tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64134529679130661202024-03-05T20:44:21.769-05:00Thea LandenThea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.comBlogger380125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-61238270055475382362024-01-09T19:04:00.001-05:002024-01-09T19:04:57.149-05:00Goodbye 2023, Hello 2024!<p><span style="font-family: arial;">So I swore that for 2023, I would get my "year in review" post done by the end of December...and then it didn't happen. Oops. Sorry. But, to be fair, a LOT happened and even more new and exciting things are in the works for 2024!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">First, the recap:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyBVQe_rS-q5EcsYEsKpyo8ToaHhY7zK6QWxD8-88-EJR7hYKacCZ0iUwsDSO2TV62RLJ_MPp9ystn1j5VpFmRgwxnFosFmty1kAc9pO4NhzeXi-CHD_JIhhSQCxxGVu1u4ibBUNv8J0EwYkJDa6pLmCVytKg6rrGU3fTVa0H_BlQaXKDCxewWxxalgg8n/s1080/2023%20books.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyBVQe_rS-q5EcsYEsKpyo8ToaHhY7zK6QWxD8-88-EJR7hYKacCZ0iUwsDSO2TV62RLJ_MPp9ystn1j5VpFmRgwxnFosFmty1kAc9pO4NhzeXi-CHD_JIhhSQCxxGVu1u4ibBUNv8J0EwYkJDa6pLmCVytKg6rrGU3fTVa0H_BlQaXKDCxewWxxalgg8n/s320/2023%20books.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">2023 was the year of eight books. It was fun and I'm so happy the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3QYH7FX" target="_blank"><i>Searching the Skies</i> series</a> is complete and out there for the world to see...but I'm not sure if I ever want to do that again. I also finished and released <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sonata-Springtime-Thea-Landen-ebook/dp/B0C6NNJNT5" target="_blank">Sonata for Springtime</a></i>, which was an achievement considering how long the first third of that manuscript sat on the time-out shelf, along with two spicy novellas, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG9YHW6V" target="_blank"><i>Train Hard, Rest Harder</i></a> and <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CK91K4TZ" target="_blank">Tangled In His Possession</a></i>.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">2023 also brought about a new logo and an <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/thealandenbooks/" target="_blank">Etsy shop for physical products</a> (focusing on personalized signed paperbacks, but there are some stickers and bookmarks in there too!). </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiB9FgVwFQuj9CDXwxumFxCkgIU6g-gseHddITHTz09pMsgx4cvN8dYbIWjYFT-4LJVPQkG21kv6C61HijmUC8HeNp3pOlm5KD4BvXAnMS5USIS9l-xBGPJ6xwrvNRa0UFor7K2jk-LIkwe8gcxw8FMYYwpi6AStO2uzpyB8iNCHpR8lFRqBfpCcmsLqWp/s4000/theasaurus%20sticker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiB9FgVwFQuj9CDXwxumFxCkgIU6g-gseHddITHTz09pMsgx4cvN8dYbIWjYFT-4LJVPQkG21kv6C61HijmUC8HeNp3pOlm5KD4BvXAnMS5USIS9l-xBGPJ6xwrvNRa0UFor7K2jk-LIkwe8gcxw8FMYYwpi6AStO2uzpyB8iNCHpR8lFRqBfpCcmsLqWp/s320/theasaurus%20sticker.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A lot of what I started working on in 2023 was in preparation for my big plans for 2024. In no particular order:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEithTWmzgVE2EAVOB4hd5fxf27zAyu5uwY4sbgGyeFdwvPf5hGL0FZs90JMBcNPV8ZPXBH4-QBtPA3r_A3K2H0wX4Fr1awu1UICIqfzTbknyl-DdLJO1bYKoRNPBoxsDkaqtiG-Ch78YnO7IylT5ROj93nsWkbogwzuyqMe4VtBvL9IFtztHynMS0p7owSY/s2700/EBOOK%20-%20Thea%20Landen%20b01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2700" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEithTWmzgVE2EAVOB4hd5fxf27zAyu5uwY4sbgGyeFdwvPf5hGL0FZs90JMBcNPV8ZPXBH4-QBtPA3r_A3K2H0wX4Fr1awu1UICIqfzTbknyl-DdLJO1bYKoRNPBoxsDkaqtiG-Ch78YnO7IylT5ROj93nsWkbogwzuyqMe4VtBvL9IFtztHynMS0p7owSY/s320/EBOOK%20-%20Thea%20Landen%20b01.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The rerelease of <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQRRNLQR" target="_blank">The Edge of the Sphere</a></i> is now available for pre-order! This is the last of my earlier books where the rights reverted back to me when the publisher shut down. Obviously it has some gorgeous new cover art, and I edited the hell out of it to bring it up to my current standards. Part of me can't believe I wrote this book twelve -- yes, <b>twelve </b>-- years ago, but I still love the characters and their story. Paperback, Kindle, and Kindle Unlimited will be available on January 19th!<br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Next, people keep asking me about audiobooks, and I've finally decided this is the year. At some point, I'd love to have the majority of my publications where I own the publishing rights available in audiobook, but since this is a brand new adventure for me, I'm trying to take things slow. (But let's just say one may already be in the works...)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Lastly, remember the logo rebrand and the physical merchandise I mentioned? Much of that is due to me booking my first in-person appearances at signings and conventions, starting this year. As of right this second, I'm booked for two in 2024 and two in 2025, but I have some applications and feelers out for a few more. I'll post a schedule soon!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's to a happy and productive 2024! Cheers!<br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-59295308542447480912023-11-03T14:08:00.002-04:002023-11-03T14:08:51.376-04:00Always Moving Forward<p><span style="font-family: arial;">[insert standard "oh my goodness, can you believe it's November already??" here]</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Now that that's out of the way, I figured it was as good of a time as any to write an actual blog post, which I haven't done in a while. All my scheduled 2023 releases are now out in the world, but I'm still writing and prepping for 2024. There are a lot of fun and exciting things coming up in the next year and beyond!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">First, you may have already noticed the new logo and header here! I decided it was time to make my branding more consistent (whatever my "branding" is, anyway) and went back to <a href="https://www.emilysworldofdesign.com/" target="_blank">Emily's World of Design</a> for a kick-ass logo. I am madly in love with this and am currently in the process of sticking it on stuff. That's a highly technical term, by the way.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXBpncMJrFDrkgKIfuZswUxdOD07LWxhipLGec-hEJvRIkQrHCHV0K-MSTm7L3tJlcUnK9Wavov4rvf7FQQGAuQC46s2JBoRHEk5NA0pvv_1a1E7gXUBj3tEKwFbr9VEI58e5Kmzr8h1BrF218m1DxkfODfUWm1NFjikrv6BMDXbnHUD_A2nkl9W1qzzu/s2048/bookmarks%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1773" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXBpncMJrFDrkgKIfuZswUxdOD07LWxhipLGec-hEJvRIkQrHCHV0K-MSTm7L3tJlcUnK9Wavov4rvf7FQQGAuQC46s2JBoRHEk5NA0pvv_1a1E7gXUBj3tEKwFbr9VEI58e5Kmzr8h1BrF218m1DxkfODfUWm1NFjikrv6BMDXbnHUD_A2nkl9W1qzzu/s320/bookmarks%201.jpg" width="277" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">"How can I get one of those nifty bookmarks?" you may be asking. Another fun recent project was creating an <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheaLandenBooks" target="_blank">Etsy shop</a> to streamline my process for selling signed copies of my paperbacks. I may eventually make a listing for the bookmarks alone, but for now, I'm just sticking one into every book I sell, so hop on over to <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheaLandenBooks" target="_blank">TheaLandenBooks</a> and take a look! You definitely want a signed book to go along with it anyway, right?<br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9IRa7biZu5uygU0QwIgBnF11744wWq59zafV-K8fLJjwJEFJy8zMUlNchQJtyiA6Wv0pwFJAObl_vVKrwp-TuJo7VpS6rsSlXKLt_Xhyphenhyphen286w4wxAYKo75JlaiIGcmYhhzz_ceTXpwOGWTUpPy9q83iEyUcbktSdWsruo1Eecjkn95-kH8U3ENmc8UooXX/s2048/bookmarks%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9IRa7biZu5uygU0QwIgBnF11744wWq59zafV-K8fLJjwJEFJy8zMUlNchQJtyiA6Wv0pwFJAObl_vVKrwp-TuJo7VpS6rsSlXKLt_Xhyphenhyphen286w4wxAYKo75JlaiIGcmYhhzz_ceTXpwOGWTUpPy9q83iEyUcbktSdWsruo1Eecjkn95-kH8U3ENmc8UooXX/s320/bookmarks%202.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The last bit of exciting news that sort of ties into the previous two: Since I've been releasing more books in paperback, I thought it might be fun to start investigating book fairs and author signings and other in-person events. As of right this second, my first scheduled appearance is in Fall 2024, and some of them book waaaay in advance, so I have some scheduled for 2025 already! I probably should make a new tab here for listing these events so, uh, keep an eye out for that.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">(Revamping this entire website is also on my to-do list...)<br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-27224751653581295512023-10-18T22:02:00.001-04:002023-10-18T22:02:51.058-04:00Tangled In His Possession - Available Now!<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5URnMVWvrCX9dfnKtSXZ4nhZhLDTzGQuVjL8IDb0jeok7S7F_I3bHkhFa1MvwqWsW4yLCg7MW_zHpSphG8CqEC7bFVrIeIP0HWIJWs899te8f30kqBnrL8dWNme0FT5kg4U8QIm9-K-jxMVS6LLGfKF0I4fx-fLTx-aXBcmJqJBeE-yn3lLY8rUwRK59/s2560/Tangled%20In%20His%20Possession%20Cover%201600x2560.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5URnMVWvrCX9dfnKtSXZ4nhZhLDTzGQuVjL8IDb0jeok7S7F_I3bHkhFa1MvwqWsW4yLCg7MW_zHpSphG8CqEC7bFVrIeIP0HWIJWs899te8f30kqBnrL8dWNme0FT5kg4U8QIm9-K-jxMVS6LLGfKF0I4fx-fLTx-aXBcmJqJBeE-yn3lLY8rUwRK59/s320/Tangled%20In%20His%20Possession%20Cover%201600x2560.jpg" width="200" /></a></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Woo-hoo! This year, I actually got my spooky season story out on time! (To be fair, last year wasn't 100% my fault, but I'm going to enjoy this anyway.) <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CK91K4TZ" target="_blank">Tangled In His Possession</a></i> is my latest paranormal romance, and I love it so much, I have two different marketing pitches for it. Take your pick!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">You know those TV movies where the uptight high-powered businesswoman has to move from the big city to a small town because of [whatever reason], but it's all worth it because she finds love? It's like that, but the love interest is possessed by a demon. Whoopsie.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">OR</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Longtime readers and followers will know how much I love the game Dragon Age 2, especially the Hawke + Anders romance, which is most likely my most favorite video game romance EVER. So, is this technically a modern alternate universe retelling of part of one of my favorite games? ...possibly. But hey, since I'm in charge here, it means I get to pick the ending. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Blurb and excerpt time? Blurb and excerpt time. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Blurb:</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">When her great-aunt dies, leaving The Yarn Barn in need of new management, Lucy Hawkins jumps at the opportunity to quit her stressful sales job. She moves to the quaint tourist town of Willow Vale, ready for a fresh start when she takes over the business. While introducing herself to her new neighbors, she meets Zeke, the owner of the occult shop next door. Friendly yet reserved, Zeke piques her interest, but he turns down her suggestion of a date.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Late one night, a frightening incident causes Zeke to reveal why he doesn’t want to risk getting too close to Lucy: he is possessed by a demon, an evil spirit that killed his grandfather several years earlier. Though he has been able to prevent it from harming anyone else since, he agonizes over what could happen if he loses control. Despite his worries, Lucy persists, and ultimately persuades him to allow her to provide the companionship he’s been too afraid to seek out.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">They embark on a romantic relationship, with Zeke becoming the doting, compassionate partner Lucy has always dreamed of. The demon within him, however, remains a lingering concern, especially when it comes to intimacy and his fear for her safety. After a traumatic outburst, he vows to rid the world of the malicious force, even if it costs him his life. Lucy accepts his choice, but there’s one thing she needs from him before he carries out his plan. Can she convince Zeke to share every part of himself with her, demons and all?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><b>Excerpt:</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">"I convinced myself it would be a mistake. Even last night, after I told you my darkest secrets, I believed it would be better if we avoided each other." His knuckles whitened on the countertop. "But when you touched me, the first time anyone’s touched me in years, I surrendered for a few blissful moments. Which was also a mistake, as I haven’t stopped thinking about it since."<br /><br />She sensed an opening. "I could do it again, if you’d like."<br /><br />A faint groan rumbled from his throat.<br /><br />Shifting to the side, Lucy reached over and rested her hand atop his. His skin was warm beneath her palm, and she entwined their fingers together.<br /><br />His eyes closed as he swallowed. "Why do I find it impossible to resist you?"<br /><br />"Because I made a career out of being very persuasive." Her grip on him tightened. "Deep down, you know I’m right. You can’t spend the rest of your life pushing people away."<br /><br />Zeke swiveled toward her, his hand slipping out of hers. "You really are stubborn."<br /><br />"Yup."<br /><br />"I don’t think you know what you’re getting yourself into."<br /><br />She refused to back down, tilting her head to stare into his chocolate-brown eyes instead. "I think I know what I can and can’t handle."<br /><br />Indecision washed over his face and he turned away from her. With the faintest of touches, she used her fingertips to guide his head back in her direction. Electricity sparked between them as she drew her thumb across his cheek, memorizing the rough feel of his stubble and enjoying the shudder she elicited. He leaned into her cupped palm, his hot breath floating over her wrist as he pressed his lips to her skin.<br /><br />Need consumed her, both her desire to explore more of him and her wish to erase some of his anguish. "Let me be closer to you, Zeke," she murmured. "It’s okay to give in."<br /><br />The intensity with which he kissed her caught her off-guard, ripping the air from her lungs. She recovered quickly, though, and planted her free hand on the other side of his face as his tongue plunged between her parted lips. The ends of her fingers threaded through the silky strands of his hair as she kissed him back with fervor, enthralled by the taste of his soft lips. His arms snaked around her waist, holding her tight.<br /><br />He drew back far too soon, and she whimpered at the loss of contact. "We shouldn’t be doing this," he said, his voice strained and unsteady.<br /><br />"Too late." Lucy steered his mouth back to hers and delivered a teasing nibble to his lower lip. "We already are."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CK91K4TZ"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Tangled In His Possession</i> is available in paperback and on Kindle Unlimited!<br /></span></a></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-1314553187826672782023-09-04T23:12:00.004-04:002023-09-04T23:27:23.460-04:00Train Hard, Rest Harder - Available Now!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNQDUatlnQjZ9J8bxYS-akWHvVQLjKRxQoL8Ku3JnQVepo-sgnEaxYdDUAsJjHMQKAxpGQhQtyqM71afeN7YPdBG5Z-DUY5_OTtlG-NCkTlAOeC7vAmZH65EU0xC-7f4MVj2d7m6147HsDMc1_JzX-fpvFvL3fZA2tnbcxQzx7fYM5Lb5Q0N7Ub7MU_mlP/s4500/Train%20Hard%20Rest%20Harder%20cover%203000x4500.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4500" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNQDUatlnQjZ9J8bxYS-akWHvVQLjKRxQoL8Ku3JnQVepo-sgnEaxYdDUAsJjHMQKAxpGQhQtyqM71afeN7YPdBG5Z-DUY5_OTtlG-NCkTlAOeC7vAmZH65EU0xC-7f4MVj2d7m6147HsDMc1_JzX-fpvFvL3fZA2tnbcxQzx7fYM5Lb5Q0N7Ub7MU_mlP/s320/Train%20Hard%20Rest%20Harder%20cover%203000x4500.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So, I finally did it. I finally wrote some gym-themed smut! And I had such a good time writing it, the whole process went FAST, and I didn't have an opportunity to blog about it. Whoops.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It's funny - while I originally set out to write something on the lighter side, something interesting happened. While the “wild weekend with the young, hot trainer” plot is fun enough on its own, it became a framework for something a little deeper and more poignant. For a lot of stressed-out, overworked women—myself included—the <i>real </i>fantasy is the idea of having a few days free of all responsibility and letting someone else handle everything. (Okay, fine, having that “someone else” be an attractive man waiting to fulfil your every need does sweeten the deal a bit.) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Shall we have a blurb and excerpt for <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG9YHW6V" target="_blank">Train Hard, Rest Harder</a></i>? (Yes, we shall.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Blurb:</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Between her fast-paced career and managing her household for her family, Julia is always on the go. Her busy schedule leaves little time for her to pursue her own interests and hobbies, save for one activity: the gym she attends with her husband, Rob. The high-intensity classes they take allow her to destress, yet, as with every other aspect of her life, she constantly pushes herself to achieve her fitness goals.<br /><br />Afraid his wife is at risk of burning out, Rob conspires with Tristan, one of the trainers at the gym, and forms a plan in order to encourage Julia to take a break from all her obligations. They present her with their scheme, informing her how she and Tristan will be staying at his family’s secluded lake house for a long weekend, during which she is under strict orders not to cook, clean, or answer any messages from work. As she processes everything they’ve plotted behind her back, Rob privately tells her he’s noticed her attraction to their trainer. To her surprise, he grants her permission to do anything she wants with Tristan during their weekend together…<i>anything</i>.<br /><br />They embark on their trip, and Julia wonders if she’ll be able to disconnect from her responsibilities and relax for a few days. She also contemplates whether she can be intimate with another man, despite Rob’s reassurances. Will this weekend with her trainer fulfill all her fantasies? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><b>Excerpt:</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">Once I stood, I let him coach me through weighted lunges in all directions and a few rounds of deadlifts. “Almost done.” His gaze flicked back and forth between me and the stack of weights. “Sorry there’s no squat rack here, but I think, as we established last night, we need to make sure you’re keeping up with your squats.”<br /><br />His words, combined with the memory of his hands on my body, increased the heat simmering inside me. “I’ll make do with what we have. Front squats or goblet squats?”<br /><br />“I’ll let you choose.”<br /><br />I bent down to retrieve the dumbbells I’d used for the lunges. “Uh-uh. Try again,” he said from behind me.<br /><br />“What?”<br /><br />“We both know you can go heavier than that.”<br /><br />I glanced back at him over my shoulder. “Yeah, but it’s different without the rack. I have to be able to actually pick these up.”<br /><br />Tristan inched closer and rested one hand at the small of my back. “I know how strong you are.” His breath fanned across my neck as he spoke. “Give me ten good squats and we’ll call it a day.”<br /><br />He let his hand drop and gave my ass a quick squeeze before stepping away. I didn’t realize how much I craved more of his touch until he let go of me, but there was only one way to earn it. I went to the rack against the wall and returned with the heaviest weights I thought I could get up to my chest. Blowing out a puff of air, I hoisted them into position and steadied myself for the first squat.<br /><br />“Slow and controlled,” he said. “And get nice and low with good form, or else I’m going to make you start from the beginning.”<br /><br />My legs already ached from the run followed by the lunges, but I kept my knees pressed out to the sides as I dipped down and back up. <i>One</i>, I counted to myself. I repeated the movement, fighting to keep the tremble out of my arms as I held the dumbbells up in front of me.<br /><br />“Almost there.” His raspy whisper sent a different kind of shiver through my tensed muscles. “You got this.”<br /><br />How the weights didn’t slip out of my hands, I had no idea. I maintained my grip and sank down into my heels yet again. Every time I rose presented more of a struggle, but I was determined to complete the set. Once I finished the tenth squat, I exhaled a long sigh of relief and set the dumbbells down.<br /><br />Tristan was on me in a flash. He grabbed me by the waist and yanked me backward, sending me crashing into his bare chest. “I love watching you move,” he growled in my ear. “Your powerful body, your flawless form…do you know how long I’ve been dreaming of a moment like this?”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG9YHW6V" target="_blank"><i>Train Hard, Rest Harder</i> is available in paperback and on Kindle Unlimited!</a></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-6546391198217715072023-07-29T16:56:00.001-04:002023-07-29T16:56:21.296-04:00Chasing the Skies and Conquering the Skies - Available Now!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRy6vCuLbzFoOZHkeLmzCcK44kSTjMH5CwD-biWJhQwUuveePMdEbMkq281z2v8Eq_xp5xtvlxe8ynq8Tk6vsFUstE-DCUIeEK0ijuCpkNAyOkcvbssPKfdQgPlUQ3ojgL1zW9vwSv9f5rob6H9Es_nLkXk7sAo5D1vPBAASQrlsh41Fj2ils-XHwzsBx6/s1080/Skies%204%20and%205%20blog%20release.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRy6vCuLbzFoOZHkeLmzCcK44kSTjMH5CwD-biWJhQwUuveePMdEbMkq281z2v8Eq_xp5xtvlxe8ynq8Tk6vsFUstE-DCUIeEK0ijuCpkNAyOkcvbssPKfdQgPlUQ3ojgL1zW9vwSv9f5rob6H9Es_nLkXk7sAo5D1vPBAASQrlsh41Fj2ils-XHwzsBx6/s320/Skies%204%20and%205%20blog%20release.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial;">IT IS DONE.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I started my blog post of July 13, 2022, with that same exact sentence. (Yes, I actually looked something up!) A smidge over a year ago, I had finished up the actual writing of the <i>Searching the Skies</i> series and sent it off. Now, after editing and cover design and whatnot, the entire series has now been published. PHEW.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I'll get to the blurbs in a moment, but since this feels like a pretty big achievement, I'm going to take this opportunity to recap the history of this series, especially since I've picked up some new readers along the way. If we're going allllll the way back to the beginning, I might as well start in late 2010, which is when I got laid off from my then-job and got back into writing fanfic.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Fanfic was fun enough, but in time, I wanted to see if I could write something 100% original. E-readers and indie publishers were on the rise, and I thought I had a halfway decent shot at getting something published. By this point, I don't even remember where the original idea for Geneva's space adventures with her two doting men came from, but I wrote it in the fall of 2011. I submitted it to a publisher I had in mind...and was rejected. Not terribly surprising, actually. But I kept at it and eventually got a "yes."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And then I started learning how much I really didn't know, and I will forever be grateful to that first kind editor who started gently whipping me into shape.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The first edition of <i>Searching the Skies</i> released in 2012. I'd started working on my next book by then, since everything I'd read said the best way to sell your first book is to write a second. Even though I was focusing on other projects, my mind kept wandering back to Geneva & Co. When I plotted out the first book, one of my big concerns was how to make it realistic that Ash and Marcus would be willing to engage in this threesome. I had some ideas for a dramatic rescue mission, but since <i>Searching the Skies</i> was my very first book, I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew, so I abandoned that plot line and kept it simple.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Then I thought about revisiting the characters and making the throuple more "equal" - as in instead of Geneva always being in the middle, the two men engaging in intimate activities with each other. I combined that with the aforementioned plans for a dramatic rescue mission, and <i>Defying the Skies</i> was born. I admit that when I wrote my very first book, I had zero plans for a sequel, yet once I had the plot fleshed out in my head, I wanted to write it. The first edition of <i>Defying the Skies</i> released in 2013.