Zoe York's Blog, page 9

I am thrilled to be a part of the Shades of Pink charity anthology organized by romance writer Kallysten. This year, 32 authors joined her and each contributed a short story for a limited edition mega-collection that is only available from September 30 to November 15, 2013, and only by donation directly to the breast cancer charity of your choice. This book is not for sale at booksellers, and none of the authors get a cut of the proceeds.

The suggested donation is $5. Funds are raised via Stayclassy.org and all proceeds go directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Readers can also donate to the charity organization of their choice (with a focus on breast cancer) and email their receipt to receive their copy of the anthology in either PDF, ePub or mobi (kindle).

Who: Kate Baum, Brei Betzold, Jean Booth, Catherine Bowman, Perci T. Brooks, Rose Caraway, Bethan Cooper, Sarah Daltry, Vivien Dean, JJ Ellis, Rachel Firasek, Sabrina Garie, Amber Green, T. Hammond, Lisa M. Harley, Susan Harris, K. R. Haynes, Ellie Heller, Laura Hunsaker, Jennifer James, Torie James, Kallysten, K.A. Linde, C. Deanne Rowe, DJ Shaw, Madeline Sheehan, Eden Summers, Gill Taber, J Annas Walker, Matthew Welch, Kristin L. Wilson, Zoe York, Angela Yseult

When: October through November 15th.

What: 33 short stories:

something for every palate: 4 stories are spicy (ménage or kink), 15 are sexy (explicit sex scenes), 14 are sweet (no sex)
A handful of vampires, about four dozen humans including fighters, cursed humans, reincarnated souls, footballers, time travelers, bosses, secretaries, writers, rock stars, teens, witches, soldiers, wives, husbands and fiancés, 1 succubus, 1 genie, 1 extra-terrestrial princess, a few gods and goddesses, a pack of werewolves
Pink, pink and more pink, including cherry blossoms, jewelry,  flamingoes, silk, a leather collar, assorted flowers, hair, a car, lip gloss, champagne, a hair ribbon, a hippo, various clothing items, lemonade and a toy

Where: Kallysten’s blog

Here you’ll find teasers for all the stories, interviews of the authors posted during all of October, and of course the link where you can donate and help this worthy cause.

How to Donate:

If you are in the United States, Kallysten has set up a fundraising page at StayClassy.org and with your receipt you’ll get a direct download link for the anthology.

If you are outside of the United States, and would prefer to donate to a local breast cancer research or support organization, simply make a donation and forward your e-receipt to Kallysten at kallysten_fr (at) yahoo (dot) com. Or email me, and I’ll connect you with her.

The post Shades of Pink Charity Anthology appeared first on Zoe York.

Today’s Zoe Qs are for Victoria Dahl, one of the first people I started following on Twitter, a decision that I can honestly say has shaped my writing career. Possibly in the erroneous direction of focusing on beards, farmer’s tans and fuzzy forearms, but also to write strong, vibrant, feminist heroines who both discover and defend their agency. And these strange, hot men and awesome, smart women clash and come together in stories that linger in your head and heart. Also, they usually have some wicked hot sex. Is that enough adjectives? Not even, but you’re here for her, not me, so let’s get to it…Victoria’s latest Jackson Hole novel, So Tough to Tame, released yesterday in ebook and paperback. I’ve liked each of these books more than the last, and can’t wait to sink into Charlie and Walker’s book.

What is your favorite word?

I think “particularly” is fun to say!

What turns you on?

Humor, respect, intelligence.

What turns you off?

Oh, so many things. Any kind of dudebro/fratboy behavior, mostly.

If you had to choose one word to describe yourself, what would it be?

Yikes, this is a tough one. Hm. Let’s go with…eclectic!

If you could live anywhere in the world, other than your home town, where would you be right now?

Seattle.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

I like to put things together and do puzzles, and I was thinking the other day that being a locksmith would be fun. Or maybe just a lock pick!

What profession would you not like to do?

