Good News Day!

Welcome to this week's good news...

SALES 

Eden Summers has just recently signed her third contract for a Halloween Anthology with Etopia Press. Go Eden!

SHORT STORIES

Maggie Mundy has a short story called Bumble Bee that will be online with Alfiedog.com on September 16th!

COVERS & RELEASE DATE

Nicole Hurley-Moore's new book, Until The Stars Burn Cold will be released on the 20th Sept. by Pink Petal Books. It's a paranormal/time travel novel.

Forbidden love...
Long ago in ancient Persia, there lived a pair of star crossed lovers. In a desperate bid, the lovers sought to flee the town of Adwan. But they were caught and torn apart.
For his insolence, Jinn is cursed into a ring. Ages pass and empires crumble... and Jinn is still forever bound in a circle of frozen silver. Bound, that is until present day antiques dealer, Mia Templeton accidentally releases him. There is more to Mia than just her beauty... somehow she seems familiar.
Is love eternal and evil everlasting? Can the power that destroyed Jinn's life in Adwan, reach through the centuries and threaten his future?


Mel Teshco has Beneath the Light of a Silver Moon coming out in November with Momentum's Hot Down Under line.

Kristen Treymore isn't living anymore – she's existing.
Trapped in marriage to Jack, an alcoholic who uses his fists to communicate, Kristen has given up her freedom in an attempt to protect his daughter.
When Conrad Doyle, childhood friend and the man whose heart she unwittingly broke, shows up on Kristen's doorstep and offers her a lifeline, she can't refuse.
What she never dreams possible is how much she still wants him—but is that enough to keep them together when terror still beats deep in her heart?

Momentum is the new digital-only imprint of Pan Macmillan Australia and they'll be releasing a series of 13 erotic short stories by new and established Australian romance writers, including some of our Dark Siders - Rhyll Biest, C.T. Green, S.E. Gilchrist, Shona Husk, Kylie Scott and Tracie Sommers (aka Tracey O'Hara).

Shona Husk has just received a cover for Saved by the Trickster, out later this year with Ellora’s Cave! It's an erotic fantasy romance with demi-gods, magic and a fallen Celestial Warrior addicted to ambrosia.

Saving Sara is Angela Castle's latest release from Whiskey Creek Press. It's the 5th book in the Warriors of Kelon series.

Sara, abducted from Earth by cruel aliens, is used as a torture slave and left to die.
Solron, a healer of Kelon, is annoyed at being ordered to go on a cleanup mission to check abandoned enemy war bases. When he and the crew discover a small human woman on the brink of death, Solron manages to save her. But the beautiful little human stirs more within him than his need to heal. Under Solron’s care, Sara falls deeply in love with the alien doctor and he claims her for himself. But when confronted by the Xerson who tortured her, Solron demands a fight with him.
Sara knows she has no choice but to let them fight, but will she now lose the man she loves to the curled Xerson, or will justice at last be served? 

REVIEWS

Bitten By Paranormal Romance have reviewed Annie Seaton's paranormal romance, Blind Lust.

A wager between the gods can change your life. Even if you are a witch…
When Venus has a wager with Cupid, that prudish librarian, Lizzy Sweet cannot be enticed to love, she neglects to tell her son that Lizzy is a three hundred year old witch.

The first man Lizzy sees after Cupid shoots his arrow is Josh Deegan, a famous country and western singer who has come to town to rediscover his muse, in an old farmhouse haunted by a culinary ghost.

Local warlock, Wesley Gordon, who has been hitting on Lizzy to no avail for over one hundred years, is not impressed.

The quirky old folk of Silver Valley watch fondly as the battle between love and lust plays out. Leaden and golden arrows zing around, spells are magicked, potions stirred, and ghosts hunted.

Who will fall in love and who will let the other go forever?

You can read the full review here! 

Kiss of Steel, Bec McMaster's debut steampunk romance is a Night Owl Reviews Top Pick!

"Unique, spellbinding, thrilling and complex are only a few words that can describe this fantastic book. This has to be a must read from paranormal fans and steampunk fans alike. Even historical fans may like it if they enjoy urban fantasy books. I wasn’t sure I would be able to like a book with so many various elements but they come together in such a way that you wonder why this isn’t done more often.
I have to highly recommend this book and wonder when the next in this new series will be out. I think I’ve found another auto buy author!"

Click here for the full review.

