Rumor Has It Book Tour Info!

I'm headed out on blog tour again starting tomorrow...
This time for Rumor Has It which releases April 1st from Carnal Passions!
April 1st- Gimme The Scoop Reviews

April 2nd- The Many Muses of MaryLynn

April 4th- Jersey Girl Sizzling Book Reviews

April 4th- Harlie's Books

April 4th- Reader Girls

April 5th- 4 the LUV of SANITY

 

Blurb:

Elvis left the building a long time ago…

Liz knows that there are some things you just can’t live down. Marrying an Elvis impersonator was one of her biggest mistakes yet when he comes rolling back into town, needing a place to couch surf, she can’t say no to the father of her child.

And someone else took his place…

Jeremy has been engaged in the world’s longest long game. For thirteen years he has loved Liz and her daughter but never made a move, waiting for the right moment. When her ex-husband shows up out of the blue, he realizes it is time to put up or shut up.

But now that Elvis is back, the rumors are flying.

Jeremy makes his move, leaving Liz in a tailspin. Elvis comes back, the man she has always secretly loved is making moves…but why now? The sparks fly and the gossips mouths are running…but will Liz find the love she has been waiting for or will the small town gossips destroy her like they did so long ago?

As Seen On Pinterest : Condition your hair from your fridge!

Mayo and EVOO, baby

Due to the popularity of my Bantu Curl experiment (which might have been mostly popular due to my facial expression and wild hair) which you can find by clicking here, I'm going to randomly do more Pinterest experiments. They're sorta fun.

Since I've been dying, frying, ironing, bleaching and otherwise trying every thing bad you can do to your hair and have it not fall out in protest, my hair is...

A wee bit dry.

Like to the point it feels brittle and a little crunchy.


Bag it, add heat

Now, I could have just gone out and bought some hot oil or a conditioning treatment.

Why on earth would I do that when Pinterest tells me I can find everything I need in my refrigerator?

So I tried a really simple recipe. It had two ingredients.

The directions were to mix them (room temp for the mayo) and apply them to your hair.
I did...and I bagged and applied heat.

Then I waited. I was so super happy my hair would soon be as silky smooth as the girl in the pictures...

And then I rinsed (not using shampoo) as per the directions and...

My hair was so crunchy still that I couldn't run a comb through it wet. I actually added a hefty glob of biosilk to even get it THIS combed.  So, like, NO conditioning happened.

Although I did smell a bit like potato salad and was a little hungry.

Before...and after. Fail.

I'm going to call this one a Pinterest fail since...
Yes, NOT conditioned. I would have seen more action from a nice conditioning shampoo...and shampoo DRIES your hair.

My pal, Lisa Pietsch, advised trying some cholestorol from Walmart, which coincidentally I had (handy stuff for a lot of purposes) so that's now on my hair. She also recommended a banana masque which I'm totally going to try...once I buy some bananas.

April Mae Monterrosa advised a treatment out of a selection offered on The Lil Spa Room website. You can check them out here.

As to the Pinterest recipe? Unless you've a wild yen to smell like food, I give this one two big thumbs down.

Happy Writing!!

A kiss is just a kiss?

Back in highschool, I was in the choir. Okay, busted, I was in a lot of things. I'm a bit of a joiner. No is not my favorite word. Anyway, in choir, we once sang a song made popular at the time by Cher's remake.

"If he loves you so
Its in his kiss!
(That's where it is!)"

Is it?

I kind of think so. Like so many little things in writing, this can translate to your story, too. There are literally hundreds of different kinds of kisses, some of which you've probably experienced, and in writing you can show a character's development using all interactions, even kisses.

Hundreds of kisses

Probably, you think I'm exaggerating since you're thinking of the two kisses they all kind of get lumped into when you're catagorizing. There's the platonic kiss (peck) you might bestow on a friend or family member. A quick smooch, no tongue, just a hey-how-ya-doin brushing of lips against skin. Then we have the romantic kiss...often including tongue, sometimes not, but always that little zing of electricity which makes us smile like goofy fools.

But those two big categories break down into tons of tiny ones. There's the first kiss, that almost shy invitation which may or may not be returned. There's the angry kiss, lips slanting and fighting for dominance. There's the goodbye kiss, tasting of tears and endings.

