Bittersweet Weekend

This weekend I said goodbye to the board I ran with for the last two years. While we had a good run it’s now over. In some ways I was looking forward to not being responsible for the newsletter. I needed a break and happy to turn it over to the new editor. Yet, part of me will miss it. When I didn’t come home with all my folders I felt like I lost a part of myself. It’ll be all right in the end. I’m going to be too busy come August to think about putting together the newsletter. I’m sure the new editor will do a fantastic job.
Our house if finally back to normal. It took some serious time, but the DH worked hard over the weekend.
I spent over 7 hours in the car…something I don’t like to do. It did give me time to reflex on certain things and make some decisions that have lingered for too long. That's for another post though.
I also challenged myself. I told my editor that I’d have a book for her by the end of this week. ACK! You know what that means right? I have to sit my butt in the chair and write those last 5-6k words and ship that baby off. I knew if I didn’t do something drastic I’d let it sit while I do nothing. I need to finish this wip.
So if you don’t hear from before Friday, you’ll know why.
Happy Monday!

Mini Goals

A few weeks ago I talked about not knowing where I want to go with my writing and if I should just give up. A friend asked me if I’d made up my mind about my writing career.
The short term answer – YES. I want to be a writer. It’s in my blood. I can’t give it up. The problem is there’s so much going on in my life right now it’s difficult to put words to paper. I’ve started three new wips and can’t seem to move along with any of them. They start off full of potential and then I abandon them. Writing erotic romance has become almost impossible. I know all the reasons for this; I just can’t fix them right now.
This week I’ve promised myself to work on Chasing Forever. I want to get this story stronger and send it off. The story is written. An editor expressed a few issues, nothing major. The sex scenes aren’t the issue…YAY for me. :o) So addressing the concerns should be easy.
I managed to work on the first chapter this morning. I actually woke up early and had some time before the daughter woke. That’s a new issue. She has a job. The hour of 6-7 used to be my quiet writing time. Not any longer. B, gets up at 6am to get ready for work. One of the kids usually gets up with her. Guess who gets to take care of them. Lol I don’t mind. I enjoy that time with them, but I’m a creature of habit.
My schedule has been changed and I’m still trying to adjust. Not only am I sleeping later, I have company when I get up. Saturday I was excited about being awake early figuring the daughter would sleep in – she didn’t have work. NOPE. She came out all bubbly wanting to talk my ear off just before 6 am. Most people know not to talk to me before I’ve finished my morning coffee. That’s just the way I am. I need silence and time to wake up. No, I didn’t kill her. I smiled and nodded at the appropriate times. I also prayed. Prayed she’d go away. LOL
The house is full of sick people so I'm trying to keep my distance. I think the DH has pneumonia. He's a stubborn male. He is on antibiotic for a sinus infection. I hope it's strong enough. He has to return for a follow up next week. I'm trying to convince him to go sooner. Wish me luck.
So my mini goals this week is to finish Chasing Forever. Maybe that will spark the desire to write again.

A Good Day

First off I have to give a big Thank You to the wonderful and talented Selena Illyria, who has once again pointed me in the direction of an awesome review of mine. I also would like to thank Theresa, at The Romance Studio for the fantastic review of Adrift.
As all writers’ do, I fretted over how this new book would be received. It was my first time writing M/M/F. I’ve written many ménage’s, but they were all M/F/M. Adrift was a hit with TRS. A Five Heart review! To read it go here:
http://theromancestudio.com/reviews/reviews/adriftskyze.htm
In other news I’ve finished my latest wip, a contemporary M/F, called Sex on the Beach (tentatively titled). I’m going to let it sit for a few days before I edit and send it off.
The warm weather had returned to New England. I spent a few hours on the pool deck yesterday and hope to get a few more in today. The day job has quieted down for this month so I get to enjoy some leisure time. Also all my promo stuff is pretty much done for Romanticon. I can’t believe it’s only two weeks away. I can’t wait to meet all my awesome friends and fellow authors.
Fran Lee and I will be doing a Reader based workshop. I’ll also be joining the lovely ladies of the Cougar Challenge series for a workshop…oh and tomorrow I’ll be showcasing my lovely new Cougar cover art. The lovely Syneca has worked her magic yet again.
Happy Thursday!

Friday the 13th!

