Friday, November 30, 2012

Don't trust Pinterest...No Heat Curls/Bantu curls

Okay, apparently I did this wrong.  In my defense, Pinterest didn't TELL me to put all the swirls in one direction.

The picture (of the girl with the perfect curls that bounced merrily around her head in graceful waving wonder) just told me to spin my hair around, twirling it into coils.  Then I was supposed to use two bobby pins, criss crossing them (I like that the bobby pin directions were so specific whereas the twirling directions were NOT) and then sleep on that wet twirled hair and maaaagically my hair would look like hers.

My hair looked like hers when it was all twirled.  I was like...SUCCESS!  I'm gonna have some badass curl action going on in the morning. YEAH, who's a sexy author?  This kid!

The reality was...the tutorial SHOULD have been more specific insofar as the swirls all needed to go the same direction.  Mine didn't.  So mine looked less gracefully perfect than hers.  Mine looked like THIS...Before and aaaafter. 

I can only think that the Pinterest lady knew this was going to happen to my head.  Somewhere, she is slapping her knee and super happy about my lack of knowledge when it comes to hair swirling.  Actually...it looks somewhat like it should AFTER a swirly.  If you don't know what a swirly is, kids, well, you weren't a nerd in school and good for you.  Go make Pinterest tutorials for people, you winner you.

In any case, tomorrow I shall try the sock bun curling method.  Pictures to follow. 

This may be a new regular thing on my blog...when Pinterest suggestions go horribly wrong.

Meh, until tomorrow...I'm going to try to tame my suddenly ginormous hair.
Happy Writing!!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Blurb Writing 101

I realized I haven't really done a post on blurbs in my writing tips and tricks blogs and I should have.  Really, I should have.

Vague it up much?

There is such a thing as a really good blurb.  Conversely, there are also really bad ones.  Often, when writers try to be mysterious or intriguing, tempting readers to read more...what you're really doing is being so damn vague, readers don't care.

Example 1

Darcy danced her way into fame during her stint on Broadway.  Breaking hearts and taking names, she couldn't love like she once had.

Until they came...

Did it follow the rules?

Why does that suck, Virg?

Who the hell are they?  What do they have to do with her ability to love?  What does any of that have to do with BroadwayWhy do I care? Your reader should never be left wondering why they should care.

Since you gave us none of the information needed, it sucks.  Few readers are going to be interested in such a vague blurb.

Example 2

Monsters are here.  They're among us.  Only Darcy can defeat them...but will she do it before it's too late?

Did it follow the rules?

Again, suckgasm. 

What kind of monsters?  Among who?  What the hell makes Darcy so special?  When you're writing the blurb, you should have a pretty clearcut idea who your audience is, what your genre is, what your major conflict is and you should squash all that together to intrigue the reader. Basically, your blurb should answer the 5W's and the one H.

Huh?

Who, what, when, where, why, how.  Add a hook to it, and you're done.

Again, the writer might think they're being intriguing in my examples.  They're wrong.  Too many unanswered questions isn't intriguing, it's confusing.  People who are confused aren't happy.  People who aren't happy don't like to give you money.  Just bein' honest here.

Now, let's look at one of my blurbs (since I don't really have permission to share other people's blurbs as examples.)

Sample Blurb 1 (From Dom of the Dead, coming soon from Decadent Pub)

She couldn’t imagine living without him.


When Carson Black’s longtime crush and best friend dies in a bike accident, she openly weeps at his funeral. Never expressing her feelings for him, she thinks she might be going mad from grief when his voice, his scent, his desires…seem to fill her apartment.


He was afraid to demand what he needed.


Randall Stokes loves Carson but didn’t express it while he was alive. A dominant, he didn’t dare dream that the sweet girl next door would do the things that he needed to find satisfaction. When tragedy strikes, he not only has nothing to lose but a suddenly clear view into what she needs, wants, desires. Is it too late to take what they’ve both longed for?


A ghost of a chance…


Love lingers, though his body is gone. Can Carson and Randall find love in the Dom of the Dead?
 
Did it follow the rules?
 
Do we know, based on that blurb, who?  Yup, Carson and Randall.  Where?  Okay, vague there. Why?  Because he died.  What?  Something about Bdsm and love. When?  Contemporary--the motorcycle.  How?  Apparently he's haunting her.
 
Although I answered all these questions, I've left dangling ones.  Is it too late to fall in love with a dead man's ghost?  Well, you'll have to read it to find out.  But I didn't leave so many questions unanswered that readers are sitting there asking themselves what my book is even about.
 
Sample Blurb 2 (From Proper Care and Feeding of a Sex God, coming in March 2013 from Champagne Books)
 
Being a sex god isn't easy...

Yes has been a sex god for centuries. No one wrote stories or songs about him but they sure do remember to call out his name at the peak of pleasure. Satisfying the world by fulfilling their carnal needs, he is no stranger to Aphrodite's Island. When his sister, troublemaker that she is, calls him home for what she deems a 'special' job, he shudders to think what she could want.

Being frigid is worse...

Katie can't get off. She's determined it's physically impossible. She's tried everything--toys, men, women, flogging. It's just not happening. Finding an ad for a tropical island promising 'ultimate fantasy experiences' she figures it's worth a shot. It's not going to work, but it's worth a shot.

Passion beyond her wildest dreams...

Who knew the one man who can trip her trigger would refuse to touch her? The more he backs off, the more he tempts her. Katie is fascinated by the man Miss A has sharing her hotel room but, although he seems attracted, he won't do the deed.

Can Katie figure out The Proper Care and Feeding of a Sex God?
 
Did it follow the rules?
 
Who?  Yes and Katie.  What? A fantasy vacation with a sex god. Where? Aphrodite's Island. When? Contemporary. (Ad, toys, slang) Why? Because she can't get off and he is a sex god. How? Because Aphrodite set them up.
 
Again, it answers the questions yet still has a hook.
 
So, basically try to answer these questions to avoid being vague.  You'll still intrigue readers while not leaving them so confused they don't bother.
 
Just my advice. 
Happy Writing!!
 
 
 

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The Next Big Thing--Guest post from Jinni James

I'm super excited to be taking part in the Next Big Thing bloghop.  Today, my guest post is from Jinni James!! Welcome, Jinni!
 
What is the (working title) of your book?
The Wolfs Maine


Where did the idea come from for the book?
The idea came from a mixture of personal experience and a love for paranormal romance.


What genre does your book fall under?
Paranormal Romance


Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
For John I would say Channing Tatum because YUM. And for Avalon I would say Lynn Collins from Wolverine and John Carter.


What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
A lonely and desperate woman ventures out to experience something new but ends up not only finding her soul mate but herself as well.


Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
It is self published


How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
It took about 7 months which I thought was quick until I met a bunch of fellow authors who can knock a story out within weeks. lol


What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I'm not sure. I haven't read a book similar to this one just yet. But I'm sure it's only because I haven't found it yet.


Who or What inspired you to write this book?
My divorce. lol. During my marriage I had day dreamed about the situation in the book. Once I became brave enough to get the divorce I actually sat down and worked on this story.


What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

It has romance, shape shifters, vampires, some mystery, action, and sex I hope that piques some interest.

Blurb:
 
Avalon felt like her life was set on repeat.  Every new day was just like the one before until Avalon's friends talk her into venturing out and leaving her dead end marriage behind. Little did she know that she would meet her soul mate face to face and that he would ignite a desire in her that she never knew existed. 
 
John had been watching over Avalon ever since her parents died when she was three but she had no clue. She had only been talking to him online for two years.  She slowly learns that there is a whole world and a whole story she had not known about involving every one she knows and cares for.  Her husband, Nicholas, is not the man she thought him to be, if he is a man at all and John seems to be more than he lets on as well.  Avalon soon discovers the hidden truths but can she handle it? With Nicholas seeking vengeance can John and her friends help her?
Check out Jinni's post here.
Grab your copy of The Wolfs Maine here.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

You're all so angry...Gaaaah!!

I noticed it started around the election. 

Not blaming the election or anything but that really seems to have amped up the internet angry-meter.
designer sunglasses
Democrats attacked republicans.  Both sides advised us that if their candidate didn't win, the end of the world was nigh.  Brothers attacked sisters.  Mothers told off their daughters.  Husbands and wives set up trenches in their livingrooms and there was even mention of the zombie apocalypse.
(Bravo, Joss.)

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But it didn't stop when the election was over. The ads stopped, which--don't get me wrong--was nice but the hate campaigns took new roads.

Now people are attacking each other's religions regularly.  Christians--the most loving and forgiving lot before the hate campaigns started--are damning folks right and left.  I even saw a post about Santa being a road to hell...apparently, Jesus cakes should be baked instead.  I mean, it's his birthday and all that...even if it's not actually his birthday, just the day we celebrate it...

Meh, I digress.

Now you're attacking fat kids.  Cats.  Unicorns and sequins.  Attacks are coming out of nowhere.
designer label sunglasses








Really, I've never, in all my years hanging my hat in the internet, seen this much hating going on.
monster sunglasses
No, guys, tell us how you REALLY feel.

So, this is my intervention.  Knock that shit off.  We're all grown ups here.  That means we're setting an example for the kids.  If you're going batshit crazy in a facebook rant about why pasta salad is going to destroy the global economy and give rise to the squirrel apocalypse, you're kids can see this shit.  If they can't read now, they'll figure it out and the internet is forever.

I know, I know. We tell our kids that to keep them from posting pictures of their boobiebuds on the net but it's true for us, too.  If you post it, it's going to stay up FOREVER...

And do you really feel better after posting this stuff, anyway?  Since it's next to impossible to change someone else's mind, if it's made up, what purpose does this venting serve other than that...
VENTING.

If you really must vent, call a friend.  Get that angry out in a safe way.  You don't want people to respond to these posts--if they disagree, you're only going to get angrier.  So why post them?

I liked it much better when everyone was addicted to LOLZ cats, personally.  Less angry attacking more laughing at silly things felines did.

What ever happened to loving each other.  Gah...it's the season for giving, light, hope and love.

Quit hurting each other. 

*steps off soapbox and goes for coffee*

Monday, November 26, 2012

From Greek Myths to Geek Myths in less than 2k words


Love in Literature: Drama Queens, Dorks, and the Evolution of Passion

The theme of passionate love has fascinated artists, writers, and poets throughout the ages.  From before the age of the bible, love has been the focus of many muses and what is considered prized characteristics in a mate has evolved not just in the ideal image of personal beauty but also in how the characters behave.  The passionate nature, the youth that burns bright then ends in a ball of burning fury as it crashes, once signified the perfect love story.

Today, we are fascinated with geeks, freaks, and even the slightly autistic.  Television features heroes like Sheldon Cooper, the Asperger’s-socially awkward scientist, rather than Romeo.  House, with his drug addiction and refusal to comply with social niceties, makes girls hearts flutter.  Even Elementary, a show based on the famous Doctor Sherlock Holmes, is dedicated to the passionless hero who shows his devotion with his lack of romantic declarations instead of being the Byron-type hero.  How did romance evolve from men who would fall to their knees weeping at the loss of their ladyloves to men who are so blank faced, we can only guess at their desires?

In the days of Greek drama, heroes like Achilles lived lives of high drama.  In today’s age, we would call him a drama queen.  When his wife is taken from him, he hides in his home from the battle and refuses to play in the war.  He wails to his mother, crashing his fists in the sea and howling his displeasure until his side of the fight is fated to lose by the gods.  Although today we would never consider a man like this to be sexually appealing, in his era, this man was the ideal.  He was passionate.  He showed his feelings and by showing them, proved what a fiery nature he possessed.  Self-possession, now a prized trait, was exactly the opposite in days gone by. 

Medea, wife of Jason, chopped her brother into bits and left his body to ride the waves of sea foam in order to distract her father from pursuit.  Although she displayed this obvious lack of respect for human life, Jason married her.  He then attempted to cast her aside in favor of his own social climbing and seems truly shocked and appalled when she not only murders his intended bride but also her father and their children.  Poison, a lady’s weapon, is used to kill the home wrecker and her dad but she uses her own hands on when killing her children.  Sociopath?  Probably, but she still could be labeled an epic hero—just like Achilles.  Neither put their loves desires first and hoped that if they lost them, at least they’re happy now.  The determination to take care of self, rather than others, seems an obvious theme of great literature.

Moreover, the idea of passionate natures being desirable transcended Greek literature to influence authors in the biblical age as well.  Dante, although very religious, states that his love, Beatrice, herself moved the powers of heaven to send him a guide through the darkness and, eventually, meet him in heaven.  His travels through the pits of hell, riddled with moral lessons, also focused on various short stories that told of the perils of love.  One couple, found by an angry husband, was killed on sight.  Now being torn at by constant winds, they damn her husband to the lowest pit of hell, Cainus, for those who betrayed family and kin.  Rather than taking responsibility for their own lusty mistake, they blame the cuckolded husband for his crime of passion.

The French were equally fascinated with romance and it’s most elemental needs and Chaucer focuses on this in his Canterbury Tales. From the wife of Bath, a woman who got married repeatedly and used her husbands for her own designs, to the knightly idea of romance, Chaucer tells us stories riddled with those who were fools for love.  One tale in particular underlines the idea of passion overruling reason and is told by a drunken miller.  The miller tells the story of a carpenter who married a younger woman.  She then cheats on him, tempting both a scholar and a poet, and helps to fool her husband into believing a flood of biblical proportion threatens their town.  Tying tubs to the roof, the two leave the husband sleeping and dangling above their home so that they may engage in lusty mayhem in the bedroom below.  A kissed ass, a burnt one and the ensuing screams for water send her husband bouncing on the cobblestones below and yet the moral seems more about the silliness of the carpenter for trusting her rather than the lack of good sense in his wife.

Hamlet, too, focuses on the folly, showing a man so driven by his own passions that the play ends in everyone’s death.  He is also what we would today call a drama queen, not desirable at all to modern ideas of love and passion, but in his day the epic romantic hero. 

So how did we sway so far from what, for centuries, was the idea of love to a world where not showing your feelings is desirable?  In the past, mortality was a constant concern.  Knowing you would likely be dead by thirty five, regardless of your health practices, encouraged people to act in high drama.  If a man might only love once in a lifetime, shouldn’t that love be one for the ages?  One time itself would stand still for?  But in today’s day, when a man might live to see his hundredth birthday, he might love repeatedly.  A woman who cheated on him, or showed sociopathic behaviors, might be cast aside in favor of one more akin with his own interests.

The lack of societal religion also changed the way we look at love.  In ages before ours, religion brought people together and created bonds that would be useful in not only in spiritual needs but also political and financial ones.  Rather than believing religion was a personal choice, it was one that could change all aspects of your life if you chose unwisely.  People were not just excommunicated from the church they offended but also the community or even country.  Today, worries about religious choices have no such life altering ramifications.  Therefore, love reflects that.  Again, the social repercussions for choosing unwisely are few. Morals, fed to us in religion and literature, are shrugged off as unimportant in favor of the latest movie or shopping trend.

These changes brought about the broody hero.  Rather than falling to his knees in agony, like Raul in the Phantom of the Opera or Achilles in the Greek plays, a hero is expected to be able to carry the weight of the world without complaint, like Atlas.  He is expected to hide his feelings, giving only brief peeks into his thought processes if the reader or viewer is paying very close attention.  This new hero, the stoic one, was born in the old west and has grown to dominate media.  He is brave but self-sacrificing.  If someone cries in his viewing, he will either comfort or condemn the person showing too much emotion.  This lack of emotive hero, born in the age of tumbleweed and sheriff’s badges, has translated himself most recently into the geek.  The geek is smart, sometimes socially inappropriate, but never overly emotional.  He loses some of his attractiveness if he does show his hand too soon.  He might be brilliant in his ability to solve crimes, complex mathematical or medical problems, or even his heroine’s moral concerns, but he is inept when it comes to the vagaries of romance.

The polar opposite of the romantic hero of bygone days, this hero was not forged of muscle and manly sweat; rather he is created in a lab, born in a classroom, and torn from the pages of a book.  He dares not show his feelings because if he did, his heroine would likely scoff at him and turn away. 

The heroine has equally evolved, trading in her wide, childbearing hips and ample breasts ready to nurture, for skinny jeans and an almost masculine disregard for her own passionate nature.  She is strong, she is independent and if she loves the hero, it’s because she chose it rather than having any decision put upon her by society.

When these two meet, a complex dance ensues.  No wailing for the modern heroine.  No fainting for the modern hero.  Instead they share a glance across a room or perhaps save a kitten together.  If Achilles were alive today, he would be a figure of ridicule rather than one of epic proportions in his masculinity.  Medea would be slapped stupid by a modern hero—and she might even like it.  Society’s changes brought about a complete transformation in romance, much like characters changed in Ovid.  Rather than declare their passionate love and be damned for it, characters in modern media chose to hide their love, maybe never even telling the person they’re pining for of their devotion and drawing audiences with this lack of passion instead.

Romance, by definition, is expressive display of emotional attraction to another person.  In times when life could change in an instant with plague, meddling gods, or one god who can cast you into a frozen pit of hell to dine on your own fecal matter—love could be shown best with an overly emotive display of passionate declarations and death defying desire.  Today, we’re an age of instant gratification with limitless possibility.  Expressive?  No longer.  Now, the strange, the unusual, the somewhat secretive wins the race of love.

In conclusion, love changed because people changed.  Does it make the stories of the past have any less resonance with modern audiences than it did at their inception when the world was new?  No, because modern readers can look back at those bygone ages when heroes would weep and heroines could be dastardly and wonder at the motivations, the excesses, that led to their behaviors.  Are the epic poets not fit for today’s world? Today’s world is one of hidden feelings, pretended devotions and lives changing as technology changes how we communicate.  Our view of the world may have changed dramatically but the beauty of the words, the poetry of verse, can still move readers if they’re willing to step back from their modern shoes made of rubber and exchange them for verse that makes them wonder. Wonder is something that will never die and the gruesome death of an epic hero on the field of war is something that readers can still find resonance with even today.  Can we suspend our belief long enough to travel with Dante through circles of hell and finally to the arms of the woman who moved heaven and earth to help him get to her side?  Yes.  Because love changes our view of the world and so can literature if we’re willing to allow the poetry on the page to harness our cynical minds for a moment to travel in with an epic hero as he slays dragons for his one true ladylove.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

A New Release from Heather Long--No Regrets, No Surrender!

Everyone help me welcome our guest, Heather Long, who is here to announce the long awaited follow up book that tells us what happened to Jazz!!  Always a Marine fans will love this one and if you've not yet gotten as addicted to this series as I have...then check it out!!
 
The emotional sequel to Retreat Hell! She Just Got Here.  Readers wished for more Jazz, Logan and Zach and the threesome are reunited when the unthinkable happens.

 


Always a Marine #6

Publisher: Decadent Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-61333-420-1

Release Date:  20 Nov 2012

 

This sixth installment of the Always a Marine series for Decadent Publishing and a first for the series, as a spinoff of Retreat Hell! She Just Got Here. Jazz, Logan and Zach met via a 1NightStand. This is the business name of an exclusive online dating service run by Madame Evangeline who provides her clients with a possibility of happily ever after or happily for now.

 

BLURB:
At the end of their night of frenzied passion, Jazz Winters walked away from the only two men who’d ever made her feel like a woman. Logan Cavanaugh and Zach Evans let her go, but only if she swore all her future leaves to them.

 

Waiting fourteen excruciatingly long months, visiting Jazz when they can, is harder on the guys that they like to admit. But their work at Mike’s Place, a veteran’s rehabilitative facility, only lets Zach and Logan go one at a time. Jazz fears their unconventional relationship can’t last a lifetime. The stress of years of military service in hot zones, combined with life-threatening injuries pushed her to the edge. But when she comes home a wounded warrior, not the woman she believes they want, Zach and Logan are right there to help her, even when she resists.

 

She’s not along. Whether she chooses one or both, they have no regrets and they won’t surrender.

 



 

Fun Facts

While Mike's Place in the novel is a fictitious invention, the idea for it was borne out of increasing reports of PTSD, suicide and abuse on military bases during the early part of the 2000s.

 

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Funny Things Kids Say - Thanksgiving 2012 Edition

Doing a fact check with the kids, because someone on facebook didn't want Lincoln spoiled for them (No spoilers, because...well, they wanted to be surprised by the ending...) we got into another one of our funny things kids say conversations.

When I asked my daughter who won the Revolutionary War, her answer was, "Who was that one between again?"

*headdesk*

Well, who won the civil war?  Other daughter answered...
"The bluecoats!"  Who were? "Um...the Americans?"

Apparently we've a bit of history to work on with the kids. It seems to take awhile for it to stick...
Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving?

"The pilgrams celebrated finding the new world!"
So they just got to the new world and threw a party?
"After a long journey and cold harsh winters that killed a bunch of people, they met Indians who taught them how to hunt, grow food and survive.  They were so thankful for this, they tried to convert the Indians to Christianity and built a villiage and were thankful so they threw a feast.
Me- Christianity?
Ash-Yeah, they wanted them to believe in one god rather than thousands of gods because it's less confusing to have just one so the Indians killed that guy with a poisoned arrow.
Me- What guy?
Ash- I read it in Social Studies weekly.  I don't remember what guy, but he made them mad. Drake!  Drake the Savage Sea Dog!  He was told to plunder places by Queen Elizabeth so he tried to get them to switch to Christianity so they killed them.

Dad- I don't think Sir Frances Drake had a thing to do with Thanksgiving.

Shell- Pumpkin pies and poison darts...

Dad- What was Sir Frances Drake the first Englishman to do?
Ash- Circumnavigate the world.
Dad- Forget all the poison darts stuff and remember that.

Dad... but what is circumnavigate?  Is it the same thing as circumcise?
Ash- No. 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Sneak Peek--The Were, The Witch and The Baby

I haven't given you guys an excerpt in awhile.  Here's a little peek into The Were, The Witch and The Baby, my coming soon Paranormal Romance!!

Blurb:

He was an animal in the sack…

Lyric McAvoy never expected that her one night stand with the irresistible Colin would result in a child.  When it does, she agrees to stay with him to hide from the repercussions that family and friends are sure to rain down on her.  But staying with him only reminds her of the desire he awakened with just a touch on the dance floor.

She cast a spell on his senses…

Colin, packleader of the local werewolves, knows to trust his senses and thinks he is above attachment to any one woman.  But when Lyric sweeps into his life, she makes him suddenly hungry to possess her.  Her claim to be carrying his child, though it seems impossible, makes him determined to protect her and the baby.

But war is breaking out in the paranormal world…

Life as they knew it is imploding around them and someone is trying to turn the previously peaceful inhabitants of the paranormal world into pawns in a deadly battle.  With secrets between them, keeping them apart, the two battle a raging passion while trying to figure out who is killing their people. 

The Were, The Witch and the Baby

In a world where the things that go bump in the night are real, sometimes the scariest thing is parenthood.

Excerpt:

“I’m not sure about this.”  Colin shifted uncomfortably in the leaf printed chair.

Lyric wasn’t either.  Visiting an entirely human doctor was a little out of her comfort zone but if that was what it took to prove to the human this was really happening, she had her big witch panties on and was ready to go.

“It will be fine.”  Patting his leg, she realized she treated him a bit like a nervous puppy and bit her lip to hold back hysterical laughter.

“I mean, what do they even do at these appointments?”

Lyric was pretty sure it was the same route as the Coven doctors but humans never ceased to amuse her so, who knew?  The waiting room, all sterile and full of pictures of women cut in half, vital organs listed like band names for a concert poster, were disturbing.  As was the idea the baby was going to squash her kidney into a pea-sized blob by the end of her pregnancy…

“Lyric McAvoy?” A woman in a lab coat printed with SpongeBob and Patrick peeked out from a door at them.  This was an OBGYN office.  Who was she trying to calm with the funky coat?

It wasn’t reassuring in the least for Lyric to follow a medical professional plastered in cartoon characters.

Colin grabbed her hand.  She wasn’t sure if the move was supposed to reassure her or him.

In the waiting room, the suddenly efficient SpongeBob nurse grabbed a wipe, cleaned the table and then pulled a sheet of white paper over it.  There were scary looking metal devices at the end of the table and Lyric suddenly wished she was seeing a Coven doctor.  What the hell were the metal things for?

Grabbing another sheet of paper, SpongeBob nurse passed it to Lyric.  “Strip down to bra only and put this on.  The doctor will be in momentarily.”

Holding the paper, Lyric pondered what exactly it was supposed to be for.  It wasn’t like it would hide her nudity any.  Pretended composure?

“Why do you have to strip?” Colin asked as the door closed behind the nurse.

She didn’t know.  Since human doctors were a mystery to her, it sucked that he didn’t know either.

“Turn your back,” she commanded.

“I’ve seen it before…or we wouldn’t be in this room.”
Happy writing!!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Top Ten Turn Ons

So, it's probably not a secret that I write dirty books.

Wait, some of you didn't know?  Okay, confession...I write dirty books.

So, part of the gig is that I watch people.  I watch how they interact and I pay really close attention to how various situations make me feel.  I listen to my friends and strangers talk and try to hear the words that aren't said.  The ones that are given in a tiny tilt of the head, in the flutter of a nervous hand, or catch of breath.

So, I decided to do one of my lists.  Been awhile since I've done one so here are my Top Five Turn Ons (gathered from my own experience and those of people I've watched) and they might not be what you think--especially if you thought I was about to list body parts.

5. Knowing you well enough to give you what you didn't know you even wanted.

Whether it's from your special someone or just someone special, if they pay close enough attention to get you something you wanted but maybe never even said you needed...that is rare.  It means you're paying enough attention to see me, rather than the mask I've put up for the world to see.

4. The ability to call bullshit.

We all do it. The innocent little lies, the ones we tell even ourselves, to either make things better or to pretend things are okay...and if someone is paying close enough attention to you to call bullshit when you're full of it...That's hot.

3. Making you a better person just by being there.

We've all had that person at some point or another.  They challenge us.  They make us want to be a better person.  When we're with them, we almost feel like we are better people, or could be.  There's something unbelievably sexy about liking who you are and someone who has the ability to give you hope.

2. The eyes.

Little moments, not more than a few seconds, when your eyes meet and for just a second, you know they get it.  You don't need words.  They just get it and you get it and it's all there in that gaze.  Magical, this silent communication, but when it happens and the need for words stops to be replaced by this...it's something you never forget.



1. They listen...and really talk to you.

We talk to hundreds of people in any given week. Thousands in months. Millions over the course of a year. But those times when you're talking and someone really hears you--when they answer and you're just left nodding as they answer. When the words flow and the topics slip from one to another without any awkward silences almost as if--for that brief instant--you're souls are in tune...
That's steaming up your glasses sexy.


What are the things that you find sexy?
Happy Writing!

Monday, November 12, 2012

A Passion for Romance: Author, author...

A Passion for Romance: Author, author...: ...read all about her !! Today we have the wonderful Virginia Nelson with us..... Welcome, can you tell us a little about yours...

Heather Long: Show & Tell Tuesday: Virginia Nelson & Clothing Op...

Heather Long: Show & Tell Tuesday: Virginia Nelson & Clothing Op...: It's Show and Tell Tuesday and I have to say, next to Thor's Day this is becoming my favorite day of the week. You may have heard me menti...

Friday, November 9, 2012

Two Contract Day!! Coming soon...

As I mentioned the other day, I got TWO contracts on Wednesday.

*squealing/happy dancin/confetti throwin* 

One was with Decadent Publishing for my 1Night Stand BDSM Paranormal Erotic, Dom of the Dead.  Ghosts, bdsm, a love story...it was fun to write and I hope my readers agree once it comes out soon!!

Blurb:



She couldn’t imagine living without him.


When Carson Black’s longtime crush and best friend dies in a bike accident, she openly weeps at his funeral. Never expressing her feelings for him, she thinks she might be going mad from grief when his voice, his scent, his desires…seem to fill her apartment.


He was afraid to demand what he needed.


Randall Stokes loves Carson but didn’t express it while he was alive. A dominant, he didn’t dare dream that the sweet girl next door would do the things that he needed to find satisfaction. When tragedy strikes, he not only has nothing to lose but a suddenly clear view into what she needs, wants, desires. Is it too late to take what they’ve both longed for?


A ghost of a chance…


Love lingers, though his body is gone. Can Carson and Randall find love in the Dom of the Dead?
 
The other was with Champagne Books for their Carnal Passions line. They've got a series called Aphrodite's Island and I was thrilled to write a paranormal erotic for it called Proper Care and Feeding of a Sex God slated to come out in March of 2013.
 
Blurb:
Being a sex god isn't easy...

Yes has been a sex god for centuries. No one wrote stories or songs about him but they sure do remember to call out his name at the peak of pleasure. Satisfying the world by fulfilling their carnal needs, he is no stranger to Aphrodite's Island. When his sister, troublemaker that she is, calls him home for what she deems a 'special' job, he shudders to think what she could want.

Being frigid is worse...

Katie can't get off. She's determined it's physically impossible. She's tried everything--toys, men, women, flogging. It's just not happening. Finding an ad for a tropical island promising 'ultimate fantasy experiences' she figures it's worth a shot. It's not going to work, but it's worth a shot.

Passion beyond her wildest dreams...

Who knew the one man who can trip her trigger would refuse to touch her? The more he backs off, the more he tempts her. Katie is fascinated by the man Miss A has sharing her hotel room but, although he seems attracted, he won't do the deed.

Can Katie figure out The Proper Care and Feeding of a Sex God?
 
I'm so excited about both these coming soon books!! Hope you're all having a wonderful November.
Happy Writing!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Sneak Peek Thursday- Two For One blurb

So, having not written much in days, I knocked out the first draft on a short story today/yesterday (I was writing pretty late and actually crossed from one day into the next.)

So, for nanowrimo, I added 6277 to my word count and created Two For One, a mfm erotic romance.

Can't believe I knocked the whole draft out in one sitting but some stories are like that.

Here's the Blurb:

Carolyn Bannister lives a very sweet life.  Co-Owner and operator of a small town bakery with her two best friends, she is contented in a way she never dreamed growing up with a disinterested mother and a letch of a stepfather.  Wrapped up in career and day to day life, she’s sure there’s nothing more she wants from life—until one silly drunken moment awakens a hunger no pastry will satisfy.

Grady Brooks and Ben Shipman take good care of their longtime buddy, Carrie.  Although they’ve shared women in the past, when the women was warm and willing, they never considered becoming sexually involved with Carrie…until one night everything changes.  Now neither can pretend not to want the one woman they’ve both always loved.

At Decadent Delights, the treats are hot and Carrie might just get…Two For One.
 
Happy Writing!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Review and Giveaway for Hypnotist!!

Check out all the great reviews and giveaways going on NOW for Hypnotist!!

Nov. 5th
Nov. 6th

Heather Long: Show & Tell Tuesday: Virginia Nelson & Clothing Op...

Heather Long: Show & Tell Tuesday: Virginia Nelson & Clothing Op...: It's Show and Tell Tuesday and I have to say, next to Thor's Day this is becoming my favorite day of the week. You may have heard me menti...

Friday, November 2, 2012

November Blog touring





November means I will be touring with FMB Blog tours.  For the entire list of where I will be in these two days click here.  Hope to see some of you around while I'm out touring!