Baby It's Cold Outside….

This is so appropriate right now, because the thermometer on my phone says it is 13 degrees outside and dropping. Kentucky gets cold, but not normally this cold. Next week we're supposed to be in the negative at night! BRRR…..

Copyright belongs to Disney. 

Luckily for me, I'm writing a couple of hot scenes. The following is from an untitled story related to my Lost and Found series.

They made it through dinner, packed up the few leftovers and left. Flynn felt like a schmutz, ruining their date the way he had.

“I’m sorry,” he told her, holding the truck door open for her.

She glanced at him and frowned. “I’m not. I had a lovely dinner with you.”

Flynn leaned between the door and the frame, needing to explain.

“Crowds mean danger to me.” He flicked his gaze back to the restaurant. “There were twenty-three people in there, possibly too many for me to take on alone.” He couldn’t help but grin. “But I would have done my best.”

Willow laughed at his bravado and reached out to hold his cheek. Flynn forced himself to stand, unmoving, as she caressed the bristly beard down to his chin, and he felt obligated to be blunt. “I’m not a regular guy, Willow. I can’t take you out dancing or to a county fair without planning exit strategies and collateral damage. I’ve been stateside for three years now, but I still live as if I’m in a warzone. To some extent, I probably always will. I don’t know that anything will ever change that. And I don’t know that that would be a good environment for you.”

She raised a brow at that.

“Do you see me pulling away? Cringing at what you do?”

She waited for him to shake his head.

“Did I not give you the back-up you needed for that situation?”

He stared at her, shaken that she could understand the fear he did not want to give name to.

“Dancing is overrated," she continued, "although we may have to work on the county fair. That’s one thing I simply cannot miss. I love animals more that people, so as long as you make an effort every once in a while to get out, I think we’ll be fine.”

Leaning in, she pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

Flynn felt like he was drowning; in her scent, her taste and the emotion she stirred in him.

He opened his mouth to taste her, and a visceral need erupted. It had been so long since he’d been with a woman, but he didn’t even think that was it. It couldn’t be just any woman. Willow had been the one taunting him in his dreams for so long.

Saving him from himself.

She tasted of Italian herbs and lemon. Angling his head, Flynn forced her mouth wider, needing to taste everything she had. She met him move for move. Fingernails dug into his ribs, then burrowed beneath his shirt to his skin. Flynn shuddered at the first intimate touch he’d felt in years. Her hand moved across his ribs and brushed his pectorals.

He stepped closer, unable not to. One of her hands drifted down to his ass cheek and squeezed, and he hardened to the point of pain. Oh, hell...

The hairs on his neck rose, and he realized how exposed he was, kissing her out here on the street. With a final, lingering nibble, he pulled away. He scanned the surroundings, but didn’t see any immediate threat. Circling the truck hood, he slid into the vehicle.

Willow had dragged the seatbelt across her midsection, but still looked a little dazed. Flynn grinned at her hazy expression. “Are you okay? You look a little flushed.”

She gave him a smack on the arm. “Can I help it if I’m recovering from one of the hottest kisses I've ever had?”

Flynn swallowed and looked at her, trying to decide if she were bullshitting him or not. She looked totally sincere. And aroused. The erection he’d been trying to tame renewed, making him shift uncomfortably.

Willow leaned toward him with a satisfied look on her face. “Yeah, I’m not the only one, am I?”
Grinning with her, he started the truck and shoved it into gear.

This book won't be out for a couple of months, I'm sorry. But I've got a couple of free downloads of my book Embattled Minds for anyone who tells me about the hottest scene they've read recently. And if you bounce along on the rest of the hop, you can be entered to win a Kindle, a Nook, gift cards and book downloads! A pretty awesome way to spend a chilly weekend if you ask me! Just click on the fireplace to be taken to the list.

Also, if you need another FREE READ, you can check out the prequel novella to my Lost and Found series, HERE.

7 Steps To Self-Publishing Your Backlist Title...

  Publishing is changing every day, it seems. Indie pubbed authors are getting publishing contracts and traditionally pubbed authors are putting out their back lists as indies. The stigma to releasing your own work is finally beginning to ease as authors realize there is more than one path to publication.

I had a lady email me the other day wanting to know what she needed to do to release a title she'd received the rights back to from a small e-pub, and I thought it would be a good blog post. She's probably not the only one wondering.
When we sign contracts with publishing companies, be they New York traditional or smaller e publishing houses, we give up our rights to that work for a length of time. Contracts themselves usually run from one year to fourteen, with three to five being the average. During that time, the publishing house prepares and distributes the work. There should be a section of the contract dealing with the length of the contract and directions on how to request your rights back from the publisher. Follow those directions closely. On some contracts, if you don't request your rights back during the window specified, the contract itself renews, locking you in again.
Once you receive your reversion of rights, you can prepare to put it out yourself.
~~~There are some things to remember. When you signed the contract with the publishing company, more than likely they took over the cost of production. They bought a cover, they paid somebody to edit the work and they put their own ISBN on it. Now that you own the book again, YOU CANNOT USE THE OLD COVER OR ISBN. You, as the new publisher, have to provide a new cover, a new ISBN and possibly new editing.
Here's what you need to do to release your reverted-rights, backlist title:

1. Once you receive your Reversion of Rights letter from your publisher, read over your manuscript. This is a chance to remake the story into what you've always envisioned. When you read it over, you may find sections that you'd like to change or expand on. Maybe you've always wanted to give it a different ending. Or turn it edgier. Make the hero a little nicer. Well, now's your chance. Make the story into what YOU want. 
2. Choose a cover artist and cover. There are a lot of up and coming, fabulous cover designers out there. I've personally used The Author's Red Room, Melody Simmons at ebookindiecovers.com and Viola Estrella, and all were fabulous. If you follow this link, it will take you to an updated list of 52 cover artists I've listed on my website under Author Helps. Some publishing houses barely ask your opinion about the cover, let alone what models or scenes to use. If you've ever cringed when you've gotten a cover from a publisher because the heroine's hair color is wrong, or the scene is off, this is your chance to make it right. I put this a little higher in the list because some cover artists take several months to create a custom cover. Or it may just take that long to catch a break in their schedule. You can order the cover while you're doing everything else. If you plan on taking your book to print, you'll need a wrap cover, which will take a little longer to create. Tell your artist what you need before you start. Cost- can be any amount. I've seen pre-made covers for as little as $5 up to custom covers for several thousand.
3. Edit your work. While the original publisher probably, hopefully, edited your work competently, you still want to have it checked over, especially if you modify or change anything from the original manuscript. Every editor I've had has worked differently, but they've all been fabulous, luckily. I've heard horror stories of editors that couldn't edit for shit, and if you've ever had one of those, you have my sympathies. I think every piece of work about to be published needs to be re-edited, because just about every book I read -Traditional, e or indie- has a typo in it somewhere. Cost- any amount. If you have a critical reader good at spotting issues, it may be free. If you use an actual editor, expect to pay out $50 up to several hundred dollars for a critical read through. I currently use Mary Yakovets. I hate to give her name out because she really is awesome, and I want her to still have time for me!
4. Buy ISBNs for your work. I'll explain this out a bit, so that everybody knows. If you publish on Smashwords, they offer you a free ISBN, but THEY are listed as the publisher, not you. If you actually buy the number from Bowker, YOU are listed as the publisher. It took me a while to figure out, but from now on, I want MY work to be under MY name. Cost-You can buy them at Bowker; 1 for $99 or 10 for $250. I bought the 10 pack, because each book that you put out will need 3 numbers. One ISBN for digital, one for print and one for audio.
5. Format your work. This isn't as easy as it sounds and I've resigned myself to be one of those that CAN NOT format, no matter how long she tries. But it's turned out for the best. I have a formatter at BBebooks that absolutely rocks formatting, affordably. When I send Paul my doc file, for $50 he turns it into 7 different versions, for each of the distributors. WELL worth the money. Cost- depends upon your file size and the number of different versions you need. $50 and up.
6. Register yourself and Publish at all of the distribution sites. Some, like Apple, take a long time to check you out and approve you as a publisher. Like, several weeks. If you don't have a Mac computer and have to upload to Apple through Smashwords, ARE or one of the other distributors, be prepared for it to take several weeks for your book to go live. The rest of the sites go live fairly quickly. Smashwords is live immediately. Amazon takes about a day, Kobo and Barnes and Noble take a few days to a few weeks. ARE is also a quick one. Your book will be available as soon as you upload it, but I will say that their upload process is a pain in the butt. When you upload to Createspace for your print book, the proof will take 24 hours. Once you approve the proof, you can hit print and your books will be available. Cost- None of the sites charge you to publish a book through them, although they will take a portion of your royalties. Read the information at each site to see how much.
7. Start Marketing! This is probably something that you've been doing anyway, no matter where you were pubbed. Keep doing it. The advantage to this, though, is that now that you've pubbed your own book, you can see real-time sales at all of the sites. If you do a blog-hop or targeted advertisement, you can see immediately if it was effective or not by following your numbers. You had no way of knowing that when you were pubbed with a publisher.

This is a highly simplified version of what you need to do, but you can now call yourself a self-published author. If you have any questions at all, either comment here or send me an email at authorjmmadden@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading!

Midsummer Nights Dream Men Blog-hop

While my heroes are not typically handsome, they do have a strong appeal with women. They've served their country with pride, and returned better men. They've saved lives and tried to secure peace.
The main difference is, my heroes are all Disabled Veterans.
When I started writing the Lost And Found series, I didn't know what kind of reception I would get with my men. They are not your typical 'tall, dark, and handsome'.
In Book 1, Embattled Hearts, my hero John used to be tall, dark and handsome, until a roadside bomb paralyzed him and put him into a wheelchair.
In Book 2, Embattled Minds, Zeke used to be a ladies' man, until he made the mistake of taking cover behind a wall that came down on top of him, permanently scarring him and leaving him with a Traumatic Brain Injury.
Book 3, when it comes out, will have a hero with a permanently disabled arm and an amputated leg.
Not your typical hero, but to me they are the epitome of heroism. They have sacrificed for their country.  They have sacrificed time with their family, their children. They've sacrificed, sometimes literally, their sanity to their country.
I've had people ask me about my covers, because the men, in general, are good looking and healthy. Unfortunately, there are very few stock images for my heroes- definitely none with a romantic theme. So, I've modified the pictures as much as I could. Trimming the lower half on one, shading a face on another.
If you'd like to check out my men, the prequel to the series, The Embattled Road is free.

My question is: What is your ideal hero? One commenter will win a free download of my newest book, Embattled Minds.

If you click on the image below, it'll get you started on the hop. Just press 'next' in the top right hand corner to go to the next blog. Happy hopping!

                           

Please, continue on the blog hop to meet more fantastic heroes and be entered for a chance to with a $75 gift card, plus several free book downloads.

Embattled Minds is LIVE!!!

So, I'm a little over on my timeline, but Embattled Minds is done! This was supposed to be a filler for between the full-length partner novels I'm doing, but it didn't go that way. Zeke had a lot to say! And Ember had a lot to say back! The 20-25k I planned turned into 45k words!
If you haven't been following the Lost And Found Series, this is the second book in the series, three total in the line if you count the prequel. Check it out.

Zeke Foster has little to no experience with women over the past couple of years, after being injured in Afghanistan. Brutally scarred, he has no expectation that he’ll ever find a woman capable of accepting him the way he is. But he can’t help but be enamored of Ember, the waitress of a local watering hole.
Ember Norton’s life has turned into one devastating catastrophe after another. When the scarred soldier with the kind eyes brings some security to her life, she’s afraid to trust her luck. She’s been self-sufficient for a long time. But his wounded soul calls to her and she finds herself falling for him. 
In spite of the secrets he continues to keep.

Amazon  ~  Barnes and Noble

Recognizing Earth Weekend...with Sexy Vets

I'm participating in a blog-hop right now for Earth Weekend, and what better way to celebrate it than with e-books and gift cards for prizes??? No paper products! To join the hop, as a reader or an author, just click this link here.
While my books aren't exactly about recycling, they are about finding new life after the old one didn't work out. I write about Marines that have returned home, battle-damaged and heart-sore, that are forced to rebuild their lives when the military discharges them.

The prequel of the series, The Embattled Road, is free! If you click on this cover it will take you directly to Amazon.










Book 1 of the series is titled Embattled Hearts, about a wheelchair bound former Marine trying to save the woman he's falling in love with.  No, there's nothing in the book itself about recycling or being Earth conscious, but it is wonderful to watch John Palmer's transformation from hard-ass Marine to nice guy. Here's an excerpt.

John sat back in his chair, with a hand across his flat belly. “I can’t eat any more. That was wonderful.”

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“I mean every word of it. It’s better than anything I’ve ever had before.”

Shannon felt her brows lower skeptically. “Oh, please. I’m an okay cook, but certainly not fantastic.”

“After MREs, hospital food and take-out, believe me, this is ambrosia.”

Shannon tipped her head forward. “Well thank you very much for the compliment, John. It’s the least I could do.”

She took a piece of chicken over to the box in the corner and broke it into little pieces. One she gave to the mother, and the others to each of the kittens. John rolled over behind her, and peered down into the box. He scowled as he watched them spit and hiss at each other. “Why are they doing that?” he demanded.

Shannon smiled and separated two of the kittens. “Well, they haven’t been eating solid food very long, and they’re trying to establish a pecking order. They don’t usually hurt each other.”

She handed a small gray bundle of fur to John. “This is the runt of the litter, and I try to feed her a little more than the others.”

John held the kitten awkwardly in front of him. The young cat’s paws batted the air, looking for something to claw into.

“No, no, hold her against you, like this.”

She settled his hand against his chest and shaped his fingers around the little creature’s bottom. Shannon didn’t even realize how close she had moved to John until she looked up and found him staring at her. Hard. With those heavy black brows furrowed and his dark eyes full of burning emotion.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, and pulled away quickly. She snatched another kitten out of the box and tucked it under her chin.

John’s kitten started to purr.

“What’s it doing now?” he demanded.

Shannon laughed at the ferocious frown on his face. “Relax,” she told him gently, “she’s just purring. It means she’s comfortable and likes what you’re doing.”

John eased back in his chair and eyed the cat.

“Haven’t you ever had a cat?” she asked him curiously.

John’s face lost all expression, and a subtle tension eased into the air. “No, I haven’t. Animals weren’t allowed at the boy’s home where I grew up.”

“Oh.” Shannon felt like a heel as the revelation about his childhood settled into her. It explained so much of who he was.

“I didn’t mean to dig things up,” she told him finally.

John shrugged and stroked the kitten on the top of its head with a huge finger. “No big deal. You didn’t know.”

“So, have you ever had any pets?” she asked finally.

John shook his head. “None. There was a stray dog I used to toss scraps to outside my window at the orphanage, but he wasn’t around very long before the pound caught him.”

Shannon felt her eyes fill with helpless tears. How very sad. No animals in his life at all, and the one small contact he had destroyed by the dog catcher. She still had three horses at her parent’s house in Colorado Springs she needed to decide what to do with. She’d always had animals in her life. From hamsters and hermit crabs as a child to horses and cattle she showed in 4-H in her teenage years. Actually, she couldn’t remember ever not having an animal in her life.

John fondled the kitten around the ears, and the little animal purred just as loud as she could, her eyes slitted shut in rapture. Shannon knew she would do the same thing if John handled her that way too.

“She really likes you,” she told him softly.

John made a non-committal grunt, but he continued to run his big fingers gently over her coat.

“You know,” Shannon murmured, “I’m going to have to find homes for these before too long.”

John immediately held the kitten out to her. “No, thank you. You’ll find a better home for it than with me.”

Reluctantly, she took the dangling kitten from his hand. She wouldn’t push him on it. They wouldn’t be ready to wean for a couple of weeks yet, anyway. Setting the two gently in the box, she turned back to John.

And caught him as he glanced away from her ass.

 

Embattled Hearts is on sale now at all outlets. Here's the link for Amazon. 

I sincerely thank you for stopping and hope you enjoy the books!

One person who comments on my Earth Day blog will be chosen for a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card, plus there is the huge blog drawing you'll be entered for as well. And to recap the weekend, we're having a chat on Sunday at 7pm eastern time here. That's where all the drawings will occur, so you may want to check it out!

Thanks!!!

---

Lost and Found Series Progress and Appearances...

