Wild Card Willa

2006-08-08T05:49:00.000-07:00

Sure is quiet around here... is that a tumbleweed I just saw rolling by?

Things have been incredibly busy, not to mention crazy. We've just moved into a new house, and we're loving it -- but we doubled our cat capacity from three to six. First, we took in two elderly refugees from a friend of mine who's had them all their lives, but had to move and needed new homes for them. Then, we found a kitten stuck up in the engine of the car. Said kitten bounced back like a champ and is now running around like an insanely running thing.

If you know me, you know I'm a crazy cat lady. Here's the rundown of my motley crew:

Ringo: 14, orange tabby, HUGE
Juliet: 14, creamsicle longhair, dainty
Merlin: 9, white and gray longhair, sturdy
Loki: 6, white with dark gray spots, HUGE
Nimmy: 1, mostly Siamese, dainty
Numfar: 6 weeks, white with light gray spots, itty-bitty

It's a regular Brady Bunch!

I'm hoping to post more often, about more interesting things. Stay tuned! ;-)

All Moved In!

2006-07-25T04:18:00.000-07:00

Finally, finally, finally I'm all moved in to the new place! I'm in hog heaven here. Have my own office and everything. And to my delight, things have been going great in my absence. Sales of "All It Takes" are fabulous -- I hope you're all enjoying it! Stay tuned for new books coming from Changeling, Loose Id and Samhain -- and possibly more! In the meantime, Happy Tuesday, and here's hoping you have a fabulous day!

2006-07-17T00:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, folks -- I'm moving house, and didn't realize how much of my time it would eat. There probably won't be much of anything on this blog until I'm done, around August 1. But then, I'll make up for lost time!

New Release from Changeling Press!

2006-07-14T04:06:00.000-07:00

"Surprise -- it's a girl."

Sullivan's just an ordinary comic book artist -- excuse us, graphic novelist -- if there is such a thing as an ordinary graphic novelist -- who bought an old drawing table as a hell of a bargain.Who knew the thing would be enchanted?

Now, whoever Sullivan draws comes to life. One of his cartoons, a punked-out, warm-hearted sprite named Melissa, has almost fully integrated herself into the world and become Sullivan's best friend. It's her mission in life to find him his one true love, since he's given up on looking for Mr. Right or even Mr. Right Now.

Looks like she may have succeeded. The thing is, Sullivan doesn't know that Melissa's in love with him. And Melissa doesn't know that Sullivan has feelings for her, as well.

All it takes is a little magic…

http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=390

Top 10 Evil Overlord Rules! (Joke)

2006-07-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

1. My Legions of Terror will have helmets with clear plexiglass visors, not
face-concealing ones.

2. My ventilation ducts will be too small to crawl through.

3. My noble half-brother whose throne I usurped will be killed, not kept anonymously imprisoned in a forgotten cell of my dungeon.

4. Shooting is not too good for my enemies.

5. The artifact which is the source of my power will not be kept on the Mountain of Despair beyond the River of Fire guarded by the Dragons of Eternity. It will be in my safe-deposit box. The same applies to the object which is my one weakness.

6. I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.

7. When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?" I'll say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought I'll shoot him then say "No."

8. After I kidnap the beautiful princess, we will be married immediately in a quiet civil ceremony, not a lavish spectacle in three weeks' time during which the final phase of my plan will be carried out.

9. I will not include a self-destruct mechanism unless absolutely necessary. If it is necessary, it will not be a large red button labelled "Danger: Do Not Push". The big red button marked "Do Not Push" will instead trigger a spray of bullets on anyone stupid enough to disregard it. Similarly, the ON/OFF switch will not clearly be labelled as such.

10. I will not interrogate my enemies in the inner sanctum -- a small hotel well outside my borders will work just as well.

Whoops

2006-07-06T03:31:00.000-07:00

Ack! I missed a day of posting yesterday. Blame it on the mountain of boxes stacking up in my living room. The place looks like a hurricane blew through here!

I have some preliminary recommendations for folks -- print books. And yes, I read M/F from time to time -- and enjoy it, too. ;-) These look like they're going to combine my love of mythology with a good romance: "The Goddesses" by Alicia Fields (which you can find on amazon.com). I've treated myself to Athena ("All's Fair in Love and War"), Aphrodite ("Fatal Attraction"), and Persephone ("Love Underground").

If I can find some time, I'll be reporting in on these soon.

In other news, I've just finished a novella, "Sixty-Nine Reasons", scheduled for late fall at Changeling Press. It's another vampire story -- I just love my fangy boys -- and I hope you'll enjoy it when it's released.

But now, here comes the big push for my July menage "All it Takes"! Keep an eye out for drafts and notifications. This book is big, and it's going to be big. Can't wait for you to read it!

Over and out,
Willa

Blog Contest Winner!

2006-07-04T07:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who played! This week's winner is...
Jodi!

Jodi, contact me at willaokati@gmail.com with the name and format of the Changeling book that you'd like.

Hope you all have a great week, and keep on stopping by here to check out what's new -- there'll be something posted every day!

Books, books, books -- Books Everywhere!

2006-07-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

I'm in the middle of packing up to move from the apartment I currently live in to a house. I didn't realize I had so many books! And darned if I'm not going to get some use out of my Master's in Library Science -- so I'm cataloguing them. So far, I've got over 1,000. Now, I know that's a pretty paltry collection compared to many, but that's not including the e-books.

Whooooo lordie.

But I'm still making time to read and to write, so everything's ticking along.

NOTE: My web site is currently going to go down. I'm going to learn HTML yet if it's the last thing I do, and maybe I'll come up with something good this time.

2006-07-01T05:19:00.000-07:00

Another day, another nifty thing! I discovered when checking my e-mail this morning that Joyfully Reviewed had selected my June release from Changeling Press as one of their Recommended Reads. I'm so glad. My sense of humor really came out to play on this one, and I've had several people tell me it's the funniest, sexiest thing they've ever read. You can read the whole review here: http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/reviews/StraightManCoffeeGuy.htm

Currently Reading

2006-06-30T17:34:00.000-07:00

Yaoi mania! I've treated myself to several Yaoi novels from Amazon, and I'm off to have a lovely long read-through of beautifully illustrated manlove. Jazz Volume 1 is calling my name...

If you have the time, stop by Ciar Cullen's blog. She's got a psychic doing free readings -- loads of fun!

Stay tuned for an interview coming soon...

PROMO: "A Year and a Day" a Top Pick!

2006-06-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

I was absolutely thrilled to receive the following in my e-mail this morning from Shay of Sensual Reads & Reviews:

"A Year and A Day is Sensual Reads and Reviews 2006 Pick for June, and in the running for book of the year! Such talent!"

You can read the whole review here: http://sensualreads.net/wp_sr_reviews/?cat=15

Review: "Wolf Dance" (Ann Vremont) (M/M)

2006-06-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

I read this last night, late, and didn't get a chance to post about it -- so better late than never!

Ann Vremont is an amazing talent. She creates an entire worldscape in this short (8K) story, and makes you not only believe in it, but root for the main characters which are, to say the least, hot as the fires of hell. Believe me, once you read about Yuki and his wolf tail, you will never look at a shapeshifter story the same way again. Can't say much for fear of giving away details, but trust me -- this is one to buy, read and love.

You can find "Wolf Dance" available at Changeling Press (http://www.changelingpress.com)

Four and a half torch songs!

Reviewed: Promises To Keep (Jules Jones)

2006-06-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

Jules Jones just has something about her that takes my breath away every time I read something she's written. There's an instant bond and rapport with her characters that catches you, draws you in, and makes you love them. This wasn't my first time reading the Loose Id Fling "Promises to Keep", but I enjoyed it just the same. A vampire makes a promise to a dying man... can he turn down the offer, or should he take the opportunity of a short lifetime? Jules creates a touching story of a man who finds hope in the most unexpected of places, and leaves us with still more hope for the future.

Five torch songs for JJ.

Doubleplusgood

2006-06-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

A great thing happened today!

I finished the rough draft of my contribution to an anthology coming next February from Samhain Publishing. This is a very erotic manlove ghost story called "Cafe Noctem". Be sure not to miss it from Samhain next spring!

I also got the cover art for "All It Takes", my July release from Changeling Press. Guys and ladies, this is going to knock your socks off. It's all about a female cartoon who comes to life and her determination to find her best friend Sully the man of his dreams... except that she wants to be his woman.

Looking forward to July!

It's Not New Year's, But..

2006-06-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

New determination: to read at least one e-book a day, and to review it in this blog.

Hey, authors out there -- possible free promo for ya!

Signing off to go immerse myself in a story...

Daily Status Report - Writing (6/27/06)

2006-06-27T07:25:00.000-07:00

Making great time today with the writing! One chapter down of the last deadline I have before I move (that isn't self-imposed, anyway...). This is for an anthology coming from Samhain Press. My contribution is a ghost story entitled "Cafe Noctem"... and I'm having a ball writing this.

Look for the anthology to come out next year...

Review: "The Tutor" (Sean Michael)

2006-06-27T05:06:00.000-07:00

Review: "The Tutor"

Author: Sean Michael

Press: Torquere Press (Single Shot)

Read this one last night as I was winding down for bed -- but it wound me right up instead. Peter is a graduate student and a tutor who's only counting on a regular appointment, but meets Kai instead, who turns out to be a whole lot more. I love Torquere's Single Shot line -- bite-sized stories that slide down so smooth. Sean Michael's writing is hot, hot, hot as ever, and the encounters between Peter and Kai will set your computer, palm pilot, or printer on fire.

Four torches!

Contest #1!

2006-06-26T17:49:00.000-07:00

We'll start off with an easy one -- your chance to win a copy of "All It Takes", coming soon from Changeling Press. This is a longer work, as many of you have requested -- and I hope you enjoy! All you need to do is send an e-mail to willaokati@gmail.com with the subject header: "Blog Contest". A winner will be chosen one week from today to battle those Monday Blues. Good luck to all!

Welcome!

2006-06-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the brand-spankin'-new blog for multi-published author of homoerotic romance, Willa Okati -- who would be, in fact, me. This to your left would be what I looked like if I were computer-generated. Luckily, I happened to be born a human being, although there are those who have their doubts.

There's a lot to come in this blog -- daily news, updates on publications, reviews of other e-books & print books, contests, and even a joke or recipe or two.

Settle in and enjoy the ride - because with Wild Card Willa, you never know what's coming next! Hope you come back to visit often, and stay a while. You're always welcome here!