I first fell in love with the Bard in Junior High. A very ambitious—or possibly insane—drama advisor selected Julius Caesar as the school play. I was cast as Portia, Caesar’s wife, and spent hours learning my script and practicing my lines and blocking.

Unfortunately, I was the only cast member who felt the same way. The play was cancelled several weeks into rehearsal.

The beauty of the language and my fascination with the characters stayed with me, though, through high school and college, through Shakespeare in the Park productions and community theater, through Helena and Viola and Desdemona. It stayed strong as I became a junior high teacher myself, with the requirement that I teach Romeo and Juliet every year. (Side note: why Romeo and Juliet? Do school boards not know the play? Is it really the best idea to teach kids that you can find your true love at 14 and if your families don’t want you to be together, might as well off yourselves? I’d much rather have taught one of his comedies. But I digress.)

I can still remember entire monologues from performances I was in. I was devastated when I found out that my favorite actor was going to be in a Shakespeare in the Park performance of Much Ado About Nothing—on the other side of the country—and I was going to miss it. When it comes to Shakespeare, I’m an unabashed fangirl.

In case it’s not clear, I’m passionate about Shakespeare, and was thrilled to work a subplot about his plays into my newest book, Take a Chance On Me. In it, my heroine Jessica teaches Shakespeare and directs the school play—though with a lot less enthusiasm initially for the task than I would have had! Eventually, though, the Bard works his magic on her as well.

Do you like Shakespeare? What’s your favorite Shakespeare play/movie/performance?

Accept no substitute…for love.

The Lady Doth Protest Too Much
Jessica Martin is determined to earn a permanent teaching position at Summit High School. That means hard work, dedication, and even volunteering extra time to direct the school’s Shakespeare play. Which leaves no room for romance—especially with a co-worker. She didn’t factor in the school’s sexy security officer and the delicious fantasies he inspires.

Too Much Of A Good Thing
Former cop Tom Cameron likes his job. Or he did, until the new substitute busted his orderly life right open. Now, he can’t seem to avoid her—deserted hallways, empty theaters, classrooms after dark—but he’s got too many skeletons in his closet to risk his heart again. Asking her out to distract her from the play’s, well, drama is a friendly gesture. Nothing more.

The Course Of True Love Never Did Run Smooth
Their chemistry could melt down the science lab, and before long they’re burning up the sheets off-campus. And uncovering raw emotions—a stark reminder that love isn’t in their curricula. When a troubled student goes over the edge, though, the need to stop a tragedy brings them right back where they started—face to face with fate.

Warning: This book contains sexy encounters in classrooms, inappropriate use of school facilities, backstage shenanigans, and illicit activities on a ferryboat.

Well, you’re not getting it here. Head to Everything Erotic today for peek at Nip ‘n’ Tuck. It’s a short story, in its entirety, written by yours truly.

What happens when a seamstress agrees to a naughty liaison with a stranger from on online chat room? More than she bargained for. Enjoy! And be sure to drop a comment. Sometimes, all I writer wants is a little appreciation. 😉

Everything Erotic

I’m doing my usual thing, only not right here! Join me at After Midnight Fantasies where I’m asking for YOUR favorite simple delights.

After Midnight Fantasies

Y’all are only interested in who won that creepy Dead Elvis doll. But you’re gonna have to wait until the end to find out. That’s just the way I roll. And don’t you scroll down! That’s cheating.

It’s Sunday. Time for me to brag or blush. But first I have to tell you what happened to me yesterday on my way to my Diamond State Romance Authors meeting.

I’m taking a back road, lots of winding turns. The road straightens out for about two seconds, and my foot gets a little heavy (I was listening to Five Finger Death Punch’s Bad Company). A cop comes around a turn. I glance down. Yeah, I’m speeding. Please don’t stop me. Please don’t stop me.

In my rearview mirror I see him do a three-point turn in the middle of the road and know I’m sunk. Crap!

I’m bending over, reaching into my glove box, when he walks up and knocks on my passenger-side door. I look up into the prettiest blue eyes shaded by a State Trooper’s hat. And he has that jaw—you know the one. Straight at the edge, jutting, with hollows in his cheeks above. His mouth’s a straight line. Super sexy, and I’m starting to blush.

“Ma,am, do you know you were driving 17 miles over she speed limit?”

I squint and wrinkle my nose. “Sounds about right.” (I sound like a freaking genius!)

He pauses, probably to figure out if I’m being a bitch. “Was there a reason you were in such a hurry?”

I usually blurt the truth. But for once I was able to press my lips together to keep from telling him I was listening to Five Finger Death Punch, because I thought maybe he’d think I was cussin’ him in code.

So instead, I say, “Uh, I was listening to Disturbed.” I know, another bonehead answer, but it’s better than the time I told the cop I was “blow-drying my car.”

Anyway, I got another ticket. Third here in Arkansas, but none has made it on my driving record so far. Phew! And I wasn’t mad. I figure I will take the ticket off my taxes as “research”, and besides, he was the finest thing I looked at all day. It was just the price of admission.

Back to the report card…

* Last week, I started work on the next free chapter of Cat Tails. DiDi and Mason are in bed. Again. So you’ll have some nice smutty sex at the start.
* I am at 90% completion of my little novella. Did I mention it’s a MIK?
* I had a long conversation with marketing at one of my publishers, which prompted me into a frenzy of activity to get them information and to galvanize the other authors involved in the project.

And that’s about it, other than the DSRA meeting yesterday, which turned into a late lunch and stretched all the way until 4 PM. Had a great time even if I didn’t get any writing done.

So, back to Bony Elvis. He’s been keeping a smile on my face all week. I hate to let him go. But, I did promise, didn’t I? The winner of Dead Elvis is…(drumroll)…(by random number generator, as always)…Jen B! Jen, congrats and email me!!

…but not here! Today, I’m at Wild & Wicked Cowboys. I’ve posted a picture of a very sexy cowboy and posed a question. Stop by and post a comment, and…

You guessed it! You’ll have one more shot at that creepy little statue of Dead Elvis. Tomorrow morning, I promise I’ll name the winner. 🙂

I was surfing last night. I get to do that after I finish up my pages for the day—my reward to me. I went to Amazon, and just for fun, typed in “Girls Who Bite”, never expecting that it would actually appear—but there it was! I’d only first seen the cover on Wednesday, and I originally was told it wouldn’t be out until October, so I was doubly surprise that the release date is September 13th!

I can’t wait to tell you more about the book or share the blurb (I have yet to finalize that with the publisher). Soon though! In the meantime, I can share the line up of stellar authors that appear in this anthology. This is the tentative order of the stories as well, chosen more for how the stories flow, from one to the next, rather than which I liked best. 🙂

Vivi Anna — Bloody Wicked
Delphine Dryden — Al Dente
Paisely Smith — Dark Angel
Angela Capterton — Pet Door
Karis Walsh — Dark Guard
Anna Meadows — La Caida
Adele DuBois — The Crystal Altar
Shayla Kersten — Beloved
Christine D’Abo — Bound Lust
Myla Jackson — The Gift of Lillith
A.E. Grace — Madeline
Victoria Oldham —Red Horizon
Regina Jameson — Impundulu
Delilah Devlin — Night at the Wax Museum
Rebecca Buck — She Knows I am Watching

I really think that vampire fans and erotic romance fans are going to enjoy this volume very much. The stories are fresh, some completely startling, and all of them very well written. I can’t wait until you all have a chance to see for yourselves. Do yourselves a favor, and pre-order the book now. If you’re a fan of any of these ladies, at the very least, visit Amazon.com to “like” and “tag” it to help us get the word out!

Be sure to comment again today for second chance to win Dead Elvis!

UPDATE! The winner of yesterday’s contest, hosted by Juniper Bell, is Stormy! Stormy, congrats, and send me an email so I can arrange delivery!

In the meantime, I promised some pictures from last weekend’s trip to Memphis. My travel buddy’s were the red-headed hellion, her new boyfriend, and the 6-year-old. We all drove up in my tiny Scion which couldn’t have been comfortable for Dex (he’s over 6 feet). We left early in the morning from my home and arrived at our first stop around noon. Graceland.

Yes, it’s cheesy. But it wasn’t for me. My daughter adores Elvis. How’d that happen? Guess it’s my fault. I’ve always had a thing for bad B movies. When she was in grade school, TBS ran an annual Elvis movie marathon on the anniversary of his death that lasted a week. It was our thing. When I’d get home from work, we’d rush through homework and dinner, then sit down with popcorn to watch Elvis. She’s been in love ever since.

And really, if you go to Memphis, there are iconic places you have to go: Graceland, Sun City Records, and Beale street. We hit two of them in our quick fly-by weekend.

Yes, this is Elvis’s Graceland mansion.

This is me in his trophy room.

But here’s where we spent most of our time—shopping and eating—Beale street. It’s pretty empty because of the cold, but that suited us just fine. The stores weren’t crowded. We hired a carriage to take us on a loop of the downtown and riverfront area. For the six-year-old. Uh-huh.

Maybe I had a little too much fun?

Anyway, I brought back a couple of gifts I bought in Tater Red’s on Beale street. This is the first prize I’ll offer up—Dead Elvis! You know you want it! I’ll be sure to add some other swag to the package!

Post a comment on my blog anytime before Sunday, and you’re entered in the drawing!