Totally shocked!

Nov22

Found out on Friday that I was in two, TWO, categories for the 2nd Annual Evernight Readers’ Choice Awards. I’m so excited! Forever Kind of Love was nominated in the Humor category, and Dangerous Lines was nominated in the Suspense category. I was hopeful that maybe one of my books might make the cut, but to get two books up there is making me seriously giddy.

I don’t think I stopped grinning the entire night, lol! It’s just, wow. I’m completely awed, and stunned that my readers thought so much of my books to nominate them. I can’t do this job without their support, but to see it showcased so amazingly is heart warming to say the least. It definitely makes the long nights of arguing with my characters to get a scene just right, working and reworking a particular patch of dialogue, and of course the terror of seeing what the editor has done to fix my gaffes all worth it.

All I can say is thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! I have amazing readers, and I love you all to bits for your vote of confidence in my works. You guys rock, and make me want to write even more for you to have.

But not right off, I have to do a few boring things first like grocery shopping and such things. Then I’ll get to work on some more of that words to page. I’ve already started on C&M Security book 6 (the prequel) that stars Robyn and Grant. I’ve also started a paranormal story too. Not exactly sure where that one is going, but it’s apparently quite happy to lead me on a merry little trail as I meander along with it. It popped into my head, and now it’s not letting go. Sucky thing though is I’m only getting little bursts, bits and pieces really, to add. I think the characters are still trying to figure out where it’s all going to go so they’re only giving up what’s needed to keep it fresh in my head. We shall see.

For now I’m off to get busy with a few things. Have a fantastic weekend – and don’t forget to VOTE! Click any of the Readers’ Choice Awards images in the right hand bar of items and you’ll be taken right to the voting form. ~ Moira

Relaxed into writing

Nov15

It’s amazing what a haircut will do for the brain. Not literally of course… But all that time sitting relaxing is a great way for the mind to sort through things. There’s no pressure, no deadline, just down time. Between the wash, and scalp massage, the actual cut, and all the finishing touches the stylist does it’s a great way to let the mind just be. Mine started to think, to plot, and in the end gave me the start to the next book in the C&M Security series. So thank you to my stylist Sam for getting things back into gear for me.

Also thank goodness for the technology to start putting it down into a doc before I got home. If not for that handy dandy phone of mine I might not have gotten the first pieces quite right. A short shopping trip for some necessities helped shake loose a few more bits and pieces, and now I can settle in for the balance of the night and just write. I’ll have to remember this for the next time the brain gets stopped up. Not that I have enough hair to do this every week, but maybe a massage the next time would work much the same way.

At any rate, I’m just happy to get started on it. It’s been bugging me for over two weeks now not knowing how to get started. But now I have a plan, a loose plan mind you, but definitely a plan.

In other news my impromptu submission for the Uniform Anthology with Evernight was accepted. I hadn’t originally planned on writing anything for it, but again the old brain had other plans for me. It interrupted my finishing of C&M 5 to get it all written down. I actually had the just under 10k words done in about 8 hours. Never done that before. But the words were flowing so it’s not like I could stop because of something as silly as exhaustion at four o’clock in the morning. Pssht! Who needs to sleep when a story is flowing? Apparently me actually.

Well, now that I’ve goofed off for a few minutes to update my site I think it’s time to get back to work. Happy Saturday to everyone ~ Moira

Book 5’s been accepted!

Nov4

So very happy to say that Evernight Publishing accepted book 5 of the C&M Security series on Monday. I just signed the contracts so now that it’s a done deal I can share the wonderful news. This book is the last in the current time line of the series for a short while, as book 6 will be a prequel to give some more details of where the C&M crew all started out from. Should be a blast!

