Monday Mayhem – The Margaret Shuffle

I updated my iPod this weekend. I know, I know…alert the media. But, it’s an anomaly in my life, trust me.

I acquired some new-to-me music thanks to my friend Julie and the good folks at iTunes. As a matter of fact, it seems every song I’ve added lately is thanks to Julie. Of course, I take her advice. She’s young and hot, and I don’t really think she’s trying to brainwash me or anything. Much. I’m sure she just thought I might really enjoy ‘Hey Julie’ by Fountains of Wayne. And she was right. I do.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/wZxJNZMyn-4]

This weekend’s discovery was Caro Emerald and her fabulous song ‘Back It Up’.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/jo1cyl0QbWo]

I love it, but I have to admit I’m a little afraid Julie’s getting into my head. I just tried to spell color with a U. Those Canadians are sneaky. First they seduce you with Clodhoppers then they take over your iPod. Soon it will be all Rush all the time!

My iPod is a weird and wonderful place, but I need to shake it up before Julie takes over entirely. I thought I’d share the next ten songs to pop up on my iPod’s shuffle then you can tell me what you’re listening to, and maybe we can move forward without calling in a deprogrammer.

The Point of No Return ~ Phantom of the Opera Original Soundtrack
A Million Miles Away ~ The Plimsouls
Blow Me (One Last Kiss) ~ Pink
How to Dream ~ Sam Phillips
Everyday I Write the Book ~ Elvis Costello
The Air That I Breathe ~ The Hollies
Where or When ~ Harry Connick, Jr.
So in Love ~ k.d. lang
Blue Bayou ~ Roy Orbison
Something Stupid ~ Glee Cast

What about you? Are you listening to anything new and interesting? How about old and awesome?

Friday Flashers 3/8/13

Friday Flashers

Okay, so a couple of people pointed out that I got so excited about the cover art for Love Letters Volume 2: Duty to Please that I forgot to tease you with share a bit of my story from Love Letters Volume 1: Obeying Desire.

CARINA_0413_9781426895357

Allow me to remedy that right away. Here’s the official 4-1-1:

D is for Detained by Maggie Wells

He was the preacher’s son, her parents owned the local sex shop. Sherry Adams and Tyler Prescott’s attraction was forbidden when they were teenagers, but years later Deputy Tyler takes out his trusty handcuffs to show her just how good they could be together.

And a tidbit to tide you over:

“Freeze! Hands in the air!”

Her skull cracked against the counter. She cussed, lifting one hand to rub away the ache and whirling to confront her attacker. “Christ, wha—”

She gaped at the shadow in the doorway. The peaked crown of his hat brushed the door casing, and his shoulders filled the breadth of the opening. Backlit by the blistering summer sun, the guy looked enormous.

“Hands in the air,” he repeated.

Astounded by the sight of a gun pointed in her direction, it took a full minute for her to recognize the voice. She blinked but the rest of her motor skills seemed stunned by the blow. Her hands inched toward the ceiling. “Tyler?”

“Sherry?” Instantly, he lowered the gun. His jaw almost scraped the filthy linoleum floor.

“Hey.” The little finger wave made her look stupid and awkward, but making a fool of herself over him was nothing new. The minute Tyler Prescott glanced in her direction, the stupid and awkward came pouring out of her.

“Sherry…Sherry Garcia Adams.”

She’d like to claim the name was a remnant of a misunderstood youth, a leftover taunt hurled by a guy who hadn’t outgrown his teenaged prejudices. Unfortunately, the man might have been reading her birth certificate verbatim. She had to be the only girl in the world whose own mother serenaded her with “Truckin’” each year instead of “Happy Birthday.”

Still, when Tyler Prescott said her ridiculous name in his down and dirty, burrowing twenty-gazillion-leagues-under-her-skin drawl…well, a little thrill chased down her spine. And if the fact that he remembered her name at all wasn’t enough to get a girl all squealy-giggly, the pseudo-reverence in his tone had the tiny hairs on the back of her neck standing at attention.

She assumed he faked the awe in his voice. Sherry had no idea why the chosen son of Serenity would be impressed with her presence.

“Hey, Tyler.” She lowered her half-raised hands and scraped her damp palms over the seat of her cargo shorts, trying to ignore her throbbing skull. He stared at her as if she were an alien beamed down from the planet Stupefy. “Uh, how’ve you been?”

Another brilliant question, but he stood stock-still in the doorway staring at her and it was making her nervous. Tyler Prescott was a paragon in their tiny town, and paragons made her twitchy. In high school, he’d been the captain of the football team and class president four years running. The resident handsome-as-sin preacher’s kid. Every town had one.

She flashed back to those interminable Sundays when she’d slip out of bed early to sneak into town to go to church. Tyler was one of the few people in Serenity who’d treated her like she was a normal person and not the girl their classmates crowned Porn Queen.

Love Letters Volume 1  is available for pre-order now at Carina Press, Amazon, and All Romance eBooks. Happy Friday, my friends!

Monday Mayhem – Smoke & Mirrors Edition

That’s right, I’m about to use a little trickery to distract you from the fact that I have nothing prepared. Are you shocked? This is supposed to be mayhem, right?

I’ve been working on stuff, I swear.

Every day I write, edit, redit, and then edit some more. My life is dedicated to eradicating the mysterious words I swear I did not type but show up in my manuscripts anyhow.

I’m about knee deep in Containment and psyching myself up to wade in deeper. This book is already an emotional rollercoaster.

Did the final read though on Always the Groomsman – the short story I’m including in TMP’s Wedding Day Collection due out this summer. Did I tell you about my story? It’s Tom and Maggie’s wedding! Squee!

I’m also compiling the Long Distance Love short stories for release later this year. Remember Jack and Ellie? Well, I’m tweaking the older stories so they flow and working six new stories over until they come up to snuff. Want to see the line up so far?

Concourse Christmas

New Year, New Expectations

I’ve Got You to Talk to Me

Be Mine

Kiss Me, I’m Full of Blarney

Going the Distance

The Feeling is Pari-Mutuel

Declarations of Dependence

Labor of Love

A Voyage of Discovery

Hallowed Eve

Veterans of Domestic Wars

Thanks Be to Grandma

Taking Off

It was so much fun to spend some time with those two crazy kids again. Oh, who am I kidding? It was fun to crawl inside Jack’s…head again. (Hey! Get your mind out of the gutter!). I missed Jack. Oh, I love Ellie too, but there’s something about Jack Rudolph that tugs at me. So…You want a taste?

I figured you might. Just to bring you up to speed…When last we saw our couple (Declarations of Dependence), Ellie’s reticence had poked a few sizable holes in Jack’s ego. This is taken from Labor of Love

Before the whole debacle at her parents Fourth of July cookout, he would have called her. Hell, there would have been at least two or three messages waiting on her phone if she hadn’t called until ten o’clock. But not these days.

These days he only called her when he was calling her back. Despite the new job with the Chicago field office and a schedule was more flexible than hers, he hadn’t come to see her in eight weeks. Eight long weeks. As a matter of fact, he hadn’t even suggested a visit. That was the straw that broke Ellie’s back.

He answered the phone and she said only, “I think we need to talk,” in greeting.

His sharp intake of breath cut the silence that hummed between them. He let it go with a hiss and punctuated the sentiment with a low grunt. “So talk.”

“I’m downstairs, but I can’t find a parking spot.”

“What?”

The shock in his tone triggered a smile. For once, she got one over on her very special agent.  “Surprise.”

“You’re here? In Chicago?”

“Right in front of your building, Rudolph,” she confirmed. “Do you think you can come down and guide my sleigh to a parking spot? I might need your nose to scare off the creepy guy lurking in the alley a couple of blocks over.”

Jack hesitated for a moment. Her stomach dropped to her toes as she heard the rustle of bedclothes. He juggled the phone. “Uh, hang on.”

The echo of a woman’s voice sent shivers down her spine and alarm bells started clanging in her head. Mortification burned hot in her cheeks. It could have been the TV. She hoped with all her heart it was the TV. She was almost one thousand percent certain the voice came from the TV. Still…

“Maybe I should just go to Laurie’s.” The thought of turning up on her sister’s doorstep in a flood of tears wasn’t particularly appealing, but it beat the crap out of coming face to face with the infinitesimal chance that he wasn’t watching TV. Oh God, what if he wasn’t? Why did she ever think it was a good idea to just show up?

