Face to Face

12/31/05 Ebook download winners: Pam P., Jillian and HappyReader...please email me at darraghafoster @ earthlink.net (no spaces) with your choice: Love's Second Sight or The Orca King. Thanks! -- Darragha









I like "face to face" hero/heroine pictures. I've posted a few of my favorites. The African and the Valkyrie are poser images I commissioned for my novella "Devil's Food Kate." It's in a holding pattern with another publisher right now, and if I don't hear something soon, I'm pulling it and submitting it to LSB. LSB is, amongst other things, responsive. I think it would do very well as a Liquid Silver Book!

Here is it...12/31/05. A 'last day.' Or is it just 'another day?'
In the movie, "Dark Chrystal" Aughra, a wise woman (who I do a great impersonation of) says: End, begin, all the same. Big change. Sometimes good. Sometimes bad.

I've been chanting for 25 years. When I have the "sometimes bad" thing crop up, I look at it from my now-innate Buddhist perspective and keep on chanting. 2005 had lots of "bads." To restate, 2005 had lots of challenges. My beloved husband was diagnosed with kidney disease and after the first round of "traditional" drugs that made him more ill, we've turned to a naturopath for assistance. That, and prayer. Lots of it. And Denny is doing pretty darn well!

We painted the house (okay...we hired someone...), put up a new shed with an apartment in it (now rented to a nephew) and a deck. The dog had to be sent to her next great adventure after a biting incident. My 18 year old cat is still purring and sitting right here next to me as I type!

I sold "The Orca King" to Liquid Silver Books. Gods, I love Liquid Silver! Such good people to work for and with.

And now, about that picture...It's Tristan and Isolde by John William Waterhouse. I love it. Tristan is gorgeous. And the painting oozes romance...

Darragha's Naughty Bits

SEx ... Silver Expressions

So, darlings...what did you accomplish in 2005 and what are you putting off until 2006? It's the eve of a new year...the time when so many of us reflect and plan. To quote Rameses from the movie, "The Ten Commandments" SO LET IT BE WRITTEN, SO LET IT BE DONE!

The first three posters shall receive one of my ebooks. Such lucky people.

Darraghaaaaaa

Borders Gift Certificate Winner

Thanks everyone, for posting comments on my blog entry about my love for geeks! It's nice to know I'm not alone :)

The winner of the random drawing for the Borders gift certificate is Nicole! Nicole, please email me at tm-sharp@hotmail.com and send me an address you'd like me to send your prize to :)

Thanks again, everyone! I had a blast!

Let's Hear it for the Geeks!

I know, I know. Everybody loves an alpha hero. But I have a dirty little secret. I . . . (hangs head in shame) I love the geeks! There! I said it! (taking a deep breath). I can’t help it.

In high school I was never attracted to the jocks. Oh no. I got heated over the book worms and computer nerds. Could I tell my girlfriends this embarrassing secret? Hell, no! I had to keep it hidden away for all those years.

My taste for geeks followed me all through college, too. Sure, if I’d been asked, I’d have gone on dates with the hot guys. But the ones I loved talking to the most were the nerds. They always intrigued me. They stimulated my mind. I could talk to them for hours on end. But would they ever ask me out? Hell, no! *Sigh*

I’ve had a crush on Richard Dreyfuss forever. From the first time I saw him in The Goodbye Girl, to watching him in Stakeout. Come on. Can you honestly tell me you didn’t think he was sexy as all get-out in Stakeout? Tell me the truth.

I also had a mad crush on Eric Stoltz. You all remember him from Some Kind of Wonderful? He most definitely wasn’t the alpha heart-throb in that movie. But my heart just pitter-patters when I see a soft-spoken, shy geek. I don’t know what it is.

And a man in glasses. *SWOOOON* WOW! You guys watch CSI New York? The bespeckled detective Danny Messer? Ooooh yeah, baby! (Fanning herself). He’s tough AND kind of geeky. WOWZA!!

The Brad Pitts and Tom Cruises don’t do anything for me. Something about a guy who is prettier than me really bugs me. I like a guy with character. I love a beta, intelligent thinker. That’s the kind of guy that gets my heart racing. And a geek with a sense of humor? *Sigh*

Do I like the tough guy? Yeah. I do. I do love a kick-ass, well-muscled man as much as any woman does. But, I mean, that’s the kind of guy I’d like to do the nasty with. But I wouldn’t marry him. *Grin*

What about you?

To win a $10.00 gift certificate from Borders, tell me your dirty little secret! It can be anything! And don’t hold back now! We want to hear the dirty details!

Fantasies

Romance novels have always been fantasies.

Even the traditional ones. HealthyPlace.com says that the top female sexual fantasy is the "rape fantasy". Or as romance writers call it, the forced seduction.

The article does state "The reason fantasies are so cherished is because the majority of them will never be realized."

Much like the old romances with pirates and outlaw cowboys. And maybe why so many of the newer erotic stories feature dominant/submissive roleplaying.

Is this why paranormal stories sell so well? Because while supernatural powers can seem sexy, most of us don't really want to meet up with a sexy immortal bloodsucker? We might fantasize about a wild man who will call us HIS and want to 'mate for life', but what would you really do if some guy got all super possesive and started growling when another man looked at you?

What is it really that keeps us hooked on romances? For me, it's not the happily ever after, because I've read many that don't have that, but I still consider keepers. It's the fantasy aspect of it all. The whole escape into someone elses life or world while I read. It doesn't really matter if it's a sexual fantasy, or a superpower one...as long as there is some sort of escape to it for me..

What about for you? What is it that keeps you hooked on romances?

Sexy Savage Beast Winner

Thanks everyone for coming to share your gun stories. Wow - are we a lethal group or what!

Yay! robynl you won the kissalicious prize. Please email me at jenna @ jennahoward.com (no spaces) so I can get the details to send you your sexy, savage beast prize.

Now I'm off to watch the 3rd period of the hockey game! Whoo, go boys! I won't even mention the penalty we just got. Grrr. Where's my bb pistol?

Jenna Howard
Website | Blog
Dare to love...passionately.

Sexy Savage Beast

I hope your holidays were great. Mine was, well, different. I learned that I am, indeed, a sexy, savage beast.

Why Jenna, you say, whatever do you mean?

Christmas Day I was armed and dangerous. My cousins trembled in fear, my dad had a wicked glint in his eyes for his beloved #1 was peering through the sites of a Walter PPK/S and I felt extremely dangerous. Grrr. Now, before you ask if I shot myself: the answer would be no. And no, I didn't wound anyone else. It was a b.b. pellet gun. My paper villain though will attest to the fact that I obliterated the right side of his face, pierced his ear and made him jump when I hit the white space. Some families gather around a piano to sing carols (not us since 75% of the family is tone deaf although we performed a beautiful concert with whistles from our Christmas crackers) or indulge in eggnog or whatnot. Not us. Oh no, in the Howard household, we play with guns. But we never ever run with scissors.

I'm going to confess that I've been contemplating asking my dad to teach me to shoot a handgun for the simple fact that all my characters (heroines, heroes, villains, maybe even the housekeepers) all seem to be packing heat and I felt I should have some understanding of the weaponry besides watching Charlie's Angels and Transporter. My dad is a competitive target shooter and spends copious amounts of time searching for a competition where he can obliterate his competitors and walk away leaving everyone's jaws on the ground as they think "Santa can shoot." (Dad is shaped like Santa - 'nuf said.) And so I was going to look to my dad for lessons since, well, why not. What? I was going to pay x amount of dollars at the shooting range when I could get something for free?

As it turns out...Dad was a few steps ahead of me. I arrived at my parents' place on Christmas Eve since it's only me in my condo excluding the dust bunnies and characters crowding my kitchen. There on the coffee table was a pistol. This isn't normal despite how the teenage guys thought I grew up (they firmly believed my dad walked around with a target rifle stretched across his shoulders as he grilled them at the front door. I think my brother has something to do with this urban legend of my youth.) Usually anything that goes boom is locked up. I eyed said pistol with a little trepidition. Doesn't he realize his grandson is coming over tomorrow? Why is a gun sitting out where any paranoid neighbor could see it? Turns out this was a CO2, b.b. pellet shooting Walther PPK/S gun (a larger version of James Bond's gun in case you're wondering.)

Dad: (bunch of gobilty gook) "It's a b.b. gun." I realize this means it shoots little round balls. I felt very smart. (More tech talk) "This is a CO2 cartridge that...more techy stuff." I know what a CO2 cartridge is, thank you very much. I'm realizing the only way I could hurt myself with this gun was if I slammed it repeatedly against my forehead or dropped it on my bare toe - one way was a little ridiculous, the other highly possible. (More techy talk about how the CO2 cartridge worked. You can tell I paid attention, can't you?) "I can show you how to shoot."

Me: "Uuuuhhhh." I wondered how my father could read my mind. I spend a few moments pulling the slide back, enjoying the elegant click. I'd squeeze the trigger (not loaded at this time) and then pull the slide back again. I do this several times as we watch the William Shatner/Star Trek special on Discovery Channel (was anyone else upset at the lack of Christmas movies on or is it just me?) I'm beginning to understand why all my characters enjoy guns. There's something very grr with holding a weapon, even if it's a CO2, pellet shooting combination of metal and plastic.

Fast forward to the end of the evening. My cousin goes off downstairs with my dad. Armed with my Coke Zero, I traipse down, curious to see how his lesson is going to go. Yes, our basement is a highly involved shooting range consisting of a wooden box, cardboard, target and a floor mat to stand on. Oooh. There's the rumble of male voices, the little pop of the gun and I watch. 30 pellets later, it's my turn.

"Hold your arm straight. Finger along the trigger guard so you don't shoot your eye out. Bend your left arm. Hand folded over your other hand. No. Yep. Good. Align the two sites and have at it." Yeah - this was my lesson.

Right arm is shaking as I have no upper arm strength. The heaviest thing I lift is a can of cola. Pop! "Did I shoot the wall?" Cousin snickers. Hey - I hit the target. Kewl. Every time for record. No glass, no walls, no jars, no relatives and no me were injured in this gathering of a blog to write. Other cousin joins us as she's going to be next.

30 pellets later my back is sore from holding still, my left arm aches from being bent and I have a bruise over my thumb where the slide tried to bite me never mind that even pellet guns have a bitch of a recoil. Still, my target was looking pretty good if I do say so myself. It is currently on my fridge and dang - it looks awesome there. I am sexy, savage beast - grr.

The local police aren't going to be recruiting me any time soon but I have a new understanding of my characters. I've discovered that I love pulling back the slide to arm a gun (sorry but that little snick is just sexy as hell) and I learned my dad is a fountain of information (he explained to the three of us about "real" guns too. Real guns are damn heavy but I have to admit I prefer the Walther PPK. Smaller. Lighter. A girl gun so to speak.) There's also something very wrong about hearing your dad say "Cocked and locked" when you're an erotic romance writer.


Anyway, because there's nothing sexier or more feminine than shooting a weapon, I'm giving away this kissalicious prize at the end of the day (9 pm MST) so stick around to find out if you're going to be a sexy, savage beast too.

Oh yeah - I'm a sexy savage beast. Fear me, paper targets of the world. Fear. Me.

Jenna Howard
Website | Blog
Dare to love...passionately.

Beth's winner!!

I'm very late posting my winner - had some issues with my internet connection last night. Seems to be ok this morning.The winner is ShellyA! Shelly, please e-mail me at cowgirlbeth@gmail.com and let me know what book you want from my backlist: http://www.bethwilliamson.com

Confessions of a bargain shopper

Good morning y’all! Beth Williamson here. *waves hi* Today I’m going to tell you a secret about me.
I can’t help it. I confess… I am a bargain shopper. Nothing will get me more motivated than 75% off something. It is such an enticement – like a male stripper coming to your door and dancing in front of you in a g-string with 75% off tattooed on his sculpted, bronzed chest. As he shakes his booty and shows you his delickable package, you are mesmerized. Yes, yes, yes! Give me 75% off!!!!

Wait, where was I? Oh, yeah, sorry. *blush* Ahem, bargain shopping. It’s so funny how some people aren’t enticed by bargains. Some friends of mine (and my sister) don’t (or won’t) shop around. They buy what they want, when they want it regardless of the price. To me that’s like taking your money and using it in the bathroom for paper.
Anyhoo, I don’t just buy junk, or whatever is cheapest. I look for brands I like to be on sale, or even better, on clearance. Oh, my, oh, my. One of my favorite words in the English language. Let me spell it for you… C L E A R A N C E. Yeah, baby, that’s right! I buy my next year’s clothes at the end of this year’s season. Pay $75.00 for a bathing suit? As if, try $7.50 on clearance. Or $180 for a winter coat? Hah! $27.00 people. I never (and I truly mean that) pay full price for wrapping paper.
I know for some people it’s the hunt that they don’t like. Let’s face it, if all the stuff was good they put out at 75% off, it would only last 10 minutes. You have to look for it. Ah, the excitement when I find five full racks of clearance clothes. Even if they’re assembled by size, I look at all the racks even if it says extra small (which I am, most assuredly, not). People shove things back wherever they feel like it. That, my friends, is how you find the good stuff. Look in the places you don’t expect it to be. My husband probably things that’s insane, but that’s how you bargain shop. You hunt.
The hunt, for me at least, is half the fun. Looking, poking, peeking. The other half is finding. Yeppers, when you find the size pants you were looking for, and they’re the right color, and they’ve been marked down three times already, and it’s an additional 50% off, plus you have another 20% off coupon! Bliss. Nirvana. It’s nearly orgasmic.
Hmmmm, perhaps that’s why I like it so much?
I think it started when I was a kid. My mother was one of the original coupon queens. She had to be with four kids – two of them boys that ate a box a cereal in two days. So I come by my shopping skills honestly. And yes, I do have and use coupons too.
So my favorite thing to do the day after Christmas is… anybody wanna guess? Okay, I’ll tell you. I am going to hit the clearance sales at the stores. I’m making a list of those with the nicest Christmas decorations so I can get them at half price starting with Super Target. I have to say that Target is probably my favorite department store. I will also likely be hitting Sam’s, and maybe Belk’s (depends on what the parking lot looks like at the mall - one thing I won’t do is hunt for a parking space if there aren’t any. Hey, I have my limits! J )
I will be off tooling around in my Prius as soon as I get some coffee, put on some clothes and run a brush through my hair.
So, everybody tell me, are you secret bargain shoppers too? Or do you just buy what you need and get the flock outta there?
And have you ever bought something, then returned it so you could buy it again on clearance? Me too!
Join me everyone… tell me your bargain shopping secrets… everybody who posts gets entered in a drawing for a download of their choice of my books!

Winner of Dec. 24 drawing

Meljprincess is the winner of the drawing for Dec. 24. Contact me, Bonnie Dee at bondav40@yahoo.com and let me know which of my books you want.
Thanks to all who shared favorite movies. Some were already on my to-see list, others have been added. And Melj,ironically I had just watched Cirque de Soleil (sp?) the other evening. The rest of the family was involved in their own things and I kept dragging them in and making them look at this or that act. Amazing, beautiful stuff!

An Offbeat Romance for You To Enjoy

Happy Christmas Eve morning all.

Assigned the Christmas Eve blog, I tried to think of something profound to say about the Christmas season. Nothing came to me. At the risk of sounding like a beauty pageant contestant, I wish for world peace, freedom and puppies for all. That being said, I’ve decided to post a movie review because that’s what I feel like doing and, dammit, it’s my blog for the day.

If you don’t subscribe to the Liquid Silver newsletter, SilverScope, please sign up now. The second December issue has my review of the wonderful movie A Home at the End of the World. Today I want to share another offbeat romance with you:

Stage Beauty
2004 – Lion’s Gate Films
Rated R - available on DVD

Stage Beauty, a gender-bending, unique film, gives us lovely Billy Crudup as Ned Kynaston, one of the most popular actors in seventeenth century England. In a time when women’s roles were played by men, Kynaston was billed “the most beautiful woman on the London stage.” But the times they were a changin’ and this arrogant actor’s star was about to burn out. When Ned’s wardrobe mistress, Maria (Claire Danes) dares to play Desdemona in a rival production of Othello, it sets into motion a chain of events that brings about the end of male actors playing female roles.

There are several wonderful things about this picture apart from the marvelous acting from the main characters down to the smallest supporting roles. First, it creates a framework for exploration of the genders, attempting to show the qualities of ‘woman’ and ‘man’ beyond the obvious physical differences. Actors like Kynaston were trained to erase all their masculine traits and to adopt feminine mannerisms in their performances. But the female stereotypes they emulated were caricatures of the real thing as Maria shows Ned in a touching and erotic scene in the latter half of the film.

The second intriguing note in Stage Beauty is the juxtaposition of two acting styles. At the beginning of the movie we witness old-style stagecraft, full of dramatic gestures and loudly proclaimed lines. At the end, when Maria and Ned perform the same scene of Desdemona’s murder and death, they display a realistic acting style that brings down the house.

Once is not enough. You need to view this film several times to catch all the nuances of each person’s performance. The movie is nearly stolen by Rupert Everett as King Charles and Zoe Tapper as his Cockney mistress. What a charming duo!

When your Christmas festivities are wrapped up and you reach that blah week between Christmas and New Year, I urge you to pack the family off sledding and treat yourself to an afghan afternoon on the couch with this fantastic flick.

Please, share a movie you have found and loved in 2005 and post it here. The winner of today’s drawing may select from the three books I have available, Home Bound, Bone Deep and Season Spirits. I’ll announce the winner on Monday due to the holiday.

Happy Holidays to all.
Bonnie Dee

Jessica wins because...

She told me I was impressive!

Email me please Jessica and tell me where to send this copy of Single Station (I do hope you like my Samantha).

Meanwhile wonderful people, I'm about to disappear for the next few days. I'm making my way down to the Gold Coast in order to prepare for a rather LARGE new years party...that's right Christmas isn't done yet but I'm already fixing for New Years eve.

After that I've enrolled in a Bootcamp Fitness course! A month of intensive training to work off all the extra calories I'll have eaten (and drunk) over the course of the next few days. That's right people...I can have my cake AND eat it too!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Bec

Pressies!

Thanks to everyone who came out and shared a laugh, something we can all use at this stressful time of the year.

Our winners were picked totally at random by the kid who can't understand Aerosmith lyrics!

Bamabelle -- the Origins Cocoa Therapy Instant Chocolate Fix (for those times when you can't eat it, smelling it will definitely do!). And it'll fit in your pocket ;-)
Jessica --Wrangler's Cowboy Country Christmas CD
Voodoo --a download of Sasha White's "The Devil Inside"
and
Terri--a download of "Once in a Blue Moon"

Ya'll email me at cece @ celiastuart.com (without the spaces) so I can get your prizes to you.

I hope everyone has a happy and relaxing Christmas. See you next month!

Cece

Sinning can be funny

Okay, before I get started with today's topic, I have to ask. Did anyone watch the Season Finale of Nip/Tuck last night? OMG!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe I almost missed it! I got up out of bed at 11:00 PM because silly me missed the 9:00 show! Bless F/X!
It was well worth getting up for just to confirm that my suspicions about The Carver were right all along--but the twist--heavens!

Can anyone tell me who The Carver was? Anybody...anybody...Bueller? If you can, I have a pressie for you.

Alright, sorry, I had to get that out of my system.

So, anyway, Dakota's dirt digging made me stop and think about how, well, boring I was. I'll be frank, I panicked. Because I couldn't remember one naughty, exciting thing that I'd done. There I sat at the kitchen table, a paper bag over my mouth, forcing myself to take deep breaths and not dial 911. I don't think they would have understood. I decided I needed to meditate on my dilemma.

I curled up in my little bed, pulled the covers over my head, chased the cat away and pushed back the childbirth induced fog that had clouded my memory and started laughing. You know those bags they have in the produce section? (And NO I didn't take one to bed with me and put it over my mouth). They're really really thin!

One day, long ago, in my pre-child, thin, semi-hottie days, my roommate and I got up early and tripped off to the local grocery store because you see, even party girls need to eat. Unfortunately said party girls didn't exactly live in the best part of town. We were new in the neighborhood and figured one grocery store was as good as the next, right? Neither of us had been in a store that kept a huge horse trough of dried pinto beans in the produce section.

Are you still with me?

We stood there in awe at the sight of so many beans, and she says, "Get some. They're cheap."

And I said, "You know how to cook pinto beans?" Yes, I was amazed and impressed with her prowess in the kitchen. While I filled the (very thin) produce bag half full of beans, because well, I have no idea how much beans three people will eat, I start telling her about my older brother.

He tried to teach a rooster to fly.

Well, we got the giggles at the image of my 9 YO brother swinging a rooster over his head (by a rope) and shouting, "FLY ROOSTER FLY" at the top of his lungs. I got so tickled, in fact, I decided to immitate him. Lo and behold, I raised that (very thin) produce bag of beans over my head and hoarsely cried out, "FLY ROOSTER FLY!" in the middle of the produce section of my local grocery store.

Did I mention how darned thin those bags were? To our absolute horror and amazement, the bag busted.

We stood there staring in horror and amazement at the mess we'd...okay I'd created, a sea of pinto beans, then ran like the cowardly party girls we were to the oposite end of the store.

And that is probably one of the funniest, most embarrassing things I've ever done (followed closely by falling down while bowling).

Midlife crisis successfully averted.

Soooooooooo, now it's your turn. You don't have to tell-all to win a pressie (you can just leave a friendly comment if you like), but if you play, I'll be your friend forever. And, I'll never tell a soul. Share your embarrassing moments. Don't fret; you're among friends here, friends who'll laugh with you, not at you. I promise. I'll even let you be annonymous, just use an alias.

Your reward? A download of Sasha White's "The Devil Inside" because everyone's got a bit of the devil in 'em, or a copy of my own "Once in a Blue Moon" because even bad girls need love, a copy of Wrangler Cowboy Christmas Volume VIII (including songs from Mark Wills, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire and George Strait) because even bad girls like Christmas music and Chocolate...the truly non-fattening kind (Origins Cocoa Therapy Instant Chocolate Fix) because naughty girls, and even reformed naughty girls, need to watch their figure.

And just a little FYI, apparently roosters don't *really* fly.

Winner of PRIMITIVE PASSION is...

Congrats to Lauren--you're the winner of PRIMITIVE PASSION! Thanks to everyone who took time to post their goals today. I wish you the best of luck in keeping them. Lauren, email me at sharalanel @ comcast.net (w/o spaces) and tell me what format you prefer and I'll get your prize right to you.

And for those of you unfamiliar with Primitive Passion, you can find the blurb, an excerpt, and a super cool video trailer at http://www.sharalanel.com/wip.html

I hope you all have a fantastic 2006!

Shara

One more post as a cheers to the holidays--but keep going on the goals discussion in the School Bus post! Thought I'd share a couple of pics. No, not sexy men this time. This first one is of my dog Ana decked out for Christmas. She's 13, so getting some gray hairs, but still cute.

The next scene is one of the pics posted on my web site from my Western NY trip, which reminds me--don't forget to enter my Ring in 2006 Giveaway. You'll find pics of the prizes and the details on my News Page at www.sharalanel.com.



And the last one is a glass of cheer to a Happy New Year to all of you!

Shara

Waiting for the School Bus...

Hey, here’s a P.C. Happy Holidays for you all! I hope you’re finding time to relax and slow down despite the kiddies being on exceptionally long winter breaks. As a stay-at-home mom, I foresee a very stretchy two weeks of getting no work done. None at all until January 3rd when that blessed yellow school bus reappears.

That means I want to hit the ground running in the New Year. To do that, I need to write up some goals, have a plan.

First goal—lose weight. Lots of weight. Mega poundage. So must devour all holiday cookies, cakes, and those pesky candy canes by Jan. 1. Throwing them out would be sacrilege, so must eat them all. Also must down the rum and eggnog. Ooh, maybe some brandy and eggnog too. Hmm, and the amaretto, kahlua and half-and-half. Mustn’t have any of that left or my resolution will fail.

Then need to actually exercise, which requires a cleared space in the living room in front of the TV, which ultimately could lead to cleaning the house…and we all know how unhealthy that is! Why, I got a cold on Saturday, because I was cleaning the house before my friends came over. Very dangerous activity—better to avoid it whenever possible.

Sigh. But that should be a goal, shouldn’t it? House Cleaning 101 and some major organizing. It’s not like the clean clothes need to actually live in the closet, right? That’s just a social convention. The chair, sink, and cedar chest work far better than drawers and hangers.

So they say that when you have a goal, you should create concrete baby steps to get you there. Now with exercising, Step 1 is getting off the couch, but…damn, if that isn’t the hardest step. Actually I do some laps daily, from the couch to the computer to check email to the kitchen for a snack, then back to the couch.

Geez, hard to believe I’ve written two books, two novellas, and several short stories, what with my work ethic.*g* But I guess that demonstrates the key part in keeping those annual resolutions: motivation.

