Woo hoo Friday...

Thanks to whichever God was on duty today for bringing Friday to a swift conclusion....

Funny…

I said on yesterday’s blog, about blogs, something along the lines of ‘who do you want to tell to shut up on a blog?’ I also indicated you could tell me to ‘shut up.’ I had the best email from let’s call her...er, Pam. She emailed me on my Amarinda mail – amarinda_jones@yahoo.com.au and said “Sometimes I wish you would just concentrate on one subject on your blog. So yeah, I would like you to shut up occasionally.” Only ‘occasionally’? Well, no can do Pam – but hell, I enjoyed the honest feedback. I emailed Pam back and thanked her for the comments and for reading the blog. People rarely tell me to shut up so I enjoyed that – no, not in a sado-masochist way –“Oh yeah baby tell me again how much I annoy you. Tell me to shut up…please I really need to hear it. Please…ooh yeah baby.” In reality its Buckley’s chance that I am going to stick to one subject on every blog. I am one of those people who tend to jump from subject to subject without drawing breath. That’s who I am and I like that about me. But I loved the email. Thanks mate.

*Buckley’s chance - Aussie for 'no chance'. Who was Buckley? Who really knows? But he has a place in the Aussie language.

Penned Again….

Quite a few people have commented on the Penned Again cover – no, not just because it’s a good cover – more that they find the woman on the cover ‘unnatural’ and that ‘real women’ do not look that way. Well yeah, duh. Let’s be bloody honest here, the models on covers are stunning people to start off with – not that you and I aren’t – we’re just stunning in a more ‘lived in’ goddess-like way. And as we all know, covers are air brushed and heightened to make them look appealing so you and I will be attracted by them. Anyway, the main comments from friends are they loved the red polka dot dress but ‘there is no way that woman’s arms can look that good.’ The source of irritation is that she has no armpit hair and her under arms are ‘too firm.’ Okay, I went and had a look at the arm issue. Correct, no armpit hair. What can I say? She obviously knew she would be sticking her arm up in the air and defoliated appropriately. But don’t we all do that if we are going to wear something sleeveless? And no, I do not have upper arms like that. While I do have muscle, like a lot of women who do not pump iron, I have what we would call in Australia ‘tuckshop lady’s arms.’ The flesh does wobble there if pushed. My care factor on this? Negative 12. Will wobbly underarms ruin my life? Hmmm…I don’t believe so. If that’s the worst thing in my life then I’m doing okay.

*tuckshop – school canteen – and by the way tuckshop ladies are usually volunteers and they are bloody hard workers.

Last change of subject….

Our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, is in the US at the moment. Kev’s there to see George. Problem is he is not a kiss arse like our previous PM who agreed with everything George said. It should be interesting. Kev got elected on things like promises to sign the Kyoto Protocol – which he did - and to bring our troops back home from Iraq. Of course George is a bit pissed about this. Now, don’t get me wrong – I totally support all troops and law enforcement people who are away from home on either peace making or peace keeping missions…but frigging hell… enough is enough George.

Vision of Darkness – Judith Rochelle out now through www.thelotuscircle.com. Click and buy, click and buy – you know you want to...

