Staying organized!

Some people ask me how I can write under so many names, so many genres, run a family, cook meals, and keep a clean house (fairly clean!) and still find time to get lost in a good book.  Well, the answer to that is by staying organized!  How do I keep organized you wonder?  By keeping lists, and lists and more lists, and being careful to stick to them.  I have a notepad in front of me and every night I make a list of what I need to accomplish the next day, and not just work wise.  I have a family, and they need food and clean clothes once in awhile, so I put that in there too!  I also delegate duties. Hey I’m not superwoman, and when it comes to meals, the crock pot is my friend!  This might surprise you, but nine times out of ten, if you’re on the phone with me, I’m sweeping my floor!  I’m a serious multi-tasker!

And of course, I’m careful to schedule ‘me’ time in there, otherwise I would work day and night…yeah, I’m a bit of a workaholic for sure…but isn’t every writer?

The last few months have been very hectic for me, I received edits on three different books from three different publishers, and one book required a major overhaul, with a very, very short turnaround time.  During all this I was invited to participate in two boxed sets with some very special authors, that required major promotion time!  Then when another opportunity came up, and I had to write a brand new story during all this commotion, and I knew it was something I really wanted to be a part of, I scheduled it in.  I certainly feel that being organized has opened doors for me, and given me new opportunities. 

Well I’m sure glad I was able to schedule those writing days in, because UNRAVELED, the boxed set I was invited to participate in, and my story in it YOURS TO TAKE, just hit the USA today bestsellers list!  It’s currently on Sale for $.99, but this won’t last long so grab your copy today!   

Buy at Amazon

Be sure to also keep your eye out for SEDUCTION IN THE SUN, the third boxed set I was invited to participate in, and my brand new story HANDS ON, with the billionaire CEO…by Cat Kalen, a very sexy New Adult romance coming out December 3^rd!

Thanks so much to Delilah for hosting me today! I’m celebrating the release of an all new, completely original boxed set titled, Midnight Ink.

One tattoo shop, eight couples and more steamy action than I can count!

The Midnight Ink boxed set is a little different than what you’ve seen lately. You see, besides being completely new stories, each of the titles touches the others in one way or another. There are cameos, overlapping stories—it’s amazing we pulled this off!

We chose New Orleans as the backdrop for this book for many reasons, which I soon realized were an awful lot like the characteristics of a romance hero… So today I give you…

The top five reasons New Orleans is like a romance hero:

1) It will show you a good time.

I’ve only been to New Orleans once, but combine that with all the other personal stories I’ve heard about the city and I’m totally convinced you always have a good time there. Romance heroes like to woo their heroines, and not always between the sheets. I love a book where a hero goes out and does something with the heroine, a new experience, something one or the other loves—I’m sold! Show me a good time and you’ve got me.

2) It has manners.

Every romance hero I’ve read has at least some type of manners. He might not be the open the door and pull out her chair kind of man, but he won’t let her be disrespected. Touring up and down Bourbon street was a whole other experience, but everyone was always so very nice about bumping into you or going in or out of places. It really seems as if there’s an ingrained sense of the southern charm there. And I’m a sucker for a southern gentlemen with a little rough edge.

3) It has a rough side.

Yes, that rough edge. We love a rough-around-the –edges hero, don’t we? New Orleans is a beautiful place, but all the plumage and glitz can’t hide that under the fun times. Even before Hurricane Katrina, there was a darker, dangerous side to the city that’s appealing. Anything too perfect is unsettling, and New Orleans is rough enough to feel a little dangerous, but also just a bit familiar, too.

4) It knows how to feed you.

Have you had a beignet? I could wax poetic about the cuisine! You can’t just win over a man through his belly. Even a picky eater like me could fall in love with New Orleans on the food front alone.

5) It always makes a lady feel special.

Any hero has to make the heroine feel special, and New Orleans doesn’t fail to come through on that front either.

So come explore New Orleans in the pages of Midnight Ink!

When Burke Levine got marching orders, he couldn’t bear to make his girlfriend Chavon White a military widow. Years later, discovering his name tattooed on her perfect ass via a New Orleans’ artist’s portfolio confirms his epic mistake. Will Midnight Ink’s New Year’s Eve party grant them a second chance?

