A Great Review for A Scandalous Arrangement

Jennifer from CK2S loved "A Scandalous Arrangement," available now in A Rose Of Any Colour, Book 2: Maledom, from Freya's Bower.

" Kayleigh Jamison is one of those writers who, if her name is listed as the author I know I want the book. No question about it. With A Scandalous Arrangement, she delivers what her fans have come to expect – a sexy and spirited tale roiling with numerous emotions, not the least of which is unbridled love and passion."

Read the entire review, and buy the book!

Leading Her to Heaven Available Now!

LEADING HER TO HEAVEN

Kayleigh Jamison

Tease Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-934678-44-2 (electronic)

ISBN: 978-1-934678-45-9 (print)

www.teasepublishingllc.com

www.kayleighjamison.com

http://allromanceebooks.com/product-leadinghertoheaven-5588-144.html

As the eldest daughter of an English earl, Lady Susanna Cavendish has led a sheltered life of privilege and leisure. She has been taught that her northern cousins, the Scots, are barbaric heathens with no regard for culture or civilization.

Notorious warrior Blair Ruthven is laird of the fiercest clan in Scotland. Born into a society rife with blood feuds and an engrained hatred for the English, Blair learns at an early age that trust and love do little more than damn and disappoint.

Forced into marriage by feuding kings in order to forge a political union between their countries, Blair and Susanna must learn to find peace between themselves as they battle ages-old prejudices – and vie for one another’s hearts.

If you are looking for a lyrical voice, superb characters that draw you in, and fascinating out of the ordinary historical adventure with an erotic twist, I cannot recommend Kayleigh Jamison enough.

-Emma Wildes, #1 bestselling author and 2007 Eppie winner

"Jamison carries us through a range of emotions throughout the story, at times inciting laughter and at other times bringing us to tears with the depth of these characters' commitment and sacrifice." -Jennifer, C2KS, 5 Klovers

"This book is a hot and exciting ride!" -Regina, Coffee Time Romance, 5 Cups

"Kayleigh Jamison takes the reader back in time for a fun-filled action adventure…" -Angelica, Erotic Escapades, 4 Stars

"This reader would highly recommend LEADING HER TO HEAVEN for those who enjoy their romances set in Scotland. The author pulls the reader into her story from the get-go. With a charming lead couple, great supporting characters, and an action-packed storyline – this was an all-around winner!" -Susan, Love Romances, 4 Hearts

"...Leading Her To Heaven is sensual, well written, and as a historical romance, one of the best books I have read in a long time." -Talia, Joyfully Reviewed

"Page after page gripped my imagination, and vivid scenes opened up in my minds eye. EXCELLENT!" -Cranberry Kisses, Cocktail Review, 4 Flutes

“I absolutely loved it!” -Brenda, TRS, 5 Hearts

“Exciting action and thrilling suspense joins with the passion of romance to make LEADING HER TO HEAVEN a book a highly recommend.” -Anita, Romance Junkies, 4 Blue Ribbons

http://allromanceebooks.com/product-leadinghertoheaven-5588-144.html

Sighs...

This is the e-pub/small press community:


This is the e-pub/small press community off its meds:



And I'm not kidding. The wtfery levels are downright toxic at the moment. Check out Karen Scott's blog to fill yourself in.

Happy Birthday, Katrina Strauss!

Not only is Katrina one of my closest friends and a strong influence on my own writing, she's an amazing author in her own right.

Uh-oh, weren't you aware it was her birthday? No? Don't have a present? Well, here's a thought: Buy a present for yourself!

Katrina's dark, epic trilogy The Eldritch Legacy is a must-have for any romance fan. Pick them up here, and enjoy! Also be sure to keep an eye out for Katrina's new yaoi series, Blue Ruin, coming next year from Loose ID.

Chat Tonight!

Talk to Tease Authors Saturday Dec 8th

at 8pm EST at www.allromanceebooks.com


Be there or be square! LOL
But seriously you never know what you might win!

"A rare glimpse of an insular culture..."

From Yahoo! News:

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - A dispute between two Gypsy clans over control of the fortunetelling trade in this Southern California city has spilled into court, offering a rare glimpse of an insular culture that has long settled scores according to its own Old World rules of honor.

The turf war in well-to-do Orange County has unfolded like a gangster movie, with allegations of death threats, a graveside scuffle, and nicknames like "White Bob" and "Black Bob" — details revealed in a police report and requests for restraining orders.

