Monday Mayhem – Catching up

So, yeah… I made it back from Vegas! Came home to ice and ick, but I got to sleep in my own bed. Had a fabulous time with my girls. It’s only been a few days, but I’m already jonesing for next year.

sign2

I learned a new skill this week. Don’t think it’s one I’ll be using a lot, but I did learn to make banners using Pixlr Express. I used Spring Chickens and a silly pun for my practice run:

SC banner

Since last we chatted, I finished the draft on Bossy Pants and sent it off to Jewels for her to work over. Got back to work on finishing the first draft on Full Court Press this week and guess what? I did it! I’ve been working on this story on and off for the past 10 months. There’s still a lot of buffing and polishing to be done, but I’m looking forward to working on something fresh and new.

Here are a few of my options. What do you think I should take on next?

1) Play Dates – On an outing at the park with her niece, our heroine, Monica, meets a sexy single dad. The only trouble is, he doesn’t know the precocious little girl who calls her ‘Monnie’ isn’t hers, and Monica doesn’t know how to break it to him.

2) Executive Privilege –  A widow uses her late husband’s Senate seat as a springboard for her Presidential campaign. The only trouble is she’s in love with her husband’s former chief of staff and best friend. Friends turn to lovers on the campaign trail but the press is hot on their tail.

3) Dirty Blonde -She’s the scandalous small town hairdresser – dresses in Daisy Dukes, cowgirl boots, and knows unbuttoning the third button down ups her tips nearly 20%. He’s a former Army engineer & wounded warrior. Scarred inside and out, he’s happy to be home, she’s dying to get out. They should never have fallen in love.

4) Something Stupid – An aspiring actress nearly loses the role of a lifetime when she makes the mistake of confessing her feelings for her best friend’s brother – Hollywood’s hottest young filmmaker.

5) Hooligans – The first in a series of stories about three generations of single men who run a neighborhood pub in Chicago. There’s nothing Rory Houlihan wants more than to get married and have a family and his meddling grandmother thinks the girl next door, Mary Pat Brady, would make an excellent candidate. As a matter of fact, it just might be her dying wish.

What say you? Do any of these trip your trigger?

 

 

 

Monday Mayhem – Steamy stuff ahead!

Warning: I’m sharing an excerpt from my pal Jenna Barton’s upcoming release Closer and Closer today. It’s hot, so if you are of delicate sensibilities, clutch your pearls and look away.

As for the rest of you…enjoy!

closerBanner

Excerpt: Tiramisu

 

“We’re doing this too fast,” he said against the base of my throat, tugging at my robe. I swallowed hard, whining when his mouth closed over the skin beneath my ear. That would bloom purple and plum. It was May. I lived in the South.

Instead of heeding those very sensible thoughts, I hailed him on, twisting my hips against his. “A turtleneck or scarf, maybe—”

He broke away, panting, his eyes level with mine. “What’re you…scarf?”

“I’ll wear one.” Threading my fingers through his hair, I pulled his lips to mine. “I’ll wear one around my neck, so just don’t stop that biting.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he said, grinning as he tilted his head away from mine. He chuckled softly when I trailed after him. “That’s my job.”

“Oh yes, sir.” I added a mock salute before I realized what I’d said. It caught between us, a quick drumbeat underlining this thing that kept us circling each other, so fast we kept reminding each other of it, and so delirious from it we couldn’t be responsible, risk-managing adults and step back to avoid it.

I shook a little. My teeth vibrated against my lips, pressed together tight so I wouldn’t say it again. I’d dropped this thing between us into the open while we were too close for any more rational discussion, and not entirely sure we’d remembered to close my front door. And I could see it in his eyes. He was deciding.

“You ready for that spanking?” His breath fell in short, soft bursts against my cheek.

I forced myself to look past his shoulder, promising myself it was the last logical decision I’d make for the rest of the night, and checked the front door. Closed. Locked. As my eyes inched back to his, the wire-swung, slow motion feeling greeted me, and dangled me before him. I took a shallow, silent breath, and nodded, watching his mouth for my next direction.

“Yes…I am.”

closercover

Dominance and submission. The delicate balance between hurts so good and too hot to handle. They’re not just kinky trends for the members of The Enclave, a tight-knit group gathering in a Gilded Age mansion secluded in the North Carolina mountains.

Come Closer…

For Erin Proctor, life has always been about working hard, creating stability, and succeeding. She plays it safe, watching from a distance. Then she encounters an unpredictable, sensual world she’s always known was there, but didn’t believe she could belong to.

Walt Easton is straightforward and unpretentious, a big, earthy man in possession of himself—and a fierce set of solid leather floggers. Once he and Erin meet, their attraction is undeniable. Walt wants a full relationship, not just fun in the playroom. Their kinky adventures can be negotiated later.

They’ve finally found a relationship that can let them explore who they fully are. But can Walt accept that while he’s in charge in their private lives, when it comes to her job, Erin is the one in charge? Will Erin take the risk of letting down her walls and allowing Walt in all the way?

The biggest risk, after all, isn’t mixing pain and pleasure. It’s finding yourself—in love.

The first book of The Enclave Series will bring you Closer to your desire.

Preorder HERE

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24324729-closer-and-closer?from_search=true

Author: Jenna Barton

Title: Closer and Closer

Genre: BDSM Erotic Romance

ISBN: 978-1-623420-70-3

Release Date: February 10th, 2015

Available in Ebook and Paperback

Twitter: @WriteyJennaB

Author Bio:

After many years spent onstage mouthing the words of other writers, Jenna Barton found her own voice while playing with an online community of mouthy broads. Writing down her own stories proved to be far more satisfying than dodging the human and inanimate hazards that come with backstage life, as well as alleviating the need to walk and talk and gesture while inhabiting.

Mostly settled into a life of carpool lanes and checkout lines, Jenna happily resides in suburbia with her husband and their two children. Sadly there are no drooly, furry, corpulent lapdogs at Chez Barton. For now. For. Now.

 

Monday Mayhem – Is this thing on?

So, I’ve been having a good time with the merged blog thing. It’s been interesting to see how many people are just realizing that Margaret is Maggie or Maggie is Margaret. Worlds are colliding!

Thanks to all who have been reading and commenting on the Weekend Writing Warrior posts. It’s so much fun to be able to share snippets of my work each week.

I’m still trying to get Whatcha Reading Wednesday and Fangril Friday going. These posts are more than a chance for us to interact. They give me insight as a writer as to what is attracting audience attention. So let me know what you’re reading, not only because it helps me gauge the market, but because I am a book junkie and I’m always looking for a fix.

I started Fangirl Friday for the same reason. I want to know who you are crushing on, what attracts you to those characters, what do you wish they would do/say/etc.

As I mentioned before, social media platforms are starting to make it more difficult for authors to interact with their readers. We don’t have that restriction here. Tell me what you think. What would you like to see here?  I’ve been offering backlist books to commenters on Wednesdays. Please tell your friends to stop by and comment for a chance to win. Trust me, Evelyn Jules has already read them all.

So, speak up. I want to hear from you. Is this thing on?