My Favorite Reads of 2009

Wow, we've reached the last day of 2009. Tomorrow we enter another decade. Wasn't the beginning of the new millennium just the other day?

A while back, over on our no-promo-allowed Romance Bookmark loop, Shelley Munro posted her favorite books for the year and asked us to share ours. To my embarrassment, I had to scramble to remember what books I've read. Most years I read over 100 books, sometimes over 300 in the year. In order to keep track of them, I've normally kept a spreadsheet of them. This year? For some reason I didn't. And I don't think I got anywhere near the triple digits. I felt guilty reading other people's books when I should be working on my own.

So I dug around on my shelves and through the piles of books that have spilled onto the floor, and talked with my friend Nicole who reminded me of some we'd discussed whenever we got together for coffee. To be honest, Nicole has great taste and I've learned to rely on her recommendations. And for her prods to get me off the computer and reading someone else's book.

I choose books mainly through word of mouth. Once I find an author I like, I scour out every book they've written. Hopefully they'll deliver a great read on all their books. It doesn't always happen that way. Ask Dani who sent me a whole boxful of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series because she was in love with them. I'm sorry, Dani, I tried. I really, really tried. But to be honest, if I'd bought the first one myself, I would have put it down after 50 pages. But because Dani had gone through the trouble and expense of shipping them all the way from Texas, I struggled through the first, second and third in the series. I stopped after that. The recommendation that generally seals the deal is if the book is in my local Chapters bookstore and has a sticker "Recommended by Janine." Janine is the lady in charge of the romance section of Chapters--everyone in our area knows that if Janine recommends it, it's a GREAT book. (And Janine is married to her own real life hero--he's a former SAS agent, who just got back from Afghanistan. Safely, thank God!)  Sometimes I'll pick up a book based upon recommendations I see over on Twitter, but that can be rather hit-or-miss since other people's tastes differ from mine. 

Of the books I remembered I have read this year, for the most part I was unimpressed by some of the sequels of series I've previously loved by big name authors. Luckily enough, this year turned out to be a year of finding new authors, both new to me, and/or new to publishing. Authors I've added to my "Buy their Book" list? Deidre Knight, Bella Andre, Jo Davis, Beth Kery, Lorelei James, Ann Aguirre, Vivian Arend, Catherine Wade -- but OMG they've written some GREAT books that I absolutely adore. And I fell in love all over again with authors I'd already loved - Patricia Briggs, Maya Banks, Lauren Dane. Hopefully I'll be reading them all for years to come.


These aren’t books that were necessarily released in 2009, but ones I’ve read this year, and are memorable enough that I remember them after such a busy year which speaks volumes in itself.  And they're not in any specific order, just as I remembered them or pulled them off my keeper shelf. So here we go ...

Best Books I’ve read in 2009

• Deidre Knight’s Butterfly Tattoo . It's long, 120K but I love a book that takes me longer than 90 minutes to read. It's a little different as each chapter flips back and forth between the hero and heroine's POV (which I find incredibly interesting).  But what grabbed me and sucked me in is the emotion Deidre managed to pack into the pages, Michael's grief put an ache in my own chest. It's the story of two damaged souls as they try to recover from horrible tragedies they've endured--in Michael's case the loss of his long-term lover, Rebecca from a vicious attack by a stalker (reminiscent of actress Teresa Saldana's attack.) I loved it so much I bought not only the e-copy, but pre-ordered the paperback as soon as I saw it appear on Amazon and the Book Depository sites.  It comes out next month, by the way, so if you don't like ebooks, you can buy it as a paperback. (I'd link to Samhain's My Bookstore and More but they don't let you pre-order :( )
  
• Josh Lanyon and Laura Baumbach’s Mexican Heat. This is a m/m romance that follows one hero's POV through half the book, then flips to the other hero's POV for the second half. Another emotional read where they put one of the guys through absolute hell. Apart from the fabulous writing, I really appreciated that, while the heroes get their Happy-Ever-After ending with each other, Laura and Josh didn't wimp out trying to fix Gabriel and Miguel's problems by some miraculous deus ex machina at the end. It's another book that I'll buy in paperback. One note, there are paperback versions of this book on Amazon and Book Depository already as it was originally published by MLR Press. But the version I read was a re-release by Samhain edited by my former editor, Angela James, and I believe there are some differences, so I'm hoping Samhain'll release their paperback version soon too.
• Bella Andre’s Wild Heat. Whoa mama, firemen are hot hot hot this year. And Bella's book is no exception. The fact that I just placed an order for the next in the series, Hot as Sin, should tell you how much I loved this one. Bella's firemen are the ones who fight the wildfires, the smoke jumpers who often find flames jumping over their heads or racing up a hill to where they are.
  
• Jo Davis's Trial by Fire.  It's the first one in her firefighters series. I've read the two that follow in the series, and they're good too, good enough that I should have them on my honorable mention list, but Trial by Fire is my favorite so far. Jo's firemen are the urban type, dealing with all sorts of different situations--traffic accidents, house fires, you name it. The hero has a very unromantic-though absolutely realistic name of Howard; thankfully he has the nickname Six Pack.
  
• Beth Kery’s Wicked Burn. I was thrilled when Beth offered to be part of my birthday bash this summer because I love her Wicked Burn. I've read her Sweet Restraint as well, but Wicked Burn is my favorite. It's one of those books I pull out and thumb through, trying to figure out how she managed to pack so much emotion into a few words. Plus her hero Vic Sabian sure knows how to burn up the pages. ;)
  
• Lauren Dane’s Laid Bare. O. M. G. Another hot hot book filled with emotion. (sensing a theme here?) Her heroine is a rocker with piercings and tattoos and funky hair, but she's so down to earth. So human. Flawed. Hurting. *Pats chest* And her hero is not without flaws either, but he grows as you watch him. And the connection between the two of them is almost palpable. This is another book I'll be pulling out to examine Lauren's technique. She is a master of storytelling.
  
• Ann Aguirre’s Grimspace. This one totally surprised me. The first surprising thing about why I liked Grimspace is it's not technically a romance, though there is definitely a connection between Sirantha Jax and March that builds throughout the story. The second, and for me, more surprising aspect, is I'm not normally a science fiction lover these days. Oh, I used to be. After all, the first stories I wrote back when I was 7 were knock-offs of the original Star Trek series--yes, during its first run back in the 60s! I can't count the number of times I've seen Star Wars -- and yes, Gizmo Guy and I went to its first run while we were dating in the 70s. I was a Battlestar Galactica fan of the first series in the 80s. I love Arthur C. Clarke's books -- one of my all-time favorites is his Childhood's End. But after watching knock-off after knock-off that sometimes were little more than fanfic, I've grown jaded.  So you have to write a really good sci-fi to keep my interest. Grimspace knocked my socks off. Once I started reading, I ended up curled up in my chair until three in the morning finishing it. That's a sure sign for me that the book will be on my keeper shelf.
• Patricia Brigg’s Hunting Ground -- Patricia's books aren't shelved in the romance section, but under Fantasy. However Hunting Ground really is a romance in my eyes because her Alpha and Omega series follows newly turned werewolf Anna and mystical werewolf Charles as they figure out their relationship – it’s filled with tender moments, and sometimes touchingly funny, to see Charles discovering little parts of Anna as she relaxes around him, and how they have to control their wolf counterparts. I love PB's Mercy Thompson series too, but her A and O series has an equal place in my heart. (I'd link to Patricia's website, but it's down for a couple days as they move servers. Normally it's www.patriciabriggs.com)
• Lorelei James' Long Hard Ride. Yes, I'm ashamed to admit it took me until this year to discover Ms. James' Rough Riders series. I first discovered her two days before my first book Private Property released because Lorelei posted an excerpt over on the Samhain Cafe that mirrored a scene I'd written in Private Property. I remember shooting off an email crying (literally) to one of my critique partners about how unoriginal I was, where here I thought that scene had been unique mirrored one in Lorelei's excerpt. I whined and moaned about how everyone was going to think I'd ripped her off and would never believe that I'd not read her books before. The glutton for punishment that I am, I bought the book that the excerpt had come from (Long Hard Ride). After reading it, I wanted to crawl into the ground even more because it was so frickin' good! I ended up buying the entire series, including a paperback version of Long Hard Ride. I loved them all, but this will always be my favourite. Ms. James is up there on my "Erotic Romance Goddess" pedestal.
• Maya Banks Songbird. If you haven't guessed it yet, I love a story that can make me cry. Songbird had me sniffling right from the get-go. I pull it out every now and then and try to figure out how Maya can pack such emotion along with a tight story in so few words. It's a novella. Yet it feels and reads like a novel. Maya's another one up there on the "Erotic Romance Goddess" pedestal.
  
• Vivian Arend’s Wolf Signs. Like Maya's Songbird, I pull Viv's Wolf Signs up from time to time trying to figure out how she can create a world with werewolves that's so believable, that so detailed, to have to characters connect and fall in love and yet keep the story to a novella length. Wolf Signs is unique in that it has a deaf heroine and Viv handles it with such aplomb and such ease that you forget it, and you almost want to stand up and cheer when the hero and heroine finally get together and ... well, read the book and you'll understand.  I loved Vivian's Tidal Wave and the sequel to Wolf Signs, Wolf Flight, as well, but Wolf Signs is the one that grabbed and held me first.
  
• Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Acheron. This was a pleasant surprise because Sherrilyn is one of those hit-or-miss authors for me. Acheron can be hard to read if you have delicate sensibilities because Sherrilyn puts Ash through some really nasty stuff in his childhood. If you haven't guessed it, I love books that torture the heroes and heroines, though not usually so literally as Ash is. Plus it's a deliciously long book to sink my teeth into, although I bought it as a hardcover so it's a wieldy tome some days. But worth it. Sooo worth it.
  
• Erin McCarthy’s Flat Out Sexy. I won this book thanks to a "Save the Contemporary" contest over on Smart Bitches. It was the first time I'd read anything by Erin McCarthy. I enjoyed her writing so much I'm buying more of her books now! What better recommendation can there be than that? 
• Catherine Wade’s Another Time Around – It’s Ghost meets Truly, Madly, Deeply and while it's just as sad as both of them, it never gets maudlin as Cate adds little touches of humor to keep it level. I'd bought it, but I have so many on my TBR list, that I hadn't gotten to it until one of my critique partners emailed me after I hosted Catherine here on my blog promoting it. Dani raved about it, told me I just HAD to read it, that she'd cried so many times while she'd read it. So I hauled it out that night and ... yeah, another late night, and another box of tissues later, Another Time Around firmly earned its place on my Keeper Shelf. And yes, when it comes out in print, I'll be buying the paperback version too! Sometimes there's nothing like actually holding the book in your hand and turning the pages.
  

Honorable mentions:

• Ann Aguirre’s Blue Diablo. Yup, Ann's got another book on my keeper shelf -- this one is the first in her Corinne Solomon series. It's not a sic-fi this time, but an urban fantasy. (By the way, in order to satisfy the FTC, I should disclose that I won Blue Diablo from Ann in a twitter contest, but it has absolutely no bearing on whether I liked it or not. I'm too picky a reader, and my reading tastes too eclectic to play that type of game.)
  
• Nora Robert’s McKade Brother series – a blast from the past, I loved this series the first time around in the mid'90s I believe it was. But when we moved earlier this decade, I cleared my shelves and gave away boxes and boxes of books. Including *sob* my beloved McKades. So I was thrilled to see them re-released so I could tuck them back on my shelf this year. Harlequin has rebound Rafe and Jared's stories into a single paperback. I love bad boy Rafe.While I wasn't as thrilled with Jared's behavior, I loved his heroine, Savannah. (I'm looking forward to them releasing Devin and Shane's story. Okay, Devin's story. Although I loved Shane I wasn't thrilled with his heroine. Dang it, I spent $50 worth of books yesterday. When I went looking to see when/if Devin's story was out, I found it over on the Book Depository and now I've just put in yet another order! Hi, my name is Leah, I am a book addict!)
• JK Coi’s Immortal series – The whole series is NY worthy in my humble opinion. JK's up there with JR Ward. In fact lately, I'd say she's better than JR. I love the world she's created, and the heroes and heroines populating it. Buy it before the end of today before Linden Bay completely disappears and Samhain removes it from their shelves. :(
• Victoria Dahl’s I initially tagged her Talk Me Down for an honorable mention, but you know, I love her whole contemporary series -- Talk Me Down is the first in the series, and in an absolutely inspired marketing move, since Talk Me Down is about an erotic romance writer, Victoria's written the book her character, Holly Summers, is writing. The Wicked West has been released as a novella in eformat only--come on, it's a great book, and worth trying an ebook if you've never given them a shot before. Start Me Up, the second in the series, is equally as good, and I'm looking forward to reading the third book, Lead Me On, when it arrives in my mailbox (it releases Jan. 2010, so it should be soon!) You can find out more about all the books by following either link -- Victoria's got all her books on the same page.

The worst part is I KNOW I've forgotten some book that should be included in the above list. In scanning my bookshelves, I'm wondering whether I should have given an honorable mention to Jo Beverly for her Mastered by Love or Secret Wedding. I'll have to read them again I guess. They are up on my "Most Treasured" shelf. (That's the shelf above my desk. My regular keeper shelf is a five high behind my desk.) I plan to make a list again for the books I read in 2010. That's one of my New Year's resolutions, just so I can avoid leaving someone deserving out.

One final shout out -- not for a book but for a book seller. I generally try to support Canadian booksellers when I can. But around here there's only one bookstore that sells new books, and that's Chapters. They bought out everyone else, so I'm stuck with them whether I like them or not. I don't like that I pay more for the book in the store, than I do online, but to support my "habit" I have to forego the pleasure of browsing the actual books on occasion, and buy them from a website. However, in order not to spend a buttload of money in shipping costs, I'm forced to buy in bulk -- as in over $50 before I get free shipping from Chapters/Indigo. There are days I want to buy a single book and I don't want to pay as much if not more than the book costs to have it mailed. Amazon.ca isn't much different. That's why I love using The Book Depository.  There are two sites -- the UK one, and the US based .Com one -- I tend to find more sales on the .Com one. So why do I support a non-Canadian firm? Because they ship to Canada (and over 90 other countries) without charging exorbitant shipping fees. Doesn't matter if your book is $2 or $20, you don't pay shipping. No, I'm not getting a kickback to promote them. I just like saving money. 

Another reason I love them? Because they read this blog and changed their policy because of something I wrote. Me! A single blogger with a tiny following. I'd made a comment back in August about how they didn't ship to Croatia where one of my readers lives. Since she was also a winner of a book here on my blog I couldn't get a book shipped to her -- not from TBD, Chapters, Amazon or even Harlequin. I had to order the book, have it shipped to me here, and then mail it. So I was paying double postage costs. Kieron over at TBD responded and the next day he came back and said they were now providing free shipping to people in Croatia.  That was classy. Thanks, Book Depository. You get two thumbs up from this book buyer!

Victoria Janssen on Goals & Deadlines

I love hosting authors on my blog, especially when they talk about their writing process. It makes me feel like there's hope for me, that one day I too might be able to figure all this 'stuff' out instead of working organically the way I do at the moment.

Today's guest Victoria Janssen is the author of two novels from Harlequin Spice: THE DUCHESS, HER MAID, THE GROOM AND THEIR LOVER and MOONLIGHT MISTRESS. She's recently sold two more novels to Spice, the first of which is tentatively titled THE DUKE AND THE PIRATE QUEEN.

I love Victoria's covers -- there's something so erotic about the pearls the women in her covers are wearing. And they definitely hint at the spiciness within.