"The older Gypsies are pulling out their hair, not wanting the courts in our business because they'll find out too much about us," said Tom Merino, who is distantly related to one of the clans but has spurned his heritage. "Ignorance is the Gypsies' weapon against the outside world."

The Stevens and Merino clans, like other Gypsy families, have run numerous fortunetelling businesses in Southern California for decades.

The trouble started two years ago when Edward Merino and his wife, Sonia, opened fortunetelling parlors in two trendy resort sections of Newport Beach, not far from where the Stevenses did business.

Members of the Stevens clan promptly broke in, stole a credit card machine and threatened to kill the Merinos if they didn't shut the places down, the Merinos claim in court papers. Since then, the bad blood has only gotten worse.

The Stevenses "are very territorial," Merino attorney Tom Quinn said. "This is crazy stuff."

At the root of the conflict lies a delicate system of intermarriage and social customs that has defused tensions among Gypsy clans for generations, said Anne Sutherland, a University of California, Riverside anthropologist who has studied Gypsies.

Gypsies trace their origins to India more than 1,000 years ago. They migrated to Europe in the 1300s. For centuries, Gypsies were enslaved and persecuted in Europe, where they were scorned as nomadic thieves and con artists skilled primarily at palm reading.

Gypsies — also known as Romany — began arriving in the U.S. from Romania toward the end of the 19th century. Experts believe there are now about 1 million in America, one-fifth of them in California, where they dominate the fortunetelling and psychic shops in funky beach communities and other neighborhoods.

The Stevens and Merino clans adopted an Old World custom of uniting families through marriage to cope with intense competition, much as European nobility once did to avert war. A Merino married the Stevens patriarch, George Stevens.

But the family bond did not prevent tensions from flaring when, the Merinos say, the Stevenses demanded they pay $500,000 up front and $5,000 a week to open their fortunetelling businesses in the Stevenses' back yard. The Merinos refused to pay, and went ahead and opened their parlors. The alleged break-in soon followed.

Gypsies have traditionally resolved disputes in front of a secret council of elders that can impose fines, make territorial decisions or order someone shunned. They don't like to involve non-Gypsies, who are considered impure.

The Merinos, though, went to court after the alleged break-in and obtained a restraining order in 2006 requiring George Stevens to stay a safe distance away.

That the dispute wound up in court reflects an erosion of tradition among the Gypsies, said Ian Hancock, an expert on Gypsy language and culture at the University of Texas.

"It used to be that the Romany world was absolutely insulated from the outside world," said Hancock, a Gypsy himself. "But it's very hard to resist the pressures of MTV, and people are beginning to see alternatives."

He cited cases in which Gypsy women in Houston hired lawyers to get their ex-husbands to pay child support — something previously unheard of.

Things were calm for months until the Stevens patriarch died of a heart attack at age 53 last May. Edward "Davie" Merino showed up at the funeral, pulling up at the cemetery in a limo with what was described as a menacingly burly chauffeur.

Merino says members of the Stevens clan attacked him and screamed, "We will make your life a living hell!" But the Stevenses claim that Merino flashed a gun and threatened to "come back and kill all of you." Both sides agree that before speeding off, Merino shouted that he wanted to make sure "the mother-(expletive) was dead."

Merino declined repeated requests for an interview through his attorney and calls to his home were not returned.

After the scrap, someone left ominous phone messages and threatened to kill Sonia Merino and the couple's children, ages 9 and 11, Edward Merino claimed in court papers.

Edward Merino filed for restraining orders against four Stevens men and two Stevens women. Over the summer, a judge granted such an order against just one person, the new Stevens patriarch, Ted Stevens.

Stevens' nephew, the only Gypsy directly involved in the feud who spoke to The Associated Press, said the Merinos concocted the allegations and are using the courts to try to drive their rivals out of Newport Beach.

"They beat themselves up and then they testify that we hired people to come to their house and beat them up," said Steve Stevens, who goes by the nickname "White Bob" to distinguish him from his swarthier cousin, "Black Bob."

Stevens, who owns two fortunetelling parlors and a deli, added: "I feel like they've made me out like a character on `The Sopranos.' I'm a businessman. I'm a family man. That's all I am."

It's true, that the Rom are a very secretive culture; it's what made research for my novel Svetkavista so difficult. If you're curious about what's so interesting, check out the book!

Accusations of Plagiarism Against Well-Known Ebook Author

Several days ago, a fanfiction author named Amanda posted on reviewer Elisa Rolle's LiveJournal that JJ Massa's book, The Edge, is a plagiarized version of her fanfiction piece, Another Time, Another Place.

