Pain in the bum….

Are you aware that writers live life constantly on the edge? They are under great threat of debilitating medical conditions....

Numb bum syndrome – this happens when you have spent extended hours sitting in the one place pounding out a story on the keyboard. You feel nothing in your rear end.

Danger – Fat settles in one place and instead of having a rounded backside, you have a flat backside.

Cure – Chocolate and or alcohol to rearrange the fat globules – though if drinking a dry wine then may I suggest switch to chips.

Bum = fleshy bit you sit on

Dead foot Syndrome – you feel a tingling in your foot that becomes a numbness. What does that mean? No, you are not going to win the lotto or it’s going to snow. It means you have been stationary for too bloody long and you have to stand up and do the Mexican hat dance to get your foot working again.

Danger – stand up too quickly and you fall down

Cure – don’t stand up too quickly and you won’t fall down. Medicinal chocolate can be applied as there is calcium in it and it helps your bones and dancing burns up calories.

Limp wrist syndrome – this occurs due to incessant pounding away at the keyboard trying to finish writing that last 1000 words, of your best story ever, before you go to bed.

Danger – People may think your wrist hanging limply by your side means you are weak and they may pick a fight with you.

Cure – Carry a notebook so you can immediately write down all the action of the fight to use in another book.

Cheese lipstick syndrome – this is an eating disorder when you have trouble finding your mouth when eating things like Cheetos because you are concentrating on the keyboard and screen and not on making sure said Cheeto goes straight into your mouth without hitting your lips or chin first.

Danger – going out into public in search of more Cheetos or Twisties (Aussie) and people making fun of your orange lips. Please note especially bad, it you are still wearing your pj’s.

Cure – switch to chips or popcorn as they leave no visible trace of snack food debauchery. I would not recommend chocolate in this instance as it has the potential to smear and no milk drinking unless you want a moustache.


Zombie eyes syndrome – is the glazed look writers get when they have spent hours in front to the computer. It is a frightening and vacant stare that can make grown men shiver.

Danger – people may try to pour salt in your mouth and sew up your lips to rid themselves of a zombie

Cure – wear sunglasses around normal people. You are only safe amongst other writers.


Greta Garbo syndrome – wanting to be alone to write and ignoring the phone, the doorbell, your friends, your family, whatever it was you were cooking the stove and is now on fire all because of too much writing.

Danger – becoming an anti-social git or enjoying the tag ‘shut-in’ so much you have t-shirts made advertising the fact so you don’t have to explain yourself.

Cure – try and pretend you care as much as you care about getting X together with Y without A trying to kill them from your book. If that fails, learn to nod and smile vaguely saying ‘a-ha' a lot while you type while.

Anny and Kelly – what are they up to you ask? My understanding is that Anny planned to climb on her apartment roof and howl at the moon while Kelly was thinking of climbing on her roof and mooning the Howells next door. I could be wrong of course but check out www.annycook.blogspot.com and www.kkirch.blogspot.com.

May I suggest you go to http://sandracox.blogspot.com/ to see what your choice of dessert says about you? Then to http://www.mjdaniels.blogspot.com/ as it’s the last days of Molly’s contest as well as Anny’s on www.annycook.com – and Ms Rebel has a contest as well on http://vampsmut.blogspot.com/ - how can you lose? And just when you think the excitement ends there go and check out the blog rookie Mona on http://monarisk.blogspot.com/ - seek, read, win and buy. It’s all out there you just have to look.

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

Tuesday Trivia...

Okay, so I don‘t think I’d make a very good junkie. Why? Well I have to use this syringe thing to suck up this certain amount of progesterone cream (hormone stuff) and spread it on a fleshy part of my body. Now I have fleshy parts to burn, real women do, but that’s not that the problem. For the life of me I cannot suck this cream up in the teeny weeny, frigging syringe that is supplied. I ask you, why give a clearly hormonal woman a challenge like this? Are they mad? So I made executive decision #12638 and chucked the syringe and I am now dabbing my finger in the jar to get the cream. Sshh…don’t tell anyone. Is it the right amount I am using? Who knows? I look at it this way, on the odd, very odd, occasion I cook something from scratch I never follow the recipe because to me it’s only a guideline. I am applying the same logic here. If it kills me, I’ll let you know.

