Why would any author beyond the most green even consider clicking on a review? And worse, what kind of masochist would click on a one or two star review? That’s like asking someone to attach a ‘Kick Me’ sign to your back. With several staples. Well, I’ve cut my review reading tendencies down to almost nothing. I rarely even read good reviews—which is a lot harder—and while I understand the importance of reviews, I’ve come to terms with the fact that reviews. ARE. NOT. FOR. AUTHORS. Some people may say you can learn from reviews. I guess some new authors might be able to—if they haven’t found much more productive places to learn from such as crit groups, workshops, etc. Seriously, an author is much more likely to damage their fragile egos (VERY fragile in most cases) than learn anything. And the authors with egos too big to damage don’t G.A.S about reviews. But sometimes it’s tempting to take a peek. You’re sitting at your desk, staring at that evil blank page, wishing the words...

This is going to be a really quick post because release days are always a little crazy and I come unprepared! lol! All I have for you is an incredibly sexy scene which needs a great big: But first, I thought I should tell you a little about my plans for the next week. And take the opportunity to pick your brains! First of all, tonight I will be hosting a chat tonight RELEASE DAY CHAT WITH BIANCA SOMMERLAND so swing by to celebrate with me! There will be THREE prizes offered to chatters chosen at random! Don't miss it! :) Also, starting October 7th, the Cobras will be going on a tour, and what I'd like to know is who are you dying to spend time with? There will be 6 stops: 10/7 ~ Under the Covers 10/8 ~ Guilty Pleasures 10/9 ~ Kinky Book Reviews 10/10 ~ RomFan 10/11 ~ Author Alannah Lynne 10/12 ~ Cocktails and Books Obviously, since it is their book. Luke, Sebastian, and Jami will each make a stop, but that leaves 2 spots open. So I'm going to let you choose...

I've debated for a long time coming out about this, it's something very few people know about me. Not that I'm ashamed or anything—the genres I write just don't mix. But it's an important part of my story. Erotic romance is a fairly new love of mine. I grew up reading more fantasy and sci-fi than anything else, and when I picked up a romance novel, it was always historical. At the time, I didn't know they were 'Bodice rippers', I just found it exciting to read about these young women being captured and ravished. Now, I always knew I would be a writer. Writing romance, however, didn't appeal to me at all. I've never been too crazy about chick flicks, romantic comedy, romantic drama. Not that I never watch that kind of movie, but it's rare that I enjoy anything too sappy. No, I preferred Urban Fantasy. I wanted to be Ann Rice, or Laurel K Hamilton. Or, for the longest time, LJ Smith. I decided to write Young Adult. My first 100k...

**note from Bianca Sommerland: Some of you know that I considered self-publishing for a long time before actually doing it. I was afraid I didn't have what it took to make it alone. Kallypso Masters gave me wonderful advice and support. She has given me permission to share her words on the subject from a recent conversation. I'm adding her links and such myself because if you haven't read her books, you should! <g>** Kallypso Masters: Free from Amazon and other distributors No disrespect to anyone who wants a publisher or is just starting to write, because there are things they can teach you that you need to know. But I spent 20 years learning those things in RWA and classes. I'm still learning, of course, with each new editor and beta reader I work with, but I've said before, I'm very Domme about my books and my career. I'd have probably been urged to conform with the publisher's rules so i didn't do anything risky or too terri...

I've created a new post just for the links which will be updated regularly. If you find links that are not on this list, please let me know. Thanks!  A Bear on Books: Noble Romance Aleksandr Voinov- Publications & Backlist News Roundup Amarinda Jones: Less than Noble . . . BL Bonita: Failure to Communicate     Brita Adams: Publisher Failure and How it Hurts Authors Bryl: Fuck 'Em! C.H. Scarlett: Attention! Attention! Jill Noelle Noble has left the building! D.Dye: Noble Romance Publishing Dear Author: Noble Romance Future Uncertain Diana Hardy: Unpublishing my old erotica short stories and Noble Romance Publishing   Ellie Heller: An Impotence of Communication-Noble Romance Erastes: Jill Noble Quits Noble Publishing  Erastes: Latest News from Noble Publishing Erastes: Olympics and Noble Gianna Simone: Publisher Woes J.S Wayne: An Ig-Noble Letter J.S Wayne: And I should believe you . . . Why? KarenKnowsBest: Ji...

So you want to publish a book? After dealing with a situation that made me feel powerless, I've decided to create a series of posts which will include warnings and advice for aspiring authors, as well as information for my beloved readers who need to know what's going on. Please check the bottom of the post for links to other Noble authors for more information. ~~~ This is a wonderful time for authors! There are so many options out there to bring your work to your readers. Literally hundreds of ebook and traditional publishers (which will both be lumped into trad pub in these posts just to simplify) are looking for authors, going through thousands of emails every day, and they are not just looking for the next EL James, Stephenie Meyer, or Amanda Hocking (yes, the last is self-pubbed, but I'm making a point! :^P ). Publishers know there are many wonderful authors out there that won't sell bazillions, but whom readers will love. To top it off, if you're the...

**NOTE** A scheduling mishap on my part made it so my blog is in 2 hops at the same time. The only way I could think to fix this is by doubling up the prizes! The First Blog hop ends July 17th, so I will announce the first winners then. Thanks for your understanding :)  This is so the perfect Blog Hop for the Dartmouth Cobras! What makes it even more fitting is that these particular Cobras develop a very different relationship through the course of the 3rd book in the series, BREAKAWAY. I could tell you more, but I think I'll let the excerpt speak for itself! ;)   Check out the bottom of the post for prizes and don't forget to comment for your chance to win!  Rubbing his lips as he shook his head, he moved towards a bookshelf and picked up the first familiar book, Strangers by Dean Koontz . On another shelf he found a bottle of Jamaican rum and a tumbler which he filled before bringing the book and the glass to the chair. Not like he'd be able to sleep anyway....