woensdag 17 december 2014

Excerpt: Tail Lights by Connie L. Smith

Title: Tail Lights
Author: ConnieL. Smith
Release date: 18th November 2014

Preston and Nick endured the breakup of all breakups when Nick accused her of cheating on him. He insisted, and she denied while the rain pounded against her driveway and thunder roared in the distance. Then they both ran – Preston to a life of Rock and Roll, and Nick to a career in the Army.

Over four years later, they’re damaged and broken almost beyond repair. He’s carrying baggage from his military days, and she bears the scars of living a lifestyle she’s grown to hate.

When Preston’s label forces her to take time away from music, their paths cross in a parking lot not twenty-four hours after her hometown return, anger and sparks flying in a confusing blend. But regardless of the feelings neither has been able to shake, too many lies and secrets stand in the way of the one thing they need in order to recover.

Each other.

Buy here: Amazon



Surprisingly, he was leaving his apartment when I reached his floor, and he smiled at me like no animosity existed between us. “Hey, Preston.”

Hey, Preston,” I mocked, then held up the figurine and fastened a glare on him. “Take it back.”

He had the nerve to smirk. “How do you know I gave that to you?”
“Who else would leave a dolphin on my doorstep besides the guy who knows I love dolphins and wants to suddenly fix four years’ worth of betrayal?” His smirk disappeared, and I shoved the object closer to him. “Take it back.”
He shook his head. “I don’t want it back.”
“Well, I don’t want it ether.” When he arched a brow, I rolled my eyes. “Okay, it’s cute. It’s absolutely adorable, and it would look fantastic on my end table, but I can’t take this.”
“Why not?”
“Because I know what it means! You made a mistake, and you’re trying to make up for it. But it’s too late, Nick. And if I take this, it’s like saying that you have a chance to make things right, and you don’t.”
His brow again lifted. “You sure about that?”
I frowned. “Which part?”
With a grin, he shrugged in an almost casual manner, far too comfortable in a conversation that made me anxious. Evidently he’d meant what he said about mending things between us, and he wasn’t about to let my reservations ruin his determination. “You’re absolutely right about what the dolphin means, but are you sure I can’t make things right?”
“I’m so far beyond sure that sure isn’t even in my line of sight anymore.” I held the dolphin farther out, hoping that he’d take it. “I can’t keep clinging to things that weren’t good for me in the first place if I want my next four years to be any better than the last four years.”
Then he scowled. “And you think I wasn’t good for you in the first place?”
“I know you weren’t. If you were, you wouldn’t have believed Dad and dumped me, and…” Sighing, I waved the figurine in his direction. “Take it.”
“Your sentence trailed off,” he pointed out, a small smile forming on his lips. “That’s a good sign for me.” Eyes on me, he stepped closer, completely invading my personal space and causing the hand holding the dolphin to fall back against my stomach. After a moment of silently looking at me, so intense and needing, he pointed a finger at my face.
“That’s exactly why I can’t take it back,” he whispered. His finger moved to brush my hair behind my ear, trailing along my jaw before tracing my lips. I knew I should move, slap his hand away, something. But I couldn’t. I just stared, my mouth gaping in shock, my mind consumed with Nick and his caresses. “That was the biggest mistake of my life. And you are my life.”
His index finger exchanged for his thumb, outlining my bottom lip over and over. “I should’ve fought for this, and I’m not making the same mistake twice. I’m getting my life back.” Then he stepped away, gesturing at the dolphin. “That’s only the first step.” Turning, he walked to the stairway entrance at the other end of the hall, leaving me standing – still gawking where he’d been and suddenly holding the dolphin figure much tighter. 




Connie L. Smith spends far too much time with her mind wandering in fictional places. She reads too much, likes to bake, and might forever be sad that she doesn’t have fairy wings. And that she can’t swing dance. Her music of choice is severely outdated, and as an adult she’s kind of obsessed with Power Rangers. She has her BA from Northern Kentucky University in Speech Communication and History (she doesn’t totally get the connection either), and is currently working on her MA.







woensdag 10 december 2014

Release Day Blitz: Beautiful Collision by T.G. Ayer



Title: Beautiful Collision
Author: T.G. Ayer
Release Date: Dec 10, 2014
Published by: Infinite Ink Books
Genre: Contemporary

Eighteen year old Gray McAllister is on the run. Leaving her dangerous past behind her is easier said than done, even when she finds herself at last able to forge a new life for herself.

But then the planets align and Gray finds herself bumping into super-hot Thane Blackwell. Drooling over him from afar is safe but that's only until she is forced to look after Thane while he recovers from surgery.

Being holed up in her apartment is a bad bad idea. Can Gray control the fire that Thane seems light inside her, or will she give in to her deepest desires. Can Thane achieve his goal without hurting Gray in the process?

The stakes are impossibly high, but love and lies don't play nice with each other. Will Gray's past catch up with her first? Or will Thane's own secrets explode and tear them apart?






I have been a writer from the time I was old enough to recognize that reading was a doorway into my imagination. Poetry was my first foray into the art of the written word. Books were my best friends, my escape, my haven. I am essentially a recluse but this part of my personality is impossible to practice given I have two teenage daughters, who are actually my friends, my tea-makers, my confidantes... I am blessed with a husband who has left me for golf. It's a fair trade as I have left him for writing. We are both passionate supporters of each others loves - it works wonderfully...

My heart is currently broken in two. One half resides in South Africa where my old roots still remain, and my heart still longs for the endless beaches and the smell of moist soil after a summer downpour. My love for Ma Afrika will never fade. The other half of me has been transplanted to the Land of the Long White Cloud. The land of the Taniwha, beautiful Maraes, and volcanoes. The land of green, pure beauty that truly inspires. And because I am so torn between these two lands - I shall forever remain cross-eyed.


I love talking to my readers so email me if you have any questions or even if you just want to chat...

Keep up to date with news, release dates and giveaways by subscribing to Tee's newsletter HERE.

maandag 1 december 2014

Release Day Blitz Dead Wrath & Cover Reveal Dead Silence by T.G. Ayer





Ragnarok is upon the worlds, and the time to fight is now. They come from all of the Nine Realms. Dark Elves, Dragons, Frost Giants, Elves ... They all come to fight for Odin.

And they answer to Valkyrie Brynhildr.

While Bryn grieves, struggling to cope with Sigrun's death, she knows too there is no time for tears. Odin is still a shade of himself and though there is no sign of Loki in all of the Nine Realms - Thor knows he is hiding in Midgard. As the Warriors gather, Bryn must head the offensive and enter the Human Realm in search of the Trickster and his henchman.

The war is silent and it rages all across the planet.

Ragnarok is here ...

In this, the 4th thrilling instalment in the Valkyrie series, Bryn takes the war to home turf. From New York to London, Interpol to CIA, Bryn and her team risk their lives to save their families, to the All-Father. And to prevent the end of the world.



If you would like to sign up to be kept in the loop on the Valkyrie Series via newsletter, be sure to sign up HERE 











I have been a writer from the time I was old enough to recognize that reading was a doorway into my imagination. Poetry was my first foray into the art of the written word. Books were my best friends, my escape, my haven. I am essentially a recluse but this part of my personality is impossible to practice given I have two teenage daughters, who are actually my friends, my tea-makers, my confidantes... I am blessed with a husband who has left me for golf. It's a fair trade as I have left him for writing. We are both passionate supporters of each others loves - it works wonderfully...

My heart is currently broken in two. One half resides in South Africa where my old roots still remain, and my heart still longs for the endless beaches and the smell of moist soil after a summer downpour. My love for Ma Afrika will never fade. The other half of me has been transplanted to the Land of the Long White Cloud. The land of the Taniwha, beautiful Maraes, and volcanoes. The land of green, pure beauty that truly inspires. And because I am so torn between these two lands - I shall forever remain cross-eyed.



