I finally have a brand!

I've been in the indie world for a little over a year now and still didn't really know who I was as an author. After speaking to my designer, she told me that I needed an author brand. Making a brand for myself seemed terrifying and complicated at first, but when I finally got an idea of what I wanted to be know as, my designer created some awesome things for me. Check it out!

This is my logo! I am officially known as the Vixen of Passion whenever anyone reads or sees my book on a shelf or online!

This is a one of two very pretty banners that she created for me. I couldn't be happier with it!

And here is the second banner with my name, logo, and tag line on it. I'm so impressed by how gorgeous everything is, I nearly had a heart attack when I laid eyes on it!

If you need anything done as far as websites, cover design, graphic design, or even designing your own author brand material, you should definitely contact Laura at Bookfabulous Designs. She will help you bring your visions to life and you will definitely be pleased! I know I am!

xoxo, 

Victoria

Houston, we have a problem!

Ugh.

UGHHHHH!

I'm so irritated right now, I can't even deal!

Anyway, as some of you may or may not know, I rewrote Love Unbroken. After reading it in print a few times, I realized that I didn't put out my best work and didn't feel like it was fair to the people who took the time to take a chance on me. So, I figured that I would re-release it when I released Love Reborn. I wanted to give my readers a better experience this time around which is why I released Love Reborn on the same date that I released Love Unbroken, which was exactly one year later.

I had no idea that Amazon would have to verify if changes were made in order to update the book. I've seen plenty of others do rewrites and not report any problems, so I didn't see a reason to be concerned. But maybe a week after the re-release, some people I knew was telling me that they couldn't get the new version because Amazon told them they had bought it already. I knew they couldn't buy it again (and I didn't want them to have to buy it again in the first place), so I told them that Amazon was supposed to have sent an update with the new content. They hadn't received it.

I looked at the preview of the book on Amazon and it SHOWED the new version. So I contacted Amazon because I'm confused and a tad bit flustered at this point. They told me that they would look over the content and if it showed critical updates or something that would improve the reader's experience (or some crap like that), then they would update it. They said it would take up to four weeks and blah blah hoop la. So fine, I thought. Maybe it wouldn't take the whole four weeks.

These dag blasted four weeks passed and then I get an email saying that "if you can prove that you've made critical changes to the book, improved grammar, formatting" blah blah blah, then they can update the book. Pause. Hold the hell up. Why are you sending me this FOUR WEEKS LATER?! This was the same email they sent me when I started my damn inquiry! I told them that I had written full chapters to go with the book and if I rewrote it, the grammar was obviously correct! So I sent them another email telling them this and I didn't hear back for another week. At this point, I thought things were okay.

THEN I received an email a few days ago saying THE SAME THING. I officially realized that I was getting nowhere with these people. So I told them that if I couldn't get it fixed, I may as well pull both of my books from their site. It would be pointless to put the first book and leave the sequel up. In the end, they just decided that they couldn't do what I asked (which is updating my book for those who bought it) and sent me this email:

Hello, 

I'm sorry for the inconvenience this is causing to you. 

I understand that you've updated full chapters in your book and would like the updates to be sent to the customers. 

However, due to complaints from our customers in the past that they were not interested to receive updates for ebooks in general every time there is a change in the content, as sending them the updates for the smallest changes was causing a bad customer experience. In the interest of our readers, we can only send the updates if we confirm that improvements are in place to correct the quality issues negatively affecting the overall reading experience in the older version. 

At this time, what I can see is that, if you've made even fewer quality improvements like grammar, corrected some typos or have improved the formatting, you can let us know, this way, we'll be able to send the corrections along with the updates to the chapters you've made. 

However, if you know these customers personally, I'd urge you to direct them to get in touch with us over the phone on these toll free phones and request us to send the updates and we'll be update their books. 

U.S. and Canada: 1-866-216-1072

International: 1-206-266-2992

We're sorry we haven't been able to address your concerns to your satisfaction. We will not be able to offer any additional insight or action on these matters.

Who wants to actually call just to have their book updated?! I feel so upset about this! I worked so damn hard on making that book better and the old customers haven't even had a chance to read it! My hands are tied with this one. Apparently, only the new customers will receive the updated version. If you've bought the old version of Love Unbroken, you can call that number or send an email to their customer service to ask for an update. I wish there was more that I could do.

Thanks so much for your patience and understanding. I have officially learned that I will not rewrite another book ever again!

xoxo,

Victoria

Teaser Tuesday!

Hi everyone! I figured that it would be best to build the anticipation for my upcoming erotic novel, The Daring Assignment! It is due to come out in September, so I'll post a teaser from the book each week! Here's the first one. Enjoy!

Awesome Summer Giveaway!

Hi everyone!!

