Gratitude & Giving Day 4 - Piper Vaughn

Hi, everyone! First, I’d like to say thanks to K-Lee Klein for asking me to take part in her Reader Appreciation Month! 31 Days of Gratitude and Giving is something I’m totally down with.

I picked today, December 4th, for a very special reason. Seven years ago today I gave birth to my son, who is my only child so far. He’s been the gift I’m most grateful for and that has changed my life the most. I had no concept of what parenthood would be like before he came into my world. For me, it’s equal parts frustrating and awe-inspiring and joyful and terrifying and rewarding. It’s amazing watching this little person I brought into this world (well, my husband helped, I suppose ;D), seeing his personality develop, and catching glimpses of the man he might be some day. And so I’m wishing my beloved boy a happy birthday today!

Aside from my son and my family and friends, I’m also extremely grateful to my readers. The people who buy my books help me to support my family, but beyond that, I’ve met some amazing people and made numerous close friends through my writing. The truth of the matter is, I’m very introverted and isolated in my day-to-day life. Being an author is often a solitary affair—most of us work from home, locked away in our respective writing spaces, and usually we’re alone all day. The vast majority of my social interaction happens online. In fact, I’ve met all my closest friends that way. So, I’m also thankful for the internet and being able to afford a computer and a service provider so I can stay connected to the outside world. I know that’s a privilege I probably take for granted sometimes, but its value to me is immeasurable.

In the spirit of the season and to spread a little cheer, I’d like to offer up a gift. Comment on this post for your choice of any one ebook from my backlist (see my website for all available titles). On top of that, I’ll throw in a $10 gift card for the vendor of your choice (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, or ARe). I’ll pick a winner on Friday, December 11th.

Have a great month, everyone!

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Piper Vaughn Bio

Piper Vaughn wrote her first love story at eleven and never looked back. Since then, she’s known that writing in some form was exactly what she wanted to do. A reader at the core, Piper loves nothing more than getting lost in a great book—fantasy, young adult, romance, she loves them all (and has a two-thousand-book library to prove it!). She grew up in Chicago, in an ethnically diverse neighborhood, and loves to put faces and characters of every ethnicity in her stories, so her fictional worlds are as colorful as the real one. Above all, she believes that everyone needs a little true love in their life… even if it’s only in a book.

Visit Piper at:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Google+

Piper’s last release was PRICKLY BY NATURE, book two of the Portland Pack Chronicles, co-written with Kenzie Cade. If you like unusual shifters, check out their sassy hedgehog shifter and his growly, protective werewolf mate. PRICKLY BY NATURE and the previous book, PRICKLY BUSINESS, are best read in order. Both books are currently available from Dreamspinner Press and other e-tailers in paperback and ebook formats.

Portland Pack Chronicles Series link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=1535

Gratitude & Giving Day 3 - Kim Fielding

I’m Kim Fielding, and I’m grateful to K-Lee for letting me visit here today!

Ghost of Gratitude Past

I am eternally grateful to NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month. I used to think I couldn’t write a novel. But then I heard about NaNoWriMo and I decided to give it a shot. And you know what? Turns out I could write a novel! That was in 2009 and the book became Stasis, which I self-published. I’m also very grateful to the lovely Amy Lane, who read Stasis and suggested I consider sending a manuscript to one of her publishers, Dreamspinner Press. She gave me the confidence to submit a book to a publisher.

Just this week I finished the first draft of my 14^th novel—so actually, I can write lots of novels. And publishers will publish them, and people will read them. And man, I am so grateful for that!

Ghost of Gratitude Present

I always dreamed of being an author. But one side benefit I hadn’t expected was the people I’d get to meet. Through writing, I have gotten to know some amazing readers, authors, editors, artists, and narrators. Let me tell you, there isn’t a group of people I’d rather hang out with. I am grateful for those people every day.

Also, my older daughter recently had a party. Thirteen 16-year-olds. And when she told them that I’ve had a story published in a Japanese yaoi magazine, I instantly became Coolest Mom Ever. Who wouldn’t be grateful for a dose of Cool Mom Cred?

Ghost of Gratitude Yet to Come

I have a day job as a university professor. I love teaching and research. The administrative part? Not so much. I have a dream that in the not-so-distant future, I will be able to wave adieu to that job. Then I will be extremely grateful to spend my days writing full-time and traveling. My dream isn’t just to flit around the globe—although that’s fun too—but to stay put places for a couple of months at a time, so I truly get a chance to get to know them. I love to live like a local: paying bills, going grocery shopping, hanging out in cafés. And of course all those places will make their way into my books.

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More Grateful

As it happens, my newest story was released this week, and it’s called… Grateful! It’s a fluffy Hanukkah story, which you can get from Dreamspinner and Amazon.

One More Thing

Are you feeling grateful and wanting to share the giving spirit? I’m donating all my royalties from my anthology, The Sacrifice and Other Stories, and from my audiobook, The Festivus Miracle, to Doctors Without Borders. I’d be grateful if you considered buying  a copy or two!

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A Giveaway!

Comment here with your email and tell me where you think I should travel when I’m done with the day job. I’ll randomly pick one winner on December 10. Winner gets a choice of either the audiobook version of Good Bones or the ebook version of Rattlesnake.

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Kim Fielding is the bestselling author of numerous m/m romance novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning genres such as contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, and historical. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in 15th century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, housekeepers, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.

After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there with her husband, her two daughters, and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.

Website: http://kfieldingwrites.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/KFieldingWrites

Twitter: @KFieldingWrites

Gratitude & Giving Day 2 - Silvia Violet

Thank you for having me here, K-lee. I needed this encouragement to pause in my flurry of writing and editing and consider some things I’m grateful for from the past, present, and into the future.

I’m very grateful to my parents for always supporting me, no matter what my interests were. They went out of their way to help me find opportunities as a child whether in dance, science, writing, or another of my other pursuits. Their belief in me encouraged me to follow my dreams and become an author.

I’m thankful that right now in the present I’m able to make a living writing books. I’m grateful to all my readers, to the other authors who’ve taught me so much and supported me, and to the editors who’ve helped me improve my craft.

For the future, I’m grateful that I have a world of possibilities in front of me—planned trips, new experiences as my kids grow older, and many more stories to write.

Leave a comment telling something you’re grateful for, and you’ll be entered to win a copy of your choice of my holiday stories. The contest will close on December 6 at midnight EST. You can read about my holiday books here: http://silviaviolet.com/genre/holiday-books/

I wish you all happy holidays and many blessings to be grateful for!

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My latest release is Professional Distance.

Thornwell Shipton is wealthy, uptight, closeted, and an incurable workaholic. A tragic love affair left him terrified of relationships, so he tells himself sex is better scheduled and paid for.

Riley Dashwood is young, easy-going, and comfortable in his own skin. He’s a passionate baker and an aspiring chef, working as an escort to save up for culinary school.

They’re clearly made for each other.

When Thorne hires Dash, it’s lust at first sight. After a few scorching nights together, both men start to wonder if what’s between them is more than physical, but their age gap and resistance to romance make them afraid to change their professional relationship to a personal one. Dash pushes Thorne to admit he wants things he’s denied himself for years. Kinky things. Soft, caring things. Things that force him to open his heart, not just his body. To move forward, one or the other must take a risk and ask for what he really wants.

You can read an excerpt and find buy links here: http://silviaviolet.com/book/professional-distance/  

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Author Bio

Silvia Violet writes fun, sexy stories that will leave you smiling and satisfied. She has a thing for characters who are in need of comfort and enjoys helping them surrender to love even when they doubt it exists. Silvia's stories include sizzling contemporaries, paranormals, and historicals. When she needs a break from listening to the voices in her head, she spends time baking, taking long walks, and curling up with her favorite books.

Newsletter: http://silviaviolet.com/newsletter

Facebook: http://facebook.com/silvia.violet

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Silvia_Violet

Gratitude & Giving Day 1 - K-lee Klein

Happy December and welcome to 31 Days of Gratitude and Giving!

For the entire month, I'm going to be featuring a different author each day to talk about gratitude and offer up a little gift of the season. This is our way of thanking our readers for their support and enthusiasm in purchasing and reading our books. It's no easy feat to put ourselves and our babies out in the webisphere all vulnerable and alone like that, and I don't think it matters how many times we've has been published or how seasoned we think they are – we still have release day jitters.

So make sure you check the blog every day, answer the authors' question or just leave a comment if they've made it easy for you, and take in what they have to say. This blog event is about gratitude and if you want a little hint about what really makes writers' thankful, it's feedback about what they write. Sometimes even a simple note from a reader who has bought or especially won a book can make our day.

I'm going to be doing two posts because I'm greedy like that so I'll relay my first bit of gratitude in a short and sweet way, and go into my gratitudes of past, present & future on December 31st.

I'm grateful for my readers who take a chance in stepping into my world with each story I write. And I'm thankful for my author friends for accepting me for who I am and agreeing to do last minute things like this event at the drop of a hat. Hugs to you all. <3

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Before I let you head over to the comments and enter the giveaway (which I sneakily have not told you about yet,) I'm going to pimp a little novella I have coming out on December 6. Anyone who is familiar with my Unbreak My Heart series knows that Brett & JT are very dear to me and never far from my thoughts – and that also explains why they have a second story out this year. They never leave me alone. So, yes, they have a little story to tell for your/their holiday pleasure.

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Brett and JT are hosting Millie and Ray's wedding, but that's not the only love keeping this holiday season merry.

Brett and JT are having a good run. The animal shelter is working out just fine at the ranch, the four wiggling new additions to their family are thriving, and old Ray's operation seems to have been a success. Brett and JT are still in their own honeymoon phase and continue to have trouble with not ripping each other's clothes off at inappropriate times and places. 

Next on the ranch's agenda is Millie and Ray's Christmas wedding and whether it's the upcoming nuptials or the holiday spirit in the air, Brett's heart just won't settle down. He has so much love for his California kid that some days he feels like that schoolboy with a crush again. He's not sure how to tame all those feelings but he knows he has to try. 

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Now it's time to leave a comment. I'd like you to name one thing that you're grateful for today. It doesn't have to be the most important thing in your life that you can think of, maybe just some simple thing that happened that made you feel thankful or special. Leave your email address with your comment and I'll choose a winner to pick an ebook from my backlist on December 7th.

Thanks for dropping by, and yeah, keep doing that all month, would ya?

"31 Days of Gratitude & Giving" starts tomorrow!

TUNE IN TOMORROW AND ALL OF DECEMBER FOR GREAT GIVEAWAYS 

& WORDS OF GRATITUDE.

GRL 2015 Pre-Orders & signed books to be shipped

Hi guys. This is my GRL 2015 Pre-Order form for print books. I missed Gay Rom Lit last year in Chicago because I was in the hospital so I'm eager to go to San Diego this year in October. I'll be a featured author and in hopes of trying to not bring more books than I need (which means shipping back to Canada) I thought I'd give this a try.

As you can see, if you order a book and pick it up from me at GRL there won't be any shipping. But I'm also offering signed books for those who can't be there. The shipping price includes having them shipped to me but obviously, if you buy more than one we can work out the shipping price so you're not paying double and I'll refund the difference. You'll need a PayPal account to order but this is very quick and easy to set up and it doesn't cost anything. EDIT - looks like you can pay by credit card or PayPal account on the same link. (I think)