A New Giveaway for February!

I’m giving away a $20 Amazon giftcard through Bitten By Books to one lucky winner! All you have to do is enter the rafflecopter contest. It runs from February 18th-22nd.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

AuthorGraph

I’d like to say a special thank you to the readers who have sent me emails regarding setting up an AuthorGraph account! It’s now live. Shoot me a message via the contact page or leave a comment here if there’s a book you own that’s not available on the list and I’ll see what I can do.

Two Contests

This contest is the largest I’ve ever been a part of! TALL, DARK & ALPHA Presents: Over 100 ebooks, 40 paperbacks, an amazing amount of gift cards and swag! 33 Individual Winners and 12 Prize Packages! Enter for a chance to win. It ends January 24th (my birthday!) so don’t wait!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We have a fantastic giveaway to start the new year! Easy as can be, a second Rafflecopter Giveaway. If you participate in social media, you get more chances to win. 🙂 Super easy. Check it out! It ends in February.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Both Contests ROCK! So don’t miss your chance to enter!

USA Today Happy Ever After Recommended Read TWICE

Hey gang! *Edited for spelling errors LOL! I was, apparently, really excited*

Today Deep Cravings made the USA Today Happy Ever After Blog as a recommended read!

Here’s a screenshot with today’s news (and right next to LKH’s ad!)

The last time this happened was May 31, 2013 when Ditter Kellen and I made the list with Haunting Melody St. Claire:

I’ve made their recommended read list twice in one year! Surreal! Click on the images to go to the Happy Ever After Blog to find more fantastic books on the list.

Thunder and Roses is in the Bag

Thunder and Roses came in at 94.5k. The full manuscript and synopsis have been sent to our editor. Time to celebrate! WOOHOO! I’ve already updated my original 3rd Quarter’s Goal post with the strike through and date completed. It’s so nice to be back on track. Fingers crossed that she’ll love it.

In the rush to get T&R done and submitted, I missed a Halloween submission call I’d been aiming for. I’ve decided to continue writing it anyway. I’m enjoying the story. 😀

Here is the rough blurb for Thunder and Roses:

Tonya Rose knows it’s time for a decade long conspiracy to come to a head, but no one can know who she really is. Her feral nature and instinctive mistrust have kept her alive for the past five years of deep cover. When her only choice is to run or face death, she runs. What she doesn’t count on is Dakota Thunder, a Council bounty hunter who never misses a target. Tonya is running out of time, and the only man she can trust is the last man who should ever believe her.

Dakota Thunder is no stranger to betrayal. From his childhood hell to the death of his sister, he knows exactly what his kind are capable of. No one escapes his justice. What should have been a routine bounty pick up drops Dakota in the middle of a deadly blood feud involving shifter trafficking, extortion, and murder revolving around one wise-cracking beautiful woman of leopard royalty. She gets under his skin, digging her claws into his heart and reminding him of things he’d rather not remember.

He planned for everything except Tonya and the evidence that could bring down one of the most powerful organizations in their world. Nothing could have prepared them for their explosive attraction or the depths at which a madman would fall in order to destroy everything they love. With nowhere to turn, and the net growing tighter, they’ll have to trust in one another to survive.

 

NaNoWriMo Inspiration

For your viewing pleasure…The NaNoWriMo song!

Getting to Know Me?

*taps microphone* Is this thing on? So the lovely Lady Gwen of Run, Gwen Run! Write, Gwen Write! posted an eleven question getting to know you session to kick off our online platform campaign. I usually avoid these like the plague, but in the spirit of awesome, I’m taking the plunge. *paper rustles quietly. single audience member clears throat*

1. What is your secret weapon of choice?

• Real life: Sword Cane.
• Sci Fi: Sentient Ship
• Fantasy: Flesh eating unicorns
• Urban Fantasy/Paranormal: My dry wit
• Steampunk: My metal arm, complete with all the latest accessories (pistols, anyone?); the werewolf queen as my companion; and/or McQueen, rake at large and handy alchemist.

2. If you could sit down for coffee with any historical figure, who would it be?

•  Sam Houston. As a Texas History buff, he is the one that most fascinates me.

3. Any “famous” figures in your ancestry? Who and what did they do?

•  Yes. The notorious Willum Wheeler (name changed, of course, to prevent the US Marshalls from getting too close) moonshine runner from waaaay back. Wasn’t a nice man. But he was famous.

4. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?

