So much happened this last week! My life is completely nuts. Let’s see if I can break it down for you…

Wild at Heart

First, for all you writers out there, the deadline for submitting your stories for inclusion in the Wild at Heart anthology, which will directly benefit the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge is APRIL 1st! Please get your stories in. They are short—just 1500 to 4000 words, and who doesn’t have an idea for one? You’ve been to a zoo, right? You’ve watched National Geographic. You don’t have to be an animal expert to be able to write about some exotic animal in need of refuge. There’s still time. Read more about it here: Wild at Heart

About Three Stories

Three developments, book-wise, happened this week.

1) All Hallows Heartbreaker, the second story I ever published, is being offered for free! But this deal doesn’t last forever! For more information, follow this link:  Free Story

2) The eighth book in the My Immortal Knight series, My Sweet Succubus, is out! It’s Moses Brown’s story, and I know there are those of you out there who have been waiting for him to have his happy ever after. Well, he gets it all right. Just not sayin’ where. 🙂 If you’d like to read more, click on the cover.

3) And most exciting for me, personally, is that I have a brand new contract to edit another anthology collection for Cleis Press! One more to follow Girls Who Bite (out last September), She Shifters (coming in July 2012) and Cowboy Lust (out in August 2012).  It’s strange how much of a thrill this gives me. I should only want to write my own stories, right? But it’s so much fun. I get to read great stories, “meet” established authors, and nurture new authors. It’s work, sure, but it’s also very, very satisfiying. And something different to do. I like mixing it up. So if you hear me talking about smokin’ hot firemen over the next coming months, that’s what this is all about.

Sunday Report Card

But what did I really accomplish this week? Not enough.

1) I worked through stacks of papers to burn, shred or file away in my newly neatened file cabinets.
2) Did some “back and forth” with my Cleis editor on the new anthology, wrote the call for submissions and sent it out to the world.

Notice there’s no mention of pages written. I have tons of good reasons—all centered around the fact I’ve been making tons of trips to Hot Springs to buy building supplies. The Red-Headed Hellion and her family are moving into the house across the street from me this week, but we’re down to the wire with renovations and now one of our contracted workers is a no-show. So SIL is learning very quickly how to repair and texture dry-wall so he can get walls and ceilings painted. In the meantime, I’m babysitting cats and dogs, doing laundry and cleaning their other neglected house to get ready for the movers. I hope to have some downtime in between to get some pages in, because I have a novella due tomorrow. Eeek!

Have a great week. Hope you’re getting lovely spring weather like we are here in Arkansas. Have to check the pool temperature. Won’t be long…

You know what I love? Series. Seriously. I’m one of those readers who never wants a book to end with The End. If the story has characters who speak to me, I always hope for another book and then another and another. I was really sad when I realized Meg Cabot’s Mediator series was over at book six. When I finished The Amber Spyglass, the last book in Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials trilogy, I went to his website, hoping I was wrong and that there were more. I went into a depression when the Harry Potter series ended for nearly a week. No lie. A real depression because I knew those characters, who had become like family to me, weren’t going to be in my life anymore. The movie releases sort of alleviated that for an extra year or two, but now they’re done too. Sob!

As a result of my love affair for series as a reader, I find myself drifting toward writing series as well. It took me months to write the final book in the Wild Irish series, Any Given Sunday, because I just couldn’t say goodbye to my Collins family. My editor finally put her foot down (God love that woman) and said “Just write the damn book!”

A couple of weeks ago, the last book in the Compass Brothers series, Western Ties came out. I cried for days as I wrote that story. Finally, my hubby looked at me and said, “You know this is fiction, right?” I told him it was still hard because those characters felt SO real to me. Those were some of the toughest scenes I’ve ever written. Plus, on top of leaving the Compton brothers, my collaboration with Jayne Rylon (who is like a sister to me) ended as well. It was a double whammy!

But…my love of series still perseveres! I’m in the midst of some new ones. I’m excited about them so I thought I’d do a bit of shouting here.

I recently finished Misplaced Princess, book one in the Crossed Wires duo, I’m co-writing with Lexxie Couper. They are fun books that take place in New York City and Australia. I’m about to start writing Fix You, the first book in a new series for Samhain called the Second Chances books.

And…last, but not least, the second book in my Cocktales series at Ellora’s Cave, Screwdriver, released yesterday! Woot! It’s a fun series about four friends who own a combination bar/bookstore in Portland called Books and Brew (this is my DREAM business). Each woman runs a different aspect of the business—bartender, bookkeeper/office manager, the marketing/events coordinator, and the bookstore gal.

In the Party Naked, Stephanie Harper receives a parking ticket from hot cop Jarod Nolan and ends up getting way more than a fine. Handcuffs, anyone?

In Screwdriver, Jordan Lance, Books and Brew’s bookkeeper harbors a secret crush on the uber-wealthy and handsome landlord of their building, Gabriel. However when construction worker, Casey comes in to do some work on the store, her attention turns to him…much to Gabriel’s chagrin. How’s a girl to decide? Um…does she really have to?

In Bachelor’s Bait, Sophie Kennedy, marketing/event coordinator for Books and Brew can’t stand Marc Garrett, a free-aid lawyer and do-gooder who rubs her the wrong way. When fate steps in, tossing them together, Sophie’s passionate anger turns to another kind of passion…

In the final book, Screaming Orgasm, Jayne is depressed. She’s watched all her friends meet their Mr. Rights and fall in love. Little does she know, Elias Clark, the unassuming professor who is a regular at the store has had his eye on her for quite a while, but Jayne will find out he’s not at all what he appears to be. Underneath his quiet exterior lurks the Dom who speaks to her submissive heart.

To read more about this series and the others I’ve mentioned, please stop by my website, www.maricarr.com.

Screwdriver, Cocktales, Book Two

When Jordan Lance isn’t pouring over spreadsheets for Books and Brew, she’s fantasizing about the store’s landlord. Too bad she’s squarely in Gabriel’s “just friends” column.Jordan’s prepared to pine forever—until she meets Casey. The handyman is hot, handsome, charming…and Gabriel’s best friend. Suddenly her wicked fantasies are porntastic times two.

Casey has suspected his friend’s interest in Jordan. If he can push them together, he might get Gabriel off the bimbo train he’s been riding. The plan? Jealousy. And it’s working. It’s not long before Gabriel’s deeper feelings for Jordan emerge. Problem is…so do Casey’s. What happens when two friends want the same woman? Red-hot ménage, baby.

Two gorgeous men playing every inch of her body? Um, yes please!Jordandoesn’t know if threesomes are considered acceptable, but she’s sure of one thing—being this bad feels far too good.

Excerpt:

Casey looked closer at the AC unit. “Damn. I was afraid of that.”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I was hoping it was an issue with the belt, but the motor bearings are shot. I’m going to need to order a part.”

“So it’s not getting fixed today?”

“I’ll see if I can rig a work around for the time being.” He stood and stretched. “God bless it, Jordan. I apologize if this offends you, but it’s hot as hell in here.” Reaching for the hem of his t-shirt, he whipped the thin cotton over his head and fanned himself with it.

Her now-familiar blush returned and Casey felt compelled to prod, to see if his suspicions about Jordan’s underlying naughty side were true. “Just so you know, I absolutely will not be upset if you decide to follow suit and work shirtless for the rest of the afternoon.” Read the rest of this entry »

Visiting Old [Fictional] Friends

I love characters. Characters who are funny, characters who are sweet but try to hide it, characters who have strange quirks and don’t care who knows about it. Plot’s lovely, evocative writing adds a lot to my enjoyment, but if the characters don’t grab me, I won’t enjoy a book.

I think I create pretty good characters. (At least the male ones – I’m still working through my issues with writing female romantic leads, but I’m pretty pleased with Tara, the MC of Shining Armor, due out April 2 from Liquid Silver Books). I love my boys. But I love other people’s boys, too. Do you guys remember S.E. Hinton’s books? I fell in love with the characters from The Outsiders with full pre-teen passion.  When that book was over, I would have happily read about the characters cleaning the house, going to school, watching TV… anything, no plot needed, just so I could get my fix. When there was a mention of them in one of Hinton’s other books (Rumblefish, maybe? Or That was Then, This is Now?) I was like a cat on really good ‘nip. It was perfect – my boys were still okay, and living their fictional lives.

Dark Horse is the first book I ever wrote, the first thing I tried to get published, and I had no idea how long books were supposed to be. So I just wrote. I wrote the main story, the one that’s told in Dark Horse and Out of the Darkness, and then I wrote a lot of little extras, because I wanted to see how my boys were doing. I missed them, and I wanted to visit.

I said I wouldn’t write any more in the series, because I felt like I’d left the boys in a good place, and because I’d already written so damn much!  But then I started thinking about the guys again, wondering if they were okay… and wondering how well they’d stand up to a crisis. Of Dark and Light (due out March 26 from Dreamspinner Press!) is the book that came from me putting them through that crisis.

Traditional fiction is pretty rigid about what constitutes a story: we all know the plot graph from English class, and writers know what publishers are looking for. But the world is changing. Fan fiction, I think, did a lot of this, with writers playing with characters created by others, giving them new adventures and new worlds. But maybe it’s time for original fiction to catch up. With e-publishing, we’re no longer so limited by how much it costs to print a short story, or the challenges of distribution. Maybe e-publishing will lead to authors writing their own time stamps and AUs and all the other fun little fandom traditions.

