Technological Advancement in Cats

(Make sure your sound is turned up) This is too funny. Why the printer won't work.

...Only four more days until Christmas!

In a Nutshell

Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few

That really says it all, doesn't it?
For more demotivators, click on the picture for their website. Hilarious...

I've Been Remiss...

Oh boy. I've been remiss in posting lately, haven't I? With the holidays and family coming to visit, I've been a bit off my game.

But several pending items will be taken care of by the end of the week:
1. My newsletter will be going out
2. My final edits for Circe's Recruits: Zack & Ace will be done
3. I'll be posting more regularly
4. I'll be awarding to more newsletter subscribers with ebooks
5. I'll have the last of my Christmas shopping done

Hope everyone out in cyberland is doing well. Read a romance, take a bubble bath, eat some chocolates and relax. Ho ho ho.

Marie

Sparse Posts and Odds and Ends

I've been a little discombobulated lately. My mother is in town, and I've been having a wonderful time while we Christmas shop and visit, but she's staying in the room with the computer, so I've been lax editing, writing and posting. I'm now on my laptop in the dining room, in a place not conducive to creativity unless you're talking about how to avoid eating your dinner. My children have come up with some whoppers trying to weasel out of nutritious meals in favor of cookies and the like.

In any case, I'll be on and off the computer while my mom visits. I will say I've been doing a fair bit of decorating. Oh, and I received my copy of Romance Sells, a catalog of upcoming romance books for booksellers and librarians. Feral Attraction is coming out in print in Jan 2009 from Samhain. It's an anthology with my story, Rachel's Totem in it, and I can't wait to see my copies.

Another school bus is pulling up to the door. Gotta go. More tomorrow...

New Cover: WIlla's Wish

Well, it's that time of year again. Time for the holiday stories! This year I've written something for Loose Id entitled Willa's Wish. I took a secondary character from Satyr's Myst and gave him his own story. Here's a short blurb...

Thanks to Tyrone’s unasked for interference, his boss and friend, Rick Hastings (from Satyr's Myst) has finally found true love. With Rick stateside for the holidays, Ty is left to manage Satyr's Myst, an exclusive pleasure resort where anything goes. He's too busy to indulge in anything not business related, but Ty can't get his mind off of Rick's new hire, Willa Trainor.

Willa distracts him in way that makes him uneasy. More than her sinful body and alluring face, the beauty within the woman tempts him more than she should. She's a stranger, for all that he wants her. And Ty's been hurt before. But Willa isn’t who he thinks she is. She’s more than a sexy bombshell with a desire that matches his. She’s the woman whose childhood crush blossomed into soul deep love. Despite Trevor’s desire to leave the past in its place, Willa’s not willing to be ignored. Because when the truth comes out, Willa’s not taking no for an answer, not when she’s finally come to claim her man.

Willa's Wish is a New Year's story, and releases December 30th, just in time for the holiday! I'm really excited about this book. The story flowed really well and is pretty steam for a short story. Then again, what would you expect from a tale that takes place on a pleasure resort? There's intimacy, steamy lovemaking, and of course love between the hero and heroine. I only had one small issue with this piece...

The covers for Loose Id's holiday shorts are standard, as in, all the covers look the same except for the author and title. That makes sense. It's holiday time and you know you'll be getting a Loose Id Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa, etc. story that's short--only so many words long. I love the cover, so that was not a problem for me...except that my hero isn't Caucasian. Yep, Tyrone is African American, and I'm wondering if readers will mind only because the cover leads them to expect something else.

I've read books before that have a heroine with long blond hair, yet in the book her hair is red. Or the hero is blond and buff when in the book he's a lean, black-haired Lothario. I admit to being taken aback, but as long as the story is good, I don't mind so much. But what about you? Is it a big deal or isn't it?

Curious....

