Half priced books at Siren

We are near the end of the month long Retro price for Delilah's Downfall (Ends July 20th) and now Siren has just put Mele Kalikimaka, Baby on Retro Release! Both books are HALF PRICE for the digital copies at Bookstrand.

Mel's got some discounted books

YAY, it's nice when publishers put my older stuff at a cheaper price. I like it because it lets people try out some different titles and at a cheaper price. These are only discounted on the publisher's site.
 First up is Whiskey Creek Press Torrid.

Her Mother's Killer
As part of the 9th anniversary, there are 9 books for .99 on their site all month.
My book got picked to be one of them.

Althea Johnson wants to leave the past behind, but the memories of her mother’s murder lurk in her dreams. She tries to ignore them until someone drives her off the road, then begins sending her sick letters. Althea returns to the small Texas town where the murder happened, planning to solve the case herself. Her main problem is avoiding the sheriff, her old crush, Duncan Perry.
Duncan can’t believe his best friend’s little sister has grown into such a wonderful bundle of curves. At first he's stunned by his reaction to her, but never one to be slow, he starts putting the moves on her. It isn’t until he's completely seduced by her that he realizes she's putting herself in danger to solve the old crime.
As they fall in love with each other, the stalking and danger escalates. Women matching Althea’s description are being found raped and murdered. The new lovers must now work overtime to figure out just what went wrong twenty years earlier, but the mysteries they will reveal could jeopardize everything they're fighting for.


Conquering India is a Retro Romance this month. What does that mean? It means that until April 9th, you have the chance to read my first ever full menage for $2.50. That is 50% off, folks! If you hadn't heard of the book before, here is a little bit about it:

Conquering India

Caterer India Singer is getting her life on track, hoping to make it big with her new company. She doesn’t need any distractions…especially a younger man. She won't get involved with another man destined to leave her. But security expert Wade Thompson won’t take no for an answer.

Wade knows exactly what he wants and just how to get it. He’s pulling out the stops because he’s sure India’s the woman for him and his best friend and business partner, Marc Jasper. Marc isn’t too sure and tries to keep India at arm’s length.

When a threat to India has her in constant contact with Marc, the lure of the curvy older woman is too much to ignore. But when both men raise the stakes and ask for more than just a fling, will India play it safe to protect her heart, or will she take another chance on love?

Guest Post & Giveaway: Mia Bailey

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF WRITING –

And how to redeem yourself

THE SIN OF ENVY – Your friend lands a publishing contract, and you don’t.  She wins awards for her latest novel, and you don’t.  Your friend signs with an agent and a traditional publisher with a large advance and marketing budget while you sign with an ePublisher with no advances and no marketing budget other than the cash lining your pockets.  We want to be happy for them but the green-eyed monster rears its ugly head leaving us with feelings of resentment, inferiority and insecurity.

REDEEM YOURSELF WITH ACCEPTANCE – Patience is a virtue.  You have to believe with hard work and dedication your time will come.  However, I never claimed to be virtuous so in the meantime, nurture your friendship.  Be genuine and sincere with your congratulations.  With any luck, you’ll be next one to sign a lucrative contract.

THE SIN OF PRIDE – You did it!  You signed on the dotted line to have your book published.  You won several awards for your debut novel and you have an agent, a large advance and marketing budget.  You start believing you’ve written the next Great American Novel.  All hail the wise literary expert.  It’s easy to fall into the role of a pompous, self-righteous know-it-all. 

REDEEM YOURSELF WITH HUMILITY – Keep your success in perspective.  Keep in mind there are authors that are less/more/and just as talented as you.  To be genuinely humble, you teeter between self-esteem and conceit and you don’t want to gain a reputation for being a smug, self-important author.  It’s bad PR. 

THE SIN OF GREED – You negotiate for a larger percentage for royalties; a larger advance; a larger marketing budget; more creative say for the title and cover art; more rights – more, more, more!    We all want to receive our fair due but when is enough, enough?  In the course of negotiation for more, you could talk yourself right out of a contract.

REDEEM YOURSELF WITH GENEROSITY – Be realistic in your negotiations.  Be willing to give and take.  If you’d like a specific title or particular artwork for your book, offer some ideas for promotion and marketing associated with the title and cover you’d prefer.  It’s perfectly acceptable to negotiate your time for more money.

THE SIN OF SLOTH – The perils of procrastination and in our lethargy, we waste even more time by creating our own excuses for not writing.  And we have to ask, does our sloth cause writer’s block or is writer’s block the reason for our laziness?

REDEEM YOURSELF WITH PERSISTENCE – Writers write – every day, on holidays, when they’re sick, even when they just don’t feel like it.  It is at these times we need to push ourselves to achieve our writing goals.  Keep some inspirational and motivational clips near your work area for when you need a nudge or inspiration.

THE SIN OF ANGER – We get angry when we receive rejection letters, when our editors want revision after revision after rewrite on our book.  We get angry at less than positive reviews and less than expected royalties.  Anger causes frustration and again, we have to ask does frustration cause writer’s block or vice-versa.  It is important to keep emotions in check to prevent creating our own problems.

