Posted in Circle of Danger, Circle of Deception, Circle of Desire, Giveaways, Gmail, My Books, Newsletter, Savage Champion, Writing

Newsletter: Author Carla Swafford – Countdown Starts

T-Minus and Counting

Today, I added a countdown to my website. So 52 days and counting before Savage Champion is released into the world. As I have mentioned before, it’s a paranormal horror romance. If you have read my Circle books and enjoyed them, you won’t be bothered by the little bit of horror in my newest book. You have to remember, I am a romance writer. So most of my books (in my mind) are Romance, Suspense, and then everything else. The only books I’ve published without suspense (true suspense, not just wondering will they ever have a happy ending) are my hockey romance. That’s pure relationship. They were fun to write and very spicy.

Anyway, please pre-order Savage Champion. The price is only 99 cents. So you’re not endangering your life savings. HA! And be sure to tell your friends.

Spicy vs Erotica

Don’t read this section if naughty words bother you. Then again, why are you getting my newsletter? All of my books have these naughty words in them.

Have you ever wondered about the difference between spicy and erotica? You know that every author has their own answer, because what I think is hot and what someone else believes is hot can be totally poles apart. I’ve read adult books since I was twelve. Of course, I never understood the sex scenes until my older female cousin explained it to me at fourteen. That’s when we found “those books” beneath our fathers’ beds. (Long story for a day when I’ve had a margarita or two.) So here’s my explanation.

Spicy – A book that has sex scenes, but not necessarily many of them and not necessarily using actual body parts. Anywhere between a hard penis to a sword of manhood, you get the idea. I tell people all the time my books are spicy. They are, but I’ve never thought of them having a lot of sex scenes, though I will say my characters think about sex a lot. But don’t we all? What? You don’t. Really? *smirk*

Erotica – A book that has lots of sex scenes and mainly is about sex. Sure they can have plots, suspense, humor, true drama, but nearly every chapter they are thinking, doing, talking, or dreaming about sex (fucking, eating pussy, sucking cock, and the many ways of enhancing all of that). About the only time they will use euphemisms is in a historical setting. But it’s a romance, so it will have a happy ending with the couple (or more) together. Oddly, at least I thought it odd, HarperCollins considered my books erotica. That’s why even though the first one was published under the Impulse imprint, the other two were placed under the Red imprint. (Circle of Desire, Circle of Danger, and Circle of Deception.)

There you go. Like I said, I don’t think my books have a lot of sex scenes as one reviewer claimed. But of course, another reviewer for the same book said I had too few. People have to decide on their own.

Giveaway

Just a reminder, if you wish a copy of the short story, Kidnapped For A Day (part of The Circle series), email me at authorcarlaswafford @ gmail. com (no spaces) asking for it, and I’ll send it to you. Only for newsletter subscribers.

Be sure to tell your friends to join my newsletter if you think they will like my books, or the short story or the newsletters. I’m not picky. HA!

Have a wonderful Mardi Gra day!

Hugs.

Carla

Posted in Circle of Desire, excerpt, Giveaways, My Books, Newsletter, The Circle series

Newsletter Author Carla Swafford: Edits & Tidbits

Finally, I finished the first round of edits to my newest book. Remember, the one that’s a paranormal thriller. Vampires are the main focus, but there are serial killers (who are not vampires), mafia, witches, pixies, and a hot as hell private detective.

Next? I have a choice of three (possibly four) projects planned for next year. I would like to think I can release two books (or more) next year, but that’s me being hopeful.

Three newsletters ago, I added an interview with my characters Jake and Angel from the Southern Crime Family novel, Jake. Since then I’ve been thinking about what readers would like to know about my characters in all of my books. So I thought you might be interested in some background information about each book spread across the next few newsletters.

I guess I should start from the beginning. Circle of Desire was my debut book. It was actually the tenth book I wrote. I had finished eleven when I received “the email” from Avon Impulse (HarperCollins) wanting to publish it. The first book I had completed was a medieval romance. I still love knights, horses, and castles. Then I wrote a romantic suspense about a DEA agent who fell in love with the wrong guy. About the time I finished it, I fell in love with paranormal romances. Vampires, warlocks, and everything that went bump in the night. But after writing four paranormal romances without a successful interest, I decided to go back to romantic suspense and write a female assassin who was the main character. She wasn’t a good person, but she thought she was doing good. What a conundrum!

She squeezed the trigger. The jogger’s body continued straight ahead, propelled by the bullet’s trajectory, and he toppled off the edge of the pier and splashed into the water as his god-awful shoes tumbled across the boardwalk.

