Title: Finding Eve
Author: Rita Bay
Published: September 2013
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Word Count: 13,500
Genre: Shape-shifter Paranormal
Content Warning: Adult content
Recommended Age: 18+
Synopsis:
Nicholas Lyons, chief physician to the Lyons clan of shape-shifters, has mourned the death of his promised lifemate until a rogue shapeshifter reports having seen her at an exotic animal sale. Accompanied by Marie Lyons who is no stranger to the dark side, her new lifemate Anthony, and the imperious Lady Bat, he embarks on a frantic search for Eve through the dangerous world of exotic animal trafficking.
Eve, whose first memories are of recovering from an injury at an isolated animal refuge, has lived through a succession of owners in a world filled with cages and cruelty.
When Eve meets Marie at the exotic animal sale, she begins to have flashes of a different life – a life in which she was something other than feline. Her last sale, however, has landed her as prey to exotic animal hunters and the clock is ticking.
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Excerpt
Finding Eve by Rita Bay:
Nick tamped down his panic. Eve’s neurological tests, scans, X-rays and vital signs were all within normal limits, but his lifemate had remained unconscious for over twenty-four hours. “Tell me what happened again.” Marie sat with her head in her hands. She’d not left Eve’s side since her call after Eve’s collapse had alerted Anthony that something was very wrong. “We’d talked it out after you left. She was ready to make the change--had even picked out the dress she wanted to wear after she shifted. We were touching so she could feel what I was doing. She made the shift quickly. No problem. Then she just fell over. Like I said a dozen times before.” “She’d never expressed interest in shifting before. You sure you didn’t push her?” “No, damn it, I didn’t. She heard what you said about leaving Lyons’ Den. She didn’t want to leave. She thought if she shifted, you would allow her stay here. This is her home now.” He wanted to kick himself. Eve was sensitive, fragile even, since she’d returned. The last thing he should have mentioned was leaving Lyons’ Den. It was her home and he was going to take her away. He felt himself begin to shift. It was too sudden. He might not be able to control himself. “Quiet, Nicky. I was sleeping.” “Evie?” “Who else runs free in your head?” “You’ve been unconscious for more than a day.” “Been sleeping. Change hurt.” “I told Marie she shouldn’t have allowed you to change.” “Afraid you and Tony send me away. Marie gave me shiny dress.” “You always were an acquisitive kit. I will give you whatever clothing you wish.” “Wanted Marie’s dress. She is like me. She knows.”
“What does Marie know that I don’t?” “Hurt. Fear. Alone.” “I want that part of your past to go away. Since I thought you were dead, I felt the pain. Alone was the worst. I want things how they were with us before.” “Can’t. Not yet. Can’t speak in my human form. Don’t know why.” “What can I do to make it better, Evie?” “Find my past.”
Guest Post with Rita Bay
10 Things I Wish I Knew About Being an Author I Didn’t Know Before.
10 Things I Wish I Knew About Being an Author I Didn’t Know Before.
Thank you for inviting me, Amanda, to your Wicca Witch 4 Book Blog. You chose an intriguing topic that required some serious thinking to answer. My own experiences with publishers and publishing have been very positive. I didn’t submit my completed manuscripts to publishers for several years, even though I was a member of Romance Writers of America. During that time, I benefitted from the experiences of published authors before sticking my toes in the Publishing Sea. So maybe, I should call my post “10 Things I’ve Learned about Being an Author.”
After a mentor twisted my arm, I finally submitted two manuscripts (one paranormal, one historical) to different publishers and was contracted to both within two weeks. That led to nine books published in two years. This brings me to point #1 that I’ve learned.
You won’t be published, if you don’t submit.
You could be sitting on a New York Times Best Seller (OR NOT!), but, if you don’t submit your manuscripts to publishers, you will never be published. More on that later.
Not all publishers are the same.
I’m blessed with great publishers, though they are very different. Champagne Book Group, the sponsor for our tour and the publisher of my paranormals, is an independent publisher who has been successful in the business for a decade. My second publisher for my historicals is a huge well-known e-pub with loads of experience and expertise. Last year, I contracted my contemporary and short stories with a publishing company (about three years old) whose impressive owner/publisher I met at a conference. No regrets with any of them.
When in doubt, check them out.
Check out publishers before you submit. If you’re not published, it’s difficult to walk away from a contract offer. All my publishers offer fair contracts, set high editorial standards, maintain contact with the authors, provide some level of print copies, have established distribution outlets, pay on time, and don’t charge for any services. On the down side, I have friends whose publishers shut down owing them big bucks. They still haven’t received the publication rights on their books.
The real work begins after your contract is signed.
After you sign your contract, your book is no longer yours alone. Your publisher has rights to your book and will begin to prepare it for publication. The process can take anywhere from three months to almost a year. A long wait, for sure.
An editor should be your best friend.
Editors know what the publisher wants, what will sell, and how to get your book ready for publication. My editor extraordinaire at Champagne, Nikki Andrews, has NEVER steered me wrong. Working together in a cooperative, not confrontational, manner produces a better product and allows the editor and author to develop a long-term working relationship.
You’re your own publicist.
Both e-pubs and print pubs expect you to perform some level of marketing of your books yourself. Expect to develop a webpage, maintain a social media presence, and participate in publisher events. It doesn’t take a lot of money to share your books before your readers, but there is an investment in time.
There’s no welcome mat for divas.