•  Well, I’ve been almost everywhere. I would give anything to meet up with Lexxie Couper in Australia, or spend a holiday with Kim Knox and Lexxie Couper in Spain. Just because. 🙂

5. What was the #1 song the day you were born?

•  La Freak by Chic. I guess that’s appropriate. 😉

6. What is your favorite genre to read and why?

•  I’m a voracious reader. I guess you should ask what I don’t like to read…most biographies, technical manuals for things I have no interest in, or anything that’s going to make me cry at the end b/c someone dies. If I had to pick an absolute favorite genre…ROMANCE with all its subgenres. 🙂

7. Who is your favorite literary character and why?

•  These questions always make me sigh. Grendel (from either Grendel or Beowulf). He knew what he wanted, was fiercely loyal, and gave Beowulf one helluva fight. If I’m not feeling particularly villainous, I would love to be Aeriel from Darkangel (of Meredith Ann Pierce’s Darkangel Trilogy). She was strong-willed, a brilliant storyteller, and unaware of her strength until it mattered most. Plus she went from a frightened girl to one kick-ass young woman!

8. Besides reading and writing, what is your favorite pastime or hobby?

•  Crochet. What can I say? I’m a hooker at heart. 😀

9. If you could switch places with one person for 24 hours, who would it be? Why?

•  I’m going to have to be boring and say…I really like being me, and being here with my family. So I really can’t think of anything. Truly.

10. What is the area you live in most famous for?

•  The Alamo. LOL.

And last, but not least…

11. What are the top 5 programs you watch on television?

• Doctor Who
• Sanctuary
• Supernatural
• Haven
• Primeval

That’s it, folks. Nothing too exciting! 🙂 I hope you enjoyed this session. 😀 Won’t be tagging anyone, as I think everyone’s pretty much been tagged now.

On the writing front:

A Familiar Kiss Rewrites Through Chapter One

No Dragon, No Problem

Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award

The wonderful Suzanne Pitner from TeacherWriter.net sent me this award. She’s a fellow writer and #ROW80 combatant ;). Thank you so much, Suzanne! Check out this delicious picture!

Delicious, no? Now I’m supposed to share seven random facts about me. Random facts that you likely never wanted to know, but that’s okay. 😀

1. I turned down two full-ride drama scholarships my senior year in high school to join the USAF. Growing up poor made me desperate to have a steady income. We weren’t at war at the time, so I had joined for the educational opportunities (to pursue much later in life) and travel. It was probably the best decision of my life.
2. Boredom is dangerous for me. I’ve boxed, competed in MMA (I’m not kidding!), become a bartender, learned knife defense tactics, learned to salsa, competed in wheelchair basketball after my back injury, learned (and now compete in) archery, created a cupcake war explosion in my kitchen, and many other things that makes my husband sigh in resignation. I call it research. My back doc calls it sabotage. Note: I never said I was any good at any of these…just that I learned. A lot. 😉
3. The first non-processed food I learned to cook was Puerto Rican rice and beans. My mother-in-law from my first marriage came to visit us for a couple of weeks. In that time, she taught me everything she knew. When we visited PR one Christmas, a neighbor of my in-laws was so excited a white girl was learning PR food, that he ran out and bought Puerto Rican Cookery for me. It has been a tool in my cooking arsenal ever since.
4. I am five feet tall and look like the sweet and innocent girl-next-door type. People assume I write children’s fiction and refuse to believe most of #2. I have pictures and videos to prove it, however. 😉 And we all know what I write should only be read by those 18 and older.
5. My first friends in the service were students from SERE (Survival, Evasion, Rescue, Escape) and EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal-bomb disposal peeps). As an electronics trainee, I was far more interested in their schools. Not to do it myself, but just fascinated with that side of the military. That fascination would lead to some interesting roads during my military career. I met up with special forces, special ops, linguists, you name it. If they were willing to talk about their jobs (only unclassified information, people…I never went for anything that could endanger my fellow servicemen and women.), I was willing to learn. Oh the stories…but I digress.
6. I’m terrible at speaking other languages, but have noticed an intuition for understanding most of everyday conversation. It takes two weeks of immersion in the area or about a month or two of sporadic interaction and I can understand the basics. Unfortunately, the information dumps out of my mind the moment I leave the country. Useful for finding a bathroom…but only if they talk about it first. 😉
7. I’ve lived in 38 homes in 33 years. No joke, and this doesn’t count temporary duty assignments or deployments. Growing up was interesting. My dad worked a lot of mechanical specialist jobs. He would take the jobs no one else was crazy enough to (that meant a lot of serious injuries in his life). They were always temporary so we would move where the money was. We would move in, set up house, and work at whatever was available. The most common of which was modern-day tenant farming. I learned to drive a tractor before I drove a car. 😉 This rolling stone mentality followed me into my military life. My AF career was peppered with jobs/deployments/shifts no one else wanted to take…just like my dad, I guess. lol. Strangely enough, I would get an itch to move every 1-2 years. It wasn’t until my latest injury overseas that I wanted to grow roots and settle down.

