Well, another Orsini Cross Legs and Squeeze Read is out and I can’t find my webmistress to update my site!  So, I’ll do it here until she get’s back to me or I find another!  Click the cover to purchase Tanner’s Angel!  Tanner’s Angel takes a tall, sinfully handsome Texan and pits him against a vibrator wielding Manhattenite, an overbearing father, and an Italian stallion for the affections of an angel with dirty wings. 

Angel has spent too many years running the family bakery, taking care of her father, and controlling her various electric boyfriends.  While she can not shirk her responsibility to Roselli’s Bakery or her father, she wants a real man to take control in the bedroom.  A man like Tanner.

Just when Tanner believes he has succeeded in winning his angel, all hell breaks loose and Tanner’s angel fall victim to a plot for revenge.

Welcome to Roselli’s Bakery, where life is not as serene as it seems and fantasies come to life but at too high a price.

Will Angel leae NYC, her father, and Roselli’s Bakery when she discovers that Tanner left out why he came to NY looking for a wife?  Will Tanner still want Angel when he discovers just how far she went in her search for sexual release?

Click the cover above to buy now!

I’m thrilled to announce that my erotic romantic suspense, No One But Madison, will be released by Ellora’s Cave on November 14th.  Part of their Taboo line, No One But Madison will submerge you into the lifestyle of those who believe that you have to lose you freedom to be truly free.  Madison, a woman who bows to no man, must enter the world of BDSM to uncover a Master who abuses his subs, scarring their bodies and minds.  Two Masters will train her.  One will make her beg for his touch.  One is determined to make her pay for the sins of his past.  A true Orsini Cross Legs and Squeeze Read, No One But Madison will stay with you long after you read the last page. 

A loop convo brought up Cape May, NJ.  This quaint Victorian seaside town on the southern point of New Jersey used to be a romantic getaway for the hubby and me.  We started going shortly after our second child’s birth.  At first, we would visit in September when the summer crunch waned a bit.  We had the beach to ourselves, but we also had fewer shops, restaurants, etc.  Oh, but the romance still embraced us whenever we’d stroll along the quiet streets.  Cape May has so many Victorian homes, the entire town is a historical landmark.  For those who love historical romances, I highly recommend fitting a weekend here during the year.  Anytime.  In the summer, you’ll have the beach and hustle of a seaside attraction.  Why bother going to a dolphin pool in Florida when you can swim with wild dolphins and minky whales in Cape May?  Surrey covered bikes for four and horse and buggy rides are a nice way to explore during the warm days and nights.

During the fall, plan to visit in October.  For Victorian buffs this will surely become an annual event you’ll visit again and again.  The entire town goes Victorian.  Homes open up to the public with teas while the owners — usually dressed in historic garb — regal you with tales about the town.  So many of the townspeople stroll around in Victorian costumes, you wonder if you entered a time warp.  During the holiday season, fireplaces light up in homes outlined with lights.  Close your eyes and imagine a painting of a Victorian house with lights.  Now, imagine an entire town of twinkling historic homes. 

No matter the time of year, bring along your bikes or be sure to rent them there. Visitors rarely use their cars once they arrive.  I am not much of a hiker or biker, but a bike ride or stroll around town quickly became my favorite pastime.  There is so much to see and do.  A bird sanctuary, fireworks, speedboating, arcades, a zoo, fireworks.  The list goes on and on. 

You can stay in a bed and breakfast, a guest house, victorian hotel or inn.  If you like to look at historic buildings but have no desire to stay in one, modern motels offer ocean views and pools.

At the end of the day, Cape May has so many great restaurants, you’ll wish your stay was longer just so you could try them all. The Lobster Pot is a favorite with fresh seafood taken right off the boats.  Great chefs spend their summers at Cape May’s restaurants, restaurants that offer standard burgers or gourmet samplings.  After dinner, catch a ghost tour.  With so many historic buildings, the ghostly apparations abound!  Even I had an experience while there!  (While cooking in our apartment at The Columbia House, a package of hamburger rolls flew off the top of the fridge and landed on the other side of the room!)

I love Cape May, but we did stray out of town from time to time. Wildwood is less than fifteen minutes away and offers a multitude of amusement parks along its piers.  Another nearby attraction is Atlantic City.  Or hop on the ferry and visit the outlet center in Delaware. 

I intend to revisit Cape May.

So, check out Cape May, NJ.  Grab a hunk and spend a weekend in another time.

