Hot Down Under, December Style!

Happy Release Day December Hot Down Under girls!!!!

Some of you might have read the November releases from Momentum's Hot Down Under collection of shorts, which included my short story, Beneath the Light of a Silver Moon.

Well it's now release day for the December girls! Today I have a couple of them on my blog. They are very kindly giving away a copy of their release to one lucky person, so please be sure to comment. Just tell us what YOU love about reading a short story. For those who miss out, click on the title for the buy link, these shorts are a steal at just over a dollar =) 

Okay...take it away girls!

 

Rhian Cahill: Shut Up and Kiss Me

 

 

Five words that most fit you, the author?

Tired, insane, tired, crazy, did I mention tired? :)

The idea behind your Momentum story?

The idea? To raise the temperature no matter what time of year it is.
 

Fav paragraph from the story?

“You can’t answer the door dressed like that and not find yourself slammed
against the wall with my cock buried in your hot pussy.” He took a step towards
her. She gasped and took a step back. “You’ve had me grinding my teeth and
taking cold showers for years, Jac. No more.”


The heroine is someone you would like to…?
be because she gets to 'play' with Kyle. :)

The hero makes you want to…?

be the focus of his undivided attention.

Will there be more from these characters or this world?
No. Shut Up And Kiss Me is just a snippet of time and as we know they get their HEA there no need to go back.


S.E. Gilchrist: Paying the Forfeit

 

Five words that most fit you, the author?
Obsessed, Compulsive, Creative, Passionate and Doubt-filled

 

The idea behind your Momentum story?
Paying the Forfeit was written as a ‘intro’ to a current series I am working on...The world as we know it, is a distant memory in the minds of the elders. Endemic disease sparked by global weather disasters of epic proportions erupted into wards of nation against nation, neighbour against neighbour as entire economies collapsed and famine spread like a river in flood. Countries and cities became fortresses and mankind descended into a new dark age. This short story is about a young couple from two of the tribes that struggle for survival in this new time.

 

Fav paragraph from the story?
I pushed his hand away and tried to wriggle from his grip. This was not how I had imagined it, the scene that had unfolded endlessly in my dreams for so long: a green expanse of grassy meadow full of wildflowers, an endless blue vista above, a soft fur beneath and Doyle whispering words of love and worship before pressing his lips against mine in a gentle kiss. Not some cool, shadowed cave beneath the earth, not cold words of payment and dues owed, not his eager hands roving with such bold demand, not the heat that teased with such wild hunger beneath my skin. I was a fool to think I could pretend he loved me, that I was his chosen mate, even for one night.

 

The heroine is someone you would like to…?
Grant to her, her heart’s desire.

 

The hero makes you want to…?
Find the closest cave, complete with soft, thick animal furs and stay awhile J.

 

Will there be more from these characters or this world?
Definitely. Not so much from these characters but I have written  Beyond Aquarius, a single title set in this world and that story is meant to be the first of a three book series.

Thank you, Mel, for having me on your blog today and thanks to everyone who drops by and leaves a comment.

 

You're welcome! =)

Introducing... Alissa Callen

I'm so excited to announce my amazing critique partner of gosh, around 4 or 5 years now! has accepted publication with not one but two publishers!!! So happy for her! She's an amazing writer and a gorgous person inside and out. Seriously! :)

I can't out her on which publishers she's chosen at this time as it's all a bit hush hush until the media release here in Aus. But she writes rural fiction romance, so different to my style but we 'get' each others work =)

In the meantime, check out her gorgeous website and blog

 

Alternate or Dystopian World?

I'm talking alternate and dystopian worlds, plus more over at the Romance Writers of the Apocalypse.

You'll also find the opening of my upcoming release, Lusting the Enemy.

November Update!

On the home front - we're selling our house and moving further North, where my husband has gotten a better job offer. YAY! I'm excited and a little nervous - I haven't moved in AGES - I've lived here for 13 years, which is the longest in one place I've ever been. But yes, I think staying too long in one place often = stagnating, so yeah, time to move on.

In the meantime I'm busy painting the inside of the house, which is all block and takes sooo long in comparison to gyprock, but it's looking so great and fresh. Sea Bubbles, is my color choice *g* Though now I'm wondering if I've bitten off more than I can handle LOL!! 

On the writing front, I have a new editor who I adore! She got Lusting the Enemy out way sooner than I expected - next month (Dec 19) and I'm now waiting for the acceptance (fingers crossed) and edits for Galactic Flame, which should hopefully come out early next year, Jan/Feb, all going well! This is my first novel length book with Ellora's Cave.

