Musings from the Blonde Side

Issue 52, February 2008

Introduction…AKA the Blatant Self Promotion (BSP) of TL Schaefer & Keira Ramsay…

This month’s interview and excerpt…

This month’s OTHER contest…

G'bye...

 

 

Happy February all!  I’m sitting here on the laptop, looking outside and actually seeing sunshine (we got a half inch of ice on Friday night/Saturday morning) wishing for spring.  I want to plant some petunias in the two pots out front and see if I can actually get them to live through the summer (my black thumb notwithstanding).  And I’d really like to see the squirrels in our backyard playing on more than bare branches.

In cool-beans news, Sea of Dreams was released by Liquid Silver Books on 28 January … here’s the blurb.

 

Fiona Neal is tired of shuffling between one crappy job and the next, and the same goes when it comes to relationships. But when a stranger at a wedding lights her fires, she succumbs to a few moments of stolen passion before beginning a new life.

Mike Alvarez gets just what he’s looking for when a beautiful waitress satisfies his carnal cravings ... giving him everything but her name. When he moves a thousand miles away to begin a new job, he’s shocked to meet her again ... and just as hungry for her.

Fiona swore her job as a naturalist was a new beginning, but when she encounters Mike again, it’s hard to ignore the swirling passion between them.

But their budding relationship will be tested by ghosts from not only Mike’s past, but Fiona’s as well. For there’s more to her than meets the eye. She’s a prodigal daughter, and the only one who can heal the mystical world of the fae ... or tear them apart forever.

 

It got a GREAT review from Mrs. Giggles, who’s usually a harsh reader, so that made me ecstatic.

When it comes to works in progress, I’m hard at work on a book that had previously been eluding me…Duck and Run (you can read the first chapter on the website).  I got 4K done on that one in the last week, in addition to finishing up critiques on Breath of Heaven (the last installment in the RuneQuest series).  I’m also noodling with an idea for Nocturne Bites (short stories of the paranormal, alpha hero bent).

I’m still shopping View around on the agent front, so kind of in limbo there.  If I get an offer for representation on that book, then it’s balls to the wall on Live and Let Die and Die Another Day.  I even wrote out the beginning chapter to a FOURTH book in the series I hadn’t known was even in my noggin until this weekend.  Obviously my subconscious is trying to tell me something *g*.

Okay, enough of me… This month’s winners are:  caity_mack and thejestersmom

 

That’s alllll folks!  Ate lago!!!

 

Terri/Keira

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This month we’re revisiting an old friend, a freakin’ awesome author and one of my best buds…Leigh Wyndfield!  If you haven’t checked out her sci-fi books and hot, hot, hot Secrets stories, then you’re missing some great reads!

 

MftBS: It’s been awhile since we’ve talked…what’s been happening with you lately?  Tell us about your latest releases…

 

Whew! I’ve been busy since we last spoke.  What was that?  Two years ago?!  Lately I’ve resold some of my old work to Samhain Publishing and LooseID, as well as some great new novels and novellas.  In the last few months, I had two new novellas come out – Desert Heat and Two for the Money (my first ménage), as well as a novel re-release – Hot Visions (expanded with more of the hot stuff).  On February 4^th, a new novel comes out called SECRET OBSESSION.  This is one of those books that just flew from my fingertips, completely taking me by surprise.  For the rest of the year, two more novel re-releases come out, IN HEAT and ICY HEAT, and another new novel, TAMING RED DRAGON.  This is all very exciting and overwhelming, since for a while there, I had very little going on.  

 

MftBS: If you were trying to describe your work to a new reader, what would you say?

 

I write action-adventure spicy romance.  My goal is to write a story you can’t put down, one with a twist you’ve never seen before.  When readers email to say they read my book in one sitting, I’m thrilled.  That’s what it’s all about for me.  An adventure you have to read until the very end, with characters you come to love and cheer for.

 

MftBS: Who are three of your favorite writers & why?

 

This is always a tricky one for me.  I love any book which is hard to put down, but sometimes I’m fickle.  Lately I’ve been reading some random things – Jasmine Haynes’ newest one – FORTUNE HUNTER (which was a fantastic read), JD Robb’s first book in that series (yes, I’m finally getting to those), a few you could skip and not be missing much, Laurel K. Hamilton’s latest fairy book, and Sookie Stackhouse’s latest adventure.  I also read your latest, Terri, and in my unprofessional opinion, it was fantastic!!

 

MftBS: What is your oddest habit while writing?

 

I rock back and forth like a crazy person as I type, listening to blaring music the whole time.  I’m completely in the zone when I write new pages.  It became a bit of a game with my youngest (one I didn’t appreciate – grrrrr) to pounce on me when I was deep into the words and shout, “Boo!”  I would jump about 3,000 feet into the air.  I finally had to stop that.  It was messing with my Zen.  I couldn’t write at all with her in the house until I moved the furniture.  My poor characters were scared to come out of hiding – LOL!  Life became much better when I turned around my desk to face the door.  Now I’m sitting in the middle of the room, safely out of reach of creeping children.

 

MftBS: Last but not least…what tidbit of BSP (Blatant Self Promotion) would you like to share with my devoted, die-hard fans?

 

I finally had a professional build me a new website!  Wow is it nice.  Check it out here, www.leighwyndfield.com .  Also, I’ve got a brand new, spicy romance coming out on the 4^th – check out a spicy sneak peek on my site!!  Join my newsletter for information about my monthly contest - leighwyndfield_newsletter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com .

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

And now, because Leigh was nice enough to answer my nosy questions, here is a bit of Secret Obsession to tickle your fancy:

 

The rain picked up, blowing across the yard and swaying trees.

“Come out of the rain.” He pulled her two steps toward the toolshed before she dug in and resisted him.

Her head tipped and her eyes said plainly in the half light that she didn’t trust the new location, didn’t trust either of them in it.

He waited, keeping a gentle tug on her arm. She would come or she wouldn’t. He wasn’t going to let her claim later that he forced her. Besides, forcing Clem was like trying to force a sailboat forward into the wind. It was best with her to tack back and forth until he got her where he wanted her to go.

The rain lightened as they stood there in a face-off, but the cold wind raised the peaks of her nipples hard and tight against the now see-through white gown, drawing his notice. Her dark areolas were visible to him as if she stood naked.

He raked his gaze over her, resisting the urge to yank her into his arms. Her body was still rounded, but she’d added muscles. Muscles he’d enjoy exploring leisurely with his mouth. Her feet were planted in the soil, like she was in a tug of war, even though he barely pulled on her arm.

Choose, Clem. Choose me. He wanted to shout the words, but he swallowed them instead. Her body needed his as badly as his needed hers. It was like a good knot in a rope. The more she struggled against it, the tighter the need became. He’d learned long ago to just give in and slake his thirst.

“Damn. Damn,” she said and stumbled from her stance.

He swung her into his arms and crossed to the shed, ducking beneath the roof before she changed her mind.

In the shadows, his mouth found hers, slipping along her lips, his relief coming as a low growl.

Her hands twined around his neck and he let her slide down his hard, full body to her feet. God, she felt good. She always did.

He tried to slow the kiss. They had more time than the other night, so they should enjoy it. But it was hard, so hard to slow when they usually had fast relief.

“What are we doing, Wade?” she broke away to ask, the pain and confusion in her voice making him draw her even closer.

He gave her the only answer he knew to be the truth. “What we must to survive.” He nuzzled her neck, enjoying the hitch in her breathing with the simple motion.

Running his tongue up to her ear, he lightly circled the delicate shell, drawing a shiver. He nipped her earlobe, the action rough after the soft lick and he was rewarded by another shudder.

Her fingers buried in his shirt as if she tried to stop herself from being tossed overboard in a storm. Or as if she tried to halt her need to rip the fabric in two. She’d made this motion time and time again, for years now, and she’d made it last night. Perhaps she did want to tear his shirt. The idea had chill bumps rising on his arms.

Whatever the reason, he didn’t want her passive, but a total participant. For a moment, her old request for silence stopped him from speaking, but she’d asked her own question earlier, which earned him at least a small request. “Rip it off,” he growled low into her ear.

“What?” she asked, blinking up at him in the dim light. He couldn’t see the beautiful green of her eyes but he knew they held confusion.

He’d thrown her off track by speaking. Good. He had never liked that rule anyway. “Rip off my shirt.” Sliding his hands along her arms, he brushed the sides of her breasts.

She gasped and he saw secret desire in her eyes. She had wanted to do this before, but never had. Maybe all this time he’d known, maybe that’s how he knew to suggest it. Or maybe this new Clem didn’t carry as much anger and hatred for him so he was able to see more of her under the surface.

When she trailed her hands up his chest only to stop at his collar, he knew he’d have to encourage her to take what she wanted. “No one will hear us over the storm. It’s just you and me and the rain, Clem. Just us here tonight.”

She took hold of the collar points in each hand. He’d dressed special for her, in one of his best button-down shirts, and he couldn’t wait for her to destroy it.

Instead of ripping, she used her leverage to pull him down for a kiss that ate at his mouth. She worked him around to the wall so he leaned against it while her lips crushed his, fire curling into his belly and replacing the disappointment of her not following through on what he knew they both wanted.

She wasn’t sure she had the strength to rip his shirt. Oh, she wanted to, but that level of violence had never been between them and if she took that step, would they ever be able to go back?

