Anne Douglas

Acronyms Ahoy!

2010-01-24T14:04:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/FpWur)
The husband told me that 2010 would be the year I'd have to move from being a S/WAHM back to a WOHM, unless I had a book hidden away that came with a 'very nice deal' advance attached to it. Alas, that 'very nice deal' wasn't even a sparkle in this authors eye, so it was looking for jobs for me.

Frankly, I'd not thought to find something as fast as I did - I sent out a resume on Monday, heard from an employer Wednesday, and by Friday I had a job offer in hand. It seems I was just the right person in the right place at the right time, WAHOO! Well, wahoo kinda...

I'd worked right trough my 99/00 pregnancy, then after a few months off had gone back to work again, but then in Sept 2001 we came to the USA. While my husband had a valid visa for work, I didn't so I became an enforced SAHM. And that way I stayed until Jan 2010. Eight long years out of the workforce, so it was a little nerve wracking to know that in just two days I'd be back amongst the working again.

That first half a week? OMG what a killer - I was in bed and deep asleep by 9pm each night. Last week at least I managed to get all the way through Castle on Monday and Fringe on Thursday :) Forget about housework... and writing.

This week though I have grand plans of being a together and with-it WOHM. At least an hour each night dedicated to writing - more if I'm not having to prop my eyes open with toothpicks.

It sounds sad to say it, but it's taking some work to get back to being a normal working person - you know the one that doesn't fall face first into her bed when she gets home, but first makes dinner, catches a tv show, does some craft/oddjobs (in my instance, filling orders from Anne's Addictions), and puts some time in on her hobby before heading for some well earned zzz.

I used to be able to, hopefully it won't take too much longer to get back into the habit 'cause I've got stories to get written!

(PS. For the acronym impaired: SAHM - stay at home mother, WAHM - work at home mother, WOHM work out of home mother)

(PPS. I'm back working in an Optometry Practice - oh my, how insurance makes things sooo different)

Come hear me... & some changes afoot...

2010-01-09T20:37:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/Tvybo)
This Sunday (Jan 10th) I'll be a guest on Kink on Tap, a once weekly talkshow/podcast run by MayMay and Emma.

Remember me telling you about the wonderful website May runs, MaleSubmissionArt.com? Well, one of May's other works is Kink for All (unconferences designed to speak openly, frankly and positively about all types of sexuality) and part of that again is Kink on Tap. Male Submission Art supplied me with many of the images that were used as inspiration for His Intimate Submission. May picked up on some of those link backs and commented here, and from there invited me to talk about being an author wanting to write about male submission in a positive and romantic light (well sort of, HIS is erotica after all :) ).

So that's where you'll find me from about 7.30est tomorrow night - though the show doesn't officially start until 8pm est. Please do come along and participate in the chat room, the topics will be wide and varied that's for sure (you can see some of the things tagged for possible discussion on Kink on Tap's delicious feed). You never know who might be there, and frankly there are some interesting folks, with some interesting kinks that have all sorts of relevant things to say. (Jury's still out on if I will be at all interesting or relevant :) )

Now, those changes... Seems I've gone and gotten myself a job. More details to come once it's all official.

Totally off topic...

2010-01-03T18:20:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/ZsmSL)
Has anyone by chance run across any papers/works/blogs relating corsetry of say 1600-1900 to enforced chastity/sexual repression of women and possibly linked to puritanical views of the church re women and sex?

Just a touch out there, no? But the mind takes you in strange directions at times :)

2010

2009-12-31T16:17:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/bGZUs)
Yes, 2010 is right here on the doorstep, knocking insistently to be let in.

Would it be rude to tell it to bugger off because I've gotten exactly one, yes 1 thing of the ten on my list done this year? Hmm, maybe I should be welcoming it with open arms because, yes, I think 2009 can go on the 'oh, that year? it was forgettable' list.

So. Tweeps have been doing this 'Word for 2010' thing. This year my word is PullyourheadouttayourarseandDOIT!

That's not one word? I beg to differ. Productivity.

And she says with great zeal: I WILL be productive this year!

Feel free to publicly flay me if by March there isn't a new SOLD post on this blog.

Interview & Tidbits

2009-12-17T09:48:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/a9DxB)
Come over to Lynn Crain's blog to find out more about me, and about His Intimate Submission

The first review for HIS from BookBinge:

"Douglas is very effective at building the foundation of mutual respect and desire between Lucy and Jason. It’s clear in how carefully Lucy researches the lifestyle that she really cares about Jason and wants the experience to be fulfilling for him."

"...the story features very hot sexual encounters between a couple who are both likeable and clearly seem to care deeply for each other"

And from @girrlitsbooks on twitter: 'Loved it! Want another story with them! ' & 'loved the characters and the learning IYKWIM' & 'It worked for this reader'

And Bookbinge on Curious Intimacies:

'Anne Douglas has a strong imagination, and while this novella is only 44 pages, it’s well written. Douglas does a nice job of giving the reader enough information about Shane’s friendship with Jason, as well as laying the foundation of Lucy and Jason’s relationship, so that the encounter is plausible.'

Chatting today at Bookbinge

2009-12-16T12:45:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/9hSYJ)
I'm blogging today over at thebookbinge.com about how my hero in His Intimate Submission isn't the 'sterotypical' male submissive. Please come over and chat with me about how you feel about female domination and male submission.

Available today! His Intimate Submission

2009-12-16T09:59:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/qSdo8)

Months ago, on a hot Florida night, three friends explored one another. It’d been good enough that they’d explored together some more.

But while the sex is as amazing as ever between the couple, Jason’s shutting Lucy out of the everyday things. He’s searching. Lucy doesn’t know what Jason is seeking, but she’s scared that might mean leaving her behind. It’s time for her to pull up her big girl panties and figure out what’s wrong before things go really bad.

Jason surprises her—he’s not cheating and he’s not about to leave her, but he has an overwhelming desire he’s worried to admit. Lucy will have to demand her lover’s intimate submission to set them back on the path to happiness.

Reader Advisory: Contains a little male/male action, ménage elements, and some veryerotic female domination. (And, um…did we mention the enema scene? Hey, don’t knock it ’til you’ve read it.) This is the continuation of Jason and Lucy’s story, which started in Curious Intimacies. While this book can be read as a stand-alone, do you really want to miss the events that led them here?

Buy Link

Anne's Addictions: New Sony Reader covers available now!

2009-12-11T16:25:00.002-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/XDF74)
Giving or receiving a Sony Reader for Christmas or Hanukkah? Or maybe just needing to jazz up your existing device? There are some new covers up at the Anne's Addictions Etsy store that just might be your thing.

Etsy
Buy Handmade
annesaddictions

A LOLcat Challenge

2009-12-10T11:20:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/6x5yv)
Those of you who follow me on twitter will know that I rescued a kitten about six weeks ago now, I think it is. RK as I call him on twitter (Rescue Kitty aka Meep) has had, well, some interesting moments. Peeing in the middle of my bed - more than once - being one of the more unpopular ones. But there have been some very funny moments (as kittens often have) like this one:

I'd say I've got no idea how he got up there (the curtain rail above the sliding door), but I hazard my curtains have quite a number of holes in them now. *sigh*

So instead of boring you all with another post about *cough*how great my next story will be *cough* I'd thought I'd run a caption contest LOLcat style

So, give it your best shot (and ignore my bad painting job, I plan on putting up molding...one day, I swear!) and I'll send you some Anne stuff (mini cooler for your lunch, book bag, maybe even an Anne's Addictions Reader cover if you've got a device etc).

PS. I better put an end date - how about Dec 20th. Then I'll run a poll for the best caption for the winner :) )

A New Release Date 12/16/09!

2009-11-27T19:33:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/JyWoj)
I've got the official word that His Intimate Submission will be available the 16th of December. The book page.

And the excerpt (the first short chapter, in fact).

YAY! LOL, I just squeaked a release into 2009 :)

Cover Art - His Intimate Submission

2009-11-07T10:13:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/lhsua)
I wasn't quite sure what they'd come up with for cover art. I mean when you say 'well, there's a bit of fetish involved, but I don't think you'll want to go there, oh and she fucks him with a strapon...you could use that if you like?' It's a bit of a tough one to pick.

And while chains don't feature, I don't think this does a bad job of portraying my kinda bi, kinda conflicted sexy boss man who likes it when his girlfriend Tops him. Not a bad job at all. Thanks Syneca!

[caption id="attachment_588" align="aligncenter" width="413" caption="His Intimate Submission Cover"][/caption]

Working on Edits / Stepping into BDSM

2009-11-01T17:30:00.002-05:00

Other than the eleventy-billion "remove comma" (sorry B) edits are moving along well on His Intimate Submission. No release date yet as we're not quite finished, but cross fingers it might well be quite quick since edits are going so fast.

I've not written anything that's had a direct link into BDSM before -- assuming you associate all FemDom with BDSM that is. BDSM's been something that I've felt a little uncomfortable jumping into the middle of, possibly because I have a different response than many when it comes to who should be on top -- yes, the old Women-want-to-let-it-all-go-and-not-be-in-charge rubs me a little the wrong way -- and frankly, I just don't want to do it 'wrong' (of which there are many levels of, depending on the person).

: Originally, His Intimate Submission was titled Subtle Domination. This picture from malesubmissionart.com is exactly the type of feeling I was going for. Submission has many facets, and simple and sweet was the side I wanted to portray. This image links to Male Submission Art - maymay gives wonderful, insightful commentary on what it means to be a male submissive, you should check it out!

I really, I mean really, wanted to write a story about a guy -- a fairly straight guy -- who wanted something different...and that different was to be the one taken charge of in the bedroom. Really, when I revised and finally hit on how to make the story work in Curious Intimacies Jason was written with wanting to tell this other story about him in mind (and Shane too, I've have an evil plan afoot for him). I didn't want Jason's story to be about the Top declaring him a true sub he just had to realise it, nor did I think Jason was at all into the whole pain side of things. So how to do it then?

It turned out in someways it was pretty simple as there's this other thing that bugs me some about a number of BDSM romances - very few Dom/mes are ever inexperienced. They just seem to have sprouted up knowing how to wield a whip and paddle -- but seriously, while you might be born with the need to be dominant, you aren't born with some sort of implanted genetic history on how to go about kink. (This is a personal thing -- I've a fondness for telling kiddo when he gives up on something after the first try that all the people who are really good at X got that why by practicing their arses off.)

So, I figured we're (me and the characters) all new to the game lets just let it play out exactly like that -- Lucy and Jason both have to feel their way into the next level of their relationship by discovering how to be what the other needs. And sometimes that's fun and other times pretty freaking scary, and sometimes...pretty kinky even if it is kinda vanilla :)

So while His Intimate Submission isn't full on BDSM since it just puts a toe or two in the water and swishes around a little to see how it feels (the same way your or I might to find out how it all fits), the strap-ons, dildos...and just a little bit of fetish involved means it's not quite vanilla either.

Hrmmm. Marketing is going to be a real PITA on this one isn't it... my Vanilla BDSM Fetish Beginner FemDom KindaBiGuy book...

SOLD!

2009-10-16T08:24:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/81m5e)
So it's no secret that 2009 has not been the booming, productive year I planned out way back in January. I totally own up to it--there's no great reason other than I just didn't get myself together and let myself get bogged down with my involvement in EPICs eBook Competition. But, I can now say 2009 wasn't a total failure as I've sold a novella - His Intimate Submission - to EC.

His Intimate Submission follows on from Curious Intimacies. Here's the blurb I sent in:

Months ago, on a wickedly hot Floridian night, three friends let loose and explored unexpected sides of their sexuality. It’d been good. So good they’d explored some more.

But lately, when it’s just her and Jason together doing everyday things, Jason’s shutting Lucy out. Oh, she’s not concerned Jason’s decided to bat for the other team fulltime—sex between the two of them is still as amazing as ever—but the rest of their relationship is strained. Jason’s searching, for what Lucy doesn’t know, but she's scared that illusive something means leaving her behind. It’s time for her to pull up her big girl panties and figure out what’s wrong before things go from bad to worse. And for her, worse would mean total heartbreak.

Lucy couldn’t have anticipated Jason’s response, though. He's not cheating and he's not about to leave her, but he needs something all right. Something that involves overwhelming desires he fears to admit.

Lucy will have to take the upper hand and demand her lover’s intimate submission to set them back on the path to happiness

You can find me on facebook

2009-09-06T09:54:00.002-05:00

**eeek, just only now realised something is very wring with these links :( but they're fixed now **

I've been trying very hard to stay away from Facebook. Not because I think it's some evil empire (although, maybe, just a weeeee bit, it is) but a gal's got to say no somewhere to all the social media that abounds.

But since everyone I know keep gong on about 'oh, I posted it on Facebook a week ago!' I figured I better get with the program and voila! An Anne Douglas Facebook Page.

Now I just have to hope I've done it the way I'm supposed to, rofl, cause I hate asking dumb questions that have folks giving me that ' sigh...newbies!' look :)

Now, if only I could figure out how to make one of those cutsie button widget things to put in my sidebar...

Meta - why is it so hard?

2009-08-31T11:26:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/OsV9D)
Being that I've moved to using my Sony Reader for all eBooks, I fired up Calibre (if you're not using this, why not?) to add on my EPIC competition reading and winced when I saw what came up.

Ouch!!! And that's about the nicest thing I can say about the meta mess that the majority of the files came with. I'm not going to even touch formatting...

1. The majority of them did not come up with the Authors name attached. Editors, office, authors real names, unknown... the formatting?? company, but authors? Not so much.

2. Microsoft Word - Book name _ gobbledygook.doc is NOT a Book title, neither should it say thisismybookdontworryaboutpunctunationorspaces.

3. Of 20, only 3 had tags (crucial for being able to catalogue).

4. None of the 20 had the blurb attached.

(Image snitched from the Calibre Wiki rather than screen shotted to protect the guilty)

Really, it's not hard to get this stuff together. Publishers, download a program like Calibre (hey, it's FREE, hello!) and make sure your files shine meta-wise so your end users don't have to do your job for you - believe me, it peeves us off no end.

Authors: there's something here for you to learn, too. Open your ms in Word, File>Properties>Summary and enter the data yourself right from the beginning. If your publisher overwrites it with their own data, no harm, no foul. But if they don't, at least the title of the book, and who knows... your name is on your book.

New Anne's Addictions Covers

2009-08-09T11:51:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/49cR0)

Etsy
Buy Handmade
annesaddictions

Just a little something awww

2009-08-08T20:47:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/ESM0n)
If I've done this right ,on annedouglas.com/blog an MP3 of kiddo's Summer Camp Chorus singing part of We are the World will show up...hopefully.

7_30_09 4_25 PM

Stupid me didn't think about the voice notes function on her iPhone until this far through *mommyfail!*

Like the new look?

2009-07-27T10:29:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/eRorx)
I decided that after all my hunting I didn't like the one column blog style, so I broke out the CS3 and used up my about to expire credits at istockphoto.com and voila! Now just to get the entry page done :)

I've had quite a rush of people emailing me over the last few weeks asking about Huntingdawn 3, and just what is going to happen with the prophecy. Well, I can't tell you that now, can I, but I've finally (big heaving sigh of relief) finished off the follow on from Curious Intimacies (tentatively titled Subtle Domination) and despatched it to my editor, so on to Huntingdawn 3 it is!

I've already gotten a couple of thousand words into Dave and Betty's story - an odd pair of names, right? Originally Betty was supposed to be a dragon... I sooooo wanted her to be a dragon, but the editor nixed that idea *sob*. A dragon, named Betty, mated up to a bobcat Were called Dave... hilarious, no? So I had to come up with a different beast with wings.

I think the working title of The Owl and the Pussycat might give away where I'm heading :)

How about a very rough excerpt to give you a little taste of the heroine and her entry into Rockville.

Betty eyed the small green sign that announced the city limits of Rockville, population approx thirty-five thousand and wondered if it was a federal offense to kick it to the ground and stomp on it with definite intent to do bodily harm.

“Knowing my luck lately, it would be.” Instead, she parked her butt against the upright of the sign, leaned over and dug around in her shoe for the Rock-of-Gibraltar-sized stone that had worked its way in there. She put her foot back down with a sigh of relief, and opened her hand to inspect her evil nemesis, The Rock, only to find it was nothing more than a piece of gravel—a tiny one at that.

“Damn it!” Limping back to the middle of the barely two-lane road she turned, snarled at the sign and launched her petty turn of revenge. Tiny as it was it only made a tinny clink against the metal, not a nice, resounding clunk, but it was enough to satisfy a portion of her indignation.

“Why-oh-why did I have the radio so loud?” With her hand up, shading her eyes, Betty peered back along the road trying to see her abandoned car. Nothing. Not even a glint off the flaking chrome bumper. If she hadn’t been enjoying the day, windows down, wind in her hair, rocking out to music she might have caught the knock-knock noise sooner. Like back near a garage, not four-miles-from-anywhere sooner. It’s not like she shouldn’t have expected it—the radio and speakers were the only thing not original on the damn car.

If wishes were horses… Who am I kidding? I’m allergic to horses, I’d still be walking. And while she did have another option, the need to keep a low profile ruled that out.

Aching legs and ankles protesting she swung back around to the city sign and gave it a final one-fingered salute before resuming her trudge toward the city dragging her bag behind her.

OmniLit.com

2009-07-20T11:34:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/CB4ik)
I've made no secret that I think the folks over at ARe do great things for authors, so I thought I'd post their latest endeavour - OmniLit.com

All Romance Announces the launch of OmniLit™, Bringing eBooks Directly into the Homes and Digital Devices of Readers of All Genres
Palm Harbor, FL (PRWEB) July 21, 2009 – The owners of All Romance™, an independent on-line bookstore specializing in the sale of romance eBooks, announced today the launch of OmniLit.com, a new site dedicated to the sale of fiction and non-fiction eBooks.

"The overwhelming success of the All Romance site spurred the expansion," said Barbara Perfetti, the company's Chief Financial Officer. "The publishing world is poised on the brink of an eBook explosion and we want to be ready on the forefront to meet that demand."

OmniLit will offer genres currently not available on the All Romance site, including best sellers from some of the biggest names in publishing, as well as offerings from small, midsized, and indie presses. Customers will be able to select from hundreds of thousands of titles, everything from mainstream, children's, and speculative fiction, to books on health & fitness, cooking, travel, and business.

"Readers used to the convenience of All Romance's easy to navigate site and unsurpassed customer service can expect to find the same at OmniLit," said Chief Operating Officer, Lori James. "Our goal is to hold on to what we believe are the best qualities of both the larger chain bookstores and the smaller independents, then offer that in digital. OmniLit's customers will have the advantage of choice and a technically streamlined shopping experience, but t hey will also receive personalized service and support."

All Romance eBooks, LLC was founded in 2006, is privately held in partnership, and headquartered in Palm Harbor, Florida. The company owns All Romance (allromanceebooks.com), which specializes in the sale of romance eBooks and OmniLit (omnilit.com) which sells both fiction and non-fiction eBooks.

New Anne's Addictions Covers

2009-07-13T14:36:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/x1BVZ)

2010 EPIC's eBook Competition

2009-07-11T14:48:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/Km6cw)
EPIC is ramping up for our annual EBook Competition, one of the premier contests in the e-book and e-publishing world. Please be sure you read ALL of EPIC’s 2010 EBook Competition Guidelines as some of you may be surprised by the changes that have been made to the competition this year:

Codes and Divisions: Please be sure you understand how this might affect your entry.

Entries must be an “as sells” e-book with a publication date between October 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009.

Entries must be submitted in non-DRM PDF format.

This competition is inclusive for GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bi, and Transexual) works; meaning EVERY category is open for this style of writing.

EPIC’s EBook Competition will open for submission entries from July 15, 2009 through August 15, 2009 midnight (CST) ONLY.

Mark your calendar for March 4 – 7, 2010, and come join us in New Orleans, Louisiana for EPIC’s Annual Conference. This is an excellent opportunity to mingle with artists, authors, publishers, and industry professionals while learning more about e-books and the e-publishing world. You can be one of the first to learn the competition’s NEW name and see winners accept their awards at EPIC’s Annual Conference Gala Award Ceremony banquet.

Please check www.epicauthors.com for more information.

And remember: the competition opens 12:01 am, July 15th and closes to entries 12:01 am, August 16th.

Blogtalkradio - the interview

2009-07-03T06:43:00.002-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/BbeS7)
The Interview:

I’d not done a blogtalkradio slot before, it was quite fun (and I didn't even sound too dorky, but I rambled a bit...ask anyone I have a habit of doing that).

I think I’ll have to look out for another opportunity to do it again!

