NEW RELEASE!

MASTERPIECE

by

NANCY S. WARD

Scott Handler is an egotistical middle-aged painter who lives on a generous trust fund and resides in a loft overlooking Boston's Charles River. After a mild nervous breakdown, he paints a masterpiece called "Every Woman," which the critics claimed to be the Mona Lisa of the twenty-first century.

Scott lives for the limelight and in some ways honors "Every Woman" too intensely, at times thinking of the painting as if it were made of flesh. Fire threatens to destroy his masterpiece the night before it is ready to be hung in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He is able to rescue the painting from harm but gives up far too much in order to save it. Soon after the fire, Scott realizes his mistake and is thrown into a whirwind of terror beyond his imagination.

Warning: This story contains violence and adult situations.

Excerpt

"Every Woman" and I reached a creative, egotistical, intellectual climax. Finally, finally, we were going to be famous.
I would not give up my accomplishment for anything, for anyone, and a human life became less important than my masterpiece.
Most would say I played the wrong hand and that the Joker card's smile seduced me. Certain cards in life are dealt to all of us. Some cards we are stuck with at birth and other cards we choose whether to play or fold. Let me tell you right now, that at one time or another in life, the Joker will smile as he deals you a card, just as he did to me. It'll be your decision and yours alone whether or not you touch the Joker's card, slide it towards you, and pull it near your heart.
The Joker is evil, and if you stare at his face long enough you'll see what I mean, and you'll learn that his unsettling grin could promise to give you unexpected fame as it did for me. Maybe it's in the form of stock options, land, a nauseating amount of money, or a lover who has a stomach so flat you could balance a tray on it.
The Joker card could end up killing you and he'll keep smiling as he takes a bite from your heart and spits it out, because what he's after is your soul--and he will get it.
You'll be eaten alive, just as I was.
I was so in love with my work that I began to think of Grace as non-human and that my painting was made of flesh. Few people in this crammed planet enter the spectrum I was part of--the height of satisfaction.
There's no crystal vase you can buy with enough sparkle, no amount of stock with enough potential, and no home beautiful enough to fill that empty room inside your heart when you have to admit to yourself that you spent too much time fussing with your lawn or too much time at the mall.
If I lost control of rational thought, it was my own choice, and I didn't feel sorry about it then.

Available at Chippewa Publishing and soon at Amazon.com and Fictionwise!

NEW RELEASE!

IVONA KNIGHT, VAMPYRESS

by

SHANNON LEIGH

Bound by a promise to rid the earth of her enemy's kin, and cursed to harbor the beast that drove the horrid Prince of Wallacia to perform unspeakable acts of cruelty upon her loved ones, Ivona Knight has spent the last five hundred years fulfilling her pledge to obliterate the Dracula line--but she has done so with a price. She dares not develop friendships or fall in love, her engagements are nothing more than a temporary indulgence; for who-so-ever lingers by her side eventually falls to the lure of The Evil residing within her tainted soul.
Trapped inside a remote tavern by the hammering storm, which has cut off the electricity and continues to blast the walls outside with torrential waves of rain, wind, and hair-raising thunder, Ivona, along with a dozen or so other patrons, pass the time by telling stories. Although she has no interest in the coveted prize, Ivona hopes to gain insight on her latest prey. But as she conveys her tale, she senses a familiar presence emanating from one of the others, one that stirs emotions deep within her which only one other has ever evoked.

Has Ivona found her next target?

Or has she become the hunted?

Available through Chippewa Publishing, Amazon.com, and Fictionwise!

Sleepless nights and exhausting days...

THAT is the life of an editor.

After spending almost twenty-seven hours editing, this Lady Editor is exhausted. Why in the hell did I do something as foolish as editing for that long, you ask? I love my authors. They depend on me to cradle their "babies" in my hands, gently stroking their words until they coo with happiness. I am their surrogate mother while I have them, and I am bound by honor to do my best to raise them as wonderful pieces of fiction, until they grow and mature into Book-adulthood. I must nurture their prose, feed their tender hearts, and send it back to their mother's or father's waiting arms--bringing parent and child back together again for a wonderious and exciting reunion.

Since I will be attending the Romantic Times Convention at the end of this month, I wanted to make sure I had as many edits completed as possible, so my authors will not feel like they are left hanging for a phone call from their children. I wanted to make sure that each "baby" and its parent had plenty of time to spend together while I am away on business--okay, a little pleasure too--in hopes that when I return from my trip, I can collect my "adopted babies" and have some fun with them.

Yes, I know that I probably sound like I am "out of my mind right now," but I assure you, I am not. I do hold these wonderful author's "babies" in my hands. They must count on me to take care of them while they are in my care. Manuscripts are a life-line for most Authors...it lives and breathes along side its creator. I believe EVERY living "creation" deserves to be treated with compassion, love, understanding. and respect--that is also true for these stories, which are born out of the Author's creative minds and flourish in their passionate hearts.

Yes, I am indeed tired and weary, but if you ask me if it is all worth it...my answer would be a resounding, YES!

NEW RELEASE!

PAGING DR. JONES

by

GINGER SIMPSON

A new Medical Romance that will capture your heart!

As the groggy haze clears, Catherine raises her hand and gently touches her bandaged face. Suddenly, memories more painful than her injuries race back and she shudders at the thought of her ex-husband and his alcoholic rages. An unfamiliar voice at her bedside stills her fears and brings her a strange feeling of safety.
Dr. Jones has seen it all as a physician, but looking at his patient's battered and beaten body makes his blood boil. How could a man do this to a woman? At first his attempts to help her rid herself of future violence are out of concern, but before long it is something else that draws him to her bedside. There is something strangely familiar and comforting about her.
Rated romantic and for all audiences.

Available at Chippewa Publishing, Amazon.com, and Fictionwise!

So many edits, so little time... 

If I only had a Brain...

One might wonder what I meant by that title. Well, to tell you the truth, I feel like I have lost my brain and must now wander around aimlessly in search of a new and improved one! LOL

Between working, family, trying to get things ready for RT05, and other crap buzzing through my mind, I fear that my brain is turning to jelly and slowly leaking out through my ears during the few hours I actually do sleep. lol (No comments from Jaynie! LOL) Honestly, I really need to get organized before my brain explodes and my authors find gray matter smeared across their manuscripts instead of the normal sea of red edits. lol

Now...do not get me wrong, I love my job and it is very fulfilling, but it can be quite demanding and at times, stressing. lol I could not imagine doing anything else right now, well, except for writing my own books. In time, I shall accomplish that daunting task.

For now, I find myself delving deep into an authors work--crawling in between and through their words, almost as if I was on an undercover mission of sorts--taking out one mis-spelled word here and sufficating a passive voice somewhere else along the line. I am so deeply involved in not only the story, but in the words themselves, that I see and hear nothing around but the task infront of me at the moment. This, of course, is beyond my DH's realm of understanding. lol I often find my self replying to my husband and children but not remembering what was said. LOL Thank goodness they have not caught on to where this could be of their benefit, yet. lol

As you can probably tell, I am very tired and somewhat in a crazy mood. I do not care if my grammar, spelling, or whatnot is correct at all--sue me. lol My head hurts, I am sick, and I just want to sleep for a week straight. lol Ah, but alas, I cannot. lol I must get back to work, choping and hacking away at another dear soul's work, in hopes of helping them attain their masterpiece.

I will be back to ramble another day on Expensive Hotels that do not offer free shuttle service to and from the airport for convention people staying in their hotel. LMAO