OMG, the pages.  The PAGES.

The pages are getting away from me. 🙂

It’s been insane around here, but I’m getting through it – muses and monsters and paid escorts and more trouble in Bright’s Ferry.

I just finished the outline for SAFE FROM THE STORM, in which Sheriff Tony discovers that his missing wife Nora is very much not dead – just in serious trouble.  She comes back to Bright’s Ferry for his help, but hurt and angry, he turns her down…which turns out to be a huge mistake, because Nora’s past is catching up to her, and a truly scary sort of ex, sort of present (it’s complicated) husband is all about making her his trophy, taking back her fortune, and getting a little payback from our stalwart Sheriff.  If Tony were smart, he’d wash his hands of the whole situation, but it’s kind of hard when the hot redhead he’s still in love with is putting herself in harm’s way to keep him safe from a madman.  That and they can’t seem to keep their hands off each other, even though a hurricane is on its way…

Good stuff – hot and messy and fun!  As soon as I get MORE THAN A NIGHT and SHADOW OF THE RAVEN out (in the next couple of weeks, writing gods willing), I will dive in, have Tony and Nora for you end of June.  Cover is ALMOST done.

And no, I haven’t forgotten SHINY THINGS.  I’m just running on coffee fumes this month…but it’s coming!  Six more chapters to get Leo and Ali out of trouble…stay tuned.

Oops.  I was supposed to be part of a blog hop today that kind of fell apart.  Yay for the auto post!

Note the blank space here – isn’t it pretty?  Well, if you’re here, click around – there’s a SPICY excerpt of my upcoming contemporary MORE THAN A NIGHT below, and plenty of other excerpts on the site if you search.

I’ll try and get some SHADOW OF THE RAVEN up for you – there’s a regular excerpt, but you all would like something hotter, right?  And my Muses are going to be VERY hot.  Read all about them under HEARTS OF STONE in the link above.

Total memory FAIL 🙂

xoxo

April is the cruelest month, or so they say.  In my case, it’s the craziest!  Deadlines, new chapters, and more chaos than any one romance writer is supposed to deal with in one fell swoop!

SHINY THINGS is not forgotten, my lovelies – just epically far behind.  I will try to catch up this week – poor Leo and Ali.  So much trouble.

Meanwhile, here’s a cover and blurb for that contemporary novella I dreamed up last week – MORE THAN A NIGHT – it’s about halfway there – I’m hoping to kick through the rest of it in the next couple of weeks.  And of course SHADOW OF THE RAVEN, which is SO close, I can taste it.  Mmmm…Muses…

After a lifetime of isolation caring for her eccentric, chronically ill father in the middle of nowhere, Erin James suddenly finds herself extremely wealthy, but utterly alone.  Her attempts to date are disastrous as she realizes that not only does she have no idea how to talk to men, but most of them only want her for her money. Determined to give herself the physical experiences she’s missed out on, she decides to use her new wealth to hire an escort – no messy emotional entanglements, no embarrassment over her lack of experience. Unsure where to find such a person, she turns to her sympathetic lawyer for advice. Luckily, she seems to know just the right man…

Henry Warren would do anything to keep his ranch afloat, but he’s out of credit and he’s running out of time, with people depending on him. When his lawyer offers an outrageous suggestion – one night with a reclusive client of hers, he’s just desperate enough to agree. He doesn’t expect to find a sweet, funny young woman hot enough to drop him to his knees.

When one night isn’t enough for either of them, Erin proposes a deal that could save Henry’s ranch forever, but will the money that brought them together wind up tearing them apart?

Araven is waiting to come into her true powers – for centuries the witch has catered to the magical world, trading minor spells and hexes for favors and staying off the capricious gods’ radar whenever possible.  When Erebus, a minor deity of darkness, asks for a spell to imprison his enemies, Araven hesitates – such a spell would require powerful magic.  She is tempted by his promise to increase her powers, but fears what Erebus will do to magic and humankind.

Torn, Araven turns to Cal, the Muse of epic song and poetry – a virile demigod with an unflinching sense of justice, but no interest in the needs of the lowly humans.  In fact, Cal’s only interest is his own idealistic philosophy, and in the seduction of the lovely witch in front of him.  Caught in the throes of passion, neither witch nor muse pay any attention when Araven’s traitorous shadow slips away, drawn by the powerful deity of darkness, ready to do his bidding and bring about a seismic shift in the magical world as they know it…

The best laid plans…

Well, the week is going exactly as I expected – and SHINY THINGS is days overdue.  So sorry!!! The pages are getting away from me as I try to finish up SHADOW OF THE RAVEN.  But I am determined to have a new chapter for you soon, and the start of my hot little paranormal series, HEARTS OF STONE – Shadow is the prequel, and I’ve been having such fun building monsters and villains and twisting mythology to suit my needs.

If only I had minions to crank out the pages for me!!!

I know it sounds weird, but I get my best ideas in the tub.  Actually, I get my worst ideas in the tub, too, but the point is, I get most of my ideas when submerged in bubbles. 🙂

As I was pondering the last chunk of SHADOW OF THE RAVEN and the tangled mythology I’m creating, I started to wonder, what would push a woman to hire a male prostitute?  Don’t ask me what the two have to do with one another – I honestly have no clue, but one minute I was thinking about Muses and the end of the world as we know it, and the next minute I was wondering about women that pay for sex.  Odd.

Anyway, I climbed out of the tub and wrote about 10K of an as-yet-to-be-titled contemporary novella that explored the story of a young woman desperate enough to hire a gigolo, and a man desperate enough to become one for the night.  Not sure when I’ll release it, but probably within the next month or so.

I’m still taking title suggestions, so chime in!  Here’s a blurb:

After a lifetime of isolation caring for her eccentric, chronically ill father in the middle of nowhere, Erin James suddenly finds herself extremely wealthy, but utterly alone.  Her attempts to date are disastrous as she realizes that not only does she have no idea how to talk to men, but most of them only want her for her money. Determined to give herself the physical experiences she’s missed out on, she decides to use her new wealth to hire an escort – no messy emotional entanglements, no embarrassment over her lack of experience. Unsure where to find such a person, she turns to her sympathetic lawyer for advice. Luckily, she seems to know just the right man…

Henry Warren would do anything to keep his ranch afloat, but he’s out of credit and he’s running out of time, with people depending on him. When his lawyer offers an outrageous suggestion – one night with a reclusive client of hers, he’s just desperate enough to agree. He doesn’t expect to find a sweet, funny young woman hot enough to drop him to his knees.

When one night isn’t enough for either of them, Erin proposes a deal that could save Henry’s ranch forever, but will the money that brought them together wind up tearing them apart?

Some of my lovely friends surprised me with a weekend kidnapping into wine country!  It was fantastic, but no computers allowed.  Now that I’m home, sufficiently gossiped out, and relatively sober again, it’s back to it!  I’ll have a new chapter of SHINY THINGS up tonight, and though SHADOW OF THE RAVEN hit a few hiccups, it’s coming up!

Sometimes you have to just drop everything and go have a really excellent malbec or two with your BFFs…if only for the sake of mental health. 🙂

Ah, the Monday panic – there’s nothing like it.  You spend the weekend playing with friends and dogs and good books, and then suddenly it’s Monday and there’s this huge pile waiting for you, leftover from Friday.  Somehow it’s grown.

Are you glad SHINY THINGS is back?  I am!  LOL…hopefully it will stay on track this time.  Meanwhile, this week my little fingers will be flying as I finish up SHADOW OF THE RAVEN.  Spicy excerpt tomorrow, so check back!

I’ve been really quiet this week, right?  No excuses, just trying to get it all done.  To keep you all caught up, here’s what’s cooking this week:

– Reworked the outline for Shiny Things because the last part of the story wasn’t working for me.

– Ripped out the middle part of SHADOW OF THE RAVEN and now I have to fill in the gaps.  Pesky Muses.

– Had a middle of the night fit of inspiration and cranked out a few thousand words of Tony and Nora’s SAFE FROM THE STORM.  It’s a dark one, kids, and apparently I have an exhibitionist streak I’ve never explored…LOL…

– Realized I have to basically restart A SHATTERED BALANCE based on ripping out parts of the Muses intro…see above…good grief…

So things are a little busy. 🙂

Hope you’re enjoying SAFE FROM THE FIRE, and check in late Friday for SHINY THINGS, and then the muse prequel next week!

xoxo,

Lily

One might think that I’m terrible with time management…one might not be totally off the mark there!  However, like most people, I think I just have too many spinning plates in the air.  Take your eyes off one of them…

CRASH!

What do you do?  Go find more plates and get back to spinning.  I’ve got some SHINY THINGS coming up for you early this week, and an excerpt or two of SHADOW OF THE RAVEN, which is looking good for Friday (please, please, please).

During my writing warm-up today, I wrote a few scenes of my new erotic Regency book that are just hot.  There’s something about a man slowly unhooking a corset…LOL…you’ll have to wait a bit for that one, since I’ve barely started the research and I have a few things in line ahead of it.

Still.  Hot.  Maybe I’ll share some unedited excerpts as I go along.

Anyway, have a great Monday, and I’ll spread the word when I’ve got new SHINY THINGS up for you!

Good morning!  First of all, thanks to Joelle Casteel and SheriV for their comments!  They’re both getting a copy of Safe From the Fire!

Much fun ahead – SHADOW OF THE RAVEN will be available Friday, along with a new chapter of SHINY THINGS.  I’ll post some SHADOW excerpts – one tonight and probably one on Wednesday.  Then it’s me and HEARTS OF STONE #1 for the next six weeks…LOL…Book #1 is called A SHATTERED BALANCE, and follows what happens when a curious young woman accidentally wakes up Cal, who has been frozen in stone for a few thousand years.  Magic and monsters and hot mythological action.  🙂

Stop by later today for excerpts, and have a great week!