Circle of Desire

So I started it and realized I wanted the opening scene to be real as possible. At the time, my local writers group was having a couple come in and talk to us about guns. The husband was a former Special Forces guy, and they had a friend who had worked for a private military contractor (formerly called Blackwater). I asked him about the first scene in my book. He said it sounded feasible, but I needed to change two things. One I did, but then other I didn’t. What were they? One, the woman used a sniper rifle, and she took with her after the kill. He had said an assassin would leave the rifle. I wanted it used later in the book. So instead I had her break it down into several boxes and mail out separately to her Atlanta office. Two, he said the jogger wouldn’t fall in the water, but lie exactly in the spot he was shot. I needed him in the water. People would think he tripped and fell in. So they would be concerned in saving him, instead of looking for where the shot came from (silencer used). I asked the guy, if the target was jogging along a pier and about to turn back, would his body fall in then. He said it was possible. That was enough for me. It was fiction after all.


Giveaway

Three people will receive a ebook of their choice (only mine). Winners will be notified Thanksgiving Day (November 23). Click here and go to the bottom of the page. Use that form to email me. Be sure to let me know the title you’re interested in. It will be in Amazon’s format. [Updated December 1, 2023 – no one sent me an email. So none given out. I like to think everyone, who receives my newsletters, has all of my books.]

For those in the U.S., have a happy Thanksgiving.

Thanks.

Carla

Posted in Circle of Danger, Circle of Deception, Circle of Defiance, Circle of Desire, Circle of Dishonor, excerpt, My Books, The Circle series

Newsletter Author Carla Swafford: New Covers

For the last year, I’ve been thinking of changing the covers on my Circle Series from an action/adventure look to a more romantic one. So I finally did. As a subscriber, you get first peek. Be sure to click on SHOW IMAGES (if they don’t show up) or you’ll miss out.

They should show up on Amazon, B&N, etc. over the next few days.

If you haven’t read the series, be sure to check them out. All are standalones, but for best reading experience, read in the following order: Circle of Desire, Circle of Danger, Circle of Deception, Circle of Dishonor, Circle of Defiance, and Kidnapped for a Day. Be sure to note the tropes and triggers shown below all of the covers. Thought you might find them of interest. And yes, Desire has the most. It’s a little dark.

Circle of Desire (Novel)

TROPES & TRIGGERS: Female Assassin, Captor/Captive, Rivals, Redemption. Nonconsensual Sexual Contact, FMC kidnapped by MMC, Childhood Abuse, Enemies to Lovers/Rivals, Orphan, Forced Proximity.

Circle of Danger (Novel)

TROPES & TRIGGERS: Damsel in Distress, Trouble in Relationship, Fish Out of Water, Childhood Sweethearts, All Grown Up, Beauty and the Beast, Attempt at Change/Makeover, Alpha Male, Childhood Abuse, Hero Caged/Captive, PTSD.

Circle of Deception (Novel)

TROPES & TRIGGERS: Hero In Jeopardy, Second Chance, Forced Proximity, Fake Marriage, Undercover, Love Triangle, Return From The Dead, First Love, Hero Restrained.

Circle of Dishonor (Novella)

TROPES & TRIGGERS: Insta-Love, Protector, Secret Identity, Consensual Bondage, Fighting Nude.

Circle of Defiance (Novella)

TROPES & TRIGGERS: Mafia Daughter, Hired Protector, Treasure Map, Enemies to Lovers, Alpha Male.

Kidnapped For A Day (Short Story)

TROPES & TRIGGERS: Captives, Threat to Life. (It’s a short story. So not many tropes and I don’t believe any triggers.)

All of the novels will be available in Ebook and Paperback. The novellas will be available separately in Ebooks, combined in Paperback with the short story.

The short story is available in Ebook. If you’re a subscriber to my newsletter, you can receive it free, just email me at About Carla, form is at the bottom of the page and mention if you want it for your Amazon’s, Apple’s, or B&N’s app.

WHAT AM I DOING, BESIDES CHANGING BOOK COVERS?

I presently editing (taking me forever) my next book. It’s different from any of the others already published. Hopefully, you like vampires. Here’s a little excerpt (not professionally edited). The vampire, Tori, has tracked down a pedophile in effort to save one of his victims.

~~Working title is THE CHAMPION~~

Tree limbs swayed eerily in the windy night. The frantic rustling of leaves drowned the roar of traffic on the nearby interstate. 

I strolled across a moonlit backyard, easily springing over a four-foot fence without hesitation. A Doberman charged from beneath a porch and lunged at me, barking nonstop. I grabbed him by the scruff and stared into his eyes. Trembling, he whimpered, and his back legs curled up as he dangled above the ground. Once I released my hold, he yipped all the way back, crawling under the porch to hide. A corner of my lips lifted and I shook my head. Funny how animals sensed how dangerous I was without me even hurting them.

After so many years, I’m still amazed by my powers and abilities. Reading emotions and past events helped in tracking my prey. A light touch on a passerby’s arm and I could picture each pedestrians’ direction he’d seen moments earlier. But it was also a danger in itself to me, for people’s cruel thoughts were often near the surface. The monsters would often replay the worst of their crimes when faced with death. The scenes stayed in my mind for months, years, nearly driving me crazy. Blocking them was best for my sanity. The easiest way to do so was to wear gloves, soft leather did the trick.

I reached the address after jumping a couple more fences. The house was like so many others in the poor section of larger cities, long strips of peeling paint floated off in the light breeze, black bars on the windows gave a menacing appearance, and a corner section of the rusty metal fencing laying on the ground. The backyard was rock and red clay with patches of knee-high weeds. The lack of grass was concerning. How many bodies had he buried?

A kitchen light shone like a small square on the backyard. I gingerly walked around it. Being spotted from a neighbor’s house was the last thing I needed.

There was no sound from inside, not even a TV or electronic device to betray the inhabitants. Two large overgrown bushes hid the back door from the neighbors and the few cars passing on the street. It was locked, not a surprise considering the vicinity and time of night. 

With my preternatural strength, it was easy to slowly push the knob until the latch bolt or other parts broke with little sound, allowing me to open the door. 

The malodor slapped me in the face. The hint of blood teased my fangs to drop despite the ammonia stink. I squeezed my eyes shut for a couple seconds, shaking my head to regain control.

He was already at work.

I stepped inside. I had no problem crossing the threshold without his permission. Thank goodness most humans were ignorant of spells that prevented a vampire from entering a private residence.

Thick vinyl muffled my well-placed footsteps across the kitchen floor. I stopped at a doorway that lead to a short staircase. Next to it was a long hallway. Uncertain of the direction to take, a soft cry in the depths of the house helped me make the decision. 

With blurring speed, I ran down the hallway and burst opened a thin door. If I had been human, my stomach would have emptied. A young boy, naked, bleeding from numerous cuts and bruises, lay curled in a fetal position at the feet of a well-dressed man. 

That always surprised me, no matter how many of these deviants I punished. They always appeared so damn normal. Even while working on their perversions, they had the same look in their eyes. Manic excitement. Their version of lust.

“Who in the hell are you?” The man wiped the back of his hand across his lips as if in anticipation of performing his sadistic art on me next.

“I’m the angel of death,” I answered coldly. My sneer big enough to reveal the sharp canines.

“Well, little girl, you’ve played Halloween at the wrong house.” 

~~

Speaking of Halloween, have a fun and safe one.

Regards.

Carla

Posted in Book Signings, Circle of Danger, Circle of Deception, Circle of Desire, The Circle series

Book Signing February 8, 2020

MR-BN-Social-2400x1200Be sure to come and meet me. I’ll have copies of Circle of Desire, Circle of Danger and Circle of Deception available to sign. For the people who are in my Readers Group or purchase a copy of my book, I have swag to give you. So much fun!

For those who already have the books, take a picture of  yourself holding the book and show me the picture and I’ll give you swag!

For everyone else, I have book marks and excerpts (and possibly candy) to give out.

See you there!

Posted in An Atlanta Edge Hockey, Circle of Desire, My Books, Odd Observation

The Old Days

I came across a screen shot of my very first website. Yep. I designed it myself with SiteSpinner. A cool little software program that helps those unfamiliar with coding. It was WYSIWYG type and I used it for years. If you can read some of the small print, you will see I was a romantic suspense and paranormal writer. That’s paranormal romance writer by the way.Screen Shot 2019-08-25 at 11.27.12 AMOne day, I hope to pull out one of my paranormal romances and rewrite it and see if someone else likes it besides myself.

If you’re wondering, I wrote eleven books before I sold my first one. It was actually book number ten, my second romantic suspense, that Avon Impulse (HarperCollins) published. The first two books I ever wrote need to be thrown out, and only the plots used. One was a historical romance set in the Middle Ages. The next was a romantic suspense, not spy or assassin like my Circle books, but a former DEA agent (heroine) recuperating from her years being undercover. During the operation, she became addicted to cocaine while she played the drug lord’s girlfriend and she screwed up even more. She’d fallen for him. After putting him in prison, and length stay in rehab, she came under investigation. The special agent (hero) investigating her begins to have feelings for her. The drug lord escapes prison and troubles ensue.

No. I haven’t read it in years, but I still remember the plot.

October is a good month for me.  My first book, Circle of Desire, was published October 18, 2011, and on October 14, 2014, I agreed with Loveswept (Penguin-Random House) on a two-book contract. (Those books came out in 2016.) It was a mostly lovely experience I will never forget. The best part was joining forces with my agent, Emily Sylvan Kim, Prospect Agency. Love her!

So far, I’ve published 10 books.  All of them can be found at most major booksellers’ websites. Only one was from my pre-published days (yep, my debut book). So I guess you could say, I have a good stack to pull from when I have the time.

Presently, I’m working on a new Hockey Romance titled Fake Play.