New Year's Kisses!

Join us for a celebration at Kay Berrisford and Tara Lain

More info here: http://kayberrisford.com/2012/12/30/new-years-kisses-party-presents-the-biggest-and-best-romance-prize-ever/

There's lots of hot excerpts so check them out!

Season's Greetings!! What a lovely time of year!

Image courtesy of marin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I really love this time of year. It's nice and cool in Florida and my husband isn't complaining about the weather. We're really enjoying ourselves. Also, since my business is more of a year-round retail and wholesaling business, Christmas is sort of our downtime, where we can relax a bit.

We don't put up a tree since my husband is atheist and  I come from a family with so many religious backgrounds, it became difficult to honor all of them so I said forget it and do nothing each year except attend all the celebrations. Hey, it's the thought that counts (and the free beer for my husband).

So to all my followers, have a very joyous holiday season, what ever you may celebrate!

All that being said, I enjoy Holiday music and I'm a huge fan of Mannheim Steamroller. While writing Payback, I listened to a bunch of his albums on my Payback playlist.

Thanks to everyone who has purchased Payback. My next book in the Firehouse 69 series is Seducing Dylan which should be coming out in early 2013. I'll be posting more about that in the coming months.

And that brings me to some really exciting news. About the time Payback released, I received a contract for Dangerous Submission, which is the sequel for The Long Con. So look for more information about that in 2013 as well. 

Next year is shaping up to be pretty awesome so stay tuned!

Facing my fears... in many ways: Halloween Horror Nights 2012

So if you've seen me on Twitter, you'll know I've been wringing my hands about going to Halloween Horror Nights. And if you read my blog, you'll know I'm a huge gaming fan so when Silent Hill came to Universal for Halloween Horror Nights, I had a quandary. I'm deathly afraid of Zombies. Hence the reason I've never been to HHN.

OMG, what to do? Well, I had to face my fears. I've gone through a lot this year and I'm not about to live the rest of my life being scared of zombies. Let's face it, I don't really think zombies are going to walk the streets and take over.

But it wasn't just going to the scare houses and wandering about being scared out of my mind. It was being severely open to infection and getting a cold or flu from being around people. So it was time to don my Mario magic mushroom shirt and head the Universal for a RIP Tour. :D

So I went armed with my flu shot and a bottle of hand sanitizer to make this happen. In the pouring rain. &%$#. Okay, so I'm happy I brought my hat, my knit cap made by the very talented Amy Lane. This would protect me from zombies too.

I could do this. I could totally make this happen!

And I did! Last night I went to Halloween Horror Nights and used a whole bottle of hand sanitizer but I made it through while screaming. My throat is kinda sore today from screaming in the rain but I'm okay. I almost lost my cap in the middle of chainsaw people but they didn't really bother me, except for the gas smell and fog.

Did I mention I have asthma related fog? Luckily because of the rain, there wasn't much.

*Sigh* In book related news....

And now for my books! I got my paperback copies of The Long Con. Woo! So excited. Because these are so damn sexy, I now have to make sure the sequel Dangerous Submission is novel length so it goes to print. :D

And they will be at GRL too so pick up a copy and I'll sign it! :)

(Thanks to Man Oh Man Reviews for a lovely review and quote!)

Musical Moggies...

This morning I woke up with the sounds of music floating my head. I love writing to music and often times I surf the Top 100 Billboard to hear new songs coming out. Sometimes a new song will trigger a feeling I'm looking to evoke when I'm writing and I'll have to write a new scene. Of course, then that song will go on my soundtrack for that book. When I'm about to release a new book, I add this soundtrack to my blog for your enjoyment :D

I'm building two new soundtracks right now and interestingly enough, both are sequels so they include songs from the previous books. First is: the sequel to Soul Seduction, tentatively named Soul Salvation. Yes, I'm writing a sequel. I thought that was obvious.

Second is: Chains of Gold, which is the sequel to the story I just turned into my editor which is the sequel to The Long Con. And yes again, I am writing a sequel. The egg just didn't get stolen. There is a hint in The Long Con's prologue that clues you in to who stole it.

Which will come first? I don't know. Right now, I'm furiously working on Soul Salvation. The pieces fell into place and I'm running with the inspiration :D

So back to work! Bye for now!

Submission feels good :)

Mom, are you done with that story yet?

Yes, Cheddar baby. I'm done! The sequel to The Long Con is in to my editor and I'm relieved. I really enjoyed the story but my mind was running ahead to a couple new projects I'm working on, including a Sci-Fi trilogy I can't wait to start. That should be lots of fun :D And of course the next book in the SOCA series, featuring two new to you characters that I think you all will love. 

So I'm back to work at my day job ordering supplies and making sure this place runs well. :D Yay! 

Stop by on the 21st for a special blog post from JP Barnaby on her tour for Little Boy Lost: Sacrifice. It is not to be missed. There are lots of pretttttttty pictures :O yeah baby!

Just another day in paradise...

Yeah, that's me, just hanging around, trying to recover from my SI Joints shot. They help in the long run but they hurt like a bitch to get. I'm kinda stoned on painkillers so if I ramble on Twitter, I'm not responsible for myself. :D

I also forgot to congratulate my winners of my book tour for The Long Con, Bodice Rippers and Jibriel. Thank you very much and a huge thank you to all who stopped by my tour. I hope you enjoyed chatting with me.

And last but not least to answer a question that seems to be cropping up a lot: Yes, I'm working on a sequel to The Long Con. While Bradley and Tony won't be the main characters in the book (for a very good reason) they will have supporting roles. So have no fear, they will be returning in the next book alongside two very debonaire characters :)

Talkatcha later :)

Immigration Equality... the reason for my dedication in The Long Con.

Today I'm posting because Blogger had a fail! Evil Blogger! But this post had a special place in my heart because Immigration Equality is my pet project, besides the ASPCA. So I'm posting it here.

So please click on the link to your left and stop by and get more info about this wonderful cause.

The Battles That Lay Ahead

I think on my tour I’ve said a few times The Long Con was the book I never meant to write. I went through a lot with this book. Bradley’s story was an old idea from before I was published about two men from different countries who met and fell madly in love. And one of the heroes was from the US, which twisted my gut.

You see, I went through immigration with my British husband, who gave up everything he knew in the UK to come here to the States. We had a routine case (first marriage for both of us, no criminal record and I was in a strong financial position) and were very lucky because we’re a heterosexual couple. I say we are lucky because if we were a gay or lesbian couple, I couldn’t have petitioned on his behalf to get immigration benefits. But we were lucky because of our genders.

In The Long Con, Bradley is with Tony in the US and together they are loving on borrowed time. The clock is ticking; they don’t have forever nor can they have a happily ever after because their borders will keep them apart. And as a writer and someone who went through that horrible separation, it killed me to write those scenes at the end. Because I knew how they felt intimately.

Around the time I wrote the end of The Long Con, gay immigration was suddenly in the headlines with the striking down of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the fight against DOMA here in the US. A gay couple married in the US in Massachusetts was petitioning for immigration benefits because in their state, now in California, their marriage was legal and the health of one of the men was declining due to AIDS.

Their petition was denied. The non-US citizen was given a deportation order and had a date by which he had to leave. Immigration Equality took over fighting the case but hope for a positive outcome was bleak. In one of the articles, there was a picture of the couple hugging.

S.F. gay married couple loses immigration battle

I looked at that picture and sobbed. Maybe if they had both been healthy, they could have moved to Australia but it was impossible with how sick the US citizen was. The future looked depressing and all I could do was hope that our government would do the right thing here. And sure enough, this year, the couple found their brief respite.

Deportation threat lifted from S.F. gay spouse

To this lovely couple, all my love and best wishes. They became the center of a fight that shouldn’t be happening. Loving whoever you want is a human right, not a political war cry.

But as far as Tony and Bradley? I’ll state for the record, I believe in HEA and everyone deserves one! Their story was a long road and a really tough one for me. I bawled through so many parts of their story. I had to hide so my husband didn’t think I was an idiot for crying over a book.  Did Tony and Bradley make it to ride off into the sunset together? You’ll have to read the book to find out what happens ;)

THE LONG CON by Lori Toland

British Agent Nathaniel Bradley is tasked with bringing home a stolen heirloom. After tracking the Faberge egg all the way to a group of criminals in New York, Bradley infiltrates a ring of con artists and gets sucked into the role of a high priced prostitute.

While hoping for a chance to take back what is rightfully his, Bradley’s sole mission becomes to seduce Tony Terranova, Jr, the heir to a notorious mafia dynasty. Though Tony is strikingly handsome, the usually dominant Bradley is hesitant to submit to the sexual whims of a dangerous Mafioso.

What Bradley doesn't expect is for Tony to fall to his knees so eagerly for him, leaving him blindsided by how intensely their dark tastes complement each other. Now Bradley is caught up in a deadly game of lies and desire, where what he truly wants may not be what duty requires.

EXCERPT:

My heart pounded, and I panted from exertion. Replete and relaxed, I knew my weight crushed him to the bed, but if he didn’t say anything, I wasn’t moving. I dropped a gentle kiss on his shoulder, tasting the salt from his skin when I licked my lips.

I opened my mouth, and my heart slammed against my rib cage when I realized what I had just been about to say. Before blurting out my love for him, I pulled out slowly and stood.

I needed to get my shit together and remember I was on a task, one of huge importance to Margaret. I took a deep breath and let it out. When he glanced at me over his shoulder, I put on the same mask I wore around everyone.

His eyes told me he saw beneath the surface, and that scared me. He was much too perceptive, and from this moment forward, I would have to be on my guard. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah. You almost killed me there.” I laughed it off, but it felt hollow to me. I left him on the bed and walked into bathroom.

I threw away the condom, and when I turned around, Tony stood in the doorway.

“Are you sure?” he asked, his frown worrying me.

I wanted him to drop it, so I just smiled and placed a kiss on his lips. “I’m sure.”

My explanation didn’t seem to satisfy him, but I didn’t stick around to give him the time to question me about it. I flipped on the shower and waited for the water to heat up, a little perturbed about how much I wanted him.

AUTHOR BIO AND LINKS:

CEO by day, erotic romance writer by night, Lori Toland lives in Orlando where the summers are hot but the romance between her characters is even hotter. Writing since the tender age of 13, Lori somehow finds time to play video games and watch movies while taking care of her beloved cats and a husband who will forever be her hero.

Lori’s Website: http://www.loritoland.com
Lori’s Twitter: loritoland
Lori’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lori.toland
BUY LINKS: http://www.loose-id.com/The-Long-Con.aspx
Other buy links will appear here as available:
http://loritoland.blogspot.com/2012/02/long-con-loose-id-4242012.html

**********GIVEAWAY**********

A $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter from the entire tour.

-Giveaway is OPEN TO EVERYONE!
-To be entered, MUST leave a comment, along with your email addy.
-One commenter will be chosen randomly from all comments made throughout the tour, so the more tour stops you make a comment on the greater your chances of winning.  A list of all participating blogs can be found here.
-Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM CST on 5/4.

Since this is my tour, I'm not eligible to win (well, duh) but please go comment at all my other tour stops which can be found here. 

You can comment on this post as well. Please be aware that all comments are moderated so I will try to keep up with approving them as we go. If you comment here, it will be an entry for the gift card!

CEO by trade, artist by birth.

I see a lot of posts about why people write, which are really interesting. There are quite few where the authors get defensive, like they have to justify the reason they sit down at the keyboard and lose themselves in the world they create.

My family always knew I was creative. I went to a Creative and Performing Arts academy because I loved creating art in any form I could. They all encouraged it, even though at some point I realized a day job was in order so I could

Last night I was watching E! for Fashion Police (I loved RuPaul! Finally someone more catty than Joan Rivers) and I caught Fashion Star which has designers competing for contracts with three huge name stores in a reality show type setting.

They are just competing with themselves really but sometimes the stores compete with each other in a bidding war for the designs. But last night, one designer, Barbara Bates, didn't get picked up and I was really sad because I loved her design. It was sexy and yet age appropriate for me.

One of the buyers asked her why she would create something like that. I loved her answer, which was, "It was something I would wear."

The show was really neat because it reminded me of the publishing industry. Sometimes there is a bidding war over your book (if you're lucky) and you have to decide what pub co to go to. But you design this book and throw it out into the world. If you're lucky, everyone loves it and it sells enormously. If not, well, there is always your next book.

I personally write books I want to read, just like that designer makes clothes she would wear. I love watching the story unfold. While I do temper my style to make it easy to read, the story isn't the words; it's the plot and the characters.

I can't wait to read The Long Con again. :) It's coming 4/17. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it.