Nearly.  Instead, I’m just going to post the link to a video and let the readers come to their own conclusion.  Now, I need glasses to read.  I’ve slowed this down.  I’ve called in others.  Even with a magnifying glass, we found no evidence supporting statements such as  “cavemen was shaking his best friend behind it (it being the American Flag)” or “came on stage in military regalia and proceeded to strip and grope themselves. “.  So, here’s the link.  Anyone else want to say “Snagged!”, go ahead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPx-txeYCAg

I don’t know.  Maybe I’m living in a fantasy world.  Maybe I spend too much time writing sexy romances and chatting with the women who love to read them.  In my world, if you say that there is a convention where male models who have buff bods and drool-worthy faces are stripping and simulating sex while dancing with female attendees, you better expect a stampede.  I see women of all ages, races, and marital states feeding their families pasta for a year and passing on those expensive shoes just so they can save enough to go to one of these risque conventions!  Now, as I’ve said before, I was not fortunate enough to attend this year’s Romantic Times Book Lover’s Convention, but I have been to two and plan on going to next year’s.  Is it a little wild?  Be real.  There are nearly 1000 women free of cares and responsibilities!  There are hunks with butts you can bounce a quarter off of roaming around.  IT’S A ROMANCE CONVENTION!  The older readers can remember when ultra sexy romance novels were called ‘bodice rippers’ instead of romantica.  The younger ones were told about the birds and the bees before they left elementary school.  Those who prefer traditional or conservative romances are still women.  Do they like taking in the eye candy?  I really doubt many would say no.  So, some get carried away.  Go to any convention.  You have no spouses (ok, some are fool enough to bring them), no kiddies.  I will repeat, some get carried away.  Some were born to be the convention slut.  Most of us just enjoy the antics and let loose a little.  We have fun.  We flirt with the knowledge that if some guy offered himself to us, we’d still say no.  This is the equivalent to a ladies night out.  You get silly and wild.  You let your hair down.  All I can say is that my face hurt on that last day.  I guess it was because I started smiling when I arrived and didn’t stop until I boarded the plane home!

Who wouldn’t love to go to a convention like RT?  All this talk about how immoral it is will only draw more women who are dying to get away for just a few days so they can let loose.   Women who read those romances and envisioned the cover model during every scene.  At RT, they get to meet the author and the hunk on the cover. 

Have you gone to RT?  Do you feel it fulfilled your every dream?  Did you do something you regret? 

And, BTW, at the RT Houston convention, I did see male models strip….at a local male strip club.  If I could have seen it at the hotel, I would not have left.  I had a hilarious time on that outing with my editor and the wonderful ladies who own and run Mojocastle.  I even got up on stage to show the young gals how to ham it up with the guys.  We had fun, good clean (they must shower between shows!) fun!

As a reader, I drooled all over my keyboard when I saw the Kindle.  Instead of popping over to my fave hunk sites for some eye candy, I would hope on over to Amazon and check out the reviews and pictures of the Kindle.

My wonderful brother and parents decided the Kindle would make a perfect birthday gift for my…ah…twenty-nine birthday.  *ducks to avoid bolt of lightning.  Thankfully, my brother tends to buy early.  He ordered it in January.  This hot item is selling so quickly, it took over three months to arrive!  Yup, it came two days before my birthday.  SO, on to the review.

What can I say?  I love it.  It really is light.  I barely notice the difference in my pocketbook’s weight.  Pocketbook, you say?  Yes, and I don’t lug around huge bags.  I can bring it anywhere.  Whip it out anywhere.  You can find me reading my Kindle on line in the grocery store or at the bank’s drive-up window.  (My brother, a hairdresser, says women are reading it while they get their hair done.  Not me!  I don’t want tiny bits of hair or a drop of red dye to touch this baby.  Not my red dye, mind you.  My friend’s…)  You can see me with it resting on my steering wheel while I wait for my son to finish his bass lesson or for my other son to come out of school.  Heck, I flick it on if I have a brief moment of spare time while cooking!  Did I say flick it on?

That is another wonderful aspect.  Kindle has a little power on button in the back.  Slide it up and it turns on instantly.  If you didn’t want to bother turning it off when you last used it, you might have put it into sleep mode.  Again, the press of two buttons on the front will bring you right to the last page you read.  *giggle*  Sorry, I get giddy over this.  Now, what if the last page you read was the last page of the last book to read?

