A Two-Fer

I lucked out this week with my Ellora's Cave books. First - my editor extended a contract offer on my first BDSM story, Belle Behind Bars. Also, I found out I have TWO releases in the next couple weeks! One is a Quickie titled Blackout that will be available February 3. The other is a freebee. That's right - you can order The After Party for FREE from Ellora's Cave. That book, releasing on January 31 is a super short erotic vignette. So please - whether you plan to read The After Party soon or later, please download it! You can also get it shortly after the release date on Amazon as a Kindle book. So go for it.

Here's a little About The After Party:

Victoria meets a handsome stranger at a relative’s wedding. When he asks her out for a drink after, she invites him to her place. After a steamy encounter they discover they have more than their profession and their love of cats in common. Their paths have crossed before. But will that connection end what they’ve just begun?

And here's a blurb for Blackout:

Kendra learns that her boyfriend thinks she’s a cold fish. To make matters worse, he’s made plans to go away with one of her coworkers for a long weekend. When a blackout strands her in an elevator with sexy Latin maintenance man Jorge, she sets out to prove she’s more hot dish than cold fish.

Happy Reading!

Title Love

I have a brand new book out. Rude, Crude and Socially Unacceptable is now available from Ellora's Cave. When I started writing this story, the title came to me almost instantly, like a gift from the title gods. When I sent the submission to my editor she told me she'd accept it merely on the title. Of course, by the time I sent it she had already bought five other stories from me.

But titles don't always fall from the sky. In fact, for many authors, titling their books is even more challenging than writing them. In the big picture, how important are titles? Have you ever purchased a book based on its name?

Here is a bit about Rude, Crude and Socially Unacceptable:

Biker Nick Ramos needs help transforming his image. He hires his new hairdresser to make over his life, but he has an ulterior motive. He wants to get April into his bed.

April Conway is wary of all bikers since one destroyed her family. But Nick awakens secret desires she never knew she had. Betraying her family isn’t an option, but she is powerless to resist Nick’s erotic pull.

You can read an excerpt HERE. Enjoy!

One question that friends and readers alike love to ask me is, “How do you come up with all those story ideas?” I have a pat answer to this question—from reading the newspaper and magazines. You see, I often get the kernel of an idea from a story about a woman in peril or a dignitary visiting the United States from some exotic land.

But when I thought about my latest release (my first from Ellora’s Cave), I realized there was no way I got the idea of a woman ending up on a tropical beach with two handsome bodyguards, the premise for the story. So I started thinking about where the spark for the idea came from. I couldn’t come up with a single clue. Regardless of how creative someone is, all story ideas originate somewhere. Anywhere.

Even from distractions. My two biggest distractions are my secret guilty pleasures—playing Scrabble on my computer and watching an occasional mindless reality show. Far as I know, I’ve never plucked a story premise from Scrabble. But one of my earlier books, Falling Star is about a grown up child star who is forced to accept a gig as star of her own reality show. So yeah, I might have gotten that idea from television.

The more I thought about my viewing habits, it hit me. The inspiration for Tropical Exposure was one of those movie star/socialites you see on the entertainment channels with a million flashes greeting them every time they leave a restaurant or go to the gym. I wondered how annoying that would be.

Hence the distraction yields inspiration. Check out the blurb for Tropical Exposure:

Megastar Marin Shay disappears from the radar a few weeks a year for a vacation from the pressures of Hollywood. This time, though, instead of the usual bodyguards she gets stuck with—beefy middle-aged men with bad breath and even worse comb-overs—she lucks into some scorching-hot eye candy.

Tony and Josh share the same objective—taking care if Marin in every way possible. And when she proposes they indulge her fantasy of a ménage a trois, both men are definitely eager to please.

There’s only one problem—one of them is really a tabloid reporter who could ruin everything.

Are you reminded of a certain pop princess? Okay, so honestly, only the character’s phenomenal celebrity is reminiscent of said princess. But that’s all it takes. This author takes the inspiring spark and runs with it. Did I mention when I was growing up all my dolls had back-stories? Even the stuffed animals had sordid lives. Perhaps my head has just always been filled with stories. Might explain why I daydreamed my way through school!

Okay—maybe I’m just weird.

New Release and Giveaway

I am so excited that today is release day for my first erotic romantic suspense, or rather, my alter ego's.

Here’s a little about the book:

When Kelsey Ackerman’s assistant at her used bookstore is murdered, the police label it a botched robbery by a desperate drug addict. But Kelsey suspects the perpetrator was looking for a rare Shakespeare volume that someone unknowingly donated. Now a killer’s sights are set on Kelsey.

Jail guard Jason Jones only wants to protect her, but after suffering a controlling father and an abusive ex-husband, Kelsey wants nothing to do with the confident, hot sergeant. Until the danger becomes crystal clear, and the only man who can save her is the very man she can’t resist.

You can read an excerpt HERE or purchase the book (or any of my other books) HERE.

I will draw one commenter to receive a free copy of TROPIC OF TROUBLE.

Lots of Happenings

September will be a busy month for me. Between two book releases, guest blog spots and teaching an online class, I will definitely have my hands full! Out of the Dark, a collection of three novellas will be out September 24. My story, Emotional Baggage is near and dear to my heart. Here's the blurb:

Germophobe Reese Robinson is sentenced to reside in the Buffalo apartment building she inherited after it is sited for health violations. She never suspected the mysterious tenant downstairs was actually her long lost love.

Fugitive Jon Bender thought he was safe until Reese moved in. Can he disguise his identity or will his heart give him away?

Coming September 30 from Ellora's Cave - Customer Service. Here's the blurb:

Mystery shopper Carly Weber’s husband divorced her for a snooty sales woman, leaving Carly with a bruised and battered self-image. When she evaluates a new sex toy and lingerie store, she finds much more than kinky gear. One by one and then together, two hunky salesmen pleasure her and give her the best customer service of her life, restoring her confidence in the process.

I will also be blogging over at Deliliah Devlin's blog on September 22 and giving away a copy of Customer Service! So check it out.

I will also be teaching an online class with my nurse practitioner friend, Joanie White. We are teaching MedSpeak for writers at CFRWA. You can register for that HERE. It is a 4-day class for fiction writers interested in learning how to research medical information, common misconceptions and a whole lot more.

It's Heeere!!

I am soooo excited! Horsing Around, my very first cowboy story will be released tomorrow, Wednesday, June 23 from Ellora's Cave. Leave a comment here and I will enter you in a drawing to win my other EC book, Tropical Exposure. Horsing Around features an uber-hot hero, a reluctant heroine and some hot Florida horse country hanky-panky. Check it out for yourself!

Ellora's Cave Authors at Coffee Time Romance

Join my alter ego, Wynter Daniels all during the month of June over at Coffee Time Romance for a Readers' Retreat featuring a bunch of Ellora's Cave authors. There will be excerpts, sneak peeks and contests. Win a copy of my first Ellora's Cave release, Tropical Exposure. Check out my June 23 release, a cowboy story titled Horsing Around. Hope to see you there!

Two Hawt New Covers!

I'm so excited to share my upcoming covers. I love it when I get men on the cover, particularly smokin' hot ones. Honestly, I think the books garner more attention that way. If you'd like to read a little about these stories, please visit my Wynter Daniels' website HERE. Both books should be released over the summer. And I have more coming, but I'll tell you about that soon.