Quick check-in

November 18, 2010

Sometimes, I so love Free Will Astrology – here’s the Aries scope for this week:

“You don’t want to be the best of the best,” said Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia. “You just want to be the only one who does what you do.” That’s always good advice, but it will be especially apt for you during the next few weeks. You’re entering a phase when competing with other people will get you nowhere fast. What will get you somewhere fast is nurturing your unique talents and proclivities. Do you know exactly what they are? If you’re even a little fuzzy, make it your quest to get very clear.”

Do you agree with Jerry?

There’s a giveaway of a signed copy each of Lie With Me and Promises In The Dark over with TwiMom (aka Jen) who has a great review up today. She says, “Not only is this book full of wonderful romance and HOT smex, but the action is suspenseful and riveting. Ms. Tyler has created an engrossing world of black ops and special missions, where the good guys are big and sexy and the bad guys are evil. I love it!”

Let’s see what else – baby boy had two teeth break through within twenty-four hours of each other – with no drama. I am working on a blog for Romantic Times website that I’m sure they think I’ve forgotten about, but I haven’t – really! I’m working on it now! And I’ve got a bazillion words left to write on Night Moves. Really, a bazillion…at least. It would help if Kell would talk to me, the elusive bastard…

random editing discoveries

November 3, 2010

I can’t spell the word adrenaline correctly without spellcheck. And i use the word a lot. And yes, wordpress has spellcheck.

In Mace’s book, everyone’s expression was hardening. His face hardened. A lot.

In Kell’s book, everyone is intoning. A lot. Not sure why I’m having a love affair with that word right now.

Editors invariably replace the word like with, as if. Except in Mace’s book, she replaced two as ifs with like. It was almost like a personal victory. It was almost as if it was a personal victory. What? You can choose which one you like better.

I finally remembered that it’s talk to, not talk with. I think.

Mace’s book is my second longest, clocking in at 97K. Promises in the Dark is my longest, clocking in at 102K. All the rest are between 89K and 93K. Lie with Me was my shortest at 89K.

There is a sticky spot in the middle of my trackpad that’s driving me nuts.

The Black Saints friended me on Twitter and I checked them out on iTunes and bought some of their songs. The power of Twitter. Except I’m not loving Twitter lately.

I know the last two things have nothing to do with editing. Neither will the rest of the post.

I don’t remember getting a subscription to INKED magazine. Consequently, I don’t remember letting my Rolling Stone subscription run out, right when the True Blood naked cover issue was out.

Speaking of remembering, Linda H reminded me that I forgot to pick a winner for the good karma contest – so thanks to random.org, the winner is #13 – Alina D! Alina, please email me via my contact page with the email addy you’d like me to send the Amazon gift card to!

In the next week, I’m going to be giving away another Amazon gift-card – to be eligible to win this one, you need to be on Facebook – and all you need to do is Like me. (aka, join my reader page) And that’s it. You don’t have to comment or anything. I’ll be picking the winner from the list of friends on that page. And yes, I have another Facebook page that I started first and you might end up being on both. Eventually, I’ll only be on one. For now, totally confusing.

Release day for LIE WITH ME!!!

October 26, 2010

He’s here – he’s here – Cam is here!!!

LIE WITH ME / Book 1 of the Shadow Force series

Dell Books

ISBN-10: 0440245966
ISBN-13: 978-0440245964

Forced together by fate, bound together by desire.

Framed for a double murder, Delta Force operative Cameron Moore is given a new lease on life by the CIA—provided he pays them back by doing their black ops dirty work. Now Cam is ready to renegotiate their deal, and he thinks he’s found the perfect bargaining chip: Skylar Slavin, bestselling author of espionage thrillers and the daughter of the CIA man who saved him from a prison sentence.

Skylar has been living in anonymity, never suspecting that someone so dangerous—and so desirable—would plunge her into a world as treacherous as one of her spy novels. But how can Cam go through with his plan to kidnap Skylar when just the sight of her sets off an explosive attraction he’s never experienced before? And when Skylar falls prey to an even more perilous threat, this special ops soldier must call upon all his combat skills to protect the one person who can help him win his freedom—and the only woman he’s ever loved.

You can read an excerpt here!

And thanks, Jennifer from RNN Reviews, who reviewed LIE WITH ME and said, “Stephanie Tyler offers readers an engrossing tale filled with engaging characters. I did not want to put this book down once I started it..“Lie with Me” is an action-packed story filled with a well-crafted suspense plot and some hot romantic tension. I am putting future Shadow Force books on my list of “To Read” books.”

Remember to look at the post below for more reviews and giveaways!

Reviews & some giveaways for Lie With Me

October 24, 2010

Been busy this past week with my daughter’s most recent surgery – she did great but it was more exhausting than usual since we brought baby boy. I wasn’t ready to leave him home, and since the surgery is out of state, it made for a long trip. But I’m home and we’re all recovering and I cannot believe LIE WITH ME releases on Tuesday.

I’ve been remiss in pointing to some great reviews and giveaways, so here goes.

Casee, from Book Binge, has a great review up, an excerpt and I have a guest post with a giveaway that I believe you have until tomorrow night midnight to enter! One of my favorite parts of her review: “I was thinking back on Steph’s heroes and I realized that each one was better than the last. Cam’s the best hero yet. And that’s that.”

Lea from Closetreader posted another great review – I’ll be at her blog doing an interview and a giveaway on November 9th (and yes, I’ll remind you!) My favorite parts of her review – the fact that she starts it with, Holy. Hell. (always a good sign) – she also says, “If you enjoy a heart wrenching, thrilling, gritty and action packed military romantic suspense, you may like to give,“Lie With Me,” a try.” And the biggest compliment, she says it’s one of the best books she’s read this year.

Pearl has a wonderful review of Lie With Me up as well, and she’s got the first of several giveaways listed there. Pearl says, “I adore Stephanie Tyler’s writing and her brand of romantic suspense. Her men are capable, unapologetic and ruthless, yet tender and passionate with their woman. The women are vulnerable yet strong and independent. The suspense in LIE WITH ME is thrilling, intricate and awesomely put together including some kick-ass fight sequences. I was jumping from one speculation to the other. The romance is poignant and intense, the love scenes fog up will your glasses and an added treat was the secondary romance and the way she set up the next book’s couple without giving away too much.”

Jen (TwiMom) reviewed Lie With Me, interviewed me and used an excerpt as her Sunday snippet – YAY! Jen says, “And Cam… he is an alpha male that I can appreciate! He is a man with a sorted and complex past. He is flawed, but works through his own mess to find happiness….All in all, Lie WIth me is a thrilling, romantic journey.’

Okay, back to IN THE AIR TONIGHT revisions – due very, very soon…

In the Air Tonight cover!!!

October 13, 2010

It’s the week of cover goodness!!! This is Mace’s book – book 3 in the Shadow Force Series – comes out August 2011. I LOVE Bantam Dell’s art department!!! Cover copy to hopefully follow soon…

Air tonight

Publishers Weekly Review :)

September 21, 2010

My editor just forwarded me this awesome review of LIE WITH ME from Publishers Weekly!

Lie with Me

Stephanie Tyler, Dell, $7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-0-440-24596-4

Crafty plot twists and cleverly intertwined relationships dominate book one of master storyteller Tyler’s Shadow Force series. Black ops specialist Cameron Moore desperately wants to get away from his handler and one-time rescuer, Gabriel Creighton. He decides to kidnap Creighton’s daughter and threaten her until Creighton releases Cam from his debt. With his best friend Dylan Scott at his side, the plan can’t fail… until Cam falls in love with Creighton’s beautiful, smart, and vulnerable daughter, famous thriller author Skylar Slavin. When Sky becomes the target of hired thugs out to kidnap her for their own evil purposes, Cam’s mission does a 180. The fun, thrills, and romance never let up, and Tyler (Hard to Hold) delivers on all her promises. (Nov.)

The October 26th release is coming up fast!

We just got back from vacation in OBX – the hurricanes stayed away, so that was good. Of course, I’m still behind on life…revisions going in tomorrow for IN THE AIR TONIGHT and then a new proposal goes in behind that one. If I owe you an email, please know that I’m getting there. Slowly. Very, very slowly…it’s amazing how babies don’t understand the phrase, but I need to write…

Good thing the baby boy’s cute.

How’s everyone? Surviving back to school time / fall / life in general?

Shadow Force book trailer!

September 2, 2010

With kudos to Lea F. at Closetreader for creating such a great trailer. Let me know what you think while I head back into the baby boy / writing furiously while he sleeps cave!

Back to work. Ish.

August 1, 2010

Thanks for the congrats, everyone! Baby boy is doing well – he’s really happy and easy and he’s always hungry, which is a good thing.

As for the title of the post, it’s not that I haven’t been working, but I’ve definitely taken some time off because I kind of can’t stop holding this baby. He’s addictive, you know? But then yesterday, I finally started to feel that writing urge, the one I can’t ignore, which means writing is slowly nudging its way back into being a priority. And now it’s become something I can’t ignore, which is a good thing. Because really, the job has to be something I love enough to want to tear myself away from both the kids.

And I kind of missed Sydney Croft’s TEMPTING THE FIRE‘S release day! TwinMom wrote up a great review here (thanks, TwinMom!) It’s book 4 in the ACRO series, starring Logan and Sela…and there’s lots of Marlena in there, for those who’ve written to ask when she’s going to get her HEA! Thanks to all the Syd readers who ran out and bought the book and continue to talk up the series – it’s so much fun for Larissa and I to write.

TAKEN BY FIRE, Syd book 6, is nearly done with revisions (and they were minor, so YAY!)…we should have a cover really soon. Mace’s book, IN THE AIR TONIGHT, is being revised as we speak – I found out it’s got a tentitive release date of August 2011…the book that follows (aka the book I have no idea who the hero is or what it’s about) is scheduled for October 2011. And today, I need to do a final read-thru for PROMISES IN THE DARK and then it’s done, done, done.

How’re you all doing? Busy summer? Reading / watching anything good? Deadliest Catch was really hard to watch this season…

betcha think the spiders got me…

May 21, 2010

But they didn’t. Granted, I did get stung on my back by a bee yesterday. While sitting in bed writing. And it’s the second time in my life I got stung on my back by a bee in bed.

What? I can’t make this stuff up, people.

Oh, and the exterminator recommended a spider brush to me – he’s like, they sell them at Home Depot. And I’m picturing this big brush that you whack spiders to death with.

Exterminator: You take the brush and you catch the spiders in them. Then you take the brush outside and shake the spiders out.

Me: Wait a minute, I’m supposed to carry a live spider through the house on a brush? Isn’t there a brush where a little man comes out of the top and smashes the spider to death? Because that’s a brush I want.

That’s when he gave up talking spider brushes and just sprayed the windows.

Anyway, so I’ve got to finish the draft of a book by May 31st. Pray for me, because it’s going to be tight. It’s in the, oh my god, what was I thinking, stage, right on target, right around the page count that I always want to throw the book out the window. This is Mace’s book (no pub date yet) but I do get to keep it’s original title, IN THE AIR TONIGHT. It fits the book perfectly so I’m thrilled my editor loves it!

Larissa and I also got a title for Sydney book 6…TAKEN BY FIRE. Loving that one too.

Just got copy edits for PROMISES IN THE DARK, which is exciting – means the book is kind of thisclose to getting put to bed. Can’t stop looking at the cover, either.

Okay, how AWESOME was Gray’s Anatomy last night? I was literally hanging onto the bed every time it came back from commercial – talk about moving forward relentlessly. It was probably my favorite episode of all time. Real Housewives of New York was good too, but kind of sad. Kelly needs help. Fast.

Catch-up

April 6, 2010

We spent part of last week in Pittsburgh for the kid’s (planned) spinal surgery – and she’s doing wel.l (I can’t say that too much or the karma gods come down and wreak havoc so…) We’re just happy to be home and that our trees are back. GusBananas

Tiny, tiny trees compared to what we had. *sobs* I need them to grow like 3 feet overnight because let me tell you – seeing my neighbor these last weeks has MORE than made up for the 10 years he was hidden behind trees. So yes, I talk to them a lot and tell them that’s what they need to do. I hope they listen better than Gus. Because Gus seems to act like that’s not his name. He must think, Man, that Gus must be a real pain in the ass because she’s always calling his name…

Anyway, Zane’s book revisions are done and Cam’s galleys are done (that’s pretty much my last step before it becomes a real book, so that’s good) – now I dive back into Mace’s book (I’m tentatively calling it In The Air Tonight but I don’t know if that will stick.) But I’m really loving it – I’ve been waiting a couple of years to write it and it’s all new and fun and shiny.

Which means, give me a few weeks and I’ll start whining for sure.

What’s up with everyone? Enjoying the weather? Any good news / fun news?