Find Your Paranormal Romance Match -- great deal, limited time!

 

A dozen delicious matches to choose from, including Night's Kiss! See all the deals at Entangled Publishing, or pick up Night's Kiss at your favorite bookstore today!

1T Status Update October

"There isn't enough time in the day" isn't quite true. What we're really challenged by is the fact that there may not be enough time to do everything that's important to us in a way that gives us satisfaction.

And yes, this is leading somewhere. I'm working full time outside writing these days, and so don't have as much time for the monthly updates or nice touches I was used to making in the online world. That may change, but for the present, this may be the last update for a while.

So, on to the good news! Giveaway! $462 in GCs plus ebooks from bestselling authors to ONE winner in this pre-holiday MEGA #giveaway.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I finished the manuscript for Night's Bliss, final book in the Ancients series, and sent it in to my editor at the end of August. In celebration, I created two short videos for the first two books in the series.

https://books2read.com/NightsCaress

https://books2read.com/NightsKiss

5T Tossup

In honor of turning in Night's Bliss (final book in the Ancients Series) to my editor, here's another new trailer, for Night's Kiss (The Ancients, Book 2). Enjoy!

https://books2read.com/NightsKiss

December 1T Status Update

Night's Kiss successfully launched! Thank you to everyone who bought, loved, shared, and reviewed. You're the reason I could stay with the series as long as I have.

I hope to have important, exciting news within days for Night's Bliss, the final book in the Ancients series. This is the story many, many of you have been waiting for. Elias is in a face-off with Lord Umbra...will the Ancient One find love at last along the way? Three chapters done, full story map done. I can't wait to get back to writing it!

But first this month I have my 3rd semester of school to finish. Then, over winter break, it'll be back to Night's Bliss, along with a short Vampire Vignette (New Orleans's Nobody) for my April Fools For Love author friends.

This month also sees the usual holiday music work, such as playing for our local animal shelter's Festival of Trees. January it's back to school for my final full-time semester.

Here's a fun little reading my husband and I did from Night's Kiss via Instagram... (also on Facebook)

View this post on Instagram

Join Mary Hughes for an exclusive reading from her new release Night's Kiss. 💋 “A gripping and entertaining novel that kept me hooked till the end.” —Anna G., Goodreads 💋 💋 “A wild ride for vampire lovers!” —Erika C., NetGalley 💋 💋 Pick up your copy today: https://bit.ly/2qrRykn

A post shared by Entangled Publishing (@entangled_publishing) on Nov 27, 2019 at 12:36pm PST

Brand New Release!

Second last book in the series. Don't miss out!

As a human who hunts vampires, I risk death each night I take to the streets. Bloodsuckers are stupidly fast. I have only my wits, my practice, and my weapons.

Oh yeah, and my rage.

Vampires killed my parents before my eyes when I was young. My revenge? I'll destroy every last one of the evil bastards, starting with their king.

But only one man can help me locate the king. Achingly tall, dark, and too-sexy-for-his-own-good, Ryker is gorgeous enough to be the vamp king himself. But the devilish arch to his black eyebrow, his white, unfangy grin, and rocking the daytime are good clues that he's human.

We’ll have to work together as uneasy allies if I hope to get my final revenge on the king—only now it seems evil monsters are also after our prey, and they’ll stop at nothing to see us all dead. And why are we having so much trouble finding the king?

November 1T Status Update

Sooo excited for the release of Night's Kiss: the Ancients series book 2. I'm pulling out all the stops for this and Elias's story, Night's Bliss, now in development.

Preorder is live now!

As a human who hunts vampires, I risk death each night I take to the streets. Bloodsuckers are stupidly fast. I have only my wits, my practice, and my weapons.

Oh yeah, and my rage.

Vampires killed my parents before my eyes when I was young. My revenge? I'll destroy every last one of the evil bastards, starting with their king.

But only one man can help me locate the king. Achingly tall, dark, and too-sexy-for-his-own-good, Ryker is gorgeous enough to be the vamp king himself. But the devilish arch to his black eyebrow, his white, unfangy grin, and rocking the daytime are good clues that he's human.

