Rekindled is Live!
I have so much to share with you this post! Okay, here goes…
First off, Rekindled is officially live on Amazon. It will appear in the near future on Barnes & Noble, Kobo and iBooks (Apple), and in paperback as well. Woot! I’m so excited for you to read Alex and Grace’s story.
Secondly, I’ve bundled the first three books of the Titanium Security Series, for those of you who prefer box sets. This first set includes Ignited, Singed and Burned, for $5.99. 
Thirdly, I’ve received the rights back to 4 of the 5 books in my Suspense Series, and have revised them. Some are already up for sale in both digital and paperback, and hopefully all of them will be available in both formats by next weekend.
Here are the gorgeous new covers and the scoop on the new editions:
Book #1, Out of Her League: has been heavily revised, and I’m offering it for $0.99 until the end of the month. It’s basically still the same storyline, but stronger and tighter.
Book #2, Cover of Darkness: has not been changed at all, since my publisher still holds the rights and will continue to do so for several more years.
Book #3, No Turning Back: same story, only tighter.
Book #4, Relentless: ditto, although it’s not expected to be up at retail sites until late next week.
Book #5, Absolution: my favorite book of the series! I’ve tightened it and tweaked a few things. I love the cover image of Luke with his distinguished head of gray-streaked hair, and Em wearing her long wig while she faces her brave battle with breast cancer.
I hope you love this new look for the Suspense Series as much as I do! I’ll be holding a Facebook and Twitter party to celebrate the release of Rekindled in about 10 days, so stay tuned for more details!
Until then, happy reading.
Kaylea 🙂
Semper Fi
This weekend I went up to B.C.’s wine and lake country (our Okanagan region–the city of Kelowna, specifically) for a mini family reunion. I got to see several uncles and a bunch of my cousins that I rarely get to spend time with, and I had so much fun! One uncle’s mother-in-law is married to a former US Marine, and I got to chat with him yesterday morning at the family breakfast we had.
He’s from Arkansas, so he’s got a charming Southern accent and all the swoon-worthy manners to go with it. Add in his time in the Corps, and I was in love with him in about three seconds. We talked about all sorts of military stuff, including his two tours in Vietnam. Such an interesting man, and a real sweetheart despite everything he’s gone through. He and his wife live in Oahu during the winters, so they invited us to come stay with them and show us around all the historical sites. Um, yes please! Being shown around Pearl Harbor and all the other spots with a decorated former Marine? That’s my idea of a great time.
He had to leave the Corps suddenly after 21 years of service, having attained the hallowed rank of Master Sergeant. For the latter part of his career, he was stationed at Camp Pendleton, just south of Los Angeles. We passed it on our way from Disneyland to Legoland this past March, and I was so excited to see a Chinook and two Black Hawks flying close to the highway.
So there we go, Kaylea has a new crush 🙂 My hubby just smirked and shook his head at me yesterday at breakfast, but he doesn’t seem mad or jealous, lol.
Got home last night and received word that both Cover of Darkness and No Turning Back have finaled in the 2011 Aspen Gold Awards! I’m kind of surprised that those two books seem to be the ones judges like best. I really think Relentless and Absolution are the best books in the series, but perhaps it takes the first few books for readers to understand the characters and story arc enough to make the last two books shine. Hmm. Something to ponder for the future if I ever do another series.
Have any of you out there met military veterans that have made an impression on you? Would love to hear your stories.
Fingers Crossed…
Yesterday was one of those rare days when everything went right. I sent off edits to my Carina Press editor in the morning, and got an e-mail just over an hour later saying that not only had she read and approved all my changes, but she was going to send it straight to copy editing. In the publishing world, that’s light speed fast. I’m kind of proud that we didn’t need to do a second round of edits.
Later on I came home after running errands to find two more e-mails from my editors, both asking for new stories from me. That tickled me immensely. I even received the preliminary cover for Deadly Descent yesterday. It’s very hot, and I’ll show it to you as soon as it’s approved.
Last but certainly not least, I found a message on my answering machine from the coordinator of the Kiss of Death RWA chapter’s Daphne du Maurier Award contest. This is pretty cool, because she was actually my cabin mate last year at the Wild Rose Press’s retreat in Texas.
Anyway, she’d personally called me to say that Cover of Darkness was a finalist! The winner will be announced at RWA Nationals in NYC later this month, just like the National Readers Choice Award winner will be. Had I known I would final in these prestigious contests, I would for sure have attended Nationals! I’m so bummed. To think I could have sat with Roxanne St. Claire and Brenda Novak–twice–and schmoozed with NY Times bestselling authors.
I’m thrilled by this, and sales have been going very well for my little series this past month (truly, ever since Osama bin Laden was killed), especially Cover of Darkness. I assume it’s because my hero is a SEAL, but maybe word of mouth has spread from readers who judged my entries for the Daphne? Not really sure, but I’m loving it!
My New Muse
Look what I got in the mail today! I know, wearing this necklace makes me a geek, but I don’t care. I’m a Civil War nut and proud of it, and besides, General Lee and I share the same birthday. That makes us kindred spirits. And now he can hang around my neck and help me churn out more pages! He graduated at the top of his class at West Point, after all, and was a master of organization. If anyone can whip my muse into shape, good old Marse Robert can.
I’ve just finished reviewing galleys for my first erotic romance story that will be published under a different name, but no word yet on a release date. I’ve subbed the 2nd story of that series to my editor over at TWRP and hope to hear back soon. The two others I have with Carina Press won’t be out until winter this year.
In other news, another side benefit has come about since the death of Osama bin Laden. Since that day–literally–Navy SEAL romance books have seen a spike in sales. Including mine, Cover of Darkness. Actually, the whole series has seen a bump in sales this past month. I couldn’t be more thrilled about that, and I hope my new readers will learn something about the various branches of the Spec Ops and Special Forces world that they never knew before. That’s my favorite compliment to receive (other than the readers loving the story and my characters, of course)–that the reader appreciates the effort I’ve put into research for each book. I know I won’t always get all the details right, but I hope I always get most of them right 🙂
With my desk pretty much cleared off, I’m back working on my CCT novel, Crash and Burn. Again, I’ve had more great input from my CCT contact (thank you, A.L.!) and it’s just a matter of getting the words down now. Hope to finish off the draft within the next couple of months.
How’s everyone doing out there? If you’re in an area prone to tornadoes, I hope you and yours are keeping safe and warm. My thoughts go out to to those affected by these horrific storms this year.