The Bride's Journey by Laurie Sorensen

Today I am excited to feature fellow author, Laurie Sorensen, and her new Evernight Publishing release, The Bride's Journey!

Blurb:

Slightly plump and over aged at six and twenty, Abigail Preston sits on a shelf in England, with no hope of marriage. She loses all she loves to the epidemic cholera, and to make matter worse, her father’s will stipulates she must marry within a year to inherit. Desperate, she answers an advertisement for a bride in America; Benjamin Siddle only requests that she be made of sturdy stock and resistant to cold weather. Opportunity is knocking for Abby so she travels to America to marry a man she doesn’t know in a last bid for happiness. Abigail is faced with an unknown surprise upon arrival at Benjamin’s home, what will she do? Someone is willing to do whatever it takes to stop her marriage to anyone. But does this mad man want her or her money? Can Ben and Abby overcome the obstacles placed in their way and find true love along the way?

Excerpt:

Bereft of his heat, Abby shivered slightly staring at the door. What must he think of me now. I am nothing but a wanton woman, pushing myself on a man who doesn’t know me. Oh my, what things he made my body feel, I wanted to burn with it, yet there must be more to it than what I was feeling. But what more could there be?

Abby entered her room, locking the door she leaned up against it and sighed. Her heart was still fluttering so she took a couple of deep breaths trying to calm her thoughts. The bed seemed to call her name, her lids getting heavy as she made her way across the room. Maybe a good night’s rest will clear these ridiculous notions from my head.

She removed her robe, draped it over the end of the bed and climbed beneath the sheets. Her night rail proved too warm, sighing she got out of bed and removed it. Abby placed it on the end of the bed with her wrapper and slipped under the covers, the cool linen luxurious against her soft skin. She snuggled into the down feather mattress and took a deep breath. I can almost smell him. My friends were right, men have a most fascinating smell. The pillow she had laid her head on smeller lightly of lavender, and her hands smelled of Benjamin, smiling, she slipped into a restless sleep filled with dreams.

****

His hand reached for her, tipping her face up for his kiss. Abby molded herself to his body, melding them into one being. She wrapped her arms around his neck, arching her back begging for more. Benjamin picked her up, carrying her to the bed, deepening the kiss, eliciting small moans from the back of her throat. Never breaking the kiss, he laid them down stroking her body freely. Tweaking one nipple in his fingers, his lips left her mouth, blazing a white hot trail down her neck to the other nipple. Sucking it into his mouth he suckled there and was rewarded when she threw her head back catching her breath. Smiling, he chanced a glance at her face before letting her nipple go to kiss her ribs and stomach. Abby was wriggling upon the sheets when his mouth took possession of her most private parts. Benjamin slid his tongue through the golden brown curls hiding her treasure and found the hard little nub that would bring her the greatest pleasure known to womanhood. He lightly nipped the rosy bud before delving deeper into her, stroking his tongue up and down her moist slit. One hand stroked her while his tongue journeyed in and out of her shaft, the other hand never having left the nipple he played with.

Abby moaned loud enough to have awakened herself. She was breathing heavily while one hand was stroking a hardened nipple and the other was between her legs, soaking wet. Jerking up in bed, she brought her hands out from under the blankets as her body, hot and sweating, shaking. Oh my, what on earth was all that? A quick glance about the room proved she was alone; Benjamin wasn’t there. Gasping, she collapsed upon the pillow, her cheeks pink and covered herself completely before finally slipping into a restful sleep.

Laurie's Links:

Website
Evernight Publishing
All Romance eBooks
Amazon

I now have a split personality...

Well, I've done it. I decided to take on a pen name for my hot, erotic tales. I've been pretty resistant to doing the pen name thing, since I know me, and I know how bad I can get at keeping up with blogging and promo. But when I came down to the decision, what really tipped me over was the fact that I'm using my real name for my young adult Hell House series, and I wanted a distinct separation between the two worlds.

And so, Chrissie Lee was born.

She's still me, just a bit more snarky and way less inhibited. She wants to make her readers hot under the collar and show them that happily ever after can be as wild as they want it to be.

So celebrate her first release with me! And pop over to her blog and follow as well.

Chrissie Lee - After Dark...



After a disappointing night fending off drunk suitors at her friend's Halloween party, Amanda Swift is completely disenchanted with the dating scene. She's even more fed up with being alone, and wishes she'd finally find that perfect guy to sweep her off her feet and make her toes curl with ecstasy. But Amanda's evening quickly switches gears when she walks into her bedroom and discovers a very handsome - and very naked - hunk, who wants to please her in every way. But is this a case of be careful what you wish for?



