Secret Worlds Guest Post #1 – Lucy Leroux

/ A.J. Colby / Leave a comment

Leading up to the release of the limited edition paranormal romance boxed set featuring Hunted, I’ll be hosting blog posts from my fellow Secret Worlds authors. First up, is Lucy Leroux, author of Cursed – a historical paranormal romance set in the Regency period (my favorite!).

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Secret Worlds, a limited edition box set includes 21 full-length paranormal romance novel by 21 USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Authors. Don’t miss it!

Hello people who don’t know me!

My name is Lucy and I write the bestselling ‘A Singular Obsession’ Romance Erotica Series. I’m a relatively new author, but through some awesome people I’ve gotten the chance to a part of this amazing box set. Cursed is my first paranormal historical, and is the only regency novel in the box set. It’s also the only one with a full three flame flameflameflame EROTIC rating. Hope you enjoy it!

Introducing Cursed, A Spellbound Regency Novel.Cursed_BN

Isobel Sterling is a governess with a lot of secrets—including an uncanny ability she’s been hiding her whole life. Until the day arrives when she has to use it to save herself from a madman. But first she has to master it. Fast.

Governess Isobel Sterling feels fortunate to have found a safe haven in the Montgomery household. The children are kind and the Lord and Lady of the house leave her alone. Her life is as good as it can get, until the day mysterious visitors arrive from abroad.

At first Isobel is flattered by the single-minded attention she receives from their handsome young guest, Matteo Garibaldi. At least she is until girls in the village begin to disappear. Isobel has a terrible suspicion that the disappearances are linked to the darkness she can see growing behind Matteo’s eyes. Filled with dread she does everything possible to avoid his company—until she is locked in with him for the night.

Read the first chapter on Wattpad or check out my other recent titles on Amazon.

XOXO,

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Cursed, A Spellbound regency novel, is part of the Secret Worlds Box Set available for preorder now for only 99¢.

This is a limited time offer, so hurry and reserve your copy today!

And be sure to attend the Facebook release party. More than 70 prizes—including 5 sets of the Singular Obsession ebooks—will be given away!

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First Draft of Welcome to the Asylum Complete!

/ A.J. Colby / Leave a comment

It took a lot longer than I had anticipated (mostly due to rampant ADD), but the first draft of Welcome to the Asylum is finally complete. It long ago surpassed the cap of being a short story, and is now sitting at a rather impressive 26k words. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

I’ve handed it off to Mr. Awesome Sauce for the first round of editing, so soon I’ll be immersed in the wonderful world of editing :o( But, I’ll also be one step closer to sharing Riley’s latest adventure with you all, so that makes me happy :o) It also means that I’ll be able to get back to focusing 100% on Unleashed, the third Riley novel. We’ve been doing lots of brainstorming this week, and have lots of fun (and not so fun!) things planned for Riley and Holbrook. Stay tuned for more updates on WttA and Unleashed!

In other exciting news, our passes for Denver Comic Con arrived this week…

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We’re so excited, especially because one of the greatest authors in the urban fantasy genre is going to be there and participating in a bunch of panels. I’m having a total rabid-fan-girl moment at the thought of meeting Jim Butcher, and I’m sure to embarrass myself by dissolving into nonsensical squeals of delight. I can only hope that one day, I will achieve the same level of amazeballs-ness as the estimable Mr. Butcher. We’re also psyched to attend lots of panels and discussions being headed up by several local authors, and are looking forward to catching up with some friends.

Make sure to watch this space next week for our DCC2015 updates!

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Fighting Through The Slump With Baking

/ A.J. Colby / Leave a comment

So I’ve been in a bit of a slump lately—I’ve been struggling to stay focused on one project for more than five minutes (at least that’s how it feels!), so I’m sorry for the long absence and delays in getting Welcome to the Asylum completed and ready for you guys to read :o(

I’d like to blame it on the weather, which here in Colorado, has been swinging madly between 75 degree days and 5+ inches of snow and/or torrential rain. As much as I love the rain, there’s something about the rapidly shifting weather patterns that leave me unsettled. At least, that’s the excuse I’m going with for my more severe than usual bout of ADOS (Attention Deficit… Ooh! Shiny!).

During this tumultuous period, I not only came up with the concept, cover, and several pages for a new series based in Riley’s world, but dug out some of my more *ahem* steamy writing, decided to take up making chainmaille jewelry, devised the plot and character design for a children’s book I’d like to write with my sister-in-law, and made a bunch of scones. My flip-flopping has definitely been driving Mr. Awesome Sauce a little crazy, though he’s definitely enjoyed the fruits of my labor when it comes to the scones, as did my mum and dad, who also got given a bunch.

I’m still struggling to buckle down and get back to the work that really matters (namely finishing that one final fucking scene of WttA, and refocusing on Unleahsed), but here are some pictures of a few of the other things I’ve been up to…

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Apricot Scones. This was my first try with a new high-altitude recipe I found online. They come out amazingly fluffy on the inside and perfectly crispy on the outside. If anyone is interested, I’ll post the recipe.

Cranberry Orange Scones
Cranberry Orange Scones. So far, these have been my favorite.

Lemon & Lavender Scones
Lemon & Lavender Scones. I upped the vanilla extract on these, and they came out with a wonderfully creamy flavor that is highlighted by the slightly floral note from the lavender.

Helm Chain Bracelet
Helm Chain Bracelet. I also made a pair of matching earrings and at some point will probably make a coordinating necklace.

Watson Evolution
The evolution of Watson the Great Bear Detective from my original armless sketch to a mostly finished digital line drawing. Mr. Awesome Sauce isn’t sure about the green bowler hat—he says it makes him think of Lucky Charms cereal :/ So, I may have to experiment with some other headwear, but the yellow polka dot scarf is definitely here to stay :oD

Watson Expressions
Just a little bit of fun playing around with some different expressions for Watson. I think the “Sad” Watson is my favorite at the moment; his little droopy ears just make me go “aww” every time I look at it.

Well, that’s it for now ghouls and boys. Hopefully I’ll have some more interesting news soon, and in the meantime, if you have any ideas for some other flavor combinations I can try out in my scones be sure to leave a comment and I’ll give them a try! There may even be a special prize for whoever comes up with the most delicious combo ;o)

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