Lashell Collins's Blog, page 14

Time to Celebrate!!!

So, even though I am still working on Jagged Secrets – that’s book 4 in the Jagged Ivory Series – I officially met my NaNo word count goal on November 23, so now it’s time to celebrate! And as a way of sharing the Thanksgiving gratitude, I’m sharing an excerpt from JI4 for all of my readers to enjoy. This excerpt is a conversation between the guys in the band as they sit around in a hotel room during their world tour talking about women and sex … of course! Hope you all enjoy it. And to those of you in America, I hope you have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving weekend!

*****

“Wait, so … you didn’t go?” Benji asked, frowning at him.

“I did go,” Buz answered quietly, avoiding eye contact. “I just didn’t get out of the car.”

Benji said nothing as he watched his friend sit down beside him in front of the TV. He set the Xbox controller down and then turned toward him.

“I don’t understand, man. Why didn’t you get out of the car?” Benji asked. “I thought the point was to get her to talk to you.”

“Get who to talk to you?”

They both looked up to see Otis, Noah and Cory walking through the door of his suite, and Benji looked back at Buz, who sat shaking his head and still not looking him in the eye. But he meant what he had told him before. He would keep Buzzy’s situation just between the two of them if that’s what Buz wanted. He had no intention of breaking his friend’s confidence.

“Neither one of you are going to answer me, huh?” Otis asked.

“It’s nothing, O,” Benji replied. “We were just talking.”

“About what?” he asked as he plopped down on the bed.

They didn’t respond, and Otis took the hint and let it drop. “Okay. Where’s Fae?” he asked, changing the subject as Noah and Cory joined him on the bed.

“She and Mercy went with and Mike and Alison to the Rock Hall,” Noah spoke up.

“The Rock Hall?”

“Yeah. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum,” Noah clarified. “It’s here in Cleveland. Remember, we all went the last time we were here.”

“Oh, yeah. I like that place,” Otis said. “Hey, another twenty years and maybe Jagged Ivory will be inducted.”

They all smiled at his comment. “Yeah, with any luck, man. You never know,” Noah answered. Then he gave his brother a questioning frown and asked, “So who was that chick leaving your room just now, O?”

Otis smiled at him and then stared off into space for a moment as his brain tried to access the pertinent information. “Hmm. I don’t remember her name,” he admitted with a shrug. “Some chick I met at that club last night. Why?”

Noah shrugged his shoulders. “Because she looked like trouble, that’s why.”

“Yeah, she was hot as hell, wasn’t she?” he smiled.

“You didn’t meet her at the club, Otis. You met her in the dressing room after the show,” Cory spoke up.

“I did?”

“Yep. She came in the limo with us, and her girlfriends followed us to the club, remember?”

“Well, I definitely remember that limo ride,” he said with a slow nod of his head. “You both should have taken her up on her offer, ’cause shorty had some skills. You, I can understand,” he said, pointing to Cory. Then he turned to Buz and added, “But you had no excuse, and baby knew how to handle a lollypop, you know what I’m saying?”

Buz smiled slightly at his lewd comment, but said nothing as the others chuckled at him.

“Yeah, well her oral skills are not what I was talking about when I said that she looked like trouble,” Noah spoke up as he looked at Otis.

Otis frowned at him. “Okay. What’d you mean then?”

“I mean she looked young, man! Like jailbait kind of trouble,” Noah explained. “How old was she? Seventeen maybe? Sixteen?”

“Oh, hell, man … I don’t know,” Otis frowned, sounding defensive. “I don’t usually stop to ask that question, do you?”

Noah stared at him for a moment and then shook his head. “No. I guess I didn’t,” he admitted quietly. And it was true. Before Mercy had come into his life and put an end to the endless groupie machine, age wasn’t something he had really concerned himself with when it came to sex on the road. And he wasn’t certain why he was concerned about it now with Otis, but something about that girl had struck him the moment he saw her emerge from his brother’s hotel room this morning.

“Alright, then,” Otis replied. “Lecture over.”

Noah rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t trying to lecture you, O. I’m just saying she looked young to me, that’s all.”

“Well, why do you care?” Otis asked, looking him in the eye.

“Because I care about you,” Noah shot back, returning his accusatory gaze. “Damn, man, don’t get so defensive. It’s not like we all haven’t done it before at some point. But I’m just thinking about you! Just … be careful.”

Otis sighed as he let the matter drop. He wasn’t sure what was really going on in his brother’s mind, but he did know when Noah was being sincere and when he was being an ass. And right now, his little brother was not being an ass.

“Okay, so has anybody else noticed how mellow Mike seems these days?” Cory asked, changing the subject to more neutral territory and referring to the group’s manager and Mercy’s dad.

“Yeah, that’s because he’s getting some regular pussy,” Noah smiled, and they all laughed. “Mercy says Alison has been a godsend for him.”

“For you too, hot shot,” Otis said, smiling at him and forgetting their earlier spat. “I notice he’s a lot less focused on you and Mercy now that he’s got a woman of his own.”

Noah laughed a little. “Mike’s not so bad. Once he accepted the fact that I love her and I’m not gonna hurt her … he’s calmed down quite a bit.”

“I’ll say,” Cory chimed in. “I swear I have heard him call you ‘son’ a couple of times now!”

“Oh, my God,” Benji smiled, pointing at Cory. “I heard that too! Freaked me out.”

Noah’s laughter swelled as they talked, but he couldn’t refute what they were saying because he had heard it to. Mike had called him son a few times lately. And while he had been incredibly surprised by it, it hadn’t freaked him out. The truth of the matter was, he and Mike had always had a good rapport. But since he had fallen in love with Mike’s daughter and she moved in with him, Mike had gone out of his way to be supportive, both of he and Mercy’s relationship and of Noah’s endeavor to get and stay sober. And Noah actually felt like he and Mike had become friends; they weren’t just artist and manager anymore.

“So when you going to start calling him dad?” Otis asked.

“What do you mean?” Noah replied, looking at his brother with an amused frown.

“Oh, you know what I mean.”

Noah smiled at him but said nothing. He did know exactly what Otis was driving at, and he didn’t want to have this conversation. Not that the question hadn’t already crossed his mind. It had. He and Mercy were solid. They had a great relationship, and Noah had no doubt that he wanted to spend his life with her. But he didn’t see any reason to rush things.

Ignoring his brother’s probing question, he turned to Buzzy with a smile. “Man, what’s up with you? You’re awfully quiet over there.”

Buzzy smiled at him. “I’m fine. Just listening to the conversation,” he said quietly, and Noah frowned at him.

“No, no, no,” Otis said. “Don’t even try it, Buz. I think we all know each other way too well for that shit. Something is obviously bothering you, man, and has been since last night. And you and Benji both clammed up when we walked in. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. But don’t lie to us, brother.”

Buz sighed heavily. “It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it, I just …” His voice trailed off as he thought about his situation. Then he smiled. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Otis smiled at him. “Man, does this have something to do with the girl?”

“What girl?” Buz asked.

“The one backstage the other night,” Otis answered. “The one who ran out and had you calling after her.”

Buzzy stared at him for a moment. He wasn’t sure why, but it surprised him that Otis had been paying attention. “You saw that?” he asked as his brow furrowed slightly.

“We all did, man,” Cory smiled.

“Yeah, Buz. You were holding onto her like you didn’t want her to get away,” Noah said. “You looked like you couldn’t believe she was really there.”

“When she ran out you called her Janie,” Cory added. “Come on, man. Who is she?”

The corner of Buzzy’s mouth curled up slightly in a small grin as he realized that all four of them had been paying attention. And that they were all worried about him.

“It’s her, isn’t it?” Otis asked. “The girl you told me about a while back? The one you said you’re still in love with.”