Sales. *shudder* Not a great career for an introvert. I can’t imagine bothering people like that.

What was the last thing you had to eat and drink?

A salad to eat, and a grapefruit & vodka to drink. Healthy!

If you died, and came back as a person or thing, who or what would you be?

I might like to try out being a man. It could be fun. Or a house cat.

What is your favorite curse word?

Fuck, if I’m just cursing. Cock if it’s a hot scene.

***

Victoria Dahl lives with her family in a small town high in the Utah mountains. During the summer, she hikes and drinks margaritas (usually not at the same time.) During the winter she likes to curl up with a book and a cup of hot cocoa and think about all those poor, freezing skiers working so hard out in the snow.

She’s been reading romance since the age of twelve and started her first manuscript at the tender age of twenty. Occasionally, on dark and stormy nights, she bravely posts excerpts of that original story on her blog for the entertainment of her readers.

Her first published novel won the Golden Heart award. Since then, she’s published over twenty books and novellas, including three USA Today bestsellers, and several of her books have been nominated for  the prestigious RITA® Award for excellence in the romance genre.

***

Visit her website, follow her on Facebook, and most definitely follow her on Twitter!

The post The Proust Questionnaire – Fall 2013 Series, Week 4 – Victoria Dahl appeared first on Zoe York.

Last winter I saw a bit of chatter on Goodreads and Twitter about a new book called Escorted, by Claire Kent. It was on sale, and I don’t need much more than that to try a new book, so I downloaded it and dove right in. Like all great books, it wasn’t what I expected. It was bigger and more complicated, and I fell in love with both characters as they navigated the complicated nature of their relationship. By the end of the book, I wanted more. A lot more. But Claire hadn’t written anything else. Luckily for me, Noelle Adams hadn’t made a secret of the fact that Claire Kent was an alternate pen name, and I got to dive into her backlist.
Nine months later, and both pen names have produced more books that continue to captivate readers. Her latest titles are Missing and Christening, so you should read those, but go back and pick up Escorted as well. Heck, pick up all of her books and make a festival of reading the list!

 

This week, she’s my third guest for the Fall 2013 Proust Questionnaire, Zoe-style. Welcome, Noelle!

What is your favorite word? Vagabond.

What turns you on? Humor, kindness, and great abs.

What turns you off? Immaturity.

If you had to choose one word to describe yourself, what would it be? Hermit.

If you could live anywhere in the world, other than your home town, where would you be right now? Aix-en-Province, France.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Art historian.

What profession would you not like to do? Politics.

What was the last thing you had to eat and drink? Coffee and chocolate chip cookies.

What is your favorite curse word? I don’t think I have one – I’m not very creative with the curse words.

If you died, and came back as a person or thing, who or what would you be? My dog – she lives in the lap of luxury.

Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she teaches English, reads any book she can get her hands on, and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel. She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.

The post The Proust Questionnaire – Fall 2013 Series, Week 3 – Noelle Adams appeared first on Zoe York.

… if I had an extra gajillion hours in the week!

A map of Wardham
Family trees for the Nixons, Millers, Beadies, Wests and Calhouns
Pretty printables and save-ables – Wardham bookmarks, bookplates, desktop backgrounds and Facebook cover photos
Update my website with a list of the awesome bloggers and FB pages who have promoted my books
post funny text message exchanges between characters
……….

What kind of bonus material do you love for your favourite books and characters?

I can’t do all of this, not right away, but I can do SOME OF IT. Help me triage this list into bite-size, do-able pieces, and I’ll set some dedicated time aside each weekend to filling up a bonus materials page.

The post Marketing Monday: All the things I’d do… appeared first on Zoe York.

A few years ago, I fell in love with a paperback titled Unlawful Contact. I picked it up at a yard sale. I had never heard of the author, but I like romances and I like suspense. That book blew my mind. It was gritty and real and hot, and stood on its own in both categories. That was my introduction to the I-Team, and I discovered I was actually in the middle of the series. So I went back and read from the beginning, and with each book, my respect and fan-love for Pamela Clare increased. Breaking Point, the last full-length novel in the series, was my favourite yet. This November, Pamela is releasing Striking Distance, and I’m so excited I can barely contain myself.

I’m SO pleased to welcome Pamela Clare to my blog today, as the second author in my Fall 2013 series Proust Questionnaire interviews.

 

What is your favorite word?

In which language?

I love languages. I’ve studied nine formally and know conversational bits of about 15 or so languages total. So picking one word?

As a single mom, my favorite word would have to be DONE. Dinner? Done. Dishes? Done. Housework? Done. Homework? Done. Errands? Done.

As an author, that word holds appeal, too, I guess. Synopsis? Done. Writing? Done. Editing? Done.

So maybe it’s “Done.” If not that then “orgasm” or “chocolate” or “coffee.”

What turns you on?

Tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed men with nice pecs, abs and obliques.

Music.

The scent of coffee.

New books. Old books. Books.

People who know themselves enough to be genuine and of service to others.

Good food shared with good company.

Diversity.

Creativity.

Using my five senses.

Sex.

What turns you off?

Closed minds.

Exclusivity.

Staleness.

Spiders.

Puritanism.

Willful ignorance.

Sexism and misogyny.

If you had to choose one word to describe yourself, what would it be?

Determined.

If you could live anywhere in the world, other than your home town, where would you be right now?

I would be in Copenhagen, Denmark. I lived in Denmark for three years and love it. I have close friends there whom I miss. If I could, I would probably live there at least part of the year.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

If I didn’t write, I’d want to be in fine arts. It was a close call for me which direction I would go for a time — fine arts or writing. I actually hope to do both at some point.

What profession would you not like to do?

Anything involving an office, CEOs, bosses, hierarchy or getting up early Monday morning.

What was the last thing you had to eat and drink?

I had a baked chicken breast with zucchini salad, German cucumber salad and fresh green beans. (All the veggies are from my garden).

To drink: Water.

What is your favourite curse word?

The F-word. I used it as frequently and in as many ways as I can.

***

Pamela Clare’s sixth book in the I-Team series, Striking Distance, will be released November 5, 2013. There’s a fantastic excerpt on her website: http://www.pamelaclare.com/excerpt_strikingdistance.php I can’t wait for November…in the meantime, I’m going to re-read Breaking Point.

Website: www.PamelaClare.com

Twitter: @Pamela_Clare

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pamela-Clare/167939496589645

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/92650.Pamela_Clare

The post The Proust Questionnaire – Fall 2013 Series, Week 2 – Pamela Clare appeared first on Zoe York.

Check out my RomCon guest blog post, What is in a kiss? I can’t wait to share Karen and Paul’s first kiss with you … Where Their Hearts Collide is coming out next month!

The post Guest blog post: I’m at RomCon today, talking about smooches! appeared first on Zoe York.

Earlier this summer, I stumbled across a post on Goodreads where Rosanna Leo described the hero of her July release (Predator’s Kiss) as a “hot bear shifter in a plaid shirt”. I was sold, and loved Ryland Snow’s story. Now his brother Soren’s story is out, and it’s even hotter. Rosanna Leo joins me today to answer my version of the Proust Questionnaire, and share an excerpt from Predator’s Seranade.

Romance Author Rosanna Leo

What is your favourite word?

Lovely

What turns you on?

Tall blond men with icy eyes.

What turns you off?

Men who smoke

If you had to choose one word to describe yourself, what would it be?

Optimistic

If you could live anywhere in the world, other than your home town, where would you be right now?

London, England

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Funeral director. I think I’d be really good at consoling people.

What profession would you not like to do?

Mathematician- ugh!

What was the last thing you had to eat and drink?

A double double Tim Horton’s coffee this morning and dinner last night- chicken and multigrain rice with veggies.

What is your favourite curse word?

The F bomb is delightful.

If you died, and came back as a person or thing, who or what would you be?

A sexy bear shifter!

There are three things that make bear shifter Soren Snow’s skin crawl: mothers, their children, and the great outdoors. Soren is a famed musician and playboy, and he would rather spend his days pressing the flesh with the women in his fan club than developing meaningful relationships. When his brother calls in a favor, forcing Soren to revisit the Ursa Fishing Lodge in Northern Ontario, he couldn’t be more displeased. However, he owes his brother big time.

Gioia Clementine would rather not meet Soren, her drummer son’s rock idol. But when tragedy strikes her home, it seems the only one the boy might respond to is Soren. Gioia begrudgingly agrees to let her son meet him, hoping the rock star won’t turn her tween into a musical misogynist.

When Gioia and Soren meet, the sexual chemistry threatens to set the Ontario woodland ablaze. Can these two opposites find a common ground? And can they manage to resolve their unwanted feelings, even when a mysterious stranger arrives at the lodge, threatening everything?Excerpt

Gioia followed Soren’s approach with a curious eye. She’d wondered if the miracle kisser would beat a hasty retreat after witnessing her boy fall to pieces, and yet here he was. He wore the same famished look he had right before he’d ruined her for any other man’s kiss. And she felt it too. The tingles between her shoulder blade, the gelatin knees, and trembling lips that wanted to gobble him up.

She couldn’t. She didn’t want to saddle him with such a wreck of a woman or family.

He came right up to her, so close, as if making a mockery of the space that sought to separate them. Weaving his fingers through her hair, he cradled her skull and pulled her close. Tucking her head against his chest, he kissed the top of her head, blazing a trail of hot reaction down her spine. He had new clothes on and smelled fresh and clean. As she breathed him in, he rained soft kisses all over her head.

He knows.

She pulled away, suddenly terrified he’d think she was a travesty of a mother. It’s what anyone would think in his case. They’d wonder what Gioia had done wrong to create a monster child. But as she attempted to remove herself from his grasp, Soren fought her by holding her still. Again she tried jerking away from his wall of a chest. He held her firm.

When she tried two more times, each time unsuccessfully, he looked at her and shouted, “Dammit, woman, I am not letting you go, so you can stop pulling away from me!”

Something in Gioia broke. She’d been carrying her sadness around for so long, trying to be strong, and Soren was offering to be strong for her. For just a moment, maybe she could surrender. God only knew how badly she wanted to give herself to the bear man.

He grabbed her tighter, and his hands slid down to mold over her ass cheeks. His warm breath was all over her face, and she took a dizzying dive into the seas of his eyes. He ground her against him, and she was forced to stand on tip toes.

“Gioia,” he whispered.

She wound her arms about his tense neck, felt him tense further. Then … a sigh somewhere in his big frame and a relaxation in his muscles. As if he needed to have her wound about him. As if it soothed him as much as her.

“Soren. Please.”

As he kissed her, he picked her up, his hands under her bottom. Her miniskirt rode up, and she spared a second to mentally curse her decision to wear it. And then she didn’t care.

Kissing her madly, Soren spirited her into the woods.

Buy it now at Liquid Silver Books

Author bio

Rosanna Leo is a multi-published, erotic romance author with Liquid Silver Books. Her books include For the Love of a God, Up In Flames, and Sweet Hell. When not writing, she can be found haunting dusty library stacks or planning her next star-crossed love affair. She blogs at www.rosannaleo.blogspot.com

Connect with Rosanna: Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

The post The Proust Questionnaire – Fall 2013 Series, Week 1 – Rosanna Leo appeared first on Zoe York.

Warning – this post is NSFW. It’s hot, and dirty, and I’m glad I’m on vacation this week so I can click on it repeatedly throughout the day.

First of all, a huge thanks to Day 1 through 4 hosts of this puzzle cover reveal:

Monday – Author Emily Ryan-Davis’s blog

Tuesday – Hook Me Up Book Blog

Wednesday -Globug and Hootie Need a Book

Thursday – Read Your Writes blog

Here’s the last puzzle piece for the cover, and the final excerpt:

If you haven’t yet, click on the above links to read the first four excerpts from Karen and Paul’s story. What comes next is from Chapter Six, so there’s a lot that leads up to this moment … and obviously, a heck of a lot follows it, as well. This book is more of a rollercoaster than the first two, but moments like this make it all worthwhile.

EXCERPT

“We can’t do this, remember?”

“Talk on the phone? Because that’s all we’re doing. Talking. No harm in that, right?” His voice was taut with tension, and a challenge.

“Right. Just talking.”

“About your state of undress.” He dropped his voice to a lower register. “I can’t get the taste of you out of my mouth, Karen. Have you been thinking about that night?”

Even though there were many walls and a driveway between them, Karen was suddenly very conscious that she was just wearing a bra and a skirt. And underpants. She was also quite aware of her underwear. “Uhm, yeah.”

“Tell me.”

“That was nice…making out.”

He chuckled. “It was. You make me want to forget my principles, Karen.” The growled words sounded like a compliment, but she wasn’t so weak that she couldn’t push back at the unintended truth.

“That doesn’t sound like a good thing.”

“It’s not, but you are. Maybe I need to re-evaluate.”

Let me know once you’ve done that, buddy. But she couldn’t voice the brush off. She didn’t have a co-dependent bone in her body, but something about Paul made her want to promise to wait. Made her want to accept whatever half-measures he could handle. Except she probably wouldn’t be around when he sorted his shit out. “Let’s not make this complicated. Can we go back to talking about making out?”

“We can start there.” His voice was silky, pure sex in her ear, and she found herself holding her breath. And then go where? “Tell me what you’re wearing.”

“A skirt.”

“I saw it. Very pretty. Can you spread your legs in it?”

Oh god. “Uhm, no.”

“Take it off.”

She tucked the phone tight under her chin and rolled to the side so she could grab the zipper in the back. After laying the skirt over her footboard, she scrambled up to the head of the bed and fluffed up a couple of pillows to recline against. “Okay.”

“I love the little panting noises you were making as you did that, Karen.” His words dripped over her skin like sweet oil. “Listening to you made me hard.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” He sounded amused, but in a way that included her. “Everything about you turns me on.”

“Wow. Okay, I like that.”

“Good. Are you wearing anything else?”

“A bra and…panties. They match.”

“Describe them.”

“They’re pink, pale pink, and mostly see-through.” She paused as he groaned and shifted. He was right. The little noises were awesome. “The underwear are bikini style, so they just have little straps on the sides. The bra is a demi-cup—”

“Off. Take them off.” The words came out strangled and her heart swelled at the effect she was having on him. “Wait. Just the bra. Leave the panties on. I want your hand inside them. Imagine the fabric pressing against your skin is my hand guiding you.”

Her bra sailed across the room and she wiggled into the center of the bed, pausing for a second to put her phone on speaker. “Guiding me to do what?”

“First, we’re going to find out if you’re wet. Are you wet for me, darlin’?” If she wasn’t already—which she totally was—she would’ve been after that question.

“Yes.” Her answer came out in a breathless rush.

“One hand in your panties, the other cupping a breast. Don’t touch your nipples yet.”

She wasn’t going to, that wasn’t something she would normally do when touching herself, but as soon as he gave that directive, she was suddenly aware of both nipples, her areolas pebbling and the dark pink tips jutting sharply toward the ceiling. She licked her lips, imagining him above her, propped up on his forearms, gazing at her breasts. She plumped up her left breast, offering him a taste.

I did warn you not to read that at work. Take a moment to compose yourself.

Where Their Hearts Collide will be out in October. In the meantime, read the first two Wardham stories (links on the right – Between Then and Now is FREE at most online booksellers!), and join my mailing list (also on the right) for a heads up when this one is available, and opportunities for early review.

Finally, I’d like to take a sappy moment to thank you for your interest in my little series – I’m overwhelmed and humbled at the reviews and emails. Keep them coming. Now I’m going to make the most out of my last day of vacation and write my buns off!

Zoe

P.S. OH WAIT! The cover! Here’s the finished puzzle. I’ll post the pretty, non-pieced together version later today.

The post Cover Reveal, Day 5: Under all this sweetness lies more than a little spice! appeared first on Zoe York.

Welcome to my cover reveal tour for Where Their Hearts Collide! The second full length novel in The Wardham Series will be released in October, and I’ve sat on this cover design for a while now, but I wanted to give Karen Miller and Paul Reynolds a really special introduction. This is the first book that has made me cry while writing it (although the others have come close). So the plan is, every day this week, a different puzzle piece will be unveiled on a book blog, along with an exclusive excerpt from the book.

Today, author Emily Ryan-Davis is sharing the first piece. Visit her blog to read a bit from Karen and Paul’s second encounter, and meet Paul’s daughter.

Come back tomorrow to see how the puzzle is fitting together. I’ll link to the next piece and next excerpt, which will be hosted at the Hook Me Up Book Blog.

The post Where Their Hearts Collide – Cover Reveal Tour, Day #1 – exclusive excerpt appeared first on Zoe York.

I’ve had a couple of funny conversations in the last week that made me think I should blog about my writing plan.

My sister asked me how I felt about writing, if I looked forward to sitting down at the computer every night after the kids go to bed, or if it was starting to feel like a second job. I can honestly say that while I’m trying to be diligent about the writing, it is primarily something I’m doing for enjoyment. I used to watch TV in the evenings. Now I read and write. Once the fall schedule launches, I’ll carve time out for The Good Wife, Scandal and The Big Bang Theory, but there’s no more time in my daily life for filler noise, and that doesn’t feel like work at all.

A friend asked me if I was going to stop after writing the three Wardham novels I’ve planned out. Oh no! I have so many more ideas – and I have more Wardham stories than what I’ve just planned out so far! So here’s the tentative plan. Please don’t hold me to this, the voices in my head sometimes take over and change course.

Wardham

Out now:

Between Then and Now – a Wardham novella (FREE! at KoboBooks and Smashwords, .99 at Amazon, coming soon to iTunes and B&N)

What Once Was Perfect – Book 1

Future releases:

Where Their Hearts Collide – Book 2 – expected Fall 2013 (probably October)

Karen & Paul’s story – cover reveal and 5 excerpts coming next week!

When They Weren’t Looking – Book 3 – expected Winter 2013-14 (probably February)Evie & Liam’s story – check out their Pinterest inspiration board

Way down the road:After I finished the trilogy (Laney, Karen and Evie), I’m going to take a break from Wardham and focus on the projects listed below, but in the fall of 2014, look for a second trilogy from the Ontario small town. Books 4, 5 and 6 will feature three homegrown heroes mentioned in the first trilogy, and the people that capture their hearts.

Other Projects

See Me serial

I’ve written a short story for the Shades of Pink project, and the characters have inspired me to consider writing an episodic serial in 2014.  These characters are younger than most of the Wardham heroes and heroines, and they aren’t at the point in their lives where a HEA ending can be reached in a single book. And their stories wind and weave in and out of other people’s lives as well. We’ll see what happens there…stay tuned!

Crossroads SeriesThis will be a standalone trilogy, darker and hotter than my Wardham books. 3 stories, each a standalone HEA for a different couple, all with the theme of life at a crossroads. The first book will come out in spring 2014, and then I’m not sure what the release schedule will be for books 2 & 3. These books are going to be harder to write: longer, more emotionally draining, closer to my heart (and I’m already pretty close to Wardham!). You might need to wait a while for each one, but they’ll be worth it. I’ll be revealing the first cover closer to Christmas.

The post How many books are you going to write, anyway? appeared first on Zoe York.