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Acquisition meetings: Carina Press style

Patty Anasco | January 17th, 2013

I do love meetings at Harlequin HQ. I usually end up off my chair laughing or at the very least learning new romance concepts (How do you spell monogamous ménage again?). So when the opportunity to join the Carina Press Acquisitions Team came up, I jumped at the chance. Not only does the team have a reputation of giving good meeting, the “overheard” tweets from them are always pure gold.

Por ejemplo:

#Overheard at Harlequin It’s not your typical dom/sub relationship. @carinapress

— Malle Vallik (@MalleVallik) January 10, 2013

“It’s a lightsuspense w/paranormal elephants. I mean elements”. <-overheard in acq meeting. Paranormal elephants wld have been awesome!

— Angela James (@angelajames) June 19, 2012

Overheard at @harlequinbooks HQ: “Back to erotic Christmas.” (in a @carinapress meeting of course!)

— Harlequin Books (@HarlequinBooks) July 20, 2012

(To get a glimpse of “overheard” tweets all around the romance mothership in real time, follow @carinapress and @harlequinbooks on Twitter. And if you’re so inclined, follow me at @pattyanasco too!)

Fun times aside, acquisition meetings are usually filled with discovery. Every week, I learn more and more about the different books we publish and watch how the rest of the Acquisitions Team respond passionately (for good or bad) to their assigned reads. My personal preference is contemporary or erotic romance so hearing Jenny talk about Eleri Stone or Malle discuss New Adult teaches me a bit more about genres I should start reading!

Another thing I particularly enjoy about Acquisitions is that we are free to talk about books we love using terminology not used anywhere else in Corporate America/Canada. Just yesterday, while giving feedback on an erotic romance submission, I mentioned that it was “accessible BDSM, which I never thought I’d say”. There were nods around the room (after, of course, a bit of laughter) but they got it.

So to my Carina Press family, thank you for welcoming me into the fold so warmly. I’m having such a great time being a part of the team and am looking forward to more reads. Maybe sometime soon I’ll get the chance to use “more naked cowboys” in my feedback, yes?

*****

Patty Anasco is Assistant Manager, Site Operations for Harlequin.com when she isn’t busy reading submissions or losing to her mom on Words With Friends.

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Posted in Behind the Scenes | 2 Comments »

That Time I Unexpectedly Got Engaged

Tara Stevens | December 6th, 2012

by Tara Stevens, Carina Press acquisition team member

Once upon a time there was a shy, redheaded girl who worked at a romance novel company. She was in charge of the eNewsletter program. On her first day of work, she met a dishy Italian fella who would copyedit her newsletters and change her life. Yes, he diligently pointed out all her missing commas and awkward phrasing, but he also lent her his book on Woody Allen films and asked her to go for a walk at lunchtime. Sometimes she would sneak secret looks at him when he walked to the printer or they had a meeting together.

Eventually, through a gift of kismet, they found themselves sitting across from each other in an open-plan office and falling in love. They tried to keep their romance private, but her blushing cheeks often gave them away when they were caught standing a little too close together at a social event. One sad day he left the company to work at an awful banking job and she missed her lunch partner and best friend. One happy day they moved in together with a plant called Bernard. Twenty months later he made her a delicious brunch for her 30-something birthday. Then he slid off the couch, popped onto one knee and asked her to marry him. She asked if it was a joke four times, then said yes.

***

Confession time: an unexpected engagement will not only tilt your world in a wonderful-yet-scary way, it will also steal all your blog post topics. It’s been three weeks since I got my surprise sparkler, but I find my mind has been taken over by all things betrothal.

With all this excitement in my personal life, my what-to-read-next thoughts are naturally turning towards books featuring engagements and weddings. I want to read about other women experiencing this magical, special time and bask in the glow just a little bit longer, before all the wedding planning reality sets in.

