Monday, May 31, 2010

Happy Memorial Day

Wendi allowed us to infiltrate her blog for today since we are all in the military.

Seth, Cade and I aren't men of many words (Well, they aren't but I love to chatter, but that't besides the point.), but we wanted to remind everyone to take a moment today to thank God and everyone in the military for your freedom. It takes guts to defend our country, but we do it without a second thought.

And to our brethern missing or lost... you are not forgotten.

POW_changing images Pictures, Images and Photos

Thanks,

Seth - Air National Guard
Cade - ret. Air Force
Rhett - Air Force

Saturday, May 29, 2010

I got my first review!

I got my very first review for Learning How to Bend. You can read it here.

Or right here:

Title: Learning How to Bend
Author: Wendi Zwaduk
Publisher: Total-E-Bound Publications
Publication Date: 2010
ISBN: 978-0-85715-130-8
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 33 pages
Rating: 3.5 Diamonds
Heat Level: Spicy
Other: Self-play, Light bondage, ménage
Reviewer: S. K. Fero
Date: 5-29-10

This is a second chance at love story, about a man and his wife trying to find their way back to the love they’d once had.

Separated by Seth’s career in the military and by the atrocities he faced first hand in Iraq, their marriage is tested. Things are said that aren’t meant. Hearts are nearly broken. But can Abby give up on the man she loves? Can she believe the lies she’d been told by a supposed friend of his? Abby decides to take a chance on doing something both intriguing to her and a fantasy of his: a one-time ménage with her husband another friend of his. But will it save their marriage? Or hurt it even more?

The characters are fairly well developed and the conflicts believable. The ménage scene is fairly good. For a quick story, it is a decent read.

My Book was Reviewed by Got Erotic Romance! Reviews

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Mysti Holiday - An Author You Gotta Read!



My dear friend, Mysti Holiday is here at the blog. Let's give her a warm welcome!

Her book, Shut Up and Kiss Me is brand spankin' new from The Wild Rose Press.



Thanks to Wendi for having me today! Her mission for me (and I chose to accept it) was this:

You say you wrote “Shut Up and Kiss Me” on a dare. Tell us about the dare and anything else you've been dared to do. Is there a certain dare out there that you'd never do? One you want to try and never got the chance?

Shut Up and Kiss Me was indeed written on a dare with my writing partner, Kealie Shay. We’re both insanely busy people with work and family taking up a huge chunk of time. Some days it was just impossible to engage our muses and put pen to paper. So – we challenged each other to write a complete story of at least 7500 words in two days. Sounded crazy, sounded impossible and I don’t think either of us thought we could do it.

But we did. Both of us. Kealie’s Appearances, which she’s currently editing, was her end result of that challenge, and my Shut Up and Kiss Me was mine. I polished it up nice and shiny and sent it in – it was my first official erotic romance so I wasn’t expecting a contract. Apparently, no one mentioned that to my editor, who liked my voice and had faith in my ability. The rest is history.

But you wanted to know about other dares – ones I wouldn’t do and ones I want to try...

Of course I have them. I mean, who hasn’t played a little Truth or Dare in their lives? I had some crazy times when I was in my twenties, times that I seldom discuss now that I’m all grown up and responsible.

For instance, take the time I was dating a man 15 years my senior. He was not only older than me, he was quite wealthy and loved the finer things in life. He also had some difficulty with the idea of black and white when it came to business, far preferring all those lovely shades of gray.

He once asked me to make a list of places I’d love to have sex, but was afraid to. I think his idea was to help me check them off, one by one. I had things like:

· In a hotel elevator

· Under a table at a wedding reception

· In the Louvre

· In a movie theater

· In Central Park

· In a moving car while one of us was driving

While none of these things came to pass, they have sparked my imagination for my stories and I’m willing to bet that at least a couple of these will show up in a story sooner or later.

He also decided he was going to start a very upscale escort service with men and women. He wanted me to partner with him, and offered as incentive the opportunity to “interview” the male escorts (did I mention he wasn’t the jealous type?). As tempting as that job was ... I declined the offer. And, I also broke things off with him, discovering that I wasn’t so fond of those gray shades after all.

Still, he made me realize that being a sexual person wasn’t a bad thing or something to be ashamed of. I admit to preferring monogamous relationships (much to the delight and relief of my husband), but that doesn’t mean sex has to be boring.

Maybe I’ll share that list with my hubby... I bet he’d be game for at least some of them. We live quite a distance from Central Park and the Louvre, but we have wilderness and museums here. *winks*

What about you? What are some things you were dared to do, but didn’t and wish you had? What are some things you were dared to do ... and DID? What was the outcome? I’d love to see what kinds of crazy other people have indulged in.

Hee hee, now you know I'm pals with you, Kealie, Megan, and Jenny Kat, over there at MA, so I'm game for more or less any dare, too.

Here's her blurb and excerpt for Shut Up and Kiss Me. You can click on the cover for the buy link and the banner for the link to follow her tour!

Blurb:

Kasey Davenport and Cole Roberts—adversaries since junior high when Cole did nothing but pull her hair, snap her bra strap and tease her mercilessly—find themselves unexpectedly thrown together when Kasey is in town on a layover. As always, sparks fly between them, but this time the attraction simmering close to the surface explodes into a passion neither of them expected or wanted.

After years of mutual avoidance and denying their attraction, can Kasey and Cole stop arguing long enough to discover if what they feel will last more than just one night?

Excerpt:

“Look,” he said. “You can stay. I’m on call this week anyway and working a million hours. I probably won’t be around much.”

“Still working for the nuthouse?” she taunted.

“The psychiatric hospital, yes. I’m nearly done with my residency.”

“Ooh...then you’ll officially be Dr. Jerk.” She got to her feet, and tipped her head back to see his face. She was normally at least eye level to a man, but Cole had more than his fair share of inches. She wondered if he had more than his fair share of inches somewhere else, too. Her tongue darted out to moisten her suddenly dry lips and her gaze slipped down to his zipper.

“You’re going to want to stop doing that, Kase.” Cole’s voice rumbled low in his throat.

“Doing what, Cole?” She was less than a foot from the man and her fingers itched to grab hold of him and yank that body against hers—a desire she’d had since she found out just how much fun a man’s cock could be. Maybe even before then.

“Looking like you’re ready to have me for dinner.”

His hands squeezed into tight fists at his side, and she was amazed to find quite a bulge in the front of his jeans. For her? He’d never shown the slightest bit of interest before, but there was no mistaking his interest now. Maybe it was time to dance with the devil.

“Mmm...now that you mention it, I am hungry.” A slow smile lifted the corners of her mouth and she raised her gaze from his crotch to his eyes—brown eyes so intense they nearly pierced a hole straight through to her heart. There was no denying her desire, or his. “Care to feed me?”

Want to know more about Mysti Holiday? Go to the Menagerie Authors Blog and the Menagerie Authors Site.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Mysti Holiday - An Author I Know and So Should You!


Hi! Tomorrow, my dear friend Mysti Holiday stops by the blog to talk about her new work, Shut Up and Kiss Me. Now, I have to admit, I did get to read this one early and it was totally worth the read. It's a Scarlet Rose story from the Wild Rose Press and you can get it here.

Want the blurb?
Here you go:

Kasey Davenport and Cole Roberts—adversaries since junior high when Cole did nothing but pull her hair, snap her bra strap and tease her mercilessly—find themselves unexpectedly thrown together when Kasey is in town on a layover. As always, sparks fly between them, but this time the attraction simmering close to the surface explodes into a passion neither of them expected or wanted.

After years of mutual avoidance and denying their attraction, can Kasey and Cole stop arguing long enough to discover if what they feel will last more than just one night?

Wicked hot!

Want an excerpt?

Here you go:

“Look,” he said. “You can stay. I’m on call this week anyway and working a million hours. I probably won’t be around much.”

“Still working for the nuthouse?” she taunted.

“The psychiatric hospital, yes. I’m nearly done with my residency.”

“Ooh...then you’ll officially be Dr. Jerk.” She got to her feet, and tipped her head back to see his face. She was normally at least eye level to a man, but Cole had more than his fair share of inches. She wondered if he had more than his fair share of inches somewhere else, too. Her tongue darted out to moisten her suddenly dry lips and her gaze slipped down to his zipper.

“You’re going to want to stop doing that, Kase.” Cole’s voice rumbled low in his throat.

“Doing what, Cole?” She was less than a foot from the man and her fingers itched to grab hold of him and yank that body against hers—a desire she’d had since she found out just how much fun a man’s cock could be. Maybe even before then.

“Looking like you’re ready to have me for dinner.”

His hands squeezed into tight fists at his side, and she was amazed to find quite a bulge in the front of his jeans. For her? He’d never shown the slightest bit of interest before, but there was no mistaking his interest now. Maybe it was time to dance with the devil.

“Mmm...now that you mention it, I am hungry.” A slow smile lifted the corners of her mouth and she raised her gaze from his crotch to his eyes—brown eyes so intense they nearly pierced a hole straight through to her heart. There was no denying her desire, or his. “Care to feed me?”

Yup, you gotta come back tomorrow. See you then.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

I'm a Vampire... Did Anyone Tell Megan?




You Are a Vampire



You are charming, sensual, and even a bit manipulative.

You can't help but get people to do what you want.



You have sharp senses and a strong predatory instinct.

You go after what you want, without mercy.



While you have the heart of a killer, many people are drawn to you.

You are elegant, timeless, and mysterious. You are the ultimate fantasy object.




Huh,

wonder if anyone told megan?

Monday, May 17, 2010

NEWS!

I have some big news to share. I found out that my vampire story, My Immortal will be coming out not next year, but in August! August 30th. I am so excited.

I have some other news, but I want to wait to get things finalized a bit more before shouting. It drives me crazy when people say, "I might be". I know, things happen and things come up to ruin plans, but... I see it a lot in kids and immature adults.

"I might be moving to Tulsa."
"I might get that job."
"I might be going shopping tomorrow."

Just say, I am or I will be.... BE FINITE!

So for that reason, until things are a bit firmer (and you all know how I like firm things....*g*)then I'll share.

Til then, toodles and happy reading.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Is It Wrong?

This probably won't be a long post. I'm getting some quiet time and want to use it wisely. If you haven't guessed by now, I'm a champion at finding goofy things to take up time instead of the things I should be doing.

So what's wrong?

I found myself watching Forrest Gump for about the hundreth time. There are moments when I'd like to wring Jen-ny's neck, but that's me. But I was talking about wrong...

SPOILER ALERT

I'm watching the ending and I'm smiling along with Forrest when he finds out he's a daddy. Then, when they get married and Lt. Dan shows up, I'm laughing that he's got magic legs. But every darned time, I bawl like a baby when he's sitting at Jenny's grave and talking to her. Then there's the very end when he sends little Forrest to school for the first time. Yeah, I cry.

Now I'm wonderingif it's normal to shake my head, laugh, and interact with the movie like I'm PART of the movie. I mean, I know the filmmaker wants the audience to react. Sometimes I think I get way more into the movies than some do.

But then again, isn't that the point to writing? Well one of them, anyway. To get the reader to feel what the characters feel and to experience the story as if they were there, too.

I haven't gotten more than one review of my work, and I hope that's how the readers feel when they read my stuff. I'd love to know, so I know how to work on my work to make it more powerful and enjoyable for the reader.

Are there any stories that really made you think? Laugh? Cry? I'd love to know.

So I'll go back to my TV show and my putzing around. I have a story to marinate a bit logner anyway.

Toodles for now.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

A Thanks, A Join Me, and A WINNER!

What am I doing... blogging, and working out the first draft of a new story... a contemp that's got a country musician in it.... on the iPod: Brilliant Disguise...*sigh* I love the classics...

First of all, thanks to everyone who followed me on my blog tour. It was a great success and I loved every minute. I got the most comments on The Bibliophilic Book Blog, My Reading Addiction, and Helen's Heroes. I want to thank Goddess Fish for doing a fab job setting up and mediating the tour. You ladies rock.

Now on to the WINNER!!!! Now because I tend to comment back to everyone who commented to me... I put all the names --minus mine-- from the three blogs into a hat and the winner is......

Tracey - booklover0226!!!!!

Congrats Tracey!

And last but not least, the join me. I'm chatting over at the Long and Short of It's Yahoo group today. Want to join me? I'd love to have you! Here's the link.

And yesterday I was the featured interview. Want to read it before you chat? Here's the link for that, too

Toodles for now!

Monday, May 10, 2010

I'm a Busy Girl Today... Follow Me!

I'm gonna be busy today, so try to keep up!

First: I'm at Lisa Leibow's blog for the last stop on my tour. http://llleibow.com/blog/

Looking forward to it.

My interview is up today at Long and Short of It Reviews:
http://www.longandshortreviews.com/LASR/interviews.htm

And my dear friend Kiss Carson added me to her blog as well. Here's the link: www.romantix10.blogspot.com

Stop by at any of the places. It's sure to be a hoot!

Toodles.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

When A Writer Goes Bad...

Hooked you didn't I? That was the point. But you knew that.

The job of the writer is to hook the reader. No reader, then no need for the book. Right?

I've found though, that through reading extensively, writing, and reviewing, I'm becoming a book snob.

That sounds horrible, but it's not meant to. What I mean is that by reading and seeing an extensive amount of work, I'm getting more picky and irritated by little things that never would've bothered me before.

Like? Head hopping. I just finished a book that was made into a movie. Honestly, the movie was better and I don't normally say that. Honest. I'm more of the read the book and chuck the movie type. But I was talking about this book. So I read it thinking it was going to be a great story. Um, no. The perspective of the storyteller was (I think) third person, but there were times when it wasn't clear (I was in both characters relative perspective at the same time) and others where it was omnipotent. Talk about frustrating. By the end, I was so meh about it, that when the super emotional part came. I wasn't invested in it. And that's sad. I should've been on the edge of my seat. No.

Another story was really great, but very... telling. All the times when I wanted her to show me what was happening, no. X said this. Y did that. W did this then said that. Invest me in the story! Make me feel what the characters are feeling and see things through their eyes.

So back to being snobby. I love my romance stories, and the erotica, and I actually love MM stories. I'm a sucker for a good biography, especially if it's Old Hollywood. I like my vampire stories and ones that pull me in a direction I might not go. So I guess I'm not a snob. I won't just NOT read a story because, 'it's not a genre I like'.

Back to the movie that isn't living up to the hype and other things that need done. I should be writing. I'm not. I will later.

Toodles.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Follow me to You Gotta Read!

The tour's almost over, but not quite. Where am I? Good question. I'm at You Gotta Read Blog. Come check it out and make sure you comment to increase your chances to win!

See you there!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Whirlwind Week

I'd probably have more to said if I wasn't so pooped. It's been a long weekend and I really need a break. Between parties, trying to remember my chores, and getting in a bit of writing, I'm tapped out.

But I wanted to share something pretty darned cool. My good friend Ashley Ladd had me as a guest on her blog. I planned to have heron my blog this week, but with the craziness of the rest of the week, I plum forgot to send her questions. I'll do that this week. But the cool thing is that we had a dual release date on April 19th. She's the one who told me to go to Total E Bound and submit stories. She believed in me and my work when I was in a down turn. To have my first release with TEB coincide with one of hers was awesome.

To add cool to the coolness, I spent time on her blog this past Friday, and I teased her, that maybe one day I'd be cool enough to be featured as one of the authors at the end of her posts. I'm still new in this business, so really, it was more of a one day I'll be cool like you kinda moment for me. She ADDED ME to the list. I didn't want her to feel beholden, but honestly, when I saw i was on there, it was surreal. When I was added to the list on Menagerie Authors it was just as cool.

Okay, well thanks to Ash for adding me and believing. You're a great pal.