Sons of Lyra: Runaway Hearts – Number 6 in Romance Best Seller list!

Posted on 26th June 2008 by Felicity Heaton

The second story set in my Sons of Lyra world, Sons of Lyra: Runaway Hearts, has reached the number 6 spot in Romance and the number 8 spot in Recent Best Sellers on Fictionwise.com after its first week!

This is incredibly exciting for me since the first story, Sons of Lyra: Slave Princess, made it to number 1 in Romance and number 1 in the Recent Best Sellers list. To have another story go straight into the Best Sellers lists again is wonderful!

Sons of Lyra: Runaway Hearts
Heir Prince Lyra I hates his life, and it’s only getting worse. Not only do Sebastian’s parents force him to remain on Lyra Prime with them and control his life, now they’ve gone and arranged his marriage. Unable to stand the thought of getting married before he’s seen the stars as his three younger brothers do and tasted adventure, he decides to run away. Only that’s not as easy as it sounds when you’re one of the infamously handsome sons of Lyra.

Terea needs to get away. She’s had it with men and her family. When she spots a man who looks as though he has a little money, she sees her chance and pickpockets him. The only trouble is, he’s quicker than her. Before she knows what’s happening, she’s been caught and is agreeing to leave the planet with him. Anything to escape Lyra Prime and her future there. Terea’s plan to escape Sebastian when they’ve left the planet behind is shattered when he cleans himself up and changes on her, losing his naive air and becoming a confident and dangerously sexy man.

A bottle of the strongest alcohol available is her last resort, but getting him drunk to the point of passing out means she’ll have to drink too, and before she knows what she’s doing, she’s sitting astride his lap feeding him the alcohol and kissing him.

When the ship is forced to stop and boarded by Minervan military looking for him, will Sebastian hand himself over to protect Terea? Will Terea stand by and let the man she’s falling for get hurt or will she sacrifice herself and return to her family for the sake of saving him? Will two runaway hearts find the freedom they’re searching for in each other’s arms?

Read the Excerpt or Buy Now for only $0.99!

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new series in the works

Posted on 21st June 2008 by Felicity Heaton

Well, everyone might be wondering why I decided to suddenly begin reading other paranormal romance authors. Normally I don’t pay much heed to what they’re writing. In fact, until I picked up a lot of the books, I only knew rough things about them – like J R Ward wrote vampires, Kresley Cole wrote a mixture of species, Lynsay Sands wrote vampires. That was pretty much the extent of my knowledge. I hadn’t even read excerpts or reviews.

Since the series idea I had was one that I was going to write for pitching to publishers, I decided it was important to check out the competition and see what got them published. I always begin with the first book in a series, the one that they had to pitch and hope it would be picked up.

I’d been planning my new paranormal romance series for about 2 weeks before I decided to do this. I’ve read a few stories now and have mixed feelings about them. I don’t think any of them write better than I do and I think the stories I have planned are just as strong, if not stronger, than the ones I’ve just read. I’m not being conceited. I just think that I’ve reached a point with my writing where I need to give it a shot. A while back I read a Feehan and a L K Hamilton story. Neither blew me away, but I knew my writing wasn’t at a level where I could compete. Now I’ve had a taste of writing series and I’ve found that I’m really good at world building, and that’s very important with series. I’ve also embraced the darker side of paranormal, the side I love to write, by writing some stories in my Vampires Realm series. All in all, I feel I’ve reached a point of “now or never” and if I don’t give it a shot with this new series, I’ll never know whether or not I’m good enough.

Of course, there’s a lot more world building to be done yet. Over the past 2 months, I’ve clocked up around 40+ hours of world building time. That’s basically me mulling over the series, the flaws and the strengths, the powers and the weaknesses, and everything else besides. I’ve got my heroes mapped out to a basic degree, enough that I know them, and my heroines almost figured out. I haven’t touched much on the enemy but I know roughly in my mind what they’ll be like. I have the world and the background pegged, and I’m very happy with how it’s evolving. I can’t really say much more.

I’m going to write all these stories together, back to back, and then edit them. Once the first book is in a polished state, I’ll send it out into the big wide world. I have a belief that having all of the books in the series completed is an advantage and it means that you’re serious about the series. I’m very serious about it. I only wish I could talk about it more!!!

Better go… before I say too much!

🙂

Posted in Hades' Boys, paranormal romance, urban fantasy | Comments Off on new series in the works

Sons of Lyra: Runaway Hearts – Out today at fictionwise.com – Save 15%!!!

Posted on 16th June 2008 by Felicity Heaton

The second in my Sons of Lyra series, following the four devastatingly sexy and passionate princes of Lyra and the women who win their hearts, is out today! Sons of Lyra: Slave Princess was a number 1 bestseller in romance at fictionwise.com and I can’t wait to see if this one does the same!!

This isn’t a series you need to read in order. All the books are stand alone.

Sons of Lyra: Runaway Hearts
Heir Prince Lyra I hates his life, and it’s only getting worse. Not only do Sebastian’s parents force him to remain on Lyra Prime with them and control his life, now they’ve gone and arranged his marriage. Unable to stand the thought of getting married before he’s seen the stars as his three younger brothers do and tasted adventure, he decides to run away. Only that’s not as easy as it sounds when you’re one of the infamously handsome sons of Lyra.

