Monday Author Blog Hop

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Take a moment to blog hop on Meet an Author Monday!

Fun Friday Five – Most Emotional Moments in Life

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This Fun Friday we’re doing something new: The Fun Friday Five. Today’s Five are the Most Emotional Moments in Life. There are moments you will never forget, whether good or bad. I’m sharing Five of my Most Emotional Good Moments in Life since I want to get the weekend started on a positive note for you!

So here they are:

1. The first time I saw my daughter and held her in my arms.
2. Marrying my husband (that picture is the two of us on our wedding day!).
3. The day I became a United States Citizen.
4. Watching my sister graduate college (It was my mom’s dream for her girls to go to college but she didn’t live to see my sister graduate).
5. Receiving the call that someone wanted to buy my book.

How about you? Take a moment to share you’re most upbeat and happy moments in life.

Hope you all have a grand and beautiful weekend.

Wicked Wednesday Caddy Girls by V.K. Sykes

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There’s a body switch going on today since I have with me fellow author V.K. Sykes while I’ll be over later at the Writerspace blog. Please drop by for a visit to find out why I wanted to hate Jesse Bradford, the hero of my upcoming November 2010 paranormal romance release STRONGER THAN SIN.

But for now…..drum roll please….

Please welcome V.K. Sykes. V.K. Sykes is actually the pseudonym for a wife/husband team that writes sexy contemporary romance for Carina Press. Vanessa and Randy can be found on the web at: http://www.vksykes.com. Vanessa also writes Regency-set historical romance under her own name, Vanessa Kelly. You can visit her on the web at: http://www.vanessakellyauthor.com.

CADDYGIRLS is their new release from Carina Press.

Here’s a little teaser for you!

Torrey Green once had a promising golf career, but now she’s stuck caddying for butt-pinching businessmen. She doesn’t mind playing dumb while hauling clubs if it means she can get her golf career back on track, and she’s going to need an influx of cash to focus on the pro circuit. A booking from video game mogul Julian Grant could be Torrey’s cash-flow solution.

In Las Vegas for a business deal, Julian’s partners plan for a little action on the greens. They’re looking for some fun with their rent-a-caddy girls, and have a lot riding on who can score, on the course and off. This type of gamble isn’t Julian’s style, but he’ll do whatever it takes to keep his partners happy – even if that includes breaking a few hearts along the way.

Julian soon discovers that Torrey is more than just a caddy girl and they spark an intriguing attraction – but if Torrey discovers the truth behind his idiotic wager, all bets are off…

Excerpt from CADDY GIRLS by V.K. Sykes

On their first date together, Julian takes Torrey to a black light, mini-putt golf course…

Julian had never been to Pirate’s Cove, but he’d walked and driven past it dozens of times. Cheesy was the first word that had sprung to mind whenever he’d noticed the popular Strip attraction. The entrance to the course was a pirate ship’s prow that looked like it had been molded from a dingy chunk of Styrofoam. Precariously balanced on the edge of the prow stood a twenty-foot statue of Pirate Pete, saber pointing defiantly skyward. Too bad the tip of Pete’s nose had broken off, spoiling the ferocious effect.

Pirate’s Cove actually had two mini-golf courses—one regular and one black light.

“Which one should we try?” he asked, leaving the decision up to her.

She didn’t hesitate. “The black light sounds like more fun.”

Julian paid, grabbed the putters and balls and led her through into the black light course. A flood of lurid colors washed over them—bizarre shades of blue, purple, pink, red and green. Even the putters and balls glowed in the dark. Garish, pirate-themed props—some hanging in mid-air—popped out of the darkness.

He turned to Torrey, intending to rip on the tackiness of it all, but the sarcastic remark died on his lips. Her black dress had essentially vanished under the black light, leaving her white underwear clearly visible, almost as if she were in an x-ray machine. She took the putter from his hand, obviously unaware of the rather spectacular display of her lush body.

His throat felt suddenly dry and prickly. One minute she’d been in a severe black dress—the next, her feminine undergarments and what they covered were in full, glorious view. Actually, her lacy bra and panties seemed quite demure, not like the scraps of fabric some of his dates had sported. Still, the glowing white shapes of her full breasts and deliciously curvy ass were the sexiest things he’d seen in a long time. He was getting an embarrassing hard-on in the middle of a family amusement center.

“Torrey?” He handed her a radioactive-looking ball as he dragged his eyes level with her face.

“This is going to be fun, Julian. You want me to go first?”

“I was thinking that maybe this isn’t such a great idea after all. I’m afraid everybody can see your underwear in this crazy light.”

She cast her gaze down and let out a tiny gasp. “Oh, my God, you’re right.” She looked up at him, her eyes even bigger than usual. “But why can’t I see yours?” She glanced across the room and pointed at a woman a couple of holes ahead. “I can see that woman’s panties, too!”

“It looks like the light picks up white things under dark outerwear,” Julian said, mentally kicking himself for his lame idea. The last thing he wanted was to embarrass her. “Why don’t we try the regular course instead? Or we could just leave, if you want.”

She grinned, her teeth glowing an unnatural shade of white. “No, let’s stay here. I can handle it, Julian,” she said with a little laugh. “I’ve worn bikinis that reveal a lot more.”

He smiled back. I’d like to see those.

“Okay,” he replied. “Just don’t be surprised if I can’t keep my eyes on the game.”

“Oh, you’re too much of a gentleman for such sexist behavior.”

“Tell that to my hormones.”

She tilted her head and feigned exasperation. “Are we going to play some golf or stand around here jawing all night?”

He laughed, so turned on by her easy self-confidence that he wanted nothing more than to haul her back to his hotel room and make love to her for the rest of the night.

Later, he promised himself.

*****
If you’d like to buy CADDY GIRLS, you can follow one of these links to your preferred bookseller:

Buy from Carina Press
Buy from Amazon
Buy From MobiPocket
Buy from B&N

Fun Friday

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So sorry that I missed our first Thursday Thirteen, but I was off to the airport at 4 a.m. for a business trip. I am so whooped today!

But I am looking forward to a fun weekend down the shore and with my friends at the Liberty States Fiction Writers. This Saturday is our August Movie Day and we’re going to spend some time together deconstructing and analyzing the brilliant new Star Trek movie.

Now I have to confess I grew up watching the Star Trek series and loved some of the new shows. But even if you’ve never watched a Star Trek episode, you’ve got to love this movie. The characters are fascinating and the story line is compelling. It’s also amazing to see how J.J. Abrams basically rebooted the franchise with this adaptation of the original history in the series.

I’m happy we chose this movie to analyze because it has so much to offer both aspiring and veteran writers!

And if you’re a geek like me, drop by the official website and play around. Take a 360 tour of the bridge of the Enterprise.

Try it! You’ll like it! Have a great weekend and enjoy!

The Wolf Within Chapter 3

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This Wicked Wednesday I’m offering you another free chapter from THE WOLF WITHIN, the story of FBI Forensics Specialist and physician Maggie Gonzalez and FBI Special Agent David Harris from THE CALLING Vampire novels. In the earlier chapter, David is reflecting on how his life has changed since the fateful night of a failed FBI mission left him in a wheelchair (DEATH CALLS). In this chapter, it has been several days since Maggie moved out after her argument with David. She is unable to sleep and troubled, but then she receives a call from work.

If you cannot see the book excerpt below, you can click here for Chapter 3 of THE WOLF WITHIN or cut and paste this link into your browser:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35712882/The-Wolf-Within-Chapter-3

The Wolf Within Chapter 3

Windmill Hot Dogs Down the Shore Flavors

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This Fun Friday I am getting ready to head down the Shore for more research and to film some videos for an upcoming Behind the Scenes look at STRONGER THAN SIN. But while I am doing all that, I will also take a break to savor one of the Jersey Shore’s special treats: Windmill hot dogs and cheese fries.

Yes, I know my cholesterol level just went up several points just thinking about them, but moderation is the key. I don’t go there every day although I wish I could.

If you are ever down the shore, stop by one of their many locations and try out one of their hot dogs loaded with your choice of condiments and their tasty cheese fries. My daughter and I share an order because between them and the over-sized dogs, it’s quite a lot of food. My favorite dog is the cheese dog!

I hope you all have a great weekend! I’ll be back on Monday and starting next Thursday you’re going to be seeing something new – a Thursday Thirteen meme. Should be fun thinking up of 13 things you should know about every Thursday!

RWA Conference 2010

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Today is a different adventure on Travel Tuesday, this time pictures from my recent visit to the 2010 RWA National Conference!

I had a great time meeting with fans, fellow authors, editors and agents. The book signings went well and at the public book signing, RWA raised $55,000 to contribute to its literacy campaign. Awesome news.

The days were long and filled with appointments, even on Thursday when a few of us went over to do a run through all four Disney parks. Yes, four of them in one day!

It was wonderful to share the time with my friends and fellow authors, especially my buddy Shelley who was visiting Disney for the first time. Big hoorah to Rayna for organizing a whirlwind tour of the parks for us. Not only did we see so many interesting things and enjoy a mess of rides, while waiting in line we worked on book plots and titles and discussed market trends. We even met an interested reader on the little tram on the way back to our car!

So don’t be surprised if I end up doing a story titled ONE DAY PARK HOPPER. LOL!

I’m sharing some photos with you of our adventures at the conference. If you can’t see the slideshow below, you can also click on this link to see the 2010 RWA photos or cut and paste this link into your browser:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1453099&l=9fe4f56615&id=1130005412

Guilty Pleasure Freddie Prinze Jr.

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I’m back and I want to thank all of you who were able to drop by and visit with me at the RWA Conference. It was a pleasure meeting you and being able to share a little time with you. I’ll have some photos for you tomorrow!

I was exhausted when I got home, but it was great to be able to hang with my family again. One thing we did was catch up on some our favorite shows that I’d missed while I was away, including PSYCH (so much fun!). One of the shows featured Freddie Prinze Jr. as a nerd-in-hiding which of course prompted today’s Guilty Pleasure.

There is a boy-next-door dimpled cuteness to Freddie that is so hard to resist! My favorite movie of his is SHE’S ALL THAT with Rachel Leigh Cook (who also did some time on PSYCH as Shawn Spencer’s girlfriend). Yes, I know it’s that silly Cinderella girl-takes-off-the-glasses-and-becomes-hot story, but sometimes you just need to believe in the fairy tale!

Do you have a favorite Freddie Prinze movie? Do you hate or love those fairy tales kinds of movies? Inquiring minds want to know!

Getting Organized Redux with the Butler Bag

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It seems only right to continue with yesterday’s discussion of getting organized, especially since I came across (1) a nice blog about getting organized and (2) a great way to keep your purse in order (don’t you just hate digging through everything to find what you want?)

So you can click here to visit Launcher’s Cafe for a blog about taking 15 minutes to get organized!

Next, pop on over to the fabulous Butler Bag site for a look at some compartmentalized hand bags that will surely help you keep things in order. I learned about these great bags from my best friend who is interning with this company!

Maybe when it feels like 105 on Saturday you’ll decide to stay indoors and let your inner Felix out.

Have a great weekend!

Creativity and Chaos and Rubber Duckies

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Many years ago I shared a meal with a friend at a legal conference and we got on a discussion of my writing as well as my firmly held belief that as a creative type I was allowed a little slack in the organization area. Mind you, clutter was something with which I grew up since my mother loved her little things.

In retrospect, that aspect of our lives was probably shaped by our departure from Cuba and leaving so many loved things behind. The two things I was able to bring with me were my gold Caridad del Cobre medal (my patron saint) and my little doll Pepito. He sits on the top edge of the sofa in my office in a place of honor.

But back to the clutter which invariably can lead to chaos and disorganization. In my mind I was entitled to some slack in the organization department because of my creative bent (and also a decided lack of time due to multiple jobs).

My friend looked at me and said, “Do you ever lose time trying to find something you need?”

The answer was an immediate “Yes” which was followed by, “And that was time that you could have spent being creative, right?”

At which point I was feeling rather embarrassed because she was totally right. If I spent half-an-hour searching for paper or something else that I needed, it was half-an-hour that I could have spent writing or relaxing.

Armed with that new insight, I took steps at home to clean up the clutter and get better organized. Not only did it make cleaning the house easier, but things looked neater and less oppressive. The one place I have yet to totally re-do is my home office.

There my doll Pepito sits, eyeballing the clutter, but I have started getting rid of the mess. And once a month, whether I like it or not, I get things organized. Now my goal is to just make it organized right away so that the once a month toss is not necessary. Get my ducks in a row which is in part why I chose that picture for today’s blog.

The other reason is that next week I’ll be at the RWA National Conference so you may see me be a little absent from the blog, although I am hoping to provide you with updates on what’s happening at the conference and some fun photos and videos!

If you happen to be going or if you’ll be in the Orlando area, please drop by the Literacy Signing which is taking place on Wednesday, July 28, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Walt Disney World® Dolphin Resort, Pacific Exhibit Hall. This signing is open to the public.

If you’re attending the conference, also look for me at the Grand Central Publishing signing on Saturday, July 31, from 3:00-4:30 p.m. at the Walt Disney World® Dolphin Resort, Southern Hemisphere, Salon 1. We’ll have copies of books for you as well as some special bookmarks and fun Jesse Bradford football duckies (hence the ducks also) in honor of the hero in STRONGER THAN SIN!

(I swear the rubber duckie is bigger than this!)