I’ve begun compiling a list of wedding-focused reading material to devour once the holidays arrive and I have time to lose myself in books. Of course, I started with any Carina Press titles that fall into this category that I haven’t read yet! The first one that popped into my mind was Ask Her at Christmas, by Christi Barth, along with the first book in her popular Aisle Bound series, Planning for Love. Fatal Destiny by Marie Force is another must-read on my list, since I adore her Fatal series.

I know there must be loads of other titles out there that fit this theme, and I’m greedy for more! Which romance novel with an engagement or wedding as a major plot point is your favorite?

 

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Posted in Authors, Behind the Scenes, Books, Carina Press, Marketing, Random conversation | 9 Comments »

Playing with alpha males

Kim Knox | November 27th, 2012

Characters introduce themselves to me in different ways. I’ll get a flash of the first scene, of how they’re woven into their world and then I get to build it around them. One character could be sitting in a chair before a fire, smoking an expensive cigar, calm, collected and knowing he’s waiting to spring a trap.  Another could be strapped to a table, with an alien truth device worming its way into her neck.  Or another illegally wearing someone else’s body in a cyber generated world. I expect the flashes. What I didn’t expect was what the hero of Dark Dealings does every morning. And more than that, the fact that he enjoys it. Far too much.

Captain Heyerdar is a fire  and earth elemental. His magic comes from those two sources. My first glimpse of him was the same as my heroine’s, the same as practically everyone in the palace. He’s naked, performing a slow and rhythmic rite to the sun, gilded in light..and simply beautiful. He’s also very aware that in the shadows people watch and want him. Have I mentioned Heyerdar’s confidence and ego? He’s alpha male to the core.

Ava watches him every morning, as she has breakfast with her mentor. His power draws her…but she finds, like her, he loves someone who doesn’t return that love. The glimpses she catches of his pain drives her forward to offer the deal that will change everything.

Thinking on it, the first alpha hero I fell for goes all the way back to Edward Rochester, him of the broken and broody… *grin* I stayed up all night wanting Jane’s happy ending with her dark hero. I read it again the next night to get that HEA hit again!

So can you remember the first brooding alpha male you fell hard for?

Dark Dealings cover

Ava Kalle’s empty soul devours magic. And her hunger is deadly. She’s sharp, quick and can live in shadow, making her work as a spy for the Mages a natural choice. She lives on the fringes of society and likes it that way.

When the man she loves takes another woman for his mate, the darkness in her heart unravels and she’ll do anything to get him back. She makes a dangerous deal with a fire elemental, Heyerdar, who has a vested interest in agreeing: together they’ll use forbidden magic, harnessing their sexual energy to drive the couple apart.

But soon their pact pushes them both into a dark sexual obsession. One that Ava may not be able to control…

Carina Press || Amazon US || Amazon UK

Amazon de || Barnes and Noble || ARe

Kim Knox brews sex, magic, darkness and technology in a little corner of North West England. She writes erotic science fiction and fantasy romance for Cleis Press, Carina Press and Ellora’s Cave.

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Posted in Authors, Behind the Scenes, Books | 9 Comments »

Creating a Modern Beast

Jax_Garren | November 21st, 2012

Eighties television and vodka are a potent combination.

Let me back up. My little sister and I have a long history of staying up way too late and watching television reruns. It started back as kids when we’d watch Nick at Nite during summer vacations and nosh on popcorn dripping with butter and snowed in salt. Anybody else remember Mr. Ed and The Patty Duke Show? As teens it was Wings and Quantum Leap on USA, always accompanied by root beer and baby carrots. Don’t judge; you know you’ve eaten stranger things. So have I, but we’re not going there.

Now that my sister and I are adults and, to our sadness, live in different states, it’s harder to find time to indulge in our old habit. The last time we did have the chance, we popped in that old Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton Beauty and the Beast. Instead of the tried and true root beer and carrots, we elected to invent our own cocktails. The evening began with Ron Perlman on the screen and vodka, club soda and an assortment of berries and herbs on the counter. It ended with two drunken women, a lyrical rewrite of Peggy Lee’s “You Give Me Fever” in beastly Ron Perlman’s honor… and the idea for Wesley “Hauk” Haukon, the hero for How Beauty Met the Beast, book one of the Tales of the Underlight. (Book two, How Beauty Saved the Beast, releases in February, and the final book, How Beauty Loved the Beast, releases in May.)

