Happy New Year!

Or Hogmanay as the case may be...

People say out with the old and in with the new, but I have a feeling tomorrow will be the same as today. But hey, the Mummers are on!

May 2010 be everything you work hard for and better than you think. And when in doubt, remember those closest to you-appreciate them, spend time with them, and remember the great times.

Auld Lang Syne:
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And auld lang syne?

Merry SeXmas!

Want more spicy Christmas stories? This anthology includes the ONE vampire story I've done. I have plans for a sequel but never managed to do more than say I had plans for a sequel. Maybe 2010!(Also available in print from Amazon.) Merry SeXmas Anthology:

Memorable:
Jozette Bellrose doesn’t remember how she ended up in the hospital. When a handsome stranger claiming to be her husband promises answers to her past, she willingly follows. Drawn to this familiar stranger, Jozette is caught in the secrets of her past, and his.

Nicholas has spent years trying to return to his beloved wife. The only thing he’s wanted, now that he has the chance to win her back, he doesn’t waste any time. But what will happen when she remembers the truth of their marriage?

Caught in a winter wonderland days before Christmas, can Nicholas overcome the hurt of the past? Or will he be the only one to remember their lives together?

Red Bow:

Jessica Oberon is a working mother of two. She and her husband, Kenneth, barely see each other any more between their high powered jobs and family. Twelve days before Christmas she receives her annual note from her lover. They only partake in these games during Christmas, and this one is no different. Thrilled, she plans to meet him wherever he instructs.

First is a hotel room, then the fitting room in Saks, then to Vermont for a night in a chalet. Jessica loves these adventures, and tries to hide it from her children. Christmas Eve is spent with her lover and Christmas Day with her family. Every Christmas Kenneth gives her a note tied with a red satin bow. It's a good thing they have their 12 days of Christmas tradition. Their roll playing is the perfect way to keep the spark alive in their marriage.

Four Calling Birds

This is my contribution to the 12 Days of Christmas series Ravenous put out last year. You can buy the stories you want individually, including my short Four Calling Birds, or you can buy them all in the anthology: The 12 Hot Days of Christmas.

Four Calling Birds:

Lark Summers, Paige Nightingale, Megan Cardinal-Walsh, and Eva Robin are four best friends with a mission. This Christmas, they’re going to seduce the men in their lives - no matter what.

Lark has had the hots for her hunky professor since day one. Now that her Ph.D. program is over, there’s nothing standing in her way…or so she hopes.

Paige finally admits that her gorgeous neighbor has potential. Though he’s spent months pursuing her, she’s resisted. With the encouragement of her friends, she’s going to see if his chivalry is all a façade, or if he really is a knight in shining armor.

Megan has barely seen her husband in months. With their high-powered busy jobs, time together consists of a brief morning kiss goodbye and text messages that they’ll be late. Tonight, however, she’s going to show him who’s boss.

Eva is swamped with work and school and hasn’t had time to breathe, let alone see her longtime boyfriend. When he arrives home tonight, the scene is set - but who will be more surprised at the end of the night?

Wicked Seductions: Wanton Woman

There are 3 published books in the Wicked Seduction Series with Ravenous: Complicated Courtship, Wanton Woman, and Starlet.

What's the Wicked Seduction Series? Strong women who get what-rather who-they want no matter the costs. They aren't necessarily outgoing women with no shame, but they are women who are confident enough in themselves to go through this, either for love or for gratification, but who stick with it for the long term.

Wanton Woman: England 1810

Lady Abigail Ash hated they way people looked at her. Very lonely, she didn't want the virtuous reputation she held and looked for the perfect gentleman. Jonathon, Earl of Braden, has always wanted her but believes she's only interested in marriage. He's surprised and intrigued when she proposes an arrangement to the mutual pleasure of them both. But will it be enough?

Mouth dry, fingers immobile in the act of disrobing, Braden stared. “Never have I seen a lovelier vision,” he admitted.

Abby smiled and stepped forward. “Until we tire of each other.”

“Perfect,” he nodded, hard for her. His cock ached to be buried in her, and Braden tore off his shirt, boots, and breeches. Abby stood there, watching him. Raking his eyes over her body, Braden watched her nipples tighten and her breathing increase.

Abby walked slowly to the bed, gaze firm on Braden, to lean against the bedpost. He approached her, his desire of her evident; and almost grinned when she looked down at his cock.

One hand flitted from the bed to her waist, an unconscious caress from hip to belly and up to her breasts. Capturing her hand, Braden smoothed it down her body.

“Lady Ash,” he began.

“Abby,” she gazed up at him with a heated stare. “My name is Abby.”

With a wantonness that drove all thought from his head, she cupped his hand in hers and pressed it to her breast.

Christmas Eve

I'm off today and don't plan on writing. Christmas Eve all-day celebration planned! I'm pretty excited.

I redid the blog a bit, got rid of the black background, tightened up the sidebar. Any further ideas for the blog? Visual or content wise. :)

Wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Good wishes , healthy and happiness to all!

