Old book - previously published with another mob until I took it back...

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-lustintime-548669-141.html

Lucky....

Of late I have had many people I know telling me how lucky I am. They then also tell me in the next breath how terribly hard done by they are and I suspect they want me to feel sorry for them. The reasons they consider themselves unlucky? Well, they have to work for a living. Hmm, gee, don’t a huge, frigging percentage of the population including myself do that? They are also ‘unlucky’ because they are married and have kids and therefore they don’t have the freedom that single people do. Well, gee again, my personal belief is that everyone in our society has choices to marry, have kids or not. We are not in an archaic society that believes in arranged or forced marriages. You make a choice and you get on with your life. Do not moan because your kids need this or your husband doesn’t want to do that. That was your choice. Be an adult and deal with it. I have made some suspect/dumb choices in my life but I do not look at someone else and think ‘gee she’s lucky.’ Get a grip.

“You have so many books under contract. I wish I had the time to write.” Oh please – wake up and smell the coffee. No one on the planet has time. That is not an acceptable excuse. We make time to do stuff if we really have the burning need to do it. Don’t use the time whine on me because it’s not going to wash. Go and look for another one if you need to justify inadequacy or the need to whine.

“My book is not selling as well as yours. You’re so lucky you have so many under contracts.” Yes, the harder I work, the luckier I get. Don’t you find that?

So why am I rambling on about this? Because I think unless you are in some impoverished nation, have some life threatening disease or watching a loved one die before you eyes then you can be lucky if you put the effort in. As people we have to stop looking at what others have and think what can I do to make my life better? How can I achieve what to want? I suggest it’s not by looking at others and measuring yourself by them. No one is any luckier than anyone else. Sure, I’d like to be filthy rich but I don’t look at the Murdochs, the Packers or the Trumps and think ‘Gee they’re lucky.’ What is the point of that? It’s unrealistic and whining to justify not getting off your arse and doing nothing is not going to get you anything.

“My, isn’t Amarinda cranky today.” Yeah I am when people crap on about their ‘unluckiness.’ We have access to great stuff and if you are too whiny to put in an effort do not expect it to come to you…..end of sermon.

Best friend Ethel pointed out to me that I had not said penis on the blog for a while. So just for her – penis. Someone asked me what she was up to at the moment. Well, she has a new job where someone has put her in charge of stuff. This makes her insanely happy as she has the company credit card and she can order anything she wants. Ethel loves stationery and the acquisition of it. Her home is like the Aladdin’s Cave of stationery. She will often tell me what she ‘scored’. Neither she nor I consider it theft. Office stationery is fair game – every worker knows that. I still have boxes of the stuff from my Promptel days when I was given a key to the stationery room because I had to access sensitive complaint files that were stored there. I spent a great deal of time in there…er…filing complaints. To this day I do not buy pens or post-it
notes.

My other good friend Katie called me yesterday. She was very excited. No, she did not win the lotto. She was excited because she got to lie for me. Someone rang her for a reference check and she lied her heart out about how fabulous I am. I have Katie listed as a manager on my resume. She isn’t and never has been. But she could have been if she wanted to but she had more sense. She saw the advantages of being one the bad girls at Promptel. Oh how we drove that company to the brink of madness with our militant ways. We used to sit about in the call centre thinking up ways to drive management crazy. I wrote about it in Because I Can. I once had management all hot and flustered about the whereabouts of a lightning rod that was supposed to have been put on the roof due to staff being connected to live power through their headsets. They swore blind they had it on the roof. "Where?" I asked innocently knowing all the time that Bob the sparky (electrician) told me that they had not bothered to put one up. Of course in the end to shut me up they put one of the roof. They were pissed they had to spend the money. Katie then looked at me and said “What do we drive them insane over now?” Anyway, I digress…I appreciate her lies. How lucky am I that I have people who will help without asking? See? Luck is what you make it.

Speaking of luck and making your own – I have to wonder about some of the current book of the year awards for 2007 that are supposed to be voted by your peers and readers when in reality you can nominate yourself. 'Got to wonder about that. I was contemplating nominating a fake author name like Scarlett Flambé-Blanchett. and her equally fake book “A Rhino’s Perilous Passion” or that other unforgettable one of hers “The Burning Quicksand of Hot Love” to see just who could win. But I didn’t as while nominating you have to verify your integrity with your website etc. Prestige and integrity – seems funny when you can nominate and vote yourself to win. It’s either incredibly cunning or tacky. I’ll let you decide where you stand on that.

Anny is talking about books, music and synonyms on www.annycook.blogspot.com and Kelly has good news on her book releases on www.kkirch.blogspot.com. She did not, by the way, buy cheese. Tomorrow, by way of a challenge, the blog will be about Romancing the Potato to celebrate the UN declaring 2008 the Year of the potato.

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

I am always rabbiting on about writing books and showcasing fellow authors but what about someone on the other side of the page, so to speak? Multi-talented Total-E-Bound Cover artist and fellow Aussie Lyn Taylor was kind enough to give me another perceptive on books. Regardless what the old saying is, I do believe we judge a book by its cover. All the covers on this page are Lyn’s own creations – are we Aussies talented or what?

1. How long have you been a Cover Artist and what do you like best about it?

I’ve only been a cover artist for about 8 months but in my heart I’ve been one since I picked up that first Romance novel. I’d always find myself studying the covers. Sometimes I could be half way through a book and would find myself flicking back to the cover just to gaze at the cover LOL! I love the creativity of my job. Yes, some may say that all those sexy bodies aren’t very challenging but it’s the ‘making them fit together’ that is the fun part.

2. Do you ever get a cover request that’s just not realistic? If so, how easy is it to tell the author their vision is just not going to happen? How diplomatic do you have to be?

No, not really. I guess that’s my job. To make the unrealistic, realistic. I think the highest expectation of a cover artist is to get the characters as close to description as possible. That in it self can be quite time consuming. If I can’t do a cover, it is more likely my artistic inexperience or lack of knowledge that gets in the way. But I think there’s only one cover to date that I’ve had to hand back and that was passed over to TEB’s other fantastic cover artist, Ann Cain.

3. After my cover Lust in Time, what is the cover you are most proud of?

That’s a hard one. I learn something new from every cover I do so I love them all, LOL! I’m quite proud of Demon Wind and Prince of the Three Mountains purely for the manipulation and digital painting side of things. I also have a soft spot for Sweet Dreams. I’m quite taken with those eyes LOL!

4. Do the publishers, like Total-E-Bound, have a say in the covers or are you left to your own imagination and discretion?

I’m currently only signed up with TEB so I can’t speak for other Publishers. The crew at TEB have been absolutely fantastic and I’ve relied on them quite a bit due to my inexperience in the industry. Yes, they’ll usually tell me if they don’t like a particular model or title font and will often pick up if the hair is not long enough, or the wrong colour. That sort of thing. Other than that it’s pretty much left up to my own discretion.

5. How many revisions will you make to a cover in order to make an author happy?

Well. I think three revisions would be the most that I would want to do. But the reality is that a cover needs to be created and that’s my job. I know there was one cover that went back & forth between Claire and myself quite a few times. We finally got it to a point where we were happy with it, only then to have the author come back with a definite ‘NO’. So we were back to square one. It was very frustrating and cost me more in stock and time than what the cover was worth. But I guess that’s the nature of the beast.

6. How easy is it to become a Cover Artist? What training is required?

Well for me it was surprisingly easy. I just applied at TEB’s web page. Many thanks to friendly Aussie author Denise Rossetti who pointed me in their direction. As a matter of fact it was Denise’s Gift of the Goddess cover that inspired me to get off my butt and learn more about Digital Art. I’ve had very little artistic training and am basically self taught. I have dabbled in Oil Painting and touched on water-colours so I guess that helped with my perspective and placement. I took up Digital Art in early 2006 and eventually joined the Deviant Art community. This is where I was able to hone my skills in Photo-manipulation and Photoshop, meeting up with other cover artists in the process.

7. The bad guys have you are hanging by one toenail over a vat of boiling oil. You must tell them the location of the diamond mine to save your life. To do this you risk harming your true love. What do you do?

LOL! Well, wouldn’t we all love to say that we’d take that information to our death. Yeah, I don’t know. He’d better be damn well worth it. Honestly, I’d probably tell them the location and then escape in an attempt to rescue my true love.


8. What star sign are you? Name one fabulous characteristic of this sign.

Pisces all the way, baby! :D Most definitely artistic.
Pisces – Keyword: "I believe". Imaginative, sensitive, compassionate, feeling, idealistic, spiritual, accepting, undiscriminating, creative, mystic, self-sacrificing, artistic. Can be impractical, neglectful, escapist, lazy, distracted.

Click on the links below and check out the real Lyn Taylor and her talent.

Lyn Taylor’s Artwork
Lyn Taylor’s blog
Lyn Taylor’s Website

All books are available at http://www.total-e-bound.com/

Next week we start back with the Wednesday Author interviews. The questions are a little different and a tad obscure but I know my guest authors will rise to the challenge. The blog serial makes its triumphant return next Monday. Can you remember what happened to Emmeline before Christmas? Nah, me neither but don’t despair as there is no plot to the blog serial so you are never lost…maybe confused and bewildered but what’s a little bewilderment between friends?

Tomorrow I’ll be back to waffle on about something deep and probably meaningless but that’s what I do. It’s leave meaningful to Anny on www.annycook.blog.com and spontaneous to Kelly on www.kkirch.blogspot.com.

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

Saturday stuff...

You can be a better you for 2008…

This is some of my Amarinda junk email. If you believe it my life will be fantastic in 2008 if I just invest in snake oil….

Why don’t you buy drugs to be healthy? Interesting - this is an email from someone who appears to be somewhere in South America. The drugs that they mention can do wondrous things. Funnily enough most of them are not approved by most governments – apparently that’s due to the fact they are so ‘unique.’ Hard to believe miraculous stuff this does not instantly get approved in order to save mankind.

Partner available now! – Yes, apparently I can get me a man right now and all they ask is you supply them your credit card details and the man of your dreams/nightmares will appear. Gee, that is awfully tempting isn’t it – not.


Make sure your man can satisfy you in 2008. My there are a lot of gadgets out there that supposedly increase penis size to alarming proportions. But here’s the thing, we all know the only thing that’s going to get better is the coffers for this company. I say give them a big swerve and avoid wasting your money. The only thing a man needs to do to satisfy me is provide an endless supply of Tim Tams and disappear when I give him the ‘get thee gone look’. I am a simple soul.

A real woman has real breasts…okay, are real breasts different to normal breasts? So if you have normal boobs does this mean you are not a real women or less of a woman? Do you really give a rat’s arse? Apparently, reading their advert, bigger is better because you will attract more men that way. It’s not like they would lie is it? Though how big would you want to be? It sounds like it would require another new bra with extra heavy duty hydraulic lift system. I’ll think I’ll stay as I am thanks all the same.



Out of a 100 men you will meet –

65 will be married
20 will be gay
5 won’t be interested in you
5 you won’t be interested in due to their haircut
5 could be the man of your dreams

Increase your chances now….
Okay – married and gay I get. I also understand the some people are never going to be attracted to other people – however – do these nitwit advertisers truly believe love is based on a haircut? “Oh no, I couldn’t love him – he has a crew-cut.” Pluh-lease… So that apparently leaves 5 men that you could possible have. Is that at the same time? How would that work? On a rotational system? How exhausting would that be? Or do you get to chose out of the possible 5? What if you make the wrong choice? Is it a do-over? Sounds all too hard for me. And how exactly does this company

“Increase your chances?” Magic wand or a wad of money?

Lose weight so he will love you more – what? WHAT? ‘Not even going to respond to this as it is stupid beyond belief and if by some chance you are with such a shallow-arsed man – leave him – you’re too good for him.

Don’t you just hate it…

…. when you get bitten on the arse? Most annoying especially when you are outside gardening and it means you have to dash quickly to a enclosed area and rip off your shorts and shake ‘em out to dislodge said biter. Green ants – I hate ‘em. Little bastards


Lust in Time…. What does it have in common with being bitten on the arse…nothing…but everything doesn’t have to have a meaning.

“What are you afraid of, Arabella?”
“Not you, that’s for damn sure.” Any other man would have backed off by now. Arabella was very good at repelling unwanted advances. But of course Garrett was not just any man.
“I have been told I am quite a pleasant and handsome companion.”
“And of course you believe this,” murmured Arabella back, looking into the flinty grey eyes that held a teasing gleam to them. Oh yes, this man was an accomplished flirt. However she was not in 1888 to fall for any honeyed lines delivered by charming men, regardless of how attractive they were. Arabella sighed softly in frustration. Garrett was the persistent type and she was the stubborn type. It was a case of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. One of them had to give and it wasn’t going to be her. “Let’s cut to the chase. We had sex. I enjoyed it. You have an awe-inspiring cock. But I am not here to pick up a husband or to be with you. I am sure there are dozens of local girls who would love to drop their bloomers if you smiled your charming smile at them but for me it’s not going to happen again.” I am immune to you. If she said it enough times she would believe it.
“’Awe inspiring cock’?” Garrett repeated her words back to her. “I did not realise just how much you enjoyed it.”
Arabella mentally built another wall around herself. Ignore the smile. Ignore the eyes. Ignore your rapid pulse and get a grip, she told herself. This man was not for her.
“Listen clearly. I am not interested. Sex with you was a one-off.” What would the church members think if they heard this conversation? Not that Arabella particularly cared. She was not sticking around long enough to be part of the congregation.
“Actually we had sex three times,” Garrett corrected her helpfully.
“Whatever!” Arabella snapped out softly between her teeth. “But I do not belong here or to you.”
“So you are going to fight this all the way?”
“I’m not fighting anything.” Okay she was but that was for her to deal with. Arabella did not need Garrett knowing any more than he had to.
“What I don’t understand is why you are fighting this attraction between us. You have told me you have no other lover in your life. You and I fit together so well it’s only natural I want you with me.” Garrett’s voice was earnest and sincere. “I love you and I want to marry you, honey.”
Arabella slapped him on the arm in frustration.
“What the hell is wrong with you? You don’t marry someone just because you have sex!” She was trying very hard to keep her voice low but Garrett was not making it easy for her to retain any sort of ladylike calm.
“Why don’t you want to get married?”
“Because I don’t have to.” Was the man thick or just pushy? “I am a liberated woman who can do what she wants.”

“Maybe in 2008 you can but this is 1888. You have no money of your own and you are a spinster,” Garrett said pointing out the grim realities that faced women in the 1800’s. “What woman would not want to marry in those circumstances?”
How was it that this man knew instinctively every button to push to get a reaction from her?
“You think you are going to somehow save me from social ruin?”
“Can you afford to knock back suitors at your age?”
“Oh! I am not old!” Arabella spat back, rounding on Garrett. What a nerve he had! Age was never an issue to her yet it annoyed her that this man seemed to say it in such a way to annoy her. “And I am not on some quaint little shelf where spinsters are euphemistically shoved. How old are you?”
“Arabella!” Amy Louisa gasped in shock, breaking out of her reverie with Adam Wade. She looked stunned. “I have never heard a woman discuss anything so personal like that with a man.”
Arabella knew Amy Louisa would be shocked at just how personal she was with her brother.
Garrett smiled fondly at his sister’s shocked face.
“I am thirty-five years of age, Arabella,” he replied urbanely.
“Well, Mr. Robillard, you are on that shelf then,” replied Arabella, ignoring the pale face of Amy Louisa beside her. Yes, she knew it was 1888 and she had had every intention of acting accordingly but damn it this man brought out every 2008 instinct within her.
“Age is different for a man.”
Arabella gave an unladylike snort of derision.
“And that hasn’t changed much at all in one hundred and twenty years.”

Anny – www.annycook.blogsdot.com and Kelly www.kkirch.blogspot.com are still on the road somewhere in the USA but take a squiz at their blogs and the ones to the left and see what fascinating tidbits they have to offer you. And if you want drama and pathos go to Musings of a Cover Artist. It’s not for the faint hearted.

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

The man with the freaky blond hair book....

I walked out of work today. Why? I am too angry to discuss it without swearing profusely - I was that angry that I was shaking as I drove home. I’ll discuss it eventually. I looked at little like the angry woman in this picture - though my hair is shoulder length and I am not as green - and I don't ever wear spots. I like to to look at clothing and think 'Would Betty Boop wear this?' Hey! Don't knock Betty. She is an icon that has been around for years. Her longevity is amazing. Anyway back to the work stuff. I'm not back at work until Wednesday as they annoyed me and my Doctor (female) and I both agree these boys need to learn a lesson and I'm the girl to do it.

On to happier things…the book with the man with the freaky blond hair is released today. No, that’s not the title but that’s my pet name for the book. It’s actually called The Goddess and The Ghost. It’s book 2 in The Goddess Grind series. What’s it about? A woman comes across a ghost that only she can see. Is this a good thing you ask? Depends who the ghost is and what his story is – and is he really dead or trapped between worlds? Hmm…who knows? Well I do but you would have to read it to find out more – or win a copy by telling me “how long it takes to get from here to there.” Yes it’s a silly question. So write me a silly answer in the comments (with name and contact details) and I’ll chuck names into a hat and that first name out – assuming someone answers - will win your own copy of the book with the man with the freaky blond hair. How can you pass that up?

The man with the freaky blond hair - okay The Goddess and The Ghost - blurb - available at Total-E-Bound - it's another click on the cover moment to buy...

Zipporah Scott is due to spend the weekend camping with her niece. Zipporah hates camping. The only thing that could make it worse is the gorgeous guy who following her and telling her he’s a ghost and only she can help him. Uh huh.

Rian Carmichael is a man that is trapped between worlds. Only Zipporah can see him. Rian knows two things for sure. He needs her help to live again and Zipporah Scott is the woman for him. He knew it at a glance.

Despite the craziness of their situation, Zipporah wants to believe that she can have a future with Rian. The touch and taste of him is real enough but can he break through the barrier between worlds and be with her forever or are they doomed to be parted?

The first book in the series - The Goddess Within does not have a freaky blond guy - but despite that it has done well. Fallen Angel Reviews kindly gave a recommended read. It's the book that had the inspirational opening line...

Mardi Keller screamed as the orgasm drove her face forward onto the floor.

The blurb...with clickable cover...

Mardi Keller cannot believe her ears when she hears an unknown man talking about how he wants her over a two-way radio. Her friends drag her to meet him and she discovers the man she has been lusting over from afar is one and the same. But can lust be love?

It only took once glance at Mardi for Stryker Reed to know she was the woman for him. He has no intention of letting the woman of his dreams get away. All he has to do now is convince her that love at first sight does exist and that he can love her like no other.

And just when you are thinking can Amarinda flog one more book tonight without offering sneak knives? Yes, I can - and no, there are no steak knives. I do have this weird melon baller thing in the kitchen drawer that I cannot seem to throw out. You never do know when you'll come across a melon with balls do you? Anyway Lust in Time - eyes right - got 5 Angels from the good folks at Fallen Angels.

The blurb - sans steak knives...cover comes with url when clicked.

When Arabella Smith from 2008 wakes up on the floor of a strange house in 1888 She is gob smacked. Is it a dream or is the book in her hands the reason why she is there? The book is from 1888. She soon meets the original owner and Arabella begins to believe it is her mission to help Amy Louisa and then get back to the mod cons of 2008 as soon as possible.

However Garrett Robillard has other plans for Arabella. He knows why she is in 1888 and it has everything to do with him. Arabella is the mystery lover he has been dreaming about for the last three weeks. She is the woman for him. Garrett just needs to convince her of that.

Arabella’s plan was not to fall in love and have hot sex with Garrett especially as she knows time is fickle and she can be thrown her back into the future without warning. But what can a girl do when she is faced with the man of her dreams and the past is really her future?

Last thing to flog tonight is a competition where you win stuff...

What do - Kelly Kirch, Sandra Cox, KZ Snow, Barbara Huffert, Anny Cook, Heather Hiestand, Jacquéline Roth, Cindy Spencer Pape, Bronwyn Green, Brynn Paulin, Lacey Thorn and me – the Jones girl - Amarinda - all have in common other then being exceptional writers? Answer -

Do you want to win some fantastic holiday reading? If so come celebrate the Twelve days of Christmas with 12 authors from Ellora’s Cave, Total-E-Bound and Cerridwen Press. Each day beginning December 8th and running through December 20th each one of the twelve authors will leave a clue as to what their “True love gave to them” on either their blog or website. Collect all twelve answers and go into the drawer to win some great books.

There will be three lucky winners. The prizes –

1st prize--6 books
2nd prize--4 books

3rd prize--2 books

All books and prize winners will be drawn randomly. For more details visit www.amarindajones.blogspot.com, www.annycook.blogspot.com or www.kkirch.blogspot.com on 6th December 2007.

Have you checked out where Kelly took the blog serial on www.kkirch.blogspot.com? Don't commit it to memory as it's going to take another screeching U-turn tomorrow. Anny is talking to herself on www.annycook.blogspot.com. No, she's not insane, just mildly crazy.

www.freewebs.com/amarindajones/

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

I give you the foot...

Lust in Time - review

Amarinda Jones has yet another hit with Lust In Time. Ms. Jones has a knack for creating true to life strong characters in both centuries. Vivid scenes and interplay between characters makes for an easy enjoyable read. Lust In Time heats up the centuries with very erotic interaction between the main characters. This is an intriguing storyline that reminds me of the movie, Somewhere in Time. Very, very enjoyable!

http://www.fallenangelreviews.com/2007/October/Tracey-LustInTime.htm

Click on the cover and buy the book – time travel, romance and wild sex. What more could you want?

Feet. Have you ever really thought about them? I know what you are thinking - Amarinda did not have a topic in mind when she sat down to write her blog so she has picked a topic out of the air and plans to waffle on about it for the next couple of minutes. You just may be correct but just for one moment think about your feet. Where would you be without them? How lucky that some of us have them and yet we take them for granted? I say take them for granted no more. I pay homage to the humble foot.

My feet are flat. It is my understanding that all the best people have flat feet. Would I lie to you on a Monday? Okay yes, I would but the thing is I believe flat feet keep you grounded as more of the surface of you foot is actually touching the ground. I reckon if you looked at all the great thinkers in the world they had flat feet. Just a theory of mine but I am pretty certain it’s true.

Look at Cinderella. Yep, it wasn’t just any foot Prince Charming wanted. It had to fit the glass slipper. See how important feet are? A whole fairytale kingdom could have disappeared if not for Cinderella’s foot. Oh sure, you think it was the whole romance thing. It wasn’t. It was the power of the foot. A woman’s foot can bring down a kingdom.

We all know what they say about a man and the size of his feet. Do you believe it? No of course you don’t because it’s a crock but you still look and wonder don’t you? And what about all those weird foot fetish people? What if there were no feet? What would they fantasize over? Knees? Elbows? Or would they all just have to go into counseling and put an enormous strain on our already over-worked mental heath workers? Think about it, without the foot we are stymied. How would anyone ever know you were angry if you could not stamp you feet or put your foot down? How emotionally repressed would we be? How would the shoe industry cope if tomorrow some weird Day of the Triffids thing happened and we all woke up without feet? There would be mass unemployment.

The things you can you do with feet are endless. You can stand on them, walk, skip and jump with them. You can kick arse with them, dance up a storm and run on them when you need to avoid trouble. I say treat you feet with the respect and dignity they deserve. Those of us that have them should appreciate them.

What will I waffle on with tomorrow? Who knows...

Anny had author interview day on www.annycook.blogspot.com so meander on over and take a squiz. As for Kelly she has the next riveting chapter in the blog serial on www.kkirch.blogspot.com
Looking to win some prizes? Author Sam Cheever has put together a group of 13 fantasy and paranormal romance authors and organized a Trick-or-Treat event that starts today. Rush over to her website http://www.samcheever.com/Halloween%20Contest.htm right away and follow the instructions and join in the fun to win great prizes. One of the great authors taking part in this even is Sandra Cox - www.sandracox1.com/ Check out her blog http://sandracox.blogspot.com/. But before you rush off anywhere, read an excerpt from her latest best selling novel from Cerridwen Press.

Boji Stones by Sandra Cox

Monitors beeped and clear liquid dripped through an IV into her arm. Her entire body throbbed in pain. She looked around, confused and afraid, nauseated by the smell of alcohol and antiseptic. Where am I? What happened?
The last thing she remembered was a man with the face of an angel and what must be the heart of a demon, swerving his car against hers, his expression determined, fanatical.
He was after the amulet! She looked down at her bare left arm. Oh my God, where was it?
The door opened and a stout black nurse sailed in, much like a majestic ship breasting the water, her white uniform so crisp it rustled as she walked. “And how are we feeling, Miss Sinclair?”
Like every bone in my body is broken, that’s how WE are feeling. “Like I’ve been in a car wreck. Can you tell where my amulet’s at?”
The nurse stopped. “Say what?”
“My bracelet. Please where is it?”
The nurse checked the monitor. “Probably in your bedside table.”
The table sat on the left side of the bed. Maureen Kelly Sinclair looked at her bandaged left arm, her left leg in a sling and then at the table. Pushing back the hysteria welling in her throat, she asked as calmly as she could. “Would you check please?”
“Just as soon as I change your IV.”
“Screw…”
The nurse looked up, her eyes narrowing.
Maureen snapped her teeth shut, her jaws working. She took a deep breath and concentrated on relaxing one vertebra at a time.
As the nurse puttered with the IV, Maureen’s mind raced. Who besides herself knew about the amulet?
“The police were here while you were sleeping. They’ll be back later to get your statement.”
Maureen rubbed her aching temple. “I thought I already gave them a statement.”
“You were pretty hysterical at the time. Understandable.” The nurse clucked and shook her head. “What’s this world coming to when a madman runs you off the road? Lucky for you there was an unmarked car directly behind you.”
“My amulet, please.” Her chest tightened and her nerves screamed.
“Sure, hon, I’m almost done.” She straightened the bag, walked around to the table and opened the drawer.
“It’s not here.”

Bloody hell? Where’s the amulet? 'Better buy the book and find out…. How do you buy is? Click on the cover and but the book. Go on, you know you want to…
www.freewebs.com/amarindajones/
Go ahead: Live with abandon. Be outrageous at any age. What are you saving your best self for?

Saturday stuff...

Things to remember on a Saturday…

1. Remember to turn the washing machine on if you want it to actually work.

2. Don’t wander off after turning on the taps to fill the sink to wash 4 days worth of dishes and forget to turn them off unless you want a waterfall feature in the kitchen. There’s a drought on you know! Although the bright side is I got to wash the floor, but it wasted time and water. Bad, dumb Amarinda.

3. Don’t throw rubbish in the outside bin in your pj’s if the Police are door knocking the area over an ‘incident.’ It’s hard to be credible in an out of shape, worn pink night shirt that barely covers your arse while carry an empty plonk bottle.

4. Check who’s at the door before opening it instead of spending five minutes listening to a business-suited couple explain how the almighty Vishnac will save us all when the Venutians come – in 2 weeks apparently – mark it in your diary. It sounds like a hoot.

5. When spraying heavy weed spray over the paved areas, do not walk over those areas in your thongs (flip flops) then walk over the perfectly good grass in weed-killer soaked thongs as if totally buggers up that grass for months.

6. Don’t whinge when you have to do extra exercise to burn off all the delicious empty calories consumed last night. Do you want to live longer or enjoy yourself? Jeeze, that’s tough one.

Linda from Readingissomuchfun http://readingissomuchfun.blogspot.com/ graciously answered my questions about what a reader thinks…

1. Is there any genre you think is done to death when it comes to books?

A lot of people lately are complaining about too many vampire books on the market, but I don't mind them since I am new to reading this genre.

2. Is there any genre you will not read?

Gay/Lesbian, Time Travel and Science Fiction.

3. Reviews are important but do you take them as gospel and avoid books with bad reviews?

I read a few books that had bad reviews and did not agree with the review at all. The book turned out to be really good to me.

4. As a reader, what do you think is the most important thing a romance writer should remember when writing a book?

Good chemistry between the leading characters.

5. How much sex in a book is too much sex?

I dislike when the characters go straight to having sex and you don't even know anything about them as characters yet. Characterization is very important to me as a reader.

6. Do you think the writer behind the book is just as important as the book? For example would you buy a book with great reviews if you perceived the writer was pushy?

Some authors' prickly online personalities have caused me to lose interest in reading their books. Their rudeness has overshadowed their writing and I can't see past that. I would advise authors to be careful with how they treat their readers online because it will affect their sales.

7. What is the best book you have ever read?

This is a hard question for me because I have read so many books that I thought were my favorites. The best book I have ever read is Jemima J By: Jane Green. I would pick Jemima J by Jane Green because my best friend introduced me to this book. This was the first book that I had read in years. I did read books when I was younger but kid’s books. Then as I got older I started to read teenage books like Sweet Valley High. When I turned 16 I stopped reading books I started to read poem books. I use to love writing poetry. Then at the age of 21 my best friend had recommended a book to me it was Jane Green’s book. I fell in love with this book and ever since then I started to read more books.

8. What are you reading now?

I am currently reading an ARC of Divorced, Desperate and Delicious By: Christie Craig. This is a must read. The characters are amazing and so funny. This book is a real page turner that will keep you up all night to find out what happens next with Lacy and Chase. I highly recommend this book to every one who loves a real page turner with hilariously funny and sexy characters.

Check out Linda’s two blogs on - http://readingissomuchfun.blogspot.com/ & http://lindahbookthongs.blogspot.com/. If you go to http://readingissomuchfun.blogspot.com/ there’s a great competition to enter

I am thinking about having a what pisses me off day(s) on the Amarinda blog. Or a guest ranter (named or pseudonym). Maybe you have something meaningful to share? Possibly you have a cause you would like to flog on the blog. Let me know and I’ll be happy to let you rant, share or flog – providing it’s not litigious. Drop me a line on amarinda_jones@yahoo.com.au

No doubt you have been to www.annycook.blogspot.com. I knew the advent of Mephisto would not worry her a whit. More worrying is what the ever clever and mischievous Grasshopper will come up with on www.kkirch.blogspot.com for the blog serial on Monday.

Lust in Time is based on a real book…

There is an actual book called The Border Shepherdess. It was written by an author called Amelia E Barr. The copy I have is a first edition that was published in 1887 by a company called James Clarke & Co, Fleet Street, London. I believe it cost me all of one dollar. Like my heroine Arabella, I love books and can never pass any second hand bookstore without buying one or a dozen. My copy of The Border Shepherdess is signed in ink in very neat handwriting - Amy Maud Robjohns February 23rd 1888. Inside there is a yellowed piece of newsprint cut to the size of a bookmark entitled “Methodist Social Afternoon.” It lists who attended, who sang and who recited poetry to entertain the gathering. Although Amy Maud is not listed as attending the festivities I like to think there was a special reason why she cut that piece especially out of the newspaper and put it in the book. Maybe there was a man she loved or maybe not but it’s fun to speculate on what might have been.

The Blurb
When Arabella Smith wakes up on the floor of a strange house in 1888 she is gob-smacked. When the shock of waking up back in time wears off and she meets the original owner of the book in her hand—the book that she suspects is the reason why she is no longer in the 21st century—Arabella begins to believe it is her mission to help Amy Louisa and then get back to the mod cons of 2008 as soon as possible.

However Garrett Robillard has other plans for Arabella. He knows why she is in 1888 and it has everything to do with him. Arabella is the mystery lover he has been dreaming about for the last three weeks. She is the woman for him. Garrett just needs to convince her of that.

Arabella’s plan was not to fall in love and have hot sex with Garrett especially as she knows time is fickle and she can be thrown back into the future without warning. But what can a girl do when she is faced with the man of her dreams and the past is really her future?

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

When are you going to…

Profound Friday Comment…

Email is so insufficient in expressing the minutia of expression. – Kelly Kirch – www.kellykirch.com

Bloody hell that’s profound. Can I use that on the blog? – Amarinda Jones www.freewebs.com/amarindajones/

When are you going to write a real book? I get asked this a lot. You have so much potential why are you writing erotic romance? Why? Because I want to and who says romance books are not real? Who defines reality when it comes to books? No, my books will not win the Pulitzer Prize but then I don’t expect them to. I write to entertain and to allow readers to escape where they are in their lives for just a moment. I don’t have to justify my ‘writing credentials’ and write an epic ‘real book’ saga. I think Popeye summed it up best when he said, “I am what I am.” I write as I think and speak. Do I have an epic saga in me? Sure, have you read the blog serial of late?

When are you going to get married? Why is it if you are a straight female you have to be married? I don’t get it. In an enlightened age we still have this need to pair everyone off in neat married couples. And, if you are not married then you have ‘something wrong’ with you (where to start) or you must be one of ‘them.’ No, I’m not and ’them' get married nowadays too. I have two standard responses to the why I am not married question
1. Look into the distance with a suitably tragic look on my face and say “I can’t talk about it” – then I walk off as if heartbroken.
2. Point to my wonky looking big toe, that I broke, and say “I can’t I’m deformed.”
I like to confuse people. But seriously marriage is a huge commitment and I’m not ready, if ever, to be committed. Though I did have a goldfish live for seven years. Is that the same thing?

When are you going to get rid of all the crap in your house? The key to that question is it’s ‘my house’ and therefore I can be the Queen of crap if I want to be. How many people are lucky enough to have a nearly life size, gaudy looking 1970’s Nubian statue complete with tacky turban, called Alphonse, that holds the phone? Not many. Combine that with black lady lamps, 1920’s plaster dogs, an amazingly heavy and big arsed 1930’s working radiogram, a dozen 1960’s bullfighter posters and an ornate bed head that comes straight out of an 1960’s house of ill repute and it’s all class with a capital K, baby. I like tacky, kitsch things. As a child I loved the Addams family house. My house is crowded and messy and important papers can stay in a pile on a chair for weeks. A friend once asked ‘what happens when you die and someone has to sort all this stuff out?” My answer – “I’ll be dead. Why will I care?”

When are you going to stop saying things you shouldn’t? Ah? Never. Who is in charge of determining what should and should not be said? Sure, I say things that shock and piss people off but I say them because I mean them and I am not one to beat around the bush. Why hold stuff inside that is eating at you? Say it, mean it, move on. Life is too short to hold back. Live life like you mean it. Yep, I get in trouble a lot but I kind of like trouble.

When are you going to be rational? I especially like this question. An ultra conservative family member asks me this every time I see him which is thankfully once in a blue moon. When I don’t agree with what he says, I am irrational. He is only a couple of years older than me but he sounds like he is 103 and the law maker of the land. Picture a stocky looking Moses-like figure dressed in a business suit shaking his finger at bad Amarinda. He has decreed from his lofty position that ladies don’t write books about sex, they should be married by a certain age and if they aren’t married they should live a quiet, genteel life. I know - he’s a crack up isn’t he? And yes, he is deadly serious. I’ll admit I quite enjoy being ultra bad around him. Will I be rational? Maybe one day if it suits me.

I think when people stop asking when are you going to…then you must have become one of them. Stay who you are and be true to yourself. Let ‘em ask. It gives them something to do. So tell me, what do people ask you? When are you going to….

The blog saga…on www.kkirch.blogspot.com. Kelly left us with….

Sam reached behind her yanking out several quills. Emmeline howled in pain. Sam thrust the fistful of poison-leaking pricks into Leo's chest. "Take that feather head."

With an ominous tilt to his head, Leo leveled a golden eye on him. His talons gripped Emmeline tighter, drawing forth her milky blood as PJ watched helpless. Leo's next words shook Sam with terror. "Fruitcake nifty toolshed splatter, Charo. Peanut butter estrogen dancing."

Thanks so bloody much Kelly…my turn….

There was a sudden flash of light and a puff of smoke and Zoltan the great appeared before them.

“Emmeline!” Zoltan yelled at her. “Duck!”

“No, he’s an eagle!” She shook as the pain seared through her.

Zoltan knew Emmeline was helpless. He lifted his hands and intoned the ancient spell of the min-min. “Wangaratta, Thargarmindah, Yelbaron.” He saw the eagle start to shake. “Oodnadatta, Quilpie, Goondiwindi!” A bolt of pure, blue energy shot into Leonardo.

“No!” Leo screamed as his hands fell from Emmeline and he dropped to his knees.

“Bangalow, Budgewoi and be gone!” Zoltan cursed as he watched Leonardo explode into a million pieces. Masses of feathers rained down on all in the room.

“Thank god…phut.” Emmeline spat out a feather. “I thought I was a…phut…goner, Zoltan.”

“No one…phut….brings down the peanut butter estrogen dancing curse…phut…on my woman.” Zoltan pulled her into his arms. “We need to get out of here.”

“Why? I have plans for world…phut…domination. I could have a good life here.”

“Can you hear that sound?” A rumble sounded below their feet. “This planet is about to…phut…explode.”

Sam and Jonas shrieked and clutched each other.

“None of you are…phut…leaving.” PJ drew out her machete.

Zoltan laughed. “Such a crude weapon will not stop me. Stand in my way and I will kill you.”

“No you won’t.” PJ smiled knowingly. “Don’t you recognize me Zoltan?” She lifted her shirt and exposed her stomach.

“Oh my…phut… god! It can’t be true!” Zoltan’s eyes widened in shock.

You know what happens next. Anny turns the whole blog saga on it's ear once more tomorrow on www.annycook.blogspot.com. What's that you ask? Anny's quote for the day?

Yeah, we won't discuss what we can do with a bowl of fruit - check out any of Anny's Books on www.annycook.com and you'll understand how - er - versatile a writer young Anny is.

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