I've always wanted to ask this question to my heroes: you have a fated mate, but are you happy with yours?

Why? I look at it this way, there is a whole world or universe even, of partners out there. How does it feel to know that even though there are so many out there, only one is for you? So I asked my hero from Fire Woman, Zac Frost. Here's what he had to say.

Fated mates. (Sighs) I knew when I was a kid there was only one person for me. I say person because at the time, I didn't know if my counterpart - the elemental term we use for a mate - was a guy or a girl, another elemental or a human. I kind of figured my person was a female because I'm straight, but the Goddess does throw curve balls. I also figured, being an water elemental with my powers focused on ice, my counterpart had better be able to stand the chill. I happen to have found her and I'm glad, but here's my thoughts on the whole fated business.

In some cultures, once the mate shows up there is no chance for another person to step in. That's fine. Where I have an issue is that just because you're mates, or counterparts like Atria and me, doesn't mean you have to fall in love in an instant. I question that instant connection. I know there is love at first sight. I'm pretty sure I fell head over heels for Atria the moment I laid eyes on her, but I always knew there was a chance she wouldn't return my affections. I guess that's the risk we run when there's a fated mate involved--not being loved in return. It's rather like humans. Just because you fall for someone doesn't mean they will fall for you, too.

So while I don't like the idea that two supers will fall into forever love in a moment just because they are mates, I can see where it would happen. I like the risk of things falling apart. That makes me think that there's a little more to the connection. It's stronger.

But I could be wrong. What do you think?

I didn't have a thought either way. I've always wanted to ask a super and now I have. But, readers, what are your thoughts? Zac and I would love to know.

She's everything he needs... if he can withstand the burn.

Atria Moline isn't your average photographer. She controls fire. Sounds fun, being able to scorch whenever you like? Think again. She's lonely and desperate for the touch of the man who can dance in her flame--if she doesn't immolate him first.

Zac "Iceman" Frost controls the stage with his band Glow. He's not about to back down from Atria's challenge. He'd got secrets of his own and his sights set on her.

Contains some hot sex between a fire elemental and a sexy water elemental.

Amazon, BN, ARe, and Changeling Press

As an author, and a parent, I am always looking for more time. It all seems to fly by so quick, and at the end of the day, I'm wondering what the heck I did. I always have a list of things I need to get done, and a date book where I write every commitment I have in terms of writing and promotion. But lately, I seem to be completely overwhelmed. And by the time I hit my pillow at night, I'm zonked. I go straight to sleep. Is it because the kids are home on summer holidays? Maybe. Have I taken on too much? Maybe.

But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. School starts next week. I'm hoping to have more time to write. 'Cause right now I'm lucky to get in a couple of hours a week. And I'm looking forward to having family time where I'm not thinking about writing. (Okay, that's a maybe.) I want to exercise more, and work on reading the ever increasing pile of books on my e-reader.

I'll have to see if any of that happens. Knowing me, I'll just take on more. LOL

So, if you had more time, what would you do with it?

A knight always goes into the melee miked up :D



-----------------

Some of you may know I'm a writer. *cough*
Well, after the howling success of "Howl", you now get to watch out for "Watch Me", the second of the Pack Justice series.
It wasn't intended as a series, but when I submitted Tiffy's story...my publisher insisted I create a series title.
So... Pack Justice it is.
I was going to talk about something else today, but then I thought well...we're soooo close to the release, I may as well give a bit of a headsup.





Here we go.
I can't give you a direct link, as it's not released yet. (Roll on, 3rd September!)
You can preorder it on the Nook, but the Kindle version isn't up until the 3rd.

So what is "Watch Me" about?
Well, any of you who have read "Howl" will have met Tiffy.
She was the troublemaker kid Zalin was trying to find after she ran away.
Now some time has passed and Tiffy has grown up some. She's still a troublemaker and craves nothing more than independence.
Then she claps eyes on Keric, and independence slides down the list in favor of bagging herself a hottie. Keric isn't terribly impressed. He has other things on his mind and those "things" take a turn for the worst when Tiffy enters the picture.
Not to mention, Keric comes with secrets to complement Tiffy's baggage. Little do they know that there are events in their past which could destroy their future.

Did I whet your appetite a little? I hope so.
I really enjoyed writing Tiffy and Keric's story, and revisiting Zalin and Lucia made it twice the fun. Yes, you will meet those two again.
There are no spoilers in the book, and I won't put any here either. You don't have to read Howl to enjoy Watch Me, both are standalone.

Keep your eyes open for some giveaways, too!
I will announce them on my Facebook page, so make sure you check. :)

Welcome today to my special guest, Piper Denna, whose characters from her recent menage release, Victoria's Secret Wish will be battling it out for Victoria's heart today. Let's get to know our bachelors:


Bachelor #1 (not really a bachelor) BRETT (36-year-old Brett Grant is married to Victoria West and co-owns Fantasies, Inc, which focuses on fulfilling adult fantasies, both at their Wyoming resort and the cruise ship they’re launching tomorrow. Brett is wearing pressed black slacks, an emerald dress shirt, and black silk tie. His dark hair is smooth and neat, and he sits perfectly still, one leg crossed over the other, patiently waiting. When he receives a text, he reads it, smirks, and replies, then loosens his tie a bit.)



Bachelor #2: DAVID (23-year old David won gold in last summer’s Olympics in 3 swimming events. He’s wearing a snug white t-shirt with the Nike logo, blue basketball shorts, and a pair of new neon-green Nikes. His dark blond hair is mussed and gelled, his blue eyes scan the room as he fidgets, and finally takes out his iPhone to play a game while he waits.)


VICTORIA: What is your idea of a romantic evening?

BRETT: Dinner in, prepared together (I keep trying to convince Vic to wear her apron with nothing under—her hair down), couples massage, and a funny movie in bed.

DAVID: I don’t get to date much, since I’m usually busy training—6 hours a day in the pool, 2-3 hours on weights, and at least 9 hours of sleep doesn’t leave a lot of time for socializing. The last time I dated much was my early high school years. But I’d come up with some surprise…a picnic or drive where we could watch the sunset maybe.


VICTORIA: What would make the perfect date?

BRETT: Erm. The romantic evening described above? Or anything Vic would like, so long as she leaves her hair down.

DAVID: A fun evening spent with somebody who wanted to be with David Roman the person, not David Roman the gold medalist.


VICTORIA: You're stranded on an island, what three things would you wish you had?

BRETT: Assuming we’ve plenty of food and water? Victoria, buckets of sunscreen, and a nice blanket.

DAVID: Unlimited food, and unlimited fresh drinking water, and a snorkel set. **grins, showing great teeth**


VICTORIA: If you could have three wishes, what would they be?

BRETT: World peace, feed the starving children, and—oh, wait. That’s an answer I saw on a recent beauty pageant, right?
So, let’s see:
1.    To see Vic’s wildest fantasy fulfilled (she won’t allow me to reveal what it is, but at least she’s finally confessed it to me)
2.    For our businesses to run themselves so we’d have more time together, alone
3.    For Vic to never, ever put her hair up again.

DAVID:
1.    I’d take back getting caught out drinking last year at the Olympics.
2.    An instant college degree, without having to give up swimming.
3.    Somebody to come home to.


VICTORIA: If I was having a bad day, what would you do to cheer me up?

BRETT: Vic did get a rather hearty laugh the time I attempted a strip-tease…

DAVID: I can impersonate any character from The Big Bang Theory…


VICTORIA: You need to cancel your weekend plans because of rain, what do you do instead?

BRETT: Thank Christ. We’d probably intended to go for a horseback ride, and now I’ve a good excuse to avoid it. (Vic’s horse is a bloody menace!) Now we can stay in, maybe watch a movie, or try out one of the new sets we’ve yet to try at the resort.

