Aphrodisia Authors :: Blog

Dane, The Lords of Satyr

I saw the cover for Bastian, The Lords of Satyr a few days ago, but I can’t post it until I see it on Kensington’s site. It’s similar to all the other covers, but with one stand-out difference. See if you can spot it when you see the cover! The manuscript is in copyediting now. My editor said she “loved it” (with two exclamation points), which was an amazing joyous moment (two exclams!!) Writing the same book over and over would not be fun for me, so every one of my novels is different, and Bastian is no exception. More about that in my next blog! So I’m now working on the book for Bastian’s brother, Sevin. Coincidentally, this will be satyr novel number…seven.

So now, let’s talk about conferences. Although I love them, I haven’t been to many, have you? In fact, I think I’ve only been to three–ECWC in Washington state; two RWA conferences (most recently in Florida’s Disney World campus last summer); and New Jersey’s Put Your Heart in a Book.

I got a call from author Lora Leigh about a month ago regarding her Readers Appreciation Weekend (RAW). She mentioned that my name had come up on the conference wish list numerous times, which was wonderful to hear. I’ve heard great things about her conference and I’m a huge fan of her work, especially her Wicked Pleasure/Forbidden Pleasure books. I was having a total fan moment when I spoke with her by phone. So I’m seriously thinking I’ll go in 2011, finances permitting. Another conference I’m seriously considering is Authors After Dark. I’ve met author Stella Price at a couple of conferences and am a fan of hers and of her work, as well as Jacquelyn Frank‘s work. Dane, The Lords of Satyr was nominated in a blind nomination in the Erotic Romance Novel category of AAD’s Bookie Awards recently, and I’m great company.

So which are your favorite conferences? Will you be at RAW or AAD in 2011?

Drop a comment for a chance to win a copy of the AAD nominated, Dane! I’ll respond to comments throughout the month of November, and will post the winner here November 28th. Thanks for dropping by the Aphrodisia blog!

In just a month and a half or so In Deep will be out!! It’s the second in the Island Spice series. (My name for it not Kensington) Both In Deep and Secrets of Sin are set in very warm climates and both have been released in the wintertime. I really like the idea of the books allowing readers to escape the chill and read about the balmy Caribbean.
The Caribbean has some beautiful places but I would rather live in a place where the seasons change. I once read an article about a man that moved to southern California and found he had a hard time remembering when things had happened in the years after he moved. He realized that being from New England counted on the change of seasons as markers of time passing.
I really like the anticipation of something new coming. Bringing out new clothes or eating seasonal foods. Sledding in the snow or a day at the lake are all the more enjoyable when they’ve been absent for months at a time.

So what about you? Do you like to read books set in the same season you’re in or the opposite? Do you live with four seasons or one? Which do you prefer?

I was in the horror section of the book store the other day when two of the employees were restocking a shelf. While they worked they talked, and being close I couldn’t help but overhear part of their conversation. One of the employees was complaining there wasn’t anything “new” in the world of horror fiction, and she was filled up to her eyeballs by vampires, werewolves and demon hunters.

Because I have a horror in the works, I was intrigued by her confession. Then her co-worker went on to say that she liked romance along with her horror but that she felt that sub-genre was pretty overlooked. Then she said something very notable, that she craves something “savagely ghoulish”.

So, being me, I came home and began to think about what these two had said. For an hour or more I pondered it over. I ended up going to bed wondering what kind of marriage of romance and horror these women would hit on like  fresh chocolate cake. Eventually I fell asleep, and regretfully to say, I never did come up with a new storyline in my head. Not one that could really be called a The Omen-meets-The Story of O kind of way anyway.

But I am not giving up! And although I am still musing for that perfect blend of hot romance and eerie horror, I have taken a break to present a few cover ideas for your entertainment.  Just click on the book “covers” for a bigger view.

1408B – The Honeymoon Suite

And you thought haunted rooms were bad? Wait until you receive room service!

‘Bye Night

The long awaited “other perspective” novel by an author who knows that even vampire babies have to their diapers changed.

The Fog (of Paris Hilton)

Ghoulishly real. Terrifyingly predictable. Horribly dysfunctional. And yeah, ripped from the headlines.

The Taxman Always Rings Twice

You can’t hide..you can’t escape..you can’t believe he remembered your house number but forgot to return his own taxes!

Passion of the Delusional

He may still be attractive but he ain’t no love god, that’s for sure.

Wild Crack

Hailed by reviewers as the sexiest edition yet in this bestselling lowered-expectations romance series!

The Whining

The horror that proves you don’t have to be an alcoholic, out of work, writer wannabe just to be a whiny jerk. “Here’s Bil-leeee!”

The Stalker’s Runaway Prey

Just like Michael Myers, Freddy Kruger and the after-taste of a Taco Bell dinner, you just can’t shake this guy!

I love this photo: it’s so ME right now! I feel like I can just walk to the end of this catwalk and plunge into SO many new ventures that’re this beautiful–and they’re all good!