Buzzy took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he sat back in the chair and started to tell them everything.

*****

Get caught up with the boys of Jagged Ivory. Read books 1, 2 & 3 before book 4, Jagged Secrets!

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NaNo, Secrets and Christmas. Oh my!

So, I’ve been silent all month long, and I’m sorry about that, but the reason is because I’ve been participating in NaNoWriMo. For those of you who don’t know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It takes place each year when thousands and thousands of writers from all genres and all walks of life commit to writing at least 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. It is brutal, let me just tell you!

I have been using NaNo to work on Jagged Secrets, book 4 of the Jagged Ivory series, and currently I’m at about 41,000 words, so … not too shabby. However, I had hoped to be much further along by now because, while I may conquer my NaNo-regulated word count, my personal word count goal for this book is the same as the other 3 in the series – 60,000 to 80,000 words.

But one of the reasons I’m slightly behind in my NaNo project is because I’ve also been hard at work on a couple of upcoming releases for the Christmas season. First, I’ve been compiling the entire Pierced Trilogy into a boxed set that will release on Dec. 1st. Included in the boxed set is a brand new, holiday installment of Joshua and Samantha’s story – a novella titled Pierced By Christmas. I had a lot of fun writing it. It actually really got me into the holiday spirit, and I’m excited to have it included in the boxed set! And for those of you who already own each book of the trilogy, the novella will be available as a stand alone download. Hope you enjoy reading it. Here’s a cover reveal for the boxed set!

Well, sorry again for the long silence, but it’s only because I’ve been so busy writing. And with the holidays fast approaching, it’s only going to get busier around here, so I’m going to get back to the grind. As always, thank you so much for reading!

Check Out My Latest Interview!

Hey Everyone! A writer friend of mine, Julia Kelly, asked if she could interview me for her blog, and I jumped at the chance because Julia is a wonderful blogger (if you haven’t checked her out yet, you really should!). So, she asked me a bunch of questions about the Jagged Ivory series in general, and Jagged Addiction specifically, and what it was like writing a romance novel with such an unconventional hero. You can check out the interview here.

My Two Cents

So, it’s time for another installment of My Two Cents – the column where I review a recently read book and tell you what I think. On the chopping block today is Neverending Beginnings by Mary Chris Escobar, a fellow self-published author. And, as always, it’s completely spoiler free. Here we go:

Remember the movie Groundhog Day where Bill Murray is forced to relive the same day over and over again until he gets it right? Well, that is the premise of Neverending Beginnings, only here, Kate is relieving the same week. And boy what a week it is. Her best friend, Amy is getting married. And we all know how stressful that can be, right? But wait, it gets better. See, Amy is not simply getting married. She’s marrying Kate’s ex, Jack!

Yeah, I know. I could just stop right there, because I’ve said enough already. That premise alone tells you pretty much all you need to know to understand that this little book has some drama with a capital D! But I have to go on because, what that premise doesn’t tell you is that this is such a sweet, charming story and I simply could not put it down.

This book has everything – characters you will fall in love with, characters you will grow to dislike very much (I’m looking at you, Mrs. Moore), it will make you smile and laugh, and yes … it will make you cry. At least, it did me. But only because Ms. Escobar writes in such a genuine, relatable way. I could feel Kate’s fear and frustration at finding herself caught in this unimaginable time warp, her angst at being forced to go through the normal stressors of wedding mayhem while repairing her rocky friendship with the bride, her heartbreak over dealing with her mother’s death, and her nervous jittery flutters when she realizes that she’s falling for Ben – over and over and over again!

I had so much fun reading this book, and I found myself really rooting for Kate to figure it all out and to take a chance on Ben. If I had one complaint though, it would be that you’re left wondering what happened in December. But as I always promise a spoiler free review, I can’t tell you what I’m talking about! But an epilogue would have been much appreciated.

Now, there were some editing missteps here and there, but certainly not enough to diminish or take away from the very enjoyable plot or the truly charming characters. This is a first novel for Ms. Escobar, and I can’t wait to read more from her in the future!

