What a lovely sight, right outside my window!

I have a good excuse for not writing today! My muse has seen fit to bless me with a pack of tattooed, muscly construction workers with work boots, a personal fav of mine, laying cement. Some days you just need a pick me up or an excuse maybe.

Today was that day for me. I'm battling the beginnings of a head cold...my right on time, every flipping fall, head cold. :(

See I do need a pick me up and a bit of inspiration to crank out my allotted words for today. What better of a sight than sexy men, tattoos and great big, work boots!!

Back to gawking then off to get my Darling Diva from school.

The Pale, Lifeless Hoard Of Non Readers...

So I was reading my friend Savanna's blog today, where she mused on the banning of books and she made a comment that smacked me in the head and pulled this post from me, as well as gave me an idea for a possible story! Thanks Lady Kougar!

She said: "Gee, someday, reading itself could be outlawed..."

Whoa, when I stopped hyperventilating, I thought what kind of world would this be without books? Without reading?

The love of a good book goes way beyond just learning something new or explaining how something works. Reading is a way to relax, reduce the everyday stress of, well, life! Reading can take you on the vacation you can't afford. Reading can show you alternate lives, alternate realities, histories you are to young to remember, wise words of people long dead. Reading can show you love, bring you love(yes it can).

Imagine will you a world devoid of the mental stimulation found in a book. What do you do with your free time if you can't afford to go to movies or anywhere that costs money to attend?

TV you say? Can you afford all the new contraptions you need to actually watch TV these days? What if you can't? Do we all become Zombie like people going through the motions of the day?

Gads, I hope not!

"Gee, someday, reading itself could be outlawed..."

NO! Not just no, but HELL NO! The day something like this was allowed is the day I start my life of crime!

Books are beauty, stories are a salvation and reading is a right...go out there and grab your right today!

Check out the Banned and/or Challenged Books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century. Stop by your community library and pick one up or any book and enjoy!

Stallion of Ash and Flame Releases Today!!

Yep, today's the day, my friends, Savanna Kougar's awesome horse shifter story hits the Siren publishing site!

Trail and Seneca are one hot couple! Head on over to Savanna's blog to read some sexy snippets before heading over to Siren, to purchase this must have story!

Congrats on the release, Savanna! I can't wait to get my hands on Trail. Er,um, his story that is! ;)

A Whole Lot Of Goodness, All In One Blog!

Thanks to my wonderful friend Savanna for informing me that The Challenge is up for book of the week over at The Romance Studio! Color me beyond thrilled! If you've read the story and enjoyed it, I would love for you to stop by and vote for me. :)

http://theromancestudio.com/5heart_form.php

***

Now, a shout out to Savanna Kougar who has a new story coming out on Sept 24th. STALLION OF ASH AND FLAME! Check out her blog for a looksie at the awesome cover and more about the story! It's gonna be HOT! ;)

http://kougarkisses.blogspot.com/2009/09/magical-day-september-24th.html

***

Finally, Another artist friend, just celebrated her 200th blog and is giving away some of her work. Swing by her blog to see the beautiful piece and perhaps enter the drawing. Make sure to check out the many other sculptures she is working on as well...they are amazing!

http://claymama1.blogspot.com/2009/09/celebration-200th.html

Sunday Scribblings - Hunger

What is hunger?
I can use that word in lots of different ways to mean lots of different things...
I hunger for good book reviews.
I hunger for a bowl of cereal in the morning.
I hunger for more time with my hubby and darling diva.
All of these hungers are true. If you're an author, yes you want good reviews. If you ate early the night before, your stomach is making itself known and who doesn't need more family time...

But...

Is that the only face of hunger? Have you seen real hunger in your lifetime?

Have you seen the mother digging through the dumpster for food to feed her child?
Have you seen the family of three, four, five or more share a brick of Ramen noodles as their dinner?
Have you seen the child whose school lunch seems to him/her manna of the gods, because it is probably the only meal they will see that day?

I have seen hunger, I have lived hunger and I have felt hunger.

My oath: Everyday I will fight to reduce the hunger of the world. From the littlest task to the biggest undertaking, I will do what I can to help those who starve. Hunger must not win.

Can you see this smile!

Well I should probably play it cool, but cool is not at all how I feel. I'm more walking on air, dancing on flower petals, singing (badly) happy tunes....

The Romance Studio reviewed The Challenge and gave it five wonderful hearts! :) They liked it, they got it and I am one happy author!

http://theromancestudio.com/reviews/reviews/challengeshay.htm

I just have to leave you with my favorite line from the review...

This is a great story with a mixture of hot kinky sex, unlimited drama, and a hero and heroine who kick butt.

It made my day!!!!

Sunday Scribblings - Tattoo "Here there be..."

Crouched behind the boulder, rivulets of sweat ran down AnnaMarie’s back from the zero to sixty climb up the cliffs overlooking Lake Superior. How could this be happening to her? As was typical after a crappy night waitressing at The Pilsner, she’d taken the scenic route home, with a quick stop along the way. This beach was her favorite. During the day, she could see the Split Rock lighthouse, a standing sentinel, in the distance and the beach lie filled with agates and driftwood, perfect for her art. Tonight, her place of peace was turned into every bad chase movie she’d ever seen, including a full moon to light up the night sky.

“Anie NaMar, please do not fear, I am here only to help you.”

Sure, that’s what they all say, right before they kill you and what’s with the weird name? AnnaMarie peeked around the side of the rock to see the naked man on the ledge down and over from hers. Big and broad was how she’d describe him, all of him. Ebony hair hung to his shoulders. Iridescent green streaks intermixed with the black and matched the scales of the gorgeous ink on his back.

Purple and green wings reached from shoulder to shoulder and dropped down his back. The bottom points touched his hipbones on each side. The barbed tail curled around the outer thigh closest to her and snuck in towards his groin. As he turned, she could see wicked sharp claws digging into his ribs. Almost as if, the beautiful creature rode him like he was the host, day after day.

The icing on the cake though, was the head and face of the mighty beast. Curled around his neck, the head lay across the man’s shoulder and down his bicep. Flames burned down his arm from the creature’s nose. Violet eyes glittered in the face and appeared to be staring right at her. The most disarming feature however, was the fact that the man was glowing, from the inside out.

Come over and enjoy many more fine posts at Sunday Scribblings.

I'm In Awe...

Lot's of online stuff to do today as well as offline tasks, but I'm finally getting to surf my favorite sites and blogs, before I deal with dinner and start some more writing. So I swung by a blog I quite enjoy Swoopin' Along.

Lynda Dunham-Watkins, the blog owner, is an amazing sculptress. I just love to sit on the sidelines and watch as she creates her works and shares with us with the steps she follows, including pictures!

Clay intrigues me. So much can be done with it. I attempted a clay works class in college and quick realized that I should probably stick to writing...hehehe. Until I'm ready to try it again, and I will, I'll gladly enjoy watching Lynda create!

Check out her latest work - Wyatt Earp. http://claymama1.blogspot.com/2009/09/wyatt-earps-wip.html

Now I'm off to work on my Sunday Scribbling - Tattoos. I can't wait! I love the ink!!

I Need An Infomercial For Thicker Skin....

~Yep, that's right just smooth it on and waa-la your skin is that much
thicker. Mosquito's will cease to be a problem, surprise knives in the dish
water - no problem and those pesky opinions of others will wash over you
like
water off a ducks back!~

Yeah, if only it worked that way!

I'm finding my writers feet slowly, it seems. But that's okay, find them I will and I'll be all the better for the trials!

The power of positive thinking is my friend this week.

Have a good one!

LSB Labor Day Blog Hop

Welcome one and all to the Lickable Laborers Labor Day Blog Hop! You should be coming from Dee Carney's Blog. Don't forget to leave a comment on every blog to qualify for the awesome basket of goodies at the end!

So this blog hop got me thinking about my top three sexiest labor intensive jobs...

Firefighter - Oh my, hot sweaty men, buffed out and ready to save me! I bet they know how to rescue breath oh ho ho so well!! ;)


Road Construction Crews - I'm sure these guys just simply forgot their orange vests in the car. The raise in my insurance rates will surely be worth the looksie... Abs, ladies, abs! LOL



Woodworker - Yes, I'm sure this guy works with wood, I wonder what he would build for me if I asked really sweetly?

