Thank you so much to everyone who nominated me! And if you'd like to see the categories and vote, you can do that over at Sinfully.
Sinfully's annual Readers Choice Awards are going on now, and I'm so excited to be nominated for Debut Author of the Year! It was such fun news to wake up to this morning. Last week in round 1, readers nominated their favorite books, authors, and series in several categories, and the top 20 went on to round 2, which is where we are now. The top 10 from round 2 will go on to round 3 where the final vote will be taken.
Thank you so much to everyone who nominated me! And if you'd like to see the categories and vote, you can do that over at Sinfully.
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January isn't my favorite month - taking down the Christmas decorations and returning to real life and the cold weather are all a bit of a let down. 2016 is already a week old, so it seems like a good time for an update (though with as late in the day as this is posting, I think we can all see how hit or miss my hope to stay more on top of things in the new year is...). First, writing! Edits for The Scholar's Heart, the third Tale of Tournai and Etan and Tristan's story, will be starting soon. Some people have been asking about this book, especially after reading The Artist's Masquerade because I did something a little mean to these guys and made Etan sad. But I do fix it. I promise! I'm also writing the fourth Tale of Tournai now and hoping to get much closer to completion before edits start and I have to begin juggling my time between writing and editing. This is a story I had no plans to write, but the characters kind of demanded it. After I finished writing The Prince's Consort, I had a rough idea whose stories I would tell, and I knew that I would be following Prince Philip's family, but there are also other stories of Tournai that need to be told, and this is one of them. If you've read The Prince's Consort, you've met both these characters: Savarin, a powerful sorcerer who is too handsome and even more intimidating, and Loriot, stoic captain of the royal guards who isn't easily intimidated by anything except magic. It's been different and fun writing these two, and I hope you'll enjoy their story too. I'll post some snippets of both The Scholar's Heart and the new story soon.
As for reading, leading up to Christmas I dove into holiday romances, but at New Year's I stared to read other books again. And I chose really well for my first books of 2016 because I've enjoyed them all: A Seditious Affair by KJ Charles - A wonderful historical romance that draws on some history many don't know well and makes it integral to the story. It's a romance between a radical seditionist and a Tory working for the Home Office trying to find seditionists. There were times I wondered how KJ Charles would pull this one off but I loved how she did. You probably can read this one without having read the first in the series, but I loved the first as well so it's worth reading. Tied to Trouble by Megan Erickson - A fun, sexy, sweet contemporary which will convince any doubters that bow ties are sexy as well as cool. It's part of a series but I haven't read the others yet so I think it works fine on its own. Third Solstice by Harper Fox - Also part of a series but this one you should definitely start at the beginning of. It's a contemporary paranormal series filled with Cornish myth and legend. I love Harper Fox's writing, and I love the characters in this series - Lee and Gideon are wonderful. Shield Mate by Eresse - This is the seventh book in an imaginative fantasy series. The author has been releasing one book in the series each year, and I always look forward to them. Another one that you should probably start at the beginning with because the stories definitely overlap. I've just started Unnatural by Joanna Chambers, and I'm enjoying it too. What have you been reading in 2016? A couple of quick promo things: The Artist's Masquerade is featured on Ki Brightly's blog today, and I'm sharing an excerpt. Also Dreamspinner Press is having a 30% off sale on paranormals, and The Prince's Consort is included along with a lot of other great books. Today is the last day of the sale, so don't miss it. Fellow Dreamspinner author Meg Harding is visiting today on the blog tour for her new book, Fixer-Upper. Welcome, Meg! Ex-business owner and soon to be ex-husband Jake has had some rotten luck of late. His world is tumbling down around him, but it’s time to dust himself off and move on. Buying and fixing up the most dilapidated home he can find might be just the thing to get him back on track. But Jake gets more than he bargained for when he meets former lawyer turned landscaper Dakota. Dakota is smart and ridiculously sexy—and Jake doesn’t have a clue how to act around him. After several gardening mishaps, Jake is sure Dakota thinks he’s completely inept. Turns out Dakota is thinking something else entirely. And as Dakota gives Jake advice, an ear to listen, and helps him work through his issues, Jake realizes flowers aren’t the only thing blooming between them. 22,585 words Contemporary Romance Published by Dreamspinner Cover by AngstyG Buy links: Dreamspinner / All Romance / Amazon / Barnes & Noble ExcerptThere was a truck already parked out front when he got there, the back of it loaded down with equipment. He parked, and as he stepped from the car, a short blond man rounded the corner. “Hello,” called the man, striding quickly over. “I’m Jasper, your landscaper. I’ve just been checking the place out.” He shook Jake’s hand. He had a steady grip. “Quite the fixer-upper you’ve got here. My partner and I will really have some fun with this.” “Your partner?” asked Jake, looking behind Jasper. “He should be getting here any minute now. He’s bringing the trailer.” “Oh,” said Jake, and then, remembering his manners, said, “I’m Jake. Nice to meet you.” Jasper smiled at him, revealing a crooked incisor. “Nice to meet you too.” A truck pulled up, and another after that, and still another. Jasper walked off, and Jake turned to greet the construction crew as they piled out of their trucks. There were so many of them, and Jake knew he’d have a time of keeping their names down. The head of the crew was a