*

"Red Tide" now available for pre-order!

Monday, April 30, 2012

My newest release, "Red Tide," is now available for pre-order! While the stand-alone start to a new series, you'll see characters from "Out of the Darkness" pop up in it. :)

http://www.bookstrand.com/red-tide

AVAILABLE: Monday, May 7th

Blurb:

[Siren Classic: Erotic Romantic Suspense, HEA]

Dive charter captain Mitch Jackson is ready to divorce her cheating ex and take a chance on romance with friend and business partner Ed Grey. She's tired of her love life being on hold. Truth be told, she's always carried a torch for Ed, but worried that their age difference made Ed think of her as the kid he knew.

Ed has silently loved Mitch for years. Her impending divorce will finally give him a chance to voice his true emotions. Unfortunately, life is never that simple. When they stumble upon a sunken drug vessel, a desperate criminal who's closer to them than they realize wants to send Mitch to a permanent watery grave.

Now, Mitch and Ed are on the run from a wily serial killer intent on stopping Mitch from testifying. Will their love survive a murderer's vengeance, or will he spill their blood on another Red Tide?

Note: This book contains excessive violence.

A Siren Erotic Romance

Tymber Dalton is a Siren-exclusive author.

---

You can find all my Siren releases as Tymber Dalton, Lesli Richardson, Macy Largo, and Tessa Monroe on my Siren page at:

http://www.bookstrand.com/tymber-dalton

50 Shades of Green...

Saturday, April 28, 2012
While I've had a couple of people ask me if I've read "50 Shades of Grey," I had an interesting question from a Facebook follower the other day. To the effect of whether or not I thought it was professional for an author to actively lobby for people not to read a book.

I didn't have to think long on that one. My answer is no, of course it's not professional.

Let me back up. Have I read "50 Shades of Grey?" No. Am I going to? I don't know yet, quite honestly. My TBR list is already huge, filled with a ton of  books written by personal friends, non-fiction books for research, and books by my favorite auto-buy authors. I'm not kidding when I say I've got several HUNDRED titles already queued up, in both e-books and dead-tree books.

Here's another thing. Since I am active in the BDSM community, a switch with ample experience on both ends of the flogger, as it were, part of me is hesitant to read a book by an author who is, by her own admission on the TV interview I've seen her in, a 'nilla author. She seemed almost embarrassed that she wrote the book.

HOWEVER, as I've told others who've asked me my opinion of it, that's just my opinion. I tell people to download the sample or skim through it in a bookstore and see if it's a fit for them and decide for themselves whether or not they want to read it. Lots of people seem to enjoy it, and that's why there are plenty of writers and genres out there, because people don't always like the same books, genres, authors, etc. Form your own opinion of the book. I like books that some people don't, and some people like books that I don't. That doesn't mean I'd ever counsel someone not to read a book.

(Caveat: if someone was asking me for a recommendation on a specific type of book, and said, for example, that they absolutely did NOT like paranormal books, I certainly would warn them off of my books that are paranormal, if that makes sense?)

That being said, back to my Facebook friend's question. After we'd discussed her question back and forth a couple of times, she got down to the reason for her question and sent me a blog post link to someone who, apparently, is a self-pubbed author of only two books. And who ripped "50 Shades" up one side and down the other.

Oh.

My.

Goddess.

I have rarely seen such unprofessional behavior as bad as what I read in that blog post. The author railed against "50 Shades" as being trash and horrible and warning people not to read it, ad nauseum. Frankly, I was stunned.

You know, I'm human. Am I jealous that as a person active in BDSM who writes about it that I haven't sold 80 gazillion copies and have a movie deal? Duh. A little. But life goes on. Show me a writer who claims they aren't jealous in some small way of any big-time author and I'll show you a liar (or someone who needs to be on meds for having a psychotic break from reality).

Would I ever rip that author for their success?

Fuck no. Especially not on my blog, and DOUBLY especially if I only had two self-pubbed books to my credit.

I don't even review books anymore, unless I REALLY like them, because as an author, it paints a target on my back. I don't think writers SHOULD review books (at least negatively). I'm not saying don't point out factual errors, I'm saying don't slam a book, an author, and darn sure don't lobby people not to read the author's book. And they also shouldn't be telling anyone who had the "audacity" to read and like the book that they were idiots.

What was even more amusing/shocking was that this blogger/author claims to be an academic with a degree, a teacher, even, and when it was suggested by one of the blog comments that they should be encouraging people to read for themselves and make up their own minds, the commenter was scoffed at as if they were an idiot.

Wow.

Just... wow.

The only thing I can think of is that the blogger is seething with jealousy that a newbie author had the audacity to hit it big on their first time out of the gate.

Obviously, that blogger has no practical, reasonable knowledge of how the publishing world can work. Lightning strikes of success are the exception, not the norm, but they certainly can and do happen. Suck it up, buttercup, and deal with it. That's life.

