Ah, the beauty of a long weekend....

When you cannot get a compliment in any other way pay yourself one--Mark Twain

It’s the Queen’s Birthday weekend. I am a staunch republican but for a day off on Monday I’ll celebrate any bloody thing you want. Actually Liz’s birthday is in April but it works better for us to have it in June because there are a lot of public holidays around April. Yes, we care deeply for an English queen who has done nothing in her life but have people call her ‘your majesty’ and be waited on hand and foot. It’s ridiculous in this day and age. But good luck to her. I wish her no ill. I just don’t understand why we need to be tied to a monarchy that has stuff all to do with who we are as Aussies. I think my maternal, pure Scot grandfather Bill, husband of Elsie - the would be silent movie star, summed it up best when he said. “When she (the queen) sings god save Bill then I’ll think about returning the favour.” I think that’s fair. By the way, to the best of my knowledge she never sang god save Bill.

*Eureka flag – symbol of independence since 1854 in Australia. Based on the Southern Cross in the night sky in the Southern Hemisphere.
* Republican – against the monarchy

Last day for the Unbreakable contest. I have been overwhelmed with entries. Thank you. I will email just the names only to best friend Ethel who will pick a name out of the proverbial hat. I have told her no rabbits but you cannot guarantee what that woman will do. The answers can be found somewhere in the book or they are 43 and Ethics in the workplace. How easy a contest is that? Now the questions. Correct, I refuse to do anything the right way around.

Question 1: What subject does lecturer Dash Lomard teach?

Question 2: How old is India Blake?

Email the answers to amarinda_jones@yahoo.com.au. Please put ‘Contest’ in the subject field of the email. The first correct answer, drawn at random, to those two specific questions wins the Aussie gift set in the picture. The contest closes at midnight (USA EST) on June 6th. The winner will be announced on the blog after they have been contacted by email. Good luck.

Now, to give you a break from reading my waffle, I have asked, actually I demanded, two fantastic authors for excerpts of their hottest selling books. And yes, of course you can click on the cover to buy…shopping is easy at the Amarinda blog…no, I get no commission…hmm…I must look into that. I am will be back tomorrow to regale you on my renovations and associated injuries from them. Blood will flow...because I am clumsy…


“Djinni and the Geek” By Cindy Spencer Pape - Available NOW at Ellora’s Cave – it’s a red hot adult excerpt.

Excerpt:

“Oh hell.” He groaned and crushed her to his chest. “We are never going to get anything done if we’re in the same room together are we?”
Her tears were forgotten as she burrowed into his chest. The strong bands of his arms encircled her, and she felt wetness pool between her legs. Why did it seem she could never get enough of this man? She was no novice at sexual relations, had enjoyed them with some of her masters, but with David she was experiencing a continual state of craving for his touch. And that was like nothing she had ever felt before. Still, she saw no reason to deny them both the pleasure and relief that they could find together. There was a small glass pane in the office door but it had been covered over with papers and cartoons. “Did you lock your door?”
“Uh-huh.” His hands were already sliding up under her sweater. “I usually do when I’m breaking federal law on my computer.”
She shifted her hands to allow him to tug the soft pink wool over her head, taking her ivory satin bra with it. Then he pulled her out of her chair and into his lap, filling his hands with her breasts. His mouth crushed down on hers, fierce and hungry.
Her breasts swelled and ached as he shaped them with his hands while his tongue plundered her mouth. She shifted in his lap until her knees straddled his legs and her pussy—another word he had taught her that morning—rubbed against his cock. It wasn’t enough, she wanted him stuffed up inside her but his hands were doing such wonderful things to her taut and swollen nipples that she could not bring herself to move.

Marriage Plot, by Kelly Kirch – regency romance out June 17th from ResplendencePublishing.

Caroline chewed her lip and flipped the next page and the next—ten pages in all.
A hand dropped on her shoulder, startling a gasp from her.
“Are you finished here?” Nicolas smiled down on her.
She looked up into his handsome face. His twinkling eyes mocked the deepening shadows.
Her second challenge—to convince Nicolas they were made for each other -- seemed even more daunting than the first. Her attempt to create his awareness had fallen ill with her kiss. A normal courtship took time, but not knowing how long Nicolas would remain at Braeton put a decided crimp on her plans. Well, that and the fact that he still thought of her as a girl, which the yearning in her breast asserted she was not. She must change his mind, yet propriety and pride kept her from bolder action.
“I’ve got you at a bad place, haven’t I?” he mused.
Indeed he had. Badly in love, badly wanting, craving his affection as she had for the past nine years. Only, nine years ago, she had a different interpretation of what type of affection she needed. No longer content with the youthful idea of a quiet word of praise meant for only her, she wanted more from him. Something which began with a kiss and ended—where? To have him look at her with longing, as he had looked at the governess at the Winter Ball years ago.
Penelope had read his frequent correspondences to his family. She had participated in recounting the tales of his youth that all the girls knew, having grown up in the close proximity of Worthington township. Nicolas was a man of character, strength, humor, and loyalty.
He was precisely the man she knew he’d become those years ago when first she’d discovered her affection for him. The man her father could not have been for his gambling prior his death. Nicolas was a man of her brother’s ilk, whom she respected above all others. That he and her brother had remained close friends at university solidified her assessment of his character, because her brother was discerning in the extreme.
“A bad place,” she said now, stumbling over the words, wondering if he could imagine what she had been thinking.
Nicolas removed his hand, motioned to the journal. “In the midst of something?”
“Oh.” She clapped the book shut. It was too dark to write and would soon be too dark for a proper lady to be found in the sole company of a gentleman. “Yes, I’m ready to leave.” She stood, collecting the materials together.
Marie’s light-hearted laugh tinkled merrily from the yard. Nicolas’ gaze traveled beyond the door, smiling fondly at the scene of Marie covering her face for a game of hide-and-go-seek. His eyes danced.
For once Caroline wished Marie was not so very beautiful. That she did not have China blue eyes, golden locks, or an exuberance for life which made one wish to see the world through her. And that she was not the only person Caroline had ever met who carried around a ray of sunlight which singled her out for the stunner she was. It made the transition to Caroline, standing in the dim room with hair the same shade as the mud in the yard, singularly depressing.

www.freewebs.com/amarindajones/
Go ahead: Live with abandon. Be outrageous at any age. What are you saving your best self for?