Rites of Romance owner Ash Arceneaux was the first to blog the news, and within the last few days more allegations have surfaced regarding Massa borrowing work from other fanfiction authors and even New York Times Bestseller Christine Feehan. Amanda has also posted on Ash's blog.

I may get myself in trouble for this one, but...I have read and compared the fanfiction with Ms. Massa's book. I have spoken with Amanda, the fanfic author. At this point, I believe her. If it's a hoax and I'm wrong, I'll willingly eat crow. But this seems legit to me. And what personal stake do I have in this?

Other than the fact that plagiarism makes my blood boil, and I see it as something that every author should be vigilant about and fight against, nothing. It affects us all, because it could happen to any one of us. In fact, Amanda didn't even know about this until very recently. Someone read her fic and the book and has been trying to reach her for a year to let her know. It could have already happened to me, or you, without us knowing. As writers, our books are more than simple diversions - they are us. My writing is me; my heart, my soul, my blood poured out in black and white. My characters are my happiness and my joy; my sorrow and my pain. They are both a part of me and real to me. I am never more vulnerable to a person than when they are reading my work. Nora Roberts has related her experience of being plagiarized to "mind rape." Katrina Strauss, who was also plagiarized, has said the same thing.

A plagiarist is the lowest of the low. Bottom of the barrel moldy disease-infected pond scum. We as writers have a duty to police ourselves against this creative vampirism, and to stop it when we find it. To ignore it is, in a sense, to condone it.

A few bad apples spoil the bunch, as they say, and I can only hope this doesn't undermine the credibility of the small press industry as a whole. (okay, overreacting? Maybe. Maybe not.)

Not every scene in The Edge was taken from Another Time, Another Place, but some of it is word for word. Some examples are below.

JJ Massa's Book, now pulled from Linden Bay Amanda's Star Trek AU fic Philadelphia—the city of brotherly love. Yeah, I feel the love. Tyler winced and slung his backpack over his aching shoulder. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself off the teeming sidewalk and up the battered stairs of the old, red-bricked precinct house. The inside foyer was even more chaotic than the busy street he'd just left. The room he found himself in was peopled with glowering teens, screaming whores, a few stumbling drunks, and a plethora of independent chemists and their staff. Tyler dropped his backpack onto the desk letting the noise of its landing grab the attention of a surly looking officer who'd been flicking through a magazine. "You want something?" he growled, "Just get in line." Tyler eyed him coldly, nodding his head at the motley mass of human chaos assembled. "I'm not here to sightsee. My name's Tyler Baker." The cop's lip curled in an outright sneer of contempt. He looked Tyler up and down rudely. "You're late. Lieu expected you a couple hours ago." "My plane was delayed. I've only been in the city an hour," he began to explain patiently. "Look deep into my eyes, Baker," he said scornfully. "See any give-a-shit in there?" Tyler folded his arms across his chest. "You got a problem with me, officer?" he demanded icily. New York, New York. So good they named it twice. ::Yeah, right:: Tom hoisted his knap-sack higher over his aching shoulder and stared with ill-disguised disgust at the crumbling red-stone exterior of the precinct house until the impatient bustling of passers-by forced him to mount the steps and walk inside. ::Shit:: The foyer was more chaotic than the street he'd left behind. The room was filled with screaming whores, sullen teens, a couple of blood-splattered drunks and someone curled up on the floor in one corner in a puddle of vomit. Tom wasn't sure whether the huddled body was a homeless guy sleeping in the station or a corpse. At the desk a couple of burly uniforms had some crack-head pinned against the wall while a third cop performed a public strip-search. He slammed his knap-sack down on the desk and the noise startled a bored-looking cop to belch and frown in his direction. "What the fuck's your problem? Join the queue." Tom curled his mouth into a sneer of derision, cocking his head mockingly at the bedlam that purported to be a 'queue'. "I'm not part of the entertainment. My name's Tom Paris." The cop returned his sneer, sliding his eyes up and down Tom's body with obvious contempt. "You're late. The Cap'n expected you two hours ago." "My plane got delayed. I only arrived an hour ago and I had to drop off my luggage." "Tell it to someone who cares, Paris."

AMANDA'S STORY:

Chapter 3 excerpt:

At Chakotay's greeting, Torres straightened up, tore the blood-soiled latex glove off her right hand with a loud snap, and pushed her hair back out of her face.

MASSA'S BOOK

Chap3 Excerpt

At Paytah's greeting, Medical Examiner Lida Amanda straightened up, pulled the bloodstained latext glove off her right hand with a resonating snap, and pushed her abundant hair off of her face.

KJ