Everyone’s heard the bit about setting priorities. We should all do it, it’ll help us not get overwhelmed. Yes … but like getting organized, it’s easier said than done. Or like watching your weight. It’s something that you know you have within your power, but before you know it, it’s beyond your immediate grasp. And with great reluctance, you find yourself having to start all over, because if you don’t, you bitterly regret it.

But how do you do it? What’s the secret? Sadly, there isn’t one. The best you can do is make up a list of things to organize. And if you’re like me, you’re not a big fan of lists, but it helps you set up those pesky priorities. You strike off each item, one by one, until you’re back in control.

I speak from experience. It’s only March, but I’ve already got my list drawn up, ready for the items on it to be struck off. I figure if I start now, by the time I really get busy, I won’t feel as though I’m drowning.

That’s my secret to setting priorities. How do you do it?

Eilis Flynn
ECHOES OF PASSION, on sale now

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Finally, I’ll have my first book under my new pen name “Elle Amour” out this Friday, March 5th. These stories are more edgy and exploratory–at least for me. So if you’ll indulge me, here’s the blurb and a short excerpt. Claimed is the first book of the series I’ve called Mate Seekers. Enjoy, and please check out my new site at http://elleamour.com/main.html! I love it. I hope you do too. (Oh, and this link bypasses the 18 and older screen, so beware! The site is hot!)

Lise / Elle

Title: Claimed

Author: Elle Amour

ISBN: 9781419925023

Purchase Link: http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8214-50-claimed.aspx

BLURB ~

Book 1 in the Mate Seeker series.

Trista is living every middle-aged woman’s fantasy—she wakes to find her body is pre-kids, pre-stretch marks and pre-gravity. Oh yeah! What’s more, the lover sharing her fantasy—blond hair, piercing turquoise eyes and a sculpted body to drool over—makes her feel like the sexy teen she was back when he first visited her dreams. Except this is no fantasy, and Rurik the Conqueror is no dream lover. He’s real, he’s not from Earth, and this time he’s come to claim her.

Rurik had known Trista of Earth was his by the Svendian way—her scent. A war and fears for her safety were all that kept him from staking his claim years ago, but no longer. He needs her like he needs his next breath. But unknown forces intrude on his plans and Rurik finds she’s in greater danger than ever. This time he’s not giving up, and he’ll die to protect the woman who completes his soul in a way he never imagined.

EXCERPT ~

Chapter One

His woman.

He could smell her in the mists. From behind a tree he watched her lope through the woods, gliding like a nymph. She’d grown older since he’d last spied her. He knew she would have a few lines on her face, a few white hairs she tried to cover up within her dark hair, but his blood still yearned for her.

Hidden, Rurik watched a trickle of sweat roll down her face. She’d lost some weight since he last came. How many of Earth’s years had passed now?

Too long. It was time he claimed her.

She came closer, her head bowed toward the ground, seeming deep in thought.

A green light whizzed past, almost nicking him. The laser struck a tree near the woman, causing her to lift her head and stare straight at him.

Another shot fired as he pulled his pistol. His enemies had found him. “Run,” he yelled at her, wanting, needing her to get away.

Another silent volley. Rurik grabbed her and ducked but too late. The laser had wounded her.

“You,” she whispered, and collapsed into his arms.

Tags: "Claimed", alpha heroes, Elle Amour, erotic romance, futuristic, Lise Fuller, male heroes, romance, sci fi, sex

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This is how I feel today. Not bad, just a little tired and washed out into different colors. Well, I’ll have to admit my ideas for a blog today were nonexistent. It might have been because I’m writing my fantasy romance novel, the first in a trilogy that will be coming out at Ellora’s Cave. The trilogy is called Daryk World, and the first book is Daryk Hunter.

This is my first foray into writing fantasy romance, but it isn’t exactly foreign territory because I’ve written other paranormal romance. I consider fantasy romance just one spectrum of the subgenre. What I’m loving about the fantasy part is creating an entire world that is just my own, and hopefully one readers will respond to as well. These stories are erotic romance, so there’s always the added challenge of writing the erotic into the story in a way that is believable to me. I don’t do slot A into tab B sex scenes. Nope. They have to be unique to the characters and foremost the love scenes have to be in the right place for the story. No quota of sex scenes designed to be thrown into the story to make sure there’s enough sex. Nope. J I can’t write a story like that. What I have to do is be in the right frame of mine, whether it’s with the right music and my mind open to the possibilities. Asking the characters to speak to me and tell me what they want to do.

The three heroines in the three books who all met each other on a ship and became quick, fast friends. A huge storm tears apart their ship, and that’s where they’re lost from each other but found by three seriously hot men. Daryk Ones. Men trained to protect the innocent and keep the peace because of their superior strength, their intelligence, and their ability to defend the people against dragons. Yes, there are dragons in my world and other toxic creatures too numerous to mention right now. There are glaciers, deserts and jungles in this world, too.

Then there’s the problem of the heroes from the next two books showing up in the first book. That in itself isn’t a problem. I wanted readers to know a tiny bit about these men so hopefully they’ll clamor to read about them later. Rayder Tyrus, who is the hero of the second book, Daryk Rogue, is definitely a rogue. He’s a disgraced Daryk One, a man who should be a warrior and hero to his people but is essentially undercover with slave traders to exact revenge for his sister’s death. He popped into the story when I didn’t expect him to and demanded to be written right NOW. And he’s hot. Very, very, very hot.

Eryk Gauth is the hero of the third book and he’ll have complications of his own in Daryk Warrior, but in this first book he’s popping in pretty quickly. He may show up again later in this story. I never say never.

And once again I remind myself my best stories are when the unexpected happens. When something I didn’t foresee jumps out and says, “create me.”

Off to create more Daryk World!

Tags: Denise A. Agnew

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I wanted to pop in and say hello and make an announcement. I’ve signed on to be Senior Editor at the upcoming imprint, Passion In Print Press, from MLR Press. PIPP will publish mainstream and erotic romance. (M/M stories will still be handled by MLR Press.) Right now I’m going over submission guidelines and will be posting those soon on my editor blog. This is just another adventure in my life. A day job reading romance!! Perfect.

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