Why Authors like Conventions: Books by Silver James

Hi, everyone! I’m Silver James and I like to walk on the dark side. Since I love the dark, why am I coming to Hot Mojave Knights in Las Vegas, the city of neon lights? Because I can’t wait to meet the readers and other authors who will be in attendance. Oh, yeah. And the knights. ;)

I do have a confession to make. I’ve never actually been to a reader event, much less been a featured author and I have this secret fear that I’ll be sitting in the room for my “personal” chat all by myself. I’m bringing some special swag as a bribe to get people to my room. Shhhh. Don’t tell. Just come. At least with the panels, I’ll have the company of some amazing authors. I’m sitting on the Otherworldly Panel and the Mystery/Thriller/Suspense Panel.

So here’s my question to the folks who will be coming. What would you like to hear us talk about in the individual chats? Do you want to know about process? About the books we’ve written? About characters? Setting? Plotting? Trust me. You don’t want me to get up there and just “wing it.” You’re liable to get a song and dance and for anyone who has ever heard me sing….well, let’s just say they paid me to stop. ;)

I know why authors like to come to these events. We get the chance to meet readers and talk about books we love—yes, authors are readers, too. We have our own favorite authors and books. I’m guessing that’s why readers like to come too. Did I mention the knights? That’s another reason for coming. And the banquet costume party on Saturday night. And the gift basket raffle for charity during the book signing.

Do you have your costume ready? We went shopping for my daughter’s last weekend. Yes, she’s coming with me for a girls’ working weekend.  She’s a professional photographer and will be there to capture all the terrific moments at the panels and parties. She’s coming as Major Hannah McIntire,  heroine of BLOOD MOON, the first book in my Moonstruck series. I’m coming as an “older” version of Sade Marquis, the heroine of my new Urban Fantasy series, the Penumbra Papers. Sade’s a kick-ass FBI agent and I get to wear a long, black leather coat. I’m dying to see what costumes the other authors are wearing. And the knights. Will they come dressed for court?

Who’s going to Hunk Mansion for the male review? Who’s going to stay at the hotel for the wine tasting? Who’s going to bed early? No you aren’t! There will be too much fun going on. There are books to talk about. New friends to meet and get to know. There are knights to visit with.  And books. There are a couple of book signings going on in addition to everything else. What more could you want for a weekend filled with fun?

If you haven’t signed up yet, there’s still time. If you have signed up, what are you most looking forward to during the weekend? I’ll see everyone there in just 18 days! Come get your fun on!

About Silver James: BIO

Silver likes to take walks on the dark side and coffee. Okay. She loves coffee. LOTS of coffee. Warning: Her Muse, Iffy, runs with scissors and can be quite dangerous. She’s the author of the best-selling Moonstruck series and new urban fantasy series, The Penumbra Papers. She's been a military officer's wife, mother, state appellate court marshal, airport rescue firefighter and forensic fire photographer, crime analyst, technical crime scene investigator, and writer of magic and mystery. Now retired from the “real world,” she lives in Oklahoma and spends her days at the computer with two Newfoundland dogs, the cat who rules them all, and myriad characters all clamoring for attention. She writes dark paranormal thrillers, time travel romance, and light contemporary with a kiss of suspense. To find out more about Silver, visit her WEBSITE, like her

FACEBOOK FAN PAGE, and follow her on TWITTER.

About SEASON OF THE WITCH (advance copies will be available in limited supply at the book signing):

Welcome to The Penumbra Papers, the exciting new Urban Fantasy series from award-winning author Silver James. Fans of her Moonstruck series will love the Penumbra Papers. These "Cases from the Shadow's Edge" explore the forces of light and dark as they dance through shadows humans barely glimpsed prior to the Big Rip. Since then, all manner of preternatural magicks intermingle with humans in ways mysterious, magical and, in some cases, criminal. Much to humanity's surprise, there really are monsters under the bed and the things that go bump in the night are bigger and scarier than anyone ever imagined.

SEASON OF THE WITCH

__________________________

Sade Marquis. Her best friend turns furry. Her godfather’s a master vampire. Her mother was once a mistress of the King of the Faerie Court.