I'm working hard on the next Lost and Found book, titled Embattled Minds. This is Zeke's book, a secondary character that walked into John's story and left a heck of an impression on me. I knew as soon as I wrote him that Zeke was going to need his own story, and that it needed to take place soon.

Zeke's book should be ready by mid-May. I had hoped to get him done before I left for the RT Convention, but I don't think it's going to happen. Did you see the cover for the book yet??? Yummy...

I've got several digital and physical appearances coming up.

Today, actually, I'm at the For Love of Military Romance Blog, which I am a member of now. We have a lot of fantastic members and guests on the slate for appearances, so you should really check it out.

April 10th I'll be at Sizzling Hot Books blogging.

April 14th I'll be doing a live book club chat for my Decadent Publishing book Love on the Line. I'll be doing giveaways and I'm sure a free book or two will be thrown around.

April 13 I'll be at April Adele Book store and Cafe in Versailles signing A Needful Heart and Embattled Hearts.

April 30th to May 5th I'll be in Kansas City Missouri at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention. I've gone for the past few years and I just love it! If you have a chance you really should try to go to it.

June 6th to the 9th I'll be in West Chester Ohio at the Lori Foster Reader and Author Get-together. Another fabulous conference that I've gone to for several years. Very reader focused, very fun!

If you have a conference or event you think I would enjoy, let me know! I tend to do things on the spur of the moment, so I could show up anywhere!

Embattled Hearts is LIVE!!!

For those of you that have been waiting, Embattled Hearts, John Palmer's story, is now LIVE on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Smashwords!

A portion of the proceeds from this book will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project.

John Palmer hasn’t felt like a real man since he was injured during combat in Iraq. Though not content with his new life, he is mostly adapting, just like the other vets at the Lost ‘N’ Found Investigative Service. When Shannon Murphy is hired on as the new office manager, life suddenly gets a lot more interesting. Before long, John finds himself wondering if he could ever be the kind of man Shannon needs.
Shannon Murphy wasn’t really looking for love when she hired on at LNF, but finds herself hopelessly attracted to the sex-on-wheels former Marine, John Palmer. The man is grumpy and nearly impossible to work with, but his brand of masculinity appeals to her on a basic level. Soon Shannon is wondering just what it would take for John to want her the way she wants him.
When an old enemy tries to settle a vendetta against Shannon, John insists on protecting her. He moves into her house, fanning the spark of attraction into a blaze. But the danger continues to escalate. Will the connection that they’ve found survive when they’re thrust into a fight for their lives?

ALSO!!!

The Embattled Road is FREE right now on Amazon, for Valentine's Day Weekend. I've gotten phenomenal reviews for it, and really believe it's something everyone should read.

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?

John Palmer Update...And a Taste...

I know a lot of you are waiting on pins and needles for John's book to come out, titled Embattled Hearts. I thought I would assure you that it will be out this month. It's complete, being edited and beta-read as we speak, cover is ready to go. So, I thought I would give you a little taste to whet your appetite...

She handed a small gray bundle of fur to John. “This is the runt of the litter, and I try to feed her a little more than the others.”

John held the kitten awkwardly in front of him. The young cat’s paws batted the air, looking for something to claw into.

“No, no, hold her against you, like this.”

She settled his hand against his chest and shaped his fingers around the little creature’s bottom.  Shannon didn’t even realize how close she had moved to John until she looked up and found him staring at her. Hard. With those heavy black brows furrowed and his dark eyes full of burning emotion.

“Sorry,” she mumbled and pulled away quickly. She snatched another kitten out of the box and tucked it under her chin.

John’s kitten started to purr.

“What’s it doing now?” he demanded.

Shannon laughed at the ferocious frown on his face. “Relax,” she told him gently, “he’s just purring. It means he’s comfortable and he likes what you’re doing.”

John eased back in his chair and eyed the cat.

“Haven’t you ever had a cat?” she asked him curiously.

John’s face lost all expression, and a subtle tension eased into the air. “No, I haven’t. Animals weren’t allowed at the boy’s home where I grew up.”

“Oh.” Shannon felt like a heel as the revelation about his childhood settled into her. It explained so much of who he was.

“I didn’t mean to dig things up,” she told him finally.

John shrugged and stroked the kitten on the top of its head with a huge finger. “No big deal. You didn’t know.”

“So, have you ever had any pets?” she asked finally.

John shook his head. “None. There was a stray dog I used to toss scraps to outside my window at the orphanage, but he wasn’t around very long before the pound caught him.”

Shannon felt her eyes fill with helpless tears. How very sad. No animals in his life at all, and the one small contact he had destroyed by the dog catcher. She couldn’t imagine not having animals in her life. She still had three horses at her parent’s house in Colorado Springs she needed to decide what to do with. And she had always had animals in her life. From hamsters and hermit crabs as a child to horses and cattle she showed in 4-H in her teenage years. Actually, she couldn’t remember ever not having an animal in her life.

John fondled the kitten around the ears, and the little animal purred just as loud as she could, her eyes slitted shut in rapture. Shannon knew she would do the same thing if John handled her that way too.

“She really likes you,” she told him softly.

John made a non-committal grunt, but he continued to run his big fingers gently over her coat.

“You know,” Shannon murmured. “I’m going to have to find homes for these before too long.”

John immediately held the kitten out to her. “No, thank you. You’ll find a better home for it than with me.”

Reluctantly, she took the dangling kitten from his hand. She wouldn’t push him on it. They wouldn’t be ready to wean for a couple of weeks yet anyway. Setting the two gently in the box, she turned back to John.

And caught him as he glanced away from her ass.


If you haven't read Embattled Road yet, I strongly suggest you do to get a feel for the men.

AND! If you're not on the newsletter list, you need to be!!! They're getting the first glimpse of John's Cover TOMORROW!!!

Porno Writing Grannies and a #FREE Erotica Book

Ok, I have to tell you about 2 books out today that are, quite simply, just wonderful.
The first is by my very good friend Robyn Peterman. It's her first book, and I can only say I have never read anything as downright funny as this book. I  laughed so hard that my husband had to come in and check on me. No Lie!
Check it out- This is the first crazy paragraph.
     "If you handcuff a woman to a headboard, you need to use fur-covered cuffs. Otherwise you'll rub all the skin off her wrists during rough sex and she'll bleed like a mother-fucker. Blood is just not sexy unless you're writing paranormal." The gal with the lesbian haircut delivered that little nugget with gusto.
What a great hook! And the book is just as fabulous. Here's the blurb.
What happens when an accountant decides to grab life by the horns and try something new? Apparently a pirate named Dave, a lot of pastel fleece, and blackmail—just to start with…

Visualize and succeed, Oprah said. I was sure as hell trying, even if my campaign to score a job as the local weather girl had ended in a restraining order. Okay, TV was not my strength. But a lack of talent has never stopped me before. Which is why I’ve embarked on a writing career. I mean, how hard can it be to come up with a sexy romance?

Leave it to me to wind up in a group of porno writing grannies who discuss sex toys and apple cobbler in the same breath. Also leave it to me to leak an outlandish plot idea to a bestselling author with the morals of a rabid squirrel. And only I could get arrested for a jewelry heist I didn’t commit—by a hunky cop whose handcuffs just might tempt me to sign up for a life of crime. Maybe I’ve found my calling after all…

The second book is by another friend of mine I know from Decadent Publishing. It's a very, VERY, sexy spanking erotica piece. AND IT'S FREE!!! I read it this morning and could not put it down. Totally different than the first but just as good.

Mona Whitman is in for it. Her boss has promised severe punishment the very next time she arrives late for work and the hour she spent fantasizing about him has put her job in jeopardy. If only she could come up with an alternative to firing…a punishment they might both enjoy…

Randolph Marks, business tycoon by day, dungeon Dom by night, is in a quandary. His favorite employeeis late for work again and he must go through with his threat of retribution. But how to go about it without crossing a line and violating good business practices? He couldn’t possibly get away with spanking Miss Whitman.

Seriously, you need to pick up both these books. Fantastic reads, both of them.

The Embattled Road is FREE TODAY AND TOMORROW!!!

I'm getting ready to start releasing my disabled veteran series soon, and this is the prequel of the series. It's not a standard romance, in that, there are no heroines in this book. It's all about the men's struggle to come to terms with major life changes when they're injured in combat. The first book of the series is projected to release in February.

And the prequel is free on Kindle today 01/10/13 and tomorrow 01/11/2013! Click on the cover or this link to download.










Blurb- 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?

I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read!

JM

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!