DAVID: ** scratches head ** That’s a toughie. Guess I’ve never had my plans cancelled because of rain, since my plans are mostly inside, with a pool. I’m on the road so much for competition and miss most of the blockbuster movies. So I’d probably hit the nearest theater and take in a movie.


VICTORIA: On my list for the perfect man is loyalty. What do you look for in a woman?

BRETT: Endless legs, fair skin, that incorrigible auburn hair (left down, please!), emerald eyes, cool exterior, flaming core… my Victoria. No substitutions, please.

DAVID: Body confidence. Discretion. And nice feet.


VICTORIA: How do you impress a date's parents or friends?

BRETT: I’ve not been allowed to meet Vic’s family yet, but her friends are mine as well. Still, I’d say the best way to impress anyone who loves a woman would be to treat her like gold.

DAVID: Date? Do other guys have time for those? Cheap way out would be to bring my gold medals…


VICTORIA: What have you always wanted to do but haven't yet?

BRETT: Erm. That would be Vic’s fantasy, I suppose…she made sure to fulfill mine prior to our marriage, actually.

DAVID: Be stranded on a desert island. **grins again** Chillax. Just take some time and unwind. Hoping this upcoming cruise will be the ticket.


VICTORIA:  Describe the worst/weirdest date you have ever been on.

BRETT: We did have a rather weird date last year when that bugger Rafe Wyndham seemed to think he was still dating Vic, and crashed a dinner party we attended. Before that? Back in my University days, I had a flat one night while out on a date. No spare whatsoever. We had to call her flatmate for a ride. I felt a complete ass for it.

DAVID: Once in high school I took my new girlfriend out to the local steak house. Her parents were seated at the next table…and she wasn’t allowed to be dating yet. Awkward!


Victoria, what do you think of your bachelors?

VICTORIA:

God, Brett has such a one-track mind. He’s got a total hair fetish and no shame about discussing it. Leave it to him—perv!—to make my fantasy his first of three wishes. He has no idea the participation my wish would require of him. But hey. I love him more than…anything. He’s mine, he’s sexy, and he knows all the right buttons to push at all the right times. Definitely a keeper.

And David? Talk about a big hunk of hesitant burnin’ love! The guy has no idea how hot he is (Hello, shoulders! Nice to see you again, Gold Medal Glutes.) or how appealing all that fresh-faced honesty can be. Even though he’s trying hard to project the traditional, good-boy image, my professional instinct tells me he’s dying to take a walk on the wild-side. And who better to be his tour guides than Brett and me? After all, we’ve watched enough fantasies unfold, we should be able to figure this out…right?





Book 2 of Fantasies, Inc: Victoria’s Secret Wish

Maybe three isn't always a crowd.

“Erotica’s Sweethearts”, Brett and Victoria Grant, are launching the Fantasies, Inc. Aphrodite--a cruiseliner dedicated to carnal pleasures. Since the voyage is all about fantasies coming true, Brett is determined to see Victoria realize her own wildest dream: being pleasured by two men at once.

Victoria can hardly keep her eyes--or hands--off gold medal swimmer David Roman when he boards the Aphrodite. And when Brett propositions David, she can’t say no. But Brett doesn’t know the extent of her fantasy. She wants him as into her other guy as she is. Will his adventurous spirit stretch that far?

David knows it’s a bad idea to get in the middle of the Grants’ marriage. He doesn’t have a kinky bone in his body--or so he thought before this trip--but the romps keep getting wilder and he keeps imagining more. And he really likes them both...as much in bed as out. If the paparazzi discover he’s involved with such a high-profile couple, his career is over. Is he willing to risk everything to continue?

WARNING: Adult sensuality and language, ménage a la two men bent on arousing their woman beyond all control, voyeurism, foot and hair fetish scenes, same sex situations, betrayal, and industrial espionage.

 
EXCERPT:

“Why are you nervous? Is it because you’re seeing me, or because you’re seeing a therapist?”