Sidney Bristol
Picture Her Bound, a Bayou Bound novella

She’s a police officer desperate enough to break the rules. He’s the bounty hunter standing between her and ruin. Picture Her Bound is —the first book in the brand new Bayou Bound series from Sidney Bristol—a story of right, wrong and binding pleasures.

Robin L. Rotham
Not So Over Eli

Paramedic Bart Rigger finally has the life he wants rather than the one his father dictated, thanks to hot new fiancée Rhonda Giannetti. But a whirlwind trip to New Orleans puts it all at risk when he’s forced to confront unresolved feelings for his first love, tattoo artist Elijah Bell.

PG Forte
Inked Memories

All Sophie wants is a tattoo to commemorate her battle with cancer. What she gets is celebrity tattoo artist Declan Ross, the same sexy bad-boy who used to rock her world. This time, they’ve both got scars and it’s still the ones you can’t see that are the hardest to cover.

RG Alexander
To The Bone, a Bone Daddy novella

Etta Santos has one resolution—to cover up the last visible evidence of her past. When Christie Ryder, sexy musician and new owner of Midnight Ink, pursues her, he seems too good to be true. His music touches her soul, but can she risk trusting another bad boy with her heart?

Eden Bradley
Dangerously Inked, a Dangerous Romance novella

When the tattoo artist Finn Carter lined up for his visit to New Orleans turns out to be the mysteriously alluring sub he played on New Year’s Eve at The Bastille, the city’s BDSM club, more than his skin will be marked forever—and Rosie is just the woman to bring this playboy to his knees.

Carrie Ann Ryan
Ink Inspired, a Montgomery Ink novella

In Carrie Ann Ryan’s Ink Inspired, the prequel to her upcoming Montgomery Ink series, Ice Princess Shea Little wants ink and a change. Shepard Montgomery not only wants to ink her, but get through that icy exterior.  Together, they’ll heat up the streets of New Orleans…and each other.

Mari Carr
Blank Canvas, a Big Easy novella

Disillusioned by divorce, Jennifer’s about to discover her wild side, starting with a tattoo from Caliph. And continuing with submission, spankings, wax play…all under the skilled hands of her wickedly sexy tattoo master.

Buy Midnight Ink: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | ARe | Kobo   

—

It can never be said that Sidney Bristol has had a ‘normal’ life.  She is a recovering roller derby queen, former missionary, and tattoo addict. She grew up in a motor-home on the US highways (with an occasional jaunt into Canada and Mexico), traveling the rodeo circuit with her parents. Sidney has lived abroad in both Russia and Thailand, working with children and teenagers. She now lives in Texas where she splits her time between a job she loves, writing, reading and belly dancing.

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Good Morning!

I am so excited to be visiting on Delilah’s blog again.  Today I’m going to share some back story on my latest IR Fireman story.

It all began when I was twenty-one…a long time ago. I happened to be out with a friend at a club. I was single at the time, not really looking for a hook up but I was looking to have some fun.  The club we were at was a popular night-club. Twenty-0ne and up only. My girlfriend ended up running into a guy she’d went out on some dates with. He was with some friends and a family member.

That was when I met the mystery man. Me at about five feet two inches and around a hundred thirty pounds. Mystery man easily six three and I’d say about two hundred forty pounds of solid muscle and Hispanic. 

Mystery man and I hooked up and had a fabulous time. We dated a bit, I think a few months at least, hung and then… I called his house for him and his mom picked up the phone. I asked for my mystery man only to find he was grounded.

I remember thinking… skipping class in college is normal and who grounds a twenty-one year old. So then I ask his mom, how old is mystery man and she says seventeen. I politely thanked her and hung up. When he was ungrounded and called me back, I refused to talk to him. I was a bit ticked off because you know…that’s jailbait.

Early this year, thanks to social media, mystery man found me on facebook, or did I find him? Maybe it was his cousin who found me. Oh, I friended his cousin and then saw him and at the time, I was trying to figure out my next plot. I had a sexy fireman and a hot Latina woman to create.

