August 28, 2008

Need a Little Turn On?

Then let me help you get your juices flowing. Here’s a little something from TEDDI TURNS ON to start you off.

BLURB:

No one’s going to take advantage of Teddi Howard again, including the Munich tour operator who screwed her over when he reneged on their contract. Her only option is to face the little weasel.

Nothing stands in the way of the prominent, German businessman David Stiefle, especially a woman. No way is he ever getting involved, even if she is the sensual Mrs. Howard.

EXCERPT:

David Stiefel’s eyes kept track of the copper-haired female while he rolled up the sleeves of his striped shirt. The woman was oblivious to the stir she created as she strolled through the crowded O’Hare Airport Business Class Lounge. He stroked an index finger over his lips and studied her sleek figure in form fitting slacks. The appealing rear view was too good to miss. The pleasure of not seeing a panty line forced him to shift in his chair to adjust for the sudden pull in his jeans.

She bent over, hung her jacket across the chair back, and glanced over her shoulder at him. Their gaze held as a smile tweaked the corner of his mouth. He crumpled the wrappings from his beef sandwich and knew he’d just been offered dessert. Now all he had to do was make his move.

As his good luck would have it, right there on the floor, just a few meters away was an airline ticket dropped by some unsuspecting person. Ha, unsuspecting, his Aunt Hilda. He knew that delicious looking woman had done it as a ploy to meet him.

He stood and paced off the few steps, never taking his eyes from her. He stooped, scooped up the packet, and walked the few extra feet before he glanced at the name printed in bold marker across the front. When he held it toward her she fumbled with her purse and carry-on as if she didn’t know she’d lost such an important set of documents. Very cool.

Standing in front of her, he leaned down just enough to catch her scent. Shalimar. His favorite.

“Bitte, Frau, are you missing something?” He liked the way her eyes widened as if she were surprised. She was good.

“Thank you.” She reached out a slender hand. Thank God there wasn’t any of that garish nail art so many women seemed to prefer.

Buy Link

Please check back over the next four days to read the next two installments. Until then…

Happy Reading!
Sloane

August 26, 2008

E-Publisher Speaks Out

Recently, Ally Robertson, owner of Eternal Press, was asked to share her thoughts with one of Canada’s largest print book retailers. With Ally’s permission below is her response.
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You raised some very good questions and after considering them, here is my professional opinion as one of the very few eBook publishers in Canada.

The popularity of eBooks is on the rise and will continue to grow, just as it did with the CD and the DVD. There are many reasons why this trend will continue to grow and eventually replace what we call the norm today.

Environmental
They are environmentally sound. It is my personal belief that print books will become collectables in the future in the same way vinyl records have. The call to be more eco-friendly these days is finally beginning to make some positive changes in the way we do things. More and more people are seeking out eBooks on that merit alone. The actual benefits to the environment can be monumental, and it’s not just the trees and cleaner air. A lot goes into manufacturing the paper. Pulp-mills consume massive amounts of energy and create waste. Toxins and chemicals are used to bleach and treat the paper and some toxins are left behind during processing that also damage the environment. The machines consume oil, electricity and some processes are still using coal. What about the dyes, inks and glues used (chemicals)? The books have to be shipped, using more resources and polluting the environment via the transport used, not to mention the customer who drives to the store to purchase the books. Many books pile up in peoples houses and after being passed around from one person to another, the majority of these books end up in our landfills. Sure they are biodegradable, but regardless of that, the inks and glues still leave toxins to leach into the soil.

Economic
There are still a few hurdles to contend with, but in the end it’s the consumer who finds them economical and this is drawing new readers to the eBook industry. The costs are lower to produce the product, and therefore the consumer is able to benefit by paying less. There is a very damaging idea floating around that eBooks have low quality when it comes to the skill of the Authors. That may be true for those who are self-publishing without going through the rigorous editing process with a professional publisher, but this is not so with a reputable eBook publisher. If this myth about sub-standard quality were really true, eBooks would have never gone further than a short fad. All of the eBook publishers I have met and networked with that have a standing in the industry, all have full a staff.

