Showing posts with label Q&A with Laura Kaye. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Q&A with Laura Kaye. Show all posts
Blog Tour, My Review, Excerpt, Q&A with Laura & Giveaway for Hard as You Can (Hard Ink #2) by Laura Kaye
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·
Hard as You Can (Hard Ink #2)
by Laura Kaye
Synopsis:
Five dishonored soldiers.
Former Special Forces.
One last mission.
These are the men of Hard Ink.
Ever since hard-bodied, drop-dead-charming Shane McCallan strolled into the dance club where Crystal Dean works, he’s shown a knack for getting beneath her defenses. For her little sister’s sake, Crystal can’t get too close. Until her job and Shane’s mission intersect, and he reveals talents that go deeper than she could have guessed.
Shane would never turn his back on a friend in need, especially a former Special Forces teammate running a dangerous, off-the-books operation. Nor can he walk away from Crystal. The gorgeous waitress is hiding secrets she doesn't want him to uncover. Too bad. He’s exactly the man she needs to protect her sister, her life, and her heart. All he has to do is convince her that when something feels this good, you hold on as hard as you can—and never let go.
Former Special Forces.
One last mission.
These are the men of Hard Ink.
Ever since hard-bodied, drop-dead-charming Shane McCallan strolled into the dance club where Crystal Dean works, he’s shown a knack for getting beneath her defenses. For her little sister’s sake, Crystal can’t get too close. Until her job and Shane’s mission intersect, and he reveals talents that go deeper than she could have guessed.
Shane would never turn his back on a friend in need, especially a former Special Forces teammate running a dangerous, off-the-books operation. Nor can he walk away from Crystal. The gorgeous waitress is hiding secrets she doesn't want him to uncover. Too bad. He’s exactly the man she needs to protect her sister, her life, and her heart. All he has to do is convince her that when something feels this good, you hold on as hard as you can—and never let go.
Read an Extended Excerpt of Book 1, Hard
As It Gets
Excerpt
It’s
release day! And I’m so excited to share Hard
As You Can, the second book in the Hard Ink series, with all of you here
today! Hard As You Can follows the
surviving members of a disgraced Army Special Forces team as they fight to
regain their stolen honor, and finds their investigation crossing paths with a
waitress willing to do whatever it takes to stay alive and protect her younger
sister. For Shane McCallan, saving Crystal Dean is a mission he refuses to turn
down.
Today,
I’ve got a scene filled with lots of sexual tension and emotion to share with
you, one that I absolutely adored writing! I hope you enjoy this look into the
growing attraction between Shane and Crystal from Hard As You Can:
“I
didn’t mean to criticize you, Crystal. I just cannot abide violence against
women. Period. Especially not someone I know.” A long pause. “And definitely
not someone I like.” After everything that had happened to her, the words were
a balm for her psyche.
Footsteps
came up behind her, slowly, cautiously, like she was a wild animal who would
bolt in an instant. And she supposed there was some truth to that analogy.
Torn
between returning to the danger she knew or staying with the one she didn’t,
Crystal debated. Her heart told her Shane might well be the most dangerous man
she’d ever met because he made her want, wish, maybe even dream.
Not
at all sure it was a good idea, Crystal slowly turned.
Shane
was right in front of her. A rock in the middle of a raging sea, a refuge she
might claim if she had the strength and the will and the nerve to fight for it.
To believe she deserved it. She hugged herself.
“Hey,”
he said, cupping her face in his big hands. His fingers slid behind her neck
and gently massaged.
She
shook her head and glanced toward the treetops in an effort to pinch off the sting
building behind her eyes. Why did she have to meet him now? She’d had a plan, and
all she’d needed to do was follow it for a few more months. “You don’t even
know me.”
“No.
Not everything. But I know more than a little. And that much I like enough to want
to know more.” His fingers rubbed her neck, gently, soothingly.
And
his words, well, his words were perfect. Maybe even too much so. Too good to
be true, she thought. “I already told you I’d share what I’d learned. You
don’t have to play me.”
His
eyes narrowed, and he frowned. “You listen hard and you listen good, sweetness,”
he said, the words firm but the tone urgent, almost desperate, and laced with
his southern accent. “I’m not perfect, and God knows I’ve made a lot of
mistakes in my life. But I would never play with a woman’s emotions to get
information out of her. That kind of manipulation doesn’t hold with me. Ever.”
Sweetness.