Thus the plot was born with a twist…Why not do a story with the age conflict and lies by omission…and the damage that could ensue then make them meet up by chance ten years later.

No one knows how a solitary lie has the power to rip a heart to pieces. For ten years Ailyn Dominguez has lived with a constant reminder of heartbreak that left her devastated and pregnant. While nothing gives her more pleasure than being a mother, the lie she lives weighs her down like a ball and chain. Even if she knew where to look, her deceit could cost her everything she holds dear.

Responsibility for others has always rested on Seth Mahone. Every day he gears up to protect and serve, leads his men and finds fulfillment in doing his best. With one friend settled down, he reevaluates his life and the price he paid when the one woman he loved disappeared, leaving a void in his life. Regretting what caused their split, he hasn’t fully let go or found another to take her place.

When the past collides with the present both must confront the deception that split them apart.

“Now that is something you don’t see every day.” Ailyn wiggled her head out from under her car to see Seth’s team of men in full gear openly appraising her.

“Do you mind? Staring is rude.” She bet her salary her face was flushed and the men before her were enjoying her discomfort.

“What do you think she has on? I thought she was stark naked when we left. Lieutenant, get a load of your girl.”

“I am not, and I repeat—not—his girl. Now, shh. Don’t call him over here,” she hissed at the men.

“Well, hey darlin’, I thought you were waiting for me in my office.” Seth lay down on the ground next to her. She bit her lip, dying in mortification as he raked a lingering gaze up and down her body.

“Go away. I’m going home. As soon as I get my key.”

“You mean this one? Yeah, I remembered teaching you to put a spare on the underside, since you were famous for losing them back in the day.”

“Thanks for the ride down memory lane. Now go away. I really don’t want to be near you. As you can see, since I was trying to leave before you got back.”

“Come on. You didn’t think I was going to let you walk away so easy this time, did you? Although, I must say I’m impressed with your resourcefulness. Saran Wrap has never looked so damn sexy. The tape is a nice touch. To think you did this all for me. New form of foreplay, darlin’?”

“You left me no choice,” Ailyn sputtered. “Please leave me alone. I can’t get up unless no one is looking.”

Seth chuckled and eased from beside her. Heat seared her cheeks. “Stop looking at my goods.”

“Just seein’ if they’re as hot as I remembered and they’re even hotter.” He shifted and moved away. She took a deep breath, glad the overbearing man gave her breathing room. She wiggled to move out when rough hands picked her up off the ground. She found herself hauled over a shoulder, one hand holding her ass firmly, the other clasped around her legs preventing anyone from getting an eyeful.

“Put me down, I can walk.”

“Lt. has a pretty package right there. Man I would love to have a piece like that wrapped up like a present for me.”

“Those men are just as bad as you are.” She slapped him. “Put me down.”

“Don’t hit.” A palm cracked across her near-bare ass. She yelped and beat at him with her fists. As much as she hated him, her pussy creamed. In the past being spanked always ended in cream drenched panties and rough sex. “You didn’t used to be so mean.”

“A lot has changed since last we met.” As if he knew the direction of her thoughts, he landed another blow.

His long strides brought them to his office, where he shut and locked the door and found the ripped hemline. He withdrew a cutter from his pocket and sliced up the side, freeing her lower half from the sweltering confines. “Hmm, to free your breasts or leave them for later.”

“I don’t think you’ll be seeing them anytime soon.”

“Damn, Ailyn. I can smell your arousal. I bet your sexy cunt is dripping wet and glistening underneath this plastic. Shame on me for forgetting how wet you get when spanked.” He leaned his head between her legs and inhaled. A sexy growl departed his lips, making her empty core clench.

“I-I need to get dressed.” Dear Lord, he was undeniable ten years ago. Time had done nothing but add to that dangerous trait. Dark need crackled between them, making her forget she despised—no hated him. One look from him, one touch, and her traitorous body reacted, leaned into his care, shivered at his words, ached to be caressed, teased, fucked. He turned her into a great big erogenous zone demanding satiation.

“Sure you want to leave?” He swiped his tongue along her slit, causing her legs to tremble and her thoughts to stall.

“I’m not having hate sex with you.” She pushed her legs closed, he knocked them back apart.

