Book Launch Party tomorrow

Hey everyone!

Tomorrow evening, Gemma Halliday is throwing a book launch party for Dreams & Desires: A Collection of Romance & Erotic Tales. Here is all of the information:

Where: Gemma Halliday's chat room
When: February 1stTime: 5-7 PM PST (8-10 PM EST)

See you there!

Marci

Look who's blogging about Dreams & Desires

Hey ladies & gents!

Look who is blogging about Dreams & Desires :

Dionne Galace's blog
Lois Winston over at Caridad Pineiro's blog

Thank you, Dionne, Lois, and Caridad for the plug! :)

Marci

Great reviews

Hi everyone!

We just had some great reviews for five of our books, including the charity anthology. I want to congratulate all of our authors. Here are snippets with links to the full reviews. Oh, and links to the books as well. ;)

Dreams & Desires: A Collection of Romance and Erotic Tales by Jenna Bayley-Burke, Faith Bicknell-Brown, Amanda Brice, Sela Carsen, Rachelle Chase, Gemma Halliday, Candace Havens, Zinnia Hope, Jackie Kessler, Susan Lyons, Richelle Mead, Debbie Mumford, Rhonda Stapleton, Bebe Thomas, Emily Veinglory, Sasha White, Lois Winston, Shaunna Wolf, and Kit Wylde

"One great way to sample this book would be to read one story a night, at bedtime... Thanks is due to the authors and to the publisher for this contribution to stemming the tide of an epidemic of violence against women..."

5 Lips from Frost, Reviewer for Two Lips Reviews
Read entire review.
Buy now!

Conspiracy of Angels by Zinnia Hope

"This is not your usual romance but better because its got faith, love and second chances that will make any reader love it. Zinnia Hope did a beautiful job..."

4 Angels by Lena C., Reviewer for Fallen Angels Reviews
Read entire review.
Buy now!

Stripped by Rhonda Stapleton

"I loved the book and kudos to Rhonda Stapleton for making Stripped enjoyable and a favorite for this reviewer."

5 Angels by Lena C., Reviewer for Fallen Angels Reviews
Read entire review.
Buy now!

The Facility Trip by Ansley Vaughan

"an erotic feast... an excellent chronicle for those who love their erotica with a taste of harshness and a twinge of daring and roguery..."

5 Angels by Rachelle, Reviewer for Fallen Angels Reviews
Read entire review.

"From the opening lines of Ansley Vaughan’s The Facility Trip, I knew I was in for a wild ride... a tense ride for the senses... This was a book that kept me reading, desperate to know what will happen next..."

The Freya Award by Kay Derwydd, Reviewer for Wild Child Publishing
Read entire review.
Buy now!

Soul Haven by Sonya Baines

"Soul Haven is so gripping that this reader couldn’t put it down once I started it... This believable story is full of action-packed entertainment... a clever book that is plausible... heartrending, stirring, and riveting..."

Recommended Read by Linda L., Reviewer for Fallen Angels Reviews
Read entire review.
Buy now!

Congratulations, everyone! We are very proud of you.

Marci

Updated shopping cart, charity anthology and a chat

Wow! So much is going on with Freya's Bower right now. This past weekend, I worked to upgrade the FB shopping cart. This is not the main portion of the site, but the section where you go to buy your ebooks and books. It's much easier to navigate now and more pleasing on the eye.

February 1st is right around the corner. The day the anthology is released. You can purchase the books presale through the shopping cart both in ebook and print format. If you buy a print version, I will include a free bookmark (see the photo along the side) with the purchase.

On February 1st, Gemma Halliday is hosting a bash for the release of the anthology on her website. The authors of the anthology will be there to chat with you. Not only that, there will contests and prizes (books and ebooks). The authors attending are: Gemma Halliday, Lois Winston, Rachelle Chase, Rhonda Stapleton, Amanda Brice, Sela Carsen, Sasha White, Richelle Mead, Jackie Kessler, Kit Wylde, Candace Havens, Faith Bicknell-Brown, Emily Veinglory, Jenna Bayley-Burke, Debbie Mumford, Bebe Thomas, and Susan Lyons.

