A Sexy New Boy and a Story to Go w/Him!

Happy Friday, folks! I've been tumbling way more than is probably strictly healthy lately, but in the process I came across this little gem of inspiration. (Which you may have seen, oh, eight or twelve times if you follow me on Twitter.) I named him Ben. I think you'll rather like him. (Photo linked rather than posted to respect the photographer's copyright.)

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z67/designscene/designscenealbum/ChrisMcNallybyPaulReitz03.jpg

Look at him, just braced up against that wall, waiting for his whipping like a good boy. He's nervous, but he's not gonna run. And I'll tell you why beneath the jump.

Crescendo Sneak Peek #3

My scheduled guest couldn't make it today, so I thought I'd share a bit of my WIP with you all. It's hitting the 70,000-word mark today and will hopefully be wrapped up nice and tidy by the end of the month (or my editor will make me scrub toilets, yikes!). I've basically been eating, sleeping. and breathing Crescendo these last several weeks, and I'm very excited about it lately. I hope you will be too :-)

Before I get to the excerpt, just a few quick bits of administrava:

• It's not too late to enter the drawing for a free print copy of Sublime. Just pop on over to my last blog entry and leave a comment with your thoughts on the subject of pricing, which I discussed in the entry. I'll draw a winner on Friday. If you're having trouble leaving a comment (some people have mentioned this), just drop me an email or contact me via my website comment form instead.
  
  
• Storm Moon Press has added one more awesome incentive to pre-order Where He Belongs: you'll get to download the book a full 48 hours before the official release date! Of course you'll still be entered in the drawing for all the cool prizes too, so go, order! It's only $1.99 :-)
  
  
• Counterpoint is at last for sale as a Barnes and Noble Nook book, horray!
  
  
• The Anchored trade paperback is currently on sale at Amazon for $12.75. I don't know how long that sale will last--the last one disappeared in less than a day--so if you're interested and have been waiting for the price to drop, now's the time.

And now what you came for, beneath the jump.

COVER ART!

We interrupt this regularly scheduled no-blog day to share . . . *wipes drool off keyboard* . . . this.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Daniel Halstrom, star of Anchored: Belonging and the upcoming Where He Belongs, a short collection of vignettes releasing July 1 with Storm Moon Press. Click to embiggen; I cannot recommend that highly enough.

This is the cover of Where He Belongs, so the title and my name will be down in the lower left corner soon. Fortunately, my awesome awesome publisher over at Storm Moon gave me permission to post this now before the lettered version is complete :-D I'd have done it a few hours ago, actually, but I Couldn't. Stop. Staring. At. Daniel. Ah well--occupational hazard, I suppose.

If you're feeling like you recognize the style, that's because this was done by the amazing Nathie, the same artist who painted the cover for Counterpoint: Book I of Song of the Fallen, and who will be painting the cover for Crescendo: Book II of Song of the Fallen as well. I feel like the Luckiest Author in the Whole Universe right now.

Oh, and speaking of exciting news? Anchored finally released in print yesterday! :D :D :D You can find it at Amazon (hmm, temporarily sold out at time of posting) or Barnes & Noble (in stock). Sorry about the cover price--I have no control over that--but hopefully if you've been eagerly awaiting the paperback, you'll find it worth the cost. To make it a little less painful for you, if you order one, email me your receipt (metarachel at gmail dot com) and I'll send you some cool Anchored swag.

That's all for now, folks. If I can cease my endless bouncing off the walls, floor, and ceiling, I'll be back tomorrow with the author and lovely lady Sarah Ballance, who'll be discussing Run to You, also of ZOMGHAWT cover fame :D

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.

The Showdown Begins!

Yesterday, I made a post about the Grand Opening Celebration at the Romance Reviews. It's made of awesome, of course, and also of $2,000 in prizes for readers to win.

BUT, it's also made of opportunity for me to stomp my dear friend Kari Gregg into the bloodied ground, and really, who could pass up something like that?

