The winner of my Love is In the Air blog hop giveaway is:
Sassy Chassy!
Thank you for stopping in to say hello!
More giveaways to come!
Monday Mayhem – Nervous Nellie Edition
I’m home! I’m home, I’m home, I’m home! Well, I’m home for another 10 days. 🙂 The good news is that my next trip will be pleasure and not business. The bad news? Well, I seem to have misplaced my motivation. I have a novel to write and I’m having a hard time getting into it.
If you’re my editor, please stop reading here.
I’ll make the deadline.
I swear.
You see, this story is going to be very different from anything I’ve written before. This story will deal with a very difficult subject matter – marital infidelity.
I will state here and now that I have no personal experience in this area. At least, not that I know of. If any of you know something I don’t know, please keep it to yourself. I’m a huge fan of oblivion. Unfortunately, my character, Shel, doesn’t have that luxury. The poor woman is going to have to deal with her husband’s indiscretion head-on.
As an author, this is a very exciting and intimidating prospect. You see, the main character is ‘speaking’ to me in 1st person. I’ve never written in 1st, only 3rd. It’s going to be a big jump to master a new style. Dealing with touchy subject matter is another worry, but one I’m queasy (not quasi)-excited to tackle. So yeah…while I’m looking forward to facing this life challenge with my character, I’m praying it’s the only time I ever have to deal with it.
I know that, like Shel, I’m just going to have to jump and start wading through it. Here’s hoping we both come out stronger on the other side.
What do you have going on in your world?
Love is in the air!
“Te amo”
“Je t’aime”
“Ich liebe dich”
“I brought you a Route 44 Diet Coke from the Sonic.”
There are hundreds of ways to say “I love you”, but if you’re not paying attention they might get lost in translation. Learning to speak each other’s language is one of the most intriguing aspects of falling in love, and the things we don’t say speak even louder than ardent declarations. It took a long time to become fluent in my husband’s language of love.
You see, like the characters in my latest novel, Spring Chickens, he’s a southern man and I’m a Yankee girl. Technically, we both speak English, but they are radically different dialects. When the air turns cool and damp, I may say, “It’s going to rain”, but my sweet talking southern man would tell you, “It’s fixin’ to come a storm.” When we go shopping, he pushes a ‘buggy’, but I use a ‘cart’ to carry my groceries.
Like any dedicated couple, we say the words every day, but they don’t always come out in the form of “I love you.” Most days they go something like this:
“I mailed your package.”
“Thank you. I thought I’d make that pasta thing you liked for dinner tonight. That sound good?”
“Great. I’m gonna pull the washer out. Your pink socks fell off the pile, and I think I saw your Steak ‘n Shake shirt back there.”
“I’ve been looking for that shirt!”
“I figured there was a reason you were rooting through my drawers.”
“You love it when I root around in your drawers.”
“I do.”
“I do. too.”
What about you? How do you and your loved one say I love you?
Comment below to be entered to win digital copies of Jumping Mr. January and February’s Fling – Books 1 & 2 in the Hot Nights in St. Blaise series! I will draw a winner after 11:59 PM February 14th. Good luck!
Be sure to to click the linky to see all the fabulous sites taking part in the blog hop and stop by each one for more chances to win!
Love is in the Air Blog Hop 2013
Monday Mayhem – Where’s Margaret?
It’s Monday, so I must be in Texas…. At least, that’s the way it seems lately.
So far I have visited El Paso and Odessa. Today, I’m in San Angelo.
And the Canadians.
Let me tell you, the cowboy/oil tycoon/rodeo star plot bunnies are running rampant, my friends!
So, yeah. Margaret’s not home right now, but if you’re really missing me a lot, you can check out the post I did about procrastination on the Diamond State Romance Authors blog last week. And, if you just can’t wait to hear from me again, it’s my turn to host the blog at Everybody Needs A Little Romance this Thursday.
I’ve been a bit out of my comfort zone (which means I’ve been anywhere but my chair), so I messed up a bit on my posts last week. You see, I shared a post from my good friend, Evelyn Jules, on Thursday, but it was supposed to be this week’s Monday Mayhem post. I guess I got excited that it was her birthday, and posted it on her special day. So yeah…I blew my post lineup and I’ve got nothing. But if you missed it, please click here to check it out!
