I do love to party #TinaDonahue

After the day-to-day grind of making a living and keeping up with never-ending bills, I truly look forward to the holiday season. So magical. Worries seem to melt away and, as everyone knows, food has absolutely no calories from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. :)

I wasn't a party girl in college. Too busy working 35 hours a week in addition to going to school full-time. If I had a few hours to sleep, I considered myself lucky.

Maybe that's why I tend to write about fantasy parties and vacations for my heroines. Take Jamie, who stars in Anything You Want, my novella in the A Matter of Taste anthology. Jamie's about to hit the big 3-0 and she isn't happy about it. All she's done is work, so she decides to treat herself to a vacation at Wicked Desires, a Caribbean resort short on clothes, long on fantasy, and definitely decadent.

Then there's Heather, the good fairy/receptionist at From Crud to Stud in Surrendering to the Beast, book two in my Taming the Beast series. Heather's always been so good, she hasn't had a chance to have fun, until Daemon, a sexy satyr, and MJ, a mischievous genie, come into her life. At that point, there's no stopping any of them.

Since I'm so busy working and writing, I live vicariously through my characters. Hopefully, some day, I'll be able to party hearty as they do. In Anything You Want, there's an awesome birthday party for Jamie. In Surrendering to the Beast, a Halloween party is on the menu.

  

Amazon

Blurb:

At a hedonistic resort, her indecent cravings are about to be sated…

With the big three-o only days away, Jamie’s had it with dieting, exercise, and being alone. Off she goes to Wicked Desires, a decadent Caribbean resort where clothing is optional, carnal appetites rule, and food is celebrated. If only she had a guy to indulge with…

How about two? Billionaires Creed and Tav are checking out ideas for their new video game. The play features a resort where anything goes and an unlikely heroine as the star. Jamie’s luscious curves and sweet vulnerability make her the perfect type to base their game on. Since she’s also in IT, she understands their lingo.

Hell, their desires are perfectly in tune with hers, whether it’s food play during meals, punishment in the discipline room, or a romantic evening on the beach.

Smokin’ hot days and nights will change everything for all of them.

AMAZON – SAMHAIN – BN

Blurb:

When she’s good, she’s very good. But when he’s bad, she’s better.

Taming the Beast, Book 2

As a good fairy, Heather is empathetic and chaste to a fault. No bad language, no dirty thoughts, flirting and no sex. But when a satyr named Daemon steps up to her reception desk at From Crud to Stud, she finds herself on the fast track to exquisite corruption.

Daemon is the total bad-boy package with a kiss straight from the dark side. Though he’s here for a supernatural makeover, Heather can’t imagine why any red-blooded woman would want him to change.

A disciple of the god of wine, Daemon has had his share of good times. But sex has never been this good. Heather brings out a new side of him, a side that makes him want to protect as well as pillage.

But Daemon needs a little creative backup to help set his fairy’s naughtiness free. And that means bringing in Mistress Jin. Under the genie’s tutelage and Daemon’s shameless lust, Heather is about to learn what it means to let loose.

Warning: Not your typical bedtime story. May lead to indecent behavior, a taste for voyeurism, discipline, bondage, m/f, m/f/f and f/f action, which will result in screaming orgasms. Proceed with caution.

Website  –  FB  – FB Fanpage  – Twitter  –  Amazon Author Page

Welcome to my Potluck Pajama Party!

I’m not a huge fan of formal parties. Informal gatherings are more my style, with plenty of good food and lively conversation. How can you not be relaxed while wearing your pajamas? A party would be a good excuse to find a new, fun set of lounging clothes. How could that be bad?

Personally, one of my favorite party tasks is planning a menu but I love surprises and the experience of sharing other people’s favorite dishes, hence the potluck portion of my little get together.

The only venue needed will be a big room with plenty of comfortable seating that can be arranged to accommodate everyone enjoying their refreshments. It's getting cold around this time of year so I'd probably want a cozy fireplace to take the chill off and add to the ambiance. Okay, I’m officially excited but the guests list is what's making me smile.

If I get to imagine a party, then I get to imagine that my house is big enough to include everyone in the blanket invitation that I’m sending into cyberspace. I’ve met so many lovely people over the years that I’ve been a member of Romance Books ‘4’ Us that if I could manage the party of my dreams, I’d get to meet you all in person.

I’m dreaming big and hoping you all show up in your pajamas with your favorite pot luck dish, ready to have some fun! I have a harvest table with lots of room for sweet and savory dishes along with some spiced cider warming in the crock-pot.

