Category:Open Mic Spice’

(Thanks to Kimberly for being our last guest blogger at Naughty and Spice! She even–without knowing–went with our change theme for the week )

Wow, it’s so pretty here!  I love guest blogging in a new place – new friends to make , new conversations to have.  I love my regular blog haunts, but sometimes it’s fun to shake things up.  It keeps me from getting bored, changes my perspective, and works new brain cells.

But while I like change, I also fear it a bit.  Change is… well, it’s change and you never know what’s going to happen.  Could be good; could be bad. The thing is, you never know until it’s too late to turn back.

Of course, change is at the heart of every book.  That’s the point, right?  No one wants to read about the same-old-same-old in a character’s life.  I think the technical, writerly-type term for that change is the “Inciting Incident.”  Something happens that changes the heroine’s life from the ordinary and sends her on her journey through the plot.  In romance, that change is often called “The Hero.” ~grin~

But I like books where the heroine – for good reasons or not – makes a decision to make a change.  Maybe she steps outside her comfort zone, does something she always wanted but only got the courage to do it today. Maybe she’s smarting over being called a prude by her ex, so she intentionally sets out to prove she’s not.

Is that always the wise, mature thing to do? Not necessarily.  But I like those heroines who say “Nope. Not anymore. Today, I’m going to be brave, impetuous, and listen to that little inner voice that’s urging me to go for it.” That attitude is almost guaranteed to create one heck of a story for our heroine.

That’s one of the reasons I love my newest release (you knew I’d get to that eventually, right?). In Magnate’s Mistress…Accidentally Pregnant!, my heroine Ally is a bookish bookkeeper who is on her honeymoon – alone. She dumped her cheating fiancé but is just too practical to let a pre-paid vacation go to waste. Stepping outside her comfort zone onto a tropical island where she can be anyone and anything she wants, she embraces her inner femme fatale when the hero arrives on the scene.

That’s change. The good kind.  The kind we should applaud.

But as I think you can tell from the title, that decision kinda backfired on my heroine, and now her life is about to change in a whole different kind of way. Pregnancy is a “no-going-back” kind of change, you know.  J As the author, this kind of change is fun for me to write for my heroines, even if it’s not all that fun for the heroine herself.

One of my favorite quotes by Eleanor Roosevelt reads, “Do one thing every day that scares you.”  Maybe that’s why I like those moments in a book when the heroine makes that decision to do the thing that scares her simply because she wants to shake things up and make a change.  Even if it doesn’t work out quite like she planned.

Have you ever listened to that inner voice that told you to go for it?  Done that scary thing just because it seemed like it was time to do it?  How’d that work out for you?  Did it backfire or did it work like a charm?  Tell me all about it, and I’ll send one of you a copy of Magnate’s Mistress…Accidentally Pregnant!

Kimberly

www.booksbykimberly.com

PS:  Be sure to drop by my website… I’m running the Writing Playground’s Jan/Feb contest and you could win a prize pack to help chase away those winter blues!

Magnate’s Mistress… Accidentally Pregnant! is a February release from Harlequin Presents.

Pregnant by the wild and wicked billionaire!

Ally Smith might have dumped her cheating fiancé, but she refuses to waste her non-refundable honeymoon in the Caribbean!

Trying to embrace her freedom, Ally meets sexy stranger Chris Wells… Not recognizing him as the famous thrill-seeking tycoon, Ally throws caution to the wind and allows Chris, with his hot body, to sweep her into an even hotter summer fling!

But back home Ally realizes that, unlike her tan, memories of their wild night will never fade… Oh-so-sensible Ally is expecting the playboy’s baby!

Hi Naughty and Spicers… I’m Linda Thomas-Sundstrom, paranormal romance writer,  waving to you from the wild, wild west. Hello! How the heck are ya?

I’m very happy to be back today as guest blogger  for two reasons. To tell you a bit about my new Nocturne series – Wolf Moons … and this month’s release of Red Wolf -  but  also because I’m hoping you can help me out with something.

I’ve been asked to gather a list of questions for a romance writer’s group on what readers really want to know about the authors and books. This seemed like a great experience to understand the minds and hearts of readers, so that in author chats and book signings, authors can cover some of these items.

If you were in the audience at a book signing, where the author was taking questions, what things would you ask? You know, the things you’d really want to know. Would it be about the book being signed, or the author herself? The author’s background, or something about the world created in the book?

Can you help by supplying a few questions, pretty please?

So – here’s a wee bit about me, in brief:

I love the supernatural. I’m hot for sexy werewolves.

I’m a paranormal writer through and through, and loving every minute of it. Every book I write drives home the fact that I am very luck to have so any stories to tell, and readers who love to read them.

I fall in love with most of my characters in the books I write, and have withdrawals from their world when I type The end. This, for a writer, is known as writing bliss. Or in my case right now = Werewolf bliss.

This month my new Nocturne series, Wolf Moons, is on bookstore shelves. Red Wolf this month, followed by Wolf Trap in March. Both books contain bonus material, in the form of  novellas previously released in this series in 09 as Nocturne Bites (e-books) So, all four stories are together in print.. Two full books … four stories… four couples fighting to deal with rogue werewolf bites in sizzling,  sultry Miami. Hot stuff in the city. Werewolves to the max!

Buy It Now

And then there’s this January’s Nocturne Bite – Moon Marked, about the secret war between humans and werewolves, and two… um… people (term used loosely)… who find themselves caught in the middle. Romeo and Juliet on the wild side.

Now that the stories are done, and published, I have quite a few promotional book signings set up for Red Wolf and Wolf Trap. Hence the question I’ve posed to you.

If you’re a reader who loves to really get involved, immersed, in the world of the books you’re reading, please do tell us what you’d like to know about them.  Hey, maybe it’s nothing. But if you’re like me, I always want to know how the mind comes up with things like they do.

I once found out that Michael Crichton (Jurrasic Park, etc) wore the same shirt and pants every day when he wrote (yes, I’m sure he had a washer and dryer) ha. And that he was said to have to write in the same place, with everything exactly the same around him. Some sort of luck thing. Or maybe (my idea running rampant)… his Muse only recognized him I that one outfit?

Well, you see what I mean? The answer to questions can be quite fascinating.

So….. go to it, if you will. Leave those questions for the list.

Buy It Now

Check out RED WOLF February Nocturne book… please. I think you’ll feel my enthusiasm for what I write, and hopefully connect with me. I exert a lot of energy into my books, so there’s lots of action and … sexual tension. YUM.

Check out my web site, too. You can always leave a question there – for me!

I’m here listening!

Thanks for joining me today. Hope you win a book!

xo

Linda Thomas-Sundstrom

www.lindathomas-sundstrom.com

First of all, thanks to Shell for letting me hang out with you guys today. I really appreciate it.

I had a hard time deciding if I wanted to be naughty here. I don’t see why not. So I’m going to talk about hookups. Have you ever had a one night stand? I haven’t. And I’ve been married for 25 years, so the prospects don’t look that promising in the very near future.  (My husband just walked by and gave me the eye.) I need more of an emotional connection when it comes to sex.

But I can certainly imagine what happens. I mean, I do have friends who have triple digit one night stands. (No, I’m not talking about Rosemary and Shannon.) I’ve heard stories that would curl your toes. I’ve heard stories that will make you wonder just how stupid chicks can get when they are drunk. Luckily, they all survived these encounters, and some of them made for very sexy stories.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against the instant hookup, just haven’t had a lot of experience with it. But of course, through my fiction I can explore these kinds of relationships. Mariska and Jackson, the stars of my new novel TAKE ME IF YOU DARE don’t exactly have a one night stand, but the get together pretty fast. I like that there is a sense of danger and urgency. They can’t keep their hands off each other. There is an instant connection and they both want each other.

That I have felt. That heat you feel when you meet someone for the first time and you know they are into you, and you are most assuredly into them. That first kiss that takes your breath away, or they touch you and you get chills. The good kind. That’s one of the things I like most about writing romance. I get to re-live those moments time and again. It’s not a bad way to make a living.

For Mariska and Jackson the hookup happens fast but it comes about rather naturally. They both want each other, and even though they know they shouldn’t for a variety of reasons, they do. I think that’s something we can all relate to in some way. Haven’t we all been in relationships that were exciting and maybe a little dangerous, but we jumped in anyway?

Do you have some favorite fictional hookups? Those book that made you feel the heat too? Gena Showalter’s Lord of the Underworld series and Nalini Singhs Angel series come to mind. Hot, sexy reads with to-die-for heroes. That’s important part for me. A strong hero. So share some of your favorites.

Comment here and a random poster will win a copy of TAKE ME IF YOU DARE.

www.candacehavens.com

A big thanks to Shelli for letting me high-jack her day and give away a copy of my new  historical erotic romance Secrets of Sin.  Thanks again Shelli!

As the Lewis Carroll quote in the title implies, this blog is about food. A good romance is about all the five senses and food is just another way to include them all in your story. I love interesting food. To me a great meal can be very sexy. I love to cook, watch the food channel and try new dishes like the cornbread cobbler I made this weekend.

So it’s no wonder there is a lot of good food in Secrets of Sin. The hard part was finding good food that reflected the Caribbean in 1745. During the tension of their first meal together in four years husband and wife, Emilie and Reinier,  have “prawns, citrus glazed chicken, roasted yams and fresh fruits.”

And as they being to get to know each other at a picnic on the beach there is passion fruit puree, more seafood and mangoes.  They were also having lobster salad but alas there was no mayo in 1745. There is ginger at the picnic too but it not actually used as food.

It might not have been the best thing for their digestion but the biggest meal occurs as the conflict climaxes. Emiline, Reinier and his business partner, Connor, dine on snapper with onions and peppers, conch in lime juice, curried cabrito with hearts of palm, plantain gratin and ginger spice cake.  Not all of that is eaten off of plates either.

So what you think about food and romance. Do you think food can be sexy? Do you like it when food is mentioned in a romance? Have you read anything good recently that combined romance or sex and food? One random commenter will win a copy of Secrets of Sin!

But if all this talk of food hasn’t whetted your appetite for Secrets of Sin yet then here’s a excerpt that hopefully will.

“As I told you, Monsieur Barhydt.” Emiline thrust her chin up to make her point clear. “I rule Bougainvilla and I surely do not take your commands. But you are right about one thing, Sir. We will continue this discussion tomorrow.”

Turning away and marching toward the door, the breath flew from her lungs as Reinier came up behind her. His muscular arm gripped her small waist when he crushed her tightly against his body. She felt him aroused and straining against his breeches through the silk of her dress. Once again, a deep blush moved from her cheeks to the tightening tips of her breasts.

His breath was hot and demanding against her throat. “You may very well rule Bougainvilla, madam,” he purred, passion and promise all rolled into one.“But before I leave here again, I will rule you. And rest assured, wife, you will beg me to do it.”

Emiline’s whole body stiffened in resistance. As suddenly as he’d captured her, he let her go.

She wasn’t sure if it was his words or the definite twinge of excitement she felt that scared her most. This man she now considered barely more than a stranger, somehow saw into the farthest part of her mind—a part that she only even admitted to herself in the darkest of dark and lonely nights.

Noelle is half of the writing team of Chloe Harris along with Barbra Kolten. You can find out more about us, the books and the Hot and Huge Contest we’ve got going on at www.authorchloeharris.com