I love talking to my readers so email me if you have any questions or even if you just want to chat...

Keep up to date with news, release dates and giveaways by subscribing to Tee's newsletter HERE.






Book 5 in the Valkyrie series releasing early 2015


Ragnarok is upon the worlds, and the time to fight is now. They come from all of the Nine Realms. Dark Elves, Dragons, Frost Giants, Elves ... They all come to fight for Odin. And they answer to Valkyrie Brynhildr.

Tricked by Loki, Bryn is now imprisoned and finding a way out is harder than it seems. Time is running out for those who fight for Odin and while Aidan's absence is felt by all, Bryn and her team know there is no time to waste.

But Bryn is determined to find him, and stop him using every means necessary. From poisoned water to black goo, to an electronically monitored Bifrost, Bryn will use all the tricks up her sleeves to save Odin and the Nine Realms.

The war is nature and there is disaster all across the Nine Realms.Ragnarok is here ...

In this, the 5th, and final, exhilarating installment in the Valkyrie series, Bryn takes on Loki with her eye on bringing him to the Vigrid Plains, the site of the final battle of Ragnarok. From all across the world, Bryn and all her teams do all they can, battling naturals disasters and murderous attackers to prevent the end of the world. 

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zondag 30 november 2014

Blog Blitz & Review: Anthology Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors

 Title: Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors

Authors: Delilah Devlin, Layla Chase, Renee Luke, Emma Jay, Jacqueline Brocker, Cela Winter, Susannah Chapin, Axa Lee, Lizzie Ashworth, Regina Kammer, Beatric Ellroy, Connie Wilkins, Anya Richards

Release date: Octobeer 14th, 2014

Publisher: Tempted Romance

Men devoting themselves to their true love through the art of courtly love is the ultimate in romance. Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors is filled with wild knights and Scottish warriors whose courage on the battlefield is outmatched only by their ardor for their ladyloves! Readers will unleash their fantasies of olden days where men wearing heavy armor or thick tartans sent a spirited young maiden’s (or lonely widow’s) heart fluttering. These bravehearts were prized for their physical strength and men were judged for their fierce loyalty and unshakeable honor. Crusaders, highlanders, Normans and Saxons, tournament fighters, vikings, and hunky Huns astride stallions in search of adventure and love all populate the pages of this steamy read.




Excerpt from “The Keeper of the Keys” by Axa Lee, part of the anthology Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors: Erotic Romance for Women by Delilah Devlin

“My queen,” he says and kisses my ear. He draws me down on our pallet, his body curled protectively around mine, cock still buried deep inside me.

“Am I?” I whisper, breathless still.

He chuckles. “Since you first threatened my life.” He squeezes me, exhaling a deeply male, deeply satisfied noise. “Are you well-served?” he asks.
And I think about it. Yes, I’ve been well fucked, and that’s likely what he’s asking. But if anything this experience has taught me that I need more. Before my thoughts coalesce enough to form a cohesive answer, he speaks again.

“I see you,” he says. His voice is rough, but his hands are gentle. “You serve everyone. They all come to you, and you answer them. you care for them. You protect them. You married me to protect them. I married you because I will be cyning.”

This surprises me. I had no idea he aspired to kingship. Though it makes sense, considering the views he’d expressed the past year or so about the current cyning.
“It will be a fight, but I am strong. We,” he emphasizes this, “are strong.”

He rolls me to my back to look up at him in the firelight, his blond hair a halo of flame. “I need a partner, an equal. Not just a wife and lover. And this is you, I think. Is this...what you think of me too?”

I study his face in the firelight. I see his intensity, his strength both of body and will, and I see his honesty. He isn’t just talking about shared mutual appreciation or even passion. He is, I think, talking about love. Was that why I could yield to him, be vulnerable to him and no other? Do we have love? I think, perhaps, we do. We might.

