Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Dating Game



My third book is published!

On May 17, 2013 my eBook, Dating Game, went live on Amazon.com! Print on demand paperbacks are live too! Once again, I am surprised at the reception to this book!

Following my own tradition, I'll tell you a little about this book before I tell you about the story. As with my other books, the two main characters who fall in love are women, so this book is also relegated to the "Lesbian Romance" category on Amazon.com. I am still of the opinion that lesbian/gay love stories should be in the general romance category, isn't love love?

This book is also set in the same world as Music of the Soul, and A Deafening Whisper, so there are some minor crossovers between places, events and people. But it is a stand alone novel. You don't have to have read Music of the Soul or A Deafening Whisper as this book as it is a story of its own. This book is a little lighter and more upbeat than the last book, which was extremely emotional, so I thought I'd give the readers a little break from the tears.

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In Dating Game, the book is narrated by the main character, Crystal James. She is an upscale party planner in Seattle, who has some amazing dual colored eyes. She also happens to be straight... she thinks. But it wouldn't phase her in the least if she was gay since her best friend for life, Beverly, is gay.

She takes Beverly out to the premier lesbian club, the Ballyhoo, in Seattle to get her friend over her broken heart and possibly make a hookup.

What Crystal didn't count on was meeting a spunky and charismatic girl, Riley, who shows more interest in her than in Beverly. After explaining she is straight, Riley mocks her straight dating capability. All in fun, the two make a bet that they could take the other on a better date. The loser has to humiliate themselves at the bar.

The lines between the game and their hearts are quickly blurred as they fall for each other. Misunderstandings and fear of rejection keep the two apart. Can their friends help bring the two back together?

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I wanted to make a light and happy story this time but still wanted compelling characters. I love supporting characters and feel that so many authors treat them as wooden furniture, so like I did with Sarina and Vicky in the previous books, I fleshed out the supporting characters in this one and gave them a life of their own.

I wrote this one weekend and I published this one the moment the editing was complete because I'm excited to see the reactions on this story, since it is a different flavor than the last two. As always, it may not be as polished or professional as most, but that's just my writing style. I believe this was a story worth sharing.

Just like the two previous books, I still only believed that when this eBook went live, that I'd sell just a handful copies to friends and family. But again I'm stunned to be on track to sell hundreds of copies in the first month! At one point I was ranked #4 in "Hot New Releases" on Amazon's "Lesbian Romance" category. I don't think I'll ever get used to this!

As always, I would like to let my readers know that I love them and appreciate any feedback, positive or negative.

The third book has only been out for a few days and some readers are pressuring me for a fourth. As always, I'm listening, and in this case anticipating! I've ALREADY submitted the fourth book in the Music of the Soul universe for editing. Karaoke Queen, will be published by mid June. I've already started on my fifth manuscript and should be able to release it early this summer.

I'd love to hear feedback and discussion from YOU about the characters in Dating Game. I'd love to discuss the story with you!