Look what is now up for pre-order on Amazon! German editions of the Secrets of a Rock Star series! Well, the first two books at least. The third one is still in production. They are being published by the publishing house Bastei Lubbei and are available all the usual ebook selling places.
I don’t read German so can’t vouch for the accuracy of the descriptions…Google translate makes them a bit hilarious. But if you enjoy reading in German, these are my latest BDSM-themed romance novels, with rock stars, heiresses, and a secret Hollywood club.
Book One: Dunkle Symphonie: Amazon | Google Books | B&N Nookstore | Bastei publisher website
Book Two: Fesselnde Harmonie Amazon | Google Books | B&N Nookstore | Bastei publisher website
HARD RHYTHM is rock star romance with a kinky beat! Out today!
Yes! It’s finally here! The third book in the Secrets of a Rock Star series went live on Amazon at midnight and by now you should be able to buy it from every other bookselling place, as well, including:
IndieBound (local independent bookstores) | Amazon | Publisher website | Walmart (!) | Barnes & Noble | Apple iBooks | Google Play | Kobo
If you’d like to read a hot relatively spoiler-free excerpt, RT Magazine posted a Hump Day hotness one a few weeks ago: Hump Day Excerpt of Cecilia Tan’s HARD RHYTHM
Reviews coming in!
“As always, Cecilia is at the top of her game, giving hot, steamy sex together with characters you care about. Relationships you want to succeed, packed full of naughtiness. I’ve said it before, and I continue to stand by it, Cecilia Tan is one of the greatest writers of smut out there. Few others can combine the tenderness of a budding romantic relationship together with the endorphin packed beginning of D/S relationship the way she has with the Secrets of a Rock Star series.” — Robin just posted that to her BookLikes blog!
“Madison and Chino are a bit older [both 29] than the previous characters and their internal dialogues as well as their actions show more maturity.” and “The Hamilton sisters and [Madison] address a threat to their club in smart and calculated ways emphasizing that even if each woman in this series feels best on her knees before a hot man, she is still a powerful force to be reckoned with.” — From BDSM author and educator TammyJo Eckhart on Goodreads
If you missed it before, Publisher’s Weekly gave it a starred review, too!
“If you, like me, adore cocky heroes with soft centers, then Chino’s the one for you,” says Stacey Voigt’s Bedtime Stories! “Cecilia Tan handles the sizzling hot sex scenes with an expert touch, keeping the action going while still addressing the realities that take place alongside intimacy, particularly kinky intimacy.”
(Loved this comment from a reader on FB today!)
Excerpts!
Throughout the day today various excerpts will be appearing, shared online by various folks. I’ll add links here as they go live or you can see them in my Twitter feed (@ceciliatan) and Facebook page!
Excerpt 1. On Cailin Briste’s blog
Excertp 2. On Tara Sue Me’s Facebook page
Official description:
Are they ready to go all the way?
Maddie Rofel has seen it all. Even the kinkiest games she witnesses working as a hostess in L.A.’s most exclusive private sex club fail to shock her, much less turn her on. Until the night she has a very personal encounter with drummer Chino Garcia, and the two discover an intimate connection neither can deny. Suddenly the jaded hostess is softening under Chino’s touch, and submitting in ways she never expected . . .
All his life, Chino has been running from something. Normally he beats back his demons by losing himself in his music. Now he’s losing himself in Maddie. And, while it drives Chino wild when Maddie bares her body to him, what he really wants is for Maddie to bare her soul. For that, Chino will have to push Maddie past her furthest limits-and share his own dark secrets.
Countdown to HARD RHYTHM is on. Your new book boyfriend arrives 1/31!
His name is Chino. He’s the drummer for the top-selling rock band The Rough. He’s the most laid back member of the band–or is he? Beneath that careless exterior hides an intensity and a passion that only the right submissive can bring out…
“I like that toy.”
“You can buy one–”
“No, not that toy, sweets. You. You’re my toy.”
Order from your favorite retailers or bookstores, either in paperback or (where apropos) ebook:
ORDER LINKS:
IndieBound (local independent bookstores) | Amazon | Publisher website | Walmart (!) | Barnes & Noble | Apple iBooks | Google Play | Kobo
If you’d like to read a hot relatively spoiler-free excerpt, RT Magazine posted a Hump Day hotness one a few weeks ago: Hump Day Excerpt of Cecilia Tan’s HARD RHYTHM
And Publishers Weekly listed it in their Most Anticipated Books of 2017 list! See that list here:
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/72588-the-most-anticipated-books-of-spring-2017.html (They also gave it a starred review!!)
HARD RHYTHM is also handily winning a Goodreads cover poll for favorite romance novel cover of the month! Check it out here: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/148586-january-2017-romance-cover-contest-vote-for-your-favorite
I was super excited to see BDSM author and educator TammyJo Eckhart posted an advance review on Goodreads and thought it was even better than the other two books! She writes, Continue reading →
HARD RHYTHM: advanced reviews and praise for Cecilia Tan's new BDSM romance
Hard Rhythm hits the shelves next month (January) and the ebook goes live on Jan 31st so we’re starting to see reviews and notices come in! I’m super excited about the reception it’s getting so far!
Starred Review in Publishers Weekly!
I’m very psyched to say this means all three of the books in the Secrets of a Rock Star series have earned the coveted star from PW. The whole review is great but the first sentence rocks my world, “Tan skillfully makes her third Secrets of a Rock Star novel (after Wild Licks) do double duty, first as a wildly creative, enthusiastic, immersive, and incredibly hot romance between experienced kinksters, and second as a public service announcement that clearly illustrates the difference between BSDM and domestic abuse.”
RT Book Reviews
RT, meanwhile, gave it three stars: “This is the third book in a trilogy on rock stars but the author keeps the focus on the person and not the profession. When [Chino] finally makes his move, they quickly move from casual acquaintances to a deep and fulfilling D/s relationship.”
Goodreads
And some readers who have gotten advanced reading copies (both through my newsletter — which you can sign up for — and through NetGalley) have begun to review the book on Goodreads. In particular I was very happy to see TammyJo Eckhart, a longtime BDSM presenter, educator, and writer herself, thought it was the best of the three books, and says “The emotional complexity of all of the relationships and situations in this novel feel real, feel engaging.” Also, “Even if each woman in this series feels best on her knees before a hot man, she is still a powerful force to be reckoned with.”
If you can spare a tweet (or reblog or FB share), to help spread the word about the book, please join my Thunderclap! It only takes a couple of clicks and will only share a one-time message when the book goes live. Click here: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/51269-spread-the-beat-of-hard-rhythm
Pre-order the book now, everywhere: IndieBound (local independent bookstores) | Amazon | Publisher website | Walmart (!) | Barnes & Noble | Apple iBooks | Google Play | Kobo
Christmas Magic novella now available! Return to Magic University!
Remember last December when the Magic University digital box set became available? The new piece in that set–a 15,000 word sequel to the series entitled CHRISTMAS MAGIC–is now available to purchase on its own!
I originally wrote the novella as a holiday gift for MU fans to thank them for helping to spread the word about the box set and supporting the series. Christmas Magic is from Frost’s point of view. There is a lot about Frost we don’t see in the MU books because they’re from Kyle’s point of view, although if you’ve read the short stories in Spellbinding you’ve seen a few in Frost’s voice, now.
Get it at:
OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION:
In this novella sequel to the Magic University series, Christmas Magic picks up the tale a few months after the end of The Poet and the Prophecy, at Christmas time.
And who better to tell a Christmas tale than Frost? After the cataclysmic events that shook the magical world, it’s time for Frost to come to grips with the changes in his magic and his body–with the help of the people who love him most.
Un-official description:
That’s right. There’s a Christmas tree, and stockings, and hot cocoa by the fire… but this is a Magic University story, so of course there is also deeply emotional sex and a mystery which fills Frost with existential dread.
And we get to see a bit of what Kyle and Frost are like as a couple. It’s a 15,000 word novella, only 99 cents, and I hope you enjoy a return to the campus as much as I did!
Duck Day 2016: corwin and ctan's "kaiseki" Thanksgiving
As those of you who follow me on social media know, corwin and I celebrated our 25th anniversary this year by taking an amazing trip to Japan. For our annual gastronomic extravaganza known as “Duck Day” (because corwin has never liked turkey and started a tradition of always having duck back when he was in college and cooking Thanksgiving for himself for the first time), it probably comes as no surprise that this year we drew on the trip to Japan for our inspiration. [See previous duck day posts.]
“Kaiseki” is a complex term that can refer to a way of eating, a cuisine, or a specific kind of high-end restaurant meal in Japan, sort of like how “French” can mean a lot of different things depending on the food context. While in Japan we experienced both the incredible service and perfection at Arashiyama Kitcho (possibly Japan’s best restaurant, and the pinnacle of kaiseki), the amazing traditional vegan food at a Buddhist monastery on Mt. Koya (the roots of kaiseki cuisine), uni torched with in the shell on the streets outside the Tsukiji Fish Market, perfect tea service in a tea house at the center of a lake in the park that had once been the royal duck hunting preserve, and a booze-fueled pub crawl through the izakayas and hidden eating spots of Akabane with a chef friend of a friend. (To name only a few of the amazing meals we ate.)
Here’s the traditional Buddhist meal we were fed at the monastery where we stayed:Continue reading →
A List: Free book and ebook publishing software and resources
I’m teaching a workshop tonight at the Artisan’s Asylum, the awesome makerspace in Somerville, and thought I’d share this handout list here since then all the links can be live.
This is a list of all the free or open source bits of software and other things that I’ve used in my publishing ventures. I’ve also used a lot of expensive things like Adobe Photoshop, Quark Xpress, and so on. But not everyone has the money or the access to the high-priced programs, so part of my workshop is basically how you can do it all using free or very inexpensive options.
Book-making Software & Free Stuff You Will Need
Download a printable one-page version here: PDF
- free/donationware open software “clone” of MS Office suite
- OpenOffice “Writer” is the Word equivalent
- Altsearch – Alternative Find/Replace (so you can find non-printing characters) https://extensions.openoffice.org/en/project/alternative-dialog-find-replace-writer-altsearch
- Writer2epub (https://extensions.openoffice.org/en/project/writer2epub)
- Image editing software (https://www.gimp.org/downloads/)
- Cover designs for ebooks must be 1400 pixels x 2100 pixels minimum
- Pixabay.com (free portal to Shutterstock)
- FreeImages.com (very limited, free portal to Getty Images)
- Dreamstime.com
- iStockphoto (also owned by Getty), Shutterstock, a few others
- WYSIWYG epub editing software INDISPENSABLE (https://github.com/Sigil-Ebook/Sigil)
- meant to be used as an ebook library tool but has crude/ugly format conversion functions and DRM stripping functions (https://calibre-ebook.com/download)
- Script that unzips your epub and then puts it back together again, allowing for manual deletion of encrypted files (https://en.freedownloadmanager.org/Mac-OS/ePub-Zip-Unzip-FREE.html)
- Scribus is open source free https://sourceforge.net/projects/scribus/
- Adobe Indesign is the standard, costs $74.99 for one month cloud access, $39.99/mo for 1 yr.
- Online code validator: https://validator.idpf.org/ (does files up to 10MB)
- Bookow.com free barcode generator: https://bookow.com/resources.php#isbn-barcode-generator
- Bookow Free createspace template: https://bookow.com/resources.php#cs-cover-template-generator
OpenOffice/NeoOffice/LibreOffice
OpenOffice Plugins:
GIMP:
Free image sources:
Cheap image sources:
Sigil
Calibre
ePub Zip/ePub Unzip
Typesetting and layout
Epubcheck
Barcodes and Createspace Templates:
You might also be interested in my other posts:
- Farming Out to Professionals
- Elements of Book Design
- Page Layouts
- Widows, orphans, and hyphenation
- “Smart” quotes, section breaks, and fleurs
- Ebook design versus print design
The Prince's Boy complete box set is now live! Get the bonus Jorin/Kenet story.
It went live today! The ebook bundle of The Prince’s Boy, including volumes one and two, “Sergetten’s Tale,” and a brand new, never-before-seen Jorin/Kenet story (with a side of Sergetten), “Jorin’s New Spell.”
Now folks can get it all in one download, for one price. Thanks again to the fabulous Kanaxa for the new cover!
BUY LINKS:
Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | iBookstore still to come
WANT JUST THE BONUS STORY?
If you’re a fan of the original web serial or read the previous volumes and all you want is the new bonus story, there’s one easy way to get it. Drop me an email promising to review the new box set on Amazon or Goodreads and I’ll email you back the epub or mobi version of the full box set, your choice! Email: ctan.writer@gmail.com with “Prince’s Boy reviewer” in the subject line.
READ A SAMPLE!
The first ten full chapters are available to read on Circlet.com, with a new chapter appearing every Wednesday. Go dive in: https://www.circlet.com/tag/tpb-serial/
The NLA Writing Awards (for best BDSM writing) now open for nominations
I thought I would pass along the latest call for nominations for books, articles, and stories published in calendar year 2016! NLA: International is a pansexual leather/SM/fetish community organization with chapters in many cities.
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
Nominations may be sent to the contact email at awards@nla-international.com
(Columbus, OH) — NLA-International, a leading organization for activists in the pansexual leather community, is now accepting nominations for its annual writing awards for excellence in SM/Leather/Fetish writing for books, articles, novels and short fiction, which were first published between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2016. The deadline for nominations is 31 January 2017. The finalists will be announced in March 2017. The winners will be announced at the National Leather Association’s Annual General Meeting. The five award categories are:
Non-Fiction Book (Geoff Mains Award)
Non-Fiction Article (Cynthia Slater Award)
Novel (Pauline Reage Award)
Short Fiction (John Preston Award)
Anthology (Samois Award)
Eligibility for all awards (short fiction, novel, non-fiction book, non-fiction article and anthology) requires first time publication of writing in the 2016 calendar year. Continue reading →
Cover reveal! The Prince's Boy box set: gay high fantasy BDSM
At last I can reveal the new, beautiful cover art for The Prince’s Boy! The very talented cover designer Kanaxa created this and I couldn’t be happier. Look at those gorgeous guys! (Bigger sizes below!)
Dark erotic magic ensnares a prince and his whipping boy in a world of castle intrigue.
The new bundle/box set collects together volumes 1 and 2 into the complete story, and also includes two bonus stories, “Sergetten’s Tale” and “Jorin’s New Spell.” Pre-orders can be placed now and it’ll go live on November 15th.
Pre-order now at: Amazon | Barnes&Noble
Still to come: Kobo | Apple iBooks | Google | Smashwords | etc.
Full description & full size images under the cut: Continue reading →