Jack’s derisive snort yanked her back. “Are you kidding me?” The exasperation in his tone stoked the dying embers of hope in her heart. “Come down the alley. I’m opening the gate to the lot. My neighbor’s out of town this weekend. You can park in his spot.”

The TV. The voice had to be coming from the TV. Surely Jack wouldn’t be cruel enough to invite her in if he was…entertaining company. Niggling doubt chased her taillights. She held her breath as she made the sharp turn from the narrow alley into the crowded lot.

“Joe’s space is next to mine,” he huffed.

Ellie pulled into the spot and killed the engine as the back door opened. Fluorescent light spilled into the parking lot. He stood silhouetted in the doorway. The gate rolled shut behind her, trapping her there. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to open the door. She cast a glance over her shoulder as she climbed from the driver’s seat, keeping her hand wrapped around the top of the door. She had questions she needed to ask, and she was hoping the reinforced steel could shield her from any answers she didn’t want to hear.

Pressing the phone tight to her ear, she stared straight at him. “Do you still love me, Jack?”

****

Dun dun dun!

That was fun, wasn’t it? You know what else is fun? Talking about book boyfriends.

Jack is one of mine. I’m also partial to Jamie Fraser, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Roarke from JD Robb’s In Death series, and pretty much every Eversea and Redmond male from Julie Anne Long’s Pennyroyal Green series. Oh, and Morelli. I know, I know. Ranger is hot, blah blah blah. I like the guys who are the keepers, and that’s why I’m a Cupcake.

You?

 

Friday Flashers 3/1/13

Friday Flashers

Hello and welcome to my first Friday Flashers entry! The cover art fairy dropped a bit of yum into my inbox. Wanna see?

LoveLettersVol2

You like? How about a little taste of what’s inside?

Love Letters Volume 2: Duty to Please

E Is for Entice by Emily Cale

Coast Guard Petty Officer Evan Marshall knows it won’t be easy proving to his hometown that he’s matured—especially his former girlfriend, Ciara Knowles. Though they soon re-create some very hot memories, it may take a disaster to truly bring them together.

F Is for Fallout by Ginny Glass
When Spencer Corwin returns from Iraq, all he can think about is finally meeting the woman he’s been corresponding with in the flesh. But will their red-hot passion survive the fallout of learning they’ve both been living a lie?

G Is for Gun-Shy by Christina Thacher
Colonel Jack Travis doesn’t want to be partnered with buttoned-up military strategist Davina McCall—even if she’s the sexiest woman he’s ever seen. When a freak storm traps them in Jack’s cabin, the buttons start coming undone…and things really start heating up.

H Is for Hotshot by Maggie Wells
Smoke jumper Luke Whitehawk usually fights fires—when he’s not fighting his sizzling attraction to pilot Tara Ferris. And Tara’s determined that this is one battle Luke is destined to lose…

Here’s a little flash:

Sucking air between her teeth, Tara tripped the latch and threw her shoulder into the door. Without looking at him, she dropped a booted foot over the side and jumped from the pilot’s seat. “If you don’t like the way I drive, don’t climb into my bird, Hawk.”

A hard hand wrapped around her elbow. Blunt fingertips bit into her arm as he lifted her off the ground and held her snug against his chest. She slid halfway down his body before opportunity registered and instinct kicked in. Her arms and legs locked at his neck and thighs. She shimmied back up his long, lean body like a lumberjack scaling a tree trunk. She locked her thighs around his hips and dug the worn heels of her battered cowgirl boots into the hard muscle of his ass. Staring up into the jagged planes of his soot-covered face, she match him scowl for scowl.

“You could have killed yourself,” he rasped.

“I would never endanger my crew,” she retorted. “It was an engine alarm. I had her under control.” Luke opened his mouth to speak but the words caught. Startled by his strangled cry of frustration, she stared straight into his ebony eyes, willing him to truly see her for the first time. “Don’t you know me at all by now? I would never risk you. Never.”

His hand slipped into her hair, pressing the damp strands to the back of her neck. “Goddammit, Tara,” he rasped.

She held his gaze and exhaled a tremulous breath. “Goddammit, Hawk.”

A bead of sweat trailed down his temple, cutting a swath through the black soot that seemed embedded in his pores. It trickled into the crevices that fanned from the corners of his eyes, then attempted to scale that high, arcing cheekbone. Favoring him with a shaky smile, she caught the droplet on the pad of her thumb and swirled it into his skin.

