Tuesday Teases: Inspirations from a Girls' Weekend

A couple apologies are necessary up front. First, I was away for the weekend, and Saturday's post just didn't happen. Please forgive my absence. Second, my planned interview for this week had to be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, so I hope you'll bear with me for something a little different.

Last weekend I had a getaway with two my girlfriends, and when the three of us got together, more silly things came out of our mouths than we could keep track of. So on Saturday night, when I was pondering a replacement post for the interview, I decided to write down random things that were said while we were drinking ourselves silly. Hope you enjoy ;-)

"Her ancestors are from Germany and French."

(in the span of 10 seconds) "I'm really good at that. Oh hey, I'm zoning out." *blank look* "Whew. Okay I'm back."

"It's hard to hold my angry face when you keep making me giggle."

"I forgive you." <--> "You forgive me?" <--> "I mean I hope you forgive me."

"I'm really loud today." <--> "You're often loud." <--> "I am? Why didn't you tell me" <--> "I thought you knew"

"Fuck me gently with a rubber hose."

"Sometimes I like to be abused."

"I always have to bring a vibrator with me."

"I don't like feeling like I'm taking a shit backwards. It's not pleasurable for me at all."

"My boobs are juicing for you."

"It is very hard to drink. Especially when you're drinking."

"Manitobian is different from Ontarian."

"Yer gonna be goin' to dat Hell place, eh."

"She found the wet spot."

"I'm going to have to have a frank conversation with him about oral etiquette."

"I'm double-clicking my own mouse."

"I'm so upset, but I feel good about it."

"You can't show that to just anyone. You can only show your real friends."

"I like feeling this way. It's a light airy feeling."

"I just don't like popsicles shoved up my cunt."

"If you're going to lick a crack, do the front one."

"Your ass is fine, honey, we love your ass."

"HWARGK!" (I know this won't make sense to people, but the girls said I had to include it.)

So, what could this possibly have to do with writing, you ask? I'm seriously contemplating a scene wherein the heroine gets totally blitzed with her girlfriends and starts spouting things like this because apparently (at least if you're my friend) this is real life :P

Hope you all had as much fun over the last weekend as I did. Now I just have to get back to my regularly scheduled blogging/writing.

Thirsty Thursday: Toronto Maple Leafs

Unless something went wrong, I should be arriving in Toronto about the time this posts, and I thought what better way to celebrate this Thirsty Thursday than with a Toronto-inspired drink

Toronto Maple Leafs

1/2 oz Blue curacao

1/2 oz Bailey's Irish cream

Layer in a shot glass and enjoy!

Tuesday Teases: Leanne Dyck/Grace Meadows

Hi and welcome to Romance and Ramblings. Can you tell my readers a little about yourself? Actually, why don't you tell us a little about both of your "selves" ;-)

Thank, Seleste, it's a pleasure to be here.

Oh, yes, me and I. : )

The mainstream me, Leanne Dyck, has been writing since I was able to hold a pen.

I've always loved stories -- oral, written, whatever. When I learned that I could write my own I was in heaven. I began writing seriously in 2009 when I self-published a cozy mystery set on my island home -- Maynely A Mystery. Before 2009, my work had appeared in newspapers, craft magazines and anthologies as well as self-publishing an audio book and a learn-to-knit pattern book.

The erotic me, Grace Meadows, began writing about a year ago. She only writes erotica and would never even consider self-publishing.

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What can you tell us about Untouched Places?

For a novella, Untouched Places holds a lot of story. The narrator, Ruth Arnison is love-worn but has an undieing belief in romance. Passion leads her to abandon her life in Canada for a new life in Iceland. Unfortunately, things don't go well there and she must leave. Back home in Canada, she is forced to take a job she doesn't want. At work, she meets a group of women who demand she tell them a story. The story she tells them throbs with passion and greed.

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You put up a free read at Decadent called "Animal." What made you decide to do that?

After submitting "Animal", I received very positive feedback but was told it was too short. The idea of offering it as a free read was proposed and I jumped at this unique promotional opportunity.

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With how hot your books are, do you picture the sex scenes in your imagination as you write and, if so, do the hero and heroine have faces or do you keep them intentionally blank?

I do visualize the sex scenes as I write. First, I see the actions clearly in my imagination. Later, I see details regarding hair and facial features.

Both those stories are erotica but, like me, you write YA and other genres under a second name. What do you have in the works there? (I saw the thriller on your website so feel free to bring that up :) )

Currently, I have three mainstream works in progress. Each are in various stages of completion.

I have signed a contract with Decadent Publishing for my paranormal thriller The Sweater Curse.

As a knitter, I was sick and tired of cute stories about soft edged knitters. I become obsessed with a kick ass knitwear designer and started to write.

I'm also working on a young adult novella. Turning is based on a nine-month journey I took in my late teens. I've made steady progress on this work and its about half finished.

Maynely Hidden is the second book I was inspired to write about my island home. It was to be another cozy mystery but is slowly becoming a sweet romance.

Oh, yes, and if I may, I also have a paranormal erotic story currently receiving TLC by two fine editors.

All My Sisters' projected publication date is the end of August of this year.

Do you have a preferred heat level when you're writing? Is hot and steamy or sweet and soft more fun for you?

No, heat level doesn't inspire me to write -- story does.

Is there a genre you haven't written yet that really appeals to you? What about one that you want to steer clear of (at least for now)?

Where writing is concerned, I really am like a kid in a candy shop -- I want to try it all.



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Speed Round

We'll start easy: Twitter or blog?

Easy...um...easy? Both...okay, twitter. No, blogs. Oh, I give up. : )

Chocolate or whipped cream?

Chocolate

Body or face?

Body

Sub, Dom, or Not-in-my-bedroom?

Oh, take me, I'm yours...sub.

Favorite untouched place ;-) ?

I like the way you think. Let's see I could answer this question one of two ways. Mayne Island, BC, Canada and behind my right ear. Thankfully, my man knows both spots.

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Is there anything else you'd like to share with my readers?

Thank you so much for reading this interview. If you have more questions, please ask.

Visit Leanne at her web site www.oknitting.com or at her blog www.authorleannedyck.wordpress.com

Visit Grace at her blog www.authorgracemeadows.wordpress.com or on twitter. Her twitter name is lustfulgraces

Thanks for visiting with us, and I hope my readers check out your work!

Special Monday Post: WINNER!

I want to personally thank everyone who took the time to read and comment on the interviews PJ Schnyder and I did with each other. And for those of you who answered our questions, you made me smile.

So late last night, PJ and I got together, gathered up all the comments and mixed them up. Random.org gave us a number and that number gave us a winner. I explain all this just so you know it has nothing to do at all with her sucking up to me by picking one of my favorite men.

:P

Anyway, congratulations Heather! You've won digital copies of both Heart's Sentinel and "Of Course I Try". Please send me the email address where you want the books sent and we'll have them whisked your way via the magic of the internet.

Super Saturday!

Apologies for the delay in getting this up, family stuff on the other side of the state kept me busy until now. There are a couple things going on today.

In publishing news, the first round of edits on Badlands is done. I finished the read-through and will be sending it sent to my editor momentarily. This is the point where I ask everyone to cross their fingers for me that she's happy with what I did.

Second, my friend, Mr. Romance Jamie Ungaro is in this competition for a role on Mad Men. It's a walk-on, but as a model and aspiring actor, it's a foot in the door. There's only a couple weeks left in the first round of voting, but if you could help him out and vote, that would be awesome. You can vote once a day until September 6, when it goes to other judges. Here's the link to vote for him: http://madmencastingcall.amctv.com/browse/detail/LE6QKM , and if you're interested in knowing more about Jamie, there are a couple recent interviews here and here

And finally, the moment some of you have been waiting for. Last night ended the launch party contest. There were a couple last minute entries, and I would like to thank everyone for entering. A special thanks to those of you that bought stories from Decadent (especially mine, since I'm greedy like that). We're a new company, and word of mouth is huge at this point, so if you read a story from a Decadent author and liked it, please spread the word. In fact, Amazon reviews and blog reviews will help us out a lot.

Oh, yeah, you want to know who won. After gathering comments and receipts, I listed all of them in the order they came in, then used random.org to pick our two lucky winners. First winner gets first dibs on the books, second winner gets the other.

The first number pulled belonged to… Jessica Peter! Jess, please toss me an email with your mailing address and your preference of books.

The second number belonged to… Bea! Please send me your mailing address.

Thanks again everyone!

Thirsty Thursday: Eroticolada

Since I've been dubbed an erotica author, I've decided to embrace that with all I've got. In celebration, today we have the Eroticolada. Get sexy and come have a drink with me!

Eroticolada

2 0z. Midori Melon liquer

1 oz. Coconut Rum

6 oz. Pina Colada mix

Blend with crushed ice.

Tuesday Teases: PJ Schnyder

My dear friend, PJ Schnyder and I decided to do our interviews with each other a little differently than normal. Instead of sending each other questions where we would have all the time in the world to fill out answers (read: answer "correctly"), we decided to do our interviews live in tandem over instant message. We had a great time, and if you follow us on Twitter, you may have noticed we gave each other a little bit of grief. It's all in good fun though. PJ's novel, HEART'S SENTINEL was released from Decadent Publishing on August 6, here's a little about the story.

Born human, Mackenzie never wanted to be a shapeshifter. After a shifter stalks and brutally Changes her, she runs to the jaguars of River Gap pride for protection from the stalker still searching for her, to come to terms with the attack and learn to control her new, powerful cougar body.

Adam, a River Gap Sentinel, is assigned as her guard and mentor. Well aware of his strength and how new she is the shapeshifter world, he holds himself back from the flames of primal desire she ignites. But, to survive the stalker, they both need to first battle their pasts and learn what it truly means to be the sentinels of each other’s hearts.

Sounds good, doesn't it? And now, onto PJ herself!

Hi, PJ, and welcome to Ramblings and Romance. I know, I know, you've been here before, but that was always as a guest. This time, you're the vict... I mean, star of the show. Yeah, that's it. So what can you tell us about your path to publication with HEART'S SENTINEL? Was this written specifically for Decadent?

*blink* Yah. Don't think I didn't catch the "victim" part of it. >_> Heart's Sentinel was written last year and a submitted to one of the Miss Snark's First Victim Secret Agent Contests. It took first runner up. While the Secret Agent ultimately declined Heart's Sentinel, she provided valuable feedback. I took the manuscript through another revision round, finding great beta readers along the way *wink* (She means me, because we're just tight like that.) When Decadent Publishing opened for submissions, I sent Heart's Sentinel.  Lisa Omstead responded with a request for the full almost immediately.  I was ecstatic when I was offered a contract.



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HEART'S SENTINEL is just the first in your TERRA'S GUARDIANS series. What do you have planned for the human and shifter inhabitants of your world?

The world of Terra's Guardians is post-apocolyptic. Humans and shapeshifters come from a common ancestry prior to the Cataclysmis Wars. They are mutually threatened by mysterious hunters. Each new addition to the Terra's Guardians series will feature a new couple, a new romance. But the threat of the hunters will continue and readers will learn more about the hunters as the stories continue. (Psst... you could add some stuff about Red's Wolf here) The next story in the Terra's Guardians series is Red's Wolf, set to release August 30th with Decadent Publishing. It's a novella with a fairy tale flavor to it and I hope readers will enjoy.

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I know you requested Mr. Romance 2009, Charles Paz, to be on the cover of RED'S WOLF since he looked like Jason, the love interest. Can you tell me what went through your head when you saw he was also on the cover for HEART'S SENTINEL? (Side note: I love asking questions to which I already know the answer. Makes hearing what someone says when it's public all the more interesting :P)

It's true. I confess. The hero of Red's Wolf did look like Charles so when Decadent picked up the novella, I added a little note in the book cover questionnaire requesting him. He's an unsigned, free agent but he was coordinating with Decadent during the kick off and I thought it would be great. Heart's Sentinel had been entered as part of Decadent's submission contest and was awaiting the outcome, so I saw the cover art for Red's Wolf first. I had a *squee* moment when I found Charles on the cover of Red's Wolf. Then the cover art for Heart's Sentinel was sent to me and I had an OMG moment. Yup. I'd won the submission contest for the novel category, including the generous prizes associated. There was a tiny panic moment as I realized I'd need to tweak Adam just a bit to stay consistent with the cover. Overall, I'm delighted with both my covers and I'm told by other authors they've done the same in the past.

You and I had the pleasure to meet Charles at the Romantic Times convention this year. Then, through his own involvement with them, he went and introduced the two of us to Decadent Publishing. Basically, he was fairly instrumental in us signing with them and he's been a topic of discussion between us more than once. Right now, I want the first three words that come to mind when you think of your cover model.



OMG. In fact, Charles was sweet enough to call into my online interview with Franny's BlogTalkRadio (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/frannyarmstrong/2010/07/28/welcome-to-frannys-write-talk-tuesdays-at-9pm) and if you were in the chat room you could see people in the chat room all typing: It's Charles. Then all you saw me type was : OMG

So those are your three words? Oh my God?



Hey, you asked what 3 words came to mind FIRST

Haha fair enough. We'll go back to something writing-related. What are you working on right now? Is it part of the same series or something different entirely?

It's a good thing I'm a multi-tasker because I'm working on several WIPs. I've got a steampunk novella in the works for the holidays as well as the next full novel in the Terra's Guardians series. I've also got a completely new novella out for beta read *stares*. (hey, I told you I would as soon as I had time to breathe)

We've mentioned, and then laughed about, the idea of co-authoring something. But, if you could work with any author on a project, who would it be and why?

Honestly, I love you lots, but the first person on my list would be my little sister. (Um, duh, hence us laughing about the idea of writing together!) The two of us are very different, and yet, the meeting of our minds is a very quirky interaction.  She already helps me round up plot bunnies, but just imagine what an actual manuscript would be like if we co-authored? I write romance, she reads yaoi and a step beyond that, she reads some pretty shocking fan fiction.  I'm thinking the heat level of the book would shoot past my current stories and right into steaming hot. There's no telling where things would go: M/F, F/F, M/M...all of the above? On the other hand, if we did write together, neither of us would ever be able to look our parents in the eye again. And yet, our Uncle Gary would probably find it hysterical.

SPEED ROUND

Boxers or briefs?

Boxer briefs (nice copout) they look best under clothes and are ever so gropable



Great abs or great ass?

I can't have both? LOL. Abs.

Dimples or no dimples? (Smiles, people, just because it comes after the ass question doesn't mean you should leave your mind in the gutter.)

*blink* don't think I've minded one way or the other. Not a bonus point, boys, but not a hit either.

Sex or conversation? (Yes, you may return to the gutter now.)

A little encouragement During sex is hot. (Yet another copout. You disappoint me.)

Muscles or Brains?

Damn. Gotta have both. Sorry, I can't settle for too much of one with a lack of the other. (Dude, seriously? That's four out of five. We need to work on your decisiveness.)

Okay my copout answer friend, anything else you'd like to share with my readers?

Not copout, just truth. I'm picky/greedy that way. Heart's Sentinel is currently available with Decadent Publishing and look for Red's Wolf later in the month.



Awesome. Thanks, PJ, just be aware that the next interview will be held at gunpoint and you will have to choose :P



You can also find PJ online at www.pjschnyder.com





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As a special surprise, PJ and I have teamed up and are going to give one lucky commenter (from all those who comment on either or both blogs) a copy of BOTH our stories. You'll receive one entry for answering PJ's question here, and one for answering my question at PJ's blog. Entries close on Sunday, August 22, then we'll pool all the responses, choose a winner to announce on Tuesday.



What PJ wants to know to enter you in the contest is this: "Which of my WIPs you'd like to see first: steampunk holiday story, the next story in the Terra's Guardians series or the completely different sci-fi romance?"