thought I would share it. It's definitely worth a read! Bashing Romance Novels is Just Another Form of Slut-Shaming

There are many authors in my life who I'm so lucky to know. One of them is Kelly Apple. She's awesome. I write with her every morning and have writing accountability with her every week.
Today she's released the final book in her Forgotten Monsters series. She writes super-sexy monster erotica. I promise you her monsters are not scary and she will totally change your view on these guys.

Echo released today and is the final book in the series. (Amazon has it on sale right now for only $.99) These are superfast, sexy little reads.
The series:1. Wisp2. Deep3. Dream4. Echo
When Thane Demarcos left home to travel the world, he never expected to end up stranded in a tiny mountain town so far from the water he can’t smell salt on the wind. For a Siren to be without the oceans close by is unheard of and he knows it’s only a matter of time before his family tracks him down to bring him home.
In the meantime, Thane’s stuck with a neighbor who takes in all the town’s strays and hardly remembers to care for herself. If Zoe Canton knew what was good for her, she’d stop spending all her money on dog food and start stocking up her pantry for the winter he can feel coming.

Fate being the tyrant she is, Thane and Zoe get unexpectedly snowed in and Thane finds himself grudgingly coming to understand the effervescent woman who cares too much. The more he learns about her, the more he comes to admire her.

Considering he’s bound to return to his watery home, this spells disaster for everyone.

Warning: This book contains a man who has exceptional allure and a woman who tries to live her life to the fullest. A round of drinks and karaoke for everyone. On the house.


******Have a great weekend everyone!smiles,Christi

Read all day...

Friday Five...Previewing Snowcroft

Tomorrow is April 1st. To most that means April Fools Day.For writers that means the first day of the April Camp NaNoWriMo.

I have big plans. Writing 80,000 words in a month kind of big plans. 
Yes, you read that right. I'm hoping to write all of Snowcroft Restoration during April.For those of you keeping track, this is finally Law's book!
But to get ready for that, I've had to delve into the 128,000 words that is Intertwined Hearts.  ^^^(that's the printed out version of the rough draft...460 pages!!!)^^^

Both Law and his hero (the main characters in Snowcroft Restoration) make an appearance in that one...and yes, it very much sets up their book. 
So I thought for today's Friday Five, we'd discuss the five main characters in these two books. 
Yes, I said five...because Intertwined Hearts is a menage (m/m/f)...and it starts with a day that drastically changes the lives of all three characters in the story...May 27th.
LeighYou all know Leigh as Jamie's younger sister (Jamie is Trevor's hero in Snowcroft Lost).
Leigh is not a girly girl. She grew up with her dad and big brother, running Vaughn Construction. Her life has been surrounded by men. As a result, she doesn't have a whole lot of traditional feminine skills. (The story of her sending the entire Vaughn Construction crew to the hospital with food poisoning is legendary around Snowcroft.)
But while she may not be feminine in the traditional sense, she does have all the necessary equipment to do something only a woman can do. She can have a baby...and that's how this story begins...with her volunteering to become a surrogate for Jamie and Trevor.
It's been years since she's had any kind of real romantic involvement and has pretty much given up on ever having kids of her own. Becoming the best aunt in the world is good enough for her. 
But of course, you know that fate is going to throw her for a loop. 
As soon as her body is not her own, she meets a man...well, actually two of them.
But that's a little more complex than it sounds.

Hudson
You've met Hudson before, too. Hudson was Jamie's friend-with-benefits in Snowcroft Lost that lived in Austin. He's a chef and gay. But a horrific attack at his restaurant after hours leaves him floundering. He can't step foot in his kitchen anymore, so sells his restaurant which had been his dream...and life goes downhill from there.
Jamie brings Hudson to Snowcroft to recover and hopefully recuperate. After his trauma he can't stand to be around men without having flashbacks, so Hudson moves in with Leigh. She's pregnant and can't cook. Hudson is a chef and needs a woman's caring touch. Jamie is hoping that with him being at Leigh's and focusing on caring for someone else that Hudson will find some mental healing.
DavidThe final character in this new trio is a new character in Snowcroft. David was a police officer in Albuquerque who had his police partner turn on him. He can't stomach working for the big-city police force any longer, so he applies for the newly created police chiefs position. 
David is bi-sexual and has a bit of history with Leigh...dating back to the day when his career in Albuquerque blew apart. And things progress from there...
LawAnd you all know Law. He's been in every Snowcroft book. In the first one, his life imploded and he's still dealing with the fallout from that...both professionally and personally. A former FBI agent, Law has a lot of ghosts haunting him, but maybe we can get his life straightened out in Snowcroft Restoration. The guy has been through the wringer. He deserves some happiness. It just may take a bit to get him there.
???Do you really want to know who Law's hero is?I'll give you a hint...I honestly think he has more angst than Law does over what happened two years ago (at the end of Snowcroft Lost).
Any ideas?Yes, you've met him before, but have never really gotten to know him. He hasn't had much page time...although that does change in Intertwined Hearts where he has a couple of significant scenes.
I will tell you before either of these guys can truly find happiness they're going to have to face what happened out there in the woods of Snowcroft, and it's not going to be easy. This promises to be an emotional book, but those always are the best kind, aren't they?*****
Are you getting excited yet?
I am. 
Maybe I can be convinced to share blurbs with you.
I think Intertwined Hearts has been shared, but Snowcroft Restoration hasn't been yet. How bad do you want to know who Law's hero is?
Have a great weekend, everyone!smiles,christi

Be the reason...

