4T Olio

December is a month of holidays of all different sorts. As we wind down the month and the year (and wind up the sunshine in the north :) ), I hope everyone is finding peace and happiness in their lives.

My dear hubby just posted a meme saying "In 2017: My goal is not to be better than anyone else, but better than I used to be." Sounds like a good plan to me.

I was sorry to learn Carrie Fischer passed away today. I mourn her loss. Her Princess Leia was a big inspiration to me, not the prevailing damsel in distress of the 70s but a woman with spine. Each life lost is hard, and my heart is with those who mourn for her, and all those who mourn those lost to us.

The past is golden, because, like the golden sun disappearing at the end of the day, it's set. We know how the past's story ends. It's not scary anymore.

Twenty-seventeen begins a new story, and because we don't know how it ends, it may seem frightening. It may actually end up being frightening. But I hope and wish for the best, for all of you. I look for the best, in all of us. I know by focusing on the positive, by being the best I can, by digging in and doing the work, by celebrating the small things, whatever goes down in 2017 will be better than it could have been.

Just realized...there's a new series of Sherlock plus more episodes of Grand Tour. That's enough to give 2017 a thumbs-up from me, lol.

3T Writing Tidbit

What is show, not tell?

I've probably covered this in a number of 3T writing tidbits over the years, but it bears saying again.

Show--make a movie of it.
Tell--make a movie of me talking about it.

Show--Suzie fastened the collar on Spot. The dog wriggled under her hands and she barely got the lead snapped on before he bounded for the door. Smiling, she opened the door and let him pull her onto the snow-covered sidewalk.

Tell--Suzie took Spot for a walk.

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.

2T Repeat Performance

Winding up another year at Lust With A Laugh--

• Gearing Up to Make Fools of Ourselves in 2016
• When you can't remember what day it is....
• Passion Bites--tour today, release tomorrow!

December 1T Status Update

Busy, busy! Happy holidays to everyone. See you on the other side of 2016 :)

• Hot Chips and Sand now available
• Be sure to get in on the Happily Ever Alpha preorder iPad Mini giveaway
• Night's Caress manuscript due December 31
• Four concerts down, one to go

Cliff is a billionaire computer genius hiding his life as a spy. Skyler is competitive with a temper, a programmer whose genius is people. She's kidnapped; he rescues her, kisses her senseless, and puts her on a ship home. 

She thinks she'll never see him again—until he shows up at her company, wanting her help on a programming project. But is Cliff the spy really working with her kidnappers?

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M1CP2MP
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hot-chips-and-sand-mary-hughes/1125253673?ean=2940153878911
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/684799
All Romance Ebooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-hotchipsandsand-2181646-153.html
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/hot-chips-and-sand/id1180687236
Google Play: https://play.google.com/books/publish/a/10444055293236913899#details/ISBN:9780985517755
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hot-chips-and-sand
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M1CP2MP

5T

Big party today! Join here.
Facebook Party Nov 29 for Happily Ever Alpha Billionaire Box Set (Christmas theme) from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.

Just a couple more days to get Hot Chips and Sand for the special preorder price of $0.99!

The sun is hot; the love is hotter.

When American Skyler Johnston is kidnapped, she manages a heart-pounding escape, only to be cornered in the hotel room of a lithe, enigmatic man. The kidnappers burst into the room, but the man hides Skyler by covering her body with his—and kissing her. Her kidnappers are thrown long enough for the man, known only as Cliff, to race Skyler through narrow streets and hide her on a boat going home.

Skyler thinks her troubles are over, but Cliff is really Sir Humphrey Hawkesclyffe, genius inventor of the next gen supercomputer. He’s zeroed in on Skyler—he says for heading his software development team, business only. But as they work together, Skyler starts to fall for the lonely boy genius who's become a rugged man of action.

He seems to fall for her, too—at least their sizzling kisses suggest more than simple chemistry. But is Cliff just mixing pleasure with his business? And then the kidnappers come back for round two...but it's not Skyler they've come for this time.

