Look what's out today!

Roxanne St. Claire's FACE OF DANGER releases today!

*Amazon buy link*

Blurb:

Private investigator Vivi Angelino loves living life on the edge, but stepping into the shoes of a movie starlet to bait a serial killer isn't just a thrill . . . it's a ticket to the big time for her fledgling security firm. That is, as long as a certain risk-averse FBI agent stays out of her way-and out of her fantasies.

Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colton Lang isn't above using his well-worn rulebook to stop Vivi's latest walk on the wild side. But when they learn her client is involved in something far more insidious than bad acting, Vivi and Colt must work together despite the electrifying attraction arcing between them. For each new clue is bringing them closer to a high-profile crime with a dark and deadly truth at its core . . . and a cold, calculating murderer with nothing left to lose.

Have you read the rest of the Guardian Angelinos series?

Are you feeling cold?

Or was that a Shiver Of Fear? (See what I did there?) Roxanne St. Claire's latest romantic suspense hits the shelves today!

Blurb:

The legacy that haunts her . . .

The mystery she must solve . . .

A man who threatens to reveal her secrets . . .

and break her heart.

Burned by a failed marriage, former FBI agent Marc Rossi wants back in the investigation game with no emotional strings attached. Taking an assignment for his enterprising Angelino cousins, he heads to Northern Ireland to pry a key piece of evidence from a missing socialite-any way he can. But when the ice queen turns out to be warm, beautiful, and on a secret mission of her own, the job becomes a passionate reminder of what happens when duty and desire mix. The daughter of an infamous fugitive, Devyn Sterling has survived betrayal only to find that her mother has mysteriously disappeared. When her search uncovers secrets, lies, and threats, Devyn and Marc must trust each other when every instinct says they can't . . . and a terrorist wants to make sure they won't live to try.

Get your copy today!

Caturday - the Easter edition

Filling in for the role of "cat" is Pepper St. Claire, America's top model dog. Isn't she sweet? Thanks to Roxanne St. Claire for the pic!

Have a happy wonderful Easter! Take your family to church!

All hail her majesty. Of sorts.

I'm off to the airport shortly to pick up the Queen of Ohio, Louisa Edwards. She, I and the fabu-licious Roxanne St. Claire are doing an amazing workshop (the one that RWA turned down, despite its life-changing possibilities for both plotters and pantsers) this Saturday at the STAR chapter to which Rocki and I belong.

Don't you wish you lived in Florida too?

A slightly different Monday

Hotrod is having his knee scoped today. Not sure how long he'll be out of commission recovery-wise, but I'm sure it will involve me making at least one trip to Steak-n-Shake for medicinal purposes.

In other news, the fabulous Roxanne St. Claire is celebrating a birthday today! If you don't follow her on Twitter, you should. Find her here: http://twitter.com/roxannestclaire

Have a great Monday!

Caturday!

Max contemplates life as a Bullet Catcher. Or Mouse Catcher. Or Lizard Catcher. Or Bird...

In other, more writerly news, I'm being interviewed over at the Midnight Moon Cafe today. Stop by and say hi!

Trying Again

The shuttle launch was scrubbed late afternoon yesterday due to a hydrogen leak, but they're hoping to try again this afternoon.

Although we were really disappointed, we soothed away those feelings with homemade pizza. It was delicious, but I've already been on the elliptical this morning to make up for it.

In other news, my friend and award-winning romantic suspense author, Roxanne St. Claire is now on Twitter! Follow her: http://twitter.com/roxannestclaire

Have a great Thursday! Get some writing done!

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head...

It's been raining a lot here lately. In fact, I thought we might lose power last night because of how stormy it was. Because of that, I was inspired to share some snaps of one of our local dog models, Ms. Pepper St. Claire (you may know her human, the always fashionable author, Roxanne St. Claire), as she shows off what's tres chic in bad weather gear these days. Enjoy!

School Lunch

I'm at Fictionistas today talking about school lunch. Come play!

Also, my friend Roxanne St. Claire is blogging over at www.murdershewrites.com - Stop by and say hi, today is her first day!

Tuesday Musings

I'm at Fictionistas today talking nonsense. Seriously. Come muse with me.

Also, Roxanne St. Claire's fab new Bullet Catcher book comes out today! I can't wait to read it. This is - at long last - Lucy's story!!!

ARCS I Really Need

I'm hoping Roxanne St. Claire and C.L. Wilson have their Google alerts up and working because I really need ARCs of their next books and I'm hoping this post will go a long way in that direction. Like, really need these fabulous books. Willing to beg, in fact. Not that I think that should be necessary. I'm a fabulous person who deserves to read these before everyone else. LOL

First up would be Roxanne St. Claire's Now You Die, available August 26th. This is the one that concludes the mini-series trilogy within her Bullet Catcher series (first of the trilogy - First You Run, second - Then You Hide). This is Lucy's story - the creator of the Bullet Catchers. Hot, sexy, serious action, plus buff men with guns. 'Nuff said. WANT!

Then there's C.L. Wilson's King Of Sword And Sky, third in her Tairen Soul series, releasing September 30th. This is fantasy romance like nothing you've ever read. Lush, rich, emotive and all with a slight patina that makes each brand new story seem like a tangle of well-loved myth and legend revisited. Good stuff. WANT!

Now ladies, concerning those ARCs...you know how to find me. I'll be waiting. (Plus I promise to buy the book once it's actually released. I always do anyway!)

Taking It Slow

It's been raining a lot here lately. Heavy, drowning rains accompanied by lightning and wake-the-dead thunder. The kind of storms that cause your electricity to flicker and your hair to stand on end.

Fun, fun stuff.

So the pool is rather full and the cats seem less than enthusiastic about trying the new cat door Hotrod installed for them so they can go out on the lanai anytime they want without one of us having to get up and open the slider for them.

As for me, I'm going to veg on the couch and read the last few pages of Roxanne St. Claire's Then You Hide. Are you reading this series? It's THE AWESOME. Seriously, get out there and treat yourself to some hot, hot Bullet Catchers today.

Girls Day Out

Yesterday, Babe and I and Lara Santiago went to see the Sex And The City movie. It was fairly entertaining, but it did not make me cry like it did some of my other friends who had already seen it. I think Babe and Lara liked it, too.

Afterwards we went to Panera Bread for some lunch and girl talk. Babe also snagged the world's largest straw.

Today we're having more lunch and girl talk, this time including such fabulous girls as Roxanne St. Claire and Jax. Of course, what happens at lunch, stays at lunch.

Be jealous.

You Devil, You!

I have a very special guest visiting me this week - my friend and critique partner, Babe King! What makes the visit so special is that she's from Tasmania, the island state of Australia.

In other words, a long way away.

We've known each other for about four years, but this is the first time we've met face to face. Very cool. I'm going to do my best to introduce her to a bunch of my writing friends while she's here, show her some Floridian sights, do the tourist thing...you know.

Speaking of Tasmania...have you read Roxanne St. Claire's First You Run? It's got a yummy Tassie hero. Just saying.

Whatcha Reading?

I'm finishing up The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne (not sure what I think of it yet) and about to start Roxanne St. Claire's First You Run (which I already know I'm going to love).


What are you reading?

Project Finito and Other Stuff

Today's breakfast: cantaloupe

* Project Runway is over and out. Christian won. Which was basically a meh ending for me. Jillian's collection reminded me of her personality - underwhelming. Rami actually showed some very nice dresses, both short and long. He knows how to dress women and that's important. A point for him for NOT showing the puffy coat. Christian's collection was black, black, black, black, touch of beige, touch of darker beige, black, black and beige with feathers. My issue with his collections are A. it's almost entirely unwearable in real life and B. it's designed for a model body type, not a real women. That doesn't deserve to win, IMO. I'm surprised I'm about to say this, but my vote would have gone to Rami. Even Jillian's was at least wearable. Ugh. I'm over it.

* Islands of Adventure was So Much Fun. Hotrod and I screamed like girls on the Hulk (okay, I screamed like a girl, him not so much), had lunch at Mythos, our favorite restaurant in the park (shout out to Daniel, the manager!), saw a show, people watched, did the Spiderman ride (FAB!), bought a t-shirt, blah, blah, blah. We finished up the day with a yummy cheeseburger at Margaritaville, then I dropped him off at the airport and came home.

* I stayed up l.a.t.e. and finished Hit Reply by Roxanne St. Claire. Wow. Amazing. You need to read this book. You'll be shocked at how a collection of emails and IMs will draw you in and hang on to you! This one goes on my keeper shelf and girlfriend, there are not that many books on that shelf if you get my drift.

*So much work to do today! Send me some productive vibes, will ya?

*Almost forgot to add: Congrats to my bro and his wife on their new son, kidlet #3, born yesterday! I'm so glad they decided to procreate like rabbits. Totally takes the heat off me.

Last Day Of Fun

Today is my last day of fun for awhile, due to my nutso schedule. We're off to Universal Studio's other theme park, Islands of Adventure. I like IA because Spiderman is there and I've had a crush on him since I was a kid. (Not the whole movie Spiderman, I'm talking comic books - the original webslinger.)

Anyway, I should be up and moving but I made the "mistake" of starting a book right before bed last night that kept me reading way longer than I should have. It's a rare book, one that is probably hard to get your hands on, but I happen to have a copy of it. I've had it for a year or two, actually, and it's just sat in my TBR pile...waiting. Then, last night, I picked it up and read straight through to page 180 almost without stopping to breathe!

What is this book, you ask? It's called HIT REPLY by Rocki St. Claire. The kicker? It's written entirely in emails and IM messages. A-Mazing. If you can find this book, you should pick up a copy. Talk about innovative fiction!

Now I'm off to caffienate myself. What are you doing today?

Where Did Yesterday Go?

Today's breakfast: Mango smoothie

Yesterday flew by. I mean, FLEW. I had so much going on that it was 10 PM before I stopped doing "stuff" and just sat on the couch and vegged. Wow. Those kind of days I could do without. Unfortunately, there are a lot of those days in store for me this month.

* Happy birthday to my mom! She's in her mid-60's but she looks phenomenal. I hope I age that well. I love you, mom! Thanks for instilling in me the love of reading and the belief that anything is achievable if you put in the work. And for teaching me to shop. *grin* Make dad do all the work today.

*Dear Author recently asked what books you might be anticipating - good question! For me, one of the books I'm most eager to get my hands on is Roxanne St. Claire's First You Run. It's the start of a brand new Bullet Catcher trilogy with a storyline that arcs over the entire trilogy. Fortunately, the books are all being released within six months, so no waiting a year between them to find out what's going on! Should be an awesome, awesome series. I'm really excited to get my copy on March 25th and commence reading. By then, some of my workload will be behind me.

How about you? What books are you looking forward to?

Have An Awesome Weekend!

I hope you all have a great weekend! I'm off to a writer's retreat with pals Roxanne St. Claire and Lara Santiago. The retreat is sponsored by the TARA (Tampa area) chapter of RWA (which we're also members of) and features special guest, screenwriter Michael Hauge.

I've never heard him speak, but everyone who has says he's really good, so I'm hoping to come away from the weekend with a few lightbulb moments and some great ideas on how to make my stories better. I'll try to share a few things when I get back.

Considering my roommates, I'm sure there will be a few fun stories to tell as well.

What are you doing this weekend?

It's Getting Hot In Here

We've been talking about sexual tension on my chapter loop lately. Ah, sexual tension. That all important X factor that puts the sizzle in a story. What is it? How do you create it? What makes it work?

Several of our pubbed authors (Leslie Kelly and Roxanne St. Claire) posted excepts that left the loop smoking! Need an example of sexual tension? Pick up one of their books!

Here are some links to articles on the subject:

http://www.hodrw.com/sexualtension.htm

This is a podcast: http://writingshow.com/?p=188

http://www.julietburns.com/tension.html

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/bn/board/message?board.id=writingromance&message.id=1765

So how do you create sexual tension between your hero and heroine? Do you have a favorite way of doing it? Who are some authors that have mastered the technique? Talk to me!