You can tell us the kiss was angry but have you shown it? In your lifetime, a kiss probably communicated more about your relationship to the person on the receiving end of it...just as their kiss tells you volumes.

Test Kisses

So, this is a real life story and shows how much publishing has taken over my brain, sadly. One drunken evening (yes, I have those, rarely) I was spending time with a guy that I'd previously dated. I proudly proclaimed that I was finally in a position mentally that I wouldn't react to him.

Fortunatly, the guy in question was wiser than I, and pointed out kissing, in general, is enjoyable.

So regardless of my emotional walls, chances were good I would find kissing pleasant. Can you, though, tell a lot about how a person feels about you from a kiss?

I really think you can. You can, even though my test was a very lame (Let's blame it on alcohol.) way to gauge the feelings involved, tell a lot about how you feel and the other person feels from just that tiny of an interaction. Are they hungry for your touch, a little breathless, hands shaking?

Probably not an indicator they don't care if they're reacting like that. Some part of them does...even if it's below the belt.

Do they 'feel' distant? Did they break from the kiss to chat about the weather?

Have you seen He's Just Not That Into You?

Building a Bridge

Nonverbal communication makes up 90% of human communcation, not verbal (according to various sources online and in some of my classes) meaning a lot is going on in just how we move, touch, and the expressions on our faces. Ditto for romance, whether on the page or in reality.

If someone is attracted to you, they touch you. I'm not talking about grinding into you like a dog in heat, although this might sometimes be the case, I'm talking about little things. Touching your arm to get your attention. Putting a hand behind your back to guide you. Even accidental touches, grazing your hand when passing something, can communicate more than any epic speech.

(the idea is supported by a study - Burgoon, J. K. (1991). Relational message interpretations of touch, conversational distance, and posture. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 15, 233-259.)

In real life, this means that if they're giving you closed body posture (arms folded together, leaning away, etc) chances are good we're back to He's Just Not That Into You territory. Are they touching you, leaning in, invading your personal space? Maybe they're telling you something more than about their vacation.

In your writing, you should show this build up, as it's part of the dance. Men shaking hands can be a sign of trust. A woman who laughs and touches your arm without noticing she's doing it may be signalling, even if she doesn't mean to, attraction.

Making that kiss all the more powerful.

So, is it in his kiss?

Well, if it's not, perhaps you might want to have a chat.

Happy Writing!

Winners!!!

The Rites of Spring Blog Hop is done and I want to send a big congrats out to the big winners of the kindle fire and $50 Amazon Gift card

Entry #4Karl

Entry #187Chum B.

 

 

As to the winner of the ARC of Rumor Has It, releasing next week...
Congrats, books4me!

Thanks to everyone for playing!

Life happens while you're making other plans...

I went out last night for a few hours and got to hang out with an old friend.

I call him old because he kept assuring me that we were, indeed, now old. Who am I to argue? He's younger, so I guess if he says so...

Anyway, the conversation evolved in such a way that we ended up reminiscing about some of the adventures (and misadventures...a tree once fell on us) we've shared.

So many exciting things, stuff that I couldn't even begin to put in fiction since no one would find them believable, and that's just one of my dear friends.

Most of my life, I've been planning for tomorrow. Once I pass this hurdle...once I accomplish this...once I do that...

And, in the meantime, life happened.

I guess my point is that we spend a lot of time planning like that. When we're younger, it's the when-I-grow-up kind of planning. You know what I mean--when I get my license, I'll be able to do such and such. When I get married, I'll do this. When I have kids, I shall proceed thusly.

And then we glance back and realize...
Damn, it's been a helluva ride so far.

The people we planned to be with might not be around for the whole ride.

It's a little like hopping on a plane. You share that particular journey with those people and they might not be the ones you thought you'd be traveling with. Some of them get off the plane and you never see them again. Others stick around for another leg of the trip. Others never go away, always being there for you, whether you thought they were forever kind of companions or not.

I watched UP, too, today. His Ellie...well, when she was younger she behaved much as I did back in the day. Full of enthusiasm, plans, and dragging those she bumped into along for the ride.

Then she dies. Her husband, best friend, and adventure partner is left in the void of her passing. He keeps looking at her adventure book, at the big plans the child Ellie made, and feeling guilty because he never made those dreams come true. He'd promised her an adventure and now she was gone and he couldn't make good on his vow.

Toward the end of the movie, he's holding the book. He starts to close it, after gazing at the page she marked as a partition between her dreams and Adventures I'm Going To Have, and is surprised to see pictures in the section he thought was blank.

Flipping through, he sees Ellie placed images of their lives together. The little things, the todays that made up their lives, and is moved because they did have a good go of it.

On the last page, he finds her words, reaching to him from the grave, to Gibbs smack him into realizing something very important.

Thanks for the adventure--now go have a new one! Love, Ellie

So many have touched my life, have joined me for pieces of my adventures.

To you all, whether you're part of my life now or not, thanks for the adventure!

Happy writing!

Rites of Spring Blog Hop! ~ Win Prizes!!

Spring is a time of firsts. First blooms of flowers. First sighting of sunshine after a long cold winter. First breaths of life for so many creatures...

Since this post is about firsts, I was really torn which book I wanted to talk about.

In Taming of a Sex God, Katie thinks she's frigid. She heads off to a fantasy island where all your sexual desires can be fulfilled and meets the little known sex god, Yes. Although he has no temples, people remember to worship him at the height of pleasure, crying out his name to the skies.

She has an *ahem* interesting first with Yes. (Trying to keep this PG but you can guess where this was headed.) Taming of a Sex God is available now and you can grab a copy here.

But what I really wanted to talk about is my April 1 release, Rumor Has It. That story is a second chance story in all the best ways. Liz and Jeremy have been friends since high school. When she ran off after graduation to Vegas with Vern (who became an Elvis impersonator), Jeremy patiently waited. When she came home, divorced and with a child to raise, he waited. There would be a right time.

Years later, Jeremy still hasn't made his move and the Elvis impersonator comes back to town to couch surf.

What's not in the blurb is their dance.

Their first dance (you knew I was headed to a first, right?) was actually the first dance either of them ever had with someone of the opposite sex. That moment changed them both and neither thinks the other remembers it...or their first kiss.

Both do.

This was so fun for me to write because I just love the second chance stories. Have you had a second chance at romance in real life? Tell me about your second chance in the comment section below and one lucky winner can get a copy of Rumor Has It on release day (4/1/2013)!!

Make sure you leave your email addy in the comment if you choose to enter...because there are more prizes to be had, even if you don't win my giveaway, because this is a BLOG HOP!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
http://www.markofthestars.com/wp/?page_id=10037

My first time

The Rockies

As with a lot of conferences, at EpiCon (the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition) in Vancouver, Washington, I got to meet a lot of fantastic people for the first time.

I got to hang out with the hilarious Queen of Hotness, Sabrina York. We chatted, we ate, we found a mutual love of snark.

I met and enjoyed Marci Baun, of Wild Child Publishing, and sat with her out in the lobby more than once.

Oh, and I got to hang out with Kate Richards and Desiree Holt who've been at every con I attended so far...I'm starting to think I'm stalking them across the country.

Celia Breslin, debuting with Haven soon, brought me VooDoo Donuts (holy bacon donut loving heaven in a box) and introduced me to her lovely family.

I could go on. I met my boss, (waves at Ellen), and Cassiel Knight...

Which leads to the firsts.

Mount Hood

This was the first conference where I really found my feet. While I was still a bit of a petrified freak at the Naughty Sleepover, I was outgoing at this one. EpiCon has this great vibe--the chance to really talk to people and get to know them which I adored. The chance to just plop down with your laptop and revel in the changing circle of people who pop over to chat with you.

I mean...I really don't have words for how great of a time I had.

But aside from finding my zen place and talking every ones ears off, I got to try those donuts. I found my cause (I've figured it would have something to do with children and I still look forward to finding a way to be an advocate for autism) in the New Voices program with EPIC. New Voices is all about the kids...the ones who want to write.

As I was once the kid who lay in bed in the mountains of Pennsylvania, listening to my cousin, Kenneth Tate, type into the night and wondering what stories he was clunking out on that typewriter...and what stories I would tell if I were him...

I get all kinds of teary when I think of the kids who want to write, the ones I can encourage so easily. My own children are storytellers, as are some of my author friends kiddos (I'm thinking of Sara and Heather but I'm sure there are more) so I know how easy it is to teach a love of books.

And how very easy it is to squash. I love this program. You'll hear more in the future about it so I'll hush for now.

Other first times? After the strokes, I firmed up a bucket list for myself. Two things were really important--I want to see the ocean and desert before I die.

I also want to see Ireland but the ocean and desert come first.

Muppet Moss

Anyway, I shared my dream with Cassiel Knight and she made it happen. After the conference was over, we loaded up in her car and took a drive on the Sunset Highway to the ocean. She humored me, pulling over so I could snap pics of moss (I called it muppet moss because it made the trees look like something out of Jim Henson's imagination) and then letting me taste the water and fill my pockets with shells for my daughter. We ate a lovely lunch at the Shilo Inn, viewing the water, and I snapped shots of The End of the Trail-where Louis and Clark finally found the water.

The End of the Trail

Just like me.

I found that moment really moving. Here I was, after all these years of getting close to the ocean and not making it and finally I made it...

And I was standing in the spot that Louis and Clark stood, feeling perhaps the same, after their long journey in search of the ocean.

Cool shit.

Just, cool.

I can't thank her enough for that. Really. It meant more than my con-coma brain could say.

So, traveling home, my heart ached for my babies and I couldn't wait to feel their arms and hear their voices. I had a late night flight and fell asleep almost immediatly after takeoff.

I was wakened shortly thereafter by INSANE turbulence. Like someone grabbed the plane and tried to shake it from the sky turbulence.

I cupped my hands on the window to peer out, hoping to see what was up.

We were high up, so high the clouds didn't obscure the sky and you could see the universe stretching out like a blanket of light in the darkness. The line of the Milky Way was so clearly visible, I gasped. And then the light show really started.

The earth below was wrapped in cotton, cities completely obscured but the cotton was visible because of the bright blue flashes, like someone holding a led flashlight under a sheet. Storms! Electricity arching through the night, lighting up every bit of the world that I could see. Every so often, the clouds parted enough that you could see the veins of liquid power stretch their wiry fingers down to touch the land and then shoot off in bubbles of brilliance through the cotton field.  All of this under that heartstoppingly lovely view of the galaxy.

Like a child on Christmas morning, I sat, rapt, wide awake past my exhaustion and watched the storms until we'd past them, completely enthralled and enchanted by the storm and sky and the frailty of the tin can I floated in so high above it all.

And now I'm home and the warm arms of my children wrap around me and I've found such peace. Between the conference, the bucketlist checkmark, and the fantastic show the elements put on for me (ruining my sleep but worth it...so worth it) this was one of my most fantastic journeys.

And to think...There are even more things out there for me to consider firsts.

Life is so exciting. You never know what adventure waits just over the horizon.

Great review of Taming of a Sex God and a Review!

The Many Muses of MaryLynn: FMB Presents: Taming a Sex God: Title: Taming of a Sex God Author: Virginia Nelson Publisher: Carnal Passions Release Date: March 4, 2013 Rating: Being a se...

March Madness Blog Hop

I had to google what March Madness meant.  Just being honest.

My thoughts were something like this:

• People going wild and crazy on green beer.
• Spring fever
• People who are twitterpated
• People who really like to clean getting geared up for spring cleaning

I had no idea it was a sport thing. Shh...I know, I know.  I should know more about sports. And basketball players are tall and I like tall boys...

I do. I'm short. They make me feel all fun-sized.

Now available on Amazon!

Since I had a new release yesterday (Taming of a Sex God), I figured I could work one of those four themes in and still manage to talk about my book.

There's no basketball playing on fantasy islands full of sex gods. So, yeah, nixing that.

But I can giveaway a copy to one lucky commenter on the blog.  See? Still worked it in.

Instead, well, I'll tell you about a memorable basketball game I once played. Teenage me was over at the local high school, on a weekend, in the chilly Ohio rain.
I kept dunking the ball.  I was feeling pretty special. The guys just seemed to freeze when I went to shoot, backing off and staring.

I had no clue what was going on. Until one of my buddies finally said, "So, you're cold?"
Me, "Yeah, how did you know? I can still play."
He snickered.
Me, "What? How did you know? You cold too?"
Him, "Are you aware nipples get hard when you're cold?"
Me, "Huh?"

And I looked down.  Pointy.  Very pointy.

Me, "Weird."
Him, "Yeah, maybe a sweater?"

Anyway, I'm very excited to be included in this blog hop and you can win big- BIG - prizes.  
You can read the rules, exclusions, etc by clicking here.

You can win a copy of Taming of a Sex God by commenting below...and here's the hop info. Best of luck to all!!

March Madness: That time of year when women across the country are left to their own devices during the NCAA basketball playoff tournaments. Sure we could do some early spring cleaning, catch up on laundry, organize closets, and throw out all the junk in the garage/attic, but where's the fun in that? So, instead of work, we thought we'd host our version of March Madness: A prize filled hop presented by some of the best names in romance. And we've made it easy for you to join in. Simply hop from blog to blog—the links are below—and “follow”, “Like”, “Friend” etc. the authors sites then leave a comment on their blog post. Each author is running their own giveaway as well as participating in the Rafflecopter Grand-Prize Giveaway of a Kindle Fire OR Nook Color, A $50 Amazon/B&N Gift Card, A $25 Amazon/B&N Gift Card, and 6 - $10 Amazon/B&N Gift Cards, as well as a “basket” of books. The event is live from March 5 – March 31st, 2013 to give you plenty of time to tour all the sites.

To enter in the hop wide contest, use this rafflecopter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Release- Taming of a Sex God!

Being a sex god isn't easy...

Yes has been a sex god for centuries. Satisfying the world by fulfilling carnal needs, he is no stranger to Aphrodite's Island. When his sister, troublemaker that she is, calls him home for what she deems a 'special' job, he shudders to think what she could want.

Being frigid is worse...

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

Passion beyond her wildest dreams...

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

Can Katie figure out how to tame a Sex God?

Excerpt:
 Throwing her in the water should have caused her to look like a drowned rat. Even he, god of all arousal, should not have found it sexy.

Rising from the water like a goddess from the waves, breasts clearly outlined beneath the baggy tee shirt, Kate looked even sexier wet than she did dry.

Not fair.

Her expression warned of retribution but his refused to obey his brain and instead wandered lower, to caress the breasts his hands ached to hold.

The woman tempted without even trying.

Diving, she grabbed him at the knees, releasing him from the spell her body so easily captured him in. Struggling below the surface of the water, she tried to knock him over.

As if a mortal woman could topple a sex god. A smirk as he braced himself flitted across his lips.

Then she managed to loosen the tie on his shorts in her groping at his knees and he realized although he was a god, his shorts held no special power.

Buckling, he attempted to salvage his pants before they fell down around his ankles, but ended up with an armful of warm and wet woman.

Not a bad exchange for flowered print swimming trunks.

 

Grab your copy today!

Amazon | All Romance Ebooks | Bookstrand | Barnes&Noble | Carnal Passions | Kobo


I will be touring for this new release and there will be a tour wide giveaway of a copy of the book :)
Here's the schedule of where you can read more:

March 11th- The Many Muses of MaryLynn

March 12th- Close Encounters with the Night Kind

March 13th- Books & Tales

March 13th- Kaidans Seduction

March 13th- Bookluvrs Haven

March 14th- The Avid Reader

March 15th- I am, Indeed

 

Happy Writing!

March Madness Hop Details!

March Madness: That time of year when women across the country are left to their own devices during the NCAA basketball playoff tournaments. Sure we could do some early spring cleaning, catch up on laundry, organize closets, and throw out all the junk in the garage/attic, but where's the fun in that? So, instead of work, we thought we'd host our version of March Madness: A prize filled hop presented by some of the best names in romance. And we've made it easy for you to join in. Simply hop from blog to blog and “follow”, “Like”, “Friend” etc. the authors sites then leave a comment on their blog post. Each author is running their own giveaway as well as participating in the Rafflecopter Grand-Prize Giveaway of a Kindle Fire OR Nook Color, A $50 Amazon/B&N Gift Card, A $25 Amazon/B&N Gift Card, and 6 - $10 Amazon/B&N Gift Cards, as well as a “basket” of books. The event is live from March 5 – March 31st, 2013 to give you plenty of time to tour all the sites.

 

For more details, click the link below:

http://snsreview.blogspot.com/p/march-madness.html?zx=cb0ae561bd0c0cda