Madnaduk invited me to join the Armitage Army – what is it? It’s a group that is dedicated to all things Richard Armitage. See picture to the right and check out my blog from a couple of days ago - or go to http://thearmitagearmy.co.uk/main/ Did I join? Hell yes, the man has the ability make even the strongest knees wobble.

Naming…

As a writer, I collect names – the odder the better. If I hear a strange name I instantly write it down because I like my characters to have unique names – that’s not to say every day
names are not perfectly good but I like odd. I want people to wonder how the hell did she come up with that name? Being a writer means you are nosy – okay, some purists won’t agree with that but that’s my opinion and I don’t shy from it, as you know. I think you have to be a good snoop to be a writer. Why? Because writers need to observe stuff around them. How can you relate to your readers if your words have no basis in reality? How many times have you read a book I thought – crikey that was boring…okay maybe you wouldn’t say crikey unless you were an Aussie but you know what I mean.

I also check with fellow authors/friends (parts of whose works in progress I am lucky enough to read before they gets published) to make sure I have not inadvertently nicked one of their character names. No it’s not against the rules. It’s more of a courtesy. Writer Anny Cook and I both came up with the name Zipporah and I noticed author Bronwyn Green http://bronwyngreenblog.blogspot.com/ and I have had characters with similar names. It happens. It’s not a hair pulling event, it’s more that we tend to think a like. Writers are not
drama queens - most of the time. I will myself admit to the odd dramatic stamping of feet but I ask you what are Doc Martens double strapped Mary Janes for if not to stomp?

So what’s in a name? Depends. It can make a character sound tough or exotic. Maybe the character is intriguing enough on their own that they don’t need an odd name. It depends on the writer. Sometimes an odd name is better than the plethora of Jakes and Lukes that are constantly found in the pages of romance books. I used Nick in Seducing Celestine and I agreed with my wise Editor it was a name that romantically was done to death yet I wanted a plain name to balance out Celestine. See? Writers do tend to spend time on names.

Speaking of great names….Dakota Rebel’s story 'Kit and Mouse' is part of Bound Brits a great new anthology out now from Total-E-Bound. Dakota kindly agreed, after my email barrage to her, to give me an excerpt for your reading pleasure. Remember it’s just a click on the cover to buy.

Kit and Mouse – by Dakota Rebel - the blurb

Kit is a vampire who had been planning on a quiet evening out at the local pub. But that plan becomes null when Mouse walks in. As soon as Kit meets him she knows that this quiet, shy man is not really what he seems. She instantly knows that she has to have him.
Mouse plays into her hands perfectly, agreeing to accompany her home. But Kit is in for quite a surprise when the nervous veneer fades and this mortal becomes the demanding and dominating man Kit never realised she had been needing.

Excerpt – warning contains adult content

He reached up to softly caress my cheek. I leaned into his palm but he moved it to wrap behind my neck. He grabbed a handful of my hair, snapping my head back and staring into my eyes.

“Are you going to be a good girl and do what you’re told tonight?”

“I’ll try.” It was barely a whisper, but he nodded.

Then his mouth was on mine, our teeth and tongues crashing violently together. I wanted to wrap my arms around him, to hold myself tighter against his body, but I hadn’t been given permission. So I stood with my hands clenched into fists at my side, waiting for his next command.

“Touch me,” he said against my lips.

Immediately, I ran my hands up his back and over his shoulders. He kissed me again, slightly softer but still full of passion and heat. His hand tightened in my hair and he pulled me back again.

“No biting, and you do what I tell you to do,” he said. “Do you want a safe word?”

“No,” I said quickly. Probably too quickly. I wasn’t really thinking about anything but fucking him at that point.

“Just in case,” he said with a small smile.

“Okay, you pick. I don’t care.” The words tumbled out of my mouth, still without any real thought attached to them.

He kissed my ear and inhaled deeply before whispering, “Peaches.”

Then his mouth covered mine again. I ran my hands up his neck and wound my fingers in his hair, not as tightly as he held mine, but enough that he knew they were there. He pulled away to look at me again.

“Can you let a man dominate you, Kit? How long has it been since you weren’t in charge?”

“Years. I don’t know how long exactly.”

“Can you do it? Will you do it for me?”

“Yes.”

“Where’s your bedroom?”

Anny has the continuing saga of dragon romance and sex on www.annycook.blogspot.com – whoa before you hare off over there to see how dragons have sex - I would suggest carefully – Kelly has dragons of a different kind on www.kkirch.blogspot.com – then check out http://sandracox.blogspot.com/ and have a knowing laugh at Murphy’s Law. Yes, how bossy am I? Go - seek -buy - read.

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

The Wednesday Interview

Did you know Sweet Dreams is out now through Total-E-Bound? It’s a hot, sexy vampire book by Dakota Rebel. What’s not to love about vampires? Dakota kindly stopped by to answer a few questions. And remember – it’s just a quick click on the cover to buy the book. It’s the perfect read for Valentine’s Day…maybe it will give you some ideas…

The Interview

1. What is the most unforgettable thing about your book that will make people glad they picked it up to read?

I have been told I have a very unique voice. I like to think that my dialogue is really realistic and that my characters mannerisms can pull you into the story as if it were happening to you. Also, my vampires are hot, even the bad ones. Or especially the bad ones.

2. A vampire hunts you down because he is angry at the way you portrayed his race in your book. How does one placate a pissed off vampire?

Give him a cookie and a kiss. Little known fact: Vamps LOVE cookies. Can’t get enough of them. Most are partial to Oreos, but they do not dip them in milk. Crazy vampires.

3. If your book was made into a movie who would play the hero and heroine?

I think that Veronica would be played by Christina Applegate. She is so classically beautiful and would be a great fit for the character. Diego would be difficult to cast. Maybe Rudolf Martin ala Buffy Vs. Dracula. Very sexy with dark hair and bright eyes.

4. You are offered free travel anywhere in the world. Where do you go and why?

Dracula Land. It is a theme park in Romania and I have been…um dying to go since it opened. It sounds so kitschy and cute. I am a sucker for kitsch.

5. Do you think your heroine is like you and why is that?

I think that she is mouthy like me. And she tends to use her dreams as an escape from things she doesn’t want to deal with like me. And she ALWAYS falls for the wrong guy. But by the end she gets it right…like me. So I suppose that is a yes, at least in all the ways that really matter.

6. Do you get writer’s block? If so what do you do to break it?

I don’t really believe in writer’s block. I believe in massive procrastination. But if you want to write, you write, if you don’t feel like it, the words won’t come. It’s not block, it’s unwanting.

7. What pisses off Dakota Rebel?

You know what pisses me off? Women who give men ultimatums. If you tell your boyfriend he has X amount of days to decide if the two of you have a future together involving kids, marriage, whatever, it serves your ass right if he breaks up with you "for your own good." Most men don't know what they are going to want to do TOMORROW. Let alone an exact date as to when they want to get married and procreate. Women who do that flat piss me off.

8. In one sentence who is Dakota Rebel really? How do we learn more about you and your books?

Dakota is a mouthy, snarky, adorable motor mouth who is incredibly lucky to be able to share her scrambled brain with others through her work.

You can visit me at any number of places including:
www.freewebs.com/vampsmut
www.myspace.com/vampsmut
www.vampsmut.blogger.com
www.total-e-bound.com

The blurb

Veronica Duff is a vampire hunter with the U.S. Army and has hated vampires since a rogue pack of them killed her mother fourteen years ago. Now she's having erotic dreams about a sexy vampire who claims to be in love with her. She tries to convince herself he's not real and the dreams are harmless.When a second vampire joins the dreams and threatens her life, she's forced to admit that they are both very real and very dangerous.Now she must figure out how to get rid of both vampires, the one who craves her love and the one who wants her dead, before she loses her heart...or her life.

The excerpt

I’d been thinking about him all day, and I wanted him. Every night it seemed I wanted him more and more. I could never get enough of his hands on my body, of his mouth pressed to mine. There was never enough.
He gently pushed me to the ground, his mouth still on mine. I landed softly on my back, with him on top of me. His leg pressed between mine and he propped himself up on his arms to look at me. I shivered as his gaze travelled down my body. The weight of it dragging across my skin was almost tangible.
I reached for him and pulled him back to my mouth. I shifted my lower body, trying to manoeuvre him. He smiled against my mouth.
“So eager tonight,” he whispered.