Blogtalk Radio - July 2nd

2009-07-02T15:45:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/awAtn)
A little late in the piece, I know, but I totally flaked on remembering to post about this.

Along with Debi Sullivan (Chair of the EPIC's eBook Competition), I will be talking about the the EPIC's eBook Competition and this years change to be totally inclusive of GLBT with Lara Zielinsky on her Lesbian & Bi BlogTalkRadio show.

It won't start to late EST, but if you'd like to find out more please feel free to surf over and listen at http://ping.fm/9fDFn

Hopefully we won't get lost in the 'land of not understanding a thing Anne says' because of the Kiwi accent! :)

Ménage a trois by any other name

2009-06-18T19:59:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/Y6LrW)
Originally posted at Selena Illyria's blog during Ménage week

It’s the stuff of fantasies for many, a lifestyle for a few, and a deep commitment for even less, but what is really in a name?

Ménage a trois: French, literally, household for three. It appears such a melodic phrase, doesn’t it? But oh what a tortured history it weaves. Modern interpretation is as ‘threesome’, a sex act, but in fact it is oh so much more.

While of course, the concept of a household of three is longstanding; they are by no means peaceful, nor as simple as ‘just sex’ if history is anything to go by (sex, simple? Lol). Take Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire from approx. the Regency period as an example. She was usurped in her husbands affections by her best friend, and until the day she died was tied into an unhappy marriage and forced to cohabitate with her husband and his much preferred mistress. In opposition to that, by all appearances–even though her life was not at all easy–Lady Emma Hamilton of the same era lived with both her husband and her lover Lord Nelson in apparent harmony until the men’s deaths, only to later die in penury.

Fairly tragic indeed, I must say, but if we fast-forward to today, has it changed much? In essence, I think not much, yet in a wider scale, immensely so. In an age where our sexualities are much more open, people find it easier to embrace some of the sexual opportunities of a threesome–or at least their fantasies of a ménage a trois. But the actuality of living the lifestyle, I don’t know that it’s any easier, but…well, that’s a post for another day.

But what about those late-night-get-you-off fantasies? Because to be sure, a threesome is not a ménage a trois, but ménage a trois is much like polyamory (loving more than one/ responsible non-monogamy)–which is not to be confused with polygamy.

Confused? Let me explain.

No doubt you’ve seen amongst the erotic romance publishers the terms mmf/mfm/fmf or even ffm, they’re all ménage, right? Well indeed, if you’ve got this far, you’ve no doubt figured where I’m going with this–these things are indeed not all like the other. While, indeed they are all an indicator of multiple partner sex in between the covers, it’s not a be all and end all of what’s in the book.

For example: In my first book, Persuading Jo (mmf), two bisexual men have long been keen on their best girl, but not just for some one off sex games, but as an intricate part of their lives. An expansion on the wife, two kids and picket fences deal if you like–only in this scenario there are two husbands and a wife… At the end of the day, these three people are going to spend their lives together as one family unit– ménage a trois at it’s most literal, and polyamorous, the situation of loving more than one.

Now in total opposition to that in Par 3 (mfm), a husband and wife are both separately wondering if their marriage has run its course, while at the same time hoping it hasn’t.

It’s the outrageous suggestion by a friend of a threesome to kick-start their waning sex life that’s at the heart of this story. In this instance, I class this story as a threesome. I also put Curious Intimacies in this group too, even though it comes with the mmf classification. My main reason–because at the end of the day it’s just all about the sex between the three. There’s plenty of love, of course, between our main couple (in these two cases m/f), and much affection between them and their third, but that’s where it ends. It’s arousing and daring and outrageous, but fleeting…at least as far as the sex goes, anyway; it’s an experience, not at all a lifestyle. (but oh man, what an experience!)

But that’s not to say all mfm books are threesomes. Witch Vamp Were? is a case in point. The trio of Witch, Vampire and Were end up in a committed polyamorous relationship, but rather than a sexual circle where the sexual loving goes in all directions, it’s a little more linear with the heroine being in the center receiving love from both ends. The ends don’t touch…well, that’s the theory, anyway. Sometimes I wonder if I might let that line might get a little wiggly.

At the end of the day, what does this mean to you, the reader? Well, what it does mean is that you get your fantasies fulfilled either way. Whether it’s a sexy, naughty one off encounter that you and your lover have with a stranger (or indeed a close friend), or a story about sexual fluidity that allows you to vicariously live loving more than just one partner, we ménage authors have got you covered.

Man it's hot out!

2009-06-17T07:52:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/5n5zn)
It seems Summer has finally decided to arrive in all it's hot and humid glory. With it came the fleas. ACK!

I sent out my WIP to my usual suspect critique partners plus a couple of new suspects-specifically chosen because of their interest in BDSM and Femdom in particular. I received some awesome advice on the BDSM aspect of the story from one of the new suspects so I'm busily revising. Our little group of cp's is quite varied, so I always get some good suggestions from them, but I think it was a good thing for me to try someone a little more 'specialised' this time as an extra pair of eyes. It will make Subtle Domination a much stronger work, I think.

Touch wood, I might just have the writing mojo back :)

Anne Who?

2009-06-07T12:24:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/I7kKC)
No, I've not contracted swine flu nor fallen of the face of the earth - just fallen into the twittersphere instead. (You can find me twittering daily at http://ping.fm/lEZMP please feel free to come poke sticks and make jeering comments.)

Life, combined with volunteering to co-Chair on the EPIC eBook Awards has got me just a tad tied up with things lately, but I think I might have finished my first story for 2009 - even if it is only just a short one.

I seem to have gotten a little of my writing mojo back (said mojo took an unexpected vacation earlier in the year, mutter *fickle bastard!* mutter). YAY!

Romantic Times eBook expo/fair

2009-04-20T15:54:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/43wqn)
As it turned out despite proximity, this year was not to be my year to get to the Romantic Times convention. I think there's more than a few authors and readers finding cons not quite so easy to get to this year...but that's how the cookie crumbles at times.

But, I have convinced hubster to work from home for Wednesday afternoon so I can skip down to Orlando (okay, really it's a 2.5 hr drive each way...yes, I live to torture my currently crotchety hip) so I can go to Wednesday afternoon's eBook expo/suthor signing event... as a reader :)

So I'll be there - momentarily - autograph book in hand with my name splashed on my back. So if you see me, please feel free to say hi!

Anne

The White Room

2009-04-18T14:34:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/EWgbY)
There's a blog I watch via Google reader that serves up some deliciousness when it comes to decorating/crafting and things possibly a little kitschy. I've been exposed to all sorts of little off beat items through Holly Becker's Decor8blog and watching the process of decorating her teensy little German flat on the Haus Maus to fun. Her Etsy, Take 5 Tuesdays are definitely to watch!

If you want a gift that just a little bit different than anything else, Etsy is the place to go shopping! Ohhh the goodies to explore.And I'm not just saying that because that's where you'll find Anne's Addictions :)

But, I have a problem. All these lovely designer rooms and accessories, all this neat furniture and floorings...they are in the majority white, white on white, white on white with a splash of colour, or beige (ish) at most.

Seriously, who can live like that? Well, besides the single, or partnered with OCD that is. Do any of these designers have kids? And if they do with these lovely white rooms, can they let me in on where they send their kids to school, cause I want me some of that.

I'm just not that neat. Though, damn it, I want to be. I want big windows, whitewashed walls that my artwork would stand stark from, or just waiting to be the perfect canvas to be accented with the palest seafoam green glassware I'll get around to collecting just for my white house.

I find how dark the houses in Florida are quite depressing. (Would you believe I went to a show home in a new subdivision and as I was entering two different groups were complaining of how the house was too bright inside? 'They didn't even need to turn the lights on!' - I loved it, of course! Just not let's double our mortgage, like it.)

White is perfect, clean; a blank canvas waiting for something to happen, perhaps, but I have to wonder, given that white is such a blank page, do people find the white on white décor relaxing? Can they function and find inspiration amongst a singular colour palette?

Maybe it is all those things; a blank canvas of space and openness like where the aliens take the good guys for study when they get sucked up by the mother ship. The sterile room for you to empty the your head space that's been frantically filled with the detritus of lives lived too fast and too chocked full of everything as we move around in our day.

But then again, it might be a logistical nightmare of "All right, WHO put their feet on the couch, and ohmigawd, put their greasy little fingers all over my beautiful white walls!". An OCD sufferers perfect trap.

Being that I love colour (strange I know from a woman who wardrobe is mostly black and brown), would I wake up one day to find my lovely stark-white room is no longer, I've in fact filled it up with colour to a point where it's just as busy as the rest of the world outside my door? And as I ponder that, I have to wonder what that says about me...

Alas, given the way my son tends to abuse the walls and doors, and serve himself up toast that he liberally coats in honey while he's on the couch, I've got another 10 years before I can consider a white room all of my very own. Until then I think I'm just going to have to suffer with the clutter and mess and walls grimy with fingerprints interspersed with periods of perfection (heh, a bit like my mind, really).

Although... there is that toilet sitting there. A splash of white paint, a little shelf, a little vibrant blue glass bottle or two to go on the white shelf above my white commode, and a stunning piece of artwork on the opposite wall and I just might have my perfect room for relaxation...

Ack!

2009-04-17T18:44:00.001-05:00

So I've just realised that pingfm is not updating to this blog any longer! ACK!

I will endeavour to find out why and get things posting again.

The Awards are in at ARe!

2009-02-10T12:42:00.001-05:00

And look who was in the top selling book category! Accidentally Were !!

(continue reading &aquo;)

Goodies up for grabs!

2009-02-05T14:06:00.001-05:00

And, of course, a list of websites where you can find my wonderful critique partners:

Mya's Erotica
Amanda Young
Michelle Cary
Liz Craven (continue reading &aquo;)

Do you have an iPhone or iPod Touch?

2009-01-28T12:56:00.001-05:00

If you do, you have in your hot little hands a perfectly good eBook reader.

Head to the AppStore and download this nifty - and FREE - app called Stanza. Once it's installed here's what you do with it...

Yes, this is the 'something in the works with ARe' I mentioned in the last post.

Lori of ARe let me know a week or so ago that they'd chosen Accidentally Were? to use in their how to video for Stanza and the ARe bookshelf. I was totally floored!

ARe offer some great opportunities to authors for free promo (along with some paid options, too), and are amazing in their continual support of the romance industry via eBooks. If your an author you should look them up, and if your a reader you couldn't ask for a better site to find many, many romance titles!

