Saturday, January 31, 2009

Library Panel Today

I'm participating in my first panel talk in a public venue today as part of Amore and More! Along with Laurie Schnebly Campbell and Jill Knowles, I'll be talking about how romance novels have changed over the last 20 years and where we see them headed in the future.

I'll also be giving away copies of Daring the Moon. So if you're in/around the Tucson area, please plan on attending. (The panel talk begins at 1:00 p.m.)

Click here for more information.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Friday Funny

An extended version of Jack Links' Messin' With Sasquatch commercial:






Looks like trail riders have messed with him before... LOL

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Mark Your Calendars

This Saturday, January 31st, I'm participating in my first panel talk in a public venue as part of Amore and More! Along with Laurie Schnebly Campbell and Jill Knowles, I'll be talking about how romance novels have changed over the last 20 years and where we see them headed in the future.

I'll also be giving away copies of Daring the Moon.
So if you're in/around the Tucson area, please plan on attending. (The panel talk begins at 1:00 p.m.)

Click here for more information.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Tipsy Tuesday

Literary agent Natasha Kern was the guest speaker at my local RWA chapter meeting on Saturday. I wasn't able to stay for the entire meeting--had to leave before the afternoon session--but she shared something from author Dean Koontz that I want to share here.

Mr. Koontz gave this following characteristics of a novel:

1) The author introduces the hero or heroine who has just been or is about to be plunged into trouble
2) The hero tries to solve the problem and only slides deeper into trouble
3) As the hero tries to climb out of the hole he finds himself in, complications arise, each more terrible than before
4) at last, changed by the awful experiences and by intolerable circumstances, the hero learns something about himself...something of which he was previously ignorant...and understands what he must do to get out of the dangerous situation.

Other pearls of wisdom from Dean Koontz:

"Bunny slippers remind me of who I am. You can't get a swelled head if you wear bunny slippers. You can't lose your sense of perspective and start acting like a star or a rich lady if you keep on wearing bunny slippers. Besides, bunny slippers give me confidence because they're so jaunty. They make a statement; they say, 'Nothing the world does to me can ever get me so far down that I can't be silly and frivolous.' If I died and found myself in Hell, I could endure the place if I had bunny slippers."

"Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those, who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, the melancholia, the panic fear, which is inherent in a human condition."

"We're not here to leave a mark, bro. Monuments, legacies, marks--that's where we always go wrong. We're here to revel in the world, to soak in the awesomeness of it, to enjoy the ride. The world's maximum perfect as it is, beauty from horizon to horizon. Any mark any of us tries to leave--hell, it's only grafitti. Any mark anyone leaves is no better than vandalism."


Well said, Mr. Koontz.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Man Meat Monday


Move over, honey. Let's make that a hammock for two...

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Amore and More! Again

Amore and More! Romance Writers Tell All

Does a ripped heart trump ripped abs? Discover the mouth-drying, heart-thumping world of the modern romance at one of four Amore and More! writing workshops sponsored by the Pima County Public Library - just in time for Valentine's Day!

These free, two-hour workshops from 1-3 p.m. January 31 at Himmel Park Branch Library, February 14 at Mission Branch Library and February 28 at Nanini Branch Library will whet your appetite for the Tucson Festival of Books in March.

Published authors from the Saguaro Romance Writers, the Tucson Chapter of Romance Writers of America®, share the secrets of the romance novel's sizzle. These award-winning writers give new meaning to that titillating phrase, Snap, Crackle, Pop!

Dip into the world of the sensuous sentence and the vivacious verb and learn what romance writing is all about. Don't forget that romance fiction generated $1.375 billion in sales in 2007!

If you're in or near Tucson, make sure to come to these great workshops! My panel is next Saturday--one week from today! (And yes, I'm already starting to get nervous...) Our topic: It's Not Your Mother's Romance Anymore--learn how romance novels have changed over the years. What are the various sub-genres under the greater romance umbrella? How do they differ from each other? E-books and print formats. And lots more!

