I take back what I said before

I know I said that I would never change the book covers for my books, but after sitting at my computer and looking at my the icons for my books I couldn't help but wonder what the heck I'd been thinking.

Granted, when I first designed them I had been wicked proud of myself mostly because it may have taken me an hour.......or five to figure out how to work the photo software that fought me tooth and nail as I tried to design my own covers. I didn't think they looked that bad until I sat back and checked out the covers for the Hollywood Hearts series, that's what changed my mind. Those two are still under design, but I think these new designs are a lot more pleasant to look at. What do you think?

Happy Holidays :)

Happy holidays!

In honor of this festive time and as a thank you to everyone who has been there for me whether it was with support, a kind word or advice I am dropping the prices of all of my e-books to.........

$0.99!

Books expenses can add up pretty quickly and for those of you who are like me, addicted to reading, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. I enjoyed writing these books and I'd rather have a reader enjoy them without having to worry about breaking the bank.

For as long as I can I will keep my books this price and some times I will be able to let an e-book go for free for a week or two.

Whatever you're celebrating this season I wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday season : )

-R.L. Mathewson

On to bigger and better things.....

Currently reading the second book of the four horseman series by Larissa Ione. So far so good. I like where she's leading the characters and I'm already crossing my fingers and praying that she writes books for a few minor characters that I love.

Was working on editing, but I desperately needed a break so I'm back to working on a Pyte book. As much as I would love to have it out by Christmas I'm not sure it's going to happen. I can hope and cross my fingers, but I don't want to rush it.

Has anyone read her Syndney Croft (Sp?) books yet? I haven't, but they look interesting. I might hit those next.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving :)

Not something I want to talk about, but may not have a choice.

Deleted :)

A Reclusive Heart

A Reclusive Heart, the newest A Hollywood Heart novel is done and will be available at Barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com in the next few days.

Here's a description of the book:

Tired of being walked all over and ignored, Jamie decided that it was time to make something out of her life. She sold her company, signed a contract and was determined to live it up. Only problem, she was a bit of a recluse, painfully shy, kind of clumsy and didn't know the first thing about living it up. Thankfully she has a very sexy, very determined editor to help her along the way.

She was everything he could ever want, popular and in demand, but unfortunately for him the author that he needed to make a name for himself was also a little recluse who wasn't doing what he needed her to do. In order to get her to do what he wants he decides to help her in her little quest for a life and ends up with more than he bargained for.

Excerpt from the new Hollywood Heart Novel

Things are kind of hectic right now, but I thought I'd post one of my favorite sections of the new Hollywood Heart novel. Haven't picked out a name yet, but I'm sure that will change soon. Hope you enjoy :)

Deciding that a root beer barrel sounded great she picked up her bag and nearly cried out in frustration as her bag tipped upside down, which normally wouldn't have been a problem except that somehow at some point her bag had opened. The soft whir of the air conditioning unit was momentarily drowned by a loud gasp and the clanking sounds as everything in her purse hit the tiled floor.

          "Why me?" she mumbled pathetically as she grabbed her bag and started to shove things back in. Things started to look up when she found a twenty dollar bill she'd forgotten about and her favorite pen she thought she lost a few months back. Well, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all she thought as she kneeled on the cool tile floor so she could reach several items that escaped the confines of the stall.

          After a minute it became obvious that her arms were just too short to reach items that escaped the stall. Sighing heavily, she opened the stall door and crawled out picking up items as she went. Two tampons and a quarter later she was frowning at a pair of very large black leather shoes.

          Her first thought was one of sympathy for whatever woman had feet that large. That feeling slowly disappeared as her eyes traveled up a pair of men's black slacks to a very masculine jacket, shirt and tie that in her opinion really looked good on the obviously fit torso. Slowly, ever so slowly, she looked all the way up and gulped when she saw beautiful laughing green eyes and perfectly combed short honey blond hair.

          Why on earth did it have to be him? A month ago when she came in for a meeting he had been the reason why she nearly choked on her own tongue. It was really unfair that someone so shallow should look so gorgeous. Really, it wasn't fair. No one person should be blessed this much. He had everything going for him in life and he knew it. It was a constant reminder to people like her that life really was unfair and was kind of sucky sometimes.

          His eyes lit up with amusement as he held out a tampon to her. Not just any tampon, but a purple tampon with the words "Super Super Heavy" written in clear bold letters.

          "I believe this is yours, Miss. Harris," he said, sounding close to laughing.

          Jamie grabbed the tampon and shoved it back into her bag as she quickly got to her feet all the while avoiding his gaze. When he tried to help her up she took a step back.

          "T-this isn't the women's room, is it?" she asked, knowing someone up there was having a heck of a time with her today.

          "No, no it's not," that deep smooth voice that wreaked havoc on her heart said.

          She nodded. "Of course it's not," she muttered to herself. Really what else could she expect?

          Still avoiding his eyes she said, "Well, ah," she cleared her throat, "it's ah, very nice. Spacious, clean and all that."

          He chuckled.

          Darn it!

I like free stuff, how about you?

 In honor of Sudden Response's release, not to mention Without Regret's release I thought that we could use another giveaway. And what better to give away than a calendar of half-naked fire fighters that support a great cause? Thanks to Nations Bravest calendar I will be giving away a signed calendar worth $50 to the winner and I suppose I could throw Sudden Response and Without Regret into the mix. If you've already read one of those books you may chose a different book that I've written to keep it interesting.

 The contest will be held at www.vampireromancebooks.com It starts on Friday, November 11, 2011 and will end on November 21, 2011. This contest is a little different than the rest. You have to answer a question and four judges, not me, from VRB will chose the best answer. The question?

How would you thank a hero?

That's it. Just follow their rules, fill out your information so that we can contact you if you win and give us your most creative answer.

If you don't win, but still want to get your hands on one of those calendars, and I can't blame you since I buy one for myself every year, it's a good cause after all ; ) Then head on over to http://www.nationsbravest.com for your own copy.

Good luck, everyone! A special thank you to Nations Bravest for the free upgrade for the signed calendar.

Damn me and my big mouth

So anyone who's visited my website in the last 24 hours now knows that I'm a big procrastinator. Okay, that's not completely true in this case. I got caught up with a lot of things this weekend. The newest book is close to being done, I spent time with the kids, ran errands and visited my grandmother in the nursing home so that I could sneak her a chocolate shake. I thought I could manage to get everything done during the weekend, but I was wrong. I'm going to put some serious time into it and hopefully get it done soon.

Only 5 more days!

Two copies of the first book of the EMS series, Sudden Response are still up for grabs at Goodreads.com The giveaway ends on November 10th for those who are interested. When Goodreads.com selects a winner I'll announce the winners here as well as my Facebook page and tweet it.

Even if you're not interested in a free copy of Sudden Response you should definitely check out the Giveaway page. There are a lot of good books being given away by some great authors.

Have a good weekend, everyone : )

Website is under construction

After receiving some great advice about integrating my blog into my website to keep the content fresh I decided to just that so if you visit http://www.rlmathewson.com right now you're going to wonder what the heck is going on. I was wondering the same thing an hour ago while I was struggling to figure out the RSS feed code for this blog. Once I got it up on my website I decided that for my sanity I needed to get away from code for the moment. I promise I am not leaving the site looking like this. I just really needed a chocolate break before I was forced to sit in front of my computer staring at code while wishing I had a tiny morsel of Belgium chocolate to get me through this nightmare.
My goal is to have it done by Monday night. So if you're a new visitor I am now horribly embarrassed. I will have this site fixed and if you kind people have a suggestion or two to improve this website than please feel free to share. I apologize again and hope you'll like the new and improved website once it's done.

On a side note I'd like to say this RSS thing is really convenient. Thanks, Lieve, for the suggestion : )

Things in life don't always go as planned.

