New Cave Release - Nicole Austin

A book in the Corralled series.

Brock is cool, calm and in control. Except when it comes to the feisty hellion who pushes all his buttons for the sheer fun of watching his patience snap. Far worse than the intense desire to choke her is the alarming, all-consuming compulsion to tie Tink to his bed and fuck her into next week.

Tink is no wimpy damsel waiting for a big, strong man to rescue her or take over her life. Oh, hell no. She does her own thing, her own way, when she damn well feels like it. The last thing she wants or needs is some overbearing man bossing her around. Though she’d like to torture him with pleasure.

One night of explosive passion—starting with smokin’-hot lovin’ involving three men and one lucky woman—pushes Brock’s restraint past the limit. And hidden behind the cold-hearted bitch, he discovers a woman who longs to surrender to a man she can trust.

Come hell or high water, he’s going to be that man.

New Cave Release - Lynne Connolly

A book in the Cougar Challenge series.

After working with sexy consultant Verill Harper for three months, Lacey Rezanov can hardly keep her hands to herself. And it seems Verill feels the same way. As soon as his contract with her company ends, he has her in a hold she has no desire to break.

Encouraged by the sassy women of the Tempt the Cougar blog, Lacey has the fling of her life with this younger man. They only have a month before Verill is due to set off on an around-the-world bike ride. Can they cram all that passion into a few weeks? No.

Verill wants Lacey more than any other woman he’s ever met, but she won’t agree to come with him. This isn’t just a pleasure trip and he can’t cancel. The heat is turned way up when Lacey poses with Verill and his mechanic Dene at a photo shoot to promo the tour. Even that can’t persuade Lacey to change her mind. Can anything?

Out today! Scared by Sarah Masters

The gangster: Frost hires thugs to kidnap young boys and sells them to punters, making thousands in the lucrative sex trade. He needs taking down, but is anyone out there strong enough to do it?


The employee: Croft works for Frost, looking after the young boys held in captivity. He had been abducted himself, but Frost decided to employ him instead. Will Croft always do Frost’s bidding?

The witnesses: Russell and Toby needed finding. They’d witnessed far too much. Frost isn’t about to let them spill the truth on what he’s really doing on the outskirts of London.

One sex ring, two lovers, and a host of other people, all bound together. All scared.

BUY NOW!

Latest News

This past fortnight I’ve been a bit quiet because the review site I run, Miz Love Loves Books, took off. It had been up a while, but suddenly word about it got out and we had a flurry of books come in. We’ve all been busy reading, and I’ve been busy maintaining the site and putting the reviews up. I was kept occupied with the promo offer of putting authors’ book covers on the site with links to the buy pages. I also took time out to read too—a couple of ebooks and some prints I’d wanted to read for some time. Having a break from writing has been nice.

I also created two covers for Total E-Bound and will show them off once they are on the coming soon page. I was nervous about starting with a new publisher and agonised for a bit over my covers, but the publisher liked them and so did the authors, so I feel less afraid and more at home now I know my cover style is liked.

As for writing…well, you know how it goes sometimes. The urge to write disappears, and I’ve finally learned not to fight that. I do other things instead that fulfil my creative desires, and so long as I’m “doing” something I’m not going to fret over the lack of words. I sold over 30 books this year in my various names and have written close to 400K, which is mad now I look back on it, and I wonder how I managed that. So I think I’ve written enough to be going along with and when the urge comes back I’ll finish the three books I have which are near completion, a revision of another, and begin yet another that has been brewing in my head since I wrote Scared.

I got a wonderful review of His Beautiful Wench today that made me cry (in a good way) and the reviewer asked that I write a secondary character’s story, something I hadn’t considered—nor did I think anyone would want to know more about her. But now it’s been mentioned, of course, the plot bunny is boiling, and I may well write Matilda’s story next year.

Also this week I’ve had two short, free tales come out, Christmas ones, so if you’re interested in those, one written by Natalie, one by Sarah, you can get them here: Caught Naked and Wanton and Wicked.

Well, Christmas is rapidly approaching, but to me this is like any other week. I’ve been very busy and haven’t had time to think about the weekend. I only just remembered I needed to get the turkey out to defrost and that I have still to buy potatoes, carrots and some beer. So, after putting up this post, I think I need to get into some form of Christmas spirit and get along with all things festive.

May you all have a great Christmas, loves!

New Cave Release - Lily Harlem

One hundred grand to babysit bad boy Logan “Phoenix” Taylor on a paradise island—seriously, how bad could he be?

Frankly, it didn’t matter. Not when it would make my dreams of going to nursing school possible. I wasn’t even expected to talk to him, just hang out in a luxurious villa on a private beach and study. Simple, right?

