Head's UP

My publisher, Champagne Books, announced Christmas in July sale. So yep, from now until Aug 1, which is right around the corner, all e-books at their site are 50% off. Of course I'm hoping you all go out and by all of mine but truly, Champagne has some fantastic writers and wonderful novels. They also have some of the best covers around. Oh, yeah, I'm a bit biased since they're my only publisher but still...

Just go to www.champagnebooks.com and once you've filled your cart full, plug in this code XeJul12 and I apologize for short notice. I should have posted this two days ago. My bad.

Bouncing Between Genres

I'm not sure how folks write in the same genre all the time. I think I would get so bored. On the other hand, I do only write romance so maybe I can kinda see this. But within the romance broad category there are so many different flavors. I've written fantasy, paranormal time travels, futuristic sci-fi stories and historical westerns. Right now I'm bouncing between a historical fantasy and a historical western.

At first I thought, wow, how odd to be going back and forth but then when you think about it, a lot of fantasy books have the same qualities as a western. You have your host of bad guys all harmed to the hilt in some way. Cowboys have their guns and trolls have their sharp teeth and claws. You have the damsel in distress. She's your cowgirl who needs a hero but can still handle herself when it all falls apart. The heroine in my fantasy is pretty much the same way. She needs the hero and yet she's leading him around and pretty much showing him how much he needs her. Then you have the sexy hero. He's a cowboy through and through. A quiet man with strong morals and a belief in justice. He's strong willed, an alpha with beta tendencies and while he has his faults, he always manages to save the day. My hero in the fantasy has all these qualities and more.

I remember when Star Wars first came out in theaters. My then boyfriend took me to see it seven times. We were captivated. Critics claimed it was a western set in outer space. And yep, that pretty much sums it up. With that description, it's easy to see how a sci-fi writer can find herself penning historical westerns as well.

Ciara Gold got hacked

I'm usually so good about stuff but here's how my e-mail got hacked. I needed to change tribes and I've been waiting for invites from two tribes so indeed I was expecting two e-mails. I got an e-mail from Yahoo that said they were holding two e-mails because  they were making changes to their database and if I wanted them, to click here and they'd eventually be delivered. I did. And nothing happened so I immediately changed my password.

Well, I finally convinced myself that e-mail might be legit and I really wanted those invites to the new tribes, so I did it again and clicked here. About 6 hours later, I got one of those e-mails. Yay for that but, this morning, I woke up to a message from two friends that said my account had been hacked.

I changed passwords yet again but in doing so I lost lots of stuff. I lost all my contacts for that account and I lost all those wonderful e-mails I'd saved from fans. So sad.

I feel violated. I can't imagine how folks feel when thieves break into their homes or steal their cars. Why do folks have to be like that.

Anyway, my advice is that if Yahoo ever asks you to log in again for any reason, do so if you think it's legit, but immediately change your password afterwards. And keep a backup for your contacts and anything else that's important.

I'm just glad I didn't have that account tied to anything else like facebook, twitter, goodreads, etc. What a mess that would have been.

New Tribe and Edits Galore

I haven't posted lately because I was waiting for an invite to a new tribe. For those that don't know what I'm talking about, I'm talking about Triberr . This a way for those that tweet to reach more folks with their blog posts. I was in a tribe previous to this new one that was full of great authors that didn't really write the same sort of romance I write, so I thought a change would be better. We'll see.

In the meantime, I'm in deep edit mode. I had a wonderful mega reader take a crack at my latest wip and her comments were invaluable. I knew the ending wasn't right but couldn't put my finger on why and got tired of trying to figure it out. She nailed the problem on the head so I'm having to rework the last chapter but I'm cool with that.

I also considered a sequel to Texas Forged but I have three other projects calling to me and while I have a basic idea for the sequel , I can't get it to gel. I think it's because tackling an antebellum book doesn't really call to me. Maybe when I have more time to research.

Target date for publication: September 25.

Don't have a blurb yet but as soon as I flesh one out, I'll share. Might be my next post. I also need to finish outlining my time in Italy and Switzerland. Soon - I promise.

And the winner is!!!

I'm actually on vacation and it was difficult getting connected but I made it so without further ado, the winner to my guest blogs for Romancing the West is......

Devon Matthews!

