I know I'm in my own little world, but it's OK.
They know me here...

Translate

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Vengeance Born poster give-away

Want to keep updated with all the news, new release information, appearances, fun & games, book signings, specials or contests I'm running?

Then sign up for my newsletter - the form is here on my blog (right hand side) or website (please check your email address carefully when you type it in - I'd hate for you to miss out on any news!).

If you've been following my messages on Facebook the last few days you'll know the subscription list is nearing a century. We're almost there!

To celebrate the 100th subscriber I have a poster sized book cover of VENGEANCE BORN (90x50cm or 35x19 inches) to giveaway (it's awesome seeing it so large!).

Are you going to be the 100th person to sign up? :-)

Saturday, May 5, 2012

From the Bookshelf...the ONDINE series

YA author, Ebony McKenna, and her Ondine series feature today.
The Ondine books are a sparkling combination of romance and magic – perfect for teen girls. Written with genuine humour and unique eccentricity, the series is an obvious choice for fans of The Princess Bride and Ella Enchanted.
Ebony McKenna is a fantastically imaginative author whose scope and story-telling encompasses the bizarre, the mysterious and the romantic.
(Ondine series overview from Ebony's website)
Author bio: Ebony McKenna wasted a perfectly good education with her head permanently stuck in fantasy and science fiction novels instead of paying attention to the teachers. After university she spent many years in journalism before turning to writing novel-length fiction.  It took thirteen years and six rejected manuscripts before she struck gold with the Ondine series.

Ebony lives in Melbourne with her husband and school-aged son, who loves LEGO almost as much as his mum. She is going to have to grow up at some point.

Ebony: It's been a long road to publication for me. I wrote for 13 years without much luck. Then the ideas for Ondine took hold and I had to write it - if only to make my friends laugh.
I think what made the difference was that with Ondine, I didn't hold back. I poured everything I had into the book and wrote it for the sheer joy of it. Only when I'd finished did I think it might stand a chance out in the world. Even then, who would fall in love with a ferret hero?
This is the book that finally landed me an agent, and a publishing deal. The team at Egmont UK did a sensational job and were a dream to work with. 

Series: Ondine 
Title/s (in order):
  1. THE SUMMER OF SHAMBLES
  2. THE AUTUMN PALACE
Publisher: Egmont UK & Commonwealth and Hardie Grant Egmont Australia & New Zealand.

Series overview: Fifteen-year-old Ondine is set to have a perfectly normal summer when her pet ferret, Shambles, starts talking with a Scottish accent. Shambles is really Hamish the lad. He offended a witch and she cursed him a good one! Ondine will do anything to break the spell so that Hamish can be a real lad again.
First book and sequel are on sale and I'm madly writing the trequel.

Heroes & Heroines: Ondine and Hamish/Shambles drive the story.

Ondine is feisty, headstrong and prone to mistakes. She lives in her family's pub and is no stranger to hard work. She had two older sisters who amuse and frustrate her, and parents who want the best but can't help treating her like the baby of the family.

Hamish is a rogue and a charmer, living in reduced circumstances thanks to that witch's spell. Oh, and did I mention that witch happens to be Ondine's great aunt?

Hamish steals the show, but ferrets are like that.

Series extras: Not many novels have footnotes, but the Ondine novels do. They're set in the fictional European country of Brugel, a former Soviet Bloc country that hasn't quite made the full transition into the modern world. 

Blurbs:
Aust/NZ cover
There were two covers for the first Ondine novel. The Australian & NZ cover features the gorgeous sparkly bud lighting that reflects a turning point in the story when Ondine first sees Hamish in the flesh. (My favourite scene).

The UK and rest of Commonwealth cover features a stronger image of Ondine and a diminutive silhouette of Shambles the ferret.
UK/Commonwealth cover
 ONDINE - THE SUMMER OF SHAMBLES
"What is the point in falling in love with a man if he turns into a ferret when the moon goes down?"
15-year-old Ondine de Groot lives with her family in the European country of Brugel. She has a pet ferret called Shambles. But Shambles is no ordinary ferret... He's Hamish McPhee, a boy cursed by a witch. A witch who happens to be related to Ondine.
When Shambles turns back into Hamish temporarily, Ondine knows that she has to help him break the spell. He is the most gorgeous boy she has ever met and her one true love! He just can't remain a ferret forever. Can he?

Book #2 has the same cover in all territories: 

ONDINE - THE AUTUMN PALACE
One boy, one girl, one plot to be foiled!
Hamish the gorgeous man (and part time ferret) has a new job with the Duke as a spy in his Autumn Palace. So Ondine goes with him. She imagines a hugely romantic escapade together that involves lots of kissing.
What she hadn't imagined was having to do endless laundry, go to school and keep Hamish the man a secret. All the while trying to find out who is plotting to kill the Duke.
And if that weren't bad enough, it seems that Hamish is more interested in getting the Duke's attention than hers. Plus he's always in ferret form. Things can't go on like this!
Can Ondine foil the would-be assassin, save the Duke and get her man back in gorgeous human form? It's going to take a little bit of magic, a lot of stolen kisses and some ferreting around... 

