RomCon Blog Hope - Win Big!

 I am giving away one FREE general registraiton to RomCon today. ($200 value) Welcome to the RomCon tax relief blog hop.  With so many amazing authors going to RomCon this June, I know I don't want to miss it!  Leave a comment to be entered to win one of the prizes.  Good luck! - Michele

Sneak Peak Sunday - Blue Abyss

BLUE ABYSS: Timewalker Chronicles, Book 3

...Hurtling a crystal goblet against the far wall, Raiden tore open the wound in his shoulder. The splintering glass was his world. Tiny pieces littered the floor, worthless shards that had once been brilliant with purpose. Fresh blood trickled down his back, what was left of his life’s blood weakly following the flow of its earlier river. Mortality loomed. He’d lost too much blood, been injected with too much poison…weakened past the point of no return. He could actually die down here.

Worse, he’d fail his mission if he couldn’t get off this ship alive. No one else was looking for The Lost One. No one else knew he was missing, no one but the enemy who had somehow captured and held one of the most powerful beings known. If The Lost One wasn’t found and released, this blue planet, Earth, and all of her descendants, would be destroyed by The Lost One’s immortal, brutally efficient, and unforgiving family. There would be no more humans. No Timewalkers. No Darkwalkers. His people and his planet’s civilization would simply never be born. Earth would be dust floating in the infinite cosmos.

Death wasn’t an option. He had a plan, a terrible, desperate plan. There was only one choice left to make. He had to shut down the ship’s power systems and lock himself down in a stasis capsule. The ship’s energy cells had been damaged by Zinan’s explosives. They were failing. The ship would shut down completely in a few days time and he had no way to get out. He was too deep under the water to swim for the surface with his injuries. He had no breathing apparatus, and no one would know he was there. Even if he made it to the surface, he could float for days, bleeding and weak. Shark food.

Given his weakened condition, the odds of making it to the surface alive to be a shark treat went from minuscule to zero. The ship’s medical units had been damaged, so it couldn’t heal his wound and he didn’t have the weeks he’d need to flush the poison from his system. If he managed to survive the blood loss down here, he’d have the pleasure of suffocating in a few days when life support failed.

No. He must shut down everything but the emergency beacon and one stasis capsule. He calculated that would buy him two Earth years on life support, give or take a few days. Someone would come looking for him. Someone would find him.

Surely, someone would find him before it was too late...

SNEAK PEAK SUNDAY HOP

Other Timewalker Books:
RED NIGHT  (Book 1) $.99 @ Amazon for Kindle
SILVER STORM (Book 2)
BLUE ABYSS (Coming soon!)

Lady Luck Didn't Just Find Me...She Hunted Me Down and Shot Me In The Back.

Lucky In Love Hop Here

This blog hop is all about that wonderful, yet elusive Lady Luck.  I must humblely admit that I've been luckier than most.  Gratitude comes easily for me, and I'd like to list a few of the things I'm most grateful for.
1 - I had amazing parents who loved me no matter what hair-brained scheme I concocted or what idoitic thing came out of my mouth. (Junior high wasn't my best time for filtering.  LOL.)
2 - I met the love of my life when I was in high school, and he loved me back.  Still does over two decades later.
3 - I have amazing children that I love to death and would move mountains for.
4 - Dogs.  I love dogs and they love me back.  Need I say more?
5 - Friends.  I am blessed with some amazing friends and sisters.  I'd call that pretty darn lucky.

The lucky ladies in my Timewalker series get the men-o-their-dreams.  Hope you'll take a leap into an extraordinary new world with Luke and Alexa.  She's supposed to break into his office and destroy his research, but somehow she ends up following him home...lucky girl.  The book is only $.99 at Amazon.  Enjoy! 

RED NIGHT

Deception…
Luke Lawson is walking into a trap. Brilliant, dedicated, and haunted by strange visions, he guards his mistake well, determined to eliminate anyone or anything that threatens to unleash his creation upon the world. But his enemy is vicious, smart, and oh-so-patient. He has been watching…waiting to strike.

Duty…
Alexa wants no part of her family’s ancient bargain with the Archiver, not does she want the ‘gift’ that makes her something more than human. But should she refuse the call for help, six billion people will die from a horrible bio-agent known as the Red Death. Sent back through time to prevent the global disaster, she has three days to track down the man responsible and eliminate the threat.

Destiny…
Alexa begins her hunt, but once she meets Luke, her desire to kiss him becomes stronger than the cold logic demanding she kill him. The viral cultures are missing, Luke’s superiors are keeping deadly secrets, and the clock is ticking. Humanity’s very survival depends on them discovering the true enemy before it’s too late. Secrecy. Sedition. Seduction. They are playing a deadly game…and they can’t afford to lose.
 

UFO's in Denver? Fox 31 News Video makes me ask 'What If?'

1 - Anonymous man turns in video of stange object flying over Denver to local news station.
2 - Local news station takes their own camera crew to the site to film.
3 - Fox 31 News posts video and analysis of object flying too fast for the human eye to see.
4 - Wow!

Watch this and see for yourself! 
What if...?
That is my favorite question.  :)


  More Links:
http://kdvr.com/2012/11/08/mile-high-city-mystery-ufo-sightings-in-sky-over-denver/

It's Not Bugs - Insect expert checked out the video
http://kdvr.com/2012/11/20/insect-expert-ufos-over-denver-not-bugs-images-on-video-remain-a-mystery/

Want to go UFO crazy?  Go to YouTube Channel Third Phase Of Moon.  They post a LOT of UFO video.  Whether you believe or don't, it's still cool to watch, and think, and ask, "What if?"

