Labor Day Lament

I’m so excited and honored to have the opportunity to visit at Delilah’s blog. Every time I come here I look around in awe. Isn’t her website great?

I’m all caught up in a new release today and waiting for my bestie and her husband to come hang out with us for a week,  and why is it that just when I get into the fun of summer, it ends? I know we still have time before the Equinox, but everyone knows Labor Day is the effective end of summer. And the time I make my resolutions for the next one.

Next summer…I will go to the beach more often, swim every day! Well, every other day. I will get up extra early to go hike the Ascot Hills so I don’t make the excuse that it’s too hot and end up staying inside with a good book.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I can hike early/read later. Right?

I will grow a lot more veggies so I can eat all the incredible tomatoes and zucchini I want. And force the baseball bat-sized summer squash on my unsuspecting neighbors when I forget to pick them on time.

And watch my nephews do all the summer things while they are little enough not to remember summer has an end and it will get cold soon.

But I am so glad for the books I’ve had the opportunity to read, and the fun I’ve had writing my own. And so, with one weekend left of “official” summer, I have huge plans. I will go swimming tomorrow in a mountain lake. Sunday, the Tri-County Fair with my entire extended family. Hope they are ready for us. And Monday, the hubs is smoking enough meat to feed half the town. We’ll eat and drink and toast this summer and look forward to the fall.

With all its own fun and beauty and charm. The aspen trees with their shivery leaves are already starting to change color way up in the highest Sierras…I won’t want to miss that.

I’d love to hear what you did this summer, and we will select one commenter to win a copy of my brand spanking new release, Switch, and a ten-dollar Amazon gift card to buy some fall snacks to enjoy while reading it. Or summer snacks…any snacks you like. Just enjoy.

Here is a little bit of Switch, to whet your appetite:

“This can’t be the place.” The sun glinted off the block of glass and stone condos, blinding Esme. “Why would someone who specializes in spanking lessons set up shop in the center of town?”

Rick chuckled. “What did you expect?”

“I don’t know. A dingy storefront on a side street, maybe a battered warehouse?” She fidgeted in her seat, restless and anxious.

“Somewhere with big rats?” Rick stepped out of the car, and the valet took his place. “I don’t think he’s ashamed of what he does, baby.” He pulled a card from his pocket and glanced at it then came around to her side and opened the door. “The address is correct. 401 E. Burlington Avenue. P3. In such a fancy building, I suspect P3 is a penthouse.”

Helping her out of the car. One of many courtesies he’d instilled in their routine as part of their new lifestyle. She tried to adjust, but it never quite felt natural. Maybe in time. Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE: The winner of the Amazon gift card is Melissa Porter!

* * * * *

I’m so excited to be here at Delilah’s blog today. Most of you probably don’t now that when I was just starting my career she was one of the most influential people and a strong guiding force. She taught me so much and pointed me in the right direction so many times. I know I wouldn’t be here today, with Book #3 in my Naked Cowboys series, if not for all the help she gave me. So thanks, D, for everything you’ve done and for hosting me today.

Note: Be sure to leave a comment because one lucky person will be the winner of a $10 GC from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Sometimes when you least expect it you can find a naked cowboy to lick your wounds. Especially of you are Stripped Naked!

Taking over as publisher of The Hill Country Herald was supposed to help Jinx Malone put her personal and professional disasters in New York behind her. Instead, she’s barely settled at her desk when news of a murder hits the police scanner.

Who knew Rowan County could be this exciting? And who knew her first story would bring her into head-butting, hormone-pumping contact with something that’s an even bigger pain in her ass than a cheating ex—a know-it-all cop?

Sheriff Dillon Cross thought retreating to Rowan Country would help him get over a bad case of burnout. But only a few weeks into his job, he’s standing over a dead body in a ditch, arguing with his least favorite thing: a sexy, in-your-face reporter.

Before they’re through buzzing around each other like angry hornets, the last thing either expected happens. They’re in bed, burning up the sheets. But is it a new beginning, or just a bad rerun of past mistakes?

Just like two days ago and just like earlier tonight, he didn’t seem to be able to get anywhere near Jinx Malone let alone touch her without wanting to rip off her clothes and plunge himself inside her very sexy body. As he guided her up the steps to the porch, he wondered if she was having the same reaction.

