Monday, October 13, 2014

Hate: A Love Story is LIVE!

You guys!

You don't want to miss this! Some people are saying this is their FAVORITE BOOK OF 2014!

Feel all the FEELS!

Read this book.

Please.

I'm begging.

Just a little. You know, just enough to mean it but not enough to lose my dignity. ;)

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/ZlH81W
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1uYweM7
Amazon AU: http://bit.ly/ZA30H5
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1o6A59o
Barnes&Noble: http://bit.ly/1vjnJN5

Kobo link to come! They're slow. ;)

Let me know what you think!


*Graphic Credit: Kelli Spear of Seeking Book Boyfriends

*Graphic Credit: Kelli Spear of Seeking Book Boyfriends


 

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Hate: A Love Story Cover Reveal!

Release: October 14, 2014
Blurb:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Life can be messy,
And love can be too.


Most people say that it’s not important where you’re going, but instead, how you get there.
Unfortunately for me, the journey to love was absolutely agonizing. Love and Hate wrestled with my life day after day, year after year, and the only way to stop it was to let one of them win.

Which one?

I fought to love harder. But I loathe my love story.

Add to Goodreads TBR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22038475-hate

Friday, July 11, 2014

Tennessee Valley Author Event Giveaway!

You have the golden ticket...er...or the postcard from TNVAE with the giveaway code on it! Enter here for your chance to win some groovy stuff! It was so much fun meeting you in Knoxville!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Philly Signing Loot Giveaway!

One winner will win a signed book by Tara Sivec and tons of signed swag from Laurelin Paige, Lisa De Jong, Raine Miller, Ruth Cardello, Megan Smith, Lynetta Halat, Beth Ehemann, Melissa L. Delgado, Rebecca Brooke, Marissa Carmel...and me. I recently went to the Indies Invade Philly Signing to fangirl, and while I was there, I asked all of these ladies for some stuff for you guys!!

Unfortunately, this one is open to US entries only. SORRY. :(

Do these ladies and myself a favor by liking all of our pages on Facebook, and in turn, you'll get loads more entries on the rafflecopter!

xoxo Laurel


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Impossible Sale! Now-6.22.14! Only $0.99!

I've put Impossible on sale for a limited time! Grab it while you can!



Reviews:

"This book made me laugh, swoon, tear up, and fall in love with an entire family. Laurel Ulen Curtis has a wonderful ability to create hot, bossy alpha men with a soft side, strong women that are likable despite flaws, and connections that are intense, passionate, heartfelt, and sweet. This is an engaging story of learning to live, second chances, and hope."--Kim, Reviews by Tammy and Kim

"I definitely recommend this unique, incredible book. This book surprised me in a way I can’t put into words. The only down side of reading it? Now, it is going to be IMPOSSIBLE to find something good enough to rid me of the Coleman Cade withdrawals I am suffering from! Lookout, world, because Laurel Ulen Curtis is a literary force to be reckoned with!"--Staci Bailey, Round Table Book Reviews

“Hey CJ! Ready to teach me to ride a horse?”
He took a little while to answer, and as he looked between me and his father, a sparkle entered his eye that made me wary. “Actually, I just, um, remembered that I’m supposed to go over to Dale’s. He’s havin’ a practice, you know, ridin’ bulls, and I told him I would go.”
That little creep! I saw where this was headed and worked quickly to execute all of my evasive maneuvers. “Oh, that’s okay. Some other time then.”
I turned back to my car, but they ganged up on me. Coleman grabbed my hip and said, “Don’t run off just yet, Roni. I’d be happy to teach you. It’ll give us a chance to get to know each other.”
That’s what I was afraid of.
CJ stood behind his father and grinned like the cat who ate the canary. I’d get him back for this, and I made sure that the look on my face portrayed those intentions clearly. Unfortunately, it didn’t have him cowering like I had hoped.
As he moved to walk away I caught his eyes over Coleman’s shoulder and mouthed the words, “Watch your back.”
He burst out laughing, and so did Coleman. I guess they were both remarkably good lip readers.
Coleman reached out and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, a casual affection that felt remarkably natural for two people who were new to one another, and muttered amiably, “Come on, Banty. You can threaten my son some more later.”

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

3000 Facebook Likes Giveaway!

I did it! I made it to 3000 LIKES on Facebook, which is cray-cray! I'm so thankful for all of you readers! In celebration, I've prepared a GIVEAWAY! Woot woot!

As stated on the rafflecopter, the giveaway is open internationally, but should the signed book go to an international winner, an alternate prize of a $10 Amazon GC will be distributed instead!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, May 30, 2014

The One Series Gets a Makeover!