Friday Five...OOPS!

Have you ever had one of those weeks? That's been me this week...dang, I'm exhausted. Every single day this week, my alarm has had to go off 2-3-4 times before it came even close to getting me up. (The week after spring break is always killer.)

Add to that, this week has been super busy (sent a book to alpha readers, sent a novella to an editor, applied final proofread edits to another book, did formatting on one book, AND am now doing a reread of the first draft of another book...and those were ALL different books...OMG!).

And today is hubby's birthday.

So in other words, I haven't had a spare moment to even think about my Friday Five list this week. Let me see if I can come up with something for you on the fly....hehe!

Who's waiting for Law's book? (Men of Snowcroft)I wrote the blurb for it today...which means I'm about to start writing on it. OMG, I'm just as anxious as you all are about him. But you know what...I'm pretty sure his hero is more wounded than Law is...I can't wait to share their story with you. 
And I know...that was a huge tease, but just know...it's COMING!! 
My goal is to write it (estimating it at 80,000 words) for Camp NaNoWriMo in April. That's a lot of words, but I believe I can do it. I'll probably do a weekly report in on my word counts every Friday that month so you all can keep me accountable.

Writing a book set in Arizona?That may be on the agenda soon. My oldest (who just went through Air Force basic training and is at tech school right now) just got his base assignment...Arizona. 


I'm pretty happy about this. He's a 10 hour drive from me and halfway between him and me is where my parents live (the real town that's the basis for Snowcroft). I see lots of fun trips out there in my future...and if it's done in the name of research, I have double the reason to go. 

A new favorite read...Do you read male/male romance? If so, let me share my favorite read this week. 
Amazon link
This one doesn't come out until April 4th, but I highly recommend you preorder it. It was so good. And...shocker... this is a Carina Press book which is traditionally an ebook only line (with just a few exceptions.) 
For some reason this book made their exceptions list and I couldn't be more excited to be able to buy it for my keeper shelf. This is only this author's second release (her first one was really good, too) and she is now on my auto-buy list. 
My review won't be up until the release date, but I gave this one a huge five stars!!

How to party it up right when you live in a small town...We live in West Texas in a town that has about 100,000 people. It's really a great town, but we've lived here for a while (almost 7 years) and feel like we've pretty much done it all. Last year our main source of entertainment...the bookstore...closed. So to go out and do something is kind of depressing as far as options. 
So tomorrow, to celebrate my husband's birthday, we're driving to a town 2 hours away that's slightly bigger. They have a bookstore (god bless Barnes & Noble) and good restaurants. Yes, we'll drive 4 hours round trip just for a decent bookstore. We are those people. 

Harlequin does it right...This video cracks me up. I would have loved to have been in this bowling alley the night they filmed it. I love that publishing company...they're always doing fun things like this...plus they have some fabulous books, too!


Have a great weekend everyone! I hope you get to visit a bookstore near you, too.smiles,Christi

You're getting there...

No Friday Five...but Four Sexy Men...

I'll admit it. My brain is in the Spring Break Zone, which means no Friday Five post for today. Instead I gift you with four sexy men standing in the middle of a lot of green for St. Patrick's Day. Forgive me? I'll be back next week...smiles,Christi

Hope...

I feel like I need to put this quote into the beginning of Found At the Bookstore. The idea of hope plays such an integral part of that story.

A late Friday Five...3/10

Being an eclectic writer...
I know it feels like it's been forever since I had a release. Believe me, I get it, and I'm over here working feverishly trying to fix that. 


In the past week, I have worked on four books:1. I finished the first draft of Found At the Bookstore.2. I sent a secret project to the proofreader.3. I sent Believe in the Wish to my editor.4. I'm writing on the first draft of Shiver.
In other words, please be patient with me for a little bit longer. I have a TON coming at you. 
But with that being said, I realize my release schedule for this year is very m/m heavy...with only an m/m/f thrown into the mix. 
So, I'm trying to push through and carve out time to finish an m/f romantic suspense that I started a couple of years ago. I love the start of it...but other projects have just taken precedence...so it's never been finished. 

M/f readers, don't abandon me. I promise I have things coming for you...despite how it looks right now.

What I'm listening to...Last week while we were in San Antonio, the new Ed Sheeran album dropped. I love it so much, but this song works for me so much. Even my 9 yo came in when it was playing and stopped everything to listen and download it. I love it!



Reality TV is back...95% of the time, I don't watch TV. I haven't since I took up writing full time. Something in my schedule had to give...TV was it. But it's not fair to my husband to ignore him in the evenings, so I tend to be in the living room in the evenings. I just don't watch whatever's on while I work on my laptop. 


This time of the year, that all changes. We religiously watch two reality shows and they're both back. I love them so much and am so happy to have these shows back in my life (and upon typing that, I'm now feeling like maybe my life is more than a little sad...LOL!)

Lemon Zinger Tea is a gift from the germ gods...
If you're on any of my social media, you know I've been sick this week (if you aren't on my FB, be thankful...because I'm seriously whiney when I'm sick). But this week I'm so thankful for Lemon Zinger Tea. It's not a miracle cure, but when I have a cold/sore throat there is nothing better. I've lived with this in my mug this week...you know, in between all the whining.


Hallelujah...Spring Break is next week!
Nine straight days of sleeping in. I am so ready. I love my bed. I can't wait.

Have a great weekend, everyone! I hope you find a great read this weekend AND spend some quality time in your bed, too. smiles,Christi