Sunday, August 24, 2014

Ever wonder how a story is born? Or several best-sellers? SALE! #RomFantasy


I thought I’d tell you something about each of the books that is currently on sale at ARe Romance eBooks. Some of these titles are my all-time best-sellers, and each one has a background story. So, instead of book blurbs, I thought I’d share the history or inspiration behind each of these titles. You can find blurbs and excerpts anywhere, right? A few of these titles may vanish soon, as well, so if you’re curious and would like to read them, a sale is a great time to do it!! When you order from ARe, you have all formats available, and they can send direct to your Kindle, just like Amazon.

So, let’s get start, and I cheated and downloaded all the links and info in alphabetical order:

Price: $4.99 SALE: $2.99

This was my first paranormal novel, and it encompassed my love for Historicals and the allure of vampires. It seems a natural marriage, beings who can ostensibly live forever, they’d be walking through history. In this one, the first part of the book is set in the 1700s, and slowly moves into the modern era. There are three vampires at the core of the book, which was inspired by a little Canadian series called Forever Knight. The oldest of the trio is an ancient, who was created before Christ–the other two are his companions and more or less daughter and son. He loved one woman, and lost her, this is the core of the historical section. In modern times, he rediscovers her reincarnation.

ARe Best Seller
Price: $2.99 SALE: $1.99

This one came about when one of my publishers decided to do a line of fairy-tales for adults. I’d done one before, and really loved it. That anthology never happened because the promised stories were never delivered. So, first one is no longer in print, though it’s due for a comeback in a whole new version very soon. I’ve always loved the whole Cinderella thing, so it was a natural choice. In this one, I had a lot of fun figuring out who’d take what roles in the telling. It’s been generally well received, so I’m happy, and it quickly became the #1 best-seller on the publisher’s site. It might still be, I haven’t looked lately.

Price: $0.99 SALE: $0.74 (after rebate)

Hide and Secret began with a different title and was intended to be just a short, sexy essay sent from a woman to her lover. I shared it with a friend who pushed me to expand it by several thousand words so it could be submitted to her editor at Ellora’s Cave. We worked on it for a few days, then she approached her editor. I submitted it the following week, and a couple of weeks later it was accepted. What I found interesting is the editor said this little story contained some of the hottest sex she’d ever read, and I’m notoriously bad at the erotic scenes in my books because I don’t like writing those scenes. Guess I got it right, because it’s been my best-seller for Ellora’s Cave. Originally it was intended to be stand alone, then I outlined a prequel and a sequel for it, making it the centrepiece of the Secrets Trilogy. The other two have never been released, and I have no idea if they ever will be. Quinn and Bella are a great couple, though their relationship was anything but typical.

Are Best Seller
Price: $3.99 SALE: $1.99

Hunters’ Game, as some people know, began on a dare to me. Over ten years ago, on a trip to Toronto, author Nancy Baker joined me and a few other friends on a Goth Club adventure. I’d never stepped foot in a club like the ones we visited that night. I soaked up the atmosphere, and watched the crowd, it was fascinating. That’s when the challenge was issued, what kind of story could I create from all this. I wrote a short story the next day that became the basis for Hunters' Game. It was first released until the simple title, The Hunt, but this version is longer, hotter, and a great deal more intense.

Price: $1.99 SALE: $1.49 (after rebate)

This one began life as a piece of fan fiction based on a single character who was a guest star in one of my favourite shows at the time. I was fascinated with the idea of a protected federal witness who was a former drug lord, and added the twist of an undercover agent who was more than a little bit friendly when using Carlos as a contact point for information. The first release of this was a title called “Any Other Way” and it got great reviews. Years later, after it had been out of circulation for a while, I submitted a new version of it to Ellora’s Cave, and my editor liked it. We worked in more detail and fleshed out the idea to it’s present form. The change of title followed to fit the them better.

Price: $3.99 SALE: $1.99

When it was first released back in 2004, this novella was nominated for an Eppie Award. Again, this concept grew from an award winning piece of fan fiction, then it took on a life of its own. It’s one of the more complicated stories I’ve released, and it’s the only one I’ve included a voyeurism scene in–that was a bit different to write. Ultimately, there are really two stories being played out, and in some weird twist, the less likeable of the two “heroes” is the one who gets his girl. The other one…well, now’s your chance to find out–at half price!

ARe Best Seller
Price: $4.99 SALE: $3.99

Here again, a combination of fan fiction, and original. Angel-Fire was a brief fiction based on Pirates of the Caribbean the year it came out. A couple of years later, I created a unique pirate of my own, and his story evolved Angel-Fire a little further, and then continued in The Phantom’s Lair. I could probably write a dozen stories with Captain Jack Stanton. Storm-Singer was originally published in Margaret Cater’s Tales from the Crypt magazine, and again, was re-edited for this release. This one has an unusual pair at its core, a shape-shifting witch, and a vampire Prince who is legendary, and has a few unexpected tricks he employs on the locals who fear him. The collection was released as “Rogues” with Solstice Publishing, but after I asked for rights to be returned, the three stories underwent extensive editing, and was renamed simply Pirates! I think they’re better stories now, and they quickly became a best-seller at ARe Romance. Who doesn’t love a sexy pirate, after all?? Yo ho ho!! 

Price: $2.99 SALE: $2.24 (after rebate)

This is a story that was meant to capture my love of things spooky from Halloween. An abandoned hotel that most fear is haunted, a curious young woman, and a highly erotic plot by her older lover make for a night of surprises. Unfortunately, being a top-flight operative in the world of spies and espionage leaves a man with a lot of enemies, and the past is never far away…

ARe Best Seller
Price: $3.99 SALE: $1.99

New Dawning International posted a call for ménage stories, and I’d written only one before this, something they published, as well. To amuse myself, I created two vampires who are both old friends and deadly rivals. Rahve Falcon owns a fashion business, and Cord Vincente is his general manager and coordinator. Enter Deluna Jordan, a photographer known in fashion circles, catches Cord’s eye and they begin a relationship that is soon noticed by Rahve. The two men are adversaries when it comes to women, and have often shared their passions. Deluna intrigues Rahve, and it isn’t long before he moves in a takes her attention from Cord. The confrontation that is inevitable is both highly erotic and lethal…

ARe Best Seller
Price: $2.99 SALE: $1.99

This was my first attempt to write ménage, and I have to admit, while it was a hell of a lot of fun, it’s not a genre I feel overly drawn to. The premise was simple, and it was to be written in six pieces, as columns for an online ezine. Much to my surprise, it was hugely popular once the first installment was published. The next pieces of the story actually turned into a truly seductive and erotic adventure for the occupants of the yacht that capsizes and leaves then stranded. Two couples, all friends. When Iris dies from her injuries, that leaves two men and the sexy Giselle alive on an island in the middle of nowhere. One man is her husband, the other her best friend…and soon she has two ardent lovers who want to share every fantasy she’s ever had. But once passion has been sated, nothing will ever be the same for them.

Price: $3.99 SALE: $1.99

Older man, younger woman. Back to the world of espionage. For a lot of people who have followed my writing as it’s progressed, odds are you first saw my fan fiction, and a lot of that was intelligence and operations. The whole genre is one that I love. This story returns to those roots. The Domino Effect is a dark story in many regards, and tests the strength of the hero, Martin Fowler, in a multitude of ways. Dani is the only child of Marty’s mentor, and she’s fifteen or so years younger than Marty. When one of his enemies grabs her to use as leverage against Marty, his vengeance is guaranteed to be deadly.

Price: $3.99 SALE: $1.99

I was asked to write something original for a fantasy world and it was a whole lot of fun to combine a love of pirates and fantasy world building. I created a parallel world to ours, it’s called Thaer (There) and then built a structure in which the worlds connect. There are time loops, gates of magick, and a sexy pirate captain–all waiting for the sorceress who may free them from their exile here. Magick tossed them through the gate and left them stranded, but when their hope arrives, with no memory of her alternate life or her magical abilities, Dayne takes a chance on the eroticism of their passion to restore both to her before it’s too late for them. Thaer is a world that mirrors our own, but in many ways it is both the past and future of Earth. Magic and sorcery are commonplace, and beneath the vast sands of Cairos and the waters of Venicia lie secrets that may hold the key to travel between worlds and time itself...

I hope you’ve enjoyed this inside look at where the stories originated, and that you might want to explore a little further. This sale is offering some of my best titles, and I hope you’ll take advantage and discover worlds that interest you, and heroes to die for… Sweet or smouldering hot sexy, there’s a hero for every woman in this set of exotic tales.


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