The Writing Process (& Swag!) with Kari Gregg

Morning folks! Today I'm joined by the hilarious and brilliantly talented Kari Gregg, who's here to discuss her creative process with you all in typical Kari fashion. She's also got a brand new book out that's so damn hot it'll fog up your computer screen, so before I turn the floor over to her, let's have a peek, shall we?

After one mind-shattering night with a stranger at a local leather bar leaves him forever changed, Gabriel lives on the streets as a vagrant to elude the master who hunts him, but the were-shifter is a fierce, stubborn predator who reclaims him soon enough. Gabriel is carried away to the pack’s home territory where his instruction on what it means to be the pet of an alpha begins. Gabriel isn’t just any pet, though. He is the rarest among their kind: a human omega.  

Treasured? Or cursed?  

As Gabriel’s father, the Distinguished Gentleman from Pennsylvania and stalwart of the conservative party, pushes the considerable resources at his disposal to locate his missing son, Gabriel explores who and what he is under his master’s careful protection. Gabriel falls for the shifter who is lover and destroyer, owner and…friend?  

Publisher’s Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: BDSM theme and elements, and dubious consent.

Hot, right? Go buy it! Go on, I'll wait :-) And then come back and leave a comment for Kari, because she'll be sending one lucky commenter an I Omega notebook, note pad, and magnet, plus a little box of Godiva chocolate. I can't decide which is more drool-worthy--the chocolate, or a spiral notebook with that hot hot cover on it?

And now here's Kari, beneath the jump. 

Release Day!

Yay, Where He Belongs is officially out today! It's up now on ARe and Amazon (but please consider buying it directly from the publisher if you're interested, as Amazon keeps 65% of the sale price :O !), and it's already gotten some lovely reviews: 4.75 stars at Reviews by Jessewave, 4 stars at Amara's Place, and 5 stars at Between the Covers. Does that mean I can say the critics are raving? ;-D

Anyway, it's just $1.99 and a great introduction to the Belonging universe, even if you haven't read Anchored. I'm popping into a bunch of blogs giving out free books and swag and talking about the Belonging 'verse and writing in general (I'm particularly amused by my stop at LC Chase's), so I hope you'll join me along the way. Don't forget to comment for a chance to win something at every stop!

In other news, I went to the Fantasy, Future, & Paranormal Gathering tonight at the RWA national convention. I was unable to attend the rest of the convention, but it was nice to jaunt into Manhattan and meet a whole bunch of new writers and editors, several of whom attended the Gathering in superhero costume (photos to come when I'm less exhausted). I also got to meet my writing buddy Kari Gregg in person for the first time tonight, which was most excellent. She and I met up with the electric Damon Suede after the Gathering and nursed drinks for almost three hours in a fabulous little restaurant staffed by gay male models (I shit you not). God, I love New York :D

And because it's apparently become A Thing I Do, let's wrap this up with your daily dose of Michael Fassbender, beneath the jump.

Give Me Your Worst and Win a Book!

I have a missing guest again, so I'm pinch-hitting today, and it's short and sweet. I'm on the hunt for a spectacular insult. Funny, playful, not too cruel. And the real challenge? It can't be more than 129 characters long.

What's this for, you ask? Well, I'm coming up on my 8,000th tweet on Twitter. I've started a little tradition of using every thousandth tweet to insult my dear friend and writing buddy Kari Gregg. After seven 129-character insults, I'm running out of ideas. I need help. And quickly, too--I'm only 25 tweets away.

So, leave your worst (or your best!) in the comments. Nothing hateful. We're all adults here, so I don't think I need to mention the things that are Not Okay, but do please avoid the Not Okay things. In-jokes are fine, as gay erotic romance is a pretty small community and we all know each other's secrets here anyway.

Best insult gets a prize--winner's choice of an ebook from my backlist, OR a free copy of the upcoming Where He Belongs, OR some neat swag (t-shirt or tote bag or notebook or mug or the like, domestic winners only for the swag).

So have fun, and have at it! 