After the Veil rips, FBI Special Agent Sade Marquis is picked to head up the newly-formed MAGIC unit. When magic’s in the air, Sade is the agent FBI Director George Bailey wants in the trenches. She's savvy, snarky, and sexy but she may have met her match when she's sent to Chicago to investigate the murder of a congressional aide.

Is the vampire, Kristian St. John, guilty as sin? Once a Templar knight, Sinjen now teaches history at the University of Chicago. He must rely on Sade to clear his name and track the real culprit.

Together, they unravel a thousand-year-old mystery. If they don’t solve it, the world—human and magick—will suffer the consequences unleashed by evil incarnate.

Also available in all digital formats now: THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC – A Penumbra Papers Novella

Along with her FBI partner—and werewolf best friend—Caleb Jones, Sade is sent to New Orleans to investigate the murders of several high-ranking magicks. The Big Easy is neutral territory so Sade must find and arrest the culprit before war breaks out between the Realms. Things look up when the gargoyle Sentinel, Roman, a permanent fixture in Sade’s childhood, arrives to keep the peace. Maybe.

The investigation is hampered by Sade’s faerie nemesis, Ariel—the King’s Seducer. Oh, and then there’s the new dragon in town, Nikolas Constantine. Sade can’t decide whether to arrest his ass or admire it.

When guilt and innocence come to play in the French Quarter, it’ll take Sade’s brand of crazy to sort it all out.

AMAZON | SMASHWORDS | ALL ROMANCE eBOOKS | GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLE | KOBO | Now available on iTunes and more sites coming soon

Midwestern Writer Tries Vegas by Lexi Ryan

I was born and raised in Indiana, and I’m raising my kids here. In fact, I now live in the house right across the little cul de sac from the house I grew up in. I’m a Midwestern girl in so many ways, and 90% of the time, I’d just as soon set my books in the Midwest. It’s comfortable to me, and I like exploring my home and its intricacies in my writing. When I wrote Text Appeal, however, I knew I needed to leave my comfort zone and set the book in Vegas—even though I have never been there (but—yay!—we’ll remedy that in October).

The hero of Text Appeal is a professional poker player, but I knew I wanted to set the book in Las Vegas before I even knew much about Charlie. My reason was simple: I feel like there’s this misconception that people who live in “exciting places” have lives very much different than the rest of us. As if geography might change how we fall in love or deal with heartbreak (or might save us from mundane chores like grocery shopping). Same thing with people who live privileged lives—it’s easy to think the money that makes their lives financially easier makes the rest of the issues in their lives easier too—as if an heiress doesn’t have to come into her own and find herself the same way the rest of us do. With Text Appeal I wanted to play with both ideas and show that someone who should ostensibly have an “easy” and “exciting” life doesn’t necessarily have either. So I set my book in Vegas and made my heroine a hotel heiress who is trying desperately to do all the right things and be the perfect daughter.

Vegas was the perfect backdrop for Riley because it symbolized everything she denied herself and was missing in her life—fun, excitement, reckless abandon.

***

“What’d he buy you?” Lacey’s gaze shot to the nondescript, eco-friendly canvas shopping bag on the couch. “Is it in there?”

But before Riley could respond, Lacey was pulling out sexy, sexy leather and Riley’s Inner Naughty Girl was squirming impatiently, saying, Let me try it on. Now!

Lacey’s jaw dropped. “Oh. My. God. This is so hot.” She laid it out on the back of the couch and looked at Riley. “Do I even want to know why my brother bought this for you?” She smiled. “Charlie’s always been sweet on you. If he weren’t my brother, I’d tell you to go act like the young woman you are and have a wild affair.”

Riley thumped her friend’s arm. “I’m with Chaz.”

“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” Lacey said with a shrug.

“Yeah, but I have to live here.”

***

Riley denied herself all the fun things we people who don’t live there think Vegas is all about. And in Text Appeal, she experiences those things not because of where she is but because of who she’s with. Romance doesn’t need a fancy backdrop. It just needs the right guy.