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Back then, I did sort of have a rough outline for a third book, but a lot of other things were going on. First, I had other shiny new book ideas that I wanted to write. Second, I finished up my coursework for my career change and went back to work, leaving me with a lot less free time. Lastly, while the original publisher I was working with wouldn't shut down for another few years, by that time, I kind of saw the writing on the wall and had concerns about its future even then. I sent one more sequel to them (<i>The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions</i>, the sequel to <i>Disintegration</i>) and decided that would be it.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Time passed. I wrote other things. I had two kids! (At the same time, but still!) As the years went by, somewhere in the back of my head, I vaguely remembered the rights reversion clauses in the contracts and knew I was approaching the point where I could request that. Again, though, I was working on other books, and while it was an interesting idea, it wasn't a priority. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Then...the decision was made for me. The publisher was shutting down/being absorbed by another company, and unless we wanted our books relisted with the new company, all rights reverted back to us. Well, that turned out to be easier than expected, I guess. I was glad to have my books back with me, but I needed to figure out what to actually *do* with them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I focused on rereleasing the <i>Disintegration </i>series first before revisiting <i>Searching the Skies</i>. And what I found...oof. OOF. Don't get me wrong, there was still a lot of good stuff going on in there, and I guess it's nice to see how much you've grown as a writer, but I was cringing all over the place. Like, a tiny part of me wanted to reach out to everyone who read the first version and apologize to them. It was painful. But, I sat down and got out the electronic red pen. It was tough at times, and I did consider giving up once or twice, but I wound up with a better version of my original book baby. Thankfully, <i>Defying the Skies</i> didn't need *as* much work.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The rest of this saga has already been documented more recently, but to wrap up this recap: I did write that third book, decided it wasn't a satisfying ending to an entire series, plotted out two more books, and offered the whole thing to <a href="https://decadentpublishing.com/" target="_blank">Decadent Publishing</a>, who I'd always enjoyed working with. (Really, they're great! I highly recommend them to anyone who's looking for a smaller romance publisher.) They accepted it, contracts were signed, and my first book and its sequel found a new home.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So, here we are. This has been a journey of almost <b>twelve years</b>. That's older than my kids. That's older than this website! It's kind of crazy and surreal to think about, but anyone who knows me will tell you I rarely give up on projects and I like to finish what I start. And today, the <i>Searching the Skies</i> series is officially finished.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Thank you for indulging me in that bit of rambling. As promised, here are the short blurbs for the last two books in the series!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C7GDHMTZ " target="_blank">Chasing the Skies:</a></i></span></p><p><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: arial;">Geneva’s new job as a private investigator leads Marcus to contact her when Adele witnesses some potential illegal activity at her office. She reluctantly agrees to look into the matter, all while fighting her lingering attraction to him and missing Ash, who has been deployed on a dangerous mission with the military. Can she keep her loved ones safe while navigating her new roles?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7PZHBNY/ " target="_blank">Conquering the Skies:</a></i></span></p><p><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial;">Big changes threaten to disrupt Geneva’s comfortable routines, forcing her to make significant decisions about the future she wants. Throughout weddings, new jobs, and travels to distant planets, will she finally find a place in the galaxy to call home?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3QYH7FX">All five books of the <i>Searching the Skies</i> series are now available on Kindle Unlimited!<br /></a></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-8055948629241961102023-07-05T18:32:00.001-04:002023-07-05T18:32:11.637-04:00Sonata for Springtime and Surrendering the Skies - Available Now!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq3Wyo2BO46wPMnMDciE4nr7lVucilAvHbJSWc0CPdo76GYWPienyMUKXyCaT27I6-5jrZp7uwqtwnsBl6HNEKv-gzrz25hWTz87Jx2XuQFiTdbuJeI-vJDKq4gOSHYalKKTwJhv_d1zJ3bj40ngmYH1TvXwq6l7fxTRS_GBcf3TaUFCRjy7wmmXp9FV5x/s1080/June%20Releases.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq3Wyo2BO46wPMnMDciE4nr7lVucilAvHbJSWc0CPdo76GYWPienyMUKXyCaT27I6-5jrZp7uwqtwnsBl6HNEKv-gzrz25hWTz87Jx2XuQFiTdbuJeI-vJDKq4gOSHYalKKTwJhv_d1zJ3bj40ngmYH1TvXwq6l7fxTRS_GBcf3TaUFCRjy7wmmXp9FV5x/s320/June%20Releases.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Phew! June was such a busy month with THREE book releases, I forgot to post here about the second two. (But you're all subscribed to my newsletter and following me on social media, so you knew about them, right? Right??) At least I remembered to update all my tabs and buy links here, so we'll call that half a win.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sonata-Springtime-Thea-Landen-ebook/dp/B0C6NNJNT5/" target="_blank">Sonata for Springtime</a></i>, my slow-burn contemporary romance, was released on June 16th, and <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C6YMBZFK " target="_blank">Surrendering the Skies</a></i>, Book 3 of the <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3QYH7FX " target="_blank">Searching the Skies</a></i> series, was released on June 30th. And after all that, we still have two more books of the <i>Skies </i>series to go! Double phew!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Short blurbs for consistency's sake:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sonata-Springtime-Thea-Landen-ebook/dp/B0C6NNJNT5/" target="_blank">Sonata for Springtime:</a></i></span></p><p><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-family: arial;">Jonathan falls in love with aspiring concert pianist Natalie when she tries to teach him how to play, but she’s engaged to someone else. After she reveals his feelings are reciprocated, she becomes distraught and cuts off contact with him. Can Jonathan find a way to discover his inner passion, with or without her?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C6YMBZFK " target="_blank">Surrendering the Skies:</a></i></span></p><p><span style="color: #b6d7a8; font-family: arial;">Harrowing job assignments, Ash’s personal tragedy, and Marcus’s new relationship with another woman leave Geneva feeling lost in the universe. Can she find a path back to where she was, or is it time for significant change in her life?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C7GDHMTZ" target="_blank"><i>Chasing the Skies</i> releases on July 15th!</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7PZHBNY/" target="_blank"><i>Conquering the Skies</i> (the grand finale) releases on July 29th!<br /></a></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-32883965458506876882023-06-13T22:23:00.000-04:002023-06-13T22:23:11.440-04:00Defying the Skies - Available Now!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjBddNCZ9C8g5K4_MAO4rCPwN6JiELQYDeyv6zXYwzeojtIIaN6EhyYVcvVQbbCvvEkIcCtnlwEC4YR1FtoKjkHJp1aa6REzrKdVrgtAhhJKmbqMfF00DhdqQMw1IT4gP7aXaTTOe9ayHtOitzAfLznRElVc4-flkKQMNDWLzVt6jgUDHTXjcdl3BFw/s2700/Defying%20the%20Skies%20ebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2700" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjBddNCZ9C8g5K4_MAO4rCPwN6JiELQYDeyv6zXYwzeojtIIaN6EhyYVcvVQbbCvvEkIcCtnlwEC4YR1FtoKjkHJp1aa6REzrKdVrgtAhhJKmbqMfF00DhdqQMw1IT4gP7aXaTTOe9ayHtOitzAfLznRElVc4-flkKQMNDWLzVt6jgUDHTXjcdl3BFw/s320/Defying%20the%20Skies%20ebook.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Whoops, I'm a couple days late, but <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C6HL2GK7"><i>Defying the Skies</i></a>, Book 2 of the <i>Searching the Skies</i> series, has been released! This is also a re-release, but I'll post a short blurb and excerpt for a refresher.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Before I do that, though, here's the schedule for the rest of the series. The remaining three books are all brand-new, and I'm so glad I finally got to bring this series to an exciting, satisfying conclusion!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Surrendering the Skies</i> - June 30th</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Chasing the Skies</i> - July 15</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Conquering the Skies</i> - July 29</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3QYH7FX ">The whole series will be available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited, so don't miss out!</a></span></p><p><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: arial;"><u>Blurb:</u></span></p><p><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: arial;">Geneva has settled into a comfortable routine with the two men she loves, but Marcus wants more…not from her, but from Ash. Before he can confess his attraction to the other man, he’s abducted in a terrorist attack. Can Geneva and Ash find him before it’s too late for him to fulfil his fantasies?</span></p><p><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: arial;"><u>Excerpt:</u></span></p><p><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: georgia;">Marcus let out another sigh. “A year ago, if someone had told me I’d be sharing my bed with another man every now and then, I would have said they were crazy. I know we were all a little skeptical at first, but I really did just want to make you happy because I was terrified of letting you slip away.”<br /><br />She tapped his wrist. “I’m still not seeing what the issue is.”<br /><br />“I’m trying, I’m trying. Bear with me.” He rubbed his eyes and covered his face with his hands. “I care about you, and I love how you make me feel, all the things you do to me. Then there’s Ash, who I’ve also developed some sort of intimate connection with, and he’s there with us in the heat of the moment, and….”<br /><br />“And?”<br /><br />“We’ve always focused all our attention on you, and you on us individually, which is fine. As I said, I’d do just about anything for you. The look on your face when you’re with both of us is a substantial reward.” His eyes remained shielded from view. “That look is part of what’s been haunting me. I’ve watched the two of you together. When you’re clinging to me as he’s moving inside you, sheer bliss illuminating every part of your body…sometimes my mind can’t help but wonder what….”<br /><br />Realization set in as he trailed off. “You’re attracted to Ash.”<br /><br />A pained grumble emanated from behind the barrier he had created. “Well, when you put it so bluntly, of course it’s going to sound strange.”<br /><br />Geneva contemplated his distressed confession. Despite having been with both of them simultaneously on numerous occasions, she had never envisioned a situation in which her men derived pleasure from each other. The idea intrigued her. “I don’t think it sounds strange at all.”<br /><br />“You don’t?”<br /><br />“It makes perfect sense to me.” She leaned closer to him and nudged his hands. He finally uncovered his face and looked at her. “Both of you make me feel amazing. And if you want to feel the same way….” </span><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-29944409464677081482023-05-11T13:09:00.001-04:002023-05-11T13:09:59.993-04:00Searching the Skies - Available Now!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyhtWDsMYLyPY8ooNxu6Ke7T9RKL5CaY0Np39pxvMgeLR5mRjxWOHDzCfN6RUCiznQkYai-aAgRwGIyqO3j5rXvVHRjuG-ytjN-Ltczx81TkCOj374K9GcfQXDGna8GG2tlhsc8iuZfxkf5bETf18MlLtB4_kvbDD9euj3F3CXRKqCgQQ9qmKybrV8Iw/s1800/Searching%20the%20Skies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyhtWDsMYLyPY8ooNxu6Ke7T9RKL5CaY0Np39pxvMgeLR5mRjxWOHDzCfN6RUCiznQkYai-aAgRwGIyqO3j5rXvVHRjuG-ytjN-Ltczx81TkCOj374K9GcfQXDGna8GG2tlhsc8iuZfxkf5bETf18MlLtB4_kvbDD9euj3F3CXRKqCgQQ9qmKybrV8Iw/w266-h400/Searching%20the%20Skies.