iPad of the Future, A Return to Sanity and 'Mortals' Excerpt Part 2

Finally the To Do List is dwindling down to less than insanity and I managed to get some rest. Whew! So now I'm not running around like a crazy person from place to place. It's strange how the world changes while you're away. Suddenly Apple has a new tablet/reader (and some folks are wondering if it will make e-readers obsolete), RWA is changing their qualifying market list and Bloomsbury keeps being insensitively ignorant without learning their lesson the first time around. Oy!

Meanwhile, I'm getting some work done, throwing more things on the fire and getting back to my creative brain. It's strange how you never know what goes into books and the industry until you're knee deep in it. I wrote a post earlier about how I, like most readers, just saw the end result of books ending up stores. I never knew how they got there. But even as we speak, distribution is changing and that quick, satisfying feeling ordering a book in minutes has become a bit of an addiction. I've tested the Kindle publishing end myself and am really enjoying the process of bringing some of my works directly to readers. Of course, that's another end result process. I'm still working the indie level with creating my covers, have beta readers and editors help me clean up the manuscript, formatting, copy editing, etc. everything but it's always awesome to hear from a reader who won of my books and/or who's bought them, read it and enjoyed it. I can't wait to see how the Apple tablet and the next gen readers make the industry change, hopefully for the better.

I want to toss something out to readers, so I'd like to do a giveaway along with posting this week's excerpt of Within the Shadows of Mortals. Leave a comment here about how you buy your books (whether ordering them online, at e-stores, at the good ole traditional bricks and mortar, etc) and I'll pick a random person who will win their choice of a book from my backlists. If anyone gets a chance to try out the new iPad come on back and let us know what you think of it!

On to the excerpt after the jump!

Thank You Readers :-)

We at Paranormal Romantics have grown from a small blog with a few followers to double digits and still growing! We'd like to take a moment to thank you all for tuning in and checking out our works. We wouldn't be anywhere without you guys! Hope you all have a safe and healthy season and stay warm!


This month is Vampire month on the Chiller channel and with it comes weekly evening marathons. Last week was Moonlight (to be repeated today all today for Thanksgiving) and all this week is Forever Knight. Dark Shadows has been on in the mornings along with Kindred: The Embraced. More vampire goodies in the form of more tv shows and movies will be added.

Although I don't celebrate holidays, I'm still extremely thankful for a lot of things that have come my way recently. Like most of everyone, we've been some financial hardships especially recently. Thanks to God, friends and family things are getting better and I've had time to stop and reflect back on how far I've come and where I'm at. Sometimes I forget about it because I'm always working hard to get to the next project, the next book, the next something. But sometimes I have to get off the train and just take a look back on the road. For that I'm thankful because without the support and opportunities I've been given, I wouldn't be anywhere!

I'll be taking it easy today, trying to catch up on my writing and other projects. For some notables, keep an eye out for the upcoming Romance Writers United (RWU) issue with some heavy duty romance news in the newsletter at the beginning of the month. If you missed the whole Harlequin Horizons (now DellArte Press) debacle, I'll do my best to break it down for you. I'm reading a fellow author friend's historical paranormal romance and you best believe I will be recommending that you guys here and on Goodreads. This is an awesome story and I know you guys are looking for more of the genre. There's also an upcoming podcast from Broad Universe featuring some great authors doing rapid fire readings from their works. I'll be reading from A Feast of Shadows.

And speaking of reading. If you want to take a moment for some downtime away from celebrating, check out my interview tonight with book lover and aspiring author Phoebe Jordan. Tune in live at 9PM to 10:30PM EST (8PM to 9:30PM CST / 6PM to 7:30PM PST) or check the full broadcast for download afterward. I'll be reading from my December release Voice of Abandon and maybe a sneak peak of Within the Shadows of Mortals. ;-)

Wherever you are and whatever you do, I hope you guys have a safe and healthy season!