Happy New Year!

Hey, 2011.

Howdy. Glad to meet you.

2010 had its ups and downs and ups and downs.

But, you know, that's life.

No resolutions here.    

Reality always has a way of throwing a wrench into the well-oiled, smoothly humming cogs of your imaginary plans.

Like...the cable going out and internet access down for a week when you were expecting your first edits ever. Or the geyser in your bathroom flooding your home when you'd already carefully allotted that weekend time to romance writing. Or a family member falling down and breaking a hip when you'd promised an agent a partial...

Or, like actually looking forward to RWA national for once. Except that this year it's in New York City. Nowhere near a beach or a theme park. Like how many other work days of my life?  And...do I really want to use up vacation days to go into Manhattan, as if I'm working? Yes, of course, some of you will say. It is work. It is in furtherance of the career. But I put in pretty long hours at the career that actually pays the bills. So for now at least, I am just not seeing  it that way.

Change my mind, 2011.

Bring it on, baby!
                                   

Looking Back

      My year started out this way:
      Highlight of every Sunday night was visiting the New York State Department of Labor web site to claim unemployment benefits.
      Went for lots of looooooong walks.
      During the course of which...the muse was fully exercised. (Not to mention exorcised.)
      Finished the full-length book of my heart at long last. Totally in love with the hero. Started writing the sequel, the next brother's story.  In love with him too.
      The book of my heart began meeting its water-torture-fate-worse-than-death. Drip-Drip-Drip-Teeth-Kick-Repeat.
      Started writing a little Halloweeny story that turned into a paranormal novella, Dream Voyager. Totally fell in love with the hero, Rafe.
      Started a blog with the same name. (Dream Voyagers, not Rafe.)
      Finished Dream Voyager and sent it out into the wide world.
      Started a Regency novella, entitled Healing Hearts. Totally fell in love with the hero, a viscount and Peninsula War veteran named Adam.
      Tried my hand at copyediting. (Failed miserably, since I wanted to rewrite, like, everything. Instead of, you know, just insert/delete commas.)
      Finished Healing Hearts, the Regency novella and sent it out into the wide world.
      Temporarily abandoned the sequel to the doomed book of my heart and started writing a romantic suspense, Cole in Her Stocking. Totally fell in love with the hero: Cole. (Well, you know, duh. Did you really think I spelled that badly?)
      Became president of my RWA chapter.
      Returned to work at the occupation for which I actually have been schooled and trained.
      Put in looooooooong hours.
      No more walking.
      Stopped going to meetings of my longtime critique group.
      Contracted Healing Hearts with Carina Press.
      Acquired a nom de plume. (Which occasionally feels more like a nom de guerre.)  Oh, what? You thought it said Taryn Kincaid on my birth certificate?
      Was asked by another publisher to heat up the already steamy Dream Voyager.
      Acquired my wonderful, funny, knowledgable, patient Wild Rose Press editor who guided me through the scarlet world of writing erotic romance.
      Was asked to change Rafe's name. Oh, okay. Eventually settled on Ryck. In hindsight, Ryck Van Winkle works much, much better! (And I'm still totally in love with him.)
      Contracted Dream Voyager, now an erotic paranormal novella entitled Sleepy Hollow Dreams, to The Wild Rose Press.
      (So much for the blog!)     
      Acquired my wonderful Carina Press editor who, like Mark Twain,  knows "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug."
      Got involved with publishers' loops, writers' loops, blogs-blogs-and-more-blogs.
      Also, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads. (What else ya got?)
      Got cover art for Sleepy Hollow Dreams and squeeeeed all over the place.
      Saw Sleepy Hollow Dreams published! (Rushed out in time for Halloween.)
      Resigned the presidency of my RWA chapter. (The chapter does not seem fully cognizant of this fact.)
     Got cover art for Healing Hearts.  More squeeeeeeeeing. Well? Isn't it pretty?
     Saw first non-friend Goodreads rating of Sleepy Hollow Dreams and was perplexed, since there was no comment. Rater "friended" me.
    Saw first non-friend review of Sleepy Hollow Dreams and was confused by the reviewer's confusion.
    Surprised, pleased, thrilled, shocked when someone says they loved Sleepy Hollow Dreams. Nervous when they are silent.
    Decided to own Brendan Behan's notion that "there is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary." 
    True dat.
    Lost some longtime real-life friends. Reconnected with others. Acquired some shiny new internet friends. Had hopes raised, then dashed, then raised, then dashed. Then raised.
    The yin.
    The yang.
    The good, the bad, the ugly, the serendipitous.


