Saying Goodbye-Hello

Sounds like a Beatles's tune, doesn't it? Or is it another old group? Anyway, I've moved my blog over to Wordpress - http://carlaswafford.wordpress.com/, so be sure to click one more time and see what I'm up to.

See you there!

Day One of New Blog Tour

Hey, come and comment at Cocktails and Books. I'm giving away books and a $10 gift card. Let's celebrate my newest release, CIRCLE OF DECEPTION.

See you there!

Giveaways! RELEASE DAY!

Yes! I'm celebrating my release today of CIRCLE OF DECEPTION.

The e-format is available to purchase and later today (9 p.m. central US time), I will be announcing the winners of the Kindle Paperwhite and $100 Amazon Gift eCard. So you still have time to sign up. Sign up for those at www.carlaswafford.com.

In the meanwhile, I will be giving away three e-format copies. All you have to do is go to my post at the Romance Magician blog and tell me what was your favorite gift you received this year. Three commenters will win and can choose any copy of the series: CIRCLE OF DESIRE, CIRCLE OF DANGER, or CIRCLE OF DECEPTION.

Plus through January 22 (paperback release), you can sign up at Goodreads to win a copy there. HarperCollins is giving away a copy each to five lucky winners.

For more information, go to the Romance Magician blog.

[12/29/12 update on giveaways announced on Facebook 12/28/12: Congratulations to Tessa Bamberg of Finland! She won the $100 Amazon Gift Card. Congratulations to Cathy MacDonald of California! She won the Kindle Paperwhite! Congratulations to Billie (hkgunfamily), Leanna Feazel, and Michelle Bledsoe! They each won a free copy of an e-book and they all picked CIRCLE OF DESIRE! There is still time to go to Goodreads for the giveaway of 5 copies of CIRCLE OF DECEPTION. And be sure to stay on my mailing list to learn about the next giveaway. Thank you.]

Giveaways tomorrow!

The Circle Series

As you probably know, the third book in The Circle series is due to be released in e-format on December 26. 

When I first wrote CIRCLE OF DESIRE with the passionate Olivia and reserved Collin as the main characters, I had already planned the next five-six books and their primary characters with a vague plot for each. Before DESIRE was published, I had already written a couple chapters of the second book (CIRCLE OF DANGER) and looked forward to seeing how Collin’s scarred brother, Ryker, would handle the newly liberated Marie and was certain the next couple would include the second in command to Ryker, Jack Drago. But my editor at the time loved Rex and Abby, and wanted their story next.

 

Actually, I planned for their story to be book number four but after DESIRE was published I read in several reviews how they were curious about six-five Rex and deadly Abby. So what the heck! CIRCLE OF DECEPTION became the next story and I was glad. All of it fell into place.

Though I rarely hear of authors doing this, when I’m between writing projects, I’ll pull out my books and re-read sections of them. Hey, I write books I would love to read. Makes sense to me.

Believe it or not, but I’m always surprised when I see where I've placed some foreshadowing in the previous book that I don’t remember. I’m sure a lot of it has to do with me already knowing the back story for each character. Maybe not the whole back story but enough that it helps flesh them out when I write their book.

Okay, now you’re asking, what happened to books four through six? The blurb for DECEPTION does say “Carla Swafford's erotic Circle series comes to an exhilarating finale as the team of sexy spies and assassins goes undercover-under the covers.”

The lovely thing about the new age of publishing is that authors have options for their books. I’ll let you know when more CIRCLE series are available. For now, I have a couple of other deadly series in mind, and like most authors, I can’t say much about them as I have no idea of when they’ll be written. Yes. I’m a tease.

Giveaway - 5 paperback books!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Circle of Deception

by Carla Swafford

Giveaway ends January 22, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

A Year Later

In 2011, I went on a diet with a Dr.'s help and lost a lot of weight. The Dr.'s plan was so expensive, I had to quit before I reached my goal. Yes. I've gained a little weight back but I know what I have to do to get back on track. Anyway, I wanted to show you a picture of me with Susan Elizabeth Phillips (one of my favorite authors) in 2010 BD (before diet) and then in 2012 AD (after diet).  See both pictures below.