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"> My very first book baby has gotten a makeover and is back out in the world. *dabs tears*</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Searching the Skies</i> was originally published on January 26, 2012, which is a <b>LONG</b> time ago. That even predates this website, as I had absolutely no idea what I was doing back then. (Not like I have a better idea now, but you know.) Since then, I've dealt with working with new publishers, old publishers closing, major life events like births and deaths, trying to figure out how to market myself and my books, and always striving to be a better writer. A lot has happened in <b>eleven+</b> years.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So, here we are. The <i>Skies </i>series has officially been rebooted. The previously published books, <i>Searching the Skies</i> and <i>Defying the Skies</i>, got a much better edit and some bonus scenes, and three more books are waiting to bring you on a fun adventure. Fair warning - these books have a high heat level! Book 1 starts off with a bang (or several) and they get spicier from there.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I could wax poetic about the re-release of this book for a few more paragraphs, but let's jump right to the good stuff. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C38QFBGB/" target="_blank">Start your next sizzling sci-fi series today!</a></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">Commander Geneva Greyson has spent the past ten years focused on her career, moving up the ranks with the Terran military. Following a high-stakes mission on a planet filled with violent aliens, she struggles to fight her growing attraction to her fellow officer, Ash. She eventually gives in to temptation, but their time together is short-lived, as she is summoned home by her estranged parents.<br /><br />The planet of Pasurea sits at the center of the Terran empire. It’s inhabited by the wealthiest and most influential residents of the galaxy, and the Greysons are no exception. In an effort to ease some of the awkwardness of their reunion, Geneva’s mother invites Marcus, her childhood friend who is now a successful businessman. Though he has been looking forward to seeing her again for the first time in nearly a decade, she is too angry at the circumstances that tore her away from her ship to reciprocate his efforts to rekindle their friendship. His persistence wins her over, however, and she enjoys his intimate company before returning to her post against her parents’ wishes.<br /><br />Difficult decisions plague Geneva, and she believes she will never find a solution to her problems that will please everyone. Convinced she’s bound to disappoint at least one person, she plans to distance herself from those close to her. Before she can make her escape, Ash and Marcus conspire to present her with an enticing offer to continue seeing both of them romantically, but is it too good to be true?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C38QFBGB/" target="_blank">Available on Kindle Unlimited </a></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-85587131242783113302023-04-15T13:13:00.007-04:002023-04-15T13:13:58.627-04:00Write, Write, Write Some More...and then Keep Writing<p><span style="font-family: arial;">This past Wednesday was the 11-year anniversary of this blog/site, which is kind of crazy to think about. I definitely had no idea what I was doing back then (not that I have much of a better idea now), and while there have been times when I was only posting here sporadically, I do love having this record of my writing journey. I've met so many great people along the way, which I'm thankful for, but these anniversaries also remind me how some of my fellow writers who I respected and admired decided this wasn't for them and decided to leave writing with the goal of publication behind. It's tough. It really is.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Despite me doing this for over a decade now (which, like I said: CRAZY), I wouldn't say I started gaining much traction until about late 2019 or so. That was when I started reaching my pre-childrearing levels of momentum and had a slightly better idea of how to market my books to readers who were looking for the specific genres I was writing in. In a weird way, I think the lockdown of 2020 helped a bit, as people were reading more and I also had the time to dedicate to building more of an online presence. (Okay, Twitter. I'm talking about Twitter.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">After all this time, I'm finally coming to terms with something I've known deep down for many years: to be more successful, I have to produce more. Now, we can have the "quality vs. quantity" argument until we're blue in the face, but while my backlog is pretty big at this point, I know I need to write and release faster to keep building my audience. Part of finally accepting this is how, at this stage in my life, I WANT to do it. Some of my hobbies have fallen by the wayside (I haven't watched much TV or even touched my knitting in well over a year now), but writing is becoming my priority in my down time and I'm okay with it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I don't have a firm release schedule for the rest of the year yet, but I have a lot—a LOT—planned. It's almost to the point where I'm so excited, I'm getting impatient and I have to resist the urge to publish a lot of books and stories all at once, but I've been doing this long enough that I can make myself be methodical about it. As always, make sure you're <a href="https://mailchi.mp/5e1b73234137/newsletter-sign-up " target="_blank">subscribed to my newsletter</a> and <a href="https://linktr.ee/thealanden" target="_blank">following me on social media</a> for the latest details! <br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-59733265800702826232023-03-18T11:56:00.005-04:002023-03-18T11:56:38.925-04:00No Rest for the Wicked<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Sometimes I wonder if I've started repeating blog post titles. Then I remember I'm coming up on the 11-year anniversary (!!!) of this site and I've decided not to let it bother me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Okay, so! As of my last post about a month ago, I'd finished writing a book that had taken me on quite the journey. Whenever I finish a writing project, I always say I'm going to take a little break, maybe read some books that have been on my list for a while, play some video games, etc. Aside from my usual August vacation, though, I've noticed that break getting shorter and shorter. My "to-write" list never seems to get any smaller, and I guess I've gotten used to my routine, even if I'm not as fast as some other authors out there. There's probably also something to be said about how with the current state of indie publishing, especially for romance/erotica, the faster you produce, the more successful you are, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to tackle that topic.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">All that is to say...yeah, I've started a new project. I'm not going to say "book," nor am I going to say "short story," as I don't know yet exactly where I'm going to land word count-wise. Originally, I thought it was going to be a short story, but as I started writing, the words started coming out FAST. Like, really fast. I'm as shocked as you are right now. I started it almost three weeks ago, and I'm already creeping up on 10K words. For me, that is <b>fast</b>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">By my estimations, which have actually been getting worse over the years as my writing has become more detailed, I think I'm around the halfway point. So much for a short story. Either way, I'm having a lot of fun, and that's the important part, right?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">(I'm not 100% sure about the title yet, so no tag for now!)<br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-45107025324442029512023-02-17T22:30:00.000-05:002023-02-17T22:30:00.828-05:00Persistence<p><span style="font-family: arial;">IT IS DONE.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Sorry, we all know I can't help being dramatic whenever I finish a writing project. (Or at any time, really.) The writing, the editing, the fucking blurb...I am DONE with <i>Sonata for Springtime</i> and have shipped it off to one of my publishers for their consideration. Phew!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This journey was a long one, and you can click on the appropriate label if you need proof. I started writing this book in March of <b>2018</b>, which seems like a very, very long time ago. I shelved it when I got sick at the end of 2018 and wasn't doing much of anything, tried going back to it in the fall of 2019 after I was fully recovered...and then shelved it again after only writing a few new paragraphs. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I'd ever come back to this one. It's not that I *dislike* contemporary romance; it's just that we all know how I love my dragons and spaceships and everything. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">After all that time, I still loved the characters I'd created and the story I wanted to tell for them. I don't know why it suddenly felt like the time was right to revisit them, but I'm glad I did. (Moral of the story: NEVER DELETE YOUR FILES.) I'm somewhere in between a plotter and a pantser, so while I had a basic beginning, middle, and end outlined, some of the middle parts were a little fuzzy. Ultimately, everything worked out the way I wanted it to, and I'm proud of the end result.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So now, the typical followup question: What next? As always, I'll try to convince myself to take a break for a while, maybe get some reading and gaming done. But, just like we all know how I like to announce things in all caps and proclaim my love for dragons at every opportunity, we also know how I can never be without a work-in-progress for too long. I'm pretty sure I know what my next project is going to be, and while it'll likely be on the shorter side, I'm going to make myself hold off on starting it for a while. As I said, <i>Sonata for Springtime</i> was quite the epic saga, and I'm going to try to bask in the DONE-ness of it for a bit longer before jumping into something new.</span><br /></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-20929065401529462462023-01-20T22:10:00.000-05:002023-01-20T22:10:06.882-05:00January = Time to Write!<p><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm way too busy and/or lazy to go back and check, but I'm pretty sure I usually write a blog post around this time of year about having a fresh burst of writing energy. The holiday season doesn't leave much time for writing, despite usually having some days off. This past December in particular was <b>insane </b>for me work-wise; I really think it was the busiest month I've ever had at my day job, and I'm coming up on my 10-year anniversary with my company. (Which is also crazy to think about!)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Both the holidays and the work insanity are over with for now, which means I can finally sit down and get some serious writing done. I've just arrived at the final chapter of <i>Sonata for Springtime</i>, and since this is a slow-burn romance, we all know what's going to happen here. (wink wink nudge nudge) I know I need some sort of epilogue at the end to wrap things up, and I haven't figured out what's going to go in it yet, but, as I love to say, the end is in sight!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I do like starting a new year this way. Once I'm done with SfS, I'll probably take a little break and read some and game some, but we all know those breaks never last long. My to-write list never ever ever ever gets any shorter, and as of right this second, the next two projects I have planned will be on the shorter side (I think), so I might as well knock them out. Every time I do build up some writing momentum, I try to enjoy it while it lasts, so we'll see how far it gets me this year.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Happy 2023!<br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-84113039619280242982022-12-06T10:57:00.000-05:002022-12-06T10:57:06.055-05:00Adventures in Social Media<p><span style="font-family: arial;">So there's been all sorts of noise lately about the future of Twitter. I still have no idea what's going to happen there, but, like many other people, I've been trying to work out some backup plans. Twitter is probably my biggest marketing tool at this point, not to mention I've met some awesome people there, so I'd be heartbroken if it disappears one day, but it's good to make plans in case something catastrophic happens, right?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I did start an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thea.landen/">author Instagram account</a>, which I've been...kind of posting to? Usually cross posting from other places, but at least I remember to check it. But it exists, and a lot of my writing friends and I have found each other over there. Not bad.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I made accounts under this name on Hive and Mastodon. I have not logged into either one in at least a week. I don't love how it's hard to find people on Mastodon, and while I thought Hive had promise, it's been having problems. But again, they're there, and I at least "claimed my name." I have absolutely no idea how to link to my Hive account, but I'm thealanden there, and I <i>think</i> to follow me on Mastodon, it's thealanden@smutlandia.com. Maybe. Something like that. As I said, Mastodon doesn't really make it easy for you to find people you know.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And now. The big one.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">For a while, I've been thinking about joining TikTok, not just to be an audience member, but to <i>create content</i>. (Aren't we tired of that phrase by now?) I've been weighing the pros and cons for some time now. Aside from the future of Twitter being uncertain, as a romance author, I couldn't help but feel I was potentially leaving money on the table since I'd heard romance could be quite popular over there. Plus, I guess I'm cute and witty and charming and innovative and whatnot. Or at least that's what some of my better friends have told me. ;) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So, I made an account. And you know what? Surprisingly, I don't hate it. In fact, I'm liking it a lot more than I expected to, both from the viewing side and the creating side. Coming up with ideas for little videos about my writing projects is scratching a creative itch I didn't know I had, and it's been a fun outlet. I'll also admit that sometimes I do the low-effort "What D&D class are you?" randomizers and things like that, because it's entertaining and why not. Will I ever "make it big" over there and sell hundreds and thousands of copies of my books because of it? Who knows. But I figure it can't hurt!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thealanden">Come on, take a look! @thealanden</a><br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-60936831961950252622022-11-04T10:54:00.000-04:002022-11-04T10:54:02.274-04:00The Deeper We Go - Available Now!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVyGapfN3KALWv7z_rrO2I0YYsICNy9NVYSmRuWIoDPuBYCRvo9vKD1pT4eDi6_H_EY8JJBTLoqP6lsAcd8-nUs8dmACNK42JaU0DiddQLANgAWlThdzZyM5EA1nttlPskUslh2LN9CzhbdakNAk6bKi_Nd9oTS5RqeAG-MOhb17jqo-jV3YTXa_d4w/s4500/The%20Deeper%20We%20Go%20cover%20jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4500" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVyGapfN3KALWv7z_rrO2I0YYsICNy9NVYSmRuWIoDPuBYCRvo9vKD1pT4eDi6_H_EY8JJBTLoqP6lsAcd8-nUs8dmACNK42JaU0DiddQLANgAWlThdzZyM5EA1nttlPskUslh2LN9CzhbdakNAk6bKi_Nd9oTS5RqeAG-MOhb17jqo-jV3YTXa_d4w/w266-h400/The%20Deeper%20We%20Go%20cover%20jpg.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Halloween may be over, but it's still shapeshifter season! Okay, honestly, I was trying to get this one out before Halloween, but I ran into some hiccups with That Giant Ebook Retailer for the first time (which I'll detail in an upcoming post). Everything worked out in the end, though, and since this isn't specifically a Halloween story, just paranormal, we'll go with it!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLGM88CZ" target="_blank"><i>The Deeper We Go</i></a> is sort of on the lighter and fluffier side, but there are some darker moments. And, as always, you know you're guaranteed at least one super-steamy scene in all of my books and stories! Consent and open communication are key themes here, and I hope there are more than a few lines that will make you smile.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Blurb and excerpt time!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">*** <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Emma is thrilled to be dating Charlie and wants to take their relationship to the next level. When he invites her over to his apartment, however, he surprises her with a confession: he’s a shapeshifter. Though he claims he can mostly control when he changes into an animal, she asks for some time to process what he’s revealed.<br /><br />Anxiety and indecision plague her as she considers whether they have a future together. While she searches for answers, an unexpected incident puts her life in danger. Charlie can be the hero she needs, but is Emma ready to accept him in every form he takes?</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">***</span></p><p><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Charlie groaned as she ground against him. His hands skimmed up her sides, and she anticipated them roaming over the rest of her body. Instead, he pulled away from her. “Emma, wait,” he said, panting for air.<br /><br />Their pace hadn’t bothered her. “I don’t want to wait.” Before he could answer, she assaulted his mouth again.<br /><br />He kissed her with the same vigor, but only for a moment longer. “We have to stop.” With one swift, gentle motion, he extricated himself from her grasp and moved her off his lap.<br /><br />Emma knelt on the couch next to him, her brow furrowing. “What’s the matter? Did I do something wrong?”<br /><br />“No! Oh, no, of course not.” His chest heaving, he fell back against the cushions and rubbed his eyes. “Look, I wasn’t sure what you were expecting tonight, whether you wanted a quiet evening cuddling on the couch or…this. But, before we do anything else, I need to talk to you about something.”<br /><br />Remains of the pleasurable haze clouded her mind, and she fought to push them aside. “Okay,” she mumbled.<br /><br />Charlie straightened and faced her. “I like you a lot, Emma, but there’s something you should know about me before we go any further. I never know the best time to bring this up, so I might as well just tell you now.” His shoulders slumped as he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m a shapeshifter.”<br /><br /><i>Shapeshifter</i>. She mulled over the word and tried to make sense of his confession. “You mean like a werewolf?”<br /><br />“Pretty much, but I don’t turn into a wolf.”</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">*** <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLGM88CZ" target="_blank">The Deeper We Go is on sale for $0.99 and free on Kindle Unlimited!</a><br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-91361382356457007782022-09-10T22:03:00.000-04:002022-09-10T22:03:39.119-04:00Off the Shelf<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Firstly, the release schedule for the <i>Searching the Skies</i> series is still being finalized, but I promise I will let you know when I have details!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Okay, so. Summer has ended, the kids are back in school (thank GOD), and we're all returning to reality after some great vacations. I held firm and did not write a single new word of fiction after finishing up the <i>Skies</i> series in early July, but of course, I was thinking about what I wanted to work on once my self-imposed break was over. As always, I had a few different ideas to choose from, each at a different stage of development.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Let's backtrack a bit. Longtime readers and followers of this blog will remember the saga of <i>Fire Beyond the Frost</i>. To recap, I wrote the whole book, eventually decided I wasn't 100% in love with it, shelved it for a while, and then came back to it. I wouldn't say I did a complete overhaul of it, but I re-edited it and tweaked some scenes. (And, if memory serves, I got rid of one entirely.) Interestingly enough, when it was finally published, it became my most popular book, and I think it's still my highest-rated one on Goodreads.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Back to the present...ish. A few years ago, I was working on a contemporary romance project, and got far enough that I even gave it its own tag here on the blog: <i>Sonata for Springtime</i>. For whatever reason, I just couldn't seem to gain any momentum on writing it, despite having a decent outline, and every paragraph felt like a slog. Rather than forcing it, I decided to put it to the side for a while, and that was when I started writing <i>Hunting Astrid </i>(which also was a success, so that was the right decision!). I didn't know when, if ever, I would return to SfS, but it stayed in my files (as well as its backup), and I did still like the basic story and the characters.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">As I started contemplating what I wanted to work on next, said story and its characters started calling to me. I did have about a third of it complete, plus the aforementioned outline, so I figured, why not give it a try? Believe it or not, I stopped <b>in the middle of a chapter</b> way back in 2019, but after rereading what I had, I jumped right back in and finally finished that chapter almost three years later.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So, here we are. The words are coming out again, and I'm rediscovering the characters' voices. There are a few blank spaces in the outline, but I still want to tell their story. As it's contemporary romance, it may not be the most groundbreaking, creative story I've ever told, but I'm hoping it will entertain and resonate with readers. Will it be as successful as <i>Fire Beyond the Frost</i> was after spending a considerable amount of time on the shelf? Who knows.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But hey, at least I get to use that tag here again!<br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-66759969324588592792022-07-13T13:33:00.000-04:002022-07-13T13:33:14.032-04:00Finally Finished Up That Marathon<p><span style="font-family: arial;">IT IS DONE.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Conquering the Skies</i>, the fifth and final book of the <i>Searching the Skies</i>/Geneva Greyson series is finally finished. I have bundled it up and sent it off; receipt has been confirmed, and now I'm waiting for details on a release schedule. While it's been a fun ride, I won't lie and claim it doesn't feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The word count of this book wound up going a bit longer than the previous four, which is fair, since it's wrapping up the series in a pretty little bow. I will admit there are times when I have some doubts about some of the plot lines in Books 4 and 5, but I think the series as a whole might be a rarity for me, in that it's more character-focused than plot-focused. And for the core characters, their journey is exactly what I wanted it to be for them, beginning to end.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">My goal was to finish this up before leaving for our annual summer vacation, and I made it with about a week and a half to spare. After doing author-ly things nonstop for almost the past year and a half (not only writing new books, but promoting new releases), I have decided I'm not even going to think about writing a new word until September. Summer vacation is when I do most of my reading, and my Kindle is all loaded up and ready to go. I sometimes wondered if I was at risk for burning out while just wanting to get this series DONE, but whatever, it's finished, and I hope this little writing break will do me a world of good.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I haven't decided what my next project will be, though I have some book ideas that are fleshed out enough for me to feel comfortable starting. (Says the pantser.) For now, though, I'm not going to worry about it, and I'll just spend the next month and a half basking in the overwhelming relief I feel. I'll be sure to keep you updated with release news! (Reminder: These days, I'm sharing news faster on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/thealanden" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and via my <a href="https://mailchi.mp/5e1b73234137/newsletter-sign-up " target="_blank">mailing list</a>, so make sure you're all signed up there!)