Friday Funny (NSFW)

Thanks to Amy Ruttan who sent this to me the other day...

The Countdown is ON!

In case you missed it over on Twitter or their blog yesterday, Carina Press have officially announced their launch date as June 7th.  So we're in countdown mode.

Texas Tangle will be released on June 28th, but there will be a whole lot going on beforehand since Carina is releasing a total of 38 books that month. As part of the celebrations, I've invited some of the Carina Press authors to be my guest bloggers--names you may recognize like Carrie Lofty, Dee Tenorio, KS Augustin, Cindy Spencer Pape or Alice Gaines along with Toni Anderson and blog favorite Inez Kelley. Names you may not know--yet--like Jenny Schwartz and Kathleen Dienne or Claire Robyns.  I've also invited other authors too -- Red Garnier, Delilah Marvelle and Cari Quinn will be returning. Just keep an eye on my sidebar as the list grows. **Edited** I've added Lilly Cain and Ginny Glass today!

**Edited** Head over to Carina Press's blog -- there's a contest going on, with giveaways every day. Find out how you can win here. And here's a link to the list of what books by what authors are being released.

"Get Hooked on a Series" returns!

You may remember that last year I participated in Moira Rogers' Get Hooked on a Series contest.  Well, it was so successful that Moira's running it again (her third time, my second time participating)  I'm giving away yet another copy of Private Property, the first in the Hauberk series.


21 authors. 30 e-books. All first books in their series.  All you have to do is pick which one you want to win. Head over here to read the rules and enter.

Winner of Corrina Lawson's Freya's Gift

Gabby

You've won the draw for an ecopy of Corrina Lawson's Freya's Gift.  Email me at leah DOT braemel @gmail DOT com (replace the DOTs with periods and remove the spaces) with your choice of format.  If you don't claim your prize in seven days, a new winner will be drawn.

There were 12 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Gabby
2. Natasha A
3. Sherri Browning erwin
4. Stacey
5. Fedora
6. Milinda
7. Booklover0226
8. Andrea Becraft
9. S7anna
10. Estella
11. Becky Sue Burkheart
12. Anna Carrasco Bowling

Timestamp: 2010-04-28 12:52:09 UTC

Interviewing My Editor

I'm back in the middle of the third round of edits  -- copy edits this time (that's when Carina's grammar police go through the manuscript and correct my punctuation. Along with catching all the booboos I missed in the 20,000 other passes I've already done.) I hate to admit to how many notations the poor copyeditor had to make on this manuscript. I'm normally much more competent at grammar and catching repetitions but this time? Yikes.

I'm going to be putting up the contest winner for Corrina Lawson's contest shortly, but in the meantime, check out the Carina Press blog today -- I'm interviewing my ever-so-patient-with-me editor, Rhonda Stapleton.

Boobquake?

Here's another post inspired by Gizmo Guy. You may have heard that last week some muslim clerics came out and said that the numerous earthquakes we've had recently have been caused by women who are immodestly dressed.

Um, yeah. Okay. Right. Cleavage cleaves the earth?

Anyway, a 22-year-old Indiana student has decided to test their theory and encouraged women to "show their cleavage" for 24 hours in an experiment dubbed "Boobquake." You can read more about it here

*looking down at her sweatshirt covered cleavage* I guess I'll take part in this tomorrow, if it's warmer in the office, that is.

Anyone else game?

Show, Don't Tell

So I'm working in my office this morning and I hear Gizmo Guy laughing out loud. A half minute later he calls me into the family room and says "Here, you have to watch this."  This turns out to be this commercial for the Schick Quattro razor for women.  Now I'm not generally a commercial watcher, we tend to mute them automatically. But this was the perfect example of "show don't tell" that didn't need sound to get its message across.  Gizmo Guy still can't believe what they're implying in the ad. Yes, we know it's done, but do we really need a commercial discussing ...well, watch the video and you'll know what he's talking about... You may even get it better if you don't listen to it with the sound turned on.

Give Earth a Hand

I know I'm coming in at the wrong end of Earth Day with this post, but I couldn't resist.  I found this video over on David H. Burton's blog and it was so good I had to share. 

Corrina Lawson's Day Off

I’ve spent the last month in somewhat of a daze. I have my usual duties as mother of four, compounded by the fact one of them is s special needs kid.

I have my writing duties, as I’m trying to get the last bit written of a sequel to a book that I’ve already sold.

And I have my marketing duties. My first published fiction, Freya’s Gift, came out in March from Samhain Publishing and my first full-length novel, Dinah of Seneca, an alternate history romance, is coming out May 28 from The Wild Rose Press.

So I looked around my house on Sunday: at the kids, at the cleaning and chores that needed to be done, at the writing that called to me and the emails begging to be answered and said....nah.


