My Fav and Not-So-Fav Books Turned Movies

I did a guest post over at Chick Lit=The New Black! Please go check it out!! Very very fun!!!

Desert Planet or Ice World????

That's the question of the day!! Today I have a guest post from Aubrie Dionne, talking about her new book!

Take it away, Aubrie!!

Thank you for hosting me today, Stephanie! I’ve been following your blog for some time, and I love hearing about your author journey. I also think it’s pretty cool we share the same publisher at LPI. 

I’m here to talk about Tundra 37, the second book in my New Dawn series, which released yesterday!!! Don’t worry if you haven’t read the first book. Each installment can be read separately and still make sense. So here goes my guest blog… Why I chose a frozen planet… 

For Contrast: The first book, Paradise 21, was mainly set on a desert planet. I wanted a completely different landscape for the next book, Tundra 37. 

In Homage to Hoth: 

Some inspiration came from the frozen ice planet of Hoth in Star Wars. I loved the abominable snow monster-called the Wampa, and the horned tauntauns, which Luke Skywalker and Han Solo ride across the frozen plain. I wanted to create my own ice world with its own unique inhabitants. In Tundra 37, you’ll see alien mammoths with hair that can extend and pull you into their mouths, and tentacled beasts that live in an underground ocean, covered by ice. They were immensely fun to write and provided great obstacles to torture my characters with.

Because of My Personal Experience with Cold Weather: 

Living in New Hampshire can sometimes feel like living at the North Pole. Temperatures fall below freezing from December to March, and we get Nor’easters that can dump up to ten feet of snow. I wear pants underneath a long skirt, two of more sweaters, a hat, gloves, a scarf, and knee high boots all winter long. Suffice to say: I hate being cold. I remember one day way back in high school where I almost passed out from the cold. I was playing piccolo in the marching band at the Turkey Bowl, which is always way too far into November to sit outside for several hours. First came the shivering, so bad that my teeth clacked together, then a hazy dizziness, and then numbness all over. A clarinetist kept yelling my name to keep me awake. He may have been teasing me, but he also kept me from passing out that day. People say write what you know: and in this case, I know a lot about being cold. 

My question to you: Would you rather crash land on a desert planet or an ice world?

Aubrie Dionne

Romantic Science Fiction and Fantasy
Get Swept Away to Other Worlds...
http://www.authoraubrie.com  
http://authoraubrie.blogspot.com

Buy on Amazon! 
Buy on Barnes and Noble! 

Indie Vs. Selp Publishing...my choice

Today I'm over at Fiction Groupie talking about Indie publishers and self publishing and why I did what I did. Come stop by and check it out!!

Click here!

The awesome, magificent, fabulous....

Sondrae Bennett is on my blog today!!!! She is a fellow Lyrical Press author with awesome romantic paranormal  stories! Her newest release, Chasing Paradise, is now out, part two in the Alpine Woods Shifters Series!

Take it away, Sondrae!

As both readers and writers, we know the power of words. They can be used to wound an opponent as sharp as any sword, or to fill a friend with hope or happiness. Coaches use them before big games to infuse their teams with the strength to win. But what happens when words are used carelessly. What happens when these powerful weapons are thrown out heedlessly and hit someone who wasn’t supposed to be in range?

That’s exactly what my hero, Ethan, learns in Chasing Paradise. He denies his mate, Gwen, unaware that she is standing just beyond the door and hears every word. When she runs, it’s up to him to not only find her, but win her back. And this time, it will take more than words.

Blurb:

He’ll do whatever it takes to earn back her trust.

A vacation is exactly what Ethan needs to escape the mate hungry females in his pack. Determined to have fun, he can’t think of a better way to start than sampling all the different flavors the shifter only resort has to offer, and not the food variety. But after he meets Gwen, no one else holds any interest for him. Ethan came on vacation to avoid mating. There’s no way he’s going to give up his freedom without a fight.

Gwen is devastated when she hears her mate denying everything they are to each other. She can’t sit by, watching him fool around with other girls at the resort. Or worse, crawl back, unable to resist the mating pull but not really wanting her. She needs to get away and her own vacation sounds like the perfect plan. But she should have remembered what her mother always taught her, never run from a predator unless you want them to chase you. The hunt is on…

WARNING: This title contains explicit sex

Excerpt:

When she stopped in front of him, her eyes locked on his and he was powerless to look away.

“Hi.” Her gaze shifted to the side as if searching for something to say. “I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself earlier, or thank you for saving me from the wall. I’m Gwen.”

She thrust out her hand to shake his, and Ethan stared at it. How would she react if he pulled her into his arms and ravaged those beautiful lips like he wanted to? Instead, he gave her a smile and shook hands.

“Actually, you did manage to thank me.” Utterly charming him in the process, too.  The blush that stole over her cheeks only endeared her to him more. “I’m Ethan. Can I buy you a drink, Gwen?”

Her gaze drifted to the open doors behind him. “I probably shouldn’t. I try not to mingle with guests.” She continued to stare into the bar before glancing back at him, her doe-like eyes hiding nothing. She wanted to stay with him and was fighting an internal battle with her conscience. It would be easy to tip the scales in his favor.

With any other woman, he’d swing his arm around her shoulders, and guide her toward the bar with a charming smile. Instead, using his intuition as his guide, he cupped her cheek with his hand. Her eyes closed as she nuzzled her face against him but flew open moments later as he drew her closer. His other hand slipped around her waist as he tilted her chin up, aligning her lips with his.

As soon as his lips brushed against hers, his wolf growled low in his chest. Something about this woman captivated him. The need to touch her, taste her, move inside her, was unbearable. Resisting the urge to crush her against him proved difficult and he struggled to keep the kiss light.

Despite his resolution, the feel of her lips parting in silent invitation proved too much for his tightly-strung control. His tongue thrust inside, exploring her mouth as his arms pulled her tighter against him. Her hands closed into fists, pulling at him as if to draw him closer. Breaking away, he gasped for air, need setting him on fire. Gwen rested her head on his shoulder, panting as well.

“What say we skip the drink and go back up to my room?” Ethan suggested, desperate to know her better.

“No.” Her quick reply was so unexpected, it took him a moment to process.

No? He thought they had been on the same page. Her hands were still fisted in his shirt, her body a comfortable weight in his arms. Everything indicated she had enjoyed the kiss as much as he had. Hell, she’d practically melted against him. What had he done wrong?

The moment he’d met this woman, everyone else had ceased to matter. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life. It devastated him to think she might not feel the same way. Letting her go tonight would be one of the hardest things he’d ever done. If that was what she wanted, he’d find a way to walk away. But it wouldn’t end there. Wolves were persistent when they wanted something and he wanted Gwen. Nothing would stop him from coming back until she was ready for him. He’d win her over eventually. No other outcome was acceptable.

“My room is bigger.”

It took a moment to process the meaning behind her words, but once he did, his soul leapt and he fought the impulse to howl.

Query Hell or Cupcake Heaven????

Which would you prefer?

This:

Or this:

Yeah...I know what I would pick!! Today I have the AWESOME Jen Daiker from Unedited here to guest blog!! If you don't follow her, definitely go do it now! Thanks Jen for being here!!

Querying.

Your friends may call it Query Hell but I prefer Cupcake Heaven.

That’s right, you’re about to embark on a journey that includes cupcakes and honestly, who doesn’t love cupcakes?

Since Stephanie invited me here I’ll share both positive and negative aspects of querying – after all it’s only fair.

Steps to query

1. Master your query letter. If you’re looking for help Elana Johnson’s Query to the Call will seriously knock your socks off. From there to send to a couple of friends. Don’t go crazy because you don’t want the negativity bug to bite you.

2. Compile a list. Not every agent is going to like you. It will be subjective – very subjective. So be sure to get a few TOP agents you want to query paired with a few that you just want to ‘test’ the waters with. QueryTracker is a great guide to not only keep track of your queries and agents but also to see the turn-around time. When you first start out just send a few (3-5) and see how they take. I watched who responded quickly so I could get my first rejections out of the way.

Side note: This is where the cupcakes come in. To keep from getting the negative attitude that comes when querying we remove the word rejection and replace it with cupcake. When an agent gives you a cupcake rather than a rejection you can’t be that mad can you?

3. Cry. This one you will not get away from. They start to sting after a while and I’d be lying to you if I said they don’t continue to hurt. It’s best to cry it out… eat a cupcake (but not for every cupcake you receive – trust me you’d end up a cow).

4. Know when to stop. Walk away from the email, quit checking the said agents twitter account, and for junk sake step away from Querytracker. As much as they can be your friends the wait will tear you down. Watching all the requests you receive can give you major doubt syndrome. When you see all the positives and you start feeling the negatives take a day off from the computer. You’ll thank me.

5. Never give up. Requests will come and go along with the cupcakes. The point is to never second guess and never give up. You believed your work was good enough now let it do the talking. Meg Cabot was rejected over a hundred plus times and never gave up, now she’s on top. You worked hard now let the hard work do the talking.

So enjoy Cupcake Heaven. One day after you’ve eaten one too many you’ll laugh remembering how long it was, how hard it was, and how much it paid off.