Kindle uses Whispernet.  What is Whispernet?  Got me.  All I know is that it won’t cost you anything extra and it works anywhere a cell phone works.  No need to worry about Wifi hotspots.  If you can call someone, you can Kindle!  Well, surf the Kindle store.  They say you can search the internet but I’ve yet to read how.  In short, you slide up the wireless button and–BAM!–you’re connected!  This comes in handy when you’ve read that last page of the last book and still have spare time to read.  I hop over to the Amazon Kindle store and browse.  Amazon even offers Kindle users free three-chapter samples of the book they’re considering.  Can you say hook? (That was the writer in me jumping in.  I’ll just duct tape her mouth…ur…fingers…)  As I was saying, you can read the first three chapters before buying. 

As for the actual screen, the sun won’t glare it out and you can change the font.  Nuff said. 

Addressing a couple of gripes I’ve read…

Some have complained about the moment of black screen when you turn a page.  I have no problem with it.   Hell, if I was reading a paperback, I’d have to see my hand turning the page.  If it had some sweet graphic of a page turning, I’d have to wait for that to pass.  The black screen gives me time to blink. 

Most complain about the position of the buttons to turn the page to the next or back to the previous one.  I agree.  I’ve paged forward a few pages accidentally.  And it is not a button.  Most of the right side of the Kindle is a bar you press to go to the next page.  The left side is split into two bars, and will rarely get touched while in the cover unless you intend to go back to a previous page.  Yet, I love that my thumb can comfortably rest where I only have to press to keep reading. 

In case you’re wondering what book I downloaded onto my Kindle first: 

Sweet Surrender by Maya Banks - I’m enjoying it.  I do wish there was a little sex in the first quarter (or third if I’m reading the Kindle meter correctly).   This, supposedly, is an erotic book, but I have yet to read one hot scene.  Not even foreplay yet.  Sob! 

I may update this review as I keep using my Kindle. 

Next gift…hubby still owes me one:  The ASUS EEEPC!  That review will be written from Doreen The Author.

Doreen

Why am I upset with what I’ve read?  There are women who save all year to attend.  Readers.  Readers who make this their one vacation of the year.  Readers who dare to dress sexy at RT when they don’t at home.  Readers who put together outfits they believe look great.  Readers who leave that convention feeling GOOD about themselves and how they looked.  Readers who read a post by someone with no manners, ettiquette, or consideration and see their outfit ridiculed and harshly put down.  Those who commented on said blog–sadly enough–did not mention that this was rude, to say the least.  Was I the only one who read that post and cringed thinking of the poor reader who recognized herself?  Ok, some of the outfits are over the top.  Some breasts bulge out of corsets, some stick beer bottles in their cleavage.  So what!  Geez.  Let them have fun.  For most of these women, it is their one week to let loose and forget the housework, jobs, and kids.  Do I care if a 40 year old dared to wear a sheer skirt?  No.  Would I dare to insult her?  Hell no.  Would I think I was so much better that I had a right to put her down in front of the entire world (we are on the internet) about an outfit she wore to a function attended predominantly by females???  Am I the only one with a heart?  Did I comment?  Hell no.  J.C., I love your books, but your momma should have taught you some manners.  Then again, maybe she did, but you just don’t care who you hurt to get readers to your blog. 

Dawn Thompson, author of paranormal romances such as Blood Moon and Lord of the Deep, passed away yesterday.  A woman who always greeted you with a smile, she will be sorely missed.  I can only imagine the tales she had yet to tell.  For me, Dawn played a major role in my tales making their way to publication.  As a new, unpublished author, I once asked Dawn for some advice.  I couldn’t understand why my manuscripts kept getting rejected.  After a few prodding questions from her and then some pointers and advice, I went home and rewrote an entire manuscript.  That manuscript was Hunting Diana, my first paperback.  Come to think about it, I actually wrote the first ten pages of No One But Madison using her advice.  Then I read it and realized that those ten pages blew away what I’d written so far of Hunting Diana.  Sadly, that was about 2/3 of it!  And so I rewrote it.  It would have been easy to pick at Dawn’s brain after that.  I had so many questions!  But I realized that her career was taking off.  And so…I would bide my time until we met at LIRW meetings or the luncheon.  She would greet me with that smile.  And with advice.  And excitement over the success of her books. 

Adieu, Dawn.  Your readers will miss you. 

Doreen