Blood of the Rose by Kate Pearce
Published January 31, 2011 | 
I cannot WAIT to read this book! I loved Kiss of the Rose and this one looks like it will be just as good!
Blood of the Rose
At A Glance
On Sale February 1, 2011
Signet Signet Mass Market
Historical Paranormal Romance
The Tudor Vampire Chronicles #2
ISBN-10: 0451232488
ISBN-13: 978-0451232489
READ
THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES
The second installment in Pearce’s Tudor Vampire Chronicles contains more rich historical details than the first book, making it exceptional. There’s something fun about rewriting history and making memorable characters like Anne Boleyn into vampires. Pearce expertly weaves her historical background and knowledge into a truly captivating tale.
4 Stars! Annette Elton, RT BOOK Reviews
When Rosalind Llewellyn had to join forces with her enemy, Christopher Ellis to defeat a rogue Vampire threatening Henry VIII, their alliance led to a surprising passion. Reunited after a years separation, they face a new threat that could destroy their last chance at happiness.
Christopher is delighted by the spectacular rise at court of his friends George and Anne Boleyn. But Rosalind suspects Lady Anne is up to no good-she may even be a Vampire who’s bewitched the king. Now Rosalind must fight to keep Christopher from falling under the woman’s mysterious spell. It isn’t until Anne reveals a dark secret that Christopher awakens to where the true danger lies-and he begins to play a desperate game in order to save the woman he loves…
Wolf’s Glory Blurb
Published January 30, 2011 | I have been re-working Wolf’s Glory. Many thanks to Virginia Cavanaugh and Jasmine R for their help. Here is the updated blurb for Wolf’s Glory:
“Loud-mouthed goth Gloria Peterson is one of the few uninjured when her plane crashes, so she volunteers to go for help. After a day of walking over eerily empty prairie, she and her partner stumble on a hunting party of the Lakota Wolf Clan. The son of the chief of the Clan, Wolf’s Shadow, claims her as his mate. Glory is perfectly happy take a roll in the hay with him while she’s waiting for transportation back to civilization, but when she finds out she’s gone forward in time to an age with no electricity, where men transform into wolves and women are closely guarded prizes, her attitude changes fast. She is no man’s possession, and if Shadow wants her to stay with him he had better lose his Me-Tarzan-You-Jane attitude fast. Shadow’s werewolf is a dominant Alpha, intolerant of disobedience and defiance. Even for the mate he is ready to adore he can’t change his personality. When two strong-willed lovers clash, who will win?”
Inez Kelley’s Sweet As Sin
Published January 30, 2011 | 
SWEET AS SIN by Inez Kelley
She was made for sin. Sin was something he knew intimately.
John Murphy is tormented by nightmares. A bestselling young-adult author, he writes the ultimate fantasy: stories where good always triumphs. He knows better. His past has shown him the worst in people—and in himself. When he moves next door to the sexy, vibrant Livvy—a woman completely unlike his usual one-night stands—he’s driven to explore every curve of her delicious body.
Pastry chef Livvy knows that giving in to the temptation that is John Murphy won’t lead to anything permanent, but she deserves a passionate summer fling. John discovers she’s as sweet as the confections she bakes while Livvy slowly unravels his secrets. But what will happen when she uncovers them all?
Carina Press or Amazon or All Romance ebooks
“The story is hyper intense, hyper complex, its what romance, new romance is supposed to be. Its NEW its fresh, it expands, its so beyond new, its freaking shiny. In the package wonderful. I loved it, I loved it I loved it. ” -Romance Book Forums
Update Odds-N-Ends
Published January 24, 2011 | I’ve been sick since last Wednesday. Don’t you hate it when you know you’re coming down with something? And there’s a bunch of nasty stuff going around right now. Mine is sino-bronchitis with an ear infection on the side. I took Thursday off, and Friday too, so I had a four-day weekend. It sucked. All I did was sleep and read. Not that I have anything against sleeping or reading. Those are two of my favorite indoor sports. But I had a list of stuff that I should have gotten done, but nope. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. My To Do list is longer than ever. And although I did survive an entire day at work today, it was hard. I’m so tired I just want to go back to bed. But I can’t.
