CREEP

A few months ago, Jennifer Hillier sent me a copy of her debut thriller, CREEP. My initial thought had been to do a review, but how often do you see me doing book reviews? Exactly. You don't.

I can't pull them off. I ramble too much. (Shocking, I know.) Instead, I decided to try something fun: a painting. We'll get back to that in a moment. 

What I will say, in the way of a review, is that I loved CREEP. I don't read many thrillers (because I'm a baby), but I devoured this book. Good stuff. I promise.

Here's the--

Wait! Let me start the mood music (clean version)...

Okay, here's the blurb from Jennifer's site:

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IF HE CAN'T HAVE HER . . .

Dr. Sheila Tao is a professor of psychology. An expert in human behaviour. And when she began an affair with sexy, charming graduate student Ethan Wolfe, she knew she was playing with fire. Consumed by lust when they were together, riddled with guilt when they weren't, she knows the three-month fling with her teaching assistant has to end. After all, she's engaged to a kind and loving investment banker who adores her, and she's taking control of her life. But when she attempts to end the affair, Ethan Wolfe won't let her walk away.

. . . NOBODY ELSE CAN.

Ethan has plans for Sheila, plans that involve posting a sex video that would surely get her fired and destroy her prestigious career. Plans to make her pay for rejecting him. And as she attempts to counter his every threatening move without her colleagues or her fiancé discovering her most intimate secrets, a shattering crime rocks Puget Sound State University: a female student, a star athlete, is found stabbed to death. Someone is raising the stakes of violence, sex, and blackmail . . . and before she knows it, Sheila is caught in a terrifying cat-and-mouse game with the lover she couldn't resist—who is now the monster who won't let her go. 

***

 (You can buy CREEP from your local bookseller or places like: Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Barnes & Noble, Chapters Indigo, Borders, Books-A-Million, Powell's, and IndieBound.)

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Anyway, I'm a firm believer that rockstar authors (and awesome friends) need devoted readers and fans, so here's a little "fanart" of Sheila:

Have a great week, guys! ♥

I Feel Naked...

I'm at the stage of the game where I feel naked--vulnerable, I guess. Critique partners are finishing their feedback, beta readers are going through a (more) polished version, writer-friends are looking over my query letter, and I'm starting to share my "pitch" when it comes up in conversation.

Image by Bob B. Brown

Exciting, right? One little problem: I'm stuck in the universal nightmare. Yep, that one. It starts with a seemingly normal situation, then... wait. What's this? I'M NAKED. Everyone's staring, maybe even laughing, but it's too late to cover up.

It's the same thing with this book. Sharing my story will mean putting myself out there. I'll have to expose myself to a variety of reactions, and I can't turn away. I mean, that's what I signed up for, isn't it? It's what we all signed up for.

Maybe it's time for me to feel comfortable in my own skin--or, in this case, my own words. What about you? Anyone else (figuratively) naked?

Have a great week, guys! ♥

Ebook Celebration!

Wait! Before you panic, today is not Monday. I just wanted to let you know Meredith Barnes of Lowenstein Associates is having an Ebook Celebration!

I know, I know. "But, Carrie, what could that possibly mean?" Here's the gist: Her agency has gotten a ton of formerly out-of-print books up and selling on Amazon, and they have  plans to do more. To celebrate, she's asking people to spread the word about some of these authors:

• Deborah Camp (A mix of contemporary and Old West Historical romances...over 40 coming in the near future, but here is a list of 10 or so available now)
  
• Lorena Dureau (Historical Romance: American Colonial South and West. Very Sexy)
  
• Dan Streib (thrillers with a James-Bond-meets-Anderson-Cooper main character)
  
• Barbara Keesling (her too-hot-to-blog nonfiction is here, here, and here)

So, tell your friends! (If you repost the links between now and midnight EST on Sunday, in two places on the internet, she'll give you a query critique! See her blog for details.) Now check out those authors. This is a celebration, after all. ;)

Have a great weekend! ♥

Progress!

Okay, I have three quick things I want to run past you.

1. If you haven't heard, Blogger finally implemented threaded comments last week. That means you can actually reply to comments now, without having to use a third-party like Disqus. (And the peasants rejoiced!)

Of course, there's a catch. For those of us who have (or, in my case, had) customized templates, it doesn't seem to work yet--which brings me to my second point.

2. I redesigned my blog (and its button)! 

...Okay, I'll admit, I was going to revamp it this month anyway. I wanted SYAW to match my website and personal blog, so I gave it a nice woodgrain. The ability to have threaded comments? That was just a bonus.

3. Last, but not least, I want to talk about progress. Last week, I caught up with crits and started writing the sequel to STRENGTH. Can I just say how much I flippin' love the early stages? You get to do all the fun, exploratory writing, without worrying (too much) about structure. It's been too long since I've gotten to hang out with my characters in their world. I'm on cloud nine. 

Unfortunately, as we approach February, that'll change. After I get my last couple of crits back on STRENGTH, I'll do another round of revisions, and then it'll be query time. (Why hello, harsh reality. I didn't see you lurking there.) So, what are you guys working on this month? Making any progress? :)

Oh, and are you going to take advantage of that new comment feature? So far, I love it.

Have a great week, guys! ♥

Being Open-Minded

I went through some old boxes last night and ended up coming across my journal from elementary school. It was every bit the embarrassing treasure trove you’d imagine (especially the part where I declared my love for our student teacher), but one entry stuck out to me.

Loosely translated, it said:

“When you choose a book, sometimes you already have an idea in your head about it. That’s the attitude you’ll have through the whole book, and it’ll seem that way.”

Huh. Not a bad observation, little Carrie. In fact, it reminds me of something we’re all guilty of from time to time...

See, there are some people in this world who force-loan their books. They’re co-workers, acquaintances, neighbors, classmates, etc. People you “know,” but don’t really know—if you know what I mean.  (Yep, three times. One sentence.) You’ve never shared interests or had any kind of book discussion with them, but they’re positive you’re going to love this book. They did, after all. Why wouldn’t you?

They ramble off some impromptu pitch, and you plaster on that I’m-feigning-interest-but-I’d-rather-watch-paint-dry smile. (Which is, of course, followed by the Oh-God-I-hope-you-forget-to-follow-up-on-this nod.) Maybe they make it sound boring. Maybe they make it sound pretentious. Either way, you form an opinion of the book long before it ever leaves their hands.

By the time you guilt yourself into reading it, you’ve already summoned the appropriate amount of dread. You glance at the clock and think, “Okay, I can probably power through this in a couple hours. Then I'll reward myself with a bottle of wine and my DVD collection of Firefly.” You grit through the first few chapters, hyperaware of the fact that you’re reading something against your will... but then (if you’re lucky), something funny happens.

You blink, and you’re one page 148.

Time passed, your guard lowered, but you have no recollection of anything outside the story. You became invested, despite your reservations, and now you have to finish it. Guess what? Come Monday morning, you’re going to be the one spouting this book’s praises—whether it’s to the person you borrowed it from or someone else.

Though, 47% of the time, the book will be a dud and you’ll have an awkward exchange to look forward to.  It happens.

Sometimes, you just have to be open-minded and give things a chance. You might be glad you did. :)

 

Have a great week, guys! ♥

P.S. Thanks to Nancy Thompson for the Great Comments Award! I appreciate it! :)

Question of the Week: Have you ever been force-loaned a book?

New Year, New Website!

So, I have a website.

...Well, kind of. I toyed around with Weebly this weekend, but I only had a vague idea of what I wanted. (I must be a web-pantser!) In its present state, it gives me a romance/friendly neighborhood bar vibe, which isn't half bad--even though I sort of mutilated the original template.

It's nothing fancy-pants, but it will do for now. I just wanted to have a centralized, semi-solid web presense before I query later this month (or next). Know what I mean?

What about you guys? Do you have a website? Do you plan on getting one?

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Okay, now that we have that out of the way... tell me how your holidays went! :)