So that’s it. Seven random facts you likely never wanted to know about me. 😀 Now I’m supposed to nominate ten others for this award. Instead of doing that, I’m going to give you ten links to places I love to visit. If those bloggers choose to participate…awesome! If not, there’s no pressure from me. 🙂 Please note that I admire every one of these people. They are my go-to sites for several reasons. So without further ado:

• Lynn Viehl/S.L.Viehl of the Paperback Writing blog. She is absolutely fabulous, and I love her sense of humor.
• D. Renee Bagby Presents First Chapters. Every Monday, this lovely lady delivers first chapters of some great new releases. I always hit up the blog when I’m looking for something quick and hot to read.
• Kim Knox/Kim Rees of the Darkness and Romance blog. She posts so many awesome things. I absolutely crave her six sentence Sunday entries. Did I mention her books are FANTASTIC?? Her Behind the Scenes stuff on her website is awesome. I love to see what inspires an author to write a story. But then again, I’m a Behind the Music fan too! 😀
• Lacey Savage/Hunter Raines’ blog. This lady is my inspiration. We’ve known each other since I was a book writing virgin. We were in the trenches through a very intense four month class hosted by Morgan Hawke and Angela Knight. NYT bestsellers and newbies alike had their work shredded and worked over. And let me tell you…we were all better for it!
• That leads me to Morgan Hawke’s blog, Dark Erotica. As the name implies, it’s not work or child friendly, but the information she has is completely invaluable.
• I’m a crafting fanatic so I am a frequent flyer of the Craftzine Blog. Man, I love how their site inspires my inner crafting demon. 😀
• Hands down one of the best cooking sites I’ve ever been to: Cooking by the Seat of Our Pants or cbsop.com. If you check out nothing else…please check out his site and the perfect roasted turkey recipe. It will be the easiest (and therefore stress-free) turkey you’ve ever made.
• Community sites are the core strength of the writing world, IMHO. I don’t know what I would have done without forums like Harlequin’s Write Stuff and the Romance Divas. I know this doesn’t exactly fit into the rules, but I think it’s important to share…especially since quite a few of you have Harlequin Romance as a publishing goal. Did you know that their editors stop by the boards all the time to answer questions?
• Lexxie Couper‘s titles always give me a chuckle. And her books are smokin’ hawt. I love her first page sneak peeks. She is also fantastic to follow on twitter.
• This last one comes with a disclaimer. When the lovely Suzanne offered up this wonderful award, I realized that I didn’t have 10 blogs that I frequent.  I know. I know. Crazy, right? Facebook, twitter, and a few websites were all I touched base with. Why is that? I had to cut off my internet procrastination so I did it cold turkey. In the spirit of this Meme, I decided to head to a blog I’ve never visited. It took a few minutes of racking my brain to find one. Jess Dee is a recent addition to my blog luv. I’ve been hearing about her from Lexxie Couper and Maggie Nash for quite a while. When I popped over to her blog, I was snagged. Her posts are cute and hilarious. Her books are steamy and omg delicious. Plus her name is Jess, and that happens to be part of my real first name (Jessica, in case you were wondering).

So that’s it, peeps. Seven facts you didn’t know about me and ten places you should check out. For the ladies and gents I listed, they are welcome to continue the trend and snag the award png from this page.

Have a wonderful week, all!

Keep Writing!

Dawn

Off to the Ranch!

It’s strange how things work out. Our hotel overbooked so several families (including mine) have to find lodging elsewhere. I contacted a friend of mine (she’s in charge of Quilts for Kids in San Antonio). She knows a lot of people in the area, so I was hoping she could give us a hand about where to go. To my surprise, Ms. Barbara invited us out to her horse rescue ranch for a couple of days.

The kids are excited. I’m THRILLED. DH (SuperChef) is relieved we have a roof over our heads.

It’s the Montgomery way to pitch in and help in any way possible when someone gives you a kindness. So I’ll be spending the next couple of days cutting bits for Quilts for Kids, tending the horses, and helping to keep things tidy. The kids will help with the horses and dogs. SuperChef will be cooking up a storm. It’s the least we can do for Ms. Barbara’s willingness to take us on at the last minute.

And I’ll be researching my next book. Did I mention cowboys? Must have slipped my mind…

I also have some pretty awesome news…an editor from Entangled Publishing requested a full on a short novella. And get this…it was an online pitch contest. I NEVER get chosen on these things. How awesome is that???

Keep Writing!

Dawn

Submission In

I did it! Another submission is in the bag. Now it’s time to move on to contracted work. I have some holiday heat stories on the back burner. Today was a break day so I could relax a bit before hitting send. Isn’t it amazing that no matter how many times you do this, every submission gets under your skin? Wouldn’t have it any other way.

Tomorrow is my anniversary so I’m going to be offline. Don’t forget to give yourself a break every now and then.

Keep Writing!

Dawn