Vixenwriter

Samhain has just offered me a contract for my contemporary erotic romance, Giving Chase! I’m thrilled! Samhain has a lot of great authors and it’s a wonderful opportunity for me.

I don’t know a lot right now, I need to sign and mail the contract and I suspect I’ll know more after that and I’ll keep you updated.

Happy Dancin!

Lauren

Tomorrow, February 20th I’m going to be at Writer’s Red Room for a loop party with Rachel Carrington to celebrate our upcoming releases from Whispers!

I’ll be popping in at about 8 am pacific and hanging around to play until about 2 pm! I’m giving away advance copies of Sleight of Hand and other fun prizes along with some excerpts and the usual gossip, chat and quizzy goodness.

It’s my first loop day with them so I hope to see some familiar faces!

The other day, after sending Tri Mates to my editor and hitting the wall with Sword and Crown, I picked up an idea for a quickie. It’s an old idea, a cliche even. But a cliche is something we like for a reason. Anyway, I picked it up and wrote it in just a few days. I got to bring the characters to Lake Cushman here in Washington, a place that’s so beautiful I think it demands inclusion in a storyline.

Anyway, it’s to my beta readers and off to my editor hopefully early this week. Writing something that is 12 thousand words is very different than writing 65 thousand. More intense. I had to cut back my beloved secondary characters and just focus on Tess and Trevor.

The result is Unexpected. Yes, I mean it was unexpected but that’s the title, too. I like it.

The February Issue of Vixenwriter has just been mailed out! It’s on my new template which took me a bit to figure out and a begging email to Frauke for help on getting it uploaded to mail (which she kindly took pity on me and helped me sooo much!).

I hope you all enjoy it! I’ll be putting it up at my website in a week or so but the contests within are open to subscribers only (hint - you can sign up at my website).

First, get on over to the Maverick Authors blog and read Anya Bast’s entry about synopsis writing. Seriously. It’s really good and very helpful. For any writers out there, you know that synopsis writing can be more challenging than writing the book so Anya’s article is really useful.

Secondly, my friend, fellow Night Whisper author and Writer Babe, and excellent author, Shelly Munro has a new release out today, Stranded! Go check it out!

Cathryn Fox has a sexy cover for her upcoming Avon release - it’s seriously hot stuff! Go and look!

The CAPAs came out this week and several of my friends are on the list of nominees! Congratulations and good luck to: Anya Bast, Shiloh Walker, Rhyannon Byrd, Mardi Ballou, Lora Leigh, Tawny Taylor, Michelle Pillow, Mandy Roth, Eve Vaughn, Lisa Renee Jones, Annalee Blysse, Laura Baumbach, Sylvia Day, Kate Hill, Charlie and Jaci Burton, Cheyenne McCray, Mackenzie McKade and Syneca for her cover art (the person who’s done many of my covers including my all time favorite, Enforcer). If I’ve missed anyone, my sincerest apologies. The lists are long and filled with excellent authors both those I’ve mentioned above and ones I haven’t.

Loose Id is having a sale! - In honor of Loowis and Loosey, we’re throwing a five day sale event, beginning right now and lasting through Sunday February 19th at midnight. You’ll get 5% off every ebook title you purchase for five days, automatically. Go to their new web address for the details!

On a serious note, Millenia Black has a most excellent discourse on race and publishing up at her blog. Go and check it out!

Loads of great stuff going on out there in the webverse, go check some of it out!

Second Chances has been given a Reviewer’s Choice Award from Ecataromance! I’m thrilled! There were times when I never thought SC would see the light of day but the response of readers and the critics has been so overwhelming that it makes the tears and gray hairs worth it.

If you want to read an excerpt, there’s one up at my website!

You know what really bugs me? The way people are snarking on Mariah Carey’s appearance (as in how she looked in her dress) at the Grammy Awards show. The woman has been nominated and won all sorts of awards for her voice and all we’ve got is, “she looks fat”

Cause seriously folks, if Mariah Carey is fat, what does that say for the rest of the women who aren’t Sarah Jessica Parker thin? And moreover, why does it matter?

Mariah Carey has enough issues to snark on rightfully (hello, she’s batshit crazy!) but I don’t understand why how fat she looks in a designer dress is helpful to either crazy Mariah or anyone else.

Cause let’s face it, women have enough shit to shovel when it comes to their bodies. Our breasts are too big or too small. Our stomachs aren’t flat enough, our asses aren’t J Lo perfect, legs too long or short, we’re too tall or short, hair too curly or straight. And fat, well fat is the cudgel that hits straight to the heart.

I’ve been thin and I’ve been fat. I have to say I had far fewer issues with my body when I was fat. I never had self image problems but that may be because I always felt desired by my partner. But now, the thinnest I’ve been since college, I find myself much more self aware about weight and body image than I’ve ever been. It’s odd to suddenly have this when I haven’t since I was twenty years old.

I feel responsible to write women that are of all shapes and sizes and to make their lives and their happiness not revolve around their jeans size. It’s a difficult line to walk and snarking about a celebrity looking fat when she’s obviously not (brittney spears too) just compounds the problem. Hell, most women work damned hard to look as thin as Mariah looks “fat” and I just don’t think we’re saying much positive about ourselves to make fun of it.

So I was thinking that today, some eye candy was in order. Nonfat, calorie free but yummy just the same.

So let’s start the parade of sweets with Gerard Butler shall we? All the very young guys get so much attention that we forget the men. Like this one…

I know, my penchant for the very bad man is so obvious that I just don’t even bother to deny it, LOL.

Or how about Dermot Mulroney? He’s got the cocky bad boy next door thing going on.

Or Julian, oh Julian McMahon. Sigh. (this one’s for you Megan)

Wow, had to take a few moments after I posted that one. He’s just so beautiful.

And a nod to the blond men out there - James Marsters. Oh Spike, how I loved thee!

And here’s where the picture of James would go, were blogger cooperating and not stalling out over and over and over again. Hmm, maybe blogger doesn’t like blonds. In any case rather than continue to sit here and try to get it to work over and over again, I’m going to leave it alone for now and try later. I know if you close your eyes you can see him anyway, heh. *edited to add - here he is, finally. And oh so worth the wait!

Over at the Maverick Authors blog, Megan Hart has a great post up about the science fiction genre and a really interesting issue has come up in the comments between she and I (or is that me and her?) about the difference between futuristics and sci fi.

I suppose for me, it’s as easy to define as what “erotic” is, which is to say, next to impossible for anyone but me. But what I think the difference is, is that sci fi is about the space travel or the future and a futuristic is a story that happens to be set in the future that has space travel, etc in it.

But I could totally be wrong because I just tossed it out there a few minutes ago. Although I have been thinking about what the difference was all weekend since I responded to her the first time.

So weigh in! Here or there, or both even!

Big post Valentine’s Day Party at my loop! February 15, starting at about 8 am pacific and we’ll go all day (til about 3:30 pm pacific time):

Excerpts and sneak peeks from yours truly as well as: (this is a partial list)
Cris Anson
Mackenzie McCade
Kate Hill
Kate Steele
Shelley Munro
Diane Charles Linford

In addition to great excerpts, there’ll be prizes including downloads of my upcoming release from Whispers, Sleight of Hand. So come on! Hang out, gossip, read steamy stuff and try to win some swag.