"Waiting On" Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Dark Taste of Rapture, Book 6 in Gena Showalter's Alien Huntress Series

Expected Publication Date: August 23, 2011

From Goodreads

New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter captivates with a dark, tantalizing world of humans, otherworlders, and a powerful AIR agent consumed by his desire for a woman he can never have. . . .
With one caress, he can give unforgettable pleasure . . . or unending pain. . . .
 
Hector Dean is shaved, tattooed, and totally ripped—and he has a deadly secret. He is a walking weapon, capable of killing with a single brush of his fingertips. Little wonder he’s determined to remain on his own. But Noelle Tremain is a temptation like no other. She is beautiful and rich, with a party girl smile that hides a shocking vulnerability, and from the beginning his sizzling attraction to her is undeniable. For the first time, his stone-cold resistance is tested. But to be with her, he risks destroying her.

When a wealthy businessman is murdered in New Chicago’s seediest district, the two are partnered, and there’s no escaping what they both want: each other. Yet neither Hector nor Noelle knows what to fear more—the killer case, or their own lethal desires. . . .

What I am Working On...

Hi Ladies and Gents:

I know I haven't posted anything in a little while but I wanted to share a small unedited portion from my paranormal/shifter romance.

This mini scene is a flashback our heroine Nina has on the drive to her godfather's estate.  Not only was he her legal guardian after her parent's accident, Zachary Martin was the pack's Alpha and had requested her presence at the Harvest Festival.  She tried getting out of it but Zach sends his Beta to pick her up.  Knowing its best not to push his furry buttons any more Nina reluctantly packs a bag and endures the three hour drive to the Catskill Mountains.  I hope you like it.

The sounds from the ground below drifted through the open window of the air conditioned dance studio as Nina Giraldi walked to the large audio system installed in the side wall. Sliding the small mirrored door over she pushed a series of the buttons until Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 2 drowned out the laughter, chatter and occasional growling from the Spring Run festivities. Just in case she turned the volume up three more notches to make sure she wouldn’t hear the sounds of the annual celebration.

This was the first year Nina decided not to attend. It was too painful and embarrassing to sit around while everyone else her age shifted into their wolf forms like they were supposed to once puberty hit, but here she was days away from her sixteenth birthday and still nothing. Most wolves started shifting between the ages of twelve to fifteen. Like it wasn’t bad enough that she was a half-breed mutt and orphan, Nina thought.

Removing the light sweater she wore over her purple leotard and tights Nina tried to convince herself that she should be happy about not having to endure the physical pain of it all. But that wasn’t enough. It was more than just going through the pain. It was a rite of passage to adulthood for the members of the pack. Sort of like when humans handed their sixteen year old son or daughter, who just got their driver’s license, the keys to a brand new car. A lot of power in inexperienced hands. Marching over to the large window she slammed it closed trying to avoid looking down at her classmates and friends. Now the dance studio was practically sound proof.

Today was the day, she decided turning around and lowering her arms to form a circle with her palms facing each other, the edge of her hands resting on her thighs. Her attention ahead. Pulling her shoulders back Nina prepared herself mentally for the dance to come. Tchaikovsky was one of her favorites. The music was strong and powerful but above all of that dancing to it was the only thing close to feeling like her parents were still alive...

Writing...

I'm back on the saddle and writing up a storm and it feels great.  I was inspired to write a short paranormal romance involving a small town of witches, wizards and warlocks a few weeks ago.  I'm not sure yet to what extent I will write the sex scenes for this story since most of my shorts have been very erotic but I have a feeling that this one might just be a straight up romance and although the basic plot is set out I'm still putting my outline together.

Witch craft and magic is not a subject that I know a lot about (only what I've seen in movies) so I've been doing a lot of research.  I want to get the basics so I could add my own creativeness to the story.  One of the books I'm reading is:

The Witch Book: The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca and Neo-Paganism

  

It's very thorough and reads like a regular encyclopedia.  Everything can be found in alphabetical order and it provides plenty of pictures and diagrams and covers everything from Abracabra to the Zodiac.  

 

While researching for what is currently titled: Chloe & Blaez, A Witch Romance (I always separate my stories by character name and genre or story line until I give it a proper title) I'm also writing part II of my Birthday Fetish Party.   

 

I'm really excited about this story as it will my first menage and my first girl on girl scene as well.  Part II will be from Damian's POV and will mostly take place during the limousine ride to Whet.  Part III will be split between both of them but giving each the same amount of time to voice what they are experiencing.   This part will contain the girl on girl scene and takes place in the private room reserved for Kathryn's party.

If you get a chance to read let me know what you think.

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Work in Progress

In between working on Second Chances (yes, I still haven't finished reviewing it) I've been creating the outline and character bios for a new paranormal romance story. 


It is currently untitled but revolves around a werewolf pack in the Catskill Mountains but there are pixie's, werecats and vampires involved in the story as well. I'm still in the process of world building so it will take me a little bit longer to put together then my contemporary stories.


I know the paranormal theme is very popular now and hope by the time I am done with my story it still will be.  What makes my story different from others? Lets see...It's placed in a present world but humans have known about shape shifters and other worldly creatures for almost 20 years when my story starts.  There are conflicts with other packs, family issues and a werewolf who can not shift. 


Here is my inspiration for some of the characters....

Thomas - The Pack's Beta

Xavier - Hero

Celeste - Heroine

What do you think?

