I want to thank all of you for your b’day wishes and apologize for missing our usual Monday together. Unfortunately, Facebook decided to block most of the thank yous I was sending to all who decided to leave comments! Nasty FB. Bad bad FB.
Somehow between that FB issue and a mess of work, the entire night and day got thrown off!
So, belatedly, this week’s Guilty Pleasure – Paul Walker. Hmmm. He is soooo hot and what a body. I know he played the baddie in SHE’S ALL THAT, but wow. So handsome.
As for the guys who visit the blog, I’m sure you won’t mind the shot of Jessica Alba in this poster either! LOL!.
Thanks again to all of you for the kind b’day wishes! I’ll be picking a winner of the prize this week and announcing it on Friday!
If you said “COOK!” you got the right answer. If you said anything else, well, get your minds out of the gutter. LOL!
Today’s Guilty Pleasure is a man that creates heat in the kitchen in many many ways – Tyler Florence. He’s been the host of various shows on The Food Network, from HOW TO BOIL WATER and FOOD 911 to his current show, TYLER’S ULTIMATE.
Tyler always has an interesting take on the food he’s preparing and he makes it seem simple, which is important for all us amateur chefs who love to try things out. It also helps that he’s easy on the eyes as he’s busy chopping and cooking.
The last time I saw a bull fight was nearly 20 years ago when I went to a legal conference and they surprised us by holding a bull fight! It was a surprise, especially when the bull almost won.
My grandparents used to watch the bullfights on Sundays on television. Being Spanish, it was part of their culture. It got lost in my generation, but the other day as I was surfing through the channels I came across a program on Cayetano Rivera Ordonez, the latest matador in a long line of matadors. They also mentioned his brother Francisco and I knew then they had to be this Monday’s Guilty Pleasures because they are both so handsome!
Hope you enjoy them as well. Cayetano is on the left and Francisco is on the right.
Thanks to my sister-in-law Chelly for today’s Guilty Pleasure – Andy Whitfield. Andy is the star of the new STARZ Original Series SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND. Mind you, I’d been counting down to the start of this series since I’ve been a Roman history/Gladiator fan since I was a kid. That’s why on one Valentine’s Day years ago I dragged my husband to see GLADIATOR as my Valentine’s Day gift. Not that he complained since it was an awesome movie.
I didn’t know what to expect with Spartacus. I love Andy, but I’m still undecided on the 300-style special effects during the fight scenes. I think I would prefer real-action battles instead of the cartoony animation. Still, I’m sticking it out, going through the episodes I’ve DVR’d. In the meantime, I’m enjoying the sight of Andy, all sweaty and in leather.
Today’s Guilty Pleasure is an oldie, but goodie – Gregory Peck.
It’s funny really. We were just talking about TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD the other day and this weekend what was on – TO KILL A MOCKINGBORD as well as CAPOTE. Watched the first (for which Peck won the Oscar), but fell asleep during the latter(because I was tired and not because it wasn’t a good movie! Note that Hoffman won the Oscar for his portrayal of Capote). Why the connection between the two? Harper Lee, the author of Mockingbird was good friends with Capote and assisted him while he was working on IN COLD BLOOD.
But back to Peck. I always found Peck to be so masculine and handsome. Very refined as well. Even when he was older, as in THE OMEN he had presence on the screen.
I am so happy to have with me today a very dear friend and fellow author, Autumn Jordon! We’ve known each other for years and in addition to being my friend, Autumn is a RWA Golden Heart Finalist and debut author. Which just goes to show how hard work and determination are the keys to success in life.
Without further ado, here’s Autumn!
*****
“You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true.” Richard Bach
A friend gave me a plague with the above quote inscribed on it some twenty-five years ago. The plague still hangs on my office wall. That quote has inspired me to take steps in my life that I might not have taken otherwise.
One path I started on was to strive to write for publication and years later, I’m finally seeing my dreams come true. My first release, OBSSESED BY WILDFIRE, hits the cyber-shelf today! I’m so excited. My stomach clenches as I wonder if anyone will dish out cash for the story. If they decided to, I don’t think they’ll be disappointed.
OBSESSED BY WILDFIRE is not my first completed novel, it’s not even my second or third. It’s my fifth. Does its ranking, among my completed works, diminish the excitement which tingles my entire soul today? HE** NO.
OBSESSED BY WILDFIRE is rated HOT! I didn’t know I could write HOT. My editor thinks I could erotica. My answer to her is a topic for another blog.
The story, set in the Texas town of Wayback, is about a woman who meets a man who could stop her from her accomplishing her dreams. I love the banter Isabelle’s emotional conflict causes between her and the sexy fire marshal, Warner. The couple made me chuckle. By the end of the book, Isobel learns love can make dreams a whole lot sweeter.
Excerpt:
“Warner Keyson. You?” He folded his arms across his chest. His muscles bulged from beneath the rolled back sleeves of his white dress shirt. She’d seen bigger forearms—on a few NFL players.
“Isobel Trinidad.”
“Well, Ms. Trinidad, you could’ve caused some damage or killed someone the way you barreled in here.”
“The last time I heard, Raleigh was Wayback’s chief and you’re not one of his officers. Besides everyone’s inside.”
“There could be a couple or two in the backseat of those cars. You know, enjoying the night.”
Warner Keyson’s warm caramel gaze drifted over her and Isobel’s legs buckled a degree before she roped off her reaction. Refusing to look away, she wrestled the urge to step closer and touch the cute dark lock that curled behind Mr. Keyson’s right ear. “Were you peeking in windows?”
“Nah, not peeking.” His full lips pulled up the tiniest bit.
Looking pass him, she scanned the cars. Had he been in the backseat of one of them? Had one of the local girls already run him down and claimed him?
“So what do you have in mind with that whip?”
*****
If you’d like to read the entire story, and I hope you will, here is the link to The Wild Rose Press home page. http://www.thewildrosepress.com/
This poster first caught my eye at DragonCon many months ago. The actor is Paul Bettany who has been in a number of other movies I enjoyed – A KNIGHT’S TALE and WIMBLEDON. Paul plays the archangel Michael in the movie. Michael has come to Earth to try to prevent the coming of Armageddon by battling a legion of angels that God has sent to Earth.
LEGION will be released on January 22. I’m interested in seeing the movie, although the premise has me wondering about it a bit. A wrathful God wants to destroy Earth?
The film also features cuties Dennis Quaid and Lucas Black (from FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS movie.).
If you get to see it, please drop by and let us know what you thought of the movie. For now, here’s a trailer for you to see!
CHUCK is back and I’m so glad (although I’m not so sure about the droopy eye/flashing images thing). The first two shows last night were pretty good, but one thing I was looking forward to in the show was the return of Chuck’s BIL – Awesome.
Awesome is played by Ryan McPartlin, today’s Guilty Pleasure! Ryan is a former Abercrombie & Fitch model and starred on PASSIONS and LIVING WITH FRAN before landing the role on Chuck.
Ryan is handsome, has an amazing voice and body, and the role he plays on Chuck is great. Ryan manages to be hadnsome, sexy and self-depracating all at the same time. NBC is also running a series of amusing commercials for a new car with characters on Chuck, including Ryan.
Hope you enjoyed this morning’s Guilty Pleasure.
Also – I’ve got a new blog tour coming up. Dates are in the calendar in the sidebar and down below, but I’ll also let you know each day where I’ll be so you can stop by and possibly be a winner of a copy of SINS OF THE FLESH and a T-shirt.
Today I am at BronzeWord Authors and blogging in support of romance novels.
On this third day of Christmas, I bring you one of my favorites – Dennis Quaid. I couldn’t get to sleep last night and ended up watching THE ROOKIE, a biopic about pitcher Jim Morris starring Quaid.
Also loved Quaid in THE RIGHT STUFF which had a gaggle of some of my favorites – Ed Harris and Gary Sinese just to name a few.
Quaid’s still looking good and that little boy grin is sure to make many a heart flutter.