A Bite Of... Bianca Sarble

Edible Delights Vol 2 is nearly here.  So, over the next couple of weeks, I am going to bring you snippets and sneaks into the world of the Edible Delights... And the authors.

Today I'm joined by Bianca Sable, author of Flavor of the Month.

 

Bianca, I see your friends Cate Gallagher and Patrick Garrett have arrived.  So, I'll let you take it from here!

Let’s delve into their relationships to see what we can learn about them... 

How did you meet?

C: I was having the worst day, and Patrick made it even worse by reversing into me with his car.

P: We hit it off right away.  

C: (groans)

What was the food item that caused your story to happen...  And how did it play an integral role in binding your relationship?

C: I was delivering a wedding cake when he demonstrated his exceptionally bad driving skills.

P: Darling, how many times do I have to tell you, I simply swept you off your feet.With my car. And yes, Cate is one of the most talented wedding cake makers in Sydney and I have to tell you, the Butterscotch sauce is to die for.

Image courtesy of  Rosen Georgiev FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Given that each couple in Edible Delights is a Happy Ever After, what will you do to celebrate your foodie anniversaries? (remember the blog is PG 13... :) )

 

C: We usually just go to a movie or dinner, but I always make Patrick his favourite butterscotch sauce.

P: And then I get to lick—

C: *Elbows Patrick* Watch it, there’s kids around.

P: What! I was just going to say I get to lick the spoon.

If I looked in your fridge right now, what would I find... and how does that describe your relationship?

C: We have a fridge full of fresh ingredients and some exotic. I’d guess you’d say that means we like to think outside the box and always mix things up a little.

P: And then there’s the whipped cream…

               

Champagne, chocolate and oysters... the food of love.  Which one would you share with your lover?

C: Ahhh…

P:  All of the above have had great success.

The one food you refuse to have in your house is... and why

                 

C: Mushrooms.

P: Since she’s the cook, mushrooms.

 Image courtesy of Jsmes Barker FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As a couple, compromise is big... what food type things have you had to compromise on? How have you dealt with it?

C: Takeaway food.

P: Cate never ate the stuff before I came along, but she works long hours so I said I’d do the cooking every now and then. When she tasted my cooking, she’s agreed to takeaway on those nights.

What does your future hold, do you think, for you as a couple?

C: Well, who knows?

P: *snickers* I do.

Do you see eating as a source of pleasure or a necessity to live?

C: *after giving Patrick a suspicious look* Both.

P: Definitely both.

What makes the best 'plate' to serve food – when not using a plate??

*Both answer at the same time.

P: This is PG13, right?

C: This is PG13, right?

Thanks for joining me on my blog.  

Include all links to where readers can talk to you...

Flavor Of The Month:

When Cate Gallagher thinks her day can't get any worse, Patrick Garrett comes along to prove her wrong. The sexy stranger awakens her long forgotten libido but she knows from past experiences his type is best avoided at all costs.

Patrick is sure the chemistry between them will set the sheets on fire, if only she would give him a chance. He hatches a seduction plan to show her exactly how right they could be. 

 
But getting the girl isn't the only obstacle to their Happy Ever After. Misunderstandings and assumptions bring their heat level to boiling point and threaten to scorch their love. 

 
Can Cate overcome her past and let Patrick show her she's not just the Flavour Of The Month?

Author Bio

Once upon a time, in a land called Australia, there lived a delightful young girl named Bianca who loved to read. As she grew older, her sarcastic tendencies and warped sense of humor became evident, as did her preference for raunchy romances. 

Now, as well as reigning over their 1/4 acre kingdom with the handsome Prince that stole her heart and feeding their ever-growing children, she not only reads everything she can, but pens her own deliciously sexy stories.

Where can readers find you?

Facebook    Website     Twitter     Blog

A Bite Of... Kate Belle

Edible Delights Vol 2 is nearly here.  So, over the next couple of weeks, I am going to bring you snippets and sneaks into the world of the Edible Delights... And the authors.

Today I'm joined by Kate Belle, author of The Banquet.

 

Kate, I see your friends James and Sheba have arrived.  So, I'll let you take it from here!

Let’s delve into their relationships to see what we can learn about them... 

How did you meet?

J:     When I saw Sheba’s photo in the newspaper years ago, I knew she was something special. All that long red hair, her sexy eyes. I was determined to meet her one day. I booked in the moment I heard about the launch of her cookbook ‘The Devil’s Kitchen’ at the Sydney Writer’s Festival. I stood in that line for over an hour, letting other people in front of me so I’d be the last to meet her. I had a gift for her. A gift I hoped would arouse her interest in me.

S:    (laughs) Ah, James. So sweet. When I first saw him I felt so sorry for him. Imagine a man being born with a face like that? Really, everything is in the wrong place. I thought he was just another dazed fan until he handed me his little gift. Once I tried what was inside, I saw him with different eyes.

What was the food item that caused your story to happen?

J:             I spent years perfecting Sheba’s dishes and researching the aphrodisiac ingredients she used.  Her recipes saved me from a life of celibacy, you know. She’s a magician with food. I followed her passion and created a seductive dish. It never failed to arouse women. Once I’d perfected it, I had to try it on Sheba.

S:            Ah, James’ piece de resistance! What a dish. I had to know what was in it. I couldn’t have a little cook like James running around with a recipe that belonged in my books. But I suspect he tricked me when he finally submitted to me and divulged the ingredients. I could never replicate his version of it.

  Image courtesy of -Marcus- FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If I looked in your fridge right now, what would I find... and how does that describe your relationship?

J:             I cook for a living, so my fridge is always full of left over’s from my little restaurant. I’m never without a few of Sheba’s favourite ingredients. I like to be able to whip one of her recipes up on short notice. And I always have a stock of my special dish, you never know when it might come in handy (grins cheekily).

S:            (laughs) I doubt you would recognize much in my fridge. I like to experiment with exotic ingredients. Imported and very expensive – of course.

Champagne, chocolate and oysters... the food of love.  Which one would you share with your lover?

J:             A prospective lover deserves nothing but the best. All of them.

S:            They might be entrée. I prefer to make myself the main meal.

The one food you refuse to have in your house is... and why

J:             Brussell sprouts. I was raised on them. I can’t bear to even look at them.             

S:            All food is welcome in my home if it is fresh or professionally prepared. I can’t abide by the rubbish that fills most of the supermarket shelves. Commercially made jams, canned vegetables and Vegemite - what god awful stuff– urgh!

 Image courtesy of -Marcus- FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What does your future hold, do you think, for you as a couple?

J:             I’d do just about anything to be with Sheba forever. She’s so completely dazzling. If I was a wizard I’d slip her a love potion.

S:            Couple? James and I…? (titters) You are old-fashioned! James and I have a modern relationship. We are colleagues with a powerful interest in each other’s, err, culinary abilities.

Do you see eating as a source of pleasure or a necessity to live?

James & Sheba together: Pleasure, of course!

J:             Food is the path to many, much greater pleasures. (smiles goofily at Sheba)

S:            Eating and pleasure are one and the same. There is no difference between them.

What makes the best 'plate' to serve food – when not using a plate??

J:            I think I’ll leave that question to Sheba.

S:            Read The Banquet and find out!

Thanks for joining me on my blog. 

J: Thanks for having us Imogene!

S:            Will someone call my car?

The Banquet:

Unattractive and lonely James is a chef and restaurant owner who is obsessed with Sheba, a sexy celebrity chef famous for her aphrodisiac recipes which have saved James from a life of involuntary celibacy. James has studied Sheba’s recipes and created the ultimate in aphrodisiac desserts – chilli and rose infused chocolate – a recipe that never fails to lure women into his lonely bed.

James takes the opportunity to meet Sheba at a book signing during the Sydney Writers Festival and woos her with a gift of his chocolates. Sheba finds James’ special dessert irresistible and exchanges a night of pleasure for the recipe. Two months later James receives an invitation to Sheba’s annual banquet, a mysterious event everyone who’s anyone in the hospitality industry is aware of but knows little about. Nervous and out of his depth, James attends and is introduced to a world where the boundaries between food and sex are entirely blurred.

Author Bio

Kate writes dark, sensual contemporary women’s fiction. She lives, writes and loves in Melbourne, juggling her strange, secret affairs with her male characters with her much loved partner and daughter, and a menagerie of neurotic pets. She holds a tertiary qualification in chemistry, half a diploma in naturopathy and a diploma in psychological astrology. Kate believes in living a passionate life and has ridden a camel through the Australian desert, fraternised with hippies in Nimbin, had a near birth experience and lived on nothing but porridge and a carrot for 3 days.


