another review...

this time from the Romantic Times. Reviewer Jill M. Smith gave me 4 stars and says, " Riley and her twin brother Rhoan, from the sizzling Full Moon Rising, are back, and Arthur heightens the sexy thrills and supernatural chills by chronicling their deadly adventures in a trilogy of back-to-back releases. Get ready for one heck of a ride!"

apparently, Tempting Evil has also received a four star review in the March edition of the mag, but I haven't received my copy yet, so I can't tell you what that says.

And while I know watching the Amazon numbers go up and down is the way to madness (because Amazon have their own weird way of working sales numbers out, and it often doesn't relate to the rest of the world), it's very exciting to see that, as of this very moment--5.15pm Oz time--Kissing Sin has the honour of holding my lowest ever Amazon ranking (325). I should save the page, just to prove it did happen if none of the others get down that low :D

it's done...

well, I hope it is, anyway. I've finally sent Embraced by Darkness back to my editor, so keep your fingers crossed that this time, the changes all make sense and I don't have to add anything else. I'm really over this story right now (and I really, really, want to write Riley 6. I have whole scenes replaying over in my head, and I need to get them down on paper!)

But that's not going to happen just yet, because first I need to concentrate on Destiny. Hopefully the edits won't take too long, because I've just got to add in -- or rather, clarify -- the magic of the world, where the hero comes from, stuff like that. Minor stuff, in the over scheme of things. Everyone who has read it so far said they've been too busy reading--needing to find out what happens--to see any major mistakes, so that at least means I've got the pacing and tension just about right. There will be tweaks, of course, but nothing major.

In other news, Kissing Sin is just about out (or, in the case of some bookstores, already out), so it'll be exciting to see how that goes. I'm running a website contest to celebrate its release, so if you're interested in a Bad Taste Dracula Bear, and some Aussie goodies, head on over to my site and enter.

same old same old...

I'm still working on the never-ending edits of Embraced by Darkness (book 5). My editor loved all the changes I'd made in the previous round, but the only trouble was, with all those problems cleared up, an obvious plot hole which both of us had missed because of those other problems became even more obvious. So, I'm tidying that up right now--and it means major rewrites and scene cutting in some areas. One of these days I will be finished! (I have to be -- the book comes out in July!)

Speaking of coming out, Kissing Sin is only a week and a bit from release. And it has its first reviews. Mandy Burns from Fresh Fiction said "I am addicted!! KISSING SIN, the second book of Arthur's fabulous guardian series is phenomenal. FULL MOON RISING, the first book, is just as delicious and erotic, and both of them leave you excited and impatient to read the next one, TEMPTING EVIL, coming in March."

And Harriet Klausner says "KISSING SIN is a fast paced action packed romantic fantasy that takes place on an earth so descriptive readers will feel they must have visited it."

Woohoo! on both reviews :)

And for those interested in giveaways, the scifi site is running another sweepstake, with a copy of Kissing Sin and a T-shirt as the prize. And Mania Books is running a contest with a copy of the book as a prize.

Have a good day! (or night, as the case may be for those not on my side of the world.) I'm off to do more of those dratted edits

lots of stuff...

It's a bits and pieces sort of day today. I've got the second lot of edits back for Embraced (more problems--yikes!) so I thought I'd post about all the bits that have been happening (or are happening).

First off, I have the cover art for Embraced by Darkness and it's great! Check this out:


I love the theme they have running through all the covers, and the colors they've used are just fantastic. The red in this one really stands out--and it's a brighter red than the one they used for FMR.


Have you been over to the Scifi site yet? Bantam's running a huge Riley Jenson Guardian series promotion over there , and you can enter sweepstakes (to win a book and a guardian T-Shirt) and fill in a character poll. The sweepstakes are only open until the 17th, so you haven't much time left on that one!

Mania.com are also doing a giveaway--the prize being a copy of Full Moon Rising. That can be found by clicking here.

Jason Nahrung from The Courier Mail up in Brisbane did a great article on the rise of paranormal romance, and I've got several good mentions in it. You can check it out here.

I'll have another website contest up and running soon, so look out for that one. The prize will be a Dracula Bad Taste Bear and Aussie goodies including a cap, a calendar and some chocolate.

almost there...

with the Embraced edits. I've actually finished all the editing, and now I just have to do a final read-through, and make sure it all flows. And that it all makes sense. (Something some of the previous plot lines didn't). Then it's onto the 6th book for a week or so before I get down to editing Destiny. (it's due to be handed in at the end of January). I actually showed the start of the 6th book to my crit group (The Lulus) yesterday, and it went over well, which was a relief. The start of this book is a lot different to previous starts--as the girls said, the previous ones were either all action orientated or at least had a sense of menace. This one was more humourous, and I was worried that it might be a little boring. Not so. At least, not yet. We'll see what happens when I finish the rest of the chapter.

In other news, Full Moon Rising has risen on the USA Today bestseller list to number 78. How cool is that? As I've said in previous blogs, this is my first book on any besterseller list, so it's such a buzz watching it go up (or down, as the case may be next week). Thanks again to everyone who purchased the book and helped make this possible!

I did something strange yesterday...

I went and plotted a book. Now, before you all keel over with the shock of me--the worlds biggest pantzer--actually plotting a book, I'd just like to say that it isn't your regular, story-in-line type plot. It's more a rambly, whole heap of ideas thrown onto a page, type plot. I haven't changed the way I write, I just needed to get the ideas down on a page before they disappeared out of the brain. I think that's part of the reason Embraced was such a mess (the other reason being lack of time to revise). I actually wrote the first chapter and a half of Embraced at the beginning of 2006 and, back then, had a good idea of where I wanted it to go. But Destiny was contracted to be handed in first and that's what I began concentrating on. Then Bantam contacted me and wanted the hand-in dates switched. I think my first words were along the lines of oh crap. And those words were barely out of my mouth when all the lovely ideas I'd had for Embraced just went slithering from my brain and were forever lost. Of course, I hadn't bothered to write any of them down, and ended up having to muddle my way through, desperately trying to remember what I'd actually intended.

Not this time. This time I will have notes to remind me of what I intended. Which is not to say that I won't veer seriously away from the notes, but at least they're there if I get stuck. And I have to say, I'm liking the ideas. A lot. There's going to be a dramatic turn of events for Liander and Rhoan in this one, and, as I mentioned in the previous blog, the return of a major character. And I am so looking forward to bring that character back. Of course, whether I bring said character back in a good way or a bad way is just something you'll have to wait for and read. (insert evil laughter here) :)

But back to Embraced. I've finished the major rewrites, and am now doing the line edits. I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the way this is shaping up. It may have been a mess, but I think it's becoming a pretty powerful story. Hopefully, anyway. I guess I won't know for sure until it's out on the shelf and being read. Which is only another 6 months away! :)

good news...

Got an email from my editor this morning telling me that Full Moon Rising had hit the USA Today bestseller list at 101! To say I was stunned would be the understatement of the year (even if the year is still very young ;) ). I was hoping for good sales but I didn't think FMR stood a chance of getting near any best seller list, not with all the fantastic books by well known authors out at the moment and me being a relative unknown . So, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who headed on out to a bookstore (or went online) to buy the book. You've made my day :)

I think that's about it for writing news, though. I'm still battling my way through the edits for Embraced by Darkness. I got the cover copy today, which means the actual cover shouldn't be too far away. I'll put it up as soon as I do get it. I did get another idea for Riley 6, this one involving a character that I've just introduced in book 5. I think he's going to be the reason for the reintroduction of a major character back into the series (sorry, can't say anything more, because I'll head into spoiler territory!) And I got another idea for the second Destiny book, this one involving sea dragons. I just need to get these edits finished so I can concentrate on my new novels!

happy new year, everyone...

Well, 2007 is here, and so is the time for New Years resolutions. Luckily for me, I no longer believe in making said resolutions, basically because I suck at actually keeping them. I think for the last 20 years I've decided at the beginning of the year that I'm going to lose weight, and I've only ever succeeded in putting on. So, no more of that.

Which isn't to say I haven't got goals for the year--I just refused to make them resolutions and set myself up for failure :). This year, I'm hoping to get fitter, and to complete at least two new books--the sixth Riley, and the second Destiny. All totally achievable aims. Of course, the muse also had a spark of an idea for a new series the other day, plus there's all those other story ideas waiting in the wings for their turn, so who knows what will happen. But as long as I've done two books by the time 2008 rolls around, I'll be happy.

to writing news--the revisions on Embraced by Darkness are chugging along. There's some major rewriting happening, so this lot of edits are going a lot slower than previous revisions. Of course, this story was a whole lot messier than others. Which is why I want to get at least two new books done this year--I want to give myself tons of time to let both stories sit for a while before I go back and edit. That's been one of the problems with Embraced--I simply didn't have to time to let the book sit. As a consequence, I never really edited the book with the benefit of time and 'fresh eyes' behind me. I was reading what I thought should be there more than what was actually there. Hence, the mess.

Luckily, Destiny will have the benefit of time, so hopefully, by the time I choof that off to my editor, there'll be fewer mistakes aboard.

Anyway, here's hoping that 2007 is good to you all!