We’ll have to work together as uneasy allies if I hope to get my final revenge on the king—only now it seems evil monsters are also after our prey, and they’ll stop at nothing to see us all dead. And why are we having so much trouble finding the king?

September 1T Status Update

School has started again! I'm eking out what writing time I can from lambda expressions and distributed Java. It isn't much, but I did get this status update put together :)

September news:

• Big sale coming just in time for Halloween! Mark your calendar October 28-November 4. More information next month.
• Hear the author play piccolo! 2019 American Legion band contest.
• Night's Kiss edits turned in! Cover request sheet filled out and turned in. Hopefully we'll see something online by October.
• Night's Bliss proposal package just about ready! My beta reader needs to look at the first three chapters and then I need to do a final pass over the whole thing. 

1T Status Update-August

Three months to go! Night's Kiss is in edits this month, and I've got the first draft of the proposal package done for Night's Bliss, Elias's story. I'm seriously excited to finally bring this all together and get it in your hands!

This month:

• Atlanta's Angel (Vampire Vignettes) releases
• Reread of Assassin's Bite (Biting Love) Even the shadows fear him—how can any woman love him?
• Classes start again (4 this semester, see you on the other side!)

Atlanta's Angel (Vampire Vignettes)

I’m Detective Leah Mackenzie, a human with the Atlanta PD. My partner and I are investigating the graveyard homicide of a young woman when arrogant master of the city Michael Obsidian stalks onto the scene.

Obsidian declares my case vampire business. Human hands off.

Tightly furious, I follow him to his lair to convince him he’s wrong. Yeah, I confront the strongest freaking vampire in the state, so what? My heart’s pounding in fear, too—bloodsuckers, even the lawful ones, are predators governed by deadly instincts born at the dawn of time. But Mom always said to do what was right, even if I had to go it alone. I need to get justice for the victim.

Then I get a lead on the killer that takes me straight into wild vampire territory, and going it alone threatens to turn me into the next homicide.


Special note to Biting Love fans—This isn't the Biting Love Universe. This is a short, first-meet story in a post-Unmasking universe. While there's sensual tension, it's meant for general audiences. There are vampires and snark, though. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!


Vampire Vignettes. Short. Scintillating. First, exciting meets between an apex master vampire and the human woman who lights his life for the first time in centuries. Each story features a vampire master of the city and the woman who charms (or fights or snarks) her way into his life.

Universal link to see more here.

1T Status Update - July

Four months to go! Night's Kiss is going to be in edits this month, perfect timing as I'm also beginning the proposal for Night's Bliss, Elias's story. I can't wait to finally bring this all together and get it in your hands!


This month:

• Chicago's Chosen: Vampire Vignettes ready to go
• Detect This: Vampire Vignettes (working title) first draft done, along with two edits. Title coming soon
• New cover for Falling on for the Billionaire
• Cover reveals below!

COVER REVEALS:

Vampire Vignettes

Vignette: a short, delicately memorable scene.

Short. Scintillating. First, exciting meets between an apex master vampire and the human woman who lights his life for the first time in centuries. Each story features a vampire master of the city and the woman who charms (or fights or snarks) her way into his life.

Chicago's Chosen

New to Chicago and tottering on the brink of bankruptcy, human Adele wants a job with Knight Industries, owned by rich vampire and city master Damien Knight. So when a not-quite-aboveboard invite for a party at Knight’s place comes from her best friend, she jumps on it.

But a dark, mysterious vampire at the party catches her in a fib. He’s about to throw her out when she brazenly asks for a tour of Knight’s business first. To her surprise, he agrees and takes her away from the noise of the party. On the plus side, she’ll get to see Knight Industries and maybe learn enough to get her coveted job. On the minus, she’s all alone with a dangerous predator, and he’s looking intently at her neck…

And what’s she going to do when she finds out who her tour guide really is?



MJ Chase: Pen name for more moderate language and slow, simmering buildup.

Falling (on) ^for the Billionaire
A sexy romantic comedy

Can tripping over your own feet lead to falling in love?