Publishers have responsibilities for acquisitions, contracts, editing, book prep, sales and distribution, and marketing. They have dozens, if not hundreds, of authors under contract. Don’t be the author that ruins their day without a REALLY good reason.
There are never enough hours in the day.
Planning and setting priorities are crucial to continued success. An author must balance family and social lives, a day time job, and a writing career to avoid burnout.
Don’t expect to become a millionaire or even to quit your day job with a first book.
An author builds readerships over time with multiple publications. With a few exceptions, success takes a lot of time, work, and dedication.
Seeing your book up for sale is one of the best feelings EVER.
It doesn’t matter how many books an author has published, the feeling is still overwhelming. Knowing that readers will read and, I hope, enjoy my stories keeps me writing. Then, there’s always that next book waiting to be written.
Thank you so much for your time Rita! and I hope you can come back again sometime!
About the Author:
Rita’s journey began on the Gulf Coast. Over the years, she lived and/or traveled in the eastern US and Western Europe. While juggling family and work, she participated in archaeological digs, earned a black belt in Shotokan karate, prospected for gold and crystals, camped across Europe, and volunteered with the American Red Cross Disaster and Education Services. Rita has worked as a registered nurse, educator and school system administrator. She lives with her family on the Gulf Coast, except when she’s in Atlanta, at least for now.
Rita is published in multiple genres with several publishers including paranormal and erotic novellas (Champagne Book Group – Champagne Books and Carnal Passions), historical novels (Siren
BookStrand), and contemporary F/M and M/M novellas (Secret Cravings). She posts random bits of historical trivia about western history and culture on Rita Bay’s Blog at ritabay.com.
Title: The Pact
Author: Graeme Brown
Published: May 2013
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Word Count: 17,000
Genre: Dark Epic Fantasy
Recommended Age: 12+
Synopsis:
Enter the world of Will Lesterall, a boy who’s grown up in the safety of his father’s castle.
Tales of the outside world ruled by warring kings and creatures of nightmare have never seemed a threat, yet on the night celebrating two hundred years of the sacred Pact that has kept Fort Lesterall safe, intrigues ripen, and in the course of a few hours Will is confronted with a choice greater than he can comprehend.
Join an unlikely hero as destiny pulls him into the middle of an ancient conflict between fallen gods and ambitious women, one that demands blood, both holy and
wicked, and the power of an ancient fire bound in steel. As swords clash below a watching wood, hope and betrayal war as fiercely as fear and valor.
Whether he lives or dies, Will Lesterall will never be the same.
About the Author:
Graeme Brown has been enchanted by the epic fantasy genre since he was a child, and consequently he started creating his own world with its stories at the age of thirteen. Influenced by writers like J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, and George R. R. Martin, he has finally brought the first of those stories to life with his debut title, a short story called The Pact—48 pages that will whisk you away to a dark, medieval fantasy world with gritty realism. When he’s not writing, he can be found exploring number theory problems or writing computer programs, training for a marathon, or unwinding in a yoga hot room. He has also explored other facets of art, both as a hobby and a profession, including vector graphics, pen and ink, classical piano, and web design. He just finished writing the first of many sequels to The Pact, A Thousand Roads.
Title: Tower of Obsidian
Author: L. T. Getty
Published: February 2013
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Word Count: 115,000
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Content Warning: Minor Violence
Recommended Age: 13+
When Kale mac Tadhg is betrayed by his Lord’s men, he is sent on an impossible quest: slay a witch in a tower, and end a people’s curse. Both Kale’s best friend and brother-in-arms Aaron Smithson and former betrothed Aoife of Westgate set out to rescue him, but their journey takes them into the uncharted waters and Northwestern Nordic colonies, to a land cursed and all but forgotten. They begin to realize that there is some truth to old legends. Kale’s rescue comes at a price—for by the time Aaron and Aoife know where to search, like so many before him, Kale is bound to the ancient tower’s fate.
About the Author:
L.T. Getty started writing her first novel in junior high, and hasn’t really stopped since. She’s studied kendo, is an open water scuba diver, and has recently taken up archery, and hopes to learn to do it horseback some day. When she’s not writing, she works as a paramedic. When she is writing, it tends to be rather cheeky.
Author: R. J. Hore
Published: April 2013
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Word Count: 91,000
Genre: Medieval Fantasy
Recommended Age: 13+
Synopsis:
Young Harow just wanted to stay on the farm for the rest of his life, but his mother insisted he go to school in the City to study to be a priest. Now the City is in flames and he is racing across unfamiliar countryside trying to get the mysterious and sensuous Queen Reginee and her extremely annoying and very spoiled daughter Desiree-Rose to safety.
Of course there is a rebel army on their heels, black wizardry afoot, and sundry and dangerous creatures and villains, monstrous and common, seductive and evil, lurking along the way. If this were not enough for the youth to worry about, the Queen’s amorous chambermaid and bodyguard Mathilde, a smallish giantess, just wants to get him alone.
About the Author:
Ron can be found sailing on Lake Winnipeg when not writing novels or critiquing for an on-line magazine He won first prize for a Canadian Authors Association short story contest for a ghostly love story, but his preference is for longer works including a recent trio of medieval-style fantasies and the Housetrap Chronicles fantasy detective series through www.burstbooks.ca . Supervised by his understanding wife and a large demanding cat, most of his writing efforts continue toward fantasy, with occasional lapses into science fiction and horror.Giveaway
There is a tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:
- GRAND PRIZE: One winner will receive 5 surprise fantasy eBooks from Champagne Book Group.
Giveaway is International.
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