Elizabeth Corva's Blog, page 75
March 30, 2014
Cover Reveal – Heaven in You
Heaven in You (Angel Interceptors #2.5) is coming out on April 9th!
Summary:
2003 was a wild year for Jasmine Ashcroft and Jonathan Fox. Betrayal. Tragedy. Breakups. Reunions. And way too many long-haul flights. Now they just want to get away from it all for a little while. What better place to celebrate their first Christmas together than an out-of-the-way cabana in the Riviera Maya? No electricity, no phones, no paparazzi. Just sea, sunshine, and–hopefully–lots of shagging.
But like the most tenacious of groupies, mayhem follows the Strange Angels frontman everywhere…even to paradise. If Kit and his Wild One want their newfound relationship to survive this vacation, they’re going to need a lot of trust, strength, and patience. And tequila. Mucho tequila.
Warning! This novella is for readers 18+ only due to drug references, mature language, and lots of steamy Rock star sex.
Surfin’ Stelfox!
March 22, 2014
March 19, 2014
Another Time, Another Place
I am so not a fashionista. The closest I’ve come to haute couture-Land was a trip to the Betsey Johnson boutique on Melrose Avenue in 1990. So until yesterday, I knew next to nothing about L’Wren Scott, the model-turned-clothing designer who took her own life this week at her New York City home. But when I heard her described as a droll and somewhat self-effacing person wrapped in a gracious, somewhat formal Old World air, I thought, Hey, that sounds familiar! Kind of like a much more interesting and talented…me!
She was brought up in a homeschooling Mormon household in Utah; I was raised by Victorians in the South. And yet, I think we were both thoroughly steeped in a culture that’s all but vanished now; one where people stood ramrod straight with their hands held behind their backs when talking to a respected elder and the men all stood up whenever a female over the age of 12 walked in the room. The result of this upbringing is someone who seems a bit out of sync with modern sensibilities and more than a little stiff; awkward, even. Someone to whom strangers are drawn in the hope of finding a soft, vulnerable core inside that rigid, prickly exterior but has a hard time letting anyone get close enough to find out for sure. You’d think that people like us would become human time capsules and retreat to a world of our own making where we can be as formal as our little old-school hearts desired, and yet, L’Wren and I were drawn to some of the most un-stuffy subcultures known to humankind.
It’s inexplicable why anyone who might be best described as “quaint” would want to hang out with people who let it all hang out. By all rights, we should be viewed with the utmost mistrust and skepticism (“What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this? Here’s some cab fare; go back to 1860″ should be the sum total of the verbal interaction between us and the ultra-hip). But I think that just as we schoolmarmish folk are drawn to these devil-may-care types, they’re equally fascinated by us. In a scene rife with flakes and nomads, they can count on our steadfast loyalty. No matter how far they roam, we’ll always keep that candle burning in the window for them. And when they do stride through that door all bleary-eyed, the stale smell of cigarettes and airliners clinging to their untrimmed hair, we’ll fix breakfast and mend their torn britches while they tell us all about last Tuesday’s visit to the Reeperbahn and how it hasn’t changed since the first time they went there back in ’86. In short, they need us, sometimes a lot more than we need them.
And those rare times when we do need them, there’s a good chance that they won’t be there in either body or spirit. But that’s the risk you take when you throw your lot in with people who roam for a living.
It’s all speculation, of course, but if L’Wren and I were anything alike, I think I understand what happened with her this Monday. Despite having gorgeous designs and high profile friends in her corner (I mean, hello, Michelle Obama? Sarah Jessica Parker? Angelina Jolie?), her clothing brand was headed for imminent implosion under the weight of staggering debt. She was critically acclaimed and very well respected in her chosen field, and yet she couldn’t quite win over the general public for some reason. How frustrating and soul-numbingly disappointing that must have been for someone who was raised with the sort of work ethic that she had, where good, honest effort almost guaranteed success. But it’s hard to understand what the public wants when you’re riding a different wavelength; one that runs oh, so close to theirs but never…quite…touches it.
