Books for Christmas

By A.J. Llewellyn

Some years ago I heard an awful story about a spurned gift that still resonates in my mind. So much so that the first thing I do when I receive a book is to open it and check there's nothing inside.

It's a good habit to fall into because some people, especially older folk, like to tuck a little something extra into these books. The weirder the tome, the more likely it is to contain a hidden gem.

This year, my cousin in Australia sent me a biography of some bloke I've never heard of...a maverick priest called Chris Riley.

Now, I'm an avid reader and I like reading on a variety of topics but this book just didn't...call out to me. I looked at it, turned it over, read the back and thought, I am ashamed to say, I can wait to read this one. I tore into the rest of the things she sent me and thought no more about the book until I called her yesterday (which was Christmas Day in Australia) to wish her a wonderful day.

"What did you think of the photo?" she asked.

What photo?

I hemmed and hawed until she said the photo she'd tucked inside the book. I raced to open it and was thoroughly ashamed I hadn't cracked it open until our phone call. Inside was a crisp one hundred dollar bill (thank you, Jesus!) and a photo taken 50 years ago at Bondi Beach of her father and mine, long before they got married and had families.

They were so handsome and excited, hope shining in these Greek immigrants' eyes for the future. My uncle is now gone after a long struggle with Alzheimer's, a disease that now has my father in its steely grip.

This photo, one I've never seen before is now my most treasured possession. I will never, ever not open another book I'm sent for Christmas or any other day. And I will hold onto the hope I see in my father's eyes. I will make a point of reading Father Riley's story, too. There has to be a damned good reason my cousin sent it.

Whoever and wherever you are today and every day over this holiday season, hug and love those you hold dear. Our time is short, but love, like books for Christmas, lives forever.

Aloha oe,

A.J.

It's Party Time!!

Today is my birthday and I'm celebrating. I got some cool music going on, some great party guests, too. I got guitar players, sexy businessmen, werewolves and angels... watch out for the werewolves, though, they tend to claw bite when they don't get their way. LOL

We are rockin' the joint! Some come on in, sit a spell and have a pomegranate martini or a margarita, a beer...whichever you prefer. It's on me.

To kick this party into high gear, let me share one of my favorite birthday memories. Back in 1997, I was celebrating my first b-day and Christmas without my grandmother and I was depressed as hell. My birthday came and went, Christmas came and my best friend called. She told me to get my rear to O'Hare on New Year's Eve. She had reserved me a ticket to fly to Raleigh to spend Hew Year's and the whole following week with her. It was the best present I have ever gotten.

What was your best birthday ever? Share your memories and /or best gift below or at my blog, Melissa's Imaginarium and have a chance to win a free download of one of my stories.

Sweet Seasons

I come to the Christmas season with my health and sense of humor intact. My muse is full of herself these days and I’ve more ideas than time. Homes are decorated and it’s time to visit and enjoy all the twinkling lights. Friends have been baking and there are cookies to be had. The Christmas day menu is planned, and the turkey purchased and in the freezer. The mailbox at the end of my lane yields greeting cards every day.

This is the time of the year when along with the external hustle and bustle of the holidays we all turn a bit introspective. Twinkling lights, silver bells, blow-up Santa’s on the neighbor’s lawn and mistletoe can only get a person so far. At the end of the day we need to take a deep breath and ponder that age-old question, “Where did this year go?”

I’m going to go out on a limb here and “date” myself a bit. Way back in the seventies (“if you can remember the seventies you weren’t really there”) singer/songwriter Carole King released a song called “Sweet Seasons.” There are a few lines in that song that have stayed with me across the years:

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose
But most times you choose between the two

Those words have been true of my life, not just in 2011. All in all, this was a pretty good year. I’m more aware of what I can accomplish in an evening. I used to angst over not writing more, or not promo-ing more, or not networking more, now I seem to be able to take it in stride. It will all get done, sooner or later. Since it’s December 14th, it will likely be later.

But what did I accomplish this year? Looking back, a lot more than I thought! Come with me on a brief recap of the year.

December Promise. A story about two college lovers who reunite after twenty years. A lot can happen between one December and another.

Beneath Dark Stars. The sequel to The Back Stairs and the second in the tales of Sundown and Fallon. Stay tuned as more adventure awaits the pair.

Sundown. The paperback with The Back Stairs and Beneath Dark Stars.

Between the Moon and the Deep Blue Sea. A young man gets a chance to reshape his life and become an equal with his new lover.

Your Whisper in the Dark. Book four in the Men of Marionville series. Life has a strange way of giving you what you need.

