Friday, April 19, 2013

I am still alive!! Really, I am!

Hello my twisted lovelies! 

I know, I know, I am slacking in the blog department but once I catch you up to date on what I have been up to, maybe you will forgive me. 
As you know, I am a volunteer with the Tampa Bay Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Through my affiliation with the Sisters, I have been doing a weekly web radio show on GSHRadio

 
Recently I took a break from both so I could play catch up on my writing. 

However, I am still involved with The Tampa Leather Club and on the board for Tampa Bay Leather n' Fetish Pride but they don't take up much of my time.

 So, you ask, what has kept me so busy?
For starters, conventions. March was a crazy, crazy month for me and I loved every minute of it! The second weekend of March, I went to a leather event, Alt Life Bike Fest, down at Vitambi Springs Resort & Campground. It was a blast! The following weekend, I was at MegaCon, in Orlando, and successfully sold out of two titles. This convention will now be a staple on my tour schedule (as soon as I send them payment for next year!) The 3rd weekend in March found me at another leather event, Mr. Code Contest, at the Flamingo Resort in St. Petersburg (FL). 

I had a short break the last weekend of March before I headed to Beyond Leather in Ft. Lauderdale. Now, I want to say a few words about BL, as it is affectionately call by the regulars. This was my first time attending and if you are into leather, fetish, BDSM or even write about these topics, you should go to an event like this. The classes were excellent and included demos, as well as hand-on experience. The people were great and happy to talk about anything or answer any questions. This is going to be another annual event for me but more as a mini-vaca than an author.

Well, that catches you up to this month, April. Can you hear me finally able to take a breath? That being said, you will be happy to hear how much work I have gotten done!

Destiny, the sequel to Fates, now sits at 51k+ (only 10 chapters) and still has a way to go. My goal is to have it finished and published before Necronomicon this year since I had so many inquiries for it last year (and that gave me lots of warm fuzzies!)
I also have a new novel in the works called Not For Sale. It is sitting at 35k+ and should land somewhere around 50-60k. I finished the cover (as you can see) so I could share the eye candy with you. That's Rick by the way... isn't he a hottie? I am aiming to have Not For Sale ready for my next convention.

What convention is that, you ask? Well, I am hitting up some of the adult venues to see how well books will sell along side corsets, floggers, leather, and other goodies. My first stop will be The Florida Bash (May 30 - June 2nd) and after Bash I will be at Tampa Bay Escapes (July 18-21).

Now that I have you all caught up with that is going on with me, I want to share something disturbing with you about what some of my author friends are going through. Noble Romance is a publisher that several of my friends have contracts with. Sadly, calling them a publisher at this point is an insult to all the great publishing companies out there. 


My friend, Brita Addams, (you may remember her as one of the authors who donated books for the Billiards, Books, & Booze...Oh My! fundraiser I did last year to benefit Trans*Action Florida) has shared her wretched experience and links to other authors nightmares in dealing with Noble Romance. Notice I am not giving you the link and once you read the horror story that Brita has gone through (yes, it's long, but worth the read), you will understand.

You are probably asking yourself why you should bother reading a blog about an author's nightmare with their publishing company, right? Well, let me give you some food for thought.... Publishers make their money from authors work (deservingly so when they are doing their job and abiding to the terms of the contract) but when a publisher does not do their job, it not only affects the author but it also effects the reader. So, please, if you love to read, even if you have never read any books that are published by Noble Romance, Britia, or myself, take a moment to check out her blog. If you are a 'reader' and consume books like I do, help spread the word about what Noble Romance is doing to their authors. Authors who should get what they are promised in their contracts and who should be spending their time writing the stories we so love to read instead of trying to get the publisher to do their job, as dictated by the contract.

A reader boycott has began against Noble Romance for the way they are treating their authors. Thankfully, I am not affiliated with them in any way but to see what my friends are going through breaks my heart and it's this heartbreak that has me encouraging you to check out Brita's blog while I send lots of positive energy to my friend's muses!

That's it for now, my twisted and kinky friends...
I'll try (really I will) to blog more often to keep you up to date on what I am up to!
XOXOX

P.S. Brother's By Bond (Amazon top 100 on 3 lists for 5 days!
is now available in every format!


XOXOX