Eldest Niece Law School Update!

Law School Musical

Hmmm, this weekend a certain niece in her first term of law school sent this out - I believe we need to rethink what we'll do on our visit out there in October.

Challenge Update!

There's a week left in the Comment for a Cure challenge, so if you haven't left a comment on Tilly Greene's Hot Thoughts Blog - DO! It's a quick and easy way to support something that touches so many peoples lives.

I've just handed out the 4th CD of "Coming Together: For a Cure" and have more to giveaway. There's also the chance to have my December book - "OohRah!" - released with your dedication. The sexiest Marine, Dale Smythe, meets Tasha Ruskya at a Race for a Cure and he looks fabulous in PINK!

A Saucy Joke to start the week!

Thanks to Monica in London, I give you:

The Recipe

A man is showering up in a locker room with his buddy when he notices his friend is very well endowed.

"Damn Bob, you're hung!" Jim exclaims.

"I wasn't always this impressive, I had to work for it."

"What do you mean?" Jim asked.

"Well, every day for the past two years I've spent an hour each night rubbing it with butter. I know it sounds crazy but it actually made it grow 4 inches! You should try it."

Jim agrees and the two say good bye.

A few months later the two are in the same locker room and Bob asks Jim how his situation was.

Jim replied, "I did what you said, Bob, but I've actually gotten smaller! I lost two inches already!"

"Did you do everything I told you? An hour each day with butter?"

"Well, I was out of butter, so I've been using Crisco."


Wait for it.


Wait . . .



"Crisco!!?" Bob exclaimed. "Damm it, Jim, Crisco is shortening!

MORAL: You gotta follow the recipe!!!

Thursday 13 - #18!

For me, birthdays mean books, and with a couple of birthday this month, including my own, here are those I'm eyeing up.

For Me :-)
1.
Mythology [Ologies] by Lady Hestia Evans

2.
600 Black Spots: A Pop-up for Children of All Ages by David Carter

3.
How Many by Ron Van Der Meer

4.
Costume Jewelry for Haute Couture by Patrick Segal

5.
Greeks on the Black Sea: Ancient Art from the Hermitage by Anna Trofimova

6.
Antiquity Recovered: The Legacy of Pompeii and Herculaneum by Victoria C. Gardner Coates

7.
The Getty Villa by Marion True, Jorge Silvetti, and Salvatore Settis


For the Little Man
8.
Very Hairy Bear by Alice Schertle and Matt Phelan

9.
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

10.
T is for Terrible by Peter McCarty


For the Young Lady
11.
The Nixie's Song [Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles Book 1] by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

12.
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

13.
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White


And, don't forget to check out my challenge to blog for a cure...click here, comment and maybe win!

Tilly Greene's September Scorcher is OUT!

Check out Tilly Greene's Monthly Scorcher for all the latest news, interesting tidbits, chats to attend, contests galore and much more, including where you can win a Tilly Greene tote bag this month.

Enjoy!

Tilly Greene
WARNING! Red hot romances ahead!
www.tillygreene.com

Tilly Greene's Monthly Scorcher
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tilly_greene/
http://groups.google.com/group/tillygreene

A bit of random ridiculousness...

Is it wrong to be on the treadmill [2 miles and using arms weights as well], drinking water to stay rehydrated, and eating a couple of red vines [do this when I'm editing and plotting]?

I don't think so - but then again, I did it and think I might have crossed some line, pushing me in to the sick and wrong category.

And, don't forget to check out my challenge to blog for a cure...click here, comment and maybe win!

Thursday 13 - #17!

Recently I read a book called "Museum of the Missing" by Simon Houpt. It discussed the history of art theft. Yup, very interesting and so I thought I'd showcase 13 pieces that have been reported as stolen and are still missing.

1.

Henri Matisse - Luxembourg Gardens
Missing since February 24, 2006
Chacara do Ceu Museum, Rio de Janerio, Brazel
Est. current value: unknown


2.

Henry Moore - Reclining Figure
Missing since December 15, 2005
Henry Moore Foundation, Much Hadham, Herfordshire, England
Est. current value: $5.2 million
This sculpture is 11 foot in length and weight 2 tons. Thieves were seen on closed circuit tv, driving up in a Mini Cooper [oh good lord] and a stolen flatbed truck fitted with a crane. The fear is that it's been melted down by a scrap metal dealer.


