Contest Finalist? Yes way!

Okay, so I sort of forgot to post about some great news I found out a few days ago. A little while ago I decided to enter my current Highlander WIP in the Utah RWA's Heart of the West (HOW) writer's contest. I was really nervous to enter the book, but decided to give it a whirl anyway. Any time I get feedback on my books I get seriously nervous, so entering a contest is one of those nail-biting events for me.

I waited weeks, knowing the exact week that I would hear back on the contest. I twiddled my thumbs, checking my email every 2 minutes, or hoping that something would get leaked on the URWA loop. When I finally heard, I couldn't have been more shocked.

I'm a finalist in both the Paranormal category as well as in the Golden Pen for our chapter!

Needless to say, hearing this news has really kicked me into gear and I've since finished my first draft on that novel. I've just started into my first-round edits, and hope to publish this book before I hear if I won the contest in either category.

For info on other finalists, click here. A big congratulations to everyone!!

Elyzabeth M. VaLey's Victoria from A Dragon's Heart, A Demon's Blood

Hi everyone!

I’m happy to be here with Katalyn Sage to tell you about my recent release A Dragon’s Heart, A Demon’s Blood. In previous posts, I’ve talked about all manner of things, from the different worlds the characters visit to the music that inspired the novel, to participating in the Evernight Book Boyfriend Blog Hop with Adrian running as the perfect guy. Today, I’m going to talk a little about Victoria, the heroine of the story. 

Orphaned at a young age, Victoria has lived with the feeling of being watched ever since she can remember. She learned to ignore the uneasy sensation, to push it aside and pretend it didn’t exist, but it was a constant companion. Though she never admitted it, sometimes she’d look into the darkness and see them: glowing eyes, watching her every move. She’d wake up in the middle of the night, bathed in sweat, shadows looming over her that would disappear as soon as she blinked. She didn’t know it then, but they were the watchful eyes and they were worse than any mere shadow.

Her fear made her quiet and distrustful of strangers but it also made her strong. She was, as Adrian remarks at one point in the story: resilient.

“You had to be, to survive seeing shadows and eyes for 26 years and not end up in an insane asylum.” 

That’s something that was always clear to me when Victoria was created. She might have lived through the death of her parents, the abandonment of her foster family, the eternal feeling of being watched, but she truly believed that life was for the living and she had to make the most of any situation. She fought for a normal life. She went to college, worked the odd job here and there, made friends… Sometimes she despaired – I mean, who wouldn’t? – but even through her fear she always strove to make the best out of her situation.

However, her breaking point is near. Things have not been going well for the past few months. Her last boyfriend mysteriously disappeared and her nightmares have increased exponentially along with the sensation of being watched. Everything is spiraling out of control and then Adrian appears. Will he bring salvation or destruction? Or perhaps, something else entirely?


Blurb:

He is a shadow in the dark, smelling your scent and sensing your fear... 

Legendary bounty hunter Adrian Ormonde is no ordinary man. His life is filled with secrets and questions, blood and lust. His only concern for 150 years has been survival and discovering the truth behind his demon-dragon nature.

Until he meets his new assignment: Victoria Green.

Victoria Green has felt eyes watching her every move ever since she can remember. Then, Adrian appears. The eyes vanish but new dangers arise as she falls for the mysterious hunter. Cast into an ancient conflict between dragons and demons, Victoria must trust Adrian’s skill to be enough to protect her from both the outside world and that which grows within her.

Chance brought them together but will love and passion be enough to keep them joined? Or will the other forces at play in the dragon-demon worlds destroy them forever?


Buy links:

