join us tonight!!

Tonight at 9pm EST at Blog Talk Radio, Kelley, Rita and I will be chatting live! Don't miss it!

Hunks anyone?

So, for today I wanna know...what's your preference?

Is it the motorcyle man? ...a little rough, dangerous, and so deliciously wild

or is it the badboy with the tattoo? the guy your mom warned you about!

the dark, mystery man who is sexy enough to want to lick from head to toe, but scary enough to wonder just what your getting yourself into...


the hot blonde in the yummy jeans that you desperately want to strip from his gorgeous bod

the hottie who makes you think...boy toy! *g*

or the hard as nails guy who makes you feel safe and protected, yet a little fearful of what he has plans for your body...

last but not least...the military man, as lethal as he is sexy!

I have a feeling the answer is:

all of the above

am I right? *g*

Going on a date!

Well technically it's not a date, it's a wedding, but my hubby and I so rarely get a chance to go out and do something just the two of us, that we're considering it a date! It's funny. We were talking about it last night and he said, "I can't wait to dance with my wife this weekend". As soon as the words left his mouth I realized two things. First of all, my hubby rocks and he always knows the best things to say without even trying and second, this will be the first time we've danced with each other since OUR wedding almost seven years ago. That is WAY too long to go without dancing with your spouse!

It's so hard to make the time to get away with jobs, responsibilities, kids. It seems like so much work some times that we just eventually gave up trying. Plus, we're picky about who we leave our kids with. They don't really stay with anyone besides my mom or my husbands mom and both our mothers are still working, his mom has two jobs so it makes it hard for them to have time to babysit. I mean, they've stayed with a friend of mine for a couple hours a couple of times, but that's always a day thing because she has children and a husband of her own. My nieces and nephew used to babysit, but now they're too into their own thing than to babysit on a Saturday night.

So, needless to say, we're really looking forward to this wedding on Saturday. Not only do we get to see my husband's cousin marry a great guy, but we get a date night out of it too! We vowed to try and start making this happen more often. Hopefully, we'll stick to it this time.

Do you have date nights with your spouse?

Would you go back?

Several months ago, me and six other authors, Tessie Bradford, Cindy Spencer Pape, Anny Cook, Taylor Tryst, Paris Brandon and Fran Lee, got together and wrote an erotic anthology for Resplendence Publishing. The Carnal Reunion anthology goes live at Resplendence sometime before noon today. The concept was simple. Seven housemates from college get together again at the house where they used to live to attend their ten-year college reunion. While there, they meet up with the guys whom they loved all those years ago.

It's interesting to think of what can happen to a person in the space of ten years, isn't it? In the case of my heroine, Chloe Wells, she was married, had a child and then was widowed. Lots of stuff. Lots of baggage. Now she's a struggling single mother who is looking for...something.

The whole idea of going back and redoing things is kind of scary to think about. In quiet moments, I'll confess, I often think back about high school and college and wonder if I should've or could've done things differently. Maybe stood up for myself more or made better decisions. I honestly don't know. Over the years we change and grow and become completely different people than we'd been "back then". I actually know people who continually re-live their high school years. Nothing wrong with that assuming they were good years but for me, high school was a misery. We were all a bunch of insecure, juvenile, dumbasses and the last thing I want to do is re-live any part of it. Every invitation to attend a reunion goes straight into the trash!

I remember having a conversation with my daughter about some of her high school experiences and the things some kids did to other kids. I told her...you know? She'll probably grow up and become a very nice woman! I know there is some truth to that. How many girls did you know who were totally shallow, hateful bitches who you meet, quite by accident, years later and you find they are the nicest people?

For me, college was a different ball of wax altogether. I found I thrived in this environment and I truly DID make friends with whom I'm still friends today. Recently I reconnected with sorority sisters whom I haven't talked with for years. Facebook is a wonder, isn't it? Anyway, it has been fun catching up and making plans to get together again.

Buy Smokin Ace HERE

Blurb:

A college reunion and seeing her best 'gal pals' is just the thing widow and single mom, Chloe Wells, needs to put a little oomph back into her boring and routine life. For her, those carefree years of friendship she made with six other women in the old Victorian were unforgettable and, hey, what's wrong with revisiting a past that was fun and full of laughter? But when she bumps into Michael "Ace" Banner other memories resurface. Memories of hot nights and rumpled bedsheets. Memories of the loss of one man who burned her to ash.

Former college tennis star, Ace Banner, now a reknowned sports photographer, has just one chance to regain the love of pretty, sweet, very sexy Chloe. Yeah, he blew it years ago by walking away but he's a man now and not about to let her get away again. Ace is prepared to pull out all the stops in reclaiming what he lost all those years ago. It'll take a slow hand and an easy touch but he's up for the challenge.

what's your remedy?

So, I've had a cold for about a week. It's just hanging on and driving me crazy! I've done the vitamin C thing, airborne, rest, yada yada. Still, I'm sniffling and basically just annoyed that it won't go away already!



What's your remedy? Do you have a special combination that helps you get over these things? Do you do something specific to keep from getting colds and flus?



***



Also, I wanted to share a picture of our new puppy. She's only about a week and a half old, so she's still with her mommy. We have another 5 weeks before we can bring her home. But, isn't she adorable?! We already got her some toys, her very own bowl and also a red puppy collar, complete with sparkling rhinestones. Yes, she has her very own bling. LOL We're not going to spoil her, clearly. hehe

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...and before I forget. This Thursday at 9pm EST, Kelley, Regina and I will be on Blog Talk Radio chatting with Phoebe Jordan. You don't want to miss it! Who knows what sort of wicked things we'll say! LOL

Watching the Worm

Last weekend both my kids were home and though we don't like to do it when they are visiting, we put them to work. On Sunday, we worked at covering the backyard pool. We have a big tarp that we hook up after we've done the 'winterizing' thing and, frankly, it's just too much work for two people so the kids pitched in. Now I don't know where this big fat worm came from but after we'd finished I spotted it on the patio. It was a chubby little thing. Admittedly, I was a little pooped from the hard work and a nice person would have gathered it up and deposited it in the yard. Instead, I got a little bit fascinated by the thing.

A few hours later, I went back outside and saw that he'd progressed about an inch. Pretty slow moving. I've kept up with the worms slow progress over the past few days and I'm happy to announce that he has made it pretty far by just steadily plugging along.

So now you're wondering why I'm talking about worms, aren't you? Progress on Cactus Mackey's story (the fourth of my High Plains Shifters series) is moving along at about the same pace as that poor chubby worm. For some reason, I was inspired by him this week. I thought to myself...he's going for it. No matter how long it takes, he's going for it. Slow going but moving ahead. So while he's doing it a slow inch at a time, I've been hitting the writing a page at a time. I set a basically miniscule goal but always managed to far surpass it this week.

Now, I'm seeing the light at the end of this long tunnel. Figure I'll wrap the book up over the weekend and get it off to my editor when last week, I thought it would take me much longer. I would write steadily and then realize, quite surprised, that I'd progressed farther than I thought. So yes, I guess there are lessons to be learned from that slow moving worm. Continue on, forge ahead, and EVENTUALLY you'll get there.

signed a new contract!

I've already shouted about this on Facebook, but I'm too excited not to say something about it here too.

I've signed a new contract with Samhain Publishing! Yay! This one is a short story. Erotic, of course. LOL (to be released Aug. '10)

Here's a blurb:



What She Wants

Summer just got a whole lot hotter…

Summer Chase has already loved and lost once and she has no intention of going through that pain again. But when a hunky Camaro driving P.I. shows up at her B & B looking for a room for the week, she sees something more than a hard-bodied guest. For the first time since her husband’s death, Summer’s sexual interest is awakening, and she’s not about to hit the snooze button!

Gage Knight is a P. I. in desperate need of a vacation. His impromptu trip to Cape May, New Jersey seems just what he needs to relax and unwind. But when he knocks on the door of Chase’s Bed & Breakfast and comes face to face with sexy owner, Summer Chase, relaxing drops to the bottom of his to-do list. Now all he wants is a tasty Summer treat, and he plans to take his time, savoring the curvaceous beauty one inch at a time.

Question is…can she watch Gage drive off into the sunset when the week comes to an end?

5 The things I love about this story:

• The story takes place in Cape May, New Jersey. I used to visit there when I was a kid so it's special for me. I love the shore!



• Gage, the hero, has a big dragon tattoo on his upper back. He's the first of my male characters to have a tattoo. It's very sexy!



• Gage is also the first of my characters to be bald. Gage does bald VERY well. lol



• Summer's drive to make her bed & breakfast a success. I admire women who push past the pain of life, determined to find happiness.



• The sex scenes...LOL I haven't had a hot tub scene in any of my books since Haley's Cabin. I felt it was time to do another one! *wicked grin*

You can see my inspiration for Gage here
Excerpt coming soon!

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Also, I wanted to share an update on that 15 year old girl who was gang raped. They've arrested a 7th suspect. A 21 year old. And I read where the girl who had called 911 spoke for the first time. You can read her statement here

And the victim spoke for the first time as well. Her pastor shares her statements with the press. A few of the things she wanted the public to know are:


"Violence is always the wrong choice... We realize people are angry about this," the statement said. "But let the anger cause change; change that is necessary to keep our children, our neighbors and our friends safe. We thank everyone for their love, support and ongoing prayers." more here


What a smart, strong young lady! She has my admiration AND my prayers!!

Saying goodbye to a series

I accomplished something really big lately. At least it felt big to me. I always feel really great about finishing a book, but when I finished this last one, there was something a little extra there. See, I struggled a lot with this one. I did a lot of reading it over, changing things, adding and taking away. I used the delete button WAY more on this book than I ever have before. It felt like it was plaguing me which made me sad because it was the last book in a three book series that I LOVED writing.

Finally, the last couple weeks everything just flowed. I wrote like crazy and things finally came together. Just a couple days ago I was able to write 'The End' and while one part of me jumped for joy because this book had felt like such a weight on my shoulders, the other part of me was a little sad. I had to say goodbye to these three girls: Kaylee, Tabby and Brianna who had become friends to me over the past couple years. They've pretty much been a part of my life since I started writing with the goal of publication. They were my first sale and now it's a little hard to say goodbye to that.

This series started because I wanted to do a series with a group of girlfriends who would do anything for each other. They were there when the other needed to cry, there to make them laugh, and there to tell each other to pull their heads out of their you know whats when need be. Through it all I felt like I was a part of their little Friday's at Luciano's group and now I'm kind of sad that is gone.

It's weird...feeling so excited about something and sad about it at the same time. I've never really experienced being sad to finish a book before. But, on the other hand, I breathed life into these characters and it was a joy to be a part of their lives (does that make me sound crazy? LOL). I enjoyed these three books and I hope readers will enjoy Bri's story as well.

As a reader or a writer, is it hard for you to say goodbye to a series?

A New Toy!!!!

Just in time for the holidays another ebook device hits the market. The long awaited Barnes and Noble Nook looks pretty cool, to tell you the truth. It does everything the Kindle and others does for a fairly decent price. At $250 you get a wireless machine that stacks up and in some areas surpasses the Amazon Kindle. Personally, I like the clean look of it. Maybe it's just me but are there a gazillion buttons on the Kindle??? The Nook looks simple to use, it displays the book covers and simply by touching the pic, you can open your book. Looks pretty easy to me.

Probably the BEST thing about this new handy dandy machine is the fact that other readers will probably all go down in price. Now for ebook lovers a device like this can't come more highly recommended than by ME. I love my little ebookwise 1150 BUT I lately I find myself drooling over the new stuff that's hitting the market. Talked with someone at Romanticon who is trying out a Cool-Er reader and has no problems with it either. The bottom line is, readers have a bigger and better selection, it seems, almost every day.

The loops have been buzzing about the new Nook for the past week or so and lots of writers have discussed the 'sharing' feature involving B&Ns reader. If you own a Nook you can 'share' a book with friends. This, I must admit, is pretty damn disturbing but here's how I gather it works. If you have a Nook you can send a book to a friend for 14 days. This can be sent to their Nook, computer, I-phone, whatever. While that 'friend' has the book, you will be unable to read yours and it disappears from the friends computer, Nook, or Iphone in fourteen days. So it really is geared toward a 'loan' only. It's temporary and I imagine since it disappears after fourteen days, it wouldn't end up on a pirate site somewhere. Most Nook's titles will cost roughly $10 and that includes bestsellers and B&N will also offer lots of 'free reads' as well. My main gripe about many readers is they aren't available anywhere but in the US. What? Are there no readers in the rest of the world? I know there must be a reason these aren't available elsewhere. I don't know what it is exactly but I wish they'd change that. E-book readers should be made available to everyone.

As a writer who writes for the ebook market, I'm personally thrilled to find such a selection of readers on the market these days. Competition is a good thing and will drive the costs down, too. Lately, I've even seen commercial after commercial on television about the Sony, the Kindle, and I suspect we'll see plenty on the Nook, too. The main thing this tells me is that ebooks and ebook readers are coming into the mainstream. This can only mean good things for those of us who write and read ebooks.

Dad's surgery!

I don't have much time, but I did want to ask you all to keep my Dad in your prayers this week. He's in the hospital for tests. On wednesday he'll have the surgery where they'll take care of of that clogged artery, which caused him to have two strokes recently.

Also, today is Mom's birthday. She gets to spend it in the hospital with my Dad. Not a load of fun, needless to say!

Anyway, I'm heading up there now. With luck this week will go smoothly and he'll be home, in his easy chair, sipping coffee by Friday!