Frankly, any book about BDSM that makes it to mainstream attention and helps open doors for other BDSM authors like myself is a GOOD thing, in my opinion. There are people out there afraid of losing their jobs and their children because of their fear of being outed for their participation in BDSM. If a book can help raise awareness and normalize it and help eliminate that stigma, then fan-fucking-tastic!

Here's the thing, just because you don't like a book doesn't mean someone else won't like it. That's what the nature of this business is all about. I've had newbie writers tell me before how grateful they were to me for encouraging them when they've written me. Of course! Why wouldn't I? As I wrote in my infamous "you are not a special snowflake" post, this isn't some zero-sum game where there's only so much room at "the top" of the mountain. There's no reason not to encourage others to write what they are passionate about. Might not be my cuppa for reading material, but it doesn't matter.

Writers have to first write for themselves. If a writer doesn't feel passionately about what they're writing, no one else will, either.

So will I read "50 Shades?" Maybe, maybe not. I don't honestly know right now. Should you read it? That's totally up to YOU, dear reader. And if you happen to like it, good for you. Don't ever let anyone make you feel ashamed or stupid for liking (or disliking) a book. It's like berating someone for not liking ice cream or spaghetti. It's personal choice and taste.

And here's some advice to my fellow authors -- don't slam a book just because YOU don't like it. Damn sure don't slam readers for reading the book. You never know how many of your readers (or potential readers) might have loved the same book and decide that YOU aren't a writer they want to invest time and money reading. Discretion isn't just the better part of valor, it's also a wise career move.

Now go forth and read. And let me hear your opinions of an author who would publicly rip apart a book you love and call you an idiot for liking it in the first place.

Friday night instant contest!

Friday, April 27, 2012
Okay, the first person to respond n the comments with the correct answer will win their choice of one of my e-books.

Question: It's 9:40 pm eastern time, Friday night, I'm in the United States, and I have cable. Wild hair, human DNA, and Adam and Eve. What TV show am I watching right now?

... GO!

Don't hesitate! Guess now! :)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A different breed...

This is soooo the truth. We are, by the very nature of what we do, just a wee bit "tetched" in the head, so to speak.








Also true. We never get a "day off" either. A writer friend of mine asked me, "Is that why I couldn't relax and turn my brain off during my massage?" I said, yeppers. Exactly.

Adult Excerpt: "Out of the Darkness"

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Did you enjoy my paranormal thriller "Dead Moon Rising" (writing as Macy Largo)? Then please take a look at my book, "Out of the Darkness." I'm pleased to announce that my 2010 EPIC winner is now available from Siren-BookStrand! The original publisher forced me to cut several scenes totalling nearly 10k words, so I've restored them for this version.

http://www.bookstrand.com/out-of-the-darkness

Blurb:

[Siren Classic: Erotic Contemporary Paranormal Romance, HEA]

The land remembers…

Built on a cursed patch of land, George Simpson's house of horrors ruined many lives. Author Steve Corey rents it as a surprise in a desperate attempt to salvage what's left of his marriage.

Samantha Corey thought getting Steve sober in the early days of their marriage would be the hard part, but she's reached the end of her rope and is ready to leave. It doesn't help that her thoughts have turned to Matt Barry, Steve's best friend—and her old love.

Now, Samantha needs Matt more than ever as Steve's behavior deteriorates. She wonders if her husband's sick, drinking again, or if her own sanity's in question. The house has a dark agenda. Even though she's ready to divorce Steve, she's not ready to relinquish his soul to the ancient evil enveloping him. Can she and Matt pull him from Out of the Darkness?

---

You can find all my Siren releases as Tymber Dalton, Lesli Richardson, Macy Largo, and Tessa Monroe on my Siren page at:

http://www.bookstrand.com/tymber-dalton


Adult Excerpt:


He carried her drink upstairs and found her stretched out across her bed, a playful smile lighting her face. “Why, sir, I do believe you’re trying to seduce me.”

He laughed. Yeah, she was buzzed. “I think it’s the other way around, madam.” She sat up and took the drink from him.

“Which way around would that be?” She rolled over on her tummy without spilling her drink and wiggled her hips at him. “This way around?”

He fought a losing battle for control. She wasn’t the only one who’d gone months without sex.

Try years.

He took her drink and rolled her over, grabbing her good hand and pulling her to her feet. “Not here,” he said, serious. “Not in this room.” He pulled her to him and kissed her, backing them out of the bedroom and into the guest room.

He set her glass on the dresser without breaking their kiss, and they worked their way to the bed. He slipped the condoms out of his pocket and put them on the bedside table.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

He put his arms around her and gave up all pretense of resisting, devouring her with his lips, working his way from her mouth down her neck to her breasts. She moaned, pulling his face tight against her, as he drifted lower.

He knelt before her and pushed her thighs apart. Seconds after his lips and tongue started working on her clit, he had her gasping for breath, begging, pleading for him not to stop.

