Progress for Dark Realm-4

I’ll admit I was a slacker last week. Only 27 pages total progress. The previous week’s 80-something pages left me feeling pretty smug. The muse swatted me like a fly for being so arrogant. I lost the story for a while, couldn’t dream what came next, didn’t like the loosey-goosey pages I had, and really had to work hard to get them into shape. I’m still not there, but hey, it’s a rough draft. So long as the story is working, I can move forward.

Tomorrow will be a real test. My hero has to enter hell. Haven’t figured out quite what it looks like. Maybe it will come to me as I go. In the meantime, I have a bunch of books gathered on my TBR stack and it’s way too hard a decision which one I should read first. Maybe I’ll watch the movie I TIVO’d, “The Good Witch,” with Catherine Bell from JAG. It looks light and with just enough of a paranormal flavor to keep my interest. ~DD

I’ll admit, I’m always late finding the good stuff. Doesn’t matter if it’s a great sale at Walmart; I won’t hear about it until a week later when a friend shows me some great deal she found. Same with TV shows. I didn’t find Buffy until season 5—which explains why I’m still a staunch Spike girl. Well, it’s Season 4 of the TV show Supernatural, and I just “found” it. I TIVO’d one show and was hooked. But I’m having a hard time choosing my favorite hunk—Sam or Dean?

If you’ve never seen the show, take a look at the two lead actors. Serious beefcake, here. Dean’s the bad boy (he’s been to Hell and back) and Sam’s the adorably earnest one (with a big bad secret).

Not much in the way of news today. And it’s O-dark-thirty (that’s Army speak) in the morning, and I’m feeling a little lazy about posting, so I thought I’d share the first couple of reviews the Allure Authors have gotten for our new release, Alluring Tales: Hot Holiday Nights.

5 Blue Ribbons from Chrissy Dionne at Romance Junkies!
“…Once again the Allure Authors deliver an anthology that promises to hold your attention through each and every one of the stories. Each story delivers a delightful array of erotic ventures along with memorable characters and storylines that speak to the romantics in each of us…the perfect book to heat up those cold winter nights.”

5/5 and Top Pick from Night Owl Romance!
“Alluring Tales 2: Hot Holiday Nights is a compilation of wicked fantasy tales written by seven brilliant authors. Each little story is in and of its own an exciting and enchanting journey into the life of two people that have their own fantasy to work out, each colliding at just the right moment, or just the right way for the sparks to fly…”

I have a brand-spanking-new interview at Fallen Angels Reviews. Check it out! I’d love to hear your comments. Interview Link

Just so y’all don’t think I’ve been resting on my laurels, here’s a peek at the book I finished last week for Ellora’s Cave. Lockdown is the sequel to my dark paranormal, Sin’s Gift.

What happens when demons take over a cellblock?

Around nine o’clock when prisoners were beginning to settle in front of the television or into little groups to chat quietly, Gillian’s mike squawked. “Priest, got a new ten-fifteen. Needs an escort.”

She hadn’t been briefed about their procedures for bringing in new prisoners, but she had read the manual. Didn’t seem any different from Bentonville’s SOP. She headed out of the housing unit to West Gate’s “Sally Port.” A white van was pulled up close to the port. A sheriff’s deputy was outside the vehicle chatting to with the officer manning the gate when she walked up to them.

“Got fresh meat,” the officer said.

Gillian wasn’t entirely sure whether he was talking about the prisoner being led up in leg irons toward the gate or her. And a glance at his twisted lips told her the ambiguity had been deliberate. She lifted her chin and held out her hand for the clipboard with the papers describing their requisition of a new prisoner, named Gabriel Vlahos.

Inmate number 140849 now. Chains rattled, feet shuffled as the prisoner rounded the end of the van.

Gillian’s eyes widened a fraction and she quickly looked at the clipboard again to gather her scattered wits. She’d only lost them a second.

It didn’t matter how beautiful the man was. The papers said he’d killed. But no matter the crime or the length of his sentence, the white jumpsuit rendered him forever off limits to her.
Read the rest of this entry »

…I hope you all got a good night’s sleep. I was keyed up all night and got a lot of housecleaning done after the announcement. However you voted, we should all be hopeful for the future. Isn’t it a blessing that we get a chance to wipe the slate clean every four years and try again?

So, with a shiny desk and lighter heart I have a question for you. Yeah, another one of those silly questions just to get a conversation going and learn a little more about each other. Here goes…

Of all the movie characters you have seen, which one do you believe is most like you?

Twenty years ago, I’d have answered instantly, “Private Benjamin.” Everyone who knew me thought of me as that clueless blonde soldier with the big wide eyes. And I have to own up to the fact that I was oblivious to so many dark and dangerous things going on around me that it was a pretty accurate comparison. I saw a movie recently that resonated with the current me. If you haven’t seen it and want to look inside a writer’s very strange mind, watch Emma Thompson in “Stranger than Fiction.” My daughter saw the movie first and made me order it. She told me, “Oh my God mom, she’s soooo you!”

I can’t wait to hear whom you choose!

And the title here is longer than the post. Okay, so I have one more time I’m going to blog about the new books, and it’s today at Access Romance’s All-A-Blog. I’d love to see you there!! ~DD