Evernight

Amazon.com

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Bookstrand


Excerpt: Glimpsing at the tent in his jeans, she gasped.
“Already?”
In an instant, he was upon her, his mouth devouring hers and making her legs weak.
“You make me lose control, sweetheart, and I’ll be damned if that hasn’t happened in years.”
His hands slid down her waist over her hip and onto her thigh. Her breath hitched as she searched Adrian’s dark eyes.
“Already, you ask?” He sneered, his calloused fingers rising higher and caressing the junction between her legs. His fingertips skimmed over her labia, finding her wet entrance. His grin became smug. Adrian’s nostrils flared and his eyes flashed red as he dipped two fingers inside her, wringing out a breath she’d not been aware of holding.
“You’re already wet for me, sweetheart.”
Bringing his lips down to her, he stole another short kiss that had her whimpering against him.
“Adrian.”
She hugged him, bringing him closer and searching for his warm touch again. His eyes scanned her face, his gaze softening.
“You don’t want this, sweetheart.”
“Yes, yes I do,” she replied pushing herself against his hand. His thumb brushed over her clit. Victoria tensed. Her orgasm hung from a cliff, ready to fall.
“I do want it.”
Tangling her fingers in his hair, she pulled him to her mouth, teasing the seams with her tongue. He groaned and she tasted him with longing. Sucking on his tongue, she made love to it as he pleasured her with his fingers. Her body became a mass of over-sensitized sparks as he coordinated his thumb with his seesawing digits. His hand on her waist, held her in place as she humped against him.
“Come on, sweetheart.”
His husky baritone triggered her release. Victoria cried out, her pussy convulsing in short waves, hot liquid dripping onto Adrian’s fingers. Her towel fell to a heap on the floor as she lost control, the cool breeze doing little to soothe her heated skin. She wanted more. She wanted all of him.
Victoria moved to embrace him but he stepped away from her. Drawing his fingers into his mouth, he briefly closed his eyes emitting a barely audible sound of pleasure. When he opened them again, she gasped. Red sparks danced in his green depths.
“No, Victoria. You don’t want this.”
Shaking his head, he turned around and strode out of the room. Victoria stood rooted to the spot, watching in shock as he left the apartment, the main door slamming shut. Tears dampened her vision. Picking up the t-shirt he’d given her, she put it on. More tears trailed down her cheeks as the smell of detergent mingled with his scent. Taking a deep breath, she hastily brushed them away.
“Get a grip, Vicky.”
Wrapping the discarded towel around her wet hair, she strode to the kitchen, her stomach growling. She didn’t think she’d find anything edible in the small kitchen, but luckily Adrian kept a box of cereal and a few cartons of unopened milk. Digging into the meal, she shivered slightly as an unsettling feeling grew in her chest. The watchful eyes were back.


Author Bio: Defined as weird since she was about eight, Elyzabeth honors the title by making up songs about her chores, doodling stars and flowers on any blank sheet of paper and talking to her dog whenever he feigns interest.

Losing the battle to the voices in her head is her favorite pastime after annoying her younger sister with her singing. Writing stories full of passion and emotion where love conquers all is her happy pill and she'll forgo sleep to make her readers live the dream.


Contact Links: 
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Twitter

Goodreads

Blog: www.inadreambeyond.blogspot.com

Website: www.elyzabethmvaley.weebly.com

Thanks for coming, Elyzabeth, and for letting us learn about Victoria!

Not a trilogy anymore, folks!

I really should have posted this last night, but to be honest I've been exhausted since even before my root canal a couple of days ago. I have been internally happy-dancing around my house since it happened (my face still hurts too much to really do it), and I woke up bright and early this morning, ready to share the news... Primordial Guardians won't have just three books in the series for long.

I just signed the contract last night for the fourth novel in the Primordial Guardians series, Rapture. I've been contacted by a few fans ever since Born of Silence released, and it seems that everyone is curious about what happens to different Guardians. So, I have a question: Which character(s) do you hope Rapture is about?

I still can't believe my fourth book is contracted. It has been such a crazy year, and I couldn't be happier that I've been able to spend as much time with my boys as I've been able to.

Immortal Guardians Series Name Change

It's been an interesting week for me. Not only has my little baby been sick for a week, stressing me out beyond belief, but my husband and I have been sick as well, having different symptoms of that flu that's affecting the population. Oh, and I have tooth pain to boot - I'm pretty sure I'll be having a root canal shortly.

As stressful as those things have been, there was yet another thing that hit: I was informed that I could no longer use Immortal Guardians as my series name if I wanted to avoid problems. This came as quite a shock,  and was very heartbreaking especially considering that my boys have been the Immortal Guardians since I started writing about them in 2009. It doesn't feel right that someone can take it away from me, but it still happened anyway.

So, to my fans who know and love my Immortal Guardians, the series still lives on, it's just called "Primordial Guardians" instead. Dark Seduction, Passion Ignited, and Born of Silence are still available, they're just under the Primordial Guardians™ series name now.

Check back in a few days, I should (hopefully) have some fun news to share. :o)

Merry Christmas

Wow, I can't believe it's Christmas already. Four nights from now I won't be able to sleep a wink because I'll be way too excited to see everyone's reactions to what they get Christmas morning. More than likely we'll be up by 5:00 am, running down the stairs in our pj's and acting like five year olds. And then after my wee little family opens all the gifts under our tree, we'll go to my Mom and Dad's house and spend some time with my brothers and sisters, and their kids too. We'll eat some Egg-Sausage Casserole, which is a time-honored tradition in my family, and in the hours after opening presents there, I'll probably be working on a special Christmas dinner for me and my fam.

Of course, the days leading up to the big day will be nuts. I still have some shopping and wrapping to do, not to mention that I have to keep my husband from sneaking a peek at his own gifts under the tree - he always tries to convince me that we should open them early... You have no idea how many times I've given into his puppy-dog eyes and pouty lip.

