New Christmas Books

I know today is Thanksgiving. I also know that people are now beginning to think about Christmas presents. I wanted to make sure you knew about the Christmas Romances we’ve published this year.

First, Betsy Love has crafted the most wonderful Hallmark-esque romance, The Miracle of Joie. Joie is an elf, and has been sent by Mrs. Claus on a special assignment: Eight-year-old Emily needs a mother. Complicating her task is that there’s only a week left before Christmas. To make matters even worse, Emily’s father, Matt, is still grieving the loss of his wife in the auto accident that also put Emily in a wheelchair for life. To top it all off, another elf, Wink, is obsessed with getting Joie to return to the North Pole Kingdom and marry him.

When events turn Joie into a human, she loses her magic. The success of her mission seems impossible, but she still has her wits. Can Joie get everything fixed in time?

Next is Keri Brooks McWhorter’s Second Love in New York City. Madelyn and Ben – and their families – have been best friends since they moved in next door to each other. When Madelyn’s husband Luke died, she swore she’d keep her marriage vows by remaining single for the rest of her life. Since Ben joined the widower club, they’ve relied on each other for everything. Best friends to the end.

Now Madelyn’s daughter and Ben’s son are getting married. Everyone’s headed to New York for the Christmas wedding, including Heather, the woman Ben’s been dating. Will Heather succeed in breaking up Madelyn and Ben’s friendship, or will they discover the love that’s been bubbling beneath the surface all these years?

If that's not enough Christmas romance for you, check out Natalie Peck's A Gigolo for Christmas. It's not new this year, but it's still a good fun read.

Shelia Everett couldn't have imagined a worse company Christmas party. By the end of the evening, she'd been fired and evicted. Fortunately, her boss' date, Anders Adamson, was willing to help her repair the damage. He even offered to help her get a job at his escort service. What's a good girl to do when she discovers she's fallen in love with a gigolo?

Catching Up

Photo by Jon Tyson, via Unsplash

It's been a little longer than forever since the last post, and I can't really explain what happened. It may have had something to do with launching of the newsletter, which duplicated much of the information on the blog. You can sign up for our newsletter on the front page at The Electric Scroll, and then you know you won't miss anything new, exciting, or important.
The staff at The Electric Scroll has been very busy. I can't believe that we've published 53 books in only six years, particularly with how small our staff is. It's incredible.
We've had the chance to work with some great writers, including Natalie Peck, Scott Ashby, C R Simper, Betsy Love, and most recently, Keri Brooks McWhorter.
Keri released a wonderfully cute romance novella named Second Love in New York City last June.
Scott has written two more Cavaliers novels, Terror on Terradia and Court Martial on the Charys, that are in line to be published soonish, and is hard at work writing the first of three more Cavaliers novels telling the story of how the Aubria got from Timora to Terradia.
Betsy just finished a Christmas novel named The Miracle of Joie, and it should be available late in November.
In September, The Electric Scroll opened a new division, dedicated to helping authors publish independently. We call it the author services division. We offer editing, formatting, and cover-making services at fair, but generally low-prices.
If you know your manuscript needs well-trained extra eyes on it, you can borrow ours.
If you're freaking out about the merger between CreateSpace and Amazon, you don't need to worry.
If you need a manuscript formatted for print at the new Amazon platform, we've got you covered.
If you want to publish in eBook too, we format for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.
If you need a cover, we can help you make an eBook (front) cover.
If you already have a front cover, we can craft a spine and back cover for your print book.
We can also make the entire full-wrap cover for you.
And, once you've approved the files, we can even upload the files for you.

If you want to know more about author services, come talk to me on Facebook. Or if you want to talk about publishing your book with us. Or if you want to just talk.

Not THAT sort of a man!

“I’ll be gone about a week. You and Gramps can manage that long without me, right?”

“Of course we can. Have you got a hotel room yet? They’ve got that big party there for New Year’s, so I’m hoping not everything’s booked.”

Anna concentrated on slicing the bread evenly. She knew Gran wasn’t going to approve of what she was going to say next.

“Well? Have you?” Gran asked.

“I’m staying in Jim’s guest room.”

“Without a chaperone?”

“I’m not flying out there to have sex with him, Gran!”

Her grandmother chuckled. “I don’t for a minute believe you’re going out there planning the sort of shenanigans that will get you in trouble, but I’m not a naïve country girl, either. That sort of thing happens when unmarried people stay under the same roof. One goodnight kiss can turn into a baby before you realize what’s happening!”

“He’s not that sort of a man.”

“Honey, they’re all that sort of a man. And for that matter, we’re all that sort of women.” (From Meet Me Midway, by Natalie Peck) http://tinyurl.com/kendo35

They're in Her House!

Unlocking her door, she entered and reached to turn on the lights. A strong arm gathered her close, a hand pressing hard across her mouth. A deep, gruff voice spoke in her ear.

“Don’t scream. Do y’unnerstan’?”

Marilee made a sound in her throat, and the hand eased its pressure on her face by a fraction. The strong arm held her tight, but her own fear held her still.

The men were back. She was a dead woman. (From A Heart Full of Diamonds, by A M Jenner) http://tinyurl.com/oefddym

Do You Have a Minute?

“The Moms Place, may I help you?”

Rhys’ gut tightened at the sound of her voice. “Cassi? It’s Rhys. Are you busy or do you have a minute?”

“It’s about time you called!” Her voice filled with venom.

“You sound a little upset,” Rhys said. “What’s the matter?”

“What’s the matter?” she echoed. “You totally ignore me for nearly a month, and you want to know why I might be just a little bit upset? You could at least have called to turn me down, instead of leaving me hanging for three and a half weeks!” Cassi’s voice rose steadily, until she was nearly shouting.

“What are you talking about?”

“You know very well what I’m talking about, Mister I-never-eat-breakfast-without-my-newspaper Morgan!” (From The Moms Place, by Natalie Peck) http://tinyurl.com/ntx6kuq

What to Wear

“Dress?” Anders asked.

“Hmph. You’re the only male I know who would know or care about asking that. Casual. My budget runs to Denny’s, especially now while I’m out of work.”

“I’ll see you at six, then,” Anders said, “and I’ll be dressed for Denny’s, but since your budget is tight, I have a better idea.”

“What?”

“It’s a surprise. I’ll show you tomorrow.” He brushed his lips against her cheek, and was gone before she could decide whether he’d actually kissed her – and whether she should have turned her face toward him and kissed him back. (From A Gigolo for Christmas, by Natalie Peck)  http://tinyurl.com/p6lp5mu

Madder than a Wet Hen

They rounded the corner of the garage and saw utter chaos. Some chickens had escaped their coop and were clucking, squawking, flopping and fluttering about outside their pen. The hens still in the enclosure were even more hysterical.

Wang Huck and Jack, entering the coop, waded into the melee, trying to corner two smallish dogs within the enclosure. With men and dogs now inside their fence, those chickens still in the pen were doing a frantic dance-and-screeching squawk.

Each time a dog was cornered, the men made a lunge for it but several chickens would get in the way. The dog would escape and run to the other side of the pen, stirring up more chickens. Jack was yelling and waving his arms. Wang Huck’s howling, punctuated by his singsong words, wove in and out of the discordant noise and made a most unusual accompaniment to the cackles, barks and yells.

The panorama was so unexpected and bizarre the girls started to giggle. The harder the men tried, the less successful they were. The funnier the situation became, the harder the girls giggled. The men were getting tired. Rebecca, still laughing, thought of a possible solution. (From Sirens in her Heart by Natalie Peck) http://tinyurl.com/qxxvmz4

Screaming and Shouting

A squealing howl, a loud bang, and a very prominent whistling noise grabbed everyone’s attention. The wind suddenly poured itself into one of the jetways, flinging the terminal door open, bringing snow with it. A loud bell wailed and a bright red light above the door started flashing.

