Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Welcome Mahalia Levey

This week, I'm incredibly pleased to bring you something a little different to ponder on. The lovely and very talented Mahalia Levey is my guest and she's going to share her take on something near and dear to many people's hearts. The Price of Beauty. I'm sure you'll all find this as interesting as I did.

The Price of Beauty!
by Mahalia Levey

What price do a majority of women pay for being glamorous or a smokin’ hawt knockout for a girl’s night out?

From waxing, to plucking eyebrows, to a few of us attaching fake eyebrows that look fantastic but have a penchant to make the eyes water the first day, or even irritate the skin inflaming it. You’d think we’d stray away from being uncomfortable…But somewhere in our DNA it’s been ingrained that to look fantastic is to feel fantastic…no matter the cost. 

My personal contribution to this…is shoes-glorious shoes. I am a die-hard sexy shoes fanatic. 

My predicament! We were out watching my favorite local band play and I looked down at my adorable canvas wedges, not too dressy but cute with black jeans and a pink top to be casual. My feet were killing me. My friend’s feet were killing her, and we both felt out toes falling asleep at points in time and doing the little wiggle dance and scrunchin of the toes in time with the Rock music to play it off. Mind you we were only at the performance for three hours and not enough alcohol would dull the painful aching. The dance floor is sticky and music is blaring and you daren’t take off your shoes and go barefoot. So like the troopers we were…we held strong til time to go.
 
As the DH came to get me and meet my good friends he hadn’t been able to…I hobbled to the car. We got home and the balls of my feet hurt so bad I crawled from the garage to the door. He of course laughed because he doesn’t get the whole wearing what ends up being unbearable.  There is no price that’s too high for cute shoes… well unless it causes an untimely demise- that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Now onto Matters of the Heart which happens to take place in Hollywood one of the hugest areas where beauty is a high demand for various careers!
 
Matters of the Heart
by Mahalia Levey
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Genre: contemporary, erotic romance, Tarot series
Buy Link

~Card Overview~ The Queen of Cups is the quality of a woman’s kind nature to others. Inside, she is at constant odds with self-love and often is troubled by insecurity. She is a provider to others, her chalice always overflows. Her cup in a situation symbolizes that the virtue of true love is unconditional. It is a calling for growth in emotional fulfillment. All one has to do is reach out and accept it. We can only hope she will see for herself that she is worthy of having what she bestows on others to herself. 
 
Blurb 

Madeline ‘Eden’ Jenning’s life is in upheaval. Growing older is perilous for her career. Aging gracefully does nothing for her if it means losing out on all she’s worked for. Plastic surgery becomes her obsession— finding the fountain of youth, a way to hold onto the persona she’s emulated for three decades. Desperation makes her beg her dearest friend for the best surgeon known in their area. She doesn’t expect him to be someone from her past.
Tanner James Thornton, a well-known plastic surgeon, takes only the worst of all cases, those needing his skilled hands to give them a semblance of normalcy once again. When he promises a friend he’ll assess a new client, immediately he knows being her surgeon won’t work. Not only is he attracted to her, but he remembers who she was before the glam. He has the answers she needs that don’t revolve around Hollywood’s superficial reasons for body augmentation.