<br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-5474511726184994092022-05-10T12:59:00.003-04:002022-05-10T12:59:24.314-04:00Awards Season<p><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm thrilled to announce that <i>Disintegration</i> has won the silver medal for erotica in this year's <a href="https://ippyawards.com/164/2022-medalists">Independent Publisher Book Awards</a>! (aka the IPPYs) This has been a long journey, one that's been well-documented on this blog, and if nothing else, regardless of how long I've been doing this, I'm still learning a lot about promotion and getting my name out there and whatnot.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCdcPT2xrhM9qdGuowtp-xTJPfIkp_4VtVS5OX51Zek9Qs5Q_GAFILXops0aD2dXekgEIvxKP8wLgjL_fa7S-uEginfRNhoSBx811vW8pzX8TcAAl2JNAiRWgZEJzHOfedZnaE-YLQq5noXY4BBl_4O51MZTrONLA267I8YPUE6mH4s9QkPG4zpaBszA/s2048/EBOOK%20-%20Thea%20Landen%20b01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCdcPT2xrhM9qdGuowtp-xTJPfIkp_4VtVS5OX51Zek9Qs5Q_GAFILXops0aD2dXekgEIvxKP8wLgjL_fa7S-uEginfRNhoSBx811vW8pzX8TcAAl2JNAiRWgZEJzHOfedZnaE-YLQq5noXY4BBl_4O51MZTrONLA267I8YPUE6mH4s9QkPG4zpaBszA/s320/EBOOK%20-%20Thea%20Landen%20b01.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWaaiXp4c3FnaWd6kzvWtOcMWBdmdLGN9Ci7DjOl08U0XaBj-AzD1oYGcUem234MwkXnd5a9dJpLzSuMR7qYfRW41RyHWqPW6Q1mGrFq2lHZgu8LuDtwLhSGd_NnCWf1X-b53oxdhsmVFMatVMYkrO4hj4YgeXfAiuxUpJRRvvtX25-MwN-F0sQANzgw/s217/IPPY_silver_medal%20no%20background.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="217" data-original-width="217" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWaaiXp4c3FnaWd6kzvWtOcMWBdmdLGN9Ci7DjOl08U0XaBj-AzD1oYGcUem234MwkXnd5a9dJpLzSuMR7qYfRW41RyHWqPW6Q1mGrFq2lHZgu8LuDtwLhSGd_NnCWf1X-b53oxdhsmVFMatVMYkrO4hj4YgeXfAiuxUpJRRvvtX25-MwN-F0sQANzgw/s1600/IPPY_silver_medal%20no%20background.png" width="217" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Apparently I'm being mailed a fancy package with some seals and the actual medal and so on. I MIGHT be giving away some paperbacks with the aforementioned seals in the near future, so be sure you're <a href="https://storyoriginapp.com/giveaways/250efd14-10d0-11ec-a6e6-db1353bc8140">signed up for my mailing list</a> so you don't miss out!<br /></span><p></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-55499546190017665202022-03-21T21:00:00.001-04:002022-03-21T21:00:27.065-04:00The Home Stretch (of what feels like a marathon)<p><span style="font-family: arial;">The release of <i>A Flame Among the Stars</i> went swimmingly, which is always a good thing. Reviews are popping up on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QYDL463/" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60184317-a-flame-among-the-stars" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, and they're largely favorable. As of right this second, I don't have any additional promotional events coming up, but that can always change!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">As the saying goes, however, there is no rest for the weary. In addition to wrapping up AFAtS and promoting it, I've been working on finishing up the Geneva/<i>Searching the Skies</i> series. Book 4, <i>Chasing the Skies</i>, kind of went slowly, probably because I was promoting a bunch of other things while trying to write. There were a few times I questioned whether I still liked the plot I'd come up with, and one night I even debated scrapping the whole thing, but it worked out, it's done, and I'm satisfied with the results.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So, here we are at the end with Book 5, <i>Conquering the Skies</i>. I had a better mental outline going in than with Book 4, though there are still some details in the middle I need to flesh out. By my calculations, I estimate I'm roughly about a third of the way through, but since this is the final book, I won't mind if it goes a little longer.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It's funny - after spending so long with these characters, there are points where it almost feels like the book is writing itself. I know what they're going to say, how they're going to feel in any given situation. There have been times when I've had an idea for the plot, thought "no, that can't happen because of XYZ", and then actually included one of the characters pointing out that something can't happen because of XYZ. In fact, for the first plan I had for wrapping up one of the plot lines, I finally realized it would be out of character for our gruff but lovable space heroine and I have to do something different. (At least I realized before writing it out!) A lot has happened in five books, and I want everything to make sense and be satisfying for readers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I still have a fair amount to write. As I've said before about other projects, I'm not quite at the point where I can say "the end is in sight!", but that point of being able to say that may be in sight. And really, it feels like a significant place to be, near the end of a five-book series that I wasn't sure was ever going to happen. I have no idea what I'm going to write once I'm done with Geneva & Co., but I think I'll finally take a bit of a writing break and play some games and catch up with Netflix. But first, to the finish line!<br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-32412116628360636412022-02-11T20:59:00.000-05:002022-02-11T20:59:14.055-05:00A Flame Among the Stars - Available Now!<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Oops, I'm late with updating again. Bad Thea. *slaps wrist* (Though I guess I'll take this opportunity to remind you to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/thealanden" target="_blank">follow me on Twitter</a> and <a href="https://storyoriginapp.com/giveaways/250efd14-10d0-11ec-a6e6-db1353bc8140" target="_blank">sign up for my newsletter</a> if you haven't already, as that's what I've been focusing on lately!) <i>A Flame Among the Stars</i> is now available in paperback and Kindle Unlimited, and the book launch has been going great so far! The cover was finalized while I was doing the last bit of edits, so I didn't get a chance to share it with you before now, but behold!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgo7YabZaNpZpYyR38j-OmogbT_jLYz9GUfxzmLJcDF1TLJbeDfuqrvbjJmWsfL76nBvDP_Ktl-PYNCJccdK8h0vt6L3E-YLjy3Ipfj-JgDqyHN6ERxhdo6lXkfrwd6FZ9nFWhVjIwRNrJJ5pmQ0L_4_K8zdd6sRkLlxcM6LIH0U1d91HFkEzw9fVCImQ=s1050" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgo7YabZaNpZpYyR38j-OmogbT_jLYz9GUfxzmLJcDF1TLJbeDfuqrvbjJmWsfL76nBvDP_Ktl-PYNCJccdK8h0vt6L3E-YLjy3Ipfj-JgDqyHN6ERxhdo6lXkfrwd6FZ9nFWhVjIwRNrJJ5pmQ0L_4_K8zdd6sRkLlxcM6LIH0U1d91HFkEzw9fVCImQ=s320" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Gorgeous, right? Now on to the blurb and link. Newsletter subscribers already got a peek at an excerpt, so there's another bit of encouragement for you!<br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Blurb:</span></b></span></p><p><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The kingdom of Dardrith is under attack from hordes of juvenile dragons. When the king offers marriage to his daughter as a reward to whoever can discover the source of the dragons and prevent future infestations, Meg’s best friend, Ronan, convinces her to help him win the ultimate prize and save their families from a lifetime of poverty. Despite her initial reluctance, they also enlist the aid of Ronan’s sister, the village blacksmith, and a stranger Meg meets in the local marketplace.<br /><br />The band of aspiring heroes doesn’t travel far before the identity of the stranger is exposed; she is none other than the king’s daughter herself, Princess Celendra. Aside from being the heir to the throne, Celendra is keeping some other secrets. During a battle with a group of dragons, she reveals she has magical powers, the ability to conjure and manipulate elements such as fire and water. Furthermore, she confesses that, like Meg, she would prefer to pursue romantic relationships with other women, which she hasn’t told her father.<br /><br />As they journey throughout the land, Meg and Celendra embark on a passionate fling, though Meg tries not to form any deep emotional attachment to the princess due to their respective social classes. Following revelations about the dragon attacks and her family history, Celendra must choose between doing what’s expected of her or taking charge of her own destiny. The future of Dardrith is at stake. Can Meg and Celendra find a way to remain together while protecting the people and home they love?</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">***</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QYDL463/">Available in paperback and on KU!</a><br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-46536051655090654372022-01-09T20:14:00.000-05:002022-01-09T20:14:45.242-05:00From 2021 to 2022<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Hey, I'm only a week late with my "year in review" post! 2021 was a busy year writing-wise and 2022 looks like it's going to be the same. Let's recap what happened and what's coming up!</span></p><p><u><b><span style="font-family: arial;">2021:</span></b></u></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The big event of this year was re-releasing the <i>Disintegration</i> series. New edits, new formatting, new (awesome!) cover art...and then I had to market the damn things. Overall, I'm happy with how everything went, and I'm beyond thrilled that these books I've loved so much for so many years are back out in the world and resonating with new readers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I also released a short story, <i>Sweet Escape</i>, which is now on Kindle Unlimited after retiring from the role of being my newsletter freebie. Feedback on that one has also been good, and I'm happy with that, too. (How could you *not* be happy when chocolate cake is involved?)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">As far as writing and planning ahead goes, I signed a bunch of contracts for some upcoming releases, which I'll elaborate on in my next section, appropriately titled...</span></p><p><u><b><span style="font-family: arial;">2022:</span></b></u></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The first round of edits plus the mock-up of the cover are done for <i>A Flame Among the Stars</i>, my upcoming lesbian fantasy romance. Longtime artist buddy Boobulon is doing character artwork for the main cast, which I also can't wait to share! No official release date yet, but we'll still label it as "coming soon!"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I also successfully accomplished many parts of another big item on my to-do list - rebooting the <i>Searching the Skies</i> series. To quickly recap, Book #1 was my first published book ever, Book #2 came out about a year and a half later, but while Book #3 was planned, it never happened for various reasons. At the beginning of 2021, I fiiiiinally wrote Book #3, which didn't take long at all, since it had been bouncing around in my head for many years. I also realized it didn't have a satisfactory ending to the series as a whole, so my planned trilogy is now five books long. (Hey, it worked for Kevin Smith.) I signed contracts for Books 1-3, and I'm nearing the end of writing Book #4 now.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I have another short story that's just about ready to go, but I'm trying to space out my publications. This one just needs one more quick edit, formatting, and a finalized cover. For that last point, I'm still working on my basic graphic design skills, but I was able to create a pretty cool text effect for the title. Somewhere in the back of my head, I do want to write more short stories, yet, as we all know, these things take time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Lastly...I have to figure out what I want to do with <i>The Edge of the Sphere</i>, the last of my books where the rights reverted back to me after the publisher shut down. I'm kind of torn here - I do still like a lot of the story, though I definitely don't consider it my best work. It needs some editing, though not a ton. (I think I even started working on that a while back, but I don't even know off the top of my head.) It needs a new cover, and I'd have to decide if I want to tackle it myself or outsource it. If/when I get around to re-releasing it, I'd probably do a paperback version, so I might want to turn this one over to the pros again. My biggest issue, though, is marketing and promotion. Do I really want to spend a lot of time on a book I like very much, but may not <b>love</b>? Do I just want to sort of passively put it out there and let my other books sell it for me? I don't know. When I have the schedule for everything else more formalized, maybe I'll think about putting it back out there during a quieter period.