So last week when I asked what series you'd like next I fully planned on following through with it. I even got a few chapters done in a Pyte book and a Neighbor From Hell book. Unfortunately there is this other book, from the Hollywood Hearts series that I just couldn't let go. I started it last year and when the ideas weren't flowing I put it aside, which is something I do to keep the material fresh and entertaining.

Well, I came back to it. I really love the characters Nick and Jamie. It has the Neighbor From Hell feel to it with a twist. The first book in this series is more serious, this one is definitely not. It's lighter, more entertaining and more down to earth characters that I hope you guys can relate to. I'm halfway done with the book and if all goes well I see this book being published by December 1st.

I know I've published several books this year and several of you are wondering how I'm doing it. You're probably thinking that I'm just rushing through the books and that's not the case. Each book I write takes quite a bit of time, editing, and frustration. The reason I'm able to publish so many books so quickly is because I have 54 books already started on my computer.

If an idea pops into my head and I just can't seem to get it out I'll start the book just to get the idea down and return to whatever I was working on or whatever is demanding my attention at the moment. Some of these books when I return to them have about ten chapters done. I don't stop because I don't like the story or the characters. I stop when I feel like if I continued and pushed the story I wouldn't be doing it justice. So I take a break and turn my attention back to something else. I'll come back to it several times, re-reading what I have and editing it, but if I still don't feel the story I move on.

Right now I have six stories that are halfway done. They're stories I love, but I'm taking my time with them. Over the next year you'll probably see all of them published. They are not rushed books. I would never publish a rushed book, because most likely I wouldn't like it and would end up deleting the entire thing wasting my time and yours.

Lol, this is probably more information than you wanted to know or even cared to read about, but I'd thought I'd explain. Pyte books and Neighbor From Hell books are in the works and will soon follow, but I just had to finish this story.

How this addict has her hot cocoa.....

Obviously I'm killing time here. I'm waiting for my kids to go to bed so that I can watch Insidious. Never seen it before, but the trailer looked promising. Of course knowing how much of a wimp I am I can just imagine the sleepless night ahead of me, but that's neither here nor there. We're here to discuss my perfect cup of cocoa.

Sadly, I'm not kidding. I don't drink coffee or tea during the winter or anytime for that matter. For me it's all about the hot cocoa. Admittedly I am a hot cocoa snob. I won't get it from just anywhere and I don't do packets of hot cocoa dumped into a cup with hot water, or worse lukewarm water. That's just not going to cut it for me.

Yes, I have a whole process for my perfect cup of hot cocoa and my kids laugh at me, but do I care? No, no I don't. I take my hot cocoa seriously, too seriously some might say. Yet, those are the same people that come running, shoving their coffee mugs at me when they hear my tea kettle whistle.

Alright, let's get down to business. My kids aren't showing any signs of going to bed yet (damn late afternoon naps) so I have a few minutes to kill and entertain you with my little obsession. Yes, you may feel free to make fun of me for this, but try it on a cold day and you'll be a hot cocoa convert.

What you'll need:

Tea kettle, or some way to boil water. You want it really hot, trust me.
A canister of cocoa mix, I prefer the cheap store brand for several reasons, taste, low fat content.
Fluff
Milk, cream, half and half whatever you prefer.
Several spoons.
Mug
If you're a daring sort, a square of chocolate.

Alright, start the kettle and pick out your mug. As you can see I go for the extra large mug, I am an addict after all. For a small mug add several large spoonfuls of cocoa powder, don't be cheap.

Next, add a tablespoon of milk, cream or whatever you prefer. Mix it, you want a pasty cream. If it doesn't have a slightly creamy look to it add just a touch of milk.

Next is the fluff. Add a generous spoonful. Sadly during the making of this blog I ran out of my precious fluff. I'll get more tomorrow, no worries. Alright, now mix, or I guess cream together the fluff with the cocoa cream.

 Now, for those of you with a daring soul, find a square of chocolate and break it up and toss it in the cup. This is one of the reasons why you want the water boiling. Fill your cup up with hot(boiling) water and mix.

Let it cool off for a few minutes before drinking.

I have been known to toss in a spoonful of flavored powdered coffee mate in with the cocoa powder and a touch of vanilla from time to time.

