Finally Facebook Official

Thanks to a kick in the pants from a Harlequin-offered webinar, I've finally started an official author page on Facebook. Now I should look all professional-like, and not amateurish for just having a basic profile. Feel free to go like me!

Now I have to update my website (which really needs a full overhaul) and this blog, which I should integrate into the actual website. I just have to find—say it with me now—TIME.

The blog tour for Under the Moon continues. The paperback actually releases tomorrow! Yay!

Tomorrow I'm also starting a giveaway through Goodreads, with TWO copies of Under the Moon in paperback. Check it out!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Under the Moon

by Natalie J. Damschroder

Giveaway ends December 23, 2011.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Anyway, back to the blog tour! Yesterday I had an interview at Books Books the Magical Fruit (hee!). A copy of Under the Moon is being given away there, too! You have until 12/11 to enter.

Today I was interviewed at Workaday Reads, and tomorrow you can find me at Laura Kaye's blog. I have ANOTHER interview on Thursday at Manga Maniac Cafe. You guys are going to know ALL about me by the time this is over! The cool thing is that there's little overlap in the questions, except those that pertain to the details of the book.

On Thursday I'm also at Attacking the Page, this time with a guest post about my road to romantic adventure, and featuring my other fall release, Behind the Scenes.

I can't believe that by the end of the week, it will be nearly halfway through December. Fphoy! And no, I'm not ready for Christmas. We didn't get the tree yet, or start shopping, or do any decorating. It still feels too early!

I can't finish up this post without mentioning last week's episode of Supernatural. I can't believe I'm saying this... I never thought I could be okay with Bobby dying. (Not that we know what his final status is. Gotta have that midseason cliffhanger, after all.) But the episode was so beautifully done, and so well acted all around, that I was strangely satisfied at the end. No negative feelings from me, no matter what's about to happen.

Okay, I am freaking STARVING, so I'm off to make some dinner before How I Met Your Mother starts. Gotta go find out if Robin has any clue which guy is responsible for her pregnancy. :)

Do You NaNo?

Today is one day after release day, and I hit #2 on the Carina most popular chart! Woo hoo!

I'll be featured by Carina Press this afternoon, with a post on their blog and some stuff on Twitter and Facebook.

I'm also participating this month in The Romance Reviews YES! Party (Year End Splash party). My Q&A days are Nov. 4 and 23, but there are a ton of authors participating, with bigger tons of prizes available.

So who's doing NaNoWriMo this year?

In 2006, I did my first NaNo with Under the Moon. That book got me an agent and lots of good responses from publishers, but we were submitting a genre-fence-riding book when the bottom fell out of the market, so I didn't find a publisher for it until Entangled, who was willing to offer a contract and then get me off the fence. (It's now planted on the "romance" side, though still leaning on the "urban fantasy" fence. :) )

I participated in and won NaNo for the next five years. One year, both my kids did it with me. After Number Two decided she didn't like writing after all, it was just Number Two, who ALWAYS finished before me, the stinker. I think she's doing it this year, but I'm not.

It makes me sad, in a way. Five years with a certain atmosphere in my house, an excited urgency driving us. There's a fantastic camaraderie with other NaNo participants, and always people whose word counts challenge me (and, occasionally, vice versa!). I'll really miss it!

But I'm not complaining about why I'm missing it. Promotion for two book releases, a double deadline with two publishers...triple if you count book 3 of Goddesses Rising, which isn't due for a few months but I'm working on it every day. I didn't wait until today to start it, or I'd be doing THAT for NaNo. :)

So how many of you are participating? Have you done it before? What's your record? Let us cheer you on!

Behind the Scenes Release Day!

It's release day!


You can buy it at
Carina Press
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
All Romance eBooks

and anywhere e-books are sold!

Kennedy Smyth's firm provides security for companies and charities in seriously dangerous countries. She doesn't usually take on "frivolous" jobs, but when an old friend asks her to protect his son's movie shoot, she finds it hard to refuse. Also hard to resist is the film's charismatic star, Rogan St. James. The handsome actor piques her interest, while the strange actions of the terrorist threatening the set raise her suspicions.

Even though he's a successful actor, Rogan wants more—a real woman to love, the type he doesn't think exists...until he meets Kennedy. She intrigues him with her confidence and passion for her work, and frustrates him with her refusal to let him get close.

But Kennedy finds herself in a vulnerable position when she discovers that the terrorist isn't actually out to derail the film. She's the real target—and if he finds out how much Rogan means to her, he could be next...

I'm still answering questions through the end of today at the Goodreads Ask an Author, Win a Book thread.

The Romance Studio's Spookapalooza is still going on! You can vote for your favorite author and register to win prizes. It runs through today.

And I'm blogging today at Isn't it Romance. I don't remember what I said. So come be surprised with me! LOL

And the Blogging Explosion Begins...

First, let me remind people that if you'd like to receive my (very occasional) announcement newsletter, you can sign up here. If my subscription base reaches 150 by 10/31, I'll give away a paperback copy of Brianna's Navy SEAL to one of you. (It's brutal trying to rebuild a subscriber base when you change systems! :( )

Okay, now. The touring stuff. I mean blogging stuff. I mean, the total insanity that comes with having two books released at the same time, and having a publicist who is really good at her job.

Today I start off blogging with the funny, frisky, fabulous Cathy Pegau. Cathy, that's a better 3F, huh? :) (Want to know what I'm talking about? Click the link!)

As an aside, there are very few F adjectives that are not negative. I don't like that. F is a cool letter. :(

Today I'm also featured at Read All Over Reviews as part of the 31 Days of Halloween. (Should be up about 10:00 a.m. EDT)

Tomorrow you can find me in Katie Reus's Monster Mash-Up.

This weekend brings The Romance Studio's 2nd Annual Spookapalooza. I'll post stuff there through the weekend, as will tons of other great authors.

And finally (for now), I'm the featured author at Coffee Thoughts, the Coffee Time Romance blog, on Sunday, October 30.

Monday, Behind the Scenes releases, and then the REAL fun begins!

I need a nap.

Versatile Blogger Award

A whole long week ago, the very cool Stacy McKitrick of Stacy's Rantings and Whatnot gave me this award.

Thank you, Stacy!

I thing "versatile" is a nice way of saying "unfocused and disorganized," but hey, that's what I'm going for, so yay me! :)

Here are the provisions of the award:

Thank and link to the person who nominates you.
Thanks again, Stacy! I was excited to discover her funny and interesting blog. Go check it out! Note: She's much better at brevity than I am.

Share seven random facts about you.

Hmmmm. That's always so hard! I'm sure I'll end up repeating stuff.

1. When I was around 6 or 7 years old, my best friend David Pleau and I used to pretend to be Steve Austin and Jamie Summers (Somers?). You know, the Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman? We made my little brother Andy be Oscar Goldman. You know the phrase "scarred for life"? Yeah, that's just about the epitome. Thirty-seven years old and he's still not over it.

Speaking of my brother...

2. He and his wife just had a new baby girl! Yeah-huh, that is too about me. I'm an aunt again, for the...thirteenth time. My mother would get a kick out of that number. :)

3. My first boyfriend was in sixth grade. He gave me candy or gum at school every day, and a tarnished necklace that he sent a friend to ask for back when he decided he didn't want to go out with me anymore. I told the friend to tell him to come ask for it himself. Pretty brave of me, considering he probably broke up with me 'cuz I could hardly look at him, I was so shy. We had one "date" at a roller rink.

4. I've owned one new car in my life. My first one. After Number Two was born, husband traded my car in for his company car, and I got his year-old Toyota Corolla, which is now 13 and counting. Because of the company cars, he's on his fourth new one. Number One is going to inherit the Corolla next year, and hopefully I'll finally get a second new car that *I* get to pick out *myself*.

5. I've never lived completely on my own. For a woman as fiercely independent as I am, that kind of galls. I wouldn't trade any of my choices for anything, but it's weird when I think about it. I had roommates in college, of course, and housemates at one summer job. I rented a basement room from a woman during my National Geographic Society internship, then moved straight in with my fiancé when that was over. Ideally, I never will live on my own, but it definitely conjures some "what if" scenarios from time to time.

6. I'm a bit compulsive about my e-mail inbox. I keep things in there if they need my attention, or if I read them on my laptop and they need to be saved on the desktop. As soon as something is addressed, it's gone. So I get intense satisfaction out of that 0 on my e-mail counter. It never lasts, alas, and often I end up putting off important tasks because I just can't take having anything in my inbox anymore.

7. I'm addicted to football podcasts. Specifically, ESPN's Football Today and the podcasts put out by the New England Patriots, mainly PFW in Progress.

(I think I just accidentally typed ALT+P or something, and this published early! Dammit!)

The writers of Patriots Football Weekly are raunchy and juvenile, they fight a lot and go on and on about the stupidest things. But I love them. I get all my New England Patriots news from them, and when I catch up to the podcasts and have nothing to listen to, I pout. Never mind the 1728 songs in my music library. Gimme my talk Internet radio!

Pass this Award along to 15 recently discovered blogs and let them know about it!
Oy. I've been soooooo busy* I haven't even had time to read the blogs I discovered years ago, never mind found new ones. But Stacy has a really long, great-looking blog roll, so head over there and click on a few of those.

Since I can't predict which ones y'all will click on, I can't notify anyone of the award. But I task anyone who is interested with passing it along (or appropriating it!) on my behalf. Consider it a "found blog topic." :)

Happy reading!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*In case anyone was sad that they hadn't heard me whining in a while... I'm near deadline on Heavy Metal, facing the imminent release of TWO books (Behind the Scenes on October 31, Under the Moon on November 1) and all the attendant promotional obligation, working on work for two clients currently, with three more preparing to bury in an avalanche (not complaining, really!) and dealing with all the usual day job and family obligations that never seem to get lighter even when they really should. I'm grateful it's all relatively good stuff, and I'm maintaining the balance so far. But some things I love are suffering...like this blog, and keeping up with my far-away friends. :( I miss you!

Captain Jack (no, the other one), The Doctor, and Other Stuff

Want 20% of some of my erotic backlist AND off of Fight or Flight? Check out the sidebar for a link and discount code. This new store, eBook Eros, is also promoting marriage equality with a Free Books for Free States Drive. Check it out!

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I finally caught up on Torchwood. I know! I can't believe it took me so long, either. But I was disappointed at first. They got too caught up, I thought, in all the medical repercussions of immortality. That kind of dark, dismal "what-if" isn't my kind of thing in the first place, and it got a bit draggy.

(General discussion, no spoilers ahead)

And then there was the flashback episode. *guh* John Barrowman does intense like nobody's business, and I thought the casting for his lover was fantastic. With a 10-episode arc, though, I'd have preferred they got to the action a little faster, and had more Gwen and Jack and less not-Gwen-and-Jack. And there were a few threads not cleanly tied up, but I think they'll be taking those into the next season, so that's okay.

The ending was kind of brilliant. Not that I couldn't see it coming, but the *way* it happened... And again, I just love Gwen and Jack! The way they deal with everything is awesome.

~~~~~~

Speaking of brilliant... I'm loving Doctor Who this season! Some of the episodes have been haunting, lingering with me long after I watched them. The stand-alones have less impact and intensity, of course, but have still been great.

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I have a new cover! Look over there, to the right. I kind of snuck it on here last week, then didn't post anything new so you had a reason to come see it. My other book cover should be ready soon. Super excited for these releases!

Remember, in order to entice you into my high-stakes worlds, I'm giving away free copies of my books so you can give me a try without risk! You just need to sign up for my newsletter (see the link at the right). I promise not to inundate you with e-mails, just the occasional announcement. But I'll be giving away a book a week for 6 weeks, and right now, the odds of winning are pretty good. :)

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Football is back!  I save this one for last so my non-football fans can tune out. New England pretty much started where they left off last year, with the same strengths on offense and weaknesses on defense.

I warned Tony Sparano. During the Dolphins admittedly impressive first drive, when he was celebrating a completed pass like they'd just won the AFC Championship, that if he blew his wad in the first quarter, it would be a really long game. But he did, and it was, and they really couldn't go the distance.

I am going to go into mourning when Wes Welker leaves the team. Bigger than after Superbowl 42. Yeah, I said it.

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Oooh, I lied! Best for last! Entangled Publishing is making a big announcement tomorrow. Don't miss it!