What was she doing, anyway? She’d sworn him off, dammit. Just earlier today. Frustration leaped up to mingle with the vicious need that clawed her insides. She wanted him with a desire so great she couldn’t control it, didn’t want to. Her grandmother had nearly destroyed this island, and Clem would follow right in her ancestor’s footsteps if anyone found out she had a secret obsession for the Head of the Tawes family.

Anger added to the already heady brew simmering in her belly. Damn them for hemming her in like this, caging her in all their past sins. If their clans had behaved admirably in the first place, she and Wade could have dated in high school and then they would be over this. Nothing this good could last. Not unless you put it into a pressure cooker that baked it into madness.

Years of frustration and anger and desire boiled in her veins and she stepped back, ripping his shirt in one motion.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Be Someone’s Valentine Contest

 

February 2008 prizes!

 

PDF download of JB Skully’s Dead to the Max, Book 1 in the Max Starr series

From Leigh Wyndfield, download of the reader’s choice!

From Dee Knight, a signed copy of Impatient Passion

From Keira Ramsay, download of the reader’s choice

 

Here’s how the contest works!

 

When:  It runs the first of the month through the 20^th of the month.  We’ll choose one winner on the 21^st and make the notification.  The next contest will then begin on the 1^st.

 

How:  To enter, simply go through each of our sites, find the answers to our monthly questions, then send an email with your answers to skullycontest@...  The winner will be chosen at random from amongst the entries with the correct answers.  We will contact you, ask for your snail mail address and you’ll get lots of presents!

 

Who:  Jasmine Haynes/ Jennifer Skully, Dee S. Knight, TL Schaefer/ Keira Ramsay, Leigh Wyndfield, and special guest author, Gena Showalter.

 

Newsletter:  We’d love to keep you updated on our new releases so we will be adding you to our newsletter lists unless you specifically tell us not to in your email entry.

 

Restrictions:  You MUST be 18 years or older to enter and US residents only.

 

February 2008 questions!

 

Jasmine Haynes/ Jennifer Skully/JB Skully

http://www.skullybuzz.com/

Question:  In the Dead to the Max excerpt, how long ago was Cameron killed?  (hint: click on the “buy-it” link for Dead to the Max and it will take you to liquidsilverbooks.com to read the excerpt, no need to buy.)

 

Leigh Wyndfield

http://www.leighwyndfield.com/

Question:  Where were Clem and Wade standing at the start of the Secret Obsession excerpt? 

 

Dee S. Knight

http://www.deesknight.com/

Question: In Impatient Passion (which came out on Valentine's Day 5 years ago!) who was it who died and left Austin the money to invest and buy her apartment?

 

TL Schaefer/ Keira Ramsay

http://www.tlschaefer.com/

Question:  In the excerpt from Sea of Dreams, what is Fiona’s aunt’s name?

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The dreaded, but necessary disclaimer:

 

You received this e-mail because you have subscribed to the Musings from the Blonde Side newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click this link: MusingsFromTheBlondeSide-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com and send a blank e-mail to the server.

 

If you received this newsletter in a forwarded message and would like to subscribe, please click this link: MusingsFromTheBlondeSide-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

 

Musings from the Blonde Side

Issue 51, January 2008

Introduction…AKA the Blatant Self Promotion (BSP) of TL Schaefer & Keira Ramsay…

This month’s interview and excerpt…

This month’s OTHER contest…

G'bye...

 

 

Happy New Year everyone!  I’m always so happy to see the holidays swing around, not only for the days off *g*, but for how everyone seems happier and friendlier.  In Oklahoma, that’s saying something, because I’ve never seen a friendlier bunch of people in my life.

We’ve had tons of snow this year, but not so much that it slowed down life.  The ice storm which hit us a few years back whacked Oklahoma City and Tulsa this year, but left us semi-alone…we got a day off work, but no major catastrophes to speak of.

On the writing front, I have news!  I finished Sea of Dreams, the third novella in the RuneQuest series.  It’s in edits right now, and we’re looking at a Feb release through Liquid Silver Books.  As soon as I have a release date, I’ll let you know!

I also started on Breath of Heaven, the last novella in the series, and have finished 21,000 words, so I fully expect this one will be finished by mid-January, if not sooner, given the extravaganza of football playoffs in the semi-near future.

It’s funny, I was kinda berating myself for not getting much writing done this year, then I realized that I published two “big” books (Redemption and Saints of Midland) this year.  Granted, Saints was done a loooong time ago, but hell, I’ll take it *g*.  And I did finish View to a Kill, dammit, in addition to Sea of Dreams, so it’s all good.

After I finish Breath, I’m kind of in one of those weird holding patterns.  View is making the agent rounds, so do I go ahead and work on the next book in that (Talented) series, or the next book in the Chosen Two (Saints of Midland) series?  I’m thinking I’ll start on Angels of Redemption (Chosen Two), and if I snag an agent, then work on the Talented series.  Shit.  This is the conundrum I fell into with the Chosen Two series…I looooved the idea, but it wasn’t “shelvable” according to editors, so I started working on other stuff.  But now the characters are talking to me again, so I really want to get it done and sent to Samhain so I don’t lose readership because of a realllllly long lapse between the books.  Or I may finish Duck and Run, which I have 15K done on.  That story stopped “talking” to me, but after rereading it while my father-in-law was here, I can easily see myself finishing it over the next few months.

Bottom line is, I’ve got way too many people running around in my head.

Okay, enough of me *g*…in uber-happy news, we went over 300 subscribers this month, so as I promised, we’ll have TWO winners every month!!  This month’s winners are:  Linda H and Old Troll Lady.

 

That’s alllll folks!  Ate lago!!!

 

Terri/Keira

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This month I’m pleased as punch to bring you one of my fave authors, as well as someone I consider a conference buddy *g*…Kelley St. John.  Kelley has pretty much stormed the romance world, receiving the National Reader’s Choice Award several times…and she totally deserves it!  Her books are hot, spicy and a ton of fun to read.  With no further ado, I give you…Kelley St. John!!

 

MftBS: What's the coolest thing that's happened to you as an author?

I was in Washington DC for BookExpo and walked out of a restaurant to find a large group from the local Barnes and Noble store waiting for my autograph.  They didn’t have pen and paper, but they had a Sharpie and asked me to sign their work shirts!  That was pretty cool J

 

MftBS: If you were trying to describe your work to a new reader, what would you say?

I write sexy, sassy contemporaries, with a good bit of humor (because life is so much fun, you just have to laugh).

 

MftBS: Who are three of your favorite writers & why?

Linda Howard, Gayle Wilson, Diana Gabaldon.  Why?  John Medina, Rafe Sinclair, Jamie Fraser (in other words, their amazing heroes!).

            As an editorial aside, I’ve gotta agree with Kelley’s choice of John Medina…yowza!!

 

MftBS: What is your oddest habit while writing?

If I hit a wall in the story, I take a drive.  I drive as long as it takes to work out the problem (and sometimes that spans a few hours). 

 

MftBS: Last but not least…what tidbit of BSP (Blatant Self Promotion) would you like to share with my devoted, die-hard fans?

Too funny.  I suppose I’d have to promote my current single title release, TO CATCH A CHEAT, and my upcoming Harlequin Blaze mini-series THE SEXTH SENSE.  TO CATCH A CHEAT is on the shelves now (and an excerpt is below).  THE SEXTH SENSE started in 2007 and continues with a second trilogy this year (FIRE IN THE BLOOD – May, BED ON ARRIVAL – July, LIVE AND YEARN – September). 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

And now, because Kelley was nice enough to answer my nosy questions, here is a bit of TO CATCH A CHEAT to tickle your fancy: 

 

Marissa whirled toward Trent.  “Did you grab the blue room because you knew its patio had a hot tub?  And the biggest one I’ve ever seen?”

“Hey, if you want in, I’ll share.”

“You’re despicable.”

“That’s not what you thought twenty minutes ago.”  He leaned against the fencing enclosing the small space, crossed his arms and waited for the battle.  Damn, she was cute when she was mad.

“Sure it is,” she countered.  “I thought you were despicable last week, I thought you were despicable this morning, and I thought you were despicable twenty minutes ago.”

Trent merely shook his head.  “No,” he said.  “You didn’t.”

“I promise you, I did.”  She marched toward the hot tub, dipped her fingers in and growled.  “It’s perfect.”

“Like I said, I’ll share.”  He smiled.  “And do you really expect me to believe you were thinking of how despicable I am when you were fooling around with--what was it again--Pinky?--because I’m betting that you were thinking of me in a way that’s not at all classified as despicable.  Desirable, yes.  Despicable, no.”

“You have to be the most arrogant male I’ve ever met.”

“I prefer confident,” he said.

She didn’t respond, but made a kissing sound toward Petie, who abandoned his sniffing venture and ran to her feet.  “Come on,” she said to the dog.  “I’ve had enough fresh air.”  She turned toward the door, and Petie ran inside.

“Go ahead, but we still have to talk,” Trent said, “for today’s assignment.”

Her back stiffened, and she stopped walking.  Then she took an audible breath and turned around, her jaw clamped tight and eyes blazing.  If it weren’t for that cute little curl teasing her forehead, she might have actually looked fierce.  As it was, she simply looked sexy.  “Let’s get it over with,” she said, then moved to one of the two wicker patio chairs and sat down. 

“Want to call your dog?” Trent asked, moving the other chair to face hers.

“No, he’s fine.  And this will be better anyway, just the two of us, getting today’s assignment over with.  By the way, I meant what I told Speedy.  I don’t want to talk to you any more than necessary.”

