Monday, December 31, 2012

The official post of winners!

First of all, I want to thank all of the awesome authors and special guests who helped make the Christmas blog party such a success. I couldn't  have done it without you! Secondly, another huge thank you to you the readers, for taking the time out from  your busy holiday schedules to hang out with us. Every single one of you rock my socks off.

And now for the exciting announcement you've been waiting for...the winners!

Week 2 contest~ 3 $10 All Romance Ebooks eGCs

Sue Sattler
Joanne Balinski
Fedora Chen

Week 3 contest~ 2 $15 Samhain Publishing eGCs and a signed print copy of Getting Familiar With Your Demon

strive4bst
Lasha

And last but not least, the big $100 Amazon eGC giveaway goes to...

*dramatic drum roll*

Elaing8

Congrats to all of you!!! You'll be getting emails from me shortly with details on claiming your prizes.



Saturday, December 29, 2012

Special Guest Harlie Williams + Giveaway!


Hi everyone, and welcome to the Saturday--and final--edition of the Christmas blog party. I hope  you've enjoyed all of the fabulous guests and giveaways this month. If you haven't had a chance to comment on the posts to get in on the $100 Amazon eGC, be sure and get in your comments before midnight on Sunday. Links for all of those posts can be found here. Winners for the main contest and my giveaways for this past week will be drawn and posted on Monday.


Today we're going out with a bang...a musical one, that is. Our special guest, Harlie Williams, has a post that is very near and dear to my heart. Musical inspiration! Not only that, she's offering up a copy of her book to one lucky winner! Just enter on the Rafflecopter form found at the bottom of her post. Good luck!


Music to listen to when writing…is it that necessary?

I’m one of those writers that have to write in complete silence.  It confuses me.  I get into the song and then I have to sing it and dance around.  I have no playlist that is my go-to when writing.  No smexy music to get me in the mood when it comes to writing the sex scenes.  In fact, when I was writing my sex scenes for The Couple, I had SpongeBob Squarepants on in the background, courtesy of my son.  I hate SpongeBob to this day.  LOL!

So why the post about music?  When I need to clear my head, I listen to 80’s hair bands.  If you saw my CD collection, you would think that I was a rock club or stripper bar DJ from way back when.  I had friends that were in bands when I was in my 20’s and some of them even made it from the regional clubs.  During my wild 20’s, I met Zak Wylde from Ozzy’s band, Dangerous Toys (a regional band from Austin, TX), Gary Cherone from Extreme, Peter Frampton and hung out with the guys from Pantera at a club called The Basement whenever they were in town.  Yes, I will write about my times then but NOT until my parents and in-laws have passed.  My younger brother and I have a pact. :)

After a really bad day, I turned on the Sirius radio and tuned up the Hair Bands channel.  Lita Ford’s sexy song “Hungry” came on and I started to sing.  After I listened to it, I downloaded the video to my YouTube channel and then read the lyrics.  All of a sudden the light bulb came on and this song was the prefect song for my story.  

Lita Ford “Hungry”
Now, I know that there are some people that don’t like rock music and trust me, what I listened to ‘back in the day’ wouldn’t fly now.  I miss the days when songs were about partying, sex, drinking and generally have a great time.  I HATE Nirvana for killing music.  *sigh* I digress. 

What makes this song so perfect is that it’s honest, raw and sexy.  Plus, come on…its Lita Ford. :)  When I started going through the hardcore critique of my story a couple of more songs popped in my head and wouldn’t leave.  For some reason, Rick Springfield’s song “Souls” kept ringing in my ears.  I know, Rick Springfield.  Hey, I still like him, so sue me.  Again, did the same thing with “Souls”, downloaded the video (horrible) but then read the lyrics and BAM…another song for my story.
Rick Springfield “Souls”
Of course, this song was cleaned up for our virgin…cough, cough…ears then.  Listen now and it’s sexy as hell. 
 
I will leave you with one more song that I sing every day.  It makes me happy and face it…it’s great rock and roll.  Crue dude! And keep rocking with Dokken…
Dokken “You Just Got Lucky”
Motley Crue “Same Ol’ Situation”



A woman has one thing on her mind tonight…sex. Dirty, sweaty, kinky sex with a cowboy. With her man gone more than he is at home, she needs the release.
After being away for two weeks, a cowboy goes looking for someone to play with for the night. Being away is part of the job but not having someone to come home to is hurting his soul. Feeling disconnected in his love life, the red head will be perfect.
Once they meet, can one night of pure passion led to more than just a one night stand for either of them? Communication is the key to every relationship. Can these two find a way to connect emotionally or are they destined for heartache.

Excerpt

“What’s a girl like you doing at a bar like this?” he asked.
Her voice was a purr, like a cat well satisfied with its stolen pitcher of cream. “I’m looking for someone special.”
Hoping that she meant him he asked, “Did you find him yet?”
“Maybe.” The glint in her eye told him he was definitely in the running. "However, I’m not looking to hook up with just any old cowboy.  He must be able to go the full eight seconds and come back for more.”  She eyed him from head to toe.  “Think you can handle that?”
Oh, I can most definitely handle you sweetheart.
Not wanting to seem too eager he replied, “I’m not sure but I’m willing to try.”
“Do or do not.  There is no try.”  He struggled not to let his grin escape.  The fact that she was trying to seduce him made his dick twitch.
“Let’s just say I’m looking to burn off some pent up frustration. A little excess energy.  And I’ve got plenty to burn.”
The way she shivered at his words, he knew he almost had her.  He winked as she licked her crimson lips and blew out a small breath.  Damn what this woman is doing to him. 
He pushed her knees apart with his left leg and was rewarded with the amazing scent of her arousal.  The knowledge she was wet for him had him close to going off in his jeans. 
Houston, we have lift-off!
“Why don’t you have a seat cowboy and we’ll talk about it.”
She gasped when he shocked her with a brush of his lips against hers; fighting with everything he had not to deepen the kiss. 
Patience, patience.
He would play her game for the moment but sooner or later, she would be his.  Tied up and begging for more. 
He asked her, “Now about that eight second ride?”
Author links:
Author site:  www.harliewilliams.com


http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c48cab10/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway
















Friday, December 28, 2012

Special Guest PG Forte!

Hi everyone, and welcome to the Friday installment of the Christmas blog party. For a complete list of the posts and current giveaways up for grabs, please visit here.


Our fabulous special guest, PG Forte, is switching it up a little for us with a New Year's theme today as she shares a bit about her latest release, Finders Keepers. Not only does the book sound wonderful, look at that cover! Gorgeous.




In With the Old?
As a kid, I used to think of New Year’s as the grownup holiday that complemented Christmas. I think that’s still part of its appeal for me, even though I’ve been an adult now for quite some time! 
Whatever the reason, I realized recently that I have more traditions surrounding New Year’s than I do for Christmas. Some of these traditions were ones I wanted to share with the characters in my new book, Finders Keepers.
So, what was the problem? Well, the book is a sci-fi/futuristic romance set at least fifteen or  twenty years in the future in a world in which big socio-political changes had occurred.  How much of my traditions would still make sense in a world that different?
Quite a few, as it turns out. It’s no accident that one of the prevailing themes in this book is, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Because while new and fresh and different are both good and, in some ways, the absolute bedrock of most New Year’s traditions, there’s a lot of comfort to be found in the same old, same old. Especially when things are changing fast enough all on their own. 
So, this holiday, I plan on doing things very much like I did them last year—even though I’ll be missing a few of the people with whom I celebrated last year. And, if my view of the future is at all correct, I (or people like me) will be doing the same for the next few decades.
Happy New Year’s everyone!
Blurb:  Sometimes finding what you want is the easy part.

Caleb is a bionic soldier with little-to-no memory of his past. He's seeking the truth about himself and those missing memories.

Aldo's an undercover cop who just might have the answers to Caleb's questions. But if Caleb's the man Aldo thinks he is, how can he let him get away a second time?

Then there's Sally; she's an ER physician who used to be married to Aldo's late partner, Davis. Sally's not dealing with widowhood very well. In fact, it's getting harder, every day, just to find a reason to keep getting out of bed. If the truth about the men's shared past comes to light, she could lose them both. Along with her last, best reason to go on living.

This holiday season, chance will bring them together and give them an opportunity to help one another find what they each want most. But every gift comes with a price. And keeping what they've found once they've found it? Yeah, that's gonna be the hard part.