Thursday, October 31, 2013

Up Against a Wall


Up Against a Wall

By Em Petrova


Hello, friends! I’m so happy to be here today and to share my latest ponderings. One of the best perks about my job (besides looking at eye candy for inspiration) is thinking about sex in every possible way. Today I was thinking about the most uncomfortable places to have sex. Here are a few I came up with.

Against a tree—besides Lyme’s Disease-carrying ticks, you might be in for some major chafing from the bark. Or apples might fall on your head. While you’re in the throes of ecstasy, a bird might let loose above you, splattering you with something nasty. Or hell, the whole naked-in-the-outdoors might make the whole experience more exciting than ever!

In a public restroom—While I know a lot of people who do this, say at a club or at a restaurant, I find public restrooms to be sooo gross. I personally don’t find it sexy to be thrown against a filthy tile wall that may be coated in God knows what! And the thought of being bent over one of those toilets… *shudder* If you’ve had a good experience in a public restroom, I’d love to hear from you. Please persuade me to give this a try!

In a car—We’ve all had a go in a car. But we have to be contortionists to get around gear shifts that are sticking in your side or keep your head from slamming repeatedly off the window. The back seat is slightly more comfortable, and if you have the ability to flip down seats, all the better!

On the stairs—I’ve read books with characters who have sex on the stairs, but if you’ve ever tried it, it hurts. Treads digging into your back, and it’s impossible to get that perfect angle that hits the perfect spot. Maybe taking it from behind is best in this case.

Anywhere with a loose pet—there’s that uncomfortable moment where there’s a tongue on your thigh that is not your partner’s. You know what I mean?

In a barn—Itchy hay in all the wrong places. But really, people, romping with a sexy cowboy would make up for the rash, yes?

Where are some places that you’ve had uncomfortable sex? I’d love to hear from you! One lucky commenter will an author swag bag stuffed with goodies!

I’ll also leave you with a short excerpt from my latest release ZERO TO LOVE. Enjoy!

Blurb:
In a city where humans are the minority, a supernatural race called Mindchangers feed off human thoughts. Across an inky parking lot, Mindchanger Monroe sends his powers after his prey—university teaching assistant Magda Brunelli—and is unable to drink from her. Disciplined Monroe refuses to wipe out important thoughts or memories from humankind, rendering him forever a starveling. He desperately wants to take from Magda but finds her mind has been emptied.

Groups of renegade Mindchangers known as Free Wills mill the streets, using their thought-consuming abilities to erase the minds of humans. Monroe is ordered to spy on the Free Wills, who are believed to be amassing an army with intentions of ruling the city. They also happen to be hunting for Magda.

When passionate and impulsive Magda throws herself into the underworld of the supernaturals—and into Monroe’s muscled arms—she learns that her past is shadowed by a dark family secret, and her future is a confusion of unwelcome sexual advances and renegade attacks. But in loving Monroe, she uncovers a hidden part of her that will change her life and the fate of the city.

Excerpt RATED STEAMING PANTIES ADULT:
Monroe claimed her mouth with an abruptness that stole her breath. The crush of lips wasn’t enough—would never be enough. She needed a bite, a sting. Was that how it would feel if he fed from her?

She wrapped her arms around his neck, tugging him down, down.
He slanted his mouth over hers and plunged his tongue deep. He tasted woodsy, like smoke and lust. Her nipples peaked and her pussy squeezed, releasing a flood of juices. The scrap of lace covering her sex dampened.

“More,” she whispered between gulping breaths.
He groaned. The rumble vibrated all the way to the marrow of her bones. Then he finally did it—sank his teeth into her lower lip and tugged until she quaked with a rush of desire.

Her head dropped back, and she reveled in the sensations he raised in her. His body, lean but muscled, aroused parts of her she didn’t know she had. Her bare thighs against leather maddened her, and she wiggled.
“Fuck,” he grated out, rocking his erection against her ass. Lust raged through her body. Had she ever been so out of her head?

No. Only with him.
His smile stretched over her mouth as he obviously read her thought. He nipped her lips until she was gasping; then he bathed the hurts with his tongue. This was the harshest kiss she’d ever received—especially for a first kiss—and she hungered for more. More nipping bites on her breasts, belly, pussy.

He tore away, panting hard. Under her hands, his chest rose and fell.
She traced the sharp lines of his cheekbones, his straight nose, and his unsmiling mouth set into an angular jaw. “You’re hungry, and I can’t feed you.”

“You don’t want to go there anyway, Magda.” He grasped her upper arms and lifted her effortlessly, placing her back into the passenger seat. At the loss of his heat, goose bumps broke out over her, but the real ache was in her chest.
Thank you for reading and a big thanks to Virginia for hosting me! Don’t forget to leave a comment.

