Birthday Bash Winners Announced, and the release of Surrender, Book 3 in the Lethal Obsession Trilogy

Well, I'm running a little behind with this, but I've got two big announcements today.

First, the list of winners from my Lethal Obsession Birthday Blog Bash – we have ten different ladies who won prizes that included gift cards and free e-copies of novels and short story collections.

Second, tomorrow – March 11 – is release day for my newest novel, Surrender: Book 3 of the Lethal Obsession Trilogy. Initially, some of you may recall, the title was to be Enslaved, but turns out that all-powerful Amazon didn't like the title and refused selling it…on well, that's the life of an indie erotica writer.

Surrender will be featured on a short little blog tour beginning March 11 – and the first stop will be at the blog of author A.R. Von at http://dreamzofdragons.blogspot.com/ I'm posting a guest blog, along with a little promo about Surrender and the first-ever published excerpt from the novel. I'll be back tomorrow to talk a little more about the blog tour, but please make plans to visit http://dreamzofdragons.blogspot.com/ tomorrow.

And now, for the winners of the Lethal Obsession Birthday Blog Bash.

First, we have three ladies who have won an e-copy of one of my Lethal Obsession trilogy works. Either Lethal Obsession, Helpless, or Surrender – their choice!

Cassie Hoffman, Kyra Dune and Stephanie Calas are the winners in this portion of the contest.

Nicole Tetrev won an e-copy of the novel Second Chance Love by Jennifer Labelle.

Amy Bowens won an e-copy of the short story collection Reality in Each Fantasy, which was offered by author Lacey Silks.

Tonya Kinzer won an e-copy of Reality in Each Fantasy 2, also courtesy of author Lacey Silks.

And Jennifer Labelle won an e-copy of another Lacey Silkes collection, Reality in Mistresses Collection.

And Heather Hicks won an e-copy of Second Chance Love by author Jennifer Labelle.

And that brings us to the two gift cards, offered courtesy of authors Tonya Kinzer and Sarah Wallace.

Tammy Rammy wins the $10 gift card offer supplied by Tonya Kinzer and Amy Miller takes home the $10 Amazon card offered by Sarah Wallace.

Congratulations to the winners – I'll be supplying your contact info to the writers offering the prizes and they should be in contact with you shortly.

Thanks so much to the authors to took part in the Birthday Blog Bash and offered prizes, and most of all, thanks to all of you readers who stopped by and read some of the fascinating blog posts, excerpts and interviews supplied by the writers who took place in the tour.

Great authors and loads of prizes -- just around the corner!

As they say, time flies when you're having fun. Of course, it seems to fly when you're not having fun, too. Maybe not at that moment, but overall, the days and weeks and months and -- yes, even years -- slip by before you know it.

In just over two weeks, on Feb. 28, I'll mark the first anniversary of the publication of my debut novel, LETHAL OBSESSION. A great deal has happened in the past 12 months, some good, some difficult, but through it all I've been blessed that many of you have read LETHAL OBSESSION, and the follow-up, HELPLESS. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention an increasing number of folks are listening to LETHAL OBSESSION, as recorded by the supremely talented Karen Kruper -- for a review of the audio version, check out Guilty Indulgence Book Club.

In just a few weeks, on March 11, the third installment in the Lethal Obsession Trilogy, ENSLAVED, will be released.

It's taken longer than I anticipated to finish off the trilogy, and while I'm thrilled to be releasing the novel, I have to confess to a little bit of sadness. Even when I wasn't writing, LETHAL OBSESSION stayed with me, rolling around in my head. And while I was in the act of writing, I felt like I was working on it all the time -- in the shower, driving to work, even while at work (don't tell my boss), the story lines, the characters, demanded my attention.

Wrapping up the trilogy is a little bit like losing a friend. A few friends.

But enough sadness! We're here to celebrate, and I have some real-world friends who are going to help me commemorate the first year of LETHAL OBSESSION.

Beginning on Friday, Feb. 14, and over the following 14 days, 14 different authors will be appearing on my blog. Some will be writing about subjects close to their heart, others will be sharing information on their own work -- novel summaries, blurbs, even excerpts -- and I'll be interviewing some of the writers to give you a little insight into them and their work.