Goals and Deadlines

Victoria Janssen

A writer's work is never done, and neither is her goal-setting.  I have one goal staring me in the face right now:  the deadline to turn in the manuscript of THE DUKE AND THE PIRATE QUEEN.  It's due February 1, which means I'll be spending January writing the last scenes as well as cleaning, tweaking, revising, and polishing. 

A deadline isn't really a goal.  The goal, for me, has nothing to do with getting the manuscript to my editor on time.  My goal, always, is to write a better book than I've ever written before.

The goal doesn't stop there.  To really make it work, I have to break down "write a better book" into specifics.  I choose my specifics based on weaknesses I've recognized in my own writing, and I've been trying to address different weaknesses with each successive novel.

Here's what I'm trying to address currently.  I worry that I spend too much wordcount inside the heads of the characters as they think about their relationships.  I would much prefer to show their relationships through actions, so when and where it seems possible, I cut off the internal monologues and replace them with actions to demonstrate emotion.  In the final read, if I feel an internal monologue is going on for too long, I plan to cut it, identify the point of the monologue, and demonstrate it through character action.

A second weakness I've been working on is meandering.  When I'm drafting a novel, I'm usually moving pretty quickly (see deadline!) and spending more wordcount on scenes that are flowing easily than might be required.  As I've been writing THE DUKE AND THE PIRATE QUEEN, I've realized that some of the erotic scenes might be too long; the same thing is sometimes true of scenes with a lot of dialogue.  My sense of these things is not always true to reality while I'm in the process of writing; sometimes a scene seems really long because I worked on it for several successive days, but the wordcount is actually low.  I won't be able to properly judge the appropriate length and pacing of those scenes until I've completed an entire draft.  One of my goals is to scrutinize the erotic and/or dialogue-heavy scenes carefully, decide if any of them drag, and if so, if they can be tightened or shortened, or even intensified.  I might also give those scenes to a trusted reader, because after a certain point, I lose all objectivity and can no longer tell if the scene is working or not.

My next major goal for the year is to complete a short story.  I've already promised this story to an editor, so it's part deadline, part goal.  My goal is to approach a new-to-me historical period,   the Crimean War, and a new-to-me sub-genre, time travel, and to concentrate on the romance instead of the erotic elements.

Once that story's complete, it's back to fulfilling my contract with Spice.  I have a few ideas for my fourth novel for them, and I'm still planning what my specific craft goals for that book will be; they will depend somewhat on whether my editor accepts my first proposal, or if I have to come up with a different idea.

How about you?



Want to know more about Victoria?  Just look on her website, on her blog or on Twitter. (And don't forget to check out her Snippet Saturday posts for a peek into her books.)

A Christmas filled with Wii, Guns and Thongs!

Anyone else humming Cher's Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves? Okay, it's just me. Yes, I know, I've been slack about posting blogs this week. But it's been Christmas and ... ah, heck, I didn't have much to say. It's not that I've been in a food-induced coma the way I sometimes am at this time of year. I've actually been pretty darned good at following my diet. I made two batches of cookies - one batch of peanut butter cookies using Splenda and margarine instead of sugar and butter, that Gizmo Guy and I ate, and another "normal" batch that I promptly packed into a cookie tin and sent with the boys to their cave games room in the basement. It saved the temptation. We gave the boys chocolates in their stockings that promptly disappeared downstairs as well, along with my world-famous chocolate macaroons.

What else has kept me from blogging? Well, for Christmas, I got a Wii. This is the first time I've requested a game console, instead of the boys who sniffed at the tiny little Nintendo box. Ha! Showed them. They spent a good part of Christmas Day and some of Boxing Day playing bowling and tennis and other of the sports that came with the unit. We all got to punch each other's cyber-lights out in the Wii Boxing -- wow, that's a workout! I also got Wii Fit Plus with aerobics and yoga and strength training etc. I've been doing the aerobics step program which is a good workout on its own. Yoga? I used to be fairly flexible, especially back in my karate days, but OMG I am SO out of shape and stiff now. It's HARD.Which means I now have to work in time every day to work out. I know it's good for me, but ... okay, I'll quit before a full whine escapes.

One other present that I'm guarding jealously in my office is my gun! Yup, Guitar Hero gave me a pistol with a laser sight. A NERF gun that is. Yes, you read that right. A NERF gun with a laser sight. Okay, so the laser doesn't match the path of the bullet which drops quite a bit in comparison to the light, and the light doesn't turn off unless you remove the batteries (the package says the trigger is supposed to be the on/off switch. It's not.) But it's still fun as heck. I've threatened to use it on anyone who interrupts me when I'm writing from here on in. I was very tempted to use it today -- I was finishing up the final edits on my western today, which of course happened to involve a rather spicy love scene when Gizmo Guy walked into the office. "I'm not interrupting, am I?" Um, if you have to ask the question, YES!  A few minutes after he left, Guitar Hero wandered in and proceeded to read over my shoulder. Thank God, I had another screen I could quickly change to. I'm pretty sure he would have been grossed out to read what his mother was writing about. Either that or I would have been if he started to offer advice as he is wont to do.

Good news on the western, too, by the way. I finished the edits and will be sending it out in the morning to my critique partners to pull apart. *cringe* While I'm waiting for them to wade through the over 61,000 words (yeah, I know, it was supposed to be a novella that topped out at 30K.  I'm verbose, what can I say?)  Anyway, I'm crossing my fingers that  I'll able to submit it soon. Of course, I still have to get the thumbs up/down from my CPs, and write a synopsis and a killer query letter. But that light at the end of the tunnel is definitely not a train. Woohoo! 

Oh, and Aurora let me know that she received her Firefighter calendar in the mail, along with the bookmark I tucked in with it.  A while back, fellow Canadian Shelley, you may know her as HockeyVampiress around the web, offered to make me some ribbon/bead bookmarks that included a tiny copy of my covers in one of the beads.  I jumped at the chance. You see, back in 2007, I was at the RWA conference in Dallas. They have a "goodie room" there, where authors can put out swag--free copies of books, bookmarks, postcards, sewing kits, you name it. Anything to promote their latest release or just their brand. One author included a beautiful blue beaded bookmark (or book thong as they're sometimes called) in a small package. But by the time I got home a week later, the bookmark had been separated from her business card so I had no idea who had made them. 

Shell's bookmarks with their title specific bead means that whenever you use my bookmark, you'll be reminded of my book, or of me. They're beautiful bookmarks too. So over the next few months, in celebration of Personal Protection's upcoming release, look for a few to be part of my contests.

Snippet Saturday - parties

There was a bit of a mix-up today and my name ended up on the list over on Snippet Saturdays. (Totally my fault -- I forgot to check a file I was supposed to check. Sorry!) While Personal Protection has several parties, they're the catalyst for several arguments between Rosie and Sam, and I didn't think they were appropriate snippets. And there are no toasts in either of them, so while I've searched for one to add after discovering I was on the list, I came up dry.  So I turned to Private Property. Nope, no parties, no toasts. However...First Night is about a New Year's Eve party, so maybe ... nope. I forgot. Jodi and Mark are, ahem, busy when the ball drops and, again, there are no toasts.

By the way, have you downloaded your free copy of First Night? It's a fun little romp that showcases the two characters from Private Property. At the start of Private Property, you learn that Jodi and Mark have been involved in a no-strings-attached affair for a while. First Night is a behind-the-scenes peek at how that affair started. You can download it here for free!.


Now, to get back to Snippet Saturday -- here are the other participating authors. Don't forget to drop by and read their posts -- and leave them a comment to let them know you're enjoying their snippets.

Moira Rogers
Ashley Ladd
Lauren Dane
Taige Crenshaw
Shelley Munro
Jody Wallace

To all my readers ...

Christmas gift suggestions:

To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.

                              Oren Arnold

Hey, Santa! Thanks for the Early Prezzy!

I got an early present yesterday, from The Romance Studio. My erotic novella, Private Property, was nominated for three different CAPA awards (that's the Cupid and Psyche Awards). The story itself is up for Best Contemporary Erotic Romance, and I'm personally nominated as Favorite Erotic Author. The third nomination is for Private Property's cover. It's been nominated in the Ariana Overton Award for Best Cover Art category.> Kudos to Natalie Winters, it sure is a classy cover!