Under the Covers has also reviewed Kiss of Steel. A snippet:

"...Blade...has promptly been added to my list of book boyfriends, a very bad boy who has a soft spot for those he considers his family and of course the woman he loves and a tortured past, how was I supposed to resist that? But you can't swing a cat in the romance world and not hit a hero like that, but Blade had that extra something that had me panting, darkly sensual and struggling with inner demons but determined to do right by the people he protected I was doomed to love him."

You can read the full review here.

And Kiss of Steel has also been reviewed at The Romanceaholic:

"The gloriously dark world-building, the steampunk elements blended beautifully with the paranormal, the luscious romance and the incredible chemistry all added up to a must read for any fan of gothic romance with a steampunk twist."

Full review here.

OTHER

Debut author, Bec McMaster continues her Kiss of Steel blog tour. You can find out more about Blade, Honoria and the steampunk world they live in at these blogs - and there are giveaways up for grabs!

• USA Today Books (Happy Ever After) - talking about the appeal of bad boy heroes, Spike & Damon, & steampunk romance
• Urban Girl Reader - delving into the world of Kiss of Steel and finding out one of her fav.scenes
• Reading Between the Wines - revealing what drew her to steampunk romance
• Book Savy Babe - talking about the research behind Kiss of Steel
• The Qwillery - an interview covering her writing quirks, favourite authors and facts about the book
• That's What I'm Talking About - lots of snippets about Bec's book, her background and reading habits

Kylie Griffin visited The Book Connection in Dubbo (NSW) September 7th for a book-signing event. She met readers from the central west of NSW and was interviewed by PhotoNews, one of Dubbo's local newspapers. In all, a great day!

Kiri & Rae (two of the staff) from The Book Connection with Kylie

Good News Day!

Welcome to this week's good news...

SALES 

Lilliana Rose has just sold her short story, 'New Skies', to Less Than Three Press, LLC.

Rowena Corey Daniells has sold King-Maker, King-Breaker (working title) to Solaris Books. This is Book #4 and the last installment in the King Rolen’s Kin series. The book is due for publication at the end of 2013.

BOOK LAUNCH

Eleni Konstantine launched her novella, Gateway to Hell, on September 7th. She began the celebrations with an e-launch on Facebook. The fun has started with giveaways there as well as on her blog.

COVERS & RELEASE DATE

Shona Husk has a cover for the first book in her new paranormal romance Annwyn series, The Outcast Prince, and it's due for release July 2013.

Denise Rossetti's The Dark Rose is the fourth and last book in the Four-Pentacle series. It comes out with Berkley Intemix on Tuesday (Sept.11th). She'll be visiting the Romance Bandits then with a giveaway - drop by and say g'day - she'd love to see you there!

Even beautiful things cast dark shadows...
Rosarina of the Garden is the most desired courtesan of her time. She is also a spy, sent on a deadly mission to Green IV. She canot afford to trust anyone, least of all the Quintus, a Technomage with his own agenda - and the unnerving ability to crack her cool composure.
Rose is a challenge Quin can't resist, but he's a threat she's been ordered to...neutralize.

Angela Castle's newest book has been released by Evernight Publishing.

Arriving home from work, Master Brendon fiinds a wonderful gift awaiting. Tied to a chair is the lush Jay Becket, his sub's best friend. Being bi-secual, Brendon explores the delights of Jays submission. All too quickly he finds himself falling under her spell, in more ways than one.

Jay has always lusted after Brendon and agrees to her best friend's plan to become Master Brendon's new submissive, to help ease the pain she knows is coming.

But emotions spiral out of control when Brendon learns the truth behind Jay's sweet submission. A secret which could teat their new fragile bond apart.

Winter Fusion is Anna Hackett's coming release (out December 3rd, 2012) from Carina Press and will also be part of their sci-fi holiday anthology, 'A Galactic Holiday'.

Nicole Murphy's contemporary romance story, ‘Small Silky Thing’ will appear in the HarperCollins e-anthology URL Love. It's available from Apple or Amazon.

From Texting to Twitter, the Hottest Online Love Stories!
We all love a hot romance ... and what could be more relevant to the way we live now than a love story involving text messages, Facebook, online dating, emails or tweets?
URL Love is a collection of ten sexy, sweet and sassy stories about love in the digital age. For fans of  E.L.James, Marian Keyes and everyone in between!

CONTESTS

Congratulations to DarkSider, Cassandra Shaw. She recently found out she's a finalist in the Urban Fantasy section of the FF&P, On The Far Side Contest for her entry, 'Evition Eyes'.

Harlequin Desire author & Dark Sider, Paula Roe (writing as Polly Archer) has finaled in the Para/UF/SF section of the LERA Rebecca contest, with her erotic medieval fantasy, For Her Majesty's Pleasure. Final judge is Adam Wilson of Pocket Books. Old habits die hard, eh, Paula?

Congratulations to C.T.Green who has placed 2nd in the FF & P section of the Celtic Hearts Golden Claddagh, 2012, with her entry Halo Book 1—The Angel Lord.

And a huge wahoo to Carolyn Wren who won the RWA Emerald Award (category section) for unpublished writers! Dark Siders rock!

REVIEWS

A 4 star review from Book Chick City for Bec McMaster's Kiss of Steel. Here's a snippet:

McMaster takes fairly standard romance, mixes in a little steampunk, a little paranormal and creates really great story. I was gripped by this novel from the first few pages and doing anything else went out of the window until I had finished.

And a 4.5 rating from Paranormal Haven as well!

There is a lot going on in this book, hopefully this is only the beginning for this world. I would love to see a few others get a book and story. Over all the story was amazing and the romance was just as amazing. This one is a definite must add to the ever multiplying TBR list.

Congrats, Bec!

OTHER

Nicole Murphy talks about Kobo Author Notes on her blog this week. It’s a marriage between Kobo, Apple and Facebook that allows readers to read a version of the story annotated by the author and to interact with those notes, either chatting to the author or to other readers about it.

Her publisher, HarperCollins has made KAN available with her The Dream of Asarlai series. Find out more about this here.

Good News Day!

Welcome to this week's good news...

SALES 

Eden Summers has just signed a second contract with Etopia Press for a contemporary erotic romance novelette titled - Sneaking a Peek.

Shona Husk has sold Saved by the Trickster to Ellora’s Cave. It’s an erotic fantasy with demi-gods, magic and a fallen celestial warrior addicted to ambrosia.

Some of our DarkSiders are involved in an exciting publishing deal: HOT DOWN UNDER - an anthology of 13 short erotic stories, releasing with similarly branded covers from November of this year with Momentum, the digital line for Pan Macmillan Australia.
The authors involved are (DarkSiders in colour) - Kylie Scott, Cath Evans, Tracey O'hara, Rhian Cahill,  Kaliana Cole, C.T.Green, Shona Husk,  Mary Dehaas, Beverley Eikli, Rhyll Vallis, Keziah Hill, S.E.Gilchrist and Mel Teshco.

COVERS & RELEASE DATE

Bec McMaster's debut book, Kiss of Steel, came out on Sept.1st! This is Book 1 in the London Steampunk series.

He craves her like no other…

Honoria Todd has no choice. Only in the dreaded Whitechapel district can she escape the long reach of the Duke of Vickers. But seeking refuge there will put her straight into the hands of Blade, legendary master of the rookeries. No one would dare cross him, but what price would he demand to keep her safe?
Ever since Vickers infected him with the craving, Blade has been quicker, stronger, almost immortal—and terrified of losing control of the monster within. Honoria could be his perfect revenge against the duke…or the salvation he never dared to dream of.

Erica Hayes has a new short story out as of August 28th, called Hunter's Blood (available on Amazon). It’s a hot and tasty vampire romance.

A powerful young vampire demon-huntress teams up with a legendary slayer to rid their city of soul-munching demons – but he's already broken her heart once. Will he betray her again in his burning quest for revenge?
Gina Santangelo is the toughest huntress in the Guild, unmatched with blade and vampire blood-magic as she keeps the city safe from soul-munching demons. Until she crosses swords with Luka Dragovic, a legendary slayer, the only man who can help her save the city from a fresh demon incursion. But he's also the man who broke her heart five years ago, when he defected to the enemy—and Gina vows that this demon-loving traitor will never best her, either in battle or in love.
Luka can't resist this fiery, defiant adversary—the very woman whose memory kept him alive through five years shackled in hell, tortured by a sadistic demon. Now Luka burns for revenge—but to kill this demon, he'll need Gina's rare brand of magic, which she's sworn never to share, least of all with the man she despises for a traitor. A power Luka can gain only by possessing her, body and blood…

Maree Anderson has a new cover for Freaks in the City—the sequel to Freaks of Greenfield High.
Release date is 31st August.

