Zhadi’s Den

Hot off the presses from Ravenous Romance!!!!

FANG BANGERS collects 14 hot stories of fanged and clawed love and lust - Vampires loving shape shifters, werewolves lusting for fairies and every creature imaginable with the girl next door!It’s a collection of the ultimate taboos.

Erotic super star Cecilia Tan gives us some Vampire BDSM, New York Times best-selling author Lois Gresh gives us a clawed creature of unique proportions and propensities, and Gina McQueen (New York Times best-selling author John Skipp in drag) shows us some new werewolf tricks.

And more importantly from my perspective, my alter ego Inara LaVey and her boyfriend Kilt Kilpatrick both have stories in Fang Bangers as well, along with our friend Rebecca Leigh!  Click on the book cover for more information! 

As my friends and family know, I’ve been buried in work the last few months. Work work and writing work.  I’ve been plowing through the WiP That Wouldn’t Die and have watched two self-imposed deadlines pass by at a speed that’s frightening.  My only social life has been Thursday night wine tastings at Vin Debut and the occasional quick hello to friends, the social equivalent of hit and runs.  And I’m STILL not done with the WiP.  Oh, I can see the light at the end of the zombie-infested tunnel … but there is still work to be completed. 

In August, however, I plan on being back in the blogging habit. Not only here at the Den, but the bi-weekly Ravenous Wednesdays on UnBound, my Monday posts at Fatal Foodies and my bi-weekly Sunday posts on Make Mine Mystery (if the latter two haven’t replaced me in disgust by now). 

I’m hoping to have good news to share in a few weeks, but in the meantime… I write.  I walk on the beach. I play with kitties… and I write some more.  

I miss you, world!!!  See ya soon!

That’s right!  Our sexy-torso endowed garden gnome (you KNOW it looks like a garden gnome with the castle turret right there) is now available in paperback here.  Champagne is a book I’m especially proud of because it really pushed my limits and comfort zone as a writer to create a story with a: no mystery, and b: no zombies.  

Product Description

“Well-written with Ms. LaVey’s usual flair for humor, sex and fun, Champagne is a wild ride through France. Ms. LaVey has a way with words and humor; she never fails to leave a smile on my face.” –Bookwenches (4 stars)

“Champagne by Inara LaVey is a witty, fun, informational and erotic adventure through France’s wine country. I look forward to reading more work from this talented author.” –Dark Divas (4 “delightful divas”)

Jeanette Wilson is an American girl on the trip of a lifetime to the wine regions of France. Unfortunately, she’s trapped with her soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend Daryl, a self-absorbed, self-aggrandizing, self-styled wine expert bent on swirling, sniffing, sipping, swishing, chewing, swallowing and occasionally spitting his way through the wineries. Between his endless lectures and insufferable putdowns, her insignificant other is quickly turning her dream vacation into a nightmare. But things change for Jeanette once they come to the zenith of their French road trip, the Champagne house of Chateau Roux-Dubois. Their hosts, Amaury and Marie-Elise Roux-Dubois, turn out to be both charming and attractive, and go out of their way to extend a warm welcome to her. And they make it very clear that it is she, not Daryl, who is their special guest, particularly when the striking Marie-Elise takes Jeanette down to the wine cellar for a very personal tour, followed by an unusual French lesson from Amaury. When she and Daryl are invited to stay and participate in the harvest festival, Jeanette finds herself caught up in a ménage a trois with the Roux-Dubois, both intent on teaching her many things…and not just about wine.

Ravenous Wednesday on Un:Bound with guest author Lana Griffin!  Come and join us for another entertaining post and subsequent lively discussion in the comments thread!     

In further Ravenous news, I’m happy to announce that my alter-ego Inara LaVey’s book CHAMPAGNE placed #11 in the romance category on the Predators and Editors Poll.  Oddly enough, it was not listed under erotica, which is kind of ironic considering it features a menage a trois.  Nice to know whoever nominated it did see the romance and there IS a ‘happily ever after’ ending.  Or ‘happily for now,’ as it were. Also Champagne is the Book of the Day at Ravenous Romance today!  Woot!   And see nice things reviewers have said:

“Well-written with Ms. LaVey’s usual flair for humor, sex and fun, Champagne is a wild ride through France. Ms. LaVey has a way with words and humor; she never fails to leave a smile on my face.” –Bookwenches (4 stars)

“Champagne by Inara LaVey is a witty, fun, informational and erotic adventure through France’s wine country. I look forward to reading more work from this talented author.” –Dark Divas (4 “delightful divas”)

Other Ravenous authors who made the top 20 in erotica and romance were Lisa Lane, C. Margery Kempe, Ryan Field, Sandra Cormier and Lexi Ryan.  Congrats, all, on this well-deserved recognition!  For more details courtesy of the lovely Lisa Lane, go here.

It’s Ravenous Wednesday on Un:Bound today, with guest blogger C. Margery Kempe discussing pen names.  The discussion is already pretty lively in the comment thread, with new RR author Lana Griffin duking it out with her Real Author self.  Alcohol is flowing and silliness ensuing!  Please join the conversation!  

That’s right, it’s Ravenous Romance’s one year anniversary!  Or birthday, depending on how you look at at it.   And to celebrate the occasion, all eBooks at Ravenous Romance are 99 cents today!  

I am proud and pleased to have been one of RR’s authors from the company’s infancy.  Holly and Lori have given me the chance to write (and be paid for it) the kind of stuff I enjoyed writing for fun and escapism back in the day.  Now I’m writing for fun, escapism and filthy lucre!  Schweet….

I also love the fact that ideas I came up with years ago (quite literally) have been brought out of the dusty, musty closet of my brain, shaken out, aired a bit to get rid of stale odors, and are being reworked.  It’s like playing with old toys and appreciating them in a whole new way.  I’m a big kid that way, I guess.  

Anyway, congrats to Holly, Lori, and all of my fellow RR authors!!  Here’s to an even better second year!  

Come to Un:Bound, my friends, and visit with Isabel!  I will, of course, be there as well, dispensing food and beverages.  Forgive the brevity of this message. While it was not sent from my Blackberry, I am travel-weary and brain-dead. 

Champagne will be the Book of the Day at Ravenous Romance  this Thursday, October 1st!  It’s somewhat… naughtier than Ripping the Bodice, but I’ve been told it’s still got the signature Inara LaVey sense of humor.  Which is a good thing, right?  

My latest Ravenous Romance book is coming out next week, with a tentative release date of Tuesday, September 28th!   You’ve all heard (or read about) me grebbling for the last six months of how tough this one was to write.  Well, it’s done, it’s coming out, and I am very happy with the final result. We don’t have acknowledgment pages in the Ravenous books (something I hope will evolve!), so I’m going to do the thanking right here and now! 

Hats off to Jen Safrey, amazing copyeditor, and many thanks to Holly and Lori for their patience and willingness to extend my deadline.  

 Much love and thanks to the Lurking Novelists, Best Writing Group Evah! I owes ya all champagne!

Most of all, thank you, David Fitzgerald, for your enthusiam for this particular book,  your support, and your love through all of my writerly angst and depression.  I could NOT have written it without you.  This one’s for you, angel! 

 (REMINDER: Tomorrow is Ravenous Wednesday on Un:Bound!  Please stop by and visit Sephera Giron!  And while I’m at it, I want to give a special thanks to Adele/Hagelrat at Un:Bound for her energetic, enthusiastic support of me and the Ravenous gang.  Jack, you’re on my thank-you list too, for always being a part of our antics and being so supportive of ALL my writing!) 

Okay!  My book, Ripping the Bodice, is part of the Escape with Romance collection featured on HSN tomorrow.  Ravenous co-founder Holly Schmidt will be live on HSN at 8:35 AM and 4:35 PM on Monday, September 14th, and at 3:00 AM on Tuesday, September 15th, talking about the 4 collections (paranormal, historical, contemporary & sampler pack). These times are eastern standard time, btw!  And yes, I know they have my name wrong in the Contemporary list. I am NOT Keta Diablo. But my heroine IS reading her book, Land of the Falling Stars, on the cover of MY book.  So it’s kind of a funny mistake!

I’m delighted to be included in this  opportunity and a hearty congrats to my fellow RR authors, and to Holly, Lori and Allan!   Please go check out the link to see the other authors and titles featured!

From the HSN Web Site:
“Voyage to a distant land where fantasy and passion ignite. The Escape with Romance Exclusive 6-Book Collection is a fascinating compilation of stories filled with infatuation, excitement and of course, love. These tales will evoke the internal fires that burn deep within us all. Choose from the 3 collections; the romantically nostalgic Historical genre, the futuristic and supernatural of the Paranormal genre, or the modern-day heroines of the Contemporary genre. Plus, if you can’t decide choose the Sampler, which includes 2 books from every genre, so you can get a little bit of it all. Suddenly, reading just got a lot more interesting.