Happy Valentine's Day month! My second favorite holiday. I should have known I was going to be a romance author when my love of this holiday flourished, not because my own teen love life was that spectacular (a hideous understatement, lol), but because I loved how people express romantic love for one another. And one of the ways I celebrate that is by reading a love story, as this graphic I did for last year's V-Day shows.
As promised, I have released a new FREE vignette revisit with my Knights and Mistresses of the Board Room characters. "The Barbecue" is now available on the Cantrips page on my website, with a convenient BookFunnel link to download it in your preferred format. You can see the pretty cover in the sidebar, courtesy of my husband's very appreciated graphic design talents.
A reminder of what this vignette is about: If you've read At Her Command, the first book in my Mistresses of the Board Room series, you know at the end there's a reference to a barbecue at Dale and Athena's home (hero/heroine of Unrestrained). The vignette IS that barbecue. In this short, you'll get a couple nice foreshadowing scenes between Neil and Abby. Theirs is the next book to be written in the MBR series, Fall 2021. You'll also be on the front row for an emotional re-connect between Rachel of Afterlife and Lawrence, since he was her late son's childhood friend.
So in January, we launched our monthly Guest of the Day Author series at the JWHMembersOnly Facebook group. I had asked our 1100+ members for suggestions on who they wanted to visit the group, and they provided me 80 names! So who was our first guest? The fabulous Desiree Holt, author of 271 romantic suspense and erotic romance books to date (yes, that is not a misprint). She kicked off the series January 30, offering several entertaining posts throughout the day, followed by a one-hour FB Live with us that evening.
During that hour, she treated us to SO many lively anecdotes about how her heroes came to be. Were you aware that Marc, her hero from Joy Ride, was inspired by real life rocker Jackie Joyride, when she saw him play The Viper Room in Chicago? Desiree was there with her publisher, and when Desiree said she wanted to turn him into one of her book heroes, her publisher invited him back to the hotel so Desiree could talk to him!
Her Navy SEALs have been heavily inspired by Jack Carr, a retired Navy SEAL who has not only been an invaluable research source, but writes his own fiction books now as well. And her Rawhide club series, which just had a new release, is inspired by a BDSM venue in the San Antonio area. One of the Doms offered a workshop at the first Wild Wicked Weekend conference and was an ongoing vital information source to Desiree to enrich her BDSM romances.
Want to hear all these stories and more? You can see the one-hour FB Live she did with us here, and if you search on "Desiree" on the group site, you should also pull up all the posts she did on January 30.
So who's next? In February, our Guest Author of the Day is going to be the amazing Samantha Cole! Samantha is a retired police officer and paramedic who writes BDSM romance under the tagline "suspenseful seduction," which includes the popular Trident Security series, plus Doms of the Covenant, Master Key, the Malone Brothers series, and the list goes on.
Come join us Saturday, February 27, 8-9pm ET to spend some time with Samantha, and be sure to check in with the group earlier in the day to see if she posts any additional information about herself, or her current and upcoming works.
The BDSM GoodReads group is doing a month-long "Kinkaversary!" If you're a READER, over 150 books are being awarded and fun stuff is happening, like a "Getting to Know an Author" scavenger hunt, a Flash Fiction contest and other BDSM-related games. I can't wait to see the comments/posts!
If you're a BLOGGER, be sure and check out the Blog Tour item on the event page for the giveaways and content specifically for YOU. For instance, in my tour content offering, I've prepared an EXCLUSIVE teaser scene from my upcoming book Vampire Guardian! If you sign up for it, send me a heads up on the date you're going to post it. The first three bloggers who let me know, I'll alert my readers so they can come check it AND your site out!
Want to see the amazing list of authors participating (and with whom I'm fortunate enough to be rubbing elbows)?
A.E. Lister, Amelia Danver, Annabel Joseph, Blakely Bennett, Cecilia Tan, C.P. Mandara, Candace Blevins, Golden Angel, H. Dean, Jeffe Kennedy, Karen Nappa, Lee Savino, Rachel Loewen, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Skye Warren and Siena Noble
Here's the direct link to all the Kinkaversary specific stuff again. Hope you drop in to enjoy the month-long party!
As you may remember, the current work-in-process is the next Vampire Queen series book. I had a tentative title, The Vampire and the Fae, and that just didn't feel right. Then I shared the draft blurb/summary on the various social media platforms:
*****
Fae and vampires never fall in love. Except when they do...
Adan arrives at Club Atlantis to help with a job. The BDSM club is to become part of the portal network for magic users. A born vampire with the blood of a Cherokee shaman and a Irish Seer, Adan is apprenticed to a Light Guardian, helping him hone his skills to become a full sorcerer. Perhaps even a Guardian himself one day.
But there’s more at Club Atlantis than a job. It’s a haven for a Fae female. Despite the history of long animosity between vampires and Fae, wary strides have been made toward co-existence. But there’s a big difference between co-existing and what Adan finds himself wanting from Catriona.
Catriona is a Fae with a unique problem. Not at home in her own world, not physiologically suited to be in the human world without extraordinary protections in place, she can’t put down roots anywhere. Since she’s a tree nymph, it’s a serious problem. One that calls for a solution that will appall her world, even her loving and powerful protector, the Fae Lord Keldwyn.
The history of their two species is filled with tragic stories of what happens to a vampire and a Fae who want to bind to one another. But love has a way of refusing to be ignored. No matter the consequences...
*****
After mentioning that I was just "okay" with my proposed title, a reader suggested one that incorporated the word "Guardian" in it. And yes, though it seems pretty much like a "Duh-huh" moment now, Vampire Guardian suddenly made a lot of sense. Not only because of Adan's magical aspirations, but for what he will become to Catriona. So we have a title and a blurb!
Just as a reminder, Catriona is the Fae Lord Keldwyn's ward. We first met her in Bound by the Vampire Queen, a dryad that Jacob and Lyssa freed from her tree form. We saw her again in Night's Templar. Adan is the son of Mal and Elisa of Vampire Instinct. I have all fingers and toes crossed for a late spring/early summer release. I'll keep you posted. If I stay on schedule, preorder links should happen in April.
Here's a fun graphic for the book. When Adan and Catriona first meet, he has no great love for the Fae (that's putting it mildly). But Catriona has an answer for that, as you can see.
Don't forget, Submissive Angel, my expanded M/m Christmas story, will return to a $2.99 price around mid-March. Get your $0.99 cent copy now, which includes the original 2012 story PLUS 180 pages of "the rest of the story." Here are all the buy links:
Amazon / Amazon Worldwide / Amazon Print
Nook (code BNPJOEY66 for sale price - also at top of blurb at Nook)
Have you registered and made your hotel reservations for the next SASS conference? I hope so. I can't wait to see you all! Click on the link here or in the sidebar to find out more.
Remember, you can find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Twitter and Facebook (Author Page), and regularly stop in at the JWHMembersOnly fan group. I'm also on MeWe, if you prefer that platform to Facebook. If you'd like to see the pics that inspire my books, visit me on Pinterest, or check out my handful of videos on YouTube.
Finally, I'd love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium noted above and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or social media platform, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
HAVING PROBLEMS GETTING MY NEWSLETTER PAST YOUR SPAM FILTER? - Whenever I issue a newsletter, I will post about it on the social media platforms mentioned above, to ensure it reaches the widest number of people possible. So if you're following me on any of them, you'll get a heads up. Or you can put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorite links. You can click on it anytime to see if a new newsletter has been released. I try to get a new issue out during the first 7 days of every month.
Thank you so much for your support of my work!
So here we are on the other side of all the Christmas doings. I hope you enjoyed the holidays, and had some good times with family. This weekend I'll finish packing away all the decorations, which is a day long affair, but this week I settled back into a normal writing schedule, working on the free "revisit" vignette for you all, to help us all escape the January doldrums. I discuss "The Barbecue" under the "What I'm Working On Now" section later on in this newsletter.
However, before we get to that, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback on Submissive Angel, my expanded M/m Christmas story! Comments like these were posted by reviewers and readers:
"Hill's skill … is an amalgam of time spent growing in both writing craft, and, literally, careful expression, life experience, a palpable dedication to researching the hell out of every subject she writes about, and most importantly that fundamental part of her creativity, a deep understanding and acceptance of human nature with all its facets. Her writing is not ever simply arousing but always deeply touching and uplifting." --Gab W
"Robert and Ange - Submissive Angel, Marcus and Thomas - Rough Canvas, Des and Julie - Worth the Wait, Rory and Daralyn - In His Arms... Couples that forever live in my head and heart.....though they ripped my heart out before putting it back together. THANK YOU JOEY for continuing to bring us such amazing characters, real characters, amazing stories from the heart..." --Pat E
"I may feel wrecked and reformed when I'm done with your books, but always full...like my soul has expanded just a bit more. Thank you for the bits of your soul you share every time you give us another of your gifts. Merry Christmas!" - Christi H
Remember that the original 2012 story, plus 170 new pages of content to tell the rest of Robert and Ange's tale, is on sale for 99 cents until March!
Here are all the buy links:
Amazon / Amazon Worldwide / Amazon Print
Nook (code BNPJOEY66 for sale price - also at top of blurb at Nook)
As you may remember, because Robert and Ange's story was coming out so close to the holidays, instead of release day parties and blog tours, I offered a big giveaway instead - up to FIFTY-TWO offers of swag packs, signed books AND the giant blanket pictured below. I won't list out all the winners of the books and swag packs, but I want to let you know who won the annual charity giveaway, the giant blanket, and whose quote on social media (all of which were fabulous) won the extra print book prize.
ANNUAL CHARITY WINNER: Since this year more are in need than ever, I upped my annual charity giveaway from $50 to $100. One of the things I really like about this contest is discovering the places that benefit from my readers' kindness and generosity. Those who sent me an email nominated some wonderful charities - food banks, animal shelters, service dogs for veterans, children of fallen soldiers, helping kids with trauma, AIDS orphan care, a local community support organization and LGBTQ crisis resources.
I'm always glad I choose this winner by random number generator, because it would be impossible for me to select one of these organizations over the others. And the winner is Rhonda G! Her charity is one that Des and Julie of Worth the Wait would approve of heartily, the Southern Colorado Theatre Company dba Steel City Theatre Company, which has been struggling due to the current state of things. They've had no indoor performances since March, and outdoor performances became limited once winter hit. We hope our donation will help in some small way to keep them going until things improve.
QUOTE WINNER - I appreciate the many amazing comments you all made on your social media about my work, but Lizbeth Ann especially touched me with this one, winning the extra signed print book. "Joey W. Hill is one of my favorite authors. Her characters are well rounded, real, flawed fictional people. (I added 'fictional' because, ya know, lol - for the record, Mac is MINE!!!! Violet said I could have him, in my imagination at least, LOL.) If you want a great story with some steam and spice, you can't go wrong." Thank you, Lizbeth Ann. Violet says she'll neither confirm nor deny that information (grin).
SO WHO WON THE BLANKET? You ALL deserve this blanket, but I'm happy to report Janet D is the randomly chosen winner from the contest entries. As a side note, Janet D is the member of a mothers' group that offers "best tips for survival as a first mom." She recently posted there, telling folks how my books have helped her survive the madness of twins, and recommended that anyone curious about the BDSM genre, or even interested in an amazing storyline, "to give Joey a whirl." Thank you, Janet!
All of the prize winners are currently being notified/awarded and will have their prize shipped to them shortly. Thank you SO much for helping me spread the word about my work on social media, not only through this contest, but throughout the year. Your recommendations make more impact on your fellow readers than a hundred well-placed ads. I know this for a fact, because as a reader myself, I will almost ALWAYS one-click a book when reader(s) who share my preferences declare, "You MUST buy this book!"
Throughout 2020, I heard "I can't wait until this year is over" or "This year has been so awful." I had a somewhat different perspective on it. I laid it all out in my latest GoodReads blog, which you can find here. And no worries, my reasons aren't light and fluffy kumbaya stuff (grin).
We're currently figuring out the types of things we want to do at the Facebook JWHMembersOnly page this year, and one of the things in the works is "Guest Author of the Month." We'll kick things off in January with Desiree Holt, who is already planning fun things for the group during her visit. These visits will happen on a weekend evening, for about 60-90 minutes, so we can get as much "live" participation as possible, though you'll also be able to drop in later and see the video and/or comments for the event, never fear. We're still hammering out Desiree's date/time, but I'll post her info on FB when we have it. I also hope to have more of the guest schedule for you by the next newsletter!
"The Barbecue," a free revisit vignette with the Mistresses and Knights of the Board Room, is on schedule for release to you in January. Tomorrow I'll finish the first edit round and, barring any unexpected schedule disruptions, I hope to have it all polished and ready for publication by next Friday (Jan 15). Which means I'll turn it over to my husband for cover design, formatting and uploading onto BookFunnel, after which he'll list it on the Cantrips page. Keep your eye on the social media platforms, because I'll use those to let you know when it's live! If you're not on any social media, never fear. Just start checking that Cantrips page after the middle of the month, and I'll also of course have the links in the next monthly newsletter.
Just as a reminder of what this vignette is about, if you've read At Her Command, the first book in my Mistresses of the Board Room series, you know at the end there's a reference to a barbecue at Dale and Athena's home (hero/heroine of Unrestrained). The vignette IS that barbecue. In this short, you'll get a couple nice foreshadowing scenes between Neil and Abby. Theirs is the next book to be written in the MBR series, Fall 2021. You'll also be on the front row for an emotional re-connect between Rachel of Afterlife and Lawrence, since he was her late son's childhood friend.
But what will be our first full length book of the year? I've already started outlining and writing passages for the Spring 2021 addition to the Vampire Queen series. Our heroine will be Catriona, the Fae Lord Keldwyn's ward. We first met her in Bound by the Vampire Queen, a dryad that Jacob and Lyssa freed from her tree form. We saw her again in Night's Templar. Her hero is going to be Adan, the son of Mal and Elisa of Vampire Instinct.
The book starts in Club Atlantis, where Catriona is currently living, under the Fae and Council-sanctioned protection of Daegan and Anwyn. Adan has come to Club Atlantis for a specific purpose - a magical one. Both of his parents had bits of magic, and those bits have manifested in him in a unique way. When he crosses paths with Catriona, a different kind of magic happens. Since nothing about a Fae and vampire pairing is easy, look for sparks to fly!
Have you registered and made your hotel reservations for the next SASS conference? I hope so. I can't wait to see you all! Click on the link here or in the sidebar to find out more.
Remember, you can find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can also leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Twitter and Facebook (Author Page), and regularly stop in at the JWHMembersOnly fan group. I'm also on MeWe and Parler, so if you prefer either of those platforms to Facebook or Twitter, you can still come by and see me! If you'd like to see the pics that inspire my books, visit me on Pinterest.
Finally, I'd love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!
HAVING PROBLEMS GETTING MY NEWSLETTER PAST YOUR SPAM FILTER? - Whenever I issue a newsletter, I will post about it on the social media platforms mentioned above, to ensure it reaches the widest number of people possible. So if you're following me on any of them, you'll get a heads up. Or you can put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorite links. You can click on it anytime to see if a new newsletter has been released. I try to get a new issue out during the first 7 days of every month.
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium - direct email, social media, etc - and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or social media platform, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
Thank you so much for your support of my work!
How's all the Christmas decorating, baking and shopping going? I hope everyone finds the time to truly enjoy the holiday season and count the blessings in their lives. Blessings like their loved ones (yes, even those most annoying family members, lol), sappy Christmas movies, and the plethora of beautiful neighborhood Christmas lights. Our subdivision is outdoing itself this year, which means I need to get up on the ladder tomorrow and catch up.
So, ready for Submissive Angel, my expanded M/m Christmas story? The original 2012 story plus 170 new pages of content is on sale for 99ct until March! Now you can find out what happened after the famous manger scene (or read it for the first time, if you haven't read the original novella, lol). As you can tell from this graphic, Robert shows Ange his sexy, stricter Master side in the Part Two very hot finale.
And guess what? Though the ebook official release date is December 15, you can BUY the print book NOW, because we just finished reviewing the proof and released it for sale. We always offer that format earlier to give our print readers a chance to get it shipped to them in time. Especially right now, with it being the holiday season. I can't even wrap my mind around ALL the packages that are going to be delivered this year.
No audio at this time, but here are all the buy links (other vendors will also have the print version later).
Amazon / Amazon Worldwide / Amazon Print
Nook (code BNPJOEY66 - also at top of blurb at Nook)
Since it's so close to the holidays, and this is "technically" a re-release, I won't be doing a big release party like I usually do for the full length new books, but there will still be fun teaser posts and info on the social media pages, leading up to release day. And check further down in the newsletter for several giveaways I have planned this month.
Last month, I was offering audiobook download codes for Controlled Response and Honor Bound, Books 2 and 3 of the Knights of the Board Room series. Thank you to everyone interested in the giveaway. My winners were TinaMarie R, Eileen K, Sharon A, and Erin R. Congratulations! You all have been notified via email.
Remember, NINETEEN of my books are available on audio - you can find that list here - it includes the full Knights of the Board Room series, all but the latest two of the Nature of Desire series, some of my non-series titles and one of my Vampire Queen series (Nightfall, co-authored by the fabulous Desiree Holt).
Maybe because I was releasing a book about a gay male couple this month, I followed a reader's suggestion to The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite and enjoyed my first full length FF romance. While it's not my preferred romance dynamic, a highly recommended good story trumps that, and this one was excellent, with very compelling characters. Since it's a historical romance, it also started me thinking about the current drive for diversity in romance fiction and how this works when it comes to traditional historical romance settings. A comment from author Olivia Waite herself helped me discuss this in my latest GoodReads blog post here.
If you'd like to read my review of the book, there's a link to it in the post, or you can find it here on Amazon. If, like me, you don't usually read FF, but want to give one a try to expand your horizons, this is a good choice. I'm also not a science person (what an understatement, lol), but Lucy (one of the main characters), in her attempts to write science/math in a way that would appeal to a layperson, did the same for this reader.
It's the season of giving and I want to GIVE a bunch of stuff to you, my wonderful readers. Here are FIFTY-TWO giveaways I'm offering this month - yes, I said FIFTY-TWO. All of them will be awarded/shipped early January and YES, ALL are open to international entries.
FIRST, THE ANNUAL CHARITY GIVEAWAY: One of the nicest things about my adult Christmas traditions is that instead of doing a lot of gifts among family, we give to charity instead. I have so many blessings in my life, I love having our holiday focus be on helping those with less of them. So each year, I run a contest where I choose a winner and give $50 to the charity of their choice. However, since this year has seen a lot of need in our world, I'm upping that to $100. To enter that, all you have to do is send me an email at storywitch@storywitch.com, telling me what charity you want to receive the gift. I'll choose the winner prior to December 31.
NEXT, A NATURAL LAW BLANKET: Back by popular demand, and even BIGGER. A 60x80 plush fleece blanket of the Natural Law cover pictured below. And yes, I'm standing on a ladder! (Please ignore my dirty floor.)
To be eligible for the drawing, I just need a little street team help. And this is where the other FIFTY gifts come in!
SWAG PACKS AND PRINT BOOKS - Save/copy the "Official Go-To Author" promo picture a few paragraphs below and share it on your social media (any platform you choose) with a personal, honest comment about my books. Just shoot your mailing address to storywitch@storywitch.com and let me know you did it (because FB tags sometimes work and sometimes don't, right?). That's it - you'll be entered in the blanket drawing!
However, the first TWENTY-FIVE people who do that will also get one of my swag packs (pen, post-it note and two signed bookmarks). So when you email me, include your mailing address (only for prize purposes) and which bookmarks you'd like of my five available series styles. This link takes you to the website gallery for better pictures of the designs. Click on the images there for full pics. I'll send you an extra one to share with a friend!
As an additional perk, I'll choose one person whose social media note particularly touched me to win a signed print book of their choosing.
Want a bonus prize? If you belong to a READER GROUP (other than the FB JWHMembersOnly group) where it's appropriate to do so, copy your favorite JWH book cover (not the graphic below - too promo-y for a group) and post it with a personal, in-your-own-words recommendation as a good escape-the-stress read over the holidays. When you email me a heads up about your post, tell me which signed PRINT book of mine you'd like and include your mailing address. That prize will be awarded to the first TEN people who do this. The next FIFTEEN people after that will get a second swag pack, which I will either send to you, or to a friend of your choosing.
Sound good? If my poor math skills are right, that should bring us to FIFTY-TWO prizes. Thanks in advance for your help, and email me if you have any questions! Here's the graphic I mentioned for the blanket drawing entry.
I've started on the free vignette "revisit" I promised you all. Want to read the first few paragraphs? Just as a reminder, if you've read At Her Command, the first book in my Mistresses of the Board Room series, you know at the end there's a reference to a barbecue at Dale and Athena's home (hero/heroine of Unrestrained). The vignette takes place at the barbecue. In this opening (rough draft), Rosalinda and Lawrence are headed there:
“Communal showers. Pillow fights, wearing nothing but strategically loose jeans. Which doesn’t mean baggy, by the way. More like riding temptingly low on the hips, so anyone watching can tell you’re not wearing underwear. Oh, and the pillow fights turn into wrestling matches, with lots of flexing muscles and homoerotic dominance displays.”
Finished with her description—though she had plenty more details to share if her audience cared to hear them—Rosalinda glanced over at Lawrence. He was sitting in the passenger seat of her Mustang, staring at her in green-eyed fascination.
“That’s what you think guys are really doing when they get together at a buddy’s house to watch sports and drink beer?”
“Same as you men think women are having lesbian encounters whenever they spend the night with friends.” She sent him a wicked smile. “We can all fantasize.”
“Guess I didn’t realize women put that much thought into it.”
“Now that’s a lie,” she rejoined. “You know just how extensive my sexual imagination is.”
“Not a lie. Your imagination is one of a kind, just like you, Mistress.”
“Ass kisser,” she snorted. When his gaze slid downward in open invitation, she punched his solid shoulder.
“I knew I should have driven,” he said. “Ten and two, Mistress. Else we’ll end up in a field.”
In the rest of the vignette, we'll get some hints about Neil and Abby's relationship (the next book to be written in the MBR series), and an emotional closure for Rachel of Afterlife, as she is reunited with her son's childhood friend (Lawrence). The vignette should be ready for download in January to ward off those post-holiday doldrums. As usual, it will be provided via BookFunnel link for easy download in all the popular formats.
In early 2021, I'll start on the next full length book, which will be a new addition to my Vampire Queen series. Our heroine will be Catriona, the Fae Lord Keldwyn's ward. We first met her in Bound by the Vampire Queen, a dryad that Jacob and Lyssa freed from her tree form. We saw her again in Night's Templar. Her hero is going to be Adan, the son of Mal and Elisa of Vampire Instinct. The book starts in Club Atlantis, where Catriona is currently living, under the Fae and Council-sanctioned protection of Daegan and Anwyn. Adan has come to Club Atlantis for a specific purpose, but when he crosses paths with Catriona, he decides to linger. Shocker, right? Lol...
Have you registered and made your hotel reservations for the next SASS conference? I hope so, because after so long apart, I can't wait to see you all! Click on the link here or in the sidebar to find out more.
Remember, you can find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can also leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Twitter and Facebook (Author Page), and regularly stop in at the JWHMembersOnly fan group. I'm also on MeWe and Parler, so if you prefer either of those platforms to Facebook or Twitter, you can still come by and see me! If you'd like to see the pics that inspire my books, visit me on Pinterest.
Finally, I'd love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!
HAVING PROBLEMS GETTING MY NEWSLETTER PAST YOUR SPAM FILTER? - Whenever I issue a newsletter, I will post about it on the social media platforms mentioned above, to ensure it reaches the widest number of people possible. So if you're following me on any of them, you'll get a heads up. Or you can put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorite links. You can click on it anytime to see if a new newsletter has been released. I try to get a new issue out during the first 7 days of every month.
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium - direct email, social media, etc - and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or social media platform, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
Thank you so much for your support of my work!
Snowflakes don’t make any sound. Like a first kiss. That must be why they feel the same against your skin.
--Submissive Angel, Part One
Back in December 2012, I wrote a little M/m BDSM Christmas romance for an anthology called O Come All Ye Kinky. Submissive Angel was also eventually offered as a digital standalone. At 19,000 words, it was short for my usual offerings. Which means many of my readers felt there was more story to be told. Particularly about Ange, the young dancer who came to work for Robert in his vintage toy store, and who brought that stern Master's heart back to life again. We didn't find out how he ended up in the alley next to Robert's store, bleeding and homeless. We also didn't get to hang around and see how these two spent the next several days before Christmas, getting to know one another "officially" as Master and sub.
Now we can do all of those things! The publisher returned the original story back to me in September. Just in time for Christmas, I'm re-releasing it December 15. It will be two novellas under one cover, the snazzy one you see here:
Part One will be the original story, unchanged except for some tweaking/polishing (you know I can't suppress the A in my Type A-ness). Part Two will be the REST OF THE STORY, closer to the normal length for my infrequent novellas. What does that mean? It means we've gone from a 19k story to a 75k one, around 200 pages in my working file. And in fairness to those who bought the original 19k story, I'm also releasing the two-parter with a 99 cent price until March 2021! (My novellas are usually $2.99.)
"You believe in the spirit of things. You understand what things to care for, and you care for them well, Master..."
--Ange, SUBMISSIVE ANGEL, PART TWO
I'd initially intended to offer the sales price for a full year, but I was overruled by my far more sensible husband and concerned readers, lol. Thank goodness for all of them. Honestly, if I could, I'd just give you my books - that's how much it thrills me that you read them! Anyway, I'm glad to at least offer you that price through the complete holiday season and a little bit beyond. Here are the e-book preorder links. The print version will be offered closer to the December 15 release date. I'll keep you all posted, and will update the buy links on the website page as soon as that version goes live. No audio at this time.
Nook (code BNPJOEY66 - also at top of blurb at Nook)
Would you like to win an Audible audiobook download code for Controlled Response or Honor Bound, Books 2 and 3 of the Knights of the Board Room series? I have THREE Controlled Response codes and ONE Honor Bound code. To be eligible for the drawing to win one of these, just shoot me an email at storywitch@storywitch.com and tell me which book you want. I'll choose the winners before the next newsletter!
Maybe you have a friend who enjoys my work and would like to have a signed copy of their favorite title. Or another friend prefers print format and you've been wanting them to try one of my stories. Or maybe YOU would like to give yourself one of my signed print books for Christmas. These are ALL entirely acceptable reasons to order a JWH signed book for the holidays. Just follow the directions below and we'll get things happening.
If you want me to mail the book directly to your gift recipient, but keep it a surprise until Christmas, I will wrap it, use your return address on the parcel, and include a note inside that says "So-n-so says don't open until Christmas!" Or whatever you want the note to say. Just let me know you want me to do that, or any other special instructions you have. Get your orders in NOW! While you can order a signed book from me anytime, DECEMBER 1 is the CUT OFF DATE for Christmas gift orders.
The good feedback for Daralyn and Rory's story keeps coming. Thank you so much to all of you who have posted reviews or contacted me with feedback. Neither of those things are something I'd ever pressure my readers to do, because I believe leisure reading should come with no obligations. That said, it really helps me on so many levels, creatively and professionally. Plus it flat out just makes me feel happy and fuzzy, lol. So thanks for reviews like these!
"As always, Joey never disappoints. I've read her books forever, and not one has ever let me down. Rory and Daralyn are everyday people who are able to overcome some large stumbling personal road blocks that might permanently stop some people, but trust Joey to bring them through it. I never feel her writing is repetitive or predictable. She gets to my heart, my soul, every time."
"Joey's books are always a good reading adventure. But this one???? It was like no book I've read before. I laughed, I cried, I cringed, and I had to stop and go back to re-read sections again and again, just to make sure I didn't miss anything."
If you haven't had a chance to read the story yet and want to do so, here are the links. Treat yourself to an early Christmas present!
No audio version at this time; if that changes, you all will be the first to know!
While working on the final edits for Submissive Angel, I've been refamiliarizing myself with At Her Command. That's so I can write the FREE VIGNETTE I've promised you in previous newsletters!
If you've read the first book in my Mistresses of the Board Room series (a spinoff from my Knights of the Board Room series), you know at the end of At Her Command there's a reference to a barbecue at Dale and Athena's home (hero/heroine of Unrestrained). I was going to include it in At Her Command, but I had so many ideas for that barbecue, and AHC was already a big book. Therefore, I decided to leave it out and do it later as a free vignette for my readers. I plan to have that ready in January, a way to stave off the post-holiday doldrums.
What will happen in the vignette? We should get some nice hints about Neil and Abby's relationship (the next book to be written in the MBR series), and an emotional closure for Rachel of Afterlife, as she is reunited with her son's childhood friend (Lawrence). And that's only a few tidbits of what I know. The muse always throws in more stuff once I start writing (grin).
In early 2021, I'll start on the next full length book, which will be a new addition to my Vampire Queen series. Our heroine will be Catriona, the Fae Lord Keldwyn's ward. We first met her in Bound by the Vampire Queen, a dryad that Jacob and Lyssa freed from her tree form. We saw her again in Night's Templar. Her hero is going to be Adan, the son of Mal and Elisa of Vampire Instinct. Adan has never been mentioned in any of the books. For a long time, I wasn't sure what gender Mal and Elisa's baby was going to be, then a key suggestion by a reader sparked the idea that they would have twins. Adan's sister is Ruth, who will likely end up with Merc of Medusa's Heart. You'll get to meet her in Adan and Catriona's book, too.
I already have the opening of the story written. It starts in Club Atlantis, where Catriona is currently living, under the Fae and Council-sanctioned protection of Daegan and Anwyn. Adan has come to Club Atlantis for a specific purpose, but when he crosses paths with Catriona, he decides he might want to linger, even after his intended business is concluded. And yes, based on the setting, we will get to see some familiar faces from the previous books--some expected, some surprises!
Have you registered and made your hotel reservations for the next SASS conference? I hope so, because after so long apart, I can't wait to see you all! Click on the link here or in the sidebar to find out more.
At this moment, I don't have plans for other 2021 conferences, but if that changes, I'll let you all know.
Remember, you can find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can also leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Twitter and Facebook (Author Page), and regularly stop in at the JWHMembersOnly fan group. I'm also on MeWe and Parler, so if you prefer either of those platforms to Facebook or Twitter, you can still come by and see me! If you'd like to see the pics that inspire my books, visit me on Pinterest.
Finally, I'd love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!
HAVING PROBLEMS GETTING MY NEWSLETTER PAST YOUR SPAM FILTER? - Whenever I issue a newsletter, I will post about it on the social media platforms mentioned above, to ensure it reaches the widest number of people possible. So if you're following me on any of them, you'll get a heads up. Or you can put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorite links. You can click on it anytime to see if a new newsletter has been released. I try to get a new issue out during the first 7 days of every month.
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium - direct email, social media, etc - and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or social media platform, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
Thank you so much for your support of my work!
"Joey always brings you the beauty of the human heart, and I love her for it. She writes hope. "
--Amazon Review
So how have you been liking Rory and Daralyn's story? I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to you all, because it hit the #1 for New Releases in our genre on Amazon. That was a first, and a very exciting thing. Even more special to me was the early feedback many of you sent, both readers and professional reviewers, which included quotes like I listed above, and here:
"This romance is a gentle breeze, swaying the kink hammock for readers to lay back and enjoy the ride." --La Crimson Femme blogspot
"Loved JWH's ability express the needs of the soul while capturing the rapture of our erotic appetite...she gets it perfect EVERY time." -- Amazon Review
If you haven't grabbed your copy, here are all the links. It's also available in print at Amazon (other print vendors should also be offering it soon, if they're not already). I hope you all enjoy Daralyn and Rory as much as these readers have!
No audio version in the works right now; if that changes, you all will be the first to know!
If you weren't able to join us on September 30 for all the release day activities on the JWH Members Only FB page, but would like to see what was discussed, you can visit anytime and look at those back posts. I've listed the direct links to a few in particular that might interest you, if you want to learn more about the "behind the scenes" of writing Rory and Daralyn's story. Remember you need to "Join" the JWHMembersOnly group to get to them. That's easy enough, though, and you can un-Join right after if you wish.
Why did I want to write a paraplegic hero?
How my background with Carolina small towns helped create Rory and Daralyn's world.
The music that contributed to In His Arms - and my characters' theme songs!
My research process to accurately portray a paraplegic Dom hero.
FB Live talk with me - That same night, I did a FB Live with everyone on my Author page (no Joining required). It's available for viewing HERE. I didn't ramble - mostly. Public speaking will never be my forte, but I hope you enjoy watching me stammer through it, lol.
I am currently busy prepping Submissive Angel for a Christmastime release. This M/m story, featuring Robert and Ange, was originally released by Riptide Publishing, and returned to me in September. Because there were some loose ends and unanswered questions about Ange's past, I decide to go ahead and expand the story, so those who bought the original will get that, plus "the sequel," so to speak. What I've written so far has already doubled the original 20k size, and I expect by the time I'm done, we'll have a nice, much longer novella, probably around 50-60k. Despite the expanded length, I do plan to keep the price at $0.99 for at least the first year of re-release (rather than my usual $2.99 lengthy novella price) as a nod to those who were kind enough to buy the original version/anthology. Barring any domestic catastrophes, I hope to give you all an official December release date soon, and a glimpse at the beautiful new cover.
ARE YOU WRITING A FREE VIGNETTE AROUND CHRISTMASTIME AS USUAL? Yes! When time allows (and I wish I could figure out how to clone myself so that would always be true) I like to give you all a free story once a year, on or close to the Christmas holiday. If you've read At Her Command, the first book in my Mistresses of the Board Room series (a spinoff from my Knights of the Board Room series), you know at the end of the book there's a reference to a barbecue at Dale and Athena's home (hero/heroine of Unrestrained). I intended to include it in At Her Command, but there ended up being so much story content for that barbecue, I decided to leave it out and do it later as a free vignette for my readers. My intent is to have that ready to offer in January, a way to stave off the post-holiday doldrums.
After finishing these two pieces, I'll start on the next full length, which will be a new addition to my Vampire Queen series. "Finally!" my paranormal readers yell, since 2020 has been all about the contemporaries. But remember, in 2019, our contemporary readers had to put up with three paranormals in a row (two of which were VQS books), so fair is fair, lol.
The newest VQS book will feature Catriona, the Fae Lord Keldwyn's ward. We first met her in Bound by the Vampire Queen, a dryad that Jacob and Lyssa freed from her tree form. We saw her again in Night's Templar. Her hero is going to be Adan, the son of Mal and Elisa of Vampire Instinct. Adan has never been mentioned in any of the books. For a long time, I wasn't sure what gender Mal and Elisa's baby was going to be, then a key suggestion by a reader sparked the idea that they would have twins. Adan's sister is Ruth, who will likely end up with Merc of Medusa's Heart.
I already have the opening of Adan and Catriona's story written. It starts in Club Atlantis, where Catriona is currently living, under the Fae and Council-sanctioned protection of Daegan and Anwyn. Adan has come to Club Atlantis for a specific purpose, but when he crosses paths with Catriona, he decides he might want to linger, even after his intended business is concluded. And yes, based on the setting, we will get to see some familiar faces from the previous books--some expected, some surprises!
Since I'm Wiccan, Halloween is a very special and sacred holiday to me, a time when the Veil is thin between our world and the next reality for our loved ones, a time of endings as well as beginnings. One thing I love about my faith is the openness to embracing and enjoying other holiday traditions, like the good fun of telling scary stories on that night. I was thinking about books that would make good Halloween reads, and the first one that jumped into my head was Salem's Lot by Stephen King. When I read that book in my teens, it scared the bejesus out of me. I didn't go to sleep without looking under my bed for six weeks. What utter good that would do, I have no idea - logically, looking under your bed seems like it gives whatever is under there an easier shot at grabbing you, but that's why they say fear is the mind-killer. Thank goodness for Fright Night and sexy Chris Sarandon, followed by Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series. Otherwise, I might not have realized vampires could be seriously hot, lol.
I hope you have a good mix of traditions--and some good stories--to enjoy and celebrate your Halloween night. Though conventional wisdom says I should offer a protective blessing like, "don't let the scary things bite," we are erotic romance readers. Sometimes we WANT to be bitten by scary things, lol. Happy Samhain!
While the 2020 SASS conference was cancelled, it is on schedule for 2021, in the same great location and hotel. You can register and make your hotel reservations now! Mark your calendars for July 8-11, 2021. I can't wait to see you all! At this moment, I don't have plans for other 2021 conferences, but if that changes, I'll let you all know.
Remember, you can find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can also leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Facebook under Joey W. Hill, and you can visit the JWHMembersOnly FB fan forum group here. I'm @JoeyWHill on Twitter, and my Pinterest boards related to the books are here.
I'd also love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!
HAVING PROBLEMS GETTING MY NEWSLETTER PAST YOUR SPAM FILTER? - You can also like my FB page or follow me on Twitter. Whenever I issue a newsletter, I will post the updated link to it on those platforms, to make sure it reaches the widest number of people possible. Or you can put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorite links. You can click on it anytime to see if a new newsletter has been released. I try to get a new issue out during the first 7 days of every month.
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium - direct email, FB, GoodReads or Twitter - and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative communication methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or FB, or a tweet, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
Thank you so much for your support of my work!
Rory and Daralyn's story is headed our way for its September 30 release date, and you can PRE-ORDER the ebook now! The print version will release a few days before the official release date. Here are the vendor pre-order links.
No audio version in the works right now; if that changes, you all will be the first to know!
So where am I on Rory and Daralyn's story? I've finished three full edit rounds, and me and my invaluable proof team are in the final run-through, doing our best to catch those elusive and diabolical typos that hide in plain sight after you've read the same story multiple times over a two month period, lol. I'm double checking my research points regarding Rory's paraplegia and Daralyn's psychological challenges, and making adjustments based on my content reader team's feedback. The end result I hope will be a book you all will love.
I get invested in all my characters, but this time I've noted an even more urgent desire than usual to "get it right." These two characters and their struggles particularly matter to me. The idea of writing an erotic romance with a paraplegic Dom hero has been in my head a long time, but I always knew it would be Rory. I'm glad I'm doing his story at a time when I have a lot of Internet resources (like how-to daily life videos, done by paraplegics) that weren't around when he and Daralyn were first introduced in the Nature of Desire series.
And when was that? 2007 - thirteen years ago, in Rough Canvas (Rory is Thomas's brother). Good thing time moves differently in books, so Rory and Daralyn can still be close to the same age they were when they first appeared in the series, lol. Even so, they've waited a really long time to get their story, perhaps too long. In the romance world, Daralyn's backstory is somewhat "dated." Heroines with a central conflict of childhood sexual abuse were done A LOT in the first decade of the millennium, I think due in part to this conflict being brought more prominently into the public eye during that time. It was picked up in so many romances because it was the ultimate "rescue" romance trope, the hero providing the trust, safety and love the heroine had never had the ability or opportunity to experience.
However, because it has been in the public eye so much, I thankfully found I didn't have to dwell so much on the disturbing details of what happened to her. We all know what child sexual abuse is. Instead, the story could focus on her present and future, her personal struggle to overcome the psychological roadblocks to the love Rory was offering. And it gave me room to find unexpected connections between her challenges and Rory's that made the story's breakthrough moments even more meaningful.
As the story evolved this way, I realized once again the muse had given me the right timing to tell the story as it was meant to be told. At least in my opinion. You'll have to tell me if I interpreted her correctly, lol.
Since I release the newsletter around the first of the month, and this book releases September 30, be sure and keep an eye on the Twitter and FB pages for all the release day fun. I'll have a full day of posts and giveaways at the JWH Members Only FB page, and that night, a handful of other wonderful authors will help me celebrate the book's release at the Social Butterfly Party Room. Throughout the month of September, I'll also be offering tidbits about the book on both the JWH Members Only group and my Author page.
Hope you're looking forward to reading Rory and Daralyn's book! Like all the Nature of Desire series stories (with the exception of Mirror of My Soul, which was part two of Ice Queen), it can standalone, though you will meet characters from the other books, like Marcus and Thomas, Tyler and Marguerite, and Des and Julie. Oh, and there's a brief cameo from Geoff, Chris and Samantha of Naughty Wishes!
Don't forget, Worth the Wait is FREE for download until release day, September 30! It's a very appropriate book to offer as a freebie, not only because it can standalone, but also because Des and Julie make a key appearance in In His Arms.
I've been delighted to see the reactions to the book from new readers, people for whom Des and Julie are their first introduction to my stories. Like this comment:
"I've just finished Worth the Wait - I hadn't read any of your books before. OMG, the emotional connection between Des and Julie was incredible, the writing amazing, to make me feel so emotional (yes, I confess I shed a tear or two!). My heart pounded, wondering if Des and Julie would find happiness. I've read a lot of books over lockdown and since; this has probably been my favourite. I am planning on reading more from the series..."
Even if you're not ready to read it right now, go ahead and download the book while it's free. This story of an erotic theater manager falling in love with a quiet, sexy roofer who also happens to be one of the BDSM community's top rope artists is one of my personal current favorites in the series. Links are below the graphic.
Desiree Holt and I had lots of fun at her Desiree's Darlings Facebook group earlier in the month. One of the posts we did was a Q&A about the writing of Nightfall, the vampire-cowboy story we co-authored. I thought others might enjoy seeing our answers to the questions we posed to one another about the story and writing in general, so I also made it into a GoodReads post. You can check it out here.
I also did another blog this month, as a direct result of reading a book I didn't expect to affect me the way it did. I loved pirate romances in the 80s, but I always wanted them to go further. And I don't know about you, but I left behind my patience with love triangles long ago. I want it to be a threesome, where no one has to choose or be left out, lol. Pam Godwin's Sea of Ruin took those dreams, spawned primarily by one of my favorite 80s pirate romances, Bold Breathless Love by the legendary Valerie Sherwood, and made them come true. I wrote a blog about it here.
Submissive Angel is my M/m Christmas story featuring Robert and Ange, originally released by Riptide Publishing. The rights to the story will be coming back to me September 8. I plan on expanding the story, visiting Robert and Ange in the few days after Christmas, where we tie up some loose ends about Ange's character and further celebrate the love they embraced for one another at Christmastime. If I can get my act together, I'll try to get that re-released around Christmas with the new content and a lovely new cover!
I gave everyone a heads up on Twitter and FB, but just in case this newsletter gets out on time, Riptide is having a 50% sale on the anthology, O Come All Ye Kinky, which included Submissive Angel and six wonderful LGBTQ stories by fabulous authors of the genre. This is happening only at Riptide, not third-party vendors, through the Labor Day weekend (Sep 4-7) so if you want the $1.49 price anthology in ebook, and you get this by the 7th, grab it here!
If you've read At Her Command, the first book in my Mistresses of the Board Room series (a spinoff from my Knights of the Board Room series), you know at the end of the book there's a reference to a barbecue at Dale and Athena's home (hero/heroine of Unrestrained). I intended to include it in At Her Command, but there ended up being so much story content for that barbecue, I decided to leave it out and do it later as a free vignette for my readers. We'll see if I can have that ready for you all by January, a way to stave off the post-holiday doldrums.
My hope after finishing these two pieces is to start on the next Vampire Queen series novel, featuring Catriona, the Fae Lord Keldwyn's ward. We first met her in Bound by the Vampire Queen, a dryad that Jacob and Lyssa freed from her tree form. We saw her again in Night's Templar. Her hero is going to be Adan, the son of Mal and Elisa of Vampire Instinct. Adan has never been mentioned in any of the books. For a long time, I wasn't sure what gender Mal and Elisa's baby was going to be, then a key suggestion by a reader sparked the idea that she would have twins. Adan's sister is Ruth, who will likely end up with Merc of Medusa's Heart. We'll see...the one thing you know for sure is that I'll keep you in the loop as concrete plans for these stories develop.
While the 2020 SASS conference was cancelled, it is on schedule for 2021, in the same great location and hotel. You can register and make your hotel reservations now! Mark your calendars for July 8-11, 2021. I can't wait to see you all! At this moment, I don't have plans for other 2021 conferences, but if that changes, I'll let you all know.
BOOKCLUBS - Did you know I will meet with book clubs, either locally or online? And send swag packs (up to 25 ppl), plus a giveaway book or two to award as a prize to the group. Just email me at storywitch@storywitch.com if you're interested.
FREE CONTENT - Did you know I write shorts and novellas "revisiting" my favorite characters, and these stories are all FREE and available for download under the Cantrips (Vignettes) section of my website? BookFunnel links for all of them make it very easy for you to download them to your preferred device.
HAVING PROBLEMS GETTING MY NEWSLETTER PAST YOUR SPAM FILTER? - You can also like my FB page or follow me on Twitter. Whenever I issue a newsletter, I will post the updated link to it on those platforms, to make sure it reaches the widest number of people possible. Or you can put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorite links. You can click on it anytime to see if a new newsletter has been released. I try to get a new issue out during the first 7 days of every month.
Remember, you can find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can also leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Facebook under Joey W. Hill, and you can visit the JWHMembersOnly FB fan forum group here. I'm @JoeyWHill on Twitter, and my Pinterest boards related to the books are here.
I'd also love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium - direct email, FB, GoodReads or Twitter - and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative communication methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or FB, or a tweet, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
Thank you so much for your support of my work!
Rory and Daralyn's story is on track for its September 30 release date, and you can PRE-ORDER it now from all the usual vendors. The print version will release a few days before the official release date. I've listed all the buy links below the pretty teaser graphic.
Rory was first introduced in Rough Canvas, Marcus and Thomas's story. Rory is Thomas's brother, and for those of you who read that book, you know Rory is in a wheelchair. Want an interesting bit of trivia? Rough Canvas was the first time I wrote a M/m storyline. Now, with Rory's story, I'll be embracing another first; writing a paraplegic romance hero. However, ever since I read Ann Jacobs' hero Gray in Bittersweet Homecoming, a book that's still on my keeper shelf, I've wanted to go down that road.
Another first will be writing a character who is embracing his Dominant orientation for the very first time. Rory's always had the potential within him, but it's with Daralyn he will explore it for the first time. Not too long ago a reader had asked me if I would ever write about a hero learning to be a Dom as part of the main story (versus a flashback explaining how he became a Dom). The muse must have listened!
Here are the pre-order buy links. Hope you'll look forward to reading Rory and Daralyn's book. Like all the Nature of Desire series stories (with the exception of Mirror of My Soul, which was part two of Ice Queen), it can standalone, though you will meet characters from the other books, like Marcus and Thomas.
No audio version in the works right now; if that changes, you all will be the first to know!
The journey toward one another has been difficult for Daralyn and Rory. However, Rory will be the first to say his path has been easier, because he's had the love and support of his family. Until she was fifteen, Daralyn had no one in her corner. So learning to trust in Rory's love and mastery is a difficult obstacle for her.
I mentioned above that Rory is just discovering how to express his Dominant side and become the kind of Master she needs. Fortunately, he has the help and guidance of some of our best known Dominants in the Nature of Desire series.
Marcus, his brother-in-law (and one of the heroes of Rough Canvas), takes the role of mentor. But it turns out Tyler and Marguerite of Ice Queen and Mirror of My Soul also have a part to play. As well as Desmond of Worth the Wait! While you don't have to read any of those books to read In His Arms, you may enjoy checking them out while waiting on the release date. Particularly if one of these books is FREE, right?
Yes, you heard that right. Beginning August 15 (and possibly sooner), Worth the Wait, the standalone story of Des and Julie, will be available as a free ebook domestically and internationally (wherever the country restrictions allow). Though Des doesn't know Rory at the start of Worth the Wait, the two men had an unexpected kinship, and not just because they're both Dominants. Des also struggles with a physical challenge that can impact his future with Julie and their life together (insulin resistant Type I diabetes). Julie comes to North Carolina to get an erotic theater up and running, and that's when she crosses paths with the quiet, sexy roofer who also happens to be one of the BDSM community's top rope artists.
You can check the buy links on the book's web page as we get close to August 15 to see if it goes up free at the vendors before then, but don't worry - once it is free, I'll announce it on the social media platforms. Since it will be free until In His Arms' release day, September 30, I'll also have all the download links for you in the September newsletter.
As an author of both M/f and F/m books, over the years I've noticed a trend of different reader reactions to Female Dommes versus Male Doms. I went to my readers to get some insight into the whys of it. The result was a great discussion about how Dominance expressed by women and men can differ, and how we react to it as readers. Smexy Books was kind enough to post the discussion - you can read it here and decide what your thoughts are about it.
On August 14, I'll host Fun Friday with Desiree Holt at her Desiree's Darlings Facebook group. Since Desiree and I co-authored Nightfall some years ago, which was a marriage between my vampires and her cowboys, we'll have a lot of posts, games and giveaways that revolve around these two hero genre favorites. If you'd like, go ahead and Join Desiree's Darlings now so you won't miss anything!
When the Passionflix channel launched a couple years back, I admit I was a bit skeptical. They'd announced their intentions to produce movies based on current beloved romance books, but initially they appeared to be offering mostly old romance movies. I was disappointed when they told me they didn't have plans to include BDSM romance in their offerings, at least in the beginning. But I understood. Even in book form, romance had to get "beyond the bedroom door," and then go from there to "spicy" romance, before we could eventually cross that threshold to erotic and finally to the realm of "non-traditional" sexual orientations/preferences: BDSM, LGBT, polyamory, etc. So though I would LOVE to see some of my favorite D/s romances hit Passionflix, I can be patient. Thanks to their progress with other romance genres, I now feel far more certain it will eventually happen.
My skepticism has been receding, because I've been nicely surprised by the quality of the movies they've produced. I've watched two now, The Will by Kristen Ashley, and part one of the Gabriel's Inferno trilogy by Sylvain Reynard. I have read The Will, but not Gabriel's Inferno, so I've had the experience of the movies with knowledge of the book and without. I've liked both, far more than I expected. The Will followed the book well, and had good casting choices (particularly Chris McKenna for Jake - whoo!). Even more importantly, when I touched base with Kristen, she indicated she was very impressed by how the Passionflix production/direction staff listened to and respected her input. That means a great deal, and it showed in the end result, I think.
Sometimes what works so wonderfully in our head when we read it on a page comes off silly or cheesy when they try to translate it to a screen. At times I've thought that's just innate to our genre; other times I've thought it's because attempts to bring romance books to the screen are done by those who just don't get the genre. I think Passionflix understands romance and romance readers, or at least is trying very hard to do so, in order to offer them cable-level content they can enjoy. So kudos to them for it. I feel like my $5.99/mo subscription is well spent. Now I'm off to watch Part 2 of Gabriel's Inferno...and possibly to watch that boxing match scene in The Will one more time, lol...
I'm starting the second edit round for In His Arms, after which the manuscript will be turned over to my regular critique team for craft/content review. It will also be provided to a team of volunteer experts (thank the God/dess for all of them) who have first hand or caregiver knowledge of the challenges and day-to-day experiences of someone with paraplegia. While the romance genre nicely allows us some latitude for idealizing certain elements of a relationship, I think the realism of the emotional and physical struggles of the characters are what delivers the intensity of a good love story. So I want Rory's character to reflect just how sexy and appealing he actually is - even with the less "romantic" aspects of his disability.
WHAT ELSE? If you've read At Her Command, at the end of the book there's a reference to a barbecue at Dale and Athena's home. I intended to include it in At Her Command, but there ended up being so much story content for that barbecue, I decided to leave it out and do it later as a free vignette for my readers. We'll see if I can have that ready for you all by January, a way to stave off the post-holiday doldrums.
Submissive Angel is my M/m Christmas story featuring Robert and Ange. The rights to the story will be coming back to me in September. I plan on writing a supplement to the story, kind of a "day after," where we tie up some loose ends about Ange's character. Therefore, when I re-release the book as a self published title, it should have some substantive new content. If I can get my act together, I'll try to get that out around Christmas.
My hope after finishing these two pieces is to start on the next Vampire Queen series novel, featuring Catriona, the Fae Lord Keldwyn's ward. We first met her in Bound by the Vampire Queen, a dryad that Jacob and Lyssa freed from her tree form. We saw her again in Night's Templar. Her hero is going to be Adan, the son of Mal and Elisa of Vampire Instinct. Adan has never been mentioned in any of the books. For a long time, I wasn't sure what gender Mal and Elisa's baby was going to be, then a key suggestion by a reader sparked the idea that she would have twins. Adan's sister is Ruth, who will likely end up with Merc of Medusa's Heart. We'll see...it's been a weird year, right? No telling what the muse will decide as we head toward the end of 2020 and I get these other stories written, but whatever else happens, I hope to give you another worthwhile love story to read.
While the 2020 SASS conference was cancelled, it is on schedule for 2021, in the same great location and hotel. You can register and make your hotel reservations now! Mark your calendars for July 8-11, 2021. I can't wait to see you all! At this moment, I don't have plans for other 2021 conferences, but if that changes, I'll let you all know.
Remember, you can find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can also leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Facebook under Joey W. Hill, and you can visit the JWHMembersOnly FB fan forum group here. I'm @JoeyWHill on Twitter, and my Pinterest boards related to the books are here.
I'd also love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium - direct email, FB, GoodReads or Twitter - and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative communication methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or FB, or a tweet, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
Thank you so much for your support of my work!
While you can subscribe to the newsletter through my website, you may find your email host isn't letting it through, thanks to broad spam-blocking mechanisms that don't separate communications you've specifically requested to receive, from those you haven't. Regrettably, there's not a lot we can do on this side if the newsletter is hitting an email filter that is bouncing it without notifying either one of us.
However, if you think this is happening to you, and you've checked your allowed lists and done everything you can think of to get the email through, here are a couple other options:
Like my FB page or follow me on Twitter. Whenever I issue a newsletter, I will post the updated link to it on both of those, to make sure it reaches the widest number of people possible. Or...
Put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorite links. You can click on it anytime to see if a new newsletter has been released. I try to get a new issue out during the first 7 days of every month.
"As a male submissive I find that you completely understand and capture the spirit and complexity of males who find true peace in giving all of themselves to a Woman. Often we find that it is our life outside of that submission that is really the "role" we have to play and our true nature is revealed when kneeling before that special person who accepts us for everything we are...."
Huge praise from a wonderful reader for At Her Command. While I ADORE the reviews you all post for my work, your straight-off-the-cuff reactions to the books, sent through email or social media, tickle me to pieces. For example, here is a snippet from an At Her Command review another fabulous reader left for me on Amazon:
"In this first release for her new series, Hill has gone above and beyond what I always expect from her books. This one is truly a work of art, masterfully crafted by a true artist."
Brilliant! Love it! But now here is what she emailed me:
"Imagine a great-grandma in deep East Texas sitting out on her back patio at 2:00 a.m. saying, "ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod" and then falling asleep before I could finish the chapter. Had to go to bed even tho I didn't want to. Can you picture it? Trust me, falling asleep in my rocking chair on the patio, with tablet in hand, doesn't happen. I wanted to finish it then, but the old body just wouldn't cooperate. So, bright and early this morning, around 6:45 I was up and back with Ros and Lawrence. Just a few minutes ago I helped them complete their journey... I read every single "Knights" book, and while they were all totally awesome, they ain't got nothing on these ladies. Lord have mercy girl, you totally blew me away with this one."
Yes, no one loves a story like a storyteller, and the picture her words painted fueled me for a week. Thank you, everyone, for the many different ways you've let me know you love Rosalinda and Lawrence's story!
I feel like I did a million pop-in parties, release day celebrations and other promo stuff during the week of the release. We made it a mere one step away from #1 in the Amazon Romantic Erotica category, so thank you for that! Thank you also to the many of you who came to celebrate release day on the JWHMembersOnly Facebook page.
Are you still thinking about whether or not you want to read the book? Remember, even if you prefer to read M/f, as many of my readers do, that doesn't mean you can't branch out and flavor your M/f BDSM romance with the occasional enjoyable F/m story. Variety is a wondrous thing (wink). Here are all the vendor links...
No audio version in the works right now; if that changes, you all will be the first to know!
How about my most cherished possession, or why I chose to write BDSM romance? Or what I feel the most common misconception about BDSM is in real life or BDSM romance? I did two interviews recently, one for Warhawke's Vault Book Blog and the other for author Katerina Ross's library of wonderful BDSM author interviews. If you feel like you want to know more about me, I hope you'll enjoy these. I've done so many interviews over the years, sometimes I think "Oh, heavens, everyone already knows this stuff about me!" But then I remember I always have new readers, and my thoughts, feelings and experiences are changing as we move forward in time. Plus the interviewers come up with new questions!
July 13-17, Monday through Friday, I'll have the pleasure of being "Guest Goddess" at Angel Payne's Facebook group, Payne Passion. I'll pop in a couple times each day to discuss the books, play games, and chat with readers. Then August 14, I'll host Fun Friday with Desiree Holt at her Desiree's Darlings Facebook group. We're already thinking of entertaining things to do. The links to these FB events are in the sidebar and you can also click the links above. If you'd like, go ahead and Join these groups now so you won't miss anything. Plus you can see the latest information on Angel and Desiree's books. I just started Book 1 in Angel's Bolt Saga, which is my first superhero erotic romance read (the Thor and Captain America threesome fantasy is only in my head, lol). So far it's clever, sexy and entertaining, with a hint of deeper things to come, so I'll let you all know what I think in a Bookbub and Goodreads review when I'm done.
Exploring the emotional depths of a loving relationship isn't a partisan politics issue. My take on running an author page or reader group for BDSM romance is we're here to provide a hopeful, positive environment with lots of laughs, to give ourselves a breather from real life and some solid fuel for keeping it in perspective.
So come hang with us at the JWH Members Forum or on my Author Page. We've talked recently about the differences in reading Doms versus Dommes, held a couple fun giveaways, and recommended new awesome books to one another. And there are always fun book-related pics and memes. Some make us laugh, while others make us drool. Like the picture below of a nice cow. Can anyone see the cow? I'm still looking. REALLY looking. I like cows. Lol...the reader who posted it said this reminded her of Quinn, our sexy cowboy hero from Nightfall, the Vampire Queen series book that I co-authored with author Desiree Holt.
I'm back to working on In His Arms, the next standalone in the Nature of Desire Series. This is Rory and Daralyn's story. Rory is Thomas's younger brother from Rough Canvas and Daralyn is the young woman Rory's family took in when she was in her teens. These two have waited quite a while for their book, though their romance got a big foreshadowing in First Christmas. That was the free novella about Marcus and Thomas's first holiday as a married couple. You can also read the first chapter of Rory and Daralyn's story here.
One of the challenges in telling this story is that Rory is a paraplegic. I have been reviewing all sorts of resources, including books like Is Fred Dead? by Robert W. Baer (a straightforward, layperson all-things-sex for men with spinal cord injuries - thanks to the reader who recommended it to me!). I've also been watching YouTube vlogs by paraplegics. Thank you SO much to those individuals for creating detail-rich, visual first person source material--they're solid gold treasure to a romance author.
In one of the videos I watched, a disabled comedian said he was waiting for someone like Stephen Hawking to be featured on the cover of a romance novel. While the male model on my cover isn't a paraplegic, he does look like he is sitting, and I hope when I'm done, this comedian, if ever he picks up the book, will be happy with Rory's character.
Just like when I wrote Des's story in Worth the Wait (he was a Type I diabetic with special health issues) and Dale in Unrestrained (he had a prosthetic leg), the love story remains the primary focus of the book. Rory and Daralyn's is already a strong one. Rory is learning to be a Dom, and Daralyn is exploring her submission against the challenges of her horrible childhood. Fortunately, they have a good support network - so far the book has appearances by Thomas and Marcus of Rough Canvas, and Julie and Des from Worth the Wait. Plus Tyler and Marguerite of Ice Queen and Mirror of my Soul!
My intention is to have In His Arms release September 30. As soon as I'm sure of that date, we'll set up the preorder option. If all goes well, that will happen sometime in late July.
WHAT ELSE? Well, if you've read At Her Command, at the end of the book there's a reference to a barbecue event at Dale and Athena's home. I intended to include it in At Her Command, but there ended up being so much story content for that barbecue, I decided to leave it out and do it later as a free vignette for my readers. We'll see if I can have that ready for you all by January, a way to stave off the post-holiday doldrums.
Submissive Angel is my M/m Christmas story featuring Robert and Ange. The rights to the story will be coming back to me in September. I plan on writing a supplement to the story, kind of a "day after," where we tie up some loose ends about Ange's character. Therefore, when I re-release the book as a self published title, it should have some substantive new content. If I can get my act together, I'll try to get that out around Christmas.
Then I'll start work on the next Vampire Queen series novel, featuring Catriona, the Fae Lord Keldwyn's ward. We first met her in Bound by the Vampire Queen, a dryad that Jacob and Lyssa freed from her tree form. We saw her again in Night's Templar. Her hero is going to be Adan, the son of Mal and Elisa of Vampire Instinct. Adan has never been mentioned in any of the books. For a long time, I wasn't sure what gender Mal and Elisa's baby was going to be, then a key suggestion by a reader sparked the idea that she would have twins. Adan's sister is Ruth, who will likely end up with Merc of Medusa's Heart. We'll see...
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE - SASS MOVED TO 2021
Just a reminder that the 2020 SASS conference was cancelled, but it is on schedule for 2021, in the same great location and hotel. You can register and make your hotel reservations now! Mark your calendars for July 8-11, 2021. I can't wait to see you all!
Were you hoping to have me sign one of my books that you already have? Or buy a new signed book from me? If so, no worries - check EXTRAS in the sidebar, and find out how you can get a signed new book or a signed bookplate directly from me!
Remember, you can find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can also leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Facebook under Joey W. Hill, and you can visit the JWHMembersOnly FB fan forum group here. I'm @JoeyWHill on Twitter, and my Pinterest boards related to the books are here.
I'd also love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium - direct email, FB, GoodReads or Twitter - and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative communication methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or FB, or a tweet, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
Thank you so much for your support of my work!
While you can subscribe to the newsletter through my website, you may find your email host isn't letting it through, thanks to broad spam-blocking mechanisms that don't separate communications you've specifically requested to receive, from those you haven't. Regrettably, there's not a lot we can do on this side if the newsletter is hitting an email filter that is bouncing it without notifying either one of us.
However, if you think this is happening to you, and you've checked your allowed lists and done everything you can think of to get the email through, here are a couple other options:
Like my FB page or follow me on Twitter. Whenever I issue a newsletter, I will post the updated link to it on both of those, to make sure it reaches the widest number of people possible. Or...
Put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorite links. You can click on it anytime to see if a new newsletter has been released. I try to get a new issue out during the first 7 days of every month.
The last edit round is done, the beta team changes are in, and the print proof has been reviewed. Which means we are within days of the release of At Her Command! I've already received several GoodReads and BookBub reviews from bloggers/reviewers with advance copies. Here are a couple snippets:
"This tale will break your heart and rebuild it. Absolutely fabulous" --Donna, IMHO Blogspot
"Held me captive from the first page to the last... A wonderful beginning to an exciting new series" -- Erin, MI Bookshelf Blog
"...showing a depth of feeling, of understanding human nature, that leaves you in a constant state of vibrating anticipation" --Gab, Goodreads
Thank you, ladies! I can't wait for all of the rest of you to meet Ros and Lawrence and get to know them. Want to come to the release party? It'll be happening all day June 15, 9am - 9pm ET on the JWHMembersOnly Facebook page. There will be giveaways, "behind the scenes" discussions of how the story developed, games, and possibly even a Facebook Live with me. If you haven't joined the group before, now is a great time to become part of the lively community of over 1,000 dedicated readers of my books.
There's actually a pretty awesome giveaway happening there right now, for this KBR/AHC small plush throw (30x40).
All you have to do to be eligible to win it is do a new post on the JWHMembersOnly forum, related to the many things we all love - reading, BDSM romance, my characters, etc. When you go to the group, the contest details are pinned in an announcement at the top of the page. Contest closes June 14 and winner will be announced June 15 during the release day party (do not have to be present to win).
We'll also have ANOTHER giveaway that will kick off on release day. If you can't make the party, check in later for the posts, because we always let the giveaways run for at least 24 hours, and sometimes even longer. We want everyone to have a chance to win!
Other events: Be sure and glance at my online appearances schedule in the sidebar, because I have several places I'll be appearing between 6/15 - 6/25. Not only does this give you multiple chances to hang out with me, even better than that, you'll potentially discover fun new reader sites and new-to-you authors. You'll also have the opportunity to spend time with some great authors you already know! See you there.
Here are all the current order links for At Her Command, in case you don't have your copy pre-ordered yet. Fingers crossed, I hope you love your journey with Rosalinda and Lawrence, and look forward to more books in the MBR series. If you'd like, leave me a reaction at any of the vendor review sites, or email me directly. I always welcome your honest feedback, so I can try to make each book better than the last!
No audio version in the works right now; if that changes, you all will be the first to know!
Don't forget that Afterlife is still FREE on all ebook platforms! Since At Her Command is a spinoff series occurring in the Knights of the Board Room series world, we've been offering Jon and Rachel's story as a great gateway drug into the KBR. Links are below the picture. Let your reader friends know, in case they haven't been introduced to Matt and his executive team.
Nook (must apply coupon code BNPJOEY100)
Did you see my announcement last month? Naughty Wishes, originally released serialized as four separate novellas, is finally available under one cover, in ebook AND print! I hope you enjoy Geoff, Chris and Sam's story, now that you can get the whole thing for the $4.99 full length ebook price, rather than four $2.99 each novellas. And yes, I promise never to do that again! Buy links are below the gorgeous new cover.
Amazon link includes the Kindle AND Print version.
I included this in last month's newsletter, but it deserves a second mention. The relatively new online bookstore Bookshop.org not only donates a generous portion of its proceeds to local independent bookstores, its primary mission IS the promotion of those local bookstores. This site has been endorsed by the Author's Guild, which is a strong advocacy group on behalf of writers. Everything on it looks legit to me. So if you're currently in a situation where you can't get out to the bookstore, and/or want to do more to support your local ones, this is a place you can recommend to others or use yourself. Check them out and see what you think.
I don't typically offer commentary on current events while in my author role. You can get plenty of that every time you turn on the TV, computer, etc, and from far more informed and knowledgeable people than me. We all have our own opinions about how the world should be run, however, and often those ideas don't gel. How do we make sure we don't lose sight of the things that connect us? My GoodReads blog looked at that question in, A "What If" for Memorial Day. Hope you find something helpful and hopeful in it.
Just a reminder that the 2020 SASS conference was cancelled, but it is on schedule for 2021, in the same great location and hotel. You can register and make your hotel reservations now! Mark your calendars for July 8-11, 2021. I can't wait to see you all!
Were you hoping to have me sign one of my books that you already have? Or buy a new signed book from me? If so, no worries - check EXTRAS in the sidebar, and find out how you can get a signed new book or a signed bookplate directly from me!
Remember, you can find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can also leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Facebook under Joey W. Hill, and you can visit the JWHMembersOnly FB fan forum group here. I'm @JoeyWHill on Twitter, and my Pinterest boards related to the books are here.
I'd also love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium - direct email, FB, GoodReads or Twitter - and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative communication methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or FB, or a tweet, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
Thank you so much for your support of my work!
While you can subscribe to the newsletter through my website, you may find your email host isn't letting it through, thanks to broad spam-blocking mechanisms that don't separate communications you've specifically requested to receive, from those you haven't. Regrettably, there's not a lot we can do on this side if the newsletter is hitting an email filter that is bouncing it without notifying either one of us.
However, if you think this is happening to you, and you've checked your allowed lists and done everything you can think of to get the email through, here are a couple other options:
Like my FB page or follow me on Twitter. Whenever I issue a newsletter, I will post the updated link to it on both of those, to make sure it reaches the widest number of people possible. Or...
Put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorite links. You can click on it anytime to see if a new newsletter has been released. I try to get a new issue out during the first 7 days of every month.
If you ever get an error message with the link above, simply try another browser or type storywitch.com manually into your URL. Once on the site, hover over the "More" menu item and click on the Current Newsletter. But after that, check that your Malware is up to date and ON, scanning for potential gremlins. That's usually how they hijack you and take you to spam sites. Trust me, I know. When it happened to me, my husband fussed and pointed out I had not updated the Malware in ages, OR turned it on for daily scans! Bad, bad right-brain author...
As the June 15 release of At Her Command draws closer, we're getting excited, not only about Ros and her ladies, but the men whose series helped give birth to theirs. So from now until June 15, Afterlife is FREE on all ebook platforms! In my informal poll of the readers, there was overwhelming agreement that Jon and Rachel's story is one of the best gateway books to the Knights of the Board Room series. It was the first full length of the series, for one thing, and though all the books can stand alone, this one offers a great intro to the other characters in the series, along with an especially tender core love story. Plus it has a more mature heroine (43) and a hero who proves how sexy yoga can be (grin).
The polled readers confirmed it with comments like:
"The first of yours I read, and I loved it. It turned me into a fan immediately..."
"I connected with Rachel's losses, and how she pretty much was coasting through life, trying to function. Been there myself, and resonated well."
"It's such a deeply emotional book that I still have book hangover when I read it, and I’ve probably read it a dozen times by now."
I did consider Hostile Takeover for the freebie gateway book, but one reader said it best with this comment: "BEN is sooo gulp, but you can't be using training wheels with him."
So if you haven't read Afterlife, or the Knights of the Board Room series, now's a great opportunity to do so. If you have a friend who would enjoy the K&A men, it's an excellent time to introduce them. The relevant links are below this teaser pic. You're welcome to share any of this on groups or pages where you'd like to spread the love of the KBR world!
Nook (must apply coupon code BNPJOEY100)
"How do keep your characters/storylines fresh and unique?" is a question I get asked a lot. Regardless of the book I'm writing, the answer usually comes during the second edit round.
What do I mean by that? Okay, say you ride a bus to work, and you strike up a conversation with the person next to you (yes, be that person, lol). That first conversation might be surface-level, but then you start sitting together regularly. You don't consciously notice when you evolve from acquaintances to friends, and from there to close friends, but it's one of life's little miracles when it does happen, right?
It happens because we let it happen -- we open ourselves up to connecting on a more intuitive level, listening and absorbing who that other person is, and becoming a part of their ongoing story. That's how characters become unique as well. Or at least, that's my best explanation for it this week, lol.
I can't wait for you all to meet Ros and Lawrence and get to know them the way I've had the pleasure of doing! And yes, I just finished the second edit round (beaming).
Just a reminder from last month, you can now preorder the book. Since the print version can't be offered as a preorder, it will be released a few days before June 15, so people who want that version can have it in hand as close to the release date as possible. Here are the preorder links:
No audio version in the works right now; if that changes, you all will be the first to know!
FOR REVIEWERS/BLOGGERS - if you want to participate in any of the release activities, including the blog tour, ARC giveaway, reviews, etc, you can sign up for that here.
Did you see my announcement last month? Naughty Wishes, originally released as a four-part serial, is finally available under one cover, in ebook AND print! I hope you enjoy Geoff, Chris and Sam's story, now that you can get the whole thing for the $4.99 full length ebook price, rather than four $2.99 each novellas. And yes, I promise never to do that again!
At the time Naughty Wishes (and its predecessor, Naughty Bits) was written, the NY pubs were big into the serial idea. When you write for a publisher, you try to be a team player, but an author has to recognize when something doesn't gel with her style or target readership. That four-part format grated on my creative nerves to the nth degree. I love the characters of both books, but writing their stories didn't give me nearly the same joy as I just expressed about Ros and Lawrence's story. Live and learn. I'm just sorry my readers had to suffer from that bumpy journey. Thanks for hanging in there! Here are the links to the full length book:
The Amazon link includes the Kindle AND Print version.
There is a new online bookstore, Bookshop.org, that not only donates a generous portion of its proceeds to local independent bookstores, its primary mission IS the promotion of those local bookstores. This site has been endorsed by the Author's Guild, which is a strong advocacy group on behalf of writers. Everything on it looks legit to me. So if you're currently in a situation where you can't get out to the bookstore, and/or want to do more to support your local ones, this is a place you can recommend to others or use yourself. Check them out and see what you think.
For a little change of pace this month, I did a guest blog post over at Romance Rehab. If you're unfamiliar, RR offers fun and upbeat insights into the romances we know and love. Jennifer, the lady who runs it, caught my attention with a post about love stories and characters from the Buffy/Angel and Veronica Mars TV series. In a comment I posted, I mentioned my irritation with the Willow/Tara storyline (I was total Team Oz, and felt Willow being gay was very contrived). That led to a discussion of "Gay for You" in romance fiction. She invited me to do a post on the topic. Hope you find it interesting -- your comments are always welcome.
Well, we were hoping the SASS conference would happen, but unfortunately, Virginia is not able to make the strides other states are toward re-opening their businesses and hotels. As a result, the organizers had to make the very difficult decision to cancel this year's SASS in Norfolk. However, it will be in the same great location and hotel next year, and you can register and make your hotel reservations now! Mark your calendars for July 8-11, 2021, and I can't wait to see you all!
Were you hoping to have me sign one of my books that you already have? Or buy a new signed book from me? If so, no worries - check EXTRAS in the sidebar, and find out how you can get a signed new book or a signed bookplate directly from me!
Remember, you can find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can also leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Facebook under Joey W. Hill, and you can visit the JWHMembersOnly FB fan forum group here. I'm @JoeyWHill on Twitter, and my Pinterest boards related to the books are here.
I'd also love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium - direct email, FB, GoodReads or Twitter - and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative communication methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or FB, or a tweet, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
Thank you so much for your support of my work!
While you can subscribe to the newsletter through my website, you may find your email host isn't letting it through, thanks to broad spam-blocking mechanisms that don't separate communications you've specifically requested to receive, from those you haven't. Regrettably, there's not a lot we can do on this side if the newsletter is hitting an email filter that is bouncing it without notifying either one of us.
However, if you think this is happening to you, and you've checked your allowed lists and done everything you can think of to get the email through, here are a couple other options:
Like my FB page or follow me on Twitter. Whenever I issue a newsletter, I will post the updated link to it on both of those, to make sure it reaches the widest number of people possible. Or...
Put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorite links. You can click on it anytime to see if a new newsletter has been released. I try to get a new issue out during the first 7 days of every month.
If you ever get an error message with the link above, simply try another browser or type storywitch.com manually into your URL. Once on the site, hover over the "More" menu item and click on the Current Newsletter. But after that, check that your Malware is up to date and ON, scanning for potential gremlins. That's usually how they hijack you and take you to spam sites. Trust me, I know. When it happened to me, my husband fussed and pointed out I had not updated the Malware in ages, OR turned it on for daily scans! Bad, bad right-brain author...
"Joey reaches the depth of your soul with the characters she has breathed life into. You come away knowing more about yourself and wanting to be 'more.'" --Reader Comment
Can't ask for better feedback than that. Thank you, wonderful readers all! I have tons of good stuff to share with you. But first...let's give away that Natural Law beach towel.
Paula is my winner! Though an entertaining contest entry note was not required, I do want to share hers with you:
why I want the beautiful beach towel?
Two reasons:
1. to show my man how to tie me up.
2. to make my friends very jealous I got this wonderful present.
I really do have the best readers (beaming).
Ros and Lawrence's story, the first book in the Mistresses of the Board Room spin-off series, has an official release date of June 15, and you can pre-order the ebook version NOW! Since the print version can't be offered as a pre-order, it will be released a few days before June 15 so people who want that version can have it in hand as close to the release date as possible. Here are the links:
For my international Kindle readers, if the book has been updated on your country's site, you can usually just paste the dp and book code (/dp/B0868TM1D8), at the end of your particular Amazon web address and get the book to call up.
AUDIOBOOK VERSION - We have no plans for it right now, because Audible considers our cumulative ebook sales before deciding if they want it for their catalog. If it happens, though, you all will be the first to know!
All my stories get into some deep emotional waters, but some are less gut wrenching than others. Since In His Arms, Rory and Daralyn's story, is likely to be a pretty tough story in places, I think the muse is counterbalancing by giving me a lighter story (comparatively speaking) with Ros and Lawrence. As the teaser above shows, it's been a fun ride with them so far.
When I did the serialized version of Naughty Wishes in 2016, many of you asked when the four parts of Geoff, Chris and Samantha's story would be available as one full book. Well, it took a while, but I am FREAKING ECSTATIC to let you know you can now get their story under one cover, in ebook AND print. The rights to the book came back to me in March. Since we've been prepping for that hope for some time, we released it as a compilation almost as soon as the individual novellas were pulled down by the original publisher, lol. Want to see the lovely cover?
And here are the links!
The Amazon link includes the Kindle AND Print version. You can find a refresher blurb and peek inside these links to remind yourself of what our threesome's story is about, but here's a smile to go with that reminder.
The original publisher also returned Unrestrained to me at the same time I received Naughty Wishes, so if you haven't had the pleasure of reading Dale and Athena's story, now you can enjoy them at the self-published $4.99 ebook price. The new version is also available in print.
Unrestrained was my first book with a Dom hero over the age of 50. Athena was in her 40s. They were both accomplished, confident adults, so I've always thought of them as my most "grown-up" couple to date, lol.
Here are the links for Unrestrained:
Want to see where I do a lot of my writing? I did a little 8 minute tour of my indoor "writing nook," and put it on my YouTube page. Forgive my crappy iPhone video skills, but looking on the bright side, this was my seventh attempt at doing it right. Just imagine how much motion sickness you would have suffered during the first take! Additional cast featured in the video includes Sam, our golden retriever, and J.R., one of my five cats (the other four were sunning on the porch, which is my outdoor writing space). My husband also provided off-camera commentary, lol.
I purposely did not make this newsletter about COVD-19 stuff, since we're all getting inundated with heartfelt messages, bulletins, etc. about it. If you're like me, you're way past ready to move forward on this thing and get back to work and our normal routines. There are a lot of decisions being made for us out there, and we all have our own opinions on whether those decisions are right and wrong. Like most big decisions, we probably won't know until we're viewing them in hindsight. I do know that reading some good stories has given me a break from the anxiety that kind of uncertainty can cause. So my latest GR blog post offers good thoughts to all and a reading recommendation for one particularly notable story I read this month. There's even a Seven Brides for Seven Brothers movie reference!
It's probably not a surprise to hear that our April conference plans were impacted by "Rona" craziness. Frolicon has been moved to December, instead of the end of this month. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend it on that date. However, I encourage you to attend if you're interested in its many offerings. I can only imagine how many variations of "naughty vs nice" can happen at a Frolicon held near Christmas!
Fingers crossed, we won't be seeing any changes to the SASS conference schedule, happening in Norfolk, July 9-12. Would love to see you all there!
Remember, you can find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can also leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Facebook under Joey W. Hill, and you can visit the JWHMembersOnly FB fan forum group here. I'm @JoeyWHill on Twitter, and my Pinterest boards related to the books are here.
I'd also love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium - direct email, FB, GoodReads or Twitter - and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative communication methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or FB, or a tweet, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
Thank you so much for your support of my work!
While you can subscribe to the newsletter through my website, you may find your email host isn't letting it through, thanks to broad spam-blocking mechanisms that don't separate communications you've specifically requested to receive, from those you haven't. Regrettably, there's not a lot we can do on this side if the newsletter is hitting an email filter that is bouncing it without notifying either one of us.
However, if you think this is happening to you, and you've checked your allowed lists and done everything you can think of to get the email through, here are a couple other options:
Like my FB page or follow me on Twitter. Whenever I issue a newsletter, I will post the updated link to it on both of those, to make sure it reaches the widest number of people possible. Or...
Put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorite links. You can click on it anytime to see if a new newsletter has been released. I try to get a new issue out during the first 7 days of every month.
If you ever get an error message with the link above, simply go to storywitch.com, hover over the "More" menu item and click on the Current Newsletter. But after that, check that your Malware is up to date and ON, scanning for potential gremlins. That's usually how they hijack you and take you to spam sites. Trust me, I know. When it happened to me, my husband fussed and pointed out I had not updated the Malware in ages, OR turned it on for daily scans! Bad, bad right-brain author...
"What I love best about Hill's books is each and every word is about the characters; how they grow, how they hurt, how they laugh and cry and wake up and realize life is an experience they don't want to miss!"
A delightful reader named Katie sent me that recently, after she read Unrestrained. Throughout the years of doing this, getting to know the characters has always been one of my favorite parts of the writing process. Does the muse still surprise me? Absolutely. I may know certain things about a character when I start his or her story, but we find out the deepest parts of who they are as they fall in love, overcome relationship obstacles, and react to the day-to-day challenges of their lives.
While my books are pretty emotional and sometimes dark, I also appreciate a character with a dry sense of humor. In life, I think humor helps us persevere with the soul intact, even if gets a little dinged up. In fiction, it provides a vital balance against the more difficult moments of the story. When I lose my sense of humor, it makes it harder to keep going, whether it relates to living my life OR reading a book, lol.
As I've been writing In His Arms, Rory and Daralyn's story, some of that humor has already come out. While learning about being in a Dom/sub relationship together, they attend a private party at Tyler and Marguerite's house. The snippet below is an exchange between Tyler and Rory.
Tyler and Marguerite are sentimental favorites from my Nature of Desire series. Their story was Ice Queen/Mirror of My Soul (it took two books to tell). Rory and Daralyn will be the newest book in the series, coming out in late summer/early fall.
As this snippet shows, I also LOVE to have characters from past books show up in current ones. Marcus and Thomas of Rough Canvas, as well as Des and Julie of Worth the Wait, will also have key roles in Rory and Daralyn's journey together. You can click here and read the blurb for In His Arms, as well as the first chapter. There's a BookFunnel link for convenient download onto your preferred device.
It's March, and even if you're still experiencing cold, frosty weather, we can't help but think of spring, right? The Canadian geese in our neighborhood are doing a lot of parading around, showing off for potential mates. All while the mockingbirds are perching on trees, singing their feisty hearts out, and the daffodils are showing early bright colors. Since I live at the coast, this is making me look ahead to our beach weather.
Just as we did for the Knights of the Board Room series, we recently rebranded the Nature of Desire covers so they'd have somewhat of a homogenous color scheme. So, to celebrate that AND the coming of spring weather, how about this Natural Law beach towel with the new blue cover?
TO ENTER: Just send me an email at storywitch@storywitch.com and tell me you want the beach towel. I'll choose the winner in the next newsletter. Can't get easier than that, right? My thanks to my wonderful admins, who sent me that great beach bag when I moved back to the coast. Not only does it accompany me on my outings to write by the surf, it made a great prop to show off the towel (grin).
NOTE: Same as with the fleece blanket we gave away last issue, the towel comes from Snapfish. I don't sell these because Snapfish is structured for personal purchases, not commercial sales. However, if you want something like a blanket or towel with a favorite book cover on it, just keep an eye on their site. They run frequent, really good sales and the products are decent quality (not awesome, but they are novelty items, after all ;>). When the item you want qualifies, all you have to do is set up your favorite book cover in the template.
While working on In His Arms, I am also working on At Her Command, the first book in the new spin-off series, Mistresses of the Board Room. This series is set in the same world as the Knights of the Board Room. In previous newsletters, I introduced you to Rosalinda Thomas, the heroine of At Her Command, and Lawrence, her hero, who has made appearances in Unrestrained and Willing Sacrifice. Would you like to meet the other four ladies of Ros's executive team? Here are the teasers I offered on FB this month. These are the models I'll be using for the cover creation.
Abigail's hero will be Neil, Lawrence's best friend (and another SEAL who makes an appearance in Unrestrained and Willing Sacrifice.) Be warned - Abigail also has the tear-jerker story of the group, which makes her determined not to commit to anyone long term. But Neil has other ideas - and you know I firmly believe in Happily-Ever-Afters!
Cynbad is our sadist of the group - she and Ben would be fast (and scary) friends. She drives a big black pickup with a gunrack, and prefers to wear black slacks and black tank tops during her sessions. She's the badass of the group.
Skye is going to be an interesting challenge - a Mistress who is also mute. I can't wait to write a session between her and her chosen submissive where she communicates primarily with non-verbal cues.
I had to do this graphic a little differently, because the cover image I'll be using for Vera didn't have her face, but this hair/makeup site pic was a perfect match for how imagined her. That "headless" cover image was very appropriate, because so far, Vera has revealed the least about herself to me during the writing of Ros's story. But usually that just means she's going to end up being one of the most interesting to my readers before it's all over. (That was my experience with Ben O'Callahan in Knights of the Board Room.)
Hope you've enjoyed this quick introduction to the Mistresses! Look for Ros's story in June 2020. Remember, you can go here on my website to download your Chapter One teaser of At Her Command and learn more about Ros's book. We should have the preorder up in April.
As many of you know, Controlled Response and Honor Bound, Books 2 and 3 of the Knights of the Board Room series, came out on Audible recently. When that happened, I reported the series would be offered through the Audible Escape program. There was a glitch where that had not happened. However, thanks to the persistent efforts of my current Audible contact, that has been corrected. Books 1-7 are now available ON AUDIBLE ESCAPE! My apologies for the original confusion. Click on either of the titles above to go directly to the Audible listing for that book. Click here for the KBR series, and here for all my Audible titles. Nineteen of my books are currently available in audio format!
In addition to the SASS conference I'm attending in Norfolk July 9-12, I'll also be at Frolicon, which happens in Atlanta, GA, April 30-May 3. Have you signed up for either one or both? I'd love to see you! Frolicon is a celebration of alternative lifestyles and sexuality, but includes an "Ink Track" for those interested in writing BDSM stories. SASS is an author-reader conference with a big Saturday signing event. Look at the amazing author line-up!
Since Frolicon is a bit less clear cut than an author-reader event, here's their official conference statement:
Frolicon is the unique juxtaposition of the geek and kink worlds celebrated in glorious fashion in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Each Spring we celebrate our unique sense of fun and frivolity with 2000 of our closest friends. What’s your poison? We’ve got it all. Kink. Gaming. Burlesque. Music. Costuming. Parties. Lots and lots of parties.
At Frolicon we pride ourselves on providing a safe and comfortable place where you can be you. With tracks of programming with focuses on LGBTQIA, erotica and sci-fi/fantasy authors, photography, dance, polyamory, psychology, and so much more, we are positive that you’ll find your happy place and maybe discover a few new ones. See you in the Spring!
This will be my first year attending Frolicon, so I'll let you know more details as I have them. Hope you'll be able to join me for at least one of those events!
Remember, you can find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can also leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Facebook under Joey W. Hill, and you can visit the JWHMembersOnly FB fan forum group here. I'm @JoeyWHill on Twitter, and my Pinterest boards related to the books are here.
I'd also love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium - direct email, FB, GoodReads or Twitter - and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative communication methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or FB, or a tweet, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
Thank you so much for your support of my work!
While you can subscribe to the newsletter through my website, you may find your email host isn't letting it through, thanks to broad spam-blocking mechanisms that don't separate communications you've specifically requested to receive, from those you haven't. Regrettably, there's not a lot we can do on this side if the newsletter is hitting an email filter that is bouncing it without notifying either one of us.
However, if you think this is happening to you, and you've checked your allowed lists and done everything you can think of to get the email through, here are a couple other options:
Like my FB page or follow me on Twitter. Whenever I issue a newsletter, I will post the updated link to it on both of those, to make sure it reaches the widest number of people possible. Or...
Put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorite links. You can click on it anytime to see if a new newsletter has been released. I try to get a new issue out during the first 7 days of every month.
If you ever get an error message with the link above, simply go to storywitch.com, hover over the "More" menu item and click on the Current Newsletter. But after that, check that your Malware is up to date and ON, scanning for potential gremlins. That's usually how they hijack you and take you to spam sites. Trust me, I know. When it happened to me, my husband fussed and pointed out I had not updated the Malware in ages, OR turned it on for daily scans! Bad, bad right-brain author...
"I would love to win in the new blanket giveaway. First, that blanket would match my mug, but, second and more importantly, you are still my favorite m/m romance author. Although Rough Canvas is still holding as my favorite, Vampire's Soul is running a close second. Well, maybe third after Divine Solace, or fourth after Vampire Trinity. And let's not forget Natural Law or... Oh, hell, your books are great, and I want a bound man on my bed..."
--Dolly (Reader Email)
Yes, Dolly is the winner of my Natural Law blanket giveaway!! Her entry email was so entertaining, I thought you all would enjoy reading it as much as I did. I wish I could have given all of you a blanket, because I know just how lucky I am to have readers like you.
Because many of you asked me about this, the blanket was obtained from Snapfish. Though I'm sure I'll be giving away another blanket in the future, they're structured for personal purchases, not commercial sales, so I won't be selling the blankets. However, if you keep an eye on their site, they run frequent, really good sales. When the blanket you want qualifies, all you have to do is set up your favorite book cover in the template and presto, you can have a blanket of Mac as well (or whichever cover you like best).
Mac's blanket was the "arctic fleece" (a little more smooth/like velour), while the Vampire Trinity one I gave away on FB a month or so ago was the "plush" version (more fuzzy/silky). If you need to know how to get a good resolution copy of one of my covers for this, just contact me via email, FB, Twitter, etc. Thank you everyone who entered the contest!!
Ever since I read my first love story, I have been enchanted, fascinated, mystified and enthralled by the many ways love is expressed. To me, Valentine's Day is about that, more than one specific type of love. I'm sure many of us made valentines for our mothers when we were little. Valentines can be given to a favorite teacher, a neighbor, a pet (heart-shaped dog cookies, of course). I hope however you celebrate it this year, that the holiday will give you warm feelings to carry you through the month of February. PS - Any holiday where chocolate plays a central role works for me!
In looking over past goodies I have offered for Valentine's Day, I found a nostalgia short from February 2014 I thought you all would enjoy revisiting (or reading for the first time). Back then, SubClub Books ran a feature where authors submitted Valentine's Day letters their favorite book characters wrote to one another. My submission was to Marcie from Ben, the characters from Hostile Takeover. Want to read it again? Click here for the BookFunnel link so you can read it in whatever format you prefer.
So, just a reminder from last month. I'm working on TWO books for you all, and aiming for a Summer 2020 release on both. If I stay on track, one is very likely going to happen mid-June, while the other one will happen sometime in August or early September. By late March/early April, I should be able to confirm those dates for certain, and possibly have at least one of them up for pre-order. Sound good? Want a refresher on what the two books are about?
AT HER COMMAND - For my FemDomme/male sub fans, let me introduce you to Rosalinda Thomas, whose book, At Her Command, will launch a spin-off series in our popular Knights of the Board Room series world. The Mistresses of the Board Room work at a marketing firm, Thomas Rose Associates, and the company is of course in New Orleans. The first chapter includes appearances by Matt Kensington of Board Resolution and Dale Rousseau of Unrestrained. Why Dale? Because our hero is Lawrence, a Navy SEAL who served on one of Dale's teams. For the Chapter One peek, click this BookFunnel link so you can download it to your preferred device. Or you can visit my website book page and read it there. I think you'll like Ros. I sure did, and I've only spent Chapter One with her so far. I already liked Lawrence, from his short appearances in Unrestrained and Willing Sacrifice. Here's a little teaser I did on the Facebook page earlier this month:
IN HIS ARMS - How about for my readers who love their MaleDom/female sub stories? I have good news on that front, with two characters who have waited a LONG time to get their story told. And the best part is we get to go back to the Nature of Desire series world, where we haven't been for awhile. Rory and Daralyn first appeared in Rough Canvas, and we saw a bit more of them in the free Marcus/Thomas vignette, First Christmas. Here's their blurb, cover and Chapter One peek, again for easy download on BookFunnel, or you can read it directly on their webpage on my site. And below is the Facebook banner I used to introduce the characters.
If I get these done when I expect in 2020, I'll get started on a new Vampire Queen series book well before the end of the year. A December/January release is not out of the question. And then "maybe" we'll see about writing Ramona and Silas's book in 2021. Ramona is the witch who is still waiting for her story, to complete the Arcane Shot series trilogy.
A writer is always looking for ideas, and we get them from all sorts of places. Especially when we're trying to think up ideas for blog posts, lol. I'm not a football person, but Super Bowl Sunday always calls to mind some particular childhood memories, which led to the subject of my latest GoodReads blog. Want to know how readers can become "memory tourists?" You can check it out here.
This past month has been about the never-ending exploration of marketing paths to seek new readers. I had a very interesting hour-long consult with an expert on taking books-to-film, because one of the things I'm focusing on at the moment is selling what we call subsidiary rights--foreign translation, movie, audio rights, etc. Since I love movies, I've been looking at doing an outline or actual draft screenplay of one of my stories to market in that arena. Not because I am trying to be a fabulous screenwriter (which, like being a good fiction writer, takes years), but because it helps the powers-that-be in film if you can give them a rough draft of how the scenes could unfold. After watching the Netflix episode of The Movies That Made Us about Dirty Dancing (a personal favorite of mine), I find it miraculous that any worthwhile story ever gets made into a movie, but apparently the creative gods sometimes make it happen (grin).
I've also continued to catch up on my reading. I don't do a lot of fiction reading, but thanks to a good friend, I'm reading Just One Thing by Rick Hansen. It's about how to develop a "buddha brain" to help you relax and be kind to yourself. Easy daily devotion kind of stuff, including advice that applies to obsessive, driven workaholics. Not that I know any of those (*whistling, looking away from that mirror VERY deliberately*). I'm also reading Exaltation of Larks by Suanne Laqueur (very awesome). If you're interested, you can check my profile and reading list at GoodReads to see what I'm reading, follow my blog etc.
In addition to the July SASS conference I'm attending in Norfolk July 9-12, I'll also be at Frolicon, which happens in Atlanta, GA April 30-May 3, for their "Ink Track." While that track does focus on authors who write the kinds of things I write, Frolicon isn't an author-reader conference, per se. It's more like a light-hearted conference celebrating sexuality and educating others about many different aspects of it, including BDSM. Here's their official "about us" statement:
Frolicon is the unique juxtaposition of the geek and kink worlds celebrated in glorious fashion in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Each Spring we celebrate our unique sense of fun and frivolity with 2000 of our closest friends. What’s your poison? We’ve got it all. Kink. Gaming. Burlesque. Music. Costuming. Parties. Lots and lots of parties.
At Frolicon we pride ourselves on providing a safe and comfortable place where you can be you. With tracks of programming with focuses on LGBTQIA, erotica and sci-fi/fantasy authors, photography, dance, polyamory, psychology, and so much more, we are positive that you’ll find your happy place and maybe discover a few new ones. See you in the Spring!
So how could that NOT be tons of fun? This will be my first year attending, so I'll let you know more details as I have them. Hope you'll be able to join me for at least one of those events!
Don't forget, Controlled Response and Honor Bound, Books 2 and 3 of the Knights of the Board Room series, are now available on Audible! Last month I reported that these books are also offered through the Audible Escape program. My apologies (and thanks to the readers who let me know), but apparently there was some glitch on that with Audible. They are not available through that program at this time. I'm trying to resolve what the hold up is, but so far answers have been very slow in coming. I'll keep you posted when I hear news. Click on either of the titles above to go directly to the Audible listing for that book. Hope you enjoy the graphic below promo'ing the audio versions! You're welcome to share it with any readers who might be interested (same goes for any of my graphics).
Remember, you can find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can also leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Facebook under Joey W. Hill, and you can visit the JWHMembersOnly FB fan forum group here. I'm @JoeyWHill on Twitter, and my Pinterest boards related to the books are here.
I'd also love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium - direct email, FB, GoodReads or Twitter - and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative communication methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or FB, or a tweet, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
Thank you so much for your support of my work!
While you can subscribe to the newsletter through my website, you may find your email host isn't letting it through, thanks to broad spam-blocking mechanisms that don't separate communications you've specifically requested to receive, from those you haven't. Regrettably, there's not a lot we can do on this side if the newsletter is hitting an email filter that is bouncing it without notifying either one of us.
However, if you think this is happening to you, and you've checked your allowed lists and done everything you can think of to get the email through, here are a couple other options:
Like my FB page or follow me on Twitter. Whenever I issue a newsletter, I will post the updated link to it on both of those, to make sure it reaches the widest number of people possible. Or...
Put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorite links. You can click on it anytime to see if a new newsletter has been released. I try to get a new issue out during the first 7 days of every month. If you ever get an error message with the link above, simply go to storywitch.com, hover over the "More" menu item and click on the Current Newsletter.
This was my first ever read of a Joey W. Hill novel. I pre-judged this book, thinking it was going to be your typical supernatural love story, with chapters upon chapters of acrobatic and superficial sex scenes. I could not have been more wrong... Vampire Master is an incredibly provocative, well-crafted, sinful, and exhilarating kaleidoscope of complex emotions, fascinating and multifaceted characters, and a thrilling and sensual storyline that delivers on every single page. I was hooked from chapter one.
--Nicole of Emerald Book Reviews
Our efforts to obtain new readers with the release of Vampire Master were wonderfully successful. Even better were the reviews from these folks that started like Nicole's above, "My first ever Joey W. Hill novel" and ended with "I have become a Joey W. Hill fan for life, if this is how all her stories are written." (MariLovesBooks Blog) The pressure's on now, right? Lol...
Since every author looks not only at the reaction of new readers, but of the vital existing readership, it was equally gratifying to hear things like this: "Another stunning, complex and deeply sensual book which has left me breathless and with a truly severe book hangover... This book is pure gold, and I have loved every single well chosen word. 5 stars are just not enough." -- Alicia, long time wonderful reader
So how do you feel about Vampire Master? I hope your experience was as good as it was for reviewers like these. If not, let me know why, because I want to improve with every book. And if you haven't had a chance to read it yet, just click that title link and you'll go to the book page, which has all the buy links. The book can standalone, so if you haven't read any books in the Vampire Queen series yet, Wolf and Ella can be a great introduction to it.
I hope everyone had a lovely holiday and you're enjoying the brand new start to a new year--and decade! Let's hope it brings us more great reads, and more kindness, patience and tolerance toward one another, no matter our differing viewpoints. There's a lot of anger and divisiveness happening out there in our social media laden world, so I applaud anyone who is crossing the battlefield to find common ground, rather than fortifying their position to increase polarization. So here's MY new year's resolution (whether it applies to my interactions with the world OR my husband, lol):
That, and lose ten pounds (grin). I had thought to give up chocolate for 90 days, but since raising Lazarus from the dead was a smaller miracle than that, I'm going for the ten pounds instead. Ready for some book-related news? Let's do it - I have lots to tell you!
And I have Chapter one excerpts from both in-process books for you. As well as covers and blurbs. We are hitting the ground running this year. Did I say TWO books? Yes, I did. I had two contemporary possibilities vying for top spot, and neither one would give any ground, so I said, fine, I'll try to write both of them. My guess is one will pull ahead of the other at some point, so their release dates will likely be separated by a couple months when all is said and done. Either way, I'm aiming for a Summer 2020 release on whichever one gets done first. So what are the books?
AT HER COMMAND - For my FemDomme/male sub fans, let me introduce you to Rosalinda Thomas, whose book, At Her Command, will launch a spin-off series in our popular Knights of the Board Room series world. The Mistresses of the Board Room work at a marketing firm, Thomas Rose Associates, and the company is of course in New Orleans. The first chapter includes appearances by Matt Kensington of Board Resolution and Dale Rousseau of Unrestrained. Why Dale? Because our hero is Lawrence, a Navy SEAL who served on one of Dale's teams. For the Chapter One peek, click this BookFunnel link so you can download it to your preferred device. Or you can visit my website book page and read it there. I think you'll like Ros. I sure did, and I've only spent Chapter One with her so far. I already liked Lawrence, from his short appearances in Unrestrained and Willing Sacrifice.
IN HIS ARMS - How about for my readers who love their MaleDom/female sub stories? I have good news on that front, with two characters who have waited a LONG time to get their story told. And the best part is we get to go back to the Nature of Desire series world, where we haven't been for awhile. Rory and Daralyn first appeared in Rough Canvas, and we saw a bit more of them in the free Marcus/Thomas vignette, First Christmas. With Rory being in a wheelchair, I'm going to be doing some research to represent him correctly, so if you think you have some direct insight, either from caring for someone in a wheelchair, or being in one yourself, reach out to me. I would love to have some experts to make sure I don't screw this up too badly. Here's their blurb, cover and Chapter One peek, again for easy download on BookFunnel, or you can read it directly on their webpage on my site.
Hope you all are looking forward to reading these books as much as I am to writing them. I'm already scribbling away madly on both. For my paranormal lovers, if I get these two squared away by summer, I'll be looking to do another paranormal for the latter part of the year. Right now, odds are the next paranormal will be about Catriona (the Fae Lord Keldwyn's ward) and Mal and Elisa's son (from Vampire Instinct).
And "maybe" (too far out to tell at this point, but I'm doing some wishful thinking) we'll see if we can't write Ramona and Silas's story in 2021 (the third witch's book intended in the Arcane Shot series).
One of my newsletter subscribers recently pointed out I haven't done a newsletter-only giveaway in some time, and she's right! We need to fix that. So, how would you like the chance to win this Natural Law cover fleece blanket? Wrap yourself up in Mac every night! Or morning, noon, etc. Maybe not at work, but that depends on where you work, lol...
So, how do you win this? Send me an email at storywitch@storywitch.com and tell me you want to be entered into the contest/giveaway. No strings attached, no requirements other than that. You all support me year long by telling your book-reading friends about my work, posting reviews, following me on BookBub, Amazon and GoodReads to increase my promotion options on those sites, sending me encouraging emails, and the list goes on and on. This one requires nothing, and I wish I could give every one of you a blanket. I'll choose the winner by the next monthly newsletter!
I'm so thankful for my readers, because they fill in the ever-widening gaps in my memory. One of them reminded me that a couple years ago I wrote a short vignette about Cai and Rand of Vampire's Soul for Literary Escapism's Black Friday event. When I write a short for another site, I usually wait a while before making it available on my vignette page, since that site has been kind enough to give my books some exposure. But the reader reminded me it's been two years, so I think it's time, lol! So if you want to revisit this little story to hold onto the Christmas spirit, you can find it here (with BookFunnel link for ease of download, of course). And we now have this beautiful cover to go with it.
In addition to the July SASS conference I'm attending in Norfolk July 9-12, I've been invited to Frolicon, which happens in Atlanta, GA April 30-May 3, for their "Ink Track." While that track does focus on authors who write the kinds of things I write, Frolicon isn't an author-reader conference, per se. It's more like a light-hearted conference celebrating sexuality and educating others about many different aspects of it, including BDSM. Here's their official "about us" statement:
Frolicon is the unique juxtaposition of the geek and kink worlds celebrated in glorious fashion in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Each Spring we celebrate our unique sense of fun and frivolity with 2000 of our closest friends. What’s your poison? We’ve got it all. Kink. Gaming. Burlesque. Music. Costuming. Parties. Lots and lots of parties.
At Frolicon we pride ourselves on providing a safe and comfortable place where you can be you. With tracks of programming with focuses on LGBTQIA, erotica and sci-fi/fantasy authors, photography, dance, polyamory, psychology, and so much more, we are positive that you’ll find your happy place and maybe discover a few new ones. See you in the Spring!
So how could that NOT be tons of fun? This will be my first year attending, so I'll let you know more details as I have them. Hope you'll be able to join me for at least one of those events!
Controlled Response and Honor Bound, Books 2 and 3 of the Knights of the Board Room series, are now available on Audible! The narrator assigned is G. C. VonCloudts, who has already narrated some of the other books in the Knights of the Board Room series. These stories, as well as the rest of the Knights of the Board Room books, are also offered through the Audible Escape program, if you participate in that. Click on either of the titles above to go directly to the Audible listing for that book.
Remember, you can find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can also leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Facebook under Joey W. Hill, and you can visit the JWHMembersOnly FB fan forum group here. I'm @JoeyWHill on Twitter, and my Pinterest boards related to the books are here.
I'd also love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!
Thank you all so much for your support of my work!
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium - direct email, FB, GoodReads or Twitter - and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative communication methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or FB, or a tweet, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
While you can subscribe to the newsletter through my website, you may find your email host isn't letting it through, thanks to broad spam-blocking mechanisms that don't separate communications you've specifically requested to receive, from those you haven't. Regrettably, there's not a lot we can do on this side if the newsletter is hitting an email filter that is bouncing it without notifying either one of us.
However, if you think this is happening to you, and you've checked your allowed lists and done everything you can think of to get the email through, here are a couple other options:
Like my FB page or follow me on Twitter. Whenever I issue a newsletter, I will post the updated link to it on both of those, to make sure it reaches the widest number of people possible. Or...
Put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorite links. You can click on it anytime to see if a new newsletter has been released. I try to post a new one every 30-45 days.
That was the glowing response by the GoodReads reviewer who had an advance copy of the book: "A perfect mixture of love, brutality and poetry." Are you ready for Wolf and Ella? Less than two weeks to go until the December 15 release of Vampire Master!
LET'S DISCO! Vampire Master has two things you might not find in most erotic romances. One of them is the most selfless offer of chocolate that's ever been depicted in a life-or-death situation (no spoilers - wink). The other is a disco scene! Because Ella is the "Minion of Play" at Club Atlantis, she's regularly introducing theme events, and one of them is a Disco Night. I blogged about it here if you want to find out more. You'll be doing the Hustle in your living room and listening to the BeeGees before it's over (grin). I know I was. And if you want to see the outfits Ella and Wolf wear for the event, you can jump over to their Pinterest board. I hope you all will have some additional inspirational suggestions for me to add to the board after you read Vampire Master. Or maybe you have some now!
BLANKET GIVEAWAY - The week of Vampire Master's release, we'll be doing all sorts of giveaways - books, gift certificates, etc - but I will also be offering this plush lap blanket (click on it to see it in a bigger size). Want to curl up with Daegan, Gideon and Anwyn? I'll announce the giveaway during the release party that will be happening all day on December 15 at the JWHMembersOnly Facebook page, so if you're not already on the group, be sure and join to find out how to enter.
CELEBRATE DECEMBER 15-16 - As noted above, on December 15 I'll be posting and doing giveaways from home base, the JWHMembersOnly Facebook page, all day, so I hope you'll stop in at some point and enjoy the celebration. At 8pm ET that night, I'll be going LIVE for at least an hour to interact and answer questions via live video! On December 16, I'll also be doing a takeover at the Social Butterfly Party Room from 5-8pm ET, where the fun will continue.
Here are some reminders of other celebratory things happening:
FREE READ: Vampire Mistress is being offered as a FREE ebook from now until December 15, in anticipation and celebration of Vampire Master’s release. Already read it? Then pass the word on to your vampire-loving friends, so they can get hooked on the series as well. Vampire Mistress, Vampire Trinity and the upcoming Vampire Master are a standalone subset of the Vampire Queen series. They are considered the “Club Atlantis books.” So, for the next few weeks, the “first” of the Club Atlantis books, Vampire Mistress, will be available free on ebook. That Vampire Mistress link above or clicking the picture below gives you all the vendor links, if you can't find the book on your preferred vendor site.
ARE YOU A REVIEWER OR BLOGGER? Would you like an ARC of Vampire Master? And/or would you like to participate in the release day or bookstagram blitz, or blog tour? You can sign up here. And thank you for supporting Vampire Master!
NEW VAMPIRE QUEEN SERIES BOOKMARKS - WANT ONE? I now have a gorgeous Vampire Queen series bookmark that reflects the new look of the series. Would you like one? With my Get One/Give One program, you can email me at storywitch@storywitch.com with your mailing address (which I promise to use only for your bookmark), and I will send you two of these bookmarks – one to give and one to keep. Help me spread the word about my vampires AND get yourself a keepsake at the same time.
Interested in other beautiful bookmarks I might have available? Go to the Bookmark Gallery and see the series styles I have to offer. If you click on each picture, it will give you the full size view. If you want one, just let me know as described above and in the sidebar. I'll send you two - one to keep and one to give to a book-loving friend!
PRE-ORDER LINKS are live at all the vendor sites, but you can find them in one place here, at the book page on my website. PRINT VERSION is also available now. It is eligible for Kindle Match, so the Kindle version will appear on your device on the December 15 release date.
CHAPTER ONE PEEK! You can find that at the book page as well, but for convenience, you can also click the BookFunnel link here, to download it to your preferred ebook device.
PREQUEL VIGNETTE I wrote a short prequel about Wolf and Ella (it was a fun way to promo Vampire Embrace, which was releasing at the time, AND offer an early glimpse of these two characters). This prequel is available for download through BookFunnel here, or at the Cantrips (Vignettes) page on my website.
More events and giveaways might crop up as the month continues, so just keep an eye on my Facebook and Twitter pages to find out what might be happening. Unless you're too busy reading Vampire Master, of course. A totally acceptable excuse!
Controlled Response and Honor Bound, Books 2 and 3 of the Knights of the Board Room series, are in production! The narrator assigned is G. C. VonCloudts, who has already narrated other books in the Knights of the Board Room series. I was hoping we might see them out by year end, but with December traditionally being a shutdown month for most publishers, it's more likely at this point we'll see them roll out early in 2020. I'll keep you posted. These stories, as well as the rest of the Knights of the Board Room books, will be offered through the Audible Escape program, if you participate in that.
What will I write after Vampire Master? I'm still narrowing it down, but here are the choices the muse is mulling the most:
Nature of Desire: Rory and Daralyn from Rough Canvas, or Ellen, also from Rough Canvas. Interestingly, she'll be paired with James, the security chief at Club Atlantis in the Vampire Queen series, so it will be a contemporary with a touch of paranormal in the background, lol.
Vampire Queen series: Catriona is a strong possibility, the Fae character from Bound by the Vampire Queen, whose love interest would be Mal and Elisa's son (Mal and Elisa are from Vampire Instinct). Or, Ruth - Mal and Elisa's daughter (they had twins) and Merc, the part incubus/part something else, from Medusa's Heart.
Arcane Shot - Ramona and Silas, which would complete the Arcane Shot intended three-witch trilogy.
Now, just because the Muse is considering the above doesn't mean she won't surprise me and pull an entirely different story out she wants me to write. However, for now, these are the characters that keep coming back to me. If you want to see more detail on my thoughts on the above, and other percolating ideas, you can always visit my In the Works page on my website.
Remember, you can find me online through my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. You can also leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads. I'm on Facebook under Joey W. Hill, and you can visit the JWHMembersOnly FB fan forum group here. I'm @JoeyWHill on Twitter, and my Pinterest boards related to the books are here.
I'd also love it if you followed me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, since that helps my books get increased visibility and recommendations on the site. And in return, you get heads up about releases and sales!
Thank you all so much for your support of my work!
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE? Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium - direct email, FB, GoodReads or Twitter - and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through to me, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative communication methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or FB, or a tweet, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
While you can subscribe to the newsletter through my website, you may find your email host isn't letting it through, thanks to broad spam-blocking mechanisms that don't separate communications you've specifically requested to receive, from those you haven't. Regrettably, there's not a lot we can do on this side if the newsletter is hitting an email filter that is bouncing it without notifying either one of us. However, we do have some things you can try that seem to have worked for folks:
FIRST - make sure the newsletter email is part of your contact list: "newsletter@storywitch.com."
SECOND - Check whatever filters you do have for spam and the like and see what methods are available to you to ensure an email like this gets through.
THIRD - Contact me at newsletter@storywitch.com and ask to be unsubscribed. Once we confirm with you that has been done, rather than us sending you an invitation (which can bounce for the aforementioned reasons), we have you go in to the website newsletter link and subscribe yourself - here's the link to that. If it works, you'll get an automatic invitation to confirm, and then, fingers crossed, you should be set.
FOURTH - If none of this works or all of it is just too frustrating and you want to say "screw it!" (and I can hardly blame you, lol), then just make sure you've liked my FB page or are following me on Twitter. This is because whenever I issue a newsletter, I will post the updated link to it on both of those, to make sure it reaches the widest number of people possible! It's the same link monthly, so if you want, just put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorites. You can click on it anytime to see if an update has been posted. I try to post a new one every 30-45 days.
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