Slave Auction Recap w/Photos, and a Question/Contest for You All

At last, the promised slave auction recap is here! But, I'd like to begin with a question and contest first, if you don't mind.

You may be aware that I self-published Sublime: Collected Shorts. It was a little experiment for me in managing a title and learning what goes in to putting things out on my own. Currently, I publish the paperback through Createspace, which is convenient and requires no up-front costs but makes the per-copy costs pretty high, hence the $6.95 sale price on the paperback now. That strikes me as a lot to ask people to spend on a 14K book they can get digitally for $2.99.

So, I've been looking at moving the print book to Lightning Source. I'd be able to sell the book a lot cheaper, at maybe $4.50 or $4.99. The problem with this is that up-front costs at Lightning Source are significant for a low-volume title, which the paperback will almost certainly be (though the ebook sells quite steadily, paperback sales in this genre tend to represent no more than 10% of total sales).

What's this got to do with you, you ask? Well, I'm wondering how the pricing would affect your buying habits. If you wanted Sublime, but didn't buy it in print at $6.95, was it because of the price or because you simply prefer ebooks? Would you buy it in print at $4.99? Would you be more likely to buy it at $4.50, or does that $.49 make no real difference? Would you buy it in print even if you already have it in ebook if it's affordable enough? What if you could get an autographed copy ordered directly through my website for the same $4.50 or $4.99, shipping included? Or does the autograph not terribly matter and, for convenience's sake, you'd just as soon order it through Amazon or B&N?

I know that's a lot of questions, but I'd be most grateful if you'd answer as many as you're able in the comments. This'll be a huge help to me and may well be the deciding factor in whether or not I can bring the print copy of Sublime to you at a more affordable price. Also, to say thank you for your input, I'll be giving away an autographed print copy of Sublime to one random commenter (be sure to leave your email address!).

But enough of that. You're here for the slave auction results, right? Beneath the jump, then, complete with photos.

Slave Auction Today - Win Aleksandr Voinov & Kari Gregg!

Remember, folks, today from 3 to 4 PM on the Noble Romance Yahoo Chat, I'll be auctioning off author-slaves Aleksandr Voinov and Kari Gregg to the highest bidder(s). Come prepared with with descriptions and/or pictures of what you're willing to sell, beg, borrow, steal, or kidnap to get your hands on these two valuable prizes (well, okay, one valuable prize and Kari :-p).

All the deets are here: http://rachel-haimowitz.blogspot.com/2011/04/noble-launch-party-win-kari-gregg-and.html

Current high bid for Kari Gregg is a used minivan valued at $8,000 and offered by @_slarmstrong. Increases in increments of at least $100, please.

Current high bid for Aleksandr Vashtan is a kidnapped Paul Walker and Michael Fassbender, plus a real-life genetically engineered version of Daniel Halstrom, valued at $5 million. This one will be tough to beat, folks, but I'm sure you can get creative. Especially since the cops might come looking for Paul and Michael . . . Also I've always wanted a private island. And a yacht to take me there. Just sayin' . . .

Hope to see you all at the auction tomorrow, and remember, even if you don't win your own writer, there are lots of other prizes up for grabs!

Noble Launch Party - Win Kari Gregg and Aleks Voinov (and free books and swag!)

**Due to technical problems, Noble was forced to postpone the Launch Party until next Saturday, the 7th of May. Aleks, Kari, and I will be chatting from 3 to 4 PM eastern time on May 7. Apologies to all who'd blocked out time to bid for Aleks and Kari, but have no fear--I'll be selling them next week instead. Thank you! (If you've not yet read this post, read down to make sense of this :-p)**

Noble Romance is launching a new website this Sunday, and in celebration, they're holding a big release chat party with tons of prizes. Myself, Kari Gregg, and Aleksandr Voinov will be hosting the chat from 3 to 5 PM eastern time, right here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NobleRomancePublishing/. Signing up is easy, and I hope you'll join us.

You see, life's pretty entertaining when the three of us get together, and this Sunday will be extra special. Since we've all written books with slaves--Kari's Spoils of War, my Anchored: Belonging, and Aleks's . . . well, pretty much everything he's ever written--we decided to run with that and hold a little slave auction of our own. Since I'm the "master" of the Belonging universe, I get to be the auctioneer.