When they stopped at the front door, Jinx slipped the narrow strap of her purse from her shoulder to fetch her keys. At the same time, she turned toward him and his hands automatically lifted to rest on her shoulders. She looked up at him, a quizzical expression on her face, and it seemed the most natural thing for him to lean down and brush his lips against hers. She quivered beneath his touch, her breath hitching.

Before he could change his mind or give her a chance to change hers, he deepened the kiss, tracing the seam of her lips with his tongue until she opened and let him in. God, she tasted like everything sweet he’d ever had in his life. He licked every inner surface, wanting to swallow her whole. He tightened his grip on her, not wanting to give her the chance to pull away, but she surprised him by clutching at his arms. He slid his fingers up through the silk of her hair, cupping her head and tilting it one way then another to give the kiss a better angle. And when she opened her mouth, her own small tongue thrust forward to dance erotically with his.

He broke the kiss only when his breath ran out. Lifting his head, he stared at Jinx through lust-fogged eyes. She had a startled expression on her face and her gaze was locked with his. The pulse at the hollow of her throat beat furiously and he was sure the heat radiating from her body singed his skin.

“What…what was that?” Her voice was shaky.

“I don’t know, but I think I’m gonna do it again.”

This time he took her mouth with unrestrained hunger, plundering it with his tongue, sealing his lips to hers as if he’d never let her go. All rational thought left his mind as he pressed her close to him. It took a moment for him to realize that her hands were pushing at his chest and she was trying to twist away from him. Shaking the fog from his brain, he backed away a step.

“Sorry.” He cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

But she was already opening the door and grabbing his hand to drag him inside.

“One of us is crazy,” she said in a husky voice. “I’m hoping it’s me. And that I’ll wake up in the morning and be able to pretend I didn’t make a fool of myself.”

“That’s for tomorrow.” His heart raced as he realized she didn’t mean to send him away after all. He tried to think of what to say, but all the blood in his head seemed to have headed south to his groin. Unwilling to give her a chance to have second thoughts, he swept her up in his arms and headed for the stairs. He halted at the top. “Which way?”

She pointed to a room at the end of the hallway. He nudged the door open with his foot, carried her inside and set her down beside the bed. Weaving his fingers through the strands of her hair again, he touched his mouth to hers and licked the outline. He wanted nothing more than to tear her clothes off and throw her on the bed.

Slow, asshole. Don’t give her a reason to change her mind. This is a woman to savor and worship, so don’t fuck it up.

Dillon couldn’t believe how impatient his body was or how ravenous he was for her. But tearing off her clothes in three seconds wasn’t his style, and he didn’t want to start now. Especially with this woman. He tasted her lips then trailed his tongue across the smoothness of her cheek to the tender spot behind her ear. With his teeth, he drew a faint line along the column of her neck, biting very gently where her neck and shoulder met. She shivered at his touch and a soft little moan drifted from her mouth.

Where can you find the book?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Samhain

Where can you find me?

www.desireeholt.com
desiremeonly.com
Twitter:   @desireeholt
Facebook: desireeholtauthor
Pinterest:   desiree02holt

Members Only Swag

I’m going to my first book convention in October. #RCon13 (Romanticon) in Ohio put on by Ellora’s Cave. Complete with cavemen. Woo Hoo!!!!

And it’s not only my first convention, but it’s my first book signing too. Me…little ol’ Jennifer Kacey is going to be signing book flats for Together in Cyn, and maybe even Haleigh’s Ink if we can get it out that fast. I CAN’T WAIT!!!

So, I’ve had to narrow the list down on swag items I’d like to bring and be able to pass out to the readers, and authors, and fans. I just typed fans – HA! That’s a hoot!

Okay, so swag…I’ve got loads of ideas. Like seriously, sticky note upon sticky note of naughty items I’d like to have custom printed. Bottles of lube, Goodhead mints, nipple claps, pens, trading cards, just to name a few. Love the idea of my name on naughty items people will take home and talk about, or Facebook and talk about, or pinterest, or instagram, or tweet. Lots of options here.

