I’ve gotten the all-clear to share the cover and blurb of my third Night Watch book with you! Book One in this series is ETERNAL HUNTER (Jude’s story). Book two is I’LL BE SLAYING YOU (Dee’s story) and that one will be out in July.  The third book will be published this December, and ETERNAL FLAME focuses on Zane.  (So for those who have asked–no worries! Zane has his own book.)

Here’s the blurb:

Cynthia Eden invites you into the world of the Others—supernatural creatures who are sexy, powerful, and more than human in every way…

No one that deadly should look that good. Hybrid demon Zane Wynter specializes in tracking the most lethal criminals, whether human or Other. But Jana Carter is nothing like his previous targets. She’s an Ignitor, able to conjure and control fire. She’s also sexy beyond belief—and used to playing dirty…

Jana knows she’s being set up. She even knows who’s responsible: Project Perseus, a secretive group that plans to rid the world of paranormals by any means necessary. From Louisiana’s sultry swamps to its desolate cemeteries, Jana and Zane must race to destroy the mastermind behind Perseus before their world goes up in flames—and with it, a desire that burns too hot to resist…

Burn, baby, burn!  🙂

Recently, I watched the movie Possession with Sarah Michelle Gellar (you may know her better as Buffy). I’d been wanting to watch this movies for ages, but the release date kept getting pushed back. (Why? Why did you torment me that way, Hollywood?)

But I finally watched the movie and was a bit…well, thrown off by the ending that played out.

Lucky for me, there was an alternate ending available.  So I thought–hey, what the heck? And I watched that alternate.  And I LOVED it.  (Note to all the Hollywood folks that I am totally sure are checking out this blog: You should have gone with the alternate ending!)

Now, of course, this alternate ending got me to thinking about different endings that could be available for books. When I start writing, I often create alternate beginnings. Usually, I’ll write at least 2 versions to start a book, then I’ll go with the one that flows the best for me.  But I have never written an alternate ending for a book.  The lives of the characters can change so easily–one scene flipped, one scene deleted, one new drama thrown in–and everything can change.

Hmmm…alternate endings.

I’ve watched plenty of  movies and thought–oh, I want a different ending! (Sandra Bullock’s Premonition comes to mind here.) But I haven’t read a book that I thought should end differently. At least, not a romance book. Romances guarantee us a happy ending, so perhaps the alternate ending isn’t needed as much with them.  Perhaps. What do you think?  Have you read any books that you felt truly needed an alternate ending?

I had a great time at the Silken Sands Conference. I met so many wonderful folks, heard some fabulous speeches (Dianna Love and Karen Rose were amazing), and had the chance to sit in on some informative workshops.  And, since the conference was at the beach, I had an awesome view, too.  So thanks to all the GCC ladies for a great time! It was great to be able to reconnect with the writers I know–and to make some time for new networking.  Everyone I met was friendly and excited about writing.  How could I ask for more?  The agents and editors were all super knowledgeable about the industry and Barbara Vey (from Publishers Weekly) had me smiling every time she shared some of her industry info (Barbara knows those readers!).  Overall–a great event. Can’t wait for Silken Sands 2010!

So what’s next on my conference agenda?

My next conference is a virtual one! I won’t be able to attend the RT Convention this year, so I’m making plans to attend Lucy Monroe’s Reader At Home Conference.  And here are all the details for you…

“What do tons of authors, tons of prizes, tons of hotties and tons of readers have in common? They’re attending the first ever Readers at Home Conference! During the week of April 26-30, authors and readers will converge on Lucy Monroe’s blog to celebrate their favorite genre – romance!We are giving away Swag Bags to the first 50 readers who register for the conference. To register, all you have to do is send an email to Lucy Monroe with your name and mailing address (for the Swag Bag) stating your intention to attend the RAH Conference. The Swag Bags are for conference attendees only and we are trusting that you truly intend to attend the conference and interact with the authors and other readers on the blog. 🙂 Lucy is shipping the Swag Bags at her own expense, but many authors have donated loot for you all, and each Swag Bag will have a free book inside.

Yes, that’s right – the conference is FREE. How cool is that?

Every day there will be multiple authors visiting and guest blogging, with new posts going live every 3 hours between 6 AM and 6 PM. Lucy will post a hottie who is definitely hunky enough to be a cover model and there will be daily drawings for multiple prizes (more than 50 over the week!!!), including dozens of signed books, a B&N gift card, a t-shirt, 3 prize tote bags filled with books and goodies (from Sue G at BTRB and Becke Davis), free online subscriptions to Affaire de Couer magazine and 2 more Swag Bags given away each day. What could be better?

Hope to see YOU there!”

Fun news! BELONG TO THE NIGHT received an honorable mention in the PEARL Awards (category: anthology). How very cool! Thanks so much to everyone who voted for the anthology! And congratulations to all the winners!

Come see me at the beach!  🙂

This weekend, I’ll be attending the Silken Sands Writers’ Conference in beautiful Pensacola Beach.  On Saturday, I’ll participate in a huge multi-author signing that is open to the public. So if you happen to be in the Pensacola Beach area and you’d love to get some autographed books, come on by!

Here’s the address:

The Hampton Inn–Silken Sands Room

2 Via De Luna

Pensacola Beach, FL

See you at the beach!