But I hadn’t counted on Logan being so deliciously bad that he was oh so good. And when the temperature cranked to boiling point, he knew just how to satisfy the deepest, darkest part of my soul and give my body exactly what it needed. Amongst the sand and waves, we transported each other to an exquisite world of pleasure where only we existed, only we mattered.

But the heady mix of emotions and lust couldn’t keep things from spiraling out of control back in reality, where I had to keep the secret that I’d been hired to entertain him…even if it shattered my delicate heart. Even if it cost my destiny.

New Cave Release - Anny Cook

Book 5 in the Mystic Valley series.

When ex-soldier Poussé receives an unexpected job offer from the mysterious Waterloo Group, she doesn’t question the providential timing. Twelve hours later she wishes she had, when she’s captured by two sexy blue-skinned warriors—Jonson and Mali of Mystic Valley.

Mali and Jonson make her an offer she can’t refuse—become their bond mate. Positive she can use the new relationship to escape, Poussé accepts, but she doesn’t count on the physical changes the bonding creates or her constant desire for Jonson and Mali. Their tender touches, hot kisses and even hotter sex get under her skin—which is turning blue! As they pursue other escaped team members, she learns real love and desire have no color barriers…and carnal games are best indulged with two hot bond mates.

All Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

So I subbed my rejected book yesterday to another publisher and got a fast response. An R & R—revise and resubmit for those new to the term—with the golden words telling me what was wrong with the book. Man, I was so glad to get that email. As I said yesterday, it’s hard for us to see our own mistakes, and I just COULD NOT SEE where that book had gone wrong, although I knew something was off. That’s frustrating, isn’t it? Being in that situation? It’s like: Look, Book, there’s something up with you, and I can’t fix it because I just can’t work out what the deal is.

Well, now I do, thanks to a fabulous editor who, in one sentence, gave me a lightbulb moment. Then, after I replied with my thanks, she followed up on an easy fix—much easier than the difficult overhaul my mind came up with. I tell you, I’ve never understood authors who don’t like outside input on their books. Sometimes I take the harder route on revisions, and if I was stubborn and said, “No, this is MY baby, not yours!” I’d be putting myself through a shitload of extra work next year when I come to revise the book. The editor’s suggestion was so easy, so obvious—damn my blinkers!—that I’ll have the book fixed in no time.

It doesn’t even matter if, when I resubmit, it gets a rejection, because I’d have had the chance to grow and learn some more—something I love about this profession—so the work I’ll be putting in will be well worth my time and effort. But I’m left frustrated at myself because of my failure to SEE. Yes, we get close to our books, I know that, but for God’s SAKE! Why can I see things in other people’s manuscripts yet at times, with mine, I can’t? It bugs the hell out of me.

Still, with valuable people like that editor on the planet, we authors can’t go wrong so long as we take their advice in the spirit it was meant—to help us.

I’m so pleased my book may not end up in a forgotten file. I’ll get Christmas out of the way, hopefully finish my vampire book, and then dig in with revising the story I thought would never see the light of day.

Ah, happy days!

On another subject, but related… Today I received a contract that was a surprise to me because it was electronic. I’ve never had one of those before, and it’s just too cool for words. You get to either have a standard “handwritten” font when you click to sign, or you can sign it yourself using the mouse. It’s so immature of me, but I was well excited by this contract. It’s too groovy, and I hope I’m lucky enough to get more contracts from this publisher just so I can sign my name with my mouse! HA HA!

Yes, I think I need to get out more…

On another fabulous note—man, things are just happening for me at the moment, WOOT!—I have been asked if I would like to create cover art for Total E-Bound. What a lovely thing to be asked. Of course, I can’t say no to that! What more could I ask for? I get to write and also indulge in my other love—Photoshop.

And, you know, sometimes there is someone or something looking out for us. The other day I needed just 50p to put toward my boys’ dinner money. I had the cash in the bank, but I didn’t want to draw out a tenner just for that 50p, because you know how it is, that tenner would have just disappeared once it got into my grubby little hands. I didn’t want to use the remaining £9.50 that would, to be honest, have just been whittled away on stuff like sweets for the kids or a bottle or two of Coke, when it was supposed to be paying some bill or other. And guess what? As I walked along, I’m buggered if there wasn’t a shiny silver 50p on the ground. Usually it’s pennies, or if you’re lucky, a whole 2p (LOL), but that day it was 50p. I wondered, as I am wont to do, about fate and all that jazz, and how things work out in the end if you just have faith, and at the moment I’m inclined to believe that’s true. Okay, there have been times in the past where I’d swear that was bullshit, and I’m sure there will be times in the future I think that too, but d’you know, life is just effing great for me right now, and although part of me thinks “About time too!” (long story…you don’t wanna know!) I am truly grateful for this sudden turn of events.

