Category: Books & Authors

Susan Lyons Guest Blogging Tomorrow!

Make sure to drop by tomorrow for Susan Lyons’s guest blog on the current state of the publishing industry. Whether you’re a writer or a reader, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss—and both Susan and I would love to hear your input.

Susan, a fellow member of the Greater Vancouver Chapter of RWA, writes emotionally compelling erotic romances for Kensington Aphrodisia. She recently sold to Spice Briefs and Berkley Heat and also writes sweet, short romances for The Wild Rose Press. Tomorrow, Susan will give away a copy of UNWRAP ME, a Christmas-themed Kensington erotic romance novella anthology, which includes her story of the same title plus novellas by two other authors. Here’s the back cover copy:

In Susan’s novella, “Unwrap Me,” Jude Benedetto is a Christmas Grinch. She says the holiday is crass and commercial, but the deeper truth is her pain over being abandoned at Christmastime. Twice. Her answer is to banish Christmas from her life. But her girlfriend has other plans. She sends Jude a very special Secret Santa gift: hot firefighter, Nick Buchanan. Named after St. Nick, he’s a huge fan of Christmas. Waging a campaign based on “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” he has twelve very sexy days and nights to persuade Jude to open her heart and trust in him, and rediscover the loving spirit of Christmas.

Leave a comment or question for Susan tomorrow until midnight Pacific Standard Time to enter for your chance to win. 

About Susan:

Award-winning author Susan Lyons writes sexy contemporary romance that’s intense, passionate, heartwarming and fun. Her Awesome Foursome series for Kensington Aphrodisia features four twenty-something friends who laugh, cry, bond—and find their own very sexy romances. Her books have won two Booksellers Best Awards, two Aspen Golds, two Golden Quills, and the More Than Magic. Reviewers say:  “…a heartwarming romance topped with steaming hot erotica”; “hot steamy sex, best girlfriend bonding, and a strong romantic conflict in a compelling story”; “wickedly hot sex and a story line that grabs you and doesn’t let go until the last word.”

Susan lives in Vancouver, BC, where many of her stories are set. She has degrees in law and psychology, and has also studied anthropology, sociology and counseling. Her careers have been varied, including perennial student, grad school dropout, job creation project administrator, computer consultant, and legal editor. Fiction writer is by far her favorite. Writing gives her a perfect outlet to demonstrate her belief in the power of love, friendship and a sense of humor. Visit Susan’s website for excerpts, discussion questions, writing process notes, articles and give-aways.

Diana Cosby Double Sunday Blogging

If you have some time this afternoon, Diana Cosby, who blogged here a few weeks ago, is double-blogging today at Jennifer’s Random Musings and Cookin’ Up Romance. Diana’s taking questions about writing at Jennifer’s Random Musings and giving away a copy of her latest release, HIS WOMAN, at Kit Wilkinson’s Cookin’ Up Romance, where you can also read her great interview and snatch up her recipe for Pina Colada Cake. Yum. So if you didn’t win a copy of Diana’s book on my blog, why not try again at Kit’s? She’s taking entries until December 13th.

P.S. Don’t forget that Kensington Aphrodisia author Susan Lyons is guest-blogging HERE Wednesday, December 10th. Susan has written a fantastic post about the current state of the publishing industry—you don’t want to miss it.

Information about Susan’s latest release, UNWRAP ME, appears Tuesday, a day before her blog.

The Funeral is Tomorrow…

Now, here’s an idea—holding a funeral for a manuscript you can’t place with a major publisher.

Writer Mary Patrick Kavanaugh is laying her rejected manuscript, Family Plots: Love, Death and Tax Evasion, to rest tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, December 6th, 4 p.m. sharp at the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland, California.

From the press release:

The event will be open coffin. Many manuscript drafts, rejection notices, refinance papers, vision boards, an MFA in Creative Writing, and possibly even the authors much watched DVD copy of The Secret, will be on view prior to the service for final farewell. Guests are invited to bring remants of their own dead dreams to bury with the author’s dashed hopes.

However, all is not lost. After rejections from sixteen New York publishers, Mary decided to self-publish her book with iUniverse, and it’s currently for sale on Amazon. This is her first novel. What say you? Is she giving up too soon? Or has she hit upon The Mother of All Book-Launching Publicity Stunts? Why not try a small press instead of going the self-publishing route?

By the way, I looked and looked, but I couldn’t find an excerpt of Mary’s novel on her website.

You can attend the funeral in person or via podcast. Visit Mary’s website for directions and more information.

J.L. Miles Blogging Tomorrow!

Please join me tomorrow to welcome Southern fiction author, J.L. Miles. Author of the quirky “Grits Lit” novel, DIVORCING DWAYNE, J.L. will blog about A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Getting Published and is giving away a copy of DIVORCING DWAYNE to a commenter.

Back Cover Copy for DIVORCING DWAYNE:

Francine Harper’s in the Pickville Springs County Jail facing felony assault charges. Her offense? She shot at her husband, Dwayne, and his lover, Carla, after catching them together—in the very bed her daddy had carved and given to Francine and Dwayne on their wedding day. Even though she hit the bed and missed the lovers, she soon learns she’s committed a felony, and the deputy district attorney—who’s never been fond of her since she jilted his brother—is determined to prosecute her to the fullest extent of the law. On the other hand, Dwayne is a local celebrity, a talented fiddle player with his own bluegrass band, the Rocky Bottom River Boys. Things are looking up for the band, and they have been selected to record the soundtrack for director Frederick Ford Gumbello’s latest film, Oh Mother, Oh Father, Where Art Thou? When Gumbello comes to town to meet the boys, he becomes enamored with the locale and stays to film the movie since Pickville Springs is the perfect setting for the film.

When Francine makes bail, aided by her best friend, Ray Anne Pickles, she discovers that the checking account she shares with Dwayne contains thirty thousand dollars she can’t account for, and she starts worrying about him. Strange things have been going on, and she still loves him. But she fears that he may have gotten involved with the local mob. Soon Francine finds herself in the arms of rising movie star Clay Carson, which is the last straw for Dwayne, who assaults Clay and disappears. When Dwayne can’t be found anywhere, Francine is suspected of foul play and is arrested for his suspected murder. But Francine is determined to find Dwayne, save him from the mob, and solve the mystery—with Ray Anne’s help, of course. In the interim, she discovers inner strengths and regains her dignity. Now the situation with Dwayne—that’s another story.

About J.L.:

J.L. Miles, a resident of Georgia for over thirty years, hails from Wisconsin via South Dakota. She considers herself “a northern girl with a southern heart.” Her paternal grandfather was christened Grant Lee by her great-grandmother in honor of the many fallen soldiers on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Ms. Miles is a former D.I.A.L. Systems Engineer for Baker/Audio Telecom, one of the premier forerunners of voice mail. In addition to systems application, she provided voice tracks for several major companies, including Delta Airlines and Frito-Lay Corporation. Her latest project is the Dwayne Series, a three-book southern anthology featuring Francine Harper, who is under felony assault charges for shooting at her husband Dwayne and his stripper/lover Carla. DIVORCING DWAYNE debuted April, 2008. DEAR DWAYNE releases April 2009. DATING DWAYNE to follow.

J.L. resides in a suburb of Atlanta with her husband, Robert. To learn more about her and her books, please visit her website.

Box ‘O Books Holiday Give-Away!!

The holiday season is nearly upon us—what better time to tame my TBR pile and give away a Box ‘O Books?

The books I’m giving away to one lucky winner are comprised of free copies I’ve received at writing conferences and haven’t found time to read, as well as books I’ve bought but have never read and have realized that with all the books in my TBR pile, I might never read them (not because they aren’t good, but because I tend to go overboard in my book-buying and purchase copies in genres I don’t usually read simply to support the authors), or books that I’ve accidentally bought two copies of (hey, it happens).

These are all new, never-read books. Not ARCs. Not used books. Brand new, never-read. Not by me or anyone else. Some were published this year, some last year, and a wee few are a little older—but they’re all still new.

Here’s what’s up for grabs:

Young Adult: Gingerbread by Rachel Conn, Gossip Girl by Cecilyvon Ziegesar, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares.

Chick Lit: Unbecoming Behavior by Stephanie Rowe and Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson.

Historical: St. Raven by Jo Beverley.

Paranormal: Dark Needs at Night’s Edge by Kresley Cole, 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover  by Linda Wisdom, and The Undead Next Door by Kerrelyn Sparks.

Mystery: Candy Apple Red by Nancy Bush.

Contemporary: Skinny Dipping by Connie Brockway, Record Time by Beverly Brandt, Tangled up in Love by Hailey North, and Got a Hold on You by Pat White.

If you’ve read this far, I’m also including a copy of one of my books, your choice of either BORROWING ALEX or HEAD OVER HEELS (please click the links to find out more about each book). If you already have copies of both (aren’t you sweet?), feel free to enter anyway, because you can always ask me to sign the extra copy to your mom, your best friend, or your guppy.

The Rules:

  1. Contest is open from Monday, November 24th to Sunday, November 30th. I’ll choose the winner’s name at random Sunday at midnight and contact the winner Monday morning, December 1st by email for your snail mail address, so I can ship the books. I will ship the books within 2 or 3 days of hearing from you, which means, you never know, you might receive them in time to stuff a few stockings!
  2. Only one entry per person please.
  3. I am very sorry, but because of the weight of the Box ‘O Books and because Canada Post doesn’t provide discounts for shipping books, I can only open the contest to residents of Canada and the contiguous United States. This means that if you live in Alaska, you can enter (seeing as Alaska borders the Yukon), but if you live in Hawaii, you can’t. I’m shipping the winner the books by ground, not airmail. The airmail cost, frankly, would be wayyyy too prohibitive for my rather skinny wallet.

How to Enter:

  1. Enter your name in the Comment trail, and please let me know if you would like a copy of HEAD OVER HEELS or BORROWING ALEX along with the Box ‘O Books. Please don’t be shy about entering your name in the Comment trail. I am the only person who sees your email address, seeing as I’m the Administrator of this blog, so whether you enter in the Comment trail or choose Option 2, yes, I will know your email address, but I promise not to use it for any other purpose but this contest. That means, no, I will not sign you up for my newsletter or any other promotional activities without your knowledge or permission.
  2. Or you can email me at cindy AT cindyprocter-king DOT com with BOX ‘O BOOKS in the Subject line, again please letting me know if you would like a copy of HEAD OVER HEELS or BORROWING ALEX included in your holiday surprise.

Go forth and enter! Tell your buddies, tell your chapters, tell your guppies.

If I get a good response, I’ll make the Box ‘O Books Holiday Give-Away an annual event.

Secrets Volume 26 is Shipping!

Secrets 26 is now shipping from Amazon! That’s U.S. Amazon. Canadian Amazon still has the volume showing as a pre-order, but that doesn’t mean you can’t order it now and then anticipate its arrival (even better, if you haven’t read Penny’s first novella yet, you can order Volume 21 AND Volume 26 and then wait with bated breath for them to arrive together). (Those are the Canadian Amazon links).

Why order Volume 21 AND 26? (Those are the American Amazon links). Because Penny has stories in both, naturally! Don’t you want to read EVERYTHING Penny has written?

Here’s the cover for Secrets Volume 26:

Nice and big and bee-oo-ti-ful!

So, which story is Penny’s? Honestly, if you’re a frequent visitor to the blog, you should know. If you aren’t a frequent visitor, I’ll give you a hint. If you search for Volume 21 on Amazon, you’ll note that one of the names on Volume 21 matches one of the names on Volume 26! Isn’t that amazing? The name that matches is…ta-da…Penny’s.

And if you don’t know who Penny is, really, people, try to keep up!

Note: Amazon has a habit of leaving one author’s name off the Secrets novella anthology listings. For Volume 26, Penny’s name, while on the cover and while her story, Exes & Ahhs, resides within, is missing from the American Amazon listing. It’s easiest to search the Secrets volumes on Amazon by author name, so search for Juliet Burns, one of Penny’s anthology-mates, and you’ll find Secrets 26.

(Penny is anxiously waiting for U.S. Amazon to correct the problem, but last she checked, they hadn’t).

Yesterday Penny received her RITA copies of Secrets 26. Yes, her wonderful publisher supplied the copies free of charge. Not always done, I assure you. Last year Penny provided her own copies. Maybe she’s moved up in the world.

Penny also received a ton, and I mean a TON, of glossy, bee-oo-ti-ful bookmarks. And she gave them all to me! Not sure what I’ll do with them yet. Maybe take a bath in them, they are that gorgeous.

For those who are wondering, no, I don’t sell copies of Penny’s book from this website or any other. They must be purchased from Amazon, or, if you’re American and lucky enough to find them in a store, grab ’em up. For Canadians, Chapters used to carry Secrets, but they stopped around Volume 15 or 16. So the only place I know of for Canadians to buy Secrets Volume 21 and 22 is from Amazon.ca.

Don’t be afeared. I order books on-line all the time. It’s very convenient.

In case you need a refresher, here are the links:

Volume 26, Canadian Amazon

Volume 21, Canadian Amazon

Volume 26, American Amazon

Volume 21, American Amazon

Go forth and buy! (Make Penny look good). (Seeing as she refuses to show her face in public, she apparently needs all the help she can get).

(P.S. In case you haven’t done so by now—really, what are you waiting for?—you can order MY books from Amazon, too!)