Mandy M. Roth's Blog, page 62
April 10, 2014
10 Year Author Anniversary
April marks my 10 Year Anniversary of being a published author! Ten years ago this month Daughter of Darkness released with NCP (nod to Andrea DePasture here). I was in GREAT company. Releasing with me in April ten years ago were Michelle Pillow and Jaycee Clark. I’m so proud of us all! And I’m so incredibly thankful for amazing readers like all of you!
Thank you for the last ten years!!!!!
April 9, 2014
Upcoming release schedule
(I do not have firm release dates for Scared Places expanded edition or King of Prey expanded edition but they ARE releasing this year)
May
Talisman Chronicles Two
Possible release of secret project
June
Administrative Control (Immortal Ops 6)
Talisman Chronicles Three
July/Aug
Act of Surrender (PSI/Immortal Ops Book Two)
Sept
Bounty Hunter’s Captive (Reagan book)
Oct/Nov
Separation Zone (Immortal Ops 7)
The Ops are about as set in stone as I can get (Jon’s story is NOT the end of the Immortal Ops books by any means so expect even more on both the Immortal Ops and PSI Ops in 2015). The rest of the books listed are close to set. Close enough I feel good listing them. I’m not listing anything else because I just don’t know for sure about dates. A lot hinges on editing availability, my existing schedule and upcoming travel.
March 26, 2014
Q &A: My Kindle Worlds Books
I know that a lot of you have had questions about my Kindle Worlds series. I thought I’d take a moment and answer them here. 
Q: Are The Talisman Chronicles based off The Vampire Diaries Show on THE CW?
A: Yes, The Talisman Chronicles are based loosely off the TV Show The Vampire Diaries. No. I did not rewrite an episode or give alternate endings to existing story threads. I introduce new characters to the world that interact and have certain story threads that overlap with existing characters. Example: You meet the parents of Elena, Matt, Bonnie, Caroline and Tyler, BUT you meet them when they’re teens.
Q: Are they short stories?
A: Yes. Each Volume is a short story that leads directly into the next Volume.
Q: Are they exclusive to Amazon?
A: Yes. They are part of Amazon’s Kindle Worlds Program.
Q: Do you have any control over the pricing of The Talisman Chronicle Books?
A: No.
Q: Is book one available for purchase?
A: Yes. It can be purchased here.
Q: When does book two release? 
A: April/May 2014
Q: When does book three release?
A: June/July 2014
Q: Are these a serial novel?
A: Yes. The three short stories combine together to make one novel.
Q: Will you write more in the Talisman Chronicles Series World beyond the three books listed?
A: That depends on sales and how the books are received. Please remember to stop past and leave an honest review on Amazon if you get a chance to read The Talisman Chronicles!
Q: I live outside the US and want to read these books. Will they be made available to those in foreign markets?
A: For now Kindle Worlds is US only. If this changes I will post and let my readers know.
Q: What was the process like (writing for Kindle Worlds)?
A: Very smooth. I’m pleased with how Amazon has handled its Worlds Program and they spell out clear rules for writing within each world they have rights to. They’ve also hosted a number of web chats to help better explain the program.
Q: Why did you select The Vampire Diaries from the worlds available?
A: Because it was the best fit with my existing genre and titles and I felt it was the best choice to cross over into the YA market.
Q: I want to write a Kindle Worlds Book, what steps should I take?
A: Visit the Kindle Worlds website. You’ll find the answers you need there.
Q: Did you do a lot of research to write for The Vampire Diaries KW?
A: YES! I had to learn the canon of the world. I read all the original books in the series. I purchased and watched all the TV shows. I took tons of notes, worked hard on lining up timelines and dates and studied the characterization of the Vampire Diaries characters.
March 18, 2014
$.99 Boxed Set NEW Alpha Shifter Seductions
On SALE for a limited time for $.99. This is a great chance to pick up several of my backlist titles for next to nothing.
ASIN for Amazon: B00J2JNS8Q
Boxed Set Contains:
Blaze of Glory (Prospect Springs Shifters)
Pike’s Peak (League of the Unnatural)
Tipping the Scales (Stop Dragon My Heart Around)
Warriors of Darkness
Blaze of Glory (Shifter Paranormal Romance):
Sheriff Jonathan MacSweeny is in charge of keeping the peace in Prospect Springs. Frontier living isn’t what it used to be. It’s hard to survive in the New Old West and it’s even harder when your area doesn’t exactly embrace supernaturals–and you howl at the moon. That being said, he’s good at his job and has a reputation with the ladies. When he learns his childhood sweetheart is to be married off to the town sleazebag, he goes in guns blazing to see to it she’s his. Problem is, Molly isn’t the same girl he remembers from ten years prior. Now she’s a gun-toting, foul-mouthed, vixen with a badge of her own.
Special Marshal Molly Cogan never planned to set foot back in Prospect Springs. When her friend gets the harebrained idea to steal her identity in an attempt to protect her from the bounty the outlaws have on her head, Molly finds herself standing right smack dab in the middle of chaos–or home in her case. It isn’t long before Jonathan is there, flashing that famous MacSweeny boy smile and tempting her in ways she wasn’t prepared for. This heart-hardened Marshal has her work cut out for her if she plans to face her past fears and her past sweetheart.
Pike’s Peak (Shifter Paranormal Romance):
Preventing world domination has its perks–brawn, brains, and now … beauty.
Pike Kinsley is your run-of-the-mill, supernatural–fighting evil at all costs. Humans view him as a superhero. He doesn’t want fame or glory. He just wants to live his life in peace, kill bad guys and scratch a carnal itch when need be. He also wants to forget messing up the most important thing in his life–a chance to claim the woman he loves. When opportunity knocks, wearing a navy catsuit, the wolf side of him comes to an understanding with the man–they will claim the woman. The blast from the past is more than Pike bargained for and might possibly be more than he can handle…If evil doesn’t kill him, his best friend just might. After all, it’s his best friend’s sister Pike wants to conquer.
Tipping the Scales (Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance)
Zarek Dracodomus has one slight problem. If he doesn’t mate by the end of the year, he’ll never get laid again. When he sees a tall seductress, he knows she’s the one. This headstrong sex goddess manages to turn the tables on the immortal playboy and Zarek finds himself racing to beat time, not only to remain sexually active but to win Keren’s heart as well. Little does he know he’s been yanked out of his tedium by a woman sworn to kill him and all of his kind.
Warriors of Darkness (Paranormal Shifter Romance):
Deryn Murray has her work cut out for her. Not only is she determined to prevent Alejandro Vargas’s death–one she’s seen over and over in her dreams–but she must keep anyone from learning her true identity–that of a slayer, and sworn enemy of all the supernaturals. Protecting the Colonel of the alternate realm military base threatens not only her life but her very heart. Despite his refusal to cooperate, Alejandro has broken through her emotional barriers and holds the power to hurt her worse than anyone ever has.
Colonel Alejandro Vargas is more than frustrated when his job gets a whole lot tougher due to the arrival of two civilian doctors, one of whom is human. Tall, sexy and blonde, Dr. Deryn Murray gets under his skin in more ways than one. If she’s not humming nursery rhymes and talking to animals, she’s taking on armed spirit tomb guards while insisting she’s saving his life.
But in place where time and space have no boundaries, ancient enemies would like nothing more than to eradicate them both, just when they’ve found each other.
March 13, 2014
March 10, 2014
The Vampire Diaries: The Talisman Chronicles (Vol One)
Early Release Surprise! The Vampire Diaries: The Talisman Chronicles (Vol One) by Mandy M. Roth writing as Mandy Balde
YA Paranormal Romance Short Story
Kindle US (This is an Amazon Exclusive)
Blurb:
The Vampire Diaries: The Talisman Chronicle (Volume One)
Talisman (Tali) never wanted to move to Mystic Falls. She’d finally managed to carve out something close to a normal life in Chicago, and that isn’t easy to do when your mother makes her living telling other people’s fortunes and communicating with long-lost loved ones. When her mother claims the spirits have warned her of danger, Tali knows it’s only a matter of time before they have to move again. She knows her mother has ties to the small, isolated town in Virginia, but she doesn’t know how deep they run. And Mystic Falls isn’t any old town. And Tali isn’t any old teenage girl.
