Giveaway Winner Announced and the EAA Conference

The moment you've all been waiting for . . . well, at least some of you! The winner of the book giveaway from Nara Malone's interview is:

Michelle Bauer!

Congratulations, Michelle! Here's your opportunity to get to know Master Bond and his sinfully sweet Toasted Peach Ice Cream from The Dungeon Gourmet. :)

In other news, I spent the weekend on the Las Vegas Strip with the Erotic Authors Association at their conference Sex in Sin City. It was an international crowd, some folks coming all the way from England and Libya! There were several of us from the Las Vegas area: Shannan Albright, CR Moss, JJ Ranger, Laura Hunsaker, and Katie Salidas.

I also met several epublishers and some very cool authors: Charlie Richards, Kate Richards, Maureen O Betita, and Cecilia Tan. I listened to some great readings from Sharazade and Emerald, laughed and chatted with KD Grace, Andrea Dale, Dee Brice, Starla Kaye, Laura Antoniou and Courtney Breazile, and spent time with editors from Decadent Publishing, Extasy Books, Torquere Books and Forbidden Fiction.

Courtney Breazile, Siobhan Muir, and Charlie Richards

The classes and panels were great and I had a wonderful time, but the best part of the conference was meeting and connecting with these authors and publishers. Conferences are about networking and I networked my butt off. Well, on the Strip, I only added to my butt, but I had a terrific time doing it! :D

Emerald has agreed to do an interview around November and I'll be getting together with Katie Salidas soon to discuss an interview as well. It was a great time and if you're an aspiring writer, I highly recommend these kinds of conferences. They are a great way to get noticed, find publishers, and other authors who can steer you through the unusual and ever-changing world of publishing right now.

The next conference I'll be attending is the Arizona Dreamin' Reader Event in June of 2012. It may seem like a long time from now, but it creeps up on you. There are several others happening at the end of this year and the beginning of next. You can visit the RWA site for a list of some of the major ones: Romantic Times, RWA Nationals, Desert Dreams, Authors After Dark. Check them out.

In the meantime, have a great week and I'll see you for Six Sentence Sunday! Happy reading! :)

Writing Wednesday Stress

So I was all set to write something interesting and writing-related here today, but I called my mom to ask about my grandparents (who are nonagenarians and Grampa isn't doing all that well) and I find out that my dad had shortness of breath issues back home and is visiting the hospital to do a bunch of tests to make sure he's okay.

Fortunately my brother is there and is keeping an eye on him while my mom helps my grandparents. We're not too worried, just making sure everything is kosher. There's a lot going on.

However, on the fun side of things, I'm getting closer to my finished product of Not a Dragon's Standard Virgin (finished meaning the rough draft). The Las Vegas Romance Writers group has a Writer's Challenge this year of Write a Novel in a Year, and this one is mine. And I'm this close! So that's what I'm working on this week. Here's Jonarrion's photo if you want to stare at him (he's the hero).

Last weekend was my birthday and I had a wonderful time hanging with my writing sisters and well as my family to celebrate. I received many wonderful gifts, the best of which was all the company and the knowledge that my new computer is on its way (it should be here tomorrow morning! Squeeeee!).

The most exciting thing I did to celebrate, however, was get myself a tattoo that I've always wanted. I drew it from a piece of art I'd seen on a paranormal romance novel (crazy, right?) and the artist at The Skin Factory here in Las Vegas modified it and inked it onto my skin. I love it and my husband spends a lot more time staring at my ass these days! He says it's exquisite. I'm taking it to mean both the ass and the tattoo! :D

This upcoming weekend I will be at the Erotic Authors Association's Conference Sex in Sin City going on at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino September 9th - 10th if you'd like to meet me (and no, I'm not going to show you the tattoo). It's going to be a fun time and a great place to meet several authors who write erotic romance and erotica. I hope you can join us.

That's all for now. If you get a chance, I'm still doing a giveaway for a copy of The Dungeon Gourmet by Nara Malone, so comment for your chance to win it! :D Good luck and have a great week. Happy reading!

The blog schedule for September

Wow, I actually have a schedule. I feel so official! :) It has been an exciting month for me meeting all sorts of new (to me) authors and September is shaping up to be even more exciting.

First, I'm starting the month off with an interview with Nara Malone, author of The Tiger's Tale and The Dungeon Gourmet from Ellora's Cave. She has a new release coming in October called Snatch Me and she'll be talking about it in the interview. Plus she has an awesome contest and giveaway! The interview will happen on Friday, September 2, 2011. It's going to be awesome!

Another nice thing about her interview is it happens on my birthday! Yay for me (even if I still don't have my new computer yet!) Anyone want to bring the cake? Or just a hand that lights up like this guy's?

Then, I'll be attending the first ever Erotic Author's Association Conference being held in Las Vegas on September 9-10 with several other authors you might know (and love): C.R. Moss, R.M. Sotera, and Shannan Albright. I'll blog all about it when I get back!

At the end of the month on September 28th, my good friend and author Cara Michaels, will be giving an interview on her upcoming October release, Gaea's Chosen: The Mayday Directive. She writes great science fiction romance and you can read the first chapter by following the link in the title. This is the first in a series and its going to be amazing (and hawt!) :) The characters wear uniforms tighter than this! :)

So thanks for tuning in and keep an eye out for the upcoming events. It's going to be a wild ride, plus there's the Six Sentence Sunday each Sunday this month and I'm looking forward to introducing you all to Jonarrion Swiftwind, Demonslayer extraordinaire! I put his photo in below so you can recognize him! ;)

I'm so excited to share all this with you and I'm having 'fangirl' moments with all of these authors! These ladies are just so cool and I haven't stopped grinning since they agreed to the interviews.

I hope your August was wonderful and that your September is even better. If you come by the blog, it will definitely be filled with awesome-sauce! Happy reading! :)