Monday, December 31, 2007

Happy New Year from Phaze

Happy New Year!PhazeAlthough it's a wonder that paper can hold words so hot without catching fire, some of my work is available in print.

And, to start 2008 in style, Phaze is having a sale on all its paperback titles.

So, you can pick up ArtiFactual, fine flickering hungers (an EPPIE winner!), Phaze in Verse (an EPPIE finalist!), Coming Together: For the Cure (another EPPIE finalist!), Coming Together: Under Fire, and Phaze Fantasies I for 25% off the regular price directly through the Phaze website!

The sale code to use at checkout is OHOHOH and is valid January 1st & 2nd. Enjoy with my warmest regards for the new year!

Monday, December 24, 2007

Stuff Me in Your Stocking

Phaze's annual 50% off sale runs from midnight December 24th through 1 AM December 26th (Eastern Time).

All ebooks are marked 50% off!

Gotta hold a dead tree version in your hot, little hands? Phaze will have a 25% off paper sale for New Years.

The checkout code that customers need to use for the ebook sale is HOHOHO.

Happiest of holidays,

~ Alessia

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Under Fire


Coming Together: Under Fire
Available NOW in both ebook ($7) and print ($16) from Phaze!

~~~

Saturday, December 22, 2007

The sincerest form of flattery

I had the pleasure of meeting a seriously whacked author at EPICon in 2007. Jeff Strand, dubbed the EPPIE Awards' M.C. for Life, has an enviable sense of humor that I am going to imitate (i.e., plagiarize) below. I believe this qualifies as furthering his career, so he shouldn't object too strenuously.

10 SIMPLE WAYS TO FURTHER MY CAREER

If you’re reading this, no doubt you order all my new books in a flurry of “Oh, jeez, please don’t let it be sold out…please, please, please don’t let it be sold out…all I ask is this one small–oh, thank God! Woo-hoo! V for Victory! Yeeeeeee-ha!” That’s cool. You have my utmost gratitude.

Unfortunately, it’s been brought to my attention that many of you think that your role in the process ends with purchasing and subsequently reading the books. Well, that kind of lackluster effort puts a frowny face on my face. I thought we were in this together! I’m not saying that you should be as committed to my success as I am, but is a 65/35 split too much to ask?

The process should be:

  1. I give you the precious gift of writing a new book.

  2. You buy and read my gift to you.

  3. You try to help me make it wildly successful.

  4. I get paid more for giving you future gifts of writing new books.

We’re good with 1 and 2, but 3 and 4 are a bit shaky. Perhaps it’s my fault. I haven’t provided enough guidance. Therefore, Jeff has helpfully compiled a list of 10 ways that you can assist me in selling lots of books. Please select three (3) tasks from the list and complete them at your earliest convenience.
  1. Buy Extra Copies. This is the easiest way you can help. Order several extra copies (several meaning 3 to 7) and leave them in strategic points around your city, such as a bus stop or a Starbucks. Check into BookCrossing where you can read & release books into the wild. This allows a stranger to discover the book, think "Here now, what’s all this?", read a few pages, and–SHAZAM!–I've just acquired a new fan who will order fine flickering hungers and Coming Together: For the Cure and ArtiFactual: Tales of the Erotique Mystique and Phaze Fantasies I and Time Warp and Artistically Inclined and Double Header and Bound for Success. All for the rather effortless act of changing the number in your online shopping cart from 1 to 7. See how easy this is?

  2. Spam. Spam like your frickin' life depended on it. Look, when I spam, it's spam, but when YOU spam, you're merely sharing news about your very favorite author. Possible subject lines include: "OMG! Alessia Brio RULEZ!" and "BRIO WRITES INCREDIBLE SEX!"

  3. Defend Me From Critics. Sometimes there'll be a message board thread or a blog comment, and somebody will say "Gosh, I can’t wait until my copy of Alessia Brio’s new book arrives," and some other cretin will say "Forget that! I don’t order ebooks!" Well, pardon my use of the f-word disguised with asterisks, but f*** them! Don't allow those Whiny Walters or Negative Nellies to poison the populace against my ebooks! When somebody posts something like that, reply back (in all caps) that you're going to kick them right in the teeth. If the message board allows you to insert graphics, include a picture of some teeth and Photoshop a picture of your foot kicking them.

  4. Write Your Own Alessia Brio Fan Fiction. If it's slash fiction, include relevant illustrations.

  5. Act All Impressed And Stuff By Good Reviews. After you've read the review, print out 75-80 copies and post them around your hometown. Stand next to the flyer in the highest-traffic area, put on your most winning smile, and tell passing strangers that we roomed together in college.

  6. Drive a Species To Extinction in My Name. This sounds ambitious, but I'm not talking about a major species, like manatees or humans. I just mean that if, maybe, you're walking down the sidewalk and you see this weird-looking beetle, and you remember from some science documentary that only one of them remains, that you stomp on it and shout my name. No big deal.

  7. Include the phrase "That's all well and good, but what does it have to do with Alessia Brio's fiction?" in all of your daily conversations. I think this one is self-explanatory.

  8. Praise Booksellers Who Carry My Books. The owner of Best Erotic Books doesn't HAVE to carry my books. Nobody put a gun to his head and said "Put these books on your site or your brains will create abstract art upon your flowery wallpaper," and they didn't punch him in the gut when he made a witty but anger-inducing comment about his splattery brains being better reading material than my books, and it certainly wasn't necessary to break a couple of his fingers to get him to cooperate. So why not praise the man? Tell him how much you appreciate the fact that he carries fine books written by people like me. Send him a package of expensive pears, or maybe bring over some hot cocoa after you visit his website, just to say "Thanks."

  9. Add Brio Promo To Your Signature Line. What does your current signature line have? A funny quote? A life-affirming statement? Promo for YOUR book? Sorry, but that me-me-me attitude isn't going to sell more copies of fine flickering hungers now is it? Change your signature line to say something like “Buy Alessia Brio's EPPIE Award-winning single author anthology fine flickering hungers or you suck!" Post often. Send a flurry of one-line e-mails with vapid content that won't distract the recipient from your signature line. Bonus points if you create a flashy, obnoxious, eye-melting banner that links to my website.

  10. Every Time You See a Computer, Visit This Webpage. At work? At your public library? At your local Circuit City? Anyplace there are computers around, just pop www.alessiabrio.com into the web browser and walk away. If they're seated in front of the computer and try to slap your hand away, pretend to enjoy the physical contact a little too much.

Okay, everybody got it? Let's get the Brio Brigade into gear and ROCK THE WORLD! March on, sexy friends!

Friday, December 21, 2007

And a Lammie Nomination ...

fine flickering hungers (print version) is a nominee for the Lambda Literary Foundation's annual awards.

The 20th Annual Lambda Literary Awards, the Lammies, will be awarded on Thursday, May 29, 2008 at the Silverscreen Theater at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California.

Book Expo America is also in Los Angeles that weekend. Thus, I may be making my first visit to LA in 2008. I'm just not sure that's a cherry I wanna pop... ever.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Fictionwise Super Year End Sale!

Fictionwise Super Year End SaleFictionwise Super Year End Sale!
Our biggest sale of the year has now begun! Now through December 31, every MultiFormat eBook is discounted 20% and every Secure eBook receives a 20% Micropay rebate. These discounts also apply when you use the "Buy this eBook for a friend!" button, which is located right below the "Add to Cart" button on every eBook description page. And Buywise club member discounts combine with these savings, as always! And don't forget, you can give the gift of eBooks or Buywise club memberships using our Gift Certificates system.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Cover Awards!

EPIC, the voice of electronic publishing, has announced the category winners of its annual cover art contest. I have two award-winning covers!

Ariana 2008A Gamble Worth TakingMy cover for Wendy Stone's A Gamble Worth Taking won the Ariana in the "Contemporary/ Suspense/ Mystery/ Historical Erotic Romance and Erotica" category. I get another one of those cool EPIC glass trophies to add to my *wink* collection! It and 12 other Ariana (category) winners now go on to compete for the QUASAR Award. Voting for the QUASAR will take place from January 15 to January 30, 2008 amongst the EPIC membership. The QUASAR will be awarded at EPICon in March 2007.



DAW 2008Lord CarabasAnd, my cover for James Buchanan's Lord Carabas took a runner-up (Dirk A. Wolf Honorable Mention) award in the GLBT category. I'll get a medallion for this one. Woot!

Monday, December 17, 2007

Fantasies in Print

Phaze Fantasies v1
Now available in print!

Phaze Fantasies I
by Alessia Brio, Leigh Ellwood, Bridget Midway and Ann Regentin
Ships in 2-3 Weeks

Four tales of erotic fiction by four Phaze favorites! Alessia Brio continues the Costa Rican adventure that launched fine flickering hungers, her EPPIE Award-winner. Bridget Midway shines with "Service Recall," a tale of relationship rebound done right. Leigh Ellwood opens the door to a magical menagé in "Midnight Passions." And Ann Regentin's "Midnight Conversations" explores the sexual memories of a fixer-upper's past occupants.

Length: Quasar (Anthology - 94,000 words)
Rating: 5 Novas (click here for Phaze's ratings legend)

Only $14 for a limited time (regularly $16)

Thursday, December 13, 2007

EPPIE Finalists Announced!

WOOT! I'm thrilled to be a part of TWO of the finalists for the 2008 EPPIE Awards. Coming Together: For the Cure (Erotica) and Phaze in Verse (Poetry) now proceed to the final round of judging.


EPIConPhaze in Verse
Coming Together: For the CureFor the complete list of finalists, visit the EPIC site. (If that doesn't work, Emily Veinglory's posted the full list on the EREC blog.) Winners will be announced at EPICon in March. Hope to see you there!

Sunday, December 02, 2007

4 Angels for Double Header

Double Header
Double Header packs one heck of a sexual punch right from the start. Andrea is a complex character with sizzling sexual needs. The reader will keep trying to figure her out. Her sexual needs are uninhibited and daring. She has a thoroughly modern outlook on sex. She comes across in the story as a confident, strong woman that knows exactly what she wants. There is interplay between Andrea and the baseball players. The secondary characters are a welcome addition to the story and add a certain fun and spice. The sex scenes are extremely hot and raw. The men in the story are sexy. The authors have done a nice job in telling a hot and sexy story.

Reviewed by: Dawnie

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Goin' to the Pink

Join a diverse group of authors from noon 'til 6 o'clock on Saturday 15 December 2007 at the Pink Banana Boutique in Virginia Beach, Virginia. We'll be signing our books, schmoozing with customers, and giving away a big 'ol gift basket!

The Pink Banana Boutique
352 N. Newtown Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23462

Crystal B. Bright ~ Bridget Midway
Leigh Ellwood
Alessia Brio
Monique Lamont ~ Yvette Hines
Denise Jeffries ~ Alexis Ke
Violet Heart
Pamela Kinney ~ Sapphire Phelan
Cheryl Bonner
Shara Lanel
Barbara Donlon-Bradley
Will Belegon