Blog tour guest coming up

I'll be hosting Symphony and his new book Office Fantasies: Cover Blown on my blog on Leap Day, February 29. There will be an opportunity for those who leave a comment to win a $25 gift certificate.

In the meantime, check out his Web page: http://www.myofficefantasies.com/

Back on track

I'm finding it hard to get back on track. Since October, things have been pretty slow around here in the writing department. I was supposed to be working on From Lucha with Love, but that sort of fell by the wayside. I had a pretty good idea for a new story a couple of days ago, but even after outlining the entire thing and writing the first page of chapter one, I sort of lost steam there too. I'm doing things the same way I've always done them -- a process that has worked for a few years now -- but for some reason things aren't quite working out. I'm sure the holidays didn't help.

In the meantime, I'm over at Savvyauthors.com, helping out with Editpalooza. This month-long program helps writers work through a book they want to get published. I had quite a bit of fun with this last year, and this year promises to be really interesting as well.

Giving this Holiday Season

This year's emphasis on Black Friday seemed way too over the top for my taste. I don't tend to leave the house on that day, and with the stores opening on Thanksgiving so "you don't have to wait in line" and expecting employees to come in at midnight Friday morning, thereby jeopardizing their Thanksgiving with their family... I couldn't handle it.

This year, for those gathering at my house for Christmas, we had rules. The total amount spent on each person could not exceed $50, and the items had to be "consumable" -- interpret that as you will.

For those friends and relatives away this holiday season, we made donations in their names to Heifer International. We donated enough for honey bees and a share of fish to stock ponds in parts of the world that don't have as much as we do.

Some other things you might consider doing this year that could support your community and help you avoid the congested big box stores and malls as you make that last mad dash to Christmas...

1. Buy goods from your local farmers' market. Hand made soaps, jams, cured meats, hand-assembled fruit baskets... All these things make lovely gifts and buying local makes sure you money stays in the community, rather than lining the pockets of international conglomerates.
2. Make your own presents. Do you bake? Knit? Can? Brew beer or ferment wine? What about cutting from a particularly spectacular plant in your yard? Homemade peach wine and seasoning blends made from ingredients we grew in our yard make up parts of the gifts we are giving this year.
3. Offer certificates for services you can do -- lawn care, laundry, cooking a meal. Deeds like this could make someone just as happy as a tablet PC. You never know.
4. Even the act of hosting the holidays at your house can be the gift you give. The money and time spent on the gathering, the stress you take on from somebody else, could definitely make the holidays bright.

Any other ideas? Tell me your alternative, no-Black-Friday holiday gift ideas in the comments section of this post and be entered to win a gift certificate from one of my other favorite alt present ideas, Kiva.org. I'll pick a winner Tuesday night. Please be sure to leave an email address so I can contact the winner.

Cheers and happy holidays!

Twitpitch Sunday

I'll be one of the editors at the evening session!


How would you like to be published with Loose Id? Do you have a completed erotic romance manuscript you're ready to submit to publishers? Would you like feedback immediately as to whether your manuscript may work for Loose Id? If so, you should join the editors of Loose Id on Sunday, December 11, for our second Twitpitch. Here's how it works.
Log in to Twitter between 11:00 a.m. and 1 p.m. or during our second session from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Both sessions are eastern time, U.S.
Send out your pitch with the hashtag #LIpitch.
Editors will be tracking the trend. If one is interested, she will @you with questions or private message you with submission instructions.
If you don't hear from an editor, feel free to submit via our traditional submission system: http://www.loose-id.com/submissions.aspx

Remember at this time we are only looking for completed, erotic romance manuscripts.




For more information about Loose Id, check out http://www.loose-id.com/about.aspx

Thankful for Six Sentence Sunday

In the US, November is always a time to look back and reflect on the year and everything that we are thankful for. Some of us do it because of Thanksgiving, some of us do it to prepare for our Christmas newsletters, and for some the thoughtfulness is prompted by the shortening days and cooler weather.

So today I'd thought I'd come up with a list of six things I'm thankful for when it come to my writing.