Congratulations. BTW for those didn't get a chance to visit The Romancing the West blog, she won a print copy of Once Jilted. Too fun.

Contest Time

So yeah, it's been a week since I posted but I've been writing! I finished my new historical western and I'm just waiting feedback from a beta reader before I take the dive into self publishing. Well, I sorta already took the dive. I co-authored a book with a good friend and fellow writer, Michael W. Davis. He writes great suspense books with romantic inclinations. Distant Obsession is now available at Amazon for only $0.99.

In the meantime, while I'm gearing up to promote my newest endeavor, I wanted to promote an older title, Once Jilted. I love this story. Jacquie Rogers has invited me to be a guest on her blog, Romancing the West, on Monday and Thursday of this week. To celebrate, I'm going to give away a signed copy of Once Jilted. All you have to do to be entered is visit her blog for details on how you can win.
Blurb:

How many times will an orphan be cast aside before someone offers love?

Shauna Joyce has three weeks to find a husband or face watching a special little girl fall into the hands of loveless parents. An orphan herself, she knows the heartache of growing up without love. Armed with a need greater than her own, she finds a likely candidate in bridge-builder, Kane McKenna.

Kane McKenna has one goal; to finish the bridge he’s erecting so he can earn the capital needed to start a business of his own. A wife and child would drain his finances, so when Shauna Joyce proposes marriage, he balks at the idea. Will her determination be enough to build the bridge of trust needed to make him trade one dream for another?

Excerpt:

He approached with quiet determination. A sudden wind-change blew smoke into Shauna’s face. Her hands flew up and she coughed.

“The smoke is enamored with its creator,” he said.

She turned away from the fire and gave him a blank stare.

“Granted, I reconfigured it a wee bit, but you must be familiar with the saying.” He came abreast of her and gazed at the fire. “Smoke follows beauty.”

She smirked. “Then this particular smoke needs glasses.”

He picked up another log and fed it into the blazing fire. “You do noot think yourself attractive?”

She quirked her head and gave him a baffled frown. “I’m as plain as oatmeal without brown sugar. Why else am I having such a difficult time finding a husband?”

“Your lack of suitors has noothing to do with your outward image, lassie.” The fire died down, so he removed his hat to fan the flames. “While you possess many fine qualities, your forward approach scares men.”

She arched a brow. “Do I scare you?”

“Oh, aye.” He laughed. “I can noot sleep at night for fear you’ll rope and brand me.”

She lifted her poking stick and shook it at him. “I need a husband, not a cow.”

He laughed even harder. She did have sass. He liked that about her.

“You’re a bold lass.” He shook his head. “But you possess the finesse of a greenhorn on his first cattle drive.”

“And what would an engineer know about herding cattle?”

“Enough to realize I never want to be a cow puncher.”

Indeed, he’d worked enough cattle drives in his younger days to know he’d never be a rancher. Besides, engineering was in his blood. He loved the challenge of building something to withstand the strains of its function.

She sighed and looked toward the expanse of bridge. “Or a husband.”

“Ah lass, I do noot need the added responsibility.” He gave her a gentle smile. “Besides, I travel from site to site. ’Twould noot be a pleasant life for a woman.”

“So tell me the truth. What scares the men most? Me or raising someone else’s child?”

“Both, lass.” Ach, how could he make her understand? “Men like to do the chasing. It’s the natural order of things. You’ve taken that pleasure away from them.”

“I haven’t the time to play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.” She wiped her hands on her apron, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles, and shot him a speculative look.

Game? She thought marriage was a game? Kane wanted to throttle her. “Fine, lassie, but you woon’t be getting married when no mon will have you.”

Firelight caught the sparks of anger in her eyes. He tensed, ready for her heated words. Instead, she approached, her gaze intent and her stride full of purpose. She grabbed his neckerchief and tugged until their noses came close to touching. “You can’t say challenging words without paying the price.”

Before Kane responded, she planted soft lips upon his. His eyes flew wide, and his breath caught. Aye, but she was a bold lass to initiate such a kiss. She punished him with her lips, forcing him to respond. He grasped her shoulders, whether to push her away or pull her closer, he didn’t know. He was caught between both desires. She took the decision from him as she pressed her body against his. Saints preserve, what is the lassie thinking? Kissing a man in broad daylight with the whole camp watching. He wrapped his arms around her, relishing the taste of her lips.