Guest Post and New Release - FUN & GAMES WITH RUDOLPH

What’s new at the Naughty North Pole?

Thanks for having me Virginia! The latest installment of the NAUGHTY NORTH POLE book came out: FUN & GAMES WITH RUDOLPH. And if you haven’t read them yet, get ready to hold onto your stockings! This ain’t your grandma’s North Pole! In my series, Santa and Ms. Claus are twins, and she does everything she can behind his back to host a big orgy while he’s off delivering the toys on Christmas Eve. But Santa may not even notice, since he’s too busy breeding fast as lightning reindeer, and daydreaming about that one kiss he shared with Jack Frost. Meanwhile the horny elves are sneaking off into broom closets and sleeping with anyone and everyone. And did I mention that all the elves have candy-flavored cum? And that’s just in the first three books!

FUN & GAMES WITH RUDOLPH tells the story of that cocky but sexy elf Lars who appeared in all three previous books. He’s about to get the Christmas of his dreams—if he can survive all the perky elves, a guy catfishing him on the new dating app Elf4Elf, and an attack by a wild yeti.

Jorge, the head of the Social Media Division at the North Pole has been posting blogs written by many of Santa’s elves that you have come to know and love all over the internet this month. If you want to catch up them and see what naughty things they are up to, be sure to follow the Countdown to Christmas blog series! You can catch a list of all the dates HERE on my blog.

In the meantime, make sure you enter to win the first three NAUGHTY NORTH POLE books and a $20 Amazon gift card in the entry box below. Then check out this excerpt from the latest chapter about those horny elves in FUN & GAMES WITH RUDOLPH.

Thanks again for having me Virginia!

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~Deanna

FUN & GAMES WITH RUDOLPH

The Naughty North Pole—Book Four

By Deanna Wadsworth

Blurb:

Lars is the sarcastic elf who runs Santa’s Mail Department and he follows the dating rule of “no repeats”. But lately he's been having a romantic textlationship with another elf, via the dating app Elf4Elf. When his cyber boyfriend goes AWOL after a misunderstanding, Lars realizes too late that there is more to life than sex, work, and cookies.

On Christmas Eve, Santa asks Lars to personally deliver a gift to Rudolph—a former reindeer handler who left the North Pole because of a misunderstanding. Rudolph lives on the secluded Sugar Plum Ridge and the only way to get there is by sleigh. Lars just can’t get a break!

When a sudden blizzard forces the two elves to hole up in Rudolph's cabin, will they find a way to make their own fun and games or will one surprise ruin it all?

One thing is certain: after this night, they both will believe in the magic of the Naughty North Pole!

EXCERPT:

Holding my breath, I knocked on the big guy’s door, fabricating excuses for my behavior while I waited. Name-calling as a means of communication with one’s team members was not acceptable behavior in the North Pole, and I had the feeling I was about to get a stern talking-to.

“Who is it?” Santa called.

“It’s Lars, sir,” I said. “You sent for me?”

Sudden scurrying on the other side of the door gave me pause. Then the rumble of Jack Frost’s deep, accented voice met my ears.

Oh for fuck’s sake, Santa was getting farewell nookie before the launch!

Upon hearing the hasty sounds of interrupted coitus, a surge of jealousy swept through me. This was the last thing I needed. Since Mike disappeared, my jealousy of every happy couple had amplified exponentially. Too busy for a hook-up, I had a feeling sex wouldn’t fix anything, anyway. Didn’t mean I wouldn’t try my damndest to make sex work tonight at Ms. Claus’s party. I needed to get fucking laid, if just to improve my mood. If it didn’t happen soon, I might literally bite someone’s head off.

The office door opened, and Santa stood before me, white-blond hair disheveled and cheeks flushed. He looked a million shades of sexy—per his usual. “Hello, Lars. Won’t you come in?”

I had the decency not to mention his sweater was inside out.

Cool as the ice that froze up my conveyor belts every other day, Jack Frost sat on the couch beside Santa’s desk, as if nothing had occurred. One long leg was crossed over his knee, and his arms were draped lazily across the top of the couch. A streak of ice blue hair swept through his black waves, and he didn’t seem to be bothered by the way it fell in his matching blue eyes. As always, an accompanying coldness permeated the air around the sprite and I suppressed a shiver.

“Hello, Santa,” I said, trying to keep my voice light. I nodded at his partner. “Mr. Frost.”

“Mister” seemed to be the appropriate respect for the source of all things winter. He could be a sadistic son-of-a-bitch, and I didn’t relish the notion of waking up one morning buried under a pile of snow. He lived here at the North Pole now and I did my best to avoid crossing his path. No need to end up on his radar if I could help it.

“Lars, I need you to get this to Sugar Plum Ridge.” Santa held out a small Christmas present the size of a shoebox, wrapped in gold foil paper. A red velvet ribbon had been tied into a big bow on top and twirly green streamers completed the perfect gift.

“Okay, when do you need it there?” Though taken aback by the random request, I accepted the gift. Why hadn’t he sent it down to my department with an assistant?

Santa gave me a long look, his blue eyes boring into mine. “I need you to take it there tonight.”

“Tonight?” I blurted out.

He nodded. “Yes. You’ve heard of my old reindeer handler, Rudolph?”

“Yeah?” I drew out the word, suspicious of where he was going with this.

“Well, he needs that gift tonight.” Santa glanced at his gorgeous partner. “What time, Jack? Midnight?”

The winter sprite nodded. I could only conjecture the meaning of his cocky grin.

“It’s very important, Lars. I want you to get a sleigh and head up to Rudolph’s ASAP. I can think of no one else to trust with such a special assignment.”

While the compliment was whipped cream on a shit sundae, no matter how inconvenient the task, I would never tell Santa no. No one could.

“Of course. But if I have to be there by midnight, that means I have to leave, um…like now. What if something happens in the Mail Department while I’m gone?” I tried to contain my annoyance. Maybe he should have asked me to do this earlier instead of sitting around with Jack Frost’s fingers up his ass.

Oh, yeah, I definitely needed to get laid if I was getting perturbed with Santa Claus. 

Deanna Wadsworth might be a bestselling erotica author, but she leads a pretty vanilla life in Ohio with her wonderful husband and a couple adorable cocker spaniels. She has been spinning tales and penning stories since childhood, and her first erotic novella was published in 2010. When she isn’t writing books or brainstorming with friends, you can find her making people gorgeous in a beauty salon. She loves music and dancing, and can often be seen hanging out on the sandbar in the muddy Maumee River or chilling with her hubby and a cocktail in their basement bar. In between all that fun, Deanna cherishes the quiet times when she can let her wildly active imagination have the full run of her mind. Her fascination with people and the interworkings of their relationships have always inspired her to write romance with spice and love without boundaries.

Facebook | Twitter | Blog | goodreads

Buy Deanna’s books at Decadent Publishing or at any reputable eBook seller

 

***RELEASE DAY BLITZ!! Review, Q&A with Laura Kaye, and a trailer!!! Hard As It Gets PARTY!!!!***

My Review

I’ve always had a thing for a man with ink and Kaye gives us a hero marked with art so beautiful it writhes across the pages and into your heart. Nick is a hero, served his country and stood up for what he believed in. Becca is a woman on a mission—to save her brother at all costs. When these two passionate characters meet up on the page, sparks fly and the results are PHENOMENAL! Chock full of suspense, military intrigue, and deliciously funny and realistic characters, Kay delivers a one-two-punch and hits all the notes of an edge of your seat adventure. When you add in the obvious chemistry and oh-my-lord sexiness (I’ve never read of a punching bag that turned me on more than this one), I have to say this was a read I absolutely devoured. I’m sincerely hoping that future installments of this series trace the storylines of her well-developed secondary characters because Kaye managed to introduce quite a lot of them while we skated from sexy to snarky…both Nick’s brothers in arms and his staff at Hard Ink have me completely intrigued. This story is a romance, so I expected Nick and Becca to fall in love and the tumble was glorious. Sexual tension snapped almost as tight as the corded muscles of Nick’s irresistible and tatted up arms. If you’re looking to steam up your holiday season, you can’t miss by grabbing a copy of Hard as It Gets. This reader is excited to have received a copy in exchange for an honest review—and, baby, lemme tell you it’s going to be a while until my glasses stop being fogged up from the steam of it.  I’ll be picking up book two on preorder because I can’t WAIT to see what else she has in store in future installments. Fantastic read, kudos to Kaye for this awesome book.

Q&A WITH LAURA KAYE

HARD AS IT GETS is one steamy read! How did you first get into writing?

 

Thanks so much! And thanks for having me here! I’ve been a writer all my life. I’m a historian by training, so writing non-fiction was a part of my job for the fifteen years I worked as a college professor. But I started writing fiction in 2008 in kind of an unusual way. I hit my head on July 4, 2008. I didn’t think much of it that day, but soon after I realized I’d really hurt myself, and it turned out I had a minor traumatic brain injury. As I recovered, I was filled with an amazing urge to be creative, so I started taking guitar lessons (still not very good at that!) and wrote my first novel in 12 weeks (fortunately, I’m better at that LOL!). The experience of writing that first book was truly transformative. It was what I was supposed to be doing, so I revised that book until it sold and kept writing new ones. And I haven’t looked back since!