To that end, dear readers, I need your help. If you click here, you'll see that part of the celebration is a Best Books of 2010 contest. Under the "Best Erotic Romance (Non-Traditional Lifestyle)" category, you'll see my amazing, wonderful, awe-inspiring, conversation-dominating Anchored: Belonging (click to vote or read the review). You'll also see Kari Gregg's too-oft paragraph-broken, oversexed, girl-cootie infested Lovely Wicked. You wouldn't want girl cooties to win, now would you? Of course you could vote for one of those other books in the category, but then you run the risk of Kari pulling out a victory. But if we all band together and vote, as a group, for Anchored, then we can rest assured that Ms. Contaminating Our Genre With Girly Bits won't be able to win.

Totally selfless, yeah? And if you're feeling like voting at all is just too much bother, well, let me share with you two things I told Kari a while back:

1. The Romance Reviews is an awesome place filled with tons of fun things, not just reviews. Starting an account there is easy and worth the trouble.

2. I. Will. Cut a bitch.

That is all :D

And on an entirely different note, I did a really fun interview today with Sarah Ballance, author of Run to You (of super-hot cover model fame, among other things). She asked some very interesting questions, and I think I talked her ear off. Also, I'm neck deep in Crescendo right now (along with a couple other projects that I'm hoping to kick out into the world soon), and I'm finding my free time for blogging is disappearing. So for now at least, I'm going to drop back to updating this blog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with perhaps the occasional bit of news in between. Thanks so much to all of you for following so faithfully--I promise I'll try to make those three weekly posts well worth the visit.

Hugs to you all!

(Now go vote! [For Anchored, damn you!])

We Have Winners!

Ah, the post you're all waiting for: who won the Anchored blog tour prizes!

Well, we had eight perfect scores, so anyone with a less-than-perfect score was not entered into the drawing. From the eight, I selected three at random. The grand prize goes to Sylvia (no last name provided), second prize goes to Jennifer Mathis, and third prize goes to Gertrud Conoy. Congratulations to all the winners--I'll be emailing you individually shortly--and thanks again to all who entered the final contest and all who followed along the Anchored blog tour. Be sure to keep an eye out for my next big release; I'll be doing the fun and prizes all over again!

(Quick weather-related note: There's about eighty-billion inches of snow outside . . . again. I was going to mail all the swag bags today, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow or possibly Friday when the storm finally stops and the plow comes through.)

Interviewing with Cassie Exline

Good afternoon, folks. Just a quick post today to make three reminders:

1. I'm being interviewed today over at Cassie Exline's blog. Cassie asked some interesting questions, so if you're curious to see my pet peeve or learn about some upcoming releases, be sure to check it out! Comment love over there might even result in a giveaway . . . they are prone to happening round these parts, after all ;-)
2. You have until tomorrow night to win your share of the big blog tour prizes. Please note that I now have more absolutely perfect scores than I do prize packs to give out, so be sure to double-check your answers before you email them off if you'd like to be in contention for a win. 
3. I'm still taking custom story requests for my upcoming Belonging-verse short story collection. You lovely folks have left many wonderful ideas, but you never know what will tickle the muse, so tell me what you'd love to see and I may very well write it for you! Remember though: your requests must lend themselves to the erotic romance genre (if I can't work a sexual or romantic encounter or a masturbation session into the story, it probably won't get picked), and all stories must take place before the events in Anchored. They all need to feature Daniel, as his history is the unifying thread of the collection, but anyone else is fair game. Heck, I'll even write a happy story, if you'd like ;-D

It's Quiz Time! Over $100 in Prizes Up for Grabs!

Afternoon, all, and welcome to the very last Anchored blog tour stop. Here are the questions I promised you. Kindly email your answers to metarachel (at) gmail (dot) com with the subject "Blog tour contest entry." Email even if you only answered one or two; after all, you never know how many people will particiate or what a winning score might be :-)

