Friday, December 30, 2011

The Pets of the Instincts Series

Hey, everyone! If you've read my vampire novels in the Instincts Series, which is only two books at the moment, NATURAL INSTINCTS and ENDURING INSTINCTS, you know there are a few secondary characters who are very important to the main ones; the pets! I'm talking about Bull the English Mastiff, Kuma the Akita Inu, Lynx and Hemingway the Maine Coon cats, and of course, Dakarai the African Lion.

For the past few months, I've been writing the first draft of the 3rd Instincts novel. And I'm nearly done! Woo hoo! It'll still be a few months before it's released....since I have to obsessively polish it before turning it in, then it'll have to go through editing, but it's nice to almost have the first solid draft complete. As I draw closer to the The End, I thought it'd be fun to post pics of a few critters who look similar to our furry heroes in the books. I should probably say, though, in a way this post could be considered a slight spoiler, since Kuma doesn't appear until ENDURING INSTINCTS, but I guess it's also not that big of a spoiler seeing pics of one of the characters :-) Hope you guys enjoy getting this look this look at them!

Bull



Kuma



Lynx



Hemingway



Dakarai


Saturday, December 24, 2011

New Release: Beautiful Harmony

Ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to welcome back to the stage for an encore performance, Kyler Christenson and Robbie Russo!  My new short story featuring them, "Beautiful Harmony", just went live at MLR Press...a day early!  Woo hoo!  Hooray to MLR for releasing it early!  I hope everyone will enjoy getting to see where Ky and Robbie are in their relationship in the time since BLACK HEART DOWN.

For those interested in checking the story out, here's the link: http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=CONQU004 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!


Friday, December 23, 2011

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

It's been a long time since I've posted some music here, so I thought I would share one by a favorite artist of mine, Josh Groban, who did this song, "Believe", for one of my favorite Christmas movies, The Polar Express. To my ears, Josh is one of the most beautifully gifted singers I've ever heard and I've been a fan of his since his first album. And as I'm sure many of you know, The Polar Express was originally a children's book by Chris Van Allsburg. And yeah, that's a favorite children's book of mine, too. I've got all sorts of favorites going on in this post ;-) I think the movie did a wonderful job in capturing the magic of the book, and Josh did the same with his voice in this song.

And so, my dears, from me to you, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. You've all given me so much throughout the year with your friendship, your kindness, and your support, and I thank you so much. I wish you all happiness, peace, and love.



Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Weekly Inspiration - Holiday Edition 2011

Happy Holidays, ladies and gentlemen! Since Christmas is fast approaching...a little too fast for those of us who haven't finished their shopping yet...I thought it's time to bust out some merry inspiration. Some of these pics I posted last year, but hey, nothing wrong with checking them out again, right? With most of these, I sadly don't know who the models are, but there are a couple past favorites such as Edilson Nascimento and James Ellis. Hope everyone is having a happy holiday!




















Monday, December 19, 2011

Winner of the Holiday Blog Hop! And...More Giveaways!

Wow! I can't even begin say how happy I was to see so many entries for my giveaway in the Stuff Your Stockings Blog Hop! Thank you so much, everyone, for entering. I really appreciate that you guys stopped by to enter and leave such beautiful comments. You truly were the ones who gave to me, and I'm grateful to you.  I'll keep your sweet and kind words in my heart, and visit them often as I work on stories for all of you!

If you've entered my giveaways before, you know this is the hardest part for me, picking the winner. I always wish I could give something to everyone. As I always do, to select the winner I use random.org, an online randomizer that mixes all the entries and puts them in a random order. And for this giveaway, the lucky one it put on top was:

Andi

Congratulations! I'll be getting in touch with you very soon!

But for those who didn't win, there's still a chance for you to win something from me!  Today, the wonderful and talented author, K-lee Klein, will be posting an interview with me on her blog (http://chaosinthemoonlight.blogspot.com/) and you can enter to win a copy of my upcoming release, the short story "Beautiful Harmony". The copy will have to be an IOU, since the book doesn't go live until December 25th, but I promise the winner it will be in your inbox on that day! Just head over to K-lee's blog and leave a comment to be entered!

Also, on December 22nd, over on the review site, Jessewave, there's going to be a HUGE giveaway featuring tons of gay romance authors, and yep, I'm taking part in that one, too. I'm going to be offering another chance to win a title from my backlist in print or ebook. I believe with that giveaway, it's a first come/first serve basis. The first person to leave a comment stating the book/author they want, wins it. So on the 22nd, you have another chance to win one of my books, or books by any number of your favorite authors. To learn more about the Jessewave Santa Authors Giveaway, CLICK HERE.

Thank you again, to each and every one of you for entering in the giveaway, and most of all, for your support and kindness. The greatest gift that can be given to an author is to read their work. I'm grateful to all of you for giving to me. I'm wishing you and yours the most beautiful of holidays!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Upcoming Release: Beautiful Harmony

Hello, ladies and gentlemen! Just a reminder, you still have time to enter in the Stuff Your Stockings Blog Hop Giveaway going on. If you'd like to enter for a chance to win one of my books, just leave a comment on the Giveaway post right below this one. I'll be announcing my winner tomorrow, December 19th, along with some more news ;-)

And now, on to my upcoming release! You may recall a while back I posted an update on what was going on in my writing world, and in that post I mentioned the short story, "Beautiful Harmony." Well, the release day is fast approaching!  It's set to go live at MLR Press on December 25th! Woo hoo! Since the release is getting closer, I thought I'd share some more information about it, including the blurb and an excerpt.  The cover for it is the standard MLR Press cover for all their holiday releases, so the guys on it aren't meant to be Ky and Robbie, but I think it's still a very sweet and pretty cover.

This short story is about 10k words, and timeline wise in the Conquest series, it takes place after BLACK HEART DOWN, so I guess you could say it's Conquest 5.5, since it's not a full length novel or novella. I really loved working with Ky and Robbie again, and this story will show everyone where they are and where they're going in their lives and relationship. I hope everyone will enjoy getting to visit with them again this holiday!


Blurb:
Featuring Kyler Christenson and Robbie Russo from the novel, BLACK HEART DOWN.

Ever since rock stars, Kyler Christenson and Robbie Russo, pledged their commitment, they've lived only for each other, and it's been a life of happiness every day. When Robbie wakes on Christmas morning to a special message in the snow and Kyler standing in the early sunlight, he races outside to be with him.

Though he and Robbie have faced challenges in their past, Kyler knows what he wants for their future. As Robbie stands before him, Kyler presents him with a gift that will change both their lives to one of beautiful harmony.

Excerpt:

Thump

Robbie shifted in bed, groaning in displeasure as sleep started to slip away from him.

Thump

A low growl rumbled in his throat. What the hell was that noise?

Thump

Damn it.  Maybe he could get Ky to check it out. He rolled over, sliding an arm across the bed to where Kyler was. Or, where Ky should be. His hand found nothing but an empty bed and cool sheets. 

Thump

Robbie flung off the blankets. He’d go check and find Ky. It sounded like the noise was outside one of the bedroom windows. Actually, it sounded like it was hitting the window.

He walked around the foot of the bed toward the large windows that overlooked the backyard, the warmth from bed floating off his nude body with every step he took. He’d been hoping for a bit more romantic of a wake-up for his and Ky’s first Christmas morning in their new home. He just hoped there wasn’t something wrong with the mansion, like a gutter knocked loose from all the snow, or the roof getting ready to cave in.   

Robbie reached the window and pulled the curtain aside, startling back as snow splattered across the glass on the outside.  He stared at the spot in confusion…and all the other spots on the window showing it’d been getting hit for a while. He looked beyond to the yard, letting out a shocked cough, followed instantly by laughter.

Kyler stood below the window, a snowball in hand, proving himself to be the culprit in waking Robbie.  He wore a puffy black coat and black gloves, but no hat, which didn’t surprised Robbie since in all their eleven years together, he’d never seen him wear a hat since Ky didn’t like his hair getting messed up.  Even from a distance, he could see Kyler’s cheeks were flushed with the cold. With the faint morning sunlight touching him, Ky’s golden blond hair shined. Robbie stored the image of him in his mind, wanting to cherish forever how beautiful Kyler looked at that moment.

Kyler snapped one arm up, waving to him.  Robbie’s smile grew larger, and he waved back.  Ky looked so happy.  He saw in him again the seventeen year-old boy he’d fallen in love with when they were both in high school.  Over the years, their relationship had been more than a little rocky.  On again, off again. Running away from each other only to turn around and run right back. 

Through it all, he knew the young man he’d fallen in love with continued to exist within Kyler.  He saw him in Ky so many times over the years, but in the few months since they’d committed fully to each other, Ky had become who he was always meant to be.  He was still the same fearless and bold frontman of their band, but now the confidence Ky put out was real and true, because he had finally learned to accept himself.  Kyler doing that accelerated their relationship to the level he always dreamed to have with him.

He knew their past problems weren’t all Ky’s fault.  He was an equal partner in the hurt.  With the success and fame of their music careers with Black Heart Down, they both had lost their ways and made mistakes.  The important thing was, they’d both also let the past go.  They still held onto the good parts of it, and really, there were so many more of those and they were so much stronger than anything else.

He had a feeling, though, this memory they were creating now would be one of the best for all their lives.

Kyler stopped waving and gestured behind him with flourish. 

Robbie looked beyond Kyler and somehow his smile managed to grow even more.  Spelled out in the snow with large letters were the words, I Love You.  Each letter was connected to the next, as if Kyler had shuffled through the snow to create the message.  Behind the message were two lopsided snow men, one with a wireless mic on a stand in front of him, and the other had one of Kyler’s old guitars that he never played anymore hanging from a strap around the second large snowball that made up the torso.

Robbie burst out laughing at the frozen versions of themselves, but also emotion welled inside him at Kyler’s efforts to make the first Christmas morning in their home special.

Copyright 2011 by S.J. Frost and MLR Press

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Christmas Blog Hop Giveaway!

Happy Holidays, ladies and gentlemen! I hope everyone has been having a wonderful holiday season. Mine feels like it's going by far too quickly, but since there's still some time to spread a little holiday cheer, I'm taking part in the MASSIVE Stuff Your Stockings Christmas Blog Hop, hosted by the lovely Drea Becraft who organized the Halloween Blog Hop that we all had so much fun taking part in. If you look to the right side, you'll see that festive little button, and if you click on it, you'll be whisked off to a page giving full details of this blog hop, what authors are participating, and what they're giving away. There are nearly 200 authors participating! The prizes are varied, everything from books to gift cards to jewelry. I just love seeing the generosity of all these people coming together to give something back to our readers and I'm so excited to be able to take part!

And what am I giving away, you ask? Why, I'm offering up any one title from my backlist, winner's choice of it in print or ebook. If the winner chooses print, I'll sign it for them. All my books are listed on my website (http://www.sjfrost.com/) and the ones that are available in print form are: CONQUEST, NO FEAR, KEYS TO LOVE, BLACK HEART DOWN, NATURAL INSTINCTS, and ENDURING INSTINCTS. To enter my contest, just leave a comment below. Be sure to also include an email address so I can contact you, but if you're not comfortable posting your email address publicly, like before, feel welcomed to email me your entry at:  s.j.frost3@gmail.com  And be sure to merrily hop over to the blogs of the other authors taking part for more awesome prizes!

Good luck to everyone who enters! Here's wishing all a beautiful holiday!



http://thebloghopspot.com/event-page/

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Weekly Inspiration - Aaron O'Connell

Woo hoo!  I'm finally putting up some Weekly Inspiration for y'all.  I know, it's been way too long since I last posted some.  And for this week, I present to you American model and actor, Aaron O'Connell.  He's a very successful model, having worked for such names as Ralph Lauren, Jockey, GQ, and many more.  He was born in Ohio, raised in Indiana, and is a graduate of Purdue University.  Hooray for a Midwest boy!  Yeah, I live in Ohio.  Can't help it if I'm biased ;-)  And...he has a website!  Hallelujah for a model with a website!  Here's the link for those who'd like to check it out, which I do recommend because there are some really lovely shots there of his work: http://www.aaronoconnell.com/  You can also follow him on Twitter. Enjoy!









Saturday, December 3, 2011

NATURAL INSTINCTS Wins Best GLBT Vampire Book of 2011 at TRR!

Hey, guys and gals!  I have some exciting news to share with y'all.  You may remember a post I did a while back mentioning how NATURAL INSTINCTS had gotten nominated at The Romance Reviews for their Best of 2011 Awards in the GLBT Vampire category. I'm absolutely thrilled to announce...it won!  Hooray!  I'm elated and grateful for the honor, and especially so very appreciative to everyone who voted for it. Thank you, so very much!  And another big thank you to the folks at The Romance Reviews for holding the awards and letting me be a part of it. I'm still incredibly flattered!

Here's a full list of all the winners in the Paranormal categories: http://www.theromancereviews.com/bestbook.php

There are so many wonderfully talented authors who won and who were nominated. I think it's impossible to look at all of them and not add books to your TBR list! I'm thrilled to be in their company!

And to continue the good news, the sequel, ENDURING INSTINCTS, received a wonderful review from Top 2 Bottom Reviews, where it earned 4.5 out of 5. Yay! Thank you to the reviewer, Michele, for taking the time to read it and write up the review. Here's the link for those who'd like to see: http://top2bottomreviews.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/enduring-instincts-by-s-j-frost/

And now, I shall go on with my happy dancin' :-)