Drop-dead Gorgeous New Cover Art!

Hello my lovelies! I have been sadly neglecting this little corner of the internets lately, and for that I apologize. But I assure you, it's because Fun Things Are Afoot. In other words, I've been writing. And writing, and writing, and writing. And also editing a lot, because, wow, the Little Publishing House That Could has taken off like a, well, runaway train, and it's full of happy readers and happy authors and just generally keeping all of us kind of insanely busy.

But the other thing that's been eating my time (and my brain) these days is--no, it's not zombies, Kari, shut up--a massive pair of contemporary BDSM novels I've been co-writing with the lovely Cat Grant, she of Once a Marine fame. The first book, Power Play: Resistance, clocks in at 90,000 words of crazy-hot vaguely dubconny nonstop kinkgasm, and is currently in edits for an anticipated Spring 2012 release (Aprilish, hopefully). The second book, Power Play: Awakening, is currently at 32,000 words and rising, just as kinktastic as Resistance, and also happens to feature a chapter-long cameo by Devon and Nicky of Master Class and SUBlime fame. We're aiming for a summer release for this one--the idea being not to keep you waiting more than a couple months between Book 1 and Book 2--so apologies in advance if things remain a little quiet on the blogging front.

Although, I will be back here in two days as part of a Friday the 13th Blog Hop where we'll be giving away a Kindle to one lucky commenter :D

Anyway, you're here for the Power Play: Resistance cover art. And boy is it a doozie. I think it may be my favorite yet. Of kind of anything ever, actually. It's beneath the jump. Don't forget to click to embiggen.

Happy Holidays!

To all you fabulous folks out there in the blogosphere--my friends, my colleagues, my editors, my co-authors, my business partners, and most of all my readers--I wish you all the joy in the world. Whatever you may or may not celebrate, whomever you may or may not celebrate it with, I hope you find the season restful and happy.

And if not, hey, hold out hope--at least the days are starting to get longer again ;-)

Release Day! Break and Enter :D

Afternoon, folks! It's been a busy winter round these parts--today is release day for my third new title in two months, Break and Enter. It's a fast-paced, funny, cyberpunk romp starring two rather manly men (an ex-Special Forces penetration tester and a paramedic) getting up to all sorts of mayhem and sexiness. It's also the first title I've co-written in this genre; I had the tremendous pleasure of creating this story with my dear friend, business partner, and Siamese brain twin, Aleks Voinov.

Our blurb and cover, let me show u it:

Ex-Green Beret Victor "Cyke" Kellermann is on the run for a crime he didn't--well, okay, did commit, but he didn’t realize it at the time. He’s a good guy, a “white hat” hacker for hire. He’s also more teched out than the Bionic Man, though his ailing ’ware creates as many problems as it solves.

His latest series of break-ins are proving…difficult. Sentinel Tech’s security is cutting-edge, and the cops are hounding his ass. He sees only one reason why his employer hasn’t called off the dogs: someone inside is stealing data for real and setting him up to take the fall.

Paramedic-cum-tech-phreak Bear keeps scooping an increasingly battered Cyke off the sidewalk, and each time, his fascination for the fugitive and his mysterious ’ware grows. So does the attraction that makes him reluctant to turn Cyke in. Every time they touch, barriers fall. Before long, they're both laid bare.

Cyke can handle losing blood, even losing consciousness. What he can’t afford is to lose his heart. Distractions like that get people killed—and if he succeeds in unlocking Sentinel Tech’s ugly secrets, he won’t be the only one in the line of fire.

Product Warnings

This book contains mechanical eyeballs, multimillion-dollar hand warmers, pushy mind probes, a man too stubborn to quit when he’s bleeding, an underpaid paramedic whose services are needed entirely too often, and circuit-scorching cybersex…without a computer.

It's a little bit of a departure for me--still gritty, but not dark at all, and the boys get their HEA. I hope you'll check it out. And since Samhain discounts all their new releases by 30% in their opening week, you can get this novella directly from them for just $2.45 this week! Click the link to read an excerpt and see if this one's for you :-)

/shameless plug :D

Happy holidays, my dears!

