Yikes it's been awhile!

Just an update on what's happening with this blog...not a lot! A lot of posts were moved to my website and once that happened I sort of just stopped posting. But I'm starting to get a lot of questions on Rebecca's 4th book and you should know it's moving along and I'm hoping it will be out before 2018.

it shouldn't be a spoiler to say that Rebecca will regret her decision to go back to the island almost as soon as she lands. where will she stay? What will Cassandra do? What will lee do when he realizes just how good alistair has been taking care of Rebecca? It's all moving along and I'll keep you posted when I know more. Thanks for stopping by!

Bigger, badder and uncut!

Bigger, badder and uncut!


Funny how if you take that out of a movie context it has all sorts of inappropriate connotations, isn't it?

But this year is in fact going to be all of those things! In terms of bigger, you may have noticed the website and all of its shiny glossiness. I hope you think it's as pretty as I do. There should also be some more posting and general online presence this year which I am super excited about. We recently moved, twice, and that sort of threw things into disarray for awhile. But not anymore!

In terms of badderness or baddieness, I recently went to a writing retreat led by the lovely Mary Buckham (who also happens to be an UF author with a great series) where I reached the conclusion that all I really want to write are villains who become heroes despite themselves. Maybe this isn't too shocking considering Lucas, but I strayed a bit with Zack and Edward. They were restrained, cold perhaps, but good guys. Screw that.

Which means I'm writing vampires again. And it feels soooo good! The plan is to finish this thing I'm now working on, a trilogy, and then release them close together. I don't like leaving people in suspense (despite how it appears with the vicious cliffhangers.) and writing under pressure just makes me grumpy. So there is something happening, you WILL be happy about it and once I've got a bit more written I'll be telling you all about it.

Finally, I'm not sure how uncut this is but audiobooks are about to arrive! If you've been asking me for audiobooks (you know who you are!) then you'll be thrilled to know it's finally happened. Valerie in audio. And the gal reading it, Emily Woo Zeller, came highly recommended and is tres awesome. Bye for now and if you're not on the newsletter, sign up! I'm going to have some pretty spectacular giveaways pretty soon, especially for any vampire diaries fans out there. That's everyone, right?

Betwixt a Wolf and a Hard Place Cover Reveal!! Out by Halloween!

Bewitching the Werewolf 2

Yes, it looks like it's happening. BTW is getting a sequel. A novella that has been a lot of fun to write. Without spoilering too much, here is an excerpt (pre final edit so it could change!) of megan's next case! Whoo!

A half-eaten pack of Tums was sitting on my boss’ desk when I walked in. Papers were everywhere. The man is a genius with delegation, papers usually come in and go back out as if they have wings. The fact that his desk was covered in sheets of cheap white paper and post-it notes sent alarm bells ringing through me.

“You,” he gave me the finger point. “Who would’ve thought the day would come when I would be happy to see you?” he said, in total seriousness.

“Right back at you. I like the haircut. What’s up?” The man was bald and had been for twenty years, I only said it to piss him off. His eyes flicked to the chair across from him wanting me to sit. I didn’t. He sighed unhappily.

“There have been three abductions this week. The vampire queen didn’t get up from her coffin, they went to check on her and she wasn’t there. Just gone. No note, no ash, no nothing.”

“Huh,” I said. Cause that was unusual. Vampires didn’t travel without their coffins. From what I understood, it had more to do with comfort than necessity. Like a stuffed animal or a pillow except a coffin. How weird was that? It was one of the many reasons that it was a personal policy of mine to avoid vampires.

“The shifters have reported a missing were-hamster—”

Yeah, that’s right, were-hamster. “Did they check her wheel?” I asked, and thought I saw a curl of smoke rise from my boss’s forehead.

“And most importantly, the New York Guardian is gone.”

“You mean the librarian?”

“Of course I mean the librarian.” His teeth were clenched when he said it. 

The New York Guardian guarded all the spell books and histories for all the local Supes. Anything supernatural that someone might’ve wanted written down (or didn’t want written down but was interesting) was kept in her shop down on 45^th Street. One could go in and get a coffee, a potion and a copy of what the Fey were up to during the 1800’s if one wanted. Although I don’t know why anybody would want Fey History, they were damned boring. Spent a lot of time tidying parks and making flower chains.

