Vicky Loebel's Blog

Nothing is blogged under the sun.

Keys to the Coven has always been a monster of a book, stuffed full all the things a writer thinks of when she spends several years plotting and revising her first novel. :)  I love it dearly (and hope readers do too) but of course it has flaws and one of those, I think is that it ends a little too quickly, giving Max, Felicity, and us not quite enough time to get used to their new situation.

But once a book is done, it’s done, right? You can’t go back and revise….

Unless you get the bright idea of writing a short story epilogue that you can offer free to “Keys” readers as a thank you for signing up to your newsletter.

By ‘you” I mean “me” obviously, and that’s what happened! There’s now a 10-page epilogue to Keys to the Coven which of course has its own devious plot.

All you need to do to get the epilogue is subscribe to my newsletter. I don’t send emails often, but when I do there’s always something cool! The epilogue contains spoilers, so make sure you’ve read the novel first!

Happy…wait! What’s that? A taste? Here’s the introduction just to whet the appetite.

Happy reading!

In the beginning, there was fire. Blue fire, the brightness of the morning sky, white flames like midday sun, yellow, ochre, a thousand shades of heat, consuming buildings, spitting out souls.

“Thank you for helping me take the dogs back to Redwood City.”

Max put out the lighter he was holding and turned to the woman driving the rattling van. Felicity. Blond hair, loose around her shoulders. Turned up nose. He couldn’t see her eyes behind sunglasses, but he’d discovered during the last four days that they were green and gold. Her breasts, inside the unzipped leather jacket, were soft and round, exactly the right size to fill his hands.

Not that he’d touched her. Max wasn’t comfortable with touching.

“It’s really nice of you to make this trip.”

It’s really crazy of me. To climb inside a van stuffed with ten dogs and a woman whose name he barely knew and travel somewhere he’d never heard of. Not that the names he was leaving—Falstaff, Arizona, Firehouse One, Max poked the words with his mind’s tongue and felt nothing—not that the names he knew meant much.

“It would be tricky getting the dogs home on my own.”

Felicity. Nothing and everything. His first and only kiss. Max flicked his lighter and watched the flame. “It’s not like I had anywhere else to go.”

Join my newsletter and get the Keys to the Coven Epilogue FREE!

Nothing like doing a website migration in the middle of a free book promotion! Welcome to my new site. With a little luck, it will be exactly the same as the old website within a few days.

Web hosting. It’s a thing!

March is underway and I’m busy at work at the second Marriage of Convenience in my Brides of Paradise series, tentatively titled Sweetheart Bride.

This one concerns Chris’ cousin, Ryan, who didn’t fare too well in the marriage department in book one. Despite his sparkling personality, Ryan’s not sure anyone can actually love him. So what difference does it make if he gets boxed into a wedding with someone who’s stealing his heart?

Ryan and Ellie are spending part of their tropical romance at a hotel in Las Vegas with hanging gardens that flow from one balcony to another. I couldn’t find a picture of that (surprise) but here’s their view.

I don’t design my own covers–I’m not that crazy– but every once in a while I roll up my sleeves and schedule a play date with Photoshop. Yesterday I got the inspiration to make my book cover graphics 3D. A few slightly fumbling hours later and here’s the result thanks to a free template provided by Covervault.

Neato, huh? Now everything else just looks…flat :)

I’m super excited to announce the release of the first book in my new Brides of Paradise series. Centered around the fictional Paradise Resort in the United States Virgin Islands, these will be putting my personal spin on one of my favorite contemporary romance genres, the billionaire marriage of convenience.

When Anna Williams lands a spot on the Vacation Bride reality show, she’s hoping to give her sick father a break from the Milwaukee winter, not win a rich husband. Which is good, because the hunky maintenance man whose broad shoulders and clear blue eyes have caught her attention is neither rich nor part of the contest…is he?

Chris Andersen was a disinherited resort brat until his uncle’s family crashed their private helicopter during an argument over money. Now Chris is a secret billionaire, determined to make the Paradise Resort a success on its own. To pay for improvements, he’s hosting his cousin’s internet reality series, Vacation Bride, a show where women compete to win a rich husband. The women are silly and the show’s a lot of work, but the publicity seems worth it. At least until Chris finds out he may be entering the contest himself…as first prize.

I’m having a (totally online) Facebook Launch Party January 7 from 4p.m. to 8p.m. Pacific. There will be excerpts, prizes, and general fun. Hop into your beach pajamas and stop by!

See you at the beach!

I’m super excited to announce the release of the first book in my new Brides of Paradise series. Centered around the fictional Paradise Resort in the United States Virgin Islands, these will be putting my personal spin on one of my favorite contemporary romance genres, the billionaire marriage of convenience.

When Anna Williams lands a spot on the Vacation Bride reality show, she’s hoping to give her sick father a break from the Milwaukee winter, not win a rich husband. Which is good, because the hunky maintenance man whose broad shoulders and clear blue eyes have caught her attention is neither rich nor part of the contest…is he?

Chris Andersen was a disinherited resort brat until his uncle’s family crashed their private helicopter during an argument over money. Now Chris is a secret billionaire, determined to make the Paradise Resort a success on its own. To pay for improvements, he’s hosting his cousin’s internet reality series, Vacation Bride, a show where women compete to win a rich husband. The women are silly and the show’s a lot of work, but the publicity seems worth it. At least until Chris finds out he may be entering the contest himself…as first prize.

I’m having a (totally online) Facebook Launch Party January 7 from 4p.m. to 8p.m. Pacific. There will be excerpts, prizes, and general fun. Hop into your beach pajamas and stop by!

See you at the beach!

Perhaps not everything, but I do think the winter has a certain romance. So as I creep closer…closer to the January release of my new marriage of convenience contemporary romance series, Brides of Paradise, we’ll celebrate the depths of winter with the quote from Gertrude Stein that adorned the cover of my very first writing notebook.

On January 7th, I’m holding a Facebook Party to celebrate the release of book 1, Vacation Bride. There will be quotes, camaraderie, prizes, and the book will be on sale for a special price of 99-cents (no pressure to buy!) so feel free to sign up — to get a reminder from Facebook — or just stop in and visit.

See you there!

I’ve been a member of Romance Writers of America for over ten years, so it seems about time to be coming out with a romance series, right? My new book is called Vacation Bride and releases January 4, 2016. This is #1 in Brides of Paradise, a series of light-hearted contemporary marriage-of-convenience/romances centering around the mythical Paradise Resort in the United States Virgin Islands.

More soon. Meanwhile, here’s a peek at my new look, fresh off twitter!

Halloween is coming! To celebreate, my (shh don’t tell people it has zombies in it) paranormal romantic comedy “Speakesy Dead” is currently free, not only on Amazon, but other major ebook platforms as well. No strings attached, although if you enjoy the book, I’d love to hear from you or get a review.

I’ve got a new contemporary romance coming out January 7th, so if you’d like to be in on the initial Facebook Release Party & Giveaway Extravaganza and/or get news of the 99-cent first day release price, make sure to join my mailing list. I don’t send out a lot of emails (about 6 per year), but when I do, there’s always a special discount or giveaway.

Speakeasy manager Clara Woodsen will do anything to save her silent film idol from an untimely death. Even summon a demon. Even bet she can teach his half-human/half-cheetah assistant to foxtrot. But people around town are acting strange. Have Clara’s efforts unleashed a zombie plague? Or are her customers just really bad at dancing the Charleston? And can a career-minded woman find happiness with the man of her dreams if she uses her…brains?

.All Bernard Benjamin wants is a quiet life. At least as quiet as possible for a young college man possessing a golem housekeeper, five demon-summoning witches for cousins, and a dance partner who has not only two left feet but two right feet as well. Bernie is used to being his cousin Clara’s stooge, but when the chips are down, he knows they’ll back each other one hundred percent.  So why has Clara tied him up in a pentagram? And what’s she doing with that sharp, pointy knife?.

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