...Carly Phillips news and cover reveal!...

Do you LOVE Carly Phillips? Contemporary romance? Witty prose and lovable characters? Does your bookshelf look like mine?? Okay, maybe more organized, but you get the point.

Carly's newest series, Dare To Love, won't disappoint! I'll be reading an ARC for review, so I'll have more to share with you all soon, but in the meantime, here's more about the book, the cover, and all the steaminess that awaits us!

New York Times Bestselling Author Carly Phillips turns up the heat in her newest sexy contemporary romance series, and introduces you to the Dare family... siblings shaped by a father's secrets and betrayal.

Since finding out his father had another family on the side, Ian Dare swore to be the upstanding, responsible man his cheating parent had never been. When it comes to his relatives, he gives his all but in relationships he offers the bare minimum. But one glimpse of sensual Riley Taylor arouses his dominant and protective instincts and Ian is entranced. He will do anything to possess her ... and does. But any future with Riley must include him extending an olive branch to the half-brother who is a constant reminder of the pain he'd rather forget.

Independent and always in control, Riley Taylor makes no apologies for choosing men carefully. Relationships have never been a priority and she believes herself hardened to domineering men - until she meets charismatic Ian Dare. He manages to turn a simple kiss into an all out assault on her senses and when he takes control in the bedroom, she's stunned to discover she likes it. As their affair heats up, they soon realize they complete each other in ways neither imagined. But Riley's past is closer than she cares to remember, and her struggles with Ian's dominance might just cost her everything.

Dare to Love is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, itunes, and Kobo starting November 18th!

Extra! Extra! More CARLY PHILLIPS news hot off the press!

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Dear Readers,

I know I’ve been teasing everyone for a while now about some exciting news that I have in the works. And I now have the official go-ahead to tell the world what's coming next for me! Are you ready? I’m so ready to share. I’ve been DYING to shout from the rooftops and have had a hard time keeping the news to myself. But here you go:

I’m going Indie.

That’s right. Instead of publishing my next series of books with a traditional publisher, I’ve decided to self-publish the series. Don't worry, I'll explain what this means for you. But first ...Why am I making the switching to Indie you ask? Well after a lot of research and many debates with myself, I made the decision to self-publish my next series for one primary reason: YOU, my readers. The rise and success of self-publishing has obviously made a huge impact on the industry, and many of my readers have reached out to me personally, encouraging me to make some changes.

Although my publishers have always been very good to me and I’ve very much enjoyed working with them, there is a good reason for me to make the switch. More control. Making the move to indie is giving me more control over my books. I’m no longer tied to a specific word count set by a publisher. I have more control over the editing process. I can make the final decisions on covers, release dates, blurbs and content. And the most important factor: I now sets the price points of my books. Making the switch to self-publishing is giving me total control to make both myself and you, my readers very, very happy.

The first book in my brand new Dare to Love series (also titled Dare to Love) is set to release on November 18th 2013.

Coming soon, you can pre-order DARE TO LOVE exclusively at iTunes. On the day of release, you can find the books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo. In addition, the book will be available in paperback too! Of course I’ll send a newsletter, but be sure to follow me on social media (links below) in order to get the most up to date information as it happens! For my paperback readers: This bears repeating: YES these books will available in paperback as well as eBook!

https://twitter.com/carlyphillips


https://www.facebook.com/CarlyPhillipsFanPage


A fun note about the story...In the past my books have been sweet and sexy contemporaries with a small town setting, but with Dare to Love I’m turning up the heat. The Dare to Love Series will be steamier, sexier and hotter than anything I’ve ever written. And I can not wait for you to read it!

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I'm so excited that Carly will be joining us indie authors in the self-publishing world. Welcome, Carly!

My favorite Carly Phillips series is The Hot Zone. You gotta love those Jordan sisters and the hunky athletes they represent. Which are your favorite?

Stay tuned for more about Carly Phillips's new book and Happy Reading!

Lindsey

...First Author Interview...

First Guest Blog Post Interview:

Inside the Mind of the Author

by Lindsey Pogue

I’ve always had a passion for storytelling and delving into a world that’s so completely different from my own. Like most kids, I created books and wrote fantastical stories in my youth. I continued researching and writing about past cultures in my academia, along with developing new worlds in which made-up characters live and breathe into my adulthood. Despite my passion for writing, I’ve allowed myself to be detoured in the past, both by my unrealistic expectations and by unreachable standards that I’ve set for myself. It’s only now, after working on this project with Lindsey Fairleigh (LF), that I understand myself better as a writer and as an author. I’ve learned what works for me and what doesn’t, and I can go into book two of The Ending Series, Into The Fire, with more ease.

Co-authoring After The Ending has taught me how important it is to really identify how I work best as a writer so I can continue to be productive and creative to the best of my ability...and so I can keep what remaining sanity I have intact. My brain works very differently than LF’s, and because we work so closely together, it’s imperative that we appreciate how different our writing processes are, both for our separate story lines and POV’s and also when we’re working on combined chapters. That being said, looking back at book one, I notice two very important characteristics about myself and my writing style that I’m so grateful to finally understand.

First, I have come to terms with the fact that I’m not omniscient. I never have been, nor will I ever be. Obvious? Sure, but it’s also hard to remember when you’re the creator of something. By consciously acknowledging my lack of omniscience, I am giving myself permission to loosen the reins and let the characters write for themselves. While I am a planner in life, that is not the case in writing. No matter how many details and story arcs I devise in my head and outline on paper, things always change--characters have a way of commandeering the story, no matter what my intentions might be. That being said, if I don’t have my characters completely solidified in my mind before I start writing, that’s okay. I know some authors see the entire story in their mind, but I see bits and pieces, or what I call the “good stuff”. I’m learning how to accept the fact that I can get the “good stuff” down and fill in the holes as I go...especially since the story inevitably writes itself and generally unfolds into something more amazing than what I had planned in the first place.

Second, I’ve learned which type of writer I am--a “revisionist” so to speak. I have to remind myself there is no rule that says you can only revise four times, and if there is, I’m pretending it doesn’t exist. I need to revise A LOT. My inspiration to write comes in spurts. So, instead of getting frustrated with my brain for vomiting ideas incoherently and out of order, I’m learning to embrace the spewage—to get the ideas down to flesh out later. Nothing will ever be or even has to be perfect the first time around. I learn about and discover my characters as I go, and I don’t have a plethora of interconnected details and ideas that just flow out of my mind and onto the page, resulting in an almost complete manuscript that just needs some tweaking. Instead, I write down the “good stuff” and build around it. I write a chapter, then walk away…come back to it…read and revise…walk away…and read and revise another five times before I even feel comfortable passing it on to LF. I think this is where she and I differ in our writing processes. She tends to have very fluid thoughts and ideas and gets them down eloquently, whereas my ideas are always jumbled in my head.

Going into this project, I pressured myself to have my characters ironed out in my mind—the details, the obstacles they’d face, the love triangles they’d get mixed up in—but this is one instance in my life where planning isn’t so helpful. In fact, it’s more of a hindrance to my creativity, and it’s a relief to know I’ve discovered how my mind works so, as we work on book two, I can allow myself the space to be inspired and creative with no restraint. When inspiration flows, when my thoughts and ideas meld together and the characters come to life, that’s when the best ideas make it onto the page. I love “the zone”.

So, now that we are finished with AE, I’m able to take a step back and appreciate what we’ve accomplished, but I’m also able to reflect on how we’ve gotten to where we are and how to have fun and grow as a writer. I’ve been able to recognize what the writing process looks like for me, allowing me to set realistic standards for myself and to be more productive, lose some of the added stress, and have some fun.

...On being an author...

It's strange...being an author, I mean. You can scribble something on a piece of scratch paper, write notes on a napkin, and jot down your dreams and ideas in the middle of the night all throughout your life, but it isn't until you publish something--that you put your blood, sweat, and tears into something--that it really feels... well, real.

When you have to activate an author profile and update your blogs and Facebook pages on a regular basis, you know things are changing. When you have to work on websites and write an author bio or have an author picture taken, it's a reality check that things are happening-that you're one step closer to achieving your dream, to meeting your goal.

After fifteen years of thinking and dreaming about authorship, the time has finally come. Thanks to my friend and writing partner, Lindsey Fairleigh, together we've made both of our dreams come true.

Here's my first, official author biography:

Lindsey Pogue has always been a little creative. As a child she established a bug hospital on her elementary school soccer field, compiled books of collages as a teenager, and as an adult, expresses herself through writing. Her novels are inspired by her observations of the world around her--whether she's traveling, people watching, or hiking. When not plotting her next story line or dreaming up new, brooding characters, Lindsey's wrapped in blankets watching her favorite action flicks or going on road trips with her own leading man.