Holy Ned!

The results of the Rainbow Awards came out yesterday (full results here), and I have to say I was completely floored. Three of my books came away with a total of four awards, and...yeah...color me stunned.

So, if you'll indulge me, I have to share...
Cover Me took 7th/Honorable Mention in the Thriller/Mystery category.
But then two titles came along and...
OMG. Seriously. O.O

With The Band took 3rd (1st-3rd is considered an award winner as opposed to honorable mention) in the Contemporary Gay Erotica category...
And to my complete and utter speechless disbelief, Static won the Bisexual/Transgender Paranormal/Science Fiction category and took 9th in the Best Bisexual/Transgender Novel category.
Thank you so much to Elisa for hosting the Rainbow Awards, and to all the judges!

Also, congrats to the other authors who came away with awards, including Aislinn Kerry, Marie Sexton, Sloan Parker, Heidi Cullinan, Aleksandr Voinov, and Amy Lane!

REVIEWS: Ex Equals, With the Band, Damaged Goods

Some more lovely reviews today...

Joan/Sarah F at Dear Author reviewed Ex Equals and gave it a B+ Grade:

I totally closed this book (on my phone) with a Happy Book Sigh (TM SB Sarah). And really, what more can you want than that?

Kalyko at BlackRaven's Reviews reviewed With the Band and gave it 4.5 out of 5 Ravens:

With the Band by L.A. Witt held me spellbound for its 200 plus pages. It’s sexy—is it ever!—and fun and a wonderful story that goes well beyond a romance.

And finally, Stefani and Just Erotic Romance Reviews reviewed Damaged Goods and gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars:

Needless to say, this was a highly erotic story and these two don’t have any problem warming it up. I wouldn’t say it was orgasmic but it was certainly hot. I did enjoy Damaged Goods, and would recommend it.

REVIEW: Static, With the Band

Two great reviews from Jessewave!

Cole reviewed Static, and gave it 4.75 out of 5 stars:

"A fascinating story about what it feels like to live with a disconnect between mind and body in the study of transgendered people, all brought together with a paranormal twist. [...] I came away from the book still thinking about what she wrote days later."

The entire review is here.
And Wave reviewed With the Band, giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars:

"With music as a backdrop and protagonists as complicated and high maintenance as Aaron and Bastian, this made for a terrific story."

That review is here.
Thank you to the folks at Jessewave for the lovely reviews!

A HUGE Thank You and an Apology.

So I feel like a complete tool. I had every intention of putting this into With the Band's dedication, but I completely dropped the ball. 100% Authorfail.

As many of my readers know, there are some song lyrics in the book, those to the song (Un)Fading. The song is significant to the story and lyrics show up several times.

When I was writing With the Band, my good friend Lia Wolff was heavily involved as a beta reader. I frequently have people reading chapters as I write them, letting me bounce ideas off them, etc., but Lia took it a step farther.

I hadn't intended to include the song's lyrics in the book, mostly owing to the fact that I can't write a song to save my life. Seriously, I just can't.

In a moment of inspiration, though, Lia penned the lyrics to (Un)Fading. And with her permission, I used them.

And in a moment of colossal authorfail, I didn't acknowledge her in the book. So...

Lia, please accept my sincerest apologies
and my deepest gratitude
for creating the lyrics to (Un)Fading.
With the Band would not have been
the same without you.

And, because she adores him as much as I do and has been a completely gracious good sport about this whole thing, here is a picture of Shannon Leto just for Lia:
Thank you again, Lia.

NOW AVAILABLE IN PRINT: The Distance Between Us (plus a couple of reviews)

I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday, but...

The Distance Between Us is now available in paperback!

From money pit to windfall…or is it a pitfall?

After ten years together, Ethan Mallory and Rhett Solomon are calling it quits. They’re more than ready to dump their heavy emotional baggage. The only thing they can’t seem to unload is the house. They’re stuck living as roommates with a hefty mortgage hanging over their heads…at least until they can bring in some extra money to pay it down. Solution: rent out a room.

Enter Kieran Frost. Suddenly, the only thing Ethan and Rhett both want more than getting away from each other is getting close to their single, young, hot roommate. Complicating things is the fact that Kieran doesn’t mind the attention from both, and he certainly doesn’t mind sharing.

Their combined chemistry ignites something else that Ethan and Rhett had thought was long dead—the mutual attraction that drew them together in the first place. Except bitter jealousy over Kieran could only push them even farther apart…

Product Warnings - Includes multiple threesomes, angry sex, makeup sex, and a little peeking.

Also, With the Band has received a couple more great reviews:

Dark Divas Reviews gave the book 4 out of 5 Divas, and said:

"... if you like a sexy German-speaking protagonist who likes to have incendiary sex with his boyfriend, rock and roll music and well-drawn secondary characters, this is the book for you!"

The entire review is here.

And The Romance Review gave it a reviewer Top Pick rating.

"This was my first book by author L.A. Witt, and WITH THE BAND rocked it out! "

The rest of the review is here.

Six Sentence Sunday

Another contribution to the Six Sentence Sunday shenanigans...

As always, I'm contributing two snippets, one from each of my pseudonyms. For those not familiar with me, I write hetero erotic romance as Lauren Gallagher and M/M erotic romance as L. A. Witt.

From Lauren Gallagher, a snippet from Until It's Over, a contemporary erotic romance currently available from Carnal Passions:

“Consider the situation you and I are in now.” His breath cooled the side of my neck and he lowered his voice to almost a whisper. “On one hand, I could quote Marvell and say ‘If we had world enough, and time, this coyness lady were no crime’.”

Something in his voice, or maybe it was the warmth of his body when his arms slid around my waist, made my breath catch. I turned around in his arms and swallowed hard. “And on the other hand?”

And from L. A. Witt, a little bit from With the Band, my recently released M/M rock band novel from Loose Id:

Leaning beside the door, his hips cocked slightly, one knee bent with a booted foot flat on the wall, was Bastian. Our eyes met, and my heart jumped into my throat. His gaze was electric with intensity, and there was no surprise in his expression. No startled reaction to my presence. He hadn’t come out here for any other reason, I was sure. He knew I’d be here.

Want to play along? It’s fun and easy!
1. pick a project – a current WIP, contracted work or even something readers can buy if you’re published
2. pick six sentences
3. post ‘em on Sunday

A riddle for you...

Guess what the following series have in common:

• Cover Me & Trust Me
• Light Switch & Reconstructing Meredith
• Getting off the Ground & Infinity Pools

Anyone? ;)

Guess correctly, and win an ebook of your choice.

The answer is now posted here.

ALSO - If I reach 350 followers on Twitter by May 31 when A.J.'s Angel is released, I'll give away 3 ebooks and a paperback to 4 lucky followers! Spread the word if you want to win a book!

Finally - Just a quick note for those who've been waiting, With the Band is now available on Amazon, AllRomance and Fictionwise.

REVIEWS: With the Band & Master of Mine

A few reviews that have been brought to my attention...

One for the Master of Mine BDSM Anthology from Happily Ever After Reviews:

I have to say each of these authors complimented each other in this book. [...] There isn't one story where it slowed down—it was one continuous hot sexual tension-filled book.

The whole review is here.

And two for With the Band, starting with The Romance Studio:

I am a big fan of L.A. Witt's writing under both of her names. She's so adept at writing from the first person point of view that I feel every emotion her characters feel. With the Band was no different.

The whole review is here.

From Bittersweet Reviews:

L A Witt has produced another great story in With The Band, and it might just be my favourite of her books to date. I loved Bastian and Aaron, and boy, do they have chemistry!

The whole review is here.

Incidentally, the reviewer commented that Aaron's stage-diving reminded her of Jared Leto from 30 Seconds to Mars. Little known fact: The stage-diving incident was inspired by something similar that happened during the 30 Seconds to Mars concert I attended in Seattle in May of 2010. While Jared was uninjured in the real-life fall, I decided to play with the scenario and make it work out a little more painfully for my character. So, when the reviewer noticed the similarity to Jared's stage-diving, she was closer to the mark than she might have realized!

Obviously, as I said, Jared fared much better than Aaron. Here he is about a foot away from me right after he got to his feet:
Want to know how much the scenario sucked for Aaron? Well, you'll just have to read the book. ;)

REVIEW: With the Band

Whipped Cream Erotic Romance Reviews gives With the Band 4 out of 5 cherries!

Fans of hot, sexy, hard rockin’ musicians are going to fall in love with Aaron McClure and Bastian Koehler, the lead protagonists from L.A. Witt’s latest book With the Band.

The entire review is here.

REVIEW: With the Band

Literary Nymphs Reviews gives With the Band 4.5 out of 5 nymphs!

"If you love your romance with a little rock and roll thrown in, then you will love With the Band."

The entire review is here.

Win a copy of With the Band!

Head on over to Coffee & Porn in the Morning for a chance to win a copy of With the Band!
Good luck!

NOW AVAILABLE: With the Band

With the Band is now available from Loose Id, LLC!

The book will only be available directly from Loose Id for a few weeks, but more links will be added to my website when they're available.

BLURB:

Hard rock band Schadenfreude is finally on the verge of the success that’s eluded them for the last several years. With Aaron McClure as their new lead singer, nothing’s going to stop them…except maybe a steamy, secret relationship between Aaron and bassist Bastian Koehler. Aaron knows all too well what can happen when band members get involved with each other. After all, his last band was a casualty of his last relationship, and Schadenfreude forbids band members from dating for that very reason. But Bastian is too hot to resist, and besides, it’s just sex, so what’s the harm?

Bastian has just gotten out of a long relationship with his volatile ex-fiancée when Aaron catches his eye. The sexy singer is irresistible, and in spite of the potential for strife within the band if this comes out, Bastian can’t help himself.

Their passion in the bedroom is rivaled only by their ambition as musicians, though, and pretty soon, it's going to tear them, and Schadenfreude apart, if they can't get back to playing with the band.

Brief Update

Apologies for the lack of entries lately! I've been up to my ears in finishing a few projects, not to mention starting a few, and my parents are in town right now. I expect to have some pictures up from our island adventures, probably tomorrow, but for now, I'm calling it a night.

In the next few months, expect a lot of updates relating to book releases.

This is what's coming down the pipe between now and the end of June:

• With the Band, March 22
  
• Getting off the Ground, April 3
• Nine-tenths of the Law (paperback), April 5
• Infinity Pools, May 1
• Denied (short story), May 15
• A.J.'s Angel, May 31
• The Distance Between Us (paperback), June 7
• Damaged Goods, June 14
• Static, June 26
• Changing Plans (paperback), June 25 (tent.)

Needless to say, it's going to be crazy over the next few months! Anyway, bear with me for the next week or so, and I'll be back to regular postings. Lots of exciting stuff coming up, so stick around...

Cover Art: With the Band

With the Band is due out from Loose Id, LLC on March 22, and I just got the LOVELY cover art. Props to April Martinez for doing a badass job:
So thrilled with this cover! Links and blurbage to come - stay tuned!