Happy 12/12/12!

Today’s blog is a mixed bag of stuff but it’s all good stuff!

Did you know Ellora’s Cave has redesigned their website? The new site is filled with ruby red splendor and it is so much easier to use. Please check it out as soon as you can.

Ellora’s Cave: http://www.ellorascave.com/

Jael our heroine from “Claimed By Dragons” was interview yesterday at Paranormal Cravings. This interview was so much fun to write and I hope you’ll get a chance to stop by and read it.

Paranormal Cravings: http://paranormalcravings.blogspot.com/

Also today is 12/12/12. How exciting! Today’s the last time any of us will live through a day with a completely repetitive date. I don’t know what significance that date has on our lives, if anything, but I suspect it must mean a lot to someone so let’s celebrate 12/12/12 just for the hell of it. Cheers to 12/12/12!

I’m close to finishing another WIP for Ellora’s Cave and hoping to submit this novella before Christmas. This one’s a paranormal, time travel Bohemian artist adventure and I’m really enjoying it. Right now I’m totally in love with my French hero André.

Have a lovely week everyone!

XXOO Kat

Reviews

Yes, I’m back on this subject again. :o) Here’s the thing. I read them and like to file away – good or bad. I’d like to say I never read them, but that would be a lie. The bad sting and the wound will smart for most of the day and then I move on.

One thing I can’t understand from reviewers is if you read a book from an author and you didn’t like it – why would you read another from the same author?

Going back to the fact that I used to review if I didn’t like a book by an author I wouldn’t read anymore of his or her books. I didn’t because I felt I couldn’t get a fair review. I bring this up because of a recent review Kat and I received. The reviewer said she read one of my Loose id books and didn’t like it, but wanted to give a co-authored book a try. WHY?

I’m all for constructive criticism. I’ve even agreed with reviewers at times. After reading a few reviews on this site, I don’t put much stock in the reviewer’s comments. Life is short and not everyone will like my books. I can’t worry about others think, unless they become the majority. Most of the time it’s a few disgruntled reviewers who have an axe to grind. 

SEAL on FIRE! My newest coming in January!

Conquering Zeus by Cerise Deland  Getting in the party mood for a weekend away with his SEAL teammates is no easy deal for “Zeus” Calderon. He’s hung up on a woman he saved from terrorists months ago, but he should be able to forget a gutsy blonde reporter who showed resilience and humor under fire. Shouldn’t he? Kim Stansfield got the instant hots for the hunky Navy SEAL who led her out of harm’s way—and she’s got proof Zeus feels the same about her. He’s stubborn, but she’s devised a plan to conquer him. When she shows up in Key West and surprises him on the beach, Zeus learns that once in a lifetime a man meets a woman he can’t forget—and every day without her is no easy day. This is part of a SASSY 7 series, SEALs on Fire, done to celebrate our conference, NAUGHTY SLEEPOVER in February in San Antonio. A party like no other. Have you registered yet? Go to http://sassyseven.com

I have decided to stop doing contests and giveaways...

I have done a number of online giveaways lately, and the response has been nil to most of them...so I have decided to just "Grinch" out the holidays.

I have no upcoming releases. No special contests. No nothin'. I have decided to go out into the frozen garden and dig up a healthy wad of earthworms and feast on them.  Sigh.  No.  I don't like the flavor of earthworms.  But I will definitely sit back and relax through the rest of the holidays.  No more giveaways. 

Please have a marvelous Hannukkah and a fabulous Kwansaa and a Merry Christmas.  

Oh...for those of you who are members of my Fran Lee and Friends Yahoo Group, the deal is still on.  That is the only place where I will be doing anything remotely like a holiday giveaway.

Hugs...

Fran

Happy Holiday Hobbit!

Are you a J.R.R. Tolkien fan? I am. I’ve loved the Hobbit since I was little. My older sister C.L introduced me to the books and read them aloud. C.L’s sixteen years older than me and served as a second mom. She’s also incredibly artistic both musically and visually with some engineering skills thrown in too. She was always doing something creative and despite the difference in our ages, she was patient and kind enough to include me in everything she did. We had a lot of fun together.

One year she was asked to design Hobbit scenery for a college play.  It was an ambitious project for one petite girl to accomplish on her own. I remember C.L somehow got eight, 8’X6’ foot panels of plywood into our backyard, laid them out, did detailed pencil sketches, then got out the jig saw and started making very intricate cuts.

I was in awe at how quickly the sets took shape. The scenery was free standing cutouts of Hobbits and the shire. She blocked in large areas of color and allowed me to fill them in. She later went over everything and added beautiful shading and detail.

I remember walking around the set pieces in our backyard and feeling this amazing freedom of imagination. It definitely was a power moment in my life. I saw that with thought and effort you can make great things and I never forgot that feeling.

The scenery looked great in the play and my sister was resigned to seeing it cut up or used for something else…

Not so. A Renaissance fair approached the college and asked to use the sets. The Hobbit set pieces were a hit at a beautiful outdoor fair beside a creek under ancient oak trees.

Next a J.R.R. Tolkien convention borrowed the sets to decorate their gathering. After that a couple asked to use the sets as a backdrop for their Hobbit themed wedding.  We lost track of the set for a little while but saw a photograph of our Hobbit set on the runway of a small airport with people dressed like Hobbits standing in front of it. To this day we still have no idea what that was about.

Out of college my sister was hired by Paramount Pictures as a set designer and went on to help create the Star Trek movie sets and many other movies.

So am I excited to see the new Hobbit movie? You’re damn right I am! The look of this movie and the breathtaking sets just take my heart back to a beautiful moment in time. I can’t wait to see it.

XXOO Kat

Next Big Thing

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

What is your working title of your book? Tied Up In Tinsel

Where did the idea come from for the book? Katalina Leon and I were brainstorming because my publisher didn’t like the original title.

What genre does your book fall under? Erotic Contemporary

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Orgasms against the wall, sex under the Christmas tree, tied up in bed what more could Patience Middleton ask for; a man who wants the same sex lifestyle as her and a kinky Christmas.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? It’ll be published by Loose Id

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? About six weeks

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Cari Quinn's Ex Appeal

Who or what inspired you to write this book? It was a theme call out with one of my publishers

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? It’s about a woman who is discovering a sex life that is far from the vanilla style she’s been used to.

Include the link of who tagged you and this explanation for the people you have tagged - http://www.aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/

Pick a logo, a gal and win a prize!

2013! A great new year for all of us to do the right things!
Onward!
You've heard of my pals the Sassy 7?  Can you guess who is who???
For the first person who gets all 4 right, a copy of anything from my backlist!

Here are a few of them...in new pictures you have got to love!