I Read Romance

There is a great romance website (www.ireadromance.com) and they are starting up their own chat list and guess what...they will talk about BOOKS. What a concept, a romance list actually talks about books. No drive by author promos, no random promotional companies spamming you with ads...

The grand opening is Friday and I will be one of the featured authors! So stop on by because I'll be posting exclusive excerpts from Educating Jane Porter and Rites of Spring, the second installment in the Coven series.

(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/i_read_romance/)

Book Recommendation: Hot, Wicked and Wild: Desiree Holt

Blurb: Tracie Hill is having a bad day. Her boss has sold the investment company to a much larger corporation, a new boss with a reputation as a tyrant is arriving tomorrow morning, and she's just torn her last pair of pantyhose. As she's stripping them off to toss in the trash, she sees the most gorgeous man ever standing in her doorway. Then the power goes out, locking them inside.

It is a wild beginning for Tracie and sexy Pete Montgomery, but as they move in together and he introduces her to the erotic delights of a BDSM relationship and the excitement of an occasional ménage, she learns what she's been missing all these years. It isn't, however, until she accompanies Pete to a secluded island in the Caribbean, to a house party where the theme is "anything goes" that she learns just how uninhibited she can be. And whether Pete will finally claim her as his forever.

Excerpt:
She looked at him helplessly.
Then he burst out laughing.
“I’m glad you think this is so funny,” she spat at him.
“It’s priceless, is what it is.” He took off his blue blazer and dropped it and his tie on an armchair. “Do you know how many men would love to be marooned like this with a gorgeous female?”
Gorgeous? He thought she was gorgeous?
“I beg your pardon?”
“You heard me.” He moved closer to her.
She backed up until the desk hit her ass. “W-What do you have in mind?”
He flashed his wicked grin at her. “Well, let’s see. It appears we’re liable to be here for a while so we need to do something to pass the time.”
“Pass the time?” She sounded like a parrot.
“Mm-hmm. I’m not much of a card player. Chess, maybe but only an idiot would waste time alone with a beautiful woman playing chess.” He rubbed his jaw. “There’s always word games.”
She stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. “You want to play word games?”
“Nope. I want to do this.” He was right up against her, his obviously swollen cock pressing into her belly, his face not more than an inch from hers. Then his arms came around her, pulling her tight against him and his mouth came down on hers.
Too shocked to even move, she opened her mouth to protest and his tongue swept in like a marauding bandit, tasting, touching stroking the lining of her mouth. His hands slid down to her ass, gripping it and pulling her closer. She couldn’t believe her own hands actually crept around his neck and her fingers threaded through his hair. This was a kiss beyond belief. He tasted of mint and fresh air and smelled of something delightfully spicy.
I’m kissing a man and I don’t even know who he is. My god! Well, wasn’t this her fantasy? Hadn’t she dreamed of this after the last fiasco with Rex? Meeting a gorgeous, sexy man, totally unknown and having wild, uncontrollable sex with him?
She pulled her head away a fraction. He hadn’t given her much room to maneuver.
“I don’t even know your name,” she gasped.
He flashed his magic grin. “Pete. Just call me Pete.”
“Tracie.” She was surprised she could even get out the word.
“What?” He stared at her with those hot emerald eyes, his face co close she could count his eyelashes. “What did you say?”
“Tracie,” she gasped. “My name is Tracie.”
“Oh. Well. Hi, Tracie, nice to meet you.”
Then his mouth came down on hers again, his tongue invading the inside of her mouth like a candle lighting the sensitive tissues and she felt herself melting again. What was left of her brain kicked in and she found the strength to pull back from him. She tried to push him away but he held her too close for any movement. His hands moved up and down her back, creating friction under the cloth of her dress.
“We can’t do this.” Her breath fell in uneven pants as she pushed at his chest again.
“I don’t know why not. Here we are, trapped in these offices, no idea when we’ll get out of this place. I’ve had a hard-on since the minute I laid eyes on you. And if the way you returned that kiss is any indication, you don’t exactly find me unappealing.”
“B-But we don’t even know each other.”
“Sure we do,” he grinned. “We just introduced ourselves. And we’re about to get to know each other a whole lot better. Right?”
While they were talking, he slid one hand down over her hip and ever so lightly eased up her skirt until his palm touched bare flesh.
Tracie jerked. What the hell does he think he’s doing?
“Touching that ass that looked so appealing when you were doing your mini-strip tease before.” He grinned at her.
She hadn’t realized she’d spoken aloud and her face flooded with embarrassment. But she couldn’t make herself move away from him. His hand was like a burning coal on her ass, leaving traces of fire wherever he touched. Her mind shrieked Stop! but her body said, Don’t stop, you damn fool.
Pete dropped his mouth to her shoulders and began biting gently at the place where her neck and shoulder met. She felt liquid begin to seep from her body and wished she had panties on to absorb the moisture. This was nuts! She was creaming over a man she’d known for five minutes and letting him feel her bare ass.
And loving it! His presence somehow surrounded her and his male essence drugged her, put her off guard. All she had to do was look at him and she was wet, soaking, dripping.
“I… We… That is…” She couldn’t figure out what to say. He made her mind foggy with just the lightest of touches.
“Look at it this way.” He was still nipping her shoulder, sending feathers of sensation skittering along her spine. “Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like to have hot, sweaty sex with a stranger? Someone you didn’t even know but who made you hotter than a burning log? Someone you could do anything with because you didn’t think you’d ever have to face them again?”