A Christmas Joke

First Christmas Joke of the Season Three men died on Christmas Eve and were met by Saint Peter at the pearly gates. "In honor of this holy season" Saint Peter said,"You must each possess something that symbolizes Christmas to get into heaven." The first man fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on. "It represents a candle", he said. "You may pass through the pearly gates" Saint Peter said. The second man reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He shook them and said, "They're bells." Saint Peter said "You may pass through the pearly gates". The third man started searching desperately through his pockets and finally pulled out a pair of women's panties. St. Peter looked at the man with a raised eyebrow and asked, "And just what do those symbolize?" The man replied, "These are Carols." And So The Christmas Season Begins.......

The 4th Quarter Prize

This is what Tara won. There are a lot of books by some great authors in here. (Hey, I don't mess around. When I have a big contest, I offer a whopper of a prize.)

Eva won ebooks from authors like Mandy Roth, Jaid Black, Bianca D'Arc, Me :) , Sydney Somers, Red Garnier, Trista Ann Michaels, Sherill Quinn, Louisa Trent and more.

Thanks again to all who participated. Happy Holidays!

4th Quarter Winners!

Thank you to all who participated in the 4th Quarter Contest. In celebration of the holidays, I've randomly chosen 2 winners. (Thank my husband for picking the numbers corresponding to your emails!).

Congratulations to Tara Gibbs, who will be receiving a box of books, and to Eva from Finland, who's won a bundle of ebooks.

Wishing all of you a happy holiday season, no matter what you celebrate. And from me personally, a very merry Christmas!!

That Missing Copy

Well, tonight was an experience. A fun one, I might add. My husband and I had a date night. We checked out a new steak restaurant called The Chop Shop. Holy crap, talk about a fillet to die for. During dinner, we talked like real people. I didn't once yell at him to eat his dinner, and he didn't encourage me to stop playing with my food. (Yes, I have small children.)

After dinner, pleasant conversation, and a nice red Zinfandel, we walked along the newly constructed "rich" section of the mall on our way to Barnes & Noble, where I intended to buy some of my daughter's Christmas presents.

On the way, we stopped in a kitchen store, then Coldwater Creek, a clothing store that has pants that fit me just right. I had a holiday coupon with me and couldn't resist a pair...Oh right, so there I was, Christmas shopping and buying myself pants.

We finally hit B&N. A nice store, larger since it's moved from its previous location. I like their romance section. I found my daughter some books, and myself one as well. Then my husband looked up my name in the computer for fun. Lo and behold, the store had a copy, IN STOCK, of I Dream of Dragons, Vol. 1. Needless to say I was totally excited to see it on the shelf, except it wasn't there. I'm hoping someone bought the lone copy, instead of dropping it in the children's section or some other asinine place not meant for romance.

Also of interest was the fact that my new book (with Paige McKellan), Feral Attraction, was listed in the B&N computer. It shows as being available as early as Jan 1, 2009, but Samhain isn't releasing it until Jan 27th, 2009. So we'll see how that works. I might do a signing in January or Feb, hoping that will pull the book in the store. And I just received some kick-*ss bookmarks for said book, so I'm dying to give them away.

All in all, a fruitful night. I was able to act like an adult and enjoy my husband's company. We ended it with a hot chocolate, and to all a good night.

Contest Ending Friday!!!

Hey Guys! Don't forget!! My contest ends this Friday. You only have to answer a simple question about what you like to read to be entered to win. U.S. winners will receive a box full of brand-spankin' new books, while non-U.S. winners will receive two dozen or more ebooks, from authors I love.

Click here for details.

Finally, a Good Day

I'm feeling very centered today. I've dropped off the kid, fueled up the car, and done loads of laundry and dishes. I even managed to mail a few things I'd been procrastinating and have my holiday stamps.

Now it's off to the races writing!
1. Finish edits on Circe's Recruits: Zack & Ace
2. Work on Circe's Recruits: Derrick
3. Clean up house, organize
4. Finish organizing desk


What a lovely Tuesday!!! Hope yours works as well for you.

Monday Mugging

Great Monday. Instead of working, I'm dealing with administrative crap. Yippee.
Ack.