Guest Blog with JK Rose: How Romance Stole My Heart

We have a guest-blogger here today at Fantasy Unbound. Please give a warm welcome to JK Rose, who's here to talk about how romance stole her heart :-)

* * *

Thanks so much for having me on your blog today, Rachel. I thought I'd talk a little bit about how I came to read and write romance and why I love it.

I write and typically read traditional male/female romance, though I haven’t always read romance. I had been one of those believers that romance wasn’t really literature.

Funny how one’s perspective changes dramatically when she sits down to write and accidentally produces a romance novel. Hmm. How does that happen?

Well, first she reads all four Twilight books. (Yes, I know. They are romances.) Then she reads Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, followed by Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Charlaine Harris’ entire Sookie Stackhouse series. This all happens in an eight-week period. After that she thinks, “I can do this. I have a great idea for a vampire story.” And she starts writing.

It would take a year from the start of that first draft for me to realize I write romance. And more importantly, I really, really like romance.

I’ve chalked this delayed reaction up to the fact that we all learn something new everyday and some of us might be slightly denser than others! J

In any case, I’ve now read numerous romances, almost all of which are paranormals with vampire heroes.

I love the happy ending in every story. I even enjoy a happy-for-now-ending. I’m not someone who requires all the loose ends be tied up in one perfect package. I’m okay with a couple unanswered questions. It lets me continue to work the story out in my own way.

I don’t require a hard as nails heroine. That’s not to say I can tolerate one who won’t stop crying or who can’t manage to work her way out of a paper bag, but she doesn’t have to kick the shit out of everyone around her. I want the hero to save her.

I’m very traditional in my perspective on male/female roles. My husband takes care of the outside of the house. I keep the inside clean. He takes out the trash. I grocery shop. Works fine for me.

With that said, I love Super-Alpha heroes. I love Christine Feehan’s Dark Series. I haven’t read the entire series. I pull out one of the books when I’m in the mood for “Caveman Love.” Literally, those men walk up to the heroine, conk her on the head and drag her away. Then, they bend over backward for her and would willingly die to keep her safe. I just love that.

You should know that in real life, my husband doesn’t have it half as easy. There’s no conking and getting his way. In real life, my husband is a gentleman and wouldn’t try to act like a caveman. At least, he wouldn’t expect to get away with pulling Caveman on me. He’s a pretty smart guy.

But in fantasy, I love the over-the-top hero, the one who attempts to control every detail, the one who’s not only respected by other men, but even feared, the one who’s in charge of everything. That is until our heroine arrives on scene.

Powerful men are sexy. There’s no denying that. Women and men are drawn to power. You never read about the hero being some nerdy guy with greasy hair cowering under his desk.

Instead, heroes always know what’s about to happen, what might happen, what should happen, and how it will all be handled when it does happen. Until the heroine shows up. She pops into his life and upturns his world. It’s awesome.

His attempts to keep control are thwarted, sometimes intentionally and sometimes not. His suave, macho persona is reduced to chaos or confusion or just total frustration, and he’s forced to work around her until he learns to work with her.

We get to watch as his tough outer shell cracks, and she weasels her way into his heart. We get to see him become a better man by loving her. We learn about his weaknesses in a way that makes him seem stronger, and that just makes him all the sexier.

It’s the intimacy of romance that makes it so wonderful, and not just the sexual intimacy. Emotional intimacy makes reading romance fulfilling, exciting. We relate to it. We get lost in it. 

Dark Prince is by far one of my favorite romances. Mikhail is very powerful, very, very alpha. Yet Raven holds her own with him, completely intrigues him. He sees how fragile she is as she struggles with her abilities, needing to be independent and accepted, and he wants to protect her, to care for her, to love her. Raven’s power over Mikhail’s heart makes him a better man and ultimately a better leader.  His love makes her stronger.

For all the hokey, super-alpha, caveman love of Dark Prince at the core are a heroine and the hero, longing to be accepted and loved, each of whom makes the other better. And this is exactly why I love romance.

Tell me about your favorite heroes and heroines. What about them has won your heart?

