Aphrodisia Authors :: Blog

Happy holidays and season’s greetings to all our readers! Thanks for the support you have give all the Aphrodisia authors throughout this year of 2008. You are appreciated, as it is our readers that give us a reason for being here. We hope you keep coming back for the New Year!

As a writer, waiting for the reviews on a book to come in is excruciating. Once the book has gone through the publishing process, there is that tiny window after actual print publication and before the release date when the book is sent out to reviewers. It is at this time that I begin to intensely bite my knuckles, make small sacrifices and generally melt down as I wonder what the very first review of my forthcoming release will say. Will the book get decent reviews, or will it be stomped into the ground by the reader, who will then put their .02 cents into print–thus crushing my confidence (and a piece of my soul) or sending me off into a spasm of joy that can last for days?

Having been through this time and time again, you would think I would learn to roll with the punches, to take the good reviews with a smile and the bad reviews with a grain of salt (along with several malt coolers). The truth is, I worry each any every time a book comes up for release. Why? I think it is because I’m so attached to the characters I have created. Yes, I know. These people do not exist, except in the creator’s mind. Yet for months, sometimes years, a writer labors to commit what is in their head to the more tangible medium of print, thereby giving their characters a “life” that can be shared by readers. It’s a daunting task, making the unreal come to fruitition in a way that (to me) is logical and meaningful. After all, if I don’t buy into the circumstances I am setting down on the page, how can the reader? So, yes, I tend to become emotionally attached to that piece of literature. After all, an inspiration that belonged to me alone has granted it an existence in this world, however impermanent. As long as the book is in print and survives, it is a part of what once brewed inside my skull.

My next book is Embracing Midnight, coming out Nov 25th. Today, the first review came in, from Romantic Times: “Quinn’s story joins the ranks of erotic vampire tales with off-the-charts, sizzling sensuality, including a very graphic menage scene. Add in secret government plots and lush, dark scenery with well-developed characters and you have a thoroughly entertaining novel.”

OMG. A 4 star review. Much better than I could have hoped, considering Embracing Midnight was the book I began with no plot, no characters and no clue where it would go. All I know is that it came. From where, I do not know to this day. And I am mightily relieved that the first review is terrific. I had feared I would get the first zero star review in RT history and read that the book was so awful the reviewer has to be put in the hospital with bouts of gagging and heaving (yeh, I really thought that). It gives me hope that the next ones coming in will be just as good. The review, by the way, will be in the Dec issue of Romantic Times.

Today, I am one happy camper.

Since today is a free day, I thought I’d step in and share the new cover art I received for Man After Midnight and Dangerous Ties:

Man After Midnight is the sequel to Flesh and the Devil, and is Dani Wallace’s story. This book take up a few months after Flesh and the Devil ends. Dani’s still stripping in a nightclub, when she meets a most unusual man seeking a bride. I won’t say how, but Dani’s on her way to becoming the queen of an underworld realm. She just doesn’t know it yet.

The Dangerous Ties Antho with Jodi Lynn Copeland and Anya Howard was a fun genre to write in. Paranormal BDSM, my two favorite subjects in one book. My story is Personal Possessions, and I had a hell of a time writing about bad girl Nikki Malone and fallen angel turned demon Jackson Sullivan. I hope readers will enjoy their trip to “Helle”.

These 2 titles will be released in late March 09, and I can’t wait!

Seeing my cover art for thie first time is one of my biggest thrills of being a writer. It lends tangible existence to something that’s only existed in my mind, and I enjoy seeing my vision come alive in a more visual way. For both covers I have to admit that I’m thrilled at how nice they turned out, and am grateful my editor snagged them for my books. Which leads me to ask the question: What are some of your favorite Aphrodisia covers that you think perfectly captured the essence of the story?

Today was a free to claim day, so I snagged it. I haven’t blogged in a long time at Aphrodisia authors, mostly because I was so damn far behind on the deadline for Man After Midnight. That was one of the hardest books I have ever written, as I couldn’t seem to sit down and get started on it. This time it wasn’t a case of writer’s block. I knew what I wanted to do, even had it plotted from beginning to end. The problem this go round was a family member’s illness, coupled with the need to work at the SDJ (sucky day job). Juggling those two things, I simply could not pull it together long enough to sit down and write.

I’d actually started the book in plenty of time to meet my deadline. I wrote the first chapter–and there it sat on the hard drive for three months–those first 3000 words that should have been quite a good start to my story. But I couldn’t get back to it, just couldn’t find the time to get back to writing. Then the terrible thing happened. My computer crashed and wiped out the files. In my case, this wasn’t a total panic. I back up everything on a flash and it can all be reinstalled in a day or so. In this case, I puttered around with the machine, making tweaks and changes in the configuration until it was just right. But I still wasn’t writing. I just couldn’t seem to connect myself to the book, which is a sequel to Flesh and the Devil and tells Dani Wallace’s story.

And the days ticked off, and away and then they were gone. Months passed, and each day I was terribly aware I wasn’t writing.

Yes, I know. I felt guilty, terrible, that I wasn’t doing that thing I was supposed to love so much. But my emotional plate was full up and I just didn’t have the energy to pile any thing else on it. It’s very difficult to try and move into a fictional world and write for characters when your “real” life is so full of problems.

And then it happened. There came into my inbox a copy of the 09 Kensington catalog. I had to look and there it was. The book I had 3000 words on was in the catalog, cover and all. And Kensington had no manuscript from the author. Even the 3k was gone, the one single thing I had not backed up before the crash. And, OMG, I could not believe they’d gone ahead and listed it as a release. There was now no way to tell my editor that the book wasn’t done and beg for it to be moved to another month!

That is when the true panic set in. How could I let my editor down, knowing she’d gone ahead and gotten the book that far into production without seeing one single page of text? I couldn’t. So I did what I always do in these moments. I sat down and wrote through every spare moment I could grab. Hard. I didn’t stop to print, I didn’t stop to proof. I just wrote the thing, gut first and damn the typos. I had to make the September 1 deadline. I just had to.

I am happy to say that I did finish Man After Midnight and got it in to my editor, at the last moment. To my happiness–and relief–she did not send it winging back from NY with a pink slip saying “REWRITE THIS!”, which is my biggest fear. The book will release as scheduled, in late March 09. That month I will have a dual hit, as I am also lead author in the “Dangerous Ties” antho, with Jodi Copeland and Anya Howard.

Another deadline looms, but this time I don’t have to hit the panic button. Everything is back under control (for the moment).

Since this was an open blog day and I have not blogged in awhile, I thought I would take a moment to share some new cover art, news, etc….

First, I am happy to report that I’m temporarily out of deadline heck. Yep, that’s right. I finished and turned over Heart of the Wildcat to my editor Monday. This novella will appear in the Sexy Beast 6 antho and paves the way for Soul of the Wildcat, which will continue the story of my Cherokee Cougar shifters in the mountains of North Carolina. Small yah, as this is one that I just couldn’t seem to get started on. I whiled away two months with severe depression, convinced I could not possibly do justice to the subject. There was so much to cover with Native American history, legend, lore, cougars, etc… that I felt I could not possibly write the novella in a way that would make sense. Skip forward to the end weeks and many tears later: it’s now done and I can’t believe I’m saying goodbye to the characters so soon. I was just getting started with Kathryn and Joe. Now that I am not pounding the keyboard day after day I feel lost. What do I do now? (Write another book is the obvious answer. And that is coming. My editor and I decided to call the Flesh and the Devil sequel “Man After Midnight”, which I like. Brat Princess Dani Wallace is to become the unwilling bride of a Jadian Shapeshifter.)

I’m also happy to unveil the cover of Embracing Midnight, my late Nov 08 release. I have to admit I love the cover. It’s fabulous and so totally right for the book. I’m going to have a poster made and framed for my wall.

Lastly, I am thrilled to share the news that the TRIO Anthology with myself, PF Kozak and Jane Ledger releases next Tuesday. These are three hot stories, folks, and the theme is *grin* threesomes.

Lastly, I edge around the the purpose behind this post. Writers, do you ever go through blue funks about your WIPS and if so how do you conquer the worm? Readers, have you ever read a book where it seems like the writer was just going through motions to complete the work on deadline?

Those who wish may visit and sign the memorial guestbook for author Dawn Thompson.

http://www.legacy.com/Newsday/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=103117594

I’ve been in a bit of a panic for quite a few months now. It all comes down to and centers around the paranormal BDSM antho my editor signed me up for last year. Ok, super-duper that I got another sale under my belt. Not so super-duper is that fact I have been scared sh*itless about writing it.

What the hay? you ask, scratching your head.

Yes, I know. I should be tickled pink that my name is going to be first on the cover. Truth is, I’ve worried myself into a dither that the story I proposed wasn’t good enough. And that I am not talented enough to write it. That it will stink, suck, and sink the antho.

In other words, my usual tizzy tornado before I set my fingers on the keyboard and write. You may not have guessed (or maybe you have) that I am the sort of writer who has to stew for a bit on a story. Well, I’ve been stewing on the story I’d said I do. As the time to write it came around, I kept avoiding the computer. Why? Because it was the wrong story for the antho. Fortunately I have an editor I can discuss these things with, and she gave me artistic license to write what inspired me.

Talk about a brow wiping.

I knew the story I’d proposed was wrong and didn’t have the nerve to say anything for months. The word paranormal and BDSM together conjure images in my mind of some pretty twisted stuff. In my world that’s not a bad thing. After all, that’s what I do, and happily, I might add. The idea that kept creeping to mind involved a combo of the movies Psycho (an abandoned town with the proverbial creepy place and smoking hot owner, a girl on the run with a bagful of stolen loot), The Entity (demons with sex on their minds) and the song Hotel California (hehe, you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave…)

Right-o. Panic has eased now that I have the concept down solid. And now that I have settled on my story for the antho, I feel calmer. Because I know it is the right story. Does that make sense? It fits the theme of the anthology and maybe, just maybe, if I write it right, it will be a brilliant lead off to an already spectacular line-up, which is Jodi Lynn Copeland and Anya Howard. I admit it, too, that I’ve been afraid of being the weakest writer and that my story will still bite. Proverbial insecurity, the little monster that sits in the back of my mind, has been busy whipping the thought deep into my brain. The usual creative insecurities.

How about you, writers? Ever start a story and know it’s all wrong? Ever sit at the pc chewing your nails to the quick because of insecurity…or in just plain old fear that you couldn’t write the damn book?

Share, please. Inquiring minds want to know.

As I’ve been brewing up my story I’ve also been foodling around with my website. That’s another thing that never satisfies me. I want it to be better, more interesting than it is. Somehow I never achieve my goal. Someday I will hire a pro to do it, LOL.

Meanwhile, I need to get back to the proverbial WIP. :)Wish me luck!

The last week has been totally off kilter for me. I’m still trying to process everything and put it into an ordered state in my mind. And that’s a hard thing to do when you’re as scattered as I am.

So what’s this post about? A lot of things actually. I’d worried that I didn’t have anything to blog about. As usual, I have too much. I’ll try and break it down into small pieces.

Ok, first I managed to finish my novella for the Trio Anthology and sent it off to NY Nov 1. Yes, No Strings Attached actually got written. This was one of those stories that came out kicking and screaming. I struggled for months to get the darn thing going–and just couldn’t. I’m still debating on whether I like it or not. And though I proofed it, it’s still full of a million typos, which seems to be a trademark of mine. I simply can not seem to get them all out of my manuscripts. Though I can spot them in an instant when I read other people’s work. Seems to be some bizarre blindness block I have when reading my writing. Anyway, the darn thing is gone.

So…once the elation of actually finishing another novella wore off I found myself wondering what I should do next. Nevermind that I had one more novella and two single titles to work on for 09. Well, when Devyn gets to drinking and thinking, dangerous things happen. That’s right. I got an idea, so I popped off a few lines to my editor and asked what she’d think of a proposal I had for a Sexy Beast Anthology. I’ll admit I’ve been sitting here gnawing myself to pieces wanting into those anthos, but never expected to be considered. Well, much to my surprise, a day after I proposed the idea Hilary made an offer for a novella–and a single title on the same theme. Imagine my jaw dropping to my knees in shock. You see, I hadn’t expected to make the sale and so hadn’t sat down and really thinked (yeah, “thinked” out here in the badlands. Remember I’m a hick from the sticks) the idea through because I didn’t believe it’d have a snowball’s chance heck of selling.

So, what did Devyn sell her editor? Well, here’s the synopsis for Heart of the Wildcat, the SB novella. This is rough, so bear with me:

Cultural anthropologist Kathryn Conrad is on her way to North Carolina in the hopes of finding and studying a small tribe of Cherokee mountain men for her master’s thesis. The stories of the Tlvdatsi (actual Cherokee word for cougar) told to her by her grandmother have lit Kathryn’s imagination—not to mention her desire to track down and verify her Native American roots.

Attacked and almost raped by her hired guide, Kathryn is close to losing her life when rescue arrives in the form of Joseph Clawfoot. (stalking Kathryn and her rapist in cougar form) Red skinned, black haired and handsome as sin, he’s just the kind of specimen Kathryn wants to study–up close and personal. Kathryn persuades Joseph to become her contact with his people. She gets more than she bargained for when she learns the truth behind Joseph’s strange and solitary existence.

Joseph Clawfoot is a Cherokee, member of a vanishing tribe whose people have learned to survive, they had to adapt to the arrival of the white settlers. A pact with the gods granted them the ability to shape-shift into the form of the cougar. Determined to live away from civilization, Joseph has settled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. He follows no man’s rules, only those of nature.

Joe’s hope that he will find a mate to join him fades daily. His life is one of constant danger. The natural habitat in which he survives is shrinking, and hunters threaten to drive his kind into extinction. Though he fights the attraction, Joseph can’t help but desire the petite beauty with the pale skin and lake-blue eyes. Her touch is forbidden, yet to possess her body and soul is all he can think about. Having Kathryn in his life is dangerous. However her strong and independent spirit arms her with the weapons to capture and tame his wild heart.

When poachers threaten Joseph’s freedom, Kathryn is forced to kill one of the hunters to save her lover’s life. Realizing she has to take responsibility, Kathryn chooses to turn herself in to keep investigators away. So that she will not accidentally expose the tribe to outsiders, Kathryn asks Joe to erase her memory of their time together, using the ancient spells of the shamans. She’ll remember nothing of him. In giving Joseph up Kathryn knows she’s preserving his freedom and the heritage of her ancestors.
___________________

So there it is. This novella is the lead in for the single title, Soul of the Wildcat. Some of you may have already noticed that the heroine is being given the heave-ho at the end. Well, she is. And, yes, I’ve already heard the cries from the pals I’ve ran this by before sending it off to my editor: EEK! NO HAPPY ENDING FOR JOE AND KATHRYN?

Let me stop and grab something to cover myself with before you HEA people start pelting me with rocks. I’m going to take a deep breath and announce it now: Joe and Kathryn won’t end up together. I’ve got to break them up so Joe can go on to his next adventure in Soul of the Wildcat. I know this is a first (I think) for the Sexy Beast stories and, frankly, I’d wondered if my editor’s suggestion to send Joe off with another woman in his next book was the correct idea. Giving it thought, it is. The theme of the novella is not only discovery of dangerous secrets, but to truly love something, you must set it free. (cue appropriate love songs here) So, yes, readers and peers–Kathryn will set Joe free to preserve his freedom, even if it means she must sacrifice her memories of his kind.

Which leads me to a question for discusssion: As a reader do you expect the HEA in erotic romance? And to writers: Do you feel compelled to write an HEA into your stories because you are writing erotic romance? And if so, why?

Please, keep replies polite and kind.

Today I received the cover and copy edit for Sins of the Night, my late March 08 release. Here’s a little bit about the book from the back cover:

Once, Adrien Roth was a Shadow Stalker–a hunter of vampires called the Kynn. Captured, he was forced to pay a devastating price and become the very thing he despised. Almost a century has passed since that time and Adrien’s quest for justice has not ended. But only one woman can redeem his soul: a beautiful mortal named Cassie Wilson.
In Adrien’s arms, Cassie will experience the ultimate sexual awakening, for her demon lover is a master of pleasure. Together at last, lost in a shadow-world of unusual desire and risking their very lives for love, she and Adrien are compelled to surrender to the powerful passion that consumes them…

This is the second book in my Kith & Kynn series and picks up where book 1 (Sins of the Flesh) left off with Devon and Rachel. Their story is also continued, along with the introduction of another set of characters, Morgan Saint-Evanston, an immortal assassin with an odd way of doing business and his witchy girlfriend, Julienne.

Can’t wait for this one to come out!

Today is the 6th anniversary of 9-11. For my blog post I am requesting a personal moment of silence from each reader to remember the fallen. We will not forget.