Xio Axelrod's Blog, page 9

FoX Friday with Jo Richardson!

Happy Friday, my lovelies! I’m here with yet another super-talented friend. This week, we welcome back the delightful Jo Richardson with her brand new release, JACKSON STILES: ROAD TO REDEMPTION.

I’ve been waiting so damned long patiently for this book and cannot wait to sink into it. But first, I asked Jo some fun questions so that you can get to know this lovely lady!

Did you always want to be a writer? If not, what else did you want to do?

I’ve always preferred writing to talking face to face – when I was younger, I was big into writing poems, letters, short stories… a diary (gasp) –  but I was also always a lover of art. So, drawing, sketching, photography, you name it. I’m in to it. I even originally majored in art when I started college. I won’t bore you with the story about why I changed it.

FoX Friday with Kimberly Kincaid + a Giveaway!

Hello my lovelies! It’s the first Friday of Autumn, my favourite time of year. It’s only fitting that I have one of my favourite people with us here today.

Kimberly Kincaid writes sexy, sassy romance and her latest, SKIN DEEP, is a feast!

Before we dive in (like what I did there?), let’s chat with Kimberly. I asked her some fun questions! Also, she’s giving away a digital copy of SKIN DEEP! All you have to do to comment below to be entered. 

Welcome to my lair, Kimdoll! So tell us, is there a scene in your latest release that you particularly enjoy?

This is my first romantic suspense, so there were a bunch of scenes that were out of my wheelhouse but a lot of fun to learn how to write. I really love the action scenes, but I think one of my favorites is the one where my firefighter hero and my cop heroine go over a crime scene together. It’s very CSI!

Ooo! I’m so excited to read it. My Kindle is calling to me, lol. What writing rituals help to get your mojo flowing so you can write?

I get up very early (I’m writing this at 5:30 AM and it’s not the first thing I’ve written today!) I love working in the morning when no one else is up or about. I also need total quiet to write. I plot with music on, but writing? It has to be shhh!

Wait, there are two five o’clocks in a day?

Come hang with me at the Baltimore Book Festival!

Hello my lovelies!

This weekend, I will be hanging out at the Baltimore Book Festival with my friends at the Maryland Romance Writers stage. We’ll talk romance, heroes, heroines and (shhhh) sexy times.

Festival runs 09.23.16 to 09.25.16

I’ll be around all weekend if you want to grab a photo, have me sign something, or want to grab a glass of wine (or a cuppa). And I’ll be on some pretty cool panel discussions:

Friday – 11AM – Take a Chance on Romance: Book Cover Bingo, with Andie J. Christopher, Heidi Hormel, Alexa Jacobs, Rebecca Rivard, and Melinda Valentine

Saturday – 1PM – Contemporary Romance: Fun, Flirty, and Fabulous with Nichole Christoff, Christina Elle, Avery Flynn, Kimberly Kincaid, Sophia Sasson, Laura Ward, and Sarah Wendell.

Sunday – 11AM – Why Happy Ever After Sells: Swoony, Sassy, and Sexy Stories with Megan Erickson, Erika Kelly, Sarah Robinson, Rebecca Rivard, Mia Sosa, and Laura Ward

Sunday – 4PM – We Love Romance: Author Chat and Giveaway! with Christi Barth, Joy Daniels, Kate Quinn, Charis Michaels, Rebecca Rivard, and Melinda Valentine.

Hope to see you there!

FoX Friday with author Skye Jordan + Giveaway

Holy crap, you guys! It’s isn’t everyday that you get to interview one of your faves, so excuse me while I fangirl all over today’s FoX, New York Times Bestselling author, Skye Jordan.

Skye is here with here newest release, QUICK TRICK. It’s the first in her brand new Rough Riders series. We’re talking hot hockey studs, y’all, delivered as no one but Skye can do. And those who comment will be entered for a chance to win one of two $10 Amazon gift cards and a Kindle copy of the book!

Before we jump on the Zamboni and meet the Rough Riders, I asked Skye a few fun questions.

Hi Skye! [insert fangirl squee] How do you celebrate each book release?

By giving things away. I’m funny that way, I really love giving gifts. And I really love chatting with my readers. So giving gifts to my readers is the perfect combination to celebrate a book release! I’ve done Facebook events, parties on my page, and Facebook hops. They’re all fun.

They are! And you are really generous with your readers. I know they (we) appreciate it. Speaking of which, make sure you leave a comment or question for a chance to win!!

How do you balance writing and your personal life?

What personal life?

Haha! I know what you mean.

I don’t [balance it]. I pretty much suck at it. That said, my life has never been “ordinary”. Married to a firefighter for 25 years has pretty much turned any kind of “traditional” personal life upside down.

Wow! It doesn’t surprise me that you’re married to a real life hero, though.

