Mid Week Promo with Victoria Black

So I was supposed to host Victoria on a previous Monday and it completely slipped my mind. I don't know how, that's just how my mind is right now. So, with my tail between my legs so to speak, I'm hosting her promo today, so take it away Victoria!

Heavenly Revenge by Victoria Black

An erotic, romantic fantasy

Thank you so much, Phoenix, for letting me talk about my newest e-book, Heavenly Revenge, which was released Secret Cravings Publishers on 31st January.

I love revenge stories. Any time I see "revenge" in a romance title, I'm there. It's not because I'm cruel. It's because I love the yummy conflict the revenge scenario creates. Then there's the whole enemy/attraction scenario. Oh Yum Yum.

Needless to say, both of these delicious premises are central to Heavenly Revenge.

So for an little wee appetiser (Blurb, if we're going to be all authorish):

Revenge can be cold and cruel.

When Rose dies before her time, two sweet, old angels send her on a mission to save another world. The angels worry she will be no match for the land's strong and handsome king. However Rose has learned a bitter lesson courtesy of her unfaithful and very ex boyfriend. She is strong too.

But when the lovely Rose meets King Andrejs, she has a sweet battle on her hands. He believes she is an enemy spy who has learned a secret that may affect the outcome of the war raging between his kingdom and the land to the north. It is against Andrejs' code to hurt a woman.

But, as both he and Rose discover, revenge doesn't have to be cold or cruel. Revenge can be hot and very pleasurable indeed.

And, for the entree, otherwise known as an excerpt, I decided to keep with the food theme and head toward the end of the story, where my couple is getting on a little better. Might be because I'm hungry. Or it might be I just like this bit:

Time for a taste of that domination he'd promised her. He bit back a laugh as he foresaw her indignant reaction. "This is where you need to realize you’re in my power. You like what I'm doing to you, don’t you?"

"Yes! And will you stop talk—"

"But I don’t choose to continue. I want my fruit to have a different flavor." With one hand pressing down on her leg, and using the strength of his body to hold down her other one, he enjoyed once more this view of Rose's helpless exposure.

Then he pushed some berries deep inside her with his fingers. Holding her legs apart, he again dipped his head. This time he licked as far as he could inside her. “Yes, such a different flavor your lovely cunt gives the fruit. Since you seem to be something of a gourmet, I wish you could try it, but right now, I’m not sure how it could be done."

She giggled.

You can purchase Heavenly Revenge from Secret Cravings, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookstrand and ARe.
Check out Victoria's Website and Facebook page.

Promo Monday with Imogene Nix

Today, I'm pleased to welcome the saucy Imogene Nix to The Naughty Pages. She's discussing High Points and Hard Points of being an author, as well as her books Starline and Starburst.

High Points and Hard Points with Imogene Nix

Oh the joys of being a published author!  I mean it’s all sunshine and lollipops... right?

Sadly, that is not the truth... well not for me anyway.

My Road to becoming a published author...

If I could lay the blame at anyone/anything, it would be the ARRA conference in Bondi March 2011. I was sitting in a room with Lexxie Couper, Rhian Cahill, Heather Boyd and Jess Dee, listening to them talking about their experiences in writing, how they had grown from their opportunities etc.  There weren’t lots of people in the room... But a light bulb lit up for me.

I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.

All the way home, this darned refrain kept playing in the back of my head.  So I sat down and wrote.  That story became Starline.  My first erotic SciFi romance. (Now I would call this a serious High Point)

This graphic has been doing the rounds of Facebook but it is pretty close to society’s

expectations of an author.

That’s all there is to it... right?  So now I can sit back and rake in the cash? Isn’t that how writing fiction works?

Not quite. 

I decided I had better join a writing group – RWA seemed the best option (and yes I still recommend that to all who are considering embarking on a writing career.)

I found my first Critique Partner and learned that there was a lot more to writing than just getting the story down.  It was hard.  Very hard.  (Hard Point)

I had to learn about dialogues and Points of View, ed and ing conflicts. The complexities of the rules of writing romance and detached body parts, such as fingers that do things without the benefit of an arm to assist, Lol! So no, it certainly wasn’t as simple as I envisaged.

Once I was sure I had a good grasp of what I was doing... I started sending it out.  I subbed it to a total of 8 houses, garnered 1 rejection and had 2 offers.  Wow!  It was a mix of high and hard points, but at the end on the day, I found my first home, signed the deal and celebrated like there was no tomorrow.  (High Point)

Now surely, that must be it... right? 

Uh uh... Nope.  Then I had to fill out all the paperwork, apply for an ITIN (required for US Publishers), set up website, blog, facebook, twitter and even google+.  Now I do admit to a fondness for this kind of technological thing, so that was fine.  But then the first cover art arrived. OMG!  (High Point) I was ecstatic.  (Judge for youself.)

I waited and then the edit arrived.  Scary black clouds of edits... (That first part was a Hard Point because it reminded me of how little I really did know.)

Once the book was edited and the first dedication written... then I sat back and waited for release date.  As an author with a small press, you have to do a lot of the promo yourself.  Something I thought I had a handle on... well, I had to learn that each author has to participate in a lot of promotion.  But I’m getting there.

Now, it’s easy to sit here and say, I have the bits ready and can reproduce this for every new book... after all there is a formula, right?  But it isn’t like that.  If there was a recipe

Add a shot of suspense

3 chapters of sex

A dollop of fear...

...then everyone would be doing it.  For the record, there is No Formula.  Each and every title is a journey in its own right.  With each new story I write, I learn something new.  Something to watch out for.

There have been hiccups and false starts along the way... but I am learning to deal with them too.  Just as well all do.

Starburst

Book 3 in the Warriors of the Elector Trilogy.

Meredith Gentry is a woman with a mission.  To decode everything found on the Alpha Star Colony.  Maybe, if she’s lucky, she might finally get closer to the one man who makes her burn.

Chowd Sturat Sur Banden is different.   He’s always known that and that the differences have kept him apart from everyone else.  Until now.

At the end game, will these differences keep Meredith and Chowd apart for good?  Will his own unwanted heritage tear them asunder forever?  And will the crew of the Elector finally prevail over Crick Sur Banden?

The Warriors of the Elector’s cataclysmic conclusion has arrived.

Coming soon from Secret Cravings Publishing

To find out more about Imogene Nix visit her on the net:

Website    Twitter    Facebook    Blog    Google+    Hotter Than Hades Authors

About Imogene:

A mother of two, compulsive reader and bookstore owner. Imogene lives in regional Queensland, Australia with her husband, 2 daughters, dog, cats, guinea pigs and chooks. She has a particular fondness for Vampires, Star Ship captains and things that go bump in the night.

For Christmas Eve, I bring to you Secret Cravings Publishing; the publisher for whom I proof-read for. I've had a great experience with them so far, and a company I would recommend. Stay tuned next week for the publisher that I hold in great trust, and are very dear to me, Naughty Nights Press. It is with this team that I will see out the year 2012!

Secret Cravings Publishing; where your cravings are free to find what satisfies them with some of the hottest selling authors in romance today.
Secret Cravings Publishing opened it's doors in January 2011 and is owned by erotic romance author Sandy Sullivan who has written for several publishing houses herself including Siren-Bookstrand, The Whiskey Creek Press and The Wild Rose Press. After getting tired of being treated like she didn't matter as an author, she decided to open her own publishing house and give authors a place where their input into their own work is an essential part of how they do business. They now are the home of over 75 authors and have already published almost 300 ebooks and prints to date with more quality books being released five days a week.Secret Cravings Publishing strives to give every author the chance for their work to shine with some of the best editors and proofreaders in the business. Each and every one takes pride in helping the author mold their story into the best fiction piece on the market today.Their brand new monthly ebook club, The Cravings Club is growing rapidly so check it out and see what's new at Secret Cravings Publishing this week. www.secretcravingspublishing.com

A bit behind the ball...

But I finally figured out my first proof-read through Secret Cravings Publishing has been released two weeks early! I'm so excited for it, it has a beautiful cover that matches it perfectly. I'm just keeping this a short, sweet post, but of course I'll include the link. 
Hurry on over and check out Diplomat's Daughter by Australian author Carolyn Wren! It's a genuinely wonderful read, and there are another 6 books in the series, all to be released next year! So what are you waiting for, go get it!!!