Heroes.

Whether they're smooth talking and arrogant or quiet and intense, there's just something extra in our favorite heroes.

Here are some of the men that keep me reading...all night long.

Bones
From The Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost.

That body, that accent-How did Cat resist for even a moment? Bonus points for being part of an Urban Fantasy series that doesn't rely on a love triangle to keep things interesting.

David
From the Weather Warden Series by Rachel Caine

Oh David! A djinn with unimaginable power and incredible vulnerability. This. Seriously, just read this. 

Lucas
From The Otherworld Series (formerly The Women of the Otherworld series and then the boys got to play too!) by Kelley Armstrong
  Super powerful sorcerer/ adorkable lawyer

This book has a new cover. I love the cover on my copy. See, very sexy.

Also from The Otherworld, Jeremy and Adam. Ms. Armstrong is a genius at creating men with believable flaws and big hearts.

Eric Northman
From the Sookie Stackhouse Books
I know, this one is obvious. But seriously- an extra special shout out to AmnesiaEric! Is there anything better in this world than AmnesiaEric!?

Okay, back in high school I devoured Amanda Quick novels. Yes, they follow a distinct pattern. But I LOVED that pattern. Because the many novels featuring snappy one-word titles were quite similar I could probably have chosen any number of the heroes she featured. But fourteen years later, one name stood out and so I chose...Sebastian.

Dangerous by Amanda Quick

Look the spunky heroine has glasses (that she just holds in her hand) and he has a cat! How can you not love a man with a cat?

Oh bother. Here's a shout-out to Scandal's Simon too.

Aidan
From Forever and the Night by Linda Lael Miller.
Oh yeah-vamp romance from before it was a thing. I was fifteen and I was smitten.
I don't have a picture but I do have a story. I liked this book so much I made all my friends read it...including the teenaged boy who later became my husband. ;)








Now, I could get all literary and talk about Mr Darcy, but I think we can take that as a given. :)

I'll post a partner to this featuring my favorite females soon, but in the meantime- tell me. Which men keep you coming back for more?

WIP

I love starting a new story. The idea hits, it's just a sentence--the barest bit of a premise or a few lines of dialogue--and my mind goes into overdrive. I think characters. Who would say that? What kind of girl would bring that guy to his knees? I think plot. How can those two move from this low point to the happy ever after they deserve? And then, when two-thirds of the story is completely set up in my head, I start to type. The first few pages, chapters even, fly from my fingers.

And then...I have a new idea.

And the NEW IDEA is always so exciting, so pressing, so demanding. I start typing.

The problem, is in the finishing and what I end up with is a long list of Works In Progress. 

Here is a little bit about a few of my current favorite WIPs. Maybe telling you all about them will help spark the finishing part. 

Daddy Issues-(AKA the Vamp romance) 

Tegan Quinn's father went missing while she was still a young girl. While the story of his disappearance is still big news in her little town, she just wants the chance to live a normal, quiet life working in the town library. But when a mysterious stranger shows up knowing her name and promising to answer the biggest mystery of her life, she gets dragged into an adventure more suited to one of her favorite books.

Current word count: 39,692 Estimated Complete Word Count: 55-60, 000

A little taste:

He grinned and she had to fight the urge to step closer. He hadn’t been joking before when he’d mentioned that she would be drawn to him. She was. It pissed her off. Simon reached down and rubbed his thumb over her cheek. “Only the dangerous ones.”

Tegan gave a hard bite of laughter. “I’m the dangerous one.”She scoffed.

Simon nodded. “Deadly.” He turned and took a few steps towards the door.

“Wait!” Tegan hated the pleading note she heard in her voice. She waited for him to turn and give her an impatient glance. “It was you, right?” She could barely hear her own words. “You’re the one that turned him into…this.”

His eyes widened and she thought she saw a flash of hurt in them before his mask of indifference slid back into place. “Sorry, love. That was a different monster.”

You can meet most of the characters here.

 
A Stand Up Guy

Ben Crane has it bad for his website designer, Hailey Cohen. When he hears that she has finally ended things with her dud of a boyfriend, he decides it's time to put his cards on the table. But before he works up the nerve, Hailey is swept into instant popularity at an online dating site. Armed with a crazy plan involving fake dating profiles and risque instant messages and barely enough computer savvy to answer his own email, Ben has to convince Hailey that he's the man for her.

