Confession time...I have a sick mind!

That's the only logical thing I can say about all this. You see, I'm sitting here, having finished my errands for the day and ready to get a coule thousand words written and hit the T.V. for something mindless as background noise and what do I tune in to...The Real Housewives of Orange County! Please, help me! These people are so far down the spectrum of interesting and yet here I am tuning in, my mouth hanging opened with disgust.

I know why I tune in when it's on, its personal, but I will say: this show, as well as one other show, make me feel a great deal of shame!

See, I have a sick mind. Who in their right mind tortures themselves in this way?

Okay, back to work on 'Come Now' :-)

Yeah! I did it!

I finished writing Nazon! Okay, so I'll do my usual wait a few days, print it out and take the red pen to it before I submit it, but I have it finished. Another futuristic look at the sexes - I'm really liking these.

So what's up next on my laptop? Come Now. The first in the Come trilogy - oh yes, those sexy Ivanovich men are on the table!

Off for a couple pieces of shortbread and then the fingers will start tapping :-)

Preditors & Editors Readers Poll is UP!

Running now through January 14 [not long at all] is the annual Preditors & Editors Readers Poll. Head over and vote for, or nominate, your favorite author, story, publisher, artwork and more for the year 2006!

Have you ever heard of...

finishing off your chinese fortune cookie "fortunes" with the words "in bed"? I never had until the cutie mentioned it and claimed it always makes since, so we gave it a try, and I'm split.

1. If it ain't broke, don't fix it [in bed]. Okay, this one could work, but trying something new in bed is pretty fun as well.

2. Even a broken clock is right two times a day [in bed]. Nope, it flat out doesn't work for me.

Oh man, so hot!

And I don't mean the weather, although it is warmer than usual [Hola El Nino and oh heck, the grim reaper of weather, Global Warming as well]. No, I'm talking about the covers I've just received for both 'Dragon Lust' and 'The Leather Bride'!

They were both tricky to do in their own right but they are fan-flippin-tastic and you're going to need a fan to cool yourselves down and add a bucket of ice water when you read them...fair warning readers. For your viewing pleasure, and mine, I've put them up on the website, so head over and check them out :-)

Let it Out!

I'm sitting here writing [a hot - literally - futuristic] with the TV on...my noise choice today...and a commercial for Kleenex [tissues] comes on. I don't know how it started but after a moment it caught my attention and loved it! I believe the tagline was "One guy and a box of Kleenex". There's a guy, couch, table, chair and a box of kleenex out on a street...any street in any city [busy and quiet]...with various people telling their stories. Some were happy, others sad, and some there were no words for us but you could see how the person felt in whatever they were saying. Yup, I cried...weepy wonder...but I thought what an interesting concept, and done well in about 45 seconds. Can you imagine going up to this stranger and telling him how you met or lost your lover, the birth of your baby, and letting all the emotions flow with the tears...very unique.

There is a website to go with it.

A New Year and fabulous changes!

I'm one of those people who don't make resolutions...if it isn't working for me in March I sure as heck am not waiting until the next January to change it. That being said, I have made some changes and they are:-

1. Big one, changed my website! Christine Clavel created a fabulous reclining lady reading a scorching novel [one of mine I'm sure]. I adore this image and have done up a few items to showcase it. They'll be appearing on the Treats page of the website soon. This also means my blogs [blogger, myspace, yahoo 360] have had a facelift. Then there is the addition of an RSS feed, bookmark ability and 'Sneak Peeks Behind the Scenes'. The latter will be added for each release on it's anniversary...January 2006 saw the release of 'The Painted Lady' in the Winter Wishes anthology so a sneak peek is now up for this one.

2. I've started writing for an additional 2 publishing houses...Love You Divine and Phaze. Can't wait until my wicked tales start being released in 2007. Love You Divine will publish 'Dragon Lust' early 2007 and Phaze 'The Leather Bride' April 30 2007.

3. The Monthly Scorcher has had a face lift, sections added and some deleted. Personally I like the 'A Little Something from eBook Insiders'. You can sign up to receive a copy either through the yahoo or google groups [there is no chatting on either sites, they are strictly announcement and newsletters].

4. Chats and contests are both things I enjoy, the fun play time stuff but was struggling to keep up with it all. So, the first thing I did was set up a monthly chat with Love Romances and More over at their cafe. These will be the first Tuesday of each month...all day from 10:00-6:00pm est. Come over and enjoy yourselves, other authors will often drop by and drop and excerpt or more. Then on the contest front I'm going to be giving away a minimum of 2 Tilly Greene tote bags each month. One will be through my monthly chats at Love Romances and More, the other through the Monthly Scorcher newsletter so sign up now.

Oh, and I'm loving the blogs so will keep on keeping on with them...although I hope for more consistency!

For all these changes, the goal for me is to happily, gleefully really, delve in to my large To Be Written pile and make some progress there. You ask what's there that has me so excited? Loads! More shape-shifters [panthers, white tigers and more!], futuristics [sex roles around the universe call me] and some truly naughty contemporaries [ha, too many to tease but I'll just say sand, offices, restaurants, no place is off limits]! Oh and I can't forget the erotic classical mythology series either. See...I need to write :-)

I'm looking forward to it all and I hope you all are as well. My suggestion, head over and check out the changes made, put your name in the running for a Tilly Greene tote bag [these one's are the perfect size to hold a book, wallet, snack and a bottle of water - not so big they look like you could fit a blanket inside].

How easy it is to bring a smile to my face...

I'm finished and ready to enjoy the holiday season. Everything is wrapped and posted to various countries, cards sent out [albeit late] and this morning all I needed was two hostess gifts so off to the shops I went. The path takes me by this little house which always catches my eye and the reason is real simple: I smile, even laugh out loud each time I drive bye.

The house is tiny but they have a menagerie of pets who sit staring at the front door [rain or shine] - waiting for it to magically open and let them back inside.

Normally seeing a family pet on a porch isn't much to look at but two of these dogs are huge and all 4 sit together so some portion of their bodies is on the doormat! I kid you not...nothing makes them look away from the door, even if there is no car in the driveway, they are patiently, or depending how you view it, impatiently waiting to go back inside to heaven.

You have got to smile, one of these days I'll take a picture of these pitiful faces to share with everyone...share a smile.

Enjoy and hopefully find an easy smile :-)

A fantastic life for me...

because I have a mother who cooks fabulously and mails the offerings to her youngest child who is far from home - me :-) Yup, received a box full of toffee, fudge, peanut butter balls and macaroons. Oh yes, the holidays have officially arrived and my waistline is expanding!

The holidays are upon us!

Last night I was getting ready to take my first soaker in ages - the in-laws have been here for a month and as we live in a very old house [i.e. 1 bathroom]. It was a dream but would have been rude to hide in the tub for hours on end. Anyway, the water was running, bubbles bubbling and before I could step in I heard the fire truck horn blowing.

Now, let me explain...we live in a very small town with a volunteer fire department. When there is a problem a siren sounds calling them in before the truck is sent out. Our neighbor is one so we usually hear him leave but a horn without a call is unusual. So I went to the window and what a sight I saw!

Santa arriving in town via the old original truck [gas lanterns to light the way] and a bunch of volunteer behind him! It was a fabulous site and you could hear them going up and down all the streets...can you imagine being a little kid and seeing Santa waving from the fire truck? He'll be on Main Street today, and the school will let a class at a time walk in to town [about a block and a half] to have their chance to tell him what they really want for Christmas.

Yup, sometimes living in a small town is just plain old fun!

Okay, yesterday this survey was making the rounds so I thought I'd give it an answer - give it a go yourself :-)

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot Chocolate piled high with mini-marshmallows.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Santa wraps everything...he loves to do this, but sometimes doesn't bother with the ribbon.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Colored lights on the tree and have bought white icicles for the house but in four years we have never remembered to put them up.

4. When do you put your decorations up?
Whenever...depends where we're spending the holidays.

5. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Ham or
roast.
Don't like this questions, live for desserts! If I have to choose then it would be mashed potatos and gravy!

6. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
Well, there are many but I would have to say it was thinking I heard Santa on the roof and my older sister telling me to go out to the living room and check. I found my dad and uncle putting together a Barbie Doll House and was so excited my sister was getting just what she wanted I went back and told her it was just Dad and Uncle Jimmy talking, no Santa. The next morning there was a note from Santa saying he couldn't finish the doll house and tricycle but our Dad would act in his stead. Hmmm, nope, I didn't catch on until a few years later.

7. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Nope, all on the day.

8. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
Lights first then the ornaments.

9. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Love it if I don't have to go anywhere...shoveling and blowing are both diabolic necessities - if we have to do it :-).

10. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
My mom' english toffee and peanut butter balls!

11. When was the last time you went sledding?
About 6 years ago.

12. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Seeing family and friends.

13. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
No question - giving!

14. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
"Santa Baby" by Eartha Kitt! Love to tease the cutie with the chorus.

15. Favorite Christmas movie now?
"Holiday Inn", "White Christmas" and "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" - every year, no matter where we are in the world.

16. Favorite Christmas movie of childhood?
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman

Enjoy Everyone!

Recently...

I hosted a contest, Where in the World... asked where would the entrant want to go if time and money were not an issue. There were so many wonderful answers, and spread across the planet, even Mars! But it came to my mind that there is one thing time and money can't do and that is to make some things stay the same, not change or move on with time.

Now, if it were possible, if I could go back and see any one place, well I couldn't answer that one either. But of all the places in the world I'd like to see, there is definitely one thing that stands out in my head as one to have seen in it's original place - the Nike of Samothrace.



The original wet t-shirt look only in marble! She's stunning, huge, impressive and intimidating and used to sit high on the cliffs of Samothrace, protecting it from all invaders from the sea. What an incredible sight that would have been. Luck will have it that anyone can see her, in a museum. So, I'll go into the Louvre and hunt her out in a seldomly used stairwell, sit there and enjoy the view from a marble step...maybe some day you'll see me there.

I couldn't resist...can you?

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Run for your life!

A combustion scientist is at the turkey fryer!

Yup, the cutie is an R&D man [research and development] and he loves to push the limits of the set in stone directions just to see what happens. There we were out in the rain frying up the turkey...ever hear water and oil don't mix? What about water and boiling oil? The sizzling sounds were fabulous and the turkey was even better.

Can't wait to see what he does for Christmas!

A sexy bit of rough!

Oh yes, we packed up the in-laws and went to see Casino Royale this weekend...this Bond is spot on! What 00 agent isn't going to have a brutal, ruthless, side to go with his handsome and refined appeareance? Nope, my idea of James Bond is just like this one, fighting, killing, pulling out secrets and confident in his ability to do it well.

So, hear hear for Daniel Craig!

Muttering, whistling, singing...

without a care for those sitting beside you is absolutely annoying! Can be bloody rude in fact if everyone else is trying to talk. So, please, keep it to yourself, some of us don't want to listen.

As for the muttering, enunciate!

Okay, phrew, rant over...the day is sunny, gorgeous in fact and I have loads of work to get on with that I'm excited about :-)

Is curling a sexy sport?

Curling, a winter team sport [men and women both] where they slide granite stones down an iced lane, making points when their stones stop as close to the centerpoint as possible. It's all about precision and very graceful when they slide down the ice. Now there is a new side to female curlers not many have seen before, but you can see it in their calendar for 2007.















WOW! Yes, absolutely! Curlers are sexy!

Go to The Curling News and buy their calendar, it supports these everyday womem and their sporting endeavour.

It's Friday and this one...

is a Ladies Lunch day. Yup, once a month a group of us drop everything and get together to just natter at a random local restaurant. They hate us, we take our time to order, eat and leave...they definitely hate us.

This one snuck up on me. Usually I schedule my writing so I'm at a good stopping point but that didn't happen this time. I'm right in the middle of Alaska [loving where the plots going] and will have a difficult time stepping away...but I will and I'll enjoy it!

On a sad note, a fly got in the house this morning and I gave him the spray. Now he's dying a violent and prolonged death on the windowledge...oh man, the guilt is immense.

Every knows I love pop-ups!

But did you know that there was a group who sued a publisher over a pop-up?

Yup, they sure did. The group blamed the publisher for snaping their partners spines when trying to duplicate a particular pop-up...with a mis-fold. Oops! The bad side is there were deaths, and I'm sorry, but the lead lawyer is quoted for saying: ...some of the positions are "just sick and wrong" and that "You'd have to be a friggin' yoga master, to be able to do what's on page 85!" and all I can do is laugh!

Well, needless to say the group lost but this still cracks me up...what are you people doing?

DONE!

The annual breast squishing is finally over! For me this is a really difficult time, the insecurities rage once the appointment is made. I've been through the scares enough times to make me grit my teeth when it comes to the mamogram. Add in my superstitious mind [original appointment was the day after the cutie was hit in the head with the baseball] and I was way stressed.

Thankfully, all is good...the film will be sent to a second screener to check out an enhanced digitized picture but the ta-ta's look to have gained a gold star this year.

All year round is a good time to have the lovelies checked over...so get to it!

Yippee!

I have some left over Halloween candy, the sun is shining, there is just a few things left on the "have to" list and I'm getting the final touches on the plot for my Alaska tale of love in the Arctic Circle! Yeah! I'm so very excited, there is less than a week remaining of political pollsters phoning and advertisements bombarding me on so many different levels, my victories are simple.