a little witch in all of us

Publication may still be five months away, but today, August 30th, 2013, the cover for Suddenly Sorceress was introduced to the world. And I, for one, couldn't be happier. I LOVE this cover. I'm so excited to share it with you.

PMS can be a real witch! 

Ivie McKie isn’t your run-of-the-mill kindergarten teacher.  After an encounter with a horny goat, followed by a confrontation with her lying, cheating fiancé, Ivie is shocked when the big jerk suddenly transforms into a skunk—the black and white furry variety.

Enlisting the help of her shopaholic friend Chloe and sexy club magician Jackson Blake, Ivie is forced to play a literal game of cat and mouse as she races against the clock to change her ex back before she's arrested for his murder.

With every new spell comes a fresh wave of sexual desire, drawing Jack further into Ivie’s troubles—her panties, the car, the kitchen, and assorted seedy bathrooms along the way.

Ivie soon discovers what every witch worth her spell book knows: There’s nothing worse than a bad case of Post Magical Syndrome.

Suddenly Sorceress, coming February 14, 2014.

Cover by Streetlight Graphics

they like me, they really like me!

It may not be very grown up of me, but I can't help myself. Every time I get another amazing review, I jump up and down, squealing at the top of my lungs like a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert. This is perfectly acceptable behavior in my living room but, as I've been reminded, not so much at the grocery store.

To Katie With Love

By Erica Lucke Dean

Buy on Amazon

I'd love to run free though the town screaming at the top of my lungs how amazing I think I am, but this might be counterproductive. Too much self-promotion tends to work in reverse. I have to remind myself to step back and let nature take it's course. ​

But seriously, I'm just delighted my little book is getting such wonderful attention. I mean, we (writers) all hope to write a book people love. But in the back of our minds is the fear no one will like it.

Tonight, I'm dedicating my blog to the reviewers...for making my day brighter. ​

Just a few of the amazing reviews my book received during the blog tour...​

"Erica Lucke Dean came up with some great characters." Big Al’s Books and Pals

"I fell in love with Katie and Cooper instantly." Pezz Rambles   

"This delightful contemporary romance has it all, witty dialogue, great characters and an engaging story." Cocktails and Books​

"... Dean has a whole new take on writing romance - and it involves a chick-flick style of writing." Cabin Goddess ​​

​Until the next time...I'll be adding a Reviews tab!

the world tour

How exactly does one embark on a worldwide book tour when flying is not an option? Oh, wait. You say you're wondering why flying isn't an option? Well, I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this (you obviously haven't been paying attention over the past few years) but I'm terrified to fly. Yep. I've said it. After years and years of flying without care, one day I woke up terrified. I haven't flown since 1998, and I'm not starting now. ​So how is it I'm starting my world tour tomorrow? It's all thanks to this wonderful little invention called, the internet.

Yes, my blog tour is starting tomorrow and runs through May 21st. There are thirty some odd stops along the way, and I'll be sharing those with you each day in hopes you'll stop by and visit. I'm doing interviews, guest posts, and getting reviewed by some of the best book review blogs around.

First stop tomorrow...an interview on KBoards​. I'm excited. I can't wait to see how I answered his lightning fast questioning. Did I come off as being smart? Sassy? Confused? Well, we'll find out together tomorrow. I'm also being reviewed and interviewed on Jess's Book Blog tomorrow, and interviewed by Raine Thomas (click the pretty yellow text to link to those blogs...but not til May 1st.) I hope I fair well in the process. They're all wonderful writer/bloggers, so I'm sure they'll take good care of me.

I hope I can keep track of where I'm supposed to be and when. It's a long tour and a lot of stops along the way. And I have a book release party appropriately hosted by my favorite karaoke bar (for those of you who have started the book, you'll note that chapter one takes place in a karaoke bar.) I'll be sure to put up pictures tomorrow! ​And in case you haven't gotten your copy yet...well, here's a few links. Amazon.com for Kindle and paperback orders. BN.com for Nook and paperback orders. And Kobo if you prefer that.

Until the next time...I'll be basking in the glow until it's back to work tomorrow!​

from a napkin to a book

Wow...it's really here. Today is the official release ​day for my book, To Katie With Love. I would have never guessed the scrawled out notes on a bar napkin would have actually brought me here. I'm not sure I have words to convey how exciting this is. And for those who don't write books for a living, it takes a really long time and a whole lot of effort to go from a bunch of words on a page to a published book.

To Katie With Love

By Erica Lucke Dean

You know that old saying, it takes a village? ​I know it wasn't used in this context, but it really does take a village to create a book. You start with a writer and an idea, and you go through edits and beta readers and more edits and proofreading and cover concepts and even more stuff I don't even know about because I was lucky enough to have a publisher do all that for me. A village.

Yet, I'm here to tell you, all the work is totally worth it when you see your words come to life in the form of a book. It's almost like having a baby...though slightly less painful, and way quieter, and never mind, it's nothing like having a baby. But it's still super exciting.

So today I official go from being an unpublished author to a published author. Now the fun part can begin as I set out to promote my book on a month long blog tour and as of yet unbooked live signings. ​And here I thought pigs were scary. Scary, exciting, life altering, amazing. I wrote a book and now people can go buy it. Who would have guessed?

Until the next time...I'll be promoting! 

Find To Katie With Love at these online retailers:

Amazon Paperback

Kindle

Barnes and Noble Paperback

Nook

another day closer

I don't remember the first thing I wrote. Probably because I've been making up stories since before I even knew how to write them down. My parents used to talk about my imaginary friends and my elaborate tales, and flights of fancy. Thank goodness they've reached the age where they've forgotten all about those and moved on to other embarrassing memories. I'm sure the first several (hundred) stories I wrote were silly and ridiculous. I say that only because the first few I do ​remember were. Hell, I still venture into the silly and ridiculous from time to time.

My significant other (also known as the IDP, or Imaginary Dead President for those of you out of the loop) likes to tease me about living in an alternate universe...the place I spend most of my time. I try to rationalize it as a writer's prerogative, but maybe I am ​just weird. Hey, if I am, so what. I'm a writer.

Basically, I've always ​been a writer. It's more than what I do, it's who I am. And in just a few more days (four if you're keeping track) for the first time since those first goofy stories, I'm going to see one in print...with my name in bold letters across the bottom. My book.

Come Monday, it's gonna feel pretty damn good. I can't wait to write all about it.​

Until the next time...I'll be looking forward to my last weekend as an unpublished author.​

To Katie With Love - Cover

countdown to release day

I just realized it's only twenty days til my book, To Katie With Love is being released. Twenty days...less than three weeks away. Shouldn't I have started counting down sooner? Shouldn't I feel more anxious...excited...delighted? I mean, sure...I suppose I do. But honestly, it just doesn't feel real yet. It felt real the day I saw the completed cover, but now, it just feels like this far off dream I had that I can't quite pull into my consciousness. And yet, in twenty days, I will have a book out there for people to buy, and read, and hopefully love as much as I loved writing it. ​Because I really did have fun writing this book.

I had no idea when I sat down in a smoky karaoke bar with my drink napkin and a borrowed pen, people watching as I wrote out what would ultimately become chapter one, that anything would ever come of it. And I guess I should thank the bank I worked at for not noticing I wasn't actually working as often as I was scribbling down ideas for the rest of the story, during the business day. And I'm certain I need to thank my former coworkers for allowing me to draw from their personalities to create the zany cast of supporting characters in the story.

And just maybe this little piece of me secretly wishes I was Katie James, and that Cooper Maxwell were real. And maybe in my little world I am...and he is...and happily ever after is just a few pages away.

Until the next time...I'll be counting down!​

I have to do what?

So, it's just beginning to sink in...the hard part of writing a book isn't the writing, it's the promoting. Ok, so it was the editing until I was finished with that part...and it was the writing before that...but this time I'm serious. Promoting is hard work.

But necessary. I mean, if I don't get out there and tell people about my book, how will people know? I guess it's a lot like actors who go out and do press for an upcoming movie release. It's part of the job description. They don't get to  play the role then disappear into the woodwork when the hard part of promoting comes along. And neither do I. I have to  do my part. Get out there and interact with people. Ok, so it's mostly online, but still. It's hard work staying on your computer in pajamas all day. Just nod your head and agree with me here.​

On my quest to promote, I stumbled across this idea...well, maybe it was handed to me by a writer friend...creating a book trailer. Sure, I'd seen them before. But I had no idea how to make a trailer. Where does one even begin? So I started asking around, and after a whole lot of digging and a little help from some friends, I now have my very own book trailer. And now that I do, I can move on to the next phase...interviews.

This should be interesting.​

Until the next time...I'll be promoting my book!​