I'm at Kaye's!

On Monday, I'm hanging out at my friend Kaye Manro's blog, talking about blasting through my comfort zone. Come join me and tell me about when you left your comfort zone behind.

As you can see, I changed my blog. Again. What do you think?

And since it's Monday, I figured a little man candy couldn't hurt. It may be Thanksgiving week in the US, but I'd rather see this than pictures of turkeys any day. ;)

I'm at Lia's...and why I'm saying no to NaNo

First off, please stop by my interview on Thursday at Lia's blog!

Secondly, I'm bowing out of NaNo. In retrospect, writing a 20K novella in the 2 weeks before NaNo didn't exactly get me off to a good start, but I needed to get that draft, the followup to Full Disclosure, finished. It still needs revisions, and I have many, many projects in various stages of completion. With the release of my first book this month, and all the various promotion-related things that come with that, adding NaNo into the mix was just too much. I have a day job that gets a lot busier this time of year, along with a job freelance editing, and well, something had to give. And my sanity was not an option.

The good news? The 16K I have of my NaNo Blaze, Heat Lightning, is pretty solid, I think. The story's off to a very good start and I'm going to keep going with it at the reasonable pace of 1K a day, 7 days a week. That will keep the writing muscles oiled without adding yet another stressor to my life. And seriously, life's just too short. Writing, even though it's become a business for me, too, is a stress reliever. But if I'm fighting with myself and feeling pressured and guilty to get words on a page without the promise of a check when I'm finished, I need to re-evaluate. And I have.

I think NaNo's a great thing for a lot of writers, but really, quality ALWAYS trumps quantity. Sure, sometimes you find hidden gems you never realized were there when you're writing furiously. You also write a fair share of clunker pages, because you've got one eye on the clock. I believe firmly in setting goals and following deadlines. I need them. But I think it's important to focus on the end result and how much work you want to put into it once all is said and done. I'm very happy what I've written so far is in solid shape (and one of my CPs has verified this, so I'm not totally nuts) which means this month's writing was far from a waste. 

Now to keep going.

Will I do NaNo next year? Not sure, but I'm leaning toward no. But never say never!

Good luck to everyone still doing NaNo! There's a lot of month left! 

Me, I'll keep plodding along with my daily 1K. ;)

 

My first ever review!

Before I got published, I vowed I wouldn't spread my reviews all over the net like attractively festooned spam. Now that I am published, I am holding to that vow - but I figure the first of anything is special and therefore exempt to any and all rules. :)

A huge thank you to Roberta at You Gotta Read Reviews. She made my night and possibly my week with her fabulous review, especially the "You Gotta Read" designation and her comment that Full Disclosure contains some of the steamiest sex scenes she's ever read. (Yes, I'm blushing...but in a good way.)

If you'd like to read the whole review, it's here.

Now I have a fully polished requested full to get out the door...and then there's NaNo! Send wine if you don't hear from me in a month or so. ;)

I'm at Once Written, Twice Shy...

talking about my long, not-so-winding road from attending Catholic school to writing erotic romance. Please stop by...we'd love to see you!

Once Written, Twice Shy


And if that's not enough...I'm also at Monica Kaye's Just a Harmless Bit of Smut!

And to spark you up on a Friday...

Just a quickie...

to mention a few places I will be or have already done interviews/guest blogs. 'Cause I just know ya'll are hanging on my every word, right? (No, I have no clue where the Southerism came from....I'm a Yank, born and bred.)

Monday, I did an interview at the lovely Lynne Roberts blog.

Friday 11/13 I will be at the wonderful Monica Kaye's blog as part of her First Sale Fridays series (and Monica just enjoyed her debut release recently as well!) Also on Friday, I'll be at Rebecca J. Clark's blog (yet another amazing author with an upcoming debut, Borrowed Stilettos, which will be released from The Wild Rose Press in Feb. 2010) with a post about how writing erotic romance...uh, exploded right through my comfort zone. (See, I can add sex into everything!)

And over on Word Wenches, I'll be discussing my NaNo-induced performance anxiety. Stop by if you're afraid exactly what I may mean by that statement. ;)

I'd love it if you stopped by to read my words...they may not be full of wisdom, but hopefully at least they're semi-coherent! (After this week, who knows?)

In other important news, today is my good friend and CP, Helen Hardt's release day for her first EC title, Slow and Wet! I've read this one, boys and girls, and it's a scorcher! I'm off to buy my copy right now.

Until next time, let the sight of the gorgeous Henri Castelli calm your nerves...or rev them up. Whatever. ;)

It's Full Disclosure's Release Day!

Here's the blurb...


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


To celebrate, I'm posting one more excerpt here and another on my fabulous CP, Helen Hardt's, Yahoo group. Not a member yet? Click here to join!

Her hearing was fine. Her vision 20/20, according to her last check-up. So why were Alex’s last words ringing in her ears and his ridiculously handsome visage swimming in a sudden haze of lust? 

Oh, yeah. Because he’d just let her have the butter, then followed up with a casual “I want to fuck you” as if there was an appropriate answer to that. 

Yes? No? Maybe, edging toward an enthusiastic, fist-pumping “yes!” if he happened to be, oh, ten years older? 

For God’s sake, he was her colleague. And he was twenty-six. Twelve years younger than she was. Almost half his life younger. 

“Holly?” 

She took a slow, deliberate bite of her roll. She was so stuffed she’d probably waddle away from the table, but it had felt so natural to talk and eat with him. Like he was an old friend she wanted to lick like a tootsie roll. “I could be your mother.” 

“Not quite.” Both his tone and his cheeky grin proved he didn’t have any issues with her age. Or anything else. “And you’re not. So what’s the problem?”

  

Good question! If you'd like to know the answer for yourself, please click here to purchase Full Disclosure!

In honor of my debut release, I'm at the lovely Christina Phillips' blog, answering her probing questions. The wonderful JA Saare has posted yet another excerpt on her blog. Do I have awesome friends or what? 

In honor of Full Disclosure's release on Friday...

I thought I'd post a few excerpts over the next couple weeks, just to whet your appetite for more. ;) Enjoy!

Alex's hair brushed his collar, messily kempt in its own wayward style. Holly doubted he’d seen a barber in quite a while. She also doubted he was the type of man who’d wince if she yanked his hair too hard during sex.
   
That sealed it for her, and placed the cherry red lipstick kiss on the envelope. After her sexually anemic ex-husband, she deserved a young stud. And hell, she’d make sure the young stud got a lil’ something out of the deal, too.

After the waitress took Alex’s card, she rose. Her poker face had always held her in good stead. She’d simply act as if she were a sexy older woman who expected her every sexual demand to be met. He’d never guess the back of her neck had already dampened, despite the air conditioning. “Your place or mine?”

Alex stood beside her, drawing her gaze up to his sculpted jaw and the sexy cleft in his chin. He was taller than her five-ten by a good four inches. There weren’t a lot of guys who made her feel small—okay, smaller—but he did.

Of course, she’d noticed his height--and the way he filled out a pair of trousers--in the office. She’d pretended not to notice, just as she pretended now to be unmoved by the heat of his fingers on her wrist. But that single contact tightened her nipples to painful nubs.

Come to Mama.

“Let’s go to your place. I want to see where you live.” His gaze skipped over her face and continued down over her discreetly displayed cleavage in a way that was more proprietary than proper. “Where you sleep.”

When his fingers brushed her thrumming pulse, she gave him a flirty smile. “Where I won’t be sleeping tonight.”