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M1CP2MP
KindleUK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M1CP2MP
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/hot-chips-and-sand/id1180687236
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hot-chips-and-sand
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/684799

4T Olio--Big Preorder Party Next Week--sign up today / plus Kindle giveaway / plus Ideas from Daylight/Daily Life

20 Billionaires. 20 Sizzling Ways to Fall in Love. Whether your fantasy is a prince or a self-made man, this set has all the hard-bodied, Alpha billionaires you can handle. Let our award-winning, best-selling authors take you on a trip filled with exotic locales, dizzying privilege and heart-warming happily ever after.  Join the party here!
Facebook Party Nov 29 for Happily Ever Alpha Billionaire Box Set (Christmas theme) from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.

Join the party today.

☆҉➹☆Check out the November Preorder Super Sale & Giveaway! ☆҉➹☆҉

Get your November romance reads. Plus enter to win a #Kindle. 

http://tinyurl.com/z3vlvya

As the end of Daylight Savings Time has just passed, I'm reminded of a post I did in August for Magical Musings.

My husband is in IT, running his own data center. He often brings work home, but he loves his job, and I'm happy he's happy and besides, bringing work home is better than his having to groggily drive out in the middle of the night, which was true of one of his other jobs (I always sent a shotgunner along to keep him awake in the form of myself or one of our kids, and an extra $20 for coffee, lol).

The thing is, for this job, sometimes it's not just clients calling. Sometimes the computers call.

Strictly speaking, the servers on the computers call. But he's got things set up to send an alert to his phone when one of them is in trouble. Whatever time, day or night. The thing wakes us up at least three or four times a week, but with a minor problem my husband knows will clear itself.

Sometimes things get a little crazier.

The second weekend in March is Daylight Savings Time in the Midwest, where we set our clocks forward an hour, and two in the morning becomes three. Now, one of the things the servers check for is power outages, based on--you guessed it--time. If the computer clock is missing so much as five seconds, it sends an alarm.

By the way, the alarm is a quick whallow-whoop, a small sound, but it can herald huge problems, like the data center crashing. Like a baby's whimper, it doesn't take long for that sound to auto-trigger a flood of stomach acid.

So at three-oh-one a.m. that Sunday, hubby's phone, laying on his nightstand, went crazy. Error-error-error-error...every few seconds it would throw another alarm. Whallow-whoop. Whallow-whoop. It was not a restful night, lol.

The time change is a really great example of how computers think differently than humans. We might wake up an hour late and realize we're late for or missed a meeting or church or work. And we say, "Darn, I'm late," and let it go at that. Maybe we grumble a bit and there's fallout and we take care of it.

But computers...they're like dogs, in a way. They'll check the time and cry, "I'm late!" A second later they'll check the time and cry, "I'm still late!" And a second later, "Still late!" ad infinitum, that is FOREVER. Each with equal fervor, as if it's brand new.

Wouldn't that make an awesome story? A human and robot, either partners or in competition, and the human is rubbish at everything compared to the robot until they're in a situation like this?

Seeing the ordinary from a new angle is one place ideas come from.

Where do your ideas come from?

3T Writing Tidbit

Here are just a few quick rules of thumb.

What point of view (POV) should I use for a scene? When given the choice of multiple characters, choose the one who stands the most to lose or gain.

Is there an exception to that? Yes! If that character is not fully identifiable to readers. For example, the Sherlock Holmes stories are better in Dr. Watson's POV. We get a lot more out of the first Avengers movie by having big fanboy Agent Coulson interact with the superheroes.

When should I reveal a secret? When the revelation most screws up the POV character's life.

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.

2T Repeat Performance

November 2015 at Lust With a Laugh--

• A gift for you! $50 egift card grand prize
• The Darling Husband: FREE Sample Story from "S.L. ... 
• Back Up Yo' Sh*t. #NaNoWriMo Lesson Time.  
• Get Hammered! 
• One Month to Passion Bites--and Big Huge GARGANTUA...

November 1T Status Update

Many goodies!

• Hot Chips and Sand--Special preorder price 99 cents to December 6 only! Get yours today
• Dark Whispers Box Set--with Black Diamond Jinn. May still be 99 cents, but won't last forever.
• Happily Ever Alpha Box Set--with Falling on for the Billionaire. Preorder starting November 15
• Midnight Magick Box Set coming January 2017
• TRS Thanksgiving Party--$100 Amazon GC grand prize; my prize an ebook copy of Biting Nixie. See more on my news page.
• TRS Christmas Party--$100 Amazon GC grand prize; my prize from my Holiday Grab Bag! See more on my news page.

Dark Whispers

Check out this epic line up of USA Today, International, and Amazon Bestselling Authors.