Here’s a recipe for a fun little appetizer that we have at most of our parties. Besides being delicious, my other favorite thing about it is there are only two ingredients…

Polish Sausage in Plum Sauce

1 lb. Polish Sausage (smoked or fresh—I usually make this with fresh sausage)

1 16 oz. jar of Plum Jam

Cover Polish sausage with at least an inch of water and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain and transfer to a cutting board and slice into one inch rounds. Transfer the sausage to a small crock-pot and cover with the plum jam. Heat on low until the jam is melted and everything is hot, turn it down to warm. You can serve this with bread, crackers if you wish.

***Microwave directions. After cooking and slicing the sausage, transfer to microwave safe dish, pour on the jam, cover with a lid and microwave on high until jam is melted. It’s ready to serve.

I’m wearing my favorite plaid pajamas and arranging a sliced, smoked turkey breast on a big platter. What are you bringing?

There will be a door prize! Everyone leaving a recipe will be entered for a $5.00 Amazon gift card. The winner will be announced here and on my Facebook page. Let’s get this party started!

Paris Brandon

http://parisbrandon.com

http://twitter.com/#!/ParisBrandon

https://www.facebook.com/paris.brandon.author

A Little Gossip by Rose Anderson

Authors will tell you that some books write themselves while other stories take every last brain cell to finish. In my writing process there have been times where I've determined a story will turn out one way then it goes careening off in another direction. Where does this big shift come from? Mostly from sidebar conversations with my characters.

Every so often a secondary character will just pop into my head-- like that neighbor who wants to talk over the backyard fence when all you want to do is rake your leaves. Conversations like this take place at the craziest times too, like when I'm in a theater watching a movie or when I have a house full of guests. Fictional characters can be very rude that way. Ill-timed though they may be, I'll occasionally discover my bit characters know far more about the story than I do and bring an insider's perspective that I hadn't even considered.

I had a drop-in encounter like that when I was working on The Changeling (the story that launched a new pen name for sweeter stories). I stood washing dishes at the kitchen sink but my imagination stood in the Scottish Lowlands. I found myself at the doorstep of a centuries-old mansion just outside the town of Selkirk. When I write historical stories, each has its own distinct architecture and landscape so I recognized the mansion as Carterhaugh. The year was 1891. 

Because I love escapism as only good imagery provides, I write the sounds, smells, textures, and sights into my stories. I raised the heavy bronze door knocker in anticipation and made my presence known. Of course it sounded exactly how you'd imagine it would sound on a heavy oak door.

This door was opened by a slight woman of no more than five feet tall. By her crisp black dress and the hefty chatelaine of keys, I knew at once this was Mrs. Frew the housekeeper. She's worked here since she was twelve years old and was well into her 70's now. Her eyes sparkled with her smile when she said, “Ah Mistress Madeline! We’ve been expectin’ ye. Come in. Come in.”

My pen name was spoken with the polite and practiced tone of a woman long-employed at the top of the household hierarchy. I followed her down a hallway to an older portion of the manor where she led me into her private rooms. The charming sitting room had a cheery fire and was decorated with late-Victorian flounces and small China figurines. This space of her own was a perk for the housekeeper who oversaw the service staff, a duty she shared with the head butler Monroe.

“Please, sit doon,” she told me gesturing to the small floral-patterned settee with its finely embroidered pillows. The small basket of embroidery sitting beside her chair suggested she’d done them herself. A young woman lightly rapped at the opened door. I recognized her as chatty Winnet. The maid smiled at me and gave a slight dip of a courtesy. I could tell she’d like nothing better than to sit with us and share the household news for I’d written her exactly so.

“Ah there ye are, girl. Set it there.” Her last words came with a nod toward the small table before me. Winnet set her full tray down then curtseyed once more and was gone. Mrs. Frew saw to my tea and then her own before saying, “It’s so guid of ye t’ come, dear. I’d imagine ye have many questions and t’ tell ye the truth so do I. Perhaps we each can offer answers. ”

I said, “Perhaps we can, but first I’d like to say how well you’re looking today, Mrs. Frew. I know you’ve been feeling under the weather.”

“Och, never mind me. Mistress Madeline. Our healer Janet Roxburgh takes guid care of me. The lass has a talent for mixing healing herbs, ye know. She sees to me several times each week and all is well So what is it ye want to know?"