I'm not sure how the nomination or voting process works, but from what I gather, the reviewers over at The Romance Studio nominated me, and they will determine the winners amongst themselves from the list of nominees.

I'll be honest in admitting that I doubt I have a hope in heck of winning any of the categories - not up against such fantastic authors as Lauren Dane, Lorelei James, Maya Banks and Jaci Burton. But it really is a thrill just to be nominated. Yes, I know, I can see you rolling your eyes at that one, but this is the first time I've ever been nominated, so I'm going to savor them as the validation that I CAN write despite the number of times I mutter "this is crap" as I'm writing those first drafts.

The entire list of nominated books is here.  You may recognize quite a few of the names as authors who have been my guests over the past year. Congratulations to Inez Kelley for Jinxed, Ann Lory for her Bait and Switch, Ava Gray (who visited here as Ann Aguirre) for Skin Game, Maya Banks for her Sweet Seduction, Jaci Burton for her Unraveled, Lorelei James for -- takes a deep breath -- Raw, Rough and Ready, Miss Firecracker and Shoulda Been A Cowboy, fellow TRW member Morgan Ashbury's Wanton Wager, Cat Johnson's Unridden, Eliza Gayle's Purgatory, Shelley Munro for her Fringe Benefits, and to Deidre Knight (and upcoming guest blogger) for her Red Kiss. Congrats also to my fellow Snippet Saturday authors - Lauren Dane, Anya Bast, Moira Rogers who I'd love to have as guests one day.

I really wanted to congratulate each Samhain author who was nominated, but frankly, there are quite a few of us and since the list is already up over on The Romance Studio, and it's almost time for me to go pick up Curly from work as I write this, I'm wimping out and asking you to go over there and take a look for yourself.

Since it's Christmas Eve, and I'm going to be spending today trying out some new sugarless recipes (I know, what's the point?) I'll leave you with a video that never fails to make me laugh out loud.

I'm not sure if it's the lyrics themselves or if the noises they use to bleep out the swear or even that Australian accent that tickles my fancy, but it's become a Christmas staple around the Braemel household. This is the censored version, but you know what they're saying despite the strange noises. In fact, at times I think it's funnier than the real words.

Crystal Rain Love knows the Real Meaning of Christmas

Finding The Real Meaning Of Christmas

It's almost Christmas. And I'm not crying. I really thought I would have been this year. You see, I lost my job of ten years last August and my world went spiraling out of control. Was I scared? You bet. I was petrified. How would I pay for my house? Feed my kids? Put Christmas presents under the tree? Who would help me?

I was very surprised who did and didn't, and these surprises taught me a few things.

First off, my mom was right. She was. I have to admit it. My brother and I used to fight like cats and dogs and she'd tsk at us, telling us, "One day you will be each other's best friends." We looked at her like she was crazy, then made faces at each other and went right on fighting. But she was right. More than anyone, my brother was there for me like no one else. And I admit it. He is my best friend. I never saw that one coming.

You know who else was there when I needed them? People I really didn't know. Which taught me there are still truly good people in the world, something I really needed to know during this ordeal. Authors I didn't really know read a few tweets I'd posted about being upset after getting off the phone with my mortgage company and bought my books, then suggested all their followers buy the books. It didn't really drum up a lot of sales, but it touched my heart and gave me hope, which was batter than the royalties I would have gotten. Another author I'd met through my publisher, but never physically met, offered to send gift cards for gas or food, and offered to help me get Christmas presents for my kids. Fortunately, by then the unemployment had come in, but the thought of someone I barely knew offering something so generous... I really needed that.

And, my faith was reaffirmed more than ever, because through it all I prayed to be able to keep a roof over my kids' heads and food in their stomachs. God came through, as always. Even when he worked through strangers.

I now have a Christmas tree put up and it is loaded up with presents. My children will not be disappointed on Christmas morning, but the greatest gift they received this year, was something you can't put under the tree. They learned the most valuable lesson you can learn this time of year: That it is better to give than to receive.

We usually give some coins to the Salvation Army as we pass them on our way into the grocery store, but this year we gave bills. Ones. Fives, whatever. Why? Because at one point we didn't have them, but now we do. We aren't rich, but we have food on the table and gifts under our tree. We don't need the few extra bills in our pockets.

And this year we didn't just buy gifts for our loved ones. We went to the store and the kids each picked out a present they would love for themselves... and we took those toys to the firestation. The kids walked in and put the toys in the Toys For Tots bin and were told by the firemen how much their donations were appreciated.

My oldest came out, sat in the car, and said, "I can't believe how good that felt. I don't think I've ever felt this good in my life. This is the best thing we've ever done at Christmas." 

They got it. At such a young age, they got IT. After knowing what it was like to worry about not having anything, they understood the importance of helping those who need it. They learned the beauty of giving to someone you don't know, and they learned gratitude.

They learned that Christmas is not about the presents, but the faith, hope, and love that is shared and celebrated.

You know, I probably will cry this year, but happy tears. My children learned a valuable lesson about generosity that they will hopefully teach their own children, and I can take pride in that. And though I'll be sad as I think about my daddy who passed away and can no longer celebrate with us, I know my Father in heaven carried me through this year and I can always find solace in the fact that that one will always be with us, every day, every moment, of our lives. And even though I have yet to be hired elsewhere, I know it will be alright. God will take care of us, even if he sometimes chooses to get to us through strangers.

Merry Christmas & God Bless!

Rain
www.crystalrainlove.com

Time's running out!

Just a quick reminder that the Rocking around the Raven Christmas Tree contest will be closing on December 24th, so if you want to get your entry in, you'd better do it before Thursday night.

Also week 3 of the Samhellion contest ends soon too - with a Kindle eReader as the prize, it's worth it to enter.  Week 4 will start December 24th, and the prize will be a Sony Reader.

Also, while I'm going to be posting in a rather hit-and-miss fashion over the holidays, I'll still be hosting my guest bloggers.  Tomorrow Crystal Rain Love is my guest--she's not plugging a book, but talking about finding the true holiday spirit (it's really one you shouldn't miss, especially if you're jaded by Christmas this year)  Next week the gracious Victoria Janssen is visiting. Let's show them some real holiday spirit!

Stuck for a present idea? Save a life!

While the US eastern seaboard digs out from the dumping of snow they got, we're enjoying a sunny day with no snow. I shouldn't gloat, we get our fair share, but frankly, I'm glad we didn't get any of that blizzard this time.

I'm going to re-run a post I did last year, for those last minute gift ideas you may need -- because although it's an unglamorous present, it can save lives.

An Unglamorous Present

(originally posted December 7, 2008)

A few years back, I was Christmas shopping for my sister and parents. Since they're hard to shop for, I decided to buy a decidedly unglamorous present. I bought them each a carbon monoxide detector (I think I also bought them smoke alarms too - this was before Ontario law required every house to have a smoke alarm on each floor.) I'd forgotten completely about it until my sister happened to mention it earlier this year.

That conversation came to mind the other day when I was reading a news report from south-western Ontario that a police constable had been found in her house unconscious, her family - husband and two children - dead. With my writer's imagination, I automatically figured either it was a murder-suicide that we hear so much about these days, or some form of foul play - perhaps someone she'd arrested had set out to 'punish' her. (Yes, writers can have very sick imaginations.)
It was nothing so sinister. They died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to a blocked exhaust pipe connected to their gas fireplace.

In other words, they were totally preventable deaths. A true tragedy.

We have a carbon monoxide detector outside of our bedrooms - I insisted on it when we bought our first house with a built-in garage. Of course, once we got settled, the cars never actually managed to fit into the garage for all our boxes and camping gear so car exhaust has never been a problem. But now Guitar Hero stores his motorcycle in there, and has on occasion warmed it up inside. Even with the door to the garage open, and the inside door to the house closed, I can still smell its exhaust. So I mentioned that perhaps I should buy a second unit for the family room that leads to the garage.

Once I read that report of the police constable and her family , I decided to buy one for the basement as well. (It's recommended carbon monoxide detectors be placed on each level of your home but not within 5 feet fuel burning appliances, or near cooking or bathing areas or you'll have a lot of false alarms.)

The other thing I need to do? Have the fireplace chimney checked. I'd never realized that a gas burning fireplace needed to be swept the same way a wood burning fireplace did. I figured it was a clean-burning fuel, so what was the problem? Apart from birds' nests and squirrels that is ...

So if you have someone hard to shop for, or someone you care a lot about, buy them a completely unglamorous present. Buy them - and yourself - something that could save lives.

Oh, and don't forget to change the batteries on your smoke alarms regularly too.

Winner of Cari Quinn's Full Disclosure

Shelley Munro

Shelley's won a copy of Cari Quinn's Full Disclosure!

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to comment -- they really do make my guest bloggers know there is someone reading and know it's worth while taking the time to write their posts. 

Thanks to Cari Quinn for getting her post to me even though I forgot to send her a reminder. That makes my job that much easier too.  Thanks, Cari!

Since some of you said you already owned Cari's book, I didn't put you on the list so ...
There were 12 items in your list. Here they are in random order: 

1. Shelley Munro
2. Laurann Dohner
3. The Goddess Hathor
4. RK Charron
5. Pearl
6. HockeyVampiress
7. Fedora
8. Estella
9. Armenia
10. Amy Ruttan
11. Kaye Manro
12. Fiction Vixen

Timestamp: 2009-12-18 19:19:01 UTC

Private Property on the Kindle bestseller list!

For a very brief time tonight, Private Property was #97 on the Kindle Romance Bestseller list over on Amazon -- see me? Right above Debbie Macomber?.And look who else is up there - right beneath JR Ward is Vivian Arend with her Wolf Signs!

That definitely perked me up today. (Thanks to Vivian for sending me the screen shot!)


**edited** It climbed higher through Friday morning and afternoon, reaching #90. Amazon ratings adjust every hour, so I found myself hooked on refreshing the page and taking screen shots. *Thanks a lot for getting me hooked on that and distracting me from writing, Vivian*

Cari Quinn's Rx for a Saggy Love Scene

My first erotic release, Full Disclosure, came out in November from The Wild Rose Press's Wilder Roses. While one release hardly makes me an expert, I've been writing love scenes for years and I'm also a freelance editor. As anyone knows who writes sex, it can be a challenge to keep the tension high and the action steamy while also advancing the story. Not to mention occasionally needing new nuts to spice up the same old coffeecake, if catch my drift. ;) I try to remember the following when it's time to turn up the heat...

1) Get them talking... There's nothing quite as sexy as witnessing two characters bare it all in bed, physically, emotionally and verbally. Whenever I can't quite make the scene between my hero and heroine feel authentic, I think about what they would say to each other when they're most intimate. Some characters are all about raw expressions of lust, others use quiet words of encouragement. Still another kind says nothing at all. What kind of characters are yours? Staying true to their voice out of bed will add even more power to an already explosive love scene.

2) Get personal... I've heard over and over again that no two people make love the same way. Whatever their personal makeup, their fears/goals/emotions will all be heightened when you strip away the barrier of clothes. Is your heroine someone who sees humor in every situation? Then she'll probably enjoy a good laugh when the hero has trouble getting on the condom. Or else she'll get really frustrated. ;) Maybe your hero is a man who never stumbles in pursuit of his objectives. Yet suddenly he can't quite master the heroine's pleasure in bed. Perhaps she's taking longer than he thinks she should, or all his typical techniques aren't having their usual effect. Does the heroine get ticklish when the hero plays with her toes? Does he lose his mind when she licks his collarbone? All these unique traits and characteristics will bring your scene to life. There is no one else on this planet just like your hero or your heroine, and their differences are what will fan the flames in your provocative scenes. Also...never forget some of the sexiest "mental sex" takes place without ever entering the bedroom. Push your characters to the brink and they'll reciprocate when you need them to err...produce.

And finally...

3) Get emotional... The vulnerability and potential risks involved in getting naked with someone amp up the emotion to begin with, so use it. Some heroes become colder after sex because they're concerned about getting their heart involved. Some heroines become more aggressive because they think making the moves gives them a measure of control. It's even more fun when those roles are reversed. Maybe she's the one who freezes up and he becomes desperate to keep their affair going. Whatever your character's personal situation, exploit it. Drive up the conflict and increase the emotion until both sides are aching with the need for release.

Now it's your turn. What do you do when you need to find some relief for a scorching scene that's just not quite there yet? I'd love to hear your tips. As motivation, I'm giving away a copy of my sizzling debut release, Full Disclosure, available here or here to a random commenter.

Full Disclosure

Thirty-eight-year-old divorcee Holly Burrows has had enough of battery-operated love. Prompted by an ad left at her law office, she investigates Hunk Du Jour, a website designed to foster ‘adult connections’. After weeks of sexy emails and phone calls with surf hunk Kent, she's ready to test their chemistry in person. But first she has to get through lunch with her colleague Alex, a man with a brain as agile as his body. When their consultation ends with a bang, she barely remembers the man she'd lined up for dessert. Now she thinks she's juggling two hot young guys. How can she choose between her two gorgeous cubs – and why do they remind her of each other?


Cari Quinn wrote her first story - a bible parable - in 2nd grade, much to the delight of the nuns at her Catholic school. Once she saw the warm reception that first tale garnered, she was hooked. She attempted her first romance in junior high, long before she'd ever read one. Writing what she knew always took a backseat to what she wanted to know, and that still holds true today. Cari's genres of choice include contemporary, romantic comedy, romantic suspense, urban fantasy and paranormal. Recently she discovered erotic romance. Oh, how far she's come…

Visit Cari at www.cariquinn.blogspot.com and follow her on Twitter.

Don't forget -- if you leave a comment, you could win your own copy of Cari's Full Disclosure!

The Definition of True Love

I love reading a good romance - one that brings two people together and opens their eyes to what their life has been missing, that can only be made better by accepting the other person for both their strengths and their flaws.

When I finish that story, I often put the book down, rest my hand on it and sigh in contentment. A really good story I'll tuck on my keeper shelf and pull out from time to time. Nora Robert's Chesapeake series, especially Ethan's story, Rising Tide, does that for me. JR Ward's Lover Eternal (Rhage & Mary's story) is another frequent re-read. 

It's quite common for non-romance readers to disparage the genre, to say that romance writers are setting up girls--women--with unrealistic expectations of love.  I don't think love is unrealistic.  It's just not easy.

There are going to be days when you aren't at your best, or he isn't. When you snark at each other for inconsequential things like chewing their cereal too loudly or turning to the one hundred and sixtieth viewing of an episode of a show you just can't stand. For refusing to look at a map or take the GPS and getting you lost when all you wanted to do was just get home and crash. Or having the smoke alarm go off every single time they burn cook dinner. Or the $20 you thought you had tucked away for a special occasion got spent on her favorite sewing project instead.

True love manages to get past those times. True love comes to bed and wakes up beside you the next day and gives you a clean slate to begin falling in love with them all over again.

True love isn't just in the big sexy bedroom scenes. It's in the loving touches. It's being teased by your friends because you still hold hands when you walk down the street even though you've been together for thirty-three years. It's sitting on the couch giving your partner a foot rub and them returning the favor. It's when you're in the kitchen making dinner together and you reach out to stroke their arm, or when you're passing by in the hallway and you stop for that quick hug. It's going to sleep with your hand or foot touching them because you just can't not touch them. It's being curled up, all sleepy and comfortable beneath the warm blankets on a cold, dark winter morning while your partner stumbles out of bed, dressing in the dark so they don't disturb you. But before he leaves, he searches out your feet buried beneath the blankets and strokes them one last time. Every. Single. Morning.

It's them bringing you ginger ale or making that run to the drug store in the middle of the night when you're sick. It's watching that horrible 168th episode of that awful sitcom with them because you know that afterwards they'll let you put in your favorite romantic comedy that they probably can't stand.

It's coming home after spending the day in Toronto to find an email from your partner asking "You have had a pap smear, right - and everything came back ok? I do worry about you."

"I do worry about you." For me that will always be the definition of true love. The proof that romantic love, enduring love can happen, despite what those romance-genre haters say. After thirty-three years together, thirty-one years of marriage, and two sons, yesterday I got choked up by an email saying "I do worry about you." Because he does. And he always has. And he always will.

What brought on that email and my subsequent tears? Gizmo Guy had just been talking to his best friend Chunk. GG and Chunk worked for the same company together for almost twenty years. When the firm was bought out by another company, they both found themselves looking for jobs elsewhere and they've both been through some rough times. Chunk has just been offered a better job -- but one that means he has to go to the States for a couple weeks' training.  He's turning it down because he doesn't want to leave his wife even for that long. You see, Chunk's wife has just been diagnosed with advanced uterine cancer, cancer that's spread through her lymph nodes. She's undergoing some sort of test or surgery on Friday, Gizmo Guy isn't sure what, but Chunk doesn't want to leave her to face it alone. Chunk and his wife are like us -- they've been married only a few years less, but they'll get through this together. Because that's what love's all about.

So to all those nay-sayers who sneer at romances and say they're setting up unrealistic expectations. Meet Gizmo Guy and Chunk. Two fabulous romantic heroes in real life.

Winner of Red Garnier's Satin Sash

Karen K

I entered the list of 19 people who commented on Red Garnier's post into Random.org's list randomizer. And Karen K came out at the top of the list. I will be contacting Karen to arrange delivery of her copy of The Satin Sash.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to leave Red a comment!

There were 19 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Karen K
2. Natasha A
3. Wylie Kinson
4. Mariska
5. Minishoes1
6. JK Coi
7. Susan Helene Gottfried
8. Joder
9. Amy S
10. s7anna
11. flchen1
12. Cherry
13. Estella
14. Armenia
15. Cathy M
16. RK Charron
17. Martha Lawson
18. elaing8
19. Mitzi H

Timestamp: 2009-12-13 13:08:07 UTC

Snippet Saturday - Parties

Today's Snippet Saturday theme is a nod to the season - parties.  As the owner of a protection business in Washington DC, Sam Watson attends a lot of parties to schmooze with clients, and drum up more business. So there were several parties I could draw from in Personal Protection.  In this one, Rosie is being introduced not to clients, or not only to clients, but some of Sam's private friends, and she's discovering an eye opening side to him.



Thalia introduced Rosalinda to the other guests, several of whom she recognized—one was a well known television personality, others from C-Span—at least one was a Senator, along with a couple congressmen. A tall blonde on the arm of one of the congressmen threw her arms around Sam’s neck.

“Sammy, you came! I’ve missed you in the grotto.”

Grotto? What the hell went on at the grotto? Was that another club?

A pained look on his face, Sam pulled the woman’s arms away and stepped back. “Mandy, I’d like you to meet Rosalinda Ramos. Rosie, Amanda Henderson.”

Where Rosie was short, Mandy was tall. Not just tall, but as graceful as a ballerina. Where she had black hair that looked like she’d stuck her finger in a light socket until it had burnt to a crisp, Mandy’s long blonde hair streamed in golden waves over her shoulders and down the bare expanse of her back.

Rosie slowly released her breath so no one around them would notice her sigh. Mandy’s body, like most of the other women tonight, was the epitome of surgical perfection. How could a regular gal like her compete? Especially for someone like Sam Watson.

Mandy spared Rosie her own quick assessing glance, then obviously decided she had no competition as she ignored her. “Sammy, why haven’t you come to the club lately? It’s not the same without you.”

A brunette dressed entirely in leather complete with a steel-studded dog collar and thigh-high patent leather boots slithered through the crowd and wrapped one leg around Sam’s hip and clung to him as she purred a welcome. If Mandy was a ballerina, this woman was a pole dancer with Sam the pole.

Rosie narrowed her eyes. No real boobs in the world retained their shape like that. Not unless they were supported by an underwire which the other woman obviously wasn’t using considering the design of the…well, it wasn’t so much of a dress, more like a series of straps concealing the important bits.
Not that Rosie thought she was any slouch in the boob department, but the brunette’s perky missiles could have drilled holes into granite.

“Tawny.” Sam peeled the woman off him. “Where’s Cooper? Isn’t he your trainer lately?”

Tawny’s collagen-enhanced lips pouted when he kept her at arm’s length. “Coop says he needs to talk to you and I’m to fetch you.”

Sam shrugged in Rosie’s direction and followed Tawny over to their host. Cooper took Sam a few paces away so they could talk without being overheard. Able to keep an eye on Sam, Rosie chatted idly with Thalia, while her husband stayed two paces behind his wife. Rosie shifted uncomfortably as Spencer kept glancing down the deep swell of her cleavage and again to the thigh peeking out from the slit up her hip. From the way lips pressed together, Thalia finally noticed her husband’s meandering gaze.

“Spencer, my prince,” she put a strange emphasis on the title that had Rosie wondering its significance, “go to the bar and fetch me a glass of sherry.”

Apparently whatever they were discussing hadn’t taken much time, as Sam returned not five very  uncomfortable minutes later, just as Jocelyne swooped in, accompanied by a gentleman in his fifties.

“Rosie, I’d like for you to meet my husband, Robert.” She pronounced it with her French accent, so it sounded more like Ro-bair.

Jocelyne was in a middle of a story about Robert’s photography when Sam interrupted. “Jo, you want to go rescue my operative from Tawny’s clutches? He looks like he’s a thermometer about to burst.”

Rosie glanced over to where Kris had positioned himself by the door to the patio and saw Tawny wrapped around him like a clinging vine. Kris’s already red face flamed completely scarlet when she swiped her tongue up the side of his face while sliding her hand down his pants.

“Merde, I’ve warned her,” Jocelyne apologized before she left them to rescue Kris.

The vibrations created by the device in her harness stopped and started a dozen times through the evening, sometimes lasting only a few minutes, and once the entire length of a slow dance Sam talked her into. By the time the string quartet finished the last note, she was clinging to Sam, resting her head on his chest as she willed away a threatening orgasm.

Wrapping his arm about her waist, he led her off the dance floor. “Ready to go find a quiet corner yet, Rosebud?”



Don't forget to visit the other participants in Snippet Saturday:

Vivian Arend
Moira Rogers
Ashley Ladd
Kelly Maher
Leah Braemel
McKenna Jeffries
Sasha White
Taige Crenshaw
Shelli Stevens
Shelley Munro
Eliza Gayle
Jody Wallace
Elizabeth Naughton
TJ Michaels

2010 Firefighter Calendar Contest Winner

Wow, the "Spot the Differences" contest for the 2010 Firefighter calendar was a lot of fun. And from what I hear you guys had a lot of fun with it too.

The trick to it was to click on the picture so you could see it full screen (I did give you a hint that very first day), and if you were really clever, you opened them both up in different tabs (if you were using Firefox or IE, you could right click on the pictures) and then flipped between the two. That's when it got really easy to spot the differences. 

Here they are again:

Picture #1

 Picture #2

Okay, I'll make it easy on you -- here they are:

1. The hat band on the guy on the left changes color
2. his shadow is missing
3. there's now a guy driving the white truck
4. the girl's bow changes from pink to green
5. the edges of the sign change from scalloped to square
6. the time changes from 4:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
7. there's a brown spot on the cow behind the saddle

Now, for what you've been waiting for -- the winner of the 2010 Toronto Firefighters Calendar:

Aurora

I'll be contacting Aurora to arrange delivery of her very own 2010 Toronto Firefighters' calendar.

