My Panel at Anne Rice's Undead Con

So the question was posed to me and my fellow author panelists ... What makes a strong woman?

For me, a strong woman is one who takes a hit to the heart, picks herself up and keeps going in spite of it.

What do you think?

Josephine

Anne Rice's Undead Con

I am having a marvelous time at the Undead Con.  The panels always inspire me in one way or another.  As such, I've created another area on my website for some of my short stories.  First up out of the gate is a collaboration between Nancy S. Brandt, Meredith Gayle and myself entitled Wolf's Night Out.  To read, click on Josephine's Short Stories & More, then click on Wolf's Night Out.  Check back frequently as I hope to get more up soon.

In the meantime, I hope to see a few of you at the panel I am on tomorrow.  We are at The Hilton on 1001 S Peters in New Orleans.  It starts at 11 am.

Enjoy the Journey!
Josephine

Healing

So last Thursday I hosted Pokeno at my house.  Things were going great - had the taco soup bubbling in my cauldron-- er, crockpot; had the cake baked and veggies sliced and on a tray.  I was pulling out the last batch of cookies ... using an oven mitt that had gotten damp.  Needless to say the heat scorched through and burned the pad of my thumb and some of my index finger. 

Ouch! 

Instead of dropping it like a sane person would, I danced with it to the stove before letting lose.  Fortunately, the burns weren't as bad as they felt.  I dashed to the sink, ran cold water and applied ice.  Probably not the best thing to do, but it worked.

Well it is almost a week later, and my thumb is still sensitive.  :(  I am in the midst of reading Jim Butcher's Dresden books ( currently on the 9th - White Night), and now I can empathize (if only on a miniscule level) with the hero and his poor hand.

Fates, I DO NOT want to empathize with the heroine of my latest book, Scorned!  So keep that car far away from me!  While Angelle may have super healing powers, I don't!

Respectfully,
Josephine

I'm Guest Blogging

I am excited to have Cynthia Eden as today's guest blogger.  Check it out in the Wing Beat Blog area!

While you're at it, head on over to her website.  I'm guest blogging for her today as well. www.cynthiaeden.com/blog .

Enjoy the journey!
Josephine

Scorned

Yay! Today is release day for my latest novel, Scorned. It’s the first book in a series about a fallen angel.


Angelle, God’s first Angel, fell from grace along with Satan. However, after thousands of years as Satan’s girlfriend, Angelle wants back into heaven and becomes human. Now she must atone for her sins and save as many souls as she damned while fighting vampires and demons. One more condition — she must remain celibate.

Jack, a vampire hunter, visits Angelle’s bar, and their attraction is instant. But after watching her walk away from a car accident, he’s convinced she’s a vampire and must die. When Angelle doesn’t burst into flames at sunrise, Jack joins her quest to save souls. The partnership is jeopardized when two of the Scorned Bride’s daughters enthrall him.

Angelle must save Jack from another dimension, but in doing so, she risks her salvation. Will Jack want to be saved by the time she finds him? And if they survive the Scorned Bride, can they survive each other?

It’s available at www.crescentmoonpress.com, Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com and www.allromanceebooks.com.

Enjoy the demon-wings!

Josephine

Future Booksignings & Josephine Sightings

I'm happy to say that edits are done, and Scorned is in the hands of the publisher.  I'm waiting on the final version and the cover art.  Tentative release date is October 15th - woot woot!

Meanwhile, I'd like to promote a few book signings that I will be at:

Denham Springs Fall Festival
Saturday, October 5th
9 am - 5 pm
Denham Springs Antique District
Denham Springs, LA
http://www.denhamspringsantiquedistrict.net/Festivals.html

I will be in the Arts area on Mattie Street with Nancy S. Brandt, Wendy Russo, Anne Clayre Mason Shirley McCoy and Bonnie Lynne.

Anne Rice's Undead Con
October 24th - 27th
New Orleans
http://www.arvlfc.com/schedule-of-events.html

I'm really excited to be a part of this fun-filled weekend.  On Saturday, I will be on a panel and will be selling my books immediately following.  Both Anne and her son Chris will be in attendance with a special meet and greet on Thursday, October 24th.  The 25th Annual Vampire Ball will be held on Friday, October 25th.  There are plenty of tickets available!

Louisiana Book Festival
Saturday, November 5th
Downtown Baton Rouge, LA
http://www.louisianabookfestival.org/

I will be joining fellow members of my local writer's group, HeartLa, in an effort to reach out to the community.  We are a non-profit, professional organization for published and unpublished authors. We offer support, encouragement and education to aspiring writers of all romance genres. Our monthly meetings include speakers on diverse topics, market news from the publishing industry and camaraderie of other authors, both published and unpublished.  I challenge you to come see what we are all about!

Heart of Louisiana's Fall into Romance Luncheon
November 16th
Juban's, Baton Rouge, LA
www.heartla.com

Tickets for our annual readers' luncheon are on sale now. 

Your ticket includes lunch, keynote speech by top-selling author Maya Banks, and admission to the author book signing. In addition, all attendees will receive a complimentary gift bag and are eligible to win door prizes!

The first 50 people who register for the luncheon will be eligible for a chance to win a seat at Maya's table!

I hope to see you at one or all of the events above.

Remember to Carpe amor and enjoy the journey!
Josephine

Looking Forward to ...

Yes, it's been a LONG while since I have updated my blog.  I will try to do better in the future, but ya'll know how life is!  :)

Meanwhile, I have a few things that I am looking forward to.

Scorned is in the editing stages, and I await the next round of edits from my superb editor, Nancy S. Brandt.  She is amazing!  I couldn't have done this project without her.  She is the editor EVERY writer needs.  She doesn't sugarcoat, and in this world of mediocre books running rampant, I expect nothing less.  I take my respective hat off to her.

While I await the next round of edits for Scorned (which, by the way, is an urban fantasy set in Watson, Louisiana and is about a fallen-angel-turned-human who is trying to get back into Heaven.  She must fight demons and vampires along the way, and of course, there is her love interest who has her tempted to fall off the lust-wagon!), I am working on updating my spreadsheet of Scorned.  This excel file holds all of the story's pertinent information chapter by chapter.  Sometimes it is just as daunting as writing the book!  But it is immensely fun gathering the pictures and what-nots that help me bring the story from my head to the written page.  While I have used a spreadsheet for years, I must attribute my friend's (Meredith Tague) mother (Jeanine Pence) for unknowingly giving me the idea to take it one step further and include as much detail and pictures as possible.  Jeanine and her sister are huge fans of J.R. Ward's The Black Dagger Brotherhood series, and they made a scrapbook of each book that contains pictures of the characters, places and other items in the book.  So, I am in the process of updating that.

Another thing I am looking forward to is Anne Rice's Vampire Lestat Fan Club's Undead Con (http://www.arvlfc.com/) to be held in New Orleans October 24 - 27th.  I am SUPER pleased to announce that I am going to be on panel Saturday, October 26 at 11 am & 12:30 pm along with V.M.K. Fewings, Brad Keene, Kayden McLeod, Raven Raye and Kala Ambrose.  There will be a book signing immediately following the panel.  The ball will be held Friday night, and I am looking forward to dressing up with my hubby.  It's going to be epic!

And, as always, I look forward to my local chapter's luncheon.  HeartLa is pleased to announce that Maya Banks will be our Keynote speaker, and Farrah Rochon is our emcee.  For more information, please visit http://www.heartla.com/.

Well, that's it for now.  I have to get back to the writing cave ...

Enjoy the journey!
Josephine