Her Own Best Enemy by Cynthia Justlin

In honor of Cynthia Justlin's birthday later this week, she's holding a $0.99 SALE on her romantic suspense, HER OWN BEST ENEMY. This is a limited time sale, so grab it while it's cheap!

Desperate to track down her ex-husband who disappeared along with their son, Grace Stevens delves into his past and uncovers evidence of a shocking dual life. The man she thought was an ordinary computer consultant is in fact a former high-ranking Special Forces officer with unique skills in military intelligence. With nowhere to turn she is forced to plead for help from Keith King, the one man she hoped to never see again. Against her better judgment she’ll have to put her child’s fate into his hands.

Keith has officially hit rock bottom. Framed for the theft of deadly missile components, the cynical Special Forces officer is in danger of losing the only thing he can count on: his career. His one shot at clearing his name lies in locating Grace’s ex, who was working with Keith on a secret mission to take down a cutthroat military traitor. But to team up with Grace he’ll need to spend 24/7 with a woman who has every reason to hate him. Out to use each other for their own agenda, desperate mother and disillusioned soldier find they must work together to stay alive, and in the process discover that sometimes even the best of enemies fall in love.

Get it from Amazon or B&N!

SOLD!!!! (Could I be more obnoxious with all those exclamation marks?)

I’ve been out of it the past few weeks and so out of touch. *prays for forgiveness* But I do have some fabulous news. Last week, I signed a contract with Cobblestone Press, and my novella, Curse of the Demon Queen, is going to be published! It’s been a nice long while since I’ve been able to make this type of announcement and it feels so goooooooooooooooood! I still don’t think I’ve come down from the high, and that’s all right with me. I am thrilled that my baby is going to be published. This story is dear to my heart and I can’t wait to share it.

Here’s a blurb.

For fifty years, Aamon has carried the pain of his lover's betrayal and her curse. He wishes to forget the harsh lessons he's been forced to learn, but the Queen of the Demons will not be so easily cast aside. Aamon does his best to close himself to Lilith's version of the past, but his raging emotions and lustful body shout down the reasoning of his mind.

Lilith has taken the fall for wrongs she didn't commit, and lost everything that truly matters. The irrevocable curse she'd flung at Aamon had been a result of her frustration, and now she is devastated that it may have cost her only chance at happiness. Since Aamon refuses to accept her explanations, her only hope lies in the power of love and seduction, but she doesn't know if that will ever be enough to undo the wrongs of the past.

Will the barriers Aamon has built between them hold fast, or will she finally convince him to follow the desires of his body and his heart?

Thanks for stopping by. I hope everyone will be as excited to read it as I was (am) to write it.

What Makes a Good Love/Sex Scene?

As a writer of wonderful naughtiness, I am always interested in people’s views toward sex, but more specifically regarding romance books. A good sex scene can really amp up the intensity of a book. It can push characters past their limits or make them regress. Some sex scenes are all about inserting tab a into slot b, then rinsing and repeating. Then they may include a bunch of “dirty” words into, what I would consider, a strictly action based sex scene, where there is no insight into the characters deep thoughts or emotions. These types of scenes unfortunately do nothing for me.

The ones that really pull me in, have loads of sexual tension, so intense, the reader has to wonder how the characters have kept their hands of each other (whether the timeframe has been thirty minutes or thirty days). I want to know what’s in their heads, what they feel not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. I don’t want to just know that it’s “good” I want to know how and why it’s good and the affect the experience is having on the characters. The scene can be expressed in the most adult, frank, language the author can conjure, it can be sweet, luxurious and lyrically beautiful or even a mixture of both. These are all things that can make a sex/love scene come alive for me. How about you?

Using Time Wisely for Writing (Or Motivation Issues)

I’m still tweaking my time management plan. It’s been working somewhat, but now the issue is not so much that I don’t have the time, but more of being consistent with the time I have. I have certain times of day that belong to me and just me. Of those times I’ve decided which ones are going to be writing time and which ones will be… other.

In my mind I am very dedicated to my writing. I want to be productive and creative. I want to feel good about the time I use to focus on my writing, but when I feel the story is taking too long, or when I feel I’m being distracted by my environment, or when I feel the story isn’t getting my creative juices flowing the way it should I start avoiding my writing time, which I’ve worked so hard to establish. (Holy run-on sentence Batman!)

Recently, I’ve decided to give this consistency thing another go (there must be something to it, right?). I’ve edited everyday this week, for at least an hour, which is encouraging. I’m thinking if I can get myself used to doing it regularly it will become more like a routine and harder to get away from or “forget.” Wish me luck.

How About A Poem?

I think this poem applies to writers especially, but also to anyone who as ever had to wait for anything, especially if it's something they've considered to be important or life changing. Enjoy!

Nervous
By. Lauren Murphy

Foot tapping on concrete floors.
Antsy jitters vibrate causing,
Sweaty palms and haggard breaths.
Head dizzy, thoughts bouncing.
Stomach clenching, heart pounding.
Tired of waiting, feeling anxious.
Frustrated screams never released.
Time running out for decision making.
What will it be? Did they pick me?
God only knows, how I hate waiting.

© Lauren Murphy, All rights reserved

The Summoning by Tatiana Caldwell

NEW RELEASE: The Summoning by Tatiana Caldwell, from Liquid Silver Books.

Everything comes with a price …

Gailyn Bridges is a psychic who is ready to end her troublesome career as a private investigator. For the last time, she summons a powerful spirit to help her close a final case.

However, the mysterious entity who answers, Malak, is no ordinary spirit. He’s more than willing to help Gailyn save the would-be victim of a violent crime.

But who’s going to save Gailyn when Malak returns to collect payment for lending her his power?

Read a free excerpt and buy the book here.

Time Management

Life seems to be an in-depth juggling act and often I have a tendency to get overwhelmed. Feeling like I’m to busy to be able to tell my feet from my head is certainly not how I want to spend my days, on other hand I want to feel like I am getting as much out of my days as possible. I have the day job, family and myself all to think of on a day-to-day bases and I am determined to find a way to get as much time in each portion of my life as I possibly can.

So, I have decided to work on my time management skills which have been pretty much nil for the longest. I believe that people can change (even me) so I’ve decided to section of my days and prioritize each portion. Now I am not a strict planner and just the idea of limiting myself to a certain structure each day, every day makes me cringe. However I do think that if I set loose goals for myself on a daily bases and make the most important ones a priority, then I can get more use or better use of my time.

In using time management wisely I have learned that there is nothing worse than stressing about what didn’t get done. I am human (though being a superhero would be *sings* awesome) and realize that there are some days my goals may not be completed. I have come to understand that I have to be ok with this in order for my process to work. Now I’m not saying that I should look forward to slacking off of on my goals, I will try my best to attain as many of them as possible. However, if I miss a few for the day then it’s okay and I can always try again the next time. I understand that as I move forward with this plan then I will become more efficient over time, which is really the most important goal over all. (This, of course all sounds good in theory, but I shall see.)

Another important part of time management (for me anyway) is to make sure that I give 100% to each goal as I am working on it. When I am at the day job I don’t dwell on something else I’d rather be doing (for the most part). I do my best to make sure I am focusing on being as efficient as possible on my tasks and the same goes for my family life and me time. When I am working at a certain aspect of life I am devoted to that aspect until it is time to move on. This makes it easier to concentrate on the task at hand and often allows me to feel happier about what I’m doing since I’m not moaning and wishing I was somewhere else.

So with that in mind, I am off to be productive and insure that I am managing my time to the best of my ability.