Guest Blogging and A Contest

I’m happy to tell you that Brande, from Book Junkie, has posted an interview with yours truly over at her blog.

I’m even happier to tell you that she’s also posted the first review for A Question of Love! (I think she might have liked the book. )

And the third thing I’m happy to tell you is that Brande is running a contest. So for your chance to win an e-book of your choice from my backlist, all you need to do is click the link below, read the interview and leave a comment:

http://myfoolishwisdom.blogspot.com

Jess

Only Tyler releases in print

Today is the day Only Tyler releases in print.
You can’t see my face coz I’m about a million miles high, but I am beaming right now. I have a smile from ear to ear.

I received my author copies the other day, and got a huge lump in my throat. The book looks stunning. I swear, it blew me away. I’d always thought the cover was gorgeous, but holding it in my hands…Wow. Just wow!

Yes, I know. I’m a terrible photographer. I couldn’t do the book justice. But I did want to show off the print version just a little.

So, for those of you who don’t know anything about Only Tyler, here is the blurb:

Circle of Friends – Book 1

Love…or friendship? Does she really have to choose?

Katelyn Rosewood is facing a moral dilemma, one that’s six-foot-two, sexy as sin—and her fiancé’s best friend. Katie spent a lot of time getting over Tyler Bonnard, but now that he’s back in Sydney, he’s turning her carefully reconstructed world upside down.

Her relationship with Steve Sommers may be short on heat and desire, but after Tyler left her two years before, she’ll take security and solid friendship over wild passion any day. Except Tyler seems to have a good—if outrageous—explanation for why he’s returned.

After a tragic family secret tore him out of Katie’s life, Tyler is glad to be back with his two best friends. But one thing is out of place: Katie’s in the wrong man’s arms. And if her reaction to his return is any indication, she’s not quite over him. Which could mean hope for Tyler, heartbreak for Steve…

And another devastating loss for Katie, who must choose between the man to whom she’s committed her future, and the man who still holds her heart.

Warning: Keep a tissue or two handy while reading this book. While it does contain a few steamy love scenes, the rest of the story might just make you cry.

If you’re curious to find out more about the book, but don’t want to buy a copy just yet, that’s not a problem. You can download the first half of Only Tyler for free. Just go to Samhain’s “Discover New Author’s Program” at:

http://www.thesamhellion.com/dna_redhot.htm

and follow the directions. It’s just a click away.

Or, you can buy your print copy of the book at MBaM, Amazon or your favorite online bookstore!

The e-copy is also available at MBAM or your favorite eBookstore.

Happy reading,

Jess

Viv Arend’s Wolf Flight

I am super excited to tell you all that Viv Arend has a new release: Wolf Flight.

This is the sequel to her number one bestseller, Wolf Signs, and I can promise you, Arend fans will not be disappointed.

Wolf Flight is a wonderful tale of shifters and romance, humans and wolves, and I think it’s safe to say, that once you’ve finished reading it, you’ll be howling for more!

Jess

WOLF FLIGHT:

An untriggered werewolf. A runaway Omega. It’s not easy fighting destiny.

Granite Lake Wolves, Book 2

Tad Maxwell’s workaholism serves to keep his bush-pilot company in the air, and his inner werewolf in check. In the two years since he discovered his heritage, he’s resisted the longing to test the power of his wolf side. It would mean compromising his human principles.

Then Missy Leason re-enters his life. Ten years ago, their teenage attraction never went beyond hand-holding. Now their chemistry is off the charts, pushing him closer to the step he’s not sure it’s safe to take, especially with a human.

But Missy is more like Tad than he realizes. She’s wolf too, and a wolf pack is a dangerous place to have secrets. Missy’s Alpha has sniffed out her carefully hidden Omega powers. Her first response: run from the corrupt Alpha’s plan to make her his mate. Step two: get to Tad, and hope like hell his untapped powers are strong enough to negate her own.

Every touch with Missy is hot, hot, hot, but even finding out she’s pure wolf doesn’t solve Tad’s dilemma. Is she using him, or are they truly destined mates? Only one thing is certain. He will defend her to his last breath—on his terms. Even if it means losing his life.

Product Warnings

Contains nasty Alphas, secret Omegas and werewolves acting raunchy on the dance floor. Sarcasm, wilderness cabins and hot nookie back by popular demand.

Sexiest cover ever created?

Not sure if I’ve told you this yet, but Samhain have contracted a new novella of mine, called Going All In. It releases on Dec the 29th, and is part of a special New Year’s Eve release theme day!!

So look what Scott Carpenter, cover artist genius created for me:

Wanna know what the book’s about?

Okay, then. Here’s the blurb:

Going All In:

The higher the stakes, the harder they fall—in love.

Julia Savage’s weekly poker games are tearing her apart. She’s in love with two of her fellow card players, and much as she’d like to pick and confess her true feelings to one man, she won’t. Not if it means risking the love of the other.

Hunter Miles has wanted Julia for four months, and he’s about to deal a hand she couldn’t see coming. He’s determined to give her a New Year’s Eve celebration she never expected. He’s going to seduce her—in front of his friend and rival for her affections, Jay Baxter. But Jay’s not willing to lay down his cards. He’s going after Julia too, and he’s not above bluffing to get what he wants. Either way, one of them is going to win her over.

Unless they change the rules of the game. If they double up, there’s a chance they can split the pot…

Warning: This book is strictly for readers over the age of 18 — and still many of your parents will not approve. Beware of the scorching-hot m/f/m loving and m/m/f action that might set fire to your computer/reader.

Jess

Official opening – come chat; win prizes

Is it getting hot in here?

Yep. It sure is!

I think there’s a heat wave coming…

HEAT WAVE

The ladies of International Heat have created a unique Yahoo group for erotic romance fans. Readers will be eligible for ‘members only’ contests, never-before-seen deleted scenes, cover art madness, and lots of sneak peeks of the ‘coming soon’ lists of Viv Arend, Rhian Cahill, Mari Carr, Lexxie Couper, Jess Dee, Lila Dubois, Jambrea Jo Jones, Sherry Ricardo, Jayne Rylon, T, and Valerie Tibbs.

The official opening of the group is on the 1st of October, 2009, but you can click here to join right now.

Join during the month of October to be eligible to win ebooks, gift certificates, banners, and print books by these authors! (And you would not believe how many books are up for winning!)

There is a major contest for every week, plus we’ll also be doing some random drop-in contests, so keep your eye open for those throughout the month as well.

Each week there will be a new MAJOR prize package available to win. Ebooks, banners, gift certificates, book covers. Each prize package will show you what is in that prize. What you see is what you get, so if you already own some of the books in the prize,  you’ll just have to enjoy the ones you don’t have yet. Of course if the prize is a choice of backlist, you’ll get to choose!

MINI contests will be announced throughout the week, and you’ll usually have a day to enter to win. Again, prizes as stated in the announcements.
There’s also a GRAND PRIZE–and WOW, it’s pretty awesome!–that will be drawn on November 1st during our  Heat Wave Beach Party.
Each contest will explain what you have to do to enter.

Hope you enjoy getting to know the members of International Heat during this month and have fun.

BUT: Be warned… This group is intended for individuals over the age of eighteen (18).

See you over at Heat Wave.

Jess

A Question of Love

Here it is! Finally.

The gorgeous cover of A Question of Love.

What do you think?

And the blurb?

Well, I have an updated one for the book:

A Question of Love: Blurb

A past with three, a future for two…

The sequel to A Question of Trust.

Gabe Carter and his best friend Connor’s passion for threesomes brought Tina Jenkins into Gabe’s bed—and into his heart. As a matter of honor, he gave up the woman he loved. Time passes, times change and old promises fall away, but Gabe is still in love with Tina. Now he’s going after his heart’s desire.

Tina has her own opinion about Gabe’s sense of honor. His departure tore apart the most special of bonds and destroyed her relationship with Connor, leaving her brokenhearted. It took her a long time to pick up the pieces, a struggle she doesn’t wish to repeat. When Gabe shows up at her favorite coffee shop, she knows just where to tell him to stick his apology.

Gabe isn’t so easily put off—and Tina can’t help but respond to his seduction. Picking up where they left off is tempting, but Gabe wants her all to himself. And Tina wants the whole package, which includes Connor.

At the risk of crushing his hopes for the future, Gabe sets out to prove he’s more than enough man for her…

Warning: If piping hot sex, ménage scenes, adult toys, anal play, short blonde heroines and stacked, muscular heroes are not your cup of tea, then don’t read this book. You won’t enjoy it.

A Question of Love releases at Samhain on the 10th of November.

Jess

Wise Words From an Editor

Sherry Ricardo posted the following blog at International Heat. I thought it was a brilliant topic, which offered some excellent advice. Recently I’ve spoken to two authors who have been desperately unhappy with edits they had received. Were the editors at fault? The authors? Or were both right, but neither could see the other’s point of view? I can’t answer that.

But Sherry took it from an editor’s point of view and tried. She offers some amazing insights.

Jess

Sherry Ricardo’s Blog:

If you’re like me…

When you’ve finished a really good story, you whiz through the streets of cyberspace, searching frantically for the author’s website or blog, and that—sometimes elusive—“Contact” link so you can share your joy with said author about their fabulous story.

When you’ve finished a story that sucked, you stare at your ereading device in stupefaction, cursing at the waste of your time. If it’s an old fave who’s going downhill, you make a mental note to give them one or two more chances before you cross them off your buy list. If it’s a new-to-you author, you make a mental note to avoid said author’s work at all costs. If parts of the story were shockingly incongruous, you might ask, “How on earth did this get past an editor?” If you see a trend in that all the stories that sucked have been from a particular publisher, you make a mental note to be careful about buying stories published by that house.

The Crux

Edits can be tough. When you receive edits, don’t burn the effigy you’ve created of your evil editor because of the sea of red they desecrated your baby with. Take a step back. Then another one. And another. That’s it, you’re out of the room. Go do something else.

When you return to the computer, follow these steps:

1) Open the document and go immediately to the drop down box with viewing options.

2) Select “Final” (i.e. you don’t what to see the markup).

3) Read the story from beginning to end as if you had purchased it NOT written it. If something jumps out at you as wrong, make a note using the “Comment” option.

By this stage, two things would have happened. Either, the story sounds better than it did when you submitted it and you release a sigh of relief. Or, you had to insert tons of comments—you can burn the effigy now.

After the smoke clears, return to the document and:

4) Accept the edits you agree with.

5) Revise the sections where your editor’s changes clash with your vision.

6) Send new version to your editor.

Re: step 5—The story will be crystal clear in your head because it’s your story. Unfortunately, sometimes that vision just doesn’t make it all the way to the paper…uh…screen. I know it’s nearly impossible to be objective about your manuscript but if your editor doesn’t get a scene, some readers won’t either. So, tweak those sections.

Bottom line

For the editor-author relationship to run like a well-oiled machine, you can’t hold on for dear life to every word in your beloved manuscript. You have to be willing to make as many changes as needed so your story shines. Yes, aside from grammar and punctuation, etc. editing can be subjective. But, there are readers out there just like your editor.

Reading is a serious business and the experienced reader has no patience for crap. Sometimes you’ll see reviewers make the concession that a story was okay but it had “editing issues.” The fact of the matter is, readers rarely focus on the editor. It’s all about the author.

The Perfect Fairytale

LOLOL,

Jess

New releases from my IH sisters

This week has seen the releases of two new books from Viv Arend and Rhian Cahill.

(Yes, I like to brag about their accomplishments. Sue me.)

Check them out:

Rocky Mountain Heat Vivian Arend ISBN 978-1-59578-588-6 Blake Coleman is old enough to know that acting on impulse causes nothing but a heap of trouble. But when trouble’s a blonde wearing a cowboy hat with slim legs that go on forever, what’s a man to do? Wanting the sweet girl next door is just wrong. Hell, he was the one that taught her to ride a horse and now all he can think about is riding her. The responsible thing to do is keep his hands off. Jaxi has other plans for his hands, and his heart. She may have considered Blake a big brother once but that was a long time ago. She’s all grown up now and ready to convince him that she’s just what he’s been waiting for. Add the complication of two sexy younger brothers who have suddenly noticed Jaxi and things heat up fast. Blake’s gonna have to decide if a little trouble is worth fighting for. Read An Excerpt Here Book Length: Novella

Buy the book

$5.75

Singapore Fling
by
Rhian Cahill
Genre:
Contemporary
Length:
Novella
Carly Simmons has lusted after her boss for six months. Throwing caution to the wind while on a business trip in Singapore, she suggests a fling. When Saxon takes her up on her offer, Carly gets far more than the conservative businessman she’s expecting.

Saxon Grant is definitely up for a weekend of red-hot sex, but once he gets his hands on Carly he knows a couple of days will never be enough. Months of wanting her explode into a weekend of tangled sheets and twisted emotions.

And after one wild weekend, these two hearts will never be the same.

Buy the book $4.50

I’m off to buy the books right now.

Happy reading to all of us.

Jess

Surprise International Heat Spotlight: Lexxie Couper

BEFORE I SPOTLIGHT LEXXIE, CONGRATS TO ARMENIA FOR WINNING MARI’S PRIZE!

Okay, now let’s get down to business!

Remember last week, on Mari’s spotlight, I said there was a little surprise in store? Well, here she is: Our naughty little surprise. (Yep, naughty is the key word there.) LEXXIE COUPER. I’m thrilled to announce she is our latest and lastest member of International Heat. Woo hooo. I am so excited she’s here, I’m doing the lampshade happy dance.

The extra cool thing about Lex is that she’s a fair dinkum Aussie Sheila. Born, bred and still based Down Under. (Unlike myself – born in South Africa) and RC (based in Singapore.) Which means she can pash and root play the didgeridoo and throw a boomerang with the best of them. ;D

If you haven’t already met Lexxie, I’m sure you’ve read about her on my blog. Yep, she’s featured here a couple of times. Now, it’s true Lexxie is a brilliant author, and writes hot, sexy paranormals that first have you gripped until the final word of the story, and second, have you desperate to find a significant other to, uh, work off some of that heat. But the real reason I adore Lex has nothing to do with her skills with a pen/keyboard. See, Lexi introduced me to two very, very, very, very hawt, sexy men:

Yep, Bill and Sam.

Okay, I should be saying Lexxie introduced me to my new favorite program: True Blood! And for that I will be eternally grateful. But I’m getting sidetracked here – heck, who wouldn’t when thinking about Bill AND Sam – let’s get to the point:

Lexxie Couper’s Writing and Books:

Did you know, Lexxie is not only an author of erotic romance? She has dabbled in porn cartoons. Check it out here.

She also writes sweet, beautiful and romantic poetry. This is just one example of her unique, er, talent:

There was a young man from Australia
Who in bed, was never a failure.
He could bang on all night
And his arse was real tight
In fact, he was a real animalia!

Then I could go into great detail about all of her books, but I’d run clean out of blogging space. So I cheated. I hopped on to her website, and stole her cover pics to show you:

Plus there’s her new release at Samhain:

Lex: Welcome to International Heat. It is wonderful to have you!

For your chance to win a super prize, compliments of our brand new member, all you need to do is leave a comment here. If you’d like to increase your chances of winning, head on over to the rest of the IH blogs, including Lexxie’s and leave comments there as well.

Good luck.

Jess