So when you're out and about (or sitting in the car rider lane like I always seem to be) you now know just where you should go to download a book...or two or three :) (continue reading &aquo;)

Tidbits

2009-01-23T16:10:00.001-05:00

My interview with Joyfully Reviewed is up HERE

I'm Twittering HERE

Witch Vamp Were? has been listed up at All Romance eBooks (I also got some interesting news from ARe, but that will have to wait :) )

I've been contemplating RT for this year. Being that I'm a 2 hr drive away it seems silly that I shouldn't go. But the grand or so I'd still need is earmarked for something kind of important. So I think the conference will have to wait until next year or the year after. Who knows, maybe I'll just drive down for the eBook signing night and meet all the people I've gotten to know online over the last couple of years. I've contemplated, too, that it would be a perfect venue to have a table for Anne's Addictions... but I think that might just be way more hassle than what it's worth.

I've been futzing with a fantasy story concept - a twist on the dragon/damsel in distress idea set in a type of medievil setting. I'm not sure why, but I've just developed this craving to write about a dragon--I've even got a title "Reginald The Pink". This, of course, is not helping me at all with the plans I'd made for the rest of the year...

Anyone got any suggestions for effective marketing that is outside of the usual sphere? Any comments on the effectiveness of google ads?

(continue reading &aquo;)

Where in the world...

2009-01-12T11:49:00.001-05:00

It seems there are a large amount of people in Canada who have latched on to the Sony eReader experience - at least half my sales of Anne's Addictions PRS505 covers have been sent internationally so far, and the majority of them to Canada (but also England, Spain, Australia, and enquiries from as far as the Netherlands).

And here was me thinking it would be the other way around. Just a few internationally, and the majority within the USA since I believed that to be the main sale venue for the device. So, am I just not hitting the right fabric choices for the Americans, or is it just that the Canadians like to dress up their devices more?

Feel free to leave comments, or suggestions for fabric.

(continue reading &aquo;)

Would you like to win a Sony eReader?

2009-01-06T14:08:00.001-05:00

If you do, along with a cover for it from yours truly (via Anne's Addictions), you need to head on over to Dear Author.

You'll have to work for it (Hey, a Sony eReader isn't cheap!), but the pay off could well be worth it!

(continue reading &aquo;)

Organization

2009-01-05T13:28:00.001-05:00

I swear, the hardest part about organisation is not the organising itself, but figuring out just exactly how you are going to organise.

(And who knew that year at a view wall calendars were so damn expensive!)

Someone please bring the neat and tidy fairies to my house, my brain needs a clean out! (continue reading &aquo;)

Sweet Review

2009-01-04T17:34:00.001-05:00

Just a snippit from the Literary Nymphs Review of Witch Vamp Were?

Witch Vamp Were? is the second release in the Huntingdawn Pack series by talented author Anne Douglas, and like the first book, this one is a hoot that takes the reader on a fast-paced rollercoaster ride from beginning to end. It’s filled with great characters, snappy dialogue, a nosy ghost, a confusing prophecy, and enough hot sex between Shaun, Rob and Jak that you’ll need a fan.

Read the whole thing here (continue reading &aquo;)

Review for All Boxed Up

2009-01-03T22:33:00.001-05:00

And a nice one it is at that!

Romance Junkies

Blue Ribbon Rating: 4.5 blue ribbons
Format: EBOOK

Aimee Small is the proud owner of a year round Christmas shop aptly named The Jolly Santa. She’s a lovely shy young woman whose romantic life could use a little pick me up. Her wild cousins have taken matters into their own hands and done their part in making sure Aimee’s Christmas wish comes true – only their convoluted attempts at matchmaking leave much to be desired.

Joseph Christopher has had the hots for Aimee since he first met her. In fact he has more Christmas decorations and supplies than any straight single man should possess simply because he wanted to be near her and that requires spending a lot of time in her Christmas shop. His fondest wish is to have Aimee notice him as a desirable male but so far she hasn’t shown much interest in him.

Aimee’s shocked when she wakes up nearly naked in a box – from her own shop, no less – and trussed up in bows after a pleasant evening with her cousins. Obviously they drugged her in order for her to find herself in such a precarious situation and just where is it that they’ve left her? It’s not until she hears someone enter the house and begin reading the card left with ‘the gift’ that she realizes that the recipient is none of than Joseph – a man she’s been crushing on for the past five years. Humiliated beyond belief and saddened that he’d be witness to her sorry situation Aimee simply wants him to release her so she can preserve what little dignity she still has but Joseph has other ideas.

Joseph, a self proclaimed nerd isn’t one to reject a gift of such proportions and he’s been wanting Aimee far too long to simply release her and let her go about her way. He’s aware that Aimee’s uncomfortable with her full figure but to him she’s a beautiful desirable woman and he adores every single one of her curves. Besides, she can’t go anywhere until he undoes her ribbons and he’s not inclined to do so yet. Joseph and Aimee both have esteem issues – Aimee because of her weight and Joseph because he’s a geek and doesn’t believe she could ever truly want him. They’re both in for a heck of a Christmas surprise and a night to remember.

ALL BOXED UP by Anne Douglas is a quick read full of plenty of emotional turmoil and red hot passion. Aimee and Joseph are warm hearted friendly characters who deserve a little happiness and love in their lives and while the situation that brings them together is unorthodox it’s definitely an experience they won’t forget. What I found particularly endearing about this whole story is the honest insecurity that both the main characters display. While the Christmas ‘gift’ turns out well for Aimee and Joseph I’m afraid I’d still have to ‘pay back’ the cousins Candy and Petunia so I’m hopeful that we’ll see another story with these characters getting their comeuppance.

(continue reading &aquo;)

2008 versus 2009

2008-12-30T11:27:00.001-05:00

Since it seems to be the in thing, lets do a run down:

Released in 2008:

Red Skirt, Cool Fountain

Husbands and Wives: Par 3

Curious Intimacies

Witch Vamp Were?

All Boxed Up

Started producing Anne's Addictions Sony eReader covers

had the majority of my back list with LI listed with Fictionwise and ARe

Contracted for 2009:

err... nothing. Oops.

Planned for 2008, but somehow procrastinated my way around actually doing anything more than outlining them, so are going to have to become my planned for 2009 list:

Men for Sale trio of stories

Subtle Domination (follow on for Curious Intimacies)

Huntingdawn 3 and 4

more Anne's Addiction eReader covers

Huh.

Better get my arse into gear then, hadn't I. (continue reading &aquo;)

Celebration

2008-12-25T14:47:00.002-05:00

For those of you Christianity inclined, I hope you're having a wonderful day, and for those of you who just like to celebrate friends and family and receive give gifts, I hope your enjoying it too!

Merry Christmas!

All Boxed Up, available now!

2008-12-19T16:12:00.002-05:00

All Boxed Up

Genre: Full-figured Heroine Erotic Contemporary
Length: Holiday Kisses

Christmas Eve is not supposed to be celebrated naked, tied up, and locked in a dark cardboard box. But that's exactly where Aimee Small finds herself. Has she been kidnapped by some strange Christmas themed psycho-killer, fascinated with the owner of the local Christmas shop? Or is it something else entirely?

Joseph Christopher was not expecting to come home and find a huge-ass box in his foyer -- especially one that makes noises. When he lifts up the lid, he finds that Santa's come early this year and left him a tasty gift indeed: Aimee, the girl he's been crushing on all year. She's naked, bar some red satin ribbon wrapped, candy cane-style, around her luscious body.

Oh, yeah! Some years it pays to end up on Santa's naughty list...

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable.

When Loose Id put out a call to their authors about a group of shorts for the holiday season this great little vignette of a woman trapped in a box and the man who finds her popped into my head. It was supposed to be my first real foray in a storyline with BDSM. After all a short story would be perfect for dipping my toe in the pool right?

I've always had this impression that BDSM storylines usually have to be pretty serious - sexy, but serious - due to the nature of the power play (big sweeping generalisation there, I know). So I sat down and wrote this kind of creepy first page or two expecting my hero to come along and 'release' my heroine from her literal and figurative box, and on the story would unfold.

Well that was the plan.

My hero turned into a bit of a clumsy guy - a computer guy with a heart of gold who's really crushing on the shy-with-guys, but outgoing heroine. Not at all the Alpha with a side of submissive I was going for.

Instead I got pratfalls, and loose dangling ribbons just perfect for tripping over, a computer geek out to show his crush he's just what she needs, and a girl who finally shoves her shyness to the side to grab at what she wants, and sex, hot sex.

A hot sexy comedy comedy. Not serious at all. Bugger.

Oh well, maybe next time!

Is an eBook reader on your wishlist?

2008-12-15T17:30:00.001-05:00

I was heading in to Target to buy a new rug when I spied this on this weeks flyer board:

Sony eReader for $269

So, if you've been wanting to find one of these under the tree this year, you better grab the flyer and post it to the remote, the tv, the fridge, the steering wheel, and the handbag or briefcase... I think you get the idea! (continue reading &aquo;)

Now at Goodreads

2008-12-11T22:38:00.001-05:00

You can find me at Goodreads.com and also on twitter. (continue reading &aquo;)

Witch Vamp Were? - the first review

2008-12-11T16:52:00.001-05:00

This little link popped up in my Google Alerts (love Google alerts!)

http://ping.fm/qVgjW

"Anne Douglas has done it again. Her story is super hot and spicy with the perfect blend of mystery and humor to keep the reader entertained and reading until the very last page. The eroticism is beautifully captured and the relationship between the three main characters is not only immensely funny but also emotionally charged. The characters are enchanting and the story a must read, five star treat."

"Witch Vamp Were? is an absolutely magical read. It was super funny with equally hot sex and friction. This is the kind of book where you need a cold glass of water and a towel because while the sex will make you hot, the humor will have you spitting that water all over the place. This is definitely a must read novel by an extremely accomplished author. I can not wait for more of these fabulous shifter/vampire stories. This book is definitely a present any time of the year."

5 Stars!

Reviewer: Kimberly Spinney

Can't ask for better than that for the first review :) (continue reading &aquo;)

Chatting today at Joyfully Reviewed

2008-12-07T12:44:00.001-05:00

Authors of Erotic Romance are going to be chatting over at Joyfully Reviewed chatters loop today.
http://ping.fm/oxyQT

Please pop over and chat with us!

For those of you chatting with us today, I'm going to be running a contest for a parcel of Anne Douglas goodies (a book bag, a lunch cooler bag, some pens, and I might sneak some chocolate in there!). Comment on the thread JR thread @ annedouglas.com and tell me which excerpt was your favourite -- that's all you need to do. I'll choose a winner after 6pm est tonight.