In the meantime, I’ll give you a special travel-themed round of two truths and a lie and give away winner’s choice from any book on my digital backlist. Got ’em all? Play anyway and I’ll give you a copy for a friend!
You ready? Go!
1) I prefer a aisle seat over a window.
2) I love talking to people on planes.
3) I take antihistamines before flying to keep my ears from clogging.
Have a great week, my darlings! I’ll be home soon!
P.S. Thanks to all who commented on Karen Booth’s Monday Mayhem post. You guys rock!
Special birthday blog!
Today is my good friend Evelyn Jules’ birthday! As her special birthday gift (and because this is one of those big-time-ends-in-a-zero birthdays) I finally gave in and let her come on my blog to play two truths and a lie. Seriously, the woman is obsessed with games. It’s be hard holding her back.
Anyhoo – please play along with the birthday girl by leaving your best guess in the comments below!
When I heard that Margaret was playing Two Truths and a Lie on her blog, I begged her to let me on. Games are like my favourite thing in the world. Then she gently reminded me that I write steamier stuff, and her blog isn’t really directed toward my kind of readers. I said, “People can change, Margaret! I can change!” And then I cried and prostrated myself at her feet. She finally let me have my spot, mostly out of pity I think.
My latest release, Cheapskates in Love, pokes fun at the trials and tribulations of online dating…especially for cheapskates. I have ventured into the online dating world. I saw some things. Things that weren’t pretty. But I did manage to meet a really cool guy along the way. He’s fascinating, adorably nerdy, big and strong, and he makes me laugh. A lot. That’s the most important thing for me. The dating and the getting-to-know-you-ing is going very well so far, so keep your fingers crossed. 🙂
I figured I’d continue along the same theme with my two truths and a lie and talk about some of the boys I’ve been out with, or almost-out-with, over the years. Two of these stories are the truth, and one is a big, fat lie. Can you guess?!
1. My first almost-boyfriend’s name was Kerry. I loved him all throughout elementary school, but it wasn’t until Grade 6 that I decided to make my ‘move’. I asked my girlfriends to ask him out for me. Picture six twelve year-old giddy, giggly girls cornering him at recess and telling him I liked him. I was a nervous wreck the whole time, hiding behind a tree or something. And after recess, Kerry approached me in the hallway because, conveniently enough, our lockers were right next to each other. He asked me, “Is it true? Do you want to go out with me?” I said nothing. “Well?” he prodded. I finally opened my mouth and spoke words so inspiring they should have been set to music. “I…don’t know.” *cue awkward silence*
2. I met my first actual boyfriend, Jesse, in the recovery room of a hospital after he had his wisdom teeth removed. I was about fifteen but I remember his pick-up line like it was just yesterday. He said, “Heyyyyy, pretty girlllll” very incoherently on account of the excessive amounts of freezing in his mouth. I giggled like a school girl. “What’sss your phone nummmer?” he asked me. I giggled more and wrote down my number for him on a napkin. I soon learned that the ‘loopy’ bit wasn’t just a side effect of the anaesthesia.
3. I was friends with a guy named Victor throughout most of my first degree at university. Then one day he decided he liked me. As in, liked me-liked me. We were walking along the wooded pathway to the university and I believe our conversation went something like this: Victor: Wanna come over tomorrow night? Me: Night? But we can’t play sports at night. Victor: *chuckles* I know. I’m going to cook for you. Me: Oh. Are we going to WATCH sports? Victor: I thought I’d take you to a movie. Me: Ohhh. Is this a date? Victor: *chuckles again* I think so. Me: Oh. *silently processes* What are you cooking?
One of these is a lie. I think. But hey, while you’re deciding on that, here’s the blurb for Cheapskates in Love:
It’s couples’ skating night down at the local rink and Elena Armstrong can’t seem to keep her cocky jock blind date around long enough to knee him in the balls. Sadly, she was too much of a cheapskate to pay for a membership to an online dating site and based everything on Leonard’s personality profile alone. Big mistake.
