Clothing Optional was reviewed by Night Owl Reviews!!!

"Clothing Optional, by Virginia Nelson, tells the tale of Brie, Andy and Murphy. Andy, an open bisexual, is attracted to Brie but is living with Andy. Andy and Brie have been best friends for ages. He has been attracted to Brie but never acted on that attraction, because he just doesn’t swing that way. When the trio head to Florida for some much needed R&R, the attraction between the trio explodes. With that attraction, feelings of jealousy, inadequacy, and fear abound. Since this is a shorter tale, I appreciated that Nelson created a friends-first concept. The sexual components wouldn’t have worked for me otherwise. I did enjoy the realistic approach that was used by Nelson to create a relationship between the three."

To read more of this review, check out their site here.
To get your copy today, go here.

Stealing from Anna...

I unabashadly stole this from Anna Seckman's blog since it looked fun. She is a super amazing blogger and sews up a storm, if you don' t already know that.
Also, if you don't know that, check out her etsy store, Something Sewn. She sells these amazing mug rugs... and covers for your kindle and such... Amazing!!

Okay, onto theft...
A. Age: 33 (that I had to use a calculator to figure that out is somewhat sad...)
B. Bed size: Queen. Because I am the Queen. I am not sure of what, but I enjoy the title.
C. Chore that you hate: Any. But since the kids do the dishes, I am going with laundry.
D. Dogs: Cute pals that I visit.
E. Essential start to your day: Coffee. Preferably in espresso form.
F. Favourite color: Blue
G. Gold or Silver: Platinum. Or bronze. What? I don't have to choose one of your preset options. I am a rebel.
H. Height: 5 feet, 5 inches actual, amazon at heart. I am the human equivalent of a chihuahua.
I. Instruments you play: Flute. Recorder. Mommy voice megaphone version...
J. Job title: Student
K. Kids: Three. Why, you wanna buy one?
L. Live: Yep. I am not one of the undead... yet...
M. Mother’s name: Mom
N. Nicknames: Turkey, Virg, Ginny, Ginger, Hey You, Mom. Mommy. Mama. Motheeeerrrr!!!
O. Overnight hospital stays: Childbirth. Other than that, staring at said children.
P. Pet peeve: Bad grammar and inaccurate punctuation. If it is a "Sale" then I am curious what it really is if you are just calling it a sale...
Q. Quote from a movie: "You don't want to be in love. You want to be in love in a movie."
R. Right or left handed: R-r-r-right
S. Siblings: Two step brothers. Two half siblings. One genetically similar sibling. A few sisters of the heart. And that's the waaaaay we became the Brady bunch! Dah-dah-da-da-daaaah!
T. Time you wake up: Too early for my choice mostly.
U. Underwear: Yup. I am wearing underwear.
V. Vegetable you hate: Beans. I know. They aren't vegetables. But they are gross so they should be.
W. What makes you run late: Running. Gasp! I can't RunNNNNN!!!
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth.
Y. Yummy food that you make: Homemade alfrado
Z. Zoo animal: All. I love looking at animals. Especially ones I don't have to clean up after.

0: Bones I've broken (flat out stolen from Anna but accurate)
1: Number of marriages I was in.
2: Number of kids I had in the bounds of wedlock
3: Number of total kids I have
4: Number of kids counting the one we hang with.
5: Years I was married
6: Number of cups of coffee that are required for me to function
7: Number of cups of coffee I require to be nice.
8: Number of times I make Michelle say, "Huh?" because I talked too fast daily
9: Age of my youngest child
10: A decade. Duh.

Learn anything?

Read more: http://seckmanssaywhat.blogspot.com/#ixzz1Pws5SqSo the blog I stole this from. :D

Flip Flop Summer

This has been my flip flop summer. Usually I am more of a sandal or slip on shoe kind of girl...
This has been the summer of kinos and sunshine and playing in the water.

Usually, I wear jeans. All the time jeans. For two reasons... One, I hate the look of my legs. If I hate it, you will hate it so lets not look at them, shall we? Two, usually I am working too much to wear shorts. Shorts and flip flops have been no-nos at every job I have ever held.

But my life took a dramatic flip this summer. I went back to school. I have been doing really well at it so far, too. Looking at school as if it were a job and keeping it serious has changed education for me. I am allowed to take time to read. I am allowed to canoe lazily down the river when I have my homework done. I have essentially allowed myself to slow down from my rushing, hurrying lifestyle and just enjoy the day.

Oddly, the money issues I was sure would crash around my ears with the rumble of a two ton house of cards falling have not struck. Things are working out. I have a budget and it is such a relaxed budget that I am doing ok.

Since I am not constantly stressed and on the road, my health issues have calmed a bit. I am eating less and with more regularity so my weight is dropping off. I can tug on my jeans and be awed by the space in them...

My kids are happier without me snarking at them all the time. They are more relaxed and more well behaved when I do ask them to do something.

Altogether, less money and stress has basically transformed our lives... Flip flopping it from the day to day rush to a mellow flow of things.

We have played and laughed and seen family... it has been...
Wonderful.

I love my flip flop summer... and kinos. Darn comfy shoes, these non working ones.

Sneak Peek- WIP-Steal My Heart

As I came around a bend of the beach, I saw that the previously well raked sand was now riddled with the footprints of the hundreds of beach goers who had swarmed this tropical paradise for spring break. White beach chairs and colorful umbrellas dotted the landscape like the rainbow points to an exclamation mark of fun that seemed far removed from what I was dealing with. And there— lying like a gleaming goddess cooking in the bright sun— lay my best friend and the object of my search. Calling on a second or what felt like fifth wind to give me a last burst of speed to get to her, I sprinted to a skidding halt by her lounge chair.

Sand sprayed up from my abrupt stop, sticking to whatever she had greased herself up with. With frustrating slowness, one of her graceful and tan hands lifted to tilt the sunglasses that perched on her nose to peer at me from chocolate brown eyes. “Jamie, please tell me that what I think happened didn’t and you aren’t about to ruin a perfectly wonderful vacation?”

At her slow drawl, I shoved a hand into my ruffled and sweat filled blond hair and tried to catch my breath so I could speak. All I could get out was a painful wheezing. I wasn’t a runner, not in everyday life.

She tilted the glasses back into place and a delicate but long fingered hand flicked back her dark mane of hair in irritation as she sat up. Using a blanket to dab at the sand on her legs, she began to fill the emptiness that my inability to speak was creating. “You messed up what could have been a perfectly good meal ticket because of your oddball morals?”

Finding my voice I was quick to disagree. “Steve wanted me to invest in his money making scheme. Then he had the audacity to get drunker than a skunk and try to maul me. I can’t see how my oddball morals—“

Holding up one hand to stop me, she stood. “So now we have to ride on that cute little ship of his in a cloud of animosity because you said something you shouldn’t have?”

“No!” I bit my lip. “Now we have to get off the island as quickly as possible because I took this.”

Opening my hand, which had been clenched in a fist up to this point, a gleaming stone brighter than a drop of blood fell from my hand to dangle at the end of its golden chain. Diamonds encrusted the gem, leaving it looking like the gaping maw of some mythical creature.

Now, finally, Bette froze. “You stole the Gryffin’s Mask from him?”

I shuffled from foot to foot on the hot sand while wadding the necklace back up in my hand. “It belongs in a museum. I don’t care how that little toad found it, it isn’t something that should be sold on eBay or where ever else he would have thought to dump it. And I—“

“You,” she poked one finger into my chest for emphasis, “Are a soft hearted loon. He is going to come for that. We need to get back to the states and—“

“And there is another problem.” I grimaced and looked down at my sandy feet. “I don’t have my passport. I have no clue how we are going to get home without that.”

Coming toe to toe with me, she again tilted the dark glasses down to glare at me. “You are very good at making problems. Let’s get margaritas and see if I can wiggle us out of them.”

New Release!!

An awesome author friend of mine has a new release that I am really excited about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGml0vxiJU8

Blurb:
Melissa thinks she’s taking a huge risk in going on holiday with Rory Hepburn. He may be gorgeous, but she only met him three days ago. But when she sees the old watermill in rural France, she is delighted. Within ten minutes of her arrival, she sees the man in black, but thinks nothing of it. Concentrating more on keeping her secrets and sleeping alone, she is shocked when ghosts disturb her first night at the mill. Not just one ghost, but two. When Christophe arrives at the mill, the chic Frenchman regards Melissa as his soul mate, and Melissa knows she’s in real trouble.
A chilling tale, written with humour and drenched in the sights and perfumes of the rural Dordogne, this is a must-read tale for those who like a romance with a ghostly twist.
To embed :


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shadows-ebook/dp/B0052O4CZ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306610637&sr=1-1
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-ebook/dp/B0052O4CZ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=A7B2F8DUJ88VZ&s=books&qid=1307489199&sr=1-1
Shadows by Jen Black
Released 24th May 2011 by Sapphire Blue:
http://www.sapphirebluepublishing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=118&osCsid=a20ceebd00e8092d01a8a771526ddf5b
Genre: Contemporary romance with ghosts

This Jen’s fifth published book, and her first contemporary tale. In many ways writing about character in this century is easier than writing about people in the sixteenth or eleventh centuries. There isn’t as much research required, though it’s important to get things like brand names, distances, food and fashion right - hairstyle or hemlines can speak volumes about a character’s personality today.

Jen lives in Northumberland, a corner of England rich in castles and history, and visits France regularly for summer holidays. You can find her at http://jenblackauthor.blogspot.com where she writes about anything that catches her interest – usually something to do with writing fiction! and shares one of her other hobbies - her photographs.

Possession available now!!

Possession is available now and in celebration, I am reposting my review of this AWESOME book!! If you haven't preordered it, read about it. Seriously awesome book!!

Having been a fan of Madeleine L'Engle and gobbled up her books when I was younger, I was amazed to find what seemed to be a voice similar to hers. While capturing a very modern and fresh spin on YA Dystopian fiction, this story still had that eerie feel that L'Engle was so good at creating.

Vi, the snarky and fiercely independent lead character in this stunning work, is tossed around in a sea of lies and control freaks. Rebelling against the control and trying to see through the lies, she wants to find a way to live outside what society has planned for her. Teenage girls, so easily pressured by what the world expects of them and what the media determines to be correct behavior/dress, will hopefully be inspired by this headstrong heroine.

To balance out Vi's fears and desire to break from her predetermined mold, Johnson created a hero who was equally willing to challenge the expectations put upon their people. I won't give any spoilers but I will say he was the kind of hero that made you want them to work it out while he appalled you by his occasional flipping of sides and abandonment of Vi.

All in all, the characters worked well together. The world building was exquisite and detailed making it very believable. I couldn't put it down and was actually irritated when my real life got in the way of me finding out what would happen next. I hope that this book will receive the acclaim it deserves as I found it fascinating. I will be reading it to my kids in the near future and know it is one of those books that won't gather dust as I am sure I will be rereading it often.

Order it here.