Smashwords Interview and Other Stuff

Recently, I became a Smashwords Author. What does that mean? Well, it just means that I have found a fun and new (to me) way to get my books published and distributed for all the world to read, and I’m very excited about it! So excited that I just completed an in-depth Smashwords interview to give readers a chance to get to know me a little bit. You can find the interview by clicking here.

Also, I’ve just recently finished reading a really good book by one of my new favorite authors – and new friends – Mary Chris Escobar. The name of the book is Neverending Beginnings, and if you haven’t read it, you should, because it is just the sweetest little thing. I’m not going to say too much about it right now because I plan to post a proper review of it right here on this blog in the coming days, so look for that!

I have also been writing like a crazy person the last week or so, trying to meet a soft deadline of October 26th that I fear I’m going to miss. I think it’s going to end up being more like the 28th, but that’s okay because my hard deadline is actually the 30th. (I like to give myself a realistic cushion when I’m writing). Why all the madness, you ask? Well, because I’m anxious to finish the holiday novella I’m working on so that I can get back to books 4 and 5 of the Jagged Ivory Series. I don’t want to keep those boys waiting, if you know what I mean!

Jagged Ivory Book 3 Available Now!

Jagged Addiction, book 3 of my new Jagged Ivory rock star series is now available on Amazon and Smashwords! Other retailers, like Barnes and Noble, iBookstore and Kobo coming soon. I’ll get all the book details and an excerpt up on the My Books page of the website, and on Goodreads, as soon as I can. Happy reading!

Jagged Ivory Book 3 Available Now!

Jagged Addiction, book 3 of my new Jagged Ivory rock star series is now available on Amazon and Smashwords! Other retailers, like Barnes and Noble, iBookstore and Kobo coming soon. I’ll get all the book details and an excerpt up on the My Books page of the website, and on Goodreads, as soon as I can. Happy reading!

Available Now!

Available now on Amazon, books 1 and 2 of my new Jagged Ivory series! I’m so excited for you to meet the boys of the band. I know you’re going to love them as much as I do! You can visit my website at www.lashellcollins.com and click on the My Books page to read excerpts from both books, or you can head on over to Amazon now to get your copies. Both will soon be available at ebook retailers everywhere!

Available Now!

Available now on Amazon, books 1 and 2 of my new Jagged Ivory series! Jagged Hearts (book #1) and Jagged Dreams (book #2). I’m so excited for you to meet the boys of the band. I know you’re going to love them as much as I do! You can click on the My Books page to read excerpts from both books, or you can head on over to Amazon now to get your copies. Both will soon be available at ebook retailers everywhere!

Feeling Inspired!

So, when last I left you, I was about to head off to Atlanta for the RWA national conference and I was a nervous wreck because I had never been to anything like that before. I didn’t know what to expect or what it would be like, and I was actually a little bit scared about going. But boy am I ever happy that I did!

It was amazing! So many romance writers all in one place, all there to celebrate and talk about our craft and the many ways to do it better. There is just something about being with a group of like-minded people. There is no better way to feel accepted and understood, or to get fired up. I learned so much and met so many wonderful new friends. And I came away not only with some very clear-cut strategies of ways to improve both my writing skills and my self-publishing efforts, but with a whole set of new friends to connect and fellowship with. It was an incredible experience. One that I hope to repeat next year. I came home so inspired and so excited about my future writing projects that I couldn’t wait to get started. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been so silent on this blog since my return. Because I’ve been so busy writing my next book. And the one after that! And I’m now working on the one after that!!

In fact, books 1 and 2 of my new Jagged Ivory series will be released soon, and I’m currently working on book 3. Books 4 and 5 of this series are also already in the works. As is book 1 of another series and a Christmas novella that will be part of the Pierced saga.

Told you I came away from nationals inspired! I gotta go now. I’ve got some writing to do!