Friday, May 31, 2013

Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Nancy Gideon


Author Nancy Gideon
Nancy Gideon stopped by, and my interview of the author of PRINCE OF SHADOWS is enlightening! Her release is a paranormal romance and was released on May 27, 2013.

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book. 
PRINCE OF SHADOWS is the 8th book in my “By Moonlight” shape-shifter series for Pocket Books. Earlier books take place in New Orleans involving a band of Shifter outcasts under the reluctant leadership of Max Savoie who is trying to prevent a clan war while struggling to discover the mysteries of his heritage. While continuing with the basic themes within the “BY Moonlight” world, PRINCE OF SHADOWS moves the setting to Lake Tahoe, home of the savage Terriot clan, so it’s a good place for a new reader to jump in.  My hero and heroine are star-crossed lovers separated by a dark history and now caught in a dangerous arrangement to unite their clan while healing their hearts. 
Describe the genre of this particular title, and is it the only genre you write in? 
PRINCE OF SHADOWS is a dark paranormal.  While I enjoy paranormal romances, having done an eight book “Midnight” vampire series and now my “By Moonlight” shape-shifters, I’ve also written historicals as Dana Ransom and Rosalyn West, and series contemporary suspenses under my own name.  I love variety.
When did you start writing toward publication? 
Waaaaay back when romances were just taking off in the mid-80s when I left the work force to concentrate on starting a family.  I’d always written stories but that’s when I had the time to go from page one to page end.
Did you have several manuscripts finished before you sold? If so, did you send them out yourself?
After my first massive historical tome met with rejection (mainly because I sent them to the wrong places!), I wrote three more complete books before garnering the courage to submit again.  I picked the one I thought was the strongest and sent it out to several publishers I found in an old copy of Fiction Writers Market.  I had no idea what I was doing. Looking back, I’m amazed I got that call for the complete manuscript two weeks later.  I didn’t even have it typed – it was still in long hand in my notebook.  A month later, I sent it off to New York and 54 books later . . . Many of them I’ve sold myself (I’m older and wiser now!) and some through various agents.  I’m currently agented.
Why have you become a published author?   
Writing as a career has always been my dream.  I started out wanting to be a journalist but my true passion wasn’t non-fiction, it was in those 500 page flights of imagination. I write because I can’t NOT write.  Getting paid for it is the added bonus.
Make me feel better...do you have any rejection stories to share?
Don’t we all!  When I started out, romance was wide open and publishers snapped up everything I submitted. But then the midlist list crash in the ‘90s left me and a lot of my peers struggling to find a new focus.  I left New York and went with a small press, ImaJinn, to continue a vampire series fans were devoted to and rediscover my love of writing.    After working with Pocket back in NYC for the last few years, now the tide is turning toward digital and self-publishing. Everything is a cycle. You just have to be prepared to ride the wave and keep on keeping on.
I am sitting on a surfboard! What is your writing routine like?
I’m an obsessive Type A writer with a strict schedule to work around a full time job.  When under contract, I’m at the keyboard by 5:00 a.m. working until I have to leave for my day job at 8:00.  I may work on scenes during my lunch hour, and if the deadline’s tight or the muse is pushy, I might fire up the laptop again when I get home.  I’ll usually put in 8 hours on the weekend when I have the most uninterrupted time. The OCD keeps me to my intended daily word count.
That is dedication! What sort of promo do you do? Do you have help?
Going from print books to e-exclusives meant a whole new learning curve for promotion. No more sales force and brick-and-mortar stores to get my books out there, and many review sources I’d traditionally dealt with wouldn’t look at e-books. Fortunately, I already had a fairly solid social media platform in place but still, it’s a scramble just to let readers know your book is available. Because 40 hours of my week are already spoken for, getting that big PR blitz going was more time consuming than I could handle by myself.  I have a fabulous virtual assistant in My Girl Friday who does my blog postings and media updating, and I’ve gotten great results by using Buy the Book Tours and Bewitching Book Tours to get blog stops set up for me.  I’ve done various blog hops with giveaways, and special events like my annual Haunted Open House to build my visibility, but in the end, who knows what actually brings in a sale. Usually it’s word of mouth.
Having achieved your goal to be a published author, what is the most rewarding thing? 
The most rewarding part of being an author for me has always been the process of writing. Just writing the book.  I love the plotting, the research, the characters, weaving everything together from page one to page Ahhhh!  Getting paid for doing it or being recognized with a royalty check, awards and reviews is icing on the cake.
Are you a member of any writing organizations and, if so, have they helped?
I’ve never been a joiner, and writing is the most isolating job you can imagine. Before I got invited to speak at my area Mid-Michigan chapter of Romance Writers of America, I’d never even met a real live author! In them I found a wonderful sisterhood of supportive and creative friends and most importantly my critique group. Now, I can’t fathom getting by without all the contacts I’ve made through RWA and Novelists Ink, especially with all the new tricks I’m having to learn lately in this e-volution.
I agree. I love my RWA chapters. Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract? 
Take heart!  Authors now have more choices and opportunities then every before.  With small press and self-published writers hitting the big bestsellers lists, New York in no longer the only game in town, which is great news for those who write just outside the box.  Educate yourselves.  This is a business and as such, is full of pitfalls that you need to be prepared to recognize.  Arm yourself with knowledge and write that best book you can.
What’s next for you?
I recently got the publishing rights back to about 20 of my titles from Zebra Books.  BelleBooks will be reissuing four of the contemporary romances in 2014 and I’m actively looking for homes for the historicals.
I’m hoping for more books in the “By Moonlight” series, especially the one for Max and Charlotte that readers have been demanding.  Until then, I’ll be busy promoting PRINCE OF SHADOWS.
BOOK BLURB