Current Word Count: 3824 Estimated Complete Word Count: 10,000

A Little Taste: 


“Why is there a picture of me in a bikini?”
“Great, right? I took it with my phone last week.”
Ben slowly eased his way over to stand behind Hailey’s shoulder. There she was on the screen, breasts barely covered by a couple of navy and white  striped triangles. Sydney had snapped the shot at the perfect moment, catching Hailey mid-laugh as a breeze lifted her hair off her shoulders. Ben swallowed hard. It was a great picture.
He wondered what he’d have to do to ban Syd from the shop.
He wondered what he’d have to do to get Hailey to wear that bikini to the shop.
“You put a picture of me in a bikini on the internet.” Hailey whimpered softly.
“You need a picture. No one pays attention if you don’t have a good picture. Look, you’re WebGirlStar.”
“Why?”
Syd sighed heavily. “Because you make internet stuff.”
“Right. Look, this is really not okay. I told you, I’m not—”
“But look!” She clicked on a small flashing link that was shaped like a fishing hook. “You hooked hotties!” Syd gave a little squeal as she opened a page with a picture of a man wearing a suit. “See. These are quality men. Not like that other site.”
“What other site?” Ben and Hailey asked in unison.
 


Untitled Story (Pre-The Best Man)

During The Best Man, Beth meets with a lovely young couple to talk wedding plans. We get a hint of their story there. This is the more fully realized version.

No one has ever called Kara Stevens patient. When she wants something, she goes for it with a surefire mix of charm and perseverance. But when she wants her big brother's best friend, Grant Pearce, to be her first lover things get messy. Five years is a long time to avoid someone who is practically family, but if it wasn't for her only brother's wedding, she'd keep trying. Now there is only one question: What kind of shoes does a girl where to see the only man whose ever broken her heart?

Current Word Count: 2641 Estimated Complete Word Count: 10,000

A little taste:

If she was going do it, she was going to do it right. She wasn’t going to settle for less than a red-hot sex god.

And she’d found one.

Grant Pearce. Just the thought of his name made her giddy. Grant was everything the boys at her school weren’t. He wasn’t just cute. He was hot. Dirty hot. Bad hot. Pierced nipples and black eyeliner around iced-blue eyes hot.


Amusing Antigone 

Antigone James knows nothing about comics. But when her uncle needs some help at his shop and she needs a job that works around her coursework, that seems like a small detail. 

Details matter to Garret Mason. He'd loved it if, just once, the pretty but clueless woman working at his favorite comic shop could get his order right. Could he have made that request more politely? Sure, but talking to pretty women isn't really Garret's strength. Drawing them is another matter entirely.

Current Word Count:6140 Estimated Completed Word Count: 12,000

A little taste:

Her smile widened and she gave him a sort of soft look. He liked it. He liked it so much that he didn’t watch what he was doing and sliced his thumb open with the box cutter.

“Frak!”

She gasped and stepped towards him. “Are you…”

“It’s fine. I just cut myself with the stupid box-cutter.”

“Here.” She pulled a little bag of tissues out of her purse and handed them to him. “Wrap it tight. Do you think you need stitches?”

He shook his head. No, what he needed was to grow out of what his mother had insisted was only a klutzy phase. After twenty-seven years it didn’t appear to be going anywhere. “It’s not that bad. A little pressure and it’ll stop.”

Her gaze settled on the blood on the delivery box. “Maybe you should step away from the comics though.”

“Yeah. Probably a good idea.” He stepped towards her. She smelled like oranges. It was probably her soap. It didn’t matter. Orange was now the sexiest scent he’d ever experienced. “Why don’t I read the list and you put the books in the folders?”

She looked reluctant.

“You can hold them up and I’ll figure out which title it is.”

“You think I’m pretty hopeless, don’t you?”

“I think you know nothing about comics.”

“And that makes me hopeless?”

He laughed. “It probably made you very popular in high school.”

Antigone grinned. “And here I thought it was the mini-skirts.”

