His Royal Love Child is in Bookstores Now

Just a quickie reminder for those of you not on Harlequin's early shipment reader service, His Royal Love Child (2nd in the Royal Brides trilogy) is on shelves now.  And some very cool news to go along with that?  It's #1 this week on the Borders Group nationwide bestsellers list for series romance.  I'm jazzed!

 

The Scorsolini Princes: proud rulers and passionate lovers, they need convenient wives! 

 

Danette Michaels knew the rules when she became Principe Marcello Scorsolini’s secret mistress. There would be no marriage, no future, no public acknowledgement. All she’d have was his hard Sicilian body and his undivided passion. At the time, it was enough.

 

But Danette can’t be a dirty little secret any longer. She wants all or nothing – and that means their affair is over.

 

Until a pregnancy test changes everything…

Character Inspiration...

Okay...since you asked...here they are:

Inspiration for Eleanor Wentworth

Born into the world of old money and even older social distinctions, Ellie gives the appearance of fitting right in. She's lovely, elegant in her dress and her actions and knows the right things to say to all the right people. But in her heart, where it counts, she's always felt like a square peg in a round hole. She refuses to judge others by their place in the social strata or the amount of their wealth and rejects acceptance on those same terms. She works as a employment counselor for the state, helping others to better their lives and in her father's opinion, totally wasting her Ivy League education. Unbeknownst to her, Ellie has a twin and that knowledge is going to throw everyone in the book into a spin. I love those moments. LOL

Picture taken from Harper's Bazaar...an advert.

Inspiration for Sandor Christofides

Sandor was born the illegitimate son to a very Greek woman living in a small and still very traditional Greek village. Her stern father does not kick her out when he learns she is pregnant, but he never lets his grandson forget that he is the reason for his family's shame. The old man loves his daughter and grandson, but doesn't know how to show it and Sandor grows up with a burning need to make a place for himself that includes the respect and admiration of others as well as their unqualified acceptance. When his grandfather dies, Sandor's mother does the unthinkable and sells the family home and possessions to finance a new life for her and her son in America (the homeland of Sandor's father - do not know yet if he is dead or why he skipped the picture initially). Sandor excels in school and works odd jobs, beginning his build to wealth before he even leaves high school. At 30, he's one of the wealthiest and youngest men in a position of power in the worldwide shipping industry. He's now ready to embark on the next element to his plan...having the "right" kind of family.

Picture taken from CARGO magazine...an advert.

Wait until you see the inspiration for Amber and Miguel (the connected book). Too fun, believe me.

What do you think?
Do they make a great couple, or what?

JoAnn Ross Interview up...

at the Vamps and Scamps blog.  Go by and read the interview and post to the comments...JoAnn is visiting and she's just so darn nice.  Like I said in the blog over there, she's one of my favorite people. :)

 

And if you haven't bought your copy yet, get IMPULSE.  You will *not* be disappointed!

 

Hugs,
Lucy

My new characters...

Ah...I've started a new book.  It's a Presents and I'm calling it, "The Greek's 'Business' Proposal" but have no idea what Harlequin will actually title it.  My Greek tycoon is not one of the lovely men born with lots of money, but a guy who started off on the poor side of town and blasted his way to the top.  Or at least very close to it.  He wants a wife, children...the stuff that will make his life feel as legitimate as his mother wishes he was.  He doesn't want a lot of trouble...no complications...and definitely not an overabundance of emotion.  Ellie doesn't want a business marriage, a cold life with a husband who sees her as a figure head rather than a living breathing woman and with a twin she's never known, she's all about complications.

 

I've just started and I'm already loving the book. LOL  It's so my thing...which makes me wonder why I like so much conflict in my books when life's real challenges are enough to send me hiding under the bed sometimes.  Or at least to my office where I lose myself in someone else's inability to control their world or the people in it.

 

There's a freedom when I write for Presents, to go further with the emotion, than I feel writing my other books.  Maybe it's the length of the story, or the fantasy elements, but I truly love writing these books.  Okay...yes...you all know I love writing all my stories and I must be a character slut because I honest to goodness love all of my characters, but with each new book, I feel like I love it more than any I've written before. LOL

 

Let me know if you want to see pics of Ellie and Sandor...or at least their inspiration?

 

Hugs,

Lucy

A definitely edgy book...

Not to cut off our discussion of what makes a book edgy, but I just got this recommendation from one of my group blogs and thought it sounded very much like a precipice book.  What do you think?

 

OUT OF THE DARKNESS by Jaci Burton and C. J. Burton

(Ellora’s Cave)

 

Harlee has lived as a human her entire life, working as a psychiatrist on a secret government project evaluating captured werewolves and vampires. Then one night two strangers jerk her from her bed, blindfold her and turn her world upside down. She is taken deep into the realm of lycans and vampires and told an unbelievable story-that she is the daughter of a forbidden union between a vampire and a werewolf and now possibly the future leader of both their clans. 

 

She doesn't believe them. Vampires and werewolves are the enemies of humans. She hangs onto her humanity, her one and only goal to escape from her sexy and enigmatic captors before she loses her heart and possibly her very soul.

 

The vampire Adrian's and the lycan Duncan's goals are entirely different-to mate with the fiery beauty and determine whether her dominant blood is vampire or werewolf. One merely desires her. One will claim her for all eternity.

 

But dark forces turn what begins as a search for identity into a struggle for survival.

What does it mean to write "edgy" stories?

I had a member of my online class loop ask me this question and I thought it was something readers would enjoy discussing too. So, I'm having the chat about it here.

I've been told by editors, readers and other authors that I write "edgy" books. Others give me a blank-eyed stare when I ask if they think my work is edgy. So, the first point I want to make is that edgy - like beauty - is in the eye of the beholder. An author who writes about male werewolves engaging in coitus and a reader who routinely reads that kind of book is definitely not going to think the stuff I write is on the sharp edge of much of anything. LOL However, for your average romance reader, a hero that is darkly alpha, lovemaking that can include fun stuff like hot tubs and bondage and emotions that teeter on the precipice of overwhelming can be considered edgy.

To me, our term is defined by writing on the rim of the canyon but keeping your characters from going over...maybe. It's not being afraid to delve into dark emotion, erotic lovemaking, boundary pushing plotting. Some lines and imprints specialize in edgy. Some authors do too. JoAnn Ross is an edgy writer. In different ways, so is Lora Leigh. But then, so is Jayne Ann Krentz.

When you are writing for the Presents market, edgy means writing a deeply emotional story that isn't always comfortable maybe, but is ultimately satisfying for the reader. It means telling the characters' story, not the author's idea of what would make a good story and that's not always easy to do.

This is a good time for me to remember this because I'm starting a new Presents...and yep, it's got some edge to it. But I'm digging deeper, because I want to write on the precipice of emotion so intense and deep that it sucks me over the edge and I don't mind going. If I can do that for *me*, I can hope to give the same experience to my reader.

How about you?

What makes a book edgy? Who are some of your favorite authors who write on the sharp blade of a knife and keep you coming back for more?

Hugs,
Lucy

She's been sprung by the warden...

For good behavior...or at least her heart is FINALLY behaving and her blood pressure is at more acceptable levels.  For those of you who haven't been to the blog recently, I'm talking about my mom and she's been in the hospital for a while.  I'm headed over to help her get settled in at home, but wanted to share with everyone who has been keeping the vigil with me, that we're on the up swing now. :)

 

And, Michele, I agree...I've got some very special friends in my readers!

 

Hugs,
Lucy

Something Better than Chocolate???

I know...you thought you'd never hear me say that...but it's true.  I love my new eBook reader even more than Dove dark chocolate.  It's totally delicious.  And convenient.  And addictive.  It came with a 64 meg memory card at no additional cost and I've got 40 books on there already and still 60% of the card is free.  I'd had other readers tell me that they loved their eReaders, but I thought I'd never love something as much as a paper book.  Well, I do...and that's even more shocking than liking it more than chocolate.  Believe me.

 

But it's so convenient.  I don't have to hold the pages open, I switch between pages with the touch of a button.  I can search the book and do my own version of flipping through it looking for my favorite scenes by tapping the stylus on the page number bar at the bottom.

 

I've learned a few things though...while html files are more universal (there is no support on this dedicated eReader and the others I looked at for pdf files, which was an ugly surprise 'cuz that's what I'd bought originally for reading on my computer), they don't translate well to the eReader.  So, I do a quick save as a Word document and delete all pictures to minimize file size before doing the file transfer.  All formatting and characters come out great this way.

 

Not all ePublishers are created equally when it comes to customer service, but I highly recommend Ellora's Cave and Loose ID.  Both companies were very helpful with me when I made the transition from reading on my computer to using a dedicated eReader.  Not to mention, they carry some of my favorite eBook authors...Doreen DeSalvo, Melissa Schroeder, Lora Leigh, Ashleigh Raine, etc.

 

And while you are at it, check out Samhain, who have a release coming from fabulous new author Kate Davies.  Taking the Cake is a truly yummy confection of a book with tremendous sexual tension and a great romance!  (I got to read it pre-publication and can't recommend it highly enough.)  And I'm on my way over to New Concepts Publishing to buy a book or two by another author who totally intrigues me...Monica Burns.

 

Of course, if you want to try an eBook by moi...you can buy my Royal Trilogy (all three books are available *now*) via eReader.com or Fictionwise.com.

 

I did say it was addictive!

 

Are you an eReader addict as well, or...

What's your most recent harmless addiction?

 

Hugs,

Lucy

 

Catching Up :)

First, I just want to thank everyone for being so supportive and all your prayers for my mom. :)  I read all your comments and they really blessed me over the past hectic days.  She's had some complications since the insertion of the pacemaker, but she's fighting like the trooper she is and I know that eventually it will be okay. :)

 

Second, during the five hours I sat beside her bed the day she had the pacemaker put in, I wrote the final scenes on Ethan's book and plotted the first scene of my next one!!!  Ethan's book needs a final edit, but I feel so good.

 

Third, thanks to my darling hubby, I've entered the world of eReaders and it's grand, but I'll blog more about that later this week.

 

Fourth, I had a wonderful Mother's Day and Anniversary (lots of pressies - very nice) and hope all the other moms out there had a lovely day too.

 

Hugs,
Lucy

An update and a great read...

I'm inches away from being done with Ethan's story.  It's been really hard to make the time to write with Mom still in the hospital.  But the pacemaker will go in tomorrow morning and we're all hoping her liver specialist is wrong about how she heals from it.  They've underestimated her so many times before and we all pray this will be another one of them.

 

But I wanted to chat up a book that I read recently and LOVED.  Megan's Mark by Lora Leigh is totally yummy.  It's one of her best Breed books yet and you all know I am now a huge fan of this series.  Lora is a smart writer and uber talented.  The book is filled with emotion, sensuality and a page-turning plot.  She's also got an Ash  type character (for SK fans out there) in Jonas Wyatt which will intrigue and torment Lora's readers as beautifully as SK has ever done with Ash.  I'm already dying for the man's book and I bet it's going to be a couple of years before we see it.

 

If you like erotic paranormal, you REALLY need to read this book!

 

And some neat news I wanted to share, but AND ABLE is currently #1 on Barnes & Noble's Tradesize Romances nationwide bestseller's list.

 

Hugs,

Lucy

Ahead of The Davinci Code...

In e-book anyway. :)  Harlequin chose my Royal Brides trilogy for part of their launch into the e-book market.  My editor and I just found out because...the book pack is currently the #1 selling book on eReader.com (the world's largest e-book store), right ahead of The Davinci Code!  Isn't that fun?

 

And an update on my current WIP:  I'm definitely getting closer to goal.  Which is great news.  I'm at page 325 and the book is going to be somewhere around 380 manuscript pages.  I think.  I tend to write long, even when I don't want to.  It's really flowing now, but it just takes longer to write than it used to.  I think I weigh my words more carefully, or something.  That can only be a good thing, right?