AnneD (continue reading &aquo;)

Free stuff...

2008-12-05T16:01:00.001-05:00

Check out All Romance eBooks Wildfire that went out today, right at the end there's a super short story from yours truly :)

And while your at ARe, jump on the contest bandwagon:

*****Permission to repost or forward granted*****

Celebrate the Holidays with ARe and you could win your very own iPhone or iTouch!

Every Friday between Thanksgiving and Christmas ARe will be giving away to one customer their choice of a gift certificate for an iPhone or iTouch.

To be eligible for each week's giveaway simply complete the following sentence on your blog, myspace, facebook, etc. and link back to All Romance eBooks, then email us a link to the post at iphone@allromanceebooks.com

Dear Santa,

I have been a very good boy or girl this year. What do I want for the holidays? An iPhone/iTouch so that I can use Stanza to read all the romance I need from all the publishers I love that I buy at All Romance eBooks. You see, Santa, I deserve the iPhone/iTouch because...

And of course, check out the Loose Id listings while you're there! (continue reading &aquo;)

And we're back!

2008-11-30T18:28:00.001-05:00

As you can tell by the lack of glaring 404 error page, my websites are back.

Phew!

A new release week... le sigh... what a week for the server to take a dirt nap!

For those of you who had ventured into 404 forbidden land, I'm glad you decided to try again, and I really hope you find an excerpt to tickle your taste buds enough to buy the whole book :)

This time, at least, I have the joy of being able to blame someone else. I did NOT create this disaster! ROFL. I may be grumbly about it all, but I do have my sanity. Which is not always the case when I create the mess :) (continue reading &aquo;)

All Boxed Up

2008-11-30T18:16:00.001-05:00

Okay, so in All Boxed Up it's not Joseph who gets tied up in bright red satin ribbon, but when I spied this I couldn't help myself -- this is exactly how I envisaged the red against Aimee's pale white skin:

(continue reading &aquo;)

If you're looking for annedouglas.com...

2008-11-28T16:43:00.002-05:00

We'll see it back some time... who knows in what state though.

Apparently my server decided it'd had much too much turkey, and needed a nap - a dirt nap by all appearances. So, sometime (I hope it's today!) soon I'll be back up and running.

In the mean time, make sure to use my annedouglaseroticrom@ gmail.com address if you need to urgently get a hold of me :)

Available today - Witch Vamp Were?

2008-11-25T16:47:00.002-05:00

I'm usually more on the ball when it comes to release days but the last few days have been a bit of a killer. Kids and their viruses -- you can keep 'em!

Despite all that today is the day that Witch Vamp Were? the continuation of the story started in Accidentally Were? is released!

The copy from Loose-Id.com:

Shaun's best friend had proven Weres existed, so why not Vampires? That's Shaun's reason for wandering a cemetery in the middle of the night, and she's sticking to it -- no matter how many things go bump in the night. A girl has to do what a girl has to do to prove she's right.

As for Rob, he's the big bad wolf...err, cat...here to scare Little Gothic Riding Hood right out of her cherry-red shit-kickers and teach her a lesson about being a sticky beak. Oh the things a Pack Alpha has to do to keep pretty, pert little noses out of his business.

Jakov Pieter's just the token Vamp that Rob dragged along for atmosphere. After all, what's not fun about hanging upside down from a tree? The things a Vamp does to humor his friends...pity humoring's not all he wants to do.

Throw in a three-hundred-year-old ghost, some 7th century mythology, lots of blue sparkles, and a cryptic prophecy about a fated trio of mates, and you have all the fixings of a Greek Tragedy...or maybe it’s a Romance. Capital R, double on the "man."

Which vamp where? This vamp here. And this witch and were.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual situations, ménage (m/f/m), voyeurism.

And of course, a buy link.

All Boxed Up is done and in edits and slated for release Dec 16th. I have to admit, I started out thinking there was going to be some hard core BDSM in this little story, but what I ended up with couldn't be any further from that concept if it actually tried! Instead geeky comedy and clutziness abound.

Ooooh, pretties...

2008-11-13T09:18:00.002-05:00

How's this for a cover?

I was impressed :)

When you see them side by side they look rather cool:

The difficulty of being a romance writer...

2008-11-09T10:42:00.001-05:00

Is that sex is often not at all romantic :)

(continue reading &aquo;)

Anne's Addictions

2008-11-08T11:06:00.003-05:00

I've mentioned before that I sew, and if you've taken any notice of the sidebars on my blogs you've seen an Etsy widget. That's me, and my new little venture that meshes my whorish love of gadgetry with sewing.

If you've got a Sony eReader these are the thing for you!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade
annesaddictions.etsy.com

If your interested but don't see anything that takes your fancy, drop me a line and let me know what your after, or pop back often as I'll be stocking up over the coming weeks.

A Holiday Sale

2008-11-01T12:00:00.001-05:00

I've sold a Christmas/Holiday themed super short to Loose Id for their Holiday fling series for this year.

All Boxed Up is a story about a personable, yet date shy BBW woman who wakes to find herself trapped in a box, naked but for being wrapped in satin ribbons. Has she been kidnapped by some strange, Christmas themed psycho killer fascinated by her as the owner of the local Christmas shop, or is it something else entirely?

I'll leave the something else entirely up to your imagination for the moment :) (continue reading &aquo;)

An 86 from Mrs Giggles...

2008-10-28T17:05:00.001-05:00

I can't say I'm complaining on an 86 and a hilarious review for Curious Intimacies from Mrs G.

"If a guy likes taking it up his behind, with "it" being his girlfriend's strap-on, does this mean that he will like taking the real thing? Curious about this question after reading Anne Douglas' Curious Intimacies, I picked up the phone and asked a friend of mine. He's a certified doctor specializing in this kind of thing, so I'd like to believe that he knows what he is saying. He said that some men like it when their lovers play with their rear ends, from using one's tongue to stimulate the tissue around their... you know... to even the act of penetration using fingers or a strap-on device. However, this does not necessarily translate to the man being gay.

He then asked me why I want to know about this and, what do you know, all of a sudden the kettle is boiling and I needed to hang up on him. I have better warn my husband the next time we visit this friend of mine and he starts getting odd looks from everybody."

"Erotic, unforced, and just going with the flow, Curious Intimacies is all about the lighter and enjoyable side of kinky sex. The characters are adorable and they clearly like each other. They also enjoy what they do with each other, and as a result, this is a fun erotic story to read. If you are tired of all those tedious threesome stories bogged down by weird plots or neurotic characters and are looking for a story that just wants to get down and dirty without making any apologies, this one may be what you are looking for. " (continue reading &aquo;)

The one that started it all...

2008-10-16T20:17:00.001-05:00

Persuading Jo has just been released by Loose Id to All Romance eBooks (and to follow at Fictionwise in the next few weeks). This is the story written at the prompting of my girlfriends and the beginning of all the rest that have come since. (continue reading &aquo;)

the winner is...

2008-10-15T19:13:00.001-05:00

I just realised I've been a bad contest author.

I totally spaced and never did the drawing for the sleep pants/shorts using the groovy 'I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours' fabric.

So using Random.org I picked a number between 1-15:

Here are your random numbers:
2
Timestamp: 2008-10-16 00:04:11 UTC

Which means Renee Meyer is the lucky winner.

I'll get with her about sizing and things, then once I'm done I'll post a picture! Maybe I can convince Renee to model them for me? (continue reading &aquo;)

HAHAHA - Mathematical sex

2008-10-10T06:47:00.002-05:00

From xkcd.com

A contest - from my CP Michelle Cary

2008-10-06T16:04:00.002-05:00

Michelle is one of the authors in the trio of stories in the Husbands and Wives series, and one of my critique partners:

Okay, I’ll admit that I really stink at coming up with new and creative ways to run a contest. So, because I have no imagination when it comes to contests I’m going to stick with something simple. Anyone who leaves a comment on my blog (for any post made between October 1st and October 23rd) will be entered to win a free download of my first romantic suspense story, entitled Ransomed Heart. That 1st place winner will also receive a Michelle Cary canvas tote bag (great for lugging books around) and other goodies from my promotional stash. Two second place winners will receive goodies from my stash including Michelle Cary Pens, bookmarks and key chains.

Now with every contest there must be rules, so here goes:

1. Only one comment per contestant per day.
2. Comments made ONLY on posts between October 1st and October 23rd will be eligible.
3. No spamming! Comments must pertain to the post for that day. Spammers will automatically be eliminated.
4. Winners will be picked at random and screen names will be used to identify winners to eliminate any confusion.

The drawing will be held on October 24th.

Good Luck!

And another review

2008-10-06T09:41:00.001-05:00

From Erotic Escapades this time...

... Scorching heat and emotional exploration mark Curious Intimacies as a book you won’t soon forget. Lucy is a strong confidant woman who knows exactly what she wants and isn’t afraid to manipulate the men around her to get it.

Jason is sweet, wanting noting more than to make his lover happy and comfortable, the stretching of his limits is absolutely spellbinding. Shane is a gay man who has never been with a woman so I wasn’t sure this was going to work for him, but once Shane decided to go ahead with this he eagerly followed directions it lead to everyone’s mutual satisfaction. The heat the three generate make light of volcanic eruptions as physical restrictions are dropped and instinct takes over. With it being quite obvious that Shane will never be fully part of Jason and Lucy’s relationship.

I hope Ms. Douglas soon finds Shane a hero of his own.

Megan

(continue reading &aquo;)

SOLD!

2008-10-05T19:08:00.001-05:00

Witch Vamp Were? a Huntingdawn Pack story that follows on from Accidentally Were? has been sold to Loose Id. I signed the contract late August/early Sept, and we are into edits quickly as the release date is planned for Nov 25th.

That makes it a year from the release of Accidentally Were?. Many of you have asked about a sequel - I'm sorry it took so long - so here it is, and cross fingers touch wood I hope to have another to you next year.

Anne Cain will be doing the cover again. Accidentally Were?'s cover had many wonderful compliments, and I can't see what she does for the second book. She'll have a tough act to follow to top herself :) ! (continue reading &aquo;)

The first review for Curious Intimacies

2008-10-05T12:43:00.001-05:00

I tell ya, it's nail biting time until that first review comes in. A pretty manicure I do not have! But it's here, and it's great!

