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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

In 2015 I Will...

  • Start a new job.
  • Turn forty years old.
  • Have at least one book published (hopefully more).
  • Have children who turn 21, 18, 15, & 12.
  • Attend at least two conferences.
  • Be married for nineteen years.
  • Read a LOT.
  • Hopefully write even more.
  • Be happy, healthy, and blessed because I have the best family and best readers EVER!!!!!!

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Win Dinner with me in Austin!

Have you ever wanted to have dinner with me and meet my husband? Of course you have. Now you can have the chance to win two VIP passes to the Austin Author Affair in May, AND have dinner with me and my hubs at the Cheesecake Factory. And yes...I'll even buy you cheesecake. 

All you have to do is enter via the Rafflecopter form and on November 30th I'll choose one lucky winner via random.org. The winner is responsible for transportation to the event, plus you must stay at the host hotel that weekend. More info about the event can be found here. The VIP passes include one VIP reader book bag, and access to the AAA Saturday night Karaoke Party and open bar. Food, drinks, and music are included in the cost. Not to mention all the amazing authors you're going to meet!

GOOD LUCK!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, November 1, 2014

No 2014 NaNoWriMo for Me

After much deliberation and talking myself into and out of it a few times, I've decided not to attempt NaNoWriMo this year. To be honest, it's been hard for me to get in the writing groove lately and I know pushing myself in November is not the answer. Instead, I'm trying very hard to finish book two of my Gargoyle Masters series. I'm on a good flow with that WIP and already about 25,000 words in. So, halting that project for NaNo just seemed like a dumb move.


For everyone who is giving it a go: GOOD LUCK!!

Monday, October 27, 2014

Romance Authors are Taking Over Austin!

What are you doing Memorial Day weekend 2015? Me? I'll be in Austin with a slew of fabulous romance authors. We'll be talking books, giving away books, selling and signing books, and having a ton of fun. It's the first Austin Author Affair convention and it's promising to be a really great time.

More information about the event can be found here. You can also join a Facebook group with regular updates here. This is one of the most reasonable priced conventions I've ever committed to. It also helps that it's driving distance from Houston.

I'm giving away a pair of tickets to one lucky newsletter subscriber. If you're not already signed up, do so here. The only stipulation is you have to pay for your own hotel room, and yes, you MUST stay at the host hotel to win these VIP passes. The giveaway is sponsored by the event organizers.

So, what are you waiting for? Mark your calendar to join me in Austin!

Sunday, September 28, 2014

I Wasn't Going to Say Anything...

I wasn't going to say anything about the current ruckus over Ellora's Cave. To be honest, I'm really disappointed that it's become a public slingfest, with accusations flying all around. I'm NOT going to comment about any PRIVATE correspondence between EC and it's authors, as too many of my fellow authors have chosen to do. But I will say I think they made the wrong decision in doing so.

Perhaps I'm being naive, but I try to remain as professional as possible when dealing with my publishers. I try to remain optimistic and give them the benefit of the doubt. After all, I have been through this once before when Sapphire Blue Publishing diminished. So far, there has been dialogue from EC to it's authors. Maybe not as much as some would like, and maybe not the words everyone wants to hear. However, we haven't been completely cut off like I've heard from other authors just before their publisher tanked. 

What I'm asking of my readers is: please still buy my books. If you're having trouble with the EC site, please let me know. If you don't want to buy from their site no matter what, there are other outlets for those books. At this point, I'm still confident I'm being paid. I'll let you know if that changes. If you simply refuse to buy EC books, well I do have three other publishers to choose from. I'm also with Entangled, Samhain, and Just Ink Press.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

And Now it Begins Again...