“Therapist.” As Britt had pointed out, seeing Serena Weiss would be less intimidating than any other therapist. After all, they’d watched from the AV room as Serena’s fantasy had been recorded. Having seen a woman go wild like that made her quite easy to approach. Aside from the therapist issue, anyway.

Serena leaned forward and took Victoria’s hands in her own. “If I might make a suggestion?”

“Mmm?”

“While you’re on this break from trying to conceive, give yourself a hall pass. Do some wild, sexy stuff. Nothing can kill the fun of sex like making it a means to a baby. Besides, one day you’ll be prego, and then a mom. And let me tell ya, that living-in-the-moment business doesn’t happen much for us mommies.”

Wild, sexy stuff. Like what? Britt’s idea of sharing her with another man on the cruise? Now she was probably blushing. “Um. Yeah. Even though I arrange all those fantasies, I’m pretty straightlaced.”

“Something tells me there’s a vixen inside you, just waiting to get out. Give her a spin. Trust me, your man will love it.”


BIO:

Romance is sexy. And often funny, and sometimes tangled up with suspense. Let’s face it: all sorts of things get mixed up with romance in real life.

Piper Denna’s stories are not cut-and-dried romance. She wants her characters to deal with issues female readers can relate to: independence and trust, empowerment, inhibitions, an unfaithful partner, motherhood. Sometimes her characters make mistakes and often her “bad guys” are not 100% bad. Mostly she wants to take the reader on an emotional journey to a happy ending…with a few enviable sexual encounters along the way.

When she’s not writing, she edits, raises two teens along with her husband, and has an evil day job.
She enjoys books--or movies--with a comedic twist and hopefully a love story with lots of tension, too.
Sexiest parts of a man in Piper’s opinion? The hands and eyes. Shoulders are nice too, and of course, great pecs are never amiss…

LPI page link:  http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=authors&authors_id=18

Amazon page link:
http://www.amazon.com/PiperDenna/e/B002BO81WC/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1343956757&sr=1-2-ent

Website: http://www.piperdenna.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Piper-Denna/55194578493

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PiperDenna

And check out my latest paranormal funness!!

Bunnies on Ice
Book 3 of the F*ck Like Bunnies Series


Hoping to escape his legal troubles and make a new start in Russia, Ivan packs up his vodka and flies to Moscow. His mysterious contact leaves much to be desired but Ivan is quickly consoled by a bevy of blonde beauties claiming to be “bunnies”. It’s hard to focus on business with the girl-on-girl action, orgies and other distractions.
Ivan has heard the dangers of dealing with a woman scorned, but nothing could prepare him for what happens when werebunnies and their friends get revenge.

Buy Now!

...I'm a man of wealth and taste.

I believe that to keep your mind young, you need to feed it often. Learning helps us to use parts of the brain we may have neglected during the daily grind of routine life. For many, our daily jobs become mindless, something we’ve done so often, we are not challenged to put much thought into them as we go about doing what we do every day. But there are little details you will not miss with a brain in learning mode. Things that will give you different perspectives you never had before. By challenging our minds to learn something new, we force stimulation on a lax brain. And this is the one of many reasons I’ve started learning another language.






While learning a new language, I had another illuminating experience. I realized that there is song in language. Yes, I’ve been told this, but I don’t really think it sank in until that moment while learning to speak Chinese, what they really meant. Merely writing a story is one thing, singing it another. We’re often told by our editors to listen for tones, to change sentences with the same structure, to vary. Don’t repeat words, they echo (Unless the point is to emphasize them.)And Sally selling sea shells by the sea shore, might twist up a brain, as well as a tongue. This is why you often hear advice to read your story out loud as you edit. You, my fellow authors, are listening for the song, not just the mistakes.

Keep learning, you never know what you’ll discover.

 All these things can inspire me and my writing, pushing me to be more creative, but in the end it’s all just fun. Now the reason for this blog post: Godzilla.