Guest: Penny Watson

Today I'd like to welcome fellow The Wild Rose Press author, Penny Watson. Her first release, Sweet Inspiration is now available in e-book!

1. What gave you the idea to write about Santa's children?

I knew that I wanted to write about the "heir" to the Klaus dynasty, the eldest son of St. Nicholas. Once I started brainstorming the story, I began to wonder about the rest of the family. I really enjoy reading romance series with a group of "brothers", like JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood books, and the St. John brothers in Karen Hawkins' Talisman Ring Series. I love the camaraderie, good natured ribbing, and inherent conflicts with a group of alpha males! So, I decided Santa should have five hot, single sons, who help him run the North Pole. :)

2. Are you a Christmas all year round person or just get into the spirit around November/Thanksgiving?

Writing this book made me a Christmas-all-year-round person, whether I wanted to be or not! I am sort of embarrassed to admit that I squeal with delight when I see one of those awesome Christmas-themed shops, loaded with cool ornaments and decorations. Even if it's July. My husband groans when I ask "Honey, do you mind if we just pop in this shop for a moment?" Hee hee...

I'm with you. :) I'm a Christmas all the time person. Christmas music in April? OK! Charlie Brown's Christmas in September? I'm there. Bing Corsby? Burl Ives? Any time of the year.

3. What's your favorite Christmas song? Favorite Christmas movie?

My favorite traditional Christmas song is God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. My favorite modern Christmas song is Celine Dion's Christmas Eve. We have a really fun tradition in our family. On Christmas Eve, we turn off all the lights except the Christmas tree, play this song, and dance around the living room!

My favorite Christmas movie is Elf. It's brilliant. I like his four major food groups...candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup. Love it!

Thanks, Isabel, for the fun interview. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thanks for stopping by, Penny. And for those interested in Sweet Inspiration, I can highly recommend it.

Here's an excerpt from Sweet Inspiration....

Nicholas carefully folded his coat over the back of a café chair and watched Lucy giggle with the children, as the puppy (lucky bastard) licked her face like an ice cream cone. He could barely contain his irritation.

First of all, a dog had no place in a dining establishment. What the hell was the woman thinking? Secondly, if a customer attempted a last-minute order change, Nicholas would firmly instruct him that all orders were final five days prior to the gathering. How could one efficiently run a kitchen without rules? Thirdly, and most importantly, Nicholas could smell gingerbread. Cookies. And they were burning. Lucy was oblivious. And her young assistant with the nose ring was leaning over the front counter watching the puppy, utterly clueless about the impending culinary disaster.

Nicholas tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for someone to remember the cookies. He knew by the scent that the cookies were browning, probably a bit too dark around the edges. Still waiting. Now the assistant was snuggling with the puppy, and an old man was regaling Lucy with some ridiculous story. Oh, the hell with it.

Nicholas marched into the kitchen, which was surprisingly clean, found a pair of oven mitts shaped like Laurel and Hardy, and removed the cookies from the oven. He found wire racks in a cupboard and lined them up on the counter. Although the cookies were a tad dark, they were still salvageable. Thanks to him. Using a spatula, he carefully transferred each gingerbread man to cool on the racks. He washed and dried his hands at the sink, and turned around to find Lucy and her nose-pierced assistant staring at him in disbelief.

Lucy stepped up to him, hands on her hips. “Just what do you think you’re doing in my kitchen? I don’t remember inviting you in here!” Lucy asked him incredulously.

“Yeah!” added the assistant. Clearly not the brightest bulb on the planet.

“Since you and your assistant were too busy to tend to the kitchen, and an entire order of gingerbread was about to go up in smoke, I thought I would lend a helping hand. No need to thank me.” Nicholas smiled and raised his left eyebrow in a manner his brother Sven insisted was infuriating.

“Thank you? Kandy and I are more than capable of looking after the kitchen. We do not need your help, Mr....?”

“Klaus. Nicholas Sebastian Klaus. Is your assistant really named Candy? How... charming.”

“It’s Kandy Kane, with a K, not a C. I’m a performance artist.” The young woman gave him a rather lukewarm smile.

“Fascinating.” Nicholas turned to Lucy, who looked ready to murder him. Good going, Nick, how are you supposed to seduce her now?

“I run my own kitchen up north. I assumed you wouldn’t mind a little help, since you were...momentarily distracted. Have I told you that your sugar cookies are divine? They are, truly. I was wondering if we could discuss the subtle flavor profile...”

Lucy crossed her arms, glaring at him. “Mr. Klaus, while I appreciate your concern for my cookies, I can assure you I do not need any more help in my kitchen. Why don’t you sit down with a cup of cocoa, and I’ll bring you some gingerbread cookies. Nice and dark, just the way I like them.” And then Miss Lucy Anne Brewster raised her right eyebrow in an utterly patronizing manner. Nicholas simply could not help himself. He raised his eyebrow right back. Two can play at this game.

A young man rushed into the kitchen, grabbed the performance artist and began to thrust his oddly pierced tongue into her mouth.

“Oh Kandy, can you ever forgive me? Let’s get married right now. Vegas, baby, what do you say? I want our bambino to have a daddy.” Nicholas noted that in addition to his creatively pierced face, tongue-boy also sported a nice assortment of tattoos, all of candy. Peppermints, butterscotch balls, M-and-Ms, and of course, candy canes.

“Ray, I missed you.” Miss Kane began thrusting her tongue right back at him.

Nicholas turned to Lucy. “Ray? That’s not too original.”

Lucy shrugged. “Ray, as in Ray-of-Sunshine. They’re both performance artists.” Then she turned to her assistant and tapped her on the shoulder.

“Kandy, you are forbidden to leave me right now. It’s the middle of our busiest season, and I need you. You and Ray can get married after the new year...”

“But I don’t want to wait, Miss Brewster. I love him!”

Ray licked the side of his girlfriend’s face, and both Nicholas and Lucy shuddered. “Yeah, and I got tickets for us to see Celine Dion, your favorite, honey.”

Lucy watched in disbelief as her assistant bundled up in a parka, plopped on a red Santa hat, and flew out the door with the gangly boy. Nicholas bit his tongue to keep from laughing. Served the woman right for hiring such a flake in the first place.

Leaning down close to Lucy’s ear, he whispered, “Need a new assistant? I just happen to know the perfect gentleman for the job.”

Check out Penny's site and her blog, and be sure to leave a comment here...I'll be giving away a Vice Versa purse to one random person. To be mailed AFTER Christmas. :)

Mere days and counting

Christmas is coming fast, and I think I actually have everything done. OK, I don't have any cookie baking done. And I'm not entirely wrapped. And my house is decorated but there are still things that could (but won't) go up.

But all in all, I declare myself finished! The wrapping can wait, I don't need all the presents for Christmas, anyway. We spread the holiday out in my family, less stress that way.

So even though tonight I'll be looking for a camera any place that I can stand the crowds, I still think I did pretty good this year.

Which brings me to what I'm grateful for from this weekend:
A snow day on Saturday so I could get wrapping done.
The 3,000 words I barely managed this weekend.
A job that closes for incliment weather.
A wood stove.
Online shopping!

What are you thankful for this holiday season?

Bitten by Books reveiws

This weekend I received 4 reviews from Bitten by Books. Three for my Druids series, Murder & Magick, Sex & Subterfuge, and Desert & Destiny, and one for Shadow State, my 1934 German werewolf story.


Shadow State first, because my wehrwölfes hold a special place in my heart. 5 Tombstones: My only complaint is that the story was so short; the people and surrounding periphery were intriguing, and I would have loved to get more of it all. I hope Ms. Roman has more of these stories in the works as I’m bound to gobble them up as well. Be prepared to devote all your time to completing this one - it was hard to put down!


Now onto my Druids series. Jennifer reviewed the first 3 so far. Here's what she has to say:

Murder & Magick 4.5 Tombstones
Love and responsibility battle in this beautiful, historical tale of suspense. This was well-written, and the characters are extremely well-developed; the author does a wonderful job of creating strong leads that are still capable of showing emotion for one another.







Sex & Subterfuge 3.5 Tombstones


Now I admit, this isn't my strongest story, but I'm still pleased with her review:
Overall, though, this isn’t a bad continuation of the series. I will definitely continue reading, and hope that the third book goes back to the intensity and quality of the first.








Desert & Destiny 4.5 Tombstones
These books just keep getting and better with each installment. It’s wonderful how the author continues to build upon the characters and situations from book to book, and the romance develops so naturally. Especially when considered how the foundations were purely physical, Ms. Roman does an excellent job of developing the passion into true romance.






About Temptations & Treachery she says: I look forward to reading the fourth in the series!

Wicked Seductions: Complicated Courtship

There are 3 published books in the Wicked Seduction Series with Ravenous: Complicated Courtship, Wanton Woman, and Starlet.

What's the Wicked Seduction Series? Strong women who get what-rather who-they want no matter the costs. They aren't necessarily outgoing women with no shame, but they are women who are confident enough in themselves to go through this, either for love or for gratification, but who stick with it for the long term.

Complicated Courtship 1774 Boston

Kirsten St. Clair wonders how to win back her fiancé's love. James Montgomery never meant to ignore Kirsten, but he's got smuggling charges hanging over his head and an unwanted British soldier eating him out of house and home. When Kirsten arrives intent on seduction, how can any red-blooded male resist?

Kirsten smoothed the front of her dress again. They waited in the parlor for James’ butler to retrieve him from whatever business took his time today. She’d sent a note round telling him of her visit, so she knew he was home. Hoped he would be and didn’t forget she was coming.

That was an insult she didn’t think her nerves could take.

It was bad enough she’d agreed to Margaret’s scheme. When her stepmother began telling her all the ways for a man and woman to be together, she thought. . . well she hadn’t been sure what to think.

Except she wanted to try those positions with James.

Which caused her to blush harder and hope he arrived soon.

Footsteps echoed on the floor and she turned, a smile already on her face.