I’ve heard some crazy good ideas but it seems they are either really expensive or everyone already offers it and I want to do something unique.

I’m looking for ideas from you the readers so I can narrow down my list some more, by like half.

Ooh…and since we’re talking about swag let’s make a contest out of it. I’ll pick one lucky poster to win a 2013 Ellora’s Cave Bad Girls of Romance Card Deck and a little something extra from me – ‘cause naughty makes the world go ‘round.

Seriously, it does. I read it on the internet somewhere. **GRINS**

Here’s a pic of the card deck with some of the yummy titles you’ll find from some of your favorite naughty authors like Sabrina York, Brynn Paulin and Laurann Dohner. Together in Cyn is the King of Clubs for obvious reasons. YUMMY!

So…if you go to a convention, what swag do you want to go home with, and more importantly what do you leave sitting on the table because you’ve seen it, grabbed it, tossed it in the round file?

Let me know and you just might win!

Members Only, Book One

She knows it’s wrong. Cyn shouldn’t have feelings for fraternal twins Jared and Chris, her best friends. She shouldn’t want them to tie her up or strap her down, to take her one at a time—or together. The only way to control her taboo desires is to write them down and lock them away in her diary. Guys like Jared and Chris could never be interested in someone like her, or in the kind of sex she craves.

But Jared and Chris have read her diary, and sweet little Cyn is in for the shock of her life. The brothers not only own a members-only BDSM club, they want her. Need her. And now, with their unlimited funds and an entire establishment devoted to fulfilling her darkest pleasures, they’re going to claim Cyn for their own.

Inside Scoop: If you have a kink, this book probably has it too. If you like your ménage romances extra hot with a side of male-male romance, spanking, voyeurism and girl-on-girl action, come and get it.

A Romantica® BDSM erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Buy Links below and others on the TIC webpage along with an Excerpt

Amazon

Ellora’s Cave

Barnes and Noble

Website – https://www.jenniferkacey.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.kacey.7
Twitter – https://twitter.com/JenniferKacey
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6941549.Jennifer_Kacey
Pinterest – https://pinterest.com/jenniferkacey/

Jennifer Kacey is a wife, mother, and business owner living with her family in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.

When I decided to make the heroine of EDEN’S SIN a prostitute, I found some very interesting facts—and some sad and disgusting facts. Today I wanted to give you a peek into life for a
“working girl” in the 1800’s Old West.

Miss Kitty Lied

Oh, Miss Kitty, how you deceived us all. Remember Gunsmoke and Sheriff Matt Dillon’s main squeeze? Perfect silk dress, perfectly styled red curls – perfect beauty mark. How clean and wonderful the life of a Wild West saloon girl must have been. . .

*insert sound of screeching brakes here*

Um, no. Let’s look at some facts. In descending order there were: Parlor Houses, Brothels, Cribs. Even in a Parlor House *think 5 star hotel* where a night of food, fun and the other “F” word might cost a man $200+, the girl only averaged $10 per week because of the cut the Madam (or the house) took the rest to cover the costs of food, wine and the girl’s room and board.

Brothel girls could make $2.50 – $7.00 per customer, but she had to pay room and board out of this plus any other expenses she had. Oh, and Brothels were significantly less grand than a Parlor House. Parlor houses the girl probably spent the entire night with one man and her sheets were changed afterward. Brothel girls saw more “traffic” and her sheets might be changed once per week.

Cribs were a closet-like space where the girls lived and worked. She would rent this room for $10-$20 per week. She charged a man as little as 25 cents depending on how dirty or run-down she and/or her crib was. Her profit was in volume. In a cattle or mining town, she would little more than stay in bed as the men lined up outside her door. Normally, a crib nymph would see 20 to 30 men per night. During a cattle drive, she could see as many as 75 to 100 men per night. And no clean sheets here. She put a rain slicker over the bottom of her bed to protect the sheets from mud and cow manure since the cowboy might take off his hat, but not his boots or pants. Volume, remember?

Yes, there were Saloon Girls who could just serve drinks, but they could also “go upstairs” for extra money. And Dance Hall Girls, yes, they were there, earning 12 ½ cents per dance. But all in all after researching this topic, I have to say, Miss Kitty lied to us. What do you think?

