Cover Reveal--SEAL OF HONOR by Tonya Burrows

SEAL of Honor
By Tonya Burrows

Entangled Publishing - May 28, 2013

SEAL OF HONOR, the first book in a sexy new special ops series in which a Navy SEAL is offered the chance to command a private hostage rescue team of military and government delinquents.

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Debut author Tonya Burrows’ 352 page romantic suspense. From Entangled Publishing’s Select imprint and available May 28th!

ABOUT TONYA
Writing has always been my one true love. I wrote my first novel-length story in 8th grade and haven't stopped since. I received a B.A. in creative writing from SUNY Oswego and I'm now working on a MFA in popular fiction at Seton Hill University.

When I'm not writing, I spend my time reading, painting (badly), exploring new places, and enjoying time with my family. Give me a good horror movie over a chick flick any day. (And, let's be honest, I'll take a bad horror movie too!) I'm a geek at heart and pledge my avid TV fandom to Supernatural and Doctor Who. I'm also a big fan of The Voice. What can I say? Guilty pleasure.

I share my life with two dogs and a ginormous cat. We live in a small town in PA, but I suffer from a bad case of wanderlust and usually end up moving someplace new every few years. Luckily, my animals are all excellent travel buddies.

Find Tonya at her website. Find her on Facebook and like her Facebook series page. Last but not least, follow Tonya on Twitter @TonyaBurrows.

Buy SEAL OF HONOR, beginning on May 28th, on amazon or B&N. Add it on Goodreads now!

Unofficial Plug for an Author Buddy

Good Friday,

I missed my mid-week post this week. Apologies there, I was having some wonderful computer issues.

I’m back now and have an end-of-the-week present.

This is an unofficial plug for an author buddy of mine.

Remember Rachell Nichole? I interviewed her last August about her book “An Affair Across Times Square,” and she visited right before New Years to talk a bit about writing a good erotic romance and her e-book “Spicy with a Side of Cranberry Sauce.”

Well, she’s got a new e-book out. Her first f/f erotic romance….

“Queen of Hearts”

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Maya Cobb is a classic Gemini. She’s adaptable, affectionate, versatile, intelligent, cunning, and she holds a deep-seated fear of commitment. Which means she’s the perfect match for Aquarius Erica.

Erica Jones, also true to her astrological sign, is friendly, honest, loyal, fiercely independent, contrary, and detached. She hasn’t found a satisfying relationship in ages, and is ready to give up on love, even though she runs a dating service.

After a one night stand, fate keeps throwing them together in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day. Maya offers to help Erica plan the Queen of Hearts Matchmaking event, though she doesn’t know much about dating women. Erica quickly realizes that while Maya bolted after their first night, she might be the only hope Erica has to save her business.

Astrology says they’re compatible, but neither woman can be sure.
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Interested?

Grab it on amazon, Barnes & Noble online, and Smashwords!

That’s a wrap. Join me back at the Lockbox next week for more authors, books, writing, and fun.

Book Tour--Revenge of the Mad Scientist

Good Tuesday,

Goddess Fish Super Book Blast Tour for:

Lara Nance’s “Revenge of the Mad Scientist”
A romantic steampunk adventure

BLURB
When Lady Arabella Trunkett’s father, the High Lord Minister of Urbannia is kidnapped, all clues point to the mysterious country of Gandiss and the world is thrown into political upheaval.

Arabella is convinced the more sinister nation of Carabarras is to blame, urged on by a mad scientist seeking revenge. So, she sets out on a perilous airship journey across a variety of exotic locales to save him, and halt the potential world war.

But airship pirates, secret assassins and slave traders aren’t her only trials. The fickle hand of fate has made the captain of the only airship available for charter, the man who left her at the altar. For eight years she's wished him dead. Now he's her only hope.

EXCERPT
Another scream sounded and then another. A group of people blocked her view and she didn’t hesitate in pushing them aside. She gasped when she reached a body sprawled on the floor and noted a trail of red blood tracking from a side room. She recognized the injured man as Conrad Bellows, her father’s assistant. Horrified, her champagne glass slipped from her fingers and shattered on the marble.

She pushed another man out of her way. What the hell was wrong with everyone standing around like statues while a man needed help? She knelt at Conrad's side. A knife protruded from his back but when she put her fingers on his neck she found him still alive, thank God. He struggled to his side and blinked as he looked up at her.

