Here’s the blurb:

Love never hits a wrong note.

Ever since Nate McKenzie hired on as a roadie, musician Adam James has lusted after him. So far Adam has kept his distance, knowing Nate is mourning his dead wife. But lately Adam has caught the man returning his stares. Maybe it’s time to test the waters.

Besides, there isn’t much chance Nate will find out that Adam was once his people’s Kokopelli. His powers were stripped from him, along with the magical tattoo on his chest, when his orientation was discovered.

Nate is going crazy with guilt. Before his wife’s death, he never looked at anyone else, woman or man. Now his dreams are filled with Adam. He tries to keep his mind on his job and off Adam’s sexy body, but in a moment of weakness they share a kiss that sends them both up in flames.

Their relationship risks both their hearts and Adam’s female fan base, but the attraction is too strong to ignore. Then someone takes a shot at Adam—and his tattoo begins to reappear, forcing him to come clean with his lover. And Nate to decide exactly where his future lies…before a killer steals it away from them.

Warning: This book contains rockin’ music, smoky pubs, the mystical legend of Kokopelli and lots of playful, hot manlove.

Tweet This Post

Related posts:

1. Cover Goodness
2. New Cover Goodness
3. New Cover

Dear Author,

I salute you. You sit for long hours in front of the computer as you labor over our stories. Without you none of us would be here. Mostly, you do us proud but I’d like you to consider the following:

1. Please, please don’t make me go down to the basement when there is a killer on the loose. Credit me with a little common sense and help me do something intelligent.
I don’t want readers to snigger at me and call me Too Stupid To Live. I deserve more than that, don’t you think?

2. I know popular opinion says heroines are slender and pretty, but how about making me stand out from the crowd? Make me sexy–sure, I like sexy as much as the next girl, but I can be sexy and an average size. Give me a few curves. Don’t you know I enjoy food? Oh, and if you give me curves, don’t go on and on about my size. I’m happy, really I am.

3. Please don’t take a stereotype and foist it on me. I’m not a hooker with a big heart. I’m not an ice princess. I’m not a geeky librarian. Give me individuality.

4. I like alpha men–really, I do, but at least give me a spine so I can stand up to them. No wimps should apply here.

5. I’m not perfect. I know that, but do you know it too? Give me some flaws and balance them with some of the good stuff. Make me human because readers will like me better that way.

6. Give me a snarky voice. I’m cool with that, but don’t make me snark all the way through the book. Readers won’t like me if I do that. They might call me a bitch, you know, and wonder what the hero sees in me.

7. Likewise, if my hero is going to be a bastard, let him fall off his high horse at some stage. Make him see the error of his ways or at least let me use my knee in his private parts. It might hurt him, but it would make me feel better after all the verbal abuse.

8. And finally, if you’re gonna make me have anal sex, please, please, please give me some lube.

Yours faithfully,
A Heroine.

What would your heroine write in a letter? Readers, what do you think the heroine should write?

Tweet This Post

Related posts:

1. Calling Mr. Hero
2. The Author Persona
3. What Makes a Good Heroine?

Thank you for letting me guest blog today, Shelley. I’m bouncing in my seat, because you have one of my favorite places to visit in blog world.

Do you think there is one special person out there in the big world that is perfect for you? Are you willing to wait for that person knowing you might never cross paths?

I’ll admit that there are days where I believe my hubs is THE perfect man for me. He reads my mind, finishes my sentences, and predicts what I need. I can tell when something is bothering him, guess how he’ll react to bad news/good news, and I just “click” with him. Then there are those times when he leaves his dirty socks laying in the living room, or he’s too stubborn to admit that he’s wrong and I’m right. Those days I wonder what planet he came from!

I love the idea of soul mates, to know instantly that you’ve met the perfect person for you with no doubts or hesitation. That is what happened to my character Sarah in Ride Free, Book Two of The Chromes and Wheels Gang. She knew from the start that biker bad boy, Reefer, was the man she’d love for the rest of her life. He wasn’t such a big believer in fate, but Sarah knew exactly what she had to do.

Here is an excerpt for you to enjoy that shows Sarah knowing exactly what she wants.

Sarah grinned. “You have to realize I’ve dreamed about riding a motorcycle of my own around the country forever. It’s the way I escaped…”

“Go on, sweetheart.” He linked his fingers with hers and brought her hand up to kiss. “Tell me what you needed to escape.”

Her nose wrinkled. “You’ve met my da, remember?”

“What about your mom?”

“She drank right alongside him. She died from cirrhosis of the liver a few years ago.” Sarah twisted her mouth. “I imagine my da is going to follow in her footsteps soon. He won’t quit for anyone.”

Reefer pulled her back down to his chest. “But why fantasize about becoming a biker?”

“To ride from one place to another with the wind on your face. All the outside noises muffled by the roar of the engine. It’s musical, don’t you think?” Sarah sat up again. “It’s strange, but the comfort I get off the drums at the reservation is the same rush I get when I hear your bike.”

His lips tightened. She smiled.

“It beats in here.” She placed her hand on his chest.

“But, your family…” he reminded her.

She shook her head. “No, it is only my da, and he is better off without the reminder that he has a daughter. He drinks more when I am around.”

“But, you have steady employment—”

“That doesn’t matter. Listen to me, Reefer. There is nothing in my life to tie me to this place.” She placed her hands on his cheeks. “I want to live the life of a biker, to sail away and live one day at a time.”

“Jesus, Sarah…” He set his forehead against hers. “I’m bad news, sweetheart.”

“Don’t talk about yourself that way.” She wished somehow his doubts might flow out of him and he’d soak up her confidence.

“The only family I have is the other bikers, Sarah. I promised myself when I was sixteen that I would never ever leave them.” Reefer’s breath caught. “I don’t know if it is fair to take you away from everything you know, away from the only relative you have. Tell me what to do, sweetheart.”

“Take me with you. Let me love you.” She wound her arms around his neck and pulled his lips towards her. “Let’s ride the wind together.”

Buy Link for Ride Free by Debra Kayn

You can find out more about the books I write at www.debrakayn.com. I love to talk to readers, so stop by and say hi!

CONTEST: Debra is giving away a copy of Ride Free to one lucky person today. All you need to do is post a comment and you’re in the draw! The winner will be announced later tonight.

Tweet This Post

Related posts:

1. Traveler or Homebody with Debra Kayn
2. Try a Free Read Today
3. Soldier of Fortune Tour & Shopaholic

We live near an estuary and have lots of water birds hanging around. The ducks, especially, seem to like roaming the roads and visiting people. We often have ducks on our front lawn. When Scotty and I used to go for a walk they’d follow after us, squawking for food. This one actually landed in the back part of our lawn. We fed her and she came back a few days later. It was a hot day, and I had all the sliding doors open. I was writing and happened to look up to see the duck ready to step right into our lounge. I scrambled to shut the door and we eyed each other through the glass for about five minutes.

To see more animal photos visit Camera Critters.

Tweet This Post

Related posts:

1. Hey Cutie
2. I Spy With My Little Eye…
3. Play Time

The theme for this week is a black moment. I’ve chosen an excerpt from my Quickie, Issy’s Infatuation. It’s not the main black moment of the book, but it’s definitely a bad turn of events for the heroine, Issy.

Issy’s Infatuation by Shelley Munro

“Good luck, Issy.” Tyler squeezed her shoulder, leaning close for an instant, so close she thought he might actually kiss her in front of everyone. “You can do this.”

Issy nodded and hoped he was right. She jogged on the spot, trying to keep warm. A place in the Black Ferns. It was what she’d aimed for and dreamed of ever since she’d started playing for the Jets. Tyler had diverted her for a while but now that their time was over, she was back on track. Issy fell in with her teammates when the fifteen-strong team ran onto the field. The sun made an appearance but it was still bloody cold, gooseflesh rippling across her arms and legs. Her stomach lurched, the nerves still present. From experience she knew they wouldn’t settle properly until she’d had her first touch of the ball. Here’s hoping she didn’t flub it.

The referee blew his whistle. The Jets’ first-five kicked off and the rugby ball flew through the air. Issy sprinted in the same direction. One of the Panthers leapt for the ball but a Jet player contested it, reaching high to grab the ball first. They hit the ground and a ruck formed. It probably looked like a heap of bodies to the spectators but Issy’s team were skilled at passing the ball back underneath the tangle of bodies. The ball came out on the Jets’ side of the ruck. The crowd roared approval. Issy grabbed it, flicking the white ball along the back line. She sprinted down the field, backing up. Angela, their winger, kicked the ball over the heads of the opposition and it dribbled out over the sideline not far from the corner flag.

Issy hurried into position and waited for the lineout to form and the opposition hooker to take the throw in. From the corner of her eye she noted Tyler chatting to three men. The selectors. Issy looked away to concentrate on the unfolding game. She had to ignore them and play out of her skin. She ran, darted after the Panther player when they tried to make a break. Issy tackled the opposition player. The player fell and the ball popped free. Issy snatched it up and sprinted toward their goal line. A Panther ran at her, tackled.

It was bone-crunching hard, jarring her whole body. Their heads clashed. Issy’s world went dark. It was like crawling out of a long black tunnel. Very dark and later, seconds or maybe minutes, light appeared. The players had followed the ball, leaving her behind on the ground. They were way down the other end of the field. Damn, they were fuzzy, moving all over the place. Groggily, she climbed slowly to her feet. She wobbled, staggering a few steps. Issy shook her head and saw stars. She dropped to the ground, deciding to wait until the stars stopped whirring before she attempted to stand on her feet again.
Dimly, she heard the whistle, heard the thunder of feet racing toward her.

“Issy? Issy, sweetheart, are you okay?” It sounded like Tyler, but she wasn’t sure since the voice was so far away.

“Wanna stand up.” Issy struggled to a sitting position and someone helped her stand.

“Let me look at her,” another voice said. “Open your eyes for me. That’s a girl.”

What did he mean? Her eyes were open.

“Hmm. Lights are on, but nobody’s home,” the voice said. “Concussion. Looked to me as if she actually blacked out for a little while. She can’t play the rest of the game. She needs to get checked out at the emergency clinic.”

Go off? No way! “Not going off.” Issy turned, intending to rejoin the game when the referee signaled time back on. Instead she almost fell flat on her face and would have fallen if someone hadn’t caught her. Tears trickled down her face. She couldn’t go off. She couldn’t. The selectors wouldn’t choose her if they couldn’t see her play. “I want to play.”

“You can’t.” Tyler signaled to the reserve players and one of them ran onto the field to replace Issy. He did it with a heavy heart, knowing how gutted Issy must feel.

“I want to go back on,” Issy protested.

“You can’t even stand on your own, Issy.” Adam slipped his arm around her and guided her to the sideline.

Tyler followed, hearing the referee’s whistle when he signaled play to resume. Hell, poor Issy. A lump formed in his throat when he studied her pale face. It was easy to see she wasn’t sure what was going on yet, that the full disappointment wouldn’t hit until later. Damn, this wasn’t bloody fair. She’d trained so hard and done everything right only for an injury to rob her of the chance to impress the selectors.

Purchase from Ellora’s Cave
Purchase in Kindle format

To read more Snippet Saturday excerpts, follow the links below:

Emma Petersen
McKenna Jeffries
Ashley Ladd
Shelley Munro
Lauren Dane
Mari Carr
Lissa Matthews
TJ Michaels
Elisabeth Naughton
Juliana Stone
Taige Crenshaw
Eliza Gayle

Tweet This Post

Related posts:

1. Black Moment
2. Search for Mystery Black Leopard Resumes
3. New Cover

Ingredients:

1 cup dates chopped
Zest of 2 oranges
Juice of 2 oranges
1 Cinnamon Stick
A little sugar

Place these ingredients into a pot, melt and cook until it goes thick and caramelises. Note – my oranges didn’t have much juice, so I used some orange juice we had in the fridge. I added a little at a time until the dates sucked it up and I had a lovely thick mixture. Cool mixture.

4 cups self-raising flour
300ml cream (half a pint)
¼ cup sugar
1 can lemonade (Sprite)
½ tsp salt
Cinnamon sugar (make your own by mixing a few teaspoons of sugar with a little cinnamon)

Place flour and salt in a bowl. Add the date mixture and mix. Pour in cream and lemonade. Mix all ingredients into a smooth dough in a bowl. Tip out onto floured bench and cut out or shape. I just used a sharp knife and cut rough squares. Place scones just touching each other on tray. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 220 degrees Celsius (425 degrees Fahrenheit) for 15-20 mins until starting to colour pale golden. Place on a tea towel on a wire rack.

Shelley’s notes: I used a fan bake oven, which cooks quicker. My scones were ready after ten minutes of cooking. My mix was quite damp and sticky. I sprinkled just enough flour on it for me to pat it into shape and cut into smaller squares.

The recipe is a hybrid of Chelsea Sugar & Good Taste Australia & Courtney from Nestle Hottest Home Baker.

This is the final product. I ate them warm with raspberry jam or a little butter. You could use jam and whipped cream as a topping or your favorite jam or jelly. I froze the leftovers, and they tasted just as good heated a little in the microwave after I’d thawed them out. My March recipe was a big success.

Tweet This Post

Related posts:

1. Crunchy Lemon Muffins
2. Mug Cake
3. Yellow Cupcakes

I entered a competition a few weeks ago and yesterday, I received a box of rice and rice products worth $100. It was a real surprise, and now our pantry is full of rice. It’s just as well I like rice.

Thirteen Things About Rice

1. Rice is a staple food for more than half the world’s population.

2. Rice belongs to the grass family and produces seeds (the rice grains) on long stalks.

3. Rice is either short, medium or long grain. Short grain rice is more moist and sticky, due to higher starch content. Long grain rice is lighter and drier and the grains separate easier.

4. Rice is high in complex carbs. It has almost no fat. It has zero cholesterol and a low sodium content. It also provides protein and is a good source of vitamins and minerals. It’s gluten free and is easy to digest.

5. More than 40,000 varieties of cultivated rice exist.

6. Arborio rice is a short-grain rice grown in Italy. It absorbs flavor well and is used in making risotto. It can, however, be used in soups, rice puddings and paella dishes.

7. Basmati rice is my favorite. It’s a long-grain rice that comes from India and Pakistan. It’s name comes from the Hindi word for fragrant. It has a nutty scent and is perfect with curries.

8. Sushi rice has been grown in Japan for more than 2000 years. It’s sticky and holds its shape due to the high starch content.

9. Jasmine rice is mild and fragrant and is popular in Thailand and China.

10. At a wedding, the throwing of rice originally symbolized fertility. These days it symbolizes prosperity.

11. In China, young girls who are picky eaters are warned that every grain of rice they leave in their bowls represents a pock mark on the face of their future husband.

12. Rice writing originated in Turkey where it was believed that a grain of rice with an inscribed message led to good luck.

13. When hubby and I did an overland trip from London to Kathmandu, I had a stomach upset in Turkey and was toilet-bound for a couple of days. I still wasn’t very well when we traveled through Iran. At first, I ate rice because it was easy to keep inside me. We had problems finding vegetarian food so then I ate rice because I was hungry. It got to the stage where I didn’t want to see another single grain, let alone eat one! I still remember eating a delicious cheese omelette in an Esfahan hotel where we were staying. It was the best omelette ever.

Source: Taste Magazine – January/February 2010

Visit the Thursday Thirteen Hub.

Tweet This Post

Related posts:

1. Do You Keep a Diary?
2. Soaring Heights
3. Hair Today

I’m also blogging at The Romance Studio today.

Warning: Condoms were tested and a few harmed during the writing of this story.

It’s not every day a girl inherits a condom company, and to say accountant Alice Beasley is astonished and out of her depth is putting it mildly. For an almost virgin, she needs a quick education in all things condom because her inheritance is in danger. Someone is intent on sabotage and playing nasty, trying to destroy her new company.

Alice is suddenly getting down and dirty with charismatic James, the factory manager, all in the name of business, testing new condom designs. The sex is hot. Mind-blowing. It’s a dark thrill and an erotic journey. Yeah, it’s a hard job, but a girl’s got to do what a girl’s gotta do.

The testing turns personal. Alice wants James. She craves his talented touch and sultry kisses, she desires passion and physical pleasure on a permanent basis but first she must convince bad-boy James to give up his fancy-free ways…

Tweet This Post

Related posts:

1. Small Towns with a Side of Aliens
2. The First M/M Romance and Condom Use in Romantic Fiction
3. The Humble Little Condom

Here’s an unofficial blurb:

One plus one equals three.

Tiger shifter Hari Daya takes one look at Ambar Patel’s photo and is smitten. Further research heightens his fascination. An arranged marriage would work, except the lady isn’t buying and tells him to take a hike.

Ambar is already involved with human Jake Quinn. Casual pleasure and lovin’ works best for her since she dreams of traveling the world and delving into new experiences. The frisson of heat and desire she feels for Hari is unacceptable. There will be no tiger mate for her.

Jake Quinn has no idea either his lover or his new friend are shifters, but there sure as hell is something weird going on in his head. As much as he enjoys sex with Ambar, he’s thinking about Hari too. Suddenly there’s kissing and togetherness way past his comfort zone. The slide into sinful pleasure with both Hari and Ambar is easy—it’s the relationship dynamics that give them headaches and make them wonder if they’re making a huge mistake.

I don’t have a release date as yet, but it should be out in the next few months.

Tweet This Post

Related posts:

1. Interview and Sale.
2. Sale: Cat Burglar
3. Tiger: CatNap is Coming…

I don’t think my father understood how big these particular pumpkins grow. He certainly didn’t understand our enthusiasm or competitive spirit. He’s definitely changed his tune since then and gleefully rings up to skite about the rapid growth of his pumpkins.

Here are some photos of some of his pumpkins. They’re all too big for me to lift. Both photos were taken about three weeks ago, so they’ve probably grown even bigger.

Aren’t they a gorgeous color?

I’m blogging at The Romance Studio Blue today about the first erotic romance I ever read.

Tweet This Post

Related posts:

1. Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater…
2. Playing the Odds
3. Give ‘em a Taste of Kiwi Wine