Monday Moans ~ Right Where I Need to Be

Moans are always so much fun. This one is sort of from the vault. It's been out a while, but I love these characters, so I had to share.

Right Where I Need to Be

Contemporary
Novel
Wild Rose Press
Available here!

Logan Malone needs an acting job and fast. With his string of broken hearts, his professional life lies in shambles. To resurrect his career, he must audition for a television role which could be the job of a lifetime.

Cass Jenson needs an actor for her made for TV movie. The previous actor dropped out, leaving her stranded. Her savior shows up looking sinfully sexy and totally right for the part, but what part is she auditioning him for - her movie or her bed?

(Pages 298) Hot

And now for that moan!! “I’ll get your water, but know this Logan Malone: don’t hurt her or I will hurt you. That’s a promise and a threat.” With that, Les stepped off the porch and disappeared around the corner of the garage.

Cass propped her chin on her knuckles. “Care to sit? You did work hard.”

Logan eased down next to her on the concrete step. He bumped her shoulder with his own. “I know where I’d like you to sit,” he mumbled.

Cass threw her head back and laughed. “You know how long it’s been since I heard that line?”

Logan shared her humor. “You can’t blame me for trying.”

Her laughter subsided as she watched him. “Thank you.”

He felt a camaraderie building and bumped her shoulder again. “That was a dirty trick, you know.”

Cass bit the corner of her mouth. “I know.”

Those two words resonated through his soul. She played his games with ease and intended to win. She brushed her hair away from her face.

“So where’s the water? I’m parched.” He grabbed his chest over-dramatically and slumped against her. “And fading fast.”

Cass playfully punched his thigh. “You are not, drama king,” she shot back. “We don’t have valets here in Crawford so you’re temporarily out of luck.”

Logan laughed until his chest hurt. “I need to learn how to get what I want on my own. I think this was lesson number one.”

She patted his knee, but her hand lingered a bit too long. “Good call.” She glanced at him and then at the ground before standing up. He reached out to touch the perfect globes of her ass, but recoiled. Don’t scare her.

“Cass?”

She paused without turning around. “I’m putting the tractor away. Do you need something?”

Logan opened his mouth. You naked and in my bed teetered on the tip of his tongue. “A shower?” Was that all he could muster? Wow. He left the lion’s share of his smoothness on the plane.

Cass hopped aboard the mower. “You do ask for a lot, but I owe you.” She started the engine. “Les will show you where the guest bathroom is.”

Before he could answer, she drove off. Yes. A shower gave him time in her house. Now…to breach her defenses and melt the ice surrounding her heart.

Sunday Snog ~ Right Where I Need to Be

This week for my Sunday Snog, I thought I'd shine a spotlight on my first novel, Right Where I Need to Be. Thanks to Victoria Blisse for having the Sunday Snogs. This is so much fun. Click here or on the banner for more snogs. Now on to that Snog of mine!

Right Where I Need to Be Wild Rose Press Contemp Spicy, m/f Novel Available here!

Logan Malone needs an acting job and fast. With his string of broken hearts, his professional life lies in shambles. To resurrect his career, he must audition for a television role which could be the job of a lifetime.

Cass Jensen needs an actor for her made for TV movie. The previous actor dropped out, leaving her stranded. Her savior shows up looking sinfully sexy and totally right for the part, but what part is she auditioning him for - her movie or her bed?

It's snoggin' time! “There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” he replied and sat on the edge of the bed. Wary, she took a step back. “Ah. You’re only staying one night. We don’t need to get intimate.”

He cocked his head. “You know you want to.”

“Don’t go there. I’ll get you an extra pillow and blanket.”

“For you?”

She wrinkled her brows. “Nope. I’m a loner.”

“I want to tell you something.”

Cass stiffened and narrowed her eyes. She could see the wheels turning in his mind. Knowing Logan as little as she did, she had no idea what he thought. The dogs whined behind her. Something felt off.

“It’s not bad, I promise.”

“Oh, sure.”

“When I’m around you, I’m tongue-tied because I want you to like me.”

She knotted her fingers together, mostly because she didn’t know what else to do with them rather than reach for him. She turned away. When did the air in the room get so blasted thin and warm? “I see.”

“Do you?”

His words washed over her like a waterfall. She wanted to give in, but if she touched him, she’d never be able to pull away. She turned back around. “Logan this can’t—”

He stood inches from her. His eyes flashed just as he lowered his lips to hers. A warm rush flowed from her brain all the way to her toes. She felt sparks radiate from his fingertips as he twined them with hers. A moan escaped her throat. Oh, he tasted too good to walk away from.

But in that instant, he pulled back. “That’s just a sampling,” he murmured. “We could continue all night long, if you desire.”

Cass swallowed hard. His erection jabbed into her stomach. Maybe she could turn a man on after all. More thunder crashed, spooking the dog.

“I’d better go,” she whispered.

Logan nodded. “I’ll be here if you need me.”

Late Monday Moan ~ Right Where I Need to Be

I'm late getting this week's Monday Moan up because well, I went to sleep last night after practically running all weekend long. Don't get me wrong, I had fun. I'll be posting about my weekend in a day or two (check on Wednesday), but right now is about the Moan! Right Where I Need to Be
The Wild Rose Press
Contemp, novel, m/f
hot
Available here!

Logan Malone needs an acting job and fast. With his string of broken hearts, his professional life lies in shambles. To resurrect his career, he must audition for a television role which could be the job of a lifetime.

Cass Jensen needs an actor for her made for TV movie. The previous actor dropped out, leaving her stranded. Her savior shows up looking sinfully sexy and totally right for the part, but what part is she auditioning him for - her movie or her bed?

Temporarily forgetting her visitor, she opened the door to the ice-blue guest room. “What the…” Her jaw dropped. There in all his naked glory, totally at ease and unaware, stood Logan Malone. He grabbed her fuchsia towel and wrapped it around his toned buns. Her mouth watered. She willed her heart to stop thudding so loud.

He turned slowly, giving her a tantalizing view of his sculpted back and legs. “Hi.”

Cass snapped her jaw shut. How did the man pull off casual in such a heavy situation? She spouted the first thing that popped into her head. “You always parade around in pink towels?” Oh crap. That sounded stupid.

He dipped his head. A wicked smile curled the corner of his mouth. Cass tried not to fan herself. Did the heat kick on? “I prefer blue or green, but I make do with what’s available.” He winked. “Enjoying the view?”

She nodded and licked her lips. Enjoying? Try having one of the most exciting daydreams of her life. “Well, then Mr. Pink. I’ll let you get dressed. I hate interruptions.” She turned to leave.

“Cass?”

She froze. The sound of rustling came from the room. “My manly blue towels are in the wash.” Forcing her feet to move, she stepped down the hallway and took a deep breath. At least she had a centerfold image to fantasize about later. She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, there stood Logan in nothing but unsnapped blue jeans. The hunter green elastic of his boxers showed above the open zipper. A sprinkling of crisp hair led down into the V of his faded denim. Desperately reigning in her desire to marvel at his body, she redirected her attention to his face. “What do you want?”

Logan licked his lips. His eyes burned with flecks of amber and sage. She couldn’t look away from his intensity. Her cheeks flushed. He said only one word. “You.”

Happy Belated-Mother's Day

I thought I'd stop by and do the Monday Moans post today, since I'm a mom. My child is the light of my life and is the culmination of my relationship with Logan. Julian is my second child and it was a very difficult time. My first child, Josh, was an angel. I love him but I wasn't allowed much time with him. I miss him every day.

I didn't think I'd have the chance to be a mom again, not until I met Logan. He made me smile and proved to me love can come around even when you're sure it's never coming back.

I know, I sound really depressing and I'm supposed to be celebrating Mother's Day. Being a mom is a special thing. You get to watch the person (or animal) grow and change. It's pretty cool to know you're helping that person/critter become a more mature person. I love the smiles, the giggles, and even the tears. Being a mom is a pretty heady experience.

So to all those moms out there, be it animal moms, kid moms, grammoms, adoptive moms...you have my gratitude. You all rock!!

--Cass Jensen

Ten Things You Didn't Know About Right Where I Need to Be

I thought I'd continue my Ten Things posts and hit my first novel, Right Where I Need to Be. This one is from The Wild Rose Press.

10. This isn't the first novel I'd ever written. It's actually the fifth.

9. The original title was going to be The Boys of Crawford County: Logan.


8. Ray had a bigger role in the original book. But I thought it would make more sense (and so did Kiss Carson) to give him his own story.

7. There's a secondary character named Speedle. I watched way too much CSI: Miami at the time.



6. The book went only to The Wild Rose Press.

5. I wrote this book on my husband's PC at night after the family went to bed because it was the only quiet time I had at the time.

4. I listened to a ton of Gary Allan at the time, but the title has a little more symbolism than that. Dh is a pilot and if you watch the video for Right Where I Need to Be by Gary Allan, there is a plane in it.

3. I saw Gary Allan in concert at the House of Blues the week I subbed the story.

2. Writing Dex Rose's character actually made me angry and his actions made me cry while writing. He pushed the line and I hoped his anger and issues translated into the book well.

1. I polished it over Christmas and nearly didn't submit it because I thought it wasn't ready. Guess I was wrong.


Here's the blurb:

Logan Malone needs an acting job and fast. With his string of broken hearts, his professional life lies in shambles. To resurrect his career, he must audition for a television role which could be the job of a lifetime.
Cass Jensen needs an actor for her made for TV movie. The previous actor dropped out, leaving her stranded. Her savior shows up looking sinfully sexy and totally right for the part, but what part is she auditioning him for - her movie or her bed?

Monday Moans!

Monday, Monday...

Wendi asked us who wanted to chatter today. I thought, why not? I write characters, too, so this blog post should be simple. Right? Easy peasy... A cinch...

Not quite.

I'm Cass Jensen. I write romance for a living. I'm no Nora Roberts, but I get by. I had one of my books translated into a film for television. Thought that was gonna be an easy thing, too. Nope. After writing parts for the actors, which a couple took liberties with, and trying to create a world for them to play out the parts of Sophie and Jonathan, I found out that writing a screenplay and working with actors is a pain in the butt.

Not to mention when said actors are persistant. Tell them no and it's like whipping out a starting pistol to go, go, go! No means yes, and yes means right now.

At least the actor was nice to look at. Muscles, tight buns, and those eyes. Sheesh. A girl could get lost in those. And did I mention he was good with his hands? No, I didn't--cuz that's too much information.

But I love him so I guess it was worth it.

Not much of a moan or a post, but hey, I never said blogging was my forte.

Enjoy!

Friday Flirts

So... it's Friday again. I have lots in the works and little of it completed. Not enough time in the day.

My Immortal comes out at the end of the month and Gypsy is dying (pardon the pun) for her own story. She claims she needs love like anyone else. So... I plot with her help.

You'llm Think of Me comes out November 22, and already, Rhett wants a story. Now I'm pretty sure I said he did before, but he's begun screaming in my head.

And lastly, Please Remember Me the working title for the follow-up to Logan and Cass's story--Jade gets a starring role, is written, but in desperate need of attention. But if you can find me the time, I'll gladly take it.

So much for now.

Toodles!

Monday Moans!!!

Hel-lo ladies and gentlemen. Wendi gave me carte blanche to post on her blog today.

Give it up for.... Logan Malone!

Okay, so yes, I'm a bit of a showman. I made six motion pictures before I took a temporary respite to be with my bride. Oh, and there were the seven television shows I starred in (or guest starred or happened to show up without getting mentioned). I like the spotlight, but I'd rather put my celeb status to good use.

What am I doing now?

Funny you should ask (or be prompted). I am working with my good friend Ray to promote his race team. Ever see a late model race on dirt? If you haven't, you should. if you have, go again. I love me some dirt racing.

Where else can you see me? My good buddy Vinnie Joel wanted Cass and me in his music video. I've never been in a music video, so it's a whole new experience. Plus, I can't wait to be on camera with Cass. *sigh* She's my heart and soul.

Oh, but you don't want to see me mushy.

Well, before I go, I'm featured in a photo spread for Delish magazine. She may be the bane of my existence, but Jade asked nicely.

Have fun and go see a dirt race. You won't be disappointed.

~~Logan

The Men Take Over

Hee hee hee... I begged Wendi to let us play on the blog today since she's busy. Muwhahaha, she has no idea what her heroes are up to.

So, who are we? You've met me, but I love to talk and show off. Logan Malone's the name, charming is my game... but my one true love is Cass Jensen.

On my left is Seth Donovan. He's not much of a talker, but he's a good guy. He fixes C-130's. I've never been in one other than to walk through, but it sounds freaking cool.

On his left is his buddy Nate Waterford. He owns THE BEST pizza shop in Ohio, Besta Pizza Around. But I'll let them talk.

Seth: I have no idea what to say. Give me a wrench and I'm good. Better yet, give me my wife, Abby and I'm golden. Nate, come take this...

Nate: Hiya. Sorry Seth, I know you're not happy in the spotlight. But I am. So what'cha want to know? I work part time as a lawyer and most of my time chasing a sexy romance writer around my restaurant... Wendi? No, sorry, I love her dearly, but my heart belongs to Courteney. I have to help Courteney realize that I love her. Ah... but it'll happen. I can feel it. Now, we aren't the only three here. Logan's dying to take control, but I won't let him. Ha! I'll pass this on to Cade and Rhett. Like Seth, Cade's not much of a talker, but Rhett? He'll yak your ear off.

Cade: Hi... I'm not sure what to say. I love my nascar and watching my girl, Melanie take pictures. She's good at capturing people at ease and making them look pretty.

Logan: Hee hee, you said pretty. I didn't think you had a soft bone on your body.

Cade: They look nice. Dammit, Rhett, take over. I'm out.

Rhett: Excuse my pal. He's not good with crowds. If its possible for a guy to be a wallflower, it's Cade. Now me? I love women, all women. He's the type to settle down. Me? Never! Not where there is a great big ole world full of beautiful girls and one of me. (Wriggling brows). Hey, girls like my tats and my muscles, why let them down? They don't want pretty boys like Logan or billion-dollar boys like Nate. Pftft.

Nate and Logan: Them's fightin' words.

Rhett: Nah, takes too much effort from the chase. When that one woman who may exist wants to tie me down, I'll make it worth her while to finally catch me.

Logan: We'd have invited Storm, but he's sleeping right now. Something about having to recharge his batteries. Says he's a vampire, but I've never seen the fangs and I've known him for over two years. (Shrugs) Oh well.
Ack! I see Wendi coming. I know, she said we could play, but I know she doesn't want us to fight.

Gotta go!

Bye from all the boys!

I Feel Like Where's Waldo, but Its Fun!

Try to find me today. Where am I? I'm at the Fickle Fan blog! Come join me and put your name in the hat for a copy of RWINtB or LHtB.

It's My Turn

Logan and Seth told me this is a great place to stop. Logan claims there are some good looking girls. Seth, well, he doesn't say much unless you want to talk airplanes.

Me? Well, I can't give you many details. Most of what I do is classified. Why? Well, I have this gift. I can shift. Into what? That's classified. (But no, I won't cause bodily harm and, no, I won't tell you.) But I like to talk sometimes. I've seen a lot of the world. I love my family and deal with my fiancee's family. They can't accept what they don't understand. But then there's my Jamie. She gets me when no one else does. She's my rock. And she's a damn fine kisser. But those are a few more details than I should divulge.

I was asked what my ideal woman would be if I didn't have my Jamie. If she left me? Honest? I'd probably immerse myself in my work. If she walked away, then I'd know I was the cause. Sound sappy? Who gives a fuck. If she passed before me? I'd be a lonely man, but I'd never take another. My bond with Jamie is unique to us. She's it for me and I am damned lucky.

I'm sorry if I didn't entertain you like Logan. He's suave, but he's full of himself. I guess I'm more like Seth, but there's nothing wrong with the strong and silent type.

Take it easy, value your freedom, and pray for the troops.

A-ha! I got in!

So this is blogging...hmmm...

Wendi said I shouldn't twiddle with her blog, but sometimes you just gotta get your message out there.

You may be wondering who I am. If you don't know by now--and you should--I'm Logan Malone. You probably saw me in Blood Rites, Shakermaker, or the romantic made for television movie Broken Wheels and Broken Hearts. Oh and I was raked number three on the Hottest Bachelors of Hollywood list by Delish Magazine.

Don't remember those? Well, phooey. Never saw the list? Better go find it... it was out a couple years ago.

So she told me if I showed up on her blog, I was supposed to talk about the type of women men want. The jerk in me would tell you he wants a woman who's breathing. I told you--he's a jerk.

So what type of woman do I want?

I myself like women who are real--not trying to be someone they aren't. Pop culture tells women that they have to be skinny and endowed to be beautiful.

I disagree.

I'd rather hold a woman with curves. One who takes care of herself, but isn't afraid to have a steak for dinner.

I like women who aren't afraid to laugh and laugh at themselves. I'm a sucker for physical comedy... I'm sorry--if someone falls down--I laugh.

Long hair, the kind I can run my fingers through--big turn-on.

But I'm getting long winded and there's a certain woman I can't wait to bump into. You might have heard of her--Cass Jensen. Oh man! She rocks my dreams, but I'd rather keep that private.

So long for now--unless I decide to break into Wendi's blog again.

Cooperation - That's the Name of the Game

Okay, I wanted to have some great long post today telling of how I managed to get my MS done. Yeah, right. Didn't happen.

Why is it, when you want the characters to cooperate, that's when they decide to do the OPPOSITE? Why?

I want to just say it's because they are men and men don't cooperate when you want them to, but that's too easy. I could say it's because they are human and who cooperates 100% of the time? Sorry, not I. (Shocker to find that out, huh?).

Well, I'm not sure why and I'm giving up worrying about it for now. I had two wise people tell me not to force the story, to let it write itself... okay, okay... I'm doing that. Maybe I've been hitting it way too hard lately... maybe not hard enough... I don't know.

I'm going back to my bat cave to stew about next week's Law and Order and to try to write something...

Where Do You Find Your Leading Men?

I wanted to post a short blog about where I find my leading men. Some get hung up on movie stars, others on television stars. Some find their man of the hour in music videos and up-and-coming bands.

Where do you get your ideas?

For me, my hero can come out of actors on television (Jeremy Sisto is a fave) and the occasional musician (Keith Anderson, anyone?). But I have found my heroes embodied in people I see on the street, like at the hardware store, at the Dairy Queen, or in the local hay field (did I mention my fondness for farmers?).

I use this rule, just because he looks yummy, doesn't mean his personality is. Just because his personality is stellar doesn't automatically cross him off the list of hero potentials.

Oh and one thing I love to do, is take the one character on a show or whatever and make him my hero. Is that odd? Probably, but sometimes the antagonist isn't the icky bad guy. I've seen some hunky baddies and I've seen some heroes that made me wonder how he got the job.

I guess what I mean is that a hero is who you make him into. One person can see the guy in a bad light and another can see him as a knight in shining armor. It's up to you to decide how you want to run with your hero.

How do you come up with your heroes? I'd love to hear your ideas and thoughts.

Toodles.

More Tips - Because You Asked for It

Okay, so yeah, I had a flash of that annoying TV announcer voice as I typed the title... Oh well.

I'm a cheeseball and I'm not afraid to admit it.

But onto the tips...

Someone asked me how to get into romance.
Good, yet vague question.
My take (and this is only my opinion, you'll have yours and please do share) is to first, READ. You can't write something you aren't familiar with. I'm not a widely read fantasy connoisseur, so I doubt I'll venture into fantasy romance (unless it's vampires... I'm all about the bite right now). But my point of interest (pardon the pun) is erotica and contemporary romance (the hotter, the better).
Once you start reading (or continue, because you should - my English teacher will gasp here - never not read. Even writers who are well established read the work of their peers and probably whatever else they can get their hands on.

Okay, so you've read a lot and feel ready to write that novel.

First, who are the characters? Whether you're a planner (you have the whole plot outlined to the finest detail) or a pantser (you have no idea where the story is going and let the characters drive), you need to know who is in control. I heard once that you need to know what's in the characters pockets. Now I can't remember who said it (it was a famous writer - for some reason Joyce sticks in my head - if you know, tell me) but I agree 100%. You can have some quirks, who doesn't, but you still have to know the characters you plan on letting take control of your life (Well, it may not be the case, but don't tell them.)

In my first novel, my writer Cass is meek, yet strong and determined. My hero, Logan is full of himself, cocky, and in need of an attitude check. I can tell you, he'd have loose change (pennies and dimes) in his pockets and a smirk on his lips.

Now you know the characters, what are they going to do? What's the plot going to be? If it's romance, well then it's boy meets girl (or vice-versa), boy falls for girl, something bad happens to split boy and girl up, and boy and girl must get back together. Is this a formula? No. A frame of reference... maybe.

Now I have more on this topic, but it's late and I'm getting long winded... so until tomorrow... back to the bat cave... I have blog awards to pass out.

Toodles.

How I Got From There to Here

My friend Marianne blogged about that moment that everything seems to work out and the fabled contract offer is extended. Here's my story.

About 2, maybe 3 years ago, I had this idea for a NASCAR novel. It didn't pan out (As of yet), but it got me writing. While working on that novel, I got an idea for a pompous actor to hook up with a writer who's totally not Hollywood's standard for hot, but her personality makes her outshine the best looking superficials.

Well, I worked and worked on this MS and finally thought it was ready to send to my BF. Not the best idea (and not because she wasn't harsh, she was) but she's one of my close friends. I've known her since high school. Let me tell you, a crit partner is invaluable, but if it's your BF, she or he may tell you it's great when it's not. If you get lucky enough to find one who is honest and blunt - great, but don't count on it.

Then I received a rejection on another work that really needed help, but at the time I had no idea it was that bad off (Again here's where the crit partner helped immensely - she pointed out my lack of crisis in the story). Anyway, I signed up to work with another crit partner. Kathleen worked and worked with me (And made me schedule time to get Right right). It made me focus more and made me believe in the work.

We set a submission date for the first of March, but I got mine done a bit before Kathleen, so I sent mine in a week early. The coolest thing is that I titled the MS Right Where I Need to Be because Logan realizes that Hollywood isn't where he belongs (plus I love Gary Allan), now I got to see Gary Allan in concert the week after I submitted. He sings the song Right Where I Need to Be. HE DID IT IN CONCERT THAT NIGHT! I was so excited! Then he did some of the other songs that I used as inspiration for the novel. I loved it. Plus, that week I got to see my favorite NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer at the Auto Show in Cleveland. How cool!

After a bit of chasing and pestering, I found out that Right went to a real live editor. Even cooler!

Well, I didn't hear anything from anyone for over a month and got worried. I had some bad experiences, so I decided to check into things. On the Friday before Mother's Day, I got the blessed email with the CONTRACT! How awesome.

Since then, I've busted my behind getting ready with edits that were suggested before she really digs into it. I hope these edits help it for later. Don't know because at this point, this is all new to me, but a lot of fun (even when it is difficult).

When did that stroke of luck happen for you? Let me know!