My husband started an audio company and it took off like crazy, stealing a lot of my time because I’m the lucky devil who gets to solder all the circuit boards. The company name is Schiit. Yep, that makes my husband the SchiitHead. And he doesn’t even get mad when I call him that. So. Much. Fun!

If you’re an audiophile or know someone who is, you should check out this Schiit!

As you can see from the picture, I’ve got a new choker necklace…a vampire bite choker necklace…available in my ArtFire shop or from vampirebitechoker.com.

When Jen and I met in 1988, it was shortly after the Lost Boys was released. Y’know… ‘Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be a vampire.’ Anyway, I had a VHS copy that I swear we wore out because we watched it so much. Jen had to see it at my place because her mom wouldn’t let her watch R-rated movies yet. Eventually her mom made an exception for the Lost Boys because she saw how much we really liked the movie. I recall bringing the tape over to Jen’s so that her mom could watch it with us once.

Okay, why am I suddenly feeling old? That was only 22 years ago…

Ummmm…okay, so it’s been awhile since I first saw that movie and just had to, had to, had to have a jacket like the one Alex Winter wore as Marko. I dunno if it was the patches or the chains or what, but his jacket rocked my world. I still want one just like it.

But instead of tracking that one down and paying an outrageous sum for it (if it even still exists!), I have the one I made all those years ago. Well, I had the jacket already. I just went to town adding chains and rhinestones and all sorts of broken jewelry and stuff to it. The darn thing weighs 10 pounds now!

I worked on it all the way through high school. When Jen was into peace signs, I put one on a pocket. I was into infinity signs so naturally there’s a bunch of those on there. Our best bud Wendy was into ankhs so, that’s on a pocket. Carrie was exciting, so there’s an exclamation point on a sleeve. And Jen’s sister Laura…well…she inspired the question mark on the other sleeve. You’d have to’ve known us girls back then to really understand that jacket. But I still love it after all these years.

Through the 250 hours I put in on that thing, I taught myself how to attach all sorts of stuff to fabric…in several different ways, too. I tried all sorts of methods. Some worked far better than others.

Putting what I learned on that jacket to good use, I have made my vampire bite chokers reversible. Yeah. You can wear the bite on your left or on your right without having to unhook, unwind or untwist anything. Just flip the choker around and reclasp it around your neck. That’s it.

What I’m particularly enjoying is that while I’m making vampire bite chokers, I’m brainstorming about the next book in the Talisman Bay series. Without giving too much away, let’s just say that Jen and I are actively working on it and there’s more than one vampire…and a decent amount of biting going on.

Good golly, I’m getting excited just thinking about drafting the next scene. A big thing just happened after a couple smaller things which had an even bigger thing before them and right now, I gotta get everyone set for the beginning of the next big thing.

That wasn’t vague enough, was it?

I should quit teasing and go work on the scene so that the book can get finished sooner and ya’ll can read for yourself all the vampiry goodness…

In the mean time, check out my vampire bite choker at ArtFire and receive a Talisman Bay tote bag with your purchase, using coupon code TALISMANBAY during checkout.

The winner of the autographed paperback copy of the first book in the Talisman Bay series, Lover’s Talisman, a matching ribbon choker and bracelet set and a Talisman Bay tote bag is Melissa Keith!

Congratulations, Melissa!

Thanks to everyone who entered our contest. For those of you who didn’t win, you can pick up your copy of Lover’s Talisman and Forsaken Talisman at most any online book retailer in either digital or paperback. And you can pick up your very own ribbon chokers at Lisa’s Twilight’s Fancy Artfire shop.

Thanks for playing, and keep an eye on the blog. Hopefully we’ll have some writing news for you soon.

So rather than us telling you about Forsaken Talisman, we let the characters speak for us. If you want to know how each of the Shadow Walkers and other Talisman Bay characters feel about the happenings in Forsaken Talisman, head on over to our post on the Samhain blog and hear about it directly from them.

I met Lucy Monroe several years ago at a convention, and she’s one of the nicest, sweetest authors in the industry. She’s giving, she’s friendly, and she’s a huge supporter of romance. I’m proud to call her a friend. So when she mentioned she had a new release, I wanted to mention it here to share the news with all our readers.

Moon Craving
Feb 2010 – Berkley Sensation

ISBN-13: 978-0425233047
Children of the Moon Book 2

If it were up to him, Talorc—laird of the Sinclair clan and leader of his werewolf pack— would never marry. But when the king orders that Talorc wed an Englishwoman, the lone wolf is shocked to find his mate in the strong-willed Abigail. And after an intensely climactic wedding night, the two fiercely independent souls sense an unbreakable bond…

Deaf since childhood, Abigail hopes to keep her affliction from Talorc as long as possible. And for his part, he has no intention of telling her about being a werewolf. But when Abigail learns that the husband she’s begun to love has deceived her, it will take all of his warrior’s strength—and his wolf’s cunning—to win his wife back. And Talorc will have to face his biggest challenge yet: the vulnerability of a man in love…

Read an Excerpt | Buy the Book

Watch the Book Trailer

As a special thank you to readers, Lucy is giving away a prize pack of pamper yourself products and paranormal romance. All you have to do to enter is send an email with Moon Craving Contest in the subject line to moon_craving at yahoo dot com before February 28th, 2010. The drawing will be held March 1st and the winner will be announced on her blog at http://www.lucymonroeblog.blogspot.com.

Forsaken Talisman is available in a pretty new paperback (have you gotten your copy yet?), and we’re celebrating by giving stuff away. That’s the best way to celebrate, right?

We’re giving away an autographed copy of the first book in the Talisman Bay series, Lover’s Talisman, and a matching ribbon choker and bracelet set. All you have to do is head on over to our contest page and answer a few questions on the form for us.

So what are you waiting for? Have fun and good luck!

It’s been out of print for several years. It’s been completely rewritten with approximately 20,000 more words added. It’s got a shiny, gorgeous new cover. And it’s finally available in paperback again. Yay!

Nationally bestselling author Anya Bast gave us a great cover quote for this book, and I can’t thank her enough for it: “Forsaken Talisman is a romantic, action-packed adventure you won’t want to miss, filled with characters the reader will care about from the first paragraph. Ashleigh Raine delivers a thrilling story that will have you turning pages well into the morning hours.”

Forsaken Talisman, book two in the Talisman Bay series, is Dusty and Skylar’s love story, but you also get to spend time with many other characters you met in book one of the series, Lover’s Talisman, as well. More mysteries are unveiled, surprise relationships are evolving. If you haven’t read the series yet and you enjoy paranormal romantic thrillers with hot sex, we hope you’ll give this series a try.

Read the blurb and excerpts.
Buy at Amazon (currently 25% off)
Buy at Borders
Buy at B&N (currently 27% off!)
Buy at Book Depository (15% off and free shipping worldwide!)

I wish I could say that Lisa and I have been busy writing the last few months, but that would be lying. We’ve been busy working other jobs–putting in lots of extra hours because in this economy, we can’t say no to making much-needed money to pay the bills. Lisa now works at a costume shop where she’s been building costumes for a big-time movie that will be hitting theaters in summer 2011. I’m not sure if she’s allowed to talk about it so I won’t share any details here, but it’s been pretty exciting and we like to think of it as more research for upcoming Hollywood Heat stories we want to write. If you combine Lisa’s and my work hours over the last couple months, on average we’ve been putting in anywhere from 120-160 hours a week. I wish I could say I was exaggerating on that! We get up, go to work, and fall into bed after 12-18 hour shifts, often 7 days a week. But I refuse to see anything but the positive in that. Money is good. Getting out of debt is good. Life is hectic, but good.

We have a release this week–the new and improved, revised version of Forsaken Talisman is coming out in paperback. The official release date is tomorrow, so I’ll chatter more about it then, although you can find it shipping now on several online bookstores if you just can’t wait another day. The book looks absolutely stunning. I’m really impressed with the quality and the cover is beautiful on the print edition. Yes, I will fully admit I’ve hugged my copies more than once.

If you want an autographed bookplate for any of our print books, drop me an email. You can find the link to my email address on the About the Author page on our website. In the email let me know which print books you have and who you want the book autographed to and we’ll personalize it and mail it off. A lot of emails end up in spam, though, so if you don’t hear back from me, try again. We got hundreds upon hundreds of spam email a week, and I don’t want anyone to think they’re being ignored.

And since we’re talking about Talisman Bay…our workload is lightening up a little bit so this week we’re easing back into writing. Our editor, the amazing Anne Scott, has read the first 25,000 words of Eternal Talisman and she loves what she’s read so far. Getting that type of feedback is invaluable and lights the fire under us to get this book done. It’s been too long since we’ve had a new book out, and we know that readers have been waiting for-friggin’-ever for Eternal Talisman to release. It’s a guilt Lisa and I live with daily that we haven’t been able to write fast enough to get the stories to you that all of you have been demanding. Thank you to all the readers and fans who email us all the time letting us know that you’re excited about Eternal Talisman and our other future releases. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you for telling your friends and fellow readers about our books. Thank you for spending your money on our stories. We can’t do this without you. And we want to keep doing this for years to come.

If all goes well, Lisa and I will be back to a semi-regular blogging schedule within the next few weeks. If Lisa’s allowed, maybe she’ll talk about some of her experiences working in the costume shop, and the work she’s done as a background extra on several shows (including House, Big Love and others) over the last few months. I’ve been harassing her to type up her stories and post them because I love hearing about her experiences, so if you want to hear them, join in my harassing in the comments below. And next time she’s not working a 12-18 hour day maybe she’ll start posting them.

We’ll talk soon…and please, don’t be a stranger. Leave a comment or drop us an email. We love hearing from you! (And don’t forget to leave your comments harassing Lisa to tell her recent stories of her behind-the-scenes Hollywood life!)

The second chance winner of the Twilight’s Fancy necklace is…

Nyla Thompson!

Okay, Nyla, don’t be like Cherie and not email me and claim your prize. Email us with your postal address and we’ll send this gorgeous necklace your way ASAP. You have until Tuesday, November 17 to claim this necklace.

Now, before I announce the winner, I want to remind everyone that the winner has to email us within seven days–by next Monday, November 9–to claim your prize. If you don’t, your prize is forfeit and a new winner will be drawn. There were a ton of entries into this contest, so I know those folks who don’t win the first time won’t mind getting a second chance if you don’t claim your prize. It’s a good idea to pay attention if you want to win.

Now, without further ado, the winner of the Twilight’s Fancy necklace is…

…Cherie Corey!

Cherie, drop us an email with your postal address and we’ll send this gorgeous necklace your way ASAP. You have until Monday, November 9 to claim this necklace. If Cherie doesn’t email us in the allotted time, we’ll draw another name next week, so if you didn’t win now, check back after November 9.

Thanks for playing our contest, and keep an eye on our website. You never know when we’ll throw another contest or have news to share.

Hurray, today’s release day. Twofold Desires, previously only available in the anthology Things That Go Bump in the Night IV, is now available on its own from Ellora’s Cave. It’s sexy, it’s hot, it’s emotional, it’s fun…we hope you enjoy our shapeshifter menage with a twist.

For those of you who enjoy reading series (and we’ll happily admit, we’re series junkies), Twofold Desires is based in our Talisman Bay world. Watch for a cameo appearance from one of our Shadow Walkers early on in the story. Although Twofold Desires can be read as a standalone story, for those of you who keep close track of the stories and the world and want to read everything in exact order, this story takes place after Lover’s Talisman and Forsaken Talisman (both of which are now available at Samhain Publishing), and prior to Eternal Talisman–which we’re writing now.

And don’t forget to enter our contest celebrating the release of Twofold Desires for a chance to win a Twilight’s Fancy necklace.

Have fun and good luck!