Hellish Good Time and Other Not So Cool Things

So I finished another book the other day and it was fantastic! Go out now and buy Hell's Belles by Jackie Kessler. I read it so fast, that it didn't even seem like I was reading. Sounds kind of weird ... but no joke. I'd be like, "I'm just going to read a few pages" then BAM, I read like 50. Insane! The voice flows so well, so quick, your eyes flit over the pages without any roadblocks or potholes to tear you out of the story. And what a unique story. Jezebel is a succubus who has a bit of a disagreement with the way things are going to hell in hell (or would that be going to heaven?), so she leaves hell for earth and disguises herself as a mortal and tricks a witch into giving her a talisman that masks her true identity from the demons trying to track her down and take her back to hell. In the course of one day she meets a hot guy, travels to New York, and finds a job at—what else—a strip bar. But this is only the beginning of her journey. She still has a ton of demons wanting to drag her back, a best friend who's a Fury, Queen Lilith with a major hair up her ass, a hot incubus who keeps wanting to play naughty with her, and well ... trying to figure out her new mortal body and all that comes along with being human. Not to mention that this book is damn sexy. But, of course, with a succubus as the heroine, what do you expect? What was so great was Kessler's world building. All the little nuances concerning the different levels of hell, different types of demons, the roles demons play in seducing mortals, and why they do it. I never thought I'd actually root for a demon in a book or feel bad for Lucifer but Kessler pulled it off without any questions. According to her site, the next book in the series Road to Hell is out in November and I believe the third book is Hotter Than Hell. I can't wait!

On my writing front, I got two more rejections from agents. I had high hopes for this one and was kind of bummed to get these responses. Got a little bit of feedback which was good and bad. Ugh! I'm so frustrated. I still got it out there with two other people, but I'm not getting my hopes as high this time. A CP finished the story and has a bunch of suggestions for taking it in a new direction, so I'll see how I can improve. I'm always up for improvement, especially if it means breaking in the biz and learning new ways to evolve my story and my writing. But I have to admit that the improvement process is painful. Kind of like plastic surgery. Not that I know, but I've watched Doctor 90210 enough to see how uncomfortable everyone is right after having a ton o' fat removed or getting implants. But after a few weeks, they're better and most look hotter, too. So I guess that's what will happen to my story. It'll get better looking ... hopefully.