Example: My publishing company, Eternal Press, has in its employ an acquisitions editor, a senior editor, eight editors, four copyeditors, three cover artists and a handful of other people who take care of administrative tasks and marketing. A lot of work goes in to each book. It’s reviewed by acquisitions and is given a yes, no or a request for rewrites. Then it’s sent to the senior editor who schedules it and assigns it to an editor who is suitable considering genre and heat levels. The book will then be sent back and forth between the editor and the author, sometimes up to three or four times, until it is ready to go to the copyeditor. The copyeditor reviews it and the edited manuscript receives one last review between editor and author. When that has been completed, the senior editor reviews the work and the book enters the formatting stage. Each book is formatted to be easy to read and attractive to the eye. The cover art is made months in advance for the authors to use for promotions before its release date and contains amazing artistic talent and effort.

This is a process used by larger print publishers, and just as much effort, skill and professionalism goes into each eBook. The main difference is the fact that an eBook publisher gets to skip a few steps such as manufacturing a hard copy, and distribution with hopes that what was printed will be sold and not returned. I send my eBooks direct to the consumer in an economical and environmentally sound form.
I know there are some companies out there that will publish eBooks without the vigorous editing and processing. My opinion is that these are the kinds of companies that hinder the industry. With a bit of research into each company you deal with, this lack of quality can be avoided.

How to Boost the eBook Industry
At the moment eBooks can be read on your PC or Laptop computer, PDA, cell phone, Blackberry, palm pilot, i-touch, and other small hand held devises. There are also eBook readers for those who want something larger that makes the reading easier.

One of the biggest obstacles that the eBook revolution faces is the cost and quality of these eBook readers. From what I hear from consumers, staff, various blogs and websites who talk about such matters, the customer wants a product that they can hold in their hands much like someone would a book with a screen size that is comfortable to read. That means clear defined fonts, backlighting that can be adjusted for comfort, and size adjustment for those with bad eyesight who need to zoom in. It must be light, durable and rechargeable. But the most important thing: cost. The prices of these devices are still far too expensive to make using them an economical choice for the consumer. They range in prices from $150.00 to $500.00 and up. The quality of such devices are not worth the expense when it’s believed that the product could break when dropped rendering it useless and a waste of their hard earned money. The longevity of the technology itself is often a hindrance. Why spend $300 on something that is uncomfortable to use because it is lacking all of the basic features listed before? It’s still much cheaper to buy the paper copies of books than invest in an e-reader that is not functional to a degree that makes it worth the investment. When the technology is developed to make the e-readers both functional, affordable and durable, then the e-book industry will have no limits to its potential. There is no reason why an eBook reading device needs to be above the cost of an upper end calculator. The technology just plain isn’t that complicated.

In order to create a boom in the eBook industry, someone needs to manufacture an eBook reader that is between $50.00 and $75.00, that will read and store up to 2Gs of information, can plug into a computer or USB port and have a few options allowing change in the text size, lighting and bookmarks. It should be made with a durable shock resistant interior and exterior that will not harm the product if dropped. If someone were to offer such a product, I could guarantee a major boost in the industry; the growth would be phenomenal and eBook sales would expand exponentially.

Retail
At the moment eBooks are available almost exclusively online, with the exception of those authors who have put their eBooks on CDs to sell and sign for readers/fans at book signings. Publishers and authors are beginning to offer downloads at their individual booths at writer’s conventions and book festivals etc.

Online publishers offer their products directly from their websites. They also use other online retailers who specialise in selling eBooks and software. Fictionwise, Books on Board, All Romance eBooks, eReader.com and Content Reserve all market, sell and distribute the eBooks to consumers in many different e-Formats. Fictionwise alone increased my sales at Eternal Press by 5 times. Amazon climbed on the bandwagon and sells over 1,000,000 different eBooks in many e-Formats and have their own reader (Kindle) which, if offered at a better price, would make more consumers permanent eBook readers.

At the moment as long as you have a PayPal account or a credit card, you can purchase eBooks from your cell phone and any other wireless device used to read them. But for those who have no wireless technology, they’ll need to go to a website and download the eBooks they want to their computers, or in some cases directly onto their e-reader device.

Most large book stores have computers available to the consumer to help them search for the titles they want by author, genre etc. Even then, there is no guarantee it will be available, and often items have to be ordered. This inconveniences the consumer, many of which are likely to give up and buy something else that’s more readily available. So why is it that there is no kiosk at the checkout where a consumer can purchase the book they want and plug in their device to download the eBooks they purchased? For those who only use cash (not credit) this route gives them the ability to buy eBooks which otherwise is completely unavailable to them. Why can’t there be eBook kiosks in airport terminals, bus depots and hotel lobbies where a consumer can purchase and download directly? What about hospitals? Instead of renting out TVs and passing around old used books with limited selections, how about renting e-readers and offering millions of selections so a patient can chose anything they want to read, literally bringing the library to them?

How many publishers are kicking their behinds because they turned down J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books because they believed kids don’t read books, that they would rather be playing video games? Why is Canada’s largest book retailer ignoring this growing industry that will one day be the norm? Are you willing to go bankrupt as the industry grows around because you refuse to adapt to change? Also I would like to add something my senior editor said to me. She is a Canadian living in Australia and as my senior editor I asked her to copyedit this letter for me. Lauren said in a comment… Quote “You may also want to add something about availability and cost of books in smaller foreign countries. I’ve mentioned to you before how expensive books are here, and how often times, the books I want are simply not available here. They have to be ordered from Amazon at my personal expense instead of the book store. I’d love to have a functioning, affordable e-reader and download a book from on-line instead of waiting six weeks to have it shipped using surface mail from the US…at a very high cost to me!

I have my eBooks on all of the eBook retailers mentioned above and I’m slowly making them available to more and more web retailers. I am a very proud Canadian and I want to offer Canadians a way to buy Canadian products in Canada. There are not many eBook publishers in Canada and I am very happy to know that I can take advantage of the Canadian market, which at the moment is largely unaware of the growing movement. I hope that Eternal Press will one day be known as one of the Canadian publishers who took an active, positive role in the growing trend and stuck it out to help make a successful shift in how all Canadians read books in the future.

In conclusion, eBooks are here to stay; eBooks are growing steadily in popularity and eBooks will one day oversell print books, changing the industry forever. I’m proud to be a part of that.

Sincerely,
Ally Robertson

August 25, 2008

Today is a GREAT Day

Below is the wonderful review from Alternative Read for my latest release TEDDI TURNS ON. To say I’m ecstatic is putting it mildly!

Publisher: Aspen Mountain Press
ISBN: 978-1-60168-115-7
Length: 162 Pages
Format: e-book
Reviewer: WitchGiggles

Trying to keep her business afloat, Teddi Howard is not going to let anyone walk on her any more. So, it’s off to Munich and taking on the tour guide who’s trying to do exactly that. But life holds some surprises for Teddi, not least of which is a man who doesn’t seem to know the meaning of the word NO.

As a man who’s worked incredibly hard to get where he is, David Stiefle is used to things turning out the way he wants them to. At least he was until he ran into a feisty redhead who doesn’t seem to think he knows what’s best for her.

This was a really great read as it explored the tension between two people who are not only strong-minded, but with totally opposite ideas of what constitutes a relationship. A humorous, witty look at a relationship with remarkably serious undertones, sensually explicit sex and simply falling in love. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Reviewed by WitchGiggles

THANK YOU, WitchGiggles!

I’ll be back Wednesday to start off a few TEDDI TURNS ON excerpts to tease you. Until then…

Happy Writing!
Sloane

August 15, 2008

Novel Sisterhood Presents

Mary’s Sunday Evening Discussion

August 17, 2008 at 9:00 pm–10:00 pm EDT

On Novel Sisterhood—
Please join: Novel Sisterhood Discussion group

August Topic:
Discussion on Writing a good synopsis:
You have your manuscript done and need to catch an editor/agent’s eye. How are earth do you condense a 100,000 word manuscript into 3 to 5 pages?

Special Guest:
Sloane Taylor, multi-published author of Contemporary Erotica—all set in Europe. Sloane has three books and a fourth coming in the fall from Eternal Press along with two books and a third coming in the fall from Aspen Mountain Press. She will lend her expertise of how she writes a synopsis that sells!

Please visit her web site: www.sloanetaylor.com

Check out our website Novel Sisterhood
Novel Sisterhood

Hope to see you all there!

Happy Writing,
Sloane

August 8, 2008

FANTASTIC!

Hi Everyone, sorry I’ve been so quiet. The time was well spent working on two new books and reading a hot new novel that has just released. RISE OF THE WOLF is definitely a book you won’t want to set down. Kat Duarte has created intriguing characters and a tingling story that will keep you glued to the end. I can only hope there’s a follow up book by this brilliant new author.

Be sure to pick up your copy today.

Here’s the terrific cover;

Rise of the Wolf by Kat Duarte
ETERNAL PRESS
Isbn: 978-1-897559-29-1
Heat rating: 3 flames
Erotic/Supernatural

Summary:
City girl Hilary Samuels has no idea Murphy’s Law will kick into high gear the first night of the Hunters’ Moon. One country road, a flat tire and a skid into a cornfield later, and Hilary finds herself face-to-fang with a seductive vampire. Add to that one super-sized wolf who challenges her attacker and you’ve got one weird night out.

Anyone else would retreat to the more conventional hazards of urban life, but Hilary moved to McKenna with an agenda. If she can successfully run the small town’s Café Lotti, her promotion to
managing one of the hippest cafes in Chicago is in the bag.

But how to build a customer base when stalked by the undead? Not to mention the hunky head of the company turning out to have some steamy supernatural secrets of his own! Will Hilary join forces with her new and powerful ally, or will their entanglement rip her world apart?

Excerpt:
But why should you wait? Your skin in the moonlight looks as soft and radiant as a pearl. Do you not yearn to be caressed?

She would have sworn his lips didn’t move. His voice was so gentle, warm, sensuous and intimate, as though he were inside her thoughts, her soul.

Then somehow, without moving, he had covered the space between them and stood next to her, pressed against her, leaning over her. His soft hair tickled her cheek. His breath whispered across her lips as he parted them with a flick of his hot tongue. The kiss was light, soft, then firmer and deeper, the deft movement filling her with the promise of such delights to come that her knees actually began to give way. He caught her, one of his arms bracing her at the deepest curve of her back, the other wrapped so that he cradled her neck in the palm of his hand.

See you all next week. Until then…

Happy Writing!
Sloane Taylor

July 16, 2008

PARTY TIME!

That’s right. Today, all day and long into the night over at Love Romances Cafe.

Join fifteen talented authors who write a variety of genres encompassing the entire heat range for gabbing, excerpts, prizes, and more.

I’ll be there for a couple of hours hawking my wares. Hope to see you there.

Sloane Taylor
Sweet as Honey…Hotter than Hell

July 5, 2008

Calling All Ladies

Ellora’s Cave is running an easy, fun, toy review contest for six of their excellent authors in a new segment, The Buzz. The reward is to be selected as a reviewer for Ellora’s ezine Lady Jaided. You can read the reviews at
http://www.ladyjaided.com/buzz.html, then send an email voting for the best review to ToyContest@Ellorascave.com.

I checked them out this morning and have to report that Ode to Jack Rabbit, The Cadillac of Vibes by Doreen Orsini has me headed out the door with Visa card in hand!

You can learn more about Ms Orsini on her website. Be sure to read the excerpts from;
No One But Madison - A dark tale of sweet submission
Tanner’s Angel - He can have her if he outdoes her favorite toy

YUMMY!!

Have a great weekend. And be sure to vote! I’ll see you next week. Until then…

Happy Writing!

Sloane Taylor
Sweet as Honey…Hotter than Hell

July 3, 2008

Aspen Mountain Press Celebration!

July 2008 We’re 2 Years Old!

To celebrate our birthday, Aspen Mountain Press is sending one lucky winner* a picnic basket lunch (retail value of $100) to create the deli sandwich of your dreams from Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Choose from Sherman’s Sure Choice Reuben - Black Angus lean corned beef, rye; Binny’s Brooklyn Reuben - Pastrami, pumpernickel; Georgia Reuben - Roasted turkey, rye. Also included Zingerman’s homemade redskin potato salad, cole slaw and Russian dressing. Emmentaler Swiss cheese, garlicky pickles and magic brownies.

To be included in the drawing all you have to do is purchase a book at Aspen Mountain Press. The more books you buy between July 1st and July 31st, the more times you will automatically be entered!

According to Oprah, “Zingerman’s sandwiches are an ‘11 on a scale of 1 to 5.’”
Don’t miss out on a terrific opportunity to sample some of the best deli food the mid-west has to offer along with some awesome stories of adventure, mystery, and passion. Remember, each story purchased is an automatic entry into the drawing!

*See website for additional details.

www.AspenMountainPress.com
Adventure, Mystery, Passion

Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July. I’ll be back next week. Until then…

Happy Writing!

Sloane Taylor
Sweet as Honey…Hotter than Hell

June 23, 2008

A Night to Remember

Take a mountain vacation with Sloane Taylor, Rob Graham and Celina Summers from Aspen Mountain Press in the Realms of Love Chat Castle Monday June 23. There are some hot releases out from these folks. Read about them below and then join us for an hour of fun and frolic Monday at 9 PM EDT/ 6 PM PDT. Of course, there will be downloads of eBooks given away to lucky chatters! Realms of Love is the place for romance writer chats!

Celina Summers: The Asphodel Cycle: The Gift of Redemption After the defeat of the Duke de Spesialle’s armies, Tamsen de Asphodel finds herself weakened and ill. The toll of the magic she called has ravaged her body, but the demands of the Elven Realm and the kingdom of Ansienne call her to continued duty. With Brial at her side, she ignores her fragility and dives headlong into the political turmoil of both nations. Unfortunately, her uncle Spesialle is not finished with her yet. When she finds herself at his mercy, she must gather all of her wits and courage to combat him. And when the gods demand an answer to the question What gift can buy the redemption of the Elves? Tamsen must decide if she is brave enough to give the right answer.

Rob Graham: Gillian’s Place Fatima, The Orange Slip, Bill and Ruby, Ruby and Bill & Dinner Date Come on in and have a drink. Gillian’s place is the right place to be to hear some interesting stories of love gone wrong and right.

Sloane Taylor: Teddi Turns On: No one’s going to take advantage of Teddi Howard again, including the Munich tour operator who screwed her over when he reneged on their contract. Her only option is to face the little weasel. But nothing stands in the way of prominent, German businessman David Stiefle, especially a woman.

Hope to see you there!

Sloane Taylor
Sweet as Honey…Hotter than Hell

June 22, 2008

Sultry Summer

Woot! It’s that time again! The Sultry Summer scavenger hunt is in full swing and I’m just waiting for your entries!

Go to http://sultrysummer.blogspot.com to read Da Rules and find out whose sites you need to scour for the sexy button. With over 30 prizes, we’re looking to blow you away with the hotness. And remember, one GRAND PRIZE winner will win a copy of ALL the e-books in the hunt. That’s over 30 books! To be eligible, you have to find all 27 links on the author’s sites, so get to huntin’!

Ce

PS. That was http://sultrysummer.blogspot.com

–
Celia Kyle
“Erotic Romance Authors do it… Literally” ~ Celia Kyle
http://www.celiakyle.com