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"Taste Me" Launch Party!

by Tamara Hogan

I’m celebrating both my <mumble mumble>th birthday and the publication of my first novel this week, so, without further ado: 

Happy launch day to me
Happy launch day to me
Happy launch day, dear Tammy…
Happy launch day to me!

Forgive me; the tune’s on my brain. Please, help yourself to some cake. ;-)

My birthday - or the passage of time, at any rate - is something I’m thinking about quite a lot this week. A couple of decades ago, I came out of college with a freshly-minted B.A. in English/Creative Writing, and a paralyzing case of performance anxiety. Many birthdays later, at the mid-point in my life, I finally found the guts to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and write my first manuscript. I never in a million years imagined that that manuscript would final in RWA’s Golden Heart contest, win a paranormal Daphne, and sell to Sourcebooks as part of a three-book deal.

This whole experience has been an epic rollercoaster rade, chock-full of thrilling dips and turns!
Thanks so much to everyone at Sourcebooks for helping this dream become a reality – especially Deb Werksman, who gave this n00b a huge shot of confidence at a critical juncture by telling me that my manuscript rocked her world. I’d also like to thank everyone else at Sourcebooks whose names I didn’t know when I had to finalize the Acknowledgements section of the book: Danielle Jackson, Susie Benton, Sarah Ryan, Skye Agnew, Lauren Plude, Michelle Phelps, Todd Stocke, and a special shout-out to the talented graphics staff, who graciously accommodated my request for touch-ups on Scarlett’s tattoo. Thanks to every Sourcebooks employee whose name I still don’t know, but whose hard work helped turn my manuscript into a book—and to all the CasaBabes, who’ve been supportive and oh-so-welcoming.


About the book:  Taste Me, the first book of The Underbelly Chronicles, is a gritty, fast-paced, sexy urban fantasy romance series set in a world where incubi, sirens, Valkyries, vampires, werewolves and faeries live undetected alongside humankind. In Taste Me, incubus security guru Lukas Sebastiani is suckered into playing bodyguard for his former lover, siren rock star Scarlett Fontaine – and neither of them are happy about it.

Early reviews:
“…the female protagonist brings girl power to the genre.” -- RT Book Reviews

”Utterly stimulating...sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll the paranormal way. Every tense moment is steamy, passionate foreplay heading toward a fiery resolution.” -- Dark Divas Reviews

Today, a dream comes true. Regrets, I haz them--but today is not the day to focus on why the heck I let so much time pass not doing something I loved. Let's celebrate!  Today we’ll be giving away a copy of Taste Me to two lucky commenters! (US and Canada only, please.) 

I'm also celebrating today at my other blog home, The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood! The more the merrier - please stop by and say 'hi!"

   

Comments

  1. Happy Birthday and Launch Day, Tamara! Cake and book both look yummy. Laughing at the series name (Underbelly), how'd you come up with that?

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  2. Happy Birthday Tamara and Happy launch day as well. Great birthday gift. Just this morning I read about your book on another blog . I wish you many sales. :) Would love to read Taste Me. Please enter me.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750@aol.com

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  3. Pam - ha! Underbelly... first off, I have to tell you that I have yet to meet a word or metaphor that I won't try to overload or extend to within an inch of its life. (UNDERBELLY was actually this book's original title.) 'Underbelly' has many meanings in the world I've created. First off, I like the way the word conjures up images of something that's secretive, shadowy, hidden-as these characters' lives cetainly are, living in plain sight yet under humanity's radar. There's an incubus club called Underbelly that's in the book and series. And yeah, the body part literally under the belly, which, in most of us, is the pubic region.

    Carol - ooh! (clapping hands) Love to hear about stuff like this. Consider yourself entered! Thanks for the birthday and release day wishes.

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  4. Woohoo, Tamara, what was that you were mumbling??? Must have been the cake you'd taken a bite of that got in the way of the words! :) Happy birthday, and good luck on your launch!

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  5. Happy B-Day, Tamara! Congrats on the release of Taste Me and adding it to my TBR pile!

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  6. Enormous congratulations on the big day! Wallow in it like a shameless shoat. As for the years you didn't write? You were building up creative compression, so when you did have the time and focus to write, what emerged onto the screen would be terrific. I know this.

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  7. Congratulations! Happy birthday to you and your characters!

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  8. Happy Birthday and launch day. What a way to celebrate. Cake was delicious but not as tasty as the cover or the teaser about your book! Maybe I'll just have another taste, though, since cyber cake has no fat grams!

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  9. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Happy launch day too! I read an except of Taste Me in the post you did here a while ago. I like the premise of the story. I hope your birthday and release day are everything you hoped for!

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  10. Terry - yes, it was the cake I was choking on. Yeah. That's it ;-)

    Colleen - thanks for the birthday and launch day wishes! I hope you enjoy TASTE ME - but if your TBR pile is as tall as mine is, I understand if it takes awhile to get to it. ;-)

    Grace - ah, thanks so much for the kind words - and for teaching me a new word, "shoat." Being a Minnesotan living in the farming belt, this is a word I really should know.

    Ashlyn - Ha, it IS my characters' birthday today too, isn't it? Great point! Happy birthday, Lukas, Scarlett and Stephen!

    Carolyn - isn't that cover just delicious? All of my favorite colors in one place.

    StacyDM - I'm so glad you enjoyed the premise and the excerpt!

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  11. ameliagrey@comcast.netMarch 1, 2011 at 10:59 AM

    I hope you keep your high all day long, Tamara! Your cover and title are so fabulous and a great first glance at what's to be a rocking/rolling first book!
    Congratulations,
    Amelia

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  12. I just got the book (woohoo)so don't enter me but wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday!

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  13. Congratulations on your new release and launch day! Happy Birthday indeed! The book sounds really good:)

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  14. Happy Birthday! And what a great idea with your book. Love, sex and rock-n-roll paranormal style...I love it!

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  15. Happy Birthday and Launch Day! Congrats on your release.

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  16. Wow. First book AND a birthday??? Get out the party hats and the cake and celebrate! Congrats on the new release. May you sell billions and billions and billions....

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  17. Amelia - book release high, caffeine high AND sugar high! Yeah, I'm bouncing off the walls.

    catslady - thanks, catslady! Thanks for letting me know you received the book. I hope you enjoy it!

    Maria - thanks!

    Lil - I figured I might as well put all that clubbing and concert-going to good use. ;-)

    Shana - thanks for the congrats Shana!

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  18. Congratulations, Happy Book Birthday

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  19. HUGE Congrats on your new release! I can't wait to read TASTE ME! It looks awesome. I'm going to pass this around cyberspace :)

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  20. May the gift of this first release be just as sweet for many birthdays and launch days to come! I can't wait to get more of a scoop about The Underbelly! :D

    DragonStar1974@aol.com

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  21. Happy Launch Day!

    Looking forward to reading Taste Me.

    Happy Birthday, too.

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  22. Kristina - thanks so much.

    Sara - Thanks for the pvirtual ass-around! Safe AND legal!! (Oops.)

    Stephanie - cool, there's plenty of the Underbelly to go around!

    Olivia - thanks! Do you think Deb has a thing for rockers? ;-)

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  23. Happy Birthday, Tamara, and congratulations on your launch. The book sounds fabulous. I love the "Underbelly" concept...

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  24. Happy B-day! Congratulations on your new release! :]

    quimbayai@hotmail.com

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  25. Happy birthday!!!
    And congrats on the release of Taste Me,it sounds awesome.Love the cover too.
    elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net

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  26. Happy birthday and happy launch day. This book looks really good and is definitely going on the wishlist.

    iqb99@yahoo.com

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  27. Happy birthday and happy launch day! WooHooo!! Time to party! Here's wishing you tons of sales and a chocolate cake you can actually eat - that picture is making me hungry!

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  28. Joanne - thanks so much! If you like dark and gritty, the Underbelly's the place to be...

    elaing8 - yes, isn't that cover great!!! Thanks!

    Amanda, that cake DOES look tasty now, doesn't it? It might be the only actual birthday cake I see this year. Mark is on a creme brulee kick right now. ;-)

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  29. Happy Birthday. My birthday is this month also. Sorry it took you so long to start writing and congratulations on your being in contest. I haven't read any of your books or reviewed them. So I will have to find out what you write. God Bless.
    jrs362 at hotmail dot com

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  30. A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU AND A BIG HAPPY LAUNCH DAY TO YOU and wow it must be great to have everything great happen at one time. Your book look awesome.

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  31. squiresj - Happy birthday to you, to! Thanks so much for stopping by!

    Virginia - thanks for the birthday and launch day wishes! I hope you enjoy TASTE ME.

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  32. Carol L and Stephanie (DragonStar)! You've both won a free copy of TASTE ME!

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  33. Happy birthday and happy launch day, Tamara!!! :)

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  34. Happy Birthday, and Happy Launch Party! What a great way to celebrate! Wishing you many more!

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