Something wicked hides in the shadows. Seductive vampires, sexy-as-hell shifters, dominating witches, and possessive alpha bad boys will take your heart stutter. After one taste of their delicious wickedness you’ll start to crave the dark! These sexy tales will seduce you, melt your heart, take your breath away, and melt your kindle. You will not read anything else quite wickedly delicious.

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MA3MUVB/

Hot Chips and Sand: A romantic adventure

 When American Skyler Johnston is kidnapped, she manages a heart-pounding escape, only to be cornered in the hotel room of a lithe, enigmatic man. The kidnappers burst into the room, but the man hides Skyler by covering her body with his—and kissing her. Her kidnappers are thrown long enough for the man, known only as Cliff, to race Skyler through narrow streets and hide her on a boat going home.

Skyler thinks her troubles are over, but Cliff is really Sir Humphrey Hawkesclyffe, genius inventor of the next gen supercomputer. He’s zeroed in on Skyler—he says for heading his software development team, business only. But as they work together, Skyler starts to fall for the lonely boy genius who's become a rugged man of action.

He seems to fall for her, too—at least their sizzling kisses suggest more than simple chemistry. But is Cliff just mixing pleasure with his business? And then the kidnappers come back for round two...but it's not Skyler they've come for this time.

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M1CP2MP

A Book I've Enjoyed--A thank you to Helen for helping bring back my love of reading

I've loved reading ever since I first picked up Nancy Drew and Bambi. Which is a good thing--writers are supposed to read.

Problem was, after I was first published, I lost the pleasure of reading. Spent most of my reading mentally editing or critiquing or downright rewriting.

So when a friend of mine, fabulous author and writing educator Helen C. Johannes, started making book recommendations to me via Goodreads, I marked them as "Want to Read" -- but didn't manage the actual "reading" part, lol.

Until recently.

Life is getting more and more complex. Takes more time and energy. I'd simply had it--I needed downtime and I missed my reading. So I made a mental effort to stop critiquing, editing, rewriting.

Shockingly, it worked!

Freed, I went back to Helen's recommendations and reserved a bunch at my library, thinking I'd get a few dribbling in every week.

But noooo. Nine of them came in at once. (Insert reader fright/excitement here (!!)) So I tried one...and found myself gobbling up most of them in less than a week.
 There are many that stand out from my first reading frenzy. One is First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones.

Why did I enjoy it?

• Charley is sarcastic
• She has an enigmatic, sexy love interest
• Mysteries!
• Quirky secondary characters (including a dead guy who only stands facing the corner of her room!?!)
• Awesome concept. "A smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper."

First Grave on the Right

Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an entity who has been following her all her life…and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.


Tons of buying choices on Darynda's site.




Thank you, Helen!!



Frankly, doing book reports as a child was grueling. I just wanted to read the story, to experience the adventure and the emotion. But I do want to share my favorites with you. Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into a book I've enjoyed!

3T Writing Tidbit

The last four months we've been bringing clarity to muddy scenes or plots with different approaches, before the beginning, starting from the end, paring the element into its essentials.

One last way to keep clarity but still have depth (without boring repetitions!) is the technique of introducing a conflict at a shallow, superficial level, then deepening it.

Why is this so hard? Well, as students we're taught to write essays and position papers. We are taught to put our topic sentence first, then expand, then reiterate. In other words: say what you're going to say; say it; say what you've said.

Not in fiction.

In fiction, we must start with the most surface of actions. Then we find an explanation or motivation for that action...which uncovers another, deeper action. Which leads us to a deeper explanation...which uncovers a deeper action yet. Et cetera, et cetera.

Overly Simplified Example--Schoolgirl Jane avoids cracks in the sidewalk. Jane, it turns out, has heard the children's rhyme "Step on a crack, break your mother's back." The class bully taunts Jane by stomping on a crack. Jane screams and punches the bully in the face. Jane is hauled before the school principal, who demands Jane apologize to the bully. Jane refuses. Jane's parents are called into the school, but only the father comes. When presented with Jane's behavior, the father sighs. Jane's mother is dead of ovarian cancer. It presented as back pain the same day Jane stepped on a sidewalk crack. Jane feels guilty, as young children do, over her mother's death, and blames herself.

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.

