No Special Guest Today

Today’s special guest didn’t send me her information so it’s just little ole me. I’ve got nothing to talk about because we’re too busy cleaning rooms and getting things ready to be painted tomorrow. I wish I had more, but I don’t. :o)
Hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday.

On The Mend

I think I’m finally mending this time. I was able to leave the house yesterday, aside from going to doctors. The DH and I went and ordered the baby furniture, so that will arrive in 2 weeks and then he gets the fun of putting it all together.
I wish the coughing would go away. I’m still taking Robitussin with codeine at night so I can get some sleep. Today I have to get back to writing. The 31st is right around the corner and I haven’t finished the wip I’m working on.
I did sign a new contract last week for a quickie called Chasing Forever. It’s a story of two best friends who finally give in to their feelings after a tragedy. More details coming.
Unless I finish this book and sub it – I have nothing out there. Zilch, zero, nada. I have lots of ideas and only 10 weeks to write before I hit the hospital. Exactly 10 weeks from today our daughter will arrive.
So I need lots of time and NO MORE SICKNESS.
Happy Monday!

Sick and Tired

Sorry I’ve been MIA...I’ve been sick yet again. All I’ve been doing is sleeping thanks to Robitussin with codeine. My poor baby is probably tired of me coughing. I know I am.
I promised to make an announcement of the winner from my blog at Romance Books R Us on Monday and I’m late. The winner is Sandy. Please email me so I can send you a copy of Sex on the Beach.
I didn’t even get to brag about my latest release from Loose Id on Tuesday. Hit Me is out and now available. It’s a battle of the sexes as Holly and Deacon fight for ownership of a casino.

Here's a little taste:

Holly's not looking for a night of hot sex when she goes to Vegas, but she finds it and more with Deacon. The two tycoons are after the same thing. So it's a high stakes game and neither can flinch from saying, 'hit me'.

Guest Blogger - Heather Peters

Thanks, Amber for having me; Your interviews are so fun!

Thanks for being here today! I always enjoy having you. :o)

Tell us about your favorite character from your books. I love all my characters, but I'm going to say it's a tie between Lyon from Surrender and Dane from Secret Dreams. Lyon Sauvage is my hero from Surrender, my contemporary Beauty and the Beast novella. Lyon is scarred inside and out, and is in love with a woman who doesn’t love him back. But through his tenderness, nobility and devotion to Belle, the woman who left him five years before, he endures and eventually, gets the girl in the end. Dane, my older hero (he's 48) from Secret Dreams, has never married because his career doesn't allow room for a wife. Yet once he meets Annie, his fears about commitment fade away, and he makes a choice to do anything and everything to commit himself to Annie, and their love.

Tell us about your current release. Secret Dreams is my contemporary romance that features my feisty heroine, Annie DeRosa, a savvy, brilliant, music producer, who lives and works in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. She is the best at what she does and devotes her waking hours to her work.

My hero is music icon and 80s superstar Dane Franklyn, a fiercely independent musician, who is extremely possessive of his material. His music company has given him literally hours to write a title song for his upcoming album. He's never allowed anyone to share the load, until now. Finding himself in a bind, he's come to the conclusion he needs help. But when that help comes in the petite fiery form of lovely, sexy, smart Annie De Rosa, the sparks begin to fly.

The sexual tension crackles from their first meeting and gradually elevates into an all-out inferno by the time they begin working together in the studio. Being stubborn individuals, their personalities soon clash, and Dane and Annie agree to disagree. But music creates a language and sexuality all its own, driving them both to discover a passion and desire neither have ever known.

Tell us about your next release. Right now I'm working on two erotic romances; one, about a hockey goaltender and the team owner's daughter; the other, a spa owner and former DEA agent.

Who is your favorite author? Too many to list from today's top writers; but I'm going to reveal my age and say I fell in love with Kathleen Woodiwiss in 1976; Once I read Flame and the Flower, Shanna, and Rose in Winter, I felt that no one could ever create romance like she did; Now that she's gone, an era is over. She was one in a million, and will be missed.

When was your first sale? My first sale was in June 2009, with the release of an erotic romance published by Freya's Bower, called Toy with Me, written with my writing partner at the time, Eden Elgabri.

What is the hardest part of writing your books? Oh, you would have to ask that question! Lol….For me, it's the love scenes; I try very hard not to make them all sound alike, but I have to admit that I struggle to get those in bed and create a memorable lovemaking session. The actual act of love is so much easier than writing about it!

Where do you research for your books? Let's face it, how many of us could live without the internet? Google and I are real good friends.

Do you have critique partners or beta readers? My critique partner and dear friend and slave driver (sorry, kidding) Angela Aaron, keeps pushing me to get it right and keep going, when I want to give up or become discouraged; a good friend who believes in me.

Who are your books published with? Surrender, Secret Dreams and Best Laid Plans are Noble Romance Publishing Releases; With a Twist, a Red Sage release.

What do you think makes a good story? When I read a book, I want to know what's going to happy on the next page, and the page after that, and that page after that and so on; a story that keeps me turning the pages, a heart wrenching love story, a tender hero who adores his woman; a woman who stands up to her man, but loves him fiercely; a plot that keeps you guessing til the last page….now that's a good story.

Plotter or Pantser? Why? I think both, actually; sometimes, I just write as I go along; but lately, I've been using the 3-act structure and it's worked out fine. Whatever mood I happen to be in at the time I guess.

Tell us about your family. I have two amazing adult children, both married; I'm also blessed with two grandchildren, who, in the past several months, have literally saved my life and sanity when I was going through a hard time. I have great cousins and lots of aunts and uncles. So I don’t feel like an only child. I have a wonderful extended family.

Do you use a pen name? If so, how did you come up with it? Yes, I do have a pen name and I simply use my daughter's name, which is Heather, and my son's name is, yep, you guessed it, Peter.

Do you listen to music while writing? If so what? It's funny; as much as I love music, I can't write unless I'm sitting in total silence; I guess my attention span isn’t as deep as I'd like it to be.

How do you develop your plots and your characters? Do you use any set formula? No set formula; I usually will see something on TV or in a movie that will spark an idea, then sit down and think about how I want to write them into a story.

What book are you reading now? Right now I'm reading a bunch of old Sandra Marton's Harlequins; I simply adore her heroes; they are so strong, macho, confident, usually very rich and cocky, but tender and passionate lovers – works for me!

What are your favorite TV shows? I love True Blood & Vampire Diaries; also Nurse Jackie, Dexter and recently got hooked on Criminal Minds; love Shemar Moore – he's yummy!

What is your favorite meal? I'm an American Italian, as Martin Scorcese likes to call us, so anything that involves sauce, pasta, meatballs, or eggplant and Italian pastries make me a very happy girl.

What do you do to unwind and relax? I love to read, crochet, or just become a vegetable and watch TV.

Do you have any suggestions for beginning writers? If so, what are they? I'm going to be very corny and boring and say, never give up, no matter what. It took me over 15 years to get Secret Dreams published, but I got there. And don’t let anyone tell you writing for you is a 'hobbie' – it's what we do, what we are.

Morning Person? Or Night Person? I'm usually awake before five each morning; I love to nap when I can, but definitely a day person.

What would we find under your bed? Lots of dust bunnies!

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? Thanks so much for reading my stories and I hope to keep you all happy. I'll try to keep getting them out there, and bring you books filled with hunky heroes, brave, intelligent heroines, stories that explore relationships, passion, share laughter, and yes, mind-blowing, steamy sex!

Sex Sells and a Contest

Today I'm blogging over at Romance Books R Us and I'm holding a contest. Drop in for your chance to win a copy of Sex on the Beach

This and That...

There seems to be a lot of talk about Facebook this morning. I guess you can’t advertise contests and if I read the rules correctly you can’t do much. So I have to ask…as an author who wants to promote myself and run contests why would I choose Facebook? I’ll be honest I’d been considering it for about a month now. Everyone told me it’s the thing to do. In fact many insisted I must have a Facebook page if I plan to increase my sales.
Well I’m still on the fence and I’ll wait until all this mess clears up before I make a decision – currently I’m leaning towards not having one.
Yesterday after writing double my normal writing goal I decided to check out the series Camelot. We’ve been recording it, but haven’t sat down to watch. With the house unusually quiet I took advantage and watched the first three episodes. I really enjoyed them. I’m going to catch up on a few more today while it’s quiet again. The DH wasn’t happy because I watched them without him and now he’ll have to catch up on his own. Hey I need something to unwind after a few stressful days at work.
I’m off to write another 1k…one down one to go. That deadline is going to hit me like a brick wall I’m afraid. I have about 7k to finish the story…deadline? Three days. I’ll keep you posted.
Happy Thursday!

Sex on the Beach

Taking a break from writing to tell you about my new release today. Sex on the Beach is available from Ellora's Cave

Here's what you'll find at the Beach!

Blurb:
Allie only wanted two weeks of peace and quiet at her friend’s beach house to get her life in perspective. She wasn’t looking for sex, drugs and a kidnapping. But that’s what she gets when she encounters not one but two tasty men.

Tony, her gorgeous next-door neighbor, has a body any woman would want to explore, and Allie crave him licking, teasing and ravishing her body with those strong hands and kissable lips. Little does she know Tony’s on the trail of a drug dealer.

Then there’s Paul, who also wants a piece of Allie…if he can possibly tear her away from Tony.


An Excerpt From: SEX ON THE BEACH

Copyright © AMBER SKYZE, 2011

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.

Chapter One



The wind blew wisps of Allie’s long blonde hair back toward the road she’d just traveled. She sped along the California coastline in her yellow convertible Spyder, enjoying the sunrise in the distance. The sun sparkled across the ocean, glimmering orange as it rose. The rays would threaten to scorch her skin later in the day. The weatherman had said the temperatures would reach well into the nineties again.

She pressed her flip-flopped foot harder on the gas pedal. Allie allowed the car to accelerate because she knew no one in their right mind would be on the road at this ungodly hour. Not everyone woke before the crack of dawn. While most were still sleeping soundly in their beds, the air conditioner cooling their skin, Allie was up grocery shopping.

It wasn’t unusual for her to be up and going at four in the morning. She loved those first few hours of the day when life was quiet. She could sip her coffee leisurely. The hustle and bustle came later when she left the house to fight the highway traffic on her way to her job as a marketing executive for a pharmaceutical company.

At least that was her life before she’d lost her job. She punched the steering wheel.

“Fuck,” she cursed to the open wind. While she missed the craziness of her old life she had to admit the last six months were the most stress-free she’d felt in years, right up until she returned to work.

The long hours and stress related to her job contributed in the onslaught of health issues she hadn’t known existed. After three consecutive months with a bout of what she thought was the flu Allie finally sought the advice of her doctor. He put her through numerous rounds of testing and came to the conclusion she suffered from acid reflux and Crohns disease. Both were brought on by stress, food choices and not taking care of her body.

Allie spent five agonizing days in the hospital while her doctor tried to get her disease under control. It was the worst experience in her life. There were times when she thought she’d die and sometimes she silently prayed she would. It was devastating and debilitating, but she swore she wouldn’t let it control her again.

Once Dr. Robinson managed to get the disease under control she looked pointedly at Allie.

“Look, your job is slowly killing you. Your body can’t handle the stress or long hours you’re demanding of it. You need to make some lifestyle changes or I’m just going to see you back here in a few months,” she’d said.

The reality of the doctor’s words was like a knife being twisted in her chest. She didn’t know how to not be on the go 24/7. That was the way she’d lived her life since turning sixteen.

Allie pressed even harder on the gas pedal.

She couldn’t get to the beach house fast enough. The idea of spending two weeks of quiet, soaking up the sun and sand appealed to her on so many levels. When her friend Pam told her she could use her beach house, Allie had immediately jumped on the offer.

The next few weeks would give her time to readjust to being unemployed and hopefully clear her mind. Eventually she’d have to decide what direction she wanted to take with her life. She had enough money saved to get her through six months of unemployment, but Allie didn’t want to totally deplete her savings. It was there as a safety net, nothing more.

Quitting had never been a word Allie thought she’d use, but her boss left her no other choice. She’d had a career as a marketing executive for almost five years before she’d up and resigned.

“Asshole!” She gripped the steering wheel, fighting back the tears stinging her eyes. She refused to cry. She wouldn’t give that shithead the satisfaction of beating her down. She wiped away the drop with the back of her hand.

“Screw you, Marty.”