First chapter available to read!

This is much better then a short excerpt!

D. Renee Bagby is presenting the first chapter of my new release Steam Powered Passion!!
http://dreneebagbypresentsfirstchapters.blogspot.com/

Steam Powered Passion is a fun m/m/f romp through an alternate history. All the romance and glamour of the regency combined with advanced steam powered technology. A world where pirates fly the skies as well as sail the seas. A love story where a scorned woman finds her perfect place between the two pirates who love her.

Haunted Hearts is up for Best Cover!

I love all my covers and Jinger Heaston is a complete goddess when it comes to designing them. (I'll let you in one a little secret. This one is still my favourite.) What is really awesome is Haunted Hearts is up for Cover of the Month at Happily Ever After Reviews!!!!

But I need your vote! Have a look at the list and vote for your favourite!
Click here to see

New Release and Chat Time!!

Great News! Steam Powered Passion has been released. WooHoo!! I feel like I've been waiting forever for this day. LOL

Tonight, I'll be chatting at Kris Cook's chat. I always have a lot of fun at his Wednesday night chats and can't wait for tonight. It's the fastest hour of my week! 8ct/9et
Be sure to pop in and say hi!

Steam Powered Wordle

I have a big weekend ahead. I have it off but now I have to do a big push to finish my NaNoWriMo. My goal is to do 5500 words today and tomorrow. So far today I've managed to sleep in, play on Farmville and Wordle.

This is my creation for my newest book Steam Powered Passion. Which is due for release on the 30th, but is available for pre-order. :-)



I have to warn you though, making wordles are very addictive.

Okay, I really need to get writing now...

Inspiration

It's been a busy month so far. Between a new release, edits for Steam Powered Passion, and National Novel Writing Month, it no wonder the piles of clothes in my laundry room would rival Mt. Everest.

A couple posts ago I showed you a picture I used as inspiration for my story Haunted Hearts. Now as I push my way through NaNoWriMo I though I'd use that idea again.

This is the background on my laptop at the moment. Everyone, this is Vencel and Gaspar.



Yup, I get inspired every time I look at them LOL

Below is a song I heard playing on the radio after I dropped the kids off at school. As soon as it started playing I could almost see what I needed to write next and how the boys and Mai end up in the situation. I couldn't wait to get home and bang out some words. When I took a break I popped out to the mall and picked up the CD. I'm so stoked! I'm listening to it right now and I really need to get back to my word count.

As a BTW I'll post more details but when I do come out of the writing cave at the end of the month, I'll be hanging out with Kris Cook during his chat on the 1st. Come by and say Hi!



What inspires you?

Interested in an extended excerpt?

D.Renee Bagby is featuring the first chapter of Haunted Hearts on her blog! Click HERE to link over and read it.

Today's the day!!!

Haunted Hearts is released today!

Gwen is a survivor. Living through a horrific accident that left her with the ability to see spirits, and escaping the iron fist of her father. She’s tried to create a future out of lies. When it becomes apparent that one ghost isn’t willing to leave her alone, she knows she may never truly be safe again.

Mac fights the guilt he feels in his father’s death. Hiding away from life, until a beautiful woman appears in his path and forces him to live up to his own personal code. Despite her arguments to the contrary, she needs a hero and he needs to be one.

What will happen when they are forced to face the truth? When the ghosts of the past haunt them both, will their love protect them or will it destroy their future?

4...3...2...1......

I realized this morning that I have approached the final countdown on a number of things in my life. (How is it so many things can sneak up on you all at once?)

4 days left until Haunted Hearts is released.

3 days until the beginning of NaNoWriMo

2 days till Hallowe'en

1 day until my day off (Thank goodness, I need it.)

I also have to finish the chemo caps I've been making for a friend. She's getting a bunch together to take up to her niece's treatment centre. I'm expecting my first round of edits for SPP in the next couple weeks and I really have to get three guest posts written up.

Hmmm looks like there is going to be a lot of Swiss Chalet and take out pizza eaten in my house over the coming week. LOL

Cover Artist = Mind Reader

I know I have been very quiet here lately. Truthfully I have been in my cave working on new books while waiting for edits, then working on edits :-)

Today brought something I couldn't wait to share. I'm so happy. I can hardly sit still and type! Jinger Heaston who has created all my beautiful covers has come up with a masterpiece for my newest release!



Isn't this incredible!!

I love the wild feel about it and the calmness that seems to radiate from the couple. Much like Mac and Gwen who feel like everything is out of their control, until they find each other.

Here is another picture I used for inspiration as I wrote...Jinger never saw this picture yet the couples in the picture are almost identical. How does she get in my head like that?

I could get into this kind of yoga...

A great friend of mine, Paula sent me this. I love it! Wonder if there are any classes near me?




I've been pestered by a couple of characters from my past who decided that they wanted their story written NOW. Rather inconvenient since I'm in the middle of another story and no body wants to wait their turn. So I've chose the only option available to me, I'm working on both at once.

Turns out it's not a difficult as I imagined it would be. When I need to take a break to mull over one story, I can switch to the other and play with them. So far so good. I'm happy as long as I have someone talking in my brain. It's when they all go quiet I'll get concerned.

Plotting, plotting and still waiting...

This made me laugh. Yes, I'm a complete Star Wars geek.



While driving to work yesterday and trying to work out some plot points in my novel, I started comparing my characters with Star Wars characters. Just for fun. Strangely enough it worked, and somehow the process solidified their personalities a bit more for me. Not certain why, but sometimes it's better to accept the creative process and not question it too much. LOL

Other then working on my second Steampunk Story and waiting on edits for Haunted Hearts and Steam Powered Passion. Life is good.

I've been nominated

Fellow Siren author and my friend, Stacey Espino, nominated me for The Versatile Blogger Award!


Now, here are the rules:


1. Thank those who loved me enough to bestow this gift.
2. Share seven things about myself.
3. Bestow this honor onto 15 newly discovered or followed bloggers–in no particular order–who are fantastic in some way.
4. Drop by and let my fifteen new friends know I love them.

Okay...here we go!

1.) Thank you Stacey! You're awesome!!

2.) Seven things about me?

I taste over 1,500 different wines a year at my day job.
I write erotic menage romance
I am a complete knitting addict.
I wear funky socks, a few I even knit for myself.
I am a mom
I swear....a lot (but not in front of my kids)
I love the original Star Wars movies

3.) Fifteen Nominees??? Alrighty then! Here are fifteen that I read on a regular basis. Some are friends and some don't have a clue who I am. LOL

Mechele Armstrong
Deborah Cook
Kris Cook
Beth Ciotta
Savannah Chase
Alyssa Day
Melany Logan
Radioactive Maple Syrup
Samurai Knitter
Melissa Schroeder
Nalini Singh
Mary Stella
The Panopticon
The Steampunk Home
Yarn Harlot

Interview with a Vampire....

A peak into the life of Raven Kelly (aka Vampiress). Thanks for spending a bit of time with me, Raven. I enjoyed getting to know you a bit better.

1) Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from, what is your background?

- My name is Raven Kelly and I'm the webmistress for three websites. Vampiress.ca, VampireBooks.ca, and RavenKelly.com. I'm from Canada, and live in the beautiful province of British Columbia. I read and review paranormal and vampire books as a hobby, and I absolutely love it. My husband
and I have our own Internet company together. He truly is my soul mate, my best friend and the other half of me. I'm also the mother to four loving fur babies named Blacks, Bouncer, Priscilla Presley and Tili.


2) When you were younger what did you want to be when you grew up?

- I wanted to be a psychologist and help children and adults with their problems. I met my husband and we decided to start our own Internet comapany, and I have never looked back.


3) Why did you decide to start your first website Vampiress.ca?

- I have always been interested in Vampires, and Witches from a young age. I started reading Twilight (yes I know what you are thinking), and that ignited my interest in vampires again. I read a few books in the genre, and soon after decided that I wanted to give other Vampire fans like myself a heads up on good Vampire books to read.


4) Favorite season? Why?

- I absolutely love the Fall Season. I'm a Fall baby, so I guess that is a part of the reason. I love the colorful leaves, cooler weather, all things "Halloween," and also I'm a Atheist witch so it goes all seems to go along.


5) Who is your favorite Author(s)?

- WOW, that is hard question to answer. I don't want to be biased, but some that instantly come to mind are Lyndsay Sands, Katie Mac Alister, Lisa J Smith, Gerry Bartlett, Christine Freehan, Jenika Snow and Rae Lori are a few authors that I really enjoy.


6) Who is your hero? Someone you admire and look up to?

- I have two people that I admire and look up to.

- The first person is my husband, I admire is drive, and patience. He is such a driven person in life and someone who works hard to achieve his goals.

- The second person I admire is Alex Jones, a lot of you may not have heard of him. He is someone who is passionate about liberty, which I am too. Our world right now is in trouble and we are going into some really hard times. Alex is so focused, and up on his radio show every day trying to get word out about what our governments (and the the people who control our governments) are doing to us. If you are interested in learning more about Alex Jones please check out his website www.infowars.com. As Alex will tell you, "Don't take my word for it, research it for yourself!" ..if you do a little investigating on the net you will be VERY surprised at what you find!


6) If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live and why?