    Spent much of the year running around like a headless chicken.
   
    Healing Hearts comes out in February.

    And also for next year:  Will try to do better.
    Will try to have a plan.
    Job One: Finish Cole in Her Stocking.

Here Comes the Sun!

Well, it's official.

Winter is upon us. The winter solstice has arrived with a lunar eclipse. And the shortest day of the year.

Which means, of course, the days get longer here on out.

And summer is just around the corner!

Yes, I know. Bah. Humbug. 

Most of you are still in holiday frenzy mode. 

But I'm looking forward to the New Year, the longer days, the warm, beaming rays. And not having to worry about taking my car in to get the heater fixed!

I am totally ready to drag out a Yule log and burn out the cold, bitter heart of winter, as the ancient pagans did.

Or, you know, scarf down some Buche de Noel.

Here's one recipe from Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients

2 cups heavy cream 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 6 egg yolks 1/2 cup white sugar 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon salt 6 egg whites 1/4 cup white sugar confectioners' sugar for dusting Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whip cream, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until thick and stiff. Refrigerate. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until thick and pale. Blend in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and salt. In large glass bowl, using clean beaters, whip egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, and beat until whites form stiff peaks. Immediately fold the yolk mixture into the whites. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Dust a clean dishtowel with confectioners' sugar. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and turn the warm cake out onto the towel. Remove and discard parchment paper. Starting at the short edge of the cake, roll the cake up with the towel. Cool for 30 minutes. Unroll the cake, and spread the filling to within 1 inch of the edge. Roll the cake up with the filling inside. Place seam side down onto a serving plate, and refrigerate until serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.
                                                           ~~~
Personally, I'm not known for my adventures in confection. (That's what bakeries are for!) But every now and then I've been known to dip my elbows into bowls of chocolate or brown sugar.

Anyone have any favorites?

Happy Holidays!

No Six Sentence Sunday for me this week, kids.

Have a great holiday and a Happy New Year.

Here's a big smoochie for any of you happening by.

Carina Press blogs

The Carina Press authors have started some new subgenre blogs!

The kinks are still being worked out on some of them, but the historical authors blog is up and active at Romancing the Past.

Today is my turn to take the blog for a spin.   So come on over and visit me and tell me what inspires you!

If you get a chance, please also stop by Not Your Usual Suspects, the Carina Press authors' mystery, suspense and romantic suspense blog.

And look for Here Be Magic, the paranormal, fantasy and steampunk blog, coming soon!

Six Sentence Sunday 12-12-2010

A little more from my WIP,  Cole in Her Stocking for Six Sentence Sunday.


"Should I wonder about your masculinity?”

“Do you need to, baby?”

“Maybe your sanity," she sniffed.

Her scent wrapped him in its beckoning embrace and he wished there was enough light in the Escalade to let him see the ripe plum shading her cheekbones. He wanted to run his lips over the blush that rose from her throat, dip lower to taste the swelling flesh of her breasts. Keeping his focus on the icy road ahead and gripping the wheel until his knuckles whitened, Cole recited major league batting stats in his head--anything to keep from dwelling on all the places he burned to plant lush, scalding kisses.


And be sure to check out the other Six Sentence Sunay authors!

Six Sentence Sunday 12-05-2010

This week, a little Six Sentence snippet from my WIP, Cole in Her Stocking. 


      Cole’s mouth crushed hers, his potent kiss delivering a burst of electric fire that sizzled through her, melting her completely. He tilted her head and angled his mouth,  hard and slashing, his tongue tracing the outline of her lips. He tasted like the coffee he’d swilled on the two-hour drive from the city, but hotter and more exciting--a double shot of pure caffeine spiked with single malt Irish whisky.
 
      Her thirst for him ratcheted out of control and she could not drink enough, her hands traveling from his hair to his shoulders, her fingers digging into thick muscle.

     “Holy cow, Brannigan,” she murmured, her lips vibrating against his.

     “I know,” he said. “Shut up.”

My free Christmas read, I'll Be Home for Christmas, is up for anyone looking for something a little more warm and fuzzy. 
 

