Book Cover contest winners!

Thank you to everyone who participated in this contest - I hope you had fun!

Without further ado, here are the answers. And if the three winners could email me with your postal address - kyliegriffin71(at)optusnet(dot)com(dot) au - I'll send your book prize off to you.

WINNERS:

1. Adina West

2. Cath

3. Kate (YzhaBella's BookShelf)

ANSWERS:

Ice-Cold Lover - Mel Teshco

Severance - Jess Anastasi

Taken by Fire - Sydney Croft

Passion Untamed - Pamela Palmer

Nightfall - Ellen Connor

Driven - Eve Kenin

Warprize - Elizabeth Vaughan

Death's Sweet Embrace - Tracey O'Hara

Shadowglass - Erica Hayes

Strongman - Denise Rossetti

Exile - Rowena Corey Daniells

Song of Scarbaeus - Sara Creasy

Embrace the Night Eternal - Joss Ware

Pamela Palmer giveaway winners!

A huge thank you to everyone who popped in to share their favorite Feral Warrior cover with Pamela and I.

All names were dropped into a hat. These lucky people win a copy of HUNGER UNTAMED from Pamela:

1. Bella@BeguiledThySorrow
2. Na
3. Alainala

If you could each contact Pamela directly - pamela(at)pamelapalmer(dot)net - she can arrange to post your book out to you.

Happy Reading!

GUEST AUTHOR: Lisa Beth Darling

Please welcome Lisa Beth Darling as she takes the hotseat. She's published with Moon Mistress Publishing.

Official Bio:

Lisa has been married for the last 25 years to her wonderful husband, Roy. The two live in New London, CT where they raised two (now adult) daughters.

Always enthralled by romantic relationships. Lisa began writing dark romance stories in the 7th grade. A fact which her fellow students adored but often got her called down to the guidance counselor's office to discuss her stories.

Not deterred by the counselors but instead spurred onward by them (although they puzzled over the content of her work at such a young age, they always complimented her creativity and the way she told a story) her teachers and classmates, Lisa continued to hone her craft.

Today she brings conflict and suspense to unique couples through her full length novels. Never one to shy away from the less pleasant things in life, and instead believing it is in the Darkness where Character is created, determined, and defined, her heroes and heroines have their love tested by demons from within and without.

ABOUT THE BOOK...
Title – THE HEART OF WAR.
Setting – Greece, Scotland, Africa, and Olympus.
Hero – Ares God of War.
Heroine – Magdalena (Alena) MacLeod
.

Scene you would never cut – The scene at Fenway Park where Ares and Alena are watching the Red Sox play.


Something your hero would never do – Ares, being Ares, would never wuss out on anything…at all.

What's one quirky thing about your hero/heroine? Alena insists on paying for everything! Once Ares told her the secret of making things 'appear out of thin air', and she finds out its more akin to theft than magic, she insists he pays for everything he materializes.

What do you think the readers will like about this book? Hopefully, they'll find it's a paranormal romance/erotica novel that they can sink more than just their teeth into. I hope they like the characters and fall in love right beside them.

THE HEART OF WAR 
Inside the Heart of every Warrior breathes the Soul of a Hero--even within The Heart of War.
Meet Ares God of War, the greatest Warrior the world has ever known. He's moody, grumpy, dominant, ravenously sexual, and above all, built like a Greek God. 
Suspected of killing his daughter in-law, Psyche, and long in exile from Olympus, the solitude of Ares' secluded Greek Isle is interrupted when Magdalena MacLeod a plucky little Fey washes up on his shore after believing she's been shipwrecked. It's not mere fate that has brought the unlikely couple together yet it may be what tears them apart.
Branded with a golden chastity belt bearing the mark of Cernunnos, Celtic God of the Forest and Death, Alena has been on the run from her husband the Great Horned God for 200 years.
When the Olympians discover her presence on Ares' island, they send Apollo to the island while Ares is away with orders to bring her to Olympus. With nowhere to run and strikes a bargain with the God of War--her virginity for his protection.
Ares sees a sweeter deal; her in his bed and himself back in his rightful place on Olympus among the Gods. If it means turning Alena over to Zeus afterward, well that's of no consequence to him...is it?
After Alena proves herself to the God of War in battle and in his bed, the Ares must choose between his Divinely Dysfunctional Family, his pride, and Alena.
Get lost in this sweeping dark saga of lust, rage, revenge, and redemption. Battle Ancient Gods while falling in love with Ares God of War and Alena MacLeod. They share a love that will rock the world from the heights of Olympus to the Celtic moors. 

What's next for you? CHILD OF WAR the sequel to THE HEART OF WAR (both will be available in paperback and hard cover).

On December 31, 2011 A God is born when Ares and Alena welcome their son, Raven, into the world.



ABOUT YOU...


Favorite movie of all time – The Breakfast Club.
Favorite fairytale – Snow White and Seven Dwarves
.
Favorite story to disappear into – It used to be LOST…I haven't found anything to replace that yet.
Favorite TV program -  "Bones" is my favorite but I also love "CSI", "Law & Order" (all of them) and the two "NCIS".

First book you remember reading – JAMES & THE GIANT PEACH.
Dog or cat person (or other) – Cat. I love other people's dogs and they love me but, I've owned two and neither of them worked out so well. Cats are more independent and I like that.

Author (living or dead) you'd most like to meet – Stephen King
.
A romantic retreat for you would be...just a quiet night with my hubby, a bottle of wine, a sky full of stars…I'm pretty easy to please.

What do you do to unwind or relax? Long hot baths!

What era would you like to time travel and visit? And why? I would like to go forward and see how this whole mess pans out.

What does love mean to you? Being there for one another, caring about the other and knowing they care about you. It's knowing that, no matter what life throws at you, you really are stronger together than you are apart.



"The Heart of War" is $2.00 until July 31, 2011 through Amazon.com (will also be available in paperback and hardcover). E-Book available through:

Amazon.com
Kindle

Nook

Also available in iBooks, All Romance eBooks, One Place For Romance, Smashwords, One Erotica Ebooks.

Lisa Beth's other books:

Lisa Beth can be contacted on her website, blog or via her 
FaceBook Fan Page.

ROFL Moment!

This really tickled my funny bone...

Don't you love the Muppets!

GUEST BLOGGING: Over at Rowena Corey Daniells blog!

I'm visiting Rowena Corey Daniells blog today.

I'm taking part in an interview series featuring fantasy authors and were exploring the myths associated with this genre. I also get to talk about my soon to be released Light Blade series, specifically VENGEANCE BORN (Feb.7th, 2012 Berkley Sensation).

Drop on over and join Rowena and I, we'd love to see you there!

RWNZ 2011 "Love & Other Crimes" conference (part 2)

Here are some of the events and speakers who made the RWNZ "Love & Other Crimes" such a memorable conference!

The conference goers...

Tess Gerritsen & Frances Housden

Thanks for the birthday t-shirt, Michelle!

Maria V.Snyder

You'll notice a huge part of it was celebrating our members' achievements at the RWNZ Awards night dinner.

Frances Loo from the Chapters Bookshop received an Honorary Life Membership

Clendonite - Kris Pearson

First Impressions - Faye Robertson

Clendon Readers' Choice (again) - Michelle de Rooy

Clendonite - Thiloshini Govender

The Golden Chunk of Wood - the Clendon Award!

See you all next year!

RWNZ 2011 "Love & Other Crimes" conference (part 1)

With the RWA and RWNZ conferences run on weekends back-to-back it was a full on two weeks of workshops, meeting guest speakers, agents, editors and authors, networking and renewing friendships.

This is the first post of two showing the highlights of the conference - the "Royal Wedding" themed cocktail party features in this post.

The King & Queen of Hearts!

A Blaze Bride!

Princess Mary & Prince

Royal harem-girl

Royalty everywhere...

Yet again I thoroughly enjoyed the smaller, more intimate conference and caught up with many friends I hadn't seen since last year.

I look forward to attending the next conference!

Shona Husk giveaway winner!

Thank you to everyone who came along and said hi to Shona.

All names were placed in a hat and one randomly drawn. The winner of Shona's prize package (some sticky notes, bookmarks and bead earrings) is...

Rebecca F.

Congratulations, Rebecca F.!!!

If you can email Shona - shona (at) shonahusk (dot) com - and she'll arrange to get that prize package to you.

GUEST AUTHOR: Pamela Palmer

Pamela writes under two pseudonyms. Contemporary dark paranormals for Avon Books and Harlequin Nocturne as Pamela Palmer, and Scottish historical time travels for Berkley as Pamela Montgomerie.

She collected rejections for nine years before selling her first novel in May 2006. She has since sold a total of twelve novels and a novella to three different New York publishers. Her Feral Warrior series has appeared on the NYTimes best-seller list.

The daughter of an Air Force pilot, Pamela was born at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio and spent her childhood moving around the country and the world.

Pamela holds a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University and worked for IBM for five years before leaving the workforce to be a full-time mom and writer.

It's a great pleasure to welcome Pamela to my blog.

Hi, Pamela, please tell about your latest Feral Warrior book... 
Title – ECSTASY UNTAMED (Feral Warriors book #6) 
Setting – Great Falls, Virginia and Warsaw, Poland.
Hero – Hawke, the hawk-shifter.
Heroine – Faith, a young immortal who helps the street kids of Warsaw.

Scene you would never cut – The first time Faith and Hawke meet. She’s just arrived at Feral House with the newest Feral Warrior, Maxim, who has marched into the house leaving Faith to follow on her own. As Hawke grabs the luggage, Faith introduces herself. She’s sweet, a little star-struck by the Ferals, and Hawke’s heart melts almost at once.

Something your hero or heroine would never do or say – Hawke would never say, “I don’t give a damn.”

What's one quirky thing about your hero/heroine?
Faith has blue-tipped hair. 

What do you think the readers will like about this book?
Honestly, readers who’ve been following the Feral story are going to be blown away by some of the stuff that happens in this book. Just saying. (Spoilers!) I also think they’ll enjoy the romance between Hawke and Faith. Hawke is such a good-hearted, honorable male, but Faith is promised to another Feral and that causes all kinds of problems for him.

ECSTACY UNTAMED 
Shattered by recent nightmarish events, Hawke feels his bond with his animal spirit weakening—and once it breaks, he's finished. The arrival of Faith sends his life spinning even further out of control, for although she delights him and enflames his deepest primal passions, she’s promised to Maxim, the newest Feral Warrior.

Faith is drawn to Hawke from the start, but Maxim holds her in his thrall and has secretly bent her to his malevolent will. Though gravely damaged, Hawke is the only one who can end Faith’s slavery and protect the Feral Warriors from Maxim’s evil designs. But first they both must embrace the wild…and surrender body and soul to a forbidden, all-consuming ecstasy. 

Any Feral Warrior book is an 'auto-buy' for me and I can't wait to see this one arrive in the post!
Just as an aside, did anyone else notice that Pamela's name is now larger than the book title on the front cover? Woohoo!
So, Pamela, what's next for you?
I have a lot of books coming out over the next year.
Oct. 25th 2011: ECSTACY UNTAMED, Feral Warriors book 6
February 2012: A WARRIOR'S DESIRE , Esri book 3
April 2012: WARRIOR RISING, Esri book 4
June 2012: A BLOOD SEDUCTION, Vamp City book 1

The two Esri books are the final two in the series I’ve written for Harlequin Nocturne that began with THE DARK GATE and DARK DECEIVER.

It’s the story of the invasion of our world by the immortal, man-sized Esri (the creatures at the heart of the legends of fairies and elves), and the handful of humans immune to Esri enchantment—the only ones who can stop them.

The Vamp City book is the first in a new urban fantasy romance series I’m writing for Avon Books. This will be my first series with continuing characters in the hero/heroine roles. It’s a multi-book romance which I envision taking five books to tell.

I’m far from done with the Feral Warriors series, by the way. (Kylie cheers...Yay!!! Sorry, couldn't help myself there. Did I mention I love this series? Back to you, Pamela.) I’ll be publishing the Vamp City and Feral Warriors books simultaneously, alternating pub dates.

About you...
Favorite movie of all time – Lord of the Rings trilogy
Favorite fairytale – Snow White (I’ve always liked the dwarves)
Favorite story to disappear into – Elizabeth Lowell’s Untamed
Favorite TV program – True Blood (But also Vampire Diaires, Fringe, and King of Thrones)
First book you remember reading – Nancy Drew’s The Secret of the Old Clock
Dog or cat person (or other) - Dog
Author (living or dead) you'd most like to meet – Ben Franklin
A romantic retreat for you would be...A mountain chateau in the early fall
What do you do to unwind or relax? Swing on the rope swing on my deck. There are other things I enjoy when I’m not working—shopping, lunch with friends, traveling. But to truly relax, I like to swing. 

What era would you like to time travel and visit? And why?
I’d love to go back to Scotland, the 17th or 18th centuries. I’ve actually been to Scotland a couple of times and I adore the place.

I wrote two Scottish historical time travels (as Pamela Montgomerie), SAPPHIRE DREAM and AMETHYST DESTINY, both set in the 17th century. But the main reason is to see the world that my ancestors lived in.

I’m a direct descendant of James Beaumont Neilson, the Glaswegian inventor of the hot blast furnace (which would be a much better claim to fame if anyone actually knew who he was).

What does love mean to you?
Caring more about the other than about oneself.

Pamela, thanks so much for joining me today - it's been great having you here.

And as a bonus, to celebrate the upcoming release of ECSTACY UNTAMED, Pamela has 3 copies of HUNGER UNTAMED to give-away (Book #5 in the Feral Warrior series).
No restrictions - open to local and international visitors. 

Answer this question and your name will be put in the hat for the draw...

"Which Feral Warrior series book cover is your favorite? And why?"

Leave an answer by midday, Monday 26th September 2011 (Aussie time).
The winners will be announced Tuesday 27th September 2011.

Pamela's Feral Warrior series:

To find out more about Pamela and her books go to her website. Or you can follow her on Twitter or her Facebook page.

TOPIC: Do You Have the Contest Bug?

This is a timeless topic often discussed among writers - the value of entering contests.

RWA Valerie Parv Award

Some are for entering them and are vocal advocates of the benefits of doing so, others advise against entering as many seem to "encourage writers to write to the contest" or they see the writer receiving little value out of them.

I fall into the former category of advocates. The name "contest diva", "contest queen", or the more affectionately yet derogatory "contest sl**" was often mentioned in the same sentence as my name (*grin*). In the course of my unpublished career as a writer, I entered almost 100 contests over the nine years since tackling my first.

When considering whether or not you should enter a contest ask yourself this - why are you entering?

RWNZ Clendon Award

Is to get feedback on your work? Is the contest aimed at judging 3 chapters, a short story or a full manuscript? Is it to final? Is it because your want to get in front of a particular agent or editor? Is it to get a contest resume under your belt?

Let's consider each question.

• Feedback - entering can be a cheap way to get feedback on your work, particularly if you find a full manuscript contest that gives comments (eg. RWA Emerald Award or the RWNZ Clendon Award).

WHRWA Emily Award

If you belong to a writing organisation, ask yourself this - can I get feedback any other way besides through contests?

Some writing organisations have mentoring schemes, critique groups or critique partner schemes running, so this might be another avenue for you to pursue in your quest to get feedback.

• Contest criteria - entering a specific type of contest can help your craft. I avoided entering any sort of synopses contest, purely because I hated writing them. But because it was a weakness I'd identified in my craft skills, I forced myself to enter several of these to get feedback before I sent my work out on submission.
• To final - this is a feather in any writer's cap. I used this as a benchmark to see whether I was improving in my craft but then, in the context of where I was as a writer (geography and isolation, not the level of skill) and the services I had access to this (era of time) proved to be the only option available to me to measure this. (So context is important.)



RWA Emerald Award

• Getting your work in front of an editor/agent - if you have the budget, you can enter as many contests as you like, and some have done this. Most writers don't have unlimited funds, so choosing which particular contest - based on reputation or final judges or specific feedback - and this may determine your decision on whether you enter or not.

Toward the end of my unpublished contest career my goal for entering was driven by who the final judge was. I wanted to get my work in front of an editor or agent who acquired my genre.

RWA Golden Heart

• Contest resumes - racking up finalist kudos, placings or wins is certainly a way to impress potential editors and agents but it doesn't always help. Some take no notice of your achievements. I admit, one of my main goals for entering contests, in the latter part of my unpublished career, was to build a resume for each manuscript but it wasn't the only avenue I relied upon to get my work in front of editors/agents.

I think the secret of entering any contest is to identify why you're entering it, what you're hoping to get out of it as a result and to understand that it's one of many strategies, not the only one, to help you in your journey to publication.

So, with the RWAustralia and RWNZ contest season about to start fresh, I know there will be some of you keen to try the contest circuit (and good on you, go for it!). There are a wide range of ones for you to enter here and overseas.

Keeping that in mind, here are a few links you might like to explore to find the sort of contests you'd like to enter:

Romance Writers of Australia contest page
Romance Writers of New Zealand contest page
Romance Writers of America contest page
Stephanie Smith's contest page for author

RWNZ Clendon Readers' Choice Award

But, just remember, I've seen many friends who've taken the contest circuit route in the attempt to get published and I know of others who haven't entered any contests yet been picked up through submitting their work.

There are valid reasons to try both paths, one isn't better than the other.

It's whatever works for you.