I know a lot of people are superstitious about today, but I’m not one of them. Believe me I’m very superstitious about other things, like walking under a ladder, or a black cat crossing your path, but not today.
Good things normally happen to me and I’m hoping today will be no different.
I’m in the process of writing the dreaded synopsis today. Most of my wips are at a standstill right now. Not sure why. I know where ALL of them are headed, but can’t seem to motivate myself to write. I have two that need finishing before the end of the month. I don’t see that happening.
One is at 6.5k and needs to be 25k finished. The other is at 3.5 and should finish around 15k. Hopefully I’ll find the energy to write.
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and Friday the 13th!

Monday Again

We did a lot of partying over the weekend. On Saturday we had to go to a three year olds party. Plus run around for the cookout at our house on Sunday. The DH’s father and family came over to celebrate Father’s Day. We ate lots of food and my BIL brought some delicious pastries. Overall it was a great weekend.
Progress on Stranded is coming along nicely too. I’m currently at 22k. I projected this to be around 25k. It will likely run over, but hey, that’s cool. I’m sure the editor won’t mind. I’m still hoping to wrap it up by Friday.
Our vacation plans have changed about 50 times. Originally we were going to go away for a few days alone. My youngest has decided she doesn’t want to spend much time in NY with her father. (Can’t say I blame her) We decided to take her and a friend and drive to PA. We were there two years ago when she qualified for Nationals with her softball team. We went to Hershey Park, but a big storm prevented us from staying. We swore we’d go back, so that’s what we’re doing. Next Thursday we’ll hop in the car and make the 6 hour drive. We’ll return on Sunday and relax on Monday as we both have it off from work.
Today I plan to spend some time on the pool deck and enjoy this sun!

New Review

Today is my youngest daughter’s 13th birthday. She felt I should let her skip school. I wasn’t feeling it! LOL Everyone went to dinner on Monday to celebrate. It was the only night everyone was available. So tonight I’ll make her favorite meal – taco’s. Happy Birthday L!

I dove back into my Cougar story this morning. It was a nice change of pace from the series. Barring any big issues I plan to have this one to my editor before June 1st. I’m really shooting for May 15th, but I’m giving myself a little leeway.

There’s a story building in my head that is begging to be written. I just hope it leaves me alone long enough to finish the cougar book.

Research Required received a decent review. You can check it out here:
The Pen & Muse: Review: Research Required by Amber Skyze

Off to do more editing. Happy Hump Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I’m married to an Irishman, but on St. Patrick’s Day you wouldn’t know it. I have no Irish in me, though the DH may say…well, ummm, never mind. So anyway, I love corned beef and cabbage. Love to make it every year for St. Patrick’s Day. Nope the DH doesn’t like it. So now I don’t save it for once a year. When the DH goes away for business – the kids and I enjoy a corned beef and cabbage dinner.
I enjoy beer. Now I don’t drink often, but I do like it. They say Irishmen are lushes. Not mine. It’s a very rare occasion he’ll drink. He didn’t even drink at our wedding.
He may not fit all the Irishmen standards and he can be a bit odd at time – I love him just the way he is.
In other news –
A friend of mine was talking to an editor over at a publishing house I’m interested in writing for. This friend doesn’t write erotic or anything close, but she suggested I submit. Her editor friend gave me her personal email address. So yesterday I sent a query/letter of introduction and heard back in 5 mins! I swear that has to be a record.
While they didn’t offer a contract she did have a lot of nice things to say. The reason she couldn’t take what I was offering was because it was too short. She asked if I lengthened it to resubmit or if I had something longer send it her way. She liked my writing style.
I think the most amazing part of this was she recommended yet another publishing house and gave me a contact over there. She said to use her name when submitting. Two new opportunities have opened up for me all because of someone
I’m excited to submit something to the first editor, but have to finish my current wip and write one more book before I can start something for her. Though I couldn’t wait and I started a rough outline. I’ve been known to write two books at the same time, so maybe this will be one of those times.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Crabby Monday

Dante's Desire is finished and will be off to my editor shortly. It's been awhile since a story just poured out of me like DD did.

Today I need to write a synopsis for the cougar challenge. This story came to me too! I rarely write a synopsis first or have an outline, but I know where this story will go from start to finish. I'm scaring myself! LOL

Tomorrow I'm celebrating my next release from Ellora's Cave. I'll be having a contest here and I'll be a guest on a few other blogs, where I'll be giving away a copy of Ignited. So be sure to come back and find out where you could win a copy of Ignited.

So why am I crabby? I didn't sleep last night. Plus I've been at a lack of things to write about on my blog. The interview and guest blog requests are flying in and I'm VERY happy to promote my work, but I'm blog blocked. LOL
I guess I should be happy it's not writer's block and the stories are flowing.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Swamped!

Wow someone is looking down on me lately. I’ve been swamped. Between edits for Wild Lickins, FLE’s for Ignited due out the 26th and the cover art for Wild Lickins (which is an Ice Cream Shoppe for those wondering J) things have been non-stop.
I must be getting popular because people are requesting my books on Astatalk. It frustrates the hell out of me that people would steal from writers who bust their butts to put books out for loyal FANS. I liked it better when I wasn’t so popular. I liked the first year when my sales weren’t thru the roof, but I was SELLING books, not being ripped off.
Okay enough of my rant on that subject.
Today it’s time to work on that article and finish revising Research Required, unless something else pops up.
Oh and I’m excited I started a new story, currently titled Dante’s Desire. I’m only 5 pages in, but it feels good to be writing again. A new year and a fresh start.

I'm on the Coming Soon Page

Yes! I finally made it to the coming soon page for Body Shots! I'm excited about this release. I enjoyed writing this book. The cover is nice too.

In other news, I may lose my writing space sooner than I thought. The guest bedroom is going to be turned into a nursery sometime after the holidays, but my son informed me needs to move out of his girlfriends house. He was afraid to tell me things weren't going well, because he didn't want to stress me out. I'd be more stressed knowing he was living with someone he didn't get along with or didn't want to be with just to keep me under stressed. I told him his bedroom (the guest room) is his to move in to and he can stay as long as it takes to decide what he wants to do next. So I suspect in the next day or two I'm going to need to find a new place to write.

Today I'm off from the day job and going to enjoy a day out with the DH.

In NaNo news - today's total is 2,002. Grand total - 15,997. I'm a little behind, but I'm certain I'll catch up. And even if I don't I'm thrilled at the progress I've make thus far. My current wip is just about done and turning out better than I hoped.

Happy Wednesday!

Let the Writing Begin!

Today kicks off NaNo. I had a healthy start - 1994 words. I average about 1k when I write, so this was a good day for me.

I finished the ending to a story that has been bugging me for a long time. I let it sit for a month and today decided to put The End to it. YAY for me! :)

In other news, my first official newsletter went out today. I had my first contest winner and a new contest announcement.

I also learned I won a copy of Cicada by Afton Locke over at: http://sixsexysirens.blogspot.com/2009/11/paranormal-power-week-winners.html how cool is that?

November is starting off pretty good.

Mental Health Day

Yesterday I finally told my boss about the pregnancy. Nice thing about working from home is your co-workers can't notice that little baby bump and whisper behind your back. LOL Anyway, I also asked for today off. I've been working a few weeks straight, including weekends and I have a lot of running around to do. So much for that bed rest stuff. :) Shhh, don't tell my doctor.

I've ordered the food and pumpkin cheesecake for my son's dinner party. Now I just have to get him a gift. I've set aside time to work on polishing the wip to send out by Sunday. With any luck I'll have it done.

I had a four a.m. epiphany. I tend to write more in the winter. From usually November thru April or May. NaNo seems to be my jumping off point every year. So, I guess that means I'll have to start pumping out the books to carry me thru the summer. That said, I'm excited about starting NaNo. I don't sign up for the offical one, but two friends and fellow authors have been doing our own for the last three years. It works for us.

Anyone else doing their own version of NaNo?

Happy Birthday, N!

More Rain

We've had more rain than necessary since early April. I'm tired of it. I want to see the sunshine, even if it's cold outside. The poor golden is going nuts. He needs his exercise and can't get it when it's pouring outside. If he doesn't run for at least an hour a day he drives me crazy. Needless to say I'm at my wits end. LOL Can someone please send the sun my way?
Today I'm preparing for my son's birthday party tomorrow. My baby will be 22. My daughter is job hunting. She's doing the seasonal thing, so I'll be tasked with babysitting while she's out looking. What does that mean for my writing? I guess we'll see. I'm taking my friend Regina's idea and leaving my wip open all day. I'll try to add to it when time permits.
One more day til Friday and soon all the little trick or treaters will be parading to our door. The grand baby is going to be a monkey, can't wait to see her in her costume.
Until tomorrow - stay dry!

Getting Out of the House

Taking a bit from friend and fellow author Ashley Ladd - http://ashleyladd.blogspot.com, writer's need to get out of the house every once in a while. Even non-writers. I admit to being stuck in a rut lately. It had me so depressed I didn't leave the house much, unless I had to - softball, doctor's appointments, etc. I work out of the house, so I don't even leave for the day job.
With no kids and no softball this weekend, the DH said "Let's go browse or something." Now mind you I'm not a shopper, but he is. He can look at stuff for the house for hours. I relented and went. Boy am I glad I got out.
While the DH was in a guy store I sat at a table and people watched. I haven't done this in a very long time. My feet were tired, we'd been in the mall for almost three hours at this point. Anyway, so there I sat watching. Then I seen this male couple. I watched how they interacted with one another. Their mannerisms, the way one talked as opposed to the other. And for the record they were both extremely cute. The only thing that bothered me was they dressed almost identical. Not sure why it bothered me, but it did.
Bottom line is if I hadn't gotten out last night, I wouldn't have seen this couple. I'm writing my second M/M story now and this "research" if you will, is sure to help my story move forward.
So, like Ashley said, it's important to take a break and get a change of scenery. I know it did me good.

Newsletter and Contest

As some of you may know, I write erotic romance novels for Aspen Mountain Press, Ellora’s Cave Publishing and Noble Romance.

If you enjoy contemporary and ménage a trios romance novels, you can find out more about Amber’s books in my newsletter every month.

As a member, you'll have access to the latest news, including excerpts from upcoming books and exclusive member’s only contests. Amber’s Ramblings will be available on the 1st of each month.

Join today a new contest is going to be announced Monday!

Subscribe: authoramberskyze-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SITE IS AN ADULT ONLY GROUP.YOU MUST BE 18 YEARS OF AGE TO JOIN.

Self-Edits

Today I picked up my wip, Research Required. Haven't touched it in a few weeks. I still need to write the ending, but I know how I'm going to wrap it up. Instead I need to go back and read it from the beginning. I have a tendency to put insert name later, what color eyes did he have in the beginning, and things like that when I'm in the writing groove. Those are small details in the grand scheme of things to me.
I'm re-reading to get a feel for the story. I think I can't move forward with the Valentine's story I'm writing for Noble Romance because this story is unfinished. I need to put it to bed and submit it. Then I can move back to Dirty Cupid(tentative title).
It didn't help that I've been sick for almost two weeks now. Turns out it wasn't the baby after all. I have acid reflux and they had to change my meds with the pregnancy. Well I'm not getting enough. So my Crohn's doctor upped my meds today. She said it may take up to a week to feel better. If that isn't the issue, she said it could be my gall bladder, but again, can't do anything for that for another 5+ months. Let me tell you it's not fun when you can't eat anything. Today I'm eating toast and applesauce. Yum - NOT. lol
Back to self-edits. Another favorite thing of mine.

What Day Is It?

I asked my DH this question today. I've been working seven day weeks lately and just dealing with a lot of issues lately. One being a sick dog. My 4yr yellow lab has been sick for over 10 days now. They've run him thru a battery of tests only to come up empty-handed. Last night we brought him back to the animal hospital to be re-admitted. They did another x-ray and thought there might be an obstruction. When another doctor looked over the films this morning she pointed out the shape of a baby bottle nipple. It was shear luck they found it because rubber is invisible on x-rays and ultrasounds.
Turns out he ate my grand daughters pacifier. Damn dog will eat anything that isn't glued down. He had surgery this morning and is recovering nicely. Me, I'm feeling relieved they found the cause. The bill on the other hand is enough to make one double over in pain! Needless to say my three furry friends will be getting pet insurance once this is all said and done. His two brothers are missing him something terrible.

In writing news I'm about 1k away from the end of my current wip Research Required. I'm looking forward to putting this story behind me. I feel like I worked on it all summer. Much too long for me. I have partial outlines of four other stories I want to get to work on. We'll see which character pesters me the most.

I may do more excerpts this week or next. I've seen a nice jump in my numbers on my blogs. Maybe I'll see a spike in sales too. One can dream right!

Shameless Self Promo Week

Today kicks off a week long look at my books currently available and maybe some wips too.

I'm blogging over at the Goddesses of Storytelling (actually self-promoting there too) today. So I'm starting off with Splashing Good Time, an Ellora's Cave release. This book was released in April 09 and is available at: http://www.jasminejade.com/ for less than $3

Look for Body Shots Dec 15th and Ignited, an Erotika coming soon from Ellora's Cave! :)



Blurb:
Reece Collins is growing tired of her Wednesday rituals of masturbating to the sight of the so called “pool boy” and her battery operated friend is leaving her unsatisfied. She craves a no-strings-attached torrid sexual encounter. Problem? The only one offering is ten years her junior.

