So I came to the conclusion I have no time to be an author and, therefore, I should just give it up. But then, after several weeks of moping over that heinous thought, a good friend pointed out that I was simply experiencing the same summer fizzle which I go through every year. She also threatened mass injury if I did stop writing, so it appears I won’t be quitting after all.

The whole summer fizzle thing definitely resonates with me. As my stepson isn’t at my house any more in the summer than other times and my daughter goes to preschool year round, it isn’t the kids at home that is the issue for me. It’s the light and brightness. The draw of the morning sunshine and the breaking dawn wonder and stillness that I know will be gone with the coming of the fall and winter months. Oh, the dawn still breaks and often glorious, but the ability to step out on the porch in my sleep shirt and nothing more, and draw in a breath of fresh, warm country air will soon be passing. And the light is an issue because my daughter can’t sleep if it’s light out. I can close up the house to utter blackness and her inner light vamp somehow still knows it’s light out and she must be up and “entertaining” mommy….in other words the writing time, which is only ever at night, goes kaput.

In the midst of this summer fizzle, I stopped the other day to find I had a new book release. I honestly missed its release day. I knew it was coming, then it blew past and it was a few days later before it occurred to me it had come and gone. Wow, that is so not like me. I must be fizzling more than usual this year. Anyway, the book in question is Sweet and Sinful, my latest out of Kensington Aphrodisia. When I got the cover art (see pict above) for this book, I wasn’t sure what I thought. Hot or just cheesy? Honestly, I still don’t know. I do think it’s cheesy, but maybe it’s also hot…enough so to outdo the cheese?

Speaking of covers and the like (and, yes, this is a jump in topic, but my brain is fizzling as well), how do you feel about receiving cover art and bookmarks in the mail? Not really talking about from an author you enjoy here and are on their reader list for that reason. But, rather, do you like it when authors you enjoy send other author’s material to you with their own? I ask as I often pick up various items at conferences. The marketing specialist in me is in love with anything shiny and bright and printed. But then, I get home and realize I have way too much stuff to contain. So is it good to share it, or is that cheesy, too?

~ jodi

www.JodiLynnCopeland.com

Out of all the parts of a story I might find myself struggling to get down, it’s always the beginning that leaves me obsessing for days, if not weeks. I just want it perfect. Something to grab the reader and keep their attention engaged till the chapter end and hopefully long after. Of course, I realize what grabs one reader might not grab the next. But perhaps there are certain elements that are more liable to gather a stronger audience in short order.

I would love to know what grabs you? What kind of story opening is most likely to get you reading and keep you reading? Are you a fan of the opening murder scene? Perhaps a steamy scene that starts right in the heat of the moment? Or a life altering decision?  Do you like a bunch of narrative up front so you know the characters ASAP, or would you prefer to get to know them over time and instead have the story be what starts out ASAP?

I just got my hands on author copies of Sweet and Sinful, my next Aphrodisia which is out in mid to late July. From all those who comment, I will select two winners to receive signed copies. One thing, It is an erotic romance, so if you do win, be prepared for plenty of steamy heat!

~ jodi

I found Denise’s topic on inspiration yesterday very timely. Lately, I have struggled with my writing and coming up with anything that isn’t total drek. Or at least in my mind it seems that way. I have come up with a number of ideas that my critique partners really liked and encouraged me to write, but I just couldn’t. Something about them didn’t feel right.  Well, I think as of this morning I might finally have found my inspiration. It is actually a story I plotted a long time ago but certain elements were not working for me. For some reason that story came flashing back to me as did the reasons it wasn’t working. So…tonight, or at least this weekend, I am going to do my best to get back to writing.

Going with the whole confessions topic, I have to admit it really has been a long time since I’ve written. Several weeks, which for me feels like years. It wasn’t just motivation lacking, but I’ve been feeling like quite the slug. I, too, went to Lori Foster’s Annual Event this last weekend and…slept.

Argh! That was SO not the plan. I had so many people I wanted to spend time with. Some of them I did get to meet in person and visit with a bit—Sasha, Laura J., Rhonda and Deb F. to name a few. But I missed the opportunity to chat with a lot of others—both readers and authors—and I apologize for that.

The long and short of it, as many of you know, is that I am three months pregnant.   I don’t remember feeling this exhausted and out of it with my daughter, but I am constantly reminded I did not have a 2 year old (or a ‘tween boy, for that matter) when I was expecting her, and I also wasn’t trying to work two mostly full time jobs. So I guess there is reason. Still, I feel like a slug.

On a good note, I do have this inspiration that has finally struck and I plan to do my best to start getting those words down. I also hope to start picking up slack in all the other places I have been letting it go lately. In the meantime, summer is finally here in Michigan! That does mean we have been hit with storms and power outages left and right, but also that the kids can finally get out of the house and give mom a break.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

~ jodi

First off, I apologize for this late post.  Everyone in my house is sick and so I had the pleasure of spending the day at the kids two doctors and then my own as well. Finally got home and have some meds in our systems. My two year old said she is better already. Well, if so, I want what she’s having. LOL!

This week started out with a reminder of just how fast life passes us by. My son turned 12. He is truly becoming a tween. As if I needed a reminder of this my husband just informed me some other kid pulled him into a fight today and they are both being seen by the principal Monday morning. Oh, geez! He is a very good, so I have faith that he won’t end up in too much trouble. But…. Where did the little boy go? 

He is actually my stepson. I came into his  life and vice versa when he my daughter’s age–about 2 1/2. He was such a little sweetie. A shy little toehead. Polar opposite of my daughter aside from the white blond cap of curly hair. Regardless it seems he was just that age. To think that ten years have passed just blows me away. I remember each of his birthday parties like they were a few days ago. And I can see before I know it graduation will be here.  Let’s just hope not too many fights fill the gap in between.

One thing I love to do to help remember all those days that go by too fast is scrapbooking. I am way behind on this, so today in between doctors I bought some new supplies and vowed to spend at least part of the weekend playing catch-up. Whether it happens… Well, I can always hope, right?

How about you? Do you have a special way to remember the days? Are you in to scrapbooking or something similar? Would love to hear all about it! Here’s a page I did of my daughter for her first real bath. Wow, that too seems like it was just a few months ago.

 *sigh* Where did the little peanut go?

~ jodi

I have been feeling rather adrift lately. I am in that between contracts stage. I get here every spring and spend the month (sometimes two) that I go without a contract, reassessing my career. Am I happy with where it is going? Do I want to try something new? Will my readers feel disappointed if I head in another direction? I never quite know the answers to these questions, but I also do generate a proposal or two during the down time.  So far those proposals haven’t become published books, but I remain hopeful.  At the moment, I am working on two very different concepts–one, a contemporary romance with a smaller feel and two, a chick lit paranormal with a feisty, much grander scale. In a way, both books are calling to me. But then, so is just getting away from it all for a few weeks.

I can’t really get away from it all right now.  I have too much happening later this year that demands using my time off from the day job then (more on that to come).  So I am taking several mental respites, both via reading a lot of books and also by daydreaming about exotic locales.  I don’t know if it’s truly exotic, but I’ve always wanted to venture to Australia.  Also topping my list are Scotland and Ireland.  These are the settings in history that I’ve always adored.  Honestly, though, I am a history buff, so I would love to get away to anywhere with great history.

What about you? Do you have a dream destination? Or are you planning a dream vacation? Or maybe you just got back from one. I would love to hear about it! Living vicariously through others–real or fictional–is almost as good as experiencing it firsthand.

Now before I head out, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that What Happens In Vegas… has had its official release date yesterday. Woohoo! I’ve long been a subscriber to eHarlequin and today I got an email that featured a few of the new releases, and Vegas was among them. How lovely!   To celebrates its official release, I will select a commentor or two to receive a signed copy of Vegas.  How about the books go to the person who takes me away in the grandest fashion? grand doesn’t have to mean extravagent either. And, yes, feel free to make it up. Definitely, do have fun along the way!

~ jodi 

HUGE congrats to Denise Agnew who finaled in the Passionate Plume Contest! Go Denise! The book she finaled with was Male Call, the first book in her Hot Zone series available from Samhain. I read it and I LOVED it. Woot!

Her sexy letters are his only lifeline in his dangerous world…

Successful computer software engineer Eve Carmichael melts under yet another hotter than hot letter written by Reserve army soldier Sean O’Callahan. Yet Eve can’t take the thought of his life in danger overseas, and she resolves to get a sex life—and a life period. That means forgetting Sean before anything bad can happen to him. To celebrate her thirty-fifth birthday, Eve plans a trip to Male Call, a male review club. Still, she worries about Sean. She hasn’t received a letter from him in too many weeks. And oh, how she longs for those flirtatious, hot letters.

Sean finds Eve’s letters to be the only lifeline in his increasingly chaotic world. As their feelings grow hot and heavy, he can’t wait to return home and kindle that pure firepower.

When Eve receives a letter from Sean saying he’s been wounded, her fears are realized. But fate and a little mischievous planning by her friends will serve up the greatest surprise of all.

You can buy it here.

Other books in the series. Aren’t these some HOT covers? Wow!

You can buy them here, here, and the next one here- on sale May 20!

Here’s a new release from more Bradford Bunchers!

Behind closed doors, the real games begin…

Winning it big.

That’s the name of the game at Las Vegas’s Liege Hotel and Casino, where the hottest fantasies hinge on a roll of the dice…and the tantalizing knowledge that anything could happen before sunrise.

Cocktail waitress Carinna wants a man to tie her up, not tie her down. Little does she know that her most willing partner yet has something else planned for this fiery Latina bombshell.

Dahlia is a burlesque dancer with a brain for business and a bod for sin. Her latest admirer may be a sweet-talking Casanova, but despite what he thinks she’s not giving anything away free.

Meanwhile, Amy has the perfect plan to rob the Liege Casino blind…until the intimidating owner catches her red-handed. Now she knows she’s going to pay… with both pleasure and pain.

Professional shill Cassidy is ready to experience a breathless rendezvous with her “friend with benefits.” But when he proposes five delicious nights of sexy blackjack, the stakes have never been so high.

Can be purchased here or here.

And last, but certainly not least is Cynthia Eden’s new release! Woot!

In her sexy and suspenseful new novel, Cynthia Eden introduces readers to a seductive world where powerful night creatures ignite dark, dangerous hungers…

Dr. Emily Drake’s patients tend to be a little unusual. Instead of the typical therapist’s caseload of midlife crises and mother fixations, Emily treats vampires with blood phobias and sex-demons looking for meaningful relationships. But her gift for recognizing and healing the Other—those creatures of the night that most humans don’t even know exist—requires a few house rules. First: Never trust a shifter. Especially not one like Detective Colin Gyth whose gold-flecked eyes and predatory air make Emily realize how much she’s been longing to lose control…

Colin can’t believe the doctor he’s been assigned to work with on the Night Butcher murder investigation is the one person who could expose his true identity as a wolf shifter. Smart, sexy, and stubborn as hell, Emily brings out the alpha male in Colin, unleashing a wild, heady desire that takes them both over the edge.

But in the shadows, the Night Butcher waits…eager to spill Emily’s blood and taste her terror. And he’ll use any means to destroy her, including the one person she has grown to trust…

You can buy it here or here.

Today I’m feeling a bit like Braveheart. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean that my head is about to be chopped off. Geez, I hope not! This does mean I am yelling far and wide, FREEDOM!

After months of illness and back-to-back contracts, I am finally feeling great (knock on wood) and I am contract free. Yes, being without a contract is a bit scary, too. But I do have several proposals out and plan to embark on writing a couple more here very soon. But in the interim, I only have to focus on the day job, the kids, the house, the husband, and the gorgeous weather that has finally come to Michigan. For the first time this year, I was able to wake up and open my windows without worrying over freezing. It’s gorgeous out, and I can’t help but feel the sunny weather is meant to help me celebrate this time of freedom.

Along with the freedom also comes the most awesome news that What Happens In Vegas… is now shipping from BarnesandNoble.com! Those of you lucky enough to attend RT may already have your copy by now. But otherwise, and if you don’t like going the online route, the anthology should start showing up in stores any day now. In fact, it’s already been spotted in several locations. I’ve been very pleased with the response to Hot For It, my SPICE Brief, which was a prelude to my story in the Vegas anthology, so I am holding out hope that the good vibes continue into the anthology.

As for reviewer opinions, the anthology has so far met with some great reviews, including 5 ribbons from Romance Junkies, 4 stars from RT BOOKclub magazine, and 5 hearts from Love Romances. My, is there anything quite as nice as happy readers and reviewers? Well, for an author anyway, probably not too much.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this isn’t just my anthology, I get to share it with fellow Bradford Bloggers Anya Bast and Lauren Dane, as well as Kit Tunstall. These ladies are all incredibly skilled authors. I have been lucky to be in a past anthology with Kit, and have read many of Anya’s and Lauren’s stories. I, for one, think this is a truly great combo of authors, and now I am anxious for the second installment in the Vegas anthologies. Unfortunately, that won’t be releasing until next spring. But in the meantime, I know all of the authors involved have plenty of other books coming out for your reading pleasure.

Well, my lovelies, freedom and a gorgeous day are calling. I hope you all have a wonderful one! Me, I’m off to sit on the deck in the warm, spring breeze and blow bubbles with my little girl. From an mom standpoint, I really don’t think there can be much better than that.

~ Jodi

P.S. I am blogging today, as well, at Love Is An Exploding Cigar. Drop on by for a chance to win a signed copy of Vegas!

www.JodiLynnCopeland.com

I have long dreamed of writing for a big New York City publishing house. At the top of my list for years were Kensington Brava and Silhouette Desire.  Well, I don’t write for either of those imprints, but I do write for their sister imprints, with Aphrodisia and Spice. And I am currently trying to plead (okay, propose) my way into Harlequin’s Brava line.

So while the dream is skewed just a bit, it has still come true. And what a wonderful feeling!!

This Tuesday, the 1st, marked my Harlequin debut, with the release of Hot For It, a SPICE Brief, which gives a glimpse at my characters from the What Happens In Vegas… anthology out May 1st.  Or, for those lucky enough to be attending RT, Lauren and Anya will be signing early copies of Vegas there. I won’t get to make RT this year unfortunately, but I will do my best to get out bookplates to either Lauren or Anya this week, so that at least my signature (which is mostly illegible , can attend).

I am still waiting for site reviews to come in on Hot For It, but I was lucky to get a very nice early snippet from USA Today Bestseller, Sunny…

“Jodi Lynn Copeland writes hot, hot, hot! Have a fan ready before reading Hot For It. Steamy sex and tender love…it’ll have you aching for more.”

And I am also very lucky to be spending some time on Jennifer’s Random Musing’s Blog April 8th through the 10th. Or more correctly, Carinna, the heroine from these two stories will be spending time on the blog. Jennifer interviewed Carinna this past weekend in preparation of her visit. I found her responses very insightful, so I think you will as well. Be sure to drop on by if you have some free time this coming week.

Until then, best wishes for a wonderful weekend! I am finally getting caught up on my writing and feeling pretty decent, too, so I plan to take advantage with some serious R&R and bonding time with the hubby & kidlets.

~ jodi

www.JodiLynnCopeland.com
HOT FOR IT ~ Get it now @ eHarlequin.com

 I am really bowled under with deadlines right now—two at the day job and two writing deadlines, all of April 1. In other words, I am in need of lots of inspiration to help me keep my head above water. One thing that always helps with the day job is just knowing I need a paycheck, so I have to do the work to get paid. With the night job (writing), inspiration comes from the obvious of happy readers, getting paid again (always a much-needed blessing), and also keeping my muse happy.

Of course, my muse doesn’t always make it easy for me to keep her happy. She likes to be fickle and make it hard to impossible for me to concentrate enough to get my work done. Or make me focus more on being tired than on the end goal of meeting these deadlines so I can take off a week for pure R&R when all is wrapped up. In these moments, I need all the added inspiration I can get. I have always loved inspirational quotes in these times. A handful of some of my favorites follow…

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

“The best way out is always through.” -Robert Frost

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.” -Confucius

Do you have any favorite inspirational quotes, be they from famous people or family, friends or even yourself? Share them with me, and I will draw a random commenter to receive an e-ARC of Hot For It, which releases from SPICE Brief April 1st… just on time for my week of R&R to kick off!   :grin: 

~ jodi

As an author who writes in all genres and subgenres, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about branding lately. My editor tells me I write real characters with heroes who are just hot in that realness factor. I don’t know how much of a brand writing real and hot is, though perhaps somewhat of one. I tend to think that having a niche genre is a very good thing indeed, but perhaps it doesn’t really matter to the reader.

By a niche, I mean focusing on a particular genre and often a subset of that genre. So to use one of the awesome Bradford Bunch ladies, Vonna Harper with her BDSM stories. A reader can pick up Vonda’s books knowing they are going to be excellent and more than likely have a BDSM-themed plot. Is this a boon to Vonna’s current and future sales success? To some extent at least, I would think it would have to be. But, again, perhaps the reader doesn’t care as much.

With the onset of April, I will be emerging from a number of back-to-back deadlines to the reality of no contracts to fulfill. I have several proposals out, but while I wait for word on those to come back, I would like to get something new started. What I don’t know is what to have that something new be. I feel, at this point in my career, I should be focusing my stories more on one particular genre or niche than writing across the board. My question to you is, do you feel this is the case, as well? Are you more apt to pick up an author knowing what you will consistently get each time? Or if an author’s voice appeals to you does the genre or theme not matter? One author who stands out to me personally is Julie Garwood. I love her historicals, but don’t care as much for her contemporaries. As a reader, I wish she would continue to write in that historical vein she first wrote in.

Now about that last week prize. First off, thanks to all who commented! I did read all of the comments and had to agree with those who said they read both but still prefer paperbacks. I spend so much time on computers, that when the work day is done, I do prefer to pick up paperbacks over ebooks myself. And on that paperback note, the winner of last week’s signed paperback of Handyman is Estella! Congrats, Estella! Please email me with your snail mail addy at: Contest@jodilynncopeland.com to collect your book.

~ jodi