Countdown to Halloween

Halloween is by far my favourite holiday. I mean, okay, yes, I'm an actor and, therefore, I get to dress up in costumes a lot. But it's not the same as Halloween! Halloween is the day when everyone gets to be whoever they want to be for (at least) one day. How fun is that? We can be so mired in the day-to-day, wake-work-sleep routine that the opportunity for such blatant frivolity and living fiction is almost necessary to keep a mind sane. ... Or is that just my mind? ;-)

My costume is essentially done already. Of course, I chose not to pull from my stock this year. (What? Doesn't everyone have a personal stock of costumes?) I just had to build a new one. *rollseyes* Fortunately this one wasn't too tough and a friend of mine generously came over to help. It looks pretty damned cool, if I say so myself. I'm just waiting on the one item I had to order, and I'll be good to go! Good thing, too, since I have two parties to attend this weekend. (Making up for not going to any for the past several years.) If I get a good picture, I'll post it to Facebook.

I love October!

Tuesday is the New Hump Day

Here's a little something to get you through the week. :D

Tyler Hoechlin from the surprisingly awesome show Teen Wolf.

Busy month...few months.

Busy month ahead. Well a few of them. These last few months have been busy with releases and lots of writing.  I’ve been working hard and plan to keep continuing. Love when I have lots to work on. I can’t believe it is October and in few months the year will be over. Now I’m off to get some more work done.

Before I go I wanted to mention I have 2 releases this month. :) This month Wicked Alliance ( Bonds of Justice #2) will be released to cyber shelves at Total E Bound on October 8, 2012 and The Law of Desire (Encounters#1) will be released to cyber shelves at Dreamspinner Press on October 17, 2012.

Very busy month. :)

Talia Carmichael
http://taliacarmichael.com/
Fill Your Cravings
Blog: http://taliacarmichael.com/blog Newsletter:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/taliacarmichael

Buy After the Fall here

Just in case you missed Keira's post on Tuesday.... you can download a FREE cookbook from All Romance eBooks!!

Just click HERE for your free copy, featuring recipes from today's hottest romance authors!

Food and love have had a long association, for Passionate Cooks: Free Recipes From Today’s Hottest Romance Authors, over 150 authors of the genre have put their pens and computers aside to don aprons, get down and dirty in the kitchen, and share their love of food.
Much like romance novels themselves, the dishes range from spicy to sweet. There is something for every taste and every level of culinary expertise. The cookbook includes New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Mari Carr’s “Wild Irish” Cream of Crab Soup recipe. Western GBLT author BA Tortuga contributes a dish as spicy and colorful as the straight-shooting author herself with Ranch Hands—a blend of Tabasco, salsa, onions and cumin, added to pinto beans, eggs, Canadian bacon and cheddar cheese and served in a tortilla. And for those of you who are feeling extra creative and sexy, there’s the Avocado Dip that doubles as body paint from mystery writer Marcia James.

Some recipes are simple, such as Down Home Mac & Cheese, while some are more exotic, such as Spicy Shrimp Risotto. There are even some gluten-free selections, like the Sweet and Spicy Gluten-Free Lo Mein-ish Noodles from erotica author Sommer Marsden. And a few are perfectly timed for a Halloween, such as Tracey H. Kitt’s Gamberi del Diavolo or Shrimp of the Devil.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY! 

Quivering with An-tis-ci-paaaaaaaa.....tion

Okay, so Frankenfurter quotes don't translate well to written word.

But I am getting excited for Desire in the Desert...GayRomLit in Albuquerque. I start road tripping it on Wed. next week. I have a new cowboy hat and everything. New one is leather b/c the straw hat is starting to fray around the edges.

Elisa Rolle is running a finishing contest on her blog: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/1763641.html You can win 100 eBooks or one of two DVDs.

I'll see y'all there!

To NaNo or Not to NaNo?

It's almost that time again. November is coming and that means NaNoWriMo. I'm seriously considering not signing up this year. Oh, I think I'll still buckle down on the writing in November, but I'm not feeling the call of the meaningless, self-imposed, arbitrary deadline. That may change. There's a steampunk western knocking around in the back of my brain. If it finds its way to the front, then perhaps. Still, I've done six NaNos in a row, and that's not bad. I could take a year off. Maybe this is the new 7-year itch. We'll see.

