Archive for the ‘Publishers: Amber Allure’ Category

Amber Quill Press is shutting down

Tuesday, January 19th, 2016

One of my publiahers, Amber Quill Press, is shutting its doors for good. Their official closing date is March 30th, but they’re already beginning to wind things down.

This means that two of my books — Lone & Warm Rush: Chasing Winter — are going out of print. That makes me especially sad, since those were the only books I had available in paperback. If you were planning to buy the hard copies of either of those novels, I’d do it now. I’m not sure when exactly they’ll be pulled down, but if what happened to Want Me was any indication, the prices after AQP closes could skyrocket to $150. I love Lone and Warm Rush, but they are definitely definitely not worth that much. O.O

If there’s an upside, it’s that the e-book formats of both both books are seriously discounted on the AQP website, if you’ve been meaning to check them out.

It’s still sinking in that AQP is closing, so I haven’t decided what to do with my orphaned stories yet. Did you know that I wrote Lone especially for AQP? They were invitation-only and I certainly didn’t have an invitation, but I kept the finished manuscript under my bed for at least a year on the slim chance I’d receive one someday. Then, out of the blue, the invitation appeared in my inbox and I am not exaggerating when I say it was one of the happiest moments of my life.That’s what I’m going to focus on for now. Business stuff later.

I’m not ready to say goodbye, Amber Quill, but I will say thank you for allowing me to be part of your writing family. I will miss you dearly.

Posted in Chasing Winter, Lone, News, Publishers: Amber Allure, Ravager Chronicles, Want Me, Warm Rush, Writing | No Comments »

Let’s get ready to ramble.

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Yeah, that New Year’s resolution I made to come up with better blog titles? Not happening.

Last week I participated in an M/M writing workshop at Romance Divas for the Not Going to Conference Conference. I have to admit, I was nervous. I’m still at that stage where I believe 80% of writing is magic, so I was unsure whether I had anything constructive to offer. But as we settled into a groove, I found I had tips to share on characterization, point of view, and even writing sex scenes. Working with the other authors was a lot of fun, and even though I was one of the writers giving the workshop, I also learned a lot.

I also popped in on other workshops. Sasha White’s “Coping With Burnout” thread turned out to be a godsend for me because I was rocketing in that direction. Truth is, I’ve been feeling off my game lately and spending a week talking about writing really helped. Now I’m going to try and take things a little easier for a while, as well as write some stories for fun. And not feel like a slacker when I watch other writers do their thing. Very important.

In keeping with my whole relaxation theme, I finally got to read volumes five and six of Totally Captivated! LOVE it. Recommend and was sad to see it end:

Totally Captivated Cover

The second quarter stats are in for Lone, and it turns out I made the top ten list at Amber Allure:

1) Allergies by T. A. Chase (Gay/Werewolf)
2) Lone by Rowan McBride (Gay/Werewolf)
3) Satisfaction by M. L. Rhodes (Gay/Contemporary)
4) Bottom’s Up: Kinky Orgasm by Amanda Young (Gay/Contemporary)
5) Most Likely To Succeed by Shawn Lane (Gay/Contemporary)
6) David’s Dilemma by Lynn Lorenz (Gay/Contemporary)
7) Bring The Heat by M. L. Rhodes (Gay/Contemporary)
8) Car Wash by Shawn Lane (Gay/Contemporary)
9) Carey’d Away by J. M. Snyder (Gay/Contemporary)
10) Betrayed by Cassie Stevens (Gay/Contemporary)

How cool is it that the top two slots are filled with werewolf stories?

Jumping to another subject (this is a ramble, after all), if you’re like me and enjoy bishies and muscle, please check out Yayoi Neko’s art at http://thundertori.deviantart.com/. I love the way she combines power and beauty in her work.

In totally random fun, Katrina Strauss has posted a vid from a Japanese game show on her blog: Bloggin’ it with Katrina Strauss. As a result, I’m currently trying to find a way to work the term “acrylic kiss” into a story. Lol.

I feel like an amazing amount of stuff has happened over the past two weeks. Of course, when I start to write it all down, it starts to get fuzzy. Hopefully, if I remember more, and it’s interesting enough to write about, I’ll think of a better blog title. 🙂

Posted in awards, Lone, Publishers: Amber Allure, Story Recommendation, Writing, yaoi | 8 Comments »

Lone is on sale!

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

Click the cover image for more information about Lone

Blurb:

Seth Anderson has finally found sanctuary in Brier, Iowa. Even better, he’s found Rafe: a strong, giant of a man who owns the town pool hall. Seth has never been so close to anyone. When he’s asked to give a series of lectures in DC, it seems only natural that Rafe come along. But in a few surreal days, his true nature is exposed and he brings both their lives crashing down around them.

Because Seth is not only a werewolf; he’s also something much, much worse.

Available now at:
Amber Allure (http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/Lone.html)

W00t!

Posted in Lone, Publishers: Amber Allure, Ravager Chronicles | 5 Comments »

Whew!

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

If you’ve had any contact with me in the last couple of weeks, you know the only thing I’ve been able to talk about lately is Lone. That is because I’ve been hitting the final round of edits, and just today finished looking through the galley (the final version of the novel before its release and hence my last chance to find and fix typos).

Did you know my last book release was in July of 2008? God, my editing stamina leaves something to be desired. Halfway through reading the galley, I had to set the zoom on my word processor to a hundred seventy percent. A hundred seventy. My eyes were straining that bad.

But the good news is…it’s out of my hands. The book is done, and will be released from Amber Allure on May 3rd. This is the part where I’m supposed to take a deep breath but of course I’m in the middle of my traditional pre-release insane author panic. I know it’s a good book. Possibly one of my best. But still, it’s always a harrowing experience and it never seems to get easier.

You can read an excerpt on my site here. I hope you like it. 🙂

Click the pic to learn more about Lone

If you’d like to learn more about Lone, check out my website at http://www.rowanmcbride.com/stories/lone/.

Posted in Excerpt, Lone, Publishers: Amber Allure, Ravager Chronicles | 4 Comments »

New Book. New Contract. New Cover.

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

Note: This blog was originally published on my MySpace blog, January 15, 2009.

Finished my werewolf novel, and Amber Allure accepted it last week! It’s called Lone, and it’s got a tentative release scheduled for March. W00t!

I love Lone. I finished it ages ago, but I kept tweaking it and tweaking it. Wanted Rafe to be strong and forthright. Wanted Seth to be sweet and just a little bit psychotic (which, surprisingly, is a hard combination to pull off). In the end, I think I achieved everything I wanted, and I think it’s a pretty good story.

Today I also got my cover, and I’m digging the blue angst:

I can’t believe so much has happened and it’s only the middle of January. I hope it’s a sign of how the rest of 2009 is going to go.

If you’d like to learn more about the story, check out my website at: www.RowanMcBride.com.

I think now’s a good as time to any to break in my new happy dance:

http://humbuged.deviantart.com/art/Humplex-Caramelldansen-81932063

Posted in Book Cover, Chasing Winter, myspace, Publishers: Amber Allure, Warm Rush | No Comments »

I Came Home to Such Cool Stuff!

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

Note: This blog was originally published on my MySpace blog, July 29, 2008.

So I’m back from a vacation I neglected to announce I was leaving for. Although I’d known I was going to Florida for quite some time, the trip still took me by surprise. I had an e-loop chat July 4th, the release of Warm Rush: Chasing Winter on July 6th, then my plane taking off the morning of July 9th. I ended up making a whirlwind attempt at promotion right up until the 8th, at which point I sat down and tried to figure out how I would transport my Giant Pocky on the plane without smashing it to pieces.


Pocky arrived safely. Vacation rocked. I watched a busload of anime and managed to squeeze in a mini Tetris tournament. I also met a lot of new friends and got to know a good friend even better. When I look back on the past two weeks, it still seems like one massive, blurry day, which I suppose is proof of a great time.

Now I’m home, still catching up on emails (if you’ve written me and I haven’t responded, that’s most likely why). Settling back into my life is bringing a smile to my face. A lot of good stuff happened while I was gone. A fan floored me by gifting me with a three month subscription to DeviantArt. Chasing Winter has been released in print, and it’s received a 4/5 star review from Rainbow Reviews.

The best thing is that I’m itching to write. I’d been a little burned out for, oh, a couple months at least. But now I’m wanting to get back to my alien sex slaves, my smart mouthed wizards, my Shadow Guards, my comic book geeks. The list goes on and on, and I’m raring to go. 🙂

Let’s see if I can finish a new story by the end of the year, yeah?

Get the print version of Warm Rush: Chasing Winter here.

Read my new review for the story at Rainbow Reviews.

Oh! I sorta forgot I had a Warm Rush store. I hadn’t known that Café Press jacked up the prices on my stuff, so I knocked a few dollars off each item to make them easier to pick up. It’s a lot of fun—you can get the t-shirts featured in the stories! So if you’d like the browse to Warm Rush online store, go to: http://www.cafepress.com/WarmRush.

Everyone have a great week!

Posted in Chasing Winter, life, myspace, Publishers: Amber Allure, Review, Warm Rush | No Comments »

Warm Rush: Chasing Winter

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

Note: This blog was originally published on my MySpace blog, April 10, 2008.

My long-time homeless novel, Warm Rush, has been accepted by Amber Allure!  This was my very first published book, so I’m wicked excited to know it’s going to have a second life with a new publisher.  Yes!

I overhauled the story—cleaning up a slew of newbie mistakes that still make me cringe, answering a few questions that were left hanging in the first version, and even adding a new mini-scene.  With all that, it seemed appropriate that it get a brand new title:  Chasing Winter.   Warm Rush has been bumped up to series title.  How cool is that?

Yes, this means I’m planning a sequel.

No release date as of yet, but I’ll be sure to let everyone know when I get one.  For now, I’m just…basking.  I might even have a slice of apple pie to celebrate. (If you never got a chance to read the original novel, that comment will seem a lot more clever after you pick up Chasing Winter.)

Posted in Chasing Winter, myspace, Publishers: Amber Allure, Warm Rush | No Comments »