Terea needs to get away. She’s had it with men and her family. When she spots a man who looks as though he has a little money, she sees her chance and pickpockets him. The only trouble is, he’s quicker than her. Before she knows what’s happening, she’s been caught and is agreeing to leave the planet with him. Anything to escape Lyra Prime and her future there.

Terea’s plan to escape Sebastian when they’ve left the planet behind is shattered when he cleans himself up and changes on her, losing his naive air and becoming a confident and dangerously sexy man. A bottle of the strongest alcohol available is her last resort, but getting him drunk to the point of passing out means she’ll have to drink too, and before she knows what she’s doing, she’s sitting astride his lap feeding him the alcohol and kissing him.

When the ship is forced to stop and boarded by Minervan military looking for him, will Sebastian hand himself over to protect Terea? Will Terea stand by and let the man she’s falling for get hurt or will she sacrifice herself and return to her family for the sake of saving him? Will two runaway hearts find the freedom they’re searching for in each other’s arms?

Available this week with 15% OFF at Fictionwise. Just $0.84!!!

Read the excerpt or buy now…
http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook69021.htm

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Sons of Lyra: Runaway Hearts – Out Now!! (sci-fi romance ebook)

Posted on 15th June 2008 by Felicity Heaton

Out Now! New sci-fi romance ebook by Felicity Heaton…

Sons of Lyra: Runaway Hearts - Sci-Fi Romance Sons of Lyra: Runaway Hearts
Heir Prince Lyra I hates his life, and it’s only getting worse. Not only do Sebastian’s parents force him to remain on Lyra Prime with them and control his life, now they’ve gone and arranged his marriage. Unable to stand the thought of getting married before he’s seen the stars as his three younger brothers do and tasted adventure, he decides to run away. Only that’s not as easy as it sounds when you’re one of the infamously handsome sons of Lyra.

Terea needs to get away. She’s had it with men and her family. When she spots a man who looks as though he has a little money, she sees her chance and pickpockets him. The only trouble is, he’s quicker than her. Before she knows what’s happening, she’s been caught and is agreeing to leave the planet with him. Anything to escape Lyra Prime and her future there.

Terea’s plan to escape Sebastian when they’ve left the planet behind is shattered when he cleans himself up and changes on her, losing his naive air and becoming a confident and dangerously sexy man. A bottle of the strongest alcohol available is her last resort, but getting him drunk to the point of passing out means she’ll have to drink too, and before she knows what she’s doing, she’s sitting astride his lap feeding him the alcohol and kissing him.

When the ship is forced to stop and boarded by Minervan military looking for him, will Sebastian hand himself over to protect Terea? Will Terea stand by and let the man she’s falling for get hurt or will she sacrifice herself and return to her family for the sake of saving him? Will two runaway hearts find the freedom they’re searching for in each other’s arms?

Price: $0.99

Buy now or read an excerpt at Alinar Publishing

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Hunting down paranormal authors

Posted on 6th June 2008 by Felicity Heaton

I’ve bought a few books as research. Sometimes, working in London does have its advantages, especially when you’re as central as I am. I’ve targeted authors who write similar stuff to myself just to see what their first books were like and what level they were writing at (taking into account the editing some of them get, or don’t, but that’s a different matter).

I have, however, come to the conclusion that London either hates Lara Adrian, or she’s banned from bookstores in the capital, as I couldn’t find her stories anywhere. I checked two Border’s, a Waterstones, W H Smith and Blackwells. That’s pretty much all the big name bookstores in the UK, and none of them had her. She wasn’t listed under Fiction, Romance (where they had a separate section) or Horror. I’ll have to buy her book online. It’s probably cheaper there anyway.

Speaking of books in sections. I’m stunned at how inept Waterstones and Blackwells are at putting books in the right places and catering to Romance. Border’s have it right. They’ve got a Romance section and all the big paranormal romance names are there (except Lara Adrian of course!). You’ve got your Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christine Feehan, J R Ward, etc, all neatly laid out with the other Romance novels. Blackwells had everything together, with only separate Crime and Science Fiction. Not even separate Horror for me to check. Waterstones went one worse. Not only did it throw all the paranormal romance authors into Horror (if you ask me, most paranormal romance couldn’t be considered horror!), but when I did find a Romance section, it was big enough to fit around 40 books and was just a bookshelf-cart hybrid… ready to be wheeled off out of sight no doubt!

The most amusing thing about Waterstones was that they didn’t have a proper Romance section (Hello, biggest selling genre?) but they did have a whole bookshelf for Erotica. Idiots.

While in Border’s I noticed something that tickled me. They’ve got a huge display in their Oxford Street store for a new ebook reader called Iliad. It’s chunky, comes in a huge box, and can be yours for just £399!!!! ($800 for our American friends). Well… I can really see that taking off! Not. It’s little wonder that ebooks just can’t compete when people charge ridiculous sums of money for the readers and then cripple us by adding DRM so you can only download it to one bloody machine! (grr)

Enough whinging for now. I’m writing this on my laptop on the train home and I’m supposed to be finishing off a Gothic Romance short for an anthology.