“A consort,” I say, “an equal, a lover?”

He nods.

My keys clink when my foot kicks them across the hut. As his laughter and arms encompass me, my ass is hot and my heart warm. He’s mine, I know suddenly, with great clarity. And I am his. Perhaps we have love, but more than that we have respect, we have ambition, we have desire. And all I see are possibilities.




I received this novel as an ARC, courtesy of Temted Romance & Cleis Press Publisher

Pleasure in Surrender by Delilah Devlin
Lady Edwina is a widow and has been forced into another marriage to a fearless Viking named Grimvarr. But it seems this handsome Viking has some seduction to do to make her accept him for who he is.

Wicked by Susannah Chapin
Isobell has a crush on Lachlan since her childhood, now she is a widow and very determined to convince Lachlan that he is worthy of her affections. Will she succeed?

The Keeper of the Keys by Axa Lee
Marrying to save her land and her people was the right thing to do, but can she completely give herself to her husband in the bedroom?

The maiden’s kiss by Layla Chase
When Jorunn saw this handsome shirtless warrior during his sword practice, he was all she could think about. And when the opportunity arose, she couldn’t say no to Enar.

My Loveliest Vision by Renee Luke
Lena is blind, but that doesn’t stop her to tell no to men when they step on her doorstep after her father died.  Then Seth shows up with a scroll with information that will change everything.

The Invasion of Nefyn by Lizzie Ashworth
Nefyn and Bedwyr are shortly reunited in the time of war. What better way to spend their short time together is to give themselves completely to each other.

The Promise of Memory by Regina Kammer
Aelia hasn’t seen her husband since he was captured by the Romans more than 10 years ago. The knight Manius is the empress’s lover and he reminded Aelia of her husband and that is why she’s so attracted to him. When the opportunity appears and she is face to face with Manius, she is in for a big surprise.

On My Honor by Beatrix Ellroy
When Hedda come across injured Sir Cephas, she took matters into her own hands and she nurses his wounds for one night. Even though Cephas is very attracted to Hedda, he is bound by his honor and won’t bed her. But Hedda has some other ideas to enjoy each other without having intercourse.

A Falcon in Flight by Connie Wilkins
Ardzvik is officially the lady of the castle, but mostly everyone believes it’s her beautiful half-sister. Even the men who’re send to court the lady of the castle all fall for her sister Leyli.
Now Yul Darugha has come to their land and he isn’t fooled that easily. Will Ardzvik and Yul find their happiness together?

To Love a King’s Man by Emma Jay
Evanna is a young widow, who’s being married off again but she is determined to choose a husband herself instead of her brother. She has been in love with her brother’s best friend Conal since childhood and when he is visiting her brother, she will finally let her feelings known.

The Bodyguard by Jacqueline Brocker
Saitou became Misato’s bodyguard after a failed ninja attack. Misato couldn’t denied her growing feelings towards Saitou and when she heard him pleasuring himself one night, it grew only into something deeper. Can she convince Saitou that they belong together?

Broken Vows by Anya Richards
Lady Mary has remarried Gareth, only to discover her husband doesn’t like her. They haven’t been intimate since the wedding, but she falls more and more in love with him.  Mary takes matters into her own hands and decides to confront him. Never would she suspect the reason why is turning away. Can she change his mind?

Poetry and Amber by Axa Lee
King Buliwyf needs a new oracle to secure his reign, so when he capture this beautiful redheaded witch, he knew he had found her.  But this little witch has more up her sleeves, she isn’t about to share him with any other women and is determined to prove he has his hands full with only her.

The Squire by Cela Winter
Sir Godrey recently lost his squire in the middle of war, so when young squire Wulfric loose his master, they come to an understanding to help each other. Soon Godrey finds himself attraction to this young boy and is really questioning his sanity. But he soon learns that not everything is what it seems.

Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors is a great novel full of great short erotica stories, which includes some fine highlanders and warriors. They all have been well written and have some very hot and steamy scenes.

Some of them were too short to my opinion, because I really wanted to continue with the story and see what would happen next with these characters. I have to say I really enjoyed reading this anthology and I loved that I found some new authors to check out. 



woensdag 26 november 2014

Blog Blitz & Review: Sanguinary by Margo Bond Collins




  • Title: Sanguinary
  • Series: Night Shift #1
  • Paperback: 294 pages
  • Publisher: Bathory Gate Press (October 5, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0990743322
  • ISBN-13: 978-0990743323


Only fifty years left before vampires rule the world.

When Dallas police detective Cami Davis joined the city's vampire unit, she planned to use the job as a stepping-stone to a better position in the department.

But she didn't know then what she knows now: there's a silent war raging between humans and vampires, and the vampires are winning.

So with the help of a disaffected vampire and an ex-cop addict, Cami is going undercover, determined to solve a series of recent murders, discover a way to overthrow the local Sanguinary government, and, in the process, help win the war for the human race.  

But can she maintain her own humanity in the process? Or will Cami find herself, along with the rest of the world, pulled under a darkness she cannot oppose?

Buy links Sanguinary:
Amazon kindle here
Nook here
Kobo here
Paperback here



Excerpt 1

"Hey, Bradley." I beckoned the crime-scene tech, who had finally arrived and was snapping on gloves. "Is that a piece of paper under the vic's head?"
He bent down over my shoulder to get a clearer view from my line of sight. "Looks like it's tangled in her hair," he said. He pulled a pair of long tweezers out of his kit and snagged the sliver. "Yep. Looks like it has a word written on it . . ." We both peered at the brownish, spidery writing.
"Sanguinary," I said. "Is that written in blood?"
"Maybe. I'll get the lab to run a basic analysis on it. If it's blood, we'll be able to let you know pretty quick if it's human and if so, what type. DNA will take longer."
"Sounds good." I stared at the woman a little longer. Her dark hair—almost the same color as mine—spilled out around her, matted with dark, coagulating blood. The two bloody marks on her neck shone like black stars on a white background.
Vampire.
I knew that if I lifted her dress, there would be other puncture wounds all over the body, and strange symbols carved across her skin—pentagrams within circles and other ritualistic signs. Exactly like the others. Ten murders in the four weeks since the beginning of September—all centered in downtown Dallas, and many with affluent victims whose families demanded action.
The department had been in a barely suppressed uproar.
I stood up, my knees popping a little. Five years ago, they wouldn't have done that.
And five years before that? Vampires hadn't existed, except in books and B-movies. It took time for the world to believe. We hadn't even realized how to fight back when they'd first shown up. 

This victim's ragged, bloody fingernails suggested that she had tried to resist, but obviously failed.
The red dress she wore would have originally matched the color of the relatively scant splashes of blood surrounding her, but those stains had dried to a muddy brown, the same color as the writing on the paper caught in her hair.
Her clothing suggested that she'd been at the opera that evening, though the manager, roused from her bed, swore that the building had been cleared and empty when she left.
One black, high-heel shoe lay several feet away, toppled over onto its side, the heel broken, as if she had stumbled out of it when it failed her as she ran from a pursuer.
Sanguinary.
I'd heard the word before from vampires I had taken down—whispered as a threat, shouted as a warning: the Sanguinary is coming, the Sanguinary will kill you all.
The Sanguinary is here.
It was why I was about to go undercover among the vampires.



Excerpt 2:

"Ooh," the taller woman said, "your friend doesn't like it when you flirt."
I glared at her. Vampires should not know more about me than I do.
"I'll have to see that she gets over it," a voice drawled from behind me. I whipped my head around in time to see a man standing up from a barstool behind me. I hadn't even noticed he was there
God knows how I could have missed him.
He wore jeans and a dark blue button-down shirt. He had on dark brown cowboy boots, and as he turned away from the bar, he picked up a black felt cowboy hat from the seat next to him, placing it on his head. On anyone else, I might have assumed that the hats and boots were an affectation. On him, they looked perfect. He was utterly beautiful, with bright green eyes, and dark hair that curled down to barely brush the back of his collar.
I am undercover, I reminded myself sternly. Here to do a job.
When Garrett caught my gaze in his, flicking his glance toward the cowboy vamp, it was all I could do to keep from sighing aloud.
Would it have killed my partner to be a little more descriptive when he briefed me?
Of course that was the vampire cowboy I had to get close to tonight.
No making eyes at the informants, Cami.
But damn, he was hot.
"Nice scars," he said, sliding his gaze along my bared shoulder.
"Thanks," I said, almost breathless.
"But I thought you didn't do Un-Claimed strays, Reese," the short woman said, managing to both pout and smile at the same time.
And I am absolutely not attracted to vampires.
I could keep telling myself that.



Excerpt 3:

It hit me, hard, that no matter how I twisted it around in my head, Reese was going to be more than just an informant to me. I didn't know if I could trust him, this cowboy-vampire I had been thrown together with. But something about him sang to me, like a tune just out of hearing, almost recognized—a song of protection and death. And I wanted to dance to it, almost as much as I wanted to escape it.
The department wouldn't force me to stick it out, wouldn't expect me to team up with a vampire for anything more than the most superficial of connections.
I could walk out at any time.
But I wouldn't. He'd help us find and stop whoever was killing these women.
That's why I'll stay in this.
"I'll tell you everything," I said to the vampire snarling at me. "But I'll need your help."
Reese's lip dropped back down, covering the fang.
I was glad—it was easier to contemplate joining forces with him when he wasn't reminding me that he was one of the monsters.
"Talk," he said.
I shook my head. "Not here," I said, speaking quietly. How good his hearing might be was only one of the many things I didn't know about vampires.
He slid up to the bar beside me.
"We can't leave," he said, equally softly. I had to lean close to hear him.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Mendoza all but dared me to Claim you, back there." He didn't look down at me. "If I don't bleed you at least a little before we go, he'll be suspicious."
At his words, the half-healed bite mark Reese had left on my shoulder throbbed once, sending a hot pulse throughout my entire body.
I wanted the response to be revulsion.
Almost everyone who went undercover with the vamps came out addicted to their bite. The ones who could still string two sentences together, like Garrett, stayed on the force.
The others . . .
The press portrayed us as bumbling and stupid—and maybe we were. Sending detectives in against humanity's worst nightmare? We were like little kids trying to hold back the dark with matches, bound to get our fingers burned, and worse, maybe burn the house down around us.
I paused and swallowed.




Sanguinary by Margo Bond Collins is a novel in her new Night Shift Series and I have to say that I really enjoyed reading it.

Cami Davis is a police detective who has joined the vampire unit. It seems a war might break out between vampires and humans, when several humans are turning up dead and a vampire might be the killer. The only way to find the truth about these murders is to go undercover and it is Cami who is thrown to the wolves. Now the only thing she needs is a vampire who can introduce her into the vampire society and have her back.

Reeves is a vampire and an ex-cop, he knows there is something strange going on in the vampire society and he is determined to find out what is going on. So he agrees to be Cami’s vampire contact and her way in with the vampires. But neither of them could have known the huge attraction between them and the rules to be accepted by the other vampires. The price might be too high for Cami.

It’s the first book I’ve read of Margo Bond Collins and when the opportunity was handed to me to read and review this book I couldn’t say no. I love reading novels where vampires are involved and mostly those vampires turn out to be good by the end of the book, but not in this novel. They are evil to the bone, but with one or two exceptions.

I love Reeves and Cami together; from the moment they meet I knew Reeves was different from the other vampires. For some reason he’s still got a heart and really want to help Cami in her journey to find the killer and bright him or her to justice. The ending of the book was a little surprise and I’m really dying to get my hands on the next book, because I really want to know what will happen next with Reeves and Cami.





When did you start writing? What has your writing life been like?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been making up stories. The first story I remember actually writing down was basically fan-fiction of The Wizard of Oz. I wrote it in long-hand in a yellow legal pad. I’ve been writing ever since. But about ten years ago, a friend suggested I join in National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo.org). Until then, I had always written short stories. That year, I finished the first draft of what would eventually become Legally Undead—it will be my third published novel, but it’s the first one I wrote.

I ended up as an English major in college because I was fascinated by the ways stories work. And then I went on to graduate school because I couldn’t figure out what else to do. I ended up with a Ph.D. in literature almost by accident; I just never quit wanting to learn about all the stories in the world!

So now I teach literature and writing in my day job, and the rest of the time, I write, both as a fiction author and as an academic.


What gave you the idea for this book? Where do you write and what do you use: PC, laptop or MAC? 

Most of my ideas come to me almost in passing, when I see something that catches my attention. In the case of Sanguinary, it was a color. My husband and I have season tickets to the Dallas Opera, and the interior walls of the Winspear Opera House—the ones that separate the lobby from the theater itself—are a gorgeous dark red. As we were walking out one night, I glanced back and saw that the tint of the outer glass walls turned the inner walls to a blood-red. At the same time, I saw a woman in a dark red dress of the same color. And of course that led to thoughts of vampires and murder (doesn't that happen with everyone?! Or is it just sicko writers?)—and the story spun out from there.

How often do you write, and how much?

I write something every day, whether it’s academic writing, fiction, or my blog. I’ve recently started making sure that no matter what else I may be writing, I write something fictional every single day. “How much” varies. I aim for a minimum of 500 words a day—my average word-count for thirty minutes of writing. I generally write more than that, but sometimes I don’t quite reach it. Last night, for example, I managed to write one sentence just before I fell into bed. But I made sure to get that one sentence down so I could continue to claim that I write every single day! 


Which authors do you admire and why?

Too many to count! Because I’m a literature professor, I have piles and piles of favorite authors. Right now, though, I’m particularly fond of Neil Gaiman, Robin McKinley, Holly Black, Ann Aguirre, and Melanie Karsak. What I love about all of them is their ability to create such realistic worlds, to draw me in and keep me interested in the stories they spin out. 

I have an office that I use for all my work: academic writing, fiction writing, editing, and online teaching. My desk is against a window so I can see outside. I’m surrounded by books and papers. I write directly on my laptop, but when I get stuck, I sometimes switch to handwriting; this seems to shift my brain onto a different track and helps me get over writer’s block. 


What are you working on at the moment?

Piles of projects! I’m currently working on the next entry in my Hometown Heroes series, a contemporary romance novel. I’m working on the sequels to Fairy, Texas, Waking Up Dead and Legally Undead. And I'm working on the next Night Shift book.


What are your writing goals for the rest of 2014?

Always keep writing! I have three works in progress that I plan to complete. And I also have two others that I want to get to. So I guess that means my goals are to finish several more novels. (I’m suddenly realizing that I might be insane . . . )


Any advice for aspiring writers?

The very best advice I ever got was just this: keep writing new things. Always have a work in progress. Finish writing a piece, do a quick edit, and submit it somewhere for publication. Then move on to the next project. Don’t wait to hear back—that way lies madness! If it’s rejected (and often it will be; that’s the nature of writing for publication), don’t let it get you down. Just send it out again and go back to your work in progress.


Thanks so much for having me today!





Margo Bond Collins is the author of urban fantasy, contemporary romance, and paranormal mysteries. She has published a number of novels, including Sanguinary, Taming the Country Star, Legally Undead, Waking Up Dead, and Fairy, Texas

She lives in Texas with her husband, their daughter, and several spoiled pets. Although writing fiction is her first love, she also teaches college-level English courses online. She enjoys reading romance and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and villains, and the strong women who love them—and sometimes fight them. 

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