Join me and authors Laurie Schnebly Campbell and Jill Knowles on January 31st at 1:00 at the Himmel Park Branch Library.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Friday Funny

This post would have been longer, but...

...something has crashed on my computer...




...and the mouse is missing...


LOLLOL (No, that's not my cat or my computer. My sister sent this to me as an email, and it's just too darned cute not to pass along.)

Thursday, January 22, 2009

SEDUCING THE MOON

Seducing the Moon, book 2 in my Brava werewolf series, is available now for pre-order at Amazon.com, Borders and Books-A-Million!


Here's the blurb and an unedited excerpt:


It only takes a little moonlight to bring out the primal desire between two lovers...

Declan O'Connell has a history with Pelicia Cobb, but not the kind that's going to help him win her back. It was bad enough that he broke her heart as a gruff ex-commando. Now he's got another side to his personality, a furry, fierce side that goes a little wild under the light of the moon...

Pel wants nothing more than the chance to clean up the mess Declan made of her life--without his interference. But with a sniper taking shots at her on her doorstep, there's no one better to protect her than Declan. And it's hard to ignore all of his deliciousness, especially the way her body responds to his undeniable magnetism. There's no question the rugged Irishman brings out the animal instinct in her—an instinct that propels her toward him, even when she knows she should run away...

~ * ~

"O'Connell, you had better be all right, because if you've broken your worthless neck on my property I'm bloody well going to kill you."

Declan raised his head from the steering wheel, rubbing the sore spot on his forehead where he'd connected with the unforgiving plastic. Already he could feel the slight bump caused by the impact was lessening. Being a werewolf did have its advantages. And from what he'd experienced in the last four months, not that many disadvantages.

He focused on the woman stomping toward him. The deep red t-shirt she wore set off her creamy skin to perfection, and her jeans hugged curves that he hadn't touched in much, much too long. The morning sunlight glinted on her honey blonde hair and reflected off the anger glittering in her ocean-blue eyes.

Stripping off her gardening gloves, Pelicia Cobb stopped beside his vehicle and looked at the corner of the historic bed and breakfast that had seconds before become an unplanned hood ornament on Declan's rental car. "Oh, my God. Look what you've done!" She planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Where did you get a car?"

"They've set up a small 'cars for hire' booth near the ferry office, darlin', you know that," he said through the open window.

"Like we need more cars on our tiny stretch of roadways." Her scowl deepened. "And don't call me darlin'. I got over that charming Irish brogue a long time ago." Her gaze went back to the corner of the house. Something like a growl came from her throat. When she looked at him again, her eyes were hard with anger. "Just when exactly did your mission in life become one of making my life a bloody impossible mess? Tourist season just got underway and now you've demolished my house." Thinking to tell her she was overreacting--as a former commando and demolitions expert in the Royal Marines he damned well knew how to properly destroy something, and this wasn't anywhere near what he could have done--he opened his mouth to respond.

She forestalled him with a sharp downward slash of one slender hand. "Never mind," she growled. "I already know the answer. It was two years ago, the last time you deigned to grace me with your presence."

Even with the deep frown on her face, Pelicia was still the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. "You'd damned well better have insurance, because I can't afford to fix this." She gestured toward the corner of the granite house where several large blocks were clearly askew. "Even with an occasional guest, it's been a hard off-season, as usual."

"It's not like I did it on purpose," he responded, doing his best to not sound like a teenager making excuses to his mum. Although she certainly was doing a bang-up job of making him feel like he was about fourteen again.

He pushed open the car door. The crumpled metal protested with a loud grinding groan, and he had to exert pressure to get it all the way open. He climbed out from behind the wheel. "Besides, you know I'm not anythin' if not responsible."

Her lips twisted. "Ah. Right. How could I forget? The great Declan O'Connell, commando extraordinaire, responsible for eradicating villains from the world one innocent at a time."

Declan gritted his teeth at her sarcasm. Forget fourteen years old. Try five. Though as unfair as her words were, he couldn't fault her for her feelings.

Two years ago, the firm he'd worked for at the time had sent him to London to assist with an investigation into an international document-forging organization--primarily because of his friendship with Pelicia and his knowledge of the Isles of Scilly. In the course of his investigation, he'd been instrumental in getting her arrested. Even though she'd been cleared of all involvement, in the end she'd lost her job and her reputation had suffered. She'd returned to St. Mary's to take over this bed and breakfast after her grandfather--the real talent behind the forgery ring--had been sent to prison.

"Listen, Pel--"

"Oh, forget it." She sighed and crossed her arms.

She looked so fragile and defenseless that he had to fight to keep from pulling her into a comforting embrace. He knew the second he did he'd have a snarling wildcat on his hands that would quickly dissuade him from thinking she was either fragile or defenseless.

Copyright 2009 Sherrill Quinn. All Rights Reserved.


Seducing the Moon - available now for pre-order at Amazon.com, Borders and Books-A-Million!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Tipsy Tuesday

According to my latest The Writer magazine, there are some highly touted literary agents/agencies looking for new talent. I've listed just a few, those that I recognize and believe to be reputable:

Donald Maass Literary Agency - represents mostly fiction; no prescriptive nonfiction, picture books, poetry or screenplays. Query with a one-page letter, first five pages of manuscript and SASE. Responds in two weeks. Submission guidelines are online.

The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency - all types of commercial fiction (thrillers, mysteries, children's, romance, women's fiction, ethnic, science fiction, fantasy, general fiction); literary fiction with strong narrative; and nonfiction (current affairs, health, science, psychology, cookbooks, biography and memoir). No poetry, screenplays or short stories. Accepts unsolicited queries and manuscripts. Submission guidelines are online.

Harvey Klinger, Inc. - Mainstream adult fiction and nonfiction, literary and commercial. Unpublished writers considered. Submission guidelines online.

Natasha Kern Literary Agency - Fiction (historical, contemporary, multicultural, and inspirational); nonfiction (narrative, memoir, body/mind/spirit, health and medicine, inspirational and religious, psychology, relationship and self-help, parenting, animals and nature). Submission guidelines online.

Writers House - Fiction and nonfiction for adult and juvenile books; literary and commercial fiction, women's fiction, science fiction/fantasy, narrative nonfiction, history, memoir, biographies, books on psychology, science, parenting, cookbooks, how-to, self-help, business, finance, young adult and juvenile fiction/nonfiction and picture books. Send query letter of no more than two pages, including credentials, synopsis with SASE. Submission guidelines online. (My agent is with Writers House and I have only great things to say about this agency.)

My own 2 cents: Follow the guidelines. I know many writers who will say, "Hey, even if they don't ask for the first chapter in the initial query, go ahead and send it." My advice--don't. Follow the submission guidelines to the letter. Give them what they ask for and no more. These folks get a lot of queries every day (one part of the article indicated one of these agencies receives 5,000 queries a year.) And if you're submitting to multiple houses (which is perfectly fine in the query process), make sure you mention that in your query letter.

Good hunting!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Man Meat Monday


A little something to heat up your Monday morning. Look at the muscles in his arm... And his back's not bad, either!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Amore and More!

Amore and More! Romance Writers Tell All

Does a ripped heart trump ripped abs? Discover the mouth-drying, heart-thumping world of the modern romance at one of four Amore and More! writing workshops sponsored by the Pima County Public Library - just in time for Valentine's Day!

These free, two-hour workshops from 1-3 p.m. January 17 at Dusenberry-River Branch Library, January 31 at Himmel Park Branch Library, February 14 at Mission Branch Library and February 28 at Nanini Branch Library will whet your appetite for the Tucson Festival of Books in March.

Published authors from the Saguaro Romance Writers, the Tucson Chapter of Romance Writers of America®, share the secrets of the romance novel's sizzle. These award-winning writers give new meaning to that titillating phrase, Snap, Crackle, Pop!

Dip into the world of the sensuous sentence and the vivacious verb and learn what romance writing is all about. Don't forget that romance fiction generated $1.375 billion in sales in 2007!

Featured authors include Denise Agnew, Laurie Schnebly Campbell, Elaine Charton, Michael Charton, Georgina Devon, Judy Duarte, Mary Tate Engels, Roz Denny Fox, Patricia Knoll, Jill Knowles, Sherrill Quinn, Vicki Lewis Thompson and Kathleen Wells.

If you're in Tucson, make sure to come to these great workshops! Today you'll have the opportunity to listen to and pick the brains of NYT best seller Vicki Lewis Thompson, Patricia Knoll and Kathleen Wells.

My panel is on January 31st, so mark your calendars now!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Friday Funny

The World's Shortest Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, a guy asked a girl "Will you marry me?"

The girl said, "NO!"

And the guy lived happily ever after and rode motorcycles and went fishing and hunting and played golf a lot and drank beer and scotch and left the toilet seat up and farted whenever he wanted.

THE END



LOLLOL

Thursday, January 15, 2009

New Review for WICKED OMEN


From Just Erotic Romance Reviews: "For a quick read and mythology thrown in with a vampire or two, Wicked Omen is the perfect read... The chemistry between Nikolaos and Kalla feels very real and not forced. The suspense was well-written capturing the erotic romance I love to read... Wicked Omen is a great addition to the Dark Pantheon series."

For an excerpt or to buy, click here.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Tipsy Tuesday

I've blogged about this before, but it bears repeating, I think.

The power of a well-working critique group is valuable beyond belief. At the simplest of levels, this kind of group (or any writing group) provides support. Writing is a solitary endeavor. You don't sit in an office for 8 hours a day surrounded by other people doing the same work. (Usually.) It's just you and your computer, or typewriter, or legal pad. You can whine and moan about how much trouble you're having with your current work-in-progress and find sympathy. (Or a kick in the pants, whichever is needed. Sometimes it's both.) They can point out what you're doing extremely well (and, trust me, you'll need those strokes) as well as what doesn't seem to be working and give you ideas to fix it. A timely word of encouragement can be something you revisit time and again as you struggle over the page.

If you're lucky enough to get a group like mine, they love to brainstorm. And sometimes even part of their critique will get the juices flowing in a different direction. (And sometimes not. If you feel strongly enough about something, don't change it. That's the beauty of this kind of thing. Take what is helpful; discard what isn't.)

I can't recommend getting into a writing group strongly enough. Mine has just started its third year. We lost one member when she moved out of state, but we're still going strong otherwise. It's a great mix--one member has been multi-published in Regency historicals for many years; another has a great science/editorial background; and the third is multi-published in non-fiction work. And there's me. LOL But we gel, and that's what's important.

Decide for yourself if a writing group would work for you.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Man Meat Monday


Yet another one of my favorite pics... Rawrrrrrr!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

The Sierra Club


I'll be over at Sierra Dafoe's place today from 5-9 p.m. EST chatting with readers about DARING THE MOON (and, I daresay, other of my books, too). Come on over!

Friday, January 09, 2009

Friday Funny

If you're a regular visitor to my blog (and if you're not you'll soon find out) that I love clever commercials. The Messin' With Sasquatch commercials make me laugh every time. So do most of the Capital One "What's in your wallet?" commercials. This is the most recent one I've seen:





I love the guy getting his hair sucked up in the vacuum cleaner, and the little guy at the gas station washing himself with the window squeegee. LOL!!


~ * ~

I'll be chatting with readers over at The Sierra Club tomorrow evening from 5 to 9 p.m. Come on over and join us!

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Another Trip to the Bookstore...

...to check on DARING THE MOON. On last Friday I visited both the Barnes & Noble and the Borders stores on my side of town; yesterday I stopped in at the two stores on the other side of town (just 5-10 minutes from where I work).

I'd forgotten how huge that B&N store is. Wow. But they did have a copy of my book, which I signed, stickered, and replaced on the shelf face-out. See? I'm learning.

Unfortunately, the Borders didn't have any copies of my book--I'm hoping that means that the copies they did have had sold and not that they just didn't buy any.

And...yay! It's Thursday. The day before Friday. I don't know about anyone else, but after having two weeks where I only worked two days each week, this working five days a week thing is crap. Can we please have Christmas and New Year every other month? *G*


I'm also happy to report that DRAGONHEAT, my dragon shifter menage novella at Amber Heat, was the #1 best seller for the fourth quarter! And DRAGONFIRE, it's prequel, managed to hang on in December to be the #10 best seller. W00t!!

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Tipsy Tuesday

Once your book is out in the bookstores, there's at least one thing you can do--visit your local stores and ask the manager if you can sign your books. Readers (some, anyway) may pick up a book they know is a) signed and/or b) by a local author. I visited a Barnes & Noble and a Border on my side of town on Friday, and plan to hit the other stores in town this week. My experience at both stores was polar opposite.

At Borders, I was allowed to sign the copies of DARING THE MOON, and the employee helping me put "autographed" stickers on the covers. Then left. So, me being new to this, I put the books back on the shelf where I'd found them. Spine out. Which meant no one would see that the books were signed. (A friend went in the next day and, er, "rearranged" things so that my books are now face-out. Good friends are worth their weight in gold, I tell ya!)

At B&N, the manager took me to the customer service desk and, while I signed my books, she got on the computer and ordered more. Then, rather than put the books back where I'd found them, she put them on an endcap (which publishers usually have to pay more for). NEXT TO NORA ROBERTS. How cool is that?!?

Sometimes just a little effort on your part can make very positive results happen.


(Also, I discovered that DARING THE MOON is also available at Target.com. So I'll be stopping in at the brick-and-mortar Target to see if they have my book on their shelves.)

Monday, January 05, 2009

Man Meat Monday

It's a rainy, lazy Monday morning. *yawn* I just want to go back to bed...


Although if he was waiting for me, I don't know how much sleeping would actually happen...

Friday, January 02, 2009

Another New Release

2009 is starting out with a bang for me! Available today--Book #2 in my Sassy Devils series at Ellora's Cave:


Sassy Devils, LLC is a conglomerate of good and evil headed up by the Big Guy Himself, controlling all aspects of otherworldly interaction with humankind.

Talon, an Angel of Retribution, is sent to find the leader of the Brotherhood of the Red Claw—an angel who was both friend and mentor—and either return him or pronounce judgment and kill him. Along the way he must fight off gargoyles and protect the human female they’ve targeted.

Raegan Stark, a no-nonsense homicide detective, is stunned to find out that angels are real. As well as arrogant, bad-tempered and sexy as hell. She has to learn to hold her own against this very hot angel while staying one step ahead of their enemies.

Talon finds something he never thought he would—love. And Raegan finds out how bad an angel can be, and just how good bad is!


Click here to read an excerpt or buy.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Happy New Year! Do You Dare...?

New-Years



TODAY'S THE DAY!!

My first Brava book is available and waiting for you! Yay!!!


It takes a lot to ruffle Taite Gibson, investigator with the Pima County Attorney's Office. But the enormous, snarling werewolf that's stalking her through the streets of Tucson? Yeah, that oughta do it. Those terrifying attacks convince Taite to seek out Ryder Merrick, a reclusive British horror writer reputed to know everything about werewolves, including how to kill them. Turns out he also knows how to leave her shaking with desire...

On his remote private island, Ryder can live safely with the beast inside him, unable to harm others or himself. Then Taite arrives, her lush, sweet scent and gorgeous curves tempting him to give in to every wicked hunger. And as a full moon rises, the only way to keep Taite safe from the evil that's followed her here is to convince her to trust in an attraction that's deeply dangerous, and wilder than she ever guessed....

~ * ~

Something thumped against the front door. Ryder grinned at the picture in his mind of Taite slamming her balled-up fist against the unforgiving wood. Another thump and a pithy comment. Then more thumping.

Cobb’s footsteps sounded in the foyer and the front door squeaked open. “Yes?” his employee asked in a bored, unwelcoming tone.

“Hi.” Taite’s voice was bright and friendly in direct contrast to the dark comments muttered at his door mere moments before. “My name’s Taite Gibson. I’m here with Declan—”

“Mr. Merrick is not at home to visitors, miss, which I believe he made very clear to Mr. O’Connell when he called.” The door squeaked again and Ryder knew Cobb was about to close it in the woman’s face.

He sighed at Cobb’s stubborn insistence on maintaining their privacy, even after Ryder had told him not to. When he heard a thud, he cracked open the door of the study to see Taite standing with one hand planted palm-down on the front door.

“Wait a minute. Please,” she said, her smile still in place. “We’ve traveled all day.”

“I’m sorry, miss. But if you leave now you’ll reach St. Mary’s before dark. It’s not convenient for Mr. Merrick to have visitors at this time.” Cobb’s voice was cool and polite, but Ryder heard the underlying thread of steel. The little man didn’t look like it, but he was quite the watchdog.

Even now, he chose to disobey Ryder’s instructions in an effort to protect him. Cobb went on, “As I have said, Mr. Merrick is not available.”

“But we’ve come all the way from the United States to talk to—”

Without a word or even a change of expression, the short, balding man closed the door. Ryder fully opened the study door and leaned one shoulder against the sturdy frame.

When Cobb turned, he caught sight of Ryder standing in the doorway of the study. At Ryder’s raised eyebrow, Cobb said, “This isn’t a good time, you said so yourself.”

“I also said they’d have to at least stay the night. The sun will be fully set in another hour—I don’t want them trying to get back to St. Mary’s in the dark.” Ryder knew he was making a complete reversal in what he’d said earlier.

He wasn’t sure why but, even knowing he couldn’t have her, he needed to meet this woman. Nodding toward the front door, he said, “We’ll just have to be sure the basement door stays locked at all times to avoid awkward questions. Let her in.”

The older man sighed and turned back to the door. Pursing his lips, he swung open the door and stepped back as Taite’s raised fist nearly caught him on the nose. “Come in, miss,” he said in a long-suffering tone. He waited until she’d picked up her suitcases and walked into the house, then he went out and collected the other two suitcases Declan had left on the small portico.

Coming back inside, Cobb set the suitcases down and closed the door, shutting out the cool November wind.

Ryder could see the flecks of gold in her dark eyes, could smell her beguiling scent so much more clearly. Her lips were slightly parted, showing small, white teeth, and he clenched his fists against the desire that slammed into him with the force of a gale.

God, she was lovely. Why couldn’t the person with Declan have been a man? He wouldn’t have been tempted by a man. Oh, his condition would still flare but, without sexual arousal, it would have been…manageable. Throw his hard dick into the mix and he wasn’t so sure he could maintain control.

But as great and as immediate his need of her was, she was off-limits. He didn’t trust himself with her, not with the time of his Change so close. More determined than ever to get her and Declan off the island in the morning, he moved forward.

Daring the Moon - copyright 2009 Sherrill Quinn. All Rights Reserved.



5 Blue Ribbons from Romance Junkies!

"Daring the Moon is Sherrill Quinn’s first novel in a dark and seductive new series, and what a stunning debut it is! From the very compelling first paragraph to the shocking conclusion, Daring the Moon is an exciting new take on the werewolf legend. The best way I can describe the tone of the novel is modern gothic, with a heavy dose of sensuality guaranteed to leave the reader breathless. Author Sherrill Quinn draws the reader in with her lush, descriptive language and intriguing characters. I’m very excited about this new series, and I can assure other lovers of paranormal romance that they will be delighted with Daring the Moon and will definitely want to add it to their keeper shelf."

Full review: http://romancejunkiesreviews.com/artman/publish/paranormal/Daring_the_Moon.shtml



Daring the Moon - available now at a bookstore near you or online at Borders.com, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million!