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Archive for 'Guest Blogger'
Friday, April 20th, 2018
DJ, my heroine in All Those Miles I Walked, is a woman I like and understand. We both like to travel, we both are open and hungry for everything that’s new and different. She’s way more sociable than me, but she’s still a person I feel close to. And now that she’s with Scott, we share one more common trouble—the Anxious Man.
Let me tell you a bit about him.
The anxious man is a highly intelligent, self-made, strong man who got where he is by sheer work. Maybe exactly because he’s used to controlling his own universe, he’s also someone who needs reassurances on your well-being whenever he decides to check on you, with no regard whatsoever for what you might be doing.
Let’s say at any given time of the day a thought (“Is she all right?”) crosses his mind. He acts upon that thought, and he texts or calls you.
From that moment, you have from 5 to 20 seconds to reply/answer.
Problem is, maybe you can’t because you’re, I don’t know, using the restroom, or cleaning the ceiling with a long-handled brush, or trying to get your son out from the lake-size puddle of mud the last rain created in front of your house.
Maybe you forgot to turn on the ringtone, and you’re peacefully filing your nails oblivious of the poopy about to hit the fan.
After an average of 10 minutes from the first text (and at that point you’ll have an average of 150 of them and at least 300 calls) (yes, the Anxious Man can defy time and squeeze all those messages and calls in just a few minutes) the police, fire department, an ambulance, and possibly the FBI and the National Guard will barrel down through your door.
Poopy. Fan. There you have it.
I’ve been with my husband for 18 years, and let me tell ya, that cool, self-controlled man can go bat-shit crazy if I don’t answer the phone in .3 nanoseconds. So does Scott in the story.
And you know what? I get it (mostly because of the almost 20-year-experience in the front line), and now I’ll tell you why.
The Anxious Man doesn’t do that out of a need to control you. There’s no jealousy or will to tell you what you can or can’t do. He’s not throwing you any alpha crap or Neanderthal-like claim.
Literally, he only needs to know you’re well. He doesn’t have time or inclination to hear about your shopping day or whatever else you’re doing. Nope. No need to keep it long; a simple thumb-up emoticon would do.
The fact is, he might be busy, his head might often be somewhere work-related, and he probably will forget some anniversary but the Anxious Man loves, and loves deep. So deep, he needs to know the most important thing in his life, more important than work, more important than his wellbeing: not that you love him, miss him, think about him, but that you’re alive.
Which means you can’t get mad. Or overly mad, at least. Sometimes I do get annoyed (okay, pissed).
So, because I learned from personal experience that people like me and DJ will never be reliable with our phones, I have a word of advice for all the people like Marco and Scott, and the relationships that follow.
Buy an iWatch or any device like it.
Tired of the constant heart attacks, my husband gave me one for our anniversary few years back, and now I never lose a call or text. I can reply anywhere with the littlest time and effort. It’s pretty, and it gives him peace of mind, and me the freedom from checking the phone or (the horror) having to turn on the ringtone.
You’re welcome.
All Those Mile I Walked
At eighteen, DJ had to make a choice–her heart or her dreams. Neither was wrong, yet either would break her heart. She chose the world. Over a decade later, she returns to Crescent Creek and to the one regret she’s ever had—Scott. Scott’s always been steady as a rocky reef. He’d loved once and when she’d left, his strong heart had crumbled like a sandcastle. Now DJ is back, and Scott wants nothing to do with her. The problem? They share Eva, a close friend of both, and now Eva needs their help. Because of her, he’s stuck with DJ and he’d be damned, the woman still gets under his skin. DJ is a free spirit who needs the road under her feet. Scott is a family man who wants to groom his roots. With danger on their doorstep and a baby to keep safe, how much are they willing to compromise for love?
Amazon: ebook paperback | iTunes | B&N | PDF and More
Find me:
on my blog at https://www.viviana-mackade.blog/
Excerpt
DJ fished her cellphone from the bag, turned it on thinking nothing of it. 12 unanswered calls and 6 messages appeared.
Fear raced through her good mood. Something had happened to Eva? To her parents? She checked the call list. Scott. From all of the calls and texts.
Well, unexpected. From zero interaction to a gazillion? She called his number; he picked up probably before it even rang.
“Where in the fucking hell are you?” he said quietly, anger vibrating in his voice more than a guitar string.
“Okay. Not really prepared for that, but okay. We’re across the road, at the beach.”
“Damn it, DJ, you’re supposed to text me when you leave.” She had to move the phone closer to her ear to hear his words.
“I know. We’re just across the road.”
“Are you in the house?” he asked. Still very much pissed, but at least he’d gone back to a human tone, one she actually heard.
“It’s basically the same.”
“It is not.”
“Okay, my bad. Besides, I didn’t realize I’d agreed to a middle of the morning text. When did it happen, by the way?”
“Damn it, DJ.”
Oh god, back to hissing. “You said it already. A few times, in fact.”
She brushed sand off from Henry’s legs, blew the boy a kiss that made him smile. Then heard a voice in the background of the call, then Scott saying to someone, “They’re fine, they’re at the beach.”
“Who is with you?”
“Charlie.”
“You called the sheriff? Where are you?”
“At Eva’s, ready to bust the fucking door down.”
“That seems extreme.”
“You don’t text me, don’t call me, and don’t pick up the damned phone,” he said, anger making his quiet words a bit breathless. “What am I supposed to do?
“Calm down would be the first thing, I guess.” DJ had always thought he might have a stroke, at some point. All control freaks like him did. Maybe today was the day, who knew? “You saw us at 8 this morning, two hours ago. You could have waited until, let’s say, lunchtime before freaking out this big.”
“I could kill you right now,” he said, so evenly it might actually have been truer than truth.
“You might want to be careful with what you say while Sheriff Charlie is there with you. By the way, tell her I say hi. Actually, can you give her the phone? We planned a spa day for next week but I’ll have to postpone it until Eva comes home.”
He closed the call.
Tagged: contemporary romance, excerpt, Guest Blogger Posted in General | Comments Off on Viviana MacKade: Living with the Anxious Man | Link
Thursday, April 19th, 2018
Hi Delilah Fans! Thanks for stopping by my guest post today. For the last month or so, I’ve been reading Regency romance novels. This isn’t my standard fare. I lean more to the erotic end of things in my novels and short stories. But Regency has something to offer anyone who enjoys romance.
Despite the (mostly) lack of torrid sex scenes and descriptive words for body parts like, well, you know, Regency stories set 200 years ago tend to be long on sexual attraction and desire. Which, as we all know, is a lot of the fun in romance. Just as in any contemporary romance, these ‘bodice-rippers’ feature tall muscular men who are unbelievably handsome and who, despite all odds, take one look at the female in question and fall completely in love.
Of course, he doesn’t know it yet. They’re star-crossed lovers who can’t possible have a future because—well, he’s a duke and she a mere seamstress. Or she’s lost her reputation due to some gossip about the ‘ton,’ as London life is called. Or because she’s from a titled family and he’s not, although this is rare because the happy ending usually involves his vast mansions with herds of servants and all the money they could ever want or need—without having to work.
What’s remarkable to me is the frequent reminder in these stories of how far we’ve come, ladies. Seriously, have you lately stopped to think that a mere 200 years ago, in a tradition going back as far as history, women were the property of men without the right to own property in her own right or to divorce her husband? Even 100 years ago, women were still under the thumb of a father and then a husband, although at least by then laws had pretty much curtailed the husband’s right to beat his wife.
Even fifty years ago, being a virgin until marriage was considered the norm and only ‘fast’ girls ran the risk of a scandalous premarital pregnancy. When birth control pills were introduced in the 1960s, everything changed.
Really, things started to change when women gained the right to vote in 1920. Women tended to support social change that not only benefitted themselves but also men in issues such as labor laws that eliminated child labor and created new ideas like weekends, a forty-hour week, and workplace safety regulations. But it would take until even later than birth control pills before publishers started to put sexy romance stories into the mainstream.
When I read Regency romance—which I enjoy because it’s a complete vacation from the real world and hey, what’s reading romance about anyway if not to escape reality for a few hours?—I’m often bemused by the arcane details of life in those times. Multiple layers of clothing including corsets for women and yards of pristine neck cloth for men—among other things—would be absurd in today’s world where both sexes routinely swim or jog in form-fitted Spandex that leaves pretty much nothing to the imagination.
What would one of those folks think now? I look around me at romance novels which explore bondage or menage and have to smile. We’ve definitely come a long way, baby.
If you’d like to explore Regency, here are a couple of authors I’ve been enjoying. And don’t forget to check out my newly revised Cannon Cousins series. Book I, HERS TO CHOOSE, is now FREE at your favorite ebook retailer. Visit https://www.amazon.com/dp/1490513906.
Tagged: Guest Blogger, regency romance Posted in Free Read, General | Comments Off on Lizzie Ashworth — Regency Romance (Free Read) | Link
Wednesday, April 18th, 2018
Taking Vengeance, my most recent release, is an enemies-to-lovers cyborg romance. The hero, Vengeance, is a human-hating cyborg. The heroine, Astrid, is a cyborg-hating human.
Astrid tries to kill Vengeance…multiple times. He attempts to capture her, seeking to use her to expel all humans from his home planet.
Yet they can’t keep their hands off each other. Sparks fly…literally. All of that pent-up hate flows to red hot passion. They fight and then kiss, shoot each other, and then rip clothes off.
I LOVE enemies-to-lovers romances for this reason. There is so much emotion, raw and real, heated and urgent. There’s also delicious conflict. Vengeance and Astrid have very real reasons for hating each other. They both had loved ones killed by the “enemy.” That pain can’t be eased without struggle.
There are a gazillion wonderful enemies-to-lovers romances in Romanceland. They span every subgenre from Historical Romances to Romances set in the distant future.
The most famous is likely Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice, a Romance classic. Mr. Darcy and Lizzie hate each other at first sight. He insults her at a ball, saying, “She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me.” She eventually zings him with “I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.” Yes, ouch.
But when they fall in love, wowsers. It is magical. They realize they have more in common than they first believed. They both have very strong personalities. That’s one example and there are many more. Lizzie and Mr. Darcy are perfect for each other. They simply didn’t know it at first.
That’s part of the fun. As readers, we can see the characters are truly meant for each other but they are so wrapped up in their hate; they can’t see it. We wait for that moment when they discover their attraction is more powerful than their dislike.
What are your favorited enemies-to-lovers romances?
Taking Vengeance
The only force stronger than their hate is their love.
Vengeance hates all humans. They killed every being he ever cared about. When the huge C Model cyborg is told he’s genetically compatible with the enemy, he makes it his mission to capture the female and use her to expel all humans from his home planet. That should be disappointingly easy. She’s a weak, fragile human.
Then she blows up his ship, blasting to bits his preconceived notions about the enemy.
Astrid, aka the Buoir Berserker, hates all cyborgs. They killed her entire clan, including her baby sister. The warrior female has vowed to hunt down and destroy the enemy. When a savage cyborg arrogantly puts his hard, sexy body within her reach, she does the only thing a female can do—she peppers his muscular physique with projectiles.
The more passionately they fight, the stronger their attraction becomes. Neither of them will relent on their missions, yet they can’t keep their hands off each other. Their battle will either end in love to last an eternity or in death.
Taking Vengeance is Book 12 in the Cyborg Sizzle series and is a STAND-ALONE story.
It is also an enemies-to-lovers Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, often violent universe.
Buy Links:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Vengeance-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B079YGMLD2
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Taking-Vengeance-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B079YGMLD2
Apple/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/taking-vengeance/id1352770472
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/taking-vengeance-cynthia-sax/1128043105
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/taking-vengeance-1
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/794862
About Cynthia Sax
USA Today bestselling author Cynthia Sax writes contemporary, SciFi and paranormal erotic romances. Her stories have been featured in Star Magazine, Real Time With Bill Maher, and numerous best of erotic romance top ten lists.
Sign up for her dirty-joke-filled release day newsletter and visit her on the web at www.CynthiaSax.com.
Website: https://cynthiasax.com/
Newsletter: https://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Facebook: facebook.com/cynthia.sax
Twitter: @CynthiaSax
Blog: https://tasteofcyn.com/
Tagged: Guest Blogger, Science Fiction Romance Posted in General | Someone Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Cynthia Sax -
Monday, April 16th, 2018
Love Truth and Consequences: Playing Dirty
Anxious for a career change, Katrina Locklear applies for the position of assistant to Decimal Accounting Services Financial Officer, Miller Greenfield. Miller is both intrigued and aroused by the beauty who has thrown his emotions off-kilter. Can Katrina and Miller keep things professional, or will they risk it all by mixing business with pleasure?
Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00YPOQX08
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThroughtheFirebyAuthorTaishaDemay012
Facebook Blog: https://www.facebook.com/lovebetweenthepagesofabook
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TaishaDemay012
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/Lovetaishademay
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+TaishaDemay
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14052151.Taisha_Demay
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ElliesBookShelf/
WordPress: https://www.authortaishademayblog.wordpress.com
Website: https://www.nycitygirl.com
About the Author
Author Taisha Demay is a New York native, but resides in North Carolina. She is the author of the Love Truth and Consequence series and Through the Fire and Taste of Intrigue: Food Fight Mysteries. Not being content with writing strictly in the non-fiction arena, she began to expand her portfolio by becoming a Blogger. Taisha is currently signed to Rhys World Publishing and working on her fifth release.
She is a passionate author who has dedicated several years of her career to building an influential showcase of reading material for her audience. She is an active member of the Erotic Authors Guild, Erotic Readers and Writers Association, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Taisha Demay enjoys bringing complex and interesting characters to life for her readers to enjoy.
Tagged: contemporary romance, erotic romance, Guest Blogger Posted in General | Comments Off on Taisha Demay: Playing Dirty | Link
Sunday, April 15th, 2018
The Pit and the Passion: Murder at the Ghost Hotel is my new mystery romance, set in Sarasota on the Gulf Coast of Florida. As John Ringling saw when he first arrived at the turn of the 20th century, it is a paradise.
“A beam of red light shot through her window. Sunset already? She got up, fixed herself a drink, and took it to the balcony. She watched as the sun sank into the gulf, long, needle-like pincers of light stretching out as though it wanted to hook the horizon and hang on for dear life. Like Kilroy, whatever was pulling it from below won the battle and the sun dipped, leaving its signature green spot as a token of affection for the world.”
This is what it’s like to live on the Gulf Coast of Florida. By day the sky is the deep blue of Paul Newman’s eyes; at close of day it’s flooded with a full palette of reds, oranges, pinks and purples. I have a lot of pictures of my granddaughter—I have even more pictures of sunsets in Sarasota!
Here’s the story of The Pit & the Passion:
At midnight, in the darkness of a deserted hotel, comes a scream and a splash. Eighty-five years later, workmen uncover a skeleton in an old elevator shaft. Who is it, and how did it get there? To find out, Charity Snow, ace reporter for the Longboat Key Planet, teams up with Rancor Bass, best-selling author. A college ring they find at the dig site may prove to be their best clue.
Although his arrogance nearly exceeds his talent, Charity soon discovers a warm heart beating under Rancor’s handsome exterior. While dealing with a drop-dead gorgeous editor who may or may not be a villain, a publisher with a dark secret, and an irascible forensic specialist, Charity and Rancor unearth an unexpected link to the most famous circus family in the world.
The Pit and the Passion: Murder at the Ghost Hotel
The Wild Rose Press, January 22, 2018 (Crimson Rose)
Mystery, Humorous/Romantic Comedy
Rating: PG13
418 p.; 97370 words
Excerpt (PG): The Man on the Beach
The Milky Way spread a swath of cream overhead. One small cloud trundled across the sky. Behind it peeped a gibbous moon. The beach was wide here, sweeping south in a twelve-mile-long arc but ending only a few yards north of her at a severely eroded cliff.
Not a soul stirred on the sand, except for a couple of willets picking their way along the edge of the water. She turned and headed toward the cliff.
Someone had left a beach chair out. She sat and watched the waves, listening to the chittering of the sandpipers and the putt-putt of a trawler far out. She assumed the rustle behind her was a ghost crab and kept quiet, hoping to catch a glimpse of it. She loved the way they would stop, half in and half out of their holes, their eyestalks waving. They’re so sure they’re invisible.
Charity?”
She jumped straight up, knocking the chair backward.
“What th—?” Her heart pounding, she turned. At that moment, the cloud shrouded the moon, and in the sudden darkness she could only make out a form.
“Who…who’s there?”
“It’s me. Rancor. Rancor Bass.”
She held out a hand and encountered a broad chest, lightly furred. She pulled it back quickly. “Are you…are you…”
He snickered. “Naked? As a matter of fact, yes.”
She backed up. A splash told her that her brand-new sandals were likely ruined. She vaulted out of the water and landed between two bare arms.
“Easy there, Charity. I hardly know you.”
“Stop it, Mr. Bass. And let me go. If I were you I’d drop that conceited tone. I wouldn’t be caught dead in your arms.”
His voice came low, laughter licking at its edges. “You don’t feel dead to me. In fact”—she tensed at the touch of a finger on the inside of her elbow—“you feel very much alive. And quite…fresh. Call me Rancor.”
“Rancor Bass, you leave me alone.” She tried to walk around the shadow, but an arm snaked out and caught her. She opened her mouth to scream and found two lips smothering hers. She stood quite still, fear and…something else…oh my God, desire?…taking over her senses.
He let her go. “Couldn’t resist. Wanted to see if those defensive walls could be breached.” He sat down in the chair. The moon came out from behind the cloud and cast a pale glow on his hair. “You’re a tough cookie, Charity.”
She wanted to deny it, to tell him how vulnerable she could be, but knew that would be very stupid. She wanted to kiss him again but knew that would be even more stupid. So she settled for a grunt and walked away.
He didn’t follow, and as she reached the dunes, she felt an unexpected twinge of disappointment. Could this man be the one? Nah. Still, preoccupied by this novel notion, she decided to skip the police station and go straight home. As she turned into her condominium parking lot, the obvious question finally occurred to her. What the hell is Rancor Bass doing naked on the beach in the middle of the night?
Buy Links:
Wild Rose Press: https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/5533-the-pit-and-the-passion-murder-at-the-ghost-hotel.html
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Pit-Passion-Murder-Ghost-Hotel-ebook/dp/B078JY8RLY
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-pit-and-the-passion-murder-at-the-ghost-hotel/id1332026896?mt=11
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-pit-and-the-passion-m-s-spencer/1127750685?ean=2940158925351
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-pit-and-the-passion-murder-at-the-ghost-hotel
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/M_S_Spencer_The_Pit_and_the_Passion_Murder_at_the?id=F-tGDwAAQBAJ
About the Author
Although M. S. Spencer has lived or traveled in five of the seven continents, the last thirty years were spent mostly in Washington, D.C. as a librarian, Congressional staff assistant, speechwriter, editor, birdwatcher, policy wonk, non-profit director, and parent. After many years in academia, she worked for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Department of the Interior, in several library systems, both public and academic, and at the Torpedo Factory Art Center.
Ms. Spencer has published eleven romantic suspense novels, and has two more in utero. She has two fabulous grown children and an incredible granddaughter. She divides her time between the Gulf Coast of Florida and a tiny village in Maine.
Find her events and news at RomanceBooks4Us:
https://www.romancebooks4us.com/M.S._Spencer.html
and Moonlight and Mystery:
https://www.moonlightandmystery.com/
Contacts:
Blog: https://msspencertalespinner.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msspencerromance
Twitter: www.twitter.com/msspencerauthor
Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MSSpencerauthor
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/msspencer
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/msspencerauthor/
Linked in: www.linkedin.com/in/msspencerauthor
Tagged: excerpt, Guest Blogger, mystery, romantic suspense Posted in General | 5 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: M. S. Spencer - Jennifer Wilck - Charlotte - CB Clark -
Saturday, April 14th, 2018
Books are funny things. The idea of an eccentric heiress who leaves her fortune to a pet pig Matilda started out as one book in another series. Eventually, it morphed into a new, 3-book series. I had 3 women who are “chosen” to compete for custody of the pig (and control of the money). They are all family descendants in some way. Then I added 3 gorgeous men who are basically there to watch over the contestants. There’s the lawyer overseeing the will. He brings his two best friends to help make sure no one does anything underhanded.
Once I had the 6 main characters, I had a problem. They were all such great characters. I couldn’t figure out how to wrap up the heiress games & pronounce a winner, but still keep everyone around afterwards. I knew they all had a story to tell about what happened during The Heiress Games. So, I decided to have each book follow the same sequence of events but show things from the other characters’ point-of-view. I had to create an excel sheet laying out all the scenes and where everyone was at all times. The real tricky part came whenever there were group scenes where all the characters were present. I had to use the same dialogue, only the action is seen through someone else’s eyes. Not easy. Especially trying to keep everything straight and make sure any changes were reflected in all 3 books.
The structure also meant I had to make Books 1 and 2 into cliffhangers. I know some readers don’t like them, but I couldn’t see how to reveal who won the pig (and other mysteries) in Book 1 without spoiling the other books. Each book wraps up the romance nicely, but the ultimate reveal comes at the end of Book 3.
It’s not something I recommend doing, actually, LOL. I’ll probably never do it again.
Anyway, I hope readers do enjoy the intertwined stories…and forgive me for the cliffhanger.
Least Likely Heiress
A fortune…and love…is at stake
Eccentric heiress, Victoria Armington, has died and left her vast fortune to her pet pig, Matilda. Now three Armington descendants have been chosen to compete for custody of the pig…and control of the money. Then there’s the lawyer in charge of overseeing the competition, and his two best friends, who arrive to make sure nothing goes wrong.
Welcome to The Heiress Games…
Heiress #1: Eve Bennett
She’s a struggling single mother whose claim to the Armington name stems from an affair between Palm Cove’s founder and his mistress. Winning the money will mean her family will never want for anything again. There’s just one big, knee-weakening, mouth-watering problem…the talk, dark and gorgeous lawyer in charge of the Heiress Games.
For high-powered attorney, Cameron Reed, sorting out the craziest will he’s ever encountered could mean a partnership at his firm. He’s survived becoming an orphan and an endless round of foster homes, and now he’s one step away from realizing his dream. If only he can keep from losing his heart to the one woman who could ruin all his plans.
As Cam and Eve fight their feelings, there’s also a saboteur at work. Someone who might stop at nothing to make sure no one wins.
ALERT! The Heiress Games is like no other series. You’ll actually see the same events unfold in Books 2 (Not Quite An Heiress) and 3 (The Forgotten Heiress), but from the other characters’ points of view. Each romance will come to a satisfying conclusion, but you’ll have to wait for the ultimate winner to be announced at the end of the series. The author apologizes in advance for writing a cliffhanger, but knows you’ll love the journey to the grand finale.
Links:
Amazon: https://a.co/3PS7DAp
iTunes: https://ow.ly/1qk330hXuZW
B&N: https://ow.ly/xjSj30hXuFx
Kobo: https://ow.ly/sof830hXv6b
Tagged: contemporary romance, Guest Blogger, romantic comedy Posted in General | Comments Off on Kristin Wallace: How The Heiress Games Series Came To Be | Link
Friday, April 13th, 2018
I’m a writer, and sometimes, writers walk away from their computers—shocking, I know. What is it I do when I drag myself away from endless critiques, edits, blog post writing, beta reads, promoting—oh, yeah—and actual writing?
I ADORE yoga. I was hooked a long time ago, before yoga was cool. The studio where I take class is relaxed and full of energy.
People shy away from yoga because—I’m not in good enough shape, or, I’m not flexible enough, or, it’s too much like a religion.
Phtttp, I say. I’m not in the most fabulous shape, and I’m no longer 24 years old (quite a shock to me), but I still go to three yoga classes a week, at least. As to flexibility… I happen to be one of those who is flexible, but the other 99% of the people in class aren’t. Does that stop them from coming to class??? NO! As to it being like a “religion”? Sorry. Nope. You can get as deeply involved in yoga as you wish, adapting to an Ayurvedic lifestyle and living on a mountain in Tibet, or you can go to a couple of classes a week and revel in the calmness that flows through you at the end of class then stop for a burger and fries on the way home.
The studio where I take class has recently introduced wall yoga. I’m like a kid in a candy store. My favourite position is Bat. Yup, we hang upside down like bats. It looks scary, but it’s safe, and the stretch your spine gets is fantastic. (I’m the one in black.)
What kinds of yoga are there? The traditional ones: Hatha – Vinyasa – Birkram – Kundalini – Restorative – Yin and many many more. New versions of the older styles are being created – wall yoga, hot yoga, aerial yoga, paddleboard yoga, and so on.
I’d suggest starting with a gentle hatha and/or a restorative class. You will get the feel of yoga and begin to develop some confidence.
So, forget all your fears and go try a class. Don’t like that class? Try a different kind. Don’t like that studio? Find a different one. Just make sure the teachers are qualified. A cheap class with an unqualified teacher is definitely not recommended. Once you find your perfect match, you’ll know it.
What has all of this got to do with my latest book? Absolutely nothing. But here’s the book anyway. 🙂
Excerpt from Two O’clock with the Billionaire
Derek squeezed her hand and walked toward the entrance. Arianne looked at nothing but the uniformed and gloved doorman who opened the large glass door. Once inside, she realized she’d stepped out of the proverbial pan and into the fire. Before her was a crowd of black tuxedos, evening gowns and glittering diamonds. Derek leaned close. “We head over there and give our coats to the girl then we get a drink. We sip the drink. Sip, can you say sip?”
With pursed lips, she nodded. Her trembling fingers fumbled and her beaded Prada clutch fell to the floor with a loud thump. Arianne froze. How could she do something so stupid? She waited for the roar of humiliating laughter from the other guests.
Derek picked up the bag and offered it to her. “From the look of terror on your face, slamming vodka shots is the only thing you want.”
Glancing around to see if everyone was staring at her, Arianne mumbled, “Sip the drink. We sip the drink. Don’t slam the drink. Okay, I got that. Then what?”
About the Book
Two O’clock with the Billionaire is Daryl Devoré’s latest hot romance. A contemporary romance sweetened with a bit of vanilla sexcapades.
Where Derek Davenport is concerned, women only had one thing in mind: trap him into a marriage. The perfect way out? Hire a courtesan. While partying with his buddies he places an online ad that reads – Woman Wanted.
Unemployed and nearing financial desperation, Arianne is forced to step out of her comfort zone and answers an ad that reads Woman Wanted. With minimal hours and excellent pay, she accepts the position of courtesan to a handsome billionaire.
Their sexual antics cause emotions neither is willing to admit it. Will Arianne and Derek drive each other crazy…or will they fall in love first?
Buy Links: Amazon | Print
GIVEAWAY
I will give away a copy of an earlier book—What Happens in Bangkok—to a reader who can correctly guess one of these three things:
My favourite colour – ???
My favourite pop/soda – ???
My favourite dessert – ???
Tagged: contemporary romance, erotic romance, excerpt, Guest Blogger Posted in Contests! | Comments Off on Daryl Devoré: My Non-writing Life (Giveaway) | Link
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