Category Archives: Books
Folks, I need a favor from you
I just got my 3Q royalties statement from Evernight, and after I stopped flailing like a happy Muppet I sat down to study the numbers. Storm Season, unsurprisingly, has been my best seller to date, and I love each and every one of you who bought a copy.
Thing is, I need to sell a minimum of 25 copies through Evernight’s website in order for it to be considered for a print run, and I’ve only sold 20 copies so far. It’s a stupid egoboo thing, I know, but I would so very much love it if this was available in print. If you haven’t purchased Storm Season yet and want to find out how the whole Olympic Cove saga began, I would ask that you head over to the Evernight website and get it directly from the publisher. Plus, today is the last day of their 40% off everything sale, so if you buy it today you’ll get it on sale as well!
I thank you for your support!
Okay, I need some honest feedback here
As you know (Bob), my newest ROTG release Grading the Curve was published on September 12. While I may not have promoted it quite as actively as I have my other works due to Jordan’s illness, I did do all of the usual promotion I did for all my other stories — created a book trailer, bought ads at The Romance Studio and The Romance Reviews, submitted it to Manic Readers for reviews, got lots of lovely people to host me on the blogs, tweeted and FBed about it.
Unfortunately, the sales have been more than a bit meh. They’re finally starting to pick up a little on Bookstrand and ARe, but my Amazon numbers are, quite frankly, horrible, and absolutely nobody seems to have noticed it at Goodreads. I don’t know what to do, or if I did something wrong, or if I missed a promotion trick or what. I don’t think it’s a bad story — Evernight bought it, after all, and I had various people beta read for me and they said it was a good, solid piece.
I’m wondering if maybe this is a perception issue. Up until now I’ve primarily written M/M romance, and this is my first M/F story. I didn’t want to come up with another pen name (and yet another website and social media presence to maintain) for M/F romance, but maybe I need to do that? Thing is, if it’s not going to sell I don’t know if I can spend time doing more M/F romance, as much as I would like to.
So I need your help. If you’ve read Grading the Curve, could you tell me what you thought of it? You can either email me at nicolacameronwrites@gmail.com, or leave a comment in the Comments section. And yes, I want honest opinions. I’m the one who opened this up, so if you think it’s meh, that’s a valid opinion and I need to know that so I can better budget my writing time.
Mid Week Tease: Breaker Zone
Happy Hump Day! Let’s celebrate it with a Mid Week Tease, courtesy of the lovely and talented Sandra Bunino. This week, I’ll be sharing a teaser from my current WIP Breaker Zone, the second book in the Olympic Cove series. When Ian’s friend Nick Gardiner shows up bloodied and traumatized after a BDSM scene gone horribly wrong, Ian takes him in, no questions asked. But it turns out that Nick has a fate of his own to fulfill in Olympic Cove, as well as two gorgeous mermen who are intent on claiming him as their own.
Enjoy, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
###
Chiron glanced back at him, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. For a moment Nick was terrified that he could read minds, and tried to generate mental static.
“He should heal cleanly. Decent enough work,” the centaur admitted, straightening up and yanking the blanket back over Aidan. “Now, what the hell are you keeping in your closet?”
“What?”
“Never mind. Move.” Chiron easily brushed him to the side, pulling open the closet door and staring at the clothes Nick had hung up earlier. “Gaia’s tits. Where do you shop, Goodwill?”
“I had to pack fast, all right? They—“
A hand came up, silencing him as Chiron leaned closer. Blue eyes went wide. “Oh. Oh, shit.”
“What?” Nick got on tiptoe to peer around the centaur’s huge shoulder. The closet looked exactly like it had earlier — shirts and jeans hung up on hangers, his bag shoved into the bottom, flip-flops next to it, snake-wrapped staff propped against one wall. “What’s wrong?”
Chiron straightened up, pointing at the stick. “Where did you get that?”
Nick blinked, both at the bizarre non sequitur and the odd tone in the centaur’s voice. “An antique shop. It’s over in Olympic Beach, Ian knows the owner. Why is everyone getting on my case about it? It’s just a walking stick that looks like–“
“–the rod of Asclepius,” Chiron finished.
“Yeah. I mean, it’s a pretty good copy of the rod, but I still don’t understand–“
Chiron turned, glaring at him. “It’s not a copy of the rod of Asclepius, you moron,” he growled. “It is the rod of Asclepius. I’d know that damned thing anywhere. How the hell did you wind up with it?”
That was the last straw. “Okay, back off, Mister Ed,” Nick shot back. “I’ve have a really tough couple of days, I have one hell of a situation waiting for me back home, and then I get down here and find out that not only do mermaids,” he looked over his shoulder at Aidan, “and mermen exist, but so do the Greek gods.” He waved a hand at Chiron’s misty midsection. “And whatever you are.”
The blue gaze turned chilly. “I’m a centaur. The centaur, if you like. The first one.”
“Fine, you’re the centaur, sorry. I’m willing to accept that all of this is real, okay? But you can’t expect me to believe that I found the actual, genuine rod of Asclepius in a junk shop in a Florida beach town.”
Chiron folded his arms across his chest. “Why not?”
“Because real life doesn’t work like that!” Nick barely stopped himself from screaming the words. “This shit doesn’t even happen in movies, because nobody would believe it!”
The centaur actually tsked at him. “You’re disturbing your patient, doctor.”
Flushing, Nick glanced at the bed. Aidan had rolled onto his back, giving him a wary look. “Fuck. I’m sorry, Aidan. Try to go back to sleep. You,” he turned back to Chiron. “Follow me. We’re gonna finish this in the living room.”
“By all means.” Chiron nodded at the walking stick. “Just bring that with.”
“Why?”
“Humor me.”
Cursing under his breath, Nick grabbed the staff and started to slam the closet door closed, catching himself at the last moment. “Outside. Now.”
Holding the staff in a death grip, he stomped into the living room, a smirking centaur on his heels. Ian, Bythos and Aphros were on the couch, arms around each other and heads close together. “Guys, could we have some privacy?”
Ian straightened up, pushing his boyfriends’ hands off his thighs. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, except that Mr. ‘I’m the first centaur’ here thinks that this,” Nick brandished the staff, “is the rod of Asclepius. The real one.”
He almost dropped it when the snake’s head rose and turned to him. I don’t understand why that surprises you so much, physician. And don’t drop me — you do and I swear to Gaia I will give you such a bite.
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Mid Week Tease: Breaker Zone
Happy Hump Day! Let’s celebrate it with a Mid Week Tease, courtesy of the lovely and talented Sandra Bunino. This week, I’ll be sharing a teaser from my current WIP and Book Two in the Olympic Cove series, Breaker Zone. When Dr. Nick Gardiner goes on the run from a psychotic ex and shows up at Olympic Cove, he never expects to get pulled in Ian’s new life as a God — and he definitely doesn’t expect to be courted by a pair of gorgeous mermen.
Enjoy, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
###
Their tongues met, clashed, tangled with an intensity that set Nick’s nerves on fire. Fingers slid between his own, clenching down and pinning his hands against the mattress. The knowledge that he was trapped under the merman’s body poured gasoline on his need, and he mewled into Aidan’s mouth.
“You like that?” the merman said, grinding his cock against Nick’s. “You like knowing you’re mine?”
“Yes,” Nick gasped. “Oh, God, yes.”
“Good.”
That wet, hungry mouth left his, sucking open-mouthed kisses along his jaw, down the side of his neck. Teeth nipped the tender space under his ear, and Nick bucked up uncontrollably, desperate. Aidan chuckled, the filthiest laugh he had ever heard. “Yeah, you like that. You want me to own you, make you mine. You want me to fuck you, angel.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I’ll fill you up, nice and deep. You’ll have to wrap those long legs around me, because I’m not gonna let you move. I’ll make you lie there and feel my cock pushing inside you over and over again. I’ll keep hitting your sweet spot and you’ll go crazy because it feels so good. And I won’t come until I feel you pulsing around me, coming hard and screaming my name. Then I’ll mark you, make you mine. You want that?”
Nick couldn’t speak. He could only nod, his throat clicking dryly.
“Mmm.” Aidan worked down his body, leaving a trail of livid bites and suck marks in his wake. That wicked, perfect mouth closed around his nipple, tongue teasing it hard, then nipping. A little shock of pain shot through his body, grounding out somewhere between his cock and balls. Nick drove his head hard into the pillow, feeling the promise of pain turning into pleasure, the lure of subspace.
Aidan switched to his other nipple, nipping and licking it until it was erect. He switched off between the two until they were swollen and aching, glistening from his mouth. “I’m going to let go of your hands.”
Nick whined, and flinched at the hard bite on his sternum. “You’re going to grab your headboard and hold on, like a good boy. You understand?”
“Yes, Sir.”
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Mid Week Tease: Grading the Curve
Happy Hump Day! Let’s celebrate it with a Mid Week Tease, courtesy of the lovely and talented Sandra Bunino. This week, I’ll be sharing a teaser from my new Romance on the Go story Grading the Curve, featuring virginal college student Ellen who’s about to enjoy the hot professor she’s been lusting after all semester long. What can I say — I think teachers are sexy.
Enjoy, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
###
Alex carried Ellen through the house and up a flight of stairs. With no other option, she buried her face in the crook of his neck. His scent was more concentrated there, and she breathed deeply, wanting to taste it.
And then they were in his bedroom, plainly decorated with grey walls and dark wood furniture. The bed, a king, was the only real luxury in the room, covered with a thick maroon duvet that looked silky in the low light. Pillows in black and maroon cases were piled at the head of the bed. Cord eased her to her feet, keeping an arm tucked around her as he slid off his glasses, tossing them on the nightstand next to a framed picture. “So. Here we are.”
She stared at the bed, wondering if he could hear her heart pound. “You’re the teacher. Tell me what to do.”
His hands slid around her face, cupping it and turning it towards him. “I think we should start out with a nice kiss.”
The phrase bounced around in her head, then slotted into place. She couldn’t stop her grin. “Not leaping for the clitoris like a bull at the gate, then?”
His eyes narrowed in appreciation. “Oho, a Monty Python fan. My admiration for you grows with each moment. But no, I think we’d be best with a nice, soft kiss.”
He brought his mouth to hers, a brush of lips that caught and clung. She closed her eyes, reveling in the firmness of his lips, the slight rasp of stubble on his chin. He gently sucked her upper lip, then lower, before nudging her mouth open and slipping his tongue just inside, licking at the satiny inner flesh.
He tasted wonderful, like salt and wine and something that was uniquely him. Their tongues tangled, teasing slides that caused heat to pool between her thighs. Everything she’d read about French kissing made it sound disgusting. This was nothing like that.
Oh, God, this was so much better.
###
Grading the Curve is available from the following retailers:
Evernight / Amazon / All Romance Ebooks / Bookstrand
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Soon, my precious, soon…
My new Romance on the Go story, Grading the Curve, will be released this Thursday from Evernight, and I just got the final cover art today. And as you can see, yes, that is a woman on the cover.
*pauses so that people can recover*
I know, I know, but I don’t always write M/M erotic romance. I don’t. Stop laughing. Look, sometimes an MF story will hit the “I must write this NOW” button, and Grading the Curve just happened to be one of those stories. And yeah, the fact that I have a rather pronounced teacher kink and my male lead is a gruff but sexy professor may have also had something to do with it, but we won’t get into that right now.
And no, Alex isn’t based on anyone in real life, so if (God forbid) any of my previous teachers somehow stumble across this website, don’t worry, I’m not writing about you. Anyway, here’s the blurb:
Ellen Ragsdale is a scholarship student who just wants to get her college degree and start her life. Alexander Cord is an English professor who hides his loneliness behind an arrogant facade. School rules have kept them at arm’s length all year long. But on the last night of Ellen’s college career, the two of them risk everything to find out if their mutual attraction is more than a classroom crush.
And because I love you all to bits, here’s a teaser:
“Did you know that you always blush when you talk to me?” he said quietly. “It’s charming. You look like a medieval maiden receiving her first suitor.”
It felt like someone had painted fire across her skin. She ducked her head, staring dumbly at the hallway’s scarred paint. He couldn’t know. Nobody knew that about her. It wasn’t that obvious.
Was it?
“Interesting.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “I meant it as a compliment, but perhaps I struck closer to the truth than I’d intended.” He moved closer, and she could feel the heat from his whole body now, warming her like an invisible caress. “Are you?”
She swallowed hard. He couldn’t be asking what she thought he was asking. “A-am I—”
“A maiden. A virgin. I believe a popular term is ‘unicorn bait.'” His voice dropped, turning into a soft rumble. “I have to admit, I’m puzzled as to how someone as lovely and intelligent as you could still be virginal.”
Her entire face now felt like it was on fire. She’d gone on the occasional date, usually doubling with Keisha or Dianne, but once the guys found out what her schedule was like they didn’t bother calling again. “Too busy, I guess. Working, studying.”
To her surprise, cool fingers slid under her chin, gently turning her face up. “What a shame,” Cord said, his voice low and soft. “But if it’s of any consolation, men your age do tend to be rather slapdash and impatient when it comes to women. I assure you, you haven’t missed out on much by skipping the undergraduate sexual circus.” The façade of the academic disappeared. Underneath was a man she didn’t know, warm and standing so close to her. “That being said, I wonder … would you be willing to consider me?”
“What—” Her throat clicked, it was so dry. She swallowed and tried again. “What are you saying?”
He tilted his head to the side. “I want to take you to bed, Miss Ragsdale. I want to kiss that pink mouth of yours, undress you ever so slowly, play with those gorgeous breasts and suck your nipples before I caress every inch of your body. I want to bury my tongue between your legs and lap at your clit, and when you’re dripping wet I want to bury my cock in you. I want to see that sweet mouth of yours open and scream my name as I make you come over and over again.” Now she could smell his cologne, something masculine, woody, and underneath that, the musk of clean male. “Come home with me tonight, Miss Ragsdale. Let me make love to you. I promise you, you won’t regret it.”
Evernight Publishing at the Gay Romance Northwest Meet-up Conference
BOOYAH! I just found out that Evernight Publishing will be advertising new or recent GLBT titles at the Gay Romance Northwest Meet-up Conference, and one of the titles will be HIS: Manlove Edition with my story “In His Name.”
So if you’re in the Seattle area and enjoy gay romance, you may be interested in attending this shindig, to be help at the Seattle Central Public Library. I wish there was some way I could attend and help promote the antho, but barring a sudden Lotto win I can only say go, it’ll be nifty!
Houston, We Have Cover Art!
COMING AUGUST 15th
Strength. Power. Experience. There’s nothing like a man who knows how to get what he wants, both in and out of the bedroom. And these dominant alphas want nothing more than to please and possess the men they love. No kink is too risqué as these men ensure their lovers never want to be anywhere but under their command.
Come and find out how good it feels to be HIS.
HIS: Manlove Edition includes my short story “In His Name.”
After his late-blooming sexuality prompts a crisis of faith, Father Sean Halloran is placed on sabbatical to reconsider his vocation. Taking a job at a homeless shelter, Sean is determined to rededicate himself to celibacy and return to the priesthood.
There’s only one problem: Matt McCormick, the authoritative shelter manager who has begun to haunt Sean’s dreams and challenge his ideas of what it means to serve God. Now, Sean must choose between a life of celibate service, or the possibility of love with another man.
Fabulous Friday Reads: Dark Hunter
Welcome to the weekend, and let’s kick it off with the new paranormal erotic romance Dark Hunter from Shannan Albright, now available from Evernight Publishing and other purveyors of fine erotic romance.
Vampire Mari Ankamunan struggles to pick up the pieces of her life after her bar The Asp becomes a war zone between the Enforcers and members of the Preservation Society, who want all dark breeds wiped out. The sudden appearance of the only man she ever loved brings her world to a crashing halt, for she witnessed his brutal murder two thousand years ago.
Navar’s spoken oaths to his Sire cost him Mari. Torn from her side by the sidhe queen, he is her Hunter, delivering justice for crimes against the breeds. Now freed he returns to his lovers side only to be caught in a dark plot where Mari is targeted for death.
The stakes are high, can they uncover a deadly plot against the Enforcers or will Navar lose Mari, forever by an assassin’s hand?
Story Excerpt
“I will do everything in my power to protect her, even lay down my life if it comes to that.” Navar’s words rang in the still air, spoken as an oath.
“Marcus will be relieved to find out Mari is well protected. I know after the incident with the Preservation Society, he has been concerned for her safety. Someday you must tell me how you secured your release.”
Mari blinked at the two men, feeling left out of the loop in the XY-chromosome chat. Males. Can’t live without them and can’t kill them. Irritation spiked into the red zone, her patience threadbare for the bullshit. Placing her diminutive self between the two towering males, she gave them both a fearless glare and fisted her hands on her hips.
All conversation stopped as they stared down at her with surprise. Good, now she had their attention. “I’ve been alive since the time of Cleopatra. I didn’t survive all those centuries by being a fucking weak female. I can fight, strategize, and I damn well have enough intellect in this ‘girly’ brain to figure out what I need to do to save my own hide, thank you very much. Now, if you don’t mind talking to me, not about me, it would be appreciated and might save your ball sacs from relocating somewhere north on your body. Are we clear, boys?”
Adrian threw his head back and roared a large rolling laugh that reverberated throughout the room. She blinked in surprise. She’d never once seen any enforcer laugh. Sure, they smiled, chuckled, and even smirked, but never laughed. She found it…disconcerting.
“Point taken. You will have your hands full with this little hellion, hunter. I don’t envy you.”
“Little hellion indeed. Yet well worth the extra trouble,” Navar agreed, his pale eyes darkening with hunger.
Where to Buy
Evrnight Publishing
Amazon
All Romance Ebooks
Bookstrand
About Shannan Albright
Growing up I was called the dreamer of the family, something not always thought of as a positive thing. As a child, I would draw and build stories around my pictures, so writing was a natural extension for me. Recently a family member told me that from now on she would encourage those dreamers she knew. Stating “with hard work and focus dreams can come true. Shannan Albright is proof that dreaming can be a positive thing.”
When not writing I spend my time between oil painting and reading. I love writing paranormal, urban fantasy, historical and fantasy romances because of the world building and rich characters I feel a connection to. I’m drawn to dark, edgy heroes and heroines overcoming impossible odds internal and external.
I’m a “hopeful” Romantic who believes a healthy relationship built on respect and a strong partnership is the key to a happy ever after.
Where to Find Shannan Albright
Getting a little loud there, Nic
I once read an interview with the delightful and talented Jeffrey Combs (horror fans will know him from Reanimator and other Stuart Gordon films; SF fans will know him from Star Trek:DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise. I may also have a small crush on him, never mind, moving along) where he talked about preparing for his one-man play Nevermore, which is an imagined lecture/performance by Edgar Allan Poe. The play includes a great deal of Poe’s poetry, and apparently Jeff spent a lot of time walking around his neighborhood quietly reciting to himself in order to memorize all that verse. He joked that his neighbors probably saw him wandering around talking to himself and thought he’d gone nuts.
I mention this because actors aren’t the only people who talk to themselves a lot. Writers do this, too, only we come up with dialogue as we’re walking/driving/making dinner/whatever. Or in my case, cleaning the pool. See, we’ve been having problems with the little algae eater that connects to a hose on the side of the pool and runs around the bottom merrily sucking up algae and small leaves. Basically, it stopped doing that. And since our pool cleaning company hates us because our neighbor’s trees badly overhang our yard and shed leaves into the pool every time there’s a hint of a breeze (yes, we’re getting that fixed next week, but you need the background), they don’t really bother to do anything if the algae eater fails.
Which means that the bottom of our pool is a disaster, and it’s up to me to fix this. Luckily I am descended from engineering and DIY gods, so I can do this messy and time-consuming task by myself, which includes snaking out the cleaner pipe and breaking up any blockages, running a hose down it to flush out said blockages, checking to make sure the suction is back up to snuff, re-priming the pool pump, burping out all the air, and running a hose-driven vortex cleaner to get the big crap off the bottom while the now-working algae eater starts puttering along.
Oh, and I did all this in 95°F heat, because this is Texas and spring don’t last long ’round here. Anyway, to distract myself from the fact that I was melting and desperate for a shower, I started developing dialogue for Olympic Cove Book 3. Why Book 3 and not Book 2, you ask? Well, because my subconscious dropped a beautifully juicy subplot on my head last night for Book 3 that literally made me spin in glee, it was so wonderful (I will give you a hint — it involves snakes). However, this subplot requires a lot of discussion between Poseidon, his consort Amphitrite, and Geoff Gordon, who will turn out to be the gods’ agapetos (if you don’t know what that means, for God’s sake go buy Storm Season, it’s all explained in there). There will be much angst, recrimination and shouting going on while the three of them work all of this out, and since it’s dialogue I started trying it out verbally to see how well it worked. After all, if dialogue doesn’t sound right when said aloud, you’re doing something wrong and you’d best start over.
It was only while I was running the vortex cleaner that I realized I was, er, kinda yelling. At myself. As different characters. I have no idea if anyone heard me, but the neighbors are close enough that if any of them were in their back yards tonight, they were treated to me doing two different accents and genders as I diligently worked out what my characters would say to each other. So, yeah, just in case any of my neighbors ever stumble across this blog and wonder why I talk (and occasionally yell) to myself in the back yard, now you know.
But damn, Book 3 is going to tear your heart out and stomp on it with hobnailed boots. I cannot wait.
Nicola Cameron Writes 