A woman’s shriek and several children’s terrified screams added to the din. The gate agent only took moments to punch a code into the keypad next to the door and silence the alarm. He picked up a phone receiver and shouted into it over the roaring wind.

His yell was loud enough everyone could hear him reassuring security the alarm had been caused by the wind, not a person trying to get into restricted areas of the airport.

Hanging up the phone, he struggled against the wind to push the door closed. Once the door was secured, he got on the PA system to calm everyone down. It was several long minutes before the children quieted. (From Meet Me Midway, by Natalie Peck) Read more here.

Who's yo Daddy?

“Patron?” She gave a little shake of her head to indicate her supposed lack of understanding of the word.

“Yes, patron; you know, someone with money who would back your, ah, venture, but who wouldn’t ask for money as repayment.” Again his eyes slid her frame from toe to head and back.

Bile rose in her throat before she swallowed it away. Dredging up a smile, she pasted it on her lips and stood, anger held in check by sheer willpower and the practice she’d had overcoming the odds which had been stacked against her since she was thirteen years old.

“Mr. Hellerson,” she said sweetly, reaching for her file. “I believe the word you’re looking for is ‘Sugar Daddy’.” (From The Moms Place, by Natalie Peck) Read more here.

Sexiest Dimples Ever!

“Have I told you how sexy I think your dimple is?”

He shook his head.

Sheila laughed. “When I first saw you standing there in your tux, I thought you looked like James Bond.”

“James Bond, huh? That’s a reputation that will be hard to live up to.” (From A Gigolo for Christmas, by Natalie Peck)  Read more here.

Tree Through the Roof

“Lightening usually hits tall things. We’re surrounded by very tall trees, so we should be okay with that. Light the fire and let’s keep watching.”

She’d no sooner spoken the words when the air in the cabin turned blue with lightening while thunder showered an angry roar around them. The crack of splintering wood followed the sound. Frozen in petrified horror they watched as part of the tree barely five yards from their front door disintegrate ten feet above the ground. The balance of the sixty foot pine shuddered, briefly suspended in the air before it tilted, gathering momentum and closed the distance to their cabin’s roof.

Matt yelled. Katy screamed. Melanie automatically gathered Katy in her arms. The tree settled with Melanie half sitting, half lying on the floor still clinging to Katy, who had buried her face in her mother’s neck. Melanie looked for Matt amid the debris which had been the living room just moments ago. Rain was pouring in on them where the roof had been destroyed, but Melanie ignored it as she turned her attention to finding her son.

“Matt!” Panic filled her. “Where are you?” (From "Hidden Strengths" by Natalie Peck, Bits and Bites) Read More Here

Sorry, I Thought You Were Somebody Else.

As she pulled into her driveway, a car was waiting there. Fear knotted her stomach; she didn’t recognize the car. Rebecca tried to remember what kind of car Gil drove, but drew a blank.

It must be him. I told him I didn’t want to see him this morning. He’s got a lot of nerve.

Shaking with fury, she got out of her beat up Mustang, stomping over to the car. Rebecca yanked the door open and began her tirade.

“Just what do you think you’re doing here, Mister…” when she realized there was a woman sitting in the driver’s seat, not Gil. She stopped, confused and a bit disappointed and looked again. It was Harriet, her old school chum and very best friend. Shock held her still a moment before she could gather her wits. (From Sirens in her Heart by Natalie Peck) More about the book

Weekly Update - 11/30/15

This week I spent two days in the kitchen with my daughter, baking pies and a turkey, whipping cream, and mashing potatoes. Time well spent, we had a lot of fun and also washed a mountain of dishes.


We published Natalie Peck's Sirens in her Heart on November 27th. Sirens isn't the first book Natalie's had published, but it is the first she wrote, and the only one of her works that her author mother got to read before her passing. The book was published on Natalie's mother's birthday. Sirens is available here, or at the usual retail outlets.


The office renovations continue: I sewed the panels for my screen, and also the curtain that will hang above it to block the rest of my closet from view of my office. The curtain still needs to be hung up. I promise there will be before and after photos when we're finished.


My daughter's birthday present this year is fabric to sew her own set of Jedi robes. I got it for her early, since her birthday is rather close to the movie's release date, and she wouldn't have time to finish it beforehand. We've been doing a lot of sewing. I use a rolling computer desk for my sewing table, and both of our machines will fit on the table back-to-back so we can both sew at the same time. I told her the other sewing that's been sitting around forever has to be done before the Jedi robes, because otherwise it will never get done. I've hemmed ten "wedding" tablecloths (don't ask, not an imminent event, but needed to be done), discovered that my sewing machine is violently allergic to the magenta thread that matches the curtain, sewed the aforementioned screen panels and curtain, and discovered that a long-awaited blouse that's been cut out for two years was cut wrong...I had two left halves of the back, and no right half...and I cut it out two years ago from old fabric that was lying around, so I can't just re-cut another back panel. I nearly cried. I really wanted that blouse. My daughter's been working on a Christmas present for my Dad and doing an excellent job of it. All that's left is to finish the Christmas present, assemble two nightgowns that have been cut out for a couple of years, and then we can start on the Jedi robes.


I've also done a bunch of editing:

• Misty was sent from one of my editors back to the author for more work. It's just finishing the first round of editing and we expect to publish by April's end. It's the second book in Marie Evergreen's Travelers series. The first book, Quinn, is available here, or at all the usual retail outlets.
• I did initial rewrites on Encounter at Kiral - it's the second book in Scott Ashby's Cavaliers series. It should be out in October. The first book, Assignment to Earth, is available here or at your favorite retail outlet.
• C R Simper's Rift Watcher has been sent to the final copyeditor. It's the first in the Rift Watcher series, and should be out by the end of December.
• I started edits on The Blogger, a novella that should be out in June. I'm not mentioning the author's name here yet, because I haven't asked him if he wants to use his own or a pen name.
• We're also deep in edits on Bolts from the Blue (A M Jenner), An Independent Love Affair (Natalie Peck), and an as-yet unnamed thriller by A M Jenner.
• Also, A M Jenner is in the midst of two more novels; Corpse on the Porch, which is this year's NaNoWriMo winner and Pushing up Roses.

No, I haven't done much sleeping.

Exciting things happening!

Scott Ashby's book Crown of Tears was published October 31st. It's another great fantasy. What's it about? Only the magical coronation band can name the true heir - and next ruler - of Notia. However, the band has been stolen. King Kaddick is dying, and his three daughters, Calla Lily, Gladiola, and Marigold, must find the coronation band before it's too late.


Natalie Peck wrote her first romance novel over a quarter century ago. It was the only one of Natalie's novels her author/mother got to read before her death, and although she rarely read fiction, she told Natalie it was an excellent book. Last year, Natalie was cleaning out her storage room, rediscovered the original manuscript, dusted it off, updated the technology, and submitted it.
The Electric Scroll editors agreed with Natalie's mother - it's an excellent book. Sirens in her Heart will be published on November 27th, Natalie's mother's birthday.


We're pleased to welcome C R Simper as an Electric Scroll author. She has two short steampunk stories published in anthologies, and her first novel, Rift Watcher, will be coming out in December.

Call for Beta Readers

I've got two novels in need of beta-reading.

Bolts from the Blue is a contemporary romantic suspense by A M Jenner, set in Arizona and Washington D. C. It involves a woman who can see emails as they float through the air, and what happens to her because of her ability.

Sirens in her Heart is a contemporary romance by Natalie Peck. It's set in an unnamed large city in the United States and centers around a once-bitten twice-shy ambulance attendant. It's only nearly contemporary, as it is placed when female ambulance attendants were still fairly new, unusual, and, some think, not to be trusted.

I'm looking for people who enjoy reading, are good at picking mistakes out of movies and books, and have time to get the editing done and the manuscript back on time. Beta readers are allowed three weeks to read, mark-up, and return the manuscript. Must have Microsoft Word. No, OpenOffice won't cut it, the programs aren't good as passing tracked changes back and forth between them. All readers will receive an ebook copy on publication, and a mention (if they want it) in the acknowledgments.

Anyone interested in either novel please email secretary@electric-scroll.com. I will take the first three readers for each book, and place other interested people on a list for the next time I'm looking for beta readers.

Tanella's Flight Nearing Release!

We're so happy to share the brand new cover for Scott Ashby's book, Tanella's Flight. The book is in the final stages of publication. The various formats will be released as they are ready, over the next three weeks.

The next projects will be Natalie Peck's A Gigolo For Christmas, and the short story anthology Bits and Bites. We're looking forward to getting the new covers from the art department and showing them to you soon.

Chatting with Natalie Peck

We're pleased to interview the second of our new authors, Natalie Peck.

ES: Tell me a little about yourself as a person.

NP: I’m Natalie Peck. I’m married, with a daughter, and I live in Gilbert, Arizona. I love trying new recipes and coaxing my family to eat my creations. Nearly all of my favorite television shows are British. I’m taking a class to learn how to draw, and surprising myself by doing better than I thought I would.

ES: If you had unlimited money, what’s the first thing you would spend it on?

NP: I’d buy my mom a reliable car.

ES: What’s your biggest fear?

NP: Crickets. Well, most bugs, really, but crickets really scare me because they always jump right at my face.

ES: What is the most important thing in your world?

NP: My daughter. My entire world revolves around raising her and convincing her that she’s the awesome individual that she is.

ES: What is your favorite color?

NP: Most shades of purple.

ES: What’s your writing tool of choice?

NP: I do most of my writing on my computer. For writing by hand, I prefer a pen, either ball point or fountain.

ES: Reading: Paper or Electrons? Why?

NP: I read both. I like my Nook, because I can take so many books with me wherever I go, and they weigh nothing, but I also like the feel and smell of paper. My family owns pretty close to 5,000 paper books, and I think I’ve got somewhere around 300 or so on my Nook.

ES: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

NP: I assume you mean with the “me” time that isn’t taken up with cooking, cleaning, child-raising and other such family stuff. I like to read, play computer games, play board games, and watch TV with my family. I love going someplace cool with my daughter, just to watch her eyes light up.

ES: Tell me about your current work in progress.

NP: I’m working on a novella that’s currently named Meet me Midway, which is about two people who meet while they’re stuck in a storm at an airport. Being a romance, of course they fall in love, but then they have to figure out how they’re going to make things work, since one is a senior writer at a Manhattan advertising agency, and the other lives in small-town USA helping the grandparents take care of the family farm. The book will be out this fall, and I’m so excited that the Electric Scroll is publishing it for me.

ES: Tell me about your most recent published work, and why people should buy it.

NP: When I first wrote A Gigolo for Christmas, I asked my friend A M Jenner if we could publish it under her name, since she was already an established author. I’ll be getting it re-published under my own name within the next year, through the Electric Scroll, but until then, you’ll have to buy it with the old name still on it.

The story is a sweet romance between a woman who has nothing left to lose, and a guy who has, in her opinion, the most unsuitable job in the world.  Here’s the official book description:

Shelia Everett couldn't have imagined a worse company Christmas party. By the end of the evening she was unemployed and homeless.

Fortunately her boss' date, Anders Adamson was willing to help her repair the damage. He even offered to help her get a job at his escort service.  What's a good girl to do when she discovers she's fallen in love with a gigolo?  

Anyone wanting to read a sweet romance should buy my Gigolo and take him home for Christmas. You can get it here.