In late 2012, Ashleigh Raine kinda fell off the planet. Or at least it looked that way. For the past two years, we (we meaning Jen and Lisa, the authors who write together under the penname Ashleigh Raine), have been on an amazing, electric adventure—one we’ll soon be able to share with all of you. See, we’ve added new titles to our resumes. Not only are we writers, but we’re also the creators and producers of the upcoming romantic paranormal web series, Necrolectric.
Necrolectric tells the story of a woman named Eve who is struggling with her mysterious need to constantly die and come back to life. She begins to unravel the truth of who she really is when she teams up with a young woman who relives others’ deaths (Z), a young man who talks to ghosts (Jax), a cursed immortal (Alaric), and his electrically charged brother (Cas) to solve a series of supernatural murders.
For those of you who’ve read our Talisman Bay series, Necrolectric is actually a spin-off from this world. In summer 2012, we were working on the long-overdue third book in the series, Eternal Talisman, and were introducing two new characters, immortal brothers Alaric and Cas, who we became so enamored with we were afraid they’d take over the Talisman Bay series. So we decided to give them a book series of their own, which we promptly plotted out. Little did we know at that time that we were going to be approached to create and write a web series, and that our planned book series was going to become a web series too.
We’ll be announcing some exciting news soon, as well as the online launch date of the first season. We hope those of you who love paranormal romance, and shows like Vampire Diaries, Lost Girl, Teen Wolf, Supernatural, Sleepy Hollow and other sexy paranormal offerings, will check out Necrolectric. And watch for the book version, Electric Rush, to come out in early 2015. In the meantime, how about a tantalizing taste of what’s to come?
Follow us on social media so you don’t miss out on the upcoming announcements about the show. Spark up!
It’s the question we all get. For some authors, the characters speak to them. Unfortunately, I don’t have voices in my head. It’s just me up there talking to myself. 🙂
Inspiration comes from anything that captures your interest or tweaks your imagination in some small way. And generally, once the idea gets in there, it refuses to leave. Hmm. Maybe it’s an infestation?
Do you listen to music? Look a photos or paintings? Watch videos? Listen to the news? People watching is an awesome activity. Maybe the young couple arguing in the park grabs your attention and you start to wonder what they’re fighting about. Or you see a young woman sitting all alone at the bus stop looking incredibly sad. Did she lose her job, lose a friend? It could come from a story you read—something in the same theme, but you envision a very different plot and outcome. It could be a scrumptious meal you just ate and you begin to envision the sexy cook back in the kitchen wondering if he’ll ever meet the woman of his dreams. What about the conversation you overheard between two people in front of you at Starbucks. At the time you stifled a giggle about the topic of discussion, but it’s stuck on repeat in your head until the idea for a story comes together. Perhaps it’s a real life event that affected you deeply and you need to write about it to purge yourself of your emotions.
I took a fantastic course a few years ago. We had to search for five articles from newspapers. The stories had to be odd. They could be strange odd or funny odd. Each week we chose one of the stories and then wrote a scene inspired by the chosen article. The scenes varied in length and they varied in genre. We brought our work back to the class, told them about the original article and what about it in particular inspired the story. Sometimes it was the theme, or simply a sentence or an emotion it invoked. Sometimes, it was difficult to make the connection between the article and the story the author created, but something in how they interpreted that story sparked an idea for them.
For me, it’s usually something I’ve see or read. A great cover will spark an idea. I let the image sink into my mind and from there the story unfolds. I look at submission calls. The publisher or editor provides the nugget for inspiration and then I run away and create a story, taking it in whichever direction I choose. I don’t even necessarily submit that story to that particular requestor. They were simply the conduit for the idea. Somebody or something somewhere, somehow plants the seed. Then we make it grow.
In my debut novella, Worth the Risk, a submission call prodded me to write a story, but the inspiration came from my real life. In Friend with Benefits, the idea was sparked by something a friend said, but my backyard was the inspiration for the scenery. In my upcoming release, Sliding into Home, the idea was sparked by a trip to Las Vegas and a bride I saw in one of the casinos.
The possibilities are endless. Look around. Watch. Listen. Touch. Read. Use every sense, open your eyes, clean out your ears, but be discrete when you’re eavesdropping LOL! Inspiration is everywhere.
I get my ideas mostly from things I see or read about. Where do you get your ideas from?
Sliding into Home, A New League Series (Book 1) By Anne Lange Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance Release Date: October 17, 2014, Available for Pre-Order Now Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing Word Count: 37,827 words Heat Level: Hot
Can an injured ex ball player convince the woman he wakes up married to in Las Vegas to take a second chance on him?
After spending the last four months drowning his sorrows over the end of his baseball career, Jack Bishop finds himself winging through the blue skies to Las Vegas, not so ready to spend the weekend with some woman his best friend set him up with. He expects a paid escort. What he gets is the woman he walked away from ten years ago to pursue his passion, and she’s not very happy to see him.
Devyn Tate believes she’s quite capable of finding somebody to take her out to dinner. She’s no longer looking for a lifelong promise. She has a commitment only to her battery-operated toy to fulfill that particular need. Yet her friends have managed to talk her into spending the weekend in Las Vegas, on a blind date of all things. They promise the guy is trustworthy. They insist that she should have fun. Unfortunately, fun is not what she envisions when she discovers Jack Bishop lying on the floor of her suite in nothing but his underwear that’s on backward, and she has a wedding ring on her finger.
Available for Pre-Order September 5th (from Totally Bound) Early Download: September 19th (from Totally Bound) General Release: October 17th
Shoes are her addiction, but books are her passion. Anne Lange grew up with a love for reading. If you take a close look, she’s got either a book, her Kindle or her Kobo—maybe all three—tucked into her bag or a pocket when she leaves the house. You know, just in case there’s time to sneak in a chapter or ten. Anne reads many genres of romance, but prefers to write sexy stories, often with a dash of humor, and usually with a side of those sinful pleasures your mom never told you about.
Oh, and always a happily ever after.
While embarking on this wild journey of becoming a romance author, Anne juggles a full time job and a family. Not always successfully. Who needs a clean house every day? And what’s wrong with cereal for dinner? She lives in Ontario, Canada with her wonderfully supportive husband, three awesome kids who are growing up way too fast, and Rocky the bearded dragon.
UPDATE: This contest will end September 25th at midnight! Enter now!
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Every fall I get swept away by the falling leaves and the bright colors and the crisp wind that smells of coming snowfall. There is something magical about the months of September, October and November. I lose myself in the celebrations and decorations of Halloween and there’s nothing better than reading a bunch of old vintage gothics. The spooky settings, the fog shrouded mansions and crumbling castles. I’ve read contemporary set gothics (set in the 50s and 60s) and I’ve read historical gothics too. It doesn’t matter when the book is set, so long as I get to lose myself in a story that’s full of that beloved atmosphere where mist hides tragedies and horrors and a dark sensual romance fills the pages.
One of my absolute favorite vintage gothic romances is The Shivering Sands by Victoria Holt which is about a woman named Caroline trying to find out what happened to her missing sister Roma. Setting out on a quest to find her sister, she starts out searching an estate where her sister was last seen. With a title like Shivering Sands, already the atmosphere is set and I have to know more about this mysterious place where even the sand is dangerous. As the heroine Caroline Verlaine finds out: “You’ve heard about the Sands, Mrs. Verlaine. Quick sands…shivering sands…Boats are caught in them and they can’t get off. They feel themselves held in a grip so fierce that nothing will release them…and slowly they begin to sink into the shivering sands.”
What is so moving about gothics, especially the vintage ones is the way they capture the reader’s attention with the style of language and transport us to a place of deadly mystery and wonder set against the backdrop of old haunted houses with brooding, dominating heroes that inspire our darkest fantasies.
I recently decided I wanted to write a “modern”gothic. Wouldn’t it be marvelous to take what was best about the vintage gothics and what’s great about new modern romances (like the super steamy love scenes), and combine the two? I had to admit it was one of the funniest things I’ve ever done and the voice was quite natural for me, since I’ve read so many of the old gothics. My story The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall which releases September 29th, 2014 is the best of both worlds. I have dark, brooding hero named Bastian, an earl, and Jane, a feisty, intelligent American grad student clashing in a battle of wills as they try to find out why the earl’s castle is haunted by his ancestors.
“He was predatory, sensual, and powerful in his dark blue waistcoat, and knee-high black boots. Bastian’s ancestor looked every inch the earl he was. But it was so much more than that. Bastian and Richard could have been twins, the uncanny resemblance was so strong.” – The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall.
Question for readers: What do you all like to read around Halloween? Do you like spooky ghost stories? Hot paranormals? Horror classics? Three lucky winners will receive a e-book of The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall!
To defeat a dark evil, they must face his family’s past…
Bastian Carlisle, the Earl of Weymouth, doesn’t believe in ghosts. Even though tragedy and mysterious hauntings have driven his family away from his ancestral home, Stormclyffe Hall, he is determined to restore the castle to its former glory. His plans are disrupted when a stubborn American shows up on his doorstep hoping to pry into his family’s tragic history.
Jane Seyton, an American graduate student, is convinced there’s more to the tragedy of Stormclyffe Hall than history claims. Ever the scholar, she is determined to discover the truth, even if it means putting up with the arrogant, yet sexy, Bastian.
Although Bastian wants nothing to do with the pushy American, it soon becomes clear that something evil is in the house—and that something is targeting both Jane and Bastian. The two must join forces to purge the ghosts of Stormclyffe Hall once and for all—even as they try to fight a physical attraction between them that grows more and more impossible to deny.
Excerpt:
“My lord?” Randolph prompted, which made Bastian realize he must have been silent for several moments. The shadows had him on edge. Perhaps it would be nice to have a bit of company, if only she wasn’t a bloody American. Given the rumors of ghosts and other such childish stories, most of the staff at Stormclyffe refused to stay overnight. Only Randolph and a few of the loyal staff from London remained after dark.
Hello romance readers! And thank you for hosting me today, Delilah. 🙂 I am here to spotlight some fabulous trivia about my Lost Colony Series.
Fun fact one: This is a historical romance series based on a group of very real Lost Colonists from Roanoke Island.
Fun fact two: Most of the names, places, and dates in my novels are based on the real deal.
Fun fact three: But don’t worry. These novels don’t read at all like a history book. The Lost Colony Series is brimming with action, suspense, and unexpected romance in all the right places with plenty of steam – promise!
Fun fact four: I am seeking some awesome, creative suggestions FROM YOU for the title of book three in the Lost Colony Series.
NAME THAT BOOK CONTEST
Here are some quick and dirty facts to get your creative juices flowing.
1. BOOK ONE:BREAKING TIES
BLURB: An ancient conspiracy plagues a trans-Atlantic voyage from day one. ROSE PAYNE the ship clerk is simply trying to outrun a broken heart. Instead, she runs straight into danger – pirates, plundering, and unexpected love with the most unlikely man.
BLURB: Following a brutal ambush by hostile Natives, a sharp-tongued spinster JANE MANNERING plots the escape of her fellow English colonists by following a carved trail of crosses, never dreaming her actions will draw the attention of the most feared tribal leader in Virginia.
BLURB: AGNES WOOD, a skilled apothecary, crosses the ocean to keep one big, dark, terrible secret. Alas, one dashing gentleman from her past discretely pursues her. Will he expose her past sins and destroy the life she has fought so hard to build in the New World, or will he risk his own future to protect hers?
NAME THIS BOOK in the comments section below for a chance to win a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card (winner’s choice)! Don’t forget to give me a way to reach you. (Email address, twitter handle, FB, etc. OR you may email your contest entry directly to me at Jo@JoGrafford.com .)
Happy historical romance reading and best wishes on winning!
Breaking Ties Lost Colony Series Book One Jo Grafford
Genre: historical romance
Publisher: Astraea Press
Date of Publication: October 16, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-62135-219-8
ASIN: B00FYIYM7A
Number of pages: 404
Word Count: 121,390
Cover Artist: Mande Matthews
Intelligent and well ahead of her times, ROSE PAYNE’S world is shattered after a secret betrothal to the duke’s son costs her job as a clerk in his father’s household. Without a letter of recommendation, she becomes an easy target for recruiters to the Colonies. Desperate for work, she signs up for a risky overseas venture and sails for the New World, vowing never again fall for a wealthy gentleman.
Returning from a diplomatic tour in London, CHIEF MANTEO is bewitched by the elusive, fiery-haired ship clerk and determined to overcome her distrust. He contrives a daring plan to win her heart – a plan he prays will protect her from a chilling conspiracy involving murder, blood money, and a betrayal of their fledgling colony so terrifying it can only be revealed in BREAKING TIES.
Special Note: BREAKING TIES is the never-before-told rest of the story of the Lost Colony.
His eyes darkened. “I save your life. I give gifts. I offer marriage.” He closed the remaining distance between us, his eyes burning into mine.
I stumbled back.
“You give nothing in return,” he snarled. “You only ask for more.”
“I would had I something to offer,” I whispered. “But I have nothing. I am nothing.”
“Then what use are you to me?” He wheeled away.
I sagged against the door, eyes stinging. I blinked rapidly and pressed a hand to my stomach. Nausea rolled at the thought of informing the others of my failure.
Manteo circled the cabin like a hawk stalking its prey. ‘Twas a fine room with ornately carved shelves lining one wall. Bunks were built into the next wall. A generous desk jutted from the third, overflowing with maps and navigational devices. I recognized the compass and hourglass but could not identify the other instruments. I jerked in surprise when Manteo swooped down upon me.
“I know our location.” His arms shot out and slapped the wall on either side of me, hemming me to the door. “I could swim ashore from here.”
Laila’s Lies, the next taste of the Members Only Series, is now available for your reading pleasure!! Yea!!
Members Only, Book Seven (and no book six isn’t out yet – seriously epic fail that they’re publishing out of order but it couldn’t be helped unfortunately)
Laila Harris was a fake, a phony, a fraud.
Being sent to dig up proof The Library was actually a private BDSM club was her ticket to a promotion. Simple. Easy. But it wasn’t.
Not when she would have to betray the three men who captured her heart from the very first heated stare. Not when she would have to turn her back on the women who saw who she’d kept hidden from everyone. A submissive.
Choosing between her past and future will rock the foundation of everything she holds true. Until she understands the power she holds when she’s on her knees.
A Romantica® ménage erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
Would you like to win a copy of Laila’s Lies to keep and cuddle of your very own?
Yea!! I’d hoped you would!
All you have to do is go sign up for an amazingly awesome blog I’m on with 6 other authors!
Just click on the I understand and wish to continue button that says you’re an adult and your heart can stand epic levels of decadence! Then on the right under followers click on follow this site and just follow the instructions. Super easy. Then come back here and tell me what you think is Decadent in romance books!
Happy posting! And please include your email address in the post so I can contact you with the shiny new copy of Laila’s Lies!
Jennifer Kacey is a wife, mother, and business owner living with her family in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.
Today is my birthday. No, don’t start singing that song–I’m sure I’ll hear it often enough at work when the kids come to lunch. If I could, I’d simply forget my birthday all together, but singing to mz *lizzie makes the kids happy. And I can’t resist that.
Much like Birdie, the heroine in Birds Do It! can’t resist helping a desperate single father facing what he considers to be a dangerous hyacinth macaw and a birthday celebration for his nine year old daughter. First she calms the bird, then offers to decorate the birthday cake.
A Birthday excerpt for you.
Smoothing the surface with a deft flick of her wrist, she spoke. “I need to know how your daughter spells her name.”
“The French way.”
“And that is?” Birdie held up a hand. “Wait a sec.” She reached for a second decorating bag filled with bright blue icing. After testing the flow from the tip over a bowl, she paused with the tip close to the cake. “Okay, shoot.”
“R.” Garr swallowed heavily. This woman, a stranger, came into his house, magically quieted a maniacal bird, and created the most beautiful cake for his daughter. Her hand moved smoothly, putting a final, flowery flourish to the large letter.
“A.” She arched her shoulders forward as if easing tight muscles. Garr’s fingers twitched, and he longed to soothe, to comfort, to relax her tension. That longing curled into heated tension low in his belly.
“C.” Pausing, Birdie held the top of the decorating bag in one hand, wrapped the fingers of her other hand around it, and gently forced the icing toward the tip. Then, she wrapped her fingers more tightly around the bag and adjusted her grip slightly. Garr bit back a low groan.
“H.” How the letter got past the lump in his throat was a miracle. Unbidden, unwanted, the vision of her fingers wrapped around him… stroking… caressing… squeezing…
His body responded painfully.
“E.” A deep intake of breath filled him with her scent; spice and warm vanilla. As casually as he could, he moved to the other side of the island to hide his physical reaction. Perhaps the distance would help.
“Two L’s.” How long had it really been since he’d been attracted to a woman, drawn to someone so intimately? The tip of her pink tongue peeked between her lips as she concentrated, moving slowly along her full lower lip as if it traced the letters as well.
“E.” By God, if she didn’t stop caressing that damn bag…
“There, finished.” Birdie looked up at him. A triumphant smile made her face bright and beautiful. She sucked an icing covered finger into her mouth. “What do you think?”
I think I want to know you better. Much better.
Birds Do It!
A search for truth, switched babies, and a threat from the past all conspire to destroy the love Birdie found with Garr and his daughter, Rachelle.
Macaws as lovebirds?
An avian expert, Birdie Simons is called to help control a cantankerous hyacinth macaw during a young girl’s birthday party. Inexorably drawn to each other, she and single father Garr Logan share an afternoon of joy and bittersweet memories, for Garr’s wife died the same day as Birdie’s newborn child.
Something about Rachelle makes Birdie wonder if the golden-haired girl is her daughter, switched at birth. Then her child’s father returns, dogging her search for understanding and throwing her deeper into fear and confusion.
Ready to move on after his wife’s death, Garr wants the intriguing woman, but Birdie keeps the search, threats and hidden relationships to herself, driving a wedge between them.
Will discovering the truth from nine years ago bring them closer, or forever tear them apart?
*lizzie always made up games and stories to keep her company. So, a cunning witch lived in Grampa’s weather research station and was only held at bay by waving a certain weed. An ancient road grader morphed into a boat carrying wild adventurers to islands filled with fierce lions and dangerous cannibals, which really looked a lot like sheep. Now, filled with fantasy, love, and romance with a sparkling twist, the stories of her imagination swirl their way into the mundane world. When *lizzie must return to a more routine life, she’s *the Lunch Lady* at a private school. Author and lunch lady~~what a combination!
Note: Thought I’d misplaced Jennha’s blog, but found it. The contest I posted earlier this AM, just below this blog, is still a go! Be sure to enter! ~DD
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Fall hit hard this week. Which I both love and hate. Love because I get to pull out the hoodies! Hate because it means winter is coming—not my favorite time of year. 🙂
But there are other great things about fall (one of my favorite seasons). Perfect days of mild weather, clear skies, and fresh air. The colors of the trees as they turn from green to gold, orange and red.
Halloween. So much fun dressing up and taking my kiddo trick or treating. Sports! Football. Hockey.
And school. As much as I love spending the summer with my kiddo, it’s nice to have some free time when she goes back to school. And she loves it as well.
As summer fades to fall and the temperatures drop, schedules pick up, and we prepare for winter I like to pull out some books that heat things up! What do you do when the temperatures turn chilly? What is your favorite season?
Leave a comment and your email and I’ll pick one winner to win an ebook of Finding Her Dream. The giveaway ends September 26th. I’ll post the winner’s name in the comments.
Title: Finding Her Dream (Midwest Kisses #2)
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Western Romance
Published: March 27, 2014
It wasn’t until she watched her best friend find the man of her dreams that RayAnne Hill realizes there’s a part of her missing. She knows the empty space can only be filled by finding her own true love, complete with kids and the white picket fence. Fear of letting someone in stops her cold, and it’s much bigger than just finding Mr. Right.
James Shaw moved away from Kentucky and the family business to chase his own goals, settling in the small town of Kimmswick, Missouri. His business is succeeding, now he’s ready to complete his life with a wife and kids. One night, one look and he’s found her. RayAnne is everything he’s been searching for.
As hard as James has fallen for RayAnne, can he be enough to help her overcome her worst nightmare? Or will he decide he can’t wait forever, and walk away to find happiness?
Born and raised in Texas, Jennah is a transplant to Missouri long enough ago she should probably consider that her hometown. But she will forever be a Texan. She loves to write any story that will make a reader smile, laugh, and maybe even cry (although you won’t ever hear her admit that she cries). Whether the next story she writes is contemporary, urban fantasy, LGBT, or whatever other crazy idea she comes up with, there will always be love and romance in the midst of trials and turmoil.
What? She whipped around to face him. “Why?” she squeaked.
“For that night. For being late. For letting you down. All of it. I hated not getting to spend some time with you.” James clasped his hands in front of him. Her gaze lingered a little below his belt. He cleared his throat and she jerked her head up. At seeing his smirk Ray’s cheeks warmed. She’d been caught.
“I should be apologizing to you, James. It was wrong of me to ignore you. I was being selfish, too worried about myself and how much I wanted to have dinner with you. Everything ended up okay, right? I mean I know it’s been a while, but…” she trailed off. Rambling would get her nowhere.
James grinned. The cooling fire inside ignited once again. “Yeah, sugar. Everything’s good. Shadow was perfect and her foal, Levee, is a beauty.”
“Levee? That’s an odd name for a horse isn’t it?”
“Maybe. I don’t care. She’s named after the Levee Apple Pie at the Owl.”
“Why would you name your horse after an apple pie?” Ray didn’t know much about horses, but she figured an odd name like that had to have a story.
“It’s not the apple pie. Once upon a time I met this girl and I screwed up. So this was my way of reminding myself what can happen if I don’t pay attention.”
A Birthday excerpt for you.