 You’re probably reading this and thinking, what? Well, it all stems from an article that was posted on E! Online and EW about another Godzilla remake. My first reaction was to remember the Matthew Broderick movie (that my dad loved but I wasn’t too fond of). The only thing that movie had in common with Godzilla was Japan and the name, that’s it. The King of the Monsters that I grew up with was nowhere in sight. No baby Godzilla who could only blow smoke rings and if you really wanted him to defend himself with his father’s infamous nuclear breath you had to step on is tail, no Rodan, no Mothra with those creepy twins that liked to sing. No Anguirus, no other monsters that I grew up watching. Can another Godzilla movie erase the blockbuster that flopped? And okay, all those cheesy movies like Godzilla vs the Smog Monster?

 The skeptic in me says hell no, you guys already screwed up this movie up once. I’ll stick with the classic. The optimist is on the fence. There was comfy cheesiness factor in Godzilla movies, from being able to see where the head of the suit connects with the rest of the costume to the horribleness that was the outfit for King Kong in the King Kong vs Godzilla movie. You had great storylines that could be fun and funny. It was perfect escapism for a kid and for adults who loved the King of the Monsters.

 What more can Hollywood do to Godzilla? How can they redeem or make us forget that “Blockbuster” that went bust where our favorite monster was all but unrecognizable? I don’t know, but I’ll keep watch and hope that this time they get it right. A new generation should fall in love with Godzilla like I did.

 What do you think can Godzilla’s reputation as King of the Monsters be reclaimed for a new generation or are they just gearing us up for another flop?

Selena Illyria bio: 

Coming Soon From Etopia Press!

Dear Reader,
 Author, part vampire, part pixie, Selena Illyria was born with a need to write and enable. Her imagination takes her into the paranormal, sci-fi and fantasy genres and all sorts of mischief. When not writing she enjoys catching up on her TBR pile, watching some of her favorite programs and listening to her favorite music as well as teasing people with posts on decadent food and plot bunnies.

To connect with you her can either go to: 

Her Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Selena-Illyria/100175079107?ref=nf 

Her Twitter: www.twitter.com/Selena_Illyria 

Her Amazon Central Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0075NG31K 

Her Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/selenaillyriasofferings/ 

Her publishers are: Etopia Press, Loose-Id, Purple Sword Publications, Liquid Silver Books, Changeling Press, Tease Publishing

Unfortunately, there is no fool-proof method to writing. I'm of the "when I can" variety. Simply meaning I take advantage of little windows when I get them in between my other responsibilities (aka my desk job, daughter's competition schedule, husband's golf games, etc). For instance, I'm standing up writing this post in my kitchen while breakfast is in the oven (I found a new recipe earlier in the week for bacon, egg and toast cups that I've been wanting to try). Nearly every day during my lunch break at work, you're likely to see me with paper and pen in hand scribbling away on whatever WIP I'm working at the time. This usually results in many, many scraps of paper littering a notebook or a folder and I'm left to piece everything together when I have a moment to sit down at the computer and start transferring longhand to the computer.

Why do I do this?

The answers easy: See, I learned a while ago that if I wanted to do something, it wasn't that I didn't have the time, it was that I had to MAKE the time. Instead of sitting in front of the television at night mindlessly watching sitcoms, I could transfer anything I'd written on paper during the day. I could eat my lunch while staring at my cubicle wall or have a pen and paper handy to write ideas and thoughts down. I've installed an app on my phone and my computer and seamlessly syncs together so something I jot down in my phone will appear on my computer the next time I power it up (fantastic time-saver!)

The technique has been a wonderful lifesaver for me as most of my books wouldn't have gotten written without it. So, authors/writers: how do you make time to do something you really want to do? Readers: how do you make the time to read the books & stories that you love?

I sooooo needs this motivation right now. With school starting and other personal things going on in my life, I have NOT been in the mood to write.

Some writers can shut everything out BUT their writing when they're upset or they feel bad. I can't. The last thing I want to do is sit down and pour out my feelings on a blank page. All I want to do is bundle up under a warm blanket (who cares if it's 100 degrees outside) and watch re-runs on television. Something that will make me laugh and laugh and forget. I so need that right now.



