I'm pleased to announce that The Greatest Gift is available now! Labels: Cobblestone Press, The Greatest Gift
The Greatest Gift is part of Cobblestone Press's 12 Days of Christmas series.Andrew and Sarah have almost everything they could want after four years of marriage--wealth, companionship, and love. What they don't have is a child. Sarah fears that the one thing she cannot give her husband may destroy their marriage.
This story developed after I read a romance where the supposedly infertile couple has a miraculous pregnancy by the end of the book. I've read a number of these books over the years, and I've always wondered about the couple who simply cannot have children. What if they lived in a time when there were no modern infertility treatments? What if they desperately wanted a child, and their situation affected their marriage? How would such a couple find a happy ending?
The situation escalates at their annual Christmas Eve party, where Andrew sees that Sarah is pulling away. Together, they must decide whether to bridge the gap that divides them . . . or lose the greatest gift of all.
These questions became the basis of The Greatest Gift. It was an emotional story to write, but it was ultimately a very satisfying one.
Hope you enjoy!
I'm excited about the book trailer for Cobblestone Press's Twelve Days of Christmas stories. You can check out the trailer here: Labels: Cobblestone Press, The Greatest Gift
My story, The Greatest Gift, comes out December 17. I'll post an excerpt for it in the next few days.
Cobblestone Press has created a trailer for the Vampire Oracle series. It's terrific, and it offers a sneak peek of all the covers. Take a look. Labels: Battle, Cobblestone Press
I'm thrilled to announce that I sold The Greatest Gift to Cobblestone Press! This is my first historical. Here's a blurb. Labels: Cobblestone Press, The Greatest GiftAndrew and Sarah have almost everything they could want after four years of marriage--wealth, companionship, and love. What they don't have is a child. Sarah fears that the one thing she cannot give her husband may destroy their marriage.
The Greatest Gift is part of Cobblestone Press's 12 Days of Christmas series, so I expect it will be available in December. No cover or specific release date yet, but of course I'll post them once I know.
The conflict escalates at their annual Christmas Eve party, where Andrew sees that Sarah is pulling away. Together, they must decide whether to bridge the gap that divides them . . . or lose the greatest gift of all.
I'm thrilled to announce I've been selected to write one of the stories in Cobblestone Press's Vampire Oracle series, which will debut in 2008. Here's the lineup. Labels: Battle, Cobblestone Press
The Moon by Michelle Hasker
Birth by Diana Bold
Innocence by Lia Morgan
Life by AL Debran
Hunger by Sophie Athens
Chalice by Ericka Scott
Power by Ava Rose Johnson
Battle by Lia Sebastian
Fever by Sapphire Blue
Lust by Jade James
Sin by Antonia Pearce
Sacrifice by Leila Brown
Love by L. Shannon
Harmony by MG Braden
Shadow by Karen Erickson
Sunlight by Moira Reid
Ashes by Contessica Ryans
Death by Yolanda Sfetsos
Sleep by Eugenia O'Neal
Tomb by Rebecca Goings
Awaken by Eliza Gayle
Rebirth by Lyric James
New Life by Emma Petersen
Wisdom by Sable Grey
Circle of Life by Deanna Lee
The covers are terrific. I'm thrilled to be part of this wonderful project!
To celebrate Cobblestone Press's anniversary, many of the authors are doing a giveaway. Contests only run today, Sunday, June 3, so head over to the Contest Parade forum to check out all the contests. Labels: Cobblestone Press, contests, The Seventh Sense
The prize for my contest is a copy of my e-book The Seventh Sense.
If you sign up for my mailing list, you double your chance of winning! Plus, I often hold contests on my mailing list.
Have fun!
I learned about Cobblestone Press in March of last year. I kept my eye on their site, because the professional site impressed me, and I was more than impressed with the covers they created. Labels: Between Floors, Cobblestone Press, Office Relations, The Seventh Sense
When I learned that they would look at short stories, I sent Office Relations. Cobblestone sent me a contract, and Office Relations became my first published story.
It was released the second week of June 2006, the week after Cobblestone Press opened.
Since then, I've released two additional books with Cobblestone and I plan to submit more.
Happy anniversary to all the people behind the scenes who make Cobblestone Press a success! Thank you for helping make my dreams of publishing come true.
Have I mentioned how much I love Cobblestone Press? They've set up a messageboard called Cobblestone Main Street, and I have my own forum there. It's called Lia Sebastian's Chateau, and I'll post there about my releases, interviews, appearances, and more. I'll still post here, of course, and at my website. But this is very fun. I'd love to see you there! Labels: Cobblestone Press
I can't believe how long it's been since I blogged last. Long enough, in fact, that I wasn't sure I remembered my password. As you can see, I managed it and here I am. Labels: Cobblestone Press, writing, writing conferences
It's a new year. Amazing, really. So much happened last year--good and bad.
The good: I was published! I'm endlessly grateful to Cobblestone Press for buying my work. I couldn't have asked for a more positive first publishing experience. And I've met so many wonderful people through Cobblestone and through writing.
The bad: I've lost focus. Part of this is because of the day job. There have been a number of shake-ups there lately. Plus, since I write and edit eight hours a day, sometimes writing is the last thing I want to do when I get home. I've also let some things become distractions unnecessarily.
My goal for the year is simply this: focus on the writing. I'm going to do my best to shut out the static, the distractions.
I wrote today and it felt wonderful.
In other news, I'm attending the upcoming Utah RWA conference next month. I'm excited about all the speakers and hope to get a lot of good information I can use in my writing.
November has been a very busy month for me. I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month, and I also took a week off to go to California with a friend. While I was gone, I received some news. Cobblestone Press sent me a contract for The Seventh Sense. Here's a blurb for the story. Labels: Cobblestone Press, NaNoWriMo, The Seventh SenseWhen Erin Andrews buys an antique ring, her practical world turns upside-down. First, she hears a disembodied voice. Then, she receives a series of threatening notes. In her search for answers, Erin seeks advice from antiquities expert Luke Hunter, a man who's deeply interested in the ring.
No firm release date yet, but it looks like it will come out in April. This will be my first paranormal.
Luke has been researching the secrets of Erin's ring for more than a decade. His help--and protection--proves invaluable, but can Erin trust that he wants her . . . and not her antique ring?
I want to let you know about two upcoming chats. The first is tonight at Romance Divas. You will need to sign up as a member of the forum (it's free and doesn't take long to register), and Java is required. It starts at 9:00 PM Eastern, and many of Cobblestone's authors will be there. Labels: Cobblestone Press, Romance Divas
The second chat is next Tuesday in the Cobblestone Press chatroom. You need Java for this chat as well. It begins at 9:00 PM Eastern. I'll have prizes people can win.
I hope you can make it to one of the chats!
I'm finally completing a fun meme where I answer five questions from someone else, then ask five questions of the first five people who post in the comments. So, here are my answers to Jenna Petersen's questions. Labels: Cobblestone Press, memes
What kind of books do you write?
The two books I've contracted are short stories--contemporary romance. This subgenre is the most comfortable one for me, and I enjoy writing shorts. I have a full-length futuristic romance as well, with two more books planned in that world. And finally, I have two historical romances in the works. This subgenre is the most challenging for me to write, so once these are finished, I'm making no promises about more historicals.
Can you tell us more about Cobblestone Press (recently I've been hearing quite a bit about them)?
Happy to. In fact, I'll share the whole story, beginning with how I learned about them. I've been reading e-books for about a year, and I initially read books by both Deanna Lee and Sable Grey last fall. One day I saw a notice on Deanna's blog about Cobblestone Press.
I checked out the website and had two main thoughts: (1) that it looked very professional, and (2) that it might be a good choice for me because it was a publisher dedicated to romance, not just erotic romance. Since I rate my stories on the hot side--leaning toward erotic but not quite there--this made Cobblestone an interesting possibility.
At the time, I had one short story and the futuristic; the former was too short for consideration and the latter is targeted for print publishers. So I bookmarked the site and made a note to come back to it.
Cobblestone began accepting submissions in March. By that time, they had lowered their minimum word count so my short story qualified. I sent it for submission on a Friday and got a contract the following Monday.
It's been a great company for me as a first-time author. Each book went through three rounds of editing, and the editors pointed out things and made suggestions that made the story stronger.
Cobblestone also sends out its releases to dozens of review sites. I've heard from other authors that not all e-publishers do that. I believe the fact that Deanna and Sable are authors themselves helps them know how to make things easier for their authors. And they encourage us to submit to other e-publishers to get our names out there; they even sent a PDF with things to look for as we review contracts from other companies. As a publishing newbie, I found the comments very helpful.
Oh, and I can't talk about Cobblestone without mentioning the covers! They offer consistently good covers. I couldn't be happier with mine.
Cobblestone opened last Friday, and my first book isn't out yet (that's this Friday, only five days away!), so I can't speak to royalties, but I've been pleased with the company in every other area, and I'm convinced they will continue to grow and do well.
If you couldn't be a writer, what profession would you want to pursue?
A professional paid romance reviewer. Or a scrapbooking instructor.
What profession would you avoid at all costs?
Anything related to math.
What's your favorite ice cream?
Bubble gum. I know, everyone looks at me strangely when I say it, but it's true. Throwback to when my mom would take me to get a shake after surviving a trip to the dentist.
That was fun! If you want me to visit your blog and customize five questions to you, just post in the comments.
It blew me away to realize that Office Relations will be released in 14 days. There's so much to do before then, including pray for good reviews. LOL! One of the things I need to do is make a few announcements. I have an author chat coming up, but I'll post more about that next week. Don't worry--I'll be sure to provide advance notice. Labels: Cobblestone Press, Office Relations