2T Repeat Performance

October 2015 at Lust With a Laugh--

• S.L. Carpenter's Big Book of Lust!
• Tired of me yet?
• Frisky Business & a Perfect SALE!
• I Can See!! One Author's Revealing Expose

Guest Katriena Knights needs your vote!

Thanks to Katriena Knights for being here today! She's got a special request for you. Welcome, Katriena!

Before I start yammering on about myself, I’d like to thank Mary for hosting this post and letting me get the word out about my new book and my Kindle Scout campaign.

Call Me Zhenya is a romantic suspense with covert operations, genetically altered operatives, and a Russian assassin who can shapeshift into a wolf. Evgeni’s not your typical werewolf, though—he was physically and genetically altered to enable the transformation. Anna is also a reconfigured operative. Her brain has been altered to hold massive quantities of information, which she can trigger when necessary.

Unfortunately, something in Anna’s brain is worth killing her to keep it a secret. So for the last two years, she’s been in protective custody in a remote location in Alaska to protect her. In the meantime, though, the higher-ups who put her there have started to reconsider their decision to keep her alive.

Two years ago, Evgeni followed orders and assassinated what he was told was a rogue agent. The assignment didn’t settle well with him, though, and he started looking closer. What he found made him question everything about the covert organization he’s been working for.

Now he’s racing against time to get Anna out of “protective custody” and into the Alaskan wilds where she’ll be safe. As long as she doesn’t ask him too many questions, everything should be fine. But as they move deeper into the unknown, they become more and more dependent upon each other, and as feelings begin to develop between them, Anna must decide what’s more dangerous—the corrupt agents pursuing her, or the wolf that lurks beneath Evgeni’s skin.

As an entry on Kindle Scout, Call Me Zhenya needs your help! Just drop by the campaign page and nominate the book for publication. If the book is chosen, you’ll automatically get a free copy. If not, I’ll be putting it up for sale at a special introductory price, and I’ll also be giving away a few copies then, as well. To vote for Call Me Zhenya, visit Kindle Scout. For a free preview of the book as well as updates on giveaways and other important info, join my newsletter.

Thanks for your support!

October 1T Status Update

Lots going on! 

• We have TITLE! Night's Caress: The Ancients Book One has been contracted by Entangled Publishing
• Cin Wikkid out on audio book--get it for Audrey Lusk doing the Stepsisters!  Amazon | iTunes
• Want to see me read my own story? Also hilarious, for a different reason :) Biting Christmas (Abridged) part 1 here
• Box Set Goodness--Dark Whispers will be available for preorder October 15 for 99 cents!
  
   

3T Writing Tidbig

In July and August we dealt with how to bring clarity to muddy areas of the story by approaching them either from before the beginning, or stepping back from the end.

Now I'd like to focus on the item itself. Maybe one of the reasons your story element is muddled or confused is because it's trying to DO TOO MANY THINGS.

This is one area of failure where I excel, lol.

My tendency is to write sentences like,

Bo held the limp human bundle in his arms and started to fight the rogue vampires.

No, no, no. Let the reader fully appreciate the pathos of the limp bundle before we go on.

Bo lifted the injured, unconscious woman. She was a small, limp bundle in his arms, her breathing labored, irregular. He took a moment to hope she survived.

Then his anger flared, fury at the rogues who'd done this to her. He lashed out, catching the first in the throat.

Make sure your reader sees the pothole before you step over it; make sure she sees the vampire is dead before you breathe life into him again. It's easy for us as writers to simply go to where we want to be. But that's not storytelling. Even in condensed passages, make sure you note the downs, to provide proper contrast to the ups, and vice versa.

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.

2T Repeat Performance, Kindle giveaway, AND 40 FREE BOOKS

Check out the September FREE for All & Giveaway!

40 Romance Authors are offering 40 books.

Most of them are FREE for a limited time. It's just our way of thanking our loyal readers.

Even better, we've pooled our funds to offer an awesome giveaway! Enter to win a Kindle and Amazon Gift Cards just for subscribing to our newsletters or following us on social media.

Here's the link to the September FREE for All / Giveaway: http://lovekissedbookbargains.com/free-for-all/

September 2015 at Lust With a Laugh--Rule 34, Ebay and Feels

• When Writing FEELS SO RIGHT
• Testing Rule 34
• The Eccentric Side of Ebay
• Three's a Clan GIVEAWAY!

