Ooh Baby, Baby

I'm holding a contest where the prize is a genuine diamond and ruby pendant with matching ruby stud earrings to celebrate the release of Lovers' Stone. The delicate pendant is a small circle of gems set in gold, of course, on an 18" chain. Entering to win this prize is easy. All you have to do is visit this blog and leave a comment. Each day's comment will earn you a slot in a drawing for the necklace. All entries must be received by midnight, July 11th (Friday) EST. The winner will be announced on Saturday (7/12).

Lovers' Stone is part of a trilogy that I wrote for Ellora's Cave. The stories were originally supposed to all be part of the EC Jewels series, stories that focus around a birthstone for a given month. Mating Stone was an Amethyst release and the first of the stories in the Jewels of Ursus trilogy. It told the story of the eldest Ursine brother, Mark.

The third and final story in the trilogy has just received its first edits and had been planned to be an Opal release for October. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the story grew beyond the novella length and will be released outside the Jewels line. Soul Stone will tell the story of Tarris, the incubus who was against all rules of their world taken in by Mark and Luke's father and raised alongside his sons. Tarris has been a star player in each of the first two stories, and will get his own story soon. He already has this awesome cover from the EC cover gods.

Today's excerpt comes not from Lovers' Stone but from Mating Stone. This is a peek at the interaction between Luke and Sarah, the heroine of Mating Stone.

Her heart was fluttering and she willed her overly vivid imagination to stop before it got carried away imagining all sorts of bizarre scenarios. “What is going on here? Why did you lock that door?”

The brown eyes rolled and he gave an amused snort. “Woman believe me, this is where you want to be right now.”

“Why? What’s happening out there?”

Luke closed his eyes, boredom pouring from him. “Don’t play stupid with me. You know what’s happening.”

“I’m sorry but I don’t,” the fear was growing and starting to fuel a flame of anger. “What is Mark doing and why do I need you to protect me?” Her heart was pounding so hard she could hear it thud, especially when her own ears heard just how frightened she sounded.

One eye opened and looked at her. Luke sat up, swinging his long legs back to the floor and stared at her as if she had a puzzle written across her face. “It’s not possible,” he muttered softly. “Mark isn’t this stupid.”

“What are you talking about?” she demanded.

Luke stood and began to pace the room. He paused, “She’s wearing the pendant. He has to have told her. He wouldn’t hide this from his mate.” Luke shook his head slowly, “Would he?” he seemed to be talking to himself so she stood silently watching him as he began to pace again. After several minutes he stopped at the far end of the room and turned to look straight at her. Faster than she had ever seen anyone move, he closed the distance between them, grasped her left hand and turned it palm up. The oath he uttered was loud and coarse.

She tried to control the tremble of fear that was making her knees weak and shaky. She bit down to keep her lip from quivering noticeably. Luke stared into her eyes for a long moment. “You really don’t know what’s happening, do you?” The awe in his voice gave way to a flash of fury as he thrust her hand away and dropped back down onto the sofa. “By all that’s holy, you really don’t know.” Sarah watched him shake his head. “Oh my brother, you’re not only a fool, you’re an unmitigated ass to boot.”

“Mark isn’t a fool or an ass.”

She was rewarded by a derisive snort of angry mirth. “Little Sarah you have no idea who or what my brother is or you’d already have run away screaming.”

The remark made no sense and she decided he was trying to confuse and frighten her. “So now that we’ve decided I don’t know, would you please answer my question? What is happening out there? What is Mark doing?”

The anger seemed to vanish as if he squelched it deliberately. The lazy smile was back.

“What’s he doing out there? Being the noble, idiotic, idealistic fool he has always been.”

Sarah felt her jaw clench. He was the most infuriating man. He was deliberately wicked and argumentative not to mention he seemed to have mood swings that made any woman’s PMS seem tame. No wonder Mark disliked him. He shook his head in disbelief at his own thoughts and muttered so softly she almost missed the words, “Giving it up and he hasn’t even mated to her, hasn’t told her…”

He wanted to be difficult, she could be difficult to. She’d keep at it until he answered. “All I’m asking for is a straight answer. There’s something you think I should know but don’t. What don’t I know?”

“More than you can imagine.” Sarah gave a high pitched grunt of frustration. A soft chuckle escaped the man’s throat and he held his hands up in concession. “Okay, little Sarah, you win. I’m going to answer your questions but don’t blame me if you don’t like what you hear…”

As part of a group of writers today I was discussing the issue of endearments, those sweet little names that lovers have for one another. There are those who frown up on the use of certain endearments, particularly the words babe and baby. In a group of romance and erotic romance writers not one woman voiced a dislike of the terms. Many of them agreed they were terms used in their own relationships by both partners. And these are kick-ass strong women who don't take crap. In fact, one of the wisest and most Zen writers I know commented that the terms were nearly unparalleled, that there just weren't other words that meant the same thing.

Now I happen to agree. There is a level of intimacy and depth of emotion that is expressed when a man or a woman lovingly refers to their partner as "baby". It is a commonly used endearment among couples. When it was first suggested to me that the endearment might not be the best choice in a story I'd written I looked at the options. Living in the deep South where everyone is "honey," or "sweetheart" and the terms are doled out to male and female alike. A student who is having a rough time might earn a "honey" or "sweetie" from me. The elderly lady who is in charge of our cafeteria calls all of us younger folks "Angel". The words don't mean the same as when your partner looks into your eyes and calls you baby, or comes up behind you in the kitchen, places a kiss on your cheek and asks, "How was your day, babe."

And was there ever a more loving and romantic song to dance with your baby at the Senior Prom to than Styx's "Babe"? And Eddie Money's "Baby, Hold On to Me" was surely perjorative. And Peter Frampton didn't light up any hearts with "Baby, I love Your Way". Weren't we all offended when the Four Tops sang "Baby, I Need Your Loving"? And do we really think Sean Paul was insulted when Beyonce called him "Baby Boy"? I'm sure Diana Ross was being demeaning when she sang about her "Baby Love".

So does it have a negative connotation? 70's feminism would say yes. Janet Jackson would say yes. I would have to say maybe. If the word is used in a patronizing, "Damn I can't quite remember her name, let's just call her baby," sort of way, the guy needs a good hard shot to the more delicate regions of his body. If it's used demeaningly to imply that the woman is somehow less important or capable than the man, then it would definitely piss me off.

But I don't think the word itself is negative nor is it used negatively by most people. It is a word that strikes a comfortable cord with most of us. As a writer of romance when you write a man, particularly the well loved Alpha male, this is the term that shows us the walls are cracking, that he has let the woman inside him. And more importantly it's real. This is the term that a lot of men use. Real men. And there is nothing sexier than a man who is real.

Luke Ursine has arrived

Today is the release day for Lovers' Stone. Lovers' Stone from Ellora's Cave is the sequel to Mating Stone and is the second in the Jewels of Ursus trilogy. The younger Ursine twin gets to tell his story in this book. And of course, Luke Ursine never does anything the easy way, including finding his mate.

Lovers' Stone is a shapeshifter/paranormal story. Not your usual Wolves, but Bears...and other unearthly creatures as well. It was truly enjoyable to write because I have to admit I really like Luke. He's straightforward, he doesn't pull punches and he's passionate. Though the younger of the twins, he is much more of an Alpha male than his brother. In fact he's gently teased about being a bit of a Dom, and he is.

To celebrate the release I'm holding a contest where the prize is a genuine diamond and ruby pendant with matching ruby stud earrings. The delicate pendant is a small circle of gems set in gold, of course, on an 18" chain. Entering to win this prize is easy. All you have to do is visit this blog and leave a comment. Each day's comment will earn you a slot in a drawing for the necklace. All entries must be received by midnight, July 11th (Friday) EST. The winner will be announced on Saturday (7/12)

Blurb:

Luke Ursine is drawn to the most sacred place in his Were clan’s lore. There he finds a woman who touches him like no other and his own mating stone. Not a common mating stone, but a lovers’ stone that declares he has only one true mate, one great love that will claim him body and soul. Anna is the most inappropriate of all mates. She’s a hunter and they are sworn to destroy the Weres. Even if they can set aside generations of hate and murder will their families let them live long enough to enjoy the promised destiny?

Excerpt:

Anna lay in the comfort of Luke’s arms, stretched out on the soft grassy bank. Using his chest for a pillow, she watched Tarris stretched out on Luke’s other side, sunning himself like a sleepy tiger. His eyes were closed and a faint smile curled his lips. She hadn’t known contentment and peace like this in a long time.

“Annie,” Luke’s voice sounded thick. “I’m not much of a talking kind of guy but there are some things I need to tell you.”

“M’hmm,” she moaned and closed her eyes. This was definitely a dream. She’d twice now had the best sex of her life with a man who touched her in ways she couldn’t have explained were she stupid enough to try. Said amazing sex-god-man had brought along a gorgeous friend and didn’t mind sharing. She was stretched out in his arms feeling the warm sun, smelling the sweet grass and reveling in the lazy delights of after-glow. Now he wanted to talk? Damn was her subconscious working overtime.

“You need to know two things, up front,” his voice sounded serious. She shook off the lazy fatigue and tried to concentrate. “First, I care for you.” The words were accompanied by a soft brush of fingers across her cheek. “There’s something about you, Annie. I can’t explain why just yet but when I’m with you I feel…” His voice trailed off.

“Complete.” She offered the word and held her breath.

His voice held a hint of laughter, “Complete. Whole. Yes, my love. That’s it exactly.”

“I feel that way too,” she pressed her lips to his skin as she spoke. Her mind screamed out the words her heart had been repeating since the first time she’d looked into his eyes. If only you were real.

His arms tightened for a second then he turned so that he could look down at her. His kiss warmed her body but it only fueled the cold ache of regret that had seized her heart. He wasn’t real.

His next words came only after he’d lifted her chin to force her to look into his eyes. “This is going to be hard for you to believe but promise me you’ll try.” She nodded silently and waited to see what her dream man would say next. “Annie, this is a dream but I’m not. I’m real. Tarris is real. We exist outside your dreams.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. Her mind was certainly good at this game. He was telling her just what she wanted to hear at exactly the right moment. She opened her eyes and looked into his. “I wish you were, my darling. I really wish you were.”

“I am. I’m real. My name is Lucas Ursine. I was born in Paris. I graduated from Princeton longer ago than I care to admit, or than you’d believe. I have a degree in architecture but pretty much I spend my time rehabbing old houses in run down neighborhoods. I love the winter because the cold snowy weather is the perfect time to curl up with someone warm and be lazy. I’m the younger of a set of twins. I drive a red pick-up truck, I listen to country music when I’m alone but heavy metal when I’m not because it annoys my brother—the king of easy listening.”

A soft snorting laugh reminded her they were not alone. “Mark is so going to kick your ass when I tell him.”

“Mark is your brother?” Anna was astonished at the complexity of the fantasy. Astonished and a little frightened. Had the disease finally progressed to her mind? She should have a few more years before that happened. Usually the lungs gave out before the dementia took hold.

“Yes.” She caught the dark look he flashed to Tarris who stood up. He was mysteriously wearing the buckskin pants from earlier. He walked away from them as if to give them privacy or to avoid Luke’s glare, she wasn’t sure which.

“If you’re real as you say you are, how is it you’re in my dream? People can’t just pop into other’s dreams.” Unless they’re incubi. The incubus could do exactly that. Her eyes flew to Tarris.

“Yes,” Luke toyed with a lock of her hair. “I told you the truth. Tarris is a friend of mine. He’s an incubus.”

“He doesn’t look like an incubus, Luke,” she started to reason.

“Seen a lot of them have you,” he teased.

“No, I’ve never seen one before,” she admitted. But she damned sure knew what they looked like.

