More About Miss Havana

I think it’s just lovely that I get the whole blog to myself today, and I don’t have to answer to anyone. Let me start by telling you a little about myself. My name is Miss Havana. I’m a school teacher, twenty-four, blonde, and love the arts. Football, for example. Don’t you just love it when the little guy in the middle sneaks up on the big one bending over, and then all the other big guys run at them both to prevent God knows what perversion might happen. Sometimes they get the quarterback in the sack … sometimes not. I’m not sure why people pay to watch that, but hey, I’m open-minded.

I like teaching school too, but I don’t like students very much. They smell like dust. And that reminds me…sometime in the future I’d like to be a farmer. I already know lots of farm jokes. For example, why did the cow cross the road? That’s a hard one isn’t it? Because the chicken was on vacation, silly! Bet you thought the cow just wanted to get to the udder side. It’s also true that when one cow spies on another, it’s called a steak out.

Seriously, I know there are drawbacks to being a farmer, like all those messy animals. They are a little stinky, but I could install an automated cow wash. Besides, if I had a farm I would have all the milk I need. I’ve heard that bathing in milk will make me even more beautiful, so I left a note for her milkman to leave twenty-five gallons of milk on my porch. What an idiot. When he read the note, he felt there must be a mistake.

He knocked on my door and, when I answered, he asked, "I found your note asking me to leave twenty-five gallons of milk. Did you mean 2.5 gallons?"

I said, "No, I want twenty-five gallons. I'm going to fill my bathtub up with milk and take a milk bath so I can look even younger and more beautiful." 

The milkman scratched his temple. At the time, I took his perplexed look as a compliment—like, would it even be possible for me to look younger and more beautiful? But no, that wasn’t it. He continued to look stupid, and then asked, "Do you want it PASTEURIZED?"

I must have looked quite puzzled myself when I answered, "No, just up to my tits. I can splash it on my eyes!” he started laughing. What an idiot.

Okay, I’ve got to get back on topic here. I wanted to give you an opportunity to read a short excerpt from my new book, The Trophy Wife. The trophy is me, of course. In this excerpt, the spirit of Miss Havana, the former Queen of Darkness, is pitted against Lily, who is haunted by the spirit of Lilith, the former Princess of Darkness—the child between Lucifer and Miss Havana. Several men have been enlisted to help Miss Havana put one over on Lily, and they are all electronically connected. Lily only comes to the speed dating event to embarrass males. She has no idea her natural enemy lurks in the shadows.

--------------------------------
As 7 p.m. approached, Lily walked in like she owned the place, but not the Lily Miss Havana knew from school. This Lily looked like a hot adult woman. Her black sweater showed every curve of her svelte body, and her pastel pink lipstick perfectly complimented the light touch of blush highlighting her cheeks. Her shimmering hair bounced in silent rhythm with every step, and her Bossa Nova gored skirt moved with the sway of her hips like a lure before hungry fish.

Lily immediately spotted Terry and made a bee-line toward his table. Miss Havana heard Terry sigh when the beautiful girl headed his way. He whispered into his microphone, “She makes my mouth water and my feet want to run—she looks like I need another drink.”

Miss Havana tilted her head into her hand and earpiece as Lily threw the first punch. “I didn’t think they gave losers a second chance in this place.”

Terry smiled. “They must; you’re here.”

Miss Havana whispered into her mike, “Tell her you hoped she wouldn’t come tonight because her breasts are too small.”

From across the room, they could see Lily’s mouth fall agape. Miss Havana winked at Jackson, “I knew this would be fun.”

When Lily recovered, she pointed at Terry’s crotch…and laughed—a loud, mocking laugh that Miss Havana could hear clear across the room. Everyone looked first at Terry, and then they focused on his crotch. He flushed beet red, and Miss Havana whispered, “Tell her she seems particularly mean tonight, that the batteries in her vibrator must have gone flat.”

Lily’s head jerked upright like she’d been hit with an uppercut, and she fired back, “You should unzip your pants so your brains can get some oxygen.”

Miss Havana retorted, “Say her pelvic floor is a public chinrest.”

He did, and Lily jumped to her feet, placed her knuckles on the table and leaned into Terry’s glare. Their eyes radiated hatred for each other. Jackson whispered to Miss Havana. “It’s a good thing they aren’t armed.”

Lily hissed, “If they crossed you with a potato, you would be a dictator!”

Terry stood slowly as he retorted, “If you didn’t have a vagina, no one would speak to you!”

Lily growled, “You’re so boring your hand falls asleep while you masturbate!”

And Terry shot back, “Your diaphragm is a trampoline for dick heads!”

Miss Havana winked at Jackson. “See, they just needed a little encouragement.”

Lily and Terry snarled at each other and hissed epithets until a chime sounded, indicating they should change tables. Lily stormed off to meet her next victim. She slammed down on the chair across from Jake, who grinned wide and asked, “Bad day at the office?”

Lily yawned and flexed her shoulders, a move that lifted her breasts. “Just an encounter with a guy as useless as the ‘p’ in psycho. Sometimes I think the whole world hates me.”

From across the room, Miss Havana noticed Jake’s gaze linger on Lily’s breast. So did Jackson. “He’s just reading her nametag.”

Miss Havana waved her hand across her face in a dismissive motion. “Yeah, right.”

Before Jackson could defend his friend, Jake’s response crackled in their earpieces. “That can’t be true…the whole world can’t possibly know you.”

Lily’s innocent smile vanished and she pointed toward Terry. “Do you know that asshole over there?”

Jake shrugged. “Never seen him before, but shame on him if he upset you.” He reached over and patted her hand. “You’re here now and my only wish is that your most beautiful dreams come true tonight…and that you’ll find a place in them for me.”

Miss Havana leaned toward Jackson. “Oh, my God. He’s spreading the bullshit a little thick isn’t he?”

Jackson chuckled. “He’s been briefed. He’ll make her think he’s vulnerable, and then jerk the rug out from beneath her at the end. Turnabout is fair play.”

Even in the subdued light, they could see Lily’s exaggerated wink. She bit her lower lip as she looked Jake up and down and then drawled in a suggestive voice, “Ah, that’s sweet, but I don’t know if I can fit you in. I’m not free very often.”

A sly smile crossed Jake’s face. “Then I hope I can afford you; you’re so hot you could make the devil sweat.”

Lily leaned forward and rested her chin on her folded hands. “I came here to meet a nice man, but you might do.”

Jake’s eyes softened. His smile morphed to a yearning gaze. “That’s good news for me. I’m the kind of man who loves women I don’t deserve.”

Lily reached across the table and poked Jake’s arm. “And I’m sure you don’t deserve me.”

After several minutes of easy banter, with Lily leading Jake on and Jake doing everything he could to encourage her, he pulled a single red rose from a bag sitting beside him and handed it to Lily. “I want to show this rose how incredibly beautiful you are.”

Lily put one hand over her heart as she took in the scent of the rose…and then glared into Jake’s eyes. “Roses are red, violets are blue—I have five fingers and the middle one’s for you.”

Without missing a beat at the turn of events, Jake answered, “Roses are red, violets are blue—I screwed your mother, and the ripped condom made you.”

Lily’s voice dripped venom. “Roses are red, violets are blue—I thought I knew ugly until I met you.”

Jake glared back. “Roses are red, lemons are sour—open your legs and I’ll give you an hour.”

Lily jerked straight up and jammed a finger toward Terry. “You liar! You do know that asshole.”

Miss Havana whispered into her mike, “Tell her the ugly fatty tissue around her vagina is her.”

And he did. Lily’s nostrils flared. She snorted and then hissed, “Your penis enlargement pills must be working because you’re twice the dick you were yesterday!”

Miss Havana stirred the pot. “Tell her the most irritating things about her pussy are the other guys waiting in line.”

Lily snarled back, “The only way you could make your girlfriend scream during sex is to wipe your dick on her curtains!”

Lily and Jake soon had the attention of everyone in the room. No one coughed; no one uttered a word. Jake grinned as he looked around at the wide-eyed faces staring back at him. He raised his shoulders and palms. “I suppose you are wondering why I called you here tonight. I just wanted to demonstrate the meaning of a whole roll dump. I mean, no matter how much you wipe, it doesn’t seem to be enough. You blow through the whole roll and have to flush twenty-five times in the process. It all seems a huge waste.”

