The ARCs are HERE!!

Damien ARCs just arrived. Yummy yum yum! Everyone who won one in my chat last Saturday I am going to try and get them all out to you by wednesday of next week! (That goes for all prizes won from me lately....I know, I am slow...but I was also SWAMPED!)

In other news, I passed my driver's test (20 years between tests and it is STILL just as hard and scary as the first time...and just as thrilling to beat it!) I am now officially licensed in the State of NC. Ahhh.... Now if I could only find the damn title to my car!!!

And further news, Saturday from 9pm to 10pm I am holding a chat at the SMUT SLUTS website. I am giving away what I like to call the TRIFECTA. Signed copies of all three released books. But I am so delighted to have the ARCS I may just...well, we'll see. Hehe. How can you win the trifecta? Well, it won't be easy...and I'll just say one thing: TREASURE HUNT.

'Nuff said.

I was battling the blues today, but managed to make it through without pizza or chocolate. Imagine that! I have hopes that it gets better from here, though. All my deadlines are achieved for the moment and now I can relax and do some free-thinking writing...where I go wherever the mind takes me. You never know what that will bring. The Shadowdwellers came about this way. Once we get into that series you will see a significant change in my writing. I loosen up, heat up and my plots thicken. Kensington frees me to write however I like, heh, and I just may make them regret that! Just the same, as my reading tastes evolve, as I age, everything I write tends to change in a likewise manner. I don't ever want to become predictable or stuck in a rut. I've seen it happen to some of my favorite writers. I don't believe in "If the formula works, use it again...and again...and again!" Obviously some things will never change. I will always have a HEA. (Happily Ever After) and I will always center my stories around the journey my H and H take to get there. It is romance, after all. Paranormal, fantasy, Sci-fi...yes...but romance just the same.

I want to give a shout to all my favorite soldiers who are out there doing a really tough job for a paycheck. They've really taken to the series, and they've been really gracious and kind to me as well.

Also, feel free to write to me and tell me what you thought of Elijah. I can always use the feedback.

Let's have a contest. Heh. For an ARC of Damien. Comment to this blog to enter a chance to win...by telling me which is your favorite Nightwalker race and why. Short answers are frowned on and may be disqualified. Put some thought into it...like I know you have. Epress yourself as if I might write a romance, and a Nightwalker, JUST for you!

Tick tock!!

Goes the clock! Four days until...



Oh yes. Oh yes!! Okay now watch me hurl as my nerves take over. BTW Damien just showed up on Amazon for Pre-order!! I haven't checked on B and N yet.

So I am holding an informal sort of contest to see who can send me a picture of Elijah (not an ARC STEPHANIE) on the shelves of their bookstore first :) I will think up a nice prezzie. If you can't post it or an url to it here with a link, just send it to me in email. First one in gets the goodies!

And don't forget that I am signing in Asheville on the 29th. I hope you guys in the area will come make it. I know with the holidays it's tough timing. But try please?

On release day I will be spending the day chatting with fans and friends in Brenda Williamson's yahoo group ALL DAY! I will post Elijah tidbits...and I will be giving away all kinds of gifts! Including an ARC of DAMIEN!! I don't have them yet, but as soon as it comes in, you can have it if you win it! So join me there, won't you?

I am cooking up a very special surprise for January. You'll only understand the value of it if you read Elijah. So...hurry up :P

Yule is fast approaching and I STILL haven't got my altar set up! We just found the box with my main components in it, but the gal heling me around the house...err...isn't. Kinda. So I am interviewing for a new housekeeper again. Those of you who pay attention to my life understand that this is person number 9 or 10 in like four years. I have such a headache!!!! But I just interviewed a nice girl and she seems promising. I am holding a couple of weeks of tryouts to see who works out.

I feel generous today! I just got my author copies of ELIJAH! Who wants an autographed, shiny special new copy? I can't send it until the holidays have passed because I am overwhelmed with work, prep, interviews and more. But you will have it after the 2nd :)

All you have to do is comment here. I want to hear stories. In honor of my obligatory frayed nerves, tell me about a time you were the most nervous EVER and what happened. Best story wins :) Usually I pick from a hat...this time I am going to see who makes me feel less like a dweeb. lol.

The D'Arc Side...

Jacki is a sweetie for letting us all take over her blog. Thanks, kiddo! Good luck with the move and we’re already missing you in New York!!!

So, you’re wondering, who the heck is this Bianca D’Arc character? Is it getting hard to keep track of all the writers traipsing through Jacki’s blog? Well, I’m the dragon lady of Samhain. No, really, I was the first to introduce dragons to the roster of Samhain Publishing back when they first opened their doors for business. My first Dragon Knights book, Maiden Flight, came out on Valentine’s Day of 2005 and I’m looking forward to the fifth, Wings of Change, releasing this September 11th. In between, I’ve managed to get five books out in print and started a paranormal series and a futuristic ménage series for Samhain as well.

That’s mostly what I write – paranormal, futuristic, scifi and fantasy romance. The hotter the better! LOL. I started my working career as a biochemist, so the sci fi is a more or less natural fit. I’ve been a sci fi and fantasy reader since I was a kid and love to mix genres.

As an example, my latest futuristic, Hara’s Legacy, is the start of a series that’s based on a future Earth, where humanoid aliens have taken over and killed off most of humanity. The only ones to survive are those with extrasensory abilities – foresight, telekinesis, telepathy, empathy, healing, and the like. The series, which will ultimately have five books in it, starts on a ranch hidden in the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies. The three brothers are cowboys, so there’s a bit of a Western air, but there are also post-apocalyptic issues they’re all dealing with, paranormal abilities and questions revolving around their very DNA. It’s a mix of sub-genres that somehow adds up to what I think is a pretty entertaining – and very hot – story.

I like bending the rules and stretching the boundaries. Sometimes I write multiple-partner relationships and sometimes not. It all depends on the characters and what they want to do. They’re in charge. Me? I’m just along for the ride. ;-)

Jacki used to live pretty close, so we’ve done a few signings together. I’m definitely going to miss her at those little shindigs, but we’ll still get to hang out at things like RT and the upcoming Reader Appreciation Weekend (RAW) Lora Leigh is hosting in Kentucky. If any of you make it to either event, please look me up! I’m a compulsive shopper, so I always have a lot of fun things to give away.

I guess I should mention my upcoming dragon story, Wings of Change, which will be releasing in ebook formats on September 11, then in print early next year in the anthology called, I Dream of Dragons. Great title, don’t you think? The story is about a dying dragon and how a tavern wench, who was born a noblewoman, helps save his life. She meets some hunky knights along the way and discovers her own heritage of magic and strength… oh yeah, and lots of love.

Love conquers all is a recurring theme in my books. I really like Happily Ever Afters (HEAs) and have been known to throw books against the wall when the author decides to kill off people I like or deny the hero and heroine an HEA. Just a little quirk of mine. By my own little definition of romance, I just don’t see how it can be a romance if it doesn’t have an HEA. Am I wrong on that? I don’t know, but you’re pretty much guaranteed an HEA in my books, though of course, I make the characters struggle to get there. *evil grin*

I’d better skedaddle now. I’m getting my little promo items together for RAW and the book signing at this year’s New Jersey Romance Writers Conference in October. If you’re at either event, or at one of the other signings I'm doing in the month of October, please say hello! Thanks to Jacki for letting me turn her blog into The D’Arc Side for a day. Just FYI - my old blog on blogger got eaten, so feel free to visit me on my new blog. I’ve got a scavenger hunt running right now, so hop on over there for details!

Bianca D’Arc
2007 EPPIE Winner Best Erotic Romance Fantasy/Paranormal
Come over to The D’Arc Side... WWW.BIANCADARC.COM

Greetings kidlets!

This time it is really me. I want to apologize to you and my guest bloggers. My vacation and my blogging schedule got totally FUBARed. But...I am home now and can control everything once more. Despite me being back early, the guests will continue as scheduled. This Friday, August tenth, will be the first day open with no one scheduled. I will contact every author that missed and guide them to post together on the tenth....using the twelfth as an alternate because it too is open. I will also be sending out daily notices about the postings from the mailing list as was supposed to happen originally. Sigh. Let's call it gremlins or an omen that Canada just is not somewhere I ought to be while in the process of buying a house.

Unfortunately, because of illness and situation, I have had to cancel my signing in Nova Scotia. To all those who may have planned to attend, I am deeply apologetic. I will have to call the store today and break the news to them. I am sure they will be very disappointed in me, as I am in myself. I was so careful with my plans to see that something like this would be avoided at all costs, but you know what they say about the best laid plans.

I further wish to thank Deidre (Desine) for being such an excellent friend and coming to my rescue. She has a beautiful home and a wonderful family. (And her hubby ought to be on the eye candy thread hehehe...ladies, she has been holding out on us!!) Seriously, Dwight is a charming and funny man and a super sweet Dad. It's nice to see. Even nicer to be around. But Deidre IS going to hell for introducing me to Minaimo Bars. (sp?)

Unfortunately I have come to the understanding that I am a princess. A spoilt American. A big fat baby. I am stuck in the grooves of my routine and though the heart is willing to go out and explore, the body is not capable. I am totally bummed about it. But I do have film of us getting LOST on Prince Edward Island...and it was the highlight of my trip lol! I will post a link on a thread somewhere. Truthfully, when I vacation I want to START at status quo and improve from there. While the trip was breathtakingly beautiful to the eyes, it was too rustic for someone with special needs like I have and I was in medical trouble within days. I will reserve specifics unless someone gives me cause to BE more specific (I.E. not refunding my money as agreed) Then I will get all kinds of specific all over the place, I assure you. Sound like a threat? More like a promise. I have lost thousands of dollars in one week and I won't allow it to happen to others. My needs aside...or as cause..., I was very careful every step of the way in planning this. My flaw was in not realizing that my definition of something clearly differs from other's definitions. Lesson learned....but hopefully not at too great an expense.

I missed you all. The house thing will no doubt have me crazy. You may not see much of me. Enjoy your guest bloggers!

Jacki