What about you? What's your favorite laborer?


Happy Labor Day!

Your next stop on this blog hop path is Jeanne St. James - http://www.jeannestjames.blogspot.com Have fun! If you need a reminder of our trail take a look below. :)


Alanna Coca - http://alannacoca.wordpress.com/
Stephanie Adkins - http://stephanieadkins.wordpress.com/blog/
Gem Sivad - http://gemsivad.wordpress.com/
Paige Tyler - http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com/
Olivia Brynn - http://oliviabrynn.wordpress.com/
Trina M Lee - http://trinamlee.wordpress.com
Dee Carney - http://www.deecarney.com/blog
Serena Shay - http://serenashay.blogspot.com/
Jeanne St. James - http://www.jeannestjames.blogspot.com
K.Z Snow - http://kzsnow.blogspot.com
Tina Holland - http://tinaholland.wordpress.com
Celia Kyle - http://celiakyle.com/blog
Juniper Bell - http://www.juniperbell.com/blog.php

Sunday Scribblings - Key

AnnaMarie paced the smooth stone floor trying damn hard to convince herself that she’d fallen into some unexplained coma. Even now, she could be wasting away in some hospital bed, drool running down her face, her hands curling into claw like appendages and absolutely no one there to visit her. The nurses, tired and abused, would provide sponge baths, movement to ward off bedsores and minimal conversation.

The formation of a good lie rested in the details. The more minutia thrown into a story, the easier it was to believe, but her mind wouldn’t play along. Nowhere was there a single white hospital bed, no IV poles, no nasty antiseptic smell.

Around her was a vast room, empty but for the single glass of water on a stool in the middle. Two walls curved outward creating an oval space big enough for whatever brought her here to this prison. The only thing missing was a slice of bread, a toilet and a clear picture of the unseen voice that had brought her to this place.

“Be calm, Princess Anie NaMar. I am taking you to safety,” The low, garbled voice whispered in her ear as he’d carried her off-carried off for cripes sake. What could have been big enough to literally pick her up and deposit her in this cage? She remembered the sensation of weightlessness, but figured that she was again dreaming of flying, or sex or even a successful diet. Lord knows she’d welcome both.

When she’d come too, lying on the surprisingly warm stone floor, her mind raced too conjure up a beast with enough strength to lift her bulk off the bed and deposit her here, wherever here was. As cages go, this was a brilliant one - incredibly vivid.

She peered through the clear outer wall into a dark so vast she could see nothing. It was like looking into the night sky filled with clouds. The inner wall glowed orange. The long curved stretch of wall was rolling water, infused with what she could only guess to be lava.

AnnaMarie eased back onto the floor, facing a wall so clearly wrong and wondered if her lies had finally caught up to her? Had the series of half-truths she lived with finally locked her into a prison of her mind? If so, where was the key to get out?


Check out more Sunday Scribblings here.

Awesome Contest Over At Shapeshifter Seductions

That's right, the bloggers over at Shapeshifter Seductions are giving away a very cool book on writing romance:

Writing Romance—The Ultimate Guide on Craft, Creation and Industry Connections

50 Inspiring Articles


The process, craft and business of writing by some of your favorite published romance authors, as well as a few of the industry's leading editors and agents.


A Complete Resource List
RWA chapters, SFA-RWA member authors, and RWA-approved publishers and literary agents.


Success Secrets
How to craft a compelling story, find a great agent, and more!

Swing by through the month of Sept to find the answers to a few fun questions presented to our authors, Crystal Kauffman, Francesca Hawley, Savanna Kougar, Paris Brandon and Me. Who knows what you might find out about us!

Here's the link to our first set of answers. While your there tell me what you think of my Fri list of all time scariest movies.

I Don't Normally Do This, But....

I simply couldn't resist. What do I normally not do you might ask? Write about pirates and file sharers. I go by the idea, that to give these thieves any air time is just giving them what they want and that is something I loath to do.

However, I came across this awesome blog by Shiloh Walker that speaks frankly and addresses the piracy issue down to it's barest points. What is the ultimate cost of piracy? Read here to find out.... http://shilohwalker.com/piracy.htm

Nice job, Shiloh!