Music I Love: The Heart Wants What It Wants By Selena Gomez
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Friday Five: Allie Ritch
Hi all. This week’s guest for Friday Five is author, Allie Ritch. Thanks for joining me here on the blog, Allie!
So, what kind of books do you read for fun?
I love to read books in the same genres that I write. Paranormal romance and sci-fi romance are my favorites. Give me aliens, shifters, vampires, and the like and add in a good love story, and I’m interested.
What’s the one thing you can’t live without?
Books! Seriously, I think I would go crazy if I couldn’t read. I enjoy getting lost in another world and falling in love with fantastic characters.
If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?
(1) All my books would hit the bestseller list. What author wouldn’t make that wish?
(2) Health and happiness for my friends and family. That’s actually #1.
(3) A real-life man who’s like one of my favorite fictional heroes. Since I read so much PNR, that hero might actually be the genie.
What is the best writing advice you can give?
You know in the movie Finding Nemo, when Dory sings, “Just keep swimming”? Well, my best writing advice is, “Just keep writing, writing, writing…” Practice makes perfect, and I keep working to improve my craft with every book I write.
Can you share a little about your current release with us?
Absolutely. I’m so excited about my new urban vampire romance, Drinking Partners. This is the edgiest book I’ve written to date, and I really went all out on it. It has hot love scenes, gun play, an alternate history, and some wicked fang action. Drinking Partners comes out in just a few days, on January 13 from Loose Id. Readers who don’t want to miss new releases, posts, and other announcements can follow my blog or follow me on Twitter or Goodreads (see my links below).
Blurb: Being the master vampire for the Mid-Atlantic Territory is a tough job. Between the Human Rebellion trying to kill him with poisonous suicide donors and snobby born vampires bucking his authority, Lucas Thane has his hands full. What he needs is a regular drinking partner to feed from and a bigger power block. He finds both in the form of Alexandra Gage, the master of the territory south of his.
Alex could use a little help herself, but she has no intention of letting Lucas take over. Turned into a vampire against her will, she has had enough control taken from her. She’ll never let Lucas usurp her right to rule, but will she let him steal her heart? Passion ignites between them, and it’s amazing what vampire bodies can do.
Buy Link (1/13/15): http://www.loose-id.com/authors/a-f/allie-ritch.html
Website/Blog: http://allieritch.wordpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AllieRitch
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/AllieRitch
Author Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/allieritch
Friday Five: Michele Rakes
Hi all! My guest for this week’s Friday Five is Michele Rakes. Please give her a warm welcome. Thanks for joining us this week, Michele.
Tell us what kind of books do you read for fun?
I read gay fiction and mm romance. Also, I read spy thrillers. Love them, and my favorite is cleaner Micah Dalton from David Stone’s Echelon Vendetta. Would love to see Micah with a hot dude who isn’t trying to kill him, but alas, he’s straight. Bummer. Right now I have a long list of TBR’s. Currently reading The Price of Dick by D.w.Skinner. Special Forces is next on the list, by Aleksandr Voinov. I’m also beta reading my friend, Meg Amor’s new book, Hawaiian Lei.
What’s the one thing you can’t live without?
My kids. (and new grandbaby, Madisyn.)
If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?
For my children to be happy, safe, and never want for the necessities. If I can get all that in one wish, then the other two would be for my writing to become a full time job paying my bills and to live where I can ride my Harley all year. I guess I don’t really need a genie for those, huh? How about an unlimited supply of frequent flier miles?
What is best writing advice you can give?
The best advice is to send your stuff out. Don’t sit on it and think, my friends read it so it’s all good. Get it out there for the rest of us to enjoy. Take chances and keep writing.
Can you share a little about your current release with us?
Kane Abel has had a rough life and it gets rougher. At the start of the story, he’s just been attacked by a group of men who have beaten, raped, and nearly killed him. Paramedic Garrett Young performs a life-saving tracheostomy on Kane and gets him to the hospital. While Garrett isn’t completely whole either, he hides a struggle with the aftermath of a firefighting accident that left him burned and scarred mentally, he still tries to take care of Kane. Garrett’s drawn to the man. When Kane needs someone to take care of him, Garrett can’t resist, and they soon discover someone isn’t through with Kane, not by a long shot.
When Garrett first came to me, he was struggling with a mental disorder and was considered a non-compliant schizophrenic. For Kane and Garrett’s ending to eventually be a HEA, in the long run, Garrett needed to be somewhat whole. I still would like to tell a story like that, where they survive and love, growing used to the daily difficulties of that kind of relationship. With Kane, he needed Garrett to be different, and so when Garrett started to tell me about his mother, I knew what had to happen. I know it sounds weird talking about my characters as if they talk to me, but it’s more like an impression. When ideas come to me, I treat it as though the characters are fleshing themselves out, rather than I’m actively doing anything. To me, that makes them live more on the page, but I don’t let them run amuck. The bad guys try to in my stories where I write from their POV too. I have to knock them down a few pegs.
