Have I told you lately…

…that you guys are awesome? ❤❤❤ Seriously, I love you all SO DARNED MUCH!!! How did I get such an awesome bunch of readers? *mwah!*

 

Real world blues 2.0

The house hunt for a true Casa de Fawkes continues. Those of you who follow on Twitter and Facebook probably already heard that the second house we were looking at (and one in which we both were rather invested in, against our better judgment) was snatched away in what became a bidding war. Right now we’re determined to find a place of our own and stop paying rent, but it seems everything we find with the right qualifications (outside of town, large lot/acreage, decent house) is getting snatched up by someone else before we can get there or has other problems. We’re looking at something new again (this one’s a bit different than the others), and all I can say is hopefully the third time’s the charm. *crosses toes/finger/eyes*

It also doesn’t help that “Castaway 3″ is giving me conniptions. I did something for this part that I don’t usually do: outlined the crap out of it so that I wouldn’t get stuck. And yet, guess where I am now? You guessed it – despite knowing the exact progression of every scene, I canNOT make myself write this. It’s frustrating; the spirit is willing, but it’s as though I have a mental block preventing me from doing this part. Normally I’m a total pantser, the kind of writer who figures things out as I go. I think my deviation from that is part of my problem, but it’s too late now. Writing every story is a different experience, and while part 3 is just one more part of the same book, my brain and fingers refuse to cooperate. Couple this with the feeling that I’m letting people down (especially after THAT cliffhanger), and I’ve been a little down lately.

Next week is the Romantic Times Convention in Kansas City, MO. I’ve spent the last week or so getting ready, but I’d really hoped to have C3 done by the time I left. That doesn’t look like it’ll be the case, so I’ll be working during the convention as well. That doesn’t mean I’m not excited to go however!! I’m curious, are any of you going to be attending? This will be the first RT con I’ve attended (second romance con technically, but the first time I’m actually participating as an author) and I’m excited and NERVOUS!!! It may not always seem like this, but I’m a total introvert – crowds make me a wee bit frazzled, and as I’m going to be in the signing and meetup areas interacting with readers, I’m a silly combination of EEK and SQUEE and OMGFREAKINGOUT!

I’ll definitely post all about it as the time comes. Should be a lot of fun, I had a blast last year at RWA in Anaheim and look forward to meeting anybody! Look for a wild-eyed redhead who looks ready to bolt, and come say hi!

 

Snippet Sunday!

It’s time for another Snippet Sunday post! …wait, it’s supposed to be done on Saturday? Huh, knew I forgot something!

“Castaway 3″ is slowly coming along, but unfortunately there’s little to post yet. I figured I could do another brief pre-book story about the Hamilton boys but, while its not AHW related, I do have some new material. Wanna see it?

Facebookers and Twitterites might recognize part of this from a screencap I uploaded, but in case you missed it here’s a scene from my as yet untitled (or rather, poorly-titled-so-far *g* ) New Adult romance.

*~*~*

Setting: coastal Mississippi, early summer. Lacey St. James hasn’t had a very happy life the last four years, but when she meets Everett Ward, things start looking up. Of course, the road back to a normal life isn’t going to be easy…

“So what’s the plan for the rest of the day?” he asked between bites.

“I need to go pick up my little brother from school in an hour, so I should probably head home to pick up my mom’s car.”

“Why don’t you have a car? Wouldn’t it be easier?”

“Well,” I hedged, then looked out at his ratty mode of transportation. He’d probably understand better than most. “Right now my vehicle isn’t working all that well.”

“Vehicle? Way to be cryptic.”

I just grinned. “She’s my pride and joy, but right now she’s up on blocks.”

“Is there anything I can help with?”

“Dunno, you ever rebuild a transmission?”

“No, but Trent’s brother Matt can.”

I mulled that information over. Riding a bike was getting old; I could only go so far, and being stuck in such a small area was beginning to chafe. “Yeah, see how much he’ll charge,” I said finally, sliding out of the booth. “It’s an old C4 tranny, shouldn’t be too hard.”

“I’ll ask. So, tomorrow then?”

“Four o’clock tomorrow sound okay?”

“Cool beans. I’ll pick you up.”

“No, I’d rather…”

Everett held up a hand. “You can at least meet me out where I dropped you off before, can’t you?”

He had a point. “Alright, then I’ll see you tomorrow.” A warm feeling spread through my body and I fought against a silly grin as we walked back to his car.

That pleasure lasted after he dropped me off at my bike and the whole ride home, right up until I realized my mom’s car wasn’t at the house. Leaning my bike against the side of the stairway, I hurried up the steps and checked the house, but she wasn’t there either. It was ten minutes to three when I got home, still more than early enough to pick up my little brother.

But I had no car.

I tried to call her cell but it was turned off. The thought of calling my grandmother didn’t sit well; I’d automatically be made to blame. I thought perhaps my mother was just out running errands and had forgotten the time. Annoyed at my own helplessness, I passed the time by picking up beer bottles strewn across the living room as I waited for her to get home.

At five minutes after three, I called the daycare office. The lady who answered was kind enough to go check to see if my little brother was still there.

“No, his teacher said his mother picked him up,” she said when she finally got on the phone. I thanked her profusely and paced the length of the trailer, continually checking the clock until I finally heard the car pull into the driveway.

“I thought I was supposed to pick him up,” I said as she unbuckled Davey from his car seat.

“You weren’t here,” she said, a belligerent note in her voice. “I tried calling you and kept getting some error message.”

I hadn’t given her my new number yet. Shit. “I’m sorry mama, I changed it two days ago.”

She gave me a dirty look. “Goddamn, irresponsible… I didn’t raise you to be this fucking lazy, Lacey May.”

God I hated it when she was drunk. She never would have talked like that to me before Ben died; I’d never once heard her cuss in fact until we moved back down here. Resentment burned in my gut. “I was here ten minutes beforehand,” I persisted as I followed her into the house. “Where did you go?”

“Had to get cigarettes.”

“Mama.” I gave an exasperated sigh. “You know you shouldn’t drive when you’ve been drinking.”

“You made me do it,” she muttered darkly, setting my brother on the ground. “If you had been here when you were supposed to…”

“Mama, you said you went to get cigarettes. You were driving drunk even though I…”

Crack!

My head whipped around and I stumbled sideways. I turned to look at my mother, shocked to my core. No matter how bad things had been, my mother had never laid her hand on me before.

I stood there stunned, holding my cheek, as my mother stared back at me. To her credit, she looked as astonished as I was, but I didn’t care. Part of me wanted desperately to hit her back, make her feel the pain that was tearing me apart.

“Sissy?”

Davey was watching us, his blue eyes round as saucer plates. Tears sprang to my eyes as I realized he’d witnessed the whole thing, but I had no idea what to say. Raged enveloped me, but I couldn’t make myself move.

My mother looked between us, her eyes still wide, then she turned to my brother. “What do you want for dinner, honey?” she said in a shaky voice, ignoring me completely.

That was the final straw.

I knew where my mother kept her stash of liquor. She wasn’t very creative with hiding it, and I’d raided it before. Sure enough, she had several bottles in various sizes of tequila and vodka in the small cabinet under the kitchen sink.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Grabbing the smaller bottle of vodka, I ignored her and checked the contents. The clear liquid was to the top and didn’t appear to be open.

“Lacey May!”

I rounded on her. “Fuck you,” I whispered, and was pleased by the shock I saw in her eyes. I’d never said those words to her before, never cursed at my mama. She’d been the one person I thought I could rely on in this house.

No more.

Without another word, I turned and stomped out of the trailer, slamming the door behind me. I picked up my bike and, stuffing the thin bottle in the back of my shorts, I took off down the street.

I had no idea where I was going, but when I got to the beaches, I threw down my bike on edge of the sand, and walked out to the water. Plopping my butt next to the pier, I unscrewed the top to the bottle and tipped it back, letting the burning liquid make its way down my throat.

***

 

“Anything He Wants: Castaway #2″ is LIVE!

Can I just say that self-publishing is awesome? It’s awesome to be able to get a story out a week earlier than planned, kind of a nice bonus for folks who’ve been keeping track and hoping for an early release.

Tensions escalate in the second part of the new “Anything He Wants: Castaway” series!

Reunited with Jeremiah, Lucy is forced to come to grips with the decisions she’s made in his absence. The billionaire is as insufferable as ever, but just as determined to protect Lucy. From the Caribbean seas of Jamaica to the man-made islands of Dubai, they must travel halfway across the world to find out who is trying to bring down the Hamilton family.

But it may be the woman who comes between them that tears the two brothers apart forever. And can Lucy bear to live with the consequences of her actions?

*~*

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Apple iBooks

ALSO, I’m super excited to say that right after part two appears up for sale *cue eye roll*, Apple iTunes also finally released the FIRST part of “Anything He Wants: Castaway”!!! So for all you iBooks users out there, the new series is fully available!!

 

Mark your calendars!

I was going to post this yesterday, but didn’t want to get anyone confused about April Fools.

“Anything He Wants: Castaway (#2)” will be released on Monday, April 15. I’m still holding out hope that I can get the story out earlier, and believe me if that’s the case I’ll be SURE to announce it everywhere I can!!

And just because I’m still on cloud nine over making this week’s USA Today list, I’ve decided to reveal the next cover! Let me know what you think, but I’m in LOOOOOOOOVE!!!!!!
(click the image to make it bigger)

 

The rough draft is only the beginning

Writing is not as easy as people like to think. We all say that we’d like to write a book, or that we could write a better book than so-and-so, but actually finishing a story? Is half the battle.

Of course, sometimes it helps to have smaller goals along the way. Serialized fiction is perfect for this, giving you those convenient stops between sections that give you the sense of accomplishment without having to wait the full 100k words.

Oh do pardon me, I’m rambling a bit because it’s midnight and I’m quite tired. I’m happy to report, however, that the rough draft of AHW7 (or AHW:C2) is finished. Mind you, there’s still a lot to do; editing is a HUGE step along the path and what I’ll be doing for the next couple weeks. The novel, all told, is at about 42k words with only two parts done, so it’s going to be much longer than the original book. Not necessarily a bad thing, or so I hope.

*yaaaaawn* Bed awaits. Tomorrow (or, okay, later today) will be devoted to edits. But for now I need to head to bed before I start drooling over my keyboard. (oh yeah, sexy writer visuals there *eyeroll*)

Oh, and on an awesome note (that is actually REALLY awesome news, but I can’t quite muster up the proper enthusiasm while this tired): “Anything He Wants: Castaway” (AHW6) made it onto this week’s USA Today Bestseller list at #126. I’m seriously excited by this; it’s a huge shock and something I didn’t think we’d accomplish again. THANK YOU, thank you thank you, this is all you and…thank you SO so very much. ***HUGS***

 

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!!

Happy Easter!

Glad Påsk!

Feliz Páscoa!

Joyeuses Pâques!

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

May today be filled with family, loved ones, and good tidings.

 

Snippet Saturday!

Real life has taken me too far away from my writing, but I’ve managed to get a little work done over the last few days. There’s still a few thousand more words left to be written, so I’m determined to focus on that for the next several days.

And YAY, we finally get a real Snippet Saturday! I wish I could give more away, but hopefully this little offering will be enough to sate your appetite until next week.

NOTE: Snippets are from the rough draft and subject to change between now and the final release.

*~*~*

I heard the howling winds grow louder behind me and turned to see Jeremiah close the flap over the door. My breath caught as we stared at one another from across the small room. His face was as open as I’d ever seen; deep emotion warred across his features, but he didn’t step forward. I was rooted in place, unable to make a move.

Finally, he spoke. “I admit that I’ve put you through a lot in our time together.” His voice was rough, but his gaze on me didn’t waver. “Say the word and I’m gone.”

My gut clenched at his words, but he wasn’t finished. “I need you.” His words were like the gasp of a drowning man. “I should never have run like that, back at the house, but l-love…” He paused over the stammered word, face twisting in frustration. “All my life, that word, that feeling, has been a crutch I was forced to overcome. You’ve seen my mother, and I thank God you never had to meet my father because he, he was ten times worse.”

“Jeremiah,” I whispered, breath shaky.

“But I need you,” he rasped, taking a jerky step forward. “Every cell in my body is telling me to run away, leave you alone, and I can’t.”

I took the two steps forward necessary, and stared up at him. His fists stayed by his sides, but from here the desperation in his eyes overwhelmed me. Choking back a sob of my own, I reached up and cupped his face, stroking his cheek with my thumb. His body tensed as if holding him back, and I felt a tear streak down my face.

I thought he had rejected me, and yet here stood as firm a testament to his affections as I’d likely ever see. That he couldn’t say the words didn’t matter; I saw everything I’d ever hoped for in my life shining from his eyes, and I couldn’t bear to let him go. Not yet. Pure selfishness on my part, but I knew that to give him up, to tell him the truth that tore at my soul, would break me. Our fate was sealed but for this one moment.

 

No Snippet Saturday today, but…

This week has been full of many non-writerly things, so I apologize for not having new material to show off in that respect. May I, however, introduce the cover for the next AHW serial, Anything He Wants 6: Castaway!!

 

 

I’m pretty pleased with the final result, courtesy of Cover Magic. While its a slight change from the previous covers, I grew a little tired of seeing the same stock images on other books and wanted a cover that told a story.

Thoughts? Comments? Hate it, love it?

EDITED TO ADD: Hmm, not much excitement about the cover. Glad I gave myself enough time to go back to the drawing board if necessary, thanks for all the tips and thoughts!!

 

Snippet Saturday #3…er, Snippet Sunday?

Contrary to what people might think, I didn’t forget about Snippet Saturday! I just…put it off for a little too long? I’ve had a busy week, not the least of which was making the decision to begin releasing the serials again, so have been editing, figuring out cover art, and various other life decisions (like, w00t, finding a house!). There hasn’t been as much new writing as I would have liked, but I hope what I have is juicy enough to make up for the otherwise lack of content!

*~*~*

From the AHW6 bonus story:
Lucy. He couldn’t even say her name without gasping for breath. All he wanted to do was tear apart the car, make it give up its secrets, but that would do no good. Impotent rage beat through him; there was nothing he could do until he knew more. His men were good – he wouldn’t hire anything less than the best – but they needed time and even another minute was too much.

Every decision of the day came crashing down on him at once. How he’d left Lucy alone in his bedroom; ignoring the calls to his phone; being so arrogant as to believe the danger was past. He was a coward, running from three little words. Now look what his stupidity had wrought.

Lucy. He could still smell her on his skin. She’d given her trust, shyly admitted her true feelings for him, and he’d thrown her to the wolves. God…

He couldn’t breathe. While his men were focused on the limo, Jeremiah moved around the far side and struggled for control. Forcing himself to take deep breaths, he clung to the door handle, leaning his forehead against the window. His fists tightened as he sucked in air, the wrenching emotion in his gut almost too much to bear. Her face filled his vision; those big blue eyes radiating a confidence in his character Jeremiah never even realized he needed. Gone. All gone.

*~*

“What are you doing in my room?” I demanded as I moved into the large living room.

Lucas raised a glass to me. “You have a bigger suite than ours,” he said lightly, gracing me with a trademark grin.

I rolled my eyes, not in the mood to deal with either man. “You two can head to your own rooms,” I snapped, folding my arms. “I need to take a shower and change clothes.”

“Great, I’ll join you.”

I couldn’t do anything more than stare in shock, but Jeremiah stopped pacing at his brother’s glib statement. “Loki,” he growled, clenching his fists.

“You know, I can always tell when you’re angry,” Lucas said, pointing at his brother. “It becomes ‘Loki this’ or ‘Loki that’, which I think translates to ‘I want to wring your neck.’ No, seriously, tell me I’m wrong.”

*~*

Crack!

My hand smacked across Jeremiah’s face, stopping whatever he was about to say. The blow startled him; Jeremiah blinked down at me a few times before releasing my arms. “Do you feel better now?” he said, lips pursing into a thin line.

My slap had been from a bad angle, with barely any force behind it. The callous disregard in his tone fired me up again. “No,” I answered, and, balling up my fist, I threw my arm into a hook, landing right in his jaw.