1. From Nina Pierce's Blog: Name one of my idols of the barely-AU.
2. From Angela White's Blog: What do I wear to bed?
3. From L.C. Chase's Blog: How much does chip implantation cost?
4. From Billi Jean's Blog: How many sittings did Billi read Anchored in?
5. From D. Renee Bagby's Blog: Who are "magnets for the bad shit"?
6. From Nights of Passion: What food did Daniel make for himself when he found himself alone? 
7. From Reena Jacobs's Blog: What's the name of the restaurant where Carl found Jane?
8. From Shakir Rashan's Blog: What makes Daniel a hit with the public?
9. From Alan Chin's Blog: Who did I want to be when I grew up?
10. From Marie Sexton's Blog: Who painted the cover for Counterpoint?
11. From Bryl Tyne's Blog: Which character stole Bryl's heart? 
12. From Coffee Time Romance: Which two slaves are up for Sherrif's Auction? 
13. From Amara's Place: What's the master's favorite meal? 
14. From Rick Reed's Blog: How many host blogs was I looking for when I first started planning the tour? 
15. From Brita Addams's Blog: What was the job title of the man who bought Daniel?
16. From Aleksandr Voinov's Blog: Who did I rescue when I played make-believe with my sister as a child?
17. From Kari Gregg's Blog: "NewWorld Media, the company that owns Daniel, needs to boost ______" (fill in the blank).
18. From Desert Island Keepers: Who does Daniel blame for his punishments?

Individual Tour Stop Winners! (Free copies of Counterpoint courtesy of Guiltless Pleasure Publishing, yay!)

1. Lisabet Sarai (free ebook, Nina Pierce stop)
2. James L. Hatch (swag bag, Nina Pierce stop)
3. Rawiya L (swag bag, Angela White stop)
4. C. Zampa (free ebook, Angela White stop)
5. Chaos in the Moonlight (swag bag, L.C. Chase stop)
6. Christine Bell (free ebook, L.C. Chase stop)
7. Barbara (free ebook, Billi Jean stop)
8. Tracey D. (swag bag, Billi Jean stop)
9. Mindy (swag bag, D. Renee Bagby stop)
10. Dawn (free ebook, D. Renee Bagby stop)
11. Lin W (free ebook, Nights of Passion stop)
12. Lil' Grogan (swag bag, Nights of Passion stop)
13. Shiela (free ebook, Reena Jacobs stop)
14. Kari Gregg (swag bag, Reena Jacobs stop)
15. She (swag bag, Shakir Rashan stop)
16. Lil' Grogan (free ebook, Shakir Rashan stop)
17. Bookworm (swag bag, Alan Chin stop)
18. Alex (free ebook, Alan Chin stop)
19. Ethan Stone (swag bag, Marie Sexton stop)
20. Janel (free ebook, Marie Sexton stop)
21. Dawn Staniszenski (swag bag, Bryl Tyne stop)
22. Rie McGaha (free ebook, Bryl Tyne stop)
23. Kayelle Allen (free ebook, Coffee Time Romance stop)
24. Stevie Carroll (swag bag, Coffee Time Romance stop)
25. Wusswoo (swag bag, Amara's Place stop)
26. Brandi (free ebook, Amara's Place stop)
27. Bookworm (free ebook, Rick Reed stop)
28. Brandi (swag bag, Rick Reed stop)
29. Amara (swag bag, Brita Addams stop)
30. Tracey D (free ebook, Brita Addams stop)
31. Tracykitn (swag bag, Aleksandr Voinov stop)
32. Zarkina (free ebook, Aleksandr Voinov stop)
33. Shiela (swag bag, Kari Gregg stop)
34. Amara (free ebook, Kari Gregg stop)
35. Amy Lane (free ebook, Desert Island Keepers stop)
36. Lea (swag bag, Desert island Keepers stop)

Congrats to all the winners, and thanks to all who participated in the tour in any way! I'll be contacting each of the winners one by one, but if you haven't heard from me by tomorrow, you might want to poke me. And remember, just because you've already won doesn't mean you can't win again, so send in those answers! :D

Win Your Share of $100 in Prizes Today!

Greetings all. It is with both sadness and exhausted relief that I announce the very last day of the Anchored blog tour. And also with excitement, because today the only stop is right here at Fantasy Unbound, and the sole purpose of today's stop is to smother you with swag.

This post is a bit of a place-holder, but come this afternoon, I'll be posting up a bunch of easy questions. Easy, that is, if you've followed the tour (or if you're intrepid and feel like catching up today). I'll be posting one question for each tour stop. You might find the answer in the post, or you might find it in the comments. Email me your answers.

