Favorite Quote Friday #161

Happy Friday!  It's been a VERY busy week for me.  

I finished going over edits for Shadows Strike, Immortal Guardians Book 6.  I wrote down a lot of favorite quotes for you while I went over them and also selected a few excerpts.  Can't wait to share them with you!

Next will come the copyedits.  Then the proofs.  Then the ARCs.  Then BAM! — Release Day on August 25th!  

I also went over copyedits for Phantom Embrace, the novella I've written for the On The Hunt anthology.  I really like Yuri's story and hope you will, too. 

And I'm currently working on designing some new swag.  So . . . as I said, it has been a very busy week.  :-)

#Giveaway!  Tomorrow is the last day you can enter to #WIN a signed copy of Night Unbound, Immortal Guardians Book 5!  I don't think the contest mentions swag, but I almost always throw some of that in there, too.  ;-)  You can learn more and enter HERE.

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It's time once more for Favorite Quote Friday!  Today I thought I would give you a micro-excerpt of Phantom Shadows, Immortal Guardians Book 3.  In it the hero, Bastien, is hunting with Richart, the hero of In Still Darkness. 

“You’re doing it again.” 

“What?”  Bastien looked over at Richart as the Frenchman held his thermal scope up to his right eye and scanned UNC’s campus for the fiftieth time from their position on the roof of Davis Library.  “I’m doing what?” 

“Mooning.” 

Bastien snorted.  “Last time I checked, my ass was still in my pants.” 

“Not the drop your drawers and bend over mooning.  The sighing as you fantasize about Melanie mooning.” 

“Bollocks.” 

“You’re infatuated with her.  At the very least.” 

Bastien thought about denying it, but . . .  “Can you blame me?” 

“No.  But your distraction with her last night may have contributed to your not noticing the soldiers earlier.” 

“So what was your excuse?” 

He sighed.  “I was distracted by Jenna.”  He gave Bastien a rueful smile.  “We’re a pair, are we not?  Two hundred years old and behaving like we’re each caught up in a first crush.”

I just love watching kick-ass warriors fall for their heroines.  :-)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne

Favorite Quote Friday #160

Happy Friday!  This week really flew past!  I'm still working on Shadows Strike edits.  I know that makes it sound as if I'm completely rewriting the manuscript, but I'm not.  :-)  Thus far the edits on Shadows Strike have only entailed adding a sentence or a paragraph here or there to clarify or expand upon something.    

 

So what's taking so long?  One of the wisest things you can do as a writer is set your manuscript aside for a couple of months after you finish it, then pick it up again and read back through it once it's out of your head.  Unfortunately, deadlines don't leave me time to do that.  So I always view edits as my chance to go over the manuscript again with fresh eyes.  Instead of just skimming through it and addressing the occasional comment in the margins, I start at page one and don't stop until I reach the end.
  So far I'm loving it. ;-)  Ethan and Heather are great together.  And you get to see a lot of Zach and Lisette (hero and heroine of Night Unbound) in this one.  If you'd like to read the blurb or Pre-Order it, here are some links:

#Amazon • #iTunes • Barnes and Noble • #Kobo • #BAM!

RT Book Reviews Top Pick

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It's time once more for Favorite Quote Friday!  Something else you may not know about me is that I periodically like to listen to my books on audio, starting with Book 1 and continuing to the latest release.  It helps me remember things like what this or that character's weapon of choice is, affectionate names couples have for each other, and the like.  Well, this week, I've been listening to Night Reigns, Immortal Guardians Book 2, and—for today's selection—thought I would share with you a quote that made me laugh.  

This scene takes place at a meeting in which all of the local Immortal Guardians and their Seconds are strategizing.  If you aren't familiar with the series—Marcus and Ami are a couple, and Roland and Sarah are a couple:  

Marcus settled a hand on Ami’s thigh.  “He thinks Sarah is still human, that she’s Roland’s Second.”

“That will work to our advantage,” Sarah pointed out.  “They won’t be anticipating my strength and speed.”  

Étienne inspected her from the corner of his eye, a sly smile stealing across his face.  “Are you sure I can’t talk you into leaving this old sod and running away with me?  I do so love strong women.”

Roland’s jaw twitched.  “She’s strong enough to kick your ass if you don’t stop hitting on her.”

The sly smile became a grin full of amusement.  “As long as she spanks me first.”

Ah, Étienne.  Such a shameless flirt.  I'm glad he finally found a strong woman of his own in Darkness Rises.  :-)

Have a great weekend!

Dianne

Contest, Auction, and Edits

Woohoo!  It's Friday!  I am SO looking forward to the weekend!  I have a variety of news for you.

First, I'm In the Author Spotlight this week over at Ann Lory's Blog Bites, where I'm giving away a signed copy of Darkness Dawns.  Drop by Blog Bites and tell me what special gift or ability you would like to possess for a chance to win.  I'll choose a winner at the beginning of next week.

Second, I finished the Night Reigns edits my editor requested.  I can't remember if I told you, but I only needed to change a word here and a sentence there, so I was very pleased.  And my editor was happy with the results.  Yay!  I also enjoyed reading through the story again.  I really like Marcus.  I'm glad he's getting his HEA.  It's funny.  While I was pursuing publication, I thought my worries would end once I signed that first contract.  Then I signed the contract and worried like crazy about the release, hope-hope-hoping readers would like it.  So I thought, if readers liked Darkness Dawns, then my worries would really be over.  Well, I'm thrilled with the responses readers have had to Darkness Dawns, so much so that words just don't convey it.  And yet . . . my worries aren't over, because now I'm figuratively chewing my nails (that's actually one bad habit I don't have), waiting to see if readers will like Night Reigns as much as they liked Darkness Dawns.  :-)  I'm guessing I'll be stricken with several bouts of insomnia between now and December.

Third, I sent all of the information requested for Brenda Novak's Annual Auction for the Cure of Diabetes.  Here's the picture I took for it:

You can find my listing -- an autographed copy of Darkness Dawns, an autographed cover flat, and a mini-bookmark -- here and other listings here.   Pass the word along.  It's for a good cause and I'm very honored to have been asked to participate.  Bidding begins in a couple of days.  I plan to bid on some items myself.  :-)

That's it for now.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne