Do you want to know something that all Carina Press authors know? Executive Editor Angela James loves keeping secrets. Not in a casual, “Oh, I love puppies!” kind of way. More in a Golem, “My precious” kind of way. She gets to see our covers first and makes sure we know about it. When she gets news, even when she can’t share it, she makes sure we know she has it. She lords her little secrets over us with such glee, it makes you want to laugh along with her…almost as much as you want to torture her with one of those Wrath of Kahn ear-slugs.
So today, I am pleased to announce that I’ve had a secret for about eight months that Angela James doesn’t know. Come closer and I’ll tell you.

*whispers* The day she called me to offer a contract for The Twisted Tale of Stormy Gale, I stayed home from work. Do you want to know why?

Because I KNEW she was going to call me.

That’s right, I KNEW it. So I called in to work, told my boss the *actual* reason why (which has since prompted her to tell everyone who will listen that I’m a witch and can see the future) and sat down to wait. It’s only fair to tell you that this incredible feat of divination didn’t stop me from questioning Angie’s identity when she finally *did* call. Nor did it quell the sniveling sobs that erupted after she reassured me that, no, she didn’t call people with bad news. But it really freaked me out that despite my doubts (and I had a million of them), somewhere deep down, I knew it was meant to be.

So here I am now, writing a blog post for Carina Press and thinking, Holy schnikeys. I did it. Carina wanted my book. And, more importantly, I have the power to control the universe (including Angela James) with my mind.

Needless to say, there’s no living with me now. Most times I just wander around my house squinting really hard as I manifest all sorts of fabulous things for myself. A cleaner house, a nicer butt, the list goes on and on. And while it may not always work, it works often enough that I don’t plan on stopping any time soon. So today, on Super Awesome Fun Release Day (or SAFRD, as I’m wont to call it, since about four seconds ago ) I am manifesting the crap out of you all liking my book and loving my characters as much as I do. Can you feel it? I’m squinting so hard, I can barely type.

If you’re so inclined, comment and let me know what you think of the power of positive thinking, and if there’s something you know, without question, that you’ve manifested in your life (or want to, maybe I can help). One commenter (to be chosen by my pug, Pug) will win a copy of The Twisted Tale of Stormy Gale! Winner will be chosen on Thursday and posted on this thread.

And please, stop by my website to read the first chapter of The Twisted Tale of Stormy Gale! I think you’ll like it. *squint*

Buy the book here
Find Christine on Twitter, Website, Blog and Group blog with other Carina authors, Here Be Magic

Christine Bell is one half of the happiest couple in the world. She and her handsome hubby currently reside in Pennsylvania with a four-pack of teenage boys and their two dogs, Gimli and Pug. If she gets time off from her duties as maid, chef, chauffeur, or therapist, she can be found reading just about anything she can get her hands on, from Young Adult novels to books on poker theory. She doesn’t like root beer, clowns or bugs (except ladybugs, on account of their cute outfits), but lurrves chocolate, going to the movies, the New York Giants and playing Texas Hold ‘Em. Writing is her passion, but if she had to pick another occupation, she would be a pirate…or, like, a ninja maybe. She loves writing fun and adventurous romance stories, but also hopes to one day publish something her dad can read without wanting to dig his eyes out with rusty spoons.

Tenacious. Persistent. Driven. A trait my characters and I share in common. Then again, I’ve been called bullheaded too, but tenacious sounds so much nicer.

Before my acceptance with Carina, I’d published books with several well-known, small press romance publishers. When Harlequin decided to throw their hat in the ring and enter the age of digital publishing as well, I was ecstatic. They were coming to my world.

I’m a heavy romance reader and have been since I was twelve. Long ago, I’d cut my teeth on Silhouette Intimate Moments (SIM) books—now Harlequin Romantic Suspense. I devoured titles in groups of twos and threes. To this day, I still have a few Linda Turner (The Wild Wild West), Heather Graham Pozzessere, and Alicia Scott (The Guiness Gang) books on my keeper shelves. The SIM books always entertained with a hint of danger, romance, and when I was lucky, something paranormal, like ghosts or psychics.

I ventured into single title reads, looking for futuristic or paranormal stories with strong heroines. When I couldn’t find any that suited my taste, I started writing my own. So six years and nearly fifty books later, I felt pretty confident to send my work in to Carina.

Only to find my story rejected. Ouch.

I licked my wounds by tucking that story aside—a contemporary romance I will no doubt visit again—and worked harder for my other publishers. But I couldn’t shake my desire to be published with Carina. Their covers were stellar, their stories terrific, and I knew a few of their editors by reputation. (A good thing, in case you were wondering.) I’d make them accept me though sheer persistence…once I had the right story, of course.

A few months went by, and I continued to write for my other houses. I’d written a steampunk romance with fantasy elements. A book that didn’t seem to fit in anywhere, but hey, it was fun to write. I tried another publisher, but they wanted me to add another twenty thousand words and change the storyline. No going. And then that pull to Carina re-surged. I had planned to publish with the company come hell or high water, even if it took me the next twenty years. The worst they could say was no. They’d done that already and I’d lived to tell the tale.

I subbed Journeyman’s Ride to Carina and put the story out of my mind. Weeks later, low and behold, they liked it!  I received my first phone call ever from a publisher telling me they wanted my story. (All the other publishers correspond with yeses and noes by email.) I was thrilled. My assigned editor seemed really nice.

And then I got my first round of edits. (Insert evil eye at Alissa.)

The story needed work, but it would also stay my own because my editor shared my vision for it. I consider myself very lucky that my editor is as great as she is, because she polished the heck out of the story, and I couldn’t be more pleased by the result. (So thank you, thank you, Alissa, for not only your insight, but your patience. *Big grin*)

Like me, the heroine and hero of Journeyman’s Ride are persistent. Miranda is driven to find freedom. Danner continues to work day after day to help those less fortunate. Not because it’s his job, but because it’s the right thing to do. Of course, he’s not exactly nice while doing it, and his attitude leaves much to be desired.

In the course of their relationship, Miranda and Danner have to handle a lot of unpleasant truths, blood ravens, annoyed gods, rampant lightning, predatory beasts, and a mechanical spyder or two. But along the way, they’ll find their happy ending. Much like I did, because none of us gave up.

Journeyman’s Ride is a piece of fiction. My publication with Carina is not.

Lessons I learned from not giving up:

1. Just because one publisher/editor likes you doesn’t mean they all will
2. Persistence pays off
3. Writing outside the box is not a curse, but a gift
4. I should continue to listen to my friend when she tells me to stop whining, suck it up, and keep writing

Lessons Miranda learned by not giving up:

1. The gods do exist, and they’re closer than one might think
2. Sometimes mothers lie
3. Western men make incredible lovers
4. Longtooths might be pretty in a picture, but the vicious felines aren’t very friendly

Lessons Danner learned by not giving up:

1. Easterners might be a pain, but they sure do come pretty
2. The blood ravens haven’t yet driven him mad, but watching Miranda day in and day out might
3. The woman has secrets to rival his own
4. Love really is worth its weight in gold

Happy reading, and enjoy steampunk week!

Marie Harte
website | blog | facebook

By Jenny Bullough, Carina Press team member and reading addict

My mom likes to say that I was “born reading”. I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I have been reading for as long as I can remember. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of the places I visited, the characters I met, the worlds I entered through books. It’s always been my go-to form of entertainment and escape.

As evidence, I present to you a rare photo of me as a child – I’m the gangly one clutching a book. Yes, even prepped for a day of play in the sunny outdoors with my young friends, I have brought a book with me. Just in case.

I never go anywhere without a book to read, and one of my favorite times of day – second only to reading stories to my little girls at bedtime – is when the evening chores are done, and I can curl up on the couch or in bed with my ereader and re-enter whatever world I left when I turned in the night before.

But am I really a “born reader”? Did I come to books naturally? Or was it nurture, the book-rich environment I was raised in, that made me the voracious devourer of fiction that I am today?

As a kid, I was always surrounded by books. It was, in fact, the only entertainment option: we didn’t have a TV until I was 12. No, I’m not Amish; but – and now I’m about to share something with the entire Internet – I grew up on a hippie commune. (Hopefully that explains the awkward,homemade fashions I and the other girls are sporting in this photo. Check out the mismatched socks on my companion. It was the 70s! Things were wacky!)

Yes, my parents were idealistic back-to-the-landers. Even after my parents’ marriage broke up and my mom moved us back to the city, she held fast to her low-tech ideals (still does, to this day). Hence, no TV, and only public radio – in fact, when we did finally get a TV, we were only allowed to watch PBS. No joke.

(My husband, in contrast, is just now discovering the joys of reading fiction. He grew up in a small city, in a household devoid of books where the TV and radio were always on until bedtime. His first exposure to reading was in school, so he always associated “reading” with “work”. It’s very gratifying to see him immersed in works of fiction, to read side-by-side with him on the couch!)

I guess you could say that by working in digital and eagerly adopting new technologies like ebooks, social media, mobile computing, and the like, I’m rebelling in my own way against my upbringing. But I haven’t let go of the urge to read, every day, even if it’s only a few paragraphs snatched here and there. Who’s to say if this is something innate, the way my brain is hard-wired, or the inevitable effect of so much early exposure to reading? In the end it doesn’t matter – I’m hooked now and I’ll never give up the habit!

Would you say you were a “born reader” or is it something you got hooked on later in life?