Others Controlled Her Fate

A gentle female held hostage in a deadly play for power, Kendra Terriot’s only means of survival for herself and her family is to play to a careful courtship game. The one she chooses from her clan’s dangerous heirs will inherit the coveted crown, keeping her their prisoner forever . . . unless she can retain her virtue until rescue arrives.

The Past Destroyed His Dreams

Favored son of their brutal Shifter leader, the only calm in Cale Terriot’s violent world is a childhood love for his delicate distant cousin whom he’s pledged to make his queen. With Kendra at his side, he knows he can become the kind of ruler his clan needs, but first he must learn how to become the kind of mate she desires.

A Choice Would Determine Their Future

In a treacherous race for control, where weakness means death, Cale must prove he’s not the beast his beauty fears and still protect her, especially once her unrequited love returns to free her. The only way to win her respect could mean surrendering his throne. The only way to win her heart could mean letting her go . . . even if she no longer wants to be saved.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Celebrating her 25th year in publishing, Nancy Gideon is the author of over 54 novels ranging from historical and contemporary suspense to paranormal with a couple of horror screenplays thrown in.  When not at the keyboard or working full time as a legal assistant, she can be found feeding her addictions for Netflix and all things fur, feather and fin. 

How can my readers buy your book? 
 
Readers can go to the publisher’s HOME PAGE
 
You can find more information about me and my book, PRINCE OF SHADOWS by visiting me at:
 
WEBSITE    BLOG    TWITTER   
 

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

MY BANISHED HIGHLANDER is a Goodreads Giveaway

The contest ended.
Congratulations to my three lucky winners, chosen by Goodreads:
Ashley Lopez
Becky Moneyhun
Shawn Clark
The autographed printed copies of MY BANISHED HIGHLANDER are on their way!


I am giving away paperback copies of
MY BANISHED HIGHLANDER.
This is the 2nd book in the series and was released last September. The contest is over at Goodreads and you have until May 31st to enter!