REDEEM YOURSELF WITH SERENITY – Just keep telling yourself – “Grant me the Serenity to accept things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can and the Wisdom to know the difference”.   Let it go.  Rejection letters and bad reviews are part of the business.

THE SIN OF LUST – Beyond the sexual connotation, lust is the fulfillment of self-gratification.  You have to ask yourself “why do I write?”  For the accolades?  For the money?  Bragging rights?  Is the desire to fulfill those needs overshadowing every other aspect of your life?  Writing is my chosen profession but I find great joy in my personal life as well as my professional career.

REDEEM YOURSELF WITH BALANCE – Every action should be fraught with purpose but sometimes that purpose is merely rest and relaxation.  When you seem to be consumed with your writing to the exclusion of everything else, take a break, walk away, and regain your perspective.

THE SIN OF GLUTTONY – You can never be too rich or too thin.  Baloney!  That’s where tyrants and anorexics come from.  And as a writer, too rich may not be a problem but food combined with our sedentary profession can lead to secretary spread. 

REDEEM YOURSELF WITH MODERATION – You need to be disciplined in maintaining a healthy lifestyle including a healthy diet, exercise and adequate sleep.  It’s too easy, being self-employed, to neglect the basics of good health. 

It’s important to keep ALL things in moderation – including Envy, Pride, Greed, Sloth, Anger, Lust and Gluttony.  But now you know how to redeem yourself from the punishment of Purgatory, you know… just in case.

~~~~

    

Mia Bailey is currently writing for Siren Publishing. She lives near Detroit, MI with her daughter, her cocker spaniel, and her four cats. She continues consulting through her public relations company, IDEAS Innovative Designs for Entrepreneurial Advantages, as well as conducts training as a career mentor in career development. But most importantly, she writes daily and looks forward to the day when she can walk into someone's home and there, on the bookshelf, she will see their library of Mia Bailey novels. She truly lives by the mantra "Embrace Every DreamLive Every MomentFulfill Every Fantasy".

~~~~

Mia is giving away an ecopy of her book OF NIGHT AND DESIRE

Just answer the question on the comments to be entered.

Which of the deadly sins are you fighting and how do you redeem yourself?

Find Mia on the web:

Website

BookStrand

Facebook

Getting Lei'd-Hawaiian Holidays 3

Out today is the third and final Hawaiian Holidays book! As with all new releases from Siren, it will not be on Kindle or B and N for about a month.

GETTING LEI'D

BOOKSTRAND

Maribelle has always been unlucky in love. Bad relationships, bad men, just nothing good. The latest guy is her fiancé, who she found cheating on her at the chapel with her cousin. After dumping him at the altar, Maribelle swears off love. To mend her broken heart she goes to Hawaii to visit her friends Eddie and Sophia. She never expected Damon and Alex to follow her with seduction on their minds, and she never expected them to want forever.

Damon and Alex have been in love with Maribelle for years. When Damon’s stupid brother loses her because of his cheating ways, the best friends decide it’s time to let Maribelle know just how they feel. Seducing her is easy, but convincing her to stay with them is going to be a challenge—one thing neither man has ever backed down from.

EXCERPT:

Two-timing, cheating, no-good bastard.

Maribelle Sawyer looked up at her groom. Aaron smiled down at her, that trademark smile of his, the one that had never failed to make her whole body light up like the National Mall on the Fourth of July. 

He turned back to the minister, and she continued to study him. He was gorgeous. Not just plain old good-looking-guy gorgeous but movie-star gorgeous. The type of man Brad Pitt would be jealous of. And she had been lucky enough to be picked by him to marry. She had always thought herself fortunate, until she found him screwing her skanky cousin Denise. In the church they were to be married in.

The minister kept droning on about love and commitment, and Maribelle’s head pounded. What the hell was she doing there? Why was she standing next to the bastard as if she wanted to marry him? She didn’t. Not now.

Maribelle glanced at her two friends, Eddie and Sophia. They looked fabulous, both in deep, dark-purple dresses, their perfect bodies showed off to the best advantage. Maribelle had always been jealous of the fact that both of them could eat anything and it didn’t mar their figures. They were watching her with concern, as if they knew something was wrong. No one else detected it. Not her mother or father. Not even her dumbass groom.

She peeked up at him again. He was watching the minister as if he really cared about the vows, about the whole ceremony. It was as if he hadn’t been getting it on with her cousin in the supply closet just thirty minutes ago.

She went to look back at the minister, but Damon caught her eye. He might be Aaron’s brother and best man, but he had always been one of her best friends growing up. They were the same age, with just six months separating them. He had been her confidant when she had been teased at school. He’d stood up to her skanky cousin Denise whenever she had been mean to her. He was watching her with a solemn expression in his eyes.

She turned back to the minister. Why was she doing this? Why did she feel the need to marry a man who couldn’t even be faithful the day of the wedding? How pathetic. She was willing to marry a man who didn’t love her enough to keep his dick in his pants in the church. Why? Lord only knew. But when her father had shown up to walk her down the aisle, she’d still been in some sort of shock.

It was starting to wear off.

“If anyone has a reason these two people should not marry, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

She glanced up at the groom, his stupid smiling face, and her blood started to heat. How dare he stand there and pretend he hadn’t been fucking someone else, as if it was no big deal? As if he had the right to get his rocks off.

The minister started to say something, but before Maribelle could stop herself, she raised her hand.

The minister looked confused, his gaze looking between her and Aaron.

“Maribelle, is there something wrong?”

The entire congregation was looking at her. She could feel their gazes burning in her back.

“I object.”

“Maribelle?” Aaron’s concerned voice filtered through the air.

She thought she heard someone laugh, and she would bet money on Eddie. She had never liked Aaron.

“I object to this marriage.”

Aaron tugged on her hand until she looked at him. There was a flash of anger in the depth of his blue gaze, and she took a step back. His fingers bit into her wrist.

Apparently realizing she was backing away from him, he schooled his features and smiled at her. Leaning down he asked, “What’s the matter, sweet?”

She twisted her arm until he released her wrist. “I’m not marrying you.”

“Oh, God.”

That was her mother. She had always been worried that Maribelle would mess something up, especially this wedding. It was being touted as one of the weddings of the DC wedding season. And she was messing it up. But she refused to feel guilty about it. Well, she did a little, but she would deal with that later.

“What do you mean you aren’t marrying me?”

“I mean, I refuse to marry you.”

Another flash of anger moved over his face, and this time he didn’t even try to hide it.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I won’t marry you. Don’t want to. Refuse to.” Her voice rose with each statement.

The irritation on his face dissolved into a look of concern. “I think your nerves might be overset.”

“You’re right, they are.”

He smiled, and she wanted to punch him. In fact, she curled her fingers into her palm, making a fist.

“See, so we can resume—”

“I don’t think so.” 

Guest: Jennifer August plus Giveaway

Guilty pleasures. I love those two words together. They are so evocative, aren’t they? You know what I’m talking about, the kind of things that make you start when you get caught (guilty!) but that make you laugh or smile or get squishy in all the right places (pleasure!).

I’ve had my flings with some common guilty pleasures such as eating raw cookie dough (the tollhouse lady was aghast when we called to tell them how much we loved doing that when the break and bakes first came out. I think we might be the reason for the label warning!), singing I Will Survive at the top of my lungs in the car (much to the chagrin and horror of my teenage son) and drinking chocolate syrup straight from the bottle (‘nuff said).

But when I sat down and really thought about the things I do regularly, I realized I am a creature of guilty habits. Here are my top 5 guilty pleasures:

5. Rock Band – I must be a frustrated singer. I love Rock Band. Love, love, love it. I eagerly await Tuesdays because it’s DLC day! What are they going to release next? You should hear me wailing on Don’t Fear the Reaper. On second thought, if you value your hearing, skip it. Just because I LIKE to sing, doesn’t mean I SHOULD sing.

4. Katy Perry – she’s not only my current girl crush, but I really love her music. It’s so much fun and easy to sing along too. Yes, it’s mindless bubble gum pop, but hey, it’s not called a guilty pleasure for nothing!

3. America’s Next Top Model – although I watch a bunch of other reality television, this one is by far my guiltiest pleasure. I watch to see what kind of bat-crazy shit the models are gonna do and Tyra is gonna say. And to see what hideous monstrosity Andre Leon Talley is wearing. Seriously, this guy is a fashion icon? OMG. I’m a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, but even I know ginormous caftans aren’t chic. And they make your  ass look huge.

2. Diet Dr Pepper – this year alone I have tried to quit the Dr Pepper five times. I am beginning to think it’s not going to happen. Each time I wind up with a three-day migraine (not worth it) and a powerful thirst that nothing else can quench. I take one drink of Dr Pepper and it’s “ahhhhhh”wonderful!

And, my number one top guilty pleasure is:

1. Porn – I can’t help it, I like porn. My favorite era are the old films of the 70s when the actors were, ahem, more actorly-like. And some of the movies had plots. Today’s stuff, in my mind, is just for titillation. And it works on me.

Which is probably why I write erotic romance. It’s a great way to explore the wonderful, wide word of sex without being a total slut or risking any communicable diseases. Plus, I’m not as bendy as some of the characters in my books! And probably not as adventurous. In Keys to Submission, my newest Regency erotica from Red Sage Publishing, my heroine finds herself naked and tied up in an old, dilapidated carriage house, awaiting the first taste of the whip. I’d probably be sneezing my head off. Or looking for critters. Writing that scene was both fun and uncomfortable. I kept checking under my desk for mice.

Seriously…

So, what about you? What are some of your guilty pleasures? I’ll be giving away a copy of Her Dark Master and Keys to Submission to one commenter in a random drawing. Please leave your email address and I’ll send the winner both e-books!

Jennifer August writes guilt-free about love, romance and lots of sex. Find her ménage debut Enthralled at Siren Bookstrand, her regency eroticas at Red Sage and other books on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Find Jennifer on the Web: 

www.jenniferaugust.com

http://www.facebook.com/jenniferaugust08

Twitter: @jennifer_august

E-mail: jenniferaugust@jenniferaugust.com