I’d love to see it, as a reader and as a writer. When I really fall in love with a character, and the book ends, I don’t want the relationship to be over! I know we can’t go steady anymore, but couldn’t we at least have a few reunion dates?

Which books have left you guys with that aching sense of sadness at the end, just because you don’t get to hang out with the characters anymore? Would you like it if your favorite authors wrote little extras with the characters you love, or is your own imagination enough?

Today, I’ll be on the road again. Yeah, when am I supposed to write? I’m headed to the big city of Hot Springs, Arkansas to see a lawyer about a will. My will. Not that I plan to kick the bucket any time soon, but I don’t want to leave my affairs in a mess. I’ll make it simple for my family.

I hope you all are taking advantage of the free book offer (see yesterday’s blog for details). If you’ve downloaded the book and enjoyed it, I’d love for you to “like” and “tag” it, and if you have time, please post a review. Not really that much to ask in return, is it?

So today’s question is purely for fun. Take a leap of imagination. If you had the nerve, the perfect bod, all the planets aligned and you had the opportunity to choose two characters or celebrities that you’d like to have a threesome with, who would you choose?

Here are mine. I expect it would be rough and tumble, a lot of jockeying between these two super heroes for who’d be in charge, but in my fantasy, I’d be the winner. Is it any wonder that Thor and Xena are in my writer’s toybox?

The winner of yesterday’s ONE-DAY-ONLY CONTEST is Amy A! Amy, send me an email to let me know which email address you’d like me to send your free download of Love Bites!

Continuing my journey down memory lane, this scene is from Book 4 of the My Immortal Knight series. Enjoy meeting Max, and be looking for All Hallows Heartbreaker, which will be offered for free come Monday!

“RELENTLESS has suspense, intrigue, and surprises that grab your attention and never let you go until the last page.”
5 Stars, Just Erotic Romance Reviews

“A wickedly funny and passionate series, fans of paranormal erotic romance will enjoy RELENTLESS tremendously. Ms Devlin has done it again!”
Romance Reviews

“Her realistic writing of well-packaged vampires and werewolves leaves the reader thirsting for the forbidden and a driving need to be possessed within her erotically charged worlds.”
5 Blue Ribbons, Romance Junkies

To supercop Max Weir, the only good vampire is a dead one. Since his special police unit integrated with vampires, he’s had to suppress his natural hatred to work side-by-side with the undead to hunt down and terminate the deadliest killers. Now the unit is hot on the trail of a new menace in town, a pack of werewolves prowling for vampires, who don’t care whether humans get in their way.

When a stakeout goes awry, Max enters a bar looking for a fight or a woman to help him blow off a little steam. What he finds is a winsome siren who has sexual appetites to match his own.

Vampire Pia D’Amato is on a secret mission to take out Max — either by seduction or by turning him. He’s become a liability to the Masters’ Council setting up jurisdiction in southern Florida, and she isn’t leaving until she’s done the job. But Max is more man than she bargained for and has a deadly secret of his own.

Max pushed through the door of the bar determined that tonight he’d either get shit-faced or fucked. Which, didn’t matter. So long as he could blow off the steam that had been gathering a head since the botched mission hours before. The bar was a regular haunt—only a block from his house. If need be, he could crawl home. The smoky air, the loud grinding music, and the smell of stale beer appealed when he had an axe to grind.

The SU had swept the area for signs of the wolves that killed the vampires before turning on the humans in a mutilating frenzy. Their bloody paw prints led beyond the house to a gravel road where they’d disappeared. The pack had made their getaway in cars. This hadn’t been a roaming band’s target of opportunity, but a takedown.

The grim faces of the vampires telegraphed their worry. He hoped they were shaking in their boots. Not that the thought of a rogue wolf pack wasn’t just as unsettling to Max.

But seeing the cocksure Quentin lose his perpetual smirk was gratifying. Dylan had been grim-faced and pale. Perhaps the bastard saw his own fate in the house.

However, Joe’s silence had been the most telling. He hadn’t looked the least bit surprised.

Max made his way through the tables ringing a small dance floor. The place was nearly empty, save for the men hovering near the bar for the night’s last drinks. The tension in his shoulders knotted tighter. All it would take would be one smart-ass comment. He hungered for an excuse to drive his fist through something.

The crowd parted, and a flash of a slim white ankle snagged his attention. Every trace of anger, bitter regret, and frustration coalesced into a single, burning need.
Read the rest of this entry »

If you look closely, you’ll see that the tiger on the right is missing its hind leg. This beautiful cat was rescued and given a second chance by the fine folks at the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge.

For all you writers out there who are also animal lovers, here’s your chance to help a worthy cause. The entire proceeds from the book the Diamond State Romance Authors intend to publish will go to the refuge. I wrote about the facility back in October. Check out Sweet Refuge! for more details about the good work they do.

Wild at Heart
Editor: Delilah Devlin
Publisher: Diamond State Romance Authors
Deadline: April 1, 2012

Wild at Heart is open to all authors.

Editor Delilah Devlin is looking for stories for a special project to benefit the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge.

Last October, six Diamond State Romance Author chapter members spent a weekend falling in love with the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge and its exotic inhabitants. The refuge is home to large cats and a variety of exotic animals that would otherwise have to be put down because they aren’t suitable for placement in zoos or to be returned to the wild. The need for financial support was apparent. Our chapter decided to pool its resources and find a way to help.

What we propose is to produce a volume of short stories, all centered around animals in need of refuge. All proceeds from the sales of the book will go directly to the Turpentine Creek Refuge. We will edit the submissions, seek professional cover art and formatting, and assist the refuge by uploading the anthology to online bookstores like Amazon’s Kindle store and Barnes & Noble’s Nook store. Additionally, we will help upload the book to CreateSpace so that printed volumes can be available for sale in brick-and-mortar bookstores throughout Arkansas and inside the refuge’s shop.

This is an international call for submissions of short stories to be donated for the cause. Only the best stories will be accepted. All genres of fiction (contemporary and paranormal, sweet adult romance and Young Adult) will be considered. Please keep in mind that stories must be PG-rated as the book will be two-sided—one side geared toward adult readers and the other toward teenaged readers.

Examples of the kinds of stories we seek:

• A maimed Iraqi war veteran learns to accept his disability by working with equally damaged animals
• A teenaged girl helps a were-cougar hide his true nature while both hunt for an escaped cat
• A teenaged couple encounters a tiger escaped from its private owner’s cage and work together to find help to capture and care for it
• A pushy animal psychic must gain the trust of the refuge’s veterinarian to help a depressed bear
• A troubled teenager discovers a tiger living in a national forest, then seeks a way to prevent locals staging a hunt from killing it

How to submit: Prepare your 1,500 to 4,000 words story in a double-spaced, Arial, 12 point, black font Word document with pages numbered (.doc, NOT.docx) OR rich text format. Indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch and double space (regular double spacing, do not add extra lines between paragraphs or do any other irregular spacing). US grammar (double quotation marks around dialogue, etc.) is required.

In your document at the top left of the page, include your legal name (and pseudonym if applicable), mailing address, and 50 word or less bio in the third person to dsrawildatheart@gmail.com. If you are using a pseudonym, please provide your real name and pseudonym and make it clear which one you’d like to be credited as. Authors may submit up to 2 stories.

About the editor: Ms. Devlin has published over one hundred stories in multiple genres and lengths. Her published print titles include Into the Darkness, Seduced by Darkness, Darkness Captured, Down in Texas, Texas Men and Ravished by a Viking. Her short stories are featured in Zane’s Purple Panties, and Cleis Press’s Lesbian Cowboys, Girl Crush, Fairy Tale Lust, Lesbian Lust, Passion, Carnal Machines, and Dream Lovers. She is published by Avon, Kensington, Harlequin, Atria/Strebor, Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing, and Berkley. In Fall 2011, she debuted her first anthology with Cleis Press, Girls Who Bite.

Direct any questions you have regarding your story or the submission process to Delilah at dsrawildatheart@gmail.com.

Ah… Spring.

In my part of the country, it’s looking a lot like Spring has sprung. Flowers are blooming and people are sneezing left and right.

For me, spring means two things: soccer and cleaning.

I’ve already started my mad rush of cleaning. Yes, I’m sick, I know. This past weekend the floors were swept, scrubbed, and vacuumed. Even the corners, crevices and those icky places along the baseboards had a spotlight on them. Do you have any idea what hides there??? *shudder*

But my physical house isn’t the only thing that needs a good cleaning. I REALLY need to get through all those somewhat intangible things that float along the edges of my life. All those things-to-do that never quite got done. The projects that I started but didn’t quite finish. The list of goals I want to accomplish, but haven’t yet. New story ideas that I’ve been tucking away on random pieces of paper. I simply must find time to go through all of that STUFF and get it organized before I either loose the thought or it keeps getting buried and therefore, never done.

Surely I’m not the only working-mom who always seems to be chasing her tail?? What helps you guys keep up with everything? Other than a personal assistant, that is. That’s just not in the budget. LOL

While you’re thinking about that, take a much-needed and probably well deserved break and go check out my new Quickie from Ellora’s Cave, Down to Business. Find out about the bargain Leigh Templeton made with her husband John so they could have a work-free weekend getaway. Down to Business is available on Ellora’s Cave and Amazon Kindle.

Buy at Ellora’s Cave
Buy at Amazon

Stop by my blog – I’d love to hear from you!

~ Dena Garson
http://denagarson.com
https://twitter.com/#!/DenaGarson