This Week - a Visual

(Yes, that's me.)

And yes, I'm looking forward to the weekend. :) In the meantime, the newest installment of The Zillionaire Vampire Cowboy's Secret Werewolf Babies is up. Go check it out!

Book BIN Tuesday - Buy A Banned Book!

It's hard to believe that it's that time of year again - time for the ALA's Banned Books Week. Sadly, this informational week is still needed, because books are still being banned and challenged every year. Last year, in the US, there were 460 book challenges reported. Books from The Catcher in the Rye to the Twilight series were targeted.

A recently challenge made the news last week, when a college professor wrote a scathing article in his local paper about books being taught in the public school system. One of the books he targeted was Speak, a YA novel about rape that he characterized as "soft-core porn".

This is one of my hot-button issues. Rape is not about sex, it's about power and control. And anyone who would look at a book about teens dealing with this horrible crime as sexually arousing has some issues of his own, in my opinion.

Before this hit Twitter and mainstream media outlets, I'd never heard of Speak before. But in honor of Banned Books week, I'm going to pick up a copy.

So that's my challenge to you. Here's the list of frequently challenged books. (The link takes you to the top ten challenged books of last year; there are multiple links on the left sidebar that go back several years.) Take a peek - really, there's something for everyone, from classics to new works, from picture books to novels. And in keeping with the theme of the week, why not choose one banned book and Buy It Now?

What's your choice?

Keeping Secrets

Hey all! I'm blogging over at the Nine Naughty Novelists today, with a post on keeping secrets. Stop by and weigh in on the subject!

(And in case you're wondering, yes, there is an inspiration for the topic. Here's hoping I get to share very soon!)

Random Post of Randomness

Just a few tidbits to share:

Last night, the Doctors Without Borders fundraiser in honor of Eric Sheffer Stevens hit the $20k mark. That's amazing for a new fanbase, reaching the revised goal in under a month. Congratulations to all. (Also, the page will remain open until next year, so donations are still being accepted.)

The third installment of The Zillionaire Vampire Cowboy's Secret Werewolf Babies is now live. Stop by and see what's happening in Bloodsuck!

And I got some good news today that I hopefully will be able to share very soon. :)

How's your week going?

Book BIN Tuesday - Close Quarters

How did I miss this? Lucy Monroe's FIFTIETH book came out this month!

OPPOSITES ATTRACT.

IF THEY DON’T COMBUST FIRST.

To some, he is an assassin. To others, he’s merely the man who gets the job done when no one else can. Now politico-military black-ops leader Roman Chernichenko has to take out the leak in an espionage plot that could destabilize all of Africa. Nothing will distract him from his mission. Not even the deliciously appealing blonde who’s awoken his deepest desires—and just happens to be his target...

Tanya Ruston is a beautiful and brainy do-gooder—and now Roman is supposed to dispose of her when all he really wants to do is seduce her. Soon it’s clear Tanya’s no information agent—and now that his conscience has gotten the better of him, he and Tanya are on the run from the good guys and bad. If they’re going to make it out alive, Roman will have to act fast—and stop thinking about how he’s going to get his feisty new charge down the aisle...


I've loved the series, and am so looking forward to getting my hot little hands on this book. So why not join me and Buy It Now?

Blogging at Samhain - The End Of The WORLD

Okay, I promise.

After today, I'll move on from As The World Turns as a blog topic.

Okay, maybe one more posting.

Just one.

I can quit anytime. Honest.

(Follow me to the Samhain Weblog...)

ZVCSWB Serial Read - Part Two Up Thursday!

If you haven't dropped by the Nine Naughty Novelists' blog lately, you're missing out! Every Thursday we're posting a new installment of The Zillionaire Vampire Cowboy's Secret Werewolf Babies, and it's a hoot. We're also giving away a nook at the end of the series, so be sure to drop by, read the story, and post a comment to be entered to win!

Tomorrow, part two is going live, so here are some links to help you catch up:

Check out part one here!

Welcome to Bloodsuck.

Get to know the characters, part one and two.

Info on the nook giveaway.

And finally, our fabulous trailer!

Hope you enjoy!

Book BIN Tuesday - Just Like That

Congrats to Erin Nicholas on her new release from Samhain, Just My Type. It's looking like yet another winner from the talented Ms. N...

Warning: Contains hot sex at the beach, kinky online shopping and yes, cotton candy flavored body powder does exist.


There's only one problem with the woman Jason Mac Gordon wants: she wants him back. But she's off limits. Way off limits. She's his best friend's little sister, she's too young and too innocent for him. Mac knows from past experience to hide his not-so-nice preferences from the nice girls he seems to attract. That definitely includes the woman he's thought of as a sister for years. At least until recently...