I’m grateful, humbled, blessed and just so pleased that the “good stuff” is going on.

I hope all good things come to you guys too. That all your dreams and needs are met. That if things have been poo, they pick up 100%. We all deserve some goodness from time to time, eh?

Have a great day, folks!

The Dreaded R

Rejection. Does it bother you? I can’t say I’m particularly fussed by it one way or another. I received what some may say is the dreaded R this morning and submitted it elsewhere right away. What one publisher doesn’t want, another might. Then, if it’s rejected again, it’s time to have an objective look at the book and try to figure out why it was rejected. Not all publishers have time to give feedback as to why they didn’t want your book—understandable when there are only so many hours in the day, and then if the publisher/editor gives a reason, it opens up the floodgates for an email discussion that the publisher/editor doesn’t have time for, and then the possibility of, “Oh, whyyyyyyyyy? Can you just look at my book again? He did this because of this, and she acted this way because, because, because...” Been there as an editor myself, and it can be hard to extricate yourself from this type of interaction. But, on the author side of the fence, we can be left in a quandary as to what needs changing in the rejected book. As we all know, it’s not always easy to see our own mistakes, and it isn’t until an editor points them out and we slap our foreheads that we see the glaring errors.

Still, if at first I don’t succeed...and if at second I don’t succeed...and if on the third try I don’t succeed... But on the fourth time out, that book isn’t going anywhere but my files, where I’ll let a good length of time go by before I look at it again. Of course, it may well just be utter shite and no amount of revising will help, but hey, that’s the way of things sometimes.

On another note, the big freeze that was due to arrive yesterday…didn’t. Of course it didn’t. I suspect the weatherman’s prediction will come true days after he said it would, but if I hadn’t gone food shopping yesterday, you can bet your ass it would have snowed overnight so I couldn’t get into town today. Such is life!

This morning I spent a little time creating some cover art, and now I think I need to get back to a WIP and write a fight scene I’ve been putting off. It might not be as bad as I’m thinking it will be. A new day brings new perspective and all that.

Well, that’s all from me today, loves. Hope you have a great one yourself!

I'll believe it when I see it... The Big Freeze

Apparently we have “another” big freeze on the way. If the last one—about an inch of snow, some frost, and a cold snap—constitutes a “big freeze” then all will be well. However, according to the online newspaper, we’re maybe looking at an 8 inch dump. Now, that didn’t sound too nice, did it, but of course, I meant snow.

I had planned to go food shopping tomorrow but, even though I roll my eyes at those people who run to the shops when an upcoming big freeze is announced and buy everything in sight, I’m going to have to do the same. The weatherman usually gets it wrong around here, but knowing my luck, if I think he will again, he’ll get it right this time. I get my shopping dropped off by the shop’s delivery service, and going by last year, if there’s snow, they won’t deliver. Hence me having to go shopping today so I get my food brought to my door before those eight inches make an appearance. (Please don’t. I don’t really dig the white stuff.)

Last week I was able to write after a stint on revamping blogs for fellow authors. I managed 10K adding to a previously finished novella, introducing two secondary characters in the prologue so they play a bigger part throughout the book. I stopped at a fight scene, so I have that to get along with this week. Not relishing the prospect, but there you go. I write myself into these situations and have to write myself out of them.

At the weekend I had a fight with my Sarah Masters website and lost all the front page data. It said there had been an “error” when I saved my latest addition to the page, then promptly scoffed all my book pics, blurbs, and buy now links. I wanted to cry, thought about putting them all back on and decided that no, I wasn’t going through that again if the web hoster was acting up. So I just added my book covers instead and hope that those who visit the site are motivated enough to go browsing for my books by themselves until I get back to adding links to each picture. Who says the damn hosting site will behave when I get around to doing that? I really need to get a .com and have all my names in one place. Less stress when updating.

So, that’s it from me today. It’s 07:51 and I really must get the little one up and out to school, then into town, and finally back home where I can relax and await the promised inches of snow. Oh joy.

Wherever you are, whatever the weather, have a great day today, loves!

