The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

I've been tagged by a great fellow author Scott Bury to participate in The Next Big Thing Blog Hop. The idea is we all answer interview questions and link to each other's blogs. Each author asks five other authors to participate. Here is the link to Scott's post.


Sounds Great, right?

So, here is The Next Big Thing Interview:


What is the working title of your book?

My new Gwen Michaels book is tentatively titled Betrayed.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I'm not sure where the plot of the book came from but the idea for a sequel to Secrets came from one of the first readers to love it, Grace G. She was so excited about the idea of a sequel I just couldn't resist. I felt some pressure and excitement to write a sequel, but nothing would come to me. The more I pushed the fewer ideas I had. Then one afternoon the light bulb just went off and I thought what if one of Gwen's old teammates showed up. Someone that should never have been able to find her? And I went with it.

What genre does your book fall under?

Definitely mystery/thriller! I love them.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Always a hard question. Twenty years ago it would have been Demi Moore, no question. Now, I'm not sure. If I had to choose, I think Sarah Michelle Gellar would do a really good job. I did recently see another actress named Maggie Grace in a movie called Lockout and she had a really good mix of toughness and humanity that would work well for Gwen Michaels.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

What if your worst enemy showed up on your doorstep and needed help?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Self published, as all my books are.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Technically the first draft took a year, but I was actually working on a different book at the same time with my co-author Maren Kaye (Treasure Hunt). So the first draft took about three months of real time.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Ugh such hard questions. It's hard to compare because I haven't really found any real kick ass female heroines who never need 'rescuing'.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

I guess I should have read ahead since I answered this earlier. Everyone really does have Grace G. to thank for the sequel. Her enthusiasm was irresistible.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I think the relationship between Gwen and her husband Jack will really intrigue readers this time. They face a lot of challenges now that he knows about her past.

In the coming weeks I will be posting links to the author authors I have tagged for this blog hop!  Stop by and check them out.  In the meantime here are some other participants (not recruited by me) in The Next Big Thing Blog Hop:

Mira Brown

Our Own Black Friday Specials

Maren Kaye and I have decided to lower the price of The Devil's Game and Treasure Hunt to 0.99 now thru the end of December as our own Holiday sale. (Price change should go into effect Friday November 16)
Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas! 

New Cover for Treasure Hunt

Check out the new Treasure Hunt cover!  We feel it better reflects the fun nature of this book!
Grab a sample and see for yourself!

Treasure Hunt 99 cents till September

Maren and I have decided to leave Treasure Hunt at 99 cents for the entire month of August.  In September the price will go to 2.99 so get your copy now!!

Treasure Hunt is On Sale!

Treasure Hunt is now on sale.  And for the first two weeks of August we will be selling it for 0.99 cents!  So get your copy now.  You can try a sample on Amazon, or just read the first two Chapters below.  We have also enrolled Treasure Hunt in Prime so you can borrow for free if you are a prime member.

Another excerpt of Treasure Hunt

Here is Chapter 1 of our soon to be released new book Treasure Hunt!  If you missed the preview of the prologue click here.

Chapter 1

What is that? Do you hear that?”

“It's a cell phone.”

“Well I know that, but where is it coming from?” The two women sat quietly for a second, listening.

"I think it's coming from the planter behind us.” Beth carefully leaned in and lifted the giant rubber tree leaf. There, in amongst the orange colored wood chips was a cell phone. And it showed no sign it was ever going to stop ringing.

A half hour earlier, Beth and Samantha had decided to grab some lunch at the food court but Sam insisted they sit somewhere less crowded, like China.  They got lucky when a family vacated a lone bench sitting in front of the Lang Street Mall’s version of a tropical jungle. Samantha sashayed past two teenagers, beating them by seconds.

“Don’t you think that was a little rude,” Beth murmured under her breath as the teens walked off shooting them dirty looks.  “I think they were waiting.”

“So what,” she sighed flopping herself down, relieved to finally be off her feet. “They’re young and healthy. They can stand. Besides, we’re the ones who actually spend money in this place.”