* * *

After trying her hand at many, many things- from crafting and art classes to cooking and sewing classes to running her own handbag business, Jordan finally figured out how to channel her creativity. With an active imagination and a little encouragement from her husband she sat down and began to write, each night clicking away at the keys with her black Labrador, Dino curled up under the desk.

A few short years later she’s entered the publishing arena with no plans to ever turn back.

Jordan’s a member of Rhode Island Romance Writers, as well as RWA National, and the New England (NEC), Connecticut, and Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal (FFnP) Chapters.

Her first book, Perpetual Light, releases in Winter of 2012 from Crescent Moon Press.

Find Jordan on her website at www.jordankrose.com. 

Follow her tweets on https://twitter.com/#!/jordankrose 

Friend her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jordankrose

* * *

Fate is cruel. Especially when the one you’ve sworn to love for all eternity, the very soul who changed your destiny is the last person you should trust.

After more than three hundred years of running, Lucia Dicomano must make a choice.

Forced to take her place as a Pharo of Redemption, the divine slayer needs to master her forgotten powers. Lucia turns to Vittorio, the one vampire she’s failed to deliver from eternal damnation. But overcoming smoldering remnants of love, lust and anger aren’t their only obstacles.

Samuel, who may know Lucia better than she knows herself, hunts her with a fervor stoked by a thousand years of vengeful hatred. His plan—capture and enslave the weakened Pharo then take control of her elusive power. 

Can Lucia trust Vittorio long enough to reclaim her powers? Or will she have no choice but to kill him and battle Samuel alone?

Back from Vacay with a New Book!

Greetings all! I'm home from a much-needed (but sadly working) vacation, and I even brought back with me a special souvenir head-cold. Knew I shouldn't have licked those poker chips . . .

On the plus side, the food was great, the weather was warm, the seas were . . . well, stormy, quite frankly, pretty much nonstop, but I do so love a very rocking boat when it isn't making me nauseous (which is about half the time), and the company was wonderful (I was traveling with my brand-spanking-new stepmother, who is as awesome as they come). And even though I had a big pile of edits to do for Riptide while I was away, doing them on a deck chair overlooking a tropical island is way better than my kitchen table.

So, I came home and I realized that I have a new book coming out in eight days--Break and Enter, co-written with Aleksandr Voinov and releasing from Samhain Publishing--and I haven't even begun to think about doing anything fun with it yet. I've been so busy with Riptide that I actually forgot. So, that underwear model on the cover? He's Major Victor "Cyke" Kellermann, and I have no idea what happened to his pants. I think Aleks and I will do a Find Cyke's Pants scavenger hunt and maybe give out a classic Nook I've had hanging around the house since the summer. Sound like fun?

Oh, and just a quick housekeeping note, as well: since Riptide Publishing has acquired Guiltless Pleasure Publishing, Counterpoint is now available for sale on the Riptide site, yay! Which means you can earn bonus bucks if you purchase it there (they'll be working soon, I promise :-p), and while none of the story's content has changed, it does have a shiny gorgeous new Riptide layout. Right now it's only available in PDF, but in about a week, it'll be available in Epub, Mobi, and HTML too, and all the copies on third-party sites like Amazon will switch over from the GPP layout to the RP layout.

And now, apropos of nothing, some eye candy of the kind you've all come to expect from me, beneath the jump. It involves cats and actor crushes and I think it's my new favorite thing ever.

Be Gentle, It's My First Time: Guest Blog by Alex Whitehall

We have a very special guest at Fantasy Unbound today: a lovely fan and friend of the M/M romance community, Alex Whitehall. (You may recognize Alex from his review blog, Between the Covers, and if you don't, go check it out!)

Last week, Alex went to the GeekyKink event, a kink convention for those who might also be inclined to quote Douglas Adams or Star Wars at you. I'm a bit jealous, as this con was in my backyard (about 40 minutes from where I live), but I ended up being in California and unable to attend. I asked Alex if he'd be so kind as to do a write-up when he got back, and he obliged. So I'll shut up now and turn the floor over to Alex:

From Nov 4-5 I spent my time in a little New Jersey town at The GeekyKink Event.