*no purchase necessary/Goodreads.com chooses the winners

Nancy Lee Badger Twitter me @nlbadger
DRAGON IN THE MIST, a Loch Ness Contemporary Romance, AVAILABLE HERE
MY HONORABLE HIGHLANDER, Book #1, AVAILABLE HERE
MY BANISHED HIGHLANDER, Book #2 AVAILABLE HERE
MY RELUCTANT HIGHLANDER, Book #3, is COMING SOON!

Friday, May 24, 2013

Nancy Lee Badger-A Positive Quote for Memorial Day



Photo by Nancy Lee Badger
Theirs is not to make reply. Theirs is not to reason why, theirs is but to do and die.
-Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Memorial Day weekend is here, and most Americans are planning family time and barbeques. Some will watch a sports event, a blockbuster movie, and maybe even a parade. Please do not forget the reason this holiday is called MEMORIAL DAY. It is for remembering those who have died defending out country.

 
 
Unless you are in the military, or are part of a military family, or the mother of a soldier (like me), the quote above might not mean much. I hope you read the words, feel them, and thank a soldier.


Nancy Lee


Monday, May 20, 2013

Win Nancy Lee Badger's DRAGON....

While researching the poetry of Robert Frost to use in my soon-to-be-released book, MY RELUCTANT HIGHLANDER, I wondered if my readers would question why an American poet's work was quoted in a Scottish time travel romance.

First of all, my hero is a present-day American Blacksmith. A farrier, who shoes horses, and who finds himself back in 1603 Scotland. When we first met him, in the 1st book in the Highland Games Through Time series, he was leaning against a tree at the New England Highland Games, secretly reading a book of Robert Frost poetry.

Jake Jamison is my 'hero' in book #3, so I thought a little poetry would work. My research found several poems no long under copyright protection, and I chose a few lines of one that is dear to my heart...so much so, that the title of this blog is loosely named after it.

Can you guess the poem's title? If you know it, leave your answer and email address in a comment for a chance to
WIN A PRIZE
Since I do not yet have a cover for my newest book, above is a photo of the prize: a gorgeous double-sided window sticker of Keltic Dragons by Jan Delyth.

Who doesn't love dragons? Do you? Then you will love these books (as well as MY RELUCTANT HIGHLANDER)
 
 
                                                             Southern Fried Dragon


Drawing will be Friday May 24, 2013. GOOD LUCK!

Nancy Lee

Monday, May 13, 2013

Nancy Lee Badger Interviews author Kaylie Austen

Joining me is author Kaylie Austen. Her book, Hellhound, is a paranormal mystery/suspense and was released on May 1st.

Welcome Kaylie! I am glad you could stop by during your whirlwind of a blog tour! Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.

Thank you for having me! Hellhound is the story of Selene, aka the Hellhound, and her struggle with breaking away from her pre-ordained life. She’s a Mythian, a direct descendant of Greek Gods, and her powerful bloodlines dictate that she marry another firstborn of Elders to become part of the ruling council that will one day take the world back from mortals. The problem? She hates being told what to do, when to do it, and who to marry. She’d rather cave into her darker side than to be brought into the light, literally (she absorbs power through the moonlight while the Elders soak energy from the sun).

