Archive for the '10 For 10' Category

In the past year, I’ve made quite a few new friends over at EC. One of those is the very talented Lissa Matthews. I’m thrilled to have her joining me here today to talk about her journey to publication at EC. One lucky commenter will win a copy of Lissa’s book

Ellora’s Cave. I finally got in! My first acceptance with them came the last day of the Lori Foster Reader and Author Get Together in June 2009. The acceptance email went to my spam folder and I didn’t see it until I got home and looked in said spam folder the next day. I was overwhelmed. I could hardly contain my excitement and actually, I didn’t. I screamed. I kept reading the letter over and over and over again. I was floored. The book being offered a contract was The Demon is an Angel. I even printed the contract offer out and read it so many times the paper started to thin in some places.

And there aren’t enough words to tell anyone how I felt about my editor, Suz. We had an instant connection that is still there, now as friends, since she has since left Ellora’s Cave to pursue other goals. She was amazing to me, for me. She helped me see my writing as something special, as something that others would want to read and she was so encouraging and eager always to see more and more books from me.

When she accepted Simple Need, well…that was my ‘and the rest is history’ book. The response not only of Suz but of readers and reviewers was more than I could have possibly imagined. People talk about that book, about the hero Vinter, and are anxiously awaiting the release of Carnal Ecstasy which follows Vinter’s friend and business partner in the bar, Dallon. There is a third book being written as I write this which is about the third business partner, Jasper ‘Jaz’.

I have loved writing for Ellora’s Cave. I can write raw, open, very sexual characters that need or want to explore and I have a new editor who is so remarkable a woman, an editor, a support, a cheerleader and I can’t say enough about her.  I have been twice blessed with editors and that alone has made my experience there wonderful.

I have only been in this business for two and a half years and when I started, it was told to me more than once by more than one author that one of my goals should be to be accepted into Ellora’s Cave. It was for a variety of reasons they said this and I can honestly say that those reasons have all panned out for me. I know it’s not always a fairy tale for everyone, but for me, it’s been an awesome experience and one I hope to keep exploring and writing for.

My next book release with EC will be June 1 and it’s a Quickie titled The Swing.

Blurb:

Two years after his brother’s death in Afghanistan, Jethro’s handmade porch swing business is doing well, his hip injury has healed and he’s still in love with Caitlyn. He knows he should resist her, but can’t, and pulls her into his darkly sensual world of sex and spankings.

Caitlyn has grieved, created a life for herself and has finally come to terms with her need for Jethro, her dead husband’s brother. With no small measure of hesitation, she takes another fateful step toward him, daring him to turn her and their chance at happiness away.

You can find me on my website at lissamatthews.com, my Wicked, Whimsical, and Random blog at lissamatthews.blogspot.com. You can find my Ellora’s Cave books, Simple Need and The Demon is an Angel on Amazon for Kindle as well as on the Ellora’s Cave website.

Thank you so very much Christine for having me today!

Lissa

There are people who you will meet and you’ll just click. I honestly don’t remember when I met Emma, but I’m so happy I did. From our occasional YouTube link swap sessions, to wonderful chats, I’ve really grown to appreciate having her around. One lucky commenter will win a copy of Make Me Remember!

I’m so honored to be part of Christine’s Ten celebration. As usual I got this blog post to her like five minutes ago. For a chick with no 9 to 5 you’d think I’d have way more time or be better organized.

I haven’t reached my Ten with Ellora’s Cave yet but I look forward to the time that I do. I can still remember when I was writing my first sub targeted toward EC. I was so nervous and to be honest, scared. Scared of rejection. Isn’t that a writer’s life? Anywho, my first book was Master of the Game and I just celebrated my third, with my fourth coming up soon.

My third is Make Me Remember. The story I call my reincarnation story. All of my stories are personal but this one a little more so. This one started with a dream nearly a decade ago, ten must be a lucky number today, and was just re-released last week. Here’s a never before seen excerpt just for this occasion.

Thanks Christine for asking me to be a part of your Ten celebration.

Emma Petersen

www.emmapetersen.com

www.emmapetersen.com/blog

Blurb:

Hannah Bryant has always been different.

Since she was a child, she’s had vivid dreams of dreams of death and loss. It’s years later and Hannah is now a successful doctor. In a flash everything she has worked so hard is in danger when the dreams return with a vengeance.

Only the dreams haunting Hannah’s sleep now are nothing like the ones that plagued her as a child. There is no blood, no death and no loss. Just a man who solicits a reaction from Hannah’s body that’s strangely familiar and startlingly brand new at the same time.

Excerpt:

“Gabe! You startled me.”