Alright, my kids are going to bed and I've given you more than enough to tease me about for one night. Enjoy and if you discover a variation to this recipe that you like, by all means share. Have a good night, everyone ; p

Answer to several recent e-mails

Usually I take the time to answer e-mails individually or direct people the FAQ page at http://www.rlmathewson.com but I thought that maybe this would better be answered using the blog.

It hasn't been the first time I've been asked why I self-publish and it probably won't be the last, but I thought I give that particular question a little more attention. One of the questions I frequently receive concerns the possibility of allowing a publisher to handle my books. Will I ever consider getting a contract for my books? The question really isn't an easy one to answer. My feelings on the subject go hand and hand with why I chose to self-publish.

I'll explain it this way. Do I like self-publishing? You bet. I decide when I work, what I work on and the final product. My books are my stories. No one influences them or has the final say to change anything while I'm helpless to say anything because of a contract. I don't write my stories to fit a marketing profile and I work hard to make sure that I don't follow the same old story lines. The only opinions I care about are the readers. If something isn't working, or I totally screwed up I want to hear about it. If my readers really like something it also helps me because I know to focus my attention on that the next time.

Self-publishing is a lot of work and has a few drawbacks, but thanks to today's technology not as many as you may think. It also guarantees that I get to know my readers. I enjoy talking to you and getting to know you. You've all been wonderfully kind and I look forward to getting to know more of you.

For those of you who wrote me because you're aspiring writers who are trying to figure out the lay of the land I will say this, keep your options open. If you want a contract go for it. Send as many queries as you possibly can but get your work out there on your own so you can get genuine feedback. It's important. My books are far from perfect, but I make damn sure that they're enjoyable and pay attention to detail. If it weren't for my readers suggestion and opinions I honestly don't know where I would be today.

Sudden Response: An EMS Series novel

 Sudden Response, the first novel of the new EMS series is done and being published right now. It's already available at Smashwords.com for $2.99. It will be available shortly at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com for the same price. 

I posted an excerpt at my facebook page and a different one here. I will be updating my website very shortly. Please enjoy and if there are any questions don't hesitate to contact me, rlmathewson25@gmail.com

"If you don't tell me what you did to cost me a hundred bucks I swear to god I am going to strap your ass to a backboard on Monday morning and let the guys shave your ass from head to toe." she threatened, knowing the guys would happily do it.

            "Fine, my little drama queen, if you must know. The couch was too damn lumpy so I went to your room to get some sleep."

            "Wait. If you wouldn't sleep in the same bed with your fiancé then why would you sleep with her?" Camie asked with a suspicious scowl.

            Nathan sighed dramatically. "Because she's his bitch. You really need to pay attention."

            "Nathan!" Alice gasped, smiling.

            Caitlyn chuckled softly. Joe was really going to like Caitlyn, she could tell.

            "Anyway," Eric said, stretching out the word. "I fell asleep and sometime after two Beth woke up and decided to come looking for me. When she didn't find me on the couch she went straight to Joe's room and that's where she found me."

            Joe held up her hand. "Wait a minute. I seriously don't remember any of this and I'm pretty sure since she was incapable of talking without screeching that she would have woken me up."

            Eric cringed as he looked away.

            Nathan laughed long and loud.

            Alice sighed, taking a sip of the wine she somehow managed to get without Joe noticing during this weird little conversation.

            Camie put her fork down and crossed her arms defiantly over her chest while glaring at her and Eric. Was anyone else freaked out by this?

            Caitlyn smiled sweetly.

            "Well?" Joe said, sounding as irritated as she felt.

            Eric cleared his throat uncomfortably. "It's really no big deal."

            That sent Nathan into a fresh round of laughter.

            Oh, she had a strong feeling she wasn't going to like this. Not one bit.

            "Care to explain how I was in the room with the two of you while you broke off your engagement without getting woken up by a woman who never said anything below a shriek?"

            Nathan grabbed his chest as tears rolled down his cheeks. He started laughing so hard that he actually fell out of his chair and hit the floor with a loud thud.

            "Oh, brother," Alice sighed, taking another large sip of wine.

            "How?" she demanded.

            Eric gave her his best charming smile. "I made sure you wouldn't wake up."

            "How?"

            He picked up his fork and started pushing around his food, keeping his gaze off of her. "I, uh,....I may have," he cleared his throat, "had to um, place a pillow over your head just for a little bit there."

            She gasped. "You smothered me?"

            "Yes!" Nathan somehow managed to say through his uncontrollable laughter.

            "You bastard," she breathed.

            "Oh, come on! I made sure you were still breathing! You only turned blue once and that was because I was too busy defending you to notice!"

            "Oh, gee, I guess that makes it okay then," she said dryly.

New book.......

After a few revisions Sudden Response: An EMS series novel is about ready to be published.

I really enjoyed writing this book. It brought back a lot of memories of working on the truck and I hope you enjoy reading it. The book pretty much took on a life of its own after I decided that the main characters should be childhood best friends. It came out a lot better than I expected it. In the book  there are a few things that happened while I worked as an EMT with name changes and a few minor detail changes out of respect. I plan on continuing with this series and hope that you come to enjoy it. It's full of humor, but also with an edge that the job required.

Since it's a new series and brought back a lot of fond memories I'm going to see if I can offer this book at a lower cost.

In the coming weeks I plan on making some changes to the website and I'm wondering if any of you have a suggestion. The website is http://www.rlmathewson.com

What do you like to see on an author's website? What changes or additions do you think I should make?

The price of the paperback of Without Regret makes me cringe....

I probably should have mentioned this before, but for those who read my books in paperback I owe you an apology. While I've been able to keep the other at $9.99(and yeah event that price makes me wince) I was unable to keep the price down for Without Regret. I publish my books through my own publishing house and that means that I have to outsource the print job for the books. The company I go through is great. They're fast, reliable and offer great deals, but they're still in the business of making money and I understand that.

So in order to print through them I have to have set prices to make sure everything is covered. Without Regret is a much longer book than my previous books, more pages means more money to print it. When I originally put the book through the asking price for each book would have had to be $18.00.....yeah, wasn't going with that. So, I paid a fee for that book and brought the cost down the readers, but not enough to go at my usual $9.99 price. I'm sorry about that. I had to place it at $13.00 or they wouldn't be able to place the books.

What I'm hoping to do, after I check my contact to make sure it's all nice and legal, is to offer the paperback books at a discounted price through my site. I won't be able to cover shipping and handling, but I should be able to knock several dollars off the book by doing this. The same thing can be said for the other books. It will take me a little bit of time to set this up, but I felt I owed an explanation for the price.

Released Without Regret

Released Without Regret the other day. Chris' story is not only the follow up of Tall, Dark & Lonely, but the real starting point for the Sentinel Series as well as the Immortal Series. It took a while, but hopefully the information provided will help ease the reader into the Sentinel world.

Now that the book was released I'm focusing my attention on a few Pyte stories, werewolf stories, demon stories as well as Neighbor from Hell novels. What I decide to work on each day reflects where my interest lies that day. If I feel a story is getting stale or isn't going anywhere I'll erase the chapter, put it aside and save it for another day while I turn my attention elsewhere.
I think my biggest fear is putting out a book that bores the hell out of the reader. I'm hoping that never happens, but if it does I'll make damn sure to bust my buns and make sure the next one is a thousand times better : )

General update.....

On chapter 36 of Chris' book : ) Still going strong. Right now I'm putting all of my energy into his book. There are several other books halfway done, but they're going to have to wait. Not going to rush this book, but I hope to have it listed by Thanksgiving.

New Pyte book underway......

There are several Pyte books currently being written while I finish up Chris' story. I thought I'd share one of my favorite parts with you:

           He growled softly as he watched his sister disappear into her room. That woman was not staying. He didn’t care what Marta threatened him with. If Marta tried to move out he would either drag her back here or follow her. Either way Cloe was not staying a moment longer. He couldn’t tell Marta this, but she was risking the young woman’s life by keeping her here. He never wanted anyone’s blood or body more in his life. His self-control was good, but it wasn't perfect. She had to go.