And I know how hard it is to reach out to others in your darkest hour. When you’re the rock, the strong one, and you start to crumble…no, it’s unthinkable. Nuh-uh. So you keep your stoic silence like a good Neo-Victorian. Stiff upper lip and all that, wot wot? When she took her life, her long-time partner Mick Jagger was on the other side of the world, on tour with the Rolling Stones in Australia. He’s said to be in hell right now, grieving and utterly mystified by her action. I hope in time he can come to terms with her loss and regain his personal peace. This was in no way his fault; I believe that L’Wren took her own life despite and not because of his absence. When you break, you break.
So yeah, while I would nevereverever choose that horrible, final option, I can understand why L’Wren thought it was the only one she had. And I’m very sad for the friends and loved ones she left behind, because she sounded like an amazing person. I’m sure any of them would have dropped everything to be by her side if they had known what she was going through.
I never knew L’Wren Scott and now I never will. But tonight, a candle burns in my window for her. Godspeed you to the other side, good lady.
February 17, 2014
Writing Distractions for Today
1. Jack, who is being very naughty and needs corporal cuddling.
Don’t let the face fool you.
February 8, 2014
Tonight’s writing distraction is…
80′s Hair Metal videos!
How I miss those days.
January 27, 2014
Blog tour!
Wanted to give you a heads up on the blog tour scheduled for Feb 10-21, 2014!
The awesome and oh-so professional Nicole with Indie Sage Promotions lined up a nice selection of book bloggers who were willing to review BOTH A Million Miles Away and Give in to the Night! Here’s the schedule of who’s reviewing when:
Date
Blog Title
Website
February 10th
Wendy Dawn’s Wicked World
http://wendydawnswickedworld.blogspot.com
February 11th
Ramblings From Beneath the Sheets
http://ramblingsfromthesheets.blogspot.com/
February 12th
Juli Page Morgan, Romances that Rock
http://www.julipagemorgan.com/blog
February 13th
Forever Me Romance
http://www.forevermeromance.blogspot.com.au
February 14th
Worth the Read Blog
Http://www.facebook.com/WorththeReadBlog
February 17th
Dazzled by Books
Http://www.dazzledbybooks.blogspot.com
February 18th
Biblio Belles
http://bibliobelles.com
February 19th
Cocktails and Books
http://www.cocktailsandbooks.com
February 19th
MI Bookshelf
http://mibookshelf.blogspot.com/
February 20th
One Click Addicts
oneclickaddicts.blogspot.com
February 20th
2 friends, promote your books with us
https://www.facebook.com/groups/301139446688226/
February 21st
Bonnie’s Book Blog
http://bonniesbooksblog.blogspot.com/
February 21st
Jezabell Girl & Friends
http://jezabellgirlandfriends.weebly.com
January 22, 2014
Killer Rock-n-Roll Reads
As the first two books in the Angel Interceptors series get ready for their big debut, I wanted to take a breather from editing mania and make a list of my favorite books about Rock-and-Roll that are set in its true golden age, the 1970s. All of them have inspired or influenced my own writing to one extent or another. So in no particular order:
Diary of a Rock’n'Roll Star- Ian Hunter
Lamentably difficult to find, this is exactly what the title says: The uncensored, no-holds-barred tour journal of Ian Hunter, singer for Mott the Hoople. Ian pulls back the curtain on life in the Rock and Roll circus of the mid-1970s, and man, is it ever mesmerizing. I especially loved how he judges a city’s merits by its pawn shops. You can always tell a serious musician because he uses “pawn shop” as a verb.
Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of the Late Keith Moon – Dougal Butler
Written by the Who drummer’s former roadie (before they were called “techs”), this is one of the funniest books I have ever read. Ever. Nonstop anecdotes that seem too insane to be real, but this is Keith Moon we’re talking about, so yeah. The tale of what happened when Keith randomly decided to hand over his car keys to a couple of teenage fans is worth the price of admission alone. Bonus: it features the expression “hopped down the road like a kangaroo with a lit cigarette in its baby box.” However much Dougal was paid to work for that utter and complete loon, it wasn’t enough. Even if he did get to take spontaneous trips to Europe with literally no cash on him.
I’m with the Band – Pamela Des Barres
Mandatory reading for anyone who thinks she can handle life as a Rock star’s moll. Yeah, the business has changed a lot since the early 70′s when Miss Pamela was on the prowl with the Frank Zappa-orchestrated GTOs. And yet, human nature hasn’t budged a bit. She goes through the same phases that any teenage girl does: crushes, obsessions, first love, rejection, heartbreak…only she went through them with mega-stars and came out the other side with her genuine, sweetheart personality intact. What. A. Woman.