What the Wolf Wants

When enemies slaughter his entire pack, Jackson Moss ends up a lone wolf. His strength and suspicious past make it hard for him to find an Alpha willing to give him a new home. When he finally finds one, he has no intention of screwing things up...no matter how much the Pack Leader's twin sister calls to him.

Current Word Count: 11325 Estimated Complete Word Count 14,000

A little taste:

Paige could feel his eyes on her as she walked back into the kitchen. She grabbed a bowl of fruit salad and glared at Mara. “There’s something off about that guy. He just stares at me like...like...”
“Like he thinks you’re pretty?” she suggested.
“I’m not...pretty.”
“You’re hot. You’re a hot girl wolf. He’s probably never met one before. Give him a chance.”
“Mara, it’s not like that. I’m telling you, he has no manners. He’s the reason people make ‘raised by wolves’ jokes.” She thrust a spoon into the bowl.
“I wasn’t.”
Paige looked up to see horror on Mara’s face and slowly turned to find Jackson standing behind her, his jaw clenched and his chin held high. “I--”
“I wasn’t raised by wolves.” He repeated quietly.
Paige stuttered again. She’d been ranting to her only girl friend and gotten carried away but that was no excuse. She’d been the one with abhorrent manners.
Jackson looked over to Mara. “I was hoping to use the restroom.”
“Of course, Jackson, of course. It’s just down the hall. Second door on the right.” She smiled as perkily as Paige had ever seen her and pointed down the hallway.
He tipped his head towards her. “Thank you.”
Paige watched him walk stiffly to the bathroom. “Shit.”
Mara nodded. “You need to say something. Your brother really wants him to feel welcome here. That’s why he invited him today, you--”
“I know. I’ll--I’ll apologize.” Fuck! She hated apologizing.


So there you have it: a taste of five of my WIPs. Anybody intrigued? I could be motivated by someone especially wanting to read something. Do any of my writer friends suffer from can't-stop-starting-new-stories-itis also?

Author Interview-Sotia Lazu

I have a treat today! Author Sotia Lazu stopped by the blog to chat about her super sexy vampire series, the challenges of writing a sequel and the (audio) books on her shelf.

Hi. Thanks for stopping by. Tell us a little bit about Cherry Stem. Where did the idea come from?

Hi. Thanks for having me.

Cherry Stem is the first in a series of three books. The heroine is a vampire who tries to do the best she can with the--immortal--hand dealt to her. Along the way, she meets a dreamy guy; finds answers to questions she didn't know she had, that in turn give birth to more questions; deals with an illegally sexy ex and a not-so-friendly vampire council; and finds herself in the middle of potentially lethal messes.

As for the idea, well, the first couple of lines of the story had been swimming in my head for quite a while, but all I knew was that they'd fit a vampire book. I didn't know what that book would be about, so I started working on what I didn't want it to have. I didn't want a brooding vampire, hating what they'd become. I didn't want a schmoopy romance. I didn't want a heroin who was kick-ass just for the sake of it, to the point of being annoying, but I didn't want a damsel in distress either. Then one day Cherry was born. She had baggage; she didn't like having been turned but was handling it, taking each day as it came; she didn't want emotional attachments but wasn't afraid to deal with her emotions or express her sexuality--she was the woman I wanted to write about. So I did. 

You know I loved it and I can’t wait to read the sequel. How’s it coming along? Is the process any different now that you’ve published the first one? And, most importantly, will we get more Constantine?

You don't know how happy it makes me that you liked the book. The sequel is coming along more slowly than the original did. I have a complete outline and am seven chapters into it, but I keep second-guessing myself. I don't want to let anyone down, I want the characters to be consistent and true to themselves, and I definitely want more free time than I actually have. We will be getting more Constantine, though, so I hope it's worth the wait.

Funny thing about Constantine is that he was never meant to be one of the main characters. I initially had him in mind as the hot yet manipulating and sneaky ex-boyfriend who would be completely out of the picture by the middle of the book, but by the end of his first scene he'd won me over. I may sound a little deranged saying that for a character I created, but that's what happened. The more fleshed out he got, the more I liked him.

Cherry is kind of a wild child. What qualities do you think she has that still allow readers to relate to her?

