Liquid Silver Eye Candy

I'm a doofus. I forgot that I had signed up to participate in a Liquid Silver Halloween blog party! I'm (belatedly) participating in a round robin blog hopping party thing! I was supposed to post some eye candy in honor of the big Candy Holiday and then send you on to the next blogger.

Here's my eye candy picture. He seems to be saying, "Oh my, what's this I have in my pants?"

Or maybe he's saying, "Want some...candy, little girl?"



Anyone who comments will get a chance to win their choice of any two of my books. I'm going to give away two because I feel bad for doing this so late. :) You may want to wait for my next release, coming from Ellora's Cave on November 26. Here's a short blurb:

Erotic pleasure is so central to the Shinwa culture that one is considered uneducated if not well-versed in the Jin-Hakku, an ancient sexual reference. As a bonded triad, Kai, Joran and Hana have long enjoyed the carnal pleasures it describes.

However, infertility can be a death sentence and Hana has yet to conceive. Desperate, the men turn to an obscure volume of the Jin-Hakku. What they find is daunting—three nights of exquisite sexual “torture” that will test the limits of their stamina and self-control, but for Kai and Joran, failure is not an option.

Now, off with you. Go to the next Liquid Silver blogger, the fabulous Shara Lanel. You can win cool stuff!

Artist: Vicki Peterson

It's Halloween tonight, so I'm featuring some themed art this Friday. These are block prints by Vicki Peterson of Torrance, California. I love block prints. There's something so raw and simple about them. And they're damned hard to do because you have to carve the image you want into the block, but in reverse. You have to carve away everything you don't want printed on the paper. My brain just doesn't work that way. This first one is called Cackling Witch, the second, Scratch Cat, the third, Skeleton Pirate.

May you get all the candy you like. (I'm hoping for my kids to come back with Butterfingers.)

Thursday 3: Research

There's a popular meme called Thursday 13 in which every Thursday you make a list of thirteen things. I did this for a few months, but I don't have time for thirteen! So, I whittled it down to Thursday 3.

I am in the midst of writing the third book for my Ellora's Cave Be-Wished series, tentatively titled Asking For It. In the course of my writing, I typically research many many things. This Thursday I'm listing three sites that I saved in my favorites file for convenient access.

1. I needed to find out how much the yolk of a goose egg might be worth if it was made of gold, and here is one of the sites I referred to. The picture of the little bars provided some scale for me.

2. Here's a list of fairy tales that has come in handy.

3. Finally, my hero is a military guy and I found this site on Aviator Slang really interesting, even though I think that he isn't in the air force after all.

Pre-Buzz

My Ellora's Cave editor, Suz, told me this morning that the final line editor (the person who does the final proofing of the manuscript) emailed her the following about Secrets of the Jin Hakku (and I quote!)

Please do me a favor, next time you "talk" to this author, could you let her know she has a brand-new fan? I absolutely LOVED this story!

The book has a fan and it's not even out yet! How cool is that? See that cloud up there? The ninth one? That's me on top of it. :D

Pen #4: Writing + Coffee = Love

This is the latest in a series of posts about pens. I'm a pen freak. I can't afford most of the pens I'll be blogging about, but a girl can dream, can't she?

This hand-crafted pen was inspired by these Bialetti espresso pots. No lie! I love that and can totally see the resemblance.

They come in brushed chrome, Petrol blue, and pink. Both items, the espresso pot and the pen, are made in Italy. *sighs*

Still Smiling

Last Thursday at literary agent Nathan Bransford's blog, M.J. Rose stated, "...more than 85% of all books sell less than 1000 copies."

Well, hot diggety. That makes my news here even better. :D You know, I think about what it would be like to see a list of the 1656 people who bought my book and it boggles my mind. That would be a pretty damn long list. *grins*

Artist: Patrick J. Reynolds

Welcome to another Art Friday on my blog. Today I'm featuring the art of Patrick J. Reynolds. He is described as a 21st century Pre-Raphaelite. According to his website:

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, or PRB, was formed in 1848 when a group of young painters in Britain who wished to experiment with the Horatian principle of ut pictura poesis, meaning that painting and poetry are simply two different ways of expressing the same ideas.

He also describes his work as figurative romanticism. This first piece is called Eternal Embrace. I can see a whole story evolving from this image. It's so provocative. You can see so much emotion. You can almost feel it yourself.

He must have really liked this one because he sells it in oil, and as prints, and then he also made a sculpture out of it.

I happened to see that the original work sold for $22,000. Nice.












This second one is called The Other Side of Yesterday. This also makes me wonder about who this woman is and what her story is. Is she climbing the wall? Is she thinking about a lover? Is she waiting for one, anticipating the night to come?













Finally, we have a piece of his I couldn't find a name for. Again, their emotion is so stark. They're so entwined that even their hair is indistiguishable from the other's. The man is so intense, so protective. I wish I could see the rest of his face.

Anyway, I hope you liked this week's little gallery showing. Have a great weekend!

