Tuesday, July 30, 2013

A Much Needed Break

I’ve missed so many blog posts I can’t count. Today I’m hanging up my hat and admitting I’m done blogging for a bit. I’m going to take time away from my writing career.
My real life has been intense and I’ve been interviewing for a new job. There are a lot of changes going on in my life. Writing has taken the back burner. I have no desire to write at this time.
I’ll be around to support my fellow writer friends and occasionally you’ll find me on the loops.
I’m always on Facebook and sometimes twitter.
You'll also see guests here, so check back.

Thanks so much for all the support you’ve given me over the years. It has meant everything to me. It’s not good-bye; just I’ll see you soon. :o)

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Celebrating!

My baby girl turns 2 today!

Friday, July 26, 2013

Special Guest - Em Petrova



Five Things to Say in Bed
By Em Petrova

When writing erotic romance, I often search for new ways to excite the characters as well as my readers. I thought you might enjoy this information! Here are some things he’d like to hear in the sack.

His name: Let your man know you’re not fantasizing about David Beckham (even though you might be) by saying his name. Punctuate it with a few “ooohs” and moans. It’s a good way to ease into dirty talk, which will light his fires!

Fantasies: What’s said between the sheets stays between the sheets, right? So let loose! Maybe you dream about having sex in a new place such as the kitchen or the backseat of the SUV when the kids are at the sitter’s. Maybe you’d love to introduce toys or a third partner. Talk about your fantasies during foreplay and see if some of them don’t come true!

Action: Tell him what he’s doing makes you…[insert dirty line]. For instance, “Oh, Brady, your fingers there are making me so hot.” If swearing isn’t your style, try some romance novel words like “pulse, swell, or throb”. The characters in my erotic romances don’t hesitate to vocalize this way—and it’s especially fun when I have a heroine who has less inhibitions than the hero. Just think what might happen if tell your lover how he makes you feel!

Encouragement: Everyone wants praise, whether it’s your puppy who finally didn’t mess on the floor or your kindergartener who’s learned to read. Your mate is no different. He needs those positive strokes too. For you erotic romance readers, you know the hero’s praise ratchets up the heroine’s desire. And the heroine’s praise makes the hero feel needed and loved. Take a cue from some of those characters and offer encouragement between the sheets and see if he doesn’t work harder to please you!

Dirty Phrases: Simple phrases like:
“oooh, harder”
“Right there”
“Don’t stop”
Go a long way in the bedroom (or office cubicle or restaurant restroom!). Don’t skimp, but overuse these phrases and you’ll sound like you’re making an amateur adult movie!

Make it fun by vocalizing! I’ll leave you with a passage from my latest Loose Id release SLICK RIDER.

Blurb:
Physical therapy assistant Lilly’s job is to keep rodeo star Juss Rossie off his injured leg and from using his bad shoulder to rope more buckle bunnies. Trouble is she wants—just for once in her life—to be one of those rodeo gals who gets the cowboy. Pushing him to the limits of his therapy will take some creative maneuvering, and she finds he responds in the yummiest ways.

Juss hates like hell to be laid up with injuries and off the back of a bull. But being at the mercy of therapist Lilly is torture—especially when she gets in the pool, on the mat, or crawls into bed with him. Can he recover from her mind-blowing advances without losing his heart?

EXCERPT:

The bell for room four pealed for the third time in a quarter of an hour. Lilly Hall whirled around and glared at the light flashing over the door. The normally quiet alarm sounded like a gong in her head.
“Bed four needs something, Lilly. Don’t keep your patient waiting,” her fellow physical therapist assistant Katie said with a grin. Short-staffed as always during late summer. Everyone went on vacation and left the physical therapists to answer call lights.
“He needs something all right.” A kick in the chaps—bound and gagged. The insufferable cowboy was driving Lilly’s patience to the brink. If she heard his country drawl one more time, she was going to do something very bad. Like hog-tie him with a resistance band.
Juss Rossie, star of the rodeo circuit, was injured and on her turf. He was everything Lilly had dreamed he’d be—his game was smoother than aged whiskey and every hard inch of his body spoke of the power and control he exerted over the bulls he rode.
Now he was confined to a sling and a splint after taking a fall from Bushwhacker, one of the meanest, ugliest bulls on the Professional Bull Riders Tour. Juss had ridden it for seven seconds before he was flung off laterally, tearing his knee and dislocating his shoulder and popping several ligaments. They’d brought him in gritting his teeth in pain, refusing to take any pain meds. The first thing Lilly had done was help hold him down while a nurse administered a big fat shot to his tanned butt cheek.
Yes, he was wonderfully tanned—all the way to his toes.
And horribly infuriating.
The light over his door kept flashing. Having a long shift with a frustrating patient made Lilly grind her teeth and remind herself why she loved physical therapy. For two more weeks she was stuck with him in this private rehab center. Unfortunately, Juss Rossie had assigned himself to her every waking moment of those two weeks. Money could do that.
If she was being honest with herself, she’d admit she was like a cat in heat for the panty-drenchingly-sexy cowboy. How many times had she watched him on the Jumbotron being jerked all over the place and wished she could mount a man with that much skill?
As a physical therapist’s assistant, she often traveled to the arena with Doctor Paddington, who personally saw to several of the riders. She’d never seen Juss up close and personal before though. She would have remembered those steely biceps, corded forearms, hard chest…and the hat he would have worn dipped low over those smoldering black eyes that went with a blacker reputation.
They called him Slick Rider because he’d started out riding broncos, and it was rumored he liked to ride bareback. Actually, his reputation was that he preferred everything bare.
A tingle ignited between Lilly’s thighs. She contained the urge to squeeze them together. Getting hot and bothered at work was a pitfall of hanging around so much muscled flesh. An almost constant parade of rodeo riders visited this private center.
Lilly hadn’t ever dated a cowboy, but it was on her bucket list. Still, not one of the cowboys who had visited the center had ever lit a spark in her. She’d spent half of last night dreaming about being with Juss—bent over, pinned beneath him, and riding him.
The last image had finally awakened her, and she’d had to finger herself to get relief. Taking control of a powerful man like Juss was a dream she’d never forget. But the reality paled in comparison to her fantasies.
“Lilly,” Katie warned when Lilly continued to ignore the flashing light.
“Jeez— All right!” She burst through the door of room four.
He lay there like a tanned god. Long, sooty lashes framed gorgeous chocolate-colored eyes that melted every woman in his vicinity. He always wore a goatee, but since coming here he’d trimmed it extra short. Probably because he’d injured the shoulder of his dominant hand—his left—and was forced to use his right.
Her heart squeezed at the sight of his lazy smile. “Glad to know my money is employing the most attentive staff available,” he drawled.
Insufferable man. Fucking gorgeous, yes. But insufferable.
A crease lived between his dark brows, and his mouth was drawn.
But those eyes—there’s something deeper there than he lets on.
She leaned against the door and stared at him. “How’s your pain level on a scale of one to ten, according to that chart?” She gestured toward a mint-green paper taped to the wall, sporting ten faces in various stages of distress.
“Ten,” he said, his eyes unwavering.
“Is that so? I’m sorry to hear it. One would think a big strong cowboy who gets hurled off the backs of two-thousand-pound beasts could handle a little postsurgical pain. Ah, no matter.” She came forward, withdrawing a pen from her pocket but concealing it in her palm.
He waved her away. “Get out of here with that syringe. Damn, girl, you’re a wildcat.”
“Let me show you my claws.” She grinned and uncapped the pen with her teeth.
Realization sparked in his eyes. He leveled his gaze at her. “You gonna try to pump me full of ink for my pain? Try it and you’ll be sorry, Whiskey.”
She jerked to a stop. Confusion settled in her mind, but warmth tightened her belly. He had a nickname for her?

Thanks for reading, and a big thanks to Amber Skyze for hosting me!

Em Petrova
~where words mean so much more~



Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Winner Announcement

I used Random.org to pick a winner and the winner of this hop is:

I think my favorite is night time campfires with the entire family. heather1974 at gmail dot com Thanks!

I'll send an email. If the prize is not claimed in 10 days I'll pick another winner.

Thanks to everyone to dropped in and participated!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Hot Summer Romance Giveaway Hop




Welcome to the Summer Romance Giveaway Hop.

Summer is my favorite time of the year. You'll find a bunch of my stories take place on the beach or a pool is involved. I can't help it. That's where I love to spend all my free time. :o)
In honor of this summer hop...I'm giving away a copy of my ebook Sex on the Beach. It's a perfect summertime read. Or anytime. *wink* *wink*


You only need to tell me what you love about summer to be entered for a chance to win. And Please be sure to leave an email address so I can contact you if you win my prize or the grand prize.
Grand Prizes - We have two grand prizes. #1 is a Kindle Fire. #2 is a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate.

Don't miss out on the others in this hop...just follow the link.







Guest Blog - Shelley Munro



It’s A Goal: The Lure of Sports Romances
New Zealand is a land of sports lovers, and I number amongst them. At this time of the year (our winter) the rugby and netball seasons are in full swing and most weekends I watch the games on television.
Add sports to romance, and I’m in heaven. There’s something about a sports hero that really grabs my interest. I like sports romances because:
1. The sports heroes have very fine physiques, the result of some serious training.
2. The dedication and sacrifices they make to play their chosen sport is inspiring.
3. The heroes have money and fame, which makes them interesting.
4. They’re public figures and under intense scrutiny, and this adds to their conflict.
5. The heroes might find it easy to get women, but when the right woman comes along that’s when they have problems and the excitement begins.
6. The sport adds to the conflict with injuries, loss of form and competition to make the starting team.
7. The book covers are usually hot.
8. They often come in series because lots of sports are team events. A series of sports romances—what’s not to like?
Although I started off as a reader of sports romances—I blame Susan Elizabeth Phillips and my New Zealand roots—it didn’t take me long to try my hand at writing them too.

Playing to Win features a rugby hero and has a suspense element to the story. 


Issy’s Infatuation features a female rugby player and a male rugby coach. 


Eye on the Ball is a gay romance and features a rugby player and a coach from an opposition team. 


Wanna Do Bad Things With You is also a gay romance and features two rugby players. 

The Bottom Line features a rugby playing hero, although rugby isn’t a huge part of the story. 



As a writer I try to give my books just enough sports flavor to grab the sports enthusiast, yet not too much that I’ll bore those people who aren’t familiar with rugby. It’s a delicate balance, and hopefully I’ve managed to get it right. It’s certainly a joy writing about the sports I enjoy and to showcase New Zealand as well.
CONTEST: Answer this question and complete the rafflecopter to go into a draw to win an Amazon Gift Certificate (2 x winners). Do you enjoy sports romances and why or why not?
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Playing to Win
Professional rugby player, Lane Gerrard is used to women throwing themselves at him, but a scurrilous tabloid article naming him as father of a child sends his temper soaring. The woman he confronts doesn’t fit the blackmailer profile. Kate Alexander is attractive with an enchanting innocence, enticing. A total stranger. Her feistiness draws his unwilling admiration, but the child…he is the image of Lane.
Kate can’t deny her son’s similarity to the sexy man at her door but no way will she hand him over without a fight. Kate doesn’t possess money but she can shower her son with love. With public speculation rife, Kate reluctantly works with Lane to discover the truth. They grow closer as distrust slowly turns to mutual fascination, but the tabloid articles bring out a stalker. Mild pranks escalate into danger, and suddenly Lane realizes Kate is a woman he could love. With Kate and her son, he could have a family. Now, with his heart on the line, this is one game he’s playing to win…
Purchase links:
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Shelley Munro is tall and curvaceous with blue eyes and a smile that turns masculine heads everywhere she goes. She’s a university tutor and an explorer/treasure hunter during her vacations. Skilled with weapons and combat, she is currently in talks with a producer about a television series based on her world adventures.
Shelley is also a writer blessed with a VERY vivid imagination and lives with her very own hero in New Zealand. She writes mainly erotic romance in the contemporary, paranormal and historical genres for publishers Carina Press, Ellora’s Cave and Samhain Publishing. You can learn more about Shelley and her books at http://www.shelleymunro.com.




Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Crazy Times

Life has been insane. Not in a good way. I’m busy, busy, busy. Hubby had a phone screening yesterday for a new job. He goes in for the face to face next week. The job is a great opportunity for him. It means a nice raise and better opportunity for growth.
The downfall? It’s near Salem, MA. The drive would be crazy for him. It would mean moving to MA, somewhere between here and Salem. I have nothing against moving to MA, except it’s still in the Northeast. Before this job came to light we’d been talking about moving to Florida or Texas. We both are tired of long cold winters and most who know me, know I’m a summer, hot weather person.
I’m watching my dreams of moving someone warmer fly out the window. I’d never dream about him not taking it if offered. No one deserves this more than him. He’s paid his dues with his company. This is the obvious next step for him. I WANT him to get the job.

I just wish it was somewhere closer or down south. LOL Oh well…those are the things we do for the ones we love. The good thing is my job can be done from anywhere, both the day job and my writing!