Sunday, June 30, 2013

Reader Retreat in October!

A Readers’ Event!
Come out to the hottest readers’ conference in the west! ~ Hot Mojave Knights ~ Meet popular bloggers and great authors – including the creators of the Double D Ranch Tales: C.R. Moss & RM Sotera. Make new friends. Hang out with gorgeous male models – the Knights of the Mojave! ~
Las Vegas, NV - October 2013 ~ http://www.hotmojaveknights.com/



Publisher Submission Call-Grimoire Books (Imprint line from Secret Cravings)

Grimoire Books

Grimoire Books, a division of Secret Cravings Publishing, is dedicated to producing quality fiction of the sci-fi and fantasy genres while providing a pleasant publishing experience for readers and authors alike. We accept works of any sub-genre, short and long, that fall under the sci-fi/fantasy umbrella*. While we are primarily an e-book publisher, all of our novels over 50,000 words will also be offered in print format. Our e-books are published in a variety of formats, specifically EPUB, MOBI, LIT, HTML and PDF.

Our standard 40% of the cover price is paid monthly based on gross e-book sales. We pay 30% on gross third party sales. Our terms of contract are for the standard three years and require full digital. 35% royalties will be paid on copies purchased directly from our printer 20% will be paid on print copies sold through Amazon. Contracts are negotiable.

Authors are not required to pay for any editing or promotional services. We are not a vanity press or self-publishing company.

We are seeking high quality original short stories, novellas, and novels that have never been published before, at a minimum of 5,000 words. We do, however, accept reprints and self-published works. You must show us your terminated agreement(s) and letter stating your termination with whomever you have published with in the past.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please notify us in your query if you have submitted your manuscript to other companies as well as ours.

All manuscripts must be formatted with 12 Times New Roman font, 1.5 spaced, 0.3 indent and please include your name, address and email address on your manuscript. Although we have editors on staff to make your book ready to publish, please self-edit your manuscripts before submitting them for consideration. Also, please make sure your name and contact information is on your manuscript when submitting; we will not accept a submission with no contact information.

Manuscripts with graphic content should be specifically marked as such and all authors must be over the age of 18.

Please send query letter with your contact information, word count, synopsis, and completed manuscript to 
mailto:beckyhollada%40secretcravingspublishing.com. If you do not receive aconfirmation email stating we have received your manuscript, please resend it.

If you have questions about the company, please feel free to email
mailto:publisher%40secretcravingspublishing.com or mailto:submissions%40grimoirebooks.net
. We would be more than happy to give you information about the company, our experience and our plans for promotion and distribution.

* Please note that all romantic fantasy submissions should have fantasy as the primary genre, not romance. Submissions which are primarily romance should be sent to Secret Cravings Publishing for consideration. 


 
 

J.T. Cheyanne’s “Grand Slam” VBT Stop/Contest

Grand Slam by J.T. Cheyanne
Gay Erotic Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Laz & Lachi Publications, LLC
Release Date: April 20, 2013
Heat Level: Sizzling
Length: 165 pages

Available at:

Description:
All of his life, Spencer Hightower dreamed of playing baseball in the Major Leagues. He survived growing up gay in rural Alabama due to his impressive skill on the baseball diamond. Now living in Rhode Island and playing for the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox, he's only a few steps away from his goal.

Brock Kinkaid, CPA, faced each day with a smile that hid his deepest desire. He wanted to be a father. Unfortunately, the gay men he knew were not into the daddy scene. Resigned to being childless, he lavished his attention on his niece and nephew. When Corey won tickets to see the local baseball team in action, they suckered him into taking them despite the fact he loathed the game. Who would have guessed one home run ball would change everything?

Warning: This title is intended for readers over the age of 18 as it contains explicit sex scenes and/or situations and adult language, and may be considered offensive to some readers.