The person with the most correct answers will win the grand prize of the blog tour: An autographed trade paperback of Anchored, autographed trade paperback of Counterpoint, autographed trade paperback of Sublime, a pile of book-related swag, and a $10 Noble Romance gift certificate courtesy of Noble Romance Publishing! (Retail value over $50!) The person to answer the second-most questions will get the second prize: Ebook copy of Anchored, ebook copy of Counterpoint, ebook copy of Sublime, a pile of book-related swag, and a $10 Noble Romance gift certificate courtesy of Noble Romance Publishing! And the person to answer the third-most questions will win third prize: Ebook copy of Anchored and ebook copy of Sublime, plus a pile of book-related swag! If there's a tie, I'll select from among those with the most correct answers at random for first, second, and third.

I'll also be posting the full list of individual blog stop winners today. Some have already been notified, but many haven't, so keep an eye peeled for your name.

(On a side note, for those of you who've read Anchored and have questions or want to see more, remember that I'm taking short story requests for my upcoming collection!)

Thanks so very much to all of you who helped to make this tour such a delight: my gracious blog tour hosts, and you, my gracious readers. Check back this afternoon for the question list, and get your answers back to me by 11 PM eastern time on Tuesday night to be entered into the drawing.

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?

The Blog Tour Continues, Now with Deleted Scene! (And Random Good News!)

Morning-- er, afternoon, folks. Apologies for the late start today; had to take my mom to the eye doc's this morning (she had cataract surgery yesterday and now doesn't need her glasses--I'm jealous!) and the wait was foreeeeeeeeeeeever.

(Aaaand, I just reminded myself of REO Speedwagon . . . When I said that I love you I meant that I love you foreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeever!)

Anyway, lots of excitement today on the Anchored blog tour. First up is a stop at author Brita Addams's blog, where those of you who've already bought the book (or those of you considering it) are in for a real treat: Brita has posted the entire deleted prologue--all five pages of it! The prologue was cut during the final edit so that the book could start right with the action, but there's a lot of history in that bit that I think readers will find interesting, and I'm very happy to be able to share it with you all. The second stop today is at my dear friend and Break and Enter co-writer Aleksandr Voinov's blog (and he's also written a few things himself here and there ;-p). He's apparently an even bigger slacker than I am, though, as his review isn't up yet. But visit his blog anyway; he's brilliant and occasionally funny and always full of wonderful insight about the M/M niche and publishing in general. Aleks has posted an interview that focuses in large part on the darker side of my fiction, which we all know is the bigger half by far ;-)

On a completely different note, AllRomanceEbooks has just written to tell me they'd like to use one of my short stories from Sublime as their free read in an upcoming weekly newsletter, so I'm super excited about that :D Don't know yet when it'll be out--they could well plan months ahead--but I'll be sure to let you know when it is.

Also in the good news department . . . If you follow me on Twitter, you may know that I've been on the hunt for an agent to represent White Lies, a psychological thriller about a reporter who goes missing in Afghanistan for three months and wakes up in Turkey with no crew, a lot of bruises, and a giant hole in his memory. The first thing I discovered on the agent hunt is that it's easier to get published than it is to get representation . . . especially when you're trying to cross genres and there's no guarantee your romance fans will read your thrillers. But, despite that, I'm confident and in good spirits about it, and even managing the long waits without chewing up the walls too badly. It helps to have many encouraging moments, such as the one last night where an agent I'd absolutely love to be represented by contacted me and asked for the full manuscript. I queried her back in the beginning of December, and she asked for the first 50 pages the very next day. I know it can take several months for an agent to review a partial, so I wasn't expecting to hear back from her so soon. Fingers crossed she likes what she sees!

Well, that's enough rambling for today. Thanks as always for hanging in, and I hope to see you over at Brita and Aleks's blogs today. And remember, as always, one commenter on each blog will win a free book, and one commenter on each blog will win a free swag bag!

Secondary Character Hilarity

Morning folks, and welcome to Day 7 of the Anchored Release Party Blog Tour! Only two days to go after this, plus the grand raffle right here at Fantasy Unbound on the 23rd.

Sad to see it nearing its end, but very pleased to share today's activities with you! The first stop today is definitely one of my favorites so far: Amara over at Amara's Place has rounded up all the secondary characters in Anchored--Tim, Jane, Dave, and Eric Foster--stuck them in a room together, and bombarded them with questions. So if you've ever wondered how Jane and Dave met, or what exactly Tim's responsibilities are as Daniel's handler, or how it feels to Mr. Foster to "be such a prick," click here :-)

Today's second tour stop is very exciting for me, as it's being hosted by a virtual legend in the M/M community: Rick Reed. It's the third and final segment of the Reader Q&A, but of course if you have any more questions for me (or for Tim, Dave, Jane, or Mr. Foster), I and the secondary-character crew will be stopping in at both blogs throughout the day to answer them.

And as always, I'll be raffling away one free book at each blog, courtesy of Guiltless Pleasure Publishing; and one free swag bag at each blog. All you have to do to enter is comment.

Day 6 Update, and a Guest!

Good morning, folks. We've got some real fun going on today, including welcoming Marie-Nicole Ryan, author of Love Me if You Can, into the, er, warm folds of Fantasy Unbound.

Marie-Nicole will be stopping by shortly, and in the mean time, I hope you'll check out today's Anchored blog tour stops. First up on deck is a lovely review by the amazing Bryl Tyne, author of far, far too many stories to list here. Then the second stop is at the Coffee Time Romance blog, and features a bunch of classified ads from the Anchored world. What's for sale? Why, slaves, of course! These were a ton of fun (and frankly kind of disturbing) to put together, and I hope you'll check them out.

As always, one commenter on each blog will win a free ebook, and a second commenter on each blog will win a free swag bag. So drop in, say hi, and maybe you'll get lucky! :-)

I'm Not Dead, Yay (or, Day 5 of the Anchored Blog Tour)

For those of you who follow me on Twitter, I'm not dead. For those of you who don't, I had serious enough stomach pains last night to consider going to the hospital. I didn't because I don't have insurance, and figured that if I was still in agony this morning, then I'd go. After all, a few hours of pain could be something random that might go away on its own, but a solid day would probably require medical attention.

Fortunately, it seems like nothing(ish) after all. I'm still not feeling great, but the scary pain has faded. Hey, I'm even having a piece of toast.

So, efore this turns into an angry screed on the sorry state of US healthcare (and how, if I had been dead this morning, it would have been entirely because I wasn't willing to go bankrupt over what I figured was just a bout of the stomach flu, and yes, even just the tests to figure out what was wrong would have cost thousands of dollars I don't have), let's move on to much more exciting things than my gastrointestinal health. Like Anchored :D Which released yesterday, yay!

The tour is still on, of course, and today's two stops are both Reader Q&As. People sent in questions, I answered them, and my gracious hosts Alan Chin and Marie Sexton posted them. Check them out, say hi, and as always, comment to enter the drawings for a free book and a free swag bag!

Anchored RELEASE DAY! :D :D :D :D :D

Oh man oh man am I excited today, folks! Check it out! Anchored officially goes on sale today!

And of course it's Day 4 of the Anchored Release Party Blog Tour, with three stops today instead of just two.

If you've missed any of the action so far, scroll back to the posts for Days 1, 2, and 3 to find direct links to all the tour stops, which so far have included such awesomeness as the complete first chapter of Anchored up at D. Renee Bagby's First Chapters blog and L.C. Chase's mock newspaper ads. In fact, those ads are so amazing (and disturbing), here's one now.

On the docket today we have lots of goodies. First hop on over to the Noble Authors Blog, where I have a quick chat about worldbuilding--one of my favorite things to do as an author.

Next, head over to author Reena Jacob's blog, where you can read an interview of Carl Whitman, one of the heroes of Anchored. She also wrote a lovely review of Anchored.