As I write this, I’m on the verge of leaving for the NINC conference in St. Petersburg: six days in an oceanside room, seeing friends I only see at conferences, and WOW, the program! Got big-name industry types coming in to Brainstorm the Future of Publishing! I’m teaching sessions on numerology and collaging, and who knows what I might come away with from other presentations?

I’m on the verge, as well, of completing the first book of my new Amish series, Seasons of the Heart, for Kensington…slightly ahead of deadline! I’m really pleased with how it’s turning out, and how my characters have fleshed out so well for the next three books.

I’m on the verge of having another Aphrodisia single title out, too: SEXUAL HUNGER hits the stores later this month, as the follow-up to last fall’s SEXUAL SECRETS! Features some continuing characters from that story, as well as a heroine who enjoys twin lovers. But gee, she can only marry one of them! What to do?

That jumping-off point in the photo also sets the feel for a new contract opportunity with a new editor! She and I are brainstorming, enjoying the get-to-know-you stage of a relationship we hope will produce another ongoing series!

But the BIG ONE: I’m on the verge of moving to a new home in a totally new city! My husband just took a dandy new job in St. Paul, MN so I’ve been scurrying to get this Missouri home of 21 years ready to show and sell this week (yes, while I’ve been on deadline for my book and prepping for my conference!) I’ve discovered how addictive house-hunting online can be! Looking to move to a no-maintenance condo where somebody else mows our grass and clears all that snow they get up there!

So yeah, some moments my head’s spinning so fast it’s on the verge of just popping right off and launching into space! But it’s all good, not? I might be a writer, focused on my computer screen a good bit of the time, but never let it be said my life is boring! I’m on the verge of a whole new life…a whole new me!

This is the first cover for my new futuristic romance series, The Fringe, with Samhain.  This is the first of a planned series of nine, and possibly more.  Thief is a sensual futuristic western that some people might remember from the American Title IV contest.  The book releases on 11/2/10.

This is the cover for my third book in the Onic Empire series.  I really love the blue on this one.  Sadly, on this graphic, you can’t see the wonderful quote from Elizabeth Amber–McLeod has created a wickedly erotic, intriguing world in which two Harvesters with unique physical gifts find their destinies in each others arms. The book is available for pre-order and releases on 1/25/11.

It’s Monday and I remembered around five a.m. that I was supposed to blog today, and that reminded me of waking up on Monday mornings when I had to go to work, or had to get up before five and make my husband a big breakfast and pack his lunch so HE could go to work, and that, of course, got me to thinking about jobs.

I love my job. Writing is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for me, so Monday isn’t anything like it used to be. For one thing, I work seven days a week because I WANT to work seven days a week, and even after all these years, I’ve not lost the excitement of sitting down to my computer and diving into my fantasy worlds. BUT, I haven’t always written romances.

My first job was in a veterinarian clinic working with the animals. When I was in high school, the vet I went to work for even let me assist on surgeries, which was fascinating, and if not for the Cs in math, I might have gone on to vet school and ended up doctoring pets rather than writing.

Then I went to work in a florist shop, which was a sucky job in high school because the night of the prom I’d be making corsages for all the other girls who had dates. I did that off and on all through my first couple of years in college, too, though I finally quit because I worked for a jerk with roving hands–even when his WIFE was in the shop! My coworkers and I got in the habit of hiding from the man–in 1968, a woman had no recourse against sexual harassment in the workplace. We were expected to just take it. I finally quit.

The next job was doing the books in a sporting goods store. I also fixed fishing reels, did some very minor gun repair and occasionally worked on bikes. I did that all through the rest of college. (and that’s the same store where I was working when I met the man I’ve been married to for almost forty years!) Then, after graduation, I went to work for a little country/western radio station–KCEY in Turlock, California. I wrote commercials–it was my first paying job as a writer!

I had a lot of other jobs, too–I was a cartoonist for many years, doing a strip for mosquito control agencies that ran all over the country–anyone remember “Skeeter Mosquito?” I did a lot of free lance writing, raised kids, volunteered in their schools and put together some really cool writing projects for kids, worked as a newspaper reporter…and I wrote. I started writing fiction in the early 1980s, but it wasn’t until 1998 that I sold my first romance to an epublisher, long before anyone knew what ebooks were. A few years later, in 2005, Kensington Publishing bought Wolf Tales and launched Aphrodisia.

I like to think that all those years and all those jobs helped me do what I do now–write stories. We write what we know or what we can imagine, but a lot of what I know came from the various occupations I had through the years. What about you? Have you ever had a really unusual job, or one that you loved so much you couldn’t wait to go to work? I love hearing about the different things people have done in their lives. Tell me about your worst, best, most interesting or most boring job–or about all of them. I’ll be picking a couple of winners who will get either a book or a stuffed Bumper.

And have a great day. Monday only comes once a week! I’m going back to work on CrystalFire, the sequel to StarFire, which is the sequel to HellFire, which came out last month! Look for DemonFire, HellFire and Nocturnal with my story, Crystal Dreams. All of them are currently available, along with all the Wolf Tales (1-10) and Sexy Beast anthologies (I-VIII) with Chanku tales.