Author Archives

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February updates

I keep coming to my blog with the intention of updating but as soon as I click on new post and the little box comes up my mind immediately blanks and I can think of nothing to write about, no matter how many things I come up with through the day. Today is probably no different because my brain has turned to sludge and is oozing out my ears. It’s been crazy busy since the release of Winter’s Heart – mostly with darling daughter’s dance. Her first competition is coming up this weekend so there have been extra rehearsals, which is really cool since we get to see the other dances. The dancers at the studio are amazing.

Also, as stated previously, my brain is sludge. I keep opening up my Darkness Falls files, hoping desperately to wrap that story up because it is SOOOO close to the end, and nothing. Okay, maybe a sentence or two a day, which is practically nothing. Hopefully after this weekend the Muses will start talking to me once again and Darkness Falls will find its voice. Sometimes I am tempted to scrap the whole thing and begin again from a completely different direction but there are parts of Darkness Falls that are not so easily gotten rid of. So I sit and eat my Dove chocolate and stress over it.  🙂

Anyway, the giveaway for 3 hard copies of Winter’s Heart is still going on over at Goodreads:

Winter’s Heart giveaway at goodreads…

Winter’s Heart the complete novel:

Winter's Heart interiorAnd because it’s too cool not to share, my daughter’s awesome shirt (found at freshbrewedtee.com):

FOTB3A0 WP_20140221_010She likes saying to all of her non-Whovian friends: “I’m sorry you don’t understand my Doctor Who reference. I’m so, so sorry.”

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Winter is HERE

http://www.amazon.com/Winters-Heart-A-C-Warneke-ebook/dp/B00ICUPD2A/

Winter's Heart ebook

Winter’s Heart is here and the correct version is up and I got the publication date that I wanted even though I didn’t know I wanted it until I hit the publish button: 2/10/14.I’ve been publishing for two years and Winter’s Heart is the tenth book I published. What is even cooler is that I published my first book (Darkness Comes) two years ago on 2/10/12 and I hadn’t known until yesterday when I was looking at my dashboard waiting for Winter’s Heart to go live.

You can have Winter for $2.99 or you can wait because he will be free Valentine’s Day weekend: 2/14/14-2/16/14. Because everyone needs a little Winter loving. Also, the aforementioned Jodi has directed me to a site that will make up a ton of t-shirts if enough people order (and pay) for them. It’s sort of like kickstarter but it’s a t-shirt marketing campaign and I’d like to gauge the interest before I start one because you need 50 people to have the t-shirts made. They’d be $10 plus s/h (which was like $4 Us and $7-10 international.) Let me know if you’re interested in the comments below or on facebook. The design I have right now is:

shirtFront

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Winter is coming!!!!

It has been a crazy month and there haven’t been a lot of posts because Winter took over my life and now he is almost ready to come. The cover has been made, the blurb has (finally) been written, the dedications and acknowledgements have been written, I have Winter’s Heart bookmarks AND stickers, and I have heard back from most of my Beta readers so Winter will be available before Valentine’s Day. The last post non-Winter post I had was written on January 17th and re-reading it is a little strange because three weeks later, the Muses’ book is ready to publish while poor Darkness Falls has been temporarily pushed aside yet again. If you click on the image you will be able to read the blurb. I had an alternative blurb stanza but it gave away the antagonist. 🙂

Winter's Heart

The finished book is 116,200 words but the words fly by and it feels much shorter because it’s just that much fun. Well, if you enjoy exceedingly hot, sexy times with a gorgeous hero and a slightly warped sense of humor. Winter’s Heart contains: strong language and mild to medium kink, more extreme than some will be comfortable with, pretty vanilla to those who are into hard core BDSM, but just perfect for those who fall in love with Winter.

If you want a chance to win a paperback copy, you can head over to goodreads and enter the drawing there: Winter’s Heart giveaway

And if you want a little bit more, the first review is up: Paris’s review

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts!! Leave a comment here or on facebook ❤

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Winter’s Heart cover reveal

This book is the reason I was having difficulty writing Darkness Falls. For weeks there was this… blockade in my head with something pulsing (pushing?) against it. I knew there was a story behind it but I had NO access to it, just the knowledge that it was there. When I stalled in Darkness Falls, I put that book aside and decided to write  a different story that I was thinking about. Before I could do that, I went back to a story I started a few months back (I had 22,000 words) but I had slammed into a wall and put aside. Anyway, I read it, giggled, and got to the part that made me crash and, though it pained me, I cut almost 2,000 words. And then the gates opened up and the story vomited itself all over the place and it was all I could do to keep up with the Muses’ screaming (they don’t scream in words, they scream in white noise. Literally.) It’s been an insane two weeks: 90,000 words of insanity. When I wasn’t typing, I was writing down scenes for what was going to happen. When I wasn’t writing, I was trying to sleep (not easy when the Muses kept whispering in my ear. My notes during this time are indecipherable because they were written in the middle of the night, in the dark, by a zombie) or take care of the house (yeah, that wasn’t happening.) I was a woman possessed. I had a mad kick Sunday evening because the Muses were growing quieter and the end was near so I stayed up until 3:30 in the morning and kicked out the final 13,000 words.

And then there was the cover. le sigh. I had the original image, which I bought last year, and I just wanted to play around a little bit. It came together like magic. Everything about this book has been… it’s been a rush.

And without any further ado, the Cover:

Winter's Heart ebookWinter's HeartI still have the blurb to write (the least fun part about writing – trying to condense a 111,000+ word book into a few words) but I ordered the proof this morning and once I get it, I will go through the book, smooth out as many rough areas as I can, and then BETAS!!!! Just a warning, Winter is naughty. He explores the upstairs, the downstairs, the front door, the back door, and everything in between, but with fewer euphemisms. So saying, I frickin’ LOVE Winter!!!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments, either here, on facebook, or email me: acwarneke@yahoo.com

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January updates and stuff

Wow, it’s been eleven days since my last post. It’s not that nothing has been happening – in fact, lots has been happening I just haven’t written about any of it. Between dance and writing and doing quick hits of a few sites on the internet, time has simply disappeared. First up is news of our cat. He’s a strange, strange creature. No longer skittish – at all – he has taken over the house and become incredibly loving. He plays with the dog, making sure she’s all right even as he tries to take her down. If he realizes you’re awake, he sits on your chest and purrs at you and if you try to read your kindle, he nudges the kindle aside and purrs louder. And he talks in his sleep, a little meow-purr that is adorable.

The Darkness Falls files have been sent off to createspace and a proof has been shipped out, which I should receive soon. The book isn’t done, there are still a few scenes left to write but I wanted to have a different format to kick start my brain into wrapping it up. I know what I want to write, what needs to be written, I just have to do it. Unfortunately, my brain is hot on a different story, a contemporary romance that is just gushing forth, keeping me awake late into the night writing and waking me up early in the morning with ideas and snippets of conversation. I started it before I got into Darkness Falls and then I hit a wall and was able to concentrate on Malorie and Feryn and their fucked-uppedness. But then I hit a pot hole with Darkness Falls and was going to start in on another story that was screaming at me. I decided to read over what I had written and it made me chuckle – until I hit the last scene that was there and it came to a screeching halt. Though it pained me, I killed the scene and ever since the words have been flowing. Luckily it was only 1,500 word or so and it’s already a thousand times better.

Yesterday, I took a silver sharpie and colored in my tattoo. It’s healing well – I’ve been using coconut oil on it so it smells good, too – and the next time we go down to visit my son and daughter-in-law I’ll be getting it colored in with actual ink. But until then, I have an entire array of markers at my disposal. 🙂

Colored in with a silver Sharpie

Colored in with a silver Sharpie

One last little note. I took part in Erotic Enchants Holiday games this past December, which was a lot of fun and Bookie Nookie is seriously one amazing woman for getting everything organized and keeping it running smoothly. Anyway, I sent out most of the prizes this past week (the paperback books will be going out in the mail when I get them!) and a few of the winners responded that they would leave a review when they were finished reading. My initial mental response is always, “Well, only leave a review if you loved the books.” LOL. Regardless if they love it or hate it, I always appreciate an honest review. Not all books are for all people so if someone doesn’t like my books, that’s all right. And comments are always welcomed.

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I got inked!

This weekend I was incommunicado because I went south to Savannah again to visit with my eldest and his wife and to bring my middlest home after he spent a month with his brother. We had a late Christmas and my amazingly beautiful, incredibly talented daughter-in-law gave me my first tattoo – an adorable little gargoyle on my right thigh. He still needs to be colored in, which will happen the next time we go down to visit. The tattooing wasn’t so bad. Of course, I got him done on my thigh, one of the least painful sites to do a tattoo, but it wasn’t nearly as painful as I expected. Now to let him heal…. (and get colored….)

My favorite tattoo artist

My favorite tattoo artist

taken today - he's still a little swollen.

taken today – he’s still a little swollen.

Freshly inked (soon to be colored)

Freshly inked (soon to be colored)

The boys also had a little fun:

There's something not quite right....

There’s something not quite right….

Best friends: Jacks and Stormaggedon (Stormy)

Best friends: Jacks and Stormaggedon (Stormy)

Feel free to share your tattoo stories and tips here or on facebook!! 🙂

 

 

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Here’s to a fun-fanging-tastic 2014!

I welcomed in the New Year playing Lego Marvel with my daughter and drinking sparkling apple cider. It was a good way to start the year!

For the year ahead:

Darkness Falls will be coming this year, hopefully sooner rather than later. I want it to be the best story possible and at times it feels like it’s getting away from me but then I read it and it’s pretty good. So, we’ll see. After that I am not sure which story will be tackled. There is the third book in the Blight series (sorry about that!) and the next book after Awakening and a whole box that is overflowing with brief and not-so-brief synopses, including the story that wants to be written RIGHT. NOW. We’ll see if it still demands my time after Darkness Falls.

The darling daughter will be participating in her first dance competitions this year. I am amazed by how much she has progressed these last couple of months of more intense lessons and it is a joy watching her dance! She is working so hard but she is also having tons of fun, which is as it should be. Dancing is such a beautiful art form, from the graceful ballet to the energetic jazz to the freakin’ awesome tap. All of her teachers are absolutely amazing and it is so cool seeing what they come up with. I am awed.

The eldest is off on his own, which makes me proud and a little sad, and the middlest is not far behind. 😦

As exciting as this year has been for all of us, I’m sure the upcoming year is going to be just as crazy.  I hope all of you have a blessed and wonderful 2014!!

and from http://cheezburger.com/7980515072 (click on the image)

really great year

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Turkeys and Tattoos

The past weekend was fantastic. I packed up the kids, the cat and the dog and we headed down to Savannah to spend Thanksgiving weekend with my eldest baby and his wife. As soon as we got there, Jacks took their little black kitten under his wing to teach him how to be a real cat.  Needless to say, Jacks was a dick the entire time we were down there.  The happy couple made a delicious Thanksgiving meal with plenty of food to make sure all of us were stuffed by the end and still have leftovers.

IMG_5029(Aren’t they a gorgeous couple?)

On Friday, we went to an awesome Chinese buffet for a late lunch – the baby girl was happy because they had sushi and wasabi, the middlest son was happy because they had chicken, the eldest was happy because FOOD, the eldest’s wife was happy because she had spent the day before cooking and I was happy because I had all of my kids together again. We did make a few stops at the shops since we were out. And when we got home, my daughter-in-law gave my son his first tattoo, which was her second tattoo. It was a very cool and interesting process and I got to ask all sorts of questions and see how it’s done. Her first tattoo is a fish that she gave herself that turned out beautifully. Have I mentioned that she is an amazingly talented artist?

fish tattoo

My baby’s first tattoo (there is still some work to do but it is amazing as it is) The first image is showing the tattoo being done and the second is how it looks so far:

IMG_5153

A cleaner image of the tattoo

A cleaner image of the tattoo

And then on Saturday we went to the beach, where you are not allowed to fish for sharks from the pier. Bummer. (Eek! Sharks?!) While we were there, dolphins were swimming very close to the shore, flocks of birds were everywhere, and it was just a really nice excursion with the kiddos.  It started off with beautiful blue skies, though it was a bit chilly, and proceeded to get cloudier as the afternoon turned to evening, which allowed for some lush colors to photograph. Click on an image to go to the gallery.

Leaving the middlest son behind to hang with his brother and sister-in-law, the daughter and I (and the animals) headed home on Monday and as soon as we got back, Jacks was once again the loving, slightly needy cat he’s come to be. Strange cat. Lucy was simply happy to be home.