Her Scottish accent was exactly as I imagined while writing her--softer, more refined. I told her how happy I was she was feeling better. Then I asked how young laird Lenox was fairing at Carterhaugh.

“Oh, the young laird is a guid man, as guid as his uncle Laird Charles was, god rest his dear soul.”

Lenox was a good man. All my heroes were. At this point in the story, he had no idea he was a half-fae changeling. Being privy to the inside details as I was, I also knew Mrs. Frew had an inkling of Lenox’ true nature. Testing how willing she was to speak of it, I went straight to the point.

“Mrs. Frew, may I ask, do you notice anything unusual about Lenox?”

“Unusual?”

I nodded.

“Ye mean beyond that he’s an outsider to these parts?”

Not wanting to lead the conversation beyond my question, I nodded again.

She gave me an appraising look as if testing how trustworthy I was with sensitive information. That was a solid trait in many large households like this. The servant staff may very well talk among themselves, but they seldom shared such opinions on their lairds and ladies with outsiders. I saw when her decision lit her eyes. She said simply, “He reminds me of my cousin.”

“Oh?”

She told how her auntie had born a son much too soon and far too sickly to survive. She was only a girl at the time but explained how she had gone with her uncle when he placed the wee laddie upon a faery hill in the hopes the fae would take him away and make him well with their magic, adding, “My uncle Robbie explained that once taken, the poor sickly babe would never return. Leaving him was the only hope, ye see. An’ sure enough, come mornin’ the sickly babe was gone and a hale and hearty changeling was in his place. A changeling is a mixed-raced babe, dear, in case ye don’t know. The laddie had slightly pointed ears, but not so pointed as to be taken as a full-blooded fae.”

I asked if this was a common thing, leaving babies like that.

“Oh aye, it was common in the Highlands when I was a girl. It’s the only chance the sickly babes have, ye see. My auntie happily raised her changeling as her own, for it meant the fae had her son and were doing the same. Owen, she’d named them both.” Glynnis smiled remembering.

I hadn't set out for any of the other characters to have actual experience with a changeling. This was a very curious addition to the story and I liked it. I urged her to share more, “And you say Lenox reminds you of baby Owen?”

“Aye, his lairdship has a similar presence.”

"Please explain."

“Weel, manys the time I’d hold wee Owen and he’d set me to tingling from head to toe. It’s a sensation one never forgets, dear. That very same tingle comes from the touch of headmaster Eppa and from his daughter Janet every time she comes to treat me with her herbs. The tingling sensation also came from the hand of the new Laird of Carterhaugh.”

I’d written Mrs. Frew to be quite an astute woman. She certainly was.

“Mistress Madeline, if I may, do keep this opinion of mine to yerself, hmm? I don’t think our young laird knows what he is just yet. It would be a jarring revelation, no?”

No he didn’t know just yet, but he’d have to know eventually. His life was in danger. I reached over and gave her slight knobby fingers a squeeze of assurance. “His secret is safe with me, Mrs. Frew. Thank you for sharing your insights.”

She smiled and reaching for the plate of scones, said, “Mrs. Nevin, our cook, makes delicious scones. Do have one, dear. Now if ye don’t mind, I have a few questions myself...”

>>۞<<

The Changeling is a spin on the Scottish ballad of Tam Lin.
Listen to the ballad here.

Read all the Tam Lin versions through time

Blurb ~
Half-fae Lenox Pendry is surrounded by secrets and none are his to keep. Torn from his mother’s arms as a newborn and raised a changeling, Lenox grows to adulthood unaware of what and who he is and oblivious to the danger unfolding as his birthday draws near. Unwittingly sent to the Scottish Lowlands out of harm’s way, he meets a beautiful healer named Janet Roxburgh. The townspeople believe her to be a witch. It would appear Janet has a few secrets of her own.

BUY on AMAZON
"Madeline delivers a well thought out beautiful story with a plot that unfolds before your eye, it's very cleverly written. The characters you meet along the way are believable and the reader can relate to them."
~A Reader

>>۞<<

Stop by my blog for interesting topics all month long

http://calliopeswritingtablet.com/

Rose Anderson is a multi-published award-winning author and dilettante who loves great conversation and delights in interesting things to weave into stories. Rose also writes across genres under the pen name Madeline Archer. She lives with her family and small menagerie amid oak groves and prairie in the rolling glacial hills of the upper Midwest.