*All statistics were found in UPSTAIRS GIRLS: Prostitution in the American West by Michael Rutter

THANK YOU for stopping by today!

Jennifer Jakes is the author of sensual erotic romance. Her award-winning debut novel, RAFE’S REDEMPTION, a historical western, is #1 Kindle Best Seller, as did her novella, TWICE IN A LIFETIME.

Her latest release, EDEN’S SIN, is now available at Amazon.
RAFE’S REDEMPTION : Amazon  |  TWICE IN A LIFETIME Amazon
Find out more about Jennifer at www.jenniferjakes.com

What would you do with a SEAL under the covers?

I know Delilah’s fans and readers could imagine quite a lot of things one could do with a SEAL under the covers. My new book makes a play on this fantasy, but is about a Puerto Rican born Navy SEAL, Armando Guzman, and his hot love affair with the attractive Gina Mancuso, who is actually an undercover cop, working the gang unit in San Diego.

I wanted to show a SEAL who had not always been a good boy. In fact, he had a rocky start in life, growing up in a rough environment in East L.A., running with a gang at one time. Through twists of fate, he eventually found his way into the loving arms of the U.S. Navy, where he tried out for and made the Teams. He qualified expert and became a SEAL sniper, one of the best of the very best. With that also comes some baggage: brothers in arms lost, innocent civilians paying a price they should not have to pay. The things that make wars so horrible for everyone, but things these guys have a ringside seat for.

As with all the SEALs in my Brotherhood series, these men are heavily trained to react to anything and improvise when needed. They are trained to make decisions based on calculations of outcome, assessing targets, risks and the environment. They even learn to train their emotions so that they are as little a factor as possible. Who can forget the scene in Act of Valor when the SEAL falls on the live grenade, sacrificing himself to save his buddies?

But coming home, their equipment and training does little to save them from the complexities of the female personality and the SEAL’s excruciating need of their companionship. These are guys who need intense physical sex without commitment. But their innate sense of right and wrong needles them about this on so many levels.

I love writing about these kinds of tugs of war going on inside the Alpha Male psyche. Part of what makes a good military romance is that the hero can be counted on to do the right thing almost all the time. He may make an honest mistake, but he has an internal moral code that will not allow him to go beyond certain lines.

Sometimes these heroes don’t know where that line is until they run smack up to it.

Here’s an excerpt from SEAL Under Covers, which is now available on Amazon:

“Do I have a choice?” she said to him, watching that smirky little smile and sexy eyes making fun of her while her heart did flip-flops. She’d been close to peeing on herself while she sat and watched her ex-boyfriend nearly call out the brother—the SEAL brother of the woman they were working. It had been wrong on so many levels, even the Pope couldn’t dish out enough forgiveness.

“Get in.” It was a command that made her tense, but the smile he flashed afterwards made her panties wet. Suddenly her ankles wobbled and she nearly fell, which would have been totally uncool. And damn, but if he didn’t reach out and put a strong, muscled arm around to steady her. He let her go after he gave her one hurried squeeze, just tight enough for her to learn he was aroused.

Another footnote to a perfectly fucked evening. Her mission was nearly blown. Why did she feel guilty for that? They were supposed to be hanging out with the gang by the stage. Well, she couldn’t help it if Sam and the rest of the crew had decided to pull a game change on her. As she slid onto the torn leather seat of the old truck, she smiled at the recollection. It had been damned satisfying, slapping Sam and tossing the drink into his face. She’d stared right back at him when he showed his anger. And she didn’t flinch or cower this time. She was filled with pride. She’d stood up to him, finally!

But now what? On any other evening, getting into a truck with a SEAL would be a no-brainer. Nothing wrong with a night of sex with a hot guy, if that was where he was headed. She wasn’t completely sure, but she wasn’t that rusty that she couldn’t recognize a good, clean come-on. The fact that he was the brother of their party of interest and it was totally forbidden only heightened her anticipation. But decisions like that were never good ones. She had to put a stop to this somehow. Read the rest of this entry »

Animals and Ghosts

Most of my books have pets in them—or at least animals of some kind. I don’t really plan to include them. They just sort of sneak up on me. Dogs, cats, chickens, I’ve had them all wandering through one or another of my books. But when I wrote my paranormal Ramos Family trilogy for Berkley InterMix, the situation was a little different. I wasn’t sure how I’d work an animal into a series about a family of mediums, most of whom were reluctant to take advantage of their supernatural connections.