Website link/s:
Ebony's books are available at:

The Book Depository (free worldwide postage)
Amazon US  Amazon UK  Amazon Canada
A&R Australia  Booktopia  Borders (Aust.)

The novels are also available as e-books, geographically restricted to the UK and Australia. (Sorry about that!)
UK readers     Australian readers

You can also keep track of Ebony's going's-on at her blog (Ebony: I'm often posting about writing and sharing epiphanies along the way. Please drop by and say hello!) and her website.

Friday, May 4, 2012

ALLIANCE FORGED Ch.1 now up!

I've just completed the May update for my website and this includes a Chapter 1 excerpt from ALLIANCE FORGED. :-)


Can't wait to begin introducing Kymora and Varian to you all some more!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

ALLIANCE FORGED on sale!!!

34% off at The Book Depository
Some good news, folks!

ALLIANCE FORGED is now 24% off at The Book Depository (ie. $10.90AUD) and they're also having a 10% bonus off any purchase (so that drops the price to $9.80AUD).

This means if you haven't yet pre-ordered your copy of ALLIANCE FORGED now would be a bargain time to do it!

The bonus 10% off also applies to VENGEANCE BORN, so the price drops from $13.81AUD to $12.42AUD (there's a currency specific calculator so you can select the appropriate $$$ for your location).

Special checkout code to access the extra 10% off is APMA12. And the good thing about TBD, it's free shipping worldwide!!!

10% off at The Book Depository
If you've already pre-ordered your copy then please feel free to pass on this information to anyone who might be interested in taking advantage of the sale!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

From the Bookshelf...The Ministry of Marriage series

Christina Brooke is the author of 7 Regency-set historical romances. She has received two RITA nominations and was the first Australian to win an RWA® Golden Heart Award.

A former corporate lawyer, Christina lives in Brisbane on the east coast of Australia with her husband, a girl dog called Monty and two very noisy boys. 

Series: The Ministry of Marriage
Title/s: HEIRESS IN LOVE, MAD ABOUT THE EARL and A DUCHESS TO REMEMBER
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Series overview: The Ministry of Marriage is the nickname of a cabal in which the leaders of the most prominent families in Britain arrange eligible marriages.
The founder of the Ministry is the Duke of Montford. He is head of the extensive Westruther dynasty and the guardian of six assorted Westruther orphans—three boys and three girls—who have grown up together under his roof. He has arranged brilliant marriages for each of them via the Ministry of Marriage.
The ladies Jane  (HEIRESS IN LOVE, July 2011) , Rosamund  (MAD ABOUT THE EARL, January 2012)  and Cecily  (A DUCHESS TO REMEMBER July, 2012). All three girls are heiresses destined for marriages of convenience.
Their three male cousins, The Earl of Beckenham, Viscount Lydgate and the Marquis of Steyne have managed to retain their freedom a little longer, but their time will come -- Christina is currently writing Beckenham's story.

Series extra's: Take the quiz--which Ministry of Marriage family do you come from? If you join Christina's Brooke Club, the *free* Members Only section of Christina's website: http://www.christina-brooke.com/members-only/ you can play some fun M.O.M. games. 

HEIRESS IN LOVE
A CONVENIENT MARRIAGE
Jane, Lady Roxdale, has endured one marriage of convenience decreed by the Ministry of Marriage. While she deeply regrets her late husband’s death, she is relieved to be free at last. But when a dissolute rake threatens everything Jane holds dear, she must contemplate marrying a second time…   
AN INCONVENIENT PASSION


Disgraced libertine Constantine Black inherits his cousin Roxdale’s land and title–while Roxdale’s prim widow is left all the wealth. Constantine is not a marrying man, but wedding Jane is the only way to save the estate from ruin. Jane resists the smoldering heat between them, desperate not to fall in love with an unrepentant rake. But for the first time ever, Constantine wants more than seduction. He wants all of her–body, heart, and soul…

MAD ABOUT THE EARL
A BEAST OF BURDEN

Lady Rosamund Westruther has no objection to the match arranged for her by the Ministry–until she meets her intended. Gruff, stubborn Griffin, Earl of Tregarth, is hardly the charming
nobleman the classic beauty has dreamed of for so long. While a proper lady can’t cry off, she can demand a proper courtship… 
A BEAUTY TO BEHOLD 
Griffin is aware of his duty to wed–and more convinced than ever that the lovely Rosamund has no place with a man like him. Built for fields and stables rather than drawing rooms, Griffin doubts he can win her in the polite manner society requires. But with every passing day, the attraction between them flares higher and hotter. Maybe there is more to love than meets the eye…  

A DUCHESS TO REMEMBER
For a lady of breeding and wealth, the Ministry of Marriage can always ensure a suitable match. But sometimes, the heart wants what it wants—in spite of the risks… 
A PRACTICAL ENGAGEMENT
Lady Cecily Westruther is nothing if not practical. By agreeing to marry an older duke who already has an heir and a mistress, she can assume a wifely role—without the wifely duties. Only one thing stands in her way—a  letter that could destroy her betrothal. Desperate to retrieve that letter, Cecily must match wits with the most dangerously seductive man she’s ever known… 
A PASSIONATE MARRIAGE
Disguised as a footman, Cecily gains entry to her adversary’s house—only to be unmasked by London’s most powerful man. Rand, Duke of Ashburn, is accustomed to getting any woman he wants—and he wants Cecily. He will stop at nothing, including seduction, to make her his. But Rand holds a secret more shocking and destructive than that letter could ever be… 

Saturday, April 28, 2012

From the Bookshelf...Sister Pact

Ali and Ros are sisters who are as close as they are different.  Ali married the first boy she ever loved. Ros tried to remember the name of hers the other day and gave up and had a chocolate bar instead.

Ali thinks everything will work out. Ros thinks everything will get found out. But for all their differences, they are fiercely close and desperately proud of each other.  Nothing feels real until it has been spoken aloud to the other. They both love to talk, laugh and write, preferably over a bottle of bubbly and something coated in chocolate.

Ali also writes for Harlequin Medical and RIVA lines as Amy Andrews.

Ros Baxter has a law degree and a PhD, neither of which taught her anything  about how to parent three small children. She is a senior public servant in Indigenous policy and is currently cooking bub number four (proving book learning don’t buy brains!). 

Title: SISTER PACT
Publisher: Harper Collins Australia.
Release Date: 1st May, 2012.

Heroine bio:
Frances (Frankie) has only ever slept with one man – her lawyer husband.  She’s into pearls and her charity work and has a pathological aversion to profanity.  She’s utterly miserable after discovering her perfect life wasn’t so perfect after all and she has money problems that go way beyond the costs of maintaining her sleek blonde bob.

Joni has green hair, a ferret for a best friend, and thinks monogamy sounds like a particularly nasty STD. She runs an animal shelter that’s almost as down on its luck as she is. And then there’s the record shop she recently inherited. It seemed great, until she discovered it came complete with bad debts to guys with no respect for her knee-caps.

Hero bio: This book is essentially a sister story but with the firm belief that no book is truly good without a little bit of loving there are also two wonderful men.

Nick – a bronzed Australian farmer who’s good with his hands and especially good with his mouth.

Lex – the big-name Shakespearean director who has some demons of his own but finds a kindred spirit in Joni. 

Interesting feature/s of this book: SISTER PACT is a book about sisters written by sisters. It’s a tandem novel, that is the story is told through alternating POV chapters – Joni and Frances. The book is a bit of IN HER SHOES meets DEAD FAMOUS.

It will appeal to all women who love to laugh and cry in the same book, and who realise that only those who know you well can hurt you like you never imagined.  And to everyone who likes a really happy ending.

There’s also a very cute ferret called Des who hitchhikes to Australia inside a bra high on rodent Valium.

SISTER PACT
Two very different sisters. Once inseparable, they have long been estranged after an unimaginable betrayal.
Organised and uptight Frances married the only man she’d ever slept with. But no one told her that seven years later she’d be having sexual fantasies about everyone from the pizza delivery guy to Denis Thatcher.
Scatterbrained animal-lover Joni never knew she was so attached to her kneecaps until she thought she might have to say goodbye to them forever.
After their beloved grandmother – a game-show addict – dies, they discover that they have each been left one million pounds in her will. The kicker is that they can only inherit if they participate in a gruelling reality TV programme, Endurance Island, as a team.
They can survive the jungle. They can survive the humiliating challenges. But can they survive each other?

Friday, April 27, 2012

GUEST BLOGGING: Creating Fantasy Romances

I love paranormal romances - doesn't matter what sub-genre - fantasy romance, urban fantasy, science fiction romance, apocalyptic romance, paranormal romance, steampunk...

I've been invited to visit Mission:Romance to share some of my thoughts about world building and fantasy romances, to help "Focus on All Things Fantastical" (aka promoting all things paranormal!).

Want to know how I go about world-building in fantasy romances? Believe it or not, it's not just about using your imagination! Find out what inspired some of the places in my Light Blade series!

And if you answer the question at the end of the blog you'll go into the draw to win a copy of VENGEANCE BORN.

So, come on over and join me and help celebrate the paranormal genre!