Selene takes the bold step of mating with a tracker, a class beneath her. Demetrius shows her the world and how to hunt. With her prized weapon, he names her the Hellhound to the clans of Mythos. Things are shaky, but Selene’s entire world turns upside down when her father and intended, Nathanial, are found dead. All eyes focus on Demetrius. The evidence mounts against him. And, since Selene is now a huntress, the council gives her the order to bring in her accused lover. A race against time to find the truth, the Hellhound must work quickly to outwit super-human archers, shape-shifting sentinels, the cerebral chamber of the muses, and a deceitful council before she’s forced to annihilate her lover.
I can relate to 'breaking away' in order to be happy. Describe the genre of this particular title, and is this the only genre you write in?  
Hellhound is a blend of several genres: Paranormal, mystery, suspense, and romance. I also write dark fantasy, science fiction, and contemporary in both adult and YA.
What is your writing routine like?
I don’t have a routine, per say. Ideas flood into my head, storylines form, dialogue crops up, and I have to get it all down before it consumes me. It’s actually quite hectic in my head during a writing episode. I type fast, between 500-10,000 words a day, usually in the afternoon and evening. I spend weeks on editing, revising before sending the manuscript to beta readers. I’ll obsess a little longer before sending it out, and even then, I always find something to change or tweak with every read thereafter.
I type fast, but spelling and grammer cause headaches for me! Having achieved your goal to be a published author, what is the most rewarding thing?  
To have people tell me, or write reviews, about how much they loved the story. That’s a great feeling to know someone enjoyed my work.    
I agree! Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract? 
I know it sounds generic and every author says it, but it’s true. Never give up. If you try to give up writing, and the words keep coming, then you know you’re destined to be a writer. During all this writing, read and learn the craft. Always continue to grow.
What’s next for you?
This month I will be participating in an exciting month-long blog tour with giveaways, although truth be told, I’m a bit tempted to keep those prizes for myself. As far as novels go, I have a deliciously disturbing YA dark fantasy coming out later this year.
BOOK BLURB
Selene is the Hellhound, a powerful and ruthless descendant of the Greek gods. She is bound by tradition and tied by bloodlines to lead her people against the mortals. Although she is arranged to marry Nathanial, she falls for Demetrius, the self-professed Black Angel, and things take a bitter twist. When she stumbles across the corpses of her father and Nathanial, all eyes move in on Demetrius. Selene must take the assignment to hunt down her accused lover. Facing the untrustworthy cerebral chamber, powerful shape-shifting sentinels, superhuman archers, and a deceitful Council, the Hellhound must work quickly to uncover the truth before she is forced to annihilate her lover.
Excerpt from Hellhound
  I stepped over the threshold. The doors closed behind me with an echo that bounced against thick interior walls. I stood as close to the doors as possible in the empty, twelve-foot, circular chamber. The smooth, metal walls were bare, dark. One, small light to my left illuminated the room, and cast odd shadows in the distance.
  The ancient muses lived in our domicile, trapped in this chamber for the purpose of the Council. They materialized from thin air. Dense, colored particles gave the appearance of solid flesh cloaked in cloth, similar to a hologram.
  I hated giving them my memories. No one should know them except me, but relinquishing them proved I was not a criminal.
  The cloth-like façade covered their faces. The woman in the middle stepped forward.     “Welcome, Selene.”
  “We recognize you anywhere,” another spoke.
  Their majestic voices echoed, creating a haunting ripple of sound.  
   I swallowed. “Let’s get this over with.”
  All three smirked and rushed into me at once. I gasped as their force slammed me against the door. For the most part, they dissipated into air, but a small portion passed through my skull and entered my brain. I dropped to my knees and cradled my head between curled fingers. With my teeth clenched, jaw tight, and eyes pressed, I rocked on my haunches.
  The muses moved across my thoughts, creating a vicious headache as they replicated memories and stored them in the chamber.
  My body heat rose. Sweat beads tickled as they slid down my flesh. My breathing escalated until my lungs hurt, my chest burned. I thought my head might explode, as if my brain throbbed, pounded against bone. Heavy breathing turned into muffled whimpers. Panting turned into hissing. Just when I lost self-control, just before screaming, the pain vanished. The muses disappeared and took with them everything I knew.
How can my readers buy your book? 

Online stores such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble
 
 
 
Readers can go to the publisher’s home page at
 
MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kaylie Austen was born in India and raised in Austin, Texas where she attended the University of Texas. Her multi-cultural upbringing fueled her desire for languages, cultures, and travel. Kaylie is perhaps best known for her sudden and infectious laugh. She enjoys anything science fiction and fantasy related, and writes in both genres for adults and young adults. She currently lives in beautiful Washington State with an amazing husband. She loves to hear from readers, so feel free to contact her. 
You can find more information about Kaylie Austen and her book, Hellhound, at
WEBSITE    BLOG    Twitter   Facebook    Goodreads
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, May 10, 2013

Nancy Lee Badger-POSITIVE QUOTE for Mother's Day

The author's sons, over twenty years ago, in Rumney, New Hampshire. Time is fleeting!
 