3.

Unknown - The Lion of Nimrud
Missing since April 2003
Iraq National Museum, Baghdad, Iraq
Est. current value: priceless
One of 14,000 objects looted immediately following the US invasion of Baghdad. To date, about 5000 pieces have been located.


4.

Vincent Van Gogh - View of the Sea at Scheveningen
Missing since December 7, 2002
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Est. current value: $30 million [with aother piece "Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen" stolen at the same time]
Van Gogh painted this in situ during stormy weather near the Hague and bits of sand remain in paint.


5.

Maxfield Parrish - Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Mansion Murals [Panels 3a and 3b]
Missing since July 28, 2002
Edenhurst Gallery, West Hollywood, California
Est. current value: $2 million each


6.

Howard Pyle - The Battle of Bunker Hill
Missing since August 2001
Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware
Est. current value: $250,000
This is one of the more upsetting scenarios here. In August 2001, the museum was planning to show this piece and found it missing. Staff thought this piece [a part of the permanent collection] was being store in the basement. They are not entirely sure when it was taken.


7.

Claude Monet - Beach in Pourville
Missing since September 19, 2000
Polish National Museum, Poznan, Poland
Est. current value: $7 million
Thieves cut the painting from the frame and replaced it with a badly printed copy on cardboard. They are not sure when the piece was stolen, they reported it once they noticed the forgery.


8.

Thomas Sully - Portrait of Frances Keeling Valntine Allan
Missing since February 2000
Valentine Museum, Richmond, Virginia
Est. current value: unknown
This is Edgar Allan Poe's stepmother.


9.

Jean-Baptiste Oudry - The White Duck
Missing since September 30, 1992
Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England
Est. current value: $8.8 million


10.

Rembrandt - Storm on the Sea of Galilee
Missing since March 18, 1990
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, Massachusetts
Est. current value: priceless
The world is missing out on not being able to view the only surviving seascape by this artist.


11.

Johannes Vermeer - The Concert
Missing since March 18, 1990
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, Massachusetts
Est. current value: priceless
After the theft of 11 paintings seventeen years ago, the museum keeps the empty frames on the wall. Very sad.


12.

Lucian Freud - Portrait of Francis Bacon
Missing since May 27, 1988
Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany
Est. current value: $1.5 million


13.

Andrew Wyeth - Moon Madness
Missing since mid-1980's
Private Owner in the Philippines
Est. current value: $3 million
Disturbing because it's not an institution or business involved, but a person. In the 1980's Wyeth's office tried without success to make contact with the private collector/owner in order to include it in the artist's catalog. The office communicated through a lawyer and no contact was made, although there was a great deal of political upheaval at the time. The paintings whereabouts reamains unknown.


Sometimes the artwork is stolen to order, other times to trade for drugs, one time it was a fan who couldn't help himself [over 200 pieces taken] - unfortunately his mother threw them in the river to hide his crime [grrr!], and other times the thefts were undertaken in a bid to take a cultural statement away from a nation.

What piece of art would you feel heart broken to never see because it was stolen?

And, don't forget to check out my challenge to blog for a cure...click here, comment and maybe win!

A challenge accepted!

First, how about a little history.

Alessia Brio of Phaze, is the editor of a series of books called Coming Together which are based in various causes and is unique in that all the net proceeds go to a set charity. Susan G. Koman for the Cure has been designated the recipient of the proceeds from the recently released Coming Together: For the Cure.

On Wednesday August 22 author Alison Kent blogged about breast cancer and promised to buy 1 copy of Coming Together: For the Cure [now available] for every 10 comments left [max. 25 copies]. The deadline to accomplish this has been set for October 1. It's been three days and she has over 200 comments. So, with all this good nature swirling around blogland, Alessia Brio set a challenge down and I accepted. Author-bloggers who host a similar contest will have a recipe added to the 2008 Coming Together: In the Kitchen, which will benefit Action Against Hunger.

I'm keeping it simple: for every 10 comments left, I'll purchase a copy of Coming Together: For the Cure and will give away them away to commentors here. This will be open for a month [September 21] and will max out at 10 copies. And, one commentor will receive a copy of my December ebook OohRah! and will also have it dedicated to them or whomever they wish...ummm, have I mentioned yet that US Marine Dale Smythe and Tasha Ruskya meet during a fundraising run for breast cancer? Yup, and he looks lovely in pink :-)

So, get busy, leave a comment about yourself, family, friends, whomever or however breast cancer has affected you, or what you or someone close to you does so it doesn't!

UPDATE: Jessica Russell, Samantha Sommersby, Kathryn Lively, Victoria Blisse and Tammi Flora have all accepted Alessia Brio's challenge...visit them, make a comment, it's a totally painless way to help!

UPDATE: The first 3 CD winners have been contact - congratulations...but I have 7 more to give away. And, don't forget, one person will be chosen from all the commenters to have OohRah! dedicated to them, or someone of their picking, and a copy of the December release. So keep commenting :-)

Think Pink!

Thursday 13 - 16!

Greetings All!

Yup, the break is over and I'm dragging. The usual things to do are on the table [literally], but the mail has been collected, milk and choc. soy milk are in the fridge, parents have all been called to say we've returned, and the laundry has been started.

Okay, it was a busy 3 weeks, full of eating, drinking, walking and much more, all good fun. Now don't go thinking it was a jolly because it wasn't, we both worked while spending some quality time with family and friends. And, it all ended on a great note...we were upgraded for the flight back and enjoyed some serious pampering. So why is my brain is still mush? Who knows.

Now, I walked off the plane with a newspaper so thought I'd give you all 13 of the more interesting bits I found. I'll give you the headline, author, and the first two paragraphs, you can let your imagination take you the rest of the way :-)

1. 'What About My Family's Rights'
by James Slack
The widow of murdered headmaster Philip Lawrence bitterly condemed the Human Rights Act last night after his killer used it to stay in Britain.

The Home Office wanted to deport Learco Chindamo to italy, where he was born, after he becomes eligible for parole next year.

2. 'Parting shot of the gamekeeper who grappled with Mr Madonna'
by Richard Simpson
Perhaps his goose was cooked the moment the lady of the house told how she feared being haunted by the souls of birds she'd bagged.

Thereafter things went sour between gamekeeper Martin Taylor and his celebrated employers, Madonna and Guy Ritchie.

3. 'BBC children's TV hosts 'are either gay or childless...and they don't like kids'
by Laura Roberts
A BBC children's presenter has said that 'everyone at CBBC is either gay or childless and don't like kids'.

Kirsten O'Brien, a stalwart of the coporation's programmes for youngsters, made the claim during a stand-up show at the Edinburgh festival.

4. 'Freed, the man who branded his wife with an iron'
by Beth Hale, Emily Andrews and Colin Fernandez
A management consultant branded his wife with a hot steam iron because she had failed to press his shirt.

Cambridge graduate Colin Read, 25, also slashed her with a knife because she had forgotten to make his sandwiches.

5. 'Full of life, girl whose heart beat the traffic'
by Chris Brooke
Like all successful transplant transplant patients, Laura Whitworth owes her life to the skill of her medical team and the courage of a heart donor's grieving family.

But in two-year-old Laura's case, the roll of honour also includes a resourceful ambulance driver and council worker Margaret Rollinson and her old Volvo saloon.

6. 'Apart from the rain and wind, are you enjoying this unusually sunny August?'
by Fiona MacRae
As you shiver miserably under menacing grey skies and reach for your umbrella for the umpteenth time, here is some news that will come as a serious surprise.

This August, apparently, has been officially sunnier than usual.

7. 'Why we're ALL to blame for our bullying supermarkets'
by Joanna Blythman
Supermarkets like to portray themselves as the ultimate proponents of dynamic free-market capitalism. But these days they bear more resemblance to the feudal barons of medieval times, ruthlessly absuing their monopolistic power and turning their suppliers into little more than vassals.

Far from thriving on competition, they seek to stamp it out so that they can entrench their fiefdoms. The grossly unequal relationship between supermarkets and their suppliers has been exposed in a series of bullying emails sent by Tesco and Asda, demanding swingeing reductions in the prices charged by their producers.

8. 'Truth is the first Casualty - again'
by Richard Littlejohn
After halving rubbish collections, Portsmouth Council is now telling householders not to stash their bags in wheelie bins.

'Elf 'n 'safety has decided that the dustmen could hurt their backs lifting the bags out of the bins.

Oi, George, putcha back inta it. Second thoughts, best not, you might do yerself a mischief'.

9. 'From mean streets to Parliament'
by Roy Hattersley
The Trinity College Center in South-East London, a university settlement was founded long ago to enable Cambridge graduates to help the disadvantaged and dispossessed in Peckham.

In the yard, children of more or less primary-school age are playing a disorganized game of football. Inside the center's slightly dilapadated building, a mountain of luggage is ready to be loaded on to the buses that will take the young footballs on holiday.

10. From Ephrainm Hardcastle
Last night's Prom concert featured a suite from an opera called Powder Her Face, by Philip Hensher, a former House of Commons clerk with a PhD in 18th century satire and a confirmed bachelor. Based on the life of the late Margaret Duchess of Argyll, it has the distinction of being banned by Classic FM. It features, inter alia, the duchess, who died in 1993 aged 80, performing a sex act with a hotel waiter. Her businessman son, Brian Sweeny, says the work is 'largely fictitious' and written in a score 'only bats can hear'. Margaret's notoriously keen interest in sex is said to date from falling down a lift shafter after visiting her London chiropodist in 1942, aged 30. A friend says: 'Afterwards she started entertaining six men at a time.'

11. 'A WAG at the Foreign Office'
by Emily Andrews
By reputation, it is a carefree life of non-stop shopping, sunbathing and cocktail consumption.

But in reality, being a WAG in foreign parts can be a perilous business.
NB: WAG=Wives and Girlfriends [of soccer players]

12. 'Joan slapped her husband's face. 'I hate you! Get out of my house!' she screamed'
by Graham Lord
When Joan Collins was contemplating marriage to the Hollywood playboy Arthur Loew in the Fifties, she told friends she needed to be sure he was the right one for her before they tied the knot. 'I'd hate to be one of those girls with four or five husbands,' she said.

Many years later, when her third marriage was over and she was preparing to wed her fourth usband, the Swedish former pop star Peter Holm, she announced: "There can be no more divorces. I absolutely cannot and will not go through taht again.' The union was to last just 13 months.

13. 'Victory in the fight to send frontline troops free parcels'
by Matthrew Hickley, Ian Drury and Dan Newling
Royal Mail last night bowed to mounting pressure and agreed to scrap charges for sending parcels to troops risking their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The move comes after the Daily Mail highlighted the unfairness of anxious relatives having to spend hundreds of pounds a year to send morale-boosting home comforts to their loved ones on the frontline.

Those were all found in the first third of the paper, what do you think - pretty interesting?

Gone the other way!

This is a brief interruption to the regularly scheduled "hot thoughts" - will return to the regular program soon - until then, play nice :-)

Our first house was couple doors to the right.

Behind us was a partially dismantled castle, and during the summer months they shot off its cannon...it would scare you crapless if you weren't ready for it. Yup, our garden backed onto the dry moat and a certain someone rarely mowed, not horribly neighborly Mrs.'s, hmph!

Thursday 13 - 15!

A week ago my erotic futuristic romance "Zandia" was released over at Samhain Publishing. I thought I'd give you 13 things you'll find in this book.

1. Marked, Claimed, Bound and Enthroned - oh my!

2. Royalty - no ermine or crowns, well maybe one or two of the latter :-)

3. Rituals - get a fan ready.

4. Fabulous jewels, and not just the family ones - hmmm.

5. A Universal Sporting event - and the testosterone is running free.

6. Mmmm, studly athletes - YES!

7. Strong female - of course.

8. Plans to live as suits her - you go girl.

9. Almost nothing can alter the plan - a dose of reality is good.

10. Someone who understand what she wants - ahhh.

11. Okay, made it this far before I mentioned SEX! - lots of the steamy stuff!

12. Love, lust, and trust - all must have's.

13. Warning, this title contains the following: spicy language and wild sex…okay, some kinky “take me” sex - love this :-)


Get your fingers moving and head over to Samhain Publishing to pick up your copy of Zandia today!

Hump Day Reflections!

All he wanted was to be with her. Nothing mattered without this mermaid at his side. For years he's been lost without his people. He's come down to the beach and looked out at the sea, waiting for someone to come and call him back home.

A merman, yes, that's what he was, and Tara was one of his mates.

It had been so long since he'd held a mermaid in his arms. Too long. The silken scales tempted him to look and see her in all her beauty. Watch her fins as they fluttered with the lust she felt. She belonged with him, and he knew she'd be beautiful in her natural form. But he'd see her that way later, when they were back in the water. Right now he didn't want to loose the connection between them. Their kiss created an important in his life.

It felt right to be with her. If only they were both in their true forms, only then would he know they'd be together forever.

As if there were someone waiting to grant his every wish, in that moment his life righted itself. His own scales started coming back. Racing down his legs, merging the two together and ending with a unfurling florish of his fins. His need for her rose even further and finally he found the strength to pull away from her lips.

"My love, will you accept me as your mate?"

"Oh Mark, I didn't know you were a merman already!"

"Each day I came down here to watch the water and hope one of my mates came to me. If I'd know the sexy and tempting human sitting on the beach, the one I walked by each morning was mine, I would have kissed you all the sooner."

"Yes! Of course I accept you!"

"Then let's return to the sea and make love amongst the waves."

"Not so fast. No flattering words about the shine of my scales or the perfect buoyancy of my breasts, nothing? I was easy and horny in human form, but you ignored me. Maybe as a mermaid I require a little wooing."

"Come on. The big waves are ready to roll in and I promise to ride you down the face while I feast on your stupendous tits, if you'll forgive me."

"Forgiven! Let's go."

fini

The August Scorcher is OUT!

Check out Tilly Greene's Monthly Scorcher for all the latest news, interesting tidbits, chats to attend and much more, including where you can win a Tilly Greene tote bag this month.

Tilly Greene
WARNING! Red hot romances ahead!
www.tillygreene.com


Tilly Greene Monthly Scorcher yahoo or google

Where will I go this month?

Okay, in this instance, a picture is worth a thousand words. I'll need to make sure and pack plenty of sunscreen and a hat, but I can already feel the soft sand beneath my feet as I find my spot on Vabbinfaru, Maldives, in the Indian Ocean. Maybe I'll just lie down on my belly right there in the shallows and read.

Works for me.

A bit of random ridiculousness...

I think the cutie has worked our travel plans to be in the US for today and the opening of The Simpsons! We've been gone, but he dashed in to the office to submit his expenses, go out to lunch with the gang and be back in time to take me to the 3:05 show.

Doh!

I wonder if I'll get a donut instead of my usual Rasinettes...hmmm, I don't think I'd fuss much over that.

Hump Day Reflections!

Tara felt him start to pull away, to look at what he was touching, but she didn't want to let him go, she couldn't. His kiss was as delicious as she knew it would be but she also needed their connection. She also didn't want to see disgust on his face when he finally saw her body.

She really couldn't believe her luck to have found a corporal heart mate. It's been almost a full year since she arrived and there was only one time and one way for her to return home, and it seemed Mark had what she needed.

The moment their lips met, opened and their tongues tangled, she felt the change overtake her. It all happened so quickly and painlessly. From just above her feminine mound and up over her hips, green shimmery scales spread out and covered her flesh. Within a few breaths her legs were fused and fins replaced her feet.

He was her other half, her heart beat and her body throbbed for him. Only such a person could bring this change about and send her back home. Her problem was she could pull him into her world beneath the sea. If she didn't stop kissing him soon, he'd start to become the merman for her mermaid.

Tears gathered beneath her lids, she didn't want to leave him but it was time to pull away from, she was cutting it too close. She gathered her strength and released her hold on his head so he could back away, but he didn't!

Instead, he deepend their kiss even further. She felt his hand skim over her scaley hip and brought her feminine core over to press against his hard cock. My god, he made her want to keep him but she knew it wasn't fair, he didn't know what he was doing by continuing their connection.

Tara tried again to move her mouth away from his and finally used her hands on his shoulders to push him away. When a mere breath of air separated them she rushed to explain why he couldn't keep kissing her.

"Stop Mark, you must stop kissing me otherwise you'll loose your legs and be destined to live eternity beneath the waves you love to ride." Her breath came out in great pants, but she saw understanding light his eyes.

He leaned over and placed a brief kiss on her lips, releasing her tears. This was goodbye forever and she'd miss him and watching him watch the sea. Then his mouth - no, what was he doing!

to be continued...

Zandia is OUT!

Centuries from now, and millions of miles away, how are the sexes getting along?

Zandia, the farthest planet in the known universe, is usually peaceful, but they're about to have their views on women blown apart.

Sui Erom has taken drastic measures to live as suits her, not society. Hiding on a transporter, she leaves her home planet for another world. Working as a translator, she feels intelligent and productive, if not entirely fulfilled. She has been unable to find a mate who satisfies any of her physical needs or one to trust with her heart.

The Zandian national speedball team comes to town for a Universal competition and sets in motion events that force Sui to make a decision on what exactly she wants from life.

Listening to the official translator's voice, Xer Rieh realizes she is Zandian and asserts his right to mark her as his. He does not believe her claim that she is not Zandian - despite evidence supporting it. Xer is certain she is and will not be denied.

Marked, Claimed, Bound and Enthroned, when Sui and Xer get together, nothing will ever be the same, especially for the women of Zandia!

A mini book trailer has been made to tempt your senses even further...or you could get your fingers moving and head over to Samhain Publishing to pick up your copy.

I'm talking books!

Here's some very exciting news:

This month "An Invitation to the World: Russia and New Zealand" is the staff pick for the Romance Junkies book club!

I'll be over on their yahoo group Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday talking about books - all my books :-)

Hump Day Reflections!

Mark didn't know what had hold of him, lust, passion, the devil, whatever it was, he couldn't deny her pull. Tara shifted and he moved in, laying his lips against hers.

They were lovely, plump, and spread open further beneath his. Dipping his tongue through the crease, tasting coffee and salt, as if she'd already been out swimming in the sea. He needed more of her essence and delved deeper, tangling his tongue with hers. They circled around each and he fell under her spell. As she tilted her head further to the side, he knew she wanted what he did - to feel her softness against his hard body. While he pressed in for even more of their kiss, he started to lay her down on the sand.

He was sure he'd knocked over her coffee as he rolled on top of her, but didn't care. Touching her, kissing her, having her, was all that mattered now.

Shifting his hand down, he found the zipper on her sweatshirt and slowly moved it down. Whene he felt flesh beneath his shifting hand, Mark pulled away from her lips and looked down to find she had nothing on beneath the covering. No bathing suit top, bra, nothing but pearly white skin and, oh shit! She possessed the most divine set of breasts he'd ever seen. They were large, a handful, he used his own hand to measure the mound and with a little squeeze, the cherry point popped out, making his mouth water to taste.

Leaning down he dragged the flat of his tongue over the tip and drew groans of pleasure from her. Placing his leg between hers, he started to feast on her ripe nipple while tempting her to bump and grind against him in need. Oh, he knew exactly what she wanted, to fuck, and so did he.

Fluttering away on the morning breeze was his common sense - who cared if they were seen, he had to get inside her pussy and quickly. He let the breast he was holding go and slid his hand down over her belly and felt her body quiver.

"It's all right," he whispered after releasing her nipple. Bracing himself above her, he looked down at her face and found lust painted across her features. Her lips were opened and panting, her eyelids lowered seductively over her beautiful blue eyes and her cheeks were glowing.

His hand moved past her belly button and suddenly stopped...what the fuck?!? The sensual face was now looking at him with a guarded expression. He was confused, what was that teasing his fingertips?

to be continued...

Simply Fabulous!

The bright spot on today is...I have the cover for the next 'A Passion for Fashion and Bondage' book and it's stunning! So here you go, a lovely peek at "Taming Marie Antoinette".

It looks great next to the first book "The Leather Bride" in the series. I can't wait to finish "The Gilded Cage" to see them all together :-)