September Newsletter and First Contest Winner!

The September 2012 issue of Awakening Desires—the Newsletter of Romance Author N.J. Walters—is now available.

Be sure to check out all the latest news, contests, my husband’s popular column—Confessions of a Romance Author’s Husband—an excerpt, and this month’s interview with Lynda Aicher.

As always, some lucky newsletter subscriber wins a prize. All you have to do to be eligible to win is go to Awakening Desires Newsletter and join. While you’re there, you can check out back issues of the newsletter.


CONTEST WINNER:

The first winner in my 8th Anniversary Contest is Shannon Bratton. Shannon has won a print copy of Woven Dreams! There are still seven more print books to be given away. Go to my website and click on the "Contests" page for details on how you can enter for a chance to win!

In the Edits Cave

I'll be working on edits over the next few days. Planning to take my time with them so I get them right. Have a wonderful day!

Want to win a print book?-- Contest Reminder!

October 27th marks my 8th anniversary as a published writer. How fast the time has flown. To celebrate, I'm holding a contest and giving away a print book
every Friday from August 31st until October 19th. That's 8 print books up for grabs.

For details on how you can enter for a chance to win, go to my WEBSITE and click on the "Contests" page.


NOTE: You only need to enter once to be eligable for all 8 draws.

Tuesday Teaser: Drakon's Treasure

This week's Tuesday Teaser is Drakon's Treasure.This is a Quickie I wrote for Ellora's Cave Autumn Animalia series a few years back. I absolutely adore Arrik! He's my first dragon shifter, but he won't be my last. I have ideas for another dragon book, now all I need is the time to write it. :)

TEASER:

The leader of the guards stalked across the room and Arrik could feel the woman quivering against him. The man reached his hand over the table toward her cloak. “Let’s have a look at you.”

Quick as a snake, Arrik captured the guard’s wrist in an iron grip. “You will not touch her. She is mine.”

The tavern went deathly silent at his refusal. The guard yanked his arm from Arrik’s grasp. “I don’t know who you are, stranger, but I am Proctor, the leader of Lord Hameon of Gradoc’s elite guards. Stand aside or die.” The man puffed out his chest as he spoke, as if expecting to be immediately obeyed. His comrades were behind him now, six men in total.

Arrik stirred, sliding out of the seat. The other man just stared up at him as he stood to his full seven feet. Raising his hands, he slowly pushed his hood aside, revealing his face for the first time. The other man paled and stumbled back a step.

“I am Arrik Varkas Drakon and the woman is mine.”

Celebrating 25 years of marriage

As many of you know from my Facebook post, last Wednesday marked 25 years of marriage for hubby and me. I can't believe how fast the years have flown. We decided to go out for lunch to a place we'd tried once before about four years ago. The experience wasn't the best, but we decided to try again. Going out to eat is difficult for us as we're vegetarians and hubby has certain food restrictions.

But lunch was wonderful. The restaurant was sunny, the service was excellent and the food was incredible!

I had a spinach/walnut pesto on thick multigrain bread topped with swiss cheese and tomato. There were also slices of watermelon, cantaloupe and orange on the plate, but I'd already eaten those by the time we thought to take a picture. Oops.

Hubby had the tofu/tamari burger with garlic fries. I can't remember what the spread was on the burger, but it was yummy. (Yes, I had a bite of his and shared some of mine with him.) There were blueberies, watermelon, cantaloupe and an orange slice on his plate too.

We skipped dessert because we had cake at home, but we did have peppermint tea to finish off the meal. I would definitely go back there again.

Book of the Week--Fatal Submission by Nicole Austin

Fatal Submission is the latest offering from author Nicole Austin. This is not her usual erotic romance but a BDSM/Erotic Horror tale. BDSM and horror mix naturally when you stop and think about it as BDSM is all about trust. But what happens if that trust is betrayed?

Chilling and it's core, but with a strong romance, this is a must read for anyone who is a fan of the BDSM genre.

BLURB:

Claire Hanson is a submissive in need of a Dom. Finding one in rural Illinois in 1981 is no easy feat but her requirements are simple. Forget complicated limit lists, take charge and give her lots of hot, sweaty sex. On edge, body humming with arousal, Claire aches to have her desires sated. And ruggedly handsome Dominant Mason Burke is the man she wants. But for Mason work comes first and Claire’s tired of waiting.

Mason’s loss is Dr. Carl Skinner’s lucky break. The bonus—Carl’s a rich, drop-dead gorgeous Dom with a real dungeon in his basement. Getting what you want isn’t always a good thing and the game takes a drastic turn Claire never saw coming. According to the Dungeon Master’s victims who still haunt his torture chamber, submission has fatal consequences and she’s running out of time.

Reader Advisory: This scary tale contains graphic scenes of erotic torture and violence that may cause the reader to stay up late reading with all the lights on.

4 Stars for Quinn's Quest

Quinn's Quest has received a 4 Star review from The Romance Studio.

"This series is always full of drama, action, complicated love stories and this novel is no exception...The plot is full of action and suspense and a villain as diabolical as they come...Ms. Walters has created a really complete world where werewolves and half breed wolves live alongside humans."

~Maura Frankman

Read entire review at The Romance Studio

Tuesday Teaser: Amethyst Moon

Today's Tuesday Teaser is from Amethyst Moon, a paranormal/ménage a trois. Right now, you can buy it from Ellora's Cave for only $0.99. Why not give it a try.

TUESDAY TEASER:

A large man lay sleeping in the bed. The covers were bunched around his waist, leaving his chest uncovered. She’d never seen a chest quite like this one up close and personal. Heavily muscled and lightly furred, it was impressive. His shoulders were wide, his neck thick and a tangle of blond hair fanned out on the pillow. She swallowed, trying not to give in to panic. She was still wearing her clothing and seemed to be physically fine. That was a definite plus.

But who the heck was he? She’d never met him before, she was sure of it. A woman didn’t forget a man who looked like this one did. But yet, he seemed familiar somehow. She stared at his face, which was no hardship. He was gorgeous. His features were strong and his aquiline nose and square jaw suited him.

She tore her gaze from him and examined the room. Think, Olivia, think! As much as she racked her brains, she couldn’t remember how she got here. Her last memory was of sitting in the stone chair in the hidden chamber she’d stumbled across.

Her bracelets. She held both arms up in the air and studied them. Relief filled her when she realized that they were safe. The stones looked more vibrant, more alive than she’d ever seen them. The deep amethyst seemed to glow. Olivia smiled, unable to stop herself as she tugged her sleeves back down to cover them. Whatever had happened when she’d sat in that chair, the bracelets had been unharmed. She frowned as she tried to recall what had transpired next.

She was so intent on remembering, she hadn’t realized that someone else had entered the room. He was so close to her she could feel the heat from his body. She jerked her gaze upward and froze. If the other man was gorgeous, this one was devastating. Black hair flowed to his shoulders, framing his rugged face. His nose had a bump in the center and his eyes were hooded. His brows were dark slashes that only served to emphasize the golden amber of his eyes. He was a predator and she was very afraid she was the prey.

Scrambling away, she fell smack into the arms of the first man. His heavily muscled arms closed around her, immobilizing her totally. Yet his hold on her was gentle. “I didn’t hear you awaken.”

Monday, Monday

Good morning and welcome to Monday. Hope you all enjoyed the weekend. Mine was filled with a series of minor annoyances. Nothing serious, just enough to make you want to crawl back in bed and pull the covers over your head.

Today is Monday and the start of a brand new week! Hope it's an excellent one for all of us. I'm back to work on my WIP, the final book in my new paranormal quartet. Can't wait to get it finished!

Want the Chance to Win a Print Book?

October 27th marks my 8th anniversary as a published writer. How fast the time has flown. To celebrate, I'm holding a contest and giving away a print book
every Friday from August 31st until October 19th. That's 8 print books up for grabs.

For details on how you can enter for a chance to win, go to my WEBSITE and click on the "Contests" page.


NOTE: You only need to enter once to be eligable for all 8 draws.

Movies of the Week

In the past week, hubby and I have seen two movies. The best of the two, in my humble opinion, was The Bourne Legacy. They made the movie about the man and how he got where he is, which allows you to know and sympathize with him as a character. This is an action-packed film and everything you'd expect from a "Bourne" movie. A great start to the new franchise. Can't wait for the next one!

The other movie we saw was Total Recall. The world they created for this film is utterly amazing. My problem with it? You have three decent actors and not much in the way of dialogue or character development. Still, if you're in search of an action movie that is almost 95% action and not much else, then this is the movie for you. Their special effects/CGI are incredible. All in all, not a bad remake.



Promote or Perish

The cry from the publishing world used to be publish or perish. But with the recent advent of self-publishing that cry has changed to promote or perish. There are so many wonderful books and authors available for readers the question is: How do you stand out from the pack and get readers' attention? It's not easy, especially for those of us not technologically inclined. I've heard some authors say they spend more time promoting than they do writing.

What got me thinking about this subject? Dita Parker's Blog and her post "This ain't a scene, it's an arms race." Be sure to stop by and check out her blog.

In the meantime, what do you think of this subject? What attracts you to a particular book or author?

Down and Dirty at Brenna Zinn's Blog

I'm getting "Down and Dirty" over at Brenna Zinn's Blog today. Stop by and check out the Q & A and the excerpt!

New Submission!

The research, rewrites and more rewrites are finally done and I just hit the "send" button on an email to send my latest book off to my editor. Now I wait.

In case you're wondering, it's the next book in the Awakening Desires series. You didn't think I'd forget Sapphire and Jake, did you? I'm hoping my editor likes it enough to contract it.

On Monday, I'm starting my final rewrites on another book (the third book in a new paranormal quartet for Samhain Publishing) and hope to have that one ready to submit to another editor by next Friday. I got a little backed up waiting for my reader (aka my hubby) to get the manuscripts back to me. Then I'll cross my fingers and hope my editor will contract it. I'm hopeful since she's already contracted the first two in the series.

Once that book is submitted, I'm back to my WIP, which is impatiently waiting for me.

Have a fabulous weekend!

National Book Lover's Day!

Today is National Book Lover's Day! Take the time to read a book. You'll be happy you did!

Treasure Hunting

Those of you who have followed my blog, know that I absolutely love thrift stores and yard sales. I love digging through other people's discarded and unwanted things and finding all sorts of interesting pieces. After all...one man's trash is another man's treasure, or in this case, woman's treasure.

Here are todays finds!



The first find is a fabulous Christmas piece. It says "Charming Tails" on the bottom, and I checked it out when I got home and found out they make all sorts of these statues. Now, I'm not one for knick-knacks, but this was just too cute. More Winter Solstice than Christmas. Can't wait to put it out in December. And only $4.99.

Then I hit the jewelry section. I freely admit that 95% of the time I find nothing I like, but that 5% when I do makes it all worthwhile. I found the necklace first. It's incredibly intricate and a chunky piece. Not sure what the green chips are, maybe adventurine.

I was trying to decide if I would buy it or not when I found the  matching bracelet. And they were only $1.99 each. That decided it and I bought them.

 All in all a very successful trip!

Over the years, I've found some really special things that I've given as presents. And, yes, I come from the kind of family that loves these kinds of gifts. Found my SIL who collects teapots a Kermit the Frog teapot, which turned out to be rare piece. I've found a sterling silver/moonstone pendant for my sister, as well as collectible tins for my mother. I love recycling things and giving them a new home with someone who appreciates them.

Do you yard sale or thrift store shop? If so, what is your best find?

Happy Treasure Hunting!

The Writer's Life

I think that a lot of folks think writers sit around all day eating and watching television and putting in an hour or two at their computers. Some days that might be true, but the majority of them are spent sitting on our butts while we write, edit and promote our writing.

Honestly, I find that the promoting part takes up  a great part of my time these days. There are blog posts, social media (primarily Facebook, Twitter, and Yahoo Groups), advertising, promotional items, contests and the list goes on. Not that I'm complaining. I love talking to readers and other writers, but some days it does feel a little overwhelming.

I've often said I can put in the equivalent of a days work in a two hour period in the morning. How? Once I sit at my computer (the one without internet access) and start writing, I don't move, I don't look away and I don't stop. I'm a very focused person once I begin writing, but the downside is that I can usually only get one writing session in a day because I've got nothing creatively left to give after one of these sessions. But that's okay. It works for me.

And when I'm not writing or promoting...I'm thinking about writing and promoting. I work from home so I never leave work. My desk is in the corner of my living room, a constant reminder that I should be working. So, many evenings you'll find me with my head buried in a book. It's relaxing, but it's also market research...at least that's what I tell myself. *g*

Now I'm off to work!

Some great links to check out:

Adele Dubois' Blog on her experience at Bob Mayer's Writer's Workshop.

Redlines and Deadlines blog lets you know what authors are celebrating 10 years with Ellora's Cave. Check out the Orginal Bad Girls of Romance

Helping Kate Hill Celebrate 10 years as an Ellora's Cave Author!

Kate Hill is celebrating her 10th Anniversary as an Ellora's Cave author and I'm helping her celebrate. All month long, Kate is interviewing other Ellora's Cave authors. Be sure to check out my interview up today at Kate Hill's Blog.

Also, be sure to check out  Kate Hill's Website for a complete listing of events. While you're there, be sure to enter the latest 10th Anniversary Contest. Kate is giving away a ton of fabulous prizes all month long!

August Full Moon & Newsletter Reminder

Welcome to August! There is a full moon tonight, the first of two for this month. Some folks say the crazies come out on the full moon, werewolves too. There is little doubt that the moon does have an affect on us, so this should be an interesting month.

NEWSLETTER REMINDER:

If you’re not already receiving Awakening Desires Newsletter—the Newsletter of Romance Author N.J. Walters—then you’re missing out on all the latest news, author interviews, excerpts and tons more!

You’re also missing out on a chance to win! Every newsletter, some lucky newsletter subscriber will win a download from my available backlist.

To join and to read back issues, just go to Awakening Desires Newsletter. The July/August issue is now available!