Aleks being amazing and talented and all that jazz is the prize of the weekend, and he won't go cheap, so come prepared to list (and show photos of) what you're willing to sell, beg, borrow, or steal to get your hands on him. He's guaranteed to produce at least 150,000 words a year, and I hear he makes a damn fine bed-warmer--top or bottom or both ;-) Current bid for Aleks as of the time of this posting is a house, 3 acres in the Smoky Mountains, 1 dog, 9 chickens, and 2 pre-owned children.

Kari being the GIANT PAIN THE ASS that she is will be going for bargain-basement pricing. Someone, please, take her off my hands. Current bid is a beat-up truck, valued at $8,000. This is at least $7,900 more than I thought she'd go for, but, meh, I guess it's still a bargain?

If you'd like to place a bid before the weekend, hop onto Twitter and check out the #slave4sale hashtag. Bids should be sent to me @rachelhaimowitz, hashtag included; or you can leave a bid right here in the comments (bids with links to photos included will carry more weight). But Kari and Aleks can't be won in absentia, so be sure to join us this Sunday, May 1, from 3 to 5 PM eastern at the Noble Yahoo Loop. There will be awesome swag bags for the first 25 participants, discount codes for everyone, and lots of cool Noble swag (t-shirts, mouse pad, tote bag, etc) being raffled at random. And free books too! Aleks's winner will get a print copy of one of his Noble books, and his runner up will get an ebook copy. Kari's winner will get a print copy of Spoils of War, and her runner up will get an ebook copy. And I'll be giving a print and an ebook copy of Anchored: Belonging to the two bidders who make me laugh the hardest.

Once the auctions end, some of our characters will be making an appearance to chat with you an answer your questions. Expect to see Mitch from Lovely Wicked, Daniel and Carl from Anchored, William of Kent from Deliverance, and maybe even Eli from Spoils of War. 


Be sure to join in all the fun, and who knows--you might just walk out with your own shiny new writer!

Blood Feud Poetry

Afternoon all! Sadly, my guest today couldn't make it. Fortunately, I've been sitting on a rather hilarious bit of deathmatch poetry that a dear friend of mine wrote in honor of Kari Gregg's stomping-to-be at my hands in The Romance Review's 2010 Non-traditional Romance of the Year contest.

Before I move on to the poem . . . Some of you may know I'm a bit of a news junkie. I used to work in news, and I still read quite a bit of it (though I don't watch it so much anymore). Today I came across what is easily the funniest bit of legitimate news copy I've read all month, from TVNewser:

TMZ reports that [Chris] Brown threw a chair through his “GMA” dressing room window, and confronted a segment producer as he was leaving the building. He also ripped off his shirt for some reason before storming out.

(Ten bucks says someone's gonna wonder why they're getting referrals from an erotic romance blog :D)

And now, on to the rhymes, lovingly written by Caz Galloway.

The Romance Review awards are here
And things are getting tough,
Lovely Wicked smirks on one side
And Anchored: Belonging’s looking rough
Kari’s got a trailer and music with a beat,
But Rachel’s got a website with more than a little heat.

Lovely Wicked looks quite lovely like a visit to your Gran,
There’s a girl and there’s a boy and oh look, another man.
And there’s lovey and there’s dovey and it really makes you queasy,
For there’s nothing we hate more than a romance (and girl) that’s easy…

Whereas Anchored: Belonging, well we can’t say it’s nice,
Out of your darling sheltered hearts, it’s sure to cut a slice,
But there’s nekkidness and hotness and plenty of man-on-man,
I mean, just check out the cover, take a seat and take a fan…

It’s a tour de force of hotness (you’ll need more than one cold shower),
Not so much titillation as orgasm by the hour,
Nothing comes without a price (ask Daniel if you’re not sure)
But a mental scar or two ain’t too bad (it’s the whipping that’s most sore…)

So vote Lovely Wicked if you want some lukewarm longing,
But for heat enough to boil the kettle vote Anchored: Belonging,
Rachel’s the only girl who’s book can scratch your twisted itch,
Plus if you don’t vote for her, she’ll go and Cut. A. Bitch.


Thank you, Caz :D Now go forth, folks, and do as she says: VOTE ANCHORED! :D

Happy Read an Ebook Week! Celebrate w/Discounts & a Blood Feud!

As many of you may know, the week of March 6 is Read an Ebook Week. If you click on that link, you can enter to win an ereader. Over here at Fantasy Unbound, I'm celebrating with discounts, a buy-one-get-one-free, and a blood feud.

First, the discounts. My gay erotic BDSM ebook, Sublime: Collected Shorts, is 25% off this week at Smashwords. Just use the coupon code RAE25 during checkout, and Sublime can be yours for only $2.24! The print version of Sublime is also on sale this week at Createspace. Enter coupon code F4U75SWA to purchase a lovely 6x9 trade paperback edition of Sublime for only $4.95!

And for this week only, if you purchase Counterpoint: Book I of Song of the Fallen in print or ebook directly from the publisher using THIS LINK, and then email the account name you used to purchase the book to metarachel (at) gmail (dot) com, I'll send you an ebook copy of Sublime for free. (You must use the link provided above, or I won't be able to see that you've purchased the book.) Already have a copy? No worries; I'm happy to gift it to the recipient of your choosing.


And Now the Blood Feud . . .


Those of you who follow me on Twitter probably already know that Kari Gregg's Lovely Wicked and my Anchored: Belonging Book One have both been nominated for the 2010 Non-traditional Erotic Romance Book of the Year over at The Romance Reviews. Rather than take this potential competition gracefully, as good friends might we wont to do, Kari and I have chosen to smash each other into tiny puddles of unidentifiable goo. (We do this with the utmost love, I assure you :-D) Our feud even has its own website.

So, in the ancient tradition of the Pandering Vote Whore (and the even more ancient tradition of the quasi-quasi-quasi-celebrity deathmatch), I implore you . . .

Click here to vote!

And if you'd like to show your support for me (or for that other chick who looks--and no doubt writes--like drunk-and-arrested Nick Nolte), you can download your own badge at KariSucksAndRachelIsAwesome.weebly.com.

That's all for today, my dears. I'll see you Wednesday for a lovely guest interview and free ebook giveaway with All Things Romantic Suspense author Jerri Drennen.

Help Me Celebrate with Kari Gregg and Win a Free Book!

My dear friend and spine-meltingly hot (I mean it, I even read girl cooties because her writing's so hot!) author Kari Gregg has a lot to celebrate this week: her newest novel, What Rough Beast, was just released by Loose Id!

She didn't ask me to help her promo, but I love her writing so much that I twisted her arm for info for this post. Because, seriously, you want to read her. Easily one of the hottest writers I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The moment I discovered her via Spoils of War, I wanted to share her awesomeness with the world.

Speaking of sharing her awesomeness with the world, one commenter on this post will win a free ebook of What Rough Beast! And even if you don't win, there's still a great deal to be had: If you enter coupon code NEWYEAR2011, you'll get $3 off the new release now until Feb 1!

So, what am I getting all excited about? Here's some cover art, a blurb, a very cool video trailer, and an excerpt. If you want to learn more about Kari, there's a little bio at the end. And then of course is the comment box, whose use will enter you in the free ebook drawing. I hear your chances will improve if you bring coffee ;-)

Dark Masters and the vampyr they’ve enslaved for millennia are at
war...And the vampyr are losing.

During a raid on a Dark Master stronghold, Luc stumbles across Kate, a rare female susceptible to the vampyr virus. Ruthlessly hunted by the enemy, they flee -- to Garrick, Luc’s mentor and friend. Garrick provides a sanctuary, but safety comes with a price for them both. Though her mind remains very human, Garrick initiates the biological trigger that begins pair-bonding, because they must mate. Quickly.

Dark Masters have tired of the Rebellion. They will not tolerate the
escape of another vampyr to mating. Enraged, they flush the pair from
Garrick's sanctuary and when he eludes them, they seize Luc instead. But Luc is just bait, and Garrick and Kate walk right into their trap...