At the opposite end of the rink, Ben Kessel, another cheapskate on a blind date with Iris, the ice princess, is having a similarly miserable time. Elena, a hater of all things sports-related, inches out into the skating world butt-first and collides with Ben. After sharing their hilarious and horrifying dates-gone-wrong stories, the two disappear and make everything right again on the floor in the players’ dressing room. Almost everything. They forget to exchange numbers. Now these two cheapskates need to make the ultimate sacrifice: pay for a membership to the online dating site so they can track each other down. But is the possibility of love really worth the price of $24.95 per month?
My Cheapskates are available at the following locations:
Turquoise Morning Press Bookstore: 1&keywords=cheapskates+in+love+evelyn+jules
http://www.turquoisemorningpressbookstore.com/products/cheapskates-in-love-by-evelyn-jules
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com//product-cheapskatesinlove-1043038-149.html
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/274775
I’d love to chat with you all some more! Come visit me at my website! http://evelynjules.blogspot.ca
I’m on twitter https://twitter.com/#!/EvelynJules and facebook http://www.facebook.com/EvelynJules too!
Thank you so much for having me, Margaret! I’m forever indebted to you for this honour! Xoxo Evelyn 🙂
Birthday blog for Evelyn Jules!
It’s my BFF’s birthday – it’s one of the big-ends-in-a-zero birthdays! Sending out big peanut butter wishes and kisses to my partner in crime, Evelyn Jules!
To celebrate, I turned the tables on my favorite girl and asked her to answer the same questions she tossed at me when I visited her blog earlier this month. Check out her answers and be sure to wish her a happy birthday in the comments!
****
Hi, everyone! I’m so happy to be here today, on this, the day of my birth! I had so much fun with these interview questions. I hope it gives you all a chance to get to know me better!
Describe yourself in three words. Quirky, happy, peanut-butter-addict
Any nicknames? One of my buddies calls me Julyn. I’d rather not talk about my other nicknames. There are scars. 😉
What was your favourite Christmas present? My favourite present of all time has to be the 10 free lessons at Circus School. And a close second is my moon shoes.
What’s your dirtiest secret? One time I smeared Nutella all over my face. And I liked it.
In your opinion, what’s the most important part of the sandwich? This is a really tough question for me to answer. Obviously the bread is important. But I think the condiments can make or break a sandwich. The condiment quotient is key.
As authors we tend to have to research many bizarre and unusual topics. What’s the strangest thing you’ve Googled research-wise? Well, I wrote a story set in a penis museum. *nods* It’s possible I researched things such as ‘the length of a crocodile’s penis’.
What was your favourite childhood toy? Fisher Price Little People. I still have them. And their bus. And their house. And their pool. And all their little cars….
Share your favourite word or phrase with us. Positivity! I can’t help it. I just love the word and everything it represents. It makes me ridiculously happy. It’s my mantra.
Do you believe in love at first sight? I do. I’ve never experienced it personally—not yet, at least—but I do wholeheartedly believe in it.
What writing accomplishment are you most proud of and why? A few weeks ago that penis story I mentioned became a print. I mean, it’s part of an anthology which is now in print. I’m so touched that my first print is a penis print. I’ll stop saying penis now.
If you had the opportunity to live one year of your life over again, which year would you choose? Hands down, 2012. It was the best year of my life. I accomplished so many things I never dreamed possible.
What’s the funniest/weirdest/dirtiest status message you’ve posted on a social networking site? @EvelynJules I think my closest friends are the ones I can call a filthy whore and get away with it.
Quick and dirty:
Cake or pie? Can’t I have both? Oh, fine. I choose rainbow chip cake with whipped cream icing.
Jocks or nerds? I’m gonna have to say jocks, ‘cause I’m a bit of a jock myself.
Coke or Pepsi? Um, water? I don’t like pop. 😛
Boxers or briefs? Boxers.
Poolside or beach? I am a total beach girl. I get sand in bad places.
Pancakes or waffles? How about a panfle?