His lips quirked and I could tell he was fighting not to smile. “Sorry about that.” But from the way he drew out the words, I knew he was anything but. “Have any interesting dreams lately, Sunshine?”

“Hannah. My name is Hannah, Gabe. Not…” I ignored his question and let my sentence drift off, unable to say the word.

Gabe hit the switch on the wall, and the garage door whirred shut, plunging the two of us in darkness.

I swallowed hard and my breathing quickened.

It wasn’t so dark that I couldn’t see, and the light coming from my open car door helped. I watched him walk toward me in the dim garage as if it weren’t his first time being there.

“You gonna shut the car door…Hannah?” The way he drew out my name made it sound decadent as a thick, rich dessert he couldn’t wait to gobble up.

Ignoring the question, I clutched my purse tighter. “What are you doing here, Gabe?”

“What do you think I’m doing here, Hannah?”

Oh, God. My pussy clenched and I could feel myself become wetter. Pressing my thighs harder together, I answered his question with a question. “Could you please stop saying my name like that?”

He chuckled and took a step closer to me. “Like what?”

The need that had been so relentlessly riding my body all week doubled and my pulse throbbed in my every erogenous zone. My breath shuddered out of me and I whispered, “As if you’re hungry and I’m on the menu.” I wanted to take back the words as soon as I said them and the gleam in his eyes only made it more so.

Prying my purse from my nearly numb hands, he tossed it onto the driver’s seat.

“You can’t stand out here all night, Hannah.”

Yes, I could.

And I would, rather than go in the house, when he was sure to follow, where there was a couch and, worse, a bed.

“Uh…I’m thinking of going to get something to eat.” It was a lie, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Yeah, I am, too.”

I gasped and didn’t know if it were the arousal clouding my mind or the heat in his voice that made me think it was me he talked of eating.

A moan came unbidden from my throat as flashes of his mouth and tongue on me replayed in my mind. I didn’t protest when he took my hand and walked me around the open car door. Bumping it with his hip, he slammed it shut and pulled me to him.

“You have any idea what I should eat, Hannah?”

Jumping away from him, I backed toward the door that led to my entryway. “Gabe, I have to-”

I wasn’t able to finish my sentence, because he grabbed me and drew me back to him.

“Where are you going? You’re moving so fast it’s almost as if you’re running from something. Are you, Hannah?”

“No, of course not,” I whispered as I took another step back, only to hit the wall behind me.”

You look guilty. Are you? Did you do something you didn’t have any business doing?” He pulled me back to him again until my back was against his chest and he rasped softly against my ear, “Am I going to have to frisk you?” He placed his hand against my back and bent me over until I was splayed over the hood of my car. Putting my hands beneath me, I pushed up, only to have him take both my wrists in his hands and pull my arms outward until they almost stretched the length of the car. “Maybe even handcuff you?”

You can buy Make Me Remember Here!

I had the absolute pleasure to meet Rhain at the 2009 Romantic Times convention last year. We had a great time chatting about books, writing and generally chatting. I was absolutely thrilled when I found out she had sold to Ellora’s Cave. I’m just as excited to have her here with me today. One lucky winner will have the choice of Coyote Home or one of Rhain’s backlist (which all rock!).

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Wow! Am I really here? *pinches self*

Thanks so much for allowing me to take part Christine and I can’t believe it’s been more than a year since we met in person. RT 2009 was my first real look at what the romance publishing industry is all about. It was a very enlightening experience that’s for sure. I had the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful authors, reader, editors, pirates, oh wait that’s another story. *grin*

Anyway, at the time I met Christine I hadn’t found the gumption to send anything to Ellora’s Cave yet. I’d thought about and after the great time I had in Orlando with quite a few EC authors I knew it wouldn’t be long before I went knocking on EC’s door. That first knock was truly scary but I had some great friends encouraging me and well I just knew if I wanted to make my goals as a writer I had to do it.

So I pulled up my big-girl panties and sent off Coyote Home. OMG! Somebody pass the bucket! Can you say nauseous? Within days of sending that first submission my life was thrown into absolute chaos. Hubby informed me that his work was moving us back to Sydney, Australia. We’d been living in Singapore since 2007 and would be returning home in 2010. Not an easy job when you’re the mother in a family of 7 with 3 cats. So when I received the email from the editor offering me a contract I actually didn’t believe it.

*Hangs head* I honestly didn’t think I’d read it right and had to email my close friend Nicole Austin to see if she could make head or tail of it. LOL I laugh now when I think of how mad that time in my life was. For months I’ve been chasing my own ass and still I’m not sure I’ve caught it. Sure, we’re in our house and the kids are settled back into school and work but could someone tell me what year it is?