In addition to the normal hustle-and-bustle of the holidays, I'm really hoping to spend some quality time on the Immortal Guardians book #4. I'm really not that far from finishing it, but at the same time I feel like it's an eternity away! So here's to the holidays, and here's to my boys.

Merry Christmas!!

Where has the time gone?

I can't believe it's already December. I mean, I can (who could miss all the Christmas cheer going on). I just can't believe that it came so soon!

I had every intention of having another book release this month. Really, I did. But somehow time got away from me. There's still an all-out war going on between my characters, vying for my full and undivided attention, but I've been able to focus on just TWO of them for now, the hero and heroine in the Immortal Guardians book I'm trying to finish. I'm probably only about half-way done with it, and that doesn't include edits, but at least it's coming along.

And you have no idea how bad I want to share some of it here on my blog!

My plan to fit a crap ton of writing in this weekend didn't happen, but I did get some Christmas shopping done for some of my favorites. Although, I must say that I was rather pleased with myself on how much writing I did get in last week. It may not be as much as I was able to accomplish pre-baby, but it was much better than I've been able to do lately.

Now, let's see if I can beat last week's progress. :)

The war inside my head

Life gets crazy, and when it does there's added pressure because I'm an author. It seems whenever I don't have time (or energy, sometimes) to write, the characters in my head start to throw fits. Now, sometimes - and depending on the character - they stomp their foot and cross their arms before turning away with their nose up in the air and give me the cold shoulder, but sometimes ... sometimes they just get LOUD.

Over the past few weeks, I've already had four Immortal Guardians fighting over whose story I should work on, but I haven't been able to put in the time to get any of their stories done. Granted, I am probably 1/3 of the way done with one of the books I'm currently writing, but I just can't keep up with their demands. They are certainly keeping me busy with all the scenes they're showing me though....

In addition to those four Guardians wanting me to focus all my attention on them, I now have NEW ideas creeping in and poking at my brain  with a broom stick (because they just don't have room to squeeze past the Guardians). My husband often jokes (or maybe not?) that I'm crazy because I have so many people inside my head.

I'm starting to believe he's right.

I wish I could stay at home and be a full-time author so that maybe someday I could get these ideas down on paper, and give these characters who have chosen me to be their storyteller the time and credit they deserve. I've already negleted some of the projects I had started nearly a year ago, but every once in a while they get a good poke in with that broom stick.

/sigh. Time to get back to work. Maybe I can get a few words in today.

October, already??

I can't believe how fast time flies. It doesn't seem like a month has passed since I posted last, but, here we are, well into October. I know, I know, I am such a slacker.

As many of you may know, I live in Utah, and I am a member of the Utah RWA. If you ask any of the Utah RWA ladies, they'll probably tell you I'm a slacker as far as members go as well (I'm living up to the name here! haha) - I rarely get a chance to attend the meetings since I have to drive about an hour each way, but I do try to keep up with what all those fabulous ladies and gentlemen are doing in their writing careers.

Anyhoo, I've veared off, so I'll get back on track....

This past weekend the Utah RWA held their annual conference in Park City, UT, so I went with a couple of my writer friends. I had a blast getting to know some of my fellow members better, and went guppy-mouthed when Sherrilyn Kenyon sat at my table to eat dinner the first night. I played guppy for I don't even know how long before I finally kicked myself in the pants and joined in the confersation at the table (about BDSM of all things!) and joked around with her. She is such a great person, and so much more down-to-earth than I had imagined. I am awed at how amazing that woman's books are, and how she cranks them out so fast is anyone's guess. It was just nice to be around such brilliance, especially when I hope to be able to accomplish what she does - sometime in the near future. I had wanted to give her a copy of Dark Seduction, since I have a few printed books on hand, but I completely forgot to pack one for the trip!

The conference was great. Every year I learn new things, and it has this incredible way of getting me motivated to write. Not just in the Immortal Guardians series, but also in my other projects as well. Life has certainly gotten a lot busier for me the last few months, so I'm trying to come up with a plan to be able to continue writing (and give my Guardians and other characters the attention they deserve) while also still spend quality (as in, not staring at my laptop screen or tablet, clicking away at the keys as a scene takes over my every thought) time with my family as well. I have a feeling that things will get even more hectic with the holidays coming up, but maybe, just maybe, I can keep working on Book #4.

Only 2 days left

Wow, I can't believe Born of Silence releases in just two days. This time has totally flown. I had hoped to have another novel close to completion by now, but my new mommy duties are taking a toll on my energy (no, I'm not complaining. I love my little bug so much). I am 12K into the fourth book though, so when I do get a chance to write, it is going pretty well. At this point, I know I won't hit my goal of having on release in each of the quarters this first year, but hopefully I can do these characters justice and let their story sing.

Only two more days to go.
Or, as my hubby would say, "One day and a wake-up."

Immortal Guardians: Born of Silence

Can I just tell you just how much I love Evernight Publishing and Sour Cherry Designs? Evernight is such an incredible publisher, and I am so lucky to be able to work with them. My editor is fantastic. I appreciate everything she does, the suggestions she makes, and how she doesn't get mad at me for my screw-ups. :o)

And Sour Cherry Designs, wow ... I adore every cover they make! Especially my newest one, for Born of Silence, the third novel in the Immortal Guardians series.
You've read about Draven and Ally in Dark Seduction.
You've read about Raider and Nitro in Passion Ignited.
Now, for those of you waiting to hear what happens to Garrick, your wait is only a few short months. Born of Silence is projected to be released in September, 2012!

September, baby!

Yay! I'm so excited. Garrick's book (the third in the Immortal Guardians series) will be available September, 2012! I can't wait to see the new cover and get working on edits.

Passion Ignited Trailer

Here is the trailer for Passion Ignited, the second novel in the Immortal Guardians series. Enjoy!!

Release Day!

Today is the release day for Dark Seduction! I am so excited that it's coming out. It can be found at evernightpublishing.com as well as many eBook retailers.

Anyone who knows me will know that I've been sick the last few days, simply from nerves. A lot of things have crossed my mind during this entire process--both bad and good--and all I can say is that I can't believe the day is finally here, and I can only hope there is much more to come.

Editing

I've been busy the last couple of weeks editing the first Immortal Guardians novel. I sent the 2nd round of edits back in to my publisher last night and I'm now patiently waiting to find out if there will be anymore edits needed or if we're on our way to getting published. I'm really excited and can't wait to share my boys with the world.

Draven is winning

Alrighty then, Draven has captured my attention yet again. Apparently I didn't get some things quite right in his story with Ally, so he's helping me to fix it. Hopefully I can get the book to where the Guardians are happy (or as happy as they can be - some are just ornery asses... Honestly). As for Raider, he's actually being pretty patient. I guess he realizes that he'd rather have my full attention instead of partial.

Character Profiles

I thought it might be fun to add the information that I collect on each character in my books. A few of these may sound a little funny, but keep in mind that I write Paranormal Romance.

When new characters pop into my head, whether or not they are in the book I'm currently writing, I fill in as much of these details as I can. Not only does this help when you need to remember details in future work, but it also helps expand on the character as needed.

Name: (obvious)

Type: (this is in here because I love Paranormal Romance. If they are "other" then what are they exactly?)

Mate: (Yep, who do they end up with and when?)

Good or bad: In every story there is an element of good and an element of evil (whether intentional or not), so I try to make a note of if they are on the good side of things or the bad. Even if they change somewhere, you'll want to know when they toppled on the other side of that fence).

Hair length and color: (Obviously these things can change, but if you do change them throughout your books, its good to keep a log so that you remember what happened. If you ever have a flashback in a future book, don't you want to have this info at your fingertips?)

Height: (This helps. Especially with the type of books I write. Most of my boys are ginormous).

Build: (Ah yes, the build. Is he scrum-didilly? Is he just average right now - but in a future book he is yummy (if ever)? Does he have broad shoulders? Does he have that oh-so-hot V-shape? Put WHATEVER you want in this field).

Eyes: (This can be as descriptive as you want. Color, size, are they nice eyes? Evil Eyes? Do they do anything cool? If you read my book you'll know why I say that).


Physical Markings: (This can be anything from tattoo to scars to demonic markings - and everything in between. This helps because you never want to screw up the placement of something throughout your books).

Attitude: (This one can be totally fun to play with. Especially if you already know their history. You just write up how they act. And then, in a future book, if their attitude begins to change, you'll make notations here so that you're up to date on everything).

Age: (obvious. Even if you don't ever say specifically how old someone is, you never know when it will be brought up.)

Born (year): (Trust me, this helps. Especially if you're planning on writing a series. You don't want someone getting younger-- unless they are "other.")

Born (location): (Yes, this can help, but its not a must. I've found that this can help with their history, such as: if they don't live there anymore, why? [more info could be filled in in the History field below}).

Speech/accent: (This one helps if you're planning on them being bi-lingual).

Family/heritage: (This one can be helpful, not only because of names, but sometimes a little bit of their history comes out in this field).

Abilities: (Again, here is one that is probably most used when your characters are "other." But it could be used if you have a plain old human, too.

History: (This is a BIG one. Sometimes you develop your characters' attitudes based on what they've told--or showed-- you they've been through - I know it sounds funny to say that, but really, most of the time your characters will tell you instead of you telling them).

Other: (Whatever floats your boat. Anything important that will help you.)

Anywhoo, that's pretty much what I fill in on my characters. Really, if you know the information that is in these fields then you are pretty much good to go.