Archive for the ‘Contest’ Category

*From Renee George

The Love Hangover Contest

Love-drunk and hungover?
Want to be?
Join Cheryl Dragon, Renee George, Ayla Ruse, and Megan Slayer in celebrating their current and upcoming new releases at Changeling Press!

Including the themes of Menage, Gay, Bisexual, and More!
Sometimes too much is exactly enough.

Prizes include free eBooks, goody bags, $50 in gift credit, and more!

Check us out and enter to win at:
http://www.romance-the-night.com/lovehangover

 

*Permission to Share, FWD, Tweet, Post Granted*

Those wonderfully flawed heroes…

Heroes and villains—often two sides of the same coin. We can have heroes with rough edges, questionable backgrounds, possibly scarred or crippled—either emotionally or physically—and yet they’re still heroic, they still come through for the heroine, and they always leave us wanting more. The same with villains—a villain can have a few good points and still be thoroughly evil, though a good villain is rarely redeemable—unless, of course, he’s going to appear in a later story as a hero.

Then, of course, it generally takes a good woman to redeem him, right?

But what about those flawed heroes—the ones who make mistakes and screw up, who are somehow damaged or imperfect—what is it that makes us want more of them? I’ve become intimately acquainted with a terribly flawed hero, a man who has greater strengths than most, and yet who continues to make the kinds of mistakes that make you want to strangle him. And yet, in spite of his flaws, I find him one of the most compelling men I’ve ever met within the pages of my own books—he’s Anton Cheval, my über-alpha in the long running Wolf Tales series.

The spirit guide Igmutaka describes Anton perfectly: “His power appears absolute, at times, but what makes all of us love him the way we do is that he is very much, at heart, a simple man. He’s not perfect. He makes mistakes. When he succeeds, he does it with great modesty, when he fails…Ig’s chuffing snort had to be laughter…when he fails, he does it magnificently.

Ig is right. Nothing Anton does is done without passion. He’s never half-hearted, never merely trying. He does. He errs, and yet when he realizes his mistakes, he never hesitates to ask forgiveness, to apologize. And sometimes, when he’s done something wrong for all the right reasons, he will apologize with the caveat that, if faced with the same circumstances, he’ll probably do the same thing again. No, he’s not a perfect hero—he’s complex, he’s flawed, and to me, he’s a more powerful character because of those flaws.

One of his most redeeming traits? Anton loves unconditionally. He loves his packmates, his mate Keisha, his closest friend Stefan. He loves his daughter Lily more than life, and he recognizes Lily as the finest accomplishment he’s ever achieved, and that’s only because half of her DNA comes from Anton’s bonded mate. He’s quick to recognize Keisha as the true head of their pack—even though he’s more powerful, he respects her common sense, her good heart, and her ability to turn him inside out with a single glance. He loves her, and while he occasionally infuriates her, everything Anton does is motivated by love.

And what of the beta hero? The average man thrown into extreme circumstances who is still able to prevail? That would be Dawson Buck, the hero in my upcoming DEMONSLAYERS story, StarFire. Dawson Buck is an average guy, a veterinarian in a small Arizona town, a true geek at heart who loves his work and knows he’s chosen animals to care for because they rarely come with emotional baggage. But when he’s thrown into an unbelievable situation—asked to care for a badly injured woman from another dimension—Dawson not only rises to the challenge, he goes above and beyond what is asked of him. He becomes a true hero in every sense of the word.

In spite of his fears, in spite of the unbelievable situation, Dawson prevails. He’s afraid, he doubts his abilities, and yet he puts fear and his lack of confidence aside and takes unimaginable risks for the greater good. And, he also manages to find the love of his life along the way.

So what makes a hero heroic? I think it’s his willingness to give everything to keep his loved ones safe, his ability to make mistakes and then correct those mistakes, to admit when he’s wrong, to keep quiet when he’s right (no, gloating is NOT allowed!) and to love without reservation.

I write my heroes from the perspective of a woman who’s been married to her very own hero for almost forty years. There’s a lot of my man in every hero I write—his quirky sense of humor, his powerful need to protect, even his ability to admit mistakes. Neither of us is perfect, but I think that’s part of what makes a marriage work, and it’s what makes a fictional hero more heroic—the chance to make mistakes, and the courage to make them right.

BIO:

Kate Douglas is the lead author of Kensington Publishing’s Aphrodisia imprint and the author of the popular erotic romance series Wolf Tales as well as the Zebra series, The DemonSlayers. She is currently working on her newest Aphrodisia series, Dream Catchers. Kate and her husband of almost forty years have two adult children and five grandchildren. They live in the beautiful mountains of Lake County, California, north of the Napa Valley wine country

www.katedouglas.com
www.katedouglas.com/eroticromance
www.facebook.com/katedouglas.authorpage
www.twitter.com/wolftales
kate@katedouglas.com

 

1st chapter excerpts:

StarFire: http://www.katedouglas.com/id56.htm
Wolf Tales 12 (Adults only): http://www.katedouglas.com/eroticromance/id67.htm

 

Contest:
Comment to win your choice of either Wolf Tales VII-11, Sexy Beast VII & VIII, DemonFire or HellFire! Good Luck! Winner Announced at the end of the month.

Use the Coupon Code SIUnboundPassion01 for 5% off your order at ChangelingPress.com

and

Be entered to win a 5 dollar Credit at ChangelingPress.com!

Good Luck!

Se

I wrote my Vampire Babylon series for a few reasons. I wanted to:

1. flesh out a hunter who was kick-ass yet vulnerable.
2. have fun with a group of characters (and I do mean the quirky kind) who would serve as a hunting team.
3. do a bloody, gritty, neon-on-the-dark-rainy-streets infused mystery.
4. create some vamps of a different stripe.

So I started playing around with an idea that fused many of these elements. Since I?m pretty much a storage unit for pop cultural tidbits, I took all of the above, mixed it with a ?Charlie?s Angels? type boss (who?s also a bit of the Phantom of the Opera), resurrected one of the most well-known urban legends of the silver screen (the ghost boy from THREE MEN AND A BABY), and gave it a spin.

Poof?my first Vampire Babylon trilogy was born, stretching awake through (and under) the gothic, noir streets of Los Angeles.

But here was the thing?this story about an erotically charged Hollywood Underground was so big that I knew I wouldn?t be able to tell it all in just one book. So I looked at HARRY POTTER and how J.K. Rowling used a mythology that spanned seven books?stories in which the big bad villain wasn?t put to rest until the very last installment. I looked at the fascination with LOST. And I decided that my story would be best served by using a longer trilogy arc.

It was chancy. Although there?s a central mystery that?s solved by the end of each book, there were mystery, mythology, and character threads that wouldn?t be tied up until the third book. But in NIGHT RISING, MIDNIGHT REIGN, and BREAK OF DAWN, I feel like things did come to a satisfying close?

Until Ace asked me to write another three books.

And I was ready, because I had a yen to explore one of the most haunted cities in the world?London. Also, I had an idea for some vampires who had a lot in common with certain fairy tales. Basically, this second trilogy features what I consider to be the scariest vampires of all?young girls who are lured by an older man making promises to them. Promises he, of course, has no intention of keeping. And, let?s be honest?you never want to tick off a teenaged girl. (I would?ve been the biggest nightmare vampire of all, way back when!)

The first two books, A DROP OF RED (book 4) and THE PATH OF RAZORS (book 5), show you a different underground than the Hollywood one, and the trilogy will be closing out with the third installment, DEEP IN THE WOODS (book 6), on March 2, 2010. I had such fun doing this trilogy?I got to travel to London, where I blocked out scenes in Highgate Cemetery and Southwark. And when you get to research something as interesting as the effect fairy tales have had on society? Icing on the cake.
If you?ve read the previous five books, thank you from the bottom of my arguably dark heart. : ) If you?d like to start, the books are out there just waiting for you to snag them?much like the things that exist under the ground, watching, waiting?wanting.

I?ll be giving away a signed copy of THE PATH OF RAZORS, Vampire Babylon, Book Five, to someone who comments on this blog. Check back tomorrow for the winner!
Enjoy!

Happy Hunting,

Chris Marie Green

www.vampirebabylon.com

I’m working on my next Last Call Europe book Dog Sled at the moment, after that it’s back to the Hades Helmet world and beyond that Tartan and *holds head* soooo many project. I still have to write the next Pixie book (there’s like 5 books in the series) anyway but something tugged at my mind now that the LRC Awards are over. Promo and the impact on authors in contests and sales.

I have questions for you wonderful, lovely, patient readers. Answer a few questions and you could win a mini cooler bag of goodies and books that I got at the Authors After Dark Con and chocolate!

So here goes:

1) How much promo is too much? Example: Seeing an author’s name and promo for the same book every day on every loop you belong to -vs- Seeing an author’s name once and promo for certain time period.

2) How do you hear about info about your fav author(s)? Website? Newsletter? Publisher site? Yahoo group? Facebook? My Space? Ning? Twitter?

3) How do you connect with your fav author(s)? On a blog? Website? Yahoo/Google Groupe? Facebook? My Space? Twitter?

4) Do you vote when your author is up for an award or best book? (If voting is allowed)

5) Do reviews sway whether or not you’ll buy a book?

6) If an author wins an award, does that make you want to check them out if you haven’t already done so?

7) Do you read reviews? What if the review was from a big name author?

8 ) Does a publisher’s reputation make you want to buy books from them?

9) How much does cover art play into you checking out a new author? How much does bad cover art pique your?curiosity?about a book? Does bad cover art cause you to turn away from the book? Do you prefer photo cover art or digital (Daz, Poser, etc.)?

10) Coupons: Do you love them? Use them or would you prefer a discount in the first week of sales?

11) Do you check out publisher days on Yahoo Loops? Do you attended publisher chats?

12) Do you wait to buy a book when it’s on sale?

13) Do you enter contests hoping to win books? Do you read the books you win?

14) Authors: Promo?companies?love em or hate em or are indifferent?

15) Do you enjoy “cyber signings”? Public “live” signings?

16) Do you follow, or paticipate in/with, blog tours?

The winner of this week’s Sexy Saturday Sex Scene is Pat with the song I Miss You.

All the songs were awesome but her choice stuck with me the most.

Congrats Pat!

Please contact me at selenaillyria DOT contest AT gmail DOT com.

Until next Saturday!

Se

January Contest

Use the Coupon Code FirstSnow10 at checkout at ChangelingPress.com for 5% off your order and for a chance to win 10 Changeling Credits.

Contest ends Midnight EST, Jan 31st. Good Luck.

Winner will be contacted via email.

Use the Coupon Code PRESENTS09 for 5% off your Changeling order and an entry to win a copy of At Drogan’s Command.

www.changelingpress.com

Coupon Code is good until the end of the month. Good Luck!

Se

(This was written last night. I already voted. *Grin*

How are you? I know, I know, no blogging in how long? It’s been mostly chatting announcements, guests taking over the blog. But I’m back. I was going to do a blog about how dark is too dark as far as erotic romance and BDSM goes, but I’ll save that for another day. Anyway, I just thought I give a peek into my writing world and my personal world.

So my writing world . . .

For the most part, Mudslide (coming to Aspen Mountain Press Nov 14th) was the first story I’d finished in quite awhile. Tartan Mind is at a stand still, my muse isn’t feeling the kilty wolfies, I know! I’m shocked too, the bitch. She instead wants me to focus on fallen angels. *shrugs* So, I started Fallen Lover today, which should make Tuesday happy (will tell you more about that later). And things are going pretty well, 5k out of?15k. Yeah! I’m one third done. I discovered if I turn off the TV (I was watching Basilisk, it wasn’t helping) and put on music it really helped me. Music is fantastic, as I’ve said, for setting the mood for any scene.

Anyway, I got 5k done in one day. For me that’s a lot, since I haven’t been able to do that in such a long time. I’m so happy, overjoyed in fact. I’m writing again and it feels good. Now if people would stop filling my head with ideas *shoots a look over at Stella* I can finish up Tartan Mind and get to work on my next Del Fantasma story. I got a lovely idea while chatting with the fabu Dawn Montgomery (she has a Kitsune story out now at Changeling, ehhh! Kitsune, if you don’t know what it is, look it up). The idea just came to me and I’m so excited about it. Must write it first then sub it to Nik, more demons and maybe, hopefully, *crosses fingers* some hot oral foreplay action.

I love writing oral foreplay, as I said in a past blog. It’s so much fun.

Oral Foreplay, the Se Definition:

Oral Foreplay:

The act of using words to arouse without touching. Think phone sex without the touching yourself part.

What? Don’t give me that look. My fave oral foreplay scene is in Blood Claim: Trapped. *looks around for Morgan’s opinion*. I hope when you guys read it you’ll love it as much as I did.

One of my fav things and this happens a lot is when I get so into the story, the characters just take over. Although the characters normally take over during the sex scenes, hmmm, think they’re trying to tell me something?? Anyway, it’s always fun and surprising.