The Changeling by Madeline Archer comes from the sweeter side of Rose’s imagination and is rated PG. Find Rose Anderson's scorching novels wherever love stories are sold

Sample Rose Anderson's Scorching First Chapters 

Guest Blog: Author @ColleenSMyers shares her new #YA #Teen release

It is too easy to tell!

Isn't it just.  Everything thinks writing is about telling a story, so thus, what is so wrong about actually telling that story?  My reply to that is always fairly simple.

You know how you feel when you walk down a forest path?  The crunch of the leaves underneath your feet. That quiet  in the woods, almost expectant, yet little whispers of sound all around you? The smell of the grass, sharp yet fresh, almost like after you mow the yard but richer? The burn in your legs as you trek uphill?

Yeah you know that feeling right?  Mainly because I described exactly what is was like and your own mind paints the picture of that forest there.  Whether it be the exact picture the author has in their mind, or it is that special place where you felt all those things.  It is much more real than just outright stating. I was walking through the forest.

And that is our job as authors. In fact, I have heard from family that the picture I put on pinterest of my character inspirations do not actually match the picture they develop in their minds and it makes me smile. Because each time they say that, I know they are into my story. That they connected and I did my job.

Not only do they have to be able to visualize what we are describing though, they also have to connected.  For example, I am in a critique group with friends.  One of my main areas of strength is in description. I had when a description reads off like a list.  He had dark hair, blue eyes and a lanky body.  To me, that isn't anything I can relate too. That is a body. 

Instead I push for more.  His blue eyes twinkled at me as he brushed his midnight hair out of his eyes and leaned his ever so taut body back against the wall. The stretch of his jeans emphasized.... You get the picture? RIght?  Did I do my job?  You get an idea of what he looks like and a better idea of his personality.  Maybe he is a bit cocky, leaning back and displaying some such things... It is fascinating how easy it is to take something one-dimensional and make it more.

And it is also really, really hard to do all the time. Yes you have to occasionally tell, but without the show, it just wont be as fun!

Must Remember

Nineteen-year-old Elizabeth ‘Beta’ Camden is a survivor.

When the E’mani—those pale alien freaks—destroy Earth with a plague of madness and scoop up the remains, Beta is one of the ‘lucky’ ones. For years, she endures their tortures, experiments and games. Then one day, she manages to escape their ship with her life, and no memory of her time with them.

Stranded on their world, Beta wanders the mountains, looking for a way home. She stumbles onto the Fost—the E’mani’s ancient enemy.  Their war with the E’mani is old and rooted in magic that the Fost once had and the E’mani crave. Magic Beta soon discovers she’s developing along with strange tattoos and disturbing glimpses of her past. The Fost take her in and train her in their ways. As she spends more time with them, she falls in love with their culture and with Marin—he of the hot hands and slit eyes.

But the E’mani took her for a reason and they want her back—dead or alive. If Beta doesn’t remember that reason soon, they’re all going to die.

PG Excerpt:

Oy. No more weekday frat parties for me, no matter how noble the cause, especially when I have a test the next day. What was I thinking? And last minute cramming with a headache was not a good idea either. Forget it. My eyes drifted to the clock.

And now I was late. Damn it. With a sigh, I threw down my pencil and scrambled up, my head throbbing. I traded my Eeyore jammies for skinny jeans and a fitted white t-shirt. Shoes, where were my shoes? Gah. I ducked and rooted around in the deep, dark  spaces under my bed. Hmm, the green dress I borrowed from Sarah. Mental note: I need to return that. English book, various dust bunnies of uncertain lineage…there.

Sketchers on, I grabbed my backpack, turned up my iPod, and ran out the door. No time to primp.

Good thing the campus I lived on was small. There was a big central courtyard—the quad—filled with towering oak trees and wide-open spaces surrounded by squat school buildings and classrooms. If I hurried, I’d make it…

I raced into the quad out of breath and slowed, turning in a complete circle.

Huh.

No one around. Unease skittered through me on soft paws. The courtyard was always busy. I pulled my headphones out of my ears. Was there some sort of event I didn’t know about going on?

The unnatural silence pressed in on me for a second as the echoes of my steps faded.

Then screams—men’s and women’s—poured from Main Street. I broke into a run and shot between the buildings toward the sound.

Cars littered the intersection. Some guy rear-ended someone else, causing a chain reaction down the road. A horn blared nearby and a faint breeze blew the smell of gasoline, smoke, and copper my way. Clusters of people stood among the wreckage.

