If you’ve been around lately, you’ll know how busy I’ve been writing and editing.
But what you might not know is I have two new releases and a sale that include romance for just about everyone!
It’s been a long time since I last wrote something non-spicy—not since All Good Stories, in fact.
So if you like wholesome love stories, you’ll enjoy my story in the new Romance Cafe anthology Snowed In With You.
“Lost and Found,” is a sweet, loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
Chevonne is hiking on a deserted trail when the snowstorm hits. Her dog runs off when she twists her ankle and falls, and without a phone signal to call her best friend, she’s sunk. Or so she thinks.
Brevin is minutes away from leaving his cabin when he’s approached by a St. Bernard. It convinces him to follow it …
Chevonne is stunned when her high school crush shows up to rescue her. Maybe, just maybe, this will make up for Brevin standing her up years ago. If he even remembers.
Perfect for readers who crave romance with a dose of forced proximity, crackling fireplaces, and cozy winter settings, the Snowed In With You anthology will warm your heart even on the coldest of nights.
If you enjoy medium-spicy romance, my romcom Saddled is on sale today for 99¢.
Saddled is a quirky, slow-burn, forbidden romance between an office manager (Sandra) and the new temp (Michael) who also works as a cowboy stripper on Saturday nights.
Going to the office just got a lot more exciting.
On sale today.
And finally, for the really spicy romance, my why-choose vampire first book in the series, Her Bloody Betrayal, is also on sale today for 99¢. In this MMFM book you can expect:
Not to be confused with SNL’s more famous “Weekend Update” sketch.
In book publishing news …
I’m almost finished the edit of Book One of my new vampire series, now entitled “Of Crimson Descent.” Because it’s a reverse harem/why choose romance (one heroine, multiple heroes), I’m planning to release it under the pen name L.G. Hill, just to keep it separate from my other titles. I’m still trying to figure out what I need to do for the new pen name. New social media accounts, maybe? A new website? It’s not as though I’m keeping it a secret or anything, so I’m not sure. That will be something to think about this week.
Anyhoo, I plan to start my proofread a week from tomorrow, to give me time to work on getting Book Two ready for my editor next weekend. And my cover artist is doing an AMAZING job with the mock-ups of the covers. More to come soon.
In weather news …
Snow. And more snow.
Maybe more than we’ve had since I moved here. I was used to it when I lived in the Ottawa area, so it’s kinda nice to see, at least from the other side of the window.
In other story news …
You can now read my short, steamy romantic comedy “Fired Up” in the Just Add Love anthology for free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription. Or you can buy it for $3.99. All proceeds go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I haven’t read the other fifteen stories in the collection yet, but the reviews look great. Check it out!
And that’s it for this Weekended Update. I may keep this as a regular Sunday thing for everyone one to link to. Keep an eye out!
I mentioned a while back that I have a subscription account with Ream, a platform where you can read and stay caught up with your favorite author’s worlds.
To celebrate my beginnings there, I set up a subscription tier where you can get the first two months for free, and with that, you will receive:
four books at no cost in those two months (The Magician’s Curse, The Magician’s Blood, Saddled, and Rocked)
copies of all my published books in the months to follow
early access to all the books I write in the future—I’m almost finished writing the second book of a new sexy vampire reverse harem romance, so new content is coming soon!
inclusion in an exclusive community where I’ll keep you updated on all the news in my writing life and we can chat about books and all the things we love about them
free short stories published in anthologies, not all of which are currently available
and more!
And all at a lower monthly cost than anyone else will pay for all these features in the future.
You can join my Grand Entrance tier using the coupon code GRANDENTRANCE to get access to two months free and two free books right now. You can cancel any time, but I do hope you’ll stick around!
This offer expires April 1st, so only a few days left.
If you enjoy my stories, this is a deal that won’t be matched. I hope to see you there!
Stroked received a very nice 5-star review on it from a fellow author, Linda Fausnet:
This is a sweet love story between two misfits – a male stripper with a checkered past and a man with an endearing (and sometimes humorous!) speech impediment. Casper and Tristan find love while sharing their passions for art and swimming respectively as well as their passion for each other. Though this is book three in this terrific series, this novel can easily be read as a standalone. Also features a fun cameo from a familiar character that regular readers of this author will really enjoy!
And the rest of my day has been filled with my two new editing clients.
Until now, when I’ve finally had a chance to sit my aching body down and write.
And after this?
Write the next book, of course.
Thanks so much for reading.
See you tomorrow for the JusJoJan wrap up post!
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This post of highs and lows is brought to you by Just Jot it January!
I’ve been thinking for quite some time about making my book, The Magician’s Curse, available for free for a limited time. It hasn’t sold a copy in over a month (mostly because I haven’t been advertising it), so I thought it would be a good way to jump-start some interest, and gain a few fans who will want to buy the next book.
However.
Sitting up here in Ontario, Canada, safe from hurricanes, mudslides, earthquakes, fires, and volcanoes, I feel blessed. Yet my heart bleeds for those who are suffering and have been for far too long. I want to give. I want to do more than just sit here and feel bad about it all. But I have no money to give; I have no time to give.
With much deep thought and consideration, I’ve come up with a hopeful solution. From now until the end of October, all proceeds from my books — The Magician’s Curse and All Good Stories — will go to charity. There are so many people in need that it’s hard to choose, but my hope is to be able to give at least $100 to a few different causes. At this moment, I’d like to give to Puerto Rico, Mexico, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, and the people of Antigua and Barbuda. I pray there won’t but by the end of October, there may be more.
Here are my books with their blurbs:
As best friends, Xavier and Jupiter have always been supportive of each other’s romantic relationships. But when Jupiter meets Bob online, Xavier can’t help but feel he needs to come to her rescue. There’s just something about Bob. In the process of preventing Bob from wooing Jupiter away, Xavier realizes he’s been in love with her all along. Can he keep her safe and win her heart? And will he ever get to read her manuscript?
Join Xavier, Jupiter, and a quirky cast of characters in this fun romantic comedy novelette with a twist you won’t see coming.
When Herman Anderson leaves home to make a better life for herself, she doesn’t expect to meet a tall, dark stranger with whom she’ll fall hopelessly in love.
Charming and mysterious, Stephen Dagmar is a stage magician seeking an assistant. The moment he sets eyes on Herman, he knows she’s the one. He brings her home to his Victorian mansion where they embark upon an extravagant romance. Yet a shadow hangs over their love. Will the curse on his family end Stephen and Herman’s happily ever after, before it really begins?
Amidst lace and leather, innocence and debauchery, The Magician’s Curse begins the Gothic tale of The Great Dagmaru. Magic and romance await.
Please buy my books. If you don’t enjoy reading romance, buy one as a gift for someone who does. It will give you a chance to donate a little extra to some worthwhile causes, and have something to read in return.
If there is a region in particular out of the above mentioned that you’d like your money to go to, email me at linda@lindaghill.com. I’ll write a post on November 1st to let everyone know how much money has been raised and how it will be split. I will also post the receipts for the donations. I have screenshots of my sales as of yesterday ($0) for the last month. I’ll post these with updates weekly.
I encourage you to share this post and keep sharing it. Tell your friends, post on social media, get the word out, and help me raise money for those who desperately need it.
I’m out. Of money, that is. It’s official. I went to the grocery store today to pick up some essentials and I got the dreaded “Insufficient Funds” screen on the debit machine. Though it’s killing me to do so, I’d like to ask a favour.
If you haven’t already, please buy my book. If you have, or if you have a friend who might like it, please direct them to it. Reblog, share on social media, have a parade down the main street of your town or city, whatever it is you normally do to get attention. If I can get to $100 in royalties, Amazon will pay me next month – they hold smaller amounts.
If you know me, you know I never ask for anything. I hate asking for anything. Please, just share this post. And if you have 99¢ and want to read a really funny book, please click on one of the links below.
I came into this book not quite knowing what to expect. I knew it would involve ?mushy stuff,? and that it was liable to be more lighthearted than my usual fare, but beyond that I didn?t have much to go on.
Let me say that I am glad I took the trip. Sometimes whim and chance lead us to things that we would not otherwise have come across, and in those moments we should be thankful.
The technical portion of the program is well done, and while in the first few chapters you might be prone to thinking it childish or a little over-the-top, it becomes clearer towards the end and you start to see how it all fits together. The final whammy – and the opportunity to read the central story that…
Once in a while I go to the bookstore and pick up a few books from the sale racks. This one turned out to be an amazing read. It took me no time at all to fall in love with the characters, who are written not only with incredible depth, but with such ease that I didn’t realize I was becoming immersed until I couldn’t put down the novel. If you enjoy a good love story with imperfect but perfectly lovable characters, you’ll love Faking It. I can’t wait to read the sequel.
There are, arguably, seven basic plots. I won’t list them here, but you can find them if you click this link: The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories by Christopher Booker. All seven can be said to result from real life inspiration. While fiction can take these inspirations to incredible heights, the ideas begin from somewhere.
In this particular case, it seems to me a clear case of copying: if you read the exhibit (click here) given in the lawsuit, the infinite monkey theorem comes to mind as the only other possible explanation, particularly when Clare denies even having been inspired by Kenyon’s work. Either that or both authors are the same person and the lawsuit is an attempt to drum up business.
…hey, there’s an idea for a novel. You see what I mean? THAT’s inspiration.
While there is a lively discussion going on in the FaceBook group I belong to about whether or not an author can own an idea, and how within a genre certain aspects of creations (worlds, characters, fantastical traits) will keep popping up, there has to be a line upon which copying and inspiration is drawn. And my FaceBook acquaintances have a very good point. Though fiction is inspired by real life, fiction also inspires more fiction. How many novels and screenplays have been inspired by the character of Dracula? Countless. Although Dracula may be a bad example because its copyrights have expired, normally permission must be given to copy a story. But what about inspiration? I’m sure Ann Rice and Stephenie Meyer had no issues over creating vampires as their main characters. The point is, they created their own brand of vampires, expanding on the inspiration they received from the Master.
Just as there are only so many plotlines, world building is similarly restricted to having features that we humans can relate to; characters as well. There is a common fear among authors that we are infringing upon each other’s ideas, and these restrictions are to blame. Of course we can’t read everything, just to make sure, but when we do read something that inspires us, I believe it’s the mark of a good author that he or she can expand that inspiration to create something new from it.
So we have copyright infringement vs. inspiration. Is there a magic number of similarities which define where the line is and when it’s crossed? If so, what is it? Have you ever read something that you think crosses the line? Let’s discuss.
This just in: Boroughs Publishing Group has just announced a contest for writers of Romantic fiction that is ethnically diverse and/or LGBTQ. If your fiction fits into this category, check out the link!
Enemies to lovers
They fall first
Battle against evil
Forced proximity
Swords Cross
lindaghill.com 