He pointed a sausage-like finger in my direction. I hated that frickin finger. “Start at the Guardian’s shop, do a recreation spell, see if you can get an image of what happened. This has to be solved fast. The vamps are blaming the weres, the weres are spoiling for a fight as always, and if we’re not careful the humans will get involved.”

And no one wanted that. Talk about up a creek without a paddle. The human police were next to useless. 

A Lady Most Dangerous...is out

Want to know how it starts? I love this beginning. Poor Edward. He's such a great tortured hero. Here is the beginning of LMD....

Every year, the Marwood ball was packed to the rafters with the rich and the richer, the titled and the landed, the people who wanted to move up the social ladder and those who were clinging on by the tips of their fingernails. This year was, of course, no different.

Edward wondered if there was a certain comfort in that predictability – things didn’t change, events occurred every season and would go on until the day he died. And even then the events wouldn’t stop; he just wouldn’t be expected to attend anymore.

That was something at least.

The smell of pomade and starch was strong, the room overheated from all the candles and hot air as the guests prattled on and on about how dreadful the prior night’s musicale had been. Five young women trotted out before the ton so that they could display just how badly they played the pianoforte. It had been excruciating.

“And that’s the Duke of Somervale,” he heard a girlish voice whisper from somewhere to his left and above. There was a balcony there where people would have punch and look at the dancers.

And apparently gossip about him.

He couldn’t say why he just stood there and listened. He should have turned around and given them a glare or moved off and ignored them.... But he didn’t; for some reason he couldn’t define, he stayed and listened.

“My sister was ever so in love with him when she made her debut.”

“Which sister?” a female voice asked. Edward suspected he didn’t know her either.

“Anne.”

“Ooohh, what happened?”

Edward wracked his brain, trying to sort through recent debutantes he knew by the name of Anne. No one in particular came to mind.

“She met him. At the Winchester’s house party in Norfolk. Said she was so nervous she could barely say her own name. She said he’s different; that being next to him and talking to him, it’s terrible.”

“Terrible?” the other girl said, her tone fascinated.

Edward frowned. Terrible? He was terrible? The way they spoke, it was as though they were telling a naughty ghost story. Did that make him the ghost?

“Because he’s so handsome. It was like he was seeing into her soul. She said it was as though he knew she liked him.”

“Did he?” the other girl asked with a gasp.

Edward wanted to turn around and say ‘no, he didn’t’. Explain that, in fact, he had no idea who they were talking about. He went to the Winchester’s house party every year, and he couldn’t remember meeting somebody named Anne. And he certainly had not been gazing into her eyes soulfully. Whatever that meant.

“I doubt it.”

He was just getting ready to move off, deciding he didn’t need to hear any more gossip about himself and how another debutante thought herself half in love with him when she said, “Anyway, she doesn’t like him anymore. She said he was cold. Came across as unfeeling and that Katherine, that ice princess he’s engaged to could have him. They deserve each other. Now she’s obsessed with that banker, the Swiss one who’s been funding the prince and his escapades.”

A banker? Some girl had decided she didn’t like him because she liked a banker instead? He sighed and did move away, parts of their conversation still ringing in his ears. He didn’t care. Not really. They deserve each other. It wasn’t a surprise that the girls did not like his fiancée; there was something rather distant about her. As though she were so busy in herself and thinking about how things related to her and her own perfection, that she didn’t have time for anybody else. Not people she met, were related to or perhaps would even marry.

And this gossiping stranger thought they deserved each other.

Edward spotted his fiancée on the dance floor dancing with some regimental hero, who’d undoubtedly done something very brave in some far-off land and come back with stories of killing natives armed with sticks. Very heroic[b1] , he thought with a scowl.

It would be his turn soon enough. When she looked at him, lifted her clear blue gaze from the man she was with and sought him out, it wasn’t to see if he disapproved or because she wanted to see him; it wasn’t because she couldn’t keep herself from looking at him because she cared for him. No, that would be…common. Vulgar, even. No, the reason his fiancée kept track of him was because she should.

When his dance came at the end of the evening, (and it was just one, sometimes two if she really wanted to show how ‘in love’ she was with him) she wanted to ensure he was where he was supposed to be. Not playing cards in the anteroom or drunk in a corner, but ready to squire her around the room for all to see.

