Becky Flade, Author

I haven't been ignoring you.  I haven't been too busy.  Unitl now, with the exception of Monday, you haven't let me in. Now I'm getting ready to crawl into bed.  You better work tomorrow .... it's Fiction Friday

This week I got to read Relentless written by Winter Austin http://www.winteraustin.com/ and published by Crimson Romance. ABOUT THE BOOK (taken from the publisher’s website) Dallas homicide detective Remy LeBeau trusts no one. He hides from a past that could kill him and anyone involved with him. What he’s not prepared for is the return of an elusive serial killer . . . and an unwanted desire to protect a witness at all costs. Professional barrel racer Cody Lewis’s dream of being top in the nation is within reach until she discovers a murdered woman in her horse trailer. The event pulls her into the sickening world of the Rodeo Sweethearts serial killer—a madman who terrorized Dallas’s rodeo circuit five years prior and is now back for more. But what’s worse is that Cody fits the profile of the Rodeo Sweetheart victims. . . . As Remy dives into the investigation, he uncovers secrets of a botched investigation and a tight-lipped boss, while attracting unwanted attention fro

Never underestimate the value of quality support. This is not a post about my brassiere. Though having an ample bosom (what a great word and one I don’t use often), as I do, I require a brave and stalwart volunteer from that particular section of the lingerie department. It's not about the talented group of writers that came together to pen the end of the world at the paws of the Easter Bunny. This post is not about my wonderful fiancé, Nicky, who has picked up the slack with the kids and the housework and the cooking and the cleaning, with only a minimum of complaint, while being virtually ignored of late and bored as hell, while I chase my dream. And it's not about Twitter, I did that already and will do so again. Soon. Nicky's time will come, I promise. His praises will be sung. Today's post is about the Facebook group comprised of Crimson Romance authors of which I am proud to be a member. This group of fantastic women is magic. We're diverse, spread

This week I had the pleasure of reading Kirby written by Samantha Anne http://www.samanthaannebooks.com/ and published by Crimson Romance. ABOUT THE BOOK (taken from the publisher’s website) Rachel Sirianni is a twenty-seven year old native New Yorker with dreams of becoming an editor for Equinox Publishing, one of the top imprints in the city. And it seems she’s finally gotten her foot in the door, until one wild morning turns her fast track into an uphill climb. Unable to pay her bills, she takes an unlikely second job to make ends meet and finds herself struggling to maintain two lives– her own, and that of her alter ego. Kirby is a sassy, imaginative, and extroverted fireball whom Rachel had no idea was lying dormant inside of her. Enter Joe, a larger-than-life, brutally hot writer with a heart of gold. Rachel can’t seem to control herself around him, despite the fact that she’s sworn off men until she can get her career back on track. Their backgrounds and interests ve

Jocelyn hadn’t a good night’s sleep since Gabriel had come to her that first night after encountering him on her train ride home. She woke every morning since feeling restless and mentally exhausted. She’d come to dread the fall of night. She hadn’t seen him these past two week. Regardless, images of him filled her mind every time she closed her eyes to slumber.   More than dreams they felt like memories, memories of things that haven’t happened.   As she sat at her desk in the small boutique law firm where she worked, she would’ve sworn she’d heard Gabriel’s velvet voice whisper: “Yet, my love, they haven’t happened yet.”   She had images of herself dressed in vibrant silks, twirling, dancing under the stars.   Running through the woods so fast, the leaves were a blur of dark green in the moonlight.   Riding glowing ocean waves naked.   In all of them she and Gabriel were side by side, hand in hand, but the most stirring were the images of them loving and feeding. Last night

It’s amazing, the power of music. It can pull a memory to the surface so refined you'd swear you could smell the odors that infused the moment. Music can trigger an emotional response or diffuse one.   I like to write with music in the background. I need something as I find silence distracting. The television will suffice in a pinch; but when I’m looking to procrastinate the boob tube is always an eager suitor. But music, ah, music I can choose to match the mood of the scene I’m writing or to match my own mood depending on what I need to get the job done. Maggie O’Connell, the heroine in Fated Souls , loves her music too.   She prefers rock & roll and likes it loud and dirty.   She blasts the radio in her car; she sings along, off-key; and she downloads “shamelessly”, by her own admission. But Maggie pays karmic justice by buying over-priced ticket prices for all the concerts she attends; and a large part of her wardrobe is made up of the tour tee-shirts she’s collected ov

TODAY’S POST IS FOR ADULTS ONLY – AS IN 18 AND UP ONLY! As I’m sure you noticed I’ve put the “Mature Audiences Only” warning up on my blog. There is a very good reason for this:   I am reviewing the book Sex Games: Chosen by the insatiable Nikki Haze. Be sure to read all the way to the bottom for an excerpt from the book and information on where you can find more of Nikki on the ‘net. Now, on to the games…. Elita is nervous but excited to be chosen to an elite sexual fraternity where only the most attractive, most eligible co-eds are invited to pledge. SEX GAMES: CHOSEN details Elita’s initiation not only into this society and into several sexual firsts for the young woman after she catches the eye of an important senior member. As usual, Nikki delivers an incredibly sensual story.   This isn’t a romance.   It’s about young, fit, intelligent, horny, college co-eds exploring their sexuality told in a frank and graphic manner that is both exciting and edgy. Nikki doesn’t pull

What is the bunny apocalypse?   It is a flash fiction collaboration penned by twenty writers and then published on the moderators blog concluding on, appropriately enough, Easter day.      What is flash fiction? I had no idea either. The always amazing Ksenia Anske put out a call on Twitter last week for writers interested in doing an Easter flash fiction called Bunny Apocalypse. Of course, having no idea what that was, armed only with the information above and the fact I had a 500 - 600 word limit, I jumped right in. I had this picture in my head of the Easter Bunny à la William Wallace in the movie Braveheart that just delighted me. I assumed each writer came up with an individual short piece. I hammered mine out real quick and zipped an email to Ksenia; I really wanted to make the cut (there was a black leather duster with a hole for the tail, plus purple war paint because Lenten vestments are purple). I was excited and symbolic. I was also wrong; flash fiction is a rou

This weekend I read The Garnet Dagger by Andrea R. Cooper http://www.andrearcooper.com/ published by Crimson Romance. ABOUT THE BOOK Brock, a curious member of the Elvin race, dons a disguise and ventures beyond the magical protections of his people to observe the humans living in a nearby town. On his way home, he is tricked and set upon by a vampire that believes Brock to be human due to his appearance. The vampire dies instead but Brock is infected, becoming a hybrid of sorts. He is sustained by the life force of others but their essence is transferred through simple touch and poor Brock has no control over it. Unwittingly, he has caused an evil to poison the land and will bring death to the Elvin race. Banished from his home, he sets out on a quest to save himself and his people armed with an ancient prophecy and The Garnet Dagger of the title. MY THOUGHTS That’s the basic set-up and I don’t want to say anymore because I don’t want to unwittingly set any ancient pr

Jocelyn hummed in her throat as her mind accepted as its own the images Gabriel sent. She felt his strong hands, cool as window glass in late December, slide up her arms. His fingertips grazed her collarbone and plucked at the straps of her camisole, before continuing up her neck and into her hairline. Gooseflesh remained in the wake of his touch as he spread his fingers wide and ran them across her scalp.   “Your hair feels like silk and moves like water.” He whispered, even his words felt a gentle caress though his lips did not move. “No, my love,” he explained though she hadn't spoken, “we communicate with our minds, having long lost the need for air.”   She had her hands braced against his bare chest. Jocelyn explored. His skin was pale, yes but not chalky; and pulled taut over sinew and firm muscle. The tissue was firmer than what she would consider normal but not hard. And too cool to be alive. She shivered but not from the cold, she shivered from the heat she felt in

I had to shut off social media in order to work today. Don’t get me wrong, social media is a God-send in a great many ways [honestly Fated Souls wouldn’t be coming out next month if not for Twitter] but it can easily become addictive. And I’m not immune. Which I think is oddly funny as I’ll need to socially media my ass off over the upcoming weeks as I’m plugging my book. My editor told my yesterday that it is time to start working on publicity for my book release because April 15th is going to be here before I know it. Now social media is going to be a driving force behind that and I have a pre-existing, if modest, presence on Twitter and Facebook, and my blog; that is a good start. But I also have to consider reaching out to reviewers, media outlets and other bloggers. Okay, now we’ve entered the realm of Becky’s own personal hell. I’m terrified of clowns, heights and public humiliation [I toss public speaking in with public humiliation since it’s a cause & effect thing

I don’t know if anyone has noticed my absence these last two weeks [I’m going to cling to a mildly narcissistic hope that someone has while admitting to the pessimistic realization that it’s most unlikely] but I was busy editing my upcoming release from Crimson Romance and I was on deadline. The revisions are complete and submitted, on time. And I can return to the blogosphere, albeit a little weary and a lot wiser. What did I learn? You may ask. Well, even if you’re not asking, I’m going to tell you. I learned a few things. But the most important lesson I’ve taken with me is this: DO NOT BECOME EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO YOUR STORY That may be too general a statement. Of course you want to be attached to your story but in this instance I lived with this story and these characters for years before finally generating enough courage to submit.   And by that time I was so entrenched in their universe, their conflict, their ethos that the changes requested by the publisher