 

Hugs,
Lucy

Speaking of new faves...

I've discovered more than one favorite new author reading an anthology and Melissa Schroeder falls in that category. She is one of the authors who makes her characters live and breathe for me, she's also darn good at plot. And you know she writes sexy if I love reading her. She's got a new print release from Loose I.D. and it's one that will definitely go on my keeper shelves.

Voices Carry by Melissa Schroeder

Includes the three action-adventure books, Voices Carry, Lost in Emotion and Hard Habit to Break, previously released in ebook form, together for the first time!

A Federation under siege. A Counter-Terrorism Department overworked. Paranormal abilities outlawed. But when no one suspects what you can do, criminal Voices Carry. Called by lust and longing, three telempaths risk their lives to put their skills to work for the Federation Counter-Terrorism Department.

If you have not read one of Melissa's stories, you REALLY need to and this book is a great place to start! My guess is she's going to end up on *your* keeper shelves too. :)

And just in...a rec from one of my other blog sites...MIDNIGHT SECRETS by Jennifer St. Giles. Another paranormal suspense romance, this one from Berkley.

Hugs,
Lucy

An Update...

Because so many have asked. :)  I posted Saturday to say that I was 100 pages and a final paper edit from done, right?  Well...I spent 6 hours on Saturday dedicated to an author/reader luncheon put on by Rose City Romance Writers.  It was fabulous, btw!  Those ladies really know how to put together a special afternoon and hearing Elizabeth Boyle speak was ultra inspiring.  Which I totally needed. :)

 

Got home to a house full of extra kids.  My favorite kind, but not super conducive to writing.  And I was so bleary eyed from days without sleep that I could not actually write a cohesive sentence anyway.  Tried to take a nap...sleeping not so successful, but I did rest my eyes.  Got up and caught up on email.  Then my sister came over and stayed 'til after midnight.  I started writing about 12:30 a.m.  I won't say what time I went to sleep, but I got about 7 pages written and about as many edited left over from the day before.  Yesterday, Mom needed a handicap ramp built in front of her house.  My hubby and b-i-l did the building.  We spent the entire day and evening there.  Got home about 9 last night.  Household stuff before bed.  No writing.

 

I slept in this morning intil 9:30 a.m. - very good.  Yummy sleep finally. :)  I spent the rest of the morning catching up on email and keeping my commitments to others and I've got about 6-8 hours of website updates that MUST be done ASAP.  I *hope* to get some pages in tonight, but right now, I need to take dh to drop his car off at the shop and then will spend a couple of hours carpooling various kids.  After which many of said kids will be here to keep me company. ;-)

 

I still love Mondays!

 

Hugs,

Lucy

A couple of books filled with sexy humor...

Sometimes laughing out loud is all that stands between us and insanity...for the sake of *your* mental well being, I offer:

 

When Del Montgomery’s boss sends her to the Missouri Ozarks in search of a legendary pottery pig, her mission seems simple: figure out which of the clueless locals has the pig, convince them to sell it for peanuts, and then hightail it back to Chicago. Local auctioneer, Sam Samson, could be the perfect secret weapon in her search– as long as he never figures out what she’s really after. But is it possible to resist a tall, dark, gorgeous guy who’s as sly as he is sexy?

Everything about Del turns Sam on, from her city sass to her delicious cleavage to her habit of twitching her nose when she’s about to tell a whopper. And she’s been telling a lot of them. Still, Sam knows a true babe when he sees one, and he’s not about to let Del slip away…

And...

Just One Spark by Jenna Bayley-Burke

Mason knew Hannah was the one the first time he saw her. Unfortunately, in the heat of a very hot moment, he forgot he was wearing a wedding ring...

Even when the gorgeous firefighter managed to persuade Hannah the ring wasn’t actually his, he was still in trouble: Hannah was irresistible, confident, and sexy as hell – but she wouldn’t let him give her anything more than mind-blowing sex!

Mason had to help her trust her instincts – trust him – even if they cold only get through to each other in bed. Perhaps action could speak louder than words...