Callie Croix Release Day

That naughty Callie Croix has another release today. Dillon's Claim, the sequel to Deacon's Touch, is officially out and this eldest Dumen brother is quite the sexy alpha cowboy!

There are a couple of contests going on with giveaways for the book, so you can check out the info on Callie's personal blog.

Hope all of you are ready for the upcoming holiday madness! I've got all my shopping and wrapping done, so that's a huge relief. But if my Callie persona lands me on Santa's naughty list, I'm going to be ticked :) (You won't tell him, right?)

Let the Countdown Begin

Less than three weeks until Christmas! My kids are tearing through their advent calendars each morning and hubby has the front yard looking as festive as the inside of our house. My shopping is essentially done, and all I have to do is my baking and wrapping.

We're hosting Christmas dinner on Boxing Day this year, because it's hubby's side of the family's turn, and a few relatives can't make it on the 25th. There'll be 15 of us, so I'll have to do up lots of dishes to make sure everyone has enough to eat while ensuring we have lots of leftovers.

I got a lovely email yesterday from Rhonda Penders (editor-in-chief) of The Wild Rose Press, and I had to smile. Meeting her and my TWRP editors at that Texas dude ranch was wonderful on both a personal and professional level. It makes all the difference when you meet and actually spend time with the folks you work with, and it's no different in the publishing world.

Callie Croix has another release next Friday, the sequel to Deacon's Touch. Dillon's Claim features Dillon (yeah, you'd never guess that from the title, right?), the eldest Dumen brother. He's quite the alpha male :).

Hope everyone out there is handling the December chaos well! Happy holidays to everyone.

Incognito

This weekend was another whirlwind of activity at our place. An 8 am soccer game Saturday morning, then I had to leave right away to do a presentation to the Vancouver RWA chapter. I missed my eldest son's soccer game, and ironically, his first two goals ever. I was so sad!

He forgave me, and we went ahead with our dinner plans to a fancy place downtown, followed by a special Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performance featuring Loony Tunes cartoons (Bugs Bunny et al) while the orchestra played the musical score. Was a great evening.

In other news, Callie Croix has a new release today. A very hot short read, but did I mention it's hot? Oh yeah. If you're interested, you can find the details on her website. Hence the incognito post :)

Hope everyone south of the border has a wonderful Thanksgiving this week! Have some turkey for me. Yum.

Release Day!

Well, it's here. Release day for my alter ego, Callie Croix. Deacon's Touch is the first of a series that one of my editors and I have created, and my second addition to it is called Dillon's Claim. Probably won't be out until next year, but we'll see.

In the meantime, here's the blurb and buy link for Deacon's Touch. I'm also at author CR Moss's blog today, and will give away a copy of the book to a commenter there. Feel free to stop by and say hello!

Have a great weekend!

Blurb: After her own engagement goes to hell, workaholic Jessica Talbot dreads her friend’s bachelorette party at a dude ranch in Nowheresville, Texas. But the outlook for the weekend brightens when Deacon Dumen picks her up at the airport. The sexy cowboy awakens every dormant sexual fantasy with nothing more than a friendly smile and a handshake.

Ex-Air Force Pararescueman Deke Dumen doesn’t know what to make of the sexy yet reserved brunette who breaks through the walls he built after an injury ended his career and a divorce soured him on relationships. As a guest at his family's ranch Jessie is off limits, but the Dom in him rebels at the restriction, even as he realizes his penchant for control in the bedroom would likely scare the holy hell out of her.

When Jessie shocks Deke by asking for exactly what he's been craving, he's ready to break the rules and introduce her to his own brand of dominance. Her willing surrender rocks them both to the core. But once the weekend's over, they must decide if it was just a wild fling or the start of something more.

Places to Find Me and Win Some Books

So much is happening this week! Here are a few places to "see" me, and my new pen name, Callie Croix, whose first release is this Friday.

First off, some links:
Today I'm at Badass Book Reviews giving away a copy of Cover of Darkness. Authors Pamela Clare and Caridad Pineiro are there giving away prizes also, so come on by and say hello.

At Writers Gone Wild I've "outed" myself as Callie Croix, and I'm giving away a digital copy of my upcoming release, Deacon's Touch (comes out officially this Friday).

Also, Callie has officially been invited to blog at Naughty Author Chicks every other Wednesday, and today there's an interview about me on their site. I'll be alternating weeks between NAC and Writers Gone Wild.

On a less hectic note, here's a picture I just couldn't resist posting:

Isn't it exactly what you picture Sam would say to Ben (No Turning Back) if she walked in and saw this? Lol. I love the cat's unimpressed expression. He looks exactly like my cat, Shiloh (named after a Civil War battle, of course, plus he's Confederate gray).

That's it for now, except to say the initial reviews for Deadly Descent are rolling in, and so far they've been awesome! I hope you all love Dev and Cam's story.

Have a great week!
Kaylea :)

New Book Contracts!

I thought this picture was especially appropriate considering the writing slump I've been in recently. However, I'm pleased to announce that Carina Press has offered a contract for the first of a paranormal trilogy I've written. I'm excited about this and hope to strengthen my world building in the book during edits, and with any luck my military romance fans will like it too. Darkest Caress is based on some Lithuanian folklore I learned about during my tour of the Baltic States in 2009, specifically to the idyllic village of Nida on the Curonian Spit. The book will be out sometime next year.

I also received word that same day that The Wild Rose Press wants to contract the second erotic romance I wrote (as Callie Croix) for the Dumen Ranch Series. The first book, Deacon's Touch, will release August 26th, and the second, Dillon's Claim, will probably be out sometime this winter.

It's the August long weekend here in BC, and we've been celebrating with family that have been in town since last weekend. Right now I'm cooking a big dinner for 15 of us: sweet glazed meatloaf (hubby's absolute fave), cream cheese mashed potatoes, spinach salad with fresh fruit and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing, a vegetable medley baked in homemade cheese sauce, and for dessert, a very decadent chocolate mousse layer cake. A totally low cal dinner for their last meal here in Vancouver :) I think a long family walk after dinner is in order, maybe down to the Spirit of the Sea Festival here at the beach to watch the fireworks later on.

Rhys and Luke Goodness

Yesterday I was notified that both Relentless and Absolution are finalists in the 2011 Heart of Excellence Awards! I'm very excited about this, because though they'd never say so, I think Rhys and Luke were feeling a bit left out since all the other guys have won/finaled in other RWA published contests. Winners won't be announced until October, but at least now I've got some sort of accolade to put next to their books on my website.

Looking for some awesome summer reads? You're in luck. For the next two weeks, all of us over at Writers Gone Wild are hosting a contest there. Each weekday we'll be posting about a different sort of hero, so drop by and leave a comment for a chance to win one of two bundles of great prizes from all of us. My post will be up this Wednesday, featuring the courageous military hero and why he's the best kind of hero. To me that's really kind of self explanatory, but I don't mind spelling it out for everyone :)

Finally, I've got my writing alter ego up and running over on Goodreads and Facebook. Just look me up as Callie Croix to learn about my upcoming August and November releases.

Hope you're all having a safe and happy summer!

Summer's Here! (Save Me)

Well, the weasels are all done with school, so now I'm anticipating the usual whining of "I'm bored" will start any time now. The weather up here has been just the pits, and I'm starting to wonder if we'll ever get a real summer, but my fingers are crossed.

Dear friends of ours are getting hitched tomorrow, and hubby's the best man, so I'm looking forward to seeing him in his tux (yum!). After the long weekend we'll be footloose and fancy free, with nothing but swimming lessons, bike camp and a couple road trips on the schedule.

Just got word this morning that my first release as Callie Croix (Deacon's Touch) will be at the end of August, and another novella will be out at the end of November (No Holds Barred). I'm actually just finishing up another Callie novella right now, and since she's been hogging all my writing time, I'm beginning to wonder if Kaylea will ever get another release! I'll try to see if I can fix that over the summer.

What's everyone else got planned for the summer? I know my pal Katie Reus will be busy, since she's having a baby in the next week or two (I'm so excited!). I can't remember if I mentioned it here before, but not only does Katie have a shifter trilogy coming out next year with NAL, she just sold two novellas to Harlequin's Nocturne Bites as well. The woman's on fire!