1. I am thankful for all the publishers that have taken a chance on me. I've made it through some very tight times these last two years, and if I hadn't had that little bit of money coming in from my writing, I may not be in the stable place I am today. Sometimes my royalties bought my groceries for a week or two, sometimes they made up the difference on the house note. Needless to say I don't make the sales that some of my cohorts do, but I will never take for granted what comes in at the end of the month or the end of the quarter!
2. I am thankful for my editors, particularly at Loose Id. I may edit myself, and I may have a MFA in creative writing, but my writing is by no means perfect, and the old adage that a writer is her worst editor has never applied to someone as aptly as it applies to me. In fact, I just got an invitation to revise a story I thought was a pretty solid piece of writing. It put my off my game for a bit. I sulked for a week, but after I realized that making the changes asked for was nothing. No piece of my writing is so precious that I'd rather keep it in a drawer than publish it, so I'm forging ahead -- if slowly -- with the edits. I love that my editor took the time to give me such thorough feedback.
3. I am thankful for my readers. After all, that grocery money my publishers sent me didn't come out of thin air. I'm grateful for everyone who puts up a few dollars here and there instead of relying on pirate sites, but I'm also thankful to anyone interested in reading my work regardless of where it comes from. I just hope I entertain you and don't disappoint.
4. I am thankful for my husband who is my proofreader. He even reads my LGBTQ work! He is always available to help me out, and I wouldn't be publishing if it weren't for him.
5. I am thankful for the technology I have that makes it possible to reach all my readers, fellow writers, and publishers with only a few strikes on the keyboard. The Internet has changed the market in such amazing ways. I probably wouldn't be able to be a part of it otherwise.
6. Finally, I'm thankful for my day job that keeps a roof of the my head -- most of the time -- and give me the time I need to follow my dream of writing full-time someday.

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment with your email and be entered to win a copy of my 15 November ebook release, Queen's for a Day (M/M BDSM). I'll pick a winner Monday evening, around seven o'clock central time.

New Cover Art!

I got my cover art for Queen's for a Day today! I love it, and it fits so nicely with the other Kittengirls titles. Look for the release 15 November here.

Also, join the Romance Reviews Year End Splash party (see picture and link to the right) to win a copy!

Short Story: Company Picnic Part Two

Check my last blog post for the first part of the story.


And check in again soon for the next installment!

Company Picnic Part Two

By G.G. Royale

They found a shady spot under a tree, and Diesel -- that’s what he said to him -- spread out the blanket from his bedroll. Reina couldn’t control herself, but at least she’d managed to get him away from the crowd before she attacked him. Her employees could move into the enclosure as she kept Diesel...occupied.

And she intended to keep him occupied for quite a while.

She stripped him of his clothes first, taking the time to get to know his body. She expected him to be fit underneath all the leather, but maybe not so clean. He actually surprised her. He smelled of soap with a little tinge of the road about him. She inhaled deeply as she ran her hands down his now-bare chest. She let her wolf senses take him all in. She even felt her teeth sharpen at the idea of biting and rending, but she had other, more pressing appetites that needed filling today.

He lay naked now in front of her on the blanket, the dappled sun shining through the trees painting his body in a mosaic of light and shadow.

Reina’s gaze focused on his cock, its huge, red-helmeted head bathed in a square of light. He already stood erect. Reina smiled. She liked an eager man, one that could keep up with her own appetites.

Reina undressed next, making sure her designer clothes landed on the edge of the mattress. When she’d finished, she heard the reclining man give a whistle of appreciation. Her wolfish side kept her human body lithe without working out much; she knew she looked good, smooth and soft where she should be, flat and trim in the right places too.

She was already damp with anticipation, but now that Diesel’s hot gaze raked over her body, she grew even wetter.

Humans make her ill, and she was not in heat, so conception was out of the question as well. The affliction of lycanthropy definitely had its benefits. He didn’t seem to be worried either, which maybe should have given Reina pause, but she ignored it.

Reina didn’t know what she wanted to do first: taste him, ride him until she screamed, and just let him have his way with her.

Ah, but then she landed on the thing she wanted most, and her breast heaved with her breaths as the anticipation grew. She could feel the wolf just below her skin, prickling, wanting to get out. Reina sometimes regretted that her sexual being and her wolf seemed to inexorably linked. Now was not one of those times.

She flashed Diesel what she knew was a wicked grin, took one last deep breath -- lifting her bare breasts for best effect -- and turned. She raced for the trees, naked, barefoot, wind whipping through her hair.

She slid behind a tree and stopped. She wanted to get caught. She didn’t want to make it too hard for him. The bark of the tree cut into the skin of her back, and the feeling only compounded the arousal she felt.

She listened, tasted the air, wondering how far back he followed, but she could not detect him.

An arm locked around her chest, and she felt his hot breath in her ear.

“How did you --”

How did he? No man should be able to sneak up on her.

He spun her to face him. “Easy, lobita.”

Reina gasped. He knew what she was.

“It’s my job.” He grinned. “Usually I don’t enjoy it this much.”

He leaned down and kissed her, but fear filled Reina now.

Who is this man? But as the kiss heated her, her fear melted away, and her desire took control again.