Category: Sen

Posted in Advertisement, Book Signings, Savage Champion, Sen, Special Price, Writing

Newsletter: Author Carla Swafford – On To The Next One

Posted on by Carla Swafford, Author

Presently, I’m working on the second book in the Southern Crime Family series, Sen. It’s half written and I finally have a sense of where I’m going with it. Hopefully, it’ll be finished by this fall. There is so much planned this year. Special vacations and such. That is one of the great things about being retired. You have unlimited vacation time.

By the way, be sure to buy Jake, the first book in the series. It has an excerpt from Sen’s book in the back.

Book Signings

This last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Capital City Author Event in Montgomery. So well organized. I met so many nice people. When I returned home, I had to take a nap.

This October 12, there will be another Book Fest in Sumiton, Alabama. Last year, I had a blast and it was a big success for myself and the group who put it together. I’ve been told it will bigger and better. Considering how wonderful it was at the time, that’s saying something. I hope to see you there.

Don’t forget I’m on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Writing Tidbit

I try to include a little of writing information in my newsletter, for I know there are authors or want-to-be authors who are subscribers.

For those who have Mac products, the software Vellum is worth every cent. It formats your ebooks and paperbacks quickly. A friend of mine was dreading formatting her book with Word as it took so much time. I offered to do it in Vellum to show her how efficient it was, and she was amazed. We had it done in less than twenty minutes. If I understand correctly, Atticus is similar to Vellum but for Window PCs and laptops.

Dark Romance

The other day, another author and I were talking about, “what’s dark romance?” She said it was violence done by the hero “on-screen.” Or there is the use or sale of drugs, or some type of dangerous crime performed by the hero. To me, that would only mean the book is about a criminal, not considered to be dark romance.

In a dark romance, the hero is considered to be an anti-hero. His actions are extreme, not just threats or the crime he commits against miscellaneous secondary characters, but a true danger to the heroine. The hero can actually abuse or/and wound/maim her. It’s not a taste for everyone.

My books are gritty, but rarely dark like that.

Latest Ad

Here’s the latest ad I’ve placed on social media.

Remember, if you wish for a copy of the short story, Kidnapped For A Day, just email me and let me know. Plus Savage Champion (ebook version) will be priced 99 cents until the end of May. Then it will go up to $6.99. Paperback version is $12.99.

Take care and happy reading.

Carla

Posted in Ethan, Jake, Sen, Southern Crime Family series, Writing

Inspiration Struck Finally!

Posted on by Carla Swafford, Author

Wow! I love it when I’m writing and something that had been bothering me from nearly chapter one finally solved itself.

Well, okay. You twisted my arm. I’ll tell you a little about it. First, let me say, in book one (Jake) of the Southern Crime Family, the hero’s kink is that he likes to spank the heroine. Totally consensual.

In Ethan’s (book two, unless I change my mind again), I’ve already decided his kink will be that he likes to be tied up during the act. Nice twist, for the women are usually the ones, right?

The heroine is what I refer to as a real woman. She knows what she wants and she’s not shy in going after it. And he’s a real man because he isn’t scared to tell his woman that he has problems that only she can solve with a little discipline. By the way, she has a young daughter. I don’t normally have children in my books, but like I said, she’s a real woman.

Then there is Sen, the middle brother. The one I was having a difficulty in giving him a kink. See, he’s in love with an heroine who is deaf. Most of everything I can think of would appear to be taking advantage of her disability in the hearing world or maybe even cruel.

So here I was writing a scene where she’s angry at an old friend (male) and suddenly she remembers the big crush she had for him long ago. She’s getting turned on as her old friend and her new friend (Sen) argue about her, and she’s literally standing between them. She’s short. They are tall. Hot. Hard. Bam!

Let’s say, she’s going to have a fantasy to come true a few times in the book. Sen loves her enough to share. Well, at first. He is an alpha.

Here are the latest covers for Sen and Ethan books.

Posted in An Atlanta Edge Hockey, Jake, Movies, My Books, Sen, Southern Crime Family series

Wholly Research, I Swear

Posted on by Carla Swafford, Author

Well, like most everyone, for the last couple months I’ve been reading books and watching a lot of TV. I’ve been working the life draining day-job during my usual hours. But since there is no travel time, except a short stroll down the hallway, I’ve found myself with a little more time to goof off. Sure, I have been doing some writing, but mostly ads, tweets, FB posts, and beefing up an old historical romance manuscript. Nothing worthwhile, like writing the my second book in the Southern Crime Family series, Sen.

But oddly, by watching TV, it has given me the juice needed to write that book. I think in a way, the success of Jake had me a little worried. What if I screw up and do a lousy job on Sen? I have a wonderful romance already figured out: a half-Asian bad boy and a deaf white girl whose daddy hated Sen. A bit of Romeo and Juliet, except the girl likes the guy but isn’t in love. The guy is, madly, deeply. Don’t worry, she’ll fall as madly and deeply in love too.

So you’re probably wondering what was I watching that help my writing mojo? Justified. The TV series (2010-2015) that used to be on the FX channel. Love the story, actors, and how they had fun shooting every scene. Set in Kentucky, it reminded me about a lot of things from when I was a kid. Not so much the criminal behavior, but how family stuck together and protected each other. They may fight each other, but heaven forbid if anyone interfered or attacked a family member. It didn’t matter if you hated your cousin’s guts, you took care of that cousin and later, after the trouble was over, you proceeded with your aversion to that relative.

Another show I watched was Self Made on Netflix. Love Octavia Spencer. She’s so talented. Anything she’s in, I’ll watch. I want her to be my friend. I’m sure she’s one of the most interesting people in Hollywood (figuratively, I have no idea where she lives). The movie was uplifting, as in showing with determination you can become successful. Sometimes you have to sacrifice parts of your life to achieve that goal, but if that’s your desire, go for it! Oh, the clothes. Beautiful.

Then I started hearing from different people about a new romance movie similar to 50 Shades of Grey. I didn’t get into the Shades too much, mainly because the woman was a college student. I prefer movies, books with more mature characters. Let’s say each character to have been in the work force, full time, for a year or more. Anyway, I heard this movie was very sexy. It’s called 365 DNI on Netflix. This is my take on it, the writing could’ve been more mature, the photography was awesome, the quality of the filming was pretty good (think inside shots), the music was fine (I didn’t once think porno canned tunes), and the acting…a bit over the top a few times, but considering how good the male lead looked in and out of clothes, I can forgive it. Certainly worth watching once all the way through and a second time for the parts that were unbelievably hot.

Just a reminder, FAKE PLAY is coming out Tuesday, 6/30/20. Be sure to pre-order it and tell your friends. It will be the last of my hockey books for a while. I need to finish up the Southern Crime Family series (JAKE, SEN, and ETHAN) before I head over to a couple of bounty hunters books I want to finish. Goodness, I have so many books to finish or rewrite and get out there. You know, I did finish eleven books before number 10 became published. So number one through nine, and eleven need a chance to be read by you too.