AT ANY COST Excerpts Posted!

Below is the story excerpt for AT ANY COST. This excerpt gives you a little taste of the dangers the characters are up against.

Because it is a romance, and does include explicit language and sexual content, I add the disclaimer that you need to be over the age of 18 to view. Please, read on...

Dan and Snyder were quieter than church mice. They'd taken the guards out before they could call in. It didn't make any sense.

His answer came then, and Dan cursed through clenched teeth. Goddamn that woman. If they made it out of here alive, he was going to kill her.

JT Turner, dressed in all black, raced toward him. She had a mask over her face, but he knew her body well enough to know who it was.

Not again.

She had quite a crew after her this time. She skidded to a stop the minute she realized who it was. "Dan?" He thrust an UZI into her hands. "Guns? How did you get these? I thought we were unarmed? At least I was."

"Not now, Turner." He fired into the crowd chasing her, dropping the first layer. "Did you get him?"

"No." JT fired and took out two more.

"Move it." He pushed her behind him. "There's a hole under the fence dead ahead. Slide under and keep going until you see the car. Get in and get down."

"But I can still take him!"

"Too late, Turner. Now move." She ran off toward the fence. Dan followed, every few seconds turning and firing, taking out another layer. But they just kept coming.

Dan made it to the hole and slid under. He noticed a piece of fabric with blood on it. Knowing it wasn't his, he growled. She couldn't even slide under a fence without hurting herself.

Racing toward the car, he almost collided with Snyder as he appeared from behind some trees. They both sprinted toward the car. Snyder didn't even pause when he spotted JT Turner behind the wheel, motioning for them to hurry up.

Dan jumped in the passenger seat, Snyder in the back.

"Haul ass!" Dan yelled.

"I'm hauling," JT sang, and he wanted to wring that defiant little neck of hers. She drove fast, but not fast enough. Dan saw lights behind them. SUVs. ATVs. And whatever else the tango had at his beck and call.

And they were gaining on them.

"Move over, Turner. I'm taking the wheel." He grabbed the wheel and positioned himself to take over. She threw the seat back and rolled out of the way, while at the same time Dan jumped into the seat.

He picked up the pace and the lights in his rearview mirror started to fade. "Fire off some cover, would you?"

"My pleasure." JT crawled over the back of her seat and landed ungracefully on top of Snyder. Dan watched in the mirror as Snyder helped her up. The way he touched her, smiled at her, made Dan tense. "Thanks." She offered.

"Any time," Snyder, too easy and too damned charming, replied. Dan clenched his teeth. "Hey, Weber? Flip that little purple toggle switch."

Dan did and the back window lowered down. "Nice option."

JT popped her head up and rested the UZI on the back dash. Firing behind them, she must have hit some of them. Lights visibly swerved, and one flipped into the air.

That's my girl. Dan drove faster, narrowly missing trees and vines as he navigated the jungle. JT fired off another volley of shots, this time not aiming for anything in particular. The woman just liked to shoot.

"I think I got 'em all." JT slid back down into the seat.

"Think again." Dan spotted another set of lights as they crested the horizon. "Snyder, take 'em out."

"I can do it." JT glared up at Dan through the mirror. He glared back with equal fury. Just wait, Turner. You think I'm pissed now, wait until we get back to the hotel.

"Allow me." Snyder capped the driver of their tail. The lights slid off into the bushes and stopped.

"Very nice," JT offered.

"Thank you," Snyder replied with a nod. He sat back and gave JT a sideways glance.

"You must be the lovely Miss Turner."

"I must be," JT replied. Dan looked behind them. No more lights. They were in the clear. "And you are?"

"David Snyder, NASSD." He offered his hand. When JT accepted it, he kissed her fingers. Dan jerked the wheel and knocked them off-balance. JT pulled her hand back to find purchase against the seat.

"I was doing fine until you two showed up."

"Obviously," Dan ground out.

"Let me guess," Snyder said after several seconds of intense silence. "Weber didn't tell you about this?"

"No," she said way too sweetly and forced a smile. He looked at her through the rearview mirror. She looked ready to jump over the seat and take him out with her bare hands. "He must have forgotten to mention it."

"Did you get him?" Snyder asked JT.