For anyone who has been paying attention to my Goodreads activity the past few days, you may have noticed an increase in books read. I decided to take a break from writing after the marathon I put myself through in August to finish the sequel to Trusting an Angel. That book will soon be in edits and I am hoping to have a sequel to Born of Stone complete by the end of this year as well. But I was feeling a bit burned out creatively, and definitely physically. I've been having problems with my right arm from elbow to palm, and it scares the hell out of me. I spend all day at the weekly job on the computer, so writing when I get home isn't the ideal activity for me. But I'm working on solutions to take some stress off my hand. My husband has endured three hand surgeries (yes, three) and I really don't want to have to go through what he's been through. So, I'm taking it easy and giving my hands as much of a typing break as I can, when I can. The only problem is, the muse is bugging me again and I can hear the Gargoyle Masters clamoring for their mates. Time to give them what they want.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

The Face of Diabetes in My Family

I'm usually very careful about what I share publicly that has to do with my family, but one thing I'm not shy about is my daughter's Type 1 Diabetes. I have four beautiful girls who I would do absolutely anything for, so being given the diagnosis that my youngest (then 7) had an auto-immune disease that I couldn't "fix" devastated me. That was in 2011. Now that we've lived with it for over four years, we're kind of getting a handle on things. Kind of. There are still bad days. There are still times when she doesn't feel like pricking her finger again, when she doesn't even want to eat because she'll have to check her blood and take insulin, when she is sick to death of counting carbohydrates.

And who can blame her? All I want for my children is to live a loving, productive, normal life. Or as normal as I can make it for them while they still live in my home. But this is one monster I can't slay, and it kills me to admit that such exists. I pray for the advances we've seen in just the past four years to keep on going at light speed. I don't want her to have to become an adult with type 1. Why? For one thing, there are many other health complications that go along with this disease as a person ages. This isn't the type of diabetes that can be controlled by diet and exercise alone. Her pancreas doesn't produce insulin the way it should, and at this time there's no way to correct that. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The organization I've chosen to support for this journey is the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. When we were first given the diagnosis it was the only one I knew existed. I now know there are others, but JDRF has been so good to us. Every event I attend, which happens at least twice a year, is full of information about the advances in research and ways they are trying to help type 1 diabetics live a more normal life. This foundation has a walk every year, where about 80% of the proceeds go directly to research. From my own personal research, that's a phenomenal number. There are too many non-profits with a lot of overhead who can't claim such a large amount actually goes to where it's intended and desperately needed.

I know there are a lot of very valid charities out there. I know there is a lot of need and we can't possibly fill it all. However, all I'm asking for is $1. If everyone who reads this post pitches in just that much to sponsor our walking team, we'll be that much closer to our $500 goal. What can our one team do? In the past four years since our diagnosis, the artificial pancreas has gone from experimental to a reality. A drug called "smart insulin" was created and will soon be in human clinical trials, along with a procedure called encapsulation that will theoretically allow a T1D live without the disease for up to a year. I want these things to become a reality for my daughter. I don't ever want her to be afraid of intimacy as an adult because her abdomen is bruised from her injection sites. I don't want her to be afraid to eat because of her blood glucose levels. Just like everything else, these advances require funding.
You can help by donation to our team here. Thank you for reading this.

Friday, August 22, 2014

Spotlight: A Griffin Scorned

Are you ready for author Veronica R. Calisto's upcoming urban fantasy, A Griffin Scorned? The first in her Extranormal series, the story unfolds around the clandestine world of griffins that even the other extranormal creatures believe are myth. How will they react, especially when they discover they can’t deceive her?



No one can lie around a griffin.

Victoria—never Vikki—Drayton walked in on her boyfriend with another woman. In her house. In her bed. Rather than eviscerate the fetid maggot spit as she so wanted, she kept it classy. After kicking him out with a warning to never return, she thrashed whatever he deigned to leave behind, and flew off in search of something a tad less cannibalistic to sink her beak into.Instead of the brown bear she was hoping for, she found some men escorting a chained man none-so-gently toward the nearest cliff. Sweeping in to beat up the louts channeled some of her anger. Saving Mallory Stone—tall, rich, dragon, and so gorgeous he had to be gay—was a bonus, even if she had to reveal the existence of griffins and some of their idiosyncrasies in the process. Mal showed up on her doorstep a few days later begging a favor; his brother has disappeared and he needs her help. Who better than a griffin to claw to the truth of the matter?