“Whatever you say.  I guess you don’t need me to talk to you when you take care of business in your room, huh?”

Her cheeks flared again, eyes narrowed. 

“Okay, that was low,” he admitted.  And fun, not that he’d say that out loud. 

“Whether you believe it or not, that had nothing to do with you.  Now, let’s take care of the assignment.”  She twisted on the chair cushion, then pulled her legs up to tuck them under her bottom, as though she were totally at ease and ready for anything he threw her way.  Trent could see her as a little girl, long black hair in wild curls down her back, sitting the same way on the gym floor when the class waited for instructions in P.E.  Dare he mention that now?  Let her know that she really did make an impression on him way back then?  As the feisty girl with the excited dark eyes, so alive and ready for life?  Trent looked at those eyes now, still dark and excited...but there was something else staring back at him now.  And the realization slammed him like a fist to the chest. 

Rissi Kincaid was afraid.

Of him?  Or something else?

“Like I’ve said repeatedly, I added you to the database as a joke.  I admit I shouldn’t have put you on the list, because we were just kids, but I didn’t lie about what happened back then.  And I really would like to get this over with now, if you don’t mind,” she said saucily. 

Trent didn’t take time to second-guess instinct.  He acted on it, and damned the consequences.  “You’re right.  We should get this over with.”  He stood from his chair, took a small step to stand in front of her, then leaned closer, bracing both hands on the armrests of her chair while watching those dark eyes widen even more.

“What--” she whispered, “What are you doing?”

“Getting this over with.”

His mouth touched hers softly, exploring.  He sensed her tense beneath him and vowed to make that go away, at least toward him.  He sucked her lower lip, again gently, not wanting to scare her, but to show her that he truly wanted her to feel the impact of this kiss, the impact of what the two of them could share, if she’d stop fighting...and let him in.

She moaned, a low, soft sound that eased from her throat, then she opened her mouth and deepened the kiss, her tongue sliding moistly between his lips. 

 A sound pierced the moment, but Trent was too into the kiss, too into having Rissi Kincaid, to decipher what it was.  But the woman beneath him wasn’t as lost in the moment, because she jolted with the intrusion, and the next thing Trent knew, she drew blood.

 

“Reality bites...and so does Rissi Kincaid.”

~ Trent Jackson

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spring into the New Year Contest

 

Congratulations to Tara Woods, our December winner!

 

January 2008 prizes!

 

Autographed copy of Jennifer Skully’s Sheer Dynamite

From Leigh Wyndfield, a download of Hot Visions

From Dee Knight, a $10 gift certificate to Fictionwise.com

A download copy of Keira Ramsay’s February release, Sea of Dreams

A signed copy of Gena Showalter’s The Nymph King

 

Here’s how the contest works!

 

When:  It runs the first of the month through the 20^th of the month.  We’ll choose one winner on the 21^st and make the notification.  The next contest will then begin on the 1^st.

 

How:  To enter, simply go through each of our sites, find the answers to our monthly questions, then send an email with your answers to skullycontest@...  The winner will be chosen at random from amongst the entries with the correct answers.  We will contact you, ask for your snail mail address and you’ll get lots of presents!

 

Who:  Jasmine Haynes/ Jennifer Skully, Dee S. Knight, TL Schaefer/ Keira Ramsay, Leigh Wyndfield, and special guest author, Gena Showalter.

 

Newsletter:  We’d love to keep you updated on our new releases so we will be adding you to our newsletter lists unless you specifically tell us not to in your email entry.

 

Restrictions:  You MUST be 18 years or older to enter and US residents only.

 

January 2008 questions!

 

Jasmine Haynes/ Jennifer Skully/JB Skully

http://www.skullybuzz.com/

Question:  In the new Fortune Hunter excerpt, when Faith says “Define real sex, please,” what is Connor’s answer?

 

Leigh Wyndfield

http://www.leighwyndfield.com/

Question:  What is Susan Wright’s gift in Leigh’s newest book, HOT VISIONS?

 

Dee S. Knight

http://www.deesknight.com/

Question: What kind of business did Susan Baer run in Baer and the Three Goldilocks?

TL Schaefer/ Keira Ramsay

http://www.tlschaefer.com/

Question:  In the excerpt from Blink of an Eye, what is the name of Cassidy’s restaurant?

 

Gena Showalter

http://www.genashowalter.com

Question:  Mishka Le’Ace is half human and half…what? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The dreaded, but necessary disclaimer:

 

You received this e-mail because you have subscribed to the Musings from the Blonde Side newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click this link: MusingsFromTheBlondeSide-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com and send a blank e-mail to the server.

 

If you received this newsletter in a forwarded message and would like to subscribe, please click this link: MusingsFromTheBlondeSide-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

 

Musings from the Blonde Side

Issue 50, October & November 2007

Introduction…AKA the Blatant Self Promotion (BSP) of TL Schaefer & Keira Ramsay…

This month’s interview and excerpt…

Monthly Contest

G'bye...

 

 

Greetings and salutations, all!  The last two months have been hella-busy for me, so much so that an October newsletter wasn’t even an option.

See, here’s the deal.  I’ve been looking for a new house for about two years, and actively for two or three months.  Well, in September, we walked into the perfect one!  We closed on 29 October, so I spent a good portion of the month in a packing and pre-move frenzy.  It was fun, since we haven’t moved in over ten years, and going through stuff is almost like finding treasures *g*, but now I’m glad it’s over and we’re all moved in!  The old house is *almost* ready for our renter…one more room for our amazing do-it-all guy (calling him a handyman is really understating it), and it’s done, baby!

In writing news, View to a Kill is finished and sitting on an agent’s desk as we speak!  Cross fingers for me!  I’m almost done with Sea of Dreams, and I think I finally figured out what the heck was bugging me (thank God), so I’m actually expecting to be finished in the very near future.  I also wrote out the first page of Live and Let Die, the second book in the Talented series, just to see if I could write a second book along that vein in first person without making the heroine sound too much like Sara in View to a Kill.  I’m happy to report that it worked!  Yippeee for me!  LOL.

Seriously, though, my plan of action between now and the New Year is to finish Sea of Dreams and Breath of Heaven, then dive back into Live and Let Die.  I can’t think of a better way to start the new year than fulfilling my contract on the RuneQuest novellas and picking up with the rest of the Talented trilogy!

Just a reminder, at the end of this missive *g*, is our latest contest information…this baby is totally FREE, and doesn’t require anything but you surfing our sites and answering a few questions.  This month’s guest author is the fabuloso Jodi Lynn Copeland.

Congrats to LadyVampire and Pellini1, October and November’s winners of the random $10 gift certificate drawing.

 

That’s alllll folks!  Ate lago!!!

 

Terri/Keira

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This month I’m totally jazzed to be bringing Lori Armstrong your way.  I read BLOOD TIES and was totally over the moon for it, so of course grabbed HALLOWED GROUND, and am now anxiously awaiting my Amazon delivery of SHALLOW GRAVE!  Lori’s writing is just phenomenal, and it’s no small wonder that she was nominated for the prestigious Shamus award for her series, and then won Willa Cather Literary Award.  In a word…WOW!

With no further ado…I bring you Lori Armstrong!

 

 

MftBS: What's the coolest thing that's happened to you as an author?

 

Besides getting that all important first contract? And then holding my first book in my hand like a newborn babe? I’d have to say when I recently won the 2007 Willa Cather Literary Award for Best Softcover Fiction. I was stunned, because I’ve been nominated for other awards this year and last, and lost every damn one. I attended the banquet, and let me tell you, it’s a whole lot easier to sit there and choke down your chicken knowing you’ve already won, rather than waiting to hear you’ve lost (which has also happened to me numerous times!) and having to smile when you want to cry or curl up in your room and slam tequila.

 

MftBS: If you were trying to describe your work to a new reader, what would you say?

 

Gritty. Dark. Sort of sexy with a thread of humor. I’ve been told the South Dakota setting is an equally important character in the books as any flesh and blood person. My protag, Julie Collins, is a tough tough broad, who’s been knocked around by life – and by various men – and she still manages to be feminine, to come out on top, kicking ass and taking names, yet she has a vulnerable side she shows only those closest to her, but that is a catch-22 because she is damn hard to get close to.

 

MftBS: Who are three of your favorite writers & why?

 

Dennis Lehane – because his writing is beautiful and lyrical and every book is a study in how to create a masterpiece.

 

Sue Grafton – the Godmother of modern female PI fiction and the creator of the fab Kinsey Milhone series.

 

JD Robb – the “In Death” series is the single best series out there in any genre for me. Period. The way she’s shown Eve’s, as well as Roarke’s character growth throughout the 26 books is amazing and a masterclass in storytelling. The secondary characters add to – rather than detract from – the leads. Robb manages to make the plot important in every single book, unlike some long running series where plots begin to suffer or are simply nonexistent.

 

MftBS: What is your oddest habit while writing?

 

I’m normal. I write every day. I take care of the hubby, house and kids. I do some stuff online. That said, it really depends on how far behind I am. If I’m pushing a deadline to the last minute, I’m pretty much MIA from my real life. So far the girls have stuck to the “don’t bug Mom unless you’re bleeding” rule when it’s crunch time. Which means, I live on caffeine, but energy drinks have the opposite effect on me than they do on most folks, so I’m guzzling coffee, Diet Mt. Dew and Diet Pepsi. My husband throws the odd candy bar into our bedroom to appease me.

 

Umm. That didn’t really answer the ‘oddest’ question, did it?

 

How about this: rarely do I write anything new on my main computer, I work upstairs in my bedroom on a stone-age laptop without internet access. It keeps me writing instead of goofing off online.

 

And another one, I single space everything, and keep chapters in separate documents until the book is completely done. Completely. I’m fanatical about it. Only when I’ve written “the end” do I combine the chapters into one document and apply the publisher’s required format. Even if I have to submit a partial, I double space it to send it off, then the document immediately goes back to single space until I’m finished with it.

 

Ooh, I’m such a rebel, huh? I wish I could say something interesting like I only eat organic or orange food while I’m killing folks and planting bodies…but alas, I’m…boring.

 

MftBS: Last but not least…what tidbit of BSP (Blatant Self Promotion) would you like to share with my devoted, die-hard fans?

 

If you like strong, realistic female characters, plenty of plot twists and turns, the occasional sex scene, and aren’t offended by rough language and content, then my books are for you! Run! Don’t walk to your nearest bookstore and demand these books –BLOOD TIES, HALLOWED GROUND, SHALLOW GRAVE – from the Two-time Shamus nominated, Willa Cather Literary Award Winning author, Lori G. Armstrong!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

And now, because Lori was nice enough to answer my nosy questions, here is a bit of Shallow Grave to tickle your fancy:

Shallow Grave - Mystery/ Nov. 2007 - US $7.95

Surveillance on an insurance fraud case in Bear Butte County unfolds tragically for PI Julie Collins. On the wrong side of tribal politics, family disputes, as Julie digs for answers, she finally comes face to face with her brother’s killer . . . and realizes not all deceptions run deep.

Excerpt from - Shallow Grave -

Copyright © 2007 by Lori G. Armstrong

Medallion Press, Ltd.

 

 

In staking out the Everett abode, not only hadn’t we seen Lang zipping past on a four-wheeler, a mud buggy, or a horse; we hadn’t seen Lang Everett period.

Rushmore West Insurance retained our services for fifteen hours of surveillance. If we didn’t deliver the goods in the allotted time, we’d be off the case, unless they ponied up more cash. I was hoping for a quick end to this ho-hum assignment.

Bored, I fiddled with the screen on the video camera.

“Hey, be careful with that,” Kevin said.

“I am. When was the last time you used this?”

“Couple of months ago on that employee theft case.

Why?”

“Just curious. Don’t remember seeing it in the supply closet at the office.”

“That’s because I had it at home.”

“For?”

Kevin looked at me strangely.

With guilt? “Ooh. Didn’t know you were into making porn, Kev.”

“Jesus, Julie. Get your mind out of the gutter.”

I grinned. “But it’s so happy there.”

“Not everything has to do with sex.”

“All the good stuff does.”

He directed his scowl out the window. “Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ll actually be glad when Martinez gets back in town.”

“You and me both.”

Kevin didn’t understand what I saw in Tony Martinez, my latest paramour, president of the Hombres—a motorcycle “club”— and an all-around, scary, badass dude.

Martinez had been in Colorado for two weeks on business. Pained me to admit I missed him, especially when I didn’t know if the feeling was mutual. The stupid jerk hadn’t bothered to call me. Yeah, yeah, I knew phone lines ran both ways, and it might be juvenile, but I sure as hell wasn’t about to call El Presidente first.

“You up for doing anything tonight?” Kevin asked.

Since his girlfriend Lilly’s death from cancer, I suspected Kevin spent most nights alone, staring at the ugly-ass walls in his condo. After being together eight hours a day, he didn’t push for us to hang out after the 5:00 whistle blew.

“I guess. Wanna get a pizza and watch a movie?”

“Sure. As long as it’s not a Clooney flick.”

“Then no Cameron Diaz stinkers either.”

“Maybe we should stick to TV.”

“Great. I think Queer Eye is on at eight.”

Kevin groaned.

I smiled, readjusting my position. “How many hours are left on today’s allotment?”

“Two.”

My butt would never recover. And my stomach rumbled like an empty cattle truck. “Got any Twinkies?”

“For the last time, no. God. Eat a protein bar. There’s a whole box in the back seat.”

“Nice try. But I don’t see you eating those nasty things. Why didn’t you pack Snickers bars?”

Kevin faced me. “What is up with you? You never care about food when we’re on stakeout.” His brows lifted. “Christ. You’re not pregnant, are you?”

The look of horror on my face matched his. “Omigod, no, I’m not pregnant.”

Sounds of an engine revving cut his retaliation short and brought our attention back to the Everett household.

Our suspect was finally out in the open.

Kevin swore, picked up the binoculars and rolled down the window as I fumbled with the video camera.

Zooming in on the action, I poked the record button.

Lang’s wife—June, according to our records—still wore a grubby pink bathrobe and bunny slippers at 2:00 in the afternoon. Even from our secret vantage point I could tell she was screeching at her husband like a barn owl.

Lang shouted back at her.

She stormed down the steps. Snapped off a mean comment, by the sneering set of her mouth. The bunny head on one slipper flopped as she tapped her foot, waiting for his reaction.

Lang’s shoulders tensed. His hand shot out and connected with her face.

Not the reaction she’d expected.

                                                            #

 

Visit Lori’s website: www.loriarmstrong.com

Or blog: www.firstoffenders.typepad.com

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

November Happy Turkey Day Contest

 

Congratulations to Earlene Gillespie, our October winner!

 

Don’t miss the release of Jasmine Haynes’s The Fortune Hunter, in stores on Nov 6^th!

 

November 2007 prizes!

 

Autographed copy of Jennifer Skully’s It Must Be Magic.

From Leigh Wyndfield, a signed copy of Secrets Volume 10!

Downloads of Dee S. Knight fairy tales, The Cinderella Curse and Baer of the Three Goldilocks

A download copy of Terri Schaefer’s The Saints of Midland

Autographed copies of Jodi Lynn Copeland’s After Hours, Body Moves and Operation G-Spot

 

Here’s how the contest works!

 

When:  It runs the first of the month through the 20^th of the month.  We’ll choose one winner on the 21^st and make the notification.  The next contest will then begin on the 1^st.

 

How:  To enter, simply go through each of our sites, find the answers to our monthly questions, then send an email with your answers to skullycontest@...  The winner will be chosen at random from amongst the entries with the correct answers.  We will contact you, ask for your snail mail address and you’ll get lots of presents!

 

Who:  Jasmine Haynes/ Jennifer Skully, Dee S. Knight, TL Schaefer/ Keira Ramsay, Leigh Wyndfield, and special guest author, Jodi Lynn Copeland.

 

Newsletter:  We’d love to keep you updated on our new releases so we will be adding you to our newsletter lists unless you specifically tell us not to in your email entry.

 

Restrictions:  You MUST be 18 years or older to enter and US residents only.

 

November 2007 questions!

 

Jasmine Haynes/ Jennifer Skully/JB Skully

http://www.skullybuzz.com/

Question:  What is the third book in the Jasmine Haynes trilogy which started with The Fortune Hunter?

 

Leigh Wyndfield

http://www.leighwyndfield.com/

Question:  Who are the two men Melissa is trying to choose between in Two For The Money?

 

Dee S. Knight

http://www.deesknight.com/

Question:  What is the name of the daughter in The Cinderella Curse?

 

TL Schaefer/ Keira Ramsay

http://www.tlschaefer.com/

Question:  In the excerpt from The Saints of Midland, what is the Sheriff’s name?

 

Jodi Lynn Copeland

http://www.jodilynncopeland.com

Question:  In the Bungalow scene from Body Moves, what object doesn’t fit through the door with Tanner?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The dreaded, but necessary disclaimer:

 

You received this e-mail because you have subscribed to the Musings from the Blonde Side newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click this link: MusingsFromTheBlondeSide-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com and send a blank e-mail to the server.

 

If you received this newsletter in a forwarded message and would like to subscribe, please click this link: MusingsFromTheBlondeSide-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

 

Musings from the Blonde Side

Issue 49, September 2007

Introduction…AKA the Blatant Self Promotion (BSP) of TL Schaefer & Keira Ramsay…

This month’s interview and excerpt…

Monthly Contest

G'bye...

 

 

Hello, everyone!!  I’ve been busy in the last month…got a ton done on Sea of Dreams (about 10K since we last talked), and will probably finish up the draft in the next few weeks if not sooner.  But right now, my attention (such as it is) is on the rewrites of View. 

It has now run through all three of my crit partners, and interestingly enough, one absolutely loathed it, and two adored it.  To me, that’s a great thing, because it evoked strong emotion, which is obviously what every author strives for.  View is definitely a “big” book, so I’m working on expanding it as we speak.  Once I’m finished, I’m going to let it sit for two weeks, then do a quick re-read, make some tweaks, and start hitting the agent circuit with it and synopses on the two follow-up books, Die Another Day and Live and Let Die.

Omega Five, the Black Lace request, is currently simmering.  I got 5,000 words done on it, and then just pooped out, so I’m waiting for my muse to decide to kick in.  Basically, I’m not into forcing characters, and mine haven’t quite figured out where they want to go yet.  If nothing else, I’ll probably spend one day a week working on it, to see if I can get past what’s stalling on me.  It’s most likely something I’ve already written that is pivotal (and doesn’t seem like it right now), but isn’t quite “right”.

I have a few things to do for the National Readers’ Choice Awards (my chapter contest), and then I’m handing that bad boy over to the new coordinator and acting in an advisory capacity only from now on…yeah for me!

