Happy Read an eBook Week!

To celebrate Read an eBook Week and the growth of our industry (eBooks rule!), I'm holding a contest. The winner receives $10 in gift certificates, $5 for Freya's Bower and $5 for Lyrical Press! The contest will run all week. The most creative response to this question wins: What's the best thing about eBooks?

I can't wait to see what y'all have to say!

Post-Parting Blues

Last night--my eyes bloodshot from hours of staring at the laptop screen--I attached the file containing the manuscript for Temptation and pasted a synopsis of the book into the body of an email. I wanted nothing more than to shoot the message to my editor at Lyrical Press, but I hesitated. Like I always do. Is the book good enough? Did I spend enough time on self-edits? Maybe I shouldn't send it because there's that one scene that I think isn't quite perfect. These doubts and more circled brain.

"No," I said aloud. My family is used to me talking to myself at the computer so the sudden outburst drew little attention. The manuscript is ready, just do it already! Finally, I clicked 'send.' My stomach clenched into knots and my palms started to sweat. This morning, I feel about the same way.

An author friend of mine also subbed something to a publisher about a week ago and it's nice to have someone to play the waiting game with. We both have lots of other WIPs to work one, but neither of us feels much like writing. And I realized, I feel this way everytime I finish and sub a manuscript. I'm off my writing game for at least three or four days. Sometimes the funk lasts as long as two weeks. I wonder, is there such thing as post-partem blues for writers?

Let's face it, producing a manuscript is much like going through labor...except the sweat and pain and pushing lasts for weeks or months on end, lol. Perhaps when the baby we've incubated for so long is out in the world, we do go through what I've deemed post-parting blues. I'm interested to find out if other writers go through this kind of letdown after the initial glee of finishing up a novel. And don't forget to vote in this week's poll. How do you feel once you've subbed the book to a publisher? Check all answers that apply.

Can't wait to see what y'all have to say!

Available today!

I'm proud to announce two new releases today. They're both bite-sized bits of action packed fiction.

The Wedding Feast is my first horror short story written as CJ Elliott. Buy it today at Wild Child Publishing

On the heels of unbearable personal tragedy, Chloe escapes to the peace of a family cabin in rural Kentucky. When her car breaks down in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, she's forced to go against her better judgment and accept a ride from a stranger.

Shade is tall, darkly handsome, and taciturn. He takes her to his cabin in the woods to use his phone, where he introduces her to his gaggle of motherless children. Due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, Chloe's visit stretches on and more mysteries about Shade and the children crop up. Can Chloe make it back to civilization and safety before this family's deadly secret engulfs her?

Another first for me, this BDSM story just might melt your hard drive! Buy it now at Freya's Bower.

Fiona Wilder's name didn't fit her at all...until she met Marcelo. Introducing her to a world of sexual play--limited only by their imaginations--he unlocks Fiona's wildest fantasies.

Book One: Master and Servant: Fiona becomes Marcelo's protégé, discovering the power that comes from submission.