Lookee, lookee!

Had a wonderful surprise yesterday... a new print book edition of two of my Mystic Valley stories--Everything Lovers Can Know and Traveller's Refuge! They're available in this very pretty print edition titled Lovers' Refuge. Want more info? Just click on the title!

Wanted to also mention I have two other books available in print. For autographed copies of Dancer's Delight or Carnal Camelot, get in touch with Lauretta at Constellation Books--she's more than happy to mail them to you!

Of course, they're also available at Ellora's Cave site or Amazon...

All right, now that bit of exciting business is done, I wanted to also point out this blog has a new page titled Blue People. If you look in the upper right at the top of the side bar, you'll see a link. Over the next few weeks I'll be adding new pages with information and hi-lights about my books, writing, plans, etc. I hope you'll check them out as they show up.

I may even post sneak peeks or excerpts on there. You never know what will show up!

And speaking of sneak peeks, I need to get back to the writing. Working on Beau and Emmeline's story today and it's getting to the "good" part!

Y'all have a wonderful day!

anny

Quickie!

In the last few days I've read several very short books--the word count usually designated as a Quickie. I have one Quickie of my own that's been released by Ellora's Cave, Everything Lovers Can Know. The lone review I received for ELCK was lackluster at best because the reviewer was disappointed that it wasn't longer. Ahem. By definition, a Quickie is short and quick.

If it was longer, then it wouldn't be a Quickie! These short books that are not part of a special series (Hallowe'en, Jewels of the Nile, etc.) are clearly marked as you can see from the cover on my book so that there can be no mistake when the reader purchases the book... it's a Quickie!

However, that reviewer for Everything Lovers Can Know was correct about one thing. It's a short book and when you limit the length of a story--any story--then something must be sacrificed. In a Quickie, normally a very hot sexy story, then plot development and character development often fall by the wayside.

There are ways to deal with those issues to a certain extent. In my book, I gave a bit of backstory in the first two pages, explaining how the characters had known each other from childhood, sharing a mental bond nearly their entire lives. That at least demonstrated that when the time came for them to jump into bed--well, they weren't complete strangers! They had a shared background and experiences to help cement the relationship.

Unfortunately this is not always the case. In the last few days I've been catching up on some of my reading and several of the books in the piles were Quickies. For the most part, I was left with the feeling that the books ended after the first four chapters. In one case, I'm pretty sure that it didn't reach the middle of the story, left alone the end.

When I write, I tend to be a bit wordy, so Everything Lovers Can Know will probably be my first and last Quickie. It takes a real gift to compose a complete short story all by itself. Then if you introduce the required elements of frequent sexual encounters, that makes the exercise much more difficult. I admire those writers that can pull it off. I'm just not one of them. I like my characters to have some basis for sex other than the rationale that it feels good. Or might feel good. Or maybe it's been so long that they just vaguely remember that it possibly felt good at some time in their distant past.

In the meantime, I'll stick with longer story lengths that allow me to get to know my characters. They can be fascinating people with quirky traits and oddball ideas. I enjoy getting to know them. Whether they are stubborn and willful or compassionate and patient, they are people I wish I could meet.

Maybe, you'd like to meet some of them, too? In this excerpt from Everything Lovers Can Know, Baron proposes to Jade in a most unlikely place...

“Baron, what do you really want to do with your skills? If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?” she asked quietly.

“Treat the poor,” he replied instantly without thought.

“Then do that. Allow me to help you do what’s important to you. It’s certainly more important than me playing a violin or piano or clarinet.” She relaxed and turned to look out the tiny window. “I’ll pay for a clinic.”

“Jade, that’s a lot of money you’re talking about,” he said warned flatly.

“I know to the penny exactly how much money it will take. Mikhail and Duke did a complete cost analysis for the project. I think you should do it.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. It would fulfill you in a way that nothing else will.” She took his hand in hers. “Think about it,” she said quietly. “Just think about it.”