True love isn’t a cake-walk when your girlfriend’s a cyborg!
The timing couldn’t be worse for Jay to take her relationship with Tyler to the next level—especially when her idea of “the next level” proves to be vastly different to Tyler’s. Building a life together and adapting to each other’s quirks is challenging enough without the secrets they’re keeping blowing up in their faces. Their relationship is tearing Tyler’s family apart. Worse, the ex-girlfriend from hell shows up on their doorstep, destitute and desperate for a place to stay until she sorts out the latest hot mess she’s embroiled in.
Jay’s not exactly thrilled about Tyler’s ex turning up out of the blue, but it’s better to keep your enemies close, right? Sure enough, the ex has an agenda. But discovering who is manipulating her behind the scenes isn’t easy, even for a super-smart computer-savvy cyborg.
Then a vulnerable member of Tyler’s family is threatened, forcing Jay to confront a ghost from her past who’ll stop at nothing to destroy her. And this time, the weapon he’s chosen to take Jay out with really could be the death of her.

Jenny Schwartz has a new cover for Courting Trouble, the second in her newest Bustlepunk Chronical series (Wild West with an Aussie twist) from Carina Press, releasing October 1st, 2012. Cover is by Croco Designs.

All suffragette Esme Smith wants is respect. Her beau, American inventor Jed Reeve, may be more enlightened than most men, but lately his need to protect her is at odds with her need for independence. Esme begins to wonder if a modern woman can share her life with a man without losing some of herself.
With his courtship of Esme stalled, the last thing Jed needs is the pressure of saving the Prince of Wales. But when blueprints for a sonic destroyer fall into his hands, he uncovers an anarchist plot that could have deadly consequences.
While investigating the threats, Jed is determined to keep Esme out of harm’s way, despite her protests. But when the terrorists capture Jed and demand a priceless emerald in exchange for his life, it’s Esme who must draw on all her strength to save the day.

Peta Crake's debut novel, Harbinger, came out on 16th August with Destiny Romance (Penguin Australia's new digital imprint). International release is scheduled for October 2012.

As an Olympic messenger, suburban Aussie girl Ophelia Lind is used to being at the beck and call of the gods. But when gorgeous demigod Aden moves into her neighbourhood and starts taking advantage of her services, Ophelia believes life could not get any worse. She's about to be proven very wrong.
Ophelia tries to enjoy a normal, everyday life while running messages for the Greek gods – but without warning an odious creature - evil incarnate - begins to stalk her. As a messenger dealing with the all-powerful and sometimes frightening gods, Ophelia is accustomed to adventures and scrapes. But this is different. Even Aden, who is madly and deeply in love with Ophelia, finds it difficult to protect her. Suddenly Ophelia is in a battle for survival and begins to question everything – her upbringing, her identity, and her true feelings for the alluring and entirely frustrating Aden.

And two of our DarkSiders, Angela Castle and Mel Teshco, took out their respective sections (Best Speculative Fiction & Best Novella covers) in the RWA 2012 Cover contest at the conference this year! Congratulations, ladies!!!

CONTESTS

Congratulations to DarkSider, Maggie Munday. She recently received word that she placed 3rd in the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Ignite the Flame contest!!!

And more good news from our recent RWA Awards dinner this time - Helen Katsinis (aka Eleni Konstantine) won the Lynne Wilding Meritorious Service Award!

Also in the RWA Emerald Award (single title)DarkSiders, Michelle de Rooy placed 1st, and C.T.Green came 3rd!!! Woohoo!

L to R: Michelle de Rooy (1st), Chris Taylor (2nd), C.T.Green (3rd)

AND C.T.Green continues with good news on the contest circuit - she's also a  finalist in the Northwest Houston RWA 'Lone Star Contest'.

What a great few weeks of things a-happening. Don't forget to keep sending me your good news - big or small!!!

Go, Dark Siders!

Good News Day!

Welcome to this week's good news...

SALES

Michelle de Rooy (w/a Dakota Harrison) has sold "Breathless" (working title), a second contemporary romance to Samhain Publishing!

Imogene Nix's Starburst is now under contract to Secret Cravings Publishing with a tentative release date of February 2013.  It is the final novel in the Warriors of the Elector Trilogy.

Angela Castle has accepted a contract from e-publisher Evernight Pubishing for her book (working title), Love Unbound.

Congratulations to all our Dark Siders!

COVERS & RELEASE DATE

Happy Release Day for Sin's Dark Caress by Tracey O'Hara. It came out on July 31st! This is the third installment in the Dark Brethren series.

 

Astrid Cooper's latest release in the Monsters InK paranormal series, Fang Tango, came out on August 1st and has debuted at #4 on Extasy Books bestsellers list.
But the good news doesn't stop there! Older titles in the series - A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Christmas Ck & Vampire for Hire - made a return and also rank on the list at #11, #12 & #13.
And to top that off she's received some lovely fan mail from a couple of readers telling her how much they've enjoyed the series.

