Hey all!  I’ll be talking about hitting the NY Times and the USA Today Bestseller lists later this week, but for now, the Authors After Dark group is having a bit of a blog hop right now to gear up for this August…here’s the awesome info below!

Authors After Dark is coming QUICKLY and OMG this year is going to be INSANE!

As always AAD is about the readers, and the amount of awesome we have put together for you this year, you would be INSANE not to attend….

First, our amazing Master of Ceremonies is none other than Alexandra Ivy! She will be doing a cool little event to celebrate your favorite gargoyle, Levet on Friday! Wanna know more? Check out the FB group where Alex will be talking about the awesome that she has going on!

Torquere and authors BA Tortuga and Julia Talbot will be Sponsoring our Welcome event, the Midnight Rodeo… And it looks like We will have some VERY COOL goodies and… Riding… happening… *SNICKER*

How about Parties? This year we have a special event called the Leather and Lace Ball! Curious? We thought so! Take a ride on the wild side and let your inhibitions fly with five New York Times Bestselling Authors of erotic romance. Cuffs and corsets encouraged.

And if THAT isn’t enough awesome that will be going on… This year we have an amazing off site costumed event… the Ladies on the Green event sponsored by the AAD Anachronistic Society! This will be an hour and a Half on the famous GREEN in Charlotte (a half block from the hotel). It will be a Costumed event (though Costumes are not required they are encouraged!) to celebrate Gothic, Victorian, steampunk dark historical literature! Your hosts will be: Sahara Kelly, Amanda McIntyre, Leanna Renee Hieber, A.L. Davroe and S.A. Price. Prizes and readings will happen, as well as photo ops!

And NEVER forget the Amazing Open bar with Mel Schroeder and friends! They have SO MUCH awesome set up for you just before the Bookies… you do NOT wanna miss that!

Getting excited yet? How about some info on the AWESOME mini events we have going on? Ready?

On Wed. Night, Join Sasha White and Joey W. Hill for a wild party and Q&A, Also, the Blind Date Book Party will be open to start your con right! (If you have never done a BDBP, you are MISSING out! You need to attend, Get your blind date book, find the author that wrote it, and hang out with them!)

Thursday? Panels up the wazoo, and the Bookie Awards—– goodies and books to be given out! The hangout with The GNO girls lead by CJ Ellisson and Boone Brux for some crazy fun! And if that wasn’t enough? Readings and a Blogger Sleepover party as well!

Friday? More panels, a games carnival with Nina Gooden and Pals, Name that Author with Cat Johnson, and some other fun surprises!

Saturday? A few panels, the Big ass booksigning with 100 authors, the Cowboy Stampede party, the Readers Mad Tea Party with Hildie McQueen, An after the bookies event with a special publisher sponsor, And Jess Michaels’ Birthday extravaganza!

SEE? SO MUCH AWESOME! All the authors that are involved with parties will be talking about their involvement on the FB group, so join up and get ready to rock.

Oh? You say you’re not registered for AAD yet? You need to be! All registrants get put in the hat for the welcome party prizes, and these prizes are AMAZING! Breakfast with authors, Booze and Books, side trips to Carrowwinds…. We have a minimum of 90 special prizes…. So…

You need to rock this con! And as if this wasn’t enough…. AAD will be giving away something really awesome to registrants…. Wanna know what?

How about 5 VIP registrations for THE NOVEL EXPERIENCE 2015 in LAS VEGAS? YES… 5!

And…

How about this… If we hit 100 more registrations from TODAY April 10th to June 10th, we will give away 2 AAD registrations for 2015… 2!!!!! So get registered, get your room and get ready for one HELL of an amazing year with us!

JOIN US! WE CANT WAIT TO HANGOUT WITH YOU!

AAD REGISTRATION

We’re about half way moved into the new house.  When we bought it, we decided to kind of take our time and keep the pressure off by just moving a little bit at a time, and we’re almost to the point where we can hire a couple of movers for the heavy stuff.  Except…Big Tone and Junior Tackle (14) keep moving the heavy stuff.

I have no chairs, no tables, no sofas still in my current home.  We’re sitting on the floor.  Plus, I truly had no idea how often I drag a chair somewhere in this current house to get something off a top shelf.  Without chairs, I have to ask either Tone or Tackle to get stuff down for me.  I’m starting to feel really short.