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic
language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Violence.






And now an excerpt, below the jump.

Taking Story Requests, and Kari Gregg Is Awesome

Well, one half of that blog title needs no explanation, so let me talk about the other half. You see, Kari Gregg . . .

Heh, just kidding. (ILU Kari.) So, this "taking story requests" thing. I'm currently working on a short story collection in the Anchored world. Four are already written:

1. A sweet story about Daniel's first days at NewWorld at age ten, told through the eyes of a narrator one year older than him.
2. A hot little blowjob-in-the-bathroom story between Daniel and the narrator from the first story, several years later.
3. A little vignette from Tim's POV in his early days working with Daniel. (I may not be able to get this one up to snuff, so it may not end up in the collection.)
4. A little vignette from Daniel's POV on the Fourth of July, shortly after being separated from Victor.

So, here's the thing. I need two more stories to complete the collection. I might end up writing three or four if there's time and sufficient inspiration. I have a bunch of ideas, but I also know that you guys have a bunch of questions, so I wanted to turn the floor over to you. Tell me what you want to read about? What periods in Daniel's life would you like to see? (Please note this whole collection takes place before the events in Anchored, so the Daniel/Carl relationship will have to wait for the book-length sequel.) Would you like to see the first time Daniel and Victor hook up? Make-up sex? A sweet romantic day off shared together? Daniel's awkward attempts to "breed" with a woman? (I know, I know, girl cooties . . . but it could be hilarious girl cooties; I'm willing to explore it.) A horny Daniel, post-forced-breakup, masturbating in his little private dorm room while fantasizing about Victor? Post your ideas in the comments. If I write your story, you win a free copy of the book when it releases and a thank-you in the acknowledgements.

Now, on to the other part of today's post, which is of course that today is the second-to-last day of the Anchored blog tour. And boy is it ever going out with a bang! First up is a stop at Kari Gregg's, where she has made a delicious video book trailer for Anchored. She's also posted a review that has me grinning ear to ear. (See? ---> :D :D :D)

The second stop today is over at the delightful Desert Island Keepers blog, where none other than Daniel himself is giving an interview. It took a lot of courage for Daniel to answer such frank questions, so I hope you'll go support the poor boy. He'll also be hanging around with the Desert Island ladies all day, so if you have any more questions for him, just ask them in the comments and he'll answer you if he can.

Meanwhile, I'll be hanging at the Noble Romance Yahoo Loop all day today ("today" being Saturday, GMT -5, despite my having essentially posted this Friday night). Come hang out, say hi, ask me anything you'd like to ask and chat about anything you'd like to chat about. I was told there would be punch and pie.*

As always, one commenter on each blog will win a free book, and one commenter on each blog will win a swag bag. See you there!

*Is this joke getting old yet?

Unleashing the Muse

This has been an interesting month for me. I told myself in November that I could spend the rest of the year working on anything I wanted that wasn't Crescendo: Book II of Song of the Fallen. The idea was to spend some time and creative energy moving away from the series that swallowed most of my year (in the best possible way though, I assure you. Well . . . okay, maybe the second-best possible way) and focusing on projects that had fallen to the wayside. It's easy to let things slide when you always have an excuse ("I'm working on the novel!"), so I decided to bank that excuse, and bank the novel, and see where it would take me.

(Worry not, Counterpoint fans; it will still be out this fall.)

The first thing I did was revisit an old story sitting in a drawer (and by "drawer" I mean 2003 Dell laptop missing both the "m" and the comma key), a short little novel about modern-day slavery. I remembered, suddenly, my fondness for that piece when I'd written it, all the things I'd hoped to say with it, and--let's face it--all the dark kinks I'd written it to indulge. I thought, Hey, why not, I've got time now. I pulled it out, polished it up, and sold it in a week to the first house I subbed it to. That story of course is Anchored: Belonging Book One, releasing January 17 with Noble Romance Publishing. (**Insert obligatory plug for awesome, prize-filled Release Party Blog Tour here**)