RELEASE DAY & DSDU 2nd Anniversary Blog Hop!

Okay I admit it, I don't celebrate Halloween. I love the sound of dressing into costumes and going trick-or-treating, but...no one else I knows does it in my part of the world so it would possibly be a waste of time going to the effort LOL!
 

 

Instead, I get to celebrate in other ways, with a release  hitting cyber space for the new Hot Down Under collection from Pan Macmillan's new digital line, with my story Beneath the Light of a Silver Moon. And though my story is not paranormal (tsk tsk) it DOES mention the moon (hehe) in the title. And, how does that saying go? oh yes - truth is scarier than fiction.. okay okay - I changed it up a bit, but you know what I mean.

In my story, the heroine's husband is the monster, an abusive alcoholic who doesn't see anything wrong with putting a bruise or two on her body.

 

 

Kristen Treymore isn't living anymore – she's existing.

Trapped in marriage to Jack, an alcoholic who uses his fists to communicate, Kristen has given up her freedom in an attempt to protect his daughter.

When Conrad Doyle, childhood friend and the man whose heart she unwittingly broke, shows up on Kristen's doorstep and offers her a lifeline, she can't refuse.

What she never dreams possible is how much she still wants him—but is that enough to keep them together when terror still beats deep in her heart?

 

 

So...how do you choose to celebrate Halloween?  My 'treat' is reading a good book and delving into another world, usually paranormal, but hey, any genre will do as long as the words pull me into the story and the writing isn't dull. On that note, I have the first two ebooks of my Alien Hunger series, Galactic Burn and Galactic Inferno, to giveaway to a commentator who answers that question and another to someone who 'follow's my blog. (see below)

 

Good Luck peoples and have a Happy Halloween MWAHAHAHAH!!!!

 

Dn't forget to blog hop (people's names below) and help celebrate The Darksiders 2nd year of blogging! Awesome!!!!

  

 

 

The Darksider blog is two years old and in celebration, some of the DSDU authors are getting together and celebrating "Halloween Style" with a blog hop. Just like 'trick a treating' there are lots of goodies on offer, including a 30 dollar gift voucher =))

I'm offering my first two Alien Hunger e-books to a commentator, and a choice of my backlist titles from Ellora's Cave to one person who 'follows' my blog.

 

 

Here are the rules:

1. To be eligible to win a prize on the blogs, the reader must do as what’s instructed on each blog by 11.59pm 4th November Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time.
2. To be eligible to win the Amazon voucher, the participants must comment on each participating blog. Only one comment needed. Multiple comments will be ignored for the purposes of the contest.
3. Have fun!

Halloween Special - 2nd Blogiversary Participants  

1. Eleni Konstantine  2. Mel Teshco  3. Nicole Murphy  4. Imogene Nix  5. Christina Phillips aka Christina Ashcroft  6. Amanda Ashby  7. Jenny Schwartz  8. Shona Husk  9. Maree Anderson

10. Kylie Griffin  11. Lilliana Rose  12. Nicole Hurley-Moore  13. Eden Summers  14. Erica Hayes  15. Sandra Harris  16. Keziah Hill  17. S E Gilchrist  18. DSDU

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Halloween Beings

I'm over at Romance Writers of the Apocalypse blog talking about Halloween and the beings we like to write about.
Come tell me your fav Halloween monster/being/critter and what you prefer to read.
I'm also sharing a little excerpt from my short story Carnal Moon.

Hot Down Under...First Five

Release day of the first five books for Momentum's short collection of stories is approaching fast, including my short contemporary, Beneath the Light of a Silver Moon. 
November 1st these very cool and slightly wicked books will be available for immediate download. In the meantime you can pre-order them at Amazon (just click on the covers and it will take you right there. 
Here are the Covers and blurbs...

 Kristen Treymore isn't living anymore – she's existing.

Trapped in marriage to Jack, an alcoholic who uses his fists to communicate, Kristen has given up her freedom in an attempt to protect his daughter.

When Conrad Doyle, childhood friend and the man whose heart she unwittingly broke, shows up on Kristen's doorstep and offers her a lifeline, she can't refuse.

What she never dreams possible is how much she still wants him—but is that enough to keep them together when terror still beats deep in her heart?

Can an online fantasy ever become real?

