Curious about the Chocolate Social?

A Valentine's Chocolate Social w/15 authors on Saturday, February 7 from 2-6:00pm at Borders, 1600 South East Road, Farmington, CT 06032

There will be door prizes, a meet and greet, Q&A, readings, games and snacks [including lots of chocolate goodies :-)].

The 15 authors are:

Stella Price

Jessica Andersen

Marie Force

Cat Johnson

Tilly Greene

Allie Boniface

Annette Blair

Isabelle Santiago

Emily Bryan

Denise Eagan

Toni Andrews

Donna Michaels

Leigh Ellwood

Kristan Higgins

Kathryn Smith

Shall be a great time - hope to see you there!

Fabulous Dressing Part II

The SAG [Screen Actors Guild] Awards took place this past Sunday and I haven't listened to any pundits to see who they thought looked best, worst and everything in between. Opinions are personal.

So, while I thought most of the gowns were just so-so, there was one I remembered as looking fabulous. Maybe it was her personality shining through, she had one!

Taraji P. Henson, nominated for Best Supporting Actress in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Simple, slightly skims her shape without giving it all away. She looks like a star. From head to toe, Taraji is allowed to shine through. Not because of the dress, but because of who she is. The hair is perfect, the makeup wasn't over done - everything suits both the woman and the moment.

How did she do it? By not allowing herself to be overstylized!

On a side note, one thing I noticed, besides the copious amounts of second skin dresses, was that while Angelina Joile is beautiful, her gown seriously didn't work. Turns out she chose to wear it backwards for a "more blouson" affect. Points for thinking for herself and trying to do something different, unfortunately, it didn't work.

eBook and Book Talk!

This past spring, I was introduced to the Duval Inc series by Stella and Audra Price and am thoroughly enjoying each installment. First up is Marsh, a seriously sexy dominant Djinn and his gorgeous bound consort/physically tough assasin Janey starring in Wishbound ["Wishes" and Glamour"]. I bought the paperback for the next installment, Gifts, to read while heading to the left of us and never got a chance, but then London for the Holidays came out as an ebook, I had a new iTouch to get back into ebooks and so I jumped on them both, just in different formats. Oh, and in reverse order...don't ask why because it didn't matter.



London for the Holidays introduces Mal, a hot independent vamp, and Thisbe, a cool submissive Conglacio and takes the reader on one heck of a wild ride. From London to Austria, with good things and bad happening in both violent and sexy ways, these two eventually settle upon a relationship that works for them.



Gifts follows Marsh and Janey through the holidays, both human and Djinn, in Austria [yes, something that takes Mal to Austria is for Marsh - your choice whether you want to know how he does it before or after knowing what he's doing] with a side trip to Africa. On page 149 I was seriously surprised [hence remembering the page number] and couldn't put the book down until I knew what happened.

The sister writers are in a class all their own. They create stories that don't fit within a box, something I specifically enjoy discovering. There's no way to predict which way things are going which, as a reader, definitely keeps you engaged and eager for the next installment.

If you also like coloring outside the lines, check out Stella and Audra Price.

Where is Tilly Greene?

Today, she is over on the TRS Blue Blog and talking about kilts. Specifically, what is or isn't under the kilt.

Hump Day Reflections!

Who am I spending time with while planted in a Panera's waiting for the cutie to finish his meeting before we drive another 4 hours? Here's a few hints:

Are they exciting?
Absolutely!

Are they male?
Actually, yes, and so much more.

Are they hero material?
Without question.

Who is it?

Zeus, King of the gods, God of the Sky and Lightning.

What's he talking about with me?
Interestingly enough it's about whether or not renewing past relationships work or or not.

Audio Book Talk!

Not too long ago the cutie and I bought an audio book to help us stay awake for a 4 hour drive [after a 7 hour flight]. We didn't finish it and brought it back with us to listen to the last CD. When the chance to finish listening to the audio book popped up, we decided to start at the beginning and enjoy it all the way through.

Ian Rankin's Doors Open was what we listened to and both thoroughly enjoyed it. The cutie is a fan of his not finished Rebus series and I'm ready to delve in to the Scottish authors mysteries.

While I won't give the plot away, it was flippin' great! Art theft always grabs my attention, but the way Rankin worked it was totally fresh. The gentleman who read the book was great [unfortunately I can't remember his name right now]. Gave different accents to each of the characters and brought the listener right into the story. My only negative, we didn't realize it was abridged when we bought it.

It looks like neither the book or audio book are available in the US [except from individual sellers], but when it is, reach out and pick up a copy. This is a new avenue for Rankin and I quite liked it. That said, I'll be picking up his backlist to find out more about Rebus, Edinburgh, and the interesting crimes he writes.

On a side note: We caught a Rebus mystery on TV recently and John Hannah [from Four Weddings and a Funeral fame] played the detective. Hope it becomes a series.

Hephaestus Lays Down the Law is OUT!

Being one of the powerful twelve Olympians, God of the Forge and Master of Fire, meant his life was pretty good, but Hephaestus knew it could be better.

Work was going well, unfortunately his wife was cheating on him, and he can't take it any longer. Known as an even tempered god didn't mean he couldn't start a war.

This particular skirmish is personal, between he and wife. If he wins, then he keeps everything, including his heart intact, but if he loses, then he'll walk away from Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, for good.

Could he really walk away from the most beautiful woman to ever exist?

"Hephaestus Lays Down the Law" is now available at All Romance eBook [ARe].

Let the dressing up begin!

That's right, I watch award shows to see who is wearing what. What can I say, I have a passion for fashion :-)

Anyway, the Golden Globes was on recently and while I missed the red carpet bit, but I did catch a few shows that reported what they liked and didn't like. For me there were some pretty gowns worn, but the one I liked best was dissed by almost everyone. Okay, to be fair to the pundits, the dress wasn't what they complained about. It was overlooked because of the hairdo and I actually liked the hair as well. Suited the woman and the gown.

Who was it?

Drew Barrymore!

I love the dress.

See how it skims along her figure, a woman's figure - no skin and bones. The sheer is sexy, yet not really see through. The color is not my favorite, but looks good on her. I think John Galliano for Dior Couture designed a gown just right for Drew Barrymore.

I was happy with the jewels, hair and makeup. The clutch, I thought was so-so.

She looked divine. End of story.

A Big, HUGE, Contest starts now!

Do you want to be a Laird or Lady in Scotland?

Really?

Then here's your chance.

The details can be found on my website and is running from today until January 31st.

Good luck!

eBook Talk!

Today, Hamish Buchanan from "Highland Heat" is Slipping Between the Sheets with Alyssa Brooks.

Gasp!

What a surprise, I know, but don't worry about him spending time in bed with another woman, he's there being interviewed. I suggest you head over and check out what the naughty Scotsman might reveal. It could come in very handy for an upcoming contest - details to come later today.

Ms. Brooks has an ebook out called "Taking Tara", which is a part of Ellora's Cave Moderne [or Contemporary] line. The blurb says:

Six months he’s been watching her. Wanting her. And now he’ll finally claim her…

Despite her penchant for bad singing and bad breakups, Ayden’s non-too-private neighbor Tara is everything he desires—strong, sexy, wild. Just the type of woman a geeky guy like him could never get. Never, that is, unless he becomes someone else. The kind of man she’ll say yes to. The alpha dog buried deep inside, ready to claim his woman and prove she’s his, forever.

Tell me your fantasies…

Still on the hunt for that perfect guy, Tara goes through men like water but never quenches her thirst. Then the hot new neighbor corners her in the elevator. Mother always said not to talk to strangers…but kissing them? Totally explainable. Revealing her innermost fantasies? Totally irrelevant. It’s not as if he’s actually going to take her, tie her up, kidnap her and whisk her away to spankings, threesomes and more.

But as Ayden warns… Careful, Tara, some fantasies do come true.

Oh my! This sounds like a can't be missed read that should come with the warning that it may burn up your ebook device so have a fire extinguisher handy.

"Taking Tara" by Alyssa Brooks is available at Ellora's Cave.

UPDATED: For some reason, Photobucket has taken away "Taking Tara" as a cover. It isn't even remotely bad, but I suggest you go over to Ellora's Cave, take a look at it and decide for yourself.

Right now, my mind is in Ancient Greece!

"Hephaestus Lays Down the Law" is now available at All Romance eBook [ARe] for pre-order and will be released on the 15th. This ancient God is eager to see the light of day again :-)

Love's Immortal Pantheon Authors [Dagmar Avery, Cat Johnson, Selena Illyria, Eliza Gayle, Diana Dericci and Tilly Greene] will be talking Gods, Goddesses and Sex on ARe's "What's Hot in Romance" Radio Show on Monday, January 12th, from 9:30-10:30pm.

Stop by, listen or ask questions, either way, it'll be a blast!

Hump Day Reflections!

When I create my characters, usually I look for someone or something to inspire my imagination to build upon.

Highland Heat has recently been released and this month's Eye Candy on my website is images that inspired his appearance - mainly his hair was what I needed help with. Anyway, the man, Gabriel Aubrey, is one of the men I used for Hamish Buchanan.

Head over to my Eye Candy page and see who else I spent time with while writing Highland Heat.

eBook Talk!

Many of you will remember that I've been without a gadget to read my ebooks on since August [far too long] and I haven't been happy. I volunteered to be a judge for a contest and hated, absolutely hated, having to read each of the 40 entries on my laptop. That is work, reading an ebook is personal.

Anyway, as promised, Santa delivered!

An iPod Touch was my pressie!

At first I wasn't sure this was the gadget for me. Would I be able to read a pdf in either portrait or landscape? Would I be able to purchase an ebook and read it is within minutes, but still be able to add it to my eletronic library back on the beast in the study? Would I be able to do emails?

YES! YES! YES! YES!

All of them and so much more. Okay, so when away from home I have to rely on finding a hotspot, that's fine. In fact, I've been to the right of us for almost a month and the most unusual place I was able to get online with my iPod Touch was a train. Flippin' cool.

Still not sure about the eBook trend? Well, head over to Gutenberg and check out their article "20 Reasons Why 2009 Will Be The Year of The Ebook".

Want to know what the first ebook I purchased on my iPod Touch and started to read? I went to Fictionwise and purchased "Slave to Love" by Nikita Black.

Hamish Buchanan is visiting Wild on Books Blog!

This notoriously private man is opening up about what makes him different from every other human being.

Head over to Wild on Books Blog and ask a question or two, he's actually up for answering.

Highland Heat is now OUT!

How do you know when to trust someone with a secret held for a lifetime?

On the surface, Hamish Buchanan has it all and because of the horror surrounding his birth, he possesses the love and respect of the entire Scottish nation. But underneath, where few are allowed, lurks a secret. Although well hidden, the furtiveness needed to keep others from discovering it, also keeps him from committing fully to another.

One night, he discovers there's a part of him that thinks he's hunting something, or someone. Unable to shake the odd feeling, Hamish doesn't put it all together until he sees Grace Strachan, only then does he begin to understand what’s going on. He's in season and she is his mate. 

Establishing trust with another has never been easy, but Hamish must find a way with Grace or risk losing her forever, and that simply isn’t an option.

Available through Ellora's Cave.

Looking for something more on Scotland? Then check out my article on how the Scots celebrate New Years [or Hogmanay] in this months Lady Jaided.