Application for Viable Paradise

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…is done!

If you haven’t heard of Viable Paradise, it’s a week-long workshop for science fiction and fantasy writers. Lots of great instructors/mentors + plus fall + plus location, location, location (Martha’s Vineyard). Here is a linkie to the web page: http://www.sff.net/paradise/ and here is part of the description:

“Viable Paradise is a unique one-week residential workshop in writing and selling commercial science fiction and fantasy. The workshop is intimate, intense, and features extensive time spent with best-selling and award-winning authors and professional editors currently working in the field. VP concentrates on the art of writing fiction people want to read, and this concentration is reflected in post-workshop professional sales by our alumni.”

Sounds amazing, yes? So why did it take me a month to gather my submission materials?   They don’t require a lot: eight thousand words (short stories, part of a novel, synopsis…) plus a cover letter. Simple, eh? (well, except the synopsis–those always suck)

Part of my hesitancy was knowing that I was submitting a science fiction romance. Not straight science fiction. I emailed them, asking if they accepted mixed-genre work and they said absolutely. Still, I am nervous that my SFR will be the ugly stepsister in a shining pool of masterful pure SF&F.

But you know what? I feel such a sense of accomplishment that I even applied. I was so darn thrilled to get it all done, that I drove to the post office to mail it (cause we know my own mailman is actually a dream-stealing creature–something like the evil sock monster in the dryer).

Now, my application is in, and I can focus on the other hundred things on my desk!

Happy Monday! I hope your week is productive and inspiring…

 

Sneak Peek Sunday

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Sneak Peek Sunday is a blog hop where you can sit back, enjoy your coffee, and read six paragraphs of the blogger’s work-in-progress, or published work. It’s a great way to get a little “peek” and maybe find a book you want to put in your “to be read” pile. :) Click the links in the sidebar to follow my blog, or on Twitter or Facebook! Thanks for stopping by, and have a fabulous day!!

This week, I am offering a sneek peek from my first 1Night Stand, Senator, Mine,  published by Decadent Publishing. After you’ve read it, please click on the banner above and go to the list of authors participating this Sunday!

Eleanor adjusted her pack on her shoulders and stood at the curb, waiting to cross the Via dei Fori Imperiali. The crumbled ruins of the Roman Forum spread out on the opposite side of the road like shell fragments scattered along the shore after a violent storm. She clutched her newly acquired treasure and joined the horde of tourists sweeping across the road in a giant swarming wave as drivers tried to skim past without hitting anyone. People, pointing and posing alongside the entrance to the ruins, clamored and chatted.

For a moment, she wished she had stayed longer in the little shop. At least it was quiet. And much cooler. She closed her eyes and squeezed the ring, taking comfort in its smoothness. Darius. She’d have to research the senator when she got back to the hotel. For now, she had to figure out if she could go through with her hasty 1Night Stand commitment. A night to remember forever was the promise, but was it the right thing to do? She hadn’t expected a match to happen so quickly.

She turned to face the past and stepped onto the stone walkway that meandered through the ruins. The Forum sprawled before her. Rome, its glory crumbled around her like old dreams, beckoned her closer. Her relationship with Peter hadn’t lasted long enough to make its mark on the world. Not a pebble remained of their shared glory. Had it been a mirage? Or a mistake? To invest so much in something so new felt out of place here in the Eternal City.

Yet the powerful Rome had fallen, too, and left its secrets scattered along the Via Sacra. If such a nation couldn’t stand the test of time, how could she expect love to last past a fleeting moment? What right had she to demand more?

Her time in Rome had become a therapy session.

A laughing couple jostled her as they passed, oblivious. The woman twirled a single red rose. The 1Night Stand encounter was just what she needed. No one would ever have to know.

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Cassandra Carr: SEE THE LIGHT

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Today, I’m spotlighting Cassandra Carr’s new title, SEE THE LIGHT. Take a look (click the cover to go to LooseID and buy the book)! It’s her new release from LooseID and it looks smokin’ hot!

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Title: See the Light

Your ISBN: 978-1-62300-201-5

Word Count: 41,702

Blurb: Hockey player Jason Monroe lives a double life—star defenseman and soon-to-be Olympian on the ice and closeted gay man outside the rink. A serious relationship is out of the question, and Jason makes do with anonymous sex in barroom bathrooms, not willing to take the chance on coming out as gay in a decidedly macho sport.

Advisor to the US Olympic hockey team Patrick Parker knows a thing or two about being a professional hockey player who’s not out. He’s fifteen years older than Jason, and when he senses the sexy younger man is interested, he knows he shouldn’t give in to the attraction. The two men can’t keep their hands off each other, though, and with each heated encounter it gets harder to hide their relationship. Then their world blows up around them, forcing them into the limelight. Will their love survive or be put on ice?

Excerpt:

Jason stared at the other man, the lust burning him where he stood. He moved even closer, like a moth to a flame.

What the fuck am I doing?

Apparently Patrick didn’t know either, because his expression became alarmed. “What?”

I can’t stop.

“I need to do this.”

Not giving Patrick a chance to react to his words, Jason grabbed him, one hand palming the back of Patrick’s head as Jason’s other arm snaked around the man’s waist, pulling him into Patrick’s rock-hard body. It was obvious the man kept in shape, despite his playing days being over, and a tortured moan escaped before he could stop it. Jason dived into Patrick’s mouth as the passion flared, melting him from the inside out. He hadn’t kissed a man in years, and he realized how much he’d missed it as the kiss went on and on, neither man willing to let the other go.

He could feel Patrick’s cock as it lined up with his, and even through layers of clothing Jason felt the heat pouring off the other man. It made him want to submit to anything Patrick desired, which confused him. Honestly Jason couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a man’s dick in his mouth, but right now he’d give just about anything to suck Patrick off.

Patrick pushed them backward until they crashed into the wall, never letting their lips separate as he took control of the kiss. With a growl,  the older man reached down and cupped Jason’s ass, pulling their cocks even closer and rubbing them together. Jason turned his head to the side with a gasp to break the kiss before he passed out, but Patrick kept at him, scoring his teeth down Jason’s neck to his pulse point.

“So fucking hot.”

Copyright 2013, Cassandra Carr

Website: http://www.booksbycassandracarr.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCassandraCarr
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cassandra_carr

A 1Night Stand with Taryn Kincaid…FROST: Sleepy Hollow Book Three and a Giveaway

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A warm welcome to Taryn Kincaid! She’s got a new 1NS coming out on February 12–just in time for a hot Valentine’s Day! Read on for details and a giveaway!

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FROST is the third book in the Sleepy Hollow series–be sure to check out the others: LIGHTNING, and THUNDER available at all the usual places, and at Decadent Publishing here.

BLURB:

Dagney Night, a sought-after succubus, is no stranger to blazing hot sex. But as Valentine’s Day approaches, she longs for something more. When oddly erotic paintings arrive for display at her art gallery, arousing everyone who views them, she wonders about the mysterious artist who created the works.

Maxwell Raines, a fire-sex demon, lives a life of solitude and seclusion behind the walls of his compound at Sleepy Hollow, channeling his lustful impulses into his art—until his muse deserts him and his temperature rises past the danger point. He needs sex. Now.

When Madame Evangeline arranges a torrid Valentine’s 1Night Stand for them, will the flames of their encounter be too hot to handle?

EXCERPT:

Dagney followed her sister’s glance, and her heart flipped like a gymnast unable to nail a vault. Darkness swathed the gallery with the exception of the lights above or below each of the paintings. The large man emerging from the shadows held her rapt. Waves of pure, unadulterated lust smacked her with such force she didn’t even see Lily and Campbell leave. The blast of raw desire crumpled her to the floor. Her gaze remained riveted on the tall hunk of ferocious male stalking toward her, radiating undiluted carnality. He set something carefully on the floor and grasped her by the elbows, his touch surprisingly gentle when he lifted her to her feet.

“I’m Maxwell Raines.”

Yeah. No kidding. Who else could a guy so hot, so studly, possibly be?

She told herself not to swoon. Ordered herself not to swoon. But, Goddess, that rumbling voice. More potent than a train barreling over the tracks. And he smelled so good. Sinfully masculine. A bit of musk, a bite of pine, an essence of dark, smoky nights. Sexy scents. Reminiscent of tangled satin sheets that had been given a good work-out.

Her legs turned to rubber, and she doubted they’d support her on their own. She’d be mortified if he’d have to scrape her puddled body up again. But he hadn’t yet relaxed his grip. Could she bullshit her way through the meeting without collapsing? “You’re late,” she said.

“I’m never late.”

“Well, the party’s over, Mr. Raines.” She waved a hand around the empty room.

“Depends on your perspective.”

“You’re big on perspective, are you?”

“I’m a painter.” A brief shrug accompanied his blunt words. “Obvious connection.”

“Right. But as you can see, everyone’s left.”

“You haven’t.” He gazed down at her, a black brow flaring. “And you’re what I’m here for.”

Taryn will pick one winner from the comments to win chocolate and swag! Good luck~