Monday, July 30, 2012

When Is A Kiss Just A Kiss?

What clinches the romance in a story? That first real, emotional kiss between the heroine and her significant other. An excerpt of Zombie Love is featured at the blog Gimme a Little Kiss. Check it out!

Sunday, July 29, 2012

The Sparkly-Gloved Wonder And It's Not Michael Jackson

I know I haven't posted a Saturday night video in a while, but I nearly wet myself watching this. Do the executors of MJ's estate know about this? For that matter, does George Lucas?

Friday, July 27, 2012

TSA Needs to Upgrade


(Picture smurched from the Gorgeous Gail Carriger)

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Thoughts on Reviews

It's starting to happen. I'm getting reviews on my books by total strangers. I'd steeled myself against 1-star, "This sucks!" reviews. That stuff is a part of writing life.

Yes, I'm aware of the rule that I shouldn't contact the reviewer, no matter what their opinion is. And I know I  DEFINITELY should not do a Tom-Cruise-bat-shit-crazy-interview-with-Matt-Lauer type of response. I can honestly say I have not communicated with a reviewer that I didn't already know in person.

But I wasn't prepared for and what shocks me are the "I'm surprised how good this is" opinions. The "you haven't been properly vetted, so this can't be entertaining and/or grammatically correct, but it is" feedback. Or the latest "I'm a little pissed that I like an indie book."

Okay, I'm reading between the lines, but that last one is pretty much the gist of one review. The reviewer HAD to give it 4 stars because the story was shockingly decent.

Sometimes, readers' impressions of a writer's work throw the author on her keister. As long as I don't get the same reader that my friend, Colleen Thompson got. The one who marched up to Colleen at a book signing and told her that she hated Colleen's book. And the lady read it four times to make sure she hated it.

I'm sorry. My good writer manners would dissolve in the face of such excellent snark material.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Avengers of Harmony

I've gotten GK hooked on the Avengers, but he'll never admit he still has his My Little Ponies.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Status Report - July 2012

Since someone is absolutely, positively enamored with my status reports, I'll give y'all some trivia:

Current work-in-progress: Blood Sacrifice (Bloodlines #5)

Total number of words as of midnight: 19,390

Next project: Seasons of Magick: Winter

Total number of books sold in July as of midnight: 240

Total copies of Zombie Confidential (Bloodlines #2.5) given away since it was published on May 25th: 501

Retailer where I sell the most e-books: Barnes & Noble

Top selling title: Season of Magick: Spring though Zombie Love is gaining fast

Oddest compliment I've received: "This book is better than I thought it would be."

Country with the most visitors to the blog: Russia (Seriously, guys, if you know a little English, leave me a note. Spaceba!)

Country with the most vocal fans: United Kingdom. Thanks, guys!


Anybody have any other question?

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Why I Have the Best Husband

A few nights ago, my husband ran a few errands for me as I feverishly cranked out some verbage for Blood Sacrifice.

DH is a smart guy. He knows I'm a little stressed, trying to get the first draft of a novel cranked out before school starts. He's also smart enough to know that the usual girlie crap--flowers, perfume, jewelry--is wasted on me.

So what did he buy me as a just-because-I-love-you gift?

A Monster High Ghoulia Yelps doll, complete with a neon pink brains-shaped helmet for roller-blading. (For those not initiated on Monster High lore, Ghoulia's parents are, of course, zombies.)

I have the best husband ever!

Monday, July 16, 2012

Isolation Can Be A Beautiful Thing

Please welcome back today's guest blogger, paranormal romance author Teri Thackston!

Some of the most suspenseful stories involve isolating the primary characters in some way. Shipwreck your hero and heroine on a desert island and they must interact, often in interesting—and sensual—ways. If that island is not so deserted (i.e., there are other folks with less-than benevolent intentions around), and they must also put aside their differences to work together for survival. Seclude them in an out-of-the-way airport during an ice storm, throw in an escaped murderer among the other passengers, and you’ll create a scenario that is ripe with suspense. Send a crew of miners to a newly discovered planet, sabotage their ride back to earth, then toss a man-eating alien into the mix. For writers, isolation is a very helpful plot device.

In my paranormal romance Wait Until Moonrise, I use magic to isolate my hero. The curse of a spurned sorceress traps Welshman Nicholas Pierce, Earl of Beaumarith, in his family castle in 1774. No one can see, hear or touch him, but he is far from dead. Trying everything he can think of to attract attention, he succeeds in only one thing: convincing subsequent inhabitants of the castle that it is haunted.

Fast-forward to today when American Bria Leighton visits the castle in search of her family roots. One night in the moonlit ballroom, she hears Nicholas’s voice then she sees him watching her. Stunned to be noticed, Nicholas quickly discovers that they can also touch each other. He remembers that the curse gave him one possible out: his true love can free him in the moonlight. Bria must be his true love and the key to his freedom.

But he must convince her that he’s more than a ghost. And when the sorceress returns, determined to have Nicholas for herself at last, he must protect Bria from becoming another victim of the witch’s magic.

Do any of you have a favorite situation in which to isolate characters? To what remote locations does your imagination take you? While you ponder that, here’s a short excerpt from Wait Until Moonrise:

“I must admit you dance almost as well as your mother.”
Startled, Bria whirled around. A man stood in the doorway leading onto the patio, arms folded over his chest, one shoulder resting against the door’s frame. Moonlight surrounded him like an aura, forming a halo about his black hair and shadowing his eyes. Then, he tilted his head, and silver light poured over his features like clear, sweet water.
Bria stared. Only in dreams had she seen such a beautiful masculine face. Dreams and one disturbing portrait…
“You look prettier, though, when your mouth isn’t hanging open,” he went on in a bored tone.
“Who…who are you?”
As her voice whispered across that hushed, moonlit room, the stranger fell still. Then, slowly, eyes black and wide, he lowered his arms. “You can see me?”
The query came to Bria as a hoarse, disbelieving whisper, words of doubt trembling on a precipice of mad hope. Frightened by the emotion in his voice—by the sudden, stark sensation burning in his black eyes—she backed away. He, in turn, moved toward her, away from the open patio door, into a patch of shadow…and promptly vanished.

Wait Until Moonrise, a winner of the Emily Award for Best Paranormal Romance, is available exclusively at Amazon.com for the next few weeks. Coming soon to Barnesandnoble.com.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

WWW Repeat - Hot Guy PSA

This is a repost of a blog from April 4, 2012. It is THE most popular post on Wild, Wicked & Wacky.


Cancer is prevalent in my family. After all the serious, lame PSAs I've seen, this one is...

Well, you just have to watch. Especially the credits.

(Mucho gracias to the incredible Sasha White for the tip!)


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Zombie Confidential on Amazon!

It FINALLY happened! Sometime in the last two hours, Amazon price-matched Zombie Confidential, which means it's FREE! So if you're a Kindle fiend and haven't tried Samantha Ridgeway and her crew yet, now's the time to download it. Click here!

Monday, July 9, 2012

When a Book Is DOA

I'm poking my head out of the Batcave (TM) to point you to an interesting tidbit.

Penelope Trunk is a tech start-up expert and a former professional athlete. Go read her blog post about her experience with her publisher pulling her book just because she asked some very pointed questions about their marketing plan for her. These are the question you need to ask BEFORE you sign on the dotted line. Once you sign the contract, you're handcuffed, and not in the purple furry good way.

Many thanks to Passive Guy for the excerpt!

As for me, I'm nearly to the 12K mark for Blood Sacrifice's first draft. I should be at 15K, but a sinus infection along with weather-related sinus headaches have made concentration a little sketchy at times.

I really can't complain about the t-storms that have been rolling through the Houston area daily. The yard is lush and beautiful compared to the barren wasteland it became after last year's drought.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Buy One, Get One Free at Killer Fiction

Christie Craig is holding a BOGO Contest over at Killer Fiction. The rules are simple. Go to Amazon. Buy one of the books she's listed (including Zombie Confidential) and she'll pick fifteen people at random to send a book that you DID NOT BUY to you.

Hey, it's a holiday, so the odds are pretty good!

[Editor's Note on 07/07/12: Christie finally realized there was a holiday in the middle of the week. LOL She's extended the contest until July 17th, so you still have plenty of time to enter!]

Monday, July 2, 2012

Interview!

Want to read an interview that I totally forgot about? Check it out Selling Books.