LASR Voting is open!

Voting has opened! So run on all four paws if you have to, over to Long and Short Reviews and cast your ballot for our little Southern Bell with Bite! Madison would be most appreciative. Who knows she might not chase your car next time there's a full moon, but I'm not promising. She gets bitey and scares me just a little. To cast your vote, click on the handy dandy banner above and it'll take you to the LASR site. As always, thanks for your support and keep on reading!

Nominated for LASR Book of the Year!

I am so excited I could plotz! Long and Short Reviews has nominated The Southern Werewolf Chronicles Book One: Were Love Blooms for Book of the Year! I know! Right? Instead of preening over my own awesome, which is only as awesome as the people involved in the process of making this book possible, let me instead thank those people.

First and foremost, I have to send out a big this one's for you to my loving wife Jenna for inspiring me to love, write and to create Madison Lee. Yep, that's right she's Madison. Another big congrats needs to go to my wonderful crit partners who were with me every step of the way on this book with helping advice, comfort and a lot of support when I needed to believe in myself and didn't. You know who you are, but Morgan O'Reilly, Susan White and Helen Ravell thanks and please don't stop being those voices in my chat window. Finally thanks to Gail and Jenifer with Desert Breeze Publishing for taking a chance on me and this series. Without them, it would probably still be stuck on my computer gathering dust. Another thanks goes out to those of you, the readers, for continuing to support me and my work. Truly, I could not do this without you and wouldn't want to even try.

All that said my last thanks has to go to Long and Short Reviews for liking Were Love Blooms enough to nominate it and having as one of the Best Books of 2010. I'm in some great company, too. So, just being listed is an honor. I'm not just saying that. The voting begins February 14^th and runs through the 27^th.

Were Love Blooms and I hope to see you at the polls!

Lovers of the Lost Stake Available Now!

Funny thing happened on my way to February. Lovers of the Lost Stake was released! That's right you can now sink into another thrilling episode of Vampire hilarity and fun. Did I mention the nonstop danger? The Endless Pop Culture References? The smoochy bits? Mustn't forget those. Love Bites Book Four has all that and more funny than you can shake a pointy stick... uh... I mean... sharpened stake at. Not to sound all demanding or anything, but what are you waiting for? Run don't walk. Wait, if you texting--safety first--just sit there and click on the dandy links below to snag your copy of the funniest Vampire adventure you'll read this month. Okay, enough of the sales pitch. Please enjoy a short blurb and excerpt just to whet your appetite for bloody goodness.

Love Bites
Book Four
Lovers of the Lost Stake

Blurb

Alejandra Montoya is on the trail of the man who killed her parents. Love never figured into it. Then, she met Eli Ravell, or tried to kill him more precisely. Against her better judgment, she allows him to drag her into an adventure seeped in all the things she has sworn to destroy. Namely, a butt load of Vampires and things that she didn't even know existed.

Now, she finds herself falling from one near death experience to another. Somewhere along the way she's discovered her life might not be the only thing she has to lose. Every minute she spends with Eli brings her one step closer to losing her heart.

Excerpt:

"My name is Alejandra Montoya and you killed my father!"

Well, my mother, too, but I felt it only sensible to focus on vengeance for one parent at a time. Once I'd killed him for my father, I'd kill him again for my mother. That way I'd have all my bases covered and could move on with my life.

True, I hadn't found out about the fact they'd been murdered until a few weeks ago. That in no way meant I hadn't agonized over it enough for a life time since finding out. As a Sister of the Sacred Order of St. Joan -- in no way associated with the Sacred Order of St. Vlad -- I'd spent my entire life honing my body into a weapon in the war against Vampires. So it could be said, even before the particulars of my being an orphan came to my attention, I had already been preparing for this moment. Not to be confused with the moment where I missed killing this one's older brother. Luckily, someone else took care of that for me, leaving me free to focus on finding Eli Ravell, the next Ravell on my list of possible murderers. I hoped he was the one. I hated killing indiscriminately.

Three weeks later, I'd tracked him down to a seedy hotel in the heart of Marrakesh. These Vampires certainly got around. Not that it mattered. This one wouldn't be checking Priceline.com for value packages once I got through with him. Of course waiting for him to finally succumb to his daylight slumber and hanging around until the hallway leading his room cleared of people had taxed my patience, but as they say, revenge is a dish best served lukewarm. Unless its gazpacho, I try not to eat anything cold if I can help myself. It upsets my digestion. Ice cream being the only exception to that rule. And Frappuccinos, but they're a given.

Where was I again? Oh yeah, about to stake this sucker.

"Confess, Vampire, and I'll make your death quick!" I lied. Vengeance demanded a long and agonized death, but he didn't need to know that.

