Xio Axelrod's Blog, page 8

FoX Friday with Kim Golden + a giveaway!

Happy Friday, my lovelies! We’re closing in on the winter holidays, and I can think of no better present than a new release from my good friend Kim Golden.

If you’ve been with me since the beginning (way back in 2013), you know what a soppy fangirl I am of Kim’s writing. Even though I’ve known her, more or less, since we were kids, I only became aware of her writing when I started on my own publishing journey. Maybe Baby is one of my top twenty, all-time favourite books. Kim is here with the third installment in the series, Maybe Tomorrow. If I tell you how excited I am, you’ll think I’m bullshitting you, but I bullshit you not. I’ve been waiting, y’all! So excited, that I’ll pick a random winner to receive a copy of the first book in the triolgy from the comments below.

Before we dive into Henrik and Eddy’s story, I want to reintroduce you to Kim. I asked her some fun questions, and her answers don’t disappoint!

Did you always want to be a writer? If not, what else did you want to do? (I’m sure I’ve asked you this before, but indulge me, lol.)

I always wanted to be a writer. There was a time when I wanted to be an illustrator and there was a very brief period when I wanted to be an architect, but writing always called to me.

Do you have a one-click or must-buy author whose books you just have to have?

Aside from you?

Coming March 2017 – Hot Hockey Heroes!

I’m so excited about this project, my lovelies!

This March, USA Today Bestsellers Robin Covington, Kimberly Kincaid, Nana Malone and Virginia Nelson, Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller Angi Morgan, along with myself, Christi Barth, Andie J. Christopher, Avery Flynn, Kim Golden, Lena Hart, Desiree Holt, Robin Kaye, Katie Kenyhercz, Heather Long, Kate Meader, Susan Scott Shelley, and Misty D. Waters will bring you 18 romances with smoking hot heroes—both on and off the ice.

Little did they know that winning the Cup would just be the start of the hottest summer of their lives. . .

The New Orleans Cajun Rage professional hockey team just won The Cup. No one thought they’d do it: they were a team of shoulda beens, never coulda beens and a star or two. They’d only been in the Crescent City for three years before this year’s Cinderella run that had them skating off the ice with the championship.

Over the following summer, each player gets to keep th e Cup for a day. Nobody knows why, but whoever has the Cup falls in love.

 

The release date for HOT ON ICE is March 21, but you can add it to Goodreads now: http://bit.ly/2ggRF8e

And you can pre-Order HOT ON ICE on iBooks: http://apple.co/2fOCS8g (other pre-orders coming soon.)

Also, come check out our Facebook page for all the latest on this sizzling set of stories!

Join me online tomorrow! (11/30)

Hey, my lovelies! I’ll be taking a break from writing/editing tomorrow to chat with the folks at the New-To-Me Reading Challenge at 4PM MDT.

Come join the group and get in on the discussion. I’ll answer questions, do a reading or two, and I may have a giveaway as well.

FoX Friday with debut author, Kate Forest! (Plus a giveaway!)

It’s FoX Friday, my lovelies! This week, we have another new author, my friend Kate Forest. She’s here with her debut novel, Interior Design and Other Emotions. I adore that title, and I cannot wait to read this book. I’ve been waiting for a long time to get my hands on it.

Before we dive in , I asked Kate a few questions. Comment below and be entered to win a copy of the book!

How long did it take you to write your first novel?

That’s tricky because I wrote two at the same time. I started a women’s fiction book that I love and will eventually be published in 2018. But I read all the do’s and don’ts of writing, and I was doing everything wrong. I was writing in first person and breaking all the “rules.” My sister, who is the real writer of the family, suggested I stop and write one “by the book” (pun intended.) I did, and it sucked. But it was the perfect exercise to learn writing.

Really? It was sort of the same for me. My first published book wasn’t the first book I’d written, but rather an experiment.

What was the question? Oh, yeah, how long did it take. I think it took my about 10 months to write that sucky book. I have since gone back and spent years revising that first one that is still not ready. But generally, I can produce a book in a year, from first word to last edit.

You’ve held a lot of interesting jobs. Do you pull a lot of your professional experiences into your writing?

Yes and no. (I’m doing a terrible job answering your questions.)

Lol! Not at all.

Certainly, my education and experience as a social worker has trained me to be attuned to emotions and relationships. I’ve spent my career dissecting relationships of all kinds and helping people to live together in a more harmonious way (both couples and families.) But I can’t say I get any ideas for stories from my work. When I’m in therapist/coach mode, I’m wearing a different hat. It just doesn’t occur to me to think of story ideas.

But what is important to me is that I am portraying characters you don’t typically see in romance. I think we need all kinds of diversity in romance, racial, neuro, physical. My work with diverse populations, finding out that everyone has love to share, and that everyone deserves a Happy Ever After, certainly informs my stories.

I can understand that, and relate to it.

FoX Friday with Libby Doyle + a giveaway!

Happy November, my lovelies! We have another debut author with us this week. My friend Libby Doyle is here with The Pain Season, book two of her debut Covalent series. Libby writes sexy, action-packed urban fantasy that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Her latest book just dropped (music industry term, lol) on Halloween, so I’m excited to have her here with an excerpt and a chance to win a digital copy of book one. But before we get to that, I asked Libby some fun questions.

FoX Friday with debut author, Gina Fluharty + a giveaway!

Hey, my lovelies! This week, we have a treat for FoX Friday. Please give a warm welcome to debut author Gina Fluharty. Her first release, Banshee’s Bite, will hit stores on Tuesday, November 1st. I met Gina at the RWA Conference in San Diego this year, and she is a hoot and a half! It was like meeting a long, lost friend.

FoX Friday with Roan Parrish + a giveaway!

Hey, my lovelies! You know when you come across a new (to you) author and devour everything they’ve written, only to be bitterly disappointed that there isn’t more to read? I’ve discovered a few of those lately, and at the top of the list is this week’s guest, Roan Parrish.

A fellow Philadelphian (I may have to stalk her), Roan is here with her latest release, Where We Left Off, book three in her Middle of Somewhere series. To describe Roan’s writing as a gripping, emotional roller coaster ride would be an understatement. To say her heroes are sexy, vulnerable and so real you want to cuddle them and slap them all at once, would be as well. So, yes, I’m thrilled to have her here today. Before we dive into Will and Leo’s tale, let’s get to know a bit more about Roan.

Do you remember the very first thing you ever wrote? What was it?

Well, when I was around ten and eleven, S.E. Hinton was like my god. So, one of the first things I remember writing was this story that was basically about very thinly veiled characters from The Outsiders. Really, by today’s definitions it was fan fiction, I guess, but I didn’t know that term at the time. I just wanted that book to go on forever, so I wrote another version of it. In this one, Ponyboy and Sodapop had ended up in a boys’ home and Darry and a fourth brother were attempting to spring them and take them back home.

Holy crap, that is awesome. LOL! If you happen to have that laying around, please let me know.

FoX Friday with Mia Sosa + a giveaway!

Hello my lovelies! I’m so excited to have Mia Sosa with us this week. Mia’s here with her latest release, GETTING DIRTY WITH THE CEO, book three in her Suits Undone series. And she’s offering a Kindle copy of book one, UNBUTTONING THE CEO. All you need to do to enter the giveaway is comment below.

Before we get down and dirty with Daniel, I asked Mia some fun questions so you could get to know her better.

What made you first pick up the pen to write?

Frustration. At the time, I’d been practicing law for many years, and I had a grueling schedule and workload; writing fiction became my escape. I drafted several first chapters of books that will never see the light of day. When I stopped practicing law in 2014, I knew exactly what I wanted to do: Write a second chapter. And I did.

Lucky for us!

FoX Friday with Sonali Dev + a giveaway!

Oh, my dears, we have a special treat today. The lovely and talented Sonali Dev is here with her brand new release A Change of Heart. Readers call it powerful, raw, gripping, and romantic, and I cannot wait to read it. And Sonali is giving away a copy, so comment below for our chance to win!

I had the pleasure of spending time with Sonali and asked her if she’d stop by to visit with us.

How long have you been writing?

I’m one of those writers who didn’t discover her love for writing suddenly or serendipitously. I’ve written and loved to write for as long as I can remember. But making a life as a writer was one of those dreams that somehow always seemed like a pie in the sky. Consequently I went to architectural school so I could have a ‘real’ career and I continued to pursue my ‘hobby’ by writing columns and blogs. The switch to writing fiction happened over the phone when I was talking to my best friend who is a movie producer. She was complaining about the scripts she’d been reading and we both said, ‘Well, how hard can it be to write a good movie?’ Famous last words, right?

Ha! Indeed.

I’m Dublin bound!

Hey there, my lovelies!

I’m using this short break in my packing frenzy to tell you where I’m going to be this week.

Yep, Ireland!

This will be my first time on the Emerald Isle, as well as my first international signing, and I cannot wait.

I’ll be joining more than 200 other authors, cover models (including Stuart Reardon!) and bloggers at the 2016 Claddagh Author Event. 

Here’s the event schedule:

MEET & GREET – October 6th at 8pm

SIGNING – October 8th from 11am till 6pm (I’ll be signing copies of The Calum, Falling Stars, and Starlight.)

GALA – October 8th at 8pm

If you’re in Dublin, or plan to be, you can still grab tickets to what looks to be the biggest event of its kind in Ireland this year. Come meet me. And, oh yeah, these guys.