Cherry is still very human, despite being immortal. She acts from the heart and tries to protect those she cares about. She may not have the strictest moral code, but she adheres to it even when it'd be easier for her to say "Screw it" and go with the flow. She has her body image issues, her men issues--and resulting trust issues--her family issues, but doesn't let any of that dictate who she is or can be. I don't know to what degree readers relate to her but I know I wouldn't mind being more like her or having her as a friend.

Do you have any other projects you’re ready to talk about?

I am actually reworking something I wrote a few years ago. The working title is Office Magic, and it's a paranormal romance. There's a girl, a boy, an e-book that can only be accessible from a specific PC, alter egos, secret feelings, and of course magic. I'll be self-publishing that one once I'm done with the rewrite.

What are you reading lately? Are there any series or authors you’ll drop everything for?

Life's busy with a hubby, a baby, and two dogs all demanding my attention, so there's no time for me to read read. I listen to audio books instead, usually while doing chores or cooking--I'm an amazing cook; just thought I should mention that. I'm currently listening to the second book of the Death's Daughter series by Amber Benson. I'm enjoying it so far, but would drop it for the next of the Harry Dresden books or anything by Richelle Mead. I also adore Megan Hart's writing, but not all of her books come out in audio book format.

Tell us about your favorite:

Food: 

My very favorite food is lachanodolmades: a mixture of minced meat, rice, and herbs, wrapped in cabbage leaves, cooked, and covered with bechamele cream. I also love Chinese and Mexican cuisine, but there are times when anything fattening and unhealthy, with lots of mayo, will do.

Movie:

I'm generally easy with movies. The past few years, that life became real, I turned toward rom-coms, liking the secape from everyday life they offer. I do on occasion watch other types of films, though, and one that's really stayed with me is "Interstate 60". Watch it if you haven't already; it's brilliant. Seemingly light, but makes you think.

Vacation Spot:

Eh, since I have the sea and sun most of the year here, I'll say London. I've spent the best vacations of my life there.


Get to know Sotia better at her blog or on Goodreads.


Cherry Stem by Sotia Lazu

Turned at the cusp of a promising career in the adult movie industry, vampire Cherry Stem is currently unemployed but uses the squint, her compelling vampire gaze, on men for her meals and pocket change. With the rent deadline approaching, settling for pocket change isn’t an option. She sets her sights on tall, dark, and handsome Alex Marsden, who takes her home for a night of blistering passion. She doesn't tell him who she is.

Cherry isn’t the only one keeping secrets. Alex is the police detective investigating the disappearance of young women from the local clubs. Like most detectives, Alex has a good memory for faces and Cherry looks familiar. When he finds out she’s a vampire, he goes digging and discovers she's an up-and-coming model who went missing six years before.

When Cherry met Alex, she expected him to be nothing more than another “girl meets boy, girl feeds from boy, girl erases boy’s memories” hook-up. But once missing young women, the vampire council, and her irresistible ex are thrown into the mix, she realizes nothing is as simple or random as she thought it was, and Alex is either the biggest gift or the biggest mistake of her un-life.


You can purchase Cherry Stem at Loose Id. Or on Amazon.

The little monsters.

Like any self-respecting romance writer, I have a small collection of furry friends. Mine are all of the feline variety. Want to meet them?

First came Bella. Wasn't she an adorable little thing? She, her litter-mates and their mommy were found in an abandoned apartment. Luckily, the lady who found them had a friend willing to take in the whole crew and find them good homes.

But kittens really should come in twos. We couldn't leave our new little darling home alone all day, could we? She'd be lonely.

She needed a sister. Enter Bonita. We got her from a rescue group. She was only a couple weeks older than Bella, but she took on a mommy role right away. Which was good, since our Bella is not a big fan of grooming. They hit it off right away and have been inseparable ever since.

While our girls loved each other, they were not very fond of OTHER CATS.

So, we weren't looking for another. Then Misha showed up at our door.

