Impending Release

Hey, now. I didn't mean it that way.

Okay, maybe I did.

I'm really excited about the impending release of my next book, Carved in Stone. It's coincidentally coming out during hurricane season; a hurricane plays a fairly major role. The story is set on the Mississippi Gulf coast, where I spent a great deal of time when I was growing up in New Orleans. And the hurricane scenes drew on my experiences living through Betsy, many years ago.

I think it's interesting the way life goes in circles, or, more accurately, spirals (I'm an engineer -- there's a big difference between circles and spirals). I was the first Erotique Press author published (Rescued by Laura Rose is mine!) a few years back. Since that time, I've had quite a few books out from Echelon Press LLC, Five Star, Zumaya Publications, and now from Kensington and Silhouette, where I write as Lydia Parks. But Carved in Stone was only the second book I sold. (Don't worry, it has been much edited since then!) In a way, it feels like I'm coming home.

I hope you enjoy the story. I'll be giving away a signed copy on my Newsletter, so feel free to sign up. The winner is drawn at random from the members.

I look forward to participating in the Allure of Passion blog. If you have questions, please ask! In case you don't know, we writers love to talk about our books and writing.

Sarah

Want to get your name in lights?

This could be your chance. The EPPIEs - sponsored by EPIC is looking for the next great ebook - check out the contest - hurry time is drawing near to close.
Cricket

Time Sensitive material:

Of interest to authors who are published electronically. Please distribute to your membership

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

EPPIE Contest in Full Swing to Highlight Excellence in ePublishing

Worldwide–September 16, 2008—EPIC, the Electronically Published Internet Connection, proudly announces the annual EPPIE contest. This is the premier contest in the book industry that celebrates the outstanding achievements of electronic books by authors and publishers. The EPPIE Awards have been given annually since the first EPIC conference to recognize outstanding achievement in ePublishing. The contest deadline for entries is October 4, 2008 at Midnight CST.

Categories are judged by volunteers, the largest percentage of which are members of EPIC, an organization consisting of electronically published authors and industry professionals. Guest judges, all of whom are either published authors or publishing professionals, are used only as deemed necessary by the EPPIE Chair/Committee.

The First Round Judging delivers our EPPIE Finalists, whose works are forwarded to a second panel of judges before the winners of our thirty categories are selected. Winners from each judged category are announced at the EPIC conference's gala award ceremony, taking place at the annual EPICon Convention, taking place March 5-8, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

EPIC is also the proud sponsor of the QUASAR/ARIANA Awards for excellence in graphic cover art for eBooks.

For contest guidelines, please visit http://www.epicauthors.com/eppierules2009.html

Electronically Published Internet Connection
Contact: Karen L. Syed, EPIC Publicity Coordinator
9735 Country Meadows Lane 1D, Laurel, MD 20723
410-878-7113 (v) 410-988-2864 (f)
erevolution.epic@gmail.com
www.epicauthors.com

Tornados, hurricanes, and Dark Thunder

Release Date: August 2008
Title: Dark Thunder
Author: Cricket Sawyer
ISBN: 978-1-59080-597-8 (1-59080-597-6)
Genre: Erotic Suspense (Erotiqué Press)
Pages: 228
Price: Price $12.99 US $14.99 CAN

This summer has been weather intense. Dark storm clouds on the horizon signify danger, the potential for intense storms. In a novel these same storm clouds signify danger of another sort. Dark Thunder is about more than just the noise of an impending storm. It is not a fluffy romance. It is a knife-edged tale of desperation, passion and yes, even perversion that strikes with lightening-like intensity at the heart of our comfort zone and reverberates across the fiber of our being thundering through the atmosphere of our status quo, ordered world.

Distribution:
Echelon Direct
Ingram Book Co.
Partner Book Dist.
Follett Library Services
Brodart Co.
Amazon.com
Fictionwise.com

Blurb:
Jumping from the frying pan and into the fire, Cyan regrets her move too late. When she trades a loveless marriage for lust and passion, she discovers that Derian, her dark-eyed prince, has turned into the prince of evil, manipulating and controlling.