Thursday 3: Eat These

I saw in National Geographic of all places, that there's going to be a new way to evaluate the food you eat and buy. Basically, they've analyzed the food for nutrients, vitamins, sugar, salt, and bunch of other factors that have to do with health and then given the foods a score from 1-100. It can't get easier than that. Supposedly, grocery stores are going to post these scores so you can be a more informed shopper.

I like this idea and I hope it actually comes to pass. Anyway, here are three foods that I like which scored 100.

1. Broccoli

2. Asparagus

3. Kiwi

There are no meats or seafood that scored 100, probably because of calorie count. Just, FYI, here are some other food scores I found interesting. Nonfat milk 91, oatmeal 88, white rice 57, pasta 50, skinless chicken breast 39, bagel 23, diet soda 15, milk chocolate 3 (OH, THE HORROR), soda 1.

Interesting, huh!

For more info, click here.

TOP SELLER!

I just got word today from my Liquid Silver Books editor, Maria, that Hostile Takeover was the number one best seller for the third quarter of 2008. Hooray!!! 1656 copies sold so far. I'm not sure how that compares to other authors or other electronic publishing houses, but that's a nice quantity for me at LSB. :D

Doing the happy dance...

She Likes Me, She Really Likes Me!

Ooh! This just in: a fantastic "5 bookmark" review from Jennifer Ray of Wild on Books. I can't help loving the woman because she loves my books. Here's part of what she said about Wolf...

This author has a knack for spinning romances that are both fun and sexy – a combination I am a complete fool for. Ms. Willoughby kept me giggling with the wit she infuses into each page of the book, obviously having as much fun with this story as her readers will. She manages to keep the story amusing, never silly, and yet infuses it with a great big dose of sex appeal.

There's more, but that's the good stuff. :D

Two Choices (Tag Game)

Saw this on another blog. You post two choices of your choosing. Coke or Pepsi. Cats or Dogs. Marble or granite. Whatever. Then, you post your choice and tag someone to post their two choices on their blog.

So I ask you...Paris or Rome?

I'd choose Rome in a heartbeat. I haven't met an Italian food I didn't like. The language makes me want to melt. The people are so so friendly.

I tag Robin B. (And that reminds me she tagged me to do something a while ago...)

Artist: Hessam Abrishami

Welcome to another Art Friday. Today I'm featuring the work of Hessam Abrishami. He has a loose style that really appeals to me and I love the romance that he portrays. After looking over everything on his website, this was my favorite piece - Closer Hearts. I see what seems to be a bed in the background, but these two lovers couldn't seem to wait. They're coupling right there on the floor. Nice.

He also likes to incorporate a motif of wine glasses and musical instruments. Here's Sweet Afternoon. Again, the couple is on the floor. For some odd reason, it makes me feel like I'm more intimate with them, seeing them when they're truly being themselves.

Abrishami lives in Los Angeles. Here he is in his studio. I live in LA too but I don't have a studio. :(

Ah well, have a great weekend!

Thursday 3: Crackers Are Okay

There's a popular meme called Thursday 13 in which every Thursday you make a list of thirteen things. I did this for a few months, but I don't have time for thirteen! So, I whittled it down to Thursday 3.

I would not kick this guy out of bed for eating crackers, no sirree.

I'm currently writing the third book in my Be-Wished series, tentatively titled ASKING FOR IT. The hero is a soldier, but I haven't decided which branch of the military yet. This hunk obviously swims, so I'm thinking maybe Navy.

I'm also thinking...

1) ...maybe this guy uses that knife to take out the bad guy who has captured me, but the bad guy is no match for my good guy. Afterward he cuts the ropes that bound my wrists together. Because I'm way to shaky from my experience to walk, he carries me to safety, barechested, of course. (Him, not me. LOL)

2) ...or maybe I'm a Lara Croft type gal and we're just completed a mission together. We've been fighting the attraction to each other for a long time, but I can see in his eyes, he can't take it anymore...

3) ...or, I was being held on a boat of some kind, and there's a helicopter dropping a harness down to me. Looking into my eyes, he straps me in with words of encouragement. Promises to see me in the helo. And of course, he's a man of his word.

Heh heh. Thank you God for giving me my imagination. It's my favorite toy.

Quote: Me All Over

Anyone who works is a fool. I don't work - I merely inflict myself upon the public.

--Robert Morley

This is me! Three examples: my blog, my books, and my job at Starbucks. LMAO

Pen #3: The Feel of Leathah

This is the latest in a series of posts about pens. I'm a pen freak. I can't afford most of the pens I'll be blogging about, but a girl can dream, can't she?

I love the bullet shape of this ballpoint and even more so the fact that it has leather on the sides. Can't you just feel it in your hand?

This goes for $50. You can buy it here.

5 Bookmarks!

Every once in a while I Google my name and look what I found! An outstanding "five bookmark" review by Jennifer Ray of Wild on Books.

I absolutely LOVED this book! Kate Willoughby left me utterly delighted with her whimsical tale of love and magic...

Mariah was just adorable. Sweet and guileless, it was no surprise to see Tucker fall completely in love with her.

