Winner!

Sorry for the delay… my internet access was messed up yesterday and I’m on the road, so I had no recourse.

Anyway, without further ado, the winner is: lindsey

Congratulations! Email me at biancadarc at gmail.com and I’ll send out the ebook. Thanks for playing!

Contest Time!

In conjunction with the Paranormal Theme Day going on at Joyfully Reviewed’s Chat Group, I’m holding a little blog contest today. All you have to do to enter is post a comment to this blog post. I’ll put all the names in a hat and pick one winner at random to receive a PDF copy of my book, Forever Valentine. Please let me know in your comment what you think of the paranormal genre in general. You could talk about your favorite kind of shifter or whether you think the genre is overdone or not done enough… whatever! I’m just really curious as to your opinion on all things paranormal today!

Here’s a little bit about the book you might win…

“Forever Valentine” by Bianca D’Arc

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Read An Excerpt Online
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Red Hots!

ISBN: 1-59998-314-1
Length: Novella
Price: $3.50
Publication Date: January 16th, 2007
Cover art by Anne Cain

A Valentine’s date gone wrong marks the beginning of a love that will last for all time.

Jena knows about vampires, particularly about the one who watches her every step, lest she somehow reveal her knowledge to the mortal world. Ian Sinclair would be her executioner should she even try to share her knowledge, but she doesn’t fear him. No, Ian bothers her on an even more elemental level. He’s just too sexy for his own good—and hers.

Ian finds himself attracted to the all-too-mortal lady doctor, though he knows better. He’s been assigned to watch her, not seduce her, but seduction seems to be all he can think of when he looks at the gorgeous woman who works entirely too hard and has such sad eyes. He feels things he hasn’t felt in centuries when she’s around, including an unreasonable jealousy when he follows her on a Valentine’s date with one of her colleagues.

After the disastrous date, will they both be able to resist temptation when Jena invites the vampire in?

This is part of an ongoing series of related books. Sweeter Than Wine is part of the series, as is Lords of the Were. New stories in the series are in the process of being contracted right now — more information on that when it becomes available, so stay tuned!

Guest: Gia Dawn’s Newest

My friend, Gia Dawn, has a new release! She’s feeling under the weather right now, so I thought I’d give her a hand letting people know about it. Here are the details:

“Dunmore Rising” by Gia Dawn

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Genre: Historical Romance, Fantasy Romance

ISBN: 978-1-60504-052-3
Length: Novel
Price: 5.50
Publication Date: June 24, 2008
Cover art by Anne Cain

Love is mightier than the sword…

Sir Graham Dunmore is looking forward to competing in his first summer tournament—until he gets saddled with babysitting a prince in disguise, three fairy-godmothers he would much rather see fly back to where they came from, and a woman for a squire. Gone for years, Jiliana is now back in Westmyre, older, colder, with a lethal fighting skill that leaves him both impressed and intrigued.

Jili doesn’t recognize this sleek, well-trained man as the awkward friend from her youth. But seeing Graham again brings back painful memories of a brutal past. One that forces her to live a life of tight control, lest one slip unleash a deadly monster capable of hurting everyone in her path.

Yet as Graham patiently teaches her the arts of love, Jili has a glimmer of hope that she can finally control the killer that lurks inside her—until a ninja assassin begins to stalk the tournament.

With a heavy heart, she realizes Graham is going to need every skill she possesses to protect the prince—the very skills that could tear them apart forever.

Warning: This title contains cranky fairies, a gorgeous hero, and a heroine who just about kicks his ass… plus really sizzling sex told in naughty language.

Read An Excerpt Online

My Own Writing Challenge

It’s time for my own personal Writing Challenge. I need to write what’s known as a “partial” as soon as possible, so I’m setting a goal and hoping you’ll cheer me on a bit as I work toward making another of my dreams a reality (more on that, if/when appropriate - have I snagged your interest yet? LOL).

My New Dragon Book

words: 35,000 / 90,000 (39%)

I’m going to try to figure out how to get more than one progress meter to show on this blog - bear with me. I also am not sure how long the partial really needs to be except that it should be three chapters, synopsis and cover letter. I’m guessing altogether that’s somewhere around 15,000 words. (I could be wrong on that, and will adjust accordingly as I go along, if necessary.)

I have a lot on my writing plate this Summer. In addition to this new task that just cropped up a week or so ago, I also just finished the 1st round of edits on Jaci’s Experiment. I expect the 2nd round soon and will have to concentrate on that if we’re going to make our August 5th release date. (Not to worry - we’re on track.)

There’s also the third of my vampire novellas (Phantom Desires) to rewrite/expand. I put that on hold to go to Lori Foster’s event in Ohio and things have snowballed since then so that I haven’t gotten back to it yet. I think, as plans stand now, as soon as I get this partial off my desk, I’ll go gung-ho on that project to get that over and done and out of the way. It should only take a few days of work, so I’m not worried it’s an arduous task - I just need to find the time. Wish me luck! And if you’re working toward a goal in the next few weeks, feel free to post a comment about it - we can cheer each other on!

Things That Make You Go “What?”

Italy’s Carabinieri - a paramilitary police supposed to be elite - have now had to be told by a court to not have extramarital affairs. “What?”

According to Reuters:

Italy’s highest court has ruled that the nation’s paramilitary police, the Carabinieri, must not have extra-marital affairs to avoid sullying the force’s name.

The ruling stemmed from one Carabiniere’s appeal against a lower court ruling sentencing him to four months in jail for insulting and threatening to throw a desk at his boss, who had asked the policeman to break off an affair with a married woman.

Italy’s Court of Cassation agreed that any affair is a private matter, but noted that the military police were called to “exemplary conduct and could not bring discredit to the armed forces with extra-marital relationships.”

The Carabinieri, Italy’s gendarmerie, are the most prominent of several national police forces. Their motto is “Faithful through the centuries.”

(Reporting by Deepa Babington; Editing by Giles Elgood)http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080617/od_nm/lovers_dc_1

Excuse me — “faithful through the centuries?” Apparently not to their spouses. Sheesh!

New Cover: Jaci’s Experiment

It looks like the new cover for Jaci’s Experiment (releasing in eBook August 5th) is now official. What do you think?

Love… the grandest experiment of all.

As a young Alvian lab tech, Jaci knows her place in the orderly, emotionless society her race has established on the planet Earth. While preparing a batch of experimental skin patches, she is accidentally exposed to a gene-altering agent. In a matter of days, she’s assaulted with raw, primitive, forbidden emotions she has no clue how to handle. If her superiors find out, she’s a dead woman.

Her only hope is to seek help from the human test subjects held captive in pens below the city.

Before the aliens came, cousins Mike and Dave used their psychic abilities to their advantage in business dealings. Now they use them to stay alive, keeping a sharp telepathic eye out for ways to help themselves and others improve their lot…or escape. Their friendship with Jaci has always been more than simply captives and caretaker. Now that her DNA has changed, their shared resonance is the stuff of legend.

Inevitably, Jaci’s emotions expose her to deadly Alvian justice. Suddenly she’s in the race of her life, seeking the only safety she’s ever known…in the arms of her human Resonance Mates.

Creature Feature: Shapeshifters in Romance Fiction

Picking up where I left off when I last talked about cat shifters, today I’m contemplating the current popularity of shapeshifters in romance fiction. While werewolves are probably the most common and popular in romance fiction right now, there’s a lot of interest in other kinds of shifters as well. I, myself, have written dragon shifters (in The Ice Dragon and Prince of Spies) and a cougar shifter (Sweeter Than Wine).Here’s what Wiki says about shapeshifters: “Shapeshifting is a common theme in folklore, as well as in science fiction and fantasy. In its broadest sense, it is a change in the physical form or shape of a person or animal…shapeshifting involves physical changes such as alterations of age, gender, race, or general appearance or changes between human form and that of an animal, plant, or inanimate object…Shapeshifting may be used as a plot device, as when Puss In Boots tricks the ogre into changing into a mouse so he may eat him; it may also include a symbolic significance, as when the Beast’s transformation at the end of Beauty and the Beast indicates Beauty’s ability to accept him despite his appearance.”

I don’t think I’ve ever gone quite that far, though Lana’s discovery of Roland’s ability to shift from dragon to human form in The Ice Dragon does come as a bit of a surprise to her. I think it’s intriguing to find out there’s more to the person or animal one meets at the beginning of a novel. And the way those new revelations play into the story make it interesting and fantastical. Of late, I’ve really been enjoying writing a series of cat shifters in an urban fantasy setting that I hope to find a home for soon.

For some reason, cat shifters fire the imagination and make one think immediately of the pleasures of the flesh. Cats are sinuous, slinky and sexy, where wolves seem tough, mighty and all alpha. Cats on the other hand, have cunning, stealth, soft fur and a very sexy way of moving. Seems natural we romance writers would take them to our hearts and turn them into heroes and heroines in our flights of fantasy.

So out of curiosity, what’s your favorite form of shapeshifter, other than wolves? Dragons? Cats? Snakes? Sea creatures? What’s your take? Enquiring minds want to know!

Words of Wisdom from JK Rowling

If you haven’t heard it yet, check out JK Rowling’s commencement speech at Harvard here: http://harvardmagazine.com/go/jkrowling.html

She speaks about failure and imagination and it quite a good speaker. She also speaks of her early job at Amnesty International with heartwrenching power. I didn’t know that about her background. She talks about her college days with humor and eloquence as well. Take a listen. I think you’ll find it interesting. Especially if you’re a Harry Potter fan.

Lori Foster Weekend Wrap-Up

First, I have to thank Lori Foster for hosting such a lovely event. The hotel was fantastic. The people were great. The event overall was lots of fun! Thank you, Lori!!!

Let’s see… here’s a little of what went on…

Friday, I drove to Ohio. I hit a little rain early on and the newly-installed windshield wipers decided to flip right off my car! Ack!!! I pulled off the road and after some searching, found an AutoZone with a sympathetic guy willing to sell me a new set of wipers and put them on for me so they wouldn’t fall off. So that added an unexpected hour on to my trip, but I still got there in time. I saw my friends, Eve Vaughn, Selina Illyria and finally met Celia Kyle! I also ran into a bunch of folks I had met last year at Lora Leigh’s event, so we did a bit of catching up.

Then Saturday it was a whirlwind of activity. I met Sara Reinke for the first time and talked with a bunch of readers, including the amazing Valerie Tibbs and Jambrea - who now has a new official theme song - remember “Jam on it”? Just substitue “Jam-bre-a” - Jam J-Jam Jam Jambrea!   I spent a lovely evening having drinks and sharing stories with an ecclectic group including, among others, Barbara Vey and Joyce Ann from the Beyond Her Book Blog on the Publishers Weekly site and Dianna Love.

Sunday was breakfast in the hotel with Pam F. and her good friend, Pat, who is an inspiration! We saw Jacki Frank in passing, as well as JC Wilder and a slew of other great folks. I got to chat with lots of Samhain folks all weekend including Sharon Long/Maya Banks, Carolan Ivey, Gia Dawn, and a bunch of others. (I really should have taken notes!) And did I mention - Joy was there? From Joyfully Reviewed, of course. She didn’t wear the bunny ears at this event, but we all knew she was there. Oh! And Ali was there with her newly shortened hair (at least it’s way shorter than I remember from RT in Houston).

All in all, it was a fun weekend with lots of great company. I signed a bunch of books and learned a lot. A great time was had by all! And now I’m still on my way home, checking in from a hotel. I’ll post again when I get home. In the meantime, thanks again to all who participated in a great weekend!

Lori Foster’s Get Together This Weekend!

I’m heading to Ohio this weekend for the big shindig! It’ll be my first time at this event so please come by and say hello if you’re in the neighborhood.

Get details here.

I’ll try to post from the road, but I can’t guarantee I’ll have internet access or time! It’s also my birthday weekend, so I’ll be celebrating with a few hundred folks I haven’t met before… fun, huh?