Reviews:

5/5 Stars
"This is the sweet story of a minor league baseball player, Spencer, whose entire life goal has been to make it to the Big Show, the major leagues, and his love interest Brock, loving brother, uncle and numbers cruncher, who wants nothing more than to have a family of his own. They meet, start dating, fall in love and hit a bunch of obstacles during the progression of this book and then, just when you think it can't get any better, author J.T. Cheyanne hits us with an epilogue worthy of double rainbows and puppies playing in a field of wild flowers that would never even think of causing anyone an allergic reaction. Throw in the fact that the sex was off-the-charts and the romance was shy and touching and these two actually courted instead of just falling into bed right away, and I can really, truly HIGHLY RECOMMEND Grand Slam to all my M/M romance friends.”--Jen, Amazon Reviewer

5/5 Stars
"JT's approach to being gay within the huge media circus of sport was brilliant. I loved the Spencer and Brock are very proud of their sexuallity and refuse to hide it. Their love for each other was very sweet and at times made my heart race. I love the flow of the story and the sexual chemistry between them was breathtaking. Congratulations JT you should be very proud!"--Laz, Amazon Reviewer


Teaser Excerpt:

Anna Kate stood beside them an arm wrapped around each leg. She beamed up at them.

“When you gets married, can I be the flower girl? I want a really pretty dress that goes all the way to the floor and has lots of ruffles. It don’t has to be pink, ‘cause I know boys don’t like pink.” Her head swiveled back and forth. “Can I, please?”

Brock crouched beside the girl and Spencer mimicked his pose.

“Anna, baby. Spencer is my boyfriend, that doesn’t mean we’re getting married. We have to get to know each other a little better.”

“But, I wants him to be my Unca Spencer. I like him and he makes you smile when he kisses you. He doesn’t make you upset like that bad Nolan did.” Small hands cupped her uncle’s cheeks. “I really, really want that dress, Unca Brock, and Mommy will have to buy it if you gets married.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “You know, I can’t wait for her to gets married because hell is made of fire and she said it would be frozen before she gots married again.”

The burst of laughter exploded before Spencer thought to stop it. Brock’s lips twitched as he struggled to maintain a straight face. “Well then, sweetheart, if I get married, I promise you’ll get to pick the dress you want.”

Happy, the youngster patted her uncle’s cheek.

Blond curls swiveled and a flushed cherub cheek pressed against Spencer’s cheek. “Will you buy me a candy bar?”

Both men stood, took a hand and joined the line. Fifteen dollars later, they stepped away from the counter.

“Thanks Unca Spencer. Don’t tell mommy you boughts it. She said it would ruin my dinner.” With a giggle, she darted off behind the bleachers to play, chocolate firmly in hand. Stunned, Spencer stared after her.

“Did I just get played by a four-year-old?”

Brock laughed and moved in the direction of the bleachers. “Yeah, you did.”

About the Author

After a lifetime of reading and at the suggestion of friends, J.T. finally put fingers to keys and started writing her own stories. It's been a wildly amazing ride full of tears, exhilaration and plain old hard work. Thankfully, her three beautiful children support her craziness and encourage her to continue something she loves. While they both have solo work, J.T. also writes with V.L. Moon and she thrives on the work they do together. What a small world it is indeed Mr. Disney when a small town girl from Alabama can find and write with a big city girl from England. What a ride it has been and continues to be!

Connect with J.T. Cheyanne


GIVEAWAY INFO:Prize is 5 eBook copies (1 each to 5 winners) of “Grand Slam” from J.T. Cheyanne. Contest is tour-wide and ends July 5. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

Fill out the raffelcopter to be entered. You can find all the tour stops at http://www.cblspromotions.com/2013/06/booktour-grand-slam-by-jt-cheyanne.html


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Blog Stop for Sylvia Ryan’s Being Amber

Being Amber (New Atlanta #1) by Sylvia Ryan
Erotic Futuristic Romance
Category: Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian
Publisher: Lyrical Press, Inc.
Release Date: March 27, 2013
Heat Level: Sizzling
Word Count: 69,000

Available at:

Description:
Both danger and sex are inescapable in the Amber Zone.

Jaci Harmon was born a Sapphire, but after she’s summoned to receive her final designation, the testing reveals she carries a gene slated for eradication. Within a day, she’s sterilized and dumped in the Amber Zone, where the damaged are corralled away from the rest of New Atlanta. Scared and alone, Jaci would rather die than face her future as an Amber.

Born in the Amber Zone, Xander Dimos is a product of a lifetime spent under the oppression of the Repopulation Laws. Decades of suffering have taught the Ambers to make the zone a place where touch, sex, and unconditional acceptance ease the pain of their fate. Jaci has a lot to learn about her new home, and it’s Xander’s responsibility to guide her through the differences and the dangers safely.

With the simmering undercurrents of sexual chemistry growing between them, and in the midst of discovering the Gov’s true motives, Jaci and Xander must overcome his secret and accept their love as undeniable…even if the time allotted to share it is short.

Warning: This title is intended for readers over the age of 18 as it contains explicit sex scenes and/or situations (including BDSM, light bondage, anal play, sex toys, and f/f/m and m/f/m menage) and adult language, and may be considered offensive to some readers.

Book Trailer:


Excerpt:

She was a mess. After filling a bowl with warm water and grabbing a washrag, he began cleaning her. With a tentative hand, he tenderly wiped her face with the warm water, washing away the blood under her nose and the grime from her cheeks. His hands trembled with unreleased rage that he forced himself to push away as he continued his task. But that emotion was quickly replaced by another. His throat tightened, the muscles squeezed away his ability to swallow. He cut her shirt off so as not to disturb the IV in her arm. Earlier, he saw the ripped shirt, but his mind, at the time, rejected the direction of that train of thought. But now, he let himself go there. If they’d raped her…

Tears rolled silently down his face while he methodically cleaned her arms and torso. Her wrists were marred by deep bruises and worn away skin from being cuffed too tightly and for too long. When he cleaned the dried blood on the inside of her arm and found the needle mark underneath, the sudden surge of rage that he felt made him want to kill. They drugged her.

This had not been ‘questioning’, this had been plain, old school torture. His hands were shaking as he finished her arms and upper body. He dumped the dirty water in the kitchen sink and refilled the bowl before returning to her.

He braced himself for what he might find when he took off her pants, but he found that the bottom half of her body was in much better condition than the top. As he cleaned her, relief dulled his anger. They’d not let her go to the bathroom. Her pants were stiff with dried urine. But otherwise, she seemed untouched everywhere below the waist.

He dumped the dirty water and pulled off his own clothes. Gingerly, he lay down next to her and pulled her to him. He curled the full length of his body around her to give her the comfort and healing of his touch. He covered as much of her skin as possible with his and held her without moving underneath the soft blanket of their bed.

For hours, he relished the feeling of his skin on hers as well  the even in-and-out of her breaths. What a dumbass he’d been trying to keep her at arms length. It took almost losing her to truly understand the huge part of his heart she owned, and to realize how much of his life was her now.

She was his. He would not leave her vulnerable again.

It was then, in those quiet hours of holding her in his arms, that Xander was finally able to think past getting Jaci back and start considering the larger implications of the events that had taken place. The Gov would expect that Amber authorities had been mollified by Jaci’s return.

He wasn’t. This time was different from every other injustice the Gov had done to Amber. This time they had concrete proof of the Gov’s outright murder of Ambers.

They were growing dangerously brazen after more than two decades of the population’s utter submission to their authority.

The Gov’s absolute authority needed to happen during the dire circumstances immediately following the pandemic. They needed control and cooperation to do the things necessary to create order, provide for basic needs, and protect the survivors flocking to the city.

But their society wasn’t struggling like it had been twenty-five years ago. The genetic qualities that were near extinction back then, were thriving now.

Many of these restrictions, these measures to safeguard humanity, were no longer necessary. If the Gov went unchecked by its citizens much longer, the United States would no longer be a democracy. The country wouldn’t grow as it did the first time when settlers in covered wagons set out to populate the land beyond the borders of their cities. It would be a military dictatorship that never loosened its control over the population.

