Since Sapphire Blue Publishing closed it’s doors and the rights to the Task Force 125 series reverted back to me, I’ve had the team in a holding pattern.  The Path to Freedom is now available exclusively through Amazon.com but I hope to be able to rework A Taste of Liberty and Freedom’s Promise before re-releasing them.  (I won’t regurgitate the whole story.  You can read it here if you like.)  Long story short: the team sits in my notebook.

But I digress…

A reader had a blog assignment today and it was to discuss her “Book Boyfriend”.

She picked Vince Hennessee from The Path to Freedom.

Confession: When somebody says they love one of my characters, I start to feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  I created that and somebody loves it.  It is a very special feeling of pride in a job well done.

Check out what she said about her “Book Boyfriend”, my Vince, here:

http://charlie-quillen.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-book-boyfriend-1.html

* I gave her a spoiler she just had to share about Vince that I know will make quite a few readers piddle.  You’ll have to read her blog to find out what it is.

This is a crappy thing to do for 3 reasons:

1) You’re spamming authors to request an endorsement.  If I promote somebody’s work, I’m endorsing them.  Don’t tell me to spam my associates when I’ve never seen the product and have no knowledge of the author.

Or as my father would say: “Don’t piss on my shoes and tell me it’s raining.”

2) This makes the marketer and the author look bad.

3) You’re treating the author like a chump because you’re making them pay for your so-called marketing expertise which is really just half-assed spam.

Don’t be that marketer.

Don’t be that author.

Email me at LMPietsch@gmail.com if you’re confused.

If you found any value in this, please feel free to share it.

If you’d like a chance to win a free copy of The Marker, be sure to leave an interesting comment!

So let’s get to the interview!

1) What genre do you write and why?

I write across various genres of romance. I love romance, and I love that there will be a happy ending—or at least the illusion of one. Life is hard enough—unpaid bills, screaming kids, flat tires and broken heels. At the end of the day, I want that happy ending, because real life won’t always give me one. I love romance because I know that’s what I’ll get.

For the most part, I write historicals or historical fantasies like steampunk. I have a particular fondness for the Victorian Age. All the adventure and the excitement, the newness of the technology that was going to change the world. The juxtaposition of the very proper, straight-laced Victorians with what I know of the mining towns of the West (and what the Victorians themselves did behind closed doors). These places were rough and tumble towns that make us modern folk look positively tame and chivalrous by comparison. There’s something rich and unique in that.

3) What would you like readers to take away from your stories?

I want my readers to have a good time reading my stories. I think of my stories as being an escape from real life. When they put my book down, I want them to think, “Well, that was fun!”

4) What inspires your stories?

I’ve been inspired by a variety of things. The very first manuscript I ever wrote was inspired by a headstone we found on my parents’ property, underneath an old bush. The Marker was inspired by The World Series of Poker. The steampunk I’ve been working on was inspired by an old map of the mineshafts underneath Virginia City, NV. I’ve even been inspired by a show I watched on food trucks.

5) Will you be attending any book or writing conferences this year? If yes, which ones? Where and when?

I’m hoping to attend RWA Nationals this summer in Anaheim, because it’s so close to me. I’ll also be attending the Emerald City Writers’ Conference in Seattle.

6)  What is your writing schedule like?

Crazy! I usually sit down to write after the kids go to bed, so between 8:00 and midnight. I plot in the car on the way to work, and on the commute home, while I’m making dinner or walking the dog.

7) Do you have any other passions besides writing? If yes, what are they? Why?

I love hiking with the family up in the mountains. The kids like the desert, and I like it, too, but I love the mountains. I love the colors of the trees, and how the landscape changes with the passing seasons. So I guess you could say spending time with the family hiking is probably one of my favorite things to do.

8) What is your best memory?

I have so many good ones.  But I guess one of my favorites is the trip that my husband and I took to England. We were part of a tour set up by one of my professors, and little did we know we’d be going with a bunch of high schoolers! (Husband was 28 and I was 24 at the time). So there we are, trapped on a bus with a bunch of hormonal teenagers, my parents, my professor, and a very bored tour guide. One day, when everyone else on the bus was asleep, I dared my husband to tell jokes over the microphone. So he took the mic from Tim, the tour guide, and told a very dirty joke about Scotsmen and sheep that I’d just told him. Of course, he gave me the rather dubious distinction of telling him the joke, and my parents were aghast. (Which is weird, because they’ve met me)

I laughed until I cried.

Unfortunately for everyone on that bus, I had an entire repertoire of sheep jokes that I’d shared with him, and husband told at least one a day. The best part of it was when M took longer than usual to go up and take the mic. The next thing I know, Tim is on the microphone saying, “Well, it looks like everyone is asleep. M, would you like to come up and tell your joke now?”

The whole bus cheered.

9) What relaxes you?

I like long drives and going someplace I haven’t been before, and hiking in the mountains. I kind of zone out and just live in the moment. There’s something wonderful about that.

10) What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

Typically, I like moody, broody music. Husband calls it my “navel gazing, whiny boy, depression music.” Only, I recently developed a thing for Ke$ha. Imagine his surprise when he came home and I’m listening to a song about “glitter on the floor.”

11) What decade has been your favorite? Why?

I like the 90s. I lived in Europe for about nine months on scholarship, and that was super fun, though I was so broke I once had to make the terrible choice between eating and having beer (beer won. All I can say is I was in college). I also met and married my husband in the 90s. Both things were awesome. It was fun to be young and free and in love. And able to eat whatever I wanted without gaining weight.

But I have to say, right now is pretty fantastic. My kids are getting old enough that we can do things with them, but not so old that they’re embarrassed to hang with their parents. I got my first book published. And husband is cuter now than he was 15 years ago. At least I think so. I’m not sure it’s fair that men get better looking as they age, while I just get older.

12) What is your favorite way to promote your work?

I love interviews. I think they’re a really fun way to let people know about your work and your personality. And it’s always kind of fun to talk about yourself.

13) Where is your favorite place to write? Why?

I write in my bed on the laptop. Usually, husband is beside me, so we can chat and be together, even though we’re doing different things. It’s usually me, the husband and the cat all curled up in the bed together.

14) What is your favorite fairy tale? Why?

I love Sleeping Beauty. Of course I love the old version, but the Disney version is my favorite. Gadzooks, I know. But Mellificent is the best villainess ever. I mean, she’s a moody, aging beauty who, when she gets peeved, breathes fire and turns into a dragon (I had a boss like that once. It got better once she got through “the change.”). But with Mellificient, there’s no messing around with hunters or poison apples or other b.s.. Nope, for Mellificient, when it’s go time, she brings her A game. She’s a go big or go home kind of girl. I want to be like that.

I suspect the husband would argue there are times when I am like that.

15) What was your favorite vacation?

I think the trip to England I mentioned earlier, or the reasons mentioned earlier.

16) If you had another career, what was it?

Actually, writing is my other career.

17) If you didn’t write, what would you do instead?

My house would probably be cleaner, that’s for sure. Um…well, I took up knitting briefly right before I decided I was going to write, so maybe I’d try to get better at that?

18) If you could describe yourself in only one word, what would it be?

Zany?

19) Are you a cat or dog person? Do you have any pets and if so, please tell us about them.

I have both dogs and a poor, maligned cat (I love that cat). They’re generally good pets, though the big dog eats everything in sight. He once ate a travel mug. I’m not sure why since there was a perfectly good sandwich right next to it. I guess my only excuse for him is that he’s not a bloodhound and he’s going blind?

20) What is the one thing you most want to do that you haven’t yet?

I want to go to Tahiti and stay in an overwater bungalow. Husband is desperate to go to Belgium and do a tour of all the breweries (on a bicycle, as if either of us has ridden a bike any time in the last decade. I’m sure that will be pretty when we’ve been visiting breweries all day. If we do that, I’ll stop up on Neosporin and bandaids.). I’d go for either one!

Actually, an adults-only vacation sounds like heaven. I’d go to Sacramento for an adults-only vacation. I’m sure I could find something to do!

21) When the zombies take over, what will you do?

I love this question. The joke in my house is that my plan for the zombiepocalypse is to die. My pretty little self will last about five seconds without modern conveniences. I’d get bitten in half a day. Or, more likely, I’ll be patient zero. Sorry, y’all.

My husband spends entirely too much time thinking about the zombie horde, so I’m sure he and the kids will be just fine without me.

22) Vampire or werewolf?  Why?

Vampires. I’m not into animals (unless they look like Alcide, and then I might make an exception), although I suspect if anyone would understand your monthly moodiness, it would be a werewolf!

28) Please tell us about your most recent release and where we can purchase it.

Here’s the back cover copy:

When her father loses her in a poker game, Lexie Markland is sent to work in the household of Nicholas Wetherby for one year to pay off the debt. Innocent but not naïve, she is savvy enough to know she must maintain her distance from this man who frustrates her with his relentless teasing but whose kisses bring her to her knees. Because although she may be just another conquest to him, the marker he won at the card table, it’s not just her heart in jeopardy should she succumb to Nicholas’ considerable charms.

Since his brother’s death almost a year before, nothing has held Nicholas’ attention for long–not women, not booze, not even an excellent hand at cards. Nothing, that is, until he meets the woman he won in a drunken night of poker. Intrigued by his prize and her chilly reserve, he makes it his mission to crack Lexie’s cool demeanor. But even as passion explodes between them, the question remains: will Nicholas be able to take the ultimate risk… and gamble on love?

Be sure to leave an interesting comment before you go visit Meggan at www.megganconnors.com and go like her Facebook page!

First, I want to thank Lisa for having me on her blog. I have a new book releasing in a few weeks that starts a brand new five books series: The Cursed Clan. The first one features Callum, the laird of the Clan Lennon. While it is a contemporary paranormal romance, the seeds of their curse date back to the Battle of Culloden. One lucky commenter will get a digital copy of the book!

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As Laird, Callum Lennon feels he has always failed to protect his cousins. Callum’s impulsiveness caused the death of his father and the experience has scarred not only his body, but his soul. From that point on, he made sure to always go with the more logical choice in every matter. When his younger cousin Angus finds clues that might help break the curse, Callum begrudgingly hires Phoebe Chilton to investigate. Callum doesn’t like bringing outsiders into their family affairs. Their life would become fodder for the tabloids if anyone were to find out about the curse. It doesn’t help that the instant he meets Dr. Chilton he’s attracted. But, he doesn’t really have a choice because she might be their last hope.

An expert in archeology, Phoebe has always been dwarfed by her parents’ shadow. Their high standards had her in college by thirteen and earning a second PhD by twenty-two. But her career and her broken marriage have left her needing something more than just diplomas and degrees. She wants to prove that her interest in legends, especially Celtic legends, is as important as her parents’ work. When the Lennon family contacts her, she sees the opportunity to win a massive research grant. With a long-time rival breathing down her back, she jumps at the Lennons’ offer her, hoping it will ensure her the grant. But uncovering the Lennon family secrets, and her attraction to Callum, could prove more than she can handle.

Forces outside the family are determined to ensure that they fail. When an old enemy threatens both the well being of the clan and the fragile new love, Callum will have to choose between believing his mind or his heart.

Excerpt:

“I protect what is mine. I’ll not allow you to use Angus.”

She moved away from the counter, her body tense with anger. “I have never used another person, especially in that way. You’ve convinced yourself that I decided to somehow use my considerable wiles on your cousin to somehow gain who knows what.”

When she said it like that, he felt juvenile and petty.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Lennon. I’ll avoid your cousins from now on.”

Which is what he wanted, but at the same time he felt like the lowest form of scum even if it was the best choice. The diary could hold their secrets, and the less she connected to them, the better. They just needed it translated, and for her to leave. As soon as that happened, he would be free of this affliction, he was sure.

“I’ll do my work and take my meals in my room.”
He heard the hurt in her voice. His need to banish Phoebe was as unexplainable as the need to ease her pain. She attempted to brush past him, but he stepped in front of her, blocking her one exit.

“I didn’t say you needed to avoid my cousins.” It was what he wanted, needed, but here he was contradicting his own thoughts, again.

When she looked at him, there was no humor in her gaze, no studied interest as he’d seen before. Now, all he saw was loneliness and he ached.

“No. I’ll finish my task and leave. I know you must have a very good reason, although I can’t understand what it could be. I will respect your wishes.”

Again, she tried to move past him, but he refused to budge. That same fresh scent of her reached his senses, seducing him.  Even as he was reaching for her, his mind was screaming stop. He ignored it, and every other protective instinct. The only thing roaring through his head was to take, to claim.

“It isna my family that has me worried, lass.” The moment he wrapped his hand around her upper arm, her head shot up, surprise lighting her eyes her mouth falling open in surprise. “It seems being around you is no’ good for my peace of mind.”

He jerked her against him. She gasped, the sound filled with both fear and excitement. Arousal spiked and his body craved—demanded—more intimate contact. Knowing it was wrong, even knowing it was dangerous, he bent his head and took possession of her luscious mouth.

 

You can pre-order Callum at All Romace Ebooks today by clicking here!

I’m looking for great writers interested in writing articles about hunting, fishing, sports, adventure, fitness and health. (San Antonio or Texas specific articles are preferred but not required.)  Word counts would be between 500-1000 for magazine articles and 250-500 for website articles.

The magazine is a non-profit venture and I can’t pay per article yet, but I can offer, in exchange, an extensive individualized promotional package for authors interested in promoting their other written works or businesses.

For more information, article guidelines, and suggestions, please email Lisa@SAXtreme.com.

Click on the image to visit SAXtreme online!

Click here to buy now.

Awards:

Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Small Press Contemporary Paranormal for 2006.

Reviews:

“Into a Dangerous Mind is a fast-paced, sexy, intriguing read!  A fresh twist on romantic suspense.

–Jennifer Ashley, USA Today Bestselling author of Immorals:  The Calling

“Gerow has penned a pag-turner, to be sure.  Even though the reader knows who the bad guy is, the author keeps the suspense and tension tight.  The chemistry between Zach and Cassidy is top-drawer and very compelling.”

–Romantic Times BOOKReviews
“Tina Gerow takes us on a wild and exciting ride with Into a Dangerous Mind…  Ms. Gerow sucks you in from the start and keeps you on the edge of your seat from the first sentence to the last.  The action and drama are intense.  You’ll laugh, you’ll cry…  This is an extremely satisfying read with a well developed story and strong, interesting characters.  With this book, settle in for an exciting ride and hold on tight.”

–EURO Reviews

“Grabs readers’ attention immediately…  Ms. Gerow mainatins this interest by crafting believable, likable characters…  Vividly portrays the horror and emotional costs that Cassidy and Zach endure…  A solid story that demonstrates Ms. Gerow is an author to watch.”

–Amanda from Fallen Angel Reviews

“Into a Dangerous Mind is a splendid romantic suspense.  Zach and Cassidy’s chemistry creates sparks that could make a pyromaniac green with envy.  A keeper that sizzles with suspense and romance.”

