In a Professional Rut

Teagan had her first set of shots yesterday and she had a rough day. By her 3am feeding she was back to smiling and babbling making me feel much better. It breaks your heart when they’re in pain and you can’t do anything.
It seems lots of people had a rough day yesterday. The Red Sox really blew it. I kinda gave up on them a few weeks ago. I’m not sure why they fell apart, but they did. Baseball season is over for this house.
That’s about all that’s going on in my life. Working hard at the day job, wondering if it’s time for a change with my position. I’ve been doing the same thing day in and day out for five years. I’m thinking maybe it’s time to move to a different department and learn something new. I feel like I’m in a rut. I’m bored and under challenged. Only that little saying keeps nagging me – “Be careful what you wish for.”
Food for thought.

Happy Thursday!

Interview with Cynthia Arsuaga

How did you start your writing career?
Sheer boredom and after reading a few of my daughter’s books from her library, I thought I could do the same. At the time I started, I also was reading my husband’s first draft of his novels. I offered my opinion, did some editing, and after a few months asked his thoughts on an idea I had. I jotted a few lines down, and well, the rest is history.

Where do you dream of traveling to and why? I have a couple places I’m dreaming about—Egypt with a cruise down the Nile, Australia, and Tahiti. One day, one day. *Sigh*

Does travel play in the writing of your books?
Absolutely! I love to travel and have been many places, so in one of the series I’m writing; the characters and scenes are traveling to different places around the world. The one coming up in February 2012 will take place in Paris. Next stop will be London for Book 3.

Tell us about your current release.
I’d like to tell about my release I contracted recently, A Vampire in Paris. This is Book 2 of the Forces of Beauty Series. Texas Heat is due out in a couple weeks, but I want to get a jump on Paris because I loved it. A little different, but I’m about to start the next in the series and I’m pumped. Here’s an unofficial blurb:
For over two hundred years, London-based security and private investigator, Ramsey Weiss has existed as the quintessential confirmed bachelor. New Years’ Day he is dispatched to Paris, France, to rescue an abducted cosmetics company heiress. In the melee, he butts heads with an unexpected woman.
Camille du Bassin is the head chemist at Institut de Beauté Biologique and her niece has been kidnapped. She teams up with a private security investigator with special skills hired by her brother. The two unlikely pair work together playing a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse not only with each other, but battle an evil ancient vampire determined to take Camille as his consort. Somewhere along the journey, Camille and Ramsey are surprised by the physical attraction that develops between them, denying the attraction.
Just when the two lovers' think their love can be forever...Fate steps in to challenge the power of their love.

When was your first sale? January 11, 2011.

What is the hardest part of writing your books? The middle.

Does your significant other read your stuff? Reads, edits, suggests, and collaborates. He writes too!

Who are your books published with? Secret Cravings Publishing

Do you use a pen name? If so, how did you come up with it? No pen name. What you see is my real name. Figured at my age, no day job (I’m retired), and no qualms about writing erotic stories, then why not use my real name. That’s how people know me, why change.

What book are you reading now? Just picked up Kerrelyn Sparks latest, Sexiest Vampire Alive. Can’t wait to get some free time to read.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? An astronaut. The closest I got was living on the “Space Coast” in Florida and getting to watch the first and last launch of the Space Shuttle.

Morning Or Night Person? Definitely Night Person. I’m grouchy in the mornings. Hubby can vouch for this one.


Blurb:
ONE VAMPIRE, ONE WOMAN, ONE CONTRACT, ONE WEEK TO PLAY.
Candi Hartz, is a romance author in a loveless marriage. One fateful night, she follows the cheating husband to the local vampire sex club and meets the vamp owner. Her life takes a drastic turn when with one kiss she enters the world she only read about.
Gregori Van Zant is a dangerous vampire. As the head of the Mid-Atlantic Blood Family of vampires, he can have any vamp or human woman at his disposal. One night, a captivating woman walks into his club and he devises a plan.
The two lovers come together and sign a contract—an exchange of sex for research. Candi is born to play and Gregori is anxious to show her. An old enemy of Gregori’s arrives unexpectedly and disrupts their plans. With a final battle looming on the horizon, will the two fated lovers find love eternal or will death play a part?