LAST CALL!

If you've been waiting to read the Shadow Dweller series - you can wait no longer! The last four titles: Tempt Not The Cat, Atonement, Sins of the Flesh and Tempation are going out of print as of Tuesday, October 21st!

You can find them here: http://www.ellorascave.com/AuthorsBooks.asp?AuthorCode=JCW

As of right now I don't have immediate plans for their rerelease. This is such a series of my heart and I'll come up with a plan before the end of the year. :)

Mills and Boon...Erotica?

According to this source, Mills and Boon will be publishing 'its first pornographic book.' Wow - and who said publishers didn't listen to their readers?

I have to admit it's been many years since I've read a M&B title. I stopped reading them in 1979 when I discovered Ginny and Steve from the old time bodice ripper books. Somehow reading about virginal, blonde, English, Nurse heroines and Greek, Shipping Magnet, Sardonic heros didn't have the same appeal as Ginny and Steve as they loved and raped their way all over the world.

Let's face it - M&B is pretty well known for their characters being numb from the waist down.

When I read about this upcoming change in the M&B lineup, I had to admit my immediate thought was of an oil sheik asking his woman to suck his well dry as she screams for him to drill deeper into her dewy sands...

Thanks to the Smart Bitch site for the heads up.

Ready to try a new author?

Then we have a deal for you! We have three ebooks available and you can read the first half of the book for FREE! If you like it, there are links in the document which lead you to purchase the book. If you don't enjoy the book then you're off the hook!

But we know you'll love these titles! ;)

http://www.thesamhellion.com/free.htm

Enjoy!!

Randy Pausch

How many times can you say you saw someone on tv and your life will never be the same?

I can say that about Randy Pausch.

Randy was a Carnagie Mellon (Whoa...big brains) professor whose greatest gift wasn't in teaching others, it was his love for his children.

In academia, it's common to ask tenured professors to give a lecture called The Last Lecture. This lecture is all about what they would want to say if they learned they were going to die tomorrow. The difference in Randy's lecture was the he was really going to die.

Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Paudch delivered the lecture of a lifetime in September 2007. It wasn't so much about what he wanted to say, it was more about what he wanted to say to his children in the future - the future without him. It was funny, poignant, uplifting and brilliant - an amazing statement from an everyday guy.

Thankfully someone uploaded it to YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo - be warned, it is long but SO worth the time. Once you see it, your life will never be the same.

I first saw this in December and I immediate sent links to all my close friends. The Last Lecture was made into a book and has been on the best seller list since April.

Randy Pausch passed away today at the age of 47.

Did you say...FREE???

Want some free ebooks? Go here:

http://tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=577

Happy Reading!

Recommended Read

It's rare that I recommend a book - mainly because I read so little anymore. Last year I think I might've read 8 books - used to be I'd read that much in a week. :)

But I did manage to devour Shadow Magic by Cheyenne McCray and I LOVED it.

Here is the blurb:

THE SINS OF THE PAST
When Hannah Wentworth temporarily flees her life in San Francisco to join her sister D’Anu witches in Otherworld, she vows to help them conquer the evil bent on destroying the human realm. But the only one who can help her happens to be the king of the Dark Elves. The father to her nemesis, Rhiannon of the D’Anu. And the one man Hannah can never, ever trust...especially because of her dangerous attraction to him.
ARE COMING TO LIGHT…
Garran knows that the beautiful, headstrong Hannah is wary of him for having banished his people to a life underground. But now Garran can right that wrong by helping her and the other gray witches in their dangerous battle in San Francisco—even if doing so means sacrificing the passion he’s found only in Hannah’s arms…

Support Domestic Abuse Survivors

Now available for Pre-Order from Amazon.

Profits are being donated to the Cincinnati Battered Women's Shelter.

Twelve all-new stories of women’s resilience, empowerment, and fulfillment, by bestselling and award-winning authors.

In this engaging anthology of never-beforepublished stories, twelve authors are united by their unique visions of the female experience… A young woman is torn between the security of her fiancé and the excitement of an old flame…a desperate wife is forced into the workplace for the first time in her life…an ambitious professional woman finally finds the courage to take control of her career—and her man…an emotionally fragile divorcee finds resolve in the ethereal visitations of an archangel...

