Saturday, December 31, 2016

The Demise of All Romance eBooks

I've been trying to process this whole All Romance closing thing. I tried really hard to feel bad as I was reading the e-mail telling me they were closing at the end of the year (3 days away at the time of the letter.) I mean, here is a woman (or group of women) who have worked for years to make the company successful. As much as my books are my babies, this company was theirs. So yeah. I tried to feel sorry for them. Tried to put myself in their situation. Tried to feel the pain, as it were. Even when I first read the terms they were proposing for a settlement (10 cents on the dollar.) I tried. For all of 10 minutes (figured I'd give them that since they were willing to give me 10% of what they owed me.)

So, then I thought. No. this isn't OK. It's really not OK! And I can't imagine WHY ARe would think it is. I suppose one could choose to look at it as, "Hey. At least they're paying something." But then I see they are still advertising on their Facebook page. They have made no effort to clarify their terms regarding pre-orders (I feel bad about this particularly because I talked Margaret Riley into putting Changeling books up for pre-order several months back,) and are apparently making no effort to return readers gift card money (I suppose those people are just shit out of luck) and companies -- like Changeling and Loose Id, companies that have been around for a very long time -- that have several hundred (or thousand) titles at ARe stand to lose a great deal of money.

So, no. I don't feel bad for them. If they were paying what they owed authors, then yes. I'd feel bad. Sure, they have bills. I get that. They had the right to sell something from their sight to people I personally would never have been able to reach as an self published author and I made money from them for YEARS. Yes. I'm grateful. More grateful than I can express. However. None of this gives them the right to take three months of my income. They have an agreed upon day of the quarter THEY set as pay day (45 days after the end of the calendar quarter.) It's kind of like, when you go out for lunch and your buddy wants something too. He gives you $10 to pay for his and expects change. Do you use his change to pay for your food without asking him? Not if you want to keep your friend. Sure, he might be ok with you using his change, since you're going out and all, but you ASK him if he's OK with that.

So, let's forget about non payment for a moment. Or, at least, let's forget about 4th quarter until the 27th of December. Because the site is still open, still selling titles (that haven't been deactivated) and their Facebook page is still posting sales and such... really? I get that some people schedule posts, but given they know they're closing, is there no one capable of shutting all that down? They may not be actually selling anything, may not be actually collecting any money, but perception is everything. And this from an author! (Lori James, the owner of All Romance eBooks also writes as Samantha Somersby... no, you won't find her work on Amazon -- other than the print versions that can't be taken down -- because the digital versions have been removed, so you can't leave reviews on titles you've already purchased.)

I'd say 10% is better than nothing, but I just don't feel like accepting that. I work too hard to settle for a fraction of what I earned. But i suppose with so many companies going under, it's become acceptable to stiff authors, people you've done business with for years. After all, we live in our imagination for a living. I guess I can just imagine getting paid. It'll be great fun. *insert eye roll*

I will say this. If anyone is unable to back up any of my self published books, if you forward me a receipt or a screenshot of your library (that I can varify from the said screenshot is you) I will gladly replace your book. I can't promise my Changeling Press titles or any books I had with Shara Azod, LLC, but I can promise I will try to compensate you for them. You can contact me at mkarland@gmail.com if you need this service.

You can read more details about the closing here.

Teeka


Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Hump Day HUMPs... Taken by the Wolf King COMING SOON!




