THE SUMMER LOVE BLOG TOUR – MEET AIDAN

Hi and welcome to week seven of the Summer Love Blog Tour!

          There’s only three weeks left before my debut novel THE FIRE WALKERS releases! I can’t believe it. And throughout June I’m giving you the bonus features on how the story came to be.

          Last week we talked about how I set my theme of astrology, leaving me with a cranky hero and nameless heroine.

          From the beginning, I knew who my couples were, their personalities developing in my head like photographs in the stop bath. The fire heroine came naturally to my mind; an optimistic, smart girl, while the hero stood as a bit of an enigma.

          I got the first chapter written in a surge of inspiration, which is always a good thing, but the point of view was my heroine’s, and every attempt to “talk” to my hero resulted in the cold shoulder.

          After I established the sun sign outline (all of them are much more than just their sun archetype, but that’s a multi-post Astrology lesson for another day), I figured out why my hero was eluding me.

          He’s cardinal fire.

          To give a brief background, astrological signs are broken down several ways; by element, as I described last post, and by function, which in Astrology is called triplicity.

Triplicity is categorized as:

·        Cardinal – Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn

o   They are the starters, leaders, the initiators.

·        Fixed – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius

o   They are the doers, the fixers, the finishers.

·        Mutable – Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces

o   They are the communicators, the speakers, the verbal grease and glue that keeps everyone connected.

I knew by first glance that my fire hero was an Aries. They are the baby of the zodiac, the first everything: first element (fire), the first sign (Aries). As I'm a cardinal air sign with a Virgo ruler and a heckofalotta cardinal water mixed in, my temperament opposes and squares his. Because of that, I admittedly jumped to conclusions about his character. Add in my fire deficiency, and I felt intimidated.

I’d found ways to relate to my Sagittarius heroine, but my hero was particularly stand-offish. Which struck me as odd.

If an Aries meets challenge head-on, why is my hero avoiding me?

Aries are tough, they have to be. As the first everything, and a cardinal-leader, they have to pioneer things. First is one of their favorite words. They like a contest, love to win, and have to be the first one to try anything new. The old adage “Act first, think later” applies to this sign, big time.

And true to all fire signs, they’re bluntly honest. Unlike water, they don’t conceal what they’re feeling, they’ll tell you to your face and wear it in their facial expressions. And Aries men exhibit the positive and negative manifestations of the sign: Brash, courageous, arrogant, bold and cocky.

Bossy, too. As cardinal leaders, they tell you what to do.  

As an independent, modern woman with a fair share of leader in my own chart, I'll admit, I was afraid he’d get too alpha with me. And fighting with your hero is not good for any book, much less your first one.

And there was that word again: first. Aidan was holding me hostage.  

    

So I started to think about what I knew personally about the sign.

I had a female boss years ago who embodied Aries to a tee. Confident, tall, and blonde, she wore fire engine red suits and ruby lipstick like a diva. Her face would flush deep crimson whenever happy or frustrated, and she always came at you in the most direct way. If she wanted something done, she’d tell you as well as put a timeline (typically a fast-paced one) on when she expected the task to be completed. If she promised you something, she’d deliver, on the same brisk time scale that she required of you.

Another image that represents Aries is the ram, and I’ve noticed that every Arian I’ve ever met emulates their animal in the same way:

They head-butt you.

Not in a literal way, but in an interpersonal one. They’ll be gruff or blunt on purpose to gauge your reaction. If you stand your ground, you’ve passed the test. They respect you for having the same guts they do, prove that and they’ll treat you as a worthy adversary. Once they've left the room, then you can hold your bruised forehead and shoot them the Are you crazy? look through the closed door.

And even if you piss them off, be grateful you’re not dealing with a Scorpio. Aries anger is ruled by Mars, and it’s like an open fire. It flares up, but once over, it dims, and no grudges are kept. They are the type that right after a knock-down, drag-out fight, they’ll start up a casual conversation as if they hadn’t just singed your eyebrows.

Scorpios are ruled by Pluto—and well, I’ll get to them in book four. Be afraid.

As I sat at the gate of chapter two, I recalled all this Aries knowledge and wondered why my fire hero Aidan was acting so withdrawn. As a writer, I watch, like a fly on the wall. And I stood there with him, outside of Sophie’s door, as he refused to go in. He was unwilling to let me observe their conversation. But why?

A shy Aries?  Heck, no. That isn’t it.

Hurt?  Fire signs bounce back. It takes a heavy blow to scar them. 

His flame-throwing glare said that I was getting warmer, but that he didn’t want me to come any closer. I was sure it was because he thought I was too soft. Not tough enough to hang with him. I needed an in. I’d have offered him a head-butt, but he didn’t seem to want that. He didn’t want to engage at all.

I wanted to fuss at him. I’m no mushball! But that wouldn’t help my case.

A little voice held the answer: 

What if I’m not the only one with weak fire?

But from what I could see of Aidan, he wasn’t weak. Far from. The very insinuation would probably get my butt kicked.

Not naturally weak fire, but hindered fire.

That hit on it. Aidan was born fire-strong, but had had something happen that squelched the element in his nature. Something detrimental. An event that would be discussed if I followed him into Sophie’s office.

The pain in his eyes confirmed my suspicion. And that he’d call an end to all of it if I dare come near him with a hug.

So we laid down the ground rules then and there:

-   Rule Prime: No embracing or physical gestures of the mushy variety. EVER.

-         No judging and NO GETTING IN HIS WAY

-    From there on out, I was playing with fire. If I got burned, it was my problem, not his.

We shook on it, and I’ll confess, I nearly cried leaving that office. The last line of chapter two says it all. But I sucked it up and kept my mush to myself. 

Fire walking isn’t for wimps.

        I got reminded of that a year later when Aidan sat down next to me to go over some copy edits. He wanted to change a part in a scene and I told him no because, while it made him look good, it wasn’t true to the story.

          With a heavy ogle, much lighter than the glowers I got in the beginning, he said, “Where’s the mushball? Bring her back, I miss her.”

          To that, I stuck out my tongue and retorted, “She’s long gone, Pal. You scared her off months ago.”

          And that’s when he did the unimaginable. He smiled.

Next Week:  My heroine gets a name. MEET KELLY

See you then!        ;0)

THE SUMMER LOVE BLOG TOUR - THE WALKERS

Hey everyone!  Welcome to week six of the Summer Love Blog Tour!

Thank you for joining me last week as we celebrated the big cover reveal for my romantic suspense, THE FIRE WALKERS, available July 1^st, 2014!

While I’ve written for years, TFW is my first published work, and throughout June, I’ll be sharing some of the behind the scenes of how the story came to be.

When an author is first starting out, their premier novel acts as a cornerstone to everything. The writer’s voice, brand, identity is presented with that first book. So when I decided to dive into the ocean-o-publishing, I sat down and listed what I needed to have and compared it to what my writing brought to the table.

A debut novel doesn’t have to out-of-the-box perfect, but it does need to be a starting point from where an author gets better. That first book sets the stage for what the readers expect, and I wanted to give my readership something different and fun.

THE FIRE WALKERS is book one in the Walker series, which may have you asking:

What’s a Walker?

Rewinding backkk to three years ago, there were two areas where I needed to improve:

·                      Memorable Characters

·                      Theme

If you cite any example from great, popular fiction, all of them have a distinct main character, one with whom the reader can empathize and relate. That is what makes a story great.

I wanted my characters to stand out, so I borrowed every “How to Create a Character” book in existence to get help. While I found all of them informative, the laundry list of rebel, outcast, debutante, came across as stereotypical. After weeks of researching, I dropped the how-to volumes back into my return to library bag, and thought about what I could do to take the training wheels off and steer clear of the pre-fabricated fictional personalities.

I asked the question: What skills do I have to solve this problem?

Looking at my bookshelf, more than twenty volumes on Astrology blinked back at me as if saying, “Hello, remember us?”

The hobby started when I was fifteen. I'd plucked an astro-relationship book from my mother’s bookcase, and when I’d finished with it, I was compelled to keep going. Two decades and fifty books later, I’d advanced to full chart interpretations, houses, transits, stelliums, and synastry. After performing a few couples-chart comparisons for friends, the word started to get around and I got some real life practice.

It’s not a religion to me, its recreation. A pastime.

And as I stared at the shelves of book spines, the percolation began. The water hero who'd been haunting me shucked the ill-fitting label of “rebel” as the character building blocks of “Water sun conjunct rising…Scorpio. Definitely Scorpio…” fell into place.

One problem down, one to go:

As a reader when you go to your bookstore of choice (Amazon, B&N, BAM etc.), you notice that the stories where the plot and characters all reside in the same world are in a themed series: 

Heroes with dogs. Military men. The residents of small ocean-side towns. Family sagas....

Chugging along the astrology track, I figured that my character solution could parlay into my theme. Real astro charts are complex, much more than the one-dimensional, sun sign interpretation that the daily columns quote to you, but I could go with the astro-groups based on their element:

Fire: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius    

Earth: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn

Air: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius

Water: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

Running with that idea, I started a rough draft, first chapter for the water hero who was talking to me. Five pages in, the plot was sad, slow, and not engaging, so I scrapped it and started over. Six pages later, I'd backspaced so much it sounded like I was trying to play a piano concerto on my keyboard. 

On to the third attempt—more crap.

Crap, I say.

I’m not being bombastic, authors just know when to call it. Off the bat, there’s an instinct when the pages are going nowhere but to figuratively line the litter box.

That night, while lying in bed, I stewed in the writer’s block.

Why? Why isn’t it working? I pondered. 

The answer struck right as the ether of sleep had me submerged.

Water is not the first element.

True to writer form, I sat bolt upright in bed at the epiphany. Scampering to my computer, I stared at the blinking cursor for five minutes, my mind playing the naysayer.

I have two fire planets in my personal astrology chart, both of which are weak by sign and placement. I’d wanted to write water first because it’s an element I know well.

This is my first book, I should stick to what I know, but water isn’t the first element, fire is.  

A chapter from an astrology book I’d read back in the 90’s popped into my head. Written by a British author and spiritual speaker, there was a part that addressed weak/missing signs, a concept I’d never seen mentioned before then or since. Her answer to activating diminished energy was to exercise it. No water in your chart? Practice compassion, meditation; all the traits that water signs exhibit naturally. No earth planets? Experiment with taking your time, practicality, patience, gardening (put your hands in the dirt). 

She called it: How to Walk Your Planets

Sitting in front of the blank computer screen I pushed my fingers to move. I wrote the first two paragraphs at three a.m. that morning, the narrative flowing for the first time in weeks.

A fire girl, a heroine whose name I didn’t know yet, waking up in a jail cell.

I pulled myself away and made myself go to bed although the siren song of the plot continued to channel through my head.

The next evening I rushed home from work to get back to the manuscript, following the nameless grad student as she encountered a terse arson cop. The hours passed as in a whirlwind as I finished the first chapter. The hero had a name, Aidan. And the no-nonsense Aries was defensive about sharing his past, the guy guarding his back-story like a flippin' watchdog.

Dumbfounded, I crossed my arms in disbelief.

I’m natal-chart weak in fire, and here I am trying to write it first? I must be crazy.

The refrain came just as suddenly: Fire is the first element.

With a sigh, I tried to reason it out.

The story would have to have all the components inherent in fire:

Action. Recklessness. Courage. Optimism. Impulsiveness.

As I thought the words, faces appeared in my head; an abandoned racehorse, a regal farm matron with warm brown eyes, a drug group out to retrieve what was theirs…

I dropped my arms and my apprehension just in time for my fire hero to shoot me a scowl.

My hero glares at me when I try to approach him and my heroine has no name.

And that was the moment it’d been decided.

It looks like I’m walking fire....  

Next week:  MEET AIDAN

He’s not so intimidating under all that gruff attitude, but don’t tell him I told you that. :D

P.S. I visited my sister about four hours ago and told my Little Niece that I was off to write my weekly blog post. She asked if I’d deliver a message from her.

As Aunt Shell is a woman of her word, here you go:

Little Niece says, “Hi everyone! How’s it going?” 

THE SUMMER LOVE BLOG TOUR - THE FIRE WALKERS Cover Reveal!

Welcome back to the Summer Love Blog Tour!

My novel is a romantic suspense, a love story with a mystery element. 

And it’s COVER REVEAL time!

*Drrrrrummmmmrrrrroooooolllllll*

Isn’t it GORGEOUS?!

I’d like to send a big hug and thanks to the hard-working, mega-talented ladies at The Killion Group for the format and cover design.  They did a phenomenal job!

THE FIRE WALKERS – Back Cover Blurb

Kelly Monroe is an idealistic good girl thrown into a bad situation.  A graduate student chasing her dreams of a PhD, a college party invitation lands in her a jail cell with only vague memories of the night before; the images of a tragic bonfire haunting her. Under the watch of an attractive, blue-eyed detective, Kelly’s life goes from bad to worse as she's sentenced to perform community service at a horse rescue. Driven to stick out the hard times, she develops a bond with Keegan, an abandoned racehorse horse with a past.

Ex-NARC turned arson detective, Aidan Wright is tracking the drug dealers who killed his partner. Kelly’s memories of the bonfire prove to be the missing piece to Aidan’s investigation of several drug-related teen deaths, perpetrated by the band of drug dealers who scarred him years ago. When Kelly becomes the unsuspecting victim of the drug group’s trafficking, Aidan is forced to stay close to her to catch them.

As Aidan uncovers the truth, Kelly develops feelings for the fearless man behind the badge, and the battered arson detective falls hard for the sanguine girl with the contagious laugh.

***

THE FIRE WALKERS will be available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks and Kobo on July 1st, 2014!

***

The “this is really happening” thrill is setting in, so I’m going to let us bask in the glow of all the pretty!

And so the Summer Love continues next week as I answer the questions:

What’s a walker?  Why fire?  What is this crazy theme?

One-by-one I'll introduce you to the characters that took over my story, and helped me walk fire.

See you then! ;0)  

THE SUMMER LOVE BLOG TOUR - Contemporary Romance, Georgina Guthrie

Hi, everyone!  The Summer Love Blog Tour is celebrating romance this summer!

Throughout May we’ve been introduced to the sub categories of the romance genre. We explored the dramatic conflict of Paranormal, the futuristic adventure of Sci-Fi, the steam of Erotica, and the fun of Fantasy. 

This week the CN is host to a surprise guest, presenting on a category that is a personal favorite of mine, contemporary romance.

Contemporary is special because unlike other sub genres, it's set in modern day, and without the supernatural elements that make up its paranormal counterparts.

Contemporary uses human characters and true-to-life conflict to tell a story, and in a market where make-believe and escape transports the reader to another world, the author is tasked with making the every day-ordinary, remarkable.  

I love the way contemporary takes place in the present, with places and personalities that represent the human world. It touches on the dynamics of relating in a tangible way, the sentiment of places and simple moments, where the reader walks away feeling as if the story could have happened to them in real life.

And with us today is an author whose debut novel represents this category well.

In THE WEIGHT OF WORDS, Georgina Guthrie brings together two college students, the academic environment of a university campus, and the power of great literature with contemporary style.

The sequel in her Words series, BETTER DEEDS THAN WORDS is available now.

And to tell us more, the CN welcomes Georgina Guthrie!

The CN questions:

What do you love most about contemporary romance?

I like those contemporary romance novels which present a female main character who isn’t helpless and naïve. More and more romance novels feature women who are independent and who can look after themselves. Like women in the real world, they seek romantic love to round out their lives, not to define their lives.

What’s the weirdest research you’ve ever had to do?

That’s a difficult question because very little of my research has been weird, and to be honest, I haven’t had to do much in the way of research. The settings and topics in the Words trilogy are ones I’m intimately familiar with. I’ve just got a very good memory and a vivid imagination. J

What is your favorite scene in BETTER DEEDS THAN WORDS and why?

I think the scene early in the book when Daniel and Aubrey go to his grandmother’s house for dinner is definitely one of my favourites. I loved crafting Patty’s character; she’s a mixture of a number of cheeky and feisty ladies “of a certain age” whom I’ve had the honour of knowing. Her dialogue and witticisms are some of the most favourite lines I have written. 

Tell us one unique fact about you (something that few people know). 

I’m addicted to lip balm. Could be worse I suppose. I don’t think anyone’s been incarcerated for a lip balm addiction.

New/Latest Book:

Better Deeds than Words, the second installment in the Words series. 

Blurb:

  In Better Deeds than Words, the highly anticipated follow up to The Weight of Words, college senior Aubrey and teaching assistant Daniel decide to pursue their romance despite university regulations, but it means they're taking a path of secrecy and lies. 

  With only six weeks left to the end of term and Aubrey's graduation, they’re under the constant watch of Dean of Students David Grant—Daniel's father and Aubrey's boss. If that weren’t enough pressure, Daniel’s checkered past also casts a shadow over the young lovers who continue to tempt fate until one wrong move leads to an inevitable disaster. 

  Can they salvage a relationship when everything seems to be conspiring against them?

To learn more about Georgina:

GG’s Website        Facebook               Goodreads              Twitter

Big thanks to Georgina for visiting the CN today! 

*Shelley raises her Burt’s Bees lip balm* You’re not alone, Georgey!  ;0)

Next week:  The time has come! June 1^st is the COVER REVEAL for my debut romantic suspense, THE FIRE WALKERS!  I’m crazy excited.   

If you want to be the first to see, BE HERE—same Comparative time, same Narrative channel!  

See you then!  :0) 

THE SUMMER LOVE BLOG TOUR - Fantasy Romance, Mindy Klasky

Hi everyone, and welcome to week three of the Summer Love Blog Tour!

We’re counting down the days to my book release! The June 1^st post will be the cover reveal for THE FIRE WALKERS!

You’ll see it here first, so please join me for the big event, here at the CN! J

And to keep us entertained until then, the Summer Love tour is introducing you to awesome authors who specialize in the different sub categories of romance.

One thing I love about writing love stories is how the genre spans such a broad spectrum. Like flavors of ice cream, there is something for everyone.

This week we get to enter the fun-tastical realm of Fantasy romance. Here the love story can be magical, mythical, and limited only by the author’s imagination.

While all books are an escape, fantasy romance takes readers on a magic carpet ride of endless proportions…like a librarian who discovers that she’s really a witch. J

Our guest today knows her fantasy. The multi-talented, Mindy Klasky!

CN Q&A:

What do you love most about fantasy romance?

When I write my fantasy and light paranormals like Girl's Guide to Witchcraft (about a librarian who finds out she's a witch), I'm able to play with serious issues in our real world (e.g., how women can build friendships and families that help them achieve the most they can achieve) while I explore supernatural possibilities.  I can craft magic to make my characters' lives easier -- and substantially more difficult!  I can use real history, science, and fact, but I can bend the details through a paranormal lens, explaining what the real meaning is!

What’s is the weirdest research you’ve ever had to do?

I do a lot of "spot research" for my books -- reaching out to find what herbs are used to cure what ailments, what crystals are associated with what attributes, etc.  I've looked into the breeding habits of ospreys, the farming practices of colonial forefathers, and the menu for Thomas Jefferson's favorite meal.  But the weirdest research I've ever done was building a martial art for humans to use in protecting themselves from vampires.  I consulted with friends who practice martial arts and -- after much discussion -- decided to use Brazilian jiujitsu as a model.  After that, I watched lots (and lots and lots and lots) of videos, "translating" the sparring matches into human/vampire battles.

What is your favorite scene in Girl's Guide to Witchcraft and why?

I've always loved the early scene where Jane awakens her familiar, Neko.  She stumbles onto the magic and has no idea of the power she's harnessing.  I've always dreamed about discovering my own magical powers (doesn't everyone?  Please say yes!), and I can't imagine a better way to do that than bringing a statute of a cat to life as a human man!

Tell us one unique fact about you (something that few people know).  

Um...  I majored in computer science for my first two years in college, and I thought I'd write programs for a living.  (I came to my senses, though, and switched to being an English major.  I can't imagine what my fiction would be like if I'd stuck with programming instead of literature!)

New/Latest Book:

The Diamond Brides Series, hot contemporary romances about the players on an imaginary baseball team and the women who love them.  (There's no paranormal element, but the world of baseball is as detailed and important to the stories as magic is to my fantasy books!)

PERFECT PITCH

Reigning beauty queen Samantha Winger is launching her pet project, a music program for kids. All she has to do is follow the pageant's rules—no smoking, drinking, or "cavorting" in public.

That's fine, until D.J. Thomas—God's gift to baseball—throws her a wild pitch.  He slams her in an interview, and the video goes viral. Sam's no shrinking violet. She parlays D.J.'s apology into a national T.V. appearance—and a very unexpected, very public kiss.

Soon, paparazzi catch the couple in a steamy make-out session, and Sam's music program is on the block. The blazing hot relationship is threatened even more when D.J.'s son begs to trade in Little League for music class.

Can Sam and D.J. sizzle past the sour notes and find their perfect pitch?

***

Big thanks to Mindy for being our guest today.  For a bewitchingly fun read, check out more of her JANE MADISON series. And her contemporary treat, PERFECT PITCH is available now!

Next week:  We have a surprise guest here to discuss one of my favorite categories, contemporary romance!

Please stop back then for more Summer Love on the Narrative! J

THE SUMMER LOVE BLOG TOUR - Sci-Fi / Erotic Romance, Sarah Allan

Hi everyone!  Welcome to week two of the Summer Love Blog Tour!

Last time we trekked through the land of other worldly love with paranormal romance author, Jean Murray. This week you get two for one as we explore the high-tech adventure of Sci-Fi romance, as well as the steamy, stimulating world of Erotica.    

The author who knows these two sub-genres best happens to be someone who knows me and THE FIRE WALKERS very well, too. My critique partner, Sarah Allan.

Sarah and I met through an online writing group many moons ago, and we managed to stick together ever since. A talented writer and editor, she minds my Ps, Qs, and Oxford commas, plus gives me honest, constructive feedback. We are cohorts in literary amore, and I love her writing style and dedication to craft.

So without further ado – heeeeerrrre’s Sarah!

Thanks so much for letting me do this, Shelley!

I'm here to talk a bit about erotic romance and sci-fi romance, though I do write in the other romance sub-genres.  I'm shortly going to be querying a hot LGBT fantasy romance called Fate's Awakening, and my current work-in-progress is a sci-fi romance tentatively titled The Disillusioned.  I'm also working on some collections of erotic short stories to self-publish.  And in my spare time I edit professionally.  I guess I can sleep when I'm dead!

What do you love most about Sci-Fi/Erotic romance?

Oh man...everything!  I love how creative I can be with both mediums.

With erotic romance, you can make anything you want sexy.  Sexy werewolves?  Sure!  Sexy massage therapists?  You betcha!  Sexy professor/student? Doctor/patient? Rich girl/farm boy?  Absolutely.  The world is your oyster.  I write stories for smart girls with dirty minds, so I like to make sure that even my erotic short stories have characters and scenes the reader can relate to and care about, at least on some level.  Writing short stories is tough because of that, though, but I love the challenge.  They're far more than porn on paper--they have substance (or I'd like to think they do! :-P).

Fate's Awakening is definitely skewed toward the "hot" end of the spectrum, so if a reader likes male/male romances, I think they'll really enjoy it.  I'd never written male/male scenes before, so it was a fun challenge.

As for sci-fi, I never set out to write one, but my current work-in-progress is a sci-fi romance.  I like to describe it as Nancy Drew meets the Terminator.  I love how readers will suspend disbelief for a story if it's grounded enough in reality, so that gives you a lot of freedom.  Your story still has to make sense, though, or the readers won't buy into it.

What’s is the weirdest research you've ever had to do?

I don't know about weirdest, but for my work-in-progress (The Disillusioned, a sci-fi romance), I'm creating a whole town.  I knew where I wanted to set the story, but I didn't like the constraints an actual town would give me, so it was easier to create my own.  I spent so much time on Google Maps figuring out where it would be, what would border it, where things were...  It was exhausting, but very worth it.

What is your favorite scene in Fate's Awakening and why?

Can I say the whole book?  No?  Okay...  Well, if I have to choose one, I had the best time writing a scene where Jack and Andy are preparing Christmas dinner.  Andy's good in the kitchen and stops what he's doing to give Jack some pointers.

Tell us one unique fact about you (something that few people know).

I'm pretty awesome at driving a stick-shift...on cars with the steering wheel on the left or right, which means I have to drive stick with my left hand sometimes.  And I make a mean pistachio dessert.

What are you reading this summer?

I'm looking forward to catching up on J.R.Ward's The King, and Laura Kaye's East of Ecstasy.  Both are waiting for me to have some more free time to crack them open.

What are you working on?  

I'm busting my butt readying a query for Fate's Awakening to send out soon. *crosses fingers*  Though I wouldn't mind self-publishing, either, so that's on the table.  I'm also hoping to get at least one erotic short story anthology out the door this year.  Oh, and finishing my first draft of The Disillusioned.  Whew. I'm exhausted and excited just thinking about it!

Blurb for Fate's Awakening:

Jack Harris doesn't do relationships. He gets what he wants, and is fine with the status quo. But he's in danger of losing his chance at happiness with the one he's meant for, and he doesn't even know it. Because he's been fighting his destiny, Jack's life-thread is tangled, leaving him in great danger. When a goddess takes away one of Jack's greatest pleasures, will that be enough to help Jack see what's right in front of him? Or are the Fates just playing a cruel trick?

Links:

Sarah Allan's Website     Twitter     Facebook     Goodreads (not author page--yet!)

xoxo Sarah

Big thanks to Sarah for visiting today!

Next week: The Summer Love continues with Fantasy author, Mindy Klasky!

Please join me then for more of the Narrative! J