From Sensual eCataRomance:

About the Book:
Page Count: 44
Price: $2.99
Reviewer: Keely
Sensuality Rating: Sizzling
Star Rating: 4.5 Stars

Jason is in love with Lucy and is definitely straight; at least he is pretty sure he is straight. OK, so, maybe he is into more than just girls. Maybe his gay best friend can help him figure it out.. or not. Jason is only sure of one thing: being confused sucks.

Shane is gay; openly gay, and best friends with straight Jason. So being asked for a kiss by Jason has Shane feeling a little like he walked into an episode of The Twilight Zone and a lot shocked. So what is this all about and is Shane going to have to kick Jason’s ass for playing around on Lucy?

Lucy is deeply in love with Jason, curious about Shane and determined to fulfill all their needs and curiosities. She does mean all. Now she just has to convince the guys.

Curious Intimacies by Anne Douglas is a hot little number chock full of comedic moments sure to leave you laughing and gasping. “Short, decadent and to the point” best describe this one. Jason and Shane are delicious, boy next door types that feel like I have known them for ever. Lucy is one of those heroines that feels like she could be my best friend. Ms. Douglas does a superb job of creating multi-dimensional characters with a minimal amount of words spent on description and background. Curious Intimacies jumps right into the meat of the story with no apologies and stellar results.

I must warn all the readers out there, do not read this one while drinking as you may just spew the contents of your mouth all over your computer or electronic reading device. In other words, I laughed so much that my sides hurt. Then again, you may want to have a tall pitcher of something icy cold setting at your elbow to maintain your core body temperature as you read the love scenes. Smoking hot does not even begin to describe them.

Warning: If man on man carnal intimacies leaves you gagging and wishing to wipe your mind clean, please do us all the favor of leaving Curious Intimacies where you found it.

(continue reading &aquo;)

My Husband's Sweethearts - Bridget Asher

2008-09-27T22:29:00.000-05:00

Struck with a little of the 'can't afford books at the moment' blues I've been haunting the library, hoping some of the new books I'm after come up on the shelves (and, in fact, our local library has a buyer who's pretty good at hitting many of those new romance/ish releases).

While browsing, a title caught my eye, My Husband's Sweethearts.

Now, I'm usually about about the historicals or action type romances, and while I might pick up a women's lit now and then I usually end up putting it down. And I did exactly that with this book... then for some reason picked it back up and shoved it in my book bag anyway.

I'm glad I did.

My Husband's Sweethearts, Bridget Asher.

SBN-13: 9780385341899
ISBN-10: 038534189X
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Date: August 2008
Page Count: 271

When the books opens our leading lady, Lucy, is being forced out of the safe cocoon of limbo she'd made for herself after having confronted her husband, Artie, six months earlier about his infidelities. In the face of Artie's imminent death, Lucy has to confront everything she has been hiding from; torn between the love he'd shown her, the love she still feels for him, the hate she feels at his deceit and a certain amount of self loathing.

Still bitter, not sure what she wants nor what Artie expects, and determined not to suffer alone Lucy drunkenly calls some of the numbers in her husband's little black book. What comes after is surprising, shocking and strangely cathartic for all of the women in Artie's life - Artie's Sweethearts - and indeed, even for the reader. (Especially if you have lived your own version of the story, as I have).

Ms. Asher tells us a story of a woman who comes to learn that even in deceit there can be love, and that one man, no matter how much he is a cheating bastard, had in fact found something meaningful in all these women to love. Something precious that would at his deathbed bring them all together in animosity and love and bind into the family he'd been searching for all his life.

The book is a roller coaster ride of emotions, of trying to find that balance when you hold so much love, yet so much hate towards another. Of dealing with the fact the person you'd planned your life around has lied to you, and is going on to commit the most heinous crime of all - to leave you behind in death.

Lucy and her mother; the women, Eleanor and Elspa; and John ( I'll leave you hanging on just who he is), drew me in. They weren't horrendously overdrawn, nor were they pathetic specimens. They were all, Lucy included, everyday average people with all their foibles, bad habits, lies and love to give. In other words they were our lovers, our families, our friends and enemies, and as they ran the gamut of disbelief to final acceptance I as the reader ran along for the tumultuous ride.

One of the cover quotes says the story is tender and eccentric, another declares the book wry and beguiling and I don't think I can describe it any better than that. It's tenderly wry and eccentrically beguiling, and I am very glad I did pick it back up off the shelf.

*Click the cover for a B*A*M buy link

Will I ever learn?

2008-09-24T10:18:00.002-05:00

From my post at Loose Ends:

Contrary to the usual standard 'oh I was writing stories when I was 6/8/10' staple of many authors I didn't pick up a pen until 2006. Or more exactly I should say I didn't pick up a pen and write a story with it, I've a long checkered history with photographs, oil paints, pencils, pens and ink. So writing, and indeed publishing is a career that is relatively new to me. Oh how my frustrated English teachers must be turning in their graves! (Yes, I was the person that debated every poem and every paragraph of prose when we were 'told' what it meant. That person in class that pulled out the 'but how do you know that's what they meant?' line of defense.)

I may well have been a minor genius at debating our understanding of the written word and the authors actual intent, but I couldn't deconstruct the English language to save myself. I still can't. It's a sad thing to know that my 2nd grader probably could tell you what's wrong with a sentence faster than I can. Oh, I can tell you what's wrong, all right, using a finger and the phrases 'this needs to be here, and that over there or else this is doing that which is impossible!' but if it comes to using such phrases as participles, adjectives, dangling modifiers you're shit out of luck. And you're likely to be the recipient of a blank stare as Anne frantically searches the recesses of her brain for the answer because-she-should-know-this-stuff-damn-it!

Thank your preferred Deity for good editors. Barbara M, you're my lifesaver!

I'm pretty sure I'm the bane of her existence.

I've had a lot to learn the past 2 1/2 years. The dreaded 'it' and 'that', show versus tell, dialogue tags (who knew he said/she said was a bad thing?), the list goes on. And then there is my pet foible, starting sentences with '-ly' and 'ing'. Yes, the dreaded 'Suddenly, there was a noise.' syndrome (and, if you noticed, my bad habit of starting sentences with And only superceeded by But). Yet, every time I hand in a new manuscript I wait with baited breath for the first edits.

Did I manage this time to pick up on my problem areas? Did I slip back into NZ/Britishisms when the piece is set amibgiously but with American turns of phrase (which I did in this case, seriously though, do you have any idea how hard it is to realise what is or isn't a Kiwi/Britishism when you are a Kiwi? Doesn't everyone call it a chilly bin and a kitchen bench?). Did I find all the it's and explain just what 'it' is? Have all those things my editor has taught me finally sunk in yet? (cross fingers, touch wood, thrown salt over my shoulder etc etc)

Can I plead baby brain when the baby is now eight? Rapid onset adult ADD? Is it possible, nearly three years on to plead newbie status? Or should I resign myself to the fact that even at 80, my editor will still open that first final draft file with their eyes closed?

And most importantly of all: Will I still be sending off that final draft file with my eyes firmly glued shut?

I guess I'm just going to have to stick around this writing game a bit longer to find out. :)

AnneD
(Who really needs to get back to her editing and finding all those pesky Kiwi phrases that slipped through!)

PS. If you want some good advice on how to make your work great, hit Lena's blog, where she's done a whole series from plotting to editing and further that has some GREAT advice.

A new venture

2008-09-22T12:10:00.002-05:00

A new story out and a new venture beginning all in the same week...

I'm bringing both of my 'jobs' together - an eBook author and a steamstress - with the opening on Anne's Addictions on Etsy where you can buy handcrafted padded fabric covers for your Sony eReader. (Kindle covers to come with luck).

Thank you very much to Jane at Dear Author for your support of my 'a-ha! in the middle of a DA thread moment' that lead to my new venture!

Now available

2008-09-19T18:52:00.001-05:00

Curious Intimacies, available NOW at Ellora's Cave.

Get your copy now! (continue reading &aquo;)

A Curiously Intimate Givewaway...

2008-09-18T13:38:00.001-05:00

One of the ladies in my sewing group laughingly pointed out some fabric for sale a couple of weeks back. I took one look and knew I had to sacrifice the $12 to buy and ship it.

But now what to do with it?

With Curious Intimacies available tomorrow I think I've struck on an interesting idea.

Pants.

Yes. Pants.

For one randomly chosen commenter on this post (at http://ping.fm/gp9ob not myspace or blogspot) I'm going to make them a comfy pair of PJ/Lounge pants to their size requirements. Now lounge pants might not be considered at all sexy, but I think this fabric might get your bedtime hopes across just fine :)

Comments until midnight Sunday 21st of Sept will be considered. Tiny to not so tiny, don't worry I'll be making them to fit (my other job is a seamstress, so be assured they'll be well made).

So readers, comment away!! (continue reading &aquo;)

An Interview

2008-09-18T10:41:00.001-05:00

How I found Melly's Spot I truly can't remember, but one day I tagged her onto my google feed and there she's stayed. She put out a request for Interview candidates and I stuck my hand up.

You can read all about me at Melly's Spot today! (continue reading &aquo;)

Two Sleeps...

2008-09-17T17:04:00.001-05:00

Until my first release with Ellora's Cave :) (continue reading &aquo;)

ooooh Shiny!!

2008-09-11T15:13:00.001-05:00

I just home from picking up kiddo from school and there is a box on the doorstep - my new shiny is here :) yay! Now to see if this Sony PRS505 is as good as they all say. I hope so, because I can't send it back (I used cc rewards points to get it).

Off to download the patch that will make pdf's pretty (I think, need to check what version I've got), and possibly calibre for organisation. (continue reading &aquo;)

Lady Jaided eZine

2008-09-08T14:48:00.001-05:00

My new to Ellora's Cave author interview is up at the Lady Jaided eZine.

Please drop over and take a read about my first foray into Erotica, Curious Intimacies. (continue reading &aquo;)

Contest Winners

2008-09-07T12:37:00.002-05:00

I decided to splurge a little and pull two numbers, and as kiddo seems most insistent in not choosing a number above 5 I'm using a random generator:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
9 63
Timestamp: 2008-09-07 17:30:48 UTC

Brenda (bginga) - you have the main prize of the book bag, lunch cooler and some pens
lizcochran - I'm going to be sending you a bookbag

Ladies, you should be getting an email from me this afternoon.

Weekend Contest

2008-08-29T17:01:00.002-05:00

Loose Id Authors are chatting over at Beth Wylde's yahoo group today, Friday, and tomorrow you will find us at The Romance Room's loop.

Since it's a double day of promo, I'm running a contest for a parcel of promo items: A six pack cooler and a book bag -- and I'll chuck in a couple of pens for good measure!

A perfect set up to take your lunch and a good book to read while you eat!

All you need to do is join my mailing list this weekend some time before 5pm Sunday 31st of August. (hit the link in the post, or the link on the top or bottom bar)

I'll use the highly scientific 'kiddo, choose a number between 1 and howevermany' method to choose a winner :)

(continue reading &aquo;)

eMail

2008-08-25T12:07:00.001-05:00

If, perchance, you'd emailed me in the last few days, and I've not yet replied, it's because fumble fingers here gave her mail program some weird glitch that deleted every email she owned.

Somewhere in the ether there's about 1000 emails just floating around doing, well, not a hell of a lot.

So, please drop me another email :) (continue reading &aquo;)

Made it to the coming soon page

2008-08-22T10:43:00.001-05:00

Okay, I know I've already had plenty of release days, plenty of covers on the coming soon page but this is for a whole new publisher and I hate to admit it but I've got the girly squee's :)

http://ping.fm/gqcyc (continue reading &aquo;)

Spoke too soon

2008-08-20T17:22:00.002-05:00

Duval county closed down the schools Wed/Thurs because of the possibility of TS Faye becoming a hurricane and hitting Jax full on. So much for the yay factor of the kids being back at school this week!

Of course it seems to have gone the opposite direction and is petering out. Not a bad thing all things considered, but a little way down the coast from us is getting drowned.

Here's hoping the power stays on, I might go a little insane if I can't charge my laptop! (continue reading &aquo;)

Ahhh, the silence.

2008-08-19T13:04:00.001-05:00

School's back. Yaayy!

Of course that doesn't necessarily mean I've got my act together and I'm on the hot tamale train of production, but I'm getting there :)

Next on the block is another erotica piece, the follow on from Curious Intimacies that is only a month away now -- double yay!

(and yes, I watch So You think You Can Dance. Joshua so totally deserved to win. And that young man is fine!) (continue reading &aquo;)

Now at All Romance eBooks

2008-08-14T08:16:00.003-05:00

Red Skirt, Cool Fountain and Par 3 are now available at ARe.

And with those two added to the ARe listings, I have a 3'fer on the front page:

(continue reading &aquo;)

And now I wait

2008-08-09T19:04:00.003-05:00

Swiiissshhhhh, and off it goes.

There's nothing like the sound of an email, manuscript attached, winging it's way to your editor.

Of course, now that it's on it's way, the worrying starts.

Or of course I could get on with the next story, right? It will be the sequel to Curious Intimacies if things work out right :) (continue reading &aquo;)

Update on Acheron

2008-08-05T22:57:00.006-05:00

11.50 and I'm done. I think I'll be reading this again in the not too distant future.

Oh man. The first half of this book. Holy crap! My hat's off to you Ms Kenyon. My hat's off to you.

I just really don't know where to start. One thing I do know is that I need a stiff drink and an eye pack. My eyes ache from trying so hard not to cry for the last, what 5-6 hrs? straight.

In all fairness, the later half of the story is great too, but you just can't compare them. Acheron's story as a human... I just can't put it into words right now.

Acheron was worth paying the 21$ for.

And If I can wrap my head around it once I get some shut eye, I might write more.

My afternoon...

2008-08-05T12:51:00.004-05:00

Despite my protestations about refusing to buy hard back, and not being that far in love with a writer/series that I'd queue up at midnight just to get a book (let alone pay outrageous HB prices), I will be reading Acheron this afternoon.

Yes, it's hardback. Yes, it only dropped today. Yes, I'm going to glom myself to it like a limpet to the bottom of the Titanic and go down squeeing like the Acheron fangurl I secretly am.

See you in a few hours...

(Yes, I know I have editing waiting.)

Fridge Fiction

2008-08-04T16:11:00.002-05:00

From my refrigerator door:

If you'd like to play along I found my pack of magnets at Barnes and Noble ($9.99), but you can order form Magnetic Poetry direct. You don't have to do romance, I gave away the country music one the other night, it had flushed and runny nose? in it. It was a toss up which to keep, but the turgid pleasure rod won out.

I don't like Mondays...

2008-08-04T11:47:00.004-05:00

Monday, in theory, is the day I clean house.

I think I've mentioned before my loathing of house cleaning. How is it then that I ended up with not one, but two slobs as well as my half slovenly self? Why oh why did I not attach myself to an OCD, must clean up after everyone type?

Sigh.

Better go do some more digging myself out of my mess.

More to love

2008-07-26T20:01:00.005-05:00

If you've read any of my books you'll know that I'm a fan of the plus sized heroine. That means size 14 and above, not the Hollywood ideal that a size 10 is plus sized.

From Jo to Bea, Wren to Pearl, and Sam to Emma my plus-sized heroines have found themselves men who love them, generous curves and all.

I wrote my stories with these heroines for a specific reason -- I'm writing what I want to read. Real women - no I'm not saying fat is 'real', just that a sz 14 is more realistic for the average woman than a size 4 or 6 - meeting real men (okay, I caved a little on the men, but hey, Rex in Accidentally Were? is a big hairy bear of a man) who fall in love with them as they are. Outside of Chicklit - where, face it, they usually get 'skinny' to get their ideal guy - it's damn hard to find women of size battling the bad guys, solving the crimes and saving the day. I like to write stories about women doing exactly that. Well, saving the day maybe, suspense and crime drama storylines seem to be eluding me at the moment :)

Why am I rambling on about heroines with more to love? The ladies over at Smart Bitches, of course! They have an interesting topic up today: The Plus Size Heroine - the one who's well adjusted. A topic near and dear to my heart.

Frankly, no woman is ever happy about her shape. If there's not too much, there's not enough. If the weight is right, the proportions are not. It webbles, it wobbles, and horror of all horrors... it all falls down! It's universal - fat, thin or in between. Seriously.

As a plus sized woman I don't want to read the 'I'm so fat, and he's my gorgeous gym instructor and he will only love me when I'm thin' story line. I also don't want to read the story that is 'my life is so bad because I'm fat' or the 'I'm fat so I don't deserve any better' either.

I want to read stories with kickarse heroines who save the day, who worry about all the same things every woman worries about and finds a lover who thinks a bit of junk in the trunk (or hood in my case) is just what he needs keeping him warm on a cold winters night. NOT A STORY ABOUT A FAT WOMAN.

There is a difference. A really fricking huge one (no pun intended). Confidence.

People don't like to read about size 4 Mary Sue whining her little head off about not being pretty enough, and they sure don't like reading about Mary Sue's size 18 sister whining about not being skinny enough. But they do love reading stories about women who have confidence, who get on with doing what they have to to succeed/live to fight another day/beat the bad guy/save the world -- why not have that woman be a size 18? Make your heroines as diverse as the world live in, embrace all the different sizes and colors of women the world over.

Romance novels are a fantasy, an escape, it's said. Well my fantasy includes a size 18/20 woman, in some kick arse, sexy as hell 3 inch heels beating the fuck out of a bad guys goolies (with aforesaid heels), before reapplying her lipstick and making out with the hunky geek neighbour who's in absolute awe of the beautiful amazon next door - not one of the Olsen twins on a 'fat day'.

You know, that really is a good idea for a plot line. **scribbles on idea pad**

PS Imagea are of Fluvia Lacerda an intl sz 16 model pretty damn sexy - no?

Niiiice!!! In the top 10!

2008-07-25T08:36:00.003-05:00

I tell you, it's the cheapest things that can make a girl happy

Woohoo! I have a date...

2008-07-22T18:45:00.001-05:00

A new release date that is, not one with the mailman :)

I've just gotten word that Curious Intimacies should be out with Ellora's Cave Friday, Sept 19th! Woo yeah!

An eBook author funny...

2008-07-22T16:45:00.001-05:00

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Now up at ARe..

2008-07-22T12:24:00.003-05:00

Accidentally Were? is now available at All Romance eBooks!

Pearl and Rex have even made the front page What's Hot list!!
If you're a ARe fan, you can find all my books listed here. I'm going to hazard a guess that AW? will be up at Fictionwise sometime in the next week, too.

Tea for Three has been doing well at Fictionwise, going up and down in the later half of the Top 10 highest rated list for Loose Id. If you've purchased a copy of any of my books at either site, I'll beg shamefully for you to go add your review of the story. It's horribly tacky, but it's a great pump to an authors ego to see their name in flashing lights :)

From the 'ooooookay then' files

2008-07-17T16:54:00.003-05:00

I heart guts... in particular I love my plushie uterus:

What the... ???

Total absurdness aside, they actually look quite cute. Although I just can't see myself cuddling up with a gallbladder or a lung, the liver looks kinda cute though.

The things you can find (both good, and slightly kookie) in BLUSH magazine...

What a weekend!

2008-07-12T15:26:00.006-05:00

So this was Friday night:

That's the neighbour on the southern side.

And Saturday afternoon:

This is the neighbour on the northern side.

It's still absolutely peeing down with rain, thunder and lightning, so we haven't been out to see if it's damaged the roof. We hope since it's a very 'branchy' tree, that the load was spread out over a large area and there is no damage.

And something is bleating. Like a lamb bleating. But I don't know if it's a frog, a squashed squirrel, a baby bird in a nest or what. We can't get outside yet to see :(

EDIT: Why was I squirrelled around a corner taking a photo and not garden hose in hand? I was told there was one gas bottle on fire, and others all around it and they didn't know if it was going to blow... so at that point I wasn't up for shrapnel wounds. Once the danger from the flame throwing gas bottle was gone, I started hosing down from our side.

Sunday Update: We were out late last night, and were sleeping in when we heard the (mini) roar of a chainsaw. Seems the owner of the rental house next door also owns a lawn/garden business. The renters had called him yesterday, and he was out first thing this morning cutting it up and getting the tree hauled away. YAY!

When authours get desperate...

2008-07-11T08:35:00.003-05:00

They start writing on the walls... or the windows at least:

While I downloaded the Scrivener trial, and although it does have some nice functions, I still couldn't see my way over the wall I'd written myself up to. I thought I'd take Lena Austin's advice and get a whiteboard and take a look at the B I G picture, but big whiteboards are expensive! (Yes, you can get cheap and nasty, but I have an addiction to the non cheap and nasty.)

So... desperate times call for desperate measures.