Before I lock myself in my bedroom to write all day, I wanted to post this giveaway! My assistant put this huge giveaway together with a ton of things to win! You just have to check it out, I'm sure it'll be the giveaway of the summer! If you haven't entered, be sure to enter today!

Click here to enter the contest!

Spicing Things Up with Author Cassy Roop!

Hello everyone! It's that time again! What time, you ask? To interview another author! This week, we'll be learning about Cassy Roop and the start of her Celtic Knot series that I instantly fell in love with! Let's get to it!

The Blurb

Ashley’s Bend-a knot used to securely join the ends of two ropes together.

Ashley Carter thought she had the perfect life as the loving and supportive wife to her upcoming attorney husband. Marrying her high school sweetheart and moving to Chicago to start a life with him seemed perfect, until she ends up walking in on him with another woman.

Determined to start her life over after always sacrificing herself, she attends the grand opening of a new club in town with her best friend. She went expecting to have a good time, what she didn’t expect was to meet Dominic Michaels.

Dominic Michaels is the owner operator of a string of BDSM clubs, The Celtic Knot. He displays control and power over everything in his life, especially his women. Having suffered through a tragic event at a young age, he never allows a woman to remain a part of his life beyond the bedroom, that is until he meets Ashley Carter.

Can the love of a woman loosen the knots of control that Dominic securely holds on to?

Sometimes it is hard to make the shift from control to surrender

The Interview

V: Hey, girl! Thanks so much for doing this interview with me. How about we start off by knowing a little about you?

C: I live in Virginia with my husband and three kids. I am a work from home mom, where I run an in-home daycare, a Les Mills certified group fitness instructor at Gold's Gym, and a full time college student where I am studying Liberal Arts and Graphic design. I love anything with peanut butter!

V: Writing and self-publishing can be hard and intimidating to most people, which causes them to not follow their dreams. What was the life changing moment where you knew that this was something that you wanted to do?

C: I don't have a real life changing "moment" where I decided to be a writer. It is something that I have always wanted to do. After speaking to one of my favorite authors, I decided to just take the plunge.

V: Now that we've survived the basics, let's get down to my favorite part: the book. How do I feel about Ashley's Bend...honey, honey, honey, let me tell YOU! Wait, before I even go into that, how about you tell me what inspired you to write that? I see that you have another book, The Price of Love, but isn't Ashley's Bend your first erotica? How did you make the switch from romance to erotica? And yes, that's two questions in one.

C: I am a reader of most romance genres, so I decided I wanted to be a bit diverse in my writing. The concept of AB came to me one night when I was looking at my Celtic tattoo on my arm. Then I just associated it with knots, bondage, etc. and AB was born. My characters are pretty strong willed. They keep talking in my head until I finally put it down in words.

V: When creating your main characters, Ashley and Dominic, did you have any muses in mind to help you create their physical features? If so, let's see them!

C: Oh yes! Stuart Readon was and always will be my Dominic. Hayden Panettiere is my Ashley and Dewayne "The Rock" Johnson is my Knox!

V: One thing that I can definitely say is that your book actually made me reconsider the BDSM genre. After 50 Shades, I wanted NO part in it. But the way you incorporated it into the storyline and gave it PURPOSE, I thought it was very enjoyable to say the least. As far as BDSM goes, what influenced you to write about it?

C: I wrote it because it interested me. I had to do a lot of research in order to make sure that I was writing everything correctly to my knowledge. I also loved FSOG, so I decided to try my hand in it.

V: If you could bring any character from your book to life, who would it be and why? If I had to choose, I'd personally bring Jared in just to kill him because he irritated my entire life, but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, who was it for you?

C: Definitely Dominic! That man made me hot just writing him lol. I love how he broke through his own walls in order to let Ashley in. It also helps that he is oh so sexy too!

V: My assistant, Christie Mounce, told me about your book and I bought it the same night. I stayed up until FIVE in the morning reading it (knowing DAMN WELL I had to see my hematologist at NINE) and was a walking zombie all day. The book pulls you in from the first page, which is great for me because I have the attention span of a hummingbird! How about you show the people a couple of teasers!

V: There's always that one scene that's hard to write. Whether it's sad, hard to put into words, or too emotional, there's always that one part where we get stuck and have to really evaluate things. Was there any part of the book that was tough for you to write? Not necessarily like a writer's block type of tough, but tough emotionally?

C: The part that tore me up the most was the scene where Dominic takes Ashley on their first date. Knowing how hard it was for him to admit his feelings and emotions was  one thing, but knowing Ashley was going to destroy that was hard.

V: What was your favorite part of the book? As a reader, it's hard for me to say because I loved the entire thing. But as a writer, what scene(s) did you enjoy writing the most? I'll be open minded for this question and not put my mind in the gutter!

