Cover Pretties: Everything He Dreamed

Have sent off Tony's story for its first round of beatings. Right now I've got nothing better to do with my time than to stare off into space while thinking up the next story.

That's all right. I usually make covers in times like these. Made this one a few weeks back...

 

Hmm. Tony. Can't wait. Can't wait to release this book.

 

But first...

 

A special Christmas story. Unfortunately, it'll only be available at Amazon.

 

There's one more cover, but I'll wait to show ya. I know. I'm cruel. (said in a Stewie accent.)

 

Do You Smell That? Autumn: Blog Hop

Up until a few days ago I despaired about this season ever making it to my side of the world. No, I'm not in some nameless, obscure country. I'm in the US. In CA. But I'm telling you, I could step outside without a jacket and work up a sweat if I stood in the sun too long. This is by far my favorite season. Summer lasts way too long where I live and I'm not a fan of hot. Spring and Winter lasts about a week. But Autumn is just...I don't think there's a word for it. So, as I'm wont to do when I can't encapsulate something in a few words...there's a list:

 

1.      Not quite Christmas, you can still willfully ignore all those damned commercials with happy people who are trying to part you with your money. For things you'll use for less than a week.

2.      I have a thing for fuzzy socks. I actually gasp and make an embarrassing noise when I see fuzzy socks in the store. Now, I'm saying this and I'm not a sock person. Yes, I know ewwww, but that's beside the point. But fuzzy socks, in the cold...hog heaven. They come in a million different colors and styles. They just feel wonderful against my feet. Fuzzy socks are the epitome of living.

3.      The leaves. How can I not talk about the color of leaves when I'm talking about autumn? Once, when I was flirting with the idea of being a photographer, I went out on the town and took pictures of leaves all over town. Red, light green, orange, yellow. Deep wonderful colors that's all nature...And, yeah, I might unleash my inner child to jump into a big pile of leaves every year. What?

4.      Tradition, which is another name for ritual. I don't know, it's so comforting to bring in a time of year with something you do every year. Fuzzy socks, jump into leaves, maybe a cup filled more with marshmallows than hot cocoa—happy sigh.

5.      Last but not least, it's not hotter than Hades or colder than a polar bears—well, I'll leave that to your imagination. It's just perfect weather to find any excuse to snuggle under the covers and read a book. And really, reading is my fav past time.

Tell me about your favorite season.

 

Don't forget to leave a comment with your email to get your name thrown into the Grand Prize hat. What are the prizes? There are  THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains 10+ paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

Website to find more blogs in this hop: http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com/

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Out of the comments I'll pick a commenter to win Down With Cupid, the follow up to Weekend Lover.

 

Sebastian Clark and Nicole Harrison hadn't shared details—no last names or what they did for a living during a weekend tryst. Unfortunately, one detail was tantamount—Sebastian Clark is a publicist and now he’s gunning for her job. They’ll have to work side by side and somehow ignore what feels like unfinished business.

Dragged Out of the Archives: Confessions of a Romance Author NaNo Edition 2008

*This post first went live long, long ago. I find it apt just the same.* It’s been, what, a week? I have no grasp on time only word count, since I’ve last confessed. For the I-told-you-so’s in the back *Cynthia*–hush. I’m still able to write sentences.

It’s been 30, 874 words since I last confessed….

I’m thinking in scene sequence though. So guard your loins and read on. It won’t be pretty…It has a Joss Whedon ending….

*Melissa wakes up and makes tea.*

*Melissa writes more dreck and calls herself triumph when she makes morning word goal of 600 words. Only 8k more to go.*

*Melissa notices wet substance coming out of her left ear. Fear sinks it’s teeth into her gut. It has happened*

*Brain leakage!*

Scene two:

*Melissa makes it to work with a different pair of shoes on each foot, a shirt stained with more brain leakage, and a zombie like smile*

*Melissa locks office door. “Must get to THE END.” Her motivation is simple in this scene: Hopes boss doesn’t come in while she’s typing. And not to ruin keyboard with the riptide coming out of both ears now*

*Sometime during lunch, heroine takes a break. Puts cotton in her ears. By now her eyes have a zombie like glaze to them. “Must Get To THE END!!!”*

*Twitter’s word count. Doesn’t realize she’s only typed “#*$($#(!*#&$” Melina and Karen become concerned.*

Segue into next day…

Scene Three…

* Heroine wakes up. Her hair looks like something a bird lives in. Her children whisper behind their hands, “Mommy, looks strange. Let’s not fight today. She has the look.”*

*By lunch time Melissa is sobbing over keyboard “There is no end in sight. All I wanted to do was finish a book for NANO. I wanted to win. I didn’t want egg on my face this year. The YA idea was incredible. I had to write it. But WHY, OH, WHY THE HUMANITY.*

*Children are now hidden safely in the room*

*Twitters “All…most…done…must..finish…”

*With no brain left for coherent thought, heroine finishes story. Goes back to read the first chapter.*

Segue to next day…

Narrative voice sounds over novel pages: Melissa Blue was fine until she read her novel. She ran out into the streets screaming “THE HORROR!” Her writing friend *Cynthia* predicted her head explosion. Melissa Blue will be remembered for her foolhardy feat. And taught as a tale of caution for all those who NaNo.