September 1T Status Update

I always mourn the passing of August. Though we started it June 22, now begins the obvious turn of the wheel toward shorter days in the north. I don't have seasonal affected disorder but boy, winter makes me sad, though my all-spectrum light bulb helps.

Moving on...

Some goodies coming up shortly, but the big news is, I have a signed contract to write a new series with Entangled Publishing! I'm ecstatic about this. The series is The Ancient Ones and it will feature three ancient vampires. Each finds that special human woman who complements him, although in my own fashion, they don't necessarily think complement is the right word at first. Especially the heroine of book two, bwa-ha-ha. More on that as I have it.

My first audio book, Cin Wikkid, is now available! OMG, the voice actor, Audrey Lusk, is phenomenal. You have to hear it for her version of the Step Sisters alone. Amazon | iTunes

The box set Dark Whispers, which includes Black Diamond Jinn, will be appearing late this month or early next, in time for October sales.

So for the past few years author Leigh Morgan has led a team of Macski's supporters (get your haggis on!) to do the Irish Fest walk/run for arthritis. Gregg and I went two years ago and enjoyed it, and so we signed up for this year's too. Well, the problem is, the walk/run registration includes a free pass to Irish Fest. Well, no, that's not the problem. The problem is it also includes a ticket for a free beer. And I love Irish music, especially the reels and jigs. And two years ago there was a vendor selling really cool Irish flutes.

Maybe you can see where I'm going with this?

Two years ago I tried out the flutes and loved them but we couldn't afford one. So this year, the combo of beer and the background music of Cis and we had a little extra cash...yup. We bought a flute. So, that takes care of all my presents this year, lol. If I can, I'll record a bit when I get it. The Carbony Winds guy is drilling special holes for my short little fingers. :)

2T Repeat Performance

Mind Mates release tour still going on! Details here.

August 2015 at Lust With a Laugh--News and Hottest Heroes

• Hybrid Hijinks for 99¢
• The Cookie Monster
• Smut Hunting
• My Wine Strips
• Hottest Hero: Lust With a Laugh Play-At-Home Edition
• All Romance's Hottest Hero Contest: Play at Home Edition
• Sex: The Moving Parts of Love

Mind Mates Tour & Giveaway > $50 in prizes

The tour starts today. Over $50 in giveaway prizes. Get in on your chance to win today!

Thanks to Barclay Publicity and Steph for putting together the great tour. Special thanks to all my lovely tour hosts! And big thanks to everyone who joins in on the fun.

Kindle | Nook | Smashwords | All Romance Ebooks | iTunes | Google Play | Kobo | Kindle UK

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29268/?

Tour stops

Monday, August 22

Nikkis book nook - Spotlight post + excerpt, Review
We All Make Mistakes In Books - Spotlight post + excerpt
Lacey's Love of Literature - Spotlight post + excerpt, Review NOT YET POSTED
Readsalot - Review
kimmie Sues book review - Spotlight post + excerpt, Review

Tuesday, August 23

Straight Shootin' Book Reviews - Review
Romance Playlist - Author Guest Post
Happy Tails and Tales Blog - Spotlight post + excerpt, Review
Lisa Loves Books - Spotlight post + excerpt
Splashes Into Books - Review
Splashes Into Books - Author Interview

Wednesday, August 24

Just Paranormal Romance - Spotlight post + excerpt
Just Us Book Blog - Spotlight post + excerpt
Diane’s Book Blog - Spotlight post + excerpt, Author Interview
Diane’s Book Blog - Review
I Smell Sheep - Author Guest Post, Review

Thursday, August 25

She Hearts Books - Review
OMGReads - Spotlight post + excerpt
Joyfully Reviewed - Spotlight post + excerpt NOT YET POSTED
EskieMama Reads - Spotlight post + excerpt
Angel's Guilty Pleasures - Spotlight post + excerpt, Author Interview

Friday, August 26

My Odd Little World - Review
Nicole's Book Musings - Spotlight post + excerpt
Yearwood Daily Book Review - Spotlight post + excerpt, Review
The Secrets In Books - Spotlight post + excerpt , Review NOT YET POSTED

Monday, August 29

T and L Book Reviews - Review NOT YET POSTED
Sissy Mae Reads - Review
Lipstick 'N Lashes Chronicles - Spotlight post + excerpt
Deanna's World - Review