–Cassandra Buckles, Coffee Time Romance

“The emotion, the drama, the suspense, the hot torrid love making are all part and parcel of this amazing story.  Ms. Gerow weaves modern day dramatic suspense along with strong paranormal elements like a pro.  This new author’s voice is a true pleasure to read and experience.  A truly remarkable story.”

–Teri from Fallen Angel Reviews

Excerpt:

“Dix—come on, I need you to help me secure the witness.”  Zach stood up from his kitchen table and slapped his friend on the shoulder.
Instantly alert, Dix glanced up at Zach.  “Is she in danger?  Is the Reaper back?”
Zach motioned Dix to relax.  “No.  But from the sounds of it, she’s drunk off her ass.”
“From the sounds of it?”
“Don’t ask—I tuned out after they started talking about Mel Gibson’s ass.”  He thought men were bad, but these women had a detailed discussion about the actor’s anatomy like they were discussing a fine piece of art.  He wondered if he had been a topic of discussion as well before she’d gotten so drunk she was broadcasting her every thought.
“Can I finish my pizza and wings first?  And what do you mean they?  Who’s over there with her?” Dix asked around a mouthful of hot wings.
“Her best friend, Kathy.”
Dix stopped with a wing halfway to his mouth.  “Wait—do you mean the really hot blonde who visited her the other day while I was doing the cable guy thing?”
“Down boy, she’s a friend of the witness—remember?”
Dix frantically wiped hot wing sauce off his fingers and inspected his clothes to see if he was wearing any stains.  “But, she is not the witness.  Besides, I’m hoping she has a thing for red heads.”  He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows up and down.
“Okay, stud, but I need to get over there to Cassidy.  She’s broadcasting loud enough for the whole west coast to hear—including the Reaper.”
Dix seemed to have forgotten he didn’t believe in psychic abilities.  “I thought you taught her how to put up blocks or shields or whatever you call them.”
“I did, but she’s drunk, which lowers the inhibitions and usually the shields.”  Zach picked up his Glock 9mm off the bar and tucked it into his waistband at the small of his back, pulling his T-shirt over it so it wouldn’t show.  The Glock was like his American Express card—he never left home without it.
Five minutes later, Zach rang Cassidy’s doorbell and hoped the women heard it over the gales of drunken female laughter.  “Cassidy,” he yelled through the door.  “Open up, it’s Zach and Dix.”
He heard the chain slide open, the deadbolt unlock, a thump and then a click, which unlocked the door handle.  “Come in.”  Cassidy spread each word into two sing-song syllables.
Zach opened the door and immediately figured out what the thump had been—Cassidy lay on the floor giggling.  “Cassidy, what are you doing down there?  Are you okay?”  He reached down and helped her up.
She leaned heavily on him.  “Perfectly,” she said with the careful enunciation of the intoxicated.
Dix walked over to the couch to look for the second source of giggling.  Kathy crawled on her hands and knees diligently searching for her shoes—which Zach noted were still on her feet.  Zach heard Dix’s thoughts about Kathy’s mini-skirt and what wonderful things it exposed by riding up.  He cleared his throat and looked over at Dix.
“Right, I’ll help Kathy up.”  Dix pointed to her.
Zach struggled to keep Cassidy upright, mostly because she kept leaning over trying to look at his butt.
“I bet yours is as good as Mel’s.”
Zach ignored the comment.  “Why don’t we get you to bed, Cass?  I’ll get you some aspirin and a glass of water.”
“Are you coming to bed with me?”  She twined her arms around his neck and pressed the long line of her body against him.
“Come on, Cassidy, I don’t think you’re up for anything like that right now.”  He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “You’re drunk and have dropped all your shields and the Reaper and half the neighborhood are probably picking up everything you’re thinking.”
Cassidy pulled back, her eyes glistening with unshed tears and pain.  He felt like a heel, but his comments seemed to have sobered her better than anything else he could’ve done.  “Damn you, Zach.  You won’t even let me forget for one night, will you?”  She pushed further away from him, anger and hurt making her steadier on her feet.
“You’re used to dealing with death and danger and fear and mind rapes and God knows what else, but I’m not.  I’m terrified Brian is going to find me and I won’t be able to protect myself, besides the fact I don’t know if I can stand to feel more women die.”
She swiped brusquely at her tears with the back of her hand.  “And most of all, I feel guilty—guilty for being alive while Tia and all the others are dead, and guilty for being glad it wasn’t me.”
Zach stepped toward her and took Cassidy in his arms.  She melted against him as her tears flowed.  “Shhh, it’s okay.”  He put his shields up for both of them and fervently hoped neither the Reaper nor Kathy had heard the exchange.

Click here to buy now.

See any similarities between Alexa Wolf and Sarah Stevens?

So I got laid off.

Some time ago I made the decision to put all my writing eggs into the Sapphire Blue Publishing basket.  Loyal?  Yes.  Savvy?  Not so much.  Luckily, when they closed their doors they returned all of the authors’ rights immediately and let us walk away with our books and cover art.

That opened the door to self-publishing.

Many of my colleagues from Sapphire Blue Publishing are pursuing a mix of publishers and self-publishing but I realized this was a great opportunity for me to be completely independent.  I knew great editors and graphic artists and I’d have the opportunity to rework some books I’d admittedly rushed through production.

The Path to Freedom

The Path to Freedom was my first full manuscript and my first published novel.  Tina Gerow did the editing on it and I love it just the way it is.  The 2008 version remains unchanged and is now available in electronic formats for 99 cents.  It will soon be available in paperback from Amazon.com.

A Taste of Liberty

Sarah Stevens wins the lottery (so to speak) in this story but there is so much more to the story that the reader doesn’t know.  I rushed this story when I should have taken my time and expanded on the details.  They’re worth telling and readers deserve to know them.  I’ll begin expanding this book to double it’s original size in January and hope to have some talented editors help me polish it for a February publication in electronic and paperback.

Freedom’s Promise

Another story I rushed through.  I should mention why.  While I was working on these two books, my marriage was falling down around me.  I was desperate to create something of my own and tried to do it too quickly while everything else crumbled.  It wasn’t an easy place to write from.  It isn’t easy writing happily ever afters when what you thought was yours turns out to be a steaming pile of shit.  So I’d like to work on this story too.  Ideally, I’d expand on it in March and have my editor friends help me polish it in April.  Then I’d release something with twice the original story in both electronic and paperback.

Stealing Liberties

The fourth installment in the Task Force 125 series was to be my very best work yet.  It was under contract with SBP but not yet complete when they closed their doors.  I have a hardcopy riddled with notes and bleeding red ink everywhere.  The first draft was good but the final is going to be fantastic.  Things happen in this story that loyal readers would never have imagined.  Even I couldn’t believe most of them but, as any writer will tell you, there comes a time when you need to surrender to the muse holding a gun to the back of your head.  So I did.  Then life happened and I had to tuck the manuscript away for a while.

That’s when I met a character I’d written.  He wasn’t just any character either.  He was supposed to be a minor character that would be killed off.  You know the kind, the Star Trek Ensign that beams down with the landing party.  The guy who dies so the story can move along.  But once I wrote him, I couldn’t kill him.  I wrestled with it for three days but he’d become integral to Sarah’s story.  Oddly enough, the man I met six months later would become integral to mine as well.  Unfortunately, fact and fiction didn’t run parallel for me and Sarah.  Regardless, this episode in Sarah Stevens’ story must be told.

Why so much detail, you ask?

Because I’m doing this completely on my own and it helps to have someone to talk to at the end of the day, even if it is just a blog.

There are stories here that must be told, people here you have to meet, and events that will change lives.  I have the stories and I have all the words but delivering Sarah Stevens’ stories in a comprehensive manner means I need editors – few authors can deliver a book worth reading without them.  I also need cover art and that means staying true to the other covers in the series and staying with the same artist.

So I took a stab at a Kickstarter campaign.  Pledges were generous but they weren’t enough to meet my goal so I never saw any of them (kickstarter being an all-or-nothing proposition).

This is why some artists live in shabby little lofts, go without food and heat and scrape together what money they can to buy supplies to feed their muse.  Canvas, paper, paint, ink, frames, covers…all food for the muse no matter what your form of expression may be.  So, with a week left to 2011, and stories that must be told, I find myself changing strategies.  I can do this myself.  It will a great deal of time and much work, but it can be done and, in the end, it will be mine.  It should make a hell of a story when I’m gone too!

It isn't the toppings that kill me, it's the crust.

Have you ever eaten too much junk and felt lousy the next day?

Feeling fat and bloated from too much starch from pizza yesterday, I blogged today at Xtreme Transformations (the official blog of my frumpy to fit transformation) about how I’m ready for a cleansing fast. Today is my first day. This article from Mark’s Daily Apple explains just where I’m hoping to go with this fast.

Click here to read about it.

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What genre do you write and why?

I write romance because the world needs more Happily Ever Afters.  Since even the mystical need love, I enjoy writing paranormal romance.

Are you aware of any themes that run through your stories? If so, what are they?

I find the continuing theme in my books and short stories is that, you can be more than you realize.

What would you like readers to take away from your stories?

I’d like readers to read a book of mine and sigh with satisfaction when they’re finished.

What inspires your stories?

How much space do you have? I usually start off thinking “what if” and go from there. For example here’s an opening line from a short story sci-fi piece I once did: I once thought walking along an asphalt oval surrounding a sedate neighborhood in a rural county side to be harmless. (she’s kidnapped by aliens after this) I got this idea walking along an asphalt oval surrounding my sedate neighborhood in a rural county side.

Will you be attending any book or writing conferences this year? If yes, which ones? Where and when?

For this year I’ve finished, but I plan on attending the Lori Foster and Dianne Castell Reader & Author Get Together the first weekend in June, the North East Ohio Romance Writer of America conference in May, and the Central Ohio Fiction Writers conference sometime in September.

Do you have any book signings or author appearances coming soon? If yes, where and when?

My books are all e-books so doing a face to face signing is difficult, but I’m signed up with Kindle-graft to do cyber signings.

What is your writing schedule like?

I get up a couple of hours before the household inhabitants and work, then stay up a couple of hours after they go to bed at night. That’s my idea schedule; most times I grab as much writing time in a day as possible.

Do you have any other passions besides writing? If yes, what are they? Why?

I love sewing and designing my own clothes and cruising on the big ships with the hubby. It allows me to wear the eveningwear I’ve crafted, and it permits us to grab some much need “us” time. Yes, I take my notebook and write, too.

What is your best memory?

A two week cruise with hubby over Valentine’s Day. I did not want to leave the ship when it was over.

What is your favorite comfort food?

Warm fresh bread with real butter.

What relaxes you?

Music and if you throw in a glass of wine or some rum that helps, too.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

Sleeping.

What decade has been your favorite? Why?

This last one has been pretty good with the release of my first book and my other books.

What is your favorite way to promote your work?

On-line! I can be creative, witty, and charming in interviews, chats, and blogs, all the while still wearing my PJs.

Where is your favorite place to write? Why?

Kitchen table it gets the best light and I can keep an eye on what’s going on in the house.

What is your favorite fairy tale? Why?

Cinderella – because she rose from ashes to find her prince.

What was your favorite vacation?

A two week cruise covering the East & West Caribbean over Valentine’s Day.

If you had another career, what was it?

Lion tamer, oh, no, wait, I was a housewife raising our children while hubby was out on the road trucking. Well, technically I still a housewife and he’s still trucking so I can stay home and write.

If you didn’t write, what would you do instead?

I’d be miserable if I couldn’t write, guess I’d still be doing temp-secretarial work.

If you could have one wish, what would it be?

That no child in America would go to bed hungry, thirsty, or abused.

If you could describe yourself in only one word, what would it be?

Loyal

Are you a cat or dog person? Do you have any pets and if so, please tell us about them.

Mostly a dog person, but at one time we had 30 birds, 4 dogs (showed two in conformation & obedience), 3 cats, a house rabbit, and some fish. We’re now down to two dogs, a Jack Russell and a Basset Hound who are my best four legged friends ever. I’ve had some wonderful dogs over the years but these two are so a tuned to me it’s scary sometimes.

What is the one thing you most want to do that you haven’t yet?

Write that book that takes off and becomes a Best Seller.

When the zombies take over, what will you do?

Blast away with my zombie ammo, hopefully making many lethal head shots. I really don’t like zombies.

Vampire or werewolf?  Why?

Vampire, oh, my, yes, tall, dark, handsome, and they love to neck. Being a dog person the werewolf is a little too kinky for me.

Please tell us about your most recent release and where we can purchase it.

“33 Days Til Christmas” is about Zipporah (Zippy) Campbell a terminally ill woman who helps the Archangel Gabriel find his Christmas Spirit again. There are plenty of twist, turns, and someone out to do Zippy harm.

Get friendly with J. Paulette Forshey online!

Website: www.jpauletteforshey.com

Twitter: @ForsheyJ

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/paulette.forshey

Click here.

With the closing of Sapphire Blue Publishing, the Task Force 125 books are now out of publication.

I’ve self-published The Path to Freedom and it is available in all electronic formats for 99 cents at Smashwords.

I want to rewrite A Taste of Liberty and Freedom’s Promise to novel length and the 4th book, Stealing Liberties, is ready for editing.

Help put Task Force 125 back in action!

If I can get the Kickstarter support, I can self-publish all 4 books in electronic, audio and paperback!

Use the share buttons below

and tell your friends about my #kickstarter project http://kck.st/u2P1PE

OK, I know I’ve been neglecting my blog for months now but, seriously, you wouldn’t believe it all if I told you!

So here’s the quick and dirty:

Sapphire Blue Publishing has closed its doors.  The rights to all of my books and their covers have reverted to me and I am self-publishing the Task Force 125 books.  I started today with The Path to Freedom.  As you can see by the title of this blog, it is only 99 cents.  This book may have gone into a few more hands if it hadn’t been priced so high for so long but I guess we’ll see.  If you thought you might like to read it but $6 was too high, please check it out now.  You can read the first 20% of the book absolutely free and if that doesn’t grab you then you shouldn’t read the rest of it anyway.  If it does, I feel fairly safe in saying you’ll really enjoy the rest of it for only 99 cents! 

If you do like it, please be sure to tell all your friends because when Sapphire Blue Publishing closed that meant I was laid off from my full-time job.

Easy come, easy go, right? 

My plan is to rework the 2nd book in the series, A Taste of Liberty, which is currently only 40,000 words, into 70-80,000 words.  There were so many things happening in that story that were glossed over that’s I’d really like to take readers through.  I have a beta reader and some great editors lined up so I’m hoping to have an expanded and much better book to follow The Path to Freedom within the next few months.

My original plan was to have free short stories available between these novels.  Now that I’m self-publishing and handling the timing myself, I can finally do that.  In fact, I’m really looking forward to that!

Freedom’s Promise will also be reworked.  There’s more to that story I should let you all in on too.

The 4th book in the Task Force 125 series, Stealing Liberties, is still a manuscript but I am really excited about digging into that one and finishing it up.  I can honestly say it is my best work yet.  There are some new characters in Stealing Liberties that I think you’ll like.  In fact, after writing one of the characters, I met a guy just like him.  Sadly, I think he was looking for Sarah Stevens and I wasn’t quite enough like her.

That leads me to the next big piece of news: another thing that is changing is ME!

I’ve finally committed to achieving a lifelong dream of competing in a figure competition.  Needless to say, I’m nowhere near ready!  Luckily I have nearly a year to prepare and I have a phenomenal trainer, named Jonathan Acosta to kick my ass when I need it.  You can check out my transformation blog here: http://xtremetransformations.wordpress.com/.

So now you’re up to date!

1. I’ve recently had a huge block of time cleared (40 hours a week).
2. I’m really excited about self-publishing my books and getting back into some heavy duty writing.
3. I’m losing weight and looking better every day.

If you haven’t done it yet, please go check out The Path to Freedom.

If you have read it, and hopefully enjoyed it, thank you for reading it and please leave a comment below.

This guest blog is by my longtime friend and one of my favorite writers, Heather Long.  I know you’ll enjoy it!

First let me thank Lisa for letting me show up to share my hot guy with a gun this week.  Last month, I released Marshal of Hel Dorado in eBook, this month it’s available in print.  Marshal of Hel Dorado is the first book in my new Fevered Hearts series that follows the lives and loves of two families: the Kanes of Dorado and survivors of the spirit fever.

The great thing about Marshal of Hel Dorado is it began with the simple idea of telling a story without modern conveniences like cell phones, cars or the Internet.  I reached back into Texas history because cowboys are always hot, right?  And what better leading man would you want than a Marshal?  Needless to say, this little idea mushroomed into something much larger.

Sam Kane

Sam Kane is the eldest son and the Marshal of Hel Dorado.  He focuses his attention on keeping his town safe and quiet.  The son of Jebediah Kane, a powerful local rancher, Sam appreciates the good life, but understands you have to work your ass off to get it.

When a group of thieves pick his town to rob, Sam discovers there’s more to his world than drunken cowhands, stingy town businessmen and fussy churchwomen.

To protect his fiery haired prisoner, Sam will have to be ready to take on the town, the posse, the army and her brothers.

Think he’s up for the challenge?

The trading card says it all.  But the best part of telling Sam and Scarlett’s story was introducing readers to their families.  To Sam’s brothers:  Micah, Jason and Kid and Scarlett’s brothers:  Wyatt, Cody, Rudy, Buck, Noah, Jimmy and Ike.

About Marshal of Hel Dorado

In the shadows of the Old West, that untamed land, live bands of outlaws and outsiders. In a time when fevers could fell whole towns, these few survivors are marked. Marked…and forever changed. Sam Kane is the oldest brother, the steadfast son and the confidant marshal. He’s never met a problem to hot to handle until a gang behind a string of robberies across the territory set their sights on his town. Now with the bank’s gold inexplicably missing from a locked safe, the town hunting the elusive thieves and a passionate redhead with a fiery secret in his jail, Sam has his hands full.

Scarlett Morning Star lived in seclusion in the mountains of West Texas most of her life. She longs for adventure, but with seven very protective older brothers, adventure is hard to come by. When she tags along uninvited on their latest escapade, she is left behind during a bank robbery and finds herself in the custody of the very sexy town marshal.

The town wants to lynch her, the Marshal wants answers and her brothers want her back, can Scarlett keep it together or will her explosive secret burn them all? Her life. His badge. Their fight.

Read the first chapter on Heather’s website and keep up with her latest releases and more hot guys with guns in the months to come.

I’ve really bared myself in a big way.

But first, SAXtreme Magazine was launched on Sunday, November 13th.  This project is a partnership with John Knotts.  We started working on it in September and, in unheard of timing, we managed to publish our first issue in November.  I’m very excited about this magazine and look forward to publishing an even bigger issue in January 2012.  please click on the image and check it out.  The magazine is free!

Click on the image to visit SAXtreme online!

And now on to my public exposure…

Jonathan Acosta of Get Sexy San Antonio has agreed to train me.  I have approximately 361 days before the next Lackland Classic Bodybuilding Competition in which I have publicly committed to compete in the Women’s Figure competition.  (So I really need to BRING IT!)  I’m blogging my progress the whole way as well as writing articles for the magazine on it.  In my blogs I bare my soul and my measurements.  (Talk about painting yourself into a corner, huh?)

Click on the pic below to check it out!

Click on the image to follow my transformation!

Want to have lots of fun and play for a chance at an iPad ereader and tons of goodies? Join me and a dozen other talented paranormal authors (lucky 13!) at Sam Cheever’s fifth annual Trick or Treating Bash on a street near you!  Some of your favorite paranormal authors live on Sam’s street, and they will be waiting by the door with tricks and treats for you.  The lucky winner gets a Halloween Bag with an iPad e-reader in it, books, t-shirts, candy, and other wonderful prizes from the authors who live on Sam’s street.  There will also be a bonus prize for one lucky winner from AuthorIsland.com!

To play, visit Sam’s Halloween Contest page at http://www.samcheever.com/Halloween_Contest_2011.html from October 15^th through October 31^st for instructions and to get started.

**If you have trouble with the above link, you can access the contest through Sam’s Contest page on her website: www.samcheever.com.

Only one trip down the street per contestant and you must be at least 18 to play!

Come and join the fun and play for a chance to win an iPad and a bag of goodies. You might be surprised to learn who lives on Sam’s street!

November 2011

Just 3 years after my first novel was published, I’m embarking on another great adventure – Magazine Publishing!

I’m still writing books but when John Knotts suggested we go into the magazine business and showed me the business plan he had for it, I felt it was time.

I don’t know about you, but my life is made up of a series of adventures.  Each one begins simply enough with a friend making what seems to be a simple suggestion or request.  I say “Sure!” (because I’m always up for anything that doesn’t involve swinging from a rope by my ankles or neck.)  And once I agree, the adventure begins.

It is much like I imagine surfing to be…

I hop on, paddle a little, and think “Wow!  What a great day!  I’m so happy to be out here.”

Then a swell comes up and it’s all I can see.  “Holy shit!”  I tense up, hold on tight and get over it.

Once I get to the other side, I think “Hey, that wasn’t so bad!  This is fun.”

Then the second half begins when you turn around.  That’s when you start mainlining adrenaline.

The biggest swell you ever saw is picking you up and you either ride it or it takes you down and swallows you whole.

Now, mind you, I’ve had a few adventures in my life so I know how these things go.  The big rewards come with the big risks.  The bigger the wave, the more deadly.  I know this and yet I choose to take these calculated risks.  It could be genetic – every Thibault I know is batshit crazy for this sort of thing. 

Now back to the wave…

You chose to do it.  You can’t just look like an ass and float like dead wood out there all day.

You have to hit it.  You have to stand up and, by Jesus, you gotta ride it.

That’s the scary part.

That’s the part that makes you giggle when you survive it.

So far, I’ve survived them.  Now I’m back up on a wave mainlining adrenaline.  I hope it doesn’t eat me.

Please check out SAXtreme Magazine

at www.SAXtreme.com.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Me in 2009

Name: Lisa Pietsch

Genre: Action/Adventure

Home town: Originally Sabattus, Maine.  Currently Denver, Colorado. (Now San Antonio, Texas)

Home on the web (official website, face book, myspace etc etc)

Website: www.LisaPietsch.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lisa.pietsch

Twitter: twitter.com/LisaPietsch

Past material: The Path to Freedom

Sarah Stevens is a washed-up military cop whose life is a shambles until she is offered a position as an agent with the CIA. 

The thirty-year-old, overweight, down-on-her-luck Stevens goes to a secret training camp where she is transformed into a sexy and deadly agent whose mission is to stop, by any means possible, the financiers of terrorism against the United States and its allies.

Sarah soon discovers that this is an exciting new life loaded with adventure, danger and temptations…

Current project: Various stages of editing on books 2, 3, and 4 in the Task Force 125: American Swift series begun with The Path to Freedom.

Places where books are available for purchases: www.Sapphirebluepublishing.com, www.bn.com and www.amazon.com.

How did you get your start in writing? 

I sat down at my computer, opened Microsoft Word and wrote.

Who are your biggest  influences:

Ian Fleming and John LeCarre

What is your biggest inspiration when creating? 

My dreams.  I see them like movies and then write them down.

Could you give us the details of your current project?

A Taste of Liberty: Sarah Stevens finally has a life.  Instead of the same old life with no man around who is worth the energy, now she has three!  One she loves but cannot have, one she can have but cannot love, and another who wants her and doesn’t care if she loves him.
What’s a girl to do?

Freedom’s Promise: When one of their own is taken hostage and the Agency turns its back, the members of American Swift must take matters into their own hands.  This time they’re off the clock and on their own.

What is the next goal you would like to achieve with your writing? 

I would like to see The Path to Freedom made into a movie starring Vin Diesel and Hugh Jackman but, while I’m waiting, I’d like to finish writing all seven books in the Task Force 125: American Swift series.

When the zombies take over the world where will you be?

I’ll be the crazy side gunner wearing black battle dress and combat boots in the last Blackhawk flying, blowing heads off the dead while I smoke Marlboros to mask the stench.

Jedi, Ninja, vampire, were-wolf, pirate, fairy or Spartan?

Spartan.  You might take me down but I won’t flinch and I’ll take 10-20 of you with me when I go.

What one piece of art, be it music, book, film or picture, do you think people must experience before they die?

Any child singing a song, any song.

Lisa, 2011

Give one fact that most people would not believe about you?

I have not yet taken over a small island nation.  It is on my list but I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

*Note* It is 2011 and I STILL have not taken over that island nation but I am collecting some fantastic pirate friends who will no doubt be up to the task with just a few more years of grooming.  Bora Bora, here we come!

So, my darlings…

When the zombies take over the world where will you be?