EXCERPT
Gregori pushed open the door to his bedroom and carried Candi across the darkened room to the bed. He eased her down at the foot of the four-poster bed and took a step back. “Undress,” he commanded. His voice low and velvety. He smiled, seeing rebellion cross her expression. Standing back, he crossed his arms. When he flashed a wicked smile, she dropped her head in compliance.
Through narrowed eyes, he cast his eyes on her with strong intent as she untied the twists and wraps of the dress. The fluid pink-colored fabric cascaded down her shoulders, over her hips, and pooled at her feet, leaving her in stilettos, bra, and lace thong. Trembling before him, either from fear or anticipation, he wasn’t sure. The thumping heartbeat picked up pace and he suspected the latter. She may be nervous, but he sensed the arousal.
Slivers of moonlight filtered through the slats of the plantation shutters on the Palladian windows, painting her creamy flesh with silvery light, an incandescent glow glistened in an aura around her. The beast within him became aroused, demanding release. The vision of her beauty both startled as well as summoned. She looked like an angel standing in the dark, wearing bra, panties, and sinfully sexy high heels. Fuck, I’m so screwed!
With a slight cough, he cleared his throat; he spoke with control and domination in his tone. “I stated this downstairs, but I’ll tell you again. In the bedroom, I am your ‘Master’ and you will address me as such. You can call me ‘Sir’ as well, but nothing else is permitted and if you disobey, you will be punished. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes, sir,” her voice squeaked out.
“Good girl. So, Katje, do you like the dark or light?”
“I don’t understand what you’re asking, sir.”
“Do you like to fuck in the dark or have the lights on?”
“I, uh, don’t care, sir. Whatever you want.”
“Katje, I didn’t ask what you think I want. What do you want? Answer me with the truth.”
“I-I prefer the dark. It’s better not to see.”
He wondered why she preferred the dark. Was she self-conscious of her skills or body? Both? Didn’t she know she was a beautiful woman, lush curves, and soft flesh to mold his hands around, and kiss forever? Again, the beast within begged for release, but he pushed the demon down. Tonight he wanted to test, not frighten her. “Katje, we’ll stay in the moonlight for now and we shall discern how you like being restrained…as I touch you.” He took a step toward her, lithe and predatory. His fingers wrapped around her wrists, pinning her hands with one hand, he held them behind her back as he cupped her cheek with his other hand.
He captured her mouth, hard and passionately, like he’d kissed and savored the taste of her lips for the first time. Their tongues fluttered and surged one against the other. She struggled to free her hands, only she couldn’t, he tightened his grip preventing any movement. With the heat of her arousal tugging at his own, he tapped into her mind. The thoughts of shock from his restraint overwhelmed her, confused by the desire to continue. His mouth moved down the side of her neck, teeth scraping gently on the skin at the pulse point, giving her goose bumps. Oh, the call of her hot blood burns in my veins. Such a delicate morsel, this one is.
Again, she tried to move. And again, his fingers held her in place. The scent of her arousal enticed his nostrils. Sliding his free hand down her abdomen to her thigh, her body twitched. When he reached the mound between her legs, she gasped in his ear. The flood of her juices confirmed all the evidence of the depth of her arousal as her scent enveloped his senses. As he guided her back onto the bed, he lifted her onto the soft mattress. Her breathing quickened as she came to rest at the edge. Raising her hips, he slipped the tiny thong down her legs and tossed it aside. Standing straight, he pulled the black turtleneck sweater over his head, and revealed a broad, muscled chest, tapering down to the corrugated leanness of his flat abdomen. Realizing her thoughts were still confused despite her body’s arousal, he slowed the pace. “Katje, first of all, this time between us is for pleasure. I may be your master tonight, but trust me to know how to give you the pleasure you deserve. Can you do that?” His eyes were intent, knowing they glowed red in the semi-blackness of the room.
She nodded. “You won’t spank me…or take my blood…or anything that hurts, right?”
“No, Katje.” He stroked a finger down her cheek. “Any physical punishment I hand out will be for another time, but only if you disobey. I take no pleasure in hurting you. I will tell you this, the pain enhances the pleasure.”
Her muscles relaxed beneath his hold. “Okay, you’re saying I’d ask you to punish me for my pleasure?”
“Yes, pain and pleasure are two sides of the same coin.”
“I-I can’t believe they’re the same.”
“You’ll come to learn, mijn schat. Pain sometimes is necessary to free you from the chains you put on yourself. Tonight is purely for pleasure, forget everything else. Your body will yield to me and your surge in desire will come around to wanting more. But if you become too frightened or are somehow in unbearable pain, you say the safe word…Pink.” He shook his head, and continued, “If you use your word, everything between us will stop, so don’t use it unless you need to quit our play. I will be exploring your limits. You have to trust, I will keep you safe.”
Her body relaxed as his eyes met hers. His Kitten realized she had a way out and the understanding of the situation, the acknowledgement he wanted. Pleased with the non-verbal response, he proceeded.