Nathan Donovan ha s lusted over his client forever. When he happens upon her in a very compromising position, his desires swell, as he plunges head first into the deep end to save her. One brief encounter leaves him yearning for more, but when she splashes cold water on his plans, will he walk away or spank some sense into her?

Excerpt:
“You look hot!” she told her reflection. “Irresistibly hot?” Only time would tell. Strolling over to the window she dared a peak outside. He wasn’t here yet. Would he come? Certainly Steve sounded convincing enough. The fifty dollar bill she planted in his palm was enough encouragement to make an actor out of him. She stood by his side while he made the call. If she hadn’t known better, she would have believed him. She sent him on his way after the call. No need for him to stick around for the fireworks—hopefully of a sexual nature.
The undeniable sound of tires crunching on gravel alerted her Nathan was here. And from the hurried sound of the truck coming to a stop, he wasn’t pleased. Silently she prayed her idea wouldn’t backfire. Hurrying from the room s he descended the stairs, hoping to greet him at the pool.
“What the fuck!” she heard him scream.
Too late. She wasn’t quick enough. Nathan knew and he wasn’t happy. Reese slowly opened the door and walked casually over to the pool where Nathan stood looking at the water, obviously trying to figure out where the emergency was.
Whipping around he demanded, “What s going on here?”
Lost for words Reese stood frozen in her spot. She hadn’t expected such anger. Yes, she tricked him into coming over. Maybe having Steve tell him the pool had turned an ugly color green that he couldn’t get rid of was a bad idea but she believed he’d be happy to see her. Boy was she mistaken.
“I-I-I put Steve up to it,” she confessed. “I didn’t think you would see me any other way.”
“Maybe if you picked up the phone you would have found out.” The disgust in his voice was evident.
He was pissed at her. Her plan was slowly crumbling before her eyes. She couldn’t risk losing him a second time. He couldn’t walk away out of her life. She loved him. God help her she loved him more than any man she’d ever loved in her life.
“Would you have come if I had ?” she challenged.
Looking away he shrugged.
“Then I was right to do what I did. I needed to see you, Nathan. You’ve been avoiding me. I’ve missed you.”
She watched him looking at the water. Was he searching for answers? Maybe there was hope for them after all.
Closing the gap between them, she touched his hand. “Please Nathan, look at me.”
He did as she asked and immediately her heart sank. Pain, deep pain, filled his eyes. Gone was the sparkle she loved so much, replaced with pain that cut to the core. Pain caused by her foolishness.
Touching his face she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“What’s done is done.” He tried pulling free but she refused to let him walk away.
“I never meant to hurt you.”
“I’m fine.”
“I wasn’t trying to compare you to Vince. It may have sounded that way at the time and I’m sorry. I love you for who you are, not because you’ve proven him wrong. It doesn’t matter to me what Vince thinks, or anyone else for that matter. The only thing that matters is what’s in here,” sh e said pointing to her heart. “And here.”She placed her hand over his heart.
She felt his heart beating rapidly through his tight black t-shirt. He covered her hand with his.
“Do you honestly believe you’ll be okay with what others think about us? Because as you’ve pointed out before I’m much younger than you.”

TGIF!

I made it to Friday! I'm feeling much better. Luckily I don't have to work this weekend, but I do have softball games. Four to be exact. Also this is the week of my chapter's meeting. Looking forward to seeing everyone after the summer break.

I did get some writing done this week. My hero and heroine are officially in bed. They currently in the midst of foreplay waiting for me to return. They should be more than ready to do the deed when I return! :)

Next week is going to be all about promotion on my blog. I haven't been doing much promotion and it's time I got my butt in gear. So everyday I'm going to post an excerpt from each of my books. I may even treat you to some wips! No not whips! Unless of course you're into that.

Off to promote on the loops. Have a great weekend! Happy writing.

Ho-Hum

I'm back in a funk again. Not writing. I think the last round of edits took everything I had. I know new edits are coming my way soon too. I just finished the cover art request for Heat Waves. I really enjoyed writing this book and look forward to the release.

Instead of waking at 4-4:30am, I find myself sleeping until almost 7 every morning. Enough time to have coffee before starting my work day. Can you see the avoidance???

I have three wips, one for each publisher, I could be working on, but I'm not. Luckily none are under deadline. I have an idea for a M/M mulling around in my fried brain. I want to start it, but I'm waiting to hear what my editor thinks of another one I submitted.

I do hear the pool and my bright orange float calling my name! LOL With the limited sunshine this summer, I try to get outside as much as I possibly can. Hopefully I'll snap out of this mood soon and get back to writing.