Beautiful Weather.

It is bright and sunshiney outside. 77 degrees! And I feel like it is summer. After months of winter, we finally caugh a break. Took my laptop outside and wrote on the desck and it was awesome.....

Beef Burgundy

So, I had the best dinner last night. I made beef burgundy for my family and I will be doing it  again very soon. I took chunks of beef roast and browned it in olive oil. Then, I tossed in an entire large onion (chopped roughly), two garlic gloves, two leaves of fresh sage, one small carrot, one stalk of celery. I added two cups of beef broth , one cup of wine to the pan and then transferred it to a Dutch Oven. I cooked it for an hour and a half. Then, added chopped mushrooms for the last ten minutes. I served it with mashed potatoes.  Next time,I'm going to make herbed noodles with it. It was delicious! Like, bathe in the broth kind of delicious. So good! If you are looking for a delicious fall meal, this is a terrific option....

Angels Take Manhattan

Doctor Who is continually changing. New creative directors, new Doctors, and new companions. I know this but I was so sorry to see The Ponds leave Doctor Who. I love Amelia (Amy Pond).  The first image of her as a little girl always sticks in my mind. She is frank, funny, and feisty. She never put up with the Doctor's crap and she always had the will to go against him when needed. I was more lukewarm about Rory, Amy's husband.

Seeing them get taken out by a Weeping Angel was so hard. For one, those things creep me out. Any statue could be one. And they are just eerily patient. Scampering closer to you while you are otherwise occupied. Its just wrong!

The metanarration on this episode was terrific. The Doctor told us he always rips the last page out of a book because he "doesn't like endings". And true to form, he railed against Amy leaving him. Watching the pain on his face when Amy leaves him to join Rory in the past, a past the Doctor can never visit, is nearly unbearable.Yet, I'm glad that Rory and Amy will be together in the 1930s. That is hopeful. I couldn't have taken it if they died.

We were left with a teaser trailer for the Christmas episode, featuring Oswin, the Doctor's new companion. We met her in the first episode. She had become a Dalek and was destroyed in the Dalek's Asylum. I can't wait to see how Steven Moffat gets her out of that one. Or perhaps gets a hold of her in another timeline?

But, Ponds, you will be missed!

Howl is out today!

Know what I love? Release day. The day your work comes out is just a little bit like Christmas and your birthday all roled into one package. Since Howl features a werewolf and a vampire, I consider it to be a very hot and sexy read for this cool fall weather. You can find it here.

Book Blurb:

To escape madness, Scarlet Rhodes made a magical pact to serve as a blood slave and sexual plaything to Hayden, a powerful vampire. But while Scarlet is a treasured pet, she’s never captured his heart. When Hayden bids her to sexually service a handsome werewolf named Rand Stamper, she finds herself falling for him. In and out of bed.

Rand has come to Fairfax Manor to secure the southern hunting grounds for his pack, but finds himself distracted by the vampire’s blood slave. Their passion is undeniable, and he has the urge to take her with him and make Scarlet his own.

Seeing his sexy human slave with the swaggering wolf awakens feelings for Scarlet that Hayden wasn’t even certain he was capable of anymore. But he can’t blame his pet. Despite the unfamiliar feelings of jealousy, he finds himself drawn to the wolf also. If he plays his hand right, in the end he might be able to keep Scarlet and the werewolf for himself.

The Simple Joy of Being Reviewed

To paraphrase Sally Field, "you like me, you really like me." Ah, yes, the simple joy of receiving a good book review. Back in the day, when I was a humble fanfiction writer (wrote in the Buffy and Harry Potter genres), the reviews I would receive from readers would be my "payment" for writing. And I treasured every one. Even the ones that were constructive criticism. Note I said constructive, not just nasty snarkyness for the sake of  being nasty. ;)

It is still the same when a book reviewer takes the time to read my work and give me feedback. I love the praise and the constructive criticism. I think, like any art form, writing needs to be read in order to be considered, not necessarily appreciated. Unlike performance artists, writers often don't get to see someone reading and enjoying his/her work. So, any sort of feedback is tremendous. I think I like it more than receiving a royalty check. Yes, I'm serious.

Information about my novella is here.  You can read a review here. Or here.  Thank you so much to reviewers for taking the time to read it. I really appreciate it.

Writing the Sexy Stuff

Romance novels are all about the love story. We know that the emotional roller coaster the heroine and hero go on should be a bumpy one and take us all along for the ride. Its jangled nerves, resistance, stolen glances.

And with love, comes sex. Romance novels have been getting progressively more sexual which ups the ante when it comes to writing the love scene. And writing this love scene is perilous. For example, what if you write the love scene too soon and you lose that sexual tension? Then, you bore your readers silly.  So, you add in some coitus interuptus scenes to tease the audience and ramp up the said tension. But eventually, you must capitulate and write the love scene.


Then it comes down to creativity. Where and when does this occur? In his bachelor apartment bed? In a fevered rush before they even leave the house for a date? Did they meet by chance and have a one night stand, only to run into each other again? Decisions. Decisions. All of these details say a lot about the characters.

We can't forget about  the emotional either.  Are these two characters emotionally ready for the committment? Is this going to change their friendship? Working relationship? Etc?

 What happens after the sex? Are they sorry they had sex? Wish it was more than knocking boots? The emotional entanglement resulting from said sex is also complex. What I am trying to say is that sex is never just sex in a romance novel. And I think that is what makes it so great!

Obsessed with All Things Spy

So I am in the middle of a CIA obsession.

I have been reading the Bourne novels and watching the movies. I'm in the middle of an Alias marathon. I have also gotten into Covert Affairs starring Piper Perabo. I loved her in Coyote Ugly and she is just as wonderful in the new show.I have also gotten a book on spy lingo and a book on special forces hand-to-hand combat.

Basically, I'm working on my research for the new novel I'm working on. Also, prepping for Candace Havens workshop starting next week. I'm super exicted for novel boot camp!