Independence Day Blog Hop

 

http://booknibbles.com/blogtour/

It's finally here. Time for the Independence Day blog hop! Tons of amazing books are up for grabs, and for those who've stopped by, I'm offering up an X-rated excerpt of my latest release Ex Appeal, now available at TWRP and on Amazon Kindle. It's one of the prizes you can win, so hope you enjoy! And most of all, Happy Independence Day!

Ex Appeal Blurb:

As the webmistress for one of the Northeast’s hottest dating sites, Hunk Du Jour, Jenny Talbot is no stranger to reading the applications of potential clients. But when the latest application that crosses her inbox belongs to Ty Randall, the guy she broke up with a mere twenty-seven days ago, she does a double take. Reading what Ty wants in bed not only gets Jenny hot, it also makes her rethink ending their relationship. All she longed for was a little more spice in the bedroom—okay, a lot more—but he let her go without an argument. Faced with the possibility that Ty may really be moving on, getting her ex back becomes more appealing than ever. But will revealing exactly what she needs allow Jenny to finally experience ultimate pleasure or will she drive away the man she loves for good?

Ex Appeal Excerpt:

“You’ve got a lot of nerve.” She shoved her dripping hair out of her eyes. Eyes that were now thankfully bone dry. Anger always had that effect on her.

“And we’ve got a lot of time to make up for.” Ty bent over, then tossed the pink bag from Adult Playland onto her lap. Out bobbed cranberry lace and satin and the erotic crayons she hadn’t yet shown him. “You want to be tied up?”

For some reason, she blushed. “You’re making me feel like a naughty child.”

“I won’t say what you make me feel like.” Flashing her a thin smile, he pawed through her purchases with absolutely no finesse. Might as well have been digging through the sandbox. “Here we go. Over the door. Hooks and straps and this little silk nightie for me to tear to shreds with my teeth.”

Because that particular image made her want to squirm, Jenny sank her fingers into the pillows scattered across the bed. “What about you, huh? Mr. Sex on the Beach? You have fantasies, too. Why can’t we enjoy them together?” When he didn’t say anything, she lifted her chin and met his gaze squarely. “I thought it would be fun. Something new. An experiment. Doesn’t mean I’m a pervert, and it doesn’t mean your cock isn’t more than enough to get me off. When’d you get so damned old, Randall?”

Though he didn’t answer right away, the flare in his dark eyes warned anything was possible. Then he jerked her up to a kneeling position and said close to her ear, “I’m tying you up.”

She shivered as her nipples budded and strained him. Again. Between those words said in his heated caramel voice, those fall-into-me eyes, and his forceful grip on her shoulders, she felt hotter than a roman candle. Lit and ready to blow. Even so, all of a sudden, she had no desire to be bound. But that didn’t mean she didn’t have a damn good use for the item he still held. She cupped his cheek and shuddered from just the sensation of his stubble against her palm. So damned sexy. She wanted to feel that stubble everywhere. Against her breasts, low on her belly.

Rubbing against her pussy. She flicked her tongue over his lips and reveled in the fire that leapt into his gaze. “No, Ty, I’ll be the one tying you up.”

Blog Hop tour prizes:

Choice of backlist by Olivia Brynn
Intimate Strangers by Gem Sivad
Midnight's Ghost by Sara Brooks
$5 MBaM gift certificate from Hailey Edwards
Winner's choice of backlist by Trina M. Lee
Star Spangled Kiss, (Kissin Cops 2) by Christa Page
Scent of the Roses by PG Forte
The Virtuous Vampire by Monette Michaels
Winner's choice of backlist by Juniper Bell
Winner's choice of backlist by Tina Holland
Copy of First Heat by Jocelyn Modo
An autographed copy of The Cowboy Way from Tori Richards
Ex Appeal by Cari Quinn
Witch Hunter by Lyn Armstrong
Felicia's Fling by Jolie Cain
Winner's choice of backlist by Dee Carney
Winner's choice by Tina Donahue (info via email)
Rhythm of Love by J. Hali Steele
Sacred Secrets by Roxy Harte
Winner's choice of backlist by Elise Logan
One Wilde Night by Rhonda Leah
The Omegas by Annie Nicholas
The Bargain by Desiree Holt
A package of goodies from Nina's Prize Closet.

Release Day Introspection

Normally on a release day, an author pimps their book and advises for everyone to go buy. I will do that, but it'll be at the end of this post. A good friend of mine, J.A. Saare, also has a release today, Crimson Moon, that you absolutely have to go pick up. She's an amazing writer and this book is really a book of her heart.

But before I get to the hardcore pimpage, I wanted to post a little about writing, and insecurities, and how for every step you take, it seems like you take a half-step back. Sometimes more. Either you get less-than-complimentary scores in a contest or difficult edits from a CP or editor or agent, or maybe a scathing review. Or even one not so scathing. As my CP Taryn Elliot and I like to say, "nothing is worse than meh." I'd almost rather you hate something I wrote than feel nothing.

And sometimes the step back is that you lose the connection with the stories you're writing. We all want to make a little money and get a little attention for our work. Writer's prerogative, right? But what happens when you forget the point? When the stories stop being meaningful to you, when your characters become a vehicle for you to get where you want to go as an author...that's scary. And it happens, because I know it's happened to me.

Not with Ex Appeal. No, Ty and Jenny came out kicking and screaming and wouldn't have relented until their story was told. But it's happened to me with other things I've written in the past. I like parts of them, but the original thread of why I wrote them became lost. It also means that now that I know I sometimes lose sight of the end goal, I need to be super-vigilant. The end goal is to become better at my craft, while hopefully entertaining people, along with supporting myself and my family. And to tell the stories that matter. To me, first of all. If I ever feel "meh" about what I'm writing for more than a little while, either something needs to be fixed in the story or I wasn't supposed to be writing that one anyway. Regardless if my head wants to write it, my heart needs to be involved in the process too.

Having confidence in yourself as a writer is a tough thing - and worse, it's not static. You can be flying high this morning and on a one-way-trip to crapsville tonight. But part of becoming confident in your words is trusting yourself that you can keep your promises and deliver the story you've agreed to. As authors, we're offering a sort of guarantee to our readers. "Buy my book, and you'll get 7.99 worth of enjoyment from me." Well, that's not good enough. I've phoned it in before, because I'm human. You get tired and sick of your story. Maybe your CP isn't available or you're not sure she'll like your latest offering so you don't bother sending it to her (red flag, btw.) So parts of that book become your best at that minute, when maybe you could have given just a bit more.

Well, I'm reaching for more. Truthfully, I needed to give myself this lecture. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and undercapable at the moment, so my way of combating that is to come clean and man up. Honesty is one of our greatest tools, and maybe some other writers understand what I mean. I can't claim not to know my tendencies to give "good enough" when excellence is the only good enough there is. And really, what better day is there than a release day to declare you'll only give your readers your best?

With all THAT out of the way... ;)

Today is Ex Appeal's release day from The Wild Rose Press's Wilder Roses. It's now live here. I love this story, I love the cover - which really fits Jenny and Ty to a T - and I never once forgot my connection with these characters. They weren't about to let me use and abuse them, that's for sure. Here's the blurb:

As the webmistress for one of the Northeast’s hottest dating sites, Hunk Du Jour, Jenny Talbot is no stranger to reading the applications of potential clients. But when the latest application that crosses her inbox belongs to Ty Randall, the guy she broke up with a mere twenty-seven days ago, she does a double take. Reading what Ty wants in bed not only gets Jenny hot, it also makes her rethink ending their relationship. All she longed for was a little more spice in the bedroom—okay, a lot more—but he let her go without an argument. Faced with the possibility that Ty may really be moving on, getting her ex back becomes more appealing than ever. But will revealing exactly what she needs allow Jenny to finally experience ultimate pleasure or will she drive away the man she loves for good?

I'll be posting teaser excerpts over the next few weeks. Won't be hard to find some, because believe you me, Jenny definitely knows how to get Ty all stirred up!

And I also mentioned J.A. Saare's Crimson Moon is releasing today from The Wild Rose Press. Another incredible story from an author who gets better with each book. And I love this cover too!

To celebrate my release day, I'm hanging out with my good friend, the amazingly talented author Lynne Roberts, on her blog. We'd love to see you!

Ex Appeal has a release date!

...and it's June 25th! I'm really excited for Ty and Jenny's story to hit the virtual shelves. I'm about a third through the third and final Hunk Du Jour story, Giving It Up, which I hope to have finished in the next couple months. Since I'm also writing a few *cough, cough* other stories, progress is coming in fits and starts. I'm thinking of adding WIP counters back on the sidebar to track my progress, but they will take up half the side of the page!

In other news, my good friend Laurann Dohner has convinced me to give creating my own - very, very basic - website a go. Once I'm a bit more established, I'll hire someone to do it up right, but this will start me off. Once I have it up and running, I'll let you all know!

In the meantime, is it June 25th yet?

Ex Appeal's Cover!

I'm very excited to share this with all of you, because I LOVE this cover. I'm so thrilled I was able to choose the picture to represent Jenny and Ty and hopefully it does them justice.

Here's Ex Appeal's finalized blurb: 

As the webmistress for one of the Northeast’s hottest dating sites, Hunk Du Jour, Jenny Talbot is no stranger to reading the applications of potential clients. But when the latest application that crosses her inbox belongs to Ty Randall,  the guy she broke up with a mere twenty-seven days ago, she does a double take. Reading what Ty wants in bed not only gets Jenny hot, it also makes her rethink ending their relationship. All she longed for was a little more spice in the bedroom—okay, a lot more—but he let her go without an argument. Faced with the possibility that Ty may really be moving on, getting her ex back becomes more appealing than ever. But will revealing exactly what she needs allow Jenny to finally experience ultimate pleasure or will she drive away the man she loves for good?

We're working on edits now and I'll be sure to let everyone know when I have a release date.  

So what do you think? Do you like the cover too?