Instead, I told the kids were were going for a drive, loaded the entire family into the minivan and told them we were going somewhere new. I had a vague idea of driving until we found a real New England downtown with stores and restaurants and a cool Main Street. I’d heard vaguely that Northhampton, Massachusetts had something like this, so that was roughly where we were going but I was perfectly content to stop somewhere on the way if it looked interesting.

We passed a few tempting spots, including several used bookstores that were being run from what looked like Victorian-era homes. But I really, really wanted that downtown.

And we found it!

Northhampton was better than advertised. There were blocks and blocks of stores, coffeehouses, restaurants, and, well, it just looked really cool too. The kids were excited, even the ten-year-old twins. That may have had something to do with the ice cream store right across from where we parked.

So we got out of the car and walked. Because Northhampton is a town surrounded by no less than five colleges, the stores were unique and eclectic. There were no GAPS or Abercrombie & Fitch or any other brand name. There were all independently owned and operated. Well, one exception. Starbucks. But I doubt there’s anywhere in America where one can escape Starbucks.

We got ice cream first. Because we could. :) then we wandered some of the stores, passing by several jewelry stores with free trade goods, others with toys for younger kids. The real find was a used bookstore where we all got lost in looking around. The kids grabbed a box set of Philip Pullman’s books, a chess instruction book and a kids cookbook. I found a history book called “Conquest,” which is about how societies conquer other societies.

The book was *exactly* what I need for my current work in progress. I’ve got Romans and Vikings in an alternate history North America and I’ve been pondering how to preserve the Native American society in this mix. Obviously, the Europeans wiped them out. I want to write an alternate universe where they survived and thrived without having them wipe out the Europeans.
Peaceful co-existence in other words. I don’t know if that’s possible but exploring how disaster happened should give me some clues.

We ended the day with a restaurant meal of burgers and fries and yet another bookstore.

It was the most fun family day we’ve had in a long time. And when I got home, I was able to sit down and write over 2,000 words on my work in progress.

I think I need to ignore the stuff that needs to be done more often. Though if we get ice cream every time, I suspect I’ll have to add clothes shopping to the trip. :)

* * *

You can find out more about Corrina at her website http://corrinalawson.wordpress.com/ or her blog.  If you're over on Facebook, don't forget to friend her, or follow her on Twitter.


Want to know more about Freya's Gift? You can buy it here at Samhain or over here on the Kindle.

Don't forget to check Corinna's website for more information about her Dinah of Seneca, which releases May 28th.

In honor of Corrina's first release with Samhain, I'm giving one lucky commenter a copy of her Freya's Gift. Leave a comment telling me what you'd do if you had a day all to yourself--go on a run for ice cream? Shop? Head to the beach or the slopes?  What's your way of reclaiming your mental health?   I'll draw a winner next Tuesday (that's April 27th) to get people enough time to catch up with their blog reading. 

Yeehaw!

At the bottom of Vivian Arend's post yesterday I mentioned different ways you could win one of several prizes Viv has up for grabs. One way is to post pictures of your favorite cowboys.

Yum. Man Candy.

Now, I'm not entering Viv's contest, but who can pass up the opportunity to ogle a few good looking men (come on, it made you stop a little longer on the page, right?) Besides I've got some burn-up-the-pages hot cowboys of my own whom you'll get to read about in June. So while you're waiting for Texas Tangle to be released, why not whet your cowboy appetite? Head on over and take a gander at Viv's Rocky Mountain Haven. She's got some yeehaw hot cowboy lovin' going on...

You can read more about Rocky Mountain Haven, the second in the Six Pack Ranch series, at Viv's website (and her blog which is at the same site) or buy the book through Liquid Silver Books.

Welcome to the Six Pack Ranch, where learning to live again takes some sensual twists.

Beth Danube has escaped to a small Alberta town to make a new start for herself and her three little boys. Her emotionally abusive husband may be dead and buried, but so is her heart. What she doesn’t want is another man in her life—not now, maybe not ever. Yet when her libido reawakens after ten years of unsatisfactory sex in the missionary position is any woman strong enough to turn down sex-in-boots, Daniel Coleman?

The middle child of the rowdy Coleman boys, Daniel’s the quiet one who has always subdued his desires and acted as peacemaker. His powerful attraction to the young widow takes him by storm, and he’s willing to pursue her until they both find satisfaction—in and out of the bedroom.

Only Beth isn’t sure she’s ready to cross the line. Becoming friends with blazing hot benefits means she’s still the one in control. Letting her heart trust again? She isn’t that brave—or foolish. Daniel is going to have to be mighty convincing to help her overcome the past.

Vivian Arend's Family Project

Thanks to Leah for another chance to drop in.

When my first story sold I was so excited—and completely unaware of how this sudden obsession of mine would translate into my ‘real life’. When the first cover arrived I nearly fell out of chair—GORGEOUS, I think you’ll agree. Only suddenly it was a little more real to the kids that Mom Is Writing Books.

No, they can’t read them. Even when they turn 18 I’ll have issues with my children reading them because…well for the same reason my parents aren’t allowed to read my books. I mean, ick. I do read sanitized sections out of the stories to my daughter, and it’s pretty cool when she laughs in the right spots. (She loves TJ…go figure.)

But she wanted to be able to celebrate the releases along side of me. At first I thought maybe I could get a print copy of each cover and post them on a wall. Kind of a Wall of Fame, just for me. Hello, great idea…until I got my third cover.

Part of the ‘children know I write adult books but…’ Sorry, I can’t put that cover up. Not yet. So in her amazing brilliance, my daughter suggested she could buy me a little token to represent the book. Hubby bought into this big time, and he and my son made me a shelf to display the trinkets. He figured it would last me a couple of years.

Well, I’m excited to say it’s starting to get full already. It’s been a marvelous way for my daughter to take pride in her mom. While we’re on holidays she keeps her eyes peeled for the perfect item to add to the shelf. The latest—she bought a set of tiny dolphins for the second in the merfolk series coming out this summer.



Whether or not she ever reads the books, she’s become a part of the memories involved in their writing and publication.
-------------

The latest trinket to be added to the shelf goes on later today, as Book 2 in the Six Pack Ranch releases. Rocky Mountain Haven is about family and trust, all wrapped up in heat and love. Not sure what the token is…but it’s sure to be special.

You can drop by Viv’s place to see what other news is on the horizon.

www.vivianarend.com

Leah here: Normally I'd offer to give away a copy of Viv's book, but I don't want to distract you from the contest she's got going...so get your butts on over to her blog and find out just how many ways you can win a variety of prizes she's got going for this crazy-busy month of releases.

Bye bye, old friend. Hello ...

Remember the other day I said I was in a "spring cleaning" mood? This weekend,  it extended to include my computer. My poor old Sony Vaio laptop died a while back.  It was a good little workhorse--I'd bought it in 2007 as a refurbished computer, though technically it dated back to about 2003 according to the Sony people when I registered it. So it's paid its dues.  But now I had to make a decision: replace it with a new Windows-based laptop, or go completely with my used Mac 11 inch Powerbook as my laptop and my Windows-based PC as my desktop.

Sound confusing? It has been.

In order not to distract myself with all the 'business of writing' stuff that I have to deal with now I'm published, Gizmo Guy set me up so I can use my Windows-based PCs for the business stuff--blog writing, etc, and my Mac for the writing end.  He came up with this neat little device called a KVM that hooks up both computers so they can share the keyboard, monitor and mouse.  I swore to myself that when I was on my Mac I would not flip over to the PC to check my email. BUT over the past year while I've been using that setup, I've come to a couple conclusions:

1) Saying I won't check my email is all well and good, but I often found that ... yeah, I checked it no matter what computer I was on. Oh well, so much for good intentions.

2) Occasionally I ended up doing 'business'  stuff from my Mac instead of my PC and saved files on one or the other and lost track of where they were. Ooops.

3) my eyes do NOT like working on an 11 inch screen when I'm using it as a laptop itself. It's just too darned small.

4) Mac uses software that doesn't run on PCs.  To whit, a writing program called Scrivener that I've been using to write the next in the Hauberk series. It's a really cool program that lets you set up your manuscript so  with a glance you can see point of view and summaries of the scenes and all sorts of neat-gee-whiz tricks. I know other authors who swear by it. And it should work for me too. Except any manuscript I've written on it? Well, I've never actually finished anything on it. I keep second guessing what I'm doing and moving scenes, deleting scenes, changing things. Texas Tangle? I wrote on my PC using good old Word.  Not only did I finish it in four months but I subbed and sold it. Chad's story? 15 months and I'm still going. Andy's story? Almost a year now.  It's just too danged tempting to change things around and question what I've already written instead of moving forward.  I decided this week not to work on it anymore and to work on Word.

So ... since I'll be working exclusive on Word which can run on either Mac or PC, why spend the money on a Mac? (Yes, I know! Mac's don't get hit with viruses the way PCs do, but is that worth twice the price?) Anyway I ended up buying a brand new Windows-based laptop complete with docking station yesterday. (Woot, I'm so used to having used computers it's a real kick to have something brand new)

The plan is that it'll be my main computer so I don't have that "which system is it on?" problem again.  And being it's a laptop it has that added bonus that if the power goes out, I don't lose my document.  (Double woot)  Of course, it means I'm spending the day moving all my files over from the one system to the other. I've got documents that date back almost 20 years--files that were originally stored on 5 1/4 inch floppy disks, which changed to 3.5 inch disks to hard drives. (And backed up on zip disks and CDs.) Time to make some DVDs and get them off the hard drive, don't you think?  Yup, spring cleaning takes all forms.