When Condamine connects with Esquire in a chat room, neither expect their mutual pleasure and close friendship will become something far more intimate and real. But when the opportunity to meet Esquire in the flesh comes up will Condamine – Caitlyn, in real life – be bold enough to act out her deepest fantasies, or will she hide away from the world behind the comfortable glare of her computer screen?

Natalie has watched as the zombie plague devastated civilisation.

Angus had been a miracle. Twenty-three years old and gorgeous he had appeared like Romeo from the pool area and thrown supplies up to her balcony. But now Angus is gone – he has abandoned her, which is probably for the best. She couldn't stand to watch him die too.

Stranded four floors up and fenced in on all sides by the infected, food and water supplies are running as low as Natalie's spirits. A lingering death from starvation seems inevitable.

But then she sees Angus striding for the pool gate with a sawn-off shotgun in his hands. Can he make it past the infected to reach her? And what will it mean if he does?

Ishari is a djinn – the veritable genie in a bottle.

Her latest master, Caleb Salt, a hot young rock star, has one wish left. The curse of sexual need has nothing to do with the lust she feels for him, but he doesn’t seem to desire her in the same way.

Caleb has used his first two wishes to save his brother. Will he do the same with the last, or will he use it for himself? Either way, once he makes that wish, his erotically sensual genie will be lost to him forever and she’s something he’s just not ready to lose.

In the outback town of Mount Tully, many a man's had to squeeze into a frock after backing the wrong derby cane toad on Australia Day.

But Mount Tully's surliest bartender, Jane Hood, has her steel-capped boots planted firmly on the ground, so there's no way she'd risk her independence to accept a saucy bet from the sexy but bossy pub owner, Luka Belov ... is there?

ITIN V's EIN

public domain pictures.net

I admit it, I went the easy and cost effective route to obtain my EIN (as opposed to ITIN) and rang the IRS to obtain it. 

It was a matter of a five minute phone call (I rang later at night for time differences) and the number was given to me over the phone. SO EASY. Too easy???


For months afterward I dilly dallied thinking I'd done the wrong thing and would indeed need to go through all the rigamarole anyway of filling out all the extra forms and sending away my passport etc etc. Yes, I'd heard on the grapevine the ITIN is the only way to go.

Well I bit the bullet and rang the IRS last night who then  put me through to their lovely and very informed sounding tax guy, who said that's not true. I DON'T need both and in fact the EIN is  preferred and, in his words, is a lot less convoluted than obtaining an ITIN. As long as they get their  5% from the tax treaty, they're happy. The only reason anyone would need to do a yearly tax return is if the publisher doesn't accept the W8 forms.

So...the EIN (Employer Identification Number) seems to be the way to go... BUT please don't take my word for it, I take no responsibility for misinformation!! When you ring the number below ASK the relevant questions and double check. Things might well change.


So how do you obtain an EIN? Here's the number of the IRS if ringing from Australia:

001112679411099

As I said it literally took my five minutes to obtain that tax file number, then I had it immediately to send off my W8 forms to my publishers and Smashwords etc. No waiting for months, no precious money *g* sucked down the drainpipe, aside from the cost of an o'seas call.

Has anyone else in Australia gone this route and had no/any trouble? I'd love to hear =)


*NOTE - Ask your publisher first if they will accept an EIN as one author stated their publisher only accepted an ITIN - it appears that some will and some won't.

Battle Scars

I'm a huge reality tv fan (well, except Big Brother...) and my fav show right now is Australian X factor, with judges Mel B, Ronan Keating, Natalie Bassingthwaite and Guy Sebastian. 

The contestants are amazing, but the judges aren't half bad either lol!

Here's Guy singing his new song live a few weeks ago with Lupe Fiasco - totally love it =)

A New World

public domains pic.net

I'm over at the romance writers of the apocalypse blog asking - what five things would you take with you to a new world? 

Love to hear your thoughts - there's some very practical answers and some very impractical LOL

Song and a Scene

So I've been listening to different songs which seem to help me with different scenes. 

TOO CLOSE, by Alex Clare has been the perfect song for my heroine in Galactic Flame who is lost in the desert on another world and trying to find the wounded hero... (wow, our lives are so 'normal' in comparison) 

Funny though how the actual clip is nothing even close to the scene in my head.

Anyway, back to it...just a couple of K to go =))

Book You'd Like to Read Next?

I'm at the pointy end of finishing book 3 in the Alien Hunger series, but have also had some emails asking about my gargoyles (Winged & Dangerous series).

It's got me asking - what do the readers want exactly? (let's face it, would be silly not to listen!)