tall man named Lincoln, who had a thick beard and not one strand of hair on the top of his head. Lincoln had Jake walk him through the house and explain in detail what he wanted done. He looked at him like he was a bit insane, but he didn’t say anything, just nodded and asked questions when he had them. “Who’s your carpenter?” Lincoln asked at the end of the tour. Jake blinked. “I haven’t got one yet. I was going to wait till you were done.” Lincoln shook his head, pulling out a pad and pen from his back pocket and starting to scribble. “Get someone now. Walk them through and explain what you want. It’ll take time to build the stuff, but most of it will be ready by the time we’re done. More efficient that way.” He ripped the first page off the pad and handed it over. “Here’s a number for a guy I know. God’s gift to man when it comes to woodworking. Give him a call.” The handwriting on the paper was almost illegible, but Jake nodded. “I will.” He’d look him up when he went home. “I’d get the roofers in right away as well, if you haven’t already got them.” Jake pocketed the number. “The roofers are starting tomorrow.” They’d had to finish up another job first. “You really picked a wreck,” noted Lincoln as they walked out into the front yard. “I know.” A wreck it may have been, but the inspectors hadn’t said it needed to be torn down. Jake had been unable to contain the small surge of pride when they’d declared it to be of sound build. The painters came over, and Lincoln walked off. Jake took them over the outside of the house and briefly talked about some of his ideas for the inside—which would have to be done once everything else was finished. “I’ve got someone coming to fix the eaves and whatnot later this week. Will you be good to start with them like this?” he asked. “Yeah, it’ll be fine,” answered Josh, the head painter. “Perfect,” said Jake. “If you need an extra hand, I’d be more than happy to help with the painting.” Josh side-eyed him. “Sure,” he said. “I’ll let you know.” Jake watched him walk away with the feeling he wasn’t going to be asked to aid in the painting at any point in time. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he surveyed the crumbling house and the overgrown yard, all the people milling about preparing themselves for work. He needed to be doing something. It was an ache in his bones, an itching in his skin. His gaze drifted, searching… searching…. There. Two riding mowers sat side by side on the sidewalk. He could do that. He was perfectly capable of mowing the lawn. With a quick stride, he made his way over to the mowers. He didn’t know where Jasper had gotten to, but he figured he’d be back eventually. He’d never actually mown a lawn before, but he didn’t think it could be that hard. Circling the mowers, he examined them with a close eye. “Can I help you?” asked a deep, husky voice. About Meg: Meg Harding is a graduate of UCF, and is completing a masters program for Publishing in the UK. For as long as she can remember, writing has always been her passion, but she had an inability to ever actually finish anything. She’s immensely happy that her inability has fled and looks forward to where her mind will take her next. She’s a sucker for happy endings, the beach, and superheroes. In her dream life she owns a wildlife conservation and is surrounded by puppies. She’s a film buff, voracious reader, and a massive geek. Find Meg at: Wordpress / Twitter / Facebook / Dreamspinner / Amazon / Google + / Goodreads I meant to write this post ages ago, to say something profound, or at the very least list out some of my favorite reads of 2015 for you because that's always fun (favorite book lists provide me with so many more books to add to my wishlist - if only my budget could handle buying them all), but time got away from me. Which I suppose is appropriate because time seems to have gotten away from me a lot in 2015. It's a bit of theme. I can't quite believe it's New Year's now, which is a sentiment you're probably tired of hearing from me. I feel like as seasons changed and holidays popped up I always felt behind this year. And things got away from me too sometimes and I scrambled a bit to catch up. In any case this would be why my post today is a bit less impressive than I'd hoped it would be.
But I do want to take a minute to reflect some on the year that just ended. 2015 had its ups and downs, its wonderful moments and not so wonderful ones. I'm very grateful for so much that happened this year and very proud. I signed my first publishing contract and saw my first two books published. Signing that first contract was a giddy, brilliant feeling I never could have imagined before. Holding my books in my hands was amazing too. I dove into the process, worked hard, and learned a lot along the way. And acknowledged that I still have a lot to learn. I'm proud of those two books, and I'm grateful for everyone who has supported me in my quest to become a published author and everyone who has bought my books, read them, reviewed, let me know you enjoyed them. You are all wonderful. I'm grateful too for all all the wonderful books I've read that have given me hours of enjoyment and all the new authors I've discovered. Which if I wasn't so scattered I would have listed for you here. (Can I blame the craziness surrounding the holidays and a book release? Or would that just be excuses?) And now I'm looking ahead to a new year. I have one book slated for publication in 2016 already, and I hope to have more. I hope to write more books than last year. Actually it would be great if I could manage to write a little faster, or at least procrastinate a little less. It's something I'll work on this year, right along with not letting time get away from me so much. I'm not one for resolutions because they're so easy to break, but I do like the idea of starting new in a new year. I like the feeling of hope that a new year brings. I always have. I'm hoping for good things in 2016, for me, for you, for everyone. So happy new year. I wish you happiness, health, and all good things in 2016! |
AuthorAntonia is a writer and a reader and a copy editor/proofreader. She loves books, travel, art, photography, baking, pasta, and shoes. Archives
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