Nookie Island is complete

Wow! In a minute I'm going to refresh my memory about what the real world looks like. Just now I'm wallowing in the fleeting joy of having finished another book. Nookie Island started off so well, but it's kicked my butt continuously as I've worked my way forward. Originally, I planned to finish this back in December. Well, fate conspired, so here I am at the end of January, three days away from my deadline, just sneaking it in under the wire.

Do you want to know the really scary bit?

It's already available for pre-order on Amazon! And believe me, that fact has been spurring me on for the last few weeks. It always makes me nervous when a book I haven't finished writing is listed, even as a pre-order.
You can check it out here  [UK]and here [US].

Reviewers Choice Award

Just emerging from my crushingly close deadline for Vanilla to let you know that I've received a Reviewers Choice Award from TwoLipsReviews for my novel, Enticement. Look see, a pretty to display too.

PS: Both Anything But Vanilla and Gabriel's Naughty Game are available for pre-order on Amazon.

Book List 2011

• Yokan - Noise, Makoto Tateno
• Yokan - Premonition, Makoto Tateno
• Lord of Misrule, Rachel Caine
• Simply Forbidden, Kate Pearce
• Lost Gods, Kim Knox
• Monica's Secret, Saskia Walker
• Manwich, Sedonia Guillone
• Naked, Megan Hart
• Unlocked, Courtney Milan
• A Touch of Dead, Charlaine Harris
• Forbidden Heat, Opal Carew
• Anchor and Storm, Kate Poole
• The Dark Enquiry, Deanna Raybourn
• Break Out, Nina Croft
• Dead Reckoning, Charlaine Harris
• The Choirmaster, Justine Elyot
• Splendid Captivity, Brita Addams
• Forbidden, Karen Erickson
• Tempted, Megan Hart
• Spying in High Heels, Gemma Halliday
• Power of Three, Portia Da Costa
• Past Pleasures, Charlotte Stein
• Maiden Lane, Lynne Connolly
• Half Blind (beta) Christine Price
• Hareton Hall, Lynne Connolly
• Eyton, Lynne Connolly
• Harley Street, Lynne Connolly
• Venice, Lynne Connolly
• Devonshire, Lynne Connolly
• Yorkshire, Lynne Connolly
• The Debutante's Dilemma, Elyse Mady
• Regency Nights, Kitti Bernetti
• Behind the Duke's Door, Lynne Silver
• Grace Under Fire, Jackie Barbosa
• Butterfly Swords, Jeannie Lin
• Lover Unleashed, JR Ward
• Shadowfever, Karen Marie Moning
• Delicious Love Triangle (beta), Sedonia Guillone
• The Rest Falls Away, Colleen Gleason
• Breath of Heaven, Cindy Holby
• The Duke's Captive, Adele Ashworth
• The Taking, Erin McCarthy
• The Wish List,Gabi Stevens
• A Certain Wolfish Charm, Lydia Dare
• Too Wicked to Kiss, Erica Ridley
• Promise of Ice (beta), Christine Price

Blood Moon - at very long last.

I've been sitting on this cover for a few weeks waiting until I had the text edits back before announcing the release. Finally, after several years in the making, I'll be releasing Blood Moon (aka the Bloody Book) in early January 2012.

Here's the extremely gorgeous cover, which is so perfect that I can't recommend or thank Kim Killion of HotDamn Designs nearly enough.She was a dream to work with, and produced my favourite book cover (of my books) ever. Everything about it is perfect, from the backdrop to the representations of the characters.

Marked and prophesized to be the demon prince reborn, Blaze Makaresh, an impulsive loner, is on the run from the youkai, demons who wish to claim him, and the Talon, their ruthless hunters. Only one person is prepared to help keep him alive and sane--Asha Lemarche, a cold and lovely ex-demon hunter with an addition to Blood Rain, a demon derived drug that heightens sexual pleasure. Blaze has until the Blood Moon rises to thwart his enemies, or risk the subjugation of the entire human race, but at what cost to himself and those closest to him?

Bound

Determined to keep Blaze human, but hooked on the taste of him, Asha is forced to reasses her position when their human foes outnumber their demons ones tenfold and the only safe haven lies on the other side of the Division Bridge in the demon realm.

Captured

Asha's life is on the line, but the fierce sexual attraction that binds her to Blaze may prove to be the riskiest part of all,leading to a transformation none of them predicted.

Where I'm At.

The last month has been crazy, and that's without going into the details of my non-writing life. If I added those it, I think the polite term would be mental. The impolite term isn't printable. However, sticking to the writing front... crazy, yeah.

Let's see,

•  I've had the cover for my Spice Briefs outing, Gabriel's Naughty Game, due in Feb 2012.
•  I've signed a contract with Total-E-Bound for another contemporary menage novella, called Sharing Adam which is going to appear in one of their anthologies.
•  I've signed on the dotted line with a super seckrit publisher, after some negotiations who will be publishing Nookie Island (though not under that title) in 2012. Speaking of which, I really do need to make that deadline. 10K to go folks.
•  I've parted company with my agent. Kind of sad about that, but it makes more sense in terms of the markets I'm looking at currently.
• The Bloody Book, actual title Blood Moon is currently been edited and is due for release shortly.
• Kim Killion of HotDamn Designs has created a totally gorgeous cover for Blood Moon that I think I may actually love it the best out of all the covers I've ever had.
• I've put together a short story written by my kids for Mr Madelynne's birthday. It hasn't been released, but it is wonderful in a way that only stories written by children can be.
• We Were Lovers Once is currently free at most sites that aren't Amazon.
• Oh, and I'm still debating the future of my Romps & Rakehells novellas.

All in all, far too much to think about at once. Especially as it means that in the first half of 2012 I can currently look forward to

• edits on 4 projects. You know they're going to arrive at once.
• Working on The Bloody Book 2, which also has Moon in the title.
• Actually writing the proposal for a second project to go to the seckrit publisher, rather than the vague idea I've so far presented.
• Finally writing AGW3.
• Getting my act together over Romps & Rakehells.
• Actually doing something with the half written novel on my hard drive. I'm considering posting it as a serial on my blog. Opinions on that idea are very welcome.
• Oh, and sorting out what I'm going to do with the second half for 2012.

 What have the rest of you planned for next year?

30 Days of Christmas

I'm over at Lex Valentine's blog today, where you can comment for a chance to win a copy of Three Times the Scandal as well as books by Lex Valentine and Karenna Colcroft.

Naughty Games & Cover pretties

Here it is. Hot off the press. The cover for my first, and sadly only Spice Brief.

Gabriel's Naughty Game
Pub Date: Feb 2012, Harlequin Spice Briefs
ISBN: 978-1-459-22141-3

“I want to see you with another guy.”

When Gabriel tells me his fantasy, I want to laugh it off, pretend it’s a joke. But I know it isn’t—he’s serious. I’m all for a little daring in the bedroom, but this is too risky. It gets even worse when Gabriel reveals who he wants me to sleep with: Nye, the only other man who’s ever tempted me.

I soon realize there’s more to Gabriel’s game than simple voyeurism. But whatever Gabriel wants, Gabriel gets….

 

Highs and Lows

... or maybe that should be lows and highs. I attended a family wedding over the weekend. First disaster was on arrival. Mr Madelynne, kids and I all get safely into our hotel room only for Mr Madelynne to ask, "Where's my jacket?" 


To which I replied, "Isn't it in the car?"

NOPE! It's only still hanging up still at home several hundred miles away.

He spent the next hour and a half doing a whirlwind tour of the supermarkets in order to find something other than socks and pants to wear, since the reception was being held in a gorgeous fortified priory, I don't think jeans and a tatty old jumper would have cut it.

Then the car died on the return journey. We think it's the engine. I'm pretending everything is fine...toobedoobedoo. Haven't cancelled Christmas quite yet as we're still waiting to hear from the garage.

However, to make up for it a little bit. I've had three... count them, three... reviews in the JERR newsletter this month, and all by different reviewers. I did glance through squinting to begin with, but I needn't have worried on this occasion.

Enticement = 5 stars. "What a fantastic book!"

Indiscretions = 4 stars. "For those who love a fast paced saucy historical full of ambience, that brings a by-gone era alive, then Indiscretions is the story for you."

Three Times the Scandal = 5 stars. "Three Times the Scandal has a mixture of laughter, tears, scandal, suspense and love all mixed together making a perfect sexy historical read."

Visit JERR to read the full reviews.

Midway Mayhem

View of Fort Clonque (Nookie Island)

Nookie Island is on pause at 51K. For various reasons including having cold, school holidays and natural writing flow. The prose had begun to stall and the character motivations were becoming rather woolly. I really ought to know better than to think I can write an entire first draft without revisiting anything. Hence, I'm taking a break from getting words down this week in order to edit what I've already written. Hopefully by tightening up what I have, I'll find it easier to move forward. The other added bonus is that I love editing far more than I enjoy creating a first draft.

I've revised the work plan for 2012 to slightly more realistic levels now, having incorporated mid-book editing timing. I'm still hoping to write the best part of four novels next year. I'm sick of having all these books hanging around that I never seem to get to.

Currently on the schedule. AGW3, The 2nd Bloody Book, a contemporary erotic novel, a couple of historical novelettes, a SciFi novella and an Edwardian mystery.

Oh, and fingers crossed WE WERE LOVERS ONCE will soon be available on Smashwords and their affiliates, assuming I haven't mucked up the formatting requirements.

Sniffles

I'm full of stinking cold at the moment. Stinking because it's one of those stealth bugs that fools you into thinking you're well when you're not. It came out of nowhere on Friday and turned my throat into a prickly hedgehog, annihilated a few brain cells and then pretty much disappeared again. Now, it's sudden returned and installed trapdoors in my sinuses that make it virtually impossible to breath regardless of whether the darn things are open or closed. Closed beats the leaky tap effect of them being open.

Hence, it's no wonder I'm a little down on my word count goal (only 1000 words). It's so hard to write sexy stuff when you're a walking germ mine. That said, the shortfall could also be attributed to my fascination with the projects that are supposed to be waiting in the wings. I did a bit of outlining on one of those projects yesterday, which is gearing up to be a three guys/one girl situation. Though possibly not on a permanent basis.

I'm still seeing flashes of the SF thing I'm contemplating too, along with snapshots of Vaughan et al. One of the things I want to get done soon is to drag out my notebooks from when I was writing Phantasmagoria and go through the notes/scenes I wrote for AGW3 at the time. I'm also toying with the idea of writing a Xmas story from Lucerne's point of view to post on my blog during advent. I was going to do that last year, which perhaps gives you and idea of how slowly things sometimes move.

Okay, need to get out of bed now. Kiddies Halloween party looms. At least I'll blend in with the other zombies.