Sedonia Guillone

Finally after four days in a noisy truck, and more than 2,000 miles later, we got home earlier this evening. Wow, was that nice! Now the only thing left is to unload the truck. Hopefully, that won’t be as hellacious as packing up the house in Maine, loading the truck and making that ride from one end of the Eastern seabord to the other.

The only downside of coming back was coming home to a rejection letter from Kensington. The editor who looked at my manuscripts liked the basic stories but felt that the characters didn’t draw him in and so he passed on both. Now, I have recovered from that livejournal person’s rant. However, that and the rejection coupled together is threatening to send me into one of those confidence crises I have every so often. Thankfully, those crises pass and I continue on.

It doesn’t feel quite as bad this time because I’m very happy so far with the White Tigers series. I love those books and have a few more on the way. Maybe the rejection from Kensington means I’m not meant to go mainstream, at least at this time. Perhaps doing so would take me away from the White Tigers books and that would take me away from writing the stories that are really in my heart to writing books just to get contracts from big NY publishers. Maybe that would put too much pressure on me (I’m not one of those people who does well with any pressure) and then I wouldn’t derive the joy out of writing that I do now. I could easily see that happening, in which case, these rejections are a way of being protected from bad things.

My critique partner, Ruth was telling me about a famous romance author who actually have a nervous breakdown after hitting the big time because she felt so overly pressured to produce novels that she just stopped altogether. Of course, this certainly doesn’t happen to every romance writer, or even many, judging by the plethora of romance novels on the market. But with my personality type, I could see somthing like that happening to me. I need to keep it simple. Let’s face it, I’m published at Ellora’s Cave, Red Sage in Dec. 08, as well as Loose Id, Total-e-Bound, Torquere Press and STARbooks Press. I really have a lot to be contented about. Okay, I didn’t even have to go into crisis this time. I talked myself out of it. lol Thanks for listening!

That all said, Men of Tokyo: Sudden Surrender is releaseing in a few days! I’m really excited about that. Anyway, I’m exhausted from this trip and am going to sleep now. I’ll write more soon. Thanks for visiting!

The house is all emptied. The truck is packed and we’re ready to leave on Monday. I hate seeing the inside of the house all empty and echoey. We’ve been there the last nine years, summers mostly but falls and summers too. Hopefully this will mark the beginning of a new adventure. But I have to change my author bios at various publishers. Some of them say that I live part of the year on the rocky coast of Maine. That’s no longer true, lol. There’s a chance we’ll end up near a marsh in coastal Georgia which is absolutely beautiful and MUCH warmer!

Anyway, the last part of the trip will be the 1,900 miles back to South Florida in a moving truck. I’m really prone to getting car sick so I am not looking forward to it at all. If I take medication I get sleepy. In some ways that bothers me as much or more than feeling a bit nauseous. Oh well. I’m looking forawrd to getting home and seeing my cat, Squeaky, and getting back to writing! I’ve missed it so much.

Oh, I almost forgot. Also I got to spend time with my friend/critique partner Ruth. We exchanged books. She gave me a copy of her latest release, The Making of a Gentleman (Harlequin Steeple Hill) and she thanked me in the dedication for helping her with it. I look forward to reading the book in a leisurely way as opposed to reading it as a critiquer. I love her stories even though the publisher won’t allow anything more sensual than a kiss (with not tongues!) Can you imagine? lol. And…Ruth brought me my two Kizuna manga in French, the ones I have been searching for high and low. So I’m also looking forward to those.

So aside from the moving blues, I have good book things going on. As you know, Manwich is now available at Ellora’s Cave and MEn of Tokyo: Sudden Surrender releases August 4, a week from Monday. Yay! I hope you will check both books out. I will post again as soon as I can.

After being stuck on the runway in Charlotte, Virginia for over 3 hours, cramped in a small jet with people coughing all around us, we got to Maine. We’re packing up the house. It’s kind of depressing because I’ve really loved that place and it’s one of the most beautiful spots anywhere. This lighthouse is down the road from my house. I’ve walked there many times. This is West Quoddy light, the easternmost point in the United States. My boyfriend actually worked the crew that repainted it a few years ago. It was a lot of fun and I wrote an article about it for The Lighthouse Digest magazine. Back in my journalism days. lol.

Anyway, the good news is that Manwich releases tomorrow, yay! at Ellora’s Cave and that both White Tigers print books, Men of Tokyo: Sudden Bliss and Men of Phuket: Tongue-Thai’d are available at Amazon US! So I can’t complain about that. Also, my White Tigers novella, Yin Yang, due out in the Fabulous Brits anthology at Total-E-Bound on August 18th came in for edits, right in the midst of everything! I edited in in the truck between Bangor and Portland. That’s devotion for ya! lol

Well, that’s what’s going on at the moment. I need to get back to packing. I will update again as soon as I can. Take care. Sedonia
I hope you’ll keep checking back. In the meantime, let’s have a bit of Gackt because Gackt is beautiful and beauty uplifts the soul

Today, were flying up to Maine because our house there sold. This is a mixed blessing, as so much in life is, because although I’ll miss going there and we’ve had so much sweetness, it’s also been difficult. The house is 1900 miles from Florida and is a harrowing drive to say the least and we had been unable to get up there like we used to. This is life. In any case, we’re going to be packing up the house and then driving back down to Florida in the truck. So, if my posts are a bit spotty during this period, you’ll understand why.

I’ve really been enjoying posting to the blog every day and will keep up with it as best I can. Please keep visiting and don’t forget: Manwich releases this Friday, July 25th. Yay! Hopefully, I’ll have already posted before August 4th, but that’s the day Men of Tokyo: Sudden Surrender releases at Total-E-Bound. It’s an exciting time bookwise for me and I hope you’ll share it with me! Hugs, Sedonia

The other day I received an a-mail from a woman in the UK who’d written just to tell me how much she’d enjoyed Men of Tokyo: Sudden Bliss.

She wrote: “Hi Sedonia Guillone,

I just finished reading Men of Tokyo: Sudden Bliss and I love it! It’s really a wonderful story and I can’t wait for the next two Men of Tokyo stories from TEB!”

I have to admit, it’s really nice to get great reviews from reviewers, after all, they’re readers too, but it’s especially gratifying when people out there who’ve bought one of my books was moved so much that she wrote to me to tell me she loved the book. Of course, I don’t write simply to get praise. I write because I LOVE writing, especially erotic romance, and extra especially, my White Tigers books. However, I know how much of my heart and soul I pour into each book and I’m always happy to know that my passion comes through.

AND finally, this book is available at Amazon US! Yay!!!!
I’m still waiting for Men of Phuket: Tongue-Thai’d to become available also. Of course, you will be informed when that happens. Hugs, Sedonia

He is just so gorgeous! With his dark hair and blue eyes. I knew he was a porn star but I had no idea that he’s THE porn star. lol.
I pulled a few fun facts about him from a site called Juicy Goo. Here goes:
Name(s): Lukas Ridgeston

From: Slovakia

Sign: Aries

Height: 5 ft 10 inches

Weight: 175 lbs.

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Blue

Preference: Top… though he does bottom sometimes!

Status: Works full-time for Bel Ami

Just think, he was recently down in Ft. Lauderdale making an appearance at a club there and I missed it! Only a half hour from where I live! If only I’d known! lol

My boyfriend who is the most wonderful guy in the world got this film out of the library the other day because he knows how much I adore samurai films. This one is incredible! And those of you who know me know I’m mad about Toshiro Mifune. To me, he was one of the handsomest men who ever lived! Here’s the description of the film:

Toshiro Mifune stars as Isaburo Sasahara, an aging swordsman living a quiet life until his clan lord orders that his son marry the lord’s mistress, who has recently displeased the ruler. Reluctantly, father and son take in the woman, and, to the family’s surprise, the young couple fall in love. But the lord soon reverses his decision and demands the mistress’s return. Against all expectations, Isaburo and his son refuse, risking the destruction of their entire family. Director Masaki Kobayashi’s Samurai Rebellion is the gripping story of a peaceful man who finally decides to take a stand against injustice.

Beautifully filmed and incredibly acted, this one was gripping and moving. Those of you who share my passion for vintage samurai films will understand this, but if you’ve never watched Toshiro Mifune, I completely recommend just about any film he’s been in. You are in for an experience. *sigh*

I couldn’t believe it. Yesterday, I received not one, not two but THREE new covers! All that waiting and waiting and then bam! There they were and I love them!

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy writing M/F erotic romances, as you can see by the selection of I’ve done. However, for some reason, I’m in a phase where I just so much love writing M/M, the stories bubble up from inside me like Niagra Falls and I can’t rest until I’ve written them down.

Believe it or not, there was a time not long ago when I used to think, ‘Why would a woman want to write about two guys together? My dad is gay and I grew up in a gay male household. For me, it was an emotional button. But then, when I got into watching Six Feet Under on HBO, I started to change. I began to like the relationship between David and Keith. At first I was neutral during the scenes when the two guys were in bed together, kissing. And then, one day, it was like someone turned a switch. I was watching and I went, wow! that’s EROTIC! Shortly after that, I penned Danny’s Dragon, my first M/M, loved writing it and was like a racehorse let out of the gate. There was no stopping me! lol

Now I love writing in this genre and have found an audience who love these stories. I just began panning Barely Covered, a hot pre-quel to my Ellora’s Cave release, Barely Undercover. Of course, I will post a sneak peek VERY soon. I also have a new cover for the Fabulous Brits anthology coming out in late August from Total-E-Bound. That book contains Yin Yang, the next story in my White Tigers series. This is all so exciting for me. I’m so happy to share it all with you. Hugs, Sedonia

No, the picture of Jet Li is not the cover. I just love Jet Li and wanted to post a picture of him, lol. The career of an erotic romance writer requires much waiting at times. We can never have things happen just when we want them to. You have to wait for editors to get back to you, cover artists, etc. And then, once a book is edited and is put on the queue for release, you have to wait for release day. And then you have to wait for the reviews to trickle in. Patience is an important quality! lol So when one of these things happen, you get a feeling for a little while that this is actually happening. Such as the cover below for Secrets vol. 25, the Red Sage anthology my novella, “Enter the Hero” is in. Yay! I’m so excited and I think it’s really hot!
And then yesterday, I also got another awesome review for Men of Tokyo: Sudden Bliss from Novel Talk. I’ll just share with you the juicy bit:

Sedonia Guillone has written a beautiful love story. She does a wonderful job of bringing her characters to life and endearing them to the reader. Koji’s life is built upon his work, and he thinks that he is nothing without it. He never thinks of his own needs. Naoto has a troubled past where he blames himself for the death of his partner. The White Tiger offers Naoto a sanctuary where he can help others who are in need. Koji and Naoto’s relationship blossoms slowly, but there are many obstacles to overcome before they can think of happy ever after. SUDDEN BLISS is an excellent example of true romance. Now that I have had my first taste of Ms. Guillone’s writing, I am ready for my second and third helpings.

Listening to: Gackt
Recently watched: Pole to Pole with Michael Palin (incredible travel show from the BBC by one of the original Monty Python guys.)
Also recently watched: Foyle’s War on Masterpiece Mystery. My favorite detective series!
Thank you!! Hugs, Sedonia