“We are each gifted in a
unique and important way.
It is our privilege and our
adventure to discover our
own special light.
–Mary Dunbar, artist
 
 
As an artist, romance writer, and mom to two adult men, I will enjoy the weekend knowing I have been blessed. Though we may be separated by distance, I love y'all (and you too, Mom)
 
 
Nancy Lee

Friday, May 3, 2013

Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Michelle Garren Flye

Michelle Garren Flye has come to visit! Her book, Close Up Magic is a contemporary romance and will be released June 1.

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.  
Thanks for having me here, Nancy. Close Up Magic is the first book of my contemporary romance series Sleight of Hand. Each book in the Sleight of Hand series will feature a magician as either the hero or heroine. The hero for Close Up Magic, for instance, is Andre Hawke, who is a mishmash of every magician I’ve ever seen perform a card trick in my life. I have always admired magicians. Everybody from David Copperfield and Lance Burton to Ricky Jay to the magician I hired to perform at my kid’s birthday party. The whole idea of magic just makes me happy, so I guess it’s a natural progression to want to write about it.
I use ancient magic, especially the use of herbs and potions, in some of my books. Describe the genre of this particular title, and is it the only genre you write in?  

Close Up Magic is a contemporary romance, and yes, it’s pretty much the only genre I currently write in, although sometimes I cross the thin line into women’s fiction. I tried to write scifi, fantasy, horror and even (gasp!) literary fiction for a long time, but finally had to admit I had more fun writing romance than anything else.
When did you start writing toward publication?  
I guess I really started writing toward publishing fiction after my son was born thirteen years ago. I had always written short stories and some other crap that wasn’t worth being published, but after he was born, I got serious about it. I joined an online writing group (zoetrope.com) and got some amazing feedback that really improved my writing, and probably kept me from succumbing to mommy blues during those first years of being a mother. In fact, one of my novels, Weeds and Flowers, was written during that time, and I totally credit some of my online writing buddies with how well it turned out.

Children can be a great catalyst. I started really writing the month my son returned from a tour in Iraq. Why have you become a published author?   
I love this question because it hits at the very heart of what I feel marks the difference between a career writer and a hobbyist. Validation. I’m not afraid to ask for it. At first I thought I needed a publisher or an agent to give it to me, but I’ve since realized that there’s only one group of people I need to hear from: readers. I publish because I want readers to read what I write. That, in my opinion, is the validation that all career writers seek. Of course, I realize you can be an excellent writer and never publish. But if you want to make a career out of it, you have to have that hunger for validation from your readers.
I agree! Do you have any rejection stories to share?
Rejection is too painful, really, to share. You can’t take it to heart, but you have to or you’re not going to get anywhere. Close Up Magic, for instance, was rejected. When I got the rejection, I decided to go the self-publishing route because I believe in the story, and I think the market is ready for it now, not six months to a year from now, which is what would happen if I submitted to another publisher. Of course, since it’s the beginning of a series, that means I’m deciding to go the self-publishing route for the whole shebang, so I may not get any more rejections for a while. Talk about a silver lining!
I have tried it both ways. It is good to have publishing choices. What is your writing routine like?
Wish I had one! Especially right now. I’m itching to get back to writing, even though I’m having lots of fun with promoting Close Up Magic. But between three kids, two dogs, volunteering and a husband, I usually am only able to squeeze in a half hour or so of writing. I’m hoping it’ll get better next year when my youngest goes to kindergarten and I am able to schedule my volunteer work around my writing time.
Speaking of time sucks, what sort of promo do you do? Do you have help?
I use Twitter extensively, and I’ve started a Facebook page for Close Up Magic where I’m posting tidbits about magic that I’ve learned in my research (https://www.facebook.com/CloseUpMagicFlye). Rachel Simeone of ZetaBlue Marketing has been a huge help in learning my way around social media websites. I also have a blog (http://michellegflye.com), and I’m currently running a contest over there for a Kindle Paperwhite. And next month I kick off a virtual book tour for Close Up Magic with the help of Goddess Fish Promotions. Of course, I have wonderful friends and fellow writers like you who help me out from time to time, too!
Gee, thanks! What’s next for you?
Right now, I’m working on Island Magic, Book 2 of the Sleight of Hand series, but I think my next release will be Saturday Love, the sequel to my contemporary romance/women’s fiction novel Ducks in a Row. It’s already written and in the process of being edited.

