Every Move He Makes - out 7th May

Keeping an eye on his charge isn’t easy. Keeping his hands off? Impossible…

It took attending his own funeral to force Logan to accept a new life as an undercover MI6 agent. That doesn’t make his latest assignment any less aggravating. Babysitting a Russian pop star with delusions that someone’s trying to kill him.

Other than an inexplicable attraction Logan ruthlessly suppresses, he couldn’t have less in common with the irritating, arrogant rich kid. He’s even prepared to walk away—until very real bullets start flying.

After his mother’s death, Zak Kochenkov’s life unravels in an impenetrable haze of grief, drugs and alcohol—until one bodyguard candidate stands out. Except his hopes of having some fun with that guard’s body evaporate when he realizes Logan is buttoned up tighter than a clam.

The first thing Logan learns is that his charge won’t do as he’s told. And there’s some secret behind his haunted eyes that shakes Logan’s resolve to keep him at arm’s length. Because he knows if he lets passion close his eyes, that’s when danger will find them both…

Product Warnings

Contains a sexy bodyguard with a tortured past, and a spoiled rock star with a tortured conscience. Stir (don’t shake), and prepare for spontaneous combustion.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed writing this book!!

http://store.samhainpublishing.com/every-move-makes-p-7392.html

London Book Fair

I had a very exciting day yesterday at the London Book Fair, meeting up with fellow authors, and people from Ellora's Cave, Samhain and TotaleBound publishers, and Ethan Ellenberg a NY Agent (not mine!) and best of all, being filmed by the BBC by super cameraman Mark and interviewed by the very kind Marie. Amazing how tiring it was to just walk around and talk on camera. I have new respect for those who have to do it all the time. I think the worse moment was when Marie said - talk naturally to Raelene from Ellora's Cave and my mind went blank. Well, my mind is always going blank but it was really hard to chat. Raelene, of course, was a pro. It was me who was the dweeb. The best bit was walking through the crowds with the cameraman walking backwards in front of me.  DON'T LOOK AT THE CAMERA!!! I felt for just a fraction of a second like a film star.

50 Shades of green - oops Gray.

I've avoided reading FSOG - largely on the premise that I'm not a huge fan of BDSM books, plus I tend not to go for hyped books either, plus I'm perverse - tell me to do something and I won't -  so I gave these three a miss. But I wondered how I could call myself a writer of erotic romance if I hadn't read THE books of the decade in this genre, so reader - I read them. One after the other over four nights.
I'd heard they were badly written, boring etc etc and also heard they were riveting, fantastic etc etc. I'm not sure what I expected to find but the books weren't as I'd anticipated.
For a start - they're not really BDSM books. My issue about women subjugating themselves for a guy's pleasure, enduring pain for a guy's pleasure and yes - their own - wasn't true of this book. It's very light on the BDSM - in one way, Christian has no idea what he's doing and certainly no real understanding of WHY he's doing it. When he said he was a sadist - I was almost yelling at him - no, you idiot, you're not - luckily Ana told him the same a few pages later.
What these books are about are a very damaged young man and how the love of an innocent woman pulls him back to dry land. I can see now why FSOG was linked so much with my book Strangers - Charlie Storm is another damaged young man who is helped by the love of a woman. The difference being that Kate, my heroine, is as damaged as Charlie and their journey to enlightenment is somewhat different.
Yes, there was a lot of sex in FSOG but not the extremely steamy graphic sex of many erotic romances. But it was all pervasive. Christian and Ana could barely keep their hands off one another and as a consequence, not much happens. The characters ARE the plot, whereas in Strangers - there is a plot. Yes, I know FSOG has a villain but that element felt very weak to me.
So did I like the books? Do I think they deserve their success?
I'm probably going to damn with faint praise. I didn't dislike them - is the best I can do. I certainly didn't hate them, nor did I love them. I'd have liked a different POV, to hear equally from Christian, more happening, more motivation, deeper characterization, more fun, more bounce to the prose but that's just me. It worked for millions so who am I to say it doesn't deserve it. Yes, I expect there are lots of other better written books out there but that's life. FSOG fit a gap in the market, entertained millions of woman and best of all for me, encouraged them to try others in the genre. Of course I think Strangers is

better - but sales tell me different. I can only dream of emulating her success and good for her - she wrote a winner.

Decisions

I'm in the unusual position of having several projects half-started on my laptop. I'm not good at multi-tasking. I might have lots of half-formed ideas written in note form but not usually actual stories part written. I wrote a short story for a friends' anthology but it didn't work for them. I wrote another and that didn't work either so I gave up on the anthology but not the stories.
I suspect that part of the issue was that they were more long stories condensed than proper short stories. So I decided to expand them. Explain the characters motivations etc etc
The one I started with I'd only intended to convert 5,000 words into maybe 15,000 but I'm already at that and haven't even had my hero and heroine meet yet. Nor had I intended to write a werewolf story but seems my fingers had other ideas. I nicked an idea from one of my earlier books, Falling For You, and changed it a bit and now I'm racing away.
But I'm also pulled to the other story - about Faeries and I also started a contemporary MF one based on me and husband getting stranded at Philadelphia airport one snowy January. I can't write them all at the same time. But I want to. Plus I have a suspense story I need to tidy and get out there.
Let alone all the household stuff. Cleaning, dishwasher, ironing etc What I really need is another few of me so I can do everything at the same time.
I put the suggestion to husband.
His answer - One of you is quite enough.
And looking at me = I think he's right.

Another dimension!

My crit partner, Arlene Webb, has a new book out called Blood Alert. It's the second in a series of three about some fantastic beings called Rons. You don't have to have read book one to enjoy book two and in fact, the two books are a little different in tone. Incoming Alert - the first - is about a Ron who comes of age and phases to Earth. Caron is cute. I couldn't help but fall in love with him.
Blood Alert, the second book, introduces us to another set of characters and the main ones are Cham and his sister, Kylee.


http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Alert-Chronicle-IF-ebook/dp/B00C4U2VR4/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364898690&sr=1-2&keywords=blood+alert#_

Here's the blurb!

Born with a strange addiction, Cham needs a pint or two of blood on a regular basis to stay alive, healthy and solid. To make a miserable life worse, most everyone around him, except for his sister Kylee, overlook him as if he's not clearly there. If not for the rage and questions pushing at him, he'd wonder if he really exists.

Cham's mother died giving birth to him, leaving him and four-year-old Kylee in the hands of an angry, uncaring father. From the moment his infant fingers clutched hers, Kylee has been determined to protect him from the visible and invisible monsters.

After fleeing an abusive home, their lives revolve around stealing what Cham needs to survive. When he confides detail about a man from their past no one but he could see, Kylee refuses to leave him or let him fade into insanity. All is fine in their little world, until the cops arrest her for theft, and hallucinations do much worse than torment his memory.

They become so violently real, Cham wishes it was as simple as throwing himself in a padded cell.