“Even if you had, Tarris wouldn’t look like what you’d expect. He’s never known the hunger and desperation that drives them to the darkness. He’s never hunted, never tasted an unwilling person. There are rules he follows and those rules keep him sane and safe. They also keep him from transforming completely.” Luke glanced over toward his friend.

Anna looked at the man trying to see him but saw only a subtle shifting, a darkening of his skin for only the briefest of moments.

“Annie?” Luke spoke her name with an anxious tension. “Annie do you believe me? Do you believe I’m real?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “If you’re real, why have you only come to me in dreams?”

“The first time I was as surprised as you,” his dark brown eyes gazed down at her intently. “This time… Well, I didn’t know who you were. I needed Tarris to help me find you.”

She watched his face. She wanted to believe him but couldn’t. “Prove it to me. If you are real, you’ll be there when I wake up.”

Luke frowned slightly and turned to look at Tarris who stood watching the water cascading down over the rocks.

“It is possible.” Tarris turned the startling blue gaze on her. “I’m with you now in your room, Anna. I’m sitting on the edge of your bed. I can drop you into a dreamless sleep and when you wake, Luke will be there. But once I do, there is no going back. Neither of you can hide who you are from the other. Each will know the other’s secrets.”

The ominous words chilled Anna but she felt Luke’s chest vibrate with laughter. “Shit, you sound more like a fortune cookie every day. Keep talking like that and someone’s going to make you an Oracle.”

A smile stretched across Tarris’ face. He looked at Anna and shrugged. “All right but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Perhaps appropriately, I received the first round of edits today on the third book in the Jewels of Ursus trilogy, Soul Stone. In Soul Stone, Tarris gets his story told. He wasn't as forthcoming as Luke and it took me much longer to get his tale out of him. As an incubus, he has more than a few secrets to keep. Soul Stone also tells the real story of what happened the night Jonas Ursine, the youngest of the Ursine's died. His death was what caused the rift between Mark and Luke.

As usual my editor, H, made it absolutely painless. She's wonderful like that even if she does seem to have this unnatural aversion to prepositions.

I hope you find yourself interested in learning more about my Bears.

One day til new release

I received a review yesterday for Mating Stone, the first book in the Jewels of Ursus trilogy, from Katie at Romance Junkies. Thanks Katie for the review.

"MATING STONE is a very short story with a lot of action and some serious and sensual love making. Elyssa Edwards doesn’t hold anything back and what you have is an interesting take on a shape shifting family and the characters that are a part of it. If I were Sarah I would have felt I was like Alice in Wonderland. Mark is the very sexy yet humble man who adores Sarah and is willing to sacrifice everything he has and known because of his love for her. The passion and love between these two have take up these short pages and the ultimate scene is the dream where Sarah is pleasured by both Mark and Tarris, who is some other being not of this world. Intense, sexy and action packed, MATING STONE kept my interest and should do the same for most readers.”


Tomorrow is the release day for Lovers' Stone, the second in the Jewels of Ursus trilogy. Lovers' Stone is the sequel to Mating Stone and focuses on Luke Ursine, the bad boy and black sheep of the Ursine family. Luke doesn't do things the easy way or the nice way. He does them his way.

To celebrate the release I'm holding a contest where the prize is a genuine diamond and ruby pendant with matching ruby stud earrings. The delicate pendant is a small circle of gems set in gold, of course, on an 18" chain. Entering to win this prize is easy. All you have to do is visit this blog and leave a comment. Each day's comment will earn you a slot in a drawing for the necklace. All entries must be received by midnight, July 11th (Friday) EST. The winner will be announced on Saturday (7/12).

The hero for Lovers’ Stone is the twin brother of Mating Stone’s hero:

Luke Ursine
Were/Shape-shifter: Bear
Occupation: Has a degree in architecture, but spends his time rehabbing old homes.
Age: 156 (looks 28-29)
Story: Appears first in Mating Stone by Elyssa Edwards from Ellora’s Cave. His own story is told in Lovers’ Stone to be released in July 9th.

His own brother refers to him as Lucas “screw the whole world and everyone in it” Ursine. And for a good many years that’s been the side of him the world, especially his twin brother Mark and his clan, have seen. The breach between the twins goes back decades and is wrapped inextricably around a family tragedy that claimed the lives of the two people who meant the most to them both. Luke can’t forgive Mark for his part in what happened, but he has never forgiven himself, either.

Wickedly intelligent, Luke delights in rubbing people the wrong way. The only person left in his world he’ll listen to is his sister-in-law, Sarah. He still does exactly what he wants, but he’d do almost anything to keep from upsetting her. He sees in her the best of their family and recognizes she has made his brother into a man and a leader that even he has to give grudging respect.

But not even Sarah could stop him from finding the woman who fate says is to be his. His one true, live long mate. The only mate he could ever have. The woman he has only touched in his dreams. But as his friend Tarris says, once he finds her, both of their secrets will be revealed and there will be no going back.

Excerpt:

Luke rose and walked slowly to the archway and stopped. Each of the other twelve corridors led to rooms that held stones. A male picked the path whose stones corresponded to the birth stone of the female he hoped to mate with. Only one stone in the tens of thousands that filled this mountain would support the mating of a particular couple. Supposedly if the mating was not meant to be, he would not find the stone. [His friend] Wade had searched through hundreds of gems to find the right one. He’d told Luke it had sung to him the minute he touched it. Wade said it had glowed and the face of his future mate had appeared in its depths. More, it had vibrated in such a way that he’d become instantly aroused and his need to join with his mate had burned like a fire in his body.

But this center corridor, this thirteenth passage was one that was never used. It could not be entered except by those who were called. And to Luke’s knowledge no one had been called down this path in so long what lay at its end had become legend. An oasis of lovers’ stones the lore said. A collection of stones from each of the caves, but they were more than just simple mating stones. These stones were for those Weres who were tied to another by destiny. The two bound by a lovers’ stone were destined for more than mating bliss. Theirs was to be a great life-long love. To Luke it sounded like more than legend. It sounded like bullshit.

The mist swirled around him and Luke’s legs carried him of their own volition through the arch and down the narrow tunnel. There were no torches here, only the glow of the golden fog lit his way. He heard the voice call again. “Where are you? I can’t see you.” It was a woman’s voice.

He heard nothing but the voice. Not even his inexplicably bare feet made a sound on the stone floor. He took turn after turn following the light that pulled him along. Abruptly the fog rose to the ceiling just in front of him taking the shape of a doorway through which he could not see. He heard her calling again. She was looking for someone. She was looking for him. The realization lifted something inside him. He stepped through a large bank of the golden mist and found himself in a vaulted chamber. In the center of the room was a shimmering pool surrounded by large low pallets filled with cushions and pillows. Directly across from him an identical doorway had formed. Before it, watching him with large frightened eyes was a woman. Her long black hair was loose and flowed down her back. The blue eyes glowed so brightly for a moment he considered that she might be a succubus but dismissed the thought. No creature could have gained entrance here except those who were like him. Only another Were could have entered the cave, let alone this most sacred place. Or that was what they’d always been told.

The woman was dressed in a long, red satin nightgown with thin straps that barely contained the full breasts that threatened to overflow the bodice. Her hips curved in a way that made a man long to run his hands over them, to hold tightly to them as he thrust inside her. The pull she seemed to be exerting over him was stronger than any desire he’d ever felt. Screw mating stones, just looking at this woman was making him hard.

Lovers' Stone

Wednesday, July 9th, is the release day for Lovers' Stone, the second in the Jewels of Ursus trilogy. Lovers' Stone is the sequel to Mating Stone and focuses on Luke Ursine, the bad boy and black sheep of the Ursine family. Luke doesn't do things the easy way or the nice way. He does them his way.

To celebrate the release I'm holding a contest where the prize is a genuine diamond and ruby pendant with matching ruby stud earrings. The delicate pendant is a small circle of gems set in gold, of course, on an 18" chain. Entering to win this prize is easy. All you have to do is visit this blog and leave a comment. Each day's comment will earn you a slot in a drawing for the necklace. All entries must be received by midnight, July 11th (Friday) EST. The winner will be announced on Saturday (7/12).

Blurb:

Luke Ursine is drawn to the most sacred place in his Were clan’s lore. There he finds a woman who touches him like no other and his own mating stone. Not a common mating stone, but a lovers’ stone that declares he has only one true mate, one great love that will claim him body and soul. Anna is the most inappropriate of all mates. She’s a hunter and they are sworn to destroy the Weres. Even if they can set aside generations of hate and murder, will their families let them live long enough to enjoy the promised destiny?

Tomorrow's blog will feature a profile on our bad boy Were-Bear and an excerpt from Lovers' Stone.

I was watching bits and pieces of a movie today to inspire my attempts at JulNaNoWriMo. I'm sadly and pitifully behind on the goal targets. I've added a bible and 4,000 words to my WIP since the 1st. Truly a sad beginning. The movie I popped in is one where the dynamic between the hero and his sidekick remind me of the dynamic I'm creating between the hero and his second in my WIP. Not to mention that one of the actors fits the model of one of the characters, or at least closely anyway.

I do believe that part of my stall has come from the deviation from the original story I had thought to write. This deviation was absolutely necessary and not my blasted idea. One of my characters decided to reveal something rather surprising to me about himself and it has forced me to redirect the entire story. I do believe it was calculated on his part because it has earned him a reprieve. He was supposed to die to spurr forward the big confrontation between hero and heroine. Their mutual grief pulling them together. But his little bombshell would have made his death such a cliche that I refuse to do it. And he knows it, the irreverent and impossible little scamp. Well, not little. He's 6'5".

6'5" is tall. It is very tall. This has caused my little ADD brain to ping off in a new direction today. Why are all romantic heros over 6' tall? What is so magic about that number that we have set it as a measuring bar for romance. Would the hero be any less sexy and appealing if he were 5' 10"? I mean, as a slightly below average height woman, 5'5", the prospect of a tall man is appealing, but in real logistics of kissing a 6'3" man (I read somewhere that that was the average height of a hero in a romance novel- wonder who did that study?) would not come easy. For either of us. Women are often quick to say, size doesn't matter, but really now... come on, be honest... how short is too short? how tall is too tall?

Stop by and visit the blogs of Anny Cook, Amarinda Jones and Kelly Kirch. Anny is writing about comfort and Amarinda is taking on controversy. And Kelly...well, stop by and see for yourself.

Hair, men and other stuff

Tomorrow I'll announce how to go about winning the ruby and diamond necklace that marks the release of Lovers' Stone later this week. I promise it won't be too hard. I'm all about simple and will definitely make this simple.

I wrote a couple of months ago about three books by Brynn Paulin that had given me a wonderful new perspective on the Dominant/submissive lifestyle within the BDSM community. Paulin's erotic romances gave me a lot to think about when it came to the dynamics and the depth of feeling between people who lived the lifestyle and didn't just engage in some recreational spankies and tie me ups/tie me downs. Her stories about the Cress brothers, Ryan, Max and Theo were just as filled with love, affection and respect as any romance. The true distribution of power, how much control the submissive actually has in the situation was surprising. And I thought I'd read all the Cress brother books. I was wrong. It was announced recently that all of the Cress brother's books would be going into print as an anthology called Brotherly Bonds in the next few months. As I looked over the announcement I discovered that Paulin had released the story of the youngest Cress brother, Josh.

I don't know how I missed it because Josh was definitely an intriguing guy just from his supporting role. The family rebel, pierced in ways and places that made his brother's wince, the computer expert did things his own way. And after reading Gentle Control I can tell you that even the way he lives his D/s lifestyle is different than his brothers. That I found Josh's story to be incredibly erotic, and the depth of emotion that Paulin is so skilled at communicating was no surprise. What did catch me off guard was how identifiable the situations in Josh's story were and how incredibly appealing this Dom was even to a nice, tame, butterscotch pudding reader. (Not quite vanilla, but not getting too wild there, either.) Those who might hesitate to pick up a BDSM content will, I think, still be drawn to and delight in this book. Josh is a keeper. His dominance is powerful, loving and gentle, just as advertised.

Some authors I know and I were discussing a variety of things on a chat loop yesterday. As is want to happen when you get romance and erotica writers together, we occasionally share our inspirations and attitudes about men. We have even been known to support each other's muses with bits of eye candy to perk up that boring day. In the course of this conversation and exchange of interesting photographs came the question of men and hair. Now this arises on two levels.

First hair length. Some women find a nice clean cut short cut to be sexy and some love long flowing locks. Myself I fall somewhere in the middle. Just at or below the collar, looking like he just missed his last haircut is about perfect for me. I always worry that a guy with hair too long will take too much time in the bathroom and use up all my conditioner. Just kidding, but extra long hair, for me is about equal to the short cropped buzz cut look. Neither really gets my engines revved.

Second on the issue of hair arose the conundrum of manscaping. A good number of the pictures out there of sexy men and 99.9% of all romance cover models sport the smooth chest look. For some guys this is natural and that's fine. The part that puzzles me is the guys who naturally have hair on their chests but choose to wax it. And based on my diligent research of the photographic evidence available, far too many of them are also manscaping a good bit lower. When did we decide as a society that men should all be smooth? Give me a guy with a nice sprinkling of hair on his chest, even a bit on the abs, and for heaven's sake, guys, don't deprive us of the inspiration of the treasure trail. But smooth or hair, guys the sexiest thing of all is just to be real.

Well that's my two cents, anyway. I'm wondering what everyone else thinks. Where do you come down on this issue?

Make sure you check out the blogs of Anny Cook, Amarinda Jones, Kelly Kirch and Brynn Paulin. You'll be glad you did.

Saturday

Now that the fireworks are over here in the US, there's finally some quiet in my neighborhood. We live next to this huge housing development. There are more than a half a dozen "neighborhoods" in this one development. It is so large it has it's own pool, swimteam, clubhouse, grocery store and newspaper. Personally I think it's a cult. They even convinced one of the most popular pizza places in the neighborhood to shut down on the 4th of July and come sell food exclusively for them.

One benefit of living next to cult central is that we do get to see the fireworks display they put on each year. It is so large the city in which we all reside moved it's fireworks display to the 3rd so it didn't conflict. I'm telling you it's scary. One of the neighborhoods has a 25 lb. weight restriction for dogs in thier covenant and they actually weigh people's dogs. Another made someone I know take a small ceramic statue of a dog off their front step. It was less than a foot high and white. I am not a big fan of homeowners associations.

I'll be rolling out the contest for Lovers' Stone on Monday, so make sure to stop by and figure out how to win a genuine diamond and ruby pendant with matching ruby ear studs. The hero was one of my favorite guys to write. He pulled no punches and had no diva fits during the writing. He sat down and we knocked out his story in about three weeks time.

I got the dreaded school letter on Thursday. Each year my principal sends out an "almost time to come back" letter telling us the schedule for preplanning events. The arrival of that letter is the beginning of the end for the summer vacation. New teachers and leadership staff have to report back on the 25th of July. I have to report back on the 30th. I'll be there sooner however, because the scheduled the open house for parents on the 31st. So I have to get my entire room ready to go in one day skirting around the faculty meetings that are scheduled. And since we have to completely box up our rooms and strip our walls, that means I have to start from scratch every year. The one year I didn't go in early I had parents complain that my room was awfully "bare".

About ten days left until we find out if we have a girl Smudgie or a boy Smudgie. That is if Smudgie cooperates. We now keep hearing how so and so couldn't tell because the baby was positioned wrong. Such an occurance may cause the SO fits as the line around here has been, "Let's wait until we know what we're having." Curtains, furniture, bedding, clothing and even name selection have been put off "until we know what we're having." Very sensible advice if you didn't live with the OCD queen of "lets do it now!now!now!" Unless of course I'm talking about writing then I become the queen of procrastination.

I've written nothing in a couple of days.

Go check out Anny Cook, Amarinda Jones, Kelly Kirch or Sandra Cox. All have delightful blogs that are far more interesting than mine.

Blog sharing with Risk

Just a bit of blog sharing going on today. Since I've been busy working on my JulNoWriMo (July Novel Writing Month) I've opened up my blog to some great authors who want to share their latest releases with you. So far I've created the Bible for my current WIP (it is not a part of the Were world I normally work in) and I've added 1,797 words today. The goal with JulNoWriMo is to compose 50,000 words on a work in a month. The goal of the project is to help those who have issues finishing novels to set the goal, set the deadline and get that story down on paper.




So today I've turned the blog over to Mona Risk whose second title, French Peril, is now available from Cerridwen Press. Everyone loved Risk's first title with Cerridwen, To Love a Hero, and now her second book is proving to be an equally stellar work.

Blurb:

What could be more exciting for a young American architect than to live in a French chateau owned by a young count and to work on the restoration of a chapel in the Loire Valley?

But when her professor is poisoned because he knew too much about a missing statue, Cheryl's summer job changes into a dangerous treasure hunt and Count François is faced with a difficult choice: Are the statue and his chateau worth endangering the life of the impetuous young woman who's turned his life upside down?

Excerpt:
He almost bit his tongue to avoid reminding her she was sobbing her heart out when he interrupted her. He followed her glance to the digital display of the radio-clock on her night table. “It’s already eleven thirty.”

She raked her fingers through her hair. “Yeah, but… ”

From the dubious way she puckered her lips and gazed with longing at her mentor’s laptop, François guessed that sleep would elude her until she felt she’d done something productive to fulfill Professor Howard’s thwarted goal. “Well, if you want to check things on your computer and start planning, do you mind if I stay and brainstorm with you?”

Without hesitating or questioning his presence in her bedroom at such a late hour, she nodded.

“Unless you prefer to chat and reminisce about the professor,” François said, determined to gain her cooperation.

An appreciative glow sparkled in the blue of her eyes. “Thank you for being so understanding.” She sat in front of the computer and clicked on a folder.

François brought a chair next to her and settled, comfortably leaning against the back as he watched her lovely profile and the silky strands cascading over her shoulders. His fingers slid on the back of her chair, itching to play with the curls, streaked with gold and rust by the bright light of the crystal chandelier. Inching toward her, he stole a glance at her décolletage and breathed her jasmine perfume and the sweet scent of her skin.

Nom de Dieu, had he lost his mind? He clenched his hand and backtracked to a less tantalizing position.

The poor girl had just lost a surrogate father. She was mourning while François indulged in his shameful yearnings. Unaware of his battle to control his lust, she continued to concentrate on her task, typing the password and opening files.

Hurry up, chérie, find the damn file. Say something professional. As if he would understand a professional theory right now, when his gaze caressed her jaw and her cheek, and his mind suggested a dozen ways to taste her mouth. He swallowed and sighed and squirmed in his chair.

“I will get us glasses of cold wine,” he said as he suddenly stood to give a break to the awkward tension of his muscles.

Good God, she’d trusted him. Enough to let him stay in her bedroom.

Seriously, what was he thinking about when he suggested he work with her? He shook his head and questioned his mental sanity at staying so close to her. At midnight.

She seemed so vulnerable at the moment and she was a guest in his house, he reasoned with himself to justify his unacceptable attitude. Of course, he owed her his help and protection. Come on, François. He knew damn well his body’s reaction to her proximity had nothing to do with duty to a guest.

Cheryl turned her head toward him and frowned. “Wine? No way. I need something to clear my head.”

“Me too, believe me.”

“I’ll appreciate a cup of coffee, if you don’t mind going downstairs.”

“No problem. I will be right back.” After he dabbed his face with ice water.


Thank you for inviting me to your blog. French Peril is a available at Ceridwen Press. OR you can buy it by going to my blog and click on the bookcover. OR to my website and click on: click here to buy: