My Holiday Gifts to YOU!!! Gift Card, books and swag!

I love Christmas. I really do. And when I'm asked about my favorite story, one in particular always comes to mind.
When my son was about five, we lived in Ohio in this beautiful multi-level cedar sided house. It had decks on both ends of the house. That year, we had our Christmas Tree in the sun-room on the south side of the house.
At five, our son was curious about Santa. He was worried that the reindeer wouldn't be able to land because our roof was shrouded in trees. We promised him that the reindeer would make it work. They'd get Santa here somehow.
Christmas morning we woke up and had our celebration. After a little while, my husband stepped out to the deck for firewood. Within a few seconds he called me out to look at what he'd found.
Reindeer prints in the snow! They were deer prints, of course, (I think) but it so totally backed up our street cred with our boy when he saw them. Santa and the reindeer had made it to our house!
The deck was 2 stories up! If you look in the background, that's my jeep down below.
Check out the pics! I do apologize for the quality- these are pictures of pictures, but I think you can get an idea.

The even crazier part is where these prints actually were. This side of the house was set into the hill, and the deck was L-shaped. The 'reindeer' walked UP four steps then turned the corner of the L. We couldn't believe them when we saw them. 

So, that's my Christmas story. It added some unexpected magic to the day.

Real quick, I have to mention I have a new release! It would be a wonderful gift!

In the harrowing prequel to The Lost and Found series, three embattled Marines must deal with their devastating physical and emotional injuries in a world that seems to have turned against them. 
When the rescue helicopter crashes into his convoy in Iraq, Marine First Sergeant Duncan Wilde struggles with the loss of men, his career and the use of his body. Things can't get much worse. Until his fiancée decides she has to move on with her life, and that of her unborn child by another man.
Sergeant Chad Lowell knew when he went to war that it would come with a price. And it did. A young Marine under his command is killed by a landmine. Chad's left with one less leg and a mountain of recriminations. That doesn't mean he wants to be a pitied by every female he comes in contact with.
Gunnery Sergeant John Palmer is furious at the hand he's been dealt. He's served his country faithfully, if not without antagonism, for many years. Now they're turning him out like a relative who has overstayed his welcome. And, since he's not even a real man anymore, maybe it is time to move on permanently. 
Can these wounded warriors use a friendship borne out of adversity to form a partnership rescuing others? And can they find real love in spite of their challenges?

Now, on to the prizes!!!

Tell me about your most favorite Christmas story. One person who leaves a comment will win a $10 Amazon or B & N gift card, a free download of ANY of my books and a gift pack of swag. The swag bag is for US residents only, but the GC and download can be for international residents. If you ALSO sign up for my newsletter, your name will be entered 2X! I will draw the winner December 17th.

And don't forget about the GRAND PRIZE!!!

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $200 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

Be sure to leave your email!!!! That's how you're entered! And click the hop button at the top to return to the list. Good Luck and Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!

Am I Your 'Next Big Thing?'

There are the books everyone has heard about: Twilight, Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Gray. But what about all those books written by people you’ve never heard of? Some of them are treasures, just waiting to be found, and that’s what this blog hop is all about: the books you might not have heard about, but that you might end up loving.

This blog hop is like a game of tag. One author posts and tags up to five other authors who link back to their website the next week and tag five new authors. If you follow the blog hop long enough, you’re bound to find some books you’ll love! Maybe you’ll even discover a book that ends up being the next big thing.

I was tagged by Robyn Peterman, a fabulous friend and writer. You can learn more about her hilarious book How Hard Can It Be? on her website, and it will be out mid-January. I’ll tell you, I’ve never read anything funnier. Pee-your-pants kind of funny. You need to make note of her name.
Taryn Raye is the first author on my list you need to check out. She's been a good friend for many years and has released her first book, a fabulous, sweeping historical titled Castaway Hearts through Turquoise Morning Press. It's in print and ebook!

This blog hop includes ten questions to help you learn more about an author’s current work in progress, so here’s a little info about my current project:

1: What is the working title of your book? Embattled Love

2: Where did the idea come from for the book? Well, really, it came from all the veterans we have returning from war right now. I don't think anybody has written this type of storyline before.

3: What genre does your book fall under? It will be romantic suspense.

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Hmmm, for the male I think I’ll dream big and say Hugh Jackman, mostly because of his look and ability to slip into any role. This would be a hard one for him though because the hero is wheelchair bound. As for the female, maybe a Mila Kunis or Natalie Portman look.

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Wow. Ok. Wheelchair bound hero struggles to keep love-interest safe from vengeful ex-boyfriend/stalker. 60,000 words in one sentence.

6: Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? Self-published, of course. Traditional probably wouldn’t even look at something like this.

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Still going. On the final chapters though. In total, I’ve worked on this series a couple of years.

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Hmmm, a lot of people have tapped on the military aspect, but I don’t know anyone who’s done a vet series like this.

9: Who or What inspired you to write this book? The vets returning from the war. It’s not as bad as when the Vietnam Vets came home with all the protests, but the same disregard still seems to pervade the public about what they’ve had to do to serve their country. It’s easy to go along with our daily lives and forget we have people dying (and killing) for our safety every single day. They need to be recognized. And appreciated. And of course they need love.

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? This is going to be a multi book series and the prequel, Embattled Road, is already out on Amazon. It goes through the men’s background and fills in the back story of their friendship and how they recovered from their devastating injuries.

And a portion of the proceeds of the books will be donated to a wounded veteran charity.

Here is a list of fabulous authors who will be joining the hop for week 26 on December 17th. I hope you’ll visit their blogs next week and learn more about their wonderful books. Maybe one of them will become your new favorite author!

1 Taryn Raye

2 Jesse Coffey

3 DL Jackson

4 Krista Ames

5 Teresa Reasor

A Needful Heart is FREE 12-06 and 12-07!!!

I can't believe I almost forgot to announce this!

I'm leaving the Select program on December 18th and this is the last time the book will be free on Amazon.

The program worked well for me but readers want diversity, so after the 18th it will be available on all platforms.

If you've already read the book, Thank you. If you've read AND reviewed the book, Many, Many Thank-you's.

If you haven't read it yet, pick it up. Please. I'm told it's a really good read. ;-)))

Writers- Don't Fall for Archway Publishing!

I'm so aggravated! As if it isn't bad enough that big name publishing companies do shady deals with their own writers, now the're preying on the hopeful, with dreams-in-their-eyes newbies.
Grrr....pisses me off. Sorry for the language, but it does.
Simon & Schuster has gone into business with Author Solutions, a company well known for bilking unknowing writers of hard earned cash in publishing deals. They overcharge, over-sell, take rights that aren't theirs. There's a well-documented list over the past several years.
Read David Gaughran's blog post here. And check out Writer Beware.
Basically, Simon & Schuster created Archway Publishing, a business working in tandem with Author Solutions offering 'self-publishing contracts'.
First off- it's not self-publishing if you contract through a company to publish a book. That's called VANITY publishing. And let's look at what you get when you vanity publish through Archway Publishing.
For only $2000, you get...fluff. You get exactly what you WOULD get if you actually SELF-PUBLISHED yourself, in the truest sense of the term.

• Amazon and Google search programs- okay, basically you're listed with Google and Amazon.
• ISBN- okay,  well, several of the publishing sites don't even require an ISBN, but if they do, if you go through Smashwords it's free.
• Personalized Archway Publishing Bookstore Page- Whoo hoo.
• Barnes and Noble- Look inside the book option. Okay, again, if you self-publish with B & N on the Pubit platform yourself you will receive this. FREE.
• Standard cover design- meh, not impressed with their examples. But, of course, you can PAY THEM for a better cover.
• 'Editorial Assessment'- Okay, it even says in their info this is not actual editing. But, of course, YOU CAN PAY FOR EDITING THROUGH THEM. WHICH MAY PUSH YOUR BILL UP TO $5000!!!

For Non-fiction your book package may cost as much as $25000. What the hell!

And then...THEN.... They want 50% of your royalties. Holy crap, Batman, that's so wrong!

I promise you, I have NEVER put $2000 into a book, let alone $5000. I'm too broke to do that. With a little bit of time and energy, you can put out a professionally covered, well-edited, properly formatted book for less than $500. I know, I've done it. Depending upon the size of the book the price may fluctuate for editing and formatting. And that's for PRINT, too! And that includes all the other little doo-dads they have listed on their site.

I know for a fact they will have business from this venture and I feel sorry for the people that fall for the name. Sadly, Simon & Schuster won't even put their name on your book after you've paid all that money. Nope. It'll be under Archway Publishing, which nobody knows.

I sincerely hope that writers investigate this to their full ability before committing to anything. There are resources out there to guide you in self-pubbing yourself. You don't have to hire somebody to tell you what to do when. Defeats the point of self-publishing, right?

If you have questions, ask another self-pubbed/ indie author. I have found as a group that they are the most open writers you will ever meet. Heck, if you have a question or need help, ASK ME!!! If I don't know the answer I will certainly know somebody who does. Read back through my blog. I have a lot of valuable information listed. 

Be cautious!

Black Friday Blog Hop-A chance to WIN 3 BOOKS!!!

I came to a decision this week. And it's pretty momentous. I'm not going to be one of the crazy women going out at 4am Friday morning this year. Nope.
Gonna wait till at least 10. *snicker*
I can't help it. I have to go out the day after. While kids and hubby are home sleeping in and playing video games, mom's going to be running from store to store, smart phone in hand, grabbing every deal she can.
But do you know WHY I'm waiting till 10? So I can HOP and try to win books!

Decadent publishing has more phenomenal books out right now than I can keep up with. I, personally, have three titles with them (Second time Around, Wet Dream and Love on the Line), with another on the way after the first of the year. If you haven't read them yet, I suggest you do- I've had a lot of compliments and kick-ass reviews.
Or...
OR...
If you want to try to win them, maybe I can help you out.
For those that sign up for my newsletter, your name will be entered to win ALL THREE books. If you already have all of my Decadent books, I can substitute my indie books. If you are one of the precious few that have ALL of my books, all 7, I thank you sincerely from the bottom of my heart.
You know, let's make this a little richer.
For those of you that sign up for my newsletter, you will be entered in a drawing to win 3 free books PLUS an early copy of THE EMBATTLED ROAD, my newest indie title I have coming out in December centered around returning veterans.

Man, four free books. I don't know about you but that's at least a day's worth of reading for me.
Thank you for stopping by! The sign-up for my newsletter is to the right, and the list of other Decadent authors participating in the Hop are below. Thank you so much for reading!

Free Promo Results and Tips- 30K Books Downloaded

I enrolled A Needful Heart in the Select Program a few weeks ago, because it just wasn't moving anywhere. I had sold less than 10 books at Amazon and a few at Kobo, but no great numbers. I didn't feel I was losing readers by going with select.
I had heard that doing a free listing on the weekend was a waste of time, so I scheduled my first promo to run Thursday October 4th and Friday October 5th, when I knew people would be on the computer.
BUT, the week before the promo I started sending notification to all the freebie sites I could find. Yes, I did Pixel of Ink and all the other biggies, but I also did a lot of smaller sites. I did probably 30 free pages on Facebook the days of the sale. (The list is below). The other day I came across this WG2E page, and I wish I had it before I started, because it had even more options. I did use some of the Facebook pages to announce it that day.
At 7:11 Thursday morning, I had had 21 downloads. By 1:51pm I had 469 and had hit the contemporary list at number 82. By 8:30 Friday morning I hit #66 on the OVERALL FREE list and #15 on the contemporary list with 2740 downloads. Once you hit the list, it really does start feeding itself. At one point I worked out that I was having about 40 downloads a minute.
Throughout these two days I was tweeting and updating my Facebook page. If you're on a budget, use Twuffer to schedule your tweets. With twenty minutes of work I had the entire day scheduled and into the night.  Just be sure your tweets are unique; the system kicks out duplicates. If you use Hootesuite, you can upgrade to the $9.99 a month and get the scheduling upgrade.
Throughout the two days, my downloads and ranking continued to climb, as well as my reviews. In two days I garnered 10 brand new mostly 5 star reviews in the US, and 2 in the UK. The kind of reviews that absolutely melt your heart and keep you writing.
     " I downloaded this book as soon as I saw this free alert earlier...and I made the mistake of opening it at work.
Now I am finished reading it.
ALL OF IT.
And I have to say...this might be one of the VERY best books I can EVER remember reading. I found myself in tears many times as I read Matt's struggle with feeling worthy of being loved and how he opened up under Gina's loving kindness and open heart.
I cannot recommend this story enough. It is just so, SO good that I cannot seem to find the words to really do it justice." Thank you AngelWTattoos, whoever you are!
To me, the entire promo was worth doing just for those awesome reviews. I love this book, and I knew if I could find an audience, they would love it as well. And they have.
At 6:15 pm Friday, I had had 9730 downloads and was #7 on the overall free list, #3 on contemporary. I realized I had a dilemma. At this point downloads were flying and I was still climbing the charts, but I was scheduled to end at midnight. I hadn't hit number 1 yet, and my ego wondered if I could. I spoke with a writer friend and she agreed that it would be a good move to keep the book listed free for another day. So, I scheduled it to be free Saturday as well. And I'm glad I did. When I woke up Saturday morning, I was number 1 on the total FREE list AND the contemporary.
Again, when you get that high it continues to feed itself. I did some tweets Saturday, but I was out of the house most of the day and unable to do much more than that. I had only scheduled with the free sites for Thursday and Friday, so they weren't a help, unless somebody had looked at the old listings and was curious enough to buy the book.
At the end of the originally scheduled promo- Friday night- I had had 16,621 downloads. At the end of the extra day - Saturday night- I had had 25,980 total downloads.
For the first time I did well in other countries too. UK had 4739 total downloads and another 273 split between Germany, Spain, France and Italy. I had sold in UK before, but never in the other countries, so I was glad to at least get my name out a little bit over there.
A lot of people fuss at the free book issue, and I can understand their reasoning, BUT, I reached 30,000 new readers, and a significant number of those went ahead and bought every other book I had. In Author Central, ALL of my books were up in rankings, including those I have with e-pubs.
The select promo is a marketing tool. The IndieRomanceInk loop was talking about this recently as well. For authors with small to no fan bases, the select program can give them a very needed boost. For those with a broad reader-base, not so much, and they run the risk of alienating a significant number of their readers if they do go exclusive with Amazon. Whether to use it or not is definitely a personal choice.
Here's the list of free sites I listed with. And remember, it's up to their discretion whether or not to list you on their site. If you have more, please add them to the comments for everybody to see. I also did an event listing with The Romance Studio and listed the sale on Kindleboards.

• Author Marketing Club is fantastic, because they list all the biggies right in one spot. Including:
• Pixel of Ink- I listed, but did not get picked up. I did notice that all the people I was competing with on the free list were listed, but not me.
• Books on the Knob- did not get picked up.
• Freebooksy- they picked me up on Friday.
• Bargain Book Hunter- picked me up on Friday.
• That Book Place- no.
• Orangeberry- no.
• Free Kindle Fiction- no on the actual site but they did pick me up on their FB page.
• Indie Book of the Day- no.
• Free Book Dude- yes.
• Awesome Gang- no.
• Frugal Freebie- no.
• Kindle Daily Deal- no.
• Free Kindle Books and Tips- yes, on Friday.
• Free E-books Daily- no.
• Ebookshabit- yes, on Thursday.

The Day of I posted at these Facebook pages, some of which are from the WG2E site:

• Galleycat FB page
• snickslist
• cheap bookies
• free books r us
• eReader1 US
• iAuthor
• Kindle finds
• IndieKindle
• Ebook Deal of the Day
• Share Free eBooks
• Free Ebooks and Tips
• Kindle Promo
• ebooks habit
• Galleycat
• Indie book of the Day
• Free Kindle Fiction
• Bargain Ebook Hunter
• Freebooksy
• Reading Kindle
• Kindle Korner
• ereaderlove.com
• ebooks FreeFreeFree
• Free Ebook Deal
• What to read After 50 Shades of Grey

I'm positive there are more sites we just don't know about. I think, looking back, I would have given the bigger sites more lead time for scheduling. Some request a month. I only gave them a week. Also, most of the bigger sites have guaranteed listings for like $5.00. I may do that next time.
Overall, though, I believe my promo was a success. I ended high enough that now that I'm under the paid listings, enough people are finding me that I'm climbing the charts again. I'm #2101 on the overall paid list and #49 in Domestic Living, which before yesterday I had never heard of.
Do your planning ahead of time and be prepared to spend a lot of time at the computer during your free days.
If you have questions, I'm more that willing to answer them. I have more than 4 pages on notes! Good luck with your promo!

For 2 Days Only A Needful Heart is FREE!!!

 I enrolled in Select last week and I'm running a 2 day promo for A Needful Heart! It's getting great reviews and wonderful reader response. The sale starts Thursday and ends Friday at midnight. Here's the blurb-
Matt Calvin has watched Gina sway up and down the doctor's office hallway once a month for four long years. It’s time to do something about this fascination he has with her. He knows he's not relationship material, but he doesn’t expect it to get that far. He just wants to talk to her, and put himself out of his misery once and for all. Things never go as planned, though, and when fantasy crashes and burns into reality, Gina pays the price.
Gina doesn’t blame Matt for her injury, but she is appreciative when he steps into her crazy life to help out. Proximity fires the sudden attraction between them and Gina can’t believe she’s overlooked the sexy carpenter for this long. Tattooed and intimidating, he’s not the type she's normally drawn to, but something about him tugs at her heartstrings.
When a dire situation develops and they have to save a little boy, Matt loses control of his tightly held emotions. Though his heart aches, Matt walks away, both for Gina’s safety and his own sanity. It’s up to Gina to convince him love can heal any heartache.

I sincerely hope you enjoy.

Amazon-

Love on the Line is LIVE!!!

Today is the official release of my newest Decadent Publishing novella. The Edge series is more erotic than I normally write, but I think people will enjoy it. I can never totally do without romance, so though the sex is hotter, it still has my touch to it.
Here's the blurb-
Bail Bondsman Brady Frost tracked a bail jumper all the way to New York. It was a rough apprehension, and now he just wants a quiet train ride home to Florida. He’d hoped to avoid sharing his space, but when a tight little co-ed is assigned to his cabin, then propositions him, how can he say no?

Lorna McNight is ready to shake off her self-imposed sexual drought. For four years she devoted herself to attaining her degree, but she’s ready to bust loose in a graduation bash for the record books. Rugged, mature Brady appeals to her more than any of the boys she went to school with, and she wants him to give her the ride of her life on the way to Florida. Will he cooperate and leave them both with a rail tale to remember?

I'm also at the Edge blog promoting the release and giving away a copy of the book. If you want to tell me about your own train experience (no, I don't mean sexual experience!) check out this link.

Thanks so much for checking out my book!

website- www.jmmadden.com
Amazon-
Barnes and Noble-
Smashwords-

Free everywhere BUT Amazon... Can you help?

So, I just released the second book of The Awakening Society, titled Tempt Me. I've studied the market and a lot of authors do really well when they make the first book free of a series. That's what I wanted to do with my books, because the first book ends with a happy for now, but not a permanent happy ending. I asked readers to participate in a poll on how they would like the second book to progress, and Tempt Me is the answer to that poll.

The first book is free at all outlets now, so I contacted Amazon to let them know. Well, they price-matched to free for a few days, then they bumped the price back up to $.99. When I emailed them to try to get them to drop it back down, I got the standard 'we have total discretion over prices' crap. Well, that's fine, I understand that, but I tried to explain to them that the sales of my other books dropped off when they bumped it back up. They didn't care. Suggested I go Select. Well, no, not with this book.

ANYWAY, I thought I would list the places where it IS free and maybe their bots would pick this up. Or maybe, maybe, a few people could report it free for me, which also might get them to drop it. If you don't want to do that, it's fine, you can have the book free anyway. Here are the links:

The Awakening Society at Amazon-
At Apple-
Barnes and Noble-
Kobo-
Smashwords-

If you do want to help me report it free, when you go to the product page scroll down below the product details. There's a link you can click on that says 'tell us about a lower price?' Click on that and it will take you to a little screen where you can input one of these freebie links above.

It's not a guaranteed thing, but it definitely does get them to take a look at it, and maybe they'll see we're both losing sales since they took it off free.

Thanks for helping out! And enjoy the book!

Special Women...and FREE Books!

I know, I know. You can smack my hand if you feel the need. I've been very remiss in blogging. All I can say is, I've been busier that a three pecker puppy. Sorry, is that wrong to say? More about my bizzy-ness later.

I received a note from an author friend who I greatly admire, and it hit me that one of the great things about publishing in these times is the amount of support we get from other authors. Indie authors, in particular, are some of the most open, welcoming people you'll ever meet. I think it may have something to do with a shared solidarity. Not necessarily US(indies) against THEM (traditional) but more of an Us for THEM- THEM being the READERS.
There's a lot of angst in the traditional publishing business these days. I think they're floundering, trying to figure out who suddenly staged a coup when they weren't looking. I think they view indies as invaders. I kinda don't think the indies care, though. We're more concerned about what our readers think than anybody else.
Small presses also encourage a congenial atmosphere. They've had to do things differently to step out of the Traditional shadow and make a name for themselves. That means depending upon all aspects of your business (authors, editors, readers, reviewers) to build each other up. I really believe I've landed in an ideal situation for my publishing career. My owner at Decadent goes out of her way to promo my indie books, and I promo Decadent any chance I get, because of the great guidance I've received from her and the editors there. I genuinely believe I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for my experience with Decadent.
SO, on to the bizzy-ness, then I'll tell you about some fantastic FREE books.
In July I released A Needful Heart . August 28th I released Tempt Me, Book 2 of The Awakening Society, and the culmination of the question I asked readers in Book 1 (which is now FREE!!)**** side note- Amazon decided to raise the price on TAS. Grrr. So, here are some links to other outlets where it IS free. Smashwords- Barnes and Noble- and at the time of this posting Kobo was down. Sorry about the inconvenience folks.**** September 21 I release Love On The Line through Decadent, and I also may release the first in my as-yet-unnamed wounded veteran series. I'm working on the second book of Love on the Line, and may have a Christmas story percolating as well. So you can understand why I haven't been paying a lot of attention to my blog recently, right?
So, to make it up to you, I'm going to tell you about some awesome free books from indie authors I admire. They were the first taste of indie publishing I got, and made an incredible impact on me. Feel free to pass this information on.
Donna McDonald sent me the note that inspired this blog, and lucky for you she has a couple of free books you need to check out. Very different series', but each wonderful in their own right.

Dating A Cougar in the Never Too Late series.

The Demon of Synar in the Forced to Serve series.

Masters at Arms in the Rescue Me series.





All three books are super fantastic and deserve to be read.
So, you've got 4 free books now if you follow the links! Happy reading and stayed tuned for more to come!

Release Party and Blog Talk Radio...Oh, MY!!!

Today's a busy day for A Needful Heart. If you follow this link, I'm taking part in a release party at The Romance Studio. And I'm giving away a copy of ANH to one person who comments.

Then...
THEN... At 6:30 TODAY, I will be on Edin Road Blog Talk Radio. If you follow the link, you can listen to little old me talk about whatever comes to Jesse Coffey's brain. I'll also be reading an excerpt from A Needful Heart. You can call in and listen and if you have questions you can do that too.Or if you want to make fun of my bumbling you can do that too.

I'm super excited today! Can you tell?

Six Sentences from A Needful Heart! It's LIVE!

A Needful Heart is LIVE, I'm tickled to say!!! Here's my six. We went a little sexier today.

The counter was the perfect height for sex, and within just a few moments, he was at the edge of his control. Gina leaned back and ripped her shirt over her head, then her bra. The nipples on her heavy breasts were tight with arousal, and the visual of looking down at the mounds pressed against his chest was enough to push him over that edge. Groaning harshly, he plowed into her, bowing his head to her shoulder. Gina moaned in his ear as she tumbled over again as well, spasming around his dick convulsively.

It was all he could do to stay standing. 

I thank you so much for reading! If you're interested in buying, here are the links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords 

And, of course, here's the link back to Six Sentence Sunday!

Six from A Needful Heart

“Uh, wow,” she laughed. She tried to adjust her leg, and Matt knew the exact second she noticed his erection. All movement stopped, and a pink tinge colored her cheeks, but she looked up with a smile, which surprised him. “We, uh, need to quit meeting like this. Really.” She pressed a quick, hard kiss to his chin before she scrambled off his lap. 


Thanks for stopping by. A Needful Heart should be out later this week. 

Also, here's the link to go back to Six Sentence Sunday.

A Needful Heart - Six Sentences

Awe washed through him as he realized he was actually holding her in his arms, something he’d dreamt about for so long. Unable to deny himself, his steps slowed as he ascended the stairs.

Gina sighed as he laid her on the tan couch, sinking into the cushions. Matt pulled the afghan from the back of the couch over her, and tucked her in, then settled into an upholstered chair opposite the couch. Maybe he would just wait for her to wake up. He could watch her as she slept and imagine for a heartbeat of time that he belonged there, with her.

Hope you enjoyed my six sentences. A Needful Heart should be available at all major retailers within 2 weeks. Thanks so much for stopping.
FB- https://www.facebook.com/authorjmmadden
Twitter- @authorjmmadden

Linky back to Six Sentence Sunday-  http://www.sixsunday.com/

TWO Blog Hop Winners!

  
I participated in TWO blog hops this week, the INDIEpendence Day Blog hop and the 1NS blog hop, and I had fantastic responses to both.
The winner of the INDIEpendence Blog is Kylie, who wins a $5 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card!!! She can use that to download Donna McDonald's first two books of the Forced To Serve series or whatever appeals to her.





And the winner of a copy of my book Wet Dream is....Stacie D!!!!



I had a blast on the Hops this week, and plan on doing more in the future. Stay tuned and thanks so much for participating!!!

1NS Bloghop

It seems only appropriate that my 1NightStand story is about a wounded veteran this July 5th. Yes, it's a day late, but it's never too late to recognize our vets. And I honestly believe that if anybody needs love, it should be them.

Here's Wet Dream: 

Ex-FBI agent Ginger Hampton is not surprised when her date is a no show.  Madame Evangeline, owner of 1NightStand promised her a perfect night…but Ginger is used to disappointment in love.  The fact that she’s six feet tall, model perfect and owns her own high-end security firm tends to intimidate men.  In spite of herself, she’d had high hopes for this date.

Madame Eve’s email had told him to watch for a woman in distress, and the woman at the bar is exactly that. Chief of Security Cameron Jones doesn’t see himself as a hero, but he’s willing to check on a special guest for his boss. He doesn’t realize until he sees her face that it’s Ginger Hampton, his own personal weak spot.  She’s not turned off by his brutal scarring, and even flirts as if she’s interested. When he escorts her to her room, does he have the balls to respond to her interest, and stay the night? How can he say no to…

his own personal wet dream?

I had a lot of fun writing this story, and I hope you have just as much fun reading it.  Cameron was a sweetheart to write, and Ginger was the kind of woman I would like to be. Do you have a veteran in your life? Tell us just a bit about him. Or her!

You can buy Wet Dream at Amazon.

One person who comments will win a copy of Wet Dream. Be sure to leave your email address. And, of course, follow the linky to the next stop on the blog. There are some fantastic 1NS books out there, and if you're able, you ought to collect them all. Thanks so much for stopping!

INDIEpendance Day Blog Hop- Featuring The Demon Master's Wife

Click the box to take you back to the link list!

 
A little over a year ago, a woman joined our local RWA chapter. She was a super nice lady, and admitted very hesitantly that she had just self-published her first book. Self-publishing, at the time, was just catching fire, and her experience and success were very intriguing to me. We had talked about the process as a group, but had no real-life examples to study until Donna walked in our door.
Donna has been, to me, one of the most important influences in my self-publishing career. She did not hesitate to talk to us about the steps she's taken in her career, good and bad, and has consistently been a cheerleader to all of us.
I read the first book in her Forced to Serve series several weeks ago, and when the chance came to promote another one of her books, I jumped at it. I chose The Demon Master's Wife, the second book in the series, and man am I glad!
Donna started out as a contemporary romance author, but she's found a wonderful niche in science fiction romance. The Demon Master's Wife was fantastic! Fast paced, tangled plots, and romance to set the pages on fire! I didn't know how she would do transferring genres, but she did freaking awesome! The situations were realistic and evoked a strong emotional response in me, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I can not wait for the third book to come out.
 The Demon Master's Wife. Here's the blurb-

Ania Looren would have chosen death over becoming a demon host, if she’d had a choice. But Captain Liam Synar, master of the Demon of Synar, and her mate, made that decision for her in order to save her life. For the two years of their separation her spiritual gifts have failed her, but Ania has learned that hosting the demon Malachi is to blame. Her spirit grieves for what she has become because evil lives inside her again now and Ania fears the great harm she can cause using the demon’s power. Unfortunately, Liam’s reluctant embrace of being the demon's master, along with his refusal to discuss Malachi with her, leaves Ania facing her destiny alone. Their personal relationship war vacillates between full out conflict and a cease fire, yet she is drawn into becoming one of his crew. Worse, she discovers she is drawn to Liam as well, despite his past rejections and the pain his abandonment caused her. But can she really let the only male she’s ever wanted back into her bed without risking her heart?

While you can read the second book alone, it may be easier to understand them in order, with The Demon of Synar first. Besides, it's only $.99!
I sincerely hope you enjoy this book! Check out Donna's Amazon page here. She's actually put out twelve other books as well this year, so there's plenty to browse through and choose from once you get addicted to her writing like I have. When I grow up, I want to be like Donna. ;-)))
One lucky commenter will win a $5 Amazon gift card, the perfect amount for book 1 and 2 of the series. Imagine that! Open to international participants.
Thanks so much for stopping!!!!

 

A Happy Rejection...And A New Cover

Two years ago, I never thought I'd be happy getting a rejection. But, two years ago I wasn't self-published, and able to do all the things a publisher can do for me now.
I submitted a manuscript to Ellora's cave a couple of months ago because one of the editors had requested something. I was flattered and appreciated that she had approached me, so I polished something up and sent it in. As soon as I hit the send button, though, I regretted the move. I only have one self-pub out right now, The Awakening Society, but I know that publishing myself is going to be a very large part of my career. The manuscript I sent in was one I had worked on for a couple of years, though it had changed many, many times in that time. And though it had changed drastically from how it started, I still loved the characters and believe in the story. There were parts of the story that I thought may not suit the EC line, but I sent it in anyway, and waited.
I heard back a couple weeks later, and it was what I expected. The story was very well written, but because of some of the issues it dealt with, she didn't think it would suit their readers.
I know it sounds crazy, but I was happy when I read that email. While pubbing with EC would be a wonderful way to diversify my career, I wanted to be the one to put this story out. Honestly, I had already started shopping around for covers, had, in fact, already bought a cover, in the hopes I could release it myself. I'm glad I wasn't offered a contract, because I'm afraid I would have turned it down.
SO, I am going through and revamping the story again. I had tamed it down a bit to try to fit EC, which I knew was wrong when I did it, but I didn't listen to my little internal editor. I contacted the cover artist and gave her the go ahead, though there was a bit of a snafu with the title. I thought I knew what I wanted, but it didn't look right on the book. So, I took a while, and came up with a name that seemed right. A Needful Heart. Here's the cover and working blurb.

Matt Calvin has watched and wanted Gina Carruthers for four long years, and he decides it’s time to do something about this ridiculous fascination he has with her. He’s not relationship material, but he doesn’t expect it to even get that far. Hell, between the tattoos and his lovely disposition, a woman would be crazy to take a chance on him. He just wants to talk to the sexy nurse and put himself out of his misery once and for all. Things never go as planned, though, and when they collide in the hallway, Matt is unable to save her from being hurt. 

Gina doesn’t blame the big man for the accident. But she is appreciative when Matt steps into her crazy life to help her out, first with her broken wrist then when they damage her house. They just can’t seem to have a normal conversation. Proximity fires the attraction between them and Gina can’t believe she’s overlooked the sexy carpenter for this long. She feels guilty for misjudging him, and is stunned by how quickly he becomes a vital part of her life.

When a situation develops and they have to save a little boy from abuse, Matt loses control of his tightly held anger. In spite of how his heart aches, he has to walk away, both for Gina’s safety and to maintain his own sanity. It’s up to Gina to convince him love can heal any heartache. 

Viola Estrella designed my cover, and I'm so tickled with it. You can check out her website here. HIGHLY recommend her services.

If things go as planned, A Needful Heart will be out next week.  I'm also working on the second Awakening Society book, and it should be ready by the end of July. 

I thank you for stopping.