Sara Bradford always gets what she wants, which is partly Mac's fault. He's helped spoil her for years. So she has no intention of taking no for an answer from him on anything&mdashincluding his refusal to sleep with her. If he thinks she's too innocent, then she's just going to have to get un–innocent and show Mac that she wants him—the good, the bad and the sex toys.

But will Mac prove that he's not the guy she thinks he is or will she convince him that she's just his type after all?

****

Yep - heading on over to My Bookstore and More to pick up a copy. Why don't you join me and Buy It Now?

Ten Things I've Learned From the End of ATWT

Oh, the things you learn! As The World Turns, currently the longest-running soap opera on TV, is ending its 54 year run on Friday. And in that spirit, I'm focusing on what I've learned from the show, particularly as it winds down. (I haven't been a long-time viewer, but got hooked in the past few months thanks to the the fabulous Luke/Reid storyline.)

So. These may not have been the *intended* messages, but they came through loud and clear in the last few weeks of As The World Turns:

10. Viruses can be treated with antibiotics. (Really? Try telling my pediatrician that.)

9. Straight men with heart disease that could kill them at any moment, in an insta-relationship with someone for three minutes, get to have sex.

8. Two healthy gay men, in a loving, committed relationship for months, don't. Ever.

7. Therefore, if you meet someone you kinda like, have sex with them IMMEDIATELY. Just in case.

6. If a hospital refuses to release an organ for donation to another hospital, any random doctor with a Coleman cooler and an ice pack can storm the building and demand it.

5. Brilliant neurosurgeons in a hurry will not only ignore all warnings in order to speed across train tracks in front of a train, but when their car stalls, they will completely forget how to work a seat belt.

4. Corrolary: seat belts kill.

3. If you're injured near another town, police from your town will be called in to handle the situation, make the EMT's take you back to that hospital instead of one closer by, then show up at said hospital before the ambulance gets there. And even if you manage to survive a train wreck, the excessive delay of medical attention, and the extra time needed to get back to your home hospital, if it's Oakdale Memorial, YOU WILL DIE ANYWAY.

2. If you're brought into a hospital with life-threatening injuries, but are conscious, coherent, and talking, no one will help you. Instead, they'll stand around boo-hooing about how all hope is gone, and then berate your significant other into signing over your organs the minute you flatline.

1. Straight = HEA, gay = dead or grieving. Because EVERYONE gets a happy ending except Luke, Reid, and Noah.

What a marvelous way to finish out 54 years - with plot inconsistencies, failures in logic, poorly paced and written stories, a mean-spirited and ugly focus on a completely unnecessary death, and deeply homophobic messages. Thanks so much, ATWT.

(And an honest, heartfelt thank you to Van Hansis and Eric Sheffer Stevens. You created a beautiful love story, and acted the hell out of every one of your scenes, even the ones I hated. If it wasn't for you two and your amazing talent, I wouldn't care so much. I wish you all the best in the future.)

Anyone Recognize This Song?

I've been all over the intarwebs looking for the song used in this commercial. No one seems to know the title or the artist. If anyone out there has a clue, I'd be forever grateful!

And even if you're pretty sure you don't know it, you should go ahead and check out the commercial anyway. It's pretty cool. :)

Rodeo Book The Second - Untitled WIP

I'm working on a second rodeo-themed book, this time about a team roper and a local he meets on the circuit. Here's a sneak peek:

The bar was insanely hot, with far too many people crammed into far too small of a space. He was lucky he'd gotten this booth to himself.

Oh, who the hell was he kidding? It wasn't luck. It was a combination of glowering and a heavy dose of "don't bother me" vibes.

He fucking hated this part of the scene.

At least with Dane around, he could handle it. He was the best wingman anyone could ask for – great at deflecting unwanted attention without hurting anyone's feelings, able to tease Cam into a better mood when he started turning too introspective.

Plus, Cam never had to worry about Dane horning in on his territory if he was interested in a woman.

And if once in a while he heard whispers that the two of them were more than just buddies, who the hell cared.

God knew he wasn't Dane's type.

And he was big enough, and mean enough, to squash those rumors before they got any traction.

The jukebox started up again, blaring out the same damn song he'd already heard five times tonight. And he'd only been here an hour and a half.

Nobody else seemed to mind, if the rousing cheer and crowded dance floor were any indication. Everybody else in the place seemed to be having a grand old time.

Cam felt tired, and cranky, and mean. Any minute now he was going to tell some kid to get off his lawn.

Christ, when had he turned into an old man?

Checking his watch again, he calculated that he had to stay here at least another half an hour before he could slip out without bringing down the wrath of the rodeo publicity guy. He could do that. As long as everyone left him the hell alone.

Five seconds later, a woman threw herself into his booth, landing on the bench seat across the table from him. Her brown hair was short and disheveled, her breath coming in short gasps. She reached across the table and grabbed his hand, clinging for all she was worth.