He’s a billionaire media superstar hungering for more than meaningless celebrity dates. She’s a junior college teacher who loves him from afar—until she’s roped into playing wingman for her international-model sister, who's trying to win him back.

April 1T Status Update

Happy April! A lot going on this month (but frankly, when isn't there? lol).

Night's Kiss is coming! #4 Biting Me Softly (hot!) Golden, deadly vampire meets a St.-Pauli-Girl-Next-Door. Books to Read universal link | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA 

• Night's Kiss second round edits turned in!
• First draft of Chicago's Chosen is done.
• Cover requirements for April Fools For Love 2020 happens this month.
• Orchestra started again, concert in May.
• Big presentation for Systems Analysis today (plus a test plus a requirements document due).

1T Status Update

The countdown continues! Only eight more months until Night's Kiss, second book in the Ancients trilogy and sixteenth book in the Biting Love Universe! Enter to win one of two copies of The Bite of Silence here.


Times Square. New Year’s Eve. This year, it’s a Countdown to Death.

Twyla Tafel has uncovered an insane plot to unleash vampires on the unsuspecting revelers. She’s armed only with her great admin skills, her useless art degree, and Nikos—a seriously hot vampire she’d love to paint as a Spartan king roaring his muscular challenge at the Persians.

This one's super-hot.  Adults only, please.

In other news:

• Tentative release date for Night's Kiss is November 18, 2019!
• I'm still anticipating Night's Kiss edits this month. They should hit just in time for spring break (no rest for the wicked--or authors, lol).
• I've finished the first draft of the first novella in the NEW VAMPIRE filler project I mentioned last month. Super excited about these.

1T Status Update

Happy New Year! Have any of you made resolutions for 2019? I don't usually, but this year I have two: Eat More Protein (it's amazing how much better I feel) and Relax More (also amazing how much more energy I have for work if I've done some serious relaxing first).

What about you? What are you doing differently this year?

Oh, and I'm working on Soul Mates, the final book of the Pull of the Moon series. Just at the beginning stages right now, but the characters are developing nicely.

The big news is that I'm expecting second round edits shortly for Night's Kiss (the Ancients, book 2). I don't have a release date yet, but I figured with 10 books in the Biting Love Universe (14 if you count the Short Bites), a countdown reread would probably stretch until release day. *grin*

The Biting Love Universe. A cup of high-octane, steamy UF romance, a dollop of small-town mayhem and two (or three) lumps of sarcasm and geek culture references. Start from the beginning with Bite My Fire.
https://books2read.com/BiteMyFire
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073TSV9VV
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B073TSV9VV
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B073TSV9VV

Get in on my giveaway! Two lucky winners will receive a copy of Bite My Fire. Steamy and sweary. Adults only, please.

1T Status Update

Good news! Night's Kiss is in the hands of my brand-new editor, the incomparable Candace Havens!

More good news--BookBub SALE coming September 12. Grab your copy of Passion Bites while it's 99 cents.

I'm also excited to be heading back to school to brush up on my computer programming skills. First up--Java Script and SQL.

1T Status Update

Summer concert season is upon us. Gregg and I are playing three nights a week, with a band concert every Wednesday and an orchestra concert next weekend. I got a new piccolo to keep up with the demand, a Powell Sonare (the 750 with those annoying rectangular keys) with resin-infused wood for outdoor summer gigs.

New first draft done! I have completed the first draft of Night's Kiss. It's got a few holes yet to fill and lots of sculpting work to be done, but the story is in place and there are some really great resonances already in. July will be several self-editing passes.

Those two items plus keeping up with the grass (I swear, the stuff grows an inch a day) will pretty much fill my time, though I'll have a story in a charity anthology called Somewhere Out There, and I hope to finish my reread of the Pull of the Moon series and start on Soul Mates.

Happy July!

February 1T Status Update

All the goodies--including TWO Amazon Fire tablets--from my holiday giveaways (exclusive to my newsletter subscribers) have been awarded. If you want to get in on next year's giveaway, do sign up now, while you're thinking about it. Click here. http://www.maryhughesbooks.com/Newsletter.html I'll wait. LOL.