The first book in the trilogy, Medium Well, didn’t have any normal beasties hanging around, although a ghost cat provided some significant information to the hero and heroine. But the second, Medium Rare, more than makes up for it. My medium, Rose Ramos, ends up sharing her house (haunted, of course) with a couple of spirit animals that adopt her after some traumatic events.

This in turn led to some interesting problems in creating these animals. How would a pet hellhound behave, for example? What does it eat (besides people)? What kind of leash would you use? Where would it sleep? Do hell hounds sleep?

To make things more interesting, I made Helen (the hellhound) invisible to everyone except the heroine and her hero boyfriend—although being a thorough-going skeptic, he doesn’t catch on to that fact for much of the book. Helen is joined later on by a similarly invisible raven, but my heroine decides having spirit animals around isn’t any tougher than dealing with the supernatural guest she’s already got in residence—a several-hundred-years-old ghost who’s been part of her family for generations.

In Medium Rare, ghosts come in all sizes and shapes, some of them scary and some of them not so much. But at least a couple of them are of the house pet variety. And what do you feed a hellhound? Pretty much anything she wants, as it turns out.

Here’s a quick excerpt showing Helen’s arrival:

Suddenly, she heard the sound of paws galloping along the driveway, monstrous claws clicking on the asphalt. She fumbled for the key she kept in the old mailbox at the door, jamming it into the lock and twisting for all she was worth.

Close behind her, something yipped as she shoved the front door open, half falling through, trying to shove it closed with her shoulder. A large heavy projectile struck her chest with the force of a missile, blowing the door wide and throwing her down full-length just inside. She looked up into an immense mouth full of yellowing fangs. Threads of drool hung a few inches from her face.

She tried to twist away, pulling as far back as she could beneath the dog’s weight. Dread clenched her stomach as she closed her eyes. “Ohgodohgodohgod.”

“Rose!” Skag’s voice echoed through the hall. “That’s a hellhound. Stay absolutely still! Do not move!”

She couldn’t have moved if her life depended on it, which, of course, it probably did. The dog’s huge paws still held her shoulders flat against the floor. Its breath blew hot against her cheeks, smelling of old meat and open graves. She struggled to breathe under its weight, tensing for the moment it would clamp its teeth on her throat. She heard the faint creak of its jaws as they opened wider.

And then something large, damp, and utterly disgusting swiped across her cheeks.

She peeked through her lashes up into the dog’s face. Glowing orange eyes stared back as the animal prepared to lick her again. Read the rest of this entry »

Thank you, Delilah, for giving me the opportunity to guest blog and dish about my strange writing companion—my cat, BadKitteh.

I often get asked the typical “where do you write?” question. I don’t have an exciting answer. I write at my tiny cluttered built-in kitchen desk in the middle of my kitchen. I like being able to multi-task while I write. That way I can cook dinner, bake brownies, be close to the front door in case the door bell rings and close to the laundry room in case I remember to do a load of wash. Also, if I wasn’t in the room where all the food is, I’d often be too busy to remember to eat. Since I’m in the kitchen it’s easy to grab a snack. Although my most frequent snack is chocolate, I try to have the pretense of eating healthy, so at least once a day I’ll grab a piece of fruit….which leads me to the disclosure most people find baffling: My cat loves fruit.

Those of you who follow me on Twitter have likely long seen me posting about BadKitteh. He’s my twenty pound Maine coon cat. He’s got the personality of a dog. He’s deaf but talks constantly and, probably because he can’t hear what he’s saying, he makes sounds most cats never utter—lots of R’s and W’s and K’s—he often sounds like Dory speaking whale. And he doesn’t believe in personal boundaries. He will fall asleep with his head in my purse, stick his face in any glass anyone leaves anywhere (then drink from it, then knock it over), and he ALWAYS steals my fruit.