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Whew! That's quite the list! Somewhere in here, I need to catch up with my reading and my Netflix, both of which have been seriously neglected over the past year. But first, back to writing the final chapter of <i>Chasing the Skies</i>! (Yes, it has a title already, yay me!) </span><br /></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-26286626717318098042021-12-21T13:58:00.000-05:002021-12-21T13:58:34.835-05:00Trope-Tastic Tuesdays: Birds of a Feather<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Trope</b>: <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BirdsOfAFeather" target="_blank">Birds of a Feather</a><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Description</b>: We're all familiar with the Opposites Attract romance trope. Birds of a Feather is pretty much the opposite of Opposites Attract. (Oh ho ho, see what I did there.) Here, both characters in a relationship have similar personality traits and share common goals and interests. Birds of a Feather can also involve a number of sub tropes (though they're not necessary), such as Friends to Lovers.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Examples</b>: Katniss and Gale from <i>The Hunger Games</i>, Harry and Ginny from <i>Harry Potter</i>, Tris and Four from <i>Divergent</i>, a whole lot of Jane Austen couples, many of the successful relationships on <i>The Office</i><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Pros</b>: Birds of a Feather is probably a bit more realistic than Opposites Attract. After all, nothing but conflict after conflict would get exhausting after a while. People are often drawn to partners who are similar to them, and that can form the basis of a solid relationship.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Cons</b>: In fiction, there has to be <b>some</b> conflict, or else things would get boring quickly. (Though that conflict doesn't have to come from inside the relationship, of course.) And even if the characters are similar, they have to have some distinguishing characteristics, or else the Love Interest just turns into a dull copy of the Main Character.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It's also worth noting in both the examples I mentioned and the full list on TV Tropes, Birds of a Feather is NOT a guarantee of a happy ending. Do with that what you will.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Would/Did I Use It?</b>: Indeed I have! (I've also used Opposites Attract, but I think I lean toward Birds of a Feather more.) Most recently, I have Ro and Reggie from <i>The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions</i>. Soon after meeting, Ro even points out that she thinks they'll get along because he's a lot like her. That doesn't mean everything is sunshine and roses, though; some of the traits they share are darker or have negative connotations.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Probably the next strongest example I have of this trope is Jasmine and Aras from <i>Out of Orbit</i>. Both are strong leaders dedicated to the people they serve...and while this is one similarity that draws them to each other, it also poses a risk of interfering with their future happiness together.<br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-59522543952041175522021-11-29T23:18:00.000-05:002021-11-29T23:18:01.535-05:00Character Names, Part Wherever We Left Off<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Edits are underway for <i>A Flame Among the Stars</i>, and I've also seen a mockup of the cover, which is AMAZING. As soon as I'm allowed to share it, I will, because it's seriously gorgeous. I don't want to spoil anything, but: DRAGON. Also, as soon as I have a firm release date, I'll be sure to share that, too. (Reminder: I've been using my newsletter more than my blog lately, so make sure you're <a href="https://storyoriginapp.com/giveaways/250efd14-10d0-11ec-a6e6-db1353bc8140" target="_blank">signed up for the latest news</a>!)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">More on the topic of exciting news! I believe I mentioned I'm rebooting the Geneva Greyson/<i>Searching the Skies</i> series, and now I can announce I've signed contracts for the first three books. (The first two were previously published, #3 is new.) I'm currently plugging away on Book 4, which is about two thirds of the way done.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">That brings me to the topic of the day: character names! I've <a href="http://www.thealanden.com/search/label/names" target="_blank">written posts</a> about the various aspects of naming characters in the past, such as when to name characters and my thought processes for doing so. Book 4 has a lot of secondary characters in it, and those characters needed names. A lot of said characters are female, and finding enough distinctive names that still fit their personalities was a little bit of a challenge.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm not opposed to alliteration, or having more than one name in a book start with the same letter. As I wrote in one of those previous posts, for me, I sometimes think it's more important to vary the ending sounds of names. For women, this can get tricky because a lot—a LOT—of names end in A. Y might be the next most popular letter/sound, but I'm too lazy to look it up.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">All right, so we've got our main character Geneva, the star of the show. Her mother, Dahlia, also has an -a name, but the other sounds plus the syllable count make them different enough for me. (In my accent/voice, anyway. If you want to stress every single sound and call her Dah-lee-ah instead of sort of smearing together the last vowels, I certainly won't stop you.) Out of all the other female characters, I only have one more who has an -a name—Freya—and she doesn't show up too often, anyway. And luckily, Geneva, Dahlia, and Freya are never all in the same scene together.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Book 3 introduces us to a new significant character, Adele. Here, I really wanted a big contrast to Geneva. Longtime readers will remember one of the [male] main characters of the series is named Ash. I did devote some thought to having two A- names, but ultimately decided Ash and Adele were different enough to not be distracting. Again, in my accent, the initial vowel sounds in Adele and Ash don't even sound the same. (Fun fact! Adele was very close to being named Katharine, but I thought Adele fit her better.)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Back to Book 4, there are three other female characters who needed names. Renae was one of those characters who kind of named herself. Hey, sometimes you just can't fight what was meant to be. From the very beginning of starting to plot this book, she was Renae in my mind. I guess if I was really concerned about the way repeated letters look, I could have gone with the more traditional spelling of Renée, but 1) I admit I didn't want to deal with the accent marks, and 2) I think the Renae spelling is cooler anyway, and this Renae is a badass.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Okay, two more to go. For one of them, I really wanted to set her apart from Geneva and the others for various reasons (she's not quite a villain or antagonist, but let's just say her morality scale differs from that of our heroine). I chose Lorelei, as I like the name well enough, I thought it fit the character, AND it had the added bonus of having a unique ending. Perfect! For the last of the minor characters (Lorelei's friend, who shows up on screen once and is mentioned one subsequent time), I originally went with Tamara, but thought it was too similar to some of the other names, so I did a find 'n' replace and changed it to Taryn. Yay for yet another ending letter/sound!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Phew, that's a lot of names. There are a couple new male characters of varying significance in Book 4 as well, and I did spend some time making sure they were different enough both from each other and existing characters. I don't know, though—for some reason, I've always found female names to be a lot more fun. And regardless, I'm more than happy to feature a lot of interesting women in this book!<br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-15536858502365090082021-11-01T00:00:00.080-04:002021-11-01T00:00:00.180-04:00The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions - Release Day!<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMSgIe9qkiKIy24DwdhYwpW7u1GLECE2abD1Fd875OTMMkRmtqB1OxbLqmXpyL-Yw4r2emaE-7d18CK3gBV70J51yKyx9lv1FeVPUlzMxngw7-GjZa3AneQng-sVNU_f4TrvcRS3WYEkbA/s2048/The+Fall+of+the+Midnight+Scorpions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMSgIe9qkiKIy24DwdhYwpW7u1GLECE2abD1Fd875OTMMkRmtqB1OxbLqmXpyL-Yw4r2emaE-7d18CK3gBV70J51yKyx9lv1FeVPUlzMxngw7-GjZa3AneQng-sVNU_f4TrvcRS3WYEkbA/s320/The+Fall+of+the+Midnight+Scorpions.jpg" width="213" /></a></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It's here! <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DFL585H" target="_blank"><i>The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions</i></a> is now officially available on both Kindle Unlimited and in paperback. And! AND! To celebrate Release Day, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DF8XDGW" target="_blank"><i>Disintegration</i>, Book 1 of the series, will be available for FREE</a> on November 1st and 2nd, so if you need to catch up, now is the perfect time! Don't forget - if you haven't grabbed your free copy of <i>Disintegration: The Prequels</i> to round out the series, you can <a href="https://storyoriginapp.com/giveaways/250efd14-10d0-11ec-a6e6-db1353bc8140" target="_blank">pick your favorite format here</a>.<br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Blurb:</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A year has passed since Ro Bernard escaped from the Midnight Scorpions, a clandestine group of mercenaries that exists in the outside world as little more than myths and rumors. Though haunted by the reprehensible acts she committed and witnessed as a member of the organization, her primary focus is keeping a roof over her head and food on her plate. A chance encounter leads her to Karin Cassels, whose son died in the Scorpions’ underground laboratory. While sharing details about her son’s research, Ro reveals the most disturbing information she has on the group. Their leader, scientist Dane Zedek, has been integrating cybernetic parts with human soldiers in the hopes of building a lethal army to help him achieve greater political power.<br /><br />The women hatch a plan to take down the Midnight Scorpions with two ultimate goals: kill Zedek, and rescue Callum, Ro’s lover who was the first of the scientist’s experimental hybrids. For additional assistance, Dr. Cassels directs Ro to Reggie Quinn, a drifter who is no stranger to odd jobs and risky situations. Reggie negotiates a deal with Ro and agrees to join the cause in exchange for a percentage of whatever they loot from the Scorpions’ base.<br /><br />They embark on an adventure throughout three warring countries to assemble their team and gather the necessary materials for their schemes. Along the way, Ro tries to fight her growing attraction to Reggie, especially as reminders of her unhappy past keep resurfacing. Love and redemption wait for her at the end of her mission to defeat the Midnight Scorpions…assuming she makes it out alive.</span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Excerpt:</span></b></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reggie collected their new belongings, and she opened her knapsack for him to deposit the ammo inside as they walked out the door. Once they left the shop, she took her handgun from him and slipped it into the back of the waistband of her pants. “Well, that was fun,” she said.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“I don’t know, Rosie. I think you could have batted your eyelashes a bit more.