The Season is Going to Review Once Upon A Kiss

The Season is an e-zine that is all about romance. This month they're scheduled to review Once Upon A Kiss. The review isn't up yet, but the book is featured nonetheless. Click here to see it. I'm right there next to Kate Douglas! Wow. I can't wait to see what they think of my book.

The Big Day

O happy day! Once Upon A Kiss is finally available! It's the very first book there on the front page of Ellora's Cave. I'm very excited. It's even next to Cricket Starr, a very popular and long time Ellora's Cave author.

All week I've been blogging about the book and anyone who commented was entered into a drawing to win their choice of one of my books. This morning I wrote all the names on bits of paper. If you commented twice your name got written twice, and so on. I'm happy to announce the winner is...

Terri Osburn!!! Terri, email me to arrange the details. kate_willoughby at yahoo, etc. Thank you, all you other commenters.

If you're in the mood to read a fun, sexy romance, get yourself a copy of Once Upon A Kiss. I think you'll have a good time.

Once Upon a Kiss Celebration - Day Seven

Tomorrow is the big day when Once Upon A Kiss comes out! I'm so excited and can't wait.

If you are interested in on-screen kisses, check out this list of the Best and Most Memorable Film Kisses of All Time in Cinematic History. It's twenty five pages long and the first one is from 1896! It's current to 2009. Check it out. I got lost looking at the various kisses for quite a while.

Today, I want to know if you have a favorite on-screen kiss. One of my favorites is actually Lady and the Tramp--the spaghetti kiss.

Is there a kiss between humans that you especially remember?

Comments enter you to win your choice of one of my books. Winner to be announced tomorrow!

Once Upon a Kiss Celebration - Day Six

Obviously in my newest novella from Ellora's Cave, Once Upon A Kiss, a kiss plays an important role in the plot. This is typical fairy tale fare. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty needed the lips of a man in order to get their happy ending. In my story, it's the hero, Joe, who needs a lip lock.

So, today, just for fun, let's pretend you're deep in enchanted dreamland. Who would you want to give you your up-close and personal wake up call? (Boyfriends and husbands don't count.)

Comment and you are entered to win your choice of one of any of my books. Winner to be announced Wednesday, August 25!

Once Upon A Kiss Celebration Week - Day Five

In Once Upon A Kiss, which is coming out on Wednesday, August 25, the hero, Joe is confined to a wheelchair because of an injury he received while serving in Iraq. Coincidentally, while writing the book, my local grocery store was collecting donations for people in wheelchairs. I thought that was too strange to ignore, so I donated often.

I'm not sure if the Wheelchair Foundation is the same charity, but I think it's a worthy one, nonetheless. So, I will be donating a portion of my royalties per book to this organization until I have enough to pay for a wheelchair for some deserving person somewhere in the world ($150). It's bad enough to need a wheelchair, but to need one and not have one...?

If you had a spare $150, which charity would you give it to? Why? Any comment enters you to win one of my books. (Winner to be announced Wednesday, August 25.)

Once Upon A Kiss Celebration Week - Day Four

When one of my books comes out, I traditionally do a sex tally. Here are how the numbers fall for Once Upon A Kiss:

Number of sex scenes - NINE. Wow. I think that's a record for me.
Percentage of sex in the book - 8%
Longest sex scene - 1,418 words
Shortest sex scene - 175 words

I'm wondering what the shortest sex scene you could write would be... Maybe, if you really used your imagination it could be one word.

Yes.

Can you write a sex scene in ten or less words? Give it a try and get a chance to win a free book. (Winner to be announced Wednesday, August 25, the day Once Upon A Kiss comes out.

Once Upon A Kiss Celebration Week - Day Three

Fairy tales will always appeal to me. Maybe I was a princess in a previous life. Or maybe a frog.  I especially like the ones that end happily with two people in love.

In Once Upon A Kiss, the erotic romance that will be coming out on Wednesday, Livvy wishes for her own "fairy tale ending." All sorts of trouble ensues when the wish fairy granting the wish uses unauthorized street magic, but that's the nature of fiction. Sh*t happens. It has to, otherwise no one would read it.

Anyway, I just wonder what your favorite fairy tale is, happy ending or not. If you name your fave in the comment section, you might win one of my books. (Winner to be announced August 25.)

Artwork Old French Fairy Tales (1920) by Virginia Frances Sterrett

Once Upon A Kiss Celebration Week - Day Two

I hope you liked yesterday's excerpt. I also hope you commented. Every comment is a chance to win a copy of any of my backlist.

Today I'm going to focus on the concept of wishes. Wishes are fun to think about. They're like the ultimate hypothetical. In the Be-Wished world that I created, you can't just wish for world peace. The Universal Wish Federation avoids "granting wishes that could affect the economy, the environment, or health on a global scale."

All three friends in my series find true love as a result of their wishes, even if they didn't technically wish for love. So, I'm posing a few choices to you. What would you wish for...?

Love or money?
X-ray vision or invisibility?
A lifetime supply of McDonalds or Pizza Hut?
To be the ideal weight or in excellent health?

Chime in to win a free book. Drawing to be held Wednesday, August 25.

Once Upon A Kiss Celebration Week - Day One

Welcome to the countdown until Once Upon A Kiss comes out! I'm very excited about this because it's the third book in my Be-Wished series. The premise for the series is that three friends made wishes on "magical" woven bracelets while on vacation in Mexico. Little did they know that the Universal Wish Federation exists and that soon a fairy would make their wishes come true. It started with All In (Mariah's story), continued with A Wolf at Her Door (Paige's story), and now we have Livvy, the last of the three friends to get her wish granted. To start off the week, I thought I'd offer an excerpt from Chapter One of Once Upon A Kiss. I hope you enjoy it.

“What?” the fairy asked, a worried look on her face.


“Well, I…I had an idea. Can you, ah, manipulate time? See, I was thinking maybe you could bring us back to just before I told you to get lost…”


Paige put a hand over her heart. “Oh my God, that would solve everything.”


But Davina was shaking her head. “No. Sorry, no can do. Turning back time requires like ten tons of red tape, clearance that I don’t and probably will never have, not to mention a unanimous vote of the regulatory court, and those old fogies are so conservative they never vote for anything. I’m still PO’d about their decision on de-legalizing… ” She trailed off and stared into space.


“Davina, what is it?” Mariah asked in a low voice. “You thought of something just now.”


“No, I didn’t.”


“Yes you did, you crafty fairy, you. I distinctly saw that I-thought-of-something-just-now look on your face,” Mariah said.


“I saw it too,” Paige piped in.


“Well,” Davina said, “to tell the truth, I do feel that the three of you were a package deal, seeing how you all wished at the same time. Even though technically I’m not obligated, I feel obligated to see this through.”


Livvy felt a faint flicker of hope.


“So, what I thought of is this,” Davina said glancing left and right. “I can try to grant you a wish under the table. Because you relinquished a claim on the other wish, I’m not allowed to use Federation magic on you, but there’s magic out there on the black market I could get.”


Mariah looked all for it, but Paige’s expression was pinched. “I don’t know. I’ve had experience with bad magic.”
“Black market magic isn’t bad necessarily,” Davina said. “It’s just not guaranteed. Sort of like generic drugs. Same thing, but without the big company to back it up. Sometimes you hit a minor glitch but I should be able to handle whatever comes up. However, if we do this, you can’t speak of it to anyone.”


“She’s totally not kidding,” Paige added. “You have to be super careful.” She went on to explain how she’d gotten Davina in trouble when she’d mistakenly blabbed something to the wrong person and it had almost ended in disaster.


“But you do have to tell the guy involved. That’s Rule One that I had to learn,” Mariah said.


“No, actually, this is non-Federation, so the pamphlet doesn’t apply to her,” Davina said. “But it is generally a good rule of thumb to not keep secrets of this magnitude from your true love. So if we’re all agreed?” Davina arched her brow and looked at each of them in turn. “Good.”


The fairy then whisked away the gelato with a flat-palmed sweep of her arms and garbed herself in an austere black pants suit, aviator glasses and a short-brimmed trilby hat with a leopard band.


Leaning forward, Davina said, “Now here’s the thing, Liv. Because we’re using the street stuff, you have to be broad when making your wish. In fact…” Davina held her hands up in front of her, her eyes wide. “Pretend I’m Tiger Woods. I am the Tiger Woods of magic.”


“Oh, brother,” Mariah said.


Davina ignored her. “Now, you wouldn’t make Tiger tee off in a closet would you? Of course you wouldn’t. You have to give him room to maneuver. So think in broad terms. You don’t have a certain person in mind, do you?”


For one crazy moment, Livvy thought of Joe, the next door neighbor who had moved in not long ago. The man was ripped. Like Rambo ripped. He had a buzz cut and a wicked-awesome tat of butterflies on his upper arm.


He was also severely handicapped.


The property manager had told her he’d served overseas in the Army and come back disabled, which explained his military bearing, evident even though he used a wheelchair. This filled Livvy with compassion and admiration. She’d suddenly become eager to meet him. She’d gotten along very well with Henry, the man who’d lived in the apartment before. That sweet old guy had found love, gotten married and moved away, leaving his handicapped-accessible townhouse behind as a rental.


One Saturday soon after the ex-soldier moved in, she saw him and a friend coming out of his house. She had baked cookies for him a few days ago, but hadn’t seen him until now. Worried she might not get another chance before the cookies went stale, she hurried outside.


“Oh, hey, wait!” she called.


They stopped. The neighbor, dressed in khakis and an Army t-shirt, turned his chair toward her. He wore a cap and sunglasses and didn’t look like he’d shaved in a couple of days. His legs leaned toward the right, perfectly parallel—knees, ankles, feet, all side by side.


“I wanted to introduce myself,” she said, a little breathlessly. “I’m Livvy. I live next door.”


“Hey, good to meet you, Livvy. I’m Joe.” He flashed a dazzling smile at her. “This is Noah, my caregiver. Are those for me?” he asked, gesturing toward the bag of goodies.


“Yes. They’re to welcome you to the neighborhood.”


“That’s really nice of you. They look great.”


As he took the bag, Livvy noticed his eyes dropping to her breasts and lingering there. When he again met her gaze with a half smile playing around his full lips, her breasts tingled and she felt a flush of desire between her legs. A split second later she remembered he was in a wheelchair and got so flustered that when he invited her to go with them to the movies, she’d babbled a lame excuse. Later, she felt embarrassed and angry with herself. Having lived next to Henry for so long, she had always thought of herself as very accepting of and savvy about paraplegics. For instance, she knew that some of them had healthy sex lives, but for some reason, when faced with the prospect of actually having sex with a man in a wheelchair, she’d freaked out. Irritated at her apparent prejudice, she berated herself soundly and resolved to be more tolerant and open the next time she saw him, but hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since.


“Earth to Livvy,” Davina said. “Do you have someone special in mind or don’t you?”


Livvy started, then shook her head. “No. No one special. I trust you to find the right man for me, Davina.”


Davina raised a brow and graced both Paige and Mariah with a smug look. “That, I shall,” she said. “Just make your wish.”


“Something with possibilities,” Livvy confirmed.


“Exactly.”

Hopefully, you're well and truly hooked and will want to buy Once Upon A Kiss when it comes out next Wednesday, August 25. Until then, every comment made during this celebration week will be an entry in the contest to win your choice of any of my electronic books, either from Ellora's Cave or Liquid Silver Books.

Three for Three

Just got a contract in the mail from Dorchester Publishing that they want to buy my story, "Tempted by My Roommate." The title will probably get changed, but it will appear in the November issue of True Romance magazine. The hero is a stuntman, the heroine, a hair stylist.

I'm very excited. This was my third submission to them and they've bought all three. If I sell seven more stories to the Trues, I'll have made enough to pay for my son's show choir competition in Hawaii. Woot!

Harnessing My Inner Picasso

A few months ago I felt inspired to do a little painting. Here are some small portraits of a few of Jane Austen's characters from her novel, Emma. Each portrait also has a quote about that character. The first is Emma who had "a disposition to think a little too much of herself."

Next is Mr. Knightley, who said, "Men of sense...do not want silly wives."

Here is Miss Bates, "a great talker upon little matters."

Here is Jane Fairfax, the portrait I actually sold! Her quote is, "A style of beauty of which elegance was the reigning character." 

Finally here is Mr. Woodhouse, Emma's father who thought, "Where health is at stake, nothing else should be considered."

It was a fun little lark and I was pleased with how they turned out. :)