Seriously, he just appeared at our back door. I thought he was a stray at first, but when I walked to the door, he didn't run away. In fact, he leaned closer and tried to sniff my hand through the glass. So I poured him a bowl of food and went out to say hi. He was very hungry and very friendly. It was clear that he was pet cat. So I started checking lost cat ads and such. No luck. When he came back the next day, I opened the back door and he ran right in. I quickly stuck him in the bathroom and dug out the cat carrier. My hubby and I took him to our vet and had him checked for a micro-chip. Again, no luck. Our vet suggested that we check to see if someone was keeping him as an indoor/outdoor pet. So we tried taping a note to a collar and, once again, put him outside. He just kept coming back. He would scratch on the glass and meow to come in. It was getting cold out there! So, we collected him and brought him back to the vet.
We still had no intention of keeping him. Our girls had made it clear that they did not approve of the stranger in the bathroom. But he was a mess: fleas, missing fur, bite marks. We knew he needed to get cleaned up in order to find a good home. So the vet ran the scary tests. She was worried that all those bite marks might mean he had FHIV or Feline Lukemia. But he was good. Except, of course, for the fleas and the possible ringworm. Yuck.
Missing fur can mean ringworm, a fungal infection that is crazy contagious. Most shelters won't even try to save kitties with ringworm, so it was us or...yeah, we had to help.
Ringworm treatment? Ah yes, that's a Sulfer-lime bath every few days for weeks. It reeks. It also involves holding a cat under water. Misha was a trooper.

The medicine made his fur yellow and very stinky. Also, it had to air dry and we had to make sure he didn't lick it.
It was miserable for all of us, but he continued to be the sweetest cat I've ever seen.

In an effort to prevent getting ringworm, when I visited him in the quarantine room I wore a Snuggie and gardening gloves. He would purr and purr. And I fell in love. I tried to resist. Honest. He is just a snuggle bug.

So he finally got a clean bill of health from the vet and we decided to try introducing him to the girls. By this time, I had an offer from my hubby's Dad and Stepmom; they would take him if we couldn't keep him. Of course we wanted to keep him, but knowing he had home if we couldn't was wonderful.:)

I won't sugar coat it. It's been iffy. There were days our house felt like a war zone. Bonita is still clearly plotting his death. He has no more love for her. But at about eight months out, we're dealing. And, every once in a while, we see something truly wonderful.

That's Bella and Misha snuggling in a kitty bed. :) Victory!

Has anyone else tried to introduce an adult can into their home? For us it was crazy, but worth it.

To Read or Not to Read.

This is my pile of books to be read. I know, it is an embarrassment of riches. Some of these are books I've been waiting months to get my hands on. So why am I writing about the books instead of snuggled up in bed with one right now? Because I'm in writing mode. When I'm in writing mode, I live with my character's voices in my head. Essentially, I live in a world that I'm making. When I read, I'm transported to the world someone else created. Sometimes, I find coming back hard. (As I write this, I'm imagining a sort of portal between worlds--there are inherent risks to travel!) Seriously though, days I settle down with a book are rarely days I make any progress on my own stories. So, I ask my fellow writers--how about you? Does reading ever interfere with your writing? Do you have any tricks for overcoming this challenge?

My writing notebook.

I've been visiting  my beloved hometown in Connecticut for the past few days. Having fun news to share made what would already have been an awesome visit with friends and family extra awesome. Bonus: I got to hear lots of hilarious anecdotes about dating in 2012 and they gave me an idea for a fun new short story. I have to work out a lot of details now, but I have the eight hour ride home to do just that. Trusty moleskin notebook to the rescue! Looks like this story will get an outline, not my norm but what I revert to when I have an idea and can't spend the day on my laptop.

Entranced.

So, do you remember how four days ago I posted that I was utterly unpublished and would try to wait another year before getting bitter. No, you don't. Four days ago, this blog had no readers. None.;)

The wildest thing happened. Two days after I posted that-I got the call! Actually, the call was an email. Who knew the call was an email?

My romantic novella, The Best Man, has found a home with Entranced Publishing! They're new. They have a bunch of great books lined up to start coming out next spring and I'm beyond excited to join their house.

Check out their website: http://entrancedpublishing.com/
Check out their Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EntrancedPublishing?ref=ts
Check out their Twitter: @EntrancedPub

I've already been welcomed by some of the other authors and the owner, Ashley Christman is the one who offered me the contract and they've all been really nice. I feel like I was just accepted into the sweetest, coolest club ever. (Can you tell I haven't started editing yet?)

You know what I get to do? I get to fill out a form that describes my dream book cover for The Best Man. Seriously. How cool is that?

Right now I feel like: