Sing-Along Sunday! The Halloween edition

Happy Halloween!! Welcome to a special edition of Sing-Along Sunday. It's special because unlike other weeks, there's a theme attached to this one! At least I think this is special. Who knows what will develop in the future. Anyway, if any of you haven't guessed already, today's theme is all about Halloween. The creepy, the spooky, and the downright scary.

In deference to the holiday, I've chosen three songs that (more or less) evoke the spirit of this holiday. I say more or less because in reality only one of these songs is a true Halloween song. The other two can fit into other categories as well but have a spooky enough vibe to be included in the celebration.

1. The first on my list, and by far my favorite song for this holiday is "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. Vampires, ghouls, zombies, and even the wolf man and Dracula himself did the monster mash. And although it was kind of a one hit wonder, it was certainly a 'graveyard smash'.

2. You can't have a favorite Halloween song list and not include Michael Jackson's "Thriller". You just can't do it and I refuse to be the first. My only hope is that while you're reading this, you're thinking of the dance moves since I think the dance might just be the best part.

3. The last song on my list is probably the furthest from a Halloween song of the three. But it is about a crazed serial killer and since that's kind of what this holiday is about (not the actual act but the dressing up as one) I decided to stretch the rules a bit. "Mack the Knife" by Bobby Darin. This song is jarring the first time you hear it because of it's deceiving upbeat tune. No, he's not singing about love or happiness. He's singing about a serial killer.

So, those are my top three spooky songs. What are yours?

Next week there will NOT be a new sing-along. Instead erotic romance author Nichelle Gregory will be on my blog talking about her latest release Lovin' Leela. I've read the book and it's a very fun, sweet read. Be sure to stop by next Sunday to learn more!

18 & Over Book Blogger Tag Along - Oct. 29th

Today I'm once again participating in the 18 & Over book blogger tag along Friday, hosted by Laurie at Bitten by Paranormal Romance.

For anyone interested in participating, this is a great way to meet other bloggers with adult book content. I met some great people the last time and found some fun new blogs to follow. So head on over to Bitten by Paranormal Romance and join in on the fun! It doesn't matter what you read if its paranormal, suspense, historical, contemporary or mystery, along with erotic with any genre. As long as it is adult then you're in.


So, if you're here for the first time, welcome! Thanks for stopping by. While your here check out some of my other posts.

Unfortunately, it's been a slow week for me book wise but there should be some new stuff next week, including an interview next Sunday (November 7th) with erotic romance author Nichelle Gregory. She'll be talking about her latest release "Lovin' Leela", a great read by the way, so be sure to stop by and see what she has to say.

New This Week:
The Boo-Fest (my real life ghost story)
Working with Weaknesses
Are you Obsessed?
And my new weekly blog event Sing-Along Sunday (come by this Sunday for a spook-tacular edition)

Also, if you missed it last week, check out my Contests Galore! post. Many of the contests are ending soon. Don't miss your chance to win some cool loot!

The Boo-Fest

I was browsing through blogs and came across this very spook-tacular boo-fest. I decided to make a last minute entry because it really is such a fun idea. This blogfest is being held by Quinn at Seeing, Dreaming...Writing. He asks the question:

Have you ever seen a ghost or know anyone who has?

I've always had a strange relationship with ghosts. I grew up doing community theater. Now, if you ever worked in a theater, you know that almost all of them have their own ghost stories. My college theater was haunted by 'The Lady in Red' although I never saw her myself. At the community theater I grew up in, however, it was Oscar.

Rumor had it, Oscar was a janitor who had died in the attic of the theater. I'm almost positive this never happened. But I do believe there was a presence in that theater that wasn't entirely human. It's possible he materialized, much like Freddy Krueger, based on years of belief in him, passed down from one generation of young actors to the next. I remember the older kids holding Seances. In retrospect, I'm sure they "moved" things around themselves, but back then it was Oscar doing it.

Most people are frightened by ghosts, but I grew up with Oscar. Unlike most ghosts, he was friendly and comforting. I used to think Oscar followed me around. That he sensed a kindred soul in me. I even remember starting a new school and being comforted thinking Oscar had left the theater to help me along. Although I don't doubt there was something walking those dark theater aisles, I doubt whatever it was payed much attention to me or followed me to school. But, like most authors, my imagination gets away from me sometimes, especially when I was young.

Whatever it was, whether actual spirit or manifestation of children's beliefs, Oscar was my first run in with the otherworldly and one that surely has influenced my love of the paranormal today.  I sometimes forget about him and it's nice to take a moment and reminisce.

I hope you all enjoyed learning a bit about my haunted upbringings. Thanks to Quinn and Patricia A. Timms for hosting this boo-fest. Be sure to head to Quinn's blog and visit the other entries.

Working with Weaknesses

We all have weaknesses, both in life and in our work. It's a fact of life but sometimes there are simple tricks we can learn to work with our weaknesses.

My biggest problem, from a creating standpoint, is my memory. My memory sucks and no amount of memory games or ginkgo biloba is going to fix it. Improve it, maybe, fix it, no. It's all in the genetics. My mother has the same problem as do my aunts. So how do I keep my facts straight? How do I make sure my heroine doesn't go from a blond to a brunette? Okay, my memory's not quite that bad, but the little details do sometimes get lost. Well, I've come up with a simple trick to keep my stories consistent.

When I first started writing, I remember forgetting the eye color of my main character half way through the story. It took me almost half an hour to locate the earlier passage where I mentioned it. It was then that I came up with the technique I still use today. Next to my computer, I keep a stack of note cards and whenever I introduce a new character, if I suspect we'll see him again, I make a flashcard. On the flashcard I list everything from the way they take their coffee to the color and model of their car and more. This way, instead of having to hunt for answers I have almost anything I need right in front of me.

It's the method I've found to work around my weak memory. It might not work for everyone but it works for me. Everyone has to find their own methods of dealing with their weaknesses, whether it's memory or something else.

Are you blessed with a memory for details? If not, How do you keep your characters straight?

Are You Obsessed?

I'm obsessed.

I'm obsessed with checking my email, something fueled by having an iphone, making my emails available with the press of a button, anytime, anywhere. I constantly refresh, just checking to see if something new came in.

I'm obsessed with washing my hands. Yes, I'll admit it. I'm a bit of a germaphob. There's nothing like clean hands and my obsession has only gotten worse riding the subway every morning. Just the thought of those subway poles makes me want to run to the bathroom and slather my hands with soap. I know, pathetic.

I'm obsessed with coffee. Not as much as I used to be. Back in college I was drinking six cups a day at one point. Now I'm down to one (okay maybe two). But until I have my first sip in the morning, I'm pretty useless.

And lately, I've been obsessed with my blog. Especially the stats feature which shows how many people visit your blog, which pages they viewed, and where they live. So for all of you who visit and read my blog from the U.S. and beyond - Welcome, Bienvenue, Welkom, Wilkommen, 환영 , добро пожаловать , 歓迎 , 欢迎 , Benvenuto. Note: If you don't see your language on here, the mistake was not intentional. I either couldn't find the translation or missed your country on my stats sheet.

We all have our obsessions, some secret, some not. What are yours?

Sing-Along Sunday

Happy Sunday everyone!

Sing-Along Sunday is a new event. It highlights those songs that make me want to break out karaoke style whenever I hear them, much to the consternation of everyone around me. The songs I just can't help smiling at whenever they're played. I'm not sure quite yet whether this is a one time, or a weekly thing. The fact is I had way too many songs I wanted to feature for just one post, so i just chose three. And yes, I realize I have some very eclectic taste in music.

1. "The Shoop Shoop Song" otherwise known "It's in His Kiss" sung by Betty Everett. True to it's name whenever I hear this song I want to break out in shoop shoop's, complete with the swinging '60s back-up girl moves.

2. "If I Had a Million Dollars" by Barenaked Ladies. Although we've all imagined what we'd do with a million dollars, few of us can claim to be as creative as the Barenaked Ladies. I know when I think of what I'd do, "All the fanciest Dijon Ketchups" doesn't really cross my mind. I think of all the boring stuff, buying a house, investing, getting out of debt. But this song makes us imagine all the silly things possible with that kind of money.

Now before I get into my third choice, let me explain. It's not the dirty undertones (or maybe overtones) to this song that caused me to put it on this list or makes it one of my favorites. Plain and simple, this is just a fun song.

3."I Touch Myself" by The Divinyls has such a fun upbeat tune and some clever lyrics it has the ability to make me smile even when I'm in the blackest of moods. And it's because of this magical ability to break through the moodiest of clouds and bring a little sunshine into my life that I put it on the list.

As mentioned, this is just a taste. Next week, maybe, I'll have three more songs. But until then it's your turn. What song(s) make you smile? Which ones make you sing-along?

Watch where you're flinging that attitude!

Probably one of my biggest pet peeves is rudeness. I see no reason for it. Don't get me wrong, I've had my share of bad days, but taking it out on the waitress serving me or the random person I meet on the street never helps. It doesn't make me feel better or lessen my bad day. In fact, I usually end up feeling guilty for making them feel bad on top of my frustration, making me feel worse than ever.

I'm one of those people who took the "treat others like you want to be treated" mantra they drilled into us in kindergarten to heart. And I've learned that a smile really does go a long way. So I can't stand people who do everything in their power to spread their bad attitude. Rudeness is like a disease. A man coughs his attitude on the woman serving coffee, she catches the disease and coughs it up on everyone after them.

So today, let's do our part to stop the rudeness disease before it becomes an epidemic (hopefully we aren't too late). Make sure to smile at the people you meet. Say 'please' and 'thank you'. But most of all, make sure that if you are in a bad mood, you aren't taking it out on some random person who doesn't deserve it.

Contests Galore!

Happy Tuesday everyone! There are some super contests and giveaways happening around the blogger-verse that I wanted to share with you all. They're all different, some simple, some a bit more complicated. But they're all fun with some very cool prizes. In no particular order:

1. The first on the list is Night Owl Reviews Full Moon Webhunt. Basically this is a scavenger hunt through other authors and publishers websites and blogs. There is an icon you scout for on the sites and there's a different word hidden inside every icon. I did this and although it took me awhile (you have to visit 45 different sites to be eligible for the grand prize) along the way I found some cool new authors and blogs! Click Here for more details. This bloghunt runs until October 31st.

2. In celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Nicole over at The Betrayed Writer is giving away 1 Lenox Crystal Vase, 1 Ty Breast Cancer Beanie Baby, and 1 Breast Cancer Quilt book. She also is going to match the cost of the items purchased for the giveaway plus shipping in a donation to the March of Dimes. This is for a great cause so make sure you support Nicole and the March of Dimes by following her and entering her giveaway. All you have to do is comment on her blog post Here. This giveaway runs until the last week in October.

3. Danielle over at Romantic Book Junkies always has giveaways on her blog. Right now she has four (4) different book giveaways right now. You can check them out Here. She has contests running all the time, so make sure you follow her if you don't already!

4. Since there seem to be a lot of 'Fever' series fans running around blogworld, I thought I'd draw attention to a contest on Karen Marie Moning's website. She is offering a "Fevercon Tote bag". I have no idea what this is, although I'm assuming it's some kind of tote bag (lol). And if you're like me and love the Fever series you can head over to her site and check out the details Here. Plus you can never use too many tote bags. Contest ends October 31st.

5. And last but certainly not least. HP Mallory is having a contest with a very cool prize. Winner will get a written part in Toil and Trouble and future Jolie Wilkins books, as well as some other added benefits. This is a very cool prize. Who hasn't wanted to be a character in a book? Well this is your chance. Click Here for all the details.

I'm sure there are more contests out there. Please let me know of any I missed so I can add them to the list. And be sure to enter all the contests for your chance to win!

Book Blogger Tag Along Friday

Today I'll be participating in the 18 & Over book blogger tag along Friday. This event is hosted by Laurie over at Bitten by Paranormal Romance. For anyone interested in participating, here's the description she has on her blog:

Calling all 18 and over book bloggers, are you looking for more bloggers like yourself? Well please join in so we can tag along with each other. This is for a specific group and your blog needs to primarily have book reviews and post adult book content. In other words, if you read books like erotic and adult romance and have adult pic., then you can play tag along. Sorry YA readers, but if you read both (I know some of you do) you can tag along also. Just make sure you have both YA and adult romance on your blog.

I wanted to do this not only for myself, but for others out there that are looking for more adult book blogs.

It doesn't matter what you read if its paranormal, suspense, historical, contemporary or mystery, along with erotic with any genre. As long as it is adult then your in.

You don't have to have blog to join in on the fun. If you like adult content books, please click on a link and if you like the blog then follow that blog. You can comment on there post that you found them from the tag along.

Rules
1.Make a post for your blog to direct people to this post, you will find a code for the pic on my left sidebar. That way we get more bloggers involved.
2. Place your blogs name in the first box of the Linky
3. Then add your post that you made place that ULR in the second box.
4. When you find a blog that you like to follow please leave comment on the post the blogger made, so they can tag along to your blog.

This is a weekly theme, so make sure you come back next Friday if you can.

Hope you guys have a good Friday!! 

So, if you're here for the first time, welcome! Thanks for stopping by, please take a look around and let me know what you think.  

Magnetic Love

No, I'm not talking about magnetic love between a man and a woman. I'm talking about actual magnets. Yes, like the kind you put on your refrigerator.

We've all seen the magnetic poetry kits and if you haven't, they're basically strips of poetic words and phrases that you can put together to make...well poems, stories, whatever you feel like. If you're like me, you sometimes used these words to make clever naughty phrases. Now, these kits do the dirty work for you (pun intended)!

I was recently at a friends house and happened to look on her fridge. Imagine my surprise to see phrases like 'quivering flesh', 'turgid pleasure rod', 'throbbing loins', 'wand of pleasure', and 'her moist grotto'. It could only mean one thing! That's right folk:

Romance Novel magnetic poetry kit! This little kit is filled with all the gems expected in a bodice ripping romance from the 1980s. And occasionally an unexpected phrase, included I'm sure for an extra laugh. My personal favorites in this category include: 'big dog', 'pirate ship', 'the captain', and best of all 'saber-toothed tiger'. Think of the hours of fun you can have with this kit!
 
In other news, I was googling myself the other night (because you know what else are you going to do at 2am, certainly not sleep). Anyway, I found a link to the lyrical site's coming soon section with all the details for my upcoming novel Arctic Winds! Sure, I've known it was going to be published for more than half a year now, but somehow seeing it on their site just makes it feel so much more, legitimate. As if it's finally real. I don't know how to describe it (I'm sure I'm not making much sense) but needless to say I am incredibly excited! Click Here if you want to check it out! Chasing Paradise is also on their site but doesn't have any details listed yet.
 
Anyway, that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by and hope you all have a marvelous Friday!

Madly in Love on Monday

Madly in Love on Monday was a weekly meme hosted by The Delusional Diaries. They haven't hosted it the past two weeks. I have no idea if they plan to host it today either. My guess is no since they don't have a post about it yet. However, I LOVED the idea so I decided to do it regardless.

According to their site, Madly in love on Monday "shines the spotlight on that rare book gem you have found and fallen so madly in love with that you want to tell everyone about it so they can read it too".

Today I've chosen Karen Marie Moning's "Darkfever". This is not a romance novel, although it is written by a romance author and she has promised there is a romantic finish to the series (the final installment is set to be released in January).  This is the first in a five book series - more like a epic trilogy in five parts than a series in reality.

I'm not sure what to classify them as except maybe dark fantasy. I picked up this book on a whim last year. Before I knew it I had bought all four available books and finished them within a week, I was captured so completely. I almost passed it up at first because it's written in first person, a style I'm not usually a fan of. The only thing I can say is, there's an exception to every rule and it totally worked here.

If you're in the mood for something different, something spooky and fantastical, I highly recommend the 'fever' series. It's also the perfect Halloween-y book to read during October.

Now it's your turn. What's one book you've fallen 'Madly in Love' with?

Do you judge a book by it's cover?

Despite the old adage "don't judge a book by it's cover", I believe the cover of a book is incredibly important. Does this mean every good book has a great cover? Or that there are no bad books hidden behind beautiful cover art? Of course not. But the cover is the first thing a reader sees. Even before they read the blurb, potential readers are drawn (or not) to a book by what they see. If the cover is pleasing, chances are greater that they'll take the time to read the blurb. The cover is the front man for the book, the spokesperson. It is what will make readers either pick up your book or not.

I'll admit, if I'm wavering about a purchase, the first thing I look at is whether or not the cover intrigues me. It might be shallow, especially knowing that writers are usually not the ones creating their art. But a good cover will give insight into the story. Are there half naked people on the cover? Chances are good you're about to read a romance. Is that a shadow creeping in that alley? You're looking at a horror novel or maybe a mystery. And maybe it's just in my own mind, but if a cover is beautiful, it tells me that the publisher took care with the book in other facets of it's life. I find books with great covers are well edited and tend to have a better story than those that look hastily thrown together.

Danielle over at Romance Book Junkies has a weekly post where she chooses a cover and analyzes it with her bloggers. I thought it was a great idea and it inspired this post. So, I've chosen a book cover as well. While looking through my recommendations on Amazon (which lets face it is all about the covers), I came upon this book. I haven't read the book so this is by no means a recommendation or a review of the book itself. Merely of the cover. Or rather, in this case, covers. Lucky for us, the book I chose was previously published and has two different covers to compare.

 

So, here are the two covers for the same book, He's the One by Jane Beckenham. These two covers are completely different and yet one draws me to the book and makes me want to read more while the other....well doesn't. Which doesn't mean a different person couldn't feel completely different than me. But personally, the cover on the right feels much more put together and makes me want to learn more. Its the same book (although probably with a few changes as it was re-released). I would be reading the same story no matter which one I picked up. But the fact remains, I would pick up one and probably pass on the other.

What do you think? Are you drawn to one cover over the other? Or do covers not play into your decision making at all?

I'm back!

I didn't actually go anywhere, just haven't had the time to blog in the past week and a half. Between a big project deadline in my "bacon money" job and another round of edits due for 'Arctic Winds' blogging kind of fell to the wayside. But now I'm here and with a bunch of fun stuff! I got my finalized blurb for 'Arctic Winds' the other day. This is the one that will be on all the store sites and I've updated the blurb I had in my coming soon section of the blog (and included it below).

I also have started edits on 'Chasing Paradise' and can't wait to delve deeper into the process! The only downside to working so heavily on edits recently is that I haven't found a lot of time to write and when I do, I have a hard time focusing. I find myself editing the first few chapters instead of writing new ones. I'm hoping once I get the latest round of edits on 'Chasing Paradise' to my fabulous editor, I'll be able to really concentrate on my current story, which so far promises to be different but good.

It's funny but I find when I don't actually have time to write, that's when the most interesting ideas pop out of the woodwork and start begging for attention. Hopefully soon I'll find the time to give them the attention they deserve. Anyway, here's the new blurb!

After her skulk abandoned her four years ago, Samantha knew she would never truly be wanted. When she accidentally stumbles into a wolf town and is asked by their Premier to stay, she believes it's the novelty of an arctic fox motivating him. She knows she'll be on her own again once he tires of her.

Jason finds himself pulled to Samantha from the moment she faints in his arms. His wolf is calling to him, telling him he's found their mate and the heat he feels for Samantha is impossible to resist. But his little fox is loaded down with emotional baggage and doesn't believe she's worthy of love. Can he overcome her fears? Or will pack jealousies and the local foxes convince her she doesn't belong with him before he has a chance?

Oh, and because it's Wednesday (hump day), here's a hunk for your viewing pleasure. Because there's nothing sexier than a man who can cook, except maybe a sexy man...who can cook.