Category Archives: Miscellaneous

I wanted to add a little sparkle to my Halloween Spooktacular giveaways so today I set about creating shiny things that might make you go “ooh” when you see my giveaways and then enter… because you would be crazy not to want to win something hand-made by me, right?

Well, since I’m an author and I’ll be giveaway book related things every day between 28th-31st October (that’s four giveaways and four chances of winning!) I decided to try my hand at making some beaded book thongs. My initial ideas were good but I didn’t quite get the method right… the thong bit proved tricky as beading wire seemed so inflexible and beading thread was sooo skinny looking. In the end, I hit on a fantastic idea of using a thong like you have on necklaces and two of the ends that have the circles for hooking them together. It worked much better and my designs finally came off!

I write vampire romances and angel romances, so I decided to have a sort of theme. I have four giveaways, so it was perfect for having a vampire heroine and vampire hero colour scheme, and an angel heroine and angel hero colour scheme. Here are some pictures of my adventure in creating beaded bookmark thongs…

Vampire Hero Beaded Bookmark Thong

Vampire Heroine Beaded Bookmark Thong

Angel Hero Beaded Bookmark Thong

Angel Heroine Beaded Bookmark Thong

So what do you all think? Would you love to win one of these this weekend?

I’ve been watching the progress of my Romance Trading Cards that are coming from the US and expecting them to come today because they’re now “out for delivery” according to UPS, so when there was a knock at the door, I was expecting it to be my Ascension and Heart of Darkness romance trading cards. Nope, it was my bookmarks.

I now have around 370 each of bookmarks for Heart of Darkness (vampire romance book), Love Immortal (vampire romance book), Prophecy: Child of Light (vampire romance book), Prophecy: Caelestis and Aurorea (vampire romance book), Prophecy: Dark Moon Rising (vampire romance book) and Her Guardian Angel (angel romance book). Yes, you read that right. I have created a set of bookmarks for the Prophecy Trilogy. I guess that sort of makes them collectible!

Here’s a shiny picture of the new bookmarks. It isn’t a great shot as my small camera is quite rubbish at taking shots like this. It gets very shaky. They look far more beautiful in real life. You’ll just have to follow me on my blog tour and events and enter my giveaways to win some!

You can click on the image to make it bigger. I’m not saying it will improve the quality though 😉

It’s time for the 18 and Over Book Blogger Giveaway Hop that has been arranged by the lovely ladies at Bitten by Paranormal Romance!

This time around I’m offering prizes of ebooks and signed book swag, and there will be three levels of prizes. I’m not offering paperbacks because I have my massive Grand September Newsletter Giveaway in progress and that includes signed paperbacks and even a $25 Amazon Gift Card. If you would like to enter to win those prizes too, then head on over to my newsletter page and follow the instructions there! Click here to enter the newsletter giveaway.

This giveaway is open internationally. It will run from 00:01am on September 15th until 11:59pm on September 18th.

FIRST PRIZE: 2 ebooks of your choice from my back catalogue plus signed cover flat postcards, bookmarks, keyring, magnet and coaster.

SECOND PRIZE: 1 ebook of your choice from my back catalogue plus signed cover flat postcards, bookmarks, keyring, magnet and coaster.

THIRD PRIZE: signed cover flat postcards, bookmarks, keyring, magnet and coaster.

• Follow this blog either on Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs
• Leave a comment on this post that includes your name, GFC/NB name, and email address

It’s as simple as that!

If you want to take part in my Grand September Newsletter Giveaway, then head on over to my newsletter page and sign up. Prizes on offer include signed paperbacks, signed swag, as well as a $25 Amazon Gift Card. Click here to enter the newsletter giveaway.

The winners chosen by random.org out of the 63 entries were:

FIRST PRIZE: #37 – xxsquigglesxx
SECOND PRIZE: #22 – Judy-Ree
THIRD PRIZE: #5 – Nicki J Markus

I’m sending emails out to the winners today. If I don’t hear back by Sunday 25th September, I will select new winners for those prizes.

Thanks to everyone who entered the hop!

It’s September again which means that it’s time for my Grand September Newsletter Giveaway! This year it is even more special than usual, with amazing prizes on offer and the addition of a special prize for people who refer a friend! If you’re already a subscriber, then you’re already entered in the main draw, but enter the special prize draw by referring your friends.

Anyone who signs up to my newsletter in the month of September 2011 will be entered into a grand prize draw along with all the current newsletter subscribers. Prizes are:

FIRST PRIZE: One signed paperback copy of Forbidden Blood plus signed book cover postcards, bookmarks, keyring, magnet and coaster.

SECOND PRIZE: One signed paperback copy of Hunter’s Moon plus signed book cover postcards, bookmarks, keyring, magnet.

THIRD PRIZE: One signed paperback copy of Ascension plus signed book cover postcards, bookmarks, keyring, magnet.

FOURTH PRIZE: Signed book cover postcards, bookmarks, keyring, magnet.

Click here to sign up for my newsletter and enter the draw

This year, there’s a special prize up for grabs. To enter, you have to be a member of my newsletter and then refer your friends to my newsletter using the Newsletter Referral Form! DO NOT just sign your friends up without permission. Please tell your friends about the giveaway and let them sign up for it themselves. I will be emailing all referred newsletter subscribers to ensure the email address is valid and they chose to sign up.

Each time someone gives your email address as a referrer, you gain an entry into the prize draw, so the more people you refer, the higher your chance to win:

REFERRER PRIZE: A $25 Amazon Gift Certificate plus signed paperback copy of Her Guardian Angel plus signed book cover postcards, bookmarks, keyring, magnet and coaster.

Winners will be announced on my newsletter sign up page and this blog on October 1st. To enter into the prize draw, sign up to the newsletter before October 1st! Giveaway is open internationally.

Some of you might have heard me complaining over on Facebook or Twitter last week about trying to paint over the dark red on my office walls to improve the general feel of my little den where all the magic happens (okay, sometimes the magic happens at coffee shops too, or in my garden). Well, plenty of you asked what colour I was trying to paint over the dastardly dramatic red (don’t get me wrong, I loved the red, but it’s too aggressive when you’ve got to sit in the room all day. It was fine when I was only in here a few hours a week because I was working full-time in London), and others asked whether they could see my office. So, without further ado, here’s my shiny new office, and a walkthrough by the author herself.

Here’s the corner of my office where I do the most work. Excuse the perspective, it was taken with a wide angle lens to fit everything in. As you can see, I’ve gone for a nice combination of a sort of milky latte colour with a feature wall painted in a lovely dark mulberry. Three of the walls in my office are the latte colour, so there’s plenty of light in here now. My office window faces almost due north, so light was an issue when I had dark red walls. My desk is huge, I know, but I love space and neatness. I can’t work surrounded by mess. Yeah, there’s lots of bits of paper on the desk at the moment, but it’s all promotion notes / lists, notepads with to-do lists or story notes to type up. It generally gets tidied away as soon as I’m done with it.

My Lost Boys poster now has a beautiful black wooden frame. I’ve had this poster for around, oh, 15 years or more, so it was about time it received a little love. Before it was naked on the wall. I had to trim it down a bit to get it into the frame, but it still rocks. My bonsai is looking a bit weedy, but that’s because I forgot to get my sister to water it when I went to Tuscany in July, so it got a little parched. It’s growing new leaves now. I can’t believe I’ve had it 6 months without killing it. My family bought it for me as a get well present after my ear operation. I also bought a new corkboard to go with my new office. Much bigger so I can pin things to it more neatly. Before my blog tour schedule was flapping over the edges. That’s my new beast of a PC in the corner behind my huge monitor. Say hi to it… it helps make the magic happen.

Clustered to the left of my PC, between the speaker and my printer, is my collection of small anime figurines. There’s a 00 Gundam, a Tyki Mikk, a VF-25 Messiah, a Sephiroth, and two Allelujahs… plus a kitty I got in Japan because it reminded me of my cat.

In the cupboard beneath my desk is all my book swag. Lots of signed book cover postcards, bookmarks, keyrings, magnets and the like in there. If you ever break in, you know where to look for the swag now. Speaking of swag… here’s my new improved bookcase.

I’ve moved all the CDs that used to take up all the room on my bookcase, so now I have plenty of space for my paperbacks, mostly paranormal romance books. I don’t have all my paperbacks out, but do have my series there. I also have a lot of e-books, probably about twice as many as my books, hence the small number on display. Yeah, the top shelf is full of my books. The ones on the right hand side are all for giveaways. Below that are books by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christine Feehan, Gena Showalter, and a few others. The third shelf down is all manga books. Fourth shelf is Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed series along with J R Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, and Keri Arthur’s Nikki and Michael series, plus others. Fifth shelf down houses my D.Gray-man manga and some Bleach manga. Love them both. It also has some Morganville Vampires books that I’m yet to read. Bottom shelf is yet more manga. Sensing a theme? The books on the shelves with my anime / manga related toys are all my books on writing fiction.

I think that concludes the tour of my office. Now you’ve seen where I work, it’s probably taken some of the magic out of my paranormal romance novels. lol.

If you have any questions about my office… comments are always welcome and I do answer them!

It’s the 4th July, which means that it’s the start of the Skyrockets in Flight Blog Hop Delight hosted by Lush Book Reviews.

My giveaway is International, so everyone is welcome to enter, and I’m keeping entering nice and simple for everyone, so we can all just have some fun. I’m offering two sets of prizes, one for my blog and one for entries to a bonus giveaway on my website.

Now, on to the prizes!

1 x ebook of winner’s choice (excludes Ascension and Forbidden Blood), plus book swag package including signed book cover flats, bookmarks, keyring, coaster and fridge magnet.

1. You MUST be a follower of this blog, either through Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs.
2. Leave a comment on this post, with your name, email address and GFC or Networked Blogs name. You MUST include all three for it to count as an entry.
3. Don’t forget to enter over at my site for the bonus prize below too.

1 x signed paperback of Winter’s Kiss (Vampires Realm), plus book swag package including signed book cover flats, bookmarks, keyring, coaster and fridge magnet.

Giveaway is open from 4th July 2011 and closes on 10th July 2011 at 11:59pm. Winners will be selected at random on 11th July using random.org and posted here. Winners of the Bonus Prize will be posted on my website too at the link above. E-book prizes exclude Ascension and Forbidden Blood, and are available in PDF, HTML, Mobi or Epub format.

The giveaway is now closed. Final accepted comment is #48

The winners chosen using random.org were:

Blog Prize Winner – Comment #26 – Jennifer Wells
Bonus Prize Winner – Entry #17 – Lindsey Hutchison

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone for taking part!

My giveaway is now closed. Winners have been announced below and contacted.

Stephanie (stephbarkerdrew) won – prize pack of a $25 Amazon Gift Certicate, a signed paperback of Love Immortal, plus book swag including signed cover flats and bookmarks, magnets, coasters and keyrings

Jessica (jessicagilliland0117) won – prize pack of a signed paperback of Her Angel anthology, plus book swag including signed cover flats and bookmarks, magnets, coasters and keyrings

Andrea Kozari won – prize pack of a signed paperback of Hunter’s Moon, plus book swag including signed cover flats and bookmarks, magnets, coasters and keyrings

Sarah Horton won – prize packs of an e-book of winner’s choice from my backlist (excluding Ascension and Forbidden Blood), plus book swag including signed cover flats and bookmarks, magnets, coasters and keyrings

Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to everyone who entered or took the time to tell their friends about this giveaway!

Winners have until July 15th to contact me. If I don’t hear by then, I’ll draw replacement winners.

It’s the 21st June, which means that it’s the start of the Midsummer’s Eve Giveaway Hop hosted by I am a reader, not a writer.

My giveaway is International, so everyone is welcome to enter, and I’m keeping entering nice and simple for everyone, so we can all just have some fun. I’m offering two sets of prizes, one for my blog and one for entries to a bonus giveaway on my website.

As my 500 Followers International Giveaway is still in progress, you will be automatically entered into that giveaway too when you join my blog.

Now, on to the prizes!

1 x ebook of winner’s choice (excludes Ascension and Forbidden Blood), plus book swag package including signed book cover flats, bookmarks, keyring, coaster and fridge magnet.

2 x book swag packages including signed book cover flats and bookmarks, and keyring.

1 x signed paperback of Hunter’s Moon (Vampires Realm), plus book swag package including signed book cover flats, bookmarks, keyring, coaster and fridge magnet.

ENTER THE BONUS GIVEAWAY BY FILLING IN THE FORM ON MY WEBSITE – CLICK HERE

Giveaway is open from 21st June 2011 and closes on 24th June 2011 at 11:59pm. Winners will be selected at random on June 25th using random.org and posted here. Winners of the Bonus Prize will be posted on my website too at the link above. E-book prizes exclude Ascension and Forbidden Blood, and are available in PDF, HTML, Mobi or Epub format.

FIRST PRIZE: COMMENT #40 – Krystal Larson
SECOND PRIZE: COMMENT #33 – ioana97 / balmezandrada
SECOND PRIZE: COMMENT #13 – Michelle Bledsoe

BONUS PRIZE: ENTRY #80 – Annie (annie.tegelan)

Congratulations to all the winners!

Winners have until 11:59pm Friday 1st July to claim their prizes or a new winner will be drawn.

It’s the 2nd June, which means that it’s the start of the 18 and Over Couples Book Giveaway Hop hosted by Bitten by Paranormal Romance.

My giveaway in International, so everyone is welcome to enter, and I’m keeping entering nice and simple for everyone, so we can all just have some fun. I’m offering two sets of prizes, one for my blog and one for entries to a bonus giveaway on my website.

Now, on to the prizes!

1 x ebook of winner’s choice (excludes Ascension), plus book swag package including signed book cover flats, bookmarks, keyring, coaster and fridge magnet.

2 x book swag packages including signed book cover flats and bookmarks, keyring and fridge magnet.

1 x signed paperback of Winter’s Kiss (Vampires Realm), plus book swag package including signed book cover flats, bookmarks, keyring, coaster and fridge magnet.

ENTER THE BONUS GIVEAWAY BY FILLING IN THE FORM ON MY WEBSITE – CLICK HERE

Giveaway is open from 2nd June 2011 and closes on 5th June 2011 at 11:59pm. Winners will be selected at random on June 6th using random.org and posted here. Winners of the Bonus Prize will be posted on my website too at the link above. E-book prizes exclude Ascension, and are available in PDF, HTML, Mobi or Epub format.

FIRST PRIZE: COMMENT #48 – Krysta Banco

Well, you’ve all had your time to vote on the poll I set up to decide the plot device that will be used in a piece of flash fiction I’ll be writing for Julian and Lauren from Love Immortal, and the results are in.

77 people voted in the poll and the votes fell like this:

27 votes – Moonlight
18 votes – An island
16 votes – Red roses
12 votes – A temple
4 votes  – A tower

I was going to keep this a secret, but I’ll tell you all now. I was being sneaky and told you I was going to write one piece of flash fiction based on the winner of the last poll, with the plot device as the winner of this poll, but really I’m writing three pieces of flash fiction. First, second and third on the character poll are being matched with first, second and third on this poll. This means that I’ll be writing the following pieces of flash fiction for posting this year:

Apollyon and Serenity with plot device of an island (oh, you don’t know how PERFECT this one was, but you’ll have to wait and read Her Guardian Angel to see why I’m so excited these two matched up!)

Hyperion with a plot device of red roses

Are we all looking forward to these now?

I’ll get them written when I can and they’ll probably be spread throughout the remainder of the year.

I wish Tatyana and Nicolae had come third as red roses would’ve been a cute device for them, but you guys are obsessed with Hyperion!