No. I’m tired. That’s all that’s wrong.
Mia Fleming put aside the art book lying open on her desk, closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She’d just been staring at the photo of the Da Vinci painting too long, that was all. As art historian and assistant curator at the DeWitt Museum, she was immersed in research for the private collection due to arrive at the museum next month. Part of her job was to gather information for the brochures that were printed and the press kits they distributed. And as usual, she’d been overdoing it.
Shoving her long brown hair, the color of rich chocolate, back behind her ears, she pulled the book forward and began to study the page again. And there it was. Just as before. Shimmering in the center of the photo of the Da Vinci painting. An ugly rock that looked like a misshapen lump of clay, bumping along, wobbling back and forth, with a pair of hands reaching for it. Then nothing except the original picture, undisturbed.
God, not again. Please, please, please. Choose someone else, okay?
Why did she have to be the one these things happened to? Why did she have to have what her grandmother called a “special gift”? More like a curse than a blessing, she often said.
But she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the book. The image on the page kept shifting, first the photo of the painting, now that stupid little rock with its jerky movements. Finally, the shadow hands reaching for it. Like a broken record, the vision continued to repeat itself over and over again, taunting her to find its hidden meaning.
Mia slammed the book shut and shoved it away from herself. It was just like always. How on earth was she supposed to figure out what the vision meant? A rock was a rock, right? Still, she’d learned to be extra cautious over the years. The images that came to her without warning and at the strangest times were not always easy to interpret. She’d been wrong more times than she’d been right because she’d misinterpreted what she’d seen. Or because the visions had come to her after the fact. She had no training in deciphering these things and certainly no place to go to find any.
When she was younger there was a desperation in her determination to find answers. Getting people to listen to her was a battle itself. Her parents had always considered her a strange child—aloof, shy but apparently making up weird stories to capture attention. They never believed her stories about “visions”.
“Don’t keep telling people those crazy stories,” her mother said too often to count. “They’ll think you’re crazy. They’ll think we’re all crazy.”
“The neighbors are all talking,” her father admonished her. “I don’t want them pointing fingers at our family.”
They even sent her to a psychiatrist who was supposed to “deprogram” her. What a lot of fun that had been.
But still the visions continued to plague her. Too often the images had been too vague or misleading and now she’d almost become a pariah. When she did get someone to listen and she had success, the media called it a fluke. The frustration of not being able to make people understand the things she saw and the rejection because of her “oddness” had finally caused her to isolate herself from everyone else.
When she finally escaped to the University of Michigan, she convinced her father to pay the extra money for a single dorm room, then she eventually moved into an studio apartment. She chose art history as her major, because she could lose herself in the richness of the creations of the artists and sculptors, the potters and temple rubbers. The orderliness of delineating art history gave her a personal discipline that allowed her to exert some measure of control over her existence.
The visions, for whatever reason, came less frequently while she was at school, all the way through her postgraduate studies. When they came, they were so fractured she made herself ignore them, even if the effort sometimes made her physically ill.
But finally she was finished with her studies, sporting her brand new PhD, and the visions came roaring back. Not knowing how or when they’d appear, she isolated herself more and more except at work. She lived alone in her house, surrounded by the books and music she loved. It wasn’t that she was antisocial or weak, just self-protective. It took strength to deal with the impact of her visions and the primarily negative responses she’d learned to live with.
Her life, for the most part, focused on her career with the museum. Her job suited her perfectly, since it allowed her to work alone the majority of the time. She was always on edge that a vision would explode from nowhere and being isolated allowed her to deal with them without distraction or embarrassment. During those instances when she had to meet with the museum curator, she found herself praying that she would not be disrupted by one of her visions. They came without warning and she didn’t think Mr. Hunter would be too impressed by them. For someone who appreciated art, he was definitively black and white in his outlook.
Today, thank God, he was away on a trip and unlikely to wander into her office unannounced. Her newest vision had disrupted her work half a dozen times already this week. Just seconds each time. That was all. A brief flash. But it wouldn’t go away and she had no idea what message she was supposed to read into it.
She’d almost begun to believe that whatever was causing this to happen to her had disappeared. She hadn’t had one of what she’d taken to calling her “episodes” in months now and had almost begun to relax, thinking they’d gone away for good. Not so. Her stomach was doing the jitterbug as it always did at the beginning of one of her incidents and an aspirin-proof headache was already beginning to build behind her eyes.
She stacked everything in neat piles on her desk and put away her pen and magnifying glass. Okay, time to go home. She could only hope the vision would go away, or else somehow a sharper image, more defined with a clearer message, would be given to her. One she could interpret.

Anny and Kelly have some interesting stuff on their blogs – go check 'em out and be amused.

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

Darling or Diva?

Quote for the day - That which does not kill me makes me strong

Another Mad About Mirabelle moment….

….His eyes snapped open wide and he grinned in instant recognition. Yep it was definitely him. She would know that face anywhere. Same wavy black hair, scarred forehead and same wicked “let me do what I want to you eyes”. She could only hope he was gentleman enough not to explain to Lila that her neighbor had begged him to fuck her. Lila Standish made mouth watering homemade cookies and Mirabelle would hate to have her supply cut on a moral technicality.
Be cool, be calm and be collected. He’s just a man you had knee wobbling sex with. No big deal.

Released 19th December through Ellora’s Cave

The comp…

Only two people left to say what their true love gave to the. I’m one – who’s the other? Which one of us has the answer today?


Another Five Fantastic Reasons to buy an e-book this Christmas….

1. You won’t have to move house. What? Do you love books and can’t throw a book out but you are running out of space in your current home? Don’t move, buy e-books for you PC/laptop instead.

2. Last minute gift giving. Bugger! You forgot a gift for your cousin, twelves times removed, so go online, click, buy and email. Problem solved.

3. You will be able to eat chocolate as you read as you'll have a hand free as you don’t have to turn pages

4. Only want a short, quick satisfying read? Buy an Ellora's Cave quickie book or a novella. You don’t have to buy a full book and it’s cheaper – ker-ching.

5. Need to look busy at work? Have an e-book loaded onto you computer/laptop and be engrossed. Wow, Ms Jones is certainly working hard today. Just look at the concentration on her face. We need to pay her more.

And because e-books are so good for you, here are some great books to buy this Christmas because…

Because what happens in the elevator does not always stay in the elevator – Because I Can - Amarinda Jones - http://www.ellorascave.com/AuthorsBooks.asp?AuthorCode=AJon

When faced with yet another guaranteed bad day find a commanding stranger and do exactly as he says. My Last Dark Day – Barbara Huffert http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?s=acbeyw74921&strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=169

A race through time, connected only by their minds. Always On My Mind - Judith Rochelle - http://www.jasminejade.com/p-3724-always-on-my-mind.aspx?skinid=14

"A ghostly encounter in a Welsh town changed Sally Carter's life forever." Isabelle’s Diary – Anita Birt www.anitabirtstoryteller.blogspot.com

How far will a desperate man go to break a 300 year-old sidhe curse? SEDUCING THE STONES by Kathy Kulig
http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419913143&Page=Page1

What happens when the imaginary boyfriend you invented turns up in the flesh? Deal of a Lifetime – Barbara Huffert http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419909641

Click on the titles or links above and buy the book. Go on, you know you want to…be daring…. See how easy it is to shop on the Amarinda Blog?



What’s her story?

Mrs Claus – who exactly is she? A sweet homemaker content to stay at the North Pole and make cookies or a sharp business women pushing Santa onto world wide domination? I was fortunate enough to interview her.

A – Thanks for talking to me Mrs S.
Mrs S – A pleasure
A – Is it true the elves hate you?
Mrs S – Fucking little green men ….er…I mean what a challenging group of individuals they are.
A – They seem to be working under terrible conditions.
Mrs S – Hmmm…you spoke to one of them? Which one?
A – I can’t tell you but I want to know how important the elves are to Christmas
Mrs S – They are paramount! We cannot get by without them and they know it, the little bastards.
A – Sorry, what was that? I missed that last bit.
Mrs S – I was saying how they make great baskets.
A – Your husband Mr Claus is a busy man. How do you feel when he is away from home over Christmas?
Mrs S – He is a true man of the people, I would never stop him from carrying out the noble traditions of his calling.
A – I hear the police had to break up a noisy party here at your home last year on Christmas Eve two hours after your husband left on the Christmas run
Mrs S - Er, that was…er…
A – Apparently there were male strippers?
Mrs S – Um no, they were unfortunate men we were helping to clothe
A – Yes, I understand leopard print g-strings were big last year
Mrs S – No doubt you want to hear about Santa’s good deeds.
A – In a moment…is it true that before you met Mr Claus you were a Pole dancer at Swifty La Rue’s bar?
Mrs S - Santa adores handing out present to the little children as their happy faces make him so happy.
A – Let’s face it Mrs S you and Santa run an Elf sweat shop for profit
Mrs S – That’s a dirty lie! We barely break even! Oh wait, cut that bit out.
A – I think I have all I need. Anything you’d like to say to the boys and girls?
Mrs S – Just remember Santa knows when you’ve been naughty or nice.
A – Apparently, not with you though…


On the blog serial Kelly on www.kkirch.blospot.com left us with....

Instantly they were outside as she bobbed over his shoulder with each racing step he took down the path. "I--need--the--key," she gasped.
"I have the only key ye be needin' wench. Harrrrr!"
"Diff-ffrent--key,"
"Harrrr! Harrr! Haaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrk." A dark green loogie slapped the path in her line of sight. "Aye, that's better. Been havin' some sinus congestion lately."

I'm going with...

“Oh fuck, I’ve had enough of this,” Emmeline
muttered. There was only one person who could help her. When the pirate’s hand caressed her butt she screamed the name out. “Zoltan!”

In a puff of blue smoke he appeared. “Yes my love?” He was dressed as Santa Claus.

“Who the hell are you? The pirate looked at him menacingly.

No fake white beard could hide from Emmeline the darkly handsome man’s identity. “You were a donkey when I last I saw you.”

“I am never what I seem you know that, Em.” He tilted his head and looked at her hanging upside down. “You look like you need help.” He grinned.

“You think?”

“Unhand my wife, you villain!” Zoltan stood his ground and stared at the pirate.

“Or what?”

“Or this.” With a flick of his wrist he turned him into a frog. This was not a good thing to be so near the Gutted Frog Inn.

Emmeline fell heavily to the ground. “Jeeze, give a girl some warning.”

“I like to take you by surprise.” Zoltan helped her to her feet. “So what’s the scam?”

“A key and an ancient map.”

“Sounds boring. I have other plans for us.”

Us? “I don’t want to be naked with you.” She did dumb things when that happened.

“Chicken,” he massaged her hand within his. “I want to show you the true spirit of Christmas.”

Emmeline snorted. “I’m not interested in shopping or eating myself into a coma.”

“Come with me,” Zoltan implored. “Trust me.”

Where will Zoltan take her? Check out www.annycook.blogspot.com. tomorrow.


The comp...

Gee, so I don’t have the clue today nor have I had it on any other day so that must mean I have it tomorrow. So, have you collected all other eleven answers? You have one more until you can e-mail the final 12 to anny@annycook.com with 12 days of Romance in the subject line to win some great books. As you know there will be three lucky winners. The prizes –1st prize--6 books, 2nd prize--4 books, 3rd prize--2 books. To be fair, all books and prize winners will be drawn randomly. All answers must be received no later than the stroke of midnight 21st December (Northern hemisphere time). If you missed out on an answer don’t despair. Check through the blog and web sites listed below. Good luck

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

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

This week’s brilliant author is Judith Rochelle. Her great new book called Always on My Mind is available at The Lotus Circle now. Next week the ever-fascinating Anita Birt drops in to talk about her fantastic new book, Isabelle’s Diary.

Always on my Mind – The Blurb

When Faith Wilding and Mark Halloran discovered as teenagers they could communicate telepathically, little did they know the effect it would have ion their lives. They out their romance on hold while Faith built her career as a political thriller novelist and Mark fulfilled his commitment as a member of the elite Delta force. But when his mission is blown and he’s captured by terrorists, Faith is his only contact with the outside world and his only hope for rescue. But will she be able to decipher his clue, find the help she needs and rescue him in time?

The Interview

1. You have some sizzling sex scenes in your book. How hard is it to write sex and make it convincing?

Sometimes easy, sometimes not so easy. I try to put myself into the scene itself and take on the personality of the heroine, feel what she feels, think what she thinks, imagine the hero is touching me the way he’s touching her. Otherwise you can end up ti Part A goes into Part B. For me it’s the romance, tho, which makes it a lot easier, because sex and romance are like ham and eggs – you can’t have one without the other. If I’m really struggling, I pull out the old standby – a favorite CD, a satin sleep shirt and a glass of chilled wine. And I have a special candle I burn! The important thing I try to keep remembering is that when someone reads this, I want THEM to feel like they’re the heroine in the book and not just reading an instruction manual.

2. Romance and the condom. How hard do you find to slip it in or on when the action is hot between characters?

Having not had to worry about birth control since I had my fourth child I have to keep kicking myself to remember condom, condom, condom. So yes, it’s a conscious effort on my part to remember to slip that latex battle jacket on and find ways to do it that doesn’t interrupt the mood. One of my daughters, who has a weird sense of humor, made a sign for me to stick on my computer that says “Don’t forget the rubber boots.” It is definitely a distraction, but a lot better than all the possible alternatives, I guess.

3. Do you think romance just happens or do you make your characters work for it?

I think the essence of it is there when they meet, something that zings and draws them together. But romance, like everything in life, is only as good as you make it. If the characters are falling into a romantic relationship, I want them to work for it, to realize how important it is to make it mean something, and that selfish love isn’t love at all.

4. What is it about your hero that makes him irresistible to women?

My heroes are all a little rough around the edges, even the smooth ones, because I think total band box perfection is a turnoff (that’s just me). They are all alpha males but with a tender side that only opens up for the woman they love. They are demanding in bed yet their overriding desire is to please their partner. And their eyes! I always give them expressive eyes. So what woman doesn’t want a man who worships her yet makes love in a demanding way, who pleasures her yet teaches her the satisfaction of pleasuring him, who can wring her out in bed for ten hours, then greet her in the morning with her favorite coffee and a single rose. Who holds her when she cries and smacks her butt when she needs to be tough (figuratively, of course). And of course, to whom she is the most important person in his life. My favorite hero is the one in ONCE UPON A WEDDING who was willing to do something even though it went against everything he felt, to make his fiancé happy because she needed it so badly. And it turned out sow ell for both of them.

5. Do you think readers want to escape or do they want to identify with a character?

I think both. I read to escape, always have, and I write books that I consider escapist. But at the same time, I want the woman in the world I’m escaping to, to be me!

6. What do you think is the most important thing to remember when writing romance?

The emotion. Otherwise it’s just a physical activity – that old Part A goes into Part B thing again. The emotion has to be there. The way she feels when he caresses the inside of her wrist or just something simple as buying her a favorite book. For him, her desire to satisfy his needs because it satisfies her. And always keeping his favorite beer in the refrigerator or his favorite whiskey in the bar. Sometimes, tho, as they say, be careful what you ask for. My husband always complained that his first wife would never watch football with him or talk about it. So I bought a book called, How to Watch A Football Game, caught the fever, and now I’m the world’s most obsessed football nut. LOL! He has to do all the cooking on the weekends because I’m glued to the TV. But again, that’s romance, isn’t it? Doing something for the other person just because you love them so much? And because it makes their heart swell with feeling. That’s what I strive for in my books.

7. What are you working on now?

Most important is VISIONS OF DARKNESS, the second book in the five-book series I started with ALWAYS ON MY MIND. A sequel to REDEMPTION, which will end up being a series, also. Plotting the book that will come after VISIONS. And a western called SHADOW OF THE HAW. And if course I always have an EC Quickie bubbling on the back burner.

**Click on the cover and buy the book**

Last week’s brilliant author - Jacqueline Roth and Access Denied

So, did you see what Anny did to the blog serial on www.annycook.blogspot.com? Poor bloody Emmeline. Kelly will no doubt torture her further on Thursday on www.kkirch,blogspot.com. Looking for VampSmut? Well who isn't? Check out Dakota Rebel’s blog – http://vampsmut.blogspot.com/

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