Dedication
To Amazon KDP and Kindle Worlds, thank you for inviting me to be part of this exciting endeavor. To The CW, The Vampire Diaries TV show, its writers and its cast, and last but certainly not least—L.J. Smith, thank you for creating a fantastic world and for permitting me to play within its confines. And to my readers, thanks for accompanying me on this wild ride. I hope you enjoy this short story. To those just joining me on this project, The Talisman Chronicles are based loosely on the TV Show, The Vampire Diaries. I’ve taken certain liberties to maximize reading enjoyment. I hope fans of the show understand why I made this choice and I sincerely hope they fall in the love with the characters as I have.
Fans of the books and the show already know Elena, Caroline, Tyler, Matt and Bonnie’s stories, it’s time the generation before them had their story told. You may think you know all about them, but the truth isn’t always what it seems.
March 5, 2014
MY Book Lengths
Each of my books is the length I needed to tell that character’s story. I have never, nor will I ever, force a book to be longer just for the sake of word count. I believe this shows when an author does this. As for my Immortal Ops/ PSI Ops Series books. Not all characters within the world will have full-length books. Take for example, the existing books. Immoral Ops book one is not a full-length book. Nor is Book Four or Five. Each book is the length the character demanded I make the book–the length needed to tell their story.
This holds true for ALL my work. Not just the Ops.
I’ll admit, I’ve been second guessing my upcoming schedule because of the number emails I’m getting regarding book lengths, thinking maybe I should NOT release Colonel Brooks’s novella, maybe I should push all the releases back 6-12 mos or more to force stories to be longer. Then I stop and think… NO. I will not do this. I will stay true to who I am as an author and my readers will respect me for that because I have kickass readers! [image error]
I’d like to take a moment to thank all my readers who for the past ten years have stood by and understood the method to my madness. Who have been so good about waiting as I fought with publisher(s) and continue to fight with some for rights back to work, often leading to long delays between books. I thank you all so much for standing by me in this. I can’t thank you enough for your encouraging emails, for your show of online support, for your fantastic reviews and for buying my books. You all mean the world to me and I hope you love the characters I create as much as I do.
A general guide for my books: ( Keep in mind I started as an e-first published author, with small presses. My word count guidelines are from years of working for them.)
Short Stories: 5,ooo-14,000 words
Short Novella: 15,000-17,000 words
Novella: 18,000-25,000 words
Long Novella: 25,000 – 34,000 words
Category: 35,000- 44,000 words
Novel: 45,000 – 70,000 words
Long Novel: 71,000 – 90,000 words
Plus Sized Novel: 91,000 – 120,000 words
As a general rule of thumb, I do not like putting any of my books that are under 45,000 into print. I made an exception for Tactical Magik because of the demand for it to be in print. It is also prices much lower than my other print books.
March 3, 2014
JUST RELEASED! Act of Mercy (PSI/Immortal Ops) by Mandy M. Roth
Part of the Bestselling Series World The Immortal Ops by Mandy M. Roth
Paranormal Shifter Military Special Ops Romance
Paranormal Security and Intelligence Operative Duke Marlow has a new mission: find, interrogate and possibly eliminate the target–Mercy Deluca. He knows looks can be deceiving, but it’s hard to believe the beautifully quirky woman running around in a superhero t-shirt is a viable threat. The sexy little biomedical engineer quickly proves she is more than he bargained for and Intel has it all wrong–she’s not the enemy. Far from it. Intel also forgot to mention one vital piece of information–she’s Duke’s mate. This immortal alpha werewolf doesn’t take kindly to her being in danger.
When Mercy accepted a position within Donavon Dynamics Corporation, she thought it was to help cure disease and to make a difference for mankind. She had no idea what her new career path truly entailed–monsters masquerading under the guise of scientific research. Unable to stomach the atrocities she’s uncovered, she reaches out through what she hopes is the proper channels, asking for help. Mercy gets more than she bargained for when a team of paranormal hotties show up on her doorstep ready to take down the Corporation. One in particular is able to get under her skin, both aggravating and exciting her in ways she can’t explain.
