It’s the middle of August and here in Georgia school has started. And the start of school means new supplies, new clothes, new shoes, school fees… You know the drill. And around here, the schools publish a list of all the supplies your child will need to start school, which really adds up.
So here what I’m going to do!
For the next few weeks, I’m going to feature one book in each series over at Smashwords and offer if for–
FREE!
Yes, you read it correctly. This week, beginning this afternoon, Jareth, First Lord and Gambler’s Folly will each be FREE, as my gift to you.
Jareth, First Lord is the first book in the Esperance series, on a world where paranormal abilities abound, especially among the ruling class.
Gambler’s Folly features a high tech, futuristic world with shifters!
Now, what do I ask in return?
Please review the book on your favorite site. You can write a review at Smashwords or at Goodreads! And please, share the book with your friends.
Other than that, nothing at all. It costs you nothing, but it will mean a great deal to me.
No, I haven’t abandoned all the folks on Gambler’s Folly. It has just been very busy around here lately.
But just to prove I’ve been doing something, here’s the first few paragraphs from Old Flame.
Old Flame
Chapter 1
Kort Behrens stepped out onto the front porch of his elegant home late in the afternoon. With its tall windows facing the setting sun, the house sat back into the mountains of the Sierra Nevada range in Northern California.
“All right, Ernie,” he told his estate manager. “I’ll be back in about a month, depending on how things shake out. You know how it is.”
“Indeed I do, sir,” the man of about forty-five told him. “Have a nice vacation.”
“Thanks, Ernie.”
Folding his six foot eight inch frame into the limo, Kort relaxed back to enjoy the drive.
Two hours later, his driver let him out at the Reno Hyatt and passed his luggage to the concierge. Though the limo was comfortable, a long drive always made him stiff. Maybe it was age creeping up on him. He’d turned fifty-five this year after all. Even doing his best to stay in shape, the stress of his life took its toll. Still, he looked good for his age, his light brown hair only now beginning to show some gray at the temples.
Sinking into the comfortable bed, he dozed until the soft chime on his com woke him at six-thirty. After a warm shower and change of clothes, he took the lift down to the third floor dining room. Raised voices caught his attention as he entered the room and breaking his contemplative mood.
A few tables away, a woman with shoulder length blond hair looked beaten under the verbal assault from the man who stood across the table. There was no reason for this sort of altercation in public, especially in a place like the Hyatt. Time to intervene.
And the story begins.
How does it end?
With a happily-ever-after, of course.
If you haven’t read the previous books in the Gambler’s Folly series, go on over and catch up! They’re onAmazon,Smashwords, and most other major book retailers.
So don’t despair. There are more books coming to the series.
Here it is August already and summer is in full swing down here in the Southeast. We haven’t had any rain in a few days and the temperatures are rising. But where has the summer gone?
I don’t know about where you live, but around here, school starts in August. In some areas, it starts as early as August 5. So everywhere in town is slammed with people trying to get their school shopping done. It is a crazy world out there.
But, with school starting, why don’t you sit back with a cold drink and a good book? With the kids in school, now’s the time to catch up on your reading.
Check out my books on Amazon for paranormal fantasy romance. Or check out Sultonna Nadine–my pen name for stand alones–for a bit more magic!
Esperance — a more frontier-like world where paranormal abilities abound.
Gambler’s Folly–a vacation planet with hunky shifters as Interpol agents, fighting crime and finding soulmates.
Master of the Fleet–an alternate universe of the Pacific Northwest, where magic is all around, but doesn’t seem to help Richard’s love life.
There you have it–a total of eight books to choose from.
So what are you waiting for?
Grab yourself a cold drink, find a comfy spot, sit back and take a virtual vacation to a mystical world.
Or then again, maybe not. This is Georgia we’re talking about.
Let me explain. About a week ago, I built a fire in the living room to take off the chill. A few days before that, it had been up near 80F outside, so I had no firewood in. We all thought we were finished with the heat for the year. Just in case, I brought a little more wood up.
And then it turned warm. All right, not warm. HOT!
Three days ago we had two days of 80 degree weather again. Ir had rained, so outdoors was like a sauna. I turned on the AC not so much to cool down the house as to draw the humidity out of the air. Same thing the next day.
Yesterday the high was 63 with drizzle all day. Today may reach 70. I don’t know yet. But the humidity is once again terrible.
In the meantime, I’ve been doing some writing and some reading.
If you like murder mysteries, check out the Widow’s Island novellas. (I’ve been binge reading.)
On the home front, I’ve been writing an article about Gambler’s Folly and working on Tiger’s Tempest. My editor is working on Ben of Blackstone’s Forge.
Tiger’s Tempest?
Think Tiger shifters meeting on Gambler’s Folly. She’s a forensic photographer. He is president of the security division for his families pharmaceutical corporation and working with Interpol on counterfeit drugs. They hadn’t intended to get married when he offered to play tour guide for her skiing and photography trip to Crystal Mountains. It just sort of…well, happened.
And Ben of Blackstone’s Forge?
Ben’s family has a way with iron, which makes their trade as blacksmiths considerably easier. He’d always thought he and Deborah would marry, but when he left the village to finish his apprenticeship, something happened. Now she will scarcely speak to them. Both his father and hers are rather strongly suggesting they each need to find a partner, but the only woman he wants as his wife is Deborah. And because of what happened while Ben was away, Deborah has decided she will never marry. Until their fathers get together and come up with a solution.
Wish me luck. With this crazy weather and the hectic schedule I’ve had lately, I’ll need all the help I can get.
All right, who else remembers the musical, Camelot? With Julie Andrews?
Every time the first of May comes around, I think of the song from Camelot–The Lusty Month of May. It is such a happy, upbeat song as we head into spring and look forward to summer.
Now if the weather will cooperate… I put tomatoes out, thinking it would certainly be warm enough at night for them. But I’m keeping an eye on the temperatures. Last night it got down to 42 out here. If it gets much lower, I’ll have to start covering them.
In the meantime, I’m still working on Tiger’s Tempest. I’m also revamping Moonlight and Shadows as a novella for Smashwords.
So stay tuned for all of those coming up. Tiger’s Tempest will be a while. It is in progress and waiting in queue behind three other Gambler’s Folly books yet to be released.
How is everyone this Easter weekend? I know it is a busy time of year, what with holidays and springtime gardening, and all the other things going on this time of year. In our case, cold weather and rain.
We’ve made it to Round 2 in the Allauthor cover contest for April, with Too Many Talents.
If you voted for Too Many Talents in the first round, thank you! I appreciate all your support. I never thought I would go on to another orund.
But I need your help again, if you can spare a moment. Since I’m in the second round, please go over and give me another vote!
And if you haven’t read the books from Esperance, go on over to Amazon or Smashwords and give them a try. If you’d like an excerpt, just check out the excerpt page. I haven’t put anything up for Too Many Talents yet, but I believe all the others are there.
Have an enjoyable week and don’t forget to send a vote my way!
Monday started with an appointment with the eye doctor, which wasn’t bad, but takes at least half the day with the drive time. And since my husband had a business trip the next day, once we got home we were packing all his stuff so he could leave early the next morning. By early, I mean 4 am. Yeah, he’s one of those.
Wednesday our 12 year old kitty, Magellan crossed the rainbow bridge, so I had to deal with that, so all the stuff I was going to do was postponed until the next day.
That night, one of our other kitties, Monster, started sneezing. Afraid she might have caught what Magellan had, Thursday was a rush to the veterinary hospital to check her out. Fortunately, it seems she has seasonal allergies. And I will admit, the pollen this week has been terrible. Once again, things got pushed back to take care of the kitties.
So that brings us to Friday. I was finally able to get in and order new glasses and do some shopping. And after a couple weeks of nice cool temperatures–like in the 50’s and low 60’s F–the day turned hot. Like 85 F hot. And I’m not a fan of heat to begin with.
So my blogging has been put on hold while I dealt with life in general.
Never fear! I am writing, although I may not have done as much as planned.
Tiger’s Tempest is moving right along. I’ll keep you posted.
But in the meantime, how about a peek at Ben of Blackstone’s Forge–next in the Esperance Series?
Excerpt:
Moire had accepted his invitation to the Gather dance eagerly. After a nice dinner, she took his arm as they walked to the dance. At least she wasn’t awkward and could follow his lead. Not as well as Deborah, but well enough for the experience to be enjoyable.
After dancing for quite a while, he suggested a break for refreshments. Weaving between the tables, they carried tall glasses of lemonade to a free table and sat down to relax while they enjoyed their drinks.
He knew it couldn’t last. Something always came up when he began to enjoy himself too much.
“Ben Blackstone! What are you doing with her?”
It was Deborah, of course. She wouldn’t come out with him, but resented it when he dated anyone else.
“Drinking lemonade. Good evening, Deborah. Yes, I’m fine and enjoying my evening. Kind of you to ask.”
“Ben, I’m sorry. Do I need to leave?” Moire asked nervously.
“No. You don’t. Could you sit here and wait for me? I’ll be right back. Let me take care of this.”
Rising to his feet, he stretched to his full height and glared down at the source of his irritation.
“Shall we?” he asked, motioning her toward the open ground outside the refreshment area.
With a swish of fabric from her ankle-length skirt, Deborah turned and stormed away in front of him. Once they were away from the crowd, she whirled, hands on her hips, and fire in her eyes.
“How dare you ask Moire to the dance?” she demanded.
“Why is it any business of yours?” he demanded in turn.
“But Moire, of all the women you could have asked.”
“Look, I know you two are rivals. But since I figured you wouldn’t come out with me, I chose to ask her.”
“Why do you think I wouldn’t have come?”
“Let me see,” he stated. “It could be something to do with the fact that you’ve turned me down three dances in a row, and won’t even accept an invitation for coffee. What do you think?”
“I think… I hate you, Ben Blackstone!” she shouted.
Her wrist smacked into his palm as he prevented her from slapping him. He caught the second one, too, and smiled at her, as her eyes flashed angrily.
“Now, Deb,” he began. “You know better than to slap me.”
“Let me go, you bastard.”
“I’ll let you go when I figure you won’t try it again,” he answered.
“Fine! Can I have my hands back?”
“First, let me explain something to you,” he said softly. “I will see anyone I care to see. You do not have a say in the matter. If you won’t accept my invitations, you cannot dictate who I may ask. Are we clear on this?”
“Let me go,” she answered just as quietly, temper seething beneath the surface.
Releasing her wrists, Ben stepped back a pace.
“Good evening, Miss Wills. It was nice talking with you.”
Deborah turned, nose in the air, and strode away from him. Ben hurried back to the table he’d left and found it empty.
“Sir?” the owner of the stand said.
“Yes? What is it?”
“The young lady who was sitting here said to tell you she was sorry, she’d had a nice time, but she was leaving early. She didn’t mean to cause you any trouble.”
“Damn it all to hell,” Ben growled. “Why does she always do this to me?”
“I’m sorry?” the man asked.
“Not the lady at the table. The one who came bursting in shouting accusations.”
“Oh. Yes, sir. She is a bit forceful, shall we say.”
“She’s a gold-plated bitch,” he replied, startling the man.
I know it probably seems like it takes me a long time to get a new book to you. But the writing is just the beginning. Actually, the first draft is the easiest bit. It’s what comes after that gives me a headache.
Editing.
Yep. That one word right there is the bane of my existence.
Why?
As an independent, self-published author, I can’t afford all the rounds of editing with a professional editor a lot of traditionally published authors enjoy. So after I get done with the first draft — which anyone will tell you is far from a good read– I set it aside, work on something else for a while, and let my mind change gears.
As the author of a manuscript, I am too close to the story to view it objectively, especially immediately after it’s finished. I know the back story for the characters, so I don’t catch some of the holes in the fabric of the story. I know how they got to where they are.
But you might not.
And I see what I know should be written, not necessarily what is written. So I miss little mistakes like missing words or transitions. I know they should be there, so I gloss over them.
So once I finish the manuscript, set it aside for a bit, and come back to it, I generally go over it several times.
The first time I’m checking for obvious errors, like misspelled words, missing words, strange punctuation, and any huge chunks of missing information.
Then I check for story flow in the next round.
Third, I go over everything carefully, changing the wording so I’m showing you what I want you to see, not telling you about it. I want you to walk with my character through the woods, smelling the earthy scent of the leaf mold, hearing the birds in the trees. I want you to experience it, not just hear about it.
And then I read through it again, for all of the above. I find I do better with this if I transfer it to my tablet, so I can read it as a book. Mistakes stand out begtter than they do on my desktop or my laptop.
Finally, when I’ve driven myself crazy with it, I send it to our daughter, who is my proofreader and editor. She has a good eye for detail and isn’t afraid to call me up and say, “Mom, what on earth are you talking about here? Where did you pull this information from? Uh-huh… Your backstory. You might have let us in on this a bit earlier.”
So it’s a process. It would be nice if I could write a perfect first draft, but I don’t think anyone can pull off such a magic trick.
So what is in the works?
The very next thing coming up for Mellie Miller is Ben of Blackstone’s Forge, another book from Esperance. Like Morgan, Ben is an inset into the Esperance story. While it brings information to us about what’s happening between the clans, it is mainly about the love story between Ben and Deborah.
From Gambler’s Folly, next up is Old Flame. Kort and Elizabeth went to university together, as friends, though they never dated. Now thirty years later, they meet unexpectedly on a trip to Gambler’s Folly. He is now the billionaire catch of the universe. She, a humble energy healer from a small Appalachian town. Join them for the fun and games which follow, Gambler’s Folly style.
I have one more book written in the Esperance series, not ready for the editor yet, and two others written for Gambler’s Folly–with another one in the writing process.
As for Sultonna Nadine, check out my other site for news on what my alter-ego is up to.
Not sure what’s been up with this week, but I’m frazzled.
Maybe it’s the weather. The weather has been strange for the past little while. First it’s chilly, then warm. And then it turns cold, with evenings down in the 20’s F.
But then today, it was up to 80!
No wonder people were acting strangely in town today.
Seems like a good evening to sit and read. Or maybe sit and write. I have some work to do on Tiger’s Tempest. It’s a new book in theGambler’s Folly seriesand I’m about 26,000 words into it. So there’s a ways to go yet.
In the meantime, you could check out the other books in the series–Gambler’s Folly, Dante’s Angel, and The Russian.
Go over the SulltonnaNadine.com for Master of the Fleet. And watch for Whiskey Jug Genie later this year!
In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend, wherever you are. If you happen to talk to Mother Nature, remind her to get her prescription refilled. I think she’s off her meds…