My husband didn’t work for a city department where the guys had a regular routine. He worked for the state of California and his routine was no routine. In a state where fire season lasts 8-9 months out of a year and my husband was routinely dispatched to wildland fires all over the state – and sometimes even out of state – for weeks at a time or called back to work in emergency situations, despite scheduled vacation, I’ve always lived with work and personal lives blurring.

But I’ve gotten to the point where I’m addressing one aspect of writing or another on average 16 hrs a day, everyday. And I definitely need a better life-work balance. Like, maybe…I could get a life.

FoX Friday with Sarah Hegger!

 

Happy FoX Friday, my lovelies! September crept up on us fast, didn’t it? Are you ready for autumn, because I sure am.

Romance Writers Weekly – What’s Going On?

Hello my lovelies!

I hope your summer has been an excellent one. Mine has been way busy, that’s for sure, but it’s been productive.

Those of you that hang out in the Asylum know that I’ve made quite a few changes to the Calum Series, which is why book two has been delayed for so long. When Fiona Riplee posed this week’s RWW topic – What Are You Working On? – I just had to jump into the loop. Did you catch what A.S. Fenichel has on deck? I’m really looking forward to her next release, The Tainted Bride.

When I released The Calum, I thought it would be a three-book series, at most. As I finished the first draft of book two, I realized this universe is much bigger than I thought. Right now, it looks like there will be at least five books, and quite possibly more.

I’m super excited about this because I love Lovie, Duff and Jo, and also because I’ve come to adore several other characters in their world.

Of course, Jo will get her own book (book three), and so will another character that you’ve already gotten to know a bit. Hamish.

Yep! Hamish.

Yes, this is Hamish. ;)

Love him or hate him (okay, we all probably hate him right now, lol), Hamish has a story that really blew me away when I learned of it. Oddly enough, he wasn’t the one to whisper it into my ear, it was yet another character to whom I’ll refer only as “G” for now.

G…has a lot to say about a lot of things, particularly about Hamish. Their connection goes back years and is tumultuous, to put it mildly. Theirs is a complicated, nuanced relationship that’s largely been kept a secret…until book four. Haha!

So that’s what I’m working on right now, the Calum Series. I also have several other projects that I am juggling, including a Hockey Romance that’s set to appear in an anthology next spring. Dude. Hockey + Romance = happy, happy Xio. I’m ridiculously psyched to really sink my teeth into that one.

Anyway, here’s a quick teaser from Calum Me Maybe:

Calum James McDuff had his hand on her ass.

Correction, Duff’s hand wasn’t on her ass, precisely, it was on her thigh. But that was close enough, right? Lovie wasn’t about to argue over inches.

“I can hear you thinking from over here,” he said, his voice gruff from slumber.

Lovie shifted closer. She couldn’t help it. “Oh yeah?”

“Yep.”

The aforementioned hand slid lower, cupping the round of her cheek and giving it a squeeze.

“Hey, now, is that allowed?” She offered a soft laugh to cover the tremor in her voice.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted, surprising her, before pulling her into the curve of his chest. There was definite snuggling going on now. “I’m a little fuzzy on the details.”

Lovie wasn’t going to argue about that either.

It was too good, all of it. His touch. His scent. The feel of him all around her, strong and warm. No, strike that, hot. The man burned with a fire so hot it threatened to consume her, even through the denim of his jeans and the cotton of her pajama bottoms. But she couldn’t let it.

Duff’s light snore had returned, his breath brushing the hair atop her crown. She envied his ability to fall asleep so soundly and so fast.

Lovie settled into the warm, decidedly masculine body that curled around hers and sighed with a tempered sort of joy. She smothered the girly giggle that wanted to bubble up in her throat, but did indulge in a secret smile.

This was nice. Better than nice, it felt good. Too good. His touch did things to her that she couldn’t allow now that they had decided to be friends.

Friends was reasonable. Sensible. Very adult of them, in fact. She was filled with a sense of pride. For a moment.

His hand flexed against her hip and Lovie decided that friends was really a four-letter word in disguise. She breathed another four-letter word in response to his tightening grip. God, he smelled like sleep, and soap, and man.

Yeah, being sensible sucked.

***

Thanks for joining us on the hop today! If you missed any of the entries, skip back to the beginning and see what Marc Stevens is up to. He and my alter ego, Xio Nin, have something in the works. Stay tuned for that!

Next up, see what deliciousness Kathryn Renard has on her plate. See you next time!

FoX Friday with Outlander’s Scott Kyle!

Hello my lovelies! It’s a first for FoX Friday as I welcome actor/producer Scott Kyle.

Scott has a string of stage, film and TV credits to his name, and is best known to most of us as Ross on the Starz series, Outlander. It sounds very glamorous, doesn’t it? He’s picked up by a driver and taken to the film location, escorted into his trailer where he is served breakfast, and anything he needs is brought to him. Costume and make-up staff come to prepare him, and he’s escorted onto the set.