She’d
heard everything he’d said. The passion with which he’d said it. The sincerity
that burned from his gaze as the words had poured from his lips. But it was the
term of endearment that reached into her chest and gripped her heart. For a
long moment, they stood there, bodies touching, faces inches apart, his hands
holding her in that firm-but-gentle way he had.
Thunder
rumbled again, closer this time, and her heart was a drum beat double-timing
inside
her chest. If his hands didn’t feel it racing, he’d have to hear it, because the
sound was a loud rush rush in her ears. Beneath the sports bra and tank,
her nipples went hard. If his gaze dropped, she knew he’d see, but she couldn’t
bring herself to feel self-conscious about it. Not when he was looking at her
like he wanted to devour her.
His
gaze dropped to her lips.
She
shuddered, everything inside her but the smallest voice of reason crying out
for him to do it. Just once.
“Tell
me not to,” he said, his voice a raw scrape.
So that’s Shane
and Crystal for you! Did you have a favorite line? Thanks for reading!
~Laura
My 5 Star Review
Five dishonored
soldiers.
Former Special Forces.
One last mission.
These are the men of Hard Ink.
Former Special Forces.
One last mission.
These are the men of Hard Ink.
I love this series. Honestly if you like hot ex- military
men, who are total Alpha, protective, sexy, sweet, caring, and loving all rolled
into one, then you need to start this series.
Hard as You Can is book #2 in the series and it follows
where book #1 left off but with a different one of the military men. This is
Shane’s & Crystal’s story.
I would suggest to fully understand the series to start with
book #1 and read them in order, because it does follow a story line, just each
book is about one of the five men.
I loved Shane and Crystal.
At the end of Book #1 we met Crystal. She works as a waitress in a strip
club working on paying off her father’s debt from some bad men. She has no choice but to be where she is
because she promised her father she would take care of her sister, so Crystal
gave up her future she had planned for herself to look out for her sister and
make sure that she does not end up where Crystal is.
Crystal needs help, but can she trust Shane with the life of
herself and her sister?
Shane first ran into Crystal in Book #1 when the men went in
on a mission to save someone. ( I won’t tell you who or say anymore than that
as it will ruin book #1 for you) . Any Who Shane left that night thinking about
Crystal and could not get her off his mind. When he goes back again to do some recon work
he runs into Crystal again. From this point on it is Shane doing everything he
can to figure out why a woman like Crystal is in a place like that.
Shane is fighting some of his own demons with his past and
regrets that he has. He lost his sister when he was a kid and he lives with
that regret everyday.
"God, what
he wouldn’t give for five more minutes with his kid sister. Just five. Did she
know how sorry he was? How much he loved her? That he’d devoted his life to
making things right for others as a penance for getting so much wrong with
her?"
He sees that Crystal
is in a bad spot and he is going to do everything in his power to save her.
The story flows great, Laura definitely keeps you wanting to
read more and find out what happens next. We get a bit of romance and suspense all
packed into one hell of a story.
I can not wait for the next one which will be Easy’s story,
and also to find out more about what is going on with Church and the links to Afghanistan.
About Laura
Kaye:
Laura
is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen books in
contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family
believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and
evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and
all things paranormal. She
lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and
appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.
Q&A WITH LAURA KAYE
HARD AS YOU CAN is your second book in the
“Hard Ink” series (after USA Today bestseller, HARD AS IT GETS). What can
readers look forward to?
Readers can look forward to tons of sexy alpha male
goodness, awesome bromance between the Hard Ink men, more antics from the Hard
Ink puppy, and another great love story between Shane and Crystal. But readers
should also be ready for a book that is darker, more intense, and more
emotional. This book pushed me to emotional places that were tough as a writer,
and might be tough for readers, too. But I think that just makes the payoff at
the end so much sweeter!
Describe Shane and Crystal. What are their
best traits? What are their weaknesses?
Shane and Crystal are such an amazing couple to me.
They’re each exactly what the other
needs. Shane’s best traits are his protectiveness, his fundamental kindness,
and his soul-deep loyalty (his southern accent and humor are also right up
there!). His biggest weakness for sure is a tragedy from the past for which he
blames himself—and it’s something that continues to motivate him in Hard As You Can. Crystal’s best traits
are her courage, protectiveness, and selflessness—she’s willing to do anything
to keep her younger sister safe. Her biggest weakness is also that
selflessness, because the sacrifices she’s required to make are getting bigger
and bigger and bigger.
If you could describe your book in a 140
character tweet, what would it be?
When a woman in trouble assists an ex-soldier's covert mission
to regain his team's stolen honor, he finds a new mission to save her, too
What are you most excited about with this
second book release?
I’m really excited to take readers deeper into these
awesome characters and into the mystery behind the Hard Ink team’s ambush and
discharge!
What books are you reading right now?
I’m almost done with Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander (yes, I’m very late to the
party but OMG JAMIE FRASER!!!). And I’ve recently devoured and loved Juliana
Stone’s Offsides and Shelly Thacker’s
time-travel historical romance, Forever
His.
What can fans of your “Hard Ink” series look
forward to next?
There will be two more Hard Ink books in 2014!
Hard to Hold on To
– August 2014
Hard to Come By
– November 2014
Blog Tour, Excerpt, My Review, Q&A with Laura, For As Hard as It Gets By Laura Kaye
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·
Hard As It Gets (Hard Ink #1)
Author – Laura Kaye
Genre – Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Release Date – November 26, 2013
“Edgy, sexy, and
full of suspense! A great read from a great new author!”
~J.R. Ward on Hard As It Gets
About Hard As It Gets:
Five dishonored soldiers.
Former Special Forces.
One last mission.
These are the men of Hard Ink.
Tall, dark,
and lethal...
Trouble just walked into Nicholas Rixey's tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm, sexy, wholesome--pure temptation to a very jaded Nick. He's left his military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is his ex-commander's daughter. Loyalty won't let him turn her away. Lust has plenty to do with it too.
With her brother presumed kidnapped, Becca needs Nick. She just wasn't expecting to want him so much. As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized crime ring, only Nick can protect her. And only Becca can heal the scars no one else sees.
Desire is the easy part. Love is as hard as it gets. Good thing Nick is always up for a challenge...
Trouble just walked into Nicholas Rixey's tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm, sexy, wholesome--pure temptation to a very jaded Nick. He's left his military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is his ex-commander's daughter. Loyalty won't let him turn her away. Lust has plenty to do with it too.
With her brother presumed kidnapped, Becca needs Nick. She just wasn't expecting to want him so much. As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized crime ring, only Nick can protect her. And only Becca can heal the scars no one else sees.
Desire is the easy part. Love is as hard as it gets. Good thing Nick is always up for a challenge...
Read Chapter 1 of Hard
As It Gets
Excerpt ~ a
meeting with the enemy…
Tires
screeched against pavement. Becca whirled toward the parking lot. Through the new
spring leaves, she could just make out a dark SUV cutting diagonally across the
mostly open spaces. Her heart leapt into her throat, but she kept her eyes
straight ahead. It was critical she not do anything to give the impression she
wasn’t alone.
God,
how am I going to do this? Just breathe, Bec. This is too important to screw
up.
Right.
As long as her lungs kept operating, she’d be fine.
The
truck whipped into the driveway about twenty feet in front of her, the drive that
also led to the boat put-in and dock where Miguel and Shane were pretending to
be Sunday fishermen. Score one for the good guys—getting her attacker in this
space was one of the things they’d hoped for. It was why they’d chosen the
pavilion as their rendezvous point.
She
recognized the driver right away. Her would-be kidnapper. In her mind’s eye, she
saw him crossing the staff break room. It was definitely the same man. And,
thank God, he’d come alone. Eyes drilling into her, he got out of the idling
truck and crossed the grass looking like the gangster he apparently was—baggy jeans,
hoody, chains at his neck. But, geez, he’d been beaten to hell judging by the
bruises and cuts on his face. Every moment of this situation was more surreal than
the next.
“That’s
close enough,” she said when he reached the edge of the sidewalk that ringed
the pavilion. Becca retreated behind a picnic table, placing a barrier between them.
He
glared but stopped on the sidewalk. “So we meet again.”
“Well,
I wouldn’t say we’ve met, since you know who I am, but I don’t know you.” Her
gaze dropped to his hand, but she couldn’t get a good look at the tattoos there
from this angle.
His
brown eyes narrowed. “All you need to know is I’m the one who can help get your
brother back.”
It
sounded too good to be true. The breeze blew strands of hair loose from her ponytail,
and she swept them away from her eyes. “What is it you want?”
“To
know how your bro put two and two together.” Becca nearly groaned and her hands
fisted. She had no more patience for bullshit mystery. “What the hell is that supposed
to mean? Don’t play games with me.”
“Charlie
found something that was supposed to be hidden, and we need to know what led
him to it.”
“How
am I supposed to find that out?” she asked, a chill running down her spine
despite the nice morning. The hint of a smile played around the corners of his wide
mouth. “I was thinking about that . . .”
A
scuff. Rubber on concrete. Goose bumps erupted across her neck as she turned. Time
slowed to a crawl, and everything happened at once.
Two
guys stepped out of the trees and entered the far side of the pavilion. Both had
guns.
Panic
had barely welled up inside her as one screamed and fell to the ground for no
apparent reason. The other bolted but, just as suddenly, crashed to the ground
with a shout and a cry. Could Beckett’s silencer be the cause?
The
punks writhed on the grass, but one of them returned fire, the gun’s report
echoing loudly under the pavilion’s roof. Becca instinctively crouched down,
hands cradling her head. Her gaze whipped to her attacker.
Expression
absolutely livid, he stalked around the table with a gun pointed at her head.
“Not getting away this time, bitch.”
She
backtracked the opposite direction, her hand reaching for her gun.
His
roiling gaze tracked the movement and he lunged.
Becca
took off across the concrete, catching her shin on the blunt edge of a bench in
a flash of pain. The stumble slowed her, and he grabbed her ponytail. Her head wrenched
back, nearly taking her off her feet. Suddenly, her air was gone, his arm trapping
her in a tight chokehold that had her clawing and gasping. Nearby, footsteps pounded
on the earth. The team?
They’ll
get to me, they’ll get to me, they’ll get to me in time.
Above
her, the bright blue sky filled with little pinpoints of light as the guy’s arm
compressed her windpipe. And her medical training meant she knew she had mere seconds
before blacking out.
Did you have a favorite line from the excerpt?
10 Reasons to
Fall in Love with Hero Nick Rixey
I’m
very excited to be celebrating the release of my twelfth novel, Hard As It Gets¸ the first in my new
super sexy contemporary romance series called Hard Ink. The series has hot,
alpha, prior military guys, a tattoo shop setting, an edgy suspense plot, a
super steamy romance between hero Nick Rixey and heroine Becca Merritt, and a
great bromance.
One
of those hot, alpha guys is Nick Rixey, the hero of Hard As It Gets. Nick was second-in-command of her Army Special
Forces unit before his commander’s black op went back and injured or killed
most of the team. A year later, Nick’s out of the Army on an undeserved
other-than-honorable discharge and nursing some deep physical and emotional
wounds. I absolutely loved writing
Nick’s character, and here are some reasons why I think you just might fall in
love with him, too:
Nick has ink.
I love tattoos on guys, including in
my fiction! And Nick has quite a bit of ink, starting with that awesome tribal
on his shoulder on the cover. You’ll get to explore what the rest are along
with heroine Becca as the book unfolds! Yummy!
Nick does ink. One of the things I loved about Nick was that he had all
these hard edges, but then he had this artistic side. Nick has always drawn
and, as part owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, he’s learned how to do it with ink and a
tattoo gun. I love the combination! And there’s a really sexy scene where Nick
draws a little something with Becca!
He boxes.
Jeans. Bare feet. No shirt. Boxing gloves, the kind that leave the fingertips
exposed. Muscles in motion. Yeah, that’s a scene in Hard As It Gets.
He’s a good big brother.
Nick is big brother to Jeremy, the other owner of Hard Ink. They have great
chemistry and an awesome bromance, plus a few intensely emotional scenes I
loved writing. And Jeremy’s an awesome character himself!
He’s loyal.
Nick would do anything, risk anything, sacrifice anything, for those he cares
about. And it makes him so admirable.
He’s tortured.
Tortured heroes are my favorite, and Nick is about as tortured as they come. He
still suffers physical pain from two gunshot wounds to his lower back, and he
carries a world of emotional pain over what happened to his SF unit for which
he blames himself. It makes him sympathetic and flawed and just a character
you’ll want to hold and make it all better!
He is sexy as hell!
See the notes on boxing and ink, above! LOL Nick has dark chocolate brown hair
and super pale green eyes. It’s a killer combination. Add to all that a gun
holster over broad shoulders and…thud!
He’s prior military.
Nick served in the Army Special Forces for a lot of years, and he has taken
that code to heart. Loyalty. Honor. Duty. Service. Courage. What’s not to love?
He’s a true hero.
Despite how much Nick blames himself for what happened to his SF unit, Nick was
a hero on the day the ambush happened, going as far as to help administer
medical treatment to another teammate after he’d been shot twice in the lower
back. His heroism continues into Hard As
It Gets, where he does the right thing and helps Becca despite some serious
misgivings about getting involved with his commander’s daughter. He knows the
right thing and he does it, making him a true everyday hero.
When he finally gives into love, his redemption is so sweet! The more they resist, the harder they fall, and that’s
definitely true of Nick Rixey in Hard As
It Gets. I just love when a tortured hero finally finds what he needs to
start healing, don’t you?
For me, all of these add up to one
seriously hot, tortured, lovable hero, and I hope you’ll fall in love with Nick
Rixey just like I have!
Would you like
to know more about Nick? Post a question for him or his author lady, and we’d
both be happy to chat with you!
Thanks for reading!
Laura
My 4.5 Stars Review :
“Happiness wasn't something you found, happiness was something you made-by living in the moment, by cherishing the people in your life right now, by finding the courage to change those things you didn't like.”
This is the first book of Laura’s that I have read and it surely will not be the last one.
This story has it all, sexy tattooed Special Forces men, it was Gritty, sexy, suspenseful, fast paced.
Becca Merritt is an ER nurse when he younger brother, Charlie, goes missing she will do everything she can to find him. Charlie has left a note which points her to the Hard Ink Tattoo parlour and Nick Rixey.
Find Rixey, the Colonel's team, Hard Ink Tattoo.
Nick is Ex-Special Forces, he was discharged from the Military one year ago with a not so honorable discharge along with the rest of his team. He now works part time with his brother in his brother’s tattoo shop.
When she first finds Nick he turns her away. He wants nothing to do with helping her. Why because he has bad feelings towards his ex- Colonel. As time goes by Nick can’t get Her out of his mind and She refuses to not find her brother.
Once she convinces Nick to help her things slowly start to get uncovered, and this leads Nick to call in back up in the form of his Special Forces team he worked with under the Colonel.
The bond that these Men have with each other is truly special. One of true brother hood., with all the bad that happened with them all a yr ago they all still pulled together to come and Help Nick when he asked. As well as his brother Jeremy who as a brother was going to help whether Nick liked it or not.
As the story unfolds we find out more about Becca’s Dad and why they believe Charlie was kidnapped. There is a lot of suspense in this story, a lot of action, some sexual tension. The way Laura brings thins story to life is incredible,. I felt like I was right there along side all of the characters.
If you are into Alpha men, with tattoos, military background, and hot as hell. Then I suggest you read this story. I don’t think you will be disappointed.
This book is the first in a new series by Laura and I can’t wait for the next installment and the chance to read about Shane and Crystal.
About The Author
About Laura Kaye:
Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling
author of over a dozen books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing
up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore
involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long
fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her
husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the
Chesapeake Bay every day.
Q&A WITH LAURA KAYE
HARD AS IT GETS is one steamy read! How did
you first get into writing?
Thanks so much! And thanks for having me here! I’ve been
a writer all my life. I’m a historian by training, so writing non-fiction was a
part of my job for the fifteen years I worked as a college professor. But I
started writing fiction in 2008 in kind of an unusual way. I hit my head on
July 4, 2008. I didn’t think much of it that day, but soon after I realized I’d
really hurt myself, and it turned out I had a minor traumatic brain injury. As
I recovered, I was filled with an amazing urge to be creative, so I started
taking guitar lessons (still not very good at that!) and wrote my first novel
in 12 weeks (fortunately, I’m better at that LOL!). The experience of writing
that first book was truly transformative. It was what I was supposed to be
doing, so I revised that book until it sold and kept writing new ones. And I
haven’t looked back since!
Why did you choose to write romance?
I had been an avid reader of paranormal romance for years
at that point, so I wrote what I loved. But I also picked romance—unconsciously,
I think—because to me it’s an incredibly hopeful genre. Romance stories are
inherently stories about people who can’t find love or think they don’t deserve
it who overcome the odds and find it in the end. In the years leading up to
starting writing, I experienced a number of very hard personal losses, so
writing in this genre was one way I worked through those issues.
What does “Hard Ink” refer to? What
importance do tattoos play in your story?
Hard Ink is the name of the Rixey brothers’ tattoo shop
in the Hard Ink series. Nick and Jeremy Rixey are co-owners, though Nick (the
hero of book one, Hard As It Gets)
prefers to be more of a silent partner, despite Jeremy’s efforts to put Nick’s
artistic talents to work. In this series, tattoos are a way people remember,
pay penance, or highlight what’s important to them. The act of creating
permanent marks on skin has deep meaning to them. And the shop creates a gritty
setting where diverse kinds of people meet and interact in the series. I really
love it!
Describe Becca—what do you love most about
her? And Nick?
I’d love to! Because I really loved writing these
characters!
Becca Merritt is smart and strong and honest and
protective. I really loved the way she was willing to stand up for those she loves,
even against people and forces who might be stronger and even a little scary.
There’s a scene in particular when she dresses down Nick’s Special Forces
teammates after a fist fight where I was particularly cheering for her! LOL
Nick Rixey is, omg, so freaking hot, you guys! He’s
brooding and tortured and honorable and when he falls he falls so hard.
I especially loved Nick’s mix of hard, alpha edges with his artistic side. When
Nick shows Becca what her idea for a tattoo might look like on her skin, it’s
just scorching!
What significance does the military play in
the book?
Military themes are central to the whole Hard Ink series.
The military isn’t just sexy window dressing nor is it just there to provide an
intriguing backstory. The prior SF guys are this series are entirely defined by
their military experience good and bad. It informs their identity, their sense
of honor and duty, their view of the world, and of course gives them the skill
set required to fight the battles they face in the series. The overall series
mystery the characters are working to solve revolves around a military
conspiracy in Afghanistan, so even though they’re out of the Army, the military
themes are central.
If you could describe your book in a 140
character tweet, what would it be?
In #HardAsItGets, an
ex-soldier joins forces w/his dead commander's daughter to regain his tarnished
honor & save her brother from a gang
Is there a particular author or book that has
influenced your writing?
There are a number of authors that have influenced me,
but if I had to pick one it would be J.R. Ward. A lot of what I know about how
to write sexy, authentic male point of view comes from reading her books. And I
definitely learned the importance of a good bromance to a romance novel from
her Black Dagger Brotherhood series, too. Given my ginormous fangirling, you
can only imagine how flipping excited I was when this happened:
“Edgy, sexy, and
full of suspense! A great read from a great new author!”
~J.R. Ward on Hard As It Gets
You guys, I bawled
like a baby in the middle of a huge workshop put on by my publisher. For
real. LOL
What advice would you give aspiring writers
looking to get into the publishing industry?
Here’s my advice:
1) Write, write, write. You can’t revise what you haven’t
written and you can’t sell what you haven’t written. And the psychological and
emotional boost you’ll get from writing “The End” for the first time cannot be
overestimated.
2) Revise, revise, revise. That first time you type “The
End”? Yeah, you’re nowhere near done. Your book will need to be edited, by you,
several times before you ever put it in front of an agent or editor. You get one shot with them, so don’t waste it by
not showing them your very best and most polished work.
3) Find critique partners. And your mom, siblings, and
best friend do not count (unless you’re really lucky, like me, and your best
friend happens t also be a professional author). You need other aspiring
writers in your genre who will give you honest but constructive feedback about
how to improve your manuscript. Let them catch all the embarrassing goofs and
plot holes you thought you caught before it gets to an agent or editor.
4) Want to be a professional, then act it. And by that I
mean join the professional organization(s) of the genre in which you write.
Through them you will find classes to help hone your craft, critique partner
match-ups, networking opportunities, calls for submission, and other
opportunities invaluable to breaking into publishing.
5) Don’t give up. You will hear way more no’s than yeses,
particularly early in your writing career. Stick with it. Believe in yourself.
Give yourself one day to wallow in the rejection and eat a bunch of chocolate and
then get right back on the horse. If your first book doesn’t sell, chalk that
up to learning and write a second.
What can fans of HARD AS IT GETS look
forward to next?
I’m currently writing four series: two contemporary (Hard
Ink, Heroes) and two paranormal (Hearts of the Anemoi, Vampire Warrior Kings).
I’ll have books from all four of those releasing in 2014. My next release is Hard As You Can (Hard Ink #2) coming
2/25/14!
Terms & Conditions
The Kindle Paperwhite 3G giveaway is international unless excluded. If your country is not on the list that Amazon delivers to, you will not be eligible win this prize.
Author Laura Kaye is not responsible for damage to the Kindle in transit. All issues regarding this must be addressed to Amazon.
All accessories for the Kindle Paperwhite 3G must be purchased by the winner – the prize is the Kindle Paperwhite 3G only.
Entrants must be 18 or over.
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