"I'll pay you a thousand dollars to be my boyfriend."

****

Hope you liked it!

Rodeo Book The First - The Devil Inside

So, after attending the rodeo for years over Labor Day weekend, I of course had to write a rodeo book. The Devil Inside, a Samhain release, is about a bullrider who gets injured during the rodeo, and the EMT who nurses him back to health. Here's an excerpt:

Cody woke to darkness.

Where the hell was he?

“Are you awake?” A cool hand smoothed the hair back from his forehead.

“Unfortunately,” he muttered, which made her laugh softly.

Her. Her who? Damn, he’d been on the road for a long time, but forgetting the woman he was with…

That was bad. Even for him.

The room, what he could see of it, was unfamiliar. Not surprising, considering how many days he spent on the circuit each year. But this wasn’t a hotel room.

And he couldn’t place the woman standing next to the bed.

It didn’t help that his brain felt stuffed with cotton, and the room kept wavering in and out of focus.

“Pain pretty bad?” She leaned over him, straightening the sheets. He knew that scent. Why didn’t he recognize the woman?

Okay, start with the basics. It was night. The shadows in the room were deep and quiet. And his mystery woman, the one now checking the bandage on his arm—holy hell, how had that happened?—was wearing a nightgown.

The light from the hallway spilled into the darkened room, putting her face in shadows but turning her virginal white gown almost transparent. She probably thought the long-sleeved garment was modest, but with the light behind it, Cody could see every curve of her body.

Damn.

His groin tightened, an instinctive response to this woman. He did know her. Or at least his body did, if his instant hard-on was a clue. Gritting his teeth, he searched his fogged, noncompliant brain. Why couldn’t he place her?

“Hang on,” she said, turning toward the nightstand. The light through the thin fabric outlined one taut nipple.

Hell. He was clinging by his fingertips here.

She held out a couple of pills in one hand and a glass of water in the other. “It’s time for your next dose,” she said, helping him to a semi-upright position. As she leaned over him, her chest brushed against his arm. He tightened his jaw for reasons other than the pain coursing through him.

She tipped the pills into his palm, but he shook his head.

“I’m okay.” He hoped she couldn’t see the sheen of sweat on his brow that proved he was a liar.

She pursed her lips, obviously not fooled. She set the medicine down on the nightstand, within easy reach. “Your call.”

He closed his eyes, willing the room to stop swimming.

She sat down next to him, careful not to jostle the bed. Lifted one eyelid, then the other, which was kind of weird. “What year is it?”

“What?”

“How about the president? Do you know who’s president now?”

There was that scent again, something sweet and fresh, like fresh-baked vanilla cookies. God, she smelled good. He captured her hand with his and tugged gently. “Stop asking foolish questions and come back to bed.”

She didn’t move. She didn’t say a word. But her tension level spiked off the charts.

“What is it?” He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “Come on, baby.”

“I’m not your baby, Cody.” She tugged her hand from his and stood. “And I haven’t been in your bed for thirteen years.”

Thirteen years? He stared at her.

“Not that you were particularly happy to find me there. Booted me right quick. You were pretty insistent on that.”

He’d kicked her out of bed? Was he insane?

“You have no idea who I am, do you?” She shook her head. “Do you remember getting thrown off the bull? The ambulance ride? Hospital? Anything?”

“I’m a little confused,” he admitted.

“Please tell me you remember signing the release papers…”

He probably looked like a deer caught in headlights.

“Crap.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I knew I should have stayed away. The rodeo is nothing but trouble.” She glared at him. “And that goes double for you, Cody Ringo Shaw.”

Oh, shit. Nobody knew his middle name except family and… “Sam?” No wonder she sounded familiar, looked familiar.

Hell, even smelled familiar.

“Got it in one,” she said dryly. “You’re good.”

Cody struggled to sit up, gasping as pain hit him from all over. Damn, he was in worse shape than he thought.

“Sam, I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “Forget it.”

“Why am I—”

She cut him off. “Rodeo accident. You’re on bed rest for the next seventy-two hours. After that, who knows?”

Bed rest? “Here?”

“Yep.” Sarcasm lurked behind the terse reply. “Lucky me.”

Shoulders set, she stalked out of the room.

Lucky? Cody fell back against his pillows. It seemed his luck had just run out.

****

You can find The Devil Inside here. Hope you enjoyed the excerpt!

Tomorrow, I'll post an excerpt from my rodeo WIP.

I'm Not A Cowgirl...

...but I play one on Labor Day Weekend.

Yep, I'm back from the yearly trek to the rodeo, and I've got lots to share! Pics, excerpts, and a sneak peek at my rodeo-based WIP. Stop by all week to see what's up!

Today, here are a few pictures from the weekend. Hope you enjoy!