The more he thought about it, the more he was willing to bet that the Gov controlled the lives of all its citizens, from Ambers to Diamonds, in more ways than anybody realized. The fury faded and determination gathered within him. Changes needed to be made. Now was the time to start.

He looked down at his woman, caressed the hair away from her cheek. Xander was overcome by the intense love he felt for her. He understood why Amber women gave up control, gave up authority to the men around them. Without that small submission, every man in Amber would be impudent with no control on any aspect of their lives. It was a true gift and it was time that the men took that gift and did something with it, did something to truly protect their females, themselves, and their country.

About the Author

Sylvia lives the life of a run-of-the-mill wife, mother, and professional in Midwest Suburbia, USA. She reads voraciously and loves to lose herself and fall head over heels for the alpha males in her favorite novels.

When she gets the chance to shed the prim and proper persona of average wife and mother, her secret identity, Sylvia Ryan, emerges. This alter ego strives to write original ideas in extraordinary settings for her readers to remember long after the book has been read. Her dream is to transform her racy thoughts and naughty nature into tangible works of erotic fantasy for others’ secret identities to enjoy.

Connect with Sylvia Ryan


GIVEAWAY INFO:Prize is 5 eBook copies (1 each to 5 winners) of “Being Amber (New Atlanta #1)” from Sylvia Ryan. Contest is tour-wide and ends July 5. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
Fill out the raffelcopter to be entered. Make sure to follow the tour and enter at the other stops: http://www.cblspromotions.com/2013/06/booktour-being-amber-new-atlanta-1-by.html



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Saturday, June 29, 2013

Release Blitz for Random Acts of Crazy

Random Acts of Crazy by Julia Kent

Review snippets:
USA Today Bestseller! 346 pages

Top 20 ebook in the entire Nook store -- Top 5 New Adult book on Amazon --Top 5 Romantic Comedy on Amazon -- All Romance eBook bookstore Best Seller


"It was funny and irreverant like Wallbanger, but deep and moving like Barbara Elsbourg's Strangers. That is a tough mix to pull off. I should warn you though, this book should come with a surgeon general's warning: 'Do not start this book if you have any where to be, anything to do or need to pretend to be remotely interested in conversations with breathing human beings that are not currently also reading this book.' Enjoy!" -- Amazon reader review

"Random Acts of Crazy one of the best if not the best books I've read in a long time. Could not put it down. I laugh so hard my side hurt. Thank God I didn't pee myself!! Congratulations on such an awesome read." -- Goodreads reader review

"Be warned, this is not your mother's romance. It's hard and gritty and smacks you in the face like that burst of heat when you first open an oven door, which is exactly what makes it a  refreshing change from a typical sticky sweet love story." -- Featured Staff Pick from Cat at All Romance eBooks

Blurb:

I never intended to pick up a naked hitchhiker wearing nothing but a guitar. A guitar. Really. I don't collect guys like that (don't ask what kind of guys I do collect), but when you spot a blonde, tanned, sculpted man with a gorgeous smile and his thumb poking up and practically begging you to stop - you stop.

And I definitely never thought I'd be staring into the bright blue eyes of Trevor Connor, the lead singer for Random Acts of Crazy, an indie rock star I followed like the slobbering fileshare fangirl I am. How he came to be nude and lost six hundred miles from home is quite the tale, but how we fell in love is even more unreal.

Because someone like Trevor Connor, headed to Harvard Law next year, isn't supposed to want someone like me, a rural Ohio chick majoring in Boredom at Convenience Store University who is all curves and frizzy blonde hair and manners so unpolished they have sharp edges that make you bleed.
But he did.

When his best friend, Joe Ross, the bass player for Random Acts of Crazy and a man who makes Calvin Klein models look like Shrek, drove eleven hours through the night to rescue him, though, it got real complicated. It's one thing to like two different guys and be torn.

What do you do, though, when maybe - just maybe - you don't have to choose?

