Hello, friends --
Up until recently, I've had a bit of a scattered approach to blogs and sites and Twitter, Facebook and...well, all that stuff. What changed? I took an online class in how to manage my "online presence" which advocated streamlining the various tools to cut down on maintenance. It was music to my ears!
So I updated my website to a WordPress blog platform, imported my aging WordPress blog, imported this blog, and now, voila!, they're all in one spot!
This will be my final post on this blog, but I'd love for you to join me over at my new home on the web: LeahStJames. Hope to see you there from time to time!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Christmas Kindle Freebies ~ Our Gift to You!
FREE KINDLE BOOKS
OUR GIFT TO YOU!
New Kindle for Christmas? Load it with FREE books!
12 Authors ~ 12 Free Books
December 25 & 26
From romantic suspense, to contemporary, historical, erotica and even "kink"!
Click on the title for the buy link and check them out. I know I will!
(Can't go wrong for free, can you?)
Adrienne's Ghost
Leah St. James
Paranormal Romantic Suspense Novella
FBI agent and psychologist investigate the murder of an FBI recruit and come face to face with the victim's spirit.
Bound by Decency
Claire Ashgrove
Historical Romance
Her Druid Temptation
Trish F. Leger
Erotic Paranormal Romance
The Dream Jumper’s Promise
Kim Hornsby
Romantic Suspense with Paranormal Elements
(Free for an additional day, through 12/27)
A broken promise has consequences...
The Good Daughter
Diana Layne
Payback is a bitch.
Journal of a Lycanthrophile
Fierce Dolan
Gay paranormal kink
When the kink most forbidden is the monster that satisfies.
Lady in the Mist
Alicia Dean (writing as Winter Frost)
Gothic Mystery Novella
A psychology student takes a job caring for a mentally unstable young man on a remote coastal island and becomes embroiled in a deadly mystery.
Last First Kiss
(Book 2 of La Fleur de Love series)
Lori Leger
Contemporary Fictional Romance
Her daughters wanted a daddy...She wanted her old life back...All he wanted was the three of them...
Miss Merry's Christmas
Callie Hutton
Regency Historical
The duke fired the annoying governess; his mother re-hired her as a companion. Now she's driving him crazy.
The Slayer's Wife
Tenaya Jayne
Paranormal
Best friends turn into deadly enemies for the love of one woman
Vows of Revenge
J. F. Ridgley
Ancient Rome Historical
After her patrician husband sells her to a fate worse than death, Aelia must learn that in Amalfi you live by your heart, not by Rome's laws.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
The Caboose (last place) doesn't mean "worst" place!
Earlier this month, my friend and fellow author Vicki Landis invited me to be part of "The Next Big Thing" blog hop. Vicki is one of those multi-talented authors who writes not just fiction (with two novels and a bunch of short stories under her belt), but also non-fiction (including a book called "The Easy Little Diet Book: The Prep Course for Easy Weight Loss Success). As if that weren't enough, she's an artist!
In her blog, Vicki talked about being the last two (?) participants in this author event which has been making the rounds for awhile, and she appropriately named us the "caboose" because she and I are the apparently the final two who want to participate. I like that analogy. Like Vicki, I was often the last chosen for a team in those awful and awkward best/most-popular-kid-picks-teammates scenarios that play out in schoolyards across the country. Back then it was humiliating to be the last chosen, the caboose, but today I don't see it as a problem. Today, many (many) years later, I've learned that each of those experiences helps me as a writer to craft characters that have real-life experiences, and some fantasy moments as well.
My latest novella contains a bit of each.
What is the name of the book?
Christmas Dance
Where did the idea for this book come from?
My husband is one of those annoying people who can guess a plot of a movie or TV show usually within the first five minutes, so one of our favorite pastimes is coming up with story ideas. One of us will come up with a premise, then we'll hash it out for awhile, and some of them I write. This story was born years ago, when we lived in the Central Jersey suburbs, raising our two sons. We were active in a local church, and got to know a lot of couples whose kids were the same age. The seed of an idea germinated, what would happen if two of those couples, not married, became attracted.
What genre does this book fall under?
I call it mainstream women's fiction.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters?
Alexandra Anderson - Melissa Peterman, in her early days on Reba.
Ben Anderson - Alexander Skarsgard (okay, Ben isn't quite that hot, or tall, but this is my fantasy)
Sam Herrmann - Chris Pine of the new Star Trek series
Dani Herrmann - Alexis Bledel (she's a little tall for Dani, but I think of her as petite)
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
What happens when two married people take a look at the perfect lives they've created and decide it's not enough; what happens when those same two people catch the eye of a stranger, and like what they see?
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
The book was recently published by independent publisher Edward Allen Publishing, LLC.
How long did it take you to write the first draft?
It took me about six months. I too have a full-time day job!
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Hmm....I'm not sure I know of another book with a similar plot!
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
This is the story of "the other man" and "the other woman" told from their perspectives. The story explores what happens after the happily-ever-after moment, when the characters settle into real life, with jobs and bills and children. Ultimately, I think it's a story of love and hope.
