Excellent news, my friends.  The magnificent Megan just sent me the proposed cover for TEMPTED.  Isn’t it hot, hot, hot?!?  Tempted is an e-novella that will be released on March 27, 2012.  It’s about Max (Janie’s bodyguard) and a woman named Sarah Pringle.  Sarah just escaped from a mental institution.  You can buy Tempted on your kindle, nook, e-reader, computer, ipad…

Here’s a quick excerpt:

“Miss Pringle?  I’m coming in.”  The door opened on a gust of wind, and Max stepped inside.

“Wow.”  She could only gape.  Wet brown hair, thick and wavy, plastered to his head.  A soaked black t-shirt and jeans revealed rock hard muscle.  No injuries from the fight?  Perfectly healthy.  Not even winded.  He was the largest man she’d ever seen.  His face was rugged…strong.  Not handsome…but, well, masculine.  Yeah.  That was the term.  Deep, dark, and shielded brown eyes took her measure. 
A shiver slid down her spine—some fear—some intrigue.  “How did you find me?”

“You left a trail a first week Boy Scout could follow.  I saw you heading for the tower, so I just kept pace until you got here.”  He eyed her sopping clothing, dark gaze wandering up to her face.  “Your lips are blue.”  Three steps had him at the cabinets, yanking them open to grab a sealed bag.  Those large hands ripped open the bag and yanked out two wool blankets.  “Take your clothes off.”

“No.”  It came out on a croak.  How insulting.  He’d been tracking her, easily keeping her in sight.  So much for getting to freedom.  “We need to run.  If you’re here…they’re coming.”

He wiped his forehead with his arm.  “No, they’re not.”

Her mind spun.  If they weren’t coming—they were dead.  “You killed four of
them?”  She backed away, knees hitting the cot.  Her teeth chattered and she
clenched her lips together.  How had he survived?  “What the hell are you?” 

“A damn good fighter.”  One broad hand ripped his wet shirt over his head to hang on a nail. “We’ll wait the storm out—but you need to warm up.”

A good enough fighter to kill four deadly monsters?  That good of a fighter didn’t exist.  Neither did absolutely perfect, harder than granite, sculpted male chests.  Oh she
wished he’d put his shirt back on.  The breath heated in her lungs.  “No.”

“No to what?” 

“No to you beating the Kurjans.  No to there being Kurjans.   No to taking off clothes.  No to it all.”  Hysteria had her vision blurring.

“Stay calm, sweetheart.”  He moved toward her, slow and steady.  Like an animal stalking
prey.  Except he looked more like a mountain than an animal.  Not one of those rolling hills from home…but a real mountain.  Jagged and wild—yet solid with the earth.  Unmovable.

Instinct had her raising her fists, preparing to fight.

He stopped cold.  Those eyes warmed and he cocked his head to the side.  “Honey, take your thumbs out of your closed fists.”

Sergej Khakimullin
Shutterstock

My name is Izzy and I interview book characters.  Many people say I’m a character, myself.  *Snort*.  That’s nice of them.  I’m hoping Rebecca lets me interview a bunch of her characters–I can’t wait to be in the same room with all of the Kayrs brothers.  MEOW.

So, I’ve been wanted to interview Dage for some time.  I mean, the king of the most powerful race on earth is hard to find.  He finally agreed to meet me at a quaint Italian restaurant in the middle of my hometown.  In case you haven’t met Dage yet, he’s about six and a half feet with long dark hair and very cool silver eyes.  The guy moves like a jaguar, smooth and strong.  It was truly a pleasure to watch him stalk across the restaurant.  Here’s the transcript of the interview, with a couple of my thoughts thrown in:

ME:  So.  You’re the king of the Realm.

DAGE:  Yes. I took over for my father about three hundred years ago.

ME:  When the Kurjans (evil vampire race afraid of the sun) killed them.

DAGE:  Yes.  I was twenty-five, and the first thing I did was surround myself with strong leaders.

ME: You mean, your brothers?

DAGE: Yes.

At this point, a shadow crossed the king’s features.  I leaned forward, putting on my best ‘what?’  look.

DAGE:  They were young.  Maybe too young.  At least, Jase was.  But…we needed to stick together, and I wanted people around me I could trust.

Me:  So.  You won the last war…there was peace, and now the Kurjans have declared war again by creating a virus that attacks your mates.  Speaking of which, you finally found your mate.

At this point, Dage almost smiled. 

DAGE:  Yes.  I’ve been dreaming her face for centuries, and when I found her, the world finally made sense.

ME:  What one word would you use to describe her?

DAGE:  Absolutely brilliant.  He grinned.  I guess that was two words.  She’s incredibly smart and I have no doubt she’ll cure the virus.  Someday.

ME:  So, ah, there’s a scene in your book involving, well, a belt.  Rumor has it Rebecca’s editor thought about pulling her back, but left it in because, hey, it works.

DAGE:  I have no idea what you’re talking about.

He reached for his cell phone and typed something in.  I raised an eyebrow and cleared my throat.

ME: It’s too late for that scene to be deleted from the book.

DAGE:  We’ll see about that.  Some things should be private.

Even though his voice was low and calm, there was a threat there that heated the oxygen around us.  I struggled to figure out another question. 

ME:  In FATED, your sister-in-law became pregnant.  Since I haven’t been able to read all of CLAIMED, I was wondering if she has the baby in that book.

DAGE:  No.  In fact, Cara gets infected with the virus, and, well, things get tense.  But, Emma is on it.  She’ll find a way to save the baby.

A commotion sounded by the door.  I blinked twice, knowing I shouldn’t turn around.  I did anyway. My heart sank as the Kayrs brother responsible for getting me banned from my favorite coffee shop stomped across the room.  Talen.  He glared at his brother.

TALEN:  What the hell are you doing in a restaurant when people want you dead?

DAGE:  You’re here.  And right now, I pretty much want you dead.

More commotion at the door.  Brothers Conn and Jase stalked toward us, leaving female sighs in their wake.

DAGE:  You have got to be kidding me.  I’m the damn king.

Then, well…no Kurjans or evil shifters came after us.  You think this would be a good thing.  But Dage refused to leave, and Talen tried to make him.  Jase attempted to intervene, which got Conn involved, and all hell broke loose.  So, now I can’t go to my favorite Italian restaurant.  I’m running out of places to eat.

Hi all!  The fabulous Wanda over at Good Choice Reading just posted the first review for Claimed.  She seems to like the Kayrs brothers.  To quote Wanda, “all the brothers are sexy. If I were one of their mates, I wouldn’t let my mate out of my sight. The power they all possess will make any woman fall on her knees (Literally).”  🙂

Also…there’s a contest going on at Good Choice for an ARC of Claimed as well as a signed copy of Fated.  I think the contest runs until next Sunday.  Drop by here and comment to win.

Hi all!  I’m at the Brava blog giving away an ARC of Claimed and two signed copies of Fated.  I’ll draw names on Monday.  Drop by and comment for a chance to win!  🙂  http://www.bravaauthors.com/blog/

The writing loops have exploded with news that literary agencies are opening up self-publishing businesses for their clients as well as other writers.  While these folks may have the best of intentions, this violates the law of agency—if the agent is both the agent and the publisher.

Yeah, I know ‘violates’ is a tough word. Here’s a definition of agency law:  The law of agency is an area of contract law when a person, called the agent, is authorized to act on behalf of another (the author in this case) to create a legal relationship with a third party(the publisher in this case).  The term “third party” pretty much shows us what’s wrong with a literary agent also acting as a publisher. 

(Note:  An agent assisting an author with self-publishing is different from an agent opening up a publishing business.)

So, when an agent negotiates with a publisher for a deal—how in the world does an agent
negotiate with herself for the deal?  Can’t be done.  No matter how honorable and good intentioned the agent (and I truly believe these folks are both), it is physically impossible to sit on opposite sides of a table at the same time.  We only have one butt, and it has to be in one chair.

An agent owes a fiduciary duty to his/her client—and the agent’s goal can never be counter-productive or opposite to the client’s.  There’s no way an agent can fight hard for her client—when she’s fighting with herself and her bottom line.  No matter how nice the agent.

So, is there a conflict of interest?  Yep.  Anything that isn’t directly in the client’s interest…is a conflict. 

This has nothing to do with trust, loyalty or track record.  Agency law is…agency law.  It’s quite simple.

CYA Disclaimer:  This is not legal advice.  If you need legal advice, hire a lawyer.  Especially if you’re in Colorado, Utah, or Wyoming.  Those guys need to buy skis every year — and boy are those expensive.  The opinions expressed, while brilliant, are mine and you should get your own.  In fact, there are so many lawyers out there right now, law schools are cutting down on admissions.  We only want to tempt fate so much.