“Hate sex? Your gorgeous body doesn’t hate me. She responds to my voice and touch.” Seth’s mouth latched over her nub, closing his teeth around the button. Shellshock and pleasure ramped up. Ailyn bit her lip to keep from screaming out. Seth looked up from his position and winked at her surrender. The man ate her like he was starved for his next meal. She gripped the edge of his desk and canted against his devouring lips. He flattened his tongue into her slit, stabbing her cunt.

 “This is hi-highly inappropriate here.” Whoa. A slow burn radiated through her from her belly. Her pussy constricted against his tongue.

 “But so worth the consequences.”

Forbidden Deception is already a ARe Bestseller! I received my button and email two days ago.

On Amazon it hit #97 on Interracial and Multicultural romance.

If you haven’t grabbed your copy, check out the links above!

Taking a Chance

A. Catherine Noon here.  Thank you to Delilah Devlin for inviting Rachel Wilder and me back for a guest spot.  We have exciting news today!  Our short story, “Taking a Chance,” re-released from Torquere Publishing yesterday.  Originally part of the 2012 Charity Sips to benefit the NOH8 Campaign, we helped raise over $3,500 with Torquere and the other authors who participated.  Woo-hoo!  And now, “Taking a Chance” is back, just in time for the holidays.

What’s different for us with this story is that it’s a straight-up romance, no paranormal, no monsters, nothing exploding.  Well, okay, maybe not quite true – at least for the sequel.  We’ll probably have an explosion or two.  After all, the hero is a wealthy oil baron – the scion of a rich family, he trades oil futures on the stock exchange and handles the international holdings for his family. Something has to blow up when money, oil, and a Texan are involved.

For Rachel, this story is a bit of a guilty pleasure.  She grew up reading Harlequin “white covers,” and adores the traditional romance tropes.  We decided to write one with a twist, and do a M/M romance in a traditional way.  We plan to start work on the sequel, a novel-length story about Chance and Jay, which will come out mid-2014.

What about you?  What’s your guilty pleasure?  Is it mystery?  Pot-boilers?  Straight-up soap opera with the wicked stepmother and the oh-so-luscious men flocking around the heroine but not quite lighting her fire?

Doctor Jacob Davison has outgrown the hookups of his younger days and wants to settle down.  When he’s abandoned by the side of the road, a leather-clad stranger stops and offers him a ride. Chance Renton is different from anyone Jay’s ever met. He’s caring and helpful, yet cynical and world-weary. 

From the first moment of their shared motorcycle ride, an attraction begins to simmer between them. Between Jay’s ex-boyfriend showing up and the misconceptions they have about each other, does this relationship have a chance?

Buy at Torquere Press

Molding a hero…

Giving a character life is one of my favorite parts of writing. What will my hero look like? How will he act? For me, I need a name picked out before I type my first word. I simply can’t stick a generic title on him and build his personality. He needs an identity. Once I decide on a name, his life can take shape. This is where his story comes in. He didn’t just appear in the world I created. He lived in it, interacted with others, maybe loved and lost. Those are the details I need to know to mold him.

In Unexpected Find, my hero’s name is Rafe Alexander.

So let’s see, Rafe is a five hundred year old feline shifter. He’s protective of his family and works with the human government’s shifter division to locate and rescue kidnapped shifter children. After living for centuries, he’s a gentleman at heart, but his animal instincts make him dominant and possessive.

Hmm…so what does Rafe look like?

Tall, muscular and confident. Add in long blond hair, golden feline eyes and Rafe is born.

My cover for Unexpected Find matches him perfectly. Don’t you think?

Unexpected Find

Nancy Corrigan

 Royal Pride, Book 1

Since the murder of her best friend, Jazz is stuck in a safe but lonely way of life. She’s willing to sacrifice everything to keep her family safe from the shifter world. The sexy stranger who struts into her friend’s bar changes everything. From the first glance Jazz knows she’s sunk—their chemistry sizzles from across the room, it’ll be undeniable up close.

Rafe wants Jazz from the second he sets eyes on her. The depth of the need that swamps him every time he’s near her surprises him. It takes every last ounce of his self-control not to pounce on Jazz and make her his. Only her distrust of his shifter nature holds him back. He counts it as a win every time his beloved human gives in to their passion and takes him to her bed. But Rafe’s patience isn’t infinite and he’ll do whatever it takes, face any danger—past or present—to ensure that Jazz becomes his. Forever.

A Romantica® Paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Royal Pride series blurb

As multi-feline shifters, Royals—the privileged descendants of the gods—live with the wants and demands of the animal spirits sharing their bodies. Everything is more intense for a Royal—their primal drives, possessiveness and lusts. Exotically beautiful and strong, these immortals never lack companionship but once their mating instincts are triggered, nothing sways their devotion or dims their desire.

Their dominant nature demands they claim their female’s body and soul, ensuring their chosen one knows exactly to whom they belong. Once marked as a Royal’s beloved, their women realize how wickedly satisfying life can be with a mate focused on meeting their every need.

Excerpt

The butterflies in Jazz’s belly took flight. The man was a romantic. “You know, I’m starting to enjoy the odd way you talk. It makes me feel as if I walked into a world where princesses wait to be swept away by their knight in shining armor.”

Rafe grinned, the sad look replaced by amusement. Releasing her hands, he slid his around her waist. “You would make a beautiful princess.”

“Would I?”

“One to be fought for.” He twirled a lock of her hair around a finger. “What about me? Would I fill the role of your knight in shining armor?”

She smiled, completely charmed by this man. She ran her hands over his chest, luxuriated in the layers of muscle under her palms. “I don’t know if any horse would be able to carry you for long. I see you more as a warrior, a conqueror.”

“One who demands the bonny ladies as his reward after a battle?” He swept her into his arms. She gasped and grabbed his shoulders. Lust heated his eyes as he mapped her face. “Oh yes, I like this fantasy and in it I get to choose you as my booty.” He bent his head closer so his golden eyes filled her vision. “I think I might keep you, Jasmine.”

Her breath hitched. “I think you have a wild imagination.”

“Or a hopeful one.” He eased back but watched her with that focused gaze she was starting to associate with him. “I want you.”

The lust-hazed glint to his eyes told her exactly what he wanted. For once in her life, she did too—but it couldn’t happen. She had responsibilities. Spontaneity and motherhood did not mesh. The little episode in Josh’s office proved that. She would’ve been mortified if Sara walked in while they were having sex. Everyone in town would’ve known within the hour. The other playgroup moms would find out, maybe shun her or at least look at her negatively. No. Any liaisons she had would have to be planned and kept hidden.

She licked her upper lip. “I haven’t had sex in a really long time, Rafe.” She dropped her gaze and stared at his chin. “What we did tonight wasn’t like me either. I’m not like that. Easy.”

He brushed his lips over her forehead. “I know.” He set her on her feet and took her hand. “Come, let’s get you home.”

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Will also be available from Amazon, B&N and other e-book retailers. I’ll be posting links on my website as I get them.

About Me

I’ve always been an avid reader and encourage everyone to escape the hectic daily grind with a few minutes a day in your favorite book.

I’m lucky enough to share my cat’s home with my three wonderful children, husband, dog and snake. When not writing, I work as a chemist in a pharmaceutical lab.

My passions beyond reading and family include music, classic cars, tattoos and animals (all of which have found their way into my writing in one form or another).

So that’s a little bit about me…

Nancy

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The other day my husband and I went on a road trip to Shiner, Texas, to tour the brewery. We had to drive through another small town and I turned to my husband.

“One of my heroes has land around here.”

He gives me the look only a man who’s been married to a writer for a long time would give. “Do you want to go visit him?”

Too often, my characters become so real that I feel like I can go visit them. My first book (still under the bed) was set in the small town near my grandmother’s house. I spent almost 2 years writing that book, and finished it about 17 years ago. To this day, I expect to see Kelly’s flower nursery when I drive through town, or encounter Sara at the local VFD barbecue.

When I see the hot shot firefighters on the news, fighting wildfires, I half-expect to see an interview with Gabe, the hero in Hot Shot.

In my latest release, “Two Hearts a Leaping,” in Swept Away for Christmas, my hero played college football for Alabama. This past summer was my first trip to Alabama, as research for this story. Until that trip, I never understood the depth of Alabamans’ passion for football. Crimson Tide stuff EVERYWHERE. So I decided to make the hero a former Tide player.

Now I, who never watched college football before, am a mad fan. I watch Alabama, UT (my son attends) and A&M (good friends are big fans). My husband shakes his head and watches with me.

It happens with books I’ve read, too, though not to such an extent, because I don’t usually spend months with characters in books I read. One exception is the characters in the Virgin River books by Robyn Carr. A couple of years ago my husband and I drove up the coast from San Francisco, through Humboldt County, where the series takes place, and I wanted nothing more than to explore to see if I could find the town.

Does that ever happen to you? That you get so invested in characters that they become real, and real-life events make you think of them?

And if you want to check out “Two Hearts A Leaping,” look at Swept Away for Christmas, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo. 

MJ Fredrick knows about chasing dreams. Twelve years after she completed her first novel, she signed her first publishing contract. Now she divides her days between teaching elementary music, and diving into her own writing—traveling everywhere in her mind, from Belize to Honduras to Africa to the past.

She’s a four-time Golden Heart Award finalist, and she won the 2009 Eppie Award with Hot Shot and the 2010 Eppie with Breaking Daylight.

WHAT INTERESTING THINGS HAVE YOU DONE IN YOUR LIFE?

Most of us have visions of very different lives when we are children. We want to be princesses, kings, movie stars or millionaires. Then life gets in the way. We forget to dream, forget to play, forget we ever wanted to be brilliant and amazing.

In my life I have been everything from a small business owner, to a massage therapist, to a stay home mom, to a tarot card reader, to a romance writer. In many ways I loved all my different choices. They each said something about my personality; they each added something to my growth as a person.

In The Artist’s Way, Stella Cameron consistently asks the reader to choose several different career paths. Name five other things you could do with your life, she urges in just about every chapter. And even the rich and famous can find their road in life curves in many different directions. Here are just a few:

Matthew McConaughey intended to become a lawyer.

Jimmy Stewart started out as an architect.

Nicole Kidman was a massage therapist in Australia (A job dear to my own heart.)

Dan Brown was a singer-songwriter and even released two CDs in the early 90’s.

Mike Rowe from the TV series, Dirty Jobs once sang with the Boston Opera. (Makes me want him more now…lolol)

Graham Chapman of Monty Python studied at the London School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Gene Simmons of KISS fame taught elementary school in New York’s Spanish Harlem district.

Angelina Jolie once aspired to be a funeral director. (Yes, I can see it.)

Eva Longoria studied to be a physical therapist.

Steve Martin considered being a philosophy teacher before getting into comedy.

Tom Cruise briefly attended a Franciscan seminary and aspired to become a Catholic priest.

So what interesting things have you done in your life?

A Taste of Winter
Gia Dawn
Red Masks, Book One

For the ladies of the Red Masks pleasure waits behind every door…and no one is ever who they seem to be.

When Alaina accepts an invitation to the Charleston South Carolina’s premier sex club, she has no idea the stranger who makes her scream with pleasure is her micro-managing ex-boss, Ryan. And while she could not stand his domination on the job, his domination in the bedroom takes her to whole new levels of pleasure as he forces her to submit to his every decadent demand—including a threesome with his old friend and her new employer, Zayne.

But while Ryan knows Alaina’s true identity, she remains unaware of his deception until the masks come off and she is faced with a decision. Can she continue to submit to his will now she knows who he really is? And when he proposes a lifetime contract, can Alaina sign on the dotted line?

 A Romantica® contemporary ménage erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Ryan Marquis stared in displeasure as his cell phone rang. He had a strict policy of no business between the hours of six on Saturday night, and noon Sunday, that brief block of time set aside every week to satisfy his need for rest and relaxation—along with some decadent indulgence when the need arose.

He frowned as the phone rang again, noting it was now three minutes after the hour, before picking it up to see who dared break into his personal time, his frown twisting into a semi-smile as he noted the number and answered.

“Bon nuit, mon cher,” came a husky voice across the line. “I have someone for you tonight. Someone you have been waiting for.” Read the rest of this entry »