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">She’d given up on trying to fend off the nickname. “Don’t get too excited there, buddy. I don’t mix business and pleasure. It never ends well.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">They turned a corner, traveling back to Ted’s neighborhood on foot. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience,” he said. “What, were there all sorts of illicit love affairs and secret trysts going on in the deepest recesses of the Scorpions’ lair?”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Something along those lines.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A wicked gleam lit up his eyes. “Ah, so you’ve been holding out on me. Way to leave out the best bits of the stories.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“If you haven’t noticed yet, most of the stories don’t have a happy ending.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“True.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ro bit her bottom lip as they walked along the paved path. She had yet to reveal her second main objective for when they made their way into the underground facility and disposed of Zedek. The gun at her back reminded her how much Reggie had been willing to risk for her. She owed him full honesty.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Fine, you got me,” she said. “I may have neglected to mention one of my priorities for this mission, aside from killing Zedek, looting the place, and turning it into a pile of rubble.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He stopped walking. “Dare I ask when you were going to bother filling me in?”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“I don’t know. Eventually?” She halted her pace and turned around to face him, sighing. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I should have been completely forthcoming from the get-go.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Apology accepted.” He continued down the road again, tugging on her wrist so she would do the same. “But start talking.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ro pondered how many details to disclose and the best way to convey them. “I have a friend down there and I don’t know if he’s alive or dead. I didn’t have time to find out for sure before I escaped and, obviously, I couldn’t take him with me.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“So we add springing your friend to our list. I don’t see what the big deal is.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">She didn’t say anything.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Oh,” Reggie said after a few beats of silence. “Let me guess. I stumbled across one of those love affairs I was joking about.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“It wasn’t supposed to be that way. He was a project, an assignment, a responsibility.” The words tasted bitter as they rolled off her tongue. “And he deserved better than what he got.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“From the Midnight Scorpions or from you yourself?”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Both.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The street shifted from asphalt to dirt beneath their feet. “If you loved him, I don’t think he got such a raw deal from you,” Reggie said quietly.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Her teeth gritted together. “Zedek and the lab rats were responsible for fucking up his brain and his body. His emotions, his soul, those were all on me.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“It couldn’t have been so bad.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“It was.” Nauseating guilt churned in her stomach, but she’d come too far to leave her confessions unfinished. “As soon as we started caring about each other, I should have walked away and put an end to it. Not only would it have been the professional thing to do, I knew nothing warm and bright and good could ever come from Zedek’s dark pit in the ground. I was right.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He glanced up toward the sky. “When things look bleak, people want to cling to whatever glimmers of hope they can find.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Are you referring to him or me?”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Both,” he said, repeating her prior answer.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">They trudged along the dusty paths. The settlement of gray and brown hovels appeared in the distance, swathed in the illusion of murky shadows despite the mid-day sun. Before they reached Ted’s house, Reggie grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face him. “Look, Rosie, I’m not going to tell you not to beat yourself up over whatever happened with this guy,” he said. “You and I both have our skeletons and scars, and sleep comes easier some nights more than others. I’m not going to delve into your innermost feelings or offer useless platitudes, and you’d probably tell me to go fuck myself if I tried.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ro shrugged, though the motion didn’t dislodge his grip. “Very likely.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re a horrible person, and I doubt anything you could tell me would change my mind.” His fingers remained on her arm, though his grasp loosened. “I don’t go following just anybody into hideouts filled with hordes of deadly mercenaries, you know.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">She stared up into his gold-flecked eyes. “You’ve heard enough evidence of how everything I touch turns to shit. Let’s follow through with the plans Ted helped us solidify and get the job done. Assuming we come out alive on the other end, we can then worry about whether your assessment was right or wrong.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Fine.”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">They arrived at Ted’s door. “One more thing,” Reggie said as she reached for the knob.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“What?”<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Your friend, boyfriend, lover, whatever.” Sympathy softened the strong lines of his cheekbones and jaw. “We’ll find him and get him out, no matter what.”</span></span><br /></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-46195102006575045612021-10-04T21:46:00.000-04:002021-10-04T21:46:49.221-04:00Even More Disintegration News/Updates<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Firstly, while I have your attention, go vote for <i>Disintegration </i>over at <a href="https://authorshout.com/cover-wars/">Cover Wars</a>! I know I'm biased, but really, there aren't enough words for how much I LOVE this cover.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Okay, now that that's out of the way...actually, there isn't a ton to report from my writing world that hasn't already been covered. Just the other day on Twitter I was lamenting how time-consuming marketing is. I've said it for years: writing the damn book is not the hard part, getting people to read it is the hard part. I feel like I've just been going nonstop lately, to the point where I haven't written a whole lot of new words in other projects.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But! While I'm not a world-famous bestseller (yet?), at least I can say I'm getting some results. People are, in fact, reading what I'm writing, reviews are trickling in, and my sneaky ploy to include the pre-order link to <i>The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions</i> at the end of <i>Disintegration </i>is also paying off. And speaking of TFotMS, in case you haven't seen <b>that</b> spectacular cover yet, take a look!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga5vJ8I2ek6fBPi2-bVF3ash2iGR3ooTQGmrq51ffKH3euaQ4PXub02d91aeOH7nM77x9X-vO98JpGZhqENbplvpS7wCHcb-RtBPwjbKdB5EcqXgU_Lh9FSoJnS5My2ATFn4dUSoHbtwu3/s2048/The+Fall+of+the+Midnight+Scorpions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga5vJ8I2ek6fBPi2-bVF3ash2iGR3ooTQGmrq51ffKH3euaQ4PXub02d91aeOH7nM77x9X-vO98JpGZhqENbplvpS7wCHcb-RtBPwjbKdB5EcqXgU_Lh9FSoJnS5My2ATFn4dUSoHbtwu3/w266-h400/The+Fall+of+the+Midnight+Scorpions.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So, I'm still plugging away at...well, everything. Marketing my existing books, writing the new ones, keeping up with the day job, and being present for my family. Outside of writing, we've been having a crazy couple of weeks in the Landen household, but I'm hoping things will level off soon.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I did notice that this blog went untouched for almost a month. Honestly, there was a time where I was thinking of switching my entire website over to a different format, one without a blog, but for now, I'm staying put. I do like to have a place for my "writing about writing" ramblings, whenever they're longer than a tweet or a Facebook post, and while the layout isn't perfect, I think it's easy enough to find the information about my published works. These days, though, I've been focusing on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/thealanden" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://mailchi.mp/5e1b73234137/newsletter-sign-up">my newsletter</a>, so if you're not already following me in those places, click those links!<br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413452967913066120.post-65376106231892093772021-09-07T18:31:00.000-04:002021-09-07T18:31:26.682-04:00Trope-Tastic Tuesdays: The Lost Lenore<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">(Parts of this were originally published on <a href="http://www.thealanden.com/2013/03/trope-tastic-thursday-lost-lenore.html" target="_blank">March 28, 2013</a>)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Trope</b>: <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheLostLenore" target="_blank">The Lost Lenore</a><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Description</b>: The Lost Lenore is a dead love interest of one of the main characters. Not only is she dead, her absence has a profound effect on the character for the rest of the work, to the point where it influences the plot. Lost Lenores can either be dead at the beginning of the story or die early on, but either way, it's the reaction to her death that determines if she qualifies for this trope. Just being dead isn't enough; it's whether or not she has the same level of significance, if not more, as she would if she were alive. While they're often female, every now and then a male Lost Lenore pops up.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Examples</b>: Lenore from <i>The Raven</i> (duh), April from <i>Rent</i>, Ellie from <i>Up</i>, Glenn from <i>Fire Emblem: Three Houses </i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(as an aside, holy shit, is there a lot of fanfic about a character who never even appears on screen)</span><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Pros</b>: Love is powerful and can even transcend death. A Lost Lenore can also be the inspiration for all sorts of plots for the lover she left behind, from some soul-searching and self-discovery to kick-ass vengeance. In romance, the audience is touched if the hero is able to work through his grief and learn to love again.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Cons</b>: It can be hard to land in the sweet spot of "has grieved appropriately and is ready to move on." As always, this is subjective, and what might be "too soon" to one reader is another reader's "what took so long?" Tone is important to keep in mind here, too, as anything overly cheery will feel incongruous right after Lost Lenore's death. Also, considering they're dead (or die quickly), Lost Lenores can be difficult to develop and make into three-dimensional characters.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Would/Did I Use It?</b>: Meyta from <i>Disintegration </i>definitely qualifies. That's not a spoiler, it's in the blurb of the book. She's dead by the second chapter, but don't think for a moment that she'll be easily forgotten. (And that's all I'll say about her, as I don't want to reveal true spoilers!) I also have a less-common male example in Kevin, April's dead husband in <i>Elysium</i>. Not only is she still grieving him at the start of the book, which kicks off the plot, but a simulation of him actually shows up at one point via virtual reality. What would Poe have to say about THAT, hmm?<br /></span></p>Thea Landenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835512996045807921noreply@blogger.com0