Membership Drive

Join Will & I, along with several Phaze authors, tonight from 9:00-10:00 Eastern for a chat at NovelSpot. We'll be pimping our new releases, talking about upcoming events, posting excerpts, and chatting with readers. And, we'll be giving away a copy of our first joint publication, Switch, to one lucky participant who joins my Yahoo!Group.

Here's the link: http://novelspot.net/novelspot_chat_room

Hope to see you there!

Going to Print!

Soooooo ... if you go to the Phaze web site (www.phaze.com) then click on the "Coming Soon" link ... then scroll alllllllllllll the way to the bottom, you'll see a little notice that looks like this:

DECEMBER

fine flickering hungers (print) - Alessia Brio

I am going to print!!! And, I'll be getting a new cover, too.

Yet another ...

... article about steamy erotic romance. This one's in the Detroit Free Press.

If you still believe that romance fiction is limited to endless pastel paperback covers with cursive titles and swooning virgins, prepare to have your world rocked.

There's never been a better time to be a reader with a dirty mind.

Or a writer with one.

I can't argue with that! *grin*

Ask Me Anything!

As if I don't have enough to do ...

New(ish) in the promo/networking blog-o-sphere is a site called FAQQLY, where you can ask the participant any question.

Drop by. Ask me a question. I promise to answer. I don't promise to tell the truth, but I do promise to answer. *wink*

A Wise Move

Things are really hoppin' at Phaze these days! One of many welcome developments is the inclusion of a large backlog of Phaze titles on FictionWise, a leading eBook store. The first of my work to be available via FictionWise is fine flickering hungers. In the next couple weeks, Erotique, Switch, and Amichu should also be available.

* * *
In other news, I'm back from the reading/signing gig in NYC. The Happy Ending Lounge is a dark and sexy place. We had a fantastic time, and the readings all sizzled. A group of Phaze authors and their (im)moral supports had dinner before the performance at a nearby restaurant called Sal's Little Italy. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by & tell Francesco we said "Hi!"


Next stop on the Alessia Brio travel calendar? San Diego! In October, I'll be attending the LaJolla Writers' Conference. We're still looking into the possibility of a signing event there. Stay tuned.

Phaze in the City!

Join Phaze authors Leigh Ellwood, Alessia Brio, Robin Slick, Will Belegon, Bianca D'Arc, Petula Caesar, and Cassidy Kent for a book reading & book signing event in New York City on Friday, August 11, 2006 from 7:30pm to 10:00pm at the Happy Ending Lounge!

Amichu Released!

Fresh from a "shocking" sexual adventure in Switch, Mandy and Bruce are headed to South America for another trek into the amorous unknown. When a friend of Mandy's late aunt sends news of an Incan artifact suited for Erotique, the duo travel to Rapa Nui to claim it. What they find instead could endanger not only the priceless item, but their lives. Amichu is the third in an exciting series of sexy adventures by the writing team of Brio and Belegon.

Don't miss this one, readers! It is one hell of an exciting $2 adventure. Download it today ... and please, let us know what you think.

Tit-Elating

I'm pleased to announce that my story Timeless is now live on the Tit-Elation site. It's a subscription-based site, but the quality of the work makes it worth the expense. Check 'em out!

Tee Hee

With the rash of media attention to the rising popularity of extra super-duper steamy romance novels (a/k/a erotica), I have a Google news alert set up on the keyword. I feel the need to keep my finger on the pulse of a shift that is responsible for my entry into the ranks of the published, y'know?

This morning, a gem of a newspaper article landed in my inbox. I'm still chuckling about it. Apparently, a candidate for public office (whose name, if you can believe it, is Fred Head -- I kid you not) can find no more substantial mud to sling than the fact that his opponent wrote a "pornographic" romance novel. Gasp!

This article is amusing on so many levels. First, his rant is a pathetic commentary on our times. (I'm quite ashamed to note that the man is a Democrat. Uptight assholery is, if you buy the stereotypes, supposed to be reserved for the fundy neocons.) One of his campaign ads reads:

Would you vote for a candidate who wrote a trashy, pornographic romance novel that glorifies premarital sex and seeks to arouse sexual interest as your State Comptroller of Public Accounts?

If she was qualified to do the job? You betcha! In fact, Mr. Head, if you were equally qualified, I'd vote for her because you are a narrow-minded twat who apparently cannot focus on the issues related to Comptrolling. Granted, comptrolling issues probably don't make good press. Sex does garner a bit more attention.

Mr. Head told reporters, "I don't know of anyone who has the gall to put their name on the ballot when they've written that kind of trashy pornographic thing." *snicker* Guess I know what to expect should ever get a wild hare up my ass and decide to run for public office.

Leaving Mr. Head alone for a bit, I turn my amusement toward the trashy pornographic thing, which was published by a now-defunct house and is long out of print. The article quotes one sentence from the book:

Their mouths had fused hotly, desperately, a feverish urgency in his touch.

How shocking! My sensibilities are offended. The adverbs ... they burn us, precioussssssssss. I'd love to see Bam or the Smart Bitches or the two Ja(y)nes tear this baby apart. (Wonder what the cover looks like?)

The article goes on to compare and contrast "smut" and "romance," with quotes from RWA's publicity director sprinkled with some publishing industry stats. All in all, a most entertaining way to start my day.

You can read the entire article HERE. Tee hee.