Her lips were dry. She ran her tongue over the parched skin and traced the outline left by his safety goggles with her eyes. “You look like a reverse raccoon.” She wiggled, inching a bit higher so the crotch of his personal protective gear slid against the slick fabric of her flight suit.

Shudders rumbled through his body but he cradled her ass in one big hand. “And you look like more trouble than any man my age should go courtin’.”

“I’m not asking you to court me.” Her grip on his nape tightened. She leaned in and caught his earlobe between her teeth, rolling the tender flesh before releasing it with a flick of her tongue. Her breath bounced off his ear, warm and moist with anticipation. “All I’ve ever wanted was you deep inside me.”

Be sure to watch for Love Letters Volume 1: Obeying Desire coming in April!

CARINA_0413_9781426895357

Monday Mayhem – Bunnies!

Home. Exhausted. Had a wonderful time. Here are a few of the highlights:

Upon arrival, I found this fabulous pair of bunny ears in the Target dollar bins and I just had to have them:

Bunny

 

Then the madness spread:

 Bunny ears

The next thing you know, they were multiplying like rabbits!

M&G2013

It was a great weekend but it all passed way too fast. Now we start planning for next year.

Do you have an annual get-together or event you look forward to all year? How soon is too soon to start a countdown calendar?

 

New blog features

Just wanted to give you a heads up on a couple of new features I have planned for my blog. You ready for this?

Friday Flashers

Starting in March I’ll show you a bit of the delish on my mind that week in my new Friday Flashers feature. It may be a peek at a past or upcoming publication, a glimpse of a plot bunny hopping around in my head, or even the occasional bit of flash fiction whipped up for the occasion.

I also plan to participate in the Weekend Writing Warriors challenges staring in March!

Hope to see more of you!

Smooches!

Maggie

 

Monday Mayhem – Yay!

Days! I see my girls in just a few days!

M&G

Yes, I know I crowed about this the last time, but it’s been a year. Yes, an entire year has passed since I’ve seen some of these ladies. I don’t know how I survived it. I’m so excited I may bust right out of my yoga pants. Okay, that may be because of the chip kick I’ve been on lately, but you get the point. I am sad that not everyone will be able to make it this year, but I was born and raised a Cubs fan. I always believe next year will be our year.

I’ve made some progress on the book. It’s definitely not flowing as easily as some of the others, but I am trying to let go of the nit-pickiness and just write. A couple characters introduced themselves to me yesterday afternoon. I’m hoping they can light a little fire under me.

In other news, we’re in the final countdown to grandparentdom. Yay! Thanks to my fabulous friends, I have a swanky new Vera Bradley diaper bag, cementing my standing as the cool grandma.

 bag

Being the step-grandma, I got to choose my moniker. Therefore, I chose to retain the name that’s been pinned on me since I was a baby and declared myself the little man’s ‘Moogie’. Fodder will take the traditional route and be called ‘Granddad’.

Let’s see…what else?

I joined Weight Watchers again. (See bit above concerning chip binges) It’s amazing how fast I gain weight these days. I’m not going to get all het up about it, but I do want to keep it in check as much as I can. I’ve also gone back to the gym. I haven’t been running regularly since the flu took me out of the race last fall. It feels like I’m back to square one, even though I know I’m not. I’m scoping out 5k runs in the area, but I haven’t registered for one yet. The travel schedule for the day job isn’t set in stone, so I’ll have to wait to see where I may be in the coming months.

What are your plans for the week? Now that we’re past that first rush of resolutions, have you changed or added new goals for 2013? Yoga pants – scourge of fashion or God’s gift to middle-aged women? I could totally get away with carrying that diaper bag as a purse, couldn’t I?

These are the burning questions. Answer one or more of them and I may hook you or a friend up with digital copies of the first two books in Maggie Wells’ sizzling new Hot Nights in St. Blaise series.

Ready? Go!

JumpingMr.JanuaryFEB_MWells_MD

Winner!