Good news. The publisher is interested in the 2nd book in the After the Crash series. They would like to see a few revisions in the first quarter of the book, and a few other changes. They would like it in three weeks if possible, but if I need more time they can work with me. I think it’s do-able within three weeks if I just get focused. I was planning a trip out of the country this weekend, but between being sick and having this book due, I might have to bail on that. It’s always fun to go to Winnipeg, but my writing is a job, same as my Monday to Friday job, and really, I’m definitely not recovered from being sick.
So tonight, I plan to re-read the manuscript, re-do the neck of the chemise for Patty Anne and knit while I watch a little TV. Then, bed. Oh, how I miss my bed.
13 Things I Could Do …
Published January 19, 2011 | … With A Day Off.
I went home from work today after barely hanging on long enough to put in my 8 hours. Since I’ve been working 9-10 hours a day since November, that was a short day. But I’ve fallen to one of the numerous bugs going around. You know, headache, sore throat, clogged nose, aching, coughing … I am seriously considering staying home tomorrow. If I do I’ll throw away any chance of overtime on the check, but I do feel miserable. But then, think of what I could do with a day off.
1. Clean. My apartment hasn’t been cleaned since Christmas. I’ve done the basics, like taking out the trash and dishes, but vaccuuming, dusting, mopping … No.
2. Knit. I have a pair of socks that I must have done for a sock exchange at the Local Yarn Store (LYS) by Feb 15. Only about a quarter of the way done. Also working ion a moebius scarf for a friend’s gift.
3. Sew a 16th century style linen chemise. I’ve got the body sewn together and all I need to do is a simple band of blackwork around the neck edge, and hand finish the seams. I must get cracking on that as it needs to go to Winnipeg on Jan 28.
4. Watch TV. I have some shows I’m behind on, including a movie from Netflix. I could combine TV watching with Knitting.
5. Put away the Christmas decorations. Told you I was behind on my cleaning. I haven’t even taken Christmas down yet.
6. Weave. I have a scarf I was going to give my mom for Christmas and it’s almost done. It is a simple tabby weave in a pretty blue/green/red/purple plaid. Easy as pie. I’m just lazy.
7. Send out a call for teachers for Silks & Needles, the SCA fiber arts class event I’m hosting at the end of April. I need to contact people to set up classes for the event.
8. Write up and send in my Mentoring Application for Romance Divas. I would love to be chosen to be mentored, but I think there will be many other applicants, so I’m not counting on getting in.
9. Write my scene for the Just Romance Me Valentines Blog Hop.
10. Write more on Tracking Tami, my WiP.
11. Do laundry. I’m just about scraping the bottom of the barrel in the underwear drawer.
12. Read. I’d like to read or re-read something for fun. That sounds do-able. The jobs like cleaning, putting away Christmas and even weaving sound much too physically demanding for me to be able to do. Reading would be more relaxing.
13. Sleep. This is what I would most likely do if I stay home tomorrow.
What about you? What would you do with an extra day off?
A Discreet Affair by Shelley Monro
Published January 18, 2011 | Looking for a great historical? This one takes place during an intense era of world history: World War II. It’s not that long ago, but the world has changed immensely in only 65 short years.
A DISCREET AFFAIR by Shelley Munro is now out! Wander back to England, the summer of 1940 and sexy Spitfire pilots for your romance fix.
Blurb: Summer, 1940. Britain is at war, and her brave fighter pilots attempt to keep the enemy at bay.
The last thing Pamela Allison wants is another man, especially one like her brutal, now deceased husband. Her managing mother wants her to live with her in London, but Pamela accepts a job from her aunt, working in the family store in the village near Biggin Hill.
Enter Michael Stedman, a Spitfire pilot based at the Biggin Hill airbase. Depressed and a little drunk after the death of his friend, he doesn’t expect to meet a beautiful woman during a night out at the local pub. He’s not looking for anything permanent since a pilot’s life is fraught with danger. All he wants is a little feminine company to take his mind off the war.
London is under siege by the enemy. Bombs drop every night and the danger increases for everyone. Michael and Pamela’s relationship changes and they become lovers. They are happy with their secret liaison until gossip and the past intrude and threaten to destroy everything, including her good reputation.
