Today, I got the first advanced review of Secrets, Volume 16 (which features my story, Never Enough). Janalee Ruschhaupt of Loves Romance gave the anthology 4.5 stars overall, and Never Enough got 5! Wow!

I think this might be my favorite quote from the review: “Ms. Eden’s strength lies in her ability to create sexual tension that is remarkably realistic, to the point you can almost feel the character’s deep passions and wanton desires flow across your own skin.”

Since I normally write paranormals, I was a bit anxious about how this story would be received. Glad to know that the first reviewer enjoyed it!

I’ve gotten a few emails recently from readers who want to know if I’m planning to write any additional vampire novels. My answer, of course, is YES! I love vampires–I have to write about them! In fact, one of my current WIPs features a female vampire…who just happens to work for the FBI.

So, I thought I’d use this post as my opportunity to play catch-up and list my current projects. (I will be updating my website soon–putting up release dates and excerpts–hmmm….I’ll make that my goal for this week.)

Project 1: My werewolf trilogy. I’ve sold two of my werewolf novellas to Red Sage: Bite of the Wolf and The Wolf’s Mate. Bite of the Wolf was released in Secrets, Volume 15. I don’t have a volume assignment yet for The Wolf’s Mate, but when I do, I’ll post it on my website. Here’s a brief description of The Wolf’s Mate:

When Michael Morlet finds Katherine “Kat” Hardy fighting for her life in a dark alley, he instantly recognizes her as the mate he’s been seeking all of his life. From that moment, he knows that he will do whatever it takes to claim her, body and soul. Unfortunately, someone’s trying to kill Kat, and the attack in the alley is just the first in a series of close calls for his mate. With danger stalking them at every turn, will Kat trust him enough to become The Wolf’s Mate?

I’m finishing up my preliminary edits (the ones I always do before I submit a story) on my third werewolf story, Caged Wolf, now.

A little note about these werewolf stories: They ‘re for Secrets, so that means the heat level is turned up much higher than my ImaJinn stories.

Project 2: An anthology about modern women who catch the attention of famous Greek gods. This anthology is currently under review by a publisher. Again: High heat level!

Project 3: The Mating Touch. Okay…this story is a bit “out there”–it’s about a human psychic and the genetically engineered warrior who comes to earth to claim her. I had a ball writing this one!

Project 4: That’d be the vampire story I mentioned earlier.

Project 5: Hmmm…since I haven’t actually started this one yet, I’ll just give you the title: Stranded.

Oh, yeah, and I’m finishing up the line-edits on The Wizard’s Spell. I should be getting a release date on that one, soon.

Oooops…according to my clock it’s 8:03–time for Veronica Mars!

Last Sunday, I was using the leaf-blower in my backyard (I had to–I could no longer see the patio for the leaves!), and I “uncovered” a snake. The dang thing scared me to death. Sure, it was only ten inches long and ran away nearly as fast as I did…but for a moment there, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. You see, I’m an ophidiphobic–I’m scared to death of snakes.

So I got to thinking…most folks are afraid of something, and having a fear or two…well, that just makes good character development for novels. I’ve read lots of books about people who were claustrophobic or who suffered from nyctophobia (fear of the dark or of night).

But I feel the urge to discover some more…unusual fears, and maybe I’ll use those fears in future books. Perhaps I’ll use :

• Melissophobia- Fear of bees.
• Pupaphobia – Fear of puppets.
• Selenophobia- Fear of the moon.
• Tygiophobia or Stigiophobia- Fear of hell.
• Thalassophobia- Fear of the sea. (Hey! I actually just finished writing about a heroine who was afraid fo the sea!)
• Wiccaphobia: Fear of witches and witchcraft.
• Selachophobia- Fear of sharks.
• Placophobia- Fear of tombstones.

There are hundreds and hundreds of phobias out there–I know, on account of while doing a quick Internet search, I found this great phobia listing.

So, tell me. What scares you?

My Joan Wilder post is up at Romancing the Blog. Please, check it out!

Tor editor Anna Louise Genoese has a great post up on her blog about how publishers determine how much money they want to pay authors in their advances. Anna Louise also offers an in-depth explanation as to why certain books make money and others don’t.