Baked or fried? The health-conscious, salad-eating side of me will kick my butt for this, but gimme the fried food. Guhhhhhhh.
Aaaaaand, last but not least, tell us about your new book!
Cheapskates in Love is a romantic comedy that pokes fun at the world of online dating.
Here’s the blurb:
It’s couples’ skating night down at the local rink and Elena Armstrong can’t seem to keep her cocky jock blind date around long enough to knee him in the balls. Sadly, she was too much of a cheapskate to pay for a membership to an online dating site and based everything on Leonard’s personality profile alone. Big mistake.
At the opposite end of the rink, Ben Kessel, another cheapskate on a blind date with Iris, the ice princess, is having a similarly miserable time. Elena, a hater of all things sports-related, inches out into the skating world butt-first and collides with Ben. After sharing their hilarious and horrifying dates-gone-wrong stories, the two disappear and make everything right again on the floor in the players’ dressing room. Almost everything. They forget to exchange numbers. Now these two cheapskates need to make the ultimate sacrifice: pay for a membership to the online dating site so they can track each other down. But is the possibility of love really worth the price of $24.95 per month?
My Cheapskates are available at the following locations:
Turquoise Morning Press Bookstore: 1&keywords=cheapskates+in+love+evelyn+jules
http://www.turquoisemorningpressbookstore.com/products/cheapskates-in-love-by-evelyn-jules
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com//product-cheapskatesinlove-1043038-149.html
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/274775
I’d love to chat with you all some more! Come visit me at my website! http://evelynjules.blogspot.ca
I’m on twitter https://twitter.com/#!/EvelynJules and facebook http://www.facebook.com/EvelynJules too!
Thanks so much for hosting me, Maggie! This was a blast! 🙂
Release day!
It’s here! February’s Fling is here!
Look for it at your favorite ebook retailer, and enjoy the naked yoga!
Monday Mayhem – A Million Miles Away
Okay, maybe it’s not a million miles, but I am on the road today. My good friend Karen Booth is here to keep you entertained. If you were a child of the 80’s, you would know that the title of Karen’s new book is taken from the Plimsouls song I used as my blog title. And it may be playing on my iPod as I type this. Yes, I am that much of a nerd. See you soon, my darlings!
****
It’s only fitting that my first guest blog appearance after the release of my new book, Bring Me Back, would be on Margaret’s blog. I’m not sure she realizes it, but she was instrumental in helping me decide that Turquoise Morning Press was the right place for this book. After reading several of her books and eventually getting past my immense fear that I would never write as well as she does, I knew that the stories she likes to tell were very in-line with what I write. So, thank you, Marg. I’m oh-so-just-slap-me-now happy to be here.
(Aw! I’m blushing. And squeeing. And blushing again. Thank you!)
One of the best parts of becoming an author, aside from the massive royalty checks and all-night sex parties, is becoming friends with other authors. Writing is a lonely business built on a house of cards—one day you’re on top of the world, you just wrote the most amazing ten pages in the history of literature. The next day, those ten pages have been deleted and you’re thanking the stars above that you didn’t get carried away and actually show those pages to anyone. This is why you need friends, preferably friends with large, unlocked liquor cabinets.
My friendship with Margaret has grown from fan/author to author/author, which has been an amazing process for me. Sure, Margaret and I first bonded over my ability to gush about her writing, but we’ve since moved on to more important things like our shared love for Duran Duran and our propensity for getting in trouble on Twitter. When she began to read Bring Me Back and quickly sent me an email saying she was hooked, I nearly fainted. After she finished reading, she sent me an email saying she loved it and I felt as if I’d won the lottery. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it as much as she did.
So, without further ado, I present my Two Facts and a Work of Fiction. From those who correctly guess the work of fiction, I will award the winner’s choice of my backlist eBooks. And, please, while you’re here, take a gander at the blurb for Bring Me Back.
Two Facts and a Work of Fiction
1) I have performed on a stage one time in my entire life, in the middle school school talent show. I tap danced to “Me and My Shadow” with the only other girl who’d signed up for tap dancing—Shari, a sweet, but very poor-sighted and unusually uncoordinated fellow sixth grader.