2010 BD

2012 AD

And think. Maybe a handful of people I know even noticed I had lost weight.  LOL! (Oh, I had heels on in the second picture.)

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Thanks to JB Lynn for asking me to be part of this blog hop. And thankfully this one has questions to answer. I will cheat a little by giving information on my soon to be released The Circle series book, CIRCLE OF DECEPTION, instead of my work-in-progress one. I hate to give out too much information on a book not sold. Too much can be changed about it, or it could not be sold, and I have no idea if or when I’ll have time to self-publish a book. So let’s dive in.

What is the working title of your book?

CIRCLE OF DECEPTION is the only one of the three that kept its original working title. CIRCLE OF DESIRE was originally titled by me as OUT OF THE SHADOWS and CIRCLE OF DANGER was IN THE SHADOWS. Though I will say that I had planned for the next book in this series, before it sold, would be BEYOND THE SHADOWS, but I had never attached it to DECEPTION. BEYOND was to be Jack’s story (he’s in DANGER as the lead male character’s second in command). Maybe in the future I’ll have time to write and self-publish his story along with a couple others.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

In the case of DECEPTION, it grew from the previous two books, DESIRE and DANGER. The Circle series itself came from my love of spy, mercenaries and assassin books and movies, such as James Bond (my favorite is anything Pierce Brosnan was in), the TV series from early 2000, La Femme Nikita, Linda Howard’s ALL THE QUEEN’S MEN, Shannon McKenna’s McCloud books and Anne Stuart’s ICE series.

What genre does your book fall under?

Avon lists it under erotic romantic suspense, though I see it in erotica categories on the book sites, it’s really not erotica. Yes. It’s hot but not to the extent of most erotica stories.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?

The Rock with hair could play Rex and Jessica Alba as Abby. The reason I show The Rock with long and short hair is that it was past his broad shoulders in DESIRE and DANGER, but in DECEPTION he’d gone commando and cut it high and tight.

What is a one sentence synopsis of your book?

Two lovers must come to understand what happened in the past is unimportant when it comes being in love in the here and now.

Will your book be self published or represented by an agency?

This book was represented by an agency.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I wrote it on and off for six months.  Usually it takes me four months for first draft and one to two months to edit.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I guess the books I mentioned above under “where did the idea come from.” But I believe my books have their own feel to them.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

In this case, I’ll talk about what inspired me to write the series. At the time, I had finished four paranormal romances and two small town romantic suspense books. None were getting the attention from editors or agents that I hoped. I’d heard that vampire books weren’t selling and my small town books kept getting rejected, so I decided I needed to write something else. As writers, we’re told to write what you love to read. Well, that would’ve been paranormal romances, but since that market was saturated, I decided to write my next love: Spy books, especially like La Femme Nikita. Then the idea for CIRCLE OF DESIRE was born.

What else about your book might interest the reader?

There’s a scene in the book I wrote from personal experience. LOL!  I’m such a tease.

Mini Excerpt:    (Abby and Rex meet others before a dinner given by arms dealer, Brody.)

The first person to enter was the tall blonde with manufactured boobs Brody had brought to the cocktail party.

“You remember Greta. She was kind enough to play hostess for me tonight.” Brody pulled her into his arms and kissed her. No light peck on the lips for them, instead tongues thrust and parried into each other’s mouths, visible in flashes while Brody’s hand covered and squeezed a full breast.

Feeling a little uncomfortable with the reenactment from the other night, Abby glanced up at Rex. With a smirk on his face, he watched with interest. She jabbed him in the side. His grunt brought his attention to her. She jerked her head at the display and lifted her shoulders.

“Such a sweet candy cane. Always in season.” Brody chuckled as he pulled away. He then slapped her butt as she walked by barely acknowledging them with a nod as she lifted a glass of white and slunk over to the sectional.

Next, a beautiful man and woman glided in. They looked so much alike, they could’ve been related. Their long blonde, almost white hair ended at the small of their backs. Abby had never seen a man with hair that long and silky and smooth. The desire to touch it had her clutching her glass a little tighter. Their eyes were the lightest gray and like the color of snow at night with a full moon. The only difference between the two was what they wore. His pale blue jeans were topped with a regular white button up shirt, while the woman dressed in an ankle length white cotton dress that was so thin, Abby could see her small dark nipples underneath.

Okay. Talk about getting creepier by the minute.

“I would like to introduce the supreme artists of photography, Leif and Spring Erickson. Their pictures have been shown in the renowned Museum of Modern Art in New York City and so many galleries, they’re too numerous to count.” Brody leaned over and air-kissed their cheeks. “These are my dear friends, Rurik Volkov and his wife, Abby.”

“So nice to meet you.” The man had a slight lisp and the woman stared at Rex as if she wanted to eat him where he stood. What surprised Abby was how the man looked at Rex the same way. Oh, oh. The couple finally moved away with glasses of white wine—figured—over to the sofa to sit across from Greta.

The last couple to walk in looked like the average redneck and his barely clothed wife. His Dale Earnhardt Junior ball cap had sweat-stains around the brim and his wife’s visible stomach sported a red eighty-eight dangling from a loop in her belly button.

 “So you two are Brody’s new friends.” He reached out his hand to Rex and started pumping. “I’m Bubba Hagley and this here is my wife, Kristy.”

Abby tilted her head as the men shook hands. The dark-headed man looked familiar to her for some reason. She’d never met a Bubba before and certainly not the one standing in front of her, but his dark eyes and the way he held himself reminded her of someone.

“So nice to meet you, sweet thang, and I hope to get to know you much better over the weekend.” Bubba’s grin warned he meant exactly what he was saying. Though he was handsome and a little thinner than she liked, his sable brown eyes pulled her in, encouraging her to trust him.

“Now, sugar, don’t let him frighten you. He’s a teddy bear and loves all women. He gets carried away at times.” His wife slapped his hand. That was when she realized he’d grabbed hers and held it tight.

“He doesn’t frighten me.” She tugged at her hand, and he continued to grin at her.

“Bubba, I’m Rurik. Her husband.” Rex pulled on her wrist.

Were they going to have a tug of war with her as the rope? Thankfully Bubba had the sense to let go.

With a crooked grin that Abby found interesting, Bubba chuckled as he released her and placed his arm over his wife’s bare shoulders and joined the others.

Thanks to JB Lynn for inviting me to be part of this Blog Hop. I was to tag five other authors, but there are so many Blog Hops (or the same one) going on, only two accepted. I’m betting you’ll enjoy their posts too.  They should show up next week, so be sure to come back and check it out.

Julie Johnstone at Lady Scribes www.ladyscribes.blogspot.com

Lexi George at Romance Magicians www.romancemagicians.blogspot.com

Now for the question:  What is your favorite go-to type of story?  Vampires, ghosts, spies, small town, cowboy (modern or 1800’s), military, etc.

One commenter will win an e-format copy of CIRCLE OF DECEPTION!  Be aware that it won’t be available until December 26.

And if you would like a chance to win a Kindle or $100 Amazon gift card, go to my website at www.carlaswafford.com and sign up for my newsletter. Details are there.

And again, if you’re on Goodreads, look under CIRCLE OF DECEPTION for the paperback giveaway.

Good reading!

Shout Out To Sherrilyn!

I just wanted to give a shout out to Sherrilyn Kenyon today.  It's her birthday!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The Next Big Thing Date Changed

I had planned to post my blog hop today but this weekend I fell behind on some of my extra writing, such as blogs. So come back on Wednesday and it'll be here. Actually, I had all week to post, but first picked Monday thinking I would get a lot of work done over the weekend, but at the time, I hadn't expected to be still working on my proposal. That's the way it goes, heh?  So see you Wednesday, okay?

Oh, and on Tuesday, I'll be at Romance Magicians' blog talking about my first meeting with my buddy, Sherrilyn Kenyon.

Thanks.