He didn’t. He slipped two fingers inside her pussy as he wrapped his lips around her clit and lightly sucked.

He felt the muscles of her pussy contracting around his fingers as she exploded. She held on to his shoulders as he made her come three times, hard, in quick succession. Her body trembled when he stood and lowered her to the bed to finish what he started.

Her eyes fluttered open. “Wow,” she whispered.

He smiled. “Wow.”

He dropped his pants, and she pulled him closer to the bed, not letting him sit. As he twined his fingers in her hair and felt her mouth on his cock, his knees nearly buckled.

She apparently remembered things, too. Without hesitation her tongue circled the head of his cock, exactly as he remembered. She gently flicked the underside of his head, in the sensitive spot there that she’d always taken great pleasure in tormenting when giving him head. With one hand she held the base of his cock, and with the other she cupped his sac.

She stopped short of giving him release. She pulled him onto the bed and rolled on top of him, pinning him, teasing him, forcing him to cool down to a slow simmer.

He gave in, letting her remind him of all the nights they’d spent exploring each others’ bodies, learning ways to make the other moan.

He heard a rustling noise. In seconds, she had the condom on him and he easily slid his cock inside her. She was more than ready.

He gasped, resting his hands on her hips and thrusting up to meet her. They were both a few pounds heavier but still fit perfectly. She leaned forward, still in control, kissing him. His hands caressed her breasts, and he played with her nipples while she set a slow, steady rhythm that even this close to the brink would keep him simmering for a while.

He slipped a hand between them, finding the spot he knew would melt her, rubbing her clit and wanting to feel her come around his cock. She moaned. In a few minutes he felt her contract around him, knowing she’d come again.

Click Here to Buy!

Writing Class #2: Sunday, 4/29, 2pm

For all of you in the Tampa Bay area, don't forget my second writing class is this Sunday at 2pm at the Tampa Bay Phoenix Club! (The classes are stand-alone, so even if you missed the first, you can still come to this one.)

And they're FREE!

"Controlled Chaos": Brainstorming, mind mapping, plotting and pants-ing, and corralling those pesky characters who seem bound and determined to take your book in a different direction than you'd intended. Ah, but there's more to all of that than just writing down plot points. Learn how to apply conflict and tension and archetypes to your story, how to use them to reverse-engineer your way through writer's block, and more.

It's being held from 2-4pm at the Tampa Bay Phoenix Club: http://www.tbphoenixclub.com/

FetLife event link: https://fetlife.com/events/92303/v2
Facebook event link: http://www.facebook.com/events/364621423557655/

Random Contest Time: What are you reading?

Tuesday, April 24, 2012
UPDATE: Thursday, 4/26



Thanks everyone for playing! And the winner as determined by a random number generator is...


*drumroll*
...
mrs z!


Please e-mail me at tymberdalton AT gmail.com with your choice of e-book and format (only my currently available ones, sorry LOL).


Thanks!! :)

---


Time for a random contest. :) All you have to do is comment -- here, not on Facebook -- (and make sure it's not anonymously) and share what you're currently reading. Doesn't matter what genre, either. I'll pick a random commenter to win one of my currently available e-books. :)

I just finished "The Art of War for Writers" by James Scott Bell, and I'm currently re-reading Stephen King's "On Writing." (I take my Nook to the gym and read while I'm on the stationary bike.)

So comment sooner than later for a chance to win, because I'll be picking a winner sometime on Thursday, April 26th!

Shiny New Book Cover: "Red Tide"

It's shiny new book cover time! :) I'm proud to show off my new cover for "Red Tide," coming soon from Siren-BookStrand. While it is a stand-alone story (and the first of several in a series), there is an appearance by Sami and Matt from "Out of the Darkness." Stay tuned to my Siren-BookStrand author page to find out when "Red Tide" is available for pre-order! :)

Adult Excerpt: "Fire and Ice" (Triple Trouble prequel)

Monday, April 23, 2012

"Fire and Ice," the long-awaited prequel to my Triple Trouble shape-shifter series is now available from Siren-BookStrand:

http://www.bookstrand.com/fire-and-ice

Blurb:

[Siren Ménage Everlasting: Erotic Paranormal Ménage a Trois Romance, M/F/M, M/M elements not involving the heroes, dragons, werewolves, consensual BDSM, whipping, spanking, HEA]

Lina thought surviving her Yellowstone vacation was hairy. She doesn't even have time to enjoy her newly discovered powers with her two hunky dragons before they and Brodey Lyall's wolf pack must band together again to find out who's responsible for grisly dragon murders.

As Lina finds out how deeply their tragic past is entwined with the present, new allies join their quest to hunt down the killer before he can strike again. But the more Lina learns about the past, the more questions she has.

In their transcontinental journey for justice against the vengeful and psychopathic cockatrice, Lina and her ever-expanding adopted clan have to rely not just on her random and unreliable incendiary powers, but on the skills and memory of a sadomasochistic immortal. The future happiness of the Lyall brothers depends on it, as do all their lives.

And she doesn't even have a Goddess 101 handbook.

Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.

Note: This book ends on a cliffhanger and the story continues in "Trouble Comes in Threes (Triple Trouble 1)."

A Siren Erotic Romance

Tymber Dalton is a Siren-exclusive author.

--

The correct order to read all of the Triple Trouble books and prequels is:

"Boiling Point" (Tasty Treats, Vol. 3)
Steam
Fire and Ice
Trouble Comes in Threes (Triple Trouble 1)
Storm Warning (Triple Trouble 2)
Three Dog Night (Triple Trouble 3)
Triple Dog Dare (Triple Trouble 4 - Coming June, 2012)

You can find all my Siren releases as Tymber Dalton, Lesli Richardson, Macy Largo, and Tessa Monroe on my Siren page at:

http://www.bookstrand.com/tymber-dalton

--


Story Excerpt: 

After breakfast, Brodey loaded Zack and Lina in one of their work trucks and drove them across the ranch to an isolated section of pasture adjoining a wooded area. Jan, Rick, and Kael stayed behind to discuss their various options with Ain and Cail.

They wouldn’t clarify exactly what options, but Lina suspected it was ways of keeping her safe.

“What are we doing here?” Lina asked as they climbed out.

Brodey started stripping. He laid his clothes in the truck bed. She wanted to blush, but found she couldn’t force herself to look away, either.

He laughed. “It’s okay, sugar. Feel free to look. I got over being bashful a century ago.”

Zack whistled. “Glad you don’t mind, because you are nice eye candy, Brodey.”

Brodey laughed again. “Sorry, you’re not only taken, you’re not my type. You want to fill her in, or do you want me to do it?”

“It was your idea.”

Lina felt herself growing frustrated. “Fill me in about what?”

Brodey turned to her. “Remember how in Yellowstone you did that out-of-body thing to talk to me when I found you?”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s practice doing that again. We wanted to come out here where there’s not much in the way of distractions.”

“You being naked is a huge distraction, Brodey,” she snarked.

“You’ve got that right,” Zack agreed as he tugged at his jeans.

Brodey snorted in amusement, but continued. “I’m going to shift. You try to figure out how you did that and come talk to me.”

“But I don’t know how I did it.”

“That’s the point,” Zack said. “You need to figure it out. No better time than now. Instead of wasting time trying to eliminate what you can’t do, let’s focus on strengthening what we already know you can do.”

Lina and Zack sat on the tailgate. They watched as Brodey shifted and headed out into the trees.

“Any suggestions?” she asked Zack.

“Nope. Sorry, sugar.”

She stared at the woods, in the direction Brodey headed. When she’d done it in Yellowstone, she’d been tied up in a tent and drugged, barely conscious when she sent her mind out and talked to Brodey. It’d been more an accident than anything.

A thought so stupidly simple occurred to her that it made her laugh.

“What is it?” Zack asked.

“Shh.” Remembering how she ended up at Baba Yaga’s, she closed her eyes and focused her mind and thought about seeing and talking to Brodey.

Instantly, she felt herself step outside her body. She turned and looked at the truck. She still sat there next to Zack.

Okay, so to find Brodey. She turned toward the woods and followed his path. Instead of walking, she envisioned herself floating, picking up speed as she moved until soon she was zipping along at a pretty good clip. It only took her a few moments to catch up with him. He was sitting in a small clearing, still shifted into his wolf form.

Lina stopped next to him. “Brodey, can you hear me?”

He didn’t react.

She reached out to pet him and envisioned her hand touching the fur on his head, as if solid. “Broo-deeey.”

He cocked his head, listening.

She tried again. This time, she could feel his fur under her hand. Brodey jumped away from her and shifted back into human form.

“Holy fuck, Lina! You scared the crap out of me!”

“What?”

He pointed at her. “You’re here.”

“You told me to do it.”

“Mentally. You’re actually here here.”

In the distance, they both heard Zack yelling something.

“Oh, crap,” she said, looking at her hands. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

 --

Adult Excerpt:

I am a lucky woman. Despite the difference in their hair, eyes, and skin tone, they were nearly identical hunks in build. “Don’t you think you want to undress?” she playfully asked them.

They both jumped out of bed and shucked their shorts and T-shirts before returning to their previous positions.

She grinned. Both of their generous cocks stood erect from their bodies. “How about we start out slow,” she suggested. “I think I’m in the mood to scratch an itch.”

Rick grinned. “One itch scratched, coming right up.” He crawled down the bed until he reached the juncture of her thighs. Jan wrapped his arms around her and nibbled on the side of her neck while cupping her breasts in his hands.

Rick’s warm hands pushed her thighs apart. His eyes turned deep amber in color, smoky from passion, as he flicked his tongue out and drew lazy circles around her clit.

She let out a little whimper. He loved to tease her, to make her beg for it. Jan’s cool hands found her sensitive nipples and started tugging on them, drawing them into taut peaks, serving only to fire her need.