Where can readers find you?

Facebook    Website     Twitter    

Basics For Authors

Okay, I have to admit, I'm not the world's most organised author.  Actually, truth be told, I'm pretty cruddy at being organised.

What? You're the same? Cool... I think most of the cool kids are like that... But there are some basic things we do need to do as authors.  Here are a couple that I'm actually pretty good at.

Contracts

My office is constantly awash with papers... Drafts of works in progress (I'm a paper girl!) Invoices from my business, orders, notes and research. Yes... they constantly wade in and around my desk.  But I actually have a very organised filing system for my contracts.  It works for me...

I have one folder just for my contracts.  Each Publisher has a divider and sitting just behind that, but in front of all the contracts, is a quick glance list.

On that list is the name of the work, the date the contract was signed, the ISBN, the actual release date, the contract termination date and the formats available in.

Here's a pic of one of the pages.

Behind each is a copy of every completed contract.  Each is tagged with a colour tab so easy to find and refer to.

 I keep that folder on one of my bookshelves with my personal and reference books.

Why do I keep all this stuff? It is important to know this information. Why? Just imagine a contract dispute. You need to be able to find the details and see the relevant information at a glance.

Imagine if you lost a copy of a contract and needed to work out the termination date? Was it from the date of execution of the contract or from publication. Was it a 2, 3 or 5 year contract?

Royalties

The other things we need to keep is a folder to do with the money side of things. Being an Aussie, we have to have copies of the 1066 for the AT0 (Australian Tax Office), if you deal with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) you need to have either an EIN (Employer Identification Number) or ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number)

You also need somewhere to keep track of your payments from your publishing house (royalty payments)

What you should keep: A printed copy of each royalty statement, a copy of any 1066 or tax declaration form. The actual copy of the ITIN certificate or EIN certificate.  I also keep a running tally sheet of what are the projected royalty amount PER TITLE inside my folder. This helps me to keep track of the amounts that should be paid in.

However many copies sold x Royalty according to vendor = Correct payment amount

This makes it easier to go back if there is an inaccuracy in the document and to query it with the publisher.

Your Works

The last item is, of course, personal.

I like to keep a printed copy of the final document in a folder and I usually keep a single backed up copy on hard disk, carefully stored in perpetuity.

Like I said, I'm not the most organised person I know, but I certainly see it as important to keep track of those all important legally binding documents.

So how do I keep organised?

As each contract comes in, I print and file immediately and fill out the information that I have. Some of this only becomes apparent once it has been published... if there is an unknown or changing publication date, if the ISBN isn't assigned until the last minute. But everything I have goes into the folder as soon as it is finished. (Signed, returned etc)

The same with royalty information. As soon as it is received, I print it and slip it into the correct section of it's file after checking the amounts against the Novelrank statistics etc.,

A good calculator will help you check if your payments are correct. If there are any queries, then you can immediately email your publisher to ask for clarification.

Being organised and on top of everything is the author's job, as much as the publishers.  By being organised and following through, you make filing your tax simpler and you don't have to scrabble around at the last minute looking for the paperwork to submit. It also makes everyone so much happier!

Good luck with your trip to publishing! It's well worth the ride! 

I hope this has helped somewhat in know what are the most important documents we all need to keep.

Imogene

Life On The Beack Blog Hop

Beachwalk Press is 2 years old and so we, the authors wanted to celebrate.  Hence, the  Love On The Beach Hop was born! This is our opportunity to show you a little about out lovely Beachwalk Press authors.

For me, though, my reason for choosing Beachwalk Press was a bit of an adventure. As many of you would know, I had previously been with another publisher, but when you sell a series to one house, you are always wondering ... Is this really a fluke? Well, that was something that went through my mind.

So I started asking around... I was scared and nervous. After all, I'd only had limited experience and there was so much more out there to learn and experience.

So after asking different authors lots of questions, I had a short list of 3 houses I was interested in ... Beachwalk Press were highly recommended.  I asked a heap of questions... Let me tell you, everybody I spoke to said the same thing.  They are a good boutique house. They do limited releases, which means they can spend a lot of time on getting it right. They support their authors. 

So with a great deal of trepidation, I sent off my manuscript to them.  I have to admit to a bit of screaming and a fair dose of delight when they took The Plan on.  I was over the moon.

