I pinned it on my wall so I wouldn’t forget.

Live Your Dream!

I’ve wanted to be a writer for a long time, and I wasted years thinking it was silly.

No dream is silly if it’s what you want.

Don’t be like me and wait years. Find out what makes you happy and live your dream!

The Sun!

Gosh, it feels like ages since I’ve seen the sun. It’s June and this is the first week this year that we are supposed to reach 70 degrees every day. (Okay, workday, but I’ll take it!) We’ve had less than five (or so) days this whole year it’s been that warm. I’m stoked!

Maybe we can even turn off the heat in the house. I know, right? But I turned it off last week. I think it got up to 72 degrees one night. The next day, I decided since it was almost June, we shouldn’t be running the heat anymore.

I came home to 63 degrees. Brrr.

I’m nearing the finish line in my edits on Electric Moon. I’m excited. It goes off to the editor next!

I’ll start posting a few sneak peeks for you soon, so stay tune.

Title: Full Blooded (Jessica McClain)

Author: Amanda Carlson

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Orbit

Release date: September 2012

Pages: 352

ISBN-10: 0316205206

ISBN-13: 978-0316205207

Rating: ★★★★★ 

DESCRIPTION:

REVIEW:

The blurb didn’t really wow me. I ran across Full Blooded on a review site, and the fabulous reviews made me decided to pick up a copy. And I’m glad I did! This author totally blew me away, both with the story and the characters. As soon as I finished reading, I went online and added the rest of the series to my wish list. I’m not sure I can wait for my next order to get my greedy little hands on Hot Blooded, book two in the series.

Jessica McClain came from a long line of werewolves…only they were all males. When she was born, rumors spread like wildfire that she would be the death of their race. After puberty hit and she didn’t shift, the rumors died down, security relaxed and Jessica fought for a life outside of the pack. A chance to be normal. Just when she thought she was safe, her life flipped upside down and her wolf makes herself know with a vengeance. Now, everyone wants a piece of her, including an assassin sent to capture and deliver her to the highest bidder. Only, after spending a few hours together, he can’t bear to release her.

I’ll stop to avoid spoilers, but the tension on each page kept me coming back for more. The romance was light, but enough that I thoroughly enjoyed each second. The action was fast paced, Jessica being no wilting flower waiting to be rescued. And though the book ended on a cliffhanger, the story stopped in a logical spot that it didn’t make me curse. If you’re looking for a new and edgy author on the Urban Fantasy scene, check out Amanda Carlson’s Full Blooded.

Synopsis~

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into a reluctant relationship with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children.

Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family. But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. Katie must choose between a life of transient safety or one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven. — IMDb 

I was surprised at how well I liked Safe Haven. I would characterize the movie as a romance with a touch of suspense. I enjoyed getting to know Alex and Katie, watching them overcome their past and fall in love. It didn’t hurt any that Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel are absolutely gorgeous. 

Though the acting was fair, spots in the movie felt slow at times. And despite the twists, I found the movie to be a little predictable. Surprisingly, that didn’t detract from my enjoyment.

David Lyons did a fabulous job acting, coming off as determined and creepy at the same time. I don’t want to give away spoilers, so I’ll stop there. If you have a lazy afternoon and are looking for a satisfying romance, you might like Safe Haven.

Favorite scene: It’s a toss up between when Alex begs Katie to give them a chance and the snippets of Katie’s past.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Here are the blurbs:

Full Blooded (Jessica McClain)~

I went shopping the other day and look at what I found in the store:

Aren’t they adorable?! I would have brought one home if I didn’t think my husband would kill me and the dogs/cats would kill the bird.

Writing update: Deep into edits of Electric Moon. Must get back to work…

 I’ve joined a number of other authors to promote a large sale with over 150 books for just $0.99 each.

To see the list of books, click on the banner above or go here:

Book Lover’s Buffet

I’m offering two of my books, both BloodSworn and Electric Storm.

