Friday, December 28, 2012

Happy New Years from Anna J. McIntyre!


As we head into 2013, I thought it was time I gave this blog an update for the New Year. Have a look around; you'll see by the links under the top banner that I’ve added some pages.

I’m current writing the second book in my Sensual Romance Series. Like the first book in the series, After Sundown, it is a standalone story that brings the reader romance, sexual tension and a happy ending.

I haven’t found my title yet, but the story is about a famous rock star, who has grown weary of the attractive female fans breaking into his hotel room and climbing into his bed uninvited. What he need is some time alone, which is not easy, considering he has one of the most recognizable faces in the country and paparazzi are perpetually camped outside his door.

He manages to find a cabin getaway, where he plans to spend time alone and work on his music.  What he doesn’t expect is a blizzard, or finding himself trapped alone with an attractive young author.

Yet the biggest surprise comes when the reclusive author really has no idea who he is, isn’t a fan of his music, nor is she terribly impressed with the rock star.

If you have a great idea for a title, I would love to hear it!

Hope you have a wonderful New Year's Eve, and don't forget to get a designated driver, if you plan to go out and  enjoy some holiday cheer.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The Senator's Secret


Unbeknownst to Kim she holds the key to the Senator's secret. 
Will she unravel the mystery before someone else dies?

Sixteen years earlier, 18-year-old Kim Myers left her hometown to start a new life away from her reclusive mother – and away from Adam Keller, the high school sweetheart who got her pregnant.

Kim returns when her mother and Senator Harrison Coulson are murdered. Aside from the fact the senator is Adam’s step-uncle, there seems to be no connection between the two victims.

Back home, nothing is really as it seems. Untangling the web of lies will forever alter Kim’s life and change the course of the powerful Coulson family.


The Senator's Secret - Look for it before September 2012

Monday, August 6, 2012

Lesson's New Book Description


After losing her beloved husband in a car accident, Alexandra must now raise her teenage son alone. Coming to terms with life as a single mother is difficult enough, yet now she must face the sins of her past when Garret Coulson returns to town.

Grandson of the town’s founder, the wealthy and powerful Garret Coulson fell in love with another man’s wife, resulting in a self-imposed exile. With that man dead, Garret can return to claim what should have been his.

For ten years, Alexandra has kept the secret of her infidelity. The fact she is now a widow does not make that secret any less painful to reveal. Some secrets have the power to shatter lives - yet sometimes they heal hearts.


Saturday, July 14, 2012



Preview of the cover from Anna J. McIntyre's The Senator's Secret, the second in The Coulson Series.

Look for The Senator's Secret late Summer 2012.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Half a book - FREE

Over on Goodreads, I started offering half of Anna J. McIntyre's Lessons for FREE. I wanted to give readers more than a typical excerpt.

I woke up yesterday to a new review on the book - from someone who downloaded the excerpt, and then read the book.

The reviewer wrote: 
Bought and read the entire book, it was very passionate, a great love story.


To download the free version (the first half of the book) click on the photo to the left.

Friday, June 15, 2012

The Senator's Secret

The first round of beta readers have read my newest book, The Senator's Secret. I am thrilled with the response so far. One of the readers was already familiar with the story, as I'd discussed the plot line with her, and bounced off ideas. The second beta reader, only read Lessons, and other than that, didn't know what the new book was about.

I am thrilled to report she loved the twists and turns of the plot - and was unable to figure out who-done-it. She made one recommendation, on strengthening one of the characters, which I will do, before sending off to the second round of beta readers.

The book then goes to the Editor.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Yes, I screwed Up....

It doesn't matter how many beta readers you have, how great of an editor you hire, or how careful you are when making revisions - there will be mistakes.

Earlier this week I found one in Lessons. It was a biggie. The very first word, in the book was misspelled. Well, maybe misspelled is not quite accurate. The main character is Alexandra, which is the first word in the story. Guess what I did - yep, I typed Alexander.

And no one caught it. Perhaps some reader out there saw it, but none commented on a review, or sent me an email. I read that page hundreds of times - I even listened to it using Microsoft Reader.

I did a control+F on the file, and found three places in the story where Alexander was used instead of Alexandra. The other two were also overlooked.

So, I immediately made the corrections, and uploaded the files. The new version is showing up on the preview of the Kindle version, yet not on the paperback. I understand it takes over a week for the preview to reflect the new file - yet if someone orders a paperback, it will be the new file.

If you have an eBook of Lessons, you should be able to upload the corrected version, and get rid of those pesky Alexanders.

On a happy note, last week I finished the first draft of The Senator's Secret, which is the sequel to Lessons. It is currently off to the first round of beta readers.

It  is a murder mystery - romance, and I'm very happy with how it turned out. Much less sex in this new book - but it is a different story. I don't think Lessons could be told, without the sex scenes.


Sunday, April 1, 2012

Book Trailers

I uploaded my video preview of Lessons on YouTube today. Yet, it insists on showing this random image from the video as the first image. I've tried changing it - I even deleted the video and reloaded, selecting the image I wanted to show up.

But, as you can see, it didn't work. I tried another edit, but is says it will take a few days before the image changes. We will see.

As for calling it a book trailer - book trailer is trademarked, according to several sources, and if the company holding the trademark didn't create the video, it can't be called a book trailer.

As to the terminology, let's call it a video preview. I hope you enjoy the show!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Priorities

I’ve been taking a break from writing and blogging. Our daughter and 22-month-old granddaughter are visiting from Alaska for 3 ½ weeks. They return home next week, and I will be sad to see them go. We’ve so enjoyed their visit, and bonding with our precious granddaughter.

I’m grateful I have a job that allows me to take off a few weeks – and still generate income – while I enjoy those things in life that are most important.