So that concludes this branch of The Next Best Thing blog hop. I hope everyone is having a joyous holiday season, and I wish you and yours a blessed 2013!
Happy reading!
Leah
Christmas Dance is available in eBook for Kindle, at Kobo and eBookPie
In her blog, Vicki talked about being the last two (?) participants in this author event which has been making the rounds for awhile, and she appropriately named us the "caboose" because she and I are the apparently the final two who want to participate. I like that analogy. Like Vicki, I was often the last chosen for a team in those awful and awkward best/most-popular-kid-picks-teammates scenarios that play out in schoolyards across the country. Back then it was humiliating to be the last chosen, the caboose, but today I don't see it as a problem. Today, many (many) years later, I've learned that each of those experiences helps me as a writer to craft characters that have real-life experiences, and some fantasy moments as well.
My latest novella contains a bit of each. What is the name of the book?
Christmas Dance
Where did the idea for this book come from?
My husband is one of those annoying people who can guess a plot of a movie or TV show usually within the first five minutes, so one of our favorite pastimes is coming up with story ideas. One of us will come up with a premise, then we'll hash it out for awhile, and some of them I write. This story was born years ago, when we lived in the Central Jersey suburbs, raising our two sons. We were active in a local church, and got to know a lot of couples whose kids were the same age. The seed of an idea germinated, what would happen if two of those couples, not married, became attracted.
What genre does this book fall under?
I call it mainstream women's fiction.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters?
Alexandra Anderson - Melissa Peterman, in her early days on Reba.
Ben Anderson - Alexander Skarsgard (okay, Ben isn't quite that hot, or tall, but this is my fantasy)
Sam Herrmann - Chris Pine of the new Star Trek series
Dani Herrmann - Alexis Bledel (she's a little tall for Dani, but I think of her as petite)
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
What happens when two married people take a look at the perfect lives they've created and decide it's not enough; what happens when those same two people catch the eye of a stranger, and like what they see?
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
The book was recently published by independent publisher Edward Allen Publishing, LLC.
How long did it take you to write the first draft?
It took me about six months. I too have a full-time day job!
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Hmm....I'm not sure I know of another book with a similar plot!
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
This is the story of "the other man" and "the other woman" told from their perspectives. The story explores what happens after the happily-ever-after moment, when the characters settle into real life, with jobs and bills and children. Ultimately, I think it's a story of love and hope.
So that concludes this branch of The Next Best Thing blog hop. I hope everyone is having a joyous holiday season, and I wish you and yours a blessed 2013!
Happy reading!
Leah
Christmas Dance is available in eBook for Kindle, at Kobo and eBookPie
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Author Tag...You're it!
Good friend and fellow author Alicia Dean has a brand-new
web site up, and to celebrate its launch, several of us are
playing author tag. (It's a game where we answer a couple
quick questions about our current works, then tag five more
authors, so on and so forth.) Check out Alicia's post
here.
Here are my answers:
What is the working title of your book?
Escape to Sanctuary
Where did the idea for the book come from?
This is the second book in The Way series (Surrender to Sanctuary was the first) which explores a lifestyle choice (read: adult) practiced for spiritual reasons. My husband and I are fascinated by ancient cults and religions, and the idea was conceived as a blending of those two interests.
What genre does your book fall under?
I'd say mystery/suspense, with some romance thrown in. But there is a third book to the series, where the whole story will come full circle.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
That's tough, especially because I'm so out of who the big actors are. For David Owens, I'd have to go with Nick Wechsler who plays Jack Porter on ABC's Revenge. (Love that show!) For Anna Parker, probably Megan Fox comes the closest physically to the image in my head. I'm open to suggestions,though!
Now I need to tag five friends. This is even more difficult, because I'm blessed to have so many talented writing buddies, but here goes:
Denise Golinowski - fantasy and paranormal
Sofie Couch - YA paranormal and humor
Nara Malone - erotic romance
Tina Glasneck - suspense with romantic elements
Nancy Naigle - stories of small town and suspense
Here are my answers:
What is the working title of your book?
Escape to Sanctuary
Where did the idea for the book come from?
This is the second book in The Way series (Surrender to Sanctuary was the first) which explores a lifestyle choice (read: adult) practiced for spiritual reasons. My husband and I are fascinated by ancient cults and religions, and the idea was conceived as a blending of those two interests.
What genre does your book fall under?
I'd say mystery/suspense, with some romance thrown in. But there is a third book to the series, where the whole story will come full circle.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
That's tough, especially because I'm so out of who the big actors are. For David Owens, I'd have to go with Nick Wechsler who plays Jack Porter on ABC's Revenge. (Love that show!) For Anna Parker, probably Megan Fox comes the closest physically to the image in my head. I'm open to suggestions,though!
Now I need to tag five friends. This is even more difficult, because I'm blessed to have so many talented writing buddies, but here goes:
Denise Golinowski - fantasy and paranormal
Sofie Couch - YA paranormal and humor
Nara Malone - erotic romance
Tina Glasneck - suspense with romantic elements
Nancy Naigle - stories of small town and suspense
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Me and Beyonce, BFFs 4Ever
So last night I received this notice in my e-mail. (See screen shot below.) It's from Twitter, telling me I have a new follower. I look, look again, then click it open.
What?! Beyonce Knowles, world-famous singer, actress, super-gorgeous, super-talented superstar, is following middle-aged, anonymous me on Twitter?!
My neurotic, naturally shy self immediately choked, laughed, then said, Oh please, get real! But my author self, the Leah who is growing accustomed to putting herself out there to the world, experienced this rush of hopeful excitement that maybe, just maybe...
I opened the profile page and saw 60,000-plus followers. Respectable, although I would have expected in the millions for a woman of her stature. She's also following more than 30,000... Hmmm, that Beyonce sure likes to follow people, I mused to myself.
I began to read a few of Beyonce's posts, all one-liner words of wisdom, the type of posts I don't have the desire to create or patience to read. But nothing about music or performing or....
So finally, in deference to cautious, neurotic Leah, I re-read Beyonce's description and noticed another twitter handle stuck at the end. I dug a little more and discovered the profile is owned by a young woman from somewhere halfway around the world who has several more twitter handles, including one for Marilyn Monroe!
After recovering from the slight twinge of annoyance that for some reason Marilyn wasn't following me too :-), I followed back.
Now, I admit I'm a relative newcomer to Twitter. My followers and followees number in the hundreds, not thousands. In fact, I generally describe myself as Twitter-challenged, and there's probably much I can learn from a person who has 60,000-plus followers, regardless of his/her identity. Still why a young woman, thousands of miles away, has created these faux identities of American icons is beyond my comprehension. Unless she's conducting some sort of psycho-social experiment ...or it's some kid sitting in his parents' basement in Encino, California, infecting the world's computers with the latest super-virus...or maybe it's really the government trolling for terrorists and I've just added myself to the terrorist watch list...
Happy tweeting, everyone!
What?! Beyonce Knowles, world-famous singer, actress, super-gorgeous, super-talented superstar, is following middle-aged, anonymous me on Twitter?!
My neurotic, naturally shy self immediately choked, laughed, then said, Oh please, get real! But my author self, the Leah who is growing accustomed to putting herself out there to the world, experienced this rush of hopeful excitement that maybe, just maybe...
I opened the profile page and saw 60,000-plus followers. Respectable, although I would have expected in the millions for a woman of her stature. She's also following more than 30,000... Hmmm, that Beyonce sure likes to follow people, I mused to myself.
I began to read a few of Beyonce's posts, all one-liner words of wisdom, the type of posts I don't have the desire to create or patience to read. But nothing about music or performing or....
So finally, in deference to cautious, neurotic Leah, I re-read Beyonce's description and noticed another twitter handle stuck at the end. I dug a little more and discovered the profile is owned by a young woman from somewhere halfway around the world who has several more twitter handles, including one for Marilyn Monroe!
After recovering from the slight twinge of annoyance that for some reason Marilyn wasn't following me too :-), I followed back.
Now, I admit I'm a relative newcomer to Twitter. My followers and followees number in the hundreds, not thousands. In fact, I generally describe myself as Twitter-challenged, and there's probably much I can learn from a person who has 60,000-plus followers, regardless of his/her identity. Still why a young woman, thousands of miles away, has created these faux identities of American icons is beyond my comprehension. Unless she's conducting some sort of psycho-social experiment ...or it's some kid sitting in his parents' basement in Encino, California, infecting the world's computers with the latest super-virus...or maybe it's really the government trolling for terrorists and I've just added myself to the terrorist watch list...
Happy tweeting, everyone!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Six Sentence Sunday ~ May 6
Welcome to Six Sentence Sunday! I'm happy to join a bunch of talented authors who share just six sentences of one of their stories.
I'm continuing with Surrender to Sanctuary, the story of FBI Agents David and Anna who go under cover in a BDSM club to solve a murder. Here, a mentor cautions David.
"If you show up looking like you'll deck the first man who glances in Anna's direction, you'll blow the cover. Once that happens, her safety, her survival, will be in jeopardy."
Suspicious now, he asked, "Where are you going with this?"
"Well, I see your feelings growing each time you're together."
The quicksand tumbled in on David's head,and he gave a rough laugh. "Feelings?"
I hope you enjoyed these six, and I hope you'll get a chance to check out the other great excerpts from Six Sentence Sunday!
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Six Sentence Sunday ~ 4/29/12
Hello, all, and welcome to this week's Six Sentence Sunday! Another six this week from my romantic suspense Surrender to Sanctuary.
Wearing another of her sexy suits, her hair once again pinned up in that thing that made him want to take it down, moving with that athletic grace of hers, she stopped short when she spotted him. For a heartbeat he wondered if she was remembering those few moments they'd spent in each other's arms, as he was. And if the sleepless night had taught him anything, it was that he'd lay pretty much everything on the line to keep Anna Parker from harm, including going along with this crazy scheme of hers.
But ready? That was a different story. He'd never be ready for what they planned.
I hope you enjoyed these six, and I hope you'll get a chance to check out the other great excerpts from Six Sentence Sunday!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)