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

1.  Under the Covers (Host)   59.  Close Encounters with the Night Kind    
2.  The Jeep Diva   60.  Taboo Reviews by Lolita    
3.  Kindles and Wine (INT)   61.  Kerry~I am a book addict…and proud of it (INT)    
4.  Amber Lin   62.  Desiree Holt    
5.  Addicted2Heroines   63.  Read Our Lips! Book Review Blog    
6.  Miss Vain’s Paranormal Fantasy (INT)   64.  Romancing the Dark Side (INT)    
7.  Queen of All She Reads (Int)   65.  Nya Rayne    
8.  Queen of the Night Reviews (Int)   66.  A Little Bit of Spice (INT)    
9.  Lea Barrymire (INT)   67.  CS Maxwell ~ Where’s My Muse (US)    
10.  Book Monster Reviews   68.  Darkest Addictions (Int.)    
11.  Cocktails and Books (int)   69.  Simply Ali    
12.  Reading Romances (INT)   70.  Goldilox and the Three Weres (INT)    
13.  Dakota Trace   71.  Sara Daniel    
14.  Isabelle Drake   72.  AJ’s Reading Nook (INT)    
15.  Nicole Morgan   73.  Blackraven’s Erotic Cafe (INT)    
16.  Diane Thorne – Erotic Romance Author   74.  Blackraven’s Reviews (INT)    
17.  Cabal of Hotness (INT)   75.  The Readers Roundtable (INT)    
18.  lisa beth darling   76.  Dark Divas Reviews (INT)    
19.  Ren’s Little Corner (INT)   77.  Another Look Book Reviews (INT)    
20.  DMG-Spike (INT)   78.  Paperbook Queen (INT)    
21.  The Secret Sanctuary of Books (INT)   79.  The Book Tart    
22.  Dianne Hartsock (INT)   80.  Delighted Reader (US)    
23.  Happily Ever After – Reads (INT)   81.  Kristine Cayne    
24.  Books of Love (US Only)   82.  Dana Delamar – Romantic Suspense (INT)    
25.  Kallypso Masters   83.  Ju Dimello (INT)    
26.  DC Juris   84.  Helena Harker    
27.  Billi Jean   85.  Evelyn Jules    
28.  Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews   86.  Maggie Wells    
29.  Bianca Sommerland   87.  Donna Cummings (INT)    
30.  Kindred Dreamheart (INT)   88.  HEA Romances With A Little Kick    
31.  Paige Tyler   89.  Amanda P @ Paranormal Romance    
32.  Hot Listens (INT)   90.  Amanda and Dawn @ Lets Get Romantical(DOM)    
33.  Serenity Woods (INT)   91.  3 Partners in Shopping USA    
34.  Maxine Mansfield   92.  Deal Sharing Aunt USA    
35.  Rhys Astason (INT)   93.  Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews    
36.  Natasha Blackthorne ~ Erotic Romance (INT)   94.  Bonnie Bliss    
37.  Day Dreaming Book Reviews   95.  Michelle Clay    
38.  LITERAL ADDICTION (US & Int)   96.  Natalie-Nicole Bates (INT)    
39.  Dani Harper, PNR author, (INTL)   97.  Author Julieanne Reeves    
40.  Nite Lite Book Reviews (INT)   98.  Christine@ RCJR eZine Blog    
41.  Book Lovin’ Mamas   99.  Ann Cory (US/CAN)    
42.  I Smell Sheep (US)   100.  Nancy DiMauro    
43.  Scarlett Sanderson (INT)   101.  Eleni Konstantine    
44.  Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy   102.  Nicky Penttila    
45.  Rhian Cahill (INT)   103.  The Book Referees    
46.  Tabby @Insightful Minds (INT)   104.  Blakely Chorpenning    
47.  LaVerne Clark – Novel Natterings (INT)   105.  Literal Hotties Naughty Book Reviews    
48.  Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Reviews {INT}   106.  Susan D. Taylor    
49.  Riverina Romantics (INT)   107.  Rhonda Laurel    
50.  Book Savvy Babe (INT)   108.  Lily Harlem    
51.  Cari Quinn (US & INT)   109.  Hannah Fielding Romance Novelist (INT)    
52.  Patricia Leever   110.  Aubrey Watt (INT)    
53.  Wendi Zwaduk   111.  Normandie Alleman (US & INT)    
54.  Megan Slayer   112.  Book Sniffers Anonymous (INT)    
55.  Talk Supe   113.  J. Kenner    
56.  Lee Brazil   114.  Mary @SweepingMe (Int)    
57.  June Kramin   115.  Avalon (worldwide)    
58.  Romance Book Club   116.  Novel Reflections (INT)