Talia Hunter's Blog, page 2

Release Day Excitement!

Release day is over. Her Hot Number went out into the world today, and boy, was it exciting! So much to do, and so much to tweet about.

A big thank you to the wonderful women at Imperfect Women who invited me over to do a guest blog for them today. My post is called ‘Being Smart Has Never Been So Sexy’, and in it I talked about smart women in literature helping to break down that pesky glass ceiling and empowering women to do whatever they want! If you want to check it out, click here.

Another big thank you has to go to all the lovely readers who have posted reviews of Her Hot Number, and especially to my author buddies who supported me with the release and kept me (relatively) sane.

Although today was a great day for me, not everyone in the house was as excited as I was. In fact, two members of my household managed to not only sleep through my entire book release, but also made working with my mouse a lot more challenging. I thought this photo of the two lazy kitties who slept on my desk all day would make the perfect contrast to the crazy cat pic I posted last time.

Counting Down To Release Day

After months of waiting, release day seems to have suddenly rushed up on me! Feelings of excitement and trepidation have been building as the big day approaches.

Reviews bring the most conflicting emotions. The first thing I do when I’m considering which book to buy is check the reviews of the ones that catch my eye, so the more good reviews a book gets the better – and a very big thank you to everyone who’s been kind enough to review Her Hot Number on Goodreads before release day. But I must confess that when it’s your own book, reading reviews is super scary. Each time I log in to Goodreads, I hold my breath, cross fingers and toes, and pray for good reviews!

Of course on release day it’ll be my Amazon reviews that I’ll be watching obsessively. I’m stocking up on wine and junk food for the big day to help calm my nerves, but even so, I’m sure I’ll pretty much look like crazy cat. –>

Wish me luck!

Her Hot Number – Marooned on a deserted island

Have you ever wanted to fall in love on a beautiful tropical island?  Come with me to the beautiful Whitsunday Islands, Australia, where the sunsets are as stunning as the beaches.  You’ll laugh and cry with Caylee, and lose your heart to Blake.

Her Hot Number is a fun, sexy love story, out soon with Entangled Publishing.

From Counting Words to Counting Steps

Writing novels requires a large amount of sitting in front of a computer, and my last post was about my efforts to become healthier and more active. I bought a Fitbit, (the Zip model in case you’re interested), logged back into Myfitnesspal.com (hadn’t used it for about a year), and away I went.

And I’m pleased to be able to report progress! I’ve been diligently monitoring my steps for the last three weeks, aiming for 10,000 a day. At the same time I’ve kept a food diary and tried to keep those pesky calories under control. It’s made a real difference, and several people have remarked that I look fitter and slimmer. Having the Fitbit as a constant reminder to keep active has meant that I’ve been for at least one walk a day. I feel great! Thanks Fitbit

Keeping Yourself As Fit As Your Heroes

“Shirtless, Blake was magnificent. His muscles were chiseled beneath his glowing tan. He had the physique of a man used to hard work.”

That’s a line from my upcoming novel (Her Hot Number, coming soon!). Fit, toned bodies are the norm for romance novels because they’re sexy. But what about romance writers? Are they as buff as the characters they describe so lovingly?

It’s no secret that writing novels requires large amounts of bum glue, which makes it difficult to keep as fit as some of us might like. And recent research has come up with some scary statistics linking long periods of sitting with a reduced lifespan. The longer you spend sitting down every day, the higher the risk of dying prematurely, even if you engage in regular daily exercise. Adults who sit for more than 11 hours a day have a 40 percent increased risk of dying within 3 years– from any cause– compared with those who sit for less than 4 hours a day. This puts authors right in the hot seat (so to speak)!

There are a range of products coming out to help authors combat this problem. Standing desks are becoming more common, as are products like the Fitbit – a small device you wear that tracks your activity and encourages you to move more. There are even treadmill desks so you can walk and write at the same time!

Personally, I find that after writing for long periods my body is noticeably stiffer and I sometimes suffer from back pain, so I’m heading out to buy a Fitbit tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it goes!

What about you? Are you conscientious about keeping active, or do you find – like me – that you get engrossed in writing a scene and before you know it the day is over and you have to ease your aching joints out of your chair? I’d like to hear how other authors deal with the problem of both keeping fit and keeping up your word count.

How Alpha Is Too Alpha?

I’ve been watching Vikings – a TV show based around.. (no spoilers here)… a band of Vikings. These men are tough! As they raid the English shore, they delight in looting, killing, and taking slaves. The ultimate Alpha males? But how Alpha is too Alpha? How do you get an audience to watch a show where the main characters are so inherently unlikeable?

As I’ve been watching the series, it’s become clear that the main character isn’t actually unlikeable at all. While his crew are made up of men who’d kill you as soon as look at you, he’s a devoted family man. He’s fair-minded and unlike his men, he’s not quite so keen on murder for the fun of it. He’s determined as all get-out and he laughs in the face of both enemies with swords, and giant waves breaking right over his tiny boat. Yeah, he’s iron-willed to the point of ruthlessness, and doesn’t flinch from a fight. But because he’s proven himself to have a good heart, that just makes him more attractive.

I think he’s the best kind of Alpha hero. A man who knows exactly what he wants and although he won’t let anything stand in his way, his family always comes first. I’ve been drawn into the show because he’s a man I can root for, even though I dislike the men who fight with him.

Figuring out how far you can push an Alpha character before it goes too far… that’s a great trick. I think it makes TV shows and movies more interesting when they tiptoe along that line, teetering on the edge of making a character unlikeable. It’s one of the things I enjoyed most when I watched House of Cards. The interaction between Frank Underwood and Zoe Barnes was riveting. But then Frank stepped way over that line, and now I can’t help but despise him. Does that make the show any less enjoyable? Not for me, but if his true character had been obvious from the beginning I think it would have been harder to get drawn into the series.

What do you think? Do you like characters who are teetering on the dark side of grey as much as I do? I’d love to know your thoughts, so please leave a comment!

Read More

How To Master A Millionaire

[image error]She’ll learn to tame him…

When he scores the lead role in a feature film, millionaire model-turned-actor Max Oberon won’t let anything mess up his big break. But there’s a problem. His character’s submissive relationship is a big part of the movie, and Max can’t seem to make it convincing. Solution? Five days with a dominatrix should help him overcome his need for total control.

Ally’s life is one hot mess. A broke blogger, this story could be her chance to get back on her feet. If Ally can pass herself off as a dominatrix, she can publish a tell-all article and get the money she needs to keep from losing everything. So what if she’s clueless about anything kinky, and her abusive ex left her with a self-confidence problem?

Although Ally can’t give orders and Max hates taking them, together they discover new ways of commanding pleasure. But will Ally’s deception destroy their one chance at love?

Release Date: March 9th 2015

– Preorder Now! –

Click Here To Read The First Chapter

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