“Gone,” he whispered. “So…sorry, My Lady…gone.” “Who is gone, Conrad?” She put a hand on his shoulder as panic shot through her.

“You’re, fa, fa, father…they took him.”

“What? Who took him?”

“Ahh, all in black, don’t know…” He closed his eyes and then slumped on the floor, unconscious.

Belle sucked in a sharp breath. She jumped to her feet and spun around. “Someone call for a doctor and help Mr. Bellows. Where’s my father?”

AUTHOR BIO
Lara Nance grew up and lived in many cites throughout the South. She loves to write in a variety of genres, but the basis of all of her stories is a great tale that will take you on an adventure of imagination.

If you want to escape and lose yourself in a novel, you've come to the right place. Choose your genre and settle in to be entertained. From thrilling mysteries and steampunk tales, to paranormal romance and adventure, she's willing to explore a variety of compelling stories full of danger and suspense, along with a touch of romance.

Having been on the fencing team in college and now living on a sailboat convinces her that she was a pirate in another life, or possibly kin to Errol Flynn… However, due to the unfortunate demise of the romantic pirates of the past, she lives out her fantasies, thrills and adventures in her stories. Lara loves to weave interesting true historical tidbits into her fiction which invite the reader to explore further after the novel is finished.

Currently docked in Norfolk, Virginia (until the wind changes) Lara enjoys living on her sailboat and spends time reading, of course writing, indulging a variety of artistic endeavors, cooking and sailing with her husband, Joe and their Yorkie, Rio.

LINKS
-Lara’s website
-Lara on Twitter
-Lara on Facebook
-”Revenge of the Mad Scientist” on Amazon

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Hey, readers!

Like what you see above?

We’ve got some amazing giveaway items today.

Lara is giving a$50 Amazon gift card and an original steampunk necklace to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

She’s also giving away an autographed map of Arabella’s steampunk world to a randomly drawn commenter at each stop, so be sure to comment here as well as at every other stop on the tour.

But wait, there’s more. If you sign up for Lara’s newsletter on her websitebetween Jan 29 and Feb 3, you will be entered to win an autographed copy of her book as well as an original steampunk necklace!

Author Interview--Kate Martin

Good Friday,

I present my first author interview of 2013! Today we have Kate Martin with us, and as always, the author will do the talking.

About Kate:
Kate Martin is an adjunct professor by day, a dance teacher by night, and a writer every minute in between. Growing up on the side of a Connecticut mountain in the middle of nowhere wasn’t much good for afterschool shenanigans with friends, but it was spectacular for building an over-active imagination. After getting her B.A. in Elementary Education, with a minor in Psychology, she found Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction Program, graduating with her M.A. in June ‘08. Her novel, Eternal Shadows, has been published by Cool Well Press, and is available at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can visit her website at www.kate-martin.com.

-What book and/or experience made you want to be a writer?

I like to think I was always a writer. I’ve come across elementary teachers who remember me as writing pages and pages . . . But there was one book that made me think, “Hey, I could do this. I could write a novel.” That book was Wizard’s First Rule, by Terry Goodkind. I read it the first time as a freshman in college, and in a truly geeky fashion, I set out to write my first novel while my roommate studied and studied and studied. I’m not sure I can say exactly what it was about Wizard’s First Rule that gave me the final push I needed to write, but I am, and will be, eternally grateful for it.

-What genre(s) do you write?

I am a fantasy writer to the core, though I have branched out within that genre plenty. I have a paranormal romance, an urban fantasy, a high epic fantasy, and another which I am learning seems best described as a “paranormal fantasy.”

-Publication history?

I have two short stories published. The first, Poisonous Redemption, can be found in the anthology Rage of the Behemoth, published by Rouge Blades Entertainment. And its prequel, The Heir of Redemption, was recently released in the charity anthology, Hazard Yet Forward. Both are about a young woman working to avenge her family and reclaim her birthright. They were my first experimentation with Sword and Sorcery. Links for each (along with more detailed descriptions and illustrations) can be found on my website under Short Stories.

Last Valentine’s Day (almost a year, I can’t believe it!) my YA novel, Eternal Shadows, was released by Cool Well Press. It’s a vampire story, but a bit different from the others out there. In Eternal Shadows, the main character is turned in the first chapter! I really wanted to play around with what it would be like to become a vampire, rather than just fall in love with one--though that happens too.  Between past lives, and a vampire civil war, my main character, Kassandra, has a lot to handle!

-Upcoming publication(s) or works in progress?

None I can talk about at the moment. ;)

-Spoilers?

Here’s a quick scene from Eternal Shadows, my Young Adult Paranormal! Available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble!

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“Kassandra?” Millie’s soft voice broke through my anxiety. She still stood in the doorway, patient as ever. “Would you like to meet him?”

Cade got up and left the room without a word. I didn’t care why. Glancing up at Rhys one more time, I checked my resolve. Time to meet the human who would serve as my main source of food. I still couldn’t quite wrap my mind around it. Seeing that Rhys appeared ready to grab me if I tried to bolt, I nodded. No time like the present.

Millie’s smile grew and she looked out into the hall. “Come on in. She’s ready.”

Something about the way she said that made me think that my feeder had been warned about me. Great.

I’m not sure why I was surprised by what walked through the door, but I was. Even after meeting Brody, who was normal in every way aside from being impossibly handsome, I must have still expected feeders to be these helpless, perhaps malnourished, looking things. Why, I had no idea. Really, it didn’t make any sense. But my thoughts were my thoughts, and they didn’t always make perfect sense even when I was human. My feeder--god, I was already thinking like that--was no older than me, and far from malnourished. Not fat, but not thin either, he was probably perfectly positioned in the weight range for his height. He was pale, but he had more color than I did at the moment so I couldn’t really judge him on that. Glasses assisted dark eyes that matched his hair, and he was dressed exactly as the guys I went to school with would have been.

It was like someone bringing you a live chicken to eat for dinner, but you take one look at its little face and suddenly you’re ordering pizza and you have a new pet. Crap.
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-For other aspiring writers, any tips?

Write. Write as often as you can, then let someone read it. Find other writers you can trust, and who will support you (and of course, who can trust you to support them back!) Then go online and learn how to write a decent query letter. Nothing happens if you keep your writing to yourself!

-What’s your favorite book/genre to read?

Fantasy. I love fantasy. For me, nothing is better than exploring a world different from our own. Magic, and mystery, and creatures, and danger, and love--it all adds up to a perfect book in my opinion. A few of my favorites at the moment are The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare, The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin, and the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. (I have a thing for series, if you can’t tell. Ha!)

-What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever written?

My favorite thing I’ve ever written . . . hm . . . Isn’t that like asking who your favorite child is? All my stories are special to me in different ways, but I can say this: I have never had as much fun writing as I did with the last book I finished this past year. It’s a new series, a “paranormal fantasy,” and full of characters who I love, and love to hate. Writing it was like sitting down and reading a great book; an adventure every day. Many times I had no idea what was about to happen--and somehow it all worked out beautifully. (If I may say so myself.) Hopefully I’ll have some good news about this one in the near future . . . ^_^

Want more from Kate?

Visit her website. Follow her on Twitter @katewmartin, and check out her Eternal Shadows Facebook page.

Homo-nyms-phones-graphs and Heteronyms

Good Wednesday,

***PLEASE NOTE: Media Monday will be on Tuesday next week. Thank you.***

Often when I receive feedback on my monthly thesis submissions, there are points that are marked as having an issue and then noted as “homophone.” Before fixing the mistake, I would stare at these words and think to myself “But that’s a homonym, isn’t it?”

Well, I’ve just about had enough of wondering. So I turned to the Google to find out the true story about homophones/nyms/whatever.

Homonym – from the Greek homo (same) and onym (name), two or more words that share the same pronunciation, spelling, or both.

That didn’t answer my question.

A bit more digging led me to the discovery that homonym is an umbrella term for three subcategories of word pairings—homophones, homographs, and heteronyms. As if writing wasn’t confusing enough already. In any event, I researched these three subcategories and am here today to present them in a, hopefully, easy-to-digest format.

Here goes.

-Homophones

Two or more words that share the same pronunciation but have different meanings. They may or may not be spelled the same.

In other words, the words sound alike, don’t mean the same thing, and may/may not have the same spelling.

How about an example?

Site and Sight
Site – a place (construction site), also combined with “web” to create its internet counterpart, “website”
Sight – the sense of seeing, occipital sense data (sorry, psych major).

These words are spelled differently, have different meanings but sound exactly the same.

Another example:

Not to be a rhymaholic, but Right and Right.
Right – the direction opposite left
Right – correct

>

Simple enough, right? Let’s move on.

-Homographs

Words that share the same spelling. They may or may not share pronunciation.

Now the words are spelled the same but might sound different.

Exhibit A:

Not to be confusing, but Right and Right again. They share a spelling and a pronunciation, making them both homophones and homographs.

Exhibit B:

Tear – moisture involved in crying
Tear – to rip a hole in

Same spelling, different pronunciation, different meaning.

Moving on.

-Heteronyms

These share spelling but not pronunciation.

In other words, they’re homographs that aren’t homophones.

Example:

Not to be redundant, but Tear and Tear as above.

How…simple.

As you can see, there is quite a bit of overlap. So why are there three different terms? I have no idea. I didn’t write the language. If I had there would have been considerably fewer of these situations, but that’s how it is.

So the next time someone critiques your work and writes “homophone” in the comments, you’ll know if it’s really a homophone or if it’s actually a homograph or heteronym. If you want to be super evil, send them this blog post with a message saying “Actually, you’re wrong. And here’s why. So there.” Consider being more tactful. Or don’t, it’s all up to you.

Hope this was at least a bit helpful. It certainly helped me solidify it in my head. That’s one person helped at least. I feel much better now.

I'm Published!

Good Monday,

I’ve been sitting on some news for the last week or so.

I’m officially published!

My first-prize comedic fantasy short story was published in the most recent edition of Griffin Publishers’ E-zine. It’s amazing. Here’s the link, go download it. Lol.

No, seriously, it’s definitely worth the $2.99. Aside from my piece, there are some awesome shorts and poems in there.

Now, first-prize? Yes. And there’s a pretty awesome story that goes with that.

As I’ve said recently, the first week of this month was my week at Seton Hill for this semester. During residency, there are “genre dinners.” This equates to a gathering of all fantasy/science fiction writers or all romance writers or all horror writers, etc. Since I write fantasy mainly, I attended the fantasy/scifi dinner.

Every res at said dinner, there is a reading competition. One of the students who is further along in the program collects a list of people who want to read. Three judges are selected and then all those who want, read a short selection. There are prizes for first and second place.

I went to the dinner this semester intending to read my flash fiction piece “Musings of a Free-Faller,” a bit about a guy falling down a bottomless pit. As is known to happen, however, plans changed.

One of my friends won a vampire trivia game at a student teaching module she attended. Being fantasy/scifi nerds, we decided to play this game at the dinner. A few questions in, my team was asked “Vampires are afraid of water. True or False?” Because I wasn’t thinking, I talked my teammate into saying false.

The answer, obviously, is true. Vamps can only cross water in their coffin. Now, this is one of those games that has little explanations on each card. This card noted the coffin fact and proceeded to say that another way to kill a vampire was to steal his sock, fill it with pebbles, and throw it into a lake. The vamp would jump in after it and drown.

That struck me as one of the funniest things I’d ever heard, and I decided that this story needed to be told. And so while others read, I sat quietly in the back of the room and wrote this story in my head. I then got up and performed, in my humble opinion, a stellar version of the account. I guess the judges thought it was pretty stellar too. They awarded me first prize—an autographed copy of “Redshirts” by John Scalzi.

And now you can read my award-winning story. Admittedly, it loses something without my performance, but it’s still worth the read.

Again, here’s the link to the download page.

Oh, and writers. Griffin Publishers is actively seeking shorts, poems, articles, interviews, etc. Check out there submissions page for more details.

NOTICE: Calls for Submissions

Good Friday,

I think I’ve finally caught up on all the sleep I lost while at SHU last week. Lol

That said, this week’s been a general catching up mess. I don’t have an interview or any of my own work. What I do have is a couple of calls for submissions to share.

Sitting in my inbox this morning was an e-mail from Harvey Stanbrough, informing me of two anthologies that are seeking submissions.

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Love, Lust, and Zombies
“Fun and steamy stories featuring sexy zombie characters.”
Submission Deadline: March 15, 2013

Darker Edge of Desire
“Take the sexualized Gothic and ratchet it up a few notches into the danger zone.”
Submission Deadline: April 1, 2013

Both anthologies will be edited by Mitzi Szereto. Both are paying gigs as well, payment coming in both cash and anthology copies.

For more details about both books, check out the ”calls for submissions” section of Mitzi’s website.

Not a writer?
Keep an eye out for the anthologies in 2014—zombies in fall and darker desire in spring. Both will be released as trade paperbacks from Cleis Press, USA.

And that’s all she wrote, folks.

Have an excellent weekend!