Blank faces and dead silence reigned; a few people held hands over their mouths. Lily looked puzzled. When Terry snickered, Jake passed both his arms across his torso toward Lily. “That’s what it’s like to meet this woman.”

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Thank you for stopping by. Leave a comment if you like. I promise I’ll respond.

The Trophy Wife: http://www.amazon.com/James-L.-Hatch/e/B005CQB6E6

New Release - Haleigh's Ink - The Next Adventure at The Library

Haleigh's Here! And Scott and Kyle - Yummy! The next saga of the crew at The Library is here and you'll get to see some of your favorite members again. Cyn and Jared and Chris, Jenna and Nick and Jackson. Man do I love a series, and when you add BDSM and menage and some same sex thrown in because it's awesome, what could be better? Oh, yeah, INK!!!

I love tattoos. Love. Them. I think they're personal and beautiful and special and wonderful and forever ago when Haleigh was born, in her journey she needed something...
She needed something to heal her, to help her find her new normal after fighting for her life for six long years.
And ink...ink can do that for a lot of people. It can help you heal, and grow and become the person you've always wanted to be.

Haleigh finds that. Her inner strength and passion to go after what she wants in life no matter who tells her it's not good enough. That she's not good enough.

She finds what she needs in her journey but it's only the beginning for her. The very tip of the start of her path to freedom and life and love and friendships that will change her for the better.

I hope each of you reading this finds YOUR path. It might not be the path you thought you'd take, with the people you imagined you'd be with, but I REALLY hope you enjoy your journey.

Life is WAY too short not to. :)

Members Only, Book Two
Ink.
A three-lettered word that means different things to many people. Pictures and words that might stand as a reminder of love, loss, rebellion, or camaraderie. For Haleigh Grace, it meant freedom.
Walking through the doors of the tattoo parlor, Inkfluence, marked the start of taking her life back. Making it what she wanted it to be. No one was going to tell her she couldn’t. Not ever again.
Little did she know that behind those doors stood Kyle Muse. He was her best friend, who had walked away years ago without a backwards glance. The one man she fantasized would someday be her knight in shining armor. The one she saved herself for.
But, he has a knight of his own. Tall, dark, and dangerously sexy, Scott Preston. The owner of the very shop Haleigh has an appointment with at midnight.
Feelings long buried rise to the surface and the three find themselves bound by more than just ink…
A Romantica® ménage BDSM erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Buy Links
Haleigh's Ink Available at Amazon
Haleigh's Ink Available at Barnes and Noble
Haleigh's ink Available at Ellora's Cave

Together In Cyn - Book One Members Only
A Very Menage Christmas - Book Three Members Only
Duke's Valentine - Book 3.5 Members Only

Jennifer Kacey is a wife, mother, and business owner living with her family in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.

Website - http://www.jenniferkacey.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.kacey.7
Twitter - https://twitter.com/JenniferKacey
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6941549.Jennifer_Kacey
Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/jenniferkacey/

Haleigh's Ink Book Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRWH9NaR-mY

A Musician and a Drag Queen

Those are the two heroes of my new M/M contemporary romance novel I Should Tell You, which released on March 4 from Loose Id.

I wrote the novel after watching the movie version of the musical Rent. The romance between Roger, a musician and former addict, and Mimi, an HIV-positive stripper addicted to drugs, struck me. So did their recurring theme, the song "I Should Tell You."

My novel is not based on that musical or song, but they did somewhat inspire the story. In I Should Tell You, Hunter Girard is six years sober after battling alcoholism for several years in reaction to a childhood assault. During the beginning of his recovery, Hunter lived with his supportive but overprotective parents. At age twenty-six, he has only recently moved into an apartment that he shares with a man he describes as an "overgrown frat boy." Conflicts with his roommate, and the roommate's constant partying and drinking, are taking their toll on Hunter. He knows he needs his own place, so to earn some extra money he's auditioning for a gig as a live guitarist for a drag show. At that audition, he meets "Starry Daye."

Mitch Walters is at war with his childhood demons--and they're winning. Between the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father and a gay-bash beating he received not long ago, Mitch is constantly afraid. He self-medicates his anxiety and post-traumatic stress with the prescription painkillers he became addicted to after the beating. His onstage persona Starry Daye is beautiful, strong, and confident, everything Mitch doesn't believe he can be anywhere except in drag.

Sparks fly almost immediately between Hunter and Mitch, but love and lust might not be enough to conquer their pasts and build a future.

When he entered the room, the TV was on, and the bathroom door was shut. He didn’t hear any noise. His heart beat a bit faster. “Mitch?” he called. “It’s me. Hunter. I’m back.”

“Be right out, baby. Just making myself pretty.” Mitch laughed.

Was his voice slurred? Surely not. Surely Hunter had imagined it, or it was the effect of the door between them. “I’ll be sitting on the bed waiting for you.”

“Sounds good, honey.”

Definitely a slight slur. Maybe Mitch was only tired.

Hunter didn’t believe that for a second.

He sat on the king-size bed and turned off the TV, then turned it back on again. Depending on what shape Mitch was in when he emerged from the bathroom, they might need the noise of the infomercials to cover their own sounds. Somehow Hunter doubted it would work out that way, though.

The bathroom door opened. In the mirror behind the TV, Hunter saw Mitch. The man was completely naked, his cock half-hard below tight abs, and he stumbled a bit as he walked out of the room. “Here I come, baby.”

He walked over to the bed more steadily but very slowly. Hunter’s chest tightened. Mitch was definitely on something.

“What do you think?” Mitch knelt on the foot of the bed. “You’re so hot, baby. Take off your shirt so I can see.” He dropped forward onto his hands and started moving up the bed.

Hunter stared at the man crawling toward him. The loose, slack smile. The slight lack of coordination, which might have just been clumsiness if he hadn’t seen for himself how graceful Mitch was. The vacant eyes. He’d been right. Somehow Mitch had gotten his hands on oxy. And while Hunter had been gone, he’d taken the shit.

Hunter should have walked away. He was damned if he’d hang around someone who was high. He should go home and leave Mitch to call a cab or Solara. But he couldn’t, not without confronting the man he’d hoped would be more than a one-night stand.

“You’re fucking high,” he said.

Mitch rocked back on his heels, looking confused. “I’m not. I’m good.”

He slurred his words slightly. Mitch started crawling again, and as much as Hunter longed to have that nude, beautiful body on his, he put his hand up to signal Mitch to stop. “What are you on?”

“The bed.” Mitch giggled, a high-pitched grating sound that hurt Hunter’s ears. “I’m on the bed. Wanna be on you. You gonna let me or not?”

“Not.” Hunter sat up against the headboard and glared. “I don’t fuck druggies. You tell me how much you took and where you got it, or I’m out of here.”

He knew how harsh he sounded, but he didn’t care. Harsh was sometimes the only way to get through to someone in Mitch’s state. Hunter had no intention of leaving, but he wanted Mitch to believe he would. Maybe then he’d get some answers.

“Fucking prude.” Mitch collapsed onto his stomach and looked up at Hunter, anger and laughter mingling in his expression. “What do you care? We fuck, and we leave; no problem. Doesn’t matter if I’m on something or not. I can still make you feel real good, baby. You don’t even have to take me home in the morning. I’ll call a cab as soon as we’re finished.”

“Yeah, and you won’t remember anything tomorrow.” Hunter’s traitor dick hardened in his jeans as he looked at Mitch’s gorgeous ass. He took a deep breath and willed his cock to soften. He wasn’t a pervert, and this was damn sure not the time to think about sex. He’d fucked guys stoned, high, drunk, whatever plenty of times in the past, but never since he’d stopped drinking. No matter how hot Mitch was, Hunter wasn’t about to make an exception for him.

He was pissed. More than that, he was hurt. He’d trusted Mitch and believed Mitch trusted him. He’d told Mitch they didn’t have to do a damn thing tonight, and yet the second Hunter left the room, Mitch had downed at least one pill. So much for trust.

