Anna Zabo

The interesting thing about writing a novel is that I fall very fast into the voice of the characters. If the character is from Pittsburgh, little bits of the Pittsburgh dialect come through. But they often get corrected out.

Eli, from Just Business, was born and raised in Pittsburgh. Though he doesn’t have the really thick Pittsburgh accent, he has some of the effects of the dialect. (Hell, I do too, and I wasn’t born here…just raised by parents who were and have spent more than half my life here now.)

One of those effects is the dropping of the “to be”.

Except that doesn’t work so well in novels because it looks wrong and would throw anyone not from Pittsburgh out of the story.

I’ve been proofing the typeset pages of Just Business. There’s a line of dialogue where Eli, who is driving Justin to CMU’s campus, says:

“Where do you want to be dropped off?”

Except that’s not what Eli actually says, not in my brain anyway. What he says is:

“Where do you want dropped off?”

Which is perfectly grammatically correct Pittsburghese. Alas, it was not to be. Or rather, it was to be.

(And this is where anyone from Pittsburgh would insert the Pittsburgh Hamlet Joke. Or not.)

Name that ‘Ship

Published on March 18, 2015 by amergina

So I made this observation on Twitter today:

There’s no good way to mash Justin and Eli together to make a ‘ship name. #JustBusiness

— Anna Zabo/A. Kopchik (@amergina) March 18, 2015

And Jenn Burke replied:

@amergina Jelli!

— Jenn Burke (@jeralibu) March 18, 2015

Now, certain characters ride pretty close to the surface of my brain. Eli is one of those who has a habit of chattering at me. So I read that and:

“No.” Eli pushed back from his laptop. “Absolutely not.”

Justin leaned over and peered at the screen. “I don’t know, I think it’s kind of cute.”

“It’s a type of donut.” He tipped his head back to look Justin in the eyes. “I am not okay with us being a type of donut.”

“What about a Jelli sandwich?”

“No.”

“Jelli candy?”

“What, like a Gummi bear? No!” Eli paused. “So help me, if you say Jelli shoe, I’ll turn you over my knee.”

“Oh, like that’s a threat that’ll stop me…” Justin’s smile was wicked and wide.

“The things I put up with from you…”

Justin leaned down, his breath hot against Eli’s ear. “Jelli shoooooe.”

ICYMI: Cover Reveal!

Published on March 3, 2015 by amergina

Yesterday was the cover reveal for Just Business over at Prism Book Alliance! The cover should start to trickle out to sellers soon.

There’s also an excerpt and a giveaway, so head over if you want to know more!

But if you don’t want to jump over and read a sexy sexy excerpt…. here’s the cover! Let me know what you think. 🙂

Just Business Cover Reveal on Monday

Published on February 27, 2015February 28, 2015 by amergina

I received the final okay to share the cover for Just Business!

So, on Monday, I’ll be over at Prism Book Alliance to reveal the cover, have a little giveaway, and whet your interest with an excerpt.

So, what is Just Business about, other than the next book in the Takeover books? Well, the cover copy for the book has been up at vendor sites for a bit, so I’ll share:

A steamy new novel about having all the control—and losing it…

Justin White may not look like an up and coming corporate superstar, but his new boss knows he has the smarts, grit, and determination to succeed. Now he just has to convince his company’s CFO, Eli Ovadia. Unfortunately, Justin can’t seem to keep his cool around the domineering Eli—and soon he finds himself taking their heat from the boardroom into the bedroom….

Still haunted by a tragic accident that left him with a wounded leg and broken heart, Eli has a need to be in control. But his desire for Justin makes him want to lose that control—and push them both far beyond their limits. But will his need to dominate Justin drive him away—or will Eli find a way to be the man he needs for both of them?

Aaaand. Here’s a little teaser of the cover:

It’s Pittsburgh! Isn’t it pretty? Hmm. there’s a hint of something behind and above that image, too. Wonder that that could be…

I’ll link to the cover reveal post once it’s up. Until then, enjoy the Steel City in all its glory. 😀

Happy Release Day for Rules To Live By!

Published on February 16, 2015 by amergina

Today is the release day for the Riptide anthology Rules To Live By, which includes my short story CTRL Me!

It’s available as an ebook and as a paperback. I’ve read the other stories and they’re all sexy and kinky, and above all, about relationships.

There’s already a nice blog review of the anthology at On Top Down Under.

If you like some rules and regs. and a bit of BDSM/discipline, and associated kink, Rules To Live By is a strong overall anthology. The Harder They Fall and CTRL Me were scorchers and hit the right personal notes for me, but all the stories meshed nicely together to create a good overall read.

Here’s the Blurb:

Four intimate tales of power exchange, discipline, risks taken, and pleasures earned.

A list of rules to live by.
In Cari Z’s House Rules, jealousy leads Jonathan to break the rules his lover has established. He can’t decide which he enjoys more: his punishment, or the reward afterward. Good thing he gets both.

A lesson in humility.
In The Harder They Fall by Heidi Belleau and Lisa Henry, spoiled college boy Tad hires a prostitute, but “Daddy” couldn’t care less about what Tad wants. Instead, he’s going to give his spoiled little boy exactly what he deserves.

A cage that means freedom.
In Master Key by Anah Crow and Dianne Fox, Marquis offers Navin the key to the most intimate of locks, hoping it will help them to prioritize their relationship. And it does—until work and insecurities threaten to drive them apart again.

A spool of rope and a desire to be bound.
In CTRL Me by Anna Zabo, a night out between friends turns hot and tempting when Gabe deliberately pushes Tom’s submissive buttons. Then Tom discovers rope in Gabe’s glove box—and not the type for securing luggage.

Buy Links:

Rules to Live By

Published on January 17, 2015January 17, 2015 by amergina

News! I have News! I’m really excited because I’ve been sitting on this for a while. Remember that BDSM anthology I sold a story to back in August? Guess what!

Rules to Live By is available for pre-order on the Riptide site! My story, CTRL Me, is one of the four stories in the book! (Yes, there are more than four authors. Two of the stories are co-authored.)

The book releases February 16th, but those that pre-order can download it 48 hours early.

Here’s the blurbs:

Four intimate tales of power exchange, discipline, risks taken, and pleasures earned.

A list of rules to live by.
In Cari Z’s House Rules, jealousy leads Jonathan to break the rules his lover has established. He can’t decide which he enjoys more: his punishment, or the reward afterward. Good thing he gets both.

A lesson in humility.
In The Harder They Fall by Heidi Belleau and Lisa Henry, spoiled college boy Tad hires a prostitute, but “Daddy” couldn’t care less about what Tad wants. Instead, he’s going to give his spoiled little boy exactly what he deserves.

A cage that means freedom.
In Master Key by Anah Crow and Dianne Fox, Marquis offers Navin the key to the most intimate of locks, hoping it will help them to prioritize their relationship. And it does—until work and insecurities threaten to drive them apart again.

A spool of rope and a desire to be bound.
In CTRL Me by Anna Zabo, a night out between friends turns hot and tempting when Gabe deliberately pushes Tom’s submissive buttons. Then Tom discovers rope in Gabe’s glove-box—and not the type for securing luggage.

SO excited to be in the same pages with brilliant authors.

Just Business and other things…

Published on December 10, 2014 by amergina

I wanted to drop in a quick note to say that I finished writing Just Business. It ended up being a bit longer than anticipated because the characters…well, they wanted that story, so they got it. This one focuses primarily on the relationship between Justin and Eli and I really can’t wait to share these guys with you. It should be out in June.

Sam and Michael are there too and Sam is a lot happier now, as you might expect. It was enjoyable writing a post-Takeover Sam who is free of the angst he was carrying around with him.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to give out some teasers as time goes by. I also have several scenes that either never made it into the book or got cut because they weren’t needed, so I should also have some extra deleted scenes-type stuff.

Now, I’m working on revising a fantasy novel that’s been sitting on the back burner all year…and working on outlines for more Anderson & Co novels. (I have no idea what we’re going to end up calling the series, if it gets a series title. That’s what I’ve been calling them in my head.) One of the minor characters in Just Business decided he wanted a book, so he’s probably going to get one. I suspect it won’t be the character people expect to get a book…

Someday, I’ll get the whole blogging regularly thing down. I know, I know… I did do another Outside the Margins post at Prism Book Alliance this past Sunday. A warning: It’s a more raw than I normally blog, but it was good to get some of the crap in my head out: Days of Infamy.

If I don’t blog before the New Year (because my track-record isn’t great)… happy holidays and may the New Year bring good things for you!