Good Thoughts Please

Today my sister has a minor surgery so her husband and our parents are down there with her right now waiting until she gets out. That's the one sucky thing about working for family, I can't leave the office since someone has to be here, but at least I'll get to see her tomorrow! Her hubby has to work tomorrow so my mom and I are going to bring over movies and food (well, my mom's doing the cooking, that's her department) and veg out all day. She also had one special request, that I bring over the first season of Burn Notice :) She's another one I brought over to the dark side of my obsession with super spy Michael Westen. Please keep my sister in your thoughts and prayers today. She hasn't gone in yet, but they should be putting her under in about half an hour.

Have a good one, everyone!

Release Day!

It's release day! Worth the Risk, the second book in my Miami Scorcher series is out today! I received a lot of emails asking about Nick's brother from Unleashed Temptation so he got his own story and I promise it's hot :)

The Blurb:

Marisol has one goal in life—kill the man who murdered her pack. But when she meets alpha werewolf Stephan and realizes he's her mate, all her carefully laid plans dissipate in seconds. By all accounts, she should hate Stephan and everything he stands for. Unfortunately, every time the dominating wolf gets close, she can't deny her growing attraction for the last man in the world she expected to want.

Undercover DEA agent Stephan is about to make the biggest bust of his career, but everything that can go wrong does. He never expected to discover his mate while on the job. She saves his life and his cover when he almost shifts in the middle of a crowded Miami nightclub, but that doesn't mean he trusts her. The clock is ticking and if he doesn't figure out what secrets the sexy vixen is keeping from him, he might lose his job—and his life.

For a quick preview, here's an excerpt: http://alturl. com/4435
To purchase or for more info: http://alturl. com/dx4u

Smell Like Jet Fighters & Punching

Work and life were crazy today, but watching this commercial made me laugh every time I got stressed. I'm about to open a bottle of wine and get ready for some Keifer Sutherland on 24. If you need to smile, check out this video.




This one isn't quite as funny, but come on, it's Bruce Campbell. I love this guy! (I keep waiting for Michael or Fiona to pop out of the woodwork ready to blow some stuff up)

Sleep in Saturday!

My blogging schedule is all out of sorts this week. My sister's been gone most of the week for a funeral so I've been covering her schedule at work, which means less time on the Internet, lol :) I'm just happy it's Saturday! It was so nice to sleep in today. For me, sleeping in is about eight o'clock. For some reason my internal clock won't let me sleep much later. Over the weekend I plan to finish reading two more books in the RITA entries I received. One book blew me away and I discovered a new author. For that alone, I'm happy I'm judging this contest. I love finding new authors. I also hope to see the movie Valentine's Day. I swear there's a conspiracy determined to keep me from seeing it. Without going into detail, I've tried to go three times and failed three times. I will see this movie!


I know Valentine's Day has long passed but the picture of the roses are from my dad and I wanted to share. The hubby knows not to get me roses b/c I think in a way, they've become prosaic. EXCEPT, when they come from my dad. From him, they're simply classic. He and my mom are both pretty big on Valentine's Day gifts for some reason. My mom got me this really cool glass vase/candle holder thing. She also got me a bunch of candy hearts but I gave those to a neighbor kid who really loves the sugar (sorry mom!).


I just got a notice from The Long and Short of It that Miami Heat (written by my alter ego) is up for WC Book of the week. If you like what you see and want to vote, here's the link. I'm about to go get some serious editing done and hopefully new writing too so I'll be in my cave for a few hours. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Hump Day?

A few years ago, when I landed my first 'corporate' job after college, I started hearing people wish each other 'happy hump day' and I thought I worked with a bunch of pervs. I was too embarrassed to ask what it meant until I saw something about it online and realized hump day = Wednesday, the hump of the work week. I didn't stay at that job very long, mainly because it made me want to jump off the top of their ten story building. I landed another corporate job after that and actually managed to work there for 3 years until I started working with my family part-time. Working with family can be trying at times, but I like being able to come to work wearing summer dresses and flip-flops. And, if I'm a few minutes late, I know my boss (dad) isn't going to fire me :) I'm really going to miss Florida after I (eventually) move.


In writing news, I just finished a 'Quickie' for Ellora's Cave. It needs to be edited and polished before I send off to my editor but I don't think it'll take too long. And, she just sent me the pre-edits for Power Unleashed, the 3rd story in my Miami Scorcher series so this weekend, I've gotta jump on that. I hadn't planned to write another short story so soon, but while I'm playing the waiting game on my single title submissions, it's the only thing that keeps me sane. I think once I finish all my edits, I'm going to crack open an old manuscript I wrote a while ago for a category line and see if it's salvageable. I know there are some plot issues so it should keep me busy for a while :)


Hope everyone is having a good week! The weekend is almost here!

Happy Almost Valentine's Day

This morning I managed to pull out one of my Kathy Smith DVD workout videos. I didn't actually do the workout but I'm getting closer. I was half awake and decided walking on the treadmill was easier and probably healthier. The thought of doing any sort of coordinated moves on a Friday morning before work and pre-coffee is not a good idea. Tomorrow though, I'm making a vow to myself to actually do one of her crazy fat-burning workouts. We'll see how it goes.



As I've stated on previous occasions, I have an addiction to Supernatural. Sam and Dean Winchester. Yummy! Last night was one of the darkest episodes I've seen in a while. From season one up to the current season (five) it's gotten progressively darker, but last night was not only a bit gruesome (I closed my eyes during that beginning scene where that couple started eating each other...yikes!) but it made me feel really bad for Dean. When he looked up at the sky and asked for help at the end, talk about breaking my heart :( I'm very interested to see how this season will wrap up.



The hubby found a job, thankfully, but it's out of town so for now we're living in separate states and trying to sell our house so I can move with him and actually live in the same house. My Valentine's Day will be spent alone with a bottle of wine and a big box of chocolates. The chocolates aren't very conducive to my new goal of working out more and eating healthier but if I have to be alone on V-Day, I don't care.



My alter ego is blogging at Naughty Author Chicks today and she's asking for title help with her current manuscript so feel free to stop by if you're good w/ titles. (I love talking about myself in the third person). Have a great weekend and if your SO lives in the same vicinity as you, I hope you have a great Valentine's Day :)

Writers Gone Wild

Want to see more pretty shoes? Come visit me at Writers Gone Wild.

Happy Tuesday!

Is it already Tuesday?? I seriously don't know what happened to Monday. Clearly I didn't drink enough coffee yesterday.

I got my hair cut over the weekend and this morning I realized that the woman cut one side half an inch shorter than the other. That's what I get for going to Great Clips instead of my usual salon. I had a coupon and figured how can they mess up my hair? It's long and curly and hasn't changed much in the past couple years. Not much you can do to screw it up. Or so I thought.


Last week I sent the revised version of my paranormal RS to my agent so I'm currently waiting to hear what she thinks about it. I want to start on the book that will follow that one but I'm having issues with the plot so tonight I'm meeting with one of my CPs. When we eventually (if this stupid market ever changes) sell our house and move, I'm really going to miss weekly meetings with her. I'm going to be blogging about the beauty of CPs tomorrow at Writers Gone Wild though, so I'm just gonna stop right here on this subject. Since I'm waiting to start on my next single title, I'm currently working on a short contemporary erotic romance for my editor at Ellora's Cave. I just tied up the third in my shifter series (which I recently contracted, yay!) and I need a break from the paranormal world. This contemporary is proving to be the perfect breather.


What's everyone else doing this week?

Happy Friday

Why the cowboy? He's pretty to look at :)


This week has been a roller coaster. Work has been crazy, got some good reviews, so-so reviews, nice fan mail, a big R on one of my manuscripts, had some house showings but no bites yet... All I know is, I'm very happy it's Friday!


Kristen Painter has a free read available from Samhain. It's called Her Viking Valentine and you can download your copy here.


I know this is super short, but I think my brain short-circuited earlier this week. Have a good one everyone!

Cover of Darkness - Available Now

Cover of Darkness by Kaylea Cross is now available in paperback. The digital version won't be available until February 26, but it's in print now if you want to pick up your copy!


Targeted by a terrorist cell, Bryn McAllister survives a bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut only to be left to die in a desert cellar. When she is rescued by Navy SEAL Lieutenant Declan McCabe and his team, Bryn must rely on the handsome officer to get her to safety. But just when she thinks the nightmare is over, family friend and legendary CIA operative Luke Hutchinson recruits her and McCabe to help track down the terrorist mastermind responsible for the attack.


With Bryn determined to see the terrorist brought to justice, Dec joins up to protect her, prepared to do whatever it takes to keep her safe during their dangerous mission. Battling the explosive attraction between them, Dec fights to keep his distance from her so he can do his job and keep her alive. But when plans falls apart and Bryn is captured, he must make the agonizing choice between his duty as a SEAL and the life of the woman he loves.


Bryn was featured in Kaylea's first romantic suspense, Out of Her League, and I've been impatiently waiting for her story!


To buy, click here. And to learn more about Kaylea, click here.

A New Month

For some reason January seemed to go by incredibly slow, but now I can't believe it's actually February. Over the weekend I got my first pedicure of the year and it was wonderful. During the winter months I usually don't bother w/ them b/c what's the point, I'm wearing boots. As I was leaving the salon, the woman who had done my pedicure looked at me with one eyebrow raised and pointed at my eyebrows. Wordlessly, she shook her head (in appropriate disdain) and shamed me into getting waxed. I'd actually planned to go to my regular lady later this week b/c I didn't realize this salon did waxing. I felt a little bad, almost like I was cheating on the woman who normally does my waxing, but I've officially found someone new. She waxed, then massaged my face, my head, then my shoulders and back once she was through. Totally unexpected and totally awesome. It was a little pricey but completely worth it. Once I got home I was able to dive back into my edits since I was feeling so relaxed. I'm still only halfway through with them, but I plan to finish this week then send off to my agent. Hopefully 'real life' will not get in the way!


I also got good news last night. My EC editor offered for the third story in my Miami Scorcher series so my alter ego just signed another contract! I never really planned to write a series but everything sort of unfolded that way and I'm having fun with this family.


What did everyone else do this weekend?