Date: February 1st
Time: 5-7 pm PST (8-10 pm EST)
Location: Gemma Halliday's chat room, which will be available on the 1st

If you haven't visited our site recently, do so. We have two new titles available: Stripped by Rhonda Stapleton and Something Unexpected by Miranda Heart. I have also added a new menu feature, eBooks by Authors. You can read their bios, find out a little bit about our authors, and how many books they have.

Happy reading!

Marci

Freya's Bower in the press

Our Dreams & Desires anthology has garnered some press attention. To read the first press releases coming out follow this link:

Straus Newspapers

Woo-hoo!

Marci

Preditors/Editors Poll & PRWeb press release available

Hey everyone!

Freya's Bower and Wild Child Publishing have been nominated for best epublishers on the web. Be sure to go and cast your vote here:

http://www.critters.org/predpoll/ebookpublisher.shtml

Kit Wylde told me she nominated WCP just a few minutes ago so it may take another day before it's up. You can only vote until January 14th, so be sure to go and vote soon!

Oh, and our FB charity anthology press release is available at PRWeb. Link to it, check it out, read it and buy the anthology. :D

Marci

Dreams & Desires linked at the Knight Angency

One of the authors in our anthology, Gemma Halliday, is also represented by The Knight Agency. They have kindly listed our anthology as one of their "coming soon" titles. It's only a few more weeks until its release. If you want a print copy by February 14th, be sure to order it early to ensure its timely arrival.

Marci

Cover/release date for Stripped

CoverVan, M.E. Ellis, and I worked together on the cover (okay, I just dug up some of the images...CoverVan did all the work. haha). It's hilarious - you have to read the book to get the references. LOL!

My book will be released January 16!! YAY!!

Rhonda

'A Personal Statement'

Hi all,

I finally got here despite the attempts of Blogger to split my personality and generally confuse me!

I wanted to share with you the cover of 'A Personal Statement' which I've just seen. I think it's wonderful, very cool and sophisticated, which I hope mirrors the book.

Introduction

Hi, all. I hope I'm doing this right. :D

My name is Rhonda Stapleton, and my chick lit novel, Stripped, will be coming out with Freya's Bower this year! YAY!

Here's a blurb about it:

Amanda Thomson, a web designer dissatisfied with her dull life, finds out that Jake Waters, the talentless stripper at the consolation party her friends threw for her when she lost out on a management promotion, got the job she wanted – no, deserved.

And not only is she fighting to prove herself at work, Amanda also has to deal with her meddling Grammy, her mom dating for the first time since her dad’s death, and her sister’s nagging suspicions of a cheating spouse.

Jake just relocated from Chicago and only stripped to his skivvies at Amanda’s party as a favor for a friend. He’s a workaholic single dad, trying to balance work demands while caring for his eight-year-old daughter…and chafing beneath his pushy mother’s influence.

The power struggles and sexual tension increase when Amanda and Jake are forced to work together at a tech conference, and then on an important client’s project. Amanda struggles to believe in her own self-worth. Jake struggles to learn how to balance work and home responsibilities.

And both struggle to get what they want and need from a relationship with each other.

As soon as the cover is ironed out and approved, I'll post it here.

I look forward to participating on this board and getting to know you guys better.

Thanks!

Rhonda

Vote for "Sorcha's Heart"

What a great way to start the New Year! A fabulous new cover for Second Sight, and the cover for Sorcha's Heart up for Book Cover of the Month!

Come one, come all!

Stop by Erin Aislinn's site and VOTE for Sorcha's Heart for December Book Cover of the Month!

Here's a picture to remind you of how beautiful this cover is.

Honestly, am I a lucky woman, or what? I have the most gorgeous covers around! Thank you, M.E., CoverVan, Faith & Marci ...

Now, everyone, go vote!!

(Please ... *g*)

Romance at Heart's been good to me

What a lovely way to end 2006! I just got a fantastic review from Romance at Heart for She's Got Legs and also an interview! Not to mention the stellar review they gave for the Dreams & Desires anthology (I've got a story in there).

The review for She's Got Legs:
http://romanceatheart.com/shortbooks/shesgotlegs.html

The interview:
http://romanceatheart.com/interview/amandabrice.html

The review for Dreams & Desires:
http://romanceatheart.com/review/dreamsanddesires.html

Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's!

Call for Submissions!

Freya’s Bower.com Celebrates Its One-Year Anniversary


To celebrate our one-year anniversary on March 5, 2007, we’re having a call for submissions and offering a nice advance against royalties for the top two manuscripts that fit the following categories.

For general submissions, we’re looking for sweet and/or tangy erotic romance manuscripts of category length (30,001-45,000 words) and longer of any genre. See our guidelines for regular submissions and how we rate sweet and tangy: http://www.freyasbower.com/content/view/12/31/

For our T.R.O.U.B.L.E. line, we’re looking for sweet to beyond sizzling ratings for category length and longer only.

Out of the accepted manuscripts, two will be chosen to receive a publishing contract, a print version of the manuscript six months from eBook release date, and a nice advance against first royalties, which will be discussed upon signing the contract. One winning manuscript will be chosen from the sweet and/or tangy submissions and one will be chosen for our T.R.O.U.B.L.E. line. Second place manuscripts for each of these two categories will receive a smaller advance, but the print option will depend solely on eBook sales.

Other outstanding manuscripts will receive a publishing contract with Freya’s Bower.

T.R.O.U.B.L.E. Guidelines:
(For male or female protagonists)

She’s gorgeous and causes chaos wherever she goes. Perhaps she’s a klutz, a walking disaster. Maybe she has the worst luck imaginable.

For males: He’s dangerous. The bad boy you can’t help but love. Maybe he’s a chick magnet, or maybe he’s the guy flipping burgers at the local diner. Catastrophe and mayhem seem to follow him around.

Use your imagination for the trouble theme. Any ethnicity, any genre welcome.

Protagonists can also be characters such as Valkyries (for our Valkyrie series), werewolves, vampires, wallflowers, etc.

Category length and longer. (30,001-45,000 words.)

Ratings can be from sweet to beyond sizzling for the TROUBLE line, but we are very open to sweet submissions right now.

First person submissions must be well written.

Please read our guidelines http://www.freyasbower.com/content/view/12/31/ for formatting and any questions you might have before submitting.

ATTN: We have also opened an Angels and Demons category. If the angel or demon fits the TROUBLE theme or the sweet and/or tangy rating, these novels are eligible for the top novel decisions.

Final words: Submissions may be semi-rough drafts, but please don’t send something to us that you obviously have not checked over at least once. The key is semi-rough. Send the entire manuscript attached as an MS Word file to submit@freyasbower.com with the word TROUBLE or SWEET/TANGY in the subject line.

Deadline for this call is February 20, 2007. If you have questions email Faith at editorfaith@sbcglobal.net or Marci at mbaun@freyasbower.com

Join me at The Romance Studio!

Hello everyone! I'll be holding a live chat at The Romance Studio tomorrow, December 20th. It starts at 9pm (EST) and the link to the website is http://www.theromancestudio.com. I'll have excerpts, snippets, contests and a lot of Christmas cheer! Bring a friend or several. I always hold a "sneaky-behind-the-scenes" contest. The winner of this one could be the first person to attend; someone who stayed during the entire chat; the one to bring the most friends with them; or, just about anything! I'll be talking about Beyond the Maze and The Goblin, The Witch, and the Single Girl, as well as my soon-to-be released The Learning Curve, which is the first book in my Yesterday's Innocence series of five full-length novels.

Hope to see you there!
Canice

Excellent Reviews from Romance Divas

I'm so excited! C.C. from Romance Divas gave Glass Magic a fabulous 5 Kisses review!!

Ms. Mumford creates a devilishly wicked and wonderfully whimsical character in Red. His antics are humorous and the results are passionate and truly inspired. I have to say that I hope Red plans to play matchmaker again, since these delicious little “bites” from Freya's Bower are perfect treats for readers with a hectic schedule.

Check out her whole review here.

Buy Glass Magic here.

Woo Hoo!!!!! Oh!! And C.C. -- Red is the star of my Dreams & Desires story!!

And for my second piece of good news:

Another fabulous Romance Diva review! Ash Arceneaux gave Sorcha's Heart a 5 Kisses review!

This book is a wonderful addition to any fantasy collection. The characters, situation and conflicts were magical. The last page literally “popped” with a surprise that made me laugh out loud. Sorcha's Heart is a must-read!

Read Ash's whole review here.

Buy Sorcha's Heart here.

Woo Hoo!! Two 5 Kisses reviews for my books!!!!!! Let the cyber-champagne flow!!

Vote for Spirit of Dawn cover

Hey everyone!

This beautiful cover has been nominated as November's Cover of the Month. You can cast your vote here. Be sure to vote our very talented CoverVan.

Spirit of Dawn

Ashkii's wife and infant son died of smallpox, leaving him bereft, yet he must carry out his duties as eldest male of his Navajo clan. Jack Conover has lost faith in love and has resigned himself to a life alone on the ranch. In Spirit of Dawn and Angel of Dawn, each man is comforted by a mystical woman he discovers on the frontier. Who is she? Neither know, but she eases each man's heartache, allowing him to move forward with life.

Rating: Sweet

Book Length: Bites

Read excerpt

Buy Now!

Marci

Selling "used" ebooks

I am on a number of books discussing ebooks. Just last night, one of my lists alerted me to a couple of Word Press blogs that are selling “used” ebooks.

For those of you out there that don’t know, selling a copy of an ebook that you bought is illegal, as is buying a “used” ebook. It is copyright infringement. Buying an ebook does not give a person the right to sell it, give it away, or copy it. When a person does this, they not only break the law, but they hurt the author, the publisher, and readers. How it hurts the author and publisher is obvious, but what about the reader? Think about it, if the author is not making enough royalties from his/her books, she will not be able to write as many or may have to give up writing all together. And a number of publishers have closed their doors from people illegally sharing the ebooks they published. There are many talented authors out there who struggle, in part, because of this type of activity.

If you no longer want that ebook sitting on your PDA or computer, the best and only legal way to get rid of it is to delete it. If you wish to give someone an ebook, buy an extra copy and give it to them that way. Yes, it seems silly, but you will know you are supporting that author, allowing them to continue to write great tales that will amuse you for years to come.

Marci

Update on Dreams & Desires charity anthology

So, I sent the ARC for the charity anthology off to Romantic Times (RT) in hopes they would review it for the March issue. The contact for RT said that she didn't know if it would happen, but if I sent them a blurb for the book, perhaps that could go in. Of course, a review would be optimal, but I'll take a blurb if that's all they will give us. Still, I am pleased. I also sent out an ARC electronically to several online review sites. A number of them have been very supportive and have sent the book to a reviewer already. (I sent it out last night. That's a quick response.)

I am very appreciative at how supportive everyone is being. I know this is an important charity. I truly believe that when we band together, we can make a difference.

Marci

Decimate Released

Decimate: A Horror Anthology

stories contributed by M. E Ellis, Daniel I. Russell, Ian Rochford, Taer, James.. M. Harris, Phaedra Torres, Michael Kay, Amanda DeBord

Eight stunning horror authors in one book; each tells tales that will chill your spine and litter your skin with goose bumps. Creepy clowns, a death by stabbing, macabre acts, and a plant that commits murder—just a few of the tales within these pages that will make you glance over your shoulder when night falls. If you are a horror enthusiast, this book is for you.

Read an excerpt.

Buy now!

Enjoy!

Marci

Dreams & Desires: A Collection of Romance and Erotic Tales

Update

I sent the ARC of Dreams and Desires to Romantic Times for a March review. Cross your fingers, people!

~ ~ ~

As many of you know, Freya's Bower will be releasing its first charity anthology on February 1, 2007 to benefit a battered woman's shelter in Florida. We had an overwhelming turnout for the anthology (18 authors), for which we are truly grateful. The anthology is now some 85,000 words in stories. For the entire list of authors who donated stories, see the right side bar. There are links to their websites.

Although it is not officially released, Barnes & Noble already has it listed on their site in both paperback and hard cover form. We will be offering it in print and ebook format at Freya's Bower. It will be available for purchase through FB on February 1st. Advance sales will be taken come December 15th.

Most of the stories are sweet romance, although we do have a few tangy, spicy, and sizzling.

In other news, Pervalism is now listed at Barnes & Noble in print form. Of course, you can still buy it through Wild Child Publishing in either its ebook or print format.

We are primed to take over the world. Muhahahaha! LOL Uh, yeah. Right.

Marci