“But it’s not glamorous,” he explains, “actually you’re just a cog in a wheel – you’re picked up and waited on hand and foot so that the producers know exactly where you are at all times and you’ll be ready when you’re needed on set.” And he is conscious that if he messes up there is a long queue of actors behind him who fit the bill and he could simply be replaced. Such is the precariousness of earning a living as an actor.

Scott is also the Artistic Director and Manager of the Bathgate Regal Community Theatre in Scotland. He spent years touring with his own theatre company. Wary of the high unemployment rates of actors, he is passionate about improving prospects for young actors and getting people into theatres. I invited him to stop by today and he was gracious enough to accept!

Scott, tell us a bit about how you got started as an actor. Was it something you dreamed of as a child?

I’ve always enjoyed telling stories and love listening to others tell a great story. I don’t know if I dreamed of becoming an actor as a child, I think a footballer (soccer player, for the Americans) was more where I wanted to be.

I’ve met many a lad with that same dream.

Come see me at RWA in San Diego!

Hey, my lovelies, I’m San Diego bound!

As I prepare for the release of Calum Me Maybe, I’ll be hanging out with thousands of fellow romance writers at the annual RWA conference. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been a member for only three years. So much has happened in that short time. In the last eighteen months, I released a novella, two novels, and a short story.

This spring, I signed with the Lori Perkins Agency, repped by the lovely Latoya Smith. Me, with an agent. Can you believe it? So many words to write, but I am enjoying every minute of it.

Romance Writer’s Weekly – What’s In Your Purse?

Welcome to another installment of Romance Writer’s Weekly where we give you a glimpse behind the curtain of our lives as romance authors. This week, Brenda Margriet (author of the lovely When Time Falls Still) wants to know what we carry in our purses.

This question made me chuckle. If you’re hopping over to me from Steven Mitchell‘s blog, you’ll understand why. Never mind the fact that the word purse makes me think of my grandmother for some reason, I can’t wait to see what Steven posts. By the way, be sure to check out his brand new release, Daughter of Darkness!

I used to be a backpack girl, and then I switched over to messenger bags. I still have a few of those and I use them when I go to concerts and festivals, etc. It wasn’t until about ten years ago that I started carrying (and collecting) purses, or handbags. Almost all of them are black and leather, and mostly small. But I change them as often as the occasion calls for it. I have a lot of errands to run this week, so here is today’s handbag.

I didn’t pull out the receipts, bits of paper, tissues, or detritus that seems to congregate at the bottom of this particular bag, but you get the general idea. It’s a nice, sturdy, roomy Kenneth Cole. When I have this one on my person, one of my largest, it tends to house a lot. In this case, we have:

A bottle of Smartwater (I live on this stuff)
Various pens
My wallet (Yes, it’s a Radley and the only thing I’ve ever purchased during the in-flight Duty Free window.)
Some Benadryl (allergies)
A Larabar, because I often forget to eat
My business cards, made by Moo
A stylus for my laptop/smartphone
A small bottle of lotion
One of dozens of notebooks I own (I especially love these old world, leather-bound ones.)
My computer glasses
I just happened to have the Writer Emergency Pack on me when I took this photo
My keys (Mr. X jokes that I have three keychains for every key I have on my ring. I think it’s more of a 10:1 ratio.)
A pair of sunglasses (I wonder where the case could be?)
A USB cord (The charger is around here somewhere.)
And one of half a dozen balls of EOS lip balm that I keep about my person

I don’t carry this satchel every day. My everyday bag is a much smaller, over-the-shoulder model and usually only holds my wallet, keys, and the charger. And maybe some gum. Which reminds me, I’m out.

So, what does this all tell you about me? Heck if I know, but I’m curious to hear your thoughts. Hop on over to see what the wonderful Leslie Hachtel (author of The Dream Dancer) has in her purse. See you next time!

FoX Friday with Nikki Lynn Barrett

Happy June, my lovelies! It’s time for FoX Friday and today’s FoX is Nikki Lynn Barrett. Nikki is here with her latest releases, Offbeat and Queen of  My Heart. First, let’s get to know Nikki a bit.

Nikki Lynn Barrett is an avid lover of books. She’s been writing as far back as she can remember, completing her first “book” by fifth grade in one of those one subject spiral notebooks. She has a passion for music, photography, jewelry and all things creative. Nikki lives in Arizona with her husband and son, but dreams of being somewhere much colder and stormier. For now, she’ll have to live that life through her characters and stick it out with the summer heat.

How do you celebrate when you finish a manuscript?

You know, I don’t do a lot of celebrating as much any more. I do post the news in my groups and page, because I know my readers anticipate that moment, and I might take the rest of the day off, but by the next one, I’m back at it with a new work-in-progress. I have too many ideas roaming around in my head and am pretty eager to get to the next one.

What advice would you give to another author who’s just starting out?

If this is your dream, don’t give up. Keep learning and growing every chance you can. It’s not a race to get to the top, it’s a slow, bumpy ride. Oh, and a big one? You’re not going to please everyone, so don’t even worry about trying.

That’s fantastic advice.