Posted in paranormal romance | Comments Off on Hunting down paranormal authors

Competition!

Posted on 30th May 2008 by Felicity Heaton

Want to win yourself one of my ebooks?

All you have to do to enter the competition is leave a comment on this blog post about your favourite story of mine and why you liked it. Don’t forget to leave your name!

At the end of the month, I’ll choose a winner at random from the posts and that winner will receive the ebook of their choice from my stories.

If you’ve enjoyed more than one of my stories, feel free to post about each one. Just make sure to do each story in a separate post. Multiple entries are allowed, but they must be about different books!

(edited: changed date so it remains at top)

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Competition!

Sons of Lyra: Slave Princess – Number 1 in Romance on Fictionwise.com

Posted on 24th May 2008 by Felicity Heaton

Woot! My science fiction romance short story ebook, Sons of Lyra: Slave Princess, is now NUMBER 1 in Romance on Fictionwise.com! Not only that, but it’s still holding the Number 1 spots in Short Stories and Under a Dollar, and I’ve moved up to be Number 7 in the Bestseller Authors Recent list! Check it out!!!

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Number 3 bestseller on Fictionwise!

Posted on 20th May 2008 by Felicity Heaton

Sons of Lyra: Slave Princess is now number 3 in the recent bestsellers list on Fictionwise.com!!

I can’t believe it’s gone up another position. I don’t expect to reach number 1 since the new Laurell K Hamilton book is taking pre-orders at a ridiculous price, but maybe it could knock the number 1 romance off the top spot and claim it for it’s own.

http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook67530.htm

This is rather exciting.

I’m also number 13 in the bestselling authors recent list.

🙂

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Sons of Lyra: Slave Princess – Number 4 bestseller at Fictionwise! (sci-fi romance ebook)

Posted on 20th May 2008 by Felicity Heaton

I can’t believe it but my eyes aren’t deceiving me! My new short sci-fi romance story, Sons of Lyra: Slave Princess has landed at Number 4 in the overall bestsellers list at Fictionwise.com and Number 2 in romance!! It’s also number 1 in the short stories and under a dollar list. I’m so thrilled!

Also, this week you can get 25% off the cover price so it’s only $0.74!!

Check it out!! http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook67530.htm

Sons of Lyra: Slave Princess by Felicity Heaton
Captain Lyra II, known as Balt to his family, is one of the famed sons of Lyra, the handsome princes with passionate hearts that every girl in the galaxy wants to catch. The second eldest son, he’s content with the freedom and adventure that life in deep space and the Lyran Imperial Army offers him. What he isn’t content with is the current situation he’s found himself in. Not only has he been forced to stop at a backwater port for supplies, but he’s leaving with more than he expected!

Kayla is a slave but can still vaguely recall what it had been like to be free. It’s something she believes that she’ll never taste again, and when she finds herself handed over like the piece of property she is to a complete stranger, a Lyran prince no less, she’s convinced her life is about to get a lot worse. Taken onboard his ship, she quickly finds herself torn between fulfilling a promise she made to her friends when she was young, and falling for his chivalry and good looks.

Balt, not wanting a woman as his slave and not wanting to become the laughing stock of the admirals, intends to dump Kayla at the first decent planet he comes across, but as he starts to learn more about her, he finds it harder to fight his growing attraction to her. A passionate kiss from her only makes things worse.

When Minervan mercenaries demand he hand her over, he discovers her true heritage and realises that things are more complicated than he’d believed. Will Balt let her go, sending her into a life as a pleasure whore for the highest bidder, or will he fight to protect her? Will Kayla take revenge for her people, the Terrans, who were almost exterminated when Lyra destroyed the Earth system? Can love between a prince and an enslaved princess ever have a fairytale ending?

http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook67530.htm

off to shout and squee!

Felicity

Posted in bestseller, new release, science fiction romance, sons of lyra | Comments Off on Sons of Lyra: Slave Princess – Number 4 bestseller at Fictionwise! (sci-fi romance ebook)

Book of the Vampire / VR Novel

Posted on 19th May 2008 by Felicity Heaton

My sister’s boyfriend works for a book printer and sometimes gets to bring home sample books. I’ve had a how to draw book from him and also a manga, but never anything as cool as this. Today he came around and dropped off “Book of the Vampire” by Nigel Suckling. It’s probably out now or due out soon. Nigel is the UKs bigwig on vampires. The book is basically a look at the history of the vampire and the legends that it came from. It looks really interesting so far and I can’t wait to get into it. It’s bound to inspire me to write different types of vampires. I probably can’t go any darker with them as I already write rather dark vampires as it is, but it will help me lend new twists to them.

I’ve edited 100 pages of VR Novel so far this week. It’s really just a proof read now to pick up mistakes and fix some little things. I think that I’ll have finished the proof read by this weekend and will be able to move onto writing the synopsis, which isn’t going to be fun!

Posted in vampire romance, vampires, Vampires Realm | Comments Off on Book of the Vampire / VR Novel