On a semi-related note, the boys are scouring the garage to see what they can put out in their yard sale.  They're much more brutal about getting rid of all the stuff we've gathered over the years. Guitar Hero is even going through Gizmo Guy's clothes closets. And my bookcases (which I've told him are definitely off-limits.) 

By the way, I've been thinking this laptop needs a name. I know it sounds silly, but I feel like it deserves an identity. Any suggestions for a name?  It's black with silver swirls on the cover ... and a real powerhouse.

How can I tell it's spring?

Because I'm cleaning.

Oh, not earlier this week, or last week either. I hardly came out of my office while I worked on my edits. But once I got them off my desk, I had to wade into the no-mans land of paperwork in order to dig up the receipts the accountant needed to file our taxes (up here in Canada, they're due April 30th, so we have a couple weeks yet.)

Frankly, I thought I'd done that back in March when I gathered all the paperwork I thought he needed (receipts for promotions, the bills for my website and its updates, memberships etc.) I'd made a lovely folder and organized them all, even printed off a nifty reports listing and totaling all the categories. Then I got a call right before I left for that week away.

"You're a small business now, you can write off a portion of your house/mortgage interest payment/property taxes, heat, hydro, etc. etc.," he said.

Oh, all right, I'd heard from others that 'could' write them off when I was gathering my receipts but when Gizmo Guy worked from home in the early years of this decade, the accountant told us we couldn't write those things off. Apparently my situation is different and yes, he needed all the receipts for 2009.

Oh Oh.

Gizmo Guy deals with budgets worth millions and keeps his work desk clean and orderly. (Honest, I've seen his desk.) And when I was working in an office, I was very organized too. So why is it our personal bills/statements tend to accumulate in a large pile on the dining room table, our two desks, and assorted coffee tables? And from there, when they threaten to fall on the floor (or when company is coming) I shove them in grocery bags, shove them in a corner of the office, and promise to deal with them "soon." (Most of our bills come out of the bank automatically--it's not that they're not getting paid by being shoved away. These are the statements.)

It didn't turn out to be as bad as I thought it would be. (Except for minor panic when I couldn't find the gas and hydro bills and realized I get them online, so it was merely a matter of printing out what I needed.) I've finally managed to clear out one of the desk drawers GG had filled with paperwork from 2002-2005 which freed up a lot of space for me. I've divided this year's receipts from the previous years and have set up a nice little filing system so I should be able to keep track of the future years' taxes. I also have a trash bag filled with shredded papers and another large box of papers waiting to be shredded. Not to mention all the paper that can go out for recycling. Best of all? I can see the top of my desks again (yes, that's right I have two desks--one for writing, one for the business side of things.)

It felt pretty darned good to get rid of all that paper. In fact it inspired me so much I've given Guitar Hero and Curly an assignment -- to clean out all the junk in the garage/crawl space/basement and hold a garage sale in a couple weeks. They get to keep the proceeds -- I'm hoping that inspires them to work harder to find things. Then again it could backfire and they'll sell stuff I want to keep.

So tell me, do you spring clean? Or do you keep your house uber-clean all year around? (something I just can't imagine) Do you haunt yard-sales? Find any good stuff at one?

Nikki Duncan: Death by DNA

Thanks for having me here, Leah!

Until writing SCENT OF PERSUASION I wouldn’t have imagined the possibility.

In February, Heather Long blogged here about Rigor. If you missed it, you should check it out. She talked about some of the things we learned when attending an All Things Autopsy workshop taught by the Chief Medical Examiner in Dallas. It was a great workshop! Heather and I have both used some of the things we learned in our writing, and in conversation when asked certain questions. We’re odd that way, but if a man asks us if inappropriate rigor is what he thinks it is, what do you expect us to say?

We've since been able to stay in contact with another of the Dallas Medical Examiners so we can ask questions when we need for clarifications. We are also lucky enough to have a former cop who worked homicide for a bit as a critique partner. Kym, the critique partner, was amazing at helping me decide how to “murder” one of my victims. And once we chose the method, she gave me the details of how that body would look when found. It’s gruesome stuff that I had so much fun writing.

See, as a writer I’m always looking for ways to challenge myself. As a suspense writer I’m always looking for ways to entertain the reader while staying mostly accurate to the real world. I do take some liberties, but it’s fiction.

To tackle those challenges in my latest book, and I think this would be a tough one for an ME to catch, I use DNA and perfume to kill my victims. The fun part is that the victim is never in physical contact with the “poison” so it’s not absorbed into their skin and there are no traces of it in their body, or there wouldn’t be if they were autopsied. It truly is the perfect murder, unless of course the victim is the step-brother of my actress Kami who knows for a fact his death was not accidental. Or if the intended victim is the childhood friend of an FBI Team Leader who refuses to accept suicide as an answer. I’m really hoping that my methods of murder in SCENT OF PERSUASION entertain you. It certainly entertained me to work it all out. 

So tell me, what makes a suspense/mystery entertaining to you? Is it the plot? The characters? The way they handle the plot?

If you want to know more about Kami and Breck from SCENT OF PERSUASION, come chat with me here, tonight at 8:00 Central time. 

Visit Nikki at her online homes:
www.NikkiDuncan.com

www.NikkiDuncan.com/blog

Twitter.com/NDuncanWriter

Two for one today!

Remember yesterday I said I'd dropped the ball in booking guest bloggers? Nikki Duncan stepped up to the plate and offered to be my guest today! What a trooper! Oh, and if you notice all my guest blogging spots have been filled between now and July. Notice June? I'm going to be hosting guests all through that month as part of the Carina Press launch -- but I won't be hosting JUST Carina authors, so keep an eye on that side bar.

And in a neat switch of events, I'm someone's guest blogger today. I'm over at Vivi Andrews' blog giving away a PDF copy of Personal Protection, so drop on by and leave a comment.

Don't forget to leave a comment here for Nikki too!

New winner of Inez Kelley's contest

The winner of Inez Kelley's contest never claimed her prize, so I drew a new winner. 

Jamie Babette.  

Please send an email to Leah DOT Braemel @ gmail DOT com (change DOT to . and remove the spaces, natch) with your snail mail address and I'll forward it to Inez so she can send you your paperback copy of Jinxed.

There were 16 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. jamiebabette
2. Estella
3. flchen1
4. mariska
5. Keri Ford
6. Susan Helene Gottfried
7. Joder
8. Heidi B
9. Gina Leigh Maxwell
10. Iokijo
11. Elaing8
12. Tetewa
13. Spav
14. Peach
15. Sharon K
16. Yvette Davis

Timestamp: 2010-04-13 13:18:22 UTC

I'm back! In body, not mind.

Yup, I'm back. At least until the next round of edits. (I'm not sure if there are another round of edits or not--all I know from here is the manuscript will head to the copyeditors who are responsible for correcting my punctuation and grammar.)

A little bit of housekeeping:

First off, heads up to commenter Laura -- who won Inez Kelley's contest last week. You seriously need to get in touch with me today if you wish to claim your prize or else tomorrow I'll be drawing a new winner. Send an email to leah DOT braemel @gmail DOT com (no spaces and replace DOT with . please) with your snail mail address so Inez can send you your PRINT copy of Jinxed. Everyone else? check tomorrow to see if Laura responded or if you may have won (if you commented on Inez's contest originally, it's too late to enter now.)

As you may have noticed over on my sidebar, this month's guest listing is woefully sparse. Totally my fault. I've been so busy, I let it slide. For this week, I'm probably going to be my own guest-blogger, though it won't be here but on another author's site (if I can ever get her her interview back *rolls eyes at self*) Just come back on Wednesday to follow the link--I'll be having a contest and everything. However, you may notice that June's list is bulging!  Yup, I'm hosting Carina authors in honor of the Carina launch.  All different types of genres, new authors to names you may recognize -- like Carrie Lofty!

I actually had a big long post written up for today and deleted it because I don't trust my judgment right now.  Why not? Well, have you ever watched a show -- maybe a sitcom or a talk show at about 1 in the morning and thought "this guy is hilarious!" and then after going on (and on) about how funny it was, how you were holding your sides laughing your guts out to your significant other or best friend, sit down and watch a repeat and realize, you're not laughing at anything? That the jokes are lame/stale/flat? I'm a little worried I'm in the "1 AM this is hilarious" stage because I was in a conversation this morning that involved a discussion about just how much truth/reality has to be in fiction and found myself laughing at the absurdity of the discussion. (I'm feeling more than a little 'punch-drunk' as I've had about 90 minutes sleep in the last two days. I stayed up until 5:30 this morning doing a final run through of my edits, grabbed a short nap and was back at them by 7:30 AM. So yeah, there's a definite "late night talk show" quality affecting my thought patterns at the moment.)

Where was this going?  Oh, yeah. It's been pretty quiet on comments lately, so I figured I'd throw the discussion out there to see what you think. (if anyone is actually reading this post.) Just how much truth/reality do you, as a reader, feel needs to be in fiction? Condoms for creatures for the planet Xenon? Do you insist the author uses real street names in real cities instead of made up ones? What sets you off?

Or do you just have anything else you want to talk about?  Read any good books lately? (I recently finished Patricia Brigg's Bone Crossed and OMG I love Patty's books. She got Mercy together with yummy alpha Adam in this one.

Discuss!  I'm heading for a date with my pillow...I'll check back in with you later to see if there's a consensus. Or not.




see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Check out Carina Press's blog today!

Squeee -- check out Carina Press's blog today...

I love the new blurb they've given Texas Tangle. (And the cover art sure is easy on the eyes.)

Winner of Erin Nicholas's Just Right

The winner of Inez Kelley's contest is:

FLChen

Congratulations, Fedora. Please send an email to leah DOT braemel @gmail.com with your preference of format and I'll shoot that over to Erin so she can get you your copy.

Erin Nicholas on Doing What You Love

Doing What You Love

My daughter is not much of an athlete.  Most of that is because she doesn’t really care.  She has a very competitive nature when it comes to school, but not with athletics.  She’d much prefer to be curled up with a book, sunburns easily and doesn’t like to do anything she isn’t really, really good at.

Last week she finished her last volleyball game of the season (forever, according to her).  As we were talking and I was encouraging her to not close her mind completely to the idea just yet, she informed me, “Mom, I want to spend my time doing things I like that make me feel good.”

Wow.  Profound.  For a thirteen year old for sure, but for anyone really.

For her that means piano and violin, community theater and reading and writing.  She is an artist.  Growing up in a small Midwestern town where sports are everything.  Is she a little brave to dare to dislike the activities that ninety-percent of her peers love?  I think so. And to be open and vocal about it?  At her age?  For sure.  How many of us spend our time doing things we don’t like, not to mention love, because we’re “supposed” to or because we’re afraid of what others might think?  I’d be willing to bet that all of us have those moments.

In my new release Just Right, our hero Ben is going through something like this.  Ben’s an ER trauma surgeon.  The best around, in fact.  But—due to a series of unfortunate events, he’s decided that he’s spent enough time doing what’s right, being the good guy, the hero.  He just wants to have some fun for a change.  He’s never been a bad boy before, but he’s going to give it his all!  And he wants to corrupt a certain good girl he’s had his eye on for awhile—ER nurse Jessica Bradford.

Jessica could actually show him a thing or two about being bad, but she’s been doing her damnedest to be the woman her late father would have been proud of rather than the rebellious trouble-seeker she was growing up.  But Ben is awfully tempting. Then the Chief of emergency medicine offers her the promotion she wants if she can keep Ben out of trouble… well, now she’s intimately involved in helping Ben feel good!

So how about you?  Have you ever realized you’ve been wasting your time on something and just walked away?  Or is there something you want to walk away from (PTO meetings anyone?) but just can’t quite make yourself do it?    If you could do whatever you love and what makes you feel good, what would it be (hot sex with Gerard Butler is a fine answer… just leave out the details, okay?)

Comments will be rewarded! :)  Anyone who comments is entered to win a copy of Just Right!  Be sure to include your e-mail address!

Erin

* * *

Erin Nicholas has been reading and writing romantic fiction since her mother gave her a romance novel in high school and she discovered happily-ever-after suddenly went a little beyond glass slippers and fairy godmothers!  She lives in the Midwest with her husband who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books, her kids who will never read the sex scenes in her books, and family and friends who say they’re shocked by the sex scenes in her books (yeah, right!).

For more information about Erin and her books, visit:  www.ErinNicholas.com, http://ninenaughtynovelists.blogspot.com/, or http://samhainpublishing.com/authors/erin-nicholas

Leah here: Erin has provided an steamy excerpt but since some of you read this blog at work, and her excerpt is definitely NSFW, I've put it up over on my leahbraemelexcerpts.blogspot.com site. You can read the excerpt here.   Don't forget to come back to leave your comment to be entered to win Erin's contest.

Winner of Inez Kelley's Jinxed

The winner of Inez Kelley's contest is:
Laura

Laura - you didn't leave your email addy, so it's going to be up to you to contact me within the next 7 days to claim your copy of Inez's book. Send an email to leah.braemel @gmail.com (without the spaces) with your snail mail addy to claim your prize.

If I don't hear from you by April 13th, I'll pick a new winner.

There were 17 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Laura
2. Heidi B
3. Spav
4. Sharon K
5. Yvette Davis
6. joder
7. jamiebabette
8. SHG
9. Peach
10. Keri Ford
11. iokijo
12. elaing8
13. tetewa
14. Estella
15. mariska
16. flchen1
17. Gina Leigh Maxwell

Timestamp: 2010-04-06 09:00:44 UTC

Snowed Under (metaphorically, that is)

Hey there. I'm back from both my writing retreat AND my mini-vacay. The local weathermen were all celebrating how no snow had fallen on Toronto in the month of March. I can tell them where it all landed instead...

They say a picture's worth a thousand words (always handy to the queen of verbosity such as myself) so I'm going to borrow a graphic Inez Kelley sent me to tell you how I feel upon returning from my week of rest and relaxation:

Yeah, not so relaxed.  When I'd left, my to-do list was clear. Now? While I was away...

• our accountant phoned--I'd somehow missed a bank form that he needed for Gizmo Guy's taxes. When I phoned him back, he mentioned that I could claim something I wasn't aware I could on my own taxes. Which means I'm scrambling through the entire year's worth of statements to find all the paperwork for that particular deduction. Guitar Hero is prodding me about getting that done since his tax refund's arrival is contingent on when our taxes are filed.
• while I was on the writing retreat portion of my away time, Gizmo Guy decided to rearrange my office for me. Unfortunately he only got halfway through the job before he left to join me. When we returned I discovered boxes all over the place and nothing's where I left it. It's (sort of) in order now and the place has been dusted more thoroughly than it has been in years. And I can actually see my desk top--something I haven't seen in at least a year. Hey, I found my daytimer beneath all those piles of papers. Who knew it had been on my desk that whole time?
• I have to answer interview questions for the multiple blog hop guest spots I've signed up for, and write several chatty posts due for several others. And I need to line up more spots for June's release of Texas Tangle - working on these, thanks to not sleeping last night at all.
• I have to send out interview questions to future guest bloggers who will be visiting this blog in June - some of this is done, and more bloggers have been scheduled for June.
• I have to sign up some guest bloggers for here for April and May. Wednesday's guest blogger Erin Nicholas is the last guest I've got booked for this month, and only Chandra Ryan and Bella Andre are booked for next month. Time to get on that stick! (Any requests of who you'd like to see on my blog? No, I doubt la Nora would agree to be my guest as much as I'd love to host her.)
• I had to write an interview of my editor for an upcoming spot on the Carina Press blog (that's done! Well, it's partly done. I dreamed up some questions, mailed it off to her and now I just have to wait to get it back from her to format it and send it to the powers that be at Carina. Yes, there's a deadline for it.)
• I have an article on writing advice to write for a fellow author who is collecting advice to post for her readers on her blog (thankfully there's no deadline on that one)
• I have to mail a prize to a contest winner (deadline involved -- one I gave myself, but still, it's a matter of honor.)
• I have to mail an autographed copy of Personal Protection to someone who helped me immensely and is mentioned in the dedication. (no deadline, but that honor thing again...)
• I have to return a book someone very graciously loaned me. Unfortunately, the envelopes I bought to send out books turned out to be too small which means I have to dash out to an office supply store in addition to the post office.
• I received an email this afternoon requesting a 200 word bio by 3 p.m. tomorrow. OMG do you know how hard it is to make yourself sound interesting? I wear fuzzy flannel pajama pants most days (seriously!) While I did some interesting things years ago (liaising with the Toronto Emergency Task Force and bomb squad anyone?) I've been a stay-at-home Mom for the last fifteen years. How can I jazz that up? I sense some serious creative fiction writing ahead tomorrow. Thanks to Anara Bella and Amy Ruttan's help, this is done!
• and the most important one of all? my second round of edits have come in and I have one week to complete them. At first glance (I think) they don't look as overwhelming as the developmental edits did. So I have hope that there may be light shining waaaay down at the end of the long twisty tunnel. 

**EDITED** Akk, it was just pointed out to me that I signed up for a workshop in Toronto with Donald Maass which is this coming Saturday. So there goes another day. **

So if there are a few *coughcough*most*coughcough* days where the blog isn't updated, forgive me...I'm busy cluttering up my newly cleared desk again.

Lisa Pietsch is a Task Force all her own

Thanks for having me back! Last time I was here was in July of 2009 when I talked about my love for geeks http://leahbraemel.blogspot.com/2009/07/lisa-pietsch-knows-why-women-love-geeks.html (By the way, that has not changed and I’m proud to say The Big Bang Theory is one of my favorite television shows.) I've been a little busy since my last visit.


A Taste of Liberty, the follow up to The Path to Freedom has been released by Sapphire Blue Publishing. Freedom's Promise, the third book in the series has also been contracted by Sapphire Blue and I'm finishing the manuscript for the fourth story, The Lonely Road. I have some other projects in the works but I won't bore you with the details. (Readers who are interested can check out my Works in Progress page on my website.)

