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Friday, November 30, 2012

Leader of the Pack

Well, I got my wish. RYAN is on my cover! Woo-hoo! I'm thrilled and isn't it beautiful? It was designed by the multi-talented Syneca!

What's even cooler is that the image is almost like a scene from near the end of my book. What scene? Well, you have to read the book to find out. Grin and wink.

I'm a very happy camper today. Leader of the Pack releases on December 21 - just in time for some holiday gift giving!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The Next Big Thing

How this works: There are ten interview questions. I'll answer those for my current book, Leader of the Pack and then tag authors. They'll each tag additional authors, and so on.

Here are the interview questions as applied to my book. Special thanks to Dana Roquet who tagged me—check out to see her Next Big Thing  here.



Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing:

Q-What is the working title of your book?

A-Leader of the Pack

Q-Where did the idea come from for the book?

A-I'd written Alpha v. Alpha with a strong female lead, but the male was the packleader. In Protect and Defend, I'd indicated that females could be packleaders too. I wondered what that would look like and Yohana came to me.

Q-What genre does your book fall under?

A-It's a paranormal shapeshifter erotic romance.

Q-Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

A-Yohana is a combination of the big strapping fierceness of Lucy Lawless (in her Xena Warrior Princess role) with the kick ass personality and short white hair of reality star Tabatha Coffey (of Tabatha's Salon Takeover).

I wrote Per with the EC caveman Ryan in mind. Big, blond, beautiful with killer blue eyes and a smokin' body.

Q-What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A-Female pack leader, Yohana Whitewolf hires a matchmaking service to find her a mate and ease the fears of her pack but she gets more than she bargained for when they match her with her True Mate, Per Goldwolf.

Q-Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

A-Leader of the Pack will be published by Ellora's Cave Publishing. Check their site for an upcoming release date.

Q-How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

A-The book sat on my computer half-finished for a couple of years and then inspiration struck me again early this fall and I finished it then submitted it to my EC editor.

Q-What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

A-This is a sequel to Alpha vs. Alpha using the Predator-Match.com date site for shapeshifters. It's also set in the same universe as Protect and Defend.

Q-Who or What inspired you to write this book?

A-Yohana was the inspiration. The idea for a kick ass female packleader who was Mayor/City Manager of a small all-shapeshifter town in Colorado. She wanted to lead her people, but her father, the former packleader, was recently deceased and Yohana's pack is nervous about a female leader - especially one without a mate or pups.

Q-What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

A-That my hero Per is loving and sexy. Funny and dedicated. He's a healer not a fighter and an all around excellent lover.

Here's the blurb for Leader of the Pack:

Surgeon Dr. Per Goldwolf needs a mate to make partner in a prestigious practice. Predator-Match.com—a matchmaking service for shapeshifters—not only finds him a mate, they match him with his True Mate. Yohana’s long legs and fair flesh make him lick his lips and her scent makes him rock-hard.

New packleader Yohana Whitewolf’s life goal is to follow in her sire’s pawprints and lead her pack. Leadership demands sacrifices. To calm her people, Yohana needs a mate. But finding an Alpha male who won’t take over is a tall order. Yohana doesn’t want the complication of a True Mate, but Per is a sexy, intelligent Alpha male and she wants to shred his clothes every time she touches him.

Everything should be perfect—except she’s a packleader, and the Whitewolf pack is nervous.




List of my tagged blog hop buds for next week.  Check out their blogs next Wednesday to read about their WIPs and New Releases:





Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Let's get serious for a moment...weight in America



I was on Facebook recently and someone posted this "funny":





I have to admit I took offense and I'm not really easy to offend. The person in the picture is NOT offensive to me. Let me be really clear about that. I actually think he is brave as hell because he is out and about in spite of the weight. But it seemed to me that whoever initially posted the image and included this captioning - and I don't know where the image started cause Facebook images go viral pretty fast - but the first poster intended to make fun of the individual in the picture.

When I indicated my displeasure I was encouraged to "lighten up." It was just a joke. Just a funny. And if the person in the pic hadn't wanted to be made fun of maybe they shouldn't dress up like Batman. The poster also made some astute comments about being fat in America.  So there was an interesting dialog there. But I did respond.

This was my response (edited a bit to remove reference to personal info posted by the other person):



I don't disagree with you about weight in America. The only reason I lost weight was a VBG (vertical banded gastroplasty) in 1995. Otherwise I'd be dead now. My genetic makeup is such that with two fat parents I got both fat genes. I didn't (and don't) help myself with the way I eat. No doubt about it. But that's no reason to make fun of someone.

And why the hell shouldn't he dress up as batman if he wants to? What? Only skinny people can get dressed in costume without being made fun of? Bullshit.

Being fat is one of the few conditions/life situations that people still consider okay to make fun of people about but it's still bullying. I don't use the N word to talk about black people. I don't make fun of gay people cause they're gay. I don't use the R word to describe individuals with Downs, and I do not make fun of fat people cause they are fat. I've been there. I'm still there. It hurts. Lord and Lady, didn't it hurt YOU when people made fun of you when you were fat?


I know that if I hadn't had the VBG I never would have maintained a weight loss because I'd tried the diet thing before and lost a LOT of weight but didn't keep it off. Maybe there are some people that can do it with diet and exercise alone. More power to them.

But, back to my original point, being fat isn't funny. It's complex medical/genetic issue. People often say that fat people choose to be fat. Believe me, with the bullying I endured as a kid, I did not CHOOSE to be fat. If I could have sliced it off with a knife I would have. If I had money now, I'd go get lipo done to get rid of my excess weight.

I didn't choose to be fat any more than a person chooses to be gay. It's hard wired. To be something else requires consistent effort. You can do it but your body and soul fights you every step of the way. So no, I won't lighten up. Lighten up - interesting turn of phrase there. Bullying is bullying no matter who the victim is. But hey, I still like you and your posts. But this one didn't tickle my funny bone.

* * * * *

Too much bullying happens around body image and I'd like it to stop. Sure we could all diet madly, exercise insanely, and have surgery. Then yes, everyone could be thin.

But why should fat people have to do all of that to prevent bullying and ridicule. Why can't the bullies just shut the f*ck up? And why the hell is extreme obesity funny anyway? It's not.

And we talk about teen suicide a lot now. When I was a teen I considered suicide - because I was fat and bullied. Thank god I didn't. The old saw about sticks and stones can break my bones but names can never hurt me is crap. Calling people names does hurt them.

So what do you think? Was I too "sensitive" and should I "lighten up" or is weight a serious issue as I feel it is. 

Monday, November 19, 2012

A little good news

A number of years ago, Anne Murray released a song called "A Little Good News". Nickelback did something similar with their release of "If Everyone Cared." For everyone that would like a little good news today! Here it is and this video is freaking awesome!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Rockin' Little Christmas

I've been kicking ass lately with my writing. Not only did I finish, submit and contract Leader of the Pack, I finished and submitted a Christmas shapeshifter story to EC called Rockin' Little Christmas. I'll let you know when I have a cover and release date for Leader of the Pack.

Rockin' Little Christmas - hmmm. What shall I tell you about this one? It's fun. Family. Holiday. Maybe I should just show you my inspiration for the book...





I've loved this song for YEARS and Deborah Allen is so damn cute in this video. Yes, it IS an oldie. You should be able to tell just from what she's wearing what an oldie it is. Grin. But I knew that I wanted to write a story about a rock guitarist and the girl he falls in love with.

So here's the working blurb for the story - hope you like it:

Rockin' Little Christmas

When her parents' rock band, The Pack, performs at Zach's bar, Mandy discovers her True Mate, Joe Blackwolf, the band's lead singer and guitarist. All she has to do now is convince Joe that she told a little white lie to make her mom happy, her father that rock musician's aren't all alike, and her new mate's family that rockers aren't all that different from classical musicians.

Joe Blackwolf is celebrating his 40th birthday. And what he wishes for when he blows out the candles is to find his True Mate. He succeeds when he meets Mandy Goldwolf. Problem is...she belongs to someone else. Finding out the truth leaves him free to explore every inch of her smokin' hot curves, but now, Joe and Mandy are neck deep in overbearing relatives and everyone is in for a Rockin' Little Christmas!


* * * * *


I'll keep you posted about any contract info so keep your fingers crossed!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Military Heroes - Happy Veteran's Day


Whether a military hero is a soldier, a sailor, a pilot, or a navy seal, those warriors are sure to capture a readers heart. I know they capture mine. Why? Because they risk it all for the greater good and what is sexier than that?

I've written before about how I love the warrior archetype when I write heroes and it still goes.  Warriors give up their freedom, their families and even their lives to serve their country. They face hardship, terror, danger and injury every day of their lives and they do it for honor. To stand in the way of a foe who seeks to damage everything that they hold dear. It's a noble profession and those that serve aren't given their due by the rest of us. They serve so we don't have to. They give so that we are safe. They're poorly paid and they and their families sacrifice a great deal.


To quote Wikipedia, "Veterans Day is an official United States holiday honoring armed service veterans. It is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11th. It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark the anniversary of the end of World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, with the German signing of the Armistice.)

Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day; Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while while serving." 

Veteran's Day is about the sacrifice, not the loss. The risk, but not the grief. It's about giving thanks to those face tough odds everyday but persevere in the face of those odds.

So today, especially, I want to say thank you to those who serve. Whether they served long ago or are currently serving. Whether they are at home or on deployment. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your service.




Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Shocked and thrilled!

http://t.co/q7LhAK6f 
OMG! I can NOT believe this. RT announced their award nominees for 2012 today and I'm one of them. ME! You can knock me over with a feather!

This is exciting and really affirming at a time when I needed to hear some praise for my work. Wow. I'm over the moon! Woot! Doin' the happy dance.