Ten for Ten Plus One – Ari Thatcher

Published on May 14, 2010 in 10 For 10. 18 Comments

There is something to be said for sexy, hot vacation stories. Especially given what the weather has been like in my neck of the planet recently. That’s one of the excellent reasons why I’m excited to have Ari Thatcher on my blog today! One lucky commenter will win a copy of her book Maui Rekindled. Thanks to Ari for joining me today.

Hot, Crazy Vacation Sex

So what are you doing this summer? Have any vacation plans? Wherever I end up, I plan to have my e-reader in hand with lots of unread books downloaded. If you are like me, your to-be-read list is longer than your arm. And a majority of the books involve hot, passionate sex!

The books I currently have open are Cherise Sinclair’s BREAKING FREE, Maya Banks INTO THE MIST and the PROM NIGHTS FROM HELL anthology. Odd mix, I guess. But they are all engrossing and take me away from my life.

In my latest release, MAUI REKINDLED, Maggie is spending a week in Maui to clear her head after her divorce. She plans on sightseeing and spending time with her e-reader until she runs into her old flame, Gabe.

Fifteen years ago, she and Gabe worked together on Maui before going their separate ways. You can read about their last night together in MAUI HEAT, a free read from Ellora’s Cave. That night is what drives Maggie to think about having hot, crazy vacation sex with Gabe. I can guarantee she gets her wish, but Gabe is hoping for something a bit more long range. You’ll have to read MAUI REKINDLED to find out if he gets his way!

I’m giving away a free copy of my novella MAUI REKINDLED to a person chosen at random by Christine. Just leave a comment here and tell me what you reading, or looking forward to reading this summer. I’m always looking for new authors to enjoy.

Thanks to Christine for letting me help celebrate her release, MISTRESS RULES!

You can keep up with my releases at my website http://arithatcher.com

Download a free copy of MAUI HEAT
Buy MAUI REKINDLED

Maui Rekindled
By Ari Thatcher
ISBN 9781419928444

Blurb:

“I’ll call you.” That’s the last thing Gabe said fifteen years ago as Maggie prepared to fly home from a summer in paradise. When he didn’t call, she packed away the memories of their sexual romp and relegated him to vacation-fling status.

Now, as the ink on her divorce papers dries, Maggie returns to that Maui resort hoping to find the carefree woman she once was. When Gabe walks out of the waves on her first afternoon at the beach, she isn’t sure whether to laugh or run away. Hot, crazy vacation sex with no strings attached would be the perfect remedy for her bloody divorce.

Gabe thinks of Maggie as the one who got away, and he’s not about to let it happen again. The passion between them is as fiery as ever, but is it hot enough to rekindle the romance he knows they could share? He’s got one week to prove to her it is.

Excerpt:

The little noises she made were the fucking hottest thing he’d heard in years. He bit the edge of the bra cup and tugged, baring her to his gaze. Her pale pink areola puckered as he watched. As much as he loved the sight of her, he needed to taste.

He took as much of her flesh in his mouth as he could, kneading with his tongue and pulling back slowly. “Damn, you’re so sweet.”

She stroked his shoulders and down his arms, her fingers working under his sleeves. Sitting up, he tugged off the t-shirt and tossed it aside. Her gasp was a stroke to his ego, which was swelling as fast as his cock.

Her thumbs brushed the contours of his chest, finding areas of sensitivity he’d forgotten. She continued to stare as she explored. “I thought you were so hot when we were younger. I had no idea what hot was.”

As he bared her other breast, he said, “I think we have a better appreciation as we get older. We’re not looking for instant satisfaction.”

“Instant, no,” she agreed. She lifted herself to him.

On a sudden urge, he pulled away, standing and shifting her to lie completely on the couch.

Sitting beside her hips, he said, “Sit up a bit.”

She struggled to rise on one elbow and he took off her tank top and reached behind her to unhook her bra. Then he adjusted the throw pillow behind her head and let her relax. “Perfect.”

He nudged at her elbow. “Put your arms up over your head.”

She did, her eyes never leaving his.

“I want to learn every inch of you. Then memorize it. All those years I had just shadowed memories of you. As hard as I tried to picture you, I could only remember how you felt in the darkness.”

Maggie reached for his arm but he caught her. “Nah, put it back.”

She waited, searching his eyes, then lifted her arm again.

“That’s my girl.” Her flesh swelled beneath his touch as he stroked with light fingers, tracing the pink edge of her areola. He tasted her again, tugged on the nipple and watched her head tilt back in pleasure.

With his tongue he traced a trail between her breasts, down over her ribs, stopping at her navel. There he circled before dipping inside. Her hips bucked, and he wrapped a hand around her hip. The denim fabric held her warmth, kept him from exploring further

He watched her eyes for permission as he unbuttoned and unzipped the shorts. Grabbing the waistband in both hands, he tugged them down, leaving only her lacy bikini panties between them.

Her eyelids flared when his hand smoothed across the curve of her belly. Gabe continued to stroke, wondering for a moment if he moved too fast. Should he wait, take this slowly? How could he tell if she was really ready for this?

Their time together would end soon, creating urgency, but they weren’t young and careless anymore. As he concentrated on the softness of her skin and the heat of her body, her hips bucked beneath his hand, silently encouraging him to move on.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Good God, you can’t be thinking of stopping now.” She reached for her panties.

He stopped her. “Mine. Put your hands back where I told you.”

Ten For Ten Plus One – Amy Ruttan

Published on May 13, 2010 in 10 For 10. 11 Comments

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.

Ten For Ten Plus One – KB Alan

Published on May 12, 2010 in 10 For 10. 17 Comments

One of the things I personally love about Ellora’s Cave, is the wide array of authors and stories they have available to readers. KB Alan brings us worlds of hot paranormals and even hotter BDSM. One lucky commenter will receive an e-copy of her new book Bound By Sunlight, which just released today! Thanks to KB for joining me !

—

I discovered Ellora’s Cave after checking out Lora Leigh’s website and finding something called ebooks. It took me forever to pick my first book, figure out formats and how I was going to read it, etc, but I was back for more about three hours later, and now my ebook library is closing in on 1000.

About the time that I memorized my credit card number, I decided maybe I needed to cut back on my reading, just a bit 0_0 . I’d gotten a new laptop during the Black Friday sales, so during my Christmas vacation, I decided to start writing down some of the stories in my head, which had taken a certain spicy slant with my new reading habits. My plan worked out very well, a little too well, actually, as I am now painfully behind on my TBR pile, but my third Ellora’s Cave book, Bound by Sunlight, releases today!

Please check out my website: www.kbalan.com

You can purchase link for Bound by Sunlight here.

Blurb for Bound by Sunlight:

Kyriana Price has spent nearly a year trapped at her evil day job. And she does mean evil. Her boss is a mage bent on power and lets nothing stand in the way of his quest to gain more of it. When she sees Connul Graysn wielding a flogger at a BDSM club, she formulates an escape plan that will require his considerable skills—as a mage and as a Dom. Going to another mage for help might not be the best plan, but it’s the only one she’s got, and at this point, she’s willing to try just about anything.

The last thing Connul expects when he finds an intruder in his house is that he’ll soon have her chained in his bedroom, her lovely body marked by his paddle. But she’s begging for his help—how can a gentleman refuse? As they learn to trust each other, he begins to realize that the only thing he’s not willing to do for her is let her go.

Ten for Ten Plus One – Jennifer Leeland

Published on May 11, 2010 in 10 For 10. 19 Comments
Welcome to day one of my celebration leading up to my tenth Ellora’s Cave release, Mistress Rules. I’ve invited eleven amazing authors to be with me over the next eleven days. I am pleased to start our fun with the wonderful Jennifer Leeland! Thanks for being here today, Jennifer. :D
—
Thank you, Christine, for letting me participate with such awesome authors!
Following my post today will be a laundry list of great Ellora’s Cave authors who write some of the best erotic romance available.  But Christine was willing to let me, NOT an EC author, be a part of her awesome collection.  The honor is all mine.
When I started writing, I didn’t even know erotic romance existed.  I began reading it when I became a reviewer for Romance Divas.  And my first one was from Ellora’s Cave.  After that?  I couldn’t get enough of it.
Then, I was directed to Joey W. Hill. Oh. My. God.  I fell in love.  Hot sex scenes?  Yes.  Great characters?   Absolutely.  But it was the psychology of Joey Hill’s interactions.
Since then, I’ve been influenced by many erotic romance authors.  Christine D’Abo’s “Bonded” series, Kate Pearce, Crystal Jordan’s shifters, Loribelle’s Sci Fi and many, many more. But I’ll never forget that most of my favorite erotic authors are published at Ellora’s Cave.
Now, after waxing eloquent about EC, here’s a little offer for you.  Two people could win today and I’ve got a couple of books to offer. To one commenter here, on Christine’s blog, I’ve got “Marked For Pleasure” an ebook by me available in
pdf form.
AND to anyone who retweets my link for this blog post on Twitter (follow me @JenniferLeeland) I’ll give a copy of any ebook on my backlist in pdf form. I’ll keep the contest open until May 21st at 5pm Pacific Standard Time.

My Webpage
My MySpace Page

Cover for Mistress Rules!!

Published on May 5, 2010 in Mistress Rules. 6 Comments

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!

Almost Time – 10 For 10 Plus 1!

Published on May 5, 2010 in 10 For 10. 3 Comments

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!

How a writer packs

Published on May 4, 2010 in Life and Reading. 3 Comments

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. :D

Five Lips for No Quarter!!

Published on May 2, 2010 in No Quarter and Review. 2 Comments

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*

Kobo – First Impressions

Published on May 1, 2010 in Technology. 12 Comments


*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. :D

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. :D

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.

Case of the missing Kobo

Published on May 1, 2010 in Technology. 1 Comment

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. :D

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*