Then last month came the light-bulb moment for me. I awoke to an excited email from my CP, Mari Carr, it took me a few minutes to decipher as there was a lot of squeeing going on. It seems I’d made the coming soon pages, well Coyote Home had anyway. So off I went to check it out. HOLY SHIT! (can I say that here?) I’m an author at Ellora’s Cave! *thud* No matter how numb I am from moving countries and unpacking boxes IT’S REAL! I didn’t dream it! There has been some serious bumps along the way but finally Coyote Home is available from EC.

Woot!

AND the lovely Grace Bradley offered me a contract for Coyote Wild just the other day too! Double woot! First round edits are done and I can’t wait to see the two stories side by side on my author page. OMG! I have an author page!
Okay, so obviously the numbness I’ve been living in for months now is wearing off. *grin* I’m so excited to be with EC I can hardly breath. Of course I’ve always got Hubby to bring me back to earth, he wants to know when he can quit work and be a kept man. LMAO In his dreams.

Even with all that’s gone on since I contracted my first story with EC I’m thrilled to finally be an author of one of the books I’d normally buy. Yep, for years I’ve haunted the EC site on release days as a reader. And now I’ve done it as an author waiting for my book to go live. Life doesn’t get much better than this.

Coyote Home – Rhian Cahill

Coming home was never going to be easy for Rowan Wilder, but after six years she didn’t think it would be this hard. First she can’t control her inner coyote, then she has to deal with her mate and the madman out to get them both. Determined to take her rightful place in the pack, Rowan must face each hurdle and succeed. To fail could mean losing her life.

Quinn MacClellan is more than ready for the return of his mate and he’ll do anything to keep her safe and by his side. He couldn’t protect her years ago but things are different now and he won’t let anything or anyone separate them again. Together they’ll confront all obstacles and ensure the future they both deserve.

Excerpt:-

Rowan came awake slowly. Surrounded in warmth, she wanted to stay asleep but something nagged at her mind, made her think she needed to get up now. Stretching, she arched her back and rolled over onto a warm body.

“Ah…” She leapt from the bed, got tangled in the covers and went down on her ass, hard. As pain radiated from her squashed rear end her senses kicked in and a familiar scent filled her nostrils. She groaned with embarrassment. Flopping back on the floor, she hoped Quinn had slept through her drama queen moment. With the chuckle coming from above she knew she was out of luck.

Quinn’s head popped over the side of the mattress. “Morning, Rowan. You’re one of those leap-out-of-bed types I see.” His smothered laughter made her want to strangle him. He knew full well she hated mornings.

“You’ve just scared ten years off my life and you think it’s funny?” Rowan tugged the sheet away from her legs and with as much dignity as she could manage, got to her feet and straightened her clothes. She wished she’d stayed on the floor when she looked at Quinn. Lying across the bed on his stomach with nothing but a strip of cloth covering his ass, he was every woman’s wet dream come to life. Her slumbering coyote sat up, and Rowan breathed deep, only to suck in another lungful of Quinn’s scent.

She fought to hold her beast back and remembered how hard it was when she’d learned to shift as a teenager. Using every trick she’d ever been taught, Rowan soothed the animal and held tight. Quinn needed to get dressed. In reality, it probably wouldn’t make that much difference but every little bit helped.

“Get dressed,” she growled between clenched teeth.

He scrambled out of bed, snatched his clothes from the floor and pulled them on without a protest. With all those muscles covered she would at least be able to look at him and pretend she was in control. Rowan eased back, unclenched her jaw and relaxed her arms and legs. Each small win over her coyote built her confidence, gained trust between her human and animal sides. But she needed to reward her coyote for behaving.

“I need to shift now. I’m in control, well as much as I can be at the moment, but I need to let her go.”

“Okay, change. I’ll be right here.”

His unconditional support went a long way to soothing both her and her beast. Taking a deep breath, Rowan made her first intentional shift in six years.

The snap and pop of bones moving filled the room, the last of the changes not as loud or as painful as the first ones. It still took her longer than it should for a coyote her age but the time had shortened since yesterday. Then again, they’d changed together. The first three times had been the beast inside breaking free. Rowan felt more comfortable, more connected to her wild side than she had before and with one leap, her coyote bounded onto the bed.

Standing on four legs, she surveyed the room around her, absorbed the differences between now and when she was last here. Other than the bigger bed, the furniture was the same, even the quilt was the one handmade by her grandmother. Her gaze landed on Quinn. He’d changed, broadened across the chest a little. The lines beside his mouth and eyes could be from stress or laughter but they didn’t detract from his appeal. They showed character and life. A life she hadn’t been there to share.

The need for him to hold her surged through her, to feel the heart beating beneath his chest and his strong arms wrapped tightly around her. Shifting back came easier, the speed with which she took human form sucked the breath from her lungs and she fell forward only to be caught before she toppled off the bed. A wall of muscle lay against her cheek, the drumbeat on the other side soothed Rowan’s need for closeness. The warm bands of muscle circling her back were like steel but she didn’t feel restrained. Quinn’s embrace was exactly what she needed.

They went from holding each other to devouring in seconds. Rowan had no idea who made the first move but when their lips connected it was like being struck by lightning. Every nerve sprang to attention and her blood rushed through her body, filling sensitive tissue to the point of bursting. Quinn’s tongue lashed out, darted into her mouth to collide with hers. Rowan took all he offered and asked for more.

Teeth bumped and scraped along lips and tongues, and breath became secondary to taking in the man holding her. Lack of oxygen forced them apart but didn’t stop the urge to take or the consuming need roaring to life inside her. They tumbled to the bed, legs entwined as hands pushed and pulled at clothing. From one breath to the next, Rowan’s only goal was to get Quinn naked. To feel his skin against hers—to taste every inch of him.

Bare flesh met fingertips and she sighed with relief but craved more. Her hands molded every slope, every muscle, as they explored the changes in Quinn’s body. So much was the same yet different. Hungry for more, Rowan followed her hands with her mouth. She skimmed his chest, stopped at one pebbled nipple to draw it in between her lips. She sucked hard and Quinn’s hips thrust against her, his erection cradled by the softness of her stomach. Her hand traveled down his hard abs to delve inside his pants.

She wrapped her fingers around Quinn’s cock, the hard length hot within her grasp. She stroked down to the root and cupped his balls before squeezing lightly. Mutual groans broke free as his sac pulled tight. Regaining her grip, she pulled her hand up to the tip, sweeping her thumb over the bead of moisture leaking from the slit. He pumped his hips and Rowan worked her hand up and down his rigid flesh, squeezing tighter with every thrust.

Desperation clawed at her. The passion neither of them had ever been able to deny exploded. She needed to taste him. To feel him inside her. Tugging at his remaining clothes, Rowan freed his cock and fought to move down his body. Quinn’s hands circled her arms stopping her descent.

“No. Christ. You do that and I’m a goner,” he panted.

I’ve made a lot of amazing writing friends over the past few years. One person who has been with me from the beginning of this journey is Amy. A great friend, Amy and I have had many IM sessions where we’ve plotted out stories, chatted about characters, and have generally been goofy. I’m thrilled to have her here with me today.

—

I didn’t know what to blog about. First I think a tenth anniversary of any kind is a big deal. Ten books at Ellora’s Cave. Way to go to Christine.

Second I kind of look as her 10 books as 10 books of a friendship.

What can I say about C really? I had the honor of meeting her and becoming her friend through our RWA Chapter, she was (at the time) a remote member. We crossed paths on our chapters little NaNoWriMo get together. It was my first NaNo and I was a new member of our chapter.

Even though she started seriously writing before me, and subbed before I ever did I like to think we started out together. Especially when we had a friendly competition with NaNo in the winter of 2006, during which time she sold The Bond that Ties Us. We found through many, many, many, many instant messages chats we liked the same things and then things which she liked and I hadn’t either seen or heard she pulled me in.

No, I never heard of Breaking Benjamin until she bombarded me with them. Now, I am totally hooked.

No, I never knew what Torchwood was and I still thought Dr. Who was still stuck in the Tom Baker land. She lent me the DVDs and I became as obsessed (well not quite she did call her dog Jack).

I believe she even got me hooked on the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, even though I never really like vampires other than Anne Rice. I haven’t looked back, I read them all.

She’s like that guy on Sesame Street, with the trench coat who sold me letters.

She also helped me with my first book I sold. I wrote Masque of Desire on a call to submission for EC, and C graciously read it over for me to see if it would fit in. So glad she did, because it did and I got the ‘call’ to join the cave in June 2007, and I haven’t looked back.

It was also the start of a pretty darn good CP relationship. Write ins and writers retreats and one incident where I became covered with red wine. I really didn’t believe salt could take out a red wine stain.

One time Raelene Gorlinsky came up to our chapter, and C and I picked her up. We perpetually finished each other’s sentences to the point Raelene laughed and said. “Are you two CPs?”

I also get to say Neener Neener I read the books before they hit the virtual shelves. *g*

Okay, enough teasing.

Happy 10 C, though really get a move on another 10 would ya? That series we plotted out after No Quarter is not going to write itself you know. J

I’m also offering an e-book. Reader’s choice of Fox’s Bride, Rain God, Masque of Desire, Love Thy Neighbor and Hard Candy to a lucky commenter.