So for those who have read my books, I've done a little poll to work out the majority - what would you prefer to read next?

It's always good to know I'm headed in the right direction =)

The poll is on the sidebar, thanks for taking the time to vote!


 

Enchanted Orb

So I'm over at the Darksider blog for their Enchanted Orb segment, talking about what inspires me. Maybe I should have wrote what doesn't inspire me =)
Love to see you there =)

 

Mind Raider

Never hide, never cower and live by your own rules.  Life has taught mind raider Mara Ross to never let anyone break her. Especially not the crime lord who tortured her for her ability to control other people’s minds.  But now her former tormentor has kidnapped another woman and Mara will do anything to save her—including joining forces with a dark, powerful man who is more dangerous than anything Mara’s faced before.

The CIA’s experiments left Callahan with lethal powers he must control with every inch of his will.  As the leader of Haven, a sanctuary for anomalies, he stays focused and alone…until Mara blazes into his life. Cal knows he must keep his distance from the fiery mind raider because she threatens his control…and if his control breaks, people die.

On a mission deep in the wilds of Indonesia, desire explodes between Cal and Mara. But as the two wounded souls are drawn to each other, terrible secrets from Cal’s past threaten to drive them apart.

Read an Excerpt

Amazon | Smashwords | All Romance

And don’t miss the first novella in The Anomaly Trilogy, TIME THIEF.

Latest Update

Pigging out! L-R: Kasey, Tracie, Shona, Mel, Denise

So I'm back from my writers retreat and had a great time! Thanks Cate Ellink, Tracie Sommers, Rhian Cahill, Kasey Channing aka Kaliana Cole, Keziah Hill, Shona Husk, Kylie Scott, Denise Rossetti, Sue W, Susan Childs, Cathleen Ross and Moi, and lets not forget our special day guest, Sami Lee.
And just to clarify, I've never heard so much talking - no pregnant silences with the erotic romance writers - No Way.
Anyway, I managed to get some words on the page (handwritten notes that weren't always left outside to flip around in the breeze - I think Suz captured that on camera lol!)
So I'm on the last 5k of Galactic Flame, which somewhere along the way has decided it wants to be a 50k novel. I'm waiting on edits for Lusting the Enemy - and geez I cannot wait for my cover!!!!! And I've just sent back final check edits for Beneath the Light of a Silver Moon, which is released Nov 1 (and is available for preorder).
What's next??
A few of us at the retreat got excited about a themed story idea, think I'll be in on that one lol!! But will keep it quiet until it's official-like =)
For now I have Galactic Flame to finish off and Dimensional to write. Should keep my bum in seat for a bit yet...
 

Real Life Paranormal

Do you love hearing about real life paranormal stories? Over at Darkside Downunder the members and occasional guests are sharing a once monthly story about their experiences, be it ghostly, alien, psychic or whatever. Some very interesting reads coming up!
If you've got a real life story to tell, please email me at sidebar address =)

Coffee Time Romance

You can find a handful of the Hot Down Under authors at the Coffee Time Romance blog where I've offered an e-copy of any one of my Ellora's Cave backlist for a commentator, all you have to do is tell me what you love about a romance novel (of any genre).
Too easy!! =))

Release of Flesh!

Kylie Scott's debut book FLESH is out now! If you love zombie apocalypse stories then you will love this read, I totally recommend it!

Blurb:



Ali has been hiding in an attic since civilisation collapsed eight weeks ago.

When the plague hit, her neighbours turned into mindless, hungry, homicidal maniacs.

Daniel has been a loner his entire life. Then the world empties and he realises that being alone isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Finn is a former cop who is desperate for companionship, and willing to do anything it takes to protect the survivors around him.

When the three cross paths they band together; sparks fly, romance blooms in the wasteland and Ali, Daniel and Finn bend to their very human needs in the ruins of civilisation.

Lust, love and trust all come under fire in Flesh as the three battle to survive, hunted through the suburban wastelands.


 

Booked for the Weekend! 99c Reads

 

This Australian long weekend I'm taking part in a fabulous book promotion. Eight Australian authors coming together to share one of their books (or more) for the one off price of 99c

 





I've linked each book with their Amazon buy link - click on  title in caption below each cover to read excerpts at Amazon. Some of these titles are also available at other sellers. HAPPY READING!!




The Ring of Lost Souls



Producing Real



Not Like My Mother



Operation Swift Mercy



Identity Shift

Time Thief

Mr. Right and Other Mongrels



Switch

Emeline and the Mutants

Introducing Mel Teshco

It's my turn to talk a little about myself and my new book, Beneath the Light of the Silver Moon, that is released with Pan Macmillan's, Momentum (Nov 1). You can find me over at the Hot Down Under blog, where the fourteen of us to be released this year and early next year, are featured and taking in turns doing a bit of an introduction as well as a question and answer.

Pre-Order available for BTLOASM!!!

No, BTLOASM is not some kind of new fangled medical procedure, it's my (long-titled) contemporary erotic short, now available for pre-order through Momentum - for 1.04 at Amazon. A very affordable read! Hopefully it will be available for pre-order soon at other sites too!

And don't forget Momentum's other Hot Down Under short stories, there's some brilliant reads there. A very cool way to wile away a few hours =)

 

BLURB

Kristen Treymore isn't living anymore – she's existing.

Trapped in marriage to Jack, an alcoholic who uses his fists to communicate, Kristen has given up her freedom in an attempt to protect his daughter.

When Conrad Doyle, childhood friend and the man whose heart she unwittingly broke, shows up on Kristen's doorstep and offers her a lifeline, she can't refuse.

What she never dreams possible is how much she still wants him—but is that enough to keep them together when terror still beats deep in her heart?

 

Practical Gifts for the Apocalypse?

Okay, so we all want to survive an impending apocalypse, right? So what practical gifts can one give a girl (or guy) to help them do so? And I'm not talking Hummers and Rocket Launchers and other assorted expensive paraphanalia, we're keeping it real here (and affordable aka cheap!)

So come over to the Romance Writers of the Apocalypse with me and see what suggestions I have - you'll be blown away by my cleverness *wink*

Update!

So I'm reworking my last chapter (which may well turn out to be my 2nd last chapter) of my short novel, Galactic Flame (previously titled Galactic Storm), which is book 3 in my Alien Hunger series.

Edits for Beneath the Light of a Silver Moon are all done and sent back(yay!!) - I really enjoyed putting the final touches on my contemporary short story. (yes, not paranormal this once...) 

I also got a little sidetracked by another story I had started, Nightmix, (originally titled Larakyte) which is now handed into my Ellora's Cave editor and waiting approval (I hope!) Though it's a shape-shifting story it's a little different to anything else I've done in that it has a dystopian feel to it. Loved this story =)

On the 'to be written front' I hope to finish Dimensional this year - that's my biggest goal before the year is out. It should be around 80-90k and aimed at the single title market. If I get time I might squeeze in another short story for Momentum's Hot Down Under (assuming the line takes off - of course it will!!) and/or get Shadow Hunter into publishable form =)

Cover Reveal: Beneath the Light of a Silver Moon

So pleased with my cover for Momentum's Hot Down Under line, it perfectly portrays my heroine and the story itself (released November). There are thirteen authors all up, come visit us at the Hot Down Under blog.

Here is the revised blurb for Beneath the Light of a Silver Moon:

Kristen Treymore isn't living anymore – she's existing.

Trapped in marriage to Jack, an alcoholic who uses his fists to communicate, Kristen has given up her freedom in an attempt to protect his daughter.

When Conrad Doyle, childhood friend and the man whose heart she unwittingly broke, shows up on Kristen's doorstep and offers her a lifeline, she can't refuse.

What she never dreams possible is how much she still wants him—but is that enough to keep them together when terror still beats deep in her heart?

 

 

Gateway to Hell: blurb & excerpt

Congrats to Eleni Konstantine, she's just released yet another cool story - available through Musa Publishing

Zeta will protect the one she loves, even if it means living in Hell.
Mastering a unique power was much safer for Zeta Kosmos with a mentor to help her along. Now that he’s disappeared, Zeta must continue alone with her calling—closing Gateways to Hell.
Daniel Richards is in the family business—Warding supernatural evil from causing havoc on humans. As such, he’s only interested in the safety of one-night stands. Until Zeta. This bad boy now wants a long, lasting relationship.
But Zeta can’t let go of her past, nor can she ignore the secret demonic threats against Daniel’s life. She’d rather fight demonic spawn and be dragged into Hell than allow anything happen to him. Can Daniel convince her to stay? Will she have to pay the ultimate price?

Excerpt

Suddenly, the air in the warehouse lit up like a Christmas tree before being sucked into a hole of darkness, taking with it the blue swirls. It was like it crumpled in on itself.
Then, it was dark. Daniel blinked, adjusting his eyes. The day had come and gone, but they hadn’t noticed, what with the illumination from the gateway and Zeta.
Daniel glanced at his father, and as one they rushed through the door, towards her.
“Zeta?” He touched her shoulder as he crouched next to her.
Nothing. No response. Her eyes were now closed. No light shone from them or from her. Her hair now appeared limp and lifeless, her skin pale without the rosy patches he had noticed earlier.
His heart slammed into his chest. God, don’t let her be dead.
As if reading his thoughts, Mike felt for her pulse. He nodded. “Slow, but steady.”
Daniel let out a gush of air in relief. He reached out and touched her check with the back of his hand. Her skin was silky smooth and soft but cold. She looked fragile, but she had just got rid of six Zell Demons, almost single-handedly. She was bound to be wiped out.
She had proved to him she was a warrior, all right.
“We should get her back to base,” his dad said.
Daniel nodded and handed his weapons over. They didn’t say a word as Daniel lifted Zeta into his arms. She felt light, and he knew from her self-mocking earlier, she wasn’t. Right now, it was almost like she floated to him.
Could it be an aspect of the gateway? Some residual energy?
He carried her to the truck, gently placing her in the back seat, covering her with a blanket, before jumping in next to her. His dad would drive. There was no way he would be able to concentrate.
No way he could leave her alone. She’d done more than her part. It was time someone looked after her, and he had a feeling that usually didn’t happen. How did she come to be alone with no one to watch her back? The thought irked him and he wondered why. He knew of Warders that liked to work on their own.
Was it because she was a woman? No, female Warders, like his cousin, could hold their own. Was it because it was Zeta?
Daniel pushed the thoughts away as he pulled Zeta against him, making her as comfortable as he could for the half hour drive back to their base. Somehow he doubted she would recover in that time.
Dread ran over him. Would she recover at all?

Worst Love Scene Ever (Adults Only)

Free image from Public Doman ClipArt

A little while back a good writing friend of mine, Tracey O'hara (aka Tracie Sommers) did an erotic workshop. I offered to do a 'how not to' write a love scene for her class, to help show how off putting a sex scene can be if written badly.

Here, in all it's badness, is that scene...

Misty Slag stepped into the elevator a second before its doors slid shut, enclosing her and superstar rocker, Don Ron Lovie, in their own tiny metal and darkly tinted glass world.

He looked at her with wasted, approving green orbs, the whites clearly bright red. “You wanna fuck?” he slurred drunkenly.

She gave him her most seductive stare from her blue peepers, pushing out her bosoms in her white blouse with intricate lace netting as she did so. “You got me, big boy.” She lifted her micro mini, which she’d spent half her Hungry Jack’s pay cheque on. She grimaced prettily. She might need to ask for more than ten hours a week.

She had nothing underneath her micro mini and her love box had been waxed bare, showing off the lush pink petals of her nether lips. That’s where the other half of her pay had gone. “I’m known around these parts as the pub bike.” As he leered at her, she added breathlessly, “And I’m prepared to give you the ride of your life.”

He jabbed the emergency stop button and the elevator juddered to a stop. He hooked a long, double-joined thumb with a chewed nail at the camera. “Let’s give security a show.”

They stripped in seconds and she thrust her hard mounds against his downy torso, one of her hands grasping his turgid, throbbing love tool and giving it an expert rub. Ten inches of stallion meat quivered and trembled willingly in her digits, a smear of love juice quickly coating the palm of her soft, pale hand. “I want your famous penis inside my vagina,” she croaked brazenly.

“Don’t mind if I do,” he said arrogantly, as was the way with many rock stars of renown.

The next minute they were on the floor. First he was on top, pushing and thrusting his long member into her slippery, wet love passage, and then she was on top, riding him, her globes with her tawny-pink shell nipples bouncing up and down like peaches jumping about in a box trailer.

“I’m going to come,” he groaned grittily, “I’m going to come.”

She could feel his hot semen spurt inside her, filling her channel. Then she came too. “Ooooooh.”

She collapsed on him, breathing hard, panting. “That was the best fuck ever,” she admitted unwillingly.

He chuckled loudly, and she wondered what his breath smelled like. “Another notch on my bedpost, lovey. Now get off me, it’s my bed time and I’m tired.”