 Em Petrova
~hardworking heroes—in bed and out~



 

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Review - The Perfect Match

The Perfect Match
Kristan Higgins
978-0-373-778195-0
HQN, November 2013

Blurb
What if the perfect match is a perfect surprise?

Honor Holland has just been unceremoniously rejected by
her lifelong crush. And now—a mere three weeks later—
Mr. Perfect is engaged to her best friend. But resilient, reliable Honor is going to pick herself up, dust herself off and get back out there...or she would if dating in Manningsport, NY, population 715, wasn’t easier said than done.

Charming, handsome British professor Tom Barlow just wants to do right by his unofficial stepson, Charlie, but his visa
is about to expire. Now Tom must either get a green card or leave the States—and leave Charlie behind.

In a moment of impulsiveness, Honor agrees to help Tom with a marriage of convenience—and make her ex jealous in the process. But juggling a fiancĂ©, hiding out from her former best friend and managing her job at the family vineyard isn’t easy. And as sparks start to fly between Honor and Tom, they might discover that their pretend relationship is far too perfect to be anything but true love...

My Lengthy Review

I feel like a broken record when I say that I keep thinking that I won't identify with THIS Kristan Higgins book like I did all the other ones. After all, what are the chances she'll write ANOTHER heroine that is so much like me that I can't help but root for her? Or ANOTHER hero so absolutely wonderful, all real men will pale in comparison leaving me sadly single for all time, doomed to hope to fall into a vortex where my life turns into a Higgins plotline?

I said it with Just One of the Guys (A Jock? C'mon, Higgins. I'm a fat kid. I'm not going to identify with her.) and I was wrong. I wept. Bawled like a baby at the end of that book and went through a good box of Kleenex.

I said it with The Best Man (A gal who has a family winery? What can I possibly have in common with her?) I laughed. I cried. I reread the thing until my poor copy is in tatters.

And now, the second book of the Blue Heron Winery Series has released and I'm shocked to say...

She's done it again. Possibly her best book ever.

Honor is the Grace Kelly kind of sister. She's perfect, classy, does everything right and takes care of everyone. From her pearls to her sensible shoes, she's all that anyone would want to be. Her relationship status is even kind of perfect--she's sleeping with her childhood best friend. They kind of fell into bed from friendship, a graceful tumble, and she obviously loves him. He must love her, too, why else would he keep coming back to her? Her best friend is funny, razor sharp witted, and has great hair...all is right and good in her world.

Okay, the blurb tells you all that her guy hooks up with her best friend, so I should have seen it coming, but the very betrayal of it! I've had one of those (the kids, they call them frenemy relationships, or so I've been told. I just called it a poisonous bitch, but I've been there, done that, didn't want the tee shirt) and it was written so well, I could have hugged the heroine and wanted to sit with her and share a glass of wine. "Yes!" I would have told Honor. "Me too! Oh, it's horrible but it does get better!" Like me, poor Honor has no one to even commiserate over her hurt since, shocker, when your best friend betrays you, you're left high and dry with no one to even go to lick your wounds with. I ached for this character and cheered for her resilience.

And then, Higgins wrote her a hero. A hero like no other hero. Oh, my, lord...Tom.

The author has shared that this lovely man pictured here was the inspiration for the delicious and loveable British professor, Tom Barlow.  ("You don't look like a math teacher." quips Honor a few times in the story, and I have to agree with her.) He's funny, charming, sexy, masculine, damaged, has an accent, and is prone to getting jealous and shoving women into wine casks and having his wicked way with them.

*clears throat and fans self*
Yeah, I liked him.

To add icing to the already decadent and delightful mancake, this guy is madly in love...with a little boy that no one else loves. A horrible teenage little boy who is mean and spiteful and silently sullen and not altogether loveable in return, who has his mother die and father abandons him and there's no real reason for Tom to even care, but HE DOES. This kid has earbuds plugged into his ears and Tom just keeps TRYING.

I really don't think there has been a more perfect hero written in all of history. Higgins, I bow to your brilliance and hand you the crown for best hero EVER. (Yes, there are a lot of caps in this post. Read the book, you'll see why.)

So, Higgins took all of these ingredients, brought back the entire cast from The Best Man (Goggy? Still wonderfully Goggy.), included one of her trademark doggies (Spike, which I had to wonder...nod to the angel from Somebody to Love? Overthinking? Me? Pfft. But maybe...) that is called a wee beastie (this one is a beastie with teeth like staples) and you've got another winner.