“Please Diego. Please. I’ve wanted to feel you inside of me all day. I’ve ached for you. I need to feel you. Please.” It wasn’t like me to beg. But Diego brought out pieces of me I hadn’t known existed. Truth be told, I probably hadn’t wanted to know I had it in me to beg. As long as it did not start happening when I was awake, I didn’t have too much of a problem with it.
“As my lady commands,” he said.
He slowly kissed down my throat, across my breasts, down my stomach, and came to rest between my legs. He flicked his tongue against my clit causing me to gasp loudly.
“Diego—”
“You said you wished me inside you. You did not say which part of me you wanted inside.”
He plunged his tongue inside me making my hips buck. I found his head with my hands and wrapped my fingers in his hair. He growled against me, the vibrations making me shudder for him.
“Please, please, please. Diego please.” My body was so tight with need it started to hurt.
He raised himself up to look at me.
“Please what my love?”
“Please fuck me.” My words came out as barely a whisper.
“As my lady wishes.”

What could you spend an eternity doing? What is your passion? Your hunger? Your deepest desire? Each day beginning February 5 and running through February 14 one of the ten authors will complete the line, "My darling I could spend eternity…" on either their blog or website. Collect all ten answers and e-mail them to anny@annycook.com with Eternally Yours in the subject line to win some hot, romantic books. There will be three lucky Valentine winners.

The prizes –

1st prize--5 books

2nd prize--3 books

3rd prize--2 books

The books

Sandra Cox Silverhills
Mona Risk To Love a Hero
Brynn Paulin Tribute For the Goddess
Bronwyn Green Mystic Circle
Cindy Spencer Pape Stone and Earth
N.J. Walters Seduction of Shamus O’Rourke
Elyssa Edwards Mating Stone
Amarinda Jones Shades of Gray
Kelly Kirch Time for Love
Anny Cook Honeysuckle

Entries must be in by February 16 at midnight EST. All books and prize winners will be drawn randomly.

My line? "My darling I could spend an eternity with you doing the laundry, cooking and the cleaning.”

Now – take a squiz at the photo to the left – isn’t it pretty? It’s Swarovski crystal, silver and garnets - and it could be yours. How? Excellent question. It’s very simple. Go straight to www.kkirch.blospot.com and find out how – so easy.

***And – yes there’s more stuff to win –

Would you like to win free stuff? For the entire month of February Anny Cook is running a series of scavenger hunts on her webpage. It’s very simple to win. Answer the clues--all the answers are on Anny’s website. Each week a new set are displayed. Check out the contest box at http://www.annycook.com/ . Is there good stuff to win out there or what?

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

Get thee gone song!

Quote for the day -
Lead me not into temptation; I can find the way myself --Rita Mae Brown

The Goddess and The Ghost – aka – the man with the freaky blond hair book - click on the cover to buy and support my Tim Tam addiction

Amarinda Jones is on her way to the top in this reviewer’s opinion! I have read many ghost romances, and few of them live up to the hype, but this one definitely does. Ms. Jones pleasantly surprised me with a book that makes you think that the premise just might be possible. Beautiful lovemaking scenes throughout, and the love-at-first-sight premise kept me quickly turning the pages. Zipporah with her “take charge” attitude is a delight. I adored Rian because he was so caring and loving towards Zipporah even when she was having her “moments” and was cranky. If you are seeking a fun, exhilarating read with plenty of hot sex and mystery, then you do not want to miss this keeper!
http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/Thegoddessgrind2.html


The non art of writing romance…

There are some days I just cannot write sex. I get home from work and think do I write sex or do I slump on the lounge in a heap? There are other times that I write around the sex. I write ‘put sex here’ or “he will do X, Y and Z to her – heavy on Z.” Strangely enough I can write sex really well early in the morning or if I have a bowl of popcorn nearby. No, I don’t think popcorn is an aphrodisiac but for some reason it inspires me. And no, I never indicated at any time that I was normal. I also utilize my pissed off or hormonal times to kill or hunt down the villain of the book as they will die painfully for annoying the lovers. However it is also one of those times I have to be very careful I don’t maim the hero just because he is a man and he should for god sake leave the heroine alone to make up her own mind. See how angst filled writing is?


Changing the subject because I can…Christmas in Australia is hot. Yes, that’s a no- brainer. However, I am sitting here hot and sweaty with the fan on and I have a bloody Christmas song –"the weather outside is frightful…let it snow...ydah, ydah, ydah” – going round in my mind. Okay, ydah, ydah, ydah is not part of that song in case you are wondering. Anyway I heard it on the radio on the way home from work and now I cannot stop singing it. I am not a Christmas person. I know, you’re probably saying ‘get the hell out’ but I’m not. It’s not a Scrooge thing. It just doesn’t move me. Only my feet do. I don’t put up a tree and the pile of cards I get sits in a pile. Yes, I am a pathetic Christmas person. Anyway, as I sit here humming that inane cold weather song, I have Christmas beetles slamming into the screen door. These beetles aren’t very smart. They just don’t get that no matter how many times they hurl themselves against a solid object they’re not going to go through it. But they are persistent little buggers, I have to give them that. And no matter how many times I tell them they are going to give themselves brain damage they don’t listen. Beetles what can you do with ‘em?



Five fast ones with author Dakota Rebel….

What star sign are you? Name one fabulous characteristic of this sign. - Taurus. We love to shop for…well anything. Taurus loves to hoard material objects for no particular need or reason.

1. Aliens surround your house during your favourite TV show. You are in grave danger. Do you turn up the sound? Grab your laptop and start taking notes for your next book? Or do you turn off the lights and pretend you’re not at home? Or none of the above?

- Like outer space aliens, or people from another country aliens? Do they have food? Is it salty or chocolate? Am I really in grave danger, or can I sic them on the other people in the house? Do they like Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

3. My favourite food is….because….

Cheese Quesadillas from Taco Bell. Because, (and I am not positive about this but I am at least relatively sure), they put crack in the sauce.

4. If I was in charge of the world I would….

Order Daniel Radcliffe to do very naughty things for my viewing pleasure. Then I would work on nice stuff like peace and healing and blah, blah, blah. But first, Ooh Danny!!!

5. Name your special talent.

I can embarrass ANYONE who is brave enough to go out in public with me. No really. I will act like a complete ass if I think I can get someone else to feel uncomfortable with the situation. This is great fun for me.

Sweet Dreams - available February 4, 2008 from Total E Bound Publishing - until then go an annoy Dakota on her blog - http://vampsmut.blogspot.com/

Veronica Duff is a vampire hunter with the U.S. Army and has hated vampires since a rogue pack of them killed her mother 14 years ago. Now she’s having erotic dreams about a sexy vampire who claims to be in love with her.

She tries to convince herself he’s not real and the dreams are harmless. But when a second vampire joins the dreams and starts to threaten her life, she’s forced to admit that they are both very real and very dangerous.

Now she must figure out how to get rid of both vampires, the one that craves her love, and the one that wants her dead, before she loses her heart…or her life.

Anny is Mrs Christmas once again on www.annycook.blogspot.com and Kelly has the next insane episode of the blog saga on www.kkirch.blogspot.com. We bring you all round entertainment.

Twelve Days of Romance

Do you want to win some fantastic holiday reading? If so come celebrate the Twelve days of Romance with 12 authors from Ellora's Cave, Wild Rose Press, Total-E-Bound and Cerridwen Press. Each day beginning December 8th and running through December 19th one of the twelve authors will tell what their "True love gave to them" on either their blog or website.
Collect all twelve answers and e-mail them to anny@annycook.com with 12 days of Romance in the subject line to win some great books. There will be three lucky winners.

The prizes –1st prize--6 books2nd prize--4 books3rd prize--2 booksAll books and prize winners will be drawn randomly

Anny Cook Winter Hearts
Sandra Cox Boji Stones
Bronwyn Green Ronan's Grail
Heather Hiestand Cards Never Lie
Barbara Huffert Deal of a Lifetime
Amarinda Jones Mad About Mirabelle
Kelly Kirch Time for Love
Cindy Spencer Pape Cowboy's Christmas Bride
Brynn Paulin Fallen
Jacquéline Roth Access Denied
KZ Snow Mrs. Claws
Lacey Thorn Earth Moves

Answers must be to anny@annycook.com by midnight 21st December or you turn into a pixie...okay, maybe not - 'can't promise you won't - but you'll miss the chance to win some great books.

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