Tony was a bit, er, surprised by how many pairs of shoes I’ve had in my shoe closet in the other room, and I’ve been shocked by how many dang hats he has.  Hats! 

I’ll take some pictures of the house when I get the chance – right now there are boxes everywhere.  Though my office is awesome, and the new pottery barn desk fits perfectly.  Tony keeps joking that we moved so the furniture would fit.  LOL!  Okay, maybe…

Just kidding.  We moved for the view and the extra room, since we’ve doubled our square footage.  And, BIG UPDATE, now we have Internet at the new house.  So…we can move now.  🙂

Other than that, here’s an update:

• Rising Assets released and hit the top 100 in Amazon overall, and is still there four days later
• Marked (Janie’s story) was sent to my publisher…it’s all written – yay!
• Blind Faith releases on May 6th (Nate and Audrey’s story from Sin Brothers)
• Tamed releases on May 15th  (Caleb and Lily’s novella)

Everyone have a wonderful beginning of April!  Also, Rising Assets is still on the special sales price of .99¢ and will be going back up to three dollars any day now.

What do they know?  Just kidding.  We just bought our dream house up on a hill overlooking a gorgeous lake and mountains reaching to Canada.  The perfect place to write!  The only downside?  Yeah.  We need to pack, move, and unpack.

How hard can it be?  LOL!

Here’s a picture of the new view.  Canada is the other way, BTW.  We’ve lived in our current house for more than eleven years.  That’s a lot of time…and a lot of stuff.  The good news is that we’re only moving a few miles, so we can take and unpack as we arrive, until it’s time for the heavy stuff.  Then we’ve hired movers.

So, my blog may be full of mishaps, stories, and pretty views for the next bit of time.  But one of the cool things about this new property is you can just imagine the cowboys who have ridden through there.  You all know I like a good cowboy!

Other than that, I’ve turned in Page Proofs of RISING ASSETS, Copy Edits of BLIND FAITH, and am now writing MARKED, Janie’s story.  It’s almost finished.

So really, how hard can it be to move?

Hi all!

It occurred to me that I’d better remind everyone that SWEET REVENGE (sexy Matt’s story) will only be available at the $2.99 price for a little while longer.  I also thought I should post an excerpt for you all.

THE ONE MAN SHE CAN’T HAVE

Matt Dean was born to fight…and kill. A member of a secret black ops military unit, he and his brothers were genetically engineered by the government to be the perfect soldiers with an expiration date. Now, with time running out, he’s gone rogue in a relentless quest for the one person who can save them. His mission leads him to Charmed, Idaho…and to a beautiful woman with eyes like emeralds and a body made for pleasure.

THE ONE WOMAN HE CAN’T RESIST

Laney Jacobs knows the mysterious, handsome stranger is trouble from the moment he walks into her bar, looking for a job. She’s spent years running from her own past–the last thing she needs is an romantic entanglement. But Matt’s strong arms offer her protection, and his gentle touch promises passion unlike anything she’s ever known. As lethal forces surround them, revealing explosive secrets about Matt’s past and putting everything–and everyone–he holds dear in danger, can he save them all before time runs out?

EXCERPT:

Raised voices toward the dartboard brought Laney up short at the far end of the bar. Turning, she sighed. Two burly men stood nose to nose and shouted profanities—something about a borrowed tractor. She was so not in the mood. Steeling her shoulders, she marched out of the office and up to them.

Just in time to duck as a beefy arm swept toward her head, the fist aimed at the other guy’s face.

Then things happened too fast to track.

A hard arm banded around her waist and set her out of the way. A heartbeat later, Matt had both men on their knees, one with an arm behind his back, one with an odd hold on his neck.

Both men whimpered, and one drooled.

Wow. Laney blinked and shook her head. That was unreal. She held both hands out to diffuse the situation. “Whoa, there. Let’s calm down.” Her gaze rose to Matt’s face, and she froze.

The man was beyond calm. No anger, no fear, no expression. He’d put down two hulking men with minimal effort and no emotion. “I believe these gentlemen were heading home,” he said.

One guy gurgled his agreement. The other guy whimpered again.

“It’s good we agree.” Matt released them, and the two scrambled to their feet, almost running each other over to get out of the bar. A step forward, and Matt manacled her arm in an unbreakable grip. “Boss? I’d like a word.” Without waiting for an answer, he maneuvered her through the bar to the back door.

She tried to concentrate. Before she could protest, they stood outside on the steps.

