OMG…
You know sometimes, you look at a cover and wonder what it has to do with the story. Then there are other times when you look at a cover and you know EXACTLY where it’s going.
This cover…oh yes.
I. Am. In. Love!
Nothing like a little promotion to get the blood pumping, eh? Actually, that would be the insane amounts of coffee I have flowing through my veins right now. *grin*
I’m heading out for a business trip tomorrow, which means I won’t be able to blog, but I wanted to remind everyone about my up coming contest of fun and excitement! That’s right, for ten days, you’ll get to hear from some exciting Ellora’s Cave authors, find out about their releases and possibly win yourself some fantastic prizes! As an added bonus, we have our fun started with a bonus author and fantastic friend.
Why am I doing all this? Well it’s to celebrate the release of Mistress Rules, my 10th EC release. I’m still in shock it’s been so many!
Interested to see who I have in store for you??
Here we go!
10 For 10 Plus 1
May 11 – Jennifer Leeland
May 12 – KB Alan
May 13 – Amy Ruttan
May 14 – Aileen Fish
May 15 – JK Coi
May 16 – Rhian Cahill
May 17 – Emma Petersen
May 18 – Nina Pierce
May 19 – Lissa Matthews
May 20 – Tory Richards
May 21 – Christine d’Abo
Every day will see one lucky commenter win a prize. On my day, I will be giving away a signed print copy of The Bond That Ties Us and an e-copy of Mistress Rules. I hope you’ll all be able to participate and join me in the fun.
Stay tuned and brace yourself for the fun!
I’ve come to the conclusion I’m getting weirder as I get older (no comments Amy!). It used to be when I had a business trip to get ready for, my focus was on the little things, like when am I going to have time to do the laundry and is there anything I need to help hubby with before I go.
What do I obsess over now?
How much reading material do I have on my Kobo? Will there be enough for the flight there and back? Do I have the most recent version of my WIP on my USB stick?
Underwear be damned!
Yes, this writer is off to beautiful British Columbia for a “day job” trip. I have to say I’m super excited about it. It will officially be the furthest west I’ve ever been in my life. Being from the Canadian east coast, getting to visit the west coast is just plain awesome!
I also love the whole travel part. Not the early morning rides to the airport, but I do love people watching. You get to see individuals at their best and worst at an airport. It’s fascinating. I always seem to come out of a trip with some good writing under my belt. I’m hoping this won’t be any different.
This is also my first real run of the Kobo for prolonged reading. I’ll let you know how I make out with it. There will be pictures and tweets, so I’ll keep you all posted. 
As an author, we both anxiously await and dread the first review on any story we write. It’s waiting on pins and needles and never knowing if the result is going to be pleasant or a trip to the doctor.
I’m thrilled to say that the first review for No Quarter has left me with a smile on my face. I’ve received a five lip review from Two Lips Reviews!!
No Quarter by Christine D’Abo is a space adventure with a spicy twist. I loved Gar’s character; he is strong, determined and darn sexy. He is good at bringing in the bad guys, but this mission is blurring the lines between the bad guys and the good guys…When you want adventure, romance and some hot manlove, you want No Quarter; this book delivers in spades, and it does it in all the ways that matter.
Thank you to Tina at Two Lips for making my weekend.
*does a snoopy dance*
*puts her geek hat on and clears throat*
Hello.
I am a fan of gizmos and gadgets. At my day job I work for a tech company and get play with all sorts of cool new products. It probably explains why I love sci-fi shows and books as much as I do – toys! You might not be aware *snort*, but recently I purchased a Kobo e-book reader. Aside from a few shipping challenges, the entire process from start to finish has been great. I wanted to share with you my first impressions of the Kobo reader.
I ordered the device online (www.chapters.ca) and I did break down and pay for the fast shipping. I’m a sucker for wanting a tracking number. A quick note on the Chapters site itself–the experience was great. I had excellent online updates as to where my package was. Chapters knew, even when Canada Post didn’t. 
Finally, the box arrived!
It was pretty light, but I knew my prize was waiting for me. I dove in to discover – the Kobo box.
I like that there wasn’t a lot of extra packaging with the device. The unit itself came with a little getting started guide and a USB cable. Everything was straightforward and the directions were very clear.
It didn’t take me long to figure out what I needed to do. Step one, using the USB cable, I had to charge this puppy. The book said it could take about three hours to charge to full, but mine only took two. I’m assuming once I drain the battery, three will be about the norm.
(my computer)
The next step was to install the desktop application. Even this was very easy. Once I plugged the Kobo in, it launch from my desktop, giving me access to the .exe file on the Kobo itself. I love that I didn’t have to worry about a CD (which I would lose). Keep this folder on the Kobo in case you ever switch computers or in the event you need to reinstall your operating system. I now had the Kobo program launched on my computer and I was ready to buy books!