"No," Dan choked out. Again his anger singed the corners of his control. He shook his head and muttered a round of his favorite curses. Twice.

"So now we are back to Plan A?" Snyder asked.

Dan swung his angry gaze over to her through the mirror. She'd botched the mission. Blew the fucking op. Damn it all to Hell! If he could, he'd throw her on the next plane out of Colombia and go after the tango himself.

But HQ wanted it done their way. Hell and brimstone. He debated whether going against a direct order and sending her home anyway. Yes, it would be his final mission, because as soon as HQ found out Dan went with his own plan, his career would be over.

He could always go along with HQ's ridiculous plan. JT would go into the compound and work the tango from the inside. Dan would work the mission with Snyder from the outside. It could work, Dan finally admitted, with a few modifications.

The only way to keep an eye on her was to keep her in the mission. Son-of-a-bitch. He didn't want her there, didn't want her going into the compound unarmed and alone.

But it was the only way.

If you like what you read, you can read more at my website www.alliekadams.com.

~Allie

What is Print On Demand (POD)?

There is a new trend sweeping the publishing industry. Well, actually it isn't new at all. It's been around for some time, but it's just now catching on (finally)! It's called Print On Demand, or POD.

First, let's talk about what POD is NOT. It is not vanity publishing as some would have you believe. Vanity publishing, or self-publishing, is when you take your material, complete your own line edits, find your own printer, print and bind your own books, and sell them yourself. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with self-publishing. I just want to provide the distinction between vanity publishing and POD.

Print on demand with digital technology is used as a way of printing items on demand. In other words, unlike a traditional print run publisher, POD will only print the book when it has been ordered. Traditional publishers print a run of several thousand books right out of the gate with no guarantee even one will sell. This not only ties up a heck of a lot of money in overhead, it also wastes valuable resources (paper, chemicals, time, etc.). If the books don't sell, we now have several thousand books in a land fill somewhere. In this day and age of "green" and protecting our resources, POD really does stand out as the more Earth-friendly approach.

POD has many benefits. Some of them are:

• You can still order books that otherwise would have been out of print and no longer available. As long as that book is in digital format, it will always be available.
• Large inventories of a book or print material do not need to be kept in stock, reducing storage, handling costs, and inventory accounting costs.
• There is little or no waste from unsold products.
• POD advantages reduce the risks associated with publishing books and prints and can lead to increased choice for consumers.

So there you have it. I hope this helps you understand what POD is and why it is growing in popularity, and why I chose to go with a POD publisher. I'm not going to chain myself to a tree to show my "greener" side, but by choosing an Earth-friendly publisher like Siren-BookStrand, I am showing that I do have one.

Book Trailer for AT ANY COST - actual trailer

I've had a couple people ask if I would post the actual video trailer here instead of the link, so here it is. I would love to hear what you think of this trailer as it is my first one and I want to make one for each of my books. If this totally blows, then I want to know so I don't turn around and make the same type of trailer for SEEK AND DESTROY. However, if you just love it, I'd like to hear that, too!

Book Trailer for AT ANY COST

I wanted to share with everyone my efforts at creating a book trailer for my first book out, AT ANY COST.

http://www.youtube.com/v/nNMaDGpe6vs

Tell me what you think.

I've been tagged... Thanks Jami!

I guess even blogspots can get those chain letters/tags. This one looks fun so I'll jump in.

The rules: Tell seven random and/or interesting things about myself. Get five blog buddies to play, too and link to their blogs. Don't forget to post the rules.


1. I used to race jeeps offroad, which is where I met my husband. You pick out the jeep you like, then go after the man. He he he... I think he liked my jeep better.
2. My feet are insanely ticklish. I mean freakishly insanely ticklish. I've actually broken toes (my own) when being tickled because I ended up kicking something.
3. I'm a techie by trade and yet have to have my fifteen year old son show me how to use my Blackberry phone.
4. I love to bake in the sun. L-O-V-E it. However, being a redhead and extremely fair skinned, I usually turn into a lobster in no time and then spend the next week in pain, then another week itching from dead skin peeling off me in sheets.
5. My husband and I have been together for seventeen years, but we aren't actually married. We were married, got a divorce, and then got back together. We call each other "Spousal Units" or SUs. It fits, don't you think? We live in blissful sin! Ha!
6. My daughter is one of my best friends. THAT is saying something! She is eleven going on thirty, so let's see if we are still speaking when she turns all "teenager" on me! I know there will come a time when it just won't be cool to hang with mom, but until then I'm taking advantage of every second.
7. I love to remodel and/or build additions on houses. I'm in the process of purchasing a house right now. I plan to add on and will get started this summer. I'm TERRIBLE at interior design, so if you have any taste at all (I've been told my taste is all in my mouth), let me know and I'll be happy to pick your brain for ideas.

So there you have it--my seven factoids. As for my blog group, I don't think I know five people who have blogs. Instead, I'll post this now and as I find blogs out there, I'll post the URL here.

Thanks!

Finding your Happily Ever After (HEA)

There's been a lot of talk on my author's loop (Gawd, I love saying that! I actually have an author's loop) about romance books and whether or not they should have the proverbial HEA (Happily Ever After). In my opinion, all romance genre books should have the HEA. Here's why:

Years ago I read this book--I don't even remember the name--that not only did not have the HEA, the author killed off the heroine at the end of the book. I was so mad I actually threw the book across the room. I felt cheated. I spent all that time and energy reading that book only to have it end in tragedy! To me, if the hero and heroine do not end up together, that is a tragedy.

So, for those of you looking for your HEA, you can count on them in all of my books. I will never cheat any of my readers by having the book end in tragedy. Sure, they may get shot, thrown out of windows, beaten to a bloody pulp, etc... But they will ALWAYS end up together in the end.

After all, isn't that what HEAs are all about?

RESCUE ME picked up by BookStrand!!!

Well, when it happens it happens fast.

BookStrand offered to publish RESCUE ME, my Search And Rescue (SAR) book set in Washington State. Here's a little bio on the book: "Kathryn Davis is the one of the top SAR coordinators in the country. When she finds someone not meant to be found, hears things not meant to be heard, she discovers just how far someone will go to make sure she is silenced. Detective Spencer Allen is the only one who can protect her. They already have a history together, one that did not end well. Can they get along long enough to find out who is trying to kill Kat? Being together again ignites the passion once more, sparking their old flame into an inferno.

I'm very excited and wanted to post the news! Head to my website (http://www.alliekadams.com/) to read more about Kat and Spencer.

That makes three books under contract with high interest in the next book in the NASSD series. Yeah!!!

The Cover for AT ANY COST

So I'm on the phone with a client (I still work 40+ hours per week in IT until I can support myself with my writing) trying to be Ms. Professional when I receive an email from my publisher, BookStrand (www.bookstrand.com). It's my cover for AT ANY COST. Being my first cover EVER, I, of course, just about fell off my chair with excitement. Still attempting to remain Ms. Professional while trying not to hyperventilate and pass out, I finally ended the call just in time. I then screamed, causing my husband to run into my office to save me from whatever big bad thing had me cornered. My hero. I showed him my cover, which he replied with a single word--cool. I had to agree.

What do you think?

http://www.bookstrand.com/authors/alliekadams/aka-aac.jpg

SEEK AND DESTROY IS SOLD!!!

BookStrand has offered (and I, of course, accepted) to publish SEEK AND DESTROY, the second in the NASSD series. They've also asked to see IT TAKES TWO once complete. This is quite a thrill for me, and I couldn't wait to share it with you!

AT ANY COST has been SOLD!!!!

I FINALLY sold one! BookStrand offered to publish AT ANY COST. I'm thrilled.

This is my first in the series of the "National Agency of Safety, Security, and Defense" books. Stocked full of danger and intrigue, not to mention love and romance, these anti-terrorist stories will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The agents at NASSD will win over your heart all the while saving the world. Once I have my cover art, I'll post the real cover on the website.

They've also requested SEEK AND DESTROY, as well as IT TAKES TWO (once complete). I'm hoping they love all of them as much as they loved the first one! Keep your fingers crossed...

My first blog!

Hey Everyone~

This is my first attempt at "blogging". I would love to hear from you! Please, take a moment and 'chat' with me. Let me know how the website looks (http://www.alliekadams.com). Feedback is always welcome and appreciated. I'll be e-chatting with you all again very soon!

Allie