He released her and whirled around. While he’d been calm inside, now fire lanced through his odd gray eyes. “What the hell did you think you were doing?”

She swallowed and stepped back. “Excuse me?”

He towered over her, hands on hips, all furious male. “Getting in the middle of a bar fight with men twice your size. You hired me for a reason, right?”

“Well, yes.” Why was he so angry? She tilted her head to the side as irritation filled her. He had no right to question her. “If there’s an altercation in my bar, I need to step in.”

“No.” His voice lowered to a growl. “If there’s a fight, you call me over. You do not step in.”

She frowned. Fury stretched awake inside her, but she kept it in check, keeping control. The idea of losing control of her environment worried her more than the rock-hard male in front of her. “You know you work for me, right?”

“Listen, lady”—red spiraled across his high cheekbones—“you hired me to bounce problems, which I can’t do if your sweet ass is in the way.”

Was that a fact? She took a deep breath and settled on the only solution other than kicking him in the shin. “You’re fired.”

Both of his eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”

Satisfaction tilted her chin. Not much probably surprised Matt Dean. “You’re fired.” As an exit line, it nailed the situation. Unfortunately, the toned soldier stood between her and the door. Just who the hell did he think he was? “Now move your sweet ass.”

He slipped his hands into his pockets and leaned back against the door. As a move, it was intimidating. “Why am I fired?”

“You leave much to be desired as an employee.” She eyed him, assessing the situation. Nope. The guy might be commanding, but she wasn’t scared. He wouldn’t hurt her. “All you’ve done since being hired is flirt with customers, order me around, and kiss me.”

His chin lowered. “Which of those items is pissing you off the most?”

She narrowed her eyes as heat spiraled through her abdomen. “You can flirt with any dumb bimbo you want, and frankly, the kisses were all right. But ordering me around? Not a chance.”

“All right? The kisses were all right?”

Figured the man would focus on that. She forced herself to lift a shoulder. “Eh.”

His cheek creased, and his eyes warmed. “Maybe we should try again, then. See if I can do better.”

“No.” The spit in her mouth dried up. She hadn’t meant to challenge him…had she? “I don’t, ah, kiss fired employees.”

“So that leaves Smitty.” Matt grinned.

“Very funny.” The tension slowly drained from her muscles in response to his instant humor.

He exhaled slowly. “Listen, I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“You didn’t.”

“I’m also sorry if I was too bossy.” He rubbed a hand through his hair. “It’s just, after being in combat, orders come naturally. Seeing you, somebody so small near danger…well, it hits triggers. All sorts of triggers.”

She could handle him bossy or charming. But sweet and honest? She shook her head and gestured toward his hard body. “You’re just…too much.”

He chuckled. “If you give me another chance, I promise I’ll tone it down. All of it.”

Want to read more?  CLICK HERE for the Prologue and First Chapter

So…I’m back home from the Coastal Magic Convention, and it was wonderful!  So great to catch up with friends and goof off with fans.  We may have lost at laser tag (barely), but the team we played was on game three and had figured it out.  Once we figured out how to fan out and attack, we were dangerous.  Boone Brux has a fantastic dive and roll move, and Ciara Knight knows how to leap while firing.  Ciara and I accidentally shot each other at one point, but it all worked out.  (Yes, we were on the same team).  🙂

Big Tone went with me to Florida because I figured I’d have more time to spend with him than usual since none of my editors or agent were at the conference, and also, he loves the sun.  It was really nice the day we arrived (we arrived at night though), and then the day we left was sunny.  Other than that…it rained.  Really, really rained.  LOL!  But we still had fun, and he didn’t even mind when a bunch of ladies asked him to strip.  Big Tone is a hottie, and that kind of thing happens at romance conferences.  It just does.  He also thought the gift package from C.J. Ellisson with the dirty dice was hilarious, and he enjoyed meeting my friend Liz Berry, who’s a bundle of fun and energy and is just brilliant at understanding the publishing industry.

The panels were tons of fun. During one, Sara Humphreys and I came up with a fun promo plan we might try out this year, schedule permitting…and I’ll let you know if it all works out!  I think I also coerced a promise out of her to show me around NY next time I’m in town.  🙂 

Anyway…it’s good to be home experiencing a blizzard.  Seriously.  Tons of snow…and we’re about to move.  Here’s a very snowy picture of the view from my new office in our new home…and yes, we’re trimming trees in the spring.

Everyone have a wonderful week!