Wicked Wednesday Caddy Girls by V.K. Sykes

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

Kiss Me, Kill Me Succinyl Choline

I hope you’ve been enjoying the Dark Side Demon Mondays I’ve been doing over at the Danger Women Writing website. It should be no surprise to you that I love all things demony and paranormal, but I also love Romantic Suspense. I guess that’s why what I write is really cross-genre and best called Paranormal Suspense.

Because of that, I thought I’d try a little change of pace with the blog and introduce a new segment: Kiss Me, Kill Me Tuesdays! Come visit with me and learn all about those things you need in the world of suspense, like fun weapons, fight scenes, ways to kill people, creating page turners and a whole lot of other stuff. Interesting stuff, I hope.

Today’s Kiss Me, Kill Me is a drug that was employed in a number of murders, but could also be used to paralyze someone for purposes of attacking them. That drug is succinyl choline which is a paralytic drug used to create muscle relaxation and short term paralysis. It acts quickly and has a very short duration of action, making it perfect for surgical procedures such as intubation.

It also made it perfect for murder and an assortment of other crimes. In fact, because of that short duration, it was nearly untraceable for quite a long time.

Why was that the case? Because 90% of the drug is metabolized quickly, leaving only a small trace that was hard to locate.

For some interesting murder cases involving the use of succinyl choline, you can check out these links:

Carl Coppolino
Murder of Nevada Controller Kathy Augustine

Guilty Pleasure Monday – Buster Crabbe

This weekend I deconstructed the Star Trek movie with my buddies at the Liberty States Fiction Writers. A fun time was had by all as we watched the new version and discussed the various series with which some of us had grown up.

Feeling nostalgic, it made me recollect my earliest sci fi series – Flash Gordon as portrayed by Buster Crabbe. Buster would go on and play Tarzan in one movie and then another nameless jungle man in various other movies (which I also loved!). Buster also played Buck Rogers, another of my favorites.

Buster was a talented swimmer who won both a Bronze and Gold medal at the Olympics (in 1928 and 1932 respectively).

He starred in hundreds of movies and television shows throughout his life and when his career started to wane, he became a representative for a New Jersey pool company.

If you want to check out the Flash Gordon series for yourself, the earlier Flash Gordon shows and movies are available in DVD format.

Flash Gordon DVD - Copyright St. Clair Vision

Fun Friday

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!

Tuesday Tip – Credit Cards and Credit Scores

Every time you turn around you’re hearing about “your credit score” and what a poor credit score can do to you. Besides making it difficult to get a mortgage if you’re interested in buying a home, it can also raise rates on things like car insurance so it’s important to try and take steps to improve your credit score.

There’s a detailed article on credit scores at today’s Yahoo Finance, but I think we can all appreciate the basics:

  • 1. Pay cash for items.
  • 2. Do not keep a running balance on your credit card.
  • 3. If you have a running balance, pay it on time.
  • 4. Pay your other bills on time as well.

One interesting tidbit from the Yahoo Finance article was that companies calculating your credit score looked at the balance on your card whether or not you paid it off on time in order to calculate your score. Bothersome for me because I use my credit cards as a way to keep track of all my monthly expenses by charging them and also, to earn points through the various reward programs.

As for that running balance, I know that sometimes it’s hard for people to entirely pay off what they’ve charged at the end of the month. In cases of financial hardship where the credit cards are providing the cash to keep a household afloat that’s understandable. But if it’s more a case of want instead of need, think about this for a moment.

Revolving credit card rates range from anywhere to 7% (rare) to the 20something% range (some are even close to 30%). If you had $5,000 in revolving credit, you could be spending a couple of thousand dollars a year just for paying the interest on your credit card. You can do some comparisons of what you would save at MSN Money.

What about those reward programs? They sound so wonderful to begin with and sometimes they can be. Smart Money reviewed some of the more common credit card reward programs You can also click here for the MSN Money round up of rewards.

There’s just one thing to remember when it comes to the rewards: If you’ve got a running balance, the interest rate you’re paying may eat up any kind of reward you’re earning.

Hope this helped you on today’s Tuesday Tip!

Guilty Pleasure Monday Jeffrey Donovan

My husband has gotten me hooked on BURN NOTICE. It’s hard not to get involved with not only the interesting tidbits provided by ex-CIA Agent Michael Weston during the narration which appeal to the suspense writer in me, but also the wonderful cast of characters.

I love explosion-happy Fiona in particular, but there’s also no denying that the dapper and unflappable Michael Weston (played by Jeffrey Donovan) is a big draw.

If you haven’t watched the show, try to catch it in re-runs or online. The mix of suspense, comedy and romance (although could we get a little more of this BURN NOTICE writers!) is great.

Windmill Hot Dogs Down the Shore Flavors

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!