Glam Squad

My sister-in-law called in a glam squad for the wedding. I had no idea what to ask for - so I said I didn't want all my hair back & not too much make-up.

And then all my hair went back and the make-up was caked on. At that point, though, eh, just roll with it. My mom liked it, so there was that. My daughter wanted to know what happened to my face. Nice, kiddo. I'm telling myself that make-up looks good in pictures, not in person.

And learn to take a selfie. Sheesh, that pic is blurry.

Caribbean Cowboy sneak

This hasn't been polished buy the lovely editor, but I felt like sharing...

Janny slipped her arms into Nik's jacket and frowned. “I’m not exactly dressed for taking a turn as a biker chick.”

“You’ll never touch the ground, so it won’t matter a bit. Climb on, princess.”

She glanced down at the dress and heels and decided practicality played no part in fantasy. In for a penny. She stepped to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. His lean thighs gripped the bike so it held steady as she climbed on. She gathered her skirt between them and inched forward until the sensitive flesh of her inner thighs pressed so close she felt the seam of his jeans. She leaned forward, her body very aware as she pressed herself against his back.

“That’s it. Now hold tight.” He took her hands and pulled her arms around his torso, hugging him closer than she would have dared on her own. His nipple peaked beneath one palm, the ridges of his abs teasing the other.

Exhilaration shot through her, lifting her high above her usual caution. She lifted her feet off the ground and hooked the heels of her shoes onto the pegs beneath her legs. He lifted the kickstand and turned back to her.

“Think of it like dancing to a song you’ve never heard, princess. Lean in and let me lead. You’ll get the hang of it soon enough.”

 

Reviews

A lovely review from Farrah at Imagine A World ::

Cooking Up a Seduction was a lovely romance. It was light, fun, and a truly enjoyable read. Romance lovers, this is a book worth checking out.

Cooking Up A Seduction Blurb & Review Blitz

April 14: Queentutt's World of Escapism
April 15: Romance Novel Giveaways
April 16: Behind Closed Doors
April 17: For the Love of Bookends
April 18: All I Want and More
April 21: It's Raining Books
April 22: Aly's Miscellany
April 23: Wicked Readings By Tawania
April 24: Rage, Sex and Teddy Bears - Review
April 24: Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock - Review
April 25: Susana's Morning Room
April 28: Sarah Says Read Romance - Review
April 29: Rachel Brimble Romance
May 1: i love lady porn
May 2: Booker Like a Hooker
May 2: Zee Monodee - Author's Corner - Review
May 5: Books Are Love - Review
May 6: Musings and Ramblings
May 7: Booklover Sue
May 8: Room With Books
May 9: Beyond My Writing Space - Review

For Kicks - new review

 Thanks to Miranda Grissom Joyfully Reviewed for a lovely review

Jenna Bayley-Burke’s For Kicks is one outstanding romance. Breeze and Logan heat things up quickly. Breeze is such a determined woman she almost lets it get in her way. Logan is carefree but knows when to be serious. I love the way he romances Breeze. It is so sweet and dreamy. I mean, if a guy did some of the stuff he does for me I would be putty in his hands :) . This contemporary novel has it all: exceptional characters, wonderful plot and a heavenly romance. Don’t miss out on For Kicks this is a keeper romance.

Thursday Thirteen Interview :: Liz Everly

1. Latest release?  Like Honey , the third in my SAFFRON NIGHTS series is just out. It’s set in beautiful Scotland with a sexy spy-turned-beekeeper and a young lonely widow. Gray is sent to there to infiltrate her honey business because of illegal goings-on. They are very attracted to one another—but he’s her employee (at least that what she thinks) and she may be a criminal, so Gray can’t act on his impulses. The way they get to know one another better makes up a part of the story. The other part is the suspense element, which includes an international drug ring, along with local rivalries.

2. In the hottest scene...kisses or condoms?  Neither—honey. ;-)

3. What are you working on?  I also do a little publishing on Amazon right now. I’m publishing a series of linked short stories, Eight Lays Around the World . The first one is set in Egypt, the next one will be set in Hong-Kong.  These stories are more erotic than romance. Grin.

In addition, I’ve just signed a contract with Harper Impulse to do and anthology with my group blog, Lady Smut. LADY SMUT’S BOOK OF DARK DESIRES.

4. What have you Googled for research? Oh GAWD, what haven’t I googled? From methods of murder to kinky sex toys and BDSM practices to all kinds of freaky food things. Hah!

5. What do you drink when writing? Water or hot tea. Not very exciting, is it? I’ve tried to write with a glass of wine—it sounds so romantic! But it doesn’t work for me.

6. Do you have a writing uniform? Nope.

7. Where do you write? I write in a room that used to be a sun porch. We’ve turned it into an office.

8. What was the last thing you read? Hmmm. I read something in a genre I don’t usually read and I liked it. The House on Olive Street by Robyn Carr. I liked it a lot.

9. Paper, audio, or ebook? Paper. But I love my Nook!

10. Favorite book in the last few months? Wisp of a Thing: A Novel of the Tufa (Tufa Novels) by Alex Bledsoe

11. Favorite social network? Twitter.

12. Secret super power? Disappearing. Especially when I have a book due. My family can not find me, my house remains untouched, and I am gone, baby!

13. Guilty pleasure? Chocolate. Always!

LIKE HONEY

Saffron Nights, Book 3

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 

Wanted: A Hot Honey of a Man

Love brought Jennifer D'Amico to Scotland, but it's honey that makes her stay. Her honey farm is all the beautiful widow has left of her brief marriage. All she needs is a master beekeeper to get the flailing business back on track. What she gets is Grayson McGhilly, a boldly sexy stranger who knows his honey--almost as well as he knows how to bring Jennifer to the brink of passion. . ..

From the moment Gray lays eyes on Jennifer, he's hooked, mind and body. But his mission isn't just to savor every succulent inch of her, but to keep her from harm. For Gray isn't just a beekeeper, but an undercover agent investigating criminal activity at her farm. And now he'll do just about anything to keep the sweet and oh-so-satisfying Jennifer safe in his arms. . ..

 

 

Liz Everly writes, plays, and cooks in a tiny house with a big garden. She writes under a pen name to escape expectations and to embrace all possibilities.

Website: http://www.lizeverly.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LizEverlyAuthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/LizEverly1

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6858733.Liz_Everly

Second Chance Bride by Trish Morey Super Book Blast

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Trish will be awarding a $20 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour. Remember, the more you comment, the better your chances to win.

Scarlett Buck has always been flaky in comparison to her sensible twin sister Tara, so nobody is really surprised when Scarlett spends all her money on a one way ticket to Australia to be with the man she’s met on the Net. But she hasn’t reckoned on the guy already being married, or her mom getting sick, and now she needs money for a flight home to Marietta, MT—quick. Signing on with Bella's Belles in Kalgoorlie isn't be the proudest moment in her life but it will get her home fast. After all, it's just sex.

Or is it?

Mitch Bannister's ex is about to marry his best friend, and he could really do with a cold beer and a hot woman. But the cowgirl he takes a shine to at Bella's is surprisingly skittish, and in the end he leaves without hooking up.

Later, when Mitch spies the cowgirl in the local pub begging for a job, he shrinks into the shadows--he's not looking for complications, and something tells him that Scarlett Buck is a whole handful of them. But soon it's clear she's not just trouble, she's in trouble, and like it or not, he's not about to turn his back on this stray from the States. Especially if she can do him a favor in return. After all, it's just a helping hand.

Or is it?

Now enjoy an excerpt:

“You look amazing,” he said, and it wasn’t his words that warmed her through and through, it was the husky quality to his Aussie drawl and the raw heat in his eyes. If she’d had any qualms that he was dressing her to make his ex feel bad, they were banished before they could take root. He was dressing her for him.

She’d never thought blue was a warm color, not until now, not until she’d felt this slow, warm glide of his eyes over her form leaving a smoking trail of heat.

So sex wasn’t part of this deal?

Didn’t mean it wasn’t going to happen.

Shoes and accessories were next. He took his time, not rushing and not checking out the sale items like she was, but going for top shelf every time.

She wondered whether he was as attentive a lover as he was a shopper.

And then she remembered that first encounter in Bella’s, and the hot stroke of his tongue against her breast.

Oh yeah!

USA Today Bestselling Author, Trish Morey has written thirty romances for the internationally bestselling Harlequin Presents line and her stories have been published in more than 25 languages in 40 countries worldwide, including being published in Manga comic book form in Japan, and as Trish Moreyova in the Czech Republic. Trish was awarded Romance Writers of Australia’s Romantic Book of the Year Award (the Ruby) for short, sexy romance In 2006 and again in 2009, as well as being a finalist in the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA Awards in 2012.

A qualified Chartered Accountant by trade, Trish was employed as financial manager at a major business school prior to her first sale.

Trish lives with her husband, 4 daughters and assorted menagerie in the beautiful Adelaide Hills.


Website: Facebook: Twitter: Amazon author page:  BN Author Page:  Tule Publishing page:

Recovered!

Thanks to everyone for your feedback on the Cooking Up A Seduction cover. I've listened! The new cover is bright and fun, just like the story. It's so nice to be able to change a cover that's not working.

I do love leggy covers, and thought the kitchen would be a great idea. But this one is so much more 'me', don't you think?

Cooking Up A Seduction Virtural Book Tour

Want to win some book money? Check in on my virtual book tour this week and grab a chance at a $10 gift card. And learn some fun stuff about Cooking Up A Seduction ::

Monday ~
Ramblings From A Chaotic Mind
Provocative Pages

Tuesday ~

Night Owl Reviews

Erzabet's Enchantments

Romantic Reads and Such

 

Wednesday ~

My Favorite Things

Ramblings of a Book Lunatic (review)
Julie Kenner's Hump Day Book Reccomendations

 

Thursday ~

Roxanne’s Realm

 

Friday ~

Christina McKnight

Corazones Literarios (review)

 

April 14

Pembroke Sinclair  (interview)

Imagine a World (review)

 

 

Idea Botique Redux :: Cooking Up a Seduction

Dieting does it to me every time. I was starving. Famished. Ravenous. I couldn’t stuff my face with decadent delectables, so I decided to write about them instead. Only I read cookbooks like they are novels, so I needed more than tasty treats. Sensual fun, or course. I mean, what else do I write? Combining the two I found some suggestive vegetable photos, and had another element. Then the woman who could embody all of these things came to me, the owner of Come For Dinner catering, Lauren Brody. Smart, confident, and willing to try anything once, she’d need someone strong and determined to match her.

I spend hours just daydreaming about my characters, usually while the babes run screaming around a playground. I can ‘work’ and keep both eyes on them. Not to shabby. Lauren grew in my mind, her backstory blossoming, but it wasn’t until I read an article about biotechnology investing that Cameron started to sprout. Cameron was intense, walled off, but he left a door open through his music, and a music in his responsible approach to being a venture capitalist.

With a to-die-for menu mapped out, I set them onto the page. They sparked from their first meeting. With the backdrop of the holiday season and a few naughty treats, Lauren and Cameron blended together beautifully. I had a grand time waltzing them through mouth-watering dinners, stylish restaurants, and tantalizing deserts. For me, the book came together fluidly, the characters leading the way to a delicious finale.

What a Bride Wants by Kelly Hunter Book Blast

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kelly will be awarding a $20 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour. Remember, the more you comment, the better your chances to win.

What a bride wants…

Ella Grace Emerson adores her father, but he keeps trying to marry her off to every eligible rancher in Montana. When he puts an ad in the paper on her behalf – for a docile house-husband – Ella retaliates with one of her own, pinned to the noticeboard of the local saloon. No husband required, housebroken or otherwise. What she wants is the perfect lover.

What a bride needs…

Newcomer Cam Sawyer is perfectly willing to tear up the sheets with Ella and be her partner in chaos. She wants a bad boy and he’s had experience aplenty. But what she really needs is a strong and loving partner, and until Sawyer stops running from his past he can never be that.

Sawyer’s the one Ella wants. But can he be the man she needs?

Now enjoy an excerpt:

Jo snatched for the Copper Mountain Courier at the same time Ella did. Ella got there first and wore Jo’s slender body slamming up against her side a heartbeat later.

“Oh, look,” Jo said helpfully. “A picture of you. And it’s a good one.”

“Color too,” Mardie pointed out. “Only colored ad on the page. Makes it pop.”

“Make it stop,” muttered Ella as Mardie hastened away, trying to disguise her smile.

The heading on the ad was arresting.

DOCILE HOUSE HUSBAND WANTED

They read in silence. Moments later, Jo’s hand crept up to cover her mouth.

“If you laugh—” Ella threatened darkly. At which point her sweet and ever loving childhood companion did a mighty fine impression of someone about to cough up a cow.

It was a full one minute and thirty-seven seconds before Jo could even speak. “I’m not laughing. I was choking.”

“Have you read down further?”

Jo nodded vigorously. “I particularly like the bit about him needing to be able to cook, clean, iron, keep a tidy house, and raise well-mannered, obedient children.”

“And the rest?”

“Well, who wouldn’t want a man who’s committed to due diligence, the greater good, and sparkling silverware?”

Ella drained her drink in one long swallow and signaled for another. “I’m going to kill him.”

Accidentally educated in the sciences, Kelly Hunter didn't think to start writing romances until she was surrounded by the jungles of Malaysia for a year and didn't have anything to read. Eventually she decided that writing romance suited her far better than throwing sterile screw-worm flies out of airplane windows, and changed careers.

Kelly now lives in Australia, surrounded by lush farmland and family, 2 dogs, 3 miniature cows, a miniature pig, a 3-legged cat and a small flock of curious chickens. There are still flies, but their maggots don’t feed on flesh. Bargain.

Kelly is a USA Today bestselling author, a three time Romance Writers of America RITA finalist and loves writing to the short contemporary romance form.

Visit her at www.kellyhunter.net
Facebook: Twitter: Amazon author page: Barnes and Noble author page:

Thursday 13 :: To-do list

I prefer to write a Done list than a To-do list. So I always sneak a few done things and a few sure things into my list. Because if I'm making a list, I'm completing it :)

1. Burgerville Fundraiser Night (I don't have to make dinner!)
2. Social media check-in (email, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Romance Divas)
3. Errands (pharmacy, taekwondo, returns, library)
4. Blog (told ya I like done items)
5. Write blogs for blog tour (coming next week :))
6. Exercise (walk, clean)
7. Figure out why the new Maytag repairman looks so familiar (Colin Ferguson - he's make LOTS of TV movies)
8. Do the family calendar for April
9. Nik & Kristen scene (Caribbean Crush)
10. Janny & Kristen scene (Caribbean Crush)
11. Nik & Janny scene (Caribbean Crush)
12. Name the next four Happily Bedded Bliss titles (I thought I did this already, but I can't find it)
13. Look for another new bridesmaid dress.