I’ll be blogging about heroes to die for. You know the kind – alpha males with a tender heart for their ladies. *sigh*

I’ll also be offering a new excerpt from my upcoming release (September 3) of In His Arms.

To make things even sweeter, there’s a contest. One lucky commenter on this post or at the Babbling About Books and More blog will get her choice of one of the following:

1. Lush Velvet Nights – ebook – Reviewer’s TOP PICK the Pagan & the Pen; 5 ANGELS Fallen Angles Reviews; 5 STARS JERR

2.  Adored - ebook – 4 stars Romantic Times; Second Place Winner NEC RWA contest!

3.  Deep, Dark, Delicious - ebook – nominated for Book of the Week Whipped Cream Reviews; 5 Stars, Reviewer TOP PICK – NOR

4.  Close to Perfect – mass market paperback – 4 stars Romantic Times – “A walk on the wild side for romance readers”

5. Bad Boys with Red Roses - trade paperback – Erotic Romance Anthology with my novella “Tempt Me, Tease Me, Thrill Me”

6. Take My Breath Away - trade paperback – 4 ½ stars Romantic Times – a Romantic Times top pick!!Booklist wrote: “Fans of Lori Foster will enjoy Donahue’s light, sexy romance!!”

U S Winner has her choice of all titles.

Winner outside continental US has choice of ebooks.

Winner chosen at random.

I’ll announce the winner on Saturday. 

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Related posts:

1. Contest & Guest Blog at Nine Naughty Novelists!
2. Scavenger Hunt & Blog at Babbling About Books & More!!
3. Contest & Guest Blog at Moonlight, Lace & Mayhem!!

I’ll be blogging about that all important first kiss in a novel. Yummmmm.

I’ll also be offering a new excerpt from my upcoming release (September 3) of In His Arms.

To make things even sweeter, there’s a contest. One lucky commenter on this post or at the Nine Naughty Novelists blog will get her choice of one of the following:

1. Lush Velvet Nights – ebook – Reviewer’s TOP PICK the Pagan & the Pen; 5 ANGELS Fallen Angles Reviews; 5 STARS JERR

2.  Adored - ebook – 4 stars Romantic Times; Second Place Winner NEC RWA contest!

3.  Deep, Dark, Delicious - ebook – nominated for Book of the Week Whipped Cream Reviews; 5 Stars, Reviewer TOP PICK – NOR

4.  Close to Perfect – mass market paperback – 4 stars Romantic Times – “A walk on the wild side for romance readers”

5. Bad Boys with Red Roses - trade paperback – Erotic Romance Anthology with my novella “Tempt Me, Tease Me, Thrill Me”

6. Take My Breath Away - trade paperback – 4 ½ stars Romantic Times – a Romantic Times top pick!!Booklist wrote: “Fans of Lori Foster will enjoy Donahue’s light, sexy romance!!”

U S Winner has her choice of all titles.

Winner outside continental US has choice of ebooks.

I’ll announce the winner on Friday. 

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Related posts:

1. Contest & Guest Blog at Babbling About Books & More
2. Contest & Guest Blog at Moonlight, Lace & Mayhem!!
3. CONTEST to celebrate my new book cover!!

To introduce you to the special features these week, please click here and then when the page pops up, click on the SPOTLIGHT button (in the toolbar section to the left).

Throughout the week, I’ll be at Melodee’s Yahoo! Group, so if you’re not already a member there, you’ll want to join soon so you don’t miss a thing!

The other place I’ll be is the new home for Melodee’s Blog where I’m a guest blogger all this week. Be sure to follow Melodee’s Blog so you can read all sorts of interesting things about me.

Each day this week, Melodee will be posting some of her comments about In His Arms and asking me questions about the story. Now here’s the fun part…I don’t know what Melodee will be asking ahead of time! So, I’ll have to think on my feet and give my first reactions! This is gonna be quite a ride!

We’ll be wrapping things up on Friday with a chat (details to come).

But there’s more! At the end of the week, I’ll be offering a copy of one of my books, to one lucky commenter.

Book choices include:

1. Lush Velvet Nights – ebook – Reviewer’s TOP PICK the Pagan & the Pen; 5 ANGELS Fallen Angles Reviews; 5 STARS JERR

2.  Adored - ebook – 4 stars Romantic Times; Second Place Winner NEC RWA contest!

3.  Deep, Dark, Delicious - ebook – nominated for Book of the Week Whipped Cream Reviews; 5 Stars, Reviewer TOP PICK – NOR

4.  Close to Perfect – mass market paperback – 4 stars Romantic Times – “A walk on the wild side for romance readers”

5. Bad Boys with Red Roses - trade paperback – Erotic Romance Anthology with my novella “Tempt Me, Tease Me, Thrill Me”

6. Take My Breath Away - trade paperback – 4 ½ stars Romantic Times – a Romantic Times top pick!!Booklist wrote: “Fans of Lori Foster will enjoy Donahue’s light, sexy romance!!”

U S Winner has her choice of all titles.

Winner outside continental US has choice of ebooks.

Rules (very easy):All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog (it has to be this particular blog (August 23), please) or at Melodee’s yahoo group. I’ll announce the winner next Sunday.

So please join me at Melodee’s during my Spotlight week! 

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Related posts:

1. I’m the Spotlight Author at Melodee Aaron’s site!
2. CONTEST to celebrate my new book cover!!
3. Contest & Guest Blog at Nine Naughty Novelists!

(Photo courtesy of PhotoBucket)

But that doesn’t mean I can get away with not going to the dentist or the eye doctor. I used to consider those appointments not so bad. You’re in, you’re out, you flash your insurance card and you forget about everything for six months or a year.

Note I said ‘used to’.

Ever since the economy tanked, I’ve noticed that the billing departments for the eye doctor and dentist keep messing things up, and keep dinging me for stuff I haven’t ordered or procedures I’ve never had.

The first time it happened, I thought – no biggie. They just made a mistake.

The mistakes are beginning to be commonplace and have me wondering – do they not have enough help to do the job correctly – or do they think a few bucks here and there will help keep their practices solvent?

Just this morning, I received a threatening letter from my dentist’s billing department. It read: “Because you’ve ignored our billing for months and now your account is 60 days overdue, you are jeopardizing your credit and our being able to service your dental needs in the future.”

Uh-huh. To begin with, this is the first notice that I’ve received since my last visit. If I get a bill, I pay it – the same day. If I owe something, I pay it – always.

Second, my last visit was a ‘well’ visit. I had X-rays taken and my teeth cleaned – all paid for by my insurance. That means, I don’t owe anything.

The billing department says I owe $8.50. I decided to go over to the office and straighten it out. When I got there, the woman behind the desk looked as if she’d be happier if she was unemployed. Surly doesn’t begin to describe her attitude. When I explained about the billing error, she said that the billing person wouldn’t be in for a few days. Lovely. I then asked her to look up my chart so I could see what the supposed $8.50 charge was for.

Reluctantly (she sighed a lot), she went into her computer and said, “Well, you had a crown put in.”

For $8.50? Wow – what a deal.

Figuring I better not say that, I informed her the crown had been put in three years ago. Not 60 days ago.

She began sighing again and said I’d have to wait until the billing person came in; that she couldn’t help me.

Well duh. I figured that from the moment I came up to the desk and she frowned like she didn’t want to be bothered.

I figure three years from now the problem will probably be solved, but by then they’ll most likely ding me with something else I don’t owe.

Maybe it’s time for me to find another dentist…and eye doctor. They keep messing up my billing too.

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Has it been a Hot Summer for You?

The LONG, Hot Summer

Rules: Simply leave a comment about the above picture at this link and you’re entered in my August contest! WINNER CHOSEN RANDOMLY.

Duration: Contest begins August 1 and runs through August 25 – Winner announced August 26

Prize:

Winner chosen randomly and will receive her choice of one of my following books:

1. Lush Velvet Nights - ebook – Reviewer’s TOP PICK the Pagan & the Pen; 5 ANGELS Fallen Angles Reviews; 5 STARS JERR

2.  Adored - ebook – 4 stars Romantic Times; Second Place Winner NEC RWA contest!

3.  Deep, Dark, Delicious - ebook – nominated for Book of the Week Whipped Cream Reviews; 5 Stars, Reviewer TOP PICK – NOR

4.  Close to Perfect - mass market paperback – 4 stars Romantic Times – “A walk on the wild side for romance readers”

5. Bad Boys with Red Roses - trade paperback – Erotic Romance Anthology with my novella “Tempt Me, Tease Me, Thrill Me”

6. Take My Breath Away - trade paperback – 4 ½ stars Romantic Times – a Romantic Times top pick!!Booklist wrote: “Fans of Lori Foster will enjoy Donahue’s light, sexy romance!!”

GOOD LUCK!!!

U S Winner has her choice of all titles. Winner outside continental US has choice of ebooks.

(Picture courtesy of PhotoBucket)

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3. Contest

Huguette Clark

(Copper King Mansion Bed and Breakfast, Butte, Montana)

Imagine having all the money you could possibly want, more than you’ll ever need. Then imagine having three spectacular residences – a Fifth Avenue apartment that overlooks New York’s Central Park and is the largest in that area; a Santa Barbara estate on the Pacific Coast worth $100 million; and a ‘simple’ country house worth $24 million in Connecticut.

Then imagine never going to any of them, never living in any of them.

That’s the strange and rather sad story of Huguette Clark who is 104 years old and has oddly enough never really lived. At least, according to conventional standards.

The daughter of William Andrews Clark, a disgraced US Senator who made his fortune in copper, Huguette has not been seen since she entered a New York hospital decades ago. She has no immediate family and seemingly no one she wants around except for her attorney and her accountant with the accountant being a registered sex offender and felon. Many aren’t even certain if she’s still alive.

With all her wealth, with all the opportunities and vistas that wealth might have opened up for her, instead it seems to have made her a prisoner. Much like Michael Jackson.

For more on this unusual woman, go to msnbc.com

For my previous post on Michael Jackson, click here

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Related posts:

1. Remembering Michael Jackson a year later. . .

 ______________________________________

For other Bad Boys photos, check out the following:

How Do I Live Without You?

Hot, Hot, Hot

Killing Me Softly with His Bod. . .

_____________________________________

 (Photos courtesy of PhotoBucket)

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2. Hot, Hot, Hot
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During Annabel’s interview, she’ll be chatting about her EC release Deep in the Woods and offering a contest (more on contest below).

________________________________________________________________________ 

Our Summer of Romance series has featured great authors like Jean Hart Stewart, Kaily Hart, Meg Benjamin, Anitra Lynn McLeod, Diane Farr, Adele Dubois, Jesse Fox, Berengaria Brown and many more!!!

________________________________________________________________________

Here’s a bit about Annabel:

Annabel is a multi-published erotic author specializing in the romance of the BDSM lifestyle. She writes contemporary stories of couples trying to balance romance, real life, and BDSM fantasy, although she has been known to dabble in a historical or two. Her personal turn-ons are Maledoms, erotic punishment and training, domestic discipline, and orgasm control and teasing, and just about anything else decadent and kinky. Her books also contain a healthy amount of consensual and loving sado-masochism. Annabel lives in the deep south with her husband and children. Besides writing erotic romance, she also dabbles in mainstream fiction and screenwriting. Here’s a blurb and an excerpt from Deep in the Woods.

BLURB:

Sophie finally finds the courage to reenter the Atlanta BDSM scene after extricating herself from an abusive relationship. At a local munch, she meets Dave, a funny, laid-back erotic photographer. When she sees him again later at a dungeon, Sophie is surprised by her strong attraction, and nervous about starting a new relationship, but Dave eases her fears. They embark on a sexy, thrilling D/s relationship and Sophie finds healing and fulfillment in Dave’s arms. But Sophie is still haunted by nightmares of her past. On a dark night in the woods with Dave and his friend Ryan, frightening memories overtake her. She knows that in order to move on, she must uncover the tragedy that haunts her subconscious. Sophie’s quest for answers brings her face-to-face with her previous tormentor. She finds herself once more in the deep woods, not only fighting for answers…but also for her life.

EXCERPT:

He placed a fingertip against her lips. “I’m not assuming anything. I am telling you that if I kiss you…if I touch you tonight the way I want to…”

The way he was staring at her made it impossible to concentrate on his words. Her eyes dropped to his lips, full and sensual. His bottom lip was perfection, something to lick and nibble. Before she could stop herself, she drew her tongue across her own lips. His hand cupped her chin and his gaze forced her to focus. “Listen to me. If I kiss you… Sophie…” He leaned forward and she parted her lips with a sigh.

The moment his lips touched hers, she felt relief. She felt a peace that had eluded her for months, perhaps years. He held her face in his hands as his mouth possessed hers. The kiss quickly intensified and his tongue pushed into her mouth. He moved closer. His hands grasped her shoulders, then ran down her arms to pull her against his chest. The entire time, his lips never left hers. He tasted her eagerly, and his kiss was demanding. She felt possessed, challenged. He could master her and she knew it. He was letting her know he could master her if that was her desire.

Oh god. One hand moved up her back to twist in her hair. He pulled hard, sending thrills of stinging pain down the back of her neck and around to her flushed face. She arched her spine and moaned against his lips. It was not in her nature to beg, although she wanted to at that moment. She wanted to plead for what she wished. She wanted to prostrate herself before him. She wanted to surrender to the intensity and fire of his touch. His touch, his touch…his fingertips were trailing back down her arms, then to the hem of her dress. She broke away and looked around. The light. Not in the light. She pushed at his hand and he stopped and pulled back.

“What’s wrong?”

“I…can’t we…the light is so bright and…and your dog is staring at me. It’s kind of freaking me out. Can’t we…? I’m sorry…”

“Turn out the lights?”

She blushed, feeling like an idiot. “Can we please?”

“I would like to see you, Sophie. Your lovely body. Your beautiful eyes.”

She bit her lip, hating this moment, hating everything about it. She could run. She could just run out the door and… No. She didn’t want to run. But she couldn’t show her body to him, not at this moment. Later. She would deal with it later. And if he rejected her when he saw the scars, at least then she would have had one night to be with him.

“Please, Dave. I’m just shy. It’s been so long and…” She looked over at Cerby again, who was helping her case by gawking at them from a couple feet away. “Your dog is sweet but—”

“You’re telling me you’re embarrassed to get naked in front of my dog.”

“Yes.” Yes, and please believe me. Please just go along with this.

Dave sighed. “That’s really the problem? It’s not that you don’t want to get intimate tonight? Because hey, we just met. I’m fine with waiting. Really, Sophie, I am.”

Nooooo. “No, I want to. I’m just… I’m weird that way.” I’m weird. I’m weird. Don’t make me show you just how weird I am. “Maybe…maybe the first time would be better in the dark. So we can really feel each other. You know?”

He nodded, his fingers caressing her hip. “Depend on our other senses?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Well, you realize I’m a photographer, that I’m very visual. We can always shut Cerby out of the bedroom. In fact, it would probably be a good idea.”

“I guess. I mean, we could. But something about me is that I really… I really like the dark. I really, really like darkness, especially when I’m feeling…”

“Scared?” he supplied when her voice got too tight to continue. “Are you feeling scared right now, Sophie?”

“Nervous,” she whispered. “Because I really want to be with you.”

He looked down at her trembling hands and then back at her face, and something in her expression must have caused him to relent.

 “Okay. Only because the first time is always slightly scary. My bedroom is really dark with the lights off, you’ll like it. We can get to know each other by touch alone.”

 AND NOW FOR THE CONTEST!!!

One lucky commenter (winner chosen at random) will receive a free e-copy of Deep in the Woods

You can learn more about Annabel and her books at http://annabeljoseph.wordpress.com

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That means that Ellora’s Cave authors have the stage all to themselves to post covers/blurbs/excerpts and to chat with fellow authors.

Fans are also welcomed – stop by and chat with one of your fave authors. Who knows – one of them might be hosting a contest and giving one of their great books away as a prize!

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(Image from: blog.junta42.com/.a/6a00d834c5f4b969e20133ec7)

According to a news report on abcnews.com: “A new report in the American Journal of Cardiology suggests that fast food restaurants should offer statins – a popular class of cholesterol-lowering medications – alongside their unhealthy food.”

That’s right – statins. When you supersize your meals that have 5,000 calories, you should just ask for a pharmaceutical to go along with it…kind of like a fat-free dessert.

The article further stated: “We propose that the fast food industry is well placed to offer advice and supplements to counteract the cardiovascular harm arising from the foods they purvey,” the report said. “These companies already have an infrastructure for providing a variety of condiments… A generic statin could be added to the panoply of items in the self-service tray at little additional cost.”

And it also stated: “The study – which likened taking a statin before eating to putting on a bike helmet before biking – was based on analyses of other scientific studies, and concluded that taking the drugs could offset the risk of eating fast food just enough to render the food harmless.”

Sound too good to be true? Well, the American Heart Association thinks so.

Here’s what they had to say in the article. “But Dr. Ralph Sacco, president of the American Heart Association, says that not only isn’t the solution that simple, it could be dangerous.

“There are other things regarding obesity that are important that a statin won’t neutralize, such as diabetes and high blood pressure,” Sacco said. “Even though we agree statins have a lot of good evidence in reducing cardiovascular and stroke risk, there are certain risks with any medications.”

No kidding. The safest pharmaceutical is the one you don’t have to take because you’ve treated your body well…eating right, exercising, not smoking and not getting drunk every night.

There will always be individuals whose body chemistry will lead them to diabetes, heart disease or any other number of maladies, no matter what they do. But let’s face it, that’s not most of us.

Rather than looking for a magic pill with our Whoppers, maybe we should just try some common sense instead when it comes to what we put into our bodies.

Here’s another story on the perils of food:

Have we taken our reality TV addiction too far?

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