As Close As A Christmas Wish

...which came in second in Michelle Rowen's Holiday Short Story contest, will be posted on Michelle's blog on Wednesday 12/23. It's a little different than my usual fare, so I'd love it if you stopped by and let me know what you think!


http://www.michellerowen.com/blog/

Happy Holidays everyone!

Say hi to the amazing Lynne Roberts!

I'm so pleased to have a chance to interview my friend Lynne Roberts. She's a great writer and fun to boot. :) Her latest scorching release, After Hours, is out now with The Wild Rose Press Wilder Roses. Pick it up now - you won't be disappointed!

1) First off, tell us all about After Hours. I've read this one, and it's a scorcher that will definitely warm up those cold winter nights! What was your inspiration for the story?

The idea for AFTER HOURS was conceived one early summer day when I was taking my teenage daughter to school. We stopped at a red light and this man crossed the street. The way he moved would have drawn any red-blooded woman's attention, and I'm no exception. I watched him walk all the way... to the high school. He was a student and I felt, for the first time, like a cougar. Okay, I blushed. But I also started wondering if it was a design of the hip that made some men walk that way, almost predatory, definitely yummy. Somewhere along the way, David was born.


2) After Hours is a cougar tale. As some of you know, I like those myself (actually, I think your David and my Alex would be good friends, LOL.) Why did you want to write a story about an older woman/younger man? And in your opinion, what age officially starts cougardom? (I have no interest in this answer myself, I swear!)

It has nothing to do with the fact that I could be considered cougar-aged. Nope. Nope. Not a thing. Let's face it, when you're in your thirties and forties, a woman is in her sexual prime. We need a younger man to keep up with us... literally. And they are so pretty to look at. 

I don't have an answer to when you enter cougardom. (35?) I think that you can't be a cougar too young because the younger man has to be old enough to know a thing or two.


3) Since I'm all about the se...uh, attraction, what attracts Elle to David and vice versa? And do you have an excerpt to leave us salivating for more?

Elle is attracted to David's walk, his scent, his voice and to his masculinity. David is attracted to Elle's appearance and her experience. He wants a woman who knows who she is and what she wants. Lucky for him, Elle wants David. Bad.

This is a scene in which David and Elle are working together: He still wore a pale blue button-down shirt but had removed his tie and unfastened the top buttons to reveal the silky smooth skin below his neck.

Picking up a heavy box of files, he moved it from the desk to the floor. His chest muscles rolled with the effort. Was there hair farther down? Perhaps a trail leading all the way to heaven?


Stop it, girl! But for a moment she imagined undoing the rest of the buttons, letting her hands explore his chest and tiptoeing her fingers down his firm stomach to satisfy her curiosity. That's not the only thing I'd satisfy.

She swallowed with a suddenly dry throat. At least she knew where the moisture went. Maybe I just shouldn't wear underwear.

As though he could hear the thought, he looked up, met her gaze and smiled that dazzling smile that made her knees weak. She was melting into a little pool of wanton need in the chair across from him and he had no idea.

Yummy, right? Let me tell you, that hint of goodness is only the beginning! ;)

4) Your first story, First Date, came out recently from The Wild Rose Press's Wilder Roses. How long had you been writing before you sold your first book?

I've been writing for six years, but I took some time off to edit three manuscripts, two of which have been published by Random House. I wrote FIRST DATE almost on a dare to myself. It was challenging but fun. So much so that I sat down and wrote AFTER HOURS.


5) What one piece of advice would you give aspiring writers? 

Write. And when you don't feel like it: write. There are scores of things we all need to learn regarding grammar, pace and technique, but you can't edit an empty page. Second to that would be to find a good critique partner.


6) And just for fun: if you had to pick, would you prefer stamina or experience in a man? Of course, getting both in one would be a nice bonus. ;) Why?

Have I ever told you that you're an evil woman? I should.

I think, if I had to pick, experience. You see, if I had to choose between one or two pieces of premium chocolate and a box of ordinary chocolate, I'd take the premium and let it melt in my mouth, savoring it slowly.


Great answers! Thanks Lynne! If you want to find out more about Lynne or her work, stop by her blog or follow her on Twitter: Lynne Roberts. And don't forget to go buy After Hours! Believe me, you won't regret it! ;)

Second place!

Yes, I changed my blog again. This feels just a bit more holiday-like to me.

And since it's the holidays, that means it's time for holiday music, crazy shoppers, eating way too much and writing Christmas stories. ;) I've discovered I love writing short shorts (a couple K or less) so when Michelle Rowen, one of my favorite authors, decided to hold a writing contest to "give back" to the writing community, I jumped all over it. As everyone who knows my work has seen, I like to write funny. It's my comfort zone, as much or more than the sexy stuff. But this year the funny's been harder to find, so I went with a story much closer to where I was at mentally. And As Close As A Christmas Wish was born. If you're interested in reading it, it will be available on Michelle's blog on Wednesday, December 23rd. I'll be sure to post a link here then.

In the meantime, please stop back on Monday December 21st, when the lovely Lynne Roberts will be my guest here to talk a bit about her new sexy novella, After Hours.

Rx for Saggy Love Scenes

And speaking of things that don't sag... ;) I normally don't post pictures this explicit, but in honor of my blog topic at Leah Braemel's blog on Wednesday, I wanted a good visual. Not only will I be sharing my tips for improving a saggy love scene, I'm giving away my first (and maybe only) copy of Full Disclosure since its release. Please stop by!

Oh, and click here to go to Leah's... ;)

I'm not really here...

I'm popping in just to say that I'm at my lovely CP Helen Hardt's blog today, with yet another excerpt from Full Disclosure. This one shows a bit of Alex's naughty side, which is a pretty big part of his personality. ;) I've been looking forward to having one of my heroes on Helen's blog for a long time now, and that day's finally come! Please stop by if you get a chance.

My awesome friend, fellow Scarlet Rose author Lynne Roberts, reviewed Full Disclosure on Friday here, and she said so many nice things that I feel compelled to say no money changed hands. ;) I also got a great review from my amazing friend, fellow Scarlet Rose author April Vine, which I'll try to post here soon. I'm feeling very grateful for my friends right now...thanks so much. 

Otherwise, I'm probably going to be scarce for a bit. Lots going on, and I haven't been making my blog rounds as I usually do. Hopefully I'll get back to that soon, but in the meantime, know I'm cheering all of you on and/or supporting you, whichever the case may be.

Happy Holidays.

I'm at Lindsay's Romantics...

here on Tuesday, talking about author branding. Please stop by! Yeah, I know it's almost Wednesday, what can I say? Time's a fluid thing. ;)

Also, I have a thought for all of you to ponder...do you think writing has a rhythm? Can you feel when the notes are off, and if so, what do you about it? Do you keep typing anyway, hoping the overall melody evens out? Or do you start over from scratch? I had my own experience with that recently, which I will share later this week.

Oh, and if you didn't know...I can relate everything to music if I try hard enough.

And to brighten your almost-Wednesday...