And don't forget to check out the other Six Sentence Sunday authors.

Free Read: Christmas Story

Okay, kids! Tomorrow's December 1st and I just can't wait anymore. So my free-read Christmas story, I'll Be Home for Christmas, is going up now! 

I'll leave it up until the New Year.

Please stop by and share the eggnog.

(And if you find any illustrations or artwork that would go with it, be sure and let me know.)

Six Sentence Sunday 11-28-2010

Another little Six Sentence Sunday teaser from  Sleepy Hollow Dreams: 

“Ryck.”   The word spilled from her throat now, somewhere between a plea and a prayer. “I’ve waited for you forever.”

“Not as long as I’ve waited, sweetling.”

His mercurial eyes probed her expression, his hot gaze sliding over her kneeling body with possessive intent as if he wished to claim her--as if he could not wait another second to thrust inside her. The blatant sensuality made her mouth go dry.

Be sure and visit the other Six Sentence Sunday authors!

Excerpts

          Have to admit, I used to choose print novels by their blurbs and the inside one-page teaser excerpt. Sometimes now,  you'll see an author portrait on the back jacket. And inside, there may be pages and pages and pages of one-liners praising other books--some not even by the author in question. Those never work for me. Don't care what the author looks like or how many cats she has. And the one-liners are just extra pages to pass over until you get to the heart! (If I'm reading on an e-reader, which I almost always am now, those are particularly annoying!)
          But blurbs and excerpts? Yeah, definitely. Aside from glowing recommendations from people I know in real life (or now, through social media), blurbs and excerpts are what make me think, "Ooooh. I'm so hooked!"
         Used to be, with the one-pagers in a print romance novel, that the excerpted bit was fraught with sexual tension, perhaps the moment leading up to the first kiss. Not so much anymore. The excerpts you see on the internet go on much longer. Sometimes they are action scenes. Sometimes they are sex scenes. Sometimes they leave the reader wanting more, much more. And sometimes...not so much.
         So I'm trying an excerpt for Healing Hearts.
         With Sleepy Hollow Dreams picking an excerpt was a no brainer. Had to have Katy running from the Headless Horseman. The Wild Rose Press had a word-limit. Which my editor expanded to get Ryck into the picture! (Ssh. Don't tell.)
         I'm having more trouble deciding with Healing Hearts. First encounter? (And, if so, from which character's point of view?) First kiss? Potent sexual tension? Wicked banter? Something from the danger zone?
          Grrr. I want to excerpt all of it. Healing Hearts releases February 28 from Carina Press. So there's time. But I'd like to post something on this blog's Healing Hearts page now!
         

What do you think?


How do you choose? How would you choose?

Help me out here, peeps!

I'll send a copy of Sleepy Hollow Dreams to the commenter with the best (or most random) suggestion!

Six Sentence Sunday 11-21-2010

From Cole in Her Stocking, my romantic suspense WIP. This is Lara's first glimpse of Cole, an FBI agent working undercover at an airport dive:

Lara headed toward the bar, and nearly collided with the bartender who glided  from the opposite direction like a great white smelling fresh blood in the water.

Powerful shoulders the breadth of a two-by-four, a Flight Risk T-shirt pulled taut over toned abs and pecs, muscled legs that fed a pair of biker boots. And black jeans too snug to slip a wallet--or a condom--into the back pocket.

Lara jerked her focus upward. Eyes the color of ice chips flicked over her with the predatory awareness of a shark.

Holy heart-stopping Hannah, she thought, we're gonna need a bigger boat.


     Be sure to visit the other Six Sentence Sunday authors!

Holiday Sweets & Treats

Just in time for your cooking & gift-giving delight! The 2010 Garden Gourmet Holiday Sweets & Treats Cookbook from The Wild Rose Press !!  It's gorgeous! It's delicious! And it's FREE!

(And me and my super scrumptious Gingery Sleepy Hollow Drunkin-Punkin Bread Pudding are featured on page 73!

Enjoy!

A-Maize Me!

Not to brag or anything but I make a hella good chili and I'm pretty awesome with soups and stews (basically, everything you can throw into one pot). My adventures in cookery tend to begin and end there. Mainly, I don't have time. Also, I don't like cleaning up.

But lately, I'm all about the bread pudding.

The Wild Rose Press, publisher of Sleepy Hollow Dreams,  will put out a holiday sweets cookbook and my submission to that was "Gingery Sleepy Hollow Drunkin-Punkin Bread Pudding with Hot Buttered Rum Sauce."  Candied ginger, one of my favorite treats, galore.

No, you're not getting that today! Be good and maybe one day soon.

My HVRWA chapter will throw its annual Holiday Party next month and the thought of that, and some tweets I saw on Twitter yesterday about creamed corn, put me in mind of the Cornbread Pudding a chaptermate brought to a party past. I have the recipe scrawled on a teensy scrap of paper that, judging by the printed remnants on the other side, must have been torn from an old newsletter. You can find the same recipe all over the internet. I'm guessing it must have been on the back of a Jiffy Corn Muffin box at one time or another.

But it's still YUM! (And kind of Thankgsiving-esque.  You remember, Squanto and the Native Americans teaching the Pilgrims about maize? Saving the illegal-alien Puritans from imminent starvation and all? )

So since the Halloween Candy Apple recipes went over like apparent gangbusters...here without further ado:

HOWDY PILGRIM CORNBREAD PUDDING

1 can creamed corn

1 can kernel corn (drained)

1 cup sour cream (8 oz.)

3 beaten eggs

1 stick butter (or margarine)

1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

Preheat oven to 350° (Jiffy says 375°--use your oven discretion!) and grease 1-1/2 quart oven-proof bowl or casserole dish. (At this point, my chaptermate's recipe just smooshes all the ingredients together and pours them into the greased bowl. That works!) But if you want to complicate things, here's thusly:

Pour butter and corn into prepared dish. Blend in sour cream. In separate bowl, beat eggs and stir into casserole along with muffin mix.

Bake 35-40 minutes in 375° oven or 1 hour in 350° oven. (Personally, I think 1 hour is too long. Main thing: DON'T BURN IT! I like it MOIST!) It's done when the center is firm and/or the knife and/or toothpick is more or less clean (You know the drill!)

Squanto would be so proud!

 Maybe we'll do Indian Pudding or Hasty Pudding one of these days!

 Did I mention? I'm all about the puddin'!

HEALING HEARTS!

It's FINAL! 

Healing Hearts releases from Carina Press on February 28, 2011.

And now I can splash the gorgeous cover by Angela Waters hither and yon (not that I haven't been already, but still!!)

And here's the blurb:

As a girl, Emma Whiteside asked Adam Caldwell, Viscount Riverton, to wait for her to be of marriageable age. Now, twelve years later, Emma hates Adam as much as she once loved him, holding the former army major responsible for the death of her brother on the battlefield.


Adam already blames himself for the loss of the men under his command. But the fiery young woman Emma's become sparks his arousal, as well as emotions Adam thought long dead. The passion between them makes him want to reclaim the man he was before the war.

Though she tries to hold on to her hatred, Emma's longing for Adam is undeniable, especially after the two share a smoldering kiss. Still, Adam is certain no woman would want a man so damaged. Can Emma prove him wrong?

 

(Thank you, Elizabeth Bass and Angela James!)

Two for Tuesday

      I'm playing along with Two for Tuesday today at the Women of Mystery blog. Decided I need a little push to get back to Surfer Dude & Co.  (Currently being torn in too many directions.) In the middle of a couple of WIPS--wildly different--both of which I like. Which to do, which to do? Lara & Cole (contemporary romantic suspense), Pierce & Mia (futuristic paranormal)?

Surfer Dude temporarily wins the day:

Pierce massaged the pebbled QWERTY tattooed on his forehead by the keyboard. He appreciated the Sirens’ thematic unity, but their off-the-charts decibel level tonight could deafen a dolphin.

Here's how you play: Pick two sentences from a book you're reading, and two from a book you're writing. (I'm declining to do the first part of that equation today, because I just read a sentence in a book that's consuming me, by an author I love, that was so clunky and awkward I couldn't believe what I was seeing!)

Have fun  with it, peeps!

Six Sentence Sunday 11-14-10

         Just because I want to look at the unfinalized version of my squeeingly beautiful cover again...a six-sentence excerpt from Healing Hearts, coming in February from Carina Press:

           The viscount's gaze skewered her like a rapier as he took the decision out of her hands.

           “The show is over, madam--I’ve entertained you long enough.”

           His deep voice reached her across the windy bluff, affecting her as if he stood close beside her, his hand encircling her wrist and pulling her forward, the rich timbre resonating through her, as intoxicating as sherry. Her hunger flared.

           Emma took a gulp of salt-tinged air and emerged from concealment to face him.

           “We meet again, Miss Whiteside.”

~

Don't forget to check out the other awesome Six Sentence Sunday authors.

Sneak Peek

I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be doing this yet, since it hasn't been finalized. On the other hand, no one told me I couldn't.

So ... ssh. (I won't tell if you won't.)

Here's the cover (unfinalized) of Healing Hearts, coming February, 2011 from Carina Press.

Squeeeeeeeeeee!

You have to click on it to get the full impact.

How GORGEOUS is Adam?

Damn. I'm in love.

(Maybe it's the five o'clock shadow.)

Six Sentence Sunday 11-07-10

         A few weeks ago, I offered a glimpse from Aidon's POV.  Here's Stephanie's. From my currently-being-revised WIP, Pomegranate Seeds.

          This guy puts his brothers--none of them slouches in the hot hunk department--in the shade. Even unconscious, his power beams off him with the force of a gazillion giga-watts, like the energy generated by an exploding sun. My fingers itch to stroke through this unbelievable stud muffin's thatch of midnight hair, to rip the linen shirt off his thick, muscular shoulders and wander across his toned six-pack--despite the broken arrow shaft jutting from his chest.
         He murmurs something in a voice that throbs through me, ramping up my excitement, his hard, sensual mouth curving in a smile so sexy I wonder if my knees will actually buckle, if I'll actually fall on top of him. I know he's doped up with lust-poison but the idea of us tangled together in an ecstatic fever of sweaty limbs makes my pulse speed up as if I'm the one who took Coop's arrow in the heart.
        I am such a goner.

And don't forget to visit all the other awesome Six Sentence Sunday authors!

Six Sentence Sunday: Halloween Edition!

It's Halloween! 

And Six Sentence Sunday. 

Two of my favorite things. (You can keep your raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens and all that too-sweet, coma-inducing stuff. Gag.) Give me a sexy demon or hunky dream voyager any day of the week. But most particularly on this day of the week, and this day of the year.

Because it's Halloween (and because I just cannot choose), I am throwing all the rules out the window. (And I'm not that contrite about it, to be honest.) Well, hell. It's Halloween. Anything goes.

I was going to give you a little taste of my demonic villainess, Vivienne, the evil and rotten succubus, but I couldn't tear myself away from Ryck.

(Oh, yeah. Katy's in it, too.)

But enough throat clearing.

Here are my WAY more than Six Sentences from Sleepy Hollow Dreams.
(Feel free to read any six you want.)

“I will have to go around the back to get to you,” Katy shouted down to the man stuck behind lane four. “I can’t drag you out through the pinsetter.”

He did not answer. A jagged stab of panic ripped into her, her unease growing.

“Are you still with me?”


“I will always be with you.”


His throaty declaration sparked delicious little sizzles of anticipation and sent them rippling through her. The sexy, masculine promise warmed her skin, as if his hot breath whispered across flesh wet from the touch of his lips.


“How in blazes did you get down there?”


“You’re very demanding, Katrina.”


She bristled at the undercurrent of amusement in his tone. “Listen, bud. If this is some kind of  Halloween prank—”


“Enough, sweetling. Come to me now.”


The knowing, commanding edge in his tone—coupled with the blazing promise of sexual heat and the offhand way he’d tossed the endearment—should have fired her ready indignation. Yet, curiosity held her still. Despite the annoyance that flared like the clang of an alarm, she remained more drawn to this man--or whatever he was--than likely was good for her.


Sweetling. She loved that. She wrapped the word-caress around her like the silken flutter of a scarf.


“Come,” he repeated, the order tighter, more urgent and clipped.

She’d heard that command from him before, when he’d tortured her writhing body to the brink of orgasm.

But now she sensed his seductive voice fading, weaker than even a moment ago.
                                                         ~

Happy Halloween, everyone!

And don't forget to check out the other awesome Six Sentence Sunday authors!

For the Win!

        For those of you who stopped by and shared your candy/caramel and Halloween stories yesterday... you have another bite at the apple, so to speak.

        The Romance Reviews site is holding a contest and giving away another copy of  Sleepy Hollow Dreams.

       The contest is here: http://erotic.theromancereviews.com/contest.php

       Explore the site. It's gorgeous. Fabulous book covers. (Like, say, this one!) Awesome authors. You can totally get lost there for awhile!

       And, if you like, check out my page while you're there!

Trick ... or Treats

There's no trick to this (well, maybe a small one at the end!)

None. So simple even I can do it.



CANDY APPLES

8-10 apples

1 c. sugar

1 c. light corn syrup

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. red cinnamon candies

Inserts sticks in apples. Boil everything else to hard crack stage. If you have a candy thermometer, that'd be to 300-310 degrees. If not, don't fuss yourself. You'll know.  Swirl apples in candy (quickly) and place on wax paper. 

Want even simpler?

 CARAMEL APPLES

(Just take the cellophane off the candy!)

6 apples

1 package (14 oz.) individually wrapped caramels

2 tablespoons milk

Insert sticks in apples.
Butter baking sheet.
Microwave caramels and milk two minutes, stirring once.

Cool briefly.

Roll each apple in melted caramel. 
Nuts and such optional
 

Leave  a comment and I'll (randomly) give away a copy of Sleepy Hollow Dreams!

All About Me!

      Sick of me yet?
      I have an interview up at Scarlet Rose author Rachel Leigh's place. Come visit if you're so inclined and also check out Rachel's web site while you're there. She's the author of Explicitly English.
     The Sleepy Hollow Dreams blurb and excerpt went up yesterday, but the interview got lost to the ether and e-mail glitches until today!
    Please stop by!
    Rachel Leigh Blog

Things that go bump in the night

       I know I teased about Sleepy Hollow Cemetery a time or two, promised I'd blog and just never got around to doing it.

      It's where Katy runs in her neon pink flip-flops in Sleepy Hollow Dreams, demonic minions and the creepy Headless Horseman nipping at her heels. It's where she first encounters the Man of Her Dreams in the flesh. Lots and lots of hot, hard, masculine flesh.
     But it's a real place, storied and historical. Not to mention spooky. And it comes into its own this time of year. Halloween and Sleepy Hollow. Made for each other.
      You can read all about it here: http://sleepyhollowcemetery.org/.
      I found some wonderfully creepy photos by a brilliant photographer on line. I didn't bookmark the page and can't find them now. I will keep looking. They are stunning.

     In the meantime, here's a broad daylight photo (neither brilliant nor stunning) from me:

               

Six Sentence Sunday: 10-24-2010

  Overstressed and out-of-time...so...back to Sleepy Hollow Dreams this week for Six Sentence Sunday. Only one week left until Halloween!

          The black Sleepy Hollow sky glittered with stars, a swathe of silvery moonlight spilling over her as she slipped from the house. Like the eyes of the man she wished she were making love with now, instead of fleeing from her home. But evil swept down from the mountains and lay heavy as fog on the fragrant autumn air. The need to run tore at her, tugging her along.
         Katy’s pink flip-flops slapped against pavement, the sound loud in the silent night.
        And suddenly she knew she was not alone.

  
And check out the awesome Six Sentence Sunday authors here!

Six Sentence Sunday: 10-17-2010

      I'm returning to Pomegranate Seeds, my paranormal WIP, and playing with the beginning. There are parts of this story I love more than anything else I've ever written. But I know I need to get to Steph sooner. So, much as I love that the first time we see her is the first time Aidon sees her,  I'm slashing and burning and writing her a new little B.A. (Before Aidon) part, around page 3 or so. But I'm keeping the meet. And, at least for now, the first person, present tense narrative.
       So here's Aidon, one of my favorite heroes ever, felled, flat on his ass, gazing up at Steph, awash in love juice and baffled and befuddled. (Well, maybe not totally.)

       (Ten sentences smashed into six for Six Sentence Sunday. You can probably tell where they were soldered together. Or where overly creative punctuation was employed. Won't stay that way!)

       Testosterone sloshes through me and passions of every stripe, formerly without power, inflame me. Emotions I’d thought long dead and buried erupt like a fireworks display and I’m ready to leap up, naked, wounded, unarmed but belligerent, screaming for satisfaction. War, sex. My id’s in masculine overdrive; my inner hound howls.
      I need to have her. 
     Now.

Check out the other awesome Six Sentence Sunday authors here!

 

Been there, Done that, Bought the T-Shirt

Here it is...my new, swimmingly enormous T-shirt, so unbelievably huge I couldn't hang it to take its picturewithout taping the sleeves to furniture first.  And even then you don't get the whole view!

But still. 

I  kinda think Ryck and Katy would get a kick out of it. They lost their heads there, too. In a manner of speaking.

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (the location of their first love scene) coming soon!

(Sleepy Hollow Dreams is now available on Amazon, as well as The Wild Rose Press. I'd be tickled if anyone felt inclined to drop by and leave a review!)

You  can read an excerpt here!

Mystic Winds

        At this time of year, when the leaves flutter like kaleidoscopic pinwheels and the bite in the air is as crisp as a New York State Macintosh apple, spooky, mystical winds swirl through the hills and dales of the historic Hudson River Valley. 

        And the tiny, bucolic village of Sleepy Hollow, hard by the river in Westchester County, is Halloween central.  What else would you expect from a place whose high school football team boasts the name "The Horsemen," where the tours of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery are booked solid, where the street sign proclaiming "Broadway" is orange and black, and where the hottest ticket around is the Hudson Valley Blaze, nights of thousands of lighted, carved jack o'lanterns? And oh, yeah, where even the tiny, green parklet in front of the gas station has a bronze sculpture of the Headless Horseman mounted on his steed and tossing his pumpkin head toward The Headless Horseman bridge? 

         You can even buy cool caps and awesome T-shirts, telling everyone you meet that you "lost your head in Sleepy Hollow, NY"!
          More later.
          But for now... some pictures.

       

Six Sentence Sunday 10-10-10

Whoa. 10-10-10. And another snippet for Six Sentence Sunday.

Well, what did you think it was gonna be?  From Sleepy Hollow Dreams, of course.

(And trust me, it's not all that easy finding six sentences I can actually reprint here!)

This was no demon. This was the dream man she craved, whose body she was addicted to, taking her to the edge of madness. She kissed the blade of his sharp jaw, the side of his neck, sucking his hot skin against her teeth and wrenching a groan from him that sounded so erotic, she liquefied. He tasted like salt. He tasted like sin. He tasted like ecstasy.

Available now from the Scarlet Rose line of The Wild Rose Press!

Click here to see snippets from the other awesome Six Sunday authors.

Released!

Sleepy Hollow Dreams available now!

(So we're going to do the blurb-excerpt thing again.  I know it's on the "Books" page. But still. I'm excited.  It's release day and all! If you ask me nicely, I may give one away.)

Available now from the Scarlet Rose line of The Wild Rose Press

Is he the man of her dreams…or her worst nightmare?

All Katy Lyndhurst wants is a normal suburban Sleepy Hollow life, despite the strange things that keep happening to her. Blistering hot erotic dreams bleed into her waking hours, making her yearn for her dream lover to materialize. When her sexy dream voyager, Ryck, shows up in the flesh and ignites her steamiest passions, she wonders if he's a sultry fantasy conjured by her fevered brain…or something much more dangerous?


Centuries ago, a wicked succubus cursed Ryck Van Winkle to fulfill the desires of sleeping women while unable to take pleasure himself. Only Katy possesses the power to break the spell and awaken him. But Ryck’s defiance sparks the demon’s fury, causing supernatural portals to crumble and allowing demonic minions to threaten Katy and her world.


Now Katy and Ryck must battle the forces of darkness together. But will Ryck will be trapped forever in her Sleepy Hollow Dreams?

Excerpt:

Galloping hoof beats pursued her down the old post road.

Ghostly hoof beats. The legendary Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow.

Chasing her.

With deadly purpose.

Katy ran on, her sides cramping. Her flip-flops smacked asphalt but the clop of the demonic hooves echoed louder. She clattered into the street as the sidewalk ended, and gasped for air.

A piece of one rubber thong broke and she stumbled, tripping onto the grassy median bordering Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Her shriek ripped through the quiet suburban village. Utter fatigue claimed her, halting her steps. She collapsed in exhaustion, her sleep-drenched mind blanking as she fell.

Hard-muscled arms scooped her up before she hit the ground. The horse’s unearthly scream ripped through her as the beast thundered past. Her rescuer clasped her against his broad, masculine chest. A familiar glow of warmth stole over her, filling her with a sense of peace and security...

Beneath her ear, a strong heartbeat pulsed, quickening in time to the increased thudding of her own. His autumn scent seduced her as he swept her away, his long-legged strides purposeful and sure. She rested her cheek against his shoulder, her head fitting perfectly in the hollow of his neck. Her fear ebbed, replaced by desire.

A large hand slid over her breasts, her nipples already taut and straining with need against the thin cotton of her dress. She arched into him, rubbing herself against him like a cat in heat, rewarded by his harsh gasp and the ragged hitch in his breathing.

Moments later he carried her into the cemetery, and she felt the soft October earth, rich and spongy, at her back. Large, manly hands made quick work of the few clothes she wore.

“I’m dreaming,” she murmured.

“No. Not this time. Open your eyes.”

http://www.thewildrosepress.com/wilderroses/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=182&products_id=789

Six Sentence Sunday

      I was going to post another little snippet from Sleepy Hollow Dreams, releasing Friday, October 8, but when SHD went up on the The Scarlet Rose "Coming Soon" site yesterday, I blogged an exerpt from it then. My six sentences were all fired up and waiting to go, too.  I'd even smushed a couple together to force eight into six, like Cinderella's stepsister trying on the glass slipper.
     But since I jumped the gun and all...I decided to go with my WIP instead. So here's another little sumpin' sumpin' from Cole in Her Stocking.
     (I love Six Sentence Sundays!)

WARNING: Nothing you won't see or hear on cable TV (or even primetime network TV, really), but if you'd prefer not to have your delicate sensibilities offended or underage retinas singed, move along, nothing to see here. 

            Lara shifted in the seat, offering him a sultry view of creamy thigh as she rolled down her over-the-knee boots. Cole nearly drove off the road. Jesus. One after the other, excrutiatingly slowly, giving him plenty of time to indulge images of his hands and his mouth on her, all over her, stroking her heated flesh, suckling her soft tits, savoring the sexy taste of her as his rigid cock thrust between those leather-encased legs. He grew wood hard enough to bat one out of the ballpark.
            Gripping the steering wheel, he sucked in a breath so sharp he reclaimed Lara's full, eyebrow-raised attention.

           “Human, after all, Special Agent Brannigan?”

       Check other Six Sentence Sunday authors here: http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/

Sleepy Hollow Dreams: The Excerpt!

Galloping hoof beats pursued her down the old post road.

Ghostly hoof beats. The legendary Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow.

Chasing her.

With deadly purpose.

Faster and faster.

Katy ran on, her sides cramping. Her flip-flops smacked asphalt but the clop of the demonic hooves echoed louder. She clattered into the street as the sidewalk ended, and gasped for air.

A piece of one rubber thong broke and she stumbled, tripping onto the grassy median bordering Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Her shriek ripped through the quiet suburban village. Utter fatigue claimed her, halting her steps. She collapsed in exhaustion, her sleep-drenched mind blanking as she fell.

Hard-muscled arms scooped her up before she hit the ground. The horse’s unearthly scream ripped through her as the beast thundered past. Her rescuer clasped her against his broad, masculine chest. A familiar glow of warmth stole over her, filling her with a sense of peace and security...

Beneath her ear, a strong heartbeat pulsed, quickening in time to the increased thudding of her own. His autumn scent seduced her as he swept her away, his long-legged strides purposeful and sure. She rested her cheek against his shoulder, her head fitting perfectly in the hollow of his neck. Her fear ebbed, replaced by desire.
A large hand slid over her breasts, her nipples already taut and straining with need against the thin cotton of her dress. She arched into him, rubbing herself against him like a cat in heat, rewarded by his harsh gasp and the ragged hitch in his breathing.

Moments later he carried her into the cemetery, and she felt the soft October earth, rich and spongy, at her back. Large, manly hands made quick work of the few clothes she wore.

“I’m dreaming,” she murmured.

“No. Not this time. Open your eyes.”

 

Coming October 8 from the Scarlet Rose line of The Wild Rose Press

October 8th!

Just sayin'

Heh.

   

                    Coming October 8 from the Scarlet Rose line of The Wild Rose Press