And you know what? I loved writing about Vegas. I spent way too much time online looking at pictures and going to the websites of the hotels and restaurants in the area. I spent a ton of time researching casino security (SO COOL!), drooled over menus and read reviews. It was an amazing secondary experience. I can’t wait to try it first-hand!

Hope to see you there! J

~Lexi

Bio:

NewYork Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Ryan writes adult and new adult romances with humor, heat, and heart. A former college English professor, Lexi now writes full time. A proud member of Romance Writers of America, she lives in rural Indiana with her husband and two children.

Find Lexi Online:

http://lexiryan.com

Facebook: facebook.com/lexiryanauthor

Twitter: @writerlexiryan

Whirlwind Year to Bestselling Author by Raine Miller

So my name is Raine and I write sexy books. I’ll be heading out to Hot Mojave Knights in October for a fun weekend of romance book loving with other like-minded individuals and couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of the event as an author, because just a year ago my writing life was very different from what it is today.

I ’m a former teacher who used to spend all her spare time writing those sexy stories and keeping it a secret when I wasn’t teaching 1st graders how to read. *winks* You can probably figure out why I kept it a secret, can’t you.

So just one year ago something happened that eventually changed my life.

My husband took our two sons away on July 17^th, 2012 for a week at Boy Scout Camp. I love that week every summer when they all go to Boy Scout Camp. It’s my favorite. I love the solitude and know I’ll get a lot of writing done. House stays clean. I don’t have to cook anything unless I want to eat. I can swim in my pool without children splashing around in there. I get to stay up late watching HBO and Showtime without worry that a kid will see what I am watching. *everything I like to watch is inappropriate for children* Basically, I am a very happy woman alone with my free time.

I got right to work with a manuscript that needed some attention. I wrote during the day and then in the evening I combed over stock photo online sights and looked for images that could go onto my book cover. On the second night of my domestic freedom, I found an image that changed everything. It was a beautiful picture of a naked woman posing in an unconventional way but so perfect everything just clicked into place all in an instant. A serendipitous moment. I thought about the picture and what it would be like to be a nude model and meet the man who bought your portrait. My first indie published book was born in that moment with just the seed of an idea and a picture. Naked, The Blackstone Affair Book 1 was that story. I sat down and wrote the opening chapter right then and set aside the other manuscript I was working on. I wrote like a fiend for three weeks until it was done. I couldn’t stop writing and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The whole idea and story pretty much took over the creative writing part of my life.

I was scared to self-publish Naked, because I had only written books for small press publishers and knew next to nothing about how to go off independently all on my own. But I was blessed with the wise words and helpful encouragement from a dear friend and fellow author, Belinda Boring, who got me to press ‘publish’ on KDP back in August of 2012. What happened next was a whirlwind roller coaster ride of crazy that didn’t really stop until after the holidays. The books became bestsellers, landed me the perfect agent, and eventually a traditional publishing contract with Atria Books. It’s all a blur to me now. A crazy, scary, unbelievable blur with Christmas decorations mixed in.

Naked went on to make the New York Times and so did its sequels, All In and Eyes Wide Open, books 2 and 3 of The Blackstone Affair. Nobody was more surprised than I was, and nobody could have told me then, that one year later I would be a full time writer going to book signings and conventions like Hot Mojave Knights for my day job! True Story.

Never give up on your dreams and do those things which make you happy. Meeting readers and sharing the love of a good story is something I will never grow weary of. I can’t wait to meet you in October!

xxoo R

All About Raine Miller.

Raine is a New York Times bestselling author who has been reading romance novels since she picked up that first Barbara Cartland book at the tender age of thirteen. She couldn't stop reading if her life depended on it.  So much so, she turned to writing those sexy books herself.  Granted, Raine's stories are edgy enough to flip Ms. Cartland in her grave, but to her way of thinking, a smoking hot hero never goes out of fashion. Ever! Writing books pretty much fills her days now and she can be found just about anywhere that has white mocha coffees and wi-fi.

Raine Miller
Raine Miller Romance

www.RaineMiller.com