This was my first time wandering into the world of a kink event, so I have no idea if this was tame compared to others or just about on par. I've also never played before, was going alone, knew no one there, and am painfully shy. I'm not actually sure how I conned myself into going, but its a safe bet it's Rachel's fault. [Editor's note: Of course it was >:-D]

Of course, if I hadn't gone, then I would never have experienced the following, so maybe it was worth it!

There were tons of events, demonstrations, and classes scheduled, plus meet-ups for like-minded folk, an after-care room, and some specialty events that I was too bashful to even glance at. I mostly stuck to the classes (see descriptions after jump).

The classes were educational and the classrooms and hallways were very tame nudity-wise. One class (sensual knife play) had women without tops on and the caning had two women in bra and panties. All very tasteful. I'm sure there were other parts that were kinkier (and involved less clothing), but I didn't venture there and it was built as such that you'd kind of have to go looking for them.

So for the curious, it's definitely a safe place to attend, no one will molest you (um, unless you want them to, I guess!), and it's fun, no matter what your aim is for attending (to get your kink on or to get educated).

While the kink community came across as very tight knit and many people already knew each other, a lot of the staff made it a point to strike up conversation with me (and they actually remembered my name!).

Plus I went shopping ;) Of course there was all sorts of kinky things to be purchased, most of which were out of my price range, and if I had a partner, I may have been more tempted to buy something aside from this adorable amigurimi:



He needs a name, any suggestions?

Crescendo Release Day & Print Book Giveaway!

Howdy folks! Today's the big day--Crescendo's official release day! It's now available at Amazon, ARe, and other major retailers, as well as at Storm Moon Press, of course. And can I just say? Nervous and excited author is nervous and excited. A lot of people have been waiting for this book for almost fifteen months. I worked on this series for three years. I'm very anxious to see if readers find it the satisfying conclusion to the story that I did. One reviewer's posted so far, and it was a lovely review (thank you, M/M Good Book Reviews!), but I'll still be holding my breath for at least a couple weeks.

While I'm suffocating myself, I thought I'd also celebrate and say "Thank you" to all you amazing, wonderful, spectacular readers by giving away a print copy of Crescendo. They won't be out until December, but when they arrive, I'll sign one and put it in the mail to one lucky commenter on this post. I'll draw a winner next Friday.

Some other news as well. As you've probably noticed, it's been a bit quiet round these parts lately. Between Riptide and my own writing, I'm starting to have trouble keeping up with the blog. I still very much want this to be a place where people can come and enjoy themselves, and I'll update at least once a week, but the schedule's going to start getting a little less regular.

Also, did a ton of updates on my website today. Lots of new info for my two new releases (Crescendo and Master Class), and also some new bits on the upcoming works page, mostly about the Kinkapalooza novel I'm co-writing with Cat Grant. We only started putting words to paper less than two weeks ago, but Cat and I have already accidentally won NaNo :-p Almost 60,000 words in already, and no signs of the end yet. This book is gonna be a friggin' doorstop of kink. Very, very excited about it; it feels amazing to be writing again after taking so much time off to focus all my energy on Riptide.

Hmm, I think that's it for now. I'm at a couple different places today: you can read a nice excerpt from Crescendo and maybe win a copy of Counterpoint at Laura Kaye's blog, and I have a guest post at Naughty Boys in the Backseat on the only-half-immortal problem. (Trust me, it's a big problem :-p)

If you've already read Crescendo, do let me know what you think, even if you hated it. If you haven't, say hello anyway to get yourself entered in the giveaway. I'll ship anywhere in the world.

Hugs and love to you all--I'm feeling particularly bouncy today :D

New Book in the Works

Happy Friday, folks! I'm thrilled to say that after all the time-eating (but wonderful!) craziness of Crescendo edits and launching fifteen books at once for Riptide, I have actually begun to write again.

O. M. G. does that feel great.

Last week I escaped the power outages in Jersey by fleeing to Cat Grant's place in lovely Monterey, CA. (See: this:)

And Cat and I have been hashing out the plot of a Big Kinky Book for a while now--a sort of grudgingly willing total power exchange situation between a rich experienced Dom who no longer believes anyone will ever want him for anything but his money and a struggling construction worker whose submissive side is buried so deeply he may or may not actually be submissive . . . but for the right incentive, he's willing to find out.

Cat and I have banged out almost 25,000 words on this already--close to 100 pages!--and we're just getting getting started on act 2. Looks like this'll turn out to be a nice meaty novel, and I'm so excited by it, our boys won't even let me sleep at night. They just keep whispering in my ear, "Hey, how about trying this with us?" or "Wouldn't [insert deliciously pervy thing here] be naughty and fun?" And of course I can never say no to my boys.

I have to fly home in half a week, but here's hoping that by then, we'll have gotten out another 10K of pure pervy play. At the rate we're going, we might even have this thing finished by the end of the year. Very exciting all around, and oh holy crap does it feel amazing to finally be doing what I should be doing again: putting fingers to keyboard and abusing the fuck out of hot hot men ;-p

Guest Blog: Paradise 21 with Aubrie Dionne

Evening, folks! Today we've got a guest author, Aubrie Dionne, who's here to share an excerpt from her new sci-fi romance from Entangled Publishing, Paradise 21. As always, let's start with a blurb and cover art.

 Aries has lived her entire life aboard mankind’s last hope, the New Dawn, a spaceship traveling toward a planet where humanity can begin anew—a planet that won’t be reached in Aries’ lifetime. As one of the last genetically desirable women in the universe, she must marry her designated genetic match and produce the next generation for this centuries-long voyage.

But Aries has other plans.

When her desperate escape from the New Dawn strands her on a desert planet, Aries discovers the rumors about pirates—humans who escaped Earth before its demise—are true. Handsome, genetically imperfect Striker possesses the freedom Aries envies, and the two connect on a level she never thought possible. But pursued by her match from above and hunted by the planet’s native inhabitants, Aries quickly learns her freedom will come at a hefty price.

The life of the man she loves.

Sound interesting? Check out the excerpt and video trailer, beneath the jump.

Book Review: Counterpunch, by Aleks Voinov. 5 of 5 Stars

Apologies for the unexpected silence this week. I was in one of those "Snowtober" areas where the kids got an unexpected week off from school because three quarters of the state had no power. My solution to this was to pick up and fly to California to visit dear friend and fellow M/M author Cat Grant. I'll be hanging here for a couple weeks to catch up on sleep post-Riptide launch and get started on a big kinky book we're co-writing.

In the meanwhile, I wanted to post a mini-review on Aleksandr Voinov's new novel, Counterpunch, which released today. Full disclosure: I was a beta, and it's also set in my sandbox (this story is written in the same world as Anchored and Where He Belongs). That said, Aleks wrote such a beautiful novel I'm downright jealous of how well he handled my sandbox; he built a much prettier castle than I ever did!
Here's the blurb:

Fight like a man, or die like a slave.

Brooklyn Marshall used to be a policeman in London, with a wife and a promising future ahead of him. Then he accidentally killed a rioter whose father was a Member of Parliament and had him convicted of murder. To ease the burden on the overcrowded prison system, Brooklyn was sold into slavery rather than incarcerated. Now, he's the "Mean Machine", a boxer on the slave prizefighting circuit, pummelling other slaves for the entertainment of freemen and being rented out for the sexual service of his wealthier fans.

When Nathaniel Bishop purchases Brooklyn's services for a night, it seems like any other assignation. But the pair form an unexpected bond that grows into something more. Brooklyn hesitates to call it "love"—such things do not exist between freemen and slaves—but when Nathaniel reveals that he wants to help get Brooklyn's conviction overturned, he dares to hope. Then, an accident in the ring sends Brooklyn on the run, jeopardizing everything he has worked so hard to achieve and sending him into the most important fight of all—the fight for freedom.

This is classic Voinov at his finest: dark, gritty, morally ambiguous, dangerous, violent, and sexy as hell. All that plus a genuine romance! If you are a fan of any of these things, I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. When you're done with your first read, you'll want to read it again, and again, and again. Pure love.