Excerpt
 
Rain pelted down on the morning of her appointment. Umbrella shielding her, she moved to the doors of the clinic. In her email box, she’d received a confirmation of appointment, was given a questionnaire and advised what to expect. Eden clicked her umbrella to close and shook off excess drops of water and then entered the establishment.
A warm ambience greeted her. She’d expected the building to be a high rise. Pleased, she walked up to the receptionist’s desk.
“Good morning, I’m here to check in for an assessment.”
“Name?” the receptionist asked while fielding phone calls from her headset.
“Eden Jennings.”
“You’re a bit early, please fill out these forms, front and back, and don’t forget to include insurance policy numbers, if you decide to have surgery, payment options will be discussed, including monthly payments, should you qualify. One second please.” She paused, “Thank you for calling the Thornton clinic, please hold.” She shifted her attention back to Eden. “When you’re done, please bring back the clipboard and the top document, the rest will go with you.”
“Thank you,” Eden said as she found a plush seat to fill out the requested health assessment forms.
“Eden Jennings?” a nurse called from the opening of a private set of doors leading to examination rooms.
“Yes.” Eden picked up her purse, tucked it under her arm and rose, following the nurse to the back.
“I’m Carmen, I’ll be joining Dr. Thornton during your physical. Please follow me.”
“Okay.” She eyed the efficient nurse and followed her past the doors leading to the back.
“Nervous?”
“Very. Is it obvious?”
“Normal. Anyone contemplating surgery should have a level of nervousness.”
Carmen’s warm smile made it easy for Eden to relax.
“Dr. Thornton’s door is two doors down on the left.”
Eden opened her mouth to speak.
“Thank you for the report, Mrs. Hatfield. I’m pleased to hear your son’s healing well. Don’t forget his check up in two weeks. No, daily reports aren’t necessary.”
“It can’t be.” She stopped dead still just before his office. Her heart lurched. One coincidence was enough, now two? She didn’t believe in such things. On the other side of that door sat TJ.
“Is there a problem, Ms. Jennings?” Carmen said as she touched her arm lightly.
“I’ve made a mistake.”
“Panic is common, let’s go talk to the doctor and we’ll see if this is for you, okay?” She encouraged her.
“I-I can’t go in there. Do you have another doctor?”
Carmen shook her head. “Doctor Thornton doesn’t have a partner, ma’am. You did request him. I’m not sure why there’s a problem. I assure you he’s the best surgeon on the West coast.”
Bile rose in her throat. No way could she go in there and ask her first lover to augment her body.
“Carmen, bring my appointment in please,” a timber voice ordered over the intercom.
Eden darted a nervous glance at the door and began backing up toward the reception desk, her throat dry, hands shaking. She couldn’t very well explain why to the nurse. The sooner she made it out the door, the better. Turning on her heel, she made a break for the door.
“Madeline.”
Tanner James sure did know how to use her name like no other. His warm whiskey voice brought her to a screeching halt. Pasting a false smile on her face, she turned. Her heartbeat spiked. His large body was leaning in the doorway. “Tanner James.” Who was the woman whispering his name on an airy breath?
“I thought we had an appointment. Are you backing out on me?
“I—uh.” She looked over at Carmen who watched the byplay with a look of interest.
“No,” she squeaked, not willing to give the satisfaction of him calling her a coward, as his eyes belied.
“Good. Today would be nice, now—even better.”
“Coming,” Eden said, blushing furiously at her choice of retort. A lot of time had passed since she’d been called Madeline. God, he even smelled the same. Time had taken away the youthful athlete and in its place stuck a debonair man. Her brain screamed run, her body screamed you’re home. Warring with what to say, she bit her tongue and sauntered toward him, determined not to let him find another reason to comment. Drat, that man and his chuckle.
“Carmen, please cancel the rest of my appointments for the day. Reschedule them and apologize for the short notice.”
“You don’t need me here?”
Bless her soul. The nurse wasn’t going to leave her alone.
“Maddy and I have some catching up to do, don’t we?”
The tone of his voice dared her to disagree. Melting like butter, Eden swallowed and shook her head no.
“If you’re sure,” Carmen replied.
“Carmen. Maddy and I have a long history together. When we’re ready to discuss augmentation, I’ll page you.”
“Damn.” His dismissing tone improved tenfold since the old days. Eden felt a pang of sympathy for the protective nurse. “I’ll be fine Carmen,” she said, almost believing the lie springing out of her mouth. Eden brushed past her and ducked under Tanner’s arm into his office and found a chair to sit in before her knees buckled on her.
Pure magnetism, Tanner walked in and sat down behind his desk. There were no family pictures or photographs gracing the polished cherry wood, and no ring on his ring finger. She observed it all with her first glance. “This is awkward.”
“You look beautiful Maddy,” Tanner complimented, taking the forms from her hands, setting them in front of him. 


And, Mahalia has offered another snippet for your enjoyment. Make sure you read right down to the end, she's got a surprise for you!


Not Since You
by Mahalia Levey
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Genre: Paranormal, romance, shapeshifter


Blurb
A moment of reckless passion changed S’Niah Donovan’s life. As her family’s healer, she’s coveted, and as the only female in three generations, she’s overprotected. Personal tragedy takes her faith and hope in one fell swoop, unfairly harming the one man who’s brought nothing but joy to her darkened life.
Mason Donovan loves two things, music and his mate. The complicated woman wove an unbreakable spell around his heart and then shattered it with her desertion. No longer human, unable to leave her as she did him, he sticks around, in the shadows, learning his new craft and how to tame his beast. Three years later, enough is enough. He now plans on using every trick of magic to bring his wayward mate back into his life.

Excerpt
 
“S’Niah Murielle Donovan.”
Her name and the loud banging on the door broke apart their conversation. Sin looked at Reina and groaned.
“Well, I guess you have your answer.”
Reina dinged it right on the dot. Chaos erupted in her home. The sound of Havi bellowing added to Lyric’s voice saying her movie was over. Sin cast a surreptitious glance at the door, playing it off as if she didn’t know who was out there. Reina pinched her into action.
“Ouch.”
“Get to that door. I got the kids.” Reina darted into the playroom to handle Havi’s racket.
“Lyric, Auntie Reina will be in in a minute, okay,” Sin called out to her daughter as she headed to her front door, placing her hand on the knob and removing it. Would Mason go away if she pretended not to be home? She stepped back on her tiptoes.
“I don’t have time for games, S’Niah. I know you’re right on the other side of the door.”
He couldn’t possibly. Or had his senses picked up quite a bit more? Sin closed her hand around the knob and opened it up a sliver. “What do you want and how do you know where I live?”
“To talk…and I’ve always known.”
He sounded a bit angry and smelled better than the scone she’d devoured alongside Reina. “I have to feed the baby.”
“Hiding behind him still? Worked earlier, not this time. Let me in.”
“Mason Donovan, you have some nerve demanding I let you into my home.”
“I played things your way once before, Sin. Not again. You can open the door and let me in to talk like civilized adults or I can break it down and let myself in to talk at you uncivilized.”
Sin shut the door with force and wove an intricate ward with her dancing fingertips. Feeling rather smug with herself, she turned, her intention to finish her conversation with Reina after seeing to Havi.
Pinpricks of unease drifted down her spine, her tiger moving restlessly just under her skin, pacing. She sniffed at the smell of magic and turned back at the door to see her ward unraveling quickly. In an effort to keep Mason out, she called upon her best spell and began a second level to shield her from his presence.
“I could do this all night and the next day.” Mason’s voice rang with determination and a hint of arrogance.
Sin cracked her knuckles and sat on the floor Indian style. “Let’s see what you got, or did you forget you gained your magic from me?” Sparks fizzled in front of her. He danced a fine tune, dissolving layers of symbols. Each time he gained entry, she slammed him with another tighter woven ward and smirked though he couldn’t see it.
“You think that after a year of strategy with Roarke and Valerian I couldn’t disable a simple ward?”
“I don’t think it. I know it. You can barely keep up with my talent. You’re good…but I’m better.”
“Sin. I gave Havi a bottle and grabbed two more. Taking them over to my place,” Reina yelled.
“No. Wait. Reina.” Sin groaned.
“Problems? I’ll give you a handicap. As soon as the door shuts and she’s free. You have ten seconds to enable a new ward.”
Sin wasn’t a fool. Yeah, she needed the handicap. He’d grown in capabilities since she last saw him. “Deal.” Her palms sweated profusely. Her back screen door slammed shut, the sound resonating to her anticipating-audible sense. Rewriting the ward took a second longer than she anticipated. At each turn she stumbled to keep it moving, watching it stall on her and break apart into tiny fragments.
The door flew open with a spike of energy that sent shards of ice-cold unease rippling across her body. Mason stepped in and used telekinesis to slam the door shut behind him, and the entire time his scrutinized glare daring her to bolt, to give him a reason to chase.
Sin blinked in rapid succession and licked her dry lips. Her mouth went dry the moment she raked her gaze over his toned body decorated in new artwork. The white tee shirt stretched over his pectorals and the nipple rings he sported. Cargo pants encased his muscular thighs and side view of his ass she’d glimpsed briefly at the grocery store earlier. Now faced with all of him, desire coiled within her, waking the sleeping tiger she’d put into hibernation. On sensory overload, her breath came out in uneven spurts, mimicking her unsteady, palpating heartbeat.
Yeah, he enjoyed her discomfort. Run or stand my ground. There wasn’t time for bubble gum in a dish or some other childish game to help her come to a resolution.
“Boo.” He leaned forward, breaking her concentration.
 
 
Mahalia is offering a free copy of each book to two lucky people who post a response there on the blog. That's two books you have the chance to win, folks. So, make sure you comment and leave an email address where she can get in touch with you. 



You can find Mahalia at the following sites online:


Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Peeping Johnny, available now!


Peeping Johnny
Short Story
Publisher: Darker Pleasures

Life in the city was great. With buildings crushed against each other, his curvy, kinky neighbor lived just a few feet away. Separated only by two windows that gave him a hell of a view, he enjoyed a nightly show of tortured female flesh and masturbation. But on this night, just when his peep show had passed from clamps to needles, another woman walked into view. That's when it really got good.

To read an excerpt and buy, go HERE

Sunday, September 25, 2011

I'm back!

Yes, I know, you weren't sure where I went, or what had happened to the old broad who usually babbles away here, but now I'll spill the beans.

Hubby and I took a little time off and went away for a week. Partially it was to celebrate an anniversary. Partially it was to help a friend out who needed a favor. Partially, I truly needed to get a little space between myself and my writing for a while. We toured the province and took a million pictures, walked the beach of some tiny lake in the interior and ate a little too much. I'll pay for that, I know, but it was heaven.

I am back now, though and will try to get back to the job I adore. Writing. It's not going to come easily. I can say that in all certainty. But, it will come.

I've got a picture or two to share with you. I hope they come through all right.


This was taken in Jasper Park. An amazing place where I could live and be happy. Even hubby said the same thing.

Rocky Mountain Bull Elk. Isn't he amazing. They're just moving down from the mountains and thinking about mating, so they're in the best shape of the year. This one had a small herd of cows he was trying to hold to himself. He was bugling in answer to another male we couldn't see. The rut will come next and they'll fight to keep their harems. It's brutal, but it's so honest.


I don't know the name of the mountain, we saw so many, but I thought this was incredibly beautiful. The colors were so striking.


We saw these ewes and their young on the side of the road and stopped. There were a few other people there as well, but they seemed to sense we didn't mean any harm. The entire herd followed me back to the car. Hubby wouldn't let me bring them home. Sigh!

That's it for this time. I may post a few more later on. I do hope you enjoy them.

Hugs
Jude

Thursday, September 15, 2011

September 2011 Newsletter teaser



I hope you've had a spectacular month. Mine has been busy, which is good, and productive, which is very good. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and I'll tell you all about it.

What you'll find in the full version:

What Jude's been up to
Coming soon
New Releases
Reviews
Contest Information
Where to find Jude
Guest Bloggers
Website updates
Hot Excerpt



What Jude's up to:

Hey everyone. By the time you are all reading this, hubby and I will be in the middle of the province of BC heading north. OMG! We're delivering a truck to a friend who's working in one of the small towns up there. Seems he's found a permanent job and needs his truck to get to it. At the moment, he's got his wife's small car. So, we volunteered to drive one vehicle up there and drive the other one back. He's paying for the gas, so it's a paid trip, sort of. Whoo hooo!!

It's really been an insane month here. Hubby is back from his three weeks away, and I'm so glad he is. Even being together for all these years, I miss him dreadfully when he's gone. Ya know, a few years ago, he went away and I had sooo much trouble sleeping. I even rolled out of bed one night. I was so used to him being on that side, I guess my body just didn't react to there being no one there. Yup, fell flat on the floor. Scared the liven bejeesus out of myself. I know put spare pillows on his side. LOL (Ya, go ahead and laugh!)

We've also just celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. Course, I got some ugly sinus cold the day before, so was no fun at all for the day. We plan to do a little celebrating while we're away.

The animals are all doing fabulously well. We've got baby raccoons coming every day to visit and be silly. Our deer are all doing really well, too. Three fawns this year and they all survived, so far, and are growing like weeds. The bucks are beautiful. They've all got their antlers now and the velvet is gone. So, they're just beginning to challenge each other. The big boys are putting the younger bucks in their place. Course the young ones don't want to listen and the scrapping can get pretty intense. Next month, they'll be going into the rut and the fighting over who's the best and biggest will get more serious. They don't usually harm each other, but it's not unheard of for a stubborn young buck to get stuck with an antler. Yikes!