Does anybody else remember Ron Perlman as Vincent? His voice is incredible, the kind that could read me a phone book and I’d be happy. But the makeup job, while beautifully done, always left me feeling… well, my sister summed it up best when we saw the first episode. Somebody asks Vincent why he looks the way he does. He answers, “I have an idea,” but fails to explain it. My sister scrunched up her face and said, “What? That your mom made it with a lion?” Ahem. Yeah. Vincent is sweet, innocent and platonically devoted to his beauty in a way that mimics courtly knights of Arthurian romance. And he looks like a lion. (I couldn’t find an image of him to share without a copyright issue, but you can see a picture on Wikipedia.)

As much as I love Ron Perlman’s manimal, the kind of beast I want to curl up with at night has less of a mane and more of an edge. I want a trained fighter who has a libido—a frustrated one. A bad boy with leather and a motorcycle who remembers what it was like to be a normal man and must deal with the curse of his transformation. I’m also not a fan of cuddly or rakishly scarred “beasts”; in my opinion that attractiveness misses the heart of the story. Hauk’s appearance is the result of horrific burn scarring from a fire he barely lived through while serving with the Rangers in Afghanistan. Jolie, the beauty of the story, first sees him when he’s fighting, and he terrifies her with his looks and his ferocity. The scarring’s impact on both Jolie’s ability to realize she loves Hauk and Hauk’s ability to accept love is hands down the hardest thing I’ve ever written.

No matter what the incarnation, Beauty and the Beast is a story about finding the person behind the facade and falling in love in the least expected place. It reminds us that each one of us has so much more inside than a mirror can reveal. Whether your personal beast-crush leans toward a motorcycle-riding anarchist with war wounds, an arrogant, animated prince under a curse or “a mythic, noble man-beast” (as IMDB refers to Vincent) of indeterminate origins, I hope you enjoy this version of How Beauty Met the Beast.

In case you need your own inspiration, here’s the winning cocktail from that night with my sister:

In a tall glass, muddle strawberries and mint
Add a shot (or two) of chilled vodka and stir
Add a few cubes of ice
Top off with club soda

Because I’m sure there’s another TV reruns night in my future, what is your most inspiring cocktail recipe for my sister and me to try?

***

My sister (in blue) and I (in orange) vs. the ancient shark jaws at the Smithsonian. I'd show you a picture of us behaving like proper adults but I, uh, don't have one.

Jax Garren is descended from Valkyries and Vikings (she’s part Swedish) but was raised a small town girl in the Texas Hill Country. She graduated from The University of Texas with a degree in English and a minor in Latin then found her own Happily Ever After with a handsome engineer who is saving the world through clean energy technology. Jax loves meeting new people, so if you see her out and about say hello! She’s always happy to raise a glass with her readers (or anyone else) to toast courage, adventure and love.

Jax can be found on:

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Posted in Behind the Scenes, Books, Carina Press | 2 Comments »

Living Vicariously

HelenKay_Dimon | October 23rd, 2012

To me, one of the scariest things in the world would be to climb a mountain. Now, I’m not talking about going on a hike.  I can do that. I’m talking about the really massive  mountain peaks, like Everest. Have you ever seen photos of the highest peaks in the world? Take a look:

I mean, really, that’s a long-distance photo.  The up close ones are terrifying.  The mountain looks straight up and impossible and cold and deadly…and a whole bunch of other scary things. That’s actually K2, the second highest mountain in the world. There are 14 of them over 8,000 meters high, collectively called the eight-thousanders.  Think about how high that is for a second…

Yeah, now I’m not alone in my fear.

Right before I wrote LEAN ON ME, my newest release, I read many books written by real-life high-altitude mountaineers.  Some of them, like INTO THIN AIR, are probably pretty familiar.  But there are so many more out there.  The ones I liked the best were by Ed Viesturs, the first U.S. climber to successfully summit (that means make it up and back) all 14 of these mountains.  And, are you ready for this, he did it without using supplemental oxygen. It’s an astounding feat. He’s also a pretty interesting guy. He doesn’t have a death wish and doesn’t come off as an adrenalin junkie. In fact, he’s very clear that reaching the summit of these amazing mountains is the easy part. Getting down is tough.

When it was time for me to write LEAN ON ME, I had in mind this heroine who shared the same attributes as Viesturs – a need to explore, a sense of community on the mountain and an appreciation for both the beauty and the danger of these peaks. I also think that part of me, for just a little bit and in a small way, wanted to imagine what it might be like not to be afraid of heights and to deal with the very real possibility of dying while completing this dreamed-of pursuit. So, basically, I lived vicariously through my heroine. The accomplished the near-impossible so I didn’t have to.

Am I alone in the fear of heights thing? If heights don’t bother you, do you have a fear – spiders, closed-in spaces…clowns? Anything? I’ll give away a copy of LEAN ON ME to one person who comments and pick a winner and post the name here on Wednesday.

 ***

 Cassidy Clarke once climbed the world’s highest mountains, but after an unexpected illness ends her career she’s back in her hometown, broke and hoping for a little luck. But the townsfolk aren’t exactly putting out a welcome mat for the woman who once snubbed them in the media, despite her apologies now.

Mitch Anders knows someone has set up camp on the grounds of his plant nursery, and he’s surprised to find his sexy high school crush ducking questions about where she’s staying. Though he’s sworn to stop cleaning up other people’s messes, Mitch offers Cassidy a job and a place to stay—his place. Bed-sharing optional, but definitely welcome.

Out of options and too attracted to Mitch to keep things platonic, Cassidy says yes to his offer. She wants to get back on her feet financially and start a new career. She never expects to suffer a different kind of fall, one that has her believing Mitch just might bring her something bigger and better than luck.

Available through Carina Press here.

***

Award-winning author HelenKay Dimon spent twelve years in the most unromantic career ever—divorce lawyer. After dedicating all of that effort to helping people terminate relationships, she is thrilled to deal in happy endings and write romance novels for a living. Her books have been featured in Cosmopolitan magazine and E! Online. HelenKay loves hearing from readers. You can find her at one (or all) of these places:

Website: www.helenkaydimon.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HelenKayDimon

Twitter: https://twitter.com/helenkaydimon

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/hkdimon/

Posted in Authors, Behind the Scenes, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 16 Comments »

The Devil is in the Details

Melissa_Johnson | October 4th, 2012

I was recently reading a contemporary romance for pleasure—not as an editor—and I had the annoying experience of being yanked out of a heartbreaking scene by some medical details that were inaccurate.

Did this ruin the book for me?  No.  Did I emit odd noises and mutter obscenities?  You betcha.  Do I imagine every reader of this scene had the same reaction as I did?  Of course not.  In fact, I went on to read quite a few reviews of the book, and apparently no one in the OB/GYN field happened to read this book and feel inclined to complain about this scene.  Go figure.

This experience made want to write here on the Carina blog about the special areas of expertise we have as readers that inform our experience of a book and cause us occasional “moments.”  In my case in my pleasure reading—we won’t get into my checking frenzy when editing—I unconsciously scrutinize medical details, anything in the financial field and use of the Spanish language.  Other readers can’t help but search for anachronisms in historicals, or see laws misunderstood or misapplied in romantic suspense.

I’m eternally grateful to fiction authors for allowing me to experience different worlds, bodies, careers, time periods, ages, situations, hobbies and passions.  Moreover, I think authors are incredibly brave.  They tread into the realms of their readers’ careers, personal experiences and passions.  Think of the knowledge an author needs to have to create a heroine who is a real estate agent, grew up in foster care and loves to parasail.  The authors I work with do an amazing job of researching for their books.  They interview people in the career fields of their characters, figure out the science behind breaking a car window, read countless history books and primary source materials to better understand a different era, find out how a person acts when coming out of a coma, and much, much more.

And does the work end there?  Heck no.  Now the writer has to weave in the details that enhance the believability of the story, without slowing things down or over-informing.  So, unless the information heightens the story’s tension or worldbuilding or characterization, readers don’t get every detail of it.  In my experience, fantastic authors tend to accumulate a lot of knowledge that doesn’t make the final cut.  (But I often get to see this overflow when authors respond to my queries in the margins.  Yay!)  This is also true in the genres of paranormal, fantasy and science fiction, where authors’ creative production in terms of setting, biology, history and language can be much larger than what appears in their books, and the authors fact-check against themselves to ensure consistency.

In a perfect world, all the various details in a book will ring true…ish, because reality is subjective, writers and editors are human, and you can’t please everyone.  So, have you ever read a scuba scene or calculated the time it took a character to knit a sweater…and groaned?  What are your specialties, the areas of expertise you’d like authors to write about after interviewing you?  And writers, what are you learning about for your current or next project?  What type of research do you find the most fun to do or most difficult?

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Posted in Authors, Behind the Scenes, Carina Press, editorial, editors, Writing/Submissions Advice | 23 Comments »

Judging a Book By Its Cover (Copy)

AndreaKerr | September 6th, 2012

We all know that old saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This may be true for all things except, well, actual books. A strong cover will catch the eye, suggest the genre, set the mood for the story—and compel a reader take the next step: click on the link or turn the book over to find out more! That’s where I come in.

Often when I tell people that I write cover copy, they are surprised to learn authors don’t write the blurbs for their own stories. Then they usually ask how long it takes me to read all those books. And I must confess: I don’t. Oh sure, I’d love to! Anyone in publishing who doesn’t like to read is clearly in the wrong line of work. But when there is a deadline to be met (and isn’t there always?) I rely on the synopsis.

I know, I know: many (most?) authors hate writing them! But a good synopsis won’t just get your book noticed by an editor, it can also help a copywriter craft a killer blurb that will entice readers to buy your book. While I do read some or all of a manuscript if necessary, it can be too time consuming when I’m working on several books at once (especially when I get sucked into your story and am “forced” to keep reading when I should be writing!)

So what do I look for in a synopsis? The basics: your name/pseudonym, the title of the book (if known), the series name (if it’s part of one), the genre. Often this information is missing, probably because it appears in the query letter or manuscript, which I may not have. I usually check out the copy for your other books, and try to reflect the same tone where appropriate, especially when the books are connected. So having this basic information in the synopsis itself is helpful. Yes, I can get it from my Carina contacts, but if I’m writing copy at 10 pm on a Saturday night (such is the glamorous life of a freelancer!), I’m working with more than one synopsis with no title or author name, and the copy is due Monday…

Along that same line, it’s also helpful to know the basic facts about the hero and heroine: full names, occupations or titles, as well as where (and when, in the case of historicals) the story takes place.

If you have a tagline, “elevator pitch” or a really brief description of your story, please feel free to include it (I may even end up using some of it in the final blurb.) Not to worry, I’m not suggesting you need to write your own copy. But if you can’t sum up your story in a few lines, it’s probably going to be difficult for me to as well.

Perhaps most important of all, spell out the conflict and motivation for both hero and heroine–what exactly is keeping them apart? How are they going to resolve it? If your synopsis only reveals what makes the heroine tick, it can be difficult for me to factor the hero into the copy. You might be surprised how often I read a synopsis that says next to nothing about the hero except that he’s “sexy as sin”, even when his point of view is strong within the book itself.