Not that he ever did get drunk in corners or shirk his duty. But just in case. She didn’t trust anyone to do the correct thing except for herself. Just then, she flashed him a look, those arctic blue eyes colliding with his from across the room, ignoring the besotted man she danced with. Her new partner, the Earl of Chester, looked at Katherine as though she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

Edward supposed that was true. She was certainly the most graceful and beautiful woman in the room. His bride-to-be. Every doting mama told him how lucky he was; every man thumped him on the back and leered at her unpleasantly. Not only was she beautiful, she was rich as hell, blue-blooded as they came and the perfect choice for a duke.

And now, here he was, standing in a room full of people, watching them twirl around him and he suddenly felt sick, almost panicked at the idea that he was…here. Lucky enough to be alive when he dreaded today, tomorrow and every day into the future. Lucky enough to be alive when people who were better than him were dead.

Well, not people, just one—Helen. Was it a sign of just how awful he was that other people lived and died every day, hundreds of them, even thousands of them, and yet all he thought about was one? Just Helen. Who occupied his days with grief, and filled his nights with a desperate and peculiar sense of loneliness that was deeper than misguided lust.

Helen. She was unlucky. She was....

Edward looked down into his glass of champagne, watching the bubbles fizz to the surface. Bubbles rose. Dead bodies rose too sometimes. Although her body had never been found. An image of Helen on the last night he’d seen her came to him, replacing the world around him, overriding the noise and scents, the conversations and dancing, the happy people and even those who were here simply because they were expected to be.

For one pure moment, everything around him disappeared, and all he could see was Helen’s dead body floating to the surface of the water. The way it would move up, as if life and vitality had been holding her dozens of feet under, and when she gave that last breath, when she finally sucked in water and it exploded in her body and killed her, that, in his mind, was the moment she rose to the surface. Weightless, motionless, limbs relaxed, and dark hair spread around her like a cloud.

Was she still out there, floating in the water? The idea of it was so sharp that it pierced him. He felt the pain of it in his chest and stomach. It made his fingers clench and his breath exhale. The glass in his hand shook as his hand trembled.

---

This chick makes sense

Came across this video of Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) discussing writing, success and failure. It's fascinating and inspirational for anyone, author or no author. Enjoy!

http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_success_failure_and_the_drive_to_keep_creating

I'm alive!

For anyone who has noticed a rather substantial gap between postings....I'm alive. You didn't notice, you say? Well, of course not, I'm prolific on blogging, facebooking and social media. Ahem.

As for what I've got going on...

RT in May. It's in New Orleans. Vampire central. I will be going to the Garden District and looking for Lestat. Everything vampire is set in New Orleans. Witches too. Off the top of my head...Kresley Cole's series is set there, Sookie visits, The Originals is there, Coven is there. The list goes on, I just ran out of head space.

I've also been working on a lot of different things and hope to have some of it out soon. A Lady Most Dangerous should be out by April 15. Hurray! There will be lots of giveaways, so if you have not signed up for the newsletter, let me direct your attention to the right of your screen :)

I've been reading a lot too. A Poison Study, Games of Command, Kate Pearce, Amy Lane...I'm all over the place and loving it!

Game of Thrones is coming back-- yeah and Walking Dead is almost over-- boo. Can't wait til friday-- Veronica Mars comes out and I will be there to see it! The show is available on netflix and is AWESOME. It's up there with Buffy. Yes, I said it. I met Jason Dohring at Comic-Con and he is so, so nice. I told him I was bummed things didn't take off for him. It looked promising with Moonlight. He seemed really happy about that and wrote that he loved me on my VM poster. Love you too, Jason. Love you too.

Glamorous as Fergie

Did you know that there are some people who think that writing is glamorous? So let me tell you about my glamorous day. Today was the first day back for my kids and boy was everybody excited. First there was a PTA meeting and then it turned out my daughter forgot her lunch. So my writing opportunity came at 1030, hours later that I had expected (grrr). 

When I got home I agonized over whether I should do laundry or cleanup the kitchen but decided to leave it so that I could try to get some words down. I could get some words down but nothing particularly exciting and I suspect it wasn't very good. 