Now for my writing news. I'm really struggling right now and haven't gotten much done this month at all. I've decided to back off and to quit pushing myself with deadlines for a while. This might mean I don't have much coming out for the next while, but I'm hoping not for long. One of my nightmares has always been to wake up one morning and not be able to write.

It's not all bad news, though. Some of you old time readers might remember me writing for a fetish website called Darker Pleasures. It was a pretty intense place, and the genre was definitely not for the faint of heart. The owner of the site closed down submissions ages ago and I'd pretty much decided I'd never hear from him again. Well, low and behold, a few weeks ago I got an email from him. He's publishing all of the stories from the old site on Smashwords. He's given me and one or two of the other authors the opportunity to do some edits on our stuff before it goes up on the Smashwords site. I'm doing that for now, and finding out how badly I wrote a few years ago. OMG! It's not what I'd planned, but it's keeping me busy and working on the craft.

I hope you're all ready for the seasons to change. It will be fall here soon, the leaves have already begun to change and with the deer acting up, I know it's in the air.


That's about it. Oh, please remember, if you're entering my contest this month, or if you just happen to be the lucky winner of last month's contest, I won't be available to respond to your emails. I'll be away for about a week, from September 15th until 23rd. I may be back a bit early, I may find I can get online while I'm away, but I can't count on it. I will get in touch with any and all of you who enter the contest as soon as I possibly can. And, the winner of Augusts' contest will definitely receive her/his e-book if they contact me.

Wednesday Blog Guests

A while ago, I decided to invite guests to my blog every Wednesday and it's already turned into quite a show.

Aug. 3 - Annie Alvarez
Aug.10 - Nikki McCoy
Aug.17 - Connie Northrop
Aug.24 - Celine Chatillion
Aug.31 - Nichelle Gregory
Sept.7 - Karenna Colcroft
Sept.14 - Caitlin West
Sept 21 - Marc Jarrod
Oct. 5 - Justine Dark
Oct.12 - Amy Valenti

If you'd like to sign up for a date, I'd be thrilled to hear from you. I'm seriously looking for both authors and readers, as well as anyone who'd like to dive in for a little fun. You know the email address, but please do visit the BLOG and say hey to my guests.

Contest information:

Augusts' contest question was: When is Jazz scheduled to be published?
The winner of Augusts' contest is...Drum roll please:
 
 
Congratulations Bethann! Would you please email me at Jude_Mason@my-haven2001.com and let me know which of my backlist of ebooks you'd like.  If you're not sure what's on my backlist, here's where to find it:

Thanks so much for participating!

Where to find Jude
Website:
My Blog:
Twitter:
GLBT Bookshelf:
Infinite Possibilities:
Books We Love Spice:
The Romance Studio:
The Romance Studio Blue Blog:
http://trsblue.blogspot.com/
 
The Rainbow Studio Blog:
http://therainbowstudio.blogspot.com/ 
Total E-Bound blog: 
http://totalebound.blogspot.com/  (14th of every month)
*frequently felt blog:

I also attend publisher organized chats and will let you know about those as they happen. 

For the full version of the newsletter, please join my mailing list by filling out the form HERE or my newsletter group on Yahoo, HERE.
 
Hugs
Jude



Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Welcome Caitlin West

This week, I've got the great joy to bring you an article created by Caitlin West. An article, I'm sure you'll find both entertaining, and informative.

Modernism & Distraction
© Caitlin West

The modern world has really altered entertainment as a whole. You can see it in a movie like ‘The Departed’ where people are texting with their phones with all the alacrity of a Japanese Schoolgirl and in brand new television shows like ‘Strike Back’ where a character comments about their Facebook page. These provide an excellent means to set a story in the ‘now’ but potentially date the work.

 I had avoided using many modernisms until recently when I started writing my Avalon Nights series. Each chapter has a Twitter post by the main character with personal information. I use it to provide background on her, snippets of her personality and anecdotes about her past that wouldn’t really fit into the story itself.