Beth shook her head.  Sam could justify anything, she thought.

They had just finished eating when the ringing started. Beth stared at the phone and wondered why whoever was calling didn’t give up and just leave a message.

"Answer it," Samantha said.

"Why?" She wasn’t sure she even wanted to touch it.

“So we can return it.”

“Suddenly you’re a good Samaritan?” Beth questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Samantha crossed her arms in defiance. “I don't know about you, but my whole life is on my phone. I can't just leave it here. And whoever is calling, it must be important. The phone hasn't stopped ringing since we heard the first call.”

Beth couldn’t argue with that logic. She reached into the planter and pulled out the phone.

Sneak Peek of Treasure Hunt - Coming Soon!

Our new book, tentatively titled Treasure Hunt, is going to beta readers today!  Just for fun I have decided to post the Prologue.  Keep checking this site as I will add more chapters as we get closer to releasing!  Thanks everyone and enjoy!
Just a side note:  Please read the prologue below and the first Chapter posted here.  This book is not exactly what it seems from the prologue.  In fact, Maren and I are having a little trouble placing it in a category.  It is an adventure/mystery/chick lit style book.

Rahim dropped his cigarette into the small metal toilet and pushed the button. Technically, flight attendants weren’t allowed to smoke, but since this private jet was filled with chain-smoking British officials, he knew no one would notice. Besides, he needed something to help calm his nerves. This was the most dangerous job yet.

One week earlier, Cadi had given him the instructions. Rahim had laughed in his face. “Cadi, I think you are trying to get rid of me.” But Cadi’s face was unchanged. He explained how Rahim was the only man alive that he trusted. And that the British diplomat, who had been so generous with his country’s weapons, was almost certainly double crossing them. “Who knows what he’s already revealed,” Cadi had said. “None of us are safe.” Rahim was never interested in politics or any of the crazy ideas Cadi was always ranting about. But he could never say no to Cadi, his boyhood friend.  They were closer than brothers.

This is a nasty little concoction, he thought as he checked the spring-loaded syringe he had tucked up the sleeve of his stolen uniform.  It was a potent dosage, not like the weaker version he used last time to blackmail the head of a rival organization. This one was for keeps.

“Failed biotech drugs are all the rage these days,” Cadi had said when he saw the confused look from Rahim as he handed him the syringe.

“Failed drugs?”

“Yes, my friend.  You see, they’re untraceable because they’re not out on the open market. No one knows about them. And with all the competition to be the first out with a new drug, the security at a bio-pharmaceutical is as tight as it gets. You’ve gotta love capitalism,” he chortled, not bothering to hide the disdain on his face.  

Rahim checked his watch. It was almost time. He left the tiny restroom and positioned himself at his designated post organizing trays in the galley, and waited for the signal.

“Gentlemen,” Cadi’s voice boomed over the speakers causing Rahim to jump slightly. “Please take your seats and buckle yourselves in as we prepare for landing.”

From the corner of his eye, Rahim could see his target down a cocktail and pull away from the table where he had been enjoying a lively conversation with several other colleagues. Two of the four security guards moved ahead toward the passenger seating area, the other two waiting to follow.  As the target stood, Rahim casually walked toward him. As he walked, he pushed a button on a small device taped to the side of his thigh, signaling to Cadi that it was time for action. I’ve practiced this a hundred times, he told himself as he worked to maintain a placid expression. When he was just inches from the diplomat, the plane suddenly shook violently and dropped a hundred feet. Rahim grabbed the man’s shoulder as if to help steady him. But with more violent jerking from the plane, both men tumbled to the floor.

In one quick move, the syringe fell from his sleeve and he administered the drug into the man’s thigh as he reached down to help him. The plane continued to gyrate for another thirty seconds before leveling off.

“Are you all right?” he asked discretely dropping the empty syringe into his front pocket. “Here, let’s take it slowly.”  

“I’m very sorry for the turbulence, gentlemen,” Cadi boomed over the loudspeaker. “All flight attendants please attend to the passengers.”

“I’m fine,” the diplomat said after righting himself. He rubbed his hip where the drug had been injected. “I think I might have pulled a muscle, though.”

“Let’s get you to your seat and I’ll bring you an ice pack,” he offered in a nurturing tone.  The man smiled and thanked him but insisted he was fine, just fine.

Rahim smiled warmly and said, “I’m so grateful to hear that.”

Three days later

“British barrister and foreign diplomat, Ethan Toulson, has died from prostate cancer at the age of 53. The diagnosis came as a shock to his family and friends. According to his wife, Amelia Toulson, he had no symptoms and was a staunch believer in regular medical exams. The cancer spread so quickly, he had only a few hours to get his affairs in order before he passed away.

“Here with us now is Dr. Westin Black, a specialist with the Prostate Cancer Research Center.  Dr. Black, isn’t prostate cancer usually a slow process? What can you tell us about this particular case?”

“The tests for screening prostate cancer are almost always accurate, but I’m afraid not one hundred percent. Rarely, as in this case, the tests can show a false negative— ”

Rahim turned off the TV. Then he slept like a baby.

DEVIL'S GAME FREE THIS WEEKEND

The Devil's Game has joined KDP Select on Amazon and will be free this Saturday thru Monday!!  Please pick up a copy and tell all your friends!!!

I have published a book of my short stories/flash fiction from this blog.  I have also enrolled it in the KDP Select program and will be offering it for free - hopefully by next weekend.  I hope everyone will go get a copy, and spread the word!  

The Devil's Game joining KDP Select

My co-writer, Maren Kaye, and I have finally decided to give Amazon's KDP Select a try.  It was not an easy decision as a third of our sales come from non-Amazon sites.  Plus, I am a Nook user myself so I feel a little disloyal.  However, we feel strongly that KDP Select will allow us to get The Devil's Game to many more readers by having a few free days and allowing Prime users to borrow!    We expect to be added in the next week and I will post here and on twitter what days will be free!!

Starved - Flash Fiction

Thanks for the scraps, assholes! Astor thought. Don't they know who I am?

Of course they do. Why else would I be here?

Astor finished the bland chicken and rice, licking the glass plate clean, before throwing it on the floor.

“Push the plate through the slot or there will be no more food!” said a voice through the speaker. “You know the rules.”

“You call that food?” Astor mumbled while doing as she was told.

How long had she been here? Two days? Three? There was no real way to mark time, except through meals. There was a TV but it only broadcast old movies, one after another. No live news. No live anything. She didn't even know what day it was. They brought her here Monday. To this locked windowless room. Since then she'd been mostly just sleeping. What else was there to do, except read.

Yeah, right! Every time she tried right back to sleep she went. Probably a result of a lack of food. What they gave her didn't feel like enough to stay alive. But of course, it was. They didn't want her dead. Dead didn't get them anything.

How long? Thursday? Friday? Oh God...what if it was only Wednesday? She couldn't take this anymore.

“Let me out! I don't want to be here! Please!”

“You can go when we say.”

“No, please!”

“You know what to do, if you want us to let you go.”

“No!” she cried, staring at the entrance to the room next to hers. “I won't do it”.

“Suit yourself. Just remember, you did this to yourself.”

Astor flopped onto the bed, knowing it was true. She had done this to herself. Stupid, stupid, she thought as she cried herself to sleep.

Two weeks later:

“Astor, Astor, look over here!”

“Smile for us,” said a voice as the cameras flashed.

“Wow, you look amazing? How did you do it? Rumor was you were having trouble losing the weight from your last movie.”

“Exaggerations, obviously. I've always believed in eating right and exercise,” Astor smiled.

“Yeah, right,” her agent whispered.

She turned and glared at him, still flashing her million dollar smile for the paparazzi, “What do you care?”

“You could have been out of there a week sooner if you had just done a little exercise. Do you know how many promotions we missed?”

Astor shuddered thinking of the exercise room she never even entered. “You know I can't stand sweating.”

“Obviously. You could have saved twenty five grand if you had any self control!”

“It was worth every penny so shut up. It's not like it was your money anyway. The studio always pays.”

He just shrugged, knowing it wasn't the last time she would use the extreme Kidnapped program to lose weight.

Enjoy this?  All my Flash Fiction together in Starved.  Available at all ebook retailers.

A New Review of Secrets!

Eva's Sanctuary: Review of Secrets: Secrets S.L. Pierce Sourcebooks Edition 2011 ISBN 9781466337841 Gwen Michaels moved to California two years ago to escape her past ...

My Open Letter to Barnes and Noble

Dear Barnes and Noble,

Why are you having trouble competing with Amazon?  Oh, let me count the ways.  But before I do, this is coming from the heart because I am a Nook User!  I love my Nook but you are making it so hard to continue.  So let's get started on the ways you are not competing.

1) Do you know what I get in my email, every day, from Amazon?  A Kindle Daily Deal. That's right.  Every Day.  To. My. Email.  A book for 0.99 to maybe 2.99, at the most.  Do you know what I get from Barnes and Noble?  An email that says Nook Deals $5 and under. But what is actually in the email?  The latest $12.99 releases!  Seriously?  Is it even remotely possible you aren't aware of this difference?

2) I am a self-published author.  Do you know how easy it is for me to share a link and a few words about my book on Amazon?  With one click.  That's right.  One click and I can share with Twitter, Facebook, or email.  Do you know how I have to share a B&N link?  I have to copy and paste with two different windows open.  Of course I advertise more on Amazon.  And, in case you are dismissing me because I am an indie author, just do the math.  Let's go with a conservative estimate of 10,000 authors selling one book a day at 0.99.  That's nearly 1.5 million dollars a year.  Chump change you say?  Your the ones complaining about losing money.  That's 1.5 million dollars of pure profit.  Just for making a couple of adjustments to your web page.  And, I really believe that is a conservative estimate.  I mean, I sell modestly, but still 3 to 1 Amazon to B&N.

3)  Message boards.  You don't have any message boards on your site, at least that I've noticed.  Do you think you are too high brow for message boards?  Have you been on Amazon?  Ever?  People like them.  We use them.  Get some!

Added 1/26
4) Oops - how could I forget that great Free list on Amazon?  Right there - side by side with the paid bestsellers.  Last time I checked B&N doesn't even have a Free list, let alone one that is with the paid bestsellers.  No you don't make money from the free books but readers come to your site, they try a free book, then come back and buy from that author.  How do you not get that?

I'm sorry to say B&N, but it feels like you are just barely trying to be in the e-book business.  Now you might be separating your Nook and B&N businesses!  Have you lost your minds?  The future is e-books.  Denying it doesn't make it less true.  So don't make me regret the $249 I spend last year on a Nook.  Don't force me to switch back to Kindle (not that I have anything against Kindle, I just don't want to lay out another $200).  Get in the game!!  Hire some people with foresight, with vision!  Stop fighting change.  It's coming and you will be left behind simply because you don't like it.  

Haunted - Flash Fiction

“...so I said why don't you just get a job!” Jodie laughed, her tightly pulled face forming a grimace instead of a smile.

Bob squeezed Mary's hand under the table as she took a another drink of wine. At this rate they would need another bottle for the main course.

“So, were you there when this homeless person asked for a handout?” Mary asked Tom, before taking another sip.

“Oh yeah. What is wrong with these people? Always looking for a handout! I mean, they're just lazy, or drug addicts. Right Bob?” Tom said, looking at Bob across the dinner table.

Bob just smiled, stuffing some salad in his mouth.

“Have you been to that new restaurant, Timer?” Mary said, trying to change the subject.

“No, but I've heard dreadful things...waiters with piercings and long hair, and the..what...what was that?” Jodie asked, looking over Mary's shoulder.

“What?” Mary said, turning to look behind her.

“That glass...on the counter, it just...just moved.”

“Oh Jodie, stop it,” Tom said to his wife. “Ever since she started watching Ghost Hunters she sees things everywhere. That show terrifies her, but she never misses an episode.”

“I saw that glass move!”

“Jodie-”

“You mean,” Mary said, looking at her husband, “Tom didn't tell you?”

“Tell me what?” Jodie said.

Mary leaned in and whispered, “This house is haunted.”

“What!” Jodie gasped, dropping her fork onto her plate.

“Mary, don't,” Bob said.

“I can't believe you didn't tell them,” Mary said.

Ignoring Bob, she turned to Jodie and Tom, “There was a family that lived here thirty years ago. A woman with two children. Her ex was a violent con man and he'd been in jail for a year. But, he had hidden some money in this house and when he got out, he wanted it back. She, of course, didn't believe him and wouldn't let him. Well, he just went crazy! Smashed in the window, killed her and the kids.” Mary paused. “You really never heard about this?”

Tom and Jodie shook their heads.

“Anyway, they say their ghosts still haunt this place, seeking vengeance for their deaths.” Mary leaned back, taking another sip from her glass. “It's all nonsense, of course. Ghosts and what not. Ridiculous!”

“That's not what you said the other night.”

“Oh Bob! They don't care about that stuff!”

“What? What stuff? Tell me!” Jodie demanded.

“It's silly...but...” Mary glanced around the room as if making sure it was really empty before returning her gaze to Jodie. “A noise woke me, in the middle of the night. It was coming from the hallway bathroom.”

“The one here, that I just used?” Jodie whispered.

“Yes. I thought it was the faucet dripping, or maybe the toilet running, so I went down to check. But when I turned on the light, the noise stopped.”

“That's it?” Tom laughed, his protruding belly bumping the table with each breath.

Mary leaned in again, “When I looked in the mirror I saw a woman, instead of my own reflection.”

The color drained from Jodie's face. “That's..that's...terrible!” she said.

“The mother was killed in that bathroom,” Bob said.

“Oh stop it, Bob,” Mary said, throwing her napkin at him. “It was just a trick of the light and a lack of sleep. That's all. There's no such thing as ghosts.”

“But there are! You two must move. A haunting is not something to take ligh- what was that?”

Above them, a faint sound could be heard. “Mamma, Mamma.”

“Who knows. This house is old. There's always a noise somewhere,” Bob said.

“But it's a voice,” Jodie said.

“So you hear it too?” Mary said. “Bob can't hear it.”

Bob shrugged.

“They said the girl, the daughter, was found holding her favorite toy; a talking baby doll.”

“That's it,” Jodie said, standing and throwing the napkin on her plate. “We're leaving.”

“But we haven't even finished the salad yet,” Tom complained.

“I am not spending another minute in this house. And,” Jodie said, turning back to Mary and Bob, “you two need to hire an exorcist or something. We're not coming back here until you do!”

“But...you don't have to come here. We can meet for dinner,” Mary said.

“No. No way! You're tainted with the spirits until...until they are put to rest. I suppose I can't stop you and Tom from seeing each other, Bob, considering Tom's your boss, but...just...stay away as much as you can! Tom,” she said, turning to face him, “now! Let's go.”

Mary and Bob watched through the front window as Jodie and Tom's car peeled out of the driveway and down the street.

“You,” Bob said, “are a genius.”

“Now, now. You deserve some of the credit. If you hadn't overheard Bob telling someone how scared of ghosts Jodie had become since she started watching Ghost Hunters I would never of thought of this.”

“Are you disappointed you didn't get to use the hologram mirror or the faucet of blood?”

“A little,” Mary smiled.

“I think we should have a toast to never having to share another dinner with those insufferable snobs.”

“I'll drink to that,” Mary laughed.

If you liked this story, check out Starved, a book of my flash fiction.  Available at all ebook retailers.