By the way, if you live in Canada, you can purchase your own copy online or you can buy them in Chapters, Indigo Spirits, Coles Books, Sheridan Nurseries ... well, just go here for the list.) The profits go to a worthy cause -- Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital, one of North America's premiere cancer hospitals. Unfortunately, they don't ship outside of Canada. (If you live outside of Canada, and you REALLY want your own copy, drop me a line and I'll see what I can do to get you one.)

Thank you to everyone who took the time to play along, I hope you had as much fun as I did.

Red Garnier: Not a Shampoo!

Back in 2007, I decided to get serious about my writing and joined the Toronto Romance Writers. While I was there, I met Wylie Kinson and started following her blog. One of the other regular commenters over there was today's guest, Red Garnier.  So when I headed to Texas for the annual RWA conference, my overly-confident, newbie self contacted Red and arranged to meet her in person.

Red Garnier is a delightful tiny whirlwind of a lady. I have to confess, I had her in mind when I first came up with my character Rosie from Personal Protection. So I'm thrilled to have her here as my guest today.

It’s not shampoo!

I frequently get asked if Red Garnier is my real name, and if it isn’t, then why did I pick this particular name to write under?

 

Wow, you know? I’m not really sure!

 

What I do know is that I didn’t really get to pick my pen name. Somehow, it picked me.

When I started writing for Ellora’s Cave, my editor mentioned that because I was a new author, EC would not approve just any name. EC would like it to be different. They suggested I stay away from last names already taken by other authors, so Red Michaels – which I loved – would have to wait.

Worried about choosing the right one, I looked up the EC author list, noticed there were very few authors under certain last names that began with certain letters, so I asked my husband to help me find a cute last name with the letter G. He must have been watching TV – a soap opera, most likely. Or a shampoo commercial. I have no idea, but he said Garnier. And I protested, “That sounds like lingerie!” He said, “Sexy lingerie.” And I loved it instantly.

 

So now we’re stuck with each other, Red Garnier and I. Some people love my name, and others find it strange, but in my case, I’ve found that the more I use it, the more comfortable it becomes. Like a pajama – just gets better with wear.

Crazy as it sounds, I no longer feel like a Red Michaels at all!

Now if you’ve read one of my books, I think you’ll agree my name is fitting. And if you haven’t, then hell! Why not pick up a copy of THE SATIN SASH?

Sash is my first full-length print release, and I absolutely adore it. A passionate love triangle—sexy, provocative, and just plain adult fun. It’s in your nearest bookstores now and possibly one of the best ways to keep cozy and warm during the holidays.

Speaking of which—how do you all celebrate this time of year?

I celebrate with family, lots of warm cocoa, and time to indulge in a great book.

***

If you want to know more about Red, head on over to her website. You can also follow Red over on Twitter.

Leave a comment telling Red how you celebrate at this time of year, and you will be entered to win a print copy of her brand new release The Satin Sash.  I'll pick a winner on Sunday! (As always, this contest open to anyone, not just those in the US or North America!)

Lisa Pietsch Got Hijacked!

Lisa Pietsch writes about terrorists and terrorism -- and as a former US Air Force military cop you can trust the details she packs in her stories. So I'm thrilled to welcome her back today as she relates how her characters hijacked her NaNoWriMo project.

* * *

The short version:
Two characters hijacked my story.

The long version:

It was National Novel Writing Month (November 2009) and I was working on the fourth manuscript in my Task Force 125 series. I wanted to keep the story short since it would be released in ebook format and action packed since that's what my characters and readers enjoy. My goal was to shoot for 35000 words which is smack dab in the middle of Novella word counts.

I started writing and things were going swimmingly when my main character needed to hire a bodyguard. So I tapped on the take-out window of my imagination and said "One bodyguard please, easy on the eyes". Within seconds, this is the character that came out.

Jay Stanstead was a career man in the British Special Air Service (SAS). He spent twenty years jumping out of planes, cut more throats than he cared to count and drank more pints than he could remember. He'd invested his money well and had a comfortable retirement courtesy of the crown but his life was missing something he couldn't live without - action. On the suggestion of a mate, he met with an American named Brock Benjamin who ran a private military company that specialized in providing freelance work for guys with a certain type of military experience. Jay enjoyed the freelance work and made a good reputation for himself. One day, Brock called him and two other men in for a special job. Brock showed them a photo of a woman and explained that she was an international businesswoman who needed a personal security specialist, a bodyguard.

No woman, real or photographed, had ever made Jay's heart stop until that day.
Jay wanted this client. He had to have this client.

The pay was excellent and the conditions guaranteed were first class. All three men expressed an interest in the job.

Brock stood, smiled and announced he expected to see one man in his office in ten minutes after they'd worked it out amongst themselves.

Jay broke bones that day to be a bodyguard, to be Sarah Stevens' bodyguard.

Jay was much more than I was expecting and I must admit my heroine was a bit surprised too. Not only that, but two of my most macho characters developed man crushes (the "wow, I want to be like him" kind as opposed to the "wow, I want to sleep with him" sort). So Jay, this charming British action man jumped into the story and created some fantastic scenes.

I was totally enamored with Jay for about a week when a new character showed up.

Giselle Dumais is in her early sixties and still grabbing life, and men, by the balls. If it is hot and at least twenty years her junior she'll try to mount it. She has an oral fixation and is either chain smoking her unfiltered Moroccan cigarettes or enjoying the company of a younger man in her bed. Either way, she's smoking something.

This woman threw such a twist of comedy into the manuscript that my face hurt from laughing. She was French, bold and oh so brazen. She reminded me very much of my mamere (my family is originally from France and only a few generations out of Canada).

All of the books in the Task Force 125: American Swift series feature a team of six main characters. Sarah Stevens is the heroine and she works with Vince (a former U.S. Marine), Will (former U.S. Navy), Brian (former U.S. Navy SEAL), Jason (former U.S. Army Green Beret) and Chris (FBI Intelligence Analyst). They all work for the C.I.A.'s Special Activities Division as Paramilitary Operations Officers (what one may commonly refer to as super spies).

I know those characters and expect certain behaviors from them but I was just not expecting Jay and Giselle. They've hijacked the story with action, romance and laughter and I have to say this story will be much longer than 35,000 words!

If there is one thing I love about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) it is the speed with which these surprises pop up.

If you'd like to find out more about my characters and win a free copy of the first book in the Task Force 125: American Swift series, The Path to Freedom, leave a comment telling me who your favorite action hero or cougar is and why they are.

Thanks for reading!

Lisa (Thibault) Pietsch is a Franco-American novelist who lives in Denver with her Air Force husband, two young sons and two very large dogs. You can find her and her stories online at www.LisaPietsch.com.

(You can also follow Lisa on Twitter.)

Tis the season

Gizmo Guy often sends me jokes to distract me. I decided to share this one with you. (And after you've finished, don't forget to visit Tera's blog, the Samhellion (click on the graphic to get to the rules), and to Rock the Raven Christmas Tree for your chances to win a Kindle or Sony Reader.) Oh, and my "Spot the Differences" contest for a 2010 Toronto Firefighter Calendar is still open. (Hint, if you're finding it difficult to see the pictures, you can click on them to enlarge them.)



Miss Beatrice, the church organist, was in her eighties and had never been married.She  was admired for her sweetness and kindness to all.One afternoon the pastor came to call on her and she showed him into her quaint sitting room.

She invited him to have a seat while she prepared tea. As he sat facing her old Hammond organ,the young minister noticed a cute glass bowl sitting on top of it. The bowl was filled with water,and in the water floated, of all things, a condom!

When she returned with tea and scones, they began to chat. The pastor tried to stifle his curiosity about the bowl of water and its strange floater, but soon it got the better of him and he could no longer resist.

"Miss Beatrice," he said, "I wonder if you would tell me about this?" pointing to the bowl.

"Oh, yes," she replied, "Isn't it wonderful? I was walking through the park a few months ago and I found this little package on the ground. The directions said to place it on the organ, keep it wet and that it would prevent the spread of disease. Do you know I haven't had the flu all winter."

Pizza Pan Cookies

Over on my editor's blog on Friday, Tera asked me about my favorite holiday food. I told her it was Pizza Cookies because although it doesn't sound particularly Christmasy, I only make them at this time of year. (There are too many calories for me to indulge more than once a year.)

A few people expressed an interest in them, so I decided to share the recipe with you. (Although I did share it over on Shelley Munro's blog during a guest spot I did over there last year.)

Pizza Pan Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 package (or 1 ½ cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
(You can get inventive and try raisins or M&M pieces, etc.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease two 12-inch pizza pans. Cream butter, sugars, cream cheese and vanilla in a large bowl. Add eggs; beat until light. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Add to creamed mixture; blend well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Divide dough in half; press each half evenly into the pizza pans.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely in pans on wire racks. When cool, the cookies may be decorated with icing, icing sugar or other toppings. To serve, cut into slim wedges or break into pieces.

Enjoy!

Winner of the November Reader Appreciation Contest

It's December 6th already and I just remembered that I forgot to announce the winner of my Reader Appreciation contest for November:

flchen1!

You've won your choice of Samhain e-book. I'll be contacting you shortly.

Remember, you get entered in this contest every time you leave a comment any time that month. So come back and comment daily to up your chances of winning!

There were 90 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. flchen1
2. RKCharron
3. Sue L
4. Cate
5. Bridget
6. Meg Benjamin
7. flchen1
8. Joder
9. Shelley Munro
10. Amy Ruttan
+ 80 more names...

Timestamp: 2009-12-06 16:04:06 UTC

Snippet Saturday - Secondary Characters

It's Snippet Saturday again - today's topic is secondary characters. Personal Protection has a half dozen secondary characters, and I liked this snippet because it includes two that are in what hopefully will be in the next Hauberk book. Chad originally was Sam's boss over at the FBI but desperate to protect his sister, he inserted Sam into a situation that wasn't approved by the bosses with disastrous results. Now their roles are reversed as Chad works for Sam as the head of Hauberk's Washington office. The second secondary character is their uber-efficient assistant, Sandy. Which may give you a hint to the next book I'm working on (but don't be deceived by appearances.)


When the outer door opened and Chad walked in, Sandy’s head lowered. She stared up at Chad through her bangs in a Lady Di pose. With anyone else, Sam would have said it was practiced, but with Sandy it was a natural movement.

“Good morning, Chad. Can I get you a coffee?” Her voice had a little breathy hitch to it he’d never noticed before. Now wasn’t that interesting?

“No, thanks, Sandy. Sam, you got a minute?”

Anyone not knowing Chad would look at his businessman’s haircut with a few prematurely silver strands at his temple, and his double-breasted black suit, and be taken in by the relaxed image he projected. They’d assume he was just another mid-level management type. Or perhaps they’d catch his dark grey eyes and notice his sharp assessment and think him one of the hundreds of lawyers that populated the nation’s capital. Only if they managed to spot the shoulder holster he wore beneath his jacket, or the baby Glock strapped on his ankle, might anyone guess he was former FBI agent now in charge of the D.C. office of Hauberk Protection.

But today all trace of his relaxed persona had vanished. He prowled into Sam’s office and paced until Sam followed him. Once the door was closed, he folded his arms across his chest. “Why do I have to hear from my receptionist of all people that you had a break-in while you were away?”

“It’s no big deal, Chad. There was no damage.” Other than the word “Bang” written in ketchup on the comforter his mother had given him last Christmas. Sam pulled the envelope containing the photograph and slid it across the desk. “It’s basically the same as the others, though this one is a bit better quality.”

Chad cursed under his breath. “You touch it?”

Puh-leaze, like he’d make such a rookie mistake. “Nope.”

Once they’d both donned latex gloves, Chad peeled open the envelope and shook the contents onto the desk. When he saw a photo of Sam standing in line at Reagan National, half his head missing, brains trailing down his shoulders like snakes, Chad exhaled noisily.

“Jesus! It’s worse than the last one.” Chad grabbed a pen from his pocket, and turned the photo right side up. “I’ve seen real crime scenes with less gore.”

“Yeah, the addition of the blood and exposed brains is a new touch.” Sam pushed himself away from the desk, wanting to pace, but forced himself to stay seated. There had to be a clue here. More than just a threat. Some key to the identity of whoever was stalking him.

“Good thing the bastard didn’t have a gun at the airport instead of a camera,” Chad muttered. “Ink jet quality photo paper, eight and a half by eleven, same as last time.”

“Yup.” Sam lifted his coffee cup then swore when he realized it was still empty.

“Which means it was probably printed with a home quality printer as opposed to a professional printer.”

“Yeah, can’t see Wal-Mart processing that.”

Chad carefully slid the photograph back into the envelope. “This has been going on for three months now, Sam. At least let me assign a couple of CPOs to you.”

Sam scowled and flopped into his chair. “Come on, Chad, I don’t need close protection. Of all people, you know I’m trained in escape and avoidance techniques. In fact, I’m better than anyone you’d assign.” Sam shifted in his chair. “Besides, what’s it say to clients if the owner of a protection agency can’t protect himself?”

“It says he’s smart that he knows he needs an extra set of eyes. Damn it, Sam, this is no idle threat. You’re being followed. Stalked. And someone broke into your apartment, remember? The bastard could have set a bomb to go off when you opened the door.”

“Yeah, well…”

“What’s Mark say about the threats?”

Sam shrugged one shoulder. He’d meant to talk to his Dallas-based partner last time he’d flown down to Dallas but then Mark announced Jodi’s pregnancy and Sam hadn’t wanted to intrude on his friend’s happiness. And now he felt uncomfortable discussing it via email. Oh, by the way, thought you should know, someone’s taking pictures of me. Yeah, that would make him sound a real lame-ass weenie.

“You haven’t told him about them, have you?”

“Damn it, Chad, there’ve been a half dozen pictures in the past three months. And the phone calls—it’s some kid who dialed a random number and got lucky, that’s all.”

“Christ, Sam, listen to yourself. You get a picture doctored so it looks like your brains have been shot out, you’re getting phone calls with some mechanized voice telling you to prepare to die—”

Sam covered one fist with the other, cracked his knuckles. “If they wanted me dead they could have shot me any one of those times, but they didn’t. They took my picture a couple times and made a coupla calls. Big deal.”

“What about the break-in? No,” Chad corrected himself. “They didn’t need to break in, they had a key. And they knew the code to disable your security system so they could take as much time as they wanted. And yet here you sit trying to pretend it’s…what? A kid pranking you? Some practical joke?”

Yeah, the break-in had been hard to ignore. But damn it, that meant he knew whoever it was who was stalking him. Intimately. This wasn’t something he wanted to call the cops in on. He’d handle it himself. “So they emptied the ketchup bottle on my bed, along with one of those damned photos. That’s it. They’re not trying to hurt me, Chad.”

Chad forced his shoulders down and exhaled through his mouth in a long slow blow. “Sam, if I were a client receiving these pictures, you’d recommend I wear a vest every time I went out in public. You’d tell me to change up my routine—to take different routes at different times—”

“I’m already doin’ that. I check my six regularly—no one’s following me. They’re trying to psych me out, that’s all.”

Chad continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “You’d insist I used one of our special bullet-proof limos with a bodyguard trained in defensive driving as the chauffeur, and you’d assign a team of Close Protective Officers to guard you twenty-four/seven. And if I still didn’t listen, what would you say?”

Sam slumped back in his chair. “I’d ask you if your will was in order.”

Chad folded his arms across his chest and rocked on his heels. “So tell me, Sam, you got your will in order?”

Don't forget to drop by the other Snippet Saturday participants ...

Vivian Arend
Moira Rogers
Ashley Ladd
Anya Bast
Jaci Burton
Kelly Maher
Lauren Dane
Mandy Roth
McKenna Jeffries
Sasha White
Taige Crenshaw
Shelli Stevens
Shelley Munro
Eliza Gayle
Victoria Janssen
Jody Wallace
Juliana Stone
TJ Michaels