Tuesday, August 30

Those Crazy Book Chicks (Facebook) - Spotlight post + excerpt
Book Briefs - Review

Wednesday, August 31

Wonderful World of Books - Spotlight post + excerpt
More Books Than Livros - Spotlight post + excerpt, Review
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books! - Review
Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews - Spotlight post + excerpt, Review

Thursday, September 1

Lipstick 'N Lashes Chronicles - Spotlight post + excerpt, Review
RoloPoloBookBlog - Spotlight post + excerpt
I Love Books - Spotlight post + excerpt

Friday, September 2

Romancebookworm's Reviews - Review
Evermore Books - Spotlight post + excerpt NOT YET POSTED
T&L Book Reviews - Spotlight post + excerpt, Review NOT YET POSTED

Kindle | Nook | Smashwords | All Romance Ebooks | iTunes | Google Play | Kobo | Kindle UK  

Add to Anti-Banner

NOLA Naughty Nin9: An Erotic Romance Anthology (Box set goodness, 99c this week only)

Title: NOLA Naughty Nin9: An Erotic Romance Anthology

Release Date: August 15^th, 2016

Genre: Erotic Romance (mix of Contemporary, Paranormal, LGBT, BDSM, Historical)

Guilty pleasure. Perfect Sin.

New Orleans gets in your blood. Like sweet chocolate or a decadent bite. Ancient mysteries hide behind hidden doorways, and messy love happens in the dim bar lights of the French Quarter. Follow us through nine tales of love found through need, pain, desire, and inhuman temptations. Contemporary, paranormal, menage, or gender bending, we've got it all, in one perfect package. Just like the city itself. 9 Erotic Romance Tales in the Big Easy

Dedicated to Amanda Byrne. May your stories live on forever.

Amazon US| Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo

Bayou Shadows by Erzabet Bishop Voodoo dreams and buried lies bring Delia to New Orleans. A sexy shifter with secrets of his own might just get her to stay...

Sultry by Amanda Byrne Ash is really fuckin' tired of being a virgin. Rory's suddenly got an urge to seduce him. But can their friendship survive?

Sinfully Hot by Tina Donahue A hotter-than-sin reaper. A badass demon. Hell doesn't get steamier than this.

Playing with Fire by Margaret Madigan When Vlad Golakov is sent to New Orleans to find a missing woman, he plans to get the job done quickly, then enjoy the Big Easy. He doesn't expect to fall in love with the woman-turned-werewolf or teach the pack's alpha that when you play with fire, you're bound to get burned.

Creole Corsair by Wren Michaels Sabine Chauvet needs closure on her family's past. But when she runs into Jasper Carrington, her old high school crush, the one thing in her past she wasn't searching for finds her instead.

Phenomenal by LeTeisha Newton We all lose, and it snatches our souls right out our chests. When I lost her, I wanted to destroy the world with the same bloody hands I used to pound my enemies. When I win her back, she won't get away again. I'll risk my life for it.

Change of Heart by Liv Rancourt Preacher always said New Orleans was a den of sin, so of course Clarabelle had to see for herself...

An Evening at Crossroads by Kate Richards They broke every taboo, an ancient vampire, an exotic shifter on the run sharing gay romance under the roof of the newest and most daring club in New Orleans

 

Lion of Frenchman Street by Teresa Noelle Roberts When saxophonist Peter Lyons invites New Orleans newcomer Kelsey into his world of jazz and kinky sex, his dominance ignites her body and his music speaks to her soul. But Peter's hiding old pain and when Kelsey's offered a job out of town, everything goes out of tune.

Tina is an Amazon and international bestselling novelist in erotic, paranormal, contemporary and historical romance for traditional publishers and indie. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work. Three of her erotic novels (Freeing the Beast, Come and Get Your Love, and Wicked Takeover) were Readers' Choice Award winners. Another three (Adored, Lush Velvet Nights, and Deep, Dark, Delicious) were named finalists in the EPIC competition. Sensual Stranger, her erotic contemporary romance, was chosen Book of the Year at the French review site Blue Moon reviews. The Golden Nib Award at Miz Love Loves Books was created specifically for her erotic romance Lush Velvet Nights. Two of her titles (The Yearning and Deep, Dark, Delicious) received an Award of Merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competition. Take Me Away and Adored both won second place in the NEC RWA contest (different years). Tina is featured in the Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. Before penning romances, she worked at a major Hollywood production company in Story Direction.