The book made me bawl. Repeatedly. It made me laugh out loud. Repeatedly. I fell in love. I cheered out loud. My children are now considering which home to put Mommy in since I'm so obviously moved to emotions by staring at my cell phone. ("Can't you just play Candy Crush like other moms?"- Virg Kid Quote)

Oh, and I have to do a quote from the book. She put stuff like this in there...just outta nowhere...This was about Spike, the dog. So, like I said, I've said she writes identifiable characters on more than one occasion. In this book, she wrote a woman who wants to be loved, just for herself. Who doesn't want that? Just to be picked, just YOU?

So, about Spike, she wrote this little passage and I wept.

"Do you know what Spike did? She growled at him. Five pounds, all beat up and abused, wrapped in gauze and she was defending me from a two-hundred-and-fifty-pound stranger. She loved me from the moment I saw her. No questions asked."

Yeah, that's why people rescue animals. That's what love is sometimes--instant, complete, and no questions asked.

This book? I loved it. Instant, complete, no questions asked. It was funny. It was brave. It had heartbreakingly real moments. It had heart achingly sad moments. It was gritty, it made you feel something. If you want to look at the world and see it just a little differently because of a story, this book and this author is for you. Higgins doesn't write romance, she writes life. If they mean love insofar as the very pulse and essence of what makes us all human--yes, this author nails it, each and every time and she bats it out of the park. You will need Kleenex, I'm not going to lie to you. But your sides will also hurt from laughing so hard. I can't recommend this author loud enough and there's a reason my hard earned book buying money has been going to her for a while. She's on my autobuy list...and this story? Kept her there.

Kudos, Higgins. A very enthusiastic five stars.

A portion of her first week sales from THE PERFECT MATCH will benefit Fisher House Foundation, which provides a home away from home for military families to be close to a loved one during hospitalization for an illness, disease or injury.

Buy Links

Amazon | Nook | IndieBound | BooksaMillion

Kristan Higgins Website

A Candle for a Marine ~ New Holiday Marine and Sneak Peek of a Coming Soon Title!!

Are you ready for the holiday Marines?

 Toys for Tots The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November, and December each year and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted. The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to these youngsters that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens.
This holiday collection of the Always a Marine series is dedicated to Toys for Tots and the men and women of the United States Marine Corps Reserve who dedicate their time, their efforts, and their funds to delivering this message of hope. A portion of the proceeds from each of these books will be donated to Toys for Tots to continue that mission. Semper Fi.
 
 

Purchase Now:All Romance eBooks
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Bookstrand
Decadent Publishing
 
Tormented by the question of 'what if...' 
Home for Hanukkah, Sergeant Isaac Janko has never forgotten the baby his girlfriend gave up for adoption years ago.  But he didn’t realize how angry he still was....
More than time separates them....
A chance meeting at Temple brings Zehava Elbaz face-to-face with the first and only man she's ever loved. She sees a deep and hidden pain in him, one she blames herself for...
An invitation to Hanukkah brings them together....
The two must confront their pain and loss. They have only eight days to face their past, and win each other's trust, but it is a time for healing, reconciliation and miracles...
Cover Reveal Coming Soon
Add to 
Goodreads
Releases January 13, 2014
Pre-Order
Amazon and Barnes & Noble 
It’s The Role of a Lifetime…
Living out of a car and waiting tables to make ends meet is hardly the stuff of fairy tales. So when a gorgeous man approaches Alyx Dagmar with a wild story about her royal lineage and an even wilder proposition, the aspiring actress is sure he’s got the wrong woman.
Self-made billionaire Daniel Voldakov needs connections before he can expand his software business into Europe. A blue-blooded fiancĂ©e would open all the right doors—and Daniel’s certain he can tempt the pretty but penniless Princess Alyxandretta to accept the part she was born to play.
Alyx can’t resist Daniel’s offer, and throws herself into the role. But as the paparazzi fall in love with their “storybook romance,” Alyx finds herself drawn to Daniel in ways she’d never imagined. Are his returned affections true, or all just part of the plan?  He’ll do anything it takes to prove his love, and to make her see that the only happily ever after he wants is with her…the real her.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Coming In November...

Aside from the normal book release info, reviews, and release information I'm super proud to provide here on the blog (intermingled with my commentary on life, parenting, writing, and bacon) November is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and I will be providing some useful writing blogs as the month progresses as well as pep talks.

Other than searching Writing, Writing Tips and Tricks, How I Write or other keywords like that here on the blog, you can always check out my pinterest board dedicated to writing here...



 
In the meantime, I have a few Halloween fun things coming up, a new release I'm excited to talk about this week from a dear author friend and lots more fun stuff coming soon.
 

Happy Writing!!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

A serious writing career...

I keep waiting for the morning when I wake up and feel like a 'real' writer. Like I'm not a child dressing up in my mother's heels and acting the role of grown up.

I mean, I often go without showering, wear my pj's all day long, and forget to eat on deadline. I even sometimes look a bit like this...but with skittles hair.