Likewise, it was just as easy to understand why Mariah has never been able to stop thinking of Tucker since that one night they spent together years before. He is kind, fun, and thoughtful – and still as sexy as a man can get.

I can’t tell you how happy I am that this is only the first book in a series. I will be first in line when the next magical story in Willoughby’s Be-Wished series comes out!

You can read the whole review here, but that's the good stuff. She's already got a copy of A Wolf at Her Door and I can't wait to see what she thinks of it.

Feeling Lazy

Friday is usually the day I feature art, but it's already one in the afternoon and I'm just kinda tired.

So, here's a little pic that brought a smile to my face. Hope it brings one to yours, too.

Have a fun weekend.

Thursday 3: Photographic Packratness

There's a popular meme called Thursday 13 in which every Thursday you make a list of thirteen things. I did this for a few months, but I don't have time for thirteen! So, I whittled it down to Thursday 3.

Okay, so Packratness isn't a word. I'm a writer and I make sh*t up. Sue me.

I blog Monday through Thursday. I almost always post a picture because I think they make the posts more interesting. (Lord knows my posts probably need it.) Anyway, the file where I keep the photos can sometimes get crowded, so I often go through and clean it out.

However, there are a few photos that I just can't seem to get rid of. So this week my Thursday 3 is three pix I can't seem to live without.

This is Clive Owen. 'Nuff said.









Getting rid of this picture feels like actively rejecting the romance that it captures. Nope. Can't do it.


And this one needs no explanation. I dare any red-blooded woman to delete this photograph from her hard disk. It can't be done.

If you're a blogger, do you have a secret stash of must keep photos in your file? If you're not a blogger, I know there's probably something in your closet that manages to survive periodic reorganization efforts. What is it?

Quote: On How Life's a B*tch

He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.

--Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

Ever feel this way?

Pen #2: The King

This is the latest in a series of posts about pens. I'm a pen freak. I can't afford most of the pens I'll be blogging about, but a girl can dream, can't she?

So, isn't this pen a crack up? Doesn't it make you want to put on "Hounddog" and dance around?

You can buy the rollerball ($90) or fountain pen ($120) here.

My hubby and I danced our "first dance" to "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You," by the King. What's your favorite Elvis song?

A New Obsession

I've often mentioned here on the blog that I love pens. I don't even need a good excuse to buy a new pen. However, I'm worried now that this little weakness of mine has expanded to another item that is even less necessary than a pen.

The paintbrush.

As I mentioned a few days ago, I have enrolled in a painting class. There is, of course, a supply list. *evil laugh* In college when I was getting my BA in graphic design, the best part was when they handed out that delightful list of supplies needed. Oh, the joy. I got to go shopping! And it was Justified Shopping! I needed these supplies for the betterment of my mind, body, and soul. My very education depended on buying these supplies.

It occurs to me now that the satisfaction I feel when I buy office supplies is rooted in my early love of school. Must think more on this.

Anyway, I got the list of supplies for this painting class which starts on Monday. When some of them arrived in the mail the other day, I was practically drooling. And when I opened up the paintbrushes... Oh, my. There is one in particular that is just plain sexy. It's a 3/4 inch rounded brush, aptly named BLACK GOLD. The bristles are sinfully soft. The ends are dark, but the color lightens gradually to a cafe au lait hue near the ferrule (the metal part that holds the hairs together.) It's beautiful to look at, and a pleasure to brush against the skin. It's enough to make me jealous of the canvas I'll be painting on.

There's another one made by Loew-Cornell, an 18/0 very very fine brush. I might be using it to paint individual eyelashes--it's that fine! However, the handle is unusually fat, which makes it fun to hold, so I can't wait to use that one either.

Do you have an item that you can't seem to resist buying? Something that probably triggers some deep-seated need inside you that was likely established in childhood but that would need years of psychotherapy to discover? What is it??? Tell, tell, tell! Is it shoes? Books? Matches and gasoline? (Just kidding.)

The First Sparkle of the Topaz!

Here's the cover for my next release!!! Squeeeee!!

I'm currently in the last round of edits for this Topaz themed novella, due out in November and I'm really excited. It's the first time I've ever created an entire world.

In All In and A Wolf at Her Door (the Be-Wished series) there's a fairy world that I made up, but it co-exists with our world, so it feels more like a half-world. And within Wolf, there's the werewolf shifter sub-culture, but again, it had to jive with Earth and us pitiful, non-paranormal humans.

But in Secrets of the Jin-Hakku, everything's new. I was God. It was so cool.

Anyway, I digress. The real subject of this post was supposed to be the rockin' cover. View it. Admire it. Allow the subliminal message to fully enter your brain. (BUY IT IN NOVEMBER...BUY IT IN NOVEMBER...)

P.S. I need to apologize for hijacking my own blog. I was supposed to post about why Grant Wood's painting "Young Corn" has significance for me, but the arrival of my new cover disrupted the plan.

SILENCE

I'm in deep deadline doo-doo.

Can't blog.

Forgive me!