Am I motivated to diet? My doctor wants me to be. Am I motivated to clean my house? Only in the hour before company arrives.

Am I motivated to write another book? Yes, on many levels and for many reasons. I want to please my readers; I want to please myself. I want to escape into a fantasy world where good and love triumph. I want to challenge myself and compete with others, get fan mail and accolades (hopefully). I want to prove I can do it and I want to get better at it. I could go on…which amazes me actually. No wonder I write. If only I could find so many deep down reasons for dieting.

Now, as I’m waiting for the return of the yellow school bus, I want to hear your goals. I’ll draw a winner from everyone who posts goals in the Comments here, and that person will win a copy of PRIMITIVE PASSION.

Shara
www.sharalanel.com

Liquid Silver Holiday Giveaway!

Yup, you read it right! Liquid Silver is hosting a Holiday Giveaway! And what, you might ask, are we giving away? Ask and ye shall receive!!

Join Liquid Silver Books in celebrating the holiday season! By signing up for our newsletter, the Silver Siren (http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com/silverthreads.htm), and getting the dish on all the new LSB releases and fun articles from your favorite authors, you’ll automatically be entered to win an eBookWise (www.ebookwise.com) AND an assortment of LSB books…how can you possibly lose? Our winner will be drawn randomly on 10 January.

So tell your friends, your neighbors, and even your enemies to boogie on over to sign up for the Silver Siren!

Cheers!

Terri/Keira

As always, a day late and a dollar short...

Yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!! LOL. Jeanette J, please give me a holler at keiraramsay@cox.net and I'll hook you up, baby!

Keira

And the Godiva Chocolate winner...

...is--leebell_17@yahoo.com

Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooo Hoooooooooooooooooooo!!

Please e-mail me at Dakota@dakotacassidy.com so that I can get your particulars, love and we'll hook ya up with some chocolate and any book from me -- the choiceis yours!!

To all who posted--THANK YOU! I had a wonerful day here with you and I'll be back next month with more naughty secrets!

Happy Holidays, ALL!!

Dakota :)

I've got a secret...

Helllooooooooooooooooooooo LSB-er's!

'Tis I, your intrepid dirt seeker, Dakota Cassidy and OMG, do I have some stuff to tell you. I do and if you come and say hello on the blog today, you could win something BIG.

It's a surprise and I can't tell you what it is.Joking.If you just drop by and say hello by posting your comment SOMEONE is going to win a gift certificate for Godiva Chocolate at nine o'clock tonight.

You'll all go into a random drawing and I'll pick a name from a hat.Yep, that's right and I'm giving it away because I hit paydirt with the chicks of LSB and I can afford to be generous.

So, scandal, yes? You want it--I got it and while I'm at it, REMEMBER--this is NOT a PROMO and I'd be hurt if you thought it was.

In fact, I think I'd have to charge LSB for therapy it would hurt so much...I mean, I've risked life, limb and some cold, hard bribe money to get this info for you.Info you can only get if you READ THIS BLOG and DO NOT BUY ANY BOOKS from www.liquidsilverbooks.com

Ahem...Scandal #1--Did you know that Rae Morgan, author of some books called something like, Book 4 in the Coven of the Wolf series-- out in the Zodiac Pisces book in February of 2006 available at www.liquidsilverbooks.com (notapromonotapromo), has a Hitachi? And it ain't the kind you cook with.

Well, okay, ya cook with it, but not on a grill. It's a VIBRATOR. I swear, it's true. It's called the Hitatchi Magic Wand. Apparently, they're not just for fairy godmother's anymore. She says she's a VIBE GURU...

It has a name. Wanna know what it is? Vin Diesel. I swear it.I'm trading in my George Foreman A-SAP.

Scandal #2--Er, the infamous Diva, Michelle Hoppe who has some books (www.michellehoppe.com), but I REFUSE to tell you what they are cuz she's mean as reconstituted virgin to me, has a secret.

Like yer surprised by that, huh? LOLLOL.

Michelle once had sex in a restaurant.At a table for TWELVE. LMAO (I am so dead here. LOLLOL)Busy girl that Michelle. No wonder she writes erotic romances. Bet I know of at least TWELVE people who buy them :)

Scandal #3--Shara Lanel, author of Love and Magic--a book you should by NO MEANS go and buy because that would be wrong on a bazillion levels, has a naughty, naughty, naughty secret. Phew--she's a bad, bad girl. Who did a bad, bad thing.A bad thing that involved a parking lot in a multi level garage...

I wonder what level she made it to? LOLLOL

Scandal #4--An, ahem, anonymous (chicken LOLLOL) author once broke something when she was having sex.I'm just going to let you wonder what...but don't go buy a book to take your mind off of your curiosity at www.liquidsilverbooks.com

Scandal #5--Vanessa Hart who wrote a book I am NOT NAMING (A Lick and a Promise--available in January), has an even more startling revelation than last months poodle scandal.

I know? Can you even believe it could get any more risque than that? Oh, but it does, my fellow readers...Ms. Hart runs marathons.Which I believe in author speak equals--she's capable of catching and corralling Samoan men in loin cloths. LOLLOL

Scandal #5--Paige Burns (A Faerie Tale and Polar Opposites NOT A PROMO) once was locked out of her boyfriends apartment and got nabbed by the coppers.

Stripes just don't work for her palette, ya know? Her color wheel of life is all askew in them. LOL

Scandal #6--An author who wrote Baptism (notapromonotapromo--notmentioningnamesnotmentionnames) did something VERY naughty at a Genisis concert. It had to do with herbs...it did. I have a feeling it wasn't cooking. LOL

Scandal #7--Feather Marosek admits to taking naughty pictures. Of her son.Yes, she's not only an evil mom, but a blackmailer. Feather said she's going to use them against him someday...

Scandal #8--Robin Danner likes to kiss.Like a LOT. She once kissed three men, but I can't remember if it was at the same time, or individually on the same night.I'm goin' with all at once, cuz it's just juicer, don't you think? LOL

Scandal #9--Now this is a beauty--did you know that someone who publishes books at www.liquidsilverbooks.com, and you couldn't get me to name names (LindaLindaLinda), once was a participant in a great many protests in her college days?

It's true. I swear on my Aqua Net.Do you think she protested by burning her bra?I'd never burn my bra. Never. Cuz it's a miracle! LOLLOL

And this, my fine friends, ends my quest for LSB dirt this month. Lord, I need a manicure, but fear not, for I strike terror in the hearts of LSB authors when I wield my whip and shine a light in their faces to make them GIVE ME THE SCOOP.

In other words--I beg :)

I'll be back next month with the harder to locate LSB authors and their naughty secrets. They can't hide from me forever. Maybe I could borrow Vanessa Hart's Samoen men to help me catch them? Tee hee.

Until then, here's wishing you bright blessings this holiday season. May it be filled with the warmth of family, friends and a box that says "Tiffany" on it. Hopefully, it won't be one of those cheesy re-gifts. Ya know, where you think it's from Tiffany, but when you open it, it was really a gift FOR Tiffany?! LOLLOL

Happy Holidays and don't forget to enter the contest!

Dakota :)

A question of time...

Good morning everyone,
Rhiannon Neeley here and as you can see, I'm a bit late. So let's talk about time.

I'm a person that is usually never late for anything (but today I was late for posting...so sorry).

There is never enough time in the day for me. I can never get enough done. Especially this time of year. Everyone seems to be rushing, running. I don't like it much. I enjoy days where I can just mosey through, not worrying about what time it is. Those days are few and far between.

And speaking of time, I have a Grand Aunt who will be 100 years old on January 14, 2006. Her children are planning her party, inviting everyone. I just got an email from her daughter-in-law yesterday for more addresses to send invitations to. Time. I'll bet my Grand Aunt knows a lot about time.

So, tell me, are you a running-up-until-the-last-minute type of person? Or a who-cares-what-time-it-is person?

Today, for a prize, I will offer the winners choice of any one of my Liquid Silver Books titles. The winner will be draw at random from today's posters at 9PM EST and I'll post here.

Thanks for waiting on me this morning,
Rhiannon

Siren's Winner!

Thanks for playing! Although I think most of you were out shopping or something, I mean my gosh, those men were here just for you and nary a comment! ;)

Jeanette J! You're the lucky winner! Email me at silversiren @ liquidsilverbooks.com and I'll get you set up!

Oh, and couldn't resist another treat! This one is one of my favorite humans...

Look what I found...

So I was telling my friends about you guys, you know, they can't believe I have a job. I mean, I'm not all beauty and no brains!

Anyway, these are some HOT friends. I've tried the whole song thing on them but as they're Mer-men, my vocals don't work. So here they are, the only request from them was to not show off their ... um ... er ... fins, yeah, their fins.







So, don't forget to tell me about your Siren days in the previous post!

Silver

All about me...

So, it's finally my day! Goddess, that snitty Tina has kept me under lock and key for the last month. Who does she think she is, the woman in charge?

Anyway, enough about her. Today is about me. Okay, we might talk about you too, but mainly I want to talk about my two favorite subjects.

Me & Men

I know nothing I have to say today will shock you as you are all still recovering from the Zodiac Sex of the Month the funny Michelle Hoppe instructed you with yesterday. As a Siren, I'm happy to say I've done and tried all, and yes, even the Taurus one. Boy, was that bull hung! Man, of course, get it...Bull...Taurus? Okay, I see you're still recovering.

I'm a night Siren so I'll be getting my beauty sleep in the morning, but will join you later to chat a bit more with you lovely ladies.

In the mean time, enjoy the eye candy (captured these fellas myself).





A contest? Of course there's a contest!

I want to know the time YOU acted the Siren.

Who was that one boy you reeled in, with your voice, body, batting eyelashes?

Where were you?

Were you successful?
Don't need too many details on that one now. ;)

Was he a keeper?

One lucky winner tomorrow will get a Amazon.com gift certificate for $10!

*YAWN*

Okay, off to keep these scales bright and shiney!

Silver

Time flies when your having SEX!

No wait, that's having fun.
Did you all have fun today?
Did you learn anything new?
Have you tried all twelve postions yet?

Do you want to know who won the contest?

Well, of course you did, and yes, and maybe, and of course you do!

Drum roll, please...tada dat tad t tat rat a tat tat!

The winners of the Zodiac Sex contest are:
Nicole
Tammy
Marcy

Ok's babes, you must email me at michelle@michellehoppe.com and give me your info. Remember, my prizes are mostly x-rated and some are really x-rated, so you must be over 18 years old.

Thank you to everyone who came and played today. The best part about signing off is -- I'll be back...yep, you get to look forward to the next exciting installment of SEX talk with Michelle Hoppe.

Have a great evening.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Be well, be safe, be happy!!

Michelle Hoppe
www.michellehoppe.com

Still talking about the Zodiac and Sex

Aren't they just the most beautiful covers you've ever seen? It's like a rainbow with SEX! Hot, steamy Zodiac SEX!

You want to read some blurbs? It's easy as peasy, just click here and you will be whisked away to the Zodiac website where all you need to do is click on the book title and wowza, the blurbs magically appear. And, the best part is, if you want to read the excerpt you're only a click or two away from those as well.

Here's what you do. See that buy button...yep, that's the one. Click it and you will be transported, again by magic, to the book page at LSB. From there it's a simple matter of clicking on the big Here, next to Read excerpt.

Now, I must warn you, reading these excerpts might cause you to take another gander at the visual aid in my original post (scroll down) and find your signs position again so you can grab the closest man and do IT!

By-the-way, do IT is shorthand for SEX!

So'k, don't be shy, check it out now.

Now if you will forgive me, I need to post a little private message for someone - Yes, Dakota this is my third post to the blog today :)p

Michelle Hoppe

Zodiac Sex Contest!!

How many of you know about the oh so fab Zodiac Series at Liquid Silver Books?

Wow, that many, day-am we are good!

Did you like the books? Do you have a fav? Did you know you get two great stories in each book?

You did? Good!

Moving right along to the contest ... oh, wait, did you know there is a website dedicated to The Zodiac Series?

HA! Got ya. If you haven't already checked it out, check it out! But, enter the contest first.

It's easy, trust me. When have I ever made a contest hard? Now if we were talking about a peni -- no we did that already. So'k, contest. Yes, I was going to give you the in's and out's for entering.

Here's what you do. Post a comment here at the blog and tell me how many signs there are in the Zodiac. (if you're having trouble, count the positions shown on the visual aid given in my last post.)

That's all. Easy as jumping through a hoop.

I'll pick a winner or two, maybe three later today and dig around in my goodie drawer to find the perfect prize. Don't be shy...enter this contest now.

No really, right now, because honest, when are you ever going to find another contest as easy as this one?

Goooooooooood Morninnnnnnnnnnnnnnng Bloggers

Okay, tell me the truth, did you like my Robin Williams impression? Be honest, I can take it.

Today’s blog topic is sex. Yep, you heard me right, I said SEX! It’s me after all, what else did you expect?

Meeee...Michelle Hoppe! You must remember me, I told you everything you ever wanted to know about the penis and more. Right. Now you remember.

So'k back to today's topic. I looked high and low, over hill and under rocks. Scaled tall buildings and did a google search on the internet to find the above poster for you all to take a gander at.

You done gandering yet?

Fascinating, I know, but if all you do is stare at the poster we will never get on with the discussion here, so pull your eyes away and let’s talk.

Find your ‘sign’ on the visual aid above and tell me if the position shown matches your desire.

Can you even twist into the position necessary to make it happen without whiplash?

Do you have a partner willing to explore this position with you?

Does your partners ‘sign’ look more fun than yours?

Do you wish your mom and dad had sex in a different month so you could have been born under another ‘sign’?

That’s all for now, but you know me, well maybe you don’t, but you will ~smiles~.

Anywho’s pick a question, any question and give me an answer, or two, or three. Oh, heck, answer them all if you want and be sure to check back often because there will be more SEX talk today.

And, of course, the ever popular contest ~eg~.

Experience the Unexpected
Michelle Hoppe

p.s.
Remember, I'm on the west coast of the United States, so if you're reading this at five a.m. eastern time, I'm still in bed sleeping. Go ahead and post. Gander at the visual aid and check back when I'm actually awake to see what else I've been up to ~grinz~

Naughty and Nice Winner

Congrats to Jessica, who just picked up a copy of Naughty and Nice. Jess, email me at book robin @ aol . com (no spaces) to collect your prize. Thanks everyone for blogging with me!

Robin
www.robindanner.com

Naughty and Nice?

Everyone who knows me will tell you that my favorite holiday is New Year's Eve, but for this blog I'm going to get in the Christmas spirit. My most recent release with LSB is Kissing Clause, which can be found in the Naughty and Nice anthology. The title got me thinking...which have I been this year? Naughty or nice? Maybe ya'll can help me out.

On the nice side, I've donated to charity. Babysat my hellion nephew more times than need to be counted. Made a concentrated effort to not cuss as much, blow smoke in other people's faces, or be snobbish. Saved the life of two spiders, one bee, and a couple dozen insects by rescuing them before they could be attacked by my co-workers, who don't value life quite as much as I do.

Hmmm...that's about it for the nice side. (Not looking good, is it?)

On to the naughty side of life. I kissed three guys in one night, one of them being my best friend's hubby. Blew off the guy who asked me out for Valentine's to hang out with my true crush. Started smoking. Quit five hundred times, but started back. Began writing erotic romance. Made out with my cousin's ex-boyfriend on New Year's Day no less. (Got an early start on the naughty this year) Accidentally left the driver's license of another guy I'd made out with in the bed of my friend's 12 year old daughter. I just happened to be present when she found it. (That definitely awarded me the Bad Friend Prize) And last but not least, inadverdently allowed my four year old nephew to pick up on some of my more colorful phrases, most of which should not be put in print.

So what do you guys think? I'm leaning toward naughty myself. But, before ya'll start thinking I'm a terrible person, let me do another good deed. Everyone who responds to this post will be entered in a random drawing to win a free download of Naughty and Nice. I especially want to know what makes you naughty or nice.

Robin

www.robindanner.com

Putting the "R" in Romance...

Here's your chance to win Naughty and Nice!

Here’s your chance to win a copy of the newly released “Naughty and Nice” Christmas Anthology! It’s frighteningly simple. Here’s how the contest works.

1) Go to www.jypzrose.com and find the Lime Green word somewhere on the webpage!

2) Go to www.pepperverse.net and find the Bright Red word somewhere on the webpage!

3) Email the two words as the subject of the email to pepper espinoza @ gmail. Com (no spaces!)

4) Your name will be entered in a drawing. The lucky winner (or winners!) will be awarded a copy of the book in the format of your choice.

5) Email us by DECEMBER 23 to enter the drawing. Please only one email per person! The winner will be announced Christmas Eve!

Didn’t win this time? Well, it’s not the end of the contest, so don’t worry. Before the end of the year, you’ll have the chance to win a $25 gift certificate!

And the winner is...

Bamabelle!! Give me a shout at tristaannmichaels@yahoo.com and let me know your address and which book you want. Pick any from my website that are available from either EC or LSB. Thanks for participating everyone. I had a great time and look forward to the next one!! :)

Trista
www.tristamichaels.com

Getting Old

Not me…snort…:)

My hubby just came home this evening all bummed out. You see he had to have his flight physical today. As a captain, he must have a physical every six months to keep his pilot license and of course keep his job. But today, he got the worst possible news he could get. He must wear reading glasses. Can you see me rolling my eyes? All that fuss over reading glasses?? My god, I thought he was dying or something.

Anyway, he’s all concerned about getting old. He’s not. To me he’s at just the right age. He’s 42, still in good shape with black hair sprinkled with just a bit of salt. Adding a pair of glasses would just, in my opinion, make a already sexy man, sexier. But of course try to convince him of that. A man who sees glasses as the end of his world...:(

The whole point to this, I guess, is the age of your hero. For me, I like the older ones. No one younger than thirty-five usually. Now I do have some exceptions, but for the most part they’re older, wiser and more seasoned. And we can hope, more grown up…:)

What age hero do you like? Do you like then young and randy or older and arrogant? Or does it matter?

Post your opinion and I'll pick one winner to receive a basket of assorted goodies. And I make good baskets, ya'll...:) As well as a choice of any one of my releases that are now available. It will be burned to a CD, authographed, and stuffed into the basket with all the other goodies.

Happy posting and remember, if you can't be young physically, remain young at heart...:)

Wickedly yours,
Trista Ann Michaels
www.tristamichaels.com

And the winner is ...

Thanks to all you bloggers who helped us put together today's holiday e-cookbook. What a fun day!

The lucky winner of the drawing for Cooking Up Romance--The Way to Your Hero's Heart is ChristyJan!

ChristyJan, please contact me privately via e-mail at author@vanessahart.com with your mailing address. Congratulations, and thank you for blogging with us here at SEx.

Happy holidays,

"Chef" Vanessa

LET'S MAKE A HOLIDAY e-COOKBOOK!

Good morning, bloggers!

Before I head off to Curves® to try to trim off some of my holiday indulgences, I want to get us started on today’s topic: Holiday Comfort Foods. If we all do this right, we will have--by the end of the day--an original cookbook. All you have to do is copy and paste the recipes into a file in the format of your choice. You may even print your file for a hard copy.

And one of you will be the lucky winner of a special cookbook, Cooking Up Romance--The Way to Your Hero’s Heart from a drawing of today’s eligible contributors. Cooking Up Romance is a collection of recipes from some of your favorite authors, including Roxanne St. Claire, Elizabeth Sinclair, Catherine Mann, Kat Martin, Susan Vaughan, and Leigh Greenwood! It's a nice addition to your cookbook shelf in your kitchen, or a gift for your favorite cook.

So let’s get started. My favorite comfort food (or should I say drink?) of the holiday season is egg nog. Love the stuff! But it’s bad news if you’re watching cholesterol, sugar, fat, and calories because it’s guilty on all counts. This season there’s a new, soy product called Silk Nog®, thank God! I can drink it without too much guilt, and it’s pretty tasty, too.

Here’s our first recipe, one I made up in an attempt to have a healthier egg nog:

EGG NOG
(Caution: remember to cook the eggnog if you’re using real eggs.) Egg Beaters® are pasteurized, making them safe for this recipe. This recipe can be doubled or tripled.

Ingredients:
½ cup Egg Beaters® or any pasteurized egg substitute
⅓ cup Splenda® Granular
1 cup skim milk
½ cup skim evaporated milk, or half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend until frothy. Pour into a sealed container and chill. Enjoy! Adding rum is optional.

Your turn. Let’s see how many recipes we can accumulate for our one-day, impromptu e-cookbook.

Vanessa Hart

Christmas Traditions Contest Winner

The winner is NICOLE!! Thank you all for posting!

Nicole, please send you mailing addy to me at maggie@maggiecasper.com and I'll get your goody bag out to you.

Thanks,
Maggie

Christmas Traditions...

I’m back and if you’re not afraid, you probably should be. lol I decided some time late last night that I wanted to blog about Christmas and our individual traditions. I’m hoping it’ll get me in the holiday spirit because I tell ya, this year I feel like Scrooge.

Last night I listened to holiday music while putting the tree up with the lil ones and believe it or not, that didn’t even do it although I believe it helped crack the Scrooge shell just a bit. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not wishing anyone else a horrid Christmas and I’ve done all the shopping and such. I’m just not feeling it this year. I know where my bahumbugedness stems so maybe reading about your plans and traditions will get me back into being jolly. But first I’ll tell you a few of our Christmas traditions.

Since the birth of my oldest daughter I have bought one ornament a year for her as well as her three sisters to follow. Each get named and dated. You should see our tree this year, it’s about ready to topple over with the menagerie of dohickies hanging from it. The plan is that when each daughter marries and moves out she will take her set of ornaments with her and therefore, be able to start her own Christmas tree as well as feel like she’s got a bit of home with her. Of course, when all four are gone, my tree will be bare. I hadn’t quite thought that far ahead when I started this tradition sixteen years ago.

We normally have a big prime rib supper at our house on Christmas Eve with family and everyone opens their gifts and then on Christmas morning, we would go to MIL and FIL house and open gifts then do a traditional turkey dinner at noon. The day was spent talking, watching TV and just in general enjoying ourselves.

This is where things change. I need to find a new Christmas Day tradition. My MIL crossed over a year and a half ago and FIL has since remarried and moved so… I am now in a lurch as to how do I make a new tradition for my girls so late in the game?

That is where you all come in. Tell me about your traditions. I have a friend who has a special breakfast every Christmas morning. If your tradition includes food, and you don’t mind, please share your recipe(s) with us as well.


WAKE UP!! Hehehe, that was for those of you who had gone to snoring and drooling while trying to make it through my little story here. Take mercy upon me and please leave me a comment. Everyone who leaves a comment containing a tradition and/or recipe will be added into a drawing for a naughty Christmas bag of goodies.


Happy Holidays!
Maggie
www.maggiecasper.com

And the winner is....

M.L. Rhodes. If you could contact me at tiffany@tiffanyaaron.com, M.L., we'll figure out which book off my backlist you would like. :)

Thank you everyone for talking to me about your wounded heroes. :)

Tiffany

Passion Knows NO Barrier

Saving the World Inspite of Himself

Good morning, everyone. Aren't you impressed that I got up this early to blog with y'all on a weekend? Okay...I admit I was up any way. My cats having been throwing their bodies against my bedroom door for an hour now. Unfortunately, they haven't learned how to tell time nor have they figured out that Saturday and Sunday are weekends and I should be allowed to sleep in. :) oh well.

After reading Paige's steamy post about Riddick and Kyra, I was thinking about why I love that movie. My heart always roots for the anti hero. You know the guy-or girl-who saves the world inspite of himself. Who wants to be left alone, but finds out that circumstances are such he has no choice but to fight the bad guy. Now, Riddick only had one purpose in the entire movie and it certainly wasn't saving the planet from the Necromongers (not sure if that's the right name of them) He couldn't care less if they went and destroyed every planet in the galaxy. Hell no. All he wanted was to save the one person who trusted him and believed in him. Ultimately, he causes her death as well. Which is why he stayed away from her to began with. Because as he tells the Elemental "Sister, they don't know what do to with just one of me."

Or another sort of anti-hero..Antonio Banderas' character in THE 13TH WARRIOR. (I'll just call him Ibn like the Northmen do...lol) Ibn suddenly finds himself a reluctant adventurer heading into the uncharted North country with a group of men he can't talk to. They're going to fight a foe he has no idea what it is. He only knows that the big bad Northmen are scared spitless of it. He would prefer to be any where but where he's at. Soon though we watch an evolution from reluctant warrior to hero inspite of himself. Ibn learns to fight, but also that his way isn't the only way or the right way. And he learns "Fear profits a man nothing."

Or what about Samwise Gamgee from the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. He was shanghaied into going on this epic journey with Frodo Baggins. He didn't want to save Middle Earth. All he wanted to do was return to Hobbiton where he could garden and pine after Rose. Yet he wouldn't leave his friend behind because he promised Gandalf he wouldn't leave Frodo. Through it all, Sam was Sam. He didn't change. He kept his mind on one goal and it wasn't to destory a ring. It was to go home. Yet in achieving his goal, he helped save the world.

What type of hero do you like? Do you like the ones who rush into save the world out of love and duty? Or do you like the heroes who have to pushed a little to see why risking their lives is for the better good? Or are you like me and root for the man who tends to want to save his own skin and if he saves the world along the way, don't throw him a parade because he hates marchig bands and ticker tape.

Stop by and tell me what type of hero you like or just chat about a character in a movie or book that was a hero in your mind even if he wasn't billed as one. One lucky poster will win a copy of their choice of one book from my Liquid Silver backlist. :) Check them out at Liquid Silver Books .

Can't wait to hear from y'all.

Tiffany Aaron

Passion Know NO Barriers

Winner of RESOLUTIONS

Robin's kawaii Please write me at dsknight@deesknight.com to receive your e-copy of RESOLUTIONS. Congratulations!

Thanks to all who joined me in blogging today. Merry Christmas - Happy Hanukah - Happy Kwanza - Blessings - Best wishes for all that brings you happiness - Love to all - May we see peace and know joy, sooner than we think.

Dee

Random Thoughts on Christmas

I’ve noticed a subtle change in the air this holiday season. For one thing, more people seem to be saying Merry Christmas, and I’m happy about that. Before you write and say I’m an insensitive clout, I love hearing people saying Happy Hanukah, too, and I’ll gladly shout it out if I know to. Kwanza, I’m sorry. I don’t know what it is or what it’s for exactly. If I were a child in school I’m sure I would, but I’m an old bat and past learning new holidays. I know (I think) that it’s a celebratory time, and that’s good enough for me. Christmas I know, so that’s what I’m going to talk about.

As I said, I’m no longer a youthful chick. Over the years, I’ve seen a huge change in people’s approach to Christmas. When I was young—long after the age of dinosaurs, no matter what anyone says—I remember advent candles and evergreens hanging in the church. As the big day got closer, there was a manger scene in the front and Mom would lead me past so I could see Baby Jesus wasn’t there yet. The big store windows in downtown –I remember Yonker’s Department Store especially—always had moving figures that amazed and delighted, not just displays of merchandise. People did actually stop and “oooh” and “ahhh.”

When I was little, we lived in northwest Iowa and attended St. Casimir Catholic Church, named for the Lithuanian saint. I’m not sure it’s still in use now, but it was a beautiful parish church, old-fashioned with stained glass, votive candles for prayers and statues. Lots of statues. Mass was always on Sunday. None of this Saturday evening stuff so you could sleep late on Sunday mornings. Except for Christmas.

Christmas meant I got to stay up late for Midnight Mass. I’m not sure I ever stayed awake through Midnight Mass, but just going was a treat. There were lots of decorations, lots of candles. Everyone dressed up, even though we all crunched through the snow to get there. This was a parish church. Didn’t need to drive—it was close enough to walk. A good half hour before the service, the whole congregation sang Christmas carols. I knew all of them—at least the first verses—and I belted them out like I was Ethel Merman, except not quite in tune. Eventually, the priest came in and the alter boys in their red and white, and the Mass began, in Latin. I did learn the Latin later on, but back then, it was a nice droning tone to sleep by. And on the way out, Mom made it a point to show me Baby Jesus was in the manger, just like the song said. I was happy. All was right with the world.

What I’m trying to say is, Christmas was special. I know, I’m making it sound like a Norman Rockwell painting. I’m not a Pollyanna—I realize not everything was as it seemed to a child. But I have to admit, I miss the unique, specialness of Christmas. (Jeez, this is no doubt a sign of very advancing age!)

So, all of that is leading up to a few questions. What is your favorite Christmas, Hanukah or Kwanza memory? What is the best gift you ever received for Christmas, Hanukah or Kwanza? What is the secret gift you desperately wanted but didn’t receive?

Now to a different subject. I love some of the secular aspects of the season, too. Jack would tell you (if you ever met him and asked), that I usually wake up at 4 or 4:30 on Christmas morning. Of course I wake him up, too, because I have to share that I hear sleigh bells. It’s true, I swear! He doesn’t appreciate this phenomenon as much as I do, but I wake him, anyway.

I enjoy the color and glitz. I love the stores all done up in red, green, silver, gold and blue. I love the Salvation Army bellringers who are always so cheerful. I even love the commercials on TV.

I have to admit, a few years ago I noticed many of the ads were loud and brash and not enjoyable to watch at all. But this year they seem much better. I particularly like the Anhauser Busch Clydesdales ad. It’s been around for lots of years, and always makes me feel happy. I’ve come to love the Capitol One pillagers ads, and just the other day I saw a whole commercial of sleeping babies. In the background a woman sang Silent Night—it was so pretty. There’s a champagne commercial that only runs for New Years (is it Andres?) that has such class and sparkle! Do you watch commercials? Which seasonal ads ring your bells?

Answer one or all of the above questions (or just post and say hello!) and you might win a download of Resolutions, a book written by Vanessa Hart, Leigh Wyndfield, Jasmine Haynes, and me, Dee S. Knight, about four friends who meet each New Years Eve to share the previous year’s resolution.

A few years ago, my mom asked what I wanted for Christmas. I replied that I didn’t know—there wasn’t anything I needed. I didn’t mean it as a flip comment. There really wasn’t anything I needed.

I was blessed then. I’m blessed now. Most of us are.

For those who aren’t, we are each responsible for our own little section of the world. Don’t forget The Salvation Army, the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots, your church food drives or whatever organization you know that improves the world with love. And please don’t forget our military who are far from home and family! Make a resolution to send a card or letter a week to a service person away from home, and see how good it makes YOU feel!

Thanks for humoring my little trip down memory lane! Whichever special day you celebrate, I wish you joy and happiness and love!

Dee

End of the Year Achievements

Okay, so it's the end of the year and we look back and see all that we accomplished...I just wanted to take a minute and talk about achievements and give all of you the chance to toot your own horns a bit.

What I achieved this year:

Five books published
2 novels completed
Became a the newsletter editor for my local RWA chapter
Became a cover artist
And learned a lot about the behind the scenes stuff that goes on at publishers

I think that is pretty amazing myself. LOL So what have you done this year and give yourself a pat on the back for every accomplishment. :)

The Winner of Naughty and Nice is....

annalisa! *crowd goes wild!*

Email me at pepper espinoza @ gmail. com (no spaces!) to claim your priza :)

The saga of the car...

Four years ago my dad bought me a Chevy Corsica at a police auction for $4000. It had about 80,000 miles on it, but it was a good, reliable car. It got me everywhere I needed to be. I was very happy with it, until last Wednesday when it began to shudder and shake on my way to a tutoring assignment (you know, the good job that doesn't take away from my writing time). So I took it to the mechanics (missing my tutoring appointment in the meantime) and it sat there for three days before I heard the verdict. $1000 in parts and labor.

Ouch.

Considering that I already sunk 2000 into fixing that car over the past 2 years, I figured it was time for a new vehicle. A very reliable vehicle, because my students can be anywhere from 10 to 40 miles away. So I bought a 2000 Honda Accord, crying and shaking the entire time because I could NOT afford a 2000 Honda Accord. That was last Saturday. On Monday, I started looking for a job. I sent out a bunch of resumes and signed up with 4 temp agencies. On Wednesday, I had 4 phone calls for interviews and one call from the agency offering me ajob starting today.

It's data entry. Couldn't be easier. The pay is good. The hours are decent. I'll be able to get overtime. And it won't impose on my tutoring job, which I committed to for the entire school year.

I also got my insurance today. Here's a list of things I've never done:

1) Bought my own car all by myself without my dad's help.
2) Got myown insurance all by myself without my mom's help
3) Landed and started a full-time 8-hour-day adult job.

It's been a wild week. That's for sure. I don't know how it'll affect my writing. Other than nights I have to tutor (like tonight) I should be home with plenty of time to write three, even four hours before bedtime. And my job isn't exhausting and soul crushing, so that's a bonus.

I've been married for five years now. Living with my husband for the past 5 years. Put myself through college. Never, ever asked my parents for anything. This is the first time I've felt like a real adult.

Meanwhile, it was twenty-five years ago today that the world lost one of the most talented musicians, and probably one of the greatest men, of the 20th century. I wasn't even alive when John Lennon was shot, and I still feel the loss. Though I must admit, when George Harrison died, I was devastated for about two years. (Ok, I'm still a bit devastated. Poor George).

So, dear readers, I pose three questions to you.
1) When was the first time you felt like an honest to god adult?
2) How do you juggle Real Life with writing?
3) Who were you more devastated about--John Lennon or George Harrison?

Also, I'll announce the winner of Naughty and Nice tonight when I return home from tutoring...around 10 PST. So if you haven't commented yet, you've still got a shot!

In the mean time...

You for sure want to post a hello on Pepper's mini-blog, Naughty and Nice is an amazing book! Three authors for the price of one?! How can it get better than that?!

I did rewrite the Riddick story so while Pepper's making $$, hop on over to my blog and read to your hearts content. Then check back later this afternoon for Pepper's report of her first day back in the working world!

Don't forget to say Hi on Pepper's post!

Don't have time for a proper blog this morning

Remember my big "I'm going to be a professional writer and screw the working world!" post? Yeah, well, life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. I'm off to my first day of work, and I have to be there at 7 in the A.M. I'll write a proper blog when I get home this evening.

Stupid car...

But so this isn't completely worthless, anybody who comments to this post will have a chance at winning the new Christmas anthology Naughty and Nice, scheduled to be released this Monday!

Keeping the Lights on Winner...

Nicole! Email me at paige @ paigeburns.com (w/o the spaces) and let me know your prefered ebook format for A Faerie Tale.

As far as the Riddick scene. I'm going to finish it on my own blog so tomorrow's blogger, Pepper Espinoza gets all the views on SEx!

So in addition to stopping by SEx to read what Pepper has to say, jaunt on over to my blog and see the continuation of Riddick and Kyra.

Thanks for playing today!

Paige
www.paigeburns.com
www.paigeburns.blogspot.com
Cover Model Rescue Team ~ Chat group with fellow author Tiffany Aaron.

Never Fade to Black...

As an erotica author, this is something I write by.

Instead of that Soap Opera music fading up and the picture fading out, there's soft jazz playing in the background, the lights dim, the candles flicker, and the characters get down and dirty.

I'm not saying that this has to happen all the time. Sexual tension, passionate tension is essential to the story, in my opinion. If it's just sex 24/7 then it's pretty much porn. Now, porn has it's place, but I want my writing to be more. I want the romance. I want the butterflies to flutter. I want the reader to feel just as much tension as the hero and heroine do.

If the Soaps that my Grandmother is addicted to didn't fade to black, would she actually watch them? Would they be "day-time" Soaps? Or would they be regulated to late night cable?

What about movies? Think about some of your favorite movies. What would happen if the characters followed through with the tension. I'll be irreverent for a second (not hard to do for me). One of my all time movies is My Fair Lady. Is it just me, or could there have been a whole lot more to Liza Doolittle and Mr. Higgins. What if he used those marbles to train her to do other things than proper speech. Imagine if you will him with a riding crop, whipping her bare ass as she says, "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain."

Another favorite, Chronicles of Riddick. Vaako and Dame Vaako going at it before he goes to kill the Lord Marshall. Vaako totally in the moment, sex overriding everything in his handsome brain, but Dame Vaako, oblivious to Vaako pounding into her, only getting off on the glory of Vaako's intended victory. What about Riddick and Kyra? Sure the last time he saw her she was a kid, but she hasn't been a child for a long time.

Imagine if you will...

Riddick pins Kyra against the prison bars. She shouldn't have tried to cut him. The heat from the planets core is intense and sweat pours off Kyra's back as he rips off her flimsy tank top. "Spread your legs," he growls. Her moan of protest does nothing but make his blood churn for her even more.

"Spread them now."

Kyra does, slowly.

He skims the back of her bare thighs with his hands.

She grunts and stuggles to get away from his touch.

"Don't move." Riddick spreads her arms above her head to match the stance of her legs. He wraps her hands around the bars. "Hold on." With a rush of strength he rips her cotton skirt in half, letting the fabric fall to the floor, revealing her lush ass and generous curves. He unlatches his pants, releasing his hardened cock. He slides his shaft back and forth over her dripping pussy.

"Please," Kyra whispers.

Okay, no fade here, lights out because I want to talk a little bit more about this. But I think you get my drift.

Now, what about books? Imagine the classics if the characters had been allowed to follow through with their feelings, their wants. Jane Eyre? Pride and Prejudice? Ulysses? What about Treasure Island? Robinson Crusoe? Those two could have been the beginning of gay literature.

So think about it? What movie, what TV show, what book, would you have keep the lights on?

One lucky blogger will get a copy of my first book, A Faerie Tale Anthology, with Tiffany Aaron, Jodi Lynn Copeland, and Rae Monet. We've even left the lights on for ya.

Today's winner

Today's winner for the bath salts is: Cathie! Congratulations!

Thanks for a terrific day everyone! All of your responses were wonderful! Thank you for showing up and participating in the fun.

Be sure to check out my next release: The Zodiac book, Capricorn, a duo with Larissa Lyons from none other than Liquid Sliver Books!
There's a new contest starting on our websites as soon as the book is released on Dec. 12th!

Cyndi
Experience an original Cyn
www.cyndiredding.com

Oh! I forgot to post my contest!

At the end of the day, I'll draw a name from all of those who contributed a comment. The prize is my signature scent bath salts: Cynsation. It was created for me by the natural spa products company "Behind the Mask." Also, please visit my personal blog sometime:

http://www.cyndiredding.com/cybercafe.html

Meeting your kid's date.

Good morning and happy holidays. This is the time of year when many of us meet our kids' special someones for the first time. I thought I'd share our heartwarming (gutwrenching) meeting with our daughter's boyfriend. It's kind of a long story, but hang in there. Once you get through the gut wrenching part, there's an HEA:

My daughter’s boyfriend, Matt, is definitely an acquired taste. And through my darling only child, Holly, we managed to acquire him. It all began the summer she worked in a video store. This wasn’t one of those dream jobs for a college student between semesters, but she probably remembers it fondly since she made more friendships than money.

Most of the employees had a love of music in common. By the end of the summer, I was hearing about a couple of young guys working at the store who played in a local rock band. She and some of her friends from the store went to see them play a few times. Before long, Holly was dating one of them. He even took her to a party at Sully’s house (of Godsmack fame.) She was gobsmacked.

We didn’t need to approve of Holly’s dates anymore, but they had been seeing each other for a few months, and I asked her to bring him by some time. She said he was “afraid” to meet us. Afraid? Of us? But we’re cool parents! Okay, slightly overprotective parents trying to be cool, but it’s almost the same thing. Why should he be afraid to meet us?

I came home from work one evening to find one huge pair of shoes in the living room. They weren’t my husband’s, and I didn’t know any clowns, so to whom did they belong? Soon, my daughter bounded downstairs to make a snack for herself and Matt. So, the mystery boyfriend was upstairs! When my husband got home the two of us camped out on the couch, waiting to meet this legendary boyfriend. It was kind of like waiting to see if Bigfoot existed. I might have been less surprised if Bigfoot had actually descended the stairs instead of Matt.

Large stocking feet came into view, then huge pants that fell below his underwear as if they were many sizes too big—which they were. At last, we saw his face. Rather, once we recovered from the shock of seeing the bright green hair and about twenty piercings on either side, then we saw his face. He would have been handsome. Such a pity.

We tried not to overreact. Maybe the band would hit it big and he’d go on tour? Nope. The band broke up and he played video games in his mother’s basement for a year. Maybe he’d decide to “find himself” and go to Tibet or something. No, he was perfectly satisfied being a slacker, thank you.

This one boy turned my husband from stepfather to full-fledged parent. The more he made it clear that he didn’t like this kid, the more my daughter defended him. And then we learned that Matt had been kicked out of high school and had never graduated. That was it. My husband declared war! The hostilities were short-lived, thank God. My daughter wisely waited to mention this until Matt was ready to take his GED--which he passed with flying colors. Oh, and he gave up the bright colors in his hair, letting his beautiful, thick brown waves show. Next, he took his SAT’s. That’s when we discovered how smart this kid was. Sheesh! Who knew?

Matt is now in his Junior year of college, keeping a 4.0 average. We’re delighted (and relieved) to say that in the past five years, my daughter’s boyfriend has grown on us. He’s good-looking, smart, honest, and funny—and he loves my daughter as much as we do. Why’d we worry?