- I would live where I am now, in Canada, in the most beautiful province there is. My dream would be to one day live in big log cabin on some land with my 4 cats and husband. I would have chickens, cows, goats, and a few horses on my land. I would also have a massive organic garden with every vegetable known to man, and lots of fruit trees. I would also build my house by a nice stream so I can hear the water outside my bedroom window at night. I love nature and everything about it. I love the piece and quiet and, the smell of the clean air in the mountains. That would be heaven for me.


7) Tell is something interesting about yourself?

- I was born on my mothers birthday and I am exactly half her age. I was also born on a full moon.


8) What interests you and what do you like to do for fun?

- I love watching hockey I'm a huge Edmonton Oilers Fan. I love reading and spending time on my websites. I like aromatherapy, and nice hot bubble baths. I also like to workout and eat healthy.


9) Describe yourself in one word?

- I can't describe myself in one word, but people always tell me that "I'm a nerd trapped in a beautiful body." LOL



10) What is your favorite food?

- CHOCOLATE, I love chocolate. Anything that has chocolate on it, I'm eating. My husband has to hide chocolate from me because I would eat it all day long.


I hope everyone enjoyed learning a little about me, I enjoyed sharing myself with you all.

You can check out my websites here by visiting these URL's below.

http://www.vampirebooks.ca
http://www.vampiress.ca
http://www.ravenkelly.com

Road Trip!

I'm a guest over at Stacey Espino's blog today! How cool is that.
While you over there check out her books. I love them!

A bit of fun....

Happy Summer Solstice everyone! Today is the longest day of the year and, here in Southern Ontario, it's sunny and warm. That has to be a good sign :-)

I have a new page up on my website titled FUN. I know I've read in all sorts of different places and, I can't be the only one. Do you have a picture of yourself reading in a place that might make someone take a second look? If you want to send me a copy and what you are reading. You might see it up on my FUN page.

Writing is going well. I'm to finishing SteamPowered Passsion, so close. My goal is to have it submitted before I get the edits back for Haunted Hearts. Which means I have to get a move on. LOL

This isn't a new song but, it's my current favourite. I've been listening to it as I scan though my story before I start writing again.

Music I write to.....

I'm a huge fan of the Mediaeval Baebes. This music is absolutely exquisite, and their voices are absolutely phenomenal. Alot of the lyrics are pulled from medieval text and then put to period music. If you close your eyes you can almost imagine yourself sitting on a hillside watching a joust or snuggled up with your own personal knight. ;-)

I listen to a lot of their music when working on my historical stories and any time I need some mystical inspiration.



If you look closely you can see they are actually singing while wearing vampire teeth!

Chat Night Tonight!!

Don't forget, I'm visiting at Kris Cook's chat tonight. 8CT (9EST)

Wednesday night at Kris' is always fun. Hope to see you there!!

Road Trip!

A virtual road trip that is.... Many authors are heading down to Columbus, Ohio for RT next week. I wish I was heading out with them but I'm doing the next best thing!

Next Wednesday (April 28th), Kris Cook invited me over to his chat room. How cool is that? I'll be there for a live chat at 8pm CT, which is 9pm for those of you in my time zone. ;)

So make yourself a cuppa and head on over. I'll have a couple of fun giveaways set up and this is your chance to ask me...pretty much anything.

A quick wave as I pass.....

Haunted Hearts is finished! Whoop! I'll be working on my synopsis while at work tomorrow. If all goes well it will be off to submissions tomorrow evening.

No break for me, I'm diving straight into my next one. It's about 3/4 the first draft and is in a genre I've never attempted before. Fingers crossed!

The Lone Phone Booth

Hey Everyone!

I'm guest blogging over at the Vivacious Vixens of Romance.
Have you heard the story about the phone book in the middle of the Mojave? Come over and I'll tell you about it.

Never too old to start reading...

I'm a voracious reader, I'll read anything from the back of a wine bottle to the warning stickers on aspirin.

One of the things about Mr D. I never understood is his disinterest in books. I didn't see him voluntarily pick up a book until his mid-thirties. I like to think after so many years being married to me, I finally rubbed off on him.
(I dont' think he'll be knitting any time soon though) Turns out we needed to find what interested him. He loves biographies.

Summer is coming and everyone needs a good read for the beach. This way if your hubby/significant-other is reading, they're less likely to bother you when you're reading! Today, I'm going to share Mr D's top 3 favourite books.


#1 ~ Got Fight? by Forrest Griffen

(one of my favourite fighters from the UFC. I admit I read this too and enjoyed it. I heard Mr D laughing out loud as he read.)






#2 ~ Dan Rooney: My 75 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL

(Mr D has been a Steelers Fanatic since he was 12)




He has a tie for #3
~ Iceman: My Fighting Life by Chuck Liddell

(Another UFC fighter. Cool guy too, but I wouldn't want to be on the opposite side of the octagon from him)




AND



~Slap Shot Original: The man, the foil, and the Legend by Dan Hanson

(Who didn't love the Hanson brothers from the movie Slap Shot?)

Bad Blogger

My apologies, I know I've been a terrible blogger.

My day job has kept me immensely busy over the past few weeks. Which means every spare moment I've had, has been devoted to Haunted Hearts. I'm pleased with the way it's coming along. Another week should see it finished and submitted. Then, I have to work on Steam Powered Passion, my goal is to have that submitted by the end of May. Busy, Busy, Busy!

I do have a few fun things up my sleeve this month. I'm guest blogging over at the Vivacious Vixens of Romance on the 12th.

Kris Cook has graciously invited me to be a guest in his chat room on Wednesday the 28th. If you have never visited him on his Wednesday chat I highly recommend it! I had a great time last week and look forward to this Wednesday.

Keep checking back for updates! I promise to not vanish for as long again. ;-)

I have my winner!

Congratulations Wendy R!! Please email me your snail mail address and I'll get your goodies into the mail.

Welcome To Day 4 of the Seven Days of Valentines...

What do you like to indulge in?

I have four treats I’m passionate about. Romance novels, good chocolate, wine and yarn. It is possible to indulge in all four simultaneously, but that kind of idyllic situation is best saved for when the hubby and kids are distracted else ware. LOL

Today, I though I would focus on 2 of my favourites. Wine and Chocolate. What better Valentine treat for after the kids are in bed, or you finally get a quiet moment with your special someone?

There are a couple guidelines (not rules) to keep in mind when approaching this kind of wine matching.
* Make certain your wine is as sweet or sweeter then the chocolate (or dessert) you are paring it with.
* Match lighter wines with lighter chocolates and fuller bodied wines with darker chocolates
*Most importantly is to enjoy responsibly! Please do not drive anywhere after indulging.

Take a sip of the wine and think about what flavours it reminds you of. Next place a small piece of chocolate on your tongue and hold it there until it begins to melt, then sip the wine again and allow it to mix with the chocolate. Don’t be afraid to experiment. We all have different tastes and what one person enjoys might not be the same as someone else.

One of the difficult parts of writing Bach in Believing Is Trusting, is I habitually plugged in way to much technical wine information. I edited out paragraph after paragraph because it read like one of my wine classes and not a romance. LOL (I guess that’s what happens when you have Bacchus whispering in your ear.)

What do you consider an indulgence? Do you have a favourite wine/food match?
I’d love to hear about it!

Everyone who shares a suggestion either here or on the SirenReaders yahoo group will be placed in a draw for a bag of goodies. (chocolate, candles, a naughty lip gloss and wine gums.) I also have a small Wine Tasters Diary in there. Perfect for keeping track of the wines you like. Be sure to check out the fun going on in the groups this week. Lots of prizes still to be given out.



**Note: chocolate doesn't appear in picture because I am weak. I promise a bar of Lindor Chili/Cherry Chocolate will be in package.

Great News!!

Believing Is Trusting was reviewed by Holly at Whipped Cream Reviews and she gave it 5 cherries!!! How cool is that?!

I've been in a real slump for the past month. Too much emotional upheaval that had me wanting to hide in a dark quiet cave. This week is the lightest I've felt since the beginning of the year. Which is a good thing. The icing on the cake is that BIT is up for book of the week. Voting is open for today (6th) and Sunday (7th) ONLY.
If you would like to vote for me, simply CLICK HERE.

February is known for Valentines and love and lots of hearts and chocolate. So in honour of that, myself and fellow authors from Siren are going to have a week long celebration. Everyday on the SirenYahoo group (7th -13th) a few authors will be writing about some of their favourite things. There will be awesome prizes each day from the authors, and 5 Siren-Bookstrand gift certificates to win at the end of the week. Entering is simple. Head on over and join in on the conversations! If you click on the button to the right it will take you to the group home page.

I'll be making my contribution on the 11th but you'll have to wait until then to find out what my prize is. ☺

I have a spotlight on me!

Today is the first day of my being in Melodee Aaron's author spotlight. (Click on her name and then click on Author spotlight along the left side of her page and you will find me.)

I'll be hanging out on her yahoo group this week and then chatting Saturday evening. I had hoped to make it an all day thing but it doesn't look like I'll able to swing it. I'll post exact times later in the week. Any questions sent in during the day I'll happily answer that evening.

I'm cooking up a cool contest for this Saturday, more details later ;-)