You can find Cynthia here:
http://cynthiaarsuaga.weebly.com
http://romanticwordsbycynthia.blogspot.com
www.secretcravingspublishing.com

New Fall TV Season

The one and probably only thing I enjoy about the end of summer is the new Fall season of television. There’s always the hope of finding a few new shows to pass the time in the winter. Over the last week the DH and I watched a handful of new shows. The only one that has stuck so far is Person of Interest. I’m hoping it continues to be good and stays away from the chopping block.
I’ve gotten involved in a few shows only to be disappointed when they were cut due to low ratings. I remember a time when shows were given an entire season, sometimes more to draw a following. Now if ratings are low after the first two airings it’s time to cut it. What’s up with that? Any shows that have hooked you?
Well today I return to work so if blogging is minimal this week I’m trying to adjust to the new schedule. :o) I’ll get the hang of it. Now if my little bugger would sleep through the night. She has her days and nights mixed up, but I’m fixing that with a bit of cereal in the evening. She’s already 9lbs. She’s doubled her birth weight and then some. Woo Hoo.
Time to get a move on.
Happy Monday!

TGIF

Last night was open house at my daughter’s high school. Imagine my surprise when we arrived at her 7th period English class and when asked who our child was the teacher said, “Oh you’re the author.” I blushed and admitted I was.
Luckily my daughter is only aware of my writing credits such as Chicken Soup for the Soul and various magazines.
Mr. English teacher asked if I’d be willing to come in to the class later this year and talk to the kids. This man is VERY unaware of my public speaking phobia. LoL He also commented that he told my daughter that he’d have me come to a different class than hers so not to embarrass her. My precious child said, “I want her to come to my class. I love my mom.”
He laughed telling us and said, “Are you sure she’s a teenager?”
This is my daughter though. She tells it like it is and she doesn’t embarrass easy. She’s proud of me and her love for me – unlike her older sister at this age. I’m so happy at 14 she’s still a warm loving teenager. 
Today I have to finish last minute stuff so I can return to my day job on Monday. Waaaahhhhhhh! Sorry, it’s just not something I’m looking forward to, though my company has been in the news way too often over the last three months so having a job is a blessing right now.
Not sure what I’ll be doing this weekend, but I hope everyone has a great one!

What's on Amber's Mind?

First round edits are complete. I sent them off to my editor yesterday morning. I’m not sure I like some of them. I’m leaving it to my editor to decide if they should stay or go. I let her know I’m not tied to them. She stated second round wouldn’t be here until October so I have some time to think about it.
I can’t believe tomorrow is the first day of Autumn. I feel summer went way too fast. This year has flown by. I return to work on Monday. After having eight weeks off it’s time for me to return to the daily grind. I have so much to do before Monday, but I can’t seem to find the time to get anything done. I think it’s time to find a sitter so I can do those little things.
There’s been a big push for help for animals. ASPCA commercials seem to be taking over the television lately. They make me cry. It’s so depressing to know that people can abuse animals. We have three dogs and while I’d love to take more in, there’s just no room in my house!
There’s also another commercial getting the word out that a huge percentage of people in RI have nothing to eat on a daily basis. This too saddens me. The economy and loss of jobs has left this country in peril. I wish I could save the world, but sadly I can’t. I wish the politicians in Washington would stop worrying about themselves and start thinking about the suffering citizens of the US.
Okay, enough of what’s on my mind.
Happy Thursday!

Debut Author Marie Rose Dufour

Today my good friend Marie Rose Dufour has her first release from Secret Cravings Publishing. I've read a portion of this book and it promises to be a HIT! So run over and grab a copy HERE.









Blurb:
We know that we are no longer alone in the universe. Descendants of Earthly ancestors have returned to find the other halves of themselves, their destined mates.

Dragon, a scarred Serralian warrior drawn to the planet of his ancestors, never believed the Goddess had a mate for him but no matter what he believes, he’s unable to resist the pull of the planet deep within in soul.

Liz, a curvy teacher who escaped an abusive marriage three years earlier is afraid to take another chance on love. Tired of being a
bystander in her own love life, she participates in an ancient ritual to identify Serralian mates. Taking that chance changes her life forever. Can these two people overcome their pasts to become each other’s true Fated Mates?

EXCERPT:
Dragon leaned back in his office chair gazing unseeingly out the vid-window down at Earth from where the cruiser orbited the planet. His brow furrowed in concentration with the problem at hand.
“Uh…hum,” uttered from behind him trying to get his attention.
The gentleman should know from experience, he did things in his own time and only when truly ready.
“Uh…hum…” again sounded from behind him.
“Sergeant, trust me. It’s not within your best interest to rush me in my decision on this matter.”
“Sorry, Sir!”
Properly chastised, Dragon, confident he would not be disturbed again until he thought through every option, let his eye gaze back to the blue planet below. Ever since first orbit, life hadn’t been the same on his ship. Everyone had been edgy, including him. Expecting, hoping, and praying to be mated to someone on the planet below, everyone except him. He had lost faith in the dream a long time ago. Now he had to deal with a situation he never thought would happen under his command.
He adjusted the eye patch he wore over his left eye, a souvenir he received as a POW, before he slowly turned his chair around and pierced the man in front of him with a steely gaze.
“The only reason you are not in the detention center, Sergeant, is because we are friends. Explain to me why you disobeyed ship rules and left this vessel without authorization. Explain to me how a lifelong military man purposely neglects his duties. I need my Sergeant at Arms to explain it to me because as your commanding officer, I am ready to throw you in a cell, start dismissal procedures, and have your ass on the first transport back to Serralia.”
For the first time during his lecture, he saw his friend blanch at the mention of being shipped home.
Sergeant Tarlon simply raised his hand to display the vivid, red scrolling mating mark imprinted across his hand.
Dragon whistled through his teeth and leaned back in his chair resting both hands behind his head. “When? How?”
“Four days ago, the Goddess blessed me.” Tarlon bravely looked his commanding officer and friend straight in the eye. “Excuse my bluntness, Sir, but being unmated yourself, you have no idea what I was going though, being on this ship, knowing my mate waited down on the planet below me. Nothing could have stopped me, not our friendship, and definitely not my duty as an officer.”
Dragon’s face hardened and his un-patched eye turned as cold as the wind whipping across the ice plains on the North Pole of Serralia.
“Do you intend to soften me by insults and bringing attention to my lack of a mate?” Dragon sprang from his chair and stalked in front of him. Tarlon’s eyes immediately went to the floor in a show of respect. He took a deep breath and looked his friend in the eye. His unintentional insult struck deep, to go through life unmated was a fate worse than death to his people.
“I beseech you and the Goddess for my unintentional insult, my friend.” Tarlon placed a hand on Dragon’s shoulder. “I just pointed out you have no personal experience with the yearning call of the first mating.”
“That might be so.” Dragon gritted out, shaking off the hand on his shoulder and going to stand in front of the window again. “What I do know are the rules of this ship. You are to report immediately to the detention center for seven days or until I decide what to do with you!”
“But Sir,” gasped Tarlon protesting. “You cannot separate me from my mate. It would be a torture we both could not tolerate.”
Dragon sighed. He knew his punishment didn’t match the crime. It went against the very beliefs of his culture to separate Fated Mates even for a moment. Everything changed when Tarlon had shown him his mark.
“I am in quite the awkward position, my friend. Your infraction must not go unpunished, but I cannot separate you from your mate. What I can offer you is a compromise. Spend the day portion of your sentence in the detention center catching up on the backlog of paperwork, which seems to have piled up. The night portion of your sentence, you are in the custody of your mate.” Dragon glanced back and caught the brief look of relief crossing Tarlon’s face and something long dead inside hurt until he squelched it.
“You are dismissed. Please report to the detention center to start serving your sentence.”
“My mate and I thank you, Dragon. We shall say an extra prayer to the Goddess in your name.”
Dragon reached up and adjusted his eye patch. “Not necessary. The Goddess has long forgotten my name.”
“Regardless, a prayer will be said,” Tarlon whispered as he turned to leave the room.
“Tarlon…”
“Yes?” He paused at the door and looked back at the lonely man standing in front of the window.
“The yearning call,” Dragon whispered reverently. “Is it as all-consuming as people speak of?” Dragon reached his hand out as if to touch the blue planet in his window, but dropped it so quickly Tarlon probably thought he imagined the action.
“More.” With the powerful word hanging in the air, the door closed behind him.

Busy Weekend

The DH came home around 4 yesterday and I was in bed by 8pm.  It was so nice to get almost 7 hours sleep. I’m refreshed and ready to take on the day! Edits are on my to-do list.
My family will be arriving tomorrow. My mom, son, aunt and cousins will be coming to celebrate my grandson’s christening. I’m looking forward to seeing them all and showing off Teagan. She finally gets to meet her big brother after seven weeks.
Someone turned off the heat here in RI. The temps are around 48 degrees. Hello, the calendar still says SUMMER. I don’t like this colder weather, but nothing I can do.
Off to get some edits done before the house wakes up. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Sleep is Overrated!

Too sleep deprived to write anything worth reading! Maybe tomorrow. :)

Happy Thursday!

Blogger and Edits

Blogger hates me. I can’t comment on my own blog. What’s up with that? I can comment on other people’s blog, but I can’t respond to the generous readers who leave me a comment. Frustrating.
Well I’m in deep with edits. They arrived on Friday. I went through them over the weekend and fixed the “little” things, like dangling body parts and words that were unnecessary for the story to move forward. Today I’ll tackle the “bigger” issues. My editor was kind enough to give me two weeks to get them done. I truly appreciate this. Normally, I’d turn them over in a day or two, but life is different these days.
DH has to go out of town for 3 days. This sucks. He helps with the 9-1 feeding so I can sleep. Now I’m going to have to do it alone. So if I’m not blogging the next few days you know why. I’m likely sleeping. LoL
Happy Monday!

10 Years Later

I can't tell you what I did on Sept 10th 2001 or even Sept 12th, but I can give you detail for detail what I did on the 11th. That's not what I'm going to do though.

Instead I'm going to pray for the country for all we lost that dreadful day. May we never live in that horror again.

God Bless America

Time to get my head out of my A$$

I’ve been suffering from my share of migraines lately. I lucked out when I didn’t get one while pregnant, but now that I’m no longer pregnant I’m making up for lost time. It was good while it lasted right? It looks like they’re not going away anytime soon. Turns out while I’ve had my head up my ass I’ve missed some important details, like missing royalty checks and unanswered emails from said publisher. It looks like I need to pay better attention to what’s going on in my writing life, even if I’m not writing.
Hopefully this situation can be rectified without too many issues, but something tells me that won’t be case.

Happy Birthday Britt!

Happy Birthday to my oldest daughter, Brittany! Love ya honey.

Happy Labor Day

My family always had a picnic on Labor Day. It was the unofficial end to summer. The kids would go back to school within days. Gone are those days, now that I’m living 200 miles away from my family. In the seven years I’ve lived here, I’ve learned my new family doesn’t look at this weekend the way my family did, which is fine. Everyone has their own traditions.
I still look at this weekend as the end of summer. As I look back over the last few months it’s hard to see where summer went. I know it went by way too quickly.
Our pool was under used this year. I think we only ate on the deck once or twice. It really is sad. Hopefully the fall will be warm enough to utilize the deck.
This weekend is usually when I set new writing goals for myself. I know most do it at the beginning of the year, but I always did it at the beginning of the school year. I’d go by new highlighters, calendars/planners, stock up on blue and red pens and sticky notes. I didn’t this year.
Today we’re going to see a movie or drive to the Hard Rock Café for lunch. It will be a much needed break for both of us. Hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day!

Seriously?

We didn’t lose power during Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene. My heart went out to those who did and those who are STILL without power, because there are still people in the dark. So Wednesday night National Grid was working down the road. DH drove by them on the way to the dog park. He came home and told me the side street was without power. An hour later they were in front of our house. Now I was getting ready to make bottles and head to bed. I have a process!!!!!!
I told the DH they’re going to knock out our power you watch. He just shrugged like I didn’t know what I was talking about. Well, I grabbed a flashlight and started my pre-bed routine and guess what? Yup, the power went out. Of course I’m upstairs yelling, “I told you so.” Hey I’m like that what can I say.
Turns out they were replacing a wire that a tree fell on. They had left the tree resting on the wire for three days. Why couldn’t they change the wire when they removed the tree? Was it necessary to do this work at nine at night?
Okay off my soapbox.
Irene also caused a delay in school starting. Instead of going last Wednesday the kids return this coming Tuesday. My daughter is upset because now the freshmen won’t get the day to themselves to acclimate themselves to their new school. I feel bad for them, but things happen.
Other than that I haven’t been up to much. :)
Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

Destiny Blaine in the house

Please welcome Destiny Blaine today!

Blountville, Tennessee: Bestselling erotic romance author, Destiny Blaine, has a new book release from Resplendence Publishing. The long awaited Mary Had a Little Problem promises ménage romance readers a page-turning romance filled with hot love scenes and an unforgettable love story. Order your copy of Destiny’s romance of the year—Mary Had a Little Problem is out today: http://www.resplendencepublishing.com/353.html

Book Information:

Mary Worthington is a widow, or at least, she should’ve been. A former Navy Seals wife, her husband is killed in combat and Mary has a difficult time accepting the fact her husband isn’t coming home. Without a body to bury or witnesses to tell her what happened, there’s no way Mary can put the past to sleep until someone provides her with the truth about her husband’s final hours.

Trying to step out and socialize once again while pursuing facts about her husband’s death, Mary is introduced to Brock Taylor, a hard-core ladies man dedicated to the Marines and sharing himself with any woman who wants a piece of one. That is, until he meets Mary, a woman he’s known about through a past acquaintance.

Mary and Brock fall in love, plan a wedding in the Great Smoky Mountains, and well, things could’ve been headed toward a happy ending. However, six months after Brock finally wins Mary’s hand, Mary’s deceased husband reappears. And Mary wonders if she’ll be forced to give up one man in exchange for the other.


The following excerpt is rated PG17
“The next time you try and set me up with some hardcore, sexy-as-all-fucking-hell military prick, I swear to God, I’m gonna—”
“Anna told me how to get here,” Brock interrupted her rant as soon as the door was pushed all the way back.
“Fuck my life,” Mary muttered, thinking she’d never seen a hotter man than the one in front of her. Even Luke would have a difficult time measuring up to Brock, and that was saying a lot.
Stop it right now, she thought. She didn’t have the right to gawk at this stranger like he was a packaged adult delivery for an overnight stay. “This is not happening to me.”
Brock winked, a devilish grin marking a permanent place on his face. “Prick? Really? Is that the best you can do?”
She released a troubled sigh. Apparently, he missed the compliment laced through that warm greeting.
“Why are you here?”
She saw the attitude coming from a mile away. “I was afraid someone might try to set you up with some hardcore, sexy-as-all-fucking-hell military prick. I’m here to save you.”
“From myself?” she asked, meaning she needed all the help she could get since she had the open-mouth-insert-foot concept down to a perfected science.
“Should I take that to mean you’re interested?”
“What do you want?” she asked, ignoring his underlying insinuations.
“An invitation inside would be a nice start.”
“Why?”
“Maybe because it’s the polite thing to do, especially after you spoke so passionately about me.”
“The last time a soldier stood in my doorway, he brought bad news with him. Would you invite that into your home, Mr. Taylor?”
“Depends on what you consider bad news, Mary. And please, call me Brock. We’ll do better in the end if we start out with first names.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You think you could stand my answer?”
Mary propped her hands on her hips. “Depends. Think you can handle rejection?”

Destiny Blaine’s Mary Had a Little Problem can be ordered here on release day:
http://www.resplendencepublishing.com/353.html
Follow Destiny on Facebook or Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/DestinyBLaine
http://facebook.com/destinyblaine