            He walked to the kitchen only to find it empty and….clean. What the hell? His eyes dropped to the floor. It was shiny and white with rose petals. He frowned at the floor. He could have sworn it was a dull gray this morning. The room no longer smelled of old food, dust and a thousand other odors. It smelled of chemical and lemon. Every surface was clean and shinning. He snorted, he could have done that.

            He closed his eyes and listened. He heard two heartbeats. One on the first floor which was Marta's and the other was on the second floor. Oh hell no….

            He took the back stairs two at time and raced towards the sound of her heartbeat. It came from a closed door at the end of the hall. Without any hesitation he threw the door open and quickly stumbled.

            “Don’t you knock?” Cloe cried as she grabbed a towel to hold up in front of her.

            He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. His eyes were fixed on that damn towel that she was now using to cover up heaven. He glared at the damn thing, willing it to drop or shift to the side a foot or two so he could see that beautiful body again. Large breasts with dark nipples, flat stomach with just the slightest swell, wide hips and soft (he was willing to bet his life they were soft) butterscotch curls between her legs that was just begging for his devotion and he would give it too. Gladly.

            She snorted. “The towel’s not going to disappear and I’m not dropping it.”

            His jaw clenched. She couldn’t know that for sure. For another moment he stared, more like silently pleaded for it to move.

            “You really need to get laid,” she said dryly.

            His eyes snapped up to hers. Holy shit! Was that an offer?

            Cloe rolled her eyes as she managed to wrap the towel around her and tuck it in between her breasts without giving him a show. Damn.

            “Is there something you wanted?” she asked.

            You. “I-I wanted to…” he stuttered before his voice trailed off. His eyes had dropped to the cleavage that he wanted to run his tongue over and he was back to willing the towel to drop. 

            She sighed as she walked over to him. Thank god because his feet wouldn’t move and he was practically screaming at them to make them go to her. She was taking the initiative. That was fine with him. He’d let her set the pace and then he’d take over and probably take her on every surface in this room.

            Cloe gripped his arms tightly. Oh yeah. He leaned down to kiss her when he was unceremoniously shoved from the room. The door closed in his face.

            “But…but….”

            He heard her soft laughter from behind the door. He stared at the door for another moment before he came to his damn senses. It was probably a good thing the door was between him so his blood, well most of his blood, could return to his head.

            He pounded on the door. “Cloe!”

            With an exasperated sigh she answered the door. Thankfully she was dressed. His eyes skimmed over the tight baby doll tank top and oddly arousing green and blue flannel pajama bottoms. To his utter delight the two pieces of clothing didn’t meet, giving him a glimpse of that taunt little stomach and navel. Damn, he’d love to trace that with his tongue.

            Two warm fingers gently gripped his chin and pulled his face and gaze away. He may have whimpered.

            “Hi, nice to have you back,” Cloe said with a wry smile. “Now, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?” She released her hold on his chin and he had to fight not to drop his eyes down. From the look on her face he knew that if he did that he would be looking at the door again.

            He gave himself a mental shake. Right. 

            “You’re fired,” he said firmly in a tone that brokered no argument.

            She yawned. “Okay, see you in the morning.” She moved to close the door.

            Christofer pressed his hand against the door to stop her. “Didn’t you hear me? I said you’re fired.”

            “That’s two times,” she said with a small smile.

            “Yes…yes, I did say it twice.” Was she insane?

            “I’ll make sure to tell Marta that in the morning.”

            “Wait, what?”

            Cloe gave him a coy smile. “Marta told me to tell her if you tried to fire me and how many times. Something about a cane….not really sure.” She shrugged.

            Aw, shit. 

            This was not happening. He was the man of this family and of this house. This was his house god damn it.

            “You’re fired.”

            She rolled her eyes. “That’s three.”

            Damn it!

Copyright R.L. Mathewson 2011. All Rights Reserved.