In the meantime I'm close to halfway done with my latest standalone novella, Call Girl. The title for this one may well change, just as Lusting the Enemy did three times. (Laraktye & NightMix). I'm totally into this story right now, love showing a call girl's story from a different perspective.

I'm also immersing myself back into Dimensional, really want to get this story done and out there, but it's pretty complicated and with every chapter down, I find myself thinking things through, making sure everything fits and makes sense. Might take me a while to get this one done. My finished word count should be around 90k.

Lastly, don't forget to purchase my short story with the long title: Beneath the Light of a Silver Moon published by Momentum. It's a steal at only 1.04 through Amazon. Oh and let me know what you think of it, the subject matter is a bit delicate, to put it mildly (domestic violence) but one I really wanted to get out there - let's face it, this stuff does happen, and all too often unfortunately. At least my heroine got  her HEA =))

 

Release Date & Blurb

The release date for my 26k novella, Lusting the Enemy, is December 19th.

It will be nice to see another story come out before the year ends. Next year I'm planning to have quite a few more stories out, as my youngest aka Miss Muffet/Miss five will be at school (where does the time go!?).




Here is the blurb:

Akeisha is on a mission to be chosen as part of a harem for the desert king, Judas. She’ll use her body as a tool to entice and beguile him, do anything it takes to save the near extinct larakytes, her shape-shifting, silver panther tribe, from his human subjects trying to eradicate them. 

What she never expects is to succumb to the wild ecstasy in his arms, a pleasure that threatens to expose her inner cat even as it transcends anything she’s ever felt from one of her own kind. 

Falling in love with a human enemy was never part of her plans, but maybe there’s more to Judas than meets the eye.

Cover Reveal: Lusting the Enemy

I'm so pleased with my latest cover from Ellora's Cave. Although my characters are shape shifters, Lusting the Enemy is my first story in EC's fantasy line, so it's something a bit different from me.
I'll post the official blurb and release date as soon as I hear =)

Another Fab Review

Thanks so much to The Smutty Kitty for a fabulous 4 out of 5 licks for Beneath the Light of a Silver Moon. Here's what she had to say:

This is a bit of a sad one.  Kristen is a victim of spousal abuse and doesn’t want to leave in order to protect her stepdaughter (whom she treats like her own).  Her daughter has run away seeking refuge from her volatile father, but until Kristen knows for sure she is safe she can’t leave.  Her childhood friend Conrad swoops in to take her away from her terrible life.  He brings her back to his house and wants her to stay forever, but will she?

I was able to get into this one surprisingly well.  I think knowing the characters had a history helped the believability aspect for me.  The sex it hot and at one point outside (hence the name-this is not a shifter romance lol).  I liked the end.  It was slightly predictable (but after reading romance as long as I have most endings are) but I like my endings happy and that’s what we are left with.  Conrad is almost too nice at times.  I know he is trying to be gentle with Kristen after what she has been through but I like my heroes a bit on the rougher side of life.  lol  Kristen is a strong heroine though and I really like that.  Especially after all she’s been through to see her choose happiness is nice

Winners!

So the winners of the Darksiders BlogHop are Wanda, who won the first two books in my Alien Hunger series: Galactic Burn and Galactic Inferno.

Lona is my 'follower' winner, who chose a backlist book: Stone-Cold Lover.

Thanks so much ladies for participating in the BlogHop, hope you both enjoy the reads! =)

 

First Review

So pleased with my very first review for my short story Beneath the Light of a Silver Moon, from Rosie at Fangbooks.
Here's what she had to say:

Now this was a story that inspired mixed feelings.  I always find it difficult to deal with issues of domestic violence because I find the entire situation so very sad for everyone involved.

With no apologies for the dark themes, Mel Teshco takes Kristen and Conrad and shows them how much better life can be. Ultimately the choice to turn her back on fear and embrace a new life is one Kristen needed to make for herself, but it was Conrad’s steadfast love that gave her the light of hope.  Their coming together was sizzling hot, but it was the emotional journey that really made me fall for these characters, and kept me thinking of how they would move forward once the story ended.

Thanks Rosie! This story pushed the boundaries, with domestic violence not an easy one to write, but the thing I love about romance writing, wether erotic or other, is the happily ever after - no matter how dark the storyline =)

You can find my review at the above link, along with the other four Hot Down Under book reviews, which were released this month (more great stories to come!)

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?

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!! =))