If you haven’t purchased your copies yet, click on the below links:

 BloodSworn at Amazon

Electric Storm at Amazon or Barnes & Noble or ARe.

*You’ll be happy to note book two, Electric Moon, will be available soon!

BloodSworn Blurb:

Ten years after they bound her powers and banished her, Trina Weyebridge had successfully carved out a new existence in the human world. She put her life as a witch behind her. But, her magic would not be denied, the bindings holding them in check are weakening. Vampires who crave a taste of the powers stored in her blood are hunting her with deadly force and have kidnapped her sister to lure her out. In a desperate bid to free her sister and gain her own freedom, Trina bargains with the all-too-tempting lion shifter who calls out the long forgotten wild side in her…she would be his concubine in return for pack protection. She’d be safe…until they found out the truth.

UNDENIABLE DESIRE. FORBIDDEN LOVE. INESCAPABLE DESTINY.

When Merrick spots a female intruder living on his property, he’s intrigued by her daring. Curious to find out more, he follows her and comes to her aid when she falls prey to an attack. After weeks of unnatural silence, his beast awakens at her touch, and he suspects that she might be the only one able to save his race from a disease killing his kind. Not willing to take the chance of losing her, he binds her to him the only way he knows how…by claiming her as his own. All he has to do to save her is uncover the secrets of her past, stop a pack revolt, convince her that she’s desperately in love with him in return, and prevent a war.

Electric Storm Blurb:

Everything changed when Raven, a natural born conduit, accidentally walks in on a slave auction. She only wants a night out with her friends before her next case as a paranormal liaison with the police. Instead, she ends up in possession of a shifter and his guardian. When your touch can kill, living with two touchy-feely shifters is a disaster waiting to happen.

To make matters worse, a vicious killer is on the loose. As mutilated bodies turn up, she can’t help fear that her new acquisitions are keeping secrets from her. The strain of keeping everyone alive, not to mention catching the killer, pushes her tenuous control of her gift and her emotions to their limits. If they hope to survive, they must work together as a pack or risk becoming hunted themselves.

Happy Tuesday, all! India Drummond is here today with a post I’m sure most of us can easily relate to. Take it away, India!

Last month, an author I’d not spoken to in a while came to mind. She was someone I’d spoken with professionally, we’d read each other’s blogs, and I truly enjoyed her books. I began to wonder if I’d somehow lost another colleague’s posts in the sea of social networking I do every month. (Sadly, it happens.) So, I decided to look her up and find out if she had any new books out.

I couldn’t find her Facebook page or profile.

Her website had been deleted.

Her books were no longer on Amazon.

I started to doubt my recollection. I hadn’t spoken to her in a few months. Did I have her name confused with someone else’s? Had I written her blog address down wrong?

I emailed her, not at all confident I would hear back. I worried that she’d died or suffered some personal catastrophe. How could someone vanish?  

Read the rest of the story here… I Quit!

I’ve been stuck in my writer’s cave for the last few weeks. Thankfully, I’m coming to the end of the book. Then, all I have left are the edits. The last chance to improve my work before I send Electric Moon off to my beta readers and editor.

As noted in the picture, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve been treading water for a while, so I’m excited to find out how the book will end and begin fixing things in the story.

After months of waiting, spring is finally here. We reached 70 degrees! We still have a few snow piles melting yet, but the snowy season is done.

Time to get back to the story. I left Raven and a few others facing off with the killer. But not everyone is friendly. One of her men has been taken hostage. She must risk him being infected and possibly killed…unless she can find a way to eliminate the threat before it’s too late.

I’m still not recovered from the cold that I caught last week. To top it off, we are going to be hit with another six or so inches of snow today. Add a little sleet and rain to the mix and it will be a wonderful driving day. We still hadn’t gotten rid of the 8-10 inches we received last Thursday.

Writing is slow, but I am making progress. Raven is tending her wounds after getting into a deadly fight. The results will have unexpected and far reaching concequences beyond what anyone expected.