Accepted grunge stamp

Not sure when I’ll be starting book 6 though. I have something else, very undefined though, rattling around in my head. I may need to poke at that a little first and see where it leads. Or at least maybe clear it out of my head so I can focus on the next instalment of the series at hand. I have the premise already worked out in my head for book 6, just haven’t yet heard the characters put in anything. Definitely know what needs to go into it though so that’s a plus. Lot’s of background of course, more in depth knowledge about each of the characters already introduced, and then meeting some of those that may yet have their own book down the line. Haven’t decided yet if I plan to do more with the C&M series after this prequel. I think it’s all up in the air until I figure out what all this next book will reveal about the “world” they live in.

For now though, I’m going to have a celebratory bevvie, watch a movie, and chill out for the evening. I’ve got nothing much planned except for some relaxation. Who knows, might shake something loose that will be useful. Until next time folks ~ Moira

Lazy writing weekend

Oct5

I’ve been getting a bit more worked out in story 5 of the C&M Security series. I’m at a portion that is…well, “delicate”. The sort of spot where one wrong word, one wrong move, or one wrong gesture ruins the entire effect I’m hoping to portray. So, since it was making me mildly insane, I went searching for a little inspiration to help me figure out what’s going on with these two. Found a lot of interesting things. And I found a couple of things that will take no small amount of brain bleach to forever erase from the memory banks. *shudders*

Now, since I was looking for some inspiration I found plenty, not for the point I’m currently at – of course – but for later on. Since it’s Sunday, and I’m feeling all sorts of love for the mere fact I have a vacation coming up, I thought I’d share. Oh yes, vacation – as in doing what I want, when I want, with no going to work vacation. Ahh! The mere sound of it is truly music to my ears.

So, here’s what I found for some inspiration. May it inspire you as well…

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Have a great day ~ Moira

Release Day!

Sep24

Yay! It’s release day for C&M Security book 3, Dangerous Lines. I, and several readers, have been waiting anxiously for this book. It is Vincent, and Rhonda’s story. I have a few links below for the sites that are quick about such things, with more to follow in the days (or weeks) to come. I knew I had to write this story from the moment I introduced Rhonda in book 1. At the time I wasn’t entirely sure who would be her counterpart, and then it clicked – Vincent Bradley of course. They were like oil and water from moment one, which meant they were damn well getting a book together.

Once again I absolutely have to thank my editor, Ms. Laurie Temple, for helping me to smooth out the wrinkles in this story. There were definitely a couple since I got a little lost in the characters a few times, and forgot things like how to make well constructed sentences. Oi! Thank goodness for editors who understand an author occasionally becomes distracted by the voices that natter at them at all hours, and from all angles.

In other news we are approaching October which will signify the beginning of the Birthday Celebration for my publisher, Evernight. They will be a whopping 4 years. Lots of great things to come out of that, so definitely stay tuned for all the news that comes in the next few days.

Now, where you can buy Dangerous Lines, C&M Security 3 as of today:

Evernight: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/dangerous-lines-by-moira-callahan/

Amazon (US): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NUAOKZ8

Amazon (CDN): http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00NUAOKZ8

BookStrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/dangerous-lines-mf

All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-dangerouslines-1634863-149.html

There you have it everyone! And now I am off to do something productive, like working on book 5 of the series. Cheers! ~ Moira

Here comes book three…

Sep21

A happy, sunny Sunday to everyone. Great news to share, book 3 of the C&M Security series will be releasing this Wednesday. Dangerous Lines is Vincent, and Rhonda’s story. I’ve been looking forward to this release. So have several other folks I know apparently, lol! Since this would be a short post otherwise, I figured I’d put in a little snippet from the book to tempt folks into buying it. For the official excerpt you can check out the Dangerous Lines page.

So, here you go – enjoy!

* * * * *

He smelled so good, all male, all Vincent. Closing her good eye as he headed for the door, she rubbed her nose lightly to his neck. She had truly thought she’d never see him again. Never have the chance to be completely honest and open with him. Never get the opportunity to tell him how she felt about him.

Rhonda didn’t know if he felt the same, one of the reasons she’d held back. The other was that she didn’t want to ruin their friendship by admitting she had the hots for him.

She wanted a relationship with him, beyond friendship. Hell, she wanted to strip him naked and jump his gorgeous self. On more than one occasion she’d actually had to restrain herself, she thought with a bit of humor. Usually when they were at Shawn and Tamara’s for some reason or other and he was out swimming in the pool. He had a body that just screamed to be licked, slowly, preferably by her. A smile tried to curl her lips at the idea of walking up and licking him. Only that smile didn’t go any better than her other attempts, and she let out a low moan of pain as her jaw throbbed.

She could feel him walking carefully. Likely to prevent jostling her, but also to prevent any noise from betraying them. It was also how he moved. He was incredibly light on his feet, thanks to all that wonderful military training, she was sure. She loved watching him—it helped to fuel more than one late night fantasy—and dreaming about him.

* * * * *

There you go. Buy links to come as soon as I have them. Have a great night ~ Moira

Productive Monday

Sep1

I know, that seems to be a little contradictory for me to put in as a subject. In this case though, it’s true. The fact I had today off was likely the only reason it was as productive as it was.

I received the first round of edit’s last evening from my publisher so I was working on those today. Happily I can announce that I even got through them all, and returned them to prep from round two. I have to shout out to my editor, Laurie Temple, again. The woman is awesome! Hell, the woman should be up for Sainthood for dealing with some of the weirdness I’ve cooked up. The fact that I have the same editor through the entire series is a huge plus. She’s read the previous books (obviously), dissected them, and helped me to bring the best I could to the readers. She knows these books pretty much as well as I do, which in the editing process is a big thing. She knows when to point out a good spot to mention some important point of a previous book, especially when I’ve mentioned a character from one of them.

That and she beats back my comma addiction to a reasonable number – though I did notice that the second half had fewer corrections than the first. A first for me, but I was writing book 3 when we were editing book one, so obviously some of what she’d told me at that time of editing book 1 sank in a bit, and carried into book 3. Not a lot – obviously, but some. So that’s a plus, maybe I’m actually starting to learn this stuff! LOL!

It’s actually a good thing, seeing some progress where she’s not having to smack my knuckles so much now. Hopefully I can keep up with that. I know the other thing I’m dedicatedly trying to work on is over using dialogue tags. ie: he said. she said. he told her. she whispered. That stuff. It’s a little harder to do during the writing process, so I don’t really worry about it. But before I submit I’m in there inspecting each and every single dialogue tag and making the hard call on whether it’s actually needed or not. Something else I noticed she didn’t need to do so much hacking on during the second half of book 3. Though I can honestly say I wasn’t actively watching for that so much until book 4. I might have naturally let up though, but I honestly don’t remember one way or the other.

I suppose it doesn’t matter. It appears on some level that I’m starting to “get” where she’s coming from on some of her points of note in the edits I get from her. Either way, it seems to be working. The fact she’s a perfect angel to work with is also a plus. I was truly nervous during the first book I did, my standalone, since I’d heard both good stories, and some horror stories about editors. Having several friends that are authors prior to this likely wasn’t a good thing for my poor nerves.

And now that I’ve rambled myself around…to where, I’m not entirely sure. LOL! Which would be my cue to go, and do up some dinner. Chicken’s been marinating all day, so that should be spectacular. Hope you all have a lovely evening, and a fantastic week ~ Moira

A very happy Hump Day!

Aug27

Such a great day in a number of ways. Firstly it’s Wednesday, Hump Day and halfway to the weekend on the downhill slide. So that’s a huge plus! But to top it all off, I can officially say that C&M Security book 4 – Dangerous Circumstances – has been accepted by Evernight Publishing for a November release. The contract has been signed, the cover art form filled out, and sent in – so it’s as official as it gets. Yay!

In other news book 5 of the series is happily chattering away in my head, so I’m working on that. It’s going to be a bit more of a challenge for me since I’m telling most of the ending, right at the beginning. I just hope my characters know what the hell they are talking about because this could go horribly wrong real fast. Thank gawd I have my little sheet of important details readily at hand otherwise this could really be a mess, and a half.

The only thing the little buggers (aka: the characters) have yet to reveal, is how this one ends. They are keeping even me in suspense, though I get the sense they might not be too sure how this is all going to end. Hopefully we all figure it out by the time I get there, LOL!

And because I was a little distracted earlier, I figure I’ll share my distractions with you. Have a fantastic night! ~ Moira

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Another one off to the Publisher

Aug23

Yup, you read that right, I’ve sent off another book to Evernight for consideration for publication. This would be book 4 of the C&M Security series. Amidst some not so minor heart palpitations, and mild hyperventilating I managed to hit the “send” button on the email. And away it went. Good gawd it doesn’t get any easier.

But, it’s off and in their hands now. Which means it’s all a waiting game of thumb twiddling, and inbox stalking. Not that I do that, the thumb twiddling I mean. Too much to try and get out of my head, and into a document after all. As soon as one is done, it’s onto the next in line. In this case it’s book 5 which will start out practically at the end of the story before I very drastically rewind to give the readers all of the details as to how the characters ended up there. It’s a different structure from the other books, but I like that about this series. Mixing up how I go about revealing the bad guy, how I tell the story the characters have to share, and how I end up getting everyone out of whatever mess they have found themselves in.

Though I will admit it occasionally makes my head ache. I’ve found myself in the proverbial corner a couple of times in the four books so far, and had to backtrack to figure out how to get out of said corner, or had to do a bit of rewriting to ensure it all worked out as planned. Not that I really “plan”. I mean, I have an idea of what I’m going to write, have a clue where the story is going, and even know who the bad guy is. But the characters are the ones that really drive the story. They tell me if I need to go left, or right, and what’s coming next. They are also the ones that usually get me stuck in that damned proverbial corner then abandon me to go off and do whatever it is that characters do while their author is pulling out her hair.

I think that’s it, I’m off now to get working on book 5. I can already hear the incessant chatter of that set of characters. Until next time ~ Moira

Release Day!

Aug13

Happy day, oh happy day! Book 2 from the C&M Security series is finally here. It’s up on several sites (links below) with the rest coming as soon as the other sites get things all sorted out. You know, the I’s dotted, and the T’s crossed. This was a fun book to write, though I did give my wonderful editor -Ms. Laurie Temple- a serious editing workout. She got through it, so too did I and I think we managed to create a damn fine book. Me thinking up all the crazy, and her reining me back in with hits of reality.

I really need to write a Paranormal book soon I think. Maybe once I get the rest of the C&M series out of the way. Still working on book 4 and then I have at least 2 more planned after that. Book 5 could be the end of the series, and then I’m doing a prequel story with Robyn and her man to show how they met, give even more background on the C&M group as well as how the business all got started. But that’s down the road.

For now it’s celebration day as book 2 releases with big smiles from me. The sun is out (sorta), the weather is humid and mostly dry (except for a two minute “rain shower”) and my book looks so pretty! Another wonderful cover by Sour Cherry Designs, she’s keeping the theme real well. Hot men, lovely ladies, and sexual energy pouring off the cover. Seriously though, she seems to know just what my books needed to give them that extra je ne sais quoi. C’est spectaculaire!

Anyway, I’m off to plug my book a little bit on some of the social media sites. Be good my dearies. Oh, and before I totally forget, I am doing up a newsletter so if you’d like to be kept up to date on all the latest and greatest coming from me, please sign up. The link is also below or you can find it on my side bar, aptly titled – *NEWSLETTER SIGNUP*. Note: The link will take you off my site to the sign up form. ~ Moira

Where you can buy Dangerous Secrets, C&M Security book 2 as of today:

Evernight: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/dangerous-secrets-by-moira-callahan/

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MO29VY8

Amazon CA: http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00MO29VY8

BookStrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/dangerous-secrets-mf

All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-dangeroussecrets-1594475-149.html

Want to get a newsletter with news, exclusive excerpts and even looks into my works in progress? You can sign up by going here: Newsletter Signup