Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Excerpt, anyone?

Would you like one? Here's one from The Celtic Fan.

-----------------

     I pulled the top box out and carefully removed the lid. Yellowed tissue paper concealed the contents, and I placed the box on the dining room table, pulling back the paper from each side to examine the treasures.
     It was a tiny outfit, a white dress with the tiniest pink rosebuds, and a narrow pink bow at the neck between the sides of the rounded, lace-trimmed collar. The little ruffled panties underneath it were lined with rubbery plastic and carried the same rosebud design as the dress. With them was a pair of tiny socks, white nylon cuffed socks with pink lace sewn delicately around the edge of the cuff. In the bottom of the box was a tiny gold ring with a long length of the same narrow pink ribbon tied to it, just like the neckline bow. I pulled out another box, and found it held a pair of miniature blue jeans, a little elastic belt, and a tiny crewneck tee-shirt on which was emblazoned “Daddy’s Boy.” Lying flat inside the same box were a pair of size one high-topped tennis shoes, Nikes, their little shoelaces tied neatly, and a pair of baby-sized athletic socks, complete with red stripes around the calves. Her babies’ clothes. There had to be a dozen boxes, but I didn’t pull out another one. I wrapped the little garments as I’d found them and placed them back in the boxes, taking care to make everything look exactly as it was before, with the card on top of the boxes.
     There was a sudden, sharp pain in my gut, the pain of a woman who’d never held two of her children, and had only been able to cuddle and love a third for less than six months. It was a horror I couldn’t even imagine. Guilt swept over me, and my chest ached. I couldn’t snoop anymore. I decided if I needed to know anything else, I’d just ask. Knowing what had happened to her family made the sacredness of her belongings too intense, too personal. I dropped onto the sofa and picked up a couple of the pictorial books, thumbing through and reading the captions. That kept me busy for a while.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

It's almost here!

Release day for The Celtic Fan is just weeks away. So I suppose you'd like to know when?

I'll give you a hint:


Get it? Good. That's when you can expect it. I'm excited to be able to offer it to you. It was a long time coming and it's on its way! And will there be some giveaways? Maaaayyyybbbbeeeeeeee . . .

There's another Harper's Cove coming soon, and don't forget Adventurous Me sometime in the next couple of months.

And when will the next Love Under Construction novel be out? Look in the front of the book. The schedule's there. Don't have the book? Hmmmm. Might want to remedy that.

Have a happy Sunday!

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Guess where I've been today?

Aside from filling out government forms, I've been over at the Blogger Appreciation Day site, enjoying getting to know some people and networking from right here in my chair!



It's awesome. There are bloggers - over 300! - and authors everywhere! And everyone is so friendly. I'm having a ball, and the party isn't even until February 10th.

For any of you who might not realize it, bloggers don't get paid. Maybe for being an affiliate, but for the most part they don't. They get dozens of naggers for reviews every day, people complaining about how their post wasn't as prominent as someone else's, and spend hours posting and replying to email. They're overworked and underappreciated, and bless her heart, Amy Miles has set out to show them how much we appreciate them. My hat's off to her.

This girl right here is one person who'll do whatever I can to help out bloggers. Guest posts, interviews, character interviews, whatever. I hate seeing them get burned out.

So let's hear it for the bloggers. They're underappreciated and indispensable. Thanks to all of you who make us more visible. We couldn't do it without you.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Gravel eyes

If you don't know what that title means, it means I've been staring at this computer for too long. Why, you ask?

Because in just a few weeks, like maybe two or three, I'll be sending you a cover reveal on a new book. I'm in the process of readying several books to go to the file conversion company, and then they'll be on their way.

In the meantime, I've got legal issues to address in the way I publish my books, and all because I'm . . .
TAKING THEM TO PRINT!

Yes, for those of you who don't like ebooks, soon you'll have an option. It's more expensive, but at least you can buy them in paperback if you want.

That means lots more work for me, but I don't mind. Really. Hey, if you're happy, I'm happy. If you're not happy, well, buy a couple more of my books and read, read, read. Get ready for fresh material, because it's on its way. And by the way, there will be another excerpt this weekend, so keep an eye out for it.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

I'm still here!

I know, I've been pretty quiet for a little while. I've been working! The two new novels are close, so close, and so is a third Harper's Cove novella. It's getting pretty exciting up in here!

In the meantime, I thought I'd give you something you'll really like - some excerpts from Adventurous Me. This little novel that I never intended to write has turned into something I'm totally in love with. Trish is so smart and funny and down-to-earth, and the guys are all so loveable; well, most of them. That Clint Winstead is kind of hard to read, though. Wonder what's up with that?

So here we go. Won't be long now. Enjoy!

*****

     “Come on, let’s get you dressed,” she tells me. My pants come down and I pull the leggings on. She nods. “Looking good. Better put the shoes on. You  may not be able to bend over once you get the corset on.” There’s considerable doubt in my mind that I can walk in the things, but I put them on anyway. She points to my boobs, so I pull my tee up and off. “Get that bra off,” she barks, and I unhook it and take it down. I feel very self-conscious standing there, naked from the waist up, but she looks at me and says, “Nice tits! Here, put the lace tee on.” I pull it on over my bare breasts and she holds up the corset. “Let’s get this on you and I’ll tie the laces.” Corset in hand, she wraps it around me, zips the side, then grabs the laces and pulls it tight – too tight. I can barely breathe. “I know what you’re going to say, but you’ll get used to it. It makes your waist look smaller and makes you look very sexy.”
     When it’s tied, she takes me to a mirror in the shower area. “Look! You look fabulous!” I see her pointing in the mirror and I take a look.
     I barely recognize myself. I look, well . . .
     Sexy. And adventurous.
     She looks in the bag Dave handed me and says, “Yep, I thought you’d forgotten something.” In the bottom in a small box are earrings and two bracelets, all of very delicate silver. They’re intricate filigree and very large, and I’m touched at the trouble Dave went to for me.
     When I’ve got the jewelry on, the woman says, “Oh, by the way, I’m Delilah. I’m a regular here. Are you a member?”
     I shake my head. “I’m Trish and no, I just met Dave last night and he invited me to come.”
     “He’s a wonderful person.” She gets a serious look on her face, kind of like the one Dave wore the night before. “Have you ever been to a fetclub?”
     “A what?”
     “Um-hum. That answers my question. Look, if you have any questions about anything that’s going on, just ask someone. They don’t mind explaining. But don’t interrupt them when they’re doing a scene, okay? That’s just poor form. A Dom needs to concentrate on his sub when they’re scening.”
     “I have no idea what you just said,” I tell her with a shrug.
     “That’s okay. You’ll figure it out pretty quick. And remember: At Bliss, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. Safe, sane, and consensual, always. Ready?” She holds out her arm to me like she’s going to escort me.
     “I guess so. I have no idea what I’m supposed to be ready for.” There’s more going on here than I know or understand, and I’m terrified, but I’m also excited. And that’s when, as I take her arm, she says the magic words.
     “Well then, come on out and start the adventure.”
     There are strange sounds coming from the big room as we walk out into the hallway and head back into the light. When my eyes adjust to the lighting, I’m speechless.
     There are three alcoves. In the farthest one, a woman is kneeling on some kind of bench, her forearms and wrists bound down with straps and her ass in the air, the bench turned so that her side is to the audience. And she’s completely naked. A man stands to one side of her, facing the crowd, and he has what looks like some kind of whip in his hand. As I watch, he begins to lash her backside and she cries out, but she also has a peaceful look on her face.
     In another small alcove, a woman is bound to a big cross-like apparatus, face out toward the crowd. There is a clamp on each of her nipples, and it looks excruciating. A chain runs from clamp to clamp, and a third chain hangs from the center of that one and runs down her stomach. It goes all the way down to her . . . oh, god, there’s a clamp there too. How can she stand that? As she’s standing there, the man with her is getting out something that looks like a microphone. But he hits a switch on it and it hums to life. It’s a giant vibrator, and he presses it right into her slit. She shrieks and pants and, within a couple of minutes, she’s having an orgasm, right there in front of everybody.
     There’s another alcove, a bigger one, and I can’t see what’s going on in there because of all the people crowded around. Whatever it is must be popular. When we walk up, one of the men says, “Oh, excuse me, ladies. Hey, guys, subs coming through.” The crowd parts with his words, and Delilah and I walk right up to the front. That’s when I stifle a gasp.
     There’s a woman, naked, on her back, strapped to a table. Arms, legs, everything, tied down, and there’s a split in the table so that her legs are apart, leaving room between them to just walk up. There’s red wax all over her, her breasts, her chest, her ribs, arms, legs, everywhere. It’s obvious it was dripped on her while it was hot. Some kind of cords are tied around her nipples, their ends crossed across her body and tied to a d-ring on either side of the table so that there’s a constant tension on them. And the pain from the cords is probably intensified with any movement. Which there is. There can’t help but be movement.
     Because the man in the alcove is fucking her. Right there. Right in front of everybody. His cock is unusually large and hard, and he’s really giving it to her. I’m shocked, but no one around me seems to be the least bit fazed by it. Then I realize something kind of scary.
     Deep down, while I stand there watching, I acknowledge to myself with great shame that I’m wishing I were her.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Cover reveal!

As promised . . .


Adventurous Me will be out in the next week or so. I love the cover - thanks, Kellie Denison of Novel Graphic Designs! It's beautiful. She took the few things I told her and came up with this. It was like magic. I have to say, I love it. So thanks to Kellie, and look for Adventurous Me in the next week or so!

Friday, January 3, 2014

I'm speechless

That doesn't happen very often, me saying to my partner, "What do I write on my blog today? I have nothing to say." Truth is, nothing's going on here.

I spent the day in Nashville going to a physician appointment, then to Amerigo for lunch (god, I love their mussels!). Then we went to the woodturning shop in Franklin and then to Target. On the way back, we stopped at the Walmart in Princeton, Kentucky, to pick up some things we really needed for the weekend, seeing as how it's supposed to snow.

Big mistake. We got the next-to-last carton of eggs they had. Customers were lined up through the women's department just trying to get through the checkout lanes. It was madness. And there was one really loud woman shouting to people she knew at the front of the store from the back of the line. My partner looked around and said, loudly, "Is there a burlesque show going on around here somewhere?" My thought was, Geez, don't give her any ideas, please.

Back on the road, we made a stop in Eddyville, Kentucky, at the NAPA parts store. It was already closed. We didn't want to go in - we wanted to make photos of the wall that my partner's nephew ran through with his truck. Yes, you heard me right. Failed brakes my ass.

We finally made it home, but I'm exhausted. I did, however, finish the final edit on a book while he was driving. So answer me this:

I can't read in the car, even look at my phone or anything like that. I get horribly carsick. So why can I use the laptop? Makes no sense. At all.

Do you want a cover reveal this weekend? Somebody had better say something or I'll just keep it to myself. And this is not only a pretty one, but the book's great too. So if you'd like to see it, let me know. Otherwise, everyone at Amazon will see it before you do. Wouldn't you rather be first?