Why did you choose to write romance?

 

I had been an avid reader of paranormal romance for years at that point, so I wrote what I loved. But I also picked romance—unconsciously, I think—because to me it’s an incredibly hopeful genre. Romance stories are inherently stories about people who can’t find love or think they don’t deserve it who overcome the odds and find it in the end. In the years leading up to starting writing, I experienced a number of very hard personal losses, so writing in this genre was one way I worked through those issues.

 

What does “Hard Ink” refer to? What importance do tattoos play in your story?

 

Hard Ink is the name of the Rixey brothers’ tattoo shop in the Hard Ink series. Nick and Jeremy Rixey are co-owners, though Nick (the hero of book one, Hard As It Gets) prefers to be more of a silent partner, despite Jeremy’s efforts to put Nick’s artistic talents to work. In this series, tattoos are a way people remember, pay penance, or highlight what’s important to them. The act of creating permanent marks on skin has deep meaning to them. And the shop creates a gritty setting where diverse kinds of people meet and interact in the series. I really love it!

Describe Becca—what do you love most about her? And Nick?

I’d love to! Because I really loved writing these characters!

 

Becca Merritt is smart and strong and honest and protective. I really loved the way she was willing to stand up for those she loves, even against people and forces who might be stronger and even a little scary. There’s a scene in particular when she dresses down Nick’s Special Forces teammates after a fist fight where I was particularly cheering for her! LOL

 

Nick Rixey is, omg, so freaking hot, you guys! He’s brooding and tortured and honorable and when he falls he falls  so hard. I especially loved Nick’s mix of hard, alpha edges with his artistic side. When Nick shows Becca what her idea for a tattoo might look like on her skin, it’s just scorching!

What significance does the military play in the book?

Military themes are central to the whole Hard Ink series. The military isn’t just sexy window dressing nor is it just there to provide an intriguing backstory. The prior SF guys are this series are entirely defined by their military experience good and bad. It informs their identity, their sense of honor and duty, their view of the world, and of course gives them the skill set required to fight the battles they face in the series. The overall series mystery the characters are working to solve revolves around a military conspiracy in Afghanistan, so even though they’re out of the Army, the military themes are central.

If you could describe your book in a 140 character tweet, what would it be?

In #HardAsItGets, an ex-soldier joins forces w/his dead commander's daughter to regain his tarnished honor & save her brother from a gang

Is there a particular author or book that has influenced your writing?

There are a number of authors that have influenced me, but if I had to pick one it would be J.R. Ward. A lot of what I know about how to write sexy, authentic male point of view comes from reading her books. And I definitely learned the importance of a good bromance to a romance novel from her Black Dagger Brotherhood series, too. Given my ginormous fangirling, you can only imagine how flipping excited I was when this happened:

“Edgy, sexy, and full of suspense! A great read from a great new author!”

~J.R. Ward on Hard As It Gets

You guys, I bawled like a baby in the middle of a huge workshop put on by my publisher. For real. LOL

What advice would you give aspiring writers looking to get into the publishing industry?

Here’s my advice:

1) Write, write, write. You can’t revise what you haven’t written and you can’t sell what you haven’t written. And the psychological and emotional boost you’ll get from writing “The End” for the first time cannot be overestimated.

2) Revise, revise, revise. That first time you type “The End”? Yeah, you’re nowhere near done. Your book will need to be edited, by you, several times before you ever put it in front of an agent or editor. You get one shot with them, so don’t waste it by not showing them your very best and most polished work.

3) Find critique partners. And your mom, siblings, and best friend do not count (unless you’re really lucky, like me, and your best friend happens t also be a professional author). You need other aspiring writers in your genre who will give you honest but constructive feedback about how to improve your manuscript. Let them catch all the embarrassing goofs and plot holes you thought you caught before it gets to an agent or editor.

4) Want to be a professional, then act it. And by that I mean join the professional organization(s) of the genre in which you write. Through them you will find classes to help hone your craft, critique partner match-ups, networking opportunities, calls for submission, and other opportunities invaluable to breaking into publishing.

5) Don’t give up. You will hear way more no’s than yeses, particularly early in your writing career. Stick with it. Believe in yourself. Give yourself one day to wallow in the rejection and eat a bunch of chocolate and then get right back on the horse. If your first book doesn’t sell, chalk that up to learning and write a second.

What can fans of HARD AS IT GETS look forward to next?

I’m currently writing four series: two contemporary (Hard Ink, Heroes) and two paranormal (Hearts of the Anemoi, Vampire Warrior Kings). I’ll have books from all four of those releasing in 2014. My next release is Hard As You Can (Hard Ink #2) coming 2/25/14!

About Hard As It Gets:

Five dishonored soldiers.

Former Special Forces.

One last mission.

These are the men of Hard Ink.

 

Tall, dark, and lethal...

Trouble just walked into Nicholas Rixey's tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm, sexy, wholesome--pure temptation to a very jaded Nick. He's left his military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is his ex-commander's daughter. Loyalty won't let him turn her away. Lust has plenty to do with it too.

With her brother presumed kidnapped, Becca needs Nick. She just wasn't expecting to want him so much. As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized crime ring, only Nick can protect her. And only Becca can heal the scars no one else sees.

Desire is the easy part. Love is as hard as it gets. Good thing Nick is always up for a challenge...

 

Read Chapter 1 of Hard As It Gets

Buy at Amazon | B&N | iTunes

About Laura Kaye:

Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Newsletter SignUp

 

I got to name a Marine...

Heather Long is an outstanding author of military, paranormal, contemporary, and western romance and I've been lucky enough to call her crit partner for a few years. Actually, almost two years exactly since we just celebrated the anniversary of our friendship (which coincided with the end of a mutual publisher, sadly).

She's read all my books, offered invaluable advice, and been a cheerleader and boot in my ass when I needed it, so I'm maybe just a little fangirl over her work. Since I've read just about every word she's written in the past couple years, I feel like a proud auntie when a new book releases. With this story? A proud auntie who hung out in the delivery room.

You see, Heather bestowed a great honor on me and let me name the character in this story. I named him after a friend and rattled off a few characteristics of my uncle, a Marine himself, who served proudly. The uncle was a prankster, loving nothing more than making others laugh, and the friend was one who helped me through some really dark days.

That said, she then molded what I mentioned into a character I fell in love with. Rebel is injured in body and spirit and this Christmas tale is heartwarming. Capturing that spirit and the magic of the season, Long crafted a tale that made me laugh and cry in turns--while remaining sexy and sweet.

A portion of the proceeds of the sale of this and her other holiday Marines will benefit Toys for Tots, a campaign to put gifts in the hands of children in need. If you're looking for a well told tale which gives not only in the transformative and uplifting nature of the story, but literally GIVES this season, you should look no further than Have Yourself a Marine Christmas. Better yet, snag all of the holiday Marines and settle down with a cup of cocoa and gobble them all up. I know I'll be rereading them this season :)

Have Yourself a Marine Christmas
By Heather Long
Always a Marine Series
ISBN:

Buy Links

 

Amazon | ARe | B&N | Bookstrand | Decadent | Smashwords

Blurb:

Rebel with a holiday…

Ryan Edward Brun—Rebel to his friends—has always loved Christmas. Whether raising money for Toys for Tots, delivering presents dressed up like Santa Claus or driving his platoon crazy with Christmas ‘surprises,’ he never lacked for Christmas spirit—until he lost his legs to an IED.

Operation Good Cheer…

Noël Torres has watched over Rebel for months, holding his hand when he wanted to give up, and bullying him when he got lazy. But with Christmas right around the corner and decorations filling every room in their wing of Mike’s Place, the barren oasis Rebel surrounds himself with breaks her heart. He won’t call his family, he’s not sending out cards, he won’t pull any pranks—she decides to get this Marine back into the holiday action.

An elf on a mission…

With the help of some kids, a few good Marines, and Santa Claus, Noël is determined to give Rebel a very Marine Christmas…

Find it on Goodreads!
Heather Long's Website

Discover Her Wish Before Christmas by Kimberly Quinton - A Holiday Sweet Romance

Her heart never forgot him…

Genny Ridgeway left Laurel Cove with a broken heart. Returning awakens old feelings, old longings, and the desire for long kisses beneath the mistletoe with the man who broke her heart.

 

The only thing missing is her…

Connor O’Rourke and his son finally have the home they’ve always wanted. Now, he’ll do anything for a second chance at love with the woman he let get away.

It’s Christmas time in Laurel Cove….

Surrounded by the spirit of the season and with a little posthumous help from her gypsy grandmother, can Connor prove he is the man Genny has always wanted to grant her wish before Christmas?

 

Her Wish Before Christmas

Holiday Hearts

Release Date: November 12, 2013

All Romance eBooks | Amazon | Barnes& Noble | Bookstrand | Decadent Publishing

 

About the Author:

Whether she’s writing contemporary or paranormal romance, Kimberly Quinton is a romantic at heart who strives to tell stories about the power of true love.

Since a teen, she’s loved romances and believes we can all live our happily-ever-after. Always a people watcher, it wasn’t until Kimberly shucked her Accounting major for Anthropology that her interest in people and cultures was nurtured. Kimberly has combined her natural curiosity (nosiness) with her love of romance for the sake of bringing the movies in her head to life on the page.

A wife and mother of two, Kimberly spends her days chasing chores, wrangling active kids, and writing. She also enjoys traveling, cooking, great wine and sharing a laugh with friends and family.

You can usually find her on Facebook or Twitter. Stop by for a chat.

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To Delete or Not to Delete, that is the question...

NaNoWriMo is in full swing. Writers are huddled over their laptops, scrabbling to hit their daily goals, which makes this post timely.

Don't Do Eeeet!!

There comes a day in every writer's world when everything they've ever written looks like a steaming pile of camel dung. When the writer gazes upon this monstrosity, this absolute insult to the English language and slap in the face of all literary genius, they must do the logical thing. Delete. Crumple and toss. Shred. Burn the words, eliminate them from existence, retire the writing cap and start a nice vegetable garden.

Instead, I'd like to offer a viable and word saving alternative.

Walk. Away.

No, don't walk, run. Close the word doc, step away from the laptop or desktop or Moleskin notebook and do your laundry. Go for a walk. Go watch a movie. Read a book.

Anything but deleting all that you've written.

Stephen King started writing Carrie, hated the girl and hated the story, tossed it in the garbage and his wife salvaged it and said, "Moar."

Well, not in those words, but I'm sure it was something like that.

Anyway, he talks about that in On Writing and mentions that his first great book, the one that changed the course of horror writing forever, started out as something he tossed in the garbage.

I can't begin to tell you how many of my stories I started writing, stopped and hated, closed...and went back to later and wrote.

Hating your work is okay.

Yesterday was one of those days for me. They happen. I have gotten to the point that I recognize when I'm wriggling in loathing and I don't write. I market, I blog, I make a meatloaf, whatever...but once I've gotten into that swing, I don't write.

When I DO mass deletions (sometimes they happen. Sometimes you really DID write garbage or that scene CAN'T go in the book...this is a reality.), I stick it in a word doc called :

(Title Of Book)_Deleted

Just in case because, sometimes, I need those words later. If I don't, swell! I deleted correctly and those words are garbage. Or maybe those words are a 'secret scene' that ends up a blog post someday. Or maybe those words will only live on the harddrive of my laptop until some autobiographer drives his hover car to my house in the year 2187 to research me. Who knows? But I don't ever just DELETE them. I might need them later.

Since we're mid NaNoWriMo and everyone is bent on hitting word count goals, I figured it was a good time to mention this. Some days, you shouldn't write. Some days the best contribution you can give literature is the deletion of words and others it's the ability to NOT write or delete. And that's okay.

There is always tomorrow.

Happy Writing! (not deleting!)

Secret Release Pa-a-a-arty!! Holiday Marine!

Always a Marine

Marine Under the Mistletoe

by HEATHER LONG

AVAILABLE NOW on Amazon only, releasing everywhere soon!

Buy Link

Amazon

He used to believe in magic…

Kaiden Nelson looked like every other Marine, only most of his guys didn’t grow up in a family of nudists, celebrating the wheel of the year and the lunar cycles. His buddies wouldn’t name him a witch, either. But after more than a decade at war, Kaiden isn’t sure he can—or even wants to lay claim to that calling anymore. He’s got too much blood on his hands and he’s tired…tired of war, tired of fighting. Some days…he’s tired of living. When he’s sent on leave for the holidays, he’s unsure if he can ever really go home again.

She’s a candle in the night…

Rowan Harper lives in two worlds, the mundane where she handles tech issues for a major corporation and the pagan where she celebrates the sabbats and esbats with her coven. Like so many in the region, she keeps her beliefs private. It makes life more bearable from others who would judge, and she likes nothing better than the great sabbat retreats the coven takes to the sprawling Lake House. It’s a time where she sheds the shackles of everyday life and embraces the divine.

The wheel turns…

When Kaiden turns up at the coven Yule, his Circle of family and friends are eager to welcome him. He feels unworthy of the open warmth and shies away to the darkness, but Rowan refuses to leave him in the shadows. Can the inexorable pull of one woman help him face down his demons as they hold vigil against the longest night of the year?

And check out the rest of the Holiday Marines on Heather Long's website!

Your Chance To Win A Romanticon MEGA Swag Basket & A Tiara!!

Whether you could not attend Romanticon 2013 (and bemoan that fact), or you came, played and would like to win a commemorative prize package chock full of author swag and goodies—this mega basket is for you!

Easy to enter visit http://sabrinayork.com/?p=1235.

Deadline: December 30th at midnight PST.

FEATURING ONE-OF-A-KIND PRIZES AND AUTHOR SWAG

Commemorative conference program signed by most authors in attendance as well as ALL the sexy Cavemen, Thelmer Sedzoid and more!*

A tiara from Sabrina York, because you know you deserve one.

Ellora’s Cave Romanticon Swag

Commemorative Romanticon 2013 t-shirt

2014 Caveman Clanedar

Ellora’s Cave “Silver Bullet” vibrator

Bollywood scarf

And More!

Assorted Author swag including:

Mugs, keychains, buttons, pens, excerpts, t-shirts

And MUCH MUCH MORE!

A signed copy of Adam’s Obsession, Book One of the Wired Series by Sabrina York

A signed copy of Under His Skin by Sidney Bristol

A signed copy of Taking Over Me, the first book in the Geek Kink series by Sara Brookes.

ENTRY DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 30th at the stroke of midnight. Tell your friends!

ENTER HERE: http://sabrinayork.com/?p=1235

PRIZE DETAIL:

PRIZES: Sabrina York Tiara & assorted Bling; A blinged out hot pink lanyard for your next conference; Sabrina York 2014 pocket calendar; A signed photo of Alpha Caveman, DeAngelo; New Species Visitor Pass Signed by Laurann Dohner; Ellora’s Cave “Silver Bullet” vibrator; Ellora’s Cave 2014 Cavemen Calendar; Ellora’s Cave Disco Inferno 2013 card deck; Ellora’s Cave coasters; Sabrina's Bollywood scarf; Romanticon 2013 t-shirt (XL); Cave Chaos utility knife; Ellora’s Cave “Got Sex?” and Logo Temporary Tattoos; Cave Chaos smooshy bed; Ellora’s Cave lollipop condom & condom keyring; Ellora’s Cave memo mate; Cave Chaos flashlight keyring; Sexy “I’m Proud to be a Cole Girl” t-shirt from Regina Cole (XL)

BOOKS: A signed copy of Adam’s Obsession, Book One of the Wired Series by Sabrina York; A signed copy of Under His Skin by Sidney Bristol; A signed copy of Taking Over Me, the first book in the Geek Kink series by Sara Brookes

AUTHOR SWAG:  Teaser Books from Anna Alexander & Sabrina York; Sidney Bristol “I love Cavemen” pin; Sidney Bristol button pack and assorted So Inked swag; Regina Cole pins & magnets; Geeks are Kinky Too magnet & button from Sara Brookes; Laurann Dohner True magnet; A complete set of “Master” “Submissive” and “Switch” buttons from Jennifer Kacey; Special Agent button from Desiree Holt; Kristin Daniels “My Tye” shot glass; Tiara duckie from the Publisher's Tea Party; Ellora’s Cave Swag Bag “The Bad Girls of Romance”; Mari Freeman “It’s Hot in Here” fan; Danica Avet shot glass; Cheryl Dragon tote bag; Scandalous Martini Glass from Nicole Austin; “Hot Doms & Playful Subs ruler from Cheryl Dragon (great for spankings!); Tara Nina Gargoyle mug; Dee Brice Hot Pad Holder; Cara Carnes lip balm; Mari Freeman pencil; Jayne Rylon Luggage tag; Pens from Dee Brice, Lexi Post, the Cabal of Hotness, Sabrina York, Cheryl Dragon, Cara Carnes & Desiree Holt;  Ann Jacobs screen cleaner; Cara Carnes stress ball; SPI (Sexual Positions Investigation) Trainee button; Cait Miller mirror keyring; Piper Trace “Made you look at my boobs” button; Danica Avet mirror; Brenna Zinn drink holder; Samantha Kane sticky notes; Becca Jameson Wolf Masters keyring; Desiree Holt “Gotta love a naked cowboy” button; Jayne Rylon Book Compantion; Lea Barrymire nail file; Samantha Kane magnet; A.M. Griffin mini flashlight; Glasses cleaner from Cris Anson; Kathy Kulig power stone from the Demons in Exile series; Lisa Fox condom; Kangaroo Key ring from Mari Carr; Zipper pouch from Heidi Lynn Anderson; Kristin Daniels mirror; Lexi Post masquerade mask; Cowboy Stetson charm from Cassandra Carr; Hero Revealed Stash Tea from Anna Alexander; Tip Card from Frances Stockton; Tara Nina drink holder; Coaster from Danica Avet; Steamy excerpts from Kathy Kulig, Sara Brookes, Mari Car, Joey W. Hill; Plus bookmarks, trading cards and more from Samantha Cayto, Karen Booth, Fran Lee, Ruth D. Kerce, Isabelle Drake, Ruby Duvall, Laurann Dohner, Becca Jameson, Cornelia Amiri, Anna Alexander, Dena Garson, Kathy Kulig, Regina Cole, Jennifer Kacey, A.S.  Fenichel, J.K. Coi, Samantha Cayto, Brenna Zinn, Jocelyn Dex, Fongled & Gobbled Cabal of Hotness, Cara Carnes, Dee Brice &The Jeep Diva!

 

*Author Signatures: A.M. Griffin, A.S. Fenichel, Afton Locke, Alexa Day, Aline Hunter, Amy Ruttan, Ann Jacobs, Anna Alexander, Annabeth Leong, Anya Breton, Anya Richards, Brynn Paulin, Cait Miller, Cara Carnes, Cassandra Carr, Chandra Ryan, Cheryl Dragon, Cris Anson, Cristal Ryder, Dalton Diaz, Danica Avet, Dee Brice, Dena Garson, Desiree Holt, Ditter Kellen, Erin Simone, Eve Vaughn, Frances Stockton, Gayle Donnelley, Heidi Lynn Anderson, Isabelle Drake, JL Taft, J.K. Coi, Jaid Black, Jayne Rylon, Jennifer Kacey, Jennifer LaRose, Jocelyn Dex, Joey W. Hill, Kaenar Langford, Karla Doyle, Kate Poole, Kathleen Lash, Kathy Kulig, Koko Brown, Kristen Daniels, Lacey Thorn, Laurann Dohner (Mr. Laurann), Lea Barrymire, Lexi Post, Lisa Carlisle, Lisa Fox, Liz Andrews, Lynne Silver, Mari Carr, Mari Freeman, Nicole Austin, Piper Trace, Rebecca Royce, Regina Carlysle, Regina Cole, Robyn MacKenzie, Ruby Duvall, Sabrina York, Samantha Cayto, Samantha Kane, Sara Brookes, Sasha Devlin, Sherri L. King, Sidney Bristol, Sierra Summers, Tara Nina, Tiffany Bryan, Tina Christopher, Virginia Cavanaugh, VJ Summers & Brenna Zinn. PLUS Thelmer Sedzoid and the Jeep Diva.

Caveman Signatures: Outgoing Alpha Caveman Nick, Incoming Alpha Caveman DeAngelo, Caveman Ace, Caveman Axl, Caveman David, Caveman Justin, Caveman Rodney, Caveman Taylor

 
 

Visit Sabrina York's website here.

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The Definition of Snark

So, a few people have noticed my tagline. I think it's clever...

And those same people have asked me to define snark.

No problem. Online dictionaries tell me that the word is a clever combination of the words snide and remark and generally it is used to suggest sarcasm.

Years of visiting with nice doctors (*waves to docs! Hey, guys...I never actually changed. Sorry*) told me that sarcasm was actually a way to show anger, sort of passive aggressive fury being unleashed. It also taught me that humor is not a way to 'hide pain' or 'deal with repressed' gobbledygook.

Nope, but humor is still, if we're being honest, funny.

So when I advise that I give out snark like beads at Mardi Gras and all you have to do is be there (maybe show me your boobs, I don't know. It's all about your comfort level, really.) and bam! I give you snark...I mean it. I'm chock full of snark. I'm like the Maxwell House of words, I'm snarky to the last drop.

Secretly, I think we're all a little snarky. We all think those things that have us smiling a little half smile or chuckling out loud and then say, when asked, "It was nothing." With me? I don't tell you it was nothing. I'm going to honestly tell you what I thought was funny and hope that we can both laugh about it.

Is this healthy? Maybe not. But if laughter is the best medicine? Welp, my darlings, a girl can hope, can't she?

I hope we all now know what snark is. Tomorrow, we're going to learn about nipple clamps.
Just kidding. You can learn about that one on your own. *grin*

A scorching collection from ten of today's hottest authors!

Title: Bring On the Heat

 

Authors: Eden Bradley, Cassandra Carr, Stephanie Julian, Amber Kallyn, Keira Kohl, Adriana Kraft, Emma Lai, Anh Leod, Ann Mayburn, Cari Quinn

 

Genre: Erotic romance

Length: Approx 263k words

Release date: January 6, 2014

 

Find out more, just follow the FB page: https://www.facebook.com/BringOnTheHeat

New Release! Book 3 in Heather Long's Soulgirls series!!

WAITING IN THE WINGS
by Heather Long
Soulgirls #3

Purchase Now:
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Samhain

Who can blame Richard for his half-century-long bad mood? For fifty years he’s been waiting for his bride to get over the spat that sent her storming away from the safety of his territory. For fifty years, he’s missed everything about her—even her whimsical challenges to his authority.

It’s time for her to come home, but when he gets a lead on her whereabouts, he’s stunned. She’s dancing in a glitzy, gaudy Las Vegas show. And her memory of him has been wiped clean.

Kiki finally has the opportunity to headline at the Arcana Royale, but she’s not sure she’s happy about it. Especially when a dark, handsome stranger arouses forbidden passions from deep inside of the fog of her lost past.

Richard has been granted only three days in hostile territory to free his Kiki from the curse binding her mind.

Only one problem. When Kiki remembers Richard, she may not forgive him, but if she never remembers, she'll never be free.

Warning: Contains an arrogant-as-hell vampire prince who will stop at nothing to get the girl he loves, an unpredictable showgirl who loves to party, and scorching sex that drives them both wild.

Check out an Excerpt here!

Check out the author's website here!

Life Lessons from Once Upon a Time

If you follow my facebook feed, you probably already know I'm a huge fan of ABC's Once Upon a Time, but what about the life lessons we can learn from the show?

And, yes, me and my darling children often talk about stuff like this...heehee.

5. Adoption is wonderful.

The show manages to explore very different adoption stories. Emma's parents shoved her in a magical tree and saved her from a curse that ripped through their world by transporting her to our world--magicless, parentless, alone. Sent into the system, she never really finds a place to call home and is alone and imprisoned because she turned to a life of crime...

Her child is Henry, a beautiful boy adopted by an evil queen. Emma knew she couldn't give Henry what he needed in life, so she put him up for adoption and Regina became his mother.

Henry got two parents out of this deal--Regina AND Emma. I've seen a lot of real life adoption stories work out and for those who think kids cannot become family if they're not part of your genetic code, this show really explores the fact that family isn't carried solely on chromosomes. Family is the people who care, the ones who fight for you.

Regina IS Henry's mother. She changed his diapers, taught him to walk and read, loved him from the moment she met him. Emma IS Henry's mother, she never stopped loving him because she gave him up for adoption. While she wasn't with him, she carried him in her heart just as truly as she carried him in her body.

Real life is like this--we might find family that's not blood, whether through adoption or friendship, and it doesn't diminish our love for those who we're connected to biologically. It fills a need, gives us more to love...and I don't know that I've seen it represented this well on any other program.

4. True Love doesn't magically fix everything.

Charming and Snow are in true love, but it's not a magical fix for their problems. It can be argued that Bae and Emma are also examples of true love--again, not a sure thing for forever. While true love is a wonderful gift, something mystical and spiritual and altogether rare, it's not a wonderwand that sweeps in and removes the drudgery of day to day problems.

When we're young, we maybe believe that love can conquer all, but at the end of the day, love can't pay the electric bill. Exploring that with fairy tale characters is just AWESOME.

3. The line between bad and good is grayer than we'd like it to be.

Regina is the 'evil queen', Snow is the 'good guy', Emma is the product of True Love--Magic come to Life. 

Yet Regina isn't all evil and has been known to do some really good and selfless things. Snow has made mistakes. Emma flat out admits she'll never be as goody goody nice as her parents and is willing to make tough choices if she has to.

While it's easy to judge and say this is 'good' and this is 'bad', there's a giant gaping wound of gray area where things aren't either. Is it wrong to steal if you're feeding your starving child? Is it wrong to kill if you're a soldier? Is it right to sacrifice if there are people who depend on you and you're letting them down?

This show revels in the gray area, riffing off it right and left, leaving the viewer to decide who is 'good', 'bad', and who just got the short end of the stick. In real life? We do that every day, whether we realize we're deciding or not.

2. You can't run from your problems.

You can cast a curse and remove all magic. You can go for revenge. You can run away. You can move away and start a new life...

Your problems will catch up with you. Always. Better to slog through dealing with them than chase the idea that there is a magical getaway from the reality of them.

1. There is no such thing as a 'happy ending.'

There's no 'ending' other than death. Happiness is fleeting, so you're better off stringing together as many happy moments and surrounding yourself with people you love so that when the storms do hit, you're in good company than trying to pretend you can find that mythical playground where bills don't suck, people don't get sick, no one hurts or is sad.

It's the company that makes the storms more fun and sometimes allows you to dance in the rain.

Happy writing!!