The book that almost wasn’t.

This entry is part 4 of 15 in the series Pricked Party

Dear Reader,

I almost didn’t write Under His Skin.

I didn’t want to write it. It wasn’t in my plans, and I’m a notorious planner.

When I first heard about the Pricked theme, I was working on a BDSM book wherein the heroine’s tattoo plays an interesting part of the story. I’d planned on spinning that part of the story to be more prominent and just submit it for the theme.

Two things happened.

One, someone close to me died unexpectedly.

Two, Kelli from Ellora’s Cave and I were talking on twitter and for some reason I can’t remember, I referenced what I was going to submit. She basically told me to write something else.

I didn’t want to. I had a lot going on. I did not need a new book tossed into the mix that would have a beak-neck pace to meet the due date.

But there’s something I’ve learned about myself. When I’m under stress, I write. I write a hell of a lot.

I still did not want to write something new. I had this whole plan for my year, how things were going to go and if I gave into the urge to write something else, it was going to mess up this whole schedule.

So I wrote about 5,000 words I thought stunk, and sent it to a critique partner. She read what would later be half of my first chapter in record time and told me to keep writing. So I started writing. I binge wrote Under His Skin in about three weeks. At the time I was calling it Homeward Bound, per something said in the early chapters, but at the urging of my critique partners I changed the name.

In a lot of ways, this book is a product of grief and love. I love tattoos. I love the artistry and culture that goes hand in hand with being tattooed. I drew from some personal experiences to write this book, and I grieved while I wrote it. Maybe it’s a little morbid of me to talk about how this book was written, but not every book is written while sipping cocktails and staring at pretty pictures of scantily clad men.

This book has been a great experience. I love it. I really adore this book and I cannot wait to crack it open to read it again for "reasearch" for the second book. Which is finished, but that’s all I’m saying! Under His Skin has completely screwed up my writing calendar. I was supposed to be writing a different series this year, and now I’m swimming in this one.

Contest: I’m going to give away a $10 giftcard to the winner’s choice of Barnes & Noble or Amazon as well as a copy of Under His Skin. Contest is open to international entrants. Leave a comment answering the question. Contest is open until 7/14/2012 when I’ll announce the winner.

A woman who doesn’t believe she deserves love…

Toe-curling kisses and enough sex to fill a weekend were all Pandora wanted from a fling with her teenage crush. She’s never forgotten how he played the knight in shining armor to her damsel in distress. She’s ready to say thank you in several naughty ways, so long as she can walk away when it’s over with her heart intact.

A man moving on from tragedy…

Brian has no intention of allowing the feisty tattoo artist to leave him after one taste. He hasn’t had enough of her inked curves. The packaging might have changed, but Pandy is the woman he hasn’t been able to excise from his memory. He’s ready to put together a new life, one that includes her. But he’s not the only one vying for her attention. Someone else wants her, dead or alive.

 

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