I am excited to announce that Her Sexy Beast (The Chimera Chronicles 6) releases very soon! It was supposed to release August 7th, but my editor at Soul Mate has allowed me to move it up! (Exact date coming later)
I purchased a Windstone editions editions dragon to paint to raffle off to my newsletter subscribers! Above is a video of after I finished the base coat. The “before” is posted on my facebook page. click here I’ll be adding color (and eyes😜) and bringing it with me to NYC for the RWA Literacy Autographing. All you have to do to enter is be one of my newsletter subscribers! I’ll be signing people up at the autographing as well as having copies of book six to sell for literacy! Or you can sign up here on my website or email me with your name and email and I’ll sign you up. The drawing will be held the week after RWA National. So watch this space!
A couple weeks ago, my daughter said to me, “i want to go to the beach.” I was all, “I hate the beach. Sand gets in unmentionable places. We don’t have the money. The ocean is too far.” Etc. Etc. Etc. (Ha! Identify the musical!)
She brought her father in and started on the both of us. I was sure he would brush her off because of the expense, but he took her seriously. We’ve gone tot he beach before, we usually visit his family in NJ and visit the beach for a few hours. It’s a production, food must be sourced and packed, towels, sunscreen, and other necessities must be packed. We go there for a few hours getting beaten by the sun and waves and then go home, exhausted, sticky with salt, and even though there’s a shower at the beach, the tub back at wherever we’re staying is covered with sand and even pebbles 😳 that escaped the shower due to their, eh hem, — inaccessible position. So I threw a spammer in the works. “If we’re going tot he beach,” I said. “We have to stay on the beach. No driving in and driving out.” There I thought, there’s no way they’re are hotels in our budget available directly on the beach!
Guess, what. Challenge accepted. My husband found the Hampton Inn Myrtle Beach. Fast forward to last Monday. We all piled into the car and head for Myrtle Beach.
I have to say, the drive wasn’t that bad. My husband drove the whole way like a champ. The kids, my son 14 and daughter, 16 didn’t fight too much. We started later than we usually do. We typically leave while it’s still dark for long road trips so the kids sleep part of the way, but My husband had flown back from a trail race the night before and his plane kept getting delayed so it was after midnight when he finally got home. We got in time to see a gorgeous sunset and a big yellow moon.
I, the beach grinch, now I have to eat. my words. It was awesome! The water was warm, (yes, the sand got everywhere but it’s a small price to pay). The hotel had lovely pools and complimentary breakfast. We hung out in the water, laid on the beach, and generally relaxed. Believe it or not I had never had a rum punch so I ordered one from the little bar in the pool area one day. I also enjoyed frozen drinks like frozen strawberry daiquiris, mango somethings, and the like.
The only downside is, despite my absolute devotion to re-applying sunscreen and badgering everyone in the family to use it, I was the one who got sunburned! Just my back and the back of my upper arms, but it kind of put a damper on the last day for me cause I wasn’t feeling too well.
It’s healing now, but yikes! It’s itchy! Where did you o for you vacation? Do you like the beach?
The moon was gorgeous every night. The last night it was so red it looked like a giant mars. This picture is from day two.
I had assumed the fun for the beach was all about the day, but after it got dark, people, mostly with kids, were down on the beach with flashlights. I was like, “What are they doing?” Apparently, they are looking for crabs, seashells, shark’s teeth, anything that gets washed up on the beach after the tide comes in. My husband, trailrunner guy, always takes a headlamp everywhere, so the last night he and my son went down. They didn’t find much other than shells, but they enjoyed it.
And the firework restrictions in South Carolina are apparently pretty loose, so all along the beach people were setting off fireworks.
Even just sitting out on the balcony, at night reading and watching the moon and few visible stars was fun.
Now to get ready for the RWA National Conference! Come and see me if you’re at the Conference or live in NYC or environs. There will be big name romance authors and the whole thing is for charity. I’ll have this guy with me.
This dragon can be yours!
All newsletter subscribers will be entered!
So you can see it in person. I have free swag, dragon and lion pendants and my new book! But don’t worry, there’s no pressure to buy my book, I’m happy just to chat! Stop by and say hello, you’ll make my day!
Beast…
Stolen off the street as a teen, tortured for months, altered into a monster, and dumped with only vague memories of his past, Ronan found refuge in the sideshow of a traveling carnival. It’s a lonely life, but it’s all he’s known for years—until he finds himself transforming further day by day, his temper becoming more and more volatile, his body changing into what he can only label as a beast.
Beauty…
Sofia Flores always knew what she would do when she grew up, help run the family-owned carnival. She’s been studying for years, first as a scholarship student at boarding school, then college, and finally getting her MBA. Now, at last, it’s time to take up the reins. But she never bargained with her own fascination for her Tia’s star attraction, Ronan. Not only does he appear not to return her interest, he seems to actively dislike her.
Nothing could be further from the truth, however. Ronan is immediately captivated by the carnival’s curvy new business manager, but he knows the score—beautiful women like Sofia aren’t meant for men like him.
Unfortunately, Ronan has more to worry about than unrequited feelings. Since meeting Sofia, his body reshapes more each day. He’s losing himself to the beast. And the shadowy remnants of the people who did this to him are hot on his trail.
1. Conference! On Tuesday, I preserved through Romance Writers of America’s perpetually overwhelmed servers to register for the National Conference which is in NYC this year!
2. Even though it’s like my twentieth year of going to the conference, I always meet new people, and learn something new (or something I knew, but forgot.) This year, I may not be flying to conference though because we may be moving.😳
Moving should be easy at my age, but with life up in the air, I’m pretty overhwelmed.
3. Still, after a few days of panicking, I got back to work and am currently am on Chapter Twenty-Five of revsions to Her Sexy Beast (The Chimera Chronicles 6) I can’t believe I’m finishing up the sixth book in the series! I only have one more brother to go.
Here’s a snippet from today. Remember it’s a work in progress and will be edited.
<<
He glanced at Thalia. The look in her eyes told him she could also hear the intruders. Neither one of them flinched when the heavy knock came, but Thalia’s eyes flared red, revealing her tension and he felt his dragon surge again. Clearly, it gained power from his emotions. He breathed deeply, trying to stay calm.
Thalia sighed. “I’m going to drop the barriers and open the door. Can you stay human?”
He nodded, hoping it wasn’t a lie. >>
Coming May 2019 from Soul Mate Publishing!
4. Meanwhile, I looked around at everybody’s shiny, pretty FB covers and logos and decided to get to work on some of my own. Below, is my new banner. Unfortunately, when I downloaded it to my FB page it looks all dark and murky. Nothing like technology to make you feel like an idiot.
5. Puppies! It’s Basenji puppy season. That means a trip to my breeder’s house to play with the babies. Puppy breath! Little pink feet! Ears that can’t decide whether to stand up straight or flop over. Snuggles and licks and nips and hair pulling. Basenji puppies are too cute!
Since it’s NaNoWriMo, I’m going to share a writing struggle.
Every one of the Chimera Chronicles was inspired by something.
1. In Like a Lion has heavy the Pretender overtones.
2. Entity Mine was inspired by an episode of Discovery channel’s old A Haunting.
3. The Lion’s Share is inspired by an episode of Supernatural called Nightshifter.
4. Lion’s Prey in inspired by a Supernatural episode called Jus en Bello.
5. The Dragon’s Flame is a treasure hunt book.
I’m working on book 6 now, draft title Her Sexy Beast, and as you might guess, it’s centered on a Beauty Beast theme.
Oddly, I actually find it harder to write the parts that most closely mirror the original story. This morning I separated Sofia from Roan as called for in the plot of BATB, now I have to maneuver through the rest within the confines of the Chimera Chronicles mythology. I’m procrastinating. “I have to write a FB post!” Better check in on Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter, post to my blog, etc. It’s important to me that I do this well, and I fear my best will not be good enough.
It’s not the first time I’ve mentioned my persistent self-doubt, but I think it’s important to recognize that these issues don’t just turn to ash like traditional vampires in sunlight after being faced. It can help to acknowledge the problem, but it doesn’t cure it.
Fear is often a motivator (though, I believe most steps taken as a result of fear are usually in the wrong direction). But for me it’s always been more of a roadblock.
Are you working on NaNoWriMo? Or just waiting eagerly for the fruit of us madly typing writers?
Is fear holding you back from something?
I’d love to hear! (Selfishly, it make me feel less alone)😊
Summer! The kids are off all-day school, though one is retaking a course in summer school. 🙄
Ranger is doing very well! We thought we might lose him in December, but adding enzymes to his food has restored his weight and I hope he’ll soon be totally off prednisone.
We took a family trip for our twentieth wedding anniversary and cruised to Alaska in the week before summer school started.
it was amazing! I gained ten pounds I didn’t need. We saw whales and glaciers and ate fresh caught crab.
The first pic is Crab.
Second is Juneau from the top of the tram way.
Then we have some pix from the narrow gauge railroad in Skagway. It travels up through Canada (no customs so you can’t get off) then goes back. They have bathrooms in each car and it was fun and comfortable. My phone camera doesn’t do it justice. It is straight up mountain porn. 😜
After that are are pix from the ship of the glaciers. You can see how much they have shrunk.
I enjoyed every moment! Fresh, hot pizza made in front of your face. Afternoon tea. Fine dining, talented entertainers. The jet-lag when we came back was hard (at one point it’s four hours ahead). It was cold (surprise! 🤓) and the wrong time of year for the Northern lights, but so gorgeous.
I’ve also been busy finishing up the work of my male/Male romance author alter ego Gage Lively.
If you’re wondering who Kosei Press is, it’s me. This is my Indie project. Not many people read across genres, but this will be out in a few weeks (it’s at the formatters), so if you enjoy M/M romance please keep a look out!
Any M/M romance readers or Yaoi Manga lovers out there?
As for Chimera Book 6 draft title Her Sexy Beast (yes, it’s a loose take-off on Beauty and the Beast) I’m several thousand words in and climbing.
It seems increadible that I’m in the penultimate book of the series.
I wish I were a faster writer! I’m eager for the whole series to be out in the world. I may cry though, when I finish (full disclosure, I cried in the theater after the last installment of Harry Potter.)
(I’m not crying—you’re crying!) LOL Anybody else shed tears at the end of their favorite movie or book series?
The olympics were fun and in about a week and a half, it’s time for the World Figureskating championships! I hope I’ll be able to catch some of it, despite the Easter festivities. If you’re a fan, too, here’s the broadcast schedule link World championships
I hope Nathan Chen has a strong performance!
On a more personal note, my poor baby basenji (ok, he’s five) has an autoimmune disease and has been sick, but after much tinkering with his meds and food, he’s now gained back three pounds!
Here’s Ranger on the bottom with my vizsla, Lali. Unfortunately, you can also see the seal on my double pane windows are shot, but oh, well.😜
In other news, I dyed my whole bathroom blue. Actually, I dyed my hair blue, but apparently I can’t be trusted with hair dye.
Not the greatest picture of me, but you can sort of see the blue (and not just where I stained my hairline).
Ok, — writing. I’ve been writing a ton since the new year. I semi-finished a m/m novella (I need beta readers!) You may wonder why all of a sudden I’ve diverged from heterosexual PNR. (Or maybe you didn’t, but I’ll tell you anyway) I got big into Yaoi manga like this
And The Dragon’s Flame (now out in paperback!) trickled out of my brain at a glacial pace, so I wanted to just write for fun to get back to my old pace.
I’m planning on self-publishing the m/m and I need beta readers, so drop me an email if you’re interested. (Karin@shahs.com)
blurb: College Freshman Seiichi Seigo is at the end of his rope. Suddenly orphaned, he’s grieving and one paycheck away from homelessness. When his best friend sprains his ankle, he begs Seiichi to take over as a personal assistant for his older brother, 26 year-old prodigy director Kei Karasawa. Things seem to be looking up. Seiichi has room and board and an interesting job that allows him to stay in school. There’s only one problem. The sexy, magnetic Kei, who seems to hate him, arouses feelings Seiichi never felt for his high school girlfriends or for anyone for that matter.
Can he stop himself from falling for his new boss?
As for The Chimera Chronicles book 6, I solemnly swear I am up to no…I mean, I’ve got a little written and I will turn all my attention back to it once I get my short projects completed. Look for a sort of Beauty and the Beast theme. (But with secret underground fight rings and circuses)
How’s your week shaping up? Gonna dye your hair a weird color? How are your animals? Planning to watch the world championships? Easter preparations? I’d love to hear!
I haven’t been regular on my blog for quite a while, so I’m hoping to change that.
What’s distracting me this week.
Netflix: I’ve been getting notifications about all the cool and awesome shows coming this month and I haven’t even watched the second season of Stranger Things or The Punisher yet!
On my radar Trollhunters (Yes, it’s a cartoon, but I watch Anime and Disney movies, so it’s right up my alley), Ash v. Evil Dead, and the Magician season 2 just to name a few.
Ice Skating: I’m a cord cutter, but with the Winter Olympics coming up, I’ve got my antenna all set up so I can watch NBC. I was disappointed with the short coverage of the Grande Prix Final, but happy to see it at all. I’m excited to watch the National Championships in January!
My dogs: Lali the vizsla is always distracting as she is a Velcro dog and has a very loud bark, but she’s soft and sweet and huggable. I’m worried about Ranger the basenji tho’. He seems to be losing weight, despite acting normal in every way, so I have a vet visit schedule for Tuesday.
Christmas: My daughter is sure there’s a competition going on in the neighborhood for most decorations (one we are losing) She lead the charge to add more lights and another couple projectors and claims we might have made third place. (There are 17 houses in our neighborhood) Personally, I think we’re maybe 5th, but I won’t burst, her bubble.
She also has a concert Wednesday night which her school is charging admission for. This is supposed to be in lieu of a fundraiser and since “fundraiser” is the “f” word to me, I guess I’m okay with it.😀
Find the “unseasonal” item
My release: December 13 marks my seventh release for Soul Mate!
The Dragon’s Flame is Book 5 in the ch8era Chronicles series.
Each book stands alone (although reading in order enhances the experience) and I hope this latest in the series will please my readers!
Billionaire chimera-shifter, Kyle Mara’s hold on his humanity is slipping away. Fortunately, his mate has at last been revealed. Unfortunately, she’s the wicked witch who almost killed one of his brothers.
Backed into a corner by her father, CJ Bansbach had one job to do—bring back chimera genetic material for cloning and kill the donor. Her failure resulted in a year of imprisonment and torture. Being broken out by a chimera on the verge of going feral, even if he kills her or turns her over to the Ethereal council for judgement, seems like a change for the better. Until he tells her she’s his mate.
Plunged into a treasure hunt to break the bond, they must race to find the pieces of a mythical sword while pursued by CJ’s former employers and fighting the pure sexual heat that sparks every time they touch, because forgiveness isn’t Kyle’s to grant and his family’s happiness is everything to him.
E ARC are hot off the press! Email me Karin@shahs.com subject ARC or comment with your email address and the @80,000 word Paranormal Romance can be in your inbox. All I ask is an honest review. If you like it, please help spread the word. If you don’t like it say why.
So what’s distracting me this week? 
