Embarrassing Moments. Oh…and it’s Release Day!

Ah, embarrassing moments. I’ve had my share of them, let me tell you. There was the time I got stuck in a restroom in India. Yeah, India. I could not for the life of me get the cubicle door open, there was no way to climb under or over it and every other woman who came in couldn’t speak a word of English LOL. There was the time I headed to an interview, running really late, only to realize I still had my slippers on O.o. Then there was the time I was in Toronto preparing for a big presentation, ironing my ONLY clean business blouse when I burned a huge iron pattern onto it. And that’s nothing compared to the time I— Wait, you probably don’t need to know that one J.

Did I disclose all this to make myself look like an idiot? Well, I hope not! Hopefully, it provides some examples of someone being human. Granted, ‘being human’ probably doesn’t happen to others as often as it happens to me, but it’s what makes us unique, individual, gives us our personality, our quirks, like building blocks to who we are today. As a writer, it’s critical to create characters readers can relate to and people relate to others they can really identify with. Someone who is gorgeous and perfect and rich and successful and never makes a fool of themselves isn’t necessarily a sympathetic character, isn’t necessarily one a reader will like. Characters need flaws, weaknesses, traits that set them apart. Sometimes they need to make mistakes, react the wrong way, do something foolish or unpredictable. It not only makes a character more relatable so a reader will want to root for their happily ever after, sometimes it provides a great opportunity for plot interest.

I’ve used embarrassing moments or characters behaving badly in some way in my books before. Not necessarily to create a funny or shocking scene in of itself, but to build a realistic character. In my latest release, RISE OF HOPE, my hero is a real gem. At first J. He’s moody, surly and downright rude. Of course, it’s part of who he is, a product of his upbringing, how he handles truths he might not be ready for, but underneath it all he has a core of integrity that’s unshakeable. In other words, he’s redeemable, but I had fun playing with how much of a jerk he could really be. Below is an excerpt from RISE OF HOPE and Seth being, well… Seth:

  “First… Tell me…who am I to you?” she demanded.

  His gaze flew back to hers, held, heated.

  Who are you? What are you? What am I? What does all this mean?

  Yeah, he might not have given her the answers she was looking for or done it well, but at least he could have tried to field those questions. But did she ask those? No. She was sharp, really sharp. It figured. She asked the one thing he couldn’t answer, didn’t want to think about and wasn’t ready to face himself.

  “You’re a job,” he bit out. “I’m helping you escape. I’ll deliver you somewhere safe and make no mistake, I’ll protect you with my life, but you’re a job.”

  Nothing more. He thought it, but couldn’t get the words out. For sure she’d know he was lying. And who the hell was he trying to convince anyway?

So, come on. I showed you mine, now you show me yours J. Share one of your own embarrassing moments, you know, to make sure I don’t look like an idiot here on my own. To celebrate the release of RISE OF HOPE TODAY one lucky reader who comments on my blog will be randomly selected to win...a $25 gift card to an online ebook store of choice. I'll keep it open through Wednesday 11:59 pm Eastern. Good luck!

Rise of Hope. A taste...

There'd be no dispute from anyone who has read any of my books that I like my heroes alpha. Also, a bit moody on occasion and a teensy bit tortured. The hero of my upcoming book, RISE OF HOPE is no exception. Actually, Seth is probably all of these and more rolled into one. Of course, he has some very good reasons and you all know the heroine (Devon) will eventually kiss it better and make everything bearable for him, right? In that vein, I thought I'd share one of Devon's first impressions of Seth. Yeah, they don't first meet in the best of circumstances.

The imposter glanced at the knife, unconcerned. She knew he carried no weapons, her bodyguards had searched him thoroughly, but he didn’t need one. He was weapon enough. She wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

 

Of course, does she really want to? ;)

 

Rise of Hope releases from Carina Press on August 27. You can find all the details on my website.

I Got Blurb

Yay!! I have the blurb for Rise of Hope, book 1 in my Fabric of Fate paranormal romance series. Whew! That's a mouthful. I can't tell you how excited I am for this book. It's the first in a 5-book series about a secret race of humans. They can do really special things and are fighting against an enemy they barely understand. Oh, and there's kissing and stuff. Maybe even more than kissing ;). I can't give too much away, but I can share the blurb. It might be tweaked a little from here, but this is pretty much it:

*****

A secret ancient race of humans with fantastical abilities, the Vadïm are on the brink of extinction. Many of their women are imprisoned by an organization known as The Assembly, their history all but lost . . .

Devon Monroe has been a prisoner her entire life. She’s determined to make sense of the strange markings on her body, to learn why no one may touch her, to find where she belongs. That means escaping into the unknown, where she has no choice but to trust her self-appointed protector.

Soldier for hire Seth Eastman has a job to do: deliver Devon to safety. When Seth discovers the markings on Devon’s body, he’s stunned at what it means. And at how she awakens his long-suppressed needs. As they struggle to escape detection and search for the truth of the Vadïm, can he ever hope to claim her for his own?

*****

Below is just one of the many pictures I used as inspiration for Seth. I'll share some of the others over the next couple months. Some of the hotter ones ;).

Revisions ARE like brain surgery

I'm deep in edits for book 1 of my paranormal romance series. I mean, DEEP in edits. Some of the changes meant I had to disconnect some of my scenes, change the transitions. When I write, the rhythm of the book is extremely important to me and when I mess with that...I have to ensure I build it back up again so the flow is seamless. It's as if I need to make sure those fine emotional threads aren't thinned out too much throughout, that they hold firm and don't let the external plot overshadow them too much. I know. It's weird. I'm weird, because I love this process. I love to finesse with a book, I love to review words and phrases to see what could be made better and I love getting to spend time with my characters again. And although it's not "hard", revisions really are like fine, delicate, intricate brain surgery LOL.

Oh, and by the way? The book just got bumped to an August release. Yay!! And I hope to actually have a title soon...

Coming Soon!

Well, Septemberish... The first book in my new series will be out around that time frame and I thought I'd start sharing a little bit about the series and the book. Although not too much 'cause I'm evil like that :).  I don't have a series name yet and the first book's title will also be changing, but I'm currently in edits and I can't wait for it to be out. The first book kicks off a paranormal romance series with an overall story arc about regaining hope, re-establishing trust and loyalty, reclaiming glory and seeking redemption, the themes in each of the books. They're fast paced, action packed and hot. If I do say so myself LOL. The relationship and emotional journey of the characters are still my first and foremost as each book deals with a couple struggling to come to terms with who and what they are and how they fit, especially with each other. Oh, and there are no vamps, weres, dragons, ghosts or angels in sight. This is something a little bit different, but grounded firmly in the contemporary world, which I love so much.

Look forward to sharing more of Seth and Devon with you soon!

And in other news...

I've been sitting on this news for awhile. Sometimes it feels like an eternity, but my agent (man, I will NEVER get tired of being able to say THAT) gave me the go ahead to spill the beans. Besides, it was posted on Publisher's Marketplace this week, so here goes... My new paranormal/urban fantasy romance series will be published by Carina Press (Harlequin) starting around Septemberish of this year! There are currently 5 books planned in the series and not a vampire or shifter in sight :). It's about an ancient, secret race of humans on the brink of extinction. There's bad guys, good guys and HOT guys LOL. Each book will feature a 'fated pair' as they struggle to learn who and what they are and join the fight to save their race. Although this is a different sub-genre to my contemporary stories, the books still feature hot, alpha heroes, relateable, strong heroines and a deep, emotional love story above everything else.

I can't tell you how excited I am about these books. I've fallen way deep in love with these heroes. Yeah, I know. I say that about all my books. Of course, if I don't fall in love with the hero I'm writing, I don't know how the heroine (or the readers) could :).

I'm super excited on a number of fronts. This will be my first series and I had such fun putting together a broader story arc through the multiple books, in addition to the individual book's story. Also, this is a genre I love to read in. It so liberating and empowering to be able to create your own world, make up all the rules, construct the boundaries. You world build to a certain degree in contemporary, but this gave me much more freedom and allowed my imagination to run wild! Not always a good thing, but I think it turned out well in this case :).

And by the way...I love contemporary too much to give that up, so stay tuned for future books on that front as well! I'm hard at work on a couple of books there.

This year is off to an awesome start!