When we first brought BadKitteh home from the pound seven years ago we thought he was just a normal cat. He looked like a cat. How were we to know? Sure it was a little weird that he greeted all of our guests at the door and that he licked the feet of every woman who entered our house, but hey, who am I to judge? One day I bought a container of raspberries, rinsed them off in a little colander and set them on the kitchen table. I left the room for a few minutes and returned to find BadKitteh standing on one of the kitchen chairs, head in the colander and only a few berries left. I’ve had cats all my life. I’d never seen one eat a raspberry. I thought it was weird but I figured it was just a single quirk. Wrong.

Over the course of that summer it became apparent that he wasn’t just a raspberry fan. No matter what fruit I eat—plums, nectarines, apples, cherries, blueberries, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, kiwis—he will bat at my hands until I give him some. When he’s really determined he’ll swat it out of my hand. He’s occasionally pulled grapes out of grocery bags before I’ve gotten them in the fridge or stolen them out of the fruit bin in the fridge if I leave it open for too long.

***Hello readers. Karen has stepped away to start dinner. There doesn’t appear to be any fruit involved, so I’m going to take a moment to correct some things in this post. It’s so hard to type on her keyboard because she writes so much she’s worn all the letters off the keys. Lucky for me, I touch type. I have to say, I don’t know why she insists on calling me BadKitteh. I mean, I never actually hear her saying it, but does she seriously think I don’t read her Tweets? Besides, I’m really quite well behaved. Sure, I threw up in her tote bag once. None of her shoes were around. What was I supposed to do? Use the floor? I know she secretly enjoys sharing her fruit with me. Sure she shakes her head and scowls the whole time, but I know that’s just an act. Humans. They’re so moody and hard to train. I really just…oh, wait….there’s no fruit but she’s making a salad! I see a cucumber! And lettuce! Gotta go!***

See what I mean? No boundaries. None. He’s lucky he’s so cute. So, tell me (and BadKitteh, since you know he’ll read the replies the moment I step away from my desk)—what weird, quirky habits make your pet unique? Tell us all their secrets. You know they’d tell us yours!

Latest release: DECADENCE (cover photo attached separately)

In eight years of marriage, Eric Carlson has never forgotten to kiss his wife Jessica goodbye—until this morning. As Jessica runs her errands, all she can think about is the missing kiss.

When Eric calls to tell her he thinks he left the toaster oven on, she rushes home, annoyed and afraid their house may be burning down. Instead of smoke and flames she finds Eric, looking hot and sexy as hell as he prepares fresh waffles.

Eric knows he and Jessica have been drifting apart. He’s bought the hot new product everyone’s talking about—the Spice Rack, guaranteed to spice up your love life. The jar he opens advises them to “Spend a decadent day indulging all your senses.” With the whole day ahead of them, a fridge full of tempting treats and the house to themselves for a change, that’s exactly what Eric intends to do—in the kitchen, on the washing machine, wherever the mood strikes. And Jessica’s got a super-steamy surprise for him too.

What reviewers are saying about Decadence:

“Sweet, erotic and very satisfying.” ~ 5 stars and a Top Pick from The Romance Reviews

“A fun, hot story that made steam rise off my e-reader.” ~ 5 stars and a Top Pick from Night Owl Reviews

*~*~*~*~*

Karen Stivali is a prolific writer, compulsive baker and chocoholic with a penchant for books, movies and fictional British men. She writes erotic romance, contemporary romance and women’s fiction for Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing and Turquoise Morning Press, respectively.

“If you haven’t read a book by Karen Stivali then you are missing out on a wonderful writer of contemporary romance.” ~ GUILTY PLEASURES BOOK REVIEWS

“Karen Stivali is a mastermind at creating compelling, entertaining stories that have grit, depth, genuine, charismatic characters, fluid, believable dialogue, and emotional entanglements that will keep the reader engrossed from beginning to end.” BLACKRAVEN REVIEW

“Karen Stivali’s books are sweet and decadent and leave you hungering for more and more. Everything she writes is like chocolate on paper.” ~Tiffany Reisz, author of the Original Sinner series from Mira Books

For more information about current and upcoming projects please visit her website: https://karenstivali.com

Karen can also be found on:
Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | AllRomanceEbooks