Whispered Confessions. The paperback with What You Don't Confess and Your Whisper in the Dark.

Highway Nights. You never know when love will walk through your front door and seduce you. Be ready.

Forever Tonight. The paperback with December Promise and Highway Nights.

Double Deuce. One of my favorite characters - Ian Coulter, private eye. He's smart and sexy, and not the type to settle down.

No wonder I'm out of breath!

May you and yours be healthy and happy this holiday season.
Merry Christmas!


KC Kendricks
website at: http://www.kckendricks.com
blog: http://www.kckendricks.blogspot.com
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Writing through Adversity

Life is full of challenges, detours, back tracks and blind alleys. We've all been there. When one is a writer, these can be huge stumbling blocks but they can also inspire us. This year has been a rougher-than-some one for me with a lot of uncertainty and both expected and unexpected change. There were quite a few times when losing myself in a story was a great escape from a reality that was less than pleasant. Other times I would hit a total brick wall and the characters would not talk to me or give me a tiny peek into the tale they were playing a role in.

Somehow I did manage to write--quite a bit--but the months from August through October were pretty much a wasteland. Luckily I had some things in the queue for release so my readers did not get a big chance to miss me :-) which is probably a good thing!

Finally plans and serendipity worked together and things fell into place. I moved and have gotten fairly well settled in a new home. My brother and roommate has retired and we're looking ahead to a chance to revamp the new home we bought and make it fit our needs and dreams. And I'm back at the keyboard working on new tales to come out in 2012.

Do you think the world will end in December next year? I have my doubts but I guess we will just have to wait and see. Doomsday scenarios are a recurring theme in many venues. Hmmm, might even be a story there!

Just a quick refresher if you missed any of them, here is what I had come out this year:

Canine TLC--another one of my dog-plays matchmaker tales, released in January which made a total of four more tales to be printed as Canine Cupids VOl II

The Wild Bunch: Spark--installment two of my Wild Bunch cowboys series, released in March

Guilty by Innocence, one of the five tales in the Crime and Punishment PAX, released in April

Homeless in Heaven, one of the stories in the Rich Man, Poor Man PAX, released in May.

The Wild Bunch: Casa, third and final installment of The Wild Bunch and then the print collection of the three tales, released in September

Runes of Redemption, another Thin Green Line tale which continued the adventures of Clay Chiles and his elf mate and partner, Arondel, a sequel to Runes of Revelation. This second one came out in October.

And finally, Tom Fleet's Incredible Machine, part of the Look to the Future PAX, and loosely tied to my previous Fire on Ice and Treading Dangerous Ground stories, came out in November. Just a little bit of Steam Punk crossed with Star Trek!!

These can all be found on my page in the Amber Allure site, which is www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/bio_ODare.html.

That's the list; go over to the page and check out the fab covers at least. I'm hard put to select a favorite--all three of those Wild Bunch cowboys are just delicious to look at!! But I guess Guilty by Innocence is the most evocative to me. But then everything that Trace Zabar does for my work is fantastic. When some of my writer friends who publish elsewhere whine about their covers, I just smile and say, "Well, I sure can't complain." No adversity there for sure!

Anyway looking ahead to 2012, there's a new dog story coming in the Heavy Petting PAX, release info coming soon. It features two fire fighters, a Dalmatian puppy and my first gay romance with a kid in the story. titled Smoke and ...Spots? In writing it, I drew on my experiences some years back when my late husband and I were involved in a rural volunteer fire department in Colorado. In some of the remote places a lot of the modern things have still not made it to the budget so these folks work without every advantage. My hat is really off to them!

After that there could be a switched up pirate story for the Heat side and also a switched up Knight to the Rescue tale where the knight is a woman and her prince is a dragon shifter! I'm working on a novelette or longer piece that's the prequel to my horse shifter stories about the prehistoric young woman who is the first to gain the gift from Epona, the horse goddess. And another Thin Green Line tale with the working title Druid in Drag.

So hopefully not too much adversity this year and the words will flow freely as some fascinating characters tell me their stories in the fine Sheherazade style of a new bit each day so I have to keep going!!

Meanwhile tell me about one of your adversities for a chance to win your choice of the 2011 Deirdre O'Dare releases! Either commnet here or email me at azwriter427 at yahoo.

NIGHT TRAIN TO VENICE - Genesis of Carolina's Current Work In Progress

I wanted to write a vampire. Like warm honey, the idea floated in the back of my mind without ever reaching my keyboard. Some day, I promised myself, I would write a vampire.

Over a year later, I agreed to write a novella for THAT'S AMORE!, an AmberPax™ collection of stories related in some way to Italy. A story about what, I wondered? Cleaning out a cupboard containing old vinyls, I saw the song title Night Train. Suddenly, there was the title to my story.

NIGHT TRAIN TO NAPLES was a catchy alliteration, but was there one? Yes! There is a night train--from Rome to Naples. So, who would be riding on it and why?

I could almost taste that warm honey of a thought I'd had almost two years earlier--cloaked in darkness, a vampire would be riding that train. Seven hundred years as one of the undead has tamed the blond emerald-eyed Greek, turned when he was an arrogant wild young man sewing his oats. Alexandros Nicolaides was now a New Orleans diamond courier seeking a new account from the prince of the Southern Italy vampires for his American boss.

And he was being followed.

When I was writing my first novel, a romantic suspense, an author in my critique group asked, "Who hates your heroine?"

Those words echoed in my thoughts for the Naples piece. Who hated my gorgeous, powerful Greek vampire enough to try to kill him and Dante, his human Italian lover? Giacomo, that's who--a jealous discarded lover whom Alex had now professionally humiliated in front of his peers.

The story ends with Giacomo in the wind. It wasn't a conscious decision by me, it was just the way my characters' story evolved. Dante has agreed to give up his job in Italy and join Alexandros in his home in New Orleans. Now the story will move there.


NIGHT TRAIN TO NEW ORLEANS

Research revealed you have to fly from London to New Orleans, and all flights arrive in daylight. To bring Dante to Alex in the evening, I had to create a storm forcing his plane to reroute to Baton Rouge--because that's where I found an international airport and a night train to New Orleans.

For some reason, a Prussian vampire turned in his early forties is Alex's co-courier in "Nawlins." Don't ask me where he came from because I have no idea. He's more level headed and draws less attention than the elegant Alexandros. As this story ends, the problem of Giacomo has been settled, but I wasn't ready to let go of these characters, and readers were asking for more.

With other writing commitments to Amber Quill Press completed, I've begun the third novella in this series. The three will appear together in paperback when this next story is released in Spring 2012...

NIGHT TRAIN TO VENICE

You might have guessed that I love history. New Orleans is a fabulous historic city in the United States. Venice is one of the most unique cities in the world. Built in the sixth century CE in a lagoon off the Adriatic Sea, it's a treasure trove of architecture and art. It conjures up pictures of palazzi, Mardi Gras, and of colorful hatted gondoliers pushing tourists through narrow canals in black gondolas trimmed in gold. Visitors must either walk or take watercraft to move about the city. Cars aren't allowed. There are dark byways where crimes can be committed--perfect settings for a suspense.

I knew it could be reached by train. But the crucial question was: Is there a night train? You guessed it--one runs from Rome to Venice. Yay!

Renowned mystery writer Agatha Christie was once marooned on this train in a blizzard. Later, she used it in one of her Hercule Poirot stories. First built in 1883, I thought it had been destroyed. But right now my characters are ready to disembark the refurbished Simplon-Orient-Express at the Venice station and step out into their latest adventure, which I think, at this point, goes something like this:

"Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but for a courier the next delivery may invite death. Someone is robbing and killing couriers of precious gems and metals.

To secure Dante Rocco’s safety when he leaves New Orleans on a major delivery and return pick up, the CEO of Global Diamond Couriers assigns the two staff immortals as his bodyguards—Alexandros Nicolaides, Dante’s lover, and their middle-aged friend, Malcolm Müller. When they board the night train, Malcolm is welcomed by Rick, a hot, younger man assigned as his steward. Nick seems to know too much about the trio, and when he leaves the train at the same stop they do, Malcolm wants to engage in a whirlwind affair with him. But can he be sure Nick is who he claims to be... After all, someone is killing couriers of precious gems and metals.

NIGHT TRAIN TO NAPLES - Buy Online Now
http://www.amberallure.com/NightTrainToNaples.html

NIGHT TRAIN TO NEW ORLEANS - Buy Online Now
http://www.amberallure.com/NightTrainNewOrleans.html

COMING NEXT SPRING FROM AMBER ALLURE - NIGHT TRAIN TO VENICE

Carolina Valdez
http://www.carolinavaldez.com

The sixth and last Other Worlds story, COLD FEAR, is released today!

I've been visiting with these guys for quite a while now and while it's good to see the guys looking forward to a good future it's also sad to say goodbye.

Cold Fear
(An “Other Worlds” Story)
by Stevie Woods

ISBN-13: 978-1-61124-219-5 (Electronic)
Genres: Gay / Science Fiction / Futuristic / Action / Adventure / Series
Heat Level: 3
Length: Extended Amber Kiss (14k words)

New Release 35% Discount (One Week Only)

The sequel to Other Worlds #2 Lightning Strikes BLURB: On Alkya, a planet a long way from Earth, the Division of Investigation – Other Worlds, has set up a base where hundreds of personnel live and work. Among them are two men, Major Joshua Marsden and Lieutenant Matthew Ronson, who are part of one of the survey teams. Dropping through the atmosphere to land on Theta for their latest survey, the ship is disabled by a strange energy force and crashes in an immense ice field. Matt awakens in the debris of the control room to find Josh and Dennis injured and the ship badly damaged. He does what he can for his colleagues and attempts to repair the tear to the ship’s skin. They struggle to keep warm in the freezing temperatures and when it transpires their comm-unit isn’t working it becomes a fight for their very survival. EXCERPT: ...Oh God, which wall did I slam into this time? I tried to move. I was too damn cold to stay lying wherever the hell I was, but nothing seemed to work properly. Besides the pounding in my head, which doubtless accounted for the dancing black spots behind my eyelids, my left leg was on fire and it hurt to breathe. “Josh…” Just the sound of his voice made me feel better and I forced my eyes open. Thankfully, the spots faded somewhat. “Matt,” I said, although croaked would be a better description. “Try to stay put, Josh. I think your leg’s broken,” he said. “No,” I retorted, “my leg’s definitely broken.” I looked around, but that sure didn’t make me feel better. “What the hell happened? And why is it so damn cold?” “Not quite sure what happened, except that we crashed in what looks like an ice field.” “Crashed? Ice field? There was no ice field where we planned to land…wasn’t one for thousands of miles.” “Yeah, but somehow you found one.” “I’d have an answer for that except I can’t think with this constant drum roll in my head.” “I know, Josh. I can give you a painkiller.” “Let’s hold that in reserve.” I sighed. With those things, the cure can be worse than the pain. I glanced around at the mess that had once been the control room. “Where’s Dennis?” “In the rear compartment. I’m afraid he’s hurt, too. He’s still out.” I tried to sit up, and Matt helped me lean back against part of the console. “What’s wrong with Dennis?” “Head injury…doesn’t look good. There’s been a fair amount of bleeding, but it had clotted before I found him. There’s something else, too. The cold isn’t just because we crashed in this ice field. There’s a breach in the rear bay.” Matt sighed. “I patched it as best as I could, but I’m not an engineer.” Matt handed me a jacket as he spoke and helped me struggle into it. He then passed me a pair of gloves and I swiftly pulled those on. He pulled the blankets that had covered me when I was flat out on the deck up around me. “What happened when you reported in?” “Ah, I haven’t. I couldn’t get anything from the comm. The main console seems to be dead.” “What? Fuck!” I tried to get my head around everything he’d said. No question, though, we were up shit creek without a paddle... Check out the other books in the Other Worlds series: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/FavorForFriend.html http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/LightningStrikes.html http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/BestPolicy.html http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/AnEnigma.html http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/AndThisManIsMyLover.html For more information about me and my work, visit: http://steviewoods.com http://swquill.wordpress.com/ http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001969101724 https://twitter.com/#!/StevieWoods http://bookworld.editme.com/StevieWoods

Left of the Dial: a new novella by Heidi Champa

When I saw the call for the Hot College Daze series for Amber Allure, my mind immediately went to one place: my old college radio station. I spent so much time there and had so many good times, I knew it was the perfect place to set my story, Left of the Dial. There was a lot more drama going on at our little station than anyone would have imagined. I wanted to capture a bit of that with Noah's story and his relationship with Marc.

I also decided to set the story in the late '90's, which was when I was finishing college. Things felt a bit simpler then, plus I was really keen to write a story that didn't involve a cell phone!

I also wanted to be able to mention the bands I love and played on my show every week. I wanted to think back to my great times on campus to try and capture the feeling of the time. Hopefully, I did that with this story. And, I hope you enjoy it!

Left Of The Dial by Heidi Champa
Available December 4th
ISBN-13: 978-1-61124-220-1 (Electronic)
Hot College Daze Novella Series
http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/LeftOfDial.html

Blurb:

It’s 1998 and Noah Carson is months away from graduating college. He is scared of the future and even though he’s been offered a job at a local music magazine, the real world scares him to death. He wishes he could stay safely within the confines of his college radio station, WVVE, where he knows what he’s doing. His radio show is the best part of his week, even though no one ever calls in to request a thing.

Until one night, when the request line actually rings. Sparks fly between Noah and his mystery caller, and he becomes desperate to track down the man so they can get better acquainted. But, Noah already knows the guy's identity. His mystery caller is none other than TJ Drum aka Marc Drummond, lead singer of the defunct grunge band Back Of Bourke, a band Noah adores and plays on his radio show every week.

Just as the relationship between Noah and Marc blossoms, Noah is forced to choose between his future career and loyalty to his new love. And if he’s not careful, he just might lose them both...

Excerpt:

...I tried not to think about my mystery caller while I was at my show. I told myself it was a fluke, a one-off. I still hoped to hear from him again. I started the show the same way I always did, with a Back of Bourke song. I sang along as I filled out the on-air log, so Kevin could keep track of what went out over the airwaves. I had been busted several times for not playing required things like campus announcements and PSAs, so I tried to be more careful, mostly so he would leave me alone.

The time went by slowly as I stared out the window into the cold night air. The campus was always so peaceful at this time of night. At least on a Wednesday night. The student union was dead, except for the janitors cleaning up. I clicked play on my next song and was nearly scared out of my skin when the phone rang. I pressed the button and picked it up, my fingers crossed. I hadn’t done that since high school when I was in a similar state about a guy named Will.

“WVVE, this is Noah.”
“Hey, great show so far.”

It was him. I actively slowed my heart down and sat back on the stool.

“Thanks. Glad you’re still listening.”
“I told you, I never miss it.”
“I know. It’s still so hard to believe.”
“You sound surprised. I thought the whole point of being on the radio was for other people to hear you.”
“Usually. I go a different way.”
“I like the sound of that, Noah.”

The words weren’t provocative on the surface, but the way he said them turned me on. There was no other way to say it. Especially the way he said my name.

“Anyway, did you want to hear something?”
“Yeah, but I’m not sure what exactly.”
“That makes it harder for me to narrow it down.”

The guy laughed, the sound warm and infectious. I wanted to hear it all the time.

“That is true. Sorry, if I’m being a pain in the ass.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m sure we can come up with a song. We aim to please here at WVVE.”
“Now, is that a station policy or is it exclusive to you? The pleasing thing, I mean.”

I adjusted the collar of my shirt, as I suddenly felt hot and sweaty. If this guy kept it up, I’d start on fire.

“Might just be me. I’d have to check our handbook.”
“Don’t go to any trouble on my account.”
“So, let’s see. About the song. What kind of mood are you in?”

There was a bit of silence on the line, and I held my breath as I wondered what he might come up with.

“Honestly? I’m horny, Noah.”
That certainly wasn’t on the list of possibilities.
“Uh, okay.”
“Do you have any songs good for that feeling?”

I couldn’t resist and added a bit of fuel to the fire.

“Well, that depends. Do you want to get rid of the feeling or make it worse?”
“Why would I want to make it worse?”
“Maybe worse isn’t the right word.”
“Really? Then what is?”

I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly desiccated.

“How about heighten the feeling?”
“So, do I want release or a tease, is that it?”

Oh holy hell. I didn’t know who this guy was, but he might kill me.

“Yeah. Exactly.”
The line crackled with static, and I swear I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.
“Both, ideally. But I think I might be asking too much of one little song.”
“Maybe.”
“Too bad. I was really hoping you could help me out.”

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine him, a stranger, walking into the station and right into the booth. He could press me up against a wall, kiss me hard and take my breath away.

“Well, there might be something I can do.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”
“Play you a song anyway. It might help a bit. You know, until you think of some other way to fix the problem.”
“Who said it was a problem, Noah?”

Fucking hell. This guy was good. I opened my mouth to respond, but he beat me to it.
“I know what I want to hear.”
“Okay.”
“Do you have “Black Metallic” by Catherine Wheel?”
Did I have it? Of course, I did. It was one of my favorite songs. Moreover, in my opinion, it was sexy as hell.
“I do. I’ll play it for you next.”
“Great. Thanks, Noah. Talk to you next week.”
The line was dead, and I was hard...

Left Of The Dial by Heidi Champa
ISBN-13: 978-1-61124-220-1 (Electronic)
http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/LeftOfDial.html

Links:

White Out novella purchase link: http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/WhiteOut.html

All Expenses Paid novella purchase link: http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/AllExpensesPaid.html

The Right Wrong Turn novella purchase link: http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/RightWrongTurn.html

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1382060273

Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Heidi-Champa/151614298186577

Twitter page: http://twitter.com/#!/heidichampa

Email: hlchampa@comcast.net

Blog: http://heidichampa.blogspot.com/