I’ve got to mention that this week Renato’s Dragon is out, Nov 7th. I’m excited about it. After I finished Discovering Passion, I began to think of the next story and an idea popped into my head for Renato and Magda. Originally Magda was going to be a phoenix but I scrapped that thought and she became what you will read in the story. Now I have?to?finish Aki’s story, unfortunately the characters aren’t cooperating but I’m sure after I use some of Cyn’s suggestions it will work out. Thank You Cyn. *Grin*

I just have to finish the other stories on my plate. I think I’ll get back to Aki’s story early December. Before I get off the subject of writing, I should mention that A Fling in Vampiropolis is up for an award, to vote you can go here (you do have to be a member of the group to vote):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Romance_erotica_connection/surveys?id=12835875

I’m floored, honestly floored. I didn’t expect that. I went in intending to vote for some wonderful, talented friends of mine and found that surprise. Thank You to whoever nominated that story, I really appreciate it. And Thank You to everyone who voted, it means a lot.

Also, I will be taking over the Changeling Press Reader’s Loop from 6pm-8pm EST on the 5th, the topic Time Travel, so stop by, say hi and get some steamy excerpts from some talented people.

A peek into my personal world . . .

So for the past few months I’ve been fostering eleven kittens (you read right) and three adult cats. The kittens are from two separate litters from the two females out of the three adult?cats. At first it was chaos, the kittens were all over the place but luckily I got help?and a few weeks ago the youngest five kittens from the second litter got a foster home. Then last month the first litter of?now the six month olds?also found?a foster home. And this past Sunday, Mr. Gray, the only adult male, got adopted. *Big Grin*. He is such a sweetie, he’s like a dog in cat form. I’m so happy he got a home.

I’m going to miss him but I know he’s got a home and will be loved. Now all I need is the other two adults to be adopted and then the kittens. I know, I don’t have the kittens anymore but I still worry. The first litter was born in the back of my house, on or a little after Mother’s Day. I still remember them as tiny squirming cuties who hadn’t opened their eyes yet. I still remember the day that Regal, the last of the first litter, purred for me instead of trying to run away or bite me or scratch me.

Yeah, I’m attached but not so much that I want to keep them. I have a cat and she’s happy being my only cat. So that’s a no on adopting another cat. LOL. Hmm, think she’d be okay with a snake? I saw the cutest little ball python at Pet Co. on Saturday, then there was a really cool one that was orange with red eyes, I think he got adopted though. What? I like snakes and bats. Can a person have a bat as a pet? Hey those things are useful, summer time comes let him loose in the backyard, lowers the population of mosquitoes. No bug bites.?I want to build bat boxes. Gotta find time, if I do get the chance pray that I don’t injure myself.

Now you’ve gotten a peek into my?world and my weirdness, scared? LOL

My creative world . . .

So I’m trying to figure out what candle to do next, I still need to do one for Tartan Interlude (I already know what that candle should look like and the scent.), Dravian’s Seer ( I have an idea that involves the words shiny and silver and I know the scent I want), then there’s Renato’s Dragon (Another one I have an idea for and I know the scent). What I’m really drawn to is doing one for Mudslide, I have an idea and I’m pretty sure the fabu JFay can make it smell like a?Mudslide (If I react to the scent like I do to Sparkling Mimosa, you guys may not be getting this candle either, what? Sparkling Mimosa smells yummy!). I just have to figure out how to describe what I want. Just talked to JFay and she gave me a brilliant idea for the Mudslide candle, so that’s the next one to come out.

Contests:

I’m involved with the Bitten by Books Carnival for more info go here:

http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=1752

Also, I’m involved with Blood Kissmas (cool name yes?) contest.?For more info check out:

http://www.myspace.com/bloodykissmas

Okay that’s it for me, its Tuesday and today I get to vote. Also, on the 5th the wonderful Alyssa Brooks takes over my blog. *Grin* Please do stop by and comment. Hugs all around.

Selena

AKA Impromptu Contest

To enter email me at darkicegoddess 682 AT gmail DOT com.

Prizes:

Mini Promo Pack

Download- Office of Kink and Karma: Touch Me from Celia Kyle

Download- ARC of Harvest Moon from Aurora Black

Contest deadline has been extended to October 31st, 2007, Midnight EST. Good Luck.

Selena