“Does that feel good, lovely?” he whispered in her ear. He nibbled on her earlobe.

“Mmm hmm!”

Rick used his thumbs to part her pussy lips. His took a long, slow swipe along the length of her clit with his scorching tongue, making her moan. She felt her juices flowing, between what Jan and Rick were doing to her.

She tipped her head back so Jan could kiss her. She eagerly let his tongue part the seam of her lips. Hooking an arm around his neck, she arched her back, pressing her breasts into his hands.

“You like that, don’t you?” he asked.

“Uh huh!”

Rick chuckled between her legs. “You’ll like this even more.” He grabbed her clit between his lips and lightly sucked on it. At the same time, he pressed two fingers inside her wet pussy, slowly finger-fucking her with them.

She spread her legs even wider. “Yesss!” she hissed.

Jan’s erection pressed against her ass. She wanted them both tonight, at the same time.

Rick continued sucking on her clit, alternating sucks with flicks from his tongue that finally drove her screaming over the edge to orgasm, with the walls of her cunt sucking at his fingers. Jan smothered her cries with his mouth as he pinched her nipples the way she loved, only serving to increase the sensation.

When she finally came down, Rick sat up and licked his fingers clean. “How was that, sweetie?”

“Uh huh!” She grabbed him and kissed him, tacking him back on the bed and mounting him. He laughed until she got his cock lined up and sat down on it, hard, with a satisfied moan.

“Oh, baby!” he groaned. “You’re in a mood, aren’t you?”

She looked over her shoulder at Jan. “What are you waiting for?” she asked. “Get the lube!”

He grinned. “Of course, lovely.”

While she waited for him, she started rocking back and forth on Rick’s cock, hard, slamming down on him the way he loved.

He held on to her hips. “Slow down,” he said through gritted teeth as he tried to maintain control. “I’ll explode if you don’t.”

Then she felt Jan’s hand in the center of her back. He pushed her down flat on top of Rick, who could finally get his arms around her.

She squirmed against him. “Fuck me!” she whined.

Jan laughed. “Hold on. Let me get ready.” She fell still as he drizzled lube down between her ass cheeks, then pressed a cool finger through her rim.

Lina closed her eyes and moaned. “Yes!” The two of them together, filling her, riding her, always gave her an explosive orgasm.

Usually gave her a vision, too, but she wouldn’t complain. She was suddenly so horny she couldn’t see straight.

By the time Jan had worked three fingers into her ass, she was begging him to fuck her. Finally, he withdrew his fingers and lined the head of his cock up with her puckered rim.

“Hold still,” he playfully chastised. Then he grabbed her shoulders and slowly pressed forward.

It was only Rick’s arms around her that held her still. She wanted to be fucked and fucked hard. It wasn’t until Jan’s cock was completely buried inside her ass, his balls touching her, that they finally let her move.

“Okay, sweetie,” Rick said. “Use us as your sex toys.”

She pushed herself up on her arms and started moving. The men let her set the tempo, and when they started moving in time with her, she felt her orgasm quickly building.

“Yesss!” she softly hissed.

“Ride us,” Jan said. He reached around her again and started pinching her nipples.
---


Click here to buy!

Happy Earth Day!

Sunday, April 22, 2012
Happy Earth Day, and Brightest Blessings, y'all! Remember, save a tree - read an e-book! :)

A modest proposal: one possible option for booksellers.

Saturday, April 21, 2012
I had an idea yesterday morning and was discussing it with Hubby while we were out hiking. There are a few indisputable facts about the publishing world today that only someone with their head firmly and irretrievably up their ass can deny:

  1. E-books are here to stay.
  2. E-book sales are growing exponentially every year.
  3. The former traditional publishing model is archaic and resulting in booksellers large and small shuttering their doors.
  4. E-books are far cheaper to make and distribute than dead-tree books, and can be far more profitable.
  5. Dead-tree books aren't dead, but the traditional publishing industry needs to reform their model around e-book sales and focus on making print-on-demand cheaper and easier to reduce their print costs and stay profitable and move away from the old paradigm where books are destroyed if not sold.
Okay, those five points, despite how the Big 6 wants the public to believe that point 4 isn't true (indie and successful self-published authors have proved it's true) are pretty much agreed upon by sane people familiar with the face of publishing.

There's another point I'd like to bring up:
  • Cities and counties, faced with making budget cuts due to the recent economic downturn, are either closing libraries, drastically reducing their operating hours, or cutting funding to them.
I know this to be true here locally in Florida. I can't imagine it's any different anywhere else in the country.

Why do I mention libraries?

Hear me out. There's still two huge bookseller chains left in the US, Barnes and Noble, and Books-A-Milion. Both of these have customer programs where you pay an annual fee and you get a discount card, right? Why not institute an add-on program, for an additional small fee, to create a lending library system?

Keep listening. I used to work for a national auto parts chain. They had a lending tool program, where if you needed a tool to work on your vehicle, and you didn't want to buy one because you knew you either a) couldn't afford to buy it just to use it once, or b) didn't want to buy it, you could borrow it. What you did was pay the full price for the tool, and when you brought it back, you got a refund. We could stock tools normally not available for sale in a DIY parts store, we didn't need to keep a large, speculative stock quantity on hand, and if they didn't bring it back we would just order another one from the warehouse, but we weren't out any money. It also meant we didn't lose parts sales to a garage who did repairs just because the customer didn't have the necessary tools to do the job.

Win-win for us and the customer. Especially in those cases where the customer just never returned the tool, even if they didn't need to keep it. But the law of averages meant we made some "free" money where the tools were kept. Just like many retailers know that with gift cards, there will always be a certain percentage never redeemed, meaning "free" money for them.

Are you following me?

So why can't large booksellers (and maybe someone could create some sort of online cooperative membership for smaller booksellers to buy in to to participate without having outlay in computer programming expenses) do the same? Maybe even have a premium "lending" membership, where they can keep certain titles of current bestsellers (or perennial bestsellers) on hand specifically as "lending" copies that the premier customers aren't charged for (but if they don't bring them back it gets charged to their account)?

They could even have a reasonable time limit and return conditions. Say, you can keep a book and return it, as long as it's in resalable condition, maybe for a month. If you returned it between one month and two months, you only get store credit, or only get X% of the sale price back. There will automatically be a percentage of customers who, for whatever reason, don't return the book, even if they didn't intend to keep it. So the bookstore made a sale it might not have made before.

And they don't even need to make all books lendable. It could be just for fiction. Or maybe even they could have another level of membership where you pay and it gives you the ability to access all books as "lendable." That could be a boon for someone who is a voracious reader, but either doesn't have a library close by, or doesn't want to go through the sometimes long wait times for new releases. And you might have people who buy the membership because it's an add-on to the regular discount membership club fee, but they never utilize the service. Again, that's "free" money for the bookseller.

This is an option that could potentially breathe new life into large booksellers, and offer a lifeline to smaller ones as long as someone could come up with an inexpensive way for small booksellers to participate without a huge capital outlay for computer programming. Maybe even a third-party co-op could charge booksellers a subscription fee, but then if the third party is handling the collecting of all the customer memberships, they could give the local bookseller a kick-back for each customer they sign up to the service. Then the bookseller could also benefit from sales of lent books never returned, and higher foot traffic for people who want to participate.

It's something to think about, isn't it? Instead of booksellers large and small screaming that their business is failing, they could embrace an idea like this and still be able to sell books and keep their business afloat instead of complaining about e-books and online retailers like Amazon killing their business.

Yay! It's release day for "Out of the Darkness!"

Monday, April 16, 2012
Woot! It's release day!! :)


I'm pleased to announce that my 2010 EPIC winner (horror) "Out of the Darkness" is being re-released by Siren-BookStrand, and it's now available!! The original publisher forced me to cut several scenes totalling nearly 10k words, so I've restored them for this version.

http://www.bookstrand.com/out-of-the-darkness

Blurb:

[Siren Classic: Erotic Contemporary Paranormal Romance, HEA]

The land remembers…

Built on a cursed patch of land, George Simpson's house of horrors ruined many lives. Author Steve Corey rents it as a surprise in a desperate attempt to salvage what's left of his marriage.

Samantha Corey thought getting Steve sober in the early days of their marriage would be the hard part, but she's reached the end of her rope and is ready to leave. It doesn't help that her thoughts have turned to Matt Barry, Steve's best friend—and her old love.

Now, Samantha needs Matt more than ever as Steve's behavior deteriorates. She wonders if her husband's sick, drinking again, or if her own sanity's in question. The house has a dark agenda. Even though she's ready to divorce Steve, she's not ready to relinquish his soul to the ancient evil enveloping him. Can she and Matt pull him from Out of the Darkness?

Note: This book has been extensively expanded. It was previously published with another publisher and was the 2010 EPIC winner for Horror.

A Siren Erotic Romance

Tymber Dalton is a Siren-exclusive author.

---

You can find all my Siren releases as Tymber Dalton, Lesli Richardson, Macy Largo, and Tessa Monroe on my Siren page at:

http://www.bookstrand.com/tymber-dalton

And you can find me on the web at:

http://tymberdalton.com
http://twitter.com/madmumbler
http://facebook.com/tymberdalton
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TymberDalton_updates/
https://plus.google.com/118382222849341409443/

Thanks!

The value of e-books...

Tuesday, April 10, 2012
I was watching the Today show this morning and saw a story where they interviewed Dr. Ian K. Smith about his new book, "The Truth About Men." Dr. Smith was articulate, funny, and I liked what I heard. Any time I hear about a non-fiction book that strikes my interest, especially if it's one I can potentially use as research for my own writing (in this case, for male characters), I grab it. It's not the first time I've bought a book based on seeing it on the Today show.

I literally reached over to my bedside table, grabbed my nook, and bought the book. $11.99 and five minutes later, I was reading it.

And it's a great book.

My point to all those authors out there still stubbornly holding out for a "traditional" book deal with a "traditional" publisher, don't forget the instant gratification factor. He literally sold at least one book (and who knows how many others to people like me) by appearing on the Today show. Before his interview was over, as a matter of fact. If I'd had to wait to buy the book, to go out to a bookstore and get it, or order it to come from a site online as dead-tree book, I probably wouldn't have gotten around to it, if ever. It would have slipped my mind. He most likely would have lost the sale, or at least not had an immediate sale. But because the book was available in e-book format, I grabbed it.

I don't know how much he makes per e-book, but I know I (and other indie-pubbed authors, as well as self-pubbed authors) tend to make MORE per e-book sale than we do print books. We can sell less books and make more money, in other words.

So just a friendly reminder as to why you should never look down your nose at e-books. They can result in sales you might never have had.

Blog post over at the Playroom

Friday, April 6, 2012
I've got a blog post up over at the BDSM Authors Blog Playroom:

"Your way is the ONLY way? Sit down, and stfu." Came about due to a pinhead on Goodreads.

http://bdsmauthorsplayroom.blogspot.com/2012/04/your-way-is-only-way-sit-down-and-stfu.html

Available for pre-order: "Out of the Darkness"


I'm pleased to announce that my 2010 EPIC winner (horror) "Out of the Darkness" is being re-released by Siren-BookStrand, and it's currently available for pre-order!! The original publisher forced me to cut several scenes totalling nearly 10k words, so I've restored them for this version.

http://www.bookstrand.com/out-of-the-darkness

Blurb:

AVAILABLE: Monday, April 16th

[Siren Classic: Erotic Contemporary Paranormal Romance, HEA]

The land remembers…

Built on a cursed patch of land, George Simpson's house of horrors ruined many lives. Author Steve Corey rents it as a surprise in a desperate attempt to salvage what's left of his marriage.

Samantha Corey thought getting Steve sober in the early days of their marriage would be the hard part, but she's reached the end of her rope and is ready to leave. It doesn't help that her thoughts have turned to Matt Barry, Steve's best friend—and her old love.

Now, Samantha needs Matt more than ever as Steve's behavior deteriorates. She wonders if her husband's sick, drinking again, or if her own sanity's in question. The house has a dark agenda. Even though she's ready to divorce Steve, she's not ready to relinquish his soul to the ancient evil enveloping him. Can she and Matt pull him from Out of the Darkness?

Note: This book has been extensively expanded. It was previously published with another publisher and was the 2010 EPIC winner for Horror.

A Siren Erotic Romance

Tymber Dalton is a Siren-exclusive author.

---

You can find all my Siren releases as Tymber Dalton, Lesli Richardson, Macy Largo, and Tessa Monroe on my Siren page at:

http://www.bookstrand.com/tymber-dalton

Thanks!

Shiny New Book Cover: "Out of the Darkness"

Thursday, April 5, 2012
I love showing off shiny new book covers!!! This is the over for "Out of the Darkness," coming soon from Siren-BookStrand! :)

TSTL (the author, not the heroine).

Well, I had a truly TSTL (too stupid to live) moment last night. Let me back up by saying my left shoulder, which is the one that gives me the most problems normally, has been really screwed up since last month's play party when I topped Sir. I felt it pop in a bad way five minutes into the scene, and really, I should have called it, but since it'd been a while since He'd had a chance to bottom, I didn't want to do that to Him. So I toughed it out.

Bad mistake.

Since it's been so bad, I haven't even been skeet shooting in a while. So Tuesday, I was doing a bunch of catch-up stuff, including getting the riding mower running for Hubby. I tripped getting off it in the shed, and, you guessed it, caught myself with my bad shoulder. And it went pop again.

Ouch.

So back to yesterday. I was determined I was going skeet shooting. So I go, toughed it out for three rounds (didn't do too bad considering it was my first time back in a while, 12, 15, and 15, and the last 15 would have been higher had I not been listening to the "advice" I kept getting to try to shoot with both eyes open, couldn't hit squat that way, went back to shooting one-eyed, hit nearly every clay).

Anyhoo, we went out to dinner with our friends, and there was a storm front moving in. Plus I've got a tooth that's been bugging me, but going to the dentist really isn't in the budget right now (don't give me that look, I get more pleasure from skeet shooting than pain from my tooth LOL), and my shoulder was throbbing, so I head home, the front chasing me the whole way. Get home literally as it starts raining. I went into the kitchen to take a pain pill, and Hubby tells me Scudder (our older male Lab) needs an Immodium for nervous tummy (not an uncommon occurrence with him). So I have the bottle for the Immodium and the bottle for my pain pills (no, the bottles and the pills look nothing alike, shut up, I'm getting there), and remember the two trays of seeds I planted on Tuesday.

I opened a bottle, while yelling at Hubby to please go out and grab the two trays of potting soil and pull them under the carport so they don't get poured on and the seeds get flooded out. He runs to go do that as I pop a pill in my mouth and swallow it, followed by a glass of water.

Then I look down and see my Scudder sitting there, tail wagging, ready to take his pill.

*head/desk* Frak.

I honestly had NO idea what I'd just taken. I thought I had just taken his Immodium, because I knew it didn't go down his throat. But I honestly wasn't sure.

I burst into tears, because here I was, in pain and suddenly hating myself and my f'cked up body and this goddamned Fibromyalgia. Hubby races in to find out what's wrong and feeling like a dumbass, I told him. And because I'm NOT 100% sure what I'd just taken, I couldn't take a Percocet, because the ones I have are the stronger ones, and you CANNOT take two of them at the same time without potential serious complications.

So I gave Scudder his Immodium, took two Aleve, and went to bed. Tried to.

Gidget had yakked in our bed.

*head/desk*

So we get up, strip the bed, remake the bed, banish Gidget to the floor (which really pisses her off, because she always sleeps with us) and try to go to sleep.

Took me forever to fall asleep, and then I woke up at 3:49 in pain. Well, obviously it was the Immodium I took. Which also sucks, because I have a hard enough time as it is staving off constipation with the Cymbalta I'm on. So I get up, took a pain pill, and crawl back into bed. I let Gidget back into bed with us because she kept waking Hubby up trying to sneak into bed.

Still couldn't go back to sleep. Around 4:30 I realized I hadn't locked my Element.

*head/desk*

AND, I left a box of shotgun shells that I didn't use (I'd bought four boxes not sure if I'd make it four rounds or not). So I get up again, go out, retrieved the shells (didn't want them sitting all day in a hot car in Florida), locked the Element, and go back to bed.

Around 5:30 (still awake) I realized I hadn't taken my Cymbalta or my Flexoril (which I take every night) because I was so upset about goofing up the meds earlier.

*head/desk*

I get up. AGAIN. (Poor Hubby had nearly as bad a night as I did with me up and down.) Took my meds. Finally, a little before 6:30 this morning, I fell asleep. And woke up around noon today.

With a headache. Either a rebound headache from the Aleve, or from the f'cked up sleep pattern, not sure which.

Not going to be a productive day, I can see that now.

So how's your Thursday going?

Where are the Good Will Ghost Hunting books?

Wednesday, April 4, 2012
I'm pleased to announce that both my Good Will Ghost Hunting series, as well as "More Than Make-Believe," are going to be re-released by Siren-BookStrand. Which means I can finally get the other four books in the GWGH series, as well as the other two stories in the MTM-B trilogy, finished. :) I can't tell you how excited I am to have Siren-BookStrand releasing these books! :)


When will it be available on Kindle?

I get that question a lot. Now that my Tymber Dalton fiction will be releasing exclusively through Siren-BookStrand, I know I'll be getting it a lot more frequently.

You CAN buy my books for your Kindle (or nook or whatever) straight from Siren-BookStrand. And if you have a Kindle, all you have to do is go into your Kindle account on Amazon and allow your device to get emails from Siren. And log into your Siren-BookStrand account and plug in your Kindle's email address. Then, when you buy books for your Kindle from Siren, they'll be automagically sent to your device.

Easy!

And if you don't like that option, simply buy the books in your format, download them (all browsers have a Downloads history, in Chrome and IE, it's Ctrl+J) and then use your USB cable to drag and drop them into your Documents folder on your e-reader. (Or whatever the folder is called on your e-reader.)

Easy! And that way, you don't have to wait weeks for the book to release on Kindle/nook/wherever.

"Sarasota Steam" discounted as a retro release. :)

Tuesday, April 3, 2012
My book "Sarasota Steam" (writing as Tessa Monroe) is currently being offered as a retro release discount on Siren-BookStrand's site. So if you haven't grabbed it yet, now is the perfect time! :)

Blurb:


[#191 Siren Ménage Everlasting: Erotic Western Ménage a Trois Romance, M/M/F]

On the run and disguised as a man, Callie Johnson is on her way to inquire about a job at the Coval Ranch outside of Sarasota when she’s caught in a hurricane’s fury. Jasper Collins and Gregorio Valdes see right through her deception but are willing to protect her secret…if she’ll keep theirs.

The two men are lovers, but that’s not all. Jasper mourns the murder of his wife and children, while Goyo hides his true heritage. Callie can’t help but fall in love with them both. When the men make their intentions known, she doesn’t hesitate to become Mrs. Jasper Collins to protect all of them from flying rumors and meddling single women.

Callie can almost forget her past and her vengeful step-father. That’s when a brutal attack forces Jasper to face demons from his past as he sets out to protect their steamy little slice of heaven.

A Siren Erotic Romance


Click here to buy!