The hypnotic control of his demon talents steal her heart and make her a slave to his blazing obsession and insatiable appetite for sex, but her willpower wilts under the heat of his lovemaking. Finally, after finding some balance, things once again turn chaotic when her friend, Derian's cousin, is murdered. The dark prince once again returns, and hell-bent on revenge, embarks on a manhunt, determined for justice, despite Cyan’s attempts to stop him. Where will the taste for vengeance end in a land where nothing is as it seems, and love isn’t enough to fulfill all the appetites of a raven warrior?

Bio:
Cricket Sawyer has written several novels, many short stories, flash fiction, non-fiction articles, and won poetry contests for her erotic poetry. Her stories have been published in various e-zines and newsletters, both in print and online. Her favorite genres are Romance with an edge, a hint of paranormal, and lots of sizzling suspense. In her spare time she reads, writes, plays piano, gardens, knits, crochets, and quilts. For almost nine months out of the year she shovels the snow northern Wisconsin is usually buried under, a delight for snowmobilers and skiers. Living somewhere without the four seasons is unthinkable. She lives with her husband in the small village of Amberg where the winters are cold and long perfect for curling up in front of a fireplace with a good book, but the people are warm and friendly all year round.

Check it out - be careful though - it is intense.
Cricket

First dates

I gave up dating for a while. A long while. So long, in fact, that I actually had to do math to figure out when the last date was. It was a little scary to me that I let that much time lapse.

It was even scarier when I was asked out on my first date in that long. But I accepted, despite my bout of nerves. And then I realized that my list of things to worry about had just grown exponentially. Solitude was easy: it was dating that was hard. So the night of the date, my thoughts raced.

* Is my outfit too slutty? Is it slutty enough?
* Do I shave my legs or not? Shaving them might seem eager to show them off...not shaving them is inviting the accidental touch under the table when he feels two days worth of stubble.
* Will he be fun, or should I have an escape plan...just in case?
* I met him when I had a few drinks with the girls. Will he still be cute without dim lighting and a vodka & cranberry?
* Does all the food on this menu have marinara sauce? Because my just-slutty-enough outfit is not red and will show EVERY lost droplet that falls off my noodles.

But once I met him, once he sat across from me at the restaurant, I forgot all those things. He was just one of those nice guys who would probably compliment me if I was wearing a potato sack, who would laugh with me if I spilled pasta down said potato sack, who would never try to play grab ass & could care less if I shaved my legs on the first date, and who acted just as pleasant and looked exactly the same as the night I met him.

I was comfortable taking a walk on a nature trail with him afterwards. He was smart in a quiet way, and once I found that out (and being the knowledge junkie that I am) I urged him to explain the grasses and weeds and flowers that bloomed wild along the trail. He told me about growing up on a farm, about places he traveled for work, about the weirdest kinds of foods he'd ever tried. And I think, perhaps, he was a bit nervous, too.

In an ideal world, we get flawless first dates that lead to a heated makeout session on the bench seat of his pickup...just like when we were teenagers. But I will embrace my nervous butterflies and the victory I feel after eating Italian food without dropping a single bit of marinara on myself. I'll be patient and hope that the hot makeout comes on a second date, the one where I actually do shave my legs and know that I won't want an escape route.

Bridget Midway's Midway Lowdown newsletter now posted!

Bridget in a BDSM club? What new segment in her newsletter did she start? And what beloved Bridget Midway novel will be available in print soon? All of those answers and more are in her Midway Lowdown newsletter. Be sure to join her newsletter group for exclusive excerpts, news, and book tour information. Plus, she's running a contest. A random group member is picked picked each month to win a special prize, anything from a free download to autographed books to gifts mailed to you!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midway_lowdown/

This is strictly a newsletter group, not a chatters list.

Stay sexy,
BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com