You can find A Discreet Affair at Liquid Silver Books
13 of My SCAdian Friends
Published January 12, 2011 | I am in a medieval/renaissance recreation organization called the SCA. This weekend is Twelth Night in the Barony of Nordskogen (Minneapolis, MN) I am not able to go to that event due to work and possibly weather. That means I will miss seeing some of my favorite people. So I will feature them here. These are not the ONLY people I will miss seeing, but I am planning on going to the Twelth Night in Castel Rouge in Winnepeg Canada on the last weekend in January so I will see many friends there.. You will note that the majority of my friends wear Viking or Byzantine garb. Which type of garb do you like best?
1. Tarrach and Fina, wearing court Byzantine garb. One of the premiere power couples in the Kingdom of Northshield. They have ruled the midrealm and Nothshield, earning them the rank of Duke and Duchess. A few of their other titles include Mistress and Master of both the Laurel and the Pelican, Knight of the Society, Lady of the Rose, etc, etc, etc. When I was a brand new beginner in the SCA they were extremely welcoming and helpful.
2. Sigurd and Helena in Viking garb. My very generous next door neighbors, whom I call in an emergency. A fun young couple newly married. He does marvelous woodworking; she does card weaving and fights rapier.
3. The Honorable Lady Devon Ffrenche and Lord Roibaird in Elizabethan garb. My adopted niece and her husband. Both accomplished rapier fighters.
4. This lady is my friend Lusche, currently HRH Princess of Northshield. She’s in Viking and I’m in early Tudor. I think we might have had a little much to drink?
5. Baron Berwyn, newly made Master of the pelican, me and Baroness Ceridwen, part of the purple Byzantine Brigade.
6. The Honorable LadyEabblean of Castel Rouge in a Rus coat. A lovely lady of such generosity and grace that she is widely beloved in her Barony and Kingdom.
7. Two knights of my acquaintance, Sir Jurgen von Baden (kneeling) in German garb and Sir Yngvar inn Heppni in Vendel garb. Two of the finest men in my kingdom. Great fighters, honorable and generous with their time
8. The Honorable Lady Asny and Lord Ansila the Goth in Viking garb. Residing at the very Western edge of our Kingdom, they travel tirelessly. They are talented and generous. It’s always a joy to see them.
9. Lady Una in Viking garb. This lady would not have been at the event, as her first baby is due any day. I’ve known her husband for many years and he’s a wonderful man. But he’ll be the first to say how lucky he is to have won her.
10. My very good friend Hrodir Vigageir Toreson, currentlyKing of Northshield, in Elizabethan garb. he usually does Viking or Rus, but his queen had wanted a late period reign, and with his generous spirit he put on the garb she chose.
11. Baroness Ainsleah, Mistress of the Laurel, wearing her signature beaded and embroidered Byzantine/Rus garb. It’s hard to see in the pic but the white motifs are solid tiny pearls, which she hand-sewed on. That gown can practically stand on its own. Gorgeous!
12. The Honorable Lady Gwen, her daughter the Honorable Lady Katherine and the Honorable Lady Devon. My kinswomen who adopted me into the de Bohun household a few years ago. Gwen and Devon are wearing early Norman garb, and Katherine is wearing the parti-colored cote hardie from the late 14th century.
13. Baroness Greta, Mistress of the Pelican in Viking. A tireless worker for the Kingdom of Northshield. She has served as Exchequer, and done a fantastic job, even through knee replacement surgery and reading through the first manuscript I’ve ever submitted. It was accepted right away, and I’m pretty sure she’s one of the big reasons why. I love Greta!
Someday I’ll write a historical romance where I can get the clothing right. Which style of garb catches your fancy?
What’s Happening In My Writing World?
