Pay it Forward!

This has been an exciting, rewarding and crazy year! I realized a life-long dream of publication and all of a sudden I'm not only a writer, I'm a businesswoman. At first, I berated myself because I wasn't as prepared as I should have been. Always prepare. Always have that marketing plan in place. That had been my mantra for years.

Guess what? I didn't have anything in place when Ellora's Cave bought my novella, NO HOLDS BARRED, last year. I scrambled to have a website built but was totally in the dark about marketing on the internet and made myself crazy about all of the things I didn't know.

I lucked out with the cover gods and a new friend, fellow EC author Fran Lee made me a cover trailer and put it on You Tube but that was about the extent of my marketing plan. By the time my second book, ASSASSIN'S KISS was published, thanks to the wonderful writing community that I belong to, I was a little more prepared. I imagine I'll learn a little more with each book.

I've also learned not to beat myself up for what I didn't know. Enjoying the process is a big part of what makes this business so rewarding for me. I love creating stories and when I learned to love marketing and accept it as part of this business I found that it added to the creative process. Who knew;-)

I've also learned so much from my fellow authors who have been willing to share information and help me along the way. The wonderful Fran Lee, goddess of cover trailers and my fellow blog mates, Crystal, Serena, Savanna and Francesca who show their support in so many ways. There are so many more but this blog would be a couple of feet long if I thanked everyone personally...now there's an idea;-)

So don't stress about all of the things you don't know. Learn as you go and pay it forward. Because there's always going to be someone who is where you were at the beginning. Be as helpful to them as someone else has been to you.

Hugs,
Paris

I Only Talk To Them Out Loud When I'm By Myself...

Wow, it's Friday again, time is flying by faster than I can keep up. October seems to have flown by on its multicolored broomstick. Busy with a story I wanted to have finished and ready to turn in by Nov 5th, I feel like I fell into a rabbit hole and am just now climbing my way out.

Did I finish the story? Yep, yay me! Did I submit it? Nope.

As I edited the story and made it ready for my CP, I realized that the story idea I had started with was not the story on the page. The story on the page exploded full force into so much more. The pale idea was now a vivid rainbow of possibilities and it was not nearly finished.

I sent the story as is to my CP, whose opinion I value greatly, to see if she agreed with my assessment. Was it viable or was it crap and I was loopy from too much Halloween candy! ;)

She liked the story, told me to stop calling it crap, but agreed that it was not nearly finished. Gotta love an awesome and honest CP.

So I put the story away for a while to give myself and my characters a cooling off period. I'm hoping they will use the time wisely and be a little more forthcoming when we meet again.

On the upswing though, LeAnn, the heroine of my next Jag shifter story, has decided to start talking to me again. We're working through some of her issues and getting more of her story told. Thank Goodness!

Yes, I really do have slightly weird relationships with my characters, but I only talk to them out loud when I'm by myself...that must count for something, right?

How about you out there, any odd relationships with your characters you want to cop too? LOL

Have a great weekend!

Welcome Eva Gordon!

Please welcome teacher, author and animal sanctuary volunteer, Eva Gordon. We're happy to have you with us today. Please tell us about yourself and the fascinating books that you've written.

First, we'd love to know what led you to writing.
I loved creating tall tales for my students while teaching biology and anatomy/physiology. They ended up telling me to write these ideas into books and I soon was bitten by the writing bug.

I think everyone wishes for a teacher like you! Could you tell us what you enjoy most about writing and have there been any hurdles that surprised you?
I enjoy jumping into the world that my characters live in and living in that particular fantasy world. A fantastic escape. The hurtles for me are having to leave writing to promote or to do the mundane things required in real life.

If you could do anything else, what profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I would love to continue my love of wildlife education and do presentations. I already do wolf and werewolf lore presentations and sometimes toy with the idea of getting my PhD in Anthropology as a scholar of ‘werewolf’ lore.