Soooo, with any kind of luck (and me putting butt in chair, hands on keyboard), I’ll be able to report next month that Sea is in the hands of my crit partners, View is in the mail, and I’m working on the final novella in the RuneQuest series or Omega Five.

Just a reminder, at the end of this missive *g*, is our latest contest information…this baby is totally FREE, and doesn’t require anything but you surfing our sites and answering a few questions.  No newsletter to sign up for (promise), so check it out!  This month our guest author is the fabulous Sydney Croft.

Congrats to Valerie, September’s winner of the random $10 gift certificate drawing.

 

That’s alllll folks!  Ate lago!!!

 

Terri/Keira

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I recently discovered an “OMG, this girl is so freakin’ good” author—Nalini Singh.  I was lucky enough to share a signing table with her in Dallas earlier this year and picked up the two books she’d published, Slave to Sensation and Visions of Heat.  I finished Slave last week and immediately dove into Visions and was totally floored.  When I hit the store tomorrow I’m gonna pick up Caressed by Ice…I can’t wait!!  Sooo, as my special treat to y’all this month, here’s Nalini!

 

      

 

MftBS: What's the coolest thing that's happened to you as an author?

I think the first sale is just something special.  The excitement of knowing that my book was going to go out there in the world - it was this amazing, wonderful, stupendous feeling! It makes me grin each time I think of it.

But you know, cool things happen every day - every time a reader emails to tell me they loved my work, it just makes my day. :)

 

MftBS: If you were trying to describe your work to a new reader, what would you say?

I write about the Psy, a race that buried their emotions a century ago in an effort to fight a vicious tide of insanity and murder, and the changeling shapeshifters who challenge their perfect Silence. The Psy have amazing powers of the mind, none of the heart, while the changelings crave touch, live for sensation. Caught somewhere in between are the humans.

If you like hot, alpha heroes, strong heroines, and find yourself intrigued by the idea of a world in which telepathy is accepted and a panther can walk alongside a human, check out my books!

 

MftBS: Who are three of your favorite writers & why?

Oh wow, this is SUCH a difficult question!! I'm a huge reader and have so many favorites. Here are three (but really, I need a whole page to list them all!)

JD Robb - love, love, LOVE her In Death series. I'm really in awe of how she's kept the Eve/Roarke relationship interesting despite the fact that the two of them are now married.

Anne McCaffrey - her Pern series, & her Tower and the Hive series are just amazing blends of sf/fantasy and romance. The way she builds worlds, creates these wonderful relationships, it's something extraordinary.

Jayne Castle (actually Jayne Ann Krentz in any of her guises!) - I really enjoy her characters and how they interact. Love her alpha heroes, especially when they've convinced everyone else that they're beta. Yeah, right!

 

MftBS: What is your oddest habit while writing?

Hmm, sometimes I listen to music in other languages. I might not know what it means, but if the tone works for me, I'll listen to it.

 

MftBS: Last but not least…what tidbit of BSP (Blatant Self Promotion) would you like to share with my devoted, die-hard fans?

Well, I have a book out this month - it's called CARESSED BY ICE and it's about an icy Psy assassin that I just know you'll love. On reader said that the hero was "so dominant, so controlled, so Icy Hot that he gave me hot flashes" . Oooh la la!

If you want to read extended excerpts of all the books in the series, check out a free short story, or go Behind the Scenes, swing by my website: http://www.nalinisingh.com

Also, just for fun, you might want to check out this quiz to see which Psy/Changeling hero is for you: http://www.quizilla.com/users/NaliniSingh/quizzes/Which%20Psy-Changeling%20Hero%20Is%20For%20You?/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now, because Nalini was nice enough to answer my nosy questions, here is a bit of CARESSED BY ICE to tickle your fancy:

 

This is an excerpt from Chapter 1. You can read Chapter 1 and 2 in their entirety on my website. Enjoy!

 

Excerpt from Caressed By Ice by Nalini Singh

 

"...Let . Me . Go ." The words were no longer enraged but calm. Normal for a Psy. Not for a wolf changeling. Especially not for Brenna. Judd's senses went on high alert.

Andrew shook his head. "I don't care what the hell you say, little sister, you don't need to see that."

"Then I'm sorry, Drew." Brenna slashed her claws across his arms a split-second later, shocking her brother into letting her go. She was moving almost before her feet hit the ground.

"Jesus," Andrew whispered, staring after her. "I can't believe..." He looked down at his bloody forearms. "Brenna never hurts anyone ."

"She's not the Brenna you know anymore," Judd told the other male. "What Enrique did to her altered her on a fundamental level, in ways she herself doesn't understand." He took off after Brenna before Andrew could reply--he had to be beside her to deflect the fallout from this death. What he couldn't understand was why she was so determined to see it.

He caught up with her as she raced past a startled guard and into the small room off tunnel number six. She came to such a sudden halt that he almost slammed into her. Following her gaze, he saw the sprawled body of an unknown SnowDancer male on the floor. The victim's face and naked body bore considerable bruising, the skin splotched different colors by the damage. But Judd knew that that wasn't what held Brenna frozen.

It was the cuts.

The changeling had been sliced very carefully with a knife, none of the cuts fatal but the last. That one had severed the carotid artery. Which meant there was something wrong with this scene. "Where's the blood?" he asked Indigo, who was crouching on the other side of the body, a couple of her soldiers beside her.

The lieutenant scowled at seeing Brenna in the room but answered. "It's not a fresh kill. He was dumped here."

"Out of the way room," one of the soldiers, a lanky male named Deiter, spoke up. "Easy to get to without being spotted if you know what you're doing--whoever did this was smart, probably chose the location beforehand."

Brenna sucked in a breath but didn't speak.

Indigo's scowl grew. "Get her the hell out of here."

Judd didn't follow orders well, but he agreed with this one. "Let's go," he said to the woman standing with her back to him.

"I saw this." A faint whisper.

Indigo stood, an odd look on her face. "What?"

Brenna began to tremble. "I saw this." The same reedy whisper. "I saw this." Louder. " I saw this!" A scream.

Judd had spent enough time with her to know that she would hate having lost control in front of everyone. She was a very proud wolf. So he did the only thing he could to slice through her hysteria. He moved to block her view of the body and then he used her emotions against her. It was a weapon the Psy had honed to perfection. "You're making a fool of yourself."

The icy-cold words hit Brenna like a slap. " Excuse me?" She dropped the hand she'd raised to push him aside.

"Look behind you."

She remained stubbornly still. Hell would freeze over before she obeyed an order from him.

"Half the den is sniffing around," he told her. Pitiless. Psy. "Listening to you break down."

"I am not breaking down." She flushed at the realization of so many eyes on her. "Get out of my way." She didn't want to look at the body anymore--a body that had been mutilated with the same eerie precision Enrique had used on his victims--but pride wouldn't let her back down.

"You're being irrational." Judd didn't move. "This place is obviously having a negative impact on your emotional stability. Step back out." It was a definite command, his tone so close to alpha it set her teeth on edge. 

"And if I don't?" She gladly embraced the anger he'd awakened--it gave her a new focus, a way to escape the nightmare memories triggered by this room.

Cool Psy eyes met hers, the male arrogance in them breathtaking. "Then I'll pick you up and move you myself."

At the response, exhilaration burst to life in her bloodstream, chasing away the last acrid tang of fear. Months of frustration--of watching her independence being buried under a wall of protection, of being told what was best for her, of having her rationality questioned at every turn, all that and more snowballed into this single instant. "Try it." A dare.

He stepped forward and her fingertips tingled, claws threatening to release. Oh yeah, she was definitely ready to tangle with Judd Lauren, man of ice and the most beautiful male creature she had ever seen.

 

(c) Copyright 2007 by Nalini Singh 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contest!!

 

On a totally fun (and FREE) note, my crit partners and I have teamed up for a MONTHLY giveaway.  All it requires is that you surf our sites and answer some questions.  Prizes vary from month to month, and I’ll pop that in as a note here each month.  Here’s the info for August!

This isn’t just once-in-a-lifetime.  It isn’t even when one of us has a new book out.  Nope, this contest will be every month, without fail, rain or shine, through thick and thin.  So drop by every first of the month and check out what we’re giving away this time and how YOU can win.

 

September 2007 prizes!

 

Autographed copy of Jasmine Haynes’ Rita-nominated anthology, Somebody’s Lover

Autographed copy of Leigh Wyndfield’s Night Whispers Anthology

A custom-designed coffee mug from Dee S. Knight

Autographed copy of the Zodiac Earth anthology from Keira Ramsey

Copy of Larissa Ione’s new e-book download release from Samhain, Snowbound

 

Here’s how the contest works!

 

When:  It runs the first of the month through the 20^th of the month.  We’ll choose one winner on the 21^st and make the notification.  The next contest will then be on the 1^st.

 

How:  To enter, simply go through each of our sites, find the answers to our monthly questions, then send an email with your answers to skullycontest@...  The winner will be chosen at random from amongst the entries with the correct answers.  We will contact you, ask for your snail mail address and you’ll get lot of presents!

 

Who:  Jasmine Haynes/ Jennifer Skully, Dee S. Knight, TL Schaefer/ Keira Ramsey, Leigh Wyndfield, and special guest author, Larissa Ione.

 

Restrictions:  You MUST be 18 years or older to enter and US residents only.

 

September 2007 questions!

 

Jasmine Haynes/ Jennifer Skully

http://www.skullybuzz.com/

Question:  In Jasmine’s November release, The Fortune Hunter, who is Faith’s best friend?

 

Leigh Wyndfield

http://www.leighwyndfield.com/

Question:  Who is the heroine in Desert Heat, Leigh’s novella coming in October 2007

 

Dee S. Knight

http://www.deesknight.com/

Question:  What is the title of the book Dee has coming out in September 2007?

 

TL Schaefer/ Keira Ramsey

http://www.tlschaefer.com/

Question:  In The Saints of Midland, what holiday does the story begin on?

 

Larissa Ione

http://www.larissaione.com/books/sydney

Question:  What is Haley Holmes’s occupation in Larissa’s Sydney Croft title, Riding The Storm?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The dreaded, but necessary disclaimer:

 

You received this e-mail because you have subscribed to the Musings from the Blonde Side newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click this link: MusingsFromTheBlondeSide-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com and send a blank e-mail to the server.

 

If you received this newsletter in a forwarded message and would like to subscribe, please click this link: MusingsFromTheBlondeSide-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

 

Musings from the Blonde Side

Issue 48, August 2007

Introduction…AKA the Blatant Self Promotion (BSP) of TL Schaefer & Keira Ramsay…

This month’s interview and excerpt…

Monthly Contest

G'bye...

 

 

Howdy all!  I’m going to change things around a bit for future newsletters, showcasing our monthly running contest in lieu of the link…I just haven’t found a ton lately I was ga-ga about.

Anyway, back to me *VBG*…right now I’m working on my submission, Omega Five, to Black Lace (off a request at Nationals).  I’m hoping to finish up the proposal this weekend and get back to work on Sea of Dreams.  If you’re interested in reading snippets of either, they’re up on my Keira Ramsay “works in progress” page on my website.

Right now my crit partner Skully has View to a Kill.  Ran into an interesting quandary on that one…I got two request for it from totally different types of publishers…Harlequin Nocturne, with a word count of 70-75K (and I’m already at 83K), and Berkley.  In my mind, I’m probly going to end up expanding a smidge to hit the 90-95K range and sub to Berkley, but it never hurts to get a direct request from a senior editor at HQ *g*, so I’ll probly send it there too, just to get my name out there.  I think it’s a bit too dark and convoluted for a series line, but we’ll see.

I’ve done pretty well in getting back to blogging this week, and am actually starting to jump on the promo train, but in baby steps.  By not doing any “extracurricular” activities (i.e. chapter stuff and editing), I’ve found I’m actually producing word count in addition to being able to set up some promo stuff.  Go figure, huh?

Anyway, that’s about it for this month.  I’m hoping to jam on writing over the next thirty days, and hopefully I’ll have serious progress to report next month!

Congrats to Readerdottydotty, August’s winner of the random $10 gift certificate drawing!

 

That’s alllll folks!  Ate lago!!!

 

Terri/Keira

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now, it’s my complete pleasure to introduce you to Rachel Vincent, whose scalding new urban fantasy hit the shelves about six weeks ago…try STRAY, you’ll LOVE it!!

MftBS: What's the coolest thing that's happened to you as an author?

Being an author is pretty cool in itself, but so far, my first sale was pretty much the highlight. And getting mail from readers who liked the book. That’s amazing!

 

MftBS: If you were trying to describe your work to a new reader, what would you say?

My writing is dark, and sometimes gritty. My characters all have room to grow, and I love watching them discover things about themselves—and each other—that neither of us knew existed.

 

MftBS: Who are three of your favorite writers & why?

 Steven King. I’m a huge King fan, and I own nearly every book he’s written. The man can write anything. Horror, fantasy, romance. It doesn’t matter; he’s good at it all

I also love Kim Harrison, for dark fantasy, and Faye Kellerman, for mysteries. But lately I’ve discovered so many new writers that the list is ever-expanding.

 

MftBS: What is your oddest habit while writing?

Hmmm. I’m not sure I have any odd habits. I don’t print my manuscripts, though. At all. I do everything—proofreading, note-taking, and rewriting—in Word. My editor even lets me email in a list of changes during the line edits.

 

MftBS: Last but not least…what tidbit of BSP (Blatant Self Promotion) would you like to share with my devoted, die-hard fans?

I’m on-line all the time. I have a blog, a LiveJournal, a MySpace page, a website, and a Yahoo group, and I’m active on them all. I love to hear from readers, and I write back to every email I receive, even if it takes me a little while to get caught up.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

And now, because Rachel was nice enough to answer my nosy questions, here is a bit of STRAY to tickle your fancy:

 

The moment the door opened I knew an ass-kicking was inevitable. Whether I’d be giving it or receiving it was still a bit of a mystery.

The smell hit me as I left the air-conditioned comfort of the Language building for the heat of another north-central Texas summer, tugging my backpack higher on my shoulder as I squinted into the sunset. A step behind me, my roommate Sammi was ranting about the guest lecturer’s discriminatory view of women’s contributions to nineteenth-century literature. I’d been about to play devil’s advocate, just for the hell of it, when a shift in the evening breeze stopped me where I stood, on the top step of the narrow front porch.

My argument forgotten, I froze, scanning the shadowy quad for the source of the unmistakable scent. Visually, nothing was out of the ordinary: just small groups of summer students talking on their way to and from the dorms. Human students. But what I smelled wasn’t human. It wasn’t even close.

Absorbed in her rant, Sammi didn’t realize I’d stopped. She walked right into me, cursing loud enough to draw stares when her binder fell out of her hand and popped open on the ground, littering the steps with loose-leaf paper.

I could use a little notice next time you plan on zoning out, Faythe,” she snapped, bending to gather up her notes. Grunts and more colorful words issued from behind her, where our fellow grad students were stalled by our pedestrian traffic jam. Lit majors are not known for watching where they’re going; most of us walk with our eyes in a book instead of on the path ahead.

Sorry.” I knelt to help her, snatching a sheet of paper from the concrete before the student behind me could stomp on it. Standing, I took the steps two at a time, following Sammi to a brick half-wall jutting from the porch. Still talking, she set her binder on the ledge and began methodically reorganizing her notes, completely oblivious to the scent, as humans always were. I barely heard her incessant chatter as she worked.

My nostrils flared slightly to take in more of the smell as I turned my face into the breeze. There. Across the quad, in the alley between the Physics building and Curry Hall.

My fist clenched around the strap of my backpack and my teeth ground together. He wasn’t supposed to be here. None of them were supposed to be here. My father had promised.

I’d always known they were watching me, in spite of my father’s agreement not to interfere in my life. On occasion, I’d spot a too-bright eye in the crowd at a football game, or notice a familiar profile in line at the food court. And rarely—only twice before in five years—I caught a distinctive scent on the air, like the taste of my childhood, sweet and familiar, but with a bitter aftertaste. The smell was faint and tauntingly intimate. And completely unwelcome.

They were subtle, all those glimpses, those hints that my life wasn’t as private as we all pretended. Daddy’s spies faded silently into crowds and shadows because they wanted to be seen no more than I wanted to see them.

But this one was different. He wanted me to see him. Even worse—he wasn’t one of Daddy’s.

“…that her ideas are somehow less important because she had ovaries instead of testes is beyond chauvinistic. It’s barbaric. Someone should…Faythe?” Sammi nudged me with her newly restored notebook. “You okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.”

No, I hadn’t seen a ghost. I’d smelled a cat.

“I’m feeling a little sick to my stomach.” I grimaced only long enough to be convincing. “I’m going to go lie down. Will you apologize to the group for me?”

She frowned. “Faythe, this was your idea.”

“I know.” I nodded, thinking of the four other MA candidates already gathered around their copies of Love’s Labours Lost in the library. “Tell everyone I’ll be there next week. I swear.”

“Okay,” she said with a shrug of her bare, freckled shoulders. “It’s your grade.” Seconds later, Sammi was just another denim-clad student on the sidewalk, completely oblivious to what lurked in the late evening shadows thirty yards away.

I left the concrete path to cut across the quad, struggling to keep anger from showing on my face. Several feet from the sidewalk, I stepped on my shoelace, giving myself time to come up with a plan of action as I retied it. Kneeling, I kept one eye on the alley, watching for a glimpse of the trespasser. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Strays never got this far into our territory without being caught. It simply wasn’t possible.

Yet there he was, hiding just out of sight in the alley. Like a coward.

I could have called my father to report the intruder. I probably should have called him, so he could send the designated spy-of-the-day to take care of the problem. But calling would necessitate speaking to my father, which I made a point to avoid at all costs. My only other course of action was to scare the stray off on my own, then dutifully report the incident the next time I caught one of the guys watching me. No big deal. Strays were loners, and typically as skittish as deer when confronted. They always ran from Pride cats because we always worked in pairs, at the very least.

Except for me.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contest!!

 

On a totally fun (and FREE) note, my crit partners and I have teamed up for a MONTHLY giveaway.  All it requires is that you surf our sites and answer some questions.  Prizes vary from month to month, and I’ll pop that in as a note here each month.  Here’s the info for August!

 

This isn’t just once-in-a-lifetime.  It isn’t even when one of us has a new book out.  Nope, this contest will be every month, without fail, rain or shine, through thick and thin.  So drop by every first of the month and check out what we’re giving away this time and how YOU can win.

 

August 2007 prizes!

Autographed copy of Jasmine Haynes’ Lories Winner, Twin Peaks

Autographed copy of Leigh Wyndfield’s anthology Night Whispers

Notecards featuring original watercolor garden prints of Camille Riggs provided by Dee Knight

$10 Amazon gift certificate provided by TL Schaefer and Keira Ramsey

Autographed copy of Tawny Weber’s Double Dare plus chocolate to read by!

 

Here’s how the contest works!

 

When:  It runs the first of the month through the 20^th of the month.  We’ll choose one winner on the 21^st and make the notification.

 

How:  To enter, simply go through each of our sites, find the answers to our monthly questions, then send an email with your answers to skullycontest@...  The winner will be chosen at random from amongst the entries with the correct answers.  We will contact you, ask for your snail mail address and you’ll get lot of presents!

 

Who:  Jasmine Haynes/ Jennifer Skully, Dee S. Knight, TL Schaefer/ Keira Ramsey, Leigh Wyndfield, and July special guest author, Bella Andre.

 

Restrictions:  You must be 18 years or older to enter and US residents only.

 

August 2007 question!

 

Jasmine Haynes/ Jennifer Skully

http://www.skullybuzz.com/

Question:  What is the title of Jasmine Haynes’s 2007 Holt Medallion winning book?

 

Leigh Wyndfield

http://www.leighwyndfield.com/

Question:  What is the heroine’s name in Leigh’s story Stasis in Secrets Volume 20?

 

Dee S. Knight

http://www.deesknight.com/

Question:  In Second Wind: Where did Cathy say Rafe could reach her if "something came up"?

 

TL Schaefer/ Keira Ramsey

http://www.tlschaefer.com/

Question:  What is the heroine’s full name in View to a Kill (work in progress)?

 

Tawny Weber

http://www.tawnyweber.com

Question:  What's the name of the town Does She Dare is set in?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The dreaded, but necessary disclaimer:

 

You received this e-mail because you have subscribed to the Musings from the Blonde Side newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click this link: MusingsFromTheBlondeSide-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com and send a blank e-mail to the server.

 

If you received this newsletter in a forwarded message and would like to subscribe, please click this link: MusingsFromTheBlondeSide-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

 

Musings from the Blonde Side

Issue 47, June/July 2007

Introduction…AKA the Blatant Self Promotion (BSP) of TL Schaefer & Keira Ramsay…

This month’s interview and excerpt…

Links You’ve Gotta Love…

Gratuitous Blonde Joke...

G'bye...

 

Please feel free…no, feel COMPELLED to forward this on to all of your friends, enemies and acquaintances!

Visit me at www.tlschaefer.com or www.keiraramsay.com And blog with me at Musings from the Blonde Side

 

Well, my guest author for the month bailed on me, so this is going to be a shortie newsletter.

 

If anyone is in the Dallas area, I’ll be signing at the RWA Literacy Signing on 11 July at 7 pm at the Hyatt Regency, as well as at the Stonebriar Mall Barnes and Noble in Frisco, Texas (11 am - 1 pm) on 14 July.   If you’re in the area, I’d LOVE to meet you!!!

 

On the same sorta note, Saints has been getting some great reviews…

 

 

 

4 Ribbons! ...mixes the passion of romance with constant excitement of magical action, making it a story readers are sure to enjoy.  Romance Junkies Reviews

 

Beautiful prose illustrates this magical journey with vivid word pictures. I particularly liked the twist on how ghosts should be, as played out in Josh, and the parrot who was much more than he seemed. This is a different sort of epic quest, managing to have a huge scope without the excessive verbiage that can bog down so many journey themed novels.  Eternal Night Reviews

 

 

If you haven’t bought it yet, here’s the link (or just click on the cover):

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those of you who only buy from Fictionwise, Redemption is now available there as well.

 

In other news, I haven’t written squat in a bit, tho I did finish the first draft on View to a Kill…I got sick and then had to go on the road for the day job, so creativity (and my muse) went on vacation for a bit.  I’m over 1/3 of the way through Sea of Dreams, though, so I’m hoping to finish it up by the end of July, middle of August at the very latest, and then go back and bulk up View a bit.  Right now I’m so damned close to it I can’t see the forest for the trees.

 

On a totally fun (and FREE) note, my crit partners and I have teamed up for a MONTHLY giveaway.  All it requires is that you surf our sites and answer some questions.  Prizes vary from month to month, and I’ll pop that in as a note here each month.  Here’s the info for July!

 

This isn’t just once-in-a-lifetime.  It isn’t even when one of us has a new book out.  Nope, this contest will be every month, without fail, rain or shine, through thick and thin.  So drop by every first of the month and check out what we’re giving away this time and how YOU can win.

 

Here's how the contest works!

When: It runs the first of the month through the 20th of the month. We'll choose one winner on the 21st and make the notification.
How: To enter, simply go through each of our sites, find the answers to our monthly questions, then send an email with your answers to skullycontest@... The winner will be chosen at random from amongst the entries with the correct answers. We will contact you, ask for your snail mail address and you'll get lot of presents!
Who: Jasmine Haynes/ Jennifer Skully, Dee S. Knight, TL Schaefer/ Keira Ramsay, Leigh Wyndfield, and July special guest author, Bella Andre.
Restrictions: You must be 18 years or older to enter and US residents only.

JULY: A Summer of Romance Contest

July 2007 prizes!
There are FIVE of them!!

1. Autographed copy of Jasmine Haynes' Holt Medallion Winner, Open Invitation
2. Autographed copy of Leigh Wyndfield's award winning anthology, Secrets Volume 12
3. $10 Amazon certificate donated Dee S. Knight
4. Book bag decorated with Keira Ramsay's two latest book covers.
5. Bella Andre's Red Hot Reunion

July 2007 question!

Jasmine Haynes/ Jennifer Skully
Question: What is the heroine's name in Jennifer Skully's new release, It Must Be Magic?
Leigh Wyndfield
Question: What is Leigh Wyndfield's newest book release?
Dee S. Knight
Question: In my short story, Coming Home, Susan worked late for a friend. Where did the friend live?
TL Schaefer/ Keira Ramsay
Question: In Redemption, what is Donovan's profession?
Bella Andre
Question: In Bella's video for Red Hot Reunion, what comes after "Perfect Sex" and "Betrayal"? (Hint: It's two words that start with "U" and "L")

 

And that’s pretty much it, at least for now.  I’m going to mine for guest authors when I’m in Dallas, as well as picking up some cool prizes for random drawings (not to exclude the monthly $10 gift certificate giveaway)

 

Congrats to Hopkins_775 and Jofrye13, June and July’s winners of the drawing!

 

That’s alllll folks!  Ate lago!!!  (Told you I’d be short!!!)

 

Terri/Keira

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The dreaded, but necessary disclaimer:

 

You received this e-mail because you have subscribed to the Musings from the Blonde Side newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click this link: MusingsFromTheBlondeSide-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com and send a blank e-mail to the server.

 

If you received this newsletter in a forwarded message and would like to subscribe, please click this link: MusingsFromTheBlondeSide-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

 

Musings from the Blonde Side

Issue 46, May 2007

Introduction…AKA the Blatant Self Promotion (BSP) of TL Schaefer & Keira Ramsay…

This month’s interview and excerpt…

Links You’ve Gotta Love…

Gratuitous Blonde Joke...

G'bye...

 

 

Yay!  For once I’m on time this month J.  In happy news, check out my new, rockin’ cover!!

 

 

 

HUGE thanks to Scott Carpenter for giving me exactly what I was looking for!

I’m very excited that Saints is finally seeing the light of day…I wrote this one years ago and shopped to NY for a good long bit before deciding to go “e”.  Anyway, Saints will be pubbed in “e” on 5 June, and in print next spring.  Here’s a brief taste to whet your whistle:

 

AMANDA SIMS is a woman with a problem.  Her brother has disappeared into the deep piney woods on Halloween night.  When she enters the forest with enigmatic, sexy-as-hell deputy JOSH KENT, the last thing this self-professed witch expects is a spiritual presence the size of the Grand Canyon. 

Deputy Josh holds his own secrets.  He recognizes the entity in the forest, and offers to trade his immortal soul for that of Amanda’s brother.  But the Keeper of the Way has other ideas. 

When Amanda offers a part of herself in exchange for her brother’s safe passage, the Keeper thrusts her and Josh into another land.  A land where scarlet-tipped grain waves across an endless landscape, where parrots speak the Queen’s English, where the dead walk and where she hears of the prophecy for the first time.

Legend speaks of a human witch and an Earth-walker who will free the lost souls of Midland.  But from there the details are murky, doled out in bits and pieces as they travel the countryside, encountering spirits in every conceivable shape and form.

But Amanda and Josh find more than the prophecy in Midland—they find a love that transcends every world imaginable.

 

If you’d like to read more, the first chapter is up on my site, unedited, of course.

I’ve been seriously cruising on View…I’m up to 65,000 words, and brainstormed a bit last week on ways to really strengthen both Sara, Brian and Wes.  Cross fingers for me, because I’d LOVE to be able to report that it’s gone to my crit partners this time next month!

Congrats to Annalisa, May’s winners of the drawing!

That’s alllll folks!  Ate lago!!!

 

Terri/Keira

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This month I’m SO pleased to introduce y’all to CJ Barry/Samantha Graves.  CJ has been kind of an icon to me, because she made a name for herself in “e”, then launched into the print pub world as a HUGE success.  Now she’s writing romantic suspense under a different name and I’m SO pleased (and a bit envious J).  CJ’s work totally rocks, and I think you’ll love it too!

Now, with no further ado…CJ Barry/Samantha Graves!!

 

MftBS: What's the coolest thing that's happened to you as an author?

The first time a reader looked at me and said, “You’re CJ Barry? I love your books!”  Honestly, it just doesn’t get any better than that.  My book on the shelf is probably second.  And meeting my favorite authors in person, definitely cool.  I just met Nora Roberts last month, and I was a babbling idiot.  J

 

MftBS: If you were trying to describe your work to a new reader, what would you say?

I guess I would say that my books are fast, furious, funny, and full of surprises.  I like to write books that are unique, tell a good solid story and have memorable characters.  Every story should be an adventure.  That’s what I try to write.

 

MftBS: Who are three of your favorite writers & why?

Jayne Ann Krentz because her book, Sweet Starfire, was not only the first romance I read, it was a futuristic and got me on the road to writing myself.

 

Jennifer Crusie because she is brilliant in every way and an inspiration.

 

Lani Diane Rich because, besides being a simply amazing writer and my best bud, she teaches me to believe in my own abilities which is not an easy task.

 

MftBS: What is your oddest habit while writing?

 Oh, there’s probably more than one.  LOL  I’d have to say that it would be all my charts.  I am a plotter, which means that I have GMC charts and character profiles and outlines and collages and pictures and piles of research.  I’m also a bit of a data packrat.  I blame that on my IT background.

 

MftBS: Last but not least…what tidbit of BSP (Blatant Self Promotion) would you like to share with my devoted, die-hard fans?

I’m now writing contemporary romantic suspense for Warner Books under the name, Samantha Graves.  My first book just came out in April 2007.  SIGHT UNSEEN is about a female art thief and an ex-cop who become entangled in a killer’s game that takes them from the streets of New York City to the heat of Havana.  If you’d like more information, you can check my new website at www.samanthagraves.com

 

And also, be sure to stop by and check out my new podcast, Will Write for Wine with Lani Diane Rich as we discuss wine and writing.  We answer reader and writer questions, have a cool monthly contest and just generally have a good time.  The website is www.willwriteforwine.com

 

Thanks so much for having me!  Happy reading everyone!

 

CJ

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

And now, because CJ was nice enough to answer my nosy questions, here is a bit of SIGHT UNSEEN to tickle your fancy: 

 

Chapter One 

 

God, I love this part.  Raven smiled as she peered through her SCUBA mask.

With one hand, she steadied herself in the water while gently prying the gold medallion from lava stone with her knife.  She kicked slowly in the tiny phone booth-sized alcove, careful not to stir up any silt or bump her gear against the low rock ceiling.  The caving dive light attached to her mask penetrated the inky darkness and gleamed off the golden treasure before her. 

“Do you have it yet?  You’ve been down there for thirty minutes,” a high-pitched, anxiety-induced voice asked in her earpiece. 

She grinned at her colleague’s typical impatience, which was why he was in the boat, and she handled the acquisitions. 

“Relax, Paulie.  This thing’s been set in rock for 1,400 years.  Cut me a little slack,” she replied.  “You got a hot date or something?”

“No, but we have company up top.”

Raven stilled.  They weren’t exactly in the main shipping lines, five miles off the Yucatan Peninsula Coast.  “What kind of company?”

“Looks like a luxury yacht, but you know, it’s raining up here.  Who goes for a joy ride in the rain?”

Nosy tourists, that’s who.  Or worse.  An uneasy feeling prickled in her mind.  Seventh sense maybe, but it had kept her alive all these years and she wasn’t about to ignore it now.  “Watch them.  I’m almost done here.”

She finished running the knife around the edge of the round medallion, liberating sea-crusted lichens.  Slipping the blade in a gap, she gently freed the gold disc from its ancient berth and into her hand.  A low groan echoed through the narrow passage.  Raven turned her head, scanning the cave with her dive light and the sound dissipated.

She shrugged and turned the artifact over.  It was in superb condition, which was amazing considering the elements it had been exposed to.  The markings were clearly Mayan and matched the design she was looking for.  But there was only one way to make sure it was authentic. 

She pulled her off dive glove and held the metal with her bare hand.  Her fingers tingled.  A flash of light behind her eyes signaled a familiar journey into the past.  Her physical world faded for a moment as her mind focused on the man who wore this amulet.  Gold glinting in the sun and a man, his demeanor analytical, decisive, powerful.  Through his eyes, she saw costumed followers, intricate ceremonies, and fervent chants.  He was the king.

“The yacht just stopped a hundred feet from me.  I think you better get up here.”  Paulie’s statement wrenched her out of the past. 

She moved the amulet to her gloved hand, and worked to get her bearings.  Her psychic foray confirmed it was the genuine article.  A fake would have registered a whisper of existence.

“Heading up now,” she told Paulie.

After carefully securing her prize in a pocket of her dry suit and her knife to her belt, Raven backed herself out of the tiny grotto and into the main passageway of a cave system with no name.  She picked up her reel that connected to a guideline, her only link to the entrance. 

Black water permeated the undersea cave a hundred-feet below the surface.  Her light flashed off small silver fish darting out of her way.  As she reeled in her line, following it through the complex network of catacombs, she wondered how someone could have embedded the medallion down here a thousand years ago.  Even with her specialized dive equipment, it was extremely dangerous. 

There were times when the sheer will of man and his reverence for the trinkets of the past boggled her mind.  Why anyone would go to so much trouble for a single object—

A hand slashed out from the darkness, knocking off her facemask and taking her light, air, and comm with it.  Precious gas free-flowed around her as she struck blindly at her assailant with the reel.  A massive fist shoved her in the chest, smashing her against the cave wall as the reel was ripped from her hand. 

Raven brought her legs up and drew her knife from its sheath to defend herself.  Eyes closed, muscles coiled, she waited.  A hard flow of water came from the left, grazing her head as she ducked.  She slashed out, snagging something solid, and heard a muffled cry.  Pressure buffeted her as she sliced through the water around her, then everything was calm again. 

Precious seconds ticked by with no movement.  With her lungs begging for relief, she fumbled for her mask and found it at the end of its safety tether.  She pulled it on and blew air into it to clear the seawater.  Cold gas mix filled her lungs, easing the burning. 

Her eyes opened to pitch black—her dive light was gone.  Raven retrieved the spare from a pocket and turned it on, which didn’t improve the view much.  The struggle had kicked up silt from the floor, and visibility was near zero. 

As the silt settled, she swept the cave with her light.  No sign of the attacker...or her reel.  However, there was a distinct red tinge that confirmed a hit.  Good.  She hoped the sharks got him.  On the other hand, she was still in the water as well.  Sharks weren’t picky about their prey.

“Paulie, can you hear me?”

“Yup,” his voice crackled in her ear while rock and roll music blared in the background.  “How’s it going?”

She patted the medallion in her pocket with relief.  “Well, I was just mugged.  How’s things with you?”

“Holy shit, are you okay?”

She checked her gas levels-they were in the red.  “I have a major problem.”

“I knew it.  The legend is true.  That thing is cursed.”

Raven shined her light on two passageways, trying to remember which one she’d come through.  If she had a God, she would have prayed.  Instead she kicked toward an opening, hoping she picked the right one. 

“Trust me.  That wasn’t a curse that stole my lifeline.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Links You’ve Gotta Love

 

This month’s link is something I use in my never-ending struggle to manage my eating habits…hey, I LIKE pizza and beer.  Sigh.  Anyway, it’s totally free, you just need to create an account.  If nothing else, it’s a great way to make sure you’re getting the stuff you need to eat!

 

Calorie Counter Database - Free Online Diet Program

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Gratuitous Blonde Joke

 

Thanks to Pat, she’s on a roll!

 

It was the mailman's last day, after 38 years of carrying the mail through all kinds of weather to the same neighborhood.

When he arrived at the first house on his route, he was greeted by the whole family who soundly congratulated him and sent him on his way with a tidy gift envelope.

At the second house, an old age pensioner presented him with a box of fine cigars.

The folks at the third house handed him a selection of terrific fishing lures.

At the fourth house he was met at the door by a strikingly beautiful blonde woman in a revealing negligee. She took him by the hand, gently led him through the door and up the stairs to the bedroom where she blew his mind with the most passionate love he had ever experienced.

When they had finished, they went downstairs where she fixed him a giant breakfast: eggs, potatoes, ham, sausage, blueberry waffles, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. When he was truly satisfied, she poured him a cup of steaming coffee.

As she was pouring the coffee, the mailman noticed a dollar bill sticking out from under the cup's bottom edge.

"All of this was just too wonderful for words," he said, "but what's the dollar for"?

"Well," she said, "last night, I told my husband that today would be your last day, and that we should do something special for you. I asked him what to give you, and he said, 'Screw him. Give him a dollar.' The breakfast was my idea!"

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Once again, I appeal to your common sense and good taste…if you liked this newsletter and think someone else might enjoy my ramblings, please feel FREE to forward it on down the line…I’d love some new subscribers.

 

If you absolutely hated it and despise me for roaming the same Earth you do...then send it to your worst enemy, so he/she can suffer as you do!!

 

Until next month my little piroskis!

 

Terri

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The dreaded, but necessary disclaimer:

 

You received this e-mail because you have subscribed to the Musings from the Blonde Side newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click this link: MusingsFromTheBlondeSide-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com and send a blank e-mail to the server.

 

If you received this newsletter in a forwarded message and would like to subscribe, please click this link: MusingsFromTheBlondeSide-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.