THE DAUGHTERS OF ARIANNE HAVE A NEW LOOK

Since March is the month we typically think of the color green, thanks to spring happening on this side of the world AND St. Patrick's Day, it seems fitting that the Daughters of Arianne new cover branding look incorporates tones of green--though admittedly more ocean than earth tone green (smile). The stories have NOT changed, so there's no need to buy them again if you already have them. However, if you haven't yet tried this trilogy, remember Book 1, A Mermaid's Kiss, is FREE for download at your preferred vendors or at BookFunnel. The Daughters of Arianne trilogy have mermaid heroines and angel heroes, with the exception of the third book, which has a merangel heroine (daughter of Jonah and Anna, from the first book) AND a half-vampire hero!

After I completed this trilogy, this was the little summary/promo comment I made about them: "When I wrote these books, I expected them to be romances with lovely mermaids, really hot angels, and awesome good-versus-evil climactic battles. All that worked out just fine (wink), but the stories also became an emotional exploration into how we deal with love and loss, regrets, and how we try to live every moment of our life with a deep understanding of how precious it can be, no matter what challenges we face." I still love the characters in these books, and hope you'll enjoy them, too, either for the first time or as a re-read!

WHAT'S YOUR ROMANCE PET PEEVE? AND OTHER FAN FORUM HAPPENINGS

What a month we've had on the Facebook JWH Members Only Fan Forum! Here were the most engaging topics of conversation. You can drop in and offer your own two cents, using the permalink I've included to each subject:

So what's the dose of reality you DON'T need in your romance reading? This wasn't the big dealbreaker stuff, like adultery, but the small stuff that just pulls you out of the book. For me, it was having the hero fart. Yes, you may laugh, but it TOTALLY turns me off. One of my readers had me rolling when she chimed in with this comment: "People actually write that in romance books?? WHY?? I mean I read to get away from real life for a while... I live with my husband and 2 young adult sons... I SOOOOO don't need more farting in my life."

What did my readers suggest my book heroes should do for their heroines for Valentine's Day? Or vice versa? This resulted in some lovely stories about what readers' significant others had done for THEM, which may just become material for MY future stories, lol.

How does an author handle negative reviews? How do you feel about writing them? A reader initiated this topic on JWHMembersOnly, which inspired me to offer my own detailed reaction. (Hint: I'm in the camp that believes most reviews are useful to an author, good or critical, with a few notable exceptions!)

But the BIG winner in terms of interest and engagement was prompted by this question: How many books will you read in a series before your interest wanes, and why does it wane? There were SO many different answers to this question - I was surprised!

Posts authored by me are often parallel-posted on my FB JoeyWHillAuthor page and my MeWe page, if you prefer to browse through the content there. However, since reader posting is allowed on the group, it has the additional advantage of book-inspired pics, memes, questions and comments being offered by them throughout the month.

On all my platforms, I also post things related to the creative process. Like this tidbit about Des and Julie's story in Worth the Wait that I discovered in my 2008 story notes. Apparently, I was considering a TOTALLY different direction for Julie's hero. Here was that early note:

"Julie doesn’t care about having a relationship. She finds hanging out with girlfriends and flirting with gay men far preferable to the betrayals and heartbreak of her catastrophic attempts to find “Mr. Right.” So she focuses on her community theater work and tells herself that’s enough fulfillment for her. Her best friends, Thomas and Marcus (Rough Canvas), know that’s not enough for her. So, being good friends, they set her up for a wild evening at The Zone, and in so doing, they introduce her to the Dom of her dreams. But what will convince her that he’s not just a hired gun, but someone truly interested in a relationship with her?"

While it would have made an intriguing vignette/prequel for her, I much prefer Julie's hero being Des, our roofer and rope Dom struggling with diabetes, who meets Julie in the Charlotte erotic theater she was getting onto its feet!

So if you're ever in the mood to enjoy discussions about the books, erotic romance and to celebrate our genre, stop by the JWH Members Only Fan Forum, my JoeyWHillAuthor page or MeWe. Feel free to lurk or weigh in with your own comments. Remember, on the group you can also offer original posts. They just have to relate to erotic romance, my books, or our love of books/romance in general, which usually isn't difficult for any of us to do! (Group rules for posting are pinned to the top.)

SIGN UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER AND GET A SWAG PACK (USA SIGN UPS)

If you check out the newsletter via the links I post on FB, Twitter and MeWe each month, that is fabulous!! However, if ever you decide you'd like to subscribe so it automatically gets delivered to your inbox, we have a new perk to that process. If you are in the U.S., when you sign up, you can indicate if you'd like to receive a signed swag pack from me. I SO wish I could offer this internationally, but the postage is too dear. I'm terribly sorry about that, but don't worry, my contest giveaways throughout the year, here and on social media, will continue to be open worldwide, and I always try to include a swag pack when I have an international winner!!

WHAT'S IN PROCESS

I'm still hard at work on Ignition Sequence, Brick and Les's story in the Nature of Desire series, and am about 70k words into their book. Brick's side of things includes firefighting and arson investigation. Les's includes the ups and downs of being a third-year medical student. Plus getting to experience the pleasure of fire play under Brick's hands (a beautiful thing to watch, when done correctly).

We'll get to meet some intriguing new side characters in this book, including Rufus, a childhood friend with whom Brick did Civil War re-enacting, and Mick, who organizes BDSM private parties and resists definition as Dom, sub OR switch. He's giving me some tingles as a potential Mistresses of the Board Room hero. We'll see... Ignition Sequence is coming together well, but the ideas and scenes are tumbling out so fast, the first edit is going to be challenging! I hope to have a cover for you soon, and the release date is looking like mid to late JUNE.

As always, THANK YOU for the many ways you all support my work, not only by purchasing my books, but by spreading the love to other readers, through reviews or direct recommendation in online groups or one-on-one to friends and family. It ALL helps!!

It's time to check out our featured ebooks, penned by three outstanding authors in the genre - download their stories below!

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