Monday, January 30, 2017

Pirating is Illegal


I don't often bring this up, but I wanted to share just a little math with everyone. Now, the first thing you need to know is that I am the sole support for my family and writing is my ONLY job. Money does not come in from any other source.

Today, I did the pirate link thing on 30 books...that's 30 books out of about 200 books, so maybe less than 25% of my published books. Let's give a round sum here and say each book was $4.50. Now, of these 30 books, I sent out 403 take down notices...403.

Here's the math... 30 books x 403 takedown notices x $4.50...comes to = $1813.00 (and this is assuming only ONE person downloaded each of these illegally pirated books, which we all know isn't true). Now, I don't know about you, but $1813.00 will pretty much take care of my bills for a month.

People tend to believe that authors live in fancy houses, drive expensive cars, and throw money away like it grew on trees. If you're on the New York Times Best Seller's List, that might be true. Guess what? I'm not. When I have to decide between cough medicine and milk, there's a problem.

If you download a book that you did not legally purchase, you are committing a crime. You probably won't get caught because the laws have not caught up with technology, but it's still a crime. That's on your conscience.

Over the last year, I have read post after post from authors that have simply given up because they cannot feed their families while writing. I'm not saying pirated books are the only cause of this because let's face it, the economy sucks, but they certainly contribute to it.

When you go to work, you expect to be paid for your hard work. Authors are no different. We work hard. We put our heart and souls into our books. I do not believe it is too much to ask to be paid for our hard work. We have bills and families just like you do. Please give us the same respect you would want for yourself and purchase your books legally.

For those of you that do purchase your books legally, you have my heartfelt thanks.

Thursday, January 26, 2017

RELEASE DAY: Precious Love (Special Operations 7)

PRECIOUS LOVE

Special Operations 7

AVAILABLE NOW!!!

[Siren Publishing: The Stormy Glenn ManLove Collection: M/M, HEA]

Frankie Di Salvo thought he had died and gone to heaven the day Porter Reece walked into his life. The man was everything Frankie had always dreamed of. But more than that, Porter's friendly personality and protectiveness drew Frankie in like an eager puppy. He was willing to agree to anything to keep Porter.  

Porter Reece had been looking for one good thing in his life, and he found it in a gorgeous man named Frankie. The times he was able to spend with Frankie between missions were the only things that kept him going when life got hard.  

When Frankie's life gets put in danger, Porter does the only thing he can think of and takes him back to the compound, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that his fellow marines and friends will help him protect Frankie. But the danger his precious love is in isn't just coming from an outside source. There are those at the compound that want Frankie gone as well.

Can Porter convince them that Frankie is innocent before it's too late?

And even if he does, will Frankie still be around for him to love?

http://www.bookstrand.com/book/precious-love


Monday, January 23, 2017

HOT MESS 4 - coming soon!

 
Chapter One
 
Lany
I had once thought that my life was the comic relief for the universe. Today, I was positive I had been right in my line of thinking. It was the only way to explain how I ended up sitting on the floor of my favorite Thai restaurant, surrounded by armed men and hostages.
It was my anniversary after all.
Every year for the last three years—four if you count the actual day I had met Lt. Salvador Delvecchio and he decided to keep me—something occurred that fucked up us spending our anniversary together.
On our first anniversary, Sal had been sucked into going undercover. To give the man some due, he had thought our anniversary was a week later than it actually was. That hadn't been the problem. That, I would have understood. It was him trying to hide what he was doing from me that caused our world to turn upside down.
He never made that mistake again.
Last year, Sal had been hurt on the job while chasing a perp. I had been hurt while trying to protect him, and then things got really interesting.
This time around, I had planned to skip all the bells and whistles—or sheer fabric shirt and g-string, in our case—and just let whatever happened happen.
This was not what I had in mind.
I glanced to the brown haired man sitting to my left. His blue eyes were as round as they could be, watching every little thing our captors did. With Lyn Philips being a police officer and all, that kind of made sense. He was probably watching so he could give a good statement later and help take down the bad guys.
A quick glance to my right showed that my other friend wasn't so wide eyed. In fact, his eyes were narrowed into tiny little slits. I had a sinking feeling he was seething with anger. That too made sense. Eddie Wu tended to get angry when people tried to cage him in. More than one idiot had learned that the hard way.
I was afraid these morons were going to learn it, too.
Painfully.
I just wasn't sure if it was going to be the SWAT unit Sal belonged to that was going to teach them that valuable lesson or the "alleged" mobsters that kept Eddie safe that were going to do it. Either way, these bumbling idiots didn't have a chance in hell.
My eyes rounded and snapped to the three armed men when my phone suddenly started playing the theme song from "Bad Boys". It was stereotypical to have that as Sal's ringtone, but "I want to sex you up" wasn't exactly appropriate.
I winced when the song snippet played again and again, drawing more attention than I really wanted at the moment.
"You!"
I jumped and cringed back when one of the gunmen stopped in front of me. I wanted to reach up and break off the finger he pointed at me.
I didn't.
"Get up."
I swallowed tightly, the ball of nerves clogging my throat making it hard to breathe.
"Hurry the hell up!" the masked man snapped when I didn't move fast enough.
When he waved his very large, very black automatic rifle at me, I scrambled to my feet. I had seen enough weapons in my time to know that this idiots gun could not only take me out if fired, but half the hostages in the place.
"Give me your phone."
I pulled it out of my pocket.
"Will I get it back?" I asked as I gripped it tightly in my hand, not handing it over. I liked my phone. Sal had given it to me. It was neon green. "Because it has all my pictures and stuff on it, not to mention my phone numbers, and god knows I can't remember a phone number to save my life. It's just so much easier dialing one or two or seven or whatever. Don't you think?"
The dark eyes visible through the small round holes in the guy's mask widened briefly before filling with anger.
I always expect violence to happen when I'm being held hostage—or kidnapped or attacked by hit men or driving a car—but then when it does, I'm still surprised. When the man pistol whipped me across the face, I cried out, grabbing at my cheek, which hurt like hell.
A shaft of pain ripped through the side of my face, and for a moment, I wondered if my jaw was broken. I opened my mouth wide, feeling my jaw pop. Okay. Maybe not broken, but damn, it hurt.
I stared at him. Hard. "Why'd you do that? I was going to give you my phone."
Meany.
My opinion of the man's manners didn't get any better when he grabbed me and dragged me over to the hostess counter where his two friends were standing. I much preferred the floor with the other hostages.
Well, truthfully, I preferred my penthouse, but I didn't think I was going to get my wish there, and it wasn't like I was going to invite these yahoos back to play Parcheesi.
"What is your name?" the man I thought of as the "chief asshole" asked.
Well, he kind of demanded.
"Lany Delvecchio."
That's what it said on my driver's license, and I had no problem sharing that bit of information. I was proud to be Lany Delvecchio. It was better than Lancaster Harris III, the name I had been born with.
Sal had christened me Lany when we met. He had made me a Delvecchio when we got married three years ago.
I went by nothing else.
Well, I went by caro, too, but only for Sal. And my parents and uncle called me Junior. I hated it, but long ago accepted it.
My eyes popped wider when the man held my cell phone out to me. I started to reach for it, but then paused, the wheels in my brain working over time. Hell, they were practically leaving skid marks.
"He just took my phone from me." I nodded to Mr. Meany. "Why are you giving it back?"
"I want you to make a little phone call."
"Oh hell no!" I took two steps back before spinning and running back over to where Eddie and Lyn sat. There was no way I was going to be the go between for these idiots.
As big as their guns were, Sal's were bigger.
"Hey!" the chief idiot shouted. "Get your ass back here."
I jumped when the man fired off a round into the ceiling, but that didn't stop me from returning to my spot on the floor.
They might have been idiots, but I wasn't.
"Hey!"
I rolled my eyes at Eddie and Lyn as I crawled between them and sat down.
"I'm gonna shoot your ass if you don't get back here."
I shook my head vehemently. "Then you're just going to have to shoot me. I'm not making that phone call."
"He wants you to make a phone call?" Lyn asked.
I nodded.
"But he just took your phone."
"I know, right?"
It was nice to know I wasn't the only one that saw that as weird.
And somewhat counterproductive.
Just how unprofessional were these guys?
"Who does he want you to call?" Eddie asked.
I just stared at the man.
Eddie's eyes rounded as he sucked in a quick breath. "Oh no, you can't do that."
"Right?"
Chief Idiot stopped in front of me. I swallowed tightly when he pointed the barrel of his gun down at me. He held my cell phone in the other hand.
I shook my head. "I'm not making that phone call."
"Do you understand that I have a gun pointed at your head?" As if to prove his point, the guy pressed the end of the barrel to my forehead.
Tears sprouted to my eyes. As brave as I tried to sound, I wasn't. I was shaking in my Dolce & Gabbana boots. They had been a present from my mother. They were slate gray.
I tiled my head back just far enough to see into the guy's eyes, which was all I could see of him through his mask. "I do understand that you have a gun and I don't want to die, but if you force me to make that phone call, somebody is going to die and it's not going to be me."
"Well, I can't make that phone call," Eddie insisted when the masked man glanced at him. "This place would turn into World War III. No one would survive." Eddie shrugged. "Well, I would, but it's doubtful anyone else would."
He was probably right.
"I'm not making it," Lyn insisted. "Can you imagine the ribbing the guys would give me if I had to call in a hostage situation? I'd never live it down."
Lyn was right. He'd get a lot of shit if he was the go-between in a hostage situation. The guys on Sal's SWAT team were great guys, but they were still guys. The brain to mouth filter didn't always work.
"Somebody is going to make this fucking phone call or people are going to start getting fucking shot. Now, who the hell is it going to be?"
Okay, the chief idiot was pissed. I got that, but really... "Do you talk to your mother with that mouth?"
"Yeah, he does," replied one of the gunman.
Good god, it was a woman under that mask.
"He's been swearing like that since he was five years old."
I blinked up at the chief idiot. "Dude."
Eyes so narrow, Lany could see them through the mask, the gunman waved his gun around. "Why are we even discussing this? I want someone to make this fucking phone call."
"Ask nicely," Lyn said.
"And apologize to your mother," I insisted as nodded my head toward the masked female. "You should be ashamed of yourself, talking like that in front of a lady."
The woman in the mask snickered.
The gunman raged, turned the gun and shot Eddie in the leg.
"Eddie!" I rolled to my hands and knees and started putting pressure on the bleeding wound. "Lyn, I need something to stop the bleeding."
"On it." Lyn jumped up and raced to the back of the restaurant despite the three gunman standing there.
"You're going to be okay, Eddie." He had to be. As son of one of the city's—allegedly—most notorious mobsters, not to mention nephew of another prominent—but also alleged—mobster, if he died, there wouldn't be a sidewalk in the city that was safe.
Eddie wasn't crying, but I could see that he wanted to. His lips were pressed together so tightly, they were white. His hands were clenched.
"It doesn't look like it hit the bone." I hoped that would make Eddie feel better. "It's a through and through."
"This is going to screw up my art show next week."
"Oh, Lyn and I can help," I said quickly at the fallen look on Eddie's face.
It was an art show. How hard could it be? It wasn't like we had to paint the damn things.
"Hey!" Chief Idiot shouted. "You do remember who has the gun here, right?"
"Man, you screwed the pooch this time, dude." I shot the gunman my dirtiest glare. "We tried to warn you, but you just had to go and prove how much of an idiot you were, didn't you?"
"Who the fuck are you?"
I didn't have the time to explain it.
"Give me my phone." I held out my hand until the guy handed it over. I knew he expected me to call the police negotiator, blah, blah, blah.
He was in for a big disappointment.
I dialed the one person I knew who could save us all.
Sal was good like that.
"Lany."
"Hey." Crap, he was mad. I could hear it in his voice. "So, these guys in here are really stupid. They shot Eddie."
I glanced up when Lyn came running back with some towels. The man slid to a stop next to us and dropped the towels into a pile on the floor next to Eddie. I immediately grabbed a couple and applied pressure to the bullet wound.
"Have you been injured, Lany?" There was a thread of violence in that question.
"No, I'm okay." Sal worried.
I frowned when my smile sent a wave of pain through my cheek. "The guy did pistol whip me, but I don't think anything is broken."
"Which one hit you?"
"Um..." I glanced over. All of the gunman were wearing the same gray zip up overalls and black knit ski masks. I'm sure they felt that would keep their identities secret.
Like I said, idiots.
"I think he's the brother of the chief idiot. He's shorter than the main guy, but not the female, who is the mother of the chief idiot, so this might be a family endeavor."
"I see."
That was my Sal, a man of few words.
"He wanted me to call and negotiate, but I didn't think that was a good idea. Then he shot Eddie, so all bets are off." I glared up at the gunman who was staring at me with wide eyes. "You can come in and shoot them now."
"We'll be right in, caro."
"Okay."
I hung up my cell and slid it into my pocket.
"It's okay, Eddie. Sal and the others will be right here."
"Good," Eddie gritted out through his clenched teeth.
"Lyn, would you make sure everyone is sitting on the floor by the wall, hands clasped on top of their heads? I don't want anyone hurt in the crossfire."
"I'll take care of it," Lyn said as he got to his feet and hurried over to where the other hostages were sitting. Within moments he had them moving back against the far wall.
It wasn't rocket science. SWAT, a pissed off husband, and guys with guns. Someone was going to get hurt. I wanted to make sure those that needed not to get hurt, didn't. Those that needed a serious time out were on their own.
"Stop!" The head gunman shot into the ceiling. Again.
"Would you knock that off," I griped when one of the female hostages cried out. "You're scaring people."
The guy waved his hands wide. "This is a fucking hostage situation. What part of that don't you understand? I am the one with the gun. I give the orders. You follow them. That's how hostage situations work."
I rolled my eyes dramatically.
"Why are you not listening to me?" The guy stomped his foot. "I have a gun. You're supposed to be scared."
He seemed totally confused as to why Lyn, Eddie, and I weren't trembling in the corner along with the other hostages.
Idiot.
Lany pointed to the rather large SWAT commander who stepped into the restaurant behind the gunman. "He's scarier than you are."

 

THE DARK COURT SERIES...Coming Soon!

Give me your life, your love, your forever, as I give you mine.” 
         
In the world of the Aes Sídhe, a mate bond is forever. A powerful, supernatural race of elves, they have moved through the veil between worlds for centuries, bound by honor, an unquenched passion, and a need for a mate to share that bond with. In a world where war between the Courts threatens to destroy all they know, bonding with a mate means looking in some very unlikely places. 
 
 
~~@~~ 


BEYOND THE DARKNESS
 
Dark Court 1
 
coming February 2nd, 2017
 
Zack Banning is having a bad day, hell, a bad year. When he discovers a man being attacked and jumps into the fight, it just goes to reason that his life will get more complicated. Someone is after, Eljin, the man he rescued. The same people want to kill Zack. And Zack is convinced that Eljin is nuttier than a bed bug. If he’s not, the very foundation of Zack’s life could change forever.
 
 
~~@~~
 
BEYOND REGRET
 
Dark Court 2
 
coming February 16th, 2017
 
When circumstances find Doc and Rocky in the Seelie Court, the two men give into the desire growing between them. It ends with Rocky making a comment that drives Doc from him with a broken heart. When Doc decides to leave on a mission back to the human world it doesn’t turn out like he expects when he meets Monte, the Seelie Elf he’s been sent to rescue, and the most intriguing man he’s ever met.
 
 
~~@~~
 
BEYOND ETERNITY
 
Dark Court 3
 
coming March 2nd, 2017
 
Brandon Thomas liked his job as an orderly but lately, things had started to get a little weird AT WORK. The military has taken over the small institute. A job promotion doesn't lead to a better position, as Brandon thought, but to a sexy elf that says they are mates. Should Brandon believe Kavin or is it all some elaborate ruse by a mad scientist bent on making super solders with his DNA?
 
 
 
 
 

Friday, January 20, 2017

TIME MACHINE DISCOUNT: Cowboy Easy

~~ $.99 ~~
 
On each day of each year (2006-2011), the following titles were released. We celebrate each anniversary date by offering a tremendous discount for a limited time. Enjoy them now!


COWBOY EASY

Blaecleah Brothers 1

[Siren Classic ManLove: Erotic Alternative Cowboy Romance, M/M]

Lachlan Blaecleah never expected to find the love of his life in the middle of a street fight with two other men, but he knew the moment he saw Asa Miller that he wanted to get to know the man better. He jumps into the fight and becomes Asa's knight in slightly tarnished armor.

Asa Miller is amazed by Lachlan every time he looks at him. He's a walking, talking cowboy fantasy come to life, complete with hat and boots. After being rescued by him and taken home for a night of debauchery at the hands of the sexy cowboy, Asa isn't sure what to do next. Should he stick around and get to know Lachlan and his large family better or run from the feelings the man invokes in him?

Before Asa can make his choice, someone else steps in to separate the two men, on a more permanent basis. Asa has to decide if what they have together is worth the heartache he feels when he almost loses the man he loves. Or should he guard his heart and lose his cowboy forever?

http://www.bookstrand.com/cowboy-easy

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER: Beyond the Darkness

BEYOND THE DARKNESS

Dark Court 1

AVAILABLE: Thursday, February 2nd

[Erotic Alternative Fantasy Paranormal Romance, M/M, HEA]

Nothing in Zack Banning’s life makes sense. Not the head injury that ended his career, and certainly not the sexy dreams he’s been having about a mysterious blue-eyed stranger who seems to know exactly how to send Zack straight into the flames of ecstasy with every touch. Zack can’t decide what disturbs him more—how much he longs for the dreams to be real or the fact that they feature another man.  

Eljin has spent the last several months frightened and alone. The single bright spot was the tentative connection he forged with Zack, a fellow captive with no memory of their encounter. Desperate to return across the veil but unwilling to leave Zack in danger, Eljin sets out to convince Zack of the miracle that holds them together before the forces conspiring against Eljin’s entire race pull them apart forever.

http://www.bookstrand.com/book/beyond-the-darkness

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER: Precious Love

PRECIOUS LOVE

Special Operations 7

AVAILABLE: Thursday, January 26th

[Siren Publishing: The Stormy Glenn ManLove Collection: M/M, HEA]

Frankie Di Salvo thought he had died and gone to heaven the day Porter Reece walked into his life. The man was everything Frankie had always dreamed of. But more than that, Porter's friendly personality and protectiveness drew Frankie in like an eager puppy. He was willing to agree to anything to keep Porter.  

Porter Reece had been looking for one good thing in his life, and he found it in a gorgeous man named Frankie. The times he was able to spend with Frankie between missions were the only things that kept him going when life got hard.  

When Frankie's life gets put in danger, Porter does the only thing he can think of and takes him back to the compound, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that his fellow marines and friends will help him protect Frankie. But the danger his precious love is in isn't just coming from an outside source. There are those at the compound that want Frankie gone as well.

Can Porter convince them that Frankie is innocent before it's too late?

And even if he does, will Frankie still be around for him to love?

http://www.bookstrand.com/book/precious-love


Tuesday, January 10, 2017

"PROSE" ... by the mysterious A.


Prose is a social reading and writing platform, headquartered in Seattle and London, on a mission to challenge social media and publishing.

Prose has integrated the standard features of a social network within the context of writing.
Rather than photos, videos, and songs, Prose is the home for books, poems, short stories, and all other forms of original written work spanning dozens of
genres.

Talented writers can generate a whole new source of income via Prose, by participating in sponsored writing challenges and by selling whole books and individual chapters on Prose's recently launched bookstore.

Why use Prose? There are three unique reasons...

Firstly: Become a better writer no matter what your skill level, and get paid in unprecedented forms. Think of Prose as a literary gym in addition to a literary ecosystem.

Secondly: Enjoy a whole new form of self-expression and human connection that traditional social media fails to provide. Many members of this community have left social media entirely for Prose because Prose is deep and fulfilling, not superficial and junky.

Lastly: Stop paying for therapy and get those words off your chest with a genuine and supporting community. Prose has literally saved lives, being a safe, non-judgmental space where you can write anything anonymously and receive support from people who truly care.

You can find some exceptionally unique, tasteful, and captivating original content on Prose, such as: "The Tantalizing Tale of Horny Santa," authored by the mysterious A.

Join the word-party; it doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon.
https://theprose.com/