And there are some GREAT prizes available to everyone who wants to take part in a free contest -- novels, short story collections, gift cards. For full details on how to enter, enhance your chances to win, and to see a list of prizes (there are more than a dozen prizes), visit back here on Thursday (Feb. 13), or check out my Facebook Birthday Blog Bash event.

Along with all the give-aways, including copies of my novels LETHAL OBSESSION, HELPLESS, and ENSLAVED, the one that started it all, LETHAL OBSESSION will be available at Amazon for just 99 cents for the whole two weeks. (If you enjoy audio books, that means you can get the Kindle version AND the audio version for just $2.98!)

Now, here's a partial list of the prizes you can win. Come on back tomorrow and I'll list the authors who will be participating, and maybe a line or two about what they'll be doing.

As always, thanks so much for reading.
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Seven days and counting til the Big Blog Birthday Bash!

That's right, in just seven days I'm kicking off a two-week celebration of my first novel, LETHAL OBSESSION.

On Feb. 28, 2013, LETHAL OBSESSION went live, and it's been quite a year. I've had a few readers contact me, which really makes my day, and I've met some wonderful, supportive writers along the way, some that I count among my friends today.

In celebration of that publication birthday, I'm hosting a 14-day Big Blog Birthday Bash, with 14 different writers appearing on my blog, AND a chance for you to win some great prizes.

I'll give more details in a day or two, but keep watching this spot for announcements of who is participating and what prizes are being offered.

Don't miss it!

Free fiction and a chance to cavort with me and some lovely ladies?

Want free fiction? Want a chance to chat with me and some fans and friends in a private little online group? What about occasional prizes or swag, or the chance to see my work before anyone else in the world does?

Then come along and join my new and improved Street Team.

Nearly a year ago I formed the LETHAL OBSESSION Street Team for two main purposes. First, of course, was to help me get the word out about my debut novel, LETHAL OBSESSION, and later to help me with the sequel, HELPLESS.

Second, it became a chance for me to interact, on a somewhat more personal basis, with a few fans of my work, and to make a few friends. There are some great ladies in the group, people who have supported and encouraged me, and who helped me spread the word about my work.

In the latter part of 2013 I ended up with an impromptu hiatus, both from writing and working with the street team (details here and then a follow-up here if you want to see what happened). Thankfully, I'm back writing up a storm now and have a release schedule now for the third part of the Lethal Obsession Trilogy (March 11), as well as tentative release dates for additional works featuring some of the characters from Lethal Obsession (May and July) as well as an entirely new novel series I'll be starting in April, featuring the fictional character Deborah Tompkins, a small-time radio news director who finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation.

I also plan to have a collection of shortish tales that combine horror and erotica later in the year, as October approaches.

More details on all of that as the coming weeks unfold, but all totaled I'm looking at perhaps six novels or novel-length collections coming out in 2014.

For now, though, I'm looking to build a new Street Team, to get to know more fans and to get help in spreading the word about my work as it's released.

Thus I'm turning to you, dear reader, asking if you'd like to join the Shandra Miller Street Team?

What's in it for you?

Plenty of free fiction -- you all will get free copies of my new work, in some cases weeks before its released to the public. You can even have input into my fiction as a beta reader, or as I ask questions along the way while I'm writing. Heck, you might even get to name some of my characters!

You'll also get the chance to interact with some great people -- the ladies on my street team now are wonderful, helpful, and funny.

Third, I can't promise what form this might take (I'm on a tight budget at present), but along the way during 2014 I may have some chances at a few prizes for street team members, or some Shandra Miller swag that you'll all get for free.

Fourth, for those members who are writers, I'll do everything I can to help spread the word of your work -- tweet for you, share posts on Facebook, let you guest blog here on Shandra's Shadow World, whatever we can come up with!

And fifth, you get a chance to help little ol me -- and believe me, I can use all the help I can get. :)

Did I also mention plenty of FREE FICTION?

What does being on the Street Team mean for you? What am I asking in return?

Not a lot, actually. I will ask for beta readers occasionally as I work on my stories. I'll ask you all to help with retweeting some if you have a Twitter account, and for help sharing posts on Facebook -- not a lot, I don't want you to feel like you're spamming your friends with promos of my work. I'll also ask that as you read my work (remember, it's FREE for Street Team members) you leave reviews at Amazon, Goodreads, Smashwords, and Barnes  and Noble (don't worry, you can leave the same review at each place, so it's just copying and pasting).

And I might occasionally ask for advice or help in finding websites and blogs that might do reviews or promos of my work.

That's about it!

So, plenty of FREE FICTION, an opportunity to meet and get to know some great folks, a chance to help little old me get my writing into the hands of readers, and maybe even some prizes and swag!

What's not to like?

If you want to join my Street Team just click anywhere you see Street Team, that'll take you to the group on FB, then ask to join. Or send me a note and I'll sent an invitation.

Most of all, I want you to have some fun while helping me spread the word about my fiction.

Thanks for stopping by, and I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Shandra

Making my way back...and thanks to well-wishers

It's been well over a month since I last posted here, when I talked of my depression and related issues.

I had not planned to go this long without posting again, but, as I said in that Oct. 20 posting, I was still working with a counselor, trying to find my way back to some semblance of normal, of getting past the struggle to simply get out of bed.

I want to thank everyone who commented and gave me words of encouragement, both here and on Facebook and elsewhere. It means a lot to have that support -- several times over the past few weeks I'd go online just to read those comments.

I am much better now, though as any of you know who have had this condition, it's not the kind of thing one is ever cured of. I've been in counseling before, and I've learned over the years to recognize some of the triggers that can send me down again, and the signs I'm slipping, though this time around I've committed to staying with the counseling long-term, rather than thinking I could handle it on my own.

So, I'm making my way back, and I'm beginning to write some now, not just writing this and that as I fancy, but getting back to writing for publication. Working on the third installment of my LETHAL OBSESSION trilogy.

I hope to have some news on that front in a couple of weeks, and then to follow that up with new works over 2014.

I am doing much better now, though, and wanted to let everyone know I'm returning to the world, and so too will my writing -- for good or bad!

HELPLESS is ready for download and reading!

I won't say I feel like I've given birth -- while I have never given birth I've seen that way too up close and personal -- so I know writing and publishing a book is nothing like bringing a child into the world. Still, I do feel like I'm putting a little piece of me out there, something I've written and edited and revised and rewritten.

And now it's out there.

HELPLESS, Book 2 of he Lethal Obsession Trilogy is on sale!

What's it about? Here's a peek:

Detective Angela Martin returns to pick up the pieces of her life – and track down a killer – in the darkly erotic thriller HELPLESS, the sequel to the acclaimed erotica suspense tale LETHAL OBSESSION.

In LETHAL OBSESSION, Angela found herself in the clutches of a BDSM master who knew exactly how to control her body and mind, to make her feel pleasure – mingled with a hint of pain and submission – in ways she had never imagined. Then women started turning up dead in her town of Moose Creek, N.C., bound and tortured in ways eerily similar to what Angela's mysterious master had done to her.

Despite the danger to her life and career, Angela couldn't stop herself – she kept going back to him, ostensibly to learn more about him as she investigated the deaths, but in truth because she craved his touch, his control. She belonged to him, body and soul, though her devotion had tragic consequences.

In HELPLESS, she is working through the guilt of having killed, the grief of having lost, trying to rebuild her life and career. She is driven to seek out darker, more dangerous sexual thrills, even when the bondage killer, or a copycat, returns to Moose Creek.

Her life is complicated when a writer from a national publication shows up in her town, determined to do a series of articles on the bondage killer, and her life. The writer turns out to be more than expected, and this time Angela finds herself fighting not only for her career and life, but maybe to save others as well.

*****

As you no doubt know, given the title, HELPLESS is a sequel to LETHAL OBSESSION. If you haven't read LETHAL OBSESSION, I think you can still read HELPLESS and come away feeling as if you've read a complete story. But the characters, and some of the story lines, will be so much richer if you check out LETHAL OBSESSION first. If you've already read it, then jump right in to HELPLESS.

To download HELPLESS from Amazon, go here.

And from Barnes and Noble for your Nook, go here.

Smashwords will be coming soon.

To get a copy of LETHAL OBSESSION for your Kindle, go here.

To download to your Nook, go here.

And from Smashwords, go right here.

BONUS: If you want to hear a super sensual audio version narrated by the talented Karen Kruper, you can get the audio copy and the e-book of LETHAL OBSESSION, both for just $4.98 total, right HERE.

I hope you enjoy my work, and thanks for stopping by.

xoxo