Available at

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-140/J-Morgan-Love-Bites/Detail.bok

And

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Bites-Book-Four-ebook/dp/B004LLIDSA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1296603823&sr=8-1

Editing: Does it REALLY matter??

A little double dipping here, I've also posted this on the AKRWA Blog for this week.

Spell checkers and other editing things.

Love them or hate them, they are helpful and useful tools. In fact, I recommend every writer have Spell Check turned on at all times. In MSWord, that little red line will help you catch misspellings immediately. Then there's the blue line to alert you to the wrong spelling, or possibly the wrong word—also a useful tool. The green grammar lines? Those I tend to ignore since fiction writing takes some liberties with proper English.

However.

Yeah, you knew that was coming. However. These built-in tools in super-smart word processing programs do not take the place of the human eye and, I hope, human intelligence.

After the program has done its best to help is when a really sharp-eyed editor or beta reader comes in. Someone who can catch the things your MSWord program and tired eyes won’t. There, their, and they’re all sound the same with very different meanings. She’s and she’d are very easy to mix up with the “s” and “d” keys being side by side. I see loose and lose mixed up more times than I care to mention. Your program won’t flag any of the above as misspelled.

Same with roll and role. “He acted out his roll with finesse and skill.” Does this mean he knew how to play a bit of bread? (Ha! Word just tried to correct the word for me. I set it straight.) I suppose it could mean he did a perfect job of rolling down the hill, across the floor, into bed… but in the context of the story, this was not the meaning.

I recently found this sentence in a published book: “He drew in a shaky breath, tried to recall if this was how he felt about her first kiss as a green lad of fourteen.” One word. Just one word is out of place here and makes the sentence ludicrous. Yet to a spell checker program everything is just hunky dory. Had that been the only instance of an error, I probably would have blown it off. Sadly, it was one of at least half a dozen errors that leaped off the page and threw me out of an otherwise entertaining story.

Of course, I’ve seen the spell checker do harm by trying to correct a word here and there. A badly spelled word can be switched in the blink of an eye. Back in the day when I edited technical reports for scientists, I caught one trying to marinate a laser. He’d tried to type “maintain” but mangled it so badly MSWord changed the word to “marinate.” I learned to read his reports very closely.

The key here is editing. Careful, thoughtful, intelligent human editing. A good edit will catch these little goofs that can cause an author’s intelligence and education to be called into question. Yes, typos will at some point escape everyone. It happens. I’ve seen it in NYT bestseller books. If there are no more than two per novel, those are easily shrugged off. More than that? Well, that’s where credibility begins to be called into question.

Years ago, two or three at least, I was reading a book released by my then publisher (the book was not mine, thankfully) and was horrified to see that consistently throughout the book, barely (Merriam Webster Definition of BARELY 1: in a meager manner : plainly 2: scarcely, hardly) was consistently replaced with barley. (BARLEY: a cereal grass.)

I’m sure the author knew the difference between the two, but no one caught the misspelling before release. One time in a novel, well, ok. But more than two dozen times? The author really liked that word, I suppose. Too bad it was the wrong one. At least it was consistent? Nah. Bad ju-ju all the way around.

Which leads me to something I’ve said since the days I was an editor and in charge of other editors who had the joy of editing my books.

NO-one is above editing, least of all me.

I don’t care who you are, or how many novels you’ve sold world-side, we ALL make mistakes. Whether from reading a manuscript too many times, fingers hitting the wrong key or an extra key, or MSWord trying to help out, we all need one more pair of sharp eyes to help us see the tiny errors hiding in the text. Or the not so tiny errors, such as missing words or extra limbs appearing in a love scene. Or the magical leap across the room complete with bouncing eyes. Or unintentional time or head hopping. Or changing hair/eye color without a reasonable explanation. No writer is immune.

Bottom line here. For all the “eyes” who beta-read and edit your brilliantly written book (novella, blog, etc.), the final responsibility falls to you, the author. That’s what galleys are for. They’re our last chance to make it perfect. Never, ever, rush this stage, or you might have me gently knocking at your inbox with a kindly worded email, which you’ll hopefully take to heart in the spirit intended: support and assistance.

Okay, seriously, only my closest compatriots get those emails. I barely have time to write my own novels and beg for critiquing without adding more to my plate. Because with what I throw at them? I get it back ten-fold. Lord love my crit partners, because I sure do—after I finish whining about their comments.

So what do you do? I’ve heard of several things authors do to help catch these little things.

• Read the work out loud.
• Read it backwards.
• Read it very slowly, out loud, and backwards.
• Know your weaknesses and do searches for them.
• Surround yourself with excellent critique partners who will actually give you the bad news that your grammar stinks. Better them than a reader or reviewer.
• Find a beta reader who excelled in English. (Mine beat me bloody about improper and over-usage of the word “that.” Still does to this very day. And no, you may not have her name or email address. She’s all MINE.)

I’m sure there are many more techniques out there. I’d love to hear yours. Maybe it will help me do a better job. (And yes, I had at least three people read this article! The mistakes it still contains remain my fault entirely.)

Morgan Q. O'Reilly

Get Some Tonight

http://morganqoreilly.com

For Men: What makes YOUR perfect mate?

Seriously, this is for research, so I'm looking for honest, thoughtful answers.

Let me explain. The time is far in the future and a young woman wants to immigrate to a newly colonized planet.

A young man, eighteen, and unmarried, is helping his cousin of the same age fill out an application to become a mail order bride.

He insists on putting down things he's convinced the perfect woman can do. From cooking to fishing, he makes a list of all he considers important in his future wife, therefore he expects other men will appreciate the same qualities in a wife. If she's even looked at a sewing machine (stores are few and far between on the colony) he insists she claim she's a seamstress.

So. Here's where you men come in handy. Especially those of you under 22, and unmarried, although I'm curious to hear from the older, married/committed men as well.

Give me your dream list. Keep it somewhat clean. You can state "likes alternative sex" but I'd rather not have a list of particular positions, OK? But let's get beyond the physical relationship. Does she have to like what you like? Music? Games? Movies? Food? Does she have to be responsible for all housework if you're responsible for everything from the garage outward? How about some give and take?

Feel free to answer anonymously, but I would like to know your age and stage of commitment, such as: 22 Single. 20 Married. 17 and Hoping. 32 still looking... etc.

Ladies, hold your answers, please. You'll get your say!!

MorganO

To The Stars... And Beyond!

Borealis Book I Borealis Book II

Two of your favorite authors, SIX great reads!

If you like Futuristic Science Fiction, then these two books will provide six times the pleasure. Of course, the entries by Jmo and me will be the highlights... okay, who am I kidding? They're all great and focus on six different sets of brave heroines and hunky heroes. What more could a girl want?

Below are the excerpts from the stories your Morgan authors contributed. This time Shea gets to step into MorganO's place for a fun romp through the space station.

Kiss Me, Kate by J. Morgan

K'Tyln Dar is a pampered prince who wants to finally become the man his planet needs so he goes in search of the baddest bounty hunter in the known universe -- The Professor.

Richelle is called The Professor because she knows every possible way to kill a man. Most people -- like K'tyln -- have no idea that the most ruthless killer in the known universe is a woman. And she likes to keep it that way. Richelle has neither the time nor patience for a puff-shirt, golden boy politician like K'tyln Dar.

When he brazenly demands to meet The Professor and reveals his desire to 'learn to be a warrior', her first thought is to put him in his pompous place. But, as he takes his licks -- and bruises -- and contusions -- she sees a glimpse of the man he not only wants to be, but the man he is deep down inside.

Bleu Lies by Shea McMaster

Commander Kal Raines began questioning the wisdom and guidance of the TPP when they exiled him to the Borealis. But, he's loyal if nothing else. Since then, he's questioned every choice he's made in the name of the TPP.

Summer Merriweather has worked for the Rebellion under many names and in many situations, and now she's on Borealis. She has a mission which includes sizing Kal and how he might be of use to the forces opposing the TPP. Is he ready to switch sides?

When Summer crosses Kal's path, she brings even more choices into question and he sees his loyalties have been thrown to the feet of swine. When he realizes he has the chance to help in the ultimate overthrow of the TPP… he stands and the precipice and must either step back or jump. Step back, and let the Rebellion die… Jump… and join Summer in an ongoing, stealthy battle to strengthen the rebellion and perhaps someday overthrow the TPP.

We hope you check them out and fall in love with a whole new world.

Morgan O'Reilly

Writing as Shea McMaster

A Two-Fer at LASR

Today, I feel doubly honored. Long and Short Reviews has nominated not one but two of my current releases for Book of the Week. Immortally Yours and The Borealis Anthology are both in some pretty great company. Sadly, I must now use my Jedi Mind Tricks to encourage you to go vote.

These are the books you want to vote for...


Please ignore the man waving his hand like a loon, but he's a bit insane, being an author and all. Okay, I'm the one waving but still that's no reason not to step forward and cast your vote. Besides, it might make me stop twirling my hand around. My wrist is starting to hurt.

Thanks ahead of time for your consideration and vote,

Jmo

Here's where to go cast your ballot!

Long and Short Reviews