Think Kink

I’ve said before on Four Strong Women: I don’t like change. It takes me a while of thinking about something before I actually do it. I stay with the same publishers because it’s comfortable, and every so often—maybe once a year haha—I venture “out there” and sub elsewhere. On Saturday, after speaking with Tess MacKall, who had great things to say about Total E-Bound, I subbed my 10K tale, Think Kink. I think I got the fastest acceptance I’ve ever had from a new publisher—2 days. Yesterday I got a contract offer. Sue Swift said some lovely complimentary things about the tale, and I sat thinking: Is she talking about MY book? Funny. I’ll never get used to this business. Every sub to a new place has my belly in knots.

Ever since receiving that email, I’ve had that icky feeling I get when I’m venturing into something or someplace I’ve never been before. I joined the groups there and have that “new girl” feeling, where you wonder how the other authors will take you, whether you’ll “fit”. So far I’ve had some lovely welcomes, so I’m happy, even if still a bit nervous.

Think Kink is a ménage. I had no plans to write one, but Tess and Regina Carlysle goaded me into trying. I must say I enjoyed writing it—whether it was because it was new territory for me, something different from my usual, I don’t know, but it came together pretty fast and I didn’t stall once. I may possibly write another—the characters are left where I could make a series out of them. Not sure. I don’t want to commit in case my effort was a one off.

So, I’m also waiting on a response from another publisher I’ve had my eye on for a long time, but I’m expecting a rejection. The lady there who reads the subs is, from what I’ve gleaned, very hard to please. *bites nails* She knows what she wants and what’s right for the market. If I get a contract offer there, I think I’ll throw up. Nice. But I still have a few weeks left of waiting time for that one—14 weeks from sub to hearing from them.

Well, that’s my latest news. Whatever you’re doing today, have a good one!

An E Reader...At Last

Gem Sivad's Five Card Stud on my funky e-reader. Buy this book. You won't regret it, trust me! (Ellora's Cave... BUY HERE! GO! NOW!)

For around 4 long years I’ve wanted an e-reader, and yesterday I finally got one. When they first came out, I wasn’t prepared to pay the price they were—not when I could buy a brand new computer for the same money. So I waited. And waited. Until the price went right down as I knew they would. I mean, think back to the price of a DVD player then compared to now.

I chose the Sony pocket reader. Five-inch screen and a groovy pink, a veritable beaut of hand-held goodness. The first book I loaded on there was Gem Sivad’s Five Card Stud…and I haven’t looked back. First, the book is bloody excellent so far, and second, the screen appears just like a book page. The only downside is it doesn’t have a backlight—something I discovered once I got it home—but considering the price, I’m not complaining.

So, I’m a happy camper now. Reading e-books on the computer or laptop didn’t really do it for me. It was too much like looking at a manuscript and reminded me of my editing days, so I tended to switch into editor mode instead of reader mode. Now I’m just a reader, and I can’t say enough how wicked this e-reader is. It even makes little bookmarks as though I’d turned down the page corner myself, and you can make typed notes or handwritten ones with the stylus. There’s a dictionary too. Can’t you just tell I love it?

The saying is true. All good things come to those who wait!

Writing...At Last!

Sometimes I like taking time off from writing. It gets to the point where I sit here procrastinating rather than continuing my tales. Time wasting. Internet browsing. However, there’s also the opposite, when I’m busy with other things and can’t write, and I get the need to creeping up on me, characters from books starting to chatter: Oi, have you forgotten about me? I’ve been left stuck in a tree for a month. My arms are aching! OR: Hey, you left me in a delicate position. I must be the only man on the planet to have maintained a state of excitement for two weeks!

Yeah, yeah, I heard the whispers, and now they’re up to “normal” voice volume. Thankfully, today I can write and stop them getting to the shouting stage. The shouting stage isn’t nice, because by that time I’m so frustrated I can’t write due to other jobs that need doing first, that I become a total grouch. Depressed, angry, everything annoys me, etc. I’ve finished a few projects I had on the go and, despite having two more things on my to-do list, I’m taking the weekend to write.

I’ve had Jaime Samms’ chapters of our latest novel sitting in my to-do email folder for a little while now. It’s been waving every time I go in there to check what needs doing next. Asking me to open it. Go on, just peek. For a minute… But I knew if I peeked, I’d write and forget about the to-do list.

Last night I peeked. And yep, I’ve forgotten about the to-do list. Jaime has taken the book in a very cool direction that ties in very nicely with my previous chapters. I can’t help it, can’t resist. I’m diving in to write about my heroine’s situation and my bad guy’s dilemma, bringing all the characters together for Jaime to deal with when I send it back. (Mwhahahaha!)

This book is called The Dreaming and should reach about 80+K by the time we’re done. A veritable m/m delight that delivers two cop lovers, a ballsy heroine, and a mixed-up killer. Oh, and also a mixed-up female who came along a little while back, plus a whole realm of people who aren't of this world… It’s a thriller, drama, paranormal, horror, romance…a good old mixture of genres that blend very well.

I love it. So now I’m going to get on with it!

Can we shout hooray? Yeah? HOORAY!

Have a great weekend!

New Cave Release - Elizabeth Lapthorne

Book 1 in the Urban Seduction series.

Amber Sinclair’s life is perfectly average until she crashes headlong—literally—into Zerachiel Garrett. He is hands-down the sexiest man she has ever met. What begins as a sexually charged first encounter soon explodes into far more than she could have imagined.

Zerachiel is a on a mission to Retrieve the ancient cuff Amber is delivering. It was supposed to be a simple task, but nothing ever is, and he certainly wasn’t counting on the electric lust that sizzles between them. Discovering he isn’t the only one after the cuff, Ze kidnaps Amber and they have to work together not only to stay alive, but to keep the cuff safe.

And Zerachiel is no ordinary man—he’s a wizard who introduces Amber to an underground world of magic and mystery living on the streets of Chicago she thought she knew. Together they discover a whole new world of love and lust, as the sparks fly between them.

Paranormal Activity Review

So, after hearing the hype about Paranormal Activity 2, we watched the first one last night. I’ll admit to being bored for the first half, found it a bit overdone with the “we’re showing you how much we make this look just like a home movie” angle. Yeah, much like looking at other people’s holiday snaps. Really boring. I “got” the idea in the first ten minutes. No need to bash me over the head with the tedious showing of their life prior to catching the demon on tape.

Once the first night of catching footage began, the boredom lifted a little, but I still had the urge to wander outside for a cigarette or bugger off into the kitchen to make a cup of tea, maybe even a massive chicken roast dinner while I was at it… Anyway, we soldiered on, and around ¾ of the way in, the film finally got going. I got chills, goose bumps, and, when the demon lifted the bedsheet, I reached out to grip Hubby’s thigh.

The guy, Micah, irritated me. Even after having irrefutable proof that something nasty was messing with them, he still antagonised the demon and encouraged it to come after them. Of course, his actions don’t justify him being killed, I don’t mean it like that, but I do wonder if he’d just left it alone whether the demon would have remained quieter without going as far as it did.

The spookiest bit for me was when the woman, Katie, stood beside the bed for hours, unaware she did so. And also the knowledge that the demon had possessed her. Where did she go after killing Micah? Did her possession change her into a “being” without a body and she went up into the roof space with the original demon? Or is she out there somewhere as a human, still possessed, doing all manner of demonly things to other people? Wondering if film two deals with that.

We went to bed after watching, and my mind lightly churned over all the fascinating aspects of such a thing happening. That many of us could have demons in our houses and not even know it. So of course, even though the film hadn’t freaked me as much as it could have, and I hadn’t given it too much thought, I did wake up in the middle of the night, sat up and wondered if I’d heard a noise or whether something else had woken me. And then I moved to hug Hubby and he woke, gripped my wrist and gasped before falling back to sleep, unaware he’d even done it.

So I guess you could say the movie did its job. Disturbed us, settled in our subconscious, even though we didn’t find it as scary as we’d expected. And I’m not going to be clamouring to watch #2 either. My son said it was “horrible”. LOL

Lovin' the New Blog!

Hi gang!

This is the last time I'm revamping my blog for a while...promise! I've finally settled on one that makes me want to squeal with "ooooh-ness" every time I look at it. I spent the day creating the background and all the other bits and bobs that go with it, and now I'm done. Bloody lush!

Ahhhh. I finally feel like my site "fits" the Natalie Dae name.

:o)

Snow... Love it or hate it?

Come and join me, blogging as Sarah Masters, on Four Strong Women today!

HERE!

New Cave Release - Gem Sivad

When bounty hunter Sam McCallister sees Eden Pace playing poker for the first time, he loses all interest in the cards; instead, the thought of playing stud with the lady gambler stirs his cock to life. Eden’s the prettiest woman and the best card sharp Sam’s ever met. Good thing he has a few cards up his sleeve.

Eden’s doing her own outlaw hunting. She’s on the trail of her husband’s killer and Sam’s in her way. To get free of this hardheaded, softhearted, gorgeous man, Eden tries strip poker and naked truth-or-dare, but when Sam ups the stakes, carnal submission and desire are unleashed.

When Sam discovers Eden’s wanted for murder, he figures his bed is the safest place for her. But taking Eden prisoner isn’t as easy as Sam expects. He’s in a high-stakes poker game with lust on the table and his heart on the line, because one taste of Eden just isn’t enough.