__________________________________________________
Veronica R. Calisto is the author of many books, some of which she is willing to let others read. When she isn’t writing, she is thinking about writing, a.k.a. plugging away at her day jobs, whose mundanities makes her name plants things like Cleoplantra and forces her mind to squeak out words like mundanities. Most of the time she can be found in Colorado lavishing on a nest built of books while she listens and sings (loudly) to music which may or may not be playing outside her own head.
Veronica can be found around the web at the following links:
__________________________________________________

Excerpt:


It didn’t really matter what the other men were doing, the chains linking his ankles, wrists, and ring around his neck said the red-haired man was less than excited to be involved. He seemed too clean-cut for his walk in shackles up a skinny mountain path in the middle of the night to be a common occurrence.


The softness of his palms was noticeable even as I dodged from one tree to the next. It gave away as much as the rest of him did. The fear in the man’s eyes spoke volumes. His jeans worshipped his legs without vacuum sealing and leaving nothing to the imagination, like the ridiculous skinny-jeans did. The satiny blue shirt may have been clean before his captors got their grubby hands on it.

The men around him apparently didn’t care. They didn’t speak to him. Didn’t even look at him much, except to prod him with an elbow or well-placed foot when he wasn’t moving fast enough for them. When he tripped, the barrels of several guns pointed his way motivated him to crawl back to his feet. The sight nearly pulled a soft growl from Victoria. She clamped down on her reaction before the sound escaped. It wouldn’t do to spook these wannabe mercenaries. Not before she knew exactly what was going on.


Despite their pockets-a-plenty outfits, the eight men were obviously not well-suited for this minor tip-toe into the mountains. Their black hiking boots smelled all but new, same as their matching black uniforms. Something in the clunky way they moved hinted that they had Kevlar vests on underneath their shirts--black ones, more than likely. Wheezing, gasping breaths signaled their vulnerability to every living creature in the trees around them. Even the students in the college on the other side of the mountain's peak would scoff at the display of unfitness, then offer to spark up a communal bowl. Boulder, Colorado, where hippies abounded.If they weren’t in such a large, armed group, every single one of them would have been picked off by something. And quickly. That was the problem, though. The group and the guns. The chained man was taller than the lot of them. He could break free if he only had one escort. One unarmed escort. And he had no chains binding him.


Victoria itched to pounce on the lot of them, but she held back. He may have done something worthy of this kind of treatment. A court of law was the right way to deal with disputes, even when it involved extranormals. The courts weren't always the best or fastest method, granted. That didn’t mean one could hop up and make their own justice.


Though, after what she walked in on tonight, she understood how someone could snap. She barely managed to keep her anger from overtaking her senses. How lucky for this captive man that she had controlled herself and tore out of her home instead. His predicament could have gone unwitnessed while she basked in squishing the squirming, sniveling sack of louse manure also known as her ex-boyfriend, instead of simply kicking him out.The beautiful seed of anger warmed her to the tips of her bare toes, propelling her from tree to tree along the path as she mirrored their progress. Where did the men think they were going, anyway? An ATV couldn’t negotiate the tiny trail, but this was an awful lot of effort to move away from civilization.


A scramble up an aspen revealed one of the scenic overlooks the Flatiron Range was known for. None of the men looked her way when she dropped back to the ground, knocking a few branches down in the process. Of course they wouldn’t. She was as quiet as could be. Spying on men who had clearly gone out of their way to hide in the mountains required silence and camouflage, but their inexperience meant she didn’t need to over exert her ability. With all the noise they made, even on the well-trodden path, she didn’t need to do much extra to hide herself. They didn’t exactly have her senses, and the idiots weren’t looking for potential observers. Still, directing energy to remaining silent kept her from losing hold of her temper. She wanted to be absolutely certain attacking the man's captors was a good idea.One of the eight men tripped their captive and laughed as he tried to catch himself. Another one of them kicked him in the backside when he struggled to get up. Victoria bit her lower lip before a growl escaped. Good people didn’t kick others when they’re down. Not unless they had a good reason.


“You guys have the money he owed you. I don’t even want to know the details of why he owed it.” The chained man pulled himself halfway upright. One of the black-clad men pressing a gun barrel to his shoulder pushed the chained man the rest of the way up. “Can’t we just call it even?”That sparked it. Those were not the words of someone who deserved this kind of treatment.


With a breath, Victoria dashed from the trees and tackled the last two people in the group. She didn’t bother keeping them quiet. Dodging in and out of their attempts to hit or grab her took most of her concentration. Her camouflage commandeered the remainder. The shadows of the trees did most of the work; she used what was already available.


She made sure to shift constantly. Not sticking to one pattern. Moving in ways a normal person shouldn’t be able to do. Always, always, punching and kicking the captors in their most sensitive places.


A shot to the groin was predictable, especially when coming from a woman. These men didn’t know what they fought, but men tended to guard their privates dearly. And their uniforms may have come complete with cups. No one ever thought to cover the fragile sides of their knees, or protect their skinny clavicles. Their skinny, breakable clavicles. A simple peck to the collar bone with her pinched fingers brought the tallest attacker to a knee.One punch to a man's kidney confirmed they wore bullet-proof vests. It would make her work a little harder to hurt them, but she would manage. Unfortunately for them, the vest's specifications didn’t cover the wrath of an angry woman, let alone an angry griffin. Kevlar was virtually useless against knives and blunt forces. Who needed knives when belligerence bubbled over? And these men had offered themselves up to help her work through some of her aggression. So obliging. She would have to make sure to thank them. Possibly with a jab to the throat.


A smile curved her lips as she dropped one man—the one who had kicked the captive—with a solid kick to the stomach. Victoria was too busy punching the next two attackers to make certain he stayed down. Someone caught her left thigh with lucky fist. She caught it, mashed it into his own face, then road him down with a kick in the gut. His groans of pain were so tasty. Such a feast here.


The man who grabbed her hair received a head-butt.
The click of a trigger sounded just before the first rapport. Victoria dropped, kicked a couple of knees in, and then danced out of the circle. It didn’t matter if they aimed to scare her or catch her with a lucky shot. She certainly couldn’t count on fortune to keep her unscathed. They would hit her eventually, or wise up and threaten the man she was kind-of-sort-of trying to protect. Then there was the whole issue of the fired shots drawing more men from wherever these scumbags had oozed. Her anger could only handle so much before things got really ugly.


__________________________________________________

A Griffin Scorned releases on August 26, 2014 via Just Ink PressTM, but you can Pre-Order the book now.

Meet the characters! Interview here.
Meet the author! Interview here.



Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Tina Donahue's Newest Release!

BROUGHT TO HIS KNEES BOXED SET

Make Me Surrender – included novella by Tina Donahue


The Alpha male. Strong. In control. Letting no one and nothing rule him…until he meets the one, and all bets are off. The world tilts, the bed rocks, and suddenly that tough guy finds himself Brought to His Knees—in more ways than one.
This collection of ten hot to erotic novellas and one short erotic novel will take you on journeys of lust, love, and adventure, leave you breathless and quite possibly in need of a cold shower.
Enter with anticipation. Finish satisfied…


Make Me Surrender (menage):


She has a proposition…to win their attention, passion, hearts.

For over a year, Mercy’s had her eye on Travis and Dutch, two of the hottest guys on the Oregon coast. Dark and dangerously virile, Travis owns a saloon that caters to bikers. Dutch looks like one, right down to his impressive tats, and operates a motorcycle repair shop on the premises.

When a position opens in the saloon’s kitchen, Mercy sees a way to be near these sinfully sexy men, wanting the job and lodging, her cabin snuggled between theirs.

Travis isn’t so sure about having Mercy nearby. She’s deliciously curvy, but too nice. He’s into temporary fun. To Dutch, forever is a dirty word.

Imagine their surprise when sweet little Mercy encourages wild nights of carnal pleasure with a dash of bondage and spanking…followed by friendship and tenderness.

Before she’s through, these tough guys will be the ones who’ve surrendered. 

99¢ for a limited time

11 NEW romances by today’s hottest romance authors

PRE-ORDER!

AVAILABLE: August 19





Friday, August 1, 2014

It's August!

It's August, almost the end of summer, and we're on the home-stretch to the first day of school. So, here's my latest update: 

  • I still haven't tackled Pinterest and/or Instagram. However, I did take quite a few photos when we took our road trip to Austin that will look great on both sites.
  • I'm under deadline and probably going to miss it. I feel terrible about putting the sequel to Trusting an Angel off even for a minute, but these characters aren't talking to me without serious prompting and tears of frustration.
  • I have a TON of books added to my TBR pile. Since I'm under deadline, I'm trying not to read other author's books. It's hard...very hard. The newest Christine Feehan has been screaming for my attention for days.
  • I have a book signing coming up! I now have four books in print and will be signing a limited number of each on Saturday, August 9th, at the Half Price Books in Humble from 5-7 pm.
  • My newest newsletter is out here. There are a couple of other things going on next week that involve prizes!
So, how is your summer going? Are you ready for it to end?

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Tina Donahue's New Release!

My EC buddy Tina Donahue has a hot new release out today!!


A willing slave to possession, punishment, pleasure…

Dreams of a manor where submission and dominance once ruled draws Faith to hypnotherapist Colin Danes. Potently virile, he looks remarkably like her most cherished master from a past life. Desire smolders in his eyes, proving he’s never forgotten her.

Their carnal dance continues in the present and leads to their past when she was known as Eve. Through hypnotherapy, Colin brings her back to the Victorian era, a hidden estate where she eagerly submits to whatever he and her other noble masters crave. The exquisite discipline of the strap. Being bid on and mounted each night. Displayed and used for the enjoyment of all.

Most will take her. One will try to imprison her. Only he will be her true master in that life and this.

Want more? Here's an excerpt:

Eve was still bathing when he came for her. A man whose presence she’d frequently felt. A stranger she’d often seen riding past this cottage, his steed magnificent, a sorrel with a startling white mane and tail.

At those times, she’d noted the man’s well-defined features, noble bearing, the way his attention had focused on her alone. How his gaze had lingered and possessed, warming her skin, calling to everything female within her, demanding her submission. She’d given it, not moving, scarcely drawing a breath, her work forgotten.

Nothing except him had mattered.
Not once had he spoken or made a demand. During his increasingly prolonged observations of her, he’d been content—or obliged—to do no more than look.

Now, she saw the rope he held in one gloved hand.
Eve’s belly fluttered. 

The ends of the rope jumped as he moved past the doorway, his height requiring him to stoop to avoid striking his head. He wore no top hat. Snow dusted his dark hair and shoulders. His ankle-length cloak was of fine black wool, lined with fur, his eveningwear consisting of a dark coat cinched at the waist and trousers of the same color. Fresh milk couldn’t compete with the flawless white of his vest and cravat, tied perfectly about his throat.
He closed the door, bolting it against interruption of what he was about to do. 

The thought of it—and the metal’s sharp clack—caused Eve to start. Her pulse pounded fiercely. The candles Mrs. Trumble had lit stopped flickering at the wind’s departure. A few stray snowflakes floated in the air.

Eve felt none of the chill that he’d brought inside, only intense heat, spreading from her chest to her belly and cunt, then to her neck. Her throat tightened, not allowing her to make any sound as he stopped just short of the tub. Close enough for her to see his lushly lashed eyes, of the purest blue, more glorious than any sky. 

He regarded her naked breasts to the exclusion of every other part of her and spoke for the first time. “Pull back your arms and arch your back. Present yourself to me.” 
His voice was quiet yet commanding, smooth yet rough with arousal.

Unsteady with desire, Eve did as he wanted. She had no other choice. She wanted none. With her back arched and her arms drawn back, she lifted her breasts in offering.

He studied the ripe globes and her tightened nipples at a leisurely pace, moving from one side of the tub to the other to get his fill.
Eve remained a silent, obedient witness to his brazen perusal. Craving and enjoying it, desire pulsing through her.

A small smile touched his lips as her breasts quivered with her 
quick breaths. At length, his attention moved lower, to the part of her the bath continued to hide. Its violet-scented water reflected the candles’ flames, which tinted it gold and orange. Warm colors that hardly matched the heat blazing within Eve.

“You know what to expect?” he asked.
She nodded.
“All of it?”

Eve thought not, so she shook her head.

He seemed pleased by that and began, “From this moment forward, you’re never to cover yourself in any of your Masters’ presence. Your breasts, nipples, mouth, cunt, ass and anus are ours to use as we please. Whatever we require of you, no matter how demanding or indecent, you’re to obey with the greatest haste. You belong to us now. We have your agreement. Did you make it willingly?”

Eve had.

Buy here.

BIO: Tina Donahue is an award-winning, bestselling novelist in erotic, paranormal, contemporary and historical romance for Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Siren Publishing, and Kensington. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work. Three of her erotic romances (Adored, Lush Velvet Nights, and Deep, Dark, Delicious) were named finalists in the 2011 EPIC competition. The French review site, Blue Moon reviews, chose her erotic romance Sensual Stranger as their Book of the Year 2010 (erotic category). The Golden Nib Award at Miz Love Loves Books was created specifically for Lush Velvet Nights, and two of her titles (The Yearning and Deep, Dark, Delicious) received an Award of Merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competition (2011 and 2012). Take Me Away and Adored both won second place in the NEC RWA contest (different years). Tina is featured in the 2012 Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. She was the editor of an award–winning Midwestern newspaper and worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company. 


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CONTEST


Please leave a comment. Tina will be choosing one winner randomly from the comments section. The winner gets her choice of one of Tina’s backlist ebooks – FIFTEEN IN ALL – contemporary, paranormal, suspense, ménage. 

From this list: 

1. Adored – RWA award-winning; EPIC 2011 Finalist; 4 Stars RT
2. Deep, Dark, Delicious – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Holt Medallion Award of Merit
3. Lush Velvet Nights – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Golden Nib Award
4. In His Arms – SIX 5 Star Reviews; 4 Stars RT
5. Sensual Stranger – 2010 Book of the Year (erotic); 4 Stars RT
6. The Yearning – Top Ten Bestseller
7. Take Me Away – #1 Pick, Miz Love Loves Books
8. Unending Desire – Best Book Rating LASR
9. SiNN – Nominated for Book of the Week LASR
10. Sinfully Wicked – Magnificent – Romancing the Book
11.  Claiming Magique – Top Pick – NOR
12. Illicit Desire – Four Stars Romantic Times
13. Come Fill Me – Five Stars – Guilty Pleasures
14. Losing Control - Four and a Half Stars - Sensual Reads
15. Shameless Desire - Four and Half Stars - The Jeep Diva



Friday, June 13, 2014

My Ridiculously Emotional Week

Though I'm not currently a pet owner, if someone were to ask I'd probably claim to be more of a cat person. I've owned both in the past, but my current attitude of not wanting to bother with much makes me lean toward cats when considering future pets. However, my office is in the business owner's home at the moment, so we have an office dog: his miniature dachshund named Shrek.

I didn't realize how close I've gotten to this little dog until Wednesday morning when I arrived at work to find him missing. He had somehow gotten out of the gate and was roaming the streets of Houston on a grand adventure. Meanwhile, the humans in his life were freaking the hell out. Work skidded to a halt and sat on the back-burner as we literally walked the streets, knocked on doors, and begged local businesses to post his flyer in their windows. It was a hot, sweaty, emotionally harrowing experience that I never want to repeat.

Amazingly he was returned to us safe and sound Thursday night. I'm sure he thought he was on vacation, much as his owner currently is, who has no clue Shrek was ever missing. Overall, it was a nerve-wracking few days and I'm emotionally wrung-out from the experience. But at least Shrek is now home where he belongs.

I hope your week was nice and uneventful.  

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Let Your Geek Flag Fly High!

Here is yet another belated blog post as I recall my awesome Memorial Day weekend at Comicpalooza in Houston. One of the things I love most about this event is that it's in my home town, so I get to attend the entire weekend with little fuss.


There are always so many amazing costumes at this con, it's hard to get photos of them all. I didn't take nearly enough this year! In the ones I'm posting here I blacked out the faces of innocent bystanders who might not want their faces all over my blog.

There's always such a great mix of costumes. From superheroes to comic book characters, movie characters, and even storybook characters.
Like any good con, Comicpalooza is loaded with panels and workshops. This year's Literary track was amazing. One panel was all about Celtic writing. Cornelia Amiri, and Heather and Christopher Dunbar really know their stuff in this genre. I was very impressed.

I was honored to share a panel on Brainstorming, Mind Mapping, and Free Writing with Leo King, George Wright Padgett, and Emily Evans. I'll never think of Frankenstein the same way again.


Doctors abounded at the con but unfortunately I didn't get a photo with one. I did the next best thing and tried to run away in a Tardis instead.


Since the Tardis was apparently out of gas I considered the Jurassic park jeep...but then I remembered how that turned out in the movies.



Was there a van in that far, far, away space, a long, long time ago?




The Millennium Falcon could've used a paint job like this!



Spending too much money at conventions is easy, but I was honored to help support Bustin For Autism in some small way by buying these hand-made pillows.


It's great seeing local businesses there as well, such as the Texas Art Supply. How cool is this body painting?!



Comicpalooza has more artists than you can count, but have you ever seen life-size origami action heroes? Here is Master Origami Artist T.J. Fu standing by one of his amazing creations.




Over all it was a fantastic four days in Houston. I can't wait to see what next year brings.

Saturday, May 31, 2014

My Belated RT NOLA Post

So unless you've been under a rock (or offline) the past couple of weeks, you know by now that I went to New Orleans recently for the Romantic Times Reader's convention. It was five fun-filled days of books, cover models, books, drinking, books, swag, books, authors, books, readers, books, beads, and did I mention books?


One of the first authors I ran into was Jade Lee (aka Kathy Lyons) whom I absolutely LOVE! She makes every event unforgettable and is one of the nicest people I know. 


Any time spent with Jade is guaranteed to be a good time.


One of the major events was a Mardi Gras 'parade'. Authors stood on the floats in the warehouse where they're stored as the crowd walked down the aisle between them. Throwing out beads was a awesome!

No trip to NOLA is complete without a pub crawl down Bourbon Street. There were ten bars being hosted by various publishers and most of them were handing out free drink vouchers. Yeah, I got a little (ahem) inebriated.
Directly after the pub crawl was Samhain Publishing's Saints and Sinners party where I hosted a table as a drunk nun (oops!). It was a lot of fun meeting the ladies who joined me at my table. One of them traveled all the way from Thailand.

I didn't take nearly as many food shots as usual because I kept forgetting to do it before digging in. This was the chicken served at Heather Graham's Mrdi Gras Magic and Mayhem dinner and dance party.


Beignets abounded throughout the event, but cheesecake is always a good choice too.




There were lots of beautiful and creative costumes, including Heather herself on her very own dragon float.

One of the biggest draws for readers is the giant book signing. I was honored to be in a room full of so many talented people. Sitting next to Kelly Jamieson was a blast!



And last but most certainly not least, I got to meet some of my favorite authors:

 And many others where I missed my photo op. Over all, it was a great time and I plan to attend again next year when it's here in Texas. I hope y'all will join us in Dallas.




Tuesday, May 27, 2014

New Release! Born of Stone

Today is release day for my newest book: Born of Stone! This is the beginning of a romantic fantasy series about Gargoyles...and the women who love them.


Blurb:


Within a body strong as stone beats a heart ready for love.


For seventy years, Orestes and his eleven gargoyle brothers have done their duty to protect King Kadmos’ realm. There’s only one annoyance in his life—humans.


He’s content to leave them to their idol worship. Until he notices a small, frail woman serving at his table, doing her best to remain invisible. Something about her calls to him like no human before.


Astrid is terrified. Not of the powerful magical creature with kind eyes, but of the staff overseer’s lash for calling attention to herself. Instead she finds herself whisked away to paradise, where she is bathed, fed, and made love to by Orestes as if she is his reason to live. But she isn’t naïve enough to believe she is anything more than a temporary diversion.


When Orestes is called away to search for a missing brother, Astrid is kidnapped by traitors intent on using her to bend Orestes to their will. Little do they know that the connection between them is no weakness, but a strength their enemies would be fools to  underestimate…


Warning: This book contains paranormal fighting, steamy sex scenes, strong-willed females, and men made of stone who prove to be soft as butter in the right hands.



Read an excerpt and buy it here: http://store.samhainpublishing.com/born-stone-p-73413.html


Here: http://www.amazon.com/Born-Stone-Gargoyle-Masters-Missy-ebook/dp/B00IBDKQIY


And here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/born-of-stone-missy-jane/1118602499?ean=9781619220232

To celebrate this new release I’m giving away a $25 Amazon gift card! Enter here: http://www.bittenbybooks.com