Finally, pop on in to author Shakir Rashaan's blog to read a very interesting review of Anchored--the book as viewed through the eyes of a real-life "master." I found it fascinating to see how his preconceptions of the BDSM world shaped his view of Daniel and the Anchored world. The big difference, of course, is that even contractually committed 24/7 "slaves" in our world made the choice to be slaves. In the Anchored world, Daniel had no such privilege. (On a related note, Shakir's a very interesting man to talk to, and his blog is brand new. I hope you'll consider following him--and all my wonderful tour hosts, for that matter!) 

As always, two lucky commenters on each post will win a prize: one gets a free book, one gets a swag bag. So be sure to swing on by and say hi!

Anchored Release Party Blog Tour: Day 3

Morning folks! Did everyone get a chance yesterday to see the amazing artwork L.C. Chase made? If you didn't, go now. You'll be glad you did.

We've got some fun today too. First, head on over to D. Renee Bagby's "First Chapters" blog, where she posts complete first chapters of romance novels by author request. Today she's featuring the whole first chapter of Anchored. So if you read the excerpt at Angela White's and are anxious to see more, First Chapters should be your first stop.

Next head over to C. Margery Kempe's Nights of Passion, where you'll find another exclusive excerpt, this one from much further into the novel. Ms. Kempe also did an interview with me, posted above the excerpt.

That's all for today. Go show the ladies some love, and as always, comment for your chace to win a free book or a free swag bag! And don't forget to come back tomorrow for the Big Day: Anchored goes on sale tomorrow at Noble Romance Publishing!

Anchored Release Party Blog Tour: Day 2

Mornin', folks! Day 1 of the blog tour was a ton of fun, and I first wanted to say thank you to everyone who stopped by Angela White's and Nina Pierce's and chatted with us in the comments. It's still not too late to stop by and chat, and you might even be able to sneak in for the prize drawings there. (Some tour hosts will be waiting until the end of the tour to do their drawings, others will be doing the drawings at the end of their tour stop day.)

As for today? Boy oh boy, are you guys in for a treat. The brilliant and talented L.C. Chase--she's an author and an artist, who also did the cover art for Sublime: Collected Shorts!--has put together a newspaper page from the Anchored world, complete with ads and the story of how slave!L.C. made them. This one is can't-miss. Go there. Now. It's okay, I'll wait.

The second stop on the tour today is a review of Anchored by author Billi Jean that was frankly so lovely I'm not sure my head will fit through the door today. Which is a problem, because I really need to go to the post office. Be sure to hit this one up today, as Billi will be doing her prize drawings at the end of the day.

Of course I'll be hanging at both blogs throughout the day to chat with you guys, about Anchored or L.C.'s awesomeness or aything else. And of course two lucky commenters at each blog will be winning swag or a free book. I hope to see you all there!

In other news, I've volunteered to do book reviews for the Romance Studio. They'll probably be few and far between, but it's a great site and I thought it'd be fun to get out of my little corner of the internets every once in a while. First one coming soon, perhaps?

Anchored Release Party Blog Tour: Day 1

Greetings, folks! I'm super excited this morning, as today marks the first official day of the Anchored Release Party Blog Tour! As with most Tour days, there are two stops today, and not four but five opportunities to win a prize!

First stop is author Nina Pierce's blog, where I talk about the origin of the Anchored idea. Read the article and leave a comment for your chance to win a free ebook copy of Counterpoint: Book One of Song of the Fallen -or- an ebook copy of Sublime: Collected Shorts (winner's choice). A second lucky commenter will win a swag bag with some cover art goodies like autographed cover flats, bookmarks, magnets, and something bigger like a T-shirt, mug, mousepad, totebag, or the like. At this stop only, I'm raffling off a second swag bag as well to the first commenter who can name the three TV shows I reference in the article (this may be tricky; I admit to being a little obscure). So hurry on up and head over! :-)

Second stop is author Angela White's blog, where you can read the very first exclusive excerpt of Anchored, and also an interview Angela did with me. As with the first stop, one lucky commenter will win a free ebook, and a second lucky commenter will win a free swag pack.

I'll be hanging at both blogs throughout the day to answer questions and chat about the new release and anything else you guys may wish to discuss. I hope you'll come share my excitement :-)