But when they leave, I will return to The Senator’s Secret, which I hope to have released in time for summer.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Censorship and PayPal

I’ve been blogging the last few days – under my real name – regarding the recent PayPal censorship of Smashwords and various eBook distributors and indie publishers.

It amazes me the number of bloggers that dismiss the banned topics as trash - not worthy of concern. None seems to consider for a moment that the banned topics are found in countless novels – by noted and respected authors.

I recall reading Ann Rice’s Sleeping Beauty trilogy a number of years ago. Those books would defiantly be on the naughty list.

Yet even Lessons, which is mainstream romance, with some steamy scenes, might find itself banned, if one rigidly applied PayPal’s rules.

Lessons touches on various moments of Alexander’s life – including when the teenage Alex allowed a boyfriend to get into her pants the first time– and when her eventual husband got to second base, when she was still in high school.

Anyone with a lick of common sense would read the story and realize the intimate scenes between her and her boyfriend were included not for titillation purposes, but as an element of plot development.

The problem - does Paypal have a lick of sense? And if someone who didn’t like me for some reason notified the powers that be that Lessons included underage sex (okay, they didn’t go all the way) – would I get banned and tainted with the nasty brush?

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Book Reviews

It is always exciting to get a review from a reader, especially when that person isn’t a personal friend, relative, or mutual friend of someone I know. When a total stranger takes the time to write a review – and the review is positive, it is a great feeling.

Over on Smashwords a reader identified as Tony Spencer wrote about Lessons: I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the main and subsidiary characters well drawn and interesting. True lives can be quite messy and so this story felt very real. definitely worth taking the time to read the free preview and could be very rewarding if, like me, you are drawn in to read the rest. I will keep an eye out for other works by this author.

Thank you Tony Spencer. You made my day. :)

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Sex Scenes and Readers

I've a dear friend who is an avid reader, yet she isn't big on romance novels. While I told her about Lessons, I didn't encourage her to read it. I saw her last week, and it turns out she got the book for her Nook, and read it. She told me she wants to read the next book, based on the same characters, yet confessed, the adult scenes made her a bit uncomfortable - especially knowing I wrote them. It was similar for my daughter, who skimmed "those scenes" - while my mother tells me she really didn't think about me when she read the book, as she got into the characters and the stories.

Those scenes weren't added to titillate the reader - they are actually an integral part of the story.

Monday, January 23, 2012

I Feel the Power

Seems as if the Smashwords website is now working again.  For several days the page numbers were missing at the bottom of the search pages, only allowing you to see one page of search results. I suppose I could claim the credit for fixing the site - as yesterday's blog post was a plea to Smashwords and Mark Corker to fix the problem. :)

Well, it probably wasn't my post...but I am happy it is fixed!







Sunday, January 22, 2012

Smashwords Website Having Problems?

I wonder, is anyone else having problems with the Smashwords website?? Mark Coker are you listening?

It has to do with the search feature. When I go to search for a title, it only shows one page of results - the link that take you to more titles that qualify has vanished. For example, if you are looking for Romances, it will only show about 10 titles, and you can't access number 11 in the search.

This happens when I use Firefox, Explorer, and on both my laptop and desktop.

I intended to send Smashwords an email about the problem, yet, the link that once took me to the page that allowed me to send emails to Smashwords is no longer live. It simply takes me back to the same page.

So if you are listening Mark Corker...please fix the site!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Killing off Characters

Today I received an email from a reader who had purchased Lessons, and was just about finished with the book. She wrote, “God I hope you are going to kill Emily off!” And then went on to tell me she was enjoying the story.

I had to laugh because that is the same thing my sister said after reading Lessons, when she learned my next book, based on the characters, was a murder and romance.

I won’t tell anyone Emily’s fate, but she is returning in The Senator’s Secret.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Valentine Day Promotion

 Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and what better time for an adult love story!


To celebrate Valentine's Day, I'm offering a $1 OFF discount coupon on the eBook (if purchased at Smashwords) and the print version (if purchased at CreateSpace.) Simply use the discount codes offered at the end of this email. They are good through Valentine's Day 2012.

Buy the eBook at Smashwords, available in most eBook formats. For your Nook, Kindle, iPad, Sony Reader and more. Click here and use coupon code ZG88V


Buy the paperback at CreateSpace.  Click here and use coupon code 7ZB55AP2

Thursday, January 12, 2012

I Murdered Two People

Well, not people exactly. More like characters from Lessons. Won't say who I killed off, you need to read Lessons first and then wait for the second book, The Senator's Secret.

True, the first book started with a death, but it wasn't murder. I'm already into the second chapter (first draft) of The Senator's Secret.

If I didn't have to do other projects to pay the bills, I would devote all my time to the new book. I have the story worked out in my mind, and I know where I'm going, and I'm looking forward to diving in completely.

Hope you join me on this journey.

One more thing - if you happen to be reading Lessons don't kill yourself trying to figure out what state Coulson is located in. All you need to know is that it is located in the southwest. As mentioned in a previous post, the town was inspired by Lake Havasu City, Arizona - yet my sister saw some of Mammoth, California in the story. She happens to live close to Mammoth.

The Senator's Secret starts out in Arizona (where I live now), then takes the reader back to Coulson, which, by the way, is not in Arizona.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Am I a Bully??

I’ve been away from my blogs for a few days, getting caught up as the holidays end and the New Year begins. Lessons is now available in paperback and hardback. I’ve updated my links to the right of the blog, listing the links where you can purchase a copy of Lessons, in your desired format.

It’s exciting to hear back from readers. One told me she cried at one part of the story – which happened to be the same chapter where my mother cried.

Since making them cry made me feel good, does that make me a bully???