Official Upcoming Release Schedule!

Due to changes in how my publisher assigns dates, I won't have release dates until I finish the book. I'm currently working on:

Taking the Realm which is book 3 of Sha and Connor's trilogy (previously titled Shaking the Balance)

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Upcoming Releases!!

Hello my lovelies! How about some fantabulous news? I've been working on setting release dates with my publisher for my books and I am so freaking excited about it.

Before I share my release dates, I want to give a word of caution. I cannot predict when my anxiety and sensory issues keep me from doing what I love. I also work full time as a computer programmer and we have a massive project entering the home stretch. Much as I'd love to devote myself 100% to writing, I can't financially. With that being said....

Any and all dates are subject to change. I would rather make you wait for a book than to give you a subpar product. Please have patience with me and know that you WILL get many more books from me.

 

Now for the fun part :D Here you go! All of these are part of my Mythrian Realm series and as of now, I plan for all of these to be at least 50k words. All of these will be published through my fantabulous publisher Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly and will be available on Amazon as ebook and paperback.
 

Waking the Phoenix (Book 2 of Sha and Connor's Trilogy)

April 4, 2014

 

Shaking the Balance (Book 3 of Sha and Connor's Trilogy - Title may change)

August 5, 2014

 

War's Angel (Aries' book)

December 13, 2014

 
I will keep you apprised of any and all changes to these dates!!

 



Saturday, February 22, 2014

Winning my battles

So many of you have shared my ups and downs this past year, esp my downs and my struggles to understand what was happening.

I'm not under any illusions I won't have downs again but as I understand the differences between overwhelming sensory processing overloads and my anxiety, I am finding ways to head off the attacks.

I have my invaluable blanket. I have my aromatherapy to ground me. I have music that drowns out all of the noise that drives me so crazy, including the infernal ringing that never stops.

For literally the first time in my life, I feel like I'm gaining CONTROL over my life, instead of applying bandaids. In the past few weeks I've had countless starts to attacks that once would have practically crippled me. And so far, I've WON.

Those who have shared my journey for so long can tell a difference, I'm sure. Every single person who has left me messages of support and encouragement, who have been there for me through my dark times, thank you will never be enough. You've all helped me gain ground over my struggles so I can learn to live the life I want, rather than in fear of the next attack.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Sharing my journey

Hello my lovelies. I know many of you probably noticed that I haven't been around much. Some of you may follow my personal account on Facebook, but for those who haven't, I'll explain.

I decided to be open about my struggles with anxiety the last time I vanished for a while. I thought I had everything under control, but I started to struggle yet again. I had heard about something called a weighted blanket, literally a blanket filled with pellets to a certain weight, and finally I decided to find one and try it. I take enough medications that I didn't want to have to take any more, particularly for anxiety since I figured there HAD to be a way to control it without medication.

Best. Decision. Ever.

Having purchased my weighted blanket from a wonderful woman local to me, I've started to see a vast improvement. I'm able to control my feelings of being overwhelmed. I also realized something.

I'm not as anxious as I first thought.

I've known for years that I had an auditory processing disorder. Basically, I can hear volume just fine but I can't always understand speech. It sounds garbled, like gibberish, or sometimes I just hear the complete wrong word.

Through my research when I was looking into weighted blankets, I realized something crucial. It's not just an auditory processing disorder. It's a SENSORY processing disorder.

I experience some of my senses differently than other people, most significant being my auditory and tactile senses. Things that don't bother most people or are just minor annoyances are incredibly overwhelming to me, to the point where I start to shut down just to cope. I described some of my experiences in a previous post and I will strive to describe more as I'm able.

This is something I struggled with my entire life, never really knowing what exactly was wrong. Now I'm starting to see the difference between when I'm going through sensory overload and when I'm having anxiety/panic attacks.

I'll be copying over some of my statuses from Facebook where I described what I was going through so you can follow my journey. I intend to share my experiences as I start to understand and cope with my sensory issues. I'll also share my experiences with my weighted blanket and my weighted shawl (the shawl I use at work).

I hope to share these experiences to potentially help others identify if they have similar problems as well as to hopefully encourage others to speak about their own issues. Too often, things like anxiety are almost taboo. Nobody wants to talk about them. Well, I want to share my journey.

So, let me introduce myself.

I'm Lindsay Avalon, author of Dark Fantasy Romance.

I have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (emphasis on hyperactive ;) )

I struggle with anxiety.

I struggle with a sensory processing disorder.

These things do not define me, they just make me that much more unique.

Lovely to meet you my lovelies. What's your story?

A Mates Bite by Milly Taiden

Blurb

Mission: Don’t fall in love

After an explosive night of passion during a scenting ceremony, Karla Alves is sure she was just a one night stand for the man she'd been crushing on for years. She teased him and pleased him, and Nate hasn't been around since. Her fear of becoming clingy kept her from risking her heart and asking for more than a few hours of skin sin.

Mission: Crack her walls

She. Is. His. Nathan Wolfe marked Karla. His mate. Deeply involved in pack politics, Nate has had to stay away. When his sister warns that Karla needs him more than he thinks, he'll discover a bundle of secrets only his wolf can sniff out. But getting the woman he cares about to let down her guard may prove to be his undoing.

Mission: Embrace the bite

With Karla's wayward sister wreaking havoc and friends needing more of his time than ever, Nate will have to rearrange his priorities if he ever hopes to earn Karla's trust. But will time with her be enough? Only true love and a wolf's promise can hold together a relationship created with a bite, a scenting, and a hope for tomorrow.

Buy Links


Book Trailer









Excerpt
“Nate?” She met his gaze and licked her lips. His eyes flashed, and she saw the wild side of him deep in his gaze, waiting to pounce. “Kiss me already.”
“Baby.” He nuzzled her lips with his, making her almost crazy with the need to deepen the contact. “I’m going to kiss every inch of you until there’s no doubt who you belong to.”
Her heartbeat thundered hard in her chest. The sound hard and booming. She could hardly hear him above the errant beats. Passion heated her blood to boiling.
“Promises,” she said breathlessly, glancing from his eyes down to those smirking lips of his, unwilling to be the one who gave in first.
Then he pounced. Lips met in a hot demand of need. He attacked her mouth like she was the only woman he’d ever want to kiss. Like he owned her. They fell back into the grass, bodies plastered together. Arousal curled into a thick ball in her stomach. She dug her nails down his back to grip his bare ass.
He groaned, rubbed his erection between her thighs, and sucked on her bottom lip. She smiled in between kisses, loving how good he felt pressing her down on the grass, his warm body blanketing hers. She wiggled her hips.
“Keep that up, and I won’t be responsible for my actions,” he murmured kissing her jaw and neck. Each brush felt like a slide of satin over her skin.
“Who said I want you to be responsible?” Goosebumps broke over her skin at his scorching look. She couldn’t stop herself from telling him how she felt. “I want you too. Now. So bad I think I may go crazy if you don’t do something soon. Stop hedging already.”
That was the first time she’d ever told a man how much she wanted him, and by the smile on his face, she was sure she’d done the right thing.
“I don’t have protection with me, sweetheart.”
For a split second she considered telling him to stop. And then she sent those thoughts straight to hell. Stop? No way! “I’m on birth control for medical reasons.” She puffed the words out because she knew what she said next would be very revealing. “I’ve only been with one other man. I trust you. Besides, I know you don’t carry human diseases.”
Nate’s eyes brightened to a liquid gold she could get lost in. His nostrils flared and he inhaled sharply. “Are you sure?”
“More than I’ve ever been.”
He kissed her again. Deep. Hard. Hungry. Each swipe of his tongue over hers drove her a little closer to the edge of reason. Every brush of his lips melted more of her willpower and any thoughts of stopping. Clothes came off in the time it took her to take a breath, and then his body was over hers again, lips branding her as his. That all-consuming kiss lasted but a short moment before he moved to her chest. Her gasp of pleasure as his mouth encased her nipple was loud. She didn’t care. She could only feel at that point. Feel his tongue flicking back and forth over her hard little tip while his hand molded the flesh of her other breast in his grasp.
When he sucked hard on her nipple, she swore lights exploded behind her lids. Her body shook. She couldn’t stop the rocking of her hips, searching for his cock to enter her. To fill her. Another full body shiver, and his dick slipped to the entrance of her sex. That didn’t last.
With every moan out of her lips, he moved further down her body, until he was lying between her thighs. She dug her nails into the spikes of grass at her sides and glanced down, past her quivering belly to meet his golden stare.
“You and me, babe.” His look turned possessive. She groaned. “There’s no going back after this.”



Author Bio
Hi! I'm Milly (AKA April Angel) I love to write sexy stories. They're usually either paranormal or contemporary with a large dose of heat. My paranormal stories can be anything from wolf-shifters (my favorites) to witches, demons and anything in between. My contemporaries are usually anything from soldiers to corporate romances.

I was born the prettiest part of the Caribbean known as the Dominican Republic. Currently, I live in New York City with my hubby, the bossy kiddo and our little dog "Needy Speedy". Don't ask.

When I'm not working some really long hours at the day job, or hanging out in the awful life-sucking invention known as Facebook, messaging my bestie in the UK or shopping with my sis Julie, then I can be found watching scary movies. Buuut when I'm not doing that, I'm usually writing because the voices won't shut up.
I am addicted to shoe shopping, chocolate (but who isn't, right?) and Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

Come on over and visit me! I love to meet new readers!

Like my books? Want to stay on top of all things Milly? Sign up for my 

There’s a monthly $50 GC Giveaway to all the emails signed up to get the latest news on my releases.



Sunday, February 16, 2014

Living with sensory processing disorder

Trying to explain sensory processing issues is hard. I was trying to explain to my hubby last night how I feel when it really gets bad. I talk about it a lot to you lovelies so here's my best shot.
I want to start by saying that I describe this not for sympathy or anything like that, but to help you understand what I'm talking about and to maybe help others identify what could be happening to them.

First off, for those who've never had tinnitus, go onto you tube and look up a video that shows a game like Call of Duty and uses a flashbang grenade. That high pitched sound that plays after it goes off? I hear that every second of every day. I've never known what true silence is.

If there's any kind of background noise, I start having issues comprehending speech. Put on headphones, turn the volume up on some heavy metal to a level that's just where you can barely hear if someone talks to you and then try to have a conversation. Oh and do it without facing the person directly, since many times people forget I need them to look at me.

Certain sounds that don't bug others are unbearable to me. I get supremely anxious if someone taps, smacks their lips, chews too loud, or slurps. I'm not talking the usual annoyance many feel. I literally will be on the verge of a panic attack within about 2 minutes if I can't leave the room. Not even having other sounds can distract me from it either. i can be watching TV and my hubby be across the room and if he slurps, I hear it over a blasting tv and start to freak. I can't go into the whole list of sounds that affect me like that but there are many more.

Crowds are horrible for me. i can handle restaurants for a short period then it'll start to feel like the walls are closing jn on me. except instead of physical walls, I'm being crushed by sound. I'm social but I never could handle bars or clubs or things like that. Malls and stores are hard, especially if there's music playing. I usually am crawling out of my skin to leave by the time i am finished with dinner out.

I have major difficulty watching TV in a totally dark room. It's like having someone shine a flashlight directly in my eyes and can trigger migraines. I don't have as much trouble with visual stuff as other things though.

When it comes to tactile issues, one of the most excruciating experiences happens when I get a mild fever or random times. My skin literally hurts EVERYWHERE. I'm talking take a pumice stone and rub it vigorously on your arm the rub cloth over it. Having any kind of clothing touching me is so painful I want to cry. Other times, certain fabrics just feel wrong to me, I can't stand tags on my clothes, and I loathe wearing any kind of pants except for pajama pants. I now no longer wear anything but skirts and leggings. Leggings I can handle because they're super soft, but jeans? So uncomfortable.

Certain other textures make me crazy. I'm addicted to lotion because if my hands get too dry I literally freak out. I mean must find lotion or I'll go into a panic attack. Cotton balls are torture devices for me, weird I know but they kind of crunch and they're horrific things.

Finally, human contact. This one hurts for a different reason. I can't explain why but there are many times i don't like to be touched, whether its a hug or a casual caress on my arm. If someone rubs my arm with a light touch, I've got maybe 30 seconds before it starts to feel like sand paper. There are only 2 people I've ever been able to stand to have cuddle with me for prolonged periods of time: my daddy and my husband. The feeling of isolation sucks. You want affection but at the same time you don't.

This ended up longer than j thought it would but I've done my best to describe how I feel. As you can see, most of my issues center around auditory things but tactile can alsp be a significant problem for me. Now imagine living with this your entire life and never knowing it wasn't normal. going through school unable to follow a lot of lectures, unable to follow meetings at work, unable to enjoy sinple human contact like everyone else.

Then imagine discovering the wonders of a simple combination of pellets and fabric that can help relieve a fraction of the anxiety caused by my sensory overload.

This is why I say that my weighted blanket changed my life.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Title: The Lioness: A True Love Tale
Author: Jake Bonsignore
Genre: YA / Romance 
Book Design: Phatpuppyart Studios

Release Date: February 14, 2014











* Synopsis *

Seventeen-year-old Adria Catarr is a carefree, stubborn girl with an insatiable sweet tooth. When she stumbles into Lando Cardé, the incognito prince, during the annual Midsummer Festival and mistakes his charm for love at first sight, her naïve heart is quickly broken.

Kaidan Sordell, a childhood friend, is there to pick up the pieces and help Adria mend her wounds. His affection for her has gone unnoticed for so long that he’s not sure if he’ll ever have the nerve to tell her how he truly feels.

With the last summer before adulthood upon them, Adria and Kaidan decide to seek out the Temple of the Red Mare. The legendary tales of it revealing a heart’s truest desire is too tempting for lovelorn Adria to pass up.

Will she realize, though, that what she’s looking for has been trekking beside her all along?


Excerpt

“Face it, young’un. She’s your other half.”

“I…I can’t…I mean, I guess I’m just confused.”

“What’s so confusing about it? I’m certain you’ve held her hand before? You’ve made each other laugh despite your disagreements, yes?” She opened a package of biscotti while he nodded. “You’ve held her when she cried, correct? For heaven’s sake, you’ve traveled leagues with her into the back of beyond so she could fulfill a silly dream. The first thing she asked me when I checked on her was if you were alright. It’s pretty obvious, if you ask me. You two are as lovely of an item as they come.”

Kaidan swallowed a piece of his biscuit and countered, “I’m not so certain that things are that simple.”

Sabine arched her brows. “Young’un, have you hit your head recently or are you always this stupid?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“True love is a journey. It doesn’t happen overnight. Give and take, push and pull, ups and downs…they’re all part of the blessing. There’s more to a relationship than kissing and cuddling, you see. When it comes down to it, though, I think you already figured that out.”

The color drained from Kaidan’s face as if he had seen a ghost. Was it really possible for the girl of his dreams to have chosen him? The truth of what she said hit him like a sidewinder. Were he and Adria really a couple? They had never really kissed or even broached the matter….

Sabine went on as if she had read his mind. “I can tell those rusted cogs in your noggin are turning, Kaidan. Trust me when I tell you that I haven’t become this ancient without learning about how the world operates. Someday, you’ll see that what you have and how deep your pockets run don’t mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. It’s who you are in here that counts.” She tapped his chest. “You have to do more than make her feel like she’s the most special lady in the world. You have to make her know it.”

A thought-provoking, hallowed silence ensued next. Her wisdom had unleashed a thousand possibilities within Kaidan that he had never dared to imagine.

Kaidan’s shoulders eventually slumped. “You’re right, Granny Sabine. I’ve never told anyone this and I’m not so sure that I even want to admit it, but I…I think I’ve loved Adria since we were children. If anything, this journey has made me fall for her a hundred times over.”

“Ah, young’un.” She coughed. “Don’t make me question if there’s anything between those ears of yours.”

Huh? “I don’t get—”

“Pay close attention, Kaidan. No matter what comes to be and where you end up, remember this for the rest of your life. Capiche?”

“Y-yes.”

“When you’re meant for each other, you don’t fall. You rise. You become a better person and go out of your way to wow your partner. Love always brings you up, not kicks you down.”

Kaidan knew not how long he remained motionless with a gaping mouth.

“First you went all dumb on me, and now you’ve gone mute? Well, that’s okay, young’un. As long as you don’t go deaf, we won’t have an issue.”

Kaidan snickered. “Uh, sorry.”




Purchase Link: http://smarturl.it/thelioness







Bio: Jake Bonsignore is the author of multiple novels, including Empyreal Illusions, Awakening the Fire, The Lioness, and The Tigress. He is a graduate of the University of South Florida with magna cum laude honors. Outside of his literary pursuits, he enjoys playing sports and is a fitness enthusiast. He is the sole editor of Five Star Editing and is currently working on his next book.








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