Published January 11, 2011 | Nothing terribly exciting at the moment. I submitted Book 2 in the After the Crash series at the end of 2010, and am waiting to hear back on that. Probably won’t hear anything until mid February. So I am writing the third book, which is about another of Taye’s Clan cousins and another of the plane crash survivors. I’m about half way through the first draft. This one might be my favorite. The heroine Tami is a strong woman who knows how to take care of herself in the wilderness. The hero Tracker is a very private man who seldom has anything to say. Most people think he’s an emotionless, stone cold man who cares for nothing. But he cares for Tami. He talks to her the way he’s never talked to anyone before. Here is a quick excerpt. Let me set the scene up for you. Tami escaped from men who claimed her as their wife. When they can’t find her they hire the Tracker to bring her back to them. She has managed to elude him for days, but after dark she’s holed up in a hiding place and Tracker has found her general location, if not her exact hiding place.
“Ma’am?”
Tami woke with a silent gasp. The quiet murmur came out of the cold dark like a lover’s whisper. She carefully dipped her face to her chest, so any steam from her breath wouldn’t rise to give her away, and froze. She could just barely hear footsteps moving in the rain slick grass. Toward her?
“Ma’am? Don’t be scared. I don’t want to hurt you. Your husband hired me to find you and bring you back.”
No way in hell was she going back. She might freeze to death or starve to death, but she wasn’t going back to those assholes. Her hand went to the sharp rock she had found for a weapon. If he found her she would… Could she hit him? Hell, yes.
“Miz Leach?” The voice was a few steps nearer. “Come on out. If you’re hungry, I got food.”
Tami hoped her stomach wouldn’t growl. Did he know where she was? The clouds had broken up and the sky was bright with stars, but she was tucked away in an excellent hidey hole. The rain should have washed away any tracks. He couldn’t know where she was.
“Please, Miz Leach.” The voice was further away now. Thank God. He must not know exactly where she was. “I’m fixing to build us a fire and put coffee on to boil. You’d best come on out and get warmed up.”
A fire and hot coffee was tempting, almost tempting enough to put herself within his reach. But he would take her back to those men. She listened and heard sounds of a horse being unsaddled and a fire being started. It was sheer torture to sit still when she knew warmth and food were only twenty yards away. But she did it.
As he worked his voice continued to speak quietly. “I bet you’re cold,” he said conversationally. “Soaked through, what with that rain this afternoon. And now that it’s clearing off it’s dam—darned cold. The fire’s caught, and it feels fine.”
Tami found herself liking his voice. It was quiet and smooth, with an old fashioned western drawl. His words reminded her of Dad Culpepper, an old cowboy who had worked for her uncle. He had always just caught himself in the middle of a swear word and choked it back because, he said, he didn’t cuss in front of girls. Just like Blondie. She waited to hear him say more, but he was quiet for quite a while. Starting a fire in this wet couldn’t be easy, but he had clearly managed it because the aroma of coffee came to her.
I Am A Grieving American
Published January 8, 2011 | I am not a political person. Everyone in my family votes in every election we can, from school board elections to presidential elections. I cast my vote carefully. I don’t vote for a party and I don’t base my vote on any one issue. I am pro-life, but I have voted for candidates who are pro choice because of their stand on other issues. I am sick to death of all the political wrangling in Washington. Democrats stand against Republicans. Republicans stonewall Democrats. Bills get voted for or against not based on the bill but on favor-trading. I hate it, I HATE politics. Hey, everyone, listen up: We are Americans! We should all be doing waht we can to help our contry and its people. Not our own party or ourselves.
Why is a romance writer who has just said she is not political writing a post that talks about politics? Well, because of Representative Gabrielle Giffords. I don’t know her. I’ve never even heard her name until today. She was shot earlier today in Arizona and I grieve for her family and friends and the others who were shot with her. I don’t know anything about her or what she stood for in government. But I know she didn’t deserve to be shot. I don’t know why she was shot. I am just appalled that it happened. In my lifetime there have been many people shot while in office. I offer a moment of silence for their memory and the grief of those they left behind.
13 Things To Do On the Journey To Being Published
Published January 5, 2011 | Here are my suggestions for new authors trying to write and sell their first story to an epublisher. These are things that I personally found helpful in the last year. Your mileage may vary.
1. Write a story you care about. I mean, don’t try to analyze the market and write something only because you think it will sell well. I wrote Sleeping With the Wolf because I liked my characters and wanted to tell a story about them. Of course, I have to admit that werewolves are pretty hot right now and I’m sure that helped me sell the story.