C: Honestly, my favorite part of any of my books are the intimate scenes. For some reason, the words just seem to flow easily for me during those times!

V: What are your plans for the Celtic Know series? Do you have any new releases planned any time soon?

C: The Celtic Knot series will be a three part series. Book 2, Figure Eight, will be out on July 24th. Book 3, Triquetra, will be along this Fall.

V: You currently have The Price of Love and Ashley's Bend available. Where can readers find your books?

C: The Price of Love is available on most eBook platforms. Ashley's Bend is exclusive to Amazon until September.

V: The places you can find Cassy Roop!

Website: http://www.cassyroop.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cassy-Roop-Author/273152699508767?sk=info

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cassyroop

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7847487.Cassy_Roop

About the author

Cassy is a work at home mom where she spends her days surrounded by children, running her in-home daycare. She loves to cook, read and spend her nights and weekends being a Les Mills group fitness instructor. She has been a lover of all things romance from a very early age. She hopes and dreams that everyone can receive their happy ever after. A good ol' country girl at heart, she was born and raised in Arkansas and now resides in Charlottesville, Virginia with her husband and three young children.

Taste by Cambria Hebert Cover Reveal!

Taste by Cambria Hebert 
(Take It Off) 
Publication date: July 25th, 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

A Take It Off novella

One taste is never enough.
Spencer Waller’s main purpose in life is to protect and serve. After spending years in the military he gets a coveted spot on the secret service detail protecting the president. Spence doesn’t have time for women or all the work having a relationship with one requires. But just because he isn’t looking for a lady doesn’t mean he can’t appreciate a beautiful one when he sees her.

And he makes it a point to see one in particular every single day.

Elle Bond has literally chopped and fried her way to the top of the food chain. Earning a coveted position in the White House as the president’s personal chef she figures her professional life can only get better. Her personal life on the other hand could use a little bit of an overhaul and because of that she tries to ignore the charm dripping cookie thief every time he comes into her kitchen. After all, she knows better than anyone that just one taste of something good is never enough.

One night after work Elle is assaulted, threatened and given an ultimatum. She can’t go to the police and she sure as hell can’t do what she was ordered.

But she has to. Or else.

Pale, shaken and scared to death Elle confides in Spence and his protective instincts take over. Together Elle and Spencer have to uncover a sinister plot and stop it before someone ends up dead.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22556226-taste

Cambria Hebert is the author of the young adult paranormal Heaven and Hell series, the new adult Death Escorts series, and the new adult Take it Off series. She loves a caramel latte, hates math and is afraid of chickens (yes, chickens). She went to college for a bachelor’s degree, couldn’t pick a major, and ended up with a degree in cosmetology. So rest assured her characters will always have good hair. She currently lives in North Carolina with her husband and children (both human and furry) where she is plotting her next book. You can find out more about Cambria and her work by visiting http://www.cambriahebert.com.

Where to find her:

“Like” her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cambria-Hebert/128278117253138
Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cambriahebert
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/cambriahebert/pins/
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5298677.Cambria_Hebert
Cambria’s website: http://www.cambriahebert.com 

Second day at camp...and I'm already choking!

Ugh.

It's the second day of Camp NanoWriMo and I'm already choking. Not in a literal sense, but in a writing sense. It's as if all of my excitement and inspiration has just dwindled now that the time has finally arrived to write. I remember sitting around, super eager to write this new story. Now that it's time to write it, I feel like Eminem did in the movie 8 Mile when it was his turn to freestyle.

When I participated in camp this past session in April, things went great! I completed a 70,000 word novel in about 27 days. I wonder what's going on with me this time? Maybe I'm a little bit more anxious about this book because it's way out of my comfort zone. I know, I know. You're probably thinking that I should write something a little bit less risky, and you're probably right. Maybe I should. But I really want to take this opportunity and platform to really challenge myself. Maybe I'm just overthinking this whole process as well as the book, which is making things more complicated than they should be.

At the end of the day, I just want to write something that will make the readers happy. I want to succeed in this project. To be honest, failure is my greatest fear. It's inevitable at times, I know, but it doesn't stop me from not fearing it. I tend to be such a perfectionist at times that it drives me mad. That's probably why I'm already having this writer's block so early in camp. I'm afraid that my project with flop. 

It's not that I don't have confidence in my writing. I think I've improved over the year and I think I will continue doing so. I'm just nervous because I've never written erotica. One of my best friends has labeled me as a prude, so to be writing an erotica is completely insane in my case. I think I honestly just need to chill out and just write the damn book. When everything is said and done, I can at least say I tried. 

I definitely won't give up. Not on this book, and definitely not on myself.

xoxo,

V