Dark stories appeal to me, and I tend to write characters in the midst of some sort of struggle, either physical or psychological. Whatever it is, they have to walk through the muck and mire to find their HEA. There is always some sort of happy ending to my stories. I think my characters earn them and so does the reader.
Buy Links:
http://www.loose-id.com/saving-kane.html
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/saving-kane-michele-m-rakes/1120133779?ean=9781623002794
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-savingkane-1592932-149.html
Author Links:
www.michelerakes.wordpress.com
Twitter: @michelerakes
Friday Five: Sindra Van Yssel
Posted in author interview, Friday Five
Hi all. This week’s guest for Friday Five is author, Sindra Van Yssel. Thanks for joining me here on the blog, Sindra!
So, what kind of books do you read for fun?
I read a lot of different things, but lately it’s been mostly mysteries or manga. I’m a big fan of old-school mysteries like Ellery Queen and Dorothy L. Sayers.
What’s the one thing you can’t live without?
I’m really very fond of my computer and a bit addicted to my cell phone. But I could live without them if I really had to.
If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?
Genies can be so tricky! You wish for world peace and they destroy the planet. It’s dangerous business, and I doubt anyone wants to hear about that kind of wish anyway. For artistic and financial reasons I’d love for a few million people to read and pay for my books. I’d like a fully stocked private dungeon I could throw parties in. And I’d like everyone to have access to basic healthcare, including contraceptives.
What is best writing advice you can give?
Finish what you start. I think it’s so easy to feel halfway through that you want to start a completely different book, one that doesn’t have the problems you’re encountering with the one you’re writing. But writing endings and working through those problems is different enough from writing the first few chapters that you really need to see things through to completion as much as possible to learn the craft.
Can you share a little about your current release with us?
I’ve got a series coming out from Ellora’s Cave that centers around the play parties held in a large mansion. The series is called Iron Butterfly, and the first book, Only if it Pleases, is already out. Hart and Vanessa start a relationship after Hart wins a bet with her former boyfriend. Since Vanessa is curious about Hart she goes along with being the stakes in the bet, but he’s got a reputation as a very strict Dom into some very heavy play and she’s a little nervous. He’s just the right person to train her to push her limits.
The second book, Double Bind, is coming out in November, and the third, His Private Secretary, in December.
To find out more see my website, www.sindravanyssel.com
I can be reached via email at sindra at gmail dot com, and on facebook as Sindra van Yssel. I always love to hear from readers.
Friday Five: Pia Veleno
This week’s guest for Friday Five is Pia Veleno. Thanks for visiting the blog, Pia!
Tell us, what kind of books do you read for fun?
Horror. Lately, dystopian or post-apocalyptic settings. Outside of that, about once a year I read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. It’s like a comfortable old blanket.
What’s the one thing you can’t live without?
Can I say something corny like “my husband”? It’s true though. Without him, I’d be an incorrigible hermit. He loves to tease me that without his friends I wouldn’t have any. It’s not completely true, but my best girl was his friend first… before her transition.
If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?
More wishes! Actually, I’ve geeked out enough to know wishes can be more dangerous than beneficial. Most gamers are inherently wary of wishes. They never turn out as you expect. I’m sure there’s a story to write in there somewhere, but even that makes me wary.
What is best writing advice you can give?
Don’t get discouraged. Just keep writing.
I read somewhere that a writer needs to write three novels before they’re ready to publish. I did that. I still have those three novels. It was a het vampire urban fantasy series. I read the first book again not too long ago. They were awful. I still keep them though. Maybe I’ll rewrite it someday. Or maybe I’ll keep it only to remind me to keep challenging myself, to keep improving.
Can you share a little about your current release with us?
Fallen was my first published story back in 2010. When that publisher imploded and I got my rights back, I knew I had to find a new home for this above the other stories I had there.
I wrote the first draft in ten days. I felt like I was channeling Mal. It was simply meant to be, and I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to. As I worked through production to get Fallen ready for the rerelease with Loose Id, I felt that same pull for Bran as I did back then for Mal. Then, it was easy to get caught up in the excitement of that first release, and Bran’s story was forgotten. Not this time. This time, I’ve learned, and I’m ready to let Bran speak his mind too.
While I’m working on that, dear Readers, check out Fallen released by Loose Id, with lovely cover art by Fiona Jayde.
Buy link: http://www.loose-id.com/fallen-2.html
Pia’s blog/website: http://www.piaveleno.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/piaveleno
Friday Five: Teresa Noelle Roberts
This week’s guest for Friday Five is Teresa Noelle Roberts. Thanks for visiting the blog, Teresa!
What kind of books do you read for fun?
I guess it’s cheating to say “the print kind, usually in English” so I’ll try to be more specific. I binge-read paranormal romances and urban fantasy—Jim Butcher and Ilona Andrews are favorite authors. Certain historical romances speak to me; I’m a huge Eloisa James fan, for example. In the right mood, I love history, especially cultural history. I cut my teeth on Tolkien and still adore epic fantasy. Never made it though the Song of Ice and Fire series, though; George RR Martin is an excellent writer but he described his dark, nasty world so vividly the books depressed me.
Oh, and I read cookbooks. I love to cook, but some of my favorite cookbooks to read have such complicated recipes or require such exotic ingredients I rarely cook from them. I enjoy them because they’re well written and full of stories about people told through the medium of food.
What’s the one thing you can’t live without?
I suppose my husband doesn’t count as a thing, and neither do my cats, so BOOKS. (I bet you get that answer a lot.)
If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?
36 hours in a day while not needing to sleep more than I do now.
A library-Tardis: it’s not very big on the outside but it’ll hold all the books I could ever want. I know a Kindle’s kind of the same thing, but I like print books too.
Knees that don’t ache.
I was going to say my dream kitchen, but that’s possible without a genie (though hard on a budget).
What is best writing advice you can give?
I can’t remember who originally said, “You can’t revise a blank page, but you can revise utter crap,” but that’s become my motto over the years. Just get a draft done. Then fix what you already know is wrong, share it with beta readers, listen to what they have to say and fix it some more. Lather, rinse and repeat a few times to make it the best finished product you can. But first you need the messy, partly horrid draft.
Can you share a little about your current release with us?
Witches’ Waves is the fourth numbered book in the Duals and Donovans: the Different series. (There are currently five books set in the Duals and Donovans world, but one has its own story arc.) These are red-hot paranormals, full of shapeshifters of all kinds (Duals), powerful witches who specialize in sex-magic (the Donovan extended family), and a shadowy government branch that wants to control all paranormal activity for its own ends. Witches’ Waves wraps up one major storyline in this world, but there are still plenty of sexy Donovans and their witchy relatives left for future adventures.
Here’s the book blurb, complete with the usual Samhain warning that’s more like a recommendation:
The ocean is on their side. But the fight is on land—and it’s about to get dirty.
Duals and Donovans: The Different, Book 4
Long held captive as the Agency’s secret weapon—a blind witch with visions—Meaghan has come to a line she refuses to cross. Rather than betray the infant “child of five bloods” to the Agency’s scientists, she chooses death. Except when she throws herself into the ocean, she doesn’t die. Her repressed water magic comes to life.
When the sodden, delirious witch drifts into Kyle’s arms, his otter dual instincts tell him to get her to the Donovans as fast as possible. Even though one particular surfer-dude Donovan broke his heart.
Declan Donovan continually kicks himself for pushing Kyle away, but his touchy combination of water, earth and lightning magic is too volatile, and Kyle wanted more than Deck was ready to give.
When they come together to help Meaghan control her new magic, it leads the Agency straight to the child of five bloods. They’ll have to dive head-first into total trust—in their magics, in themselves and in each other—to save the child and stop the Agency once and for all.
Warning: Contains an oceanful of sex between an ethereal blind heroine who swears like a pissed-off Marine, an overly serious otter shifter, a would-be beach bum who may be descended from a Norse god, in permutations as fluid as the sea – and themes of abuse and recovery.
And here’s the series blurb:
Welcome to an America where the non-human Different and magically gifted humans live among ordinary people. Witches are both feared and honored, but shape-shifting Duals are treated as second-class citizens. The Agency, a government agency that’s supposed to monitor illegal uses of magic and Different abilities, has developed its own dangerous agenda. But when Duals and witches join forces, the Agency and other bad guys aren’t going to know what hit them.
And neither are the witches and Duals. Witch magic grows from the positive energy of love and sex–and the only thing better than one Dual for sex magic is two of them!
Buy links for the book:
Amazon US / Amazon UK / Barnes and Noble /Samhain / Kobo
Where to find me online:
Website & blog: www.teresanoelleroberts.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTeresaNoelleRoberts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TeresNoeRoberts
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Teresa-Noelle-Roberts/e/B0047V74PC/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1415286559&sr=8-2-ent
50% Off Sale
For a limited time, all my self-published titles available at All Romance Ebooks will be 50% off. This is just a small thank you to my readers.
You can find the complete listing here:
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Amanda+Young