Hubby was not impressed... until I told him it was a whiteboard pen :)

Oh, and I did get the big picture. YAY!! Now just to put those plans into Scrivener.

Trying hard to get motivated

2008-07-08T10:34:00.002-05:00

Ya'know, sometimes the story is right there... and then sometimes it's not.

Authors block?

Not really. Motivation to do anything block is more like it.

*looks at full to the brim with fabric sewing room with disgust *

I'm finally getting out of my must-read-everything-in-sight rut... sort of. Which is a good thing for my writing, but a bad thing for my sanity, lol! A good book works wonders for blocking out the background noise of husbands, kids and cats :)

*sigh* AIC,FOK

A teaser from my WIP

2008-07-06T11:45:00.002-05:00

“Prophecy smophecy, Pandora’s jar my arse.” Shaun muttered to herself as she yanked on the old, pitted, sadly-lacking-in-chrome door handle on her car. “I know some Greek mythology and I saw Tomb Raider, Pandora had a box, not a jar, and Pandora let all the evil out into the world. I’m so not all about the evil.” Although, there was a certain sort of piquancy to the Pandora myth and how she was the first woman -- a beautiful evil -- sent down by the gods to punish men.

She had to use her whole hand to press down the button on the handle, and then when it unlatched use both arms to pull the door open. No swift getaways in this baby; the damn door weighs a tonne, let alone the whole car. The car was new -- well, it was a ’58 Edsel Bermuda, so it was new to her -- and since it was definitely a work in progress, she had a lot of kinks to work out, or at least learn to work around.

“Not evil. The jar wasn’t anyway, whether Pandora was evil is still open for debate.”

Having opened with a groaning, metallic creak the car door reached the point in it’s arc where is moved freely. Taken off guard by the words coming from over her right shoulder Shaun wasn’t paying all the attention she should to the heavy door and as she twisted to face the speaker she was jerked around and into the door with an “oof” of stolen breath. Pain shot up her arm from where she’d twisted then fallen on her wrist, and she cried out, pulling her wrist up to her chest to cradle it.

“Hey, are you okay?”

When she looked up, it was into Jak’s concerned face. “Yeah, just sort of landed funny.” Shaun shook her hand out, trying to relieve the sting in her wrist, “Like when you land on your funny bone -- stings a bit like that.”

Fingers, smooth and slightly cook to the touch, wrapped around her wrist and stilled her movement. “Let me feel.”

Jak’s fingers ran over her skin, pressing firmly, yet gently, easing the taut tendons when he came to them. He concentrated on her wrist with intensity, and his touch was oddly the most intimate, sensual single thing she’d experienced in her life. “Nothing broken I don’t think, just a light sprain.”

Caught up in the sparks flooding her system from the vampire’s touch, Shaun was embarrassed to realize she was staring up at him, mouth no doubt wide open, while he patiently waited for a reply. His lips flirted around a smile as Jak watched her back.

“I--It’s--that is, I’m sure you’re right.” She jerked her hand out of his and absently rubbed her fingers over the skin he’d touched, not sure if she was trying to rub the tingles in, or rub them off. Like little butterfly wings they danced along in her blood stream fluttering in her belly… and lower. She tingled in places even she’d not been able to make herself tingle before, let alone one of her loser boyfriends.

“It’s late, I better go.”

Shaun turned, and moved to slide onto the big bench seat only to freeze in place when a growly, rough voice yelled out, “What the hell is that heap of junk?”

She straightened, the fluttering butterfly wings in her belly stuttering to a halt as plain old annoyance took a hold. Trust Rob to ruin a perfectly good moment.

“It’s not a heap of junk, it’s a classic.”

“No it’s not, it’s a rusted out clap trap--”

“No, it’s not. It’s an Edsel.” Shaun moved down the side of the car and ran her hand tenderly along one of the fins that stretched down to the rear. Then turned back to Rob with her hands on her hips. “Clarabell’s in the middle of a bad hair decade, but I plan on fixing that.”

I have a new favorite song...

2008-07-01T10:30:00.003-05:00

(audio is better here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAp9BKosZXs)

... although cherry chapstick? erk, can we try for strawberry or bubblegum instead?

then I found this...

And laughed myself silly! The video is priceless - make sure to watch the whole thing, the best bit is at the end.

Of course, I went and bought the whole album!

I've been Gigglefied...gaggled...giggled?

2008-06-23T19:47:00.001-05:00

Which ever way you want to put it Mrs Giggles has reviewed Red Skirt, Cool Fountain, and Accidentally Were?

I've been out of the country the last few weeks, and horror of all horrors, I didn't take the laptop! So I've had to wait to do an update.

All in all, with a 79 and an 81, I think I did fairly well on Mrz G's scale of hot or not. I was totally stoked that she got the whole poke in the side of the paranormal genre that I was aiming for with Accidentally Were? She had this to say:

...Accidentally Were? is a comedy that also pokes some fun at its whole over-the-top mate-mate-mate premise. Poor Rex is a man who has been trying to avoid falling into the mate-mate-mate trap for so long, only to find himself mated with Pearl when he has only - okay, some - good intentions when it comes to helping her get used to her new life. Pearl is a heroine who for the most part has no idea what is going on, but she doesn't let these Were folks push her around too much. She and Rex make a pretty fun pair... Full review Here.

And this about Red Skirt :

...Red Skirt, Cool Fountain has some very scorching hot love scenes here, but at the same time, I find the developing relationship between the three characters a most fascinating one. Ms Douglas doesn't just focus on the characters in the bedroom, she also has them exploring their relationship outside the bedroom... Full Review Here

And since Mrs G isn't blogging any longer, I'm going to put a picture up here that I caught on my cellphone (hence the crappy picture) while on the way to breakfast recently. No, I'm not trying to be a suck up, but you'll have to admit, it'll give you a grin if not a giggle all of your own..

Reviewing some of my personal reading

2008-06-23T19:45:00.000-05:00

I'm keeping an eye out for interesting multicultural books in the library for the next while, and I'm going to post short reviews on a blog I've named "All the Colours of Romance". If you've read an interesting multicultural book of some sort lately, and would like to do a short review on it, just drop me a line at anne @annedouglas.com and I'll set about posting it for you on the blog.

Loves Potion - Monica Jackson

2008-06-23T19:28:00.003-05:00

From my review blog, All the Colours of Romance:

Love's Potion
Author: Monica Jackson
ISBN-13: 978-0758211613
Kensington Dafina Sept 2005

Jasmine Flynn, CPA, never imagined that the old perfume bottle she'd picked up in a junk store would change her life. But when the djinni (that's djinni, not genie, if you please) appears and Jasmine takes one look at the most handsome man she's ever seen, she decides to play along and make a wish. After all, what woman wouldn't wish for a man like Raziq--tall, lean, and breathtakingly gorgeous--but can she ever trust a man again after what she's been through? As Raziq explains the ins and outs of magical wishes, Jasmine learns more than she ever wanted to know about demons, sorceresses, and otherworldly powers until, without warning, Jasmine and Raziq find themselves in the midst of a war between the powers of good and evil, as well as a battle for her own heart...

Somewhere between Taupo, NZ and Auckland, NZ, the library's copy of this book, along with my notes for this review went missing (aka, Anne didn't pack it on one of her many stops to visit family on her whirlwind trip home). So this review is going to be a little more brief than I'd anticipated.

Love's Potion was a fairly light hearted, funny, sexy little romance story. That might sound like I'm calling it a little trite, considering it's a paranormal and the storyline is very much about the fight between good and evil, but with many of the heavy on the emo, oh-my-the-world-is-so-dark-and-twisted paranormal offerings of late it doesn't compare - and that's not a bad thing. Personally, a paranormal romance with a little comedic kick to it is right up my alley. Seriously, Demons and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night don't have to be all about the deep, dark and oh noes the world is ending drama -- you can have fun while saving the world :)

The covering-front-for-my-bruised-and-emotionally-squishy-insides zingers that passed between our Heroine, Jasmine, and her unlikely, right-from-the-bottle Djinni, Raziq, kept a smile on my face throughout the story. I especially loved this wry little observation by our Djinni Hero, Raziq

"Maybe. But he was the one who made the vows. He had his cake, over ate it, and thought he could vomit out the consequences. He betrayed his family, and accepted your love, then trampled on it. He did the greater evil."

Loved, loved, loved the image this gave me. (There was another one I'd marked in the book to highlight, but I can't find it now in the pdf ARC)

It's not a long book - about category length I'd guess, judging by the reading time - but Ms Jackson manages to give us quite a bit of a view into the 'other' world Jasmine finds her eyes opened to. I could quite sympathise with calling in for a mental health day after getting her first taste of the spirit world she'd previously been blind to. But although the world seemed rather interesting it suffered some from lack of depth. There are quite a number of side players in the story, maybe too many, as it seems the story take some sort of turn at each new person you meet, which kind of rushes you through some of the journey Jasmine and Raziq end up on. Having not read any of Ms Jackson's other paranormals, I'm not sure if these are a reoccurring bunch of characters from other books, or setting up for sequels.

I'd definitely recommend Love's Potion to someone wanting a short, quirky paranormal read - if nothing but for the yummy Djinni goodness of Raziq:

He was tall, at least six feet, two inches, with deep bronze skin. He wore jeans that fit his long, sexy thighs like a glove and a white T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up on his muscled biceps. His hair was cropped short with crispy big black curls. A gold hoop earring encrusted with tiny diamond and sapphire stones dangled from his left ear. His features were chiseled and so handsome, he was breathtaking. His wicked grin showed teeth so white they gleamed.

(where do I find his Djinni bottle, hubba hubba)

I understand this is the first book of three, and I think I nabbed the 2nd book while I was at the library (no I didn't take that with me, so it's still safely in the library book bag) so I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next.

a week on..

2008-06-23T19:25:00.004-05:00

And the jet lag is still kicking my butt!

I have this big list of things to get done - including updating links, cross posting the review I've done of Love's Potion by Monica Jackson, actually writing something on one of my WIP - any number of things.

Instead my body can't figure out where the hell in the world it is and I'm not getting anything done. Gack!

Available now at Fictionwise and ARe

2008-05-26T20:07:00.003-05:00

2008 Eppie finalist Tea for Three is available now at Fictionwise and All Romance eBooks.

I've been waiting and waiting...and even more waiting to finally have a fuller length novella up at these two venues, so I did a bit of a butt wiggle in the chair when I saw these links :)

Now, I just need to figure out how to update the author bio at FW and just how I can update the listing to show it was an Eppie Finalist.