Leif had no idea why he spoke so harshly to her. Even in his whispered voice, he knew he was being cruel telling her this. Hell, he wasn’t even certain he’d be able to follow through with any of it. Likely, his line would end with him because he knew he’d never be able to fully part her from her offspring. That would make him no better than the humans who kept his people prisoner. Perhaps he said it because he knew he’d never be able to carry out his threat. Perhaps he wanted her to think the worst because he knew there was no way he’d ever fully disengage his heart from her, no matter that it would be the smart thing to do. He wanted her to be as confused and hurt as he was, and this was the only way he could think of to do it.
“But make no mistake, you will be my wife. You will learn to please me in everything. I may seek lovers outside our union, but you will not. You’ll only know pleasure when I decide to give it, how I decide to give it…and where I decide to give it.”
Leif had her wrapped tightly in his arms, one arm over her breasts while the other one lay over her belly. Now, he slid his hand up her torso to cup one small breast in his palm. Instantly, the nipple pebbled under his caress, as if straining for his touch.
“Leif…”
“Be silent!” he hissed. “You’re at my mercy, mine to do with as I will!”
Elsa’s soft body trembled in his arms, her breathing deep and rapid. A perverse thrill went through him at the thought of what he was about to do. How far would she let him go before she protested? Not that he’d care. Leif would do anything and everything he wanted to her. No matter they were in a cavern full of people. It was best she realize exactly what her place would be and accept it now, before they got to Denwulf.
Again, he squeezed her breast, kneading it through the material of her tunic. She wore no bra so it was impossible for him not to slide his hand under her top to find her flesh. Leif could well imagine the plump blackberry peaks stiffening under his fingers. Gods knew he’d dreamt about it often enough in the preceding days. In his mind, he’d bitten those luscious nipples to the point of pain, watched in sickening fascination as she cried out with a mixture of pleasure and torment. He’d fantasized about taking her to the point of ecstasy only to intensify the pain so that she fell from that crest without release.
“If you knew all the things I’ve done to torment your little body in my mind since my imprisonment, you’d try to run away screaming. You would get nowhere, but you’d still try.”
“You want to hurt me?”
“So much I ache with it,” he snarled. “I want to pierce these nipples with the symbol of my crest, forever branding you as mine. My possession. I want to tie you to a post and lash that lovely skin until it bears my marks, letting you know you’ll never be free of me. My cock aches to plunge into your little cunt, to push past the ring of your ass until you feel my size so completely you’ll never forget my touch. I want to take you so long and hard you pass out only to take you again when you wake.” His grip on her breast tightened, but surprisingly, Elsa arched into him. So he shoved her pants out of his way and slid his other hand into her panties, cupping her sex.
“I bet you ache with the need to be filled with my cock, don’t you.” He made it a statement. Not that she tried to deny it. Good thing too because she was soaking wet. Had she done so, it would only be another mark against her, another lie. Betrayal.
Leif pinched her clit, tugging the sensitive nub until she shivered in his arms before releasing her to stroke her sex again. Fingers wet with her desire, Leif rubbed little circles over her clit to ease the ache he’d instilled. But not too long. He didn’t want her to come. Not yet.
“I’ll bend you over a rail and take you from behind in front of my men. You’ll be bound and naked for all to see while I take my revenge. Just as I proclaimed you my mate-in-waiting in front of them, I’ll let them all know you’re no longer my cherished mate. You’ll be nothing more than a vessel for my pleasure.” His fingers found their way inside her cunt, two, then three plunging inside her with faster and harder strokes. “Ah, you’re growing wetter at the thought. Being my whore probably turns you on more than being my wife.”
Elsa whimpered, not denying his brutal words, but not acknowledging them either. Her silence made his anger all the more heated. He wanted to hurt her, wanted her to protest so he could remind her over and over she was at his mercy. Instead, she seemed to accept her lot in life, and her place in his.
“Perhaps I’ll share you with my men. Long days on the battlefield away from women or any means of pleasure. You’ll be the camp whore. How would you like that?”
“I wouldn’t,” she whimpered. “But I’ll accept whatever punishment you see fit.”
Leif wanted to howl his frustrations. Did nothing shake her?
“Why do you not beg for my mercy?” The question was harsh as he nipped her ear, a small punishment for her not acting as he’d expected.
“Would it change your mind?”
“No,” he growled.
“Then if I’m to be humiliated, I’ll go to it with as much dignity as I can manage. But I won’t fight you. I wronged you, Leif. No matter the reasons, I hurt you. However you feel the need to punish me, I’ll accept it. It’s no less than I deserve.”
With a frustrated snarl, Leif reached lower, sliding his fingers from her pussy to find her anus. “You think I won’t ream this little hole?”
“I have no doubt you’ll do everything you said and more,” she said without hesitation, her voice steady. Brave little female.
“Yet you don’t beg me to spare you? I had no dignity in that cell. What makes you think I’ll allow you any?”
“Dignity isn’t something you’re allowed to have. Not something you’re given. It comes from inside, measured by how you handle a given situation. If you choose to strip me down and take me in front of everyone, I can’t stop you. But I won’t beg you not to. I won’t cry or plead. I’ll take my punishment as well as I can and hope that you’ll someday believe I’ve paid my debt to you.”
Pulling her tightly against him, Leif plunged a finger into her ass, fucking her there as he might her pussy. Elsa whimpered, but actually rocked against his fingers subtly. With that shift in her body, Leif’s cock shot hard as rock. He’d been stirring before, but the idea that his little mate might like what he was doing to her even as he punished her made visions of carnal sex and sadistic pleasure flash through his mind with unadulterated, aggressive lust. Possibilities shot straight to his brain, things he’d only ever dreamed about doing but never thought to experience. He’d do them with her. Every single one of them.
“You like this, don’t you? You want me to fuck your ass as hard and long as I need to. I bet you’d come from it.”
“Leif,” she whimpered, sweat coating her body as she continued to rock on his fingers.
“You need to come?”
“Would you let me if I admitted it?”
Sweet gods almighty! If she’d phrased that any other way, if she’d sounded bitter at the prospect he might not let her come, he’d have happily denied her. Now, Leif wasn’t certain he could if he’d tried.
“Try it and see.”
“Oh, God, yes,” she whispered brokenly. “I need it so bad it hurts!” She looked over her shoulder, meeting his gaze with her fevered one. It hit him what she was doing. He’d told her the same night she’d betrayed him to always look him in the eyes when she came. Demanded it of her. She was complying with his wishes now. And he couldn’t follow through.
Putting his hand over her mouth, Leif forced her head back around so she looked away from him as he snarled at her ear. “Then come for me.” At his command, Elsa’s little anus contracted around his fingers tightly, her body convulsing slightly even as she bit down on his hand to keep from crying out. Leif decided he must be a sadistic bastard because while she came he continued to whisper harshly at her ear. “That’s it, little mate,” he bit out. “Come for me. Every wolf here knows what you’re doing, can smell your lust. They know I’m doing this to you, that you’re coming so hard for me. Tomorrow, they’ll look at you, covet what I took tonight. Only time will tell if they’ll have their turn at you.”