If your story is erotic, I need to know so I can turn up the heat. More than once I’ve written copy that was sweet rather than spicy because there was no indication in the synopsis that there were any sex scenes at all, never mind explicit ones! You don’t have to go into all the juicy details—just include “erotic” in the genre, and I’ll take it from there.

Lastly, if the story is told in first person, it would be great if this was indicated in the synopsis. Sometimes I struggle to get just the right tone in a piece of copy, only to have it all fall into place when I realize the book is in first person. The synopsis doesn’t have to be written in first person, just as long as you mention the book itself is. (I’ll still often write the copy in both first and third person to see which version works best.)

So you tell me, do you judge a book by its cover (copy)?

Posted in Authors, Behind the Scenes, Carina Press, Cover Art, editorial, editors, Marketing, Writing/Submissions Advice | 6 Comments »

An Amazon by any other name

Sandy James | September 4th, 2012

One of the most enjoyable things I do when I start writing a novel is to choose names for my characters. I say “choose” although sometimes I have no choice—the characters name themselves despite the identities I try to give them. (I’m sure most authors understand what I mean. Our characters tend to develop lives of their own and take us down paths we never saw coming.)

In the case of my Alliance of the Amazon series, the names of my women warriors were given much more consideration than whether I liked the name. I decided to make their names truly mean something, and I wanted that “something” to be a part of that Amazon’s role.Cover

The heroine in book 1, The Reluctant Amazon, is Rebecca Massee. She’s the Earth Amazon, so I decided to find a name to truly fit her and her powers. One origin of “Rebecca” is the Hebrew culture, and the name means “to tie.” Earth has the power to send vines hurtling from the ground to tie up her enemies. In addition, the Rebecca who appears in the Bible was considered kind and beautiful, qualities I wanted for my Rebecca. Her last name—Massee—is a variation on “earth” or “land” in several different languages.

Her hero is Artair MacKay. Since Rhiannon is also known as the Lady of the Lake from the legend of King Arthur, I chose “Artair” as a Gaelic version of Arthur and also because it translates as “rock.” That gives him a tie to Earth.

(I chose the rest of the heroes names to be significant as well, but should I explain them now, I’d be giving away some of the twist and turns of the Alliance of the Amazons. So you’ll simply have to be patient to find out about these special men for my special ladies as their books release.)

Megan Feurer is the Fire Amazon. I chose “Megan” because it means “child of light” in Greek. What better name for a character whose essence is fire? Her surname is German for “fire.” You can read Megan’s story when The Impetuous Amazon releases on January 13th.

The Air Amazon is Gina Himmel. Gina comes from several cultures, most of the time referring to royalty or being well-born. At the time I wrote the first book in the series, I had plans for a twist in her book that involved her being a princess. Alas, I am a pantser—an author who writes by the seat of her pants. I might have plans for a book, but oftentimes the characters lead me down another path as Gina did when I wrote her story—The Brazen Amazon. “Himmel” translates as “the heavens.” A good fit since the sky is her domain. You can read Gina’s story in May of 2013.

I racked my brain for the proper name for my Indian Water Amazon. I turned to a former student (thanks, Deepika!) for some help in both naming Water and in developing her character. I wanted her to properly reflect her culture. After a few of my student’s suggestions, I settled on Sarita Neeraj. “Sarita” means “river,” which is perfect since Sarita’s patron goddess is Ganga (as in the Ganges River). “Neeraj” is a Hindi name that means “born in water.” What better name for a Water Amazon? Sarita’s book—The Volatile Amazon—will be the finale of the Alliance of the Amazons and will be published in September of 2013.

***

The Reluctant Amazon is on sale now!

The last thing Rebecca Massee expects on her wedding day is to go from jilted kindergarten teacher to Amazonian Earth warrior. But when she causes an earthquake after her groom says I don’t, she discovers that not only does she possess incredible powers, she is one of four lost chosen sisters who must fight to keep humanity safe from rogue gods and demons. Luckily she has help: ruggedly handsome Scottish warrior Artair MacKay, her protector and teacher.

An immortal, Artair has trained countless warriors for more than four hundred years. He understands Rebecca’s confusion at the new world she’s been thrust into and worries she is too emotionally vulnerable, but that doesn’t stop his growing feelings for the beautiful and fearless woman.

When an evil force threatens to destroy the Amazons, Rebecca must claim her full powers–but they come at a cost. Can she sacrifice the man she loves if it means saving the world?

Buy The Reluctant Amazon at:

Carina  Amazon  B&N

Sandy James lives in a quiet suburb of Indianapolis with her husband of thirty years. She’s a high school social studies teacher who especially loves psychology and United States history. Since she and her husband own a small stable of harness racehorses, they often spend time together at the two Indiana racetracks.

You can find Sandy on her website, on Facebook or on Twitter.

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Posted in Authors, Behind the Scenes, Books, Carina Press | 6 Comments »

Dedications. Who the heck reads them anyway? (+ giveaway)

Kaily Hart | August 28th, 2012

Before becoming a writer, I never really took any notice of dedications. I mean, it was just another page to scan past to get to the good stuff, you know? If I did see one, I might glance at it, but I’d still flip on by. I never gave much consideration to what they contained or why an author might go to the trouble to create one. That was, until I was asked by my editor what I wanted to include for the dedication in my very first published book.

Honestly, I kind of blew it off. I wrote right back with something meaningful, but kinda generic. It was my editor who asked if there was anyone special I wanted to acknowledge, would anyone be disappointed if I didn’t mention them and reminded me I’ll only ever have one first book. Huh. It gave me pause and it got me thinking. Perhaps these dedications were more purposeful that I’d thought. Perhaps there really were people out there who took note of them, found them interesting, actually read them! And she was right about something. There was only one first book.

I really wanted to acknowledge the aspiring author first and foremost. I’ll never forget what it’s like to be there, how difficult it was and is, how much effort it takes just to continue to write each day. And there were two writer colleagues I was especially thankful for and wanted to acknowledge specifically. And so…my first dedication was born.

I decided then and there that I’d include a dedication for each of my books moving forward and Rise of Hope, my latest from Carina Press, was no exception. Of course, I’m not going to publish it here, but it’s the thought that came from my heart and soul as I wrote the book, the thought that I wanted most to share with readers at the time. Dedications for me now will always be that. A special message to the reader. From heartfelt me. And if no-one reads them? Well, that’s OK because I know it’s there and it’s the very special something I wanted to say at the time.

So…do YOU notice dedications? Do you read them and if so, have there been any that stood out to you? Or are you too eager to get to the good stuff :) ? [I'll choose a random commenter by 5 pm Eastern, Thursday August 29 to receive a $10 gift card to the online bookstore of the winner's choosing!]

Rise of Hope

hart_riseofhope_FINAL.inddA secret ancient race of humans with fantastical abilities, the Vadïm are on the brink of extinction. Many of their women are imprisoned by an organization known as The Assembly, their history all but lost . . .

Devon Monroe has been a prisoner her entire life. She’s determined to make sense of the strange markings on her body, to learn why no one may touch her, to find where she belongs. That means escaping into the unknown, where she has no choice but to trust her self-appointed protector.

Soldier for hire Seth Eastman has a job to do: deliver Devon to safety. When Seth discovers the markings on Devon’s body, he’s stunned at what it means. And at how she awakens his long-suppressed needs. As they struggle to escape detection and search for the truth of the Vadïm, can he ever hope to claim her for his own?

Rise of Hope, book 1 in the Fabric of Fate series, released from Carina Press on August 27!

About Kaily Hart

Kaily HartKaily Hart, a seemingly straight-laced mother of four, left corporate America and a high-powered, lucrative career to be a stay at home mom. Right… That lasted about four weeks, during which time she realized she had a deeply repressed dream—to write. And (gasp) romance at that! Who knew? By day, Kaily plays conservative wife and soccer mom, but at night crafts hot and steamy tales of romance and love with gorgeous heroes who wouldn’t dream of leaving the toilet set up. Ever. She’s smart and sassy, at least in her own mind, and is creating as many happy ever afters as she can, one hot story at a time. Kaily never would have thought she’d be doing this, but now that she is? Well, you couldn’t pay her enough to do anything else.

You can find out more about Kaily and her books from her website. She’s also on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Of course, only when she’s not supposed to be writing.

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Posted in Authors, Behind the Scenes, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway, Cover Art | 21 Comments »

An Author’s Stress Relievers

Rebecca York | August 21st, 2012

The clothes dryer is broken. The car is in the shop. The cat threw up on the bed. And you have to lose five pounds before your physical next week.

Recognize any of that? Modern life is full of stress. But there are ways to cope.

I turn to books. Sometimes it’s books by other authors. Often it’s the book I’m writing. When my husband and I have to wait in line for something, he asks me, “Do you have a book to read?”

I usually answer, “I don’t need one. I’m thinking about my next scene.” And of course, there’s nothing like falling off a curb while you’re working out your plot, which I did with my latest Carina release, SHATTERED MAGIC, the next novella in my Chronicles of Arandal series. It’s set in the medieval-type fantasy world I created when I wrote DARK MAGIC. Fantasy on another planet is an ideal escape from everyday life. Which is why I’m glad to be back there with SHATTERED MAGIC, and I’ve got another story in the works, DANGEROUS MAGIC.

SHATTERED IMAGE Cover

Do the titles suggest a theme? In my fictional village of Valleyhold, you don’t have to worry about electric lights, dishwashers and putting on weight. You can fix just about anything with your paranormal powers. Fun and easy. But there’s a downside to relying on magic. The rulers of Arandal, a nearby kingdom, think magic is evil, and if you’re caught using it, you will surely be executed.

Life in Valleyhold is fine for my heroine, Rowan, until an evil sorcerer claims her for his bride-to-be. Desperate to escape his clutches, she flees the only home she’s ever known–and meets up with a heroic, handsome guy named Grant, who saves her from a dragon. Maybe he’s the solution to her problem. If she gives him her virginity, she won’t be a suitable bride for the man she loathes.

Everything’s going according to plan, until she discovers her lover is really Prince Grantland of Arandal. And when he spies her using magic, he vows to kill her. How’s that for a conflicted relationship?

Working out their complicated problems was a good way for me to get away from the less satisfying aspects of my own life. The refrigerator is bare? The cats are scratching up the Oriental rugs? The sewer line needs flushing out? No problem. I can go have some fun in Arandal. And I hope you’ll enjoy going there with me.

Here I am at my new treadmill desk.

Rebecca at Treadmill Desk

What’s your favorite stress reliever? I will be giving one person who comments on my blog a copy of my previous Arandal novella, DARK MAGIC on CD.

Buy now: Carina Press store | Amazon.com | BarnesandNoble.com

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USA Today best-seller, Rebecca York (aka Ruth Glick) lives in Maryland with her husband and three cats. She has traveled around the world (most recently to Belgium and Holland), flown in a glider plane, and gone down in a submarine. She is one of the few recipients of RWA’s Centennial Award. She has written more than 100 romance novels, including paranormal romantic suspense for Berkley and romantic suspense for Harlequin Intrigue, including her long-running 43 Light Street series, set in Baltimore. Her latest release is SHATTERED MAGIC for Carina Press.. She is the winner of a PRISM Award, two RT BOOK REVIEWS Career Achievement Awards, and 5 NJRW Golden Leaf Awards. Two of her books were RITA finalists.

Twitter:       @rebeccayork43
Facebook:   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rebecca-York/122426234846?ref=hl
Blog:              http://www.onromancewriting.com
Web site:      http://www.rebeccayork.com

To hear me read an excerpt of SHATTERED MAGIC, listen to my recent podcast interview on Other_Worlds_of_Romance.

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