2) I didn’t have my first boyfriend or first real kiss until college. There were a few sloppy, drunken attempts at kisses in high school, but nothing I care to count. The college guy wore black leather riding boots and listened to The Cult and I thought he was the sexiest thing ever. Now, the thought of him makes me queasy.
3) I spent the summer after college backpacking through Europe with my best friend, Jane. We spent most of our time in Hamburg and Amsterdam, even though I’d told my parents we were going to Italy and Spain and several other countries that we never made it to. We were having way too much fun where we already were. I’d like to say that I regret our lack of miles traveled, but it was the most fun I don’t totally remember.
Bring Me Back
Music critic Claire Abby is a single mom dreading her daughter’s departure for college and worried that turning forty will leave her career running on fumes. She’s floored when she lands a Rolling Stone cover story on 80s British rock legend Christopher Penman. She spent her teenage years fantasizing he was her boyfriend.
In person, Christopher is everything Claire feared he’d be—charming, witty and unwilling to address the rumors he’s dodged for a decade. Still, she contains her adolescent fantasies and manages to earn his trust, unearthing the truth and the devastating secret behind it. His blockbuster story is her first priority when she returns home, a nearly impossible task when Christopher starts calling and flirting. She knows she should maintain a professional distance. She knows she should focus on the story. She knows it would be best to simply walk away. But how can she say “no” to the man she could never forget?
Website: http://karenbooth.net
Bring Me Back on Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17187439-bring-me-back
Six Sentence Sunday – 1/27/13
This week, I’ll be sharing six sentences from book #2in the Hot Nights in St. Blaise series – February’s Fling – releasing this week!
Don’t miss book #1 – Jumping Mr. January available NOW from Turquoise Morning Press!
Welcome to St. Blaise, Missouri: Home of The Men and Women of St. Blaise Regional Medical Center
When the St. Blaise Regional Medical Center Board of Directors hired hometown girl, Beth Watkins, to jump start their public relations, they never imagined she’d be stripping their most prominent doctors, nurses, and support staff down to their birthday suits in order to beef up the hospital’s bank account.
Six men and six women were chosen to represent the best and brightest of this little town nestled in the heart of the Mark Twain National Forest. They also happened to be the hottest tickets in town. Soon the fundraising calendar is spiking temperatures throughout the Show Me state, and the men and women of St. Blaise are setting their small-town nights on fire.
February’s Fling
Having a tough enough time reestablishing her credibility in the wake of the calendar’s success, Sharon Malloy refuses to jeopardize her career for a fling with an inappropriate man. No matter how badly she aches to be flung.
The sexy Finance Administrator may be fresh off the world’s most amicable divorce, but she’d long passed the age of giving in to reckless impulses. The problem is, when Chad Holgren touches her, it doesn’t feel reckless. It just feels right.
Sharon’s determination to play it cool only fuels Chad’s fire. Determined to prove he has what it takes to make her happy, he puts her through her paces time and again, stretching the boundaries of their relationship and hanging on tight when Cupid’s arrow catches them both with their pants down.
Six sentences from February’s Fling: (warning – naked yoga ahead!)
“Prayer position,” he whispered in her ear. Taking hold of her wrists, he kept his gaze locked on the mirror as he guided her into the pose. When her palms touched, he covered her hands with his. “Look.”
Sharon slowly lifted her gaze to meet his in the mirror. His dick nestled into the crevice of her ass as he tipped his chin to the ceiling and arched back into a sun salutation.
Watch for the entire HOT NIGHTS IN ST. BLAISE series coming in 2013 from Turquoise Morning Press!
Cover lover!
I have all sorts of new artwork. Want a peek?
February’s Fling – Turquoise Morning Press – release week January 27th
March Madness – Turquoise Morning Press – release week February 25th
Love Letters Vol. 1: Obeying Desire – D is for Detained – Carina Press – release week April 8th
Smokin’ Hot Firemen – Rescue Me – Cleiss Press – release July 2013
![SmokinHotFiremen_opt[1]](http://maggiewells1.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/smokinhotfiremen_opt1.jpg)