Have fun.  ;)

All Real Heroes are Heartbreakers...A List of My All Time Favorites

In real life there are two kinds of Heartbreakers:  The Jerk and The Hero.

The Jerk can have any combination of flaws that make him (or her)  selfish, unavailable, abusive, cruel, judgemental, etc...  They play with your heart, stomp on it, throw it away.  They break your heart because you allow them to.  With The Jerk, there is a part of us that invites the pain, that somehow thinks that's all we deserve.  The Jerk can take many forms, but in the end, before we can be happy, we must heal our hearts enough to believe we deserve The Hero.

The Hero is always, by his (or her) very nature, a 100% pure Heartbreaker.  And there's not a darn thing we can do about it.  He can be brave, honest, loving, kind, thoughtful, honorable, and dedicated.  Those things make them sexy as hell no matter what they look like on the outside.  But those traits also make them true Heartbreakers.

A Hero is dedicated to a higher purpose, whether it's protecting and providing for his family, serving his country, or stopping crime.  He can be fighting evil or saving lives, but if called upon, he WILL answer, and nothing will stop him.  Not  pain, or fear, or threat of death.  He will leave behind the love of his life, his friends, his children.  He will lay down his life for his beliefs and nothing you can do or say will stop him.  Yes, your heart can break, but you love him anyway, and there's nothing the Heartbreaker can do to stop you.  So, we fall in love and hope for the best.  Life is messy, but in the end, if you live your life without ever getting your heart broken, you haven't really lived, have you?

I'm married to my real life hero, but I do love a good story.  Whether it's a book or a movie, some of the greatest Heartbreakers ever dreamt of keep us all up late nights when we get the chance.  Here is a list of some of my favorites!  Leave a comment and tell me yours!  One lucky commenter will win a $5 Starbucks gift card, and another will win digital copies of my first two books: Red Night and Silver Storm.  Who are your favorite Heartbreakers?

My All-Tim Favorite Heartbreakers:  (And yes, I am aware of my sci-fi obsession...)  :)
1 - William Wallace (Braveheart)
2 - Han Solo  (Star Wars)
3 - Kyle Reese (Terminator)
4 - Harry Stamper (Armageddon)
5 - Gregori, Lucian, and Gabriel (Christine Feehan Dark Series)
6 - Hunter  (Lara Adrian's Midnight series)
7 - Captain Steven Hiller (Independence Day)
8 - Jake Sully (Avatar)
9 - Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vadar  (Star Wars)
10 - Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom (In fact, I love all of "Dumbledore's Army")
11 - Severus Snape  (talk about a broken hearted hero!)
12 - Jericho Z. Barrons (JZB)  Karen Marie Moning Fever Series
13 - Max Crayton (CJ Snyder Black Fire Series)

Need more heroes?  Try mine!  Luke Lawson in Red Night will make you laugh, cry, and wish you were a Timewalker.  He's got a lot of secrets.

Timothy Daniel Tucker in Silver Storm is an ex-soldier who walked away from his former life to save the world from a deadly weapon...only to find out his job isn't quite finished.

For both men, the time has come to risk everything.

And they do. Real Heroes are always Heartbreakers.

HEARTBREAKER BLOG HOP  GRAND PRIZE (Please leave your email in your comment so you have a chance to win!)  We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!

 

Now what are those prizes?

 

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

    

Keep On Hopping Here!

My Inner Geek Freaks Out With Happiness!

I couldn't help myself.  I laughed out loud and watched this again.  Total nerdy bliss for me.  Vader's dancing?  Too funny.  Two of my favorite things in life - Star Wars and Cello music.  Thanks Piano Guys! Enjoy!

"Drowning In Indie Books" - Yes...we are. And I love it.

I will admit it, I'm a bit behind.  Anyone out there waiting for an answer to an email can attest to this simple truth.  So, no surprise it takes me nearly a month to find this brilliant, well researched article on the e-book revolution.  At one point, David does bring the American Revolution and old time pamphleteers into the fray.  I'm not much on history (which is why I write sci-fi and paranormal stuff) but sounded to me like the old newspaper presses didn't like these upstart pamphlet printers distributing unapproved material.  No gatekeeper and no filter.  Sound familiar?

What's the bottom line?  According to David we are "We're Drowning In Indie Books - And That's A Good Thing."

I agree.  And that's why RomCon is investing in a new website and an expansion of the Reader Rating Program.  Six pre-screened and randomly selected readers in the book's designated genre read and rate the book 1-10 on twenty questions.  No friends giving fake five star reviews on Amazon.  No jealous competitors trashing the same book with a one star review to try to cripple your sales.   No politics.  I'd say the Reader Rating system's time has come.

If you follow J.A. Konrath's blog, you will see a blunt chat about the one-star review attack marketing strategy used by authors.  We all know it happens, and I hate it.  Petty jealousy should have no place in writing.  There are enough readers to go around.

Authors, if you want your book rated, it's less than $30 dollars.  If your book is good, you'll get a good rating.  Readers don't care if it's self-published, small press, or New York.  They only care about great stories and RomCon developed the system to help them find them.  Every time.

Yes, most of our books are romance right now, but we're expanding to all genre fiction this year.  It's time.


David Vinjamuri wrote the article about e-books and traditionally publishing for Forbes.com.  You can  read the article for yourself if you want to know why New York publishing is struggling.  Can they adapt or will Indie books be the new rulers of the publishing world?  I believe the readers will decide.