"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!"