2. Find a professional writing group to be part of. This could be a local or online branch of Romance Writers of America, or another group like AbsoluteWrite, or a local writers group that might meet at a library or bookstore. There are also chat groups online like at www.writechat.net For me, this is Romance Divas. A great, welcoming goup of romance writers who are amazingly supportive and helpful. I don’t believe I would be published without them.
3. Let your friends be your cheerleaders. When I was writing Sleeping With the Wolf, I would write every night and then email what I had written to a couple gals at work. Their lavish praise and enthusiasm kept me writing even when I was tired. Since I didn’t have a dedication for Sleeping With the Wolf, I’d like to take a minute to thank these two ladies now. Without Carla Busche and Lisa Hill that book would not have been written.
4. Find Beta readers. Lisa and Carla were cheerleaders, and they kept me writing because they wanted (loudly) to know what would happen next. But they didn’t critique the story. For that I had Gayle Bitker and Megan Ramsett. They read the story and made helpful suggestions and corrections. They caught small plot holes and asked questions like “If there’s no power, where do the people get their clothes? Can they wear Tshirts if there’s no machinery to make the fabric?” So Gayle and Megan, thank you for helping me make my book better.
5. Research publishers before submitting. This is so important. I had a 40,000 word novella that was on the sweeter side of romantica. It was futuristic, werewolf and time travel which is quite a mix. Since I’ve been reading the genre for a decade I was already familiar with publisher names and lines. Ellora’s Cave, Samhain, Changeling, Liquid Silver, Loose id, Cobblestone, Freya’s Bower, New Concepts and others are all publishers I have read. So I knew what kind of product they put out. I went to their websites to see which of these my story would fit and what their submissions guidelines were. Then I researched online at places like www.erecsite.com to find out what kind of reputation they have. That helped me choose www.LiquidSilverbooks.com. I’ve been very happy with them.
6. Follow submission guidelines. This seems so obvious to me, but I understand many submissions completely ignore the guidelines provided. Why would a publisher even look at a submission that ignores their express directions?
7. When your story is accepted, read the contract carefully. My contract with Liquid Silver is short and sweet and easy to read, and I had no questions before signing it. But if you have any questions, you should ask. If you belong to a writers group you can ask there if you don’t feel comfortable asking the publisher.
8. Rejoice in cover art. When I first saw my cover for Sleeping With the Wolf I loved the colors, the layout and the font but Iwasn’t too sure about the guy. H didn’t look like Taye. But in a week I loved it. I showed it off to everyone, even complete strangers 
Lyn Taylor is a wonderful artist and I hope she can design for me again.
9. Start working on another story. I fooled around too long before settling on the next story. I had several other stories planned, but I couldn’t decide on a timeline and which story would come next. It cost me three months of writing time. So the second story in the series was just submitted a couple weeks ago. It should have been submitted in October at the latest.
10. Consider before rejecting edits. As a brand new author I was willing to accept almost all of the edits my editor suggested. I figure she is more experienced than I am, and she wants this book to sell well too. Distance yourself and pretend the suggestions aren’t about your baby, but about a stranger’s story. My editor Jean Cooper did a fantastic job and I hope to work with her again.
11. Be patient with the process. I signed my contract in early July. I didn’t get my edits until September. I didn’t get my final line edits until November. My book was released in late November. Since I had never been published before I had no idea what to expect and I wanted things to go faster. (I know that non-electronic books take much longer)
12. Don’t change your writing just because of a review. I’ve gotten a few reviews. One reviewer said that Taye wasn’t Alpha enough. One reviewer said Carla was pouty. After I read that I began to change the character of Wolf’s Shadow to make him overbearingly Alpha. But the Clan revere women. They dominate but respect their women. And a comment made by Stacia Kane made me realize that it would be a mistake to change my story or characters based on a review. A review is an opinion. Most of mine have been 4 stars, which is certainly nothing to be ashamed of. I would like a 5 star review, but now I have something to shoot for with the next book.
13. If your friends want to throw a release party, let them. I thought without a physical paper book it would be kind of weird to have a release party. But my friend Brandi Malarkey put together a fun evening and I had a blast.
What have you done or are you doing in your pursuit to be published?
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