Purchase Links:

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016ST45VQ

Barnes & Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/must-remember-colleen-s-myers/1122819235 

Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/must-remember

ARe https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-mustremember-1907134-153.html

Champagne books http://champagnebooks.com/store/index.php?id_product=622&controller=product

Google Books https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Colleen_S_Myers_Must_Remember?id=hYHCCgAAQBAJ

iBooks link available soon

Short Author Bio:

Colleen plays many roles. Not only is she a veteran, a mother, and a practicing physician, but she is a writer of science fiction and contemporary romances. Colleen’s dreams include surviving her son’s teenage years, exploring every continent on this planet, except Antartica, cause that’s way too cold, and winning the Nobel peace prize. Dream BIG! Currently she is releasing her first novel, MUST REMEMBER with Champagne Books. You can also look for her at Three Rivers Romance Writers.

Author Links:

Website: http://csmyersmusings.com

Blog: http://www.csmyersmusings.com/blog/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ColleenSMyers

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ColleenSMyers

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/csmyers3637

Google + : https://plus.google.com/u/0/114862374558510360435/posts

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/14553363.Colleen_S_Myers

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Colleen-S.-Myers/e/B016XCBKA2

It's November already? Let's PARTY !!

Better late than never, isn't that what they say?

I am so sorry for almost missing my day blogging today.  The start to November has been a rough one.  First may i give my condolences to Fran Lee.  While I didn't know her, i feel for the friends and loved ones that did.  Any time we lose a member of our 'author team' we all feel the loss deeply!

Thanks again for being patient with me !

So again we are off to a new month and a new start.  November 2nd has come !

Our writing topics this month are:

Birthstone and Flower
Citrine (or Topaz) - healing quartz; support, vitality and health
Chrysanthemum(white chrysanthemum, absolute truth and fidelity; red, love)
OR Theme
Best party ever! Real or imagined, the party of your dreams and your guest list

I think the BEST PARTY EVER sounds pretty good to me, and fun :)

I've definitely given my share of parties with 4 kids in the house but those were always for someone else. I definitely like the planning process but it's way easier to plan for kids than adults.   No way would i be up for a surprise party either.  My hubby has inquired and i threatened him with his life :)

 My idea of the BEST PARTY EVER i think would be a book party.  But don't laugh.  Does it make me lame?

 I love being an author and i think it would be pretty cool to get big enough to go on a national book tour but to start out with a big party at my house.  

Attendees would definitely be all the family that could come and then all my author friends.  

I'm always jealous to hear about the book conventions and conferences everyone goes to throughout the year because i've wanted to go to one forever.  With 4 kids at home though, makes it kind of tough to go away by myself for that long.  Not sure the hubs would have the patience to handle the kids on his own for that long lol. 

Until then, i'll  live vicariously through others as i see them partying away on facebook :)

What's your idea of...

THE BEST PARTY EVER??

*********

Thanks for stopping by!

In Memoriam of Fran Lee, Romance Author, Mother, and Friend to so many

For those who did not have the pleasure of knowing Fran here is just a little bit about her...

Award winning romance author Fran Lee was born in California, migrated East at age one (not alone, of course) to a small town in Nevada, where she spent her formative years. At age fourteen she was uprooted again, and ended up in Utah.

So when the outside world gets shaken up twice, what's a girl to do but create a world (or many worlds) of her own?

By the time she was in high school, Fran had read over 900 books. Her love for reading had blossomed quite naturally into a love for writing. By age fourteen, Fran had begun to accumulate a large cache of mushy, angst-filled romances that shall, thankfully, never see the light of day. But the seed was sown.

Writing serious romances began in the mid 1980's. Unfortunately, her first submission was met with blushes and gasps from those publishers specializing in romance. "Too hot for our line". "Not a genre we publish." What they were trying to say was, "Try Penthouse or Playboy."

Setting aside her writing for a couple of years (twenty-three to be exact) Fran finished raising three great kids, continued to work a public service job she loved, and only after she decided to retire, did she try her hand at getting published again. Pulling out that same dusty novel that had gotten rejected for being too explicit so long ago, she spruced it up for the 21st century, then shot it off to a publisher well known for erotic novels.

For another reject.

Not willing to take 'no' for an answer again, she asked "why?" The answer came back instantly..."not hot enough."

A quick rewrite got a contract, and in less than seven years, Fran has become a multipublished author, with over two dozen books published and more being released shortly...

Fran... you dear soul, you will be missed. And although you may be gone, you will never be forgotten. xoxo

With love,

The ladies from Romance Books 4 Us