Thanks Santa & Updates

What Santa did bring was a new mini-laptop. Meet Mini-Pretty. He's shiny and pretty and so cute and little enough to fit in my purse. I included the CapriSun in the pic, so you can get idea of how little he really is. He makes Pretty look huge.

I still plan to use Pretty for day-to-day writing, but Mini-Pretty's great for writing on the go. So hopefully he'll help increase my productivity.

In other news, I received the second round of edits on Bound Forever over the weekend and have already finished them. I'm letting them sit for a few days, just to make certain I don't want to change anything, then I'll send them to my editor. Oh, and His Client is now officially on Loose Id's Coming Soon page. *g* The blurb isn't up yet, but the book's there. And yes, I have gone to visit Jasper and Nate a few times tonight.

As for real writing, I'll be honest and admit I've been toying with a new freebie for my website. Doing the edits for Bound Forever got me in an Oliver and Vincent mood. The new freebie will be titled Deliberately Bound. It takes place after Bound Forever, so even if I finish it soon, I won't post it until after the book releases. But the scene was so clear in my head, I just couldn't resist the urge to work on it.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas with their loved ones and that Santa was very good to you. Anyone have any fun plans for New Years? Hubby and I are going out to dinner and dancing with some friends. I have no sense of rhythm (Elaine's a great dancer compared to me), so the evening will consist of me clinging to hubby as he moves me around the dance floor. Should be fun ;)

Cover Lovin' - His Client

I received the cover for His Client over the weekend! Huge thanks to April Martinez. She's done the covers for all of my Loose Id books thus far, and she does fabulous work.

All of the epublishers that I've worked with ask authors to fill out some form of a cover request form. Every time I get a cover, it never ceases to amaze me how the cover artists give me what I asked for. Probably sounds odd to say such a thing, but I don't at all have an image of an 'ideal' cover in my head when I complete those forms. I simply fill in the blanks - genre, tone of the book, descriptions of the heroes, setting of the book, other covers that I like, etc. - and then let the cover artist work their magic.

For this one, I gave 2 setting options - a bedchamber at the brothel or Jasper's cottage. 'Quaint, stone cottage. 2-story house in the country'. check. A guy in a corset to give a hint of the kink in the book (the guys like to play games). check. And there's Nate in his starched white cravat. ...a cravat that makes my fingers twitch to unravel it. One of the reasons why I love writing Regency set books. Gorgeous clothes, and it's so fun to get the guys out of those gorgeous clothes. ;)

Naughty Books

I had a nice long weekend and got the proofs reviewed for His Client. So that's done. The book will officially be out in less than a month. Still seems forever away, especially since it releases in 2011, but according to the calendar, 'forever away' is really only 4 weeks.

It also snowed over the weekend and got freakin' cold on Monday. As a result, it took me over a half hour to drive 4 miles to the EDJ on Tuesday since the roads were seriously a sheet of ice. My car has this little 'Slip' light on the dashboard that goes off whenever the tires lose traction with the road. That light went off so many times I'm amazed the darn thing didn't blow itself out. sigh. Midwest winters. The snow was pretty to look at Sunday morning, but I don't think it's very pretty anymore.

Last Friday I mentioned that Smexy Claus would be visiting at Smexy Books and giving away naughty goodies for 12 days. Well, today he's got some of my naughty boys in his bag. He's giving away a choice of one of my released books. Simply answer Mandi's question about Ken dolls (a subject near and dear to my heart *g*) to enter to win. Contest is open through December 17th.

In other news, if you're in the mood for some naughty Christmas elves, check out Shawn Lane's latest release, The Naughty Ones.

Glad it's the Weekend & Blog Happenings

I hope everyone's had a great week. I am very happy it's Friday evening and I'm looking forward to a long weekend (I'm taking Monday off from the EDJ - whoo-hoo!). Though it won't be all fun and chillin' and writing new stuff this weekend. I got the proofs for His Client on Thursday and I have to review them by Monday.

Shawn Lane is posting a free Christmas short story on her blog. Part One of Last Christmas was posted last Monday, Part Two yesterday, and Parts Three and Four will post this Monday and Thursday. So if you're in the mood for a Christmas story with a couple of hotties, stop on by to check it out.

Starting Monday, Mandi from Smexy Books is holding the 12 Days of Naughty Books, where for 12 days, 12 different authors will be giving away naughty books. I don't know exactly what's in Smexy Claus's bag of goodies, but I have a feeling he's got some naughty boys who like naughty boys in there ;)

In non-Ava writing news, I was super geeked when a certain Smexy friend told me my Evangeline m/f historical romance was included on Sarah from Smart Bitches' list of Best Romances for 2010. *g* There's a m/m book on the list as well, which I was very happy to see. I haven't read Strawberries for Dessert yet, but I remember seeing some good reviews for it from friends on GoodReads and I'm putting it on the to-read list now.

Story Behind the Story - Mad Blood by Stephani Hecht

Mad Blood by Stephani Hecht

Stats - Date completed and submitted 1-10-09, Publication Date 4-15-09

Little known fact - In this book the old Tiger Stadium has a cameo appearance. Since, at the time, the stadium was still in the process of being torn down, I went to Google Earth so I could see pictures of its current condition. While I realize it probably dated the book, I couldn’t resist adding this piece of Detroit history to the story.

Extremely little known fact – Dante almost ended up with a female as a mate! Up until Mad Blood, I’d only written M/F books. Then as I started to plot out Mad Blood, I realized that Dante’s mate was Brenden. Instead of fighting it, I just went along with the voices in my head. Since I’d never wrote a M/M book before I admit I was a bit nervous, but once I started I realized that I truly loved the genre. I’m so glad I went with my gut because I can’t imagine Dante having a HEA with anyone else. Not only that, but it started me on my journey to writing mostly M/M books and I’ve never been happier.

How did I get the idea for the book – Oh boy! Now the world is going to know how twisted my thinking process really is. LOL I’d already had the Drone Vampire series started and I knew that Dante would be next. I also knew he would need a strong, yet loving mate to deal with his attitude. All of the sudden this cute, blond vampire named Brenden jumped into the mix and demanded that it was time to write his book, too. I discovered then that Brenden was meant for Dante. I just love mixing the paranormal world with the “ordinary” life of Detroit and outlining cities. One of my favorite characters is Snuggles, a sea serpent who lives in the Detroit River.

If I could edit the book now, what would I change (if anything)? - As sappy as it sounds there is nothing I would change about the book. I love Dante and Brenden just the way they are.
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Mad Blood, Book #2 in The Drone Vampire Chronicles – available now from eXtasy Books.

Ever since being released from the paranormal prison that served as his home for ten years, all Dante wanted to do was pick up the pieces of his shattered life. Once one the most respected vampires, he now is a shell of what he used to be, both emotionally and socially. Taking shelter with a rebel band of Drone Vampires, he has given up any hope of true happiness.

Then when he least expects it, he finds himself drawn to another vampire. Young and innocent to his dark desires, it’s the last male Dante ever thought he would want. Not wanting to corrupt another, he tries to deny his true feelings. Then after a few stolen taboo touches, Dante can no longer fight the urge to claim his mate.

Where Ken is Not So Cute

The edits and revisions for Bound Forever are officially done! I ended up adding another 2 chapters (@5,000 words) to the book, so it came in around 30,000 words (same length as Bound to Him). I sent it off to my editor around 4:30 am Saturday night. Well, it was likely technically Sunday morning, but since the sun hadn't risen yet, I'm counting it as meeting my deadline of Saturday night. The next book that has a looming deadline (since it's already contracted) is Convincing Leopold. I have to finish it by Feb/March'11.

On Tuesday (tomorrow), Stephani Hecht will be by to do a Story Behind the Story post for Mad Blood, a significant book for Steph. And of course you'll have to stop by tomorrow to find out why it's so significant. ;)

I was at Toys'R Us again rececently with the kidlet and spotted a new Ken doll that made me go...really???

Shaving Fun Ken. And yes, his head is really that large in proportion to the rest of his body. Apparently some Kens now have real hair, and this one has the added ability to 'grow' a beard. Using ice cold and warm water, you can make him grow a beard then 'shave' him. Give him a goatee, a moustache, or one of those little smidges of hair under his bottom lip. Of course, that begs the question - where else can he 'grow' hair, and can you shave that, too, into fun little shapes?

Hubby thought the doll looked like Kato Kaelin. I couldn't help but agree. I also noticed his hair is styled much better in the pics on the back of the box than it is on the actual doll.

Poor Ken. I felt bad for him, but not bad enough to take him home.