Research and Writing

I've been trying to write as much as I can lately on everything from scrap paper to napkins. It seems to be an obsession that will not shake so I just go with the flow. If there is something that comes to me and I can not write down at the moment I will usually just pull out my Sidekick and jot down a few lines so I have some sort of recollection of what it was that I needed to put down.

On another note, I'm almost done with my own self editing of Second Chances, my first story, current word length 43,485. I keep getting side tracked with everything else going on in my life. Work, friends and family keep me otherwise tied up. I'm hoping before the end of the summer I can send it out to an editor.

When I'm not writing you can usually find me doing research for a character, location or job descriptions. One of my latest characters is a CEO for a company that specializes in biometrics research, manufacturing and development, i.e. fingerprint and iris scans. The research is fun but very exhausting.I have to practically learn the basic insides and outs of what is involved in the process so I can write a credible story. Wish me luck!

Other than that, I'm just trying to keep my hopes up that once I am done writing someone will be interested in what I have put together.  I know that there is a reader out there for just about every genre of books I just hope that a publisher will agree with me.

Here is a small excerpt from the unedited: Second Chances

Placing the pan on the back burner Vanessa stepped back from the stove and gripped the edge of the counter. Forcing her eyes shut, she tried to regain her composure. She might be awake at the moment but even asleep her body responded to him. Unfortunately for her every night she had the same dream and every night she woke up panting for him, her body aching for his touch. Damn, it’s been too long.


It had been a warm, humid, late-August night and the thermostat had not been below 95 in over a week. With the constant black outs the central air conditioning unit that had yet to be replaced finally went on the fritz. Vanessa had spent her days in a bikini and a lightweight cover up but even that became too much in the sweltering heat. Thankfully the pool cooled them off, for a while.


Exhaustion from the heat finally caught up with her, Vanessa went to one of the over sized lounge chairs and laid face down, trying to stay as still as possible to avoid creating body heat. Alex on the other hand, opted for skinning dipping, taking advantage of the privacy provided by the tall trees surrounding the large pool


Climbing out of the water he looked like a nude Adonis. She remained still as he sauntered over towards her, water rolling off his tattooed chest and down his rippled stomach...

Updates / New Story

I haven't taken any time to take care of the revision of Second Chances,  my first novel. Instead I'm still working on to a new story. It's currently an untitled romance about Marley, a chef and James, a bar owner. I'm almost 4,000 words in and the story is flowing out nicely.   Here is a tiny unedited excerpt of my story:

Untitled: Marley & James

James stood back as Marley walked past him, her glorious hips swayed from left to right. He swallowed hard and curled his fists to control the urge to bend her over the counter and press against her ass and let her know how hard he was whenever she was around.


The load gasp that followed told him Marley found the kitchen. For the limited menu he offered,  the kitchen he had installed was first class with subzero freezers, brand new gas ranges, two grills and a large flat top.

Following her in James found Marley in the middle of the spacious stainless steel kitchen. She looked like a kid in a candy store.  Her green eyes wide and a cute little smile on her face,“James Croswell you’ve been holding out. Look at this!”


He was happy that she was impressed with the kitchen. “What’s your honest opinion?” he teased walking over. Leaning against the metal counter top and just watched as she took everything in.

Turning to him there was a smile on her face, “How dare you not have anything else on the menu with a kitchen like this?”


“I was planning on expanding, eventually. I just hadn’t found a chef yet” he winked at her....


Let me know what you think!

Runner's High

I finished my short story, Runner's High last night. It's about two friends, Jason and Kimberly, who share a drunken kiss at a friend's wedding and expect their friendship to remain intact. But when Jason agrees to join Kimberly at the park things go from friendly to frisky. The entire story is told from Jason's POV.

I've just submitted the short to an author who is requesting short stories to be published on her newsletter. If my story gets chosen I will post a link to her site.

Cross your fingers and wish me luck!

Writing

I've had this blog account for almost four years and have never sat down to actually blog about anything. What have I been doing for four years? We'll that's easy...working as a legal secretary, being married, watching Heroes, reading lots of books and over the course of the last year I've started writing again.

Last September while doing a late, spring cleaning I stumbled upon a sealed box marked "Personal Crap/Junk" Inside I found old CD's, photo albums, old notebooks and all of the junk from my old desk. Going through the notebook I found a short story I wrote during a rainy Saturday night with nothing to do.

At the time I was living in my first apartment. It was a small little studio apartment but it was mine. All I had was a bed, a hand me down couch, a book case full of encyclopedias and a small alarm clock radio. My car was acting up, again. My friends were busy with their boyfriends while I was single, again.

I have always been a big reader and when nothing was available to read, I wrote for my own entertainment. So there I was with a pack of cigarettes, a bottle of wine and a spiral notebook.  That night I sat on my bed and wrote "For the Love of Rock and Roll". Re-reading the story almost six years later I realized it could use some major editing. I powered up my laptop and put it together. On my computer the story seemed shorter; it was only six pages long so I started writing. Every chance I had I would sit in front of my computer and add a little bit more.

After a month my friends started to ask me what I was up to. When I shared that I was writing they encouraged me to continue.  Two of them have started to read portions of my now 44,000+ word, 198 page long story. They also seem to have positive feedback on it.

So that is where I stand now, trying to put the finishing touches to my story so I can have an editor take a look at it. After that I want to finish a few other stories I have been working on in between. It looks like For the Love of Rock and Roll is going to be a series of at least 4 stories. I already have the outlines done for parts two and three and have a pretty good idea what the fourth one will be.

I will be posting updates of my progress here so check up on me in a few days. I'll let you know how it's going.