Ye Olde Opinion Box

And before I get started, I have to say that I just love this picture.  Show of hands: who would like to be this woman in this moment? *raises hand and waves it madly*  Vampires.  Yum.

Anyway, I need some help, as you may have surmised from my whiny title.  I'm supposed to do some erotic short stories.  Which is AWESOME, because hey, my books always get rated hot, so I should be able to stretch a little further, right?  But I would love to read some more erotic romance before I dive in so I have a better feel for the structure.  And...stuff.  So if you would, can any of you direct me to your favorite erotic short stories?  Even just your go-to author or authors.  There's so much available, I don't know which direction to go!  And over the last year, my reading time really took a beating.  Haven't managed to read much, though I THOROUGHLY enjoyed Olivia Cunning's Backstage Pass.  Rock Hard is next on my list, woohoo!  Though I'm not sure anything can surpass having music written all over your body while you...uh, what were we talking about?  Oh.  Um.  Anyway, today's an open call for suggestions.  What are you loving and just as importantly, why?  I'm interested to hear your answers!

In other news, my dogs are getting so big that I trip over them all the time.  Especially in their favorite room, the kitchen.  Trying to operate around a big, lumbering, hungry bear dog and his smaller but waaaaay more spastic companion has become...difficult.  They are right now trying to eat one another's faces directly beside my desk chair, which won't bother me until they try to knock me over.  Oh, and Stella has taken to stealing things off the counters when we're not looking.  Argh.  I still love them to pieces, by the way.  But the "big dogs" chapter of my life is thus far an interesting journey.  I've decided to give one of my next heroines a Newf sidekick.  It's gotta happen:-)

Have a great day!  

Schedule, etc.

So I've decided I'll be on a M/W/F blogging schedule around here, if you all would like to know when to come looking for something new.  As today is Tuesday, consider this FABULOUS BONUS CONTENT.  Erm, or not:-)  Do have a couple of things...Romantic Times has given DARK AWAKENING 4 stars and a HOT rating, along with a lovely review calling me a "rising star" (*blushes*) and saying the new series is "sure to please".  Couldn't ask for more!  Awesome kickoff.  Also, I see a couple of my Goodreads readers who have already won copies of the book have enjoyed the story and rated it highly, and I hope they know I am SO appreciative.  I want people to love this story as much as I do, and it's really great to see the book starting off well-received.  Aaaaand...that's all I've got for today.  So I will present you with the Lonely Island/Michael Bolton collaboration that is still making me laugh a couple of weeks after I first saw it.  Davy Jones! Giant squid!  Catch you all tomorrow!

Music Monday 5/23

Thought I'd kick off my Music Monday thing with a song that has been part of the soundtrack for every Scottish hero I've written (and there have already been a few in my short career).  From Call of the Highland Moon's Gideon MacInnes to Dark Awakening's Tynan MacGillivray, my Scotsmen have a sweetness at their core, even if it's not readily apparent at first.  And though they would never admit it, being the sorts of men who aren't into discussing such alien concepts as "feelings" except under extreme duress, they want very much to love and be loved in return.  This also scares the hell out of them, but you know...they're men.  Supernaturally powerful men, but that doesn't make a lot of difference in this area.  In their more vulnerable moments, this lovely song by a favorite band of mine, the appropriately Scottish band Travis, always seems to apply.  I've loved it for years now, so it seems like a good one to share.  Hope you enjoy it too!
 

Return of the Blogger

Hey everyone!  Okay, prompted by butt-kickings from various people in my life (all much appreciated, btw), I'm hopping back on the blogging train.  I made it through the experience of writing two books in six months with most of my sanity intact and probably more white hair, though I don't let my roots grow out enough to really know for sure:-)  I've got a lot of exciting stuff happening in my professional universe, and I've got a series launching on June 28th.  If I ever say I have nothing to blog about right now, smack me. 

We'll start with tomorrow and a suggestion from my buddy Lisa.  I am a complete music junkie, which you'll figure out quickly if you listen to my ramblings for any length of time.  I use music for writing inspiration ALL the time, and sometimes can even tame my writerly ADD enough to have it playing while I'm working.  Some books lend themselves to that more than others...seems to depend. Sooo, henceforth, we'll be having Music Mondays 'round these parts, wherein I'll share a song that I've used or am using in my writing.  My iPod is full o' goodness.  So this should be fun!  I'm always open to suggestions for new stuff, too.  As for Wednesdays and Fridays, which are the other days I'll be hanging out here, well...we'll see what I come up with:-)

As for tonight, I wanted to share something cool with you all.  I recently sold Dark Dynasties books 3 and 4 to Grand Central (YAY!), and the description of Book 3, SHADOW RISING, interested the good people at Romantic Times enough that they mentioned it HERE. Is that not cool?  I've only got about three chapters of that book done so far, but I absolutely love the characters already.  Gonna be a fun one.

Thanks for stopping by, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Win a copy of Dark Awakening!

Hard to believe, but the release of Dark Awakening is only a couple of months away!  Wanna win a copy and read it, say...now?  My publisher, Forever Romance, is having a week of giveaways on Twitter to celebrate the royal wedding, and today they'll be asking trivia questions and selecting FIVE winners to receive a copy of Dark Awakening!  If you're into Twitter (I keep trying, and then forgetting about my account, and then trying, and then forgetting...it's a vicious cycle), check it out a @ForeverRomance all day today.  Good luck!

I just finished writing the sequel, actually, and am now crawling out of the Writer's Cave O'Pain to re-engage with normal life.  It's been a busy year, but things should be smoothing out now a bit, so I'll be here more often:-)  YAY for hitting another deadline!

Party at Aunty Cindy's!

I'm hanging at my buddy Aunty Cindy's today to talk about my RITA final.  Click here to swing by!  I'd love it if you came over to chat.  As for me, I'll be back to regular blogging when the book is turned in, quite soon.  Confession: I kind of suck at multi-tasking:-)  I did decide what sort of dance I should do if I actually WIN a RITA...I discovered the wonder that is Big Freedia yesterday.  Can I make my booty move like that?  Will I stand on my head at the awards ceremony?  Will they throw me out for standing on my head and shaking my booty?  Only time will tell...
 

Renegade Angel is a RITA finalist!

I knew today was the day that the phone calls went out for the RITA finalists.  And I'm not going to lie, even though I knew I was up against a LOT of fabulous writers, I had that little glimmer of hope that I'd get a call.  And...right about 11:00 am...

I got one:-)

Did I squeal in the lovely Jeannie Adams' ear?  Oh yes.  Did I hang up and shriek at the top of my lungs?  Oh hell yes.  I'm still shaking.  I know that a lot of readers probably don't even really know what a RITA is, but the best way I can describe it is sort of the Oscars of Romance.  It's a big, peer-judged contest...THE big contest, and we hold a lavish awards ceremony every year at the national conference, on the last night.  And this year, I'll be sitting there with Kevan (my agent) and Ann Leslie (my Nocturne editor), in my pretty new dress (which I'm going to need to buy!), and loving that this book was recognized for being something special.  I don't care if I win.  I'm just honored, and thrilled, and I wish I could bottle this feeling and pull it out whenever I feel like things are too tough.  It's a difficult business...but there's so much magic in some of the moments it gives you.

It's a good day.  A really, really good day!!