The Kobo store is very easy to use. Most companies do know the online interface is important, so it’s not really a surprise. They have an excellent selection of books and I found more than my Visa would allow to purchase. One thing I don’t like about the store, is the way I can only seem to buy one book at a time. There doesn’t seem to be a way to add multiple books to your shopping cart. I’m sure there must be a way around this, but I have yet to find it. If anyone knows and I’m just being a dork, please fill me in so I can spend money more efficiently.
My first purchase was Loretta Chase’s Lord Of Scoundrels. *cheer*
The blurriness is from my BlackBerry camera, not the Kobo itself. The e-paper is very crisp and easy to read. It is very similar to the Sony e-reader in the feel. Much lighter than the Sony, and I found it easy to lay back in bed and read. It comes loaded with tons of books (mostly classics), many of which I will enjoy reading. They had Sherlock Holmes, I’m thrilled.
The book I bought loaded within seconds and I didn’t have to do anything crazy to get it to move into the library. With the .pub format, I can zoom in nicely and get that text as big as I need it to be.
One of my original complaints with the Sony (and the reason I returned it) was how it handled standard PDF files. I know they have a work around now, but at the time it frustrated me. Most of the e-books I’d bought previously were in PDF, so I was concerned I’d have a similar issue. These documents show up under the document list rather than the book list, and I do have the ability to zoom in. The only concession is that I need to pan the page in order to read it once zoomed. Mildly annoying, but I CAN read the documents. I don’t have to go and modify them into a different format or get a third party app to do it for me.
The good news, going forward I’ll be buying all my EC books in .pub format, so I won’t have to worry about it.
When I power the Kobo off, it actually puts the cover on the screen of the book I was in the middle of reading. I think this is a great touch, making it feel more like a real book.
Did I mention this baby is light?? It is very easy to navigate around the menus and I know I could have figured out how to use it without reading the manual. I’m glad I did, but it wasn’t necessary.
Overall? I’m thrilled with this device. It’s small, light, with give me an expandable memory slot so I can get 4G more worth of books on there. The price is a lot less than the Sony, with just as much viewable space. Plus, I can get cool skins to put on it to snazz it up.
Yes, I’m a girl.
Currently, the Kobo is only available in Canada, but according to their website it will be coming to the US this summer. If you have been putting off buying an e-reader, I would suggest you give this one a look. I’m very pleased.
You can see more on the device by checking out the Chapters site here.
So anyone who was on Twitter last night most likely heard me complaining about Canada Post. Here’s what happened.
Monday, a friend at work told me about the Kobo. How it hadn’t ended up on my radar sooner, I’m not sure. I got all excited and pre-ordered one. There was no release date listed, but a little bird told me it was going to be very early May.
Surprise, surprise, I got an email from Chapters on Thursday night telling me my Kobo had shipped! I’d paid for the extra shipping so I could get a tracking number and was able to map it’s progress. The warehouse it shipped from is about an hour and a half from my house, so I knew it wouldn’t take long to get to me.
Friday morning, Canada Post shows up at my house to deliver the package. Unfortunately, it’s in the hour and a half my husband isn’t home. No problem! They leave a little pick up card telling me where it is. On the computer they note this, and I can see it is at the post office for pickup.I call before I go down, JUST TO MAKE SURE they have the package. “Yes, it’s here!”
So I go down. And…they can’t find it.
The girl “thinks” it might have been put back on the truck to go back to the sorting depot. This was Friday night, so there is nothing I can do until Monday.
*sigh*
This is the price I pay for getting excited about technology.
The good news out of all of this comes from Kobo itself. I was complaining about Canada Post on Twitter and the kind people over at Kobo saw this. They reassured me that I’d get my reader if it was in fact lost.I was impressed by their customer service! I just hope I get it before my flight on Thursday.
I’ll keep you all posted on the drama.
UPDATE: The post office called me this morning. They found the box!! I’m now sitting here with my wonderful new Kobo charging. I’ll be doing a review either later on today or tomorrow.
*giggles*
It has come to my attention (i.e I woke up and had a coffee) that Mistress Rules is my tenth release from Ellora’s Cave. Oh, just a second…
*breaks in to a spontaneous snoopy dance*
As a result, I feel the need to celebrate! Starting on May 11th up to the release of Mistress Rules on May 21st, I will be having a contest. Every day I will have an fantastic EC author here to talk about their EC books, leading up to my big day.
We’ll have stories, prizes and lots of good times! More details to come as we get closer to the date. So mark those calendars as we get ready for…
10 for 10 Plus 1!
About two years ago, my husband bought me one of the very first Sony e-book readers. I loved it! Unfortunately, the original version didn’t handle PDFs very well, not allowing us to zoom in to read it properly. We called and talked to several of their techs. At the time, there was nothing they could do to help us. Seeing as all of my e-books were PDF, I returned it. I’ve been e-book readerless ever since.
I’ve had my eyes open for a replacement, tossing around several option. The iPad was cool, but more of a unit than what I wanted. I wouldn’t go for the Kindle as I have issues with any proprietary software that limits what books and where I can buy. I was leaning toward getting another Sony, especially now they managed to fix their PDF issues. For awhile, I even toyed with the idea of getting a netbook.
I hummed and hawed…and generally drove my saint of a husband insane.
Today, I made a decision! I even have gone so far as to pre-order my device of choice and now I’m sitting on my hands, waiting for delivery day.
My decision? I’m getting the Kobo!
What? You’ve never heard of the Kobo??
That’s okay, I hadn’t either until last week. I’m not sure if this is also available in the US, but here in Canada you can get it directly through Chapters Indigo. I’m assuming its the same as the Barnes & Noble Nook, and they will in fact have a US version coming out this summer. The list price is $149 Canadian, and for what I was personally looking for in an e-reader, this does it.
Is it perfect? Probably not. But at a fraction of the price of a Sony and far more durable than an iPad, I’m okay with that. Plus, when the next generation of hoo-haw comes out a year or two from now, I’ll won’t feel this will owe me anything.
I’ll be giving some updates on the quality, look, feel, downloading, etc once it arrives.
If you could see my face, you would know three things:
- My hair is currently in need of a new dye job,
- My nose is red from blowing it for three days straight,
- I’m currently wearing a grin a mile wide.
I just found out that my Fem Dom, futuristic, menage story, Mistress Rules, will be released from Ellora’s Cave on May 21st! For those of you wondering what the story is about, here’s the blurb:
When Faris steps into his friend and mentor’s inner sanctum, he doesn’t expect to find Stella—a leather-clad Dominatrix. He can only watch as Ulric, the most powerful man in the sector, drops to his knees and throws himself at Stella’s mercy. Faris must decide whether to walk out the door, leaving his friend behind, or to put himself into the hands of a woman who demands nothing less than his absolute surrender.
Ulric knows Faris holds himself responsible for the devastating attack on the colony outpost. If Faris doesn’t learn how to forgive himself, the young man will be on the road to emotional disaster. His only hope is to convince Stella to bring Faris into their lives as another submissive. Ulric must now put his feelings for Stella on the line while holding tight to the man he desperately wants beneath him.
I’m hoping this means the cover won’t be too far behind. You can also read an excerpt of the book here.
*does a snoopy dance*
Hello everyone.
While I know people don’t wait on the edge of their seat for me to update my blog, I do like to make sure I pop in and keep you all apprised of what’s going on in Christine’s world.
On the health front…
I think some of you were aware that I was quite sick at the beginning of the year. The good news is that I’ve gotten significantly better since January. The bad new is that some of the damage to my lungs appears to be permanent. The doctors don’t think it will have a major impact on my quality of life, so I’ll just have to keep an eye on things.
On the writing front…
I was thrilled to have No Quarter release on March 31st. The response from the few people I’ve talked to has been positive. No reviews yet to share, but hopefully soon. Regardless, I was so happy with how that story turned out, I’ve decided to continue writing in that universe for a while. I’m already halfway done writing the sequel, Letter of Marque, and I have plans for a third novel. I’m tentatively calling it, Pieced of Eight.
I’m also super excited to let you know that the final edits for Mistress Rules have gone out the door. I’m now waiting to hear on a release date and get my cover. This story went from being a 15k Quickie, to a 26k novella. The changes gave me the chance to really explore the relationships between the main characters and hopefully give you all a super sexy story. More information on the Mistress when I get it. 
On the TV front…
Supernatural is breaking my heart. You just know things are going to get so bad for the boys in the next four episodes. I’m going to be a mess come the finale, I can tell already.
Fringe redeemed itself in my eyes with last week’s episode. It was great to see Peter Weller on the screen again, and the whole plot line with Walter was excellent. I can’t wait for the fallout tonight.
I missed Glee this week, but I hope to watch it tonight. I really need fluff in my life right now.
DOCTOR WHO!!! Okay, I had reservations about Matt Smith, I’ll admit it. But wow, what a great first episode. Amy comes across as a mix of Rose and Donna, which I love. I knew having Stephen Moffatt at the helm was going to be fantastic. I’m just glad he’s proving me right.
So that’s it for me. How are you all doing?
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