Then I brought the kids home and discovered we had a WASP in the house. My husband was incommunicado and of course the wasp spray was nowhere where it should've been. I googled how to kill a WASP (hairspray or wd 40 but hadn't quite worked up the nerve to do it yet) and I called all my neighbors. 

Five minutes later my doorbell rang and I panicked, sure it was a neighbor who would want to help me but my kitchen was so messy that I couldn't let them in! Turned out it was grandpa who promptly picked up a flyswatter and killed the wasp Scream-style. By which I mean bumbling and with several misses but somehow managing to get the kill-shot. Isn't it glamorous?

Yeah, his name is Edward! And maybe I'll change Lucas to Christian! J/k

Okay, I'm going to answer a question that I've been hearing a lot of which is-- How could I have used the infamous name Edward in Lady Out of Time. You may not know this, like if you've been living on Mars or something, but there is a very successful franchise that has a dude named Edward.

So here is the deal, when I started writing this book I called him Edward. And after I felt like I knew him, and I fell in love with him, I was sitting at my computer and I suddenly thought 'Oh crap, his name is Edward.' And even my critique partner said I should change it. And I kind of meant to, but didn't. Cause he's Edward to me.

As an author, I write with the reader in mind and I do make changes because I love having fans of my books and don't want to piss anyone off too much (although if you're a Jack fan you're probably yelling 'that's BS!' at your computer.)

So I guess I kind of knew I should've changed his name because we already have an Edward...but Victorian Edward is quite the stickler and he'd have been horrified and raised an eyebrow in condescension if I'd taken away his name simply because of some sparkly dude who was born after him. I think it's after. Wasn't Sparkly Edward a hundred-year-old virgin?

A Lady Out of Time is out!!

Whoot! A Lady out of Time is out! It's up and it's great. No, it's not vampires. But it is Time travel. Time travel, you say, what's so great about that? Imagine me as the grandpa from the Princess Bride convincing his grandson why he wants to read PB. 'It has a hot duke and a snarky heroine! It's funny and takes place in Victorian London! It's an alternate history and has Nazi's and tons of sizzling sexual tension! It's funny and the hero is great!' At least I think so. Hope everyone is having a great week, it's hotter than hell in California!

 Links:

Amazon 

Barnes & Noble 

Smashwords

Romantic Times Conference

Off to Kansas City next week for RT! If you're going come say 'hi!' I'll be signing at the E-book Expo!

what's cookin in a non-edible way

Today I finished an important draft for my time travel novel. It is tentatively called A Lady Out of Time, but Olivia Rivers- an awesome YA writer in my critique group- hates the name.

But I remember reading A Knight in Shining Armor and Outlander. That's my basis for time travel books. So for me, the name seems right. Anyway I have not settled anything quite yet. The book is not done, but it's like I climbed to the top of the mountain and realized the end of the range is in sight.

I've also been working on two vampire projects. Which is odd, because I thought I was done with vampires for the foreseeable future. Three months ago I might have said Forever. I don't want to write the same old vampire story. And I would not write anything vampire related unless there was a twist.

I found my twist.

If it comes off like I want it too, then it's good. Really messed up and kinky with a post-apocalyptic/debutante vibe. it's also got a little bit of the Walking Dead in it and I really want to call it symbiosis. But I fear that is too much of a sci-fi title. The definition of the word itself is beautiful: A close and often long-term interaction between two or more different biological species.

The gist of it is that most humans are gone and vampires control pockets of civilization. The story is set in London and there are vampire kings and petty feudal spats. Our hero (or maybe anti-hero) is named Demock. I'm not sure I can say much more at this point because I'm still writing it...but I'm liking it so far.

The other thing rolling around in my mind, which I'm actually a bit hesitant to mention since it would get people's hopes up is the next book in the Valerie verse. I have the cover for it. But you know, the more I look at it...that isn't Cer.

The story of Lucas and Val ended, because I saw them with a happily ever after and nothing beyond that. That was the end I envisioned by the time I was done editing LID. And then, about a week ago, I saw what happened next. I am making no promises, but I see this cover and I want to call it Lucas. And it would be a continuation.

Liebe ist Furcht

Book 2 of The Valerie Dearborn Series will be out in Germany tomorrow! The German version of LID is 39 in Romance and 230 in the German Kindle store. Hurray!

Stephanie Meyer: Genius

Well, it finally happened. I saw Breaking Dawn part two and…I really liked it.

This may be surprising to you non-writers but most writers HATE Twilight. 

When one spends their time writing, they develop grandiose ideas of what is good and what is bad. We adhere to rules that beloved authors routinely break and call them ‘exceptions,’ blindly plunging over the cliff to do what we are told like fat little lemmings.

It’s weird.

When I saw Breaking Dawn part one, I almost couldn't watch it. It was so cheesy and almost self-indulgent that I found it uncomfortable to watch. It was as though I were watching Stephanie Meyer’s most intimate fantasies of what it would be like to be a high-schooler and have it all. The hot rich vampire, the honeymoon on a private tropical island, the baby, the instant glamorous family, a whole host of superpowers and one cool car after another. Didn't anyone tell her that what she was writing was boring? That there was no conflict and it should be cut?

This movie had the same problem! The exploration of their revoltingly cute cottage, the amazing sex they’d have for years (and with no recuperation time!) and worst of all—Bella’s arm wrestling Emmett. Do you know how hard it was to remember how AWFUL that scene was while I was watching it? I had to bite my lip Anastasia style.

And yet, people like cheese.

In fact, I like cheese. 

I believe that in order to be a good writer one has to put their soul on the page. And for me, that means being willing to infuse one’s own insecurities and desires into one’s writing so that when a reader has finished the book, they feel like they know you.

As Breaking Dawn ended, I found myself strangely moved and in awe of Stephanie Meyer because I hadn't realized the power of cheese. Her unabashed enthusiasm for every moment of Bella’s perfect life is something readers want and love to connect to…and it is something I have spent time learning to NOT do.

I feel humbled, as though I have been reminded of a truth that I should have known-- or maybe even did know-- but that I pretended I was too cool to believe in: that to be a good author, I have to put more than the kinky, the awkward and desperate onto the page. I have to be willing to put the vulnerability of pure happiness out there too.

Despite everything I may have ever said before, Stephanie Meyer is a genius. 

German!

Some of my books are now available in German and are doing amazingly well!

The second book Love is Fear (I think it's Liebe ist Angst but can't remember) is coming out at the end of January!

RT 2013

I will be attending The Romantic Times Conference in Kansas and would love to meet you! I'll be at the e-book signing and around. Let me know if you're going!

Question Time with Caroline

Hello everyone in blogger land! I know it has been a while, but between Christmas and the new book coming out, I've been a bit swamped.

Every now and again I get an email from a fan and I wind up writing an incredibly long response and then I think to myself-- 'Self you should post this on your blog because it's just possible that somebody might find it interesting or relevant.' Let's hope that's true....

I'm going to abbreviate the question and then give you my response. If you have any questions, do let me know!!

The Question-- I am on 60,000 words at the moment and pretty close to finishing but am now unsure what happens next.  Do I just upload and see what happens?  It’s ok I am not expecting answers from you but I guess I am now in a place where I either move forward or just forget the whole (writing) thing and keep reading other people’s words.  I guess I am afraid someone will read my words and identify the same way I have and see the bits of me I have now learned to keep to myself.

The Answer-- First of all, congratulations on writing sixty thousand words!! That is amazing and you should be very proud of yourself. I suppose you could push the publish button and upload it, but my initial thought is that that might be hasty. You seem a bit conflicted as to what you would like to do and I think anyone writing a good book has to put themselves on the page and expect that readers will identify with them and think that they know them. I saw JR Ward at RT and people acted like she was a goddess. They love the peculiar darkness of her characters and it resonates with them. If that is the sort of book that you would like to write, then you are 'out there.'

There is no shame in writing a book for yourself and it's possible that over a bit of time you would become more comfortable with putting so much of yourself into words. My other concern is that perhaps you are rushing. Sixty thousand words is  on the short side for a novel.   If you have written a novella then perhaps what I am saying is irrelevant, but my guess is that there are areas of your book that would need to be fleshed out more to get you up to eighty thousand words which is standard novel size.

My advice is to put the book away for six weeks and then look at it. At that point the book is fairly unrecognizable and you can look at it objectively and decide what is working and what is not working. I would be very careful about putting your work out  into the world if you are the only person who has seen it. I've been in a lot of critique groups where I have been told that my writing sucks. I've also been told that my writing is good. You have to develop a thick skin so that when strangers take umbrage with your work-- which they will-- you can think 'go write your own fucking book if you don't like it' instead of wondering if they are correct.

From the way you talk about the book (which granted is in one sentence) I don't have the impression that you think you have written the Great American novel. It sounds like you proved something to yourself-- ie that you could do it-- and now you have to decide what you would like to do next. I'm a big believer in joining a writer's group, because they are the only people who will be interested in your writing. Before my book became successful, my friends and family had no interest in reading my writing and I did not want to subject them to it. Now they still don't have any interest but they keep thinking they should. lol.  Anyway, congratulations again and let me know what you decide to do :)

The Walking Stomach Flu

I have been sick as a dog for the last five days. My daughter brought home a stomach bug from preschool and it tore through the house like the Black Death. In the morning people were fine, by the afternoon it was too late.

The only good thing about being sick is that it means I get to watch a lot of TV. Usually my days are too busy and I can barely keep up with what I have. But during this illness, I burned through two seasons of The Walking Dead and I have no idea if that's a good show to watch or not when one is sick.

On one hand, I kept thinking it could be worse, there could be a zombie apocalypse. But on the other hand seeing so much gore and skulls being caved in wasn't good for my delicate constitution. The show really revels in the horror aspect of zombies and likes to get a close up everytime a pick axe goes into the brain.

When I was pregnant I watched charmed and I blame the estrogen for how much I enjoyed it. I found myself crying at the sisterly antics on more in one occasion and I'm pretty damn sure that show did not deserve any tears.

So what do you guys do when you're sick, anybody watching anything good? Apparently there is also a cold making its way through the school and undoubtedly into my house....

Love is Mortal excerpt- page 1

To celebrate the fact that November 15 is almost here I thought I'd post an excerpt from Love is Mortal. My plan is to add a bit more everyday until D day. Hope you like it!

Prologue

London, 1530

                                                                                                    

The air stank. The smell of unwashed flesh and burning candles. The smell of perfume and worn clothing. Marion loved a good party, but usually she just came for the food. She ran her finger down the Fey queen’s arm and watched as goose bumps rose on the woman’s flesh.

Pretty.

Marion loved women, but was anything more delicious than a woman dressed for a party? Maybe it was the dancing—that it made them blush and pushed all that warm blood close to the surface of their skin. Maybe it was the sweat—the slight sheen and taste of salt, the way her lips felt as they slid over flesh damp from a night of dancing.

Or maybe it was just because they were usually so happy that it made them beautiful to drink from.  They were human presents she got to unwrap. She licked her lips and saw her lover track the movement. Annika’s breath hitched, breasts straining against her low-necked dress. Marion was sure she could see a hint of nipple. The fashion did seem to include showing a rather large amount of breast, but the Fey queen was particularly daring.

Heaven forbid she leave something to the imagination. Perhaps it was because she was a fertility goddess at heart. She smiled. It could be downright difficult to get that woman to keep her clothes on. Marion felt very lucky that her goal of retrieving the Sard, a mythical object of Fey power, allowed her to mix work with pleasure.                               

“Annika,” Marion murmured and stepped closer, wanting to take a bite out of her right there. She was about to do it, but then she saw him.

Lucas. His arctic blue eyes fastened on her. His arms were crossed, and he looked irritated. As always. He was watching her, waiting for Marion to do what she was supposed to do.  I hate doing what I’m supposed to do. Marion sighed. “Business. It’s always business.”

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's a Jack Novella!

It's a Jack Novella! And the reasoning is this: When I first wrote LID the beginning was different. It was Jack and his parents. What his life was like before Val and then what happened with Marion and how we wound up with Val and her dad.

Anyway, that was the beginning of the book since day one up until a few weeks before the book came out. But LID was Val's book. So this beginning really didn't fit in. As much as I wanted it to. But every time someone read it, they really liked it and kept asking if it was ever going to come out. And it is! I'm excited.

It's going to be 99c on Amazon and should come out in the next few weeks depending upon how long my editor takes. Rereading it and tweaking it was odd. How much what happens in the next book relates to this scene written all that time ago. I'll keep you posted!