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Erzabet Bishop is an award winning author who loves to write naughty stories. She is the author of Lipstick, Dinner Date, Crave, Hedging Her Bets, Red Hot, The Science of Lust, Arcane Imaginarium: Spirit Board, Holidays in Hell, Mallory's Mark (upcoming 2016),The Devil's Due (upcoming 2016), Charity Benshaw's Enchanted Paddle Emporium (upcoming 2016), Sigil Fire, Glitter Lust (upcoming 2016), Written on Skin, Club Beam, Pomegranate, A Red Dress for Christmas, The Black Magic Café, Fantasies in Red, Wicked for You, Sweet Seductions: The Erzabet Bishop Collection, Holiday Cruise, Fetish Fair, Temptation Resorts: Jess, Temptation Resorts: Marnie, Taming the Beast, The Erotic Pagans Series: Beltane Fires, Samhain Shadows and Yuletide Temptation along with being a contributor to many anthologies. Erzabet has been a finalist in the GCLS awards for 2014 and 2015. She has also been nominated for the Golden Flogger Award for Crave. She lives in Texas with her husband, furry children and can often be found lurking in local bookstores. She loves to bake, make naughty crochet projects and watch monster movies. When she isn't writing, she loves to review music and books.

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Teresa Noelle Roberts writes erotic romance and romantic erotica for passionate people who like tales of true love on the spicy side. Also a poet and fantasy writer, she has a particular fondness for paranormal and fantasy tales in which the romantic, the supernatural, and of course the erotic mingle. She's also drawn to things kinky.

Born in the Finger Lakes region of New York, she now lives in southeastern Massachusetts with her own personal hero and a clowder of exceedingly large cats. When she's not writing, you might find Teresa working in the vegetable garden...or cooking up a storm...or knitting something bright and colorful....or on a beach, regardless of the weather. If you can't find her at all, well, she has to get ideas for all those sexy stories somewhere.

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Wren hails from the frozen tundra of Wisconsin where beer and cheese are their own food groups. But a cowboy swept her off her feet and carried her below the Mason-Dixon line to Texas, where she promptly lost all tolerance for cold and snow. Fueled by coffee, dreams, and men in kilts, Wren promises to bring you laughter, sexy fun time, and action that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The easiest way to her heart is anything to do with the Green Bay Packers, Doctor Who, or Joss Whedon.

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LeTeisha Newton: So I think this is the part where I’m supposed to say something super cool, win you over, and make you my life-long superfan…OR wait, is that how I am about my anime collection?

Probably. Basically, I’m an author, blogger, geek, and villain lover (Joker IS MINE!). There shouldn’t be any surprise then that I tend to love my heroes a bit broken, all messed up, and in need of someone who understands them just the way they are. Ha, my heroines are right there with them. You see, love is nice, it’s sweet. It can be all rainbows and glowing stars. And then it can be dark, twisted, hurtful, and feel so good you have to scream about it. So I write like that. From one side of the spectrum to the other, because that’s real. That’s life. And that’s what we crave–-delving into a fantasy world or not.

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Margaret Madigan: I write romance for Entangled Publishing and Evernight Publishing. I write and indie-publish romance and sci-fi through M&M Publishing.

I'm an Oregon Ducks fan. I'm a donut and pastry addict (pretty much any carbs, really). I like cats. I'm terrified of balloons. When I’m not writing you’ll find me in a college classroom teaching English and, of course, wrangling my family.

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Sadly, Amanda passed away in July 2016. When she wasn't plotting ways to sneak her latest shoe purchase past her partner, Amanda wrote sexy, snarky romance and urban fantasy. She liked her heroines smart and unafraid to make mistakes, and her heroes strong enough to take them on.

When she wasn't writing, she was reading, drinking hot chocolate, and trying not to destroy her house with her newest DIY project. She lived in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and no, it really doesn’t rain that much.

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Liv Rancourt: I write romance: m/f, m/m, and v/h, where the h is for human and the v is for vampire…or sometimes demon. I write funny. I don’t write angst. When I’m not writing I take care of tiny premature babies or teenagers, depending on whether I’m at home or at work. My husband is a soul of patience, my dog is the cutest thing evah(!), and we’re up to three ferrets.

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