Monica Burns's Blog

I remember release days were filled with a boatload of emotions. Excitement, expectation, high hopes, happiness, and other positive emotions. It was a natural opium high, the endorphins raged high.

But with each successive release, it's become more about the negative side, which I try hard not to focus on. So, I wind up sort of pretending to ignore the book. I only check the rankings only a couple times during the day, then I move on.

All that said, Claiming His Christmas Angel: A Steamy Christmas Romance is a fun read IMHO, even though I'm the author. I love Atticus. I loved seeing him win Octavia's heart. Some will love it, like it, go meh. No problem. It's entertainment, and if it makes someone's day a little brighter with a couple of hours escape, I achieved a worthy goal.

Now I'm fighting with a home server on the cusp of complete chaos, and the need to move forward on the next three books.

Okay, so writing a blog post isn't as easy here as it first appears. Just lost EVERYTHING! Back to the beginning. I sent out my monthly newsletter late Friday night, and meant to post that if you aren't on my mailing list, you can READ IT ON LINE HERE . If I ever do a special coupon sale for subscribers, it will only in the email. It doesn't hit the online newsletter. So if you want to see those, you'll need to SIGN UP for the newsletter here

I chatted about characters who think they're in charge, particularly when it comes to when, where, and how hot a s*x scene is. Can I just say I have no control over these hellacious rebels. I meant ZERO control. They just don't care about the fact that I think I'm in charge. In fact, Atticus and Octavia are the reason I wrote the characters in control topic, and you can read their story CLAIMING HIS CHRISTMAS ANGEL on 10/29.

Also mentioned Bette Midler and Otto Titsling. If you know who Otto is, bonus points. LOL The divine Miss M is the one who gave me the idea to share some history about the bane of women everywhere, the bra.

I also have a sale coming up for DANGEROUS between 10/28 and 10/29 as it will depend on vendors and how fast they move. I still love this book so much.

CLAIMING HIS CHRISTMAS ANGEL is now up for pre-order, so be sure to order today for the release day price point, which will go up a week after release day. I also just sent out my newsletter, so if you didn't receive it, check your SPAM. IF you're not on my list, sign up for a complimentary read and stay for the fun history facts every month.

I've been doing a lot of audiobook reading in fantasy over the past two months. And I've enjoyed most of what I've read. I just finished The Elf Tangent by Lindsay Buroker, which was a fun read. You can read my review here.

I've started about four different fantasy books of varied flavors in the past two weeks (audiobooks), and there were quite a few DNFs for me. That's a new event for me. In the past I would always finish a book I started. But when time is at a premium, and the book just isn't hitting the mark, then I have to drop it and move on.

One DNF was due to the narrator, I always listen to the samples, but that's not always a good feel for the overall read. For some reason, I thought I could move on past the narration, but it was so stilted and dry I didn't even get through the first chapters. A shame, because I still think I might have enjoyed the story. But narrators who are slow speakers in the narration, kill it for me. So DNF.

If you enjoy mystery and ancient Rome, then be sure to check out BLOOD OF A GLADIATOR by Ashley Gardner. It was a fun mystery read and rich in historical detail. I know my ancient Rome trivia points, so I'm not kidding about how wonderful it is historical wise. The ambiance of the book just puts you right there in the heart of Rome. The mystery was excellent too, I almost had it figured out, then missed a breadcrumb and picked someone else as the guilty party.

Off to read and write. *grin*

xoxo
Monica

My latest newsletter went out last week, and if you're not on my mailing list, you missed out on the unusual topic of pretty elevators, and complimentary reads with a newsletter signup from other historical and time travel romance authors.

Readers are loving Scandalous and I'm thrilled readers are loving Amalie and Valeran. The next Reckless Rockwoods book is Theo's and Genevieve's story, and these two continue to chat randomly with the muse. It's irritating, but I press on. I've started Chapter 7, and I hope to at least have the book done by the end of summer. I have a submission to an editor that needs to be written. It's all plotted out, so I think it will go reasonably fast. Then I'll return my focus to Wills's story Untouchable in the Rockwoods series. There are already seven chapters of his book done.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a hot topic on social media these days, and as always, there are two sides of a coin. Part of the problem is a lack of understanding of AI, as there are three different kinds (technically four). However, too many people are getting certain kinds of AI mixed up and confused. This is complicated when people post about AI, but don't clarify what kind their talking about. Posters are assuming two things when they post about AI without clarifying.

1) The poster is assuming everyone knows what AI is, and what kinds of AI there are.
2) The poster is assuming everyone knows what kind of AI they're talking about. People can't read minds.

When the posts don't clarify things and make assumptions, it winds up making information jumbled until people who know little about AI wind up believing all AI is bad. Misinformation is something I CANNOT stand. Knowledge is power, and we need to be knowledgeable or those in power are NOT going to protect creators, as there are legitimate and grave concerns about Generative AI (GAI) .

However, all the fear-mongering, misinformation, and general lack of knowledge about AI in the wild feels like I'm living in Salem, MA. Especially when boycotts, shaming, and vicious accusations are happening on social media. Authors are going to get hurt.

As I said, I have concerns about original content theft, use, and wild, wild west behavior of corporations building their databases, but I think that some GenAI (GAI) can be used ethically in the form of assistive AI (AAI) for things like editing, information gathering and basic story plotting, and researching topics outside of creative content, especially if GAI is pulled from a company's internal database. But it's all a fine line so knowing more about AI helps clarify things.

Beginning with my July newsletter, I plan on doing some short segments and fact-checking based on my research and reading I've done on the topic. My goal is to help expand knowledge of what AI is, how the general public is currently using it, and help readers know what kind of questions to ask others when AI is mentioned. I'm coming prepared with charts, spreadsheets, videos, and geek talk. LOL

Why not signup for my newsletter , and enjoy my monthly historical tidbits I find while research, while absorbing some AI facts, and learn what to look for when it comes to AI content that is published (at this point, it's easy to spot).

Scandalous: Family Ties and Spies The Reckless Rockwoods are back!!

So I just sent out my newsletter. It's been more than a year, but I've not had anything to share that wouldn't actually bore you! So, I do have news now. Scandalous arrives on Valentine's Day, and I think you're going to really enjoy this book. I had so much fun writing this, I love Amalie's salty language. While I'm probably the only one who's going to get the jokes or laugh, maybe some readers might. Amalie is generally the one who is the instigator. The stones scene is a particular favorite of mine. It leads to a pretty fiery scene.

This is book #6 in the Reckless Rockwoods series and pretty much EVERYONE in the series makes an appearance OR is a major player in the book. Julian and Patience have several scenes on their own, AND all the sisters, SILs and Aunt Matilda are in a pivotal scene.

I also shared a number of pictures in my newsletter from my trip to Europe, which was a trip of a lifetime. There were some hysterical moments, and some NOT so funny. But overall the fun moments completely obliterated the few disheartening moments I had.

So check out Scandalous: Family Ties and SpiesScandalous and it's plump country mouse of a heroine, who knows how to fend off the cat in more ways than one ! I call it my What if Marvel's Daredevil met Bridgertons Penelope book. These two are wonderful together. Just my opinion of course, but I don't often rave about my books.