Books with Amazon ASIN #
PSI-Ops/Immortal Ops
Act of Mercy (B00I4BXYXC)
Act of Surrender (coming July/Aug 2014)
Act of Submission
Act of Security
Act of Command
Act of Passion
Immortal Ops Series Books in order
Immortal Ops (B003WEAJ3O)
Critical Intelligence (B003WEAJ4S)
Radar Deception (B003WEAJ5C)
Strategic Vulnerability (B003VS0F76)
Tactical Magik (B00HNYRHSE)
Administrative Control (coming June/July 2014)
Separation Zone (coming Nov/Dec 2014)
February 26, 2014
Excerpt from Act of Mercy (PSI/Immortal Ops) by Mandy M. Roth
Excerpt from Act of Mercy (PSI/Immortal Ops) by Mandy M. Roth (c) 2014 Mandy M. Roth
Order your copy today on Amazon!
Ebook ASIN: B00I4BXYXC
Paranormal Security and Intelligence Division B Headquarters, classified location…
Duke Marlow stretched the two typing fingers he used because he wasn’t exactly gifted in the way of a keyboard, and hunted and pecked the last of the reports that’d been due in to his handler—who also happened to be captain of his ops team—several days prior. With Duke’s reluctance to do any type of recordkeeping, let alone the kind that involved a computer, his handler would be happy to see the files this quickly. Duke was actually at least one month early if anyone went off his past turn-in dates, or the fact that occasionally he never turned in a report at all. The idea of leaving the damn things to sit for a few more weeks had crossed his mind.
That would piss Corbin off for sure.
Corbin Jones headed one of the many Paranormal Security and Intelligence Operative Teams (PSI-Op) and Duke already knew he was Corbin’s most trying team member. He wore the badge with honor. What could he say? After knowing the guy well over a hundred years, he had to do all he could to keep their working relationship interesting. Plus, Duke was set in his ways. He didn’t embrace change.
Never had.
Besides, he enjoyed getting under Corbin’s skin. Corbin was a lion shifter, and everyone knew cats and dogs didn’t mix well together. As a full-blooded, born werewolf, Duke tended to get a kick out of giving Corbin as hard a time as possible.
Came pretty easy to him and that nearly took the fun out of it.
Nearly, but not quite.
And Corbin looked like a blond underwear model. That alone was grounds to be given a hard time.
The phone on his desk rang, drawing him from his thoughts. He sighed. He disliked the phones at PSI. Too many buttons. Too many options. It was never just answer and be done. They had people who normally handled routing the calls. Without them, Duke would be totally and completely lost. It was way after hours and he knew there was still a group who worked somewhere in the building, handling these types of things. What he couldn’t figure out was why they’d send a call his way. Corbin had taken Duke’s phone privileges away when he’d told a conference call full of people to get bent. He’d then followed that up with the suggestion they lick his balls.
Corbin hadn’t been amused and said Duke lacked anything in the way of phone etiquette. Duke could have told him that to start with.
He answered the phone. Hell, the apocalypse could be starting and Duke suspected Corbin wouldn’t want him getting called over it. “What?”
There was silence on the other end. Duke waited a fraction of a second and hung up the phone. He wasn’t in the mood for bullshit. If it was important, they’d call back.
The phone rang again.
“What?” he practically shouted as he answered it again.
“Hello?” came a voice that was soft and sweet, extremely feminine and hot as hell, making his loins stir, surprising him. “I was told to call. Did you get the information I sent?”
As much as the voice moved him, its owner was making no sense. “What?”
“Do you know how to say anything else?” she asked, sounding annoyed with him. Most people tended to after short bursts.
He stiffened. “You called to give me crap? Striker put you up to this, didn’t he?”
“Striker?” There was beeping on her end. “I can’t talk long. They’ll hear me.”
“Woman, you’re not making any sense.” But damn if her voice wasn’t making him hot and bothered. He was nearly ashamed of his reaction to her. It wasn’t like he made a habit of getting a hard-on for random callers. The idea of phone sex had held little appeal to him before but now, hearing this woman’s voice, he was fast changing his outlook on it.
“I need to know if you’re them,” she said.
“Them who?” As turned on as he was, he had reports to get done and the conversation wasn’t going the route of phone sex so it needed to end sooner rather than later.
“Them. The one Test Subject 87P told me to send the information to,” she insisted.
Great.
Sexy voice and bat-shit crazy. Just his luck. He hung up on her. Whatever game Striker was playing wouldn’t work. Duke was busy. Too busy even for hot voices with riddles.
Duke rotated his neck, running his hands through his shoulder-length dark hair, working out a kink as he sniffed the air, the wolf in him catching the scent of pending rain.
Good.
The area needed some rain. He grinned, knowing he’d be running free in it soon enough. Well, as soon as he finished this damn paperwork. He didn’t understand the point of it. It wasn’t like the organization existed to anyone who asked about it—not that anyone even would. They were ghosts. Operatives who never were and never would be, at least on paper.
What the fuck did they want with a paper trail then? Did they enjoy redacting crap later? Maybe the guys who sat around drawing black lines through important information had blackmail photos of people in high positions and threatened to expose them if they didn’t get enough papers passing across their desk.
Made no sense to him.
Not much involving the people running the PSI show did.
February 17, 2014
Strange Facts About Me:
I will spend an hour finding the perfect song to write to. Without the perfect song (which changes on a whim and is never the same perfect song regardless if it was the day before the scene) I can’t find my concentration zone. Yes, I have playlists for each of my series. They have hundreds upon hundreds of hours of music in each.
I love nearly all kinds of music.
I cannot write with the TV on.
I cannot write with people behind me.
I sort of shut off while I write. I see it playing out like a movie in my head. When I “come back” to reality, it is to words on the screen. I don’t “see” words when I write. I see the characters and what they’re doing.
I’m an author who requires an editor. I know this. I value my editors, proofers and final line editors. I think authors who believe they are above this line of “defense” are kidding themselves. A book can always be made better.
If someone comes in and out of the room while I’m writing it will rip me from the scene.
If someone calls me, I’m ripped out of the scene. This is why I will often shut off my phones when I’m working.
I dance in my chair. (Sometimes, I fall out of my chair while dancing in it.)
I stand and dance at random moments throughout my writing day.
I have well over 3,000 works in progress (WIPS)–these are manuscripts in various stages of completion–some just starts, others halfway done, some totally done. Yes, I have WELL over 100 books that are totally done (not counting the 100 plus I have published). Why don’t I release them all? Because existing series and bestsellers take first release priority. Also, I like knowing that later, when I’m no longer able to produce at the same pace, I have a stockpile of books to be released still
I have the strange ability to joke about nearly anything. No matter what it is. I have always felt life is short, live it laughing. Or mock heavily, whatever works for you.
I’m a big believer in cutting toxic people out of my life.
I have Morphea Scleroderma
I have always struggled with my weight. I’m open about this struggle online.
Also, if there is someone who takes from me (emotionally) more than they give, they are not welcome with me.
Writing sex scenes does not leave me hot and bothered. (Yeah, I have been asked this many times. I’ve had one person be kind of a gross perv while asking me, like what I do entitled him to be a pig. Its okay, I made him wish he’d never met me. Yeah, I can make grown men cry.)
But writing fight scenes fire me up. To the point I’d probably punch people who annoyed me if they were close during this writing process.
Yes, I go to gun ranges and fire various weapons so that I can accurately describe the use of these in my books.
I write books with sex in them.
I write books with violence in them.
I’m an acquired taste. Not everyone loves what I do.
Yes, I really did go out back with a broom handle and practice using it like a fighting staff to get a feel for the weight and movement to be able to better describe this in my books.
Sometimes I cry while writing when I’m so far into a character that I’m emotionally tied. I do NOT, however, cry at moments others would–you know, the crying moments. I’m strange. I know.
After ten years of being a published author and after having over 100 stories of various lengths published, I STILL get nervous on release days. I STILL want the best book possible released to my readers. I STILL want to please them while staying true to the characters in my head.
Fan mail STILL excites me… it NEVER GETS OLD!
My family is very supportive of what I do. Grandparents, parents, spouse, children… all are.
I make mistakes. I often share said mistakes online with my readers.
I have the best readers.
I have the best author friends.
I have a hot temper.
I’m a great cook but I don’t like cooking.
I have OCD.
I have 12 bookshelves stocked with reference books.
I’m a tech geek.
I have degrees in Art/Business. My background is in marketing.
I do cover art under the brush name Natalie Winters.
Readers can email me at mandy AT mandyroth DOT com. I get a LOT of email so it sometimes takes me a bit to write back.
Readers can write to me (snail mail)
Mandy M. Roth
1739 University Ave #132
Oxford, MS 38655
USA