I write the books. Lots of the books. I do the editing, I write the dreaded synopsis. I create query letters and attend conferences.

Still, I feel something like this when I sit down to write:



Then again, I've felt like that at every single job I've ever held. It's occurred to me that maybe all of adulthood is like that. We're all filling our roles, acting it out, but inside we're still that kid who colored the picture, showed it to our mom, and kind of figured she'd not be impressed.

My point in all of this is that a bunch of you have expressed to me that you don't feel like 'real' writers. Like you think there is some magical piece of paper or handshake you'll get that will make it feel real...

I've talked to a bunch of authors. I've been one for years now...

It's not going to happen. Keep with the clickety clacking, have fun with it, because no one can take it away from you if it is your dream...

Sadly, nothing is going to make you feel like less of a hack, either. So, well, buck up princess. It only gets worse.

And on that happy note...

*grin*

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Trick or Treating on the spectrum...

I've seen this happen before, but I'm not sure that parents or just people who don't have someone in their life on the autism spectrum ever experienced it so I figured I'd share.

I took my child trick or treating. It's a lot for kids on the spectrum--the colors, the people, the candy, the running! Generally, this is either the recipe for bouncing off the walls and talking far louder than they need to or meltdown central.

A couple kids that are in my kid's class stopped by my kid and checked out the costume. My kid? Bouncing on heels excited. "Check it out! I'm (Character)! I'm (Character)!"

The kids? One said in a very snide tone, "Nice." Poked friend in ribs and then laughed and walked away.

I let it slide.

Same group of kids reappeared later on. My kid had changed masks, just for fun. "Hey! (Kid!) Check it out! Now I'm (Character)!"

"Nice costume." More snickering. I think more comments would have happened, but the one kid? He looked up at me. I didn't say a thing. I just shook my head, sadly. Their laughter faded and they ran. RAN. They weren't smiling when they left.

I'm blinking back tears, not sure how to make it okay for my kid. I snuggle my kid close, mumbling close to my kid's ear, "Hey, buddy, you okay?"

My kid, "Yeah! They liked my costume! Did you hear them? They said it was nice! I'm going to the next house!"

Here's the deal...my autistic kids don't get it when you make fun of them, mean kids of the world. They're so excited you're talking to them, they miss the non verbal cues that make what you're doing so very cruel. My autistic kid hears exactly what you say, nothing more, which rocks because they think you're being nice and give you a pass.

Me? I'm not autistic. I see your snicker, I see your pokes, and I can only assume more of that happens at school. I'm sad because although you didn't hurt my kid, apparently no one told you that acting like that isn't okay.

My kid still feels ten feet tall and like a rockstar. My kid lives in a loving and supportive environment where we don't have to talk like that to be cool.

I'm kind of sad for your 'normal' kid that their idea of a good time is trying to hurt someone else. I'm sad for your kid...

But I think mine rocks, even if my kid is talking louder than they need to and bouncing like a ping pong ball. I'll take my good hearted kid, who would cry if they thought they hurt someone's feelings, over a dozen 'normal' kids, if that's a sampling of 'normal'.

'Normal' kids and parents? If you wouldn't make fun of a kid in a wheelchair for being in a wheelchair, why do you think it's okay to make fun of a kid who is different from you? Different isn't bad. And I've seen the parents behaving just as badly, mumbling and snickering behind their hands.

The trick was that you said mean things and maybe for a minute you felt bigger or cooler or more badass for doing it. Maybe you thought it made you superior for being able to laugh at someone else.

The treat is? You're not hurting my kid. I'm the only one who knows what you did, besides yourself. And I hope that when you glanced back at me and your laughter faded and you ran, it was because you were ashamed of yourselves. I hope you saw on my face exactly what I thought of you, even though I didn't say a word. I knew I didn't have to say anything because you could read my expression--something my child will never be able to do.

Teach your children kindness. Teach them that not everyone is going to be like them and that it's okay. Teach them by example and teach them by correction, if need be.

By the way...this isn't the first time or place this happened. I am very sad to report it's the 'normal' in my world rather than the exception.

Which, in and of itself, is really, really sad.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Random Free Short Story!!

To celebrate Halloween...here's a little short thing I wrote for free.

Enjoy!


There was a time when I thought I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Probably I was twelve. Young, for sure, to believe that glittering lie. Probably equally young when my brother first gave me a book on Greek mythology and I read the stories with fascination. Nothing like my worn out copies of Babysitter’s Club books, the tortured souls in the tales captured my imagination. The one about Cassandra—cursed to see the future without anyone believing her—might have struck my childish imagination as sad, if it didn’t seem so cool to be able to see what would happen next.

Who knew I’d wake up one morning to discover the keyword in creative and tortured soul was tortured?

A freak accident, the newspaper called it. One bolt of lightning, snagged by the height of a black walnut tree, filtered through its root and zapped into my feet as I stood, head tilted up to catch raindrops on my tongue. For a while, I guess they worried I might die. Even with the trip through the tree, the sheer voltage that left my body burned and my hair sizzled off should have stopped my heart and never let it beat again.

I didn’t die. I survived the strike. I survived the therapy—learning to use my hands again, since my brain didn’t seem to function correctly since the zap. I never entirely got my voice back.

I did, however, gain Cassandra’s curse. Time, slippery at best, washed back and forth through my mind like the waves on the beach. I couldn’t always differentiate between what would be and what was. Even when I recognized vision for future rather than current events, I sometimes tried to change the events.

Not that it ever mattered.

Right then, I couldn’t tell if the guy staring at me actually leaned on the light post or if he peered out of the past or the distant future. His corduroy jacket could be hipster cool or it could be historical commonplace…how could I tell just by looking at him? The thing about him that really caught my attention was that he stared right at me, like he looked at me and could actually see me. People look at other people all the time, smiling in passing politeness or glancing over them in rushed blindness. Very few really saw one another, not really.

But this guy, with his faded jacket and light hair wafting in the breeze, seemed to look into me and see the bits I couldn’t verbalize any more. If I had a voice, I might call out to him. Say something. I’d say something clever for sure, even if the only thing that came to mind was hey.

He straightened, moving closer, and I glanced at my brother. Dragged out to take me to therapy, he wasn’t even paying attention. Instead he tapped on his phone, a constant stream of words flooding out of his lips as meaningless as the babble of strangers speeding past us on the sidewalk. I wished my brother would look up, verify whether or not the handsome guy actually existed in this world or if he was for another time, but without my words I stayed powerless to actually distract him from his enchantment with his cell phone.

“If I told you your gift could save the world, would you keep it? Or would you give it up to gain back the life you might have had, the one you lost when you were cursed?” The guy’s voice was as fascinating as the rest of him—neither too gruff nor too high pitched, the perfect guy voice.

Again, I glanced back at my brother, cheerfully oblivious to my strange exchange and of no help whatsoever. I couldn’t answer the guy, so I simply shrugged as best I could, knowing the gesture came out a little crooked. Even with therapy, my body just didn’t cooperate the way it had before the lightning changed my world.

“That’s not an answer.” The man smiled, a feral expression more like something you’d see on a caged animal than a man. “Answer me.”

I couldn’t answer him, not even if I'd wanted to. My voice, uncooperative on the best of days, wasn’t my strong point in my new life. I opened my lips and all that escaped was a sound like, “Gllarrffn.” Blinking fast, I wished I could speak. If I could, what would my answer have been to his strange question?

Would I save the world at the expense of my own happiness? I didn’t think so. Everyone says they’d do it, or would like to think they were the selfless type to do what was right for the many at the expense of their own happiness. The thing was, I’d lived for more than a year with no voice. I’d been silenced and frustrated for so long, I didn’t know if I could give up more if I were honestly given a choice. Not that I thought some strange guy, anonymous to the point of being strange, could offer me such an option in the first place, but…

“But what if I could?”

Shaking my head at him, helpless and unable to speak, I finally closed my eyes. Behind my closed lids, images flickered like a dream trapped in fast forward. Colors swirled and the world tilted sickly. I swallowed hard to keep from throwing up as the sensation made me a bit dizzy. If you could, I’d keep my gift, I thought. Even if I couldn’t speak and was trapped in a way that even Cassandra wouldn’t understand.

The man laughed, a gritty sound that stuck in my ears and I shook my head as if to shake free of the tendrils of it lingering in my head. “Your willingness to sacrifice has been noted…and a boon has been granted.”

“What boon?” I demanded.

The sound of my own voice, unfettered by my uncooperative throat and tongue, shocked me so much that I clutched at my throat. I hadn’t heard the sound of my voice since before the strike,  since the hoarse and awkward thing it’d become wasn’t me, not really.

The lingering echo of his laugh echoed around me, louder as if renewed, and I turned slowly. He’d vanished, but I sensed he’d not gone, not really. “You gave me back my voice.”

“It’s not the gift you might think. They still won’t listen to you, but try. The key to saving the human race is yours…use it wisely.”

Somehow I sensed the thing, because the creature was not a man even if he’d worn the body of one, was not of this earth. I also sensed that though I might have been given a greater gift than I would have dreamed to ask for, it came with a price.

“Did you say something?” My brother finally stuffed his all important phone in his pocket and looked at me, the problem. That’s what I’d become to them—a problem, a situation to be dealt with. I didn't blame my family, even knowing how they saw me now. I might have felt the same way if the shoes had been on the other proverbial foot.

“Can we please stop for coffee? I’ve wanted a caramel macchiato for such a long time.”

The look on his face would have been comical if I didn’t fully understand how I’d shocked him. Perhaps it wasn’t the wisest use of my newly returned voice, but it seemed a very good time for coffee. Dark times were coming, very dark, and in my opinion everyone should drink as much coffee as possible before the dark times took away the liberty of such extravagances.

I didn’t tell my brother all of that. I simply followed him as he called our parents to tell them the miracle. He did get me the coffee. And I watched the sky.

The darkness…it was coming. Even with a voice, I wouldn’t be able to stop it. I could, however, at least enjoy the last days we had in relative comfort and I planned to do just that.

For the Love of Bookends: Halloween Hunt & Giveaway Hop!

For the Love of Bookends: Halloween Hunt & Giveaway Hop!: Vampires! Past Desire by Blood By Blood Book One Enter the world of By Blood, where an entire class of vampires operates ...

OCEAN results...

I'm a O95-C25-E59-A74-N32 Big Five!!

Someday, *snort* my biographer is going to thank me for this post.

Friday, October 11, 2013

New Release - Holiday Marine from Heather Long!!

The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November, and December each year and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted. The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to these youngsters that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens.
This holiday collection of the Always a Marine series is dedicated to Toys for Tots and the men and women of the United States Marine Corps Reserve who dedicate their time, their efforts, and their funds to delivering this message of hope. A portion of the proceeds from each of these books will be donated to Toys for Tots to continue that mission. Semper Fi.
http://www.toysfortots.org

A Marine of Plenty

Heather Long

Always a Marine Series, Holiday Marine #1

Buy Links
All Romance eBooks
Amazon
Bookstrand
Decadent Publishing


Captain Charlie Sparks faces an impossible task—assigned to a security detail for the sister of a fallen Marine. The last thing Charlie wants is this beautiful woman in the middle of a base in Afghanistan no matter what holiday she plans to help them celebrate. But no one asked for his opinion, and worse, she’s everything he adores in a woman and more…
Mourning what might have been is a terrible burden…
Jana Grimaldi had a plan—a plan to help her brother when he came home, but his death in Afghanistan left a hole in her heart and a desperate desire to do something. With the help of Congressman Sparks, she heads to Afghanistan to bring Thanksgiving to the men and women who served with her brother. Nervous and uneasy, she finds an unexpected—and familiar ally in Captain Sparks…
Not all wounds heal…
Charlie was one of the first people to reach out to Jana, communicating via email when her brother died—but coming face to face in the lonely desolation of the holiday connects these two wounded souls…
Can Charlie and Jana find hope amidst the heartbreak this Thanksgiving?


Read an excerpt here.

Check out Heather Long’s website here.

 
 

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Things that make me go hmm...

Things that make primates go hmm...
Suspend your disbelief for a minute and go on a little trip with me...

To the land of author imagination where I ask questions that have as little basis in actual science and logic as humanly possible.

Travel

Why have our cell phones shrunk, but cars haven't? Since gas is expensive, you'd think we'd be riding along in tiny lightweight things and moving at far faster speeds since we wouldn't be hauling a ton of metal with us. Not so. I know, I know...lighter weight means that bigger heavy cars could smush you like a bug...But not if you were so fast they couldn't catch you.

Planes haven't shrunk either. Actually, there are a lot of cases

Someday, maybe you can fit your car in your pocket.
 By then, though, your phone will be the size of Mt. Everest.
where we get in a room and sit there for a while and then are magically somewhere else. A car. A truck. A plane. A boat...although sometimes you just go in a big circle and then end up right where you started. I guess boats are sometimes the elevator of travel experiences.

Speaking of elevators, doesn't that make all cars/trucks/planes boats a lot like our own personal TARDISes? We hop in and magically are somewhere else.

Except we travel across space instead of time.

Gardening

So, there was this thing called the industrial revolution in which all the farmers moved off tending the land and went to cities to be part of big business.

Now it is trendy to have a farm.

How did digging holes and playing with manure go from being something hard you did for survival to something cool people did to stay trendy?

Plague doctors liked to dress up like Big Bird.
Clothes

Clothes were originally intended as things to ward off the elements and cover our nekked bits. Then they became fashion...

Most fashion makes sense. Well, some, anyway. Did you know that in the medieval world, a woman's forehead and neck were sexy as shit? Then in Victorian days, a woman wouldn't dare show her ankle as it might drive a man into a sexual frenzy.

Now we're bothered by a chick who wants to get a little groovy with a foam finger.

No one is bothered by her blatant display of ankle or forehead.

Just sayin.

Parenting

So, parents used to spank their kids. Then that became child abuse and you shouldn't spank your kids. Now, according to tons of memes and posts, people want others to spank their kids because they don't listen.

I'm a parent. Kids don't listen. There's this disruption between their ears and their brains (I'm pretty sure it's made up of horny hormones, but I'm not a scientist) which won't allow them to hear a damn lick of sense until they're in their twenties.

My take on spanking? Dude, why the hell do you care? Make your own decisions because trends are gonna come and go...

Just make sure they cover their ankles so they don't turn into sex maniacs.

No, I don't condone abuse (dear God, the shitstorm I just set up with those comments), but I do think if people stopped worrying so much about what others were doing and focused on their own families, they'd probably have to worry a hell of a lot less about the whole debate and more about the ankle thing.

This.
This is why I'm not talking about dieting.
Dieting

I like bacon. And chocolate. So I'm reasonably sure I shouldn't have any opinions on dieting.

Duck Dynasty

So, people created this dandy box full of lights that shows stuff. I remember (thumps cane on floor) back in my day, we only had a few channels and those channels turned off at a certain hour (no informercials for the insomniac or video on demand) and some people had to get up to change the channel (Usually the youngest was the one stuck with this horrid task)...

No more! Now you can turn on hundreds of stations zapped to your light box from all over the world. You can watch news, you can watch shopping, you can see how to turn a pallet into a time machine!!

Me? I like to watch this one family who is extremely real.

So do a lot of other folks.

My thoughts there? Back in the day, folks would sit outside the general store and watch the comings and goings of others. My 84 year old dad still sits for hours watching the folks come and go at the local grocery store. He even has binoculars so if my local people feel like someone is watching...there is. It's my dad.

Duck Dynasty is all that. So, if you're ever tired of paying your cable bill, grab you a lawn chair and a cold glass of iced tea and camp out at the local Wally World. Free tv.

You're welcome.

This collection of randomosity was brought to you by procrastination...
Not writing books or doing homework and instead spreading insanity to the internet one keystroke at a time.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Junking Queen

Coolest guy in the county
I have a deep and abiding love for yard sales. It might even be an addiction. If it is, I don't want cured. Aside from the fact I get to meet some amazing people (Notable today were the woman who volunteered at the church--sweet, grey haired older lady--with the nose piercing and this guy. HOW AWESOME IS HE????), I also tend to either find really amazing deals or at least temporary treasures.

My Full Haul Today:
2 Covington sweaters
The Haul = $20
1 white dress blouse...
1 blue teeshirt
1 solid brass and beveled glass light
1 box of misc legos
3 binders
Stephen King's Misery
4 romantic CDs
2 Old Books (Silas Marner, 1898, Eight Cousins)
1 Blue Glass
1 Pretty Basket
1 Pair Purple Heels

Total spent : $20

I was insanely excited about the old books...The Eight Cousins has a signature page with a message written and autographed by Louisa May Alcott. HOLY CRAAAAAP!! Did I just spend .50 and get an autographed Louisa Freakin May Alcott???

Nope. I don't think I did since this book was printed in 1903 and Alcott died in 1888 (Thanks, Roe!), however the same book seems to be selling for between $60-250 online, so it's still a pretty good buy at fifty cents. Also, adding to the general awesomeness of this find is the front page

AWESOME old books
where it's noted:

To Miss Katharine Gault, July 8, 1913, from your Father, Painesville, Ohio

then

To Miss Laura Keith, July 30, 1941 from Ant Katherine

Hard to autograph things when you're dead.
I dunno...those inscriptions and the history of others holding them is just...neat.

The other old book was Silas Marner, apparently published in 1898 by Allyn and Bacon. It also has really cool writing in the front. My research on this one tells me it's worth about $8-15...still not a bad buy at fifty cents.

My other great find was a light, solid brass per the sticker still on it, and beveled glass...The owner said she got them out of a mansion in Louisiana and I had to snag it, especially when she quoted $5 for it. She had three others, which I directed a friend to go snag (Helloooo
$5 office find!
Vintage Shopgirl!)

They're apparently considered 'bronze hanging pendant' style lights and, although I've not yet dug up my exact one yet, look like they're worth a couple hundred bucks each. Not a bad $5 find at ALL.

Aside from finding treasures, I got to hang out with Ma, who is always a joy, and Jfab and eat seafood on the breakwall at Lake Erie while seagulls danced on the breeze around us.

Have any of you gone junking?

Um, do I NEED a caption?

Things I found at yard sales...

Lake Erie Breakwall, aka greatest lunch spot in the county





Thursday, October 3, 2013

Teaser Tidbit

I haven't been a tease lately...

Figured I should play catch up. This is from one of my recently finished books, coming soon! Enjoy!


“Tell me to put you down. Tell me not to touch you. Something. But do it fast. I might change my mind.”

She opened her mouth, questions fighting to erupt. “I—”

“Tell me. Fast.” One of his hands slid up her back, capturing the nape of her neck.

“Don’t put me down.” She whispered it, lost in his gaze.

He clicked his tongue. “Wrong answer. My leash? It was short. And it just ran out.”

COVER REVEAL: A Marine of Plenty #HolidayMarines are Coming

COVER REVEAL: A Marine of Plenty #HolidayMarines are Coming
 
A Marine of Plenty
Heather Long
Always a Marine Series
Book 1 of Holiday Marines
 
I'd hoped to be able to preview all five of the holiday Marine covers, but we'll have to settle for just one today. Fingers crossed, the rest will be ready to show off later this month. Releasing October 21st is our 17th book in the Always a Marine series featuring Charlie Sparks--brother to Naomi Sparks. You may remember Charlie as her brother who was serving in Afghanistan while Naomi was visiting Mike's Place in What Part of Marine Don't You Understand?

 

Holiday Marines

The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November, and December each year and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted. The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to these youngsters that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens.

This holiday collection of the
Always a Marine series is dedicated to Toys for Tots and the men and women of the United States Marine Corps Reserve who dedicate their time, their efforts, and their funds to delivering this message of hope. A portion of the proceeds from each of these books will be donated to Toys for Tots to continue that mission. Semper Fi.

http://www.toysfortots.org 
 
 
 
Serving overseas is a lonely duty…
 
Captain Charlie Sparks faces an impossible task—assigned to a security detail for the sister of a fallen Marine. The last thing Charlie wants is this beautiful woman in the middle of a base in Afghanistan no matter what holiday she plans to help them celebrate. But no one asked for his opinion, and worse, she’s everything he adores in a woman and more…
 
Mourning what might have been is a terrible burden…
 
Jana Grimaldi had a plan—a plan to help her brother when he came home, but his death in Afghanistan left a hole in her heart and a desperate desire to do something. With the help of Congressman Sparks, she heads to Afghanistan to bring Thanksgiving to the men and women who served with her brother. Nervous and uneasy, she finds an unexpected—and familiar ally in Captain Sparks…
 
Not all wounds heal…
 
Charlie was one of the first people to reach out to Jana, communicating via email when her brother died—but coming face to face in the lonely desolation of the holiday connects these two wounded souls…
 
 
Can Charlie and Jana find hope amidst the heartbreak this Thanksgiving?
 
A Marine of Plenty releases October 21st. 
 
 

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Things I wrote for school...When Death Wore a Suit


The Plague Suit

Most of us are aware that the Bubonic Plague, because of fleas and carried on the backs of rodents, spread throughout Medieval Europe and killed a lot of people. Since cats were being killed at the time due to their obvious ties to witchcraft, nothing stood between an unknowing populace and the Black Death. Deathships full of people  dead or dying from the plague and their accompanying insect populations brought disease to all reaches of the ancient world and people led by superstition and ruled by fear didn’t know how to conquer it.

Plague physicians were specifically hired by towns in time of epidemic. Treating both the rich and poor, they weren’t usually actually trained doctors, rather young or crappy doctors that couldn’t otherwise find work—sometimes even fruit sellers who wanted to make more money. Being a plague physician was lucrative work since real doctors fled as the plague traveled, knowing nothing they could do would stop the death toll from rising.

In this era, they believed that the plague was being carried by birds so these doctors often wore a mask shaped like the beak of a bird. Red glass eyes peered out of the creepy beaked mask to further dissuade evil from conquering the fake docs. The plague attacked the glands, so the doctor would cover the neck and face with fabric or the mask. The beak of the mask could be filled with flowers or other sweet smelling things to protect the wearer from the reek of death which would make them sick. Protected from the "miasma," they’d cover their robes with suet to further keep disease from bringing them as low as their patients.

Plague doctors were allowed to preform autopsies—not allowed at the time for any other practicing medical professional since it could be considered witchcraft—to try to find a cure. They carried a cane so they didn’t have to touch the bodies of the sick and to help repent the ill from their sins. Although sometimes used to point family members in various directions, they would poke or beat the sick with the cane also, since this was a possible cure and it allowed the doctor to avoid close exposure to the sickness.
 
Aside from beating the evil out of the sick, they could also practice bloodletting and putting frogs on the humors to attempt to cure their patients. The image above is a 1656 engraving done by Paul Furst called the Doctor Beak of Rome  (Wikepedia) which included the traditional fitted and wide brimmed black hat to identify the doctor, the gas mask full of herbs shaped like a bird, the red glass eye pieces to ward off evil, the black overcoat, the cane and the waders. To modern times, the mask is still a sign of death and is popular in many parades.

So, my readers...picture a person wearing a giant beak peering at you with red glass eyes wearing a long overcoat and beating the sick out of you.

Good times, right?