Now available at All Romance eBooks for just 99 cents!

Stay tuned for more steamy stories to come...

One Horrific Summer...

So, I've always been a big fan of books. I can't even remember NOT knowing how to read. I wore out my library card, and always had more books than would fit on the shelf in my room.

But 25 years ago, there were only so many young adult books available. Judy Blume, Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High - these are what I read the most of because that's what girls my age were supposed to be reading. And there's nothing wrong with those books, it's just that, well, I craved...MORE.

Every summer I would spend a few weeks at my aunt and uncle's house. They were book lovers as well, and truthfully, passed that passion on to me through many a trip to the library or out of the way bookstore. They had loads of books at their house, so one summer, I decided I was going to read some grown-up books.

What did I pick to start with? Salem's Lot by Stephen King. Probably not the best choice for a 12 year old, but I was determined and could not be swayed.

The book scared the crap out of me.

I was mesmerized, and read it all in one day. I read until my eyeballs felt like they would pop out of my head and every noise that house made was a vampire about to get me. I was frightened and exhilarated, and...couldn't wait to read the next one.

Thus began my love affair with horror and the paranormal. I became obsessed, and that summer I also read Cujo, Carrie, Christine, and Firestarter. The world of horror and the paranormal opened up and swallowed me whole. Something about finding fear in the everyday or that there's more to this life than we know totally appealed to 12 year old me and made my imagination take flight.

That's when I really started writing my own stories, filling notebook after notebook, all the while devouring books like a person starved. I specifically became obsessed with vampires, and to this day have one bookcase in my house devoted entirely to vampire fiction.

I owe that "horrific" summer the credit for steering me onto this path of a writer, showing me so much more than I could ever have imagined. Books are and always will be what sustains me. And I pray they continue to inspire and entertain generations to come.

Who knows? Maybe even one of my stories will spark a light in another 12 year old...

All I can do is hope!

Happy Reading!

She Works Hard For The Money...

Been awhile since I posted, but just wanted to take a moment to catch you all up on the happenings in my crazy life.

First and foremost, I took a new job and am working full time again. Didn't really have a choice, since bills like to pile up. So, for the first time in over 12 years, I am at a new store, managing a new frame shop. It's hectic and insane most days, because retail is seriously NOT for the faint of heart, but it's a living.

This being said, my writing has had to take a little bump in the road due to my lack of time. I'm still banging the keys when I'm not too tired to stare at the laptop screen, but my productivity has definitely taken a hit. Not to fear, though. The stories and characters in my head like to torment me when I should be sleeping, so I will get them out of my head if it kills me.

Hubby got me a new laptop so I can use every moment to my advantage. Either that, or he was just tired of hearing me complain about the frequent blue screens and sluggish response time of the old one. Probably both. New one purrs like a kitten, though.

Plotting the next two Hell House stories, and tweaking some other WIPs for submission. Always thinking about what comes next...

Happy Reading!

Blog, Interrupted

Well, my grandiose plans of being more productive and blogging more frequently kind of got blown all to hell. You know how life can be. Just when you think it's all going according to plan, the Universe gives you a big kick in the stomach as if to say "think again."

My family has been sidelined by ill parents the past two months. First, my mother-in-law got severe pneumonia and had to be hospitalized on a ventilator in the ICU for over a week. She's in physical therapy and recovering, and then my father had a heart attack that ended up in a triple bypass, pacemaker surgery. Complications from that landed him in the ICU on a vent as well. He's finally on the mend, and things look like they might get back to normal.

I've gotten my first round edits for Vampires Don't Dance. Hopefully we can still get it out this summer, despite my little veer off the writing path. Fairy Fury got it's first review. Four Cups from Coffee Time Romance. I'm excited about that, since the book went through a significant plot change during edits. Now I need to haul ass on the next stories, and make up for lost time.

As always, life goes on.

Wednesday Wanderings...

So my post last week was all about finding what people look for in a blog from a writer. I got some excellent comments, and promised to give away a book. So without further ado, the winner is...

Sara Thompson!

Shoot me an email, Sara, at chris_arie at yahoo dot com and let me know what ebook you'd like as your prize! My entire library, along with blurbs and excerpts can be found at www.christlegray.com

Wedensdays are typically "concentrate on writing days" for me. I'm off from the day job that pays the bills, and try to cram in writing, blogging, edits - whatever fills my plate at that particular moment. For those of us that have to juggle a regular job with writing, (and there's alot of us) time management is crucial to our success. Sleep gets pushed to the back burner, along with sacrificing time with family and friends, all so we can chase that dream that drives us - to write and share our stories with others.

There are people who've spent years perfecting the craft and pursuing publication. I took a very long break from writing and didn't really get serious about it again until 2007, and then got my first publishing contract in 2008. Some might say I got lucky, but I'd like to think that I finally knew I had what it took to go after what I wanted, and decided to do it. I'm still learning about the business, but man, I'm loving this ride. The adrenaline rush is addicting, from when you finish a manuscript, to when you get that contract offer, and then see all your hard work come to fruition. It's like running a marathon, the endorphins practically making you giddy.

I still struggle to make it all happen, and there's still plenty to learn, but I'm willing to put in the time and effort. I mean, if I expect someone to pay to read the craziness that fills my head, I'd better be damn sure they feel that craziness is worth it!

And that being said, I've got a couple of personal projects that I hope to be able to share soon, too. Because hey, I make the rules, here, and I do what I want! (LOL)

Until then, Happy Reading!

Tell me what you want, what you really really want...

Soooo...I've been trying to blog more lately (uh-huh), and use my time more effectively (yeah, right), and I've come to one very frightening and obvious conclusion.

I have no earthly idea what I'm doing.

Seriously, I'm just making it up as I go along, people. I want to have interesting things to say, and posts so astounding that you have to talk about them with everyone you know(a girl can dream). But the fact is that I don't really know what people want to read, and what drives them to visit blogs and leave comments, or become members of websites. Hell, I can't even decipher that stuff for my own life. I never seem to know what will prick my interest from one day to the next. (I'm a gemini - don't judge me - LOL)

So what I want to know is - what do YOU guys want to see? What flicks your bic, or floats your boat? If it's contests and free stuff - what kinds of free stuff? Do you like free reads - posted stories or downloadable files? Polls? Heavy topics with controversy or fun, silly things to think about?

To make things more interesting, if you take the time to leave a comment and give me feedback, I'll enter you to win your choice of any of my ebooks, the winner to determined April 6th.

So, fire away, and give me something good!

P.S. - And don't forget to visit Crystal-Rain Love for the tail end of the Fool For Romance Contest! Winner will be picked April 1st!

Happy New Year!

Another year has come and gone! Can you believe it? Time just flies by anymore.

Now, I'm not one for making resolutions.

I know, *gasp* and *sputter*

You see, I believe that every day should start with resolutions, no matter what the calendar says. Each dawn brings with it a fresh chance to accomplish some small step towards your dreams. Because as we all know, it's not about the destination, it's about the journey we take to get there!

My journey has had its fair share of bumps and detours, but I'm getting better at keeping on my path. It might be twisty and curvy, but its my individual path, and I make the best of it! That includes having the opportunity to renew my contract for my first novel, aptly titled Second Chances, with a possible option for print availability. I'm a huge fan of the e-book revolution, but having something in print will just be a way for more opportunities to come my way. Not to mention how this attests to how much Sapphire Blue Publishing is growing in the industry itself. And Sapphire Blue has accepted two more stories in my Hell House series, so 2011 will see Fairy Fury and Vampires Don't Dance released. Also, my first release with Wild Rose Press comes out in just 2 days! I've already gotten one nice review for Through Hell and High Water, and am so excited to be able to call myself a multi-published author!

I continue to be thankful and blessed with friends and family that support my writing and help me grow.

2011 is going to be amazing, and I'm looking forward to every second of it.

How about you?

Contest Winners and Nano Results

November came and went with a flurry of writing activity for me. Did I make the 50K goal?

Alas, no.

However, I finished my YA novella and sent it to the editor for consideration, and I wrote a m/m novella and sent it to a submissions call. Both were goals I wanted to at least make for Nano. I think my total word count ended up around 25k for the month. Half of what was expected, but a personal best for me. I'm now knee-deep in edits for number two of my YA series, and getting excited for my Wild Rose Press release January fifth.

I hosted a contest in November to give thanks to all the folks that are members of my site and followers of my blog. I picked winners this morning.

First Place - Willow
Second Place - Val

I'm waiting to hear what books they pick as their prizes. I want to try and have some kind of a contest for the Christmas holiday. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

As for now - back to edits!

NaNo Update and Contest!

So, I'm still writing. My brain hasn't rebelled enough to send me off in another direction. No shiny objects to steal my attention away...yet.

Word count so far:
November 3rd - 1618
November 4th - 984

I think that brings the total so far up to 4871. Not too bad. Still have to get in some today.

Now - on to the contest! I want to give thanks to everyone! So, from now through November 30th, you can enter to win free books!

One first place winner will win their choice of one of my books, and any other two titles from the Sapphire Blue Publishing catalog.

One second place winner will win their choice of one of my books.

Free e-books! What's not to love?

How to enter? Well the first and easiest way is to become a site member at my website www.christlegray.com
Don't worry, if you already are a member, you're entered without even trying! (wasn't that easy?)

If you'd like another entry, then leave a guestbook message, letting me know!

Want a third entry? Then become a follower of my blog! Again, if you're already a follower, you've already gained another entry!

On December 1st, I will pick two winners from all the entries.

Free books to give thanks!

NaNoWriMo...Yo!

It's National Novel Writing Month! Authors everywhere take up their computers and rise to meet the challenge of 50,000 words or more in thirty days! It's crazy! It's chaotic!

It's NaNoWriMo!

I've never taken part before, and am still a little leery, so I decided to participate unofficially. There's multiple projects I want to work on, so I'll spread the words around to meet the goal. I'm going to try to keep track of it all and post tallies, but I can be easily sidetracked, so keep that in mind!

November 1st - none
November 2nd - 2269k

I'm trying to finish a young adult novella, then want to start on an erotic novella.

Here's to MUCH writing!

Writing, Writing, and More Writing...

Apparently, I suck at this whole blog posting thing. I mean, seriously, it's been like five weeks since I posted? WTF? I deserve to be shot. Or beaten. Or maybe just chastised very harshly.

But, I have been busy lately. And not just the normal day job from hell busy either. I finished the next Hell House story. It's called Fairy Fury, and it features surly teenage fairy Sora Starwind, who I introduced in Holiday Hell House. It's been polished and sent off the publisher, waiting for a yes or no. (yes, please)

I've already started on the next one in the series, featuring teenage zombie Zoe Talbot. I promise lots of laughs and much zombie shenanigans! No title yet, but I'm working on it!

I've also been working on a fantasy story about water nymphs, demons, and fairies. Tentatively titled Through Hell and High Water, I hope to have it finished and submitted by the end of the month as well.

So, you see, I have a genuine excuse for not posting! You can now put away your weapons.

AND, Sapphire Blue Publishing has made our books available at Barnes and Noble! I'm on the Nook! (insert happy dance here) Check it out! My Book Page

Snow, Snow, Snow

So, there's been a lot of snow in my neck of the woods lately.

And I mean A LOT.

So much, that the hubby and I couldn't even get to work on Monday this week. We live in a cul-de-sac, and it gets plowed last, making it difficult to venture out in bad weather.

It's funny, because as a child, I adored the snow. I would stay out and play in the white stuff for hours on end, making forts, angels, and having snowball fights with my friends. Now, it's just a nuisance that prevents me from getting things done.

I wonder when that changed - when I lost my childlike wonder of the snow.

I can't think of anything specific that caused that shift in my outlook.

I guess it's just part of the whole "being a grown up" process that we all must go through.

Kinda sucks. I miss that about myself.

On a positive note, being stuck indoors has made me spend some quality time writing, which I need to get back into the habit of doing more regularly. Oh, and I've read like four books in the past two weeks as well.

So maybe the snow isn't so bad after all.

New Year, New Ideas, New Obstacles

So the new year has hit me like a ton of bricks.

I just finished peak season at my day job, and they threw inventory hell on top of that. Add one messed up shoulder and you have a recipe for aggravation.

Regardless, I've been nursing some story ideas in my head. I'm working on a new vampire erotic story called Blood and Moonlight. Also, I'm working on the next Hell House story, which happens to be surly Sora's story, called Hell House: Fairy Fury. I'm excited about my Hell House characters the most. There's so much to pull from, and it's Sapphire Blue's first young adult release as well.

The only thing is, it's a little difficult to type when your shoulder is screaming at you to stop. So, things are a little slow until I'm back at 100%.

But I have faith that I'll be back on track soon!

To Blog or Not To Blog...

It's Wednesday, which means it's my day to spout some sort of exceptionally witty banter in a blog.

Trouble is, I'm just not feeling "blog worthy" lately.

I'm not depressed. There's nothing wrong. I just don't seem to have anything important to say.

I'm busy working. And writing. Reading a bit - print books AND e-books. And helping my hubby deal with the myriad health problems that have come up recently.

Fall is finally here. The leaves are turning, the weather is cooler. I usually get a little nostalgic in the fall. I'm going through old poems and stories and seeing if I can turn them into anything viable. Ideas are swirling around in my brain, and I tend to get a bit introverted when this happens, so I can sort them all out.

So in the meantime, have a great day. And pick up a Sapphire Blue E-book!

Takin' A Break

It's Wednesday.

Usually, I'd be hamming it up with a post about some hunky guy from a Sci Fi series or movie.

But I'm just not into it today.

It's been a particularly tiring week at the day job, and my brain is mush. I've been concentrating on writing whenever I have a spare moment, so my creativity is taxed, to say the least.

I really don't see how people juggle jobs and kids and writing and...whatever else on their plates. On days that I work, I have about four a half hours outside of the job to cram in my life. Four and a half hours. And this must include dinner, errands, showers, bills, writing, you name it.

I tried not sleeping much, and that just didn't work out. There's alot of physicality in my job most days, and being tired leads to me getting injured. Or being cranky, which doesn't bode well for my customer service skills.

Alas, sometimes I just need a break. Thankfully, I have vacation scheduled later this month. I plan on getting a re-boot and writing my tushie off!

Until then, I think I'll play it cool for awhile. Burn out is bad...

Just Chatting

I really have to get ready for work, but I felt like sharing a bit. I went to Sapphire Blue Publishing's website to check out a new erotic release, and there was Second Chances, number 4 on the bestsellers list!

I did a little happy dance in my seat!

I've really been struggling with feasibly continuing to pursue writing, since I have so much stuff going on in my life. Now, I feel a little more validated.

And so, I need to write a Halloween short story for SBP, another short for ARE's charity free reads, and finish Burn With Me.

Oh, and I'd also like to write a short story for Samhain's Angels and Demons Anthology.

Think I can pull it off?

I guess we'll find out!

Blogging Blues

So, here it is, Wednesday again. My day to blog - to be witty, relevant, and entertaining.

And here I sit, staring at the computer screen - waiting for inspiration to strike.

No lightning. No flash of brilliance. No lightbulbs appearing over my head.

Just empty space, glaring back at me, daring me to come up with an idea.

My life tends to go through cycles regarding my creativity. Sometimes I read relentlessly, then I will crochet or cross-stitch until my hands cramp. Or I have even been known to write until my fingers go numb. When I was writing Second Chances, the story flowed out of me in a steady stream, and I wrote practically every day until it was finished. It was like it was meant to be written.

But now, I struggle to give words life, and instead find myself wandering off to occupy my mind elsewhere. It's like I can't find that zone again - that place where the story that's in your head finds it's way to your fingertips like magic, creating the world on the page that you see in your mind for everyone else to see. I'm getting little spurts of that place, but it fizzles and dies before any real progress is made.

I'm beginning to feel that I might not find that place again, and I'm troubled by that prospect.

Granted, I do have a full-time job that deals me alot of stress, and bills to pay, errands to run, etc. But most writers do. And I can't help but feel that I'm just making lame excuses for being unproductive. And I really don't want to be lame.

But I'm struggling as a writer these days. I need to rediscover that joy that made me write Second Chances with such zeal and determination.

Trouble is, I really don't know how to do that.

Enough, Already!

I'm one of those people that is very sensitive to the weather. Bright, beautiful days cheer me up. Gray, colorless days get me down. This winter and spring have been particularly blah in my neck of the woods. I have been waiting expectantly for the hot, sunny days of summer.

But what do I get? Hazy, humid days interspersed with downpours. Driving home from work last night, in 30 minutes I drove through dark skies, sprinkles, downpours, lightning shows, and thunder claps.

And today - more of the same. The skies lighten up for a bit, then grow almost black and release a torrent of water to gray out the day.

So my mood is as gray as the sky outside. And the sinus headache from the changing barometer doesn't help. And when I'm gray and blah - I either refrain from turning on my computer alltogether, or end up staring at it, thinking horrible thoughts of destruction.

What I manage to write reflects my mood, and ends up being blah and boring.

Summer, sun, please come and shed some light on my mood and my words!

I am truly sick of the rain.

Brain Block

As you can see, it's my day to blog. Trouble is, I'm finding it increasingly difficult to come up with anything interesting to say. Usually, inspiration will hit me Tuesday night when I'm trying to sleep.

Not this week.

I'm just too exhausted. My day job has been very busy. (I'm an art framer, btw.) The Department Manager was on vacation last week, so alot of stuff fell to me to take care of. I've also been training someone new because one of our framers left. And our corporate offices just handed down a new training protcol last month that we have to follow.

My brain's a mess, buzzing with price guides, color theory, order deadlines - etc. There's little room left for blogging inspiration, let alone writing inspiration. I'm one of those writers that does not work well when tired or pressed for time.

And so, I sit here and stare at the screen of my laptop, which mocks me with its emptiness. Forcing the issue doesn't help either. The stuff that comes out when I make myself write under duress is pretty much crap.

What to do? I think I'll zone out for a few. Maybe read a book. Listen to music. Refresh and reset the noggin.

Then I'll try again later.

More relaxed me = better writing.

Have a good one!