These are just some of the women who discover and rediscover their own wonderfully fallible but ultimately strong selves in the shadow of love— romantic love, platonic love, new love, and lost love. Readers will be touched, inspired, charmed, and entertained by these original stories of disparate longings, unsettled lives, and the power of love.

Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week is almost over, have you read your banned book yet? :)

What strikes me as odd about BBW is those who are banning the books are usually places reserved for education. Schools, libraries etc. Seeing that these institutions are funded, at least in part, by our government who should be supporting the freedom of speech - isn't it hypocritical to allow those same instutions to ban books?

In my opinion, any institution who receives tax money as part of their funding, should not have the right to ban a book. Now having said that, I'm not saying that third graders should be reading one of my books - no how no way! It should be up to the parents to determine what is appropriate reading material for their children, not a school or library.

I think what really bothers me is, when does this end?

John Lennon's song IMAGINE could be offensive to some though there are no curse words to be found. Just the line:

"Imagine there's no Heaven,"

would be enough to spin a few conservative heads off their shoulders. Where is the line drawn between inappropriate material for children and inappropriate ideas. Trust me, if we allow these institutions to 'ban' books, it's only a matter of time before one of them tries to ban a book based on the concept, not the content.

That is REALLY scary if you ask me.

Book Review: Blackmailed by Annmarie McKenna

BLACKMAILED
by Annmarie McKenna
ISBN: 1599982137
Samhain Publishing

Brianna Wyatt is being blackmailed by her father for an heir. If she doesn't follow through, her father threatens to put her handicapped brother into a home where she can no longer protect him. Her father wants her to get pregnant by Cole Masters, a very weathy and powerful man.

When Mr. Wyatt appears on his doorstep wanting to whore his own daughter, Cole is sure he's about to be blackmailed. Taking Brianna into his own, they concoct their own plan to thwart her father but he fails to take into account that he desires Brianna and he can only hope that Tyler Cannon, his best friend and fellow menage partner, will want her as well.

This is one HOT book. I'll be honest, I wasn't prepared to enjoy this book as much as I did. I've always been a one-guy kind of girl so the concept of menage was foreign to me. Now, I understand the allure. :)

Some of the plot points were a little contrived, but seeing that this book is about fantasy it more than fulfills on it's promise. So if you're looking for a spicy menage with two utterly yummy males, BLACKMAILED is for you.

Book Review: First Kiss by Kylie Adams

FIRST KISS
by Kylie Adams
ISBN: 0-451-21581-8

Yes, this is an older title. What can I say, I'm a book-a-holic with very little time to read. :)

Kiki Sonntag is an out of work soap opera actress with the desire for an A-list lifestyle that wars with her lackluster paychecks. While shopping with money she doesn't have, she meets Tom and Kristen Brock, the 'IT' couple of the tabloids and someone Kiki would kill to be photographed with.

Only it didn't work quite as she'd hoped.

Caught on film in a so-called compromising position with Tom, Kiki is on the run from the paparazzi and she finds herself checking into the oh-so-exclusive Affair hotel. Run by the very hunky Fab Tomba, a notorious playboy, Kiki settles in to wait for the madness to die down. Instead of finding peace and quiet, she's drawn in by Fab's personality and sexy smile. Because of him she decides that hiding out in his arms might not be such a bad thing after all.

I was lucky enough to meet Kylie Adams before her first book, FLY ME TO THE MOON, was released. Fabulous person, funny and quirky, her personality is reflected on every page. FIRST KISS is packed with enough name dropping to make any fashionista swoon. With a fast paced story line and a chick-lit feel, FIRST KISS is a fabulous read and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, escapist read.

Book Review: Passionate Ink by Angela Knight

Passionate Ink: A Guide to Writing Erotic RomancePassionate Ink by Angela Knight

Publisher: Loose Id

ISBN: 978-1-59632-390-2

Amazon.com description:

The forecast is in: the future of romance is hot and steamy. But riding the wave to success takes more than stringing together a couple of sex scenes or opening the bedroom door on your traditional romance. In her brand-new "how-to", USA Today bestselling author Angela Knight shares the down and dirty details on writing erotic romances that will keep your readers coming back for more. Passionate Ink (un)covers the erotic novel from conception to completion. Straight talk, no purple prose. First, Angela will show you her useful writing techniques that have made her a successful author. Then, she'll teach you what's hard (besides that!) about making your erotic romance erotic: action, both in and out of bed, the anatomy of a sex scene, eroticism and 'kink', and good dialogue, or talking dirty without sounding dumb. If you want to enjoy the heat, then strip off your inhibitions and take a dip.into Passionate Ink.

For a beginning or established writer looking to transition into the world of Erotic Romance, this book is an excellent stepping stone. Filled with straight-forward, no fluff tips, recommendations and techniques, I really enjoyed reading it and I will recommend that my writing groups buy a copy for their libraries.