Gratuitous use of these things can obviously cause distraction. When the reader starts to think more about the technology the character is using than what the character is doing, the author should probably reign in the geeking out. Much in the same way that hard sci-fi can become distracting with massive word count dedicated to the workings of a strange device or a costume romance goes into the stitch work for a ball gown, moderation should be exercised.

I remember some Asimov books breaking out the slide rulers and talking about how women were little more than secretaries and gossips. Even with his far reaching science fiction, he implemented a piece of modern technology that reminds the reader now that the piece was written decades ago. I would argue that in some ways, this robs the magic of the piece. Distracting the reader from the ‘what if’ of the tale and making them think ‘wow, this really is old’.

Ultimately, I’m talking about distraction. Modern readers and storytellers are much more interested in what the characters are going through, how they are overcoming their obstacles and what sort of conclusion they’ve built for themselves. The little details, whether they are modern uses of Google or old stories talking about the abacus, these should be props and tools for story progression.

There are a number of niche genres that happily embrace embellishment. One publisher has a requirement that if you’re submitting a fantasy story, the magic system must be well thought out and detailed, explainable to the reader and sound in theory. Their science fiction must have tech that has been defined and based upon real research and plausible description.

Look on the bookshelves at your local shop and you’ll notice that the number of books as I just described are dwindling. Even the sequel books to Dune are far less technical than Frank Herbert wrote. One of the authors is a physicist and he still manages to focus more on the emotional side to what’s going on. I think that’s what people are most interested in since that’s what we, as readers, can associate with.

Do I need to know how the ship goes into hyperspace to appreciate that the pilot is on a quest to find his lost daughter amidst a crew of smuggling space monkeys? Does it matter what ethereal realm a wizard draws his power from or would I prefer that word count spent on him roasting some goblins before they destroy an unsuspecting town?

I caution other writers in the use of modernisms and over embellishment but at the same time, I don’t think people should shy away. Even though I said earlier that some of the magic is taken away by a realization of how dated something is, there’s a chance that a reader might experience some nostalgia too. It may seem like I’m suggesting right and wrong ways to do thing and that’s not my intention. I’m more interested in drawing ambiguous attention to something that I thought about before writing Avalon Nights.

My father read the first Avalon Nights before I submitted it and he LOVED the Twitter thing. He thought it was super fun and it was really his first real explanation as to what Twitter even is. He also commented that he appreciated that it only happened at the beginnings of the chapters. I could’ve probably overdone it but as a background device, it worked splendidly.

The last thing I wanted to talk about is texting in stories. It’s amazing trying to format a chat conversation or a text conversation into a narrative. The closest thing I can equate it to is a telepathic conversation I read out of the Amber series by Roger Zelazny. I used that as my inspiration when I started text conversations in a book. I suppose in that regard, it’s not so new as a new way to convey a previously ‘fantasy-centric’ means of communication.

I suspect that this trend will become more and more popular as modern authors fully embrace these various technologies. So many people read blogs, use Twitter or Facebook, google things and text each other that the audience will roll with whatever we can toss at them. We’re all jacked in, informed and well versed in the Web. We might as well use these tools to their fullest and throw them into the spotlight of exposition.

So long as we don’t let them become a distraction, they’ll only legitimize our own growth as artists.

And now, for a teaser from her newest book at eXtasy Books:

I wrote a two part series called ‘Creative Spark’. Part 1 came out in August and Part 2 was released at the beginning of September. The books are available through eXtasy Books and the entire first chapter is available to read on my web site: www.caitlinwest.com. The back cover blurb is below.

Part 1 ‘Time to Wake’
Part 2 ‘Unveiling the Serpent’
Publisher" Devine Destinies
ISBN: 978-1-55487-939-7 
Series: Creative Sparks Book#1
BUY HERE
Blurb:
Karen Bowers has always dreamed of dead people. They begged for her help and at the tender age of twelve, her parents had her institutionalized. Now, a semi-successful artist, she has embraced what doctors could not stamp out, quietly helping spirits move on to the afterlife.

But even accepting her fate has not made her immune to the twisted designs of the universe. A spirit two hundred years in her grave shows up asking for help, centuries beyond anything she’s ever dealt with. Her clues involve a tragedy in 1805, a doomed love affair and a dangerous ambition that could unravel the very fabric of reality.

Can she unlock the mystery before it’s all too late? Will the help of an eccentric book store owner turn the tide? What will happen to the life she’s managed to build around her odd condition? The answer lies in a spark.)

BUY HERE 




Monday, September 12, 2011

It's Monday!

Yes, I know you've probably figured that out and are way ahead of me on other things too. Just shush and read on.

Life is rushing away with me again. For the next couple of weeks, I'll be pretty scarce. I'll get my newsletter out, thank heaven for the scheduling abilities of some things. If anyone is looking for a reliable and easy to handle newsletter provider, check out Mailchimp, it's been a real lifesaver for me.

So, you might ask, what's happening? I've been sick with a horrible sinus cold for the last week or so, and because of it, had to cancel an appointment with my specialist. That was bad enough, but now I've got to see him, and get ready to take a week off beginning the next day. Eeep! I'm organized. I mean you tell me I've got to have things done by a certain date or things prepared by such and such, I'll bend over backwards to get it done. This is crazy though. LOL

Hubby and I will be traveling to the northern part of the next province over. It's going to take us a couple of days to get where we want to be, in order to deliver a SUV to a fellow who's working up there. He's found himself a permanent job at another company and it starts two days after this one he's working on right now ends. He won't have enough time to get back home, swap vehicles and get back there before the job starts. Hubby volunteered. I want to go too. So, the mad scramble begins. Sheesh!

I'm taking a camera, so you might just get to see some of the countryside up there and some wildlife. We're hoping to see caribou, elk, possibly buffalo, although I've seen those here, big horn sheep, dall sheep, porcupine and others if we're really lucky!

Don't forget to come and check out the Wednesday guests. I may miss announcing one, but I've got them scheduled. LOL Oh, and the newsletter will come out on time, so don't be shy about joining that.

Take care and try to have fun. Summer's almost over, so enjoy the tail end of it.

Hugs
Jude

Thursday, September 08, 2011

Hehehe!

 There are just some things I can't help but laugh at. 


Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Welcome Karenna Colcroft

I'm extremely please to have the lovely and talented Karenna Colcroft with me here today.

1. How long have you been writing? What inspired you to pick the pen up one day and create characters that capture the imagination?
I wrote my first story when I was five, and I’d been making up stories for a year or two before that. I’ve always had a big imagination, and since my real life wasn’t always great, stories were both an escape and a way of keeping my imagination from driving me insane.

2. What influenced you to get published? How long did it take? Can you tell us the name of your first published work?
I’d wanted to be published since I was very young, but didn’t have the confidence to submit things, or the self-discipline to revise things enough to submit them. I did submit a couple of things over the years, which were rejected and on which I subsequently gave up. My first publication, which wasn’t romance at all and is under my real name so I’d prefer not to talk much about it, was accepted in 2000, when I was 30. My first published erotic romance, Ask and You Shall Receive, came out in 2009. (It’s currently unavailable as rights have reverted to me.)

3. Most people envision an author’s life as being really glamorous. What’s your take on this? Can you tell us something unglamorous you did within the last week or so?
Glamorous? I wish! There isn’t much glamorous about sitting in a small room staring at a small screen for hours on end while children argue in the other room or repeat, “Mom!” half a dozen times, and/or while listening to my hubby playing online role-playing games behind me. Some people in my real life know that I’m an author (mostly they know about my young adult books, not about the Karenna Colcroft stuff), but few of them read anything I’ve written. I think the most unglamorous thing I’ve done this week is cleaning out our cats’ litter box.

4. What do you do when you’re suffering writers block?
I usually have two or three projects going at the same time, so if I’m blocked on one I switch over to a different one.

5. What would you like to share with new writers? Any suggestions or advice?
Take your time, learn your craft. Don’t be in a rush to get published. Polish your manuscript to the absolute best you can make it, and then find a beta reader or critique partner or group to help you improve it even more. When you are ready to submit, do your homework when choosing a publisher. There are plenty of reputable companies out there, but there are also a lot of scam artists and companies with good intentions who just don’t know what they’re doing.

6. Looking over the past year, what has been the best moment for you in your writing career?
There have been a lot of great moments, but I would say the best was when I received my first private fan email, about my novel Salad on the Side.

7. If you could change one thing that you have written, what would it be?
The first two erotic romances that I wrote, because at that time I didn’t know as much about writing as I do now, and there are a lot of details that were left out, and some not-so-great description. Fortunately, I have rights back on both of them, so now I’ll have the chance to change them.

8. What are you working on now? Can you tell us a little about it?
Right now I’m working on a shifter romance novel titled Beta Test, about a werewolf pack beta who discovers that his mate is human. Although this one is a heterosexual romance, it’s set in the same universe as my M/M romance Salad on the Side. (I have the publisher’s permission.)

9. Are you in love? Have you ever been?
Completely and totally. I met my husband in an online dating chat room in May 2008; ten days later, we met face-to-face at a party and the connection was instant. We’ve literally been together since that night. We moved in together in June 2009 and were married in April 2010. He’s my best friend, my biggest cheerleader, and a partner in everything. He’s also incredible with my two kids from my first marriage.

10. What do you hope to achieve in life and when will you know that you have been a success?
As far as writing goes, I hope to earn enough money to really help with household expenses and buy a car. When I have the new car, I’ll have been a success in that. As for the rest of my life, I hope to be the best mother and wife I can be, and the measure of success for that will be my children as they grow into adulthood, and how much longer my husband tolerates me. LOL

Want to find out a little more about Karenna and where you can find her? Read on!

Bio
Karenna Colcroft is the alter ego of a normally sedate wife and mother. She began writing when she was five years old, and started writing erotic romance in 2006 on a challenge from a friend. Since 2009, Karenna has had numerous titles published by publishers including Pink Petal Books, Ellora’s Cave, MLR Press, and Passion in Print Press. Karenna lives in the northeastern US with her two children, her real-life romance hero husband, and two cats. 

You can find out more about Karenna 
on her website, http://www.karennacolcroft.com
friend her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/karenna.colcroft,
or follow her on Twitter @KarennaColcroft.


And now for the good stuff. An exciting tease from her latest book!

Karenna’s latest release is the contemporary novella Help Around the House, released September 1 from Pink Petal Books http://pinkpetalbooks.com


Two years after the death of her husband, Jodie thinks it’s time to move on. And who better to move on with than Todd, the next-door neighbor who has stood by her and helped her with everything from snow removal to her two children? 

But Jodie isn’t completely sure she’s ready to become involved with Todd. Todd, who has been divorced for several years, barely remembers how to be in a relationship. If the two of them want everything to work out, they must agree on what they want and work through their pasts to build a future together.



Excerpt:

Without waiting for his response, she took off the cami and set it aside, then touched the front clasp of her bra. She hadn’t undressed in front of a man other than Royce in so long that she’d forgotten the awkwardness of the first time undressing in front of a new partner. Now she remembered. Todd had called her beautiful, but he hadn’t seen all of her yet, and she wasn’t sure she wanted him to. She wasn’t fashion model material by any means, and since she’d lost Royce she hadn’t been as attentive as she could have been to staying in shape and eating well.

“Keep going,” Todd urged. “I want to see all of you.”

“Then it would only be fair to let me see you,” Jodie pointed out. She might not feel as awkward about her own body if Todd was nude as well.

“Good point.” Todd sat up and stripped off his T-shirt. His chest had sparse hair a slightly darker red than what he had on his head, and the muscles were more obvious with no clothing covering them. His belly was also a little more prominent, which made Jodie feel better. Neither of them had perfect bodies. That shouldn’t matter.

“Your turn,” Todd said, his eyes gleaming mischievously.

“I didn’t know we were playing a game.” Quickly, before she started doubting herself again, Jodie unclasped her bra and let the straps fall from her shoulders. She stifled her urge to cover her breasts and instead leaned back on her hands, giving Todd the full view. “Am I winning?”

“No, I think I am.” Todd stared at her appreciatively and reached toward her, though he stopped before he touched her. “Yeah, as long as I get to look at you like this, I’m definitely winning.”

The idea of making a game out of undressing struck Jodie as a little immature. She wanted to take their lovemaking seriously. On the other hand, that wouldn’t have been very Todd-like, and the play took her mind off how weird she felt about taking her clothes off in front of him.

Playing with Todd this way turned her on more than she would have expected.