So without further chatting... here is a sample of The Plan (psst... I'm giving away an ebook copy of this title at the end... so read it all the way through ;) )

And if you ask me do I regret submitting to them?  No Way!  In fact, I have another release, possibly coming out in November 2013 coming with them.  

A Bar In Paris

When you're an Aussie living in London and single... what do you do on your 30th birthday? You treat yourself to a long weekend in Paris, hunting for commitment-free sex... right?

Only, things don't go quite to plan.

More details coming soon!

The Plan by Imogene Nix

What happens when a former orphan, now illegal parts runner Kadie Frost falls for the new head of the Department of Authority?
Jonah Fielding has been brought in to clean up the department on Centauri, but in the course of his work, he also captures Kadie, the sprite who got away.
But what happens when work and pleasure collide?

Excerpt:

The man that arrested her, Captain Jonah Fielding, she had heard of. A straight man, everyone agreed. He didn’t associate with the old, corrupt Authorities. But at this point that’s cold comfort. How can I possibly explain that I have nothing else except my little Sugar Plum Fairy and that’s why I took the chance? Her stomach rebelled and she dry heaved right there in the cells as catcalls and laughter from other prisoners filled the air. Thank the Lights at least I am in a single cell. Her head ached brutally and she wavered slightly, waiting for Captain Fielding to send for her.
“Kadie Frost? Captain Fielding wants to see you.” The clank of the cell door told her someone was coming; she struggled to her feet, lifting tired, sore eyes.
A young man, little more than a boy really, with a freshly pressed uniform marched in, unfastened her from the restraint loop, and pulled her out the door and into an anonymous corridor.
Hoots and hollers met her ears as she allowed herself to be paraded down the long walkway. As if cattle in a moon-cow yard, she thought, closing her eyes as the Authority man pulled her toward a heavy, metal door at the end of the corridor. He stopped there and she opened her eyes, reading the sign on the door.
Interrogation Room One. What a great name, she thought snidely. Really inventive.
The door opened slowly and she was quickly thrust inside. The door snapped shut behind her as she looked around the bare room. A table and two chairs sat, scarred and ugly, in the middle of the floor. The metal was cold and glittering in the cool air as the air circulators pushed currents around the frigid room. She made her way over and sat down, waiting for the captain to enter. Her head drooped to the table and she let it rest, seeking the refreshing cool on her overly hot skin.
Her hands stung and her eyes burned. She felt sorry for herself as she thought about the mess she had gotten into, and she turned her stinging hands to check the damage. They were bright red and radiated heat. The deep scratches were swollen and weepy; sticky drops of goop coated the raw skin. Never a good sign, she already knew that.
“Kadie Frost?”
She started. Obviously, the woolly, heavy feeling in her head had overtaken her and she had dropped off to sleep as she waited. Her skin burned against in the coolness of the room.
“That’s me.” Her head hurt viciously, but now she realized her throat burned too.
“Captain Fielding is my name. I believe you and I can discuss BXM parts?” He lifted an eyebrow and she noted the captain had the most amazing blue eyes she had ever seen, teamed with long, black hair fastened at the back of his neck, high cheeks, and impossibly chiseled features. He had full, pink lips that would make a woman cry when they moved over hers. Huh? Where did that thought come from?
She blinked, dazed by the thought, and considered her plan of attack. “What? Oh, the BXM parts.” She swallowed and felt the razor blades she was sure were in her neck slashing from the inside which then proceeded to burn. “They aren’t mine. They never were.”

 To purchase, click on this link

How to enter The Plan giveaway!

Okay, to win a copy of The Plan, this is what you need to do.  Tell me simply WHY you want to win a copy.  I read EVERY entry, so please... Make sure you follow my simple request :) 
Make sure you leave your EMAIL address with your comment.

I will email the winner and let them know on the 15th July.  

Please also go visit the other author pages, as they also have individual prize.

The winner is chosen from the group of Eligible Entries.

And to really top it all of!  (And how amazing is this?) Beachwalk Press have funded the following prizes...

The grand prize is a Kindle Paperlight!

Additional prizes include:
* A beach tote bag filled with Beachwalk Press print books (winner's choice of 5 print titles)
* Two gift certificates of $25 each (winners' choice of GC from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or All Romance Ebooks)

CLICK on this image to visit the list of participants.

If that doesn't work, enter this url into your browser: http://bit.ly/18E1pmG

Good luck and happy hopping!

Imogene