You seem very passionate about this subject and I'd love to know more about your new release.
My latest release is Beast Warrior :Viking Werewolf, book 2 in my Wolf Maiden Chronicles. It follows book 1 Werewolf Sanctuary (contemporary) but is a standalone epic fantasy romance that takes place in the year 840 AD during the Viking Era. What I call a ‘werewolfhistorical’. The story revolves around the romance between a Viking Wolfskin (werewolf) and a Frank wolf maiden. They must overcome cultural differences, a dangerous alpha Frank lycan and the common enemy of the lycans, the bearskins.

Do any of your characters from previous books appear in your latest?
No, but their belief systems are mentioned in the previous novel. The first book also hints about the next.

So you have written a series. I have to tell you that I was hoping there was more than one book!
Yes. The Wolf Maiden Chronicles includes Werewolf Sanctuary, Beast Warrior : Viking Werewolf and the winter release of White Wolf of Avalon: Werewolf Knight. There are at least 7 more in this series. I also have a fantasy trilogy that I’m hoping to sell. The first in the trilogy, The Stone of the Tenth Realm was first published in the UK and I was just released from contract.

You sound very busy! I know all writers like to decompress though, tell us what you like to do in your spare time.
I love volunteering at animal sanctuaries. I also want folks to know that on every full moon I interview a famous werewolf or like creature on my blog http://evagordon.blogspot.com/

Beast Warrior: Viking Werewolf sounds wonderful. Could you tell us a little bit about it?

Beast Warrior: Viking Werewolf is a historical paranormal romance that takes place during the Viking Era of the Dark Ages. A time when only the strong survive. It is the second book in the Wolf Maiden Chronicles, which depicts alpha lycans and their human wolf maiden mates.

Sigurd, an alpha Norse wolfskin, son of Gunnolf the Red seeks revenge against shape shifting bearskins, Bork the Mad and his son, Mord the Blood Claw for the death of his parents and his older brother Guda. Orphaned, he has been raised by his older sister Brynhild, who convinces him to take a wolf maiden in order to increase their small pack. Despite the warning by Hungerd the wolf witch, he takes a farmer’s new bride with tragic consequences. Alone he joins a long ship until the day he can avenge his pack’s demise.

Emelisse, a Frank wolf maiden, has been raised and educated in the classics, science, literature and languages by female lycans of the Lupercal. Born a runt with a weak heart her father has been overprotective. She refuses to be treated like a delicate vase and rebels by seeking out riding and falconry. Now at age eighteen Emelisse frets that her father wants her to accept Radulf III the Cruel, an alpha lycan of a pack of powerful warriors. She tries to run away with her human lover.

Viking werewolf, Sigurd rescues Emelisse, from the claws of the berserker bear men. He claims her as his ulf hexen or wolf maiden, but she wants to leave lycan society and live with humans. To complicate matters she has been called by her goddess Feronia to save the lycans from a dreaded disease. Their union is wrought with great peril in a world where werewolves must battle against their own kind as well as their fierce enemy, the berserker bear men. Will Emelisse accept Sigurd a foreign lycan as her alpha mate? Sigurd vows to protect her from their enemies but how can he save her before she dies from her ailing heart?

Now I'm really hooked but it sounds like I'm not the only one. Here's a little bit about what Bitten By Books had to say:

Beast Warrior: Viking Werewolf is the prequel to Eva Gordon’s Werewolf Sanctuary. The majority of the book takes place in ninth century France.

The story was well paced, and the romance between Siguard and Emelisse is great. There are plenty of huge battles that take place throughout the book and work well with the romance. The book ties in neatly with Werewolf Sanctuary. If you liked Eva Gordon’s writing from book one, then you won’t be disappointed with book two Beast Warrior Viking Werewolf. The third book White Wolf of Avalon will take place 400 years before the events of book two.

To buy a print copy of Beast warrior from Amazon click here.
To buy a print copy of Beast warrior from Barnes & Noble click here.
Books in the Wolf Maiden Chronicles in order:
Werewolf Sanctuary
Beast Warrior: Viking Werewolf
White Wolf of Avalon

And coming February 10, 2010: Whitewolf of Avalon: Werewolf Knight



White Wolf of Avalon : Werewolf Knight
Book 3 in The Wolf Maiden Chronicles

White Wolf of Avalon : Werewolf Knight takes place during Arthurian times. There are cameo appearances by well known characters such as King Arthur, Morgan le Fey and Mordred to name a few but the story revolves around the secret society of lycans that reside in ancient Britain.

Bledig, an orphan raised by a childless couple near the magical Isle of Avalon dreams of someday becoming a knight of the Round Table. Bledig refuses to become a beast and wants no part in marrying a wolf maiden and begetting lycan children. After Bledig helps King Arthur defeat the Saxons at Badon Hill he is knighted and is advised by his close friend Sir Uwain that he knows of a priest that can cure him of his wolfen curse. Bledig heads toward Avalon to tell his great aunt Silvia of his plan. Once cured, he will serve as a knight, marry a courtly lady and earn a title.

Annora a Romano Greco wolf maiden, is more interested in intellectual pursuits than romantic ones. She is a scribe and historian who preferred to marry an older alpha lycan who would better understand her need to focus on her writings. As Annora travels up north to meet with her brother and family, they are attacked by Gorlagon’s she-lycan Trivia and her pack of warrior lycans.

In the wilderness Annora and Bledig meet. She is the beautiful woman he has dreamt of nightly while heading to retrieve his brother’s moonstone. He the knight in shining armor she had fantasized about, brave, handsome and chivalrous. Their attraction is instantaneous. She is stunned to learn he is a lycan, the white wolf destined to unite all the lycans of Britain. Her mate. On learning she is a wolf maiden, Bledig hardens his heart. He tells her that after he delivers her to the safety of Avalon he will visit a priest who will cure him of his wolfen curse. She is saddened that he refuses to follow his destiny and that he does not wish to claim her as his.

Danger lurks everywhere. Gorlagon and Gargol have not given up on their hunt to find Annora and the Pict wolfen she released from his dank dungeons. But most of all they wish to use her as a breeder. Intrigue and secrecy abound in King Arthur’s court at Camulod. Mordred, who Arthur is unaware, is his son by his own sister Morgause, plots to rule. He has become Gorlagon’s secret Lupercii in the hopes of having a lycan army to defeat his father in battle.

Will Bledig reject his true destiny as the prophesized lycan leader of Britain, and most importantly can he deny his feelings for the lovely wolf maiden, Annora, who has already captured his heart and soul?

Can Annora survive the lycans who hunt her? Will Bledig finally submit to his lycan nature and forever claim her as his wolf maiden? Will magic save their kind, the fae of Avalon and King Arthur’s Britain?

Wow, now I'm really hooked! I'd love to know more about Book One of the Wolf Maiden Chronicles, Werewolf Sanctuary.



Werewolf Sanctuary
Book 1. in The Wolf Maiden Chronicles

Since ancient times, the Lupercal Council has kept their people’s werewolf identity a well-guarded secret from man. They refer to their kind as lycans. The lycan shifts into a bear-sized wolf, bearing unique markings reminiscent of Maori or Celtic tattoos. The pack shifts during the full moon and are under the control of their alpha male leader. The alpha male and alpha female are not bound by the full moon and can shift at will. Lycans can only breed with their kind. The exception are the alpha males, which can only mate with human women known as wolf maidens. These human women bear the five-toed paw print or mark of the wolf on their left hip. Female alphas are sterile but are the leading lycans governing the Lupercal Council.

The Lupercal society is in peril due to an unknown disease infecting their young offspring. The children that survive the pestilence shift too early into wolf cubs, lose their distinct markings, and end up becoming normal wolves unaware of their human consciousness. Normally immune to most known diseases, the Lupercal has few of their own doctors and must seek the help of a human outsider to find the cure.

Wyatt Weylin, the alpha male of the Montana pack and leader of a team of mercenary lycans, flies to a World Wolf Conference in San Francisco, where he hopes to convince leading authority on wolf diseases, veterinarian Dr. Madeline Styles to come to his wolf sanctuary and find a cure. The minute he sees her he feels drawn to her striking good looks. The sensory chemistry is instant. He tries to suppress the feeling knowing that he is forbidden to fall for a human. Life gets complicated when Wyatt discovers that the vegetarian animal doctor has the mark of the wolf and is his life mate.

Eva, thank you so much for being our guest today. And please, drop by anytime you'd like!

If anyone would like to know more about Eva and her fascinating books, here are some places to look:

Links and Videos

ISBN: 978-1-935407-30-0 for Werewolf Sanctuary http://tinyurl.com/WerewolfSanctuary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyudh6g4ls8
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Werewolf-Sanctuary/Eva-Gordon/e/9781935407300/
ISBN 978-1-935407-31-7 for Beast Warrior, Viking Werewolf http://tinyurl.com/Beast-Warrior-Viking-Werewolf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-LB-E_uRGo
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Beast-Warrior/Eva-Gordon/e/9781935407317/?/
Coming in February 2010
ISBN is 978-1-935407-32-4 for White Wolf of Avalon: Werewolf Knight and the video link to the short is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UMtDFJB7kE

Eva Gordon
Author of Paranormal and Fantasy Romance
http://www.ravenauthor.com
http://evagordon.blogspot.com/
Fan me on Face Book http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eva-Gordon/45924449313
http://booktour.com/author/eva_gordon#
http://twitter.com/evagordon

I Will Never Kill My Hero. Unless...

If you saw my last post about Primeval, let me just say I’VE CHANGED MY MIND! When I saw the end to season two where Nick Cutter tore up the photo of himself with Claudia Brown, I understood he had finally accepted she was gone. But I did not accept it. I merely grumbled to myself that it was an element of the story I wouldn’t hve written that way, and could do nothing about.

When I saw the episode in season 3 where Nick was shot, I thought to myself, “they’re just going to work this into the storyline.” Wrong. He’s deader than a doornail. And that was my breaking point.

Bye Bye, Nick. I'll miss you.

I understand this is a multi-character storyline, and each person has a significant role in carrying this story along. But even in a multi-character story, you’ve got to have a leader, or anchor. Nick was the center point of the story, even if he wasn’t the favorite. Now they’re just a bunch of characters flailing around without their anchor, and add to it the ridiculous choice of putting Jenny in charge (she’s a PR person, for heaven’s sake. Not a soldier, not an expert marksman, not a dinosaur or evolution scholar) is just bad writing.

So, Dear Reader, on this fourth day of November, in the year 2009, I make the following promises:

I will never kill my hero...
Unless I bring him back stronger, smarter, and sexier in a way that makes you love him twice as much.

I will never separate my hero and heroine...
Unless I bring them back together in the most powerful, soul gripping way that brings tears to your eyes, shivers to your spine and cream to your jeans.

I will never leave my characters flailing about...
Unless I let them triumph in the end in a way that saves all their lives, the dog, the town, and the world, and leaves you shouting for joy.

I promise.

Are ShapeShifters Grateful? ...and Darius Speaks

Yes, the full moon was yesterday. The Sun is in Scorpio, right now. And, the Bull is back.
~~~
So, the spooky excitement and enchantment of Halloween is over for this year, and now, those in my climate face colder weather and the onset of winter. Thanksgiving is around the proverbial corner, then the mad whirl of Christmas festivities begins for many of us, or in my case because of my circumstances, Christmas as celebrated by us romance authors in our writing and in our promos.
The question for this autumnal season ~ Are shapeshifters grateful?
As an author, what are your shapeshifters grateful for?
Readers, what is your favorite shapeshifter grateful for, if he/she is?
Perhaps, this is not the cleverest of questions, given our shifters will be grateful for the happy ending we give them... yet, during their story, do they ever feel a sense of gratitude?
Would they have participated in the Pilgrim’s original Thanksgiving feast as portrayed in history books? ~ Okay, just a wacky ‘what if’ on my part... I’m still coming down from the potent affects of Halloween. ~
No, not one example of my shifter heroines and heroes’ gratefulness. For now. Maybe, in a later blog.... depending on my mood.
~~~

For now, Darius, my bull shifter, has decided to voice his thoughts.

Yowza butting-powza, the Bull is back... a hero with a real set of horns and the bold balls to match.
~~~~~~
For the beginning of this bullie woolie tail see my prior blogs ~
~~~

X-Serial Flash

New Bull in Town ~ Darius Speaks

TWENTY-SEVEN
Snorting my fury and frustration, I trot from the corral toward the timber line, an easy place to conceal myself. My tail twitches, sinuous as an escaping snake. Worse, my cock twitches and my aching balls bang against my legs. Tortured by the loss Shelley, I loose an explosive bellow. It won’t be a good night. But then, ever since I saw her strolling down the sidewalk in town, with that sexy rolling hitch to her hips, every night has been a restless sweating hell that ends in a wet dream where I plunge my tormented manhood deep inside her.

TWENTY-EIGHT
Shelley, my shapely gorgeous human Shelley, hijacked by her screaming ninny of a friend. Yeah, yeah, I’m the big bad bull. A little secret, though, for grins I substitute myself for the rodeo bulls whenever it suits my mood. Never had any cowboy keep his butt on The Red Devil for eight seconds.
‘Animal Control,’ I mutter inside my mind. I could crush their truck with a few butts and stomps of my hooves. Shaking my head vigorously, I enter the sparse shade beneath the trees. Whirling, I gaze at Shelley’s house, my longing so ferocious I paw the dirt.
~~~~~~

Shapeshifter lovers, check out CAT NIP. It’s a free read by erotic romance author, Gem Sivad ~ http://gemsivad.wordpress.com ~ also, for the ongoing story, subscribe at ~ http://textnovel.com ~
~~~
Plus, take a peek at COYOTE MOON by Pat Cunningham at ~ http://bookstrand.com/product-coyotemoon-14959-330.html ~ Pat’s book has received several top reviews.
~~~~~~

HAPPY SHAPESHIFTING THANKSGIVING

~ MAY ALL YOUR READING DREAMS COME TRUE ~

Savanna Kougar

~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~

Author of ~

All Shades of Blue Paradise
Red Lioness Tamed
When a Good Angel Falls
Tangerine Carnal Dreams
Murder by Hair Spray in Gardenia, New Atlantis
Black Cat Beauty
Her Insatiable Dark Heroes
Stallion of Ash and Flame ~
~~~~~~

Selling Myself

So on Saturday (after working my shift at the library) I drove to a nearby city to visit an upscale adult store to make a purchase. I'm not going to discuss what specifically I was there to buy - falls under the TMI (too much information) aspect of life.

I've shopped at this particular store a number of times in the past and I really like it there. It's woman/couple friendly and the place feels clean. Since it was October 31, the staff was wearing costumes for Halloween - NOT the sexy ones they sell, but ones that fit the season. One of the many things I like about this store is that they sell plus size lingerie - some of which goes on sale from time to time. Like costumes for half-price - yes, even plus size costumes. I looked, but didn't actually buy a costume. I had my mind on another purchase. So I looked at the toys, the movies and books. Yes, they sell books.

Now I come to the purpose of this post. I had just signed books at a library conference a week or so ago and hadn't unloaded my books from the car yet. So I'm in there looking around...the manager is there...the store is busy. I think to myself, "I've shopped here quite often. They kind of know who I am. I've mentioned my books before AND the manager's here. So...do I sell myself or not?"

After I made my purchases, I decided...hell, I'm here. I'll chat with her for a minute and see how it goes. She (yes, the manager is a she - another reason I like this place) was friendly and interested. She remembered having heard about me (I've chatted with her assistant manager before). So I took my purchases out to the car, grabbed my short story anthology, my print book and a copy of one the leftover Romanticon cover flats I had for Seeking Truth. I'd intended to just let them look at them...but...during the course of the conversation I decided it would be smart to just let them HAVE the two books.

I found out that some of their customers were interested in reading erotic romance (they have a book section - they sell how-to and erotica books right now). The other sales person (also a woman) was interested in reading my book. Soooooo...I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll like my books enough to have me in for a book signing. Maybe they'll even start selling erotic romance books there - now wouldn't that be cool?! I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and I'll let you know how it goes.

So have any of you gone into to book (or adult) store and sold the manager on your books? If so, how did you do it and how did it go? If you're a reader, would you look for erotic romance at an upscale adult store?