Coming Soon

Halloween Treat

/ lisaemme / 3 Comments

I know it’s been a long time between posts and if you follow my Facebook page, you will know why so I’m not going to get into it here right now. Instead, I just wanted to share a treat with you for Halloween.

halloween

The next book in the Harry Russo Diaries is in the works with a yet to be determined release date in early 2018, but I thought I would share the title and blurb with you now to celebrate Halloween, one of my favourite times of the year. Enjoy!

Dead to Me, The Harry Russo Diaries, volume 5
by Lisa Emme

LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING…

Angharad “Harry” Russo is a half-vampire witch with the power to raise the dead. No surprise that her life is not what you would call normal, but that won’t stop her from trying.  So maybe she was almost disemboweled by a demon, that’s no reason for her sexy boyfriend, homicide detective Cian Nash to give her the cold shoulder, is it?  One thing’s for sure, Harry’s not going to let his behaviour slide.  She’ll get to the bottom of it even if it means sitting him down and tying him to a chair.  But first there’s the little mystery of some damaged roses and stolen jewels to solve.  Add in a flirty stranger with mysterious powers, a cat burglar and a feathered accomplice, and Harry’s off on another adventure.  Unfortunately, it’s not all fun and games.  When the leaders of the supernatural community go missing, the race is on to find who’s behind their abductions before it’s too late.

Cover reveal and pre-order forthcoming. Stay tuned!

Happy Halloween!

 

Why Magic? Why Not?

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So I wrote the three spicy novellas of The Yacht Club and each one has what I call a hint of magic. I don’t want to give too much away about the characters, but each of my three leading ladies has a special gift (although Pax would argue about the gift part). But why magic?

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So now I’m sitting here trying to answer that question and wondering why I thought a blog post about it was a good idea. The corny answer to the question would be that it was just the way the stories arrived out of the depths of my crazy imagination. Often it feels like I have no say in the matter, the characters are the ones calling the shots and this time they showed up, bringing the magic with them. A more cynical answer would be that after writing Daisy’s story and wanting the next story to tie into the same theme, I took the easy route. I needed Kimi to be able to do some physically difficult things and be able to break into a house without getting caught so I used magic as my deus ex machina.

But there is more to it than that. Let’s face it, most romance (the kind in books) is fantasy. At one time, it was all dashing heros and swooning heroines, but these days the heroines can be just as daring. Whatever the case, we read it to escape, to be entertained, and in some cases to forget, at least for a little while. So why can’t romance have magic too? Let’s face it, having the ability to read minds is just as believable as a gorgeous billionaire coming to sweep me off my feet.

I’m not saying that someone has told me romance can’t have magic, I’m just trying, perhaps badly, to tell you why The Yacht Club does. But honestly, it really is because that’s just the way the characters showed up. It started with Daisy and her magic tattoo. Then came Kimi, and as I said, she needed a little extra help to get her where I needed her to be, so why not give her the gift to open locks? Finally there was Pax. Poor Pax, she has it the worst, but she is also making the most of her bad situation because I don’t write about wimps.

I could have titled this post “Why Romance?” but I’ve explained my choice to write romance before and as to why I choose to read it, well the answer is really right there – it’s my choice. For a great article about romance and reading whatever the hell you want, check out this post by Smart Bitches Trashy Books (as you can tell by the name, there’s a bit of a language warning so if you have an issue with swearing the article might not be your thing).

The Yacht Club releases April 25th

Want to know more? Preorder your copy of The Yacht Club and learn how three women find their hot and steamy happily-ever-afters.

 Kobo   Amazon  Barnes&Noble   iTunes

Chicken Coops and Robson Street

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Pax's view night

I’ve mentioned before that when writing, Google is a valuable asset. I’ve Googled guns, knives, the circulation system, tequila, Irish whisky, martial arts, how to escape a strangle-hold, and many other crazy things in the course of writing. Many an author has joked they hope they won’t be judged by their browser’s search history. I’d second that motion, otherwise I’d probably be under investigation for plotting multiple murders.

Writing The Yacht Club novellas was no exception. Sexy lingerie, bathing suits, posh suburbs of Vancouver, Robson Street bars, Hawaii, are just a few of the things I used Google to research.  And then there were the more eccentric searches:

  • how to construct a water-powered electric generator,
  • how to build a chicken coop,
  • owl anatomy,
  • barred rock chickens,
  • shibaru, or Japanese bondage
  • Samoan tattoos
  • Celtic designs and their meaning

I even stalked and fell in love with a West Vancouver neighbourhood (I’m looking at you, Willoughby Rd) using Google streetview so that I could figure out where my characters would live, shop and eat.

Willoughby Rd

Now don’t get me wrong, I would love to be able to just pick up and travel around the world, all in the name of research, but I have yet to reach that sort of author status. In the meantime, Google is the next best thing.

The Yacht Club releases April 25th.

Excerpt:
A shudder passed through Kimi’s body as she remembered the night before.  God, she needed to get laid.  Shaking her head, she grinned to herself at the thought and reached behind her back to find the pull cord attached to the zipper of her wetsuit.  The neoprene suit had been one of the best things she had packed when she left Honolulu.  Without it, she doubted if she could have continued her daily morning swim ritual; the water was just too cold on this side of the Pacific.  She tugged on the cord, cursing at the zipper which habitually got stuck.

“Hey there, need a hand with that?” The voice was deep and smooth.  Kimi turned in surprise and came face to face with the speaker’s Adam’s apple.  She looked up, shading her hand from the sun to see his face.  He was tall, lean and tanned, or maybe he just naturally had a darker skin tone.  He wore a day or two’s worth of whiskers, but they only helped to give him that sexy bad-boy look.  The crown of curly, blonde hair only added to the effect.

Want to know more? Preorder your copy of The Yacht Club and learn how these three women find their hot and steamy happily-ever-afters.

 Kobo   Amazon  Barnes&Noble   iTunes

When the Muse Hits

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ibook

It started with a writing prompt:

Write a sexy story that involves a tattoo.

It wasn’t much of a prompt and I was supposed to be working on the next adventure in the Harry Russo diaries, but for some reason it got the creative juices going, and the next thing I knew I was obsessing over a woman with an unwanted tattoo that would point the way to her true love.

heart tattoo yc

And so Daisy’s story was born. Harry’s latest crisis would have to wait. When the muse hits you, you just have to listen. There’s really no point fighting it. At least that’s been my experience.

I had the seed of a story, I just had to let it grow. I also had to plant it somewhere and so I chose Vancouver, a city I’ve visited, but I’m not overly familiar with. Not to worry though, that’s what Google is for. It also helped that I had a friend who used to live on the coast who let me run things by her and pick her brain. This was particularly a lifesaver when one short story grew into two and then three, as first Kimi’s then Pax’s stories demanded to be told as well. The common thread for each? A special tattoo and a hint of magic.

Want to know more? Preorder your copy of The Yacht Club and learn how these three women find their hot and steamy happily-ever-afters.

 Kobo   Amazon  Barnes&Noble   iTunes

 

Oh, So Pretty

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I just couldn’t wait any longer. I had to share the new cover for my Yacht Club series.

ibook

Isn’t it gorgeous? Ally at Starcrossed Covers must be a tad psychic because it’s as if she read my mind. It’s exactly what I envisioned.

As you may know, my Yacht Club novellas were released around this time last year, but only in limited release on Amazon. This spring I plan on re-releasing them for the first time in wide distribution under one cover. Preorder is available now on Kobo and Amazon (other retailers coming soon).

If you are a fan of spicy romance with a happily-ever-after, you’ll love the three stories you’ll find in The Yacht Club. Plan your visit by preordering your copy today. Release date: April 25, 2017.

 

 

Mind Reader

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You don’t have to be clairvoyant to take a look into my thought process for Hell to Pay.

As our countdown to release day continues (just three weeks!), why not take a look at my Pinterest Hell to Pay Prop Gallery? I’ve pinned some of the clothes, props and other items relevant to Harry’s latest adventure there.

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Don’t forget to check out the galleries for all of Harry’s other books as well as recipes for some of the delicious, decadent treats on offer at the Full Fat Coffee Company.

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