AAAAAAAAnd we're back (as Mike Nelson would say).

Back-to-back releases of Playing With Fire: The Battle of the Bands and Bad Boy Billionaire's Lady plus working on Night's Kiss have left little time for much else. Fortunately I've retired from my old orchestra and the new one doesn't start spring rehearsals until March(ish). Here's the bullet point.

• Playing With Fire: The Battle of the Bands (A Starstruck Novella) is up for preorder.
• Bad Boy Billionaire's Lady released
• Hunt Mates (Pull of the Moon 3) is now available at all vendors
• Night's Kiss is coming along! 70K to the crisis. The bones are in place for the ending.
• I'm heads-down on Night's Kiss this week, but I'm taking a break next week to do taxes. This is a serious time-drain for me. Anybody else take a minimum of two complete days to do their taxes? 
• Heart Mates and Prophecy Mates are due to come out of Kindle Unlimited in the next few months. At that point, I'm going to give them a read-through and brush-up then start Soul Mates, the final book. Or, because it's a dauntingly huge story, maybe two final books, but I'll release them at the same time.

January 1T Status Update

Happy New Year! Warm wishes for a wonderful 2018 to you all.

I spent the last days of 2017 pushing out words for Night's Kiss, the second book of the Ancients trilogy. I'm happy to report I reached the crunch (middle) of the book. Fifty thousand words done, only forty to go!

This week, I'm working on all those holiday giveaways that were going on in December. I hope to have all the winners picked and notified within the next couple days.


In other news:

• Bad Boy Billionaire's Lady is up for preorder. NOTE: If you have Billionaire Ever After, it's in the set. But if you want to buy it again so you have the beautiful cover by Scott Carpenter, we'd all understand :)
• Playing With Fire: The Battle of the Bands (A Starstruck Novella) back from my editor.
• Playing With Fire: The Battle of the Bands (A Starstruck Novella) has cover art! I hope to show it off soon.
• Night's Kiss (The Ancients book 2) first draft is halfway done.

1T Status Update--It's OCTOBER already?

Whew! That was a whirlwind of releases last month. First the explosion of activity to launch the 22-author Billionaire Ever After anthology/box set. Then the gnawing of the fingernails waiting for the lists to post...then the joy of learning that, at long last and after many attempts, we'd made USA Today. Then the giddy week of Night's Caress and a return to my favorite small Midwest town, Meiers Corners.

So I'm basking on my well-deserved vacation now, right? Um, not quite, lol.

• Night's Kiss (The Ancients bk 2) proposal package submitted. Draft is coming along nicely.
• Hot Chips and Sand--Sale coming up Oct 30-Nov 3
• Hunt Mates (Pull of the Moon, #3 by the new numbering system) releasing early November
• Bad Boy Billionaire's Lady releasing late 2017 or early 2018
• I'm participating in a mind-blowing citizen's police academy. I'm going to have to adjust the Taser scene in Biting Oz.
• Gearing up for the holiday season
• My new orchestra is fun! There were nine cellos though so hubby is playing second violin. Keeps him out of trouble :)

August 1T Status Update

Have you got your Biting Love fix yet? These prices won't be seen again.

The whole BITING LOVE series for under $1 each. Amazon | BN | EP

Here's what I'm up to:

• Third round of edits for Night's Caress turned in.
• Cover mockup for Night's Caress is tongue-rollingly lovely!
• My sightreading is getting a real working (and upgrade) thanks to one-rehearsal weekly concerts with the American Legion Band this summer
• I need a vacation. 
• Because of hubby's job, we need to stay around his servers. Anybody got any good ideas for a sta-cation?
• Night's Kiss 10K words and rising.
• File made for Soul Mates (Pull of the Moon Book 3, or in the new numbering scheme, Book 5)
• Haunted by Love is supposed to release today :) Contains Hunt Mates, Pull of the Moon prequel to Mind Mates, or in the new numbering scheme, Book 3.
• I'll be a feature guest tomorrow at Delilah Devlin's blog! Come chat with me about the music you like.