BOOK BLURB
Reporter Stacey Matthewson has made a living writing sensational stories that knock celebrities off their pedestals. Now she's got a hot lead on an even hotter magician who's mystifying Las Vegas with his new show--the problem is, she's had a crush on him for years. How can she write a story that might ruin him, especially when he proves himself to be so much more than she'd ever dreamed?  



Magician Andre Hawke has a knack for making things disappear, but when it comes to his brother's drinking and gambling, he's got a problem. Hiring the sexy reporter who threatens to blow away his carefully wrought illusion might be the answer to his problems...or she might bring on a whole new set of them.   
Stacey’s never believed in magic, and Andre doesn’t know who to trust anymore. Can passion overcome their inhibitions, or will betrayal stem the tide of love?

Excerpt 
Andre caught up to her, wheeled around and started walking backward in front of her. He was amazingly nimble on his feet, able to avoid oncoming traffic without even glancing over his shoulder. Stacey shook her head. “Don’t you think you need to watch where you’re going?”
“Why?” He shrugged. “I can never see it until it’s past anyway. Most people can’t.”
She rolled her eyes. “I had no idea kissing made you philosophical.”
He tsked. “Kissing makes me horny. Life makes me philosophical.”
He was starting to get on her nerves. “Get over it, Andre. So we made out. We got carried away, that’s all.”
“I think it was more than that…for at least one of us.” His words teased her, but she wouldn’t ask him which one of them he was talking about. He kept walking backward, and this time, he was heading directly toward another man--a very large one--walking toward them. Stacey opened her mouth to say something but before she could, he’d walked directly into the other man, almost as if he’d intended to do it. He laughed out loud, catching himself by putting his arms around her. He glanced over at the large man, breaking off his embrace of Stacey to turn and shake his hand.
“Thank you! That was perfect. Sorry about that, I’m trying to make a point, though, and you just did it very effectively.”
He turned back to Stacey. “You say you never saw it coming. I say we never see things coming. I mean, look at this particular incident. I was walking backward, couldn’t possibly have seen him, right? But what’s his excuse?”
MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Garren Flye is the award-winning romance author of five novels. Reviewers have described her work as: “an engaging novel with charming and likable characters”, a story that “will make you believe in love and second chances”, and a “well-written and thought-provoking novel.”

Michelle placed third in the Hyperink Romance Writing Contest for her short story “Life After”. Her short stories have been published by the romance anthology Foreign Affairs, Opium.com, SmokelongQuarterly.com and Flashquake.com. She has served on the editorial staffs of Horror Library Volume 1, Horror Library Volume 3, Butcher Shop Quartet, Butcher Shop Quartet II and Tattered Souls.

Michelle has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is the mother of three and lives in North Carolina with her husband and their rapidly growing collection of pets.
How can my readers buy your book?  
Close Up Magic will go on sale June 1, 2013 on Amazon.com. In the meantime, you can check out the PREVIEW
Keep up with the latest news on the
Close Up Magic Facebook page 
You can find more information about Michelle Garren Flye and her book, Close Up Magic by visiting:
WEBSITE      TWITTER      FACEBOOK