Thank You Thursday - A Review!! Sweet Surrender by Victoria Blisse

I love to give little reviews and tidbits about books I'm reading. Here's the most recent book read.

Sweet Surrender by Victoria Blisse
Total-E-Bound, Lust Bite story
35 pages
Contemporary
M/F, exhibitionism, BDSM

She doesn’t know what she wants but he does.

How do you mend a broken heart?

Helen goes on holiday to Scarborough and meets Tom. He is an attractive local artist who takes Helen on a tour of the sweet seaside town. Tom becomes more than just her guide as his dominant nature brings out her own submissive side and a shared joy of exhibitionism.

When I want super hot romance, there's one author I turn to: Victoria Blisse. Why? Her stories are steamy and sweet while keeping the reader wriggling in their seat. The story flows well and I felt like I was right there with the characters, strolling the beach side. By the time I finished the book, I was ready to go back to the beginning and start again.

Oh sure, I wanted to know more about Tom and Helen, but that's part of the nature of a short story. You won't get all the details. It didn't take away from the story at all and really kept me interested. I wanted to know what would happen next. Tom was a bit of a conundrum because I wasn't sure about him at first. Why was he there? Why'd he choose her? But as I read, Ms. Blisse's pacing worked well in revealing him bit by bit. Helen cracked me up. She knows what she wants and is great at stifling herself. She wants to succumb to Tom. Wants to feel him and yet she holds back. It's great to see how these characters come to terms with themselves and their situations. I loved it.

If you want a steamy read for a chilly night, then you need to read Sweet Surrender.

And Don't Forget to Check out These Awesome Authors: Megan Slayer, Kealie Shay, Menagerie Authors, Jessica Jarman, Devon Rhodes, Ashley Ladd, Linda McMaken, Marianne Arkins, Anne Rainey, KA Mitchell, Mychael Black, and Jenika Snow!

What the? Wednesdays ~ Going to Cincinnati!!!

Yessir, that's right. I'm going to Cincinnati. Not right now. In June! I'm going to the Lori Foster Reader and Author Get Together. It's a great time. You get to meet lots and I mean lots of authors, readers, and get to buy books. Imagine meeting your favorite authors all at one time. But, it's way cheaper than RT or the other conventions. Fifty bucks! Want to meet me or another author? Click here to see the list. Want to talk to publishers like Samhain, Sourcebooks, and Harlequin? You need to go. Want to talk to an agent? Pitch a work? What are you waiting for? You can sign up here.

Can't wait to see you there!

How long is it until June?

And Don't Forget to Check out These Awesome Authors: Megan Slayer, Kealie Shay, Menagerie Authors, Jessica Jarman, Devon Rhodes, Ashley Ladd, Linda McMaken, Cheryl Dragon, Marianne Arkins, Anne Rainey, KA Mitchell, Mychael Black, and Jenika Snow!

Monday Moans

Ever have to admit your deepest fears? I mean, admit to the one thing that will knock you down and it may not be possible to get back up?

I was listening to the radio and "Learning How to Bend" came on. Naturally, I had to crank it up. I'm a man's man, but I do have a softer side. And really, the song is more about working with your partner rather than against. I then found the Gary Allan cd I love and blasted "Just Got Back from Hell". Made me feel a little better.

Oh, you're probably wondering who I am. Sorry. Deputy Marlon Cross. I work at the Jarvis County Sheriff's department in Ohio. I love my job and a certain woman.

But back to my fear. I love being a cop. It's in my blood. It's who I am. I can't begin to imagine not being on the beat, not keeping people safe, and not serving and protecting. But Wendi asked me a ton of questions (aggravating if you ask me), but she asked me a ton of questions and one of them had to do with my greatest accomplishments. Duh, being on the force. I am a cop. That was an easy question. Then she wanted to know about my greatest disappointment and my worst fear. Well, those were harder.

I don't like to admit I'm scared. Imagine being in a situation where a suspect has a gun drawn. You can't show fear. Not at all. So do I have moments when I'm scared? Yes. I won't go into the moment of fear and disappointment, but I came damned close to losing my job. I've said, I'm defined by my job. When things happened that put it in jeopardy, fuck yeah, I was scared. What would I do with myself? Being a bouncer is fun for a month or two, but not long term.

I'd be totally lost.

(*Sigh*)

I'm going to take off for now. I'm not really feeling too talkative all the sudden. I'm sorry this was a downer post. I'll call Logan or maybe Ryan to come over and chatter. They know how to work a room.

Later.

Wendi told me to put this on at the end:
And Don't Forget to Check out These Awesome Authors: Megan Slayer, Kealie Shay, Menagerie Authors, Jessica Jarman, Devon Rhodes, Ashley Ladd, Linda McMaken, Marianne Arkins, Anne Rainey, KA Mitchell, Mychael Black, and Jenika Snow!

Another Review! You'll Think of Me - A Review!

So I opened my emails yesterday, and low and behold, the first review for You'll Think of Me. Pretty nice and lots of lovely compliments. Thanks Virginia!

Here's the review from Coffee Time (or you can read it here):


YOU’LL THINK OF ME
WENDI ZWADUK
ISBN # 978-0-85715-341-8
November 22, 2010
Total-E-Bound Publishing
www.total-e-bound.com
93 Pages
Contemporary
Rating: 4 cups

Melanie Roberts has just about given up hope that the soldier has waited so long for will come home and admit that he loves her and needs her. Not that this puts a damper on her feelings for him... but she knows that he will not settle for her love, at least not her love alone. She has taken steps to be able to walk away… but her body is begging her to stay.

Cade Nicholson has been injured and will not be going back to the battlefield again. He is home for good and injured. Feeling like he is no longer a whole man and haunted by the things he has seen, he longs to come home to Melanie, the one thing in his life that makes him feel safe. Will he be able to silence the demons that are tearing him apart and have the kind of relationship with her that she deserves?

Passion erupts as hot and fast as a wildfire and these two lovers are swept back into a relationship that mirrors the one they shared in the past. When a woman determined to steal Cade away from Melanie slides into the scene, claws at the ready to tear them apart, will their love be strong enough to stop her? Or will the ghosts of the war and mistakes of the past keep them apart?

A tender tale, blended using the trauma of a military man coming home to try to have a normal life and a woman who is ready to be strong for him when he needs it, You’ll Think Of Me is written with a harmonious mix of passion and love that is as achingly beautiful as the song it was named after. Cade encapsulates the many feelings a veteran has to deal with when trying to cope with life at home after the trauma of war, while Melanie is the kind of woman any soldier would love to come home to. Although parts of the story were somewhat repetitive and could have been tightened up, for the most part it was elegantly told and well rounded. An excellent story and I will look forward to more from this author’s creative pen.

*Warning: Graphic erotic scenes

Virginia
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More

A Review! For My Immortal, A Review!

I was beginning to think this book would fly under the radar without much notice. I got a lovely review from Whipped Cream Reviews shortly after the book's release. Imagine my thrill and surprise when I opened my email this morning. This book is near and dear to my heart, so I really hoped readers would love it. Here's what Manic Readers had to say:

Manic Readers Review
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewer: Patrizia Murray

For some strange reason, the entire time I was reading this book, I had the theme song from the old movie, High Noon, bouncing around in my brain. The words go something like, "Do not forsake me, oh my darling, on this our wedding day...I do not know what fate awaits me, I only know I must be strong...and I must face a man who hates me, or lie a coward in my grave..."

The story is of a sheriff, played by Gary Cooper, who marries Grace Kelly, but then has to go out to fight an outlaw the same day. Grace implores him not to fight, and says she will leave him if he does. In My Immortal, Storm is a vampire who must fight another vamp who is challenging him. Stevie has already left him because of his undead state, even though they have been formally mated. While a modern vampire tale doesn't immediately bring an old Western to mind, the circumstances are at least somewhat the same.

Stevie can't come to terms with what Storm is, and he can't make her understand that his love for her is not an unnatural thing, as she seems to think. He also needs to show his supremacy to his sire and rival, O'Toole, so that Stevie will be safe.

Three hundred odd years of life experience have given Storm the wherewithal to seduce Stevie and make her his own. She is madly in love with him, but can she live with his vamp quirks? Their lovemaking is electrifying, and it is that very passion that makes Storm reluctant to tell Stevie what he is, until he is forced to acknowledge that his arch rival O'Toole has already communicated that fact to her. All he can hope for is that she will somehow allow her love to overcome her revulsion toward him.

At the showdown between Storm and O'Toole, as Stevie is faced with the very real possibility that either Storm or she or both might well die at O'Toole's hands, she has to make a split second decision on how she wants to spend the rest of her life. Will she and Storm choose immortality? Life? Or will O'Toole choose death for them? Will Storm die a coward, or victoriously face the man who hates him?

High Noon is a classic story, and so is My Immortal in a different way. The plot is straightforward and somewhat predictable, but it moves along well and has a satisfying HEA ending.

I never would've thought of Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly when thinking of Storm and Stevie, but I guess it works. I've never even seen High Noon. Thank you for the lovely review, Patrizia. I'm glad you liked My Immortal.

Friday Flirts

I should be doing something other than watching old Ghost Adventures episodes on Netflix, but hey, everyone needs a stress reliever. Plus, I can blame Megan for getting me hooked on it. Darn her and her love of all things dark and strange.

So, Friday Flirts...

Please Remember Me is still sitting with the editor. I haven't heard anything and well, I'm kinda relieved. Odd? Maybe a little. I'm of the theory of no news is better than bad news. Of course, good news would be fantastic, but hey, there's a certain safety in not getting ye ole hopes up.

What Might Have Been came back from one CP. Waiting for it to come back from the other. Once in hand, I plan to work on it so I can sub it in February. (Yes, I am a masochist.)

Ever Fallen In Love is the NASCAR one. It had a different name, but since I've changed my decision as to which pub to sub it to, I felt the name wasn't right in it's prior form. Plus, I've got a lawyer aquaintence...I love that line from The Goodbye Girl...this lawyer friend is helping me deal with the legal parts of the story. I mean, I can't use a John Grisham tactic if I have no clue what I'm doing. I'd hate to show complete ignorance.

No rest for the wicked. I'm in the process of helping Megan get her MM story ready for submission as well. She's aiming for March. I hope things work out for her. She's worked really hard on her story.

Okay, enough for now. I've got stories to write and GA to turn off. Soon. Maybe.

And Don't Forget to Check out These Awesome Authors: Megan Slayer, Kealie Shay, Menagerie Authors, Jessica Jarman, Devon Rhodes, Ashley Ladd, Linda McMaken, Marianne Arkins, Anne Rainey, KA Mitchell, Mychael Black, and Jenika Snow!

Thank You Thursday - Meet Author Linda McMaken!

So today, instead of my normal Thank You or Book Review, I wanted to highlight an up-and-coming author who happens to be a very dear friend. I met Miss Linda over four years ago (man has it been that long) down in Cincinnati. Thanks to Cait London for putting us together even if she has no idea.

Now Miss Linda has been one of my biggest fans and I've got to say, I'm one of hers, too. She's got a book coming out in August from Desert Breeze Publishing. I'm plucking some tidbits out of her Desert Breeze interview (you can read the full interview here) for this blog. Plus, she added some tidbits she wantes to share as well.

Since I happen to live in the same state as Linda (not the state of disorganization and dementia...I'm there all on my own), I asked her to tell my readers about where she lives.
I am a Midwest girl. Although my family DNA is in the South, and my heart is in the West.

I live with an amazing husband who can fix anything. Seriously, I've never broken anything the man can't fix. We've been married for 28 years and have two awesome daughters. The youngest was just married in August. She is a firefighter/paramedic and her hubby is a firefighter. My older daughter is getting married in December. Whew, it's been a long, but fun year. She is studying to be an EMT and her soon-to-be hubby is an EMT/Firefighter. Well, now I've got someone to put out all those kitchen fires!!! LOL


I have two "pound puppies" Hailey and Diesel. Diesel is featured on my blog very often. He is the source of much amusement. Hailey is now 14 years old and she snores while I write.

Awwww. I want to meet Diesel the wonder dog. He looks like a cutie patootie!

I live in the corn belt of Ohio. We have an awesome Great Lake, Erie; the country’s largest state fair, where butter sculptures are seriously a work of art. We are home to the United States Air Force Museum, which is an amazing place to visit. The Wright-B Flyer lives there as does Air Force One and everything in between. Oh, and we have the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland – Rock on!

HEck yeah, we have the Rock Hall. Where else can you see John Lennon's clothes, Bruce Springsteen's leather jacket, AND see the original lyrics to Jimi Hendrix's songs? OHIO!!!

I also asked her where we can find her on the web.
I have a blog that right now acts as my webpage as well. http://makenwords.blogspot.com/. I’m also at the usual places like Facebook, and Twitter.

Let's get down to some fun questions. I wanted to know who some of her favorite authors were growing up?

I loved John Jakes. I met him at a local library when I was a teenager and fell in love. He was older, cool, and a writer!

Thanks to my mom, I read lots of Louis L’amour, Zane Grey, Max Brand, and great mysteries from Nancy Drew, Mickey Spillane, and Clive Cussler.

Hee hee, I just bought a Nancy Drew. I love good ole Nancy.

For those new to Linda's work, I wanted to know what genre fits your work?

I write romantic comedy. Although I have a thriller I’ve been playing around with and hope to have finished next year.

I’ve also been a freelance magazine writer for a number of years, and I am a scriptwriter for COS Productions. They create booktrailers for writers.

And these are some cool trailers. I've seen them. Heck, they made me want to spend my paycheck book shopping. It's dangerous.

She has a book coming out soon, so I asked her to tell me a little about the book.
The title is Baer Truth. It is scheduled for release in August 2011. I’ll just give you the “short” back cover version.

Abby Clark, a vegetarian, punk rock back-up singer and city-slicker gets kicked off the band tour bus in the middle of nowhere. Wyoming! Stuck with nothing but a talent for cooking and the singing voice of an angel, she manages to disturb a very cranky, cold-hearted bear, um, Baer. Joe Baer, a sexy Wyoming beef rancher. He has a nasty ex-girlfriend, killer blue eyes, a ranch mortgage that’s due, and a past that even he never suspected.

Just when it looks like beef might be what’s for dinner, the “Earl of Country Music” steps into the picture. He’s a sexy country singing legend with a killer smile and connections that could launch a stellar-career for Abby.

Baer Truth, is a contemporary romantic comedy, following the three Baer brothers and their heartwarming family saga in Wyoming ranch land; where the men are always hungry, the women are bossy, tractors are just booby-traps lying in wait for city-girls and true love is just a Baer cave away!

I also asked her to share some other tidbits, since there is always more to a writer than the words on the page.

I am doing a column for RT Book Reviews - I'm pretty excited about that. It is written as my librarian self, but authors can get some good info from if they are trying to get into libraries for promo. Here's the link: http://www.rtbookreviews.com/content/beyond-books-library-marketing-exposed

(Oh, yeah, she's a librarian, too. She gets to live around books. I'm jealous.)
Here's her official bio from Desert Breeze and other pertinent linkys.

And Don't Forget to Check out These Awesome Authors: Megan Slayer, Kealie Shay, Menagerie Authors, Jessica Jarman, Devon Rhodes, Ashley Ladd, Linda McMaken, Marianne Arkins, Anne Rainey, KA Mitchell, Mychael Black, and Jenika Snow!

What the? Wednesdays...Fan Mail!!!!

I opened my email the other day and felt like the minion in this video. )If you haven't seen Despicable Me it's a riot and yes, I want minions.)

No way, I got fan mail. I mean, I'm not a hugely famous author...I'm just puttering around in my own little corner of cyberspace. But when I read it, I about fell down. This person read the blurb for Tangled Up and can't wait for it to come out. She's excited about the premise and is looking forward to it.

Talk about tough shoes to fill. I'm scared I'll let her down or not live up to her expectations.

The book comes out in January, so I hope she loves it. I hope you do, too. Anyone else have those crazy flutters when you see an author you love has a new book coming out? I do. What about when people tell you they're waiting with bated breath for your next book? How do you handle it?

Let me know. I can use all the pointers I can get.

And Don't Forget to Check out These Awesome Authors: Megan Slayer, Kealie Shay, Menagerie Authors, Jessica Jarman, Devon Rhodes, Ashley Ladd, Linda McMaken, Marianne Arkins, Anne Rainey, KA Mitchell, Mychael Black, and Jenika Snow!

Monday Moans

Monday, Monday....Can't trust that day...

Sorry. I had the itunes on full and was singing. The post title jogged the memory. You probably don't remember me. Well, maybe you do. I haven't stopped by the blog as of late, but we're all super busy.

Let me give you a hint or two. I was the girl in school who knew every scrap of seemingly worthless trivia on music. You know, the Beatles' original drummer was Pete Best and things like that. I was, how shall I say this...mousy in school. I liked to hide in my over sized flannel shirts. You probably ran me over in the hallway without realizing it. Would you believe, I was voted most likely to be present in a class I wasn't even in? (It's true.)

Can't quite place me? It's okay. Lots of people *think* they know me, but they have no real idea. I tend to fly under the radar.

My name is Macy Shibley. Check the book in your hand. Might be one of mine. Yup. If you're into stories that are a bit hotter than the average romance, you probably have one of mine. It's good. They seem to sell well. Plus, I love writing. I can hide in my characters and forget things...like the past...

Speaking of the past...I'm a proud graduate of the Class of '97. Go WereTiger pride! Okay, that sounded a little...flat. Well, next year is my fifteen year high school reunion. Let me tell you, I am NOT looking forward to it. Sure, I've got my BFF Kealie to go with me (no relation to Megan and Kealie...not much anyway...might be a hillbilly cousin or two in there, but we won't speak of that), but there's this guy....Tanner. (Fanning self) He was the bane of my existence in high school. Not because he picked at me. Not at all. No, he was the one guy I asked out. You see, I wasn't the queen of self-confidence I am now (Kealie, stop laughing). It took all the nerve I had to ask him out. Well, he turned me down...in front of the football team. *sigh* Took almost five years to live that down. I always think, what if he'd said yes? What if we'd gone on a date? Who would we be today? Crazy.

So I'm scared to run into him. Sure, I look different from high school. Who doesn't? But it still scares me that he'll project the old Macy onto who I've become. Or worse yet, what if he knows who I am and has followed my career? When I tell people I write erotic, they think all sorts of blue things about me.

Oy...Anyway, I'm looking over the prelim registration for the reunion. The school district is planning on demolishing the building, so the reunion committee wants things in order so they can the be the last event held there. Sheesh.

Enough of my chattering. I shouldn't worry about what hasn't happened or what might have been.

BUT do read a spicy, red-hot book. Reading erotica counts as burning calories.

Oh, and a message from Wendi:

And Don't Forget to Check out These Awesome Authors: Megan Slayer, Kealie Shay, Menagerie Authors, Jessica Jarman, Devon Rhodes, Ashley Ladd, Linda McMaken, Marianne Arkins, Anne Rainey, KA Mitchell, Mychael Black, and Jenika Snow!

Happy New Year!!!!

And something new I'm trying...want to meet or find some new to you authors?

Try these: Megan Slayer, Kealie Shay, Menagerie Authors, Jessica Jarman, Devon Rhodes, Ashley Ladd, Linda McMaken, Marianne Arkins, Anne Rainey, KA Mitchell, Mychael Black, and Jenika Snow!