She continued to come around his fingers. Briefly, Leif thought about taking his cock out and sliding it into that impossibly tight little ass, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to take that step yet. To bring her to orgasm was one thing. To take her in that manner with others all around something else entirely. So he settled with letting her ride out her pleasure until she stilled beside him, her body continuing to quiver.

COMING SOON!


Wednesday, December 21, 2016

A Mom for Christmas... Hump Day!



Sebastian Taylor isn’t looking for a mother for his girls, but playing the role of both parents isn’t something he ever thought he’d have to do. Unfortunately, his wife left him no choice, disappearing before serving him with divorce papers last year on Christmas Day.

He’s known Sadira Duncan since she first started teaching at the school. Coaching the cheerleading squad and gymnastics team put her directly in the path of his girls, setting her up become the mother figure they’d lost even before Dedra Taylor had skipped town.

Now, Sebastian aches for the beautiful, dark-skinned woman he’s tried so hard not to notice. She’s everything he’s ever wanted in a wife, and his daughters love and respect her. Not only that, but she tempts him more than any woman ever has. But when his ex-wife returns, will his life come crashing down once again? Will his daughters have a second Christmas ruined? Or will they get A Mother for Christmas?

This heartwarming contemporary romance will make you believe again in the magic of Christmas. For fans of contemporary romance, interracial romance, and erotic romance.

THE HUMP:

The next morning, it proved harder than Sebastian anticipated to get the girls gone. In the end, he had to swear they’d all do something together the next day before they’d finally left with his parents. He hadn’t told them Sadira would be staying with him that day, but he suspected the knew something was up. The older couple had raised an eyebrow at Sadira, but said nothing. Sebastian wasn’t sure if it was because she was black or because it was the first woman they’d seen him with since Dedra had left. Frankly, he didn’t care. She was with him. Was his.

As time went on, he was beginning to realize Dedra had never been his. And he wasn’t all that broken up about it. He’d thought he’d had a good relationship with Dedra at one time, but it had been nothing compared to how he felt about Sadira. From the very first—even before Dedra left—Sebastian had been drawn to the spunky woman. And if Dedra hadn’t left he’d never have acted on it.

Once the girls were out the door and safely in the car and down the drive, however, Sebastian couldn’t act on his feelings for Sadira fast enough.

With a laughing smile and wicked gleam in her eyes, Sadira let him pull her into his arms. Sebastian nuzzled her hair, inhaling deeply before saying right at her ear, “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting to do this?”

“Do what? Run off your girls so you could have a Daddy day?”

He growled and nipped her neck before licking the skin he’d just abused. “Yeah. That exactly.” Then his mouth found hers, the contact scorching and more erotic than anything he’d ever imagined. Sadira melted into his arms, fitting him perfectly. Opening her mouth, she let him dart his tongue inside to find hers. At the contact, Sebastian knew he’d found heaven. Home…

Sadira knew she’d wanted this, wanted to explore the reserved man she’d known for so many years in the most intimate way, but just his kiss was exceeding her wildest expectations. When he groaned and wrapped his arms around her tighter, Sadira knew she was about to see this man lose all his reservations. And she was giddy with excitement.