Anna Hackett has a cover for her upcoming release, Time Thief.

Rowena Corey Daniells has two books out this month! Exhile (fantasy from Solaris, out August 1st) and Price of Fame (ClanDestine Press, out August 18th).

REVIEWS

Tracey O'Hara's newest release, Sin's Dark Caress, received a 4.5 star rave review from RT Book Review.

The threat of the Dark Brethren rising hovers over O’Hara’s impressively compelling series with wonderfully chilling menace. This third installment explores witch clans and murder by deadly dark magic. None of O’Hara’s protagonists are without flaws, but all have guts and determination in the face of dangerous odds. O’Hara is on a roll!

And here's another snippet from Book'd Out (you can read the full review here):

Sin’s Dark Caress is a fast paced read with plenty of action, exciting twists and strong characters. With its mix of murder, mayhem and magic I think its the strongest book of the three and though it could work as a stand alone, I would recommend reading the previous installments.

And another from Paperback Dolls (full review here):

Sin’s Dark Caress is a chillingly dark and twisted tale of just how far the Dark Brethren and their accomplices will go to unleash pure evil into the world. I found myself absolutely compelled to keep reading as the tension and urgency rose with each new murder. Sin’s warm, sweet personality complements the gruff McManus’s explosive temper in a comfortable way that only comes after years of lifelong friendship, but I find myself wishing that these two were the stars of the next Dark Brethen novel when it releases next year.

And Scooper Speaks also gave it a great review:

Tracey O’Hara’s Dark Brethren series gets better with each book...Sin’s Dark Caress is even better because it brings something I love. It is dark. Not horror dark, but heavier than the average romance. Evil permeates its pages, but it never lets you forget you are reading a romance.  

Go, T!!!

CONTESTS

Michelle de Rooy is a finalist the HODRWA "The Molly" contest with her fantasy romance "Appleseed".

Carolyn de Ridder has received an honorable mention for her manuscript, The Hostage. Her work was a finalist in the mystery/suspense category of the RWA Kiss of Death Chapter's Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence contest.

S.E.Gilchrist also received an honorable mention for her post-apocalyptic romance, Beyond Aquarius, in the RWA Southern Heat East Texas contest (paranormal category)! AND her novella, Bound by Love, is a finalist in the paranormal romance section of the Music City Romance Writers "Minuet of Love" contest.

Woot, to all our contest slaying Dark Siders!

OTHER 

Maree Anderson (with a little bit of help) has constructed landing pages for her books.

Freaks of Greenfield High

The Crystal Warrior

Ruby's Dream

Jade's Choice

Lightning Rider

BOOK SIGNING EVENT

The following Dark Siders will be attending the Australian Romance Readers Association Book-Signing Event (held in conjunction with the RWAustralia annual conference) at the QT Hotel on the Gold Coast, on Friday 17th August, 2012 from 4.30-6.00pm.

• Denise Rossetti
• Imogene Nix
• Keri Arthur
• Kylie Griffin
• Louise Cusack
• Nicole Murphy
• Paula Roe
• Rowena Cory Daniells
• Tracey O’Hara

 

What a great wrap up for the week! Thanks, everyone, for sending on your good news.

Now, don't forget GND is going into hiatus for the rest of this month as many of the Dark Siders (myself included) are migrating to the Gold Coast or Auckland in preparation for or to attend the annual Romance Writers' conferences!

Good News Day will return the first week of September! See you then!

Good News Day!

Welcome to this week's good news...

REVIEWS

Tracey O'Hara

Here is an actual quote from the August issue of the RT Magazine (because I didn't have it when I posted in previous Good News Day).

4.5 stars for Sin's Dark Caress.

"The threat of the Dark Brethren rising hovers over O'Hara's impressively compelling series with wonderfully chilling menace. This third installment explores witch clans and murder by deadly dark magic. None of O'Hara's protagonists are without flaws, but all have guts and determination in the face of dangerous odds. O'Hara is on a roll!" 

Kylie Griffin

Alliance Forged made the fantasy overview for July!

How cool is that!

Shona Husk

Enchanting Absinthe, book 4 in the Sex With Strings series, is out now from Ellora's Cave!

Nicole Murphy
The first sequel to the Dream of Asralai Trilogy, The Festival,  is out now on Smashwords.

Angela Castle
Sin's City (Moon Shadows series) is out now from Torrid Books. 

Happy releases!

GIVEAWAYS