On Writing

  • · ·

    Nightingale, Bigtime book #4, e-published …

    4 Comments

    NightingaleI’m happy to announce that I have e-published Nightingale, the fourth book in my Bigtime superhero paranormal romance series. Huzzah!

    Here’s the book description:

    Anxious brides. Drunken businessmen. Panicked partygoers. As Bigtime, New York’s premiere event planner, Abby Appleby is capable of handling almost any crisis, but even she’s not prepared when she finds herself in the middle of a fight between superhero Talon and his ubervillain nemesis Bandit. Abby manages to save Talon, but the superhero is temporarily blinded, so she takes him back to her loft, where the two wait out a snowstorm. During a blizzard that shuts down the city, Abby and Talon grow close, and he starts calling her Nightingale because of her love of music and singing.

    But Abby is afraid of what Talon will think when he can see the real her, so she conceals her identity from the sexy superhero, and they go their separate ways. However, Abby discovers that Talon is looking for Nightingale, looking for her — and so is Bandit. The mercenary ubervillain thinks that Abby has information that belongs to his boss, the mysterious Tycoon. Abby knows that she’s in serious trouble and that not even Talon — or the Fearless Five — may be able to save her …

    So this book is a little different than the others in the Bigtime series in that Abby and Talon are front and center, instead of the members of the Fearless Five, as in the previous books. In this story, the Fearless Five are more minor characters, although they, along with Lulu Lo, do appear.

    For those of you who remember, Abby was an event planner who helped Bella Bulluci with the museum benefit in Jinx. I thought writing about Abby and a new hero would let me expand the Bigtime world a little bit and bring in some new characters and places in the city for folks to read about.

    Nightingale is available for $3.99 at the following sites:

    Amazon

    Barnes & Noble

    iTunes (you will have to open iTunes on your computer)

    Kobo

    All Romance Ebooks

    Sony

    Smashwords

    I figure posting the e-book on these sites would let me hit most of the e-readers and e-book formats out there.

    Nightingale is around 94,000 words. You can read the first chapter here.

    I don’t have any plans to do a print version of Nightingale at this point. I just don’t have the time in my writing schedule to do that right now. However, if there is enough interest in the book, I may write some more e-books or e-stories in the Bigtime series. Again, we’ll see what happens.

    Anyway, I hope folks enjoy this return trip to Bigtime. Happy reading!

  • · · ·

    Guest blog: Edie Ramer on Yum-yum love …

    20 Comments

    Today, I’m please to welcome Edie Ramer to my blog. Edie is one of my author friends. She’s the author of Stardust Miracle, Dead People, and other books. Take it away, Edie:

    YUM-YUM LOVE

    Edie RamerOne of the things Jennifer and I have in common is a love of cheese. A few years ago, she recommended a favorite cheese brand to me, unaware that the cheese factory is located in a tiny “unincorporated community” not far from my house. If I remember correctly, the only other business in the area is a bar.

    The village of Miracle, Wisconsin, in my Miracle Interrupted series is a bit bigger, with a population of 629, but the place that employs the most people is still a cheese factory. There’s also a small grocery store, a beauty salon, a bar/restaurant, and a fine Italian dining restaurant. In my novel-in-progress, Miracle Pie, the heroine makes pies and delivers her pies to area businesses and residences.

    I love Italian food, I love pies, I love cheese, I love my cat, I love my dogs. And miracles. I really love miracles. So why not put what I love in my books? In Jennifer’s second Bigtime book, Hot Mama, the fiery superhero Fiera can eat enough to feed a dozen people and she never gains weight. I can imagine what fun Jennifer had writing that character. (Fiera shows up in Jennifer’s latest Bigtime book, Nightingale, which I thoroughly enjoyed.)

    Miracle LaneI also love men that love women and vice versa. A few years ago, a friend blogged about yum-yum love in books, comparing to antagonistic love. A heroine and hero who actually like each other, compared to a heroine and hero who dislike each other but can’t fight their wild attraction. That stuck with me, because unless the author is skillful, I don’t always believe in the antagonistic romance plot.

    So far, most of the books I’ve written have the yum-yum love. Probably my least yum-yum couple is in Dead People, my second published book. And they aren’t antagonistic as much as two people with prickly personalities. When you read my stories, you know that after The End, when the heroine is PMSing and grouchy and bloated, the boyfriend/husband is still going to love her. And when he does something stupid (which is bound to happen, because he is a man), she’ll love him, too.

    Like Jennifer with her Bigtime series, the main characters from one Miracle Interrupted story will show up in future stories, which is fun for me and I hope for readers. The third book, Miracle Lane, is just released! I’m excited about it. Here’s the description:

    She forgot how to hate, and now she’s learning how to love …

    Brain-damaged Nia Beaudine can’t remember her life before The Accident. Someone intentionally ran over her and left her for dead. Now she’s living in the ‘witch’s house’ she inherited in the village of Miracle, relearning how to live on her own. Well, almost on her own – the talking cat helping her cope is a bonus. But when a hate-filled family member shows up with a gun, Nia knows she needs real help.

    Former Army Sergeant and PTSD sufferer Rob Ackerman regularly covers for his identical twin, the village constable, and answers Nia’s emergency call. This strange young woman immediately sees he’s not his brother. In return, he sees that the only way she can fully live in her new life is to find out why someone in her old life tried to kill her … and might try again.

    As they dig up Nia’s past, the attraction between them grows. Their brains may be damaged, but their bodies and hearts are working just fine.

    GIVEAWAY TIME

    Stardust MiracleEdie is generously offering an e-copy of Stardust Miracle for giveaway. To enter, just leave a comment on this post and answer the following question: What kind of yum-yum love would you put in a book?

    The giveaway is open to those 18 and older and will run through midnight EST, Wednesday, Oct. 24. The winner will be randomly chosen and announced on the blog on Friday, Oct. 26.

    ALL ABOUT EDIE

    You can find Edie at her website, Facebook, and Twitter. She’s very proud of being a co-editor of Entangled, a Paranormal Anthology, with all proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. There are 11 authors, and three are New York Times bestselling authors – including Jennifer! The e-book is only $2.99. Buy it, enjoy it, and help find a cure for breast cancer.

    In addition to her paranormal and sci fi romances, Edie is enjoying writing her new Miracle Interrupted magical realism series. The novella Must Worship Cats is the first book. If you love cats, that’s the book for you. The next two novels are Stardust Miracle and Miracle Lane. For the pie lovers, Miracle Pie will be available in December.

    Thanks so much for being here today, Edie.

  • · ·

    Midnight Frost back cover copy revealed …

    10 Comments

    So I can now share the back cover copy for Midnight Frost, the fifth book in my Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series.

    However, please tote that this does contain some spoilers for Crimson Frost, the fourth book, which won’t be published until Dec. 24. So if you don’t want to be spoiled, you may want to skip reading the rest of this post.

    Here’s the back cover copy for Midnight Frost:

    Here we go again … 

    Just when it seems life at Mythos Academy can’t get any more dangerous, the Reapers of Chaos manage to prove me wrong. It was just a typical night at the Library of Antiquities — until a Reaper tried to poison me. The good news is I’m still alive and kicking. The bad news is the Reaper poisoned someone else instead. 

    As Nike’s Champion, everyone expects me to lead the charge against the Reapers, even though I’m still hurting over what happened with Spartan warrior Logan Quinn. I’ve got to get my hands on the antidote fast — otherwise, an innocent person will die. But the only known cure is hidden in some creepy ruins — and the Reapers are sure to be waiting for me there …

    As of right now, Midnight Frost is set to be published in August 2013. I’ll be posting the cover art and the first chapter excerpt as they become available.

  • · ·

    Entangled update …

    4 Comments

    EntangledSince October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, I thought I would give folks an update on Entangled, a Paranormal Anthology, an e-anthology that I am participating in.

    The e-anthology has been on sale since September 2011. Since that time, it’s sold more than 5,400 copies and has earned more than $11,000, which has been donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Pretty cool, huh?

    It’s been a really fun project to be involved with, and it’s been great getting to know the other authors involved in the e-anthology. I’m hoping that maybe we can all do another e-anthology sometime in the future. We’ll see what happens.

    Plus, it’s for a good cause. Unfortunately, breast cancer is something that affects a lot of folks, and it’s a good feeling to be able to do something positive. Hopefully, there will be a cure for this terrible disease someday. Here’s hoping.

    Here’s some more information about the book:

    Ghosts, vampires, demons, and more! Entangled includes ten suspense-filled paranormal short stories from authors Cynthia Eden, Jennifer Estep, Edie Ramer, Lori Brighton, Michelle Diener, Misty Evans, Nancy Haddock, Liz Kreger, Dale Mayer, and Michelle Miles, plus a novella by Allison Brennan.

    Stacia Kane contributed the foreword. Formatting and cover art were also donated to the project by Lori Devoti and Laura Morrigan.

    All proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

    The e-anthology is available for $2.99 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online booksellers. Happy reading!