I got online and found this in-your-face-motivation so it would pep me up enough to write. Even if I can only get 500 words down on paper...at least it will be something. And if that isn't enough....what about this lovely cover already sitting on my zip drive waiting for it's story to be finished?



What about you? When you're feeling down in the dumps, what do you use for motivation? What makes you sit down at the computer and write?

Have a great weekend!
Peace, love and sex!

Lyric
@authorlyric

Disclaimer: All images are used with permission by Debbie Ridpath Ohi at Will Write for Chocolate. Check her out. She has some really cool writing comics on her website!

Which brings me to my posit of the day... What if the spirits of former patrons and workers still lingered within the hallowed walls of the library? This very question is what led me to creating two ghostly characters for my newest paranormal series, The Book Waitress. They don't say a word, and they don't take form, but they do make their presence known in their own special way.

Question for you... If a spirit from a book could walk the halls of your library, whose spirit would you like it to be?

I would love to go to my library and see the spirit of Willy Wonka floating through the stacks. 

A co-worker, who is just out of diapers, at my hubby's job told him about a swimming hole.

Now, if you read this blog, you know I live in Vermont but I'm not a native. I'm a city slicker, or as Vermonters would call it, a flat lander. Vermont is our compromise. Hubby wants to live off the land like the settlers did and I want civilization.

Can you say 'opposites attract'?

Anyways, my mother-in-law was visiting and he plans a day trip for all of us.  First stop alpine sliding. Umm...I don't pay to throw myself off the sides of mountains nor would I allow my crazy already-broke-a-bone-this-year 7 year old do it. The two of us stayed on realitivly flat ground doing an obstacle course while the others paid to risk their skin.

So far, hubby's plan = 0

Lunch was at a small Mexican restaurant where I ate Cuban food. Go figure. It was good so I gave him a point.

Hubby = 1

Then came the swimming hole. Do city slickers jump into swimming holes? Not unless a manhole cover was left open and we fell in. I was not excited about this.

Vermont is not known for advertising anything. You have to know someone who knows someone to find anything in this state. I had to plug in coordinates in my GPS so I could find the SPOT ON THE ROAD where to park so we could HIKE into the WILD FOREST to find this hole.

Yeah, this adventure has Annie written all over it.

In my flip flops, cause I'm a hiker, right?, we walked maybe five minutes before seeing this...











Places like this actually exist outside magazines???

This was a three tier'd waterfall with a swim hole at each level. The boys standing on the rocks are jumping into a deep recess. All sandy bottom and cool, crystal clear water. Not a tourist for miles. These are all local folks.

We swam for two hours and I had to drag the kids out because we had a 2 hour drive home. So worth it and I plan on returning next year!

Hubby = a zillion points

I should be more open minded but he loves me anyways.


Available Now











Annie Nicholas
www.annienicholas.com

BLURB

Also watch out for Threesome Sweetness, coming soon – Irish Kisses book3.

Sometimes a sunset on a remote beach isn't available...

I'm so in love with the north. Mostly northern Canada. I have roots there. I'd rather go on an Alaska cruise as opposed to a Caribbean one and yes I know Alaska is US, but I really, really want to see it.

He didn't want to go somewhere cold for our honeymoon (as we were married in the fall).

I've been setting most of my recent books in northern Canada. Under my A.C. Ruttan name, Incarnate was set in Northwest Territories.

Under Amy Ruttan, my bear shifter, Gordon Thomas was set up in Dawson City in the Yukon.

And the sequel I'm writing is set in Winnipeg and have another planned that's set in Jasper, Alberta!
















Now, my recent sale to Ellora's Cave Hex Appeal WARRIOR UNBOUND, which is coming out in October 2012 is set in one of my most favourite places, North Bay, Ontario. I spent a lot of my childhood summers along the shores of Lake Nipissing.

Here's the unofficial blurb: