New Cover "All Grown Up"

"All Grown Up" has a new cover. It turns out, Amazon doesn't like a tiny hint of buttocks. Even a peek will get you an "Adult" tag, which basically makes your book disappear from the general search. After realizing AGU had been tagged, it was time for a new cover. It should appear on the Amazon product page in a few days, but here is the unveiling:

Blake feels coerced to take out his best friend’s sister while she’s in town. He remembers her as a chubby, awkward teenager with a crush on him. When Erin shows up at his door, he’s blown away. She’s all grown up now and a lush, curvy beauty. He’s never gone for Rubenesque women before, but he wants her desperately. To his consternation, Erin doesn’t seem to like him at all. He needs to figure out if he’s too bad-boy for the good girl, or if her apparent dislike hides something else—like a mutual desire she’s fighting to control, due to her own self-esteem issues and a refusal to be another one of Blake’s conquests.
(Don't forget you can read this title for free if you have a Kindle Unlimited membership.)

That awkward moment...

When you feel compelled to defend yourself as a serious writer, even though you write romances (but they have WORTHY!!! themes and none of that erotic trash), while simultaneously denigrating people who write erotic romances and erotica, and you don't realize how hypocritical you're being. The person who did this made me want to snort with amusement. The irony.

My view is if your writing entertains someone, it's as valid as anyone else's. My personal preference is I would rather read a well-crafted romance, erom, or erotica than one of the bastions of literature, such as Hemingway. (Have you read "The Old Man and The Sea"? He takes a long boat ride, catches a fish, loses fish to other fish, and that's about it. The End) For me, there is more value in a smutty (I mean that in a good way) romance novel by Marysol James than John Steinbeck. That doesn't mean I don't think the great writers were great. They worked hard, I'm sure, and some people love them. I'm just not their target.

So, authors, don't get so defensive, regardless of your genre. The people who want to read you will find you. The people who aren't your demographic will steer clear. They might mock you too, but develop a thick skin. You're going to need it in the publishing biz.

New Assistant

I've hired a new assistant, and she'll be doing most of the social media and PR things for me. You'll probably see Alexis posting for me on various places, like Twitter. She's my go-to person for interviews, review requests, etc. too. If she posts for me, she'll identify herself (maybe with initials or her first name). She'll find a way. I have complete faith in her. Thanks for the help, Alexis.

New Cover "Island Seduction"

"Island Seduction" has a new cover, though it will be a few days before it updates on Amazon. This is for the print and ebook editions. The print cover kept printing blurrily, no matter what we tried, so we finally said it just needs an entirely new cover.

Lanie accepts an invitation to spend vacation with her roommate and his father on their private island. The sparks fly between Lanie and Jason as soon as they meet. She wants him, and he wants the younger woman out of his son's life. The solution is simple--seduce her away from Josh to force her to show her true intentions. Once she has ended her engagement to Josh, he'll dump her brutally to teach the little gold-digger a lesson. Josh will forgive him once he realizes what she is. It seems so easy, until she becomes his lover, leaving Jason confused about her, his plans, and their future.

Lanie covers for Josh when he announces their engagement, though they have never been more than friends. She agrees to pretend to be engaged as long as he tells his dad the truth quickly. When Josh is called away for a summer internship, she and Jason have the island to themselves. She starts to fall in love with him and knows she'll have to tell him the truth for the sake of their future, even if it means exposing Josh's secret.

Warning: Contains multiple hot, romantic love scenes between two consenting adults that include erotic food usage, oral pleasure, and anal exploration.

Amazed

I'm frankly amazed at the success of "Kilted Tentacle Monster." It was fun to write, but I didn't expect so many people to actually want to read it. On Oct. 1, 2014, around 11 p.m., MDT, the story was #3 on the paranormal best sellers list on Amazon, just below books by Evangeline Anderson and Laurann Dohner. That is a nice accomplishment that I have never achieved before. I didn't think it would end up being with an erom about a Scottish tentacle alien hybrid. Thanks, Angus, for sharing your story with me (and a lot of people who apparently never knew they needed romantic tentacle monsters before), and for bringing Sasha along for the ride.

Still not planning a sequel or anymore dabbling with tentacles though!