If you don't mind, I'd like to share some excerpts from my current and upcoming releases. If any of your readers care to comment, I'd be happy to share a few copies.

Leah here: I've also added these snippets to my Leah Braemel Excerpts blog, if you prefer to read them over there, or if you just want to read them later. But don't forget to come back here to comment.

A Taste of Liberty

Book 2 in the Task Force 125 series

(Warning strong language)

Sarah walked into her apartment and closed the door. She pulled her phone out of her purse and dialed Vince.

No answer.

Those sons of bitches are going to answer for this.

The more Sarah thought about it, the angrier she became. 

Where the hell do they get off scaring my dates away like a couple of big brothers puffing up their chests?

She called Will.

He picked up on the first ring.  "Sarah, you okay?"

"I'm pissed.  Where's Vince?"

"We left the club about fifteen minutes ago.  He was going straight back to his place."

"Great.  I'll find him."

"Sa..."

Sarah hung up before he could say anything.  She left her apartment, stomped down the hallway and punched the elevator button.

Son of a bitch.

When the elevator didn't show up immediately, she ripped open the stairwell door and ran down the two flights of stairs to Vince's floor.

She banged on his apartment door like a cop ready to bust a drug dealer.

Vince opened the door within seconds wearing a casual smile.  "Hey, sweetheart." 

A flash of pink silk caught Sarah's eye.  She looked past Vince to see a beautiful brunette in pajamas lounging on his sofa.

Rage boiled beneath her skin.  Every muscle in her body tensed with anger. 
She glared at him but he seemed oblivious as he smiled at her.

Mutherfucker!

She didn't try to stop herself as she threw her whole body into a hard punch to his stomach. 

Vince wasn't expecting the hit.  He braced his hands on the doorframe, bent slightly into himself and stepped back before recovering.  His face was red and he looked genuinely surprised when he looked up.

His voice boomed.  "What the hell was that for?"

"Don't sweetheart me, you bastard!  You get to bring women home whenever you like, but I finally find a nice guy to go out to dinner with and you and your flunky, Will, have to fuck it up?"

He shook his head and grabbed her arm.  "Now hold on a minute!"

Sarah cut him off.  "No, you hold on!"  She shook her arm free of his grip.  "Let's get something clear here.  We may work together but my off-duty time is mine."  Sarah turned without waiting for a response and stormed down the hall.  Behind her, she heard Vince's door slam shut.”

Copyright 2010 Lisa Pietsch, Sapphire Blue Publishing

Freedom's Promise

Book #3 in the Task Force 125 series

"Jason?"

Jason turned to face her. "Yeah?"

"Are we going to be able to do this?"

His eyes wrinkled with the laughter he was probably holding in. "Any monkey, even an Air Force cop like you, can mount an M-60 to a chopper, Sarah."

Sarah found no humor in the joke today. Her shoulders sunk and she shook her head. "That's not what I'm talking about."

His voice dropped a little deeper when he spoke. "I know, Sarah." He grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Never, ever allow room for doubt in your head, your heart or your gut. We've got the best equipment and people in the business right here on this little sandbar. Always remember, who dares wins."

"Where have I heard that before?"

"Okay, so it wasn't original but it is appropriate. It's the British SAS motto and its every bit the truth. Have you ever heard of the SAS failing at anything?"

Sarah gulped back the frog growing in her throat. "No."

"Exactly." Jason shook her shoulders. "We're the heroes, Sarah. Don't forget it. We're going to save Vince, kill the bad guys and then we'll all live happily ever after."

"How can you be so sure?"

Jason placed his hands on either side of Sarah's head and pulled her close until their foreheads touched and their eyes were just inches apart. "Because the alternative is unacceptable and because we have this." He walked over to the covered helicopter and pulled the tarp away from the nose.”


Copyright 2010 Lisa Pietsch, Sapphire Blue Publishing

The Lonely Road

Book #4 in the Task Force 125 series

"You enjoy this, don't you?"

"Private jets, sable coats, the best hotels, limousines, a gorgeous bodyguard and the opportunity to kick a little ass once in a while."  She grinned.  "What's not to enjoy?"

A smile crept across Jay's face and the corners of his eyes creased.  "So you think I'm gorgeous?"

She felt the familiar flush rising through her cheeks again and shrugged.  "You aren't an eyesore."

He picked up his paper and opened it.  "Nah, I'm bloody gorgeous."


Copyright 2010 Lisa Pietsch, Sapphire Blue Publishing


If you want to know more about Lisa, visit her website or follow her on Twitter. You can also find Lisa on Facebook (either her personal page or her fan page) and Myspace.  Don't forget to leave a comment for Lisa -- she likes to reward commenters :-)