You Know You're A Suspense Writer When....

You know you're a suspense writer when you're sitting on a bridge in traffic and you think about undoing your seatbelt and opening the window in hopes that if someone blew up the bridge you'd still be able to get out of your car and be able to swim to safety.

Wow! It's Been THAT Long????

So sorry I've been away that long! In my own defense, I've been sick since last Friday and just getting used to my not-new-anymore new day job. Tomorrow is my first payday! YAY!!!!

Let's see....what do I have to tell you?

I received my edits for Carry Me Home, my short romance story starring Jamie and Mary MacDougall from Her Highland Champion. I don't have a cover or a release date yet, but I'll be sure to share them with you when I get them.

I lost 7lbs in the month of January. I may have lost a couple more after being sick, but I'm not getting on the scale yet.

I've been interviewed by the fantabulous Zee Monodee. If you have some time, check it out here: http://zeemonodee.blogspot.com/search and leave me a comment so I know you came by!

I'm SOOOOOOOOOO behind on revising my 2nd short story. I wanted to submit it to Decadent Publishing tomorrow, but it's nowhere near ready. I blame the 5 days of sickness. Okay, it's also because I just wasn't working. BUT now I've messed up my whole 2013 writing schedule!

No release date yet for my PRINT book. You know I'll let you know as soon as I hear!

I'm having a logo created for my fictional company, The International Protective Network. (To find out more about the IPN, click here.) I'm so excited I finally found a logo I love! Pretty soon I'll be sharing it with you.

I can't decide which country to make as the setting for my next Honor Guard book. I've got a story idea for one in Mexico, Thailand, and 2 more in the UK. I'm thinking I should venture out of Great Britain for a few books. What do you think?

Okay, back to work with me! I'll be seeing you again soon!

Six Sentence Sunday!

Welcome to my snippet for Six Sentence Sunday! You can find other participants here.

This week I'm sharing a snippet from my current work in progress, Silent Surrender. I'm hoping to get a HUGE chunk of work done on it this coming week so that I can submit it to my epublisher by the end of January. This is a short, contemporary romance set in the Scottish Highlands. If you read my first book, Her Highland Champion, you'll recognize the setting and some of the characters. The heroine in this story is Meggie MacDougall who works part of the time in the family pub and part of the time in the B & B from that first story. Here's the really, really unofficial blurb for this story so far:

To Quinn O'Connell, working as a football coach meant everything to him until a chance encounter with vacationing Highland lass Meggie MacDougall showed him just how to live.

Well? What do you think? Yeah, I know, the blurb's not that great, but I'm pretty happy with my six sentences. See if you agree!

He'd come to find a woman, but he'd bought the train ticket before he could think this plan through. What if she didn't remember their wild, sex-filled weekend when she'd come to Dublin? No, that wasn't likely. He had enough faith in his ability to charm and satisfy a woman, but what if she didn't want to see him? That was entirely possible, but he wouldn't let it discourage him. The bottom line was he'd come for Meggie and Quinn was used to getting what he wanted.

Blog Tour Coming Soon!

Hey there! It's been a busy week, with me at my new day job and plotting and planning for my writing job. Not much to tell you right now, except that I will have a snippet of my current WIP, Silent Surrender, for Six Sentence Sunday. Other than that, I'll be working at my part-time job tomorrow and doing a bunch of cleaning that I've been neglecting throughout the week. But, before I leave you, let me share a bit more info with you about my next blog tour:

 

Have a GREAT weekend!

My Print Cover!!!! It's Here, It's Here!!!

 

This is the cover for my 3 Honor Guard novella anthology. Her Highland Champion, Fractured Paradise and Simple Treasures will be released as one PRINT book. Isn't this cover AWESOME???? That's Castle Stalker in the upper right hand corner and the Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland, England in the lower left corner. That bridge is the bridge my mom used to walk across as a kid and she and I have walked across it together as well. I am in awe of this cover and I cannot WAIT to hold the book in my hands! It also makes me want to write more stories set in England and Scotland.

And just to tempt you, here's the unofficial back cover blurb:

The International Protective Network hires the most efficient operatives to protect their clients, but what happens when those employees need to face their personal demons in order to get the job done?

A broken-down bodyguard with no confidence...an American lass with no memory...a technical analyst more confident with computers than people...a lad living in the past...a new operative with something to prove...a former soldier struggling with her war scars.

In the cozy communities of the British Isles, three couples charge through the dangers confronting them in order to find truth, justice and the love they deserve.

Here I am!!!

Good morning! I'm so sorry it's been a WHOLE week since I last posted. I've been a busy woman! Here are the deets for ya:

Day Job- Did I tell you I finally got a full-time day job? I signed the contract just before Christmas and I started last Monday. I'm officially a Writing Tutor for kids who are struggling with their writing skills in a charter school. I'll be working with kids from 4th grade through 11th. I get benefits again, I'm paid hourly (so I don't have as much stress/pressure as a regular teacher), and I'm on the upper end of the pay scale since I have 2 degrees. It's WONDERFUL going to the same place every week, at the same time, and working with the same people!

Print Book- I know I told you about my 3 Honor Guard novellas getting put into one print anthology with the title of Through the Eyes of Darkness, but I should be able to show you the cover soon. I received the mock version on Friday and it is gorgeous! I can't wait to be able to hold that baby in my hands. Honestly, the cover makes me want to write more stories set in the UK.

New Contract- Congratulate me! Last week I received a contract from my epublisher for my 1st short story!!!! Carry Me Home will be part of a new series of romance books for Decadent Publishing. It is a contemporary romance set in my fictional Highland village of Glenhalish. If you read Her Highland Champion, you'll recognize the hero and heroine. They are Mary MacDougall, who works in the B & B, and Jamie MacDougall, who runs the family pub. I filled out the required paperwork for that story toward the end of last week and returned it. Here's the unofficial blurb:

Mary MacDougall has come home to Glenhalish for one thing: her husband’s signature on the divorce papers. But Jamie has no intention of throwing away the partnership they’d built since they were children. Instead, he plans a sweet seduction to remind her why they are meant to be together forever.

Sounds good, huh? I'll keep you updated on the cover and the release date!

Contest winners- If you're still waiting for a prize from me, I haven't forgotten you! I PROMISE I will follow through. I'm just in a pickle at the moment (or over several moments!), but I will do my duty!

As for other writing, I have a full-length romantic suspense submitted with another epublisher. Fingers crossed they'll want it! AND, I'm planning to submit my 2nd short story, Silent Surrender, to Decadent by the end of January. Okay, I think that brings you up to date on everything going on here. I promise not to let a whole week go by again without checkin' in with you.

Dreams Really Do Come True!!!!

I'M GONNA BE IN PRINT!!!!!!

 

Yes, you read that right. Another one of my dreams is coming true. Decadent Publishing is putting all 3 of my Honor Guard novellas in one print book!

 

So if you like to hold the book you're reading in your hands, you'll soon be able to do that! The book will have a new cover and I came up with a new title: Through the Eyes of Darkness.

 

I don't have all the details yet, but I know it'll be released this spring. I'll definitely keep you updated. 

 

 

Where Is Alexa???

Today I'm over at the Get Lost in a Story Blog and I'm interviewing Jodi Thomas! Come on over, hang out with us and be in the running for a prize!

New Year's Blog Hop!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

A WORD FROM OUR BLOG HOP SPONSORS....

It's another year over! Can you believe it? Well we authors, readers, and bloggers sure can't. And to celebrate the New Year with bang, we're going crazy and sending out so many prizes, fun parties, experiences, and other goodies, that it's a bit scary. Each author has a favorite New Year memory, book, idea, or way to party and we're going to show you! Can't wait to see you January 1st - 6th!

And while we do that, we are EACH doing a giveaway. Yep. There will be over 200 giveaways on each blog hosted by that Author or Blogger.

But that's not all....

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $300 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!
(The Swag Pack is US ONLY.)

AND NOW A WORD FROM LEXI...
Can you believe it’s 2013? Time flies, for sure! I hope you all celebrated responsibly last night and today. I’m spending the day with family, watching football and…thinking about where 2013 will take me. I’ll definitely continue writing. It’s a passion, and job, I can’t and don’t ever want to give up. But you know what else I’m hoping to do this year? Read more.

Now, it may seem like an odd hope to have, especially for a writer, but reading is a luxury I have to fight to keep. You see, in the last 3 years, the total number of books I read dwindled each year. I was sure that in 2012 I’d be able to read a book a week. Yes, I had a lofty goal that I shared with the world. On all my social media sites, I vowed to read 52 books in 2012.

Didn’t happen. I managed to read 30, which isn’t too shabby, but I had really hoped for more. So, in 2013, one of my New Year’s Resolutions is to read 40 books. I think that’s doable and still a bit more than last year. What do you think?

Also, though, I’m planning to read a wider variety of books. I’m a romance writer who happens to love suspense, so naturally a lot of what I read is romantic suspense. But I also like contemporary romances, inspirational romances, historical romances. I bet you’re saying to yourself, “This woman only reads romances”, but you’d be wrong! I also love non-fiction historical stories, crime dramas, thrillers, classics. I’m pretty open to trying any type of story once. In 2013, some of the stories I plan to read are Rebecca (by Daphne du Maurier), Common Sense (by Thomas Paine), a book about the history of Ireland I can’t seem to find in the house, The Art of War (by Sun Tzu), and anything I can get my hands on by Alexander McCall Smith and John Hart. Of course, I’ll also be reading new romances too. I'm a new Jodi Thomas fan and I can't live without reading Laura Griffin's books or anything by Jill Shalvis. 

What about you? Do you have books you plan to read this New Year? Or do you have any other New Year’s Resolutions you’d like to share? Leave a comment and be in the running for a prize from me as well as be in the running for those fantabulous GRAND PRIZES mentioned above.