“All right, I’ll think about it. Now let’s talk about something else,” he said grumpily.

Catching back the smile that threatened to break across her face, she nodded. “What would you like to talk about?”

“Your music. I really loved your last album.”

“Butterfly Stomp?” She laughed. “I figured that would be the one you didn’t like.”

“Why?”

“Oh, I guess because it’s not classical music. You used to always make fun of the musicians that played pop. Which song did you like the best?” she asked alive with curiosity.

“Hmmm. I suppose it would be a tie between Butterfly Stomp and Alligator Twinkletoes,” he teased. “March of the Guinea Pigs was kind of cute, too. That little clarinet riff was great.”

“The critics hated it.”

“But the fans loved it. It went platinum in two weeks.”

She turned to stare at him in amazement. “How do you know that?”

“I read,” he pointed out dryly. “I also listen to the news. Butterfly Stomp got a Grammy nomination. What are you going to wear?”

“What am I going to wear?”

“You are going, of course. And you are going to win it,” he pronounced positively. “And I’m going to be there to see it this time. I missed it when you won for Jade’s Joy.”

She tweaked his nose. “Maybe I’ll go naked.”

“Oh. Well in that case, we’ll watch it on TV.”

“Exactly.”

“Jade? I have something to ask you,” he said nervously.

Staring at him in puzzlement as she quirk a curious eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”

“We’ve spent the last week making mad passionate love. We’re on our way home to a wedding that’s been completely planned. But there’s just one little thing missing.”

Her lips twitched. It wasn’t hard to figure out where this was going and trust Baron to wait until the last minute. He stood up, moved out into the aisle and knelt down. People all up and down the aisle were craning their necks, trying to see what he was doing.

Are you really going to ask me to marry you like this? She demanded silently.

As publicly as possible.

He took the small ring box from his pocket, opened it up and asked in a deep tone that carried nearly to the back row, “Jade Alexander, I love you with all my heart and want you for my wife. Will you marry me?”

A deep hush fell over the plane. Fighting a smile, she folded up the armrest, leaned down and kissed him with her whole heart, before replying, “I will.”

Ragged cheers broke out as the passengers passed the word. A couple of moments later, the pilot impishly informed the passengers that they had a newly engaged couple on the plane.

Anny

Don't forget to get your instant cup of cheer by stopping by Amarinda's Place at www.amarindajones.blogspot.com and then over to Kelly's Blog at www.kkirch.blogspot.com

Blessings on your day!

Serial Anny

Anny Cook’s EVERYTHING LOVERS CAN KNOW is a wonderful story of a young man and a woman who’re very much in love and who can communicate telepathically. The addition of the two families who are determined to keep them apart until the young woman is of age add an edgy element to the story....

That was what I woke up to on Monday morning. Not bad. Always a nice wake-up note when you get a nice review. And the lady was kind enough not to give the story away, while she recommended that readers rush out and buy a copy. Very nice. I want to thank Nickie at Romance Junkies for the lovely review.

Everything Lovers Can Know is the story of Baron Merlyn Llewellyn and Jade Alexander. Dancer's Delight takes up their story twenty five years later and focuses primarily on their daughter Eppie. Traveller's Refuge is the story of their next daughter Wrenna. And Cherished Destinies (coming out in November) is the story of their twin sons, Arano and Arturo. For those who have asked for a happy ending for Silence, I think you'll find it in Cherished Destinies. Currently, I'm working on the next book in the series, Bishop's Treasure. So quit picking on me, Kelly! All of the books together are part of the Mystic Valley series. There are several more in the planning stage. If you like big family style series, then these are the books for you.

Chrysanthemum is the first book in the Flowers of Camelot series. It was released in May. The second book, Honeysuckle, will be released January 30, 2008. The third book, Daffodil, was finished today except for some minor editing. Then it will go off to my editor with a lot of fervent prayers that she likes it and offers me a contract for it.

The Flowers of Camelot are three sisters whose father takes them to Camelot in hopes of marrying them off as soon as possible. Of course this isn't quite the Camelot you might have read as a kid. The series is irreverent, sexy, and humorous. If you want a book that will make you smile, then my friends recommend Chrysanthemum.

Chrysanthemum is a light-hearted yet quite sensual look at an entirely new view of Arthurian legends. Readers who enjoy Light bondage will certainly tremble over this story, as Anny Cook weaves subtle tongue-in-cheek humour with fantasy, B&D, and steamy sensuality into a story that is not-for-young-historians. Anny Cook definitely has a creative way with history and legend, making Chrysanthemum an unexpected pleasure. Readers will never be able to think of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table in the same way, ever again.--Two Lips Reviews.

In December, just in time for Christmas, Winter Hearts, the first book in the Ardent Angels series will be released. The series tells the stories of a middle-class angel family with a long term assignment on earth. They live in the back country of Tennessee. And they've been granted the ability to shape-shift into any animal, any size. It makes for some interesting situations. In the following snippet two of the brothers witness the abduction of their "assignment", Unity Brooks, and they jump into the van with her. But how to let her know that she isn't alone?

So Tate and Rack were rattling around in a filthy bucket…as chipmunks. The back door opened and Unity climbed in, sitting on the cold metal floor exactly where the man had instructed her to sit. He snapped a pair of handcuffs dangling from a short chain above her head around her wrists and slammed the door shut.

She squeezed her eyes shut to hold back the angry tears. She was freezing and wet but she was not going to let this jerk see her cry. When she was sure the tears were quelled for the moment, she opened her eyes and studied her surroundings, cataloguing every possible item that could be used as a weapon.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small cat. When she stared directly at it, wondering why the hell her captor would have a cat in his van, the cat morphed into a tiny gray poodle which changed into a squirrel. Abruptly, it changed into something so small it was hidden by the high side of the bucket.

Tate—or Rack. Abruptly, her spirits lifted. If one of them was here, then Quill would know what happened to her. The thought occurred to her that they were using her abduction to lead them to the ringleader but as long as she wasn’t alone, she wasn’t as frightened. Help was on the way.

So there's something for everyone. Especially if you like series.

Anny

Don't forget to stop over at Amarinda's and check to see what she's done with the Blogga Saga. www.amarinda.blogspot.com Then check with Kelly for her take on e-pubs versus print pubs and what writers really want. www.kkirch.blogspot.com/

Everything Lovers Can Know

Today Everything Lovers Can Know is released from Ellora's Cave!

http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419911538


Prequel to Mystic Valley Series

From the time they were children Baron and Jade were heart-bonded and mind-linked. But children don’t stay young forever and when they reach adulthood, they yearn for more than a mind-link. They yearn for the bond of physical love.

When Jade’s secret plan to seduce Baron backfires, their families separate them using coercion and blackmail. Jade goes on to a successful career as a musician while Baron completes medical school and begins his internship.

Now, three years later Jade has a new plan to end their separation. Baron arrives at the isolated cabin where Jade is waiting to find out once and forever if the fierce longings and desire they had for each other before are enough to make them truly two-as-one.


The quiet dark haired boy waited alone in the long dark hall next to the huge mirror that hung above an antique table. On the opposite wall an enormous painting depicting nymphs and satyrs at play near a woodland pool occupied most of the wall. Beneath the painting was a long leather bench. At twelve, Baron was very tall for his age and remarkably contained, which was probably the reason that his father had dragged him along on his ill-fated visit to the Alexander house.

For years every one had carefully ignored the fact that Nikolas Alexander was not the son of the man of this house. In fact, he was the result of a brief affair between Rachel Alexander and Baron’s father, Fremont Llewellyn. And that affair was the subject of the blistering argument taking place in the library between Fremont and Alistair Alexander.

Baron wasn’t required to eavesdrop. The neighbors at the end of the block could probably hear the contents of the discussion without opening their windows. With a sigh, he went to the leather bench and sat down. The atmosphere in the library was getting ugly and he wished with all his heart that his father had left him at home.

The Alexander children were crouched at the top of the stairs which were at the other end of the hall from him. He could hear the anxious whispers and faint rustles as they jostled for position. Abruptly, one of the little girls, a tiny red-haired sprite, stood up and slowly made her way down the stairs. When she stepped off the last riser she hesitated for a moment and then ran across the polished floor until she reached Baron.

What happened next became the subject for considerable debate between them for the next few years. In a very uncharacteristic move, Baron reached for the little girl and lifted her onto his lap. She reached up with one tiny hand, patted him on the cheek and then inside his head he heard, My name is Jade. What is your name?

My name is Baron Merlyn Llewellyn. You can call me Baron. For a few seconds, it didn’t even occur to him that he had answered her question in the same telepathic fashion as it had been posed. When he realized exactly what had happened, he leaned back against the wall and peered down at her face. Do you always talk in people’s heads? he asked curiously.

No, just yours. With clear unconcern, she leaned over and snuggled against his thin t-shirt clad chest. You’re special cause you b’long to me. With that odd statement, she slipped her thumb in her tiny bowed mouth and promptly fell asleep.

As he cradled the intriguing little girl in his strong young arms, he struggled with the possessive feelings that swept over him. The sense of inevitability crept into his heart, the sense that she was his destiny and the truth that just as surely as he belonged to her, she belonged to him.



Did you see where Amarinda left me yesterday? No????? Well, here's a hint...

“And you’re no lecturer.” Gabrielle kept her eyes focused on the stapler. The last Omega Force agent had been stapled to death. “I know who you are Marcus and you will not succeed.”

Marcus laughed at her words. “But I have already my dear. I have impregnated half the women on campus. They soon will give birth to a superhuman breed of gargoyles.”

“Oh but you’re wrong,” Gabrielle smiled at his supercilious tone. “They weren’t real women you impregnated.”

“What? I don’t believe you.”

“Oh poor Marcus shall I tell you who you’ve been screwing?”

And my addition...

Marcus scratched the puckered crinkles at his neck. “Hmm. I’m not sure I want to know. I think I would rather keep my illusions.”

She gaped at him in astonishment. “Aren’t you even curious?”

“Nope.”

“But—”

“No, no, I’m sure you’re just dying to tell me, but the truth is, I just don’t care. If you say that the women weren’t human, then I believe you. I was beginning to wonder about the screw-on breasts, anyway.”

Gabrielle’s eyes goggled at that. “Screw-on breasts? Are you sure?”

“Yep. And the ears…” the professor leaned forward to whisper.

“What? What about the ears?” she hissed.

Marcus grabbed her, twirled her in his arms and captured her wrists. “They’re pointed just like yours,” he muttered in her ear before he slowly licked her neck. “Mmmm. Your skin tastes delicious. Just like butter pecan ice cream.”

She squirmed in his arms. “Let me go, you granite ape.”

“Eh-eh-eh. Not nice to call people names.” An older man opened the door and stepped into the room. “How would you like it if I told Sam what you really were?”

“Sam?” she gasped. “Oh, no! Anything but that!”

“Too late!” Sam declared abruptly. “The Omega Force agents have all been rounded up except for you, Gabrielle. We’ve been watching you shapeshifters for some time now.”

Gabrielle scowled at Sam. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Marcus butted in. “If you just kept your pointed ears covered up, you could pass for human. But no-oo. You just had to bare them for everyone to see, flicking and twitching.” He ran his tongue along the outside of her ear and up over the point. “See? That turned you on. I knew it!”

Don't forget to check in at Kelly's blog to catch her coverage of Black Fonzie's blog on Nutella at http://www.kkirch.blogspot.com/ and then you'll want to go on over to Amarinda's at http://www.amarindajones.blogspot.com/ to check out her interview with author Anh Leod.