The One Series has new covers! I'm so excited about their long-overdue makeover! Thanks to Stephanie White at Steph's Cover Designs for making them so beautiful.


Monday, April 28, 2014

Secret Alpha Release Blitz! It's here!

Synopsis

I’m Dan Smith, and I’m currently living two lives. Maybe even three if you really look into it. Haley, Allison, Hunter, Wade, Sergio, and Isla all exist in one or more of them somehow.

Am I a supporting role in their stories, or are they merely characters in mine? You decide.

Haley told her story. Now I’ll tell mine.

She said. He said.

This is my story.


Note: Secret Alpha is the second book in the A is for 
Alpha Male Series and must be read after A 
is for Alpha Male.
Warning: Some explicit language and sexual content. 


********

Get it now!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1itCwi7
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/QW2f71
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1nX5wOE


Get A is for Alpha Male now!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1do8T0t
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1nRQBcd
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1hdtN1u
 
********

********
 


********

About the Author

 Laurel Ulen Curtis is a 27 year old mother of one. She lives with her husband and son (and cat and two fish!) in New Jersey, but grew up all over the United States. She graduated from Rutgers University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology, and puts that to almost no use other than forecasting for her friends and writing a storm chasing heroine! She has a passion for her family, laughing, and reading and writing Romance novels. She’s also addicted to Coke. The drink, not the drug.

********

Monday, April 21, 2014

Secret Alpha Prologue

Unedited, subject to revision, etc. ****Don't read this if you haven't read A is for Alpha Male****

Prologue

The weight of his tanned, callused hand on my shoulder was the only thing anchoring me to that moment.
A police station. Fluorescent lights humming in time with my heartbeat. The pulsing weight  of my grief pounding in my ears. A feeling of complete abandonment—other than the single palm on my shoulder.
Noticing these details was second nature, but they only manifested themselves with the intensity of background information.
Insignificant. Inconsequential. White noise overpowered by a completely unrecognized, grief-sodden heart.
A more substantial, if only ethereal, part of me was back in my family home, reliving the cowardice I displayed while my family suffered.
I was young, only eight years old, but not so young that I didn’t know mere moments could make a lifetime of difference. Old enough to know that my hiding had no effect on my family. I was only eight. I couldn’t have saved them.
But the implications of my actions for myself were vast. I saved myself from immediate suffering, but I had also guaranteed myself a lifetime of torment and loneliness.
Several people, all officials of some capacity, had asked me what happened. Despite having all the answers they sought, I kept my lips pressed firmly together and my voice box stagnant.
“Wade,” I heard a man wearing an FBI jacket call as he addressed the man connected to me. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
I was pretty sure I was the “this”.
“He doesn’t have any family, Ray,” Wade answered, confirming me as the topic of conversation, but gave my shoulder a squeeze in an attempt to comfort.
As of yesterday night, I no longer had any family. Both of my parents were only children,  somewhat of a rarity for their generation, and then both lost their parents to disease at too early of an age.
“Doesn’t mean you have to fill the void,” Ray countered, his face sympathetic but his words self serving.
I felt my body swing around as Wade dropped into a relaxed squat in front of me. He met my eyes with his, brown and shiny with an unknown emotion. Both of his hands settled into the crease of my neck, and it seemed as though we were the only two people in existence, Ray all but gone and forgotten despite his position a few feet away.
Speaking directly to me, his eyes never once flitting away or questioning, he said, “I don’t have any family either, Ryan. But today, that’s going to change. You and me are going to take care of each other.” Pausing just briefly he let me digest his words, swallowing them right along with the lump in my throat. “Deal?”
I didn’t say anything in either agreement or denial, but I held his eyes like I thought a man would. Like my father would have wanted me to. Like he was holding mine.
Wade was an unknown, but the lesser of two evils. I knew the stories that followed orphans around like shadows. I knew that my life could be bad with Wade, but it would be bad if I chose the alternative.
I didn’t think I could take care of anyone, even myself, but with one short nod, I agreed to try.
********
From that moment forward, Wade did nothing short of jump through hoops. Evaluations and visits, background checks and personal questionnaires.
As nice as it is for someone to offer to take in a recently orphaned kid, the process of getting it approved, especially for a single male like Wade, really takes some doing.
But he never faltered, meeting every evaluation head on and doing his best to fast track the cutting of every last ribbon of red tape. Thankfully, as the investigation of my family’s murders was ongoing and my safety was considered a liability, I was relegated to police custody rather than pushed off to a group home.
I wouldn’t say it was an experience worth repeating, but again, I felt strongly that I had been dealt the better of two crappy hands.
Six months later, a birthday had passed, turning my eight years into nine, and the State of Tennessee had finally decided to write me off, granting full custody to Wade Reddington. I was a tough case, a victim of a trauma with a need for anonymity, so after extensive research into his background, the necessary authorities finally decided to hand me over to the man who’d been fighting so hard for me.
And he had fought. To this day, I’m not entirely certain why, but I’m endlessly thankful. Sometimes it just takes one person. One person to fight for you, try for you---be the filler to every last void in your life. One person to make you want to keep living.
Wade was that for me.
And I had a sneaking suspicion, that I was that person for him.
********
Two years later, I started to feel the full weight of everything Wade had done for me. I was a very manly eleven years old, and no longer a Parker. Instead, I was Dan Smith.
At first, the name change had felt like a betrayal to my family. Another layer of unworthiness as far as I was concerned. But now, I saw it as something different. Something that nourished both myself and Wade, giving us both a connection we had been missing. Because not only did my name change, but Wade’s did as well. We assumed the roles of Uncle and nephew, both with the family name of Smith.
Until then, I hadn’t bothered to ask Wade anything about himself. I didn’t socialize, I didn’t thank him for what he had done, and I didn’t do anything to pull my weight. But Wade had the patience of a saint, letting me soak in my pond of despondence and self-centeredness.
But when I realized the error of my ways, it only took one question to understand the depth of Wade’s own sadness.
I had approached him in the living room in our house in Southern California as he perused through one of his case files. He had looked up briefly, and then quickly reverted his eyes to the file, no doubt expecting my normal silence.
“Wade,” I murmured tentatively, wringing my hands behind my back in the hopes that he wouldn’t see how nervous I was.
He immediately looked up and met my eyes, dropping the file to the coffee table in front of him and questioning, “Yeah, buddy?” with genuine interest.
I cleared my throat and chewed on my lip briefly before diving in. “I was wondering about your family. Where they are, I mean.”
He paused long enough that I began to question myself, stammering, “It’s okay. You don’t have to answer.”
Just as I turned to leave the room, Wade stopped me in my tracks. “I didn’t have any, buddy. At least, not until you.”
“But everybody’s got to have parents,” I argued using my knowledge of minimal biology.
“Come take a seat,” he instructed.
I did as I was told, parking myself on the worn-in cushion of the love seat that sat catty cornered from Wade’s spot on the couch.
“Biologically, I have parents, yes. But I grew up without any family. My parents gave me up for adoption about six months in, and from what I’m told, it’s good that they did. I was malnourished,” he explained, and then paused, checking to see if I understood. “Do you know what malnourished means?”
“They weren’t feeding you?” I answered with the inflection of a question.
“Yep,” he confirmed on a nod. “They weren’t feeding me enough. But I went into the system, and unfortunately, never found a home in any of my foster families or through permanent adoption.”
Wade had fought both sides of the system. Both from the inside, while he lived it, and from the outside, while he worked to give me a different outcome than his own.
“What about when you grew up?” I questioned. “You didn’t wanna start your own family with some lady?”
Wade’s light chuckle echoed through the mostly empty space, and my eyes flitted down to my jean covered legs thanks to my anxiety.
“Yeah, Danny. I did want to start a family with some lady,” he said through his still present laugh. “And I did. For a few wonderful years, Melly and I had a family in each other.”
I looked up at him then, curious as to what had happened to the woman, Melly. Lifting his weight slowly off the of the sofa, he moved effortlessly to the love seat and settled right next to me, resting his elbows on his knees and letting the weight of his head hang forward from the support of his shoulders.
“Melly passed away just three short years before you and I met, buddy. Cancer.”
I felt the heavy comfort of his palm settle onto the back of my neck just before he continued, “See? That’s why I need you just as much as you need me, Danny.” With a squeeze of his long fingers, he finished, “You’re my family too.”
“I haven’t been a very good family, have I?” I asked as I tossed my longish hair out of my eyes, bringing his hand up with the motion of my head.
The sheen of his eyes met mine, and one corner of his mouth curved upwards just slightly. “You’ve been perfect, Danny. With me, all you ever have to be is you.”



I can't wait to share the rest of it with you! <3

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Help me Spread the Word! 50% of Proceeds to St. Jude!

I've decided to donate 50% of all proceeds from A is for Alpha Male in the month of April to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital! Please help me spread the word! <3

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Southern Seduction Box Set Cover Reveal!


By: 
Ella Fox, Stacey Mosteller, N.A. Alcorn, K. Webster, 
Aly Martinez, Jacquelyn Ayres, M. Mabie, 
Tessa Teevan, Kelly Collins, Elle Jefferson, 
Laurel Ulen Curtis, and Rochelle Paige.

Available for a very limited time!

Twelve authors come together to give you TWELVE, all new, sizzling southern stories of seduction. There's so much heat packed into one set that you'll be fanning yourself from page one until the very end! Be ready...we're going south, where it's hot and steamy...and we're not talking about the weather!






a Rafflecopter giveaway



A little teaser from my novella, One Last Night!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Surprise! A is for Alpha Male COVER MAKEOVER!

 Surprise! The A IS FOR ALPHA MALE cover has undergone a makeover! I'm in love with it and hope you will be too! Now Haley and Danny go perfectly together!

Hopefully the new cover will go live on Amazon and Barnes and Noble in the not too distant future!



Pick up your copy today while it's only 99 Pennies!

Buy A is for Alpha Male

Monday, March 24, 2014

My Secret Alpha COVER REVEAL!


Expected Release Date: 
April 29, 2014

Synopsis
I’m Dan Smith, and I’m currently living two lives. Maybe even three if you really look into it. Haley, Allison, Hunter, Wade, Sergio, and Isla all exist in one or more of them somehow.

Am I a supporting role in their stories, or are they merely characters in mine?
You decide.

Haley told her story. Now I’ll tell mine.

She said. He said.

This is my story.

Warning: Some explicit language and sexual content.

Note: This is the second book in a series and will be best-received if read after A is for Alpha Male.



Secret Alpha is the companion novel to A is for Alpha Male.
Pick up your copy today while it's only 99 Pennies!

Buy A is for Alpha Male

Secret Alpha Excerpt
Once again, Allison had no answer, but that didn’t get Haley down at all.
I could feel my feet start to walk in their direction, straight down the bar and stopping right in front of them, as though I was having an out of body experience.
“As far as loosening up, I meant alcohol.....Shot time!”
Perfect. Cue me.
She looked away from her mom right at that moment, honing in like a laser beam on my exact location.
And then, looked right through me.
Burn.
“Two shots of fireball, please,” Haley requested sweetly, but I could tell she didn’t notice me at all.
If anything, that made her even cuter. She was completely there, in that moment, with her mom. Clearly, they had a strong, close, vibrant relationship, and a respect that I hardly ever saw between people anymore.
Living in such a technologically driven era, people rarely interacted with one another without an outside distraction like a cell phone going at the same time.
Don’t worry, I’m not anti-technology, but I am pro-personal connection. The kind of camaraderie that’s strong enough to hold a person’s entire interest. It’s probably a lifetime lacking in close connections that drives my philosophical approach to conversational engagement, but I couldn’t tell you for sure because I’m not a psychologist.
“You got it, sweetheart,” I said, and then began thoroughly kicking my own ass for adding on a term of endearment. I seriously didn’t know what the fuck was wrong with me. I didn’t know what is was about this girl that had me tied in knots, and I didn’t know why in the fuck I kept letting myself forget I was in the middle of a very serious, extremely dangerous investigation.
There was probably a price on my head at that exact moment, for fuck’s sake.
I pulled my lips back over my teeth immediately, putting away the dimples and effectively putting the kabash on my smile. But it didn’t even matter because she still hadn’t even really looked at me. In fact, another man, someone I wasn’t familiar with, had just approached her and started flirting.
He was a cocksucking dork, I could tell, but she flirted back. The really disgusting part is that I felt an immediate flare of fire in my belly, the edges of my flaming jealousy licking the lining of my stomach and burning me alive.
Placing the shots on the bar in front of them, I redirected my mind and energy and moved to the other end of the bar, keen to do any other work I could come up with.
But as I left, I allowed myself one last look, startling noticeably when Allison’s keen blue eyes found mine and a knowing smile crept sweetly onto her face.
Fuck. Me.

Teasers




About The Author
Laurel Ulen Curtis is a 27 year old mother of one. She lives with her husband and son (and cat and two fish!) in New Jersey, but grew up all over the United States. She graduated from Rutgers University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology, and puts that to almost no use other than forecasting for her friends and writing a storm chasing heroine! She has a passion for her family, laughing, and reading and writing Romance novels. She’s also addicted to Coke. The drink, not the drug.
Hosted By


Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Things I Learned/Things of Note From Wicked Book Weekend

I had an absolutely AWESOME time at Wicked Book Weekend, and if you know what's good for you, you'll attend next year. Still not convinced? Well, maybe this stuff will do the trick.

1. People used to the cold tundra of the north will find Florida warm at all times, while Floridians are wearing nothing short of a parka.

2. Certain lighting will make Tara Sivec's face look like she's contracted a flesh eating virus, and at the same time, make me look possessed by the devil.

3. Pam Godwin is really effing hot. Like really, really hot.

4. Joanne Christenson wins everything. And she deserves to. She'll also make a really classy recovery from a fall by yelling, "Bitch down!"

5. Jenn Cooksey has one of the coolest tattoos ever on her arm. She'll also let you admire it for awkward lengths of time.

6. Ivie is one of the sweetest, most awesome organizers you could possibly ask for. And her husband is a G.

7. If at any time you disappear to call your husband, people's first assumption will be that you've been kidnapped.

8. Attending husbands will gravitate toward other husbands like heat seeking missiles.

9. Desiree Gorman can freaking move. Like whoa.

10. If you ask really nicely, certain tattoo artists will "talk dirty to you".

11. The life of a bellhop at events like this is one thread short of suicide watch. Boxes, boxes, and more boxes.

12. If your roommate jokingly answers with "no" when you ask if she's decent, the bellhop will come to a screeching halt just outside of your room. The look of panic will never leave his face the whole time he's in your room.

13. Buffy walks really, really fast.

14. One reader in particular doesn't find her brother cute enough to consider partaking in incest.

15. If you ask a reader their favorite sexual position at this event, they'll answer with no hesitation.

16. You will see more boobs than you would at a bachelor party in a strip club.

17. Tessa Teevan has the best blank stare ever. She will stare you down after you say something to her until you're considering crawling away in shame, and then resurrect your self esteem at the last second with a really big smile.

18. Harper Sloan's personality is almost as nice as her ass.

19. Being seated directly next to the vibrator races is like hitting the lottery.

20. In NO way will you ever manage to spend enough time with all of the awesome people that you really want to.

***Addition***21. As a signing author, unless you make someone your bitch and send them around the room with your stuff you want signed, you won't get any autographs. :(

There is SO much more I could include on this list, so I'll add to it as more and more memories come back to me. :)

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

HUGE 2000 Facebook Likes Giveaway!

I can't thank all of these generous authors enough for their donations!

23 separate winners!!!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Wicked Book Weekend Giveaway-Remix!

Okay, so the winner of the ticket to Wicked Book Weekend cannot attend, and thus, it's back up for grabs!!!

You know you want to be there! :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, January 11, 2014

I Think I Peed A Little

Earlier today I made a post concerning negative reviews and the ways I (and likely other authors) not only feel about them, but also the strategies we use to cope. Honestly, it was mostly just a lead-in to Tara Sivec's hilarious post on the same topic, including fun videos from her friends and family.

BUT, it (and several other seriously negative shit storms between authors and other authors AND authors and fans (or more likely non-fans)) got me thinking. What about the flip side. Positive reviews---and behavior, for that matter---deserve the same amount of recognition.

Positive reviews often act as nourishment, encouraging new and well seasoned authors alike to keep writing, believe in themselves, and push to be better and better each and every book.

Sometimes a really glowing review will make me feel so warm and tingly, that I momentarily fear I've peed myself.

Okay, not really. That only happens when I sneeze. But you get me.

I've also found some serious entertainment out of some of them.

Like this one...

How can I not be proud that I contributed to the "neglect" of her children?
"Could not put it down. Gave my kids candy and let them watch awful cartoons just so I could sneak in more reading time."---LS "LS" on Amazon

And I do mean "neglect", not neglect. Seriously, we're more alike than you think. How do you think I entertain my child so I can write these books?

Anyway, I didn't intend for this to be long-winded or some sort of philosophical masterpiece. I only wanted to thank my readers for each and every positive review, kind word, and book purchase.

I read every note (and try to respond) that you leave on my Facebook page or on here. Every time someone tells me they've enjoyed one of my books, it means something to me.

Thank you. Thank you for reading and encouraging me with kindness.

All my love---Laurel :)

Making Lemonade...Out of a Pile of Shit

I frequently remind myself that to be an author you have to make like Hannibal Lecter and put on your thickest, flashiest skin daily. People are going to hate your book. They're going to do it without tact by calling it "a big steaming pile of sh*t" or make some reference to you being a "talentless hack" or a "waste of life". I have personally had people say that my characters are ridiculous and that real people would never act like that, so this blog post by Tara Sivec just made my day.

http://www.tarasivec.com/negative-reviews-no-problem/

Ironically, when a negative review manages to bring me low, I just read negative reviews that people have left some of my favorite authors, on my favorite books. So, Tara, your negative reviews serve yet another purpose...making me feel better. Congratulations. LOL If people think Tara's books are a pile of sh*t, I want to be one too.



<3