Wonderland Avenue – Danny Sugarman
What would you do for your Rock-and-Roll family? Danny Sugarman was barely in his teens when he landed a dream job working at the management offices of the Doors. The band (Jim Morrison included) did their best to keep him out of trouble, but it found him anyway in the form of an emotional wreck of a girl named Tiffany and an unwitting dose of smack backstage at the Whiskey-a-GoGo. It was all downhill from there (sometimes literally, as in driving a car off the side of Mullholland Drive and into someone’s house). Oh, and there’s lots of crazed junkie Iggy Pop thrown in for good measure. Iggy gets the best line in the book: “Can you please put me some place safe where my so-called ‘friends’ can’t find me?”
Sooner or Later – Bruce and Carole Hart
Okay, what is a breathlessly narrated YA fiction book about a painfully underaged girl and her older crush doing in this list of hard-hitting real-life narratives? Being a kickass sleeper of a classic, that’s what. Jessie is 13 (not a typo…thir-fucking-TEEN!) and all in puppy love with 18-year-old singer/guitarist Michael Skye, who’s already on the fast track to stardom. He has older, more experienced girls wanting their shrimp on his barbie, so to speak. She has to lie and connive to get near him. She’s THIRTEEN. There’s no way this can work.
She gets the guy. ‘Nuff said.
Hammer of the Gods – Stephen Davis
If you read only one book from this list, let it be this one. Led Zeppelin’s full throttle biography set the standard for all band histories to come. And…that’s all.
November 6, 2013
Give in to the Night Cover Reveal!
Here it is, the cover for Give in to the Night!
Give in to the Night cover
The designer is the amazing and so easy to work with Steven Novak. Picking a cover is one of the most stressful things about writing, but Steven made it simple. Fun, even! And I appreciate that because heaven knows life has been crazy enough lately…
October 26, 2013
My Other Obsession
This is probably going to blow my headbanger cred all to hell, but I wanted to share my other major hobby besides listening to heavy music and writing about the men who play it (and the women who love them).
Back in 1995, I was living in a one-bedroom apartment in Phoenix, stuck in a loveless marriage and working at a dry cleaner’s for minimum wage (and all the free cleaning I wanted, but I didn’t own any clothes worth dry cleaning because I was a broke-ass loser – IRONY!). On day, we got a new downstairs neighbor – a veterinarian from Michigan who was a single mom. We helped her move in, and she offered to show us how to trim our cat’s claws so we wouldn’t have to take her to the clinic for that. Being a broke-ass loser, I took her up on the offer with a quickness. When I brought Olga down to her apartment, I noticed a stitching frame in her living room. “What’s that?” I asked, thereby opening the door to a whole new world. All it took was a quick demonstration, and I fell right down the cross stitch rabbit hole, never to come out again.
Oh, I know it’s not very Rock-and-Roll. But I love to stitch. I go through phases where I work on my projects every day, and phases where I don’t touch them for months. Right now, my main focus is writing, but needlework gives me a nice respite from typing. Just for the heck of it, I decided to take a picture of all my works in progress (WIPs, sometimes called UFOs for “UnFinished Objects” – snort!).
Clockwise from the top, they are:
Queen Mermaid – Mirabilia
Halloween Victorian – Judith Kirby
Crystal Symphony – Mirabilia
Winter Quilts – Herrschnerrs
Hummingbird Society – Sunset
Exotic Fish – Sunset
Carson House – Nancy Spruance (in the middle)
As you can see, they range from barely started to almost there. Some have intended recipients and some don’t. I have yet to keep a finished one for myself. Yes, I have finished a few…believe it or not! So call me boring, call me old-fashioned…just be sure to also call me when there’s a big sale on embroidery floss.
September 15, 2013
Character drawings, yeah!
So I got the amazing Ribkadory at deviantArt to work up a drawing of Silver and Jonathan using some pretty sketchy…uh, sketches of mine. I think she did a beautiful job! Silver’s on the left, Jonathan’s on the right.
Silver (left) and Jonathan (right)
