Monday 23 November 2015

I'm a Semi-Finalist!


The nominations are in for the Evernight Readers' Choice Awards, and I'm thrilled to say that THE SEA WIFE is a semi-finalist for Best Lesbian. I'm so thankful for everyone who voted, and delighted that my little selkie story is up there with so many other great titles. I'm in talented company!

But now it's voting time! Voting is open NOW for the winners, and closes on December 4th. If you'd like to vote for THE SEA WIFE, that would be awesome. It's a tough category - I've read all the other books, and I know they're great, but I hold out hope that I might steal a victory somehow...

How could you not vote for these ladies though?

I have jokingly said on Facebook that there'll be no more photos of Fergus there until I win, so if you're one of Fergus's millions (and millions) of internet fans, think not of me, but of him, and get voting!

Friday 20 November 2015

Author Interview - Rebecca Black

I love supporting a fellow Evernight author, especially if she's also a fellow Brit! I'm delighted to welcome Yorkshire lass Rebecca Black to my blog today. Her recent release, LET'S RIDE, is a beautifully erotic f/f story that I thoroughly enjoyed, so I asked Rebecca if she'd be willing to answer a few questions for me. So here we go!

Let's start with the obvious one – tell us a bit about yourself!

Well, first of all, hello! Thanks for having me, Naomi. I always find this question quite hard to answer but here goes…. I’m too close to 40 for comfort and have two kids who are both in school now. I have a very lovely and supportive partner who reads all my stories. I read a lot - the Kindle is both the best and worst thing ever invented. I have spent more hours than I care to think about procrastinating since I got my first one four years ago! I have travelled a lot but the older I get the happier I am to be home. I love chocolate and should probably try and distance myself from it a little better! I love recommending new books and authors to my friends. It’s beautiful chemistry when they love them as much as I do.

I hear you on the Kindle thing. I am stockpiling more ebooks than I can ever possibly read! Also the chocolate thing...

LET'S RIDE is a short, smoking-hot read with a lot of emotion packed in. Can you tell us a bit about the story behind the story? Were there any particular inspirations for this one?

Thank you. The inspiration came from a black and white photograph that I saw on Tumblr of a very beautiful androgynous woman sat on a motorbike. She looked like she had some serious attitude and just like that the character of Jo was born. The story started life as an erotic short (I post on rebeccablackerotica.com most Mondays for a popular meme called Masturbation Monday - there are 40 free erotic shorts on there now if anyone fancies having a look) and got loads of great comments. I quickly realised that the story had potential to be extended. So that’s what I did and luckily Evernight liked it too.

It's a great story - so much emotion packed into a short piece, which can be hard to pull off. What do you love most about writing erotica? And is there anything you don't love about it (or the writing process as a whole)?

I find writing erotica to be incredibly liberating. It’s like a sweet shop full of sexual fantasies!! I absolutely love it. I write under a pen name and very few people in my real life know what I do, so I try to write freely, and without censoring myself too much. It’s important to me that my characters aren’t judged on their sexuality but on their stories. I don’t particularly like labels regarding sexuality, although I realise that for some people they are necessary. I love reading about all gender pairings, my absolute favourite is bisexual menage. So you can expect some of that in the future.

Excellent! I'll be keeping an eye out for new stuff from you! Have you always veered towards erotica, or are there other genres you enjoy writing in?

I started off writing contemporary romance but I couldn’t get to the sex scene fast enough!! I have plans to go back to that genre soon, but I think I will always write some erotica. I love how erotica suits the short story form so well. It’s a great way to start writing and developing your style.

LET'S RIDE is your second release, and it's obvious from your website you have a few other things in the works – can you give us any hints as to what's next from you?

I have a short story coming out soon in The Prompted Anthology which will be edited by Oleander Plume and F Leonora Solomon. That was so fun to do. Oleander posted a list of hilarious prompts and I used “two undercover cops on a stakeout are bored and horny.” That story is called Donuts and is m/m and involves interesting ways to eat donuts!

I’ve also got some more short stories coming out in anthologies for F Leonora Solomon next year. There are a couple of femdom stories included in those that I really enjoyed writing.

My current WIP is a m/f erotic romance. I started it a year ago, right at the beginning when I first started writing and lost my way with it. I went back and read what I’d written a few weeks ago and thought, ‘that’s not half bad!’ So I’ve picked it up, edited it and now I’m busy finishing it. It’s about a woman who is finding the strength to let herself fall in love after an emotionally abusive childhood. It’s going to be steamy hot and there is humour in there, so it’s not too heavy. I hope to have it ready for submission before spring 2016. It’s going to be a full length novel (60,000 words plus) so it’s going to take me a while to get there.

Ah, the joys of rediscovering a lost project! I've been doing that a lot this year. 

And last, the really hardball question: tea or coffee?

That’s a difficult one because I’m from Yorkshire in England so we really like a good strong cup of tea, but I also love coffee. So I’m going to cheat a little here if that’s ok and say tea with food (this is mainly referring to fish and chips!) and coffee any other time.

Thanks so much, Naomi!

Thanks, Rebecca! Looking forward to seeing what's next (I think I can already imagine how "Donuts" might go...Sounds interesting!). I really do recommend checking out LET'S RIDE if you're in the mood for a fast, fulfilling slice of spice. And you can visit Rebecca at her website for news and Masturbation Monday. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.


Monday 16 November 2015

COLD NIGHT MOON is in the wild!

It's release day for Urban Wolf 5, COLD NIGHT MOON! If that doesn't deserve fireworks, I don't know what does.



Book 5! I can't believe it. My werewolf girls have come a long way since WOLF STRAP, and yet, in the world's timeline, it's really only been a year. COLD NIGHT MOON closes out the year that began in SILVER KISS, and sees Ayla and Shannon trying to have a normal Christmas where nothing bad happens. Trying being the operative word. Look, it's me. Something bad is going to happen.

Want to find out what? COLD NIGHT MOON is available on Evernight's site, Amazon US, and Amazon UK, and should pop up in all the usual places throughout the day too. I really hope you'll love the latest chapter in Ayla and Shannon's adventures - I'm hopeful that 2016 will bring many more!


~Editor's Pick~ 

After a difficult year, Ayla Hammond wants to give her girlfriend Shannon a dream Christmas. A cozy, romantic cabin in the woods seems like the perfect way to put their troubles behind them and start the New Year right. And at first, everything is going according to Ayla's plan...until night falls. 

There's something in the woods. And it's after Shannon. 


Need to know where to start with the Urban Wolf series? I've got it covered!

WOLF STRAP (A Free Read)
SILVER KISS
BLOOD HUNT
PHANTOM FEARS (A Free Read from Shannon's POV)

Saturday 14 November 2015

COLD NIGHT MOON - Cover reveal!


Ta-da! I don't really feel like I need words. It's a beautiful cover, my ladies look great, and the colour scheme is perfect. And COLD NIGHT MOON is out this Monday, 16th November! So expect the usual flurry of activity then while I share links and basically ram this down your throats. Here's the blurb!

After a difficult year, Ayla Hammond wants to give her girlfriend Shannon a dream Christmas. A cosy, romantic cabin in the woods seems like the perfect way to put their troubles behind them and start the New Year right. And at first, everything is going according to Ayla's plan...Until night falls.

There's something in the woods. And it's after Shannon.


Wednesday 11 November 2015

Wednesday - The End



Yes. Last night I typed THE END on Dark Days, or at least the first draft. Huzzahs! That's one Anti-Nano target reached, and ahead of schedule too. I'm setting the manuscript aside for a week or so while I wait to hear from my beta reader, then I'll set about polishing that baby up ready for submission. I'm never quite sure whether I'm happy with a book or not when I first finish writing it, but the closing pages of Dark Days made me feel the same as the end of UNDERTOW - exhausted, a bit dirty, but grimly satisfied.

So, what next? COLD NIGHT MOON is out next week (EEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!), so I'll be around for all the usual book release nerves/promo/excitement. Otherwise, I plan to spend a lot of time with my Amber Morgan hat on, working on Wild Blood MC 2. If you're interested, I'll be doing my Monday and Friday check-ins, and Wednesday snippets, for that project here. You can also follow me as Amber on Twitter and Facebook. So if you like contemporary romance and paranormal m/f romance, you'll probably like Amber! In fact, if you like me, you'll like Amber just as much, I would imagine.

Monday 9 November 2015

Monday Check-In

So! Another Monday is upon us. Ugh. How was everyone's weekend? My Saturday consisted mostly of taking Fergus to the vet for his annual boosters. He bravely hid under the kitchen table when I tried to get him in the carrier, and had to be fished out by my mum, who was willing to endure his wrath since he hates her anyway. As usual, once he was at the vet's, he quite enjoyed himself. We have to go back this weekend with a urine sample, as he's been drinking more than usual lately, and that can be a sign of renal problems in a cat his age. So wish us both luck with that!

Sunday was a good writing day - almost 3k on Dark Days, which means the end is absolutely in sight. Ideally I'll wrap it up today and then leave it aside for a week before doing some editing. In reality, I'm in the middle of my Christmas rush at Common Brimstone, and if I'm going to stay on top of my incoming orders, I'm going to spend most of my evenings making perfume rather than writing. So...we'll see.

In other news, I have a release date for COLD NIGHT MOON! November 16th - save the date for my new Urban Wolf short story. I've seen the mock cover and it's beautiful <3 Really can't wait to show that off to you all!

And in other other news, the annual Evernight Readers' Choice Awards are open for nominations! Here's the scoop:


***NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN***

Nominate your favorite Evernight books of 2015 during our READERS' CHOICE AWARDS!

Leave your name and email address at the end of the nomination form for the chance to win a $25 Evernight GC!


Reader Nominations: Monday, Nov. 9th - 18th
Voting: Nov. 21st - 30th
Winners announced first week of December
Evernight books published between Nov 1, 2014 - Oct. 31 2015 are eligible.

My eligible books, should you wish to vote are, BLOOD WITCH and THE SEA WIFE. I also have some Amber Morgan titles that are eligible, and you can see their details here. I think that's everything for today - back on Wednesday (or sooner with that beautiful new cover, hopefully!).

Saturday 7 November 2015

Guest Blog - Ravenna Tate's Weathermen are here!

I'm delighted to have Ravenna Tate on my blog today with a (very adult) teaser from the latest in The Weathermen series. I love these books - it's sexy romance with a sci-fi twist, and they're loads of fun! So let's find out what A SLOW-BURNING DANCE is all about...


 
A SLOW-BURNING DANCE - The Weathermen 5
***Click HERE to purchase directly from
Evernight Publishing***

When Sela Chavez inspects the unit in a strip mall that will soon become her very own dance studio, she’s on the cusp of a dream come true. Until she spies Damien Rivera, her brother’s boss. She knows he’s financing the project, and she knows he’s a player. 

When he invites her to a concert, she can’t seem to look away from his gaze. But gorgeous eyes or not, she has no intention of becoming Damien’s next conquest. 

Damien is part of a group of friends financing the efforts to put a stop to The Madeline Project. The program now has a mind of its own, thanks to a virus called Tommy Twister. These men have power, resources, and money, but they’re as ruthless and possessive as the storms ravaging Earth. They call themselves the Weathermen…  

Read on for an excerpt!


Friday 6 November 2015

Friday Check-In The First

I'm happy to report that I'm on target to finish Dark Days (maybe) this weekend! "Maybe" because I'm not quite sure how much wrapping up I want/need to do, and because I'm not quite sure what my absolute finishing point is for this book. Lola has to decide to do Something, but I don't know if she should decide now or at the start of Book 3, so...

And I'm also wary of rushing because I can see the end is in sight, which I think is a big weakness of mine. Once I see the finish line, I want to charge headlong towards it and just be able to say "DONE!" The problem with that is...it doesn't make for very good book endings. But hey, that's what second drafts fix, right?


Wednesday 4 November 2015

Inaugural Anti-Nano Snippet!

I'm feeling pretty chipper about Dark Days! There is even the possibility I could finish it this very weekend if I keep the weekend free (and apart from taking Fergus to the vet, my weekend is free at the moment so...fingers crossed!).

So here's a snippet which is as spoiler-free as I can make it this late in the game....











Monday 2 November 2015

Anti-Nano Begins Anew!

Good luck to everyone who started NaNoWriMo yesterday! May your words come swiftly and your...blockages...be few? Your writing blockages. All blockages.

I am not doing NaNo, because I know I can't commit to the minimum daily word count due to my shoulder/arm problems/perfume business/day job/inherent laziness/old episodes of Raw is War/delete as appropriate. But I love the spirit of NaNo, so I always aim to commit to something writing-wise in November, and thus, Anti-Nano was born.

The principles of Anti-Nano are simple: pick your goal and hop to it. Whether it's to write a certain amount each day, finish that story you've been avoiding for months, or brainstorm ideas for your epic, game-changing ten book series, you set the goals and pace yourself accordingly. My usual Anti-Nano goal is just "write something every day," but I'm adjusting that slightly this year and giving myself two goals.

1. Finish the first draft of Dark Days. I'm so close! The end is definitely in sight, and I feel like I can by done by mid-November if I stick to my current pace.

2. Once Dark Days is wrapped up and has been sent to my brave volunteer beta reader, I'm going to work on my next Amber Morgan title, Wolf's Hunt. It's not impossible that I could finish that before the end of November, but I'm not aiming for that particularly. I just want to crack on as much as I can before the end of this year.

My caveat is that I have two short stories scheduled for release in the next couple of months, so I'm awaiting edits which, obviously, take precedence. So my goals may jump around a bit depending on when the edits arrive and how intense they are.

I post check-ins on Mondays and Fridays, and snippets on Wednesdays (if I can find non-spoilery snippets for Dark Days this late in the game). Hopefully this will be a productive, creative month for everyone!