Anyone else on the fence this year? I'd love to hear your thoughts, pro or con, on taking a year off NaNo.

Ring Drop

Slash & Burn

A little over a week ago, I had some free time one work day afternoon. I wrote my Slash & Burn post then, very excited to get it finished ahead of time. With football season in full swing, and me in another writing slump, it felt good to be ahead of schedule, even if only for blog posts.

Today, being my day of the month to post here at Slash & Burn, I went into my Dropbox folder to grab the file and … it’s not there. I don’t blame Dropbox. I love that app. Before Dropbox, I’d wash flash drives on a regular basis. I lived in constant fear that I’d drown one completely, and lose a bunch of work. Ah, but that’s a tangent for another day. Where did that blog post go?

I don’t know…

Now I’m thinking maybe I just wrote the post in my head. Sound weird? Yeah, I know it does. During the work week, I walk around the office building on a regular basis. It helps my back and neck survive the horrors of sitting at a desk all day. When I’m walking, I think and plan. I come up with new scenes for characters that I’m struggling with, or I map out blog post ideas, or I plot out timelines for what I’d like to accomplish in the coming months. I’m sure I sketched out the idea for today’s post in my head on one of these walks, and this morning, I also would’ve sworn that I returned to my desk after that walk and added my thoughts to a Word document.

Except I can’t find that Word doc I thought I titled “Rings”.

Sure, there have been several walks were I created what I thought were great ideas, and promptly forget them by the time I sat down at the computer again, but today might be the first time I thought I wrote something down when I didn’t. I blame the Muse. She’s been elusive lately, so maybe I’m daydreaming about actually accomplishing my goals instead of simply letting cute twink boys run wild in my head for the sheer pleasure of it. Anything is possible.

As for the Rings, perhaps I really will write that one for my next Slash & Burn visit. Or, maybe it’d be better to write it on my blog this week. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just think about it some more, because apparently thinking makes me feel extra productive. And the rings themselves? They were cock rings. Public cock rings. More… later.

Ciao,
Pia Veleno

PS Haven’t tried Dropbox yet? Free back up storage and syncing between storage and multiple computers… why not? Free here: http://db.tt/nUvSipK

Passionate Cooks: Free Cookbook!

All Romance Ebooks has outdone themselves with this new cookbook featuring more than 150 recipes from today's hottest romance authors -- and I feel very fortunate to be counted in that group!

Much like romance novels themselves, the dishes range from spicy to sweet. There is something for every taste and every level of culinary expertise. The cookbook includes New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Mari Carr’s “Wild Irish” Cream of Crab Soup recipe. Western GBLT author BA Tortuga contributes a dish as spicy and colorful as the straight-shooting author herself with Ranch Hands—a blend of Tabasco, salsa, onions and cumin, added to pinto beans, eggs, Canadian bacon and cheddar cheese and served in a tortilla. And for those of you who are feeling extra creative and sexy, there’s the Avocado Dip that doubles as body paint from mystery writer Marcia James.

I'm excited to try out the recipes from my fellow authors, and you'll find something sweet and simple in there from me. Download your free copy today!

Clogged Filters

In one of my favorite movie’s Desk Set, Katherine Hepburn’s Bunny is given an “intelligence test” by Spencer Tracy’s Richard Sumner. One of the questions is “Often when we meet a person something in particular strikes us: hands, eyes and so on. What do you notice?” With the perfect touch of suggesting that it’s a stupid question, Bunny answers “Whether the person is male or female.”

Throughout the rest of the test, Bunny’s flexible thinking, that she “associates many things with many things” surprises the analytic Sumner. As a film about the early days of computers, it’s a bit dated, but as a character study? As a way of examining how two very smart people can have a great deal of difficulty communicating, it’s a work of art.

When I’m working with characters, like the ones that are giving me fits at the moment, I try to keep make sure that their lack of effective communication is due to their own filters for the world and not just plain stupidity. (Though a character’s stubbornness can definitely make his filter look like stupidity, I must say.)

Those filters affect everything about my stories, including the level of convincing the character will need to make their happy ending work. In the end of Desk Set the computer that created their conflict allows Sumner finally away to make his feelings clear to Bunny. I hope the ending I’ve come up with for Gavin and Jamie will be equally satisfying. 

Almost Available!

I know, I know. That's not nearly as exciting as "Now Available!", but I'll take it! Client Privileges will very shortly be available again from Amazon Kindle! Here's the official art work:

It's a little different from the draft I posted previously, but I like it even better. :-D

And here's a little reminder of what this book is about:

On the surface, Jonas Vaneau's life is ordinary: days working at the law courts; evenings relaxing at home with his cat; and countless Sabbath dinners with his parents and an endless string of potential brides. But his routine life cannot provide what he most desires--at least not as long as he must continue to pretend to be the person his overbearing parents want him to be.

An unusual encounter with a seemingly ordinary brothel client causes Micah Hartshorn considerable consternation. When Jonas inexplicably bursts past his emotional defenses, Micah finds himself involved in a drama that is far beyond anything for which his professional skills have prepared him.

Their mutual attraction grows with each encounter, but, foreseeing too many obstacles, both hide their true feelings. Jonas must face his parents before he can find happiness. Micah cannot imagine that Jonas could love him and at the same time accept his profession. As the men grow closer, all personal problems are swept up in political unrest when new laws threaten both men's livelihoods. When even greater troubles send Jonas's world spinning beyond his control, it's up to Micah to save him from his downward spiral--if he can.

 **

I can't tell you how excited I am to have this book back out in the wild after a year of hibernation. Now it's just that last (hopefully short) wait for it to go live on amazon.com. I'll be back to post a link as soon as I have one.  In the meantime, I'm happy dancing! Whee!

**

ETA: Client Privileges NOW AVAILABLE at amazon.com  Click here!

Now Available!

Sparks: A Tinder Story is now available from Torquere Press! I've been waiting for a chance to tell Morgan's side of the story, or at least part of it, so here it is.

Official blurb:

Chris and Morgan are back!

In this third installment to Tory Temple’s popular Tinder series, Morgan Daniels finally gets his turn to talk about what life is really like with a fireman. Chris and Morgan are still together and still happy, but Morgan’s underlying dislike for firefighters in general is threatening their relationship. When there is a bad accident involving Chris’ crew, Morgan’s deepest-buried fears are brought to the surface. Every negative thing he thinks is true of firemen has been illustrated… or has it? Help and support for Morgan comes from truly unexpected places, but the damage may have already been done. The truth may be realized too late.

Get your copy of Sparks: A Tinder Story to read about Morgan’s side of the story!

I was pleased with how this story turned out. I hope you guys can give it a try and let me know what you think. Happy Sunday!

Five things no one knows about me...

I thought I'd make a list of five things no one knows about me (except my characters.)

1. As soon as I dreamed up the character Nigel Gasp, I couldn't rest until I found someone who loved him like he deserves to be loved. I worry about things like that. Really. It keeps me awake at night.

2. The entire time I was writing the first draft of Stirring Up Trouble, I probably didn't cook at all. It was an entire book about Chefs and all I did was drive through fast food joints for an entire month. I wrote it quickly though, and worked on polishing it later. By then I felt I could leave the computer long enough to feed my family something other than junk food.

3. I speak enough Spanish that I might have attempted to write the Spanish dialogue in The Pharaoh's Concubine, but after careful consideration, I asked my pal Anna to help me, because I was likely to impart that school Spanish ambiance to the book. The really good cursing is me telling Anna what I wanted to say in English, and her calling her police academy student son to ask how to say it. LOL!

4. Crossing Borders was not the first book I ever wrote, but it was the first to be published. The first I ever wrote was a very vanilla story of two high school violinists in love, set across the backdrop of their high school orchestra. My mother was able to read it, and she said, "Wow. I read that. It's almost like a real book!" 

The Long Way Home was next, then Drawn Together, then Crossing Borders. By that time I was so punch drunk in love with writing, I was spending all my free time with my computer. I had an email address but no link to anything but LiveJournal. No social networking. No phone, no lights, no cable cars. I didn't watch television or Netflix films. I think of that year as the "time I spent in the glow of my desktop monitor, keeping the door shut against my family responsibilities." Writing was my Drug Of Choice. After that, I floated gently back to earth... Now my family takes the front seat, but it was "an affair to remember." :D

5. I have written a number of holiday stories, I Heard Him Exclaim, What Child Is This, Secret Light and A Picture Perfect Holiday. I think my favorite of those is Secret Light. I've said many times that I took positively shocking liberties with my father in that book. 

Everything about the character is my dad, everything he does, everything he says, how he thinks and feels about family and faith and friendship. The only difference is to my knowledge my father was not gay. I loved Rafe Coleman so much. I wanted to give him the happiest of happy endings. I wanted to tuck him in on that final page with enough love to last an eternity.

Even though it was the fifties, and he had to live with his lover in secret, I believe in their happily ever after and I know it only got better over the years. Good night, sweet prince. RIP.

Please Allow Me to Introduce Mr. Gavin Prescott Montgomery

Update: I have a release date for the next Bad in Baltimore book. It's called Bad Attitude and is scheduled to hit the digital shelves on April 23. 

It features Jamie who was introduced in Bad Boyfriend, In fact, Quinn and Eli might just owe their happiness (and awesome sex lives) to Jamie’s suggestion that Quinn select an outrageous date for the baby’s baptism. It might be fairly easy to connect the title to Jamie, to whom Eli referred as “ginger and short” and who told Quinn, “to ball his brains out” with Eli “but leave love and marriage to the hets.”

So you might be wondering who would put up with Mr. Attitude? Someone with an attitude of his own. On the surface, Gavin might seem to be a poor little rich kid—

Gavin: Excuse me?

KA: You know you have issues with your family and—

Gavin: “Kid”? I’m thirty-five.

KA: *lowers voice* You do still live at home, hon.

Gavin: I’ve been working on that. I was about to buy that condo when—you know I’m the only one who will make sure Lily gets enough rest. I can’t just leave now.

KA:  And focusing your attention on your step-mother and her pregnancy is not at all about how utterly empty your life feels.

Gavin: *mocking smile* I find ways to console myself. Really, my dear, four straight chapters of sex? Who is overcompensating here?

KA: You guys were due. I do have to have some erotica in my erotica, you know.

Gavin: Whatever you say, of course. It didn't exactly happen the way you or the intense Mr. Donnigan thought it would, did it?

So, see what I mean? I’m not exactly sure who has the titular attitude.

Gavin Titular? You love having a character with my vocabulary. Slide in an obfuscatory. Go on. Antedeluvian. You’ve been dying to do it.

KA: Go back there and wait for me. And don’t keep wandering off my synopsis.

I’ve got my hands full y’all. I’d better get back to them.

Rerelease cover art!

I'm working hard to get my novel, Client Privileges, back on the ebookshelves. Towards that end, I've been working on new cover art with a friend of mine. Here's what we have so far.

 

I'm no graphic artist, but I think it's pretty. What do you think?

Okay. Back to the grind. I'm re-reading the manuscript since it's been a while and I want it to be perfect for everyone. Such a rough life. ;-)

It's Torquere Press's ninth anniversary!

Anyone know what the ninth anniversary gift traditionally is?  

Leather, something near and dear to the hearts over there at Torquere Press.
To celebrate their 9th birthday, they're having gift basket prizes, blog posts from some of your favorite authors, and the grand prize, a brand-new Kindle Fire to say thank you for all your support over the years and to highlight the wonderful authors who bring us such amazing stories.

Check their blog,  http://glbtromance.blogspot.com/ where they'll be hosting a new author every day. They'll post excerpts, hang out to chat, and talk about their books. In addition to the grand prize of the Kindle Fire, they're giving away gift baskets every week! Some are silly, some are smutty, and all are fun.

What do you need to do to win? Just visit their site HERE, fill out the online form, and they'll randomly choose a winner for the Kindle Fire from all of the entries. Plus, during the month, multiple readers will have the chance to win a Torquere gift certificate and a gift basket.

I'm proud to be an author at Torquere and so thrilled they're publishing the third installment of Tinder later this month. Go check out the anniversary happenings and see what you can win!