With a growl, Sebastian lifted her, urging her legs around his waist as he continued to kiss her. Whipping around, he pinned her between the living room wall and his hard, hard body. One hand found her breast, tenderly squeezing and feathering his thumb over her nipple. She knew the sports bra she had on beneath her shirt did little to hide the aroused peaks of her nipples. Knew he felt them stabbing his thumb when he gasped before groaning loudly into her mouth.

“I’m going to enjoy unwrapping this lush little body of yours,” he said between licks at her mouth. His raspy voice sent shivers through her, her nipples tightening even more when he spoke. “I’m going to fuck you so good, Sadira. So fucking good.”

AMAZON


Saturday, December 10, 2016

Yule Tied: Ribbons and Bows



Guess what?

I'm back with Changeling Press! Okokok, so I never really left. I just had too much going on and I wasn't making deadlines and just stopped submitting. Fortunately, being friends with the owner has it's advantages. That and I'm just too cute when I pout. :D

Anyway. Here's my contribution to Yule Tied, the multi author Christmas releases at Changeling Press.com. 

Samson Redding has everything he could want -- everything money can buy. But for all that, he's alone. He's been pursuing the lovely Jerrica in an online relationship, and he's ready to take it to the next level, but she's not ready.
Samson's thought of the perfect way to change her mind. He convinces Jerrica to meet in person -- at a BDSM club he knows she'll love, once she wraps her mind around it.
It may take more than ribbons and bows to tie his woman to his side, but Samson's up for the challenge. The rest? That's up to Jerrica.

EXCERPT:

"Did you tell anyone who I was in order to set me up for Christmas, Tasha?"

"Samson! I swear to you, I've found 'the one' for you. And she has no idea who you are."

He almost breathed a sigh of relief. If she'd told anyone about this, it could get back to the woman he'd set his sights on. He did not want to risk it. Still the situation amused him. "Tasha --"

"I know, I know. But wait until you meet her. You'll see what I mean."

"I actually believe you," he said, grinning. "Though I have no idea why." He'd thoroughly investigated Jerrica after meeting her online at one of those dating sites. At first, she'd seemed too good to be true, but, the more he found out about her, the more he liked. Really liked.

"Because you know that, as a sister who adores her big brother, I would never do anything to make your Christmas miserable." She beamed at him as if she'd just given him irrefutable proof she was on the up and up.

Samson chuckled. "Yes. There is that."

"She's your Elf helper," Tasha continued. "She's the sweetest, most selfless person I've ever met."

"Sweeter than you?" The corners of his lips tugged when Tasha flushed and swatted at him playfully before fluffing his beard again. But that sense of expectation ramped up to full force. His heart sped up with the anticipation building inside him.

"Yes, dear brother, sweeter than me. Though I doubt Mom and Dad would agree with your assessment of me. I was many things as a child. Sweet wasn't one of them."

Samson found himself laughing. "True. I suppose 'spoiled brat' comes closer to the truth, but we were all good with it."

She shrugged unconcernedly. "Occupational hazard. Being twelve years younger than you and born to parents in their forties. I regret nothing."

"And the only girl in three generations. Don't forget that."

"Yeah," Tasha said brightly. "That too."

This whole thing had been Tasha's idea. Samson owned luxury malls all over the country, as well as many other real estate and entertainment ventures. She'd talked him into taking one day a couple of weeks before Christmas and closing the mall in their city to all but invited guests. The "guests" had all been children from the city and a few surrounding communities where poverty abounded. They had no idea why they were being invited, only that transportation with families had been provided and that lunch was free. In an hour or so, a couple thousand people would converge on the place. He had agreed to give every child coming what they wanted most for Christmas.

Though his accountant had nearly fainted, Samson had to admit he felt good about it. He wasn't certain about the number of actual children he'd committed to but even if he spent a couple million, it wasn't like he couldn't make the amount back in a few days. There wasn't much he wouldn't do for his little sister.

The fact that he'd "arranged" for Jerrica Green to work with and meet his sister was a stroke of genius on his part. Knowing Tasha, he'd expected her to do something around Christmas to bring him and Jerrica together.

Assuming Jerrica turned out to be the woman he thought her to be, which he'd had no doubt she would.