Hashtag I’m technology deficient

Recently someone at work made a bet with his friend that he could beat how many twitter followers his friend had in a month (yes, I work with a bunch of guys that love to bet and compete about everything). For one solid month, this guy tweeted and gathered followers like crazy. Now I am a little ashamed to admit it, but he not only beat the number of followers his friend had, but he quadrupled the number I have too—and I’ve been on twitter for over a year.

Now I freely admit that promotion is not my biggest strength. In fact, if I had my choice I’d do very little, but this bet made me wonder if maybe I’m not using the technology we have to its greatest advantage. I've been on twitter for a while, but don't seem to be picking up much traction. I try to tweet often, but find I have very little of interest to say.  I live a very normal simple life. Besides my writing, my cats and my diet/exercise, I don't have much to talk about.

I know how to use hashtags and reply and quote other people’s tweets, but I often feel there is so much about technology I just don’t know, including how to find followers and what people most like to read. I know some people do Follow me Fridays, but I don’t know exactly what to do with those. The same is true for trending topics. Not sure where to get them, how to follow them, and if there’s any reason too.

I use other social media as well, including facebook and pinterest. I love using pinterest boards to place images that inspire my stories, what my characters might wear and look like. It’s great for my process, and allows readers to see what’s inspiring me. That’s when my stomach isn’t growling for all the great looking food posted all over the site.

But as the technological world keeps changing, I don’t feel on top of the curve anymore. Yahoo groups used to be a major way that I would learn about new books and new authors, but lately they seem quieter, and I’m afraid because of all the changes yahoo has made lately they might be going by the wayside.

So I thought I’d throw it to you guys and see what you like. What technology do you like to use to connect with people or authors? How do you like to get communications from them? Is there anything I could be doing that I’m not?

Leave a comment below and help me get a little more technologically advanced. Thanks!

Question for authors and readers! There are prizes!

I have to admit that I forgot about today's post!  *hangs head*  Thanks Tina!  My life is chaotic with the start of baseball season, Spring Break next week and keeping up with an 8 yr old boy.  Anyway, my blog today is a question for both readers and authors.  

Its not a hard question but one that I've been thinking about for awhile.  

Here's the link:

http://www.harliesbooks.com/posts/question-of-the-month-prizes-for-both-readers-and-authors/

Make sure that you leave a comment and email address.  Oh and the poll is on the right hand side of the blog.

I promise next month, I won't be late.  

A pirate’s life… or the ship is sinking? @DenyseBridger #RomFantasy

  

Despite the humour, and Jack Sparrow’s fine presence, the truth is, this is not a funny meander around my strange mind… This has been an extremely difficult week for me, and it’s been caused by the modern day pirate of the internet, not the sexy pirates of our films and imaginations.

Monday started off with a bang when it was brought to my attention that titles of mine were on a pirate site. Typically, the site is well aware of the illegalities of what they are hosting because they have a series of hoops to be jumped through in order to issue take-down notices. They state you will be notified of their response to your complaint within 72 hours–plenty of time obviously to cover their asses, remove content, and warn the forum user of what is afoot…

Later on Monday, I discovered another site – and this one is so bold they will remove your work, but leave a note “Dear User, if you have another link for this material, please let us know so we can make ___________________ a better site for our users.” Acknowledge you’ve violated, then request new links for the next violation. They also post their download stats, and that’s what hit me hardest. The asterisks are my titles with Ellora’s Cave, three short books that my editor had faith in, and which have sold abysmally. Yet, many people say they’ve read them–and it’s clear from this, they have!

Another Man's Wife: Downloads: 1171

Glass Slippers and Jewelled Masques: Downloads: 371

Hunters' Game: Downloads: 1140

Stranded: Downloads: 1187

Stolen Rapture: Downloads: 399

*Hide and Secret: Downloads: 1081

*Reckless Assignation: Downloads: 1339

*Jaded Hearts: Downloads: 1137

Out of the Past: Downloads: 760

When you add this up and start thinking in terms of dollars lost, it can be quite disheartening. I have heard and understand the platitudes–these are people who’d never buy anyway, it’s good publicity, at least your name is getting out there, etc. But, at the end of the day, it is a shock, and a sad one, when you see your “paycheck” being stolen from you. I’ve had some of these pirate supporters inbox me on Facebook, or via my public mail, and tell me that I should be grateful that they want my “crappy books” at all. Others proclaim that all ebooks should be free anyway because it doesn’t cost anything to make them… Love the ignorance in that one, don’t you?

I asked one of these indignant ladies if she walked into book shops and picked up books, then walked out without paying for them. She was outraged that I would suggest she was a thief, and said eBooks weren’t real books. That should be welcome news for every author currently working at the big NY houses, too, since they are now in the “unreal” eBook business. I asked this woman if she would like to work, then watch someone else walk off with her paycheck. She thought I was crazy. So, I told her she was not only a thief, she was also ignorant and short-sighted. She informed me she’d never read another of my books again, and I thanked her, telling her I’d probably make money if more people thought like her. She threatened to report me to Facebook, and I told her to go hard at that one because Facebook and I have danced a time or two already.

Bitch, ain’t I?

All of this has led me to a few decisions, though. One of them being I will no longer be offering ANY copies of my books for prizes. I’ll still do prizes and things, but the winners will no longer be getting my books from me. I’ve been generous over the years, given away more books than I’ve sold in some cases. Readers have written to me and told me they can’t afford new releases they’d love to have, and I’ve sent them. That’s over. I think it has to be. I’ve come very close to shutting things down entirely over the past year, and when crap like this happens, it makes you wonder if that isn’t the right route to go. I’d always be writing, but I wonder if there’s any point to publishing?

Years back, many big names in the industry said electronic books would be the destruction of publishing. I understood then why they said that and what they were driving at. I can see the destructive end of it hard at work now as the entire industry struggles to find what works, and what can stem to flood or piracy. It took the music industry a long time, and the battle was messy, but they’ve managed to get some semblance of control back for their work. Sadly, the day may come when writers have to accept that they will never be paid for their “art” because most people believe it to be anything but an art form. While we work our tails off to reach our readers, there’s always a pirate watching, and waiting to profit…

I admit, in some cases people stumble onto these sites by accident, and in some cases don’t even know they’re on a pirate site–those people you can forgive. Until they decide it’s okay to stay and keep stealing. Content is easy to find, quality is often questionable, quantity is making it harder and harder to even sell a legal copy of your work. I wonder why it’s so hard for people to understand that every book stolen is a criminal violation?

Cheers, everyone. And apologies for the ramble… I think I’m still in shock.

My newest release is an Historical Western called CHAMPAGNE AND CHOCOLATE, and for the month of March, anyone who buys it direction from the publisher's site gets it 25% off, the best price out there. Check it out here: Naughty Nights Press

From different worlds, drawn by desire, passion is about to change their lives forever....

Austin Standish is a man of refined tastes. Intelligent and educated, Austin enjoys all of the best life has to offer. A gambler, a gunslinger, and a man who has plans to taste the sweetest prize at The Palace Casino and Saloon - the lovely owner, Chantille L'Amour, the most sought after jewel on the Barbary Coast.

Running a high-class brothel and casino isn't exactly the life she was born to but Chantille is determined to overcome the ruin her family was left in once the Civil War ended. But, she has chosen a difficult path... one that demands much and leaves her lonely. She's noticed the handsome man who comes into her world from time to time, and when she chooses to give in to desire, the passion evoked by Austin's touch may change her life forever....

You Have to Leave Home to Get Famous

I have a long-standing grudge match with a woman who writes a literary column in the Dayton Daily News. I won’t mention her name because I don’t want to give her any publicity. This person fancies herself to be “The Expert” because she teaches a few classes at an annual writer’s workshop and sold her first book to a major print publisher. I haven’t read it because it doesn’t sound like something I’d be interested in.

I know, I know – live and let live. Ordinarily I would follow that rule but this woman has taken snobbery and bias to new extremes. She seldom features local authors (although there are an abundance of us here). When she does, she reserves her precious column space for those who wrote literary or historical books and signed with New York print publishers. She never gives e-book or mainstream writers their due.

I met her recently at a local book festival and asked her why she snubbed those of us who write e-books for the masses. Her response – “I don’t waste my time on e-books because anyone can publish those.” She then told me that it was her column and she’d write whatever she damn well pleased.

I must take exception to her comment. I’m traditionally published with a major e-romance player. I had to go through the submission process like anyone else. I signed a contract and I am paid royalties on a regular basis. My publisher provides editing services, cover design and marketing support. The only money that comes out of my pocket is for any additional advertising I choose to do.

How does that make me different from someone who writes for Putnam or Silhouette?

E-books now hold their own against print books. For proof, look at how many e-readers and books are sold every year. From my own perspective, my career didn’t really take off until I switched from print to electronic publishing. This woman needs to take her head out of the sand and check her calendar. We’re in the twenty-first century.

I used to have the same problem with book retailers about my first publisher (PublishAmerica), because they used print-on-demand technology. I went around and around with Barnes & Noble managers who should’ve known better, but just couldn’t understand that “print-on-demand” wasn’t the same as “pay-to-publish.”

We have a guy here who writes book reviews for the same newspaper. He only reviews books written by NYT best sellers. When I reviewed books online, I didn’t feature authors with those words after their name. I figured if they had achieved that status, one more critique wouldn’t really matter. Better I should devote space to someone who was lesser known or just starting out.

This same fellow used to have a book talk show on a local NPR station. When my first novel was released and won some good reviews, I naturally tried to book time with him. He replied that local authors weren’t important enough for his program. Well, excuuuuuuuse meeeeee!

Several years ago I got into it with someone at a book festival in Fostoria, Ohio over something similar. This woman wrote an arts column in the weekly newspaper, had a reputation for not liking anything, and local performing artists lived in fear of a bad write-up from her. When she approached my table she took one look at the publisher’s name on the book, threw it at me then stated that she didn’t read anything by self-published authors who weren’t good enough for a “real” publisher. I made quite an impression on the folks in Fostoria when I set her straight then told her what an ass I thought she was.

For some reason I wasn’t invited back the following year. Go figure.

* * * *

Tim Smith is an award-winning, bestselling author whose books range from romantic mystery/thrillers to contemporary erotic romance. His website is www.timsmithauthor.com.

Two very hot Doms, Try them out.

Unconditional Surrender

When an alpha Delta Force leader and a prosecuting attorney meet at a bondage club, which one will be the top and which one the bottom?

Slade Donovan has been a Delta Force team leader for years and the missions are beginning to wear on him. He's been a Dom for longer than that, but now he's tired of the string of faceless women and wants to find the right sub and form a permanent relationship. Someone who understands his life and can deal with it.

Kari Malone excels in her role as a prosecuting attorney but the iron control she needs to do it gets tiring. And her search for the right man is fraught with disappointments. When a friend introduces her to the D/s scene, she finally finds an arena where she is able to both shed her mantle of control and indulge in her sexual fantasies. She meets Slade, also a guest, and their brief connection is instant and intense.

Five years pass before they meet again. By now, as Butterfly Kari has created an alternative life for herself at The Edge, a very private bondage club. Her search for the right man falters when she realises none of them can compete with the memory of the man she met in Chicago. When Slade turns up at The Edge it's apparent from "Hello" that the heat between them has been simmering all this time and is about to explode. But can each of them provide what the other needs to make this work?

Reader Advisory: This book contains graphic descriptions of edgy BDSM play and anal sex.

Lock and Load

Two people who want a relationship built on trust yet neither believe in it…until he shows her how to accept his domination and she learns the true meaning of submission.

Beau Williams, the perfect sniper, has achieved success by closing himself down emotionally. He desperately wants to find a permanent sub who enjoys spanking and caning as much as he enjoys administering them, but he doesn’t know if he can open himself up to another person ever again.

Megan Welles is still struggling with her need to be a submissive. She wants a man who will give her that without destroying the strength she needs for her job as sports reporter. And she’s tired of hooking up in bondage clubs but never connecting emotionally with anyone.

When she meets Beau and takes him home for the night, something clicks between them, but how will they deal with the struggle to open up their emotions to each other?

http://www.amazon.com/Attack-Force-One-Desiree-Holt/dp/1781847290/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393859326&sr=1-2&keywords=Attack+Force

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/attack-force-desiree-holt/1118590870?ean=9781781847299

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