It’s Christmas in a few weeks, and that means one I can justify indulging in my favorite treat. I love to walk the stores at this time of year. The presentation of the chocolates intrigues me.  The colors and shapes, the selection – just lovely!  It’s while I was studying the heaped counters that I decided to devote this blog to fun facts on chocolate.

And as none of us are going to stop eating it – we might as well enjoy it!

1. Chocolate is healthy for you – it’s made from plants and contains many similar health benefits as dark green vegetables. Chocolate contains flavonoids, which act as antioxidants to protect the body from free radical damage.  A small bar of dark chocolate a day will help to reduce your blood pressure and has proven to lower your bad cholesterol by up to 10%.
2. Chocolate contains copper, iron, zinc and magnesium – nutrients that are essential to the body.
3. Chocolate has long been considered an aphrodisiac. It’s not, but it does contain a chemical, called phenylethylamine, which is the same chemical the brain produces naturally when you’re in love.  So only enjoy with someone you want to be in love with – at least temporarily.
4. Chocolate contains serotonin, which acts as a natural anti-depressant – so it’s actually good to eat when you’re feeling down.
5. Chocolate stimulates production of endorphins, which helps you feel happy.
6. Chocolate contains other elements like caffeine, and theobromine, which act as stimulants – so it’s good to take when you’re tired as a quick pick up.
7. In the US, almost three quarters of the consumers choose milk chocolate over other varieties.
8. In 2000, the Italians created the largest chocolate bar coming in at a whopping 5,000 pounds.  The Armenians broke that record in 2010, producing a chocolate bar that weighed 4410 kilos (9702 lbs).
9. The popular belief that chocolate causes acne has been proven to be inaccurate.
10. When making the Hitchcock film, Psycho, they used chocolate syrup to represent blood in the famous shower scene.
11. The world consumes close to 600,000 tons of cocoa beans a year. Most of these beans come from West Africa. It takes close to 400 of these beans to make 1 pound a chocolate a year.
12. The chocolate beans come from a tree species carrying the genus name of Theobroma – which means Food of the Gods.
13. The chocolate industry coaxes over $20 billion a year from consumers.
14. An average American will eat about 10-12 lbs of chocolate per year.
15. The Swiss were reputed to be the heaviest consumers of chocolate each year, consuming close to 21 pounds per person per year.  Not to worry, they have one the lowest heart failure rates and obesity issues.  However, the Swedish have just moved into the top spot – consuming close to 30 pounds per person per year.  I have no idea how their health issues are!
16. Chocolate melts in your mouth, because it’s made with cocoa butter, which has a melting point lower than the average temperature of the human body.
17. It’s been proven that allowing chocolate to melt in your mouth produces brain and heart rate activity that’s similar to – and even stronger than – the effects produced when kissing someone passionately
18. One chocolate chip, should give any adult enough energy to walk 150 feet. Imagine what that one chocolate chip cookie could do for you.
19. American chocolate manufacturers use around 1.5 billion pounds of milk.
20. The first chocolate cake has been traced back to 1674.
21. Hersey’s is the oldest and largest chocolate company in the US.  However, Cadbury is the most popular in the UK.
22. The snicker bar was named after a pet horse belonging to Frank and Ethel Mars.  It first came on the market in 1929.
23. And finally, who said money doesn’t grow on trees, cocoa beans were used as a currency back in the days of the Aztecs and Mayans.

Besides, I’m celebrating the release of Garden of Sorrow, book 4 in my Psychic Vision series this week – with my favorite treat, a big box of chocolates!

Alexis Gordon has spent the last year trying to get over the loss of her sister. Then she goes to work on a normal day…and reality as she knows it…disappears.

Detective Kevin Sutherland, armed with his own psychic abilities, honed by his friend Stefan Kronos, a talented psychic artist and law enforcement consultant. But Kevin has never seen anything like this case – a killer with a personal vendetta to stop Alexis from finding out more about him …and his long dead victims.

The killer can be stopped. He must be stopped. But he’s planning on surviving…even after death.

So how do you indulge? On occasion – and yes, every day could be considered an occasion in my house. Only on big holidays like Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Valentine’s Day? To celebrate? To wallow? Tell me, what role does chocolate play in your life?

* * * * *

BIO

Dale Mayer is a prolific multi-published writer. She’s best known for her Psychic Visions series. Besides her romantic suspense/thrillers, Dale also writes paranormal romance and crossover young adult books in several different genres.  To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series . All her books are available in print format as well.

To find out more about Dale and her books, visit her at https://www.dalemayer.com. Or connect with her online with Twitter at www.twitter.com/dalemayer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dalemayer.author

Books by Dale Mayer

Psychic Vision Series
Tuesday’s Child
Hide’n Go Seek
Maddy’s Floor
Garden of Sorrow – Out December 1, 2012

Single Title Romantic Suspense/thrillers
Touched by Death – out now!

Novellas
It’s a Dog’s Life- romantic comedy

Young Adult Books
In Cassie’s Corner
Dangerous Designs – Book I
Deadly Designs – Book 2 – out now!
Vampire in Denial – Book I of Blood Ties
Vampire in Distress – Book 2!
Gem Stone Mystery Series- out now!

Non-Fiction Books
Career Essentials: The Resume
Career Essentials: The Cover Letter
Career Essentials: The Interview
Career Essentials: 3 in 1

I still don’t have much time to stop and play, but it looks like you’ve been having fun with my wonderful guests! Thought I’d poke my head in the door today to tell you about some new releases. Well, they are old releases, actually, but newly packaged into something else. Maybe you missed my stories the first time around and something here might appeal. As my grandmother would say, take a gander at this…

First, for those of you who like to hold a printed book in your hot little hands comes Red Hot Weekend today!

Three stories. One weekend. Hundreds of fantasies to fulfill.

Dare Me by Lexxie Couper
Nothing prepared Emily for the Aussie who strode into her alternative cancer clinic and dared her to cure him. Eight months later, Rob is out of danger…and Emily’s in too deep.
Rob never thought he’d survive, much less fall for his oncologist. The problem? Her Hippocratic Oath hangs between them.

Hidden Fire by Jess Dee
Jenna is all set to spend the weekend wallowing in misery. Instead she’s tied to a chair, knee to knee with the man who broke her heart.
With one chance to show his partner in captivity that his love is real, Garreth methodically, wickedly, sets out to dismantle her defenses. One dirty word at a time.

Lone Heart by Delilah Devlin
Lone Wyatt is in no rush to find his one-and-only, until he spots Charli Kudrow. One look into her haunted eyes, and he’s ready to tear through every objection she can think up.
One killer smile from the cowboy, and Charli feels something she hasn’t felt in a long time—a spark of attraction. Thinking she’ll never see him again, she succumbs to temptation, only to discover that spark is a raging wildfire.

Buy at Amazon
Buy at Samhain
Read an Excerpt from Lone Heart

* * * * *

Invítame a Entrar

I found this on Amazon last night. Looks like Harlequin has had my short story translated. If any of you are interested in a Spanish ebook edition, it’s here! Sorry I couldn’t get a better quality picture, because it really is kind of pretty, but then, I like keys.

New Holiday Release and Book Giveaway

Thanks, Delilah! It’s a pleasure guest blogging with you. I love this site, and I really enjoy chatting with all the readers. At our house, we celebrate Christmas. Traditionally, the day after Thanksgiving, the kids are already begging us to get out and chop down a tree. When we remind them that a live tree needs to last until January 6, and we can’t cut one down for another couple of weeks, they start asking to get down the far-too-many boxes of holiday decorations from above the garage.

Last year, to keep this annual pester fest from spoiling the weeks between Thanksgiving and Tree Cutting Day, I came up with a plan. I bought three plastic storage bins and wrote each of their names on one. Then I took down all the boxes of decorations and chose a few things that I knew each of them would like. Placing them in their respective bins, I added suction cup hangers and non-paint removing double-stick tape.

They loved it! They first had to clean their rooms, of course, but surprisingly I didn’t hear the usual whining about that. Then they each spent hours decorated their rooms like tiny little Martha Stewarts, and I even found some short strings of lights for them to frame their window with.

It’s a lot more relaxed here, now that the decorating pressure is off, and I have time to do some writing. I’m part way through the second book in the Cowboy Jackpot series, which will take place on Valentine’s Day. But today, I’m happy to share the blurb, cover art, and an excerpt from Cowboy Jackpot: Christmas. I hope you enjoy it!

Here’s the blurb: A lucky first kiss in front of a Las Vegas slot machine pays off big for bull rider Boone Hancock and New York college student Gigi Colberg-Staub. During the day they spend together as VIP guests of the casino, an intense attraction develops. Throughout the night they share in the big bed of the comped suite, hot, sensual moves ignite wild climaxes.

When Gigi receives a miscommunication, she believes Boone thinks of her as one-night buckle bunny. She confronts him, but Boone convinces himself it’s best for both of them if she goes on believing that, and he lets her walk out of his life. When he realizes his mistake, and then sees the sacrifice Gigi made for him, is it too late to win her back?

Running her hands slowly up his arms, Gigi sighed. “I want to fool around.”

Boone tipped his head back and laughed like a kid. “You’re the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten.” Against the backdrop of the suite’s windows, he reminded her of a package all wrapped in lights.

His hands slid to her butt and he tugged her up.

Holding on to his shoulders, Gieselle balanced herself and wrapped her legs around him. She loved it when he carried her.

“You don’t have to ask this cowboy more than once.” He strode to the bedroom, bent over the bed, and laid her back on it. Lit only by the lights of the strip, the room wrapped around them, romantic and cozy.

Propping his elbows at her side, his face hovered inches from hers, his breath warm on her skin. “Baby, I’ve got plans for you.”

A hot shiver skittered through her. “Plans?”

“Mm hm.” His eyes darkened and his breath came faster. “

She unbuttoned one button of his shirt. “What kind of plans?”

He reached behind his back, tugged off her shoe, and tossed it. “Wicked ones.”

Flicking open another button, she asked, “Hot plans?”

“Yeah. And sticky.” He took her other shoe and threw it, too.

Opening the rest of his buttons, her mouth watered for a lick of his nice pecs. “God, you’re sexy.”

“Baby.” It came out on a growl and he ripped off his cowboy hat and threw it onto a chair. “You’re making me crazy.”

She tugged his shirttails from his jeans. “I want to make you naked.”

With incredible speed, he removed his shirt and leaned back over her. “Your turn.” He slid his hands from her knees down her thighs, his fingers tracing the elastic of her panties around her hips.

The rough calluses on his warm hands rattled lusty heat along her skin and down to her pussy.

Boone gathered her dress under her butt and sat her up, pulling it from under her and up over her head.

He froze, his eyes on her see-through lavender bra. “Oh, jeez.”

His stare puckered her nipples and tingled chills across her breasts. Gieselle laced her fingers through his hat hair, releasing the blond mop. The softness on her fingers tugged at her heart. A rugged cowboy with the sweet personality of a gentleman.

Boone’s mouth covered hers as he laid her back on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her, holding on tight. His big prize buckle chilled her belly.

She traced his lips with her tongue and he dove in, his tongue on hers, on her cheeks, tickling the roof of her mouth.

His overpowering strength did fuzzy things to her brain and wild, jittery things to her core. Her hips made tiny circles, cradling his hard shaft through his jeans.

“Gigi.” He whispered against her lips as his hips took up the rhythm of hers.

She scraped her nails lightly down his back. “Boone?”

“When you do that…” His mouth pressed hard and hot on her neck, his teeth nipping, his tongue tracing patterns. Slowly he eased his body lower, dragging his mouth along her skin, tasting as he went.

She closed her eyes and tipped her head back, thrusting her breasts closer to him as desire swirled and puddled low in her belly.

His mouth traced the line of her bra across one breast, then the other. “You’re so hot. Your skin is burning my lips.”

“Don’t stop.” Her blood raced through her like solar flares.

“No, ma’am.”

********

I’d love to hear what your favorite part of the holidays is. Is it decorating? Baking? Cooking? Or shopping? I’m giving away an ecopy of one of my backlist books to one lucky commenter.

Cowboy Jackpot: Christmas is available in digital format at Smashwords and Amazon, and in paperback at Createspace and Amazon.

Randi
Randi “Rode Hard and Put Up Satisfied”
RandiAlexander.com
-Turn Up the Heat, Chase and Seduction, and Her Cowboy Stud are available at The Wild Rose Press and Amazon
-Cowboy Bad Boys is available in digital format at Smashwords and Amazon and in paperback from Createspace and at Amazon
-Cowboy Lust is available in paperback and Kindle format at Amazon

I’m on the downhill slide toward THE END with the sequel to Shattered Souls. So, I don’t have time this morning to write a long love note. I’ll keep this simple. 🙂

The last winner of The Random Act of Winning Contest is…shauntih! Shauntih, to get your prize of a $5 gift certificate from Amazon.com, you have to email me. Congrats, and I hope to hear from you soon!

The winner of yesterday’s contest gets a free download of either Fournicopia or Five Ways ‘Til Sunday. And that winner is…Janice Hougland! Congrats and email me, Janice! 🙂

And here’s today’s burning question. Have fun!

Often times, movie sequels fall short of our expectations. What sequel
do you feel was the best you’ve ever seen?

It’s been a while since I participated in Lauren Dane’s Snippet Saturday, but I’m back! And won’t you be glad? 🙂  I’ll admit it, I’ve been busy. So busy I forgot my Random Act of Winning Contest ended on Thursday! I’ll post the last winner tomorrow, so you still have a chance to win that one!

Today’s theme is celebrations, and since I haven’t written a family occasion like Thanksgiving or a Christmas, I had to think about what I could offer. Well, what better way to celebrate the happiness of a new trio than an orgy? Enjoy!

And if you enter a comment today, you’ll be entered to win a free copy of one of the two prequel books: Five Ways ‘Til Sunday or Fournicopia! (And if you win and already have these stories, we’ll work something out!)

“Wow! A very hot story… This author definitely knows how to pen a scorching and stimulating tale… A very entertaining (and eye-opening) addition to the series.” 5 Stars and Top Pick, Night Owl Reviews

Playing with pain can put you in a world of hurt…or bliss.

Playing switch in front of a La Forge BDSM club audience was supposed to be a one-time fling. A favor for a friend. Instead, when Craig Eason realizes he’s caught the attention of an enigmatic, powerful Dom across the crowded room, he senses this could be the man he’s been looking for to test the boundaries of his own sexuality.

Firefighter Aiden Byrne is a very private man with strong S&M longings he keeps in check for everyone else’s safety. His sub, Jennifer Callum, thinks she likes it rough, but he can’t let go the way he’d like to. Until one defiant stare from the handsome cop on the La Forge stage causes Aiden’s most dangerous needs to uncoil from the deepest, darkest part of his soul.

With the blessing—and active involvement—of his sub, a seduction is set in motion that ends in a scene that shakes them all to the core…

Product Warnings: Contains a powerful, burly firefighter who plans to take everything a hot cop thinks he knows about himself and send it up in smoke. Please replace the batteries in all your smoke detectors before reading this book. Contains scenes with m/m/f, m/m, spanking, flogging, restraints, and one wild orgy of pleasure.

Craig opened the apartment door and stood back while his friends entered—which they did very slowly since every one of them had to do a double take at how he was outfitted this night.

At Aiden’s insistence, Craig wore a studded black collar. His chest was bare, as was the rest of his body except for the leather straps encircling his balls and the base of his erect cock.

Marti pushed past the men, gave Craig’s accoutrements a long stare, then burst out laughing. “Good thing I dressed for this party,” she said, slipping out of the raincoat she wore. Beneath it, she was dressed in a short PVC dress with cutouts around her nipples, which sported two shiny hoops.

Craig glanced down and grinned. “Love them.”

Marti leaned close. “As soon as they’re fully healed, Jackson’s gonna lead me around La Forge by chains attached to my titties.”

Craig’s smile widened and his gaze swung to Jackson.

His friend rolled his eyes. “Her idea. I promise.”

Craig laughed and reached down to pull her close for a hug. His hand clamped on her bottom. “No undies either?”

“Never know what’s gonna happen during one of these initiations.”

“Isn’t that the truth,” Ash said, striding past them, Gus following two steps behind. Although his head was bent, he turned his face and winked. “New rules,” he said in an exaggerated whisper.

“Come on in. Get comfortable. There’s finger food in the play room.” He said it with a waggle of his eyebrows, which had everyone trooping inside quickly, Beau and Mondo entering more sedately since they would be without partners tonight. Or so they thought.

Craig grinned, leading the way, aware of Mondo’s deep chuckles as he followed his naked ass. No doubt he’d noted the plug. Craig didn’t mind being the butt of their jokes for a while. Aiden’s orders. Craig and Jenn were eager these days to be dutifully obedient.

They trailed through the bedroom to the playroom, where soft blues guitar played. Inside, votives covered the ledges of the windows. The room was well furnished. The St. Andrew’s cross they’d installed yesterday, built of gleaming mahogany, drew more than one appreciative stare. However, it was the table in the center of the room where they all gathered.

Craig leaned down and gave Jenn a kiss.

“Stop it,” she said under her breath. “I’m supposed to be furniture. Do you kiss wood?” Read the rest of this entry »

Odd Man Out

The holiday season is here, and at Casa Andrews that means food, frolic, and, most of all, family.  This Christmas we’ll be setting a table for nineteen – and I couldn’t be more excited.  To me, the holidays are always richer and even the food tastes better when there are swarms of loved ones making the days merry (and noisy) and bright.

Ah, family, the people who love you even when they think you’re crazy.  Take my sister and me.  She’s a nester – hearth and home the focus of all her energy – and I’m a nomad, always anticipating my next shiny new adventure.  She thinks I’m nuts because I’d rather take a trip to Turkey than make a down payment on a nice little house somewhere.  We have the same source material and grew up in the same house, but somehow we always seem to be coming at life from opposite directions. 

Do you ever look at your family and think that one of you just has to be a changeling?

That’s exactly how Mia, the heroine of my new release Finder’s Keeper, feels about her family.  She’s a scientist, dominated by logic and surrounded by people she loves who live their lives by superstition and emotion.  She can’t seem to figure out how she fits in, until she meets Chase, a sexy psychic who somehow manages to act as her bridge to her family, in spite of the fact that he’s been avoiding everything related to family attachments ever since he lost his own.

Who knew a pretend relationship was just what these two needed to find out where they really fit is each other arms?  (Pause for schmaltzy sigh. Awwww.) 

Love isn’t a science. It’s pure chemistry.

Karmic Consultants, Book 6

True love? For neuroscientist Dr. Mia Corregianni, it’s just an unproven hypothesis. But when she loses the heirloom watch her family believes is enchanted with a potent love spell, she fights superstition with superstition by hiring a psychic finder to track it down.

Chase Hunter is a human compass, homing in on whatever the seeker wants most—that is, when he isn’t surfing or actively avoiding anything resembling a real human attachment. Such has been his life since an accident took his family.

Unfortunately, Mia’s case isn’t a simple insta-Find. The catch? To disguise his real mission from her romance-crazy family, he has to pretend to be her boyfriend. He could deal with that if her complicated emotions weren’t blocking his abilities—or if her innermost desires weren’t walloping him upside the head every time he opens himself to his gift.

As the case wears on, their fake romance begins to feel all too real. Scary stuff for a man who’s reluctant to let himself live again. And a woman who doesn’t believe in magic…or love.

Warning: This book contains meddling grandmothers, magic watches, and a surfer with a body so hot it can teach any scientist the true meaning of chemistry.

Now available from Samhain, Kindle, & Nook.

Bio: An Alaskan girl born and raised, Vivi Andrews still lives in the frozen north when she isn’t indulging her travel addiction.  The award-winning author of sixteen paranormal romance novels and novellas including the popular Serengeti Shifter series, she is currently hard at work on her next supernatural happily-ever-after.  Learn more about Vivi and her books at https://www.viviandrews.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viviandrews
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ViviAndrews

I started reading through my current work-in-progess and completely forgot to post here.

Like this line?

“Somewhere among the guests, there is a demon who lives there, who has attached himself to the premises. The walls are his skin, the beams his bones. When he consumes a human victim, he takes them inside himself, into the walls to feed.”

Yeah, it’s a paranormal and kicking my ass.

So, while I continue to read and tweak and add new words, answer me this. Remember, tomorrow is the last day of the Random Act of Winning Contest!

If you were hired by a traveling circus, what sort of act would you be in?
Don’t let your real talents or lack thereof inhibit your answer!