As my Aunt Josie says sometimes, "It's always complicated."
Available from:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iTunes
Kobo
Bookstrand
All Romance eBooks
Smashwords

* * * * * *
Random Acts of Crazy is a standalone, full-length novel (300+ pages, 85,000 words) featuring Darla Jo(sephine) Jennings, the 22-year-old niece of Josie Mendham from the Her Two Billionaires series. It has, like many New Adult novels, an exploration of sexuality for the three main characters, doesn't shy away from mature content, and Darla has a sailor's mouth.

******
About the Author

Julia Kent turned to writing romance novels after learning that she could not work as a fighter pilot because her fear of flying disqualified her. Turning to her second love, she became a dog groomer, but had to abandon that job after adopting too many strays. Writing about very real, very flawed people is a natural extension of her life and, well, her. She lives on the east coast with her partner, two small children, seventeen dogs that weigh less than fifteen pounds each, and a monthly consumption of Nutella, brie and french bread that makes cardiologists cringe.
She is originally from Ohio.
She loves to hear from her readers by email at jkentauthor@gmail.com, on Twitter @jkentauthor, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/julia.kent.100. Visit my blog at http://jkentauthor.blogspot.com


Friday, June 28, 2013

Book Spotlight~ PLAYING HOOKY

PLAYING HOOKY (TEACH ME TONIGHT #1) by Lily Rede & Jane Gaudet

BLURB:

Middle school science teacher Molly Callahan is rebelling. For the first time in years, she’s skipping the annual family reunion and taking a real vacation to a tropical island, far from the exhausting Callahan clan and her sister-in-law’s enthusiastic attempts to set her up with her brother, famed anthropologist and writer Jack Roman – totally hot, totally obnoxious, and totally out of her league. Sun, sand, and maybe a little steamy island fling. Molly doesn’t count on her sister-in-law’s epic scheming, however, and is completely unprepared to find herself sharing paradise with the man she flew thousands of miles to avoid.

Jack Roman isn’t on vacation. His stay on this remote tropical island is all research, but how is he supposed to get anything done when maddeningly sexy Molly Callahan shows up to distract him? Suddenly, his research seems less important than making sure that the only man on the island she seduces is him. Summer heats up for Molly and Jack, but is this the basis for a relationship in the real world, or just a hot tropical romance that will burn up when reality comes knocking?

Teaser Excerpt:

“Now if it isn’t too much to ask, all I want to do is lie here, get a little buzzed off of fruity drinks with umbrellas in them, and entice one of those hot cabana boys to spend twenty minutes rubbing sunscreen into my back.”
Molly waggled the tube and scowled at him before turning her face away and settling her cheek against the towel, hoping he’d take the hint and scram. It was bad enough she had to share her island with him when he seemed determined to spoil every moment, but he didn’t have to stand so close, all muscled and hot and smelling of sand and sun and forbidden fruit.
Geeky forbidden fruit.
“You’re a menace, you know that?” Jack growled, but instead of stomping off as any sane person would have, he sat down on the edge of her chaise, plucked the tube of sunscreen from her fingers and unceremoniously squirted a large dollop in the middle of her back.
Molly screeched as the cool lotion sent a chill down her spine, but then Jack was tossing the tube away and she went rigid as his big, slightly rough hands pushed her hair off her back and began smoothing the sunscreen into her overheated flesh.
“What…what are you doing?” she asked inanely, but it was hard to think with fireworks going off under her skin.
“Just keeping you from taking advantage of the unsuspecting beach staff. Relax, I’m not going to bite.”
How could she relax when she was nearly naked and Jack was running his hands from her shoulders to the small of her back in tantalizing sweeps that filled her with unwelcome heat? Then he pressed his thumbs into either side of her spine, and Molly couldn’t help it. She melted like warm taffy, a soft moan escaping her lips as he massaged his way along her back.
“Like that, do you?” he muttered.
Odious man, Molly thought without rancor, God, his hands…
His thumbs rubbed firm circles into her lower back as he gripped her waist, and it felt incredible. She gripped the edges of the chaise as arousal tightened her nipples and her pussy throbbed. Relaxation morphed into desire, whether her brain cooperated or not.
“Such a tiny waist,” Jack breathed out, sounding irritated.
Molly was almost relieved when his hands moved north again, but had to bite her lip to stifle a gasp as she felt the back tie of her bikini give way.
Dangerous.
Was there even a point to pretending that this wasn’t the most erotic moment of her life? She was putty in his hands, and could only hold onto the chaise while Jack stroked and petted with slick fingers, letting his big hands brush the sides of her breasts and dip lightly under the waistband of her bikini bottoms.
Molly should pull away.
She should tell him to stop.
She should roll over and let him rub all the aching spots he missed.



About Lily Rede

Lily has been writing since she was ten. She lives steps from the beach with a bunch of semi-feral cats and two goofy dogs who are forever tracking sand into the house, but she loves them anyway. She has lived all over the world and jumped into writing full time when her cubicle city became too confining.

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.com/B00DC2A9GS

Thursday, June 27, 2013

WRITERS WRITE...WRITING PARTNERS FEUD ~ ARMADILLO LOVE???






The singular most important emotion a human spirit craves is to be loved.  It seeks it out.  It needs it.  It craves it.  Walk into any book store and check out the romance section, it dominates.  There is a reason for that which isn't just about sensual romance.  It goes back to that basic need that we long to be loved.  There are many romances that play down the aspects of sexuality, take that of a story about a boy and his armadillo, a generational family saga, even a story about war, all play the emotional gambit yet somewhere in each, you will find love, be it for a pet, a child, or your country.

The further we are from love, of feeling loved, of being loved, the more isolated we become, cynical sometimes, and at its worse a life without being loved can poison the body.  The closer any emotion comes to love, the more that emotion vitalizes and nourishes the body.  Negative emotions seep into our spirit and spread emotional distress that could actually make us ill.  Therefore, it is emphatically accurate to say that love can cultivate well-being, and in well-being there is joy. 

The human spirit constantly searches for that connection, that cannot be found in a new electronic toy, although, one wouldn't mind having that, or a cruise, or a piece of pecan pie.  Ok, maybe, the latter is true love.   Seriously, no material or emotional love in this world can touch us, encourage us, protect us, fulfill us, strengthen us, bless us, provide for us, care for us, feed us, house us, clothe us, or heal us like love that comes from inside us, love that we wish to share. 

As authors, we choose to share our love with the world though our writing.  In our books from Champagne Books and Carnal Passions, in each story, regardless of the genre, there is one truth, the characters have a basic need to love.  It isn't just the sexual attraction, or the culmination of that passion, but about the real reasons one loves.  It is about seeing through to their souls and knowing that their souls meld perfectly, that the yin of one cannot exist without the yang of the other. 

Some say the romance genre and erotica is just a disguise for soft porn.  We strenuously disagree, reading romance is partnering with love, championing it, recognizing the fact that love will win out, every time.  Maybe, that isn't always the truth of reality, but dang, isn't it wonderful that there is a place where we can play and know for certainly happily-ever-after does exist?







****

We'd love to hear from anyone interested in what we do. Anyone who writes us at writingteamcw@yahoo.com (Write - Blog Dawn - in subject line) and leaves an s-mail address, we will send you a gift and add you to any future mailings.

Angelica Hart and Zi
KILLER DOLLS ~ SNAKE DANCE ~
CHASING YESTERDAY ~ CHRISTMAS EVE...VIL
http://www.champagnebooks.com/

Vixen Bright and Zachary Zane
STEEL EMBRACE
BOOK NOOKIE-A LIBRARIAN'S BUIDE TO THE DO-ME DECIMAL SYSTEM 
http://www.carnalpassions.com/